Earthly Religion and so to the Princes of Earthly religion they goe forth therefore they goe unto the Kings of the Earth And of the whole World They doe not containe themselves in the limits of Christendome but the other Princes the Princes of the whole world that is to say to Pagan Princes They would have power to prevent if it were possible this great mischiefe to themselves that they might crush these Christian Kings that brought in the reformation Therefore they goe forth to the Kings of the Earth and of the whole World To gather them to battell To the battell of that great day of God Almighty That 's not the last judgement as some have thought there will be no warring then but every day of great execution is called a great day of God Almighty But that we shall speake to God willing when we come to it of that great day of God Almighty But what day is that yee have it expounded in the 19. Rev. 17. It is the day of Gods great Supper that yee may eat the flesh of Kings and the flesh of Captaines and the flesh of mighty men c. This is the great day of God Almighty on which these worldly and wicked these Popish and Pagan Princes with all their power and all their forces and armies they are able to make shall come forth against the Lord Jesus and against these Christian Princes that have beene serious and studious in the reformation of Religion and in the drying up of these streames of corruption Thus you see the words opened and the plaine and true meaning of them I cannot speake of the comming of Christ now and of the gathering together to the great battell of Armageddon and I would not open more then I am able to finish at this present Therefore now consider the Doctrine againe and the truth of it how it doth plainly arise from the words of the Text. Upon the powring out of the sixth Viall that is to say upon the drying up of the current and streames of the corruption of Antichristian religion or Christian religion for Antichristian religion is but the corruption of religion in Christendome The Dragon that is to say the Devill and the Beast that is to say the Roman Catholique visible Church and the false Prophet that is to say the Pope the head of the Church did send forth out of their mouthes that is to say out of their commands three uncleane spirits that is Cardinalls and Bishops and Jesuites To stir up the Princes of the Earth and of the whole World that is both Popish and Pagan Princes to a great battell To what end ye may see by the occasion of it is was upon the powring out the Viall of the wrath of God upon the streames of corruption of religion therefore they would turne the streame againe to prevent the way of the Kings of the East that is the conversion of the Iewes by bringing in old Idolatry and superstition spirituall Adulteries and Whoredomes and Witchcrafts for the maintenance of the Sea of Rome Thus you see the point plaine from the Text neither is there any difficulty that remaines for the opening of it that I doe discerne Now then for the Reasons of the point and so briefly to come to the use The reasons are two why that upon this drying up of the streames of corruption of Religion these three great commanders should thus send forth such kinde of Emissaries instruments that will bee active and nimble to gather such a fearfull Battell against the Lord and against his servants The first reason is taken from the nature of their Kingdome Rea. 1 Antichrists kingdom is contrary to the Kingdome of Christ his Kingdome is not of the Earth theirs are from beneath his Kingdome is not of this World But theirs are of this World These are of the World saith Iohn speaking of Antichrist in the 1 Ioh. 4. Chapter 6 Verse And therefore minde yee the weapons of their warfare are carnall full of malice and full of envy and devillishnesse their instruments are not spirituall but carnall and worldly And therefore being thus shaken as they are their returne is not to Fasting and Prayer or the power of the holy Ghost or the power of spirituall gifts or so forth these are estranged from them And now they fall to carnall policy and worldly power and devillish engines and instruments these are fit for this use This is one Reason Rea. 2 The other reason is taken from their implacable malice and hatred against the reformation of religion and the conversion of either Iew or Gentile to the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus there is nothing more grevious to these spirits then the prosperity of religion they gnash their Teeth for paine in the former Viall this is that will vex them more then all the rest to see these Rivers dried up and these streames dryed up and now the holy City of Rome blasted this doth stirre them up to implacable malice and mischiefe and now they care not who they confederate withall so they may crush the Christian Princes and hinder reformation It was truly prophesied of by the Apostle Paul That evill men and seducers shall wax worse and worse deceiving and being deceived 2 Timothy 3 13. So it is with these evill men here if they see they cannot get victory over Protestants though they have pretended warre with the Turke for the recovering of the holy Land yet now they will consent with him they sticke not who they agree with so they may mantaine their war To come then briefely to make some use of what ye have heard the use of the point is thus much Vse 1 First it may teach every noble wit and every active spirit and every man of cleanly conveyance not to pride himselfe much lesse to blesse himselfe in such gifts and parts what ever they be pride not your selves blesse not your selves in them you see heere is a Generation of nimble spirits and active wits cleanly spirits spirits of as neat and cleanly conveyance as ever the World saw men full of wit and full of dexterity men good for Church as they count it notable there and not able for the Common-Wealth they are marvelous fit for all kinds of imployment in their owne wayes and that 's very large for their owne ends and yet see they are but made instruments to the Dragon to the Beast and to the false Prophet so that verily if a man now should take pride in his gifts and blesse himselfe in the activenesse of his spirit and cleanly conveyance aplaud himselfe in such kinde of inlargements as these be I tell you the Devill hath as quick wits as you are and as active spirits as you are and men of as dexterous conveyance as you can be And therefore never pride your selves in these they are such as are as fit instruments for the Devill as for Christ and many times the Lord Jesus takes lesse delight
God It will bee a great Day indeed but a great Day of the Lord God Almighty that hee may offer a great sacrifice to himselfe by the hands of his servants that all the soules of prey and the beasts of prey may all of them come and eate 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 bound both small and great It will I say bee a great Sacrifice to the Beasts of prey and the foules of prey It shall be a great day indeed but it shall not be a great day to the Papists not a great day to the Dragon nor to the Romish Catholique Church except it be a great day of their destruction and that it will be indeed as yee shall see when this battell is to be fought in the nineteenth Chapter and they shall never trouble the World more that will be the issue of it The Dragon is reserved to a further day but hee shall bee bound for a thousand yeares and afterwards shall make a great battell with the Saints but after that shall be taken and then cast into the lake forever But this will be a great day of God Almighty wherein hee will powre cut all the Vialls of his wrath upon the enemies of God and his people that the Name of the Lord GOD Almighty may bee praysed from the rising of the Sun to the going down thereof And therefore great and wonderfull are the Workes of the Lord that hee doth reserve for after ages wherein the loftinesse of man hee will lay low but his name onely shall be exalted Esay 2.2 Speaking of a farre lesse day then this that I am now speaking of It will bee a great day to the glory of God and the good of his people To the inlargement of the Church of Christ but of destruction to the enemies of the Lord Jesus That they may be overthrowne and taken and cast into the bottomlesse pit never to rise up againe THE THIRD SERMON UPON THE SIXTH VIAL REVELAT 16.15 Behold I come as a theefe Blessed is hee that watcheth and keepeth his garments lest he walke naked and they see his shame YOu have heretofore heard that these words set forth a description of the pouring out of the sixth Vial. Set forth it is by the subject upon the great River Euphrates By the effects they were double First Immediate the waters thereof were dryed up The second was Accidentall and mediate warlike preparation The former effect of drying up the River was amplified by the end That the way of the Kings of the East might be prepared The accidentall effect which was warlike preparation was set forth by a double argument First by the efficients Principal and Instrumentall Secondly by the watch-word which the Lord gives his people The efficients were principally the Devill the Beast and the false Prophet The Instrumentals were certaine spirits for nature three spirits for number Unclean for quality Like Frogs for similitude Out of the mouth of the Beast the Dragon and the false Prophet For their originall which are described by their effects which are three They work miracles They goe forth to the Kings of the earth to gather them to battell And thirdly They doe gather them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon The watch-word which is the second Adjunct observed in this warlike preparation is the watch-word of the Lord Jesus to his people in the words of my Text there are two parts of it First a description of the manner of his comming by a comparison taken from the manner of a theefe Behold I come as a theefe The second is a word of promise unto such as watch and keepe their garments at that time The promise is first of blessednesse to them And secondly the prevention of the discovery of their owne nakednesse and shame Blessed is hee that watcheth and keepeth his garments left he walke naked and they see his shame Not to repeat what hath been delivered that which offereth it selfe here to our consideration is a two-fold doctrine the first is this Doct. 1 When Frogs and uncleane Spirits that is to say when Popish Instruments shall goe forth To gather the Princes of the earth and of the whole world unto battell And those Princes shall go forth to battell against the Lord and his people It is behovefull for the people of God to behold the Lord Jesus comming against them or comming to them as a theefe That 's the note when the Lord exposes his people to great trials by the busie diligence of those Frogs or by the violent rage of the Beast and Kings of the earth against Religion The Lord then cals his people to behold him comming upon them I meane upon all the professors of the Gospell the Lord cals them to looke upon him comming at them or comming to them as a theefe Behold saith he I come as a theefe When doth he say so when these Frogs were let forth Those unclean spirits of Devils sent forth to stirre up the Kings of the earth and of the world to gather them to battell against the Lord and against his people and against Christian Religion and them that maintaine it Then Behold I come as a theefe They are the words of the Lord Jesus Because the notes are double that the Text holds forth I must be briefe in either of them As a theef The Scripture hath respect to a foure-fould manner of a theefe comming He doth not come as a theefe in Justice or robbery That the holy Spirit of the Lord Jesus cannot be capable of How can hee steale any thing from us which is not his own There is nothing but it is his and therefore in that sense he cannot be said to come as a theefe But yet as a theefe he can come suddenly and he can come secretly and slily yea and he can come also violently and terribly as a theefe Thus he can come and thus he is described in the Scripture to come which though some think it to be at the last judgement yet I cannot so conceive it for here 's a world of businesse that is to be translated after this Vial is poured out above a thousand yeers after this before the coming of Christ to the last judgement but his coming in any notable judgement his coming especially if it be a coming suddenly and secretly and powerfully It is coming as a thief as ye have an instance of it in Rev. 3.3 to the Church of Sardis I will come on thee as a thief How like a thief Thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee And so in Luke 12.39 If the good man of the house had known what hour the thief would come he would have watched and not have suffered his house to be broken through But coming suddenly and secretly at unawares therefore
heretofore heard Then as he discovers their Religion to be generally corrupt as the bloud of a dead man so hee pours out the next Vials upon the Rivers and Fountains of water those that carry this Religion up and down the Countries and Nations the Lord exasperates Civil States so far against them that they force them to drink bloud their own bloud as they made Martyrs to drink bloud so the Lord gave them to drink bloud for they are worthy as you heard it opened this day seven-night He first begins with the common Catholicks then with Priests and Jesuits Well doth he here stay when the Lord sees what little fruit groweth hereby Verily no for here is no Reformation of the common sort they still continue in their Ignorance and Superstition and Idolatry And what are the Priests and Jesuits any thing reformed It is nothing so nor do the lights of that State either the lights of the Imperiall world of the Provinces or their generall and grand holy Father the Pope as they call him none seek Reformation what then Then let the Imperiall state and Pope that claims Lord Paramountship over all let him look it the next Vial fals upon his head and the Lord doth this by degrees first upon his supreme lustre and glory as he rules by day And the next fals upon his Throne and that is a great blow to him and still the Lord goes on pouring to pour out and striking to strike till at length he crusheth the man of sin and all his abettors For their religion is corrupt and all that drink of it perish and the cōmon people Priests Jesuits shall smart and then the Pope Emperor whoever are their great lights let thē be lights in Church or Common-wealth for I will exclude neither they both partake in the sin and shall partake in the punishment of it The four Angels they may be severall persons but they have one common work they pour Vials upon the lights of both States and truly so the Lord did in Christian Rome this is Antichristian but when Rome was once Pagan and then became Christian in Constantines time and under the Christian Emperors Constantine and the rest opened the doors of the Church so wide that all the garden of God was become a wildernesse by an inundation of carnall people Christians in name but Pagans in heart that were let in and then that which was once a garden inclosed was now made a wildernesse when they took down the Pale and let in all dogs and swine that will come in the wrath of God breaks out against them then the Trumpet sounds a shrill sound and what was that In the 8 of Revel 7. The first Angel sounding there followed hail and fire mingled with bloud and they were cast upon the earth c. and that is upon the lowest sort of Christians there was given grievous hail cold hail-storm they received not the truth in love and being cold in Christianity they were hot in Emulation and Contention And then the second Trumpet sounding there was as it were a great Mountain burning cast into the Sea and there was a third part of the Sea became bloud there was high preferment cast into the Officers of the Church and a great part of the Administrations grew corrupt Then the third Angel sounded and there fals a Star from Heaven called Wormwood Wormwood of Heresie and corrupts the Priests many were infected with the Heresie of Arrius and Nestorius and Eutyches Afterwards all Scriptures came to be darkned with Allegoricall and Hereticall and corrupt Interpretations that Christ is scarse discerned in all their writings and the light of Scripture is darkened and the light of humane Learning that there is little light left And then the next Angel he sounds and smoke comes out of the bottomlesse pit and there comes Locusts upon the earth and they have a King set over them which is the Angel of the bottomlesse pit which is the Pope over the Friars and Monks So thus the Lord begins to deal with men first he fals upon them in one degree upon the earth first and then upon Religion in them and then upon Ministers the publishers of that Religion and after grows higher and higher till in the end there comes the Antichristian state the seventh head and he surmounts all Christian Emperors leads them all captive and hath the Key of the bottomlesse pit to destroy their souls whose name is Abaddon in Hebrew but in the Greeke Apollyon and then comes the Turk in the sixth Trumpet and he destroys and swallows up all So the Lords manner is first he breaks forth against the common people then against the Ministers then at last he riseth to the great Lords of the world the Rulers of the State they smoke for it at last What should be the Reason of the Point The Reason is Reas 1 First because ordinarily the first beginning of corruption is with the people and they being first corrupted then indeed it is meet that they should first be plagued for look as the Church grew to be corrupted in the Christian Emperors time so the Church came to be plagued in Antichristians time the earth was first corrupt in the Christian Emperors time and the first that is plagued is the earth then the sea then the rivers so by degrees The Lord goes the same way in plaguing as they did in degenerating the same way in executing judgement as they in sinning Reas 2 And secondly when the cōmon people are corrupted for their sin sake it pleaseth God either to send them corrupt Rulers like themselves or else to lead their good leaders into temptation to corrupt themselves and their people You read Prov. 28.2 For the wickednesse of a land many are the princes thereof many and wicked Rulers too They never lived long nor well after once the house of Israel had cryed out What portion have we in David or what inheritance in the son of Iesse The Lord never gave them good King in Israel after not in Israel I say Judah indeed had sundry times good Kings but for Israel the 10 Tribes that rejected the yoke and the house of David in regard of the hard payments that Solomons son put upon them and therefore in their prophanenesse cryed out What portion have we in David c. Then immediatly after that the Lord never gave them any good King 1 King 12.16 So there grows Religion to be corrupted in the people and then for their wickednesse God gives them wicked Princes I gave them a King in mine anger and took him away in my wrath O Israel thou hast destroyed thy self Hos 13.9 10. Israel corrupts it self provokes God and he gives them a King in his anger and takes him away in his wrath And it is written as a heavie curse of God in Lev. 26.17 If you still trespasse against me I will set Princes over you that shall hate you Mischievous
