THAT which Tullie sometimes saide of Crantors booke de luctu: Est non magnus, In lucullo sive lib: 2: Acad: Quest. verùm aureolus libel­lus. The same may more cruely be spokē of this booke of the Psalmes, that it is but a smal volume, but in deed a golden booke, both for the stuffe and the matter thereof, as containing in it the true and vndoubted word of God which as the Psalmist saith is pure & to be desired super aurum obrizum even be­fore fine golde: Psal. 19:10: as also for the multiplicity of Argument, fitted to yeeld comfort & instructi­on to all estates of men in their severall occur­rences and distresses, and therein also is more cordiall & medicinable then the Paracelsians aurum potabile so much commended by Iohan­nes Franciscus Picus Mirandula. Lib. 1: de au [...]o ca. 4: Saint Basill in his preface to the first Psalme saith, that the [Page 2] whole body of y^e Scriptures inspired by God, was therfore purposely indighted by the holie Ghost, that every man might there finde a me­dicine and confection for his particular dis­ease, [...],Basil: in Psalme 1. as it were in a com­mō Apothecaries shoppe. The Prophets teach one thing the Historicall bookes another, the Law a third thing. [...], but the booke of the Psalmes, containeth whatsoe­ver is comprised in them all; for it prophesieth of things to come, it recordeth matter of story, it giveth lawes and precepts for the well or­dering of a mans life, in a word, saith hee, it is [...] a common storehouse and treasurie of all good learning. Out of this storehouse y^e Saints of God haue at al times furnished their spiritual wants, & out of this Chirurgions or Apothecaries shop, haue taken medicine for the comforte of their soules.Camerari­us in Cata­logo Epis­coporum: Babylas the good Bishop of Antioch when hee was drawne to his execution by the commandement of Numerianus, or as others say, of Decius the tyrant, repeated that saying out of the 116. Psalme Returne vnto thy rest o my soule for the Lord hath bin beneficiall vnto thee. In like manner the good Empe­rour Mauricius, Niceph. lib. 18: cap. 40: when he had beene inforced to behold the slaughter and butcherie of his wife [Page 3] and children, by the cōmandement of Phocas vsurper of the Empire, & himselfe lastly being drawne to the scaffold and to the blocke, quie­ted his soule with that godly confession out of the 119. Psal. I know o Lord that thy iudg­ments are right & that thou doest afflict me iustly. Finally the last words which our Sa­viour spake when he gave vp the ghost vpō the crosse, were those out of the 31. Psalm.Luk. 23:46. Father into thine hāds I cōmend my spirit. So that as Saint Basill truly saith, [...].Pacis ca­duceus, vt reddidit volater: A Psalme of David fit­ly and aptly applied, is as a faire calme and as an herauld or Embassadour of peace to a trou­bled soule.

The consideration hereof moved and endu­ced mee to make choice of this passadge of holy writt, as of a Scripture well befitting these times, in which the hand of God hath for a long time layen heavie vpon vs, in this his grievous visitation of our land by plague and pestilēce, which hath much wasted and dispeopled many of our cities and villadges abroad.The Divisi­on: The parts of the whole Psalme (as I conceive of it with­out any curious Analysis) I propose general­ly to bee two, first a praier consisting of two 1 branches to wit, a deprecation of the rigour of Gods punishing hand in the first verse wherin [Page 2] [...] [Page 3] [...] [Page 4] the Prophet beseecheth Almightie God not to exasperate his anger against him in furie and displeasure. Secondly an imploring of Gods helpe and assistance, that he be not overborne with the extremity of his sicknesse to murmur against God or to dispaire of his providence 2 in the two last verses. The secōd general part wherein the greatest parte of the Psalme is spent, is a vehement complainte of the grie­vousnesse of his sicknesse, from the second verse to the ende of the 20. amplified by many cir­cumstances, and interlaced with great variety of passion and affection; for first hee bewraieth his humane infirmity, whē being vnder Gods ferular & vnder the lash, hee doth that which is vnseemely & vncomely for a man to do, he cri­eth & roareth out vers. 8. & all along aggra­vateth the greatnes of his paine & punishment, though not through impaciencie, yet through an impotencie of mind, which hath likwise bin foūd in the rest of Gods Saints Iob, Ieremy, & the like.Iob: 3:3: Ier: 20:14: Secondly he sheweth his affiance & confident trust in God, notwithstanding the sharpnes of Gods correction laid vpon him; on thee o Lord do I wait vers. 15. as Iob likwise saith that although God should slay him yet he would trust in him. Iob: 13:15: In the third place hee ingenuously confesseth that y^e primitive & fū ­damētal [Page 5] cause of this his affection was his sin v. 3. there is no rest in my bones by reasō of my sin. Lastly the pain of his disease outward­lye in his bodye, was increased by the inward griefe of his hart, of w^t he setteth downe 2. ac­cessory causes; 1. the defectiō of his frinds who now stood aside from his plague & his kins­mē stood afar off v. 11. Secōdly y^e barbarous inhumanity of his enemies v. 12. who were so far frō cōdoling with him in this his adver­sity, as that they did rather reioice at it & insult over him, most iniuriously rendring him evil for good, & hating him, as the manner of such miscreants is, for no other cause, but because hee desired to live a godly life, and follovved goodnes as it is vers. 20.

The matter and subiect which at this time I purpose to insist on, omitting the rest, is the Nature and kind of our Prophets disease, to­gither w^t those two metaphorical Attributes by which it is described & deciphered vers. 2. where it is called the stroke of Gods hād & his arrow; Thine arrowes, ô God, have light vpō me, and thine hand lyeth vpon me.

What kind of disease it was, that our Pro­phet was sicke of, it is not here mentioned nor expressed, The Hebrewes suppose that it was an vlcer so vile and loathsome that y^e Prophet [Page 6] was abashed and in a manner ashamed to name it in this his holy Ditty and Spirituall song; this they gather, because hee vseth the Adiectiue [...] foule and abominable, but suppresseth the substantiue; some render it foe­ditate or re abominabili, my loynes are filled with filthy and abominable corruption. The circumstances and particularities laid downe in the text, shew it to haue beene some fowle pe­stilent and contagious botch or soare: the In­terpretours doe somewhat differ aboute the place where this disease made his issue. The word [...] is by some rendred Ilia, Bucerus in hunc locū: by others Lumbi or renes which our English translati­ons following say, my reines or loines are fil­led with a sore disease. If this interpretation be admitted and allowed of, then it seemeth to import, that his maladie was either the ach of the reines by a fit of the stone, or one of those pāgues which Tully calleth [...] difficultie of vrine,Lib: 7: Epist Fam: 26: and griping and wringing in the bowels and entrailes; For these are the passions which vsually fall into these partes. Which maladies though they bring with them a very sharpe & sensible pain, yet they proceeede not to that loathsomenesse, which here is mentioned, namely to putrifie corrupt and stincke, for so Austen readeth com­putruerunt [Page 7] & putuerunt livores mei.

