portrait of Christopher Nesse 
Christopher Nesse  
Minnister of the Gospel in fleet street London.  
atutis suoe 56: 1678   

A Complete and Compendious Church-History: SHOWING, HOW it hath been from the Beginning of the World, to this present Day.  
Being an Historical-Narrative, How the Power and Providence of GOD, According to His Promise, Hath hitherto Confounded all the Damnable PLOTS of the DEVIL.  
To which is ANNEXED A Scripture-Prophecy: FORESHOWING, HOW it shall be Hence to the End of the WORLD.  
The Whole Containing the Quintessence of Sacred, Civil, and Ecclesiastick-Writers; And serving as a short Comment upon all the Books in the BIBLE, both Historical and Prophetical.  
Published for Public Good, By Christopher Ness, Minister of the Gospel, in Fleetstreet.  
LONDON, Printed by T. H. and are to be Sold by Jacob Samson, next Door to the Wonder in Ludgate-Street: And by Jonathan Wilkins, at the Star, next Mercers-Chappel, in Cheapside, 1680.   

TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE Sir Robert Clayton, Lord Mayor of London.  
My LORD,  
I Beseech You Pardon my Boldness, that (Poor) I do take upon me to Interrupt your Lordship in your so Great Affairs and so Emergent Occasions, as the Saving of a Sinking City and Nation, most justly Challengeth: Were I as Worthy as Jonathan, 'tis no less a Law writ in my Heart to do for your Lordship what he did for David, [In going to him into the Wood, to Strengthen His Hands in God,] I do here Present to your Noble Hands as Noble and Necessary a Prospect as this lower World can Afford, to wit, GOD wageing War against the DEVIL, from the Beginning of the World to the End thereof, and God all along (as is most meet) Obtaining the VICTORY: 'Tis a pleasant Spectacle to behold Christ and Antichrist contending for Mastery: To be an Universal HISTORIAN, (as I presume your Lordship to be) is the most Effectual Means to make Wise for both Worlds: Hence Plato Derives Historia, [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,] from Stopping the Flux of Humane Extravagancy, History being the Witness of Time, the Light of Truth, the Life of Memory, and the Doctress of the Life of Man: As it is a continued Calendar of most Remarkable Actions in former Ages, so it holds forth Caution, Counsel, and Comfort, to following Generations; Quid Divinius, Nôsse omnia? To be a good Historian, is a good way to be both Wise and Good, as Contracting a Blest Composition of all those Perfections perused in every Age, and leaving a Transforming Influence behind them: History makes Wise (1) to Secular Affairs, as it is a Knowledge of Things past, whereby we may Judge of Things present, and make Probable Conjectures at Things to come, seeing there is no New thing under the Sun. The selfsame Scenes are Acted over and over again upon the Stage of the World, 'Tis only the Persons (that Act them) which are changed; therefore the Representing in an Historical-Glass, what hath been before, is a plain Praemonition of what shall be Hereafter. 2. Wise to Salvation: The Great God hath been making a Large Comment (even in Capital Characters) upon his own Text, Gen. 4. 7. If thou dost Well, shalt thou not be Accepted? and If Ill, Sin lies at thy Door: and upon that Text, Isa. 3.10, 11. Say to the Righteous, It is well, etc. and Woe to the wicked, and tell them so from me, saith the Lord. As the most Wise God made Two Great Luminaries (the Sun and Moon) to give Light to the World, so hath he Ordained Two Great Lights (the Word of His Promise, and the Work of his Providence) to Enlighten his Church: as the Moon borrows Light from the Sun, wherewith she looks upon the World with greater Splendour: so the Work of Providence (as to us) Receives Light from the Word of Promise, whereby the Church is more Illuminated. What is the Work of Providence, (upon all Ages, Places, Families, Persons, etc.) but the Accomplishment of the Words of Prophecy and Promise: All the Actings and Emanations of Providence, are a standing Comment and a clear Interpretation of Abstruse Prophecies, and of Unfulfilled Promises: All Occurrences (whether Great or Small) in the World, are but the Accomplishment of what God hath Prophesied and Promised in His Word: Solomon Saith, The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be, Eccles. 1. 9, 10, 'Tis True, there hath been some Extraordinary Actings of God in the World, (such as Noah's Deluge, the promulgation of the Law, the Suns standing still and going back, a Virgin bearing a Son, etc.) shall never be again: Yet all Ordinary Occurencies are alike in all Ages, from a Twofold Ground. 1. All Natural Causes and Effects continue as they were at the Beginning, Natura nihil Molitur Novi, Nature Produces no New Species of Creatures, though there may be some Accidental Defect or Superfluity in the Matter. (2.) All Humane and Voluntary Actions, Counsels, and Contrivances, (having the same Principles to Produce them, and the same Objects to Draw them forth,) are the same in Substance, as Heretofore, and therefore must have the same Tendency: As Face Answers to Face in a Glass, so doth the Heart of Man to Man, Prov. 27. 19 that is, The Counsels of the Hearts, and Courses of the Lives of Men in one Age, do exactly Answer unto those of another, As it was in the Days of Noah, even so shall it be, etc. Matth. 24. 31, 39 A Man may as in a Mirror take a Shrewd Prospect of Future Events by former Instances. It must therefore be acknowledged a mighty Loss to Mankind to Bury the Knowledge of former things in the Grave of Unmindful Heads, or Unthankful Hearts.  
My Lord, You are WISE (I would say) as an Angel of God, to Discern Dexterously, and Improve Practically, what is here (Quale, quale est,) Presented to your Lordship, 'tis a CHURCH-HISTORY, being an Orderly Commemoration of Things past, with the Circumstances of Time and Place in Distinct Descents and Distances for the better Help of Remembrance, Affection and Application: wherein your HONOUR may turn aside with Moses to Behold the Bush ever Burning▪ in the Flames of Her Adversaries Fury▪ yet never Consumed, Exod. 3. 3. because the Good will of him that dwelled in the Bush, did preserve it, Deut. 33. 16. That Excellent Emblem of the Church had a Complication of Wonders, as 1. There was a Flame of Fire, else how could the Bush be Burning? 2. There was Light, else how could Moses behold it? 3. Yet no Heat, else the Bush had been Consumed: It was the Angel of the Covenant, that either Qualified the Fire to have Light without Heat, or Consolidated the Bush, so, as not to become Combustible: 'Twas the presence of Christ that made the Fiery Furnace a Gallery of Pleasure to the Three Nobles of Babylon. The Church is the only Salamander that can Live in the Fire by Virtue of that Promise, Isa. 43. 2. No Flame can Consume her. And to Behold a Lily in the midst of Thorns, Cant. 2. 3. Though one Churlish Thorn can Scratch in pieces 10000 Tender Lillys, yet is so Marvellously Preserved in the midst of many and mighty Enemies, It could never be Cut up by the Sword of Persecution, or Burnt down by the Fire of Martyrdom: And to Behold all along a most Harmonious Consort, and a most Con onant Coincident Correspondency betwixt the Words of God's Mouth, and the Works of God's Hand. Lastly, Your Honour may behold how the Church hath been (and will be) Secured by a Divine Power, Promise, Prophecy, and Providence, against the Fraud and Force, Craft and Cruelty, Power and Policy of all her Foes, that notwithstanding all their Stratagems and Strength, the Issue hath ever been the Destruction of All the Designers, leaving a Fatal Monument of themselves to Posterity behind them; yet the Church is still preserved: That your Lordship may be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, do Worthily in Ephratah, and be Famous in Bethlehem, (as you Hitherto have been) and that you may have Safety in this World, and Salvation in the World to come, is the Hearty Prayer of  
Your Humble Orator, CHRISTOPHER NESS.   

ERRATA.  
PAg. 11. l. 15. r. own Bow, l. 29. r. (1) Rage. p. 26. l. 4. for savely r. save, p. 45. for Protestator, r. Protector p. 50. l. 16. for Ezek. r. Exod. p. 74. l. 8. for Moses, r. Moab. p. 87. l. 1. for Parlus, r. Pareus. p. 143. l. 20. for place, r. peace. p. 224. l. 4. r. Evilmerodach. p. 256. l. 1. for 3. r. 20. p. 157, for 257. p. 290. l. 27. for day, r. days, p. 312. l. last. r. 3 [presently] p. 321. l. 27. for 1, r. 8. p. 415. l. 4. for Southwind, r. Southward. l. 5. for Northward, r. Northwind. p. 451. l. 16. for 22. r. 23.   

The Table of the Devils Plots against the Church, Defeated by God.  


Chap. 1. THe First against Adam in his State of Innocency. pag. 2, to 11.  
Ch. 2. The Second against Abel, after the Fall by Cain. pag. 12, to 26.  
Ch. 3. The Third against Seth and his Posterity at the Deluge. pag. 27, to 31.  
Ch. 4. The Fourth against Israel by the Bondage in Egypt. pag. 32, to 41.  
Ch. 5. The Fifth against the Church in the Wilderness, By Amalek. pag. 41, to 46.  
Ch. 6. The Sixth against the Church in the Wilderness; by the Golden Calf. pag. 46, to 52.  
Ch. 7. The Seventh against the Church in the Wilderness, by Korah's Conspiracy. pag. 53, to 62.  
Ch. 8. The Eighth against the Church in the Wilderness, by Inward Murmur and Outward Assaults: pag. 64, to 70.  
Ch. 9 The Ninth against the Church in the Wilderness; by Balak and Balaam, a Type of Rome. pag. 71, to 86.  
Ch. 10. The Tenth against the Church in the Wilderness, by Moses Death and Burial. pag. 86, to 90.  
Ch. 11. The Eleventh against the Church in Canaan, by Achan and by the Altar Ed. pag. 91, to 98.  
Ch. 12. The Twelfth against the Church in Canaan, by Idolatry and Debauchery. pag. 99, to 111.  
Ch. 13. The Thirteenth against the Church in Canaan, by the loss of the Ark. pag. 112, to 126.  
Ch. 14. The Fourteenth against the Church in Canaan, by Saul, Absolom, and Adonijah. pag. 127, to 152.  
Ch. 15. The Fifteenth against the Church in Canaan, by Solomon's Apostasy. pag. 153, to 164.  
Ch. 16. The Sixteenth against the Church in Canaan, by Jeroboam's Idolatry to the Captivity of the Ten Tribes. pag. 165, to 188.  
Ch. 17. The Seventeenth against the Church in Judah, by Apostasy to the Captivity of the Two Tribes, pag. 189, to 222.  
Ch. 18. The Eighteenth against the Church in Babylon, by 70 Y. Captivity. pag. 223, to 238.  
Ch. 19 The Nineteenth against the Church after their Return by Samaritans, Sanballat, etc. p. 239, to 255.  
Ch. 20. The Twentieth against the Church in Persia, by Haman, etc. pag. 256, to 294.  
Ch. 21. The 21st. against the Church, betwixt the Old and New Test. and in Christ's Minority. pag. 295, to 310.  
Ch. 22. The 22d. against the Church, in Christ, after his Minority at his Baptism. pag. 310, to 328.  
Ch. 23. The 23d. against the Church in Christ, fulfilling his Ministry. pag. 329, to 360.  
Ch. 24. The 24th. against the Church, in Christ, by Crucifying him at last. pag. 361, to 372.  
Ch. 25. The 25th. against the Church in the Apostles, by Persecution. pag. 373, to 400.  
Ch. 26. The 26th. against the Church in the Seven Golden Candlesticks of Asia. pag. 401, to 407.  
Ch. 27. The 27th. against the Primitive-Church, by the Ten first Persecutions. pag. 407, to 413.  
Ch. 28. The 28th. against the Church, after the 3d. Century, by Arrianism. pag. 413, to 435.  
Ch. 29. The 29th. against the Eastern-Church, after the 6th. Century, by Mahometanism. pag. 421, to 435.  
Ch. 30. The 30th. against the Western-Church, by Popery, from the 6th. Century. pag. 436.  
Ch. 31. The Popish-Plot against the Waldenses, in the 11th. and 12th. Century.  
Ch. 32. The Popish-Plot against the Lollards, in the 13th. and 14th. Century.  
Ch. 33. The Popish-Plot against the Protestants, in the 15th. and 16th. Century.  
Ch. 34. A Scripture-Prophecy, opening the Revelation, and Evidencing how the Church shall overcome all her Enemies to the End of the World, and shall at last have a Glorious State, etc.     

THE PREFACE.  
'tIS a most Sacred and undeniable Truth, that The Wicked Plotteth against the Righteous. [Zomem Rashang letsadik.] The Mouth of the Lord (the God of Truth) hath Spoken it, Psal. 37. 12. This is the Church's Malady in all the Ages of the World; it hath been so in times past, (both before the Flood, and after it, under the Law, and under the Gospel.) It is so in time present, and it will be so for time to come, until time shall be no more. And 'tis as Sacred and certain a Truth, That the Lord laughs all those Plots to nothing, ver. 13. This is the Church's Remedy. Deus Videt Ridet, God looks and laughs, he laughs them to scorn; when he looks, that their Day is coming, even their dismal Day, wherein they shall be Slain with their own Sword, v. 14, 15, 17. and Fall by their own Counsel (though no Hand be upon them.) Psal. 5. 9, 10. Now while God laughs at the Plots of the Wicked, (both to disgrace the Plotters, and to degrade their Plots,) God's People have little cause to cry; especially considering, that their God is loath to laugh alone, and therefore he tells them of a time, wherein they shall laugh (with him) at their overwitted, and overpowered Adversaries, Psal. 52. 6. The Cause of the Wickeds Plotting against the Righteous in all Ages, is Twofold; The 1st. is [Causa 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or) The Inward Cause; to wit, The Old Enmity which the Fall of Man brought (Judicially) betwixt the Two Seeds: Gen. 3. 15. Ever since, there hath been a boisterous and bloody Disposition (running all along in the Black Line of a carnal Generation,) in all the Seed of the Serpent against the Seed of the Woman: This Enmity had there its beginning; but it shall never have an ending until the World endeth; Yea, it may be called an Eternal Enmity: [a part post] though not [a part ante,] for as the Angels and the Souls of Men had a beginning, but shall never have an end: So this Cursed Enmity (which had its beginning at the Fall) will continue beyond this World, even in the World to come. As long as evil Angels and damned Souls continue in Hell, (which shall be for ever,) so long will this Enmity continue in them against the Glorious Angels and Glorified Saints; Thus 'tis a Bottomless, boundless, and endless Enmity. The 2d. 'Cause is [Causa 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉] or, The Outward Cause why the Wicked Plot, etc. is, the Malignant Adversary of Mankind, the Devil, so called Quasi, [Do Evil.] 1st. He is their Father, and they are his Children, and the Lusts of their Father they will (and must) do, Joh. 8. 44. 2dly. He is their Lord, and they are his Vassals, and they will (and must) run his Errands. Yea, 3dly. He is their God, 2 Cor. 4. 4. and they are his Creatures. And as God (at the Creation of the World) did but Speak the Word, and it was done: So if the Devil (in the Conversation of the wicked) do but speak the word, hold up his singer, his will is done; He leads them Captive at his will, 2 Tim. 2. 26. He leads them like a Dog in a string, whether he pleases, yet hangs them up at last (like Dogs) upon everlasting Gibbits in Hell, where they hang and howl as Dogs, yet never die; to which if Tertullian's Character [Sessorem habent Diabolum.] be added, Then (4ly.) He is the Rider, and they are his Asses, which he Rides upon, whipping and spurring them (as Balaam did his Ass,) as if Riding Post to meet their own Destruction: And (as saith the Proverb) They must needs go (yea, gallop,) whom the Devil drives; especially such as (with the Man in the Gospel) have a whole legion of Devils in them; such wicked ones (with the Gadaren's Hogs) do Run Violently down most steep places, and most desperate praecipices, until (at last) They be choked in the deep Pit of Hell, Matth. 8. 32. Now as long as there be the same Original Corruption in wicked Men (while this present evil World lasts) to be drawn forth; and the same Devil (who, whosoever become Converts, can never become one) to draw forth that depraved Disposition, so long, there will be a wicked Plotting and practising against the Church of God in the World. Solomon saith, There is no new thing under the Sun, the thing that hath been, it is that which shall be, Eccles. 1. 9, 10. And the Apostle telleth us, As it was then, he that was Born after the Flesh, persecuted him that was Born after the Spirit, (as Ishmael did Isaac) even so it is now, Gal. 4. 29. Paul saith, It is so, now in my days; And we may say, It is even so now in our days: It was so then, it is so now, and it will be so for ever; so long as there be any wicked in the World, and the old  to set them on, who is that Evil Spirit which worketh (as the Artificer doth in his Shop) in the Children of Disobedience, Ephe. 2. 3. We Read of the Dragon's War (but as a sad Cordolium) with the Woman (the Church) and her Seed; Rev. 12. And if this War were in Heaven, v. 7. how much more on Earth? v. 17. This War is managed and maintained with great Wrath, v. 12. having the Assistance of an Inveterate, Implacable, and Everlasting Enmity in all incarnate Devils (his Auxiliaries) all acted and agitated by the Devil, who lends them his Seven Heads to Plot with, and his Ten Horns to push with against the Church. And we Read of the Lamb's War with this Dragon, (as a sweet and Sovereign Cordial) even our Blessed Michael and his Angels in the behalf of the Woman and her Seed, Rev. 12. 7, 8. And though the Beast (to whom the Dragon gave his power, Rev. 13. 2.) make War with the Saints, and overcome them, (during his Lease of 1260 y. allotted him) Rev. 13. 7. yet the Lamb shall overcome the Dragon and all his Auxiliaries, Rev. 17. 14. and 19 19, 20. and 20. 10. And in the mean time, though the Beast seem to overcome the Saints, (so it seemed, but so it was not) Rev. 13. 7. For the Saints overcome the Beast (by the Blood of the Lamb) when they seem to be most overcome by him, to the shedding of their own Blood, Rev. 12. 11. This Lamb Laughs all the Plots of the Beast to nothing, and all as Vain Things, whereof no good Reason can be given, nor any good Issue can be expected. Christ sits in Heaven, seethe and Smileth, is no more concerned, save only to ask the Many and the Mighty (that Club their Craft and Cruelty against Christ) if they be all Mad, to Attempt that which shall assuredly come to nothing, Psal. 2. 1, 2, 3, 4. The little Stone dashes all in pieces, Dan. 2. 34. So that it may be said of the Church, (as it was said of the old Romans) She hath lost (now and then) a Battle, but never a War. And as 'tis said of Gad, A Troop may overcome Gad, but Gad overcomes at last, Gen. 49. 19 So the Church [Concutitur, non Excutitur] may sometimes be Shaken, but never Shivered into Nothing; She always gets and gains by her Losses, and though she may be trampled under Foot all the Night of her Asfliction, yet is she sure to have Dominion in the Morning, Psal. 49. 14. And that Morning ushers in the Dismal Doomsday of all her Enemies.  

Niteris Incassum Christi Submergere Navem  
Fluctuat, at nunquam Mergitur illa Ratis.   

Dipped may the Church's Ship be, but not Drowned,  
Christ will not fail her Enemies to Confound.   
No Weapon that is form against her shall prosper, Isa. 54. 17. Nor ever did prosper; That Precious Promise hath blunted the Point, and turned the Edge of many Thousand Weapons that have been form against her; The Gates of Hell (though in a Combination of all its power and policy) shall not prevail against it, Matth. 16. 18. All the Plots both of the Wicked One, and of all Wicked Men, (from Adam to our Day) have been [Velut Unda Supervenit Undae] as the waves of the Sea succeeding one another, yet all have dashed themselves to pieces upon this Rock of Ages, whereon the Lord hath founded Zion, Isai. 14. 32. and 26. 1, 4. and 54. 10. The Church is Invincible, and can never be Demolished either by Angry Men or Enraged Devils.  

Magna est Veritas & Valebit,   

Truth is great, and will prevail,    

AN Historical Narrative OF THE Devil's Plots AGAINST THE CHURCH, All Defeated by GOD.  

The First Plot against the Church, etc.  
CHAP. I.  
THis I shall Demonstrate by an Induction of Particular Instances (as the Lord shall help me) both out of Sacred and Civil History, to make manifest the marvellous Conduct which the Pillar of Providence hath secured the Church withal in all her passages through the World, as the Pillar of Glory did the Church in the Wilderness.  
The 1st. Instance of the wicked Plotting against the Church, and the Lords laughing it to Nothing, is, that first Plot of the Grand Plotter [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉] that wicked One, 1 Joh. 5. 18. the Devil, against our first Parents: As of Jacob's Ladder, (which consisted of so many rounds or steps as would reach from Earth to Heaven) 'tis said, The Lord was upon the top of it, Gen. 28. 12, 13. So of this Scale of Conspiracies against the Church, (which contains so many Distinct Designs as do Reach from Adam to our present time) it may as truly be affirmed, That the Devil must be at the top of it. We Read of a Book of the Wars of the Lord, (a Book not extant, but (if not lost) latent,) Numb. 21. 14. However this is extant in the Book of God, that here began the War of the Devil or Dragon against the Church: No sooner was Lucifer fallen from Heaven, Isa. 14. 12. and of a Glorious Angel was become a damned Devil, Judas v. 6. 2 Pet. 2. 4. partly for his pride against God, in aspiring to be like the most High; and partly for his Envy at Man, when he first beheld the Honour and Happiness wherein Man was Created, and first heard the charge which God gave the Angels to keep Man in all his ways, Psal. 91. 11. This Command proud Lucifer disdaining, that a superior should wait (like a servant) upon an inferior Creature, Psal. 8. 5. He kept not his first Estate, but left his first Habitation, Judas v. 6. Thus he sinned from the beginning, 1 Joh. 3. 8. and abode not in the Truth, Joh. 8. 44. And now being come down, (by his Sin) or rather cast down (for his sin) from Heaven; and having great Wrath (Rev. 12. 12.) for being hurled out of Heaven into Hell, he had no comfort left him, save only this miserable and mischievous one, to make Man as miserable as himself, and to bring him into the same Condemnation, 1 Tim. 3. 6. For this purpose, he lays a dangerous and Diabolical Plot, consisting of many parts: As  
(1st.) He assumes a fit Engine, that Creature which was more subtle than all the Beasts of the Field, Gen. 3. 1. The sharper a Weapon is, it makes a deeper wound, and gives a more deadly blow: the sharpest and subtlest Wits are (of all others) the most mischievous Instruments in the Devil's hands against God's truth. This grand evil Angel made use of this Serpent (which, as some say, was very specious and delightful to the Eye by his comely mixture of lovely Colours) to deceive the first Woman, as the good Angel made use of the Ass to rebuke the mad Prophet, 2 Pet. 2. 16. Numb. 22. 28.  
(2dly.) The 2d. part of his proposed and pursued Plot, is, in Assaulting (not the Man, but) the Woman, the weaker Vessel, which is soon and easiest overcome; where the Hedge is lowest, there the Beast leaps over with the least difficulty: A besieging Enemy raises his Batteries against the weakest part of a besieged City; the weaker Sex is most likely to truckle to his temptations; hence he Essays to break the Man's head with his own Rib, and to make use of this Rib, as of the Round of a Ladder, whereon to climb up so high, as to Reach a blow to her Head and Husband.  
(3dly.) He sets upon the Woman when alone: 'Tis supposed, As Adam and Eve walked together in Paradise, Eve stood still, gazing with her fancy upon some Delectable Object, which Adam passed by with less looking on; he got so far before her, as to leave her behind, whereby she was overtaken by the Tempter; the absence of her Head (with its counsel and comfort) gives Satan a fair opportunity, which he improves to the utmost. Solomon saith, Where Two are, there is Help, Eccle. 4. 10.  
(4thly.) While Eve is alone, the Tempter falls a disputing with her, in ask her a Concise and an Abrupt Question, [Yea, hath God said, &c.?] That he might Enervate the Authority of the Divine Menace or Commination: Hereupon the weaker Vessel (Eve) gives but a weak Answer, for she might (in her state of Innocency) have that Ignorance which the Schools call a pure Negation, not a depraved Disposition; (which is found in Children, etc.) She might not know whether Serpents could naturally speak, or whether there was now any Devil existing, not hearing of the fall of Angels: she did know her protection of Angels, (as before) so might mistake the Devil (in the Serpent) for a good Angel, and therefore disputes with him, and was deceived by him, (as she confesses, Gen. 3. 13. So dangerous it is to dispute with the Devil, who is better believed away, than argued away. They do but shoot with Satan in his own Bow, that think by parlying with this [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉] or subtle Sophister, to put him off: by this means he draws Eve out of her Trenches of the Divine Precept, and wrings the Sword of the Spirit (the Word of God) out of her hand, then doth he what he will with her, yea, wins the Day, when he had disarmed her.  
(5thly.) No sooner had the Woman put in her weak Answer (in this Disputation) to the Devils Question, mincing the matter of the Divine Menace in her. [Lest ye Dye] instead of God's Word▪ [Ye shall surely Die.] Whereby she made that Danger doubtful only, which God had made Certain, peremptory, and without a peradventure. Hereupon this subtle Serpent (watching for her halting, and when to have her upon the hip) doth as confidently deny that sentence of Death, v. 4. as God had seriously and severely Threatened it before, Gen. 2. 7. Hereby her belief of God's Word is battered down, and not opposing the certainty of Gods Threatening (which she but seemed to doubt of in the Disputation) against Satan's Insinuation, (in his plain and positive Denial of it) she yieldeth. If the Word of God had abode in her, she had overcome the Devil, 1 Joh. 2. 14.  
(6thly.) The Tempter tempts her with an Apple from the Forbidden-Fruit-Tree, telling her (as some say) that there was no death in the Apple, (according to the Divine Threatening) from a proof of his own Experience, For (saith the subtle Serpent) I do climb the Tree, and eat of the Fruit thereof, and yet am not Dead for so doing. This was (probably) done while Eve looked on, and therefore she said, (at least in her mind) That she saw it was good for Food, v. 6. Hereupon she concluded that Death was not in the Fruit of the forbidden-Tree, and hereupon inclines to take and Eat.  
(7thly.) The Devil (to promote his Plot the more) accuses God of Envy, to Eve, (which is truly called) Morbus Satanicus, the Devils own Disease; as if God had forbid them the Fruit of this Tree of Knowledge, only out of Envy, lest their Eating thereof should make them Equal with God in Knowledge and Wisdom. Thus the Devil abused the very name of the Tree of Knowledge to her, making it far better than (indeed) it was; as if it would make them as Omniscient as God: Thus he mused, as he used, and would have made God as envious as himself, who envied that either God should be honoured or obeyed by Man, or that Man should be Gifted and Graced by God: Hereupon he tells her, [Your Eyes shall be Opened,] pretending, to Divine Contemplation, but intending, to Horrible Confusion, as it proved afterwards, when ashamed of their Nakedness: So that (in v. 5.) this Liar from the beginning, was not so much [Mendax] a Liar, as [Fallax] a Deceiver; according to that Ancient saying, [Et si semel videatur Verax, Millies Mendax, & semper Fallax.] Though he sometimes seem to speak truly, yet will he lie a thousand times for it, and be always Fallacious and Deceitful.  
(8thly.) He promises to her, [Ye shall be as Gods,] which was more likely to make them Devils (like himself,) or (at least) Beasts that Perisheth, Psal. 49. 12, ●0. What God said Ironically and by a sad Sarcasm, Gen▪ 3. 22. The Man is become as one of us. The Beasts might say most truly, and without any figure, The Man is become as one of us. Thus while Satan makes her Free from Fear, it was only designed by him to make her Free to Sin; hereupon She took of the Fruit, and gave it also to her Husband, v. 6. to whom she Related all Satan's Promises concerning the force of the Fruit, etc. whereby she seduced him, v. 17. in harkening to her Voice, hoping that according to her suggestion from Satan) he might become a God, and his Wife a Goddess. Thus the plurality of Gods was first taught by the Devil, whose Grammar [Deum pluraliter declinare Docuit] first learned to Decline God in the Plural Number, and thus he transforms his own sin upon them, [Ero sicut Altissimus] I shall be like the most High, Isai. 14. 12. saith he of himself, and [Eritis sicut Dij.] Ye shall be as Gods; saith he of them.  
The 9th. and last part of his Plot, is the Timeing of his Temptation: herein this subtle Serpent hath a singular sagacity: no sooner was he cast out of Heaven, but he Resolves to be Revenged of his Maker for this expulsion; and because he could not come at his Creator (God) with his Revenge, he Falls immediately upon his Creature (Man,) the Masterpiece of the Creation, upon the same Day wherein he was Created; he loses no time, but about high-Noon the same Day (which was Dinner or Eating-time) he Attempts his Ruin by tempting him to Eat Forbidden-Fruit, and so flatters them out of the True Paradise into a Fool's Paradise of their own Dreams and Dotage. Thus [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉] by the cogging of a die, Eph. 4. 14. (like a cheating Gamester) he gives them an Apple for Happiness, and Sin, & Misery, for a state of Innocency; not suffering them to Rest (so much as one Night) upon the Bed of Honour and Happiness. This the Psalmist (according to some Interpreters) doth Insinuate, Psal. 49. 12. Adam being in Honour, [Bal Jalin, non pernoctavit] abode not (or lodged not) one Night in Paradise. 'Tis the saying of a Greek-Father, That Adam [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉] was made and marred all in one Day. Thus he who thought to become a God, became a Beast that perisheth, Yea, Carrion, saith Junius. Here the prime Plot of the principal Plotter, (the Prince of Darkness) hath a shrewd seeming success, yet the Lord laughs at it; and Ridendo irritum Reddidit; he Defeats the Devil's Design, and that with Disgrace, for there was a Covenant transacted betwixt God the Father, and God the Son [ab Aeterno] from all Eternity, 1 Pet. 1. 20. Joh. 17. 6. Tit. 1. 2. and 2 Tim 1. 9 This Covenant the Devil knew nothing of, and it was this that spoilt all his Plot: Indeed our first Parents were under this dedolent and disconsolate Condition, from Noon to Night, or (at least) to the cool of the Day: (having now most woeful Experimental Knowledge both of the Good which they had lost, and of the Evil wherein they lay.) Then cometh Jehovah to Judge them, V 8. Satan assuredly expected that the Greatly Offended Creator (God) would have met his Greatly Offending Creature (Man) in as much Fury, as he did (afterwards) Moses in the Inn, when he had much ado (as it were) to forbear Killing him, Exod. 4. 24. Or that he would have come to Adam, as the Angel came to Balaam, with a drawn Sword in his hand, wherewith to destroy him, Numb 22. 32. or that he would have rushed upon this Rebel, as David ran upon Goliath, and cut off his head, 1 Sam. 17. 51. No such Fury is in God against fallen Man, Isai. 27. 4. The Devil is disappointed, for God comes to Man, (indeed,) but not so much a Judge, as a Father, and as a Physician. 1st. As a Father, saying, (as it were) Though Man be fallen by the Devil's malevolence, yet he shall be raised up again by my Benevolence, by my Good will to Man, Luk. 2. 14. 2dly. As a Physician, God hath prepared a Sovereign Plaster to Apply to the wound that Man had received from the Devil; God promiseth Christ to be a Redeemer to Man, and (withal) to be a Destroyer of the Devil, Hebr. 2. 14. and of all his Works, 1 Joh. 3. 8. This Plaster was prepared by the good pleasuro of God the Father, Covenanting with God the Son long before Man was in being, much more before he was wounded. No such Plaster was provided to Cure the Fall of Angels, for they sinned upon their own accord, and without a Tempter, Therefore God's 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, did outshine his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, His love to Men was greater than his love to Angels, for in coming to Judge Man, such was his Graciousness towards him, that in Wrath he Remembered Mercy, Habb. 3. 2. And giving the Promise of Christ, (in the Seed of the Woman) Adam takes hold of the Promise, and in Faith therein, he calls his Wife, Eve, (which signifies Life,) He (instead of Dying the same Day of his Eating Forbidden-Fruit,) Lives 930 Y. after, and she became the Mother of all Living: and though they brought in Death by their Disobedience, yet God Taught them the Ordinance of Sacrificing, so the first thing that Died in the World, was a Sacrifice, or Christ in a Figure, the Lamb, slain from the Foundation of the World, Rev. 13. 8. And who opens a passage into a better Paradise than that which they had Forfeited, Luk. ●3. 43. 2 Cor. 12. 4. Rev. 2. 7. And if that Rabbinical Notion (no way dissentaneous to Truth) be Received, to wit, That the Tree of Knowledge stood upon Mount Calvary, (Paradise being placed in Canaan, the Glory of all Lands, Ezek. 20. 6.) where Christ was (after) Crucified on a Tree, than it follows, that in the same place, and by the same means an Expiation of Sin was made, where & as it was first committed. Thus God overshoots Satan in his own 〈◊〉, and the Devil goes off from his first Plot with a broken-Head by the Woman's Seed, which makes him weaker in his Projects ever after.   

The Second Plot against the Church, in ABEL, Defeated by GOD.  
CHAP. II.  
WHen Satan saw his first Plot Defeated, (in as much as Man did not die immediately, nor was made as miserable as himself) and that (in despite of the Devil) God would have his Church in the World, to make up that Breach withal in the City of God, which Lucifer and his Apostate Angels had made therein; he takes other Measures, and projects a New Plot by his Serpentine subtlety, to wit, seeing he could not Hinder the Being of the Church, he (next) Endeavours to Divide it into a True and False Church, that (at least) he might thereby hinder the Wellbeing of it; if he could not make the False Church Destroy the True One. This is held forth in Cain and Abel, both whom our first Parents had Religiously Trained up in the Worship of God by Sacrifice: they were (both) Worshippers of the True God, Cain as well as Abel, Cain did not offer his Oblation to an Idol, but it was [Mincha la Jehovah] an Offering to the Lord, Gen. 4. 3. and we do not find that God blamed Cain, either for the Matter, Time, or Place of his Worship: Cain [Rectè obtulit, non Rectè Divisit] offered right, but did not Divide aright, betwixt God and himself, he should have given God first See, and then de Suis, first Personam, and then opus Personae: Himself, and then of his Substance, as Abel did according to Gods Demand, [My Son, give me thy Heart] Prov. 23. 26. he dealt Fraudulently therefore with God, and so became the Head of the False Church, as Abel was of the True: or as (August. de Civit. Dei. lib. 15. cap. 1.) expresseth it, Cain was the Author of the City of the World, both as he was Born first of fallen Man, and was called Cain, which signifies Possession; so he made the World his Possession, and that first City which he Built therein: yea, and as he Plots against his Brother Abel, who was chosen out of the World; Born second, and called Abel, i. e. Vanity, because he looked upon the World (in all its Pomps and Possessions) as Vanity, and he is called the Author of the City of God, and therefore is he driven out of the World by an Untimely Death, so early came Martyrdom into the World upon the True Church (which Abel represented) by the False One, Cain. As the first Beast, that Died in the World, Dyed for a Sacrifice: (Figuring Christ the True Sacrifice for Sin, ut Suprà,) so the first Man that died in the World, died for Religion; 1 Joh. 3. 12. The first Righteous Man that went to Heaven, must swim thither in a River of his own Blood, Matth. 23. 35. The City of the World (which (at the best) only professes Religion,) will persecute the City of God, which both professes and possesses the power and purity of Godliness: Or (as the Holy Scripture better than Augustin expresseth it,) Cain was the Head or top of the Seed of the Serpent, who was the first begotten of Adam in his fallen Estate: And (as Rab. Menachem saith) was conceived of the Filth and Seed that the Serpent had conveyed into Eve: However God's Word speaks Infallibly, That Eve was much mistaken at Cain's Birth, saying; She had got a Man from the Lord, Gen. 4. 7. or, that Famous Man, The Lord; as if she had brought forth that promised Seed of the Woman, Gen. 3. 15. the Holy Child Jesus: These were Verba Spei, non Rei, her Hoping was better than her Having, for Cain was a Wicked One, and of the Wikced One, 1 Joh. 3. 10, 12. Joh. 8. 44. so was the Root of all the Reprobates in the World: but Abel was the Root of the Righteous, as Christ himself reckons him, Matth. 23. 35. And therefore the Devil (Cain's Father, Joh. 8. 44.) complotts with Cain to Root out Abel by Killing him, and in him all future Hope of the True Church, That Tree cannot grow, whose Root is Destroyed. This Head of the Black-Line, Cain, Clubbing wits with the Head of the Serpent, Satan, (whose Head was already Broken or Bruised by the Promise of Christ) Essays the 2d. Plot against Abel, the Head of the White-Line, to break his Head with his Club, and to Brain him therewith, yet even this Plot that came from the Devils Broken Head, proved (in the Issue) but a Broken Plot, God overshooting him in his Bow.  
The preparation to this 2d. Plot was, This Lucifer (that was come down from Heaven in great Rage, Rev. 12. 12.) enrages Cain, touching him with a live Coal from Hell, (as the Angel did the Prophets with one from Heaven, Isai. 6. 5.) and sets his Heart on Fire of Hell, Jam. 3. 6. This made him Hot, and Burn in Indignation, as the Word [Charah, Gen. 4. 5.] signifies, for of all the Eight Hebrew Words which signifies Anger; This Word [Charah] is the most Vehement. Cain's hot Displeasure was first Inflamed against God, as being [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉] a Respecter of Persons, in sending Fire from Heaven in Token of Accepting Abel's Bloody Sacrifice, and yet rejecting his un-bloody Meat-Offering: Thus Cain's Eye was Evil, because God's was Good, Matth. 20. 15. Yea, and such was his Rage against God, that when he, not only told him, [If thou dost well, shall thou not be accepted, v. 7.] but also asks him, Where is Abel thy Brother, v. 9 Cain Angrily Answers, and bids God Go look, as if God had asked him an Impertinent Question, and as if he had put an Office upon him which belonged not to him; yet he that disdained to be his Brother's Keeper, disdained not to be his Brother's Executioner, and the Wrath of Man, that never speaks the Righteousness of God, much less works it, Jam. 1. 20. transported Cain so far, as to tell the God of Truth a loud Lie, in his saying, [I know not where he is.] Thinking, by this frivolous Evasion to blind the Eyes of the All-knowing God, as the God of this World had blinded his Eyes, and hardened his Heart too: and hereby he declared himself to be immediately descended from the Devil, who was both a Liar and a Murderer from the beginning, Joh. 8. 44. 2dly. His Rage against Abel, for though his Rage was great against God, insomuch that he could have found in his heart to have pulled God out of Heaven, (Omne peccatum est Deicidium, all sin is a kind of Godmurther) for his partiality, but God was out of his Reach, yea, and of the Devil's too that set him on work; The Borrowing power can never match the Lending power: The Creature can never be too strong for the Creator; Howbeit Abel was within his Reach, and he will Wound the Master in his Servant: The Rabbins say, The Devil was mad at Abel, because Abel had slain the same Serpent, which he had lately possessed to seduce his Mother, yet not without a wound in his Heel, before he could break its Head.  
This Satan takes as an high Affront, and therefore Plots to break Abel's Head with a Club, as if not enough, his Heel was bruised by the Serpent: however this is certain, and beyond the Credit of a Jewish-Fable, That Cain was mad against Abel, because his own Works were wicked, and his Brothers Righteous, 1 Joh. 3. 12. Now when he saw Abel's Worship Received and his own Rejected, and thereby losing the Blessing of the Primogeniture, and the Consecration of the Firstborn; this Ripened him for the Devil's possession, who thereupon Enters and Fills his Heart (as Act. 5. 3.) from corner to corner, then falls Cain's Countenance from a cheerful to a churlish one, Index animi Vultus: The Malignity of his Mind was bewrayed by his surly and lowering Look, Heu quàm Dissicile est Animum non prodere Vultu: And being thus prepared, yea and Acted by the Devil's both craft and cruelty he falls upon plotting Abel's Death and Destruction.  
The 1st. part of his Plot, was his Deep Dissimulation, Talking with Abel after a Friendly and Brotherlike manner, V 8. In the Hebrew there is an Extraordinary pause, Intimating some Amicable Discourse, and in the Word [Amar] an Insinuating Invitation, as [Letoy us go into the Field.] This the Greek, Version & Thargum Jerus: addeth: his Rage by a Diabolical Fire lay now smothered, and he puts on as fair a Look as his Festered Heart would admit, not unlike that of Absolom to Amnon, who hated him with an Habit of Hatred, wherein the Venom of all Vice is steeped, yet spoke he to his Brother neither Good nor Bad for Two full Years together, 2 Sam. 13. 22, 23. Yet all this time he Nourished a Resolution for Revenge, and only waited for a fair opportunity to his foul Fratricide; so long did Inveterate Rancour lie lurking in Absoloms' Malicious Heart, and then could Invite his Brother to a Feast, V 26, 27. which had sour Sauce in the end. Thus Cain covers with Dissembled Courtesy his Design of Cruelty, and draws a fair Glove upon his foul Hand, Enticing Abel to walk hand in hand (as a Brother) with him into the Field, a convenient place for his bloody contrivance.  
The 2d: part of the Plot, was, When Cain had got Abel thither, he picks a Quarrel with him, upon the occasion of Abel's contradicting his Discourse, saying, (as the Chaldee Paraphrase adds,) That there was no Judge, nor Day of Judgement, nor World to come, nor Reward for Righteousness, nor Punishment for Wickedness, etc. Thus he (as it were) Imprisoned those [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉] common principles of Nature in unrighteousness, Rom. 1. 18. and Muzzled the Mouth of his own Conscience, that he might gratify his revengeful Spirit without control. Hereupon he turns all his former Flattery into downright Raillery and Chiding of Abel, for whose sake he had been newly chidden of God, v. 6. 17. This done, he falls on  
The 3d. part of the Plot, by Adding to his Craft in the Two former, his Cruelty in this later; who having Decoyed his Brother far enough from his Father's House, from all sight, noise, and relief, (none being nigh to Rescue his Innocent Brother out of his nocent Hands) he Addresses himself to knock him down on the Head with his Club, or Plough-staff, wherewith (as 'tis supposed) he, being an Husbandman, usually walked, Inter Amplexus Interfecit: or (as the Greek-Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies, which we Read Slew,) He cut his Throat, 1 Joh. 3. 12. Now when Cain (the Devils first Patriarch) had Killed Abel God's first Martyr, and the Only Hope of a Succeeding Church, Satan had seeming success; yet this 2d. Plot is soon Blasted, the Lord Laughed it to nothing, (though the Devil and his lmps had been Laughing together for laying Abel (their Tormenter, along on the Ground, as Revel. 11. 10.) and that by these Means: 1st. Though there was no Man an Eye-Witness of the Murder, and though Cain, (to keep it the more secret, (as Josephus saith) did Bury the Murdered Body privately, yet God (who is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 All-Eye saw it, and heard the Cry of Abel's Blood, (which had as many Tongues, as Drops, and every Drop crying for Vengeance,) v. 10. Heb. 11. 4, and 12. 24. Murder ever Bleeds fresh in the Eye of God: Surely (saith he) I have seen Yesterday the Blood of Naboth, etc. 2 Kin. 9 26. And cries as fresh in the Ear of God, whereby Abel, though Dead, yet speaketh, Hebr. 11. 4. Hereupon God comes to make Inquisition for this Fresh-bleeding and Fresh-speaking, or crying Sin, (who is not said to make Inquisition after any other sin, as after Murder,) Psa. 9 12. And God in his Inquisition is more strict and critical, than the Spanish-Inquisition, Though that be done with utmost secrecy and severity: The Lord looked upon it, and Required it, 2 Chron. 24. 22. Yea, and Requited it too, Mat. 23. 35. and 22. 6, 7. Revel. 16. 6. Even upon the Heads of every [Ish-Damm●●,] or Man of Bloods, Psa. 5. 6. such as the Damning Hectors of this Day mostly be. 2dly. God (after his severe Inquest) passes a sad Doom upon the Murderer, ver. 11. a more severe Sentence is not found in Sacred Scripture, Woe be to Cain, and to all that walk in his way, Judas. v. 11. The Judge of all the Earth will do right, Gen. 18. 25. Cain shall not escape , (as he hoped,) God will appear (himself) when Man either doth not, will not, or cannot: The Judge of Quick and Dead (himself) Arraigns Cain at the Bar, denounces judgement (notwithstanding all his Jesuitical Evasions as before) against him, which consists of 3 Particulars. 1st. He is cursed in his Person, v. 11. and they whom God curseth, shall be cursed, as they whom God blesseth, shall be blessed, Gen. 27. 33. Numb. 23. 20. Even the Grand Balaam of Rome (who Canonizeth cain's for Murdering Righteous Abel's) cannot take off that Curse which the great God lays on: better all the Witches in the World, and all the Devils in Hell or their Eldest Son the Pope, should curse us with Bell, Book, and Candle, than this one God whose Curse is Irrevocable, and can never be Reversed. This Cain was the first cursed Man upon Earth, cursed in his person: 2dly. He was cursed in his Patrimony, v. 12. his Land he Tilled, was cursed to him. The former curse, laid upon the Earth for Adam's sin, in general, Gen. 3. 17. was now Increased by Cain's Murder unto him in particular: This was a particular curse upon Cain's Portion wherever he came, when he Tilled it as an Husbandman, it might Upbraid him as a Murderer in its barrenness: The Earth had been Kinder than Cain to Abel, for it had opened its Mouth to Receive his Blood from Cain's cruel hands, and so to give it an honourable Interment, and now opens its Mouth again (in not yielding him its strength) in a clamorous petition for Vengeance against him: As the cursed Figtree lost its Vigour, and Withered, Mark 11. 21. So a Fruitful Land is made barren for the Wickedness of its owners, and Occupiers, Psal. 107. 34.  
The 3d. Means God uses to Defeat the Devil's Design, is, He Excommunicates Cain (Satan's prime Patriarch) out of the Church, who would have Excommunicated the Church out of the World, (in God's proto Martyr Abel) and that with the greater Excommunication, v. 12. [A Vagrant, and a Vagabond shalt thou be. Thus his Doom Rises higher, and falls heavier upon him, Psa. 59 12. and 109. 10. Cain (the first Apostate) went out from the Presence of the Lord, and dwelled in the Land of Nod, (which signifies Wand'ring, v. 14. 16. So that he was a Vagrant from the Church (from his Father's Family and Fellowship) as well as a Vagabond upon Earth: God would come and Talk with him no more, nor Vouchsafe one Gracious Glance towards him, nor Accept any one Oblation from him at any time.  
4thly. God sets a Brand upon him, v. 15. and thereby (as it were) Burns him in the Hand, and Stigmatizes him for a Rogue. This mark was not an Horn in his Forehead, (as the Jews feign) but 'twas an Hornet in his Conscience, (as Exod. 23. 28.) stinging him with horrible Conviction and Compunction for his Murder: The words of the Septuagint [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉] signifies Sighing and Trembling; as if God's Mark upon him had been (probably) a Trembling, not only of his Hands and Head, but also of his Heart and whole Body, which made all People pity him: Some Rabbins say, Cain was continually Dogged with Abel's Dog, but Assuredly he was Haunted with his own Evil Ghost, which made him look with a most ghastly Countenance, having Horror in his Heart, and a very Hell in his Conscience. This might make him Tremble every where, and fear every Bush (he saw) was a Bailiff to Arrest him, and every Man (he met) a Devil to Torment him; So that a longer Lease of his Life was no better than a lingering Death: nay, such a Life (under the Gild of such a sin, and under the sense of such a Curse) was far worse than a Temporal Death: Therefore God Dooms him to Live, and not immediately to Die, that he might be a Landmark of Shame, and a Living-Monument against Murder and Murderers.  
5thly. His Death after a Woeful Life, was Woeful also, as humane Testimony Reports, for though he used some Carnal Anodynes to Allay the unbearable pangs of his wounded Spirit, and to drown the horrible noise of his self-condemning Conscience, he falls upon Building a City, and called it Enoch, that his Son might be called Lord Enoch of Enoch, v. 17. Yet Vengeance would not suffer him to live, Act. 28. 4. Nor to Live out half his Days, Psal. 55. 23. Nor to go down to the Grave in peace, 2 Kin. 2. 5. That he Died an Untimely death (all Historians concur) about the Year 131. the manner how is Variously Reported; some say It was by the Fall of an House which he was Building in his New City: Others say, He was slain by his Grandchild Lamech, who being a Blind Archer, was led to shoot him by a wicked Boy: Take it either way, and his Sin is Writ upon his Punishment, for either, as he that Designed to pull down God's House (the Church) so his own House which he was rearing up, falls down upon him and knocks him down dead on the place, as he had done his Brother Abel: or, As he Disdained to be his Brother's Keeper, but not to be his Executioner, Lives to beget a Son, whose Son became his Grandfather's Executioner: Thus when God makes Inquisition for Blood, Psal. 9 12. shall not he Search it out? Psal. 44. 21. Yea, he will, and wound the Hairy Scalp of such as go on in their Iniquity, Psal. 68 21.  
6thly. Neither doth Divine Vengeance upon him End here in his Untimely and Violent Death, but his last Doom is the most Woeful of all Dooms; Cain must not only be doomed out of the Church, and out of the World, but also he must be Doomed to Hell, whither all wicked Men are turned, and all the People (though there be whole Nations of them) that forget God, (as Cain did) Psa. 9 17. Especially Murderers, who are abhorred of the Lord, Psal. 5. 6. He that sat upon the Throne hath (himself) said it, Rev. 21. 8. Murderer's shall have their Lot in the Lake that Burneth with Fire and Brimstone; more especially such as Murder God's Image in his Servants, who have his Image upon them in a double manner, both by Generation, Gen. 9 6. And also by Regeneration, Eph. 4. 24. God will (of all others) avenge their Blood, Rev 6. 10. and that speedily, Luk 18. 7. Thus Cain was a wicked One, was of the wicked One, and went to the wicked One in Hell at last.  
But the last Means whereby God Defeated the Devil's 2d. Plot, was, In raising up a Seth to Stand up in Abel's Stead, according to the Signification of his Name Seth, Hebr. Posuit placed in his Brother's place for Upholding the Church; Sic Vno avulso non Deficit Alter Aureus: Though one Branch (Abel) was lop'd off from the Tree of Mankind, (Adam) yet another Springs up (and that a Golden One) in his Stead; And out of the Ashes of the Dying Phoenix another Phoenix Ariseth to Continue its Kind in the World. Thus Seth or Sheth signifies, not only Posuit, but Reposuit, laid up, as his Godly Mother believingly Acknowledged, That the Church was laid up in him, and that he was the Foundation of it, a Type of Christ, Isa. 28. 16. 1 Cor. 3. 11. out of whom Christ Sprung, Luk. 3. last. Gen. 4. 25. and, though Adam had many other Sons, Gen. 5. 4. yet none are Named, savely only Seth, as being the only Professor of the True Religion, and Foundation of the Church.  
Now when the Devil and his Agents had got Abel out of the Way and World, and saw Adam for an 130 Y. without an other in his stead, Gen. 5. 3. Oh what Rejoicing was there, and sending of Gifts amongst them, as Rev. 11. 10. But God Cut their Coxcombs, and Confuted their Confidences in Raising up Seth; by whose Means, with God's Blessing, the Devil lost and the Church won Ground, for then ('tis said) Men began to call upon the Name of the Lord, Gen. 4. 26. That is, Publicly and in Solemn Assemblies, making an Open Profession, which hitherto had been but Privately done.   

The Third Plot against the Church, in SETH, Defeated by GOD.  
CHAP. III.  
WHen Satan saw his 2d. Plot Defeated, and Laughed to Nothing by the Lord, that Seth must Live and have many Children, (though Abel was Dead, and that Childless) Gen. 5. 7. Numb. 24. 17. And the Church not only Maintained but Advanced by them. This Restless Adversary Projects a 3d. Plot: that is, To Corrupt the White Line, (the Posterity of Seth,) and to make them as Black as those of the black Line, the Cursed brood of Cain.  
That the latter Line was very Obnoxious and Injurious to the former all along, may easily be believed, though the Scripture doth not express it: even until they were all swept away with the Flood, Job 22. 16, 17. However this is Expressed, That the Devils design was now to Debauch those bold Professors; (who had so openly opposed his Kingdom) and this he promotes and pursues by setting the Fair Faces of the Daughters of Men (Cain's Brood) before the Eyes of the Sons of God, the offspring of Seth, Gen. 6. 2. This, by the Tempter's Instigation drawing out Man's Corruption, Corrupted the very Church itself: The Sons of God, (Deut. 14. 1.) or Members of the Church, looks, loves, and Lusts after the Daughters of Men, that were out of the Church, Their Eyes became Burning-Glasses to se● their Hearts on Fire, even Loopholes of Lust, and Windows of all Wickedness, the Lust of the Eyes ushered in the Lust of the Flesh and the Pride of Life, 1 Joh. 2. 16. Professors than began to be prosligate with the Profane, and made Profane Marriages with them, as profane Esau did, Gen. 26. 34, 35. and 28. 8, 9 contrary to God's Law, Deut. 7. 3, 4. They took them Wives, of all which they chose: that is, Such as their wanton Eyes and Wild Affections liked and loved, without either God's Licence, or their Godly Parents leave: [Cù● multùm Caepissent Generare, Multùm Caepissen● Degenerare.] When the Two Seeds mingled multiplied, and began to Generate much, they began to Degenerate much: Their Marrying by the Eye, more than by the Ear, (thinking a fair Face enough, though covering never so foul a Soul, without either Holy Grace, or an Honest-Race) made them as Carnal as the Offspring of Cain: Hence sprang the Giants called Nephilims', that is, Fallen Ones, (as the Hebrew Word signifies) for they were fallen from God, as they had fallen on Men, and made Men (by force and fear) to fall before them: They fall into Lameches sin of Polygamy, and must have more Wives than one; [Item policies Quot & Quas Volebant,] and as many Whores as they pleased: Hence all the World was overspread with Cruelty and Corruption, even a World of ungodly Men, 2 Pet. 2. 5. Hereupon God saith, Gen. 6. 3. I'll Consult no more with my Mercy for sparing them, I am Resolved with my Justice to Ruin them: Satan had Consulted to Destroy, (and his Consult had an Happy (or rather Unhappy) Hit here.) 'Tis sad when God will not (at such a time) Consult to Deliver:  
The World was now become so Fowl with Sin, that there was no Remedy but to Wash it clean with a Flood, the whole Earth (plainly) stank before God, v. 11, 12. and he Sweetens it with a dowsing Deluge: This Resolve to Ruin the World, (to wit) both the Seeds, of Seth, as well as of Cain) must needs make the Devil Laugh to see his Design so seemingly successful; notwithstanding all this, The Lord laughs this Project to nothing: God still consults to Save, as well as to Destroy; Though the World shall be Drowned, yet the Church shall not be so, according to the Devil's Design: for unto Noah God graciously gives a Promise of Preservation, and the Platform of an Ark, wherein he and his should be Preserved, Gen. 6. 8, 14. Yea, and for the Churches future Sustenance and Accommodation, Two of every sort of Creatures shall be preserved also, Gen. 6. 20. And ah how Sequacious were they all to God their Centurion, they All come at his Call; and even Beasts of Prey were so cicurated and Tamed for this Time, that they all Lived together and Dieted together, (the Lion with the Lamb, Isa. 11. 6.) without any dissension: Yea, the Antipathy and Enmity 'twixt the Serpent and the Woman, was here Restrained: By Faith Noah prepares the Ark, Heb. 11. 7. and every stroke upon it was a Real Sermon to Fore-warn the Old World, that they flee from the Wrath to come: And so this Preacher of Righteousness Preached without Preaching; In the midst of Wrath, (resolved on) God remembered Mercy, Habb. 3. 2. Those Corrupters of the Earth, and of their Ways had 120 Y. given them, wherein to be Reclaimed by this Preacher of Right: but they had the Space (not the Grace) of Repentance, and they Jeered where they should have Feared; looking upon Noah's Work (of Preparing an Ark) only as a Work of Dotage: as if he had Dreamt, not so much of a Dry Summer, as of a Wet Winter. This long-Suffering of God is Admired and Adored, 1 Pet. 3. 18, 19, 20. All the Devils Vassals were Drowned, (Yea, and Burned too,) (So Deep is the Stain of Sin, it Requires Fire as well as Water to fetch it out.) For they are called, The Spirits, once in Pleasure, now in Prison, and in pain of Everlasting Burn; but Noah, God's Servant, was Saved, who in the Spirit of Christ strove long with them for their Salvation, to whom he was but a little Beholden for his own, in this Respect especially. The Door into his Ark must be in the side of the lowest Story, and so it was under Water a whole Year, all the time of the Flood; and it must be a prodigiously great Door for so vast and Bulky a Body as an Elephant to enter; Noah within cannot shut it, 'tis too heavy for him: This Jeering Generation without would not; they ought him not such Service. Now rather than the Church should be drowned, either by an Open, or a not well-shut Door, the most High God stoops to that low Office of Shutting the Door after Noah: That which God does, is well done, therefore it Leaked not for so long a time; and he that Vouchsafed to be Noah's Turnkey, condescends to be his Pilot too for a long and dangerous Voyage, whereby the Ship (or Church) Swum safe to shore: the Ark arrives at Arrarat its place of Rest, Gen. 7. 16. and 8. 4.   

The Fourth Plot against the Church, in EGYPT: Defeated by GOD.  
CHAP. FOUR  
NO sooner was the Church (in Noah) safely Landed, and God had Smelled a sweet Savour (instead of the stench of the Old World) from Noah's Sacrifice, Gen. 8. 11. but Satan hath a 4th. Plot to Promote and Pursue: God will not War with a Weaponless Devil, but out of his Unsearchable Wisdom ever allows him Suitable Instruments to work withal in the World for the Glory of his own Grace: The Enmity betwixt the Two Seeds never dies (as before) so long as the World Lives, and Cain will be Murdering Abel (by Propagation) to the end of the World: Yea, and the Older he grows, the more Savage and Bloody will he be; The last By't of the Beast will be the most deadly By't.  
As the Serpent had crept into Paradise to Plot against our first Parents, the First Foundation of the Church, so Satan creeps into the Ark to Plot against the Superstructure thereof: He wants not his (Cham) even in the Ark, (a Type of the Church) a fit Instrument for him to Work with. 'Tis thought this Cham had concealed his wickedness from Men, (which he could not from God,) and soon after Degenerated: However this bad Son had a Temporal Favour for the sake of his good Father, which he badly Requited afterwards: This Cursed Cham or Ham the Devil makes Use of. 1st. In his Person. 2dly. In his Posterity against the Church of God. 1st. In his Person: The Occasion was this. As Satan had made Adam Transgress in Eating; so he made Noah to Transgress in Drinking, Gen. 9 21. He that had Escaped the Drowning of the World by Water, (because Just and Upright) was now (perhaps not knowing the strength of the Grape) himself Drowned in Wine, and was Shamefully uncovered. Though this Act was but once, (he was Ebrius, not Ebriosus, Drunk, not a Drunkard, Denominatio non sit a particulari,) yet this wicked Cham saw it both with Delight to himself, and with Derision to his Father: and therefore Noah (for whose sake he had been Saved in the Ark) did Doom him accursed, and his other Two Sons he Blessed. 2dly. In his Posterity. The Egyptians (from whom the Church suffered hard things in their House of Bondage) are frequently called the Children of Ham, and Egypt the Land of Ham, Psal. 78. 51. and 105. 23, 27. and 106. 22. 'Tis True, there be some Hundreds of Years betwixt those Two Actions (of Hams Person, and of his Posterity) against the Church, which some may judge over-large a Leap, as if the Devil had been Idle all that Interspace of Time: No doubt but it may be safely said, There is some time wherein God Chains up the Devil, as Rev. 20. 2. And wherein the Church hath her lucid Intervals, as Act. 9 31. Yea, and this may be said also, That all those Games the Devil played, and all the Plots he Plotted betwixt these Two, were the lower Games, the lesser Plots of a Daring Devil: compared with this of the Church, and (of Israel's) being in Egypt's Bondage. No doubt, but the Devil was gratified in the Building of the Tower of Babel, whereby the Holy Tongue was lost to all the World, (save to One Family) and so the Doctrine of Salvation, which was Preached in that Tongue only. This began Satan's Kingdom in Heathenism through the Confusion of Tongues at Babel, which was Blessedly Recovered by the Gift of Tongues at Zion, Act. 2. 4. 13. The Devil was also well-pleased to have Lots Righteous Soul vexed with the Wicked Sodomites, To have Isaac (that Heir of the Promise) Scoffed at by Ishmael, Yea, Persecuted also by him, Gal. 4. 29. To have likewise Profane Esau so Bloodily bend against plain Jacob; To have Godly Joseph Abused both by his own Brethren, and by his Wanton Mistress, Psal. 105. 18. Oh how would Satan have Rejoiced to see Lot and his Family Burned in Sodom, Isaac Sacrificed by his own Father Abraham, Jacob Murdered by his own Brother Esau, (as Abel had been by Cain at his Instigation,) Yea, and Joseph Perished in the Pit (his) Brethren cast him into: or in the Prison where his wicked Mistress Lodged him. Yet God baffled the Devil (who will Play at small Games rather than sit Idle) in all these Plots. But now when the 70 Souls (that went down into Egypt, that Land of Ham) were Increased to a great People, so as to fill the Country of Goshen, Exod. 1. 7. this Enraged him, so that he puts out his utmost Power and Policy to Suppress them. In the first Age before the Flood, the Church of God was Shut up some time in One Person, as in Adam, Abel, Seth, Enoch, etc. And though Adam Falls, Abel is Slain, Seth Dies, and Enoch is Translated, etc. Yea, and the Devil doth his worst to Extirpate it out of the World, (as above;) yet the Great God hath so Secured his Church, (both by) Promise and Providence, that his Mount Zion can never be Removed: Insomuch that in the 2d. Age after the Flood, the Devil Loses, and the Church Wins Ground, and Spreads herself from the Narrow Compass of Persons, to Families, as in Noah's, Abraham's, Lots, and the Patriarches Families: and yet more, when the Time of the Promise drew nigh, Act. 7. 17. Through the Special Blessing of God, the Church Spreads forth her Tents, (as she is bidden) Isa. 54. 2, 3.) from the Narrow Compass of Families, and became a Nation Great Mighty and Populous, Deut. 26. 5. and all this, out of One, as Good as Dead, Hebr. 11. 12. Satan meddles not with his Match, when he Meddles with God, who of very Stones can Raise up Children unto Abraham, Matth. 3. 9 To behold the Church Increase as Stars in the Heaven, and as Sands on the Seashore, This makes the Devil more mad than ever; So he falls upon his 4th. grand Plot, to Cut her short by the Children of Ham the Father of Mitzraim, (which is the Hebrew Word for Egypt) Gen. 10. 6.  
The 1st. part of his Plot, was to make God their Enemy by their Sinning foully against him. In Order hereunto, he Tempts them to Commit Idolatry, (a God-provoking Sin,) Josh. 24. 14. Ezek. 20. 8. and 23. 3, 8.  
(2.) To forego Circumcision, (the Covenant of their God) which was the Reproach of Egypt. Josh. 5. 9  
3. To join in Marriage with the Egyptians, Levit. 24. 20. and Exod. 12. 38. Hereby the Sun (of Religion) goes down upon them, as God told Abraham, Gen. 15. 12. Then God was Angry, and he Turned the Hearts of the Children of Ham to hate his own (God-provoking) People, Psal. 105. 25. as after the Death of Methusalem. (which in Hebrew signifies, He Dyeth, and the Dart cometh.) The Deluge came; so after the death of the Godly Patriarches their Bondage began; They were cast into a Furnace of Iron, Deut. 4. 20. to see them there must needs be the Devil's Delight, whose Design Undoubtedly was to Burn up the Church as Dross therein; but God's Design (which is always to countermine his Mines, and to counterplot his Plots) was, when he had Tried them, to bring them out as Gold, Job 23. 10. as he did his Servant Job from Satan's Furnace of Affliction. The 2d. part of his Plot, was, To stir up a new King that knew not Joseph, Exod. 1. 8. Well knowing, that such Kings as know not Joseph or Jesus (our Brother) are his sittest Tools for Oppressing the Church: This King (the 8th. from Ham, and Supposed to be Busiris, a Savage Tyrant in Heathen History) was the first that Oppressed Israel, whom his Predecessors had Entertained as Guests, and Enjoyed as Friends and Benefactors: He (I say) deals both Craftily and Cruelly with them, and (both) to Prevent their further Increase, (which he saw, v. 7.) Exod. 1. 10, 11. Ach. 7. 19 Psa. 105. 25. and all this was to prove God a Liar in his Promise to Jacob, Gen. 46. 3. 4. Yet his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sept. & 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Gre. Dealing Subtly, his Setting Severe Taskmasters over them, as making them to make Brick, Yea, such a Tale and no Straw given: All this would not do, for God Catches this Fox in his own Net of Craft and Cruelty, 1 Cor. 3, 19 and the more the Church was Molested, the more they Multiplied. 'Tis true, This Rigour and Fierceness (from Pherec the Hebr. Word) in Imposing Intolerable hard Labour upon them, was a probable Plot (in the Ordinary Course of Nature) to Prohibit Procreation of Children; yet this King was, as every Oppressor is, a Fool, Prov. 28. 16. For, besides 'tis usually seen, That Labouring Men have the most and the Lustiest Children. Here was an Extraordinary Path of Providence to overrule this Project: which David Celebrates, [God Increased his People greatly, and made them stronger than their Enemies,] Psa. 105.24. This Camomile, the more it is trodden, the faster it groweth: This Walnut-Tree, the more it is beaten, the more it bears. This Grieved their Grievers, Exod. 1. 12. So the Egyptians grieving at Israel's Growth, it became both their Crime and their Curse: When this Design was Defeated, this Dragon (lying in the midst of the Waters, Ezek. 29. 3.) falls upon his 2d. Plot, to Destroy all the Males of Israel as soon as Born, not unlike the great Red Dragon who stood ready to Devour the Manchild as soon as the Woman (the Church) had brought it forth, Rev. 12. 3. 4. This Pharaoh Treads in that Fiend's steps, and Commands the Midwives to Strangle (with a privy - Pinch) All the Born Males: Hoping that the Lions (or Dragons) Skin might Patch up the Fox that had failed in worrying up Isruel: But God Bafflled this Plot too, for Shiphrah and Puah (the 2 Principal Midwives) Feared God, and durst not Obey the King's Inhuman and Unnatural Command, v. 17. That which is Inferior and Subordinate, may not Control and Contradict that which is Superior. Thus Peter Explains his two Sociable Duties, [Fear God, Honour the King, 1 Pet. 2. 17. Compared with Act. 5. 29. and 4. 19 Here the Midwives stick, (they cannot do the Devil's Drudgery,) and here the Plot sticks. Pharaoh Frowns upon them for this, but God Smiles on them, and Blesses them, v. 18. 19, 20, 21. They would not pull down God's House, (his Church) and God Builds up theirs. Pharaoh (thus disappointed) falls on ●is 4th. Plot, in Publishing a Bloody Edict to all his People (among whom some Savage Slaughtermen he might probably not miss, and possibly not without a Penalty to Neglecters,) To Drown those Males openly which the Midwives would not Strangle Privately, v. 22. Notwithstanding this Edict, and the strict Execution of it, Exod. 2. 3. Moses is Preserved by Pharaohs Daughter, who becomes the Ruin of Pharaohs Kingdom: Thus no Counsel, nor Might, nor Wisdom [neither Craft nor Cruelty] can prevail against the Lord, Prov. 21.30. This (Miraculously Preserved) Moses brings 10 Plagues on Egypt; The 1st. whereof was, The Waters wherein the children's Blood had been shed, were turned into Blood. And in the last were Slain all Egypt's firstborn, for their slaying Israel, God's firstborn, Exod. 4, 22. Then did Israel go out of the Furnace, being loaded with Spoils, and Egypt was glad that they were gone, though gone with their Jewels, Psal. 105. 36, 37, 38. Exod. 12. 33, 35, 36. Hath the Devil now done, and his Instrument Pharaoh? Oh no! he hath yet another (his 5th. and last Plot,) which endeth (as all other Plots against the Church do) in his own Destruction.  
Israel Marches 3 Days directly to Horeb, (as they had Requested, Exod. 3. 18. and 5.3.) then turning towards the Red-Sea, Pharaoh's Spies gave Intelligence, That they were Run away, and would not Return, and that they were Entangled in the Mountains, Exod. 14. 3. This hardens his Heart, (at which Gods Mighty Hammer had given 10 Mighty Strokes in the 10 Plagues, yet could find no Entrance) and Resolves to pursue them; Yea, and his People also, (who Repent of their Welldoing, but not of their Ill) saying, Why have we let them go, v. 5. all pursues, and overtakes to Recover their Jewels, and to bring them back to Bondage, thinking they had caught them in a Pound, they had no way to escape, unless they could Climb up to Heaven, which because they could not do, Heaven comes down to them, Divides the Sea, Israel walks 'twixt Two Mountains of Waters, which made a fair Lane for them, Exod. 14. 22. Psal. 105. 8. 9 Isai. 63. 12, 14. The Egyptians follow them into the Sea, the Angel of God's Presence (who had led them thither) removed from the Van to the Rear, to be betwixt them and their Enemies, they who had drowned Israel's firstborn were all drowned; but Israel (the Church) passes over dryshod, and when safely Landed, Sang that Song of Praise to the God of Israel, Exod. 15. Psal. 77. 18. and 18. 11.) for this great Deliverance.   

The Fifth Plot against the Church, in the Wilderness: Defeated by GOD.  
CHAP. V.  
NO sooner was Israel got safe out of the Red-Sea, and into the Barren Wilderness, but presently the Devil Projects a 5th. Plot, and plays a New-Game against the Church in the Wilderness, (so called) Act. 7. 38.) In not only making the Multitude to murmur against Moses no less than four times about their Meat, (in the Cause and Quarrel of the Belly, as the Wilderness wanted provision, so they wanted patience to keep peace with their governors) But also in stirring up Amalek (Esau's Grandchild, Gen. 36. 15, 16. and the Heir of his Hatred against Israel, for beguiling him of his Blessing as well as Birthright) to War against him, Exod. 17.8. These Amalekites being a Warlike People, and now fearing that the Blessing (conferred upon Jacob by Isaac) would be confirmed, and [not having the fear of God before their Eyes, Deut. 25. 18.] This Seed of the Serpent waylays the Seed of the Woman in their passage to the Land of Promise, which was the Blessing promised: Amalek meets them by the way, not with Broad and Water, as he should have done to his afflicted Kindred, Obad. v. 10. 11, 12, 13. but with Fire and Sword, and cuts off the hindmost of them, Deut. 25. 18. Yea, and he exercised the Devil's Craft as well as his Cruelty, in smiting all that were faint and feeble, that came behind the Host, not unlike the Serpent (that Acted him) in his bruising the Heel of Israel. This (Josephus saith) was done by common consent and Council of all the Nations adjacent in their Ambassadors, pitching Unanimously upon this People of Amalek, (as being of the most Martial and Military Spirit and Courage) to cut off Israel, whose Renown now had so exceedingly Alarmed them. Israel (or the Church in the Wilderness) was at this time under great Disadvantages, (neither expecting any Acts of Hostility, nor being provided of due Arms and Ammunition) was much dismayed at the danger of being Assaulted by a puissant and wellarmed Adversary. Now the grand Plotter (Satan) had a fair Prospect of his 5th. Plot as to its success, but still the mischief of it was, he Reckoned without his Host, even the Lord of Hosts, (that Man of War, Exod. 15. 3.) who giveth Victory (not as the Devil, but) as himself pleaseth: For though the Lord permitteth Amalek to oppose Israel, for the Chastisement of their Murmur, yet had he other Designs then only to Chastise his Church whom he had allured into the Wilderness; He must also Speak Comfortably to her Heart, Hos. 2. 14. Amalek must Fall (and therein the Devil's Project) before the People of his Promise, and they must not only be Encouraged by their Victory over the Amalekites, (as they had been with that over the Egyptians) but also Enriched with their Spoils, and Furnished with their Arms and Ammunition. God hath (in his Design) not only the want of Innocency in his People to Chastise with Rods, but also the Gild of Insolency in his Enemies to Scourge with Scorpions.  
Amalek (indeed) comes forth to meet Israel, but it was to meet his own ruin, and to fetch in his own destruction, which Moses [Precando] by Praying, and Joshua [Praeliando] by Fight brought upon him: Moses in the Mount lifts up the Rod to God, as a Standard against Amalek; and Joshua in the Valley Engages them: and Moses Prayers gave most-effectual Pushes as well as Joshua's Pikes against the Enemy. Moses Orat & Vincit, Cessat & Vincitur, v. 12. While Moses Devotion goes down, Amaleks Courage gets up and prevaileth; but when it goes up and keeps up, being sustained upon Christ, the Stone of Israel, than Amalek is discomfitted, v. 13. And being the first Nation that Warred against the Church after her deliverance from Egypt, God's Hand is upon his Throne, Swearing, That he will have a perpetual War with Amalek, and wipe out the Remembrance of them from under Heaven, v. 14, 16. Amaleks Hand had been lifted up against God's Throne, (his Church, so called, Jerem. 14. 21. Now God's Hand is lifted up upon his own Throne, in taking this Solemn Oath, That he would wage War against Amalek for ever: This present Discomsiture was but a [praelibamen] or Pledge of this perpetual War. As a lasting Monument of God's great Mercy to Israel in this first Victory. Moses Builds an Altar, and calls it [Jehovah Nissi,] that is, The Lord is my Banner, under whose Standard he had got the Victory: And as a lasting Memorial of God's great Wrath against Amalek in this first Opposition, Moses must Record this of them, (either in the Book of the Wars of the Lord, Numb. 21. 14. which is latent, or in the Pentatuch which he was then Writing, and now Extant,) That they should utterly be destroyed. This Saul should have done, 1 Sam. 15.7. etc. destroying only some, David destroyed more, 2 Sam. 8. 12. Such as escaped those Destructions, were destroyed by the Simeonites in Hezekiah's time, 1 Chron. 4. 41, 42, 43. Lastly, Haman and his Ten Sons were slips of this cursed Stock, and Hanging was their end, and the end of that Race of Rebels (being the last that we read of) to be Rooted out. Oh how dangerous it is to Anger the Ancient of Days his Forbearance (for many Hundred Years) is no Forgiveness: 'Twas 400 Y. after when God gave Command to destroy them utterly, 1 Sam. 15. 2. and long after that, God made a War against them, and at last did Root them out, [Root and Branch] thus Amalek, Hebrew signifying [Populus Ling●us] a Licking People, that had licked up the Hindmost of Israel, the Wrath of God licked them all up as Fire doth Stubble, who can stand before Everlasting burn, Isa. 33. 14. The Church's Protesta●●● is Consuming fire to them, Hebr. 12. last, who not only Laughs but Burns, not only their Plots but their Persons, to nothing. A Man had better Anger all the Witches in the World, Yea, all the Devils in Hell; as Anger this One Jealous God, the Heat of whose Wrath lasts longer, and Burns deeper than the Coals of Juniper, Psal. 120. 4. His Judgements are severe and durable, never Rots in the Sky: 'Twas this Divine Wrath that waged War against Amalek from one Generation to another, until it came at last to an utter Extirpation; Haman (the Agagite) of the Blood-Royal of Amalek, descending from Agag their King whom Saul spared) is Hanged, no more of that Rebellious Race (that Warred against Israel without Cause or Provocation) do we Read of, the Wicked are forgotten, Eccles. 8. 10. Yea, the Devil (that set them on work) is Chained and Defeated: The Church (by her Champions help) abides for ever.   

The Sixth Plot against the Church, in the Wilderness: Defeated by GOD.  
CHAP. VI  
'TIs said, Luk. 4. 13. That Satan Departed from Christ only for a Season; no more doth he departed from his Church, he will have his Returns to do her all the ill turns he can: Thus doth he here to the Church in the Wilderness, that almost as close did he Dog her behind, as the Pillar of Glory did Conduct her before, and though Christ (whom she Tempted there, 1 Cor. 10. 9) suffered her thus to be Proved and Tried, yet it was always to do her Good at the latter end, Deut. 8. 16.  
The 6th. Plot against the Church, (which was the 2d. in her Wilderness-State) was the Tempter tempting Israel to Set up the Golden-Calf, Exod. 32. 1. which, the Devil knew well, would make God disown Discard, and Discovenant his People. This is one of Satan's Grand Wiles, that when he cannot play his Game upon the open Stage of the World by an Extrinsic Adversary, as by Amalek, than he tries his Skill by an Imrinsick-Engine, Screwing himself into the Minds of Israel, (this piece of Ingenuity he taught the Jesuits,) and being 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Lover of Idol-Worship, (as being Devil-Worship, 1 Cor. 10. 20, 21.) he puts them upon making an Idol, to make God cast them off and destroy them for such a God-provoking Sin, v. 22. as provoked God to Jealousy: The Advantage Satan took for promoting this his Project, was Moses Absence, (non-resident do little consider this,) though Moses had Warrant for his Absence both from God and his People, for 1st. God called him up into the Mount, Exod. 24. 12. and 2d. The People consented that he should be as an Ambassador and Mediator 'twixt them and God, Exod. 20. 19 Moses (the 40 Days faster) stayed longer with God in the Mount than the People expected, though all the while he was Negotiating their Weal in bringing the Two Tables of the Decalogue, (both of Gods Writing and Workmanship, Exod. 31. 18. and 32. 16.) The Heavenly Pattern of the Tabernacle with all the Ordinances concerning Legal Worship, to them: They grew Impatient of Moses delay: The Devil (no doubt) did suggest to the Worse sort, That he was torn of Wild Beasts, and to the Better sort, That (as Enoch was) he was Translated into Heaven, as Josephus saith: Or, That he had deserted his Charge and mocked them, as some, Or that he was Ashamed to Return, because he could not make good his Promise of Conducting them into the Land of Promise, as others say: Hereupon this Stiffnecked People (so called, Exod. 32.9.) will stay no longer; Joshuah could wait for Moses (all alone all the time) on the outside of the Cloud, Exod. 24. 13. and 33. 17. yet the People could not (with Company) in their Tents. Thus Deluded by the Devil, would have a Worship of their own, such as they had Retailed in their trading with the Merchants of Egypt, Act. 7. 39 40. Though they wanted Moses, yet they wanted not the Pillar, Deut. 9 15. But because this Pillar of Glory stood still during Moses Absence, they would have a stirring God to lead them at their will when and whither they pleased: Hence they say, [Up, make us Gods, to go before us:] Oh! How had the Devil Deluded them (even to a Stupefaction) to make them prefer a Stirring Calf (that could not stir, but as they stirred it, having Feet, but walked not, etc. Psal. 115. 4. 5, 6, 7, 8.) before a Standing-Pillar, that did Support their Union and Communion with God, Yea, a Pillar of Glory, which had Divided the Red-Sea, and Destroyed both Egypt and Amalek for them; And Oh how had Satan Intoxicated Israel so, as to make them See double for though they had but one Calf, yet they cry, [These be thy Gods which brought thee out of Egypt, v. 4.] even to this single as well as senseless Idol. No doubt but the Grand Plotter had now a fair Prospect of his present project, and could not but think, he might win the Game. And so indeed he bid fair for it, having gained this Notable Point, inasmuch as Israel had twice promised To do all that God had Commanded, Exod. 19 8. and 24. 7. Yet here he makes them to break the very 1st of the Ten, [in having other Gods,] and the 2d also, [in Making and Worshipping a Calf-Idol,] as if he had designed to drive them through gradually in the Breach of all the Ten, one after another: However he had already drawn them so far out of God's Favour, as to make them Naked, Exod. 32. 25. to wit, Destitute of Divine Protection, (which had hitherto been their Armour of Proof) and Exposed to be devoured of their Adversaries, Gen. 3. 10. Rev. 3. 18. and 16. 15. God bids Moses Get thee down, (before the 40 Days were Expired) for thy People have Corrupted themselves, v. 7. God will own them no longer, they are thine, rather than mine, seeing they have turned aside so quickly (when thy back was but newly turned of them) let me alone that I may destroy them, v. 10. Now the Devil's Game was at the Fairest, yet he wins not, but loseth it: God saith to Moses, Go down quickly, Deut. 9 12. but he returned not till he had first Prayed, and also had Prevailed, Ezek. 32. 11, 12, 13, 14. God (as it were) bespeaks his own Freedom, v. 10. Moses by the great power of his Prayer doth (after a sort) tie God's Hands from Punishing this Rebellious People; as if Moses's Devotion had been stronger than God's Indignation, not by the prevailing of Humane Power above Divine Omnipotence, but by Condescending of Divine Grace to Humane Prayer; especially this of Moses, who preferred God's Glory before his own Preferment, which God offered him, v. 10. God grants a present Reprieve from Utter Destruction, yet not a Liberate from future Plagues, v. 35. Upon New Provocation God Reckons for the New and the Old: There is (saith the Rabbis) an Ounce of this Calf in all the Plagues upon them to this day: Though Satan had got by this Calf, the Breaking of the Two Tables, (hewn out of the Saphir of the Throne of God, Exod. 24. 10. as the Thargum saith) by his Transporting Moses to do unadvisedly with his hands, v. 19 (as well as to Speak Unadvisedly with his Lips, Psa. 106. 33.) Judging Israel unworthy of such a Jewel now Forfeited: They had broke the Two first of the Ten, and for this, he breaks them all at once, because God's Bride had played the Whore at the Threshold of the Marriage-Bed-Chamber, so had lost her Title to her Dowry and Jewels, neither the Tables to be Restored, nor Tabernacle to be Erected, nor the Creating Angel (Christ) Exod. 23. 20, 21. to go along with them, but they shall be turned over to a Created Angel, Exod. 33. 23. This Degraded their Dignity. Notwithstanding all this, the Crasty Devil carries it not, but his Plot is Laughed to nothing, for Moses broke the Golden Calf, as well as the Two Rich Jewel-Tables, Executed Divine Justice upon the Chief in the Transgression, (about 3000 of the Ringleaders) Exod. 32. 20, 27, 28. Then Returned he up again unto God (as Angry as he was) to Intercede for those Calvish-Idolaters the 2d. time, v. 30. and (though Returned back the same day with a sad Answer, whereupon Israel is Humbled, Exod. 33. 3, 4.) The Mourners (as good cause they had to mourn for the loss of God's presence, Hos. 9 12.) looked after Moses, Exod. 33.7, 8. to see what access to God, and what Success from God he could Obtain; by this Address he gains some Hope of Reconciliation, than the 3d. time he goes up again, v. 14, 17. and Fasts other 40 Days, and by hard tugging in Prayer and Fasting, he at last prevails in the whole: (This kind of Devils (the Devil of Idolatry) would not be Cast out but by Fasting and Prayer;) Then comes he down with Glad Tidings, That all is well betwixt God and Israel: The Cloudy Pillar Returns, the Two Tables are Restored, and a Commission given to Build a Tabernacle; Israel sets about it, and not only does, but overdoes in their Offerings, Exod. 36. 7. (like a Stumbling Horse, gains Ground by his Stumbling,) The Tabernacle is Finished, and Filled with God's Glory, Exod. 40. Thus the Devil is Disappointed, and his Design is Defeated, and the Church in the Wilderness [all Despito de grand Diabolo,] Marches forward towards the Land of Promise.   

