Gods Sovereignty Displayed from Job 9:12, Treatise 1 · Chapter 2

Gods Sovereignty Displayed from Job 9:12 · Treatise 1 · Chapter 2

p. 3CHAP. II.

Obſer. THat the Lord doth, and may take from his creatures what he pleaſeth. The point hath two branches. 1. De facto. 2. De jure. That the Lord doth often take away many things from his Creatures; and that of right he may do it.

p. 4That the Lord doth take away from men what he pleaſeth, there are great examples in Scripture: this is to be conſidered in reſpect of

1. The matter, what.

2. The place, where.

3. The time, when.

4. The means and manner, how.

SECT. I.

In reſpect of the matter or things he takes away.

1. He takes away health and ſtrength, and that many times from his deareſt Children. We read 2 Kin. 20.1. That good Hezekiah was ſick even unto death: and Joh. 11.3▪ The Siſters of Lazarus ſent to Chriſt, ſaying; Lord, he whom thou loveſt is ſick. The efficient cauſe of all diſeaſes is God himſelf. I will appoint over you Terrour, Conſumption, and the Burning Ague, &c. Levit. 26.16. I will appoint them as ſo many Tyrants and Lords over you, who ſhall vex you with all manner of vexation; and I will appoint them over you as ſo many Judges, who ſhall puniſh you for all your diſobediences; and I will appoint p. 5them over you is ſo many Executioners, who ſhall execute the fierceneſs of my wrath upon you: they ſhall be over your heads, over your hearts, over your bodies; they ſhall fall upon you when I will, and as often as I pleaſe; they ſhall go to this perſon or that place, whither I ſhall direct and ſend them; go whether you will, yet ſtill they ſhall be over you; you ſhall not eſcape them; when I bid them to fall upon you. I will ſet them over you as ſo many Task-Maſters with Cudgels in their hands over their ſlaves; they ſhall be watching over you to do you miſchief; you are not afraid of my threatnings, nor do you tremble at my word of precept; therefore I will appoint terrour over you, I will appoint terrifying diſeaſes to come upon you; yea, your own fancies ſhall terrifie you: Do we not ſee how mens fancies and imaginations are ſet over them in every place to affright them at this day? How doth God ſometimes ſet Conſcience over men to terrifie them, ſometimes their ſins, ſometimes his Judgements; yea, God makes every rumor to affright them, and nothing can allay thoſe terrours; every man they meet, p. 6every buſh they ſee, every ſickneſs that is neer them, doth terrifie them; fear is from God.— I will, ſaith he, ſet the Conſumption over you, a Conſumption which ſhall conſume the fleſh of men, and make them to pine away from day to day, waxing more and more feeble▪ ſo that all the means they ſhall uſe, ſhall be of no value for their recovery; God hath appointed it over them, there is no eſcaping: There is no remedy againſt evils which God appointeth over a people: ſo the ſhaking Ague makes the ſtrong-bodied, and the ſtout-hearted men to tremble: ſo likewiſe the Fever is of Gods appointment, which waſteth the ſpirits, dries up the radical humor, and puts men into a ſcorching flame. The like is threatned, Deut. 28.22. The Lord ſhall ſmite thee with a Conſumption, and with a Fever, and with an Inflammation, and with an extreme burning: And ver. 27. The Lord will ſmite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the Emerods, and with the ſcab, and with the itch▪ whereof thou canſt not be healed. Ver. 28. The Lord ſhall ſmite thee with madneſs, and blindneſs, and aſtoniſhment p. 7of heart. Ver. 59. The Lord will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy ſeed great plagues, and of long continuance, and ſore ſickneſſes, and of long continuance. Ver. 60. Moreover, he will bring upon thee all the diſeaſes of Egypt, which thou waſt afraid of, and they ſhall cleave unto thee: Alſo every ſickneſs, and every plague, which is not written in this book, will the Lord bring upon thee. Thus you ſee, every diſeaſe in the world is the ſtroke of God. Men may attribute it, as Pagans do to ill luck, you may attribute it to the unſeaſonableneſs of the weather, to extremity of heat or cold, to drought or moiſture, to the illneſs of the ſeaſons: All theſe are of God; it is he that changeth times and ſeaſons, it is he that maketh the conſtellations of the Heavens to meet in ſuch and ſuch conjunctions, it is he that cauſeth a diſtemper in the air; it is not the unſeaſonableneſs of the year, the illneſs of diet, that can bring diſeaſes upon the body, unleſs God appoints them over a ſinful people: Yea, ſometimes God imployeth Angels to execute his wrath upon mens bodies, he permits the Angels to infeſt p. 8the air, and ſo plagues and peſtilential diſeaſes are over a people; it is the Lord that ſends forth theſe deſtroying Angels; ſometimes he ſuffereth the Devil to ſmite men, as he did permit him to ſmite the body of Job with ſores: whom or whatſoever you may look upon as the cauſes of diſeaſes, they are of Gods appointment; it is he that taketh away the health and ſtrength of any perſon or people.

SECT. II.

