A commentary vpon the Epistles of Saint Paul to Philemon, and to the Hebrewes together with a compendious explication of the second and third Epistles of Saint Iohn. By VVilliam Iones of East Bergholt in Suffolke, Dr. in Divinity, and sometimes one of the fellowes of the foundation of Emmanuel Colledge in Cambridge.

VERSE 17.

THe author of it was God that tried him.

Man tryes, the Devill tries, and God tries: homo tentat ut cognoseat, man tries, to know what is in another. Tentare à teneo: wee try, that we may quasi manu tenere, hold as it were with the hand, and have a certaine knowledge of him whom we try. As the Queene of Shebah hearing of the fame of Salomon went to try him with hard questions, 1 Reg. 10.1. Diabolus tentat, ut decipiat, to coozen us and to destroy us. So the Serpent tempted our great Grandmother Eve, and beguiled her.

Deus tentat, ut quis sit homo hominibus innotescat, that what is in man may be made manifest unto men: hee tryed Abraham, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. S^t. Chrysost. not to learne more than he knew before, but to demonstrate the excellent graces that were in Abraham, the world; how he preferred God before all things, even before his onely Sonne. Thus CHRIST tempted Philip about the loaves, Ioh. 6.6. God knew what was in Abraham: but hee tryed him, to make others know: whereas, Gen. 22.12. he speakes it after the manner of men. When a man hath tryed the fidelity of his friend, he sayes, now I know thou lovest me: so God applying himselfe to our capacity, having tryed Abraham, sayes, now I know; yet no accesse of knowledge to GOD: hee knew what was in him before.

An admirable tryall! a wind that might shake the strongest Cedar in Lebanon: yee may take a view of it, Gen. 22.2. Every word is very emphaticall.

1. He doth not say, send him by another, but take him thy selfe: carry this innocent Lamb to the slaughter house thy selfe.

2. Not five or sixe yeeres hence: but now, presently without delay.

3. Not thy servant, but thy Sonne. Tully tooke heavily the death of his servant: how might Abraham take the death of his Sonne?

4. Not one of many, but thine only Sonne: though thou hast no more but he, take him, kill him.

5. Hee names him. I doe not meane Ismael, though thou art loath to part with him, but Isaac.

6. Whom thou lovest, so deerely, so tenderly: all thy love is con∣tracted into him: thou hast no other to love.

7. To the land of Moriah, which is a great way off, three dayes journey. Oh what thoughts did trouble him all that while?

8. When he comes there, he doth not say, hang him on a tree, drowne him, which had beene intollerable for a father to doe; but burne him, which is the sharpest death of all: offer him up for a burnt offering to me.

9. Consider the conference that was betweene him and Isaac in the way, which might strike Abraham to the heart: Father, here is fire and the wood, but where is the Lamb for the burnt offering? alas my Son, said Abraham in his heart, though hee spake it not with his tongue, thou must bee the burnt offering: no doubt but the teares went trickling downe his cheekes.

Oh how wonderfully was he tryed? all these were as so many daggers held at his heart.

10. Besides all these, the Hebrewes report that the Devill ap∣peared to him in the shape of a good Angell, and disswaded him from the offering of his Son, telling him it was a most monstrous and unnaturall fact, greatly displeasing to GOD Almighty. No doubt, but the Devill was busie with him to withdraw him from Obedience to GOD: but that of his apparition is a feyned fable.

That we see, how this holy man was tryed: he was tryed indeed to the utmost: a wonder he did proceed to the action.