The Seventh Plot against the Church, in the Wilderness: Defeated by GOD.  
CHAP. VII.  
THe Devil hath not yet done with the Church, but makes one Proof more of another Plot from Intrinsic Engines, to wit, in the Conspiracy of Korah, Numb. 16. Satan had given the Church many Disturbances betwixt this Plot or Conspiracy, and that about the Golden Calf: The People were often making Tumults against Moses, and as often did Moses (in the Wisdom and Power of God,) quiet these Tumults. One of the worst of them was that, wherein Aaron and Miriam did murmur against Moses upon the account of Zipporah, either because she, being not of the Stock of Israel, hindered him from Circumcising his Son, Exod. 4. 24. or because he was too much with God, and too little with his Wife, as the Rabbins say: Or rather, because Miriam (according to the signification of her Name) would be Exalted, (as she was a Prophetess, Micah 6. 5. Exod. 15. 20.) and could not brook that Zipporah should take too much Honour upon herself, (because of her Honourable Husband) and give too little to her: As Satan prevailed first with Eve, then by her with Adam; So here first with Miriam, then by her with Aaron; so sets a Sister and a Brother against Moses, he loves to Fish in Troubled Waters, no Relation or Qualification (either of Honour or Meekness) can secure a Man from Offensive exceptions. Their Murmuring against meek Moses, causes the Cloud of Glory to departed, as the sin of the golden Calf had done before, wherein Aaron had a Hand in the Sin also: Moses is Vindicated by God himself, Numb. 12. 4. He that had been a Lion in God's Cause, (in breaking the Calf to Powder) was a Lamb in his own: and the less he speaks for himself, the more God speaks for him. God Hears and Stirs, Yea, and Strikes Miriam with Leprosy, because Chief in the crime, and (possibly) more passionate and peremptory in her Reports and Reproaches: Not Aaron, because he was the Judge of Leprosy, and so could not be tainted with it, as some say; but rather, because he met God by Repentance, v. 10. So disarmed God's Indignation, and Redeemed his own sorrow, Yea, and Miriam was humbled too, Deut. 24. 9 The People staying and Mourning for her, (to go before them, Micha 6. 5.) till she was Recovered. And another Disturbance (after this Halt) was, They Journeyed to Kadesh-barnea, Numb. 13. 3, 26. not far from the South-point of the Land of Promise, Deut. 1. 2, 19 20. From hence they sent the Spies, which (no doubt, but) the Devil of Unbelief put them upon, seeing God had before Spied out the Land for them, Ezek. 20. 6. and Searched it out, Deut. 1. 33. But this Satisfied them not, Seeing (with them) must be Believing: Those Spies came to Hebron, Deut. 1. 22. and Returning with the Fruit of the Land, Ten (against Two, great odds) prove the Devils Instruments, (who had prompted them to this Practice) and Raised an hard Report upon the Glory of all Lands, Ezek. 20.6. Numb. 13. 32. Hereupon Israel falls upon Mistakes: As 1st. That the Lord Hated them, Deut. 1.27. whereas never was Child more Charily carried by a Tender Father, (as his own Bowels,) and never was Prince served in more State, than they had been all along, yet they thus Desperately Belied the lord 2dly. They make themselves a Captain to Return to Egypt, Neh. 9 16, 17. as if that were better for them, (which could no way be.) Thus they cast the Helve (according to the Proverb) after the Hatchet, and like Children because they might not have what they would, grew Sullain, and would have nothing: This highly pleased the Devil, and the rather, because it mightily Displeased the Lord, insomuch as he Swore, They should wander in a Circle until they were worn out, and spend about 38 y. in Journeying from that place (of their Sin) Kadish-Barnea, to the selfsame place Kadish-Barnea again, Numb. 33. 18. and 37. which is called Richmah here, but before, Paran, and Kadesh, Numb. 13. 3, 26. and Deut. 1. 19 Kadish-Barnea, as the Lord was there Sanctified (Hebr. Kadesh,) upon the People, and made them Wand'ring Sons, as [Barnea] signifies, Numb. 14. 32. Yea, and there Man's Life was shortened, from Hundreds of Years they had Lived, to 70 or 80 Y. (as Moses (then making the 90 Psalms) showeth) to wear them out the sooner. And thus God was a Moth to them (to wear them [Sensim sine Sensu] insensibly away, though he would not be as a Lion to them to Devour them at once, and to Extirpate them utterly, Hos. 5. 12, 14. because he had Pardoned them at Moses Prayer, Numb. 14.20. And therefore doth he Preserve their Children both to Propagate the Church, and to Possess the Land: However, this sad Doom, (both in cutting their Lives shorter, and in causing them to Wander so as to make that way, which in itself was but 11 days Journey, Deut. 1. 2. to be above Three times 11 years' Journey long) Exposed them for the Devil of Discontent to possess: Hence arose this grand Plot, Korah's Conspiracy, as well as all their other Murmuring afterwards. Korah was the Devils Chief Instrument in this 3d. and Grand Disturbance, or Internal Impediment, in the Church's Motion towards Canaan, he was the Principal Rebel: Hence this Plot is called Korah's conspiracy, and 'tis Korah's Congregation or Company, Numb. 16. 5, 16, 22. and 26. 9 and 27. 3. And the gainsaying of Korah, Judas v. 11. And to make his Conspiracy the stronger, draws in Dathan and Abiram to be his Complices, Yea, and 250 Princes of the Assembly, Numb. 16. 2. and not only so, but even all the Congregation, v. 19 Who were all too ready to promote this Plot, he having persuaded them that God also would promote and Prosper it, v. 41. Thus one Scabbed Sheep infected the whole Flock; and as Juvenal saith, Vuaque Corruptâ livorem ducitabab Vuâ: Hence the Psalmist Imputeth this Conspiracy to all Israel, [They Envied Moses also, and Aaron the Saint of the Lord, Psa. 106. 16.] Inasmuch as the People did neither Desire to Punish those Conspirators, nor Entered their protest against them, they are all looked on as a Rabble of Rebels against God and his Servants, and accused as Guilty of the Sin: (Thus Satan's sour Leaven almost Leavened the whole Lump:) And though Aaron was not Innocent in the Two former Internal Impediments, being an Accessary in them both, yet in this he keeps Clean, and is called a Saint of 〈◊〉 Lord, being one of the main Marks those Rebels Shot at, for Korah (his Cousin-German, Exod. 6. 18.) of the Tribe of Levi, Aspired to have the Priesthood from Aaron, v. 11. and being enraged that Elizaphan Son of the 4th. Family, should be preferred before himself of the 2d. Family, Numb. 3. 30, and he Incenses Dathan and Abiram (who were his next Neighbours in the Camp, so soon seduced) to claim the Principality from Moses, as being of Reuben the Firstborn: 'Tis against Moses, and against Aaron, Numb. 16. 3, 11. against Magistracy, and against Ministry, a Desperate and Dangerous Conspiracy, 1st. In Slaunderlng the Governors, that they took too much State, too much Power, too much Honour, and too much Holiness upon them, whereas they took none of these upon them, but what the Lord God had given them, Hebr. 3. 3. and 5. 4. Thus these Ringleaders of the Rebellion most Presumptuously prescribe an Amendment of God's Word and Work, and would have his Divine Institutions to truckle unto their Humane Humours, and fond Inventions. 2dly. In Flattering the Governed, As if the People were Holy, and might make their immediate approaches to God both with their Incense and Offerings. All this is as false as the former, Moses was Ambitious, (say they,) 'Tis as true as Israel was Holy, much alike: had Moses been so, while God lifted him up over Israel, he had never fallen at their Feet, as v. 1. And had Israel been Holy, (who had now scarcely wiped their Mouths of the late Transgression) assuredly there had never been so much Idolatry, Infidelity, and Mutiny amongst them: What could make them Wicked, if all these would Denominate them Holy?  
No doubt but the Devil had a fair prospect of his Plot and Design, when he had raised up a Grand Ringleader of Rebellion, and not only so, but when this One Man, v. 22. the Great Wheel (the Primus Motor, or Primum Mobile,) thereof, had (by his Instigation) Twisted to himself such Two considerable Interests of 250 Princes, and of so many People, yet the Great God (who is higher than the Highest, Eccles. 5. 8.) Laughs all this to Nothing; for Moses well tells them, v. 11. That this their Rising was against the Lord, as the Lord told Saul after, Saul, Saul, why Persecutest thou me? Act. 9 4. Who ever hardened himself aegainst God, and prospered? Job 9 4. Nor they then, for (1st.) Moses Retorts upon those Rebels the same they had falsely reflected upon him and Aaron, v. 7. Ye take too much upon you, ye Sons of Levi: (as doth Elias upon Ahab, 1 Kin. 18. 17, 18.) and (to Hid pride from them, Job 33. 17.) he minds them, not to look up at those few Priests that were above them, so much as look down at the many Myriads of People that were below them. Their Thankful-Contentedness with their Advancement (as Levites) above all the People, should have kept them from all Repining Discontentedness at the few Priests that were above them: But those sturdy Rebels were Uncounsellable, Incorrigible, and their Envy and Ambition are restless and Unsatisfiable: Hence they say, We will not come up, v. 12. Preferring the Land of Egypt (their House of Bondage, and their Iron Furnace, Deut. 4.20.) most Ungratefully and Maliciously, before that of Gods most Gracious Promise, v. 13.14. Hereupon (2d.) Moses refers this Controversy betwixt the Church Malignant and the True Church Militant to a Divine Decision, 1st in Praying, that God would not respect their Offering, v. 15. and thereby maintain his Honest Cause and Holy Calling against those Invaders thereof; they had forgot God's Judgements upon Nadab and Abihu, Levit. 10. 1. which should have made their Hands Tremble, insomuch as Handling strange Incense and Censors, which they had ready provided when first they Combined to Usurp the Priest's Office, and now stood stouting it out in the very Face of God; but he had no Respect to their Offering, when he came to make known who were his, as v. 5. Though he Answered by Fire from Heaven, it was to Burn themselves, but not their Sacrifice. 2dly. In Predicting Gods Miraculous Judgement upon those Rebels, v. 28. 29, 30. wherein Moses Engageth the Truth and Honour of his Cause upon a Miracle Immediately coming to pass: At last (3dly.) both the Plot and all the Plotters Perished, Judas v. 11. Some one way, and some another, (as the Word [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉] signifies) none of them dying a common Death, God Created Two New Destructions for them: Some were Swallowed up of the Earth, so Buried Quick, (the worst of Deaths) because their Mouths had been open Sepulchers to swallow up God's Servants, and Others were Burnt to Death with Fire from Heaven, having sinned by Fire in their Censors and Incense. As for Korah (the Captain of the Conspiracy, and the Ringleader of the Rebellion, the main Wheel of this Malicious Mutiny) the Scripture seems to doom him to a double Death, (as his Sin was [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉] a Twice-diped Scarlet Sin, and of a double dye: As if he were not only Buried Quick, (in that Dismal and Universal Grave) but also Burned with those that Offered strange Incense, as if the Mouth of the Earth below him, and Fire from Heaven above him had both Conspired together to Stigmatize and Brand that Arch-Rebel who had been the Original of all.  
For 1st. That he was Swallowed up of the Earth, Appears, (1.) Inasmuch as the People were bidden to Separate from the Tents of Korah, as well as of Dathan and Abiram, Numb. 16. 24. and accordingly they did so, v. 27. (2.) The Words, [v. 30. If the Lord Create a New Thing, and the Earth open her mouth and Swallow Them up] seems too refer unto all the Three: (3.) The Earth did Swallow up all the Men that appertaineth unto Korah, v. 32. And (4.) 'tis Expressly said, That the Earth did Devour Korah himself, Numb. 26. 10.  
2dly, That he was burned by Fire from Heaven, Inasmuch as Korah being a Levite. 1. was one of those that offered such Incense as God Respected not. 2. Korah joining with them in the same Sin, was also joined with them in the same Punishment: They all sinned together by Fire, and they were all Punished together by Fire, and that Immediately after their burning Incense. 3. Those that were thus burnt are called Korah and his Company, ver. 40. 4. Korah's Censer was among those Censers which were to be Plates for the Altar as a Caveat to succeeding Ages, That none should Invade the Priesthood as Korah and his Company had done, Numb. 16. 6, 17, 38, 39, 40. However he was Burned in Hell, both he and his whole Tribe of Traitors; Thus the Sheol, v. 30. (taken either strictly or largely, for Hell or Grave) Swallowed up both this Plot and all the Plotters; Yea, and the Wise God here beats Satan, and batters his Kingdom with his own Weapon, and strikes him thorough with Arrows out of his own Quiver; in his Reserving Korah's Children alive: [The Sons of Korah Died not, Numb. 26. 11.] who (some say) were born up (Pendulous) in the Air by Divine Power, (while the Earth had Swallowed up their Wicked Father) being either Innocent of their Father's Sin, or Penitent at Moses Admonition, Numb. 16.5. And those became as eminently Serviceable, as their Father had been notoriously Destructive to the Church. Of them descended Samuel, 1 Chro. 6. 33, 34. (with 1 Sam. 1. 20.) They were singers in the House of the Lord, v. 31. and many Psalms have them in their Titles, as Psal 42, 44, 45, etc. Thus God can gather Grapes from Thorns, and Figgs from Thistles: And (as one saith) can make White Paper even of Dunghill Rags: An Holy Offspring Extracted out of an Unholy Root: Thus Satan loses Ground by this Plot, and the Church wins; Aaron's Priesthood (so opposed) is Confirmed by a Miracle, Aaron's Rod (alone) Budded, Numb. 17. And the Church marches on towards Canaan.   

The Eighth Plot against the CHURCH: Defeated by GOD.  
CHAP. VIII.  
THe 8th. Plot is as a Rope of the Devils making, wherewith he Designs to draw back the Church not only from Canaan, (when they were come to the very South-point of it, Numb. 21. 1.) but also farther off into the Wilderness, yea (if possible) into Egypt again: And in Order hereunto, [whereas the Scripture saith, A 3-fold Cord is not easily broken, Eccl. 4. 12.] To make it stronger, Satan Twists his Rope (here) of 4 Cords to make it a 4-fold one, that it might make a stronger Hale without breaking: to wit, 2 Internal Cords, or 2 Murmur within the Camp: and 2 External Cords, or 2 Assaults and Onsetts upon the Camp by King Arad and by King Sihon: yet God broke this 4-fold Cord more easily than Samson did his, when Philistims were upon him, Judg. 15. 14. and 16.12.  
As 1st. Internally: And 1st. A Murmuring within the Camp for Water at Meribah, Numb. 20. 2. They wanted Water the first Year of their coming into the Wilderness, and now the like want befalls them in this 40th. Year of their Wilderness-Wandring: In the 1st. Year-want, God Tried the Fathers, Exod. 17. 1, 2. etc. and God gave them Water out of the Rock Horeb, v. 6. which followed them all along, till they came near Canaan, 1 Cor. 10. 4. In this last Year-want God tried the Children, and they Murmur like their Fathers, and [Patrizando] do want Patience as well as Water: The former at Rephidim, Exod. 17. and this at Kadesh do Harmonise in many Particulars; save that Satan was more successful in this Plot than in that, for here he Transports meek Moses (1.) to an Immoderate Anger, to Speak unadvisedly with his Lips, Psal. 106. 32. (2.) To a Speaking (passionately) to the People, when he should have spoken (believingly) to the Rock, v. 8. (3.) To his Smiting it, and that Twice as in a pang of Passion, when he should have only Spoken to it with the Rod in his Hand stretched towards it, v. 10. 'Tis true, while Moses Spoke to those Rebels, he spoke to a Rock, even to their rocky hearts. Here Moses is at a stand, and his Faith staggers, (as knowing a Flinty rock was more likely to have Fire fetched out of it than Water, by striking: He is not bidden Here to smite the Rock, as Elsewhere, Exod. 17. 6. And because he did it Unbidden, (not believing in the Lord, nor Sanctifying him before the People, v. 12.) both he and Aaron his Brother (for the same fault) were Excluded Canaan; but Satan could not get either of them Excluded Heaven. However, God pardons their Murmur, (the Belly hath no Ears) and satisfies their Thirst by a Miracle: Waters came out abundantly by a Work of Omnipotency, v. 11. and so the Church is Preserved.  
2dly. A Murmuring within the Camp at the Tediousness of the way in compassing the Land of Edom, when that Unkind Cousin would not suffer Israel to pass through his Land, Numb. 20. 14, 17, 18. and 21. 4. which had been the far nearest way: This turning about Mount-Seir, turns them again into their Old (Paroxysms, or) Fits of Murmuring against God, (that forbade them the way through Seir or Edom, Deut. 2. 5.) and of Loathing Manna, as their Fathers had done, Numb. 11. 5, 6. as if it were not so Solid and Substantial as that Food they had in Egypt; Though it maintained the Body in an equal Temperature of Strength and Vigorous Health (without offending the Organs, or oppressing with Fullness) for many Years, as it did Moses, Deut. 34. 7. and Caleb, Josh. 14. 11. For this Contempt God sent [Seraphim Nehashim] Fiery Serpents to Sting them, that those Ungrateful ones (who had causelessly Cried) might now have some Cause to cry. 'Tis a Wonder, that seeing the Wilderness (through which they went) did Abound with those and other Serpents, Deut. 8. 15. That the Old Serpent the Devil) had not (before this) Molested the Church with these Biteing and killing-Serpents, but the Great God (who was their Conduct and Covering) overruled the Devil or Serpent, and kept all those Serpents from hurting his People, till now (by their Sin) he gave them a Commission, as Amos 9 3. I will command the Serpent, and he shall by't thee: 'Tis the Church's Mercy that the Serpent cannot Hurt nor Destroy upon God's Holy Mountain, but when God permits, Isa. 65. 25. And though God (here for their Sin) doth permit this grievous Malady, yet Provides he a most gracious Remedy at the Prayers of his people, v. 7, 8. to wit, The Brazenserpent upon a Pole (a Figure of Christ, Joh. 3. 14, 15.) to which whoever looks (tho' with a weak Eye) are healed, Isa. 17. 7. and 45. 23. and Joh. 12. 32.  
So 2dly. Externally. (1.) Satan stirred up the Canaanites to Oppose this Wilderness-Church in her Passage to Canaan: now when they were come so nigh to it, even to the South-point of the Land, Numb. 21. 1. and 33. 40. These under King Arad fought against Israel, and took some of them Prisoners. Undoubtedly those Canaanites had heard of the overthrow which was given to Israel 38 Y. before this, when they presumptuously went up against an Express Prohibition, Numb. 14.41, 44, 45. and of the Hand of God against them in Detaining them so long in the Wilderness: Hereby the Devil hardened and encouraged them to Encounter Israel, coming so near them again, which was done accordingly with some Success, yet from differing Thoughts of God and the Devil; for 1st the Devil did this to discourage Israel, that as their Fathers through Unbelief entered not into the Promised Land, but their Carcases fell in the Wilderness, Deut. 1. 27, 32, 35. Hebr. 3. 11, 18. So their Children also might be deprived: (2.) but God Suffered this Success for a Chastisement of their Sins, and for a Trial of their Faith, and that his People might know, that they should not Conquer the Land by their own Strength, or for their own Merit, Psal. 44. 3. Deut. 9.4. This Success of the Canaanites prevailing and taking some Prisoners, gave Satan a fair Prospect of his Plot and Project; yet behold how the Lord baffles him, and Laughs it to Nothing, for it was only some Prisoners, not all: the Church (as the Old Romans) may lose a Battle, but never a War: This Loss was so Sanctified, as made them take the right way to prevail with God, (as Jacob the Father of Vows had found it, Gen. 28. 20.) Upon this Occasion Israel (Jacob's Offspring) Vowed a Vow, Numb. 21. 2. Invocating Gods Assistance, and promising a Devotement of their Conquest to God: The Lord accepts of this Religious Vow or Promise, performs his Part of Helping them to a Victory, v. 3. King Arad (Satan's Instrument) being Drunk with his former Success, comes again into the Field like Thunder and Lightning, but goes out like Smoke, and a Snuff; as 'tis said of the French, [Prior Impetus est plus quàm Virorum posterior minùs quám Foeminarum,] More than a Man at first, less than a Woman at last. God Delivered him into Israel's hands, and his Cities they Destroyed, which they Devoted to God, as the first Fruits of the Land of Promise; And that they might keep their Vow the better to the end of their Conquests, the place of this first Victory was called Hormah, to wit, Devotement, for a Standing Memorial both of God's Mercy, and Israel's Duty, in after Ages, v. 3. And when the Devil saw that he had lost this Game, and that Israel's Sighing for their first Defeat, was Turned into Singing for their last Victory, (as well as for their Deliverance from the fiery Serpents, and for their Sanedrims (or 70 Elders) causing Wells to spring up in the Dry Wilderness by the stroke of their Staves, as Moses had done with the stroke of his Rod, v. 8. 9, 17.) This Enraged him again (2.) to Stir up Sihon King of the Amorites against Israel, v. 21.23. Deut. 2. 30. Judg. 11. 20. But behold the Issue, Sihon comes forth at the Devil's Instigation, and it was to fetch his own Destruction, (as King Arad and others had done) God's Judgements need not go to find Wicked Men, they do come out to meet it the better half way: Jehovah (the God of Israel) Smote him and his Complices, Numb. 21.24. Deut. 2.33. Though their Height was like the height of Cedars, and they as strong as Oaks, Amos 2. 9 Psal. 135. 10, 11. with 136. 17, 18, 19 The Glory of this Victory in Defeating the Devil and his Imps, is Attributed to the God of Israel: And mark a Marvellous good Providence towards Israel; who was forbidden of God to meddle with Moabs' Land, Deut. 2. 9 Yet Sihon had taken this part from Moab, Numb. 21.26. God takes it from him, (making him a Proverb, or Byword, v. 27. Deut. 28. 17.) and Gives it to Israel: Thus they Lost not, but Gained by it herein.   

The Ninth Plot against the CHURCH: Defeated by GOD.  
CHAP. IX.  
BUt the Sorest Thrust, and most Fiery Dart of the Devil against this Wilderness-Church, was that of the Moabites, (with their Assistants the Midianites,) which was [Vltimus Diaboli Crepitus] the last Gun-Shot of the Wicked one against Israel, (as to External or Outward Engines,) before they Entered Canaan, yet proved it (by the overruling Providence of God) but the Shot of a Potgun, a Dintless Dart; and an Unsuccessful Thrust in the Issue: No Weapon that is form against the Church shall prosper, Isai. 54. 17. This Divine Promise did blunt the Point, and Spoiled the Purpose of all both Humane or Diabolical Projects; Yea, of this last, which was the worst of all, [Morsus Morientum sunt Maximè Mortiferi.] The last By't of Dying Beasts are most Deadly, no less was this last of the Serpent to Interrupt the Church in her Passage out of the Wilderness to Canaan.  
Take a Particular View of Two Things, 1st. of the Church's Danger, and 2dly. Of the Church's Deliverance. God Requires a Due Commemoration hereof, Micah 6. 5. where he saith, Oh my People, Remember now what Balak King of Moab Consulted, and what Balaam the Son of Beor Answered from Shittim unto Gilgal, that ye may know the Righteousness of the Lord: The Compellation [Oh my People,] doth plainly Demonstrate, That the sinfulness of God's People doth not Destroy God's Claim to, and his Interest in them. They are his by Creation, by Redemption, and by the Covenant of Grace: 'Tis True, by the Old Covenant God might Write Lo-Ammi, and Lo-Ruhamah upon his Sinful Church, but the Freegrace of this New-Covenant Rides Triumphingly over all the Incapacities and Unworthinesses of his People; and when they are not (in themselves) Worthy, yet their Gracious God will Account them Worthy, Luk. 21.36. when he cannot own them (as his Jewels,) Mal. 3. 17. for their sakes, yet then will he own them for his own sake, Ezek. 36. 22, 32. No Love like God's love, that Loves thus Freely, Hos. 14. 4. Though all the World disclaim them, yet must God lay his Claim to them, Oh my People; How can he Disclaim them: So he tells us in his 4. such Hows as are not to be paralleled in the whole Book of God, Hos. 11.8. How shall I give thee up Ephraim, etc. I cannot find in my heart to do it, What will the Egyptians say, Exod. 32. 12. And, what will become of my Great Name? Josh. 7. 9 The very Banks of Blasphemy will be broken down, when God cannot behold Innocency in his people, (as before) yet will he prevent the Insolency of their Enemies, Deut. 32. 27. Psal. 140. 8.  
The Commemoration Holds forth Three Things; 1st. The Plot or Danger, as the Church in the Wilderness had a Balak and a Balaam against her: So the Church evermore in her Wilderness-State hath Force and Fraud, Power and Policy against her. 2. The Issue and Deliverance, God Delivered the Church out of their Hands, Josh. 24. 10. and brought her from Shittim (the place of their Sin of Baal-Peor) to Gilgal, where he Renewed his Covenant. 3. The End, to Proclaim God's Praise.  
The other Plots before this was a Complication of lesser Plots, but this last External, is a Plot of Plots: the Devil Employing his Grandest Engines at this Onsett against the Church. As 1st. Balak Hires Balaam to come and secretly Curse them, Numb. 22. 4. 2. He Draws out all his Armies in Battle-array against them to Suppress them by Open Power, Numb. 22. 5. Josh. 24. 9 as soon as Balaam had Cursed them. 3. When this would not do, than by Wiles and Private Policy, according to the Counsel of Balaam, he Seduces them to Fornication and Idolatry, Numb. 25. 1, 2, 3. In the Management of this last and worst Plot, Observe Three things, 1. The Ground or Occasion. 2. The Manner. 3. The Matter thereof. 1. The Ground, it was indeed a groundless quarrel, for Moses fretted against Israel, to see them upon their Plains, just ready to set foot upon the Land of Promise, Numb. 22. 3. though Moab was (Allied to Israel) eased by them of a Troublesome Encroaching Neighbour, (Sihon King of the Amorites, that had taken some part of their Land from them, Numb. 21. 26.) and (3) Assured by Israel that they would not meddle with them, or molest them, because they were of the Posterity of Lot, Deut. 2. 9 So it was a Causeless Quarrel, as Satan moved God against Job without Cause, Job 2. 3. So they were Acted and Agitated by the Devil without cause on Israel's part: they being of a Differing Religion, were carried on with Satanical malice, and sought their Ruin. Thus Rome (at this Day) seeks the ruin of those of the Reformed Religion, and Devises Deceitful matters against them that are Quiet in the Land, Psal. 35. 20. Their Quarrel is Causeless. 2ly. The Manner, Threefold. (1.) Secret and Undermining, Moab sent no open Desiance by sound of Drum or Trumpet, it was close as the Plot of Rome against us at this Day. (2.) It was Earnest, Importunate and Irreconcilable, for Balak was a restless Adversary, and would not give over, till some Mischief were done, as Rome doth at this Day. (3.) Sumptuous or Costly, Balak spares no Cost, either in proffering Honours, or in Building of Altars and offering Sacrifices: Paul Persecuted out of Ignorance, 1 Tim. 1. 13. so was easily Checked, Act. 9 4. but Balak out of Malice, as Rome does, and spares no cost in her Malice. 3ly. The Matter of the Plot. (1) Balak Hires Balaam to Curse Israel, Numb. 22. 6. Balak was a politic and potent Prince, not more Valiant than Vigilant, Ingeniose Nequam, Wittily Wicked; he calls for Balaam (the Devils Spelman) to Curse Israel. This Balaam (his Instrument) is called a Prophet, 2 Pet. 2. 16. there is frequent mention of his Receiving Messages and Answers from the Lord, Numb. 22. 8, 13, 18. and 24. 17. 'tis said, God put a Word into Balaam's Mouth, Numb. 23. 5. a Phrase never used concerning the Inspiring of any of the Holy Prophets, which Word did but pass through him as a Trunk through which a Man speaks, his Heart was not Holily Affected with what his Tongue uttered; He did not Eat his Words as Jeremy did, Jer. 15. 16. Nor did he Believe what he had spoken, as David did, Psal. 106. 10. And after him Paul, 2 Cor. 4. 13. And as he was called Prophet, so a Soothsayer, Josh. 13. 22. As all his Altars, Sacrifices and Consultations with the Lord were by the Wicked Art of Enchantments, or Observing of Fortunes, such as the Diviners and Prophets of the Heathen used, Deut. 18. 10, 14. Numb. 24. 1. He went not as at other times to seek for Enchantments, as being Resolved to curse Israel however and without God's leave, he was fully bend to do it, and nothing shall Hinder him. Thus Satan makes Use of the meetest Means to Accomplish his own Devilish Ends, and makes Balaam to do more Mischief to the Church by his Counsel, than Balak could do by his Courage: He laid a Stumbling-Block before Israel, Rev. 2. 14. No doubt but this Wicked Person had excellent Gifts; yet as he was Famous for Prophesy, so he was Infamous for Profaneness. And oh what pernicious Counsel was this of Balak's Consulting with Balaam to have Israel Cursed, and that, from Heaven too, to wit, by the Mouth of a Prophet, this was more Dangerous than to Fight against them with all his Forces: And Balaam was as willing to Curse them, as Balak would have had him, for the word [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉] Judas 11. Imports it. He poured out his Malice (like Water in a Spout) after an Impetuous and Violent manner, he Ran greedily from Altar to Altar, gaping after the Gain Promised, If but his Cursing-Cursed-Work were persorm'd, he was like a swift swelling Torrent that breaks down all its Banks and Bounds which are made to keep it in. Thus Balaam's March to Marr the Church was as furious as Jehu's, so that, neither God's Prohibition before his Journey, nor the crushing of his Foot, the Speaking of his Ass, the drawn Sword of the Angel in his Journey, nor the Disappointment of all his Endeavours by his Enchantments afterwards, could Hinder him from pursuing his Cursed-Cursing Project: yet God made all Fruitless and frustrate, neither had Balak his Will, nor Balaam his Wages: God overrules the Devil and his Spelman, Turns the Desired Curse into a Devout Blessing: gladly would Balaam have Cursed Israel, but he cannot wag his wicked Tongue without God's leave, nor Balak with his Men of might could find their Hands without Divine Permission, Psal. 76. 5. Yea, Balaams' Heart Curses against his Tongue, and his Tongue Blesses against his Heart.  
Let us turn Aside a little here (with Moses, Exod. 3. 2.) and Wonder a while that this Bush should be ever Burning, yet never Consumed. Oh let us Admire the Power, Wisdom and Goodness of God towards his Church, both in that Ancient and in this present Wilderness-State, as to those Pregnant Parallels following.  
The 1st. Parallel is, As the Church then had a Balaam to Curse her, and a Balak to hire him thereunto; Even so it is now, Gal. 4. 29. There is no new thing under the Sun, etc. Eccl. 1. 9 The present Church of the Reformed Religion, hath the Great Balaam of Rome to Curse her with Bel, Book and Candle (as the Phrase is) he is The Devils spelman, [Primo genitus Diaboli] The Gull and Cheat of the World, to whom the Balaks or Kings (that have given their Power to that Beast, Revel. 17. 13.) says, Whom thou blesseth shall be blessed, and whom thou curseth shall be cursed, Num. 22. 6. Whereas the Power given to Man, for Blessing or Cursing others, is not Despotical or Magisterial, but only Ministerial.  
The 2d. Parallel, As Balaam is called a Prophet, 2 Pet. 2. 16. yet a Mad One, yea, a Soothsayer, Josh. 13. 22. So the Great Man of Rome is said to sit in the Temple of God, as a Prophet, 2 Thess. 2. 4. Yet a Soothsayer, a Sorcerer, a Necromancer, a Conjurer: See my Discovery of Antichrist, Pag. 48. and 59 So he is the Devil's Prophet: and 'tis very remarkable the Devil hath done more Mischief to the Church of God in his Transforming himself into an Angel of Light, than ever he could do while he appeared in his own proper Colours, as the Prince of Darkness, Gog [Tectus] or the Secret Adversary is a greater Plague to the Church, than Magog [Detectus] or, the open Enemy. The Pope, that False Prophet, and Christ's pretended Vicegerent, hath given more bloody blows to the Reformed Religion, (in its Power and Purity) than ever the Turk hath done.  
The 3d Parallel. As Gain is the great Wheel (or at least the Yellow Unction) that made Balaam run so greedily after his Design of Cursing Israel, Judas v. 11. So the Balaam of Rome Hews out the Principal Pillars of his Romish-Religion out of the Quarry of filthy lucre. Gain is not only got from the Living, in his Pardons, Indulgences, Dispensations, Oblations, Pilgrimages, etc. (He making a Money-matter of the most Execrable Abominations, as Witchcraft, Parricide, King-Killing, Incest, Sodomy, Beastiality, etc.) but also from the Dead, (in his Masses, Diriges, etc.) who leave large Legacies to be Prayed out of Purgatory, a Toy which he cries not up so much for Truth as for Traffic; as Mr. Jenkins Excellently shows, upon Judas last part. p. 212. saying, Silver is in the Sacks Mouth of every Popish-Errour: 'Tis a Religion wholly Compacted and Compounded for Gain: 'Tis altogether a Contrivance to make the Pope 's Kitchen Smoak, and their Thirst after Gain makes them Thirst after Blood.  
The 4th. Parallel, As Balaam Broke through all Difficulties to break God's Design of Blessing Israel, (whom he was Bribed to Curse) though (1) a good Angel stood in his way to stop him, (who was Acted and Agitated by the Devil that wicked Angel) (2) though his own Ass (that had been long his faithful Servant) did reproove his Madness, 2 Pet. 2. 16. (3) Though he saw a Sword drawn before his Eyes, and that in the Hands of an Angel, who was able to Kill 185000 Soldiers (notwithstanding their Armour of Defence) in one Night, Isa. 37. 36▪ and therefore able to Kill him (a Naked Man) at one blow: Yea, and (4) though God stood over him with a Cudgel, (as the Angel had done with a Sword) or Whip all the time he ran from Altar to Altar with his Enchantments and Diabolical Arts, and would as gladly have Cursed Israel, as ever the Dog would be at his Carrion, which he yet forbears, not because he Hates it but because he fears the Whip or Cudgel. So the Grand Impostor of Rome hath met with many Rebukes in his bloody Designs, the Kingdoms that hath Couched under him as his Asses, Gen. 49. 14, 15. and have been over-faithful Servants to him, 1 Chron. 4. 23. have (at least some of them) (through Grace) thrown their Mad Rider. And what Signal and Singular Appearances of Divine Providence hath been Evident against him, Yea and Blessed be the Lord who holds his Whip and Cudgel over that Balaam at this Day, so that the Dog cannot come at his Carrion, (no better than Carrion he accounts the Church) whom he would Eat up as Bread, Psal. 14. 4. Yea, as Flesh, Psal. 27. 2. Yet when he comes to do so, Oh stand and wonder, God gives him a knock with his Cudgel, and then he Stumbles and Falls.  
The 5th. Parallel, As Balaam (who had been bribed by Balak) goes about to Bribe even God himself, to keep off the Blows of his Whip and Cudgel, and to purchase a permission for Cursing Israel. Hence was it, that he cries so oft, Build me here Seven Altars, and Burn on them Seven Bullocks and Seven Rams. The first whereof was done upon the High places of Baal, Numb. 22. 41. with 23. 1. a sit place to bribe God in, and to bring him into this Wickedness, who had forbid him to Curse his People, Numb. 22. 12. Hereupon Balaam (who instead of disuading Balak from his Wicked purpose, and instead of Consulting with God about the Building of his Altars) he first builds his Altars to Consult with God, and then boasts of his Devotion, saying, I have prepared Seven Altars, &c, Numb. 23.4. as if he would bribe God with his Sacrifices, and now did merit this Favour to turn his Blessing into a Curse; but 'tis expressly said, God would not hear him, notwithstanding all his Flatteries, Deut. 23. 4, 5. Josh. 24. 10. God was not so soon taken with the Multitude of Balaam's Sacrifices, as he had been with a Multitude of Balaam's Treasures and Honours. So the Balaam of Rome with his many Altars and Sacrifices (though unbloody) thinks to Merit God's Favour, Yea, to over-Merit it in his Works of Supererogation; exceeding the Pharisee, saying, [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉] Wherein am I behind hand with God? Matth. 19 26. What lack I yet? he can keep the Law, and be beforehand with God, saying, Coelum Gratis non Accipiam. I scorn to take Heaven as a Free-Gift, I will either Earn it, or I will never have it: And another Romish-Pharisee said, Non habeo Domine, quod mihi Ignoscas, I have no Sin, Lord, for which I need to Beg thy pardon. Thus (with Balaam here) they make themselves Vessels of Merit, rather than Vessels of Mercy, but they (as Vessels) shall be filled with their own Merit, or rather Demerit at last, even with endless wrath as vessels of wrath.  
The 6th. Parallel, As Balaam had his Consults, Micah 6. 5. and his Confidence that by his many Altars and Sacrifices he had merited this Favour to Blast Israel, whom God had Blessed, yet both were Blasted and Baffled by the God of Israel, who overrules the Matter so, that Balaam's Answer unto Balak, was 1. a plain Prohibition, Numb. 23. 8. as God had said to Laban concerning Jacob, [I Charge thee not to hurt him,] Gen. 31. 34. It must therefore follow, that Laban's Words were false, when he said, It is in the power of my Hands to hurt thee, v. 29. For that Power must be given of God, as Christ told Pilate, Joh. 19 10. 11. Even so had God Charged Balaam not to Curse or Hurt Israel, Numb. 22. 12. and 23. 12. God Speaks for his People in the Hearts and Mouths of their Enemies, 2dly. Balaam's Answer was an Absolute Inversion, God doth not only put a Spoke into his Wheel to stem, and to stop him from Cursing his Church, but he makes him to power out Blessings, when he was Hired to Curse; and thus the Wrath of Man turns to the Praise of God, Psal. 76. 10. 3ly. His Answer is an Unexpected Retortion, all his Intended Curses are Retorted and Returned (1.) upon Moab that Hired him, (2.) upon himself that was Hired, Numb. 24. 9 Cursed be every one that Curseth thee. They both Designed and Desired to Curse Israel, and therefore on Gods Account they did it, Josh. 24. 9 Qui, quia non licuit, non facit, ille facit. Even so the Balaam of Rome hath his Consults de propag and a Fide both at Home and Abroad, and his Confidence in his Multitude of Masses and Money: but oh! how Wonderfully hath God hitherto bound their Hands to the Peace, and their Tongues to Good Behaviour. Their causeless Curses shall not come, Prov. 26. 2. but are returned on their own Heads: And 'tis very Remarkable here (3ly.) that though Balaam cannot Curse Israel, yet he Curseth Amalek their first, and Rome their last Enemy, Numb. 24. 20. and 24. As sure as that of Amalek is come to pass, so sure shall that of Rome be [God Hand is upon his Throne] to Accomplish both in Christ, 2 Cor. 1.20. and by him, 2 Thess. 2. 8. Thus [Me Jad Kittim] from the Coasts of Kittim is meant Italy, as Dan. 11. 33. for there is an Harmony and Congruity betwixt the Two Names, Latium of Latendo, and Kittim of Katham abscondere, to Hid or Lurk: The Italians, Latins, (called Ketims or Ketij, as Suidas saith,) or Romanists are Gog (ut Suprà) as the Turks are Magog) to wit, Hidden and Lurking Enemies against the Church, and do (as Balaam had foretold they should) Afflict Heber, Numb. 24. 24. to wit, the Hebrews, or Israel, (Heber's Posterity) or the Church of God. Now Christ was the Chiefest of Heber's Race, Luk. 3. 23, 35. and was Killed by Pilate the Roman-Deputy, and since that time, Rome (by Antichrist Reigning there) hath been Killing Christ in his Members ever since: But shall he Kill for ever? Oh no, for God makes Balaam (himself) to Denounce his Doom and Downfall: [He also shall Perish for ever, Numb. 24. 24.] Or shall go into Perdition, 2 Thess. 2. 7, 8, 9 Thus Balaam (the Devils Spelman, and Hired by Balak to Curse Israel) was overruled by the Great God to begin with the Blessing of them, and to End with the Cursing of their first Enemy Amalek, and their last Enemy Antichrist. The Lord (even by the Mouth of this Soothsayer) Confirming his Promises made to Abraham and to his seed for ever, which are all Propounded, ratified and Performed in Christ, 2 Cor. 1. 20, 21. Notwithstanding all this, the Devil hath not yet done, nor his Devilish Diviner Balaam, although he foresaw such Felicity laid up for, and to be laid out on Israel, as made him Wish that his own latter End might be like theirs, Numb. 23. 10▪ Yet Rests he not Here, but Acts still in giving cursed Counsel, and never gave over Acting Devilishly until the Sword, which he had seen Drawn in his way, at last was Sheathed in his own Bowels, Numb. 31. 8. 'Tis said (indeed) He returned to his place, Numb. 24. 25. That is, saith Baal Turim, He went to Hell, as Judas did, Act. 1. 25. had he gone then to his own place in Hell, his Do of Mischief would then have Ceased, and been Turned into Suffering of Misery, which Undoubtedly was done at last; but either he was (in his Returning Homeward,) Detained by the Midianites, where he gave that Pestilent Advice to Entice them (with their Daughters) both to Adultery and Idolatry. Israel was joined hereby to Baal-Peor, that Shameful God of Opening, Numb. 25. 3. Hos. 9 10. This became [Peccatum Flagrans] a Foul Flaming Sin in God's Eye, that Stank in his Nostrils, without which (he had Subtly said) none of his Enchantments could prevail against Israel, Numb. 23. 21, 23. Until this sin put them, (at his Advice) under God's Displeasure, 2 Pet. 2. 15. Judas 11. Rev. 2.14. or if he went Home, he returned again to Midian to Demand his Wages (saith Chaskuny,) as soon as he heard God's Plague was upon Israel through his means, Numb. 25.9. 1 Cor. 10. 8. but as Shemei sought his Servants, and lost his Life, 1 Kin. 2. 40, 46. so did Balaam, Numb. 31. 8. Neither Balak had his Will, nor Balaam his Wages: How could he Dye the Death of, that Lived not the Life of, but Plots against the Lives of the Righteous.   

The Tenth Plot against the Church, in the Wilderness: Defeated by GOD.  
CHAP. X.  
THus have I shown what a Marvellous Conduct the Church had by the Pillar of Providence (Defeating all the Devils Designs against her) from Adam to Noah, from Noah to Moses, and from Moses to Joshuah; Winning (not losing) Ground all the time, for above 2493 Y. according to Helvicus, Paro●●; Calvisius; or 2553 according to Dr. Lightfoot. When Satan had got quit of Moses, (by his Tempting him to Unbelief, Numb. 20. 12.) who Died in the very Borders of Canaan, (whither he had brought Israel) and was Buried by God himself, Deut. 34. 5, 6. Next he proposes and pursues his 10th. Plot and Project (which was the last Internal Engine) against this Body of the Church, which had now lost her Head, Moses; and that, in his Contending with Michael or Christ about the buried Body of Moses, Judas 9 Michael or Christ (who only could bury Moses Law, Rom. 8. 3. Gal. 3. 13, 14. Col. 2. 14, 16, 17. Hebr. 9 9, 10, 11, etc.) becomes (himself) a Sexton, and buries Moses Body; the like is not done by God to any Mortal Man, a Peculiar Privilege and Honour, testifying how God Loved him both Alive and Dead; which Body was Raised at Christ's Transfiguration, Matth. 17. 4. with a Glory upon it, and yet should Rise with a greater Glory at the last Day, Phil. 3. 21. The Devil Disputed with Michael about the place of Moses Sepulchre, that he might take up the Relics of Dead Moses (as the Romanists do of their supposed, and Supposititious Saints) and set them up as Idols in the Hearts of the Living Israelites, who were so Notoriously Inclined to any sort of Idolatry, Psal. 106.28. Isa. 8.19. & 65.4. thus Satan (being ambidexter) lays about him on both Hands, while Moses was Living, he Tempts Israel to Despise him, (in their Murmur aforesaid,) but when he is Dead, he would Tempt them to Idolise him, and to Translate his Body out of its Grave into a Temple of their own Hearts: yet all this was but as a Stirrup and Stalking-Horse to Advance and Advantage the Devils Design of setting up a Divine Adoration of Himself among the People of God: This Game did Satan play with Saul in making him Disregard Samuel, while Living, and then puts him upon Conjuring him up (as his God) when Dead. Whereby Satan got Divine worship from Saul in that Mock Samuel: Here, Satan had no Respect to the Body of Moses, any further than thereby to Hurt the Souls of Israel; 'tis probable, he might Argue to the Archangel in the Dispute: 'Tis a shame that such an Honourable Magistrate and Holy Man should have such a private, and not a public Burial, Attended by all Israel; whereas indeed it was most Honourable, for God only Attended and Acted all the Solemnity, the only fault or quarrel was, that God would not Invite the Devil to be present at the Funeral, for the Reason's aforesaid.  
Thus the Plot was laid, to make Moses an Idol, and an Occasion of Idolatry when Dead, who had been the greatest Opposer of it whilst Living; But what Success had this Plot? 'twas Laughed into Nothing, for Michael Over-matches the Devil, rebukes him; Satan may be rebuked, but never reformed, he may be Curbed, but never Cured, he may be Chained, but never Changed: And as the Lord's rebuke was upon him for his Contending about the Body of Moses, so Undoubtedly it is, about the Body of the Messiah, to wit, the Church, which is his Body, and he is the Head: Never did Michael make War with this Dragon, but he hath always the Victory, as Rev. 12. 8. Dan. 10. last, etc. And if he do not now lay his rebuke upon Satan, 'tis not from the scantness of his Power, but from the greatness of his Patience, yea, and of his Wisdom. Behold here! God did not leave the Church (his Body) without an Head, but raises up a Living Head (a Joshua, or Jesus, (so called, Act. 7.45.) a Type of Jesus, our Lord) instead of a Dead Moses: Moses (or the Law) cannot bring to Canaan, no, it is Dead, and all the Ceremonies of it; and 'tis the Devil that puts Men to dig them out of the Grave: but to bring us into the Possession of the Heavenly Canaan, is the work of Jesus by the Gospel, as Joshua (not Moses) brought Israel into the Earthly Canaan: This Jesus is the Head of the Church, a Living Head at the Right Hand of God; Hence the Church can never be Drowned, so long as her Head (Christ) is lifted above the Waters: neither doth God ever starve his work for want of Instruments; Moses Dies, Joshua (who had been trained up with him from a Child) is his Substitute, God will not leave his Church Destitute, as one is broke off, another Rises up in his Room, and that with Commission and Qualifications suitable for his Work, so that Israel might follow him with Confidence, as they must with Obedience, Deut. 31. 1, 8. and 34. 9 and Josh. 1. 1, 2, 16. who after his Inauguration Renews the Two Sacraments of Circumcision, and the Passcover, Conquers all Canaan, settles Israel in it, and all this after Moses Death; a Figure of Christ, who brings into Eternal Rest after the ending of Moses Law. Thus the Church at last Landed in the Land of Promise, maugre the Malice of angry Men, and of Enraged Devils.   

The Eleventh Plot against the CHURCH, in Canaan: Defeated by GOD.  
CHAP. XI.  
NOw though the Church had lost Moses, and at his Death the Cloudy Pillar too which then Departed, yet The Righteousness of the Lord brought Her from Shittim to Gilgal, Micah 6. 5. that is, The Faithfulness and Goodness of God in keeping Promise with his People, notwithstanding all their provocations, and in Despite of the Devil that (all the way in the Wilderness) made many Desperate Disturbances: Still the Church had a Joshua to stand for her in Moses stead, and though the loss of the Cloudy Pillar was Undoubtedly a very great and most Discouraging loss, especially she having Jordan (yea, and at that time, overflowing all his banks, Josh. 3. 15.) betwixt her and Canaan, for the Devil had blocked up all other ways to it, having stirred up Moab, Midian, Ammon, Amalek, and the Amorites to obstruct her passage thither.  
Yet God comes to Comfort her at that time, Hos. 2. 14. saying as it were, Be not Descouraged, I have taken from you my Cloudy Pillar, to Teach you that the Umbrages or Cloudy Shadows of the Law of Moses cannot Conduct you into Canaan, (though it hath through the Wilderness:) yet now shall you have The Ark of the Covenant (which typisies the Angel of the Covenant Jesus Christ) to go before you, Josh. 3. 3, 11. and that shall Divide Jordan for you, as the Cloudy Pillar had Divided the Red-Sea for your Fathers. Hereupon the Order and Course of carrying the Ark of God's Presence was changed, for while the Pillar went before the Camp, the Ark abode in the midst of it, Numb. 2. 17. (to betoken, God's presence in the midst of his people, Psa. 46. 5.) Now the Ark must go before (when the Pillar was gone) and Israel must follow it to Show, that as there was no other way of Entrance into the Earthly Canaan but by following the Ark, so there is no other way of Entrance into the Heavenly Canaan, than only by following Christ, (whereof the Ark was the Type) Joh. 14. 6. then did the Lord Magnify Joshua, Josh. 14. 14. by making him Equal with Moses, (who had divided the Red-Sea for them at their coming out of Egypt under the Conduct of the Pillar;) now Joshua divides Jordan under the Conduct of the Ark, and gives them passage to and Possession of Canaan in despite of the Devil and all his Instruments (the Nations aforenamed) that Obstructed them.  
Joshua (through the Righteousness and Goodness of the Lord) brings them from Shittim to Gilgal, Micah 6. 5. He removes them from Shittim, Josh. 3. 1. This Shittim was the last Stage of all the 42 Stations or Mansions Israel had in the Wilderness, Numb. 33. 49. and it was that Unhappy place where Balaam (Satan's Spelman) made the Midianites out-wit Israel by setting fair Faces (his stumbling-block, Rev. 2. 14.) before them, who soon Drew them into those Two Sister-Sins. Adultery and Idolatry, for it was upon those Terms, That if they would Worship their Idols, they should have the Free use of their Bodies: some Derive Shittim from Sethim, Spinae, as it was a place of Thorns, sure I am, here God's Flock of Sheep, Psa. 77. 20. were so caught among Thorns, (to wit, with that Smoking and Flaming Sin) as they were not cleansed from it until after the Conquest of the Land, Josh. 22. 17. it left (as the Plague of Frogs Exod. 8. 14.) a long lasting Stench behind it, by that Sin of Baal-peor. Israel brought themselves under the Wrath and Curse of God, which Balaam (with all his Spells) could not otherwise bring them under, and this place is called Abel-Shittim, Numb. 13. 49. because of the sad Lamentation (as Abel signifies) which was made for the Death of the 1000 that Died (as Ringleaders) by the Hand of Justice, and the 23000 (that followed those Ringleaders) by the Hand of God in the Plague, Numb. 25. 4, 9 1 Cor. 10. 8. yet the Lord's Goodness over-comes all Israel's Badness, and not only stirs up Phinehas to stand in the Gap to stop the Plague, Psal. 106. 29, 30. but also Joshua, to bring them off from Shittim, where they might all have perished, been cut off and cast away from being a People before him; yea, and to bring them through Jordan even to Gilgal, where he first pitched his Tent, and so did take Possession of the Land of Promise, wherein Gilgal stood, Josh. 4. 19, 20. Nun hic Refulsit Admirabilis Dei Gratia, saith Calvin, Behold here a Miracle of Divine Mercy, especially in Six Respects. (1.) The Devil was Infatuated by God in not stirring up the Canaanites to Guard their Coasts, (as is usual for people to Man their Frontiers in Danger of Invasion) All the Host of Israel passed over and quietly Landed without any Assault or Opposition, Josh. 3. 17. and (2ly.) That the Lord should Magnify his Mercy to his Church (notwithstanding all her Demerit by Sin) in bringing Israel into Canaan (the Land of their Enemies, yet the Land of his Promise to them) in the very time of Harvest, when it was best furnished with all manner of Provisions both for that present time and for the following Year, Josh. 3. 15. 3ly. Another manifestation of God's Mercy to his Church was this, That God Rolled away (as the Word Gilgal signifies, and therefore the place is so called) the Reproach of Egypt, to wit, the Uncircumcision of their Flesh, Josh. 5.9. Restoring to them that Seal of the Covenant, to wit, Circumcision, (to Teach, none but the Circumcised in Heart must Enter the Heavenly Canaan, as none but the Circumcised in the Flesh must enter the Earthly one:) Yea, (4ly.) behold a marvellous Mercy of God to Israel in this, that the Devil did not stir up the Cursed Canaanites to Fall upon Israel when they were (all) sore in their Circumcision, (as Sinicon and Levi did upon the Sichemites, Gen. 34. 25, 26. and slew them,) than Israel abode in the Camp till they were whole, Josh. 5.8. Confiding in God's Promise, Providence and Protection for Securing them from their Enemies; Undoubtedly the Terror of the Lord was upon their Adversaries all the time, (as in Jacob (their Fathers) Case, Gen. 35. 5. with 34.30.) that they Assaulted them not upon this Advantage: Yet further, (5ly.) God manifested his mercy to his Church in giving them the other Seal of his Covenant, to wit, the Passeover, and that within Three Days of their Circumcision, Josh. 5. 8, 10. which shows, not only their speedy and miraculous Healing, otherwise they could not have (Four Days after) kept the Passeover with joy; but also God's Speedy applying both the Seals to his Bond of Promise, to Assure them, that though they had wanted them both in their Wilderness-wandring, yet now their former Sins were all pardoned, and their persons now received as a peculiar People into the Bonds of the Covenant, he would be a God to them, and they should be a People to him: Moreover (6ly.) Christ (himself) comes to be their Generalissimo with a Sword drawn in his Hand, v. 13, 14. which Sword he will never put up, or lay down, till the Wars of the Lord be ended, the Cursed Canaanites were all Conquered by this Captain as the 1st. Fruits, so shall all the Cursed Foes of the Church be by his Wisdom and Power, Hebr. 2. 10. Rom. 8. 31. All that the Devil could do (in this 11th. Plot) further against the Church under the Conduct of her Captain-General (who was present with her, Josh. 5. 13. and 6. 2. not wrapped up in a Cloud as in the Wilderness, but as a Man of War, Exo. 15. 3. Mighty in Battle, Psal. 24. 8. in Canaan, as a praelude to his Incarnation) save only Two poor Spirits, or small Skirmages, the one in the beginning, and the other in the end of the Conquest: The 1st. petty-Plot, was that of Achan, who Interrupted their Progress, and Troubled their Host for a time, Josh. 7. 25. The Occasion was this; The Man Christ Jesus (who appeared to Joshua) Ordains and Orders the means of the Downfall of Jericho, even such as the World would judge Despicable and Ridiculous, not the Silver Trumpets of the Sanctuary, (which might have both Graced the Enterprise, and given Confidence of Success) but Contemptible Rams-Horns fit to be Laughed at by a Carnal Eye. God loves to go a way by himself, Josh. 6. 3, 4. Joshua passes on before the Lord, v. 8. Uses the means Appointed. The Ark of Christ's Presence compasses Jericho and Down it falls, (so sure shall Mystical Jericho or Babylon Fall by the powerful presence of Christ, though the means be Despised.) The whole City (as the 1st. Fruits) is Devoted to Destruction, v. 17. and the People are Commanded to Keep from the Accursed thing, v. 18. This was fair Warning to that foul Sinner Achan, who Sacrilegiously seized on a Wedg of Gold, and a Babylonish-Garment, Josh. 7.21. The Devil knew his covetous Temper by feeling his Pulse, so fitted him with an Object, a fit Pennyworth, or Prize, he sets before him, Achan Covets them, (as he confesses) Robs God of his Right, God is Displeased with all the Body for the Contagion of this One Sinner, [Who Destroyed much Good. Josh. 7. 1. Eccles. 9 18. This one Sin (of one Member of their Body) betrays them into the Hands of Divine Justice, (for looking no better, not only to the Observing, but to the Preserving of God's Law, on which Account every Man should be His Brother's Keeper;) Israel Fled before the Men of Ai, Josh. 7.4. Joshua Fasts and Prays to find out the Sin and Sinner; God Directs to both, both are Removed, and God's Favour Recovered, than the Church goes on (with Christ) Conquering and to Conquer for Seven Years, till the Land (Let to her by God's Sealed Lease) was Subdued before Her. The Devil being soon Baffled of this 1st. Plot in Canaan, was Chained up to the End of its Conquest: 'Tis True, he put a Cheat upon the Church by the Gibeonites, pleading Antiquity to Her, (as the Romanists would do with Us now with their Old Sacks and Moulded Bread. See my Antidote against Popery, in the Chapter of Novelty; But he had like to have made them Sheath their Conquering Swords in one another's sides, (which was his 2d. Plot) when Reuben, Gad, and the half Tribe of Manasseth were Dismissed, and Built an Altar of Remembrance on the other side of Jordan, Josh. 22. 11, 12, 16, 18. No Doubt but the Devil made the Smoke, while an Holy Fire so Blessedly Blows up Israel into so Inconsiderate Zeal and Uncharitable Censures: but Phinehas (their Ambassador) being rightly Informed by the Reubenites, takes up the Controversy, v. 22. 30, 31. So Satan lost this Design also, and this might rebuke the Reubenites that choose to Live so far from the Tabernacle (as they were on the other side Jordan) so far off from the place of God's Worship.   

The Twelfth Plot against the CHURCH, in Canaan: Defeated by GOD.  
CHAP. XII.  
IN the Devils 12th. Design and Plot against the Church, (which continued 450 Y. in its Vps and Downs, Act. 13. 20) Take a Distinct View, 1. of the Church's Danger, 2ly of the Church's Deliverance: 1st. of her Danger. 'Twas Twofold. 1st. by her Sin the Devil seduced her into, and 2ly. By her Punishment the Devil procured upon her for her Sin: 1st. Her Sin was Twofold; 1st. She sinned against the 1st Table of the Law in her Worship. 2ly. against the 2d. Table thereof in her Manners: Thus the Devil Debauched the Church both in her Holiness to God, and in her Righteousness to Man, and he made her Degenerate into a most dangerous Apostasy, Until this be done, the Devil well knows, none of his Plots can ever be prosperous, Numb. 23. 21, 23. The Churches 1st. Sin against God in her Worship, was Idolatry, that God-provoking, and Land-destroying Sin: Idolatry (after the Death of Joshua, and of the Elders, who had seen the Wondrous Works of God, and Upheld the purity of Divine Worship in her, Judg. 2. 7.) was begun in Israel by a Woman, to wit, Micah's Mother, Judg. 17. 1, 2, 3. etc. (which Story must Undonbtedly follow after, Judg. 2. 10. in order of time and place) and that in Ephraim also, where afterwards Jeroboam Established it by a Law: The Devil began his Kingdom of Sin in the World by a Woman, to wit, Eve, 1 Tim. 2. 16. And he carries it on here by a Woman, to wit, Micah's Mother, of the weaker Sex, yea, an Old Woman (who had not only a Son in a Married Estate, but also a Grandson grown up and Consecrated to the Priest's Office, Judg. 17. 5.) The Tempter knew well, that weak and old Wood was most Apt to take Fire, even the Fire of Hell: yea, she was not only a Woman, an Old Woman, but also a very Superstitious Woman, possibly she might (though then very young) Learn her Superstition from the mixed Multitude, Exod. 12. 38. Numb. 11. 4. And though God had been Airing Israel full 40 Y. in the Wilderness, (where many sweet Gales of Grace did blow upon them) yet Micah's Mother did Smell of Egypt, in her Devoting Eleven Hundred Shekels of Silver to the making of an Idol, for the loss of which she most grievously Cursed, Cursing Persons are mostly Cursed Persons; a wicked Heart wants not a wicked Mouth, that is full of Cursing and Bitterness, Rom. 3. 14. Yea, and out of the same Mouth proceedeth Blessing (of the Thief, her Son, without reproving him for his Sin) as well as Cursing, Jam. 3. 10. Judg. 17. 2. And partus Sequitur Ventrem, The Birth follows the Belly, Morrally as well as Civilly, so did Micah his Mother, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of an Evil Bird comes an Evil Egg, like Mother, like Son; they Two consent together to lay out Nine Hundred of the Shekels for Materials, and the other two Hundred for Workmanship of the Idol. Micah sets it up in his own House, for his own use, and the use of the Neighbourhood round about him. Now he who had been hitherto called (in the Hebrew Text) Micaiahu (with a part of Johovah affixed to his Name) is from v. 5. Cut shorter in his Name, and ever after is called Micah, as having lost his part in the Name Jehovah by his Idol he sets up and Worships for Jehovah, and Consecrates one of his Sons for his Priest, though neither of Levi's Tribe, nor of Aaron's Lineage.  
Yet afterwards, he bethought himself to Amend that Fault by Choosing a Novice, one Jonathan, Moses Grandchild, a Degenerate Plant, the 1st. Idolatrous Priest, who would Murder Souls for a morsel of bread, Ezek. 13. 19 which was the worse in him, because he (Descending from Moses the Man of God) should have been Better. This young Levite Micah Hires for a slender Salary to Officiate before his Idol: He, who had Eleven Hundred Shekels to bestow upon his Image, thinks Ten Shekels Wages enough for Priestly Work, only he will make up that Defect by a parcel of cheap Compliments, (calling the Youngman a Father) and if that were not enough, he would give him a Summer and a Winter Suit: This Jonathan being forced by the Iniquity of those times, (while yet there was no Judge or Supreme Magistrate to Suppress it, v. 6.) to shift and seek Subsistence any where, (as those did after Neh. 13. 10, 11.) and being Hunger-bit, he snaps at any thing, even at this sordid Work and Wages, not having Grace to Restrain him, v. 7. 8, 9, 10. Micah Consecrates him as he had done his own Son, (which none might Lawfully do, but the Highpriest, Exod. 29. 22, 23, 24.) and as Jeroboam did (after) the basest of the People, 1 Kin. 13. 33. All this Micah did as a Gross Idolater, expressly contrary to the Law of God, yet doth he Bless himself in all this his Blind Devotion, (Entertaining this Levite as a Son, in respect of his Youth, yet as a Priest and a Father in respect of his Office) v. 11, 12, 13. he promises himself much Prosperity (as the Papists do in their Pope's Pardons, and Priests Absolution) in his Idolatrous way of Worship: but his gross Idolatry brought a gross Disappointment, the contrary came to pass, it indeed Exposed him to God's Wrath and Vengeance, as appeareth, Judg. 18. 18, 19, 22, 24. When he had like to have lost his life for pursuing the Plunderers of his Gods, Goodly Gods they were that could not secure themselves from Plundring-Men: yet he Accounts them his All, (though of his own making, so could have made more) Reckoning the rest of his Goods as nothing without his Gods, and therefore Arms himself and his Neighbourhood (who had Haunted his House of Gods) for a Rescue, but all in vain, v. 26. he returns without his Gods, yet took no Notice that God Punished his Idolatry by this (to him such a Lamentable) Injury. However, the Devil (whom Synesius calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Great Promoter of Idolatry) Notably promoted his Notorious Design of spreading this Sin of Idolatry from an House to a Tribe, even to the Tribe of Dan. (1st.) The Devil gives the Danites his Equivocating Oracle and Doubtful Answer to their Question by the Teraphim, (as Ezek. 21. 21. Zach. 10. 2. Hos. 2. 4.) in bidding them, [Go in Peace, before the Lord is your way] Judg. 18. 5, 6. wherein the wary Devil is [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉] Ambiguous, that however the matter proved, he might still save his Credit (as in all his Oracles both in Sacred and Civil History, 1 Kin. 22. 12, &c) for his Answer Imports, either, God seethe what you are going about, or, he will also See to your Safety and Success: and yet his Answer might be the more peremptory, inasmuch as he well knew the Men of Laish (whom they were going to Invade) were throughly Ripe (at that time) for their own Ruin: However, it was so Accommodated to the Danites Humour, that the Devil (having given them this Sweet Bit for a Foretaste in Micah's House) makes them (2ly.) long to take the Idol along with them, (as most Useful in their Unsettled-Estate) and to set it up publicly in their own Tribe after; for which cause ('tis supposed) the Tribe of Dan is not Named among the Sealed of the Lord, Rev. 7. because, The first public Idolatry began among them; The foresight of which (and the Misery attending it) made the Dying Patriarch sigh, Gen. 49. 10:  
This Idolatry the Church or Israel doth tolerate, never Entering their Protests either against that in Private, (which was in Micah's Temple of Idols, Judg. 17. 5. or against that in Public, which was set up in the Tribe of Dan, Judg. 18. 30. This over-soft Toleration became the Nurse and Mother of all Sorts of Impiety, insomuch as Gibeah, a City of Israel, becometh as Abominable as Sodom, Judg. 19 22. those Men of Belial, or (as the Word signifies) Yokeless-Ones, Differing only from Beasts, [Non Ratione, sed Oratione] Not in Reason, but in Speech, had taken their Lust by Turns upon the Levites Concubine, until they had turned her out of the World, and turned her Soul out of her Body, which they had so Villaniously Abused, v. 25. Thus a Whorish Woman, Judg. 19 2. is killed with Whoredom, and so filled with the Evil of her own ways, Prov. 14. 14. The Levite Appeals to All the Tribes for Justice against Gibeah, four Hundred Thousand Marches against it, and that by Command and Commission from God: forty Thousand of them are Slain by that Wicked and Wretched Town, and by that Tribe who patronised it in this wicked Lewdness. Whereby God Avenged his own Cause against Israel, because Israel would not Avenge God's Cause against Idolatry: They were enough Sensible of the Injury done to the Lord's Levite in Gibeah, but were not at all Sensible of the Injury done to the Lord Himself in Micah's and Dan's Idolatry. Yet the Rod after this Chastisement is Burnt at last. When God hath thus used Benjamin to Correct Israel for their not Punishing Idolatry, He than useth Israel to Scourge Benjamin for Protecting Gibeah from Justice: No doubt but it greatly gratified the Devil to see the Tribes of Israel Destroy one another, and to have one Tribe (well nigh) Cut off, which God Ordered as a Just Judgement upon them for their Iniquity in one Tribe, and their Idolatry in another; yet hath not the Devil done here, but he after all this, causeth this Cursed Leaven of Idolatry (which had hitherto spread only over one Tribe, the Tribe of Dan, just at their Settling in the Promised Land,) to Spread over All the Tribes, and so to Leaven the whole Lump of Israel, Judg. 2. 11. (before which All those Stories in Chap. 17. 18, 19, 20, 21. ought to be Understood, as all Transacted soon after Joshuah's Death, and before they had any Judges.) 'Tis not now said the Children of Dan only, or the Children of Benjamin only, But, The Children of (All) Israel did Evil in the sight of the Lord, and Served Baalim and Ahtaroth, v. 11, 12. Judg. 10. 6. That is, He-Gods and She-Gods. Idols of all sorts, as the Papists do Adore their He-Saints, and She-Saints, at this Day: This Corruption of Worship brought in (2ly.) Corruption of Manners. (1.) In Neglecting God's Command of Driving out the Canaanites, who became Thorns in their sides, Judg. 2. 2, 3. in their Conversing and Commercing with them, they did draw Israel to Participate both of their Sins and of their Plagues. (2.) In Contracting Marriages with those Canaanites, (they thus spared against God's Command, Josh. 23. 13.) Judg. 3. 4, 6. expressly contrary to God's Law, Exod. 34. 16. Deut. 7. 3. Those Interchangeable Matches marred their Manners, and produced many Enormities, as (3.) that Prodigious Sodomy and Villainy in Gibeah aforesaid. Yea (4.) Obstinacy in their Impieties, Judg. 2. 19 They would Persist and Persevere in their Stubborn way, and would not Repent either (1) at the Rebuke of the Angel, Christ, who had offered Himself to be Captain of the Lord's Host, Josh. 5. 13, 14. and had led the Field in all the Wars of Joshua, yea, and of Judah too, till he spared the Canaanites, Judg. 1. 18. 19 for this (and other Sins) the Angel of the Covenant did Reproove them, Judg. 2. 1, 2 and for this, Departs from them. Hereupon the People fall a Weeping (as they had good cause) for the loss of such a Captain-General as Christ, and called the place Bochim, that is Weeping, v. 4, 5. yet this blessed and Hart-bleeding Frame was soon lost, for they Forsook the Lord, v. 12. and Corrupted themselves, v. 19 and Stubbornly Walked in their own Wicked Ways. Neither would they Repent (2) at the Reproof of the Prophet, whom Christ (though Himself was gone) sent with a Message, Judg. 10. 11, 12, 13, 14. Thus Israel having broke both the Tables of the Law. The 2d. thing, to wit, Punishment must follow, as the Thread follows the Needle; God is Angry (though Satan is pleased) and God's Anger brings Revenge, God sold his People into the Hands of their Enemies, Judg. 2. 14. and 3. 8. and 4. 2, etc. that is, he Renounced his Right in them, writing Lo-Ammi on them, he gave them over as the Seller doth the Matter Sold into the Hands of the Buyer, (yet, without that Compliment, I wish you good of it,) or as the Turk sells his Slaves, and the Conqueror his Captives; And this is Aggravated in Two Circumstances. 1. God made not his Best of them, but took his first Chapman, (as the Pope gave England, upon the Abolishing of Abbeys, primo occupaturo, to the first that could Conquer it, which, he thought, might easily be done, and won, when he withdrew his Protecting Papal Benediction from it, and put his charming Curse upon it,) God Sold his People for nought, and did not increase his Wealth by their Price, Psal. 44. 12, 13. he plainly gave them away gratis, for whom he was wont to give great Nations, Isa. 43. 3. They had sold themselves as Ahab did, 1 Kin. 21, 20. to work Wickedness, Isa. 50. 1. and now they are sold by the Lord also: And as they had sold themselves for nought, Isa. 52.3. so they are sold by God for nought, he had not so much as Thanks from the Enemy, and as little from the Devil that set them on: 2ly. They were sold, as to the first, so to the worst Chapmen, not to their Brethren, who would have shown some pity, as the Israelites did to Benjamin, Judg. 21. 2, 3, 6, 7, 15, 16, 17, 22. nor to Strangers coming in as Conquerors, for then common Humanity would have taught them some Mercy: but unto such Neighbouring Enemies, as they had highly Incensed in their former Wars, and therefore breathed forth nothing but the worst of Rage and Revenge against them, Judg. 7. 3.  
Here the Devils Design against the Church was promising and prosperous, and no doubt, he had a fair Prospect of this Plot; yet the Lord (notwithstanding all) Laughs all to Nothing, and Works (which is the 2d. thing) the Church's Deliverance from this Danger; for (1.) though they were sold as Slaves to their Adversary, yet even then were they precious as Sons to their God, Isa. 50. 1, 10. Though the Mother had Divorced herself, yet God owns himself the Husband, and he owns them to be his Children, yea, Children of light, even then, when they Walked in Darkness: And though they had sold themselves for nought, he would (accordingly) Redeem them without Money, Isa. 52. 3. and love them freely, Hos. 14.4. (2) Though the Church was then under great Distress, Judge, 2. 15. and 4. 3. (God Strengthening their Enemies, judg. 3. 12. as Ezek. 30. 24. and weakening their Arms and Armies, and God Prospering that Wickedness in their Adversaries, which he Punished in them, being Professors) yet had she (as oft) great Deliverances, as many Salves as Sores upon their Repentance; God had one Hand to Help them, as well as another to hurt them, pitying his People for his own sake, he Raised them up judges, judg. 2. 15. 16. as Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, Deborah, Gedion, Tola, Jair, Jephtah, Ibzan, Elon, Abdon, and Samson, all Twelve to save his Church, one by an Ox Goad, as Shamgar, another by the Jawbone of an Ass, as Samson; and Gideon was but a Barley-Cake, Judg. 7. 13. God never starves his Church for want either of Instruments or of Agents. (3) Though the Church was oft Sighing, yet as oft Singing: God goes in a Circle with her, as oft as she Repent of her Sins, so oft God Repent of his Judgements, Judg. 2. 18. and quite through the Book of judges. The whole History of the Book of Judges for 450 Y. the Church lived all that time (as may be said) at the Sign of the Chequer. God Checkered his Providences towards her with the Black of Misery, and with the White of Mercy, and all Chequered Work is accounted Beautiful Work: God Speckled his Dispensations to his Church, as is set forth by those speckled Horses among the Myrtle Trees in the bottom, Zech. 1. 8. Crosses and Comforts are Interwooven while she is in her Militant-state in this Vale of Misery, and Valley of Tears, Psal. 84. 6. God hath set the one over-against the other, Eccles. 7. 14. As there is a Vicissitude of Night and Day, so of Adversity and Prosperity. God turns the Church's Night into Day, and the Upright hath Dominion in the Morning, Psal. 49. 14. No sooner doth the Church alter her course from Sin, and Return to God by Repentance, but presently God altars his course from Wrath, and returns to Her with his Mercy, Zech. 1. 16. Oh that it were the present practice (as it was then the Continual Course of God with his Church, and his Church with him) in this our Day; God would soon turn our Mourning into Mirth, Heaviness might endure for the Night, but Joy would come in the Morning, Psal. 30. 5: No Doubt, but God Wishes his Church's Welfare, (as the Loving Bridegroom doth his Beloved Bride's,) otherwise He had never Sighed out those sad Words, [Oh! that my People had Harkened unto me, etc. I should soon have Subdued their Enemies, etc.] Psal. 81. 13, 14, 15, 16. God, with a bare turn of his Hand can overturn both the Many and the Mighty of them, and Rescue his Little Ones out of all their Hands, Zech. 13. 7. Isa. 25. 11. none shall Pluck them out of Christ's and His Father's Hands, Joh. 10. 28. 29.   

The Thirteenth Plot against the CHURCH, in Canaan: Defeated by GOD.  
CHAP. XIII.  
THe Church's Restless Wretched Adversary, Satan, seeing he cannot still Hinder the Being of God's Church, Tries again his 13th. Experiment against the Wellbeing of it, and that once more before Israel's Aristocracy was changed into Monarchy, to wit, in the time of Eli and Samuel the Two last Judges of Israel; yet such was the overruling Providence of God above the Devil, that whatever Ground he Won upon the Church in Old Eli's Maladministration, he Lost it All again in Young Samuel's Godly Reformation. So that here again Divine Dispensations towards the Church (concerning Sorrows and Joys) were most beautifully Checkered with Interchangeable Colours: Magistracy is, what the Pole is to the Hop, or the Tree to the Ivy, or the Wall to the Vine; the former gives Support to the latter, which cannot stand alone without something to Sustain them: The Church's Word to the State, is, [Te Stante Virebo,] While thou Stands, I Flourish. This Blessed Nail (as Eliakim, that Godly Magistrate) Keeps all the Vessels of the Lord steadfastly, and Holds them from falling to the Ground, Isa. 22. 24. This the Devil knew well, and therefore played his Pranks against the Church in that Interval of Magistracy betwixt Joshuah and the Judges, in which Interspace Satan wrought and brought down Israel to that gross Idolatry, Impiety and Apostasy, mentioned in the Five last Chapters of the Book of Judges. The Stories whereof there Related (that the History of the following Judges might be continued without any Interruption, as before) did all Befall Israel soon after Joshuah, and some 100s of Y. before Samson, whom this Eli immediately succeeded, unless we make Phinehas (mentioned in judg. 20. 28.) to live far beyond Moses term, Psal. 90. 10. even above 300 Y. who was at Man's estate at his Killing Zimri and Cozbi in the Wilderness, and therefore could not outlive Samson.  
'Tis said expressly in those Five last Chapters no less than Three times, (to wit, judg. 17. 6. and 18. 1. and 21. 25.) In those Days there was no King in Israel, that is, not a King in its proper Sense, for so, Israel never had a King in any of those Days, until Saul's time; but no Judge or supreme Magistrate to keep Israel in Awe and Order. This time of Israel's Anarchy, (before their Aristocracy) the Devil Improved as his Golden Opportunity, wherein to propose and promote his Hellish Projects, and to bring All to an Horrible Confusion, when there was no public Power to control or restrain their Extravagancies: Yea, this Daring Devil (though overwitted and overpowered by the only Wise and Almighty God, even upon that Advantage-Ground) Durst Attempt the Church when under the Protection of Her Godly Governors, as under Samson, of whom 'tis said, [He shall (only) Begin to Deliver Israel,] judg. 13. 5. He made some essays to save them from the Oppressing Philistines, yet that Oppression lasted 40 Y. v. 1. to wit, During the Days of Samson and of Eli his next Successor: though Samson was Destroying them all his life, and Destroyed more at his Death, judg. 16. 20. (wherein he was a Type of Christ, who by his Death overcame Death, and him who had the power of Death, the Devil, Hebr. 2. 14.) yet did he only Begin, and kept Doing at the Church's Deliverance, both all his Life and at his Death, the Perfecting whereof was Reserved for David the Father and Figure of Christ, who is both the Founder and Finisher of Faith and Salvation, Hebr. 2. 10. and 12. 2. So under Eli, who undoubtedly was a Godly Man, as is Apparent (1) by his Godly Prayers, (whereby he made her Amends for his Uncharitable Censure for Disconsolate Hannah.) [The God of Israel Grant thee thy Petition,] 1 Sam. 1. 17. He, having a particular Faith that God would grant her Request, if she composed herself, and cast her Burden (or Petition) upon the Lord, Psal. 55. 22. promises his own Prayers for that purpose, and hids her, Go in Peace, which she did, taking the High-Priest's Answer for an Oracle, being Comforted with this Comfort, and having Prayed down her Discomfort, as David oft did (2) by his Humble and Hearty Submission to the Will of God when Declared to him 1. by the Mouth of the Man of God, 1 Sam. 2. 27. and 2ly. by the Mouth of his Young Minister Samuel, Chap. 3. 11. 17. Eli said upon the Hearing thereof, v. 18. [It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth him good,] id est, His Holy Will be done, I and my House have Deserved All, God hath Just cause to punish, but not I to murmur, I must patiently bear what God pleases to Inflict: He is too kind to do me harm, too just to do me wrong, he will turn Temporal evil to my Everlasting good, (3) by his Trembling for the Ark of God, Chap. 4. 13. out of his Zeal for God's Glory and the Church's Good, lest Israel should lose and Philistines get the Sign of God's Presence. He loved his Spirituals better than his Temporals; he could hear with patience of the loss of some Thousands, and of the loss of his Two Sons, but when he heard of the loss of the Ark, this goes like a Dagger to his Heart, and 'tis a Question whether his Neck or his Heart were first Broken, v. 18. Like a godly Man, he cannot live without the Ark of God, no Sword of the Uncircumcised could have given him a more Mortal Blow than the Report of this Loss, that struck him down into a deadly swound. Yet was he not Driven away in his Wickedness, as is a Wicked Man, but he had Hope in his Death, as a Righteous One, Prov. 14. 32. He that could not Live without the Ark of God, how could he Dye without the God of the Ark? The Sins of his Sons Displeased his godly Soul, and he Reproved them for it, yet more Mildly than was meet; hence God Writ his Sin upon his Punishment, He that minded not in time to Break the stiff Neck of his stubborn Sons while Young, Prov. 19 18. had now his own Neck broken. And though he was not a good Father to his Sons, yet was he (Himself) a good Son to God, and his Memory is Blessed among all the other Godly Judges, saith Wisdom or Eedus, Chap. 46. 11. in the Apocrypha.  
Although Eli was a Godly Man, and both Judge over Civil, and Highpriest over Ecclesiastic Affairs, and so had a most Precious Price put into his Hands for promoting the Church's Weal, yet the Devil made a Fool of him, so that he hath no Heart to it, Prov. 17. 10. and this Satan did Accomplish, (1.) by Prompting him to too much Indulgency towards his Dissolute Sons. 2ly. by Tempting him to a too much Neglect of his own Duty towards them, and that in his Threefold Capacity. 1. As a Father. 2. As the Highpriest. 3. As the Chief Magistrate or Judge. 1st. As a Father. So the Devil made use of his Candid Constitution, and his sweet Natural Disposition, even to a Cockering of his Sons, and to a too much Tenderness towards them (as he did David's afterwards towards His, 1 Kin. 1. 6. etc.) both in their Younger and Elder years: overmuch Mercy mars many a Child, Pro. 13. 24. and 23. 13, 14. 'Tis likely, Eli had always been a Fond Father to his Sons, and brought them up in his Doting Indulgency, till he brings down his House by their Diabolical Impiety▪ 2ly. As Highpriest, which added more Authority to him over his Wicked Sons, yet doth he so gently Reproove them for their Sins, (so exceeding sinful, even to Black Sins under a White Ephod,) as if he had been Afraid to Hurt them, 1 Sam. 2. 22, 23. A Gentle Reproof can never be a Salve broad and sharp, enough for such a Sore as is Notorious and Abominable Wickedous; He did it (as Hierom saith) [Lenitate patris, non Authoritate pontisicis,] by the Gentle Lenity of a Father, not by the grave and Severe Authority of an Highpriest, who should have expelled them out of their Sacred Function, for their sinful Practices, and Excommunicated them out of the Church of God. 3. As the Judge or Chief Magistrate, which gave him power (most of all) to punish those prosligate Varlets, yet he only Shaves the Head, which Deserved Cutting off; he should have punished them for their Adultery, (they having Wives of their own, 1 Sam. 4. 19) according to the Law, yet comes off only with [Why do ye such things, and Nay my Sons, etc.] whereas he should have Instanced and Aggravated their evil Do, for their Shame and Horror, and Executed Justice upon them as Degenerate Sons of Belial▪ rather than of Eli, 1 Sam. 2.23. 24. 25, etc. Hereupon he is blamed for Gratifying his Sons more than Glorifying God, v. 29 choosing rather to please them than him, and not punishing those profane Priests, either by Ecclesiastic Censures, or by Civil Penalties, Fearing (possibly) lest by this means the High-Priesthood should go from his Family of Ithamar, as it had from Eleazar's for the like Misdemeanour) which also did befall him afterwards, 1 Kin. 1. 26. 1 Chron. 29. 22. Thus Eli by seeking to prevent that Evil, (in an evil manner and by evil means) did the sooner procure it. For God became highly Displeased, and the Devil took this Advantage, and poured in three Grand Mischiefs and Maladies upon the Church of God, (all which had most Blessed Remedies in Samuel, Successor to Eli,) to wit, (1.) The Abhorring of the Lord's Sacrifice. (2.) The Failure of all Prophetic Visions. (3.) The Captivity of the Ark by the Philistines. 1st. Of the 1st. Those Prosligate Priests made the People to abhor the Offerings of the Lord, 1 Sam. 2. 17. and to Transgress, v. 24. where the Profane Clergy (so called) laid a Stumbling-Block before the Sober Laity, not only in their sinning so presumptuously (and scaping  in so Doing,) against God himself, and Dishonouring the Lord in profaning his Worship and Abusing his Ordinances: but also in giving such an evil Example to God's People by their wicked Practices, (whom they should have Instructed in the good ways of God according to their Office) so as to make them withdraw from God's Worship, when they saw it so much profaned by their Impieties. This God Complains of (as a Spiritual loss to his People's Souls) more than of the Honour of his own Name dishonoured thereby: Hence 'tis said the People Transgressed in Neglecting to come to God's Worship in Shilo; The Men would not come, while those profane Priests Theevishly and Sacrilegiously Abused God's Sacrifice, 1 Sam. 2. 13, to 16. And the Women durst not come for Fear of a Rape, v. 22. for those lewd losels (though they had Wives of their own) were sick of a Pleurisy for knowing more Women. And like the Devil their Master, loved to Sow their Seed upon other men's Ground, Matth. 13. 25. The 2d. Malady was The Failure of Prophecy in those licentious times of Eli, 1 Sam. 3. 2. The Word of the Lord was Precious in those Days, though there was some secret Vision as to Manoah and his Wife, Judg. 13. yet there was no open Vision, the Spirit of Prophecy was Rare and Scarce, and therefore Precious, [Rara, Praeclara] in those Days of Detestable Debauchery, and both Neglect and Contempt of God's Worship, for which God Inflicted this fore Judgement upon them, that they should have a Famine of the Word, Amos 8. 12. and that there should not be a Prophet among them, nor any that could tell them how long, Psal. 74. 9 'Tis very sad with the Church, when there is a Sealing up of Prophecy, Dan. 12. 4. and she is plainly benighted in this way-less Wilderness: This Darkness upon Israel, (who were Children of light and of the Day, 1 Thess. 5. 5. could not but please the Prince of Darkness, and give him both light and fight of the Success of his Plot, to make them both stumble and fall, Joh. 3. 20. 1 Joh. 2. 11. The 3d. Malady is, the Captivity of the Ark, which was first Touched, (for which Vzzah perished, 2 Sam. 6, 6. 7.) and also taken by the Hands of the Uncircumcised, 1 Sam. 4. 11. which made the Wife of Phinehas to cry out, [Ichabod] that Glory was departed from Israel; the greatness of her Grief made her Repeat it Twice, v. 21, 22. seeing the Sign of God's presence and Protection, (which was therefore called their Glory, Psal. 78. 61. the Face of God, Psal. 105. 4. Yea, God himself, Psal 122. 5.) was carried Captive, as if the Devil had been too strong for God, and as if God could keep the Ark no longer, but was Constrained to let it go out of Canaan into the Country of the Philistines, who verily Thought they had taken the God of Israel Prisoner, v. 8. Indeed Israel ascribed that Honour to the Ark of God, which was Due only to God himself; for upon their Defeat, (knowing no other Cause, though there was enough, Psa. 78. 58, 61, 62, 63. but the want of the Ark.) They send for it to Shilo, that it might save them, v. 3, 4. (1) without Consulting with God, (2) they brought it into the Camp without due Reverence, (3) and that by the Hands of Two prossligate Priests; All which was more likely to bring a Curse upon them, and not a Blessing: When this Ark of Wood was made an Idol by the Israelites, they far worse and not better, v. 2, 10. Notwithstanding its presence (external privileges rested and Trusted in, are more Destructive than Saving, Rom. 2. 9) and God justly suffers it to be taken from them by the Philistines.  
Now the Devil having got the Ark of God into his own Temple, to wit, the Temple of Dagon, (which they had Rebuilt, since Samson pulled it Down, Judg. 16. 23, 25.) and the Two Cherubims now Spreading their Wings under the Roof of an Ugly Image (Half a Fish and Half a Man,) no doubt, but he had a further and fairer Prospect of prospering in his Project; yet even Then God Awakes, (who had been Asleep, as it were, all this time, Psal. 78. 65, 60.) puts forth his Power, Beats Dagon upon his own Dunghill, yea, Beats him down to the Ground, as if he had met his Worshippers to Worship them, and falls down to them, that came the next Morning to fall down to him, 1 Sam. 5. 3. and when their Superstition had made them more Senseless than their Senseless Idol, Psal. 115. 8. they become Patrons to their God, and (as if it had been only a Chance) Helps him up into his place. He is a miserable God that cannot Rise alone, but stands in need of Helping up by his own Worshippers, and craves more Help from them than ever he could give to them: Dagon is again raised up into His Rood-loft to Affront the Ark, and hath those very hands lifted up to him, which had helped to lift him up. Will a Jealous God (who Winks and sits still on purpose to behold their mad Folly and stupid Confidence, and to Fetch about his own Glory) put up this Injury? shall this Lifeless Stone continue as a sit Companion with the Living God, and scape  with an Harmless Fall? No, God cannot Brook Corrivals, Dagon Falls again and Breaks his Neck, His Head (the Seat of Wisdom,) and His Hands (the Seat of Power) were both Cutt off, v. 4. to show them their God could neither Consult nor Act for them; yea, God had chopped them off upon the Threshold of his own Temple, (as a Cook sometimes doth the Head and Legs of a great Fowl for his Master's Dinner) and now those that came to Worship him, might Tread those parts (they most Trusted in) under foot, as unsavoury Salt, and Dagon was now no better than a Dunghill-Deity: They might now set their Foot upon the best parts of their Idol; whereon they had set their Heart, and now those chiefest pieces met them at the Threshold to tell them how much they were mistaken in their Headless, Handless, and ever Footless God, Nothing but the Stump remained, to wit, the Fishy part that had no Feet, and that also sadly Bruised and Battered by the Fall. And because those obstinate Idolaters, instead of giving Glory to God who had Destroyed their Idol, gave Honour to the Threshold which their Dagon had Touched, v. 5. (whereby, however, God perpetuated the Memory of the Miracle in the minds of Posterity) as if the Broken Head and Hands of the Idol had Hallowed it, They had it in great Veneration. Thus the Pagans of Old Kissed the Threshold of their Temples, and the Papagans at this Day do Kiss the Threshold of Peterschurch in Rome, when they enter into it. Suppose it were done (as some say) by way of Detestation, and not by way of Veneration, as Dear Relations will Detest to touch that Sword wherewith their near Friend hath been Murdered: yet even so the Romanists do Symbolise with those Uncircumcised, inasmuch as the Pope in his Solemn Procession declineth to Walk that Street in Rome, wherein Pope Joan was Delivered, as a Street unhappy to the Credit of their Church: Thus the Priests of the Devil might forbear to Tread upon the Threshold that was so Unhappy as to break the Head and Hands of their Supposed Deity: However, the Lord was Angry, for no better Improoving the Fall of their Idol, (neither the first nor second) therefore Falls he foul upon themselves, pays their Posteriours like so many Puniboys, and Plagues them with emrod's, yea, and (as some think) with the Foul Disease, and likewise with Mice, that Marred their Land, (as the Blind Piles Marred themselves.) Their Dagon could not drive so much as a poor Mouse from them; insomuch that their own Mouths Confessed, [The Lord's Hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our God.] v. 7. The Ark is too Hot for them to Hold; They carry the Ark of God, (and with it the Plague of God) up and down to their Neighbours, any whither they would bear it, rather than Home to Israel; until God forced them to yield, saying, Let the Ark Return to its own place, v. 11. Yea, and that City which first said so, fared the best, for the Men there Died not as they did in other Cities. Thus God's Revenge Works out [Nolens, Volens,] the Ark's Return, and not without a Trespass-Offering, though Ridiculous, such as Satan (in Contempt of God) had suggested to their Diviners, 1 Sam. 6. 2, 4. The Ark is carried Home by two Untamed and Untrained Kine, that had Calves at Home, (which, Naturally, they break through All to come at) and that without a Driver; All this made the Miracle greater: God (Himself) drove the Cart, and made the Kine know their Owner, Isa. 1. 3. which Hophni and Phinehas (Two Priests had not done, 1 Sam. 2. 12. This was (no doubt) The Fruit of Samuel's Prayer, (in whom the Lord Restored the lost Spirit of Prophecy; hence is he called the first of the Prophets after that Failure, Act. 3. 24. Hebr. 11. 32.) and of Israel that Lamented after the Ark, not being Contented with an Empty Tabernacle, but thought themselves forlorn without the Ark in it. Thus Gracious was God to his poor People to make the presence of the Prisoner (the Ark) Grievous to the Philistines, and being set at Liberty, Joyful to Israel: Even so will the Lord do with all those that Deal thu with the Gospel, as they did with the Ark, he will make them Smart for it, and Laugh all their Plots to Nothing, Especially, if God give his samuel's to his Church, that cease not to Cry to the Lord for her, at her Request, 1 Sam. 7. 8, 9 And the Spirit of Repentance be poured out upon his People, so that All (Universally) Lament after the Lord, even with Storms of Sighs, and Shours of Tears (though after 20 Y. Bondage and Backslidings, v. 2, to 6. Weeping before the Lord abundantly, that their Sorrowing might be proportionable to their Sinning. Samuel's Sermons to Israel, in his Itinerary Circuits, wrought so powerfully upon them, as to fetch Groans out of their Hearts, Tears out of their Eyes, Vows out of their Mouths, and Idols out of their Hands. Oh! for such a Divine Dispensation in our Day; then though the Five Lords of the Philistines, 1 Sam. 6. 16. those Five Lords in the Tower do Plot against us, and Assault us in our Fasting and Praying; If our samuel's do but Cry, (as he was Excellent at that Work, Psal. 99 6. Jer. 15. 1.) and Offer up the Lamb of God with their Prayers, (as he did, v. 7, 9) God will Hear, and Thunder upon them with a great Thunder, as v. 10. and Ch. 2. 10. and Josh. 10. 10. Judg. 4. 15. and smite them so (at Bethcar, the House of the Lamb) as to make them come no more, v. 10, 11, 12, 13. the same God is our Eben-Ezor, or Stone of Help, v. 12.   