Others who ghesse more properly and nee­rer to the disease,Calvinus & Bucerus. say that the word designeth a place beneath the reines, betweene the thigh and the belly or bowels, which is the flancke or groine, into which place the confluence of vicious corrupt and malignant humours doe most commonly betake themselues, as beeing one of Natures Emunctories, as Physitions speake, and a part fitly qualified and prepared for evacuation of impostumation & the course and fluxe of humours, by reason of the tender­nes & raritie of the skin and other passagdes as Galen hath obserued and deliuered vnto vs.Raritas & teneritas axillarū & inguinum. De Oculis particula 6. ca. 1. [...] Esay 1.6. Exod. 28.27 So that finding there residence, they do impo­stumate and push out into some blaine and vl­cer, such a one was this disease, for the worde which here is vsed, signifieth a collection of hu­mours impostumated, which Esay calleth a swelling soreful of corruption, and in Exodus is tearmed the botch of Egypt. Nicolaus Sel­neccerus discoursing of those passions & ma­ladies which growe and arise in membris ex­plantatis that is,In Physio­log fol. 597 in the out branches & limmes of the body, the armes, thighes, & leggs; among the rest he reckoneth the Carbuncle, which may not vnprobably bee coniectured to haue beene our Prophets disease, & that for these reasons [Page 8] 1 as I conceiue: First because it commonly a­riseth in the flancke or groine, which was the place and seate of our Prophets disease, as the learned in the Hebrew obserue out of the pro­priety 2 of the word, as before I shewed. Secōd­ly because the names of Carbūculus in Latin, & [...] in Greek, signifying a burning coal, describe an inflammation so sensibly grievous & painefull, as that it doeth vexe a man as if his flesh were seared and cauterized with a bur­ning coale: agreeing altogither with the word here vsed, [...] tor­rere com­burere. which comming frō a Radix which signifieth to burne, is rendred ardore or combu­stione, which the Geneva translation following saith, my reines are full of burning, according as in English we cal such soares boiles because they boile with the extreame heat of the bloud 3 and other inflamed feculent matter. Thirdly, because the Carbūcle is a very lothsome blain or sore, and as we commonly say of it, it is cou­sin germane to the boile of the Plague. I will not vtter it as my Authour describeth it be­cause it would be offensiue to the hearing.Vlcus cum [...]iustâ. Cer­taine it is that it is an vlcer very odious and loathsome, & in this respect also agreeth with the nature of our Prophets disease, which some call plagam contemptibilem, a botch or plague abhorred of all men, for his very friendes and [Page 9] kinsmen fled from him and stood a loofe off for feare of infection as it is not vnlikely. Say we then that it was this Carbuncle; or bee it ra­ther that it was that boile and blaine of which king Ezechias was sicke vnto the death, 2. Kings 26 Esay 38. which Diuines think to haue bin the very plague im­mediatly sent from God, neither arising from naturall causes, nor to bee cured by naturall & ordinary meanes. For so Iunius saith, morbi na­tura indomita erat à medijs naturalibus, Annot. in 2. Reg. 20. & there­fore God challendgeth the cure therof to him­selfe, saying, I haue healed thee. The applying of the lumpe of dry figs to his boile, Masculus thin­keth to haue bin vsed for a signe to confirme E­zechias his faith rather thē any ordinary cure.Calvin in Esay 38. Hug. Card. in 2. Reg. 20 Howbeit Calvin and Hugo Cardinalis say that Physitions now a daies doe apply the same to ripen the sore, and that it hath a naturall force to draw the corruption outward. Concerning our Prophets disease Bucer, Musculus and o­thers thinke it to haue beene the plague. And therevpon Masculus vpon this 2. verse, mo­ueth this question, whether it bee lawful to flie from them that are infected with the plague. Adde herevnto this reason, that seeing that the prophet confesseth this his sicknes to haue bin laid vpon him for his sins,In Argum in Psal. 38. which Iansenius col­lecteth to haue bin his crying sinnes of Adulte­rie [Page 10] and murther, it is not vnprobable, but that God for exemplary iustice, did afflict him with that disease which he threatneth against them that transgresse against his law, namely that he would smite them in the knees & in the thighes with a sore botch that shoulde not bee healed, Deut: 28:35 & 59 and with a plague of long continuance. All which very consonantly agreeth, to our Prophets disease, for the place which this malady affected was the thigh. Faemora mea occupat ardens vlcus saith Musculus, and it was a disease also of long cō ­tinuance vpon him, for in the next Psalme hee cōplaineth,Psal. 39.10. that he was almost cōsumed by means of Gods heavy hand and of his plague. This may further appear, by those sharpe accēts of griefe which he vttereth in his complaint. First he saith, there was no sounde part in all his flesh nor any rest in his bones, verse 3. as if the whole frame of his limmes inwardly had been lurate and disioin­ted, & as if outwardly by reason of the anguish of his vlcer, which now had made a rupture in his flesh, all his skin had bin blistred over. For when he saith, nihil est integri in carne meâ, hee alludeth to the name and nature of an vlcer, which comming from the Greeke word [...], and signifying in the primitiue to draw a sun­der, it importeth that an vlcer is a disioyning of the continued flesh or skin, as Frischlin vpon [Page 11] that verse of Triphiodore, Nicodem: Fris. Annot in Triphiod [...], that Aiax by stabbing of himselfe, brake open the chest and coffin of his body with a deepe gash and gaping wound, he saith that a wounde or vlcer is solutio continui, a breach of the whole skin: now both these his paines seem to be implyed togither in the 8. verse, where he saith, I am weakned and sore broken. Secondly he goeth crooked and bended togither, incurva­tus sum verse 6. his face is heauy, swarty, and discoloured; not with repining sullennes, but through his languishment, fainting, & wasting away through sicknesse. Adde heereunto that which followeth in the 10. verse, that his hart was overthrowne in his body, beating & pan­ting through the anguish of his malady, as if it had laboured and gasped for breath and life. His eies were sunke into his heade and waxen dim, and his sight failed him, and his strength was cleane decayed through feeblenesse, or as elsewhere he speaketh,Psal. 22.15. & 32:4: his strength was dryed vp like a potsheard, & his moisture was as the drought in Summer; Al which are the very Symptomata & Accidentes which vsually follow after any extremity of sicknes.

Thus haue I bin induced to cōiecture, that the disease here meant though not mentioned, was either the Carbuncle, or the very botch & [Page 12] boile of the plague, not so much because it is expresly called the plague, verse 17. in our vul­gar English, I truely am set in the plague; & yet more plainely, Psal. 39.10. Take thy plague a way from mee, &c. for the worde which is there rendred a plague, [...] pla­ga, verber signifieth a stripe, or scourge; as elsewhere in Scripture, diseases are called scourges, as in the story of the woman that had her issue of bloud dryed vp & healed by Christ, it is saide, that shee felt in her body, that shee was healed [...], of that scourge or of that plague, Mark. 5.29. Luke. 7.21. as our English hath it. And in S. Luke it is said, that Christ cured many [...], of their sicknesses and plagues. But I rather suppose it to haue bin the plague for the reasons before alleadged.

The vse of this point, is to teach and to les­sen vs,The vse of the 1. part. to vnderstand the right vse and ende of this and all other afflictions wherewith God doth exercise his children; to wit, that howsoe­ver they be inflicted vpon all, as punishmentes for sin, and to the wicked & vngodly which re­maine incorrigible, are testimonies of Gods vengeance to consume them; yet to the godly, they are his fatherly chastisements & correc­tions, for their amendment. And whē we shal see the hand of God, to lie heavy vpon his dea­rest children, [...]. Sam: 23:1 as here it doth vpon David, that [Page 13] sweete finger of Israell, Act: 13:22: & the man after Gods owne heart, as that it brake & bruised his body, with a cōtusion of his limmes; yea and vpon his on­ly sonne too, our Savior Christ, whō he cast in­to an agony and fit of sorrowe so extreame and vehement, as that he sweat drops of bloud therat; Luke 22:44 Let this be our comfort in the day of our afflic­tion, and in the depth of our sorrows, that how soeuer Gods hand seeme to presse vs sore, yet he will not cast vs away in displeasure, as hee doth the vessels of wrath, but euen then when he punisheth, he will remember mercy.Psal: 32:11: Greate plagues indeed are ordained and reserved in store for the vngodly, but whosoever putteth his trust in the Lord, mercy embraceth him on every side. And therefore though God doe differre our delive­rance, yet we must not suffer our selues to bee cast downe with too great consternation, as to be swallowed vp of impatiency or despaire, but patiently to tarry the Lords leasure, as heere our David doth, who beeing likely in this his extreame sicknes to rot away peece-meale, is not discouraged or discomforted, nor mooved for his recovery either to put confidence, or re­lie his hope vpon Physitions,2. Chro. 16.12. as did Asa in his sicknes; or to repaire to Idols & Witches, as did king Ahaziah; but as himselfe speaketh verse 15. Hee waiteth on God; 2. King. 1.16 knowing that to [Page 14] bee true which Hosea hath, that it is God that woundeth, and healeth againe; Hosea 6:1: & this is his rest, vna eadem (que) manus vulnus opem (que) feret. Popilius Laenas beeing sent embassadour to Antiochus, Veleius Pa­terculus l: 1: from young Ptolemie whom he had besiedged, & hauing deliuered his messadge, expected the kings answere, which he deferring to doe, cir­cūscripsit virgula, he drew a circle in the groūd round about the king with his wand, adiuring him, to giue him answer before he went out of the circle; we must not so capitulate with God; nor article with him vpon conditions, as did the men of Bethulia, to yeelde vp their citty to the Assyrians if God did not deliver them with in fiue daies; but let vs waite for deliverance frō him, Iudith: 8: as Iudith there adviseth her people, and not binde the counsels of the Lord, for he hath power to saue vs when he well, And this pacient attendāce on Gods wil and pleasure, is an excellent fruit & effect of faith, according to that of Esay, Quo credit non praefestinabit, Cap: 28:16: hee that beleeueth with a true faith, will not bee ouerhasty with God, but will patiently waite his Lords leasure.

