A commentarye vpon the prophet Mycha. Wrytten by Antony Gilby. Anno Domi. M.D.Li

The iii. Chapter.

Vt I sayde heare I praye B you O Princes of Iacob &

dukes of y^e house of Israel. Doth it not pertein vnto you to knowe iudgemēt? you do hate y^e good & loue y^e eul, you do fle of y^e skin of their backs and y^e fleshe of their bones. You haue deuoured thee flesh of my people & plucked their skin from of them, and haue bro∣ken their bones & crushed thē in peaces, as in a pot, & like the flesh in the middest of the Chaldren.

Princes ought to know iudgmēt, thei ought to be wise mē fearing god, yea stā¦ding in gods stede to the people, hauīg y^e truth within thē y^t thei nede not to seke it at their chaplēs. They ought to be mē which hateth auarice, Exo. xviii. for thei execute the iudgmēt of the lord. Deu. i. & whatsoeuer thei shal iudge, shal redoūd & be required vpo thē .ii. Cori. xix. but you do thīk you mailiue as you list O prīces & dukes of oure wycked time, you do not thinke y^t you haue takē an office wherof you must geue answere. But y^t you haue attayned to such honoures that ye shuld be accompted as earthly goddes, that no man shulde be so beard ye as to talke of

your doings, and dare followe the Pope in making such proclamations, though they be such in verye deade as our Pro∣phet heare paynteth which ar so plaine they nede no interpretacion. Therefore I do say with the Prophet Esay, heare O ye deaffe men, and sharpē your sights to se O ye blynde. But who is so blynde as my seruaunt? or so deafe as my mes∣sengers whome I sent vnto them? For who is so blinde as my people and they that haue the rule of thē. They ar like as if thou vnderstodest much and kepe no∣thing, or if one herd wel but wer not obe¦diēt. The Lorde be merciful vnto thē for his righteousnes sake y^t his word might be magnified & praised. They do boast to knowe the woorde: but beware the ser∣uaūt whiche knoweth & dothe not, shal be beaten with many stripes.

You do fle of y^e skī of their backs If you do read y^e .xxxiiii. of Ezechiel you shal se the difference betwyxt these euill pastors & shepherds which fead thē sel∣ues with y^e spoil of y^e shepe, & y^e good she¦perd which cherysheth his shepe. Nowe wher our prophet sayth that the Pryn∣ces do hate y^e good mē and loue the euil: it is the experience of al ages for dicers, dauncers, flatterers and such like ar re∣ceyued into their pryuyc hambers when

true Preachers are prysoned. And yf it chaunce that a noble man haue one ho∣nest man in hys house, he is a sheepe a∣monges Wolues, deluded and decyded by my Lordes owne minions and moste sage counsaylers, at the length, eyther banyshed, or put to sylence, because the whole course of hys lyfe, conuersacion, and cōmunicacion, is cōtrary to theirs, and vnprofitable for theyr purposes.

Then shall they crye vnto the Lord, and he wil not heare them, but wyl hide his face from them at that tyme, lyke as they haue don euil in their wicked works. Thus sayth the Lord of the pro∣phets, whych do seduce the peo∣ple, thus the Lord sayth against them: Whē they haue any thing to byte vpon, then they preache that all shalbe well, but if a man put not sōthing in their mouthes they preach of wat against him, Therfore your visiō shalbe tur∣ned

to nyght, and your prophe∣cying to darknes. The sun shall go downe ouer these Prophets, and the day shalbe darcke vnto them. Then shal the vision seers be ashamed, and the sothsayers confoūded, yea they shalbe faine al the packe of them to stop their mouthes, for thei haue not gods woorde.

Lyke as the princes, Iudges and go∣uernours hath bene turned from Gods, to minister goodnes vnto Tyrants, wor¦kyng al wickednes. So shall God hym¦selfe brynge vpon theyr heades heauye destruccion. And as the booke of wisdōe sayth: these mighty men shal haue more terrible torment. Then thought they cry vnto the Lord, he wyl not heare theym, but hyde his face frō them, lyke as they haue turned theyr faces frō the poore, & rather regarded Hawkes and Hounds dice and cardes, dauncing and tossinge of balles lyke babes, then the pyteous cōplaintes of theyr poore mēbers made of the same molde, & boughte wyth one price with them. And as for theyr chap∣laynes

whych do chop with thē their be¦nefices, & geueth an whol yeres rent or thei enter, or greater gaine peraduēture, & so long as my lord & they can agree of couenaūts, or that my lord wil get them mo promociōs, they wil tel my lord, he may hawke, he mai hunt, he mai bowle, he may play at the bal, & what he wyl, so he do stop their mouthes with somwhat al is wel, & it please youre grace: but a∣gainst theyr poore brethren, which haue nothynge to geue theym, they are cruell and deuouring wolfes. They pole their parishners, they pyl theyr tenauntes, they send polling proctors, & are most re¦dy by al meanes to trouble the poores to moue war against him, both w^t theyr good word to my lord, if nede be, & other pretipractise. To these wicked hipocrits shal come darknes, angwish, sorow, he∣uynes, al the wooes and cursses, all the plages spokē of in the scriptures. Thys great misery is ment bi night & darknes as we may perceyue. Here note also the terryble sentence of God, his sincere iu∣stice against the wycked, whych shal cry vnto god, and shal not be herd, wher al∣way he heareth the good before they do crye, Esay .lxv. he reiecteth the wycked wyth theyr sacrifie. Esay .lxvi.

