Thy neck [is] like the tower of David builded for an armoury, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men.
Ver. 4. Thy neck is like the tower of David,] i.e. Fair and forcible - erectum et celsum, upright and lofty. It betokeneth the invincible courage and comfortable carriage of the Church, not "giving place to her enemies by subjection, no, not for an hour." Gal 2:5 "Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth, may Israel now say, yet never have they prevailed against me," &c. Psa 129:1-4 Neither shall the gates of hell ever do it. She shall set her feet in the necks of her enemies; but her neck (as the horse's, Job 39:19) shall be clothed with thunder, so long as, with outstretched neck, she "looks up unto the hills from whence cometh her help" Psa 121:1 - even those everlasting hills Gen 49:26 where her David, the Lord Christ, dwells as in a tower, and from thence succours her, as the people said once to David. 2Sa 18:3 Besides the fresh supply a of his free Spirit, Php 1:19 fortifying their hearts against the tyranny of sin and terror of hell, he hath furnished for her a most admirable armoury - viz., the sacred Scriptures - with armour that is polished and prepared for most necessary uses. b So that the saints are those true Argyraspides, as Alexander's old soldiers were called: for defence they have, besides that privy armour of peace with God Php 4:7 and joy in the Holy Ghost, Neh 8:13 the breastplate of righteousness, the girdle of truth, the shield of faith, and shoes of patience; and for offence, they have the sword of the Spirit and darts of prayer. Eph 6:14-16
All weapons of mighty men.] Meet for such, and not for mean men; and all to be fetched out of the armoury of the Scriptures by our Saviour's own example. Mat 4:4 The Word of God hath a power in it to quail and quell all our spiritual enemies, far better than that wooden dagger, that leaden sword of the Papists - their holy waters, crossings, medals, relics, &c. This the devil knows, and therefore sets his Antichristian instruments on work to take away this armoury from the common people (as the Philistines took away all weapons from the Israelites), and to give this wicked advice, as Bristow c did, to get heretics out of their weak and false tower of holy Scriptures into the plain field of councils and fathers, &c.; which if they should do, as we trust they never shall, yet we dare be bold to say, with learned Whitaker, Patres in maximis sunt nostri, in multis varii, in minimis vestri. d The Fathers, in most material points, are for us, and not them. As for the Papists, we know how disdainfully they reject the Fathers when they make against them. Bellarmine e saith, To Irenaeus, Tertullian, Eusebius, and Luther, I answer, Omnes manifesti haeretici sunt, They are all manifest heretics. When anything in Gregory, or other ancients, pleaseth them not, the gloss upon that saith, Hoc non credo, I do not believe this, or sets Palea chaff, upon it; or Hoc antiquum est, This is in old time, and happened in illo tempore at that time. And Cornelius Mus, on Romans 3:1,31, speaks out the sense of the whole rabble of them, Plus uni Pontifici crederem, quam mille Augustinis; I would sooner believe one Pope than a thousand Augustines. How much better that learned Picus Mirandula f (a Papist too), Simplici potius rustico et infanti et aniculae magis quam Pontifici Maximo et mille Episcopis credendum est, si isti contra Evangelium, illi pro Evangelio faciant; We should sooner and rather believe a plain countryman, an infant, or an old wife, than the Pope and a thousand bishops, if the former speak or do according to the Scripture, the latter against it. And what a strong neck had Luther, scorning to stoop to Antichrist's yoke, when he professeth that if the Pope, as Pope, should command him to receive the communion in both kinds, he would but receive in one kind, though he were otherwise very earnest to have it administered in both, according to the Gospel, lest he should seem to receive the mark of the beast!
a επεχορηγια του πνευματος .
b Justin.
c Motive 48.
d Whitaker in Campian.
e De Christo, lib. i. cap. 9.
f Quaest. An papa sit sup. concil.