antichristian state and such things therein against which Gods wrath is kindled Now the anger of God is not kindled against the river Euphrates more then against any other river his wrath falles not upon rivers though sometimes for mans sake it may but Euphrates lieth not neere to the Romane antichrist nor to any state subject to him What thē would you say is it not most likely to hould forth the Turkish Dominion which God is angry with Shall not Christian Princes powre out the wrath of God upon the Turkish Dominions I would by no meanes say so But let us consider what is the Fountaine and what are the streames of this river which did and doe still wash upon the Turkish Dominion and which are indeed as Walles and Bulwarks to the Turkish state For this Euphrates though it be not here the Turkish Dominion yet it is of the same use to them and unto the Pope as Euphrates was unto old Babylon which made glad the same and conveyed maintenance unto it Let us therefore consider what was the Originall of the Turkish Dominion and you shall finde that it sprung from five severall streames Rev. 9.20.21 where having described the loosing of the foure Angels which were bound by the great river Euphrates ver 14. and those were the foure Families of the Turkes which at length were swallowed up by the house of Othoman He saith the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the workes of their hands that they should not worship Divels and Idolls of Gold and Silver and Brasse and Stone and of Wood which neither can see nor heare nor walke this was their Idolatry neither repented they of their murthers nor of their Sorceries nor of their Fornications nor of their thefts So these were the five streames of this river Euphrates that gave power to the Turkish Dominion to wit the Idolatries Murthers Sorceries Fornications and Thefts of Christendome for by reason of these barbarous wickednesse of Popish Churches and states cloaked under a face of Religion God brought upon them a barbarous Nation that hath a Face of government and yet knoweth not well what it meaneth yet did not the Papists whose sinnes these were repent of their Idolatries nor of their Murthers which they committed upon the soules of men and upon the bodies of Gods faithfull servants nor of their Sorceries of which many of the Popes themselves were guilty nor of their Whoredomes their stewes and beastly uncleannesses nor of thei◠Thefts Indulgences and pardons for money by which they dreyned Christendome of their substance Now if these were the sinnes which the Lord upbraideth Christian Churches for not repenting of though this barbarous nation did prevaile against them yet doubtlesse these are the walles of the Turkish Dominion even those streames of corruption of Religion which are the maintenance of the Sea of Rome to this day thus by admirable wisdome the Lord hath expressed his holy Counsell that his instruments by drying up these streames of Euphrates these corruptions of Religion shall prevaile at once both against the Turkes and the Pope together 2. Who then shall be the Angell that shall power out this sixt Viall if they shall not be the Iewes as before we prooved then it must needs be some Christian states and these are no other then the 10 Christian Kings spoken of Rev. 17.16 17. That shall hate the whore and shall make her desolate and naked and shall eat her flesh and burne her with fire and so you have all these expositions fall in together they will runne in the right channell and fully reach all that interpreters have sought after 3. These Christian Kings shall so farre fall off from Rome as that they shall dry up all her revenewes when as they shall see and abhorre the vanity of their Images and Temples and Monasteries and the unprofitablenesse of their expences when they shall see the wickednesse of their bloudy inquisitions the unnaturalnesse of all those murders of Gods blessed servants and shall see their witchcrafts and sorceries the horrible fornications and whoredomes of their stewes and when they shall see that all their devises to get mony are so many thefts and robberies as it is the complaint of Pareus a German interpreter that two parts of the revenewes of the Empire did goe to the Bishop of Rome and but one third to the Christian Princes and a world of worke would be to tell you of all their Theeveries in England of old and other Christian Kingdomes Now when these Christian Kings are so far converted unto God as that they shall see the wickednesse of all these abuses of Religion they will then dry up all these revenewes then will they suffer no more Image worship no more sorceries nor murders and when these things are thus remooved then is Euphrates dryed up that maintaineth old Babylon then is the Fountaine of the Turkish maintenance cut off also For their rise was by these corruptions and they stand and wil stand whilst these corruptions stand but if these fall then is the river Euphrates dryed up and a ready way made indeed for the Kings of the East 4. Whom the most judicious Interpreters doe understand to be the Iewes 1. Because they are so by Gods calling Exodus 19.6 Yea shall be to me a Kingdome of Priests And Daniel foretelleth that when the Roman Monarchies are broken in peeces by the stone cut out of the Mountaines without handes Daniel 2.45 which is the Lord Jesus then the Dominion shall be given to the people of the Saints of the most high Daniel 7.27 Therefore they are called Kings of the East in the Greeke Testament Kings from the rising of the Sunne they shall have great power and place when God shall bring them to it Neither can any man tell but that some of these Easterne Kings in the East Judges may be of the Families of the House of Israel Sure I am when Ioseph was lost though his Father thought him to have beene utterly cast away yet when he was found he was found to be a great man in Egypt and the Prophet Ezekel understandeth by Ioseph all the 10 Tribes Ezech. 37.16 And who can tell whether some of these 10 Tribes may not be found to be great men of the East And I remember Iunius an exact Translator and commentor upon the Bible saith that which is called the Land of Sinim Isay 49.12 May more probably be meant of China and that the Greeke Geographers doe call them Sinea'es not China'es which if it be the meaning there may be there many of them and indeed he that readeth their story shall finde sundry memorable things in them that may agree to such as have sometimes beene Gods people for though they worship other Gods yet they have records that their fathers did not so in ancient times and it is reported of them that they make account that those are the best bookes that
such an earthquake as this will be so mighty and so great that will blast not Popery alone but all the Hotamocks in this countrey and all that are found among other Indians in other parts of the world an Haile storme shall fall upon them all and blast all their green groves and arbours wherein they were wont to be worshipped Thus have you seen as the Lord hath been pleased to help the meaning of these words Let us now gather one note from them For I would not long dwell upon there Aenigmaticall I meane Parabolicall Scriptures The Doctrine is That when the darknesse of Popish and hellish Doct. ignorance is dispelled so that a man may clearely see heavenly light and breath in heavenly knowledge then It is done That is to say then all the mystery of iniquity is abolished and the mystery of God is fulfilled For thus you see it is evidently here expressed in the Text. The seventh Angel did poure out his Vial upon the Antichristian ayre and that was such an ayre as was darkened with the smoake of the bottomlesse pit as with a foggy mist Now when this ayre shall againe bee cleared and the foggy darknesse thereof dispelled so that men may have the true use of it to see through it those heavenly bodies which were darkened by that smoake Rev. 9.2 then shall men see Jesus Christ to be all in all unto Justification Sanctification Consolation which in Popery you could not then shall the true Church be seen which like the Moon borroweth all the light it hath from the Sun true indeed if the Moone be taken for the world then she treadeth it under her feet Rev. 12.1 In Popery you could not see what a true Church was they will tell you of this and that Church but they are no true Churches But when this vaile shall be removed then shall you clearely know that the true Church is not a Catholike visible nor a Cathedrall nor a Diocesan nor a Provinciall Church Then shall you see the Stars of heaven you shall know who are the true officers of the Church not Paratours and Proctours Deacons and Archdeacons Bishops and Archbishops over many Churches they are not the lights which the Lord hath set therein And you shall then see who were the true members of the Church Not the Canonized Saints not such as Saint George who was an ancient Heretick but you shall see them to be such as are spoken of Phil. 2.15 blamelesse and harmlesse the Sons of God without rebuke shining as lights in the world then shall you see the Scripture more clearely true doctrine and worship and government as it is held forth in the Gospell of Christ and when you shall see these things then It is done Even all that God hath to do in the world for any further Reformation expect it not Rev. 10.7 when the time is come that the seventh Angel hath blowne his Trumpet the Lord will not delay but it shall then be fulfilled and the Lord will clearely manifest to all Nations the great grace which he hath to show to the sons of men and this is long agoe foretold Esay 25.6 7 8. In this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things a feast of wines on the Lees of fat things full of marrow of wines on the Lees well refined And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people and that is the pouring out of this Vial upon the ayre for the face of the covering is the ayre in my Text Then will the Lord make a feast of fat things then will he swallow up death in victory and wipe away teares from off all faces and the rebuke of his people shall be taken away from off all the earth this is also prophesied of Esay 11.6 7 8 9. They shall not huâ—t nor destroy in all mine holy mountaine and the reason is for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the Sea and then It is done The mystery of iniquity is abolished there is no more darknesse nor destruction and the calling of the Gentiles which was a mystery to the Jewes shall be then fully accomplished and the calling of the Jewes which the Apostle calleth a mystery to us Gentiles Rom. 11.25 shall be then fulfilled and so the mystery of God is finished Reas 1 Three Reasons doth the Text give us hereof 1. First from the manner of the entrance of this heavenly glory into the hearts of men whether it come into private persons or publique States It commeth terribly with lightnings and thunderings the which comming from God doe so terrifie the hearts of men and the state of the world that they shall see plainely how they have beene deluded with desperate follyes and when men are put unto such an earthquake in their spirits this will be the point they come unto Men and brethren what shall we doe to be saved as did the Jaylor when he had been soundly shaken with the earthquake Acts 16.26.30 and so it will be with Kingdomes when God hath in like sort shaken them they will contend for true Religion and will not then be baffled out and deluded with vanities as now they be when the spirits of men are terrified and they feele no salvation in their Religion they know not what shall become of their precious soules this will set all the world on worke to looke about them for upon this ground you shall see Indians and Jews and Pagans gaping after salvation when they see by these terrible stormes and thunders that all their Religions are but so many refuges of lies then is there worke in hand indeed which when God hath begun hee will also finish it unto the day of Christ and it will be such an earthquake as was never heard of in the world Heretofore so long as this worke was found among poore Christians the great Lords of the world persecuted them and devised all manner of cruell torments for them but when they felt that the wrath of God was kindled against them then their hearts fell and they were all in a combustion for the state of their soules before the Lord now they were glad to renounce their Jupiters and Junoes and to embrace Christianity and to hearken to a better Covenant this is the effect of thunderings and lightnings and voyces it soone blasteth Idolatry and forceth man to seeke after a clearer passage to heaven The second Reason is taken from the power of the saving knowledge Reas 2 of Christ to dispell this Popish ignorance and to carry an end the heart of a man with such power that he can no longer lie at quiet in his naturall estate but it worketh in men these foure effects 1. It subdueth and tameth the hearts of men that now they will joyn themselves unto the people of God Esa 11.6.7 8. the Wolfe shall lie with the Lambe the Leopard
