moneyes Brethren do you think it is not a judgement of God Is not the silver and gold his and hath he it not for this state as well as for others if we had not some wayes provoked him Did he not take it away from them in Hagge when they neglected Temple work And did not he say The silver and gold is mine 1 Hag. 6. and 2 Hag. 6.7 8 Hath not the Lord blasted us because we grew cold hearted and formall in Church-fellowship and confident and warme and bold-hearted in matters pertaining to our selves and to the world and in matters that tended onely to tumult What then In such a case marvell not if the Lord send forth a Vial of his wrath upon us and curse our blessings that that which within these 4 or 5 years was but a drug and men would not labour for money they would have corne and be glad of it they would have provisions Now provisions are a drug Beef and Butter it is not currant now men will give no money for it they will not part with it Is it not a Vial of his wrath or at least a twig of his rod And is it not meet now to repent and give him glory that hath power over this plague that we be not senslesse and obdurate And doth not the Lord say he will curse our blessings he saith so to Ministers and will any be free Will any prosper when they lay not Gods hand to heart but make a trifling businesse of it but make account the Lord calls men to serious consideration of it To make an end Let this be the last Use Vse 4 To teach you what the nature and practise of Repentance is What is the nature and practise of it It is lively set forth in the Text I might be large herein they repented not to give God glory So there is the proper act of repentance when it runnes right in a right chanell it gives God glory What glory doth it give God First it gives him the glory of his Soveraignty the Text is plain as They gave not glory to God that hath power over these plagues they are Gods plagues and he hath power to send them and we see his hand in them his plagues they are and that is the first thing in repentance to see it is the hand of God in this kind and that kind in any kind that may befall us Give God the glory of his soveraignty who hath sent these plagues and this will help us to repentance 2. Give him the glory of his Justice that hath sent them most justly for his part and on our part most deservedly Neh. 9.33 The faithfull in Israel say Thou art just in all that is come up n us we have dealt wickedly and thou hast done righteously Thus repentance gives God the glory of his Justice as well as of his Soveraignty we have provoked God to plague us in this or that kind whether I speak to publick States or private persons if any evill lyes upon us it is the hand of God whether it come for one end or other and beleeve it it is for us to give him the glory of his justice as well as of his soveraignty We have given him just cause by our worldly mindednesse by our estrangement from the Lord and spirituall work and falling short of our spirituall aimes and ends we cut short our growth in Christianity and the Lord cuts short our outward estate Doe you think a Christians outward estate shall prosper when his inward estate growes leaner and leaner And as you give him the glory of his justice and soveraignty So 3. Give him the glory of his truth which these wicked persons would not give him the glory of To acknowledge their religion was a dead sea like Mare mortuum to acknowledge the bloud-thirstinesse of their Priests and Jesuits they shall drink bloud therefore they would not acknowledge reformation but blasphemed it as hereticall innovation and therefore the Lord had poured a vial upon their great lights in Church and Common-wealth and will doe it more and more till they be consumed they give not God the glory of his truth As Ioshuah said to Achan Iosh 7.19 My son give glory to God and tell me truly what thou hast done And he told him truly there was some hope of some seed of repentance and it is not possible a man should truly repent before God in confessing what hath been wickedly done if he denyes any thing that his conscience tels him is truth Nay some give God the glory and tell me now what thou hast done If a man hide it under his tongue it is not possible hee should repent why for he cannot give God glory he gives him not the glory of his truth and then there is no repentance And 4. What doth repentance give God the glory of as of his soveraignty and justice and truth in making humble confession of it where we are called if we have just occasion so the Lord requires that we should give him the glory of his mercy and grace that we looke for all our pardon and mercy in the bloud of the Lord Jesus and in unfeigned seeking after fellowship with him beleeving on his grace confessing what is sinfull turning from our evill wayes laying hold of eternall life of every gift of the Spirit that might quicken us in every spirituall duty that we might depend upon his grace for pardon and healing of our bottomlesse depth of unbeleefe for the changing of our hearts and quickening of our spirits this gives God the glory of his grace thus repentance doth In the 130. Psal 3 4. If thou Lord shouldest marke iniquity who then should stand There they give him the glory of his justice but there is pardon with thee that thou maist be feared there they give him the glory of his pardoning mercy thus ought all to doe that unfaignedly desire to walk in the serious practise and use of repentance You never repent kindly whiles a spirit of bondage lyes upon you and makes you sensible of the wrath of God and hell that alone will never bring forth kindly repentance but when the Lord helps us to give him the glory of his power that he swayes and rules in all and that wee give him the glory of his justice that hath righteously plagued us and the glory of his truth to confesse truly what is done amisse and the glory of his grace to pardon sin and heale the soule this is repentance and without this there is no repentance It is a wonder to see when people provoke God and the Church how little able they are to give God glory but take glory to themselves still it was thus and thus and might have been interpreted thus and thus it is a wonder to see how little they give God the glory our own glory lyes so neere us And therefore it behoves us as we desire sincerity to repent so to make conscience of
lie much of them in Common Well what ever things may be though Christian love will passe by much yet beleeve it if men make no conscience of their bargaines but that they doe defraud others If men make no conscience of heavenly mindednesse of purity and zeale and thinke it needs not but rest in meer formes of Church Ordinances you will unavoydably poure a Viall of Gods wrath as much as in you lyes on all the purity of Gods Ordinances and judge you how dishonourable it is to God and holy religion and how blame-worthy it is in such as are faulty herein however you will answer this before the Lord at his comming For you cannot avoide it this will be the issue either we are counterfeit Professors of Reformation or that our reformation is counterfeit you say you came over for puritie of Ordinances But in truth you did but dissemble however you thought it was not in your hearts the event proves the contrary if you be not sincere but hollow Members of the Church and corrupt livers under the governement and worship of God heere established and ordered I say you will force all whose eyes are on you throughout the Christian world to thinke these are but the inventions of men there is no truth no true heartednesse in the Religion here established and for the Religion established in England what ever you talke of humane inventions we know there is no such unfaithful dealing and hollow heartednesse no such bitternesse between Christians A Ministers Presence is amiable and his feet beautifull and where hee comes it is not thought too homely to be regarded of better then himselfe If Religion in our Native Countrey of them that are sincere if it hold foorth more puritie there beleeve it it beares more evident witnesse to the truth of God there so much as is truth then as we doe that professe greater simplicitie these are but the names of things but the reality is wanting It is never to be forgotten the Argument of the blessed Apostle the Corinthians tooke offence at him as they were humerous though godly men yet a generation of them were haughty by their great gifts Paul said he would come to Corinth he promised to come but he did not and they thought he used lightnesse it was an easie thing with him to be Yea and Nay What saith the Apostle When I said I would come did I use lightnesse that with me there should be Yea and Nay Nay saith the Apostle I pray yon marke it and I could wish it were engraven on the tables of godly mens hearts in the 2 Corinth 1.18 as God is true our word toward you was not Yea and Nay How doth hee prove that For the Sonne of God Iesus Christ who was preached amongst you by us was not yea and nay but in him was yea and all the promises of God in him