A Key Opening Mysterious Texts of Scripture, Collection of sermons 1 · Sermon 23

A Key Opening Mysterious Texts of Scripture · Collection of sermons 1 · Sermon 23

p. 292THE EMBLEME OF THE CHURCH MILITANT. A Sermon preached in Mercers Chappell. THE XXIII. SERMON.

APOC. 12.6.

And the woman fled into the wilderneſſe, where ſhee hath a place prepared of God, that they ſhould feed her there a thouſand, two hundred, and threeſcore dayes.

Right Honourable, right Worſhipfull, &c.

THeaaCauſsin. parab. hiſt. Ceraunias in locis fulmine tactis invenitur. Naturaliſts write of a precious ſtone called Ceraunias, that it is found only in a day of thunder, gliſtering when the skie is overcaſt with darknes. With theſe gems the Spouſe of Chriſt is adorned, whoſe faith, conſtancy and patience ſhine moſt brightly in time of adverſity and perſecution, when all the earth is full of darkneſſe and cruell habitations. AsbbPlin. nat. hiſt. l. 2. In Troglodytis fons ſolis circa me…idiem maximè frigidus, mox paulatim tepeſcens; ad noctis medium ferventiſsimus eſt. c. 103. the fountaine of the ſunne in the country of the Troglodytes is cold or lukewarme at mid-day, but moſt extreme hot at mid-night; ſuch is the nature of zeale: in the day of proſperity, and high noone of temporall glory it is cold, or at the beſt lukewarme: but in the night of adverſity, and dead time of perſecution it is moſt fervent and flagrant. Then the ſincere profeſſors open their hearts moſt freely in prayer to God, and their bowels of Chriſtian charity and compaſſion to their afflicted brethren: the feare of their enemies huſheth their private differences: their loſſe of goods and lands is an inducement to p. 293them to contemne the world, and (as having little or no comfort in this life) to ſet their hearts wholly upon Heaven. On the contrary, peace uſually breeds carnall ſecurity, abundance luxury, wealth pride, honour ambition, power oppreſſion, pleaſure ſenſuality, and earthly contentments worldlineſſe the bane of Religion. In which conſideration eſpecially we may conceive it is, that our bleſſed Lord the Husband of the Church, who loveth her more than all the world beſides (which hee preſerveth onelyonly for her ſake) yet ſeldome crowneth her in this world with worldly happineſſe and eminent greatneſſe; but exerciſeth her now under the croſſe, as hee did under the bondage of Egypt; and captivity of Babylon before his comming into the fleſh; and after his death, firſt under the fury of the Heathen, next the cruelty of the Arrian Emperours, and ſince that, under the inſolency of the Turke in the Eaſt, and tyranny of Antichriſt in the Weſt. As hee is termed by the Prophet Eſay, Vir dolorum, a man of ſorrowes; ſo we finde her Uxorem lachrymarum, a wife of teares; as he was crowned with thorns, ſo ſhe lyeth in the briars: as he was laid in wait for at his birth, ſo ſhe at her new birth: as he fled from Herod into Egypt, ſo ſhe from the Dragon into the wilderneſſe: as he was tempted once, ſo ſhe is alwayes: as he bare his croſſe to Golgotha, ſo ſhe hath borne hers in all parts and ages of the world. Indeed ſometimes ſhe hath had lucida intervalla, times of lightſomeneſſe and joy, when Kings have been her nurſing fathers, and Queenes her nurſing mothers: but for the moſt part ſhe ſitteth in darkneſſe, as a cloſe mourner, yet ſolacing her ſelfe withccMicah 7.8. Rejoyce not againſt mee, O my enemy: When I fall I ſhall riſe, when I ſit in darkneſſe the Lord ſhall be light unto mee.Mic 7:8 hope of better times. Hence it is, that all the pictures that are drawne of her in Scripture, are either taken from addApoc. 12.13.Rev 12:13 child-bearing woman frighted by a Dragon gaping to devoure her babe, or aeeLament. 1.1.Lam 1:1 widow making lamentation for her husband, or a motherffMatth. 2.18.Matt 2:18 weeping for her children, or aggPſal. 39.12.Ps 39:12 pilgrime paſſing from country to country, or an hermite lodged in the wilderneſſe, as here in my Text. The Saints of God are deſcribed in holy Scripture clad in three ſutes of apparrell different in colour:

1. Blacke.

2. Red.

3. White.

Blacke is their mourning weed.

Red their military ornament.

White their wedding garment.

They mourne in blacke for their ſinnes and grievous afflictions: They fight in red againſt their bloudy perſecutours: They triumph and ſit at the marriage feaſt of thehhApoc. 16.11. And white robes were given to every one of them.Rev 16:11 Lambe in white. Two of their ſutes they are well knowne by on earth, the third is reſerved in Gods Wardrob, and ſhall be given them in Heaven. The two former may be called their working day apparrell, but the laſt their Holy-day or Sunday. For they weare it not but upon their everlaſting Sabbath in Heaven. Their red and blacke veſts doe not ſo much cover their bodies, as diſcover their ſtate and condition in this world; where they alwayes either ſtand, and fight with their bodily and ghoſtly enemies, or ſit downe andiiJob 7.1.Job 7:1 weep for their irrecoverable loſſes p. 294and incurable wounds. Their life is aiiJob 7.1.Job 7:1 continuall warfare upon earth; three potent enemies continually bid them battell:

1 The World, Without.

2 The Fleſh, Within.

3 The Divell, Both within and without.

The Divell never ceaſeth to ſuggeſt wicked thoughts, the World to preſent dangerous baites, the Fleſh to ingender noyſome luſts. The Divell mainly aſſaulteth their faith, the World their hope, the Fleſh their love: and they fight with three ſpeciall weapons;

1 Temptations.

2 Hereſies.

3 Perſecutions.

Temptations I call all vitious provocations: hereſies, all falſe doctrines in matter of faith and ſalvation: perſecutions all outward afflictions. Temptations properly lay at the will, hereſies at the underſtanding, perſecutions at the whole perſon: which though the Church of Chriſt for the moſt part in her noble members couragiouſly endureth, and therefore is fitly compared to the Pyrauſts, which are nouriſhed in the fire; and to the Phoenix, becauſe ſhe riſeth againe out of the aſhes of the burnt bodies of Martyrs: yet ſometimes, eſpecially in her weake and more feeble members, to eſcape this fire ſhe flies into ſome wilderneſſe, or remote or obſcure place, where God alwayes provideth for her.

Diviſion.And the woman, there is the frailtie of her nature; fled, there is the uncertainty of her ſtate; into the wilderneſſe, there is the place of her retiredneſſe; where ſhe is nouriſhed by God, there is the ſtaffe of her comfort; a thouſand two hundred and threeſcore dayes, there is the terme of her obſcuritie, and the period of all her troubles.

And the woman, &c. Though all the prophecies of this booke are darkned with much obſcurity, yet by illuſtrating the viſion ſet downe through this whole chapter, and hanging it, as it were a great light, in the moſt eminent part of it, we ſhall eaſily diſcover what divine truth lyeth hid in every corner thereof. The holy Apoſtle, and the Evangeliſt S. John, in a divine rapture ſaw a moſt faire and glorious woman in travell, and an ugly red Dragon with ſeven heads and ten hornes, ſtanding before her with open mouth, ready to devoure her child; of which ſhe was no ſooner delivered, but her ſon was taken up to the Throne of God, and ſhe carried with the wings of an Eagle into the Wilderneſſe: the Dragon thus deceived of his prey, after which his mouth watered, caſt out of his mouth water as a floud after her to drowne her. Such was the viſion; marke now, I beſeech you, the interpretation thereof. By the woman all that have dived deepe into the profound myſteries of this booke underſtand the Church, whoſe beautie and glory iskkVer. 1. There appeared a great wonder in heaven, a woman cloathed with the Sunne, and the Moone under her feet: and upon her head a crowne of twelve ſtarres. illuſtrated by the Sunne cloathing her, and the Moone ſupporting her, and the Starres crowning her. The Sunne either ſignifieth the knowledge of Gods Word, which enlighteneth the Church throughout; p. 295or Chriſt the Sunne of righteouſneſſe, who cloathes her with the robes of his righteouſneſſe,Mal. 4 2.Mal 4:2 and exalteth her to his throne of glory above the Moone, on which ſhe ſtandeth; and thereby ſheweth her contempt of this uncertaine and mutable world, ruled by the Moone, and ſubject to as many changes as that planet. Thus it ſeemeth cleere what is meant by the Sunne and Moone; but what ſhall we make of the crowne of twelve ſtarres ſet upon her head? It ſeemeth to repreſent either the number of the twelve Patriarkes the Crowne of the Jewiſh, or the twelve Apoſtles the Crown of the Chriſtian Church. The man child which this woman had no ſooner brought forth, but he was caught up unto God in his Throne, Ver. 5.and was to rule all Nations with a rod of Iron, is undoubtedly our Lord and Saviour Jeſus Chriſt; as by comparing the fift verſe of this chapter with Pſal. 2. v. 9. and Apoc. 2.27. and 19.15. appeareth moſt evidently. As for the Dragon, he is ſo ſet out in his colours, v. 9. that any may know him: there he is called the old Serpent, the Divell and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world. The waters which he caſteth out of his mouth, are multitudes of people which he ſtirreth up to perſecute the Church. He is deſcribed with ſeven heads and ten hornes, like to the woman, whereby the Roman Empire or Church is meant, called Babylon, the Mother of fornications, and abominations on the earth, ver. 5. becauſe the Dragon employed the ſeven heads, and ten hornes, Apoc. 17, 3.5.Rev 17:3Rev 17:5that is, the policie and ſtrength of the Roman State eſpecially, to ſuppreſſe the true Religion, and overthrow the Church. Other Kingdomes and States have beene ſtained with the bloud of Chriſtians, but Rome is that Whore of Babylon, which hath died her garments ſcarlet red with the bloud of Saints and Martyrs of Jeſus Chriſt: others have licked or taſted thereof, but ſhe, in regard of her barbarous crueltie in this kind, is ſaid to bellApoc. 17.6.Rev 17:6 drunke with their bloud.

The viſion thus cleared, the meaning of my text, and the ſpeciall points of obſervation in each word therein may eaſily be diſcerned. The firſt foreign, the woman figureth unto us the Church her

1 Originall.

2 Fruitfulneſſe.

3 Tenderneſſe.

4 Weakeneſſe.

5 Frailtie.

1 Firſt her Originall. As the firſt Adam being caſt into a ſlumber, the woman was formed of a rib taken out of his ſide; ſo when the ſecond Adam fell into a dead ſleepe on the Croſſe, his ſide was opened, and thence iſſued this woman here in my text, Chriſts deareſt Spouſe.

2 Her fruitfulneſſe. The honour of women is their childbearing. For therefore was Heva called the mother of the living, becauſe all ſave Adam came from her: ſuch is the Church, a moſt indulgent and fruitfull mother; Heva mater viventium, the mother of all that live by faith. And as St.mmCypr de unit. Eccleſ. Deum non habet patrem, qui eccleſiam non habet matrem. Cyprian concluded againſt all the Schiſmatikes in his time, we may reſolve againſt all the Separatiſts in our daies; they cannot have God to their Father, who acknowledge not the Church for their Mother.

p. 2963 Her tenderneſſe. Mulier, ſaith Varro, quaſi mollior, women take their name in latine from tenderneſſe or ſoftneſſe, becauſe they are uſually of a ſofter temper than men, and much more ſubject to paſſions, eſpecially of feare, griefe, love, and longing: their feare is almoſt perpetuall, their griefe immoderate, their love ardent, and their longing moſt vehement: ſuch is the temper of the militant Church, in feare alwayes, weeping continually for her children, never out of trouble in one place or other, ſicke for love of her husband Chriſt Jeſus, and ever longing for his ſecond comming.

4 Her weakeneſſe or impotencie. Women are the weakernn1 Pet. 3.7. Giving honour to the wife as to the weaker veſſell.1 Pet 3:7 veſſels, they have no ſtrength in compariſon of men; they are able to make ſmall or no reſiſtance: and in this alſo the militant Church reſembleth a woman; for howſoever ſhe be alwayes ſtrong in the Lord, and in the power of his might, and albeit for a ſhort time, when ſhe had Kings and Princes for her Champions, as in the daies of David, Solomon, Hezekiah, Joſiah, and other Kings of Judah: and in the reigne of Conſtantine, Theodoſius, Martianus, Juſtinian, and other Emperours of Rome, by the temporall ſword ſhe put her enemies to the worſt, and had a great hand over them: yet in other ages, as well before Chriſts incarnation as after, ſhe hath bin deſtitute of the arm of fleſh, and hath had no other than womens weapons to defend her ſelf, viz. prayers and teares. Theſe alone St. Ambroſe tooke up for his defence againſt the Arrian Emperour;ooAmb. ep. 33. R gamus Auguſte, non pugnamus. We bow downe before thee, we riſe not up againſt thee, our dread Lord. For my owne part I can ſorrow, I can ſigh, I can weepe; by other meanes I neither may nor can reſiſt.

5 Her frailtie. Women are not only weaker in body than men, and leſſe able to reſiſt violence; but alſo weaker in mind, and leſſe able to hold out in temptations: and therefore the Divell firſt ſet upon the woman, as conceiving it a matter of more facilitie to ſupplant her than the man. I would the militant Church were not in this alſo too like the weaker ſexe. Faire ſhe is I grant, butppCant. 6.10.Song 6:10 faire as the Moone, in which there are darke and blacke ſpots:Origen in Cant. hom… an illa verba Nig…a ſ…. Nigra eſt ſponſa, pulchra tamen inter mulicres ita ut habeat aliquid Aethiopici candoris. Or, as St. Origen noteth, pulchra inter mulieres, not perfectly faire, but faire among women: her brighteſt colours are ſomewhat ſtained, her graces clouded, her beauty Sun-burnt. Let the Pelagians and Papiſts ſtand never ſo much upon the perfection of inherent righteouſneſſe, they ſhall never be able to waſh cleane theqqEſay 64 6. We are all as an uncleane thing, and all our righteouſneſſe is as filthy ragges.Isa 64:6 menſtruous cloutes, and filthy ragges the Prophet Eſay ſpeaketh of. St. Auſtin, who was more inward to the ſervants of God in his time, and better acquainted with their thoughts than any Heretikes could be, telleth us, that if all the Saints from the beginning of the world were together upon earth, and ſhould joyne in one prayer, it would be this or the like, Lord enter not into judgement with thy ſervant, for in thy ſight ſhall no man living be juſtified. Nothing is ſo eaſie as to ſlip whileſt wee walke upon arrApoc 15 2. And I ſaw as it w…re a…ea of glaſſe mingled with fire.Rev 15:2 ſea of glaſſe. For this reaſon it is that our Saviour teacheth us to pray,ſſMat. 6.13.Matt 6:13 lead us not into temptation; becauſe there is not any temptation ſo weake, that putteth not our frailtie to the worſe: and albeit it overcome not our faith, yet it maketh our ſinewes ſo ſhrinke (as Jacobs did after hee wreſtled with the Angell) that by it we are lamed in holy duties. All thoſe uſuall ſimilitudes whereby the Scripture ſetteth the Church militant before our eyes, ſhew her frailtie and imbecilitie. She is a vine, a lilly, a dove, a flocke of ſheepe in the midſt of ravening wolves. What tree ſo ſubject to p. 297take hurt as a vine, which is ſo weake, that it needeth continuall binding and ſupporting; ſo tender, that if it be prickt deepe, it bleedeth to death? No flower ſo ſoft and without all defence or ſhelter as a lilly; no fowle ſo harmleſſe as the dove that hath no gallat all; no cattell ſo oft in danger as ſheep and lambes in the midſt of wolves. Yet neither the weake vine, nor the ſoft lilly, nor the fearefull dove, nor the harmeleſſe ſheepe, ſo lively expreſſeth the infirmitie and danger of the wayfaring or rather warfaring Church, as the travelling woman in this viſion. What more pitifull object or lamentable ſpectacle can preſent it ſelfe to our eyes, than a woman great with child, ſcared with a fierie ſerpent ready to devoure her child, and driven to fly away with her heavie burden with which ſhe is ſcarce able to wag? This and worſe, if worſe may be, is the caſe of Chriſts Spouſe, the true Inheritrix of his Croſſe, which he bequeathed her at his death, having indeed little elſe to leave her: for his ſoule he was to ſurrender to God his Father, his body Joſeph of Arimathea begged of Pilat, his cloathes the ſouldiers parted among them; onelyonly his croſſe, and nailes, and crowne of thornes remained to diſpoſe of for his deareſt Spouſe; which ſhe continually beareth about with her, and in this viſion carried with her into the wilderneſſe, whither ſhe fled to ſave her life. And the woman