The Fourteenth Plot against the CHURCH, in Canaan: Defeated by GOD.  
CHAP. XIV.  
WHen God had Graciously given a Suitable Remedy to that great Malady (by Eli's Sons) in Holy Samuel, and so had Established his Church, Ark, and Worship again; Satan played his Pranks, and plys his Plots again, in the Days of Saul, David, and Solomon. 1st. of Saul. The Wicked One (never Idle) Debauches Samuel's Sons, (as he had done Eli's) notwithstanding their stricter Education, (Samuel could not well be guilty of that Sin of fond Indulgency, which he, from God, had reproved in Elimine) This gave the Occasion to Israel for changing their Aristocracy (or rather, Theocracy, 1 Sam. 8. 7.) into a Monarchy, and Saul (of Wicked Gibeah, Judg. 19) was set over them, for his Stature, (as David was after, for his Heart.) Saul at first Reigned (as a King) well and Orderly, but being Rejected of God for Disobedience, he turned a Tyrant, and Ruled with Rigour, 1 Sam. 13. 1. with 14. 47. Then the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil Spirit from the Devil (by the Lord's leave) possessed him, Ch. 16. 14. which cast him into Fits of Frenzy and Fury. Here began the 1st. Branch of this 14th. Plot in Saul's Reign, as the other Two did in David's and Solomon's, which all Three (in Conjunction) makes up this 14th. Diabolical design against the Church of God. By Israel's 1st. King, Satan labours to Hinder the Church; By the 2d. God Advances her; By the 3d. God brought her to her greatest Glory. 1st. In Saul; who at his first Entry quitted himself nobly, in the overthrow of Israel's Enemies; but when scarce well warm in his Kingdom, he Hears of losing it, 1. For his Encroaching into the Priest's Office of Sacrificing, 1 Sam. 13. 8, 9, 13, 14. where his distrust made him praecipitant, he should have stayed for Samuel one Hour or two longer; had he done so, his Kingdom had been Established upon him, but his Rotten Heart was Discovered by this Delay, and his Doing foolishly in Thrusting himself among the Priests as he had done among the Prophets, procures him tidings of its Translation to Another whose Heart was Upright, Psal. 57 7. and who would do all God's wills, Act. 13. 22. 2ly. For his sparing Agag with his Amalekites and , contrary to God's express Command, 1 Sam. 15. 2, 3, 8, 9, 26, 28. out of foolish pity to his fellow-King he spared the one, and because he Feared the People, he spared the other; therefore Samuel said to him, The Lord hath Rejected thee, etc. And this Doubly Declared Rejection, brings him into a sad Melancholic Dejection. Discontent is called the Devil's Bath, wherein he Delights to Wade. The old  takes this Advantage, and turns his Melancholly-dumps into a mad Frenzy, inasmuch as in his frantic Fits he Transports him outrageously to Slay all in his way, Friends as well as Foes, even his own dear Jonathan once, Ch. 20. 33. as well as his Deserving David often, sometimes covertly, as Ch. 18. 17, 25. and sometimes overtly, as v. 11. and Ch. 19 10. The Devil (that Evil Spirit possessing him,) had filled Saul's Heart from Corner to Corner with his own Disease, to wit, Envy (which is called Morbus Satanicus & Vitium Diabolicum,) against David, whom he knew God had Raised up to Raise up the low Estate of His Church, 1 Sam. 24. 20. Yet (by the overruling Hand of God.) The Spirit of the Lord that rested upon David from his first Anointing, ch. 10. 13. (by the power of which he Killed a Bear and a Lion, Chap. 17. 34.) was all along too hard for saul's Devil, not only when David's Music drove away saul's Melancholy, Chap. 16. 23. but also in all saul's both Secret Craft and open Cruelty: 1st. In his Craft; How many Plots did the Devil (in Saul) contrive to cut off David from advancing the Church, yet God Laughs them all to nothing; and 'tis very Remarkable▪ God Extracts Happy Remedies out of the very Loins of Wretched Saul against all David's Unhappy Maladies; once Michal, and often Jonathan, saul's own Son and Daughter. God makes use of his own Children to disappoint him of his Wicked Design, and to deliver Innocent David, whom he foolishly followed as his Adversary, Chap. 19 2, 4, 12, 13, etc. and 20. 27, 29, 30. 34, to 42. Jonathan shot over David that Saul might shoot short of him. And 2dly. in his Cruelty, When he threw his Javelin three times to Kill David, yet the Lord Interposes as oft, and he who Guided the Stone (which David did sling) unto Goliah's Forehead for his Destruction, Diverts saul's Javelin from David's Body, (though a fairer Mark and nearer hand) for his Deliverance: This was saul's Cordolium or Heart-ake, when he could not come at and compass David's Heart to destroy it, (whose only Fault was Faithfulness, and who must die, only because he made Israel Live.) Saul (as is the Nature of Envy) feeds upon his own heart, Ch. 18. 12, 15. Invidia Siculi non Invenêre Tyranni majus Tormentum. Envy exceeds all the Torments the Tyrants of Sicily ever Invented; it destroys its own Habitation, as the Worm doth the Nut wherein it is bred. Thus God made Saul his own Inward Executioner (by sending this Fire into his Bosom to burn him, and this Worm to be continually gnawing upon his entrails) long before he was his own Outward Executioner, at last. And saul's Frantic Devil did not hurry him into Outrageous Cruelty against David only, but against the Priests of the Lord, for showing kindness to David, Chap. 22. 12, 13, 16, etc. Oh what a Mad Frenzy was manifest in his cruel Commission ! [Turn and slay the Priests of the Lord, Ver. 17. His malice was bend against the Lord himself, for taking away his Kingdom and giving it to another, and because he could not come at the Lord (who was out of his reach) he spends his Spleen and vents his mad Fury upon his Priests: 'Tis a wonder, that the very Word [the Priests of the Lord] in his Mouth, did not make his Hands tremble to Murder them, and that without two or three Witnesses according to the Law, but only upon the bare single Testimony of a falie and flattering Sycophant; hence some say, that this Damnable Hypocrite (Saul) did commit herein, the Sin against the Holy Ghost, Massacreing such a multitude of Innocents', as 8, Priests, as the Scripture, and 300 persons more, as Josephus tells us, Chap. 18. ver. 18, 19 and though his own Servants durst not do such a Villainy, vers. 17. obeying God rather than the King, yet Doeg (that bloody Edomite of Esau) that had been as far in God's Sanctuary as David, Chap. 21. 7. sticks not at this Desperate Villainy; yet in this Horrid Act of Cruelty, God baffles the Devil that acted Saul and (his Swineherd) Doeg in two respects. 1st. While this base and bloody Wretch and his Master thought of nothing but Revenge, and satiating both their barbarous and brutish, yea, Devilish Blood-thirstiness, they are Unwittingly made the Executioners of Gods Determined Counsel, and justly declared sentence of God against Eli's Family, Chap. 3. 31, to 37. 2dly. As they served God's Glory, so they sent David Comfort: Abiathar God marvellously hid from their bloody hands, he escapes them according to God's promise of preserving some of Eli's House, Chap. 2. 33. and comes to David with the Ephod in his hand, Chap. 22. 20. and 23. 6. This Ephod had the Breast plate with the Urim and Thummim in it, Exod 28. 30. The coming of this must needs be very comfortable to Distressed David; Now he hath an Highpriest, Abiathar, with him (as well as the Prophet Gad, Chap. 22. 5.) in his Army, by whom he might consult with God in all his Dangers and difficulties, Chap. 23. 2, 4. and often. Saul strengthened David more by sending this Ephod, than if he had sent him (as one saith) many thousand men: And as he strengthened David, so he weakened himself, as he complains, God answered him not by Vrim and Thummim, 1 Sam. 28. 6. He had bereft himself of it, by putting Abiathar to the Run, who brings it to David, which was a plain Evidence of saul's Falling and david's Rising: Saul had neither Priest nor Prophet to consult with (when David had both) Hereupon he consults with a Witch, Flectere Cum Nequeat Superos Acheronta Movebit. If God will not answer him, the Devil shall: Satan comes up in samuel's Resemblance, Preaches saul's Funeral-Sermon, he flies in Battle, falls upon his own Sword, so like the Candle in the Socket, goes out in a Stink, and (notwithstanding all his Plots he leaves himself to the Uncircumcised; yea, his Body to a cold Grave, and his Soul to an hot Hell, as an Hypocrite, Matt. 24. 51. and leaves his Kingdom to David.  
The 2d. Branch of this 14th. Plot, was in the Reign of David, whose entrance to the Kingdom was strongly opposed, not only all the time Saul lived (being Hunted like a Partridge upon the Mountains, to be taken and destroyed) but also after his Death by Abner, under the Hereditary Title of Ishbosheth, a man of Shame, (as his Name signifies) a weak and Unworthy man, (passing by Mephibosheth the Right Heir, (because Young and Lame) as hoping to Rule all under his Empty Title. Hereupon 'tis said, 2 Sam. 3. 6. that Abner (not Ishbosheth) made himself strong for the house of Saul, to bring about his own Design, and to fix himself fast in the Saddle; Yet God did Laugh this Project to Nothing: The Issue was, though there was long War betwixt them (as there is 'twixt Christ and Antichrist) The House of Saul waxed weaker and weaker, and the House of David Stronger and stronger, 2 Sam. 3. 1. So the Stone, Dan. 2. Weakens the Beast's Kingdom gradually. 'Tis Wonderful to consider, How the Lord Baffled the Devil here, in sending an Evil Spirit 'twixt Abner and Ishbosheth (as he had done 'twixt Abimelech and Shechem, Judg. 9 23, 24, 25. which Evil Spirit was the Devil, that sour of Sedition, that great Coal-kindler and  of the World) 2 Sam. 3.8, 10. God Overrules the Devil so, as to make him destroy his own Designs, by his Working upon those men's Corruptions (whom God had justly given over to a Reprobate mind) and filling them with Envy, Murder, Debate, Deceit, Malignity, etc. Rom. 1. 28, 29. Here, Abner the Devil makes first an Atheist, in acting all along contrary to his Conscience, v. 9, 18. He knew that God had designed David to be King over Israel, whom Samuel Anointed to be Saul's Successor, yet against the Light of his own knowledge, as well as against God's express command, he endeavours to set up Ishbosheth. 2dly. The Devil makes him an Ambitionist, not only in advancing this weak Prince, of small parts, and of no Martial Spirit, (he not fight in that fatal Battle wherein his Father did fall) that he might be the [Dominus, fac totum] Lord Paramount of doing All, but also in aspiring to the Crown and Kingdom itself, by his Lying with Saul's Concubine (who had two Sons) which might give some Colour to his Claim. When Ishbosheth was taken out of the way, whom he had hitherto used only as a Stalking-Horse: Upon this occasion the Devil divides the two Grand Plotters against David, Chap. 3.7, 8. and so Defeats his own Design. Unlawful Leagues never last long; when Thiefs fall out, True men come to their own. Abner will now be Godly (who never had been so) in helping the Lord to fulfil his Promise to David, which he had hitherto hindered; He pretends, all (he now acts) was in Obedience to God, and for the Good of his Church, but intends both Revenge to Ishbosheth, and Respect to himself, that he might thereby secure his present Power and Dignity of Generalship: But, because he would have done David right with an Evil mind, it all turns to his own ruin, and God will Right David by a fairer way than by Abners' Persidiousness; So vain a thing it is to strive against God, Psal. 2. 1, 2. David (in despite of the Devil) doth come to his Kingdom (though by Steps, and gradually) Ishbosheth is removed out of the way (as well as Abner:) He dies in his Sloth, as he had lived Slothfully all his days, Chap. 4. 5. Qualis Vita, Finis Itá. As a man lives, so he dies. All Israel then owns and Crowns David, (Cham 5.) Who, as soon as settled on the Throne, expressed his first care for the Church and Religion, Chap. 6. So brings the Ark (as they had brought him from Hebron to Jerusalem,) from Kiriath Jearim, (where in Saul's days it had been slighted) to Obed-edoms', and thence to Zion, a more public place than those private Houses wherein it had been before, verse 17. This was a joyful day to David (and Israel) v. 14, 16, 19 And not being satisfied that himself should dwell in an house of Cedar, while the Ark of God's presence dwelled in a Tabernacle, he both designs and vows to Build it a Temple, Chap. 7. 2. Psal. 132. 2. Nathan hinders this purpose, and promise, yet left he vast Provisions for his Son to perform it, his Psalms for the Church, and the Church in a flourishing Condition, (notwithstanding all disturbances,) which Solomon brings to Her Greatest Glory, and after Advanced to Her Hight.  
The 3d. Branch of this 14th. Plot, was, in the Reign of solomon: before which Satan had his fore-Games to Oppose, as his after-Games to Depose the Church's Glory. The 1st. His fore-Games were in causing Absolom and Adonijah to Exalt themselves both, saying, I will be King, that Solomon might be put by, and never have an opportunity to raise the Church into a more Glorious State than it had ever been in, which Satan Designed to Ruin by insolent and arrogant Absalon, 2 Sam. 15. 10. and by haughty & ambitious Adonijah, 1 Kin. 1. 5. Those two Sons were David's Darlings, whom he had honoured above the Lord (as Eli had done his two wicked Sons, 1 Sam. 2. 29.) and therefore they proved sad Cordoliums', and singular crosses to him: Such as love overmuch, shall be sure to grieve overmuch, strong affections bring strong afflictions: The Devil manages the first part of his foregame by Absalon, and the latter part of it by Adonijah, both of them goodly men, of a comely countenance, both personable, and of a Princely presence, 2 Sam. 14. 25. 1 Kin. 1.6. upon whom Nature had spent all her strength in beautifying their bodies (saith one) but she had left their Souls altogether unbeautified; they had (both of them) foul fouls in fair bodies; so were both the fit Tools for Satan to work with to prevent Solomon from the Throne, and thereby the glory of the Church: David had always cockered them, when he should have corrected them; and because they were both personable, and Princelike, as the Children of a King, Judg. 8. 18. therefore were they made to think better of themselves, and their (ever too-fond) Father to think too well of them, their Father had not displeased them at any time in their Childhood, and therefore they displeased their Father in his Old Age, and made no bones of breaking his heart, when now decayed, and even Bedridden (as in the last) by their Disloyalty and Usurpation: yet all was, that it might be fulfilled what was fore-threatned, 2 Sam. 12. 11. 1st. Arrogant Absalon was hammering and hatching his part of the Plot two full years, 2 Sam. 14. 28. with 15. 1. after David had kissed him (being persuaded by Joab that he was a true Penitent) when he should rather have kicked him, and not have hardened him for further Villainy by his fond credulity: (1.) He gains a guard, that he might be put into the Port of a Prince (being the King's Eldest Son) that so the people might look upon him as Heir of the Kingdom, and by counterfeit courtesy (wherein he slandered David) he soon stole away their hearts) from his Father the Right Owner) slily and secretly: (2.) He makes Religion a Cloak for his Rebellion (as is usual in the Papaey) Ch. 15. 6, 7, 8. Let me go and pay my Vows, etc. well knowing, that his Pious Father would promote rather than prevent any act of Piety in his Son; and Hebron was the sittest place for his purpose, because ancient and famous, the place of his Father's first Crowning, of his own Birth, and where he had many Friends to assist him: (3.) He calls Achitophel to be his Counsellor; that old Fox laid close till the Plot was ripe, yet probably he paved the way (from the first) by his persuading to take two hundred Principal Citizens along with him, (the better to conceal the Plot, and that other Cities might make Jerusalem their pattern to follow Absalon) those are said to follow Absalon in their simplicity, to wit, to his Gratulatory Oblation, knowing nothing of his villainous and rebellious intention: Even so it may be said of our Forefathers, they followed Antichrist in their simplicity; for they being kept (by him) in gross ignorance, had this happiness, not to know the depths of Satan in the most principal and most pernicious points of Popery, God's Providence so overruling the matter, that the people of Christ might not perish under the Priests of Antichrist. (4.) The Conspiracy was strong, by a mighty confluence of the common people, who were but over-ready to worship this Rising Sun, and to be weary of David (the Setting Sun) whose Credit the Conspirators had blacked and blasted to them, Neutrum modò, mas modò Vulgus. The many-headed multitude cry even to Christ himself (of whom David was both Father and Figure) Hosanna one day, and crucify the next day. This put holy David to such a fright, that he was forced to take his slight to save himself from slaying (according to Achitophel's counsel, 2 Sam. 17. 3.) and his chief City from sacking. Now was the Devil undoubtedly most highly pleased, not doubting here, but having got the Ball upon his foot, he should carry it cut and dried, and prevent Solomon from the Crown, and the Church from her Glory. But behold God over-matches the Devil here, David pours out his Prayer (made in Psal. 3.) on the top of Mount Olivet, where he prays himself into a particular Faith of his own deliverance, and of his Enemy's destruction. And when David's case seemed so desperate, as if Salvation (it self) could not save him, v. 2. yet even then did God arise at his prayer, v. 7. and gives David a Prophetic prospect, not only of the death, but also of the manner of the death of his two grand Adversaries, Achitophel and Absalon: [Thou hast smitten them upon the Cheek-bones] as if he had seen Achitophel knocked with the Knot of the Rope, and Absalon with the Bough of the Oak wherein they were hanged, by the heavy Hand of God: 'Tis very observable, that no sooner had David prayed, [Lord turn the counsel of Achitophel into foolishness] 2 Sam. 15. 31. but presently God sends him in Hushai as a return of his prayer, a Man who could match Achitophel in any of his deepest reaches, and who did defeat his counsel (which might very probably have destroyed David) by starching an Oration every way accommodated to Absaloms' ambitious humour, Ch. 17. 7. to 15. and when David's deliverance depends all upon the faithfulness of a Wench, v. 17. God delights to work by weak means to confound the Mighty, 1 Cor. 1. 27. and to help his servants with a little help, Dan. 11. 34. Though the Devil at that time had a Lad (he never wants tools) to work mischief by in such cases, v. 18. yet the issue of this first part of Satan's foregame was this, the Grand Counsellor of the Conspiracy (Achitophel) seeing his counsel basled, saddled his Ass, (when he should have bridled his anger) got him home to his house, and (as Josephus saith) told his household, that Absalon would be undone, and himself should be hanged; wherefore he thought it better to save David's Hangman the labour, and to prevent him, with dying manfully by his own hands: He set his house (but not his heart) in order; he took care of his Family after his death, but no care of his Soul for Eternity; he hanged himself (as Judas did after him for the like Crime) so strangled he those very Chaps wherewith he had given wicked counsel against David (as Judas did against Christ) both despairing of mercy, 2 Sam. 17. 23. Mat. 27. 3, 4. The like fatal end to the like froward Counsellors the good Lord send in our day, saith Dr. Willet. In all this Achitophel did but answer the signification of his own name, for Achilles Hebr. signifies Brother, or Cousin-German, and Tophel Hebr. a Fool. Thus this Arch-Artist in Hellish Policy, etc. (whose counsel was as the Oracle of God, the Event usually answering his Advice with suitable success, 2 Sam. 16. 23.) proves no better than a Brother or Cousin-German to a Fool; and no better proof can they make, that follow the Pope's Placit as Infallible, as Ipsissimum Dei Verbum, the very Word of God when they are most damnably wicked; like that pernicious and pestilent counsel of Achitophel, which brought Absalon into the briars, and could never get out, until this Grand Commander in the Conspiracy followed in the same Fate, and came to the same end with his Grand Counsellor, only with some difference: As (1.) God (himself) was his Executioner, giving him a just reward for his unjust Rebellion; 'twas of the Lord that he should be reserved from the Sword, to be entangled in the Oak. (2.) This Divine Execution doth make his Hair to be his Halter; and that wherein he had so much prided, to be the means of his own destruction: His long Locks he had possibly plaited (as Samsons, Judg. 16. 13.) and those being blown up by a strong wind, wound about the Bough, and became his Halter to hang by: He had wont to weigh his Hair, and was proud to find it so heavy: Now his Hair poiseth the weight of his body, and makes his burden his torment. (3.) His own Mule he road on (as it were) turns him off the Ladder, Achitophel's Ass carries him to the place of his Execution, and he turns himself off when be had tied his Halter for his turn, and put his Head into it: But Absaloms' Mule not only beans her Master to that place, but when all was ready for Execution, runs from under him with the Reins uncurbed, as the Cart at Tyburn drives away when the Tippet is fast about the Necks of the Condemned. Thus this Plot ends in the cursod and ignominious Death (Deut. 21. 23.) of both those Grand Conspirators, who were both hanged between Heaven and Earth, as if rejected of both, and as unworthy to live in either of them. Behold Absalon (whose name signifies Hebr. his Father's pla●●● whereas he breathed out nothing but War and Rebellion against him) is hanged by that Head which had plotted against so good a Father: His haughty Head is now in its proper Exaltation, and his arrogant heart hath no less than three Darts thrust through it, En Admirandum Dei Judicium, Divine Vengeance over-takes him with a revengeful hand for his detestable disloyalty, who would needs be a King before David's death, and now hath he an Oak to be his Throne, his twisted Hair for his Crown, the Darts in his heart for his Sceptre, and Joabs' ten Armour-bearers for his Guard, 2 Sam. 18. 9 Oh wonderful!  
And little better was the end of the Devils second part of his foregame in Adonijahs, than was his first part in Absalon: 'Tis true, 'twixt those two the Devil was not idle, but did disturb the Church, (1.) By instigating Sheba, a man of Belial, to blow up another blub of Rebellion at the very heel of Absaloms', 2 Sam. 20. 1. He himself being Tuba Rebellionis, a Trumpet of Rebellion, blew a Trumpet, taking an occasion of the unhappy difference 'twixt Israel and Judah, Ch. 19 but he was soon suppressed by David's Forces suddenly surprising him in a Siege at Abel, where a wise Woman wrought upon the timorous Citizens to throw over the Head of the Traitor to General Joab; 'twere happy if all such Traitors might hop headless. (2.) By provoking David, that Man of God, to number the people, 1 Chron. 21. 1. He pricked him up to a pride both in the magnanimity of his Worthies, and in the multitude of his Army, which was no better than Creature-confidence: This sin brought a Plague upon Israel, to lessen their number, which David began to make his pride, and probably intended to make his profit (by Polling them.) This Plague was threatened to last three days, but in the beginning (not in the midst) of wrath, God remembered mercy, Hab. 3. 2. For as Vatablus noteth on 2 Sam. 24. 15. God repent, and bad the destroying Angel hold his hand at the evening of the first day, which commendeth Gods good eye to his Church (while it was under the Devils evil eye) who for three days threatened, sends the Pestilence one day only: Yea, and Divine Mercy extracted this great good out of this great evil, that in the very place where the Angel was bid to put up his Sword, David builds an Altar, offers Sacrifice, and God answers him by Fire from Heaven, to betoken his acceptance and reconcilement, and he pointed out from Heaven the place where the Temple should be built, which whole plat of ground David purchased for six hundred shekels of Gold, 1 Chron. 21. 25.  
Now as to Adonijah, the Rabbins say, David was so frighted at the Dreadful Apparition of the Destroying Angel, that he became Bedrid ever after, and his impatient ambitious Adonijah would gladly have buried him alive, and wishing his Bed his Grave. Hereupon he exalts himself, saying, I will be King, 1 King. 1. 5. Though David had declared Solomon to be designed King even from God himself, (1 Chron. 22. 9, 10. and 28. 5. and 2 Sam. 7. 12.) and Adonijah knew it to be so, and therefore he called not Solomon and his Friends to his Feast, v. 19 The Plot and Conspiracy was strong in him (as it had been in Absalon) being strengthened by the hands of Joab the General, and Abiathar the Highpriest, both under some disgust, and so more easily engaged: Joab was conscious of his own demerit, and Abiathar might fear the extinction of Elies' House: Those two Grandees (having an influence upon both Church and State) could not but give a fair prospect of the Plot, and hope of success, v. 7. especially considering all the other Sons of David did join with them in the exploit, respecting Adonijah (as now the Eldest) more than Solomon, and all the men of Judah, the King's servants, v. 9 Hereupon the Plotters fall on feasting jovially, and undoubtedly many a merry Health was drunk to their new King Adonijah (who had got his Guards as Absalon had done, v. 5.) many a Taunt was cast on the old King, and many Acclamations to the new: But the Triumph of the wicked is short, Job 20. 5. David upon this Emergency hastily Anoints Solomon; tidings of this mars all Adonijahs mirth; after the Meal comes the Reckoning that damps the mirth, v. 41. yea, when the Plotters were at the very height of their joys and jollities, God comes and confounds all their contrivances, and serves up for their last Dish at this Feast a Cup of Horror, Astonishment, and fearful expectation of righteous revenge, this dreadful sound in their ears, (Job 15. 21, 24.) The Feasters had heard at Solomon's Coronation, v. 40. was a doleful Knell to them, and like the Knuckles upon the Wall, Dan. 5. made them (as Belshazzar did) knock their knees one against another: The Guests were all afraid, and risen up, and went, etc. v. 49. as well as their trembling legs could carry them, all skulking away: Their Plot (being laid open, and timely prevented) laid them open to the scorn of the people, and to the anguish and horror of their own guilty Consciences.  
Thus doth the most wise and righteous God befool insolent men in their never so secretly projected and promoted Plots, wherein they do hope to supplant the Son of David, our Lord Jesus, that Prince of Peace, as those did Solomon here, and the Church in him: But what became of the Plotters? Adonijah (himself) flies to the Horns of the Altar, (which probably so profane a Prince had hitherto despised) and was pardoned by this peaceable Prince, but upon his good behaviour, v. 52. which when he broke, in seeking the Kingdom with Abishai, Ch. 2. 22. (being no small Petition, as Bathsheba called it, v. 20. for Solomon's sagacity saw the depths of the Devil in it, which his Mother could not dive into) for this he lost his life, v. 24. as Joab did after him, v. 30. where the very Altar could not secure him from Just Vengeance; and as for Abiathar, he was thrust out from the High-Priesthood, v. 37. his Linen Ephod, or sacred Function, did not exempt him from Civil Censures, as the Romanists plead; and so was fulfilled the Word of the Lord upon Ely's House, 1 Sam. 2. 31, 35▪ and had he not been afflicted in all wherein David had been afflicted (which was for above forty year) he had been also a dead man with Adonijah and Joab for this Conspiracy.  
David dies full of days, riches and honour, 1 Chron. 29. 28. and leaves the state of the Church honourable, Solomon succeeds, and brings the Church's State to its 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, or highest pitch of Glory, while Militant, which is a Figure of the Kingdom of Christ (one greater than Solomon) here on Earth; David had advanced the splendour of the Church, in his Religious provision for the portable Temple, to wit, the Tabernacle erected in the City of David, and also in his Religious preparations for the Fixed Temple, (1.) Knowing the place where it should stand, to wit, on Mount Moriah, where Abraham offered Isaac, Gen. 22. 2, 9 and 2 Chro. 3. 1. (2.) Receiving the pattern of it by Divine Inspiration, 1 Chron. 28. 19 he gave it to Solomon, Ch. 29. 11. who by the help of Davids prepared materials (to wit (1.) Spoils of Enemies, Ch. 18. 11. (2.) An hundred thousand Talents of Gold. (3.) A thousand thousand Talents of Silver. (4.) Hewn stone and Timber. (5.) Iron and Brass without measure, Ch. 22.14. (6.) Precious Stones, Ch. 29. 2. (7.) His own offerings, and those of the Princes and people, Ch. 29.4. etc. though Solomon added much more of his own store) built the most stately and costly Structure, the most sumptuous and glorious Edifice that ever was in the World (therefore justly called the World's Wonder) the House of the most High God, 2 Chron. 2. 5. and a Type of the Church Triumphant in Heaven, as the Tabernacle had been of the Church Militant upon Earth. This Temple was twice so long and large every way, as was the Tabernacle Exod. 26. as the Temple in Ezek. Ch. 40. 41, 42, etc. (setting forth Gospel-times) is described as much bigger than all the old Jerusalem, and a new Jerusalem bigger than all the Land of Canaan. Solomon finished his Temple in the year of the World 3000. Hence some gather, that the Spiritual Temple shall be completed in 3000 more, and then the Sabbatical year shall take place, as the Sabbath succeeds the six days of the Week. In the building of this Magnifical House of the Lord, all the materials were made ready before they were brought thither; so that there was neither Hammer, nor Axe, nor any Tool of Iron heard in the House while it was in building, 1 King. 6. 7. to teach us three things: 1. That all true Members of Churches must be sanctified, and called to be Saints, 1 Cor. 1. 1, 2. hewn by the Word and Spirit, and made living Stones before Admission. 2. That in the Church Militant upon Earth, all noise of jars and contentions (which are as the knocking of Iron Instruments) must be declined. 3. That in the Church Triumphant in Heaven there shall be no sorrows nor sufferings, all noise of fears and tears shall be done away, the State then shall be peaceable and joyful, for which the Saints are fitted by the Hammer of God's Word, and the Hand of his Spirit upon the Mountains of this lower World, there to enjoy rest and glory: The Sanctum Sanctorum of the Temple or Oracle (so called, because there God used to deliver Divine Answers or Oracles, Exod. 30. 5. and Levit. 16. 2.) was the place prepared for the Ark of the Covenant to rest in, after its many removes and wander, 1. From the Desert to Gilgal. 2. From Gilgal to Shilo. 3. From Shilo to the Philistims. 4. From thence to Bethshemesh. 5. From thence to Kiriath Jearim. 6. From thence to the House of Obed-Edom; And 7. From thence to Zion, the City of David: Now Solomon provides a resting place, to wit, the best part of the Temple (the Holy of Holies) for this best and most precious piece (which had the Law within it, and the Mercy-Seat upon it) far more precious than the Palladium at Troy, the Pessinuntium at Rome, or the Image at Athens (made by Canetias the Artificer, yet said by the covetous Priests to be dropped down from Jupiter, Act. 19 35.) as it was the principal Evidence of God's gracious presence, and the lively Type of Christ, in whom are hid (as in an Ark or Coffer) all the Treasures of God's goodness, Col. 2. 3. So that when Solomon dedicates his glorious Fabric (which, as Josephus saith, dazzled the eyes of all its beholders) by Sacrifice and Supplication he concludes his Prayer, saying, Arise now therefore, O Lord God, into thy resting place, thou and the Ark of thy strength, 2 Chron. 6. 41. whereby he invites the Lord to take possession of his Temple, where his Ark should be no more transportative, but settled for a long season, Psal. 1 ●2. 8, 9, 10. And the Lord testifies his acceptation of all, both by Fire from Heaven, (which was kept alive till the Captivity of Babylon) and by filling the House with his Glory. 2 Chro. 7. 1. Now was the Church of God (by his good hand upon her) brought up to such a beauty of Holiness, and to such a perfection of dazzling splendour (like that of the Temple) that Religion was had in great Veneration, both by Domestics and Foreigners. 1. His own Israel went home so refreshed with the Prayer, and the Blessing, that they adored the Lord for his goodness to them, 1 Kin. 8. 66. and both Hiram King of Yyre praised God for the Blessing that the Church had in Solomon, 1 Kin. 5. 7. saying, Because the Lord hath loved his people, he hath set a Solomon over them, 2 Chro. 2. 11. Hence some verily think this Hiram was a Proselited Prince; and (2.) Mackeda, Queen of Sheba, coming from a far Country, Mat. 12. 42. falls into an Ecstasy of admiration, 1 Kin. 10. 5. and coming to herself, she blesses the Lord God that had loved Israel so, as to set Solomon on the Throne; saying, the reality of Israel's glory (in him) far exceeded all the Reports she had received, v. 7. 9 yea, and not only those two Foreigners, but even all the Earth sought to Solomon, etc. v. 24. both Princes and People, Ch. 4. 31. 34. The Devil put Israel upon casting off God, and desiring a King, 1 Sam. 8. 7. Now God uses a King to raise his Church to her highest glory. Thus God overshoots Satan in his own Bow.   

The Fifteenth Plot against the CHURCH, in Canaan: Defeated by GOD.  
CHAP. XV.  
HAving shown how the Pillar of Providence hath ushered and overshadowed the Church of this lower World, from Adam to Solomon, in whose Reign she arrived at her greatest Splendour and Beauty, notwithstanding all the Devils Fore-games he played to prevent it. Now come we to speak of his After-games, whereby he brought an abatement of her glory, and a declension of her lustre in this her Militant state upon Earth: As it is the course of Nature, in Celestial and Terrestrial things, there is a time of their rising and growth to their perfection, gradually carried on (for Nature makes no leaps) and there is a time of setting and gradual declining also: Thus 'tis in Celestial Bodies, the Sun riseth and runs its course, till it come to its Zenith at High-noon, or Midsummer; and than it descends and goes lower to the Earth, observing its Apogaeum and Perigaeum.  
The Moon hath not only her Ortum & occasum, Rising and Setting, but also her Plenilunium & Novi lunium, Increase and Decrease: and therefore is the Emblem of the Church in sacred Writ, as having her filling and weaning times; and Terrestrial things, both Animate and Inanimate, have their seasons of attaining their perfection both of parts and degrees, and then follows their declining time; yea, the Kingdoms of the World have their times, and their turns, their points and their periods, beyond which they cannot pass: Even so it is with the Kingdom of Christ, his Church: there is nothing here below that can always say [I am] but the unchangeable God [Go tell Pharaoh that I am hath sent me unto thee, Exod. 3. 14.] The Creator only can say, I am that I am; but the Creature is to day, and is not to morrow, being a changeable thing: and so the Church here upon Earth is changeable as the Moon, which hath her Eclipses, her Obumbrations under a black Cloud, and (when filled round with light borrowed from the Sun) hath her time of a gradual losing that lustre again. Thus the Old Testament Church came to her Fullmoon of light and glory (borrowed from the Sun of Righteousness, Mal. 4.2.) Vxor fulget Radiis Mariti, the Spouse shines with the Beams and Bracelets (such as Isaac sent Rebekah, Gen. 24.) of her Bridegroom, Ezek. 16. 14.) in the days of Solomon for about thirty years together. In his last ten years, the Devil gins his first aftergame to bring a decrease of her glory upon her: It is observable, that God's promise of establishing the Throne of Israel for ever, 2 Sam. 7. 13, 16. as it was Typical (and so temporary) relating to Christ, the Son of David, who should build a Mystical Temple, the Church, called the House of God, 1 Tim. 3. 15. (whose essential and natural Kingdom shall never have an end, though his Mediatory hath, 1 Cor. 15. 24. yet not till he hath put down all contrary Powers, and made all his Foes his footstool) so it was (2.) Conditional, relating to Solomon, who built the Material Temple which should flourish for ever, upon condition of his perseverance in Piety: [If he commit iniquity, v. 14.] which Solomon did (but Christ could not) in the latter end of his Reign, by falling into Idolatry, 1 Kin. 11. 9, 14, 23, 26. therefore the Lord corrected him with the Rod of men, by stirring up Adversaries against him, which would not have been, had he been constant, as at that day (when another promise was propounded upon that condition) in the good ways of God, 1 Chron. 28. 7. Solomon had been well educated, both by his Father, Prov. 4. 4. and by his Mother, Prov. 31. 1. and at that day (while young) kept the Commandments of the Lord, and brought both Church and State to the highest point of sublunary happiness: So that as David's Reign represented the Church Militant upon Earth, so Solomon's Reign resembled the Church Triumphant in Heaven: yet as man that is in honour abideth not, Psal. 49. 12. so Solomon (according to the manner of all temporal things, and by the means of man's corruption) abode not in this Honourable and happy estate, but when he was old, 1 Kin. 11. 4. and then should he have been best, Job 32. 7. Having had so long Communion with God, and so much experience of his goodness in his appearing to him twice after an extraordinary manner, which was a great Evidence of Divine favour, and laid a great engagement upon him to cleave close to God, who twice appeared, 1 Kin. 3. 5. and 9 2. and 11. 9 Some make Solomon's old age the extenuation of his sin, inasmuch as it brings along with it many weaknesses, which exposed him to be overwitted by Outlandish Women, upon which he so fond doted: But surely his Age was an aggravation of his sin, his last days should have been his best days, and his Graces (like good liquor) should have run fresh to the bottom: Some do give the Flower of their Youth to the Devil, and reserve the Dregs of their Old Age for God. This is bad enough; but Solomon did far worse, in doing quite contrary, as if he expected to find the Devil a better Master to serve in his old age, than he had sound God to be in his youth: ☞ Oh what need we have to stand upon our watch, little do we know what the Devil may tempt us to before we die; if God leave us, Satan may sift us worse (in his Sieve of Temptation) when we are old, than ever he could do while we were young: The Innocentest man Adam, the Strongest man Samson, and the Wisest man Solomon, were all undone by Satan, and all by Women, especially Solomon, who had hitherto the character of a None-such, from 1 Kin. 3. 1. to the end of Ch. 10. then Ch. 11. gins with a But, like that of Naaman, 2 Kin. 5. 1. he was Captain of the Syrian Host, a great man with his Master, and Honourable; he was also a mighty man of Valour, But he was a Leper. So here, after all Solomon's glory is graphically described in the foregoing Chapters, it follows, Ch. 11. 1. But King Solomon loved many strange Women; hereby he (who should have been the man for establishing the Church in its perfection of beauty, and for perpetuating the power and purity of Religion to his Posterity) becomes himself Effeminate, and Emasculates himself so far, as to be entangled by them into great evils: 1. In tolerating (at least) their Idolatrous practices. 2. In allowing places for their Idols. 3. In his complying with them, and conforming to them in their worshipping of Venus, Bacchus, Saturn, etc. and all this (as it were) under God's very eye, so nigh the Temple, the place of God's residence; for this the Lord was angry, and says, he will rend the Kingdom, v. 9, 10, 11. and does it (as well as says it) afterwards. The Devil is as much pleased as God is angry, hopes to win the Game, and to damn Solomon; yet that wicked one could not touch him, to wit, with his deadly touch of final Apostasy, for the Seed of God was in him, 1 Joh. 3. 9 and 5. 18. the Root of Grace remained, wrought in him, and brought him to repentance; his Book of Ecclesiastes is his Penitential Palinody, so ought he not to be pictured by Papists half in Heaven, and half in Hell: 'Tis remarkable, that David and Solomon are conjoined in one Commendatory Sentence, 2 Chron. 11. 17. to show that Holy David is as much in Hell as Solomon, and Solomon as much in Heaven as Holy David: And 'tis not possible that the beginning of Rehoboams Reign could be like david's (as that Clause affirms) if Solomon had left his Kingdom in so corrupt a condition as his Apostasy caused, and not have reformed it after his return to the Lord. The Devil having lost this first aftergame (for eclipsing the glory of the Church, which gained that blessed Book of Ecclesiastes by Solomon's fall) upon Solomon's self, he tries conclusions upon Solomon's Son, as his second aftergame; and no better Tool could he have to work withal, than Childish Rehoboam: 'Tis a wonder that so wise a Father as Solomon, should have (only) such a foolish Son as Rehoboam, and that of seven hundred Wives, and three hundred Concubines: Many a Fool hath had a wiser Son than this wisest Father; assuredly Solomon did prognosticate his Sons future folly, in his saying [Who knows whether he that comes after me will be a wise man, or a fool, etc. Eccles. 2. 18. yea, the holy Scripture calls him a Child at forty years old, 2 Chron. 13. 7. All this he did prove himself in the Parliament held at Shechem, 1 Kin. 12. 1. where an humble Address is made to him, that he would lighten their grievous Yokes, and lessen their great Taxes which his Father had laid on them for the maintenance of his vast Retinue, of strange Women especially, and (say they) we will be thy servants for ever; which promise (annexed) anticipates a tacit Objection, for it might be said, if the King had once submitted himself to the request of his Subjects, they would prove Lords over him: but here they show the contrary, and promise to accept of him, and to be subject to him: he (being less wise than his Father who advised him [by a soft Answer to pacify wrath, Prov. 15. 1.] but more wilful) rejects the advice of his Father's old experienced Counsellors (with whom was wisdom, Job 12. 12. and whom he consulted only for fashion sake) and followed the device of his own green-headed Companions and Courtiers, who parasitically persuade him to stand upon his Pantofles, and not at all to stoop to his people, for that would make him a King without a Kingdom, and a Subject to his Subjects. Thus they humour him into a conceit of Absoluteness: Hereupon he threatens Tyranny to the people, who hear of nothing from him, but Scourges and Scorpions, v. 13. Oh foolish and childish King, whose very words have Stings! was this the way to gain a discontented people? No, but rather to disoblige, even a willing people, who could not but think how cruel will this man's hands be, who thus draws blood with his Tongue. Thus he fond loses ten Tribes from his Crown with his churlish words, and rough answers, which he would (and might not) have recovered with the blood of a great Army, v. 21, 22, 23. Then saw he (when too late) that strife is easier stirred than stinted, and that the people is a most Heady Water, when once out of their Banks, which now were broken down by his indefinite profession of rigour and severity upon their purses and persons: ☞ Sad consequences ever accompany those Princes that would be Absolute in Power, will be Resolute in Will, and dare be Dissolute in Life. The wicked one had a double advantage for promoting this Plot, not only Rehoboam to work on, who was green-headed at forty (though the Son of Solomon, who was grey-headed at twenty) year old, 2 Chro. 13. 7. and 1 Kin. 3. 3. 7. with 2. 6. and 1 Chro. 14. 21. but also Jeroboam to work by, who was as wily as wicked, plotting a revolt from former affronts, forming a Religion accommodated to his Rebellion, and designedly marring the Israel of God, for the better making them his own Subjects: By both those two helps (of childishness in the one, and craftiness in the other) Satan, that Schismatical Spirit (who made the first Schism or Rent in the City of God, at the first being of the World) now made (1.) The largest Schism or Rent, (2.) The longest that ever had been made in the Church of God under any Government: (1.) It was the largest, for here the Devil got more than nine parts (even the ten Tribes) leaving God only his tithe, his tenth, his one Tribe, to wit, the Tribe of Judah only; so 'tis expressed, 1 Kin. 11. 13. with 12. 20. and it (2.) was the longest also, for it was a Rent that could never be stitched together again, neither by force of arms, nor by the most forward Reformers, but lasted till the Captivity. However 'tis a work of wonder, a Miracle of Mercy, and a matter of great admiration, that the Devil made not the ten Tribes to swallow up the one Tribe (ten to one is great odds) the Kingdom of Israel to devour the Kingdom of Judah, so called, though Benjamin was included in Judah: No, God had promised, that his mercy should not departed away from Solomon, as he took it from Saul, 2 Sam. 7. 15. that is, I will not quite cast him out of my favour, or wholly deprive him of his Kingdom, as I did Saul. This spoiled the Devil's design of destroying the Church, for Solomon's Seed was not rejected of God, as saul's was, to give way to David's succession; yea, and that which spoiled Satan's project yet more was, when God was angry with Solomon, his Jedidiah, his Darling for his sin, and threatened to rend the Kingdom (which is as a glorious Mantle upon the King's shoulder, 1 Sam. 15. 28. 1 Kin. ●1. 29, 30.) from him, yet the severity of that Sentence God was pleased to sweeten with some mitigation and mixture of mercy; as, 1. I will not do it in thy days, etc. 2. I will not rend away all, 1 Kin. 11. 11, 12, 13. (1.) For David's sake (which is five times repeated there for his honour) and (2.) For Jerusalem's sake, both which had peculiar promises; as, 1. David, 2 Sam. 7. 9, 10, 11, 12, 16. all performed by the promiser, either in the Types ' or Antitypes. 2. Jerusalem, that holy City, Neh. 11. 1. 18. Isa. 52. 1. wherein Zion and the Temple stood, and was the special Type of the Church, Psal. 51. 18. Isa. 62. 1, 7. and 66. 20. Revel. 21. 2. and therein God promised to David his servant, that he should have a light or Lamp always, 1 Kin. 11. v. 36. to wit, a Royal Successor, that should shine before his people, which was most properly accomplished in Christ, Luke 2. 32. The Sceptre could not be taken (either by men or Devils) from Judah, until Shilo came, Gen. 49. 10. and then was he a light to the Gentiles, as he had been, (and still was) a glory to Israel. Now though the Devil (that Grand  of the World) had a great hand in this Rent or Division, together with his Impious Instrument Jeroboam, yet the Lord had a greater hand in it to ordain, order, and overrule all: For thus saith the Lord, This thing is from me; and the cause was from the Lord (as well as from the Devil) 1 Kin. 12. 15.24. As it was a sin (called Rebellion, Ch. 12. 19) so it was from the Devil; but as it was a punishment of sin (both of Solomon's Idolatry, Ch. 11. v. 11. and of Rehoboams insolency) so it was from God, as an Act of Justice from the Supreme Judge, Am. 3. 6. God here withdraws the Spirit of Wisdom from Rehoboam, and leaves him to his own egregious folly, as Chap. 22. 23. 2 Chron. 25. 20. and 32. 31. God knows how to order the disorders of the World to his own glory, as having an overruling Providence beyond man's purpose, and an overpouring power still to preserve his poor Church, though Solomon had been sharing himself betwixt God and Idols, and therefore his servant (Jeroboam) shall share the Kingdom with his Son (Rehoboam) yea, and bear away the better half from him; yet Judah still rules with God (and God with them) and is faithful with the Saints: When Ephraim (the ten Tribes) compassed God about with lies, Hos. 11. v. 12. that is, while back-sliding Israel went after their Leaden Priests (made by Jeroboam of the basest of the people) and their Golden Calves, Judah kept tight to the Temple-worship, and firm in the true Religion. Thus the most gracious God, even in the midst of wrath, remembers mercy, and leaves this blessing (soon repenting of the evil) behind him, that a Lamp should be lighted in Jerusalem, which the most boisterous blasts of the Devil, and his Instruments, should not blow out.   

The Sixteenth Plot against the CHURCH, in Canaan: Defeated by GOD.  
CHAP. XVI.  
NOw when the Devil had divided so great a share of David's Kingdom to himself by Divine Permission, (the Lord of the Soil, Hos. 9 3. Isa. 8. 8. giving way for his own glory to such sad Encroachments) he falls upon sowing the cursed seed of his Tares upon the Lord's Land, among those Tribes who disdained to live any longer by the Lords Law. Oh wonderful! there was no visible Church upon Earth at this time, but in the Land of Promise; and yet the only wise God gives up to Satan (when all the World lay in wickedness, 1 Joh. 5. 19 and so in the possession of that wicked one) even the largest share of his own Land also, though it was but a little spot of Land (no bigger than our Wales) in all. Thus the Lords Land, Levit. 25. 23. became the Devil's Land too (in the greatest part) with all the rest of the Habitable World: Oh how unsearchable are the ways of the Lord, and his works past find-out, Rom. 11. 33, 34, 35. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Oh the bottomless depth of Divine Wisdom! the Devil, having got this leave against Israel (as once against Job) when God's Hedge was gone, gins to lay waste God's Vineyard, Isa. 5. 5, 6. He now falls to work for debauching Israel; he first makes them cast off their true Sovereign, and choose a false one; Jeroboam the Son of Nebat must be the man, one that wanted neither Craft nor Courage to back this Horse which had cast his Rider: Next to Achitophel, the Devil had not a craftier Head to plot against the Church, than this Leader of the Faction and Fraction. As the subtle Serpent infused into him his subtlety for stealing a Sceptre, so for securing it to him when he had stolen it: His Plotting Head had this considering Cap upon it, ['twas but a pang of discontent that made me King, violent things are not permanent, sudden Paroxysmes, or Fits of passion, have as sudden Relaxations and recoveries; the Revolters cannot return thrice a year to the Temple in Jerusalem (as God commands them, Exod. 34. 23.) but 'twill make them revolt from me, and return to Rehoboam; I must either keep them off from God, or I shall never keep them off from Loyalty and Piety] Therefore to give them a pleasant Diversion (when he durst not offer a direct Restraint and Prohibition) he changes and adulterates that Religion, which he dare neither inhibit nor abolish: Hereupon this new King plots to make Israel a new God, and (for their ease) nearer home too, that they might not be toiled with going so far as the Temple, pretending to be more merciful to the people than the most merciful God, yea and more prudent than he in his more compendious and plausible way of worship, altogether accommodated to the ease and humour of the people: Aaron had humoured Israel with one Golden Calf (such as they had seen long in Egypt) Exod. 32. 4. Now Jeroboam (who had lately lived there, 1 Kin. 11. 40.) judges it proper (after Aaron's example) to humour them with two, which he sets up at Dan▪ and Bethel, at both the ends of the Land, North and South, 1 Kin. 12. 27, 28, 29. Thus took he crafty counsel of his cursed Courtiers, and, so he might secure his Realm and Region, he mattered not though Religion were run down to ruin. And this thing became a sin to Israel, v. 30. a most heinous sin, though it was but a base thing, this Image was one of the basest, Psal. 106. 20. The Image of a Calf eating Hay. Oh what Brutish Creatures were Israel made by an Intoxicating Devil, Psal. 115. 8. so as to fall down and worship such a Brutish Creature as a Calf as soon as it was set up; yea, that service (which was only due to God) was performed to Devils in this base thing, 2 Chron. 11. 15. all Idolatry is Devil-worship, all Devotion that is not done to God (nor by a Divine Warrant) is done to the Devil, there is no Medium or Mean betwixt them, 1 Cor. 10. 20, 21. Revel. 9 20. Now the Devil (that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, or Idol-lover) had got his design in debauching Israel, when he had got a Divine Service set up (1.) In another place, 1 Kin. 12.29. (2.) At another time, v. 3●. (3.) After another manner, v. 28. (4.) And by other Priests, v. 31. than God had appointed: Proud Lucifer, the Devil, was well pleased with this Devil-worship. This sin not only brought a black Brand upon its abominable Author to all succeeding Generations, that the phrase frequently rings in our reading the Scripture [Jeroboam the Son of Nebat that made Israel to sin] but also had such an Indelible Character in it, as could never be removed, neither from his own Family, nor from any of his Successors (though of other Families, when his was rooted out) all the Kings of Israel after him (by his example) grew worse and worse, (and Israel with them) until they were all carried away Captive out of their own Land, in the days of Hosea, their last King, 2 Kin. 17. 1. to 6. Here the Devil played like a cunning Gamester with notable seeming success; yet God is not an idle Spectator all this time, and permits Satan to carry it on without any Counterbuffs: but now and then he is a swift witness against, and a severe rebuker of this Plot; (1.) Both at the beginning, (2.) Afterwards, and (3.) At the end. (●.) At the beginning, Jeroboam must not manage his new Rebellion without a Testimony from Heaven, (against his new Religion.) And 1st. The Lord stirred up a select number, both of Priests and people, that abhorred Jeroboams Idolatry, and fled from all the Coasts of Israel (though Jeroboam waylaid them, Hos. 5. 1.) to cleave close unto the true God in his worship at Jerusalem, 2 Chron. 11. 13, 14, 16. The godly Priests gave a good example to the godly people of every Tribe in their self-denial, and leaving their Live rather than violate their Consciences: Their voluntary Exilement, after their Ejection, (ab officio & beneficio) drew much good people after them, v. 16. whereby not only Rehoboam was much strengthened, v. ●7. but also the Church was preserved in despite of Jeroboam, and his Segnirim, or Hairy Devils, v. 15. insomuch that God had his seven thousand in wicked Ahabs' day, that bowed not the knee to Baal, nor those to the Golden Calves; and God preserved them in their slight to the holy City, though wicked Watchers laid Traps to catch them upon Mizpeh and Tabor in their passage thither, as the Papists in the Marian days watched all those that be took themselves to Basil, Geneva, etc. yet the Lord marvellously preserved them for his Church in a better day, as he did those in a better place. 2. God's Testimony was not for his servants Innocency only, but against Jeroboams Idolatry, when he stood at his new Altar at Bethel, with a Sceptre in one hand, and with a Censer in the other, invading the High-Priesthood, as well as usurping the Kingdom, 1 King. 12. 33. and 13. 1. God sends a Prophet out of Judah (possibly one of his banished servants) to Jeroboam in the midst of his great Assembly and Solemnity at Bethel, to cry against the Altar, v. 2. that one Josiah should be raised up, to destroy it, and its Priests: And because 'twas long too, (more than two hundred year) he gives them a present Sign of the certainty of his Prophecy, to wit, the rending of the Altar at present, to show its downfall afterwards, which accordingly was accomplished, v. 3, 5. At this Jeroboam rageth, cries, Lay hold of him, and himself would have been the first man in doing it, had not God by another Miracle manacled him, by withering his hand; which though restored again, by a third Miracle, at the Prophet's prayer, yet hands not its owner into repentance; and while the Altar (of Stone) rends, yet his Heart (being harder than any stone in the Altar) remains still without any rending, or relenting. This God foresaw, and therefore the Man of God was directed to direct his speech to the Altar, and not to Jeroboam, seeing the former would receive impression sooner than the latter, who had forgot how Israel had startled at an Altar of the Reubenites, which was only for a Monument and Memorial, Josh. 22. when they were newly come out of affliction, now an Altar for Idolatry startles neither him nor them, being settled upon the Lees of a long abused peace in Solomon's day; and this same Bethel (where one of his Calves stood, and the rend Altar) being now become a Beth-Aven [the House of God an house of wickedness, as the two Hebr. names signify] was recovered again out of Jeroboams hands, 2 Chron. 13. 19 His Golden Calfish God could not protect its own Seat and City from its Enemy. This Divine Testimony from Heaven against Jeroboam was manifold: (1.) Against his Altar. (2.) Against his Arm, which he stretched out to apprehend the Lords Prophet (who had born witness against his Idolatry) contrary to God's Special Command [Touch not mine Anointed ones, and do my Prophets no harm, Psa. 105. 15. 'Tis safer to anger a Witch, than provoke a Prophet; for if any man will hurt such, fire proceedeth out of their mouth to devour them, Revel. 11. 5. To touch these, is to touch the Apple of God's Eye, Zech. 2. 8. Therefore doth God say to Kings (not of Kings) Touch not those that have the Unction of the Father; which when King Jeroboam offered to do, God shrank his sinews, and makes him stand like an Antic Statue, pointing out the way to Travellers with an hand stretched out, but cannot pull it in, 1 Kin. 3. 4. So facile a thing it is with God to cool the courage, and restrain the rage of the proudest Prince, or Persecutor, Psa. 76. 10. This very Arm that had been burning Incense to his Idol (in his playing the Priest himself, to give some Grace to his sordid Priests, made of the Dregs of the Vulgar) God dried up, as the arm of an Idol-Shepherd, Zech. 11. 17. and because his Eye was darkened too (according to that threatening) so that he would see nothing of God's Hand in withering his hand; Therefore Gods third Testimony was against his Heir; and as God's Wrath was upon his first Son, so on his best Son, who was also his Right Hand indeed, for he was his Heir, and hopeful for good, 1 Kin. 14. 13. Now God strikes at the Father for his sin, upon the Back of the Child in his sickness: Jeroboam seeks to Ahijah (the Lord's Prophet) what would be the issue (not what was the cause) of his good Sons sickness, which none of his wooden Priests could tell him, v. 3. He receives heavy tidings, and that by the hands of his own Wife, that this only gracious Son must die, but all his other graceless Sons must live; he must die to afflict them, they must live to afflict them; because Jeroboam was bad, therefore was he unworthy of so good a Son; and because the Son was good, therefore was he worthy to be removed from so bad a Father: This Son alone shall have both Tears, and a Tomb for his goodness, his other Sons shall have no sorrow but for their lives, and at their deaths no Graves, but the Belleys of Dogs and Fowls, v. 6. 11, 12, 13. Israel had cause to mourn when they had lost such an hopeful Heir of the Kingdom. The fourth Divine Testimony against Jeroboams Idolatry was (as 1. Against his Altar. 2. Against his Arm. 3. Against his Heir; so 4.) Against his Army: Jeroboam in the eighteenth year of his Reign raises a vast Army (no less than eight hundred thousand) to vanquish Abijah while young, and newly ste●t into his Father (Rehoboams) Throne, which was then empty by his Father's death; young Abijah raises an Army to resist him, which was but half as big as Jeroboams, yet was it an huge Army too, considering that fifty thousand is now counted a Royal Army, whereas his was four hundred thousand, which is eight times as many as is fifty: Those two great Armies (the 800000 of Jeroboams for Idolatry, and the 400000 of Abijahs against Idolatry) faces each other in the Field; Abijah by his Heralds sounds a Parley, stands upon Mount Zemeraim (as Jotham likewise had done upon Mount Gerizim, Judg. 9 6.) makes a pious, pithy, elegant and artificial Oration (not unlike Solomon's Grandchild) to the Heads of Jeroboams Army, wherein he shows them the honour God had from Judah, and the dishonour he had from Israel, and many mighty Motives he presses upon them to desist their irrational and irreligious enterprise, whereof they could never render any good reason, nor ever hope for any good success: While Abijah was thus Haranguing in his Religious as well as Rhetorical dissuasives by a fair and friendly Treaty, Jeroboam basely useth most foul and filthy treachery, in causing an Ambushment behind him, while his main Battalia was before him, to surprise him at unawares, 2 Chron. 13. 3, 4, 5, 13. Judah (espying his treachery, and their own danger) cried unto the Lord, v. 14. having strong fervency in praying to God for succour in that dangerous case, prayers were their Soldier's surest great Ordinance, and together with their holy prayers they join an honest policy, the whole Army together gave one great unanimous shout, v. 15. This loud Acclamation [They run, they run] affrights Israel, especially God striking them at the same time with a panic fear, and with frightful Furies in their own Consciences, they all fly, and fall in a monstrous and matchless slaughter, v. 16. 17. to wit, five hundred thousand men of Israel were slain by the men of Judah, who were but four hundred thousand, so that they slew more than every one his man; and this Slaughter is well called a Great Slaughter, it being the greatest slaughter of men in any one Battle in all the World that we read of, either in Sacred or Civil History: And had those two Armies been united as Brethren against a Common Enemy, they had made up the greatest Host that ever we heard or read of, assembled together in the Field; yet Judah (the lesser number) prevails against Israel (twice as many) because they relied upon the Lord. v. 18. [Deo Confisi, nunquam Confusi: Judah confided in God, therefore were they not confounded by Israel: True trusting in God can never miscarry; God is faithful, and never fails the Faith of his people: He that believes in him shall not be confounded, 1 Pet. 2. 6. The fifth and last Divine Testimony was against Jeroboam himself: God had let him blood (as it were) in the Arm to cure him of his Idolatry, and struck the Vital Spirit out of it when 'twas dried up; but now God comes to strike the Soul out of his Body, when neither Ministry, nor Misery, nor Miracle, nor Mercy, could mollify and heal his impenitent heart; neither the Wind, nor the Sun (to wit, neither the blasts of Divine Judgements, nor the Beams of Divine Mercy) could make him cast his cumbersome Coat of Idolatrous worship, but he will not (though his hand was both withered and healed, etc.) see God's Hand against him, but will live and die in his Idolatry: Therefore the Lord smote Jeroboam, v. 15. and the Lord struck him, v. 20. that he died. God gave him two deadly blows upon his Cheekbone (as Psal. 3. 7.) with his heavy hand; so that he died not an ordinary, but a sudden and violent death, and that by a special hand of God: The Lord smote him, as with a Thunderbolt, as he smote Nabal that he died, 1 Sam. 25. 38. Deadly Diseases are Divine strokes, as the Pestilence is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Morbus Sacer, or the Divine Disease, though it is not expressed in Scripture of what Disease neither Nabal nor Jeroboam died; and had his Idolatry died with him, it had been better for Israel: This Jeroboam, the Son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, 2 Kin. 10. 31. etc. which is oft added as Jeroboams infamous stile, 1 Kin. 12. 30. and 13. 34. and 14. 16. etc. (so oft it sounds in our ears) made all the Kings of Israel sin his sin of Idolatry after him, there being not one good Successor in his Throne of Apostasy until the Captivity, though God raised up sundry famous Prophets (as Elijah, Elisha, etc.) to reclaim them, and though God did witness from Heaven against them in his most severe Judgements, yet the perdition of one was not any availing caution to another, for (2. (Nadab took no warning at God's Judgements upon his Father Jeroboam, and he was rooted out, and all his house, 1 Kin. 15. 27. by Baasha. (3.) And the same Judgements, in the same words, are threatened against Baasha, which had been against Jeroboam, because he persisted in the same sin, 1 Kin. 16. 3, 4. And (4.) Ela Baasha's Son was a Sot in his drunkenness, and was slain in his sin by his servant Zimri, v. 9 who (5.) succeeded him, but God soon cast that Rod into the fire, wherewith he had chastised the house of Baasha, v. 10, 11, 12. for Omri (the 6.) forced him to burn himself with his Palace, v. 18, 19 This Omri made wicked Statutes, Mich. 6. 16. and made (undoubtedly) as wicked an end: Qualis vita, Finis ita; he lived wickedly, v. 25. (seeking to outsin all his predecessors) so died wretchedly, though not (that we read of) by any violent death: His Son Ahab (the seventh) that None-such sinner succeeded, whom (being an uxorious man) Jezabel (his Wife) stirred up, even to unparallelled wickedness, v. 31, 32, 33. God sets this black brand upon this Virago Jezabel, 1 Kin. 21. 25, 26. who held her Husband in such slavery (by a mischievous 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, or Woman wearing the Breeches) that for a quiet life with her, he did not dare to deny her any thing that she would have done: Hereby he proves worse than his Ancestors, extorts Naboths Vineyard and life from him, where the Dogs licked his blood afterwards, yea, and the Dogs did eat up Jezabel also, 1 Kin. 21. 19, 22, 23. with Ch. 22. 38. and 2 Kin. 9 35, 36, 37. So they who sold themselves to work evil, and might have been sure they should (in time) rue the bargain, at length as they had made a Match with mischief, so God gave them both their Bellyfuls of it, and filled them with the evil of their own ways, Prov. 14. 14. God's Arrow found out wicked Ahab under his disguise (which he did to evade Micaiah's Prophecy of him) a certain man drew a Bow at a venture, and smote Ahab 'twixt the joints of his Harness, 1 Kin. 22. 30, 34. This casual and contingent shot was guided by God to hit the mark to an hairs-breadth, whereas the cast of saul's Javelin was three times guided by the same hand of God to miss the mark of holy David's body: Micaiah was imprisoned for foretelling this fate, v. 26, 28. Who would not rather be a Micaiah in the Goal, than an Ahab in the Chariot; God preserved the one in the former, but wounded to death the other in the latter: Then was God even with him, for all his Idolatry and impieties in persecuting the Prophets, murdering of Naboth, who doubtless had hope in his death as righteous, and so in a far better condition now than Ahab was, who had no hope, but was driven away in his wickedness, Prov. 14. 32. Wicked men may have some advantage of the way, but godly men have their advance at the end; as Ahab had sold himself to sin, so God sold him to destruction, and Ahaziah (the eighth) succeeds him, who was a soft-pated Prince, and low-spirited, in losing no mean part of his Kingdom, in the beginning of his Reign, by the Rebellion of Moab, 2 Kin. 1. 1. with Ch. 3. 4, 5. and 2 Chro. 20. 1. but above all, he was a wicked King, like Bird, like Egg, he had as black a Soul as his Father Ahab, to live in his white Ivory Palace that Ahab had built, 1 Kin. 22. 39, 52. His sin finds him out, Num. 32. 23. as he was walking upon the Leads of this stately Palace, he falls through a Grate, and catches his death, which Baalzebub of Ekron could not prevent, or rather the Devil of Acheron (as Hell is called by the Poet Virgil, as above, Flectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta Movebo. This Beelzebub, or Baalzebub, is called the God of Flies, or Jupiter Stercorarius, a Dunghill Deity, for out of the Dunghill have the Flies their Natural Generation: This Devil could not take off that sickness which the God of Israel had laid on him, and whereby he was disenabled to attempt any thing against rebelling Moab. This pusillanimous Prince Jehoram (the ninth) succeeded, who was more active than his Brother Ahaziah, and not all out so bad as his Parents Ahab and Jezabel, (for he destroyed Baal out of Samaria yet not very much better than they, for he continued Jeroboams Calves, 2 Kin. 3. 2, 3. God likes not that men should make a strait furrow here, and a balk there, partial Reformation discovers Hypocrisy, wherefore God's Arrow finds him at Ramoth-Gilead, as it had done Ahab (his Father) at the same place, and coming to be healed of his wounds at Jezreel, is there slain by furious Jehu (the tenth) whom God raised up extraordinarily to destroy Ahabs' Posterity, 2 Kin. 9 1, to 30. 37. and 10, to 15. He had a zeal (indeed) for the Lord (as Jehoram had) against Baal, v. 16, to 28. yet proves he but an half Reformer, putting down Baal, yet keeping up the Calves, v. 29. lest it should cost him his Kingdom by Israel's repairing to Temple-worship, notwithstanding this his Dispensatory Conscience, because he had done well, for the matter, God gives him the favour of his fourth Generation, v. 30. (which was not granted to any other King of Israel after the Revolt) to wit, Jehoaaz the eleventh, who doth wickedly, and Joash (the twelfth) who rides in the same road, 2 Kin. 13. 2, 6, 11. and Jeroboam (the thirteenth) who did [Patrizare] also, and walked in his forefather's steps, Ch. 14. 24. for which cause Amos prophesied against him, and was banished from Bethel for it, Amos 7. 10, 11, 12. foretelling a dreadful Earthquake, Amos 1. 1. and Jeroboams death by the Sword, Ch. 7. 9 him succeeded Zecharias (the fourteenth) and the fourth from Jehu, to whom God would not be indebted for his good actings, but gave him this reward; yet this his last Branch being wicked, he was slain for his wickedness by Shallum, (the fifteenth) Ch. 15. 9, 10. who was paid home in his own Coin by Menahem (the sixteenth) whose cruelty ending with himself, Pekaiah (the seventeenth comes on the Throne; but he (not degenerating from his evil Ancestors) was soon put off by Pekah (the eighteenth) who (being no better than the rest) was traitorously slain by Hoshea (the nineteenth) who (being wicked also) was carried Captive by Salmanezer of Assyria: 2 Kin. Ch. 15. and 16. and 17. Thus Israel provoked the Lord to anger; as if they had done all this for that very purpose of causing God to cast them off, and to write Lo-Ammi upon them: by the forementioned Earthquake, the Lord did plainly foreshow, that God would shake terribly the Heaven of that Church, and the Earth of that State: And as God forewarned them by his works (both ordinary and extraordinary) so all along by his Word in the mouths of all his (both the greater and lesser) Prophets, saying to them, that if they would not live by God's good Laws, they should not live in God's good Land, etc. Hos. 9 3. This Hosed who forewarns Israel, that their Land would spew them out, (as God had threatened, Levit. 18. 26, 28. was the first of the Race of those Prophets (before Isaiah) in the days of Jeroboam, Hos. 1. 1, 2. And thus, as under an Hosea, Israel was possessed of Canaan, Numb. 13. 16. and under an Hosea they were dispossessed of it, 2 Kin. 17. 1, 6. so the Lord sent an Hosea to blame their unthankfulness for the former, and to declare the dreadfulness of the latter. No doubt but the Devil was much delighted with this sad Catastrophe of Israel's Ejection out of Canaan, he always makes mirth and merriment out of Israel's mourning, he makes Comedies of their Tragedies; he had (indeed) so rooted and riveted Idolatry in Israel, that it could not be rooted out, but by rooting up the corrupted Stock: yet all along the Reign of those twenty Kings of Israel (for so many, Tibni (Corrival to Omri) 1 Kin. 16. 21, 22. doth exactly make) and often several Stocks, yet all agreeing in Jeroboams sin, God raised up a Race of Prophets to give warning, even from the Man of God (that cried against Jeroboams Altar, 1 Kin. 13. and from Elijah and Elisha, down to the last-of those Kings (very few whereof died a dry or natural death) 2 Kin. 17. 13, 23. God wanted not his Witnesses (though in Sackcloth) all that time; His Eye to Israel (even under great provocations) was good, while the Devil's Eye was evil: Oh the admirable workings of Divine Compassion in 2 Kin. 14. 26, 27. [The Lord saw the affliction (as well as the transgression) of Israel, that it was very bitter, when they had neither safety, nor a Saviour: Oh the yearnings of God's Bowels in that Word [The Lord said not, that he would blot out the Name of Israel from under Heaven] God had not then said it, yet though afterwards he both said it, Hos. 1. 6, 9 and did it, 2 Kin. 17. 18. 'Twas a long time, and upon great provocation (as is related from v. 7, to the 18.) before he removed them out of his sight, that is, out of the Land of Promise, upon which the eyes of the Lord were continually after an especial manner: Notwithstanding all this, the Devil got not all, nor did the Lord lose all, he divided the spoil with the strong Devil, Esa. 53. 12. As God had his Witnesses 1. At the beginning of the Apostasy; so 2. All along afterwards, he had both Witnesses and people too, that had a blessed tenderness towards their two hundred thousand Captives, at the powerful preaching of the Prophet Oded (whom God had as a Witness in the worst of times) 2 Chron. 28. 9, to 16. so mightily did the Word of God work upon this armed Army, that they shown a great work of mercy to their distressed Brethren, etc. though they had but one Prophet to press them to it in so great an Host. And as God had his seven thousand of people in Ahabs' time, 1 Kin. 19 18. so he had great multitudes in Hosea's time (their last King) out of Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, Zebulon, and Asher, who humbled themselves under the sight and sense of their sins, and came to Jerusalem at Hezekiahs' Proclamation to keep the Passover, according to the Word of the Lord, 2 Chron. 30. 1, 6, 11, 13, 18. though some jeered (showing themselves ready ripe for ruin in their last King's time) yet many others feared, v. 10, 11. And though those which came out of the ten Tribes (out of the fear of God) were ignorant of due preparation, (having been long without God, Law, and Teaching Priest, 2 Chro. 19 3.) came rudely and irreverently to the Passover (and probably smarted for it, as 1 Cor. 11. 30. Matth. 22. 12, 13.) yet at Hezekiahs' godly Prayer for them, God Healed them and accepted their Service, v. 18, 19, 20. Yea, and Gods Pity was such to his Covenanted people, that the Old Style and Title [The Lord God of Israel] is kept up even by Abijam, 2 Chron. 13. 5. and such was God's Respect to Israel under the Revolt, that he sent sometimes Saviour's to them, as 2 Kin. 13. 5. Obad. 21. Neh. 9 27. All which doth plainly Demonstrate God's Care of his Church even in the worst of times, let the Devil and his Imps do all they can: And though there hath been such a Revolt from the Ture Christian-Religion by the Papacy, as this of the Ten Tribes from the Temple-Worship, (the Foundation whereof was laid in Blood, to wit, the Blood of Adoram, 1 Kin. 12. 18. as that of the Romish-Revolt much more.) Yet the Lord secureth his own Interest, Rev. 12. 6, 14. Maugre the Malice of Men and Devils, both in Witnesses and People, as I have shown at large in my Discovery of Antichrist. Moreover (3ly.) at the End of this Revolting Kingdom, when God had cast the Ten Tribes out of Canaan, because they had cast him off and his good Laws; yet God had respect (1) to the very Land out of which they were cast; for when the King of Assyria had Conquered Samaria and the Cities of the Ten Tribes, which he carried Captive into his own Country, and had Planted his Colonies of mixed People in their place, The Lord sent Lions among them, which Slew some of them, 2 Kin. 17. 25. because those New-Planters (as themselves say) knew not the manner of the God of the Land, v. 26. foolishly thinking, that each Land had its proper God: Indeed the Land of Israel had another God than the Gods (or Idols) of those Lands from whence they came; it was a Land which Jehovah had Chosen as an Habitation for himself, and saith, The Land is mine, Levit. 25. 25. Hence it is called the Lords Land, Hos. 9 3. and Immanuels' Land, Isa. 8. 8. and by their Seventh-Year Sabbath, they Acknowledged that their Land belonged to God, and that they were only God's Tenants and Tythe-men: now seeing those Assyrians that came into Canaan in Israel's Room, made no such Acknowledgement, nor Own'd him in a Land which the True God was pleased to Own, therefore he sent this Judgement of the Lions upon them, to let them know that the God of this Land had all Creatures (even the most Ravenous) at His Command wherewith to be Avenged for their not-Fearing him. Thus, it appears, God did not Hate the Ground (as some say) that Israel trod upon, though they were Revolters. 2ly. God had Respect to themselves much more, (if so much to their Land,) so that they were (in a sort) Ammi, while they were Lo-Ammi; and Ruhamah, while they were Lo-Ruhamah, Hos. 1. 6. Yea, when the name Israel was too good and too Honourable a name for them, but they must be called Jezreel, that is, a People devoted to Dispersion, v. 4. and such as God would scatter into the four Winds of Heaven, [Zerang,] as the Seedsman scatters his Seed, so that the Ten Tribes never returned out of Captivity; yet (sure I am) neither the Devil got all, nor God lost all, for God did not lose Israel, but only laid them up in an Unknown Sepulchre with his own Hands, (as he had done their Mediator Moses,) in sure and certain Hope of a Resurrection: God did not cast off his People for ever, 1 Kin. 11. 39 Though the dry Bones of Israel lie in Babylon, etc. as in a Sepulchre, and were (as it were) Buried Alive at their final Abdication, yet the Lord Promises, These Graves shall be opened. This is spoken over and over again, Ezek. 37. 11, 12, 13, 14. to the whole House of Israel, the Lord saith, Behold, Oh my People. God owneth them still, though they little deserved it. This is Alleged as an Alloy to those Dreadful Desolations; so loath is the Sun of Righteousness to set under a Cloud, that in the midst of Judgement he remembers Mercy, Hab. 3. 2. Thus while the Lord wrote Jezreel, Lo-Ruhamah, and Lo-Ammi upon Israel: In the Invasion made by Tiglath-Pilneser upon the Tribes beyond Jordan, 2 Kin. 15. 29. 1 Chro. 5. 6. and by Salmaneser upon the rest of the Ten Tribes on this side Jordan: Yet behold how graciously God comes off in that Direful Sentence; Yet the Number of the Children of Israel shall be as the Sand of the Sea that cannot be Numbered; and where it was said, Ye are not my People, there it shall be said, Ye are the Sons of the Living God, Hos. 1. 4, 6, 9, 10. to show Gods great care of his Church, and of his Promise to Abraham, even when he seems to have Utterly Abandoned them: The same Graciousness that had sent Prophets to them all along their Revolt, and a Promise of the Messiah at the same time their Rejection was foretold, Isa. 7. 8. (within 65 Y. of its coming to pass,) That the Lord would not quite cast off the House of David, till a Virgin have born a Son, and he to be God in our Nature, v. 14. and this Son to be Born in Bethelem, One that should tread down all the Church's Enemies, and be her Peace, etc. Micah 5. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. yet would be War to the Assyrians in sending Lions among them, (as before,) all which doth show, That this Ancient People (of the Ten Tribes) are not altogether Abandoned and Abolished, but God reserves this Honour for them, to Vouchsafe them a Call to the Participation of Christ, (but more of that in New-Testament-times.) Ezek. 37. 16, 19 Jer. 3. 12, 13. etc. Isa. 11. 12, 13. Obad. 20. Rom. 11. 15, 26.   