are Yea and Amen What is this to the purpose If the Gospel he preached be not yea and nay then neither are his prâ—mises yea and nay this is his intendment else his inference is nothing I you will say Ministers and Apostles ought to be such but this that followes wraps in all professours Now hee which stablisheth you with us in Christ it is not Elders onely and he that anointed us is God who anointeth with such oile as falls on every member of his body who hath also sealed us and given the earnest of the spirit in our hearts and makes us every way like himselfe therefore saith he I call God to record that to spare you I came not yet to Corinth otherwise as the Gospell preached by him and Silvanus Timotheus was not yea and nay but in him was yea no more was his promise this is the spirit of Christians and Ministers and so of al that are established together with their Ministers anointed and sealed and confirmed in grace with their Ministers and have received the earnest penny to bind the bargaine of eternall salvation to faithfull soules So looke what a Christian doth promise he is bound by the earnest penny of Gods Spirit hee dares no more alter his words to the discredit of his profession then the Spirit of God to lie So that consider if Professors grow corrupt Religion wil grow corrupt and on the discovery of the corruption of common Christians corrupt religion will be discovered else you will be discovered to be carnall professors But there will be these two events either it will cast aspersion on you and so they will say none are better the spirit of the Country is deceitfull in their bargaines there is no constancie in their words Or else that your Religion is corrupt and this will also follow unavoidably though your Religion bee of God and the Lord himselfe will beare witnesse it is of God and according to the true patterne of the Word yet if we in this generation shall defile it by our unfaithfulnesse unspiritualnesse unheavenlinesse and ungodlinesse this will be the issue on the corruption of the lives of Professors followes corruption of Religion and upon the discovery of the one followes the discovery of the other That Religion which by the blessing of God and the power of his grace is dispensed heere in simplicity will bee corrupted in the very next generation you will finde your Children after you of whose state you ought to have as much care and I thinke I may speake it without inconveniency more then of your owne you may know the worst of it for your selves being neere the grave many of you but verely what will befall your Posterity They will degenerate out of measure by the unfaithfulnesse of your lives and unrighteousnesse of our promises they will fall to bee starke nought in point of Doctrine Worship and Government they will utterly degenerate from their Ancestors let but us bee polluted and all the waters that come from us will be polluted it cannot be sweet water that runnes through a poysonous earth if the earth bee unsavoury the Waters and Deepes and Rivers be poysoned what will the issue bee all will bee corrupt and therefore as you desire to leave Religion with a blessing leave it pure in the conversation of Brotherly love and purity and faithfulnesse and fruitfulnesse and heavenly mindednesse that so as Religion always loves to lye cleane as was a grave speech of an ancient Saint it will not lye nasty as a Swine and a Dogge in a kennell it must lye sweet and cleane if the hearts and waies of men be not pure and holy you shall not alway have the Sea cleane but Religion will grow to Apostacy and that which is our glory will be our confusion It became as the blood of a dead man Doct. 2. The faithful Ministers and Professors of Reformed Religion and Churches by powring out the wrath of God on Popish Religion have discovered it not to hold forth the blood of the Lord Iesus but to bee as the blood of a
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
come to passe that there will be a way made for the Kings of the East to come in for yee heard that by the Kings of the East are properly meant the Iewes as being of old called Kings A royall Priesthood so that way is made for them by this reformation of religion in Christendome The removing of those abuses to wit of the corruption of religion and popish superstition and idolatry way is made for their conversion and doe but dry up those streames and then you leave Babylon dry and you leave the Turkish Monarchy weakened for the staffe of the Turkish Monarchy is the superstition of Antichristianisme From hence therefore yee have heard already these two notes gathered and handled the first is this that the dayes are comming wherein Christian Princes shall dry up the streames of antichristian corruption in Religion And thereby also dry up the Fountaines of the streames of the Turkish tyranny Secondly yee have heard this note also gathered and handled That upon the drying up of the streames of corruption of Antichristian religion and of Turkish Tyranny way is made for the conversion of the Iewes the antient people of God Of these two wee spake the last day and thus much was needfull to be repeated that yee might understand where wee are To proceede to the next note then the third that concernes this Viall but the first at this time Let me first gather the note and then shew you how it rises out of the Text then give some grounds of it and make use of it as the Lord shall helpe the note is this Upon the drying up of the streames of the corruption of religion Doct. 3 in Christendome the Dragon the Beast and the false Prophet shall send forth their choisest instruments to stir up and gather together both Popish and Pagan Princes unto a great battell to withstand the reformation of Christians and the conversion of the Jewes This is the summe See all these points expresly and distinctly delivered and fully in these two Verses the 13 and 14. For further then so I shall not goe at this time And this one note opens both these Verses and all the passages therein First yee see upon the powring out of this Viall upon the river Euphrates and the drying up the streames thereof that is upon the drying up of the corruptions of religion superstition Idolatry Murthers and Whordomes restraining and drying up all such Fountaines what followes He saith the Beast the Dragon and the false Prophet sent out of their mouthes three unclean spirits like Frogs which goe forth unto the Kings of the Earth and of the whole world to gather them to the battell of that great day of God Almighty To open this doctrine and the words a little First for the Dragon yee have heard it noted before from the 12. Rev. 9. verse him to be the old Serpent Satan but taken chiefly as he doth act and govern and dwell in the Roman state And therefore he is described to have seaven hads and ten Hornes in the third verse of the 12 Chapter But take him as he is Satan spiritually and he hath neither heads nor hornes Take him as he governes Rome and so he hath seven heads and ten hones The seven heads are seven hilles And the ten hornes are ten governments who then is the Beast the Beast as ye have heard he is described by the very same Characters seven heads and ten hornes 13. Rev 9. verse It is said to be him to whom the Dragon hath given his power and his seat and great authority it doth therefore hold forth the Roman state not Rome Pagan nor Rome Christian as yee have heard It remaines therefore to be Rome antichristian which is that The Roman visible Catholique Church that 's the first Beast which claimes all the power by pretence of religion which old Rome and the Roman Monarchy claimed by force of armes Who is then the false Prophet The false Prophet hee is never mentioned before in this booke not by name and yet hee is spoken of here as well knowne It appeares therefore this false Prophet is the 2 Beast in 13 Rev. 11 verse to the end The second Beast there is said to worke Miracles in the 13 Verse he doth great wonders c. And 18 Verse he deceiveth them that dwell on the Earth by the meanes of these miracles c. And the same yee shall reade of the false Prophet in the 19 Rev. 20 Verse The Beast was taken and with him the false Prophet that wrought miracles before him with which he deceived them that had received the marke of the Beast And them which worshiped his Image c. The description is the same of the false Prophet and of the Beast both of them holding forth the head of the Roman Church The false Prophet Balaam the Bishop or Antichrist of Rome So that it doth imply thus much that the Dragon and the Devill himselfe did stir up not the Pope onely but the whole Catholicke Church to gather into some councill or some other solemne meeting some chiefe concurse of them who by common content shall out of their mouthes that is to say by their commands their Cannons and Decrees for that is out of their mouthes out of their commands out of their edicts out of their injunctions shall send forth their uncleane Spirits Spirits they be for nimblenesse and activity Spirits they bee for impetuousnesse