Period III, Part II: How Christ Accomplished This Success

Now proceed to show how he accomplished this success. And here I would observe, that this success consists in two things, viz. either in Grace, or in Glory. That success which consists in the former, is to be seen in those works of God which are wrought during those ages of the church wherein the church is continued under the outward means of Grace. That success which consists in the latter of these, viz. Glory, has its chief accomplishment at the day of judgment.

Section I.

I woutp first consider the former kind of success, consisting in God’s grace here; which mainly appears in the works of God during the time that the Christian church continues under the means of grace; which is from Christ’s resurrection to his appearing in the clouds of heaven to judgment; which includes the three former of those great events of providence before mentioned, which are called Christ’s coming in his kingdom. In speaking of this success, I would,

1. Mention those things by which the means of this success were established after Christ’s resurrection: and, 2. Consider the success itself.

§ L I would consider those dispensations of providence, by which the means of this success were established after Christ’s resurrection.

I. The abolishing of the Jewish dispensation. This indeed was gradually done, but it began from the time of Christ’s resurrection, in which the abolition of it is founded. This was the first thing done towards bringing the former state of the world to an end. This is to be looked upon as the great means of the success of Christ’s redemption. For the Jewish dispensation was not fitted for more than one nation: it was not fitted for the practice of the world in general, or for a church of God dwelling in all parts of the world: nor would it have been in any wise practicable by them: it would have been impossible for men living in all parts of the world to go to Jerusalem three times a year, as was prescribed in that constitution. When therefore God had a design of enlarging his church, as he did after Christ’s resurrection, it was necessary that this dispensation should be abolished. If it had been continued, it would have been a great block and hinderance to the enlargement of the church. And besides, their ceremonial law, by reason of its burdensomeness, and the great peculiarity of some of its rites, was as it were a wall of partition, and was the ground of enmity between the Jews and Gentiles, and would have kept the Gentiles from complying with the true religion. This wall therefore was broken down to make way for the more extensive success of the gospel; as Eph. ii. 14, 15.

Il. The next thing in order of time seems to be the appointment of the Christian Sabbath. For though this was gradually established in the Christian church, yet those things by which the revelation of God’s mind and will was made, began on the day of Christ’s resurrection, by his appearing then to his disciples, John xx. 19. and was afterwards confirmed by his appearing from time to time on that day rather than any other, John xx. 26. and by his sending down the Holy Spirit so remarkably on that day, Acts ii. 1. and afterwards in directing that public assemblies and the public worship of Christians should be on that day, which may be concluded from Acts xx. 7. 1 Cor. xvi. 1, 2. and Rev. i. 10. And

a 20 so the day of the week on which Christ rose from the dead, that joyful day, is appointed to be the day of the church’s holy rejoicing to the end of the world, and the day of their stated public worship. And ‘this is a very great and principall means of the success which the gospel has had in the world.

Ill. The next thing was Christ’s appointment of the gospel ministry, and commissioning and sending forth his apostles to teach and baptize all nations. Of these things we have an account in Matt. xxviii. 19, 20. “Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” — There were three things done by this one instruction and commission of Christ to his apostles, viz.

1. The appointment of the office of the gospel ministry. For this commission which Christ gives to his apostles, in the most essential parts of it, belongs to all ministers; and the apostles, by virtue of it, were ministers or elders of the church.

2. Here is something peculiar in this commission of the apostles, viz. to go forth from one nation to another, preaching the gospel in all the world. The apostles had something above what belonged to their ordinary character as ministers; they had an extraordinary power of teaching and ruling, which extended to all the churches; and not only all the churches which then were, but all that’should be to the end of the world by their ministry. And so the apostles were, as it were, in subordination to Christ, made foundations of the Christian church. See Kph. ii. 20. and Rev. xxi. 14.

3. Here is an appointment of Christian baptism. This ordinance indeed had a beginning before; John the Baptist and Christ both baptized. But now especially by this institution is it established as an ordinance to be upheld in the Christian church to the end of the world. — The ordinance of the Lord’s supper had been established before, just before Christ’s crucifixion.

IV. The next thing to be observed, is the enduing the apostles, and others, with extraordinary and miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghost; such as the gift of tongues, the gift of healing, of prophecy, &c. The Spirit of God was poured out in great abundance in this respect; so that not only ministers, but a very great part of the Christians through the world were endued with them, both old and young; not only officers, and more honourable persons, but the meaner sort of people, servants and handmaids, were commonly endued with them, agreeable to Joel’s prophecy, Joel ii. 28, 29. of which prophecy the Apostle Peter takes notice, that it is accomplished in this dispensation, Acts ii. L1.

How wonderful a dispensation was this! Under the Old Testament, but few had such honours put upon them by God. Moses wished that all the Lord’s people were prophets, Num. xi. 29. whereas Joshua thought it much that Eldad and Medad prophesied. But now we find the wish of Moses fulfilled. And this continued in a very considerable degree to the end of the apostolic age, or the first hundred years after the birth of Christ, which is therefore called the age of miracles.

This was a great means of the success of the gospel in that age, and of establishing the Christian church in all parts of the world; and not only in that age, but in all ages to the end of the world: for Christianity being by this means established through so great a part of the known world by miracles, it was after that more easily continued by tradition; and then, by means of these extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost, the apostles, and others, were enabled to write the New Testament, to be an infallible rule of faith and manners to the church to the end of the world. And furthermore, these miracles stand recorded in those writings as a standing proof and evidence of the truth of the Christian religion to all ages.

V. The next thing I would observe is the revealing those glorious doctrines of the gospel fully and plainly, which had under the Old Testament been obscurely revealed. The doctrine of Christ’s satisfaction and righteousness, his ascension and glory, and the way of salvation, under the Old Testament, were in a great measure hid under the veil of types and shadows and more obscure revelations, as Moses put a veil on his face to hide the shining of it; but now the veil of the temple is rent from the top to the bottom; and Christ, the antitype of Moses, shines: the shining of his face is without a veil; 2 Cor. iii. 12, 13, & 18. Now these glorious mysteries are plainly revealed, which were in a great measure kept secret from the foundation of the world, Eph. iii. 3, 4, 5. Rom. xvi. 25. “According to the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest;” and, Col. i. 26.

Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages, and generations, but now is made manifest to his saints.”.

Thus the Sun of Righteousness, after it is risen from under the earth, begins to shine forth clearly, and not only by a dim reflection as it did before. Christ, before his death, revealed many things more clearly than ever they had been revealed in the Old Testament; but the great mysteries of Christ’s redemption, and reconciliation by his death, and justification by his righteousness, were not so plainly revealed before Christ’s resurrection. Christ gave this reason for it, that he would not put new wine into old bottles; and it was gradually done after Christ’s resurrection. In al) likelihood, Christ much more clearly instructed them personally after his resurrection, and before his ascension, as we read that he continued with them forty days, speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom, Acts i. 3. and that “he opened their understandings, that they might understand the scriptures,” Luke xxiv. 45. But the clear revelation of these things was principally after the pouring out of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, agreeable to Christ’s promise, John xvi. 12, 13. “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit, when the Spirit of truth is come, he shall guide you into all truth.” This clear revelation of the mysteries of the. gospel, as they are delivered, we have chiefly through the hands of the Apostle Paul, by whose writings a child may come to know more of the doctrines of the gospel, in many respects, than the greatest prophets knew under the darkness of the Old Testament.

Thus we see how the light of the gospel, which began to dawn immediately after the fall, and gradually grew and increased through all the ages of the Old Testament, as we observed as we went along, is now come to the light of perfect day, and the brightness of the sun shining forth in his unveiled glory.

VI, The next thing that I would observe, is the appointment of the office of deacons in the Christian church, which we have an account of in the 6th chapter of the Acts, to take care for the outward supply of the members of Christ’s church, and the exercise of that great Christian virtue of charity.

VIL. The calling, and qualifying, and sending the Apostle Paul. This was begun in his conversion as he was going to Damascus, and was one of the greatest ‘Leans of the success of Christ’s redemption that followed: for this success was more by the labours, preaching, and writings of this Apostle, than all the other apostles put together. For, as he says, Cor. xv. 10. he “laboured more abundantly than they all;” so his success was more abundant than that of them all. As he was the apostle of the Gentiles, so it was mainly by his ministry that the Gentiles were called, and the gospel spread through the world; and our nation, and the other nations of Europe, have the gospel among them chiefly through his means; and he was more employed by the Holy Ghost in revealing the glorious doctrines of the gospel by his writings, for the use of the church in all ages, than all the other apostles taken together.

VU. The next thing I would observe, is the institution of ecclesiastical councils, for deciding controversies, and ordering the affairs of the church of Christ, of which we have an account in the 15th chapter of Acts.

IX. The last thing I shall mention under this head, is the committing the New Testament to writing. This was all written after the resurrection of Christ; and all written either by the apostles, or by the evangelists, who were companions of the apostles. All the New Testament was written by the apostles themselves, excepting what was written by Mark and Luke, viz. the gospels of Mark and Luke, and the book of the Acts of the Apostles. He that wrote the gospel of Mark, is supposed to be he whose mother was Mary, in whose house they were praying for Peter, when he, brought out of prison by the angel, came and knocked at the door; of which we read, Acts xii. 12. “And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together, praying.” He was the companion of the apostles Barnabas and Saul: Acts xv. 37. “And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was

Mark.” He was Barnabas’s sister’s son, and seems sometimes to have been a companion of the Apostle Paul: Col. iv. 10. “Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner,

saluteth you, and Marcus, sister’s son to Barnabas; touching whom ye received commandment: if he come unto you, receive him.” The apostles seem to have made great account of him, as appears by those places, and also by Acts xii. 25. “And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark;” and Acts xiii. 5. “And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews; and they had also John to their minister;” and, 2 Tim. iv. 11. ‘Only Luke is with me: take Mark and bring him with thee; for he is profitable to me for the ministry.”

This Luke, who wrote the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts, was a great companion of the Apostle Paul. He is spoken of as being with him in the last mentioned place, and speaks of himself as accompanying him in his travels in the history of the Acts; and therefore he speaks in the first person plural, when speaking of Paul’s travels, saying, We went to such and such a place; We set sail; We launched from such a place; and landed at such a place. He was greatly beloved by the Apostle Paul: he is that beloved physician spoken of, Col. iv. 14. The Apostle ranks Mark and Luke among his fellow labourers, Philemon, 24. “Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, Lucas, my fellow labourers.”

The rest of the books were all written by the apostles themselves. The books of the New Testament are either historical, or doctrinal, or prophetical. The historical books are the writings of the four evangelists, giving us the history of Christ, and his purchase of redemption, and his resurrection and ascension; and the Acts of the Apostles, giving an account of the great things by which the Christian church was first established and propagated. The doctrinal books are the epistles. These, most of them, we have from the great Apostle Paul. And we have one prophetical book, which takes place after the end of the history of the whole Bible, and gives an account of the great events which were to come to pass by which the work of redemption was to be carried on to the end of the world.

All these books are supposed to have been written before the destruction of Jerusalem, excepting those which were written by the Apostle John, who lived the longest of all the apostles, and wrote what he wrote after the destruction of Jerusalem, as is supposed. And to this beloved disciple it was that Christ revealed those wonderful things which were to come to pass in his church to the end of time; and he was the person that put the finishing hand to the canon of the scriptures, and sealed the whole of it. So that now the canon of scripture, that great and standing written rule, which was begun about Moses’ time, is completed and settled, and a curse denounced against him that adds any thing to it, or diminishes any thing from it. And so all things are established and completed which relate to the appointed means of grace. All the stated means of grace were finished in the apostolical age, or before the death of the Apostle John, and are to remain unaltered to the day of judgment.

Thus far we have considered those things by which the means of grace were given and established in the Christian church.

§ Il. The other thing proposed relating to the success of Christ’s redemption during the church’s continuance under means of grace, was to show how this success was carried on; which is what I would now proceed to do.

And here it is worthy to be remembered, that the Christian church, during its continuance under the means of grace, is in two very different states.

1. In a suffering, afflicted, persecuted state, as, for the most part it is, from the resurrection of Christ until the fall of Antichrist.:

2. In a state of peace and prosperity; which is the state that the church, for the most part, is to be in after the fall of Antichrist.

First, I would show how the success of Christ’s redemption is carried on during the continuance of the church’s suffering state, from the resurrection of Christ to the fall of Antichrist. This space of time, for the most part, is a state of the church’s sufferings, and is so represented in scripture. Indeed God is pleased, out of love and pity to his elect, to grant many intermissions of the church’s sufferings during this time, whereby the days of tribulation are as it were shortened. But from Christ’s resurrection until the fall of Antichrist, is the appointed day of Zion’s troubles. During this space of time, for the most part, some part or other of the church is under persecution; and great part of the time, the whole church, or at least the generality of God’s people, have been persecuted.

For the first three hundred years after Christ, the church was for the most part in a state of great affliction, the object of reproach and persecution; first by the Jews, and then by the heathen. After this, from the be. ginning of Constantine’s time, the church had rest and prosperity for a little while; which is represented in Rev. vii. at the beginning, by the augel’s holding the four winds for a little while. But presently after, the church again sufferd persecution from the Arians; and after that, Antichrist rose, and the church was driven away into the wilderness, and was kept down in obscurity, and contempt, and suffering, for a long time, under Antichrist, before the reformation by Luther and others. And since the Reformation, the church’s persecutions have been beyond all that ever were before. And though some parts of God’s church sometimes have had rest, yet to this day, for the most part, the true church is very much kept under by its enemies, and some parts of it under grievous persecution; and so we may expect it will continue until the fall of Antichrist; and then will come the appointed day of the church’s prosperity on earth, the set time in which God will favour Zion, the time when the saints shall not be kept under by wicked men, as it has been hitherto; but wherein they shall be uppermost, and shall reign on earth, as it is said, Rev. v. 10. “And the kingdom shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High,” Dan. vii. 27.

This suffering state of the church is in scripture represented as a state of the church’s travail, John xvi. 20, 21. and Rev. xii. 1, 2. What the church is in travail striving to bring forth during this time, is that glory and prosperity of the church which shall be after the fall of Antichrist, and then shall she bring forth her child. This is a long time of the church’s trouble and affliction, and is so spoken of in scripture, though it be spoken of as being but for a little season, in comparison of the eternal prosperity of the church. Hence the church, under the long continuance of this affliction, cries out, as in Rev. vi. 10. “How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?” And we are told, that “white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also, and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.” So, Dan. xii. 6. “How long shall it be to the end of these wonders 1”

It is to be observed, that during the time of these sufferings of the church, the main instrument of their sufferings has been the Roman government: her afflictions have almost all along been from Rome. That is therefore in the New Testament called Babylon; because, as of old the troubles of the city Jerusalem were mainly from that adverse city Babylon, so the troubles of the Christian church, the spiritual Jerusalem, during the long time of its tribulation, is mainly from Rome. Before the time of Constantine, the troubles of the Chrislian church were from heathen Rome: since that time, its troubles have been mainly from Antichristian Rome. And as of old, the captivity of the Jews ceased on the destruction of Babylon, so the time of. the trouble of the Christian church will cease with the destruction of the church of Rome, that spiritual Babylon.

In showing how the success of Christ’s redemption is carried on, during this time of the church’s tribulation, I would,

1. Show how it was carried on until the destruction of Jerusalem, with which ended the first great dispensation of Providence which is called Christ’s coming in his kingdom.

2. How it was carried on from thence to the destruction of the heathen empire in the time of Constantine, which is the second dispensation called Christ’s coming.

3. How it was carried on from thence to the destruction of Antichrist, when will be accomplished the third great event called Christ’s coming, and with which the days of the church’s tribulation and travail end.

