Amongst manie great benefites, which God bestowed vpon his peculiar people in the old Testament, one principal, and very excellent was, that besides their ordinarie Pastors, and gouerners in spiritual causes, the Priestes of Aarons progenie, and other clergie men of the same tribe of Leui, in Ierarchical subordination of one chief, with other superiors and subiectes, disposed in sacred functions; he also gaue them other extraordinarie Prophetes of sundrie tribes, as admonitors and guides, to reduce them from errors of sinne, into the right way of vertue. which office the same Prophetes performed, as wel by threatning the offenders with Gods wrath, and punishment, as by exhorting them to repentance, and so to trust in Gods assured mercie, that he would geue them better times, and reliefe from their miseries. ^{note note} But most especially these holie Prophetes did foresee, and foretel the happie times of Grace in the New Testament. The coming of Messias, Christ our Redemer and Sauiour: with the mysteries of his Incarnation, Birth, Passion, Death, Resurrection, Ascension, Coming of the Holie Ghost, Fundation, Propagation, perpetual Stabilitie of his Church; and finally the General Iudgement, Eternal Glorie of the blessed, and Euerlasting paine of the damned. For albeit they preached and prophecied manie thinges, properly and immediatly perteyning to the particular state, and people of the Iewes, and other nations, where they conuersed, yet the principal summe of al the prophetical bookes, is of Christ and his Church. Yea al the old Testament is a general prophecie, and forshewing of the New. which (as we noted in the beginning) is conteyned, and lieth hid in the old. Neuertheles speaking more distinctly of the proper arguments, or contents of the foure partes of the old

Testament, the former three more peculiarly setforth the Law, the Historie, and Sapiential precepts: and this last part chiefly conteyneth Prophecies of thinges to come. Of which the greatest part is now come to passe, or dayly fulfilled, and the rest shal likewise be performed in due time. ^note So now in order after the Legal, Historical, and Sapiential bookes, folow the Prophetical: and are these, according to the names of the Prophetes that writte them. Isaie, Ieremie with Baruch, Ezechiel, and Daniel, commonly called the greatter Prophetes: and the twelue lesser are Osee, Ioel, Amos, Abdias, Ionas, Micheas, Nahum, Abacuc, Sophonias, Aggeus, Zacharie: and Malachie. who were al singularly inspired, and gouerned in their preachings and writinges, by the Holie Ghost, that they could not erre. Yea they were so illuminated in their vnderstanding, that they clerly saw that, which they vttered. And therfore their Prophecies are called Visions, for the assured infallibilitie of truth, which they auouch. ^note For as nothing is more certaine in vulgar knowlege then that, which we see with our corporal eyes, and therfore of al witnesses the eye witnes is estemed the surest: and as in al natural knowlege, that is most certaine, which is sene by discourse of reason: so in supernatural knowlege nothing is more assured then that, which is sene by supernatural light. whereof there be three sortes: the light of Faith, of Prophecie, and of Glorie. ^note Al three certaine, and vndoubted; but most clere and manifest is the vision by light of glorie: wherby God is sene in himself, and al thinges in him, that perteyne to the state of euerie glorious sainct. Next therto is the vision by light of prophecie, wherwith God illuminateth the vnderstanding of the Prophet by a special, extraordinarie, and transitorie light of grace, that either he clerly seeth the reueled truthes, or at least perfectly knoweth, that he is moued by the Holie Ghost, though he vnderstand not al, that the Holie Ghost intendeth; and so when, and where it is Gods wil, he vttereth the same, for instruction of others. The last, which is also certaine, but more obscure, is the supernatural knowlege, which al Catholique Christians haue by light of faith, assuredly beleuing al thinges which God reueleth by his Church.

Concerning therfore this excellent diuine gift of Prophecie, granted to few, for the benefite of al Gods seruants, we are here to informe the vulgar reader, that wheras these prophecies are for most part hard to be vnderstood, and as S. Peter teacheth, not knowen by priuate interpretation, but must be interpreted by the same Spirite, wherwith they were written, our purpose is not to explicate them, nor yet to produce large explications of the godlie lerned Fathers, but rather fewer and briffer notes then hertofore. and for the rest we remitte the more lerned and studious readers, according to their capacities, to search the same, in the commentaries of ancient and late Expositers: wishing others to content themselues, with the more easie partes

of holie Scriptures, and other godlie bookes, and daylie instructions of spiritual teachers. ^note And such as do also read these, may obserue with vs, these (amongst other) special causes of the hardnes of the Prophetes. ^note One cause is the frequent interruption of sentences, with suddaine change from one person, or matter to an other, without apparent coherence. which S. Ierom noteth in sundrie places. As Isaie. 7. after that the Prophet hath seuerely reprehended king Achab, for his distrust of Gods assistance against his temporal enimies (v. 13.) in the next wordes he prophecieth, that a Virgin shal conceiue, and beare a sonne, Christ our Sauiour, and the like in other places. ^note An other cause is, that the Prophetes speake thinges of some persons, which are to be fulfilled in others, either of their progenie, or prefigured by them. As the prophecie of the Iewes and Gentiles, comprised in the historie of Esau & Iacob. Likewise that which Iacob prophecied (Gen. 49.) of Simeon an Leui, not fulfilled in themselues but in the Scribes, and Priestes descending of their stock. Also much of that which Dauid semeth to speake of Salomon, Psal. 88. can only be vnderstood of Christ. ^note Other examples wil occurre in the Prophetes ensuing. Briefly, for we can not here expresse al the causes in few wordes, prophecies are often times vttered in figuratiue speaches, and often not in wordes, but in factes; other times so mixed with histories, and temporal thinges with spiritual, againe some thinges perteyning to the old Testament, so ioyned with mysteries of the new, and the like, that most hard it is to discerne, nay not possible without special reuelation, or instruction of others to know, to what purpose or thing euerie part perteyneth, or is to be applied: for some thinges are spoken only of the historie, some thinges of misteries, manie thinges of both. And the reason why the Holie Ghost doth so vtter these prophecies is noted by S. Ierom (in Nabum. 3.) that the proud and malicious enimies of Religion may not vnderstand them: left (sayth he) a holie thing should be geuen to dogges, pearles cast to swine, most sacred mysteries laide oppen before prophane persons. ^note S. Gregorie also alleageth an other reason (ho. 17. in Ezech.) that occasion of humilitie may be geuen vs by those thinges, which are hidden in holie Scriptures. And increase also of merite by beleuing more then we vnderstand, because faith hath not merite, where reason geueth experiment.

Previous section