The Kings Chronicle in Two Sections, Introduction
THE KINGS CHRONICLE: The Scope and purpoſe thereof: To ſhew, What the Militia is: That all Kings and Princes, and Nobles of the World have made it their worke, To promote the ſame (i. e.) To ſtrengthen themſelves, and ſet their Kingdome in a Poſture of Defence: But, willing contraries; and, not ſo much miſſing, as croſſing the way, They failed of the end, ſo became great Examples.
THE Militia of the Kingdome is now preſſing-on and advancing, as great bodies moove, or as we paſſe through a crowde, or through Thornes; now it putts-on-ward, and then thruſt-backe againe; and yet, it must goe-on through all oppoſitions, and the more victoriouſly, the greater the oppoſition is; which muſt be great, All that the Devills can doe to hinder it ſhall be done, for it is a worke honourable and glorious, of an immenſe weight and worth; All conclude it to be ſo, and this is the ſhort deſcription, which all doe give of it; The ſetting a Kingdome (the King and People there) in a poſture of defence. Wee may give ſeverall deſcriptions of the ſame thing, ſo of this, though the firſt containes all; It is the ſhutting in the Doores or Frontiers of a Kingdome, and to ſhut them in ſo, as was the doore of the Arke, by GODS owne Hand. aGen. 7. 16.It is as the ſetting up of two Pillars, 1 King. 7. 21.JACHIN and BOAZ, aſſuring the Land, That in the LORD JEHOVAH is Salvation and ſtrength. b It is, &c.
It is the maintaining the two ſtaves bZech 11. 10. 14.. 1. The ſtaffe of BEAUTY, which I will call the ETERNALL GOSPELL, being the ſtay and ſtaffe of every particular Perſon; and GLORY of the whole Nation.
2. The ſtaffe of BANDS, The binding of a People faſt to their GOD in the Bond of a Covenant. More briefly; It is the Intiteling GOD to a Kingdome: The writing His Salvation upon our Gates and Barres; Then they be ſtrong holds indeed; Then we may ſay, we have a ſtrong City and Kingdome, when the LORD appoints His Salvation for Walls and Bulwarks▪ cEſa. …6. 1.. This is the Militia of a Kingdome; No other thing but this.
Then ſurely this worke is like the Deſire in the 4th. Pſalme, ſutable to the whole Kingdome, and to every Perſon therein. No man is ſuch an Enemy to his owne and the publike Peace, as not to deſire This with all his deſire; The Lord our King doth ſay Amen to this; All His good People will ſay Amen alſo; and doe pray; The LORD GOD of our Lord the King ſay ſo too. 1 King 1. 36.Who doth not deſire, that the doors of his houſe be ſhut-in upon him, and himſelfe ſhut-in as Noah was. If we could aske from one end of the Land to the other, every man would tell us, This is his deſire: Hee would reſt at Night, and ſleepe at quiet, which he cannot do, if his Doores ſtand open. It were then a notorious ſoleciſme in Policie; To command the Doores in private Houſes to be locked againſt spoilers: And to ſuffer Frontiers in Kingdomes to lye open to invaſion Therefore I ſaid, It is every mans Deſire, and the very ſame, that has been ever ſince there was a Man upon Earth. Is there any thing whereof it may be ſaid, SEE THIS IS NEW? Yes that it is, you will ſay, The oppoſition Eccleſ. 1 10.that is made against this Glorious worke is NEW, there was never ſuch a thing like unto this, ſince man was upon the Earth. Like unto what? Like to this oppoſition, an unparalel'd, and moſt desperate oppoſition, managed againſt this worke by a moſt malignant party. An. Indeed I cannot ſay, and proove, That this oppoſition can be paralel'd, that we can finde the like to it, running-on and holding pace with it all along. But this we finde; That this oppoſition now is not new: for Evill ſtood croſſecentered to Good ever ſince there were two Bretheren upon the earth; and ever after that time, we ſhall find, if we conſult with the Records of Time, That all times of Reformation, of well Poſturing a Kingdome, have been vexatious and troublous *Dan. 9. 25.We ſhall ſpeake more to this anon, we reade on now. It hath been already of old time, which was before us. Kings and Princes and Nobles of the earth, have in all ages, made this their great bProv. 8. 36.worke; To fortifie themſelvs, and ſecure their Kingdom; So as they might be ſecure at home, and feared abroad. I will keepe my ſelfe to the Sacred Chronicles, and obſerve thence. What the Kings of Judah have done touching this great buſineſſe; The different wayes they went, yet all towards the ſame end, and carrying all levell to the ſame marke, The ſetting themſelves and their Kingdom in a Poſture of Defence. Ob. But have I not spoken contradictories, words and things croſſing each the other? I ſaid, That the Militia, the Poſturing of an Houſe or Kingdome, is every mans Deſire, he Wills it and can take God to record, hee Wills it heartily: and preſently after we heare of an oppoſition againſt it, as if a man could deſire his owne good, and with the ſame breath refuſe or oppoſe it.
