sinns have reached unto heaven We commonly call it the See but it may well be called the Sea of Rome for the streams of all the wickedness of all the world have run thither and have there been swallowed up 1. The Apostle says of the Cretians They are all-wayes lyars Tit. 1. but of these he saith They speak lyes in Hypocrisie 1. Tim. 4.2 The very first rise of Popery was from a lye Hypocritically and against their Conscience they challenged Appeals in difficult matters to themselves and forged a Canon of the Councel of Nice for it which the sixt Councel of Carthage did with much diligence search out and found to be a very forgery a very lye but for all that they had the face to go on adding one lye to another till they had made up their Religion which indeed is nothing else but a great knot and bundle of lyes Their Doctrine of Merits their Doctrines of Purgatory Transubsantiation very lyes as our Reformed Divines have made appear sufficiently show me one point that is truly and peculiarly theirs and I will pawn my life upon 't I demonstrate it to be a lye a taste whereof you had in the first Sermon showing you his contradictions of Christ 2. There is the greatest pride found in them that ever was found in men Suppose thou hadst been at Rome this year being the year of Iubile but you must know that he is not such a proud and pamperd Beast now adays as he was in formen ages hadst thou been at Rome this year of Iubile but especially any of those Iubiles that were some hundreds of years before Luther and there seen the Pope arrayed as the Holy Ghost describes him Rev. 17.4 In purple and scarlet colour decked with gold precious stones and pearls with a Triple Crown upon his head set in a golden chair carried on mens shoulders his Princely Cardinals about him his Breaden God Crucifixes Reliques carried before him opening the gates of Paradise as they call them with the touch of his golden hammer great Ambassadors sometimes Kings themselves bowing before him and worshiping of him the common people begging pardon of sin and eternal life of him scarce suffered to kiss his feet I say hadst thou been at Rome and seen all this couldst thou have thought or said less of him then hic est ipse primogenitus diaboli this is doubtless the first born Son of Lucifer the eldest Son of the devil Pope Innocent the 4. Ann. 1253. in the 37. year of Henry the 3. of England being set in his Conclave in the midst of his Cardinals after much advisement upon a small occasion brake out into this language Annon Rex Anglorum noster est vassallus ut plus dicam mancipium qui possumus eum nutu nostro incarcerare ignominiae mancipare Is not the King of England our Vassal nay to say more our slave whom we can imprison at pleasure and condemn to everlasting ignominy Pope Alexander the 3. set this foot upon the Neck of the Emperor Frederick the first blasphemously using those words of the Psalmist Super Aspidem Basiliscum Vpon the Adder and the Basilisk shalt thou tread The Pope hath made Kings to wait at his Gate and hold him his stirrop I could have furnished you with many stories of like nature speaking aloud the pride of their Spirits says Basil long since Odi fastum istius Ecclesiae I hate the pride of that Church of Rome And lest you should think we speak out of Spleen and Envy against him hear what the Holy Ghost saith 2 Thes 2.4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped for that he as God sitteth in the Temple of God shewing himself that he is God 3. The greatest truely and blood guiltiness lies upon them that ever was upon any T is impossible for me to convince you of the ten thousand part of their murthers Historians do generally with one mouth tell us in that one Kingdom of France 400. years ago they slaughtered ten hundred thousand of those godly Waldenses and Albigenses The Duke D'Alva boasted He had destroyed above 18000. Hereticks in the Netherlands in the space of six years In the first 30 years after the Order of Jesuites was set up t is found that above fourscore thousand were slain The Spanish Inquisition in the space of 30 years made away no less then one hundred and fifty thousand In the year 1572. was the Massacre at Paris in a few days space there were above 30000. treacherously and basely murtherd In our Queen Marys days in less then 4 years were consumed with fire and faggot 277 persons every one whereof it might be strongly presumed were true Members of Jesus Christ his Saints indeed In the late rebellion in Ireland to speak with the least one hundred thousand were murthred before we could get so much as one Breast-work against them And now by these hints I have given you can you make any guess at the number of those that have been slain in all those ten Kingdoms who submitted to him throughout the space of above 1000 years Certainly they do exceed all humane Arithmatick Rev. 17.12 13 14. The ten horns which thou sawest are ten Kings these shall give their power and strength to the Beast these shall make war with the Lamb. The ten Kings of Europe with all their power and strengths were nothing but the Popes instruments of blood and cruely I may be bold to say it the Popes little finger hath been heavier upon the people of God then were the Loyns of the ten Heathenish Persecutions To shed the innocent blood of any man is a sin that cryes to God and will certainly prevail with him for vengeance how much more then to shed the blood of an Innocent Saint I am confident if one had shed the blood of a hundred thousand men that were indeed Reprobates and the blood of but one true Saint of God he should find a harder task and pull of it to come off with Divine Justice for the blood of that one Saint then for all the other hundred thousand there 's reason enough for it they being but Chaff Bryars and Thorns Dung Scorpions and worse then naught but t is said the death of a Saint is precious with God A Saint is a Member of Christ helps to make up that body which is the fulness of him that fills all in all is the pupilla oculi the very apple of Gods eye yea so dear to God that the very hairs of his head are numbred and therefore no marvel if he have a harder pull of it But the Popes of Rome have shed the blood of more then one Saint indeed no other blood rellishes with them Rev. 18. and last verse In her was found the blood of Prophets and of Saints and of all that were slain upon the earth A vein of cruelty bloodshed went down from Cains days even to the
feet of his Will Set up as much of Christ and his Kingdom in thy Family as thou canst suppress sin in it as far as thy power will go set up Duties of Religion in it bring all under the power thereof Oh that Magistrates would not stand consulting chiefly what sutes best to the Interest of the State but what sutes best to the Interest of Jesus Christ and will most help on his Kingdom Certainly setting up standing by and countenancing in Spiritual Powerful Ministery not suffering Sabbaths and Ordinances to be prophaned and affronted good Learning and Holiness maintained in the Universities and other inferiour Schools Judgement and Justice executed without respect of persons I say doubtless these things would contribute much towards the enthroning of the great King of kings Oh but some man will say I am a poor wretch I can do noting towards the hastening this Kingdom you speak of That 's strange Canst not thou go into thy chamber or Closet and there lament the Antichristianism that is in the present Governments of the World tell God that he 's Omnipotent and so is able to remove whatsoever stands opposition to the Kingdom of his Son minde him of his many promises that he will do it Ask him if he should fail what would become of his Faithfulness of his great name Jehovah and then cry Lord let thy Kingdom come Lord how long yet Lord when shall it once be Be assured of it God may be stirred up much by fervent praying to hasten his Work You have a very notable place for this Psal 102. ver 13. to ver 19. Thou shalt arise and have mercy upon Zion for the time to favour her yea the set time is come Thy servants take pleasure in her stones and favour the dust thereof So the Heathen shall fear the name of the Lord and all the Kings of the earth thy glory He will regard the prayer of the destitute and not despise their prayer This shall be written for the generation to come and the people which shall be created shall praise the Lord. What shall be written for the generations to come what shall the People which shall be hereafter created praise the Lord for Why this that when the Lord shall build up Zion and so appear in the glory of his power and grace as to make the heathen and all the kings of the earth to fear his name he will therein have regard to the prayer of the destitute The word that is here translated destitute signifies arbusculum nascentem in deserto a poor shrub in the wilderness which every beast is ready to bruise or tread upon a poor shrub that is low and mean and despicable When the Lord shall appear in his Glory and build up Zion in its Glory he will do it in reference to the prayers and sighs and wrestlings of such poor shrubs as the weakest and meanest of you are and therefore says the Prophet Ye that make mention of the Lord keep not silence give him no rest till be establish till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth Isa 62.6 7. q.d. You that are Saints indeed and make mention of the name of God in prayer follow him hang about him let him not have a quiet day when argument fails yet importunity may do much till he have broken Antichrist and all the powers of this World that stand in the way of the Gospel till he have set up the Kingdom of his Son made his name great and glorious in all the earth You poor of the flock may do more toward this work then you are aware of Wherefore I beseech you stand fast in the faith pray without ceasing quite your selves like men Oh! but I shall not live to see it nor share in the joy of Gods People and glory of this Kingdom My Answer to thee is thus 1. If God take thee to Heaven before thou canst be no great looser by that thou shalt drink there at the Fountain-head of glory when those thou hast left behinde must drink but of the streams of Grace at a far greater distance 2. The News of this Kingdom set up will be quickly brought to heaven and spred all up and down there thou mayest as well enjoy the comforts of it there keep a day of thanksgiving there and sing thy Hallelujahs with the spirits of just men made perfect to Him that sits upon the throne 3. Get upon mount Nebo however and thence look into the Canaan that flowes with milk and hony setting an eye of faith upon the Prospective of Promises thou mayest bring it very near to thee and have a very clear view of it Heb. 11.1 Faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen v. 13. These all dyed in the faith not having received the promises i. the matter of them but having seen them afar off were perswaded of them and imbraced them Though the great things promised were far off from them yet by saith and strong perswasions of the truth of them they brought them very near so that they took them in their arms and saluted them as the word in the original imports Abraham though he lived many hundred years before Christ yet he rejoyced to see his day He saw it and was glad Joh. 8.56 he could improve faith and promises to as much comfort and joy of heart as old Simeon did the very taking him up in his arms it applies it self I remember what Jacob when he lay upon his death-bed said to his son Joseph Gen. 48.21 Behold I dye but God shall be with you and bring you to the land of your fathers Thus when thou liest upon thy last bed thy children and friends coming with blubber'd cheeks and heavy hearts to take their leaves of thee thou mayest tell them Behold I dye but this is the support and comfort of my heart God shall be with you God will let you see the good dayes he hath spoken of in his word even from generation to generation I dye and must never see the glory of Jesus Christ in his Churches upon earth yet Posterity shall see it the Saints of God in after-ages shall enjoy the comforts the blessednesse of it and that 's life to me in the midst of death I rejoyce in that and glory in that with joy unspeakable FINIS Reader I Would have thee rest thy heart assured of this That the 21 22 Chapters of the Revelations are a Description of a State of a Church here below yet in allusion to Heaven Amongst many reasons which might be given for it take these three 1. It is called the New Ierusalem coming down from God out of Heaven And behold the Tabernacle of God is with men and he will dwell with them chap. 21.2 3. The Church triumphant is taken up from the earth into heaven and the spirits of just men made perfect may more properly be said to dwell with God then God with them 1 Thess 4. Then shall we for ever be with the Lord. 2. It 's said the Kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it v. 24. Into the Church of Christ on earth for the further completing of the Churches happinesse We all know the glory and honour of earthly Kings is of no esteem in heaven can adde nothing there 3. It is said The leaves of the Tree Rev. 22.2 are for the healing of the Nations meaning the Spiritual sores and wounds of hte Nations But surely there are in Heaven it self neither whole Nations nor persons that stand in need of any healing whatsoever VVherefore it may safely be concluded the 21. and part of the 22 Chap. of that Book are a Description in high expressions and metaphors of the State of a Church here upon Earth E. H. * Thursday Lectures at Horsham in the county of Sussex * Ann. Christi 66. Ann. Neronis 11. In this as also in many other Prophesies Evangelical matters are clad with legal and old terms * Though under Legall terms * Some judgment or destruction that all must acknowledge to be from God
had not our neighbour Nation owned proclaimed him whom they did the hand of providence had never raised this storm against them I do not lay this down as a certain Conclusion for Judicia Dei non sunt temere discutienda sed formidoloso silentio veneranda t is only my perswasion which you may receive or reject as God shall guide your hearts Yet I am not more confident that this book of the Bible came out of the mouth of God then that the childe is born who shall see a general tottering and shivering to peices of Thrones and Scepters and that-upon this account the quarrel that is already one foot between Christ and Antichrist Begin at forty one or thereabouts and make up a Century and observe it in your dayes and then leave it to your children to be observed by them if this now current Century I say be not more fatal to most or all that hold Scepters in their hands but especially to Europaean Scepters then ever any was since this World began The text is express Rev. 16.14 16.18 Chiefly in reference to Kings who being confederate in a crafty war having fair pretentions but exceeding bad intentions marched in the head of their Regiments against indeed Christ and his Kingdom but a Divine Anathema or curse falls upon them there is an Earthquake raised such as was not since men were upon the Earth so mighty an Earthquake and so great to answer the greatness of the adversaries engaged