Fled. This picture might have beene taken of the Church as ſhe fled from Pharaoh into the wilderneſſe; or as ſhe fled into Egypt from Herod; or as ſhe fled into all parts of the earth in the time of the ten firſt perſecutions from heathen Emperors; or in the ſucceeding ages from the Arrian Emperours; and laſt of all from Antichriſt and his inſtruments: in all which her trialls and troubles ſhe gained more than ſhe loſt. For as Juſtine Martyr rightly obſerved,ttJuſt. apolog. Id eſt perſecutio Eccleſiae, quod vineae putatio. perſecution is that to the Church which pruning is to the vine, whereby it is made more fruitfull: with whom Tertullian accordeth, thus jearing at the Gentiles, who made full account by their barbarous cruelty to exhauſt the whole Church, and extinguiſh the name of Chriſtians:uuTert. apolog c. ult. Nequicquam tamen proficit exquiſita quae que crudelitas veſtra, illecebra eſt magis ſectae: plures eſficimur quoties metimur a vobis: ſemen eſt ſanguis Chriſtianorum. What gaine you by your exquiſite crueltie and ſtudied torments which you inflict upon us? they are no ſcarre-crowes to fright, but rather baites and lures to draw men to our profeſsion: we ever grow faſter and thicker after we are mowed by you: the ſhedding the bloud of Chriſtians is the ſowing the ſeed of the Goſpell. And St. Leo; xxI eoſerm. 1. in nat. Petri & Pauli. Non minuitur perſecutionibus Eccleſia Dei, ſed augetur magis: ager Dominicus ſegete ditiore veſtitur, dum grana quae ſingula cadunt multiplicata naſcuntur.The Church of God is not diminiſhed by perſecutions, but increaſed rather; the Lords field is cloathed with a richer crop whileſt the ſeed or graines which fall one by one, after they are dead in the earth riſe up againe in great numbers. Moreover, whileſt in the chief Cities thoſe who are called by God to depoſe for his truth win many thouſands to the Chriſtian faith, other ſervants of Chriſt, to whom he hath vouchſafed meanes to eſcape, by diſperſing themſelves into all parts of the world, propagate the doctrine of the Goſpell, and plant new Churches. Upon this flight of the woman in my text, many of the learned Interpreters take occaſion to handle that great caſe of conſcience, whether it be lawfull to fly in time of perſecution, or whether all zealous Chriſtians are not bound to ſtand to their tackling, and ſtrive for the truth, even to the effuſion of their bloud.yyAug. l. 22. de civ. Dei c. 7. Pullulatura foecunditis cum in ſanguine Marty…um ſeretur. yyTert. infug. in erſc…ut.Tertullian in his booke profeſſedly written of this ſubject is altogether againſt flight, grounding his judgement upon the words of our Saviour, John 10.11. &c. I am the good ſhepheard: the good ſhepheard giveth his life for the ſheepe. p. 298But he that is an hireling, and not the ſhepheard, whoſe owne the ſheep are not, ſeeth the Wolfe comming, and leaveth the ſheep, and fleeth: the hireling flyeth, becauſe he is an hireling, &c. And Marke 8.35, 38. Whoſoever will ſave his life ſhall loſe it, and whoſoever ſhall loſe his life for my ſake and the Goſpels, the ſame ſhall ſave it. Whoſoever therefore ſhall be aſhamed of mee, and of my words, in this adulterous and ſinfull generation, of him alſo ſhall the ſonne of man be aſhamed, when he commeth in the glory of his Father with the holy Angels. But Saint Auſtin and others allow of flight in ſome caſe, and they bring very good warrant for it, Chriſts expreſſe command, Matth. 10.23. When they perſecute you in this city, flee into another. And Matth. 24.15, 16. When you ſee the abomination of deſolation ſtand in the holy place, then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountaines. And to the end we ſhould count it no ſhame to flye in this caſe, they bring noble preſidents for it, and ſhew us the footſteps in Scripture of Jacob when he fled from Eſau: and Moſes, when hee fled from Pharaoh: and Eliah, when hee fled from Ahab and Jezabel: and David, when hee fled from Saul: and Joſeph and Mary when they fled from Herod. They adde alſo, that by this flight of many in time of perſecution the Church reapeth a double benefit: firſt, hereby many worthy Doctors and eminent Profeſſours reſerve themſelves for better times: next, they in their flight ſcatter the ſeeds of the Goſpel, whereby the great Husbandman gathereth a plentifull crop. If the Apoſtles had not been ſcattered by the perſecution of Herod, and the primitive Chriſtians by the perſecutions of the Heathen Emperours, and the true Profeſſours in later times by the perſecution of Antichriſt, many countries in all likelihood had not been ſowen with the pure ſeed of the Word. The reſolution of this queſtion may be taken from my Text: in ſuch a caſe as the womans was here we may flie; that is, when there is no ſafety in ſtaying, and God offereth us Eagles wings, that is, a faire and certaine meanes to eſcape danger. Yea, but Chriſtian courage will riſe up againſt this, and object, Is not Martyrdome a garland of red Roſes? is not the bloud of Saints the beſt watering of Gods field? can wee ſhew more love to Chriſt than to ſigne the Goſpell with our bloud? will you perſwade Chriſtian ſouldiers to flye from their colours, nay from their crowne? God forbid. I anſwer, all are not appointed by God to bee Martyrs, nor qualified for ſo noble and eminent ſervice. To a Martyr two things are required:

1. A ſpeciall calling.

2. An extraordinary ſpirit.

Even in our Courts of juſtice a witnes that offereth himſelf is not accepted, he muſt be brought in by order of law: neither will Chriſt have any depoſe for him that are not called to it, & whom he calleth, he endueth them with an heroicke ſpirit, and armeth them with faith and patience like armour of proofe, into which the fiery darts of the wicked cannot enter. Every ſincere beleever hath not a ſpirit of fortitude given him to conquer the violence of fire, and dull the edge of the ſharpeſt ſwords, and weary all tortures and torments. Moreover, God like a provident Husbandman, though p. 299he ſend much corne to the Mill to be ground, as Ignatius and others, that they might be ſerved in as fine manchet at his owne table: yet he reſerveth alwayes ſome corne for ſeed, I meane ſome paſtours and eminent profeſſours to ſow his field in future times, and propagate Religion to poſterity. Theſe may and ought to flie in time of perſecution: provided firſt that they flie not when their conſcience perſwadeth them that their flight will be a great ſcandall to Religion, and a diſcouragement to the weaker; and they feele in themſelves a great and earneſt deſire to glorifie God by ſtriving for his truth unto bloud. For being thus called by God, and enabled and encouraged, they muſt preferre Gods glory before their life, and a crowne of martyrdome before any earthly condition.

2. That they leave not the Church deſtitute. For Chriſt giveth it for one of the characters of an hireling, toyyJohn 10.13.John 10:13 flie when hee ſeeth the Wolfe comming, and looke to his owne ſafety, taking little care what becommeth of his flocke.

3. They muſt not uſe any indirect meanes to flye, they may not betray Gods truth or their brethren to ſave their owne life: he that ſaveth his life upon ſuch termes ſhall loſe it, and he that loſeth his life in Gods cauſe ſhall finde it. You will ſay peradventure, how may this be? I anſwer, as that which is loſt in Alpheus, after a certaine time is undoubtedly found againe in Arethuſa: ſo that which is loſt on earth ſhall be found in Heaven. Hee that loſeth his life for Chriſts ſake in this vale of teares, ſhall finde it at the laſt day in thezzPſal. 16.11.Ps 16:11 river of pleaſures, ſpringing at the right hand of God for evermore. When the Starres ſet here, they riſe in the other hemiſphere; ſo when Confeſſours and Martyrs ſet here, they riſe in heaven, and ſhall never ſet againe. Therefore as Chriſt ſpake of Virginity, wee may ſay of Martyrdome: what he ſpake of the garland of white roſes, we may of the garland of red; Qui poteſt capere, capiat; Hee that is able to receive it, let him receive it; he that is not able, let him trace the footſteps of the woman here that fled

Into the wilderneſſe. Not by change of place, ſaithaaIn Apoc. c. 12. Fugit non mutatione loci, ſed amiſsione ſtatus & ornatus.Rev 12 Pareus, but change of ſtate and condition. I ſee no reaſon of ſuch a reſtraint; the Church may, and ſometimes doth flye two manner of wayes:

1. Openly, when being perſecuted in one country, ſhee poſteth into another.

2. Secretly, when ſhee abideth where ſhee was, but keepeth her ſelfe cloſe, and ſhunneth the eye of the world, and worſhippeth God in ſecret, mourning for the abominations and publike prophanations of true Religion. Thus then wee may expound the words, the woman fled into the wilderneſſe, that is, ſhe withdrew her ſelfe from publike view, kept her exerciſes of Religion in private, held her meetings in cryptis (hidden places) as vaults under ground,bbHeb. 11 38. They wandred in deſerts & mountaines, and dens and caves of the earth.Heb 11:38 dens and caves in the earth: or if perſecution raged above meaſure, and without end, removed from country to country, and from city to wilderneſſe for ſafety. By wilderneſſe, ſome learned Expoſitors underſtand remote countries, inhabited by Paynims and Gentiles, where yet the fire of perſecution is not kindled. For, ſay they, though ſuch places be never ſo well peopled, yet they may be termed deſerts; becauſe never manured by Gods husbandry, never ſown with the ſeed of the Word, p. 300never ſet with plants of Paradiſe, never watered with the dew of heavenly grace. And if the Church had not removed into ſuch wilderneſſes, ſhe had never viſited us in England, ſevered after a ſort from the whole world. Toto diviſos Orbe Britannos.

But ſuch hath beene Gods goodneſſe to theſe Ilands, that the woman in my text was carried with herccVer. 14. And to the woman was given two wings of a great Eagle. Eagles wings into theſe parts, before the Roman Eagles were brought in here: our Countrey ſubmitted it ſelfe to the Croſſe of Chriſt before it ſtooped to the Roman ſcepter. Howbeit, I take not this to be the meaning of this Scripture. For the propagation of the Church, and the extending her bounds to the remoteſt regions of the world, maketh her catholike, and by it ſhe becommeth glorious: whereas the Spirit ſpeaketh here of her as in ſome eclipſe. The wilderneſſe therefore here meant, muſt needes be ſome obſcure place or region, to which ſhe fled to hide her ſelfe. If you demand particularly when this prophecy was fulfilled; I anſwer, partly in thoſe Hebrewes of whom St. Paul writeth, that they lay in wilderneſſes, and dennes, and caves of the earth: partly in thoſe Diſciples that were in Jeruſalem in the time of the ſiege, and a little before, who mindfull of our Saviours commandement fled into the mountaines, and were miraculouſly preſerved in Pella, as Euſebius writeth: partly in thoſe Chriſtians, who in the dayes of Maximinus and Diocleſian fled ſo farre that they never returned backe againe into any City, but were the fathers of them that live in woods and deſarts, as Hermites; or incloſed within foure walls, as Recluſes and Anchorites: partly in thoſe Orthodoxe beleevers, who in the reigne of the Arrian Emperours tooke deſarts and caves under ground for ſanctuary; of whom St. Hilarie writeth ſaying,ddL. adver. Auxent. Eccleſia potius delituit in cavernis, quam in primariis Urbibus eminebat. The Church rather lurked in holes and vaults under ground in thoſe dayes, than ſhewed her ſelfe openly in the chiefe Cities: partly in thoſe profeſſours of the Goſpell, who ever ſince the man of ſinne was revealed, have beene by him put to great ſtreights, and driven to lie hid for many yeeres in ſolitary and obſcure places: in all which perſecutions of the Church, God prepared for her not only a place to lodge in, but a table alſo that they ſhould

Feed her there a thouſand two hundred and threeſcore dayes. Some referring this propheſie to the Jewes abode in Pella, find the time to be preciſely three yeeres and an halfe: others by dayes underſtanding yeeres, reckon from the declining age of Conſtantine, till the great reformation in our age, neere upon a thouſand two hundred and threeſcore yeeres: in all which time the true Church hath played leaſt in ſight, and beene in a maner buried in oblivion. But neither is this calculation exact, neither (as I conceive) doth St. John ſpeake of one flight onelyonly, nor of any particular place, nor definite number of yeeres; but after the manner of Prophets putteth a definite number for an indefinite, and foreſheweth that the true Church muſt for a long time lie hid, and withdraw her ſelfe out of the worlds eye, as it is afterwards expreſt, a time, times, and halfe a time: a time under the heathen Emperours, times under ſeverall Heretikes, and laſt of all, halfe a time in that laſt and greateſt tribulation immediately before the utter overthrow p. 301of Antichriſt. For thateeMat. 24.22.Matt 24:22 perſecution ſhall be ſhortened, as our Saviour intimateth, for the Elects ſake, leſt all fleſh ſhould periſh.

You have here (as before I ſhewed you) the Church of Chriſt drawne as it were with a coale, and expreſſed with three darke and ſad markes:

1 Frailty: A woman.

2 Perplexity: Fled.

3 Obſcurity: To the wilderneſſe.

Her nature is frailtie: The woman.

Her ſtate is uncertainty: Fled.

Her glory obſcurity: remained in the wilderneſſe a thouſand two hundred and threeſcore dayes.

From the frailty of her nature let us learne a lecture of ſober watchfulneſſe; from the unſettledneſſe of her eſtate, a lecture of prudent moderation; from her obſcurity or latencie, a lecture of modeſt humilitie.

1 If the mother be fraile, the daughter is like to be weake. They who are ſubject to ſlip and fall muſt carefully avoyd high and narrow ridges, as alſo ſlippery places, and precipices or downefalls. We ſcarce ſtandffSeneca de ira. Recedamus quantum poſſumus à lubrico, vix in ſicco firmiter ſtamus. ſure upon drie, firme, and plaine ground; therefore let us beware with all diligence how we come nigh high ridges with the ambitious, or ſlipperie places with the voluptuous, or downefalls with the preſumptuous ſinner: let us pray to God

1 To make his way plaine before us.

2 To order our ſteps in the plaine path.

3 To ſupport us continually with his right hand.

2 If the Spouſe of Chriſt be a pilgrime, and flieth from place to place, from Citie to Citie, from Kingdome to Kingdome; let us learne by her example, and from the Apoſtle's mouth, thatggHeb. 13.14.Heb 13:14 we have here no continuing Citie, but ſeeke one to come. St. James by an elegant metaphor calleth the affaires of this worldhhJam 3.6. foreign.Jas 3:6 foreign, the courſe of nature, a nowne derived from a verbe ſignifying to runne; becauſe the world runneth upon wheeles. As in triumphes and pompous ſhewes we ſee towers, and rockes, and caſtles, but enpaſſant, carried in proceſſion, not ſtaying any where: ſuch is the glory of this world. The portable Arke in the Old Teſtament, and the flying woman in the New, are images of the militant Church in this world; the one was drawne by beaſts from place to place, the other was carried with the wings of an Eagle from Country to Country: neither of them was fixed. When two Noble men ſtrived about a fiſh pond, and could by no meanes be brought to an agreement, Gregorius Thaumaturgus by miracle ſuddenly dried it up: ſo God in wiſedome taketh away from us the things of this life, if we too much ſtrive for them. Wherefore let us not build upon the ſailes of a wind-mill, let us not caſt the anchor of our hope on the earth, for there is nothing to hold by: riches get themſelves wings, poſſeſſions change p. 302their Lords, great houſes, according to Diogenes his apophthegme, vomit and caſt up their owners. The favours of men are like vanes on the top of houſes and ſteeples, which turne with the wind. The Church in many reſpects is compared to the moone, ſhe receiveth her light from the Sun of righteouſneſſe, ſhe hath her waxing and waining, is never without ſpots, is often eclipſed by the interpoſition of the ſhadow of the earth, I meane the ſhadowes of earthly vanities. Thoſe who profeſſe the art of turning baſer metals into gold, firſt begin with abſtractio terreſtrietatis à materia, the abſtraction or drawing away of earthlineſſe from the matter of their metall: in like manner, if we deſire to be turned as it were into fine gold, and ſerve as veſſels of honour in God houſe, our earthly dregs and droſſe muſt be drawne out of us by the fire of the Spirit; that is, our earthly cares, our earthly deſires, our earthly hopes, our earthly affections. Hercules could never conquer Anteus, donec à terra matre eum levaſſet, till hee had lifted him up above the earth his mother: no more can the Spirit of grace ſubdue and conquer us to the obedience of the Goſpel, till hee hath lifted up our hearts from the earth with theſe levers, eſpecially the conſideration of

1 The vanity of earthly delights.

2 The verity of heavenly comforts.

3 The excellency of our ſoule.

4 The high price of our redemption.

Can we imagine that ſo incomparable a jewell as is the ſoule of man was made to be ſet as it were in a ring on a ſwines ſnout, to dig and root in the earth? Did God breathe into us ſpirit and life, nay, did Chriſt breathe out his immortall ſpirit for this end, to purchaſe us the happineſſe of a mucke-worme, that breedeth and feedeth, liveth and dyeth in the dung? or at the beſt the happineſſe of an IndianiiChryſoſt. hom. 7. in ep. ad Philipp. foreign. Emmet, that gliſtereth with gold duſt about her? St. Auſtin hath long agoe chriſtened the contentments of this world in the font of teares, by the names of ſolacia miſerorum, non gaudia beatorum; ſolaces of wretched, not joyes of bleſſed ones: at the beſt they are but reliefes of naturall neceſſities. For what is wealth but the reliefe of want? food, but the reliefe of hunger? cloathing, but the reliefe of nakedneſſe? ſleepe, but the reliefe of watching? company, but the reliefe of ſolitarineſſe? ſports and paſtimes, but the taking off the plaiſter, and giving our wounds a little aire, and our ſelves a little eaſe from our continuall labour and paines? Like the gnats in Plutarch we run continually round in the circle of our buſineſſe till we fall downe dead, traverſing the ſame thoughts, and repeating the ſame actions perpetually; and what happineſſe can be in this? The more we gild over the vanities of this world with the title of honours, pleaſures and riches, the more we make them like the golden apples which hung at Tantalus his lips, which were ſnatched away from him when he offered to bite at them. For thekk1 John 2.17.1 John 2:17 world paſſeth away, and the luſt thereof. Albeit the earth abideth, and ſhall till the end of the world, which cannot be now farre off; yet all Monarchs, Kingdomes, States, Common-wealthes, Families, Houſes, paſſe. There p. 303is written upon them what Balthaſar ſaw, the hand writing upon the walls of his Palace, Mene, mene, tekel upharſin. Admit they abide for a large time, yet we are removed from them by perſecution, invaſion, peregrination, ejection, and death. Albeit our Lawyers ſpeake of indefeiſable eſtates, and large termes of yeeres to have and to hold lands on earth, yet they ſpeake without booke; for no man can have a better eſtate than the rich man in the Goſpell, to whom it was ſaid,llLuke 12.20.Luke 12:20 Thou foole, this night thy ſoule ſhall be required of thee, and then whoſe ſhall thoſe things be which thou haſt prouided? ſo is he that layeth up treaſure for himſelfe, and is not rich towards God. Wherefore if ever we looke to arrive at the faire haven, we muſt caſt anchor in heaven, and not truſt in uncertaine riches, but in the living God: who here provided for the woman both a lodging and a table in the wilderneſſe. Wherefore let us caſt the burthen of our care upon the providence of our heavenly Father, who feedeth the young ravens that call upon him, and undoubtedly will never ſuffer his children to ſtarve. There is nothing more choaketh the ſeed of faith, and dampeth the light of the ſpirit, and troubleth the peace of conſcience than worldly cares, eſpecially when they are immoderate, inordinate, and diſtruſtfull: immoderate in the meaſure, inordinate in the meanes, and diſtruſtfull in the cauſe: when we ſay in our hearts, What ſhall we eate, and what ſhall we drinke, or wherewithall ſhall we be cloathed? We have but a little oyle in our cruſe, and a little meale in our pot; and when that is ſpent what ſhall become of us? The cure of theſe worldly cares is threefold, by