and strength Spirits they be also for close and cleanly conveyance There is no stoping the gates against Spirits yee cannot so stop the Cinque-ports but they will in they will enter into any Court Princes Palaces or great mens Houses there 's no hindering of them they have a cleanly conveyance and secret and close passage And they are also Spirits of Devills It is not the ordinary word Devill but Daemon the which is wont to expresse Spirits for their knowledge and learning They are learned spirits and yet Devills for their deceit and mischeife Ye are of your Father the devill the works of your Father ye will doe Iohn 8 44. Liers for deceit Murtherers for mischeif these are the spirits he sends forth which surely comming as they doe out of the mouth of the Dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false Prophet they are not spirits properly so called They are therefore Emissaries sent forth by them men of nimble wits and parts active for nimblenesse and close conveyance and full of deceit and mischiefe And these are the spirits are sent forth and here said to be three spirits comming out of their mouthes not as if one came out of the mouth of one and another came out of the mouth of another but all three of them came out of all their mouthes together at once It is not rightly translated here that he saith he saw them comming out for the word comming out is not in the originall but hee
a man from Publike Ordinances and cause him to sleight them then ever looke at it as a manifest delusion for every dispensation of God doth but enkindle a more earnest longing that the Lord should confirme the same by his broad Letters Patents the Publicke Word and Sacraments in the Church Yea so farre doe the Saints of God stand hereupon that whatsoever is in private onely brought unto them to beleeve they will finde much adoe to rest satisfied in it untill they see it confirmed in publike also As when men have any speciall grant from their Prince and have it confirmed by the Privy Seale they will not rest therwith but will go to the Lord Keeper for the Broad Seale to confirme what was before Sealed to them though either of them apart be sure yet both joyned together will make it more sure Shall men be so carefull for this world and for temporall Patrimonies and shall Christians take up every motion in private and sleight publicke Ordinances Be not deceived whatsoever is brought unto you by the spirit of God in private Will cause you to seeke for more cleare evidence from his loud voice in Publike where his voice goeth on more strongly and powerfully convincing the Conscience and breaking downe all Temptations and discouragements that might hinder the comfort of Gods people The use in the 2. place serveth to reflect a iust reprofe therfore Vse 2 upon any that shall despise or neglect the Publike ordinances of God in the Church for you see here that what is confirmed in the whole Church is the great voyce of God and that without contradiction to the holy Saints and Angels if therefore the Publick ordinances be vndermined and borne witnesse against by any that commeth not from the spirit of these Angels but from some evill roote in the hearts of the sonnes and daughters of men the report of which is a vexation of spirit to heare thereof Thus much for the first note Goe poure out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth And the first Angel went and poured out his viall vpon the Earth c. Here is a world you see discribed having an earth and sea and rivers and fountaines and sunne and aire and they all belong unto the Beast and therefore the first Viall is poured upon them that had the marke of the Beast and the last brought in the fall of Babilon So that from first to last they are the judgments of God vpon the Roman Antichristian state as sixe of the seaven seales brought in judgements upon the Pagan Romane world and the seven Trumpets his Iudgements upon the Christian world as they were ruled by Christian Emperours so are the seven last Vials powred out upon the Antichristian world From hence therefore you may note thus much Doct. 2 That the whole antichristian world or state is but earthly and not heavenly For all these Angels are commanded to poure the vials of the wrath of God vpon the earth and they went not beyond their commission in pouring them upon the sea and Rivers and fountains and vpon the sunne and upon the throne of the Beast and the River Euphrates and the Aire whereby the Holy Ghost holdeth forth vnto us that all these are but earthly the sea is but earthly the fountaines and rivers earthly their sunne an earthly sunne and the throne earthly c. And though it is true as some say poure out any iudgement upon any element and the earth fareth the worse for it yet take the description of the Holy Ghost as it is plaine and it intendeth the antichristian world alone They are of the world therefore they speake of the world and the world heareth them 1 Ioh. 4 5. And he that is of the earth speaketh of the Earth Ioh. 3.31 And so also are all their ordinances earthly Reas 1 The first Reason is taken from the efficient cause of all their frame and state which is but from the Earth all their Doctrine worship and government so farre as it is Antichristian is but humane if not divellish Rev. 13.18 The whole number of the Beast whatsoever is numbred to belong unto him is but the number of a Man humane inventions and will-wisedome men will have it so and this is the Summe of all Popish Religion Reas 2 As the whole frame of their Religion commeth from the earth so doeth it tend to the earth againe for where doth all drive at but the maintenance of an earthly Pompious stately Prelacy nothing in the world but devices to get money they are full of covetousness and ambition both which what are they but an open doore to their earthly libertie these are sensuall saith Iude ver 19. not having the spirit There is nothing spirituall in all their orders nor in their pleasant sights sweet smells delightfull musique and many goodly Feasts they have and what are they but to please the tasts of men and all their carved and painted stocks and stones their goodly Images what doe they but please mens fancies And This you shall finde in the third place that their best devotions Reason 3 doe but leave a man in an earthly and carnall estate and therefore the Holy Ghost speaketh boldly Rev. 13.8 That all that worship the Beast their names are not written in the booke of life of the Lambe slaine from the foundation of the world There is not a man of them that knowing and beleeving no more then what he hath from the Beast can be saved therefore they thought not amisse who have written that a Papist by his Religion cannot goe beyond a Reprobate so then whatsoever is meant by these things in the antichristian world whereon these vials were poured all is but earthly an earthly sea an earthly sunne an earthly light an earthly aire fitter to choake men so farre as it is Antichristian then to breath any life into the soules of Christians To shew you the vanity of all their indeavours that study to reconcile Popish and Protestant Churches together I will Vse 1 say but thus much you may as soone bring Heaven and earth together as you can draw Popish and Protestant Religion together for Popish Religion is all but earthly and all the Churches of Christ are Heavenly and therefore when Heaven and earth meete then will Poperie and Protrolemy meete together In the second place let all men beware lest they have any licourish affection towards the old Religion as they call it if you Vse 2 shall hearken to the voyce of such charmers charme they never so wisely your best Religion will be but earthly your prayers earthly your faith earthly your obedience will bee earthly you shall find nothing therein able to answer an Heavenly and spirituall mind what though they tell you that Protestant Religion loveth case but as for them they have their whippings scourgings and fastings and these they will say are no such earthly dainties Truely these so farre as they are