[.. I would show how the success of Christ’s purchase of redemption was carried on from Christ’s resurrection to the destruction of Jerusalem. In speaking of this, I would, 1. Take notice of the success itself; and, 2. The opposition made against it by the enemies of it; and, 3. The terrible judgments of God on those enemies,

1. I would observe the success itself. Soon after Christ had finished the purchase of redemption, and was gone into heaven, and entered into the holy of holies with his own blood, there began a glorious success of what he had done and suffered. Having undermined the foundation of Satan’s kingdom, it began to fallapace. Swiftly did it hasten to ruin in the world, which might well be compared to Satan’s falling like lightning from heaven. Satan before had exalted his throne very high in this world, even to the very stars of heaven, reigning with great glory in his heathen Roman empire: but never before had he such a downfall as he had soon after Christ’s ascension. He had, we may suppose, been very lately triumphing in a supposed victory, having brought about the death of Christ, which he doubtless gloried in as the greatest feat that ever he did; an probably imagined he had totally defeated God’s design by him. But he was quickly made sensible, that he had only beer ruining his own kingdom, when he saw it tumbling so fast so soon after, as a consequence of the death of Christ. for Christ, by his death, having purchased the Holy Spirit, and having ascended, and received the Spirit, he poured it forth abundantly for the conversion of thousands and millions of souls.

Never had Christ’s kingdom been so set up in the world. ‘There probably were more souls converted in the age of the apostles than had been before from the beginning of the world until that time. Thus God so soon begins gloriously to accomplish his promise to his Son, wherein he had promised, that he should see his seed, and that the pleasure of the Lord should prosper in his hand, if he would make his soul an offering for sin. And,

(1.) Here is to be observed the success which the gospel had among the Jews: for God first began with them. He being about to reject the main body of that people, first calls in his elect from among them, before he forsook them, to turn to the Gentiles. It was so in former great and dreadful judgments of God on that nation: the bulk of them were destroyed, and only a remnant saved, or reformed. So it was in the rejection of the ten tribes, long before this rejection: the bulk of the ten tribes were rejected, when they left the true worship of God in Jeroboam’s time, and afterwards more fully in Ahab’s time. But yet there was a remnant of them that God reserved. A number left their possessions in these tribes, and went and settled in the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. And afterwards there were seven thousand in Ahab’s time, who had not bowed the knee to Baal. And so, in the captivity into Babylon, only a remnant of them ever returned to their own land. And so now again, by far the greater part of the people were rejected entirely, but some few were saved. And therefore the Holy Ghost compares this reservation of a number that were converted by the preaching of the apostles, to those former remnants: Rom. ix. 27. “Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved.” See Isa. x. 22.:

The glorious success of the gospel among the Jews after Christ’s ascension, began by the pouring out of the Spirit upon the day of Pentecost, of which we read in Acts ii. So wonderful was this pouring out of the Spirit, and so remarkable and swift the effect of it, that we read of three thousand who were converted to the Christian faith in one day, Acts ii. 41. And probably the greater part of these were savingly converted. And after this, we read of God’s adding to the church daily such as should be saved, ver. 47. And soon after, we read, that the number of them were about five thousand. Thus were not only a multitude converted, but the church was then eminent in piety, as appears by Acts ii. 46, 47, and iv. 32.

Thus the Christian church was first of all of the nation of Israel; and therefore, when the Gentiles were called, they were but as it were added to Israel, to the seed of Abraham. They were added to the Christian church ot Israel, as the proselytes of old were to the Mosaic church of Israel; and so were as it were only grafted on the stock of Abraham, and were not a distinct tree; for they are all still the seed of Abraham and Israel; as Ruth the Moabitess, and Uriah the Hittite, and other proselytes of old, were the same people, and ranked as the seed of Israel.

So the Christian church at first began at Jerusalem, and from thence was propagated to al]l nations: so that this church of Jerusalem was the church that was as it were the mother of all other churches in the world; agreeable to the prophecy, Is. ii. 3, 4. “Out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusa-Jem: and he shall judge among the nations, and rebuke many people.” So that the whole church of God is still God’s Jerusalem: they are his spiritual Jerusalem, and are as it were only added to the church, which was begun in the literal Jerusalem.

After this, we read of many thousands of Jews that believed, in Jerusalem, Acts xxi. 20. And so we read of multitudes of Jews who were converted in other cities of Judea; and not only so, but even in other parts of the world. For wherever the apostles went, if there were any Jews there, their manner was, first to go into the synagogues of the Jews, and preach the gospel to them, and many in one place and another believed; as in Damascus and Antioch, and many other places that we read of in the Acts of the Apostles.

In this pouring out of the Spirit, which began at the Pentecost following Christ’s ascension, began that first great dispensation which is called Christ’s coming in his kingdom. Christ’s coming thus in a spiritual manner for the glorious setting up of his kingdom in the world, is represented by Christ himself as his coming down from. heaven, whither he had ascended, John xiv. 18. “There Christ having been speaking of his ascension, says, * I will not leave you comfortless; I will come unto you,” speaking of his coming by the coming of the Comforter, the Spirit of truth. And, ver. 28. “Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you.” And thus the aposiles began to see the kingdom of heaven come with power, as he promised they should, Mark ixtole

(2.) What is next to be observed is the success of the gospel among the Samaritans. After the success of the gospel had been so gloriously begun among the proper Jews, the Spirit of God was next wonderfully poured out on the Samaritans, who were not Jews by nation, but the posterity of those whom the king of Assyria removed from different parts of his dominions, and settled in the land that was inhabited by the ten tribes whom he carried captive. But yet they had received the five books of Moses, and practised most of the rites of the law of Moses, and so were a sort of mongrel Jews. We do not find them reckoned as Gentiles in the New Testament: for the calling of the Gentiles is spoken of as a new thing after this, beginning with the conversion of Cornelius. But yet it was an instance of making that a people that were no people: for they had corrupted the religion which Moses commanded, and did not go up to Jerusalem to worship, but had another teiwple of their own in Mount Gerizzim; which is the mountain of which the woman of Samaria speaks, when she says, ‘ Our fathers worshipped in this mountain.”” Christ there does not approve of their separation from the Jews; but tells the woman of Samaria, that they worshipped they knew not what, and that salvation is of the Jews. But now salvation is brought from the Jews to them by the preaching of Philip, (excepting that before, Christ had some success among them,) with whose preaching there was a glorious pouring out of the Spirit of God in the city of Samaria; where we are told, that, “the people believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of Christ, and were baptized, both men and women; and that there was great joy in that city,” Acts viii. 8 — 12.

Thus Christ had a glorious harvest in Samaria; which is what Christ seems to have had respect to, in what he said to his disciples at Jacob’s well three or four years yefore, on occasion of the people of Samaria’s appearing

WORK 0. REDEMPTION. AAl

at a distance in the fields coming to the place where Christ was, at the instigation of the woman of Samaria. On that occasion, he bids his disciples lift up their eyes to the fields, for that they were white to the harvest, John iv. 35, 36. The disposition which the people of Samaria showed towards Christ and his gospel, showed that they were ripe for the harvest. But now the harvest is come by Philip’s preaching. There used to be a most bitter enmity between the Jews and Samaritans; but now, by their conversion, the Christian Jews and Samaritans are all happily united: for in Christ Jesus is neither Jew nor Samaritan, but Christ is all in all. This was a glorious instance of the wolf’s dwelling with the lamb, and the leopard’s lying down with the kid.

(3.) The next thing to be observed is the success there was of the gospel in calling the Gentiles. This was a great and glorious dispensation of divine providence, much spoken of in the prophecies of the Uld Testament, and spoken of by the apostles, time after time, as a inost glorious event of Christ’s redemption. This was begun in the conversion of Cornelius and his family, greatly to. the admiration of Peter, who was used as the instrument. of it, and of those who were with him, and of those who were informed of it; as you may see, Acts x. & xi. And the next instance of it that we have any account of, was in the conversion of great numbers of Gentiles in Cyprus, and Cyrene, and Antioch, by the disciples that were scattered abroad by the persecution which arose. about Stephen, as we have an account in Acts xi. 19, 20. 21. And presently upon this the disciples began to be called Christians first at Antioch, ver. 26.

And after this, vast multitudes of Gentiles were converted in many different parts of the world, chiefly by the ministry of the Apostle Paul, a glorious pouring out of the Spirit accompanying his preaching in one place and another. Multitudes flocked into the church of Christ in a great number of cities where the Apostle came. So the number of the members of the Christian church that were Gentiles, soon far exceeded the number of its Jewish members; yea so, that in less than ten years’ time after Paul was sent forth from Antioch to preach to the Gentiles, it was said of him and his companions, that they had turned the world upside down: Acts xvii. 6. “These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also.” But the most remarkable pouring out of the Soirit ms a particular city that we have any account of in the New Testament, seems to ve that in the city of Ephesus, which was a very great city. Of this we have an account in Acts xix. There was also a very extraordinary ingathering of souls at Corinth, one of the greatest cities in all Greece. And after this, many were converted in Rome, the chief city of all the world; and the gospel was propagated into all parts of the Roman empire. Thus the gospel sun, which had lately risen on the Jews, now rose upon, and began to enlighten the heathen world, after they had continued in gross heathenish darkness for so many ages.

This was a great thing, and a new thing. such as never had been before. All nations but the Jews, and a few who had at one time and another joined with them, had been rejected fromabout Moses’ time. The Gentile world had been covered over with the thick darkness of idolatry; but now, at the joyful glorious sound of the gospel, they began in all parts to forsake their old idols and to abhor them, and to cast them to the moles and to the bats, and to Jearn to worship the true God, and to trust in his Son Jesus Christ; and God owned them for his people; those who had so long been afar off, were made nigh by the blood of Christ. Men were changed from being heathenish and brutish, to be the children of God; were called out of Satan’s kingdom of darkness, and ‘brought into God’s marvellous ‘ight; and in almost all countries throughout the known world were assemblies of the people of God; joyful praises were sung to the true God, and Jesus Christ the glorious Redeemer. Now that great building which God began soon after the fall of man, rises gloriously, not in the same manner that it had done in former ages, but in quite anew manner. Now Daniel’s prophecies concerning the last kingdom, which should succeed the four heathenish monarchies, begins to be fulfilled; now the stone cut out of the mountain without hands, began to smite the image on its feet, and to break it in pieces, and to grow great, and to make great advances towards filling the earth; and now God gathers together the elect from the four winds of heaven, by the preaching of the apostles and other ministers, the angels of the Christian church sent forth with the great sound of the gospel trumpet, before the destruction of Jerusalem, agreeable to what Christ foretold, Matt. XXxiv. 31.

This was the success of Christ’s purchase, during this first period of the Christian church, which terminated in the destruction of Jerusalem.

2. I would proceed now, in the second place, to take notice of the opposition which was made to this success of Christ’s purchase by the enemies of it. — Satan, who lately was so ready to triumph and exult, as though he had gained the victory in putting Christ to death, now finding himself fallen into the pit which he had digged, and finding his kingdom falling so fast, and seeing Chr’st’s kingdom make such amazing progress, such as never had been before, we may conclude he was filled with the greatest confusion and astonishment, and hell seemed to be effectually alarmed by it to make the most violent opposition against it. And, first, the devil stirred up the Jews, who had before crucified Christ, to persecute the church: for it is observable, that the persecution which the church suffered during this period, was mostly from the Jews. Thus we read in the Acts, when, at Jerusalem, the Holy Ghost was poured out at Pentecost, how tke Jews mocked, and said, ‘“These men are full of new wine; and how the scribes and Pharisees, and the captain of the temple, were alarmed, and bestirred themselves to oppose and persecute the apostles, and first apprehended and threatened them, and afterwards imprisoned and beat them; and breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, they stoned Stephen in a tumultuous rage; and were not content to persecute those that they could find in Judea, but sent abroad to Damascus and other places, to persecute all that they could find every where. Herod, who was chief among them, stretched forth his hands to vex the church, and killed James with the sword, and proceeded to take Peter also, and cast him into prison.

So in other countries, we find, that almost wherever the apostles came, the Jews opposed the gospel in a most malignant manner, contradicting and blaspheming. How many things did the blessed Apostle Paul suffer at their hands in one place and another! How violent and bloodthirsty did they show themselves towards him, when he came to bring alms to his nation! In this persecution and cruelty was fulfilled the saying of Christ, Matt. xxiii. 34. “Behold, I send you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify, and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city.”

3. 1 proceed to take notice of those judgments which were executed on those enemies of Christ, the perscuting Jews.

(1.) The bulk of the people were given up to judicial blindness of mind and hardness of heart. Christ denounced such a wo upon them in the days of his flesh; as Matt. xiii. 14. 15. This curse was also denounced on them by the Apostle Paul, Acts xxviii. 25, 26, 27, and under this curse, under this judicial blindness and hardness, they remain to this very day, having been subject to it for about 1700 years, being the most awful instance of such a judgment, and monuments of God’s terrible vengeance, of any people that ever were. That they should continue from generation to generation so obstinately to reject Christ, so that it is a very rare thing that any one of them is converted to the Christian faith, though their own scriptures of the OldTestament, which they acknowledge, are so full of plain testimonies against them, is a remarkable evidence of their being dreadfully left of God.

(2.) They were rejected and cast off from being any longer God’s visible people. They were broken off from the stock of Abraham, and since that have no more been reputed his seed, than the Ishmaelites or Edomites, who are as much his natural seed as they. The greater part of the two tribes were now cast off, as the ten tribes had been before, and another people were taken in their room, agreeable to the predictions of their own prophets; as of Moses, Deut. xxxii. 21. “They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities; and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people, I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation;” and of Isa. lxv. 1. “Iam sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not.” — They were visibly rejected and cast off, by God’s directing his apostles to turn away from them, and let them alone: as Acts xiii. 46, 47. “Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from yon, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles: for so hath the Lord commanded us.” And so Acts xviii. 6, & xxviii. 28

Thus far we have had the scripture history to guide us; henceforward we shall have the guidance only of two things, viz. of scripture prophecy, and God’s providence, as related in human histories. — But I proceed.

(3.) The third and last judgment of God on those enemies of the success of the gospel which I shall mention, is the terrible destruction of their city and country by the Romans. They had great warnings and many means used with them before this destruction. First, John the Baptist warned them, and told them, that the axe was laid at the root of the tree; and that every tree which should not bring forth good fruit, should be hewn down and cast into the fire. Then Christ warned them very particularly, and told them of their approaching destruction, and at the thoughts of it wept over them. And then the apostles after Christ’s ascension abundantly warned them. But they proved obstinate, and went on in their opposition to Christ and his church, and in their bitter persecuting practices. Their so malignantly persecuting the Apostle Paul, of which we have an account towards the end of the Acts of the apostles, is supposed to have been not more than seven or eight years before their destruction.

And after this God was pleased to give them one more very remarkable warning by the Apostle Paul, in his epistle to the Hebrews, which is an epistle written to that nation of the Jews, as is supposed, about four years before their destruction: wherein the plainest and clearest arguments are set before them from their own law, and from their prophets, for whom they professed such a regard, to prove that Christ Jesus must be the Son of God, and that all their law pointed to him and typified him, and that their Jewish dispensation must needs have now ceased. For though the epistle was more immediately directed to the Christian Hebrews, yet the matter of the epistle plainly shows that the apostle intended it for the use and conviction of the unbelieving Jews, and in this epistle, he mentions particularly the approaching destruction, as chap. x. 25. “So much the more, as ye see the day approaching;” and in verse 27, he speaks of the approaching judgment and fiery indignation which should devour the adversaries.:

But the generality of them refusing to receive conviction, God soon destroyed them with such terrible circumstances, as the destruction of no country or city since the foundation of the world can parallel; agreeable to what Christ foretold, Matt. xxiv. 21. “Hor then shall be tribulation, such as was not from the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” The first destruction of Jerusalem by fhe Babylonians was very terrible, as it is in a most affecting manner described by the Prophet Jeremiah, in his Lamentations; but this was nothing to the dreadful misery and wrath which they suffered in this destruction; God, according as Christ foretold, bringing on them all the righteous blood that had been shed from the foundation of the world. Thus the enemies of Christ are made his footstool] after his ascension, agreeable to God’s promise in Psal. cx. at the beginning; and Christ rules them with a rod of iron They had been kicking against Christ, but they did but kick against the pricks. ‘I’he briarsand thorns set them: selves against them in battle: but he went through them; he bound them together.

