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A29365
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Babylons downfall a sermon lately preached at Westminster before sundry of the honourable House of Commons / by William Bridge ...
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Bridge, William, 1600?-1670.
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1641
(1641)
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Wing B4448; ESTC R5651
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21,012
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41
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BABYLONS Downfall A SERMON LATELY PREACHED AT WESTMINSTER BEFORE sundry of the Honourable house of Commons By William Bridge sometimes fellow of Emanuell Colledge in Cambridge and since Minister of Gods word in NORWICH And now in KOTERDAM Published by order of the said House LONDON Printed by I. N. for Iohn Rothwell and are to be sold at his Shop at the signe of the Sun in Pauls Churchyard 1641. Good Reader THou hast I doubt not heard with what difficulty and pains this small work is brought forth and delivered into the world let the difficulty of Printing quicken thine affection in reading As the fall of Babylon is much expected so the rising of the Churches is much desired Thy prayers and our paines may help forward both Wherefore that I might not be wanting to this great service I am willing that these notes should walk abroad which I thought should never see more light than what crept in at my studie windowes This Sermon may prove all the Legacie which your dying friend shall be able to bequeath unto you For I am now returning to that Church and people of God which Jesus Christ hath committed to me and others And if in this voyage the Lord shall put the windes and seas in Commission for my death my desire is First That God would forgive our adversaries if it be his will that have put us to these extremities Secondly That it may be ever said of this Iland as once it was said of Israel Happy art thou O Israel who is like unto thee O people saved by the Lord the shield of thine help and the sword of thine excellency Deut. 33. 29. Thirdly That falling Babylon may be fallen Babylon And that all the distressed Churches may be restored Churches Vivat Christus moriatur Barrabas moriatur Antichristus For the first wee have great cause to forgiue seeing all their injuries are turned unto our blessings And therefore as Joseph said to his brethren that sold him into a strange Country As for you ye thought evill against me but God meant it unto good Now therefore feare not c. Yet we know that publick Administration of Justice is not contrary to personall forgivenesse Wee must confesse that the leaving of our owne deare Country was and is most afflictive to us A trouble to leave our good friends Convenient houses Pretious liberties and so many soules under the hazard of your eternities But Luthers Counsell is good If they will not suffer you where they have to doe let not your minde bee troubled to cease from your work or disert your office but teach and persevere if it be not lawfull in one place it may bee in another But thou wilt say What if it be lawfull in no place and that wee be every where cast out in the whole world Christ answers Be not solicitous before it come to passe that no place be left for the word I will be present by my comming there shall alwayes be a place where you may teach till I shall come onely doe you hold on and you shall be saved you shall not have gone over all the Cities of Israel till the Sonne of man shall come So that according to Luther and the Truth though the persecutions of the Churches bee never so great yet there shall alwayes be some place free and open at a Citie of Refuge for Gods people to flye unto and hide themselves in till Christ shall come by publick deliverance for the Churches For the second You have seene what great things the Lord hath done for you Beleevest thou because of these thou shalt see greater onely let us follow the starre of heavenly and divine guidance which hath led us along all this while and not goe in to consult with the Scribes and Pharisees of the times with those that say they are Jeues and are not so shall our starre the Scripture lead us more clearely to the place and house where Christ is Neither be thou ashamed to receive and owne the truth and way of Christ though it be despised The wise men did worship Christ in a manger And for the third I shall not prophecie if I say The sword is now drawne whose anger shall not be pacified till Babylon be downe and Sion rais'd Yet if thou shalt meet with another suffering Bout In Patience possesse thy soule In Faith thy God In Love thy neighbour And know that it is Gods usuall way to bring his best servants to his choyce blessings by tedious Bouts Exod. 13. 18. In the interim observe diligently what God is now doing and help forward the work of God what you can Quod Deus facit pro nobis facit in nobis And as you would read and study some choyce booke to get learning so read attend and study every page line and letter of this great volume of the Lords works which is now extant be in commons with the Lords people The works of the Lord are sought out of all those that have pleasure in them saith the Psalmist Finally good Reader pray for us that wee may stand compleat in all the will of God and though the malice of some men hath beene so great that wee may not live together in one Land yet the mercy of God is so rich that wee may live together in one heaven Now the God of peace that brought againe from the dead our Lord Jesus and great Shepheard of the Sheepe thorough the blood of the everlasting covenant make you perfect in every good work to doe his will working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ to whom be glory for ever and ever Amen Thine in Christ WILLIAM BRIDGE Babylons Downfall REVELATION 14. 8. Babylon is fallen is fallen the great Citie c. THis Text hath connexion with the present times and the preceding words for the Holy Ghost having made a description of the state and condition of the Church of Christ in the first second third fourth and fifth verses comes in the sixth verse to make mention of another vision which Saint John saw and that is of an Angell flying in the midst of heaven with the everlasting Gospell which is said to be everlasting in opposition to those Innovations and Traditions of men under which the Churches of Christ had laboured a long time This vision being past as a right consequent of the former vision he sees another Angell crying Babylon is fallen is fallen ver. 8. And no wonder for where the everlasting Gospel is preach'd in the midst of heaven that is openly there Babylon falls and falls immediatly The words themselves are a short and sweet prophecie of Romes ruine and destruction Wherein we have The description of Rome it selfe The description of her destruction Shee is described two wayes 1. From her Greatnesse called the great Citie Indeed shee hath beene great in large possessions and great revenues so shee is fallen already in a great measure yet shee