The Seventeenth Plot against the CHURCH, in Judah: Defeated by GOD.  
CHAP. XVII.  
WHen the Devil saw how successful he had been in Debauching and Destroying the Ten Tribes of Israel, He falls upon his 17th. Plot against the Kingdom of Judah, which yet Ruled with God, and was Faithful with the Saints, Hos. 11. 12. God was sincerely served amongst them, and they Held fast their first integrity, the True Religion was Publicly Professed, and the True Worship of God was Purely Preserved in the Temple at Jerusalem: This made Abijah (the next to Rehoboam, though none of the best) to boast so boldly, and therefore prevailed, 2 Chro. 13. 10, 17. Israel's Apostasy was not only Aggravated, but also Vanquished by Judah's Integrity: yea, and Judah was Kind, Courteous and Communicative to those good Souls that left the Ten Tribes and came thither to Enjoy the Pure and Public Worship of God.  
This the Envious One espying and Envying, Endeavours to Corrupt Jerusalem as he had done Samaria, that so Aholah and Aholibah might be both Alike, nay, the latter to be worse than the former, (as afterwards,) Ezek. 16. 2, 45, 48. and 23. 4, 11. Yea, that Prince of the Air (the Devil) never gave over his stormy Blasts (with his stinking Breath) until he had Blown out that Lamp which God had promised to give David in Jerusalem, 1 Kin. 15. 4. at the last, which did fall out about the 3420 Y. of the World, in the 11th. Y. of Zedekiah, when Ezekiels 390 Y. (mentioned Ezek. 4. 5.) were exactly accomplished,) in that fatal Fall of Jerusalem, for which Jeremy Writ his Book of Lamentations to Condole the sad Condition of the Church, because the Crown was fallen from her Head, Lam. 5. 15, 16. and her Light, or Lamp, was Extinct by the Devil's Extinguisher; then was she brought into darkness, and not into light, Lam. 3. 2. and removed into dark places, as they that be dead, v. 6. so put into the Dark Graves of Babylon, until the Time of their Opening came, Ezek. 37. 12. etc.  
Now to Reduce the Church to this fallen and Extinct Estate: The Devil Designs against her many Maladies, and 'tis remarkable, God sent her as many Remedies, in Raising up a good King for a bad, a good King for a bad, almost, all-along, (whereas those of Israel were all bad Universally) until they had sinned themselves beyond the Reach of all Remedies, Prov. 22. 1. 2 Chro. 36. 16. Oh Dreadful and Direful Divine Sentence!  
Satan's (first) Blast against the Lamp of the Church in this 17th. Plot, was, in Rehoboam, who at 41 Y. old was Childish and Simple, 2 Chro. 12. 13. with 13. 7. but of an Haughty and Hard-oppressing Spirit, so proved himself a very Fool, Eccles. 2. 19 though he were the Son of so Wise a Father, a very fit Tool for the Devil; and though for 3 Y. he did Well, 2 Chron. 11. 17. yet after he did Evil, and Judah with him, which brought up Shishak K. of Egypt, to Plunder Jerusalem, 1 Kin. 14. 22, 23, 24. Upon this; the Devil got the Golden Shields of Solomon changed into Brazen ones, v. 27. as he had made the faithful City now to become an Harlot: No Wonder therefore, that her Silver was become Dross, and her Gold turned into Brass, Isa. 1. 21, 22. Shishak (prompted to this Enterprise by Jeroboam who had lived in the Court of Egypt, and (as some say) Married a Wife of the Blood-Royal) easily prevaileth through the Pusillanimity and Effeminacy of Rehoboam, but especially because Judah had Transgressed against the Lord, 2 Chron. 12. 2. His Prevalency could not have happened without the Church's Prevarication: Notwithstanding at the Preaching of the Prophet Shemaiah, (which was a great Divine favour) both Princes and People Humbled themselves, v. 5, 6. (which was a greater Divine favour,) but the greatest of all was, that God did not then pour out his whole Wrath, but granted them some Deliverance, v. 7, 8. So that things went well in Judah, v. 12.  
The Devil's 2d. Blast against David's promised Lamp, was in the Reign of Rehoboams Son, called Abijah, 2 Chron. 12. 16. so his Father named him, (signifying, [The Lord is my Father,] with Respect to that Promise made to David, 2 Sam. 7. 14. but because he Walked not in the ways of David, therefore is Abijah called Abijam, 1 Kin. 15. 1. which signifies, [My Father is a Sea,] Indeed his Father was as Inconstant in good as the Fluctuating Sea, because he Prepared not his Heart to seek the Lord, 2 Chro. 12. 24. he had only some slashy and fleeting Resolutions (in his aforesaid Humbling,) but he did not draw them out into Execution, because they Sprang not from his Heart, (that right Spring of all True goodness:) so they were soon off again, and he wavering like a wave of the Sea, Jam. 1.6. was driven by the Wind of Temptation to do Evil, and so Dies, leaving a Diminished and Impoverished Kingdom to his Son Abijah or Abijam, who did Evil like his Father. Though the Book of Chronicles layeth no Wickedness to his Charge, (so joins Jah [the Name of God] to his name Abijah, yet the Book of Kings Chargeth him with the Wickedness of his Father's ways, and therefore calls him Abijam, as above, 1 Kin. 15. 3. Though at first, when he went out to War against Jeroboams vast Army, he seemed to be good, pretending to, and pleading hard for Religion, 2 Chron. 13. 5, 10, 12. and praying to God in his Distress, v. 14. and believing in God, v. 18. but being puffed up with this great Victory, he falls away, and showed himself in his Colours, treading in the same Dirty steps of his Idolatrous Father, who, when he Recovered Bethel from Jeroboam, 2 Chron. 13. 19 did not Destroy the Calf and Idolatry there, for which cause ('tis probable) God shortened both his Reign and his Life; Oh what a sad Aspect had the Church in that Day, when not only Israel Worshipped Jeroboams Calves, but also Judah Built them high places, and Images, and Groves on every High Hill, and under every Green-Tree, 1 Kin. 14. 22, 23. Yea, and Tolerated Sodomy in the Land, v. 24. This sad Face of the Church (and that continuing two Kings Reigns) must needs sadden the Hearts of those Faithful Ones, who (among the 12 Tribes) were God's Remnant, and Instantly served him Day and Night, Act. 26. 7. There was no Visible Church in the whole World, but in this little part of it, And how was the Church here most Deplorably Depraved? God sometimes suffers his Church (as he doth the Moon) to Wane out of sight and to be Eclipsed; yet such Gloomy times shall not last always, God causeth Light to Spring up by Asa (the 3d. King after the Revolt,) who Revives the Church, and Refreshes the Children of God by a Right Reformation of Religion, 1 Kin. 15. 11. both in the Privative and in the Positive part. 1. The Privative. He, finding Sodom in Jerusalem, Roots out the Sodomites, v. 12. Demolishes the Idols, those Dirty Dunghill Deities, (called [Deos stercoreos] because of the Stench wherewith they offend Almighty God; yea, removes Maachah from being Queen-Regent for setting up a most filthy Idol in honour of Venus, supposed the Picture of Pan or Priapus, v. 13. (2ly.) The Positive part; He doth not only put down Idolatry, etc. but he sets up and Restores the Splendour of Temple-Worship: 'Twas his Grandfather Rehoboam that turned Solomon's Gold into Brass; now Asa turns Rehoboams Brass into Gold, 1 Kin. 15. 15. 'Tis said of Augustus Caesar, [Romam Invenit lateritiam, Reliquit Marmoream,] He sound Rome all of Brick, he left it all of Marble: So it may be said, as Rehoboam had turned Jerusalem's Marble into Brick, so Asa turns it back from Brick to Marble as Solomon had left it. 'Tis a Wonder, that both Sodomy and the Worst sort of Idolatry (to wit, Priapism) should be found amongst Mankind, (being so contrary to the Light of Nature, Rom. 1. 19, to 28.) but much more amongst the only professors of Religion that were then upon Earth. Here the Devil's Design had notable Success; yet behold as great a Wonder in the Church's Remedy, (as was in her Malady) the Lord raises up a good Son (Asa) from the Seed of an evil Father (Abijam;) and from the Soil of an Idolatrous Mother (Maachah;) and makes him to be such an Impartial Reformer, as he would not grant a Dispensation to his own Mother or Grandmother, 1 Kin. 15. 13. and 2 Chron. 15. 16. He finds her Unreclaimable from her Idols in herself, and very Influential upon the People; Hereupon, the Law of God (in Command: 1. 2.) Preponderates the Law of Nature, (Command. 5th.) Down goes her Idols from their Station, and herself from her Regency, because his Heart was perfect with the Lord, 1 Kin. 15. 14. And as a Reward of his Covenant-Reformation, God gave him a glorious Victory over the greatest Army that ever we read of in any History, to wit, a Thousand Thousand Aethiopians, who (likely) were called in by the Ten Tribes (at the Devil's Instigation) in Revenge of their Five Hundred Thousand which Abijam had overthrown, 2 Chron. 14. 9, to 12. God at good Asa's Prayer Smote his Enemies, and (as the Word signifies) Tumbled them down Headlong : Asa Reigned long to do great and good things for the Church. Therefore the Devil (who did owe him an ill turn, and had been hitherto under a Divine Restriction, which to him is a grievous Vexation) at last gets leave to Touch him with his Churlish Touches, (as Job 1. 11, 12.) to wit, in causing him (1) to Connive at the Will-Worship in the High-places, mis-devoted for the Worship of God, (who had Confined it to the Temple;) though he Demolished those set up in honour of Idols, 1 Kin. 15. 13, 14. this God graciously overlooks, beholding Truth in his Heart: God tenderly covers Asa's Frailty with the Mantle of Sincerity, which he would not do for Unfound Jehu, though Excellent things were done by him, 2 Kin. 10.31. and inasmuch as the Indulgency of Asa's God did draw a Cross-line over all Asa's Weaknesses; Satan lost his Design in Tempting him to this Sin, and to the following also. (2) To a Reliance on the King of Syria more than upon the Lord, 2 Chron. 16. 7, 8, 9 Confidence on Man (an Arm of Flesh) draws off his Confidence on God, (who gave him Victory over the Million of Aethiopians) Isa. 31. 1, 2. He trusteth. not God at all, who trusteth not God above and over all: Asa Hires Benhadad with Sacrilegious Treasure, unfaithfully to break his League with Baasha, and brings a Wicked Enemy into God's Inheritance: (3) To that which was worse, even to the Imprisoning of Hanani the Prophet, for reproving him for his sin, v. 10. Asa, instead of coming to Repentance and calling for Mercy, in a great rage against his Faithful reproover, commands Revenge. (4) To be as Harsh to the People as he was to the Prophet, Tyrannically trampling upon those that protested against his Tyranny to the Lords Prophet; for this, God did not only send upon his Kingdom continual War, v. 11. but upon himself the sharp Dolorous Gout, v. 12. whereby God clapped him up a closer Prisoner by the Heels in his Bed, and with more Torturing Fetters, than he had done God's Prophet in Prison: Then (5) to seek to the Physicians for Cure of his Gout, and not to God, v. 12. Thus falls he into his former sin of Creature-Confidence; He that in his outward straits sought to Benhadad, and not to God, now in his Inward Sore seeks not to God, but to Physicians, not depending upon the Lord for his Blessing upon Men and Means. No Wonder therefore that his Disease struck upward to his Head and Heart, and that his Hot Feet carried him to his Cold Grave, v. 13. Notwithstanding all those Failings the Devil lost his Design, for 'tis more than probable, that Asa repent before he Died; Seeing (1) God gave him this commendable Character, That his Heart was Perfect with the Lord all his Days, 1 Kin. 15. 14. 2 Chron. 15. 17. and 20. 32. and (2) his People gave him a most Honourable Funeral, 2 Chron. 16. 14. which was Denied to Wicked Jehoram, Ch. 21. 19 and which they would not have done (in that costly Solemnity) for Asa, had he not Repent and Reform, to be thus Honoured at his Burial; Yea, and God blest him with a long Reign (of 41 Y. v. 13.) wherein he saw many Successions and Changes upon the Throne of the Ten Tribes, who were all speedily rooted out by their Idolatry, whereas good Asa was long Established upon his Throne by his True Piety, in Despite of the Devil; leaving his godly Son Jehosophat (the 4th. King) to succeed him, who proved one of the best of the Princes of Judah, whom God Stirred up for a Farther Reformation of Religion, and for a fuller Preservation of his Church, etc. 2 Chro. 17, etc. The Father was good, but the Son was better, inasmuch as he Repent, when he was reproved, (which his Father did not, but Raged,) Ch. 19 2, 4. where the Son (Jehu) succeeded better than his Father (Hanani,) Ch. 16. 7. Now for this his great Goodness the Devil envied him, finding him more forward and forth-putting in religion and reformation than his Father. Hereupon Satan sets upon his over - good Nature, and over-facile Disposition, seduces him into an Assinity with Wicked Ahah, 1 Kin. 22. 44. to a Match 'twixt Jehoram his Son, and Athaliah Ahab's wicked Daughter, 2 Kin. 8. 18. and to a Courtly Compliance in Ahabs' Warring against Syria, which had like to have cost him his life, 1 Kin. 22. 2, 4; 31. Here the Devil had Entangled good Jehosaphat into most desperate Danger; but God Disappoints the Devil's Design: Jehosaphat Cried out, that is, to the Lord, 1 Kin. 22. 32. and the Lord Helped him, 2 Chron. 18. 31. So he returned to his House in Peace, Ch. 19 1. which his Ally Ahab did not, as Micaiah foretell him, 1 Kin. 22. 28. finding it True (but too late) that a whole Council (of false Prophets especially) may Err, in telling him the contrary: Jehosaphat now is a Brand plucked out of the Fire, so dare not do as he had done, 2 Chron. 19 4. and 1 Kin. 22. 49. he now stays at Jerusalem, making no more any courtly go on Progress to Samaria, 2 Chron. 19 4. This good Man made Peace with bad Ahab the Father, 2 Chron. 19 3. and with bad Ahaziah the Son, Ch. 20. 35. but better he had not done so, for God was deeply Displeased with it, therefore was Wrath upon him, 2 Chron. 10. 2. A Man had better be at Variance with all the World, than with God and his own Conscience: He that parts with his inward peace to purchase the outward, pays too dear a rate for it, one may buy Gold too dear, as Jehosaphat did for his Desired and Designed Gold. While his Conversation was Godly, God blest him with a most Signal Victory over Moah, Ammon, and Mount-Seir, 2 Chro. 19 20. then God was highly pleased with him; but when his Confederacy was once wicked, than God was highly Displeased with him, and broke his Ships even in the very Harbour (before setting out) with a Tempest, 2 Chron. 20. 36. as the Lords Prophet foretold him, v. 37. and upon this forewarning, though Ahaziah did solicit him to a 2d Attempt, as looking upon the miscarriage of the 1st to be only a Casualty, (not Eyeing the Hand of God against it,) yet Jehosaphat would not, for upon the Prophet's Reproof he Repent and Refused, 1 Kin. 22. 49. he dare not Venture upon a 2d. Expedition, when God had Blasted the first; and though Wicked Ahaziah would not behold the Hand of God in his Judgements, yet good Jehosophat heard the Voice of the Rod, Mic. 6. 9 and knew that this Breaking Blast came from God, (who holdeth the Winds in his Fists, Prov. 30. 4.) and that it came from God's Faithfulness, Psal. 119.75. who will not prosper the evil Erterprises of his own Children: Thus the Devil lost his Design against Jehosaphat, (as Jehosaphat lost his about Gold;) and though he Contrived New Plots against the Church by the following Kings of Judah, (finding them fit Instruments for him than their forefather's,) yet did the Lord Laugh them to Nothing in those better Kings whom God Raised up to destroy the Devils Designs: 'Tis true, Jehoram, (the 5th. King) of a pious Father was an impious Son, than whom a worse could hardly be found, who (being an Idolater, like all such) laid the Foundation of his Kingdom in the Blood of his Brethren, because (as Rabbins say) they Walked in the good ways of Jehosaphat, and would not yield to his Idolatries: Athaliah, his Wife (who was now the Jezabel of Jerusalem) stirred him up to all Villainy, 2 Chron. 21. 4, 5, 6, 13. yet all this moved not God to gratify the Devil in casting off his people; Oh the yerning of Divine Bowels in that, [Howbeit the Lord would not do it, but preserved a Lamp or Light for the Church, v. 7. out of which there came at length that Sun of Righteousness the Lord Jesus, that light of the World; and the Devil in Jehoram shall not carry it without a Control from Heaven, both (1) by that Letter brought to him from one that was then in Heaven, v. 12. to Convince him of, and to Confound him for his Abominable Impiety, which Writing (some say) an Angel handed to him out of Paradise to his greater Confusion, not unlike the hand-writing upon the Wall in Belshazzar's Palace, Dan. 5. and (2) by the stroke wherewith the Lord (from Heaven) smote him in his Bowels, v. 18. which incurable Disease and torturing Malady lasted Two full Years, v. 19 a long time to lie under intolerable Torment, and yet all this was but a typical Hell, and a foretaste of Eternal Misery prepared for him, who was all that while an incorrigible Wretch, he lived wickedly, and died wishedly: There was no Healing for his Body, and as little for his Soul: he died under the Displeasure both of God and Men, for he Departed without being Desired, v. 20. his Subjects had no Bowels for him, who had no Bowels for them, (much less for his own Brethren whom he flew) and who died loath somely of a Disease in his Bowels; therefore they afford him neither Subjects Tears, nor a Royal Tomb: Be Wise now therefore, Oh ye Kings, etc. Psal. 2. 11, 12. Fugite ergò Reges, ejusmodi exitum, fugien●o hujusmodi flagitium, saith Ambrose; Overthrow not yourselves and your Houses by lifting up your Horns on high against God.  
Neither did Ahaziah, Azariah, Jehoahaz, (that Man of Three names) the 6th. King of Judah, far better, because he proved so bad, though by a marvellous Providence he was preserved (as a Lamp promised to David) from the Rigid Murders of the Ragged Arabians, 2 Chron. 21. 17. with Ch. 22. 1, 6. he was made King by the chief City of the Kingdom, the Inhabitants of Jerusalem, while Jehoram lay miserably under the Gripes, and not minding the matters of Succession. Notwithstanding the Kindness both of God, in his Preservation, and of Men in his Preferment; he also walked in Wicked ways, wicked Athaliah (his Mother,) and other wicked ones being his Counsellors to do wickedly to his own Destruction, 2 Chron. 22. 3, 4, 5. He confederates with his wicked Cousin Jehoram of Israel, in the War against the Syrians, wherein his Cousin being wounded, went to be Cured of his wounds. This cursed Sprig of Athaliah goes to Compliment him, and to Condole with him, which cost him his life by the hands of furious Jehu, whom God raised up to Ruin and Root out Ahabs cursed Family, 2 Kin. 9 14, 15, 16, 27. and 2 Chron. 22. 7, 8, 9 Thus as he had joined with Jehoram in Sin, he was joined with him in Slaughter, and that by the Appointment of God, even at a time of great Joy and Jollity for the recovery of Ramoth-Gilcad. Wicked Men are taken in an evil Net at the worst, and when they never dream of Destruction; S●c Deus, quos Destruit, Dementat; So God Infatuates them before their fatal Foil and Fall come upon them: and 'tis Remarkable, no place must serve wherein Ahaziah shall be slain, but Gur, by Iblaim, where ('tis supposed) his Father Jehoram had slain his Brethren, (as Ahab had done Naboth at Jezreel,) thither did he sly, and there Divine Vengeance (which pursued) overtakes him; yet receiveth he Courtesy from Jehosaphats Dust, Holiness hath its Honour even in Unholy Hearts; he for his good Grandfather's fake had a Royal Sepulchre and Funeral: Upon which, his Wicked Mother Athaliah (in the 7th. place) Usurps the Kingdom, by whom the Devils first Design was to Root out that Race whereof Christ was to be Born, 2 Chron. 22. 10. but the Great God did Counterwork him, who had his Compassionate and Pious Princess Jehosheba, (the godly Priest's Wife, ☞ even in this bad Age, such were insomuch and so good estimation, as Kings Married their Daughters to them, 2 Kin. 11. 2.) As the Devil had his Jezabels and Athaliahs to cut off all Competitors that stood in their way: That Old promise, Gen. 49. 10. The Sceptre shall not departed foom Judah, &c.▪ and the late promise of Preserving David a Lamp, etc. 1 Kin. 11. 36. Spoiled all Satan's Engines and Endeavours, by Virtue hereof Jehosheba Sacredly as well as Secretly, stole young Joash out of the Royal Nursery, nourished him up in the Temple Six Years, so long lay he hide not only in the House, but also in the Hand of the Lord from Athaliahs' bloody Hands: All this time that wicked Woman (being Devoted to Destruction as one of Ahabs' Family) not only escapes Jehu's Hand, but was spared Seven Y. long to Revel in more mischief for the punishment of the people's sin; but by the pious and prudent Contrivance of good Jehohiada) in Subordination to Gods ' providence) she was brought to condign Punishment, and the right Heir Joash (at Seven Y. old) Enthroned to be the 8th. King. ☞ Behold how low David's promised Lamp was Reduced, even to one Suckling Child, yet the promise is made good in Despite of the Devil and this Devilsh Woman, who sought his life also, as Herod did the Holy Child Jesus': ☞ so foolish it is to Fight against God and his Promise.  
This 8th. King Joash, Jehoiada had no sooner brought to the Crown, but he brought his people into the Covenant, 2 Kin. 11. 12, 17. Joash repairs the Temple, (his Sauctuary for Six Y. as well as Gods,) and Rules well under the Tutorage of his good Uncle, and reforms all that were deformed: no sooner was Jehoiada Dead, but his cringing Courtiers Debauch him, 2 Chron. 24. 17. he forgets God, forsakes his Temple, and falls into open Idolatry, v. 18. yea, and out of monstrous Ingratitude falls foul upon Zechariah the Son of Jehoiada (to whom he did owe both his life and his Kingdom) and stones him to Death, for no other fault but for his Dealing faithfully with him, v. 20, 21, 22. In his Reign Observe, God was at the beginning, the Devil in the middle, and God again at the end: thus the Devil is hedged in both before and behind by the Almighty God, so that he cannot carry it as he would; for though he played his pranks after Jehoiadas Death in the latter end of Joash Reign, yet God will bring up the Rear, looks upon him, and requites him according to Dying Zachary's Prayer, for 1. the Syrians are the Executioners of God's Vengeance, and Destroyed all his flattering Sycophants that had Seduced him, v. 17, 23, 24. though the Syrian Army was but a small Company, 2. God plagued him with fore Diseases contracted (possibly) by the wounds he had received: 3. God gave him up to be Treacherously slain by his Servants, because he had Conspired the Death of his faithful Servant Zechariah, v. 25. Thus though the Beginning should be Satan's, (as in Iob's Case) yet the End will be the Lords, jam. 5. 11. Neither did it fall out better with his Son Amaziah, (the 9th. King,) who, though in his beginning, did works, that were materially good, yet proved not so formally and eventually; no sooner departed he from God, but his Subjects hearts departed from him, 2 Chron. 25. 14, 16. God gave him up to Worship those very Idols of Edom, which could not deliver them out of his hands, v. 15. as a just Punishment of his Pride and Hypocrisy, and proving Unreclaimable at the reproof of God's Prophet, he was told by him, [I know that God hath Determined to Destroy thee,] v. 16. ☞ An Uncounsellable person hath God's Brand for Destruction put upon Him: No sooner had he abused his Victory (God gave him over Edom) to gross Idolatry with their Idols, but God raised him up a Scourge, even the Cedar of Israel, to Tread down this proud Thistle of judah, v. 18. 22. and to plunder jerusalem: After this he spent his time sordidly, serving false Gods without remorse. Hereupon he falls under the Universal Hatred of his People, (whom he had subjected to so much misery by his fond Challenging of joash,) they Unanimously Conspire against him, v. 27. forces him to slay from jerusalem to Luchish for his safety, they pursue him and slay him. Thus ended the Devil's Instrument (for Corrupting the Church,) who had (indeed) a fair Beginning, but in his latter end did notoriously Apostatise.  
Neither did Vzziah or Azariah his Son, (whom all the People of judah made the 10th. King in his stead, 2 Chron. 26. 1.) make a better End: 'Tis no good Commendation that is given him, [That he did according to all that his Father Amaziah had done, 2 Kin. 15. 3. they both began fairly, but ended foully. This [Desinit in piscem] or bad Ending, mars many a Man's better Beginning; ☞ Oh how many Young seeming Saints become no better than Old Incarnate Devils at the last. Thus Vzziah at the first was wholly taken up in Consulting with God, while Zachariah the Prophet was his Houshold-Chaplain, and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him to Prosper, 2 Chron. 26. 4, 5, 6. God Helped him against all his Enemies, v. 7. God usually deals with Men as they deal with him; those that Honour him, he doth Honour them, 1 Sam. 2. 30. and God strengthened him exceedingly, v. 8, 15. This swelled him up into Arrogancy and Impudence, v. 16. his Victories and magnificence made him proud, then was he become a sit Instrument for the Devil to Debauch God's Worship in the Church: out of Curiosity and Insolency he invades the Priest's Office, (emboldened hereunto, because he had Married jerusha the Daughter of Zadok the Highpriest, 2 Kin. 15. 33.) Therefore the Lord spat in his Face, that he might be ashamed, and others warned: God smote him with Leprosy, 2 Chron. 26. 18, 19 and at that time (saith josephus) was that Terrible Earthquake, Amos 1. 1. Zech. 14. 5. even while his Wrath was hot against the Holy Priests, who withstood him; God's Wrath waxed Hot against him, and takeing their part, (as he did their Office) he makes a Leprosy immediately to rise up in his Forehead, and so by presuming to go into the Temple farther than he should, did lose that liberty which before he had: This Arrogant Act did not only cast him out of the House of God, but also out the Holy City. (for Lepers by the Law were to live by themselves, Levit. 13. 46.) Yea, and at last cast him out of the World, who was then Buried in some By-corner of the King's Buryingplace for they said, He was a Leper, 2 Chro. 26. 20, to 23. leaving his Son jotham to Succeed him as the 11th. King, who did learn to beware from his Father's Harm, He entered not into the Temple (to Usurp the Priest's Office) 2 Chron. 27. 2. though Son of the Priest's Seed, of the Daughter of Zadok, 2 Kin. 15. 33. Then did David's Lamp (God promised him) burn brighter than before, notwithstanding all the Devils blasts against it; for Jotham was a good Prince, and did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, v. 34. both for Matter, Manner, Motive, and End; yet had this very Lamp one filthy Snuff in it to darken its splendour and glory: to wit, The High-Places were not Removed, v. 35. And the People did yet Corruptly. 2 Chro. 27. 2. had Jotham removed those High-places. he had prevented the people's corruption: ☞ Oh how hardly comes off a thorough Reformation: It was with the good Kings, (in respect of those High-places) as it was with Jonathans' Signal Arrows, Two whereof fell short, and but one beyond the Mark, 1 Sam. 20. 36. so where one of them shot home to the Mark of the Divine Institution, as Hezekiah and Josiah did, many fell short, as 1 Kin. 14. 14. and 2 Kin. 12. 3. and 15. 4, 5. and Here, whereas they should have removed not only those for Idol-Worship, (as they did) but also those for God's Worship too, according to God's Institution, Deut. 12. 5, 6, 11. Those High-places unremoved was as the Nest-Egg to make the Hen of Will-Worship and Idolatry to return again, when his Son Ahaz (the 12 King) succeeded, who brought in all the Idolatry of the Kings of Israel, 2 Chron. 28. 2. and went beyond the worst of them all in Wickedness, for 1. he burned his Children in the Fire, v. 3. in Honour of Moloch, which was the Devil, Psa. 106. 37. Some he caused to pass only through the fire to purge them from evil, as the Papists send their Friends to their supposed Fire of Purgatory, which (they conceit) their Masses make them pass thorough to Heaven. 2. He set up the Altar of Damascus in the place of God's Altar, (which he thrust into a by-corner out of the way) by the help of Vrijah (that Temporising Parasitical Priest, a fit Helve for such an Hatchet,) and Ahaz approached his New Altar, and burned his Offering upon it, etc. Vrijah suffering him so to do, whereas Azariah (a far better Priest) would not permit his Grandfather Vzziah (a far better King) to do so, 2 Chron. 26. 18. 2 Kin. 16. 10, to 16. 3. He did wickedly as he could, with both Hands earnestly, Mic. 7. 3. as if afraid to be outdone by others, and as if he had been delivered to Work all Abomination, Jer. 7. 10. He took long strides toward Hell, which did gape for him, and was but a little before him; Vzziah (his Grandfather) was smitten with bodily Leprosy for the like Sin (of Invading the Priest's Office,) but Ahaz was smitten with a worse Judgement, to wit, with such an hardness of Heart, that he became so stubborn and stiffnecked even in the time of his distress, as he would rather Break than bend, 2 Chron. 28.22. Adding Rebellion to his Sin, Job. 34.37. and Jer. 48. 4. Hereupon the Lord set a black Brand upon him, as upon Cain, Gen. 4. 15. upon Dathan, Numb. 26. 9 and here upon him, [This is that King Ahaz,] and all for his Stubborness: this is that stigmatised Beast, and stinking Belialist with his Mark of Ignominy, 2 Chron. 28. v. 22, to 25. provoking the Lord to Anger, etc. and (as he provoked the Lord, so) his own Subjects to Anger; insomuch as they vouchsafed not his Dead Body a Royal Sepulchre, v. 27. Notwithstanding all this, The Devil cannot Run down the Church in judah by such a Dangerous Instrument still; for God raises up Hezekiah (the 13th. King) to Undo all that his Father (Ahaz) had done, by the Help of his godly Mother [Abiah,] whose Piety could not prevail upon her Husband's Pertinacy, yet had her good Instructions a most Blessed Influence upon her Tender Son, 2 Kin. 18. 2. and 2 Chro. 29. 1, 2. Here the Rule [Partus sequitur ventrem, The Birth follows the Belly,] holds good: as Ahaz had stood like a Pricking Thistle betwixt Two Fragrant Roses, his good Father Jotham, and his godly Son Hezekiah) so Hezekiah stands up like a Fresh Spring after a sharp Winter, and (by the good Hand of God upon him) brought the Ship of the Church in judah, from a Troublesome, stormy and Tempestuous Sea, into a Safe and Quiet Harbour; according to the signification of his Name, [Hezekiah.] The Lord was his strength, insomuch that he obtained sundry Famous remarks (better than the Brand by a black Coal on Ahaz) upon him: as (1.) his neglecting no time in his Generation-Work, but falls upon Reforming Religion in the first place, in the first Year, in the First Month, in the first Day of the Month, and on the First Day of his Reign, even immediately upon his Corronation-Day, 2 Chron. 29. 3, 4, 5, 17. This he doth effect by Convocating an Assembly, or Synod, or Council of godly Priests and Levites, (whom his Idolatrous Father had forced from their Temple-Service) to which Convocation this pious Prince made a prudent, pithy, and pious Oration, hereby he removes those High-places, (that Nest-Egg of Idolatry) which the best of his Predecessors could never remove, and the brazen Serpent which Moses had made, (not for an object of Worship, but for means of a Cure) he broke in pieces, when Abused to Idolatry, calling it (when so broken) Nehushtan, a little poor paltry piece of Brass, for the shaming of such as had so doted upon it, 2 Kin. 18. 4, 5. His Confidence in God was the Cause of his Courage in so doing, who could not but expect Opposition at such an Ancient Relics Deposition, it being now about 730 Y. old; Fiat justitia, etsi Coelum Ruat; Duty must be done, whatever be its Consequences. (2.) his Rising early the next Morning (after his Godly Speech to his Synod of Divines) to call a Parliament, the Representatives of the Kingdom, with whom (after seeking Reconciliation with God by his Attonement-Offering for the late Apostasy) he Consults 2 Chro. 30. 2. the better to effect his Intended reformation, 2 Chro. 29. 20, 21, etc. and with whose Concurrence he not only Accomplisheth the Removal of the High-places, and of the Brazenserpent (aforesaid,) but also the Cleansing of the Temple and Kingdom of all the Idols, and of all their Trinkets, Trash and Trumpery, he would leave nothing behind that might make Idolaters Hope for a Desired Day of return, 2 Chron. 29. 15, 16, 18, 19 and Ch. 31. 1. ☞ Oh that our Reformers had cast all Romish-Reliques into the Town-Ditch, or Kidron. The (3d.) Famous Remark is his consenting to an Act of Parliament for Keeping a Passeover according to God's Law, and Inviting his Brethren of the Neighbour-Kingdom thereunto, 2 Chron. 30. 1, 5. 6. at which Celebration, this good King (1) Prayed hearty for the People, that God would pardon their Unpreparedness, and (2) he spoke comfortably to the Ministers, to encourage them in their work, ☞ Oh how few such Princes are found in the World? Therefore hath he the Honour of a None-such; None like Hezekiah, before him, (among all the Kings of Judah) nor after him, 1. for his miraculous Healing-Prayer, 2 Chro. 30, 20. and 2. for his Early Essay of reformation, (beginning in the first Y. (and Day) of his reign, but Josiah began in his Eight, 2 Chro. 34. 3. 3. neither is it found that any other K. so Prevailed with God as he did, 2 Kin. 19 15. and 20. 2.) all 3 Considered make him a None-such.  
No wonder if the Devil look upon all this with an Envious Eye, so falls to Work in his plotting against him, and (1) he stirs up Senacherib (whose Father Salmanezer had Captivated the Ten Tribes, 2 Kin. 17. 3.) to come and Beleagure Jerusalem, Ch. 18. 17. Observe the Time when the Devil did this, 'twas, after these things, 2 Chron. 32. 1. to wit, Immediately after Hezekiah had set all things in Order (by the Advice of his Grand Council) both in Church and State, and immediately after the Glorious Celebration of the Passeover; Up comes Senacherib with his Army, and thought to swallow up judah, as his Father had Israel; [He thought to win them for himself,] but did this Design of the Devil take? No, the Lord laughed it to Nothing, for He sent his Angel, v. 21. (at Hezekiahs' Prayer, 2 Kin. 19 15, 35.) in that very Night, when they were preparing for a storm the next morning, who smote (with a Plague) 185000 of them, with their Leaders, Captains, and mighty Men of Valour, 2 Chron. 32. 21. and Railing Rabshakeh among, if not above the rest, for his Abominable Blasphemies against the God of Israel, (for we hear no more of him) Yea, and Senacherib himself hardly escaped, having his Head and Beard (as the Rabbins say) singed by the Fire of God, according to Isa. 33. 11, 12. However his Preservation from the stroke of God's Angel, was but a reservation for the stroke of his own Sons, for he returning with shame of Face to his own land, 2 Chron. 32. 21. as he was Worshipping Nisroch his Tutelar God, (to whom he Ascribed his preservation) his Two  Sons (that came forth out of his own Bowels, and yet neither of them having Bowels for their own Father, nor awe to his Idol) Conspire together, and smote him with the Sword even in the very Act of Worshipping a God that could not preserve him, 2 Kin. 19 37. ☞ As this Fatal End of Senacherib sounds a loud Alarm to all proud and Blasphemous Princes and Persons; so it Discovers their Vassalage and Slavery (far worse than that of the Turks) to a Cursed and Cruel Master, who loves Treasons, but hates Traitors: As it is most sure that Satan stirred up Senacherib to war against the Church of God, so 'tis no less sure that he also stirred up those his Two Sons to Murder their own Father, for he is a Murderer from the beginning, Joh. 8. 44. Such as dare be his Drudges and do his Devilish Work, can expect to have at last no better than such Devilish Wages; Oh who would wear his Cursed Livery? (2ly.) When Satan saw himself Baffled in Senacharib (his Extrinsic Engine) against Hezekiah, he makes an Experiment of an Intrinsic, in Tempting him to Pride and self Admiration: This he successfully effects in the Matter of the Ambassadors of Babylon, wherein God left him to himself to let him see what was in his Heart, 2 Chron. 32. 25, 31. the Occasion and Opportunity of the Temptation was this, Hezekiah had been mortally sick of the Plague, (that had seized upon his Vitals,) and he had (likely) the Tokens also, so that in humane apprehension a [Miserere mei] was Writ upon him, he was as a Dead Man; yet at his Prayers and Tears God gives him a new Lease of his Life, (even a Lease of Two Lives) Two Seven Years, and one more, to wit, Fifteen Years; so that 1st. his Recovery [in Three Days] was miraculous by a Cataplasm or Plaster of Figs applied to his Carbuncle; 2ly. to him alone (and to none else in Scripture) God makes known the Term and Period of his Life. 3ly. As a Sign of his sudden and supernatural Cure, and of his superadded Term of Life. The Sun in the Firmament must not know the time of his going down, that Hezekiah might know his: 4ly. The Chaldeans Observing how the Sun (their God) had honoured him in its retrograde motion, come 680 miles to Honour him in their Courtship and kind Congratulation: All these Four peculiar Privileges Tickled his Depraved Nature, God (for this once) withdrawing, and Satan improoving, blows up this Bladder of Pride, and makes him Act like a petty-God within himself, without Dependency upon his God; he shows the Ambassadors all his Treasures, 2 Kin. 20, 12. 13. Hereby Gold-thirsty Babylon knew where to have a full Draught, where to have a fit and fat Booty, Oh sublime Folly! yet the Devil is Disappointed of his Design, God forsakes not Hezekiah utterly, Psal. 119. 8. but sends Isaiah to prick this Bladder, let's Pride out of his Heart, (which had been lifted up net as Jehosaphats in the ways of God, 2 Chron. 17. 6. but in self-Admiration and Ambition, which is the Work of the Devil, Ch. 32. 25.) hereat Hezekiah is Humbled, Hearing how his ostentation Contributes to the Babylonish-Captivity, 2 Kin. 20, 16, 19 Satan's Snare is broken, and his Soul is Delivered, Psa. 1●4. 7. For the very last thing we hear of Hezekiah, is of his goodness, 2 Chron. 32. 32. But the Devil played a better Game upon his Son Manasseh (the 14th. King,) whom he wrought and brought up to become a Sinner of the largest size, 1. in his Defying of God, 2. in his Destroying of Men, 3. in his Deifying of Devils; yet lost he his Game at last, though it lasted longest, Manasseh having the longest Reign we read of in the Holy History, even 55 Years, 2 Kin. 21. 1, to 12, 16. 2 Chron. 33. 1, to 10. This Degenerate Plant of a noble Vine, this Manasseh was a Matchless Man in Sin, and quickly made mad Work, turning all upside down; he Deformed all his good Father had Reform, yet (as Romanists do) under the notion of the Old Religion, and therefore by all means must be done: Notwithstanding Affliction tamed this Wild Ass, this Monster of Men, stopped him in his Career, yea, brought him Home to God, v. 11, 12. etc. and he that had outfaced Heaven in his Sin, comes to hid himself among the Thorns, as 1 Sam. 13. 6. in this lurking Hole his Sin finds him out, (and God for his Sin) Numb. 32. 23. because he would not find his own sin out; there he was taken, and put into Fetters, and brought to Babylon; now beholding his Golden Chain of a King Changed into an Iron-Chain of a Captive, he bethinks himself and besought the Lord, v. 12. those Sanctify'd Fetters broke the Devils sinful Fetters; when the Rod spoke, he heard it, Mic. 6. 9 who would not hear the Word, v. 10. though powerfully Preached to him by Isaiah, Micah, Joel, Habbakuk, etc. the Darkness of his Dungeon helps him to the Light of God's Love, though he had cast off his God, yet his God had not cast him off; Satan would have Coached him to Hell in Prosperity, but his God Lashes him to Heaven by Adversity: As he had sinned greatly, so he Humbled greatly, that there might be a proportion 'twixt his Sinning and his Sorrowing, as he is Humbled for Sin, so is he Quickened to Prayer, wherein he comes with Fetters on his Feet to his God, as distressed Benhadad did with a Rope about his Neck to the merciful King of Israel, 1 Kin. 20. 31, 32. no sooner did he find (through Grace) a Praying Heart, but his God finds also a Pitying Heart, v. 13. his God heard both his Prayer for himself, and Solomon's Prayer for him, 1 Kin. 8.46, to 51. Now is this Design of the Devil Disappointed, Manasseh is Returned and Restored to his Realm, and his Reformation (the Blessed Evidence of his True Repentance) was as large as his Deformation had been, and he most Remarkably Reduced his Subjects, (whom he had formally Seduced out of the Right Religion) into it again, v. 15, 16. as Luk. 22. 32. When he had Reformed effectually, he dies Religiously, and leaves Amon (an Irreligious Son) to succeed him (the 15th. King of Judah) at 22 Y. of Age: he was old enough to take warning by his Father's Example, yet would not be Warned, but was rather Hardened in his Wickedness thereby, as thinking to take a long swing in sin (as Mannasseh had done,) and to Repent afterward as his Father did; but God's Thoughts were otherwise, who neither gave him the space nor the Grace of Repentance: This Man (that Trespassed more and more after such loud Praemonitions; 2 Chro. 33. 23.) was a sit Engine for the Devil to restore the Worship of those Images his Father had only laid aside and not Burned, as he should have done, Deut. 7. 5. Instead of which (the Rabbins say) this Amon Burned the Law of God, adding Rebellion to his Sin; He Imitates his Father in his Race and Rage of Sin, but not in his Repentance for Sin. God therefore soon cut him off (as judging it high time after a Year or Two Trial) by the hands of his own Servants, 2 Kin. 21. 19, 23. which was a wicked Act in them, yet a just Judgement from God, as he had Conspired with Satan to Destroy the Church; so God suffers his Servants to Conspire his Destruction. This Spoiled the Devils Plot, and yet it was worse spoiled by Josiah his Son, whom God Raised up (the 16th. King) to be his Salvation, (as his Name, which was given him about 340 Y. before he was Born, 1 Kin. 13. 2. doth signify) and to be as a fresh Spring after a sharp Winter (as Hezekiah after Ahaz) to the Distressed Church: God had much Work for him to do in a little time, therefore God soon removes his Wicked Father out of the way, and sets this godly Son upon the Throne betime, at Eight Y. old God Advances him thither, and there shows him (as on a Stage) to the World, as the Wonder of the World. Josiah zealously lays out his Life until he was 39 Y. old in Reforming Religion, removing all he knew to be Evil, and restoring all he understood to be good, even all he could possibly do to Divert the Desolation of the Kingdom foretold by the Prophets, but then the Decree was even ready to bring forth, Zeph. 2. 2. God turned not away from his. Wrath, 2 Kin. 23. 26, 27. he is Unchangeably resolved on their Utter Ruin, because the People's Reformation was but feigned, Jer. 3. 10. and 4. 3. God is Absolute in Threatening, because Resolute in Punishing: Now the Devil, being notoriously Enraged at Josiahs' Glorious reformation, Tempts him to a Fool-Hardy Rashness in Affronting Pharaoh-Necho without any provocation, and without Consulting the Lord by Jeremiah, Zephaniah, etc. So he rushes upon his own ruin, v. 29. and 2 Chron. 35. 20, 22, 23. No doubt, but the Devil had an Hand in the Death of this peerless Prince, wherein Died also the Felicity of that Kingdom, for whom all Judah and Jerusalem (as they had good cause) made great lamentation, v. 24, 25. yea, and 'tis no less to be doubted, that God had an Holy Hand (as the Devil had a wicked) in Josiah's Death, for now he who stood in the way of God's Judgements, was removed, and now the way lay open for the Divine Decree to bring forth, and all Gods Direful Threaten to rush in upon that sinful Nation: Yea, and God made good Josiah to Die in Peace (according to his Word, 2 Kin. 2●. 20.) though (through the Devil's Temptation) he Died in War; for 1. he Died before that General Deluge of Desolation came on the Land, (as the next Word explains it:) 2. He Died in God's favour, though by the Hand of an Enemy: 3. The Tenderness of his Soul had made War to become Peace to him, his Humiliation had Altered the very Nature of Trouble. 4. He went then to Everlasting peace: The Four last Kings were all Wicked as Jehoahaz (the 17th. King) Josiahs' younger Son, and best beloved of his Subjects, who therefore settled him on the Throne, 2 Kin. 23. 30. but for his ill-Reigning, at Eight months' end Pharaoh-Necho Deposes him, and Disposes of his Crown to his Elder Brother Eliakim, whom he named Jehoiakim, v. 34. who was a great Exacter, and got from his Subjects a greater sum of Curses than of Coin, v. 35. he was the 18 King, a Degenerate Plant from Josiah, who Trembled at the Reading of the Law, Ch. 19 34. but this Son cut it in pieces, Jer. 36. 23. and Burnt it: he flew Vrijah the Prophet, Jer. 26. 23. and would have slain Jeremy and Barach, but that the Lord hide them, Jer. 36. 26. For his Wickedness he was taken Captive by Nabuchadnezzar, against whom he had rebelled, and was slain in the way, where he had the Burial of an Ass, Jer. 22. 18, 19 His Son Coniah, or Jehoiakin (the 19th. King) is Wicked also, Jer. 22. 24, etc. and within Three Months surrenders the City, got Quarter for his Life, and Used kindly after for his yielding, Ch. 24. 11. and 25. 27. Zedekiah (the 20th.) whose Pride against God, 2 Chron. 36. 12. and Perjury to Nabuchadnezzar, prepared him for Destruction, v. 13. And there was then a general Defection both of Priests and People; now God's wrath comes on them without Remedy, v. 14, 16. the Devil is well-pleased (as God was displeased) to see the Temple burned, and Judah carried Captive to Babylon.   

The Eighteenth Plot against the CHURCH, in Babylon: Defeated by GOD.  
CHAP. XVIII.  
NOW when the Devil had got the Church laid waste in Judah, and (as it is expressed in Scripture) Buried in the Graves of Babylon, he made as sure Work as he could to keep them down there; In order thereunto he made them Servants to Nabuchadnezzar and to his Sons, evil Merodach and Belshazzar, as the Prophet Jeremy had foretold, Jer. 27. 6, 7. yet this was not to fulfil the Will of the Devil, but the Word of the Lord, 2 Chron. 36. 20, 21. Until only the Land had Enjoyed her Sabbaths; which had likewise been foretold, Levit. 26. 34, 35. and 23. 32. jer. 25. 9, 12. and 29. 10. Dan. 9 2. The Land was Eased of that Wicked weight which brought upon it Gods heavy Curses, and it had been toiled and tired out with continual Tillage, and so they had got out the very Heart of it to spend it upon their Lusts, (both) in a Neglect and Contempt of God's Holy Sabbaths: ☞ The good Lord divert from us the like Judgements (as an utter extirpation) for the like Sins: Oh how should our notorious Provocations make us Weep over, and Tremble at the Word of the Lord, Ezek. 24. 13, 14. lest Ruin come upon us without Remedy, as upon Israel and judah, whom Ezekiel calls Aholah and Aholibah, Ch. 23. 4. the Lewdness of both which God caused to cease, as a Caution to all Kingdoms, that they may Hear, Fear, and do so no more, v. 49, 49. and Ezek. 16. 51, 58, 59 where the same matter is Expressed more plainly, (as in Ch. 23. 'tis spoken parabolically) yet this Thundering Law God was pleased most graciously to qualify with some serene Sunshine of the Gospel, v. 60. Nevertheless I will remember my Covenant. This spoiled the Devil's plot, who thought the Cup now put into the Church's Hand (in her Captivity) was so Deep and Large, Ezek. 23.32. that it had Eternity to the Bottom; but God's Covenant of Grace stopped her bitter Draught be times, (not by thy Covenant, to wit, of Works, made on Mount Sinai) but by my Covenant, to wit, of Grace, made on Mount Zion, Ezek. 16. 60, to 63. This destroyed the Devils Design of Burying the Church in the Babylonish-Grave of Everlasting oblivion, which was as Impossible as to keep Christ in his Grave from a Glorious Resurrection, Act. 2. 21. Rom. 1. 4. as the literal Body of Christ (our Redeemer,) so the Mystical Body of Christ (the Church) Swallows up Death in Victory, 1 Cor. 15. 54. The Lords Witnesses cannot be kept Under without a Glorious Resurrection, Rev. 11. 10, 11. Oh how gladly would the Devil have (by his Agents) kept Christ fast in the Grave, when he had got him there? Hereupon his Instruments (those Kill-christs') procures a Commission to do that servile Work on the Sabbath-day, in Securing and Sealing up Christ's Sepulchre by Authority: So they went and made the Sepulchre sure, Matth. 27. 66. and now the Devil Dances upon the Grave of Christ, as thinking himself Cocksure of him, but he that sat in Heaven Sees and Smiles, Videt, Ridet, looks and laughs, and Laughs all to Nothing: he sets his King (in despite of the Devil) upon his Holy Hill of Zion, Psal. 2.4, 6. and, as Daniel was brought out of his Sealed Den of Lions, was made greater than ever; So the Church (that Prisoner of Hope) is raised out of the Pit (out of the Graves of Babylon) by the Blood of the Covenant, Zech. 9 11, 12. God's Promise to this People is, that though they lay in Babylon as in a Sepulchre, and, as it were, buried alive there, yea, and now nothing but bare Bones, yea, dry Bones, such as were ready to crumble into Dust; Their Case being so desperate, that they desparingly say, [We are cut off for our parts,] hanging up their Hopes and their Harps together upon the Willows, Psal. 137. 1, 2, 3. yet God owneth them, saying, [Behold Oh my People,] though they little deserved it, Ezek. 37. 3, 11, 12. [The Graves shall be Opened,] together with my Dead Body they shall Arise, Isa. 26. 19 Come my People, your Captivity is but your Chamber, a place of Rest, I will bring you out thence; God sent his Angel to Roul back the Stone, as an Officer sent to let Christ out of Prison without the Keeper's consent, and sat upon it, in despite of all their Arms, which the Guard let fall out of their Hands at the Astonishing presence of the Angel, Matth. 28. 2, 3, 4. There was an Earthquake at Christ's Death, that Opened the Graves, Matth. 27. 52, 53. for the Earth could not bear his Suffering, and there was an Earthquake at Christ's Resurrection, for the Earth could not hinder his Rising, and Christ graciously Comforts his Disponding Church in the Graves of Babylon; Thy Dead Men shall Rise, together with my Dead Body they shall Arise; Awake and Sing thou that dwellest in the Dust, Isa. 26. ●9. Arise, and come away, Cant. 2. 10, 13. and till thy 70 Y. be Accomplished, he saith, Come my People, Hid yourselves in your Chambers of Rest, or Babylonish Retirement, as it were for a little Moment, etc. Thus God lovingly bespoke his people when they were led Captive to Babylon; as if leading them by the Hand to an hiding place of his own providing there, saying, I will make Babylon to you (Oh my People) what the Ark was to Noah, and what Zoar was to Lot, your Captivity shall be your Sanctuary; [Build ye Houses in Babylon and dwell in them, take ye Wives and beget Sons, and sack the peace of the City, Jer. 29. 5, 6, 7. (in a Land like your own Land for Fruitfulness, 2 Kin. 18, 32. As it is with sundry Plants which loses their Stalks (as well as their Flowers) in Winter, yet shelter themselves by their Roots in the Earth, the Ground is not their Grave, but their Sanctuary; a New Spring makes them live again to Bud and Blossom: So it was the Church's Wintertime in the Graves of Babylon, wherein God secured Zion, when an outcast (as it were) under Ground, and trampled under foot, (as Roots of the most beautiful Plants in Winter) yet Behold how the Lord Cherishes the Church's Root there, and then with Thoughts of Peace and Love, to give her an Expected End of her Winter, and to bring a fresh spring upon her, Jer. 29. 11, to 14. and 30. 17. 'Tis very remarkable, that those Jews who were in Babylon (though as Buried there) Fared far better than those that were left and lived in Canaan; for God Spoke in the hearts of their Enemies for the Former, and made their Foes to Favour them; God interceded for them with the Chaldeans, Jer. 15. 11. Verily it shall be well with thy Remnant; Hebr. If it be not well, etc. and If I do not cause, etc. as if the Lord had said, Then never Trust Me more, never look on Me as Lord or Master of My Word more: But the latter that still lived in their own Land, were within a little while Involved in Woeful Misery by Ishmaels' Murdering of Gedaliah, many of them were Massacred, and the rest went down to Egypt, (expressly contrary to God's Command, Deut. 17. 16. and the Prophet's Counsel, Jer. 42. 14.) where they found no such Graves to Rest in, (as their Brethren found in Babylon) but while they sought to run from Death, they run to it, v. 22. and Jer. 43. 9, 11. and 46. 13, 15, 17, 24. Yet so compassionate is God to his Church's-Relick there, that while he is denouncing the Doom, and foretelling the Conquest of Egypt, yea, and of Babylon too afterwards, (for Persecuting the Church, Jer. 50. 1, 9 etc.) The Lord Intermingles his Comminations against Egypt and Babylon with sweet Consolations to Zion, Jer. 46. 27. but Fear not thou, Oh my Servant Jacob, etc. I will make an End of all the Nations whither I have driven thee, but I will not make a full End of thee, but Correct thee in measure: ☞ Oh the Bleeding of Divine Bowels over his Captivated Church, in this consolatory Clause, God could not find in his Heart to make a full End of her, as Hos. 11.8. but keeps their Room empty all the 70 Y. till the return of the Natives, his Church. The Devil undoubtedly gave Judah's land, (as he had given the land of the Ten Tribes) primo occupaturo, to him that could catch and Conquer it first: he was a Blasphemous Usurper in his saying to Christ, [To whomsoever I will, I give it,] Luk. 4. 6. wherein he Robs God of the chiefest Jewel in his Imperial Crown, Dan. 4. 32, 17, 25. Thus the Pope (like the Devil's Heir) takes upon him to be Lord of all (that Incommunicable Attribute of Christ, Act. 10. 36) both Temporals and Spirituals in all Countries and Kingdoms: So Boniface the 8. (that Antichrist) styled himself to Philip King of France; and so did his Successor to our Henry the 8. whom he Excommunicated from the Church, Deposed him from his Crown, and Disposed of his Kingdom to him that could first Win it, so far as his Roaring Bull (which yet proved but a brute Thunderbolt) might Accomplish; no less had the Devil (his Master, Father, and God) done concerning the Kingdom of Judah. Nevertheless the God of Israel would not suffer any of those Warlike Adversaries (that surrounded Judea) so much as to Desire their Land, Exod. 34. 23, 24. when they left it unmanned thrice in the Year, much less Invade it; and this Providence is yet more marvellous, that while their land was empty of its Inhabitants for 70 Y. together, yet none of those Neighbour-Nations (which always Watched, yet never Catched an Opportunity) do make a Seizure of that tempting Glory of all Lands, Ezek. 20. 6. when the Prophet Jeremiah hath done Denouncing dreadful Woes against Egypt, and all other Adversaries of the Church, (nine in number) he comes to his 10th. even Babylon; and oh how amazing it is to Consider how in his giving out Confounding Corrasives to Proud Babylon. He still scatters most Comfortable Cordials to drooping and distressed Zion, as Ch. 50. 4, 19, 20. The Iniquity of lacob shall be sought for, and there shall be none, Ch. 51. 5. Judah hath not been forsaken, etc. v. 44, 45. God will make Babel spew up his Church as too Hot a Mouthful, and that cannot be digested, and still, My People, no reason can be rendered, why judah was not consumed as well as the Ten Tribes, and the Ten Nations, but God's neverfailing Compassions, Lam. 3. 22. his mindfulness of the Covenant of giving David a Lamp always, 2 Kin. 8. 19 the Lord said not, that he would blot out the Name of Israel from under Heaven, 2 Kin. 14. 2, 7. Hereupon he sent Prophets all along, 2 Chron. 24. 19 to comfort the good Figs, as to Confound the bad ones, Jer. 24. 25, 8. Finally, when the Devil had got the Church [the good Figs] in Babylon [as the bad Figs] in Egypt, yea, and Fettered them there, until she was become as very dry bones, and in a deep Grave too, with a great Stone upon it, insomuch that she looks upon herself in a forlorn Condition, and that no Created power or Natural means could possibly recover her, saying, Can these dry Bones live? etc. Ezek. 37.3, 11. they say (as it were) Let them Hope that Hope can, There is now no Hope, jer. 2. 25. the less Hope that the Church had, the more Hope the Devil hath to win the Game: but the great and Gracious God comes with a [Liberate] serves a Writ of [Quare Impedit] upon the Devil for Detaining them, this spoils all his Sport, God Commands his Angels to Roul away the great Stone that lay upon the Mouth of his Church's Tomb, Sealed down with the Devils Seal upon it, (as daniel's Den was with that of Darius, Dan. 6. 17.) then Opened he the Graves according to his Promise, Ezek. 37. 12. the same God who vouchsafed to be a Grave-maker for Moses Person, Deut. 34. 6. vouchsafes now to become a Grave-Opener for Moses People; when he had opened their Graves (with a Non-obstante-Writ,) the People were there preserved Alive (as they had been buried Alive,) for God had sent his Angel to shut the Mouth of that all-Devouring Lion, Death, (as he did to the Lions in daniel's Den, Dan. 6. 22.) Hebr. 11. 33. so that the Savage and Hunger-starved Death had not seized upon them, Psal. 55. 15. with a Writ of Habeas Corpus, or taking their Bodies, like as an austere and over-Lordly Landlord attaques his poor Tenants, or as a cruel Creditor doth his failing Debtor; or as that merciless Man in the Gospel, who took his Fellow by the Throat, and said, [Pay that thou owest me,] Matth. 18. 28, 33. neither had the Devil (that Roaring Lion, [seeking whom he may Devour,] 1 Pet. 5. 8.) served the other Writ of [Habeas Animam] or attaching their Souls, to carry them away into his Dungeon of Darkness: Oh what a miracle of Mercy was here manifested, that neither the Cold Grave could contain their Bodies, nor Hot Hell catch their Souls: Death had not fed upon them, neither was their Beauty consumed in the Grave, as Psal. 49. 14. but those Upright ones had dominion over Death and Devil in the Morning, (after the long Night of their 70 Y. Captivity was ended) in a dawning Day: But suppose they had been of that Moiety of Mankind that lie dead in the Grave, as Psal. 88 5. and that Death had not only seized, but also fed upon them, and had Gnawed them to the very bones, leaving nothing but bare bones; yea, suppose those bones had been dried, yea, so very much dried, ex Vetustate, & Carry, both so old and so rotten, as ready to moulder into Dust at the least Touch: yet the great God, who comes to stand over these Opened Graves, (as Christ did over Lazarus', Joh. 11. 38, 41.) and who by his Almighty Power can quicken the Dead, and call things that are not as if they were, Rom. 5. 17. Joh. 5. 28. Isa. 26. 19 Hos. 13. 14. he cryeth (with some Groan over the Grave,) Lazarus, Judah, Oh my People, Oh my Church, come forth, Joh. 11. 43. Ezek. 37. 12. Yea, he Roareth mightily from on high, jer. 25. 30. like the lusty Lion finding his Whelps dead in his Den at their birth, he falls a Roaring so fiercely, that (as Pliny Reports) they presently revive and rise up. So the Lion of the Tribe of judah Roareth here to the like purpose, and much more at the last Day, 1 Thess. 4. 16. 1 Cor. 15. 52. together with God's Word there goeth out a Power, Luk. 5. 17. (as when he said, Lazarus come forth.) So it is in the first Resurrection, and so it shall be in the last, Joh. 5. 25, 28, 29. If God do but Speak to the dry bones, saying, Ye shall Live, etc. accordingly it is done, as in the Creation of the World, Gen. 1. 3, 6, 9, 14, etc. The Admirable Work of this great World was all made by a bare Word out of the Mouth of the Almighty God, and He who could give a being out of nothing at the first, can more easily restore a Being out of something again, as out of dry Bones here. This great Truth, Ezekiel (God's Interpreter) excellently Evidenceth in his Parabolical and Typical Vision of the dry Bones, most aptly Applied and Accommodated to the Jewish-Church in the Graves of Babylon, which yet was Revived, Ezek. 37. v. 7. (1.) By a Noise, or Rattle, to wit, some Roaring Thunderclap. (2.) By a shaking, as that of the Earthquake at Christ's Resurrection, Matth. 28. 2. the Earth did shake then to let Christ out of his Grave, and now to let the Church out: and when God delivers his Church from mystical Babylon, he will shake Heaven as well as Earth, Hebr. 12. 26, 27. he will shake the old Heaven and the old Earth, to settle the New Heaven, and the New Earth, 2 Pet. 3. 12, 13. God's shaking concludes with Settling; 'tis not to Ruin, but to Refine his Church: Oh what a Noise and what a shaking was made here, by Ordinary Means (as well as by Extraordinary, in the Thunderelap above, and in the Earthquake below;) to wit, (1.) by the Power of Prayer. (2.) by a prevalent Proclamation: (1.) Prayer hath a shaking Power, Act. 4. 31. Yea, and a rattling Noise or Sound with it, Act. 2. 2. (as ezekiel's Vision of the dry bones had both those Two extraordinary and sensible Signs of Gods powerful presence) so the Spirit of God came upon those Praying Ones as a Spirit of Power, 2 ' Tim. 1. 7. and shakes the place of Prayr (with a mighty rushing Wind) and shakes the Persons too at that first planting of the Gospel, as Planters do to young Plants that they may settle the better. Now this Powerful prayer (for the Jewish-Churches Restoration out of Babylon) was Threefold, 1. That of Solomon, 1 Kin. 8. from 46, to 54. this very prayer (though made about 468 Y. before) shakes the Heart of the Persian Prince (Cyrus) so, as to show Compassion to God's poor people in Babylon, and at length gives them leave to Return: thus jacob's Prayr, [God Almighty give you Mercy,] or Hebr. Bowels, Gen. 43. 14. was particularly Answered, when joseph's Bowels yerned over Benjamin, v. 30. 2. That of Daniel, when he Understood by Books how the 70 Y. were expired; then he puts God's Promise in Suit, and speaks nothing in his Prayers but what God had spoke in his Promises, and so was Answered by God in his Providences, Dan. 9 2, 4, 20. This prayer shakes Heaven, brings from thence Gabriel, who tells him, for the 70 Y. Captivity, they shall enjoy their own Country Seven Seventies, or 490 Y. v. 24. 3. That of the People, who Prayed, Fasted, and Wept by the Waters of Babylon, Psal. 137. 1, 2, 3. 1 Kin. 8. 47, 48. Zech. 7. 5. Those Three Actions in those 70 Y. shows the Church was no more Dead in Babylon, than Daniel was in his Den, for they are all Actions of the Living, not of the Dead: They Sow in Tears the precious Seed of Prayr (Winged with Fasting,) so Reaps at last in joy. Their Desolate Country made them Disconsolate Souls, yet their Sighs unutterable brought Joy Unspeakable, Psal. 126. 1, 2, 5, 6. Then comes the (2d. Shake) Cyrus prevalent Proclamation, (the Lord stirring up his Spirit to it) Ezra 1. 1, etc. This turned the Church's Tears into Triumphs, her Sighing into Singing, her Sadness into Gladness. And the Devil (for all his Plots) hath the Contrary to all these, is Sad at his Defeat, and goes learing away. Now when God (in whose Hand are the Hearts of all Kings, Prov. 21.1.) had most Happily stirred up the Spirit of Cyrus to Issue out his most Gracious Proclamation of a Jubilee to the Distressed Church, (wherein he was a Type of Christ, Proclaiming Liberty to the Captives, and the Opening of the Prison to them that are Bound, Isa. 61. 1.) and to give her so fair and full a Patent, this Mighty, Marvellous, and Immediate Work of Divine Mercy (in her so deplorable misery) did so surprise her, that she could hardly believe her own Eyes, but was for a while as those that Dream, Psal. 126. 1. This was the Lords own Doing, and most Marvellous in the Church's Eyes, Psal. 118. 23. especially upon those Respects. (1.) That their Graves should be opened. (2.) That their dry Bones should live again, stand upon their Feet, walk home into their own Country, build a Temple, etc. (3.) That Cyrus, an Heathen King, (who did not know the Lord, Sc. savingly, Isa. 45. 4, 5.) should not only be called by Name, (above 170 Y. before he was Born) to become the Lords Shepherd to Feed his distressed Church, Isa. 44. 28. but also (4.) in the very Entrance into his Monarchy, before his Affairs were fully settled) to Dismiss so great and so United a People (in their Religion and Custom) and so given to Insurrection (as their Character was, Ezra 4. 12, 19) and to Return them into their own Land with all manner of Accommodations both for State and Strength. (5.) 'Twas most marvellous, That this Decree or Proclamation should be Signed, not only, 1. Precisely, at the End of daniel's Prayer, Dan. 9 21, 23. and 10. 12, 14. No sooner was daniel's Prayer out of his Mouth, but it was presently in God's Ear, and no sooner was it there, but Immediately Gabriel comes posting upon the Wing, with an Answer, That (the 70 Y. being Expired) the Decree for their Liberty was now Signed, but also, 2. Exactly at the End of the 70 Y. Captivity, neither more nor less. God will come according to his Promise, Jer. 25. 12. and 29. 10. but daniel's Prayers must lead him; thus he will have it to be: and God will be Punctual in keeping his Word: a Day (with Men) breaks no squares, it doth with God. Hence those Two great Deliverances (out of Egypt and Babylon, and this latter more Marvellous than the former, Jer. 16. 14, 15.) hath Two special Remarks upon them in their Accomplishment at a Punctual and Precise point of Time promised, as 1. That very Night (wherein the Firstborn of Egypt were slain) was the Ending of the foretold Four Hundred Y. Exod. 12. 40, 41. And 2. That very Night (wherein Belshazzar was Slain by Cyrus and Darius) was exactly the Expiration of the foretold 70 Y. Dan. 5. 30. ☞ This is the Churches Cordial and Comfort, though God sometimes fails to come at her time, yet he never fails to come at his own time.   

The Nineteenth Plot against the CHURCH, in Judea: Defeated by GOD.  
CHAP. XIX.  
THe Church of God (through his overruling Hand) having got this Royal Wind under her Wings, flies Swiftly out of Babylon to Canaan, there to rebuild the House of the Lord, (one of the Seven Wonders of the World) and to Repair the City of Jerusalem, that Holy City, Ezra 1. 5. then Risen up Zerubabel, the Chief Prince, and Joshuah, the Chief Priest, with all the Heads of the Families, the Priests and Levites, with all their Children, Men and Maid-Servants, in all 7337, Ezra 2. 65. whose Spirits God had raised up, leading them into the Land of Uprightness, Psal. 143. 10. 1 Chro. 9 3. Ezek. 37. 16, 17, 21, 22. many Israelites joined with the Jews: Those (by the good Hand of God upon them) 1. sets up the Altar, Ezra 3. 3. in the place where the Temple stood, (for, as yet, they had none) v. 6. that by their Prayers and Offerings thereon, they might get God on their side, and run to him Reconciled, what ever evil should befall them from their Evil and Malignant Neighbours.  
Then those Godly and Active Souls (not being content with the Altar of God only, but Desirous (as we should all be) of all God's Ordinances) lay the Foundation of the Temple, v. 10. Then did the Devil Rage, projects (his 19th.) a new Plot against the Church, which indeed is a Complication of Plots, as the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah doth Demonstrate. The 1st. part of the Devils 19th. Plot, was to stir up (1) the Samaritans to obstruct the Superstructure of the Temple upon the Now and Newlaid Foundation, (2) the Governors of the Land, to wit, Tatnai and Shetherboznai, when they began to Build again after the first Obstruction: 1. The Samaritans Satan Awakened and Roused up at the loud Acclamations and Out-cries, (Partim Jubilando, partim Ejulando, some shouting aloud for Joy, and others howling aloud for Sorrow, Ezra 3. 9, 12, 13. Those Adversaries of Judah, Devises Two Designs against the Children of the Captivity, to wit, the Church: Their (1.) Plot or Design was most Craftily to offer their own cost and pains to promote the Building of the Temple, Ezra 4. 1, 8. Here the Devil pretends Devotion to promote his Devilish Design: Those Mongrels in Religion (who put it on and off at pleasure) would have mingled with the Church, and would Compound with them here, when they saw they could not Conquer them, that would break through all Difficulties and Discouragements, and do their Duty, Ezra 3. 3. and this Accommodation they set on with a loud lie, saying, We seek your God, as ye do, which they did not, 2 Kin. 17. 28, 29, 32, 34. for they feared the Lord not Filially, but for his Lions: Thus they Pretend Amity, but indeed, Intent Enmity, and breeding of New Broils by their Intermixed Influence, so as to Hinder the Building: This is the very practice of the Jesuits at this Day, who pretend Conversion, and coming over to the Protestants, yet those Cassandrian Reconcilers intent Subversion by the bitter Contentions they keep alive in the Church to hinder Reformation: but the Lord will Detect and Defeat them as he did those Samaritans, whom his Servants repulsed, telling them, Ye have nothing to do with us, but we ourselves together (or alone) will Build the Temple, for which Doing they had Royal Authority, v. 3. So it was a Godly Combination, no Wicked Conspiracy or Faction: In a Word, They stand off from them, 1 Tim. 6. 5. not accepting of their false Service, for the Jews have no Dealing with the Samaritans, Joh. 4. 9 When this 1st. Design of the Devil (in those Samaritans) was Disappointed, than the 2d. was, their Hiring of Counselors, that others might Hinder the Work; which they (themselves) could not, v. 4, 5. Such Counselors as can Condescend to Bribing for bolstering up a bad Cause, or for Brow-beating a good one, Justifying the Wicked for a Reward, and condemning the Righteous, are the most probable Promoters of the Devils Hellish Plots and Projects: Those Sordid Silver-Lovers, [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉] being Courtiers, had a fair opportunity to frustrate the Purpose of the Church; Inasmuch as Cyrus Warring abroad against the Scythians, etc. made Cambyses, his Son, the Viceroy; and he, being a light, lose and lewd lossel, was easily prevailed with to obstruct the Building: If Cyrus did connive at the Crossing of his own Decree (by his Son) all his Days, than his Fatal Fall by Tomyris (Queen of Scythia, who Conquered him, cut off his Head, casts it into a Vessel full of Blood, saying, Satia te Sanguine quem Sitisti, Cujusque Insatiabilis semper fuisti; Glut thyself now with Blood, whereof thou could never get enough) was a Just Reward from the God of Justice: This Cambyses, (who is called Artaxerexes in the Persian, and Ahasuerus in the Chaldee-Tongue, Names given in common to Kings of Persia, (as Pharaoh to the Kings of Egypt, etc.) signifying, Great Warrior, or Great-Head) those Courtified Counsellors Writes to, and turning Informers, Wrote a Devilish Accusation, Hebr. [Satana] a Satanical Suggestion) Hatched in Hell, and Dictated by the Devil, the Contents of it being False and Scandalous; for than they had not begun either with Building the City or the Walls of it, v. 6, 12, 14. Those Mercenary Pickthanks obtains hereby a Commission to cause the Work of the House of God to cease, v. 24. The Hindering of the Temple-Building was the Principal thing Intended, though the Building of the City and of its Walls was falsely Pretended. This Plot proves so powerful, that though the Prophet Daniel, (and Gabriel, Dan. 10. 13.) Remained there with Cambyses and his Counsellors, to repress their Rage, and to Blast their Projects against the Church; and though he was a great Man still with the Kings of Persia, (as he had been long with the Kings of Babylon, and so, marvellously Useful to the Church's Preservation during her Captivity) though still he was in great Account, (after her Return out of Babylonish-Bondage) yet was he not now Great enough at Court, so as to Defeat the Devilish Designs of Cambyses his Bribed Counselors, who had now put a Stop to the Temple-Building at Jerusalem: This Disaster casts Holy Daniel into his Melancholly-Dumps, Dan. 10. 1, 2, 3. in the 3d. Y. of Cyrus (which was the first of Irreligious Cambyses Reigning as a Viceroy in his Father's absence, as above, Ezra 4.6.) Daniel Understanding the Stop to Temple-Work, falls a Fasting and Praying Three Weeks, because the Prince of the Kingdom of Persia withstood him, v. 13. for so long a time, even Three Weeks, or One and Twenty Days: This [Him] thus withstood, is the Angel Gabriel as well as the Prophet Daniel, and this Prince (that withstood them both) is Wicked Cambyses, or that Evil Angel, the Devil, who had an Hand in the Stop, and set Cambyses on Work to Restrain the Re-edifying of the House of the Lord. Yet may we not Imagine that any Earthly Prince hath any power over an Holy and Heavenly Angel; No, not, though he hath the Devil to Help him, as here Cambyses had: but, inasmuch as Cambyses (this New King of Persia) had Hindered the Temple-Work (by Divine Permission,) he had thereby Hindered Gabriel from bringing Daniel the glad Tidings, which otherwise he had sooner brought him, seeing his Prayers were (both) Herd and Granted from the first of those 21 Days, v. 12. Though this Grant was not made known by Gabriel to Daniel until Daniel had been Tugging hard with God for an Answer all that Three Weeks; at the End whereof Gabriel comes flying swiftly, as Dan. 9 21. Hebr. with weariness of Flight, as if glad of the Good News himself, thinking (as it were) his Wings could not carry him fast enough to Comfort Disconsolate Daniel, as Ahimaaz (who over-ran Cushi) thought his Legs could not carry him over-fast to Comfort Distressed David, 2 Sam. 18. 23. 'Twas Gabriel that brought the good Tidings, but 'twas Daniel that brought him (who brought them) by his Prayers: the Angel saith, Now I am come for thy Word, v. 12, 14. Though I have stayed thus long, further telling him, Cambyses (and the Devil by him) had so strongly withstood his Ministering Office for the Churches Good in the Persian Court, that he stood in need of the Help of Michael, that Angel of the Covenant, or Lord of Angels, One of the Chief Princes, v. 13. One of the Three Persons of the Trinity, or Chief of the Angels, or, Sept. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Cheerful Ones, (who serve the Lord Cheerfully in his Wars.) this Chief One was the Messiah, who is Elegantly Described, v. 6. answerable to that Description of Christ, Revel. 1. 10, 13, to 15. and 19 12. Hence observe that Gabriel stood in need of the Help of Michael or Messiah (which is a better Help than that of Angels) against the Adversaries of the Church, to Repress and Suppress their further Crafty Counsels and Cruel Contrivances against her: This is a standing Cordial to the Distressed Church, That She hath a Champion who will stand by her and for her, though all Wicked Men on Earth, and all the Wretched Devils in Hell stand against her and withstand her. Thus the Angel Gabriel Comforts Dejected Daniel, (who Sadly Sympathised with the Sad Suffering-Church, v. 15.) that none Helped the Angels against the Church's Enemies, but Michael her Prince, v. 21. and Dan. 9 25, 26. He is the King and Head of his Church, and Saviour of his Body, Ephes. 5. 22, 23. see Josh. 5. 14. Ezek. 34. 24. Act. 5. 31. Revel. 1. 5. and 19 16. This is Comfortable, that when the poor Church hath no Humane Helps, yet hath she Angelical. The Angel Gabriel telleth Daniel, I will Return (now I have Delivered my Joyful Embassage to thee) and Fight against the King of Persia, v. 20. Ch. 10. to wit, Cambyses and all his Wicked Counselors, who are set on by the Devil, and who sets on their Instruments, which went up in haste, to cause the Work of the House of God to cease, Ezr. 4. 23, 24. the Devil driving them, and their own Malignant Disposition (like a strong Bias) drawing them thereunto: but (saith Gabriel) I will withstand them (who hath hitherto withstood me) and Confound all their Plots and Proceed against the Church; I will Return and Finish that War which I have lest (to come with Tidings to thee) Unfinished; and though not One (of the Princes or Potentates) join with me to Answer thy Prayers and Favour the Church, yet know, the Archangel, Michael or Christ, concerns himself, and this is enough: Oh how many must we Reckon the Messiah for? as Antigonus said of himself to his timorous Army, that Trembled at the multitude of their Adversaries: This Michael (signifying, who is like thee) is of himself a whole Army of Men, Van and Rear both, Isa. 52. 12. If he be for us, 'tis no matter who's against us, Rom. 8. 31. Hence the Devil's Plot began to be Spoilt; this Mighty Michael stirs up Two Prophets (Haggai and Zechariah) to Stir up the People to Return to their Building, Ezr. 5. 1. Zerubabel and Jeshua (the Prophets of God Helping them) carry on the Temple-building which had been begun before; then the Devil Rages against them, being ever an Adversary to the House of God and to the things thereof; He Stirs up Tatnai and Shetherboznai (with their Complices) to Interrupt them in Building God's House, (though they never opposed them in Building their own Houses) by Ask their Authority, and (just like our Informers) requiring their names, Ezr. 5. 3, 4. but the Eye of their God was upon the Elders (that Eye not only of general Providence, but also that of Special Grace) to Animate them in their Work) so that they could not make them to cease, v. 5. And hereupon those Governors Writ a Letter to Darius Hystaspes, (who Succeeded Cambyses) wherein they give a fair Relation, but with a foul Intention. The Devil and his Instruments had now the Ball upon their Foot, thinking to carry the Game before them (having now got the Governors on their sides) and that none could come near to overtake them; but behold! the Triumph of the Wicked is short, Job 20. 5. The Pillar of Providence pursues them (as with an Hue and Cry) comes up to them at Darius' Court-Rolls, Ezr. 5. 17. and 6. 1. There that Commission of Cyrus for rebuilding the Temple was found, (which they had suggested in their Malicious Letter would not be found, hoping the Jews would be found Liars) the Contents whereof was, That none should come at them to Hinder them, none should meddle with them to make disturbance, if any durst Disturb, let his House be pulled down for a Penalty, and let all Kings and People (that dare Disturb them) be Destroyed, [a Dreadful Curse, and such as God saith Amen to,] Ezr. 6. 6, 7, 11, 12. The finding of thid Decree of Cyrus (with those Contents, etc.) was a marvellous good Providence to the Disturbed Church; the Malice of her Adversaries in Writing that Malicious Letter, proved a great Furtherance to the Finishing of the Temple, as Paul's Persecution at Rome proved not an Hindrance, but a Furtherance of the Gospel, Phil. 1. 12.) For hereupon Cambyses' Wicked Decree (of Hindering Temple-Work) was far Removed, as Micah had foretold, Mic. 7. 11. and those very Governors (the Church's Adversaries) do (upon the Receiving of Cyrus' Decree by Darius) 1. Pay in the King's Tribute to defray the Charges of Building the Temple; and 2. send in all manner of Sacrifices, when finished, v. 12, 13, 8, 9 Thus God still overshoots Satan in his own Bow, causes the very Dogs to lick the Sores of Lazarus, and makes all things to work for good to them that love God, Rom. 8. 28. Josephus and Esdras say, Darius granted all this upon Zerubabels' excellent Discourse, how Women was stronger than Wine, too strong for Kings, yet Truth is strongest of all. Then the Lord Removed the Decree (of Hindering the Building) asar off, Mic. 7. 11. by Darius' Commission, Ezra 5. 3. and 6. 1. So that notwithstanding all the Oppositions from Wicked Men and a Wretched Devil, in the 6th. Y. of Darius, the Temple of God is Finished, and the Dedication of it is Solemnly Observed, Ezra 6. 15, 16. (about 15 Y. after the Foundation had been laid) Yea, and the Passeover also, v. 19, 20, 21, 22. Neither was this all the Lord did for his Church's Weal, Romovendo Prohibentia, in Removing Hindrances out of her way, but also [Applicando Adiutoria] in Contributing Furtherances, not only in making their very Adversaries to become their Auxiliaries, as before, v. 13. (who did lend her Sacrifices of all sorts, and that Speedily, according to Darius' Decree, because they durst do no otherwise) but also in Sending her Ezra in the 7th. of Darius, (called by that common Name of the Persian Kings, Artaxerxes) to strengthen their Hands in the Lords Work, and to make a wonderful Reformation, Ezra 7. 1. etc. and Ch. 8. and Ch. 9 Thus the Vision of Zachary, Zech. 1. 17, 22. (who Prophesied at that time) was Accomplished in the greatest part, for he saw four Horns who sought to scatter Judah, to wit, Rehum and Shimshai, Ezra 4. 17, 23. Tatnai and Shetherboznai, Ch. 5. 6. and he saw four Carpenters to break those Horns, to wit, Zerubabel, (called also Sheshbazzar, signifying, Joy in Tribulation) Joshua, (a Saviour) Ezna, (an Helper) and (to Complete the Number of Four, God sent his Church Nehemiah, (signifying, the Comfort of the Lord) in the 20th. Y. of this Darius, Artaxerxes; with a full Commission from the King to repair the Walls of the Holy City, after that the Altar and Temple had been rebuilt by other Hands. Hereupon began the 2d. part of the Devils 19th. Plot, who stirred up Pestilent opposition against the Church both from Without and from Within. (1.) From Without, by open and professed Enemies, to wit, Sanball at, Tobiah, and Geshum the Arabian, Neh, 2. 10, 19 Sanballat (which signifies a pure Enemy) and Tobiah, (that Advanced Vassal) were so Sly and Subtle, (being the Old Serpent's Disciples) as to Insinuate by Allyances to the Highpriest, Neh. 13. 4, 28. yet were mortal Enemies to the Church, and 1. It grieved them exceedingly, that there was come a Man to seek the Welfare of Israel, Neh. 2. 10. had they been Ingenious, their very Alliance to Israel should have made them Rejoice in Israel's Prosperity; but the Cursed Malice of this Moabite and Ammonite, had swallowed up all the sparks of common Ingenuity. This is the (1st) Appearance of the Devil in them, they looked upon Nehemiah with a lowering look, with an evil Eye, (as Cain did upon Abel) and such was their Spleen and Spite, that they became Sad at it. (2ly.) The Devil (in them) turns their Sadness into Madness, v. 19 they had only been made Sad before, but now are they made Mad with their own Malice, and falls a wagging their Wicked Tongues to Scoff and Deride those Godly Wall-Builders, and to laugh them to Scorn. Herein Geshem (Darius' Lieutenant in Arabia) Confederates with them at the Devil's Instigation, v. 10. and Ch. 6. 2. and Ch. 4. 1, 2. Now when God had Laughed this Laughing-Design of the Devil to Nothing (1) by Nehemiahs' Courage, Neh. 2. ●0. and (●) by the People's Constancy, and their good mind to Work. Ch. 4. 6. when Scoffs and Sarcasms could not deter them from Working; then (3ly) Satan Hurries them into a Secret Conspiracy to Oppose their Building-Work by an Open Hostility, Neh. 4. 8. that by turning their Works into Knocks, they might make them either Creep into Corners or Run away: (4ly) They Strengthen their Cruel Conspiracy by the Devils Crafty Counsel. (1) In Raising false Rumours, Reporting that Nehemiah and the Jews did Intent to Rebel, Ch. 6. 6. Thus they lay no less than the Crime of High-Treason to their Charge, Intending to charge Home those Children of the most High God, as Dan. 6. 13. Ezr. 4. 13. Esth. 3. 8. And they have a most Credible and Creditable Witness to prove it too, to wit, Geshmu (or Geshem, the Arabian, their Fellow-Conspirator) saith it, ☞ Who knows not, that Vulgar Rumour is a loud Liar? Is it true because it is Reported, and that by them that say Report, and we will Report it, Jer. 20. 10. Psal. 31. 13. as if there were no false Desaming Detracting Reports feigned only out of the Addle-Brains of the Reporters themselves, Ch. 6.8. Geshmu here Broaches the Slander, and Sanballat and Tobiah will Blazon it; the former sets it on Foot, and the latter keeps it a Float, Hoping (according to Machiavels Maxim, (Fortiter Galumniare, & aliquid Haerebit) If they slandered stoutly, something would stick: It doth not follow, because 'tis Reported, therefore it must be true, besides Geshmu's Tongue was no slander, for he was known to teach his Tongue the Art of Lying, as Jer. 9 3, 5. and was this Man who was a loud and lewd Liar, Yea, and a Party too in the Conspiracy, fit to be a Witness, but any would serve Sanballats turn, who, for a need, could have Sucked such a Slander as this out of his own Fingers ends: And they belied good Nehemiah, (as after they belied Christ himself, Joh. 19 12.) that he would have made himself King of the Jews, and that he had Hired Prophets to Preach him up King in Jerusalem, v. 7. As if Haggai and Zachariah (the True Prophets of the Lord, and Preaching Up the Kingdom of Christ, Hagg. 2. 7. and Zach. 9 9) had been Hired by him to Preach up the Kingdom of Nehemiah: whereas (indeed) they Mused as they Used; this was their own (2d) Artifice in Hireing false Prophets to Affright the People from the Work of God, to wit, (1) Shemaiah the Prophet, Neh. 6. 10, 12, 13. and (2ly) Noadiah the Prophetess, etc. v. 14. All these had Linguam Venalem, were merely Mercenary: ☞ Thus the Church's Adversaries can be at Cost and Charge to Corrupt God's People, and such Hypocritical persons may easily by Hire be Corrupted: the Suffrages of a great many Bribed Prophets are not so much to be Numbered as Pondered, their concurring Consent in an evil Matter, was not so much Unity as Conspiracy; neither did the Devil Rest here in giving Disturbance from Without, but (2ly) the Church must have Disturbance from within also, by their own People and Brethren, and that (1.) by Mutiny, Neh. 5. 1. and there was a great Cry of the People, as if it had been the outrageous Uproar of a Seditious Faction, which is as Dangerous and as Threatening a Deluge, as the Headstrong Water when once it is out of its Banks: (2.) by Treachery; some of the Nobles Maintain a private Correspondency with their Enemies, (just as it is at this Day) Neh. 6. 17. Tobiah (that Cursed Adversary of the Church) had his Pensioners among the Jews, and such as were his Sworn-Servants to be true to him, and to promote his Designs, because he was Son-in-Law to Shecaniah, Ezra 2. 5. whose Son had Married the Daughter of Meshullam, (a Zealous Builder, Neh. 3.4.) This Mischief mixed Marriages brought upon them, Neh. 6. 18. and 3. 5. The Sooty Souls of those Nobles, (or, Hebr. White Ones) under their White Garments, were too Stiff to Stoop to God's Service, but not to the Devils. Notwithstanding all this, The Lord Laughs all the Devils Design to nothing: Nehemiah under all his Difficulties directs his Prayer to God, Neh. 4. 4, 5. This was his Sanctuary he slyes to, Easing his own Grieved Heart by Breathing Heaven-ward, and turning over all the Church's Adversaries into the Hands of the Captain of his Salvation, (he looking upon himself but as a private Soldier under him) to take them all to Task: ☞ Woe to those Enemies against whom Saints do Pray as he did, [Turn their Reproach upon their own Heads; Give them for a Prey, and Cover not their Iniquity.] If they only be Blessed whose Sin is covered, Psal. 32. 1. Oh what a Curse do they lie under, whose Condition is contrary : Nehemiah makes prayer (all along) his City of Refuge, His Anchor in all Storms His Salve for all Sores, Neh. 4. 9 and this brought all the Counsel of the Devil and his Imps to nought, v. 15. Psal. 33. 10, 11. God Strengthened his Hands in his Work, (as he Weakened the Hands of their Enemies) Neh. 6. 9 So that he Finished the Wall of Jerusalem, (maugre their Malice) v. 15. The Feasts of Tabernacles was kept, Ch. 8. and a Solemn Fast, Ch. 8. and 9 a Solemn Covenant is Entered into, Ch. 10. Offices are Ordered, Ch. 12. The Temple Purged, and Religion Reform, Ch. 13, etc. See more of this further on Nehemiah in the 20th. Plot next Following.   