Antichristian are but earthly they fast from flesh indeed and from white meats but they have the dainties of the Apothecaries shops preserves and conserves and such kind of pleasant meats and what have they done all this while these their practises are not sanctified of God and therefore doe leave the soules of men still vnder carnall delusions being no other but earthly and bodily exercises Goe and poure out the vials of the wrath of God vpon the Earth and the first went and poured out his viall vpon the earth This is vpon the lowest and basest element in the antichristian world Thence we may observe That God in his Iudgements vpon wicked persons and Doct. 3 states beginneth first with the least and lowest amongst them this is evident in the Text first upon the earth and the sea is next which like the naturall sea is above the earth and the Rivers and fountaines are higher then it and the sunne higher then they and then vpon the throne of the Beast and when we come to open the sequell you shall see that all things goe in a gradation And in this sort did the Lord deale when hee brought antichrist into the world Rev. 8.7 The first judgement came vpon the earth The second vpon the sea The third vpon the rivers and fountaines of water The fourth vpon the Sunne then commeth Antichrist the King of the Bottomelesse pit Rev. 9.11 and here in the 5. Viall his throne is smitten and upon the sounding of the sixt angell the foure angels in the River Euphrates were loosened and here pouring out the 6th Viall the River Euphrates is dryed up And the consideration yeeldeth great light to helpe us in the exposition of these seven vials for by the same steps wherby antichrist came into the world by the same steps doth the Lord vndermine him and bring him downe For as first the common sort of Christians were corrupted when antichrist was brought in so first the Common sort of Catholiques are blasted when antichrist beginneth to fall The like course did the Lord take in the plagues of Egypt Exod. 7.19 c. He beginneth with the lowest first to turne their waters into bloud and thereby killeth their fish but still men subsist well enough but then he bringeth frogs into all the land of Egypt and they crawle into their kneading troughes then he changeth the dust of the land into lice and that was a great deale more loathsome to men and at length hee killeth all their first borne and at last overwhelmeth Pharaoh and his hoste in the bottome of the red sea and all this is according to the old covenant of his justice Levit. 26.18 21 24 28. If you will not for all this hearken vnto me J will punish you yet seven times more for your sins so he threatneth againe and againe in all those verses untill at last he bring upon them such feareful and horrible Iudgements that they become an hissing to all nations The Reason of Gods dealing thus is to magnifie Gods patience Reas 1 vnto all knowest thou not that the long suffering of God leadeth thee to Repentance Rom. 2.4 It becommeth the Lord to magnifie his patience and when he doeth strike he will not suddenly stirre up all his wrath therefore when here he commeth to judge Antichrist he first poureth out his wrath where it is least of all sensible to the great Lords of the Antichristian world to magnifie the equity of his Iustice and that he might also leave them without excuse if the lowest judgements doe not prevaile this God doeth that he might be justified when he judgeth Ps 51.4 Thus though his wrath bee revealed from heaven against all vngodlinesse and vnrighteousnesse of men Rom. 1.18 yet such is the holinesse of Gods proceedings that hee will shew his patience and will strike gently vpon the least and lowest in estate first and afterwards hee goeth on further in wasting to waste untill he have overspread a state with punishment thus doth hee together magnifie his patience and justifie his justice and leave men without excuse This may serve in the first place to teach all men in the feare of Vse 1 God to become wise by light Iudgements and gentle afflictions those which you would thinke may least of all concerne you sleight them not nothing more distant from the chiefe men in a State then the common multitude A Iudgement upon them doth not matter much if a Famine were upon the common sort of people Princes and Great men would not be much affected therewith But the least of his judgements should be warnings unto us to teach us that the Lord hath taken his Sword into his hand and will go on in judgement untill he make the soules of men to tremble What if a judgement begin upon mens cattell That is farre off It will come next upon your Servants and Children and it may be reach to the wife of your bosome and if all this prevaile not it may be He will strike you with grievous diseases in your body and if you hearken not for all this what if he let the Devill loose upon the soules and consciences of men and women What will the heart of a poore Creature doe in such a case O consider this all ye that forget God! least hee teare you in pieces and there be none to deliver When the Lord striketh aloofe from us It is but the Viall of the first Angell but when the Lord beginneth he will go on further therefore it must be the wisdome of the sonnes of men to take heed of his stroakes afarre off This also is the Method of Gods dealing with his owne Children He did not fall upon the Conscience of his Servant Iob at the first but upon his Cattell then upon his Servants after that upon his Children and nextly upon his Body and at last writeth bitter things against his soule Be we warned therefore by the first hints of chastisements by small and gentle visitations and happy they that learne to profit by such to turne unto God and to make their peace with him before his wrath breake forth like a devouring fire and there be none to quench it Vse 2 The second use is unto the common sort of Christians if there be any more poore and common and of lesse esteeme then other Marke what I say and take it from the word of the Lord it behoveth you in speciall manner to take heed to your Religion for if corruptions grow therein you will be the first that will suffer by them And why so It is because Religion concerneth the common sort of Christians as well as any other and yet they commonly leave their Religon as they say to men that are wiser then themselves well if you cannot read in the Book of God the broade Characters of Salvation and the way thereof looke for it that when the smarting providences of God come upon any State where you are you shall first taste
stand The Sea as you know is the confluence of all the Rivers and Fountaines of waters they all finally are gathered together into one place and are called Sea And truly the confluence concourse of all the springs of the Churches they do meet together in one Religion that is the common receptacle of all All my fresh springs are in the Lord Psal 87.7 In that Religion which the Church professeth And therefore Religion was resembled in the 4 of the Revel vers 6. By the sea of Glasse like unto Chrystall that is all the Ordinances of God they were so cleare as that you n ight see Christs face in them as in a mirrour or glasse 2 Cor. 3.18 Wherein the state of Religion in the New Testament differed from the state of Religion in the old Testament Where the Brazen sea in Salomons Temple was indeed bright as brasse but thicke and not transparent you could not see so clearly the blood of Christ in it and yet there was a sea of Waters What to doe In the 2 Chron. 4.2 to the end of the 6. verse which was for the Priests to wash in Now what is it that can cleanse the Priests but onely the blood of the Lord Iesus Now that was resembled by the water in the Brazen sea Therefore all the Ordinances of Christ which did hold forth the blood of Christ to the washing and purging of the Priests and people of God that is the sea Now this sea as you heard in the 15. Chapter of the Revelation the 2. verse In the Reformed Churches is a sea of Glasse though mingled with Fire mingled with some contention yet the face of Christ might be cleerely seene in it But this sea heere that is the Popish Religion is the confluence of all their Ordinances as they doe administer the worship of God And upon this sea upon this Religion is the second Viall poured In the former Viall First men stumbled at the lives of Papists and therupon at the lives of them that led them at their Priests covetousnesse ignorance and hipocrisie they liked not their lives though at first they stumbled not at their religion but thought it was the fault of their lives but soone after they stumble at their Religion so that the next Vial is poured on their Religion the Ordinances themselves as they are dispenced by them the Viall is poured on them so farre as they differ from Reformed Churches Then what This being the sea how is this sea come to be as bloud That is this Religion of theirs is convinced and discovered to be not such as holds forth the cleansing blood of the Lord Iesus as the Sea in Salomons Temple did and as the sea of Glasse like unto Christall did but holds forth the blood of a dead man A dead Christ and dead Ordinances to any spirituall life There is no life no power no savour of goodnesse in it as the blood of a dead man which is not like the living blood of Christ to cleanse and purifie and to give life Whosoever eats my flesh and drinks my bloud hath eternall life John 6.54 But this is the blood not of the liveing God but of a dead man there is the best of it and what is that Fit to pollute and defile fit to choake a man but not to feed him not to cleanse and purge him And every thing living in that sea dyed Every thing That is every soule that had no other life but what was bred and fed in that Religion and had no other Christian life but what he sucked and derived from that Religion they all perished everlastingly this is the meaning of the words of the Text. Now then it may be further demanded for clearing of this meaning who is this Angell that poures out this viall of Gods