world from thence came the Scythians Tartarians and other Barbarians from thence came the Hunnians Vandals and Goths and therefore it is not without reason that those people are said to be as the sand of the sea in the latter end of the 8. ver of our chapt for they have supplied the world with almost an infinite number of people which caused some Learned men to say that the North was the shop of all Nations from thence come also Turks who by violence took away the Saracenical Empire as for Gog you know that it is the proper name of one of Joels sons of the posterity of Reuben 1 Chron. 5.4 who inhabited Eastward and filled the Little Asia with his posterity which was called Gog. But these Nations which came from Gog and Magog having degenerated from their ancestours became cruel enemies unto the people of God as you see by Ezech. 38. and from thence the Scripture speaks of Gog and Magog to represent the open and secret enemies of the Christian Church as you see by the 8. ver of our Chapter with a part of the 9. ver which shews us that those Nations Gog and Magog compassed about the Camp of the Saints to sight them then we cannot but understand the Turks by Magog and the Pontificial Tyranny with the cruelty of the Sectaries by Gog as for Magog from Miggag revealed and discovered it becomes well the Turks for they are manifest enemies of Jesus Christ and open persecutours of his poor members they publickly esteem Mahomet that grand Impostour the son of the Prince of darkness before our Lord and Saviour who is the Son of God and prefer their Alcoran full of Gentilism Judaism and Arianism compiled by men of impiety before the sacred Scripture inspired by the holy Ghost the essential piety as for Gog let me tell you that it becomes well the tyranny of the Church of Rome with the cruelty of the Sectaries for Gog from Gag is the same as covered and hidden which is very fit for them for they cover and hide their tyranny and cruelty under the cloak of Religion professing one Jesus Christ and him crucified when they crucifie and hand the true members of our Saviour in all their wicked designes they pretend the good of the Church when they rend and defile it and so by a damnable hypocrisie cover all their profanations and wickednesses as you have in this Realm beheld with your eyes where the Jesuites with the Sectaries erected a black Tribunal for a most pious and Christian King and his faithfull Subjects under a pretext of a good Conscience And indeed as Gog did degenerate from his Predecessour Jacob and his father Joel who with humility and reverence adored the Almighty God of Israel and followed his orders so did the Church of Rome with the Sectaries degenerate from their Ancestours who acknowledged with all humility and obedience the Church of God and its orders or if you will as Gog did imitate Reuben who defiled his fathers bed so the Church of Rome with the Sectaries imitate Satan who defileth the Church of God with Schismes and heresies which makes you clearly see that the devil is loosed out of his prison and that the thousand years are expired and finished they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years not that I will say that the Saints do not now reign with Christ for I know that they do reign with him when they are his regenerated Subjects but that now they reign not with Christ with such progress as they did before the expiration of the thousand years of Satans binding for we seldom now see a true conversion or a sincere repentance of our sins but rather often obstination appears in our errours we will not change them because we defended our sins openly and so by our ambition we destroy the Church of our blessed Saviour there is no fear of God amongst us nor sincere love one to another nor charity towards our poor afflicted brethren as there was in the time of Satans binding we are as hard as Pharaoh as cruel as Cain and as profane as Esau it seems that all the Christian vertues are vanished amongst men and that all vices have took their places to give way unto the prince of darkness who is now loosed out of his prison for they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years Perhaps you will tell me if the thousand years are now sinished or as you said expired at the formal manifestation of the Antichristian Jurisdiction how can it be said that Satan is loosed out for a little while or season as it is spoken in the 3. ver To that I answer and say that this may very well be said in regard of Satans eternal binding which followeth after his loosing out of his prison for a while indeed if you consider the thousand years binding of Satan I confess that his loosing out will seem a great while but if you look upon Satans eternal binding his loosing out is but a little season which makes me wonder at the Millenaries opinion who expect now a visible and earthly reign for in the expectation of such a reign they loose the spiritual kingdom of our Saviour and in their pretended happiness they may finde a true unhappiness But I will stay no longer upon that imaginary kingdom for the kingdom that I proposed unto you is a true and spiritual kingdom the kingdom of our Saviour which is of grace without which it is impossible to obtain the kingdom of glory for you know that we must first reign here in grace before we can reign hereafter in glory then let me tell you that the Saints who now reign with Christ in glory lived and reigned before with him in grace by many years for as you read in my Text and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years Conclusion and Application But let us conclude with application to learn from our Text that the Saints who are actual members of our Saviour live with him in this world the life of grace the onely life of Gods children who are not born of the flesh but of the Spirit Joh. 3.6 not of corruptible but incorruptible seed the word of God which liveth and abideth for ever 1. Pet. 1.23 not of the prince of darkness but of the Father of lights for as we read and they lived and reigned with Christ indeed there is none but those that are light in the Lord that possess it for this spiritual life changes our darkness into light and our vices into shining vertues and makes us like unto the Sun of righteousness by the gracious brightness which the life of grace procures unto us which is a life that the Scripture cals the life of Christ because the life of grace looks on Christ as on its sacred object and its meritorious cause and by excellency the life of God not as if God were not the authour of the natural life of the
