A Hundred Sermons on Revelation, Sermons · Sermon 80
¶ The reioycyng of Sainctes for the ouerthrowe of Babilon, the drownyng of the fame, and the cauſes of drowning or deſtruction are reherſed. The .lxxx. Sermon.
REioyce ouer her thou heauen, and ye holy Apoſtles and prophetes: for God hath geuen your iudgement on her. And a mightie Angell toke vp a greate Milſtone, and caſte it into the ſea, ſaiyng: with ſuch violence ſhall that great citie Babilon be caſte, and ſhal be founde no more. And the voice of harpes and muſiciās, and of pipers and trompettes ſhall be hearde no more in thee: & no craftes man, of what ſo euer crafte he be, ſhal be founde no more in thee: and the ſounde of a Mille ſhall be hearde no more in thee: and the light of a cādel ſhal ſhine no more in thee, and the voice of the bridegrome and of the bryde ſhall be hearde no more in thee: for thy marchauntes were princes of the Earth, and with thine in chauntementes were deceaued all nations: and in her was founde the bloud of the Prophetes, and of the ſainctes, & of all that were ſlaine vponupon the Earth.
In the fifte place of this chapter the Angell of the Lorde exhorteth, al the ſainctes of Heauen to reioyce,The reioycynge of Sainctes for the deſtructiō of Rome. and that for the ouerthrowe of Babilon. And this reioycyng of Sainctes is ſet agaynſt the wayling of the wicked. For as they lamente for the cauſes of pleaſures taken from them: ſo the Sainctes reioice ouer vngodlines oppreſſed, and the glory of God reuenged. We are verely forboden in the Prouerbes of Salomō, and in the doctrine of Chriſt and his Apoſtles, that we ſhuld not be glad of the calamities of our enemies, nother that we ſhould ſaye euill or do euill to our enemies. Whiche thing is perpetuall, and commaunded to all men, neuer to be altered by any diſpenſation: but we muſt obſerue in the meane time, that men doe reioyce diuerſe wayes. Menne are glad many times of the deſtruction of their enemies, and that of hatred & mallice: which is not done without ſinne. Others are glad agayne of the calamities, and plages of the vngodly, yet bearyng no mallice towardes them, whiche are in this miſerie: vntounto whom thei wold doubtleſſe hauehave wiſhed a better ſtate, if they might hauehave ben perſwaded to hauehave tourned but they reioyce rather ouer iuſtice reuenged, and the godly deliuered from the tiranny of the wicked. Whereof we reade that the prophet ſayde in the .58. Pſalme. The rightuouſe ſhal reioice, when he ſhal ſee vengeaunce, he ſhall waſſhe his fete in the bloud of the vngodly (to witte he ſhall pourge his affections and euill maners,That the Sainctes reioyce at ye deſtruction of the wicked. what time he ſhall ſee the bloud of the vngodly ſpilte: which he beleueth to be done for a documēt, leſt we ſhould follow our euill affections, & that our bloud ſhuld be ſhed alſo of the moſte iuſte God by his miniſters) and a man wil ſaie: verely there is a rewarde for the rightuous, verely god iudgeth the earth. Therfore are the rightuouſe glad, & reioyce when they ſee vengeaunce. And it is not ſayde, that they couet, or wiſhe for vengeaunce. Vengeaunce is mine, ſayeth the lord, I wil rewarde. When the lorde therefore rewardeth they are glad for the deliueraunce, and for ye veritie eſtabliſhed and confirmed: and reioyce not of an hatred they heare towarde the oppreſſours, whom they hauehave wiſhed loſt and deſtroyed. The godly wiſſhe euermore the wicked to be conuerted, and to retourne into fauour with God. But whē they ſee them moued with no repētaunce, but obſtinately to procede, and falle into their owne deſtruction, and that God doeth intercepte them, for the ſaluation of the faythfull, and deliueraunce of the godly: the godly reioyce at this deliueraunce, and prayſe the iuſtice of God. Notwithſtanding that they had alwayes rather, if it mighte hauehave ben, that the loſte had otherwiſe led their life: but nowe ſins it can be no otherwiſe, through their owne obſtinate mallice, they ſpeake not againſt the iudgementes of God, but rather commende the ſame. Theſe thinges verely do the ſainctes in Earth. And the Sainctes in heauen ſins they be purified now from all affections, their reioycing is altogether moſt pure, ſo that it were ſuperfluouſe to reaſon curiouſely therof. But where the heauenly reioyce at the deſtruction of the wicked, we maye eaſely iudge howe muche they erre, whiche truſte to the helpe or prayers of Sainctes: where neuertheleſſe they alter nothing at all of their wicked life. It ſhall be eaſie alſo to diſcuſſe their doubte and carefulnes, which feare leeſt they ſhould be ſory alſo, ſeyng their bretherne, ſiſters, frendes and kinſfolkes cō demned. For the Sainctes do plainely conſent to the will of God, and extolle the iudgementes of God, and reioyce therat, and can be ſory no more.