This destruction of Jerusalem was in al! respects agreeable to what Christ had foretold of it, Matt. xxiv. by the account which Josephus gives of it, who was then present, and was one of the Jews, who had a share in the calamity, and wrote the history of their destruction. Many circumstances of this destruction resembled the destruction of the wicked at the day of judgment, by his account, being accompanied with many fearful sights in the heavens, and with a separation of the righteous from the wicked. Their city and temple were burnt, and rased to the ground, and the ground on which the city stood, was ploughed; and so one stone was not left upon another, Matt. xxiv. 2.

Tne people had ceased for the most part to be an independent government after the Babylonish captivity: but the sceptre entirely departed from Judah on the death of Archelaus; and then Judea was made a Roman province: after this they were cast off from being the people of God; but now their very city and land are utterly destroyed, and they carried away from it; and so have continued in their dispersions through the world fur now above 1600 years.

Thus there was a final end to the Old Testament world: all was finished with a kind of day of judgment, in which the people of God were saved, and his enemies terribly destroyed. — Thus does he who was so lately mocked, despised, and spit upon by these Jews, and whose followers they so malignantly persecuted, appear gloriously exalted over his enemies.

Having thus shown how the success of Christ’s purchase was carried on until the destruction of Jerusalem, «come now,

Il. To show how it was carried on from that time until the destruction of the heathen empire in the time of Constantine the Great, which is the second great event which is in scripture compared to Christ’s coming to judgment. 7

Jerusalem was destroyed about the year of our Lord 68, and so before that generation passed away which was contemporary with Christ; and it was about thirty-five years after Christ’s death. The destruction of the heathen empire under Constantine, was about 260 years after this. In showing how the success of the gospel was carried on through this time, I would, 1. Take notice of the opposition made against it by the Roman empire. 2. How the work of the gospel went on, notwithstanding all that opposition. 3. The peculiar circumstances of tribulation and distress that the church was in just before their deliverance by Constantine. 4. The great revolution in Constantine’s time.

1. I would briely show what opposition was made against the gospel, and the kingdom of Christ, by the Roman empire. The opposition that was made to the gospel by the heathen Roman empire, was mainly after the destruction of Jerusalem, though their opposition began before; but the opposition that was before the destruction of Jerusalem, was mainly by the Jews. But when Jerusalem was destroyed, the Jews were put out of a capacity of much troubling the church. Now there fore the devil turns his hand elsewhere, and uses other instruments. The opposition which was made in the Roman empire against the kingdom of Christ, was chiefly of two kinds.

(1.) They employed all their learning, and philosophy and wit, in opposing it. Christ came into the world in an age wherein learning and philosophy were at their height in the Roman empire. This was employed to the utmost against the kingdom of Christ. The gospel, which held forth a crucified Saviour, was not at all agreeable to the notions of the philosophers. The Christian scheme of trusting in such a crucified Redeemer, appeared foolish and ridiculous to them. Greece was a country the most famous for learning of any in the Roman empire; but the apostle observes, that the doctrine of Christ crucified appeared foolishness to the Greeks, 1 Cor. i. 23. and therefore the wise men and philosophers opposed the gospel with all the wit they had. We have a specimen of their manner of opposing, in the story we have of their treatment of the Apostle Paul at Athens, which was a city that had been for many ages the chief seat of philosophers of any in the whole world. We read in Acts xvii. 18. that tue philosophers of the Epicureans and Stoics encountered him, saying? “What will this babbler say? He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods.” So they were wont to deride and ridicule Christianity. And after the destruction of Jerusalem, several of these philosophers published books against it; the chief of whom were Celsus and Porphyry. These wrote books against the Christian religion with a great deal of virulence and contempt, much after the manner that the Deists of the present age oppose and ridicule Christianity. Something of their writings yet remains. As great enemies and despisers as they were of the Christian religion, yet they never denied the facts recorded of Christ and his apostles in the New Testament, particularly the miracles which they wrought, but allowed them. They lived too near the times wherein these miracles were wrought to deny them; for they were so publicly done, and so lately, that neither Jews nor heathens in those days appeared to deny them; but they ascribed them to the power of magic.

(2.) The authority of the Roman empire employed all their strength, time after time, to persecute, and if possible to root out Christianity. This they did in ten general successive persecutions. We have heretofore observed, that Christ came into the world when the strength of heathen dominion and authority was the greatest that ever it was under the Roman monarchy, the greatest and strongest human monarchy that ever was on earth, All the strength of this monarchy was employed for a long time to oppose and persecute the Christian church, and if possible to destroy it, in ten successive attempts, which are called the ten heathen persecutions, which were before Constantine.

The first of these, which was the persecution under Nero, was a little before the destruction of Jerusalem, in which the Apostle Peter was crucified, and the Apostle Paul beheaded, soon after he wrote his second epistle te Timothy. When he wrote that epistle, he was a prisoner at Rome under Nero, and was soon after he wrote it beheaded, agreeable to what he says, chap. iv. 6, 7. “I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fonght a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.’ — And there were many thousands of other Christians slain in that persecution. The other nine persecutions were all after the destruction of Jerusalem. Some of these were very terrible indeed, and far exceeded the first persecution under Nero. One emperor after another set himself with the utmost rage to root out the Christian church from the earth, that there should not be so much as the name of Christian left in the world. And thousands and millions were put to cruel deaths in these persecutions; for they spared neither sex nor age, but killed them as fast as they could.

Under the second general persecution, that which was next after the destruction of Jerusalem, the Apostle John was banished to the isle of Patmos, where he had those visions of which he has given an account in the Revelation. Under that persecution it was reckoned, that about 40,000 suffered martyrdom; which yet was nothing to what were put to death under some succeeding persecutions. Ten thousand suffered that one kind of cruel death, crucifixion, in the third persecution under the Emperor Adrian. Under the fourth persecution, which began about the year of Christ 162, many suffered martyrdom in England, the Jand of our forefathers, where Christianity had been planted very early, and, as is supposed, in the days of the apostles. And in the later persecutions, the Roman emperors being vexed at the frustration of their predecessors, who were not able to extirpate Christianity or hinder its progress, were enraged to be the more violent in their attempts.

Thus a great part of the first 300 years after Christ was spent in violent and cruel persecutions of the church by the Roman powers. Satan was very unwilling to let go his hold of so great a part of the world, and every way the chief part of it, as the countries contained in the Ror tan empire were, of which he had had quiet possession for so many ages: and therefore, when he saw it going so fast out of his hands, he bestirred himself to his utmost: all hell was, as it were, raised against it to oppose it with its utmost power.

Satan thus exerting himself by the power of the heathen Roman empire, is called the great red dragon in scripture, having seven heads and ten horns, fighting against the woman clothed with the sun, as in the 12th of Revelation. And the terrible conflict there was between the church of Christ, and the powers of the heathen empire before Constantine’s time, is there, in ver. 7, represented by the war between Michael and his angels, and the dragon and his angels: “And there was war in heaven; and Michael and his angels fought, and the dragon fought and his angels.”

2. I would take notice of what success the gospel had in the world before the time of Constantine, notwithstanding all this opposition. — Though the learning and power of the Roman empire were so great, and both were employed-to the utmost against Christianity to put a stop to it, and to root it out for so long a time, and in so many repeated attempts; yet all was in vain; they could neither root if out, nor put a stop to it. But still, in spite of all that they could do, the kingdom of Christ wonderfully prevailed, and Satan’s heathen kingdom mouldered and consumed away before it, agreeable to the words of the text, “The moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool.” And it was very observable, that for the most part the more they persecuted the church, the more it increased; insomuch that it became a common saying, The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. Herein the church of Christ proved to be like a palm tree; of which tree it is remarked, that the greater weight is laid upon it, or hung to its branches, the more it grows and flourishes; on which account probably the church is compared to a paim tree in Cant. vii. 7. “This thy stature is like to a palm tree.” Justin Martyr, an eminent father in the Christian church, who lived in the age next after the apostles, in some writings of his, which are yet extant, says, that in his days there was no part of mankind, whether Greeks or barbarians, or by what name soever they were called, even the most rude and unpolished nations, where prayers and thanksgivings were not made to the great Creator of the world, through the name of the crucified Jesus. Tertullian, another eminent father in the Christian church, who lived in the beginning of the following age, in some of his writings which are yet extant, sets forth how that in his day the Christian religion had extended itself to the utmost bounds of the then known world, in which he reckons Britain, the country of our forefathers; and thence demonstrates, that the kingdom of Christ was then more extensive than any of the four great monarchies; and moreover says, that though the Christians were as strangers of no long standing, yet they had filled all places of the Roman dominions, their cities, islands, castles, corporations, councils, armies, tribes, the palace, senate, and courts of judicature; only they had left to the heathen their temples; and that if they should all agree to retire out of the Roman empire, the world would be amazed at the solitude and desolation that would ensue upon it, there would be so few left; and that the Christians were enough to be able easily to defend themselves, if they were disposed to rise up in arms against the heathen magistrates. And Pliny, a heathen who lived in those days, says, maltitudes of each sex, every age and quality, were become Christians. This superstition, says he, having infected and overrun not the city only, but towns and countries, the temples and sacrifices are generally desolate and forsaken.

And it was remarked by both heathen and Christian writers in those days, that the famous heathen oracles in their temples, where princes and others for many past ages had been wont to inquire and receive answers with an audible voice from their gods, which were indeed answers from the devil; I say, those oracles were now silenced and struck dumb, and gave no more answers: and particularly the oracle at Delphos, which was the most famous heathen oracle in the whole world, which both Greeks and Romans used to consult, began to cease to give any answers, even from the birth of Christ: and the false deity who was worshipped, and used to give answers from his oracle in that temple, being once inquired of, Why he did not now give answers as he was wont to do? made this reply, as several heathen historians who lived about those times relate, There is an Hebrew boy, says he, who is king of the gods, who has commanded me to leave this house, and be gone to hell, and therefore you are to expect no more answers. And many of the heathen writers who lived about that time, speak much of the oracles being silenced, as a thing at which they wondered, not knowing what the cause should be. Plutarch, a heathen writer of those times, wrote a particular treatise about it, which is still extant. And Porphyry, one of the heathen writers before mentioned, who opposed the Christian religion, in his writings has these words: “it is no wonder if the city for these so many years has been overrun with sickness * Esculapius, and the rest of the gods, having withdrawn their converse with men: for since Jesus began to be. worshipped, no man has received any public help or benefit by the gods.”

Thus did the kingdom of Christ prevail against the kingdom of Satan.

3. [now proceed to take notice of the peculiar circumstances of tribulation and distress just before Constantine the Great came to the throne. This distress they suffered under the tenth heathen persecution, which, as it was the last, so it was by far the heaviest, and most severe. The church before this, after the ceasing of the ninth persecution, had enjoyed a time of quietness for about forty years together; but, abusing their liberty, began to grow cold and lifeless in religion, and carnal contentions prevailed among them; by which they offended God to suffer this dreadful trial to come upon them. And Satan having lost ground so much, notwithstanding all his attempts, now seemed to bestir himself with more than ordinary rage. Those who were then in authority set themselves with the utmost violence to root out Christianity, by burning al] Bibles, and destroying all Christians; and therefore they did not stand to try or convict them in a formal process, but fell upon them wherever they could; sometimes setting fire to houses where multitudes of them were assembled, and burning them all together; and at other times slaughtering multitudes together: so that sometimes their persecutors were quite spent with theJabour of killing and tormenting them; and in some populous places, so many were slain together, that the blood ran like torrents. It is) related, that seventeen thousand martyrs were slain in one month’s time; and that during the continuance of this persecution, in the province of Egypt alone, no less than 144,000 Christians died by the violence of their persecutors, besides 700,000 that died through the fatigues of banishment, or the public works to which they were condemned.;

This persecution Jasted for ten years together; and as it exceeded all foregoing persecutions in the number of martyrs, so it exceeded them in the variety and multitude of inventions of torture and cruelty. Some authors who lived at that time, say, they were innumerable, and exceed all account and expression.

This persecution in particular was very severe in England; and this is that persecution which was foretold in Rev. vi. 9, 10. “And when he had opened the fifth seal, 1 saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thuu not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?”

And at the end of the ten years during which this persecution continued, the heathen persecutors thought they had finished their work, and boasted that they had utterly destroyed the name and superstition of the Christians, and had restored and propagated the worship of the gods.

Thus it was the darkest time with the Christian church just before the break of day. They were brought to the greatest extremity just before God appeared for their glorious deliverance, as the bondage of the Israelites in Egypt was the most severe and cruel, just before their deliverance by the hand of Moses. Their enemies thought they had swallowed them up just before their destruction, as it was with Pharaoh and his host, when they had hemmed in the children of Israel at the Red Sea.

4. I come now, in the fourth place, to the great revolution which was in the world in the days of Constantine, which was in many respects like Christ’s appearing in the clouds of heaven to save his people, and judge the world. The people of Rome being weary of the government of those tyrants to whom they had lately been subject, sent to Constantine, who was then in the city of York in England, to come and take the throne. And he being encouraged, as is said, by a vision of a pillar of light in the heavens, in the form of a cross, in the sight of his whole army, with this inscription, Tovrw va, In this overcome; and the night following, by Christ’s appearing to him in a dream with the same cross in his hand, who directed him to make a cross like that to be his royal standard, that his army might fight under that banner, and assured him that he should overcome; accordingly he did, and overcame his enemies, and took possession of the Imperial throne, and embraced the Christian religion, and was the first Christian emperor that ever reigned. He came to the throne about 320 years after Christ. There are several things which I would take notice of which attended or immediately followed Constantine’s coming to the throne.

(1.) The Christian church was thereby wholly delivered from persecution.. Now the day of her deliverance came after such a dark night of affliction: weeping had continued for a night, but now deliverance and joy came “”

in the morning. Now God appeared to judge his pecple, and repented- himself for his servants, when he saw their power was gone, and that there was none shut up or left. Christians had no persecutions now to fear. Their persecutors now were all put down, and their rulers were some of them Christians like themselves.

(2.) God now appeared to execute terrible judgments on their enemies. Remarkable are the accounts which history gives us of the fearful ends to which the heathen emperors, and princes, and generals, and captains, and other great men came, who had exerted themselves in persecuting the Christians; dying miserably, one and another, under exquisite torments of body, and horrors of conscience, with a most visible hand of God upon them. So that what now came to pass might very fitly be compared to their hiding themselves in the dens and rocks of the mountains.

(3.) Heathenism now was in a great measure abolished throughout the Roman empire. Images were now destroyed, and heathen temples pulled down. Images of gold and silver were melted down, and coined into money. Some of the chief of their idols, which were curiously wrought, were brought to Constantinople, and there drawn with ropes up and down the streets for the people to behold and laugh at. The heathen priests were dispersed and banished.

(4.) The Christian church was brought into a state of great peace and prosperity. Now all heathen magistrates were put down, and only Christians were advanced to places of authority all over the empire. They had now Christian presidents, Christian governors, Christian judges and officers, instead of their old heathenis! ones. Constantine set himself to put honour upon Christian bishops or ministers, and to build and adorn churches; and now large and beautiful Christian churches were erected in all parts of the world, instead of the old heathen temples.

