OCR Text |
Show Lhefecond Booke of thefirst pant " ‘Cuara8.fy, of Jonathan into his Court, appearethtohauepafled awayin quict ; ave theyeerefol. lowing to haue begunthe warre with Ammon s but fomewh at Fi in she end of Sums merperhaps, it cameto triall of a battaile (for Joaé after the wie . y, returnedimme. diately to lerufalem the caufes and preparationsfor that warre taking vpall theSum. mer. Dawids perfonall expedition againft the Aramites wherein. he brought all the tributaries of Adadezer vnder his owne allegiance, appeares manifeftly to haue beenethe next yeetes worke, wherein he did cutoffall meanes of {uccourfromthe Ammonites, all Syria, Moab and Idumza being nowathis owne deuotion. By thi S reckoning it muft haue beenthe 20.yeare of Dawids reignejand about the fiftieth ofhis life,in which hee fent forth Josh to befiege Rabba, and finifhed the warre of ~4mmon': whereinal{or fell out the matter of Vriahs wife. So one halfe of Danids reigne was veryprofpe. rous : inthe otherhalfe hee felt great forrowby the expectation, execution, and fad remembrance ofthat heauie Iudgementlaid vpon him by Godfor his fouleandbloo. dy offence. " - , oe Nowvery manifeft it is, that in the yeere after the deathof that child which was be. gotttenin adulterie, Salomon was borne,who muft needs therefore hauebeennineteene yeeres oldor thereabout, when he began to reigne at the diceafe of his father, as being begotten inthe 2r.yeere ofhis fathers reigne, who reignedinall fortie. This account hath alfo good coherence withthe following times of Dawid,as may be collected out of enfuing aGtions: for two yeeres pafled ere -4b/élonflewhis brother 4-20 mon , toree yeeres ere his fathet pardoned him; and two yeeres moreere.he came into the Kings prefence. Afterthis he prepared horfes and men, andlaid the foundationof his rebellion,whichfeemesto haue been one yeeres work.So therebellionit felf v all that happened thereupon, as the Commotion made by sheba,the death of Amafa& the reft, may well feeme to haue beenin the 30.yeere of Dasids reigne. Whetherthe three yeeres offamine fhould be reckoned apart fromthelaft yeeres of warre with the Philiftims,or confounded with them,it were more hard than needfulto conieture. Plaine enoughit is,that in the ten remaining yeeres of David there wastime fufficient, and to {pare, bothforthe three yeeres of famine,for foure yeeres of watte, and for numbring the people, withthe peltilence eufuing ; as alfo for his ownelaftin-3s firmitic,and difpofing of theKingdome. Yet indeed it feemes that the warre withthe Philiftimes,was but one yeares worke, and endedin three orfoure fights,ofwhich the twoor three former were at Gobor Nobneere vnto Gezer, andthe [aft at Gath.This war the Philiftims vndertooke,asit feemeth » ¥pon confidence gatheredoutofthet mults in [frael,and perhaps emboldened by Dasias old age : for heefai he battaile,and wasafterwards hindered by hismen from expofing himfelfe v f anie more. So Danidhad fixeorfeuen yeares of reft, in whichtime it is li nie of his great men of Warre died( being ofhis owne age) wherebythe ftir {pirit of Adonijah foundlittle fuccour in the broken partie of Joab the fonneo. Zeruia, 4 At thistime it might bothtruly be faid by Dasidto Salomon,Thou art a wi * by Salomon to Go dambut a young childe : for nineteeene ye with eyther ofthefe two {peeches. i Neuertheleffe there are fome that gathetout of salomons profel that hee was but eleuen yeares old when hee beganto reigne. feemesthe firft Author.whomotherof great learning andi 2S4M 15070 lowed : grounding themfelues perhaps