And he biddeth heauē reioyce,Reioyce thou heauen. as many times in the Pſal. we reade the like phraſe: vnleſſe you had rather by Heauen, vnderſtande heauēly dwellers, ſuch as we beleue thapoſtles & prophetes to be. For at the ſame time when S. Iohn wrote theſe thinges, all thapoſtles in a maner were ſlaine. And here is to be knowen, that the Romiſh beaſt had deuoured, that is to ſaye, afflicted & ſlaine, not only the ſonne of God, our lord Ieſus Chriſt: but alſo Iohn the Baptiſt, all the Apoſtles of God, and al the martirs of Chriſt. By the prophetes we vnderſtande, not only thoſe olde, but all the faithful preachers of the goſpel. For we hauehave hearde oftener than ones before, that the faithful preachers of the worde be called prophetes. He annexeth more ouer a reaſon whie they ought to reioyce: for God hath geuen your iudgement of her. For in the .6. chapt. the ſoules of Martirs crie vnderunder the Aultar: howe longe Lord auengeſt thou not our bloud on them that be on Earth? nowe therefore they prayſe Gods iuſtice, whiche as he than promiſed that he would auenge, ſo hath he nowe auenged in dede.
And by this place we learne,Sainctes do not pū niſhe the wicked. that all iudgement is geuen to the ſonne, and that no Saincte in heauen can iudge or pū niſh an euil man on Earth. For it is moſte falſe, that Sainctes are ſayed to punniſſhe their enemies: S. Anthony with the holy fire, Valentine with the fallyng ſickenes, and other with other diſeaſes, God alone, as in the .16. chapt. is declared at large, punniſſheth, and ſendeth and taketh away ſickenes. And moſte certayne it is, aſwel by this, as alſo by many other places of this boke, that God ſlepeth not, but will whē he ſeeth time, reuenge and punniſh moſt certenly. The martirs when they ſhould die, had cōmitted all their iudgement to the Lorde their God. He iudgeth nowe the iudgement of Sainctes of Rome: that is after his iuſte iudgement taketh punniſhment of Rome, for that ſhe had with wrōgfull iudgement oppreſſed the Sainctes.
In the ſixte place of this chapter he retourneth to the deſcription of the ſubuerſion of Babylon. And it is a moſte clere, and euē a certen eyely and euident demonſtration by a ſimilitude. For takyng vp a greate ſtone, in quantitie like a Milſtone, he caſteth the ſame into the Sea, and makyng a declaration of his ſo doyng,Babilō is drouned in the Sea. ſayeth, thus ſodaynely, and with ſuch a violence, (foreign) ſhal Babilon be caſt downe, &c. This place is taken out of the ende of the .51. chapt. of Ieremie, where you reade in a maner the like thinges worde for worde. And here is now brought in a ſtrong Angell, leeſt we ſhoulde thinke that the force of Rome were happly ſtronger than that it could be broken. But it ſhal be broken of a ſtrōg Aungell. And the thinges that be ſodainely drowned appere no more. Here is ſignified therefore, that with a ſodayne deſtruction Rome ſhal falle, that there ſhal no token thereof be lefte, & that it ſhal falle without any difficultie, it ſhal be made to plumpe, and neuer more be ſene. And the Lorde in the goſpell affirmeth, that the crime or ſclaunder muſt be punniſhed with a Milſtone hanged aboute the necke: yea and that ſame not to be punniſhment greuous enough, although emonges the Syrians it was accompted for vile and ſhamefull, ſins the crime deſerueth to be punniſhed with a much more greuouſe or crueller paine. Wherefore Primaſius ſuppoſed, that here by the waye is ſignied, how Babilon, for offences geuen to the worlde, ſhould be drowned in the Sea, as it were with a milſtone tied faſt to her necke. Doubtles if euer any citie, if euer any kingedome were hateful by reaſon of greateſt offences, and geuen to the Chriſtians innumerable ſclaunders: Rome and the Romane Empire, and euen the Popiſhenes of the church hath hurte moſt by ſclaūder, and yet hurteth. Wherefore it is no doubte, but that it hath bē plaged moſt greuouſly, and ſhal be yet more punniſhed of the Lorde.