wrath on this sea the sea you say is Antichristian religion for the first began with the earth this goes up higher and so higher and higher till it come to the throne and till at length Babilon be fallen So that all these plagues fall on the antichristian state But who is this Angell that poureth out this Viall There be some conceive that they are they who met in the councell of Trent and gathered all the streames of Popish priests and their doctrine and practise and ratified them all in that Councell yea some thinke that Bellarmine hath done the Church of God good service in gathering the body of Controversies betweene protestants and popish Churches and hath delivered them in so many volumes that you might have a whole sea of antichristian doctrine worship and governement by him confirmed though I doe not dislike the notion and it will fall into the true meaning yet that holds not close to the letter of the Text for the Text makes all the Angels to be such as come out of reformed Churches * Rev. 15 5.6 the Temple open in heaven members of reformed Churches all cloathed in pure and white linnen godly Christians righteous soules and girded with golden girdles stablished in the truth of the Gospell therefore they cannot be the Bishops and Doctors of Rome nor Bellarmine nor any of them that have held forth Popish Religion in a Popish Church What then Then it must bee other Ministers and Professors of reformed religion who have discovered the religion of the antichristian state to be as it is Obiect You will say can they turne Popish Religion to bloud Answ The Doctors of Trent indeed have Bellarmine makes it worse by maintaining and confirming of it True but can Ministers of reformed Churches be said to doe so Marke they are sayd to poure out a viall not by making their religion worse but making it appeare as bad as it was They being righteous men they could not corrupt religion but discover it and make it appeare that all the decrees of the councell of Trent and of Bellarmine and such Popish writers they discovered them to bee nothing but a sea of corrupt doctrine and worship all the streames that run in that sea are all polluted and filthy that who so lives and dies in them perisheth everlastingly And such were all those worthy servants of Christ that have written either against the Trident Councell or against Bellarmine that have convinced their Doctrine and worship to be all polluted and corrupted and to be such that if a man know and practise and beleeve no better he cannot be saved such hath been Chenmitius and Junius Chamier Whitaker and Reignolds Perkins and Ames and the rest of the holy Saints of God that have poured out this viall of Gods wrath that is that by their doctrine and writings from the word have poured out such cleare conviction and refutation of their doctrine and worship that to all that are not partiall it appeares to be not the bloud of the Lord Iesus but of a dead man and therfore who ever lives and dies in that religion hee cannot die better then a reprobate nor
live better then an hypocrite this is the true meaning of the second viall The first note that we may gather I will not be long in it nor Doct. in this place the matter requires it not in some places it might As upon the corruption of common Christians followes the corruption of religion so by the discovery of the corruptions of Christians or upon the discovery of the corruption of common Christians followes the discovery of corruption in Religion This note followes upon the former words compare this verse with the second trumpet vpon the sounding of the second trumpet there was brought in corruption of religion in the Imperiall Christian world as in the 8. Chapter of this booke and the 7.8.9 ver The first Angell sounded and there followed â—aile and fire mingled with bloud whereby all the green grasse was burnt up c. The first Angell poured out fire and bloud that is vncharitablenesse and contentiousnesse and so corruption grew in the spirits of common Christians and what followed upon that And thereupon the second Angel founded and there fell a great mountaine burning with fire cast into the sea on the contentiousnesse and quarelling of common Christians and their ambition There grew contention about primacy in Church Governours and that so far corrupted the sea A mountaine of high prefermâ—nt being cast into the sea that a third part of the sea became bloud here was a third part a great part of their religion specially that which concernes governement became bloud very noisome both their doctrine and governement so that looke as on the corruption of the lives of Christians presently religion grew corrupt so on the discovery of corruption in common Christians In this second viall follows the discovery of corruption in religion it self in this second viall and looke by what degrees the trumpets sounding brought in corruption into the Church by the same degrees the vials bring forth the discovery of corruption in the Church the vials of Gods wrath discover corruption pollution in Religion The reason of this point is taken from the powerfull efficacy Reason of all religion to transforme the sincere professors of it to the like nature with it selfe looke what the religion is such is the spirit of all that are sincere and serious professors of it and therefore if there come in any corrupt doctrine corrupt religion our Saviour tells us by their fruits ye shall know them for such as their corruption is in judgement such will it bee in their lives in Mat. 7.15 Beware of false prophets c. by their fruits you shall know them a good tree cannot bring â—orth evill fruit neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fâ—uit and so it was with the Pharisees though they were the strictest sect of the Iewists Religion Act. 16.5 Yet as they were corrupt in their lives so their Religion was corrupt and those that were Proselites to it Mat. 23.15 They made them twofold more the children of hell then themselves 2 Tim. 3.13 Evill men and deceivers waxe worse and worse deceiving and being deceived and the ground of that is this the concurrence of the spirit of God with his owne word and the concurrence of the spirit of Satan with his ordinances and instructions there is a spirit goes with both that doth assimulate and transforme a powerfull professor of sincere Religion to be sincere in heart And the Professors of corrupt Religion to transforme them into the nature thereof In the 59. of Esay verse 21. My Spirit that is upon thee and my words which I have put in thy mouth shall not depart out of thy mouth nor out of the mouth of thy seed nor out of the mouth of thy seeds seed from henceforth and for ever Gods spirit goes with his owne Ordinances where ever they are rightly and sincerely received as alway by some they are where ever they have free passage they will have some good issue and some persons or other on whom they will worke such a change in 2 Cor. 3 18. We all with open face beholding as in a glasse the glory of God are changed into the same image from glory to glory as by the spirit of the Lord. Consequently if Antichrist come with his delusions hee shall come with all the power of Satan whose comming saith the Apostle 2 Thess 2.9.10 is after the working of Satan and with all power of signes and lying wonders with efficacie of delusions a signe these delusions are not meerely Nationall but effectuall to transforme the heart like unto the minde their will like unto their judgement and their life like unto both that you shall have the whole frame of their state such as is their Religion if the lives of Catholike Professors be corrupt an evident argument their Religion is corrupt and if their Religion be corrupt their lives cannot bee sound they that live by that Religion must needs be corrupt so that upon the discovery of the corruptions of the lives of Catholikes then men began to scruple their Religion at first it was fairely interpreted of some Catholikes that were reformed and brought to the truth they thought that all abuses found in the Friars Monks was but from the lives of men their religion was better their religion did not teach them so and therfore thought still they might appeale to the Pope himself as Luther did they thought it was the ignorance of the Priests that brought Pardons into the Countrey to sell them for groats and shillings but this was but a charitable opinion and in truth the Priests the ministers of that Religion did but act the spirit of that Religion the whole heart was sicke and the whole head and body mortally distempered The Use is thus much it must be a word of holy admonition and warning to all Professors Vse 1 in this Countrey and Church members to all that professe they came out of England for purity of Ordinances to be very circumspect pure and faithfull and zealous in all their whole conversation for beleeve it you will finde this true and remember it while you live if you bee corrupt in New-England if you be unfaithfull here if you be worldly minded here false of your words and promises here injurious in your dealings here beleeve it one of these two will unavoidably follow either all England will judge your Reformation but a delusion and an invention of some of your Magistrates or Elders or otherwise looke at you as not sincere but counterfeit This unavoidably you will finde true you cannot poure forth a Viall of more wrath on Religion as it is heere reformed and established through the blessing of God you cannot load it with a heavier Viall of Gods wrath then if heere you shall grow worldly and covetous deceitfull and contentious and unbrotherly Are these your Church members such such things were done but I hope it was not your Church Members are we not all brethren Doth our Estates