vponthat whichis fa thatit was after fortie yeares, which they vnderftood as yeares of Davids t whereas Rehoboamthe fonne of Salomon was 41.yeares old f wouldfollowherebythat his father had begotten him, be imfelfe buta childe 0!" nine or ten years old; the difference betweene or if Saloneon their aces 1 (whoreigned 49.yeares) werebut eleuen ye: es old when| this inconuenience Tofephus allowes So. yeare i s of reigne to Salem ng greei Cuaras§.5.6. "OftheFloreoftheWorld, remembred in Abfalons rebellion, may either{eer ne to haue ne tween Dauids fisftanointment,and the trouble which GO Dbroi tothe {pacebe. On him forhis wickednefle,or perhaps be read (according to /ofephws,Theodoret, e tion) foure yeeres ; which pafled betweene the returne of Abfalox to Leruf alain, breaking out. §.2'Vie Of Salomons writings. Here remaine of S/omons workes, the Prouerbs, the Py Salomon, Inthe firft heteacheth ec od Iffe, and cox cond, the vanitie of humanenature ; thalamion of Chriftand his Church. For the Boo mon, which fomegiue vnto Salomon, and fome make Hierome and many others ofthe beft learned make vs wrote it. Styluslibri fapientie (faith Hierome) gai Salomo eloguentiam; The Stile of the Booke of wifedome, which is aferi 0 Salomon, nd wer of the Grecian eloquence; and ofthe fame opinion was S. Axe and yet he in thenineteenth Booke andtwentieth Chapterofthe Ci of that Booke hath a direct foretelling of thé Paffion' of Ghrift in th 20 Circumucniamus tustnm, quoniaminfuauis eff nobis, Oc. Let vscij Sor he is vapleafing tous, hee is conitrar y to our doings,he checketh vsfor oj Law, be makes bis boaft to haue the knowledze of God, and he calles) Lord, &¢. and fo doth the courfe'ofallthe following word s point d The Bookes ofEcclefiaftes, Prouerbs, and Cantica Canticor Mofes beth to //zy thePro .Suidas 8 Cedrenus report,that Salomon we "th all difeafes, andg d thefame on the fides of the Porch o fay) Exechias pull led downe, becaufe the people neglecting he repairedthitherfortheir recoueries. OfSzlomens Bookes of Inuocations, and Inchantments to cure dife 9 cuill {pirits, Zo/ephus hath writtenat zo large,though (as I conceit ? inuention,or from fome vncertaine report, than truly. He alfo {peaketh of one Elazar#,who bythe rootein Salomon: perfons ofeuill {pirits in the prefence of Vefpafian , and manyoth ftand to examine. Certainelyfo ftrange an example of humane frailtiehat King: who hauing receiued wifedomefrom Godhimfclfe his only feruice, he built the firftand moft glorious Tem, made King ofIfrael and Iudwa, not bythe law of Naturé, 4obec came the wifeft, richeft, and happieft of all Kings, of a tew-weake and wretched IdolatrousWomen,fo world, and the giuerofall goodneffe, of which hew: to any that euer the world had: Of whom Syr 7 reNg nedin a peaceable time and wasolorious, for Gon mad erfw 1¢ Lord ofa] L lro this Kin 4 houfe to his name, and prepare the Sanéiwary for ener ; ed with underitanding, as with a floud ? flea it with oraue and darke fentences, andfor thy peace thou waft beloged, crc. but'thas hee cone loyne s to Wom ca, and wall ouer-come by thy bodys t eeritie; and haf broneht wrath vpen thy §.. VI. poraries of Salor with the Scriptures, that it needs no confutation. S tourof this opinion conftrued the words ofJofephus as ifthe Of Selomons life. But by fuch reckoning he thould haue beene 4 his Fathers death ; and confequently fhould haue beene borne | ther had wonne Lerufalem; whichis a manifeft vntrath, Wheret 429 ed thofe Kingdomes: Laofthenes then gouérningAT ond andthird Princes iras,tuling the Athenians, sal ie |