Agayne by propheticall and figuratiue ſpeaches he ſignifieth a notable deſolation, and that the ſame place ſhould neuer after be inhabited for euer. Such like maners of ſpeaches ſhall ye finde in the .24. of Eſaye, and .26. of Ezech. and in diuerſe other places. Al pleaſure, ſayeth he, ſhal periſh, eſpecially which was wont to be taken of Muſicke. All craftes ſhall be layde downe. Briefely there ſhal be no more any habitation for men.
The cauſes of her deſolatiō.In the ſeuenth and laſt place are ſet forth agayne the cauſes of this ſubuerſion, and that more notable three. The firſt: Thy marchauntes were princes of the Earth. For they that hauehave occupied marchandiſe in the church of Rome, and yet do, are in a maner princes. Of whom I hauehave ſpoken before. Here is noted therfore their pride, auarice, and ſumptuouſenes. Aretas: he calleth them marchauntes, ſayeth he, whiche tourmoyle and trouble the whole worlde, as it were certen fayres, &c. The ſeconde: for with thine inchauntementes all nations hauehave ben ſeduced. There is no doubte, but that inchauntyng, and magicke raigne in Babilon, and that there is founde plentie of fortune readers, necromanciers, and inchaunters: yet here appereth chiefly to be ſignified, ſeducing, Idolatrie, and impietie, or errour of doctrine. Suche an inchaunter was Iezabel, as appereth in the .4. booke of Kinges the .9. chapt. which practiſed inchauntementes in very dede, and bewitched men with corrupt religion. And euen ſo hath Rome ſeduced the whole worlde, and yet ſeduceth. For the which cauſe ſhe deſerueth moſt greuouſe punniſhment. The laſt cauſe of ſubuerſion: for in thee is foūde the bloud. Bloud ſhed can not be whipte awaye nor clenſed from them, that ſhede innocent bloud.The ſheding of bloud. And although it be not ſtreight waye required: yet will there come a time when it ſhal be required of God, and than is it founde. And he maketh mētion of thre ſortes of bloud. Firſte of the bloud of Prophetes, of them I meane, which hauehave preached the Goſpell, and hauehave ben the fathers of the faithfull. Secondely of Sainctes to witte holy martirs. Finally of al menne that hauehave ben ſlayne in earth to witte dwelling here and there through out the world: whom we vnderſtande to hauehave ben diſpatched and taken out of the waye, by the warres, ſeditions, and tiranny of Rome. So we reade alſo in the firſt oratiō of Ieremie, that God ſtraitely requyreth the bloud of his ſeruauntes ſpilte. Doubtles all ſhedyng of bloud is greuouſe (the ſame excepted which is iuſtely done of the magiſtrate) yet is one more heynouſe than another. For he that killeth a preacher of the goſpell, more greuouſely ſinneth, than he that diſpatcheth a priuate perſon: and he whiche for religion ſake ſlayeth a man, and maketh a martir, ſinneth more heynouſely, than he that killeth a man in the warre. Therefore al the bloud ſhed of Rome after any ſort, ſhal be required of Rome, & is required. Thus the lorde ſpake alſo of the citie of Hieruſalē, Matth. 23. The lord Ieſus hauehave mercy on vsus, & loke vpō vsus with theyes of his merciemercy. Amen.