World and does provide for himself lasting Comforts and faithful Companions which will never leave him nor forsake him a Happiness large as his Desires and Durable and Immortal as his Soul Let us then do all the good that possibly we can whilst we have opportunity Let us serve God industriously and with all our Might knowing that no good Action that we do shall be lost and fall to the ground that no Grace and Virtue that we Practise in this Life nor any Degree of them shall lose their Reward If we faithfully improve the Talents which are committed to us to our Masters advantage when he comes to call us to an Account and finds that we have done so we shall not fail to receive both his Approbation and Reward And what a Comfort will it be to any one of us to hear those Blessed words from the Mouth of our Lord Well done thou good and faithful servant thou hast been faithful in a little I will make thee ruler over much enter thou into the joy of thy Lord We shall not need to plead our Services to him and put him in Mind of them Our Judge himself will celebrate our good Deeds upon the Theatre of the World and commemorate them to our advantage and interpret every good Office we have done to any of his Poor and Afflicted Members as if it had been a Kindness immediatly done to himself So our Lord represents the Proceedings of the great Judge and King of the World in the great day of Recompence Mat. 25.34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the World For I was an hungred and ye gave me meat I was thirsty and ye gave me drink I was a stranger and ye took me in naked and ye cloathed me I was sick and ye visited me I was in prison and ye came unto me Then shall the righteous answer him saying Lord when saw we thee in any of these circumstances hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and ministred unto thee And the King shall answer and say unto them Verily I say unto you In as much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my Brethren ye have done it unto me Who would not be ambitious and glad to serve such a Prince who will so benignly Intepret and so bountifully Reward the least Service we do to him III. The Consideration of this should likewise be a great Argument and Support to our Patience under all those Evils and Sufferings and Persecutions which many times attend Good Men in this World They are for the present perhaps very heavy and grievous But there is a time shortly coming when we shall be at ease and perfectly freed from them when we shall find rest from our labours and sufferings when we shall enter into peace and rest in our beds every one walking in his uprightness that is reaping the Comfort and enjoying the Reward of his Sincerity towards God and constant Suffering for his Cause and Truth And therefore it was well said of a Good Man Blessed be God that we are to die because to Good Men that is a certain Remedy of all the Evils of this Life and will unquestionably put an end to them The Grave is a place of Rest and discharge from all Trouble as Job elegantly describes it Chap. 3.17 18 19. There the Wicked cease from troubling there the weary be at rest There the prisoners rest together they hear not the voice of the oppressour The small and the great are there and the Servant is free from his Master So soon as we enter into the other World we are secure against the Pursuit and Danger of all those Evils which Afflicted us in this World and nothing will remain but the joyful remembrance of our Sufferings and the plentiful Reward of our Constancy and Patience under them And the more our Tribulations and Persecutions have abounded the greater will our Comfort and Happiness then be which saith St. Paul is a manifest token a clear demonstration of the righteous judgment of God that ye may be accounted worthy of the kingdom of God for which ye also suffer seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompence to you who are troubled Rest with us when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven with his Mighty Angels 2 Thess 1.5 6 7. IV. The Consideration of the extream Sufferings which are to fall upon the faithful Servants of Christ in the last times and which seem now to be begun in the World should make us very contented to leave this World and glad of any fair Oportunity and Excuse to take our leave of it and to be out of the reach and danger of those violent and more than humane Temptations with which our Faith and Constancy may be assailed Nay to esteem it a particular Grace and Favour of God to us to be taken away from the Evil to come and to prevent if God sees it good those Extremities of Sufferings which are coming upon the World These seem now to be begun in some part of it They in our Neighbour Nation have a bitter Cup put into their hands a Cup of Astonishment to all those that hear of it Whether this be that last and extream Persecution spoken of here by St. John I shall not pretend positively to determine It is plainly distinguish'd in the Visions froth that under the first Beast described Rev. 13. from Verse the first to Verse 11. And Chap. 17. there is a description of the Beast upon which the woman sitteth on whose forehead is a name written Mystery Babylon the Great And this Beast is there said to