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Show ye ThefecondBooke of thefirst part ? §. 11. Cuar.22.§.24) | The death of Ichoiada, and Apottafie of Toas, HAP22G.4. Cuararg meatier hefooneforgat,not ohely the benefits, receiued by this worthy man his old CountelJour, butalfo theigond precepts which hehad receiuedfromhirh,yea & Godhiméelfe, the Author ofallgoodnelle. -Thefe Princes drew him:to the worthipofIdols, wheres with Jehojareand Athalia had {o infected the Country, in fifteene or fixteene.yeerts oing ~]y Sonne Berbadad,, with whomthefe treafures profpered nootherwife, thanill 2 = goods are wont. Baa ee This enterprife ofHazae/,is, by fome,confounded with thar warre of the: Aramite vponInda, mentionedin the fecond Bookeof Ghrowscles. But the reafons albeidos he tothemthat holdthe contrary opinion, doeforcibly proue,that AS ‘ it was : on Cwarres 4 " ; ie ; - notal] é For the former was compoundedwithout bloud-thedorfight inthe latter; Jaze try d the fortuneof a battaile,wheriti being puttothe worfthe loft all his Princes-and hei oe : Sac rc ae 1 i J ly efcapedwith life ; In the one, Hazael himfelfe was prefent ; inthe other he Was ard: ~ ere hy s ss . 2 2 4 Vast e t& named: but contrariwife,the king of Aram then reigning who mayfeemto‘hauc tl i been the ‘Sonne of Hazae/)is AZ ) faid é to haue aue bee bee neat Damafcus.. ) ar fc 5 Thesh éfirtt opto Armi arey firt Armic came to was eres 4 it terrifie, kind conqueete r,and wasfo great, thatit fj terrifie d the> king of ludaaaa ; Thee{b fecond was afmallco m= 2 pany of men; which did animate voas (in vaine; for Godwas againft him)to de: le wi them,as hauing 4 verygreat Armic. . ; Sie = Now, concerning the time ofthis former inuafion, I cannot pereeiue that God f yf fooke him, till he had fitft forfaken God. There are indeed fome. very learned he thatthirty yeeres, orthere-aboutt, ofithe reigne of Jo#s; wherein the true, Religion was thinke that this expedition of Hazae/ was in thetime of /choiada the Priet beta steiee ftorie isioyned vnto the reftauration of the Temple. This had. !beene steals abl 7 < fe death of Ieboiada hadbeene atterwards mentionedin that place of the fecond 2 : ca Kingssorif the Apoftafie of/oas, or any other matterimplying fo much had follows inthe relation. Forit is not indeed to be doubted,that the Lord of all maydip ole Call al ftage,he hadftriuen to expreffe much more linelyaffection, than theycould thew, that were indeedereligious. things,according to his own will & pleafure; neither was he more vniuft in the affl ons of Io6 that righteous man,orthe death ofIeias thar godlyki agt gOS) ng; than in the plasnes PUMPGAEncchinditncoh aeaaclabBiteens The canfes-andtimes ofthe Syrians innading Inde in the dayes of Loas. Rf Vt God,from whomhe was broken loofe,, gaue himouer into the hands of met i: ; cane ug a urhiteire of the Temple,and the magnificent fetttice of God thervithallwhich are ioyned together, were vied in tae boufe of the Lord contiivwally all the dives ofleboiada sfoone after whofe death, if not intmediately'vponit, that is Cas fime ?1Chrowe24s 14s very learnedly colle@) in thefixe, orthirty feuenth yeere ofthis yoz his reign chél ca falling awayfrom the Godofhis Fathers;becanie a Foule Tdolaregiy 77 2 ens Andindeed we commonly obferue,that the croffes which it hath pleafed' God fome a to lay vponhis feruants, without any caufe notorious'in the eyes oFidl Ratis: : uaa vito the bettering oftheir good. In which refpect; etien the fiiffetingsof ; eir Phil, trg. he lefled Martyrs (the death of his Saints being precious ia thefight ofthe Lord Jatetoth 1% great aduantage. But with euill andrebellious men;Ged keepeth amore ellen and (rid F men,that would noteafily be fhaken off. Hazael king of Aram, havingtaken Gath,a Townof the Philiftims,addieffed hinifelfe towardsIerufalem, whither thelittle diftance of way;and great hope ofa rich booty,did inuitehim. H Army,heartned byimany: vittoriesjto hope for mores andfor ground of the war(if his ambition\caredfor pretehces)it was enoughthat thekings ofTuda hadaie ted the, Iftaclites,in their enterprifes vpon-Aramat Ramoth-Gilcad. Yet think hedid not want fome further inftigation:For if thekingdome of Juda‘ hadtholefted the At mutes,in the time of his. predeceffour,this was throughly recomipenfed by forbearingto4 40 déleone 3 es Weahytheit faults togettlie ftart of theit' pani fhmen tant eit Hep