IIHe takes away life, Pſa. 90.3. Thou turneſt man to deſtruction, and ſayest, Return ye Children of Adam to the duſt: duſt ye are, and to duſt ye ſhall return. When the living God ſaith Return, there is no nay: in his hand is our life and breath, and all our wayes, Dan. 5.23. The Chaldee Paraphraſt renders my Text thus: Si rapuerit hominem è mundo. Targ in Job 9.Job 9If he ſhall ſnatch man away out of the world. So S. Auguſt. if he will ſtop thy breath, and deliver thee up to death, who can hinder him? as if Job ſhould have ſaid thus: He hath taken away my Children, my Cattel, my ſubſtance, my p. 9health, my ſtrength, and all my outward comforts, and if he now come and take away my life too, I cannot hinder him. God threatned the old world, Gen. 6.6, 7. I will deſtroy man from the face of the earth. Pareus in Gen. 6.Gen 6The Original word ſignifies (as Pareus obſerveth upon the place) I will ſteep him as a man ſteepeth a piece of earth in water, till it turn to dirt; man is but clay, a ſpeaking piece of clay, and is apt to forget his Maker, and the matter whereof he is made; none but God can reduce man to his firſt principles, and original matter whereof he was made: there is no duſt ſo high, but the great God is able to give it a ſteeping. In the City of Jeruſalem, Joſeph. de bello Judaico.during the time of the ſiege by the Romans, there died and were killed eleven hundred thouſand, and there were taken by the Romans ninety and ſeven thouſand; at which time there were ſlain in all Judea in ſeveral places, to the number of twelve hundred and forty thouſand Jews, beſides an innumerable multitude who periſhed with famine, exile, and other miſeries. In the ſecond Carthaginian War, in Italy, Spain and Cicily, in ſeventeen years, p. 10fifteen hundred thouſand men were conſumed. The Civil War of Caeſar and Pompey ſwallowed down three hundred thouſand▪ Pompey the Great wrote it upon the Temple of Minerva, that he had ſcattered, chaſed and killed, twenty hundred eighty and three thouſand men; and one Cains Caeſar gloried in it, that eleven hundred ninety and two thouſand men were killed by him in the Wars. King Mithridates, by one Letter, cauſed eighty thouſand Roman Citizens to be ſlain, who were diſperſed through Aſia for traffique. In Judea, in the time of King David, one Peſtilence in a very ſhort time ſwept away ſeventy thouſand men. Under Gallus and Voluſianus Emperours, a Plague aroſe from Ethiopia, and invaded the Roman Provinces, and emptied them for fifteen years together, and ſent an innumerable company of mortals to their graves. In the time of Justinian the Emperours, in the City of Conſtantinople, and the places adjoyning, the Peſtilence raged ſo much, that every daylit diſpatched five thouſand, and ſome daies ten thouſand to their long home. In Numidia eight hundred thouſand perſons died of the p. 11Plague; in the Sea-Towns of Africa, two hundred thouſand. In Greece, Anno Chriſti, 1359▪ there was ſuch a Peſtilence, that the living were ſcarce able to bury the dead. In Athens the Peſtilence raged for twelve years together. When Italy was waſted by the Gothes, in Picene only, fifty thouſand perſons were ſtarved with hunger. At Fidenae under Tiberius the Emperour, by the fall of the Amphitheatre there periſhed the number of twenty thouſand Spectators. How many thouſands were ſwept away the laſt year in the great City of this our Land by the Peſtilence, and yet in many other Cities, Towns and Villages of this Kingdome, the Plague devoureth at noon-day; the Plague cries with a loud voice ſtill to us, Death is neer, Death is in your ſtreets, Death is creeping in at your houſes, and entring in at your windows. Now whoſoever, or whatſoever be the Inſtrument of Death, it is God only that takes away the lives of men at his pleaſure. See now that I, even I am he, and there is no God with me; I kill, and I make alive, Deut. 32.39.

p. 12SECT. III.

IIIHe takes away the ſpirits and courage of men; that albeit they have opportunities put into their hands of doing this or that, yet their hearts ſhall fail them, and they ſhall not be able to effect it. He is ſaid to cut off the ſpirits of Princes, Pſa. 76. ult. Princes are uſually men of the ſtouteſt ſpirits, but God ſometimes cuts off the ſpirit of Princes. When Belſhazzar, that Babyloniſh Monarch, was in the midſt of his jollity, drinking Wine with a thouſand of his Princes, in the Veſſels of gold which his Father brought from the Temple of Jeruſalem, he ſuddenly ſaw a hand-writing upon the wall, at which ſight the King was amazed, ſo that his countenance was changed, and the joynts of his loyns were looſed, and his knees ſmote one againſt the other: What was the cauſe of this ſo great affrightment? He ſaw a hand; what hand?Drexel. School of Patience. the hand of a man. What could one hand of a man, ſaith one, terrifie ſo mighty a Monarch? Had he ſeen the paws of a Lion, of a Bear or Dragon, there had been ſome cauſe of p. 13terrour; but need ſuch a puiſſant Prince fear the hand of a man ſo much, at whoſe beck and command an hundred Troops of Armed Horſe would preſently fly to his aſſiſtance? What dreadful weapon could that one hand wield or mannage? None but a Pen, with which it wrote: No other man would, much leſs a King, be afraid of a writing pen. Had he beheld the three darts of Joab, or the Fiery Sword of the Flaming Cherub brandiſhed directly againſt him, he had then had ſome argument of aſtoniſhment. But one hand, one pen, one piece of writing which he underſtood not, this was that which daunteth him.

Sometimes the imagination that this or that evil will befall them,Plura ſunt quae terrent, quam quae premunt. doth ſo diſturb them, that they are preſently over-whelmed with fear. There are more things which affright us, than there be which oppreſs us: ſome things do torment us more than they ought, ſome things do afflict us before they ought, ſome do diſturb us which ought not: We often give place to our imaginations, and do not give a check to thoſe things which lead us into fears, but feeding our fears by our fancy, we p. 14turn our backs and fly, and many times fly when none purſueth. I have read of certain Souldiers, who being amazed at a little duſt raiſed up by a flock of ſheep, turned their backs, as if the Enemy had been at their heels. The French Hiſtory tells us, that the men of Burgundy were ſo affrighted at the apprehenſion of the approach of their Enemies, that they thought long Thiſtles to be men with Lances. We read that in the daies of Ahaz, King of Judah, that Rezin the King of Syria, and Pekah the Son of Remaliah, King of Iſrael, went up to Jeruſalem to war againſt it, but could not prevail againſt it; and it was told the houſe of David, that Syria was confederate with Ephraim; hereupon the heart of Ahaz was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind, Iſa. 7.1, 2. This kind of fear fills the heart with all confuſion, leaving a man without memory, judgement, or will to encounter any danger that threatens his ruine, it diſ-ſpirits a man, and enfeebleth his ſpirits; that whereas fear is a ſpur to generous ſpirits to ſtrengthen them, ſtirring them up to the uſe of the moſt p. 15effectual means to avoid the danger, it doth ſo deject the faint-hearted and fearful man, as he remaineth like a meer block or ſtone, uncapable at all of any action.

There is a ſlaviſh fear, when the dread of evil drives us to deſperateneſs in evil, and forceth us to fly from the preſence of God.Conſcientia peccati eſt mater formidinis. Chryſoſt. This is the worſt plague of all other, no terrour is like inward terrours ariſing from a guilty Conſcience. The Conſcience of ſin is the Mother of fear, ſaith Chryſoſtome; ſin is horrours fuel. This was the ground of Cains fear; the accuſation of a guilty Conſcience followed him whereever he went, he knowing that blood required blood; feared leſt every one that met him would kill him, Gen. 4. 14. Such a fear ſurprized Caligula the Roman Emperour, of whom it is written,Suetonius. that when it thundered, he would get into a Vault he had under the earth, to hide himſelf from the wrath of God: Such was the fear of ſome whom Aulus Gellius ſpeaks of, who thought there was a plurality of Gods,Aul. Gell. Noct. Attic. and they divers in quality; ſo ſome good, ſome bad; ſome good to whom they ſacrificed, and prayed to help them, p. 16and ſome bad alſo, whom they deſired to pleaſe, that they might not hurt them. Sin makes in man an Aſſizes, where the ſoul ſtandeth arraigned and condemned before a terrible Judge: The Heathen ſaid, that the greateſt terrour was earthquakes, thunderbolts, burnings, deluges, the earth gaping; but what is all this to a trembling heart, to the thunderbolts of Gods Judgements, to the burning Lake, to the inundations of the waters of bitterneſs, to the yawning of the gulf of hell; this and worſe is the condition of that man whoſe heart is the habitation of terrour: ſuch a man is Magor Miſſabib, he is compaſſed about with terrour on every ſide, yea he is a terrour to himſelf; he feels a deadly arrow wounding him to the very heart, there is both a fire burning, and a knife ſticking in his tender heart.

