OCR Text |
Show Cuar§ 3. the time ofhis fathers death : {6 they perhaps,ifthey vvere yrged, couldfay little elfe, than that withoutfucha fecondivoyagetheir opinion were:not maintain ab! e.One thing in good reafon they fhould-do wellto make plaine,ifit be notouler-troublet ome. They fay. that Abrabamwas in Harada at his Fathers deathy or forme time after, being ‘then by their Gin.24 account'135.yeares old; ora little more, How)then didithappen, that hee left quite vndonethe bufinéfle:which,as We teade,was within foute or fue yeares afterthat time his greateft, or(as mayfeeme) his onely care? Did not: he binde witha veryfoJemne oath his principal! feruant,in.whom herepofed matt confiden ce,to trauaile into thofe parts,andfecke out a Wife for J/eae his fonne #atiddoth it not-appeare by all cir: cumftances , thatneither heenorhis‘fermant were:fo well acquaint ed in Mec/opotamis, that theycould particularly defigne any one Womans asa fit matchf or Ifaac ? Surelyif ae Abrahamhad beenethere in perfonfo lately, as vvithin foure or fiue yeares before, hice would nothaue forgotten a matter offuchim portance; but would haue trufted his own piety, vertue,and other defireable qualities, to be linkedin marriage with his onely fonne, who wasthen fiue and thirty yeares.old; before which age moft ofthe Patriarches after the Floud had begotten children:rather than haueleft all at random tothe confideration vvas knowne ofany in that Country, Butlet it of2 feruant,thatneicher knew any,nor be fuppofed (ifit may bebeleeued) that either Abraham forgot his bufineffe when he was there,orthatfomewhat hapned which noman can devife ; What might bee thereafon fters errand,vvas fainetolay-open the whole > that Abrahams man, in doing his‘Manewes,that Serah had borne to himafonneinftory of hismafters profperity telling ivas* certaine Author;had fo lately beene among her Old ages IfAbraham himtelfe; a more them,vvouldnorall this hate beene anidle talé ? It were needleffero ftand long vponia thing fo euident, "Whether it were lawfull iudgement,in choofing-a woman, fit for her Gen.24. 35 36.06, Gen,24.$, o8, is parents,!to take a Wife ¥ s¥et heliuedtheréas‘aferu 2.Kit.20, tion; by whofebleffing he piofpofhis ered ant ; fuffered many iniuries dritien to coniey himfelte away and finally was, from then ce by flight: For altoughit bee tence vvritten, yet ourof allwritten not a exam ples itma y bee obferued, that 'Godallowefen-2" notin his feniants ahy defireok th retur ning tranfplanted them: ‘That briefe layin tothe placeyfiom whenee he hath taken, and g 5 Remex aber Lots wife, -comaines Let vs confider A¢cfopotamia from whence brdbans was takeniynan much matter. d Zeypri, out of whichth¢ whole Nation ofthe Ufract ites were delinered: wethalitfind: iffuedfrom either ofthem sito the pofterity ofthe Hebrewes! When that riebleffing ted with atthonourable Embaf £zechias wasvillfie from Babel, inhisminde, ‘and thoughtitapiece it feemes that he conteined great pleafure of his profperity butithe a heeheard by Efay, toade Prophefie which there' hin bleto fuch - : Which more to know,that thecounaile of God was floragices* plain ely Pfal.iy7. appe ared ina following generation; when |; by the waters'o Babylon th IKE. 14.25 OncerningBeye ve reade, & 2Kin2 3. Sefaeand Neco that Kings of .£g Vt - Egyptian fuccoursy: Uraet:alforhar their confidence i ction : Whetetthey weté forbidch tO returtic into Eeyps mber, nor-canreadil finde; Dentsyu.rs, Dewteroueivy;tha but it is found it r'God hadifaidy They foouldna morereturaet at way the reafon,whytheir Kingmight which is ginen,43 nédt cati feth e tiplying of his Horfes, Whe Neto Eeypr, fox themul tlierthe lL ?s i cfopotensia farily conclude nis: iodls . Bur becaufethis double tons ofmenart ratherval pailage of Abraham is butaniidag Bidation.)and uable among children;rlu that 'imagintmti¢hat iudgenientor vaderftandin g oT take itfufficient, thatlS that Abraban: heft Haran, usraphey ess his Father being dead. OneScripture to proue ite dfor the aie shi d will beleeue ag they An doe! For all thietrauiajles OFgeaior inh ae Precilely fet dowine in Abyaham the Scriptures: as firlt fro 74H m y> ~ é OF Cearransand chen fro m Haran (after his Fathers ir ‘at ; Ob Cimepine in Chalieito ES death) COShen - Fite sichom 2 ke of the HiftoryoftheWorld, Ae a ae ta el and Haie: thence into Egypt ; from Egyp r heremoued to a mountaine betweene Beth hereturned