of it These Angels had councell and encouragement given them as you have heard to goe about this worke and were furnished with the wrath of God for this ende but were not effectually stirred up to fall upon the execution thereof till they heare a great Voice of Christ out of the Temple that is in publike Ordinances then they goe to poure out their Vials You shall find this a very ordinary Practise in some things sutable hereunto in Scripture Isaack gave Iacob a Commandement and Instruction to goe to Padan-Aram Gen. 28 6. And thereupon Iacob went on his way Vers 7. But the first night that he lodged out of dores when the Lord appeared to him in the House of God Verse 15. and telleth him That hee will bee with him and keepe him in all places whithersoever hee goeth and will bring him backe againe into this Land Then Iacob Chap. 29 1 lifteth up his heeles and goeth on his wayes Like a Giant refreshed with Wine to runne his Course And the like was the Practise of the same Jacob when they told him that Ioseph was yet alive Gen. 45.27.28 his spirit revived and he said He would goe down to see him but first he goeth to Beersheba and there offereth Sacrifices and consulteth with the Lord Gen. 46.1.2.3 4. and the Lord encourageth him to goâ— downe bideth him not feare He will be with him and there make a great Nation of him and bring him back againe and so he did to be buried thus are his hands fully strengthned in his way The like also was the case of the men of Samaria Ioh. 4. When the woman had told them that Jesus was the Christ because he had told her all that ever shee did they beleeved because of her saying Vers 39. But when they came unto him and talked with him then they said unto her Vers 42. Now we believe not because of thy saying for we have heâ—rd him our selves and know that this is inâ—eâ—d the Christ the Saviour of the World Thus the voice of Christ carrieth his people an end in the waies of their callings with effectuall power unto sudden and speedy execution The Reason is taken first from the greater power of the voice Reason 1 of Christ speakâ—ng by his Spirit then when hee speaketh by the gifts of his Servants and therefore Paul putteth a great difference in this case Acts 19.21 The Text telleth us That he purposed in his Spirit to goe up to Hierusalem afterwards going on his way he meeteth with certaine Disciples Act. 21.4 and they by reason of the Prophesie of Agabus concerning Paul vers 11. fell upon him and wept and besought him not to goe up to Hierusalem What meane you saith he to weepe and to breake mine heart for J am ready not to be bound onely but to dye at Hierusalem for the name of the Lord Iesus Behold here the Spirit of God had revealed clearely himselfe in the heart of Paul to strengthen him to goe up to Heirusalem these Disciples upon the Prophecie of Agabus that he should be bound at Hierusalem said to Paul through the Spirit that he should not goe up By what spirit By the gifts of the Spirit the spirit of love and their care of the Churches but Paul waves them all for hee had the minde of Christ by the voice of the Spirit himselfe this was indeede in times of extraordinary Revelation but it sheweth you neverthelesse the difference betweene the voyce of the Spirit and of the gifts of the Spirit he giveth the greater power to the Spirit then to the gifts of the Spirit being such kind of Gifts wherein humane frailty might be mingled The second Reason is taken from the greater power of Gods Reas 2 voyce in Publike then in private Administration If one of these Elders speake unto them it may be but a private incouragement Such as the advice of Nathan was unto David to build the Temple 1 Chro. 17.2 But had he come as afterwards he did in way of Publike Administration Hee could not have beene so mistaken as then he was For therein doth the Lord more specially reveale the presence and the power of his Spirit and grace Matth. 18.18.19 20. Therefore it is That when there commeth a great voice out of the Temple it carrieth along the Seven Angels to a speedy dispatch of this great worke of pouring out the Vials of the wrath of God upon the earth Vse 1 The first Vse may teach us all that have any private inducements or incouragements to any calling or worke of God by any Church-Officer or Church-Member not to sleight the same for these Angels did not sleight the motion when one of the Church Officers gave unto them the seven golden Viols but they tooke the Vials And when they see their time when there commeth a publike Voice out of the Temple then doe they all follow on effectually with their worke in their seasons Sleight not therefore private encouragements to good callings but looke for further provocation and strengthning in them from the publike Ministry even from the voyce of Christ in the publike Ordinances of his Church Private Revelations without the Word are out of date but certaine it is that God doth speake by his Spirit in private Meditation and Prayers and conferences with Bretheren and in all these comforteth his people with the manifestation of his fatherly goodnesse yet speaketh nothing but in his word and according to it Now these be good hints and good encouragements which God giveth his people in them and by no meanes to be sleighted when God sheweth his presence in them God forbid that any of the sonnes or daughters of God should put them away Yet this let me say though such be faire incouragements what private duty soever they come in whether to beleeve on this or that gracious promise of God or to stir us up unto any other Spirituall work the servants of God are hereby led to attend the more upon the publike Administrations of the Church for the further clearing of the mind and will of God There will the Lord more clearely reveale himselfe by his Spirit in every Ordinance of his Worship there doth he delight to poure out all his fresh Springs Psal 87. Last For there the Lord commanded the blessing even life for evermore Psal 133.3 Eternall life doth he give in the Publike fellowship of his Saints there doth hee confirme their callings to them looke unto the Lord therefore for his blessing in this way and so shall you be faithfull followers of these holy Angels of God who being privately incouraged waite for a publike voice to carry them an end in their Administrations wherein the Lord by the mighty power of his Spirit doth confirme al his Promises threatnings and Commandements and more throughly stirreth up the hearts of all his people to take hold of al that is spoken unto them therefore if ever you perceive any voyce or spirit to take off
by the Angels of God I meane those that are Ministers of Gods Justice and approve this testimony as authenticall they acknowledge this a righteous judgement of God as he that is was and shall be alway one and the same Thus he was wont to carry it and thus he doth still In old time if a man played the false Prophet and suggested such devices as these the Lord judged him to death this was his manner And so in the New Testament as in the Old he condemnes all such to death and he is most righteous in so doing This is the summe It was a great while before this though not full two thousand yeares when Zachary prophesyed that God would cut off the false Prophet in the 13. Zach. 2 3. and if there were any false Prophet should arise his father and mother should thrust him through because he spake lyes in the name of the God of truth he should not live And they speak not of his Typicall death that is of his death by Church censure or banishment which have a kind of death in them but they speak of such a death as that he was not worthy to live To cast a lye upon the God of Truth the Oracle of Truth But long before Zachary this was an ancient law of Moses in the 13. Deut. this was a law that false Prophets they that turned Religion to the blood of a dead man that did fundamentally pervert Religion they should not live And minde the reason that God gives here partly in this text and partly in other Scriptures It is taken from the hainousnesse of blasphemy in the 24. Lev. Reas 1 16. He that blasphemeth the name of God shall surely be put to death Every blasphemer shall be put to death Now we cannot excuse Popish Priests and Jesuites from grosse blasphemy they that are acquainted with the Ladies Psalter and Orysons made to her cannot but acknowledg sundry blasphemous speeches in it they make their Prayers to the Virgin Mary that shee would request her father and command her Sonne and that by the power of a mothers right to forgive their sinne which if this be not blasphemy I confesse I know not what is and in a high degree unlesse they should say he were no God at all and that falls not far short of it to set a creature above God and yet this is allowed as good devotion in the Church of Rome It is true if a man blaspheme out of ignorance as Paul did in the 1 Tim. 1.13 or if a man blaspheme unwillingly as he did unwittingly not knowing what he did and he did compell some to blaspheme Act. 26.11 why if he compell them to Blaspheme those that are compelled they doe it unwillingly but if men wittingly blaspheme knowing what they do knowing Jesus is God as well as man and hath power to forgive sins as he is God and know the Virgin Mary hath neede of a Saviour as all the daughters of men have that they shall put upon her the power to command her Sonne to forgive sinnes this is such blasphemy that hee that will stand to it let him die the death his blood shall bee upon him If high treason against Princes on earth may justly be punished by death verily this is as dishonourable to the Lord of Heaven and Prince of all the Princes of the earth Reas 2 A second reason is taken from the point of seducement As all blasphemous heretiques so seducing heretiques are to be put to death In that respect that whole 13. of Deut. is spent about the seducing of false prophets and he puts a threefold gradation If he be a Prophet therefore though never so seemingly holy by his place and gifts yet if he turn you away from the Lord your God and draw you from the wayes of God what then thine eye shall not spare him he shall surely be put to death from the 1. ver to 5. from the 6. ver to 11. he will have no neerenesse of blood to hinder from due execution of Iustice but if it be thy brother the sonne of thy mother or thy daughter or the wife of th bosome or thy friend which is as thy own soule that shall goe about to seduce thee secretly saying let us goe and serve other Gods which thou hast not known thou shalt not consent unto him nor hearken unto him thine eye shall not spare him neither shalt thou conceale him but thou shalt surely kill him thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death c. from the 12. ver to the end If there be never so many that shall joyn if a whole City shall joyn together in such a course thou shalt rise against and destroy the City and burne it with fire and leave not a stone upon a stone which shall not be thrown down in utter detestation of that wickednesse And he gives a notable reason for it why a seducer should be thus dealt withall because saith he he seekes to turne thee away from thy way and to thrust thee away from the Lord thy God to turne thee off either by deceit or to thrust thee off by eanest perswasions and therefore lest you should think these false prophets faile onely in the object of worship and not in manner of worshipping therefore consider in the 22. Iosh when the two tribes and a halfe set up an Altar by Iordan although they thought not they would bring in another object of worship but another manner of worship here is but another way of worship whether mediation or satisfaction of Gods wrath devised the whole ten Tribes rise up and send a sufficient Company or Troop of Militarie men to goe and expostulate with them and know whether it were true and either they would reclaime them from it by argument or make warre against them and they had cut off two Tribes and an halfe if they had found another Altar for worship Now he that sets up another Mediator or Mediation Saint or Angel he sets up as great a matter as another Altar or he that brings in other mens merits he brings in another Altar Therefore by the ancient Lawes of that unchangeable God that thought it unsufferable in those dayes he thinks it unsufferable now that Priests and Jesuites should bring in other Altars other Mediations and Mediators as Prayers of Saints and Angels the Lord looks at it as deeply meritorious of a bloudy death as in former times He is the same God and his zeale and jealousie is deeply provoked against the like kind of viciousnesse now as ever it was then That is a second Argument And yet in point of seducement this I will say that if a man upon conviction shall see the wickednesse of his way and humble his soule before God and give satisfaction to the Church and State where he shall be convinced on such conviction and repentance we find liberty to pardon but yet stigmatize him as in the 13. of Zach.
If the Prophet shall repent and say I am no Prophet nor the sonne of a Prophet but an Husbandman and my father taught me to keep beasts or sheep and therefore he will not weare a rough garment to deceive And if any man aske him What are those wounds in thine hands he shall answer Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends Zach. 13.4 5 6. That shews in such a case they saved his life but they inflict some punishment on him to carry away with him And this is spoken not of the dayes of the Old Testament but it is written to be done when there is a fountain opened to the house of David and to the Inhabitants of Ierusalem for sinne and for uncleannesse in the 1. ver And in the 7. ver when the Lord calls for a sword against his Shepheard and against the man that is his fellow the Lord Jesus Christ and his companions his disciples He will smite the shepheard and the sheep shall be scattered and those are the dayes of the New Testament in those times it is when the Prophets shall be thus cut off that rise up to seduce the people of God And a third Reason is taken from the due desert of soul-murther Reas 3 There is none of all these Priests or Jesuites or Heretiques that sin in the like kind corrupting the precious truth of God in the very foundations of it but they worry and devour the soules of Gods people I meane those that should not die though Gods elect cannot be seduced yet those whom we ought to looke at that should not be thus murthered and brought to death by such means In the 7. Mat. 15. Beware of false Prophets which come unto you in sheeps cloathing but inwardly they are ravening wolves Is it not an acceptable service to the whole Countrey to cut off the ravenous wolves what is the wolfe to the sheep is he not the very death of them all that he lights on or fall in his jawes so is it with the sheep of Christ that fall into the jawes of these Romish ravenous wolves It is said of those false teachers 2 Timoth. 2.18 They destroyed the faith of some who concerning the truth have erred And in the 2 Pet. 2. 1 2 3. he tels us There shall be false teachers amongst them that shall bring in damnable heresies even denying the Lord that bought them and shall bring upon themselves swift destruction c. They shall make merchandise of you as the Church of Rome and her fountaines and rivers doe they make merchandise of the soules of men Rev. 18.13 Now to make merchandise of an Israelite as in the 21. Exod. 16. it is a capitall crime He that stealeth a man and selleth him or if he be found in his hand he shall surely be put to death Now these sell men and engage them to perpetuall bondage under their tyrannie both in doctrine and worship and government This murther of soules is juftly a capitall crime as Moses said before If they thrust thee from thy God and will not let thee walke with him let not thine eye spare such kinde of corrupters and desperate deluders Reas 4 The fourth reason is taken from that which the Iustitia Britanniae stands most upon and becomes States-men to doe and that is the conspiracie and treason against the State And that unavoidably by suffering such locust to run up and downe the Countrey to poison the hearts of men by their corrupt wayes and meanes for these Ministers they doe unavoidably not accidentally but they unavoidably draw men from their Allegeance due to their Native Prince to a forraine State For if a Prince should professe Protestant Religion which is the true Religion and thereupon be excommunicate by the Bishop of Rome what then then by the Lawes of their State he is deposed from his throne And they doe notably abuse the old type of Leprosie for this Vzziah being once smitten with leprosie then the High Priest removes him from the Temple of the Lord and he may not be suffered any more to governe for if once the Lord finite a man with leprosie in his judgement and indeed let heresie be one kinde of leprosie if the Priest pronounce him so then he is cut off from the government of the Countrey then his people are not subject to him and so subjects are freed from their fidelity to their naturall Prince which is a notable abuse of that place For God doth not intend that the authority of any Minister or Priest in the Old or New Testament should so farre prevaile that what they did in the Old Testament to Vzziah should take off Princes from their Goverment in the New For even in the old Testament they still retained the Crown though their power of execution was delegated to another and that not by the High-Priests appointment but by himselfe But as things were with them so though not in the same kinde but in a typicall way it befalls Princes in the New Testament If a man were found a Leper in the Old Testament hee was sequestred from the administration of his Kingdome and from his owne house Leviticus 13.46 he must not live in the Campe or in the Towne or Village but alone and in a separate place by himselfe as those that are sick of the Pestilence in our Native Countrey they are not suffered to live in the towne but in Pest-houses unlesse there be a generall infection But this thing must not be applyed in the letter to the state of the Church in the New Testament for Leprosie was not onely a type of scandalous infectious sins but it was also a bodily noysome infectious disease and made a man unfit for civill commerce Moreover as Leprosie was also a type of scandalous and infectious sinnes so the sequestring of Vzziah from the Temple doth type forth not that Christian Kings should be separate from their thrones For he that gives to a man a Kingdome or any earthly estate doth not debarre that man from his house if he be a private man nor from his government if he be a publique person But what is the Kingdome that is typed out It is the Kingdome of the glory of CHRIST JESUS If therefore hee be shut out from the holy Temple of Israel he is shut out from the Kingdome of Heaven indeed that is true for what is done by the Churches of God on earth is bound in Heaven But yet Christ Jesus never thought it meete to separate any by any Church power from communion with his wife and children those whom nature bound him to nor from his servants and subjects whom civill engagements bound unto him but only from interest in the spirituall communion of the seals of immortality and yet but for a season for the healing of his soule not for the destroying of his person or state but otherwise to exclude them from their own houses or Kingdomes or from any civill right