Having thus laid downe our Prophets dis­ease, and proved by all likelihood, that it was the botch of the plague, or some other pestilen­tiall disease. I come nowe to the handling of this 2. verse; wherein hee calleth his Vlcers [Page 15] Gods arrowes, & the stroke of his hand. And because it is the hand of God that shooteth and scattereth these arrowes abroad, I wil (some­what inverting the order intreate first of the hand of God:

Heere then it is to bee considered, that the Phrase heere vsed of the hand of God, cannot be vnderstood literally and in a true propriety of speech. For that were with the Anthropo­morphites to conceiue God to be as man, and to haue the bodily parts of a man, and who so shall thinke these things truely to bee in God, proculdubiò in corde suo idôla fabricat, doubtles,Tom. 4: lib. de mēbris Dei: saith Ierome, he maketh an Idol of God in his hart. But the Scripture, when it doth attri­bute vnto God, Anger and Displeasure, as in the 1. verse of this Psal. though not as passi­ons, seing that he is impassible as Saint, Am­brose speaketh vpon this psalme, according to that of Lucretius, nec Deus affectu capitur, nec tangitur irâ. And when it doth give eies, and hands, and fingers, and feete vnto God, it doth it by a metaphore and Anthropopathie [...],Basil: in Ps: 38. speaking vnto vs saith Basill, after the manner of men, and stooping and descending to the quality and ca­pacity of the hearers. God, saith Bernard, Serm: 4, in Cantic. hath a mouth, by which he teacheth man Wisdome, [Page 16] he hath an hand, Serm. 4. in Cantic. by which he giveth food vnto all flesh, and he hath feete, by which he treadeth vpon this earth as vpon his footestoole; And how hath he all these per effectum, saith Ber­nard, non per naturam: he hath them not by na­ture Organically, as men haue; but he is saide to haue them, for that variety of effects, which he bringeth forth in the course of nature, and in the policie and governance of mankind vpō earth.

But because this metaphore is taken from man, to whom the vse of the hand is chiefly gi­ven in token of his perfection; let vs somewhat examine the reason hereof, and see by what A­nalogie and proportiō, the Scripture doth at­tribute an hand vnto God.

Lib. de Frater amore. Anaxagoras, as Plutarch telleth vs, saide that the hand in man is the cause of wisedome and knowledge, because that by the vse of the hand, a man can draw letters and characters; hee can describe Geometricall figures & Dia­grammes, by meanes whereof we attaine the knowledge of Sciences. And not so onely, but by expressing of signes, a man is able to speak with his hand if neede be,Act. 21.40. Pers. Saty. 4. as Paule by becke­ning with his hand procured silence and au­dience among the people, maiestate manus, as the Poet saith. Adde heerevnto the wonderful [Page 17] skill of cunning artisans and handicrafts men in their curious workmanshippe, in such sort, that a man would thinke (as the Italians say of the Duch-men) that their wittes dwell in their fingars ends.j Tedesch hanno L'ingegno nelli n [...]ani So that it is not without good cause that Anaxagoras said, that man for having the vse of his hands, was [...], y^e wisest of al creatures. For howsoever some brute beastes, may seeme to participate with man in the vse of reason, yet they want speech, which is reasons broker and interpre­ter, as Democritus saide, [...] Epist. ad Hipp [...]cra­tem de na­tura Hum [...]. and the hand also w^t is reasons factour and agent. For although apes, and marmosites, & Babons, haue hands, by which as in other parts & lineaments they haue some resemblāce to a man; yet they haue them after a more rude and vnfashionable fea­ture, as being rather made for feete, then for hands; in regard whereof the Poet saith,Ovid. lib: 12 M [...]ta: De Divin. lib. 2: Dis­similes possunt homine similes (que) videri. Tullie out of Ennius Simia quam similis turpissima bestia nobis; How like are these Anticks & base crea­tures to vs men in body; and yet how vnlike in the comely and exact vse of the partes of their bodies. Wherefore Aristotle, correcting as it were the saying of Anaxagoras, affirmeth that a man is not therefore to be accounted the wi­sest because he hath hands, but therefore hee [Page 18] hath hands, because he is the wisest; in asmuch as the wiser a mā is, the more instrumēts doth he require for his vse, and the better can he vse them. Hence then appeareth the reason of this Metophore,Rom. 16.27 that seing that God is only wise, as the Apostle speaketh, he is imagined to vse these parts, (though not materially, but by way of proportion) which man vseth to shewe forth his wisedome, to wit the hands, and hēce it is, that the Psalmist saith, that the firmamēt sheweth Gods handy worke; Psal. 19.1. not onely for the curious workmanshippe, in regard whereof Gods hands may be called, as Homer called Iupiters handes, [...]. [...]; handes whose praise cannot sufficiently be spoken; but also for the orderly and powerful governing of the same,Spōdanus fol. 24. in which respect they may be called, as some reade that place, [...], hands in­accessible & vnresistable for strength; [...], all the Gods in heaven cannot ward a blow of that hand. The hand of God thē ordinarily in Scripture, sig­nifieth his power,Lib. de. memb. Dei. and so saith Ierome in the place before mentioned; But Saint Bernard more pertinently to our purpose saith, y^e God hath two hands; the one is called Latitudo, quâ tribuit affluenter; Ser. 8. in Cantic. this is the hand of his boū ­ty by which he bestoweth his larges, & giveth [Page 19] guiftes vnto men. The other is his hand For­titudo, quâ defendit potenter, this is the hand of his power, stretched out over all his creatures to protect them & defend them; and not so only, but to punish them also when they shall offend him; and so saith Saint Ierome, Ibid. manus Deo flagellum, the hand of God sometime signifi­eth a whip or scourge; with the one hand,Deut. 11.29 God seemeth (as standing vppon mount Ger [...]z [...]m) to deale abroade his blessings;Iliad. 24. & like Homers Iupiter, out of one of those tunnes, and greate vessels which stand in the entrance of his pal­lace, he setteth abroach his favours vnto men; with the other, as standing vpon mount E­bal, he scattereth his cursings; & as out of the other tunne he drentcheth mē with afliction, & giveth them plenty of teares to drinke, Psal. 80.5. as the Psalmist saith.

Now David had very comfortable expe­rience of both these handes of God, For with his hand Latitudo, the hand of his Bounty; hee had givē him a kingdome, and set a Diademe and a crowne of pure golde vppon his head, he had given him pro pedo sceptrum a scepter for a sheepe-hooke,Psal. 78.71. taking him from following the ewes great with yonge, to make him a ruler over his people: with his hand Fortitudo, God had as mightely defended him; Saule had pur­sued [Page 20] him & hunted him as a man would hunt a Partridge in the mountaines, 1. Sam. 26.20. as himselfe complaineth; and had brought him into those wonderfull straites, that he telleth Ionathan in the bitternes of his Soule, that verely there was but a steppe betweene him and death; 1. Sam. 20.3. yet God had alwaies broken the snare of the fowler, and had wrought his deliverance mi­raculously. But now this hand of God for his sinnes was turned against him; Sicknes by a loathsome and contagious disease; Discom­forte for the losse of his friends, and griefe of hearte because of the malicious hatred of his enemies; these were now become his porti­on, this was the handsell that GOD had given him.

By the hand of God then in this place, I vnderstand,In Psal. 38. with Saint Ambrose, virtutem puniēdi, his vnresistable power, in punishing, by which he keepeth corrections, as it were a­mong kinges themselues, who are as Gods among men, Haec manus Dei regem Aegyptia­rum flageslauit, this is that hand of God, saith Ambrose, Gen. 20. which scourged Abimelech kinge of Aegypt, or of Gerar, and al his people with a sore disease, because of Sarah Abrahās wife: This is the hand, that punished king pharaoh, with those manifold plagues mentioned in the [Page 21] booke of Exodus & this is that hand, which heere punished David, with this disease in his body & in his person. I know that Saint Basil, expoundeth it otherwise, vnderstāding it thus, that the hande of GOD was heavie vppon David, not as vppon his person, but vppon his house and vppon his familie, [...], it had shaken his house from the very foundation, by the manifold dis­orders of his children, first by Ammons incest with his sister Thamar, 2. Sam. 13.14. vers. 28. then by Absoloms kil­ling of him for the same; Afterwards by Ab­soloms defiling of his fathers concubines, and his ambitious aspiring to the Crowne; And after that againe, by Adoniiahs vsurping of the kingdome. But it appeareth al along,2. Sam. 16:21. 1. King. 1.5: both by this exposition, & by that other also, where hee calleth GODS arrowes, nothing else but Gods commination & threatnings, with the terrour whereof, Davids Soule and con­science was wounded, that Basill had a morall and Allegorical conceite of the whole Psalm; The best of our late and moderne writers, vn­derstand it of a disease inflicted vppon David in his persō, w^t the Prophet calleth Gods hād, Bucer. Musc: as deriving it from the principall efficient cause of all our misery and affliction as for example; Overthrow in battaile, is Gods hādy 1 [Page 22] worke; when Israell forsooke God and serued Baal & Astaroth, Iudg. 2:5. it is saide that whither soeuer they went, the hande of the Lorde was sore a­gainst them, and still deliuered them into the hands of their enemies.Psal. 127.3. Children and the fruite 2 of the wombe, as they are a blessing that commeth from the Lord, as the Psalmist speaketh; so on the contrary, orbitas liberorum, losse of children and barrennes of the wombe, are the stroke of Gods hand. Naomi bewailing the death of her two sonnes the husbandes of Ruth and Orpah, and considering that God had shut vp her womb and that it ceased to be with her after the manner of womē, Ruth. 1.13. so that shee was without further hope of hauing any more children, shee said, it grie­veth me my daughters for your sakes, that the hād 3 of the Lord is gone out against me. Blindnesse is likewise the stroke of Gods hand; when Elymas the sorcerer was stroken blinde, Paule telleth him,Act. 13.11. y^t it was the hand of God, behold the hande 4 of the Lord is vpon thee, thou shalt bee blinde and shalt not see the sunne for a season, Sicknesse and Diseases are the hand of God. For when the Philistines were smitten with Emeroides, it is there said as here David speaketh, that the hād of the Lord was heavy vpon them. 1. Sam. 5.6.