thither againe,where Zot and he parted,becaufe their Aockes and hear ds of part : from thenéethefecond time hee re-mouedto Atamre , necie Hebron sand thenc e haning purfied Aimraphel ; and re{cued Lot, he after inhabited at Gerar,inthe border of Idumeain der Abimelec : atid afterneere Cattle wete more,thar could beefed in that vatoit at Berfabe, at which time hee was ready taine Moriah: Butthis fiction ofhis retrait to to offervp his fonne /faaeon themotnHaran one ftory,either diuine or humane. Now, ifit mayb or Charran, appeareth not in an e fuppofed,that Abraham had made any former iourney ints Canaan,as Lewita his \Cabela hathfained,it-thould in reafo n-be therewithall beleeued, that hee wouild in thofe hig firft trauailes haite prouided himfeife T° of{ome certaine feate,or place of abidi ng : and wife, kinfinen,family,goods and cattle, not not haue come a fecondtime,vvith his knowing vvhereonto reft himfelfe. But Abrabaseawhen hee came from Charr an,patt throughthe North patt of Cavaa z, thence to Sichem, and the Plaine ofMoriah : where finding no placeto inhabite, hee departed Gen.t 2.6, thenceto Bethel and Haje : and fo from Nati on to. Nation,to difcouer'and findout fome fit habitation: from vyhence againe,, asit firth,going andionrmying toysards the South is vvritten in Genefis the eleventh > Hee went sand Wwaridritg to and fird,fome fayche Egypriaus alwaies vnfetled. By occafions fyvhiéh saute him and histhe nameoFwebre;. is Furtliers,'to proueé that hee Had fot forme that ere he came vnto géthe/and Hate, and rly beene in the Countreys weemay noté, Mont. in Caleb, at ‘his firft entrance into Canaan, God ap20 peared Vato hini, faving, Haro Phy feede will T gine this Lad, fhewing it hinids ynto a ftrangerthérein, andas a Land to hith vnkn owne, For C4brahemvvyithout any prouident care for himifelfe, beleduedi n the Word ofthe liting' God: neither othér fen ding before; nor comming firftto difcouerit ¢ but being artiued, hee receiued a fecond ptomife from ‘God, that he would give thofe Conntries vnto himandhis {eedeto inhab ite and inherite: ; Laftly , ‘what fhoufd moueé any man tothi nke, that Mees would haue omitted fuch double iourney ofAbrahams, fecin e hee fetteth downeil his paffages elfe- any long'afid fort? as when hee moned from where the diftance being biit 2 0.miles : and whet ‘Sichem, atidfeated betweene Hale andBethef, heé moued thence tothe valley of Maré, 30 being but 2.4:miles Said when he left Ma.wtesandfate downeat Gerar, being leffe than fixe miles { No,44ofes paft ouetall theti mes haften him to the {tory ofAbraham: {hutt Ofthe firf# age with the greater breuity, to ing"¥ p all bewedhe the Creation & the Floyd in fixe chapters 3 Which age lafted 165 ham fourtecne chapters, beginning with6.year.*s: but he beftoweth onthe ftory of Abya~ his bi.rth in the elenenth, and ending death in thefiue and twentieth ; withhis andthis time e:idured but'x 75.years. It hath therefore hoface oftruth,that Mofesforgot or negle cted ary thing concerning Abrahamstraue or othetactions : or that he would fet ls, down e tho/@ {mall remooues offue miles,and mit thofe ofthree hundred. Forfuch a oiourneyin gyoing and commingwouldhau niftred fome variety ofmatter, of e'thi- 4° hams ftorie: accident, vvorthy the inferting and addin g to "bya. 6. LV; The aifwer to another ofthe obiedtions propofed, fhewing thasit was not velikely that Torah fhould beget Abraham, in his hundred andthirty yeere. Owtouc hing the obieG@ion.where it is faid, that it was very valikely that Terah Nowa beget Abrabam in his 130. yeare; fleeing Abraham himfelfe thought ita vvonderto hatiea fon at ‘an hundred : thisis hardly worth the anfwering. This wonder is indeede mif-caft, ‘arid miftaken : Abraham hauing refpe& onelyto Sarah his he {pake oftheir many yeares.For whenthe Angel {aid ynto Abrahamin his Tent dooreat Atamré: Loe Sarah thy wifefall haue a Son, it tollowethin the next verfe, Now Abraham and Sarah vere oldand frickem in 4g¢ and it ceafed to be with Sarah after the Manner of women : therefore Sarah $0 Wife, wlicn laughed, Ore: So then inthatit is {aid, it ceafed to be with Sarah after the manner of women, id : it' APpea~ € wonderwas yvrought on her,and not on Csbrabam, For Abraham by his wife Kerwrah had many fonnesafter Sarahs death, as Zimron,lock{han, Medan ,Mi- > Yovak, and Shuah : and the eldeft ofthefe was borne 37-yeares after U/aat:and the : youngeft |