polluted and what then And now saith the Lord O yee Priests this Commandement is for you in the first verse of the second Chapter it is a very sad word which the Lord speaks if you will not heare and lay it to heart what should they lay to heart This hailstone Corruption of the people this snuffing at the Ordinances if you lay not this to heart I will send a curse upon you and will curse your blessings yea I have cursed them already because you doe not lay it to heart and I will corrupt your seed c. in the 1 2 3 verse and so he goes on very sadly in threatning the Ministers of God upon this point The people corrupted their wayes and were weary of holy duties cold hearted and only quick for contention and division and what then because the Ministers of God doe not bestirre them the Lord brings a curse upon their blessings their best gifts in heart and outward blessings he blasts both and therefore it marveilously concernes Ministers to be most tender this way to see that all be carried exactly according to the word of God Vse 3 And thirdly this may be a word of warning to Magistrates as the greatest lights in the Common wealth for as I said before I will exclude neither for both are the Sun in their several Sphear a great light and he speaks of the greatest light the Antichristian state had and so I speak of the greatest light this State hath Thus much let me say to you if religion be corrupted the people may first smart for it if there be any corruption it springeth there and we shall smart for it before you yet if this be not redressed God will reserve a vial for you he will pour out a vial upon the very Sunne that you would think were out of gun-shot but how high soever they be among the Stars of God exalted above all their brethren yet the Lord can tel how to cast some vial upon your authority to eclipse and darken and staine it if the Lord helpe you not to continue watchfull in this kind It is true there is an order to looke to all corruption in doctrine and worship and government that are stirring in the Countrey And it is true matters of religion are first and properly considerable in the Churches themselves by the officers and brethren of the Church But if Magistrates shall find Brethren or Officers defective or neglective it will be their parts to give free passage to all undertakings for redresse and if any thing come to your cognizance before it come to the Church then it will concerne you to stirre up the Church to looke to doctrine worship and government and you will find in this case you will deliver your soules from danger and Church-officers and people too otherwise you see the danger of corruption in religion if the earth be corrupt the sea will be corrupt and the rivers and fountaines and the Sunne wil be corrupt and all alike more or lesse afflicted and plagued of God for toleration of such evils as are found amongst them So much for the first point let me speak a word of another and so come to an end The next note is this A wicked heart will not repent of sin no not under the wrathfull Doct. 2 hand of God who hath power over his owne judgements to give him the glory but will rather break forth to further wickednesse even to blaspemy against the name of God It was said of Ahaz that when he was in distresse on every hand yet in his distresse he did trespasse more against the Lord 2 Chron. 28.22 This is that King Ahaz as who should say brand him for an hypocrite and a reprobate that in his distresse trespasseth yet more why for he went and sacrificed to the gods of Damascus which smote him because the gods of the kings of Syria help them c. In stead of humbling himself under Gods hand to give him glory he breaks forth into blasphemy and hardens his heart and repents not to give him glory but waxes more fierce against the Lord to blaspheme And another prophane King of Israel Ioram 2 King 6.31 32 33. He weares sackcloth indeed upon his loynes but being in distresse by reason of the famine hee breakes forth into fury and rage God doe so to mee and more also if the head of Elisha shall stand on him this day hee meant to cut off Elisha's head by reason of the famine when an Asses head was sould for fourescore peeces of silver and in the 33 verse Shall I wait for the Lord any longer There he breaks forth into blasphemy hee is full of fiery indignation and blasphemy against the God of Israel see you this son of a murtherer While he yet spake this the Messengers came down unto him and he said Behold this evil is of the Lord what should I waite for the Lord any longer So you read in Isa 8.21 They in their distresse shall curse the Lord and their King and look upward This is the frame of carnall and wicked hearts And the Reason is Reas 1 First from the Ignorance of such wicked spirits their Ignorance is such they know not who smites them but think it is some chance as the Philistims in 1 Sam. 6.9 If he go up the way of his own coast to Bethshemesh then he hath done us this evil but if not then we shall know it was but some chance that happened to us They neither see the hand of God that smites them nor their own desert that provokes the Lord thus to smite them and so they repent not to give him glory but blaspheme him And a second Reason is Reas 2 Secondly from the prophane pride of a carnall heart some kinde of carelesnesse and it is incident to all prophane kinde of spirits that they will not see the hand of God nor own their own sinfulnesse when the judgements of God are in the earth the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousnesse Isa 26.9 10 11. But they will not behold the majesty of the Lord When thy hand is lifted up they will not see it but they shall see it and be ashamed c. They will not see it a good while that either their own sin hath brought this judgement or that it is a just hand of God upon them they will not see such things as these So you see the Reasons of the point not to speak of what high reasons might be given of Gods heavie vengeance upon mens unprofitablenes under the hands of God they grow worse and worse 2 Tim. 3.13 That the Lord leaves them to hardnesse of heart and gives them up to themselves to obstinate their spirits as Pharaoh that they will exalt themselves against him and though you bray a fool in a morter yet his folly will not depart from him The Use of the Point is thus much Vse 1 First it may report to you from the Oracle
of God that certainly the Popish State is going fast to perdition and the great lights of that State both the lights of that State great like the Sun in the firmament be they Civil Magistrates in their sphaere in highest place or take it as the Popish Prelacie do they will be highest in both kindes be it as it will be as the common people have been visited with judgement their Religion corrupt and Priests and Jesuits plagued and the Lord hath begun to plague their lights in this world and Church lights too So make account of this forasmuch as they repent not to give God glory but break forth to greater wrath and outrage against the Lord and his Church and servants and secret ones what will the end of all this be Never did any man strive against God and prospered what under the mighty hand of God under the Vials of Gods wrath and still blaspheme the name of God and still hope to prosper Verily you may write upon it God wil wound the head of his enemies and the hairy scalp of such as go on still in their wickednesse Psal 68.21 Let them look to it the Lord hath begun to pour out his wrath and one Vial hath not done when another begins to work but they are pouring upon the common people and upon Priests and Jesuits and will be more and more and so shall both the house of Austria and the Pope himself in their supremacie and lordly authority and howsoever they may have some refreshing and succour and supply in their declining state yet as their apostacies and backslidings are perpetuall as the Text saith they are seeing they repent not to give God glory the Lord hath set it down and the Scripture must be fulfilled they will go on in their rage and blasphemie against the God of Israel and what will the issue of that be Truly if men prosper in hardnesse of heart and blasphemy then let Pharaoh prosper of old and let all wicked States prosper but the Lord sent judgement upon judgement upon Pharaoh first upon the waters and then upon the fruits of the field at length he came to Murrain of the Beasts and then a plague upon their first-born and when that served not then the wrath of God came upon the red Sea and over-whelmed them all This is Gods manner of dealing and let the Imperiall State and all blasphemers know it that they shall not prosper in stouting it out against the Lord but believe it as they have begun to fall before reformed Churches so they shall surely fall As it was told Haman in Ester 6.13 If this Mordecai be of the seed of the Iews before whom thou hast begun to fall thou shalt not prevail but shalt surely fall before him So fall they will and in falling they shall fall and yet more and more fall till the Lord hath cut them off root branch there is more judgments you shall read of a further Vial upon the throne of the Beast and upon the air and then Babilon is fallen it is not long till then there is but three Vials more and whether some of them be not yet begun to be poured out it is not yet so cleer Let them know it for their terrour and we for our comfort the Lord will go on in destroying to destroy them It is a speech the Lord often useth in Isaiah 9.12 13 14. Yet for all this his anger is not turned away but his hand is stretched out still Why For the people turn not to him that smites them neither do they seek the Lord of hoasts and when they do not turn to him then the hand of the Lord is not drawn back but stretched out still that is the constant course of Gods providence as the people turn not to him that smites them so the Lord will go on and cut off head and tail branch and rush in one day ancient honorable he is the head and the Prophet that teacheth lyes hee is the tail c. For a second Use of this Point This may serve to teach us that the Lord is the chief Governour Vse 2 and hath the chief power of all the plagues and judgements that do fall upon men And that aggravates the impenitencie of these wicked men that they do not fall under his hand that hath power over these plagues but still go on hardning themselves against him whose plague is upon them Therefore he hath power over them and he will maintain it and the judgements shall go on destroying to destroy till like Vials of quick-silver they have rooted them out from the land of the living Is there any evil in the City which the Lord hath not done Amos 3.6 If a man were to speak to Christian Princes in other parts how might a man call upon them to beware of timerousnesse and fear in provoking the displeasure of the house of Austria or of the Pope For the wrath of God is gone out against that State and the Pope and the Lord hath power over these plagues Why should we fear all the power of the house of Austria or Papall thunderbolts when the Lord hath you under his hand when he means to go on plaguing to plague Shall men underprop this rotten building which the Lord intends to destroy This cursed fabrick which the Lord will ruinate Do you think to strengthen your selves by them when they are not able to help themselves No it is a time of Gods plague and therefore it is a warning and Trumpet to all Christian nations and to us do not think if we shall not yield to this and that of Antichrist then Churches and Magistrates shall never subsist fear it not I tell you all the States that cleave to Popery shall fall with Popery if they continue in it Indeed if the Lord rescue and redeem them with a mighty hand and bow their power and Crown to comply with the Lord Jesus and his people they may save themselves and their Kingdoms but otherwise it is not possible for them to prosper in maintaining this ruinous Babylon that hastens to destruction The Lords plagues they are and it is not all the power of men or Princes no nor of Angels in heaven nor devils in hell that can take off the plagues that God hath set on Thirdly it teacheth us what is the duty of all the sons of men Vse 3 under Gods hand namely to repent of sin which hath brought Gods hand for this is an aggravation of the wickednesse of these lights that they repented not to give God glory when the vials of Gods wrath was upon them but stil grew more wicked even to blaspheme What saith the Apostle Peter Humble your selves therefore under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in due time 1 Pet. 5.6 Hath the Lord begun to smite the common state and it may be the body of the countrey in that which is the sinewes of trading in the scarcities of
giving him glory let all run in that streame that we acknowledge his justice and truth and mercy and grace and look up to him for receiving from him whatever is of his mercy and grace needfull for us and then we shall avoid those plagues and judgements which are threatned or gone forth against us and shall recover from under Gods hand like gold out of the fire THE FIFT VIALL REVEL 16.10 11. And the fifth Angell poured out his Viall upon the seat of the Beast or as the word is in the Originall the Thrones and his Kingdome was full of darkenesse and they gnawed their Tongues for paine And blasphemed the God of Heaven because of their paines and their sores and repented not of their deeds IN these words you have described the powring out of the Viall of the fifth Angell and described it is First by the subject on which it was powred On the throne of the Beast Secondly by the effect of it which is double 1. Proper and primary His Kingdome was thereby darkened 2. The secondary and accidentall events were three 1. Anguish and indignationâ— They gnawed their Tounges for paine 2. Blasphemy They blasphemed the God of Heaven 3. Impenitency They repented not of their deeds This Scripture and the interpretation of it is the more difficult because it is generally conceived that the execution of Gods judgements upon the Beast hath not yet gone beyond the powring out of the fourth Viall therefore conjectures about it will be the more difficult and it may be more uncertaine yet because the Scripture in it selfe is not darke how darke so ever we may be in our apprehensions The Kingdome of the Beast is darke but not the Kingdome of Christ And the Lord hath promised a gracious blessing upon all that read and heare the words of this prophecy Chap. 1. verse 3. so that by the comparing of one part of this prophecy with another and observing the due poise of every word in his place with holy feare and reverence the Lord is wont to lead his people into truth according to the promise made to the Apostle Iohn 16.13 which is fulfilled to every successour of theirs in some measure Let us therefore goe on in the feare of God to consider of these things First the difficulty chiefely lyeth in opening the subject whereon this Viall will be powred for open that and the rest will be cleare The seat of the Beast is generally taken for the City of Rome and it is confirmed from the like speech Rev. 13.2 Where the Dragon gave the Beast his power and his seat or throne and great authority and therefore they gather from hence the ruine of Rome applying also hereunto some prophecies of the Sibills who in their Language tell us thus much that Rome shall then be desolate and be as if it had never been a state Now though we have much cause to glorifie God for the labours of such of his servants as have giveÌ„ that exposition yet I must confesse I cannot rest satisfied with that interpretation for I finde it cleare in the sequell of this Chapter that Babilon which is doubtlesse meant of Rome As throughout the seventeenth Chapter it is also is said to come up into Remembrance before God in the 19. verse of this Chapter And that is in the powring out the seventh Viall which implyeth that before it came not up in remembrance before God in point of actuall punishment for things are said to come up into â—â—â—â—â—brance before God when he taketh in hand either to shew mercy to them or to powre out wrath upon them a signe that the Viall and fiercenesse of his wrath was not yet powred out upon Rome besides it is expressed in this Text that upon the powring out of this Viall the Kingdome of the beast was darkened but there is a great difference betweene darkning and destroying Egypt was darkened before Pharoh was destroyed or the body of Egypt overwhelmed in the red Sea Upon these grounds therefore I cannot conceive that it is meant of Rome but of something else which in Scripture is to be understood by Throne sometimes it is put for that forme of government and authority which any person or state sitting on that throne doth administer as it is said of Christ that his throne is a throne of Righteousnesse and that is not so much spoken of the place where he governeth as of the government it selfe so in the 89 Psalme 29. 