This revolution was the greatest revolution and change in the face of things that ever came to pass in the world since the flood. Satan, the prince of darkness, that king and god of the heathen world, was cast out. The roaring lion was conquered by the Lamb of God, in the strongest dominion that ever he had, even the Roman empire. This was a remarkable accomplishment of Jer. x. ll. “The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.” The chief part of the world was now brought utterly to cast off their old gods and their old religion, to which they had been accustomed much longer than any of their histories give an account of. They had been accustomed to worship the gods so long, that they knew not any beginning of it. It was formerly spoken of as a thing unknown for a nation to change their gods, Jer. ii. 10, 11. but now the greater part of the nations of the known world were brought to cast off all their former gods. That multitude of gods that they worshipped were all forsaken. Thousands of them were cast a .ay for the worship of the true God, and Christ the only Saviour: and:there was a most remarkable fulfilment of that in Isa. ii. 17, 18. “And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. And the idols he shall utterly abolish.” And since that, it has come to pass, that those gods that were once so famous in the world, as Jupiter, and Saturn, and Minerva, and Juno, &c. are only heard of as things which were of old. They have no temples, no altars, no worshippers, and have not had for many hundred years.

Now is come the end of the old heathen world in the principal part of it, the Roman empire. And this great revolution and change of the state of the world, with that terrible destruction of the great men who had been persecutors, is compared, in Rev. vi. to the end of the world, and Christ’s coming to judgment; and is what is most immediately signified under the sixth seal, which followed upon the souls. under the altar crying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?” This vision of the sixth seal, by the general consent of divines and expositors, has respect to this downfall of the heathen Roman empire; though it has a more remote respect to the day of judgment, or this was a type of it. The day of judgment cannot be what is immediately intended; because we have an account of many events which were to come to pass under the seventh seal, and so were to follow after those of the sixth seal.

What came to pass now is also represented by the devil’s being cast out of heaven to the earth. In his great strength and glory, in that mighty Roman empire, he had as it were exalted his throne up to heaven. But now he fell like lightning from heaven, and was confined to the earth. His kingdom was confined to the meaner and more barbarous nations, or to the lower parts of the world of mankind. This is the event foretold, Rev. xii. 9. &c. “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him,” &c. Satan tempted Christ, and promised to give him the glory of the kingdoms of the world; but now he is obliged to give it to him even against his will, This was a glorious fulfil- — ment of that promise which God made to his Son, that we have an account of in Isa. liii. 12. “Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors, and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” This was a great fulfilment of the prophecies of the Old Testament concerning the glorious time of the gospel, and particularly of the prophecies of Daniel. Now the kingdom of heaven is come in a glorious deyree. It pleased the Lord God of heaven to set up a kingdom on the ruins of Satan’s kingdom. And such success is there of the purchase of Christ’s redemption, and such honour does the Father put upon Christ for the disgrace he suffered when on earth. And now see to what a height that glorious building is erected, which had been building ever since the fall. ian hdl

Inference. From what has been said of the success of the gospel from Christ’s ascension to the time of Constantine, we may deduce a strong argument of the truth of the Christian religion, and that the gospel of Jesus Christ is really from God. This wonderful success of it which has been spoken of, and the circumstances of it which have been mentioned, are a strong argument of it several ways..

1. We may gather from what has been said, that it is the gospell and that only, which has actually been the means of bringing the world to the knowledge of the true God. That those are no gods whom the heathen worshipped, and that there is but one only God, is what, now since the gospel has so taught us, we can see to be

truth by our own reason: it is plainly agreeable to the light of nature: it can be easily shown by reason to be demonstrably true. The very Deists themselves ac-

‘nowledge, that it can be demonstrated, that there is one

God and but one, who has made and governs the world. But now it is evident that it is the gospel, and that only, which has actually been the means of bringing men to the knowledge of this truth. It was not the instructions of philosophers. They tried in vain: “the world by wisdom knew not God.” Until the gospel and the holy scriptures came abroad in the world, all the world lay in ignorance of the true God, and in the greatest darkness with respect to the things of religion, embracing the absurdest opinions and practices, which all civilized nations now acknowledge to be childish fooleries. And so they lay one age after another, and nothing proved effectual to enlighten them. The light of nature, and their own reason, and all the wisdom of learned men, signified nothing until the scriptures came. But when these came abroad, they were successful to bring the world to an acknowledgment of the one only true God, and to worship and serve him.

And hence it is that all that part of the world which now does own one only true God, Christians, Jews, Mahometans, and even Deists too, originally came by the knowledge of him. It is owing to this that they are not in general at this day left in heathenish darkness. They have it all, first of all, either immediately from the scriptures, or by tradition from their fathers, who had it first from the scriptures. And doubtless those who now despise the scriptures, and boast of the strength of their own reason, as being sufficient to lead into the knowledge of the one true God, if the gospel had never come abroad in the world to enlighten their forefathers, would have been as sottish and brutish idolaters as the world in general was before the gospel came abroad. The Mahometans, who own but one true God, at first borrowed the notion from the scriptures: for the first Mahometans had been educated in the Christian religion, and apostatized from it. And this is evidential, that the scriptures were designed of God to be the proper means to bring the world to the knowledge of himself, rather than human reason, or any thing else. For it is unreasonable to suppose, that the gospel, and that only, which God never designed as the proper mean for obtaining this effect, should actually obtain it, and that after human reason, which he designed as the proper mean, had been tried for a great many ages without any effect. If the scriptures be not ea of God, then they are nothing but darkness and delusion, yea, the greatvst delusion that ever was. Now, Is it reasonable to suppose, that God in his providence would make use of falsehood and delusion, and that only, to bring the world to the knowledge of himself, and that no part of it should be brought to the knowledge of him any other way?

2. The gospel’s prevailing as it did against such powerful opposition, plainly shows the hand of God. The Roman government, that did so violently set itself to hinder the success of the gospel, and to subdue the church of Christ, was the most powerful human government that ever was in the world; and not only so, but they seemed as it were to have the church in their hands, The Christians were mostly their subjects, under their command, and never took up arms to defend themselves: they did not gather together, and stand in their own defence; they armed themselves with nothing but patience, and such like spiritual weapons: and yet this mighty power could not conquer,them; but, on the contrary, Christianity conquered them. The Roman empire had subdued the world; they had subdued many mighty and potent kingdoms; they subdued the Grecian monarchy, when they were not their subjects, and made the utmost resistance: and yet they could not conquer the church which was in their hands; but, on the contrary, were subdued, and finally triumphed over by the church.

3. No other sufficient cause can possibly be assigned of this propagation of the gospel, but only God’s own power. Nothing else can be devised as the reason of it but this. There was certainly some reason. Here was a great and wonderful effect, the most remarkable change that ever was in the face of the world of mankind since the flood; and this effect was not without some cause. Now, what other cause can be devised but only the divine power? It was not the outward strength of the instruments which were employed in it. At first, the gospel was preached only by a few fishermen, who were without power and wordly interest to support them. It was not their craft and policy that produced this wonderful effect; for they were poor illiterate men. It was not the agreeableness of the story they had to tell to the notions and principles of mankind. This was no pleasant fable: a crucified God and Saviour was to the Jews a stumbling block, and to the Greeks foolishness. It was not the agreeableness of their doctrines to the dispositions of men: for nothing is more contrary to the corruptions of men than the pure doctrines of the gospel. This effect therefore can have proceeded from no other cause than the power and agency of God: and if it was the power of God that was exercised to cause the gospel to prevail, then the gospel is his word; for surely God does not use his almighty power to promote a mere imposture and delusion.

4. This success is agreeable to what Christ and his apostles foretold. — Matt. xvi. 18. “Upon this rock will I build my church: and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” John xii. 24.“Verily verily I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground, and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” And ver. 31, 32. “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” John xvi. 8. * When he (the comforter) is come, he will reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment — because the prince of this world is judged.”

So the Apostle Paul, in Cor. chap. i. 21 — 28. declares, how that after the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God, by the foolishness of preaching, to save them that believe; and that God chose the foolish things of the world, to confound the wise; and weak things of the world, to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, yea and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are.” — If any man foretells a thing, very likely in itself to come to pass, from causes which can be foreseen, it is no great argument of a revelation from God. but when a thing is foretold which is very unlikely ever to come to pass, is entirely contrary to the common course of things, and yet it does come to pass just agreeable to the prediction, this is a strong argument that the prediction was from God.

Thus the consideration of the manner of the propagation and success of the gospel during the time which has been spoken of, affords great evidence that the scriptures are the word of God.

Ill. Iam now to show how the success of Christ’s redemption is carried on from the time of the overthrow of the heathen Roman empire in the time of Constantine the Great, until the fall of Antichrist, and the destruction of Satan’s visible kingdom on earth, which is the third great dispensation which is in scripture compared ta

Christ’s coming to judgment. This is a period wherein many great and wonderful things are brought to pass. Herein is contained a long series of wonders of divine providence towards the Christian church. The greater part of the book of Revelation is taken up in foretelling the events of this period.

The success of Christ’s purchase of redemption in this period, appears mainly at the close of it, when Antichrist comes to fall, when there will be a far more glorious success of the gospel than ever was before; and that long series of events which are before, seem to be only to prepare the way for it. And in order to a more clear view of the great works of God in accomplishing the success of Christ’s redemption, and our seeing the glory of them, it will be necessary, as we have done in the foregoing periods, to consider not only the success itself, but the opposition made to it, and the great works of Satar in this period against the church and kingdom of Christ: and therefore, in taking a view of this period, I would take notice of events which may be referred to either of these heads, viz. either to the head of Satan’s opposition to the success of Christ’s redemption, or ta the head of the success of Christ’s redemption: and for the more orderly consideration of the events of this period, I would divide it into these four parts: the first reaching from the destruction of the heathen empire to the rise of Antichrist; the second, from the rise of Antichrist to the reformation in Luther’s time; the third, from thence to the present time; the fourth, from the present time, until Antichrist is fallen, and Satan’s visible kingdom on earth is destroyed.

Ist. I would consider the events of the first part of this period, reaching from the destruction of the heathen empire to the rise of Antichrist. And here, first, 1 would take notice of the opposition of Satan made in this space of time to the church: and, secondly, the success that the gospel had in it.

1. The opposition. Satan being cast out of his old heathen empire, the great red dragon, after so sore a conflict with Michael and his angels for the greater part of three hundred years, being at last entirely routed and vanquished, so that no place was found any more in heaven for him, but he was cast down, as it were, from heaven to the earth; yet does not give over his opposition to the woman, the church of Christ, concerning which all this conflict had been. But he is still in a rage, and renews his attempts, and has recourse to new devices against the church. The serpent, after he is cast out of heaven to the earth, casts out of his mouth water as a flood, to cause the woman to be carried away of the flood. The opposition that he made to the church of Christ before the rise of Antichrist, was principally of two sorts. It was either by corrupting the church of Christ with heresies, or by new endeavours to restore Paganism.

(1.) I would observe, that after the destruction of the heathen Roman empire, Satan infested the church with heresies. ‘Though there has been so glorious a work of God in delivering the church from her heathen persecutors, and overthrowing the heathen empire; yet the days of the church’s travail not being ended, and the set time of her prosperity not being yet come, as being what was to succeed the fall of Antichrist, therefore the peace and prosperity which the church enjoyed in Constantine’s time, was but very short: it was a respite, which gave the church a time of peace and silence, as it were, for half an hour, wherein the four angels held the four winds from blowing, until the servants of God should be sealed in their foreheads. But the church soon began to be greatly infested with heresies. The two principal, and those which did most infest the church, were the Arian and Pelagian heresies.

The Arians began soon after Constantine came to the throne. They denied the doctrine of the Trinity, and the divinity of Christ and the Holy Ghost, and maintained, that they were but mere creatures. This heresy increased more and more in the church, and prevailed like a flood, which threatened to overflow all, and entirely to carry away the church, insomuch that before that age was out, that is, before the fourth century after Christ was finished, the greater part of the Christian church were become Arians. There were some emperors, the successors of Constantine, who were Arians; so that the Arians being the prevailing party, and having the civil authority on their side, did raise a great persecution against the true church of Christ; so that this heresy might well be compared to a flood out of the mouti: of the serpent, which threatened to overthrow all, and quite carry away the woman.

The Pelagian heresy arose in the beginning of the next century. It began by one Pelagins, who was borr in Britain: his British name was Morgan. He deniec original sin, and the influence of the Spirit of God in «on version, and held the power of free will, and many other things of like tendency; and this heresy did for a while greatly infest the church. Pelagius’s principal antagonist, who wrote in defence of the orthodox faith, was Augustin.

(2.) The other kind of opposition which Satan made against the church, was in his endeavours to restore Paganism. And his first attempt to restore it in the Roman empire, was by Julian the apostate. Julian was nephew to Constantine the Great. When Constantine died, he left his empire to his three sons; and when they were dead, Julian the apostate reigned in their stead. He had been a professed Christian; but he fell from Christianity, and turned Pagan; and therefore is called the apostate. When he came to the throne, he used his utmost endeavours to overthrow the Christian church, and set up Paganism again in the empire. He put down the Christian magistrates, and set up heathens in their room: he rebuilt the heathen temples, and set up the heathen worship in the empire, and became a most notorious persecutor of the Christians, and, as is thought, against his own light: he used to call Christ, by way of reproach, the Galilean. He was killed with a lance in his wars with the Persians. When he saw that he was mortally wounded, he took a handful of his blood, and threw it up towards heaven, crying out, Thou hast overcome, O Galilean. And he is commonly thought by divines to have committed the unpardonable sin.

Another way that Satan attempted to restore Paganism in the Roman empire, was by the invasions and conquests of heathen nations. For in this space of time that we are upon, the Goths and Vandals, and other heathen barbarous nations, that dwelt in the north of the Roman empire, invaded the empire, and obtained great conquests, and even overran the empire, and in the fifth century took the city of Rome, and finally subdued and conquered, and took possession of the Western empire, as it was called, or the western half of the empire, and divided it amongst them; divided it into ten kingdoms, with which began the ten horns of the beast; for we are told, that the ten horns are ten kings, who should rise in the latter part of the Roman empire: these are also represented by the ten toes of Nebuchadnezzar’s image. The invasion and conquests of these heathen nations are supposed to be foretold in the 8th chapter of Revelation, in what came to pass under the sounding of the first four trumpets. Now these nations, who now took possession of the Western empire, were heathens; so that by their means heathenism was again for a while restored after it had been rooted out.

So much for the opposition of Satan against the success of the gospel during this space before the rise of Antichrist. I proceed,

2. To show what success there was of the gospel in this space, notwithstanding this opposition.

(1.) I would observe, that the opposition of Satan in those things was baffled. Though the dragon cast out of his mouth such a flood after the woman to carry her away, yet he could not obtain his design; but the earth helped the woman, and opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. These heresies, which for a while so much prevailed, yet after a while dwindled away, and orthodoxy was again restored: and his attempt by Julian was baffled at his death.

(2.) The gospel, during this space of time, was further propagated amongst many barbarous heathen nations in the confines of the Roman empire. In the time of Constantine there was a considerable propagation of the gospel in the East Indies, chiefly by the ministry of one Frumentius. Great numbers of the Iberians, an heathen people, were converted to Christianity by a Christian woman of-eminent piety, whom they had taken captive. And some account is given of several other ‘barbarous nations who were not within the Roman empire, that great numbers of them were brought to receive the gospel by the teaching and examples of captives whom they had taken in war. And after this, about the year of Christ 372, the gospel was propagated among the barbarous people that dwelt in Arabia; as it was also among some of the northern nations; particularly a prince of the country of the Goths about this time became Christian, and a great number of his people with him. Towards the latter end of this century, the gospel was also further propagated among the Persians, and also the Scythians, a barbarous people, that the apostle mentions in Col. iii. 11. ‘‘ Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free.”