SECT. IV.

IVHe takes away beauty from man: Beauty is but momentaneum corporis accidens: If the body fall to ruine, the accident cannot ſtand. Among all the qualities that flee away with the body p. 17of man, there is none more ſwift than beauty. When thou with rebukes doſt correct man for iniquity, thou makeſt his beauty to conſume away like a moth, Pſa. 39.11. David complained, that when Gods hand lay heavy upon him, his moiſture was turned into the drought of Summer, Pſa. 32.4. The radical moiſture, or chiefeſt ſap of his body was dried up, waſted and worn away, ſo as he was even brought to deaths door, and become little better than an Anatomy, or bag-full of bones.Ainſworth in Pſa. 32.Ps 32 The radical moiſture is an airy and oily ſubſtance diſperſed through the body, whereby the life and vigor of the body is foſtered, which being ſpent, death enſueth: And Solomon tells us, that a ſorrowful ſpirit drieth the bones, Prov. 17.22. the gathering together of much blood about the heart, extinguiſheth the good ſpirits, or at leaſt dulleth them, and that humor having ſeized on the heart, it cannot well digeſt the blood and ſpirits,Wright de Paſſionib. which ought to be diffuſed through the whole body, but turneth them into melancholly, the which humor being dry and cold, drieth up the whole body, and conſumeth the beauty thereof, for cold extinguiſheth p. 18heat, and drineſs moiſture, which two qualities do principally concern the life of man. The paſſion of fear hath likewiſe wrought ſtrange effects upon ſome mens bodies: I have read of ſome to whom the ſentence of death hath been brought in the Evening, whoſe hair hath turned white before the next morning. Beauty is but skin-deep, a very ſlender vail, a painted flower that ſoon withereth; although thy hair doth now flouriſh, thy fleſh doth ſhine like ivory▪ though thy Rofial face be beautified with the twinkling gems of thy rolling eyes; though the health of thy body doth now miniſter ability; though youthful age doth promiſe ſpace of longer life; though reaſon ſpringeth, and the bodily ſenſes are nimble and vigorous; though the ſight be quick, the hearing ready, the going right and ſtrait, the face and countenance moſt pleaſant and delectable, yet a violent Fever will debilitate thy body, and a few fits of a Quartan Ague turn thy beauty into ſwarthy deformity; old age, and the ſpace of a few years, will ſhew the ſlightneſs of it, and death will utterly conſume it. If vain creatures, that like Narciſſus, p. 19dote upon their faces, did think how ſoon, and how many wayes God could blaſt and take away their beauty, they would not ſpend ſo many precious hours at the glaſs in trimming this outward ſheath, which might have been much better ſpent about the adorning of the precious ſoul.

SECT. V.

He takes away wealth and riches 5from men: It is the Lord that giveth wealth, and it is in his power alſo to take it away. Seneca ſaid,Seneca. That Fortune is a glaſs; which oftentimes is the ſooner broken, the more that it ſhineth: And the Pſalmiſt ſaith, I have ſeen the wicked ſpreading himſelf like a green bay-tree, yet he paſſed-away, and loe he was not; yea, I ſought him, but he could not be found, Pſa. 37.35, 36. As Job acknowledgeth that God had given, ſo likewiſe that God had taken. One might have ſaid to him, O Job thou ſeemeſt to be miſtaken, for this large Patrimony thou haſt now loſt, thou hadſt from thy Parents, thou gotteſt it together by thy own proper induſtry; theſe flocks and droves of cattle thou p. 20haſt obtained by thy own wit: But Job ſaith, I am not miſtaken; for neither my Parents, nor my own labour, nor yet my own ingenuity, but the Lord gave me all theſe things, all which therefore by right and equity he hath taken away, becauſe he gave them. But it may be objected, did God take them away? Is it not injurious to God to ſay ſo? For the Chaldeans and Sabeans drove away all his cattle; or if you will behold the original of all this miſchief, Satan bereaved him of all, for he procured the fire, he raiſed the winds, he inſtigated thoſe Robbers and Free-booters, he threw down the houſe, and in very deed he did all theſe things; and therefore Satan took all away: but Job holdeth his former ſentence, and repeateth it; the Lord hath taken away, even the ſame Lord who gave me theſe bleſſings, he hath taken away; not the Sabeans, not the Chaldeans, not Satan, but the Lord hath taken away, and that rightly too, for he gave them all unto me; for except the Lord had given this licenſe to Satan, neither he nor any other of his Inſtruments could ſo much as have ſtoln a Fleece, nor a lock of wooll from me. The Son p. 21of Syrach ſaith, that good and evil, Eccluſ. 11.14.Sir 11:14life and death, poverty and riches, are from the Lord; and ſaith he further, In the day of good, remember the day of evil; when thou haſt enough, remember the time of hunger; and when thou art rich, think, upon poverty and need: From morning until the evening the time is changed, and all ſuch things are ſoon done before the Lord: Art thou a Lord, and of great power, thou mayſt be brought to ſerve? Art thou rich and wealthy, thou mayſt be brought to beggery and penury? Doſt thou now ſwim in wealth, and is thy ſubſtance encreaſed? One hour, yea a few moments, may deprive thee of all thy goods; and when thy wealth ſhall take its uncontrolled wings, and fly away from thee, then thou ſhalt be driven to ſay, I knew, what was but for my uſe, was not my own; the Lord gave it, and he alſo took it away.

SECT. VI.