36 37. I will make his throne as the dayes of Heaven and againe his throne shall be as the Sunne before me It shall be established for ever as the Moone and in Psalme 122.5 Thrones of judgement are distinguished from the thrones of the house of David to wit such as David hath erected so by the like proposition it is here meant of that forme of government which the beast exerciseth in the Church both subjectively that which himselfe doth occupy over the Churches subject to him and effectively that which proceedeth from him and is exercised by others in other Churches according to the frame and forme of government received from him and that is such a peerelesse kind of government as wherein one alone doth rule for a throne is such a kind of seate wherein one of peerelesse authority doth governe as a Monarch in his owne Dominion Indeed the universall supremacy of the Pope both in spirituall and temporall things whereby he challengeth transcendent authority over all Kings and Princes that was violated by the fourth Viall of these Angels but yet still here is another throne which yet hitherto remaineth unplagued and that is his singular sole authority and monarchicall government whereby he sitteth chiefe and onely Judge in Ecclesiasticall causes in his own jurisdiction and like unto which he hath established the government of all National Provinciall and Diocesan Churches and so this interpretation doth very fitly suit with the proper effect of the powring out of this Viall expressed in the Text his Kingdome was darkened 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and what kinde of government is that such as wherein one doth raigne as they are wont to say there must be but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 One Prince in a state this forme of government himselfe doth exercise still in his owne jurisdiction inviolately and this he hath brought into all national and Provinciall and Diocesan Churches in the world where popery hath prevailed and which still continueth in some Protestant Churches where though the Doctrine and worship of Popery be abolished and the transcendent supremacy of his government yet the forme of his government monarchicall or sole and singular government by one that is Episcopacy is still continued Who is then the fifth Angel that hath powred out his Viall upon this peerelesse government the Episcopacy Though it be said this Viall is not yet powred out and though it haply was not powred out with the writings of such men who so conceived were under their hands
they that begin they also make an end and send away the people with a blessing Num. 6.24 25 26. Power they have to direct to admonish privately publickly to rebuke with all authority Tit. 2.15 And sundry branches of rule may be deduced out of these yet as true it is also that the Lord hath given power to the Church over their Rulers as first to choose them they ordained them Elders by lifting up their hands Acts 14.23 And when there was an Apostle to be chosen in Iudas his roome they out of an 120 persons chose two men and presented them to the Lord Acts 1.23 Secondly they have power to send them forth about the Churches service as they sent Paul and Barnabas to Ierusalem Acts 15.2 And without controversie he that sendeth is greater then he whom he sendeth Ioh 13.16 Secondly they have power to admonish them if they doe offend say to Archippus take heed to they Ministery c. Col. 4.17 And the Church contended with Peter for eating with the heathen Acts 11.2 3. And had he not given them the better answer they would have proceeded against him These things then laid together what a beastly power is that of the Church of Rome and of such as imitate them as usurpe authority and judgement over so many Churches and will be judged by none Vse 1 For use in the first place this may be a ground unto us of just acknowledgement of the Lords faithfulnesse and truth who is not unmindfull of all that he hath spoken by his servants the Prophets but in due season doth fulfill his word The Apostle Iohn hath beene dead above 1500 years he dyed with the end of the first hundred yeares after Christ but the word spoken by him dyed not with him according to what we read Zach. 1.5 6. Your fathers where are they and the Prophets doe they live for ever but my words and my statutes which I commanded my servants the prophets did they not take hold of your Fathers So though Iohn be dead whatsoever Iohn hath spoken with his mouth he will fulfill with his hand and will not leave till he hath finished all the words that are written in this booke And what marveilous stay in this to the soules of those that build their faith upon the word of God He will ever be mindfull of his Covenant Psalme 111.5 He did let none of the words of Samuel fall to the ground 1 Sam. 3.19 He will not leave fulfilling to fulfill untill he hath fulfilled all and then Christ wil come to gather his people to himselfe therefore let not your hearts faile because God remaineth faithful and whether Zachary believe or no the Lord wil fulfil his Word Luke 1.20 The second use may be to take off that amazement which hath Vse 2 been found in the hearts of some concerning the undertakings of the Scots in our native Country since the world began was it never known for there are no Histories of note but are commonly known such a patterne as this that ever a whole Nation did rise to take up such a quarrell with so much justice wisdome and piety a thing to be wondred at that a whole Nation should carry such a matter in such a way many things have been done in Holland in Geneva for reformation but with much more tumult which when the Papists have objected our Divines have been wont to answer that they doe not excuse mens thrusting in their own weaknesses into Gods Worke but wonder not overmuch if you finde it otherwise in this matter for the Angels of God are their guides so that their foote shall not swell but they shal keepe their ranks and places and remember that they are subjects through they carry their swords in their hands Just care is taken that there be no robbery nor pilfering no oppressions no violation of any mans bed nothing taken up but it shall be duely paid for and yet the proceeding made with such constancy that in a way of humility the end must be attained or else there wil be no place in the conclusion These are great things but if men take them in hand that are girded with golden girdles when their Bibles goe along with them when Fasting and Prayers steere along their course you need not much wonder in such a Case Thirdly this may serve to teach us that surely this worke will Vse 3 prosper because the Lords Angel is in it and the Viall of Gods wrath in his Hand and he will not be beaten off though some instruments may quaile yet will he stil raise up more in their stead till those plantations be rooted out according to the word of Christ Mat. 15.15 Every plant which mine heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up In vaine therefore is it for men to uphold such sandy buildings which wil in the end be shaken down whatsoever dammes men may make to uphold the Episcopacy it will befall unto them as when men make dammes to stop water courses others come and cast in some small quantity of quick-silver or Aquafortis which eates such holes through the stones that it will soone issue out the water so this Aqua omnipotentis the vialls of the wrath of God wil at last consume and wast all things whatsoever stand up against them Vse 4 Fourthly let it teach us to praise the Lord for our gracious deliverance from the power of this Government brought in by the beast unto the government of Christ in his Church let those that count it new Wine refuse it it is old Wine unto us let us therefore in the name of the Lord rejoyce with trembling for our great liberties and pray that God will never leave untill he have rooted out not only the throne of the Beast but the Beast himselfe that the world may never more be pestered with them Now from the effects that follow upon the powring out of this Viall we may observe this second note Doct. 2 That upon the powring out of the Viall of Gods wrath upon the throne of the Beast their place the Pope himselfe and the rest of their Prelates and all their favourites and followers have not turned to God by Repentance but have broken forth against him in indignation and blasphemy His Kingdome was full of darkenesse but what profit have they made of it they gnawed their tongues through vexation rage and malignity of spirit against the Lords holy providence and the succesfull proceedings of these holy Angels they blasphemed the God of Heaven and looke at reformation as Rebellion as if it were the dissolution of al goodnesse and at length they wil say that they feare Christ himselfe is become a Puritan and have they repented of their tyrannies and usurpations over Ministers and over Churches but they have broken forth still more and more against the Lord his servants and Churches and what more may come forth I know not judge you what they speake in secret when they
in such as these then hee doth in plainer and simpler men Yee see your calling Brethren saith the Apostle Paul in the 1 Corinthians 1.26 How that not many wise men after the flesh not many mighty not many noble are called It is I say therefore an abasement unto all flesh and unto all the glory of the flesh all flesh is as Grasse and the goodliest of flesh and bloud is but as the flower of the Field that fadeth away take it at the best it s but a Flower but take them as they may bee improved by Satan none more mischeivous none more active instruments for the Devill for sinne for Corruption then these fine quicke wits and spirits bee These nimble wits these active spirits pride not your selves in these things I say these are the most dangerous if the Lord set not in to take hold of them pride not your selves therefore in these things The more learned and witty you bee the more fit to act for Satan will you bee if the Lord leave you the more neat handed and quicke witted and nimble spirited you bee the more notable and profitable will you bee for the Devill if hee take hold of you pride not your selves therefore in these much lesse allow your selves in sacrificeing of these to Satan But see you doe sacrifice your wts and spirits and dexterity and what ever you bee or have as a living sacrifice to Christ Jesus to his advantage or else they will bee improved to the service of the Devill and his instruments The great and monsterous Beast the Roman Catholique visible Church and the head thereof the holy Father the Pope as they call him Secondly it may take off the fond doting of the sonnes Vse 2 of men upon the lesrning of the Jesuites and the glorie of the Episcopacy and brave estate of the Prelates I say bee not deceived with these pompes and empty shewes and faire representations of a goodly condition before the eyes of flesh and blood bee not taken with the applause of these persons yee have many at this Day that stand and wonder upon the reading of the Jesuites at the witty inventions and marvelous dexterity of judgement They are strong perswaders and strange practitioners of what they take in hand marvelously are men taken with the strength of their judgements and the strength of their wits And dote mervalously upon the Cardinalls and upon the Bishops and upon the Jesuites and upon holy Catholique Mother Church and their holy Father the Pope These are the gods many of them doe adore I pray doe but looke well upon them all what are they all of them Let but the holy Ghost give his judgement of them who is onely wise let his Counsell bee taken and what They are spirits indeed but uncleane spirits spirits of Devills that come out of the mouth of the Dragon and out of the mouth of the Beast the Roman visible Catholique Church is in the esteeme of the Holy Ghost a monsterous Beast as yee heard in the 13 Chapter Revel 1 Ve. And the head of the Popish Church a false Prophet And what are these nimble wits and goodly glorious persons yee speake of uncleane spirits neither fit for meat nor sacrifice neither fit for Church nor Common-Wealth Oh ye will say they are fit for both But saith the holy Ghost they are Frogs and not Church-men as they call them and uncleane and not fit for civill use neither fit for Church nor State but fit to corrupt both and breed corruption in both Frogs they are and their Songs are much what as Frogs are if yee mind them their note is alwayes much at one either visible succession and that 's one note the Judge of controversies which they say must bee the Bishop of Rome and the Roman Catholike visible Church the holy Mother Church as they call it these are their notes their Song but it is but a Frog-like Song what ever they thinke and yee shall ever finde it that when Religion hath been most lightsome and Princes and States-men have beene most warme in Religion then yee shall here no noise of these Frogs they ly close in the mud But when Religigion growes darke once the shadow of the Sunne growes low and large when Christians wax cold and Courtiers begin to be Popish or carnall or I cannot tell how conformable to the corruptions of the times then they begin to croke loud and all things must be as they will have them but I say take them as they be and they are but uncleane Frogs that doe corrupt both Church and State And mind yee they are confederate with the Dragon the Beast and the false Prophet Yee shall finde it in time that they will be confederate with Turke or Russian Indian or Infidell they will be ready to confederate with them all and make no scrupill of these things And yet they as men thinke are the onely Patriarkes and make the greatest shew of religion bee not deceived you see how the holy Ghost describes them And let those that are of God learne what they are And thirdly this may serve to teach Christian Princes Vse 3 and States that when Religion comes to bee reformed they must looke for battells and great battells There is no hope that Satan will rest the Dragon cannot rest when his Kingdome is shaken And hee hath such of his confederacy the Beast and the false Prophet that cannot be still Especially when the streames of Rome begin to decay the streames that doe water and refresh Rome Then looke for Warres and Tumults of Warres great Warres mustering up of Popish Princes and their Armies and pagan Princes and their Armies there will be no backwardnesse in these earthly spirits in this case to the captivating of all if it were possible to the maintenance and supportance of Rome And last of all and so I make an end Let this bee Vse 4 the last use It may serve to be some ground of stay unto Christian Princes and such as shall bee instruments of this reformation which this sixth Angell brings with him Instruments of this wasting and drying up of the corruptions of Religion which shall waste Rome I say though great Warres may arise from all the chiefe Princes of the VVorld both Popish and Pagan and a great day of battell it will bee when ever those dayes doe shine forth as hasteing they be why yee shall finde this to be the comfort of it a great day it shall bee It is so said in my Text but not a great Day to the Beast nor a great Day to the Dragon nor a great Day to the false Prophet They looke for a Day of it but it shall be a great day of GOD Almighty men are afraid if they stirre they shall bring Warres about their Eares true they shall doe so they will arise at once but though the battell will bee great and terrible yet never the lesse most comfortable to the People of