And after this, about the year 430, there was a remarkable conversion of a heathen people, called the Burgundians, to the Christian faith. About the same time, in this age, the gospel began to be propagated in Ireland, and the Irish, who until now had been heathen, began te receive the Christian faith. About the same time it was further propagated among some barbarous people ip Scotland, and also in some other places. In the nexv century to this, one Zathus, a heathen king, who ruled over a people called the Colchians, was brought to renounce his heathenism, and to embrace the Christian religion. Several other barbarous nations are recorded to have renounced heathenism and embraced Christianity about this time, that I cannot stand to mention.

Thus I have briefly considered the principal events of providence which concern the success of the gospel of Christ from Constantine to the rise of Antichrist.

2dly, I come now to the second part of the time from Constantine to the destruction of Anti€hrist, viz. that which reaches from the rise of Antichrist to the-Reformation by Luther and others. And this is the darkest and most dismal day that ever the Christian church saw, and probably the darkest that ever it will see. The time of the church’s affliction and persecution, as was observed before, is from Christ’s resurrection until the destruction of Antichrist, excepting what the day is, as it were, shortened by some intermissions and times of respite, which God gives for the elect’s sake. But this time, ‘om the rise of Antichrist until the Reformation, was a

pace wherein the Christian church was in its greatest Jepth of depression, and its darkest time of all. The true church in this space was for many hundred years in a state of great obscurity, like the woman in the wilderness: indeed she was almost hid from sight and observation. In speaking of the events of this space of time, I would, |. Take notice of the great machinations and works of the devil against the kingdom of Christ during this time; 2. How the church of Christ was upheld during this time.

I. I would take notice of the great works of the devil against the kingdom of Christ during this time. Satan had done great things against the Christian church before, but had been baffled once and again. Michael and his angels had obtained a glorious victory. How terrible was his opposition during the continuance of the heathen empire; and how glorious was Christ’s victory and. triumph over him in the time of Constantine! It pleased God now to prepare the way for a yet more glorious vie-’ tory over him, to suffer him to renew his strength, and to do the utmost that his power and subtilty can help him to; and therefore he suffers him to have a long time to lay his schemes, and to establish his interest, and make his matters strong; and suffers him to carry his designs a great length indeed, almost to the swallowing up of his church; and to exercise a high, and proud, and almagt uncontrolled dominion in the world, a long time before Christ finally conquers, and subdues, and utterly ruins his visible kingdom on earth, as he will do in the time of the destruction of Antichrist: thus gloriously triumphine over him after he has done the utmost that his power and subtilty can extend to, and showing that he is above him, after he has dealt most proudly, and lifted himself highest of all.

The two great works of the devil which he in this space of time wrought against the kingdom of Christ, are his creating his Antichristian and Mahometan kingdoms, which have been, and still are, two kingdoms, of great extent and strength, both together swallowing up the ancient Roman empire; the kingdom of Antichrist swallowing up the Western empire, and Satan’s Mahometan kingdom the Eastern empire. As the scriptures in the book of Revelation represent it, it is in the destruction of these that the glorious victory of Christ, at the introduction of the glorious times of the church, will mainly consist. And here let us briefly observe how Satan erects and maintains these two great kingdoms of his in opposition to the kingdom of Christ.

(1.) With respect to the kingdom of Antichrist. This seems to be the master-piece of all the contrivances of the devil against the kingdom of Christ, and is evidently so spoken of in scripture, and therefore Antichrist is the man of sin, or that man of sin, 2 Thess. ii. 3. He is so called emphatically, as though he were so eminently. So he is called Antichrist, which signifies the opponent or adversary of Christ. Not that he is the only opponent of Christ; there were many others besides him. The Apostle John observes, that in his days there were many Antichrists. But yet this is called the Antichrist, as though there were none but he, because he was so eminently, and above all others. So this contrivance of the devil, is called the mystery of iniquity, 2 Thess. ii. 7. And we find no enemy of Christ one half so much spoken of in the prophecies of Revelation as this; and the destruction of no enemy is spoken of as so glorious and happy for the church. The craft and subtilty of the devil, above all appears te work of his; as might

nO be shown, were it not that it would consume too muck time.;

This is a contrivance of the devil to turn the ministry ’ of the Christian church into a ministry of the devil, and t&turn these angels of the churches into fallen angels. and so into devils... And in the tyranny, and superstition, and idolatry, and persecution, which he sets up, he contrives to make an image of ancient Paganism, and more than to restore what was Jost in the enipire by the overthrow of Paganism in the time of Constantine: so that by these means the head of the beast, which was wounded unto death in Constantine, has his deadly wound healed in Antichrist, Rev. xiii. 3. And the dragon, that formerly reigned in the heathen Roman empire, being cast out thence, after the beast with seven heads and ten horns rises up out of the sea, gives him his power, and seat, and great authority; and all the world wonders after the beast.,

Iam far from pretending to determine the time when the reign of Antichrist began, which is a point that has been so much controverted among divines and expositors. It is certain that the 1260 days, or years, which are so often in scripture mentioned as the time of the continuance of Antichrist’s reign, did not commence before the year of Christ 479; because if they did, they would have ended, and Antichrist would have fallen before now. But I shall not pretend to determine precisely how long it was after this that that period began. The rise of Antichrist was gradual. The Christian church corrupted itself in many things presently after Constantine’s time, growing more and more superstitious in its worship, by degrees bringing in many ceremonies into the worship of God, until at length they brought in the worship of saints, and set up images in their churches, and the clergy in general, and especially the bishop of Rome, assumed more and more authority to himself. In the primitive times he was only a minister of a congregation; then a standing moderator of a presbytery; then a diocesan bishop; then a metropolitan, which is equivalent to an archbishop; then he was a patriarch, then afterwards he elaimed the power of universal bishop over the whole Christian church through the world; wherein he was opposed for a while, but afterwards was confirmed in it by the civil power of the Emperor in the year 606. After that he claimed the power of a temporal prince; and so was wont to carry two swords, to signify that both the temporal and spiritual sword was his; and claimed more and more authority, until at length he, as Christ’s vicegerent on earth, claimed the very same power that Christ would have, if he was present on earth, and reigned on his throne, or the same power that belongs to God, and used to be called Ged on earth; and us to be submitted to by all the princes of Christendom. He claimed power to crown princes, and to degrade them at his pleasure; and this power was owned. and it came to that, that kings and emperors used to kiss his feet. The emperors were wont to receive their crowns at his hands, and princes were wont to dread the displeasure of the Pope, as they would dread a thunderbolt from heaven; for if the Pope-was pleased to excommunicate a prince, all his subjects were at once freed from their allegiance to him; yea, and obliged not to own him any more, on pain of excomimunication, and not only so, but any man might kill him wherever he found him. And further, the Pope was believed to have power to damn men at pleasure; for whoever died under his excommunication, was looked upon as certainly damned. And several emperors were actually deposed, and ejected, and died miserably by his means: and if the people of any state or kingdom did not please him, he had power to lay that state or kingdom under an interdict, which was a sentence pronounced by the Pope against that state or kingdom, whereby all sacred administrations among them could have no validity. There could be no valid baptism, or sacraments, or prayers, or preaching, or pardons, until that interdict was taken off; so that that people remained, in their apprehension, in a miserable, damnable state, and therefore dreaded it as they would a storm of fire and brimstone from heaven. And in order to execute bis wrath on a prince or people with whom the Pope was displeased, other princes must also be put toa great deal] of trouble and expense.

And as the Pope and his clergy robbed the people of their ecclesiastical and civil liberties and privileges, so they also robbed them of their estates, and drained all Christendom of their money, and engrossed the most of their riches into their own coffers, by their. vast revenues, besides pay for pardons and indulgences, baptisms and extreme unctions, deliverance out of purgatory, and an hundred other things. — See how well this agrees with the prophecies, 2 Thess. ii. 3, 4. Dan. vii. 20. 21. Rev. xiii. 6, 7. & chap. xvii 3, 4.

During this time also superstition and ignorance more and more prevailed. The holy scriptures by degrees were taken out of the hands of the laity, the better to

promote the unscriptural and wicked designs of the Pope amd the clergy; and instead of promoting knowledge among the people, they industriously promoted ignorance. It was a received maxim among them, That ignorance is the mother of devotion: and so great was the darkness of those times, that learning was almost extinct in the world. The very priests themselves, most of them, were barbarously ignorant as to any commendable learning, or any other knowledge, than their hellish craft in oppressing and tyrannizing over the souls of the people. The superstition and wickedness of the church of Rome, kept growing worse and worse untill the very time of the Reformation; and the whole Christian world were led away into this great defection, excepting the remains of the Christian church in the Eastern empire that had not been utterly overthrown by the Turks, as the Greek church,and some others, which were also sunk into great darkness and gross superstition, excepting also those few that were the people of God, who are represented by the woman in the wilderness, and God’s two witnesses, of which more hereafter.

This is one of those two great kingdoms which the devil in this period erected in opposition to the kingdom of Christ, and was the greatest and chief. I come now,

(2.) To speak of the other, the second, which is in many respects like unto it, viz. his Mahometan kingdom, which is another great kingdom of mighty power and vast extent, set up by Satan against the kingdom of Christ: he set this up in the Eastern empire, as he did that of Antichrist in the Western.

Mahomet was born in the year of Christ, 570, in Arabia. When he was about forty years of age, he began to give forth that he was the great prophet of God, and began to teach his new invented religion, of which he was to be worshipped as the head next under God. He published his Aleoran, which he pretended he received from the angel Gabriel; and being a subtle, crafty man, and possessed of considerable wealth, and living among a people who were very ignorant, and greatly divided in their opinions of religious matters, by subtlety, and fair promises of a sensual paradise, he gained a number to be his followers, and set up for their prince. and. propagated his religion by the sword, and made it meritorious of paradise to fight for him. By which means his party grew, and went on fighting until they conquered and brought over the neighbouring countries; and so his party gradually grew until they overran a great part of the world. First, the Saracens, who were some of his followers, and were a people of the country of Arabia, where Mahomet lived, about the year 700, began dreadfully to waste the Roman empire. ‘hey overran a great many countries belonging to the empire, and continued their conquests for along time. These are supposed to be meant by the ‘locusts’ that we read of in the 9th chapter of Revelation.

And then after this the Turks, who were originally another people, different from the Saracens, but were followers of Mahomet, conquered all the Eastern empire. They began their empire about the year of Christ 1296, and began to invade Kurope 1300, and took Constantinople, and so became masters of all the Eastern empire in the year 1453, which is near three hundred years ago. And thus all those cities and countries where were those famous churches of old, that we read of in the New Testament, as Jerusalem, Antioch, Ephesus, Corinth, &c. now all became subject to the Turks. And they. took possession of Constantinople, which was named after Constantine the Great, being made by him the head city of the Roman empire, whereas Rome had been until then. ‘These are supposed to be prophesied of by the ‘horsemen’ in the 9th chapter of Revelation, beginning with the 15th verse. And the remains of the Christians that are in those parts of the world, who are mostly of the Greek church, are in miserable slavery under these Turks, and treated with a great deal of barbarity and cruelty, and are become mostly very ignorant and superstitious.

Thus I have shown what great works of Satan were wrought during this space of time in opposition to the kingdom of Christ.

2. I come now to show how the church of Christ was upheld through this dark time. — And here,

(1.) It is to be observed, that towards the former part of this space of time, some of the nations of Christendom held out a long time before they complied with the corruptions and usurpations of the church of Rome. Though all the world wondered after the beast, yet all nations did not fall in at once. Many of the principal corruptions of the church of Rome were brought in with a great deal of struggle and opposition; and particularly. when the Pope gave out, that he was universal bishop, many churches greatly opposed him in it; and it was a long time before they would yield to his exorbitant claims. And so, when the worship of images was first brought into the churches, there were many who greatly opposed it, and long held out against it. And so with respect to other corruptions of the church of Rome. Those people that dwelt nearer to the city of Rome complied sooner, but some that were more remote, were a long time before they could be induced to put their necks under the yoke: and particularly ecclesiastical history gives an account, that it was so with great part of the churches in England, and Scotland, and France, who retained the ancient purity of doctrine and worship much longer than many others who were nearer the chief seat of Antichrist.

(2.) In every age of this dark time, ‘there appeared particular persons in all parts of Christendom, who bore a testimony against the corruptions and tyranny of the church of Rome. There is no one age of Antichrist, even in the darkest times of all, but ecclesiastical historians mention a great many by name who manifested an abhorrence of the Pope, and his idolatrous worship, and pleaded for the ancient purity of doctrine and worship. God was pleased to maintain an uninterrupted succession of witnesses through the whole time, in Germany, France, Britain, and other countries; as historians demonstrate, and mention them by name, and give an account of the testimony which they held. Many of them were private persons, and many of them ministers, and some magistrates, and persons of great distinction. And there were numbers in every age who were persecuted and put to death for this testimony.

(3.) Besides these particular persons dispersed here and there, there was a certain people, called the Waldenses, who lived separate from all the rest of the world, who kept themselves pure, and constantly bore a testimony against the church of Rome through all this dark time. The place where they dwelt was the Vaudois, or the five valleys of Piedmont, a very mountainous country, between Italy and France. The place where they lived was compassed about with those exceeding high mountains called the Alps, which were almost impassable. The passage over these mountainous desert countries, was so difficult, that the valleys where this people dwelt vere almost inaccessible. There this people lived for many ages, as it were, alone, in a state of separation from al) the world, having very little to do with any other people. And there they served God in the ancient purity of his worship, and never submitted to the church of Rome. This place in this desert mountainous country, probably was the place especially meant in the 12th chapter of Revelation, 6th verse, as the place prepared of God for the woman, that they should feed her there during the reign of Antichrist.

Some of the Popish writers themselves own, that that people never submitted to the church of Rome. One of the Popish writers, speaking of the Waldenses, says, The heresy of the Waldenses is the oldest heresy in the world. It is supposed that this people first betook themselves to this desert secret place among the mountains, to hide themselves from the severity of the heathen persecutions which were before Constantine the Great. And thus the woman fled into the wilderness from the face of the serpent, Rev. xii. 6. And so, verse 14. “And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place: where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.” And the people being settled there, their posterity continued there from age to age afterwards: and being, as it were, by natural walls, as well as by God’s grace, separated from the rest of the world, never partook of the overflowing corruption.

These especially were those virgins who were not defiled with the rest of women, or when other women prostituted themselves and were defiled; but they kept themselves pure for Christ alone: they followed the Lamb, their spiritual husband, whithersoever he went: they followed him into this hideous wilderness, Rev. xiv. 4, 5. — Their doctrine and their worship, as there still remain accounts of them, appear to be the same with the Protestant doctrine and worship; and by the confession of Popish writers, they were a people remarkable for the strictness of their lives, for charity and other Christian virtues. They lived in external poverty in this hideous country; but they chose this rather than to comply with the great corruptions of the rest of the world.

They living in so secret a place, it was a long time before they seem to have been much taken notice of by the Romanists; but at last falling under observation, are A HISTORY OF THE

they went out in mighty armies against them, and fell upon them with insatiable cruelty, barbarously massacreing and putting to death men, women, and children, with all imaginable tortures; and so continued persecuting them with but little intermission for several hundred years; by which means many of them were driven out of their old habitations in the valleys of Piedmont, and fled into all parts of Europe, carrying with them their doctrine, to which many were brought over. So their persecutors could not by all their cruelties extirpate the church of God; so fulfilling his word, “that the gates of hell should not prevail against it.”