Anſw. Yes, all this a man may doe; he may deſire good, and yet croſſe himſelfe and his Deſire in the way thereunto: he may will his owne Peace, and yet oppoſe it, as a man that hates Peace, and loves Death …. Naturally there are croſſe Deſires and croſſe Wills in every man. Every man deſires Peace, his ſoule deſires it, as it is ſaid of the ſluggard cProv. 13. 4. The ſluggard wills with his mouth, wills not or puts back with his hand, for it is not diligent. A true deſire of Grace and Glory ſets all his powers of ſoul and body on work in purſuance of the ſame, as an hungry ſoule deſires bread and the thirſty water. A new or regenerate will runs-on ſtrait and even like a paralel line, with Gods revealed will: And whē it crook's or runs croſſe, it is not that will but his other will is croſſe to himſelfe, now that he is himſelfe, for what that does, hee hates Ch…yſ. Acts 27. 8.. Grace which is but Glory begun; and Glory, which is but Grace perfected, it is every mans Deſire, he Wills it, he thinkes, with all his ſoule; But he hath a Will croſſing this Will; and a Deſire ſtanding in oppoſition and utter enmity to this Deſire, which unleſſe taken away by an Almighty Hand, he ſhall never have what he ſeemes (for he doth but ſeeme) to Will and Deſire. Note we this, well;
That Reſt and Peace here, and hereafter for ever with the LORD, is the SABBATH and Port of all mens Labours, and Intentions, but with this difference: It is ſeemingly ſo with the most, Really and indeed ſo with the feweſt; and therefore the feweſt attaine this Port; they only, who steere their courſe according to the two Poles of motion ſafety and a faire haven.
It is indeed a naturall deſire, and the very end of every mans thoughts; The preſervation of himſelfe, and to avoid whatever is contrary thereunto; Yet (ſuch is our darkneſſe) nothing more ordinary then to miſſe of the end by miſtaking the way; whereof I ſhall give (anon) very great Examples, recording dayes of old for the benefit and inſtruction of the preſent times; They are the examples of thoſe, who have willed contradictories, as men in all times have done, and now adayes doe, and will to the worlds end. They will have the end; and will none of the meanes: So with the ſluggard (as Jerom tranſlates it very well dProv. 13. 4. …ult & non …ult piger.) They WILL and they WILL NOT; They will command the end, yet not endure the meanes; They will have Peace, and Grace, and Glory, they think they may have what they will, they will not goe the way, not tread the path, that leads thereunto; We ſhall try the poſſibility of this, and ſee clearly what the end will be (as croſſe to their expectation, as their wills were) in the wayes and wills of the Kings of Judah, taking the worſt firſt; for the worſt Kings are the beſt examples to make all wiſer that obſerve them aright; which no man does, that preſumes to goe on in a wicked way: for the examples here will open the pits mouth before him, and aſſure him it will cloſe its mouth upon him, if he goes on.
There is indeed a great ſeducement by wicked examples, for, through the depravation of our natures, we rather imitate the worſe then the better; and too ordinary it is in ill to exceed; in good to come ſhort of the example; But this is for want of well weighing the example, becauſe we doe not looke through it to the end: we ſee what is done, but we doe not ſee what will be the iſſue of the act. Here, in this Chronicle, we may behold all together, The Proud Man in his Throne, with his Princes about him, and preſently after dwelling with the beaſts of the field, there eating graſſe as Oxen dDan 4. 32.. We may behold him here drinking wine in bowles, the ſacred veſſells of the Temple, and the ſame houre ſeeing a hand-writing upon the wall; and, within an houre after feeling the Sword in his bowells eDan. 5. 4.; We may behold the Man here even as a wild-Aſſe fJer. 2. 24.ſnuffing up the wind; or as the expreſſion is, ſowing the wind, and with the ſame glance of the eye, behold him reaping the whirle wind gHoſe 8. 7, 12. 13.: And then we can conſider how gratious the proud Man will be in the eye of the beholder at that time, when pangs come upon him, the paine as of a woman in travell hJer. 22. 23.: for then we ſhall ſee him aſhamed and confounded for all his wickedneſſe iver. 22.. Of infinite uſe this, To looke thorow the example to the end, and then nothing better inſtructeth then the worſt examples, for therein we ſhall ſee wicked wayes, and Idolatious counſels leading to ruine and deſtruction, and all this together.
Mans heart is deſperately wicked, and ſo purſues his owne way, as the two Captaines with their fifties k2 King 1. 9. 10, 11, 12., with the Sword in his hand, threatnings and menacies in his mouth, thinking to command the end, which he hath vainly conceited: But when he lookes-on forward, and conſiders his way to be a periſhing way, and that, not two Captaines with their fifties, but thirteene Kings with their people (ſo many we ſhall reade of) went traverſing the ſame way, and fier from Heaven conſumed them: When he conſiders this heartily, it will check him in his way, and put ſupplications in his mouth, not only to the Man of God (for he may be ſought to alſo,) But to GOD-MAN, The LORD JESUS CHRIST (whom we perſecute marching in our owne way) ſo beſpeaking mercy from the LORD in the words of that wiſe and conſiderate Captaine before him, Fier from Heaven hath conſumed theſe Kings with their People, and their Land (once the Eden of the World,) Let my life, and the life of Thy ſervants, and the peace of this Land be pretious in thy ſight, Amen. We ſee the ſcope and purpoſe of this Chronicle.
I ſhall not now crave the Readers attention; I know the weight and excellency of the matter will command it; for I ſhall ſet before Kings and People; what? I muſt correct my ſelfe firſt, els I ſhall spoyle all. What can I ſet before them, which the meaneſt man will regard? Alas ſilly man! when he ſaith what he will doe, he doth but diſadvantage himſelfe and the cauſe. I ſhould have ſaid, the LORD, the HIGH, the DREADFVLL GOD; Hee will this Day in the examples, which follow, ſet before Kings and their People DEATH and EVILL, LIFE and GOOD. If our hearts turne away, ſo that we will not heare; if we will be drawne away and worſhip ſtrange Gods; then behold Death and Evill! For ſurely we ſhall periſh: But if we will love the LORD our GOD, obey His voyce, cleave unto Him, then we chooſe Life and Bleſſing; for He is our life and length of our dayes. Behold Death and Evill is ſet before us in the following examples of the Kings, who, though dead, yet ſpeake much to the Inſtruction of the l…ving; how deſtructive Idolatrous wayes are, and, he beaten pathes of humane policies: as the other tell us, how ſafe and good the holy way is, wherein never any man miſcarried.
Before we reade their doings, I would ſay this for the length of the Chronicle, That when my thoughts were first upon it, I did not intend it ſo, but more contracted and abrid ed into a narrow roome. But then I conſidered what a worke I had in hand, and what my ſcope therin: My worke was well to ponder the wayes and workes of bad and good Kings, wherin nothing can be found ſmall or of light account: Then again,
The Scope is, as we heard, the Inſtruction of the living Kings and their People all: I thought it then my duty to ponder matters yet more, and to looke over their Hiſtory again and againe: And the more I read, the more I found, even mighty things, and wheron the LORD Himſelfe had ſet a marke with His owne Hand, like an hand in the road-way, pointing the paſſenger; This way thou muſt goe for this is the ſtrait way, and tends to life: And here thou muſt forbeare, for it is a deſtructive way and tends to death. Truly I find ſo many marks in my travell here, that I could not tell where to picke and chuſe, finding all ſo remarkable of ſo great and excellent uſe, to marke out the way of LIFE and DEATH unto us all, whether high or low, great or ſmall.
I would adde this alſo. That the Chapters in this Chronicle are enlarged, as the Story of the Kings there is continued; where thorow two whole bookes and more, as is the Story of the two firſt Kings, there are the Chapters lengthened: Where thorow three Chapters, as the Story of Aſa; or foure as the Story of King Jehoſhaphat and Hezekiah (for theſe wrought effectually to ediſie, strengthen and establiſh themſelves and their Kingdomes, which is a worke evermore of difficulty, labour and time) accordingly are their Chapters enlarged.
The Story of the bad Kings is begun in one Chapter, and there ended (except the Story of Saul, which fils a Booke, and of Rehoboam, which is continued through three Chapters:) for a King in an Idolatrous way, doth not goe, but runne, and is quickly at the end, poſting-on himſelfe and his people to ruine and deſtruction: Therfore, though the Story be ſhort, yet the obſervations therupon, may be long and of infinite uſe.
It is our wiſdome to ſet our hearts thereunto: And ſith DEATH and EVILL, LIFE and GOOD are before us, well to conſider, looking well before us, that we chuſe the good way, the way of good men, walke therein and keepe the pathes of the Righteous: That wee love the LORD our GOD; obey His voyce, and cleave unto Him. For it Prov. 2. 20.followes; Hee is thy LIFE, and length of thy Dayes: Deu. 30. 19, 20.Hee is thy Praiſe, and Hee is thy GOD, That hath done for thee the great and terrible things, which thine eyes have ſeene: Therefore thou ſhalt feare the LORD Deut. 10. 20.thy GOD, Him ſhalt thou ſerve, and to Him ſhalt thou cleave.
Amen.
THE KINGS CHRONICLE. THE ACTS OF SAVL.
SECT. I.
The Chronicles of the bad Kings of Judah are read, their miſtakes about their Militia. The contrary waies and motions to their owne ends are recorded.