it comes to passe that the good man of the house is asleep and the thief breaks thorow and steals when all is bisht then he comes like a thief in the night 1 Thes 5.2 Your selv as know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night So like a thief hee comes suddenly and secretly Thirdly he comes as a thief to take away and bereave a man of such goods as he carnally keeps not to steal from him but to recover his own Though not as a lawlesse thief stealeth yet as a just recoverer of his fathers goods out of the hands of those that have not been faithfull in improving of them John 10.10 The thief cometh not but for to steal and to kill and to destroy I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly And so he may come also to kill but not unjustly as a thief but verily as a just Judge upon those that do not watch and keep their garments He may take their garments and leave them naked that men may see their shame and justly too because they have not watched but have suffred themselves to be defiled Thus then Christ will come at that time yee shall have many men serious of Reformation when the Lord shall dry up the River Euphrates that makes glad the city of Babel when the ten Kings shall come to make the Whore desolate the Lord will then come and try all those Kings and their souldiers who ever they are he will try them in the Frogs he will try them secretly and slily for they will not cease to be inchanting as secretly as they can into the hearts of Kings and all godly spirits to turne things backe againe into the former course of corruption into those idolatries and thefts which made glad the City of Rome and which did uphold the Turke And in the Kings of the earth and of the world he will come upon them as a thief violently and terribly to shake the hearts of all the Kings of Christendom as it s called to withdraw them from the Reformation of Religion which they shall be zealously addicted to suddenly to drive them to their former superstition of their fore-fathers So in one sort of these he will come as a thief secretly and slily In the other sort of these he will come as a thief violently and terribly Reas 1 If ye shall ask the Reason of the Point the Reason is shortly this First it is taken from the instrument in which Christ doth come for Christ is many times resembled by the instruments which he useth if he useth instruments of a still voice then he comes not with a rending but with a still voice so ye read in 1 Kings 19.12 So here he comes in these unclean spirits for the Lord acts them he comes in Potent Princes for he is said to come in the likenesse of these he comes in them both and he is said to come as a thief in the likenesse of these Frogs because they come in his likenesse Ye shall have many false Prophets come in my name saith Christ Mat. 24.24 Take heed of them for they shall deceive many they shall come secretly and slily and play legerdemain and by that means deceive many and they shall come outragiously first against the Lord and his people and the Lord comes forth in their rage that look as it is said by some Interpreters of Paul 1 Cor. 15.32 He fought with beasts at Ephesus after the manner of men they interpret it thus not that ever he was put to any such triall that any probable Stories mention in Ephesus or any where else but he fought with beasts at Ephesus after the manner of men because the men of Ephesus fought with him after the manner of beasts So Christ is said to come in these men because they come in the name of Christ and plead for the Catholick Church of Christ and the Vicar of Christ Behold I come as a thief they are all but theeves though they pretend to come in the name of Christ that may be one part of the meaning But yet notwithstanding this that followeth do I most of all cleave unto not excluding that This may be another taken from the authority of Christ and power of Christ in leading a people into temptation what ever the instruments be I say it is the Lord Jesus that leads his people into all kindes of temptation whatsoever the instruments be If any Prophet be deluded it is Christ the Lord hath deluded that Prophet Or if any Tyrants be set up it is the Lord that sets them up Or what ever unclean spirits come against his Church it is the Lord that stirred them up it is the Lord that stirred them up unto this battell against his Church it is the Lord that stirred them up what ever the instruments be be they Frogs or unclean spirits that gathers to the battels of Pray And therefore we are taught to pray in that which is commonly called the Lords Prayer Mat. 6.13 Lead us not into temptation We pray to the Lord that he would not lead us into temptation As who should say to the Lord it belongs to bring one creature against another the devil against Eve and Eve against the devil the Lord it is that brings the evil whoever be the instruments it is the Lord that brings his challenge into the field he brings Goliah into the valley of Elah And therefore when it is said 1 Chron. 21.1 that Satan rose up against Israel and provoked David to number Israel In 2 Samuel 24.1 it is said The anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel and he moved David against them to say Go number Israel and Judah The Lord was angry with the people and then he let Satan loose to tempt David to number the people It was the Lords doings though it was Satans act And so when Micaiah in his Vision saw the Lord sitting on his Throne and all the hoste of Heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left And the Lord said Who shall perswade Ahab that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-Gilead And one said on this manner and another said on that manner At length saith the Text there came forth a spirit and stood before the Lord and said I will perswade him And the Lord said unto him Wherewith And he said I will go forth and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his Prophets And he said Thou shalt perswade him and prevail also saith the Lord Go forth and do so 1 Kings 22.19 20 21 22. So that minde you whoever goes forth the Lord sends him the Dragon the Beast and the false Prophet may give one Commission but the Lord gives him permission yea and I may say Commission too For in effecting the thing the Lord doth it that as David saith of Shimei The Lord hath bid him curse me that
is to say he hath given him effectuall liberty and opportunity to do the thing as if he had given him a command to do it If a false Prophet arise saith the Lord in Deuteronomie Chapter 13. Verse 12. and give thee a sign and a wonder saying Let us goe after other gods Thou shalt not harken unto the words of the Prophet or unto the dreamer of dreames for the Lord your God proveth you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your hearts and with all your soules The Lord will suffer such to come and this he doth to try his people so that mind you it is the Lords doings it is he that commands a theefe when he comes like a theefe it is the Lord that sends forth such that are clothed with sheeps skins but inwardly are ravening wolves though they have no direct commission from God yet they have such secret permission from God and commission by giving them oportunity to do that which they come for that indeed the Lord comes Beloved think it not strange saith the Ap Peter 1 Pet. 4.12 concerning the fiery triall which is come to try you as though some strange thing happened unto you He means the ten Persecutions the Persecutions in Nero's time and those that were to follow Let no man think it strange why for judgement must begin at the house of God to that mind yee all the fiery trials what were they but the judgements of God God sends them forth in his fatherly wisdome and by his Soveraigne Authority to try the patience and wisdome and watchfulnesse of his people And therefore it becomes the people of God when they see such creatures budge and when they see the Kings of the earth stirre then Behold saith the Lord I come as a theef suddenly secretly slily and violently Vse 1 And the use of this point serves to teach us neither to justifie men nor to condemne the Lord Jesus for that were a sinful violating of the Scripture Let it be therefore a caution to teach us to avoid both these and neither to justifie theft nor to condemne the Lord it is not the Lords meaning but make account of this though the Lord come as a theefe that doth not justifie theft but aggravate the sin of theft If a theef shall make use of the opportunities which the providence of God puts into his hand of the nimblenesse of his wits and the authority he hath in his speech and the powre he hath with Princes I say that man that shall abuse such things as are given him of the Lord this doth not excuse their sin much lesse justifie it but it aggravates it and they shall find it so one day It is a very divine speech of our Saviour Iohn 19.10 11 Pilate saith to him Knowest thou not that I have power to crucifie thee and have power to loose thee Iesus answered Thou couldest have no power at all against me except it were given thee from above therefore hee that delivered mee unto thee hath the greater sinne And it implyes also and it had been a wholesome lesson for Pilate to have suckt out of it that it was the greater sinne in Pilate to abuse his authority to condemne the Lord Jesus For Iudas to betray Christ to the Jewes Ecclesiastical Authority and for the Jewes to deliver Christ into the hands of Pontius Pilate it was a great sin and so much the greater because Pilates authority was of God and they would arme the sword of God against the Lord Jesus And if Pilate had the power given him of God either to crucifie Christ or loose him if he shall abuse his authority in putting Christ to death as he did Then he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sinnes But thou then that dost abuse thy power to crucifie me shalt bee found very sinfull in the end So that that will not excuse any Instrument for abusing the power for such an end If God raise up Pharaoh Exod. 10 16. to make his power knowne and to declare his name thorow-out all the world If he shall abuse this Authority the more heavy will the wrath of God be upon him and it will not be for him and such like to complaine against God and say he hath ordained me to it Oh man who art thou that disputest against God for God never doth it but being over-justly provoked by the creature Therfore so much the greater is the sin of any that will abuse their wits and parts in a way of sin against God And therefore it must teach men to beware of excusing theft And neither is their unrighteousnesse in Christ For the Lord is righteous in all his wayes and holy in al his works Psal 145.17 He doth not these vnclean spirits Cardinals Bishops and Jesuits any wrong but even as the Seraphims cryed one to another so let us learn Holy holy holy is the Lord of hoasts the whole earth is full of his glory When is this When he sends Isaiah to harden the hearts of the people and make their ears deaf Isa 6.3 10. So that let the Lord and his Throne be guiltlesse and let guilt lye upon these theeves theeves and robbers let them bear the burthen of their own sins If we ask how this can be imagined Ans All this acting with theeeves is an accidentall concurring in all these things the Lord doth no act but holy and good neither his efficacy in co-working with them all this efficacy is only an accidentall concurring God gives them the gift and the opportunity which they will abuse And so these Kings of the earth are justly deluded because they received not the truth in the love of it 2 Thess 2.10 11 12. Thus is the Lord and his Throne guiltlesse but all the theft and robbery lyes on the instruments which the Lord doth use in their own abuse he that rides a horse which halts every step he takes the halting is not the owners that rides him but the horses And so when the Sunne hardens clay it softens wax and when it drawes stinking savours out of the dunghill it drawes sweet savours out of the garden hardening to the clay and stinking savours to the dunghill is not properly from the Sunne but in themselves occasionally from the Sunne Even so it is in this case This evill lyes not in the proper act of the Lord Jesus but accidentally only from him Thus therefore the first Use for a second Use Vse 2 It may serve to teach the people of God thus much when ever you see evill spirits the spirits of errour let loose and when you see great men come on you with violence and rage how then why then to behold the Lord comming upon you himself He comes upon you and he comes then upon you as a thiefe you must therefore behold the Lord in all the changes that befall you looke at the Lord in them The Lord hath given and the Lord hath taken
blessed be the name of the Lord Thus Iob in Iob 1.21 and Chap. 2.10 when the Lord sorely visited him in his cattell and servants and children and in his own body he sees the Lords hand in all the sad changes that passed over him and it is a notable speech he hath in Iob 16.11 12 13 14. God hath delivered me up to the ungodly and turned me into the hands of the wicked and God hath delivered me He sees the hand of God in all and there 's marvellous benefit in that First it keepeth a man alwayes patient and meek in all Psal 39.9 I was dumb I opened not my mouth because thou didst it Hee sees it is Gods hand and therefore he patiently submits thereto he hath not a word to say but meekly submits the Lord doth all comes upon me as a thiefe Blessed be the name of the Lord. I was worth thus much within this twelve month and now not worth halfe so much Blessed be the name of the Lord. I was rich in cattell or in this or that commodity but now the prises are fallen they are not worth half nor it may be one third of that they were the Lord hath done this he hath come upon us on a sudden like a thief and blessed be his name for it Secondly it helps us in the use and improvement of them all it naturally leads men by the hand to humble themselves under the hand of God and this is the onely way to obtain deliverance 1 Peter 5.6 Humble your selves under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in due time It s not the casualties or calamities of the Country that comes either by chance or fortune but from the Lord he taketh away all by one means or another takes away all whether by our pride that we must have every new fashion and be like the men of the world in houses apparell and the like or daintinesse that we must have our varieties be it what it will be though it cost never so much and no matter what follows though it eat up our estates and brings us into want The Lord hath made use of our folly and pride and daintinesse our idlenesse our covetousnesse or what ever it be to bring us into poverty the Lord hath done it and let the people of God see the hand of God in it Thirdly it leads you by the hand in all the sad changes that passe over you to look to the Lord and to wrestle with the Lord and not to stand wrestling with men Jacob he is in trouble and he wrestles with the Lord Genesis 32.26 And so it behoves the Lords people to wrestle with the Lord and not to stand contesting with the Bishops nor with the Jesuits as it may be men may do No no prevail with the Lord and get him to turn all things about and if Jacob get God to blesse him Esau shall not then curse him I will not let thee go till thou blesse me and if the Lord blesse Jacob Esau shall be curs'd And lastly it will help you to quit your selves like men in all the things that do befall you as Paul saith in 1 Corinthians 16.13 God hath set us saith the Apostle upon a Theatre as the word is in the originall 1 Corinthians 4.9 unto the world and unto Angels and unto men therefore saith he quit your selves like men as Heb. 10.35 Cast not away your confidence which hath great recompence of reward for ye have need of patience c. It behooves Christians to quit themselves like men sanctifying the Lord in all conditions in afflictions and crosses wrestling with him to turn away these things and to turn us from all our evil wayes and then walking in a holy self-deniall and integrity of heart and life giving every man his own And so while we walk in pathes of holinesse and righteousnesse in humility and meeknesse of spirit unclean spirits may come out against us and the Lord come as a thief upon us and yet when he doth we shall keep our own garments So much for the first Point The second Note is this that Doctr. 2 A watchfull Christian keeps his garments in times of fraudulent or violent calamities or triall injoyes his own blessednesse and prevents the shamefull discovery of his own nakednesse It s evident in the Text Behold I come as a thief Blessed is he that watcheth and keep th his garments lest he walk naked and they see his shame He that watcheth and keeps his garments when Christ cometh he is blessed that is he injoyes his own blessednesse and increaseth it and establisheth it and he shall by this means prevent the discovery of his own shame and nakednesse or his shamefull nakednesse Quest What are these garments garments in the Plurall Number Answ They are interpreted briefly in the 19 Chapter of the Revelation Verse 8. The fine linnen is the righteousnesse of the Saints There is a double righteousnesse of the Saints there is an inherent righteousnesse and an imputed righteousnesse An inherent righteousnesse He that doth righteousnesse is righteous 2 John 3.7 There is a righteousnesse therefore of a mans own to wit spirituall graces as Zachary and Elizabeth were both righteous before God Luke 1.6 And it is well observed by some holy Divines that he puts a double Epithite upon this righteousnesse of the Saints a double commendation they are pure and they are bright this fine linnen it s both pure and bright for the words are in the originall 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and they well observe it pure because imputed righteousnesse is pure indeed and hath no spot in it but it is not bright you can see no great matter in it it maketh no great show before men A man may be very much defiled and be subject to many scandals and yet cloathed with the garment of imputed righteousnesse the righteousnesse inherent is the righteousnesse of a godly heart and life before men Let your l ght so shine before men that they may see your good works Matth. 5.16 The righteousnesse of Christ imputed I mean the righteousnesse of Christ received by faith and imputed by grace is a pure righteousnesse hat shines before God and not before men But the righteousnesse inherent that 's not pure but very bright before men There is therefore a righteousnesse that is very bright that 's the righteousnesse inherent expressed in our conversation and there is another righteousnesse to wit the righteousnesse imputed which is incomparably more pure As it hath been said of old There is not the poorest Saint though Lazarus on the dunghill but is as pure as the Virgin Mary Phil. 2.8 So then those are the garments cloathed in bright and in pure garments And these garments are the righteousnesses of the Saints Garments why To cloath our nakednesse for our naturall corrupt estate is nakednesse Now both these are given to cover this nakednesse of ours these Indewments rightly so called