The Lord taketh away honours from VImen: He powreth contempt upon Princes, ſaith the Pſalmiſt, Pſa. 107.40. Man being in honour abideth not, he is p. 22like the beaſts that periſh: Sim lis pecoribus morticinis, like beaſts that die of the Murrain,Tremel. in Pſa. 49.Ps 49 ſaith Tremelluns, and ſo become uſeleſs, and fit for nothing.By gold, ſilver, braſs and iron, are meant the Aſſyrian, the Perſian, the Grecian, and the Roman Empires, who ſhould rule the world till Chriſt, here called the Stone, doth come himſelf to deſtroy the laſt of theſe Monarchies. This ſeemeth not unaptly to be figured in Dan. 2. where King Nebuchadnezzar ſaw an Image, whoſe head was of gold, whoſe arms and breaſts were of ſilver, the belly of braſs, the feet of iron and clay: And there was a ſtone cut out of the Mountains without hands, which ſtruck the Image on the feet, and brake it in pieces, and brought it into duſt. Figuratively by this high Image, you may underſtand the High and Mighty Man of the World, whoſe golden Head doth ſignifie the Nobility of his blood, the height of his birth, and his high honour and advancement in the world; his breaſt and arms of ſilver, ſignifieth the quantity of his money, in the getting whereof the rich man uſeth his heart, hand and arms; the belly of Braſs, denoteth his fame or report ſounding abroad, for braſs doth lend a great noiſe or ſound; by the legs of Iron, his ſtrength and power is figured; and by the feet of Clay or Earth, is noted his mortality: The ſtone which is cut out of the Mountain p. 23without hands, may denote the death of man, which the hand of the Lord hath not made, ſaith the Author to the Book of Wiſdome, neither doth he delight in the deſtruction of any, but our firſt Parents came thereunto by their own demerits; wherefore this ſtone ſtrikeing the feet of the Image, doth ſuddenly and unexpectedly bring the High and Mighty into duſt, as well as others, neither is there any one that can reſiſt his fury; and ſuch, ſo great, and ſo uncertain is his violence in the manner, in the place, and in the time, that mans honour, force, or policy, cannot any way ſuffice to provide defence againſt him. Of Gods taking away honour from men, we have a notable inſtance in proud Haman, who grew inſolent by the Kings favour, cruel, ſtately and lofty in his gate, as if he would have reached the very ſtars: All the Kings ſervants bowed their knees to Haman, and worſhipped him,Eſther 3.12.Esth 3:12 for ſo the King had commanded. Now Haman was as a Cock upon his own dunghill, and would alſo be worſhipped of Mordecai as well as others, this Mordecai could not brook; ſome think he could not do it, becauſe Haman had the form p. 24of ſome Idol-gods wrought on his garments in Needle-work; others think this worſhip did contain ſomething of Divine Worſhip in it, a worſhip not to be given to man, therefore Mordecai refuſed to perform it, leſt he ſhould have given Gods honour to a man. Now behold on a ſudden a wonderful alteration, while Haman was next to the King, and bragged of his Honours and Riches, his Noble Family, his Children, his benevolent fortune, the Kings favour, and the like, while he had the Command of an hundred twenty and ſeven Provinces, he is adjudged by the King to the Gallows, while Mordecai that was condemned to the Halter, was all of a ſudden cloathed with the Kings Robes, ſet upon the Kings Horſe, adorned with the Kings Crown upon his head, led through all the chief places of the City, Haman being as it were his Lacquey to attend him, crying, So ſhall it be done to the man whom the King delighteth to honour. See what a change is here; Mordecai but even now appointed to the Gallows, is now next to the Throne, and Haman who was ſo highly advanced, is now hanged upon p. 25the Gibbet he had provided for Mordecai.

SECT. VII.

He takes away liberty: At Rome VIIM. Cato, the pattern of a wiſe and prudent man, a lively Embleme of Virtue, was haled, thruſt down, ſpit upon, ſtript both of his Senatorſhip and Pretorſhip, caſt into priſon, and compelled, as Socrates, there to die. King Jehoiakin is bound in fetters, and carried away priſoner to Babylon: Manaſſeh is bound in Chains, and Zedekiah is bound with fetters of braſs, and carried to Babylon, 2 Kings 25.6, 7. how was that of the Pſalmiſt fulfilled in them? He ſhall bind their Kings in chains, and their Nobles in fetters of iron, Pſa. 149.8. Sapor King of Perſia took Valentinian the Emperour, and led him as a Foot-block for himſelf to ſtep upon, when he moved into his ſaddle: Thus Tamerlane ſerved Bajazet the Turkiſh King. This hath been the lot of ſome of Gods dear ſervants. Joſeph is ſold for a ſlave, and put into priſon in the Land of Egypt: When Micaiah did propheſie, and pleaſed not King Ahab, p. 26the wicked King commanded, that he ſhould be put in the Priſon-houſe, and fed with the bread and water of affliction. John Baptiſt was ſhut up in cloſe priſon by Herod: Paul and Silas were caſt into priſon, Act. 16.23. and thruſt by the Jaylor into the inner priſon, and their feet made faſt in the Stocks. The Apoſtles were put into the common priſon, Act. 5.18. Peter was impriſoned by Herod the King, and delivered to four Quaternions of Souldiers to keep him, Act. 12.4. But no evil ſhall befall thoſe whom God poſſeſſeth whereſoever they are: What! though Joſeph be in priſon, yet the Keepers of the Priſon ſhall ſee that the Lord is with him, he ſhall there ſpeedily find his liberty; the very obſcurities of the Dungeon will furniſh him with light enough to diſcern what will happen; and thoſe that have been the contrivers of his ruine, ſhall be the cauſers of his happineſs: God followed Joſeph into the Pit, into Egypt, and into the very priſon, he is ever preſent with thoſe who love and ſerve him faithfully. Are they falſly accuſed, and thrown into priſon? E carcere veniet judex judicaturus judices. Out of the p. 27priſon ſhall come a Judge that ſhall judge their Judges, and thoſe that falſly accuſe and condemn them. Oh how ſweet is the yoak when God faſtens us to it? How pleaſing is Chains when God is with us, and ſets our ſouls at liberty? John Baptiſt being in priſon, was careful to promote the glory of Chriſt, and to have it known that he was the true Meſſiah, that he was alſo mindful of the ſalvation of his Diſciples, and was careful to have their Faith confirmed in this Article which was Fundamental, and neceſſary to Salvation. This burning and ſhining light could not be kept from ſhining abroad by the thick walls of the priſon; and though he was bound perhaps, yet the Word of God in his mouth, zeal for Gods glory, and love to his Brethren, was not bound: So we find S. Paul in priſon, inſtructed and confirmed the Saints by Letters: It is a great honor to bear Chains and Fetters for Chriſt, this is the golden end of the Croſs of Chriſt: No man can be miſerable there, where Chriſt is the keeper of the priſon, and Lord of the Keys.

p. 28SECT. VIII.