The vse of the 2. part.The Doctrines which hence arise for our instructions are these. First in that hee saith, [Page 23] thine hand lyeth heauy vpon me,Victori: Strigel. in hunc locū. it is very em­phatical, it is as if he had said, I do not fear the hand of the Assyrians or the Philistines, or any of the inhabitants of Palestina. for against them I could oppose mine own hand, by which I haue gotten many notable victories ouer them, I could fortifie my selfe with strong munition, of warre, I coulde muster and prease forth many thousandes of those strong men of Israell, that draw swords; I haue many worthies, valiant men, who for my sake will carry their liues in their hands, and will defie mine enemies, and smite them till their hand cleaue to the sword, as did Eleazer the son of Dodo; 2 Sam. 23: [...]0. but all this wil not now serue the turne, it wil nothing availe; for it is thy hand O God, that presseth & pur­sueth me. Againe; the chardge and weight of a mans blow, is but weak, according to the force and pulse of his arme, as the two princes of the Midianites Zeba and Zalmana said to Gedeon, when he bid his sonne Iether to try his arme & the dint of his sword vpon them; No said they; Arise thou and fall vpon vs, for as the man is so is his strength. Iudg 8.21. But the hand of God it falleth not lightly where it lighteth; but with an heavy loade, and it breaketh and bruiseth; what­soeuer maketh resistaunce against it, as be­fore I told you out of Homer, that all the gods [Page 24] could not ward a blow of Iupiters hand. This is the hand that now combatted David, against which he fenceth himselfe, not with shielde or target, but with his praiers and teares, teach­ing vs thereby, to be carefull that we do not by our prouocatiōs cause God to lift vp his hand against vs,Psal. 39.10. least we be cōsumed by the stroke ther­of, as our Prophet speaketh; and when at any time he is incensed against vs, that with Da­vid we seeke to pacifie him by our humble con­version. For howsoeuer David chose to fall in­to the handes of God,2. Sam. 23.14. because his mercies are great; yet whē his wrath is kindled though but a little, so that hee lay aside his golden scepter of mercy, and take his crushing rod of yron into his hand, then as the Apostle speaketh horren­dum est, Heb. 10.31. it is a fearefull thing to fall into the handi of the living God. And if hee thus ware fierce a­gainst them of his owne family, and begin cor­rection & iudgement at his owne house, as heere he doth with David, [...]. Pet 4.17. What will be the end of thē, which obey not the Gospell: and if this be done in virente ligno, in the greene timber, as S. Luke speaketh,Luke 23.31 quid fiet in arido? What will become of the dry woode? But that it should bee meate for the fire, Esay 9.19. & fewel for the fornace of his wrath.

Secondly, in that he saith, that his sicknesse was Gods hand lying vpō him, it teacheth vs, [Page 25] that affliction and calamity come not vpon vs by chance or fortune, but by the hande of Gods prouidence. Which while men ignorant of the true God considered not, they framed to them­selues a new goddesse of casuall events, For­tune, te facimus Fortuna Deam. Iuve. Sat. 14. 1. Sam. 6.9. The South­sayers tell the Eckronites & the men of Ashdod, that if the Arke which they sent home vpon a new cart, drawne with two milch kine, tooke vp the way to its owne coast to Bethshemesh, that then surely it was God that had done thē that euill; if not, then shall we know, say they, that it was not his hand that smote vs, but that it was a chance that happened vnto vs. No no, things come not to passe by chance; David in the true search and surveigh of his sicknes, findeth that it is God hande and his arrowe that had wounded him, as Iob likewise saith, manus domini [...]tigit me, Cap. 19.21 Iob. 2.7. and yet it is said in the second Chapter, that it was Sathan that had smitten him with boiles, but the holy man knewe that the Deuil and wicked men who are his instru­mēts, are Gods agents; as David likewise re­plyed not against the reproaches of his revi­ling enemies, because it was Gods doing. Psal. 39.9. But of this more heereafter; The godly then wisely consider, that whatsoeuer misery befalleth thē in this life, it is al Gods doing; There is no evil [Page 26] of affliction in the citty, which the Lord hath not done, saith the Prophet Amos. I forme the light and create darknes, Amos 3.6. Esay 45.7. I make peace and create evill, I the Lord do all these things, saieth God by his Prophet Esay. Amos in his fourth chapter, gi­ueth instance of the particulars, where God telleth y^e house of Israel. I haue givē you clean­nesse of teeth in all your citties, and skarcenes of bread in all your places. Amos 4.6. I haue withholdē the raine from you whē there were yet three moneths to the harvest. I haue smitten you with blasting and mil­dew. Pestilence haue I sent amonge you after the manner of Egypt, yet haue you not returned vnto me saith the Lord: The certainety of this Doc­trine, teacheth the godly when they are exerci­sed with any crosse of affliction, to looke vp to the hand that smiteth them; and as David as­ked the woman of Tekoah, 2. Sam. 14.19 whether the hand of Ioab were not with her in her plot and devise; so they examine, whether the hand of God bee not with the wicked, in those thinges which they attempt and practise against them, or in any other calamity whatsoeuer else commeth vpon them.

It is apparent by the whole course of the Story, that Iosephs brethrē had sold him to the Ishmeelits, for hatred and of enuy, and that the Medianites or Ishmeelits to make their gaine, [Page 27] had sold him againe at the second hand to Poti­phar king Pharaohs chiefe, stewarde, to bee a slaue and bondman as it is in the Psalme:Psa. 105.17 But Ioseph he espied Gods hand working in that ac­tion, and he telleth his brethren,Gen. 50.20 that when they thought and intended evil against him, God dispo­sed it to good; for God saith hee, sent me into Egypt before hand for your preservation. But the exam­ple of our Savior Christ, Gen, 45.5. is very excellēt to this purpose. See what a rabble of miscreants cō ­bined and cōfederated themselues togither, to worke the destruction of that innocent lambe of God; and every one of them proposed to him selfe a particular end of his doing. Sathan the chiefe Agent, he saw that his kingdome coulde not stand, if Christs kingdome were erected, and therfore he beginneth to plaie the pioner; but yet he would not openly shew himselfe in the Action, (which is the manner of the great Politicians of our age) but he suborneth ano­ther to play the traitour, Iudas one of Christes owne followers, and he put into the hearte of Iudas to betray Christ, saith Saint Iohn. Ioh. 13.8: Iudas then hauing through the throate of covetous­nes, which inlardgeth it selfe as wide as hell, swallowed downe the Diuell and all togither with the sop, as it followeth in the chapter, hee commeth to the Priests to proffer his seruice, [Page 28] perfidiously to betray his Lord & Master, say­ing, Quid dabitis? what wil you giue me? Here is his end; for thirty pence he will sell him that was worth all the world beside, for he was the Ransome of the whole world. The Priests wil­lingly condescend therevnto, mooued through an ambitious desire of vpholding and maine­tayning their estates and dignities, against the proceedings of so base an vpstart, as Christ see­med to be,Ioh: 11.47. & 48:49. marke their speeches; What perceiue you not that wee pervaile nothing, beholde all the world goeth after him, and if we let him thus alone all men vvill beleeue to him, and the Romaines wil come and take away both our place and the na­tion. And thervpon they trudge to Pilate, who makes vp the match. And the end which he proposed to himselfe, was the retaining of Caesars fauour, least he shoold haue bin stript out of all his offices & prefermēts; for y^e Priests had told him that if he did deliuer Christ,Ioh. 19:12. Luke 23.23 he was not Ca­sars friend, & therfore their instant & clamarous voices prevailed against him, as S. Luke testifi­eth; insomuch y^t through pusistanimity of mind not fit to be foūd in a iudge, cōtrary to his own knowledge,Luke 23.22 for he foūd no fault in him worthie of death, against his own cōscience, against the admonitiō sent vnto him frō his wife, who willed him to haue nothing to doe with that Iust man, Math. 27.19 for [Page 29] she had suffered many things that day in a dreame by reason of him; yet he, notwithstāding all this, causlesly & without any suspiciō of crime, con­dēned to death the Lord of life. Here is now the Gordian knot of the very powers of darkenesse made fast. But what; had God forgottē or for­sakē his beloued sōne al this while? no, y^e scrip­ture doth not dissēble it, but y^t the hand of God was mainly in this whole actiō, & wrought w^t every particular agēt, though not in every one; according to that of the Schoolemen,Beza quaest. fol. 91. Deus a­git quidē in bonis, & per bonos, per males verò tan­tùm agit, sed nō in malis, see thē how the Scrip­ture doth determin of it; doubtles say the Apo­stles, Peter & Iohn, doubtles both Herode, Act. 4.27. & Pō ­tius Pilate, with the Gētiles & the people of Israel gathered themselues togither, to doe vvhatsoever thine hand & thy counsel, O God, had determined before to bee done. The place is very pregnāt to the purpose which we haue in hand, namely to shew, y^t whatsoeuer afflictiō befalleth vs, it cō ­meth not to passe by chāce, but by Gods provi­dēce, & as we cōmōly say, Gods bād hath a stroke in it. Therfore in al our miseries we may truly say, as David here doth, that it is the hand of God that presseth vs. Let vs not behaue our selues frowardly in this day of our visitatiō, by mur­muring against God for afflicting vs in this measure, [Page 30] or in this kinde of punishmente by plague and Pestilence, like curst Dogs which bite at the chaines wherewith they be tyed. But let vs learne with David, to humble our selues vnder the mightie hand of God, [...] Pet. 5.6. as Saint Peter exhor­teth; the way to avoide the weight of his blow, is to yeeld vnder it, for it breaketh & bruiseth whatsoeuer maketh resistance against it. And seeing that it is vndoubtedly Gods hande that smiteth vs, let vs cōstrue it to be for our good, namely that God in seeking to reclaime vs frō those by-paths of sin, into which we haue strai­ed, he sheweth that he hath a care of vs as of his children, as of those who are not yet past hope of recovery.Magna est ira quando Deus non i­rascitur. August. Desperat is the case of those, who neuer feele any touch of Gods hande, nor of his displeasure; and it is a signe of his greatest an­ger, when he doth not shew himselfe to bee an­gry with vs at all.