shining garments They are such that if the Lord looke upon a man he is pure in his eyes if the world looke upon him he is bright yea it even dazels the eyes of wicked men I say it is the honour of a Christiam it is the comlinesse of his person There is no garment that becomes a Christian so well as to be clothed from top to toe with the pure g rments of Christs righteousnesse imputed Inherent righteousnesse is not so comely save in the eyes of men A tender conscience a spirit easie to be entreated is a comely spirit a man void of passion that hath the bridle and reines of his affections it is a great beauty to a man both righteousnesse inherent and righteousnesse imputed they make us walke so as no man shall see our nakednesse and shame Diligence in a mans calling and trustinesse and faithfulnesse are comely things in Christians A well-girt Christian the Lord wil keepe that men shall not see his nakednesse though in many things he may faile and be ashamed yet the Lord keepes him that men see not his nakednesse That is the first Use And the second is this Vse 2 It must teach us holy watchfulnesse in all our Christian conversation especially in such times when these frogs are croking and these â—â—â—ive spirits are leâ—ping up and down There are many spirits of Errour as it is generally complained of and I fear too justly up and down the countrey Some ye know and more will know and the sooner the better Beware of them look well to your garments keep faith and keep a good conscience Keep them too and you keep all your garments I aith looks to your holinesse and a good conscience to your righteousnesse Be watchfull to Prayer and watchfull to the Word and wathfull to your callings and watchfull to your own deceitfull hâ—art when you see the false Prophets stir when you see â—rrours stir Keep your garments close and so much the closer when you see such spirits stirring and now I doubt not it is a time when evil spirits are busie and stirring in our native country Oh that the people of God might be but watchfull Now Jâ—suits and carnall hearts will be busie Oh that all high and low of all the Nations of the earth were awaked not to be intreated by them that will strive to carry Religion in the old streams of Euphrates that makes glad none but Cardinals and Bishops and carnall hearts whatsoever is a support to new Babylon or old whatsoever maintains Popish Idolatry or Turkish Tyrannie But to bestir themselves like men that so the work of the Lord may go forward and the streams of the River Euphrates may be dryed up what ever maintains Popish Idolatry or Turkish Tyrannie that all this were dryed up What a cause of joy would this be to all the people of God! If ye hear any ill news from our native country you will hear nothing but shamefulnesse discovered If men be not watchfull shamefulnesse in Doctrine and shamefulnesse in Worship and shamefulnesse in Government will be discovered if men be not watchfull at this day For now is the time that God goes about to pour out the Vials of his wrath upon the Throne of the Beast to dry up the Episcopacie And ye shall finde great way made for the drying up of the river Euphrates for it will suddenly be dryed up I say therefore it behoves men in this time especially to be watchfull and therefore let us pray for our Brethren and for our selves in this regard that the Lord would gird them and us close that our lamps may be burning as men that are bound to dry up this river Euphrates that makes glad Rome but sad the hearts of Gods people Last of all to make an end it will be a ground of comfort to Vse 3 all watchfull souls to whom Christ comes as a thief and yet when he doth come he findes them watching and girt If the good man of the house did know when the thief would come he would surely watch and not suffer his house to be broken through c. I say in such a case as this is if the Lord give up the spirits of men as I doubt not but he doth those that are so take it for your comfort yee that are close girt cary it home as an encouragement unto continuall watchfulnesse Such as walke before him spiritually and watchfully marke what the Lord promiseth you for yee see what the blessednesse is which the Lord promiseth He shall not have blessednesse only but he is a blessed man Blessed is he that watcheth he shall enjoy the Lord Iesus Christ and all Soveraigne good He will gird himselfe and will sit downe at table and minister unto you Luke 17.7 A man will not say so to his servants But mind yee here 's a difference that if so be a man have walked with a watchfull frame of spirit the Lord will serve him A man that hath kept his garments without spot the Lord so well approves the frame of his spirit as that he will gird himself and will serve him that is ready prepared to do such a soul good He shall finde him at supper he shall finde him at the ordinances at every spirituall duty he shall finde him at least it will not be long but he shall finde him I set aside extraordinary cases of tryall times of temptation and tryall which may come upon any of Gods servants and these shall not be long The Lord will hide them under the shadow of his wings and preserve them from shamefull fals or will hide the shamefulnesse of them and the Lord will for the present be girt close to you He will be ever and anon helping you in all trials and temptations when you have most need of him then shall ye finde him ready to be most near you And therefore it is a marvellous comfort and stay to a Christian whom the Lord helps to be thus watchfull He will be a Sun and a shield and no good thing will he withhold from them that walk thus uprightly with him Psalm 84.11 THE FOURTH PART VPON THE SIXT VIALL REVEL 16.16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon THESE words are the last part of the description of the Event that followeth upon the powring out the Viall of the sixt Angell and in them is set forth the Efficacy of those three Spirits of Divells who as they are described by their effect of working miracles and going forth to gather men to the Battell of the great day of God Almighty ver 14. So they do prevaile they did gather them together into a field wherein the Battell was fought and that is called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon The place it selfe is of much difficulty and much variety of Interpretations hath beene made of it I may not so much as reckon them up much lesse spend time to refute them
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
have bin such bloudy Butchers of him as that they shall be swallowed up in the sence of such unspeakable grace Conviction for sin doth greatly help forward legall humiliation but for a kindly and spirituall mourning men must looke upon Christ not only as killed by them but as killed for them Thus shall it be with them according to what is foretold Mat. 24.30 When the signe of the son of man shall appeare in heaven then shall all the Tribes of the Earth mourne speaking of the twelve Tribes of Israel who shall mourne because of him that commeth to shew such mercy to them who have dealt so unworthily with him This is the mourning which will befall this people like that of Megiddon when this great battell shall be fought Vse 1 For use in the first place were I to speake to such people as were likely to be insnared with these Froggs and spirits of Divells This might teach them diligently to beware of such and in case any of them should come over into this Country Iesuits or Cardinalls or Bishops doe not hearken to their whisperings whatsoever they shall present unto you for this will bee the issue of it whosoever they be that hearken unto them they w ll never leave them till at length they have brought them to this field of destruction they will goe forth to gather the Princes of the Earth and whither will they gathâ—r them even thither where will be the Fatall ruâ—ne of them all And therefore let all Christian Princes understand it that they cannot listen unto these Froggs Popish Bishops or Cardinalls or Iesuites or who ever they be that come unto them on this errand but they will by this meanes bring their Kingdomes to utter destruction Be wise now therefore O yee Kings be instructed yee Judges of the Earth you see what wofull worke will be made at length by these Froggs they will bring you into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon King James who made a Paraphrase upon it doth interpret it to signifie destruction by deceit as if it were compounded of two Hebrew words which may so hold it forth But oh that it had beene as well beleeved as told how many sad changes and Agitations throughout all Christendome might have bin prevented that have risen upon hearkning to these Froggs destruction and Calamity are in their wayes keepe your selves therefore farre from all fellowship with them that will be your wisedome In the second place this may teach us to rejoyce at home Vse 2 though wee doe not live to see these victories obtained I know not what you that are young may live unto for the neerer these things come unto their accomplishment the swifter their motion will be as it is with all naturall motions but however let us rejoyce together in beholding them by Faith although they bee yet to come when David rejoyced in Christ Psal 16.9 10. and faith therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoyceth my flesh also shall rest in hope for thou wilt not leave my dead body in the Grave neither wilt thou suffer thy holy one to see Corruption this David in spirit â—eeth long before and looketh at his owne Resurrection as seaâ—ed up unto him in the Incorruption of the body of Iesus Christ If David can rejoyce so long before in beholding this then ought wee to rejoyce in beholding before-hand the destruction of Gods Enemies and his gracious deliverances of his people for wee may see it before-hand by Faith and behold it with confidence in the truth of him that hath promised it for so also did Abraham Iohn 8 56. Your Father Abraham rejoyced to see my day and he saw it and was glad and why should not the Fa th of Christians bee now more cleare eyed then at that time it was to behold the truth of his promises and rejoyce in the accomplishment of them Thirdly we may from hence gather some ground of Faith to Vse 3 beleive that there will come a time when the Iewes will generally mourne for the sight and death of Christ as much as ever they mourned of old for the death of Iosiah and least you should say that Parabolicall Scriptures are not Foundations of Faith and yet any Scripture truely expounded is ground sufficient for the truth it holdeth forth yet you may find sundry other Scriptures that speake expressely to their Conversion Rom. 11.12.15.25 26. I would not Brethren that yee should be ignorant of this mystery that blindnesse in part is happened unto Israel untill the fulnesse of the Gentiles be come in that is untill men turne backe from Antichrist unto Christ untill they see Christian Princes more sincere in the worke of God and then all Israel shall be saved for though they were cast off for their own sakes yet are they beloved for their Fathers sake v. 28. For if thou wert cut out of the Olive Tree which is wilde by Nature and wert grafted contrary to Nature into a good Olive Tree how much more shall these which are the naturall branches bee graffed into their owne Olive Tree for saith he God is able to graffe them in againe and he will doe iâ— or else the Apostles Argument will not hold Also that of the Apostle to the Corinthians 2. Cor. 3.14.15.16 Even unto this day when Moses is read the Vayle is upon their heart but when it that is Israel shall turne unto the Lord the Vayle shall be taken away this is not spoken of two or three sprinklings of Israel that doth not make up an Israel much lesse all Israel as Paul speaketh in the place forenamed and what mystery were it if it were meant onely of those that were brought home by Peters Ministery But that blindnesse is come upon them till the fulnes of the Gentiles be come in and that then all Israel shall be saved this is indeed a Mystery to the Gentiles as the calling of the Gentiles was a Mystery to the Iewes Thus wee see there are cleare Scriptures for it which when we doe see we may more freely take up parabolicall Scriptures perceiving what they worke upon and build our Faith on them thereby to be strengthned in Prayer for such a blessing that they may come and sing Hallelujahs with us and wee may sing prayses with them Fourthly wee may learne from hence the true nature of Vse 4 Godly sorrow both in the cause of it and in the measure of it For the cause of it wee must see him from whom all saving repentance doth flow even Christ whom we have pierced and then indeed we mourne aright when we mourne over him It is not saving Repentance that which the Law worketh though it doth indeed make way for it but they see him and mourne over him the sight of him worketh godly sorrow in the heart And what is the measure of it it is even such as for the losse of a mans onely Sonne and his first borne the staffe and
give her the wine first of distraction secondly of destruction Secondly the cities of the Nations fell the great Citie was destroyed it fell to ruine The second sort of subjects upon which this distraction fell were Every Island and every mountaine the Islands fled away the mountaines were not found The third sort was the sonnes of men and the plague that fell upon them was a great haile out of heaven which is amplified 1. By the measure or weight of it every stone about the weight of a Talent 2. By the effect it wrought in men They blasphemed the God of heaven set forth by the cause of their blaspheming againe repeated because of the plague of the haile for the plague thereof was exceeding great 3. Let us first open the words and then summe them up into some doctrinall observations 1. What in the first place is here meant by Ayre doubtlesse not the element of ayre that wee breath in for all the Vials are Vials of wrath therefore poured upon subjects of Gods displeasure Now God is not offended with the ayre which is his creature but as you reade in the first verse of the Chapter All these Angels received a commandement to poure out their Vials upon the earth and that is meant of the earthly Antichristian Church and they all fulfill this Commandement upon whatsoever they poure out their Vials it is still upon the Antichristian state nor are the messengers of Gods wrath which come out of the Temple and have their loynes girded with golden girdles provoked against the Ayre which themselves doe breath in nor could a plague be upon the Ayre but it would fall upon Christian Churches as well as Popish Others doe interpret it with much more probabilitie to be upon the kingdome of Sathan for he is called the Prince that ruleth in the ayre Eph. 2.2 he also rayseth up stormes in the ayre and fiery meteors therein Job 1.16 So they conclude that wheresoever the Devill hath to doe whether it be in Popery or Paganisme this Viall is poured upon all his kingdome I thinke the doctrine is truly gathered from this place that the holy Ghost intendeth to poure out a judgement upon all his kingdome yet I cannot say that the words doe so properly hold forth a judgement upon the Element of ayre for all the Vials are to be poured upon the earth the Antichristian Church called earth in opposition to the heavenly and pure Church mentioned Revel 15.5 there being in it the whole Fabricke and Systeme of the world there is an earth and that is the lowest and basest common sort of Catholickes in that world and there is a Sea their corrupt Religion there be Rivers and fountaines of water those that derived their corruptions into all countries Priests and Monkes c. there is a Sunne in this world the great light thereof