VIIIGod takes away Children, and dear Relations: When Job's cattle, ſervants, and ſubſtance were taken away, the Lord ſuffereth the Devil to bereave him of his Children alſo: We are to know, that all that die for ſin, do not die in ſin; this under-garden is Gods own, and all that groweth in it, the flowers, trees, and fruits be his own; if ſome be but Summer apples, he may pluck them off before others: When God takes away our Children, they are not gone away, but ſent before; and we ſhould not think them to be loſt to us who are found to Chriſt: God many times takes away our Children, leſt wickedneſs ſhould alter their underſtanding, or deceit beguile their minds; though they were ſoon dead, yet fulfilled they much time; and they may juſtly ſay, mors nobis lucrum, death to us is great gain, in that both they eſcaped this worlds miſeries, and were quickly put into the poſſeſſion of Eternal felicity; if they have caſt their flower, their bloom is fallen into Chriſts Lap, and as they were lent a while to p. 29Time, ſo now they are given to Eternity; and whereas others are fain to paſs thorow even a vaſt Ocean of troubles, they by a ſhort cut, and a little Bridg, have gained to arrive in the Land of the Living by the Conduct of Death. Methinks I hear even Chriſt from heaven more earneſtly rebuking thoſe that would not ſuffer little children to come unto him of their own accord (concerning whom he hath ſaid,Mark 10.14. Plorabant naſcentes, Prophetae ſuae calamitatis: lachrymae enim testes ſunt miſeriae; nondum loquebantur, & jam Prophetabant. Quid Prophetabant? In labore ſe venturos, vel timore, &c. Aug. de verb. Apoſt. Serm. 24.Mark 10:14 Of ſuch is the Kingdome of God) than he did thoſe that rebuked thoſe that brought them. And theſe little ones (who when they came into the world, might as well have laughed as wept, having equal poſſibility to both) yet they wept as ſoon as they were born the Prophets of their own calamity, for their tears are witneſſes of their miſery, as yet they ſpake not, yet they propheſied: What did they propheſie? that they ſhould come into the world with pain and fear; being now paſt out of the world, to cry loud unto their Parents and Friends that do mourn for their abſence, ſpeaking not in the language of Canaan, but of the heavenly Jeruſalem; if you did love us, you would rejoyce, becauſe we go to our Father; p. 30and weep not for us, but weep for your ſelves; and in your weeping for us (as you cannot chuſe but you will) mourn not as men without hope, we have that you hope for:Mat. 18.10.Matt 18:10 Our Angels, which behold the face of our heavenly Father, have now performed one of their offices for us, to carry our Souls out of our Nurſes Laps into Abrahams Boſome, and in time will execute the ſecond, when he ſhall ſend them that can beſt command them, to gather his Elect from the four winds, and from the one end of the heaven to the other; then our bones ſhall be raiſed out of the Beds where ye have laid them, and ſhall be coupled with their ſinews, compaſſed with their fleſh, covered with their skin, and crowned with immortality: This we have in hope, and not in hand; but we have received the earneſt thereof in our ſouls, that are already in the joyes of our Saviour, and wait for the other at the appointed time, which cannot be long. I have read of L. Paulus Aemilius, who having loſt his two only Sons, all the hope of his houſe; the one a little before, the other preſently after his triumph, told the people of Rome (who were ſorry p. 31in his behalf) that he was glad in theirs, in that the calamity which had befallen him, might excuſe them.Valer. Maxim. lib. 5. cap. 10. Now O ye that have loſt all your children, if your ſeely Scape-goats have carried the penalty of your family with them, and excuſed the hoped-for poſterity of your other Relations, let them glorifie God on their behalf, and ſay you with Aemilius, I am glad that God hath given juſt occaſion for you to lament for me, rather than for me to bemoan you.

SECT. IX.

God ſometimes takes away Churches, IXand the light of the Goſpel, and Ordinances from a people and Nation; and whereſoever it to happeneth, the Lord is the Author of this ſad change: In the ſecond and third Chapter of the Revelations, Chriſt directeth divers Epiſtles to ſeveral famous Churches, and he threatneth the moſt famous Church, viz. the Church of Epheſus, Rev. 2.5. Remember from whence thou are fallen, and repent, and do thy firſt works, or elſe I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy Candleſtick p. 32out of its place, except thou repent. By the Candleſtick is meant the Church planted in that place, viz. the viſible Church in Epheſus, joyned together in the profeſſion of the Goſpel, and the enjoyment of Ordinances, as a Candle put into a Candleſtick: Thoſe whom God formeth into a viſible Church (who of themſelves were ſometimes darkneſs, as a Candleſtick without a Candle) and ſets up the light of the Goſpel among them, as men light a Candle, and put it into a Candleſtick: So when God will unchurch, he threatens to take away the Candleſtick, to take away Church-priviledges and Ordinances; it is Gods work to do this, I will take away, or remove the Candleſtick; and the ſtate of this Church makes it evident, that it is not in the power of Men or Devils to unchurch a people, or remove the Candleſtick, but when the Lord pleaſeth. Epheſus was planted in a rich and fruitful ſoil, it was a flouriſhing Church, and ſtood firm under the Roman Perſecution; this Church out-ſtood the fury of all the Heathen Tyrants, albeit that laſted three hundred years; and about one hundred and thirty years after p. 33(viz. Anno Chriſti, 430.) the Emperour Theodoſius II. aſſembled a famous Council at Epheſus, to aſſert the truth of Chriſt, and to condemn the dangerous Hereſie of Neſtorius, Patriarch of Conſtantinople, which was in dividing the Natures of Chriſt, making one Chriſt Man, and another Chriſt God, as if they had been two perſons: I mention this, to ſhew that it is not in the power of any to take away the Ordinances of the Goſpel, and Churchpriviledges, from any place or people, but when the Lord pleaſeth: There are theſe three things to be taken into conſideration.

1. Conſider the condition of this and other Churches in the time of the ten Roman Perſecutions, and the condition of the ſame Churches afterward in latter times, when they loſt their glory: Under the Roman Perſecution theſe Churches were in great meaſure pure in Doctrine, and holy in Converſation; and when was the rage of the Devil and his Inſtruments more againſt them than when they were pureſt? and had they been able, Satan and his Inſtruments would then have utterly deſtroyed them: But in after-times they p. 34grew looſe and corrupt, and then they fell by the world, when they were moſt ſuitable to the world, and moſt corrupted in the world.

2. Compare the Enemies of this and other Churches againſt whoſe attempts they were upheld, with thoſe Enemies by whoſe hands they fell: they were preſerved againſt the power of the Roman Empire for three hundred years, and they fell by the hand of Sarazens and Arabians, the Vaſſals of that baſe Impoſtor and falſe Prophet Mahomet: Now what compariſon between the fallacies and impoſtures of this falſe Prophet, and the power of the Roman Empire, to overthrow a Church, and yet they were upheld againſt all the power of the Roman Tyranny, and fell by the hands of deſperate Arabians, Sarazens, and barbarous people,

3. This Church of Epheſus, with many other Churches of the Chriſtians, while they held faſt the profeſſion of the Faith of Chriſt, yielded their bodies to the Roman Emperours as to their Lords during thoſe ten famous Perſecutions, and could not be deſtroyed; but afterwards, though they took up Arms for their lives, to defend themſelves, p. 35yet they fell by the hands of barbarous Arabians and Sarazens; a clear demonſtration, that it is not in the power of men or devils to deveſt men of Church-priviledges, and holy Ordinances, when they pleaſe; therefore when ſuch are taken away, it is the Lord that takes away the Candleſtick out of its place, being provoked thereunto by the ſins of men, and eſpecially by the unfruitfulneſs of a people under the Goſpel.

I will give another inſtance, viz. in the Church of Iſrael.

