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A29365
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Babylons downfall a sermon lately preached at Westminster before sundry of the honourable House of Commons / by William Bridge ...
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Bridge, William, 1600?-1670.
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1641
(1641)
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Wing B4448; ESTC R5651
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21,012
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41
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of the Covenant I will never trust them with them they shall not draw neere to me O therefore beloved that wee could denie our own knowledge wisedomes parts gifts liberties and all that 's ours in this great service But if a mans condition and state bee private what must hee doe to help forward the fall of Babylon Take heed that thou do nothing to hinder Gods publike designe by your private practices put away the evill of all your doings lest your private wickednesse do ponere obicem to Gods proceedings Achans wickednesse was committed in the dark and with much privacie yet what influence had it into publike misery Miriam and Aaron murmured against Moses and envied at him for which shee was stricken with leprosie whereby the whole congregation was stayed and their march hindered It is said 2 Chron. 20. 33. that the high places were not pulled downe because the people were not prepared for the Lord not because the Prince was not prepared or the great ones not prepared but because the people were not prepared It is in regard of truth as in regard of error in this particular though the Baker may have kneaded his dough that is his false opinion and made it ready yet as the Prophet Hosea speaks and as Zanchy interprets the place he sets not in till the Oven be heat that is the heart of the people warmed and prepared for it So for a truth also or a publike mercy and deliverance though God have provided it for a people yet it is not handed to them and set in till their hearts be warmed prepared for it You may observe therfore that when David had made his penitentiall Psalm for his own sinne Psal. 51. after much supplication for the pardon of his owne evill and for grace and comfort he comes at last in the 18. ver. to this petition Doe good in thy good pleasure unto Sion c. How comes that in here Yes when a man hath once repeated of his owne sinne and cleared that reckoning then he is fittest to ask mercy for the Church and till then unfit Therefore though in regard of your owne soules your owne eternitie you will not part with your owne sinnes yet if you have any pitty any compassion any bowells towards y 〈…〉 wne Country or Churches of God put away the evill of all your doings 2. Though your condition be never so private you may discover the wayes of Babylon the works and complotments of the Babylonish party and the discovery of evill is halfe it's ruine as the Apostle speaks 2 Tim. 3. 9. They shall proceed no further for their folly shall be made manifest to all 3. You may beleeve downe the walls of Babylon Faith removes mountaines though it bee but a graine By it the walls of Jericho fell in the blowing of those poore Rammes hornes And the walls of Iericho were built up to heaven surely then the Walls of Babylon cannot bee higher Wherefore seeke out those promises and threatnings set your heart towards them beare your selves upon them urge and presse God by vertue of them and say though it be very unlikely that Babylon should fall yet God hath thus and thus promised thus and thus threatned and he is faithfull here I will stay and here I 'le wait 4. You may spread the blasphemies of the Babylonish faction in the eyes of heaven Thus did Hezekiah when Rabshakeh blasphemed and wee know how it prevailed Great and grievous have the blasphemies beene wherewith the men of Babylon have blasphemed the Saints of God and the footsteps of his Annoynted which God takes as done against himselfe and so repayes them Ezek. 35. 12. compared with the 13 verse In the 12 ver 〈…〉 said I have heard all thy blasphemies which thou hast spoken against the mountaines of Israel saying they are layd desolata they are given us to consume But in the 13 verse these words are charged upon them as if they were spoken against God himselfe Thus with your mouth you have boasted against mee and have multiplyed your words against me Therefore at the 14 verse followes the punishment The spreading of their hellish blasphemies is exceeding prevalent with God and very potent 5. You may use all the Interest you have in heaven and whatsoever credit you have there improve it which wee beseech you doe now in this particular Your prayers puts them under Gods curse 6. Though your condition and station be never so private you may according to your place curse the practices and complotments of all the enemies Doth not Iacob seeme to pronounce a curse upon the practices of Simeon and Levi though his owne children Gen. 49. 7. Cursed be their wrath for it was cruell c. for in their anger they flew a man and in their selfe will they digg'd downe a wall What is the endeavour of the Babylonians but to digge downe the walls of Ierusalem and of our protection O my soule come not thou into their secret God hath commanded that Merosh should bee cursed and cursed bitterly because they went not forth to help the Lord against the mighty How bitterly then are they to be cursed that goe forth to help the mighty against the Lord It was a Statute a Law in Israel that if any removed the ancient land-marks he should be cursed Cursed sayes the text shall hee be that removes the ancient Land-marks and let all the people say Amen What is the ancient Land-mark of England but our Laws and Religion and therefore if any man shall remove this our Land-mark cursed shall he be of the Lord cursed and let all the people say Amen 7. What ever personall injury hath beene done unto you by any of the enemies of the Churches you may you must passe them by so farre as it is a private concernment and you shall not lose hereby your forgivenesse hastens their ruine For this cause as you may read Numb. 12. 2 3 4. God himselfe tooke vengeance on Miriam because Moses was a meeke man see how the mention of his meeknesse is brought in by way of parenthesis at the third verse as the cause of Gods proceedings against her ver. 4. Wherefore my beloved have any beene wronged and injured by your and Gods enemies carrie it meekly carrie it humbly no revenge no revenge but all forgivenesse And have they begun to fall before you let there be much rejoycing but no insulting prayses but no insulting prayer still but no insulting Let your moderation bee knowne to all for God is at hand These are your duties Which things if they bee in you and abound in due time Babylon shall fall and you shall see it for the second doctrine tells us it Though Antichristian and Romish Babylon be never so great yet it shall fall and fall assuredly This is but equall those that have fallen from God shall fall by God those that have made others to fall shall fall themselves Now the man