the angel that came and stood at the altar is our blessed Saviour as the best of interpreters teach us God manifested in the flesh an object which angels and men are not us'd to behold Christ the angel of the great council and the messenger of the covenant as the Prophet Malachy tels us Mal. 3.1 Christ our high-Priest who offered a sacrifice not of beasts but of himself upon the altar of the Cross and therefore at his coming into the world to assume our humane nature to satisfie the divine justice for mens sins he caused a great admiration unto angels and at his manifestation procured in heaven the militant Church a profound silence But that you may have a greater satisfaction I beseech you look upon the 3. verse of our Chapter and you will easily see the cause of this silence to be Christ our Redeemer for it is said in that verse that another angel Christ our Priest and Mediatour came having assumed our humane nature and stood at the altar to shew us that he was offered in sacrifice for our sins where you must observe that Christ is our Priest according to both his natures our altar according to his divine nature for as the altar sanctified the oblation Mat. 23.19 so Christ as God sanctified himself in his humane nature according to which humane nature Christ properly is our sacrifice as you may see in the first Chapter of the Epistle to the Colossians 22. ver and in 1 Pet. 4.1 although the principal vertue of his sacrifice did depend on his divine nature Moreover it is said that the angel had a golden censer to teach us that Christ gave God the Father a perfect and eternal satisfaction that we might be delivered from the eternal slavery of the prince of darkness which our sins had made us subject to and further it saith that much incense was given him to shew us that the peculiar office of Christ is to present God the Father the prayers of the righteous and make them acceptable unto him through his intercession which alone without the intercession of the departed Saints is sufficient for all those that he redeemed by his precious bloud as you may see in the 4. verse where it is said that the smoak of the incense which came with the prayers of the Saints ascended up before God out of the angels hand all which things could not but cause silence in heaven the militant Church and ravish with admiration all the intelligent creatures in the opening of so great a mystery which the angels desire to look into 1 Pet. 1.12 Moreover seeing that the angel Christ took the censer and filled it with fire of the altar as we reade in the 5. verse and cast it into the earth to prepare by that sacred sire the Ministers of the holy Gospel to preach one Jesus Christ and him crucified as he did after his ascension into the glorious palace of his Father as we reade Act. 2.3 the Church could not but keep silence and further hearing voices thundrings lightnings and earthquakes at the opening of the great and sublime mystery of our redemption for the confirmation of it she could not but admire with a profound silence such prodigious effects as many for certain do in this world at the hearing of this great mystery and I hope many in this company cannot but wonder at it and say being ravished in admiration with S. John at the opening of so great a mystery there was silence in heaven but I am afraid of abusing of your patience seeing that this silence should continue but half an hour there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour which leads me to the second part of my Text. The second part As the intelligent creatures are limited and finite so is their contemplation which doth not permit them to consider several things at once for their understandings present them the objects one after another according to the capacity of their natures and indeed God alone is he who can at once comprehend all things because he alone compasseth about all the creatures of the Universe and which is most admirable in the knowledge which God hath of all things is that to know them he doth not look upon them but upon himself for in his wisdom he sees the eternal models of all things and in his will the efficient cause of all the events so that by the knowledge that God hath of himself he knoweth all things but it is not so with the intelligent creatures for they must alternatively and by degrees consider several natures whether they look upon them Intuitivè intuitively as angels or discursivè discursively as men or consider them with admiration as both angels and men as you may see in our Text there was silence in heaven for the space of half an hour because the sacred attendants of the militant Church could not at once in a moment perceive all those wonders which we have told you were seen in heaven during the celestial silence of which S. John speaks saying there was silence in heaven for the space of half an hour But this duration of time half an hour hath some difficulty in its explication for some learned men will have it to be the duration of the external peace of the Church of God under Constantine the Great which seemed to have lasted but about the space of half an hour for soon after that peace heresies and schisms did spring up in the Church as it did appear by the Arians against whom the great Council of Nice was held being called by Constantine the Emperour Lyranus will have the space of half an hour to be the duration of the persecution of Julian the Apostate who imposed silence unto the Church and commanded her not to instruct her children nor give them any consolation grounded upon the merit of our blessed Saviour which continued but a little while about the space of half an hour for soon after he died in the wars which he did undertake against the Persians where this monstrous Apostate vomited out a damnable blasphemy against our blessed Lord whom he used to call Galilean for he dying took some of his bloud cast it up in the air and said Vicisti Galilaee vicisti thou hast overcome Galilean thou hast overcome at last but Leaving those interpretations with many others give me leave to tell you that by the space of half an hour is understood all the time of the actings which S. John saw in heaven the militant Church at the opening of the seventh seal from the 2. ver of our Chapter to the 7. for the things which are represented unto that verse did seem to Saint John to have continued but a little while about the space of half an hour so short a time that S. John was nothing weary in the contemplation of them and indeed if you observe our Chapter you will easily perceive a perfect silence kept in the
