A fruitfull commentarie vpon the twelue small prophets briefe, plaine, and easie, going ouer the same verse by verse, and shewing every where the method, points of doctrine, and figures of rhetoricke, to the no small profit of all godly and well disposed readers, with very necessarie fore-notes for the vnderstanding of both of these, and also all other the prophets. The text of these prophets together with that of the quotations omitted by the author, faithfully supplied by the translatour, and purged of faults in the Latine coppie almost innumerable, with a table of all the chiefe matters herein handled, and marginall notes very plentifull and profitable; so that it may in manner be counted a new booke in regard of these additions. VVritten in Latin by Lambertus Danæus, and newly turned into English by Iohn Stockwood minister and preacher at Tunbridge.

Vers. 12.

And they shall wander from sea, to sea, and from the North euen to the East shall they run to and fro, to seeke the worde of the Lord, and shall not finde it.

* 1.1BY a certaine Hypotypôsis or liuely demonstration, he setteth or vnto them the most lamentable sorrow, and exceeding grea•• miserie of this effect, or punishment threatned vnto them: for hee sheweth and declareth, how great then shall bee their endeuour and diligence in seeking of the word of God, the which notwith∣standing they shall not thereby finde, nor enioy the same. Their diligence therefore and earnestnes is described, for that they shall seeke it from the Syrian sea, vnto the Arabian sea, and in euery quarter and coast of their owne countrie, in the East, in the West in the North, in the South. Secondly, for that they shall traile af∣ter it as it were by the foote, that is, they shall very narrowly and throughly search and peere into euery place, and yet shall not any where finde the word of God. For when as God offered himselfe vnto them, they did despise him. But God and his worde must the be accepted of, when as it is offered vnto vs. And therefore 〈◊〉〈◊〉 counselleth vs very excellently to this end cap. 55. ver. 6. saying•• Seeke ye the Lord while he may be found: call yee vpon him while he i••∣nere. Neither maketh the place of Matthew any thing here against cap. 7. ver. 7. Seeke, and ye shall finde. For whilest men do in such 〈◊〉〈◊〉 seeke God and his word, as in this place is spoken of: they seeke him rather for their owne sake, then for true feare of God, namely that they may haue some comfort: not that they haue any min•••• to serue and worship God simplie and for himselfe, but in regarde of some feare of hurt or perill towards themselues. And therefore Christ checketh the multitude, for that they rather sought him be∣cause he filled their bellies, then of loue towards his miracles, Iohn 6. ver. 26. in these wordes: Verely, verely, I say vnto you, yee seeke 〈◊〉〈◊〉 not, because ye sawe the miracles, but because ye did eate of the loa••es and were filled. There is a like place to this 12. ver. of this Prophet, Ierem. cap. 14. ver. 12. in the which, as here God telleth them, that seeking for the word of God they shall not finde it (to wit because

they sought it not aright) so there he sheweth that hee will not ac∣cept of their prayer and sacrifice, for that they were not done in true faith, but for some other sinister or wrong and bad respect. The wordes be these: When they fast, I will not heare their crie, and when they offer burnt offerings, and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pesti¦lence.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Hypotyposis is a figure, whereby we doe so liuely expresse and set out the doing of a thing, that it may rather bee thought to bee seene to be done, then to be told, as is in this place, their maruailous in∣deauour to finde the word of God by tra∣uailing far and neere, from sea to sea, from coast to coast, from all quar∣ters, places, and countries, &c.