(4.) Towards the latter part of this dark time, several noted divines openly appeared to defend the truth, and bear testimony against the corruptions of the church of Rome, and had many followers. The first and principal of these was a certain English divine, whose name was John Wickliff, who appeared about 140 years before the Reformation, and strenuously opposed the Popish religion, and taught the same doctrine that the Reformers afterwards did, and had many followers in England. He was hotly persecuted in his lifetime, yet died in peace; and after he was buried, his bones were dug up by his persecutors, and burnt. His followers remained in considerable numbers in England until the Reformation, and were cruelly persecuted, and multitudes put to death for their religion.

Wickliff had many disciples and followers, not only in England, but in other parts of Europe. whither his books were carried; and particularly in Bohemia, among whom were two eminent divines, the name of one was John Huss, the other’s name was Jerome, a divine belonging to Prague, the chief city of Bohemia. These strenuvusly opposed the church of Rome, and had many who adhered to them. They were both burnt by the Papists for their doctrine; and their followers in Bohemia were cruelly persecuted, but never extirpated until the Reformation.

Thus having gone through this dark time of the church, which is the second part of the space from Constantine the Great to the destruction of Antichrist, I come now,

3dly, To the third part, viz. that which begins with the Reformation, and reaches to the present time. And here I would, 1. Speak of the Reformation itself; 2. The opposition which the devil has made to the Reformed WORK OF REDEMPTION. Pavia)

church; 3. What success there has lately been of the gospel in one place and another; 4. What the state of things is now in the world with regard to the church of Christ, and the success of his purchase.

1. Here the first thing to be taken notice of is the Reformation. This was begun about 220 years ago: first in Saxany in Germany, by the preaching of Martin Luther, who being stirred in his spirit, to see the horrid practices of the Popish clergy, and having set himself diligently to inquire after truth, by the study of the holy scriptures, and the writings of the ancient fathers of the church, very openly and boldly decried the corruptions and usurpations of the Romish church in his preaching and writings, and had soon a great number that fell in with him; among whom was the Elector of Saxony, the sovereign prince of the country to which he belonged. This greatly alarmed the church of Rome; and it did as it were rally all its force to oppose him and his doctrine, and fierce wars and persecutions were raised-against it: but yet it went on by the labours of Luther and Melancthon in Germany, and Zuinglius in Switzerland, and other eminent divines, who were cotemporary with Luther, and fell in with him; and particularly Calyin, whe appeared something after the beginning of the Reformation, but was one of the most eminent Reformers.

Many of the princes of Germany soon fell in with the Reformed religion, and many other states and kingdoms in Europe, as England, Scotland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, great part of France, Poland, Lithuania, Switzerland, and the Low Countries. So that it is thought, that heretofore about half Christendom were of the Protestant religion; though, since, the Papists have gained ground: so that the Protestants now have not so great a proportion.

Thus God began gloriously to revive his church again, and advance the kingdom of his Son, after such a dismal night of darkness as had been before from the rise of Antichrist to that time. There had been many endeavours used by the witnesses for the truth for a reformation before. But now, when God’s appointed time was come, bis work was begun, and went on with a swift und wonderful progress; and Antichrist, who had been rising higher and higher from his very first beginning until that time, was swiftly and suddenly brought down, and fell half way towards utter ruin, and never has been able to rise again to his former height. A certain very late expositor (Mr. Lowman) who explains the first five vials in the I6th chapter of Revelation, with greater probability perhaps than any who went before him, explains the fifth vial, which was poured out on the seat of the beast, of what came to pass in the Reformation; explaining the four preceding vials of certain great judgments God brought on the Popish dominions before the Reformation. It is said, Rev. xvi. 10. that “the fifth angel poured out his vial on the seat of the beast;” in the original, it is the throne of the beast; “and his kingdom was full of darkness, and they gnawed their tongues for pain, and blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.” He poured out his via) upon the throne of the beast, i. e. on the authority and dominion of the Pope: so the word throne is often used in scripture; so Kings i. 37. “As the Lord hath been with my lord the king, even so be he with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David;” i. e. make his dominion and authority greater, and his kingdom more glorious. But now, in the Reformation, the vials of God’s wrath were poured out on the throne of the beast. His throne was terribly shaken and diminished. The Pope’s authority and dominion was greatly diminished, both as to the extent and degree. He lost, as was said before, about half his dominions. And besides, since the Reformation, the Pope has lost great part of that authority, even in the Popish dominions, which he had before. He is not regarded, and his power is dreaded in no measure as it was wont to be. The powers: of Europe have learned not to put their necks under the Pope’s feet, as formerly they were wont to do. So that he is asa lion that has lost his teeth, in comparison of what he was once. And when the Pope and his clergy, enraged to see their authority so diminished at the Reformation, laid their heads together, and joined their forces to destroy the Reformation; their policy, which was wont to serve them so well, failed; and they found their kingdom full of darkness, so that they could do nothing, any more than the Egyptians, who rose not from their seats for three days. The Reformed church was defended as Lot and the angels were in Sodom, by smiting the Sodomites with darkness or blindness, that they could not find the door. God then fulfilled that in Job v. Il. &e. “To set up on high those that be low; that those which mourn may be exalted to safety. He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise. He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsell of the froward is carried headlong. They meet with darkness in the day time, and grope in the noon day as in the night. But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty.”

Those proud enemies of God’s people being so disappointed, and finding themselves so unable to uphold their own dominion and authority. this made them as it were-to gnaw their tongues for pain, or bite their tongues for mere rage.

2. I proceed therefore to show what opposition has been made to this success of Christ’s purchase by the Reformation by Satan and his adherents; observing, as we go along, how far they have been baffled, and how far they have been successful.

The opposition which Satan has made against the Reformed religion has been principally of the following kinds, viz. that which was made, |. By a general council of the church of Rome; 2. By secret plots and devices; 3. By open wars and invasions; 4. By cruel oppression and persecution; and 5. By bringing in corrupt opinions.

(1:) The first opposition that I shall take notice of is that which was made by the clergy of the church of Rome uniting together in a general council. This was the famous council of Trent, which the Pope called a little while after the Reformation. In that council, there met together six cardinals, thirty-two archbishops, two hundred and twenty-eight bishops, besides innumerable others of the Romish clergy. This council, in all their sittings, including the times of intermission between their sittings, was held for twenty-five years together. Their main business all this while was to concert measures for establishing the church of Rome against the Reformers, and for destroying the Reformation. But it proved that they were not able to perform. their enterprise. The Reformed church, notwithstanding their holding so great a council, and for so long a time together against it, remained, and remains. still. So that the counsel of the froward is carried headlong, and their kingdom is full of darkness, and they weary themselves to find the door.

Thus the church of Rome, instead of repenting of their deeds, when such clear light was held forth to them by

Luther, and other servants of God, the Reformers, does. by general agreement in council, persist in their vile corruptions and wickedness, and obstinate opposition to the kingdom of Christ. The doctrines and practices of the church of Rome, which were chiefly condemned by the Reformed, were confirmed by the decrees of their council; and the corruptions, in many respects, were carried higher than ever before; and they uttered blasphemous reproaches and curses against the Reformed religion, and all the Reformed church was excommunicated and anathematized by them; and so, according to the prophecy, “they blasphemed God.” Thus God hardened their hearts, intending to destroy them.

(2.) The Papists have often edeavoured to overthrow the Reformation by secret plots and conspiracies. So there were many plots against the life of Luther. The Papists were engaged in contriving to dispatch him, and to put him out of their way; and he, as he was a very bold man, often very much exposed himself in the cause of Christ: but yet they were wonderfully prevented from hurting him, and he at last died in his bed in peace. And so there have been from time to time innumerable schemes secretly laid for the overthrow of the Protestant religion; among which, that which seems to be most considerable, and which seemed to be the most likely to have taken effect, was that which was in the time of King Jamies I. of England, which is within the memory of many of us. There was at that time a strong conspiracy between the King of England and Lewis XIV. of France, who were both Papists, to extirpate the Northern heresy, as they called the Protestant religion, not only out of England, but out of all Europe; and had laid their schemes so, that they seemed to be almost sure of their purpose. They looked upon it, that if the Reformed religion were suppressed in the British realms, and in the Netherlands, which were the strongest part, and chief defence of the Protestant interest, they should have easy work with the rest. And just as their matters seemed to be come to a head, and their enterprise ripe for execution, God, in his providence, suddenly dashed all their schemes in pieces by the Revolution, at the coming in of King William and Queen Mary; by which all their designs were at an end; and the Protestant interest was more strongly established, by the crown of England’s being established in the Protestant house of Hanover, and a Papist being, by the constitution of the na-WORK OF REDEMPTION. 2h

tion, for ever rendered incapable of wearing the crown of England. ‘Thus they groped in darkness at noon day as in the night, and their hands could not perform their enterprise, and their kingdom was full of darkness, and they gnawed their tongues for pain.

After this, there was a deep design laid to bring the same thing to pass in the latter end of Queen Anne’s reign, by the bringing in of the Popish pretender; which was no less suddenly and totally baffled by divine Providence; as the plots against the Reformation, by bringing in the pretender, have been from time to time.

(3.) The Reformation has often been opposed by open wars and invasions. Soin the beginning of the Reformation, the Emperor of Germany, to suppress the Reformation, declared war with the Duke of Saxony, and the principal men who favoured and received Luther’s doctrine. But they could not obtain their end; they could not suppress the Reformation. For the same end, the King of Spain maintained a long war with Holland and the Low Countries in the century before last. But those cruel wars issued greatly to the disadvantage of the Romish church, as they occasioned the setting up of one of the most powerful Protestant states in EKurope, which, next to Great Britain, is the chief barrier of the Protestant religion. And the design of the Spanish invasion of England in Queen Elizabeth’s time, was to suppress and root out the Reformed religion; and therefore they brought in their fleet all manner of instruments of cruelty wherewith to torture the Protestants who would not renounce the Protestant religion. But their design was totally baffled, and their mighty fleet in a great measure ruined.

(4.) Satan has opposed the Reformation with cruel persecutions. The persecutions with which the Protestants in one kingdom and another have been persecuted by the church of Rome, have in many respects been far beyond any of the heathen persecutions which were before Constantine the Great, and beyond all that ever were before. So that Antichrist has proved the greatest and cruelest enemy to the church of Christ that ever was in the world, in this, as well as in all other respects; agreeahle to the description given of the church of Rome, Rev. xvii. 6. “And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.” And, chap. xviii. 24. “And on her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all them that were slain upon the earth.”

The heathen persecutions had been very dreadful: but now persecution by the church of Rome was improved, and studied, and cultivated, as an art or science. Suck ways of afflicting and tormenting were found out, as are beyond the thought and invention of ordinary men, or men who are unstudied in those things, and beyond the invention of all former ages. And that persecution might be managed the more effectually, there were certain societies of men established in various parts of the Popish dominions, whose business it should be to study, and improve, and practise persecution in its highest per. fection, which are those societies called the courts of inquisition. A reading of the particular histories of the Romish persecution, and their courts of inquisition, will give that idea which a few words cannot express.

When the Reformation began, the beast with seven heads and ten horns began to rage in a dreadful manner. After the Reformation, the church of Rome renewed its persecution of the poor Waldenses, and great multitudes of them were cruelly tortured and put to death. Soon after the Reformation, there were terrible persecutions in various parts of Germany; and especially in Bohemia, which lasted for thirty years together; in which so much blood was shed for the sake of religion, that a certain writer compares it to the plenty of waters of the great rivers of Germany. The countries of Poland, Lithuania, and Hungary, were in like manner deluged with Protestant blood.

By means of these and other cruel persecutions, the Protestant religion was ina great measure suppressed in Bohemia, and the Palatinate, and Hungary, which before were as it were Protestant countries. Thus was fulfilled what was foretold of the little horn, Dan. vii. 20, 21. ““— and of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell, even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them.” And what was foretold of the beast having seven heads and ten horns, Rev. xiii. 7. “And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.”

Also Holland and the other Low Countries were for many years a scene of nothing but the most affecting and amazing cruelties, being deluged with the blood of vrotestants, under the merciless hands of the Spaniards, to whom they were then in subjection. But in this persecution, the devil in a great uieasure failed of his purpose; as it issued in a great part of the Netherlands casting off the Spanish yoke, and setting up a wealthy and powerful Protestant state, to the great defence of the Protestant cause ever since.

France also is another country, which, since the Reformation, in some respects, perhaps more than any other, has been a scene of dreadful cruelties suffered by the Protestants there. After many cruelties had been exercised towards the Protestants in that kingdom, there was begun a persecution of them in the year 1571, in the reign of Charles LX. King of France. It began with a cruel massacre, wherein 70,000 Protestants were slain in a few days’ time, as the King boasted: and in all this persecution, he slew, as is supposed, 300,000 martyrs. And it is reckoned, that about this time, within thirty years, there were martyred in this kingdom, for the Protestant religion, 39 princes, 143 counts, 234 barons, 147,518 gentlemen, and 760,000 of the common people.

But all these persecutions were, for exquisite cruelty, far exceeded by those which followed in the reign of Lewis XIV. which indeed are supposed to exceed all others that ever have been; and being long continued, by reason of the long reign of that king, almost wholly extirpated the Protestant religion out of that kingdom, where had been before a multitude of famous Protestant churches all over the kingdom. Thus it was given to the beast to make war with the saints, and to overcome them.

There was also a terrible persecution in England in Queen Mary’s time, wherein great numbers in all parts of the kingdom were burnt alive. And after this, though the Protestant religion has been for the most part established by law in England, yet there have been very severe persecutions by the high churchmen, who symbolize in many things with the Papists. Such a persecution was that which occasioned our forefathers to flee from their native country, and to come and settle in this land, which was then a hideous bowling wilderness, And these persecutions were continued with little intermission until King William came to the throne.

Scotland has also been the scene, for nary years together, of cruelties and blood by the hands of high churchmen, such as came very little short of the Popish persecution in Queen Mary’s days, and in many things much exceeded it, which continued until they were delivered by King William.

Ireland also has been as it were overwhelmed with Protestant blood. In the days of King Charles I. of England, above 200,000 Protestants were cruelly murdered in that kingdom in a few days; the Papists, by a secret agreement, rising all over the kingdom at an appointed time, intending to kill every Protestant in the kingdom at once.

Besides these, there have been very cruel persecutions in Italy, and Spain, and other places which I shall not stand to relate.

Thus did the devil, and his great minister Antichrist, rage with such violence and crneltv against the church of Christ; and thus did the whore of Babylon make her-. self drunk with the blood of the saints and martyrs of Jesus; and thus, by these persecutions, the Protestant church has been much diminished! Yet with all have they not been able to prevail; but still the Protestant church is upheld, and Christ fulfils his promise, that “the gates of hell shall not prevail against his church.”

(5.) The last kind of opposition that Satan has made to the Reformation is by corrupt opinions. Satan has opposed the light of the gospel which shone forth in the Reformation, with many corrupt opinions, which he has brought in and propagated in the woyld.

And here, in the first place, the first opposition of this kind was by raising up the sect of the Anabaptists, which began about four or five years after the Reformation itself began. This sect, as it first appeared in Germany, were vastly more extravagant than the present Anabaptists are in Kngland. They held a great many exceeding corrupt opinions. One tenet of theirs was, That there ought to be no civil authority, and so that it was lawful to rebel against civil authority. And on this principle, they refused to submit to magistrates, or any human laws; and gathered together in vast armies, to defend themselves against their civil rulers, and put all Germany into an uproar, and so kept it for some time.

The next opposition of this kind to the Reformation was that which was made by enthusiasts. Those are called enthusiasts who falsely pretend to be inspired by the Holy Ghost as the prophets were. These began in

Germany about ten years after Luther began the Reformation; and there arose various sects of them who were exceeding wild andextravagant. The followers of these are the Quakers in England, and other parts of the British dominions.