have seven heads and ten horns which are thus explained by St. John Chap. 17.9 10. And here is the Mind which hath Wisdom the seven Heads are seven Mountains upon which the Woman sitteth and there are seven Kings that is as is generally agreed by Interpreters a succession of seven Governments And Verse 12 13 14. And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten Kings which have received no Kingdoms as yet but receive power as Kings one hour with the Beast These have one mind and shall give their power and strength unto the Beast and shall make war with the Lamb. And Verse 18. And the woman which thou sawest is that great City which reigneth over the Kings of the earth So that this Beast is plainly the Roman Empire and the Woman that sitteth upon her is the great City standing upon seven mountains which reigneth over the Kings of the earth which can be no other than Rome as is agreed by Interpreters on all sides Bellarmine l. 2. c. 2. de Rom. Pontif. confesseth that St. John in the Revelations every where calleth Rome Babylon as Tertullian saith he hath noted and as is plain from Chap. 17. where Babylon is said to
for his Religion when he cannot be persuaded to live according to it So that by this we may try the Sincerity of our Resolution concerning Martyrdom For what Profession soever Men make he that will not deny himself the Pleasures of Sin and the Advantages of this World for Christ when it comes to the push will never have the Heart to take up his Cross and follow him He that cannot take up a Resolution to live a Saint hath a Demonstration within himself that he is never like to dye a Martyr SERMON X. The Blessedness of Good Men after Death Preached on All-Saints Day REV. XIV 13. And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me Write Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth Yea saith the Spirit that they may rest from their labours and their works do follow them I Will not trouble you with any nice Dispute about the Author of this Book of the Revelation or the Authority of it VOL. II. tho' both these were sometimes controverted because it is now many Ages since this Book was received into the Canon of the Scriptures as of Divine Authority and as written by St. John Nor shall I at this time enquire into the particular meaning of the several Visions and Predictions contained in it It is confessedly in several parts of it a very obscure Book and there needs no other Argument to satisfie us that it is so than that so many Learned and Inquisitive Persons have given such different Interpretations of several remarkable Passages in it as particularly concerning the slaying of the Two Witnesses and the number of the Beast The words which I have read to you tho' there be some difficulty about the Interpretation of some particular Expressions in them yet in the general Sense and Intendment of them they are very plain being a Solemn Declaration of the Blessed State of Good Men after this Life And that we may take the more notice of them they are brought in with a great deal of Solemn Preparation and Address Serm. X. as it were on purpose to bespeak our attention to them I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me Write Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth And for the greater Confirmation of them the special Testimony of the Spirit is added to the voice from Heaven declaring the Reason why they that die in the Lord are Pronounced to be in so happy a Condition Yea saith the Spirit that they may rest from their labours and their works do follow them In the handling of these Words I shall First inquire into the particular Sense and Meaning of them Secondly Prosecute the general Intendment of them which I told you is to declare to us the Blessed Estate of those that die in the Lord that is of Saints and Good Men after they are departed this Life First I shall enquire into the particular Sense and Meaning of the Words To the clearing of which nothing will conduce more than to consider the Occasion of them which was briefly this In the Visions of this and the foregoing Chapter is represented to St. John the great Straits that the Christians the true Worshipers of the True God should be reduced to On the one hand they are Threatned with Death or if they be suffered to live they are interdicted all Commerce with Humane Society Chap. 13.15 And he had power to cause that as many as would not worship the Image of the Beast should be killed And Verse 17. That no man may buy or sell save he that had the Mark of the Beast And on the other hand they that do Worship the Beast are Threatned with Damnation Chap. 14.9 10. If any man do worship the Beast the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God and shall be tormented with fire and brimstone So that whenever this should happen it would be a time of great Trial to the sincere Christians being threatned with Extream Persecution on the one hand and Eternal Damnation on the other and therefore it is added in the 12 Verse Here is the Patience of the Saints Here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus This is represented in St. John's Visions as the last and extremest Persecution of the true Worshipers of God and which should preceed the final Downfall of Babylon And when this should happen then he tells us the Patience of the Saints would be tried to purpose and then it would be seen who are faithful to God and constant to his Truth and upon this immediately follows the Voice from Heaven in the Text And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me Write Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth Yea saith the Spirit that they may rest from their labours and their works do follow them The main Difficulty of the words depends upon the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from henceforth which Interpreters do variously refer to several parts of the Text. Some by changing the Accent and reading it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 would change the signification of the word into omninò omninò beati sunt they are altogether blessed very happy who die in the Lord. But this is altogether destitute of the Countenance and Warrant of any ancient Copy We will then suppose that the word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and to be rendered as we Translate it from henceforth from this time All the Difficulty is to what part of the Text we are to refer it Some refer it to the word Blessed Blessed from henceforth are the dead which die in the Lord As if from this time and not before the Souls of Good Men were immediately after Death admitted into Heaven which many of the Ancient Fathers thought the Souls of Good Men who died before the coming of Christ were not But then this Blessedness ought to have been dated not from the time of St. John's Vision but of Christ's Ascension according to that of St. Ambrose in the Hymn called Te Deum When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death thou didst open the Kingdom of Heaven to all Believers Others refer it to dying in the Lord Blessed are the dead that from henceforth die in the Lord. But this hath no peculiar Emphasis in it because they were blessed that died in the Lord before that time Others refer it to the words following concerning the Testimony of the Spirit yea from henceforth saith the Spirit All these Varieties agree in this Sense in general That some special Blessedness is Promised and Declared to those who should die after that time But what that is in Particular is not easie to make out But the most plain and simple Interpretation and that which seems to be most suitable to the Occasion of these words is this that the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from henceforth is to be referred to the whole Sentence thus from henceforth blessed are the
be seated on seven mountains and to have dominion over the Kings of the earth There being no other City than Rome which in the time of St. John had dominion over the Kings of the earth and that Rome was built upon seven hills is famous Thus much Bellarmine acknowledged constrained by the Force of Truth and for another small Reason namely because St. Peter writes his first Epistle from Babylon by which if Rome be not meant they have no Proof from Scripture that St. Peter was ever there Indeed they of the Church of Rome would have it to be only Rome Pagan But that cannot be because this Beast after his last head was wounded to death and his deadly wound was healed had power given him to continue two and forty Months or as it is elsewhere exprest 1260 days that is in the Prophetick Style so many Years and likewise because it was not to begin till the Ten Kingdoms into which the Roman Empire upon its dissolution was divided were set up which was not till after the Western Empire was Overthrown and Destroyed by the Goths and Vandals And Lastly because this is that Rome or Babylon which should finally be destroyed and cast as a Milstone into the bottom of the Sea never to rise again which is yet to come And of this Beast it is said that he should make War with the Saints and overcome them Chap. 13. Ver. 7. that is that he should raise a long and great Persecution against them which should try their Faith and Patience Ver. 10. Here is the Patience and the Faith of the Saints The Beast then with Ten Horns must be Rome governing the Ten Kingdoms into which the Romam Empire was broken and this can be nothing else but Rome Papal to which the Ten Kings are said to give their Power and to which they were in a most Servile manner subject for several Ages as is plain from History And to confirm this it is very observable that the Ancient Fathers generally agree that that which hindered the revealing of the Wicked One spoken of by St. Paul 2 Thess 2.7 8. was the Roman Empire and that being removed the Man of Sin or Antichrist was to succeed in its room I shall produce a few Testimonies to this purpose but very remarkable ones Tertulllian expounding what St. Paul means by him that with-holdeth or leteth hath these words Quis nisi Romanus Status c Who is that but the Roman State which being broken into Ten Kings shall bring on Antichrist And then the Wicked one shall be revealed And in his Apology he gives this Reason why the Christians should pray for the Roman Emperours and the whole State of the Empire because the greatest mischief hanging over the World is hinder'd by the continuance of it St. Chrysostom speaking of that which hinders the revelation of the Man of Sin this says he can be no other than the Roman Empire for as long as that stands he dares not shew himself but upon the vacancy or ceasing of that he shall assume to himself both the Power of God and Man St. Austin in his Book de Civit. Dei no Man says he doubts but that the Successour to the Roman Emperour in Rome shall be the Man of Sin and we know who hath Succeeded him But now after this another Beast is represented coming out of the Earth not succeeding in the place of the first Beast but appearing during his continuance Ver. 12. and he hath these remarkable Characters by which he may be known 1. He is said to have but two horns by which according to the Interpretation of the ten horns signifying the ten Kingdoms into which the Roman Empire after its dissolution should be divided we are in all Reason to understand two of those Kingdoms of which this Beast whoever he be shall be Possest 2. He is said to be like a Lamb but 〈◊〉 speak like a Dragon that is to pretend and make a shew of great Lenity and Mildness in his Proceedings but that really he shall be very cruel It shall be pretended that he does all without Violence and without Arms but he shall speak as a Dragon that is in Truth shall exercise great Force and Cruelty either alluding to the Cruelty of the Dragon literally so called or perhaps prophetically pointing at a particular sort of Armed Souldiers called by that name of Dragons or as we according to the French Pronunciation call them Dragoons 3. He shall arise during the continuance of the first Beast and engage in his Cause but the first Beast shall only stand by and look on Ver. 12. and he exerciseth all the Power of the first Beast before him and causeth the earth and them that dwell therein to Worship the Beast whose deadly wound was healed plainly declaring that this Persecution should not immediately arise from the first Beast which is said to come out of the Sea which in this Prophecy denotes the State Ecclesiastical but from the second Beast which comes out of the Earth and denotes the Temporal Power But yet all this ought to be acted in the sight of the first Beast and in his behalf to compel Men to worship him 4. That he shall be remarkable for causing Fire to come down from Heaven to Earth in a wonderful manner to the great Terrour and Amazement of Men Ver. 13. And he doth great wonders so that he maketh fire to come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men 5. That he should interdict all those who would not Worship the Beast all Commerce with Humane Society the Exercise of Civil Trades and Professions Ver. 17. And he causeth that no man might buy or sell save he that had the mark of the Beast 6. and Lastly which seems to be the most Peculiar and Characteristical Note of all the rest that his Number should be 666 that is as most of the Ancients understand it that the Numeral Letters of a certain Word or Name should being computed amount to that Number And it is expresly said to be the Number of a Man Ver. 18. Let him that hath understanding count the Number of the Beast for it is the Number of a Man And in the Verse before it is said to be the Number of his Name Now to whom all these Characters do agree and especially the last concerning the Number of his Name I shall not presume to conjecture much less positively to determine whether he be now in being because it is said to require a particular Wisdom and Understanding to find it out Here is Wisdom let him that hath Vnderstanding count the number of the Beact However the Event when the thing is fully accomplisht will clearly discover it Thus much is certain that this extream Persecution whenever it shall be will forerun the Final Destruction of Babylon which will not then be far off And concerning this it is that St. John speaks Ch. 14.12 when he says Here is the
Nations and his selling it to inrich his Family quod non fecerant Barbari fecerunt Barberini may with changing the Name and Occasion be applyed to a great many others that they have been guilty of those Cruelties against Christians upon account of difference in Religion which the most Barbarous Nations never exorcised upon one another I have done with the Observations and the Text and shall I now need to make any Application of what hath been said to the Occasion of this day The thing applys it self since the horrid Design of this Day was undertaken and carried on upon the same Pretences and Principles upon which the Jews persecuted the Disciples of our Lord and much in the same Method for they first thunder'd out an Excommunication against them and then took it for granted that it would be an acceptable Sacrifice to God to destroy them I will not go about to aggravate the Comspiracy of this Day it is past my skill nor will I extend the blame and guilt of it any farther than the plain Evidence and Reason of the thing does enforce It is a thing so scandalous to Humane Nature and so great a Reflection upon any Church and Religion to be accessory to the contriving or countenancing of any such Design that I am very well contented that it should be confined to as narrow a compass as may be and none esteemed guilty of it but those that were openly in it or have since endeavour'd to excuse it All that we desire of