kinethen datbideneavtonn ith theAmorites>til their wickedneffe be full or not wor. eduites bhmeen: ao y i cotredion 5 but fuffering themto tin Onin their wicked dedte oe si Tec a tie.So hath hedealewith matiy; andfo it appéeatesthat he giewfo fersettall oftce i ofte did not onely continue an obitinate Idolater, bur Hetheofait at ih e = all goodnieffe, asifhe had ftrouento exceed the wicked: fewor none ofthe; Defore tim, andto leane fuch'a villainous patterne'viito others, as leorthe moft barbarous Tyrants fhoulWendire to imitate, {uccourIftael,and leaning the ten ‘Tribes:in theiirextream mifery,to the fury of Hasse himfelfe, Neitheris it likely;,).that Hazael:fhould:haue gone-aboutto awakes fleeping Dogze,and {tirre vpagainft himfelfca powerfull chemy;beforehe hid affured the con quefk of irael;that lay between Terufalemiand his owne kinedomie; iffomeopprt nity had not performed {uch eafie and goodfuccéfIe, as might rasher aduanceé,than any way, difturbehis future proceedings dgainftthetén Tribes,Wherefore Thold it prob* ble, thatthe fonnes of athalia »mehtioned béfore;were with-himin ithis;adtion, Ph muifing (as men expelled theit, Countries vfually: doe)todaw. manypartakers of theit ove to his fide; and hottoremaine, .as-Joe-did ,.a neutralino tae watre between him and Ifracl, butto loyne‘all their forces with his.,) as. they. had caufes for thes? rooung out of /ehy his-poftericy, who, likea bloudy, 'Traytot,: had \veterly deftroyt all the kindred. of the Queenes';. their mothér,,éuen the whole: houfe of Aish; which hee was a fubie&. If this were fo * the thittiefetienth yeere of Jaze, which wasthe fifteenth of Jehoahaz hee idee as exercifed,were not ableto cleere it fromthat mifchiefe. The king himfelfe,when once"? he was entredinto thefe courfes,ran on head-long,as one that thought it a token ofhis libertie,to defpife the feruice of God ; anda manifeft proofe ofhis being nowkingindeede,that he regarded no longer the fowre admonitions of deuoutPriefts. Herebyit appeares,that his former zeale was only counterfeited,wherein like an Aor vponthe as ter purchafé; but inthe fame or verynext yeere Ke died; Jeauing all that es had hicses sie attempting to eradicate; failed batalittle,ofrooting vp themfelues, and all theiriffie, , Yet this honourable Funetall feemstohaue bin ginen to hinyat the motion of the peo- charged of fome heauie debt. Forafter the death ofJehoiada, whenthePrinces of Iuda began toflatter theirking, Sains imitiaiv saat r r 1ap> py treafaveywhich belonging to the liuing God, remained a {mall whiein the Pofletfi. onofthis mighty, yet corruptiblé man, but fent: him quickely to the: grdue ee 8 Vethis endured no longerthanthelife of Leboiada the Prick: Who haningliued an hundtedandthirtie-yeersydyed before his Countrie could haue {pared him; B He was buried among the kings of luda, as/he well deferued, hauing ‘preferued the raceiof them,Soreftored the trueReligion,whichthelate! Princes of that houfe,by ofit,feeing that hewasaseafily comfortedafterhis death,as ifhé had therby beendif nceiiaiensdn forthe poffibility of not much more: Go Haxael departed with aitch bootie of ynhap ' ple ,it being {aidsThey baried him inthe Citie of Danid. As forthe king himfelfe, who did oweto himnoleffe than his\Crowne andlife, he is not likely to haue been Author ‘the Fiflari Warld, Eiftorie of the World, of the -Hazael had thé'more appatant reafon 0 inuwBioaeiiws ade the Kingdome of Iuda. Howfocuerit were, ot i _ re, weWe ance linde it le ‘ ly that plainciy, the los . Weod King. 23.1% afft aid of him, and therefore tooke al the hallowedthings, and all the gold that w inthe treafures of the boufe ofthe Lord, oxinhisownehoufe, with which pref redeemed his peace : the Syrian (quéftionleffe) thinking it 4 better bargaine fo muchfeadilypaid into his hand for nothing,thanto hazzard the aili 2 fan' 50 r . §. FV: HowZachatia was meurthered byToas. : ease : S:ay ndry: ree Prophets: haning laboured:in vaine to reclaimeith e people from their ea ts ee on Prictt was ftirred vp atlengtly underfandsh® Set 3 a ac monifiit in of theit wickedneffe; and take them masldenen, ee manent uevnto it, whereof they ftood in danger. This Buchavie oo cm ers 1 See ene coaines fo exceedingly beloued in his life. ca ma enced suthat if Toas had-reputed himi(as thab ded Elias) his open'ene- ry Sitaein common honeftie, to haue cloakedhis il atfeGionj andahban eyled at |