The Twentieth Plot against the CHURCH, in Persia: Defeated by GOD.  
CHAP. XX.  
THe 3d. and last Plot of the Devils in the Old Testament, was against the Church that Returned not with their Brethren out of Captivity, but continued (1) in Babylon, and (2) in Shushan, where they had Built Houses, and Planted Gardens, &c Jer. 29. 6. and so were unwilling to leave them, and their Estates they had gathered (with God's Blessing, upon their Obedience to God's Prophet) in them. There were (indeed) a Sordid sort, (to wit, the Posterity of Selab) who preferred the Service of the King of Babylon, above the Freedom of the Land of Promise, 1 Chron. 4. 23. They could be content to drudge in making Pots in Babylon, (as their forefather's had made Brick in Egypt) both those Works were but Mortar-Works, Exod. 1. 11. There they stayed with the King (of Babylon) for his Work, 1 Chron, 4. 23. which Scripture shows, ☞ that Ezra Wrote those Two Books of the Chronicles after the Jews Return from their Captivity: but there were others, that might stay there upon more Noble Accounts, as (1) Daniel did and his Three Noble Companions, whose continuance there conduced more 1. for God's Glory; for though those Four eminent Servants of God were not Delivered from their Captivity, yet God got greater Glory to himself in Delivering Daniel from the Den of Lions, and the Three Nobles from the Fiery Furnace. 2. 'Twas also more for the Church's Comfort to have Four such Friends and Favourites in the Court of Babylon, (where her Adversaries were Unweariedly Circumventing her) than any Service they could do her in their own Land. 3. And 'twas likewise more for the World's Advantage, seeing by this very means, those same Heathenish and Idolatrous Kings and their People came to some Knowledge of the True God, as appears by Nebuchadnezzar's, Cyrus', and Darius' Proclamations: 2ly Ezra (himself) and his Company came not (all of them) out of Babylon at the first Return upon Cyrus' Proclamation, Ezra 1. 3. and 2. 2, to 60. and 7. 1. and 8. 35. with Zerubabel: nor 3ly. did Nehemiah come up with Ezra, it being 13 Y. after his Return, Ezra 7. 1. and Neh. 2. 1. and 'tis much he should Return at all, being the King's Cupbearer, a place of great Trust and Credit, yet a Man of Religion is marvellously trusted with it, even by an Heathen King: 'twas a strange Work of God, that Artaxerxes should show Favour to a stranger, a Prisoner, and one of a strange Religion, which he himself knew not, and which his Subjects Hated: And 'tis as strange a Work of God, that Nehemiah a Courtier, should leave his Wealth, Ease, Honour, and Authority (that he was in,) and go so far from Court as many Hundred Miles, to Dwell in a Tattered and Decayed City, among a poor People there to Drudge like a Day-Labourer, and that in daily danger of his Life: Therefore is he most deservedly called and counted the 3d. Founder of that Church and Commonwealth after Joshua and David: though Zerubabel began the Temple, and Ezra Restored the Law, yet Nehemiah comes after and Completes All; so became [The Comfort of the Lord] to his Church, according to the signication of his Name. (4ly) God had his Mordecai, (which signifies Pure Myrrh, or Bitter Contrition,) 1st. in Babylon, and then (2) in Shushan; he was carried Captive to Babylon about Ten Y. Old, in Jeconiahs' Captivity, 2 Chron. 36. 10. Jer. 24. 1. Ezra 22. 2. Esth. 2. 6. (according to Junius, Dr. Willet, and Dr. Lightfoot's Opinion) living about 110 Y. This Mordecai Returns to Jerusalem, when the Captivity was sent back again to their own Country by Cyrus, Ezra 2. 2. and there had Helped forward their Settlement, so long as the Temple-Work was allowed to go forward, but when that was Hindered by Cambyses, (all his Life time) He (with many others) Return back again to their Old Residence into Babylonia, or Persia: As soon as Darius had Conquered Babylon, Dan. 5. 34. he Models his Monarchy into 120 Provinces, under 120 Princes, Dan. 6. 1. over these he sets a Triumvirate, or Three Precedents, being Principal Princes, whereof Daniel (so well known in Babylon) was the Chief, v. 2. so was Removed from Babylon to Shushan the Metropolis of Persia: compare Dan. 7. 1. (then Daniel was in Babylon) with Dan. 8. 1, 2. there he was in Shushan, (which signifies a Lily, so called, for its Beauty and Delectable Situation.) There was Nehemiah (as well as Daniel) Neh. 1. 1. waiting upon his Honourable Office of the King's Cupbearer, and upon promoting the Church's Weal: There got he his Commission to go Governor to Jerusalem for 12 Y. Neh. 2. 6, 7. and 5. 14. In no less space of time could he hope to Rectify the Church's Deformation by a Glorious Reformation, which when (through the Good Hand of his God upon him) he had Accomplished, he than Returns to his Office in Shushan again, Neh. 13. 6, 7. whose Back was no sooner turned but all Returned into Disorder again, (as Exod. 32. 8. Gal. 1. 6.) notwithstanding their better purposes and promises, Neh. 10. 30, 39 he stays in Shushan about 12 Months, and yet the Devil (that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, or great Church-Troubler) had in less than a Y. time notoriously Disjointed, what Nehemiah had so Happily Settled, Neh. 13. 7, 8, etc. as he was Inquisitive how it fared with the Church, Neh. 1. 2. The Church was his greatest Care, [Omnis in Ascanio cari stat Cura Parentis,] His Honour in Shushan could not Satisfy him, so long as it went Ill with Zion: he still Inquires how his Reformation Remained, and he Understood, Neh. 13. 7. it was Deformed again, this puts him on getting another Congedelere, or Commission at Court, and Hastening to Jerusalem (where his Heart was before him) Reforms all Disorders, v. 8, 9, to 31. so leaves the Church in a most Blessed Estate, (in despite of the Devil and his Instruments) which continued so for a long time after. ☞ And (5) Gods care of his Church (whom he be speaks in the Phrase of [My People,] Jer. 50. 4, 6.) even in Babylon, sendeth Ezekiel thither among the Captives, to Nourish the Seed of God among them, Ezek. 1. 1, 2, 3. who had his Comfortable Vision by a Branch of the River Euphrates, (those Waters of Babylon, where many Godly Souls sat down and Wept at the Remembrance of Zion, Psa. 137. 1, 2, 3.) Now that the Church was planted in a Foreign Country for a long time, (even for 70 Y.) The Lord most Graciously showed her such a Glory, as he had showed her at her first Constitution into a Church-state in the Wilderness by that Pillar of Glory; God showeth himself Here, as he had done There, out of a Cloud and Fire, v. 4, 5. and from between Living Creatures Here, as there from between the Cherubims; God gives his Oracles to this Prophet Ezekiel, who calls this Captivity [Our Captivity,] Ch. 40. 1. and besides him ●6) many other Good Men, (as Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Josiah, Zech. 6. 10, 14. who were Ambassadors from the Godly Jews in Babylon) together with those Tradesmen and Carpenters, (Religion being most really found amongst the Laborious) carried away in Jeconiah's Captivity, whom Jeremy calls his Basket of Good Figs, Ch. 24. 2. and to whom God gives many Gracious Promises, v. 5. I have sent them out of Canaan for their Good, and v. 6. I will set mine Eyes upon them for Good, and v. 7; I will give them an Heart to know me, and they shall be my People, for they shall Return unto me. Thus the falling out of Lovers is the renewing of Love; their Afflictions were Sanctified to them, God Enforces them from Evil, and Entices them to Good; He saw to their Safety in Babylon, and provided for their Necessity there. Jehoiakim (called also Jeconiah) was Spoke Kindly to, and done Kindly for by Evil Merodach at length, 2 Kin. 25. 27, 28. having his Prison-Rags changed into Princely Robes, v. 29, 30. and (as the Rabbins tell us) was truly Converted, having his Heart changed as well as his Habit and Allowance, as Manasseh had been before him, 2 Chro. 33. 12, 13. And those Good Figs (no doubt) did share in his Comforts, getting good Estates and Respect in the Land of their Captivity, Jer. 29. 4, to 16. but the other Basket of Bad Figs, v. 17. was not Happier because at Home, were cast away as naughty Figs, or rotten Apples, and became most miserable by Zedekiahs and Ishmaels' Treachery; the 1st. against Great N●buchadnezzar, Ezek. 17. The 2d. against Good Gedaliah, Jer. 41. 2. God gathered the Good Figs as his scattered Jewels, and strung them, Mal. 3. 17. but the Bad Figs he quite cast away; though good and bad Figs were carried out, yet in Differing Baskets, and for Differing Purposes.  
The Two Baskets of Figs resembled Two Breasts, as the Hebr. Word Dodaim, or Dudaim, Baskets comes from Dodim or Dudim, Breasts. Thus the Church at that time was like the Nurse-Woman who hath one Breast sound, good, and strutting out with much Milk for Nourishing her Tender Babe; but the other is naughty, rotten, shrunk up and dried away; And yet, even in this Basket of bad Figs, God had his [Methe-Mispar] a small Number, a poor Few of good Figs even among the bad ones, Jer. 44. 28. a small Reserve God had yet among them, to whom he was a little Sanctuary, Ezek. 11. 16. wheresoever they were scattered: Still God Reserveth a Remnant for Royal Use, even in the bad Basket, and in Egypt, where no good Figs should have come, it being Expressly contrary to God's Command, Deut. 17. 16. and his Commination, as the last and greatest Plague, Deut. 28. 68 and as expressly contrary to his Prophet's Counsel, Jer. 42. 19 saying to them, Be Ruled, or you will Rue it. 'Tis better for you to be in cold Irons, Prisoners at Babylon, where ye may serve the Lord among the good Figs, than to be serving the Idols of Egypt at never so much Liberty; your Fathers brought one Golden Calf thence, Jeroboam Two, what may you bring thence if you should escape? but know, All that learn their evil Manners, shall Perish in their Punishments, v. 22. To save this little Remnant alive (both from Egypt's Sin and Punishment) God by a marvellous and Special Providence, sends Jeremy and Baruc along with them thither, Jer. 43. 6. in Order to Accomplish that Gracious Promise, Isa. 27. 13. They shall come, which are ready to Perish in Assyria, and the Out-easts in the Land of Egypt, and shall Worship the Lord in the Holy Mount at Jerusalem: When the Jubilee-Trumpet of Cyrus' Proclamation sounded, God most Graciously promiseth to Protect those good Figs that were among the bad, in Egypt, and in due time to bring them back again; Yea, and God further Promiseth, There shall be (not only) an Highway out of Egypt, etc. as well as out of Assyria, but also that Israel shall be a Third with both in the Communion of Saints, and Convey a Blessing to both, and then the Lord shall Bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt, my People, (a New and Honourable Title to them) and Assyria the Work of my Hands, (as Created anew in Christ) Eph. 2. 10. and Israel my Inheritance▪ Isa. 19 23, 25. Thus we see God's Care of his Church in Babylon and in Egypt too, Defeating all the Devils Designs, which were to Destroy it every - where, as well as anywhere: Now let us view the same Divine Care and Kindness to his Church when Removed to Persia, at the Destruction of Babylon, out of which she Fled, Isa. 48. 23. and 52. 11. and Jer. 50. 8. and 51. 6, 45. Zech. 2. 6. Revel, 18. 4. For it was Devoted to Destruction by Darius the Persian; God had Reserved an Holy Remnant for Royal Use even in Persia, for not half of the Jews Returned to Jerusalem at Cyrus' Proclamation, (whatever Josephus saith to the Contrary, who makes the Returners to be above Four Millions) whereas Ezra makes them only Forty and two Thousand, Ezra 2. 64. Ten or Twelve Thousand whereof might probably be of the Ten Tribes, that were first carried Captive, who together with Benjamin and Judah, make up the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Twelve Tribes which the Apostle speaks of, Act. 26. 7. Instantly Serving God Night and Day, Hoping to come to Heaven, which plainly Intimates how God carefully keeps his Covenant in preserving his Church among them: Now, (I say) this People having lived a long season safely in a Fat (though a Foreign) Country, there they had lived in Peace, enjoyed their Religion, gathered Riches, and had Favourites at Court, so were loath to trouble themselves with removing into their own Country, where they were sure to meet with much opposition, and many Enemies, the Samaritans and others. Hereupon many of them remained in Babylonia and Persia, as before; yet God Delivers them not over to the Devil to do what he would with them, but Defeats his Design, even there also. As the Devil had his Wicked Haman to contrive the Church's Destruction in Persia; so God had his Holy Mordecai there for her preservation, before whom Haman Fails and the Devils Plot in him. Now come we to the most Eminent Evidence and most pregnant Proof of Divine Providence in Preserving the Church of God against the Devils most powerful Plot Recorded in Scripture: And in discoursing upon it, I shall not meddle with the Timeing of it, (which some Critical observers of Chronology do place betwixt Cyrus and Darius' Decrees for re-Building the Temple) but shall take it as it is placed in Canonical Scripture, the very last Book that Describes the History of the Church in the Old Testament, to wit, the Book of Esther; wherein, though the Name (God) be not found, yet most Eminently the Hand of God is found there in Capital Characters. And herein Observe Two Principal parts; 1. The Church's Danger, and 2. The Church's Deliverance, both exceedingly Eminent, even in Shushan the Head-City of Persia, wherein God had a great People reserved and preserved there, and scattered about in many other places, as will appear by the Sequel. First, The Church's Danger, in it Three particulars are observable. 1. The Occasion of the Danger, to wit, Holy Mordecai's refusal of Bowing the knee to proud Haman, (that cursed Amalekite, a deadly Enemy of the Church, and the King's great Favourite) both before he had obtained the Royal Decree against the Church, and afterwards also: 2ly. The Persons who were in this Eminent Danger, to wit, not Mordecai alone, (for he thought him alone too mean a Sacrifice below his Revengeful Rage) but also all the Godly Jews  Dispersed, Esth. 3. 6. and 3ly. The Danger itself, to wit, (not personal only, as that of Dan. 3. 20. and Dan. 6. 14. but) an Universal and Utter Destruction maliciously Intended by a Decree obtained upon false Informations that the Jews did not keep the King's Laws, v. 8. Thus Haman cloaked his private Malice with public pretences; Oh what a likely Tool had the Devil now got to Work the Church's Ruin withal, to wit, the Adversary and Enemy Wicked Haman, Esth. 7. 6. where he is painted in his proper Colours; The Man-Adversary, or Hebr. Satan; the Church hath her Man-Adversary (as well as Devil-Adversary) a Man of might, and a great Favourite at Court, an Utter Enemy, a Sworn Swordman of Satan (that old ,) from whom Haman had drawn this Ancient Enmity, Gen. 3. 15. and from cursed Amalek, Exod. 17. 8. He is (as pious Queen Esther Brands him) our Angustiator, or Oppressor, and ready to do all Hostile Acts against us: 'Tis this Wicked Haman, a Man of Mischief, and the Worst of Mankind, even Wickedness itself, no better than a Breathing Devil, so prodigiously and peerlesly profligate in his Plots and Projects against the Church. Now the Devil gins his Plot by this sit Instrument, (as soon as he had set him aloft upon the pinnacle of highest Preferment, and the King had commanded all his Courtiers to Bow to him, Esth. 3. 1, 2. (1st.) In Hamans' madness against Mordecai for his being so stiff in the Ham as not to bend to Great Prince Haman, with the Cringing Courtiers at the King's command. ☞ That was enough for them, right or wrong; and so 'tis in our Day with Herodians, that will be of King Herod's (or King Harry's) Religion, whatever it be, many matters it not, so it have a Royal Sanction, it must be done, though they (themselves) be Undone for ever for so doing; this Godly Mordecai could not do, not only because Haman was a cursed Amalekite, whom God would have Israel (not to Honour, but) to Destroy, Exod. 17. 14. Deut. 25. 19 1 Sam. 15. 3. but also, because this kind of Bowing had a Divine Devotion in it, due to God only, and not due to any mortal Man, quite contrary to the Law of his God, Deut. 6. 13. and 10. 20. Matth. 4. 9, 10. Dan. 6. 13. It was not therefore a proud self-willedness that made Mordecai so stiff, (notwithstanding the Allurements and Affrightments of the Courtiers) but Fear of Sin, and Conscience of Duty, and he would rather offend all the World than God and his own Conscience; This enraged Haman, to be slighted by a Captive-Jew, whom the Freeborn Persians Honoured and Adored; Insomuch as he Swelled like a Toad, and Glowed like a Devil, (1) in designing his Destruction, and the rather because he was a Jew, whom he Naturally Hated, (as Josephus saith) seeing they had Anciently destroyed the Amalekites, his Countrymen, Esth. 3. 3, 4, 5. (2ly) His Designing to cut off all his People as well as Mordecai, it being below his haughty Heart, and too narrow for his Revengeful Mind to be confined within the Compass of Killing one Captive-Slave only, but the Fire of his Rage will Burn up all the Jews that lay in his way, v. 6. 1. In order hereunto he cast Lots to find a lucky day wherein to Accomplish his Wickedness, which by an overruling Providence was ordered (according to their Blind Superstition) not to be till the February following; so he remained in his Savage and Bloody mind almost 12 Months, from March to February, v. 7. When he had by his Sortilegy (or rather, Sorcery) found out his Lucky Day, (though long to) he obtains a Royal Decree for the Execution of his Extensive revenge, by basely Aspersing the Dispersed Jews, calling them a certain People, as if they had not been worth Nameing, Scattered abroad, as if that had been their Fault, not their Misery, Dispersed among the People, and therefore the more dangerous for Sowing Sedition, Their Laws are Divers from all People; so they were (indeed,) and (in their Enemy's Judgement) Better Laws, Deut. 4. 6, 7, 8. Neither keep they the King's Laws, that's false, (Jerom. 29. 7. They Prayed for Peace, etc.) save only when Man's Law did contradict Gods, as in Adoring of Haman: therefore 'tis not for the King's Profit to suffer them, v. 8, 9 etc. Thus this sordid Sycophant filled his Mouth with Arguments, (every Word having a show of Weight, and answering objections about damnifying the Tribute paid into the Exchequer by the Jews for their Liberty of Conscience) and all to Achieve his Devilish design: the then Credulous King (who in the Case of Vashti had been Deliberate, referring the Matter to his Counsel, Esth. 1. 13, 15, 17, etc.) now Rashly Grants his Bloody request, to do what, and destroy whom he pleased, Remitts the vast Sum (even 3750000 l. sterling) promised by Haman, the Jews Enemy, v. 9, 10, 11. and which he Hoped to Raise out of the Spoil of the Jews. Then the Commissions were Written (not with Black, but with Blood) in multiplied Cutting and Killing Words from his malicious Mind, and Sealed with the King's Signet given to Haman to make it Unalterable, v. 12. Yea, and they were sent away in Post-haste by the swiftest Posts long before the Lucky Day, (to hold the poor Jews upon the Rack all that Interspace) v. 13. And the Letters were not only Posted away in all Haste by the King's Commandment, (as if he had been in Danger of his Crown) but were also Pasted up upon every Post and Pillar, that all people should be ready against the Day to take the Spoil of the Slain, v. 14. and the King and Haman sat down to Drink, v. 15. to drown the Noise of Conscience, and to declare their Jollity in the destruction of God's People: Now the Devil had a fair prospect of his Game, having the Ball upon his Foot and got almost to the very Goal; but now is God seen in the Mount, and makes him miss his Game; Oh what Fools did God make of the Devil and his Haman? he let's them both go to the very length of their Tedder, and then pulls, Yea, plucks them back with shame again. The Godly Jews had no place to fly to, none among the Caldees, Medes, and Persians, to pity them; none to own them, and then both God owns them, and they God; which brings in the 2d. General part, The Church's Deliverance, wherein is Observable, 1. Means Preparing to 2. Means Performing of that Deliverance in the Hand of the Almighty: 1. The Means Preparing were 1. The Removal of Vasthi from being Queen, upon her refusal to come at the King's Command: This mighty Monarch (who had added Seven Provinces more to his vast Empire than Cyrus or Darius had, Esth. 1. 1. with Dan. 6. 1.) while he was Vaingloriously showing to his Subjects the prodigious Glory of his Universal Command, he could not Command his own particular Wife, v. 4. 12. this Contumacious Insolency enrages Ahasuerus, yet will Act nothing herein without the Advice of his Council, (for so was the manner, v. 13.) not to be Arbitrary (in that most Absolute Empire) altogether, but according to the Law, v. 15. Hereupon the King and Counsel Excludeth Vasthi, (which signifies a Drinker,) and She, (the jews Enemy, as Rabbins say) was Excluded, lest the Ladies (who were Feasting with her, v. 6.) should learn Imperiousness by her example; Thus the Vanity of this Royal Drinking Feast was Stained by Degrading Vasthi, (a Drinker) this sad Catastrophe was its End; and Esther a poor Captive Maid, yet Godly, and a faithful Friend to the jews) was brought in by a marvellous providence into the Vacant Place, Esth. 2. 4, 9, 15, 16. having decked herself with the White of Simplicity, with the Red of Modesty, with the Silk of Sanctity, and with the Purple of Chastity, as Tertullian Phraseth it, (not as the other Virgins) not setting out her Beauty with Sophistical Paint, but in her Native Comeliness, and in that Wisdom which maketh the Face to Shine, Eccles. 8. 1. She wholly Rested upon Divine Providence, and Prospered accordingly. The 2d. Preparing Means, was Mordecai's Discovering the matter of Treason (of the Kings Two Porters, Bigthan and Teresh) unto Ahasuerus: Those Two 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 (as the Greek calls them) Keepers of the Door of the King's Bedchamber, (so had fair opportunity for Mischievous Treason, under that Great Trust) conspired against the King, while he was in the Glut of his carnal Concupiscence, Drowning himself in sensual Delights, not only in Deflowering so many Virgins, v. 8. (four Hundred, saith Josephus) but also Satiating his Gust or Lust upon his new Queen; so dreading no Danger in this his Delightful Bedchamber; then did those Two Gentlemen of his Bedchamber, or Chamberlains, Design his Death, being Incensed, that Vasthi (to whom they had been Favourites) was Deposed, and that they might Transferr the Empire unto Haman, the jews Enemy, Esth. 2. 21. This Bloody conspiracy was made known to Mordecai (as he sat in the King's Gate, v. 16.) by a jew (saith josephus) who was Servant to one of the Conspirators; or by themselves, (saith Rab. Solomon) who either Discoursed of the Plot before him in a Language (they supposed) he Understood not, (as our present plotters have done in French, and have been Understood and Discovered) or they Solicited him (being one of the Keepers of the Kings-Door also) to join with them: Hereupon he tells Esther, she tells the King, Inquisition is made into it, (* this Plot is not smothered,) v. 22. 23. the King sleights not the Information, lest he should betray his own Life, and bring all into a Confusion, as Gedaliah had done before him, jer. 40. 8, 13, to 16. against whom (being envied for his Promotion, and for his Revolt to Nabuchadnezzar, though he did so in Obedience to God's Word by his Prophet jeremy) Treacherous Ishmael, (some younger Brother of the Blood-Royal) and Ten Nobles of the Court, (whom the Grand Conspirator had (probably) promised to Restore to their Principalities when he should be King, or at least Viceroy) Jer. 41. 1. do Traitorously conspire: Those Traitors had (1st.) come to do their Homage to him, Jer. 40. 8. and good Gedaliah sincerely Swore he would protect them to the utmost of his power, v. 9, 10. (2ly) They came pretendingly to give him a Friendly Visit, (whom he Feasted as familiar Friends,) Jer. 41. 1. not unlike to Psal. 41. 9 Luk. 14. 1. Mat. 26.23. Then those Judas' assaults him (when he and all his Guests were (as Josephus saith) merry with Wine, and so, less able to Resist) and slew him and all that were with him, v. 23. and Seventy Samaritan Proselytes, who had not (in the least) offended this Brutish Butcher, v. 5, 6, 7. All this befalls this good Governor by his own fond Credulity, for he had a faithful Information of this Bloody Plot by Johanan and the Captains, Jer. 40. 13. Discovering to him, How the King of Ammon was the prime Engineer (out of his Inveterate Hatred to Israel) in puffing up this young Gallant, and his Ten Desperado Hector's, with Promises of Preferment, (as before) v. 14. (not unlike to that Influence our present Plot hath had from the French-Court) Yea, and those Discoverers of the Plot do offer their Service to Prevent it, v. 15. but this Just Man (too much Ingenuous, too little Suspicious) was too secure, and would believe nothing, v. 14. 16. * Qui omnia Credit, & qui nihil Credit, ex A●quo peccat. 'Tis no less a fault to believe nothing, than to believe every thing. As Reports are not to be over-heeded, so neither are they to be over-slighted, especially where Life is concerned, and most especially the Life of the King, or chief Governor; the latter whereof was Gedaliah's Case, and the former is this of Ahasuerus, who like a Wise King makes Inquisition, to wit, a Through Enquiry and Searching out to the Bottom, whether the Report were True or No, Esth. 2. 23. well-knowing that the Weal of the whole Land Depended mainly upon One Man's Safety; and though Cruel and Crafty Ishmael was successful so far as (by his Deep Dissimulation) to cut off good Gedaliah (through his want of an Honest Jealousy) and many others, to whom he made a show of a mournful Mind with them, (in his Crocodile-Tears) that they might not mistrust him, Jer. 41. 6. Yet God Laughed his Plot to Nothing, he lost his Design of making himself King, or Viceroy, for though he did what he could to conceal his Wickedness, Jer. 41. 4, 9 yet God will have all Barbarous Murders to come out to light though never so closely carried; Rumour outran him before he could get away with his Prize; Johanan hears of all his Butcheries, comes and makes a Rescue to the Joy of the People, v. 10, to 13. Ishmael escapes to Ammon (as our Conspirators do to France) * which Defeat could not but be a greater vexation to his proud Heart there, than Death itself; with what Peace, Honour, or Conscienbe could this base Judas live in the Court of the Ammonites King, who had set him on to Raise himself by the Ruin of Gedaliah, and to give him an Opportunity of Invading the Country when they had none to protect them: Here I cannot pass over in Silence those four Famous remarks. The 1st. is, That Divine Vengeance pursued Ishmael to Ammon, as appears, Jer. 49. 1, 2, 3. Amos 1. 14. and 2. 2. which had always Infested Israel, and now Grossly Injured, (as if Heir-less) so is put under an Irreversible Decree of Destruction for Three and Four Transgressions; God knows what may in due time befall France for the like Sins. The 2d. Remark is, God's Freedom in his Choice of Instruments for Deliverance: This Johanan was not Right, no more than Ishmael, out of whose Wicked Hands he Delivered the People, for though he pretended fair in that Act, and in his Address to Jeremy, Jer. 42. 1, 2, 3. yet this was all but Hateful Hypocrisy, v. 20. and 43. 2, 4. The 3d. Remark is, Divine Vengeance Pursues this Deliverer when he stepped out of God's way into Egypt, as appeareth, Jer. 43. 11. and 46. 1, 2, etc. Thither those  Persons are pursued Hot foot, for refusing to live in God's good Land, and according to God's good Laws, as they had feignedly promised. The 4th. famous Remark is this, God suffers some Secret Plots and Cursed Conspiracies to Succeed more and farther than others; yet all Baffled and Blasted at last: Thus that against Gedaliah had a farther Success, than this against Ahasuerus; for Gedaliah did fall by that against him, because of his Remissness to find out the Treason: but Ahasuerus did not fall by His, for it was found out, Esth. 2. 23. as all Treason usually is, for Mordecai had so prudently Managed the Matter, that he could punctually prove the Information, and did so, whereupon the Traitors (who like Bells, will never be well Tuned, until they be well Hanged) were both Hanged on the Gallows, wearing a Tyburn-Tippet, as Father Latimer phrased it, * whereof some such like in our day seem to be Ambitious, but much Joy have they of that Ambition to themselves, though they be Canonised for Saints thereby in the Romish-Kalendar. Mordecai's Discovery becomes the King's Deliverance, and the Traitor's Destruction. This memorable Act is Entered into the Journal-Book, or public Records of Persia, the King being an Eye-Witness of its Registering, yet Mordecai's Good Service was soon forgotten, God forgot not Ahasuerus, to Recompense him for his Love to Esther, and Kindness to her People by Detecting and defeating the Damnable Plot of the Conspirators against his Life; but he soon forgets Mordecai, who from a Conscience of Duty, and Fear of God, became the Instrument of saving his Life, though the whole matter was in his Chronicle-Book before him: However God (who had an Holy Hand in all this) forgot not Mordecai, but brought to pass great things by his Providence, even out of the Kings forgetting him, and that Nothing was yet Done for Mordecai, Esth. 6. 1. etc. as is there at large related: * Gods time is the best, and we shall one day say so; let us leave our All believingly with the Lord, never is there any thing lost by waiting Gods Leisure and Pleasure, who both Bottles up the Tears and Books up the Groans of his People, Psal. 6. 8. Yea, Writes down all their Prayers in his Roll of Remembrance, Mal. 3.16. and will not forget them as the Butler did Joseph, Gen. 40. 23. nor as Ahasuerus did Mordecai here, therefore all things went Sadly with the Church after this forgetfulness; Haman gets the King's Decree to Destroy all the Jews in the 12th. Month upon his Lucky Day, Esth. 3. 13. and his revengeful Heart being too Impatient of so long Delay, till that Day came goes (in the mean time) to get a Grant of Ahasuerus to Hang Mordecai (the King's Deliverer) before hand, Esth. 5. 14. and 6.4. Now the Devil's game was at the fairest, & the Church brought to a low ebb, Haman is come unto the King (for an Order to Hang Mordecai) very early in the Morning, yea, so early, that Esther could not possibly prevent him by begging of his Life, had she been never so Desirous: Here was the low-Water Mark, now the Tide gins to turn and the Wheel of Providence to Move most apparently in order to the Church's Deliverance, God loves to come 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the very nick and Opportunity of time, God will be seen in the Mount, when there is a damp upon our Hopes, and a death upon our Helps; when We are low enough, and our Adversaries High enough: Never was the Church lower, nor Haman (her Enemy) higher, than that very Night, wherein God began to stir, and to take those following famous steps (all added to the the Two former, 1. of esther's Advance in Vasthi's Throne, and 2ly. Mordecai's Saving the King's Life from the Traitor's Hands) for advancing Mordecai to Honour, whom Haman had Devoted to Hang up, and that before his own Door (to feed his Eyes the better upon so Happy a Hanged Spectacle) upon a Gallows fifty Cubits high, (which was well nigh Thirty Yards in height) for the greater Disgrace of Mordecai to be seen thereon far and near. The 3d. famous Step God takes, is the taking away of the Kings Sleep from him that very Night, Sleep is a Gift of God which he giveth to Man and taketh from him according to his good Pleasure, Psa. 127.2. This great King, that commanded an 127 Provinces, cannot command so much as an Hours Sleep for himself when he pleaseth: It was God that kept him awake for excellent Ends. God's 4th. Step was, The Kings Commanding to bring the Book of Records to be Read before him, the better to deceive that Tedious time of his lying Awake: Had not God overruled him, he might have called for his Wives, Concubines, Musicians, etc. whereof he had abundance: Nothing but History must be called for to Comfort him, and thereby God put small Thoughts into his mind for great Purposes, as the Scruple God cast into the Head of our Henry the 8th. about his Marriage, became the occasion of Unhorsing the Pope in England, etc. The 5th. Step God takes here, Esth. 6. 1, 2. that the Reader of that Persian History or Chronicle should be (by God's Secret Providence) directed to Read that very Story of Mordecai's Saving the King's Life by Discovering the Treason against him, (like as the Eunuch was, Act. 8. 30, 32. to that place in Isaiah, Ch. 53. 7, 8. and Austin to Rom. 13. 14. the main means of their Conversion) not turning to that place purposely, neither the one, nor the other of all the Three, (no doubt but God's Hand in the Margin pointed him to it.) The 6th. Step God takes in his Providence is, That Noble and right Royal Mind God stirred up in the King, to inquire, What Honour hath been done to Mordecai for this, v. 3. Turpe est Regi, Beneficijs Vinci; 'tis too sordid for mighty Kings to be Ungrateful to their most Loyal Subjects, and not to Reward those that have been Instruments of Saving their Lives: God makes Ahasuerus Reflect upon the great Crime of his own Ungratefulness to Mordecai for so great a Service. God's 7th. Step, is, his Ordering it so, that those Gentlemen of the King's Bedchamber should be by, who were Ingenious, and had a Kindness for Mordecai, whom yet they knew a great Eyesore to Prince Haman; and had those young Courtiers been as envious as Haman, and disaffected to Mordecai, they might have extenuated his good Service, and minded the King of his Decree against the Jews, or have told Ahasuerus, as the Apocryphal Additions, Esth. 12. 5, 6. telleth, that he had been Rewarded; but they candidly Answer, There is nothing done for him, not Grudging (as 'tis common with Courtiers) to have others come over their Heads. God's 8th. Step is, That Mordecai should not have any present Recompense for that eminent Service, but that he should wait Six Y. (saith Lyra) and yet have no Reward, especially from a King of Persia, whose Kings had used to be very Bountiful to those that Deserved well of them, as Herodotus, Xenophon, and Plutarch, largely Relates. 'Tis probable, a Reward was at first Decreed for him, but he being a Jew, its Execution was for some time (through Hamans' Insluence) obstructed, and at last it was altogether forgotten till now. However Haman (and the Devil his Master) had a Wicked, the great God had an Holy Hand in it, that it should be deferred to a fit opportunity, wherein he might be more Glorified in the Preservation of his People, and in the Destruction of his Enemies, at the Due Season, Gal. 6. 9 Let us not therefore be weary of Welldoing, God Times all his Mercies well, and well sees when they will be most Sweet and Seasonable, Isa. 30. 18. God's 9th. Step, is, The Marvellous Providence, that Haman (himself) should be present at that Juncture, when God had corrected the King's Forgetfulness, and now had put it into his Heart to Reward Mordecai, Esth. 6.4. 'Tis true, his carnal Friends had put this Revengeful Wretch onward in his pride and revenge, (adding fuel to his flaming sire.) They said to him, [To Morrow speak thou to the King, etc.] Ch. 5. 14. Hereupon he gets early up, (sleeping that Night as badly as Ahasuerus) comes by Morning-light to procure a Warrant for Mordecai's Execution: yet all this was of God, (for it is not in Man to order his own way, Jer. 10. 23.) that Haman (himself) should, to his greater Vexation, prescribe the Honour that must be done to Mordecai, and that at a time when he was come to get him Hanged, yea, and with full confidence to compass his Design, though for no other Crime but not cringing to him; neither Haman nor the Devil (himself) had any thing else to accuse Mordecai of, for he is One of those few in Scripture-Record, that both lived and died in Glory, being no where taxed for any Gross sin, that we read off. God's 10th. Step, is, The Wonderful Disappointment he brought upon this Wicked Ambitionist. Haman comes merrily into the King's Presence as soon as called, ('tis strange Ahasuerus Consulted not with his Courtiers who then attended upon his person; no, God will have Haman to be the Counsellor) coming in for another purpose, a mischievous one against Mordecai, and is assured it would be but Dictum, Factum, the King would not say him Nay; but God overruled all: Ahasuerus asks haman's Advice [What shall be done, v. 6.] by an overpowering Providence he names not the Man whom he would Honour; Haman mistaking himself to be the Man meant, doth most liberally Advise to all Punctilios of Honour, and as Aspiring to the Kingdom, he affects the Crown-Royal itself, v. 8. (which because it was not practicable, the King leaves it out of his Commission.) All this Honour (he expected to himself) he is commanded to confer upon Mordecai, whom he hated, and would have Hanged. Thus had he made a Bridge of his own Shadow, and down he falls into the Ditch, which was but a Prelude to his final fall at last. Thus Quos Deus Destruit, Dementat, when God hath a mind to Undo a Man, he first Infatuate him: Oh what a Fool God made of Haman here, he comes in to the King with his Head full of Hopes, but goes out with his Heart full of Blanks, (as in a Cheating Lottery) his big Expectations ends in gross Disappointments, the Kings own Horse must be the Gallows on which Mordecai must safely and stately Ride in Triumph, and the lofty Gallows which Haman had erected for Mordecai, now groaneth for himself: haman's malice (which would bear no delays, for he could neither Sleep in Quiet, nor Eat with Content) against Mordecai, is miraculously Converted to a conferring such an Honour upon him, as the King or his Courtiers would never have thought on to have done him, had not Haman (himself) Counselled it to be done; it is easy to be Imagined how the King's peremptory Precept, v. 10. did Stab Haman to the Heart, who must now (perforce) Honour him whom he Hoped to Hang, Cloth him with Royal Robes, whom he Hoped to Strip of his own ordinary Raiment, Help him Up upon the Royal Horse, whom he Hoped to Help Up upon the lofty Gallows, and then (when put down into his Grave) to Hop and Dance over him; Prepare a Triumph for him, for whom he had prepared Ruin, Proclaim his Loyalty (the cause of that Honour) as a Crier, for whom he had procured a Destroying Decree of a Traitor; and lastly, he must run at Mordecai's Stirrup as a Lackey, and as his Slave and Underling, being then a Great Prince, and the King's greatest Favourite. Oh what a Cutting and Killing Cordolium must all this needs be unto Hamans' Haughty Heart; 'tis a Wonder his Heart burst not, but that God would not have him to save the Hangman his labour, and therefore his sordid Spirit truckles and crouches to do all those Offices of Honour which he would have Monopolised to himself: * Oh turn aside (with Moses) to gaze a while upon this Work of Wonder: The King had no Intention (in all this) to cross Hamans' Humour, or to thwart him in his malicious Ambition, not knowing any thing (as is supposed) of the Difference between him and Mordecai, but God's all-powerful Providence brought all this about for effecting his own ends, which cannot but ever be exceeding good, seeing his Will is not only Recta, but, Regula, the Rule Ruleing, never severed from his Wisdom: (1) Behold here how Men (by a secret Working of the Divine Hand) accomplisheth the Will of God, which they think not of, but are fulfilling their own wills. (2) Behold here (as in a Mirror) how the Holy God overrules the Wicked Wills and Wiles of Men in all their Affairs, Counsels, Times and Turns for the fulfilling of his own Will and Decree, even then, when they think least of Serving his Providence. (3) Behold here the Excellency of True Piety, 'tis a constant and unchangeable Blessing whether Advanced or Abased; Godly Mordecai's Motto was, [Semper Idem] always the same Man, neither Puffed up with Honour, nor Pressed down with Dishonour, as too many be; a small wind blows up a Bubble, all this Honour no whit over-joys Mordecai, he comes again to his old place, v. 12. and in his old habit sits quietly down there, neither envying his Superiors, nor Insulting over his Inferiors, nor molesting his Equals, etc. but committing his Concerns to God's good Pleasure and Providence; this is the Godly Man's Guise, Psal. 131. 1, 2. and his Goodness to do so, 1 Pet. 4. 19 (4) Behold here the Baseness of base Impiety, every Disappointment Unhinges their Dispositions as this did haman's, he hasted to his House mourning, he fretted at himself, that he should be such a Fool as to prescribe such Honour to a Man before he knew who the Man was that should be so Honoured: he made account to have gone merrily to the Queen's Banquet when he had Trussed up Mordecai, but now (this Fortunae Ludibrium, Fortune's Play-fool) not only missing of Mordecai's murder, but made to do him public Honour in ample manner, and all by his own Direction; this went like a Dagger to his Heart and Galled him above measure, he pulls his Cap over his Eye, as ashamed to look any in the face, so Bladder-like is the mind of a proud Carnal man, that filled with Earthly Vanities (which are but Wind) it grows great and swelleth to a None such; but if pricked with the least Pin of a piercing Disappointment, it presently shriveleth into nothing. Thus Haman retires Home for his Privacy, there his own Wife and his Wizzards, (whom he Consulted for his Lucky Day) when he expected Counsel and Comfort from them, Read him his Doleful Destiny, v. 13. they all prove as cold Comforters now, as they had been bad Counsellors before: while Haman is grieving at this Disappointment at Home, as well as at that abroad, he is Hurried away (the King and Queen staying for him) to that fatal Feast, (where Haman pays the Reckoning of all with his own Life) v. 14. Harbonah Hastens him, whose Stomach was now full enough already, and would rather have been excused: Now the Church's Deliverance draws near, being thus notably Provided for by 1. those Preparing Means, and no less notably Promoted by (2) those Performing Means, Used 1. to God. 2. to the King. 1. to God, so the Jews and Mordecai falls upon 1. Weeping, 2. Fasting, 3. Lying in Sackcloth and Ashes, Ch. 4. 1, 2, 3. This was the way to get in with God, though they might not come to the Court: this shows, God had his Remnant of Godly Jews, even in Persia, such as now were mourning before the Lord, but dare not be murmuring or mutinying against the King and Haman: such as begin at the right end of Duty, to wit, Humiliation before God; then 2. to the King an Address is made by Esther, not without some Reluctancy; that God might make it successful, Esther Enjoins a Three Days Fast, 1. by her Self, 2. by her Maids, 3. by Mordecai, 4. by all the Jews in Shushan, Ch. 4. 12, 16. God Accepts of all their Prayers, and the King of esther's Address at her Feast. Haman is hanged (before his Lucky Day came) upon his own Gallows, and Mordecai is Honoured, all turns to the contrary, God Laughs the Plot to Nothing, and the Church is Advanced. See Prov. 4. 16. and 11. 8. Psal. 83. 3. Deut. 21. 34. Esth. 7. 9 and 9 1, 3, 4. the Church (in City and Country) keep Yearly Two Days of Joy to God for this Great Deliverance, v. 17, to 29. Now when God (by his Wonder-Working Providence) had brought Godly Esther to be Queen, She came to the Kingdom (designed by a Divine Decree) for the Church's Deliverance, Esth. 4. 14. and had made Mordecai the Second Man in the Kingdom, being next unto the King, Esth. 10. 3. and Advanced Higher than ever Haman was, for he wore a great Crown of Gold, Esth. 8. 15. which (we Read not) Haman had any like: Then the Church had Light and Gladness, v. 16. Light is sweet, saith Solomon. Eccles. 11. 7. especially to those that had been some Months shut up (by Haman) in the Dark Dungeon of Deep perplexity, Esth. 3. 15. from that time walking in the very Vale of the shadow (the Darkest side) of Death, Psal. 23. 4. yet there God takes his Church by the Hand and leads her through that Dark Entry into Light and Gladness. The Church's Light had been Sown for her upon a safe Soil, Psal. 97. 11. All the time of Haman's Heart-grieving Grandeur, it lay under the Clods, as Seed underground, for a while Unseen, but now 'tis Risen up for the Righteous, and their Seedtime brought in a Blessed Harvest, Psal. 126. 2, 5, 6. when Haman was fallen from the Palace to the Gallows, and from the highest Stage of Honour, to the lowest Stair and Step of Ignominy: thus Sings the Poet,  Ludit in Humanis Divina potentia Rebus. 
God's Providence often tosseth Great Favourites like a Tennis-Ball, now up, and now down, from the highest Honour to extreme Infamy, when Hamans' Greatness was Hanged up, and himself wrapped up in a Sheet of perpetual Shame: then Shushan (the Lily, Hebr.) and the Church (the Lily, Cant. 2. 3.) now looked most Lightsome and Lovely; and that Lucky Day (as Haman had Deemed it, but was Deluded by the Devil) had Deceived the Hamanists, and by a sw●●● and Gracious Providence was turned to 〈◊〉 contrary, to wit, an unlucky and Bloody Day to themselves who had designed it a Destructive-Day to the Church, Esth. 9 1, 4, 6, 10, 16. Now the jollity of the jews began, being delivered from their perplexity, by Standing for their Lives: upon the Thirteenth day (Hamans' Lucky Unluckyday) on the very next (the 14th.) day, they made a Day of Feasting and Gladness, v. 17. not deferring one day longer, while the mercy was fresh and yet of Recent Remembrance, they Proclaim the Praises of their Delivering-God, and speak good of his Name, covering God's Altar with the Calves of their Lips, and paying their Vows to the Lord; Yea, and on the 15th. too, they do the same, (as if one day, the 14th.) had been too little, wherein to Magnify God's Mercy (in Psalms and Sacrifices of Praise) and to Testify their own Thankfulness to him for their Lives, Liberties, and Estates, so lately and so Liberally Restored to them, v. 18. and the Observation of those Three Days (the former as a Fasting, the latter as Feasting Days as say some,) became a Standing Law for both City and Country, v. 20, 21. not as any Addition to the Word of God, but only as a Sacred Memorial of this so Remarkable and Memorable Mercy, in turning them from Mourning to Mirth, etc. v. 22. from the Jaws of most dreadful Death, into the Joys of a most Glorious Deliverance: Thus God can turn (and hath often turned) the Church's Sadness into Gladness, her Sighing into Singing, and her Tears into Triumph: all haman's and Hamanists (notwithstanding all their Fraud and Force, Craft and Cruelty) shall find to their Cost that there is no Enchantment against Jacob, nor any Divination against Israel: Yea, it shall be said of the Church, Oh what hath God wrought? Numb. 23. 23. Such Savoury Discourse the Godly jews were Appointed to have upon those Days of Purim, (so called, for a Brand on haman's casting Pur or Lots for a Lucky Day) as we should have for our Deliverance from the Devils Waterworks in Eighty-Eight, and from his Fire-Works on that famous Fifth of November. This Annual Festivity, Esth. 9 23, 26, 28. was so Solemnly enjoined, that Yearly the Jews kept it until the Coming of Christ, and do indeed (though Abusively) Keep it to this Day, counting and calling all that Cross them, so many Humans, and Fond please themselves with Hopes of being Revenged of them, as their Fathers were of this Haman. The Memorial of the Matter of their Fasting, v. 31. (most probably on the 13th. Day) and of their Feasting (on the Two following Days) was not to Perish from their Seed, but to be perpetuated from one Generation to another, and therefore was Registered for Posterity, that the People which should be Created, might Praise the Lord, Psal. 102. 18. (Popish Persons keep not the 14th. of February so well in their Vain Valentines,) and lest they should slight and slack this Sacred Service, Queen Esther and Prince Mordecai did Confirm the Letter (Writ in the Y. foregoing) in the Y. following, v. 20, 29. And Mordecai (all his Life) kept his Dignity, Seeking the Weal of his People, and Speaking Peace to all His Seed, v. 30, 31. and Ch. 10. 3. God Raised him up for the Comfort of his Church, not only in Speaking Good of and for His Countrymen, (then Living in the 127 Provinces) to the King, Promoting their Prosperity to the Utmost all his Days, but also in Speaking Prosperity to all their Posterity, providing for Future, that after his Death, the Weal of the Church might be Continued: How long this lasted, the Scripture-History (which extendeth no further) doth not Express: To know therefore how it Fared with the Church after, we must have Recourse to scripture-prophecy, for Scripture-History gives only some short Intimations thereof, as Gen. 49. 10. tells us, How the Sceptre should not Departed from Judah, until Shiloh (or Christ) come; and Luk. 3. (in the Genealogy of Christ) Sheweth how God's Providence made Good that Precious Promise, in giving David a Lamp or Light in Jerusalem, until Christ the Son of David was Born into the World: Even all the Prophets (the Greater and the Lesser) do Prophecy of the future Estate of the Church from their own present Time, and of the Coming of Christ, which should make the Glory of the latter House to Exceed the Glory of the former; But more especially the Prophet Daniel Writes a Prophetical History of the Church during that Interspace of Time, in Chap. the 7th. he Declareth his Vision of the Four Monarchies which troubled the World, especially the Church, from the First Rising of Nabuchadnezzar, till the Coming of the Everlasting Kingdom of Christ in the Gospel. In Chap. 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12. Christ (Himself) comes to him, and gives him a Revelation (as he did to John in Patmos) how it should Far with the Jewish-Church under their Powerful Enemies, until the Fury of Antiochus Epiphanes, (Polybius calls him Epimanes, the Madman, their worst Adversary) was over: Daniel Declares, How this Mad Antiochus would Violate the Sanctuary, and Cast down Religion into the Dirt for Three Y. and an Half, or 1290 Days, yet Comforteth the Church with this Cordial, That He who Waiteth and Liveth Forty Five Days more, should see an End of Antiochus, and of all his Crafty and Cruel Plots against the Church; and that in Fullness of Time the Messiah would come to Finish Transgression, and to bring in Everlasting Righteousness, etc. Dan. 9 24. and Change the National Church of the Jews, (therefore much Wasted then) because Shortly to be Changed into Congregational-Churches by the Gospel, Gal. 1. 22. 1 Thess. 2. 14. To know more particularly how God dealt with the Jewish-Church in all that Interspace of Time betwixt the History of the Old and New-Testament, Consult the Following Chapter, where that State of Defection (wherein Christ found them at His Coming) is largely Related.   

The Twenty-First Plot in the New-Testament; against the Church, in Christ, Defeated by God.  
CHAP. XXI.  
WHEN the Blessed Messiah (〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, God-Man,) was Born into the World, he found his Brethren (the Church) as Joseph did his, Gen. 37. 17. Indeed in Dothan, Hebr. in Defection, as the Word Signifies: The Devil had Debauched the Jews most Desperately, so that scarce were there Four or fewer that Waited for the Consolation of Israel, to wit, the Birth of Christ, which was ever the best Cordial that the Lords Prophets proposed to the Church in her most Disconsolate Condition in foregoing Ages, as Isa. 9 6. and Zech. 9 9 and Mal. 4. 2. etc. That Christ is given to the World, is the Sum of all the good News in the World, and affordeth such Joy as surpasseth the Three Grand Worldly Joys, the Joy of Marriage, the joy of Harvest, and the Joy of Victory, Isa. 9▪ 3, 5, 6. yet the Jewish-Church was at that time in such a State of Defection, that they Generally minded it not, though then a very plentiful Harvest, a great Number of Elect among the poor Gentiles were Ready Ripe, Matth. 9 37. Luk. 10. 2. Joh. 4. 35. This Defection of the Jews was foretold by Daniel, (that Ishchamudoth or greatly Beloved Prophet) Speaking of most Sad Calamities that should befall them (both before and after the coming of Christ) for the overspreading of Abomination, Chap. 9 24, 27. with Ch. 8. 23. When the Transgressions are come to the full, that is, when the jews were notoriously Degenerated, then did God set that Breathing-Devil (Antiochus) over them, as a punishment of their public Impiety, and profane Apostasy: This was that which procured a Commission to this Fierce-countenanced, or Hebr. Brazenfaced) King for Destroying Wonderfully the Holy and the Mighty People (who while they were Holy, were so Mighty as to be Inconquerable, but now being Revolted from God, as Weak as Water) both by Power and Policy, Chap. 8. 24, 25. Then was the Glorious Land, Judea, (as Daniel calls it, Ch. 11. 16. for its having the Service of God set up in it above all Lands) crushed asunder, as Corn lying betwixt Two heavy Millstones, that is, betwixt the King of the South, Ptolemy, and this King of the North, Antiochus, called a vile Person, v. 21. though he affected the Name of Epiphanes, or Famous, yet this was his true Title with God, Psal. 15. 4. and though he be an Abominable vile Person, when God's Justice Required such a Scourage to his People, His Heart must be set against the Holy Covenant, v. 28. to wit, against the Jews, Gods Covenanters; and against the True Religion, which made that Land more Beautiful and Glorious than all other Lands, Ezek. 20. 6. He shall enter into the Glorious Land, Dan. 11. 41. and shall make Havoc of God's people, (Revelling in their Ruins) and shall set up the Abomination of Desolation (to wit, the Abominable Idol of Jupiter Olympius) in the Holy Temple: Yea, and the Renegado Jews (which first forsake the Covenant, then do Wickedly against it,) Comply privily with him in all this Wickedness, v. 30, 32. & 2 Macca. 4. He (by their Assistance) practices and prospers, till the Indignation be Accomplished, v. 36. in Gods revengeing the Quarrel of his Covenant: notwithstanding this vile Villain, this Turbulent and Truculent Tiger, God had turned lose upon his People to punish their sins, and though he practised and prospered so far in his prodigious Profanity, as to cast the Truth down to the Ground, both the Profession of Truth, and its professors, Dan. 8. 12. yet the Devil loses this Game also with all the other his Games aforesaid in the Old Test. History: For the most great and gracious God comes in with most Comfortable Allays. (so Spoils the Devils Design.) The 1st. Alloy is, the Palmoni Hamadabbar, Hebr. or most Excellent Speaker or Numberer Christ, Numbers the Time how long this Scourge should continue upon God's People, concerning their loss of the daily Sacrifice, etc. to wit, only Five or Six Years or thereabout, Dan. 8. 13, 14. this was a sweet Cordial to them, that it should be for no longer time, much less, not for Ever: * Now if the proper and genuine Sense of that Text and Type be Applied to Antichrist, typified by Antiochus, (as most Learned Men Concur) than it may be as comfortable for us to consider how Christ, the Messiah, moderates the Matters of the Romish-Antichrist, (though his Wicked practices do prosper for a time, as Act. 12. 1, 2, 3.) yet due Bounds He sets to his proud Waves, Job 38. 10, 11. as to the Sea or Ocean, so to the See of Rome, as he did in the Marian Days, (of Abhorred memory) which lasted no longer than those of Antiochus, to wit, about Five or Six Y. and as he promised to do, Revel. 2. 10. The 2d. Alloy, was, Christ comforts the Church with telling her, not only, that her Trouble under Antiochus should not last Seven Y. much less Seventy Y. (as it lasted in Babylonish Bondage) but also that from the end of those Seventy Y. they should have Seven Seventies of Years in the enjoyment of their own Country, out of which they had been carried Captive, Dan. 9 24. maugre the malice of Men and Devils: wherein behold how most marvellously the Mercy of God doth bear the same proportion to his Punishments, which Seven (a complete Number) carries to an Unit, or One: Thus his Mercy to his Church Triumphs over his Justice, Jam. 2. 13. and over all his Works are his Tender Mercies, Psal. 145. 9 The 3d. Alloy of this troublesome Interspace of 490 Y. was Christ's casting in that Signal Cordial, in the Days of Jaddus or Jadduah, (whom Neh. 12. 10, 11. mentions the Highpriest Descended from Jehoshuab) who met daniel's Capering Goat (Alexander the Great) in all his Pontificalibus or High-Priests Formalities, which struck such a Veneration upon him, that he whom all the World adored, falls down to Adore Jaddus, or rather (as he told Parmenio) Jaddus' God, who in such a like Apparition had encouraged him to Undertake his Wars against Asia: Hereupon he was easily prevailed with (the People of the Jews praying all the while for their High-Priests good Success) to spare Jerusalem, (which he came to Plunder) especially when Walking in Jaddus' Hand to the Temple, and seeing what Daniel had foretold of him, Writing rather an History than a Prophecy, even an Abridgement of all his Victories; hereby he was not only pacified, but also offered Sacrifices to the True God according to the High-Priests Direction, and bestowing upon the jews many Favours and Freedoms, he went away much encouraged in his Enterprise, not doubting but (according to Dan. 8. 3, to 8. the Grecian Goat would overcome the Persian Ram: 'Twas a marvellous Providence, that God should preserve the Highpriesthood all the Captivity to this time, (as Neh. 12. 11.) but more to have this Pledge of God's Grace in Jaddus time. The 4th. Alloy was, though Antiochus (who sprung out of Alexander's Successors) became a fierce Fiend to the jews, yet God told them by Daniel, that his standing up against the Prince of Princes, (to wit, God Almighty, in Destroying the Daily Sacrifice, and in setting up Idolatry in the Temple) would quickly bring God's Vengeance upon him, He shall be broken without Hand, Dan. 8. 25. and though for a few Y. (as above) he shall do according to his wicked Will in the Holy Land, Dan. 11. 36. not Regarding any God, v. 37. yet shall he come to his end, v. 45. a loathsome and lamentable end, a Visible Hand of God laid upon him a loathsome Disease, and wrapped him up in the Sheet of Shame, 1 Macc. 6. 8. and 2 Macc. 9 5. not so much because he would have spoiled the Temple of Diana, but because he did Spoil the Temple at Jerusalem. The 5th. Alloy was that Spirit of God and of Glory which Rested upon the Godly Jews, both for Doing God's Work, and for Suffering Gods Will, 1. In Doing, Oh what a Blessed Zeal did blow up Mathias, the Father, and Judas Maccabeus, his Son, who with the Help of his Brethren and other jews, drove the Enemy out of the Country, and cleansed the Land of all the Uncleanness which had been brought into it; Yea, and with a very small Handful of Men, did mighty Exploits against this Vile Antiochus' great Armies, so that the Church was (in those Worst of Times) most Graciously Helped with a little Help, Dan. 11. 34. in which Weaker Means God Manifested to them his Greater Strength, In whose name, and by whose Conduct, the People that knew their God, were strong to do Exploits, and to outdo those Exploits of Antiochus, Dan. 11. 28, 32. The Apostle seemeth to speak of these Maccabees, who wrought Righteousness, (both Civil and Military) Obtained Promises, (of Glorious Victories) and Escaped the edge of the Sword, (of their Cursed Enemies) which sometimes Conquerors do not, but purchase their Conquests with the loss of their own Lives, as it happened to those brave Brethren at last, Hebr. 11. 32, 33. and 2ly. in Suffering, and no less Glorious Spirit did Act the Godly Jews in their Undergoing Cruel Mockings, and most exquisite Torments, they were Tempted, and they were Tortured too, yet being got above both the Allurements and Affrightments of the World, they would not Accept of Deliverance, upon Sordid and sinful terms, but as willing to Die as to Dine, they commit themselves to their God in their Martyrdom, That they might obtain a better Resurrection, Hebr. 11. 35, 37. Where that time seems to be Related to; God had (even then) an Holy Remnant, whereof the World was not Worthy: They were fit to shine as Stars in Heaven, than to be torn in pieces by those Dogs and Hogs on Earth, as Josephus, the Book of Maccabees, and of Martyrs tell us. The 6th. Sweet Alloy the Church had in this Doleful Day, was that miracle of the Pool of Bethesda, graciously granted by God to corroborate Her in the True Worship of God, under the sad persecutions of Antiochus and other Tyrants, until the days of John Baptist, and of the Lord Christ, Joh. 5. 2, 3, 4. This held up the fainting Spirits of the good people in those bad Times, when Prophecy failed, and Prosperity too, Yea, and in the general all true Piety, Profaneness coming in its stead, as Malachi (their last Prophet) declares at large: The Rabbins indeed tell us of a Bath-Kol, (or Echo) that was heard in the Temple, which served them for an Oracle, etc. but waving Jewish Fancies and Fables, the Scripture of Truth tells us how an Angel went at certain times to give Healing Virtue to that Water (wherein their Sacrifices were washed) Here many Impotent Folk lay Languishing at Hope's Hospital, and looking (after all other means had been ineffectual) for God to say to them, In the House of Mercy (as the Word Bethesda signifies) I am thy God that Healeth thee, Exod. 15. 26. Jehova Ropheka, a Giantlike Healer, Omnipotenti Medico nullus Insanabilis Occurit Morbus: No Disease is, but God can Cure it. This Beneficial Pool was supplied with Water from the Fountain of Siloam, which Represented the Kingdom of Christ, Isa. 8. 6. The 7th. and last Alloy, was the Promise of the Messiah, (that Mercy of Mercies) who was to be a more Sovereign Bath than this of Bethesda, or House of Bounty: Christ is the Royal Fountain, or King's Bath, Zech. 13. 1. ever-flowing and overflowing, such as Wash herein Believingly shall be both Clean and Whole, not Healing at the times of the jewish Feasts only, as that Pool did, but all times of the Year, and not one at once, (as if one only had Sucked up all the Healing Virtue from all others there) but here 3000 persons were Healed together at one Sermon, Act. 2. 41. when the Angel of the Covenant Descended to move the Waters that were drawn out of the Wells of Salvation, Isa. 12. 3. for no other moving but that of an Angel (who are Ministering Spirits to heirs of Salvation, Hebr. 1. 14.) could Dispense to the Diseased any such powerful and immediate Cure, the Waters were at all times of a cleansing Property, (as to their Sacrifices) but only at that time had they a Cureing Power, as to themselves. When this Beneficial Virtue began in this Pool, is uncertain: 'tis supposed to begin when Eliashib (Joshua's Grandchild) with the godly Priests, Built the Sheep-gate, and Beautified it, than Consecrated it with their godly prayer, Neh. 3. 1. Hereupon (as Tremellius saith) probably followed that Miracle of an Angels Descending into the Pool there, (at their several Solemn Feasts) and Healing all Diseases, how old, great or Desperate soever, and that immediately and in a moment: 'tis as Uncertain likewise when this Miracle of Healing Ceased, 'tis supposed, not till the Destruction of jerusalem, which did fall out about Forty Y. after Christ's Healing this Cripple at Bethesda, it being so many Y. 'twixt this Passeover, joh. 5. and that Passeover when Titus Vespasian laid Siege to the City: yet this is more than probable, that this Miraculous Gift of Healing was given to this Pool before the Coming of Christ, as a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, or famous forerunner of him who was to be the Opened Fountain, Zech. 13. 1. for Healing all Diseases, and Cureing all Sins, Matth. 1. 21. even Jesus, the Greek Word comes of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sano, to Heal, as the Hebr. Word, of Jashang, to Save; and this is most certain that the time when this Famous Fountain was opened, is well known (though concerning the Pool (aforesaid) the Beginning of its Miracle be unknown) to wit, to be about the four Thousand Y. of the World, according to the Latitude of Time, and latest (therefore exactest) Computations: The Temple of Solomon was Erected about the 3000 Y. of the World, (as above) and the Temple of Christ's Body, Joh. 2. 19 21. (whereof solomon's Temple was a Type) was Reared up a 1000 Y. after, about the 4000d. Y. of the World, after 2000 more (say the Rabbins) comes the Sabbatical 1000, See before of Solomon's Temple; Christ calls his most Tightly Framed (〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Hebr. 10. 5. Ephes. 4. 9 Psa. 139. 14, 15.) Body a Temple, wherein the Godhead dwelled Bodily, Col. 2. 9 that is Personally, (as God dwelled in the material Temple, Sacramentally, and in our Hearts Spiritually, Eph. 3. 17.) to mind the jews there, that their Second Temple wanted the Ark, Vrim, and Thummim, which the first Temple had; therefore they must look for another Temple, that would correspond in all things to that Complete Temple of Solomon, and that was the Temple of his Body. No sooner was this Fountain opened, this Temple Erected, but the Devil gins to play his pranks in plotting how to Stop up this Well of Salvation, as the Philistims (at his Instigation) had done the Wells of the Patriarch Isaac. Gen. 26. 15. one of those Wells is called Sitnah, of Satan, v. 21. for Satan Hindered it, (as he did the Word, (that Well of Salvation) 1 Thess. 2. 18. and this Prince of the Power of the Air, Ephes. 2.2. and 6. 12. (and so hath a power to move the Air, and to raise Storms, as he did to Blow the Feasting-House of Jobs Children down, and to Sink the Ship wherein Christ was Embarked, Matth. 8. 24.) Doth now Raise 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a mighty Storm wherewith to Blow down this Temple as soon as ever it was Reared, and Herod the Askalonite or cursed Edomite, was a fit Tool for the Devil to Work this Wicked Will and Wile with. This Herod was Troubled at the Birth of Christ, Matth. 2. 3. whereat the Sages and the Shepherds (with sundry Saints) so much Rejoiced; hereupon he pretends to go and Worship him, when as he Intends to go and Worry him; but God did marvellously Bassle and Befool this Fox, so that with all his Craft and Cruelty he could not Worry the Holy Child Jesus, for he was Overwitted by the Alwise, and overpowered by the All-powerful God in those following Respects. (1.) Though Herod wrought Wilily with the Wisemen, Transacting all privately with them, that his purpose of Killing Christ might not be prevented, Matth. 2. 7, 8. yet all his Wicked Wisdom prevails not against God, Prov. 21. 30. because his Wisdom was but Folly, otherwise 'tis a Wonder he went not himself with the Wisemen, or sent some cruel Cutthroat along with them privily. (2.) Though Herod had charged the Wisemen to bring him Word again, v. 8. yet after the Payment of their Homage to this Holy Babe and little King, v. 9, 10, 11. They being Warned of God, (an Higher power than that of Herod's) Returned not to Herod. Thus God Kept them from Betraying Christ, and themselves (as well as Christ) were pulled out of the Mouth of this Lion by this sweet and marvellous providence. (3.) Though he sent forth Soldiers which Slew all the Male-childrens in all the Coasts about, (as well as in Bethlehem) from Two Y. Old and Under, etc. Matth. 2. 16. yet he deferred his Murdering Work so long, until the Bird (he sought to Kill) was flown into Egypt by God's Direction, v. 13, to 15. Thus though it was the Devil in Herod that sought to Destroy the Young Child, Matth. 2. 13. Revel. 12. 4. yet God was ware of it, prevents it by providing a Sanctuary for his Son in Egypt, which had been cruel to Gods first Born, even Israel, Exod. 4. 22, 23. There Christ was preserved in Safety, (though the Crafty Fox (Herod) and the subtle Serpent (the Devil) Clubbed their Wits together to contrive his Death) until God brought Word of Herod's Death, v. 20. according to his promise, v. 13. ☞ And, some say, at Christ's coming into Egypt, all the Idols of the Land (which abounded with them) did fall flat to the ground: 'Twas not only this that enraged the Devil against Christ, but also, because he had Silenced all his Oracles, as that at Delphos especially, where Augustus Caesar, urging the Devil for an Answer, was told, That an Hebrew Child had stopped his Mouth, and sent him with a Mittimus to Hell, and therefore he might spare both his Labour and Cost to Consult his Oracle any more. The like Lamentation was made for the Death of the great God Pan (as Plutarch relates) in Arcadia, which Rustic God and Hairy satire, (with his Horns) was no other but an Apparition of the Devil. And as the Cause of the Devil's Rage was his feeling the loss of his Kingdom, so the Cause of Herod's Rage was his fearing the loss of his Kingdom; for as soon as he had heard from the Wisemen of Christ, (Born King of the Jews,) he was Troubled, Matth. 2. 2, 3. fearing that he himself being a Stranger (of Idumea, not of Israel) might be Deposed by the jews, whom (he thought) would be glad enough to have a King of their own, to whom they would contribute their best Assistance, therefore he goes about to Murder the Messiah, before his time was come: 'Twas a marvellous providence that preserved the Line of David in the Tribe of Judah all that Troublesome time from the 2d. Temple to Christ, (as both Matth. 1. and Luk. 3. doth in their Genealogies Demonstrate) the former by the Pedigree of Joseph, the latter by that of Mary, (Mary's Genealogy is put upon Joseph, because the Hebrews do reckon them not by Women, but by Men only.) Showing that Christ was of the Line-Royal of David, (as well as that Seed of the Woman which should break the Devil's Head,) and though those mentioned there, that lived in those Calamitous Days, (after the Captivity) were not formal Kings, (being Subject to other Nations) yet were they Principal Men among their People and Lawgivers, (as jacob had Prophesied, Gen. 49. 10) Until Shilo came; not a tittle of God's Word can fail or fall to the Ground. In this Herod the Askalonite, (or Raskalonite) the Sceptre departed from judah, and lest it should departed from him, because Shiloh was come, he Racks his Wit in Devilish Devices to secure himself, but at last he wracks his own Weal, for though he had escaped many Conspiracies, yet soon after his Bloody Butchery in and about Bethlehem, the Hand of God seizes on him, so that he Dies of an execrable and most loathsome Disease; And God (himself) takes care to send his Holy Angel to Christ and his Parents with those glad Tidings of cruel Herod's Death, and of all his cursed Complices and Conspirators too, for the merry Message is Delivered in the plural Number, [They are Dead that sought the Young Child's Life,] Mat. 2. 19, 20. * And the like good News God hath in store to send his Distressed Church in due time, that all they which sought to make the Church Dye, are themselves Dead, and all their Diabolical Designs with them. The Devil being thus Defeated in the 1st. part of his Plot against Christ in the Infancy of his Manhood, (Christ still Lives, grows up in Wisdom and Stature, and in Favour with God and Man, Luk. 2. 52. and at twelve Y. Old able to Dispute with the Doctors, Yea, to nonplus them, v. 47.)   

