A briefe exposition of such chapters of the olde testament as vsually are redde in the church at common praier on the Sondayes set forth for the better helpe and instruction of the vnlearned. By Thomas Cooper Bishop of Lincolne.

The Sunday after the Ascention, at Euenyng prayer.

Deuteronomie .xiij.

IF there aryse among you a Prophete, or a dreamer of [ A] dreames, and giue thée a signe or a wonder.

2 And that signe or wonder which he hath sayde, come to passe, and then saye: Lette vs goe after straunge Gods (which thou hast not knowne) and let vs serue them:

3 Hearken not thou vnto the wordes of that prophete or dreamer of dreames: For the Lorde thy God proueth you, to knowe whether ye loue the Lorde youre God with all your heart, and with all your soule.

4 Ye shall walke after the Lorde youre God, and feare him, kéepe his commaundementes, and hearken vnto his voyce, you shall serue him, and cleane vnto him.

5 And that prophet or dreamer of dreames shall dye (bi∣cause he hath spoken to t••rlie you awaye from the Lorde your God whiche brought you out of the lande of Egypte, and deliuered you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thée out of the waye whiche the Lorde thy God commaunded thée to walke in) and therfore thou shalt put the euill away from thée. 6 If thy brother, the sonne of thy mother, or thyne owne sonne, or thy daughter, or the wyfe that lyeth in thy bosome, or thy frende which is as thyne owne soule vnto thée, entice thée secretely, saying: Let vs go and serue straunge gods (which thou haste not knowne, nor yet thy fathers.) 7 And they be any of the gods of the people which [ B] are rounde aboute you: whether they bée nye vnto thée or farre off from thée, from the one ende of the earth vnto the other: 8 Thou shalte not consent vnto him, nor hearken vnto him, thyne eye shall not pitie him, neyther shalt thou haue compassion on him, nor kéepe him secrete.

9 But cause hym to be slayne: Thyne hande shall bée fyrste vpon him to kill him, and then the handes of all the people. 10 And thou shalte stone him with stones that he dye: bycause he hathe gone aboute to thruste thée awaye from the Lorde thy God whiche broughte thée out of the lande of Egypt, and from the house of bondage.

11 And all Israell shall heare and feare, and shall doe no more any suche wickednesse as this is among you.

12 If thou shalte heare saye in one of thy Cities whiche the Lorde thy God hath giuen thée to dwell in.

13 That certaine men béeing the children of Beliall, are gone out from among you, and haue m••ued the inhabiters of their Citie, saying: Let vs goe and serue straunge gods whyche ye haue not knowne:

14 Then thou must seeke, and make search, and enquire diligently: and beholde, if it be true, and the thing of a sure∣tie, that suche abhomination is wrought among you:

15 Then thou shalt smite the dwellers of that citie with the edge of the sworde, and destroye it vtterly, and all that is therein, and the very cattell thereof, wyth the edge of the swoorde: 16 And gather all the spoyle of it into the middes of the stréete therof, and burne with fyre bothe the citie and all the sp••yle thereof euery whitte for the Lorde thy God: and it shal be an heape for euer, and shal not be built agayn.

17 And there shall cleaue naughte of the damned thing in thyne hande, that the Lorde maye turne from the fierce∣nesse of his wrath, and shew thée mercie, and haue compassi∣on on thée, and multiplie thée, as hée hathe sworne vnto thy fathers.

18 Therefore shalte thou hearken vnto the voyce of the Lorde thy God, to kéepe all his commaundementes whiche I commaunde thée this daye, that thou doe that whiche is right in the eyes of the Lorde thy God.

The Exposition vpon the .xiij. Chapter of Deuteronomie.

If there arise among you aprophete or a dreamer of dreames. &c.