The next to these were the Socinians, who had their beginning chiefly in Poland, by the teaching of two men; the’ name of the one was Lelius Socinus, of the other, Faustus Socinus. They held, that Christ was a mere man, and denied Christ’s satisfaction, and most of the fundamental doctrines of the Christian religion. Their heresy has since been greatly propagated among Protestants in Poland, Germany, Holland, England, and other. places.

After these arose the Arminians. These first appeared in Holland about 130 years ago. They take their name from a Dutchman, whose name was Jacobus Van Harm in, which, turned into Latin, is called Jacobus Arminius; and from his name the whole sect are called Arminians. This Jacobus Arminius was first a minister at Amsterdam, and then a professor of divinity in the university of Leyden. He had many followers in Holland. There was upon this a synod of all the Reformed churches called together, who met at Dort in Holland. The synod of Dort condemned them; but yet they spread and prevailed. They began to prevail in England in the reign of Charles I. especially in the church of England. The church of England divines before that were almost universally Calvinists: but since that, Arminianism has gradually more and more prevailed, until they are become almost universally Arminians. And not only so, but Arminianism has greatly prevailed among the Dissenters, and has spread greatly in New England, as well as Old.

Since this, Arianism has been revived. As I told you before, Arianism, a little after Constantine’s time, almost swallowed up the Christian world, like a flood out of the mouth of the serpent which threatened to swallow up the woman. And of late years, this heresy has been revived in England, and greatly prevails there, both in the church of England, and among Dissenters. ‘These hold, that Christ is but a mere creature, though they grant that he is the greatest of all creatures.

Again, another thing which has of late exceedingly prevailed among Protestants, and especially in England, is Deism. The Deists wholly cast off the Christian reaa ligion, and are professed infidels. They are not like the heretics, Arians, Socinians, and others, who own the scriptures to be the word of God, and hold the Christian religion to be the true religion, but only deny these and these fundamental doctrines of the Christian religion: they deny the whole Christian religion. Indeed they own the being of God; but deny that Christ was the son of God, and say he was a mere cheat; and so they say all the prophets and apostles were: and they deny the whole scripture.. They deny that any of it is the word of God. They deny any revealed religion, or any word of God at all; and say, that God has given mankind no other light. to walk by but theirown reason. These sentiments and opinions our nation, which is the principal nation of the Reformation, is very much overrun with, and they prevail more and more.

Thus much concerning the opposition that Satan has made against the Reformation.

3. I proceed now to show what success the gospel has more lately had, or what success it has had in these later times of the Reformed church. This success may be reduced to these three heads: 1. Reformation in doctrine and worship in countries called Christian; 2. Propagation of the gospel among the heathen; 3. Revival of religion in the power and practice of it.

(1.) As to the first, viz. reformation in doctrine, the most considerable success of the gospel that has been of late of this kind, has been in the empire of Muscovy, which is a country of vast extent. The people of this country, so many of them as call themselves Christians, professed to be of the Greek church; but were barbarously ignorant, and very superstitious, until of late years. Their late Emperor Peter the Great, who reigned until within these twenty years, set himself to reform the people of his dominions, and took great pains to bring them out of their darkness, and to have them instructed in religion. And to that end, he set up schools of learning, and ordered the Bible to be printed in the language of the country, and made a law that every family should keep the holy scriptares in their houses, and that every person should be able to read the same, and that no person should be allowed to marry until they were able to read the scriptures. He also reformed the churches of his country in many of their superstitions, whereby the religion professed and practised in Muscovy is much nearer to that of the Protestants than formerly it used to be. This emperor gave great encouragement to the exercise of the Protestant religion in his dominions. And since that Muscovy has become a land of light, in comparison of what it was before. Wonderful alterations have been brought about in the face of religion for the better within these fifty years past.

(2.) As to the second kind of success which the gospel has lately had, viz. its propagation among the heathen, I would take notice of three things.

[{1.] The propagation there has been of the gospel among the heathen here in America. This American continent on which we live, which is-a very great part of the world, and, together with its neighbouring seas adjoining, takes up one side of the globe, was wholly unknown to all Christian nations until these latter times. It was not known that there was any such part of the world, though it was very full of people: and therefore here the devil had the people that inhabited this part of the world as it were secure to himself, out of the reach of the light of the gospel, and so out of the way of molestation in his dominion over them. And here the many nations of Indians worshipped him as God from age to age, while the gospel was confined to the opposite side of the globe. It isa thing which, if I remember right, I have some where lit of, as probably supposed from some remaining accounts of things, that the occasion of the first peopling of America was this, that the devil being alarmed and surprised by the wonderful success of the gospel which there was the first three hundred years after Christ, and by the downfall of the heathen empire in the time of Constantine, and seeing the gospel spread so fast, and fearing that his beathenish kingdom would be wholly overthrown through the world, led away a people from the other continent into America, that they might be quite out of the reach of the gospel, that here he might quietly possess them, and reign over them as their god. It is what many writers give an account of, that some of the nations of Indians, when the Kuropeans first cameinto America, had a tradition among them, that their god first led them into this continent, and went before them in an ark.

Whether this was so or not, yet it is certain that the devil did here quietly enjoy his dominion over the poor nations of Indians for many ages. But in later times God has sent the gospel into these parts of the world, and now the Christian church is set up here in New England, and in other parts of America, where before had been nothing but the grossest heathenish darkness. Great part of America is now full of Bibles, and full of at least the form of the worship of the true God and Jesus Christ, where the name of Christ before had not been heard of for many ages, if at all. And though there has been but a small propagation of the gospel among the heathen here, in comparison of what were to be wished for; yet there has been something worthy to be taken notice of. There was something remarkable in the first times of New England, and something remarkable has appeared of late here, and in other parts of America among many Indians, of an inclination to be instructed in the Christian religion.

And however small the propagation cf the gospel among the heathen here in America has been hitherto, yet I think we may well look upon the discovery of so great a part of the world as America, and bringing the gospel into it,as one thing by which divine Providence ’s preparing the way for the future glorious times of the church; when Satan’s kingdom shall be overthrown, not only throughout the Roman empire, but throughout the whole habitable globe, on every side, and on all its continents. When those times come, then doubtless the gospel, which is already brought over into America, shall have glorious success, and all the inhabitants of this new discovered world shall become subjects of the kingdom of Christ, as well as all the other ends of the earth: and in all probability Providence has so ordered it, that the mariner’s compass, which is an invention of later times, whereby men are enabled to sail over the widest ocean, when before they durst not venture far from Jand, should prove a preparation for what God intends to bring to pass in the glorious times of the church, viz. the sending forth the gospel wherever any of the children of men dwell, how far soever off, and however separated by wide oceans from those parts of the world which are already Christianized.

[2.] ‘here has of late years been a very considerable propagation of the gospel among the heathen in the dominions of Muscovy. Ihave already observed the reformation which there has lately been among those who are called Christians there: but I now speak of the heathen. Great part of the vast dominions of the Emperor of Muscovy, are gross heathens. The greater part of Great Tartary, a heathen country, has in later times been brought under the Muscovite government; and there have been of late great numbers of those heathen who have renounced their heathenism, and have embraced the Christian religion.

[3.] There has been lately‘a very considerable propagation of the Christian religion among the heathen in the Hast Indies; particularly, many in a country in the Hast Indies called Malabar, have been brought over to the Christian Protestant religion, chiefly by the labours of certain missionaries sent thither to instruct them by the King of Denmark, who have brought over many henthens to the Christian faith, and have set up schoo!* among them, and a printing press to print Bivles ana other books for their instruction, in ther own language, with great success.

(3.) The last kind of success which there has lately been of the gospel, which [ shall take notice of, is the revivals of the power and practice of religion which have lately been. And here! shall take notice of but two instances.

[1.] There has not long since been a remarkable revival of the power and practice of religion in Saxony in Germany, through the endeavours of an eminent divine there, whose name was August Herman Franke, professor of divinity at Halle in Saxony, who being a person of eminent charity, the great work that God wrought by him, began with his setting on foot a charitable design. It began only with his placing an alms box at his study door, into which some poor mites were thrown, whereby books were bought for the instruction of the poor. And God was pleased so wonderfully to smile on his design, and so to pour out a spirit of charity on people there on that occasion, that with their charity he was enabled ina little time to erect public schools for the instruction of poor children, and an orphan house for the supply and instruction of the poor; so that at last it came to that, that near five hundred children were maintained and instructed in learning and piety by the charity of others; and the number continued to increase more and more for many years, and until the last account I have seen. This was accompanied with a wonderful reformation and revival of religion, and a spirit of piety, in the city and university of Halle; and thus it continued. Which also had great influence in many other places in Germany. Their example seemed remarkably to stir up mult tudes to their imitation.

[2.] Another thing, which it would be ungrateful in us not to take notice of, is that remarkable pouring out of the Spirit of God which has been of late in this part of New England, of which we, in this town, have had such a share. But it is neediess for me particularly to describe it, it being what you have so lately been eye witnesses to, and I hope multitudes of you sensible of the benefit of

Thus I have mentioned the more remarkable instances of the success which the gospel has lately had in the world.

4. proceed now to the Jast thing that was proposed to be considered relating to the success of Christ s redemption during this space, viz. what the state of things is now in the world with regard to the church of Christ, and the success of Christ’s purchase. And this I would do, by showing how things are now compared with the first times of the Reformation. And, 1. would show wherein the state of things is altered for the worse; and, 2. How it is altered for the better.

(1) I would show wherein the state of things is altered from what it was in the beginning of the Reformation, for the worse; and it is so especially in these three respects.

[1.] The Reformed church is much diminished. The Reformation in the former times of it, as was observed before, was supposed to take place through one half of Christendom, excepting the Greek church; or that there were as many Protestants as Papists. But now it is not so; the Protestant church is much diminished. Heretofore there have been multitudes of Protestants in France; many famous Protestant churches were all over that country, who used to meet together in synods, and maintain a very regular discipline; and great part of that kingdom were Protestants. The Protestant church ol France was a great part of the glory of the Reformation. But now it is far otherwise: this church is all broken to pieces and scattered. The Protestant religion is almost wholly rooted out of that kingdom by the cruel persecutions which have been there, and there are now but very few Protestant assemblies in all that kingdom. The Protestant interest is also greatly diminished in Germany. There were several sovereign princes there formerly who were Protestants, whose successors are now Papists; as, particularly, the Flector Palatine, and the Kiector of Saxony. The kingdom of Bohemia was formerly a Protestant kingdom, but is now in the hands of the Papists: and so Hungary was formerly a Protestant country, but the Protestants there have been greatly reduced, and in a great measure subdued, by the persecutions that have been there. And the Protestant interest has no way remarkably gained ground of late of the church of Rome.

[2.] Another thing wherein the state of things is altered for the worse from what was in the former times of the Reformation, is the prevailing of licentiousness in principles and opinions. There is not now that spirit of orthodoxy which there was then: there is very little appearance of zeal for the mysterious and spiritual doctrines of Christianity; and they never were so ridiculed, and had in contempt, as they are in the present age, and especially in England, the principal kingdom of ti e Reformation. Jn this kingdom, those principles, on which the power of godliness depends, are ina greit measure exploded, and Arianism, and Socinianism, and Arminianism, and Deism, are the things which preva ], and carry almost all before them. And particularly history gives no account of any age wherein there was so great an apostasy of those who had been brought up under the light of the gospel, to infidelity; never was there such a casting off of the Christian and all revealed religion; never any age wherein was so much scoffing at and ridiculing the gospel of Christ, by those who have been brought up under gospel light, nor any thing like it, as there is at this day.

[3.] Another thing wherein things are altered for the worse, is, that there is much less of the prevalency of the power of godliness, than there was at the beginning of the Reformation. There was a glorious outpouring of the Spirit of God that accompanied the first Reformation, not only to convert multitudes in so short a time from Popery to the true religion, but to turn many to God and true godliness. Religion gloriously flourished in one country and another, as most remarkably appeared in those times of terrible persecution, which have already been spoken of. But now there is an exceeding great decay of vital piety; yea, it seems to be despised, called enthusiasm, whimsy, and fanaticism. Those who are truly religious, are commonly looked upon to be crack-brained, and beside their right mind; and vice and profaneness dreadfully prevail, like a flood which threatens to bear down all] before it. — But I proceed now to show, (2.) In what respect things are altered for the better from what they were in the first Reformation.

[1.] The power and influence of the Pope is much diminished. Although, since the former times of the Reformation, he has gained ground in extent of dominion; yet he has lost in degree of influence. The vial which in the beginning of the Reformation was poured out on the throne of the beast, to the great diminishing of his power and authority in the world, has continued running ever since. The Pope, soon after the Reformation, became less regarded by the princes of Europe than he had been before; and so he has been since less and less. Many of the Popish princes themselves seem now to regard him very little more than they think will serve their own designs; of which there have been several remarkable proofs and instances of late.

[2.] There is far less persecution now than there was in the first times of the Reformation. You have heard already how dreadfully persecution raged in the former times of the Reformation; and there is something of it still. Some parts of the Protestant church are at this day under persecution, and so probably will be until the day of the church’s suffering and travail is at an end, which will not be until the fall of Antichrist. But it is now in no measure as it was heretofore. There does not seem to be the same spirit of persecution prevailing; it is become more out of fashion even among the Popish princes. The wickedness of the enemies of Christ, and the opposition against his cause, seem to run in another channel. The humour now is, to despise and laugh at all religion; and there seems to be a spirit of indifferency about it. However, so far the state of things is better than it has been, that there is so much less of persecution.

[3.] There is a great increase of learning. In the dark times of Popery before the Reformation, learning was so far decayed, that the world seemed to be overrun with barbarous ignorance. Their very priests were many of them grossly ignorant. Learning began to revive with the Reformation, which was owing very much to the art of printing, which was invented a little before the Reformation; and since that, Jearning has increased more and more, and at this day is undoubtedly raised to vastly a greater height than ever it was before: and though no good use is made of it by the greater part of learned men, yet the increase of learning in itself is a thing to be rejoiced in, because it is a good, and, if duly applied, an excellent handmaid to divinity, and is a talent which, if God gives men a heart, affords them a great advantage to do great things for the advancement of the kingdom of Christ, and the good of the souls of men. That learning and knowledge should greatly increase before .the glorious times, seems to be foretold, Dan. xii. 4. “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and sea] the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” And however little now learning is applied to the advancement of religion; yet we may hope that the days are approaching wherein God will make great use of it for the advancement of the kingdom of Christ.

God in his providence now seems to be acting over again the same part which he did a little before Christ came. The age wherein Christ came into the world, was an age wherein learning greatly prevailed, and was at a greater height than ever it had been before; and yet wickedness never prevailed more than then. God was pleased to suffer human learning to come to such a height before he sent forth the gospel into the world, that the world might see the insufficiency of all their own wisdom for the obtaining the knowledge of God, without the gospel of Christ, and the teachings of his Spirit: and then, after that, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God, by the foolishness of preaching, to save them that believe. And when the gospel came to prevail first without the help of man’s wisdom, then God was pleased to make use of learning as an handmaid. So now learning is at a great height at this day in the world, far beyond what it was in the age when Christ appeared; and now the world, by their learning and wisdom, do not know God; and they seem to wander in darkness, are miserably deluded, stumble and fall in matters of religion, as in midnight darkness. Trusting to their learning, they grope in the day time as in the night. Learned men are exceedingly divided in their opinions concerning the matters of religion, run into all manner of corrupt opinions, and pernicious and foolish errors. They scorn to submit their reason to divine revelation, to believe any thing that is above their comprehension; and so being wise in their own eyes, they become fools, and even vain in their imaginations, and turn the truth of God into a lie, and their foolish hearts are darkened. See setae ine Ge:

But yet, when God has sufficiently shown men the in. sufficiency of human wisdom and Jearning for the pur: poses of religion, and when the appointed time comes tor that glorious outpouring of the Spirit of God, when he will himself by his own immediate influence enlighten men’s minds; then may we hope that God will make use of the great increase of learning as an handmaid to religion, as a means of the glorious advancement of the kingdom of his Son. Then shall human learning be subservient to the understanding of the scriptures, and to a clear explanation and a glorious defence of the doctrines of Christianity. And there is no doubt to be made of it, that God in his providence has of late given the world the art of printing, and such a great increase of learning, to prepare for what he designs to accomplish for his church in the approaching days of its prosperity. And thus the wealth of the wicked is laid up tor the just, agreeable to Prov. xiii. 22.

