things most difficult to open are sweetest to chew upon as in all bones and the like let us therefore from hence observe this note That the Event and successe of the great and last battell Doct. which Christian Princes shall fight against Antichrist and his Adherents shall be like in successe to the battel 's fought at Armageddon that is to say desperate destruction to the Enemies of Gods people joyfull victories and Triumphs to the Churches of Christ godly sorrowes and penitentiall mourning to the Iewes All these severall Events are inclusively spoke unto in this word Armageddon and each branch of them are expressely mentioned in this booke and other Prophesies of Scripture First that there shall bee great and desperate destruction to the Enemies of Gods people you read in chapter 19 that it will be so great that the Angell standing in the middest of the Sunne cryed with a loud voyce saying to all the foules that flye in the middest of Heaven come and gather your selves together to the Supper of the great God that yee may eat the flesh of Kings and the flesh of Captaines and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of them that sit on them and the flesh of all men both free and bond both small and great therefore this battell must not bee sought onely with the Ministery of the Gospell though that will mightily concurre but with the sword and Weapons of warre else the foules of Heaven would have little flesh to eat upon battells fought by the Ministery of the word but Word and Sword fighting together Thus will there be wrought a great destruction to Gods Enemies to satiate all the foules of Heaven And there will bee great rejoycing and Triumph to the Churches of Christ as you read of their songs of praise for the victory gotten by Deborah and Barak over Iabin and Sisera Iudges 5. So here there will be many Hallelujahs chap. 19.1 to the end of 7. which they sing againe and againe to the Lord. And thirdly it will be matter of penitentiall mourning to the Israel of God Zach. 12.10 11. when they shall see Christ comming in his glorious power it will break their hearts with holy mourning over them and this shall be fulfilled when the new Ierusalem shall come from God out of Heaven as is prophesied in this booke chapter 21.2.10 Then shall the Tribes of the Earth mourne bitterly after Iesus Christ Why will the Events of these battels be the same Reas 1 First because Gods Enemies will bee like in their sinnes unto those that fought against Israel of old Therefore they must partake in the like Judgements wherein are they like in their sinnes In their oppressions of the people of God so Jabin mightily oppressed the children of Israel Iudges 4.3 And Saul was a malicious persecuter of David So hath the man of sinne and his Adherents beene malicious persecuters of the Saints of God And Saul tooke Counsell of the Witch at Endor So have these beene famous for their witch-crafts neither did they repent of their sorceries chap. 9. ult Now as their sinnes are like so shall their punishments bee because of the unchangeable wisedome and Iustice of God who punisheth now as he did of old Psal 83.9 10. The likenesse of their sinnes the likenesse of Gods Iustice bring forth the like kinde of Iudgements now as of old If you shall aske the Reason why there shall be the like occasion of rejoycing It is because the Lord shall in like manner avenge his people Reas 2 now as he did of old Iudg. 5.2 where she calleth upon Gods people to praise the Lord for the avenging of Israel so shall he now judge the Whore and avenge the bloud of his servants at her hand Rev. 19.2 And looke as of old they went on destroying to destroy the Enemies of the people of God untill they had consumed them so shall the people of God now doe untill they have extinguished utterly the name of Popery and made it like dung upon the face of the Earth and as there was way made of old for the glorious Kingdome of David so shall there be way made by these Warres for David to be the Prince of Gods people for ever as the Prophet Ezechiel foretelleth chap. 34.23 34. and 37.24.25 not in visible presence I dare not take up such carnall Imaginations as that Christ shall come bodily and reigne here upon the Earth but by his Spirit and in his Servants hee shall reigne on the Earth And all these things shall give the people of God great and wonderfull causes of rejoycing If you shall aske in the third place why Gods ancient people the Iewes shall be called to such penitentiall mourning Reas 3 1 The Reason first is taken from the sence which they shall have of their owne sinne a sprinkling whereof we find Act. 2.37 when they were pricked in heart and said unto Peter and to the rest of the Apostles Men and Brethren what shall we doe such will the sence of their sinne bee hereafter as will affect and afflict them with affliction like that of the Iewes for the death of Josiah yea it is set forth in Zach. 12.10 11. by the deepest mourning that can befall a family they shall mourne as one mourneth for his onely sonne and bee in bitternesse as one that is in bitternesse for his first borne It is true the losse of some wife may be greater then the losse of some sonne but he speaketh there of the mourning of Husband and Wife together and they can loose no greater outward blessing then their first borne And such was mourning for the death of Iosiah wherein they saw the ruine of Family Church and Common-wealth Therefore Ieremy complaineth that the breath of their Nostrills was taken away Lament 4.20 They mistake that thinke it was spoken of Zedechiah for the Lamentations were written upon the death of Iosiah 2 Chro. 37.25 which was a bitter mourning to them all and such shall bee their mourning in their return to the Lord when they shall see that the death of Christ hath beene the ruine desperate destruction and damnation of all their Families for these many Generations that all the Calamities that have come upon them for these 1600. yeares have sprung from this that their Fathers have put Christ to death by which meanes they have bin ruâ—â—agates upon the face of the earth the sence of that horrible sin misery which they have brought upon themselves and theirs by the death of their Iosiah Messiah shall thus deeply afflict them 2. The second ground of their mourning will spring not onely from the sight and sence of their sin but of the wonderfull unspeakable grace mercy of God unto them to give them that Son of his who hath given himself to death for them they shal be so ashamed confounded with the sence of Gods tender mercy loving kindnes towards them that
Chapter they are all of them further described to be cloathed with pure and white linnen and to have their breasts girded with golden girdles that is to say all of them to be cloathed with the righteousnesse of Christ which is pure linnen both justifying and sanctifying of them the one imputed the other inherent and all of them to be sincere profâ—ssors of the truth of Christ their breasts girded with the golden girdles of truth Further they are all of them said to receive a command from God to pour out the Vials of his wrath and all of them to pour out the Vials of his wrath upon the earth in the first Verse of this Chapter and yet it was but the first that poured out his Vial upon the earth for the second is said to pour it out upon the Sea and the third upon the rivers and fountains and the fourth you read in my Text upon the Sun and the fifth upon the Throne of the Beast and the sixth upon the great river Euphrates and the last upon the air yet all are commanded the whole seven to pour out the wrath of God upon the earth in the first verse The earth being opposed to the Church in heaven the visible Church open in heavenly purity it is so taken for some earthly carnall Antichristian state or Church but when it is not opposed to heaven but other elements then it is the lowest of all the rest and so it is according to this double opposition interpreted in this Chapter If you look at the earth as opposite to heaven the heavenly pure Churches so he means the earthly and Antichristian Church the Romish Popish Church that then was Now if you say as in the first verse it is said The first onely poured out his vial upon the earth now you mean the lowest element of the Antichristian state the common Catholicks whereupon there fell a grievous sore upon all that received the mark of the Beast and worshipped his Image When those holy servants and faithfull Ministers of Christ did discover the corruption of Religion in common Catholicks the Catholicks were afflicted with much confusion and indignation as being convinced they were bedabled with grosse superstition ignorance and idolatry and many other evils which you have formerly heard So that you see the first of them fell upon the Beast and so from the first to the last the first began with the Beast and in the last Babylon is fallen in the 19 Verse of this Chapter So that all these Vials poured out the wrath of God upon something or other of the Beast the first upon the common worshippers of the Beast the second upon the Sea that is the confluence of all the Ordinances that is such Ordinances as the worshippers of the Beast have in their Religion and they discovered that Sea to be but the bloud of a dead man not to have the life of Christ in it And the third poured out his Vial upon the Fountains and Rivers of water which are the Priests and Jesuits of that Church which carry that Religion up and down the earth as the Rivers and Fountains do the water of the Sea and of these you heard at large the last day And look as the opening of the Seals mentioned before in this Book did open the wrath of God and his judgements aginst the Roman-Pagan Empire and the seven Trumpets did sound out the wrath of God against the Roman-Christian Empire and Church so these last Angels with the last wrath in the seven Vials they pour it all out upon the Antichristian Roman state So that all the judgements in this Book are still upon Rome either Rome Pagan or Rome Christian or Rome Antichristian the one falls under seven Seals the other under seven Trumpets and this last under seven Vials So that if the earth upon which the first Angel poured out his Vial be the common sort of Catholicks and the Sea upon which the second Angel poured out his Vial be their Religion and convinced it to be the bloud of a dead man and no life of the bloud of Christ in it to wash sin from the souls and consciences of men nothing else but unwholsome and unsavoury choking corruptions ready to destroy all that were washed in it or drank of it And the third Vial being poured out upon the Jesuits and Priests they were thereby adjudged to capitall punishment as you have heard for they were forced to drink bloud as they were worthy having caused the Martyrs of CHRIST JESUS to drink bloud This fourth Vial therefore comes to be poured out upon something of the Beast as all the rest of the Vials were The fourth Angel poured out his Vial upon the Sun to wit something of the Beast which resembles the Sun in his world even as the Sun is the greatest light in this materiall world which GOD created in the beginning In these words then you may see described the pouring out of the Vial of the fourth Angel which is set forth by the subject upon which it is poured Vpon the sun Secondly by the effect which followed upon that He had power given him to scorch men with fire and secondly Men were tormented with great heat upon it And a third Argument by which this Vial poured out is described is the event which followed and that is double Men blasphemed the name of God and God here described to have power over these plagues as an aggravation of that blasphemy to blaspheme the name of God that had power over these plagues And secondly they are described by another event their Impenitencie their not repenting they repented not to give him glory So that here the fourth Vial is poured out Upon what Upon the Sun What is the effect of that Power is is given to that Angel to scorch men with fire and men were scorched with heat and the event of it was they that were so scorched continued still impenitent they repented not to give God glory but on the contrary blasphemed the name of the great God that had power over these plagues For opening the meaning of the words briefly By the Sun cannot here be meant that body of the Sun that gives light to us in these visible heavens For how shall an Angel comming out of the Temple out of a reformed Church pour out his Vial upon that Sun Or if he should be able so to do how should he work any distempered heat in it but it would annoy reformed Churches as well as Antichristian How will it reflect a peculiar plague upon Antichrist It must therefore be some other Sun and indeed such a Sun as is wrapped up under the generall Notion of Earth for all the Angels poured out their Vials upon the earth they had no other Commission given them to pour out their Vials but upon the earth in the first Verse And therefore he that poured out his Vial upon the Sea it was but an earthly sea a worldly
come to passe that there will be a way made for the Kings of the East to come in for yee heard that by the Kings of the East are properly meant the Iewes as being of old called Kings A royall Priesthood so that way is made for them by this reformation of religion in Christendome The removing of those abuses to wit of the corruption of religion and popish superstition and idolatry way is made for their conversion and doe but dry up those streames and then you leave Babylon dry and you leave the Turkish Monarchy weakened for the staffe of the Turkish Monarchy is the superstition of Antichristianisme From hence therefore yee have heard already these two notes gathered and handled the first is this that the dayes are comming wherein Christian Princes shall dry up the streames of antichristian corruption in Religion And thereby also dry up the Fountaines of the streames of the Turkish tyranny Secondly yee have heard this note also gathered and handled That upon the drying up of the streames of corruption of Antichristian religion and of Turkish Tyranny way is made for the conversion of the Iewes the antient people of God Of these two wee spake the last day and thus much was needfull to be repeated that yee might understand where wee are To proceede to the next note then the third that concernes this Viall but the first at this time Let me first gather the note and then shew you how it rises out of the Text then give some grounds of it and make use of it as the Lord shall helpe the note is this Upon the drying up of the streames of the corruption of religion Doct. 3 in Christendome the Dragon the Beast and the false Prophet shall send forth their choisest instruments to stir up and gather together both Popish and Pagan Princes unto a great battell to withstand the reformation of Christians and the conversion of the Jewes This is the summe See all these points expresly and distinctly delivered and fully in these two Verses the 13 and 14. For further then so I shall not goe at this time And this one note opens both these Verses and all the passages therein First yee see upon the powring out of this Viall upon the river Euphrates and the drying up the streames thereof that is upon the drying up of the corruptions of religion superstition Idolatry Murthers and Whordomes restraining and drying up all such Fountaines what followes He saith the Beast the Dragon and the false Prophet sent out of their mouthes three unclean spirits like Frogs which goe forth unto the Kings of the Earth and of the whole world to gather them to the battell of that great day of God Almighty To open this doctrine and the words a little First for the Dragon yee have heard it noted before from the 12. Rev. 9. verse him to be the old Serpent Satan but taken chiefly as he doth act and govern and dwell in the Roman state And therefore he is described to have seaven hads and ten Hornes in the third verse of the 12 Chapter But take him as he is Satan spiritually and he hath neither heads nor hornes Take him as he governes Rome and so he hath seven heads and ten hones The seven heads are seven hilles And the ten hornes are ten governments who then is the Beast the Beast as ye have heard he is described by the very same Characters seven heads and ten hornes 13. Rev 9. verse It is said to be him to whom the Dragon hath given his power and his seat and great authority it doth therefore hold forth the Roman state not Rome Pagan nor Rome Christian as yee have heard It remaines therefore to be Rome antichristian which is that The Roman visible Catholique Church that 's the first Beast which claimes all the power by pretence of religion which old Rome and the Roman Monarchy claimed by force of armes Who is then the false Prophet The false Prophet hee is never mentioned before in this booke not by name and yet hee is spoken of here as well knowne It appeares therefore this false Prophet is the 2 Beast in 13 Rev. 11 verse to the end The second Beast there is said to worke Miracles in the 13 Verse he doth great wonders c. And 18 Verse he deceiveth them that dwell on the Earth by the meanes of these miracles c. And the same yee shall reade of the false Prophet in the 19 Rev. 20 Verse The Beast was taken and with him the false Prophet that wrought miracles before him with which he deceived them that had received the marke of the Beast And them which worshiped his Image c. The description is the same of the false Prophet and of the Beast both of them holding forth the head of the Roman Church The false Prophet Balaam the Bishop or Antichrist of Rome So that it doth imply thus much that the Dragon and the Devill himselfe did stir up not the Pope onely but the whole Catholicke Church to gather into some councill or some other solemne meeting some chiefe concurse of them who by common content shall out of their mouthes that is to say by their commands their Cannons and Decrees for that is out of their mouthes out of their commands out of their edicts out of their injunctions shall send forth their uncleane Spirits Spirits they be for nimblenesse and activity Spirits they bee for impetuousnesse and strength Spirits they be also for close and cleanly conveyance There is no stoping the gates against Spirits yee cannot so stop the Cinque-ports but they will in they will enter into any Court Princes Palaces or great mens Houses there 's no hindering of them they have a cleanly conveyance and secret and close passage And they are also Spirits of Devills It is not the ordinary word Devill but Daemon the which is wont to expresse Spirits for their knowledge and learning They are learned spirits and yet Devills for their deceit and mischeife Ye are of your Father the devill the works of your Father ye will doe Iohn 8 44. Liers for deceit Murtherers for mischeif these are the spirits he sends forth which surely comming as they doe out of the mouth of the Dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false Prophet they are not spirits properly so called They are therefore Emissaries sent forth by them men of nimble wits and parts active for nimblenesse and close conveyance and full of deceit and mischiefe And these are the spirits are sent forth and here said to be three spirits comming out of their mouthes not as if one came out of the mouth of one and another came out of the mouth of another but all three of them came out of all their mouthes together at once It is not rightly translated here that he saith he saw them comming out for the word comming out is not in the originall but hee
In a word two things are chiefly to be opened First who is that He of whom it is said Hee gathered them together c. Secondly what is this place Thirdly why is it described in the Hebrew tongue Fourthly what is this unto Christian Kings And fiftly wherefore is this Battell fought here He gathered them together Some understand it of the Lord God Almighty and so it might well be meant for it is he that gathereth the Nations together into the Valley of Iehosaphat Ioel 3.2 Though that be not meant of this Armageddon but is spoken of Revel 20.8 9. The Lord indeed may not bee excluded from this worke yet because the same word is used ver 14. and it is an usuall phrase in that language to joyne Verbes of the singular number to neuter Substantives of the plurall therefore I would translate this Verbe of the singular Number in the plurall and say they gathered them they went forth to perswade them and they did prevaile mightily with them For the word in the native and proper meaning of that Language is to be translated in another Language in the plurall Number rather then in the Singular Into a place called Armageddon there be that translate it to signifie the destruction of a Troope now than may agree to any place under Heaven And I know not then why it should be expressed in Hebrew A Greeke word might have expressed it as well Some doe interpret it to bee the Mount of delights which the Turkes shall compasse but you shall finde that this is not that Battel that is it which shall be fought in the Valley of Iehosaphat though they be usually confounded by Interpreters but that Battell to which they are here gathered is fought in the 19. chap. ver 17. to 21. The Battell of Gog and Magog which is in the valley of Iehosaphat is spoken of in the 20. chapter of this booke therefore you read that the Devill was bound a thousand yeares and then loosed out of Prison and at length cast into the Lake that burneth with fire and brimstone Rev. 20.10 where he found the Beast and the false Prophet who were both cast in before Rev. 19.20 So that I dare not understand it to be meant indefinitly nor of the Mount of delights for I know not why they here spoke of to wit Christian Kings should goe to Ierusalem to fight this Battell their businesse will lye neerer home And whereas many thinke that the Iewes shall have a great stroke in this Battell I dare not consent unto that because there is but a way prepared for them in this Viall they shall come in the seventh Viall These things put me off from closing with these and such like Interpretations what then may be the meaning hereof Armageddon doth signifie the hil of Megiddon for Maygeddon and Megiddon are but different writings holding forth the same thing But why should it be called thus shall this battell be fought there there is no light for that But as hee sometimes calleth Rome by the names of Sodome and Aegypt and Babylon because of their neere resemblance one to another So this is called Armageddon because of the neere resemblance of that battell fought in this field unto those battels which were fought in Megiddon in old time For it is usuall in the Prophesies of the New Testament to allude unto things spoken of in the Old Now you may remember that three great battels have beene fought in Megiddon and I conceive that the Holy Ghost maketh the events of the battell here fought to bee like the events of those battels First there was fought the battell of Deborah and Barak against Iabin and Sisera which the text saith was by the waters of Megiddo Iudg. 5.19 This battell ended in a memorable and joyfull victory celebrated with a joyfull Psalme Iudg. 5. This overthrow there given was dreadfull to all their adversaries they destroyed them all and saved not a man of them an eminent victory it was and therefore Deborah prayeth so let all thine Enemies perish O Lord ver 31. And David prayeth concerning Gods Enemies doe unto them as unto Sisera as to Iabin at the brooke Kison which perished at Endor c. And like hereunto will this battell in Armageddon be when those Canaanites which have oppressed the Church of God shall be oppressed and crushed in pieces by the 10. Kings that shall rise against them There was a second battell fought at Megiddon and that by Iosiah and Pharaoh Nechoh who met Iosiah at Megiddo and slew him there 2. Kings 23.29 whereupon there grew a great Lamentation in so much that all Iudah and Ierusalem mourned for Iosiah and Ieremiah lamented for Iosiah and all the singing men and singing women spake of Iosiah in their Lamentations 2 Chron. 35.24 25. And hereupon Ieremiah wrote the booke of Lamentations as if he had seene the City ruined their wives ravished their children tossed upon the speares of their Enemies because the breath of Church and Common-Wealth and every Family was choaked in the death of Iosiah And the like Effect of mourning shall this battell fought in Armageddon worke in the Iewes and shall become the rise of their calling when as they shall see the mighty power of Christ in rooting out all Image-worship and worshippers that have so long time hindered them from comming to the knowledge of the Messias then shall there be a great mourning amongst them as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Mageddon Zach. 12.10 11. Therefore it is spoken of in the Hebrew tongue because this shall befall the Hebrew people as when you read Rev. 9.11 that the King of the bottomlesse pit hath his name in the Hebrew Abaddon and in the Greek tongue Apolion it is to be understood that hee is a destroyer both unto the Jewes and Gentiles and if you shall afterward heare of some tnat sing Halelujah know of a truth that it principally concerneth those in whose language it is spoken for every Nation is to praise God in his owne Language so the battell will be fought in Armageddon because as it will be a great destruction to Gods Enemies so it will produce a peninentiall and comfortable mourning at the length unto the Iewes But why is it called the Hill of MEGIDDON these battels were fought in the valley therefore the Holy Ghost would not expresse it barely by the name of Magiddo that so he might point besides these at another battell which was fought in the hill of Megiddon now the hill that looked over this valley was Mount Gilboa where the battell was fought by the Philistines against Saul upon whose overthrow David was established in the Kingdome The men of Israel and Saul and his sonnes fell downe slaine in Mount Gilboa 1 Sam. 31.28 From hence went Saul to enquire of the Witch at Endor and that was in the valley of Megiddon so they were nigh one to another for Baraks battell with Sifera was fought
neere Endor Psal 83.9 10. Thus wee have an allusion to all these three notable and memorable battels whereas had he said in a place in the Hebrew tongue Gilboa then had hee limited the allusion unto Sauls battell who was indeed a destroyer of Religion but so other effects of this battell fought in this Text had not beene pointed at Therefore that hee might graspe in all those Events which those battels that were fought about Megiddon brought forth he saith the place was called Armageddon and it is an usuall thing that battels in the hill are pursued to the valley and in the valley to the Hill the hill and the valley lying neere together And indeed the same Events will this battell bring forth which fell out upon all the former battels at Megiddo So then the summe is that these spirits went forth to gather these Popish and Heathen Princes together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon where the battell shall have the like successe that it had of old unto the destruction of Gods Enemies the utter ruine of Antichrist as of Saul the setling of the Kingdome of Christ upon David unto the conversion of the Iewes who shall upon this occasion mourne bitterly over him whom they have pierced Onely let us a little further cleare one scruple which may somewhat remaine why shall the Iewes come in mourning at this victory shall they mourne with Indignation for the successe of Christian Princes and States or shall it bee a mourning of compassion for the destruction of Rome no verily the text is plaine they will rejoyce for both and joyne together with the rest of the Christian Churches to praise the name of the Lord with Hallelujahs in the 19. chapter of this booke and the 1. ver After these things that is after the destruction of Babel I heard a great voyce of much people in Heaven saying Hallelujah So againe ver 3.6 they shall praise God with an Hallelujah as well as the Latines with a Laudate Dominum It is therefore neither a mourning of Indignation for the succ sse of the Saints nor of compassion for the Rivers of Babell but what is it then It is a mourning of compunction whereby they seeing in this battell that Christ is indeed the true Messias they shall mourne that they have beene so long estranged from him for two maine stumbling blocks will this battell remove out of their way First that which is their great stumbling block to wit the Pope who is counted the Father of Christian Churches and yet himselfe liveth like an Epicure and maintaineth Idolatry and superstition and though many in the world abhorre his wayes yet they looke at them but as Sects and inferiour people and States in respect of the Pope and Popish Princes but when they shall see that the Zeale of Christian Princes hath dryed up those streames of Superstition to the utter confusion of the man of sinne then will they also see that that Iesus whom they have resisted all this while even that Iesus is the Messias 2. There is also another stumbling block which some of their more learned stand upon that when the Messias comes he shall destroy the foure Monarchies spoken of Dan. 2.45 The stone that was cut out of the Mountaine without hand brake in peices the Iron the Brasse the clay the Silver and the Gold Now say they if your Iesus be the Messias how commeth it to passe the Monarchy standeth upon his two feet the Turke and Pope but they might have considered that the Lord Iesus hath been crushing them a great while together and hee never told them that he would doe it as soone as he came though he will never leave untill he hath crushed them to the dust and when once this battell is fought that there shall be no more remaining but what is the Jewes worke to doe then shall they see the Prophesie of Daniel fulfilled when the battell in Armageddon shall end in the destruction of the man of Sinne and then shall they see Jesus Christ held forth in the purity of the Gospell contrary whereunto no word of the Prophets shall bee found and then shall they see him whom they have crucifyed to be indeed both Lord and Christ Then shall they see that the name of the Lord Iesus which they now curse in their Liturgies is blessed for ever now they will grieve that they have cursed his name blasphemously praying that it might perish from under these Heavens and from above this Earth for these things will they mourne bitterly Object But you will say that to see the successe of a battell is not a sufficient meanes to convert a people to the Lord that are fully possessed with their owne wayes Here indeed may be a removens prohibens that may somewhat help forward but it is needfull unto their Conversion that some word of God bee set home to their hearts to convince them that the curse of the Law which belongeth unto them it is Christ onely that hath borne it for them Ans It is no small meanes of conversion to see the Lord bearing witnesse against the corruptions of Religion in destroying the Enemies of his people You know the story of Iethro who was a Prince or Priest of Midian when he commeth to see his sonne Moses who told him of all the great deliverances that God had wrought for his people Exod. 18. 8.9 10. what saith he now I know that the Lord is greater then all Gods for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly hee was above them This is the effect of his hearing of the wonders that God had wrought for his people so that you need not doubt it but when these battells are fought though they shall bee noe parties on the one side nor on the other yet they shall heare what will be reported upon this occasion in the publick Ministery of the word which will bee sufficient to convince as a Priest of Midian so a Iew that this is the Lord Iesus who hath so fulfilled all that hee hath spoken of in his word And moreover I doe beleeve that great will bee the power of the Ministery of the word in fighting of this battell by declaring the powerfull presence of Christ with them and for them thus shall the sword of the Ministery of the Gospell prevaile mightily by animating Christian Princes and people according as it is said chap. 19.21 of this booke the remnant were slaine with the sword that proceedeth out of his mouth that is out of the mouth of Iesus Christ and when the word of Christ goeth along with the sword of Princes you need not wonder if it doe not onely prevaile against the Beast and false Prophet but also to make Satan fall downe from Heaven like lightning even out of the hearts of the Iewes from deceiving them any longer Thus much for the opening of the words which though it have beene long and difficult yet many times