the execution of his Fathers will that he said Lo I come to do thy will Heb. 10.9 by which will saith the Apostle ver 10. we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all But for a clearer illustration let me tell you that this will is the salvation of man which our Lord came to advance and to accomplish for you know that to that end Christ was sent into the world that whosoever beleeveth in him should not perish but have everlasting life Joh. 3.16 a truth which manifestly appears Isa 49.6 when he saith in the person of the Father speaking to the Son I will give thee for a light unto the Gentiles that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth nay a truth manifested by our Saviour when he lived amongst us as now he will have us to understand it when he saith My meat is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work then you may observe that this will of God was the manifestation of his Fathers most sacred counsel unto the world Christ being the sacred Interpreter of his Father and the word by which he informs us of his will for as Christ saith S. Mat. 11.27 all things are delivered unto me of my Father and no man knoweth the Son but the Father neither knoweth any man the Father but the Son and be to whom the Son will reveal him this sacred will of God was the sulfilling of the Law for those who should receive him by a most siducial apprehension for as Ambrosius saith persectionem legis habet qui credit in Christum he that beleeveth in Christ hath the perfection of the Law which he had learned from the Apostle S. Paul Rom 10.4 who says Christ is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the end or perfection of the Law for righteousness to every one that beleeveth this sacred will of God was the death of our Saviour for the sins of those that should obey him as you clearly see Heb. 5.9 where we reade that Christ being made perfect through sufferings he became the authour of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him that they may be conformed to the most bright image of him that saith My meat is to do the will of him that sent me but let us adde and to sinish his work To tell you that I need not to give you an enumeration of all Gods works for the work of God of which it is spoken in our Text is the same as the will of him that sent Christ for as Euthimius saith the will of the Father who sent Christ and the work committed unto him is the Salvation of men according to that of S. John 17.4 where Christ saith I have sinished the work which thou gavest me to do and so the will of God which we have expounded unto you is the work of God which our Saviour had to perform and indeed it is not without cause that this will is called a work because the satisfaction for mens sins and their reconciliation with God is a work by excellency a work compounded of many works which nevertheless are under one work which is our redemption then you must observe that this work doth not consist in the last act that Christ performed upon the Cross for he wrought in it when he sought after the lost sheep of the house of Israel he wrought in that gracious work when he lett the Gentiles their neighbours take some crumbs of his sacred bread for the salvation of their souls he wrought in it when he did communicate himself unto the Samaritans which were grown a base people and amongst whom the service of the God of Israel was not pure he wrought in that sacred work all the time he was upon the earth till his obedience was accomplished upon the Cross where he said It is sinished S. John 19.30 ver But observe that this work is of another rank then that of our good works which God commandeth approveth and worketh in us by his holy Spirit for this work of our salvation is the great and sublime work of God a work which excels the great work of the Creation being a work as I may say of greater labour then that of the Creation for as S. Austin sayes Deus loquendo creavit sed patiendo redemit God created the world by his speaking but he redeemed it by his suffering because the ruine and perdition of men was such that there were more obstacles at the redeeming of men then at the creation of the Universe for besides there was the same vertue required to raise the dead as to give being to nothing and life to dust the justice of the living God was opposed unto their salvation therefore to satisfie the divine justice the death of our dear Saviour was necessary for them to whom God had said Gen. 2.17 In the day thou eatest of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt surely die Moreover this work of our salvation is a work in which God manifested his Wisedom in an higher degree then he did in that of the Creation for besides we know more of the Divinity by the work of our redemption then we do by the work of the Creation the mystery of the Trinity being revealed unto us by that work of his grace which was not not discovered by the works of nature we see in our Redemption Gods admirable work a most wonderfull way where God punisheth our sins and with all saves men by it so that the punishment of mens sins in our Saviour becomes the salvation of them nay more then that in that sacred work Christ the Physician took Physick for us his Patients to heal us of our spiritual sicknesses where in nature the Physician gives Physick to his Patients to cure them of their corporal diseases then let us say My meat is to to do the will of him that sent me and to sinish his work where you must yet observe that this work is the onely work of Christ for this work is such that no man nor angel can reach unto it there is none but the Lion of the Tribe of Judah the Son of God that can say in regard of this great and mighty work of our Redemption My meat is to do the will of him that sent me and to sinish his work which leades me to the second part of my Text. The Second Part. Those that are acquainted with the Scripture know there are two sorts of meat the one for the body which is the common signification as it is the common meat the other for the souls which is spiritual by resemblance and proportion to the corporal meat which is the metaphorical signification of that word meat and indeed as the material meat maintains and keeps our bodies so are our souls maintained and kept by the spiritual meat moreover as our bodies increase and receive their strength against weakness from the material