The Twentysecond Plot in the New-Testament, against the Church, in Christ, Defeated by God.  
CHAP. XXII.  
HEreupon he projects a Second Plot against Christ in the Infancy (or Minority) of his Ministry: as the first was Managed with an Instrument, to wit, Herod, mediately, but this 2d. without any, immediately by the Devil, himself: Satan will not trust any Instruments to Tempt Christ, as his Imp (Herod) had trusted his Soldiers to Kill Christ, Matth. 2. 16. Now he Assaults Christ by himself, Matth. 4. 1. he had Assaulted the 1st. Adam in his Proxy (the Serpent) but he will Venture upon the ●d. Adam in his own Person, and that Immediately upon his very Entrance into the Ministry. Behold here the Dreadfullest Duel, the most Memorable Battle betwixt Two the Strongest and Stoutest Champions was sought that ever appeared upon the Stage of the World; that of David and Goliath was of a far Inferior Alloy, (though a type of it) to this, ● Sam. 17. 41, to 51. There was only Man against Man: and that of Michael and the Devil, Judas 9 is below this, for 1. there it was only an Archangel against the Arch-Devil. 2ly. 'Twas only a Dispute about the Body of Moses, but here, 'tis not Man against Man as in the first Instance, nor an Angel against a Devil, as in the second: No, 'tis the Lord of Angels, Hebr. 2. 4. Wrestling a Fall with the Prince of Devils, Matth. 12. 24. Oh how do people Run to see some Remarkable Fencer's sight their Prizes? etc. * Behold here a Prize sought betwixt God-Man and Beelzebub, 'twixt the Prince of Life, and the Prince of Darkness, and that, not about the Natural Body of Moses, (as above) but about the Spiritual Body of the Messiah, to wit, his Church, the Mystical Body of Christ, 1 Cor. 12. 12. neither is it, that Israel may Overcome the Philistims only, (for which David fought Goliath) but that all Believing Jews and Gentiles (that ever have been, are now, and shall be to the end of the World,) may Overcome Flesh, World, and Devil, in this Captain of their Salvation, Jesus Christ, Hebr. 2. 10. Rom. 8. 37. Col. 1. 16. and 2. 15. Oh what will ye go out into the Wilderness to see? Matth. 11. 7. turn aside (with Moses, Exod. 3. 3.) and with Me, to see this Great Sight. The Strong Man, and the Stronger Man Entering the Lists together, not Two Reeds (shaken with the Wind) shakeing one another, but a mighty Devil (a complete compound of Goliahs' Strength, of Achitophel's Craft, and of Doegs Malice) Combating and Conflicting with Almighty God; and for a fuller and more distinct View of this most Famous Contest, behold it in Two Pregnant Particulars. 1. A most strange Act. 2. As strange an End. 1. The Strange Act (like the River of Paradise, Gen. 2. 10.) Divides itself into Four Streams, Branching itself out in Four Circumstances. 1. Time, 2. Place. 3. the Agent. 4. the Patient. 1st. of the Time when, then Matth. 4. 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Immediately, Mark. 1. 12. 1. Presently after he was Baptised. 3. Presently after he was Proclaimed the Son of God, or Presently after he was 30 Y. Old. As to the 1st. Christ was no sooner out of the Water of Baptism. but Immediately he comes into the Fire of Temptation, and both, not for himself, but for us: Behold how he loved us! Is there any Love like the Love of Christ, who passed through both Fire and Water to Work our Redemption: As to the 2d. Immediately after his Highest Communion with Heaven, he hath his Deepest Temptations from Hell: If Heaven Open its Mouth to Proclaim him the Son of God, Matth. 3. 17. then presently Hell opens its mouth, Isa. 5. 14. to power out Floods of Temptation upon him, as Revel. 12. 15. If God say, I am Well-pleased with Christ, Matth. 3. 17. The Devil comes presently, and saith, But I am Highly displeased with Christ: And if Heaven send a Dove and the Holy Spirit to Christ, Matth. 3. 16. Hell will be sure Immediately to send him a Fiend, and an  Spirit; the former Descends from Above, the latter Ascends from Below, as 1 Sam. 28. 13. As to the 3d. Relating to Christ's Age, we do not Read what Christ did in his Minority and Nonage; how he spent his private Life was Judged (by the most Wise God) fit for Secrecy than for Knowledge; where the Word hath not a Mouth to Speak, we should not have a Tongue to Ask: However, 'tis not probable that Christ (that Pattern of Holiness, the [Regula Regulans] Rule-Ruleing, as well as Regulata, the Rule-Ruled) should spend his thirty Y. either (1) in Idleness, especially considering the jews generally were Charged with their Children after they had Circumcised them, to train them up in the Knowledge of the Law of God for the good of their Inner Man, Exod. 12. 26, 27. and in some Honest Calling for the good of their Outward Man: and Rab. Judah saith, Quicunque non Doceret suum Filium, aliquod Opificium, est, acsi illum Latrocinium Doceret, Whoever Taught not his Son some Honest Employ, is as if he had taught him to be a Rogue or a Robber; Yea, and the Heathen Hesiod could Sing [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉] Nullum Opificium est probrosum, No Handicraft-Trade is Reproachful, but of good Report; or, (2) in dedicating his Youth to the Study (1) of Curious Arts, as those had done, Act. 19, 19 and such a Devilish Black Artist those Black-mouthed Blasphemers would have made of the Divine Messiah, Mat. 12.24. or (2) of those better (called Liberal) Arts; whereof he had no need, being the Wisdom of God, Prov. 8. 30. 1 Cor. 1. 24. and having the Godhead dwelling Bodily in Him, Col. 2. 9 a Beam whereof he was pleased to put forth in the Temple among the Doctors, when he was Twelve Y. Old, Luk. 2.42, 46, 47. until which Y. the Scripture Relates nothing of him after his Deliverance from Herod, nor any thing of him after this, until he was Thirty Y. Old; save only that when he had drawn in this Beam of his Deity which he had put forth among the Doctors, he went Home with his Parents, and was subject to them, v. 51. where 'tis not improbable, the Grand Carpenter and great Architect of the World, followed his Father's Calling of a Carpenter, as the Evangelists Words are, [Is not this the Carpenter?] Mark 6. 3. And as Justin Martyr, (that lived not long after him) saith, That before his Ministry, he made Yokes and Ploughs, which some would confirm from Christ's own Words, [My Yoke is Easy,] Matth. 11. 30. However this honest Occupation might consist well enough with his state of Humiliation, wherein he made himself of no Reputation, Phil. 2. 7. Reduceing himself (comparatively to Nothing,) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, he emptied himself of his own Majesty, and he (who became a Sinner (both by Imputation and Reputation) for us, why might he not become (much more) a Carpenter, while his Glory lay long obscured, that he might not give an Example either of Idleness or of Vain Curiosity: according hereto was the tart Answer the Godly Schoolmaster made to Scoffing Julian (the Apostate) Ask him, What was the Carpenter's Son now a Doing? He smartly Replied, That he was making a Coffin for such a Cursed Apostate, who, getting his mortal Wound in that very Expedition, was constrained to confess, [Vicisti me O Galilae.] Oh! thou Galilean Carpenter, Thou hast Conquered me. 'Tis very remarkable that all those many Years of Christ's Private Life, the Devil never once meddles with him, since his Defeat at his Birth in his Bloodthirsty Herod, who Butchered (as some say) 14000 Babes in his Bethlehem-Massacre, yet miss that Holy Babe of Bethlehem, who only was Born without Original Sin, and whom the Lord Hid from his Bloody Hands, as he did Jeremy and Baruch, Jer. 36. 26. Oh what an opportunity had the Devil for Cutting off and Killing Christ when Joseph and his Mother had lost him at the Feast in jerusalem, Luk. 2. 43. 'Tis a Wonder they should be so careless of such a Peerless Pearl; they might easily Imagine, though Herod (who sought the Child's Life) was Dead, yet were there Herodians enough alive, who would be Glad enough of Dispatching any that were (but Reputed) King of the Jews; and they might well fear, If he had lost his way, many Evils might befall him, as usually befall Children in the like Case, and as jacob feared, had befallen his Dear joseph, Gen. 37. 33. when they found him not in the Company, Luk. 2. 43. yet even then his Godhead secured his Manhood, and that in the midst of the Doctors, who knew not the Messiah, so Clouded under such an obscure Education, although the Lord of the Temple was come at that time into His Temple, and Taught therein with his own lively Voice, as Malachy had foretold them, should suddenly be, Ch. 3. 1. 'Tis a Wonder how the Devil did to hold his Hands for almost Thirty Y. together, when he could not but take Notice of this his Disputing with the Doctors, yea, and (as 'tis probably supposed) of his Domestic Deeds of Wonder, (wherewith had not his Mother been Acquainted at Home, she could not rationally have expected one abroad, in her telling Christ, that Wine was wanting at the Marriage in Cana, joh. 2. 3. But 'twas not Christ's Private Life that was so Destructive to the Devil's Kingdom; as soon as ever he began upon his Public Ministration, and but barely Ordained to it by Imposition of Hands from Heaven, together with a Celestial Suffrage; then this Dragon the Devil (who had Slept quiet in his Den for many Years before) now Rouseth, Roareth, and Rageth against Christ, If Christ begin to Gird himself with the Girdle of Man's Salvation, than he gins to Gird himself with the Girdle of Christ's Destruction: Oh how gladly would the Devil have broke Christ's Neck by casting him down from the Pinnacle of the Temple whereon he had placed him, had he but the same Power to Cast him off, as he had to Set him on, but this he had not.) 2ly. the Place where, In the Wilderness either of Sinai, where Moses and Elias had Fasted, (there Christ must Fast too, (to Feast us with the Fatted Calf, Luk. 15. 23.) and those Three famous Fasters met together upon Mount-Tabor, Matth. 17. 3, 5.) and where Israel were Afflicted, or of Judea, where David was so persecuted by Saul, as Israel had been by Pharaoh, both which were resemblances of Satan's Tempting Christ Here; whatever Wilderness this was, 'twas Satan's own Ground, he is the God of this World (or Wilderness,) Cor. 4. 4. Christ must fight the Devil upon his own Dunghill. The 2d. Adam must Conquer him in the Desert, who had Conquered the 1st. Adam in Paradise; In this Desert or Dry places (where the Devil Wanders, Matth. 12. 43. and walks about, seeking whom he may devour, 1 Pet. 5. 8.) he meets Christ and would have Devoured him, as a Lion the Lamb, (of God) and as a Dragon the Manchild, Revel. 12. 4. Hither Christ was led by the Spirit, (that Dove which Descended upon him, Matth. 3. 16.) and thus behold a Wonder, a Dove leads a Lamb to fight with a Lion; The Spirit led the Lamb of God as his brave Champion to grapple with the Devil that roaring Lion, as Samson and David (his Two Types) had done the like before him, Judg. 14. 5, 6. and 1 Sam. 17. 34, 35. Here the Seed of the Woman Combats the Serpent in the Desert, who had foiled her in the Garden of Eden: Here Christ must be Alone upon the Devil's Advantage-Ground, where Christ had none to Help him, and the Tempter none to Hinder him, that Christ might Tread the Wine-press alone, Isa. 63. 3. This Single Duel must be fought in the Open Field, and have none but God and Angels to be Spectators of it; yet Christ was not so alone, but his Father was with him here, as Joh. 8. 16. and 16. 32. and his Spirit (that led him Hither looked on to behold his Champion's Behaviour: Yea, the Scripture saith, He had a Triple Neighbourhood. 1. Satan, his Antagonist. 2. wild Beasts, Mark 1. 12. which Hurt him not, but showed their Subjection to this 2d. Adam, as they had done to the first Adam in his state of Innocency. 3. The Angels which came and Ministered both Food and Comfort to him, the former for his Body, the latter for his Soul, Matth. 4. 12. None lose any thing in their Suffering for God. 3ly. The Agent, or Inslicter, 'tis one with three Names, (which some do call Ominous) 1st. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the Tempter. 2. Satan, the Adversary. 3. the Devil, or Calumniator, and so he Calumniates God (the Father) to Christ, the Son, saying, Dost thou think if thou were the Son of God, that thy Father would suffer thee (his Son) to Starve for want of Bread in this Wilderness? Thus he Calumniated God to Eve, Gen. 3. 5. and Job to God, Job 1. 9, 10. This Adversary, or Piercer, (as the Word [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉] signisies) comes Accoutred with Three sharp Weapons, wherewith to Pierce the Church's Redeemer, Luk. 4, 2. tells us, that Christ was Tempted all the Forty Days Space, to wit, Invisibly the Devil strove to Inject sinful suggestions into him (as he doth into other Men) all the time of his Watching, Fasting, and Solitude, but finding nothing in him to Work upon, as Joh. 14. 30. therefore at Forty Days End, he taketh other Measures, and Appeareth to him Visibly with those three worst Weapons, (which he reserved for the last) and that not like himself, (the Prince of Darkness, a Fowl Fiend of Hell) but as an Angel of Light, tempting Christ (in the first temptation) as a faithful Friend, pitying to see him Famished in the Wilderness, and with seeming compassion counsels him to change Stones into Bread, Matth. 4. ●. that is, Distrust God's Providence for Relieving thy Hunger, by Working a preposterous Miracle, this was Intendsd, though better was Pretended. In the 2d. he comes, not as a Friend to Advise, but as a Divine to Direct, v. 6. quoting Scripture most Gravely to corroborate his Directions, but in this, though his Words were the Smooth Voice of Jacob, yet his Sense was the Rough Hands of Esau. The old Liar spoke Truth here, but for Devilish Ends; yet (in his Apish Imitation of Christ's Alleging, Scriptum est) he fallaciously Clipps off that Clause, [In all thy Ways,] and so mars the Masculine-Sense thereof; for if a Man be out of his way (appointed him by God to walk in) if out of God's Precincts, he is out of God's Protection, Deut. 23. 6. Prov. 27. 1. In the 3d. he comes, not like a faithful Friend to furnish him in his Famine, as in the (1) nor like a Grave Divine to Direct him from Scripture how he might get Immortal Applause by his Flying in the Air from the top of the Temples Pinnacle down to the Ground, as in the 2d. but like a Mighty Monarch to Seduce our Saviour with great and goodly Gifts, v. 8, 9 Showing him all the Kingdoms of the World, and the Glory thereof, all in their Beauty and Bravery, and doubtless a most Bewitching Object, Hoping hereby to Dazzle our Redeemers Eyes, (those Windows of the Soul) and so to Conjure his Affections; especially offering all this Rule and Riches (as his Royal Bounty) to him, and (according to the Centurists) to make him Pope, to wit, of a Christ, he would make him Antichrist; but that which Spoiled the Devils Game, he backs his Prossered Beneficence (which in its self was but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 (an Opinion, or Imagination) and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Act. 24. 23. a mere Fancy, or Shadow, or an Empty Apparition) with a loud Lie, saying. All this is Delilivered unto me, Luk. 4. 6. This (as a Lying Spirit) he Spoke of his own self, Joh. ●. 44. 'tis not to whom the Devil will, the Kingdoms of the World are given, but 'tis, to whom God Willeth, Dan. 2. 44. and 4. 25. and 5. 21. the most High sets up and takes down, appoints and bestows on whomsoever he will: the Prince of Hell can do no more in giving to, or taking from, than the God of Heaven permits, Revel. 13. 7. Jer. 18. 4. and 27. 5. 4ly. The Patient, The Lord Christ our Blessed Redeemer was the Sufferer, as the Devil was the Agent and Inflicter; for Forty Days and Nights too our Lord was continually and uncessantly Buffeted, (not by the Messenger of Satan, as Paul was, 2 Cor. 17. 7.) but by Satan himself in Person with all sorts of Temptations (during that time) not Recorded, Luk. 4. 2. but these three (which are upon Record) were certainly the worst, (as before) In quibus Diabolus omnes suos Astus, & Fraudis suae Sacculos Exoneravit, wherein the Devil did his Utmost, and turned up the bottom of his Bag and Budget, wherein were all manner of Hellish Weapons, wherewith to Wound this Blessed Babe of Bethlehem: As our Great Grandmother Eve was tempted by Satan to the Lust of the Flesh, the Lust of the Eyes, and the Pride of Life, 1 Joh. 2. 16. [for She saw the Fruit of the Forbidden Tree was good for Food, that it was Pleasant to the Eyes, and to be Desired for making one Wise, Gen. 3. 6.] So by all these (had it been possible) would the same Old Serpent have Seduced the Seed of the Woman; for Satan tempted our Saviour first to turn Stones into Bread, for satisfying the Hunger of his Flesh: 2ly. to fall down and Worship him for that goodly Catch (a shining Nothing or Scheme) wherewith he would have bewitched his Eyes, and 3ly. to fly in the Firmament in a way of Pride, that all Men might adore him as they did his Sorcerer Simon Magus for so doing in Samaria, Act. 8. 9, 10. therefore 'tis probable Luke laid the three Temptations in this Order, answerable to that Order, 1 Joh. 2. 16. that the Parallel 'twixt the two Adam's Temptations might more plainly be Observed, Luk. 4. 1, to 14. Now come we from the 1st. Part, The Strange Act, to the 2d. Part, the Strange End, the Issue of the Act, yet discoursing all along upon those mighty Means in tendency to the End. The Upshot of all was, our Lord Vanquished the Devil, Blunting all his Weapons weelded against him, Isa. 54. 17. not one spark of Satan's Hell-sire would take upon Christ's Wet Tinder, neither the 1st. nor the 2d. nor the 3d. no more than the many before the End of the forty Days; Christ keeps his Ground, maintains his Standing, resists the Devil, and puts him at last to the Flight, by these following Means: Christ's Defensive Weapons (against the Devil's Offensives) in the General, (1) was not to thrust the Tempter away by his Divine Power, which by Virtue of his Godhead he might have done at the first: nor (2) doth he Use a Revelation against Satan, nor an Inward Word, as some pretend to: nor (3) doth He Argue him away by Strength of Reason, when he could easily Reduce the Seducer to this Undeniable Dilemma, [If I be the Son of God, I can Live without Bread, and 'tis Impossible for thee (a Creature) to overcome Me thy Creator; if I be not the Son of God, why dost thou doubt of it? and why dost thou propose a Miracle to be done by Me, which no mere Son of Man can possibly perform by his own Power?) Nor 4. doth he plead Tradition, as the Romanists that are more for their Traditum est, than for Scriptum est: to plead Scripture is according to Christ, but to plead Tradition (in neglect of, and opposition to the Scripture) is according to Antichrist: but (5) his Weapon was the Word Written, such as we may wield by his Example, and must do so by his Command: yet (6) not by making a Charm of the bare Letter of the Word, as the Superstitious and Magiquely-minded Men do, thinking the naked Rehearsal of the Words in Joh. 1. 1, etc. is an exorcism Strong enough to Conjure away the Devil, but 'twas the Sword of the Spirit drawn out of the Sheath of the Letter, wherewith Christ Answered all the three Assaults, It is Written, It is Written, It is Written, Three times over, v. 4, 7, 10. this was his Sore, great and Strong Sword (of the Spirit) wherewith our Lord Punishes Leviathan that Crooked Piercing Serpent, Isa. 27. 1. He Draws Three Arrows out of the Divine Quiver of Sacred Scripture, and chooses three Smooth Stones (with David) out of those Silver Streams, wherewith he lays all along this great Goliath of Hell upon the Ground. In the 1st. Rancounter the Tempter tempts Christ to a Desponding Diffidence, and being Foiled in that, this Unwearied Assaulter endeavours to transport him into a Vainglorious Confidence, making up the matter of his 2d. Temptation, even out of the very matter wherein he was foiled in the first; If Christ will Trust God, he shall have enough and too much of Trusting; If he will trust God for his Provision of Bread, he shall trust Angels (in his Leaping down from the Pinnacle) for his Protection of Body; and though this (〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, or) Piercer points his 2d. Temptation with Scripture, (finding Christ's Strength lay there) yet Christ Baffles Satan in this too, by proposing a Plain and parallel Text to give Light to that the Devil Urged, being Darker, especially as his Antagonist had misquoted it, and had Ruffled (by his Curtailing it) the true, Proper and Genuine Sense of it: now when the Dragon or Beast (Satan) had taken the Horns of the Lamb, as Revel. 13. 11. to Push with, even the Holy Scripture, and was become a white Devil, as an Angel of Light, or at least some seeming Grave Divine, (so that Satan as well as Saul thrusts in among the Prophets, among Divines, among Saints, 1 Sam. 10. 11. and 19 24. and Job 1. 6.) yet was Vanquished by Scripture; He hath not still done, but after a Double Repulse, tries his 3d. Impulse, which was the Sharpest and Sorest of all the three: It might be unnecessary to turn Stones into Bread, and Dangerous to Cast Himself down from the Pinnacle; but Oh how Plausible was this Proposal, the Tempter came [Petendo] in Requesting only the Two times before; now he comes in this 3d. [Et Petendo & Promittendo] not only in Requesting a little, a very little Work, a Work soon done, and without Pain or Danger, ('tis but to Fall down and Worship me) but also in Promising a great, a very great and Rich Reward for this little and easy Work: Oh how sweet and luscious (as well as Delicious) are Rule and Riches, and to have the Glories of the World without the Cares (which the Devil shown him not) and Troubles thereof: This Evil Spirit, who had not an Inch of Earth, either in himself, (having no Earthly Real Body) nor of his own, (being but an Usurping God of this World,) Yet Offers the whole Earth to Christ, who was the First Maker, and now the True Owner of it; this is the Devils 3d. Assault after his 1st. and 2d. Repulse and Rejection: The Devil is not lightly Discouraged, but [Muscarum ad Instar, quo Magis Abiguntur eò magis Premunt,] like the Flies is this Beelzebub, or Master-Fly, though Beaten away once, and again, yet Returns to the same place: yet now coming to his height of Impudence, and offering this High Indignity (of placing the Devil in God's Throne) Christ Endures him no longer, but Commands him out of His Presence with Utmost Indignation; And if Christ command him away, There is no Abiding for him, Then the Devil left him, Matth. 4. 10, 11. Basely Baffl'd and Befoiled; And no sooner was this Evil Angel Vanquished and Vanished, but presently the Good Angels come to Comfort this Conqueror, and to Carry Him back from this Mountain where the Devil had left him. Thus the Son of God whom God the Father had Owned by a Voice from Heaven, and God the Holy Spirit, by the Dove Descending upon him. Now the Devil Owns Him as One too Strong for him, by his quitting the Field, Yea, and His Good Angels Owns Him as Their Lord, having such Power over Evil Angels.   

The Twenty-Third Plot in the New-Testament, against the Church, in Christ, Defeated by God.  
CHAP. XXIII.  
NOw come we to the Devils 3d. Plot against Christ, when he carried on his Office, as the last was at the beginning of it: Though the Devil was now both Defeated and Departed, yet 'tis said expressly, He Departed from Christ but only for a Season, Luk. 4. 13. Here Expired the Devil's Commission, he can now (nor at any time) do no more Evil than God permits; Here the Devil (Quasi, Do Evil) endeavoured to break Christ's Head by drawing him to Sin, that thereby he might Overthrow both him and his Work of Redemption, which he had Undertaken: However Satan (being Defeated in this Design) waits now for a Season wherein to Bruise his Heel, well knowing, That was in his Commission, from Gen. 3. 15. 'Tis pity we should be so Ignorant of the Holy Scriptures, when the Devil hath them so at his Finger's ends, (as we say) as readily to rehearse them (as he did) in sharpening his 2d. Tempting Tool against Christ. He well enough understood that though he could not now Corrupt Christ with those his three temptations, so Spoil him as the Church's Redeemer; yet he might have leave (from that Gen. 3. 15.) to do him much mischief, yea, and to Murder him at last, which yet (as God overruled it) was but the Bruising of his Heel in his Redemption-Work, as will appear after. Hereupon the Prince of this World cometh again to Christ, (after his 2d. Defeat) Joh. 14. 30. Non tantùm clam Tentaturus, quantùm palam pugnaturus, Not so much privily to Tempt him, as openly to Fight him; the Tempter will have his Returning Times, as he had to Christ, so he will have to Us, and therefore after we have foiled him in one Conslict, we must expect another; he will have the tother 'Bout with us, in a calm prepare for a Storm: Satan is Restless, Impudent and Importunate, and will not easily be said Nay: If we live out all our Days, he may put us hard to it in every Article of the Creed in Respect of our Belief, and Urge us to the Breach of every Branch of the Dealogue in Respect of our Obedience, so may he tempt us to all kind of Sins. Thus this Restless Devil (though he had let Christ alone all the time of his Private Life, as before) never allows him any Quiet after he had Entered upon his Public Ministry, but did Disquiet him all along, until he had finished his Work his Father gave him to do, Joh. 17. 4. No sooner began Christ to Declare himself the King, Priest and Prophet of his Church both by his many Gracious and None-such Sermons which he Publicly Preached, Luk. 4. 15, 22, 32. Matth. 7. 28, 29. Joh. 7. 15. and 1. 14. Psa. 45. 2. Cant. 4. 3. Isa. 50. 4. (that Palmoni Hammadabbar, most Excellent Speaker, or Prince of Preachers, Dan. 8. 13.) and also had Confirmed His Doctrine (Preached) with Matchless Miracles, as was that first of turning Water into Wine, (a better Miracle of the Messiah, than that of Moses' turning Water into Blood, Exod. 7. 20. for he was a better Mediator, and of better things, Hebr. 3. 3, 5, 6. and 8. 6. and 9 11, 12, 13, 14, 23, 24.) Joh. 2. 9, 11. But presently the Devil gins to stir, and to Assault Christ again by his Diabolical Instruments; This 3d. Plot consists of many Assaults, the 1st. was, the very first Sermon that Luke Records Christ Preached after his Relation of the Forty Days Temptation, (though that Miracle in Cana of Galilee was in Order of time before it,) Luk. 4. 16, to 28. The Devil stirred up those Ungrateful Countrymen of his at Nazareth, where Envy itself had seemed to be Silenced by his Gracious Words; yet (1) they (by the Devil's Instigation) cavil at his Person, saying, Is not this joseph's Son? v. 22. and (2) they would have found an Hole in his Seemless Coat, as to his Works, for not Cureing Diseases in his own Country, (as he had done in other countries', Joh. 4. 43, 45, 46, 54.) v. 23. but when Christ Hinted only, the Calling of the Gentiles, and withal pinching close upon Nazarets' Unbelief, (by which his Hands were hindered from Working Miracles among them, Matth. 13. 54, 58. Mark 6. 1, 5.) v. 24, to 27. Hereupon (3) they were filled with Wrath, v. 28. picks a Quarrel with Christ whom they had so lately and so much Admired; Their Anger was Christ's Danger: they thrust Christ out of the City, as Unworthy to Walk upon their Pavement, and the Devil made them so mad with Malice, that though it were on their Sabbath-day, v. 16. and though Christ was not Condemned by any Legal Trial, yet will they Immediately (of themselves, and on that Day) become Christ's Executioners; in order hereunto, those Divelishly Supercilious Jews carries him [ad Supercilium Montis] to the Brow of the Hill, to cast Christ down Headlong, and so to break his Neck: This the Devil would have had done by Christ (himself) Voluntarily, (which God permitted him not to do by his own Hands, when he set him upon the Pinnacle of the Temple, and now Endeavours to do by the Hands of Christ's own Carnal and Cursed Countrymen, v. 29. but God Baffles the Devil here again; for Christ, like a second Samson, makes His own Way miraculously through the midst of his Enemies, (as Psal. 18. 29.) either by Blinding their Eyes, (as Gen. 19 11.) or by Binding their Hands (as Psal. 76. 5. and 1 Kin. 13. 4.) with a Beam of his Divine Power: thus his own Hand Saved Him from the Devil's Hand (who would have made an Hand and an End of him) at this time: This Escape Christ made, [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,] not to avoid Suffering, (which was his Errand into the World) but Waiting for the Appointed time, for his Hour was not yet come, Joh. 8. 59 The 2d. Assault Satan makes against Christ, was, when he saw this Jesus of Nazareth (whom God Anointed with the Holy Spirit) going about and doing good, and Healing all that were Oppressed of the Devil, for God was with him, Act. 10 38. therefore the Devil will be against him, for pulling down his Kingdom of Darkness, and setting up his own by the Light of the Gospel, and by himself, the Light of the World, Isai. 42. 6. and Luk. 2. 32. and Joh. 8. 12. Hereupon the Devil catching Christ in a Ship, Matth. 8. 23. as Prince of the Air, Ephes. 2. 2. stirred up a mighty Tempest, v. 24. to drown Christ (that Male-Child of the Church, Revel. 12. 5.) and his Disciples (the Church itself) all together, and see how near he came to Accomplish his Devilish design, The Ship was covered with Waves, she Shipped much Water in those overgrown Seas, insomuch as she was ready to Founder and to Sink down to the bottom: this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is Usually Understood of an Earthquake, but here 'tis a Sea-Quake, Luke calls it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉; which Pliny calls Navigantium Pestem, the Seaman's Misery, the most Hideous of Storms, that will strike all the points of the Compass, (like that called Euroclydon, Act. 27. 14.) Luk. 8. 23. and so Mark 4. 37. which is a Whirlwind, not properly one Wind, but a Conflict of many Winds that turns all upside down; no doubt but the Devil was in this stormy Wind, though God was not in that of Elijahs, 1 Kin. 19 11. And the saddest Circumstance of that Story, was, that Christ was of a Deep Sleep upon a Pillow, [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉] Sopitus est, of a Dead Sleep as it were; so that neither the Noise of the Sea, now Roaring out its Rage; nor the Clamour of the Seamen, labouring for Life; nor the Single loud Call of his Disciples, can Awake Christ, till they Double their Cry, Maste, Master, Luk. 8. 24. Here the Devils Hope was as High as the Sea, yet Christ Awakes and Rebukes both the Rage of the Sea, and the Hope of the Devil: We must cry Three times, Awake, Awake, Awake thou Arm of the Lord. (that is Asleep) Isa. 51. 9 then will Christ cry, Peace, be still thou Stormy Sea, then both the Winds and the Seas, yea, and the Devil (that Raised them) doth Obey: Christ lays Laws upon all Created beings, yea, upon the Devil himself: Hereby both Christ and his Church were both Delivered, and then the Calm became as Great as the Storm had been. There was then a great Calm, Mat. 8. 26. when Christ had first Rebuked the Church's (His Disciples) Unbelief; and then the Storm the Devil had raised against them, and against himself with them. Oh how safe is that Ship (the Church) wherein Christ embarks himself in the same Bottom; If Julius Caesar could say to his Bargeman in a stormy Sea, [Quid times? Coesarem Vehis, & ejus Fortunam,] Be of good cheer, Bargeman, for 'tis the Fortune of Caesar thou art wafting over, and that cannot Miscarry: How much more may those that are embarked in the same Bottom with Christ, be confident of a safe Arrival. It may be said to the Devil, (the raiser of those storms against the Church) what was once sent to the Great Turk,  
Niteris Incassùm Christi submergere Navens,  
Fluctuat, at nunquam Mergitur illa Ratis.  
The Church may sometimes be Drenched, but she shall never be Drowned, no not by the worst Storm that the Devil can Raise against her; the Venom of a Toad may foul that Crystal, but can never slain it; Satan's stormy Sea may Dip and dowse that Bottle, but can never Drown it: the Church is like the Constellation (called the little Bear) that always turns round about the Axis, or North-Pole, but never goes down under the Earth with other Stars and Constellations, as Father Hieronimus elegantly expresseth it in these Words, [Polus Septentrionalis, Semper Versatur, nunquam Mergitur,] The North-Pole always wheels about, but never wheels down out of the Horizon, much less, is drowned in the Sea: and as excellent is that Sentence of Father Ambrose, [Diabolus contra Ecclesiam Tempestatem movet, sed ipse Naufragium facit;] though the Devil stirs up many storms against the Church, yet he (himself is sure to suffer Shipwreck, as he did here, for no sooner was Christ got safe to Land, but the very next News we hear of him is, his Encountering with and Casting out a whole Legion of Devils, that he might be Revenged of the Devil, who had endeavoured to drown both Him and all His, Matth. 8 28. Mark 5. 2. and Luk. 8. 27. The 3d. Assault, or rather, a Meeting, through the Devils being Out-dared, was when a certain Man which had Devils met, Christ, (one that was more noted, more bewailed, and more outrageous than the other) having a whole legion of Devils in him, (which among the old Romans was Six Thousand Armed Soldiers, or as Dr. Hammond saith, more than twice as many, even Twelve Thousand Five Hundred) so many Devils were gotten into this one poor Man: All Pharaohs Cruelties exercised upon the Israelites, and all the most exquisite Torments the most Savage Persecutors put God's people to, were all nothing to this; 'tis a wonder that this poor Man, having so many Devils crammed up all together in him, did not crack asunder both in Soul and Body: This Man had his Dwelling among the Tombs, There the Devils kept him to Terrify him the more with the fear of Death all his Life, Hebr. 2. 15. and indeed he was as Dead while he Lived, so that Burying place (which the Devil Haunts and plays his pranks there to enhaunch a Superstition of Praying to and for the Dead) was the sittest place for him, thither had those Devils driven him, (〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, driven, as the Horse is by the Spur of the Rider,) Luk. 8. 29. 'tis a Wonder they drove him not into the Tombs, as well as among them, and that they made him not Run Violently down a steep place into the Sea to Choke him, as they did the Herd of Swine, Matth. 8. 32. This the Devils would have done with him, and more than this, they would have Run him down to the Bottomless Deep of Hell, had not God Preserved him from all, that he might meet his Saviour, who durst meet him, (though no Man else durst do so, because of his Fierceness, Matth. 8. 28.) notwithstanding his Legion of Devils in him: Those Devils had driven him to Assault and Batter many Passengers Travelling that way, yet dare they not (though so many Devils) Venture upon one Christ, for upon his first Approach, they feel a Beam of his Divine Power coming forth to Torment them, crying, Art thou come hither to Torment us? and what have we to do with thee? v. 29. but Christ had somewhat to do with them, that is, to Dispossess them, letting them know their Unclean Company was sitter for Unclean Swine than for Man, God's noblest Creature. Thus Christ's Presence was the Devils Torment, yet the poor Man's Happiness, * 12500 Devils cannot match one Christ; and this poor Possessed Man becoming by Grace Dispossessed, and coming to his Right mind, was so sadly Affrighted, (as he had good cause) sits down at Jesus Feet, and Entreated him that he might continue with him, Luk. 8. 35. 38. Mark 5. 18. not only to Testify his Love to his Redeemer, but also his Fear, that upon Christ's Departure from him, he might Fall under the Devil's Power again, and so be Repossessed. Thus Christ Conquers a great Army of Devils, and makes this Man (whom the Devils had made the most miserable of Mankind) more Holy (and so more Happy) than all his Countrymen, who besought Christ to Departed from them, Matth. 8. 34. (preferring a Swine-stye before a Sanctuary, and Swine's Company before a Saviors) whereas this only Man besought Christ not to Departed from him; and the Devils besought Christ that he would not command them to go out into the Deep, Luk. 8. 31. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Bottomless-Pit, 2 Pet. 2. 4. Joh. 12. 31. * The matter is well amended now, not long ago the Devil Assaults Christ with all might and malice in the Wilderness, but here in the Gadarens Country (none of the best) a whole Legion of Devils dare not Threaten Christ, but joins all in one Petition, and besought him not to pack them away to Hell: They had no mind out of this Country, (that loved the Devil's Company better than Christ's) and less mind out of this World, where they are (as it were) Respited and Reprieved till their full Torment come; they are suffered as Free Prisoners (in Liberâ, non Arctâ Custodiâ) to Flutter in the Air, and to Course about the Earth, Ephes. 2. 2. Job 1. 7. Matth. 12. 43. 1 Pet. 5. 8. yet all this they do in Chains, 2 Pet. 2. 4. Judas v. 6. until the last Day, which they Tremble to think on, I am. 2. 19 And which they that mock at, 2 Pet. 3. 3. or make light off, Matth. 22. 5. are herein worse than Devils. ☞ Behold here this great Wonder, that our Lord Christ (so lately Tossed in the Sea, as well as Tempted in the Wilderness) hath here, even in his State of Humiliation, brought (above 12000) Devils down upon their Knees, when they Besought him, finding themselves overpowered, not only the Hoggish and carnal Gadarens Besought Christ, (whom they durst not Threaten out of their Coasts) Matth. 8. 34. but even those Principalities, Powers, and Spiritual Wickednesses in High places, Eph. 6. 12. do bow before this Abrech, Gen. 41. 43. (which signifies Tender Father,) This Joseph our Brother to whom Men and Devils must bow the Knee: How much more may he make every Knee bow to him in his State of Exaltation? Phil. 2. 8, 9 The same power of Christ (when He Pleaseth) can now make the Tempter to change his Tone to us, and all Incarnate Devils their Cruel, into Kind and Candid Carriages, undoubtedly He will Tread Satan under our Feet shortly, Rom. 15. 20. If it were [Shortly] in Paul's Day, wherein the Mystery of Iniquity did but begin to Work, and the long Lease of the Beasts-Kingdom was not yet begun: How much more is it [Shortly] in our Day, wherein the Beast hath been playing Rex in his Pranks for above a 1000 Y. surely 'tis not long  this Word shall be Accomplished. The 4th. Assault the Devil makes upon Christ, (after his Departure from Him for a Season, Luk. 4. 13.) was in his taking New Measures, (being Hitherto at every turn overmatched) and putting the People upon making Christ King, whom he could neither Kill nor Conquer, Joh. 6. 14, 15. 'Tis true, before this, Satan made Two dangerous By-blows at Christ, the 1st was in Cutting off John Baptist, who had Witnessed him into the World, that so Christ might stand upon his own Legs only, and not be any longer shored up by the Baptist, whom all People believed to be a Prophet, Matth. 21. 26. The Occasion was this, John Baptist had not only Preached up Christ and his Kingdom, (which Enraged the Devil) but also had told Herod the Truth about his Darling-Sin, which none others (though they knew it) durst tell Herod so, but the Baptist only: this Herod (the less) was as fit a Tool for the Devil now, as his Father (Herod the great) was at Christ's Birth, Tange Montes & Fumigabunt; Touch the Mountains and they will smoak, Psal. 104. 32. Touch a great Man upon the Sore, (as the Baptist here did Herod) and he fumes, casts the Toucher into Prison without Bail or Mainprize, and there he lies for half a Year without ever coming to a fair Trial or Hearing: John Baptist knew well God's Truth must be told, however it be taken, and not to be Betrayed (as too oft it is) by a Cowardly and Sinful Silence: Here John lies in Fetters, while the Fear of Man (more than of God) Restraineth Herod from Murdering him, Mark 6. 17, 20. Matth. 14. 4, 5. he feared John's Innocency, which shone in his Face, and he feared the People, (who Hated him already for his many Crimes and Cruelty) lest they should move a Mutiny at the Death of so Innocent and so much Honoured a Person: Hereupon the Plot was laid 'twixt Herod and his Harlot (Herodias) to cut him off when their convenient Day (Herod's Birthday) did come, Mark 6. 21. that day had been appointed long before for craftily Acting this cruel Tragedy; a great Feast must then be made, the Nobles Invited, the Damosel-Daughter must Dance, the King must Swear, and must gratify the Queen with the Baptists Head: All this was done as if God had not been concerned at all; but God did so far concern himself, that Herod was struck with Horror upon it, with Terror and Torment, Luk. 9 7. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, he stuck fast in the Mud, and could find no way out, yet God made him find a way out of his Kingdom, (the half whereof he had promised to the Damosel (for Tripping Wantonly upon the Toe) as Josephus Relateth, and (probably, out of God's Kingdom too: So Father and Son be both alike in their Sin and Punishment: The 2d. By-Blow the Devil gave Christ was, to cut off his Followers (the Disciples) as he had done his Forerunner John Baptist; And this he endeavoured to effect, when he had got the Disciples to Sea apart from Christ, Matth. 14. 23, etc. Mark 6. 45, etc. Joh. 6. 16. Very loath were the Disciples to Launch out to Sea alone, and to leave his Sweet and Safe Company, but Christ constrains them to do so, (1) that he might the sooner dismiss the Multitude, (2) he dismisseth his Disciples to Sea, lest they (also) should strike in with that Rash-many-Headed Multitude, who would have made him King. (3) Though they were loath to leave their best Friend behind them so near Night, in a Desert, and all alone too, yet this was Christ's Choice, that He might have an Opportunity of Solitary Prayer for their Safety, and of his Miraculous Walking upon the waves to their Relief: by the Want of Christ (for a few Hours of Danger only) they learned the Worth of Christ: no sooner had the Devil caught the Disciples at Distance from Christ, but to Work he falls, than down comes the Storm and up goes the Sea; another 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or mighty Storm, (which is a Wind (saith Aristotle) that Rolls in a Circle with such Violence, insomuch as it swallows up whole Towns in Italy, etc.) and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, a great Tempest, a very Sea-Quake, of the same Nature with an Earthquake, (which hath the Formidable force of removing Mountains, and of casting down Strong Castles that stand upon them) Descends from the Stinking Breath of the Prince of the Air, (the Devil) upon now the poor and Christless Apostles, with a malicious Intention to Drown them all, that they might never trouble his Kingdom any more; as with an Horrible Wind Satan had Brained all Jobs Children, so by the like means he would have Drowned all Christ's Disciples, Christ being absent in this latter, as Job (himself) was in the former Instance. Behold (with me) a little, 1. The Church's Calamity, 2. Her Comfort; in the 1st. See the sad Circumstances of this History of the Church: * as (1) in this little Ship was embarked all the Hopes of a Church that now God had in the whole World, as in Noah's Ark, couped up in a little compass: (2) The Winds were contrary, Matth. 14. 24. as Act. 27. 4. So 'tis mostly with the Church, that is so often blown back from the Cape of Good Hope, and from the Haven of Heaven in her Militant-State, she is ever and anon, as in the Straits of Magellan, wherein which way soever a Man Bends his Course, he is sure to have the Wind sit cross to him. (3) Those Contrary Winds were not so much Ordinary as Extraordinary, so that those Apostles (who were Fishermen, and thereby experienced in ordinary Sea-Storms) cried out, We Perish, for (4) they were [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mark 6. 48, 49.] which signifies not only that they were Tossed with the Tempest, but also Tormented with it so the Word is used, Luk. 16. 23. The Rich Glutton was [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉] in Torments: Thus the Afflicted Church was here not only tossed with Tempests, and not Comforted, as Isa. 54. 11. but also Tormented, as those miserable Men are by the Tormentors (in the Spanish Inquisition) tossing them too and fro up and down till they be Ready to lose one Limb from another: So this Wind was far unlike the sweet Gales of the Spirit of God, which always blows Good to the Church out of every Quarter, North and South, Cant. 4. 16. but more like that [Ruach Gedolah] strong and mighty Wind, 1 Kin. 19 11. which had not the Lord in it, for his Voice is a Voice of Mercy and Clemency, and Natural to him, Micah 7. 18. and his Voice of Justice against Jezebel (which was not to be yet) is called his strange Act, Isai. 28. 21. yea, more than so, for this Tempestuous Wind had the Devil in it, and therefore it tossed the Church up and down, hither and thither, so it Toiled and Tormented them, as if it had been Extorting (as upon a Rack) a Denial of Christ and of all Christianity from them: (5) They were in the Deep, the Ship was now in the midst of the Sea, Matth. 14.24. Mark 6.47. the Syriack Adds, They were many Furlongs from each Shore, agreeable to Joh. 6. 19 where 'tis said they Rowed about Thirty Furlongs, so deep was the Sea here that they could not Fathom or Feel the Bottom, and here the Devil Hoped to carry it, by carrying them down into this Deep, and not only so, but to carry them also down still lower into his own Deep, even to the Deep and Bottomless Pit of Hell. (6) It was very Dark (as well as very Deep,) Joh. 6. 17. which is a time very Terrible to Mariners to whom the Water affords them mostly a little Light: now Darkness (of itself) was their Danger, not knowing how to Steer their Course safely from Rocks and Quicksands, Sailing was then Dangerous, as Act. 27.9. when no Stars appeared, v. 20. but this was more Dangerous (in itself) it being a Darkness from the Prince of Darkness, the Devil, who Hoped to Drown them in the Deep and in the Dark, (a right Devilish deed of Darkness) that they might not Discern their own Destruction; Oh how doleful was all this to the Disciples? 'twas so deep they could not feel Bottom, and so dark they could not discern Shore, and whether this (the Devils) Hericane would drive them, to drown them, either by swallowing up the Ship in the midst of the Sea, or by splitting her upon the Rocks or Sands of the Shore, they knew not: Oh what a sad taking was Judas (whom Christ calls a Devil soon after this, Joh. 6.70.) in, at this sad Bout. But the (7) was the saddest Circumstance of all, to wit, Christ was Absent from them in this Storm, who was present with them in the other, And Jesus was not come to them, Joh. 6. 17. This was worse to them than the Storm, their best Pilot and Protector (whose Presence had Protected them from the last late Storm) was wanting; Though Christ was Asleep in the former Storm, yet was heat hand, they could quickly Awake him; but now was he out of their Call, and they knew not when he would come: Oh what can they do? no doubt but the Devil might make them doubt of the Truth of Christ's Words to them [Ye shall bear by Name among the Gentiles,] as Act. 9 15. 'twas now more likely they should bear it down into the Deep, and unto the Dead; yet mark it, they altogether Despond not, they do not betake themselves to their Boat, as those Desperadoes did, Act. 27. 30. but to their Oars, Rowing hard about Twentyfive or Thirty Furlongs, Joh. 6. 19 They had so learned of Christ, Ephes. 4. 20. that God must be Trusted, but not Tempted by a wilful Neglect of Due means; he is not tied to them, yet doth he usually Work with them; their Sails they could not Hand out, the Wind was too Boisterous, therefore they keep Tugging (with Hands all) at their Oars, even all the Three long Watches of the Dark and stormy Night, (for the Stress of Wether, and the Disciples Distress lasted, from Evening to Midnight, and from thence to Cockcrow, then after Cockcrow (the 4th. Watch of the Night) God Blessed their Endeavours so far as to bring them to a Sight of their Dear (longed and long-looked for) Saviour, Joh. 6. 19 * This doth Teach us, In greatest storms to use all lawful Means and Practicable Helps for our own Deliverance as the Disciples here [Non Navem Deserunt sed Remigando Laborârunt,] Deserted not their Stations, but did their utmost at their Oars when they could do nothing with their Sails; Try all things, 1 Thess. 5.21. if one way may not, another may avail. Having Viewed 1. the Church's Calamity (in those Seven sad Circumstances,) now take a View of the Church's Comfort, Christ will not leave her Comfortless, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, or Orphans, Joh. 14. 18. as his Disciples seem to be now during Christ's Absence, who was not only their Lord but their Father also, for he calls them his Children, Matth. 5. 45. but more plainly and distinctly he saith to his Disciples, [Children have ye any Meat? Joh. 21. 5.] ☞ Oh the Boundless and Bottomless Bowels of this Heavenly Father to his poor Children, ever saying Compassionately to them, [Have ye Food, and have ye Raiment, Have ye this, and Have ye that?] our Heavenly Father knoweth that we have need of these things, Matth. 6. 32. both for our Souls the good things of the Throne, and for our Bodies those of the Footstool; he Careth and Catereth in every thing that is good for us: Oh Happy we, did we but know Believingly our own Happiness, Psal. 139. 14. and 22. 9 and 144. 15. Numb. 11. 13. Hos. 2. 8, 21, 22. Psal. 50. 10. Rom. 8. 28. Oh Happy Disciples, that had such a Father, (present or absent) even when plunged into the Deep of Misery, we have seen their sad Suffering or Passion (in the Circumstances aforesaid,) now View a little Christ's Compassion for Comforting the Church in Calamity; the Disciples could not well be Ignorant of the yerning of Divine Bowels over his Church in such a like Condition as theirs than was, Isai. 54. 11. Oh thou Afflicted, etc. and it could not but comfort the Disciples to consider they had not stepped out of God's way when they met with this Storm, for Christ had Constrained them to go this Voyage, and that, without him: 'Tis very Comfortable to take along with us (in all our Journeys and Voyages.) Christ's sweet and saving Company, but Christ Commands them to go without him to this place where they were in this Jeopardy. ☞ Hence Observe (1) Storms may be met with in ways of Obedience, in going where and whether Christ bids us go. (2) If Storms meet those that Walk in ways of Obedience, what can they expect that Walk in ways of Disobedience, but Sodoms Storm of Fire and Brimstone? (3) Storms may well be expected if Christ be Absent, as here: Yea, (4) they are not exempted from Fears and Dangers by the presence of Christ, Matth. 8. 25. (5) Christ may seem to be Careless of the Cause, Case, and Condition of his Church and Children, he falls asleep in the first Storm, and had withdrawn himself in the second. (6) Christ was tugging and toiling as earnestly in his Prayer for them, Matth. 14. 23. as they did for themselves in their Perilling and almost Perishing condition with all their Hard Rowing. (7) Astormy Sea cannot Separate Christ from his Church in Danger, Rom. 8. ●5. Christ comes Walking upon the Sea, showing himself herein to be greater than Moses, who only Walked through a Sea Dried up, but the Messiah Walks upon the surface of a Full-Sea, yea, Notoriously Raging, Christ steps from off one proud Wave upon another, his Godhead all along bearing up the Natural weight of his Manhood; he well knew that his Absence made their Sufferings Unsufferable, so takes he long and more than Mortal strides towards them, Matth. 14. 25. (8) When Christ on the Shore saw them toiling in the Sea, than out of compassion he came upon the Sea to comfort them, Mark 6. 48. Christ is now landed upon the Shore of Glory in Heaven, and thence he beholds all the Toiling of His Church upon this Troublesome Sea on Earth, then comes he down to Deliver her, Exod. 3. 7, 8. (9) yet not till the 4th. Watch of the Night, then, and not till then: he commonly keeps his hand for a Dead lift, and his Help is always sweet, because (whatever we think of it) 'tis always Seasonable, Isa. 30. 18. (10) How apt are Men to mistake their Comforts when they come to them, as here, they were troubled at the coming of their only Comforter, Matth. 14. 26. They Feared this Spectrum or Apparition as well as the Storm; they might think it was the Devil, who had raised that Storm, and was come (himself) to sink them outright: thus mistook they their Saviour for Satan, and their Choicest Comforter for their chiefest Confronter and Confounder: (11) 'tis sad to a sensible Soul when Christ seemeth to pass by him, Mark 6. 48. This Affrights them still more, and made them think he was some Walking Night-Devil, when he seemed to pass by them, and to take no notice of their Deplorable Estate, which Christ might do only to try them whether they would Entreat him to come aboard, for Joh. 6. 21. they would have (so some Read it, [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,] for, Willingly,) Received him into the Ship, and did so, Mark 6. 5. (12) Oh how sweet a Cordial to those words, [It is I,] even I with an Emphasis, [Be not Afraid,] either of the Phantasm ye Fear, or of the Furious Sea ye Feel, It is I, whom ye need not be afraid of, for I am not the evil Angel that comes to Harm and Hurt you, but I am the good Angel of the Covenant, who comes to Help you, and to Hand you safe to Land: I am he that keeps the Ensuring Office both by Sea and Land, and my Right Foot (the stronger of the two) is upon the Sea (the more Unruly Element) in all its Sea-Quakes, as my Left Foot is upon the Land, in all its Concussions and Earthquakes, Revel. 10. 2. therefore I shall lose nothing of all that the Father hath given me, Joh. 6. 39 So he tells them soon after this Marvellous Deliverance, for the Working of which, he had purposely withdrawn himself from them until now: All this is comprised in this Concise Kind of Speech, [It is I,] he doth not say [I am Jesus,] as he said to Persecuting Saul (who had never heard his Voice before) Act 9 5. but only [It is I,] as speaking to those who well knew his Voice, and thus Abruptly, as Importing his Hast to come and comfort them, behold he cometh leaping over Mountains, the Hills of Bether or Separation, Cant. 2. 17. Those lofty Mountains (the high-swollen Surges of the Sea) he leaps over, they shall not Separate him from his Spouse, the Church: And no sooner was Christ (whose Absence troubled them, and whose Presence Terrified them) come Aboard, but Immediately the Ship was at Land, Joh. 6. 21. and those Half-Dead Disciples came lively ashore where they would willingly have been. * There wants nothing to Help our Ship (the Church) through this Stormy Sea safe to Land, save Christ's coming to us both for calming the storm, and for conveying Home the Ship. * Things oft go backward,  they go forward; Christ did come here. but while he was Unknown, neither his Disciples were comforted, nor the Sea becalmed, the coming of him (in whom all their comfort was contained) caused them to cry out for fear, Matth. 14. 26. their Fears befooled them, but Christ straightway heard their Cry, and makes himself known to them, yet doth not becalm the Sea for them, Peter's Faith (Requiring a Sign) must be tried first and after this, Christ (himself) yea a known Christ must come up into the Ship, and then comes the calm, (Oh that it were thus with us now,) v. 32. The ending of Peter's Trial was the ending of the Disciples Trouble, Christ will have an Hand to Hand Peter both out of the Sea and into the Ship (yet not without a check for his looking too much on the Sea, and too little on his Saviour) before the Storm cease, 'twas not only Christ's Presence, but his Precept that Allayed it: The Disciples must be better Awakened both to Hope and Desire this favour from Christ before it be done: yet their Delivery was at hand, while they apprehend nothing but Destruction, both from the Raging Sea, (making no way with all their Rowing) and from the frightful Apparition, * others took Shipping then, Joh. 6. 24. yet met no Storm : Satan's spite is against the Church. Those Two Byblows of the Devil against Christ in his forerunner, (the Baptist,) and in his followers, (his Disciples) being Dispatched; come we now to the Devils Downright Blow at Christ himself, which was much about the same time, to wit, his Devilish Design he proposed and promoted, of making Christ a King, Joh. 6. 15. Here he was a white Devil indeed as to Appearance, but as Black as (His) Hell, as to the Design, for had Christ been content that the People (stirred up thereunto by the Devil) should have Kinged him; then the proud Priests and Pontius Pilate would have had the Law on their sides to have Killed him, and have found Hundreds of Witnesses against him, whereas they earnestly sought for Witnesses against him, yet found they none, Mat. 26. 60. then they might have laid Treason against Caesar to his Charge indeed, for at this time they were Vassals to the Romans, of whom they stood in fear, Joh. 11. 48. This therefore was one of the Devils Master-Stratagems, which yet had Christ accepted of, it had been far below that Universal Kingship that the Devil had tendered in his Temptations to Christ, Matth. 4. 8, 9 yet now he puts the People on to make him King of the Jews, (a Kingdom, that was but a little Spot of Earth, and but one Tribe of Twelve) that he might be Arraigned at the Bar (by a Bill of Attainder) afterwards, Matth. 27. 11. 1st. This Design the Devil Managed by a movable Multitude, whose Bellies Christ had filled with Meat by a Miracle, which had rarely been filled by their own hard Hand-labour. Hereby Satan Transported them so, as to cry up Christ (whom after he made them Cry down as a Deceiver) far above Moses, Joh. 6. 14. who thus multiplied Bread even to a greater quantity of Reversions; this must be the Messiah promised, and therefore in an heat and Hurry, they must take him by force, and make him their King: That this Praecipitant People were Satan's Instruments herein, Appeareth, (1) Inasmuch as Christ is a Born King, not to be made one, Matth. 2. 2. where is he that was Born King of the Jews: He was a King before he came into the World, Behold thy King cometh, etc. Zech. 9 9 (2) Christ was a King by God himself, Psal. 2. 6. and not to be made so by Man, he is God's King, not Mans. I have set my King upon my Hill. (3) Those same looked only at a carnal Kingdom, their Belly was their God, they would make him King, because he had filled their Bellies, not because he had Preached to them the Word of Eternal Life, They followed him for Loaves, not for Love, as Christ told them, Joh. 6. 26. they did not love jesus for jesus-sake, but dreamt all of Plenty under him: (4) They would have Run Christ into a Praemunire, as to the Roman Power, which did then Lord it over the jews, to which Christ paid Tribute, Rendering unto Caesar, the things that were Coesars', Matth. 17. 27. and 22. 21. but their Bells had as few Eyes as Ears, so could not discern this Danger. (5) The Devil well knew (though they did not) that Christ's Kingdom was not of this World, Joh. 18. 36. nor cometh with Observation of common Notice, Luk. 17. 23. (6) Those preposterous Persons, as they were thus soon so Hot, so they were as soon Cold (when they cried Crucify him) in their Affections to him. (2ly.) As the Devil had notably Managed this Design, so Christ as notably broke the Neck of it, both by breaking the Confederacy, and by Avoiding the Occasion and Opportunity. 1st. Christ broke the Confederacy 1. by packing away his Disciples, who probably might Abett this Tickling Motion of the Rude Multitude, for they were oft Harping upon an Earthly Kingdom in their Day, Luk. 24. 21. Act. 1. 6, 7. wherein the two Aspiring Sons of Zebedee, desired to sit, the one on King Christ's Right Hand, and the other on his Left: They dreamed of a Distribution of Honours and Offices as in David and Solomon's Days, but Christ calls them Fools for it, Luk. 24. 25. 2ly. Christ packed away this overzealous Multitude, Matth. 14. 26. that he might shun all Suspicion of any Treasonable Sedition, Christ avoids all Appearance of Evil, 1 Thess. 5. 22. he commanded them to be gone by his Almighty Power, which they (though a Multitude) could not Resist; and he tells them at their next Meeting, they must expect no other Food to be provided for them by him, than his own Flesh and Blood, Joh 6. 53, 54, 57 This was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an hard Saying; it sounded so harsh in their Ears, that they fall quite off from their former project of making him King, and would not so much as follow him any more, v. 66. but suppose this many-Headed Multitude would not Disperse themselves, yet 'tis said (9ly) Christ withdrew himself [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉] Privily into a Mountain, Joh. 6. 15. to avoid the very occasion of being Imposed upon by the People, as to a Kingship for those following Reasons. (1) Christ came not into the world to be Ministered unto, but to Minister, Matth. 20. 28. (2) He was not to Receive a Kingdom from Men, but to give a Kingdom to Men, Luk. 12. 32. (3) He was the Nobleman that was to Travel into the far Country of Heaven, while all his Servants (even the Elect in all Ages) did Trade with their Talents upon Earth, there he was to Receive a Kingdom from God, Luk. 19, 12 and then the Lord Returns, and His Servants Reckons, Matth. 24. 15, 19 (4) Christ withdrew to Teach us, that his Kingdom is not carnal, consisting of Pleasures, Treasures and Honours, of Meat and Drink, etc. but 'tis a Kingdom of Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy-Ghost, Rom. 14. 17. (5) to show, that the Kingdom of God was within us, Luk. 17. 21. which teacheth to contemn the Vanities of a Kingdom without, and merely External. (6) He withdrew to disappoint the Devil of all just occasions of Offence against him; for if the Devil (in his Instruments) did so prosecute Christ for a Mover of Sedition, though he rejected this Royal proffer from the People, how much more would he have done, had he Accepted of it; how would this Act have been an Article of High Treason, (and with much seeming Justice Improved) against Christ. Thus the Devil (called Diabolus from Calumniating) was confounded in this Design of procuring a just cause of Calumniating against Christ. This Assault is fruitless and frustrate also, as all his former Assaults had been before: After this, the Devil made many other petty-Assaults against the Church in Christ Her Redeemer, (well knowing, could he but Cut off the Head, (Christ) his Body (the Church) would soon Die,) before his great and Grand Assault when Christ's Hour was come, and that fatal Hour and Power of darkness, Luk. 22. 53. for extinguishing the Lamp of David, and the Light of the World. When the Devil saw how Christ carried on the Kingdom of the Gospel, not only by the Preaching of the Twelve, but also of the Seventy sent out to confirm their Doctrine by Miracles, Matth. 10. and Luk. 10. Insomuch as Satan was seen to fall like Lightning from Heaven, v. 18. to wit, Viewably, Violently, and Velociously, or Swiftly, as Lucifer did, Isa. 14. 12. [from men's Hearts] which the Devil accounts his Heaven, but is cast out by the mighty Gospel, 2 Cor. 10. 4, 5. This Enrages Satan: Hereupon he sets the jewish Sanhedrim on Work, they seek to Kill Christ, Joh. 7. 1, 11, 19, 25, 30. but no Man had power to lay hold on him at that Feast of Tabernacles, not only, because his Hour was not yet come, as is there Expressed, v. 30, 44. but also because he was so Marvellously Matchless in His Preaching, v. 46. and so uncontrollably Innocent and Inoffensive in His Practice, v. 21, 31. Act. 10. 38. This Convincing Life which Christ led, (paying all his Church-Duties, Matth. 17. 27. the half Sheckel that went to the Repair of the Temple, and likewise his Tribute to Caesar, Matth. 22. 21.) did so confound the Devil and his Tools, that they went away (as it were) with a Flea in their Ear, an Unseen Coercive Hand of Divine Power and Providence binding their Hands at this time; The Counsel (being confused, consisting of Sadducees' (which Approved Nicodemus' Seasonable saying) as well as Pharisees,) was also Confounded and Dismissed, [Re Infectâ,] Every Man went Home disappointed, ver. 2, 3. laying aside (not leaving or losing) their Mischievous Malice only till the next Opportunity, which was Joh. 8. 59 where they took up Stones to Stone Christ: The pretended Provocation whereunto this was; (1.) Christ had Avoided their Entangling Question they asked him about the Adulteress, v. 6. the Snare lay here on both Hands, if he Condemned her, he then would seem to Assume Judicial Power, if he Condemned her not, he would then seem a Contemner of Moses Law, Levit. 20. 10. so could not be the True Messiah: Christ in His Divine Wisdom Uses such Means as neither Reflected upon the Authority of Moses Law, nor Retracted His own Doctrine (so oft Sounding in their Ears) concerning the Remission of Sin and Sinners: He (who had stooped down from Heaven to Earth) stoops down Here to Write (as some suppose) this Penitent Woman's Sin in the Dust, which he Wiped out again according to the Promise, [I, even I am He that Blotteth out Transgressions, etc.] Isai. 43. 25. He did not Write her Sin with a Pen of Iron upon the Pavement of Stone, (as he did the Law, and as he doth the Sins of the Impenitent, for Duration, and for their Obduration,) but upon the Ground, whither his Adversaries Verily Thought they had Knocked Him down to. Hereupon they more Insolently Urge him for an Answer. At this, Christ Lifts up himself (Woe to them against whom he doth so. Psal. 68 1. and 44. 23. Deut. 32. 40.) Saying, ver. 7. He that is without Sin, let them cast the first Stone; with this Word (as with a Stone) he knocked those Stoners (for such they would have been to the Woman) on the Head, for Christ Stooping down again, to give them Opportunity of Consulting with their own Convicted Consciences, and of Stealing away privily, lest this All-knowing One (whom They would have Ensnared) should Detect their Abominable Crimes before the People, so Blast their Reputation among them, ver. 8. 9 and the Eldest (who had the most Sins) leads out the Youngest, none of them being Able to stand it out before this One Word of Christ: This Disappointment of their Design made them mad, yet Christ meeting them after in the Treasury, v. 20. and telling them they should Die in their Sins, ver. 21. and they were Children of the Devil, ver. 44. This madded them more, Insomuch that they took up Stones to Stone him, who would not let them Stone the Woman, ver. 29. [But Jesus Hid himself] either striking them Blind, or making Himself Invisible, as before, He Departs without Harm, and the Devil Loses his Design thereby.   

The Twenty-Fourth Plot in the New-Testament, against the Church, in Christ, Defeated by God.  
CHAP. XXIV.  
BUt that which made them mad most of all, was His Raising up Lazarus from the Dead, Joh. 11. 47. Those Reprobate Wretches would not Believe, no, though one Rose from the Dead to them, Luk. 16. 31. as Lazarus, and yet they listened as little to Him, as they did to Christ: They Call a Council, not out of the unlearned Rabble, but most learned Clerks, (which should have known better things) the Chief Priests and Pharisees Convene and Consult, yea, and Unanimously Conclude, that not only Christ, but also Lazarus must be put to Death, Joh. 12. 10. and why must Lazarus Die? 'twas only because God had made him Alive; but they seem to have better Reason (even that of Necessity) for Killing Christ; If this be not done (say they) the Romans will come, etc. Joh. 11. 48. and because it was done, the Romans came indeed and Plagued them in taking away their Place and Nation, principally for this Inexpiable Sin of Killing the Lord of Glory, as Christ had told them, Matth. 21. 38, 39, 40. and as they (themselves) had unwittingly Read, (even) their own Destiny, v. 41, 43. Luk. 20. 15. Thus they pretending and pleading a Necessity to Sin, whereas they lay under no Necessity, save only one, to wit, Not to Sin, and because they did so Sin, (which they thought their Duty) therefore the thing that they feared came upon them, King Jesus (for Killing him) sent forth his Armies, (the Roman-Spoilers) who Dispossessed them of their Country, Burnt their Temple, (as the Chaldeans had formerly done in the time of their Forefathers) Matth. 22. 7. and 24. 2, 16, 20, 21, 34. the Destruction of jerusalem (for Murdering of Christ) was a Matchless Destruction, as Josephus Relates, a Million of jews perished miserably by the Siege, (the whole Body of the Land being then gathered together at the Passeover,) and 97000 carried Captive, Mark Ch. 13. 19 calls those Days Affliction, as if that time were nothing else but Affliction itself. Well, therefore might the Chief-Priests and Pharisees (when 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Self-Condemned, Tit. 3. 11.) say, God forbidden, Luk. 20. 16. when Christ had extorted from them an Evident foretelling of their own final Fate, Mat. 21.41. while they thought others were concerned in the Parable, but perceiving that themselves were the Wicked Men which the Parable did personate, they would have Retracted the Sentence they had Denounced against themselves out of their own Mouths, and cries [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉] God forbidden, Mark 12. 9 and Luk. 20. 16. which the Syriack Reads, [This shall not be, we will not Kill the Son of God, the Lord of the Vineyard, etc. notwithstanding this their [absit] be it far from us so to do, yet they did it; the Devil Helping them with a Jesuitical Aequivocation, That it was not their Right Messiah, but only a Mock-Messiah whom they sought to Murder: Hereupon they fall to Work by the Devil's Direction, and with his best Assistance; the Grand Remora was. They Feared the People, Matth. 21. 46. ☞ (They are Worse than Christ-Killers, that fear them not, and while the Body of a People bear Favour to Christ and his Cause, neither of these Two can be Killed by the worst of Persecutors.) This Rub and Remora is still Unremoved, Matth. 26. 3, 4, 5. The General Council (not unlike to that of Trent) Convene again, hold the Conclusion, (Christ shall be Killed) but cannot Hit upon a Convenient time, crying, Not at the Feast, for Fear of a Rescue: * Behold here the contrary Motions of Heaven and Hell: The Devil (in this Council, just contrary to that, Act. 15. 28. where the Holy Ghost sat President) cries here, Not on the Feast Day, another time is more seasonable: No, saith God, It shall not be when you will, Christ whom you Kill is my Paschal-Lamb, (the Lamb that is to take away the Sins of the World, Joh. 1. 29.) you (and the Devil to Help you) do nothing but according to My Determinate Counsel, Act. 4. 28. and 2. 22. Though you be a Company of Bloody Dogs that are mussled up with the fear of an Uproar from the Friends and Favourers of Christ; so that you say, Not on the Feast; but I say, It shall be on the Paschal Feast-Day, and on no other. Here is a Marvellous overruling Providence of God; those Wicked Priests had oft sought a time (before this) wherein to Kill Christ, but never could find any, Until his Hour was now come, and not now must they Determine the time, the Passeover-Lamb must Die on the Passeover-Day, to put an End to the jewish-passeover, (signifying their Deliverance from Egypt and her King) but this Praefigured our Redemption from the Spiritual-Pharaoh, and from his Two Heavy-Handed Taskmasters, to wit, Sin Mortal, and Death Eternal: Yea, and in all this, those Miscreants (in fulfilling their own Wicked Will) do but fulfil the Holy Will of God and his Divine Decree, and no more Thanks to them, than was to Haman in Mordecai's Advancement, whereunto Haman held the Stirrup only. However, this Cursed Council Consults to take Jesus by Subtilty, Mat. 26. 4. by Fraud, and not by Force, for fear of an uproar: they feared the fury of Man more than the frowns of God, v. 5. The Devil (who set them on Work) steps in to Hand them over this Stumbling-Block, He Entered into Judas after the Sop was given him at Supper in the House of Simon the Leper) Two Days before the Passeover, Joh 13. 27, 30. from Bethany (though it were Night, and though Unsolicited by those Conspirators) Satan makes judas trudge to jerusalem, he freely offers his Service, (not doubting of its Kind Acceptance) makes his Market with them at their own Rate, Referring the Price of that Peerless Pearl (his Holy Master) to those Barbarous Buyers Pleasure; they Bargain to give him Thirty pieces of Silver, (the price of a Slave, Exod. 21. 3●.) a goodly Price for this Pearl of great Price, Zech. 11. 12. Mat. 13. 45, 46. The Devil of Discontent was Entered into those Prodigiously prosligate Priests long before, because Christ's Gracious Words (he Spoke,) and the Mighty Works (he Wrought,) Weakened both theirs and the Devil's Kingdom, therefore they all along sought to Kill Christ, as before, but Durst not do it for fear of the People. Now the Devil of Discontent Entered into Judas, (missing his Fat Morsel, the price of the precious Ointment, which he would have put into his Bag, Joh. 12. 4, 6.) so here was the Devil in the Priests Conspiring with the Devil in judas, therefore the Contract about this Horrid Treason was like enough to Comply: Hereupon judas Undertakes to take the Thorn out of the Priest's Heel, (the fear of a Tumult) and to Deliver his Master up to them, (though at the Feast, yet Quietly enough) to wit, In the Absence of the People; from that time he sought Opportunity to Betray him, Matth. 26. 16. both for time and place he promised to do it [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉] without any Tumult from the People, Luk. 22. 6. This judas (by the Devil, his Liege-Lords Direction) soon effected, to wit, in the Night when Christ was (with the Disciples only) in the Garden at Gethsemane, without the City, Matth. 26. 36. Mark. 14. 32. Luk. 22. 39 ☞ Mark here (1) the Confidence, (2) the Contumacy, (3) the Craftiness of this Devil in judas: (1.) his Confidence, Oh what a daring Devil was this Frontless Traitor, that, after he had Contrived and Contracted that prodigious Villainy of Shedding his Lord's Blood, he should Dare thus Boldly and Impudently to Intrude himself into the presence of his Omniscient (as well as Innocent) Master, at His Lords Passeover, Matth. 26. 20, 21, etc. (2.) his Contumacy, the Innocent Life of his Lord Christ could not but Dart most powerful Convictions upon the Conscience of this Traitorous Villain, yet Conspires he his Murder, not out of any sudden pang of passion, or by any surprising Incogitancy; but all he did was done in Cold Blood, and upon Mature Deliberation, (therefore 'tis said, from the time of his making this Damnable Bargain with the Priests, he sought Opportunity, etc.) and all, without any (save Satan in him) to Solicit him to it, for Two Days and Nights together. (3.) his Craftiness, in Watching this Opportunity, not in the Daytime, lest his Deed of Darkness should be Discerned and Detested; nor in the City, lest some good Citizens should make a Rescue; but his monstrous and matchless Villainy must be done in the Nighttime, lest it should blush to behold the Light, and without the City in a Solitary place, (judas knew Christ's Haunts, as Saul did david's, 1 Sam. 23. 22.) to wit, in the Garden, (where he had his Agony, and where he began to Expiate that first Sin Adam had committed in a Garden) of Gethsemane, which signifies, the Valley of Fatness, there this unparallelled Impiety must be perpetrated; this place was over the Brook Kidron, Joh. 18. 1, 2. and near the Mount of Olives, Luk. 22. 39 Mark 14. 32. Here was Christ (1) Apprehended, hence was he Hurried to be (2) Arraigned in the Spiritual-Court before a full Council of Corrupt-Churchmen, Matth. 26. 57 with a great deal of Injustice and Subornation, ver. 59.60. being Resolved to have his Blood right or wrong; then is he (3) Condemned in their Court for a Blasphemer, v. 65, 66. then was he (4) Spitted on in token of Contempt, Numb. 12. 14. Deut. 25. 9 (5) He was Buffeted, v. 67. as if he had been their Slave. (6) Blindfolded, Luk. 22. 94. Insulting over him with their mad Mockings, as if he had been but a Mock-Prophet. (7) they Binded his Hands behind him, (as is done to the Condemned,) and is sent away by the Consistory of Priests to be put to Death by the Secular or Civil Power, Matth. 27. 2. Joh. 18. 12. (8) the Roman-Magistrate dooms him to be Crucified after the Roman manner, at the Wicked jews Instigation: Matth. 27.22, 23, 26. then (9) was he Striped, v. 26. that by his Stripes we might be Healed, Isa. 53. 5. (10) he was Stripped, v. 28. that we might be Clothed, Ezek. 16. 10. so was led away to Die the most Ignominious Death, as a Traitor to Caesar, and as the Vilest of Men, to expiate Adam's Sin, who would have been as Wise as God; (last,) When Dead he was Buried, and his Sepulchre made sure and secure both with Seal and Watch, and a great Stone upon it, Matth. 27. 64, 65, 66. 'tis a common saying, Mortui non Mordent, Dead Men By't not: but here Christ, though Dead and Buried, Bites and beats Hard upon those evil men's Consciences, they could not Rest all the Night before, ver. 62. for fear Christ should get out of his Grave some way or other, and so Create them more and further Trouble: And they that had forgot all Christ's other sweet, savoury, and saving Sayings, (Writing them all in the Sand) could remember (but for a Wicked Purpose) that which his own Disciples could not so Readily call to mind for their own good & Comfort; no, nor Understand it, when plainly told them, Mark 9 31, 32. Those mad Men remember what he had said about his Resurrection, only because they would gladly have kept Christ in the Grave still, where now they had him; that they might securely Dance upon his Grave, and that they might think themselves sufficiently Cocksure of him. ☞ Oh that we could do all this to the Cursed Body of Sin, what those Cursed Priests did to the Blessed Body of Christ, would we be of the Royal Priesthood, 1 Pet. 2. 5. made so by Christ unto God, Revel. 1. 6. Exod. 19 6. Then must we do to the Body of Sin all these things: (1) Apprehend it. (2) Arraign it. (3) Condemn it. (4) Spit in its Face. (5) Buffet it Black and Blue. (6) Blindfold it. (7) Bind it Hand and Foot. (8) Stripe it. (9) Strip it. (10) Crucify it. (last) Bury it in a sure Grave, that [Peccata non Redeant] never Rise or Return our Sin may any more, neither in this World to our Temporal or Spiritual Confusion, or in the World to come, to our Utter and Eternal Condemnation: All these Actions are but manifest Duties in Scripture, as 1 Cor. 9 27. Gal. 5. 24. Rom. 8. 13. and 6. 4, 11, etc. Now when Christ was Buried thus surely, the Devil (no doubt) Danced (for Company) upon His Grave, having made all firm and fast (as he thought) for ever and a Day: But He that sat in Heaven (saying, Yet have I set my King upon my Holy Hill of Zion, Psal. 2. 4, 6, etc.) Laughed at this, and all this to Nothing, Jehovah had them in Derision: Behold how God overshoots Satan in his own Bow: Divine Providence makes use of those very Means (the Devil's Malice used to obscure Christ's Glory) to Render Christ's Resurrection more Glorious and much less Obnoxious to any Just Exception: That very Watch which was set to keep Christ Underground and in his Grave, are made (Nolens Volens) the Trembling Witnesses of his (to them frightful) Resurrection, they were struck half Dead for bearing and wearing Arms against God, and so Exposing themselves to his Wrath, Matth. 28. 4. and 'twas the Trembling of the Earth, (that now had Possession of Christ, who proved too Hot a Mouthful for it to swallow, Act. 2. 24.) together with the Apparition of a Glorious Angel, (Rolling away the great Stone from the Mouth of the Sepulchre, and sitting down upon it in Despite of the Guard, as a Conqueror) which made the Watch Tremble, the stoutest of the Devils Champions shrink and shrivel away, when Christ gins to Display his Glory: Neither the Weight of the great Stone, nor the Watch of the Stout Soldiers, nor yet the Bands of Death, (stronger than all, so strong as to hold fast many Millions of Men, from Adam to this Day, under the power of Death) could Hold the Dead Body of Christ from Rising beyond his own time. To all those Three Impeding Maladies, God found out and Applied as many (even Three) most Effectual Remedies: for (1.) The great Stone that was laid upon the Tomb by Man, was Rolled away by an Angel: (2.) The Earthquake makes an Heart-quake in the Watch, insomuch that they (though Sixty of them, according to Theophylact) are all Affrighted away. And (3) the Deity of Christ Loosed (or Broke) the Bands of Death, Act 2. 24. for Chest being Life Essential, it was not possible he should be Holden of them, therefore he Swallowed up Death in Victory, 1 Cor. 15. 54. His Resurrection was to be the Demonstration of His Divine Nature, Rom. 1. 4. and the Foundation of our Faith and Perseverance, 1 Cor. 15. 14. notwithstanding their malicious Wresting of Christ's words, [Destroy this Temple of my Body,] yet I will Raise it again the Third Day, Joh 2. 19 (the meaning of which they Invert) and made it a matter of Accusation against him, at his Arraignment, Matth. 26. 61. but after his Interment, they take up his Right meaning, and made Advantage of it, for Securing him fast in his Sepulchre, calling the Faithful and True Witness, Revel. 1. 5. and 3. 7. this Cheat, or Deceiver, Matth. 27. 63. yet the Lord turns all their Wicked Counsel into Folly, 2 Sam. 15. 31. 1 Cor. 1. 19, 25. etc. and in the sight and Despite of Sixty Weaponed Witnesses, (After the Sun of Righteousness had been set in the Grave Six and Thirty Hours, just so long as the Sun in the Firmament had his Course, stopped on Joshuahs' long Day, Josh. 10. 13.) Then did Christ Break the Bonds of Death as easily as Samson did his Green Withs, Judg. 16.7. and Risen up on the first Day to bring Life and Immortality to light by the Gospel, 2 Tim. 1. 10. upon the same Day that God had drawn out of that Abhorred Estate of Nothing, and brought the first Light out of Original Darkness, by his Almighty Word, Gen. 1. 2, 5.   