Having now shown how the work of redemption has been carried on from the fall of man to the present time, before I proceed any further, I would make some Application.

1. From what has been said, we may see great evidence of the truth of the Christian religion, and that the scriptures are the word of God. There are three arguments of this, which I shall take notice of, which may be drawn from what has been said.

(1.) It may be argued from that violent and inveterate opposition there has always appeared of the wickedness of the world against this religion. The religion that the church of God has professed from the first founding of the church after the fall to this time, has always been the same, Though the dispensations have been altered, yet the religion which the church has professed has always, as to its essentials, been the same. The church of God, from the beginning, has been one society. The Christian church which has been since Christ’s ascension, is manifestly the same society continued with the church, that was before Christ came. The Christian church is grafted on their root: they are built on the same foundation. The revelation on which both have depended, is essentially the same: for as the Christian churehis built on the holy scriptures, so was the Jewish church, though now the scriptures be enlarged by the addition of the New Testament; but still it is essentially the same reve-Jation with that which was given in the Old Testanient only the subjects of divine revelation are now more c early revealed in the New Testament than they were in the Uld. But the sum and substance of both the Old Testament and New, is Christ and his redemption. The religion of the church of Israel, was essentially the same religion with that of the Christian church, as evidently appears from what has been said. The ground work of the religion of the church of God, both before and since Christ has appeared, is the same great scheme of redemption by the Son of God; and so the church that was before the Israelitish church, was still the same society, and it was essentially the same religion that was professed and practised in it. Thus it was from Noah to Abraham, and thus it was before the flood. And this society of men that is called the church, has always been built on the foundatioh of those revelations which we have in the scriptures, which have always been essentially the same, though gradually increasing. The church before the flood, was built on the foundation of those revelations of Christ which were given to Adam, and Abel, and Enoch, of which we have an account in the former chapters of Genesis, and others of the like import. The church after the flood, was built on the foundation of the revelations made to Noah and Abraham, to Melchisedec, Isaac, and Jacob, to Joseph, Job, and other holy men of whom we have an account in the scriptures, or other revelations that were to the same purpose. And after this the church depended on the scriptures themselves as they gradually increased; so that the church of God has always been bu’lt on the foundations of divine revelation, and always on those revelations that were essentially the same, and which are summarily comprehended in the holy scriptures, and ever since about Moses’ time have been built on the scriptures themselves.

So that the opposition which nas been made to the church of God in all ages, has always been against the same religion, and the same revelation. Now therefore the violent and perpetual opposition that has ever been made by the corruption and wickedness of mankind against this church, is a strong argument of the truth of this religion, and this revelation, upon which the church has always been built. Contraries are well argued one from another. We may well and safely argue, that a thing is good, according to the degree of opposition in which it stands to evil, or the degree in which evil opposes it, and is an enemy to it. We may well argue, that a thing is light, by the great enmity which darkness has to it. Now it is evident, by the things which you have heard concerning the church of Christ, and that holy religion of Jesus Christ which it has professed, that the wickedness of the world has had a perpetual hatred to it, and has made most violent opposition against it.

That the church of God has always met with great opposition in the world, none can deny. This is plain by profane history as far as that reaches; and before that, divine history gives us the same account. The church of God, and its religion and worship, began to be opposed in Cain’s and Abel’s time, and was so when the earth was filled with violence in Noah’s time. And after this, how was the church opposed in Egypt! and how was the church of Israel always hated by the nations round about, agreeable to that in Jer. xii. 9. “Mine heritage is unto me as a speckled bird, the birds round about are against her.” And after the Babylonish captivity, how was this church persecuted by Antiochus Epiphanes and others! and how was Christ persecuted when he was on earth! and how were the apostles and other Christians persecuted by the Jews before the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans! How violent were that people against the church! and how dreadful was the opposition of the heathen world against the Christian church after this before Constantine! How great was their spite against the true religion! And since that, how yet more violent, and spiteful, and cruel, has been the opposition of Antichrist against the church!

There is no other such instance of opposition. History gives no account of any other body of men that have been so hated, and so maliciously and insatiably pursued and persecuted, nor any thing like it. No other religion ever was so maligned age after age. The nations of other professions have enjoyed their religions in peace and quietness, however they have differed from their neighbours. One nation has worshipped one sort of gods, and others another, without molesting or disturbing one another about it, All the spite and opposition has been against this religion which the church of Christ has professed. All other religions have seemed to show an implacable enmity to this; and men have seemed to have, from one age to another, such a spite against it, that they have seemed as though they could never satisfy their cruelty. They put their invention upon the rack to find out torments that should be cruel enough; and yet, after all, never seemed to be satisfied. Their thirst has never been satisfied with blood.

So that this is out of doubt, that this religion, and these scriptures, have always been malignantly opposed in the world. The only question that remains is, What it is that has made this opposition! — Whether or not it has been good or bad? Whether it be the wickedness and corruption of the world, or not, that has done this? But of this there can be no greater doubt than of the other, if we consider how causeless this cruelty has always been, who the opposers have been, and the manner in which they have opposed. The opposition has chiefly been from heathenism and Popery; which things certainly are evil. They are both of them very evil, and the fruits of the blindness, corruption, and wickedness of men, as the very Deists themselves confess. The light of nature shows, that the religion of heathens, consisting in the worship of idols, and sacrificing their children to them, and inobscene and abominable rites and eeremonies, is wickedness. And the superstitions, and idolatries, and usurpations, of the church of Rome, are no Jess contrary to the light of nature. By this it appears, that this opposition which has been made against the church of God, has been made by wicked men. And with regard to the opposition of the Jews in Christ’s and the apostles’ times, it was in a most corrupt time of that nation, when the people were generally become exceeding wicked, as some of the Jewish writers themselves, as Josephus and others, who lived about that time, do expressly say. And that it has been mere wickedness that has made this opposition, is manifest from the manner of opposition, the extreme violence, injustice, and cruelty, with which the church of God has been treated. It seems to show the hand of malignant infernal spirits in it.

Now, what reason can be assigned, why the corruption and wickedness of the world should so implacably set itself against this religion of Jesus Christ, and against the scriptures, but only that they are contrary to wickedness, and consequently are good and holy ’ — Why should the enemies of Christ, for so many thousand years together, manifest such a mortal hatred of this religion, but only that it is the cause of God? If the scriptures be not the word of God, and the religion of the church of Christ be not the true religion, then it must follow, that it isa most wicked religion; nothing but a pack of lies and abominable delusions, invented by the enemies of God themselves. And if this were so, it is not. likely that the enemies of God, and the wickedness of the world, would have maintained such a perpetual and implacable enmity against it.

(2..) It is a great argument that the Christian church and its religion is from God, that it has been upheld hitherto through all the opposition and dangers it has passed through. That the church of God and the true religion, which has been so continually and violently opposed, with so many endeavours to overthrow it, and which has so often been brought to the brink of ruin, and almost swallowed up, through the greatest part of six thousand years, has yet been upheld, does most remarkably show the hand of God in favour of the ckurch. If we consider it, it will appear one of the greatest wonders and miracles that ever came to pass. There is nothing else like it upon the face of the earth. There is no other society of men that has stood as the church has. As to the old world, which was before the flood, that was overthrown by a deluge of waters; but yet the church of God was preserved. Satan’s visible kingdom on earth was then once entirely overthrown; but the visible kingdom of Christ never has been overthrown. All those ancient human kingdoms and monarchies of which we read, and which have been in former ages, are long since come to an end. Those kingdoms of which we read in the Old Testament, of the Moabites, the Ammonites, the Kdomites, &c. are all long ago come to an end. Those four great monarehies of the world have been overthrown one after another. The great empire of proud Babylon was overthrown by the Persians; and then the Persian empire was overthrown by the Greeks; after this the Grecian empire was overthrown by the Romans; and, finally, the Roman empire fell a sacrifice to various barbarous nations. Here is a remarkable fulfilment of the words of the text with respect to other things, even the greatest and most glorious of them: they have all grown old, and have vanished away, “the moth has eaten them up like a garment, and the worm has eaten them like wool;” but yet God’s church remains.

Never were there so many and so potent endeavours to destroy any thing else, as there have been to destroy

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the church. Other kingdoms and societies of men, which have appeared to be ten times as strong as the church of God, have been destroyed with an hundredth part of the opposition which the church of God has met with: which shows, that it is God who has been the protector of the church. For it is most plain, that it has not upheld itself by its own strength. For the most part, it bas been a very weak society. They have been a little flock: so they were of old. The children of Israel were but a small handful of people, in comparison of the many who often sought their overthrow. And so in Christ’s time, and in the beginning of the Christian church after Christ’s resurrection, they were but a remnant: whereas the whole multitude of the Jewish nation were against them. And so in the beginning of the Gentile church, they were but a small number in comparison with the heathen, who sought their overthrow. And so in the dark times of Antichrist, before the Reformation, they were but a handful; and yet their enemies could not overthrow them. And it has commonly been so, that the enemies of the church have not only had the greatest number on their side, but they have had the strength on their side in other respects. They have commonly had all the civil authority on their side. So it was in Egypt: the civil authority was on the side of the Egyptians, and the church were only their slaves, and were in their hands; and yet they could not overthrow them. And so it was in the time of the persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes: the authority was all on the side of the persecutors, and the church was under their dominion; and yet all their cruelty could not extirpate it. And so it was afterwards in the time of the heathen Roman government. And so it was in the time of Julian the apostate, who did his utmost to overthrow the Christian church, and to restore heathenism. And so it has been for the most part since the rise of Antichrist: for a great many ages, the civil authority was all on the side of Antichrist, and the church seemed to be in their hands.

And not only has the strength of the enemies of the church been greater than the strength of the church, but ordinarily the church has not used what strength they have had in their own defence, but have committed themselves wholly to God. So it was in the time of the Jewish persecutions before the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans; and so it was in the time of the heathen persecutions before Constantine; the Christians did not only not rise up in arms to defend themselves, but they did not pretend to make any forcible resistance to their heathen persecutors. So it has for the most part been under the Popish persecutions; and yet they have never been able to overthrow the church of God; but it stands to this very day.

And this is still the more exceeding wonderful, if we consider how often the church has been brought to the brink of ruin, and the case seemed to be desperate, and all hope gone, and they seemed to be swallowed up. In the time of the old world, when wickedness so prevailed, as that but one family was left, yet God wonderfully appeared, and overthrew the wicked world with a flood, and preserved his church. And so at the Red Sea, when Pharaoh and his host thought they were quite sure of their prey; yet God appeared, and destroyed them, and delivered his church. And so was it from time to time in the church of Israel, as has been shown. So under the tenth and last heathen persecution, their persecutors boasted that now they had done the business for the Christians, and had overthrown the Christian church; yet in the midst of their triumph, the Christian church rises out of the dust and prevails, and the heathen empire totally falls before it. So when the Christian church seemed ready to be swallowed up by the Arian heresy; so when Antichrist rose and prevailed, and all the world wondered after the beast, and the church for many hundred years was reduced to such a small number, and seemed to be hidden, and the power of the world was engaged to destroy those little remainders of the church; vet they could never fully accomplish their design, and at last God wonderfully revived his church in the time of the Reformation, and made it to stand as it were on its feet in the sight of its enemies, and raised it out of their reach. And so since, when the Popish powers have plotted the overthrow of the Reformed church, and have seemed just about to bring their matters to a conclusion, and to finish their design, then God has wonderfully appeared for the deliverance of his church, as it was in the time of the Revolution by King William. And so it has been from time to time: presently after the darkest times of the church, God has made his church most gloriously Lo flourish.

If such a preservation of the church of God, from the beginning of the world hitherto, attended with such circumstances, is not sufficient to shew a divine hand in favour of it, what can be devised that would be suthicient? But if this be from the divine hand, then God owns the church, and owns her religion, and owns that revelation and those scriptures on which she is: built; and so it will follow, that their religion is the true religion, or God’s religion, and that the scriptures, which they make their rule, are his word.

(3.) We may draw this further argument for the divine authority of the scriptures from what has been said, viz. that God has so fulfilled those things which are foretold in the scriptures. — I have already observed, as I went along, how the prophecies of scripture were fulfilled: I shall now therefore single out but two instances of the fulfilment of scripture prophecy.

[1.] One is in preserving his church from being ruined. I have just now shown what an evidence this is of the divine authority of the scriptures in itself considered: [| now speak of it as a fulfilment of scripture prophecy. This is abundantly foretold and promised in the scriptures, as particularly in the text: there it is foretold, that other. things shall fail, other kingdoms and monarchies, which set themselves in opposition shall come to nothing: ‘the moth should eat them up like a garment, and the worm should eat them like wool.” And so it has in fact come to pass. But it is here foretold, that God’s covenant mercy to his church shall continue for ever; and so it hath hitherto proved, though now it be so many ages since, and though the church has passed through so many dangers. The same is promised, Isa. liv. 7. “No weapon that is formed against thee, shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judginent, thou shalt condemn.” And again, Isa. xlix. 14, 15, 16. “But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.” The same is promised again in Isa. lix, 21. and Isa. xliii. 1, 2. and Zech. xii. 2,8. So Christ promises the same, when he says, “On this rock will 1 build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Now if this be not from God, and the scriptures be not the word of God, and the church of Christ built on the foundation of this word be not of God, how could the persons who foretold this, know it? For if the church were not of God, it was a very unlikely thing ever to come to pass. For they foretold the great opposition, and the great dangers, and also foretold that other kingdoms should come to nought, and that the church should often be almost swallowed up, as it were easy to show, and yet foretold that the church should remain. Now, how could they foresee so unlikely a thing but by divine inspiration?

(2.] The other remarkable instance which I shall mention of the fulfilment of scripture prophecy, is in fulfilling what is foretold concerning Antichrist, a certain great opposer of Christ and his kingdom. And the way that this Antichrist should arise, is foretold, viz. not among the heathen, or those nations that never professed Christianity; but that he should arise by the apostasy and falling away of the Christian church into a corrupt state: 2 Thes. ii. 3. “For that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.’ — And it is prophesied, that this Antichrist, or man of sin, sheuld be one, that should set himself up in the temple or visible church of God, pretending to be vested with the power of God himself, as head of the church, as in the same chapter, ver. 4. And all this is exactly come to pass in the church of Rome. Again, it is intimated, that the rise of Antichrist should be gradual, as there, ver. 7. “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth, will Jet, until he be taken out of the way.” This also came to pass. — Again, it is prophesied of such a great and mighty enemy of the Christian church, that he should be a great prince or monarch of the Roman empire: so he is represented as an horn of the fourth beast in Daniel, or fourth kingdom or monarehy upon earth, as the angel himself explains it, as you may see of the little horn in the 7th chapter of Daniel. This also came to pass. — Yea it is prophesied, that the seat of this great prince, or pretended vicar of God, and head of his church, should be in the city of Rome itself. In the 17th chapter of Revelation, it is said expressly, that the spiritual whore, or false church, should have her seat on seven nountains or hills: Rev. xvii. 9. “The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth:” and in the last verse of the chapter, it is said expressly, “The woman which thou sawest, is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth;” which it is certain was at that time the city of Rome. This prophecy also has come to pass in the church of Rome.

Further, it was prophesied, that this Antichrist should reign over peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues, