Imatges de pàgina
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and to whet thy fword, when thy mercies become burthens to the fons of men.

5 This reproveth all thofe that study men, and tender all their addreffes to them, feeing their advancement and establishment here on earth by the purchased love and favour of men, they feek not the Lord.

Did ever age fow precedents fo thick for pofterity, of drooping, declining and falling greatnefs. Truly God is the Lord, and his name onely is excellent; If God muft have the glory, all that is done for us, whatsoever is done for us must be done by him, elfe it muft needs mifcarry.

6 This serves to establish the hearts of those who have obtéined any competency for the fupport of this life with contentment, for if God be the giver of my daily bread, and if his hand do minifter to my neceffities, he knows beft what state of life is fitteft for me, I will not afpire higher he knows how much will serve me, I will not covet more; this refolution wil give thee much peace,For it cafteth all thy care upon God, who will never leave thee, nor forfake thee.

7 This alfo ftirreth us up to walk in the obedience of the Laws of God, for if we consent and obey, we fhall eat the good things of the land; let us feek the face of God, and depend upon his providence for all things: let us confider the fowls of the air, and the lillies of the field, and wherein we are better then they,even in our reasonable service of God,& conclude,that God will not let them want any thing that lead a godly life: fo will he furnish us with matter of praife,that we may ever be telling of his goodness from day to day.

Unlawful and indirect means of bettring our estates,by.cor rupting of our confciences, do break our bags, and fpring leaks in our Ships, that we and our goods perifh, but the fear of the Lord maketh us rich; and what wanteth in the peace of the world, is fupplied in the peace of a good confcience.

3 Doct. Figurative fpeeches are in ufe in holy Scripture: this Text is full of them, fo is this whole Pfalm.

I will onely note these figures, which in this verfe do offer themselves to us, for a taft.

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1 It is here faid that God ftood.

This is spoken after the maner of men, for when hearing and feeing, and (melling, and touching,and tafting, which are our fenfes are attributed to God: when our parts of body, our eyes, ears, mouth, hands, feet, armes are given to him: our motions: as fetting, standing, rifing, going, ftriking and such like are spoken of God, know that these be figurative forms of fpeech, wherein the holy Ghoft doth retein our weak capacities,and under thofe forms of words,doth present to our understandings the unconceiveable operations of the most high God.

And let us take heed that we do not conceive God in our thoughts like to man in the ftructure and compofition of the body as the Anthropomorphites did.

For it is here understood by the standing of God,that when he brought the people to the promised land, there the progreffe ended,he stood there where he brought them to reft.

2 It is here faid,that he measured the earth,that is,alfo a figurative manner of fpeaking, wherein that is charged upon him, which was done by his direction and warrant.

3 He beheld and drove in funder the Nations.

God is all eye,and beholdeth all things, all ear,and heareth all things; all haud,and maketh all things, and doth whatsoever he wil: all foot and ftandeth in all places: he is here faid to behold, which denoteth his provident care of his work,and he is faid to drive in funder the Nations, because he ordeined their expulfion, and he gave commiffion for the deftruction of them,that he might give their land,according to his promife, to his own people.

4 Where he cals the mountains everlasting and the hils perpetuall, this is also a figure. For these be attributes onely belonging to God to be everlafting and perpetuall, and it fheweth the stability and fetledneffe thereof.

5 There is also another figure in the very name of mountains, for we must not literally understand that there was any violence offered to the mountains and hils, but thereby the ftrength and proceffe and fetled eftate of thofe nations that

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dwelt in the land of Canaan, is fignified, and fo the fcattering and bowing of these mountains, doth expreffe the difperfion of those nations, or the bringing of them under the yoake of fubjection to the people of Ifrael.

6 His wayes are everlafting, this is alfo figurative, for by the ways of God are understood here the counfels and decrees of God, and his executions of his will, which are no fudden operatious, but proceed from everlasting wifedome.

And this is the wifedome of the Reader of holy Scripture, to obferve, what is spoken literally, and what figuratively, else many errours and herefies may arise.

As even in this attribution of the parts and motions, and actions of the body of man to God, the Anthropomorphites, not understanding the figure,did conceive God in body like to

man.

The herefie of tranfubftantiation grew out of the mistake of those words, hoc eft corpus meum, this is my body, wherein the figure not obferved, the Romanists do believe a reall transmutation of the bread into the body of Chrift: whereas that is to be understood only by facramentall representation, as as the facrament of Circumcifion is called the covenant of God in the flesh, and the water of Baptifme, is called the laver of regeneration, being the fign and feal thereof

You know that when Chrift faid to his Difciples; Beware of the leaven of the Pharifes: they understood him not to speak figuratively, and faid; It is because we have taken no bread.

So when he faid, Destroy this Temple: the Jews understood him of the temple at ferufalem. The Scriptures of both Testaments, are full of examples of figurative speaking.

The whole book of the fong of Solomon, is a continued figure, and all the poeticall part of holy Scripture abound therewith.

The reafons why the wifedome of God hath thus exprest it self,are:

1 Because herein he would commend to us the use of that excellent fcience of the Rhetorick, which teacheth the use of

figures, for there is no eloquence or oratory in all the wifedome of the world, comparable to the holy elocution of Scripture, the majefty whereof is fuch, that it convinceth the judgment of man, and maketh it to yield it to the breath of God.

2 Because this cripticall manner of fpeaking doth involve the fecrets of Gods wifedome in fome obfcurity, to stirre up and awake our diligence in the fearch, that we may be put to it to ftudy holy Scriptures, as Chrift faith, Epevyars, fearch;for eafie things do foon cloy us and make us idle.

3. Because this difficulty, doth put us to our prayers, to befeech God to open to us the fecrets of his wifdome.

4 This makes us fear God, because the fecrets of the Lord are onely revealed to them that fear God.

5. This difficulty is fo fweetned with the pleasant mixture of art, as it hath omne punctum in it, for it mingleth utile dulci.

6 It doth teach us to be fpirituall, for the carnall man cannot perceive the things of God, because they are fpiritually difcerned, and the letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life: this Spirit he hath left to teach his Church, and to bring all things to our remembrance.

7 This obfcurity doth call uponus to fet apart fome time for the study and fearch of Scriptures, and we cannot employ our spare hours of leafure better then in this fearch, for here are the treasures of wifedome and knowledge, and these are able to make the man of God wife to falvation, perfect, then to throughly,perfect to all good works.

8. He hath diftributed his graces in his Church accordingly, and hath ordained fome to be teachers of others, whose whole time is confecrated to the ftudy of this book of Scripture, that they may be able to understand this word aright: divide it aright to their hearers.

Herein you have a great advantage, if you confider the goodneffe of God to you, for in one hour, you reap the harveft of our labours in many hours of our readings, of our inventions, judgments, fearch.

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These reasons I gather from Clemens Alexandrinus, St. Auguftine, and St. Gregory, and fome others.

This teacheth us that the worthie Minister of the Word must be no fmatterer in thofe neceffary arts and learning, which is helpfull to the ftudy of Divinity, for want whereof many bunglers handle the Word of God too homelily, and instead of giving a conftant light do only make a blaze, which yet like one of our night-walking fires devours more admiration, than the full Moon that fhines all night long.

Logick and Rhethorick, are two fuch neceffary and requifite parts in a Minifter, as without which, neither can the method of Scripture, nor the power of the arguments therein used, nor the clear interpretation of the words be given.

This teacheth the hearer and reader of the World, to put his ftrength to it, not to parrat the words of Scripture, but to study the fense thereof.

St. Origen faith,that as man,fo the whole Bible doth confift of a body and a foul, the body is the better, the fenfe is the foul of Scripture.

That is the fpirituall Manna that giveth ftrength to the weak, that is, the true Light that giveth understanding to the fimple.

Let not this difcourage any zealous Chriftian from exercifing himself in the reading and ftudy of holy Scripture: because we do confeffe, that the figurative forms used therein, do often make the Scripture obfcure.

For we do alfo affirme, that figures do fometimes give light to our apprehenfion,and make the mind of God better known to us: as when Chrift faith;

I am the good Shepheard: as David faid, The Lord is my my Shep heard: this doth make Chrift better known to us in his carefull protection of us, and his watchfull keeping, and his plentifull feeding, and fafe foulding of us, and in fuch like.

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Now, because the Church of Rome, hath taken advantage the obfcurity of the Scripture, to forbid the tranflation thereof, into the vernacle tongues of nations, and to prohibit lay

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