1. In the caſe of Shiloh, Joſ. 18.1. we read, that the whole Congregation of the children of Iſrael, aſſembled at Shiloh, and ſet up the Tabernacle of the congregration there, and the Land was ſubdued before them. The Tabernacle had been in a wandring poſture for forty years together, all the time they were in the Wilderneſs, at length it is fixed in Shiloh, being the firſt reſting place of the Ark of Gods preſence. Now you may ſee 1 Sam. Chap. 4. that God gave the Philiſtines a great Victory againſt Iſrael, and the Ark of God was taken by them, and Shiloh was deveſted of this great bleſſing: p. 36The Pſalmiſt ſaith, They provoked him to anger, and moved him to jealouſie with their graven images; when God heard this, he was wroth, and greatly abhorred Iſrael, ſo that he forſook the Tabernacle of Shiloh, the Tent which he placed among men, Pſa. 78.59, 60. And in Jer. 7.12 Go ye now to my place which was in Shiloh, where I ſet my Name at the firſt, and ſee what I did to it for the wickedneſs of my people Iſrael.

2. Conſider the caſe of Temple in Jeruſalem, and the Nation of the Jews before Chriſts coming; ſee how God threatens them: I will do to this houſe which is called by my name, wherein you truſt, and unto the place which I gave to you, and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh, Jer. 7.14. Though the Babylonians and Chaldeans were the inſtruments of its ruine, yet God is ſaid to do it: Thus ſaith the Lord, I will give this City into the hands of the Chaldeans, and into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon, and he ſhall take it, Jer. 32.28. God gave him the City and Temple; he did but take what God gave into his hand, and the greateſt p. 37Conquerors do no more, they take but what the Lord giveth them.

Conſider we likewiſe the condition of the Temple in Jeruſalem, and of the Nation of the Jews after Chriſts coming into the fleſh. We read Luk. 20.9. Chriſt ſpake to the people this Parable; A certain man planted a Vineyard, and let it forth to Husbandmen, and went into a far Country for a long time; and at a ſeaſon he ſent a ſervant to the husbandmen, that they ſhould give him of the fruit of the Vineyard; but the husbandmen beat him, and ſent him away empty; and again he ſent another ſervant, and they beat him alſo, and entreated him ſhamefully, and ſent him away empty; and again he ſent the third, and they wounded him alſo, and cast him out. Then ſaid the Lord of the Vineyard, what ſhall I do? I will ſend my beloved ſon; it may be they will reverence him when they ſee him: But when the husbandmen ſaw him, they reaſoned among themſelves, ſaying; this is the heir; come let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours: So they caſt him out of the Vineyard, and killed him; what therefore ſhall the Lord of the Vineyard do to theſe husbandmen? p. 38He will come and deſtroy theſe husbandmen, and ſhall give the Ʋineyard to others. Now it is ſaid, Ver. 19. that the chief Prieſts and Scribes the ſame hour ſought to lay hands on him, for they perceived he had ſpoken this Parable againſt them.

The ſenſe is this: God planted his Church in the Land of Canaan, he brought it out of Egypt, and removed and tranſplanted it out of a dry and barren ſoil, and ſet it in a fat and fruitful place, viz. the Land of Canaan, a Land flowing with milk and honey, he gave them his Word and Ordinances, ſent his Prophets among them, riſing early and ſending them, and called upon them to bring forth fruit; but inſtead thereof, they perſecuted his Prophets, ſlew divers of them, and at laſt ſlew his own ſon. Now here is deſtruction threatned, and who ſhall do it? The Lord of the Vineyard ſhall do it; he ſhall come and deſtroy theſe huſbandmen, and let out the Vineyard to others: So that albeit the Romans were the inſtruments of this dreadful execution, yet the Lord of the Vineyard did it.Joſeph de bello Judaico. Joſephus tells us, that Titus was very unwilling to deſtroy the Temple p. 39in Jeruſalem, that he laboured to quench the flame after it was ſet on fire, and ſuffered ſome prejudice in his War about it; it was done divino quodam impetu, by a certain divine ſtroke, as the ſame Author obſerveth. But Joſeph being a Jew, was ignorant of the main cauſe, ſc. their rejecting and murdering the Son of God. Now of all judgements, this is the moſt ſad and woful, when God removeth the Candleſtick out of its place, and unchurcheth a Nation, and taketh away Church-priviledges, and the uſe of his Ordinances; oh that we were deeply ſenſible, how we have provoked the Lord by our ſins to deal with us in this kind, to unchurch us, and leave us in the dark, as a people that ſhall no longer be owned by the Lord for a people: If the Lord doth continue theſe priviledges among us, we have cauſe much to admire his patience, and to magnifie his mercy. You ſee the people were very much affected with what Chriſt ſpake, when he told them the parable fore-mentioned, and that the Lord of the Vineyard would come, and give the Vineyard to others. When they heard it, they ſaid, God forbid, ver. 16.

p. 40SECT. X.

XGod takes away peace ſometimes from a people, and ſettlement from States and Nations: In all theſe publick changes we muſt eye God as the cauſe of cauſes; whatſoever the inſtruments be, whether good or evil, few or many, whether they act by fraud or force, it is God doth all in all, and they do nothing but what God permits them, and worketh by them. Commonly the Inſtruments of publick changes are very evil, and the way they take is evil. The four Monarchies preſented to Daniel in a Viſion, are repreſented like four cruel Beaſts. The Chaldean in the likeneſs of a Lion,Dan. 7.2, 3Dan 7:2Dan 7:3 the Perſian in the ſhape of a Bear, the Grecian, or Macedonian, in the likeneſs of a Leopard, and the Roman by a ſtrange. Monſter, with iron teeth, intimating that great Conquerours, that make great changes, are moſt commonly like wilde and ſavage beaſts. All thoſe ſavage Beaſts fore-mentioned, faſtened their Claws upon the Church of Chriſt.