3 Having thus discoursed of the hād of God, I will now proceede to this other metaphore here vsed, where the Prophet calleth his Vl­cers and soares, Gods arrowes. Thine arrows ô God sticke fast in me. The Lord, saith Mo­ses, is a mā of warre. Exod. 15.3. The Scripture elswhere describeth his furniture and his armour; For his armour of defence he is said in Esay, Esay. 59.17. to put on Righteousnes as an habergeon, and the [Page 31] helmet of Salvation vppon his head; & with these he defendeth this church: For his wea­pons of offence,Ibid. he putteth on the garments of vengeance for cloathing, and is clad with zeale as with a cloake. And in the Psalmes, he is said to girde his sword vpon his thigh & to whette it, Psal. 7.12: & 4 [...]. to bend his bow and to prepare his deadly arrowes. Neither is God a cōmon souldier vnder pay, gregarius miles, but hee is the Lord high Marshall and great commāder of all the forces and armies in the world, and therefore is very truly called y^e Lord of hostes he hath in heaven a band of ten thousand thou­sands of Angels,Esay. 1.24. which are his swift archers and his winged posts,Dan. 7.1.10. and these stand before him to attend his command. Who are proper­ly called the host of heaven, 1. King. 22.19. Iob. 26.3. and in Iob Gods armies; and are by him appointed to incampe and to pitch their tents about his Saints: as the Psalmist speaketh. He hath also a Legion of wicked and vncleane Spirits,Psal. 34.7. 1. Cor. 10.10. destroying Angels, as the Apostle calleth them, and these haue a leader and commander whose conduct they follow, whose name in Hebrew is Abad­don, & in Greeke [...], that is, a destroier,Apoc. 9.11. 2: Sam: 23: these are mightier then the Worthies of Da­vid so much famoused and commēded,2. King. 12. for one of them in one night space slewe an hundred [Page 32] fowrescore and five thousands in Sennacha­ribs host. God hath his host and armie in the orbes and Arches of heaven,Iudg. 5:20: for the starres in their courses fought against Sisera. Hee hath his garrisons in the lower Elementarie regi­ons;Psal. 135.7 Psal. 147.16. thence he bringeth his swift winds as out of a treasurie, giveth snowe like wooll; and scattereth his yce like morsels; Thence he smiteth the corn with blastings, and mildewes; Thence he de­stroied the Aegyptians vines and mulberie trees with the frost, Psal. 78:47.48. and their flockes with hotte thun­derboltes; Thence he slewe the Amorites with prodigious hailstones; Iosua. 10.11. And thence wil he shoote his irefull arrowes against the wicked; & vvill raine vpon their snares, Psal. 11.6. fire and brimstone, storme and tempest, this shall be the portion of their cuppe. Nay out of the least and the lowest and most contemptible creatures: God mustereth foorth an army to destroy mighty natiōs:Exod. 8. Frogges, flies and lice, the Catterpiller, and the palmer worme, are sent out against Aegypt; and God seemeth to bragge of them in the 2. of Ioell, Ioel. 2.25. calling thē his great best. Against those seaven mighty na­tions the inhabitants of Canaan, God sent an armie of Hornets to destroe them.Iosua. 24.12. Against the house of David. God saith that hee will hisse for the flie of Aegypt, & the bee of the land of Ashur, as it is in Esay;Esay. 1.18. but by these are properlye vn­derstood [Page 33] the armies of the Aegyptians, and the Assyrians. Nay a man findeth an host of ene­mies amongst them of his owne house, Math. 10.36. as our Sa­viour speaketh in another sence; for evē in this house of clare which we carrie about with vs,Iob. 4.19. & in this body of ours, the very humours yeelde matter and occasion of sundry strange and in­curable diseases, as punishments for our offen­ces, for since the time that man first fell awaye from God his Creator by sinful transgression, Maecies & nova febrium terris incubuit cohors; Horat. lib. 1. odo 2. as the Poet speaketh, hee still hath bin and yet is assaulted, with a new armie of burning Fe­vers and pestilēt Agues, with botches, blaines, and soares, & other maladies, which the Pro­phet vers. 5. calleth the stripes of Gods rod, vi­bîces meae computruerunt, and in this place hee calleth them the stroke of Gods sharpe & woū ­ning arrowes, Sagettae tuae in me descenderunt, Thine arrowes, ô God, sticke fast in mee.

The Metaphore of a sword, a bowe, and ar­rowes, attributed to God, seemeth to be bor­rowed from the custome of the Easterne and Southerne nations, whose armour in battaile were the bow to wound a farre off, & y^e sworde to be vsed in close fight. Thus the Black-more and the Lybian, are saide to beare shields, and the Lydians to handle and bend the bowe. Ier, 46, 9. [Page 34] Now God this great and terrible archer, hath his quiver fraught w^t divers kinds of arrows. 1 First, the Prophet and the Preacher who by denouncing Gods iudgments against sinne, la­boureth & indeavoureth to make a breach into the consciences of vngodly men, hee is one of 2 Gods arrowes. Such a one was Moses; and such a one was Saint Peter, Moses in quo locu­tus est deus dei est sa­gitta. Ori­gen in. Ps. 36 Hom 3: Act: 2:37. Esay: 49. at whose preach­ing it is said y^t the hearers [...] were pricked in heart. according whervnto y^e Prophet Esay saith of himself, that God had made him a chosen shafte, and had hid him in his quiver; Some read, posuit me sagittā mū ­dā, a cleane, a smooth & a bright arrow, to teach vs, that a Minister in his iudgment and Opi­nions, should indeavour to be free from errour and falshood, And that his reprehensions also, should not be cankered with the rust of Affec­tion, of hatred or malice, or the like; but that he should speake saith Oecolampadius,Ioh. OEco­lampad: in 49: Esay:Eloquia Dei, the true, pure and sincere worde of God, which is as silver, that hath bin tried, purified, 2 and refined in the fier: Secondly the tongues of malicious and vngodly men, are after a sort Gods arrowes; whence it is, that Iob calleth the wicked,Iob: 16:13: Ier 8 3: Psal: 11:2: Gods archers. There is a genera­tion, saith Ieremie, who bende their tongues like bowes, and these are they, of whome the [Page 35] Psalmist saith, that they shoote out their ar­rowes, even bitter words, against thē which are true of heart. Which Origen thus expoū ­deth,Origen: Ibid: that their Quiver, is the heart, their ar­rowes are the Counsels and intentions of the heart, their bowes, are their tongues & lippes; by which they cast foorth their virulencie, to wound the good name of their brethren. Agre­able heerevnto, is that spoken of Ioseph, that the Archers grieved him and shotte against him, but his bowe abode strong, Gen: 49:23 & the hāds of his armes were strēgthened by the migh­ty God of Iacob, Hom. 66: in Gen: which Chrysostome vnder­standeth of his brethrens conspiracy against him, and accusing him with ioynt consent vn­to their father, but God defeated their practi­ses. Thirdly the Devill and those whom he re­taineth 3 in vassaladge to his service, they are Gods rod, his sworde, and his arrowe. Thus Ashur or Nebuchadnezzar, Esay: [...]0.5: Ier: 50.23: Vide Petrū Mesiam var: lect: part 1: cap: 32: is called the rod of Gods wrath, and his hammer, as Tamber­lan and Totilas called thēselues Flagella Dei Gods scourges. In the 17. Psalme vers. 13. y^e wicked are called Gods sword; Deliver my soule from the vngodly which is a sword of thine. So when God cast vpon the Aegyptiās the furiousnes of his wrath, by stormes and tempest of hailestones, thunder, and lightning, [Page 36] which Psal. 18.14. and Psal. 144.6. are called Gods arrowes) and by giving their lives over to the pestilence, which in this place is called Gods arrowe; it is expresly said Psal. 78. that he sent evill Angels amongst thē. And here­vnto agreeth Saint Ambrose; Cum Diabolus vulnerat,Psal. 78.49. Ambros. in hunc lo cū:Domini sunt sagittae, qui vulnerandi po­testatem dedit; when the Devill doth wounde any man either by himselfe or by his instru­ments and ministers, they are Gods arrowes that wound, because it is God, that giveth thē power, and ability to hurte. Fourthly those great and famous worthies of olde, and in for­mer adges, whom God vsed as Instruments, to bring his purposes to passe, and to subdue kingdomes & countries; they were his strong, his swift, and victorious arrowes, Thus God calleth Cyrus and Darius, Esay. 13.3. & 5. his Sanctified ones, and his mighty gyants, and [...], the vessells or the weapons of his wrath, as our English hath it. Of Cyrus, whose right hande God had holden vp to subdue nations be­fore him, Esay. 45.1. [...]. he speaketh thus; I will weaken the loynes of kinges, and open the dores before him; I will breake the brasen gates and burst the yron barres, and giue him the treasures of darknes, & the things hid in secret places, & yet Cyrus knew not all this while, y^t he was [Page 37] Gods sanctified champion nor his weapon or arrowe, and therefore God saith to him,Vers. 5. I gir­ded thee, though thou hast not knowne me. Alexander the Great, was another of these arrowes, who beeing shotte off with great strength, flewe without resistance a conque­rer of the worlde; subduing kingdomes, faster then a man could pace them over; and there­fore Daniel cōpareth him to a Leopard, which had fower winges vpon his backe. Dan. 7.6. Iulius Cae­sar, was another of Gods arrowes, hee won­dreth himselfe at his owne successe; veni, vidi, Sueton in Iul. num: 37: more sul­minis venit percussit, abscessit. Florus. lib. 4. cap. 2. Lucan: l: 1 [...] 2. King. 9:20: vici, and as another saith of him Omnia ei prova; all the worlde lay coutched before him at his feete. Lucan doth fully expresse and inter­pret my meaning when he saith of him that he was Ductor Impigor, & torto Balearis ver­bere funda ocyor, & missâ Parthi post terga sagittâ, Hee was a leader and commaunder suddeine in his expedition, hee Marched fu­riously like Iehu, and swifte as a Parthian arrowe.

These were indeed Gods principall & cho­sen shaftes. Hee hath yet other arrowes prepa­red for destruction. Thunder and lighte­ning, are called GODS arrowes; Ps. 18.15. with these arrowes GOD scattered and discom­fited the Philistims, at the praier and petitiō [Page 38] of Samuel. 1 Sam: 7:10 Out of his bow in the clowd, he shot a­gainst the old world, raine and waters, that all flesh perished that moved vpon the earth. Zanch. de Operib. Creat. l: 3: c. 3: de Iride, 9 Thes: 3: Lamen. 4.6 Against Sodome, he shot arrowes feathered with fire, & it was destroied as in a moment, and none pitched campes against her, as Ieremie speaketh; Al these arrowes he shooteth, and yet his quiver is not emptyed, nor spent, I haue yet other arrowes to speak of Zosimus telleth vs, that in that bat­taile that was fought betweene Constantius & Magnentius neere vnto the city Mursa, Lib. 2. in fine there was one Menelaus Colonell of the band of the Armenian archers, in Constantius his army, a bow-man so skilful and cunning, that he could, [...], at one loose, shoote of three arrowes at once, not as against one man, but he woulde be sure [...], to stick his shaftes, in three men at once. Almighty God, when beeing provoked to anger, hee commeth forth to battaile against sinfull men; he draw­eth out of his quiver his three arrowes, which are his deadly weapons; like Philoctetes arrows, in Sophocles; In Philo­ctete. [...], the messengers and fore-runners of death, Et habent sunt arun­dine plumbum; they are stemd and headed with heavy vengeance, and feathered with swift de­struction.

The first of these arrowes; is his Arrowe of [Page 39] Famine. This is the arrow which hee threat­neth against his rebellious people, when hee saith; I will send vpon them the evil arrowes of Famine, which shall be for their destruction,Ezech: 5:16 & I wil breake their staffe of bread. The second, is the Arrow of battaile, for this is also levelled & directed by him. Michaiah told Ahab, 1: King: 22:34: that if he went to battaile against the king of Arā, he should not returne in peace; the euent proued the prediction true, for a certain man drew a bow ignorātly, or in his simplicity, or as Ierome rea­deth; in incertū sagittā dirigens, casu percussit re­gem, he shot at a venture, and he hit the king by chance; but it was not vy chance, for God so di­rected the arrow, that it smote the K of Israell, betweene the ioints of his brigandine, & hee dyed at euē. Iehoram had receiued woūds in the bat­taile,2: King: 9:15 which he fought in Ramoth Gilead against Hazael K. of Arā, but hee was in way of reco­very, & to be cured of those woūds; afterwards when Iehu was annointed K. ouer Israel, & ap­pointed to smite the house of Ahab, God direc­ted his hand in the battaile, & he tooke a bow, & smote Iehorā betweene the shoulders,vers: 24: that the arrow went through his hart, & he fel down deade in his charet. Iuliā, as Sozomen reporteth,Lib: 9: cap: 2: being woūded to death by a Persiā arrow, intellexit, saith mine Authour, he knew it to be Gods ar­row, [Page] & therfore receiuing the bloud that gush­ed out of his wound, into the palme of his hād; he threw it vp dispitefully into the aire,Zonara. Tom. 3. in Iuliano, crying out, [...]. Satiate thy selfe vvith my bloud, ô Christ of Nazareth. The third & last Arrowe, is his arrow of Pestilence; this is indeed a fearefull arrowe,Musc, in Psalm. 38, & it is, as one cal­leth it, grandis terror mort al [...]um the greate ter­rour of men; as being Deathes chiefe Pursui­vant and Sumner,Iob, 18 18, who in Iob, is called Rex terrorum, the king of feare. These three ar­rowes, God had laid vpon his bow, & had fitted them to the string, when he came against Da­vid for nombring the people,2. Sam. 24, but he gaue Da­vid his choice, whether he would endure the arrowe of Famine 7. yeeres; or the arrowe of battaile 3. monthes, or the arrow of the pesti­lence 3. daies: he made choice of the last, of w^t I will deliver a word more particularly.Cu [...] huius­modi vlce­ra Domini sagittae vo­centur nō video.

Musculus saith, y^t he doth not well cōceaue y^e reason, why y^e Prophet should cal his Vlcers Gods arrowes, vnlesse it bee because that the body being suddenly stroken with them, they kill a man downe right, as doth an arrowe or darte shotte into the body. I suppose it to bee an Hebrewe phrase, by which they call such blaines and soares, Arrowes; because that the impostume, the rupture & abscession (as Phy­sitions [Page 41] cal it) which they cause in the body, ma­keth the flesh and skinne to goe a sunder,à [...] dimidians Pagn: as in Hebrew [...]n arrow is so called, because it divi­deth a thinge into two partes; or because the paine & ache which they cause, is like vnto the piercing of an arrow. Other languadges in o­ther sores haue tearmes not vnlike; The tu­mour and swelling inflamation, called Erysipe­las, In Phisiol. fol. 195. lin. 1. or Saint Anthonies fier, is by Selneccerus (belike out of the propriety of his country lan­guadge) called Spina a thorne, because y^e smart which it causeth, is like y^e pricking of a thorne. Boiles are in another languadge called n [...]iles, and this is from the Latine;Gallicè clout. lib. 3 Ep. 7. erat illi na­tus insana­buis clavus, cuius toedio admortem irrevocabi­li constan­tiâ decuc­rit. Plinie writing to Caninius Rufus, of the death of Silius Italicus, telleth him that he had a boile or a naile risen in his body, w^t put him to y^e extremity of paine, that he, to rid himself out of the tormēt, pined, and starved himselfe to death. But to omitte the phrase; I come briefly to shew you in what respect the Plague may be called Goat arrowe.