1 Diverſion.

2 Devotion.

3 Depoſition of them.

1 By diverſion, when we withdraw our mind from theſe carking cares and vexing thoughts, to other more pleaſant cogitations of Gods former mercies to us, and the preſent bleſſings we enjoy. As Painters, when their eyes be dazled through long poring upon over-bright objects, recover them againe by looking upon greene glaſſe, or ſome darker colours, which congregate radios viſuales, the ſight beames: or as husbandmen, when their ground is overflown with much water, make ditches and water furrowes to carry it away; ſo if our mindes be overflowne with the cares of this world, there is no better meanes to draine them, than by making another paſſage for them, and diverting them to the contemplation of a better ſubject, as David did his:mmPſal. 119.23.24.Ps 119:23Ps 119:24 Princes did ſit and ſpeake againſt mee: but thy ſervant did meditate in thy ſtatutes. Thy Teſtimonies are my delight and Counſellors.

2 By devotion and prayer to Almighty God, as Hanna did: nn1 Sam. 1.15.1 Sam 1:15I am a woman of a ſorrowfull heart: I have drunke neither wine nor ſtrong drink, but have poured out my ſoule before the Lord. Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and griefe have I ſpoken hitherto. Then Eli anſwered, and ſaid, Goe in peace; and the God of Iſrael grant thee thy petition that thou haſt asked of him. And ſhee ſaid, Let thine handmaid finde grace in thy ſight: So the woman went her p. 304way, and did eate, and her countenance was no more ſad.

3 By depoſition, when being at a ſtand in our deliberations, and having uſed all meanes to little purpoſe to relieve our neceſſities, we in the end lay downe our burthen of cares, and wholly rely upon Gods promiſes.ooPſal. 37.3, 5.Ps 37:3Ps 37:5 Truſt in the Lord and doe good, and verily thou ſhalt be fed. Commit thy way unto the Lord, truſt alſo in him, and hee ſhall bring it to paſſe. And,ppPſal. 34.9.10.Ps 34:9Ps 34:10 O feare the Lord yee his Saints, for there is no want to them that feare him. And, (qqHeb. 13.5.Heb 13:5 I will never leave thee nor forſake thee:)rr1 Pet. 5.7.1 Pet 5:7 Caſting all our care upon him who careth for us; aſſuring our ſelves, that he who prepared Zoar to ſave Lot in the burning of Sodome, and Goſhen to preſerve the Iſraelites from the plagues of Egypt, and Pella to reſcue his Diſciples in the ſiege of Jeruſalem; hee who provided a fountaine of water to refreſh Hagar in extremity of thirſt, and a cake of dough to ſatisfie Elias in extremity of hunger, and the ſhadow of a gourd to coole Jonas in extremity of heat, and an Angell from heaven to comfort our Saviour in the extremity of his agony, will never leave us utterly deſtitute in our greateſt perplexities. The woman in my text was faine to fly into the wilderneſſe, from ſavage men to ſavage beaſts, unprovided of a place to lie in, or any manner of food to ſuſtaine life; yet God on the ſudden prepared for her both lodging and diet. So did he for the Iſraelites, brought to a like exigent:ſſPſal. 107.4.5.6.Ps 107:4Ps 107:5Ps 107:6 They wandered in the wilderneſſe in a ſolitary way, they found no Citie to dwell in: hungry and thirſty; their ſoules fainted in them: then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and hee delivered them out of their diſtreſſe. ttMat. 6.32.Matt 6:32Take no thought therefore, ſaith our Saviour, for your life, what you ſhall eate, and what you ſhall drinke, or wherewithall you ſhall be cloathed: for your heavenly Father knoweth that you have need of all theſe things. He that cloatheth the lillies, and feedeth the fowles of heaven, will he leave his children unprovided of things neceſſary? No, if ordinary meanes faile, he will lay an unuſuall impoſition upon all creatures to relieve his choſen. The aire ſhall ſerve-in Manna for corne, the hard rocke ſhall guſh out with ſtreames of water, the dry cruſe ſhall ſpring with oyle, the Lions jawes ſhall drop with hony, the fowles of heaven ſhall bring in meat in their bills, and the fiſh of the ſea bring money in their mouthes to ſupply their ſeverall wants, and defray their neceſſary charges. Therefore trouble not your ſelves overmuch with the cares of this life, but when you have done your utmoſt endevours, eaſe your ſelves by relying upon Gods providence; and be confident, that he who feedeth you with the bread of life, will not faile to give you your daily bread; hee that offereth you the cup of ſalvation full of the price of your redemption, and the grace of ſanctification, will not ſuffer you to die for thirſt; he that cloatheth your ſoules with the robes of his righteouſneſſe, and deckes them with the jewels of his grace, will undoubtedly provide a covering for your bodies.