IN the later end of the former chapter, Moyses had willed the people in any wise to beware of the strange worship of heathen Gods: Now he willeth thē to take heed of false teachers rising amōg them∣selues, & seking to ••educe them frō the true wor∣ship of God, that in any wise they do not herken or giue credit vnto thē, The Deuil enuying the true honor of God, doth not only seke to blemish & ouerthrow the same by forain enimies, but al∣so euē at * howe in the house of God he rayseth False Doctours and teachers▪ that vnder faire titles and goodly pretenses of holinesse, maye draw the people of God from his known truth. Wherefore Moyses here noteth the coloures wherewith the Deuill by his ministers in this case vseth to deceiue mē, They wil take on them the name of Prophetes, or such as haue reuelati∣on from God by dreames, yea and sometime he will help thē by Gods sufferance to *work some straunge and miraculous thing, that by such a Sy••ne or wonder, they maye gather the grea∣ter credite in their false doctrine. Wherfore God, here fore warneth, his faythful people to take heede of suche gaye tales, and to suspecte

such faire pretences, and to cleaue only to hys word, and hearken to *his voice, from whyche, if their teachers do swarue, and wil them to do that is contrary thereto, they must not beleeue them, but accompt them as wicked Seducers and deceiuers. This lesson is so giuen to the Is∣raelites, that it may bee also an instruction to all the faithfull in the Church of God at all times, and especially in these latter dayes, wherin the Holy Ghost hath giuen warning before hand, that Antichrist and his ministers should vse the same meanes, and that so mightely, that if it were possible he should Seduce* euen the elect of God. When Moyses sayeth, The Lorde your God proueth you. &c. we must vnderstande that God doth not tempt or proue, of purpose to lead or induce to that whiche is euill, or to lay stum∣bling blocks, at which his people may take of∣fence & fall, but only by such meanes to examine and ••rie them & to make that knowne openly to the World, which he knoweth to be inwardly in their hearts whether it be good or euill. So did God tempt Abraham Gen 22. that his faith might be ••nown ••o al mē. So did Christ tempt the womā of Chanaā, whē he called hir dogge, and refused to heare her praier. And for this and doth S. Paule saye, 1. Cor. 11. that There must be ••••ctes in the church, that they that be proued may be knowne. For this cause then God suffereth suche Soducers to be in his Churche, that by them the Hypocrites and dissimulers may be

tryed from the faythfull and electe Children of God. The good man may some times, by suche meanes, fall into errour, and be intrapped of the wicked, but it is onely in some parte, and for a time, and after returneth againe by repentance, which god suffereth in him to punish his Neg∣ligence, that did not bestowe sufficient diligence in studiyng and meditating in the word of God, or did not Liue seuerely according to his profes∣sion and calling. When in the. 5. verse, Moises saith, And the Prophete or dreamer of dreames shal die. &c. He declareth that we must not only *dis∣cerne false teachers from other, and beware of them, but that they muste by the Magistrate be seuerelie punished to the example of other, least the infectiō of their corrupt Doctrine do destroy the soules of many, and disturbe the Churche of God. In that he appointeth the punishment of Death, we haue to note these circumstaunces: That it must not be executed by euery Priuate mā, but by the Magistrate, who hath *Auctho∣ritie giuen of God to punishe the wicked. That not euery one that hath dispersed some errour to the offence of the godly, is by and by to be ta∣ken and put to Death, but such onely as be prin∣cipall Ringleaders, & seeke by all meanes they can to drawe the people of God to Apostasie and forsaking of his fettled and knowen truth, and vtterlye to subuert the same.

And lastly, that the Crime must be euidently knowē and tried, and the partie fully conuicted.

It semeth to many, that it is Extremitie & tru∣eltie in matter of Religion & conscience to vse the punishment of Death, and they saye that Christ was milde and mercifull, & required his Disci∣ples to folow his steppes. In so much that whē they desired fire to come from heauen to punishe euill persons he said, They knew not of what spirit they vveare, But let those men consider, that it was the Lord of al Mercy, that appointed here this order of punishment, and also let them re∣member what extreme crueltie it is for a Magi∣strate to whose charge God hath committed hys people, to se the Soules of a number of his peo∣ple by wicked Doctrine or other like indeuor to be pulled from God & hys true worship, and la∣mentablie drawen to Hel & perpetual Damnati∣on, & yet not to cause the Roots & workers ther∣of to be taken awaye, that their poyson may not so largely be spred to the great daunger of other and the decaie of Gods glory and truth.

IF thy brother the sonne of thy mother, or thine owne sonne. &c.

The same that was before spoken of false Prophets & teachers only, is here applied euen to euery one of y^e people: whose offence although it may seme somewhat the lesse, bicause of their Ignoraunce, & that they haue not the Office of teaching, yet the Forsaking of God & his truth, and the seking to misleade other with them, is to God alwayes and in all persons vntollerable.