The Twenty-Fifth Plot in the New-Testament, against the Church, in Apostles, Defeated by God.  
CHAP. XXV.  
AFter a few Days that Christ was Risen out of his Grave, he Road up to Heaven as a Conqueror (in his Triumphant Chariot) over Sin, Death, Hell, and Devil, leading Captivity Captive, that is, Captivating all those Four who had held us in Captivity, 2 Tim. 2. 26. Just as in the Roman-Triumphs, the Great Conqueror Road up to the Capitol in a Chariot of State, and all their Prisoners following behind with their Hands bound behind them; He Throwing certain pieces of Coin abroad (all along as he Ascended) to be picked up by the People. Even so our Lord Christ (that Mighty Conqueror) in the Day of his Solemn Coronation, or Inauguration into his Heavenly Kingdom, Triumphed over all those Spiritual Adversaries of his Church, making a show of them openly, Col. 2. 15. as Tamburlaine did (the Great Turk) Bajazet, whom he carried about all Asia, shut up in an Iron-Cage, to be seen of all Spectators on every side for Scorn and Derision: And Christ likewise (that the Grandeur of his Glorious Conquest might be more magnificently Celebrated) gave great Gifts to Men: 'Tis said he Received those Gifts before in the Old Testament, Psal. 68 18. and he Gave them now in the New, Ephes. 4. 8. He Received them, that he might Give them, he therefore Receives them with one Hand, and Gives them with the other, Accounting it more Honourable to give than to receive, Act. 20. 35. Now the Gifts Christ gave to his Church were both Ordinary and Extraordinary, to wit, Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, Teachers, All Gifted by God, for the Perfecting of the Saints, for the Work of the Ministry and for the Edifying of the Body of Christ, Ephes. 4. 8, 11, 12. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, that is, for the right Jointing of what ever the Devil may Disjoint, even to the End of the World, v. 13. before which, a complete coming up into an Unity of the Faith, and unto that full Measure of the Stature of Christ (even a Perfection of Grace) cannot be expected: Hence Christ Insists upon this point, that his going from his Disciples was as Expedient as his coming to them, Joh. 16. 7. He came to them, that he might Converse with them in the Flesh, but he must Departed from them, that he might Confer upon them his Spirit. Christ had often promised (to send the Spirit (or Comforter) to them) in his Life time, John 14. 16, 26. and 15. 26. and 16. 7. that they might once observe it as an unparallel Privilege to have the Spirit (which is the best of all things) poured down upon all Flesh, (the worst of all things, Hos. 8. 13.) Joel 2. 28. Christ tells them that this Spirit (whom he calls, Another Comforter, whereof they would stand in need, (during his Departure) in an Evil World) should be as his Vicar-General, with whom he would leave them in a dark forlorn World, and by whom he would be with them, (and with their Successors) even to the End of the World, Mat. 28. 20. Now after his Resurrection, He Breathed on them, saying, Receive ye the Holy Ghost, Joh. 20. 22. as Adam received Life by Gods Breathing upon him, so the Disciples received a power of Life and Death, of Remission of Sin and Execution of Judgement, (as Act. 5. 5. 10.) by Christ's Breathing upon them, or, at least, this Breathing was a prefiguring-preparation for their further and fuller Reception of the Spirit upon the Day of Pentecost, which Christ had Promised, Luk. 24. 49. and did perform over and over again, Act. 2. 2, 3, 4. and 4. 31, 33. whereby they were Enabled (as Christ had told them) to do greater Works than he did, Joh. 14. 12. not for the Manner, they doing all in Christ's Name, not in their own, nor as Equal with God, but for matter greater, as (1) Converting Three Thousand Souls at one Sermon, (alas! now not one Soul scarce is Converted by Three Thousand Sermons) Act. 2. 41. (2) Curcing the Diseased, not only by a Word speaking, or an Hand touching, but also by the shadow of Peter passing by, Act. 5. 15, 16. or by an Handkerchief, (only touching Paul, though at a Distance,) Act. 19 12. both these had a Sovereign Miraculous (yet neither of them any Inhaerent) power to Cure Diseases, and to Cast out Devils. (3) Conversing with all Nations in all their several Languages, Act. 2. 4, 8, to 11. which they never Studied to learn them at Home, nor ever Travelled Abroad to gain them. (4) Conferring Corporal Plagues, Act. 13. 11. and Spiritual, 1 Cor. 5. 5. Yea, Death itself, Act. 5. 5, 9, 10. upon Opposers and Disgracers of the Gospel.  
Christ never Hurt any by his Miracles, but Healed all. (5) Conquering a great part of the World, Reduceing it to the Obedience of Christ, they being the White Horses on which the Gospel Road abroad and about the World, Conquering and to Conquer, Revel. 6. 2. (6) Contracting no Harm by Drinking Deadly Poison, Mark 16. 17, 18. as John the Apostle, Barsabas, and others did, according to Eusebius and other Ecclesiastick-Histories: Yea, and Sacred Scripture doth better Confirm, that the Viper about Paul's Hand did not Hurt him, Act. 28. 3, 4, 5. no Doubt but the Devils design here was to have Destroyed him by that Viper, but he was (as in all his other Plots) deceived and Defeated by Virtue of that Promise of Christ, Mark 16. 18. Isa. 11. 8. The same God that shut the Mouths of the Lions for daniel's safety, Dan. 6. 22. did also shut the mouth of th●s Venomous Beast for Paul's Preservation, and so shut it, as the Devil could not remove the Muzzle for his Destruction, see Psa. 91. 13. and Luk. 10. 19 Now the Devil beholding the Gospel carried throughout the World upon those Stupendious Miracles, as upon so many Eagles (or rather Angels) Wings; the Apostles Working greater Works by the power of Christ's Spirit (Poured out upon them, Joh. 7. 39) now in his state of Exaltation; than ever Christ personally wrought in his state of Humiliation. This made the Devil and with malice, to see the Gospel Dart itself (as Eusebius saith) like a Sunbeam through the World, rejoicing like a Giant to run its Race, Psal. 19 5. and to feel himself fall like lightning from Heaven down to Hell thereby, Luk. 10. 18. Upon this High Provocation, Satan gins to bestir himself, and to make many Assaults upon the New Test. Church in the Apostles, etc. both while they kept together, and when they parted asunder; the Issue of all was this, That Satan (the Strong Man) was basely Baffled by Christ (the Stronger Man) at every Turn, Luk. 11. 21, 22. and was constrained to cast down his Arms. The Devils 1st. Assault and Opposition against the Gospel, was, when Peter and John had Cured a Cripple at the Temple-Gate, and thereby their 3000 Converted by the first Sermon, were by a second made 5000, Act. 2. 4. and 4. 4. Satan Incenses the Sadducees, (who Denied the Resurrection, Luk. 20. 27. Matth. 22. 23. Act. 23. 8.) that Two Unknown and Illiterate Men, having no Call from the Consistory of the Priests, should preach in the Temple the Resurrection of Jesus to the seduceing of so many Thousand Souls; this was Insufferable, especially to those Sadducees, for then their Cause and Controversy with the Pharisees about the Resurrection, would quite be lost: Hereupon they Incense the Priests, who were all also grieved, (or Sick of the Devil's Disease) that the Innocent Blood of Christ should be laid at their Doors; they complain to the Captain of the Temple-Garrison, (part whereof was the Watch at Christ's Sepulchre, Matth. 27. 65.) They all conspire to lay those very Hands (which had been lately Gored with the Blood of Christ) upon his Two Apostles, and put them in Hold, Act. 4. 1, 2, 3. * Hear mark how marvellously the (now Exalted) Messiah Mastered the Malice of the Devil, and the Malignity of his Instruments; This was the first Cross Christ's Followers took up, (as Christ had told them, Luk. 9 23.) and he order it to be but a light one, they were put [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, in Custodiam,] into the Sergeants Ward, not [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, in Carcer●m.] into the Goal, or Dungeon; Christ will not have those [Tyrones, or Freshmen] young Pupils Tempted above what they are able, ● Cor. 10. 13. but Inures them Gradually to the bearing of the Cross, Crux est Evangelij Genius, the Cross is the Ghost that continually Haunts the Gospel, Act. 14. 22. and 2 Tim. 3. 12. the first Ghost must not therefore be over Affrightful. The restless malice of the Adversary calls a Council (which had the prescription of 1500 Y. Authority, as Aaron's Successors. and which was countenanced by all their Kindred, the more to confirm their Conspiracy against the Gospel) together with Annas, the same Old-Man, no Changeling from his Condemning Christ: This Convention summons the Two Apostles to appear before them, in the next Morning (they laying but one Night in their Sergeants-House) calls them to Confess whether by God's, or the Devil's Power, whether in Christ's Name, or by the Black-Art, they had Healed the Cripple that was Born Lame, Act. 4. 3, to 7. The Apostles Apology (by the Help of the Holy-Ghost) was so Convinceing, v. 8, etc. that the Council had nothing to say in Contradiction, v. 14. This Conviction brought them to a Conference, v. 15. and that to a Confession, [that all the Country Rang of that notable Miracle, v. 16. Now they have no power to Punish them, yet to maintain their own Credit against the light of their own Consciences, they Consult to keep the People in Ignorance, command the Apostles to Preach no more of Christ, they could not find a face to do any thing, (though their Fingers Itched to do something) against them, for Fear of the People, save only to Dismiss them with a few formal Threaten, which the Apostles (returning to their own Company) spread before the Lord, that Great Master Controller, whom they praised for Disappointing the Devil and his Agents in their Plotting and Ploughing Mischief to the Church, (Job 4. 8.) and for Advancing the Gospel by this Opposition, Augmenting the number of Believers, v. 4. and Dropping down great Grace upon them all, as it were out of Heaven, v. 33. and the shaking v. 31. showed, they were Christ's young Trees, whom he had (as the Planter doth) shaken them a little, to settle them the more. The 2d. Assault Satan made, was after he had filled the Hearts of Ananias and Sapphirah, (Two forward Professors, having an Holy motion at first to sell their possession for Relief of the Needy Brethren, but Beelzebub soon Fly-blowed it,) in making them Vilify and Belie the Holy-Ghost, (which the Apostles had received) by purloining part of the Price, as if God's Spirit in the Apostles, could not have discerned the Affront, Act. 5. 1, 2, 3. ☞ The Devils Design herein was to Blast the Credit of this new Profession by the Lies of those Two Rotten Professors, but was Defeated herein by the dreadful and sudden Death of those Two Hypocrites, v. 5, 10. and the Church Increased by that Defection of the Two Botches from the Body, and ●y many mighty Miracles of Mercy (as well as this of Judgement) wrought even by the shadow of Peter, Act. 5. 6, 11, to 16. Hereupon Satan fills the Sadducees, etc. again with Indignation, v. 17. the Council now casts the Apopostles into the common Prison, (among the worst of their Malefactors) v. 18. but in the Night an Angel of the Lord opens the Prison Doors, and released those (whom their Adversaries of themselves had released before) with a Command to go Preach boldly in the Temple, though the Sanedrim sat there; upon which Affront they were Convented again before the Council, but by the Grave Counsel of Gamaliel, (Paul's Tutor, who Dissuades them by Historical Instances from Fight against God) they were Dismissed again with their Lives, yet not without Blows; then they went away rejoicing, that they were so Highly Graced, by being thus Disgraced for Christ, v. 19, 20, 21, 23, 28, 34, 35, 38, to 4●. The Wonderful release of the Apostles (not by Magic Art, or by Bribeing the Keeper, or by breaking the Prison, but) by the Power of an Angel, (sent as an Officer from God to let them out of Prison without the Keeper's consent) Startled those proud Priests, v. 23. but Converts them not: Yet afterwards so much Conviction shone upon them, seeing no Counsel, nor might and malice of Man can prevail against God and his Truth, Prov. 21. 30. Isa. 46. 10. all the Rage of both Rulers and Ruled (though never so Unruly) were but Vain, fruitless, and frustrate, Psal. 2. 1, 4. and as Gamaliel told them, Ye cannot overthrow the Counsel of God, neither you, nor Kings and Tyrants to help you, so one Ancient Greek-Coppy readeth, Act. 5. 39 The Gospel gaining ground (notwithstanding all the gainsaying of Governors) amongst Grecians as well as Hebrews, Act. 6. 1. 'tis said expressly, [A great Company of the Priests were Obedient to the Faith,] v. 7. We read in Ezra 2. 36, to 40. that 4289 Priests, etc. Returned from Babylon, and that number might well be Increased in Judea now: therefore [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉] a great Company may well enough be fixed on them, and on no other; and 'twas a mighty Testimony from Heaven, that so many (of those ever most Implacable Enemies. and most Active Adversaries of the Gospel) should be Converted to the Faith and Truth of the Gospel. ☞ I would to God he may give us this Divine Testimony in our day, We should not Dispair of the Worst, God hath his time to call even a Persecuting Saul, and to change him into a Praying and a Preaching Paul: This Increase of the Word, and of the Number of Disciples, v. 7. Enrages the Devil to make the 3d. Assault, (beholding also Steven, so full of Faith and Power, whereby he wrought many mighty Wonders among the People, v. 8.) Hereupon Satan Incenses the Libertines, which, in the common Notion of the Word, are always most Desperate Despisers and Destroyer's of Truth, as it Condemns Licentiousness) to Oppose Steven, v. 9 and when they found themselves overpowered by Argument, they Convent him before the Sanedrim, and Suborned Witnesses against him, (a Lesson they had Learned from their Master the Devil, Joh. 8. 44.) who (as they had Instructed them) accused him for Vilisying Moses, the Law, the Holy City and Temple, v. 10, 11, 13. ☞ Where 'tis enough to Accuse, even the H●ly Child Jesus Escapes not as Innocent: notwithstanding their matchless malice against Steven, yet (1) before his Apology, he is miraculously Vindicated from Heaven, by that Angelical Splendour and Majesty (as that of Moses, Exod. 34. 30.) Seated in his Countenance, v. 15. which was a most Convinceing Evidence, 1. of the Goodness of His Cause, 2. of the Greatness of his Courage, 3. of the Clearness of his Conscience: (2) After his Apology, (which was full of Wisdom, and of the Holy Ghost) in every Distinct Answer, and wherein he cuts them to the Heart by telling them, their Killing Christ made them Worse than their forefather's, who only had Killed his Prophets, and that they were Substantial about Circumstantials given only by Moses, but Circumstantial about those Substantials given of God (himself) by the Disposition of Angels; Hereupon they in a furious Outrage Stone Steven, who then had his 2d Vindication, to wit, (1) a clear Vision of Heaven through a great Shower of Stones, and (2) of his Dear Redeemer in a Standing Posture, as if Roused up from his Sitting on the Throne at the Right Hand of His Father, and just ready to Revenge the Injury done to his Servant; yea, and (3) Steven Dies Dignified with a Double Honour, (1) in his place, as Proto-Martyr, standing first in the Catalogue of all those that wore the Crown of Martyrdom, He was the Prince and Bell-wether of the Flock that went to Heaven by that Bloody way in Gospel-times: (2) In his Prayer, the prevalency whereof might Contribute much to Paul's Conversion, in as much as saul's Sin (in Consenting to Stevens Death) was not laid to his Charge for his Utter Confusion; However this was Honourable at his Death, He stood, while he prayed for himself, this showed the Greatness of his Piety; but he Kneeled down when he Prayed for his Enemies, no less will serve for the greatness of their Impiety; he is more concerned for their Riot than for his own Ruin. The Devils 4th. Assault was in the great Persecution that followed Stevens Death, which the people quietly suffered: and as soon as Satan and his Savage Instruments saw the Silence and Tameness of the Multitude, which had Hitherto Awed them from executing all Extremities: The Fear of the People (so oft expressed) being now evidently Allayed, they fall foul (not upon the Apostles only, as before, but) upon the whole Church, Act. 8. 1. so that they were all Scattered abroad; and Satan had Saul, a fit Tool to effect this by, who (1) was Consenting to Stevens Death; ☞ 'tis all one to hold the Sack, and to fill it; to do evil, or to consent to it: a mind to do evil is sin in the Seed, which time and warm Temptation may bring forth to Fruit, Jam. 1. 14, 15. there is Heart-Adultery, Matth. 5. 28. and Heart-Murder, Matth. 5. 22. Joh. 8. 44. Thus the Cursed Jews became Guilty of all the Bloodshed from Abel to Christ▪ by their Allowance and Consent, Matth. 23. 35. So Saul (Allowing of Stevens Death) made himself guilty of it by his Allowance: and that which is more, (according to the Syriack reading) he was both Desirous of it before, and Delighted in it after: (2) This same Saul was Scholar to Gamaliel, Act. 22. 3. Precedent of the Sanhedrim) and likely the more Active in Dancing after the Devils Pipe upon that account; for his Master Gamaliel (notwithstanding his plausible Speech by which he dismissed both the Assembly (the Accusers) and the Apostles (the Accused) Act. 5. 34, to 41.) Lived and Died a downright Pharisee, and published that pestilent Prayer, (called, the Prayer against Christians) which he commanded to be constantly said in their Synagogues, wherein they Curse the Gospel and the Professors of it: No doubt but the Tutor's Prayer pricked on the Pupils Principles to Persecution: Yea, and (3) This Pupil became a notable Proficient in this proud Pharisees School, as we have an Account both from God's Mouth and his own; (1. From God's Mouth, Act. 8. 3. Saul made Havoc of the Church, being (as some think) that Ravening Wolf of the Tribe of Benjamin, Prophesied of by the Patriarch Jacob, Gen. 49. 27. never any Benjamite Ravened more in Wolfish Worrying. Cruelty than this Saul (of the Tribe of Benjamin, Phil. 3. 5.) did, who broke into Christians Houses, Dragged out Men and Women (sparing no Sex) to Prison, (2.) out of his own Mouth, Act. 22. 3, 4, 19, 20. I was (saith he of himself) Metubak or Disciple to Gamaliel, and aptly learned from his form of Prayer, [Maledic Domine Nazaraeis] to Curse Christians [Nazarites, Heretics, Bastard-Gentiles,] in my Daily Devotion, and I was Zealous to practise (as well as to Pray) against them, yea, my blind Zeal (which was no better than Metal in a Blind Horse, than Fire on the Chimney-top, than the Devil in the Demoniac, that threw him sometimes into the Fire, and sometimes into the Water) so Transported me into Malice and Madness, that I was as Violent against Christians as the worst of you are and Act. 2●. 9, 11. I being (saith he) exceedingly mad, persecuted them to Death, and (which was worse) I compelled them (by Cruelties) to Blaspheme. Thus Saul was fit enough to be Satan's prime and principal Agent in his Persecuting-Work; and thus far the Devil had a fair Game before him, when the Church (the first Gospel-Church) was Dispersed by his Devilish Instruments; yet behold, the Lord looks on, and laughs, yea, laughs all to nothing: God overshoots the Devil in his own Bow here also, and makes Satan (himself) break his own Design. * Good would never suffer Evil to be, or the Devil to do evil, unless he knew how to extract Good out of that Evil: * Mark the marvellous Miracle of God's mercy to Confound the Devil's Device in those particulars. (1.) Satan (with all his Savage Sanhedrims) could not yet Scratch Christ's Apostles out of their Mansions; 'tis said expressly, the Twelve stayed by it at Jerusalem, as in the Furnace, to Cherish and Comfort the Church there in so sad a time, while Saul was making such Havoc of it. Act. 8. 1, 3. Christ had commanded them first to Preach the Gospel at Jerusalem, Luk. 24. 47. there the Church must succeed the Synagogue, as the Gospel followed the Law, and there God marvellously maintained the Twelve Apostles in Safety, even among the midst of their most pestilential Enemies. (2.) The 120 Ministers mentioned, Act. 1. 15. (more noble than those 120 Princes set over 120 Provinces, Dan. 6. 1. being of a more Noble Extract, as Heavenborn, and of a more Noble Employ, as all Designed to the Ministry, and so became Princes of the Provinces of that Universal Kingdom of the Gospel) were indeed all Dispersed, saving their Lives (which Steven had lost) by Flight, yet they Preach all along in all places where they were scattered, the Dispersed Disperseth the Light of the Gospel every where; and whereas before they were like Candles tied up in a Pound, and gave no light, now they are scattered one from another, and one is lighted up in one place, and another in another, so gave they saving Light to a Dark World in Despite, yea, and by the Spite of the Prince of Darkness, for that Scattering Persecution, which the Devil contrived on purpose to smother the Gospel, God overrules, and makes Use of that very Means to spread it the more. (3.) Hereby also the partition-Wall was broken down betwixt Jew and Gentile, Eph. 2. 14. Christ had forbid them (before) of going into the way of the Gentiles, Matth. 10. 5, 6. and he bid them flee to other Cities when Persecuted, v. 23. This they do now, Act. 8. 4. being driven from Jerusalem, they carry the Gospel to the Gentiles, which redounded to the Churches great Advantage. Ecclesia Augetur, quant● Magis Premitur. The Church like Israel in Egypt, the more they were Molested, the more they Multiplied, Exod. 1. 12. The Church is like the Sea, what Ground it loseth in one place, it getteth and gaineth in another: and thus hath oft God ordered it, Vnius Ecclesia Destructio, ceu potiùs, Dispersio, Multarum fuit Aedificatio, The Destruction or rather Dispersion of one Church, hath been the Aedification of many, as this at Jerusalem was. (4.) Hereby likewise Satan maketh the Jews to convey the Gospel among the Samaritans, who (of all People under Heaven) were most Odious to them, joh. 4. 9 and 8. 48. The jews Hated them, because Sanballat (saith josephus) had opened a Sanctuary in Samaria for all Renegado-Jews, etc. Hence they called Christ (the worst word in their minds and mouths) a Samaritan; yet could they not have sent to this People (whom they so much Abhorred) a better Blessing than the Gospel, thither they Drove Philip the Deacon, (and one of the 120) who Industriously Preached Christ unto them, Act. 8. 5. This Corrupt City, and long bewitched by the Sorceries of Simon Magus, (yet having never blown upon the Gospel, as the jews had done) Unanimously Attend and readily Receive it: And there was great Joy in that City Samaria, v. 8. while nothing but Rage against the Gospel was found among the High-Priests and great Councils at jerusalem: Herein the Despised Samaria exceeded and excelled that (once Holy) City jerusalem. (5.) By this means lastly Satan's chief Engineer (Simon Magus) was quite Cashiered; for though this Conjurer had a long time bewitched the People, carrying them out of themselves, (as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signisies) making them Adore him as a God, Act. 8. 9, 10, 11. Yet such was the power of God in Phillip's Ministry, that it breaks through all those Difficulties, and both the Seduced and the Seducer are gained over to it, v. 12, 14. yea, and this Magus or Master of the Magicians, Simon so far submitted unto Peter's reproof, that he begs Peter's Prayers for the pardon of his Sin, lest he should be smitten with Death (as Ananias was) by him. The Devils (5th.) Assault against the Church was in this Ravening Wolf, (Saul aforesaid, not below his Namesake King - Saul in Rage and Malice, though he was in Honour) who like a tired Wolf well-wearyed with Worrying Christ's Flock in their Golden-Fleeces, lies down panting for Breath, Saul yet Breathing, Act. 9 1. but in as much as he Breathed out Threaten and Slaughter, etc. it shows the Vehemently Flaming Heat of his Hellishly Enraged Heart, who like a Brutish Bloodhound, being Blooded in the Butchered Body of Steven, etc. he pursueth after others with utmost Outrage, and when he cannot Glut himself with Blood enough at jerusalem, He gets Letters-Patents from the Highpriest to range abroad and to worry Christ's Lambs at Damascus, v. 2. The going out of the Gospel from jerusalem to the Gentiles, makes Satan Mad, Satan makes Saul Mad; Hereupon he Rides or Runs Post after it, to reclaim and Suppress it: thus far the Devil's Bowl runs well, but now it meets with a Rub that casts it quite out of the way, and that which was most Vexatious, this Rub falls out, when the Bowl was well nigh got home to the Jack, even when Saul was come near to Damascus, Act. 9 3. Damascus (the chief City of Syria) or Damesec, (signifying, a Bag of Blood, so called, because there ('tis supposed) Cain Murdered Abel) was Distant from jerusalem 160 miles, or Six Days Journey, Saul was suffered by his Saviour to become an Apparitor or Inquisitor against private Meetings of Heretics, (Christians so called) this was more than a bare Base Informer; he must get a full Commission for doing much Mischief by Authority, he must Travel without Disturbance Five Days Journey, and be also towards the end of his 6th. even near Damascus, and not one Rub or Remora (we read of) doth he meet with in all this Wicked Work and Wretched Way; and it may be easily Imagined, what Bloody Thoughts this Bloodhound (Saul) had Suggested into his Mischievous mind by Satan all the way as he went: Oh how did he Hope to Pepper the poor Christians with a full Execution of his Barbarous Designs? Oh how was he Delighted to espy on the Road his Dear Damascus, (where his Design lay) when he came near to it, and so near as to behold it? no doubt, but he meant to fill that Bag of Blood (as Damascus signifies) with a great deal more of the Blood of many Righteous Abel's, and he Resolved to do something in order hereunto before he slept that 6th. Night; but Behold! in the midst of all those his Murdering Imaginations and Hellish Machinations, Christ meets him, and Unhorsed him or Knocked him down with a Thunder-Bolt, or Flash of Lightning, when almost at his Journeys end, there he stumbled upon that stumbling-Stone, (the Rock of Ages, as well as of Offence) and falls to the Earth, Act. 9 3, 4. and 'tis a Wonder he broke not all his Bones, and that his Breath was not beaten out of his Body, yea, that his Carcase was not hung up in Gibbets, (as a public Warning to all Bloody Persecutors) that the Churches of Christ might have the more Rest and Respite thereby: No, Christ's thoughts are not as ours; 'tis True, Christ's Throws and Blows with his Heavy Hand are Deadly to effect the aforesaid, and his Anger is Destructive to such as will not Kiss him with a Kiss of Subjection, he saith, a little of his Wrath will make them Perish in the midst of their way, of their Plots, and of their Lives, Psa. 2. 12. yet lo, together with the Beams of his Glory, Christ here shows the Bowels of his pity: though now he be in Heaven in a Glorified Estate, yet hath he still his Heart as kindly affected to Sinners as when he was upon Earth; though he hath changed his Honour, yet not his Nature, he is as kind and loving as ever, yea more, for it is Glorified Love that is now in Christ, though he now be free from Passion, (as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, or uncapable of Suffering) yet not at all from Compassion: still hath He a kind of Feeling, as well as , in those Words, Saul, Saul, why Persecutest thou me? Act. 9 4. the Head of the Church (Christ) feels himself Wounded in his Members (the Saints) Christ liveth in them, Gal. 2. 20. their Reproaches are his, Hebr. 13. 13. and their sufferings are his, Col. 1. 24. Saul Hearing from this Compassionate Christ, that he was but kicking against the Pricks, v. 5. that is, In his mad marching to Damascus, he was but Hurting himself, in Hurting the Saints, he Truckles and becomes (of a mad Bull of Bashan) Tractable to Christ's Yoke: * Oh matchless Mercy in Christ, thus to make of a Worrying Wolf, such a Blessed Shepherd of his Flock of Sheep, Then had the Churches Rest, etc. v. 31. when the Wolf was changed into a Lamb, yea, into a Pastor or Feeder and Defender of the Lambs of Christ. ☞ God hath still this way open whereby to give Rest to his Afflicted churches, He can Convert as well as Confound the worst of their Persecutors: 'Tis plain here, Satan lost and Christ gained the Game. Satan's (6th) Assault was upon Saul (himself) when converted into Paul, [so called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Cessando] because Christ caused the Flame of Hellfire to Cease in him; no sooner was the Fire of Hell caused to cease in Saul, and he become Paul, but presently the Fire of Hell from Satan began to flame out against him, Tempora Mutantur, etiam & persona, etc. Now Satan's principal Assaulter of the Church, is become the principal Assaulted by Satan in the Church: now Satan's prime Apostle, or (as the Word signifies) Messenger, (with his Credentials and Plenipotentiary Letters-Pattents from the Sovereign Sanhredrim) for persecuting the Church, becomes a prime Apostle of Christ (with all Apostolical Qualifications thereunto) for the preserving and protecting of the Church; this makes the Devil mad against him, and not only to hinder him at every turn in his Work, (as himself sayeth) 1 Thess. 2. 18. but also doth his Utmost not only to Hurt him, yea, and to Hand him out of the way by some of those often Perils he brought him into, 2 Cor. 11. 14, 24, to 30. Paul Describes his Perils and Passions both by Sea and Land, by Foreigners and Domestics (all Satan's Instruments) in a Golden Flood of Eloquence; to which Demosthenes is but Dull: yet here again the Devil was Defeated in this Design also by a marvellous Hand of God: for (1.) Paul (after he had been struck Blind with the Lightning, and was led Blind into Damascus, (which he would so gladly have seen and been at for persecuting the Christians) to show him he was but Blind in that Rage against them, and after he had Afflicted his Soul in Fasting Three Days, and receiving his Sight both of Soul and Body by his Rapture into Heaven, as some say, 2 Cor. 12. 2.) becometh Insatiabilis Christi Concionator, an Unwearyed Preacher of Christ, Act. 9 20, 22. both there and in Arabia, Gal. 1. 17, 18. God Chained up Satan for Three Y. so that he could not Act any Violence against Paul all that time, God gave him [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉] sufficient (or so many) Days, Act. 9 23. or Three Y. so long a time to Settle,  he called him to Suffer; the good Husbandman turns not the crushing Wheel upon his (tender) Cummin, nor his (hard) Flail upon his (soft) Fitches, Isa. 28. 26. when Paul was well confirmed in the Faith, than the Devil hath leave to stir up Layers in Wait against him, but God both Discovered it, and (by an Honest shift) Disappointed it, Act. 9 23, 24, and 2 Cor. 11. 32. (2) God delivers him his Danger from the Grecians or Helenists, (Stephen's great Adversaries, Act. 6. 1, 9 with whom then Saul was a Collegiate and Companion) who, now looking upon Paul as an Apostate, by turning Christian, sought his Death, as he (with them) had sought Stevens, and the more Zealous he was now against them, the more Enraged they are against him, (more than against Peter, James, etc. in Jerusalem) and is forced by them to fly to Tarsus for his Life, Act. 9 29, 30. (3) From those of Iconium, where the Malignant Jews Incensed the Ignorant Gentiles to Stone him for cutting the City into Contrary Factions, Act. 14. 1, 6. (4) From those at Lystra, whether he fled, and where he Healed the born Cripple, for which they first Deified him, (a wile of the Devil, tempting him to accept of Divine Honour) which Device being disowned, than Satan stirs them up to Stone him, so that he was Stoned unto Death, as to appearance; yet by a Divine Miracle he Revived for further Work, Act. 14. 8, 10, 12, 14, 20. (5) God Delivers him also from the Danger he was in by those at Philippi, (for casting out a Divining Spirit out of a Gainful Damosel, for which he was both Whipped and Imprisoned) both by an Earthquake, and by the Conversion of his Gaoler, Act. 16. 12, 18, 20, 23, 26, 30. 34. (6) So likewise he was saved from the Uproar at Thessalonica, Act. 17. 1, 5. made by the Rascality of the City, which pursued him to Berea, (where he found Nobler Auditors, v. 11.) and Drove him thence. (7) He was also Delivered from Demetrius and his Silversmiths (that made Shrines for Diana) at Ephesus, by the Wisdom of the Town-Clark, Act. 19 23, 28, 35, 39 (8) From those Beasts he found and Fought with, (as at Ephesus, 1 Cor. 15. 32. so) at Jerusalem, where Beastly Men laid hold of him, and would have Killed him, but the Chief Captain Rescued him from them, Act. 21▪ 27, 31. Those Asian-Jews were Satan's Bloodhounds, Chase Paul from Asia Hither. (9) From those Forty Bloody Butchers that would have pulled Paul in pieces, binding themselves under a Curse, that they would neither Eat nor Drink till they had Killed him. God Defeats the Plot (1. by casting a Bone of Dissension 'twixt the Pharisees and Sadducees, Act. 23. 7, 8. (2. by the Captains Rescuing him again, v. 9, 10. (3. by sending a Guard with him to Caesarea; as the first was a Godly Policy in Paul to Divide his Enemies, so the Two last were Effects of Gods great Power and Providence in making Heathen-Captains to become Paul's Patrons, v. 13, 15, 23, 33. (10) God saves him (1) from their Wiles, Act. 25. 3, 4. (2) from Shipwreck, Act. 27. 44. (3) from the Viper, Act. 28. 5. (4) from Nero the Lion, 2 Tim. 4. 17. at Rome he Preached Two Y. and Converted some of Nero's House, and from thence Wrote Epistles to Confirm the Churches to the End of the World.  
Satan's (7th.) Assault was against Peter, the first of the Apostles, against one of the Prime Pillars of the Church, which the Devil had oft been shaking to throw it down, seeing the Gospel of the Circumcision was committed to him, as that of the Uncircumcision was to Paul, Gal. 2. 7, 9 both being Equal in Office and Dignity; God giving them alike Success both to Jews and Gentiles, v. 8. 1 Cor. 9 1, 23. and 2 Cor. 13. 4, 5. This the Romanists do Deny, though more Failings be Recorded in Scripture of Peter, than of any other Apostle whatsoever, Matth. 16. 23. Gal. 2. 14. Matth. 26. 70, 72, 74. and Joh. 21. 17, etc. Yet this Peter, or Cephas, was a great Eyesore to Satan, being always a stout Stickler, and a Courageous Champion for Christ, therefore doth he Desire leave to put Peter into his Sieve of Temptation, and therein by tossing him too and fro to make Chaff of him, Luk. 22. 31. but the Devil was Deceived and Disappointed in all his Toss and Tempt of Peter, by the Prayer of Christ, v. 32 and by the Power of God: as (1) no sooner had Christ given Peter the Keys of the Church, (as he did also to all the other Apostles, Matth. 10. 2. and 20. 24. and 18. 18. and Joh. 20. 23. making them All the Stewards of His House, 1 Cor. 4. 1. Isa. 22. 22.) Matth. 16. 19 but immediately Satan tempts Peter to become as Satan himself, to wit, an Hinderer of Redemption-Work, v. 22, 23. no doubt but Peter had a good meaning in his taking Christ by the Hand and leading him aside, (as we do an Intimate Friend for imparting some Secret to him) and in his saying to him, [Master, spare thyself, etc.] Rebuking him for his carelessness of himself, (being still strongly prepossessed with a fond Conceit of an Earthly Kingdom) yet (to Humble him under that Honour put upon Peter, v. 17, 18, 19) he is called a Devil for his Rash Incogitancy and Arrogancy, as well as Judas is for his Malicious Obstinacy, Joh. 6. 70. He was the Devil's Instrument in dissuading Christ from Dying for his Church, and so became an Offence to him: Notwithstanding all this, Christ graciously brings Peter off out of Satan's Sieve, Teaching him his proper place of following his Lord as a Disciple, and not to Run before him as a Teacher, all along, v. 23, to 26. and also taking him to his Transfiguration, Mat. 17. 1. as one of his best Beloved, and 26. 37. (2) When this brave Champion (who out of a preposterous Zeal could cut off Malchus' Ear with his Sword, that he might stand to his Master according to his Word) and stout Stickler, stood at the Door and by the Fire, yet was Daunted by a silly Damosel, Joh. 18. 16, 18, 25. Matth. 26. 69, 70. to Deny his Lord Three times, and that with Swearing and Cursing himself, v. 72. 74. notwithstanding all, Christ had a Look of Love to melt Peter's Hardened-Heart, Luk. 22. 61. he had a Plaster Prepared before the Wound was Received, v. 32. and he had an Hand to save sinking Peter, Mat. 14. 30. Now when he was like to Shipwreck Faith and a good Conscience, and when Satan had like to have made Chaff of him (indeed) in his Sieve of Temptation; through God's Helping-Hand he comes out good Corn; and when Converted, he Strengthens his Brethren by his Two notable Epistles. (3.) When Satan sought to Kill him (after he had been a Marvellous Instrument in long promoting the Gospel) by his Vassal Herod, (as Bloody as the 1st, Herod, that would have been a Christ-Killer, and as the 2d. that was John Baptists-Killer) this Herod-Agrippa was a James-Killer, Act. 12. 2. and according to the Old Trick of all Tyrants, willing to Curry Favour with the Wicked, by Shedding the Blood of the Godly, he Attempts to be a Peter-Killer also, v. 3. but Deferrs his Execution (God overruling his Bloody Intention by his own fond Superstition) out of Reverence to the Passeover, while he had none at all to God's Sixth Command, [Thou shalt do no Murder,] In the mean time, the Church was hard at Work in Earnest and Uncessant Prayer, v. 5. This set the Prayer-Hearing God at Work, (yet not till Peter was at the Pits-brink, v. 6.) He sends his Angel, Awakes Peter, (who had cast himself into God's Arms in his Sleep) strikes off his Chains, opens the Iron-Gates, conveys him out in Despite of his Guards, Peter lives to do the Church much Service, and soon after the Tyrant Dies of a Lousy Disease by the Churches-Prayer, ver. 7, 8, 10, 21, 23. to which Peter's Release, (who was Returned to them in their very Work) and Herod's Dreadful Destruction, (in the midst of his Glittering Glory) was a Signal Answer.   

The Twenty-Sixth Plot in the New-Testament, against the Church, in the Apostles, Defeated by God.  
CHAP. XXVI,  
THe last and longest Liver of all the Apostles, was, John the Divine, who is well called the Daniel of the New Test▪ as Daniel is called the John of the Old; for as Daniel Wrote not only an History of the Church, what it was in his Day, but also a Prophecy what it would be after to Christ's first Coming: so John Wrote 1st. an History of the Church, what it was in his Day, (in the Three first Chapters of his Revelation,) then 2ly. a Prophecy what it would be, from his time to the Second Coming of Christ, in all the following Chapters of that Book from the 6th. to the last, the 4th. (alluding to the Old Test.) and the 5th. (alluding to the New.) being but a Praeludium or Preface to his Seal, Trumpet, and Vial-Prophecy concerning Things that must after come to pass. This Apostle the Envious One (Satan) Envied above all; 1. because he was Beloved above all, he was as Daniel, [Ishchamudoth] a Man of Desires and Delights, greatly Beloved, Dan. 9 23. Hence is he called the Disciple whom Jesus loved, Joh. 19 26. and 20. 2. and 21. 7, 20. Christ loved all his Disciples, Joh. 13. 1. but john more singularly and signally, therefore did he lean on his Bosom, v. 23. and Christ committed his dear Mother to his peculiar charge; for this he was the more Hated by the Devil: and (2) for his being a Boanerges, a Son of Thunder, Mark 3. 17. a most powerful Preacher, whereby he did Thunder down the Devil's Kingdom. (3.) for his joining in Commission with Peter in Cureing the Cripple, Act 3. and in Confirming the Samaritans, and Conferring upon them the Gifts of the Spirit, yea, and Confounding Satan's Grand Sorcerer there, Act. 8. (4.) for his out-Living all the Apostles, (as Christ Intimates, joh. 21. 22, 23, 24. who Lived to 120 Y. old,) and so Successfully Watering those Churches in Asia the less, which Paul had Planted; he after Paul's Death comes from jerusalem thither, and takes them for his Province and Diocese: Hereupon the Devil makes his 8th. Assault upon him, so gins his 26th. Plot against the Church. (1.) Satan stirs up Domitian to cast john into a Vessel of Boiling Oil, out of which he came out Unhurt, as the Ancients tell us; however, the Scripture of Truth truly lays, (2) that he was Banished (by Domitian, at the Devil's Instigation) into the Isle Pathmos, Revel. 1. 9 that he might Preach no more, he having none to Preach unto in that Desart-place. (3) The Devil sets upon those Golden-Candle sticks, and Corrupts them most Horribly in this Apostles Absence, insomuch as (1.) the Church of Smyrna was Pestered with a Synagogue of Satan, to wit, the Unbelieving jews, Rev. 2. 9 but (2) more especially Pergamus, where their Devilish Maliciousness is styled the very Throne or Seat of Satan, v. 13. and where Attalus (the Devil's Agent) had Martyred Antipas. (3) False Apostles had Wormed themselves in among them, pretending Apostolic Power, and perhaps practiceing Magic, to make themselves look more Apostolical like, Revel. 2. 2. Those troubled the Church at Ephesus, but they were Tried and found Liars there. (4) other Seducers crept in by the Devil's Craft, (though not by the Magic Miracles of Devils, as the others did, yet) by the Doctrines of Devils, as that of the Nico Laitans, Rev. 2. 14. and 6. teaching Community of Wives, and that things Sacrificed to Idols might be Eaten. (5) a Jezabel, (either of her Name, or Nature, or both, was foisted into Thyatira by Satan, both a Whore and a Witch, therefore she and her Children (to wit, Disciples) are Threatened to be Destroyed, Revel. 2. 20, 23. (6) Formality and Hypocrisy had Leavened Sardis, Revel. 3. 1. and (7) Lukewarmness was on Laodicea, ver. 15, 16. so to be Spewed out. But mark how God Bassles the Devil in all this, by laying limits upon him: Rather than fail, Satan (himself) will execute the Office of a Justice Rev. 2. 10. Behold the Devil will cast some of you into Prison, etc. either he acts thus in Person, or (at least) by a Proxy, to wit, by his Imps and Instruments, yet all Satan's Actings (in the Children of Disobedience, by whom he Works, Eph. 2. 2.) are under a Divine Limitation, as 1. 'tis but some of them, and not all of them, 2. into Prison, not into Hell, 3. 'tis only to Try them, not to Destroy them, 4. 'tis for Ten Days only, not for Ever: and though the Devil got John the Apostle cast into a Vessel of Boiling Oil, yet he came out thence without harm, as before; And though Domition (the Emperor of Rome) Banished him to Pathmos, yet there he Wrote those Seven Epistles to the Seven Churches which were not un-Churched with all those Corruptions, but are Written to as Churches still, and as Golden-Candlesticks in those Epistles, wherein sweet Cordials and Comforts are Intermingled with sundry sad Corrasives and Cordoliums' as (1) God threatens the Removal of the Candlesticks, id est, to another place, not the quite Extinguishing of the Light set up thereon, Rev. 2. 5. (2) Christ stems himself from that Removal, because he saw some Goodness in the Church, v. 6. because thou Hatest, etc. ☞ God may do so to England, etc. (3) Deus minatur, ut non puniat, Ambrose, God Threatens, that he may not Strike, he hath set his Bow in the Clouds, but there is never an Arrow in it, and the Bend of that Bow is towards Heaven, not towards Earth, or us. (4) Christ saith, Fear none of those things, ver. 10. promising withal a Crown of Life. (5) He promiseth also, the Hidden Manna, and the White Stone with the New Name, to wit, Absolution, as well as Assurance, v. 17. (6) not to lay any other Burden, than what they already suffered, v. 2. ☞ Oh! that God may say so to his Churches in this great City and Nation. (7) that They shall walk with him in White, Revel. 3. 4. to wit, in pure Ordinances in a better Day and Dispensation, (8) and have an open Door, v. 8. yea, and (9) Good Counsel, v. 18. to show they were not Incorrigible, and (lastly) Christ was not gone from them, much less had delivered them up unto Satan, but still Walked in the midst of His Golden Candlesticks, Revel, 1. 13. and standing at the Door Knocking both by Outward Means, and Inward Motions, by the Hammer of his Word, and by the Hand of his Spirit, Revel. 3. 20. with those Seven Epistles (together with His own Return and Personal Preaching to them after the Death of Domition) he marvellously Repaired, Refreshed, and Established those Seven Churches well-nigh laid waste by the Cruelty and Tyranny of that Persecuting Emperor. In that Isle also (whither he was Banished from all Humane Society) Christ came to him and gave him to Write (not only that Excellent Gospel, so useful for Defence of Christ's Divinity against the Blasphemies of Cerinthus, etc. And those Blessed Epistles of His, the 1st. 2d. and 3d. but also) the Revelation of things to come, Rev. 1. 19 and 4. 1. Even all the Wretched Maladies that should befall the Church, and all the Blessed Remedies for Her Deliverance to the End of the World. Thus in all this also, God overshoots Satan in his own Bow, and left not himself without Witness, Act. 14. 17. This Bloody Wretch (Domitian) was Murdered by his own Men and the stiffnecked Jews (which had all along opposed Christ and his Gospel with the utmost Outrage) were paid Home (at last with Matchless Miseries, as before, both under Vespasian (the Father) and Titus (his Son) that were Predecessors to Domitian; and this John only (of all the Apostles) lived to see (in Despite of the Devil and all his Cruel Cutthroats) the Wrath of God come down upon those Christ-Killers to the utmost, as Christ had foretold.   

The Twentyseventh Plot against the Church-Primitive, by the Ten first Persecutions, Defeated by God.  
CHAP. XXVII.  
Satins 27th. Plot against the Primitive-Church was managed by Rome-Heathen, when now Grown Great under her Coesars', and became the Lady of Kingdoms, and the Imperious Domineering Mistress of the World: The Provocation was this, 1. The Churches of Asia were Recovered from their aforesaid Apostasy, (which, it seems, began in Paul's time, 2 Tim. 1. 15, 16. [All they which are in Asia are turned from me▪] etc. being ashamed of his Bonds,) by John's Ministry. 2. The Gospel was spread all the World over by the scattered Apostles, at the Destruction of jerusalem, (until which, (at least) some of them had their Residence there,) as by Andrew into Scythia, Philip into P●rygia, by Bartholomew into Judea, by Thomas into Parthia and Persia, by Matthew into Aethiopia, by Simon Zelotes into Mauritania and Africa, by Judas (Brother of James) into Edessa, by Mathias into Macedonia, etc. but that which provoked the Devil and his Imps most of all, was, 3. that the Gospel should so Prevail and Prosper even in Rome itself, where Satan's Principal Throne was, and that by Paul, who was there a Prisoner at large for Two Years, Act. 28. 16. Preaching the Kingdom of God, v. 23, 24, 30, 31. whereby the Roman-Gentiles were brought into the Obedience of Faith, and a Famous Church was Constituted there of those called to be Saints, whose Fame was spread for its Faith all the World over by that Resort which was to Rome (the Queen of Cities now) from all parts of the Earth, Rom. 1. 5, to 8. and 16. 19 And still that which was of Greatest Provocation, is that not only the Beloved of God (therefore Hated of the Devil) were found in Rome itself, Rom. 1. 7. but even in Nero's very Family, Phil. 4. 22. This Cursed Leaven of Christianity (as they called it) had not only Leavened Rome, (the best and chiefest City in the world) but also Caesar's own Royal Palace, which was the best and chiefest Building in that best and chiefest City: All Nero's Court Rang of Paul the Prisoner and the Preacher, Hereby the Lord ordered the Futherance of the Gospel, Phil. 1. 12. 13. even where Satan's Seat or Throne was: what could the Court of such a Cursed Caitiff and Castaway (as Nero was) be, but a Barathrum, and Brothel-House, abounding with all Abominations, quite contrary to the Prince of Anhalts, which was called Academia, Ecclesia & Curia, a Court, a Church, and an University. And what was this, but to Depose the Devil from his Dignity and Dominion, and to set up Christ in his Throne: No Wonder if this provoked him to do, as John had foretold in his Seal-Prophecy that, after the White Horse, (with Christ upon him) to wit, the Gospel had spread itself like a Sunbeam, Conquering every where, and also Crowned for its Conquests by those Primitive Preachers: Hâc non Successit, aliâ Aggrediendum est Viâ: The Devil would then come forth Riding upon his Red Horse (together with his Black, and with his Pale Horse) to bring War, Famine, (of the Word especially) yea, Death and Hell too in those 1st. Ten Bloody Persecutions, Revel. 6. 2, 3, 5, 7. This is the 1st. Branch of the 2d. part of that Book which john divides into Two parts, 1st. an History of things then present: 2d. a Prophecy of things to come, Ch. 1. 19 Now this Rage of this Mad Rider was the first of those things that should be hereafter; the whole of the Prophecy being as a Comedy Represented on a Theatre in a Dramatic Dress, as in Three Acts; the 1. is the Tragical Misery of the Church; 2. Her Deliverance; 3. Her Doxology, or Magnifying her Deliverer: So that though the Beginning be the Devils, yet always the End is the Lords, Jam. 5. 11. and that a Good End for his own Glory and the Church's Comfort. As Daniel Assured the Church how it should be preserved to Christ's first Coming: so John assures no less Preservation to Her from his time to Christ's 2d. Coming: Indeed all the Ten Primitive Persecutors were as Red Horses, whom the Devil Road upon, (so Bloody that for every Day in the Y. (excepting one) 5000 were Murdered, as Jerom Writes) and the 1. was Bloody Nero, that Monster of Mankind, notwithstanding his [utinam Nescirem literas,] I wish, I could not Write my Name to the Execution of any, during his Plausible Quinquennium, or Five Y. Reign) whom the Devil spurred up to burn Rome, (his own Imperial City) Singing upon his Harp (all the Nine Days it was Burning) the Song of Homer, about the Burning of Troy, and then charged it upon the Christians, to avoid the Odium of it from himself, who had Hired several Villains to Fire it in several places, openly casting Firebrands (if not Fire-Balls) amongst the Oyl-Shops and Drugster's; yea, some of his own Bedchamber were seen to carry Flax, Toe, Torches, etc. to promote it, and his Praetorian Soldiers (or Lifeguard Men, did not only further it, but even Threatened those (that Attempted to Quench it) crying, They knew what they did, they had one to bear them out. * Now the Christians (many of which Paul Salutes in Rom. 16.) goes to the Pot, Yea, Paul himself, (as he had foretold, 2 Tim. 4. 6. to be his  offering, Phillip 1. 23.) in Rome, and all over the Empire, yea, he cut off also many of his richest Citizens, merely to make up his own Wants out of their Wealth, when he had wasted his own Treasure. but this made him unsufferable, the Senate Condemns him for a Traitor, he stole out of the City at Midnight, (having seen a Blazing-Star preaching from Heaven his fall, and being Affrighted with an Earthquake, and with most ghastly Apparitions of those he had Murdered) crying out, Have I neither Friend nor Foe left to Dispatch me? so Drinks a Glass of Poison, and (as if that had not been enough) he falls upon his own Sword, Dying Miserably, as he Lived Wickedly. ☞ How escaped Peter at Rome, if he sat Bishop at Rome? (when Nero Burnt it) as the Romanists Affirm: 'tis more probable he Died by the Mad Jews in Babylon (literal) where he was at the Writing of his 1st. Epistle, 1 Pet. 5. 13. and which he foretelleth in his 2d. 2 Pet. 1. 14. Suppose this was Babylon, (Mystical) or Rome, as some Romanists say, (thereby to prove Peter Rome's Pope) than this far-fetch'd-Notion grants Rome to be the Babylon that has so many Woes against it in the Revelation: 'Tis not unlikely that the Jews must Murder Peter, for the Devil made them exceeding Mad with Malice against the Gospel, immediately before their final Down-fall, now knowing their time was so short) and that in the Caldean Babylon, from whence many (being conveniently seated) returned not at Cyrus' Proclamation, as above, in Chap. 20. and there became a great people; yea, and that Babylon was the Metropolis of that Dispersion, to whom Peter Writes, to wit, Pontus, Galatia, etc. 1 Pet. 1. 1. The 2d. Red Horse, (Domitian) follows the fore-Horse of the Team in his Bloody Ploughing, Psal. 129. 3. in whom there was only this one good, that he punished Informers, saying, That not to Punish such, were to Encourage them: he Banished John, etc. The 3d. was Trajan the Spaniard, who Murdered many Ministers, as Magicians, because of their Miracles. The 4th. was Antoninus Verus, or rather Severus, Polycarps shining Piety, Justin Martyrs Apology, and the Prayers of his Thundering Legion of Christians stopped his Career. The 5th. was Severus, whose Name answered his Nature, this Hellish Horse was Died Red with the Blood of Christians, he poisoned himself at York to end the Dolour of his Gout. The 5th. Maximinus, who Eat Fifty pound of Flesh at a Supper, and for his Drink, he must have the Blood of Saints, especially of Ministers, saying, Kill the Captains, and their followers fall too. The 7th. Decius, who Murdered Millions, yet being beaten by the Goths, leaps into a Whirlpit, where his Body was never found. The 8th. Valerian, whom an Egyptian Conjurer made Cruel, because he could not Conjure in the presence of Christians: Sapores takes him Captive, and justly made a Footstool of him. The 9th. Aurelian, who was frighted from it by a Thunderbolt falling hard by him. The 10th. Diocletian, the Devils last By't was the worst, yet God Preserved and Increased His Church by all, having all along Lucid Intervals, and Testimonies from Heaven against all those Tigers, none of them Dying a Dry Death, but like the Devils Red Post-Horses, all Posted away to Death and Hell, (their proper place) the Pale and the Black Horse must follow the Red, the Lord said it, Revel. 6. 5, 7.   

The Twenty-Eighth Plot against the Church by Arrianisine: Defeated by God.  
CHAP. XXVIII.  
NOw when (after the 2d. 3d, and 4th. Seal bringing War, Famine, Death, and Hell) the 6th. Seal had brought an Earthquake upon the Pagan-Roman Empire, (for bringing so many Souls Under the Altar in the 5th.) even such Horrible Commotions and Confusions, (for the Ten Persecutions,) Insomuch as the Persecutors Killed one another, Rev. 6. 4, 9, 12. The Reward they all got, was only [ut Citiùs Interficerentur] to be Cut off the sooner: Then the 7th. Seal brings in Silence in Heaven for half an Hour, Rev. 8. 1. that is, some little Breathing time of Rest and Peace, which the Church (called oft, The Kingdom of Heaven) had when Constantine came to the Crown Imperial: This was 1. as a Doomsday to the Dunghill Deities; and to the Chemarims or Chimney-Chaplains of Rome-Heathen, as Described, Rev. 6. 12, 13, to the end; but 2. 'twas a Day of Refreshing, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Refrigerationis, a Cooling time to the Church after Hot Persecutions, Act. 3. 19 'twas a Time of Restitution of all things, ver. 21. Now the Church Militant on Earth became (as it were) Triumphant in Heaven: This Constantine was the Manchild which the Church brought forth (by her Prayers) and which the great Red Dragon would have Devoured, Rev. 12. 1, to 5. (1) He was the Answer and Fruit of her prayers; She had been a Garden Enclosed, a Spring shut up, and a Fountain Sealed, to wit, under Restraint, and even in Fetters (as the Word signifies) all the time of the Ten Persecutions, Cant. 4. 12. Hereupon she prays for an Enlargement by the Blowing of the Northwind upon her, that her Spices (not still Destroyed by all her Sufferings) might slow forth, v. 16. It may be read, [Awake, O Northwind, and come Southwind,] to cool my hot persecutions; God Answers, the Northward arises, (even Constantine Born at York, in the North) comes into the South, breathes upon her with a Blessed Gale, Eats and Drinks abundantly of her fruits, and thereupon the Devil began his 28th. game, when the Church is lulled asleep upon the Lap of Ease and Honour, Cant. 5. 1, 2. The Lamb (Christ) opening the 7th. Seal, brings forth the Seven Trumpeis', Rev. 8. 1, 2. Those sounded such a Dreadful Alarm with their Thundrings against the Roman-Pagan-Empire, (now ready to be Ruined, at the earnest suit of the Martyrs, Rev. 6. 10. by the Christian Emperors,) This Awakened the Church, whose heart was awake even while she Slumbered or Slept, Cant. 5. 2. yet for her thorow-Awakening, the same Angel of the Covenant (that had Perfumed her Prayers, Rev. 6. 10. with his own sweet Odours, Rev. 8. 3, 4.) lets out again the Angel of the Bottomless Pit upon Her in the Arrian Heresy, for out of the same Cen●er he scarters the Fire of the Altar abroad upon the Earth, ver. 5. Insomuch that the Arrian Bishops persecuted the Orthodox with most monstrous Malice and Malignity; especially in the times of Constans, Constantius, and Valens the Arrian-Emperours, this might be the Hail and Fire mingled with blood after the 1st. Trumpet, v. 7. and till that Woe was over, one part of the Answer to the Martyr's Prayer was, that they should Rest yet for a little season, until their Fellow-Servants were Killed by those Cursed Arrians, Rev. 6. 11. and under this 2d. Period of Events, it may be said, (at least by way of Exemplification) (as in the 2d. and 3d. Trumpet, Revel. 8. 8, 13.) that a great Star fell from Heaven, to wit, Arrius a great Mountain fell into the Sea, to wit, his Heresy, who being in the Gall of Bitterness (himself) did not only Embitter the Doctrine of the Church, but turned it into blood, making it plainly Mortal to Drink of, and Destructive to the Soul by his Denying the Deity of Christ (in his turning 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Possessed into 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Created, Prov. 8. 22. as if Christ were only a mere Creature, and not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God-Man, as if jacob's Ladder (Christ) had not Two Sides, and a top and a bottom, to wit, his Divine and Humane Nature, as if he were only 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, like-God, and not also 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Coequal, Coessential with God, joh. 10.30. the Express Image of his person, Hebr. 1.3. in whom the Godhead dwelled bodily, Col. 2. 9) this his making Christ, only a Diminutive-God was a Soul-Damning Doctrine, for this is the Rock and Foundation of our Faith, (that Christ is God-Man) Matth. 16. 16. joh. 1. 1. Phil. 2. 6. If we believe it not, there is no Heaven to be had for us, 1 Joh. 5. 20. ☞ Therefore this Truth Men must hold as their Lives, that Christ (1) hath the Incomunicable Attributes of God, Joh. 8. 58. and 20. 28. as Eternity, Joh. 1. 1, 3, 9, 11, 14. and 17. 5. Infiniteness, Joh. 3. 13. Omniscience, Joh. 2. 24. and 2●. 17. (2) that He is one with the Father in Essence and Power, ●oh. 10. 30, ●8. and 14. 23. (3) Doing the Works of God, as Creation, joh. 1. 3. Conservation, joh. 5. 17. Matchless Miracles, joh. 7. 31. and 8. 32. (4) and taking to himself Divine Honour, joh. 9 38. and 14. 1. and 20. 28, etc. Now Arrius in Denying the Deity of Christ, Denied the Redemption of the Church, for 'tis not the Work of a mere Mortal, but of a Divine Power to take away the sins of the World, and to satisfy the Curse of the Law, and the Wrath of God, for them. The Express Image of God must restore that Lost Image in Man. The Son of God, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, by Substance must Recover Adam (the Son of God, Luk. 3. last.) and all Believers to be the Sons of God, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, by way of Privilege only, joh. 1. 12. No Wonder then that this Doctrine of Devils did Darken (as 'tis said, Rev. 8. 12.) the 3d. part of the Sun, (the Prelates) of the Moon, (their Curates) and of the Stars, the Common-Professors. Under the 4th. Trumpet, accordingly it may be said, That this Arrian-Heresie was that Flood which the Dragon (when Dethroned by Constantine, the Churches chief Champion) cast out of his Mouth to Drown her for bringing forth such a Manchild, Rev. 12. 9, 15. which Flood was so Impetuous and Universal an Innundation, [ut totus Mundus Ingemuit, & see Arrianum Miratus est.] The whole World Groaned under the Pressure of it, saith Jerom: the Devil did more Mischief to the Church by the Arrian-Hercticks, than ever he had done by Pagan-Persecutors. Still the Devil (or Dragon) cannot carry His Game, and 'tis a Wonder he did not, considering, How the Roman-Emperours (who had so lately given their Names to Christ) might have cast of all Profession of Christianity, when they saw such Desperate Digladiations and Bloody Contentions among Christians (so called) about so abstruse (yet fundamental) a point; yet God overruled this (enough probable) occasion of Offence, he fixed Constantine, Martianus, Theodosius, Sen. and Jun. Arcadius, Justinian, etc. to Suppress it; though Constantine (himself) Declined in his latter Day, through his Sister (Constantia's) Influence upon him, and by Arrius' Cheat in Subscribing and Swearing to the Nicen Creed, (when he meant both to another under his Arm, a right Jesuits Trick) whereby he was owned by the Emperor; yet could not this Wretch so cheat the Great God, who set this Black Brand upon him, that when he was going in great pomp to be Reinvested into his Church at Constantinople, (by the Command of his Cheated Constantine) and stepping aside to Ease himself, his Excrements, Guts, and Soul, went all out together; this was [ut Precationis opus, non Morbi] the effect of faithful Prayers, (calling for full and final Vengeance) rather than of any former Distemper; for Alexander (the good Bishop of that place, and fearing his Return) earnestly Prayed (the Night before) that God would prevent it, and this was Gods Answer; He, who had made so Dreadful a Rupture in the Church, (Christ's Body) Dies (himself) of a Dismal Rupture, by his Bowels and Life breaking all out together. Thus the Lord Branded this Wretch, as he had done Judas, Act. 1. 18. [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, All his Bowels gushed out, because he had no Bowels for his Master in Betraying him] and worse, for that Rupture (Cum quodam Singulari Crepitus fragore, coming off with a great Crack, as the Word signifies) befalls Judas, when he had gone sneaking to confess his Sin to the Priests, Matth. 27. 3, 4. (which yet were but Miserable Comforters) but this be fell Arrius as he was going in his Pontisicalibus, and proudly strutting to reassume his Dignity, out of which he had been Ejected, even than did he send out his Soul (wrapped up, as it were, in his Excrements) to be his Harbinger unto Hell to provide Room for his Body: * By this (1) Divine Testimony against Arrius, many were Admonished and Renounced their Arrianism. (2) The like Testimony God gave against that Grand Arrian Emperor, Valens (who Consulted with the Devil about his Successor, and the Older, the fiercer against the Church) when about Subscribing an Edict to Banish Basil, his Hand was smitten with such a Trembling, that he was forced to desist; and when (both) Beaten and Wounded by the Goths, and flying into an obscure Cottage to dress his Wounds, these Barbarians (the Goths) pursued him thither, and there Burnt him Alive with the Cottage, to leave his Name a Curse to all Ages: Besides (3) the Church had and Herd the Voice of her beloved Knocking, even while she was Sleeping under Arrianisme, Cant. 5.2. that her Heart might be kept Waking by all Her Wound from the Heritical Watchmen, v. 7. Christ put in his Hand by the Hole of the Door, v. 4. in stirring up so many Orthodox Emperors, who all were Nursing Fathers to the Church, Isa. 49. 23. calling Synods 1. against Arrius Denying the Deity of Christ; 2. against Nestorius' Dividing the Persons in Christ; 3. against Eutiches' Confounding their Natures, 4 against Macedonius Denying the Deity and Person of the Holy-Ghost. And for this very Cause of Comforting the Church, that She might not Sink under her many and sad Sufferings: the 7th. Chap. of the Revelation, seems to be Interlaced (in the whole of it) betwixt the 6th. and 7th. Seal; wherein is expressed (1) God's great care in preserving a competent Company, even 144000 Sealed Servants, v. 4. a great Multitude, v. 9 and more than most thought they had been, in Despite of the Devil. (2) Gods great kindness in causing those Sealed Servants to Triumph before the Throne with their Palms in their Hands over all their Persecutors, v. 9, 10. unto which Songs of Praise the Angels say Amen, v. 11, 12. See more of God's Care and Kindness in the close of Ch. 29th.   

The Twenty-Ninth Plot against the Church, by Mahometism, Defeated by God.  
CHAP. XXIX.  
THE Devils Twenty-Ninth Plot against the Church was Mahometanism in the Eastern part, as Antichristanism was his Thirtieth in the Western: Those Two Sister-Sins, and Born from Hell beneath, (quite contrary to Christianism, which is Born from Heaven above, joh. 3. 3, 5.) were indeed Two Twins and Contemporaries, having their Birth and Beginning (much what) at the same time in the 6th. Century, for Mahomet (that grand Arch-Impostor, and Boniface, that proud purchaser of Supremacy (by Simony) of the Parricide Phocas the Emperor) broke forth (almost) both together, being (both of them) appointed by God to be a Scourge, the former, to the Eastern-Church, and the latter to the Western: Now because Arrianism had prevailed in the Eastern part, and the Cessation thereof brought Pride, Luxury, Superstition, and Idolatry into that Church, insomuch that then John of Constantinople claimed the Title of Universal Bishop, which Gregory of Rome (Boniface's Immediate Predecessor) earnestly withstood: Then it was that the Spouses Beloved had withdrawn himself, as ashamed to own her, who was ashamed to own him in the Naked Simplicity of the Gospel, and not to be Clothed with the goodly Coat of Humane Ceremonies, Cant. 5. 3. 6. and then it was that Christ (thus Offended) looseth the four Angels, (to wit, the Mahometan Tetrarchy) the four Sultan's of Asia, Aleppo, Antioch, and Damascus; or those four fierce and potent people, the Arabians, the Saracens, the Tartars, and the Turks, called (all) Angels, as they are Messengers of God's Wrath, and Instruments of Christ's Justice, who hath power to bind and lose them at his pleasure, even from the four Horns of the Altar, or from any of the four Quarters of the World, Revel. 9 13, 14, 15. those were all at an Hours Warning, at any time [for an Hour and a Day] whensoever Christ would Command those fierce and fell Creatures out of their Caves, (wherein he had hitherto shut them close up like Tigers or Band-Dogs) out they go to their Spoil and Rapine, and do Drive Christianity out of the East, and Destroy the 3d. part of Men, (to wit, of such as were not Sealed, Rev. 7. 3.) with his Vast Armies, and great Guns, such as were those Two monstrous Spet-fires, called, the Earthquake, and Grand-Diabolo, or Great-Devil, such were planted against Rhodes and Constantinople, etc. This is the 2d. Woe of the 6th. Trumpet, following the 1st. Woe of Arrianism, yet Differing from the 3d. Woe of Antichristianisme, which wages War against the Sealed Ones, against the Saints is the Beasts War, Rev. 13. 7. This Woe is the great Land-Leviathan (as the Whale is at Sea) that Devours all before it, Considerable (1) in its Author Mahomet, whom some Historians call the Sworn forerunner of Antichrist; Sure I am, he is his Fellow-runner, running in parallel Lines, the one ruining all the East and South, and the other all the West and North: and 'tis as sure that this Dirty Dog or Hellhound licked up the very Excrements of Arrius (which carried out his Soul in the Jakes) from Sergius the Monk, who because he was an Arrian had been Banished from Constantinople into Arabia, where he taught Mahomet to Deride Christ's Deity, and to make a Laughingstock of the Mystery of the Trinity; and where also they Clubbed both their Wits with the Devil in Composing the Alcoran, (which signifies in the Arabic, The Glory) that Shameful Cento and Nonsensical Poisonful Gallimafry out of Christian, Jewish, and Heathenish Writers, that something might be in it to Tempt the Gust of all those Three, especially it being wholly accommodated to gratify all Carnal Affections: And this Mock-Messiah, that he might make many Proselytes, cries himself up as a greater Prophet than either Moses or the Messiah, and the better to Impose this Belief upon the Credulous People, he plays Three Legerdemain Tricks, the (1.) was, when his Debauchery had brought him into an Epilopsy, His Fits of the Falling-Sickness (he said) were his Divine Raptures wherein he Conversed with the Angel Gabriel: the (2) was, his Training up a Dove to pick Wheat out of his Ear: This he Blasphemously professed to be the Holy-Ghost, which Dictated his Alcoran to him: and the (3.) was, his breeding up a tame Bull to that Familiarity with him, that no sooner heard he his Master's Voice, but he would Run to him and lay his Head upon his Master's Lap after a most familiar manner: At a set time upon a Friday He promiseth a Miracle from Heaven to a great Assembly; His Bull hath the Alcoran fastened between his Horns, and set in a convenient by-place, when the Scene was Ripe, Mahomet lifts up his Voice, his Bull Immediately runs, makes his Way through the Throng, lays both his Head and the Book upon his Master's Lap, whereby 'twas cried up as coming from Heaven. (2ly.) The Extent of it is considerable both as to Place and Time; 1. as to Place, Mahometanism is extensive, having spread its self over the Seacoasts of Africa, almost all, saving some small places, but much more in Asia, Running down the Golden-Candlesticks, and removing them as Christ had threatened, Rev. 2. 5. Yea, and in Europe also, from some part of Hungary to Constantinople in Greece, etc. In all those places thrusting out Christianity, and changing the Cross into the Half-Moon. 2. as to Time 'tis Extensive; This Plot of the Devil hath lasted longer (to the Churches Disquiet) than ever any of his other Designs aforesaid, for this hath lasted above a 1000 Y. not only to the Grievous Vexation of the Church, but also to the great Dishonour of Christian-Princes, who, had they spent the 10th. part of that Blood and Treasure, (which they have shamefully and sinfully spent upon one another in their private Animosities) might have by their Unanimity and United Armies given a Stop long ago to the Growing Grandeur of this severe Scourge of Christendom: 'Tis True, some Expeditions were made herein, but all were soon Blasted, and no better could be Hoped, upon a Twofold Account, (1) from the Original, 2. from the Instrument of the Holy War. 1. The chief Original was the Pope's Successively (though not Successfully) Hopeful Promoters all, to wit, such as (1st.) Pope Adrian, (who was Choked with a Fly at last, perhaps it was Beelzebub the King of Flies, that flew into his Mouth, and could not be got out with Medicines) gave both his Commission and his Benediction to Frederick, the 1st. Emperor for Undertaking this Holy War, (so called) yet could be so Incensed against him, only because the Emperor (being not (as he said for himself) Used to that Kind of Drudgery) Held not the Pope's Stirrup (Hostler-like) upon the Right side; besides many other Injuries. (2) Pope Alexander's Indignities he put on this Emperor, were Worse, (to say nothing of his Betraying Frederick into the Sultan's Hand, by sending him his Picture, etc.) who set his foul Foot upon the Emperor's fair Neck, and said the Psalmists Words, [Thou shalt Tread upon the Serpent and Adder, etc.] and the Emperor Replying, [Non tibi, sed Petro.] The Beast goes on, crying, It belongs to me, as well as to Peter: But above all, (3) Pope Vrbanus in Animating the Christians against the Turks, at his Placen●ia-Synod, where Alexius (Emperor of the East) made his Complaint by his Ambassadors, that the Mahometans had got his All in Asia from him, yet Dealt he most Treacherously with the Western Emperor's Forces, by mixing Lime with their Meal to Poison them; and this Pope was so Troublesome to the over-Obsequious Emperor, because he Honoured not his Holiness in all his other Projects also, that he would needs Excommunicate him, hence got he his Name Vrbanus changed into Turbanus, for being so Troublesome; yea, Frederick the 2d. fared no better than Frederick the 1st. aforesaid, who though he frighted the Turks into a Peace very Advantageous to the Christians, yet all this could not Content (4) Pope Honorius, (5) Pope Gregory the 9th. (6) Pope Innocent the 3d. (7) Pope Coelestin; but the poor Emperor, for all his good Service in the Holy War, was Excommunicated about Five times, and Sequestered from all his Royalties, and this must be Ratified by a Bull, (commanded (in stead of a Sermon) to be Read in every Church) beginning thus, Ascendit ● Mari Bellica Bestia, etc. the Words of Revel. 13. 1. so well his Holiness could point out the Accomplishment of that very Prophecy: The Benediction of such Popes (as those) was more like to bring a Curse than a Blessing upon the Undertakers in this Holy War, especially considering Four things. (1.) The Design of those Popes in sending those their Humble Servants (the Emperors) abroad into the Holy Land; was, that they, being not only absent, but also Weakened by War, might give unto them a better Opportunity of Usurping their Desired Dominion and Tyranny at Home. (2) Besides, that Expedition into the Holy Land hath been notoriously Hindered by the Damnable Dissensions and Contentions of the Pope's one with another for Peter's Chair, insomuch, that the Emperors have been sundry times sent for into Italy, and there found it a very Difficult Work to keep the Peace among the Popes, without whose Mediation, the very Pope's themselves (by their many Schisms and Animosities) would Infallibly have pulled the Infallible Chair all to pieces. (3) There was likewise another Avocation from that Expedition, to wit, The Deadly Feud (that then was in its Height and Predominancy) betwixt the Guelphs (the Pope's party) and the Gibellines, (the Emperors) the former Mortally hating the latter, and had a more willing mind to Imbrue their Hands in the Blood of the French, (as they did in the Sicilian Vespers) and of the Imperialists, than of the Mahometan-Turks; Now while the Black and the White (as those Two Factions were called) made all Red about them with Blood at home, the Holy War abroad was not likely to Prosper. (4) Such was the Notorious Extravagancy of the Popes in all manner of Villainy, that it is a just Matter of Inquiry, whether the Grand Signior with all his Mahometan-Saracens, did not less Hurt to the Church and Christianity in the East, than the Pope's Unholy Holiness with his Cruel Croysadoes did in the West: thus for the Original. The 2d. Account is from the Instrument, which was Peter the Hermit, the grand Trumpet to this Holy War, who was better Acquainted with Sounding Alarms to War, than with lifting up his Voice like a Trumpet in Preaching the Gospel of Peace; In a word, If he were not the same Man, yet was he very like that same Peter the Hermit, whom (the Centurists say) was a Magician, who told King John of England, That upon Ascension-Day he should be cast out of his Kingdom, and he Pawned his own Life to assert the Truth of his Prophecy: for an Experiment hereof the Hermit is Imprisoned from January to June the 24th. and then nothing Happening to K. John according to his Prediction, he was taken at his Word, and Hanged up for a Fool, etc. Much more concerning this may be seen in Fuller's Holy War, which I have not by me to Consult with. No Wonder then, If this Expedition, against the Turks, (both the first Five and all others after) had no better Success: When the Roman-Bishop (who was the Grand Promoter of it) did Pollute both the Eastern (yea, Jerusalem itself) and the Western Church with all kinds of Idolatry, which the very Turks Abhor; yea, and changed the Ecclesiastical Office of Episcopacy every where, into a mere Political or Civil Administration, and the people generally (in that Day) Loved to have it so. Jer. 5. 31. This drew on the Curse of God upon them, and not a Blessing, especially when that Bloody Beast or Bishop Delighted more in Drinking the Blood of the poor Waldenses and Albingenses, (for Differing from him in some Popish points) than the Blood of the Saracens (who were professed Enemies to the Christian Religion) in the 11th. Century, and the Blood of the Pauperes De Lugduno, the poor Men of Lions in the 13th. Century, when there had been no less than Twenty-Eight several Schisms in the Romish Church, all which could not but exceedingly Hinder the Success of the Pope's Holy War.  
'Tis True, Mahometanism hath already Afflicted the Church longer than (1) the Egyptians did, which was at most but 430 Y. or (2) the Assyrians, which (from first to last) was not above 300 Y. or (3) the Pagan-Roman from Nero to Constantine, which was about 260 Y. or (4) by the Arrians, which lasted about 300 Y. (to say nothing of other smaller terms of time) for it hath lasted above a 1000 Y. (as before) already, and how long it may still last, the Lord alone knoweth, yet (for the Comfort of the Church) he maketh her to know, not only in the general, that it shall not last for Ever, but more particularly, that (1) it is Limited as to Time; the same Divine Power that (first) Bond up those Band-Dogs, and (2ly.) Loosed them out of their Chains and Muzzles, both can and will (3ly.) Call them off from their Worrying Work, and Bind them fast up again in his Chain and Muzzel at his own due time, the Rod of the Wicked shall not always Rest upon the lot of the Righteous, Psal. 125. 3. Though this 29th. Plot of the Devil against the Church hath been a long-lasting Plot, as History showeth, yet Prophecy plainly Prognosticates its End, and so it shall not be Everlasting; the Devil will lose this Game also at last, for God hath Limited the time of it, how long those Four Evil Angels, or Messengers of his Justice (being indeed Incarnate Devils) shall be loosed, to wit, for an Hour and a Day, a Month and a Year, Revel. 9 15. from which Words Mr. Brightman gathereth, that the Turkish Empire shall last no longer than about 1696. (See my Discovery of Antichrist, Pag. 115. line 12. for that Y. and Pag. 21.) However it holds out, that there is a Divine Determination in particular, even to a Year, a Month, a Day, and an Hour, when this Plot and Plague shall be Determined: And if Gog and Magog (mentioned Ezek. 38. and 39 and Rev. 20. 8.) have Relation to the Great Turk, as is supposed, than we have an Account of his End: Ezekiel is bid to set his Face against Gog, and say to him again and again, (for the better Support and Comfort of the Church) All thy Possession in the Lord's Land shall be a Grave only, Ezek. 38. 2, 14. and 39 11. One of the last Enemies of the Church before Christ's first Coming, was, that Heathen Antiochus, and God brought him down to his Grave: So one of the last Enemies of the Church before the 2d. Coming of Christ is this Mahometan Adversary, and as sure as God Dispatched the former, he will the latter also. (2) God would have his Church to know also, that the Great Turk is not Absolute, to do all what he will, but only what God will; he cannot Conquer beyond his Commission, nor Kill beyond it; his Commission was Limited, not only 1. as to Time, as before, but 2. as to Persons, he must not Kill all before him as he would do, no, 'tis only a 3d. part of Men, to wit, only such as were not Scaled, Revel. 7. 3. God would Hid his Sighing one's from him, Ezek. 9.4. and 6. Come not near any upon whom is the Mark, what ever is Sealed is excellent in its kind, as Hordeum Signatum is Excellent Barley, Isa. 28. 25. These Sealed and Sighing Ones (that Sighed both out of Pity and out of Piety for the Abomination of the Times) were the Precious Sons of Zion, and the Excellent Ones of the Earth, Lam. 4. 2. and Psal. 16. 3. they are Gods Darlings, and Heavens Favourites, therefore the Turk must not Touch those Anointed Ones, Psal. 105. 15. they are Sacred Persons, to Touch these is to Touch the Apple of God's Eye, Zech. 2. 8. and that is a tender part, God will not suffer it. ☞ 'Tis very Observable, that as yet, the Turk hath not done much Harm to the Reformed Churches, (those Sealed Ones,) all the Hurt he hath done is mostly upon the Supercilious Greeks, and the Superstitious Romists, They both Providentially lying betwixt the Protestants and the Turk: and 'tis Italy, Italy (from whence Principally the Pope's Holy War was Promoted against him) is the main Mark he Shoots at.  
(3) This Eastern Antichrist is Limited as to Place also, for though he be that Land-Leviathan, who hath Swallowed up many Countries, (as the Whale doth Fishes) to wit, (1) the Name and Empire of the Saracens, (2) the most Glorious Empire of Greece, (3) the Renowned Kingdoms of Macedonia, Peloponesus, Epirus, Bulgaria, Servia, Boznia, Armenia, Cyprus, Syria, Egypt, Judea, Tunis, Algiers, Media, Mesopotamia, with a great part of Hungary, as also some part of Persia, all Chaldea, etc. in a Word, a great part of Asia, Africa, and Europe, as before; Yea, Keckerman saith, Mahometanism is more and larger spread than Christianity, yet never could he yet set his Foot upon any part of America, God puts an Hook into this Leviathan's Nose, Job 41. 1, 2. so that he cannot Conquer the Gold Mines of the Indies, nor the Golden Gospel of Christendom: The Great Power of God hath set Barrs and Bounds to him, saying, Thus far shalt thou go, and no further, and here shall thy proud Waves be stayed, Job 38. 10, 11. and in Due time God will break the Head of this proud Leviathan in pieces, and give him to be Meat to his People Inhabiting the Wilderness, Psal. 74. 14.  
(4) God would have his Church to know, that the Grand Signior is Limited also as to things, he cannot do every wicked thing he would do, he would Undoubtedly Blow out the Light of the Gospel, and lessen the Limits of the Church of God, but this God will not permit him, saying to those Churches of Asia, Repent, or I will Remove thy Candlestick, Revel. 2. 5. 'Tis Christ's Work, not the Turks to do, and though this be done now by the Turk, not only to them Seven, but to all the other mentioned in Scripture, (except the Roman, which He Daily Threatneth) yet all this is done by Commission from Christ, as a Punishment for their Apostasy, (which Paul both told and foretold, 2 Tim. 1. 15. Act. 20. 29, 30.) yet was it only a Blowing away the Gospel, and not a Blowing it out, The Candle was not put out, only the Candlestick was Removed, The Kingdom of Heaven was taken from them, Matth. 21. 43. It was not Lost or Destroyed, but Given to another place: Thus the Church is still like the Sea, what it loses on one side, it gains upon the other; what ever it lost in Asia then, it hath Gained in America since, It goes with the Sun from East to West.  
(5.) And to know, that though the Western Church were not wasted by the Turk, (as the Eastern was for Idolatry) yet would she not be Warned thereby, nor Repent of her Idolatry, Revel. 9 20. (that must be meant of Romanists, for neither Jews nor Turks (much less Protestants) make Images for Worship) and therefore Reserved for the Seventh Trumpet, Revel. 11. 15. that brings in the Seven Vials upon it, and while the Pope Stands, the Turk cannot Fall, as more Tolerable of the Two in these Respects: 1. He Hates Images: 2. He Forces none in Matters of Religion; Hence our Martyrologies mentions not Persecutions by him. 3. He is a Bridle to the Pope, (as to Protestants in general) but when he falls upon the True Church, than Fire from Heaven falls upon him, Rev. 20. 8, etc.   

The Thirtieth and last Plot against the Church, by Popery; Defeated by God.  
CHAP. XXX.  
THE Devils Thirtieth and last Plot, (consisting of many parts,) (called Ultimus Diaboli Crepitus) is Antichristianism or Popery in the Western Antichrist, which is the worst of all, inasmuch as, [Corruptio optimi est Pessima; The Golden Church of Rome-Christian is Degenerated not only into Brass and Iron, but into Clay; yea, into the Dung and Dirt of Rome-Antichristian, as I have largely Demonstrated (1) in my Christian-Walk, p. 9 (2) in my Heart's Treachery, pag. 85. (3) in my Antidote against Popery all along: and (4) in my Discovery of Antichrist, quite through; to all which Four Books I shall Refer the Reader, and therefore I shall say the less of this Subject (which indeed would make, up a Distinct Volume of itself) in this place. As the Turk is that great Sea-Monster Leviathan, so the Pope is that great Land-Monster, Behemoth, Hebr. Faemin, plural, that is, Beasts, for his prodigious Hugeness, as if he were made up of many Beasts, and so he is called the Great Beast in the Revelation, that hath many Beasts in the Belly of it; And indeed this Mystery of Iniquity (so called, 2 Thess. 2. 7. 11.) hath many Mysterious Plots in it, and is the Plot of Plots: As the Turkish Empire, (Quantum, quantum est, as Luther Phraseth it) however Vast, yet is it but a poor Crust which God (the Master of the Family) casteth to his Dog, whom he looseth off and binds up at his pleasure, as before: So, the whole Popedom is but a sorry Commission which the same God gives unto a Company or Legion of  Devils to Enter into an Herd of Hogs, or Swinish Men: As the Elephant (or Behemoth) is the chief of the ways of God, Job 40. 15, 19 the Masterpiece among all the Beasts: so this mystical Behemoth (the Pope) is the chief of the ways of the Devil; the very Masterpiece of all Satan's Works and Wiles: Now though he hath the Strength, Cunning, and the long-Life of the literal Elephant, yet he cannot carry it against Christ in his Antichristianism, for He that made him, can make his Sword to approach unto him, Job 40. 19 though no Man dare Undertake him, or can Match him, yet the Great God (who made him as the Devil hath marred him) both dare and can: As God hath given an Horn to the Rhinocero's, and Poison to the Dragon, (both which are the Elephants mortal Enemies) that some Beasts may have the better of him, who Masters them all by his monstrous mighty Limbs and strong Trunk, (able to over turn Trees) though God hath not given him either Horns on his Head or Claws on his Feet to do Mischief withal. So though this Behemoth, or Apocalyptick Beast, hath Seven Heads (to Plot with) and Ten Horns (to Push with) given him, yea and Clawy-Scratching Hoofs also; yet Christ hath his Christian Hammer-men to Cut off and to cast down those Antichristian-Horns, Zech. 1.20, 21. and seeing those Hammering Carpenters are Men, (yea, and Spirited with the Wisdom and Power of God) they must be more Wise than all the Seven Heads, and more Strong than all the Ten Horns of him who is but a Beast that bears them: The Blow of an Hammer hath more force than the Push of an Horn. ☞ And were but Gods Israel Pushed nearer to the God of Israel by those Horns, no Doubt but God would Command his Carpenters to Cut off and cast away those Horns that do now Hit and Hurt his People, as he hath done in all Ages ever since the Beast got his Horns, which appeareth by the Sequel. God knows how to Deliver his, 2 Pet. 2. 9 not wanting either Ways or Means to Help them at a Dead lift at any time, and therein will go a way by himself sometime; as when he sets the Enemy together by the Ears among themselves, while that the Church with all escaped, Psal. 141. 10. Thus God made Nabuchadnezzar (who was himself the Church's Enemy) to fall foul upon all her other many and Mighty Adversaries, and so God by him as by his Mall, or Hammer, broke the Rest of those Horrible Horns in pieces at that time: Accordingly in this Day God makes Use of the Great Turk, (as before) to Maul the Pope in so many Battles of his Holy War,) so now to be as a Bridle to hold him (and all his Popelings) in, from any Universal Proceeding against the Protestants, who are (by a marvellous Providence) the more secure from the Turk, inasmuch as Popish countries' lay betwixt him and them, or their Countries (as Denmark, Sweedland, etc.) Coasting so much towards the North, lay out of his way, and (at present) no part of his aim: by an overruling Hand of God Rome is his Grand Eyesore, though she think herself out of the Reach of God's Rod, so Repenteth not, Revel. 9 20, 21. the Turk may Repent, (if the Turkish-Prophecy [That as soon as their Sultan hath taken the Red-Apple, (or the Redletter City Rome,) they shall then become Christians,] may be believed; However the Word seems not to Seal them up under Impenitency, (as here the Romanists are) being neither such Notorious Hypocrites, nor such Bloody Persecutors: 1. not such Hypocrites, for they are open Enemies, as the Papists are Close and Covert, (as Gog and Magog signifies) We Read not in Scripture of the Conversion of any Hypocrite, and no Wonder, inasmuch as after Sin, Conversion is left as a Means to Cure all other Sins, but no means can Cure and recover him who Converteth Conversion itself into Sin, as the Romish Hypocrites do: 2. nor such Persecutors. The Turkish History tells indeed of their Savageness, yet 'tis in the way of War, and not upon the Account of Religion; they have no Bloody Inquisition to Compel Men into Conformity, but they say, Whether Men serve Christ or Mahomet, so they lead good Lives, they may be Saved. Hence it is, our Martyrologist (that Writes of all the Church's Persecutions) names the Persian, the Julian, the Arrian, etc. but not a Word of the Turk or Mahometan Persecution, so that this Romish Beast (above all Name, Dan. 7. 7. as above all Natures, even of the most Savage of Beasts) hath outdone all in Blood, yet lies she in Impenitency, not laying to Heart, that her Neighbour's House (the Eastern Church) was Fired by the Turks, though less Guilty. ☞ Oh Rome, thou Western Church, look to thyself, that art more Guilty; Christ may soon say, Lose the Four Angels, and Kill the 3d. part of Men; or he may put it into the Hart of the first (that risen) of the Ten Horns to make Roast-meat of thee. ☞ Now the Pope was not Born a Beast, but was at first a good Bishop, and above Thirty of them Successively Shone as Stars, and suffered Martyrdom for Christ, until Constantine came to give a Calm and Halcyon Days to the Church, which indeed (through Satan's Temptation drawing out men's Corruption) proved Poison to her. * 'Tis a Thousand pities such fair Wether should bring forth any such foul Fruits: Then began the Roman-Star to Dwindle, and Degenerate into a Meteor or Blazing-Comet, and gradually lifting himself (like proud Lucifer) up above his Brethren, (his Fellow-Ministers) he gradually falls from Heaven, he began to fall under the 3d. Trumpet, Rev. 8. 10. as some sense it, but under the 5th. [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉] he was fallen effectually: This Star was falling by Degrees from Constantine in the 3d. Century, until Phocas in the 6th. Sylvester was the first that did Degenerate in the 3d. Century, burdening the Church with Jewish and Heathenish Ceremonies, but 'twas Phocas that set up Boniface in the Chair of Pestilence in the 6th. then was the Star fallen from Primitive Integrity, into the Deepest Gulf of all Impiety, Revel. 9 1. and this Star was well called Wormwood, Ch. 8. 11. because he (himself) was in the Gall of Bitterness, and became as bitter as Wormwood to the Church, far more bitter than Arrius, (the Star of that Trumpet ) who was but Antichrists forerunner, of whose bitter Potions the Church hath been long Drinking-still is so, and not yet come to the Dregs thereof: Here began the Devils general Game after the Declining Age, (wherein the Thirty-Three Bishops of Rome (Sylvesters Successors) can scarce pass for Tolerable, much less Laudable,) When the Star (which was Wormwood 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by way of Eminency) did fall to the Earth and set up the Earthly Kingdom of the Apocalyptick Beast: When the first of the Usurping Nimrods' (to wit, Boniface the 3d.) began with his [Volumus & Jubemus] We Will and Command, instead of the Holy Apostles Style, [We Beseech you Brethren.] ☞ (1) Mark all along 1. the Church's Malady by Satan, 2. the Churches Remedy by Christ: and (2) Mark also, How the Prophecy in the Revelation shows the Progress of the Church all along to the 2d. Coming of Christ: (3) Mark likewise how the Pillar of Divine Providence hath both Secured and safely Conducted the Sealed Ones (his Church) to this present Day, and will do so to the end of the World; and all this, sweetly and exactly Concurring all along with the Revelation-Prophecy, As this Book will show at the End, in Chapter the last. The 1st. Malady of the Church at that time, Y. 606. (presaged by a prodigious Comet as well as by Mahomet's then publishing his Alcharon) was, when the Key of the Bottomless-Pit was given to this fallen Star, (ushered in by that Blazing-Star aforesaid) to wit, Boniface, and his Successors, who pretend to a power of Damning or Delivering whom they will; Here the Pope is made the Angel of the Bottomless-pit, Revel. 9 1, 11, or the Devil's Lieutenant-General, called Abaddon, or Abadone, as the Devil (his Lord-General) is a bad Angel: Hereupon the Pope casts away the Key, that Christ gave to his Holy Predecessors, (of binding and looseing according to the Word) and takes up the Devils Usurped Key with his Triple Crown, and therewith opens Hell, (which the Doctrine of the Prophets and Apostles had hitherto shut) then Arose the Smoke of those Doctrines of Devils, and of that Black and Diabolical Divinity Preached and Practised in the Church of Rome ever since, which so Darkened [the Sun and the Air] the Doctrine of Christ of the Church, and of the Scriptures; and then came out of that Smoke those Devouring Locusts, the Monks and Friars, the Priests and Jesuits, etc. called so, both for their Numerosity, (the last of which alone hath sometimes maintained Two Hundred Thousand Scholars, Oh what Swarms of those Locusts are there then in all?) and for their Votacity, those Popish Fleshflies do so pester many Prince's Houses which do receive them, that not only the Duke of Bavaria's Court (notwithstanding his Vast Revenue) but many other Princes and places are kept poor by them, that lie Lurking (as Scorpions) in their Cells and Obscure Residencies, Revel. 9 2, 3. and which is worst of all, Stinging Incureably the Souls of Men, etc. Yet 2ly. Christ hath his Antidote and Remedy against this Devilish Malady; for though God permitted this bad Angel or Apollyon to punish those that Obeyed not the Truth, Rom. 1. 24, 26. 2 Thess. 2. 10, 11. Insomuch that this Key of the Bottomless-pit, was so notably Improved by all the Usurping Nimrods', Luxurious, Sodomites, and Egyptian Magicians, (unto Hildrebrand or Brand of Hell in the 10th. Century) as that in his Popedom, Letters were set forth, as sent from Hell, wherein the Devil and his Angels gave the Popish Clergy many Thanks for sending them so many Souls, as they never had sent them in any Age before. Though the Devil and his Locusts played Flush in this general Game, yet the Lord limits them both in their Task, and in their Time, and in their Torments. (1) In their Task, Those Locusts or Scorpions must not Sting whom they will, but whom Christ will; none of his Sealed one's must be Stung by them, 'twas Commanded them not to hurt the Grass of the Earth, nor any Green thing, Ch. 9 4. Whatever charge Satan gave those Locusts, Sure I am this was Christ's Charge in the behalf of His Redeemed; not unlike unto David's Charge to his Captains, [Deal kindly with the Youngman Absolom.] So, and much more than so Solicitous is Christ (the Son of David) for the Safety of all his Sons and Servants, none of those whose Names were Written in the Lamb's Book of Life were stung, no, not those young Christians who were as Tender as Grass, nor any Green Plant though never so weak: Christ Secured his Church, and the Kernel of Christianity, maugre the Malice of that Man of Sin. 2. In their Time, Those Locusts must not last so long as they list, but as the Lord listeth, who hath limited them to Five Months, v. 5. which is justly the Life time of the Natural Locusts, that are Bred in April, and Dye in September; and though those be Craftier (in having a King over them, ver. 11.) than they, Prov. 30. 27. so might better secure themselves over Winter, yet Five Months must be their Term, which they cannot exceed: The Question is, How long is that? (1. Answ. Suppose a definite and Certain time be set down for an Indefinite and Uncertain Here, however it holds out this Comfort, 1. that it shall not be for Ever, 2. it shall be only for a short Time, as this phrase (Five Months) plainly Imports. (2. Answ. 'Tis True, Antichrists Lease is much longer than Five Months, (even Forty-Two Months, Rev. 13. 5.) and his beastly biting hath lasted much longer, yet this term may hold out the five Ages of the Beasts biting Life, 1. Infancy, 2. Childhood, 3. Youth, 4. Middle-Age, 5. Old, Decrepit, or Dote-age, and so, his last By't is not yet over. 3d Answ. by the five Months may be Understood the five Hundred Y. wherein the Pope stood in his prime pride and plenary power, that is, from the 6th. Century to the 11th. when God stirred up the Waldenses, etc. to call the Pope Antichrist (which is exactly 500 Y.) and Bellarmin (himself) confesseth, that ever since the Pope was so called, [Non Modò non Crevit ejus Imperium, sed Magis ac Magis Decrevit,] He hath lost a great part both of his Command and of his Commodity more and more Daily, De pap Rom. lib. 3. cap. 1. So long was he Trump and Triumphant in the World, and why his Term is Reckoned by Months. See my Discovery of Antichrist, p. 200. 4th. Answ. Those five Months hold an Exact Correspondency with the time of Noah's Deluge prevailing over the Earth, which was 150 Days, which make up five Months Complete, Gen. 7. 24. Now Noah's Deluge and this (which the Dragon poured out of his mouth to Drown the Church, Revel. 12. 15) do Symbolise together after a most singular manner in sundry particulars; 1. as that was a General Flood over all the Habitable World, so is this over all the Christian World. 2. As that began in April, and lasted to September, (in the prevalency of it,) Gen. 7. 11, 24. and 8. 3, 4. so those Locusts here do prevail just the same Term of Time, and then it shall be said [The Waters are abated,] or Abating: 3. As Noah and his Family (the Church) only, were Delivered from that Deluge, so Gods Sealed Ones only, are Saved from this Antichristian Deluge in the Ark or Church. 3ly. They were limited in their Torment which they put others to, their Commission reached not to Torment any to Death: [to them it was given,] this is oft repeated in the Revelation, to show, that Antichrist and his Auxiliaries (though Bandying and Bending all their fraud and force for Destroying Souls) are so Butted and Bounded by the great God, that they all can do no more than is given them from above: The Popish Locusts are so Confined in their Commission, that as they must not Hurt whom they will save only those that are not Sealed, as in the first Limitation, so they must not Hurt as much as they please, they have power only to Hurt, but not to Kill, ver. 5. 10. This was all in the 1st. Commission, only to Torture and Torment the Consciences of Men by their Penances, Pilgrimages Purgatory, etc. And though larger power was given after, of Killing the Witnesses, Chap. 11. 7. and the Saints, Chap. 13. 7. Yet while they Killed their Bodies, they could never Kill the Souls of any of Gods Sealed Ones, as they did of the Vnsealed.   