3 If the Church be truely repreſented by a woman flying into the wilderneſſe, and there continuing for a long ſeaſon, certainely outward pomp, and temporall felicity, and perpetuall viſibility, are no certaine notes of her, but rather of the malignant Church. For ſo is the Whore of Babylon deſcribed:uuApoc. 17.3.4.Rev 17:3Rev 17:4 A woman ſet upon a ſcarlet coloured beaſt, arrayed in purple, decked with gold, and pretious ſtones, and pearles, having a golden cup in her hand, full of abominations. And ver. 15. The waters which thou ſaweſt where p. 305the whore ſitteth, are peoples, and nations, and multitudes, and tongues. The darke foyle ſetteth off the Diamond, and the Church when ſhe is moſt obſcure outwardly is moſt glorious within. Albeit temporall felicity giveth her ſome luſtre, and furniſheth her with meanes to encourage Proſelytes, and erect ſtately monuments of piety and charity; yet withall it miniſtreth matter of luxury and pride, it breedeth faction and ſchiſme, it withdraweth the mind from celeſtiall contemplation, it abateth her longing deſire after the ſecond comming of Chriſt: on the contrary, the Croſſe is like a file that brighteneth all her ſpirituall graces, quickeneth her zeale, putteth her nobleſt vertues to the teſt; wiſedome by dangers, faith by conflicts, courage by terrours, patience by torments, and perſeverance by perpetuall aſſaults. Witneſſe the prime age wherein ſhe warmed her zeale at the embers of the Martyrs ſepulchres, when ſhe had no Churches but caves under ground, no wealth but grace, no exerciſes but ſufferings, no crowne but of martyrdome: yet then ſhe thrived beſt, then ſhe ſpread fartheſt, then ſhe kept her purity in doctrine and converſation, then ſhe convinced the Jewes, then ſhe converted the Gentiles, then ſhee ſubdued Kingdomes: whence I inferre three corollaries;

1 That the Roman Church cannot be the true Church of Chriſt. For the true Church of Chriſt, as ſhe is deſcribed in the holy Scriptures, hath for long time lien hid, beene often obſcured and eclipſed by bloudy perſecutions: but the Roman or Papall Church hath never beene ſo; her advocates plead for her, that ſhe hath beene alwayes not onelyonly viſible, but conſpicuous; not onelyonly knowne, but notorious. And among the many plauſible arguments of perſwaſion, and deceiveable ſhewes of reaſon, wherewith they amuſe and abuſe the world, none prevaileth ſo much with the common ſort and unskilfull multitude, as the outward pomp and glory of the Papall See. For ſith moſt men are led by ſenſe, and judge according to outward appearance, the Church of Rome, which maketh ſo goodly a ſhew, and hath born ſo great ſway in the world for many ages, eaſily induceth them to beleeve that ſhe is that City whereof the Prophet ſpeaks:xxPſal. 87.3.Ps 87:3 Glorious things are ſpoken of thee thou City of God. What more glorious and glittering to the eie than the Popes triple crowne, and the Cardinals hats, and their Archbiſhops Palls, and their Biſhops miters and crozures, their ſhining images, their beautifull pictures, their rich hangings, their gilt rood lofts, their croſſes and reliques covered in gold, and beſet with all ſorts of pretious ſtones? Theſe with their brightneſſe and reſplendency dazle the eyes of the multitude: and verily if the Queenes daughters glory were all without, and the kingdome of Chriſt of this world, and his Church triumphant upon earth; all the knowne Churches in the Chriſtian world muſt give place to the See of Rome, which hath borne up her head, when theirs have beene under water; hath ſate as Queene, when they have kneeled as captives; hath braved it in purple, when they have mourned in ſackcloth and aſhes. But beloved,yyRom. 10 17.Rom 10:17 faith commeth not by ſight, but by hearing; and we are not to ſearch the Church in the map of the world, but in the Scriptures of God; where we find her a pilgrim in Geneſis, a bondwoman in Exodus, a priſoner in Judges, a captive in the book of Kings, a widow in the Prophets, and here in my text a woman labouring with child, flying from a red Dragon into the p. 306wilderneſſe. I grant that Chriſt promiſeth her a kingdome, but not of this world; and peace, but it is the peace of God; and joy, but it is in the Holy Ghoſt; and great glory, but it is within:zzPſal. 45.13.Ps 45:13 The Kings daughter is all glorious within, &c.

2 That none ought to deſpiſe the Churches beyond the ſeas under the Croſſe, but, according to the command of the bleſſed Apoſtle,aaHeb. 13.3.Heb 13:3 Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them that ſuffer adverſitie, as heing our ſelves alſo in the body. Their turne of ſorrow is now, ours may be hereafter: God hath begun to them in a cup of trembling, it is to be feared it will not paſſe us, but we and all the reformed Churches ſhall drink of it. Our Church in Queene Maries dayes reſembled this woman in my text, theirs now doth: both never a whit the leſſe, but rather the more the true Churches of Chriſt, becauſe they weare his red livery, and beare his Croſſe.

3 That we ought not to looke for great things in this world, but having food and raiment, as the woman had here in my text, to be therewith contented: and as ſhe withdrew her ſelf from the eye of the world, ſo ought we to retire our ſelves into our cloſets, there to have private conference with God, to examine our ſpirituall eſtate, to make up the breaches in our conſcience, to poure out our ſoules in teares of compunction for our ſins, of compaſſion for the calamities of our brethren, of an ardent deſire and longing affection for the ſecond comming of our Lord, when he ſhall put an end, as to all ſinne and temptation, ſo to all ſorrow and feare. Amen. Even ſo come Lord Jeſu. To whom, &c.