But I am ful of the power of

the spirit of god, ful of iudgemēt and strength, to shew vnto Ia∣cob hys iniquity, and to Israell hys syn. Here this I beseche you O princes of the house of Iacob and dukes of the house of Israel which do make iudgemente ab∣hominable, & do peruert al equi∣ty, building Sion in blud, & Ie¦rusalem in wickednes. Her prin¦ces did iudge for rewarde, & her priestes did preach for wagyes, & her prophets dyd prophecy for mony, & stil made the Lord their staffe, saying: is not the lorde in y^e mids of vs? ther shal com none euyll vpō vs. Therfore for your cause Sion shalbe plowed lyke the field, & Ierusalem shalbe an heape of stones, & the hyll of the temple, shalbe an hie woode.

Marke the mighty power of god his ho¦ly sprit, o princes, he causeth y^e prophets to speake, or els thei do remain spechles,

Ieremye saythe: I can not speake be∣cause I am a chylde. But what answe∣reth the Lorde: saye not so Ieremy that thou arte a chylde, for thou shalte go to all that I shall sende the, and shal speke al that I shall commaunde the Feare not before theyr faces, for I am with the to delyuer the saythe the Lord, ye do set thē ouer the people sayth y^e Lord, & ouer kyngdomes to roote vp and to destroy, too waste and scatter, to buylde and too plante. I shall cause the not too feare theyr faces, for I haue made the lyke a walled cytye, an yron pyller, and a bra∣sen wall to the kynges of Iuda to the Prynces and priestes, and to all the peo∣ple of the lande, they shal fyghte against the, but they shall not preuaile for I am wyth the sayethe Lorde to delyuer the. O whye are you faynte hearted, whiche haue the lyke Offyce, what can be sayde more to encorage you? Whye dare you not crye agaynste the wyckednes of our tyme, as the prophets dyd in theyr time. Dothe not oure iusticiaries and iudges peruerte iustyce, and make their iudge∣mentes abhomynable? Is there no re∣wardes in the handes of oure Prynces? are al these fayre houses about Londō or elsse wher gottē with good cōscyence

and buylded without bloude? Nay sure lye, for one of youre greate builders dyd wryte worthelye vpon his walles a con∣fession for al hys felowes. No man wax¦eth ryche but by the discommoditie of o∣thers, but you are but hyrelynges, prea∣chynge for wages and canne espye no faultes. Yet dare you saye for these ram¦ping Lions: haue not they banyshed the Popishe religion? is not God amonges vs? haue not they set forth the Bible? ar not they Gospellers? Yes to theyr open shame doutlesse, for heretofore, ther was some pretence of religion, some colora∣ble cloke of vertue and honestye, that is shaken of I do graunt, and not so much lefte as fyg leaues to couer their shame, howe can God be amonge thys people? amonges whome the Deuyll raygneth and rageth by couetous ambicion, whor¦dome, exhortacion, contempt of true reli¦gion and all ••u••ill gouernaunce. They haue set forthe the Bible that al menne may se how far thei do swarue in life frō God hys hollye woorde. They are called Gospellers in spyte (as I doo take it) of the holye Gospell. For the holye Gos∣pell of God is slaundered and euyll spo¦ken of, booth of oure Papistes in Eng¦Lande and in other nacions, so farre as

our Englysh gospellyng is knowen. Be¦cause in the beginning therof al things wer compelled to serue theyr couetous∣nes and lasciuious lybertye and so it is styl continued. True relygion is sought of no body, priuate gayne whyche ary∣seth of the great possessions of the spoi∣led kyngdom, is sought of euery bodye and how perilous a thing it is to bryng such cursed spoyle into out houses, read the .vii. of Iosue of Achan the sonne of Charmy, and repent wyth the Niniuits both kyng, whyche shal aunswer for all these iniquytyes, and Dukes, Earles, Barons, Byshops, whyche do turne to your priuate commodityes thynges de∣dicate to publyke vses. Repente I saye lest wyth Ierusalem your houses be tur¦ned into heapes of stones. Ieremi .xxvi. hath the same sayinge forth of our pro∣phet and our sauiour in .xix. of Luke.

Notes

• The Text
• The Text
• Sapie. vi.
• Esa. v.xiii. Ierem. xv. Mat. xxiiii
• The Text