others is that they would declare their hearty detestation of such abominable Practices and be as good as their word and that they would not account it a service and sacrifice to God to destroy all that cannot be of their Mind So that the Inference from all this Discourse in short shall be this that Men should take great care to inform their Consciences aright and to govern them by the plain Rules of Good and Evil the Law of God written upon our hearts and revealed in his Word which forbids such Practices as I have been speaking of as clearly as the Sun shines at Noonday and that we would always be afraid to do a bad thing tho' gilded over with never so glorious Colours and specious Pretences of zeal for God and his Truth For a Man may do a thing with an honest Mind and for a religious End and be Commissioned and Countenanced as St. Paul was by them who take themselves to be the only true Church in the World and yet at last prove to have been all the while a Blasphemer and a Murderer and the greatest of Sinners for none of these Pretences are sufficient to warrant and sanctifie a wicked action Before this can be done the immutable nature of Good and Evil must be changed I will conclude all with that gentle Reproof of our Blessed Saviour to his Disciples when their Zeal for him had transported them to make that cruel Request to him that he would as Elias had done upon a like occasion call for fire from heaven to destroy the Samaritans Ye know not what manner of Spirit ye are of for the Son of man came not to destroy mens lives but to save them hereby declaring to us the true Spirit and â—â—â—per of Christianity and that they 〈◊〉 contrary to it are ignorant 〈…〉 â—ature of the Christian Religion Ye know not what manner of Spirit ye are of for the Son of man came not to destroy mens lives but to save them SERMON XV. The Duty and Reason of Praying for Governours Preached on the 29 of May. 1693. 1 TIM II. 1 2. I exhort therefore that first of all supplications prayers intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men for Kings and for all that are in authority that we way lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty I Need not tell any here that this Day is appointed by Authority for an Anniversary Solemnity in a grateful Commemoration of the great Mercy of God to these Nations VOL. II. in putting an end to the intestine Wars and Confusions of many Years in restoring to us our own ancient Government and Laws and in bringing home as upon this Day the rightful Heir of these Kingdoms to the Crown and Throne of his Fathers And tho' the Glory of this Day hath been not a little sullied and obscured by many things which have happened since that Time fitter now to be buried in Silence and Oblivion than to be mention'd and raked up yet it hath pleased God in scattering those black Clouds which not long since hung over us to restore this Day to its first Lustre and brightness so that we may now with great joy look back upon it as designed by the wise Providence of God to make way for the Happiness which we now enjoy under their present Majesties by whom under God we have been delivered from that terrible and imminent Danger which threatned our Religion and Laws and the very Constitution it self of our ancient Government And to this Occasion no kind of Argument can be more proper and suitable Serm. XV. than that which the Text affords to our Consideration in this Injunction of St. Paul to Timothy to take care that in the Publick Worship of God Supplications and Thanksgivings be put up to God for Kings and all that are in authority I exhort therefore c. In which Words there are Four things considerable First The Duty here enjoyn'd which is Prayer expressed to us in several Words which seem to denote the several kinds or parts of Prayer I exhort therefore that supplications prayers intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men For Kings and for all that are in authority c. Some of these words are of a very near signification and yet there seems some difference betwixt them most probably this 1. By 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which we render Supplications is probably meant that part or kind of Prayer wherein we supplicate God for the Pardon of our Sins and for the averting and removing of Evils whether Temporal or Spiritual from our selves or others 2. By 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which we render Prayers seems to be meant Petitions for Blessings and good things from God and these are most properly call'd Prayers 3. By 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 seems to be particularly meant Pleadings and Intercessions on the behalf of others 4. By 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is certainly intended Praises and Thanksgivings to God for his Blessings and Goodness to our selves and others This seems to be the difference between them which whether it be exactly so or not is not very material since these are unquestionably the several kinds or parts of Prayer And these several sorts of Prayer St. Chrysostom in his Comment upon this Text tells us were Publickly used in his Time in the daily Service of the Church this says he all Communicants do know is done every day Morning and