Thus it pleaseth God to trye his Children. A Gold-Smith tries his gold by casting it into the fire: and Saint Peter calls it the fiery tryall. A Captaine tryes his Souldiers before he brings them into the field. One friend tryes another, and God in love and wise∣dome tries us all, how we are affected to him: he sent false Prophets and dreamers of dreames to try the Israelites, whether they would cleave to him with all their hearts and soules, or not, Deut. 13.3. hee tryed David by Shimei that rayled on him, and hurled stones at him, being a King. A great indignity for a King to beare! he tryed Io∣seph with sore imprisonment, till yron entred into his soule: hee tryed Iob with the losse of seven thousand Sheepe, three thousand Camels, five hundred yoke of Oxen, and she Asses: he tryed him with the death of seven Sonnes and three daughters at a clap, after a feare∣full manner: the house fell on them as they were banquetting, and they were crushed in pieces: he tryed him with boyles in his body, from the Crowne of his head to the sole of his foote. The ar∣rowes of the Almighty stucke in his soule: he tryed him to the full. Others have had their severall tryalls: but Iob had all tryalls: yet he stood immoveable in them all: he tryed Lazarus with extreame po∣verty: hee desired crumbs, and could not get them: hee tryes some women with churlish Husbands, as he did Abigail: he tryes some with froward Wives, as he did Iob: he tryes some with stubborne and disobedient Children, that make them weary of their lives, as he did Isaac and Rebeccah with Esau: he tryes some by taking away their Children one after another, on whom their greatest delight was fixed: he tryes by taking away our goods by fire, water, thievs— gatherings for fire almost every weeke: hee tryes some by tedious sicknesses, and diseases that continue long together: a wearisome tryall! hee tryes us by malevolent tongues that cast aspersions upon our names. He corrects every Child: So he tryes every Child. GOD hath many wayes to try us: that the tryall of our faith being more pure than gold, may be more illustrious in this world, and we

made more fit for the celestiall Hierusalem in the world to come. Let us entreat him to strengthen us by his holy Spirit in all tryalls. As hee seemes to cast us downe with one hand, so let us be suiters to him to uphold us with the other, that we may stand stedfast and im∣moveable in all tryalls and temptations, to his glory and the salva∣tion of us all.

Let that suffice for the author of the worke. Now to the exe∣quution of it. Where,

1. A bare narration of the worke: then an amplification of it.

Offered up Isaac.] Nay, bate me an ace of that.

Offerre caepit, or offerre voluit. Voluntate he did it, though non re: intentionaliter, though non actualiter. He pretermitted nothing on his part for the offering of him up: therfore God accepted of it, as if it had beene done, Gen. 22.16. he extolls it to the skies. There be Mar∣tyrs desiderio & facto. Origen was a Martyr in desire, when he was a Child. If his mother had not kept away his Cloathes, hee had gone to bee burnt with his father. So Abraham Conatu & deside∣rio offered up Isaac.

David built the Temple, in will and desire: hee made a great preparation for it, three thousand Talents of gold, seven thousand Talents of fine silver—1 Chron. 29.4. So Abraham made all ready for the offering of his Sonne.

The wood was ready, the fire was ready, the Altar was ready, the knife in his hand was ready to cut his throat, which hee would have done, if GOD by his voice from heaven had not stayed him: therefore he might well be said to offer him up.

There is an amplification of it, ex parte patris, on the Fathers behalfe, and ex parte pueri, on the Childs behalfe.

Not only he that begat Isaac, but that had received the promises concerning Isaac, that in him all the Nations of the earth should he bles∣sed, he had not only heard of these promises, but received them into his brest and bosome, locked them up as precious Iewels in the clo∣set of his heart, there keeping and nourishing them: yet he that had received the promises must kill him, that was the foundation of the promises; a great shaking of his faith!

2. Ex parte pueri: not a servant, but a Sonne.

Not an adopted Sonne, but begotten of him: the fruit of his bo∣dy, and his owne bowels.

Not one of many, but all that he had: begotten in lawfull Matri∣mony, and to whom alone the promises were tyed. Ishmael was his begotten Sonne too: but he was begotten, of his maid. Isaac was his only begotten Sonne of his Wife in lawfull marriage. 2. He was his only begotten Sonne, ratione promissi; the promise was made to Isaac, and to no other: quantùm ad istam conditionem, hee was anigenitus. Lyra.