In an Arrow then I obserue these proper­ties; First, it flieth very swiftly; whēce as one pretely noteth, the Italians from their word 1 Frezza, Pierius Hi­er lib. 42. which signifieth an arrow haue for­med the verve Affrezzolare, which signifieth to make hast about any matter;Psal 9.11.5. So the Pesti­lence which is GOD arrowe, it is called [Page 42] by the Psalmist, Sagitta volans, a flying arrovv, this arrowe in three daies space, flew throughout all the coastes of the lande of Isra­el, 2. Sam. 24: from Dan to Beersheba, and slewe of the people 70000.

2 Secondly, an Arrowe flieth silently, with­out making any great noise,Wisd. 5.12: it gently parteth the aire, which immediatly commeth togi­ther againe, so that a man cannot knowe where it went through. In like manner this arrowe of God, the arrowe of Pestilence, it is called terror nocturnus, Psal. 91. ambulans in tene­bris, it stealeth vpon men oftentimes sud­denly in the night, in their most private and secrete bed-chambers, and assaileth them with wonderfull terrour.

3 Thirdly, an Arrowe reacheth a marke that is farre off, Ovid. lib. 9: Meta: fab. 2 as Hercules tolde Nessus when hee ranne awaie with his Deianira, that al­though hee coulde not come to him, yet hee woulde sende after him; Ʋulnere non pedibus te consequar; and hee made it good too, fu­gientia terga sagittâ-traijcit, hee sped an ar­rowe cleane through his loines. In like man­ner the Arrowe of the Pestilence it is called a walking arrowe, Sagitta ambulans. it roveth dp and downe to markes farre and neere, from city to villadge, to the great terror of men. Qui longè abest peste [Page 43] morietur; qui propè, gladie cadet, Ezech. 6.12. He that is afarre off, he shal be a marke for the arrowe of the pe­stilence, and hee that is neere at hand hee shall fall by the sword. Eusebius sheweth,Lib 9 c: 8. how ma­ny, who had made shifte to escape the arrovve of Famine, coulde not keepe themselves out of the reach of this Arrowe, but that they died of the Plague.

Fourthly, an Arrowe pierceth and woun­deth 4 deeply & dangerously, Psal: 127:5: especially from the hand of a gyant, as the Psalmist speaketh. The Indian archers shott arrowes of two cu­bitts of length, with such strength, that as one writeth, non clypeus non thorax summae firmitu­dinis, Caelius Rhodig. lib. 23:9: In Psal. 91. neither target nor corsset of armour of proofe, were able to resist the stroke of them. The Pestilence Gods Arrowe is of like force, as Musculus saith, pernicissemè volat & exiti­aliter ferit, it flieth swiftlie, and it woundeth deadly. No age is exempted from the stroke & infection of it; no, not yonge men by their lusty and strong bodies: for as Seneca saieth,De Ira. lib. 3: cap: 5: Ad­versus pestilentiam nihil prodest firmitas cor­poris &c. it little availeth a man against the plague, to be of a strong constitution of body, or to vse diligent care in preseruing his health, for the Plague seiseth vppon weake and stronge both alike. Olde men are not [Page 44] superannuated nor priviledged frō it, howsoe­ver Plinie be bold to avouch the cōtrary;Lib. 7: c: 50. Senet minimè sent [...]re pestilentiam, that old men are ne­ver tainted with the plague: It is not the sea­son nor the coldnesse of the winter, that can stop the course of it;De rebus Moscoviti­cis fol. 11. Possevinus telleth vs that at what time hee was Embassadour for the Pope in Moscovia, the plague w^t had scarce e­ver bin heard of before in that country, ob intē ­sissima frigora, by reason of the extreame cold; yet it then killed many thousands. And hence is this arrow called Exterminium, Psal. 91.6. a rooting out and a destroying arrowe.

5 Lastly, an arrow beeing guided by a steddy hand, and leveled by a quicke cast & iust ayme of the eie, it flieth straight and misseth not its marke. The dexterity of some men in these sl [...]ights hath bin wonderfully excellent; there were brought before Alexander at severall times two men, notably famous for their Ac­tivity in diverse kindes:Sine fru­stratione. the one could cast mil­lett seede through the eie of a needle, without missing the king wondring at his vanity, ra­ther then admiring any excellencie, rewarded him,Quintil. l: 2 cap. 21. eius leguminis modio, with a bushell of the same pulse, to finde him plaie, and to keepe his hād in vre. The other was an archer, so skil­full and cunning through longe practise, that [Page 45] hee coulde shoote his arrowes through a ring.Cael. Rho. dig: lib. 23.9. In the 20. of Iudges it is saide, that of the childrē of Beniamin there were 7. hūdred cho­sen men,Iud 20.16. Au [...]el. vi­ctor. & Su­eton in do­mit. nū. 19. that could slinge stones at an haires bredth and not faile. The like is reported of Domitian, that hee could shoote his arrowes betweene the fingers of a mans hand a farre off, without doing him any hurte. But the hand of God is much more cunning to handle the bowe, and his arrowes flie more steddelie and misse not. They are more certaine and sure then the Arrowe of Cephalus, Ovid. met: lib. 7. Fab. 27. of which the Poet saith Consequitur quodcun (que) petit, it hitte whatsoeuer it was aymed at; They are more Fortunate then Hercules his bowe and arrowes,In Here [...] ­taeo vers. 1655. which as hee telleth Philoctetes in Seneca; Non fallet vnquam dexteram hic arcus tuam librare telum didicit & certam dare-fugam sagittis: my bowe is a knocker, it will never faile thy hand, it keepeth alwaies one scantling, and myne arrowes; ipsa non fal­lunt iter-Emissa nervo tela: they never glaunce wide from the marke. GODS bowe is like Ionathans bowe,2. Sam. [...].22. which never returned emptie from the bloude of the slaine, nor from the fatte of the mightie, and this his ar­rowe of the Pestilence, though it walke in the darkenes, and bee shott off as in the night, yet [Page 46] it is not carried casually by chaunce, but is guided and leveled by the hand of Gods Pro­vidence.

Nowe this is the arrowe, or some other of this kinde that had wounded David, The vse of the 3, part, as out of the comperts and evidences of the texte, & out of the iudgment of learned Interpreters, I have deduced more at lardge. For our instruc­tion; The Emphasis which he vseth, is worth the observing. First, he saith thine arrowes ô God, Exod. 14.18. Lento gradu ad vindictā divina pro­cedit ira, sed tarditatem gravitate supplicij cō ­pensat. Val: Max. l. 1, cap, 2, have light vpon mee, or as another Translation readeth, sticke fast in me. God is slowe to wrath and slow to punish; but when he is prouoked, he recompenceth his slownes, with the greatnes of his punishment; as Euri­pides truely saith; [...]. which is the reason why David saith, that God threw his dartes & his arrowes impetuously against him; Sagittae tua confortae, dimissae, depressae sunt, [...]rruerunt in me, the Interpreters strive to finde a worde to ex­presse the Emphasis of the Hebrewe; they were whirled at him with violent furie, GOD let drive at him, as at his enemie, his arrowes suncke into his bodie, and hidde themselues in his fleshe;Ps. 103.8.9.10. Our GOD is a GGD of patience, and long-suffering; yet when hee is prouoked, hee is a consuming [Page 47] fire. In the booke of Iob; Iob, 20, 29, Zophar the Naama­thite enforceth a very firme and true conclusi­on; that howsoever the wicked man, doth bath himselfe in pleasure for a time, yet God will sende vpon him his fierce wrath, and al­though he escape the yron weapons, that is, the sworde of man, yet hee shall not escape the hande of God, for his bowe of steele, Iob: 20, 24, saieth hee, shall strike him through, his arrowe shall drentch it selfe in his very gall. And against the wicked GOD threatneth and speaketh thus in the 32. of Deuteronomie; Deut, 32, 23 I will spend plagues vpon them, I will bestow mine arrowes vpon them; If I whet my glit­tering sword, and mine hand take holde on iudgment, I wil execute vengance on mine enemies, and wil reward them that hate me, I wil make mine arrows drunke with blood. and my sword shall eate flesh.

Secondly, our Prophet calleth the Plague 2 GODS Arrowe. thine arrowe, ô GOD, sticketh fast in mee; it is not then Apollos ar­rowe, as Homer affirmeth,Iliad, 1. when describing the Plague that destroied in the Graecian ar­mie, hee saith [...], for 9. daies togither, [...]. the Arrows of God A­pollo walked vp & downe the armie, but this is but a Poeticall fiction. It is God alone that [Page 48] shooteth this arrow among vs; & it is he alone that cā salue & cure the wound that it maketh, & therefore vaine is it for vs to seeke for helpe from any other, and consequently foolish & su­perstitious are those praiers, which the Pa­pists make to their Saints, whither it be to our Lady, In. Breviar. ad vsum Sa­rū, parte Ae­stivali fol. 128. as in the Masse appointed for the plague.

D. Rainold. de Idololat. lib. 1. cap 6. Sect. 7.Or to Saint Rochus most prophanely,

These are their shamelesse and impious blasphemies, which I finde also published for the vse of the vulgar & common people, in a litle Manuall of Spanish praiers.