the family of Austria in the common wealth and the Popes supremacy in the Church there is the throne of the beast the forme of their government and manner of judicature Afterwards comes in Euphrates the streame of all those corruptions that make glad the Citie of Rome Therefore this Ayre seemeth to be the Ayre of that Antichristian Church Looke therefore what you can conceive to be the Ayre which this Antichristian Church doth breath in and that is the subject whereupon this Viall is poured And although indeed Mahumetry and Paganisme come to be afflicted here by it yet is it but an effect of pouring out this Vial upon the Ayre Now if you looke into Chap. 9.1 2. of this booke you shall finde that the Ayre of this worldly Church is the smoake which arose out of the bottomlesse pit and darkned the Ayre so that you could not see the Sunne much lesse the Moone and Starres and what was that smoake out of the bottomlesse pit but the darkenesse of ignorance from whence sprung all those Locusts and that King over them vers 11. the angel of the bottomlesse pit whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon he destroyeth the hope of the conversion of the Jewes and in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon he destroyeth them also and sprung out of this ignorance There is a double use of Ayre and this darkenesse corrupted both 1. There is an use of it for sight for through the Ayre if is bee cleare you see all the heavenly lights and by their help all inferiour bodies 2. It is the breath of life which maintaineth the life of men and is the supportance of their vitals And in both these things doth it fitly resemble heavenly and saving knowledge by which 1. In the first place we see Jesus Christ the Sun of righteousnesse to our justification by which we see the Moon that is the true state of Churches according to the Gospell by which we see the Stars the people of God and who indeed are his people that shine like lights in the world And hereby they see all things here below and judge rightly of them And 2. by the same saving knowledge doe we breathe in our vitals that we may so speak our spirituall life By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justifie many Esay 53.11 And this is life eternall to know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent John 17.3 Now if this Ayre be choaked you can neither see Jesus Christ to your justification nor breath in any ordinance of his to your salvation nor can you see what is the true Church nor who are the true Saints of God you can rightly discerne of nothing if once the Sun and the whole body of the ayre be darkened but if how there come an Angel that shall poure out his Vial upon his smoke of the ayre and dispell thereby the clouds of darknesse and ignorance then shall you clearly see Jesus Christ and the true state of his Church and of all visible Saints then shall you draw in true and lively breath from every ordinance of God This is therefore the ayre whereupon this Vial shall be poured and that will be the dispelling of the darknesse of it The Lord will send forth such a bright and cleare knowledge of his Christ and Church and Saints and holy things which will prevaile so far as to dispell all the fogs and mists of darknesse not alone in the Antichristian State but in all the world so that all Nations shall be brightened with the knowledge of God All Asia shall see the vanity of Mahumetry and all the Pagan Nations the fondnesse and blindnesse of their Superstitions And the Jews shall then see and bewaile their blindnesse and wretchednesse in standing out against Jesus Christ So that most true it is which godly Interpreters have said that hereby all the kingdomes of Satan are threatened though it be rather an effect of it then the true and proper sence 2. What is then the adjunct that followeth or goeth along with it There came a great voice out of the Temple
of heaven from the Throne And that Throne is set in the Church Rev. 4.2 3. Behold a Throne was set in heaven and one sate on the Throne which is the Lord himselfe who is resembled by three pretious stones holding forth the three persons in Trinity A Jasper having as they say a white circle round about it representing the Eternity of the Father a Sardine stone of a fleshy colour representing Jesus Christ who took our flesh upon him An Emerauld being of a green colour refreshing the eyes of those that looke upon it representing the Spirit who is as the Rainbow a token of faire weather and is a comfortable refresher wheresoever he commeth Now this voice comming from heaven and from the Throne it commeth also apparently from God saying It is done that so all men may see it to be the revealed and holy will of God that all these things should be thus accomplished 3. It is done what is done for here is no nominative case before the verb. But this is that which is done the mystery of iniquity is abolished And the mystery of God is fulfilled For of this it was spoken which you read Rev. 10.7 where the Angel that stood upon the Sea and upon the earth telleth us That in the dayes of the seventh Angel when he shall sound whose Trumpet is sounding to this day the mystery of God should be fulfilled And that standeth chiefly in two things 1. In the destruction of all his enemies 2. In the accomplishment of all his gracious promises to the conversion of the Jewes and both these shall be accomplished in the pouring out of this Vial as we may reade at large Ezek. 39.17 to the end of the Chapter where the holy Prophet speaketh of this very time when the enemies of the Church shall come out against them there will be a finall accomplishment of all the mysteries of iniquity and of all the hostility of the Lords enemies against his Church It is also the accomplishment of all his gracious promises and therefore he saith Rev. 21.6 When once the new Jerusalem commeth downe from God out of heaven then Christ himselfe saith It is done All his promises are now performed and his great workes now fulfilled this is meant when it is here said It is done And the Lords voice it is for had it been the voice of some Church-Officers alone it might have reached to the Church but not to the ends of the world but when the Lord himselfe speaketh whose voice is like the voice of thunder then is it heard from one end of the earth unto another All men shall see the great workes that he hath done upon the face of the earth Popery and all false Religion abolished the Kingdome of Christ established from the rising of the Sun to the going down thereof This is the Adjunct Now for the Effect There is an Effect of Terrour and of agitations and changes and an effect of destroying calamities for I cannot well gather the notes that arise unlesse these things be all opened then I conceive they may be handled with brevity 4. For the effect of terrour the thunderings and lightenings and the voices are the same with those that are said to come out of the Throne Rev. 4.5 Like unto that dispensation of old Exod. 20.18 Wherein were thunderings and lightenings and in stead of voices there is put in the noise of the Trumpet and these held forth the terrour of the Lord in giving of the Law in so much that Moses himselfe said I exceedingly feare and quake and much more did the people feare and tremble for such is the convincing dreadfull power of the Law of God that let a man but heare it and have it effectually applyed and it will make the meekest and most innocent of the servants of God to tremble It will make the mountaines and hils to tremble The voice of Gods servants is like the voice of a trumpet Esay 58.1 piercing deep into the eares and hearts of men but the voice of himselfe exceedeth So the meaning is That upon the pouring out of this Vial upon the ayre there shall be terrible thunderings and lightenings and voices like founds of Trumpets upon the hearts of men that shall make them tremble and quake The Lord will so terribly affright and amaze the sons of men with the power of his holy word and will as that it shall suddenly break forth all the world over for in this manner doth the Lord begin his saving dispensations towards men even with terrible lightenings and thunderings and earthquakes thereby partly convincing men of sin and subduing their hearts and confounding their malicious enemies For the next Effect 5. There was great earthquake c. And that importeth agitatations and changes and not terrour onely they are such as will not cease untill they have removed the things that are shaken that the things which cannot be shaken may remain so doth the Apostle Heb. 12.26.27 Interprete the Prophesie of Haggai 2.6 It argueth saith he the removing of those things that are shaken and he interprets it concerning the Church estate in that place and he will also shake all the Kingdomes of the world as the same Prophet Haggai told Zerubbabel Chap. 2.21 22. saying I will shake the heavens and the earth and I will overthrow the throne of Kingdomes and I will destroy the strength of the Kingdomes of the Heathen c. And so the Lord did overthrow the great Persian Monarchy by the Grecian and the Grecian Monarchy by the Romane and the Romane by barbarous Nations and the Lord hath bin shaking them eversince and will shake them hereafter with such a shaking as never was the like you reade of a great earthquake when as Rome of Pagan became Christian Rev. 6.12 But that was a small shaking unto this earthquake for still the Persians are Idolaters and many Pagans in the world that shaking brought in a forme of Christianity but the saving knowledge of Christ was yet in a great measure wanting that forme of Christianity which then came in made way for Popery to creepe in fast into the Churches but this will shakeout Popery and when by it the Popish aire is smitten the Lord will also shake all the world by it and the time doth hasten 6. Now for the third effect which is a distracting and destroying calamity upon Cities upon Islands and Mountaines and upon men Among cities here is the great Citie and the cities of the Nations and Babylon Some good Interpreters looke at Babylon to be Constantinople For my part I dare not think but one of these is put expositively for the other Babylon for the great city Now that great city which is spiritiually called Sodome and Aegypt Rev. 11.8 is that great city which reigneth over the Kings of the earth and that is Rome as all confesse and that Babylon Chap. 17.18 and this is the same city which the Kings of the earth and the
Merchants of the earth doe mourne for when she is destroyed and say Chap. 18.10 Alas alas that great city Babylon that mighty city c. and that also by their confession is Rome And so this Latter mention of it doth but shew the reason why it commeth to be divided into three parts and why the cities of the Nations fell for Babylon came up into remembrance c. The great city then is Babylon and that is divided into three parts I should not thinke that it is spoken of the breach of the naturall walls of the city by the earthquake but it will be divided into three factions some will sticke fast unto Popery and others of the people of God that before durst not openly professe Religion will now renounce Popery for such there shall be in Rome when it is neere to be destroyed unto whom it shall be said Rev. 18.4 Come out of her my people c. and what the third part may be there is not light for in this place what light other places may give we shall if God please see hereafter meane while it is sufficient to understand that it will be divided into three parts and what if the third part be a Neutrall betweene both the other 7. What were the cities of the Nations Those are they that trod the Church of God under foote Rev. 11.2 such they were who did subject themselves to Popish Government the cities of those Nations shall fall whosoever they be that are found adoring Rome they shall fall for Babylon her selfe shall come up into remembrance before God to give unto her the Cup of the wine of the fiercenesse of his wrath which shall infatuate her untill she be utterly destroyed by those ten Kings that shall hate her and eate her flesh and burne her with fire 8. And every Island fled away and the mountaines were not found He speaketh not of earthly Islands but you must understand that he speaketh of the mountaines and Islands of the Antichristian state what are the mountaines They are the places where they went a whoring after their Gods in old time Jer. 3.6 She is gone upon every hight mountaine and under every greene tree and there hath played the harlot there they had built them Chappell 's and there they had placed their confidence in respect of which when they come to repent they shall returne and say ver 23. Truely in vaine is salvation hoped for from the hills and from the multitudes of mountaines answerable unto which are the great temples built unto false Gods they shall flee away In the new Jerusalem Rev. 21.22 there was no Temple seene no Temple consecrated to this or that Saint shall be found therein What are the Islands They are grounds separated from the earth by the Sea The Sea is the corruption of Religion upon which the second Viall was poured Therefore such places as are consecrated by Popish Devotions as Church yards and such other Popish grounds they are these Islands that shall flee away you shall no more heare tell of consecrated Church-yard or any such matter all the world over Then will fall to the ground all your Cathedrall Churches and all those high Places that over-toppe the people of God and hinder the growth of the things of God neere about them though those things that be superstitiously set apart for holy ends be never so glorious they shall be all banished and vanish away there will be no more noise of them 9. And upon men there fell a great haile out of heaven The Allusion by some is thought to be unto the hayle spoken of Josh 10.11 which the Lord cast downe from heaven upon the Cananites so that moâ—e died with hailestones then they which the children of Israel slew with the Sword but I cannot say that haile storme is here alluded unto for here men did not die upon it but blasphemed onely unlesse it should be spoken of their everlasting death in hell but that were a common judgement to all the wicked but I rather thinke it is an allusion to the haile storme in Aegypt whereof the effect was that they sinned and hardened their hearts yet more Exod. 9.34 Well then if it be such an hayle as doth not kill men but provoke them to blaspheme what kinde of judgement might it be Interpreters doe not tell us So that we can take no better course to know it then to see what allegoricall haile stones meane in Scripture for by comparing Scriptures together you shall have the full meaning of every part of Gods Counsell For this end let us look in Esay 28.17 where the Prophet telleth us that the haile shall sweep away the refuge of lies when once Christ is laid in the foundation ver 16. then all the rest of the refuges of the sons of men that are lying refuges shall be swept away There is also another allusion suting hereunto in Ezek. 13.11.13 where the Lord threateneth against the wall that is dawbed with untempered morter there shall be an over-flowing shower and ye O great haile stones shall fall and a stormy winde shall rent it So then this kinde of haile storme is such a plague of God upon men as shall destroy all their lying refuges and men shall then insult over them and say where is the dawbing wherewith you have dawbed it So then at this time the Lord will send an haile storme that shall discover all the counterfeit Religions in the world all the juggelings of their Miracles all the faire seeming pretences of Popery or any other Religion all their doctrines of merits and confidences in their prayers to Saints and Angels and superstitious Devotions an haile storme shall fall upon them all in such sort that you shall see the vanity of them And all the world shall see that all Relgions besides Christianity are but a refuge of lies and in the end their jugglelings and sophistry shall be blowne up and blasted Some shall be shaken out of them setled upon better bottoms others will be provoked to blaspheme they will so vex themselves with extremity of anguish for that they are thus bereaved of their old comfortable good dayes and oh the joyfull festivals that they were wont for to keep in their Abbies and superstitious places for the losse of which they shall blaspheme the Lord and true Religion and all the instruments of the Gospels propagation Such a thing as this we reade of Rev. 11.15 When as the seventh Angel sounded there were great voices in heaven saying The Kingdomes of this world are become the Kingdomes of our Lord and of his Christ c. There it is said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but here 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the thing was then in doing but now it is done Then the Nations were angry saith the Text ver 18. and a great haile there fell when they began to become the Kingdomes of Jesus Christ and there was an earthquake ver 19. but never