Catholiques that make them beleeve they may be saved in that religion so they live honestly and well Oh Brethren doth not the Text expresly say every one that lived in that Sea died and died everlastingly there is no living bloud of the Lord Iesus there there is no saving grace there but workes all and there is no lively faith there but dead saith no repentance but hardnesse of heart or legall contrition at the vttermost nor obedience but such as is too good for him to apply the Bloud of Christ unto for it is able to keepe the whole Law and make satisfaction for the breaches of the Law or if their owne obedience bee not so perfect they have some other saints whose obedience may bee imputed unto them so that though they abhorre Christs Righteousnesse to be imputed to them they have found out a way that the righteousnesse of Saints may bee applyed to make others righteous so that they put more honour upon the servants of Christ if some of them were the servants of Christ then upon Christ and say it were well their righteousnes should be imputed but that Christs owne righteousnesse should bee imputed they looke at it as aputative righteousnesse as they are not ashamed to call it so that see the desperate danger of living and dying in that state in the Romish religion in that Sea Vse 2. Secondly Let me exhort all Christians to hold stedfastly to the puritie of Religion whether in our publicke Ministrations or private conversations let all savour and reake foorth the warme blood of the living Lord Iesus for there is the difference of our Religion from Popery Their religion holds forth such a Christ as leaves him and his blood like the blood of a dead Man The soule is dead for any true Grace or Faith or Repentance or Obedience or living Comfort the heart is still dead no life of Gods favour no life from the Word no hope of Salvation but all conjecturall there is indeed the life of Papists no live-blood of Christ Jesus among them But for Christians It is for us to live as those that are made partakers of the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things then that of Abel that doth pacifie and purifie the Conscience and both worke effectually more and more untill the soule bee established in perfect peace thou wilt keepe them in perfect peace whose minde is staid on thee because he trusteth in thee I speake of perfection that may be attained in our measure in Esay 26.3 So that be diligent to looke up to the Lord Christ still as out of Grace to accept us and by the grace of Faith to receive us and so drawing the soule to lively repentance from dead works and quickning and awakning us to lively obedience In this lively estate we may walke before him according to the good pleasure of his will to the praise of the glory of his Grace in Christ Iesus THE THIRD VIAL REVEL 16. VER 4 5 6 7. And the third Angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters and they became bloud And I heard the Angel of the waters say Thou art righteous O Lord which art and wast and shalt be because thou hast iudged thus For they have shed the bloud of Saints and Prophets and thou hast given them bloud to drinke for they are worthy And I heard another out of the Altar say Even so Lord God Almighty true and righteous are thy iudgements THese seven Angels as you heard that had the vials of the last wrath of God to poure out they poure it all out upon the Antichristian world upon the Beast or something or other pertaining to the Beast for the first that poured his vial on the earth vexed them that had the mark of the beast he begins therefore with the beast And the fift Angel poured forth his vial upon the throne of the beast in the 10. ver and when the seventh Angel poured forth his vial Great Babylon came up in remembrance before God c. in the 19. ver So that in a word all these vials being poured out from first to last upon the earth and the earth being the Antichristian state opposite to heavenly and pure Churches all the vials are poured upon the Antichristian world or state And as you see they begin with the lowest elements first The first upon the earth the next upon the sea the third upon the rivers and fountaines the fourth upon the sun in that world the fift upon the throne of the Beast the sixt upon Euphrates the seventh upon the ayre Now the second Angel of which you heard the last day having poured out his vial upon the sea it became as the bloud of a dead man and all that lived in that sea dyed The sea you heard is the confluence of waters anld rivers and doth hold forth the confluence or concurrence of all the oracles and ordinances and meanes of grace and salvation or those that are pretended so to be The concurrence or confluence of them all to one body which in one word was their Religion in the old Temple it was resembled to a brazen sea wherein the Priests washed themselves In the Apostolique Church of the New Testament it is resembled unto a sea of glasse like unto crystall wherein you might see the face of Christ as in a mirrour In Reformed Churches it is as the of glasse mingled with fire In Popish Churches it is as the bloud of a dead man no living bloud is there to be found to wash the people in but as the bloud of a dead man without life to them that are washed in it and rather fit to choake and poison and kill then to give life Now that being the sea Then here the next vial is poured out upon the rivers and fountains of waters that run into this sea and derive this sea up and downe the earth The third Angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters And the pouring out of his vial is described First by the subject on which it is poured Vpon the rivers and fountains of waters Secondly by the effect and they became bloud Thirdly the pouring out of this vial is amplified by the testimony given to it and the effect of it What is the testimony It is double 1. Given by the Angel of the waters in the 5. ver I heard the Angel of the waters say what doth he say he gives to God the glory of his righteousnesse and of his unchangeable righteousnesse which art and wast and shalt be because thou hast iudged thus And the reason of it he gives is taken from the equity of the law of retaliation in the 6. ver For they have shed the bloud of Saints an Prophets and thou hast given them blood to drinke for they are worthy The second Testimony by which this powring out of the Viall is amplified and the effect of it is justified is by another
art and wast and shalt be alway The same from the ancient Law of retaliation in the 24. of Leviticus 19 20 21. it is there ordained that look what a man doth to others it shall be so done to him Breach for breach eye for eye tooth for tooth c. They gave thy Prophets and Saints bloud to drinke and now thou hast given them bloud to drinke This is the reason why he acknowledgeth this not onely righteous but according to his old and ancient proceeding his righteousnesse ever since Moses his time and since the world began that is Gods manner Gen. 9.4 5. He that sheds mans bloud by man shall his bloud be shed God alway hath been of that mind They that put others to death that shed innocent bloud Their bloud shall goe for their bloud Gen. 9.6 to that purpose justly speaks that book it is that which they have found for they are worthy And when he adds further I heard another Angel out of the Altar say Even so Lord God Almighty true and righteous are thy iudgements That is another Angel a Minister and Messenger of Gods justice This phrase out of the Altar in this Book doth usually hold forth some under-persecution either going or new come out of persecution for so it is expressed in the 6. Rev. 9. I saw under the Altar the soules of them that were slaine for the Word of God and for the testimony which they held The Altar is Christ and Christ suffering and those under the Altar are they that suffered with Christ for the Word of God speaking of the Primitive Christians in their first persecution But here he doth not say they were under Martyrdome but they were come out from under the Altar And that holds forth those Christians in the Low-countreyes who of a long time had been under persecution by Duke Dalva and other Spanish Princes Duke Dalva boasts of it there were 36000. that he had put to death Hugonites and Protestants Judge you what the rest might also do and all for