Num.'-4.17· Ibid. ibid. OftheN A T 1v 1 T 1 E·. Sermon l;'. ridimtuftellam: We can well conceive that: Any, that will bur looke up, may fee aftar. But, how could they fee the [Ejtu] of it, that it was His ~ Either, that it belonged to any; Orthat,Heit was,it belonged to. This pa!feth all PrrJPefiive: No Ajlronomiecould fhew them this. What, by courfe of Nature,the fiars can produce that they, by courfe of Art or obfervation, may difcover. But, this Birthwas abov~ Nature. NoTrigon, Triplicitie, Exaltation could bring it forth. Thq are but idle that fer figures for it. The flar fhouldnot have beene Ht~,but He, theftarr's, ifit had gone that way. Some otherlight then,they f.wr this[ Ejtu] by. Now (withus,in Divinitie) there be but two in all: VefPertina, and • Mattttina lux. VeJPertina, theowle-light of our Reafon, or skill, is too d<mmeto fee it by. No remediethen, but it mufl: be (as E[ay cals it) Matutinalux: TheMorning light, the Light ofGods Law,mufr certifiethem ofrhcEjm ofit. There,or not at all,tobe had, whom thisftAr did portend. ' And in the Law,therc we find it (inthe XXIV. ofNt~mbers.) One oftheir owne Prophets,thar came (from whence they came)from the !ltotmtainesofthe Eajl,was ra– vifhedjn fpirir, fell in a traunce; had hi< eyes opened, and faw the Ejtuof it many an hundred yeares, before it rofe. SawOrietur in Iacob,rhat there it fhouldri{e J Which is as much,as Nattu eft, here. Sawjlefla, that he fhould be thebright Morning-jlArre l and fo,might well haveajlar to reprefent Him. SawSceptmm in Ifrael(which is juO: as much as Rex Iud£orttm,) that it fhould portend aKing there: SuGh a King, as fhould not only fmitethe corners ofMuab (that is) Balac their encmie,for the prclent''; bur,lhould reduce andbring underHimallthefonnes of Seth (that is) all the World: For,allare now Seth's fonnes; Cain's were all drowned in the Floud. Here now is the Ejzu of it, d eer. A Prophets eye might difcerne this : Never achaldeanof them all could take it with his Aftrolabe. Balaam's eyes were openedto fee it: and he helped rp open their eyes, by leaving behind him this Prophecie,ro dircchhem how to apply it (when it fhould arife) to the right Ejus of it. But,thefe had notthe Law : It is hard to fay,that the chaldee Paraphrafe was ex~ tant long before this. They might have had it. Say, they had it not : IfMofes were fo careful! to recordthisProphecieinhis booke, it may well be thought, that fome memorie of this fo memorable a Prediefionwas left r~maining among them ofthe Eajl,his owne Counrry where he was borne and brought up. And, fome helpethey might have from Danieltoo,wholived all his rime in chald.ea, andPerfia, and pro-. phdiedamong them of fuch a King,and fer the juft time of it. And this (as it is conceived) pur thedifference between the Eaft, and wejl. For I aske,Was it vidimtu in oriente,with them; Was it not 'Z!idimm in Oaidentei' In the Weft,fuchaJlar,it orthe fellow of it was fecne, nigh about that time, orthcRoman Stories deceive us. Toward the.end of vfugufftuReigne, fuchajlarwas feene, and much [canning there was about it. Plinie faith it was generally holden, that {fAr to beFauJium sydm,aLucky Comet; and portended good to theWorld,which, few or no Comets doe. AndVirgil (who then lived) would needs take upon him, to fer downethcEjm of it, ----Ecce Dion.ti,&c: Entitled C.efartoit. And verily, there is no man, that can (without admiration) readhis{txth Eglogue, ofa Birth, thatrime expected, that fhould beetheofJPring of the Gods, and that fhould takea· way theirfinnes. Where-upon it harhgone for current,the EaJf,and WeJI,VidimM, both. Bur, by thelight oftheir Prophecie,the Eaft,they went ftraight tothe right Ejus: And, for want of this Light,theWeft wandred,and gave it a wrong EJtu : AsVirgil, applying it ro littleS•/onine; and (as evil! hap was) while hewas making his Verfes, the poore Child died; and fo, hisjlarfhot,vanifhed,and came to nothi~g. Their vidimtu never camctoavenimtu: theyneitherwenr, norworjlnppedh<Jn, asrhefe Chere)did. · Bur by this we fee,When all is done,hirher we muft come,for our M,qming-t;ght; to thi~booke, to the Word of prophecie. All ourvidimmfte!lamis as good as nothil)g, without it. That Star is pall: and gone, lQJJg fmcc: He4'llen andcartb0!41!pajfe, hh"~ . - t "
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