1. The Aſſyri… or Babylonian p. 41came like a Lion roaring after his prey. In the daies of Pekah King of Iſrael came Tiglath-Pilneſer, King of Aſſyria, and took Ijon, and Abel-Beth-Maacha, and Janoah, and Kedeſh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, and all the Land of Naphtali, and carried them Captive to Aſſyria, 2 Kings 15.29. And in the ninth year of Hoſhea King of Iſrael, 2 Reg. 17.6.2 Kgs 17:6Shalmaneſer King of Aſſyria came up thorowout all the Land, and went up to Samaria; and beſieged it three years: In the ninth year of Hoſhea, he took Samaria; and carried Iſrael away unto Aſſyria, and tranſplanted the ten Tribes, placing them in Halath, and in Habor, by the River of Gozan, and in the Cities of the Medes. Now the Aſſyrian was Gods Inſtrument to remove Iſrael out of their own Land, yet it is ſaid the Lord did it, 2 Reg. 17.18. The Lord was very angry with Iſrael, and removed them out of his ſight; there was none left but the Tribe of Judah only: Alſo Judah kept not the Commandments of the Lord their God, &c. This Beaſt alſo invaded Judah alſo in the time of Sennacherib, and cruelly threatned Jeruſalem, where p. 42the Temple of God, the ſpecial place of his worſhip was; and in the time of Nebuchadnezzar, this Beaſt beſieged Jeruſalem, and took it, and burnt the Houſe of the Lord, and the Kings houſe, and all the houſes of Jeruſalem, and every great mans houſe burnt he with fire, and carried multitudes of the people to Babylon, and held them in bondage ſeventy years. Now ſee what God ſaith of this cruel Beaſt▪ Iſai. 10.5, 6. O Aſſyrian [or woe to the Aſſyrian, as ſome read it] the rod of mine anger, and the ſtaff in their hand is mine indignation; I will ſend him againſt an hypocritical Nation, and againſt the people of my wrath will I give him a charge to take the ſpoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the ſtreets. What doth God make of this great Conquerour, the Aſſyrian Emperour, that prevailed over his own people, and many others, but as the Rod of Gods anger, and one that could do no more than a rod or ſtaff without a hand; if the Lord had not mannaged it, this ſtaff could have done nothing; the Lord makes uſe of Inſtruments as a ſtaff, and ſoon ſets them behind the door; p. 43and this appeared by the great ſlaughter that God made in the Hoſt of this proud Aſſyrian; for in one night an Angel of the Lord ſmote in the Camp of the Aſſyrians, an hundred fourſcore and five thouſand; and Sennacherib himſelf was ſlain by his own ſons, Iſa. 37.36, 37.

2. The Perſian Monarchy repreſented by the Bear, though by the hand of God this Beaſt was ſo muzzled, as not utterly to deſtroy the people of God, and ſo over-ruled by the Lord, as to give opportunity to the people of God to return and build the Temple, and repair the City of Jeruſalem, yet were they afterward perſecuted by the Court of Perſia, and brought in danger by the pride of Haman, abuſing his favour with Ahaſuerus the Perſian Monarch.

3. The Macedonian repreſented by a Leopard, came with his flying wings to deſtroy the Church of God in Judah: afterward it was moſt grievouſly afflicted by two limbs of this Beaſt, viz. that of the South, and that of the North, eſpecially that of the North; ſc. Antiochus Epiphanes, whoſe cruelties are notably ſet forth in the firſt book of the Macchabees.

p. 444. The fourth Beaſt, viz. the Roman Monarchy, is worſe than all the three former Beaſts; and that Viſion of Daniel fore-mentioned, is ſuited to that of S. John in Rev. 13.1, 2. And I ſtood upon the ſand of the Sea, and ſaw a Beaſt riſe up out of the Sea, having ſeven heads, and ten horns, and upon his horns ten Crowns, and upon his heads the name of Blaſphemy; and the Beaſt which I ſaw, was like unto a Leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a Bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a Lion, and the Dragon gave him his power, and his ſeat, and great authority. The reaſon why Daniel did not liken the fourth to any Beaſt, as the former three were, is becauſe it was a Monſter compounded of the cruelties of the ſeveral beaſts, ſc. of a Lion, Bear, and Leopard, this Beaſt was like them all. Now this Beaſt was ſome hundreds of years before it came to its full growth, and being diſtant from Judah, the Church of God felt nothing of its fury till the Age before Chriſt came in the fleſh. The firſt time that this Beaſt put forth his Paws againſt the Church, was about ſixty one years before the Birth of Chriſt, when p. 45Pompey, the Roman General, taking advantage of the contentions of the two Brethren (Hircanus and Ariſtobulus, of the Race of the Macchabees) about the Prieſthood and Principality, took from them the City and Temple of Jeruſalem, and made them Tributary to the Romans: whereupon, he and others with him, preſumed to enter into the Temple, and ſaw ſuch things that was not lawful for them to ſee; after which violence and preſumption, it is noted of Pompey, that was very victorious before, above any one Roman, that he was very unhappy in his wars afterward, and being vanquiſhed by Julius Caeſar, fled into Egypt for refuge, and there was murdered where he looked for ſuccour. Craſſus committed horrid ſacriledge, he robbed the Temple in Jeruſalem of ten thouſand Talents (that is, two hundred thouſand pounds of our money) and afterwards being overthrown of the Parthians, had molten gold powred down his throat to ſatisfie his greedy appetite. One notable miſchief the Romans did to the people of God, was the placing of that cruel Herod in the Throne, who was made King by the p. 46favour of Auguſtus and Mark Anthony; he was a Vaſſal to the Romans, though a cruel Tyrant to the people of God: And now the Scepter was departed from Judah, and the Law-giver from under his feet; this Herod ſlew the Sanedrin and Grand Council of the Land, and murdered the Infants at Bethlehem, from two years old and under, out of a deſire to murder Chriſt in his Infancy. This fourth Beaſt murdered the Prince of Life, and Lord of Glory, Pilate the Roman Judge condemning him, and the Roman Souldiers putting it in execution: And the Jews, who formerly had ſuffered by this fourth Beaſt, as the Church of Chriſt, and now joyning with this Beaſt againſt Chriſt, they became the moſt malignant perſecutors of Chriſt and his Church, ſtirring up the Roman Magiſtrates in ſeveral Provinces and Cities to perſecute the Apoſtles of Chriſt, and the ſincere profeſſors of the truth; and remaining in their rebellion and enmity againſt Chriſt, they were unchurched; and the Kingdome of the Goſpel being tranſlated from them to the Gentiles, the wrath of God came upon them to the uttermoſt; eleven p. 47hundred thouſand of them were ſlain by the Sword, Famine and Peſtilence, at the Siege, by Veſpaſian and Titus his Son, and the reſidue ſold for ſlaves, and afterwards five hundred thouſand of them ruinated by Adrian the Emperour. And becauſe the Soveraign Power was now ſetled in the Emperours, that I may ſpeak further of the fury of this Beaſt againſt the Saints of the moſt High, I think fit to the two former deſcriptions in Daniel, and that in Revel. 13. to add another out of Revel. 17.3. where S. John ſaith,Plutarchus foreign quaſi ſepticollem vocat. I ſaw a woman ſit upon a ſcarlet coloured beaſt, full of names of blaſphemy, having ſeven heads, and ten horns. This is explained, ver. 9. The ſeven heads are ſeven mountains on which the woman ſitteth. Ver. 10. And there are ſeven Kings, five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come, and when he cometh, he muſt continue a ſhort ſpace. Ver. 11. And the beaſt that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the ſeven, and goeth into perdition. Ver. 12. And the ten horns which thou ſaweſt, are ten Kings, which have received no Kingdome as yet, &c. Theſe ſhall hate the p. 48whore, and make her deſolate and naked, and ſhall eat her fleſh, and burn her with fire. Ver. 16. and ver. 17. The woman which thou ſaweſt, is that great City which reigneth over the Kings of the earth. Septem una ſibi muro circundedit arces. Servius in VI Aen.The ſeven Heads are ſeven Mountains on which the Woman ſate: This Woman is that great City of Rome built upon ſeven hills, viz. Mons Palatinus, Capitolinus, Caelius, Quirinalis, Aventinus, Viminalis, Eſquilinus. They alſo ſignifie ſeven Kings, or ſeven ſorts of Supreme Magiſtrates, by which the City and Empire hath been, and is governed. Supreme Magiſtrates in Scripture are called Kings, when Iſrael was formed into a Commonwealth, they had Moſes ſet over them, Deut. 33.4, 5. Moſes commanded us a Law, &c. and he was King in Jeſurun, when the Heads of the people, and the Tribes of Iſrael were gathered together. So the Dukes of the Sons of Eſau are called Kings, Gen. 36.31. Theſe are the Kings that reigned in the Land of Edom, before there reigned any King over the children of Iſrael; that is, before Iſrael was delivered out of bondage, and was formed into a Commonwealth, and had p. 49Moſes ſet over them as Supreme Ruler under God. Now Rome is famous for theſe ſeven Heads, or ſeven ſorts of Governours, I. Kings, II. Conſuls, III. Tribunes of the Souldiers, IV. Decem-viri, V. Dictators, VI. Emperours, VII. Popes. Tacitus noteth,Haliemus Inſtrumenta ſervilia etiam Reges. Tacit. that among other things, Rome hath this honour, to have Kings for its Vaſſals. And S. John ſpeaking of theſe ſeven ſorts of Magiſtrates, that did ſucceſſively rule in Rome, he ſaith, five are fallen; that is, when this Viſion was preſented to John, and the Revelation written by him, viz. five of thoſe ſeven Supreme Magiſtrates were fallen; Kings, Conſuls, Tribunes, Decem-viri, Dictators: For although there were Conſuls many hundred years after, yet they were no longer Heads, as formerly, though they had the ſame name, yet they came ſhort of the former Conſuls in power and dignity.— Then Saint John ſaith, one is;— that is, the Heathen Emperours were then in being; theſe were then regnant, and had the place of Heads in the Empire: Theſe began to head the Beaſt (as the ſixth Head) about forty years before the Birth of Chriſt, and continued three p. 50hundred years after Chriſts birth; I underſtand it of the Heathen Emperours only, not the Chriſtian.— Saint John addeth, And the other is not yet come, viz. the Popes, they were not then come when John wrote. After the Heathen Emperours were taken away, Rome was left vacant for the Pope; and although the Chriſtian Emperours had ſome power, yet they did not reſide at Rome, but continued for a long time at Conſtantinople, or Ravenna; and after the power of the Chriſtian Emperour was broken by the Barbarians, the Pope got Rome, and ſetled himſelf there, and ſo becometh the ſeventh Head of the fourth Beaſt.