the testimony of Iesus for holding forth true Protestant Religion but they were all rescued by the faithfulnesse of God giving and blessing the courage of Q. Elizabeth and now they are got out from under the Altar and now they are freed from wrestling with such great difficulties as had been like to sinke them if God had not by his stretched out arme rescued them And looke as in 1584. Cicill set forth that book so this Angel from under the Altar set forth a Law in 1586. wherein by the consent of all the States generally of the confederate Provinces they enact and enjoyne that none of the bloudy sect of the Jesuites nor any of their Scholars whether he be stranger or borne in the Land shall have liberty to come into the Countrey but be put to capitall punishment as an enemy to the State and they have been in some measure carefull of that Law though more in Grave Maurice his time then since and so they justly say Amen to the Queens Law that as she put those Popish Emissaries to the paine of High Treason hanging drawing and quartering and thus gave them bloud to drink so this Angel from out of the Altar saith Even so he saith Amen to it let it even be so with them Lord God Almighty true and righteous are thy judgements they acknowledge Gods Almighty power that had given them power to make that Law against them who had so lately suffered under them and acknowledge Gods righteous judgements for that State that makes a Law to the same purpose which they have found enacted in another State they doe say Amen to what hath been done and both the one State and other acknowledge it to be a righteous judgement of God and the administration a just law and a just execution This as others have done before me I take to be the naturall and true meaning of this Vial in the severall parts thereof without wresting of the words nor neede it be offensive to any that such particular persons are named as the accomplishers of this Vial considering the matters were not of small importance but of great consequence and admiration all states rang of these laws and it raised all Christendome in combustion the wars of eighty eight the Spanish invasion had speciall respect to this and had not the Lord borne witnesse to his people and their Law in defeating the intendments of their enemies against both the Nations it might have been the ruine of them both So you see the meaning of the words of the Text. The words are many and though containing much matter in 4. verses I shall shortly contract and recollect the substance contained in them into one note and handle that one at this time as conceiving all the doctrine of these words may be grasped together in one Observation For though there be liberty of entring into common places of Gods righteousnesse and immutability and of his justice in retaliation and of his omnipotencie out of this Text yet all these particulars have been spoken to in the former Chapter in the third verse and in the fourth Lord God Almighty iust and true are thy wayes thou King of Saints That for God being ever the same which was and is to come we have spoken to it divers times before in this book and therefore though they be Catechisme points which my place calleth me to attend upon yet I shall not here speak to them having so lately handled the most of them but therefore I will onely speak to this Doctrine which containes all the verses This is the note then Doct. That upon the discovery of the deadly corruption of the Religion of the Sea of Rome it was a righteous judgement of God and such as argued him unchangeable ever like himselfe That the Priests and Jesuites who carryed that Religion up and down the Nations should be adjudged or condemned to a bloudy death This is the summe For so you see it is upon the discovery of their sea of bloud of the Religion of the Sea of Rome to be a Sea of bloud We opened and shewed before that The second Angel poured out his vial on the sea that is on the Religion of the Sea of Rome and discovered it to be as the bloud of a dead man made it manifestly appeare that both their doctrine and worship and government was deadly and such as was utterly unwholsome both for private families and States Church and Common-wealth and so corrupt as was deadly who ever lived and dyed in that Religion lived an hypocrite and dyed a reprobate Now the next Angel that comes upon this discovery he poures his vial on the rivers and fountaines of waters and they became bloud That is they make Lawes to adjudge all that carry that Religion up and downe the Nation to be guilty of bloud and therefore to be put to death as Traitors and Rebels against the State And this is acknowledged
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
saw them out of those mouthes out of those mouthes they had came thence they had their originall and from thence they sprange Much inquiry there is who they should bee I will not trouble you with variety of mens judgements The Dragon is no more here the Turkish Empire then before but the Dragon here is hee that is before called Satan acting Rome and so hath seven Heads and ten Hornes which are the Armes of Rome as yee have heard before not of Constantinople And it is hee that consults and conspires with the Beast of Rome to send forth these three uncleane Spirits Now if you shall put all together that hath beene observed by different Interpreters and consider withall what kinde of spirits the Catholique Church and the head thereof the Bishop of Rome hath troubled the Church withall yee shall finde they all fall under three sorts three sorts of spirits they doe all issue from and these have all inspired and breathed into them the very Character of the nature which is found in the Dragon the Beast and the false Prophet There are many rables of popish orders which were endlesse to name now But they are all summed up in three Heads for all the other are but hangbies and traines to them all the Emissaries of Rome the spirits whereby shee hath troubled the Church they all fall under these three either Cardinalls Bishops or Jesuites and under the Jesuites I ranke all regular Fryers they are all of them of one nature regular men Cloyster-men of which the Jesuites are the cheife and I would rather instance the Jesuites because the rest of that rabble the other orders of Fryers and Monkes they are described not under the name of Frogs but under the name of Locusts chirping Creatures as the Frogs are Croking and both come out of the bottomlesse pit But the other are more like to Locusts in the 9 Revelations 3 to 11. They be both of them mischeivous both the Locusts and the Frogs too but the Frogs are a little too dull for this kind of imployment which is attributed to the Frogs but these three the Dragon the Beast and the false Prophet send forth the Cardinalls the Bishops and the Jesuites yee shall finde the quintessence of nimble wits in these Spirits active and nimble spirits yee shall finde them close and secret in their conveyances like spirits no part can be so secretly watcht but they will enter in no Gates of Princes Pallaces so secret but thy will enter them And uncleane they be as neither fit for meat nor for sacrifice as uncleane Beasts were They are neither fit for Church nor Common-wealth neither fit for the one nor the other neither for meate nor sacrifice uncleane also arising out of the mud uncleane in their Doctrine rooting out the Doctrine of Life uncleane in their conversation as all false Teachers more or lesse bee Iude 8. and 10 Verse And making the Countries uncleane where they come they let loose the raines and open a doore unto all Licentiousnesse and Prophanesse Three unclean Spirits like Frogs This description of them likening of them to Frogs doth exclude them from the Locusts for they are not Amphibia as they call them such as can live upon the Waters or Earth for Locusts love not to be in the Waters but these are indifferent on Earth or Waters Therefore these three can indifferently live either upon the waters or upon the Earth and even as well in the one as in the other It is indifferent to them whether yee imploy them in Church worke they can domineer there or whether you imploy them in state matters they are as free and as busy there in the Courts of Princes and the states of Commonwealths and as impetuous there and as active there and as cunning and as dominering and Lordly there as they are in the Church And therefore looke as were the plagues of Egypt which is called Sodom so are these plagues of spirituall Sodom The Frogs they came upon them cunningly and would come into the Kings Pallaces and no place could be kept free from them Even such are these three uncleane spirits no place can they be kept out from And like unto Frogs are they for their continuall croking nothing but one kinde of tune their own matters they never leave croking of not like these Frogs here in America that have a severall tune in each part of the yeare but they are alwayes in one or two or three at the most either the Catholique visible Church or the Pope the Judge of