Thirdly, in that it is called Gods arrow, it teacheth vs that it commeth not vpon vs by chance, or fortune, but by the hand of Gods providence, as before I haue shewed; for howsoe­uer it may seeme to make hauocke of the peo­ple, and to destroy without difference men of [Page 49] all sorts, yet the godly mā, hath a comfortable promise of deliuerāce,Psal. 91.7. a thousand shall fal beside him, & ten thousand at his right hand; but it shall not come nigh him nor nigh his dwelling. God wil so [...]edge him in on euery side, with his protec­tion, that neither an haire of his head, nor a bri­stle of his Swine, shall fall to the ground. And this is it, that Sathan stormeth at, that he could not hurte Iob, Iob. 1.10. because God had made an hedge a­bout him, and about all that he possessed on everie side. But here we must carefully obserue these two caveats.

First, that in a Christian charity towardes 1 other we do not rashly iudge of their fall, nor cēsure their liues by the māner of their deaths For the wise man dieth as doth the foole, Eccl. 2.16. not on­ly by the same necessity of death, but oftētimes also by the same disgracefull and dishonorable meanes, that other men do,Psal. 34.21. that as misfortune slayeth the vngodly, as the Psalmist speaketh, so the godly somtimes come to their ends by sud­daine & vnexpected deathes. I shewed you be­fore how two wicked kings, Ahab & Iehoram, were slaine by an arrow; and you shall finde in the booke of Cronicles, 2. Chro. 35. y^e good king Iosiah was likewise slaine by an arrowe, for going to bat­taile against Pharao Necho king of Egypt. And in this place you see, how God made this good [Page 50] king David a But to shoot his arrows against and holy Iob likewise complaineth,Iob 16 12:13 item ca. 6.4 that God had set him as a marke to shoote at, that his arrowes were in him, the venome whereof drunke vp his spirites; and Ieremy yet more plainely,Lament. 3.12.13. saith of God, He hath bent his bowe and made me a marke for the arrow, he hath caused the arrowes of his quiver to enter in­to my reines. Thus we see that the godly are plagued like other men but yet God taketh a more special notice of them; for the foundatiō of God remaineth sure, 2: Tim: 2:19 & hath this seale, the Lord knoweth who are his. Psa: 116:15 And therfore pre­cious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his Saints, by what means, or by what kind of death soeuer they fall.

2 The second Caueat concerneth our selues, in our owne particular; namely that we do not vpon too great prefidence of Gods protection, neglect the good meanes of our preseruation, and through overbolde presumption, audaci­ously thrust our selues into places and compa­nies of dangerous infection; and so become ho­micides and wilfull murtherers of our selues: I know that Musculus vpon this place, from this Metaphore of an arrow heere vsed, see­meth thus to argue that the vse of an Arrowe, is not to bee flurted out at randon, or to bee [Page 51] shot at a venture; but to bee aymed and direc­ted to a set marke, And therefore mē do amisse, to thinke that the Plague infecteth anye by chaunce or fortune, but rather by Gods speci­all messadge, and consequently that it procee­deth from weakenes of Faith, for mē to flie.Infirmitas Fidei, in Psal: 86:2: The sworde likewise in battaile, saith hee, though it be lifted vp & brandished by the hand of mā, yet it killeth not but by Gods dispensatiō, as God himselfe saith, I will number you to the sworde; Esay 65:12: I knowe that the Generall is true, that nei­ther the sworde in battaile, nor this Arrowe of the Pestilence, doeth kill any but those that are appointed thereunto: But whether a man may thereupon inferre, that it is not lawfull at all to flie from the one nor the other,Calvin epist 362. faces­sant Para­doxa. Zanchius ad Philip. cap: 2.30: Ovid. 7. me­ta Fab. 25. it see­meth in Diuinity an harsh sequell and Argu­ment; but I will not take vpon me to deter­mine this Question. I know great Diuines, learned, and iudicious, to bee of another minde. And certaine it is, and woe-full experience teacheth that to bee too true, which the Poet hath,

By how much y^e neerer mē come about infected persons, by so much y^e sooner they come by their own deaths [Page 52] I know that there is a time to be borne, Eccles. 3:2: Iob 14:5: Seneca Her: Fur. Act: 1: in choro Luth. in cap: 2: Ec­clesiastae. & a time to die & as Iob saith, mans daies are determined, the nomber of his moneths are with God, who hath set him his boūds that he cannot passe. Nulli iusso cessare licet, nulli scriptum proferre diē. Ma­ny men, saith Luther, haue bin deepely & dead­ly wounded, who haue recouered & survived, & yet many on the contrary side, haue dyed of ve­ry small hurtes; Astrologers ascribe it to the stars and planets; others impute it to chance & fortune, the scriptures referre it to Almigh­ty God apud quē sunt vitae & mortis nostrae mo­menta posita, who hath skored vp the minutes & moments of our life & death, and he, as he hath set the last howre & period of our daies, so hath hee appointed the meanes and the manner of death, to bring vs to our ends: yet must we not therefore behaue our selues carelesly, wilfully to expose our selues to apparent dangers. Mā is not Lord over his own Spirit or life to reteine it, Eccles: 8:8: saith the wise man; And it is a good note to this purpose, that our Bibles haue vpon that place; that a mā hath no power to saue his own life, & therefore he should not rashly cast him­selfe into danger.

To shut vp al in a word: Almighty God af­ter the floud, he hung vp his bow in the clowd, in token of reconciliation vnto men; for if you [Page 53] marke it, the bend and the arch of the bowe is turned from vs, as Zanchius obserueth:Lib: 3. de o­perib: creat: cap: 3: Lib: de Noe & Arca: cap: 27: But he hunge vp his bow, saith Ambrose, not his ar­row: Arcus habet vulneris indicium, non v [...]lne­ris effectum; the bow maketh a shew of hurting but it doth not hurt, it is y^e arrow that woūdeth But now God seemeth for our sins to haue ta­ken downe his bow againe; And hee hath shot his arrowes against our whole land, w^t to vse the Prophets words,Ioel: 2:3. lay before him like the Garden of Eden, but hee hath left it wast and desolate where hee hath gone, like a wildernesse. The Queene city of our land, and the glory of the kingdome, which to speake with the Prophet Zephanie, as shee dwelt carelesse; Cap. 3:15. and sate attired in fine scarlet, so had shee her sinnes also red as scarlet; and therefore God hath made her an ensample of his wrath, to her sister cities of the land, and shee mourneth in her desolations, for the losse of her inhabitants. And now God hath changed his markes, and hee shooteth his arrowes all abroad, to cities and villadges far and neere; he cannot shoote amisse, sin is a faire marke for the arrow of vengance to hit. Con­cerning our selues of this place; almighty God as if at the first, he had missed his ayme, he shot wide first on the one side of the city, and then on the other; of late it began to be feared, that ha­ving [Page 54] found the iust length, hee had shot his ar­rowes into the midst of our city, & that his ar­rowes stucke fast in her very flancks. What remained? but that we should betake our selus to Davids preseruatiues against the Plague, Praiers & Teares. A [...]undines vulnera per niciosa fe­rentes. Ammian: Marcell. lib 25: Lib: 2: ca: 8: The Persian bow-men, are by all Historians commended for excellent ar­chers, and their arrowes are said to haue woū ­ded deadly; yet in the battaile that was fought betweene Scipio and Antiochus, they were wō ­derfully foiled; but mark how it came to passe; imber superfusus Persicos arcus corruperat, a showre of raine, saith Florus, falling in time of the battaile, so slacked their bowes, that they could not shoot an arrow. The way for vs to slackē Gods bow, is by a showre of tears falling frō the eies of penitent sinners. Let the Priests, saith Ioel, Ioel: 2:17: the Ministers of the Lorde, weepe be­tweene the portch & the Altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord; then wil the Lord be iea­lous over his land, and spare his people. And as Teares must worke vpō Gods vow, to slacken it;Plin: l: 26: c: 14 Dictam­num pota sagittas pellit. so Praier is the true Dyctamnum, that pluc­keth out his arrowes when they sticke fast in vs. These are the Sacrifices with which God is wel pleased and pacified; these were David; & Ezechias his amulets, counterpoisons, & pre­seruatiues against the plague; for so God tel­leth [Page 55] Ezechias. I haue heard thy praier, 2. Kings: 20.5: and seene thy teares, behold I haue healed thee. Now God of his mercy giue vs grace, to make an holy vse of this and all other his visitations, and to make a conscience of vsing all holsome meanes for our preseruatiō, that so his heauy hand may be remoued from vs, & his arrowes which yet sticke fast in the flancks of many of our distres­sed brethren, may be plucked out, through Ie­sus Christ our Lord, to whom with the Father and the holy Ghost, three persons and one euer liuing God, be all honour and glory, worlde without ende, Amen.