The Devils 1st. Design against the Waldenses, Defeated by God.  
CHAP. XXXI.  
THis Ushers in the Devils first Design, the first part of this last Plot was against the Waldenses, in which God also disappointed him, giving still a New Remedy for this New Malady: No sooner did the Lord stir up his Faithful Witnesses Bereng arius, the Waldenses, and the Albingenses, in the 11th. Century, to give their Testimony against the Kingdom of the Beast, which had now overspread the whole Christian World (like another Deluge) by the help of those Swarms of Innumerable Locusts: but then began the Devil (in his first Persecution under Papacy) to Support by force what he had hitherto Advanced by fraud; Here the Beast began [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉] to make his Bloody War against the Seed of the Church, Revel. 12. 17. as the Red Dragon had done 1st. against the Manchild (Constantine) whom the Church brought forth after her Ten Sharp Throws in the Ten Primitive Persecutions, v. 4. and 2ly. against the Woman or Church itself, in his Flood of Arrianism, v. 5, 9, 13. Then did the Dragon give Power to the Beast (that came out of the Bottomless pit) to make War with the Saints, to overcome them, and to Slay them, Rev. 13. 2, 7, 15. The Occasion of the Beasts first War was this, A Knot of Jovial and Jolly Rich Romanists being at their mad Merriments and Pastimes, one of them suddenly falls down Dead, at which sad Spectacle Peter Waldus (a Rich and Learned Citizen of Lions in France, and then a boon-Companion with them) was much startled; This Providence God made an Ordinance for his Conversion; He Returns Home, falls upon Instructing his Family and Familiar-Friends, in the Doctrine and Practice of Faith and Repentance; as also upon Inveighing against the Ignorance, Superstition, and Debauchery of the Romish Religion, (which Indulged such Mad-Merry-Meetings as God from Heaven had Testified against.) This Coal being Kindled, Kindleth many more Coals, which eagerly Harkened to this 1st. Angel, Rev. 14. 6; who laid the first Foundation of Rome's Ruin: from this Waldus Sprang those Good Christians, the Waldenses, All Kindled with a Coal from Heaven by this Man's Ministry: This was Matter enough to make the Devil stir, and to Kindle the Beast with a Coal from Hell, to wit, Alexander the 3d. (the same that Betrayed the Emperor into the Turks Hand, and that set his Foot upon the Emperor's Neck, etc. as before.) This Pope first Curses them with Bell, Book, and Candle, 2ly. Persecutes them with the Inquisition, Fire, and Sword, etc. yet neither this first Game will Satan Win, as the Sequel shows: for (1) Sanguis Martyrum est Semen Ecclesiae, The more they were Molested, the more they Multiplied, Insomuch that G. Morrel in his Memorials saith, there were above Eight Hundred Thousand who made profession of the Waldensian Faith, in the Y. 1260. or 12th. Century, notwithstanding all the Bloody Cruelty of the Beast against them. (2ly.) Their Scattering by persecution did Spread the Gospel almost into all Lands, as France, Picardy, Lower and Upper, Germany, Bohemia, Savoy and Lombardy, yea, into England, Poland, Italy, Spain, Flanders, and many more, in all which the Light of Truth hath ever since Shone (more or less) to the Dispersing of that thick Fog of Antichristian Darkness. (3) Though the Waldenses (when they were forced to take up Arms in their Just and Necessary Defence, both as Men and as Christians) did then Confess to the Beasts Champions, [We know ye must overcome us, for God hath said, The Beast shall make War against the Saints, and overcome them,] Rev. 13. 7. Yet by the Help of Earl Reymund, and Peter K. of Arragon, Christ (the Captain of their Salvation) gave them many Signal Victories over the Popelings which came against those Christians with their Croysadoes or Crosses, (the same they carried to their Holy War) as if they had been as bad as Turks. (4.) God did marvellously send them Saviour's in their saddest times, as (1.) Lewis the 11th. of France, who (upon a Just Information of the Waldenses Innocency, and of their Enemies Malicious Slanders) stopped all proceed of Persecution by his Royal Decree. (2) King Francis was called off from persecuting them, just as Saul was from pursuing David by a Messenger that told him. [The Philistims have Invaded the Land,] 1 Sam. 23. 27. even when he had got David (as it were) in a Pound, and had no way to Escape him, v. 26. just so a War arose 'twixt the Prince of Piedmont and this K. Francis the 1st. which gave to him a Diversion from his persecuting Work, and to the poor persecuted Waldenses a sweet Relaxation from Hot Persecution, as his Death did much more when another Persecution was Designed. (3) K. Lewis the 12th. whose Chancellor (together with the Popes own Commissioner) examining the Witnesses against the Waldenses, and finding them Innocent of the Matters they were Charged with, they were Immediately Discharged, the King's Commissioner publicly professing, that he wished himself as Good a Christian as the worst of them; yea, the King (himself) Swore an Oath, that they were Honester than himself, and any of his Catholique-Subjects: Upon this he stayed the Persecution. (5ly.) The last Divine Testimony for those Christians, was Gods Black brand he set most Signally upon their Persecutors: as (1) on that Archbishop, (who was the Devil's and the Pope's Arch-Engine in persecuting Waldus, for Translating the Bible into the French Tongue, and for Converting so many precious Souls from the Cacolique (rather than Catholic) Church of Rome) God left not his Cruelty long Unreckoned for and Unrevenged, for the stroke of Divine Justice shortly after put a period to his Life and to his Persecution both together. (2) Another of the Devils Tools, one Martin, who would have been a Mar-Priest indeed, boasting how he would Slit the Nose of a godly Minister, but soon after a Wolf met him, set on him, and bitten off his Nose, upon which he ran Mad and Dyed miserably: a (3) Bloody Villain against those Christians, was one Miniers, whom his Sin found out, having it Legibly Writ upon his Punishment, for he was smitten with excessive Bleeding at his Fundament, as if God made him cast out there all the Blood of the Saints (which he had Drunk,) together with his own Blood, and then was he Struck with an excessive Inward burning in his Bowels, (as if he had been in Hell beforehand) and with an extreme Intolerable Stink of his lower parts, with all which he ended (in many Blasphemies) his miserable Life: And with no less black a brand did God Stigmatize the Devils (4) Tool John de Roma, a Monk, a Roman Jack indeed, that filled itself top full of Saints-blood, but God smote him with Intolerable Torment all over his Body, (without the least Respite) and with such an unsufferable stink of his Lousy and Ulcerous Carcase, that his nearest Relations were not able to come near him, and ragingly crying out, Oh! this is for my Cruelty to Christians, so Dies Accursed. (5) Earl-Simon, the Pope's prime Champion, was brained with a Stone thrown at him by a Woman out of an Engine at the Siege of Tholouse, as Abimeleck was at Shechem, Judg. 9 53. (who had slain his Seventy Brethren upon a Stone, and now 'tis just that a Stone should slay him) thus also this Earl-Simon (more hardhearted in his Barbarous Butcheries of those Ancient Protestants, than any Stone, and having been the Deflowrer and Murderer of many Women) hath his Head Shot off from his Shoulders by a Stone, and that out of the Hands of a Woman. Thus God by his most powerful Providence Plagued the Church's Enemies, and Preserved his Church as a Diamond in a Dunghill, and as pure Wheat in the midst of much Dirty Chaff, to wit, of Romish Corruptions.   

The Devil's 2d. Design against the Lollards, Defeated by God.  
CHAP. XXXII.  
THe Devil's 2d. particular Design (being the 2d. part of the 30th. Plot) was against the Lollards, the Followers of Wickcliffs Doctrine. Now the Devil being Disappointed of his 1st. Game, (still the more he Stirs, the more he Stinks, and Sticks fast too, for hereby he had much Enlarged the Tents of the Church) Ventures upon a 2d. Game against Wickliff, (as he had against Waldus.) The Supposed 2d. Angel, Rev. 14. 8. a most eminent English Divine, and Doctor of Divinity in Oxford, who with a most Acute Wit, and a Gracious Spirit, Wrote many Volumes against the lying Doctrines of the Romish Church in the 13th. Century, whereby the Church of Christ (though much Enlarged, yet much Subjected and kept under, and in obscurity by the Universal Persecution of the Waldenses,) was much Revived, not only in this Land, but also beyond-Sea, John Hus and Jerom of Prague standing up in the 14th. Century to Defend the Doctrine of Wickliff, (so much Decried by the Romish Rabble.) This was Occasion enough to Rouse the Roaring Lion or Dragon, the Devil, whose Kingdom of Darkness was not able to bear any such Shining Light, because his Deeds are Evil, Joh. 3. 19 Hereupon he Stirs up his Eldest Son the Pope, who Hires Thomas Waldensis to write against Wickliff, and the Popish-Prelates in England to persecute Him, and to Banish him into Bohemia, where John Hus and Jerom of Prague had the Happiness (as well as Hap) to Read His Writings against Popery, and so became (both) great Zelots for Reformation: Upon this, the Romish Fry of Friars, etc. (like a Nest of Hornets with their Venomous stings, sly at them, and Burn them, and Wickliff's Books (because his Body was out of their reach) with them: Yet that Fiery Pope Martin the 5th. had not the Flames of his outrageous Folly quenched by all this, but Wickliffs' Bones must be Digged out of his Grave, (after he had lain in it One and Forty Y.) and must be Burned (as if they had all been Heretics) by this Pope's Decree. ☞ Oh the Sublime Folly of this Romish Rage, thus to Disquiet the Body of him whose Soul was at Rest with God, and to nickname his many Learned Disciples (he left behind him) Lollards, as if they had been (no better than) Tares, Cockle or Darnel, (as the Word signifies) and themselves (than most lewdly Wicked) as pure and clean Wheat, Cujus Contrarium Verum. Notwithstanding all this, God still gets this Game from the Devil likewise; 'tis marvellous how the Lord was putting a Spoke into the Pope's Wheel when it was in its fairest and fastest passage and progress, as appeareth in divers Divine Testimonies: The (1) was, Though Wickliff had most Potent Foes, as Prelates, Pope, and Devil; yet had he more Potent Friends, as the Duke of Lancaster, K. Edward the 3d. (who always protected him) yea, and God himself, by whose good Providence he was not only preserved from bloody persecutors, but also Recalled from his Exile, and Restored to his Place, where (after his doing much Good) he Died full of Days, and in his Nest, (as Job saith) and not by the Hands of the Sons of Violence. The (2d.) was, when Pope Gregory the 11th. sent his Roaring Bull to Oxford, wherein he Commanded them to Root out Wickliffs' Tares, (as he called them) but the Masters and Proctors having a long Debate whether this Bull should be Received or Rejected, at last ('tis said) that the whole University gave a Testimony (in Favour of him) under their Seal in the Congregation-House, they not only Rejecting this, but many other Bulls from Rome. This very Humane Testimony held out a Divine one in such a Day wherein Rome was in her Regency. The (3) was, when the Popish Prelate of Canterbury, held a Convocation at London, for Condemning Wickliff's Doctrine as Heretical; and being all come together for that purpose, just as they were falling upon the Debate, God sent such a Dreadful Earthquake, as they (Affrighted with it) Desisted from that Wicked Enterprise and Departed. The (4) was, As God had kept Alive the Celestial Live Coal of the True Religion from being quenched in England ever since the first Plantation of the Gospel Here, by his Raising up Worthy Instruments in the worst of Times all along until Wickliff, (as I show in my Discovery of Antichrist, Ch. 16.) for the Vindication of the Truth; so this Live-Coal was blown up into a bright Flame (which did but Smoak before) by this bold Preacher of the Everlasting Gospel, (see my Discovery of Antichrist, pag. 82. 83. more of this,) and that Gospel (this 2d. Angel Preached) hath indeed been Everlasting hitherto, for though Pope and Devil (with all their Princes, Prelates, and People) have Conjoined their furious Blasts, yet could they never be able to Blow out the Light, for the Lord hath ever held his own Hand betwixt it and them: that Blessed Doctrine did take such Deep Root in the Hearts of the Elect then, and doth so now, that as Men and Devils never could, so they never shall suppress it in England. The (5) was, by Wickliff's means the Pope lost his long Usurped Power of Imposing what Bishops he pleased upon England, his great Gain of Peter-pences, and of Tenths out of every Spiritual Promotion, our K. Edward the 3d. was too Wise to admit of any such Intrusion and Encroachments. The (6) was, As Wickliff's Ministry was so exceeding Successful in this Land, bringing so many to the Obedience of the Truth, that some thought that Day to be the first Resurrection; so it was a means of Reformation in other Lands, for our Rich. the 2d. then Marrying Ann of Bohemia; as this Queen Taught our Women Modesty, in Riding on Side-Saddles, so in Exchange, they Taught Bohemia Religion out of Wickliff's Works, for there John Hus and Jerom of Prague Lighted their Candles at our Torch. The (7th.) was, Though the Devil and all his Black Bands did their Utmost to blow out this Candle, (thus Lighted) and to Run down the followers of it, yet God sent them Valiant John Zisca to comfort them, by Working mighty Deliverances for them: and when after Zisca's Death, Pope Martin the 5th. sent a great Army to suppress them, than did God strike this Popish-Army with such a panic Fear at the Approach of those poor Orphans, (as they styled themselves at Zisca's Death) that they all fled from the Siege of Misna, (before they saw the Faces of ●hose Godly Orphans) leaving all their Engines of War, and a great Booty behind them: and when the Emperor Sigismond, (the Pope's Creature) to Retrieve the Pope's Credit (lost by the shameful flight of his Army) Raises a vast Army of 40000 Horse (besides Foot) against them: Then was that Word made good, [In thee the Fatherless findeth Mercy, Hos. 14. 3. and that Word, [I will not leave you 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Orphans, Fatherless, or Comfortless, Joh. 14. 18. for God fought from Heaven for those poor Orphans, striking the prodigious Host of their Enemies with a most prodigious Fright that they all run away (at the very Report of the Protestants approach) without staying to strike one stroke, and being speedily pursued, became a very great prey to the pursuers. These Two Signal Testimonies from Heaven, did so Astonish the Pope and Emperor, that they afterwards fall upon ways of Fraud (when the way of Force failed) to suppress them; and though by that Method and Means they were much run down, yet God Raised them up again, by Raising up Undaunted Luther, (the 3d. Angel, Rev. 14.9.) that Thunderbolt against the Pope, who lighted his Candle at John Hus' Book, (sent to him by some Bohemians, when he was in some strait,) This Candle gave light to all Germany. ☞ Mark here what an Honour hath God put upon this our Land in this Blessed Pedigree of Reformation, wherein Germany may be Reckoned for the Son, Bohemia for the Father, but England for the Grandfather; inasmuch as Luther received light from John Hus, and he from our Wickliff: * May not this Encourage us? that 'tis a Land our God careth for, Deut. 11. 11. and that He will yet have some Honourable Respect for us, having more Honour from his People here, than in any other Land; and notwithstanding our Unworthiness, may we not Hope, God will look more at his own Cause and Glory, than at our Folly and Iniquity, otherwise the same sad Calamities may overtake us the Grandfather, (that have over-taken both the Son and the Grandson) and that by the Fag-end of this 3d. Plot, or Game, which the Devil and the Pope began to lay and play as soon as this 3d. Angel (Luther, a Boanerges or Son of Thunder) Sounding with so loud a Voice, had Awakened them, Rev. 14. 8, 9 God gave him a mighty Heroic Spirit (every way Accomplished with Grace, Learning, and Courage for a Gospel-Champion) to Preach Damnation (not so much to those that receive the Name or Number of the Beast, (for 200 of them may follow Antichrist, as they did Absolom, in the Simplicity of their Hearts, knowing nothing of his Treason, 2 Sam. 15. 11. but) to all those that Receive his Mark, pronouncing the Word [Damn] with such an Emphasis, (as our Mr Perkins did) that it left a Doleful Echo in his Auditors Ears a long time after, insomuch that like another Samson, he pulled down some of the Pillars of Babylon, and made Babel's Whore (with all her Baldpate Panders, even Roar for very Anguish,) gnash their Teeth, and gnaw their Tongues for Intolerable Pain.   

The Devils 3d. Design against the Church, in Protestants: Defeated by God.  
CHAP. XXXIII.  
THe Devil's 3d. particular Design, (being the 3d. part of the last Plot) was against the Protestants, in, and after Luther. This Book having already swelled into a greater Bulk then at first Intended, (almost above a portable Pocket-Book) I must Refer my Reader to the Morient (or Dying) Period of Antichrist, in my Discovery of Antichrist, pag. 81. to pag. 110. and Confine myself by Constraint) to point out only the most Eminent Remarks of Divine Providence which hath Preserved the Church in those Two last Centuries, to wit, the Fifteen and the Sixteen Hundred Y. of Christ, because it would require a Distinct Volume to Speak Distinctly of every Passage and Providence therein.  
The (1st.) Remark, was, The Harvest of the Earth, yea, and of Heaven too, was fully Ripe, when God Raised up Luther to put in his sharp Sickle (1.) that of Earth, the Kingdom of the Beast was so Debauched in that Day; as if Earth had been turned into Hell, insomuch as Geoffrey Chaucer (that learned Poet in the 14th. Century) doth notably Scourge the Romish-Church for Degenerating so notoriously both in Doctrine and Discipline, both in Faith and Manners: (2.) that of Heaven; the Kingdom of Christ had then a whole Harvest of Souls (Chosen of God) to be effectually called, otherwise such a poor Friar (as Luther was) could never have gone through so great a Work against so Great and General Opposition with such Great Success.  
The (2d.) Famous Remark, was, that Luther should be sent to Rome, as Messenger of his Covent, for Deciding some Controversies therein, (about the Monk's Privileges) before the Pope, in the Y. 1510. where beholding the Base and Abominable Manners of the Roman Clergy, of the Pope, and of his Palace, he Returned from Rome with Utmost Detestation both of it, and of its Religion, crying out often, Away with it, Away with it, and saying to his Friends, He would not have been without that Journey to Rome for a 1000 Florens'. Thus God by this Providence Unhinged him of his Romish Religion, and prepared him thereby for a Great Reformation.  
The (3) Remark, was, Pope Leo the 10th. through his Luxury wanted Money to bestow a Dowry on his Sister (Magdalen,) and so did his Cardinal, to pay for his New-Pall, both those Sums must be raised by Indulgences sent into Germany: Tecelius (a Dominican Friar) brings them to be sold, saying, His Commission was so large from the Pope, that if a Man had Deflowered the Blessed Virgin, he could Pardon the Sin for Money; yea, he could Pardon all Sins to come, as well as any that were passed; Indeed much what alike. Luther's Godly Zeal takes Fire at those Popish-Cheats, Inveighs against the Pope's Pardons that his Huckster had brought, He cries down (after) the Pope's Supremacy, and all his Popish Trash, so Works (in God) a Wonderful Reformation.  
The (4th.) Eminent Remark, was, that God should provide such a Protector (as Frederick, the Duke of Saxony) to preserve poor persecuted Luther out of the Hands of Pope Leo the 10th. and of the Emperor Charles the 5th. (whom the Pope provoked against him) sometimes in his Patmos, (as he called Wartenburg-Castle) and sometimes Disputing with Cardinal Caietan, and with those Devils in the Court at Worms, yet was he kept secure by Gods good Providence, till he had Fulfilled his Ministry, and Finished the Work his Father gave him to do, Living to the Age of Sixty-Three, then Died in his Climacterical Year, Bequeathing his Detestation of Popery to his Friends and Followers, with this Verse,  
Pestis eram Vivus, Moriens ero Mors tua, Papa.  
In English I Living, stopped Rome's Breath,  
In English And Dead, will be Rome's Death.  
The (5th.) Marvellous Remark, was, That not One of those Three Angels, (forementioned) to wit, Waldus, Wickliff, and Luther, should Die a Violent Death; Considering the Rage of Rome and Hell against them all, That They should all Three Dye quietly in their Beds in the midst of their mortal Enemies, to whom they all Three were so mischievous, was little below a Miracle: Well, therefore are they Named More than Men, even Angels, Rev. 14. 6, 8, 9 Bloody Rome may Murder Men, but cannot Angels. Now when the Lord raised up Luther (the 3d. Angel) to thrust in his sharp Sickle into the Harvest of Reformation, Revel. 14. 14, 15. and began to Reap Rome, which was now ready Ripe to have the Seven Vials of God's Indignation poured down upon her for the Wine of her Fornication, wherewith she had made so many Nations Drunk; then Rome Raged with her Red Letter, being prompted thereto by the Red Dragon; insomuch that the Pope Roars against him as an Heretic with his Bull, the Emperor (stirred up by the Pope) Wars against him as a Rebel with his Army, and King Henry the 8th. of England, Writes against him with his Pen, for which the Pope Dignifyed him with [Defender of the Faith,] a Title which K. James better Deserved for Writing against the Pope. Luther's Case (having all the World, the many as well as the Mighty, against him) seemed now Desperate, so that Cranzius said to him [Go into thy Cell, and cry,] Miserere Mei, for thou art an Undone Man: Yet Behold! His Work being of God, he Wethers out the Point, Spreads the Gospel into many Lands, and comes safe to Shore, and Dies in peace, (as before) after he had exceeded the 12 Labours of Hercules, (as Beza saith of him.)  
Rome tamed the World, the Pope tamed Rome so great,  
Rome Ruled by Power, the Pope by deep Deceit:  
But how more large than theirs was Luther 's Fame?  
Who with one Pen both Pope and Rome doth Tame;  
Go Fictious Greece, go tell Alcides then,  
His Club is Nothing to Great Luther 's Pen.  
Observe again the Footsteps of Providence following Luther. The 1st. Remark, is, the Miraculous Increase of the Gospel, after this 3d: Angel, Revel. 14. 9 we Read of another Angel, v. 17. and of another Angel, v. 18. and of Seven Angels too, Revel. 15. 1. such as Melancton, Zuinglius, Zanchy, Beza, Marlorat, &c: and above all, Calvin, who at Twentyfive Y. Old, Writ his Institutions, (to Mall Rome withal) of which Book this High Encomium is given.  
Praeter Apostolic as post Christi tempora Chartas,  
Huic peperere Libro Saecula nulla parem.  
Since Christ and the Apostles time, no such Book was ever Writ, as Paulus Melissus long since Sang: In a Word, at that time the Lord Raised a whole Army of bray Heroic and Angelical Men, or Angels, (as Melchior Adamus, and Illyricus, largely Demonstrate) at least preparing to power out the Seven Vials (being the several parts of the Seventh Trumpet,) for the Fall of Babylon, Revel. 14. 8. and 15. 1. for in the 2d. Angel's time Babylon began to Fall, and some Countries did fall off from Rome, but when the 3d. Angel came, and with him an Army of many other Angels, than was the Temple (to wit, the Church of Rome) filled with Smoak, Revel. 15. 8. The Temple (wherein the Man of Sin is said to sit, 2 Thess. 2. 4.) is not now filled with a Cloud, as Solomon's Temple was, 1 Kin. 8. 10. 2 Chron. 5. 13. and as Moses Tabernacle was, Exod. 40. 34. but with Smoke, (which accompanies Consuming Fire that God is to Babylon, Hebr. 12. last, Revel. 14. 11. Psal. 18. 8. and 74. 1.) Denoting how the Church of Rome shall be filled with Darkness and Confusion, and consequently with the Wrath of God. The 2d. Memorable Remark, is, the prodigious Progress of the Gospel, which came first from Jerusalem by the Apostles, and so may well be called the Jerusalem-Artichoke, a Plant that Overruns the Ground wheresoever it is planted. So was the Gospel carried as on Angels Wings wonderfully over all the World at first by the Apostles, and now again by the late Reformers, as by those Three Angels aforesaid, Waldus, Wickliff, and Luther: our Wickliff Wrote more than Two Hundred Volumes against the Pope before Luther was Born; and Q. Ann, Wife to our Richard the 2d. and Sister to Wenceslaus K. of Bohemia, by living here became acquainted with the Gospel, yea, many Bohemian Courtiers coming to the English Court, conveyed Wickliff's Books into Bohemia, whereby a Good Foundation was laid for a future Reformation. After this John Hus and Jerom of Prague did so notably Propagate the Truth in that Kingdom, that in the Y. 1451. the Church of Christ at Constantinople Congratulates the Happy Beginnings in the University of Prague, and Exhorts them to perseverance in persecution, which the raging Romanists soon raised against them; though Q. Sophia (who favoured them) had by her Mediation with the King procured a free Exercise of their Religion throughout the Realm; and though the Popish Persecutors could say no more of them than this, [In their Lives they are Modest, in their Love one to another Fervent, and in their Speeches True, but their Religion is stark Naught,] saith Jacobus Leilenstemus the Dominican: and why is it so Naughty? Reinerius (another of their persecutors) shall tell you, [1. Because of so long Standing. 2. because so far Spread. and 3. for their appearance of Purity, etc.] Alsted. Chronol. pag. 375. and Jacob. Revius de Vit. Pont. pag. 151. This Paved the way for the Great Work of Luther in Germany, begun Y. 1517. which was Wonderfully carried on (even in a little time) through all Germany, and some Foreign Countries, as it were upon Angels Wings, though by weak means, yea, by casual and cross means, (as here by Henry the 8ths' Scruple about his Marriage) and afterwards further promoted 1. by Public and powerful Preaching. 2. by Printing good Books. 3. by Translating the Bible into Vulgar Tongues. 4. by Catechising of Youth. 5. by Offering open Disputations. 6. by Martyrologies, and all this was done against the Powers of a most potent and politic Adversary. ☞ This was such a Miracle of Mercy, as the former Age Despaired of, the present Age Admireth, and the future Following Age shall be struck with Astonishment at. The 3d. Marvellous Remark, was, the Strange Removal of Remora's, or Impediments; God was much seen in [Removendo prohibentia] Rolling away the great Stones that lay in the way of the passage and progress of Reformation: as (1st.) when all men's minds (as it were) stood upon their Tiptoes, gazing to see the Issue of Pope Leo's Rage, and of Luther's Courage: This Leo the 10th. Throws his Thunderbolts at Luther's Head; Brave Luther Braves it out, bravely protesting [Quò Magis Ille furit, eò Amplius procedo,] the more Mad the Pope is in his outrageous Pelting me with his Potguns, the more Courageous I am both to proceed and to prosper: Hereupon he casts the Pope's Bull into the Fire and Burns it, saying, [Because thou Troublest Christ, (the Holy One of God) therefore Eternal Fire shall Trouble thee.] Now while the whole World was wondering and waiting what all this would end in, Behold Pope Leo (who would have Thunderstruck Luther with his (but Imaginary) Thunderbolts) was himself Thunderstruck with a real one by God out of Heaven, He Dies, and Luther Lives: He Dies without Comfort, (which Bembus offered him out of the Gospel,) Blasphemously Rejecting it, saying, [Apage ist as Nug as de Christo,] Away with those Trifles of Christ: Here he was Antichrist indeed, who had said to this Cardinal Bembus at the Return of those Vast Sums raised by his Indulgencies, (the occasion of Luther's Revolt from Rome,) Quantùm nobis profuit haec de Christo Fabula, This Fable of the Gospel brings us in much Gain. This Wretch Dies like a Toad with Earth in his Claw, yet without Hope from (his Fable) the Gospel, and his Plot (against Luther) Dies with him, in Y. 1521. the same Y. Luther Lives, and goes Resolvedly to the Court at Worms, (as before) and did much Service to the Church many (even Twentyfive) Y. after. (2ly.) After the Pope, the Emperor; for good Orders sake, not so much, because Lords Spiritual are placed before Temporal, as because Accessorium sequitur Principale. The Pope was the Principal, (in Obstructing Reformation) the Emperor was but the Pope's Accessary: This Emperor Charles the 5th. (by the Pope's continual Instigations) carried an Hard Hand against the Protestants: As to himself and to his own Inclinations, (Candid enough) all Christendom had not a more prudent Prince, yet through Rome's Influence upon him, the Church of Christ (scarce) had a sorer Enemy: but the same power and providence which had removed the great Rub, that great Stumbling-Stone (Pope Leo the Great) gives this Great Emperor 1. a Diversion, and 2. a Cessation from being the Pope's Drudge in persecuting Work: 1. God Diverts him, by his being called into Spain, to Suppress Seditions there, and afterwards was so taken up in his Wars with the French King, that he had no leisure to look after Luther. After this, having taken the French King Prisoner, he released him, upon Condition he would join with him in rooting out the Protestants; but God broke this Design, for the French-King returning Home from his Confinement in Spain, and Considering the Conditions of his Release were unequal, he Consederates with Pope Clement the 7th. and the State of Venice against the Emperor, who upon this provocation Abolishes the Pope's power (though he had called Knave first) over all Spain, and sends his Armies against him under the Duke of Bourbon, who Sacks Rome, Claps up the Pope (with his Cardinals) close Prisoners in the Castle of St. Angelo. This Evil Spirit (the Lord sent betwixt Abimelech and the House of Shechem, or the Romish-Church) gave an Opportunity for the Reformed Religion to get Ground, all these Providences did fall out rather for the furtherance of the Gospel, Phil. 1. 12. I might Tyre both myself and my Reader in Relating all those strange Diversions God gave this Great Prince from his Doing Rome's Drudgery, as the Avocation he had by the Great Turks Invading the Skirts of his Empire: How the Project of the Interim (which was a Hodg-podg of the Romish and Reformed Religion mingled together an Inter-Religion, not unlike our Comprehension-Bill, the Devil will Compound when he cannot Conquer) was broken, with all other Popish-plots by the Patience and Perseverance of the Protestants at Passaw's Pacifical. Transaction: Many Intervenient Crosses took off his Edge: 'tis very Observable, This mighty Conqueror (who in Wageing Fifteen Wars, was for the most part Successful) never prospered in any Undertaking after he had Imprisoned the Duke of Saxony, and the Landgrave of Hassia, those Two Prime Patriots of the Protestants. After all those Diversions, God brings him 1st. to a Voluntary Cessation, for being Wearied with the World's Uncessant Troubles, he Divests himself of his Imperial Authority, and betakes him to the Repose of a Monastery, where the 2d. Cessation (that is Unavoidable) seizeth soon on him, to wit, Death. The 4th. Eminent Remark, was, in Raising up Patriots and Promoters of Religion; God was much seen in this, [Applicando Adiutoria,] as after Charles the 5th. God sends good Ferdinand to Succeed, who quite Spoiled the Project of the Trent-Councel, [Cum magna Moliuntur,] while they carried on their Consults against the Simplicity of Christ, with such Infinite Guile and Craft, as that themselves will even Smile in the Triumphs of their own Wits, (when they hear it but mentioned) as at a Master-Stratagem: Insomuch that it passed in France (on which that Council could never be Imposed) in manner of a Proverb, that the Synod of Trent had more Authority than that of the Apostles, Act. 15. because their own Pleasure was a Sufficient Ground for their Decrees, without Admitting the Holy Ghost; yet this good Emperor, Ferdinand the 1st. Granted Liberty of Conscience to all the Professors of the Augustan Confession in Germany, and it was granted to them in Bohemia also for receiving the Lords Supper in both Kind's. This put a Curb upon that Trent-Conventicle, who had now no power to Disturb any Imperial City upon the Account of Religion; and than Maximilian the 2d. Curbed them still more, by his Constancy to that Tenent [That men's Consciences ought not to be Compelled in Matters of Religion, for that is, (saith he) to Invade Heavens-right, etc. And after him God raised up Rodulphus the 2d. in Y. 1610. a good Patriot too: And after him Mathias, under whom the Protestants kept a Jubilee, in Y. 1617. And not to overlook our own Land in this time; 'tis marvellous to consider how God Used Henry the 8th. as an Instrument in this Work, though He had Writ against Luther, and though the Reformed Religion (which he scornfully called The New Sumpsinius) he Envied, yet the Romish Religion [calling it Sarcastically, The Old Mumpsimus,] he Despised: The Occasion was the Bone of Contention God cast betwixt Him and the Pope; Clement the 7th. about the Y. 1528. Deluded him in the Divorce from his Brother's Wife Q. Katherine, his great Stomach not enduring to be crossed, Hereupon casts off the Pope's Supremacy; he went so far as would serve his own Turn, and though he still persisted in being a Papist himself, yet commanded others (under great Penalties) to be no Papists; and while by the Six Articles, (that Whip with Six Lashes) he on the one side of the Hedge Burned Protestants for Denving the Transubstantiation, etc. yet on the other side of the Hedge he Hanged Papists for Denying his Supremacy: but God raised up his Son Edward the 6th. to purge the Church from Popery, and to settle the Reformed Religion: And this Series of Divine Providence towards the English-Church is very Observable, that though Henry the 7th. Courted the Pope, yet Henry the 8th. Unhorsed him, Edward the 6th. Banished him, and though Q. Mary recalled him, and with some Hot-Waters Revived him; yet brave Q. Elizabeth set him packing again, and K. James so Stabbed and Branded him with his Pen, that he could never since be permitted to have any public Countenance, much less any firm Settlement in this Land. The 5th. Remark, is, the Marvellous Preservation of Persons, Places, and People, from the utmost Craft and Cruelty of their Implacable Enemies. (1) Instances of Gods Hiding Holy Persons (as he hide Jeremy and Baruc, those Two Innocent Subjects, from their Enraged Sovereign, Jerem. 36. 26.) from the Hands of those Bloodhounds that Hunted for their very Lives, are (indeed) Innumerable; even in all Ages God hath provided an Hiding-place for some of his Servants in some good Man's House or other, or in some safe Land or other, when the Case hath been such, that there hath been no Fence but Flight, no Council nor Cover but Concealment to Secure them, as was that Case of Jeremy and Barucs. (2) As to Places, I shall Instance only in that of Geneva, which is at this Day but a very small place yet Environed round about with their Inveterate Adversaries, as French, Spanish, Savoy, Italy, and the Pope; yea, 'tis Barred out from all Assistance of Neighbours, Cities, Churches; notwithstanding, by the Mighty Arm of God, 'tis as strangely and strongly Upheld and Defended as Judea (that Land of Promise) was, though Surrounded on the North, with Syrians, Assyrians, and Babylonians: on the East, with Moab and Ammon: on the South, with Edom and Egypt: and on the West with the Philistines: (3) As to People, Christ preserved a Church (even in the Bloody times of Q. Mary) here in London, Congregating (sometimes 100, sometimes 200) to serve the Lord in Power and Purity; and an Informer being sent (as our Martyrologist saith) to Espy out their Liberty, Gal. 2. 4. and to take their Names, as Ezra 5. 4. 10. yet He being among them to Catch, was Catched, and Converted, yea, and cried them all Mercy: Besides, in the beginning of her Reign, almost all the Prisons in England were become right Christian-Churches, wherein the Word was Preached, and Sacraments were Administered; and God had his Remnant Reserved (in Foreign Lands) for Royal Use to return under Q. Elixabeth, yea, and in other Nations, (as well as in this) God Reserved a Remnant for himself, even in Spain and Italy, (both which are most Rammishly Romish) there being no fewer than Twenty Thousand Protestants in Cevil the Chief City of Spain, and in Italy (the very Nest of Antichrist) there be full four Thousand professed Protestants, according to Sands his Relation. Thus this Lily among Thorns, Cant. 2. 2. is preserved by a Miraculous Power, so as that it could never be (nor ever shall be) cut up by the Sword of Persecution, nor Burnt down by the Fire of Martyrdom. Behold and Admire the Church's Picture, to wit, a poor Helpless Damosel sitting in a Wood or Wilderness, compassed about with Hungry Wolves, Lions, Leopards, Boars, and Bears, yea, with all sorts of Bloody Beasts, and in the midst of many monstrous and mischievous Men, all running upon Her with open Mouth every moment and minute to Worry this Maid: must it not be said, that this Virgin is preserved by a Miracle? 'tis the Messiah who Rescue▪ this Maid from all those Monsters. Both Time and Room fail for Enlarging upon the other following Famous Remarks, to wit, The 6th. is the Remarkable Vengeance God hath Executed on all the Churches grand Enemies; not only Inferiors, as Morgan (the Judge) who Died Raving, Twiford the Executioner, who Rotten above Ground, Bonner the Bloody Bishop, who was Buried among common Thiefs and Murderers, as one Hated of God and Man: Steven Gardiner, who Dying, outrageously cried out He was Damned, as well as his Tongue (hanging out all black and swollen) could express it, and many more too long to Relate: but also on Superiors, as Falix of Wartenburg, Minerius, (the Pope's prime Champions,) Charles the 9th. of France, (the Author of the Parisian Massacre) who were all Choked with their own Blood for Drinking the Blood of Saints: Yea, and our Q. Mary was not only punished with Barrenness, but also with an Untimely Death, for Sacrificeing the Lives of 800 Innocents' to her Idols, therefore Q. Maries Reign was one of the shortest of all the other after the Conquest, Bloody ones shall not live out half their Days, Psal. 55. 23. The Church's Motto is, [Nemo me Impunè Lacessit,] No Man can be her Enemy, and scape . They may Read their own Destiny in that Cup of Trembling, Burdensome Stone, and Hearth of Fire, mentioned Zech. 12. 2, 3, 6. The 7th. Notable Remark is, The Church's Valour and Victory in all her Sufferings: her Posy is [Nec Premor, nec Perimor,] Nothing Hurteth or Hindereth me; for she Conquereth, even when Conquered, her Lord Christ over came as well by Patience as by Power: Oh what a Spirit of Glory Rested on the holy Martyrs, 1 Pet. 4. 14. which plainly Transported them beyond themselves, so that their Suffering-Work, was thereby made as Contenting and Delightful to them, as ever their Doing Work had been, or (which is more) their Receiving Wages would be: 'tis Wonderful to Observe, How the Valour of the Martyrs, and the Villainy of their Tormentors, strove together, till both, exceeding Nature and Belief, did breed Wonder and Astonishment both in Beholders and Auditors; still Sanguis Martyrum was Semen Ecclesiae, the Church won Ground by every (even the forest) Persecution, while the Lord shortly after brought their worst and greatest Persecutors (by some Signal Disease or Disaster) to the Terrors of Death, and to the Torments of Hell. The 8th. and last Remark, is, The marvellous Deliverances God hath given to his Church, and Disappointment to her Enemies, in those Two last Centuries: as (1.) God Hammered Charles the 5th. to this Frame, that when he had Melancton, Pomeran, and other Eminent Preachers in his Hand, he Treated them gently, Jer. 15. 11. and sent them away, not so much as once forbidding them to publish their Doctrine of Reformation; yea, and he laid down the Empire in great Discontent, (as Diocletian had done before him) Observing that the Church could not be Suppressed. (2.) The Gospel having Spread much all over Germany, under those good Emperors, Ferdinand, Maximilian, Rodulphus, and Mathias, until 1619. the Jesuits Stirs up Ferdinand the 2d. to change the Churches long Peace into a Violent Persecution, which was the more Heightened by the Bohemians Rejecting him, and Electing Frederick Palatine in his place: Now when all the Protestant-Princes and People were wearied, and almost worn out in Wars, God sends them Gustavus Adolphus to give them (at least) a sweet Breathing time, and a little Rest and Respite, who over-ran (almost) all Germany from the Baltick-Sea to Mentz with his Victorious Army in one Y. and after his Solemn Thanks to God, he restores the Reformed Religion. (3.) Though in the Netherlands that bloody butcher Duke De Alva brought the Spanish Inquisition, and the Trent-Council-Execution, about Y. 1570. whereby he made Havoc of the Church, like another Breathing Devil, (exceeding all Turks and Pagans in Brutish Inhumanity) boasted he had been the Death of above 18000 persons, yet at Six Y▪ end God gave him an Avocation from that Work. At length they having shaken off the Spanish Yoke, notwithstanding all Ambrose Spinola's Endeavours to the contrary) are Declared Free-States by Albert Duke of Austria, since which time God hath had a Numerous Church there unto this Day, maugre the Malice of Men and Devils. (4.) Though the Church hath suffered Hard things in France, ever since Y. 1524. but more especially in that Parisian Massaere upon black Bartholomew-Day, in Y. 1572. which was Introduced by the most Devilish Dissimulation of Friendship (Popish-like) to draw the Grandee-Protestants into the Net: The matter of this Hellish Plot was managed under a Pretence of a Marriage between the Prince of Navarre, and the Lady Margaret, Sister to the French-King; Coligni is highly Courted, and Guise (the Protestants Deadly Enemy) is Banished from Court, yea, some few Papists were Executed for Murdering some Protestants at Rouen) by the King's special Order: yet while all this Specious Kindness is pretended, a most Barbarous Killing and Massacre is Intended in this Bloody Charles the 9th's Heart, by whose Commission above 30000 were Murdered in Three Months, some say 70000. yet God was not Silent at all this prodigious Villainy, but comes forth as a Swift Witness to take Vengeance upon those Horrid Murderers: as 1. upon this Bloody King Charles the 9th. in the Flower of his Age (at Y. 24.) God struck him (as before) with such an Eruption of Blood out of divers parts of his Body, insomuch that he (who had lately Wallowed in the Blood of Protestants) was made now to Wallow in his own Blood, and so was Choked. (2.) Upon the Bloody Duke, God paid him home in his own Coin, for as he had got (the Admiral) Coligni, etc. Decoyed into a Snare by a pretended Courtship for their Destruction: So Henry the 3d. (who Succeeded Charles the 9th.) did Invite the Duke of Guise and his Brother to a Friendly conference, and there commands his Guard to Kill them, for Kerbing him in his Kingship. (3.) Upon all the Chief Persons who had been Employed in this Bloody Massacre at Paris, and other Places, whom God's Providence drew forth to the Siege of Rochel, where they received the Reward of all their Wickedness, as the Duke D' Aumale and Cosseins, the Field-Marshal, (who first Entered the Admiral's Lodging,) Three Masters of the Camp, divers great Lords and Gentlemen, 60 Captains, 60 Lieutenants, 60 Ensigns, 20000 common Soldiers, all Cut off at that Siege, (besides God's Judgements on the Duke of Anjou, etc.) whereas the Besieged Rochellers were miraculously relieved by a Shoal of Shellfish cast upon their Shore (never before or after seen in that Haven) at every Tide, and the Siege was as marvellously Raised by an Edict of Peace, procured by the Ambassadors of Poland; and to this Day God preserves his Church there in her Being, though he suffer her (out of his Unsearchable Wisdom) to be now much Impaired in her Wellbeing, notwithstanding the many Edicts of most of the Kings to the contrary. (5.) Such Instances might be given in many other Lands where God hath been Teaching all Tyrants the Nature of Christ's Church, How the more they Spurn against it, the more it Flourisheth, the more Molested, the more Multiplied: to Name no more but our own Land, 'Tis very Remarkable, that since the Royal Laws were Enacted for Establishing the Reformed Religion here by K. Edward the 6th. God hath Laughed all the Romish Plots (for recovering Us to Popery) to Nothing: 'Tis True, It met with some short Repulse and Repugnancy in Q. Mary's Reign, yet God made it therefore but a Short Reign, he Immediately brought her Sister Q. Elizabeth to the Throne, whose Reign was (almost) Ten times longer; and wherein it Appeared that the Good Cause of Religion had lost no Credit by Q. Mary's short Opposition, for presently the Gospel was Springing up and Spreading itself to many Lands (besides our own) in her Day; none of the Popes Nuncio's did she ever suffer to set Footing in England, which Sped the better for it ever after, she Banished Popish Idolatry, and Restored the Reformed Religion, for which Pope Pius the 4th. Designed to Excommunicate her, but that was put by, by some By-Respects; yet Pope Pius the 5th. did it by a Bull, which Desperate Felton fixed upon the Bp. of London's Gate, where and for which he was Executed, and the Pope's Bull was so Baited by Bp. Jewel's Pen, that his Unholy Holiness Dared not to Reply, yet had he his Unholy Hand in most of the Treasons against Her, when he saw his Bull proved but a Calf: However, (through the Pope's Influence) Innumerable Plots and Insurrections were promoted against her Person and State, (which all ended with the Ruin of the Rebels and Plotters) the greatest of all was, that Spanish Armado (which was styled, Invincible, but proved Vincible, (notwithstanding the Pope's Blessing upon it) to little purpose, and his Nameing Twelve of his greatest Ships by the Names of the twelve Apostles, to less purpose, for God fought from Heaven against them with a Scattering Storm, (insomuch as they Blasphemously said, God was turned Lutheran,) and the Queen's Fireships Fired them, her great Guns Battered them so, as they were beaten Home with both Shame and Loss of the better half: in short, for Gods protecting her, for her protecting the Netherlands, for procureing a Settlement to Henry the 4th. of France in his Kingdom, (until he turned Romanist, and then was soon turned out of his Life by the Romanists,) for quelling the Irish Rebels, for Conquering this (supposed) Unconquerable Armado, etc. She was highly Honoured both by Turk and Pope; the proud Turk Desired her Amity by his Ambassadors, and the proud Pope, (Sixtus the 5th.) whom Bellarmin sagely Censures thus at his Death; [Quantum Sapio, quantum Capio, Dominus noster Papa Descendit in Infernum;] Oh strange! how can Holiness (of his Holiness) go to Hell: Yet this same Pope (as bad as he was) could Commend Q. Elizabeth for an Excellent Governess, yea, she became Renowned throughout the World, as the Glory of her Sex, and the Lustre of her Land, and a Poet styles her, on Earth the first Virgin, (or Chief, as she was a Queen) and in Heaven, the second, next to the Virgin Mary; yea, at Venice she was termed St. Elizabeth, whereupon the Lord Carleton (English-Embassador there) said, Although he were a Papist, he would never pray to any other Saint but to that St. Elizabeth: Assuredly, her Zeal for the Reformed Religion Sainted and Renowned Her most of all. No sooner was K. James come to the Crown, but the Roman-Conclave Consult against him: Pope Clement the 8th. out of his Clemency had success against Henry the 4th. of France, and Hopes for the same against King James, by Interdicting him from the Crown without his Licence, but it proved not to be at the Pope's Disposal, his Gouty Golls, or Toes, (which Archduke Maximilian could not Cure by Kissing them) served to carry him off the Stage, after Watson and Clark (Two Priests, the former Designed to be Lord Chancellor, etc. just as our present Plotters had Distributed Honours and Offices,) with others (some of good Rank) seduced by them, had Complotted against this King, knowing his Ability to Maintain the Truth of the Gospel against Popery; but this 1st. Plot being Blasted by the Execution of the Two Priests and their Complices. The Conclave Projects that most prodigious Plot of the Gunpowder Villainy; Pope Paul the 5th. Employed Garnet the Jesuit, Catesby, Piercy, Faux, and many other Cronies to Blow up the King and whole State in the Parliament; but this 2d. Plot was Blown up (it self) by a blind Letter, which marvellously brought all to light; and though afterwards, this same Pope by his Breves, forbade that Allegiance (which the King justly required of his Subjects, yet his own Learned Pen did so Vindicate his own Undoubted Right, that his Holiness soon Declined the Encounter, yea, and God made Use of this King's Pen and Power to Baffle those Two lesser Games of Socinus and Arminius: How God hath likewise Confounded (hitherto) all the Popish Plots, both in the Reign of Charles the 1st. and of the 2d. (as yet) may be better Remembered (it being yet fresh in the Minds and Memories of many still Living) than can be fully Related. In the Reign of King Charles the 1st. the Conclave of Rampant Jesuits (those Cupbearers of Rome's Wine of Fornication, and Frogs going out to the Kings of the Earth, Revel. 16. 12.) had their Consult to bring Britain to Babylon, or those Three Kingdoms into Confusion, as they had done the Palatinate, Bohemia, and Germany, etc. Hereupon Card. Barbarino dispatches Cunaeus (the Pope's Legate) to London, and joins with him an Assistant (one not only bred up in the Romish Church, but preferred in it, and promised greater preferment upon his Diligence in the Design) to Reduce those Three Realms to Rome; In Order hereto, It was Resolved, that the King, and Archbishop should both be Cut off for Standing then in the way of that Work. This Cunaeus showing to His Assistant an Indian Nut stuffed full of the strongest Poison, and Boasting, they would with that Dispatch the King, as they had done his Father. The Horrible Nature of this Bloody Plot, God set so Home upon this Assistants Conscience, that he had no Rest from his Remorse, until he had revealed this Damnable Design to (the Q. of Bohemia's Physician) Andrea's ab Habernfield, that he might Disclose it to (the English-Embassador at the Hague) Sir William Boswel, who Informs the Archbishop of it, and He the King; this was a most Admirable Act of Divine Providence, that this Assistant (sent from Rome to be a Principal Promoter of this Hellish Plot) should be overruled by Almighty God, (through his own Remorse) to become the Prime Discoverer, not only of the Plot itself, but also of the Persons, Places, Time, Method, and Manner thereof, as Dr. Habernfield's Latin Letter doth fully Demonstrate: Jacula praevisa minùs feriunt, Darts foreseen (if warily shunned) are Dintless: 'Tis true, Prevision here (not Rightly Improved) was not Prevention, neither of the Kingdom's Misery, in those late Civil (Uncivil) Wars, nor of the King's Death, at which a Grand Jesuit Triumphed, saying, Now is the Enemy of God, and of his Church fallen: yet the Lord preserved his Church in Despite of the Devil. Now in the Reign of K. Charles the 2d. that the like Damnable Design hath been Hatched by the same Heads, Hearts, and Hands, 'tis supersluous to Declare, seeing there be about Ten several Narratives hereof, (even by such as should have been Actors in it) and this so confirmed by the Kings many Proclamations, by the Testimony of Two several Parliaments, by the Sentence of so many Judges, and by the Execution of so many Plotters, etc. The like Miracle of Mercy that made Remorse to Discover the former, hath done no less in this latter, and to Disappoint hitherto the Pope's Design; though He hath Deposed the King as an Heretic, sent Card. Howard to possess (for him) his Consiscate Kingdoms, etc. yet still the Church is Marvellously preserved, yea, Undoubtedly shall be so, though this Discovery (through Maladministration) may cause the Church to have many Sharp Throws in her Travel, (as in the former) before She can bring forth the Manchild of Reformation; Alas! the Child is come to the Birth, and there is not Strength to bring forth, 2 Kin. 19 3. Heaven's Hand will Help at a Dead Lift; Where Man ends, there God gins, Psal. 21. 13. Much more might be Added, were there not a [Noli m● Tangere] in the Case: Controversal Truth seldom goes without a Scratched Face: I shall Conclude the Historical part with some Memorable Remarks. (1) The Pope (who is the Devil's By-blow) was Worthily Thrust out of England, (as he was also out of France and Arragon,) it being said of him, That He was like a Mouse in the Sachel, or like a Snake in the Bosom. Speed, pag. 622. England had been long his Ass. Otto (the Pope's Mouse-catcher) so Drained this Land of Money, that he left not so much behind him, as he carried hence to Rome with him, or sent thither before him; but at length this Ass cast her Rider, and would no longer bear his Burdens: One would think England ( this) should be so Awakened, and made Wiser, than ever to become the Pope's Ass any more. A 2d. Remark is, Those Princes, who have Trusted God with their Lives and Lands, and kept Rome, etc. at Distance and Defiance, hath Sped the Best, and Flourished the most, and the longest, in their large Dominions. Q. Elizabeth is a pregnant Instance hereof, who could never be persuaded to Favour the Papists, (though she was to Disfavour the Puritans) but she ever kept a Vigilant Eye over the former, as being rightly Informed, that they (and not the latter) were the worst Enemies to Royal Power; and God Wonderfully Preserved this Heroic Lady from all the Romish Bulls, Interdicts, Poisonings, Assassinations, etc. as before. A 3d. Remark, is, Such Princes, as Relied upon their own politic Projects, (in Conniving at, if not Complying with the Romish Interest) for their personal preservation, have ever fared the Worst; to omit K. James, who (though not blown up) yet was so Shaken (as some say, How True I know not) with the Powder-Plot, that his (naturally) Timorous Spirit was drawn into some Connivences, etc. point-Blank against Archbp. Abbot's Advice, and not long after he was taken out of the way, by whose Hands God only knows: But Henry the 4th. of France is a clear Instance, who, being bred up a Protestant, Turned Papist upon politic Grounds, and being Disuaded by a great Duke from readmitting the Jesuits, (which justly had been Banished the Realm) he Angrily Answered, [Give me then Security for my Life.] Hereupon he not only Restoreth them, but Demolisheth the Pillar Erected in Paris as a Standing Monument of their Treasons against their Sovereigns, yea, received them into his Bosom, giving them his Palace for their College, and (in a public Speech) saying, That they were Timothys in the House, Chrysostoms' in the Chair, and Augustins in the Schools, etc. But what was the Issue? Those Timothies proved Judas', those Chrysostoms', Cataline's, and those Augustins, Assassins': one of those Slaughter-Slaves Stabbed him in the Mouth, another in the Heart: Thus things, Men Fear, come upon them by trusting their own Politics more than God's Providence. Lastly, Other Nations, that have seen so little of their Wiles and Wickedness, have seen enough as not to trust them, as China itself. God forbidden that We who have Felt so much, should See so little as now to be Cheated with them, especially, after such a Chain of Providence linked together (on which we may Hang our Hope) for prevention thereof: In a Word, God's Word is his Will, and his Will is his Work, and neither Man nor Devil can Disappoint it: The good Lord give still more Evinceing Proofs of his Providence.   

The Scripture-Prophecy, Showing how the Church shall be Preserved to the End of the World. CHAP.  
XXXIV.  
HAving shown How it hath been with the Church from the Beginning of the World to this present time, let me now make a short-Inspection How it shall be with Her Until Time shall be no more, but turned into Eternity. A Narrative hereof cannot be Deduced out of any Chronicle or History, (either Civil, or Sacred) but out of the Apocalypse or Revelation, which Book is a Manifestation of many Mysteries by the Mediator to John, who had the Mind of Christ showed to him, that he might show it to the Church what things should shortly come to pass, Revel. 1. 1, 19, 20. and 4. 1. and 1 Cor. 2. 16. The Divine Project of John therein, is a Contiguous and Continued Prophecy of the Church's Progress through all Times after Christ to his 2d. Coming, as that of Daniel was before Christ to his 1st. Coming; both of them Divinely Declaring how God would preserve his Church in the Worst Times of Apostasy, both under Antiochus before Christ, and under Antichrist after Him, (as is aforesaid) and that in no Age, shall ever the Gates of Hell prevail against the Church, Matth. 16. 18. on which both their Books be a Conspicuous Comment.  
I have already shown how John's Seal-Prophecy, and his Trumpet-Prophecy, hath had their Exact Accomplishment in our foregoing Ages, and how Time (the best Expounder of Dark Prophecies) hath turned those abstruse Mysteries into plain and legible Histories. Now I come unto the Book-Prophecy that Ushers in the 7th. Trumpet, Revel. 10. 2, 7. and 11. 15. and the Seven Vials (having the Seven last Plagues) which are the several parts of that 7th. Trumpet, Chap. 15. 1, 7. Here (for brevity's sake) take those following Famous Remarks. The (1st.) is, The Church of God is always under some special Prophecy, Promise, and Providence, and therefore is her State so steadfast and Unmoveable, as the Mountains of Brass, Zech. 6.1. neither Men nor Devils can remove her, Psal. 125. 1, 2. The 2d. Remark, is, The Book (which made John Weep) is called, [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉] a Book of some Bulk and bigness, while it had all the Seven Seals upon it, and the great Concerns of the Six Trumpets within it, Rev. 5. 2. But now, when the Seal-Prophecy was Accomplished in its Events, as likewise Six parts of the Trumpet-Prophecy, 'tis called, [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,] the Word is a double Diminutive, signifying a little, little Book, or a very little Book, containing only the Seven last Plagues, whereby Gods last Wrath should be filled up on the Antichristian-State, and Time should be no longer for him, Rev. 10. 2, 6, 7. and 11. 15. and 15. 1. The 3d. Famous Remark, is, such is Christ's Compassion to his Church and Chosen, that in the worst of times he leaves her not comfortless, Joh. 14. 18. but Secures her (from Swooning) with Sovereign Cordials, as (1st.) He gave the Comforts of the Fifth Seal, and the Intercession of Christ, (giving Acceptance to that Prayer, Rev. 6. 10.) Ch. 8. 3. under the Evils of the former and following Seals. (2ly.) While the Church lay under the Wo-Trumpets, Christ gave the comforting Vision of Revel. the 10th, where the Church's Redeemer is Represented as supreme Lord of Sea and Land, and that he sets his Feet (as a Conqueror) upon the Neck of that Double-Beast, the Political (Rising out of the Earth) and the Ecclesiastical (Rising out of the Sea) Limiting the Time, and Finishing the Lease of that Mystery of Iniquity, and in the mean time Christ keeps his Right foot upon Antichrists Clergy, and his Left foot upon his Laity, so that all their Exploits are what Christ (not what Antichrist) Willeth, 3ly. Under the 3d. Wo-Trumpet, (where there is a Recounting of the Church's Evils both by the Beast and by the Dragon, Chap. 11. and 12. and 13. yet some Allays of Comfort are Annexed. Chap. 11. 14. &c and Ch. 14 2, 3, 12, 13. and Ch. 15. 3. The 4th. Remark, is, The little, little Book in the Hand of Christ, showeth, that he hath but a little more Work to do in the World after the Seal and Trumpet-Prophecies be fulfilled: Christ hath then but a few Things more to Accomplish, to wit, 1. The Calling and Conversion of the Jews. 2. A bringing in (at least a few more, or) the Fullness of the Gentiles. 3. The Pulling down of the Kingdom of Antichrist. 4. The Setting up his own Kingdom above all the Kingdoms of the World. Now the 3d. of these Works of Christ (the Destruction of the Beasts-Kingdom) must be done by the 7 last Plagues, so called, only because they are the last in this present Life (or perishing World) to be Inflicted, though there be far Worse Plagues reserved for the Branded Bondslaves of the Beast in Hell, and in the World to come: The Seven Golden Vials let's fall (as it were) only the Leaves of the Wrath of God, yet so, as gradually to Destroy them as with so many Hailstones shot at them; but the whole Trees thereof shall fall foul upon those Reprobates afterward, yet are those Vials called the last Plagues, because to be poured out in the last Age of the World, being the Third Period of Events, as the Seal-Prophecy was the first, and the Trumpet-Prophecy was the 2d. Period, and had Plagues therein, Chap. 9 20. And as the former Plagues Destroyed the Dragon and Rome-Heathen, Rev. 12. so those latter Plagues shall Destroy the Double Beast that rises out of the Ruins of the Dragon, to wit, Rome Antichristian, Rev. 16. yet his fall shall be gradual, as his rising, See for this at large, my Discovery of Antichrist, Chap. 8 and 9 The 5th. Memorable Remark, is, The pulling down of the Beasts Kingdom, which is the 3d. of those four few Works, etc. Herein the Series and Orders of the Vials, is very Observable, The first is poured out upon the Earth, that is, upon the Pope's Footstool, his Stigmatised Slaves, or Branded Vassals; This made them Sick of the Devil's Disease, to wit, Malice and Rage at the Reformation: The 2d. upon the Sea, that is, on the Popish Councils, (especially that of Trent) to which Prelates Ran as Rivers to the Sea, and Consulted how to Retard the Begun Reformation with their Deadly Decrees there, which occasioned many to Die to them, and to Cast off the Roman Yoke. The 3d. upon the Rivers, their Brackish Clergy, (which Corrupt the Sea of Rome) especially the Jesuits, who have Blood given them to Drink (by the Law of Nations) for they are Worthy, Rev. 16. 2, 3, 4, 6. The 4th. upon the Sun, the House of Austria, the Great Luminary of the Romish-Firmament, which being Incorporated with Spain, hath given Light and Sustentation to the Tottering Kingdom of the Beast; and not only so, but hath by the Indies Treasure aspired after the 5th. or Absolute Monarchy, (as France doth now,) but that Word of God, [There must be Ten Horns] waylays them, so that One Horn cannot lick up the Nine. And who cannot but Wonder to behold how much the Splendour of that Luminary is now Eclipsed by an Interposition, how the Legs, whereon the Image of Babel (or Babylonish Beast) standeth, do now Clash and Knock one against another; insomuch that the Christian (of France) hath got the Catholic (of Spain) under his Girdle, and at his Devotion; Yea, the Austrian Eagle gins to Truckle under him, so that the Kingdom of the Beast, [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉] is Darkened with a Scottish mist, Rev. 16. 8, 10. This makes them Gnaw their Tongues, Blaspheming, (as Faux did, when taken, saying, It was not God▪ but the Devil, that brought to light and to naught their Powder-Treason.) When the 5th. Vial is poured out [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉] upon the Throne of the Beast, (which the Dragon had given him, Rev. 13. 2.) this can be no other than Rome, for here Christ Speaks without a Parable, that then it may be Conspicuous to every common Eye, which of the Vials are past, and which to come, and what Vial we now Live under, is Doubtful; yet this is beyond Doubt, that as the 5th. Trumpet placed Antichrist in his Usurped Throne, Rev. 9 1. (with the Key of the Bottomless-Pit at his Girdle) so the 5th. Vial Dethrones him, though not Destroys him, for the Beast is reserved for a worse Ruin after his Throne (Rome) be Ruined, Ch. 17, and 18. His Throne or Seat (Rome) shall first be Ruined: This is so plain, both from the Sibyls Prophecy,  [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Tota eris in Cineres quasi nunquam Roma (fuisses.] 
And from the Universal consent of all Chronicles, that, though Rome while Heathen was never taken but by the Gauls, but since it became Antichristian, it hath been made a Prey to all barbarous Nations, and never was Besieged by any, who took it not; and assuredly it shall be taken again shortly to purpose. This is Confessed by some of the very Jesuits, (Bellarmin, Ribera, Alcazar, etc.) who begin to Prophecy, [De Romae Excidio, & de Papae Exilio.] of Rome's Ruin, and the Pope's Banishment from Rome. Ribera saith, that Rome [Non solum ob pristinam Impietatem, etc.] not only for her old Impiety, but also for her late Iniquity, shall be Destroyed with an Horrible Fire: this is so plain and evident, (saith He) that he must needs be a Fool that goes but about to deny it. Oh that God would put it into the Hearts of some of those Ten Kings, to Loath her and Burn her for an Old Stinking Bawd, as is Prophesied of her, Rev. 17. 16. Tota est jam Roma Lupanar; 'tis now become a great Brothel-House, having this Brand.  Roma Vale, Vidi, satis est Vidisse, Revertar, Cum Leno, aut Meretrix, scurra Cinaedus ●ro. 
Vile Rome Adieu, I did thee View,  
But Hence no more will see;  
Till Pimp or Punk, or Jade or Spade,  
I do Resolve to be.  
Charles the 5th. took it, and would have Burnt it, had not his Soldiers been restrained by an overruling Hand (because God's time was not then come) in the 15th. Century, Her Iniquity was not then full: And Lewis the 12th, of France (being Excommunicated by Pope Julius the 2d.) bid Defiance to his Holiness, and Coined Money with this Inscription, [Perdam Babylonem,] I will Destroy Babylon. How far further this present French-King. (Lewis the 14th.) God may put into his Heart to go, We yet know not, especially (1) If the concern of Casal (which is the Key into Italy, as Corinth is into Greece) do Revive and Succeed. (2) If France were the 1st of the Ten Horns, for which see my Discovery of Antichrist, pag. 158. (3) If Rev. 17. 16. be meant one of the Ten, Synecdochically, as Judg. 12. 7. 2. Chro. 35. 24. Matth. 27. 44. the Thiefs Mocked, that is, One of Thiefs, Luk. 23. 39 So Cities and Sepulchers, for one of the Cities and Sepulchers; then this Martial French-King stands fairest of all the Ten Horns in our Day to do to Rome what Attilas (that Scourge of the World) did, though (according to the Politics of France) he be now Rough to the Hugonots, as Joseph seemed to be to the Patriarches, Gen. 42. 7. His Severity against them may be only to Avoid Suspicion of Heresy. Hereupon the 5th. Vial is reassumed, and further and fullier explained in Revel. Chap. 17. and Ch. 18. in both which the Great Damnation of the Damnable Whore is Angelically and Evangelically Described; showing with much perspicuity (for the Earth was Lightened with that Angel's Glory, Revel. 18. 2.) how Christ will crush the Crown of that Proud Prelate of Rome with a Woe, as Isa. 28. 1. So that Ribera (the Jesuit) Confesseth Rome's Ruin shall be Manifest to all Men; whereof there was a fair Omen in Y. 1619. when Peter's Image (in Peter's Church at Rome) had a Massy Stone fell down upon it, and not only knocked the Keys out of the Image's Hands, but so Shattered the Image and its Inscription, that not a Letter (of that Sentence, whereon Rome Grounds her Claim) was left Legible, save only, [Aedisicabo Ecclesiam,] I will Build my Church, which might teach those Popelings, it shall be done on the Ruins of their Rotten Title. How much more shall the Romish Religion (which is but an Image, a mere Shadow and Ceremony) be Broken all to pieces, when the little Stone (cut out of the Mountain (of Heaven) without Hands) doth fall foul upon it, Dan. 2. 35. 44, 45. If Christ once fall upon Rome with his whole Weight, he will Crush it to pieces, yea, Grind it to Powder, Matth. 21. 44. The Elder Rome is, the base, as one of her own Sons (Theodoric Urias) said Y. 1414. sadly of her, That of Gold she was become Silver, of Silver Iron, of Iron Earth, [Superesse, ut in Stercus abiret,] She would turn next into Dung, to be cast out to the Dunghill; She is now come to her Toes of Clay, which while part of Iron did no less than Stagger. When Philip the Fair K. of France, (not many Ages since) broke open the Gates of Rome, Demolished the Walls, Dispersed the Cardinals and Citizens, yea, and Doomed the Pope to a Dark Dungeon, and Loading him there with many Scoffs and Curses: This was Boniface the 8th. in the 12th. Century: And the Realm of France not many Years since, was ready to Shake off the Papal Yoke, and to erect the Archbishop of Burges (as their proper Patriarch,) because Gregory the 14th. would not be Reconciled to Henry the 4th. of France, no, not when he turned to the Romish Religion; And had not the Pope hastened his Benediction, the Parliament of Paris (which Burnt the Pope's Bull by the Hands of the Hangman) had utterly withdrawn from the Vassalage of Rome: Yea, our King Henry the 8th. and the French-King, (a little before their Deaths) were at a point to change the Mass into a Communion, and to have Rooted out the Prelate of Rome out of both their Realms; and they were so throughly resolved herein, that they meant to require the Emperor's Concurrence, or otherwise to break off from his Alliance. Act. and Monum. Fol. 11 35. If Rome Staggered thus at that time, surely a cold Sweat stands upon all the Limbs of the Beast at this time, when his Toes of Clay cannot long Support him; and how far God may Honour this Realm toward Rome's Ruin, we know not, seeing it was the first that Shook off the Romish Yoke. However, as sure as Rome Heathen is Destroyed, so shall Rome Antichristian surely be, Christ (the true Jehoiada) will cast this Whore (Athaliah) out of the Temple, and Burn her for an Old Bawd, because she hath burnt the Seed-Royal, put down Kings at her pleasure, Usurped the Government of the Church, set up Altars and Images to Baalim and Ashtaroth, to He- and She-Saints, and called them Traitors who would set the Crown on Christ's Head, than all Saints will rejoice, 2 Chron. 23. 21. Revel. 18. 20. The 6th. Notable Remark, is, The 6th. Vial brings in Conversion to the Jews, as soon as the 5th. Vial doth bring on Confusion to the Popelings. The first of those Four few Works aforesaid, to wit, The Call of the Jews, which cannot be till Antichrists Seat be Destroyed; for nothing doth Stumble that poor People at Christianity, more than the Idolatry of those Mock-Christians the Romanists, (whom the very Turks, for their Image-Worship, call Idolaters, and therefore Abhors them for their Breach of the 2d. Commandment.) Hereupon Antichrist must be removed from his Throne, before the People of the God of Abraham be Converted. No sooner is the Euphrates of Mystical Babylon Dried up, (the Markets of Romish Merchandise must Fall, Kings will not be such Babies (as H. 8. said) as to let about Nine Tun of Gold go Yearly hence to Rome by Peter-pences, etc. and to lose their Points to be Lashed by the Pope as they had been, Revel. 18. 11. No Doubt but the 5th. Vial Drys up, and Diverts the Euphrates of Rome, (Tiber, Rome's River, being so named, as Rome is Babylon, both Mystically) in throwing down not only Rome (it self,) but also its Riches and Revenues. ☞ Hence may we Comfortably Hope, that the 5th. Vial is begun, inasmuch as the Heat of that Plague hath already Dried up many Golden Streams that ran to Rome out of all Popish Kingdoms, the Ten Horns of the Beast; but now (praised be the Lord) none of those Ten Kingdoms, (except Spain and Italy) but they have all (more or less) Diverted the Euphrates of Rome, and turned the Vast Riches and Revenues (that ran Yearly thither) towards the Maintenance of Godly Schools and Gospel-preaching; when Literal Babylon had a Drought upon her Waters, Jerem. 50. 38. and her Passages were stopped, Jerem. 51. 32. She was taken soon after, accordingly Rome (that Mystical Babylon) shall shortly be Sacked and Ransacked, this being a forerunner of it.  
But still Christ hath the Eastern Antichrist (the Turk) to Tread down Under the 6th. Vial, which produceth Three Grand Effects: (1.) The Drying up of Euphrates. 2. The Warlike Preparation by the Influence of the Jesuits, those Frogs, coming out of the Mouths of the Dragon, Beast, and False Prophet, Revel. 16. 12, 13. (3.) The Destruction of the Church's Enemies by Christ, v. 16. 'Tis True, all the Vials do Concern the Beasts Kingdom, yet not only so; some think that the Western Antichrist (upon the Ruin of Rome by the 5th. Vial) shall run to the Eastern Antichrist (the Turk) for Succour, and Gog (the Pope) or Covert Enemy of Christ, shall join with Magog (the Turk,) or the Overt and open Enemy, as the Two Names do signify; Therefore the 6th. Vial is poured out upon Euphrates, or Turkish Empire, to Dry it up so far, that another Army of New Christians (the Converted Jews) may make War against the Beast also; Their Conversion is Hindered by a Double Barr. 1. The Pope's Idolatry. 2. The Turks Insolency: Now as the 5th. Trumpet brought on the former bar, so the 5th. Vial takes it off: and as the 6th. Trumpet set on the latter bar, (by losing the Turk from Euphrates, Revel. 9 14.) so the 6th. Vial carries it off, by drying up his Euphrates or Empire, that the way of the Jews may be open to Christianity, to Canaan, and to the Battle at Armageddon. Here ☞ Note (1) the Jews are called Kings of the East: 1. Christ maketh all Christians to be Kings in general, Rev. 1.6. but 2. Those Converted Jews in special, Isa. 24. 21, 22, 23. Where (upon their Conversion) they are called Kings. 3. Then shall the Kingdom of Christ be most Gloriously Erected among them, Zech. 12. 8. and they Reign with Christ, Zech. 14.6, 7. Isa. 60.20. and 62. 1, 2, 3. [of the East,] because they (most) live there, in Turkey, Tartary, (the Ten Tribes especially,) and China, which is called the Land of Sinim, Isa. 49. 12. or Shinar, Zech. 5 11. (2) That the Jews shall be Converted in the latter Age, both Old and New Testam. foretell it; this must be under the 6th. Vial, for under the 7th. Vial, [Alderman is Done, Rev, 16. 17. both the Mystery of Iniquity is Abolished, and the Mystery of Godliness is then Accomplished. 2. Their Conversion is Described with the same Phrase of Drying up the River, Isa. 11. 15, 16. (3) The Hebrew Phrases, (used here and no where else) as Armageddon, Rev. 16. 16. and Allelujah, Rev. 19 1, 3, 4, 6. (where the 6th. Vial is reassumed and further explained) doth show, that the Jews are come in and joins with the Christian Gentiles in praising God for the Ruin of Rome, Christ Commands to praise God for it, Ch. 18. 20. the Gentile-Churches do readily Obey, and cry with a great Voice, [Hallelujah,] Chap. 19 1. This Awakens the Dull Daughters of Jerusalem, (especially the Voice of the Lamb, ver. 5.) to seek their Beloved with them, Cant. 5. 9 and 6. 1. Then comes the Jewish Church out of her opened Grave, Ezek. 37. 12. As the Morning, (out of the East, and after a long Night) Cant. 6. 10. out of Her Wilderness: She is somewhat Moved and Mollified by the Two first Hallelujahs, v. 1. 3. but more by the 3d. wherein the 4 living Wights, and the 24 Elders jointly and publicly sounded their Hallelujah, v. 4. yet most of all by the Lamb's Voice was she roused and raised from the Dead; 'twas Christ that did powerfully pull the Veil from off her Heart, v. 5. so that now she joins with the Gentile-Churches in the 4th. Hallelujah, to Concelebrate that great Mercy of Rome's Ruin, (whose Idolatry had long been her Stumbling-block.) Now all the Saints (Jew and Gentile) join with one Consent to Praise the Lord, v. 6. Hence 'tis called the Voice of a great Multitude of many Waters, and of mighty Thunders. Thus the Believing Gentiles do all they are able to bring Christ into their Mother's House, (the Jewish Church,) Cant. 3. 4. The Gentile Church was Conceived in the Chambers of the Jewish, Joh. 4. 22. And now the Jewish Church (after a long Divorce) hath the Robes of a Bride bestowed on her, Chap. 19.8. that in Conjunction with the Gentile Church, both may be Married to the Lamb; and because Christ will not Marry this New Bride, but as a Conqueror, therefore is his Conquest Related after the Conqueror is Described, v. 11, 20. Christ Drew his Sword, when he began his War against the Cursed Canaanites, Josh. 5. 13, 14. and he will never put up his Drawn Sword till he hath made all his Foes his Footstool. The Dragon cannot prevail against Michael our Prince, Rev. 12. 8. Here the Beast (that bears the Whore) is Taken, (notwithstanding all his Fraud and Force) and with him the False Prophet, and both cast Alive into the Lake of Fire that burneth with Brimstone, (which is the most exquisite and most unquenchable burning) Rev. 19 19, 20. The Beast (in respect of his Civil or Temporal power) and the False Prophet, (in respect of his Spiritual or Ecclesiastic power) makes up one Antichrist, whom Christ, as soon as he comes into the Field, Conquers, [Venit, Vidit, Vicit.] Catches, Casts him away with Indignation, yea, comes upon him as out of an Engine, while he is most Secure and Insulting, (when he saith, I sit as a God, and shall see no sorrow, Ch. 18. 7.) and hurls him Headlong into Hell, where he shall have Burning for Burning; as he hath burnt Alive many of God's Martyrs with a Temporal fire, so he shall be burnt alive (himself) with Eternal fire. And the Kings (that are Antichrist's Auxiliaries with their Arms) shall be slain with the Sword, v. 21. at Armageddon, (which signifies a Treacherous Army, or an Unfortunate Troop, or rather, a Mountain of Men cut in pieces, as Sisera's Army was at the Waters of Megiddo, Judg. 5.19.) Revel. 16.16. These are not so Deeply Damned as the Beast, etc. yet are they made a Prey to the Infernal Praetors. The 7th. Memorable Remark, is, the 7th. Vial, which is poured out upon the Air, that is, on the Kingdom of Satan that Prince of the Air, who had hitherto Upheld the Beasts Kingdom. Now, It is Done, Ch. 16, 17. to wit, the Dragon's or Devil's Deputy (Antichrist, Chap. 13.2.) is Undone and utterly Destroyed; Note (1.) the Instruments of this Destruction, Heaven and Earth Conspire together for that Work, v. 18. (2) The Object of this Destruction is the whole Antichristian Church and State, ver. 19 the 10th. part whereof is said to fall at the Rise of the Witnesses, Ch. 11.13. here the Nine parts remaining do fall in a Tripartite Ruin, This Earthquake pulls it all into Three pieces, and all Confederate Places and People are either Converted or Confounded, whether Continent Countries or Islands, See Ezek. 5. 11, 12. Zech. 14.4, 5. some may Flee away, v. 20. and Chap. 18.4. by true Penitency; but such as remain in their Stubborn Impenitency, Christ will Brain them (with bigger Hailstones than those Josh. 10. each of them being an 100 Weight, v. 21.) or those that knocked down the Jesuits Church at Blois in France, yet marvellously passed over the Protestant Church there without the least Harm, as Exod. 9 25. or bigger than those which fell here this 18th. of May, which knocked so many Rooks on the Head, etc.) That the Prophecy of the 7th. Vial (poured out on the Air) is Reassumed in Revel. 20. (as the 5th. and 6th. Vials are, Ch. 17.18, 19) hath the common consent of the Learned, though many of them do conceive 'tis no more than an Historical Repetition of things formerly done; yet we may (with many others) as probably Conclude that it is a Prophetic Relation of things to come; Considering (1) the Connexion of this Vision, Chap. 20. with the former, Ch. 19 19, 20, 21. John saith [And (or Afterwards) I saw, etc. Ch. 20. 1. to wit, After I had seen the Beast and the False Prophet cast into the Lake, than had I this following Vision. (2) 'Tis rational to expect the Doom of the Dragon or Devil, after the Doom of the Beast, who was but the Devil's Deputy, Rome (both Imperial and Papal) Acting all by and under the Dragon, Revel. 13. 3. Christ (indeed) fought with the Dragon and Foiled him, Ch. 12. whereupon he Resigns his Throne and Power to the Beast, (which did his Master's work throughly) Ch. 13. till the Lamb conquered and cast him into the Lake, Chap. 19 Till then the Dragon was not only a Spectator, but also an Instigator, Hissing on the Beast to his Beastly Work, till he got his Beastly Wages, Slaughter at last. Now after the Judgement of the Beast, comes that of the Dragon, the Master of his Misrule. (3) As the 5th. Vial is Reassumed to declare the Ruin of Rome more fully after, Ch. 17. 18. and the 6th. Vial, that of the Beast, after that, Ch. 19 So this 7th. that of the Dragon, (who set them on work) Ch. 20. for it would be Improper to relate so largely the Ruin of the Instruments, and to say nothing of the Principal Agent: Our Michael hath something to say to and do with the Devil, (as well as to and with Antichrist) to wit, (1) Something before the 1000 Y. when a gradual Doom is Executed upon him: as 1st. Christ in fury Arrests the same Dragon whom he had cast into the Earth before, Rev. 12. 9 2ly. He Chains him up, as Men do mad Mastiffs, for a long time. 3ly. He claps him close Prisoner in the Abyss, which before he feared, Luk. 8. 31. and 4ly. He set a Seal upon him, as Dan. 6. 17. and Matth. 27. last. that his Range abroad might not Molest Christ's Reign for a 1000 Y. Rev. 20. 1, 2, 3. ☞ Where the Church hath as good Security for a long-lasting Tranquillity, as Christ (who keeps the Ensureing Office) can possibly give her. (2) Something after the 1000 Y. when he was loosed for a little season, v. 3.7. to Engage Gog and Magog (or all covert and overt Enemies) in a War against the Church, v. 8, 9 then Fire from Heaven falls upon the Devil's Army, and consumes them in the very Attempt, and the Devil (himself) is Arrested the 2d time, and then cast into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone, (whither the Beast and False Prophet were cast before) there to be Tormented for ever, whence he shall never any more be loosed to Torment the Church after this: Thus as the Plots against the Church did begin in the Devil, Ch. the 1st. of this Church-History, so they all End in and with the Devil in this: The Gates of Hell cannot prevail against Her; When Pope, Turk and Devil, are all gone and in Torments, The Church (that New Jerusalem, consisting of the Converted Jews, and Fullness of the Gentiles) remains after All in a Flourishing State, and is Married as a Bride to the Lamb, Rev. 21.7, 22. where the Triumphant Estate of the Church (after her Militant Estate, at the Destruction of all her Enemies, is ended) is most Graphically Described, 1st. Generally, 1. by things seen, as a New (1) Heaven, (2) New Earth, Ch. 21. 1. (3) New Jerusalem, Descending from Heaven, v. 2. and 10. 2. By things Herd, as (1) of God's Presence with Men, v. 3. (2d.) of removing all fears and tears, v. 4. (3d.) of making all things new, v. 5. 2ly. More particularly, the Transcendent Glory of the Church hath a most Exact and Special Delineation, as (1st.) her Advancement above all Hills, ver. 9 10, 11. Isa. 2. 2, (2ly.) her Dimensions of Longitude and Latitude, etc. v. 12, to 17. (3ly.) her rich Materials of Gold and Jewels, v. 9, to 22. (4ly.) The Confluence of the Gentiles to this New Jerusalem, v. 24, 26. Isa. 60. 3, etc. (5ly.) The Affluence and plenty of all things that may make the Church-State Happy, Typifyed (1) by the River of living Water, Ch. 22. 1. (2) by the Tree of Life, (a Type of Christ) that beareth Fruit every Month, v. 2. (6ly.) The Perpetuity of this Happy Estate, which is Illustrated 1st. by a freedom from all Evil, not only from Sorrow, Death, etc. Ch. 21.4. but also 1. from Danger, v. 25. 2. from Sin, v. 27. and 3. from the Curse, Ch. 22. 3. and 2ly. by a Fruition of all Good; as 1. an Immediate Communion with God and Christ, who will be 1. a Temple. 2. a Light, (Ch. 21.22, 23.) 3. A Throne (Ch. 22. 1, 3.) to this Holy City; 2. A Beatifical Vision of both, They shall see the face, etc. v. 4. As the former Evils had disturbed, so those Good Privileges will Preserve the Church's peace to perpetuity. 3. yea, Reign for Ever, ver. 5. Finally, Those few Remarks shall shut up the Whole.  
☞ The (1st.) is, The marvellous Manifestation of Christ's love to his Church, in Revealing to her [the Fata Ecelesiae] all that should befall her in all Ages to the end of the World, this he doth as her Prophet and Mediator, Ch. 22. 16.  
2ly. That what Christ Revealed herein should be Written [Litera Scripta Manet,] for the Church's Comfort at Christ's command, Chap. 21. 5. and 14. 13. and 19.9. The Spouse hath the Heart-love of Christ with her, better than Dalilah had Samsons, Judg. 16. 15. and therefore she shall know (even out of his Father's Bosom, Joh. 1. 18.) all that is in his Heart, and have it also Under his Hand upon Record, as Her Cordial always.  
3ly. That this Writing must not be Shut up, or Sealed, (as daniel's was, Dan. 8. 26. and 12. 4, 9 till 300 Y. after) for Sealing is concealing, but here John is bid, Not to Seal this Prophecy, (as he had the Seven Thunders, Revel. 10. 4.) Chap 22. 10. because the Time was at Hand, and All this he must not Monopolise to himself, but Show them to Christ's Servants, Rev. 1. 1.  
4ly. This Prophecy is Faithful and True in all its parts, Ch. 22. 6. as much as the History (from Genesis to this Revelation) is, and as sure as the former part of this Prophecy (in the Seals and Trumpets) is performed already, so sure shall the latter part (of the Vials, and of the Bride's Marriage) be Accomplished also; The Scripture-Testimony of itself is true.  
5ly. This Prophecy Symbolizeth with that of Ezekiel, who (in his latter End) hath a Resurrection, Ezek. 37. a Gog and Magog, Chap. 38, and 39 and a New Jerusalem, Ch. 40, and forward: So in the latter end of the Revelation, There is a Resurrection, Ch. 20. 5. a Gog and Magog, v. 8. and a New jerusalem, Ch. 21, and 22. And as sure as that was fulfilled (in part) by Ezra, etc. so shall this be.  
6ly. This Book, as it was last Writ, so it contains a Revelation of the whole will of God, concerning the Riches of the Church, as well as the Ruin of all her Enemies: as 'tis said of the latter, [It is Done,] Rev. 16.17. All the Church's Foes are Undone by the 7th. Vial; So, of the former, [It is Done,] Ch. 21.6. As to the Riches and Reward of the Righteous, Christ Swore, that Time should be no longer, Ch. 10.6, 7. to wit, of Delaying (beyond the 7th. Trumpet) the Execution of those Divine Mysteries, (1) the Call of the jews, Rom. 11.25. (2) the Fullness of the Gentiles, Eph. 3.3, 4, 6. (3) the Kingdom of the Saints, Dan. 7.18. Rev. 20.4. & 22.5. (4) All Kingdoms of the World become Christ's, Ch. 11.15.  
7ly. As we are not to expect any New Revelation, (no more than any New Gospel) so we ought only to believe and pray for the Accomplishment of all that is revealed, being assured (from Truth itself, Rev. 1.5.) that (1) ●he who was the Alpha to confound the 1st. Plot, Gen. 3. will be the Omega to conquer the last, Rev. 22.13. (2) the Kings of the Earth, that gave their power to the Beast, shall bring their Glory to the Church. Rev. 17.13. and 21.24. (3) The Bride's Feast and Felicity shall be, either in Heaven as Piscator, or on Earth, as Alsted, or in both, as Perkins say: 'tis good in either place, Refer that to God, making a Common and Constant Cry, Come Lord Jesus, come quickly, to Accomplish all that is Vnaccomplished, 1 Thes. 1.10. Rev. 22.20, 21.   
FINIS.   

BOOKS Published BY THE AUTHOR.  

1. THe Crown and Glory of a Christian.  
2. A Christian's Walk and Work on Earth, till he come to Heaven.  
3. A Protestant-Antidote against the Poison of Popery.  
4. A Crystal Mirror, or Christian-Looking-Glass; discovering the Treason and Treachery of the Heart.  
5. A Distinct Discourse and Discovery of the Person and Period of Antichrist.  
6. This Complete and Compendious Church-History.