controversies or of visible succession And then looke as yee see it is with Frogs they are most busy with their notes when it growes darke and in the heat of the day they are a great deall more silent for then they get them downe into the mud so it is with these uncleane spirits they ly close if the light of the Gospell shines forth brightly And if it grow warme in the zeall of the spirits of Christians then yee here no newes of them but they are in some muddy places then they are husht then I if you should come with a Torch in the midnight they are silent and still then But now when there is want of light or want of heat of Religion then it is indeed that these spirits are most croking and tumultuous and unquiet but otherwise if the spirits of Christians and States-men grow warme in Religion ther 's no noise nor newes of these spirits so these are the three uncleane spirits that come out of the mouth of the Dragon and out of the mouth of the Beast and out of the mouth of the false Prophet And these three have left a spice of their own nature in them the Devill hath left a spice of his murther and malice against religion and well ordered government tending to disorder the Catholique Church hath left them hir state and preheminence hir Lordly Dominion and spirituall supremacy and authority carying all before him The false Prophet hath left them corrupt Doctrine and corrupt worship These corrupt all where they come and with cleanly conveyance in the Name of the Lord and thus saith the Lord when indeed it is nothing but the meere inventions of the sinfull false hearts of the sonnes of men To goe on a little further in the exposition of these spirits They are the spirits of Devills That is to say all of a devillish nature they are not Gods spirits men they will be accounted to be but they are spirits of the bottomlesse pit the spirits of Devills Devills for learning and Devills for deceit and Devills for mischeife Working miracles It is a proper worke of the second Beast but they are all but lying wonders they come saith the Apostle Paul with all power of signes and lying wonders 2 Thes 2.9 And these being all thus furnisht the Text tells you They goe forth unto the Kings of the Earth by Earth in this booke is meant the
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
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
neere Endor Psal 83.9 10. Thus wee have an allusion to all these three notable and memorable battels whereas had he said in a place in the Hebrew tongue Gilboa then had hee limited the allusion unto Sauls battell who was indeed a destroyer of Religion but so other effects of this battell fought in this Text had not beene pointed at Therefore that hee might graspe in all those Events which those battels that were fought about Megiddon brought forth he saith the place was called Armageddon and it is an usuall thing that battels in the hill are pursued to the valley and in the valley to the Hill the hill and the valley lying neere together And indeed the same Events will this battell bring forth which fell out upon all the former battels at Megiddo So then the summe is that these spirits went forth to gather these Popish and Heathen Princes together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon where the battell shall have the like successe that it had of old unto the destruction of Gods Enemies the utter ruine of Antichrist as of Saul the setling of the Kingdome of Christ upon David unto the conversion of the Iewes who shall upon this occasion mourne bitterly over him whom they have pierced Onely let us a little further cleare one scruple which may somewhat remaine why shall the Iewes come in mourning at this victory shall they mourne with Indignation for the successe of Christian Princes and States or shall it bee a mourning of compassion for the destruction of Rome no verily the text is plaine they will rejoyce for both and joyne together with the rest of the Christian Churches to praise the name of the Lord with Hallelujahs in the 19. chapter of this booke and the 1. ver After these things that is after the destruction of Babel I heard a great voyce of much people in Heaven saying Hallelujah So againe ver 3.6 they shall praise God with an Hallelujah as well as the Latines with a Laudate Dominum It is therefore neither a mourning of Indignation for the succ sse of the Saints nor of compassion for the Rivers of Babell but what is it then It is a mourning of compunction whereby they seeing in this battell that Christ is indeed the true Messias they shall mourne that they have beene so long estranged from him for two maine stumbling blocks will this battell remove out of their way First that which is their great stumbling block to wit the Pope who is counted the Father of Christian Churches and yet himselfe liveth like an Epicure and maintaineth Idolatry and superstition and though many in the world abhorre his wayes yet they looke at them but as Sects and inferiour people and States in respect of the Pope and Popish Princes but when they shall see that the Zeale of Christian Princes hath dryed up those streames of Superstition to the utter confusion of the man of sinne then will they also see that that Iesus whom they have resisted all this while even that Iesus is the Messias 2. There is also another stumbling block which some of their more learned stand upon that when the Messias comes he shall destroy the foure Monarchies spoken of Dan. 2.45 The stone that was cut out of the Mountaine without hand brake in peices the Iron the Brasse the clay the Silver and the Gold Now say they if your Iesus be the Messias how commeth it to passe the Monarchy standeth upon his two feet the Turke and Pope but they might have considered that the Lord Iesus hath been crushing them a great while together and hee never told them that he would doe it as soone as he came though he will never leave untill he hath crushed them to the dust and when once this battell is fought that there shall be no more remaining but what is the Jewes worke to doe then shall they see the Prophesie of Daniel fulfilled when the battell in Armageddon shall end in the destruction of the man of Sinne and then shall they see Jesus Christ held forth in the purity of the Gospell contrary whereunto no word of the Prophets shall bee found and then shall they see him whom they have crucifyed to be indeed both Lord and Christ Then shall they see that the name of the Lord Iesus which they now curse in their Liturgies is blessed for ever now they will grieve that they have cursed his name blasphemously praying that it might perish from under these Heavens and from above this Earth for these things will they mourne bitterly Object But you will say that to see the successe of a battell is not a sufficient meanes to convert a people to the Lord that are fully possessed with their owne wayes Here indeed may be a removens prohibens that may somewhat help forward but it is needfull unto their Conversion that some word of God bee set home to their hearts to convince them that the curse of the Law which belongeth unto them it is Christ onely that hath borne it for them Ans It is no small meanes of conversion to see the Lord bearing witnesse against the corruptions of Religion in destroying the Enemies of his people You know the story of Iethro who was a Prince or Priest of Midian when he commeth to see his sonne Moses who told him of all the great deliverances that God had wrought for his people Exod. 18. 8.9 10. what saith he now I know that the Lord is greater then all Gods for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly hee was above them This is the effect of his hearing of the wonders that God had wrought for his people so that you need not doubt it but when these battells are fought though they shall bee noe parties on the one side nor on the other yet they shall heare what will be reported upon this occasion in the publick Ministery of the word which will bee sufficient to convince as a Priest of Midian so a Iew that this is the Lord Iesus who hath so fulfilled all that hee hath spoken of in his word And moreover I doe beleeve that great will bee the power of the Ministery of the word in fighting of this battell by declaring the powerfull presence of Christ with them and for them thus shall the sword of the Ministery of the Gospell prevaile mightily by animating Christian Princes and people according as it is said chap. 19.21 of this booke the remnant were slaine with the sword that proceedeth out of his mouth that is out of the mouth of Iesus Christ and when the word of Christ goeth along with the sword of Princes you need not wonder if it doe not onely prevaile against the Beast and false Prophet but also to make Satan fall downe from Heaven like lightning even out of the hearts of the Iewes from deceiving them any longer Thus much for the opening of the words which though it have beene long and difficult yet many times
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
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