of sinne is the starre that is fallen from heaven who in the 2 Thess. 2. 3. as some observe is called in the abstract Apostacie not an Apostate a falling away not one that is fallen away so notorious is hee for sinfull falling and as God rewards grace with his owne grace so hee rewards sinne with it's owne likenesse 2. How else shall Sion rise if Babylon doe not fall It is said when the Lord exalteth the low tree he bringeth downe the high tree then shall all the trees of the Forrest rejoyce God is making way to such a Jubilee therefore Babylon must fall and that assuredly 3. Those that are too bigge for themselves and cannot mannage their owne greatnesse must needs fall Pride goes before a fall It is the naturall genius of Babylon to bee proud and great great and proud Babell was at first built to affront providence that the world might be no more drowned Afterwards sayes that King in Daniel Is not this great Babylon that I have built for mine honour And Revel. 18. saith our late Babylon Isu a Queene c. They have beene great and in their owne eyes great surely therefore their owne waight shall sink them 4. Must not those needs fall that are set in dark and slippery places whom the Angell of the Lord drives Now if ever the places of Gods enemies are very slippery themselves in the dark and the Angell of God driving them Therefore they shall fall and fall assuredly And if so Then learne wee how to take notice of and behold these great works of God concerning the fall of Babylon as they fall out in our generation It is in regard of the evill that comes to evill men as in regard of the good that comes to the good Now when the Saints doe receive any mercy their hearts stick not in it nor their eyes on it but they see it lying under it's relation in relation to the word and promise saying It is indeed a great mercy that I have a house and place to dwell in but God hath not onely given me sweet habitation but he hath given it mee in the way of a promise to performe the mercy promised Hee hath given mee wife children and friends to performe the mercy promised Nay he hath given mee Christ himselfe to performe the mercy promised Luk. 1. Thus they see all things lying under a promise in that relation So also when ye see any judgement befall the enemies of Gods Church you are not to looke upon them as meere works of God but to looke upon them in their relations in relation to the threatning as lying under the threatning and the fruits of it and the reason hereof is this especially because otherwise you doe not see the whole work of God when you doe see it before you As it is said of Israel Deut. 29. 4. Yet the Lord hath not given you eyes to see c. As now suppose that a foole a mad man or a beast should come into the congregation though they should see the water of Baptisme yet they would not see the Sacrament or halfe the Sacrament because they could not see it under it's relation Wherefore my beloved when ever you shall behold the hand of God upon the world in the fall of Babylon and his great works that way be sure that ye behold them under the relation in relation to the Lords threatning and say True here is a Babylonish Priest crying out Alas Alas my living I have wife and children to maintaine and all is gone my preferment is gone my hope is gone my place and office gone But all this is to performe the judgement threatned God threatned before that he would put it into the hearts of the Princes of the earth to eat her flesh and drink her blood Revel. 17. 16. Now it is in a great measure fulfilled for her great revenues and rich livings are in part her flesh and blood God said before Revel. 18. That her Merchants should stand a far off weeping wailing and saying Alas alas that great Citie Thus is the word of the Lord fulfilled and God is faithfull As the fall of Babylon is very certaine so it is the duty of the Saints to speake of it as if it were done already Wee are bound to honour the faithfulnesse of God more than the faithfulnesse of any other because other things are faithfull to us as Salvian observes because he is faithfull We expect cooling and cleansing from the water and that is faithfull Why For God is faithfull he bids it be faithfull to us Wee expect warmth and light from the fire and that is faithfull Why for God is faithfull hee bids it bee faithfull to us In all these faithfull creatures there is but a drop of Gods faithfulnesse and when they promise we beleeve them and shall wee not beleeve him when hee promises and when hee threatens When a faithfull friend promises wee say it shall be but wee are to honour Gods faithfulnesse more and therefore to speak of the thing promised or threatned as if it were done already When wee doe but begin a good worke God speaks of it as done already Heb. 11. 17. It is said by faith Abraham offered up Isaac yet hee did not actually offer him up but intended it and set him selfe to doe it at Gods command Exod. 4. 20. it is said that Moses tooke his wife and sonne and returned to the land of Egipt Yet hee was but in the beginning of his returne When we have begun any good work for God he speaks of it as done altogether therefore he having begun that great and good work for the Churches the fall of Babylon it is our duty also to speak of it as if it were done already Let us therefore correct our manner of speaking If any storme or trouble arise upon the Churches wee are ready to break forth into dispondent conclusions saying God is now gone mercy gone the ordinances gone wee were in good hope to have seene good dayes the ruine of the Churches enemies but they doe so prevaile as that wee have no hope at all in this particular But though the extremity of the Church bee never so great and the enemies never so flourishing wee ought to say They are fallen they are fallen But how can wee speake thus when an utter improbability and unlikelihood dwells upon the businesse Yes For when God destroyes his enemies hee either takes them away by a weake hand as Jer. 50. 45. The least of the flocke shall draw them out Or they shall perish by their owne hands as Psalm 9. 16. The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands Or they shall be destroyed without hands As Job 34. 20. The mighty shall bee taken away without hands And is this true may the soule say that the enemies of the Church shall perish by a weake hand or by their owne hand or without hands then will