of the Covenant I will never trust them with them they shall not draw neere to me O therefore beloved that wee could denie our own knowledge wisedomes parts gifts liberties and all that 's ours in this great service But if a mans condition and state bee private what must hee doe to help forward the fall of Babylon Take heed that thou do nothing to hinder Gods publike designe by your private practices put away the evill of all your doings lest your private wickednesse do ponere obicem to Gods proceedings Achans wickednesse was committed in the dark and with much privacie yet what influence had it into publike misery Miriam and Aaron murmured against Moses and envied at him for which shee was stricken with leprosie whereby the whole congregation was stayed and their march hindered It is said 2 Chron. 20. 33. that the high places were not pulled downe because the people were not prepared for the Lord not because the Prince was not prepared or the great ones not prepared but because the people were not prepared It is in regard of truth as in regard of error in this particular though the Baker may have kneaded his dough that is his false opinion and made it ready yet as the Prophet Hosea speaks and as Zanchy interprets the place he sets not in till the Oven be heat that is the heart of the people warmed and prepared for it So for a truth also or a publike mercy and deliverance though God have provided it for a people yet it is not handed to them and set in till their hearts be warmed prepared for it You may observe therfore that when David had made his penitentiall Psalm for his own sinne Psal. 51. after much supplication for the pardon of his owne evill and for grace and comfort he comes at last in the 18. ver. to this petition Doe good in thy good pleasure unto Sion c. How comes that in here Yes when a man hath once repeated of his owne sinne and cleared that reckoning then he is fittest to ask mercy for the Church and till then unfit Therefore though in regard of your owne soules your owne eternitie you will not part with your owne sinnes yet if you have any pitty any compassion any bowells towards y 〈…〉 wne Country or Churches of God put away the evill of all your doings 2. Though your condition be never so private you may discover the wayes of Babylon the works and complotments of the Babylonish party and the discovery of evill is halfe it's ruine as the Apostle speaks 2 Tim. 3. 9. They shall proceed no further for their folly shall be made manifest to all 3. You may beleeve downe the walls of Babylon Faith removes mountaines though it bee but a graine By it the walls of Jericho fell in the blowing of those poore Rammes hornes And the walls of Iericho were built up to heaven surely then the Walls of Babylon cannot bee higher Wherefore seeke out those promises and threatnings set your heart towards them beare your selves upon them urge and presse God by vertue of them and say though it be very unlikely that Babylon should fall yet God hath thus and thus promised thus and thus threatned and he is faithfull here I will stay and here I 'le wait 4. You may spread the blasphemies of the Babylonish faction in the eyes of heaven Thus did Hezekiah when Rabshakeh blasphemed and wee know how it prevailed Great and grievous have the blasphemies beene wherewith the men of Babylon have blasphemed the Saints of God and the footsteps of his Annoynted which God takes as done against himselfe and so repayes them Ezek. 35. 12. compared with the 13 verse In the 12 ver 〈…〉 said I have heard all thy blasphemies which thou hast spoken against the mountaines of Israel saying they are layd desolata they are given us to consume But in the 13 verse these words are charged upon them as if they were spoken against God himselfe Thus with your mouth you have boasted against mee and have multiplyed your words against me Therefore at the 14 verse followes the punishment The spreading of their hellish blasphemies is exceeding prevalent with God and very potent 5. You may use all the Interest you have in heaven and whatsoever credit you have there improve it which wee beseech you doe now in this particular Your prayers puts them under Gods curse 6. Though your condition and station be never so private you may according to your place curse the practices and complotments of all the enemies Doth not Iacob seeme to pronounce a curse upon the practices of Simeon and Levi though his owne children Gen. 49. 7. Cursed be their wrath for it was cruell c. for in their anger they flew a man and in their selfe will they digg'd downe a wall What is the endeavour of the Babylonians but to digge downe the walls of Ierusalem and of our protection O my soule come not thou into their secret God hath commanded that Merosh should bee cursed and cursed bitterly because they went not forth to help the Lord against the mighty How bitterly then are they to be cursed that goe forth to help the mighty against the Lord It was a Statute a Law in Israel that if any removed the ancient land-marks he should be cursed Cursed sayes the text shall hee be that removes the ancient Land-marks and let all the people say Amen What is the ancient Land-mark of England but our Laws and Religion and therefore if any man shall remove this our Land-mark cursed shall he be of the Lord cursed and let all the people say Amen 7. What ever personall injury hath beene done unto you by any of the enemies of the Churches you may you must passe them by so farre as it is a private concernment and you shall not lose hereby your forgivenesse hastens their ruine For this cause as you may read Numb. 12. 2 3 4. God himselfe tooke vengeance on Miriam because Moses was a meeke man see how the mention of his meeknesse is brought in by way of parenthesis at the third verse as the cause of Gods proceedings against her ver. 4. Wherefore my beloved have any beene wronged and injured by your and Gods enemies carrie it meekly carrie it humbly no revenge no revenge but all forgivenesse And have they begun to fall before you let there be much rejoycing but no insulting prayses but no insulting prayer still but no insulting Let your moderation bee knowne to all for God is at hand These are your duties Which things if they bee in you and abound in due time Babylon shall fall and you shall see it for the second doctrine tells us it Though Antichristian and Romish Babylon be never so great yet it shall fall and fall assuredly This is but equall those that have fallen from God shall fall by God those that have made others to fall shall fall themselves Now the man