But this is to be obserued bothe in this place & before, that such punishmēt is not to be vsed, but where Gods true Religion is throughly knowē and Settled, as it was at this time among the Ievves. This is to be considered how Earnestly God requireth this punishment to be done. For he willeth vs not to regarde eyther brother or syster, or childe, or wife, or any* persons whatso∣euer thoughe he be vnto vs as oure owne life. Wherby he declareth how earnest our studie and endeuour should be to maintayn his True wor∣ship. Al natural affections be they otherwise ne∣uer so cōmendable, yet ought they to *giue place to the zeale of Gods glory & to the affection that we shoulde haue to the establishing of the same among his people. For in gods cause to be *slack and colde in consideratiō of these persons, what els is it, than to set our affections against Gods commaundements, and to shewe that we more esteeme oure Naturall friends than we do God and his Glory. Wherfore sayth God, Thou shalt not obey him, thine eye, which commonly is the instrument of pitie, shall not spare him, nor take mercye vpon him, no, nor thou shalt not hide him or kepe him secrete, but cause him to be slaine: and yet to make the charge more vehemēt he addeth Thine hande shall be firste vpon him to kill him. This he speaketh bicause the maner* was, that in stoning of persons condemned the witnesses shold cast the first stones at them, to declare that in their conscience, the witnesse was true.

The cause and ende of this seueritye added in the .11. verse, is diligentlie to be marked, And all Israell shall heare and feare, and shall doe no more any such vvickednesse. The good and godly are stayed from euill throughe the loue of God and reuerence of his worde: but the other, which are alwaye the more parte, will not be brideled but with* Seueritie & feare of punishment, whereby we may learne howe necessary sharpe correction and punishment is in Christian cōmon weales. For such is the corruption of mans nature, that where they see hope of impunitie, they runne on headlong to the greatest mischiefes. But by ex∣ample of punishment and feare of Iustice they be somewhat stayed and kept in order.

If thou shalt heare say in one of thy Ci∣ties, which the Lorde. &c.

If the infection of Apostasie and falling from God, doe growe from the false Prophete to the people, and from some of the people to a whole Citie, God willeth the whole Citie not to be spared, but to be put to punishmente and vtter desolation. For better it were that a fewe dyd perishe * than Gods true worship should be ouer∣throwen and his glory decaye. But in this place especially, as in the other also, before Men pro∣ceede to punishment, God woulde haue them enquire and searche out the matter diligently, that they dyd not vpon light report rashly con∣demne

men. But if it were founde for a suertie, then that they should smite them with the edge of the sworde, and to declare Gods iuste wrathe against the Reuolters from his knowen truth and right worship, and not to spare so muche as their Cattell.

And gather all the spoile into the middes of the streete thereof. &c.

God willeth the whole furniture and Imple∣ments of the Citie to be gathered into one place, and burned with fire, and * not to turne any ther∣of vnto their owne vse. It maye be, God some∣what herein respected their couetousnes, that they might not couer a corrupt affectiō of coue∣tousnes with a pretensed zeale of Gods iustice. But the principall cause, that Moises here vt∣tereth, that is, that the people by this might be more accustomed to the hating and Detestation of that whiche they saw God so greuously dyd abhorre.

Notes

• Deut. 8. a. 2
• De. 17. b. 12.
• Verse. 1.
• Act. 20. f. 30 1. Jo. 2. c. 19.
• Ma. 24 c. 24
• Jo. 10. c. 27.
• Mat. 24. c. 4
• Gen. 22. a. 2.
• Mat. 15. c. 26
• 1. Co. 11. d. 19
• Verse. 5.
• 1. Io. 4. a. 1.
• Rom. 13 a. 4.
• Luc. 9. g. 55.
• Verse. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.
• Deu. 29. c. 18 1. Jo. 3. b. 7.
• Exo. 32. f. 27 Luc. 14. f. 26
• Jere. 48. b. 10 Apoc. 3. c. 16
• Jo. 8. a. 5.
• Psa. 82. d. 15 Psa. 77. d. 38
• Verse. 12. 13. 14. 15.
• Exo. 32. f. 27
• Verse. 16. 17. 18.
• Josu. 6. c. 18. &c.