Now the ſixth and ſeventh Head of this Beaſt, one that was then in being, and one that was not then come, were the grand Enemies of the Church of Chriſt.

1. The ſixth Head, the Roman Emperours, they raiſed many bloody perſecutions againſt the Church of Chriſt, and though God reſtrained ſome of them, and gave his Church a breathing, yet many of them tortured their own brains to deviſe cruel torments wherewith to torture the Chriſtians, p. 51as Nero, Tiberius, Domitian, Trajan, Antoninus, Decius, Maximinus, Diocleſian, &c. under whom many thouſand Martyrs ſealed the truth of Chriſt with their blood: Such was the favour of God to this Realm, that they eſcaped all, except the laſt Perſecution, which was under Diocleſian: and Alban was the firſt that ſuffered Martyrdome in this Land for the Goſpel of Chriſt. But the Pope, the ſeventh and laſt Head, hath been more miſchievous, and continued longer than all the reſt: Take his firſt riſe, from the time the Heathen Emperours were cut off, and the Pope hath continued 1360 years, or thereabout; and Rome was builded about a thouſand and ſixty years before the Pope aroſe; ſo that this Head hath continued neer three hundred years longer than all the other ſix, which may give us hopes his time is now almoſt expired, and ſince the Church hath been vexed by him for ſo many Ages, it is not ſo much to be admired he ſhould fall ſpeedily, as that he hath ſtood ſo long. The Pope was born about the time of Conſtantine the Great, and came not to his full ſtature till about the year ſix hundred, or ſomewhat after, p. 52then Boniface III. made by Phocas, univerſal Paſtor of all the Churches of the world, appeared with his Ecce duo gladii hic: Behold here the two Swords, challenging Imperial and Papal Dignity.

The miſchief done to the Church by this ſeventh Head, hath been partly by fraud, partly by open violence; partly by bringing in corruptions in matter of Doctrine, (Popery is not a ſingle Hereſie, like that of Apollinaris, or Arrius, but a heap and ſink, or common ſewer, in which there is a confluence of Hereſies and corrupt Doctrines meeting together) and partly by rage and cruelties; witneſs their cruelties to the Albigenſes, and Waldenſes. About the latter end of the reign of King Henry the Second,Du Moulin Reſponſ. ad Cardin. Du Perron. King of England, Pope Alexander III. held a Council at the Lateran Church in Rome, where they conſulted about the extirpation of the Albigenſes. They were a people that did not acknowledge the Pope, prayed to none but to God alone, had no Images, went not to Maſs, denied Purgatory, and read the holy Scriptures. The Pope therefore gave the ſame graces to them that ſhould ſpill the blood of p. 53theſe poor Chriſtians, as to them that croſſed themſelves to go to the holy Sepulchre, and fight againſt the Sarazens: Hereupon Dominick, the Author of the Order of Dominicans, put above two hundred thouſand of them to death: This was done in the time of John, King of England, and by the inſtigation of Pope Innocent the III. And of the Albigenſes and Waldenſes, Pope Julius the II. was the cauſe of the death of two hundred thouſand.

Now whoſoever be the Inſtruments of great trouble to the Church, or changes in the world, it is the hand of the Lord that doth it; we have no cauſe to repine and murmure at ſuch and ſuch, but have juſt cauſe to blame our ſelves for it; others have not dealt ſo ill with us, as we have dealt with God; therefore when God takes away peace, and ſends trouble, takes away the fruits of the earth, and ſends famine, takes away health, and ſends Epidemical diſeaſes, in all theſe we are to eye God; remember that the Judgments of God are a great deep, and like the great Mountains; if we do not thorowly ſearch the reaſon of it, let us confeſs our underſtandings are too p. 54ſhort to reach to the bottom of it, let us not accuſe God of injuſtice, but confeſs with Job; Lo, he goeth by me, and I ſee him not; his wayes are unſearchable, and paſt finding out.