in the time of Peftilence. not one but many thoufands arefwept a11nry at once ? ThePhiliflims, in their plague, put the matter upon triall ofboth thefe wayes: 1 Whether it were Gods ha11d, ~Orwhether it were but aahance. And the event £hewed, it t61 was no cafualtie, but the veryhamly-worke ofGod upon them. . And indeed, the very name ofthePlague doth tell us as much. For 'De~ . ber in bebmvfheweth, there is areafon_~ there is acauje, why it commeth. 1 Sam~.9l , And theEnglilhword Plt~gue, comming from the Latine wordPlaga, which is properlyaftroke, necelfarily inferreth a Caufe. For where there is a stroke, there mull be One that ftrikttb. And in that both it, and o. ther evill things (that come upon us) are ufually in ScripturecalledGods judgements; Ifthey be judgements, it followeth,there is a Judge they come from. They come not byadwnture; bychance they come not. Chanceand Judgement are utterly oppofite. Not [afually then, but Judicially. Judged we 1 Cor. if~ · are ; Fo~ "fl1ben_ 1lJe are cbaft~ned,1lJe are iudged ofthe Lcrd. -- 3 2 ' r· There is aCaufe: Now,what that Caufe is.Concerning which, if you r 3ske thePhyjitim1, hewill fay, the caufe is in theaire.The Aire is infeeted; 'J?atC~•fl. theHumours corrupted:the[ontagion ofthe jick,commingto and conver- :Naturalli fing with the found; And they be all true caufes. · TheAire. For fo we fee, bycafting..,. afbes ofthe furnace towards liea. r They""' 'llm in the aire, the aire became infeeted, and the plague of botches, and :."~11 ~· 8 • blaines, was fo brought forth in ./Egypt. " .g. ~ . The Humours: Forto that doth I(ing 'Da'!lid afcribe the [au.fo of his • The Ha. difeafe: (that is) that his moifturein him 111M corrupt,dried up,turnedl~to theW,'..,.,..~ droug!Jt ofSummer. . Contagion. Which is deareby the Law: 'where,the leprourperfon for Pf~ 3'·~; , feare of contagion from him,was ordered to crie, that no body {hould come V'v:~~;~~;: neere him: To dwell apart from othermen: The clothing he had worne ~6. to be"»>ajhed,and in fome cafe to beburnt: The houfe-wals he had dwelt s•. in, tobe(craped; and in fomecafe, thehonfe it felfeto be pulleddowne. In all which three refpeets, Salomon faith, A 1lJife man,fearetli the plague Prov-r'f.ld 'and departetl; from it, andfooles runneo11 and he carelejfe. Awife man doth it - · and agoodman too. For I(ing 'Dal>idhimfelfe durfl not goe to theAltarof God at Gibeon,to enquire of God there, becaufe the Angel/ tluit fmote the ~ peoffiljJle 1Vhith tl1he~~~re,dsto1 o,d h.etwh:ehne him and it : (that is) becaufe he \Vas to 1 Cbro.,r: pa et roug m 1 eEte paces t it er. 30•' • ~utas weac~aowledge thefe to be true, thatin a~ldifea.fos, and even ~~;~1)_erna~ m thts alfo, there ts aNatural! cauft : fo we fay, there IS fomewhat more, o 1 which~ fomething 'Dil>int,andabow nature. As fomewhat, \Vhich thePbyfitian is Go'!\ to looke untO, in thePlague: fo likewife fomething for Phinees to doe, and Phinees was aPriest. And fofome worke forrhePriest, as well as for thePbyfttiall,andmore,then (it may be.) - . ltwasi(ingAfa'sfault. Heinhis ficknelfe, lookedallto Phyjitianr; and looked not after Gud at all. That, is noted as his fault. It feemes -- . - --- - - -- ~pp pp . - -- .. hi~
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