against him to shake to pieces those great and mighty ones of the Earth which an ordinary Earthquake could not have effected But how can this be for t is said Rev. 17.16 The ten Horns which thou sawest upon the Beast these shall hate the Whore and shall make her desolate and naked and shall eat her flesh and burn her with fire The Pope falls by them and not they by adhering to the Pope First I answer what I have sayd to this particular you see I have built upon plain Scriptures and I think according to the sense and mind of the Holy Ghost in them Secondly by Hornes here it is not needfull to understand Kings in the strictness and formality of the Notion and my reason is gathered from Rev 17.9.10 The seven Heads are also seven Kings five are fallen and one is Here Consuls Tribunes Decemvirs Dictators are called by the Holy Ghost Kings when as we know strictly they were not so onely they had Supream power in their hands Thirdly What Protestant whose eyes are open doth not see that most or all the Kings of Europe in their present posture are directly framed for the Popes interest Indeed his and their now interest make up one Linsey Woolsey piece they are so interwoven and mixt that Christ must be fain to open the whole fabrick of Kingly Government to the very foundations thereof before the cursed roots and seeds of the mystery of iniquity will be got out Will you tell me that he who lately swayed the Scepter here and he that now endeavours to succeed would ever have been perswaded so to hate as to make war against Pope and Papists for the setting up in the World Gospel-Ordinances in their purity and power and if it cannot be expected from the present Protestant Princes can it in reason be hoped for from the present Popish Princes therefore they are in no small danger most or all of them to be shaken quite to peices by the Earthquake Fourthly the strength of a beast to do his greatest hurt lies in his horns they are the highest and most eminent parts of him and so by ten hornes is meant only the supream power of the ten Nations by what names or Titles soever they are called Christ by the Earthquake will shake down those powers in whom are found a deal of carnal Popish dregs and set up those in their room that are men of other spirits pares negotio fit for such a business as Christ hath in hand Doubtless the ten horns are the ten Supream Powers of Europe who shal do the deed that is so much desired and prayed for of all the Saints And now if any man herein differ from me let him differ I judge him not God forbid that in ruining Antichrist I my self should be so Antichristian as to attempt to Lord it over the faith of any man Why should I be offended that thou canst not see that which I see nor believe as I belive if God intends thee good I doubt not but he 'l find a time to reveal even this unto thee that one civil Government is no more of Divine right then another and that thy Conscience ought not to engage or give it self up in perpetuum to any one of them but thou art free from Oaths Convenants when t is sufficiently clear God hath layd aside that civil power to whom thou didst so swear or Covenant Onely I think it but reason to entreat this of thee that fancy Conscience void of argument custome novelty of the things delivered private ends and aims self interest may not be layd in the ballance against me these are poor beggarly chaffi◠irrational things be carefull to start from me upon some solidity of reason I do profess in the sight of God that as I have balked nothing for fear of any mans displeasure for though I respect and honour many men yet so far as I know my own heart I fear no man so neither have I brought in or delivered any thing purposely to grieve or provoke any mans spirit I hope I have otherwise learned Christ You have it in the singleness of my heart so as God brought it to my hand The fifth Angel poured out his Vial upon the seat of the beast Rev. 16.10 11. Here Expositors do generally pitch upon the City of Rome to be this seat of the beast But sure t is not sense to speak of the destruction of Babylon till Euphrates be dryed up which is under the sixrh Vial and you must know that the Vials are placed in this Chapter according to the order of events or transactions and therefore the Popes material seat cannot be destroyed by this Vial. The Greek is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he poured his vial upon the Throne of the Beast By Throne in Scripture is often meant that Government with any person or state sitting upon that Throne do set up and administer as Ps 89.29 So then consider that form of Government the Pope sets up and exercises in all his Churches throughout the World A throne you know admits but of one finde a Government where one alone doth rule and what can this be but Episcopacy Episcopacie is a is a Government where one and no more hath the Throne or Seat all the rest keep their distance and are under Command There were holy and learned men as Beza Cartwright Bains Parker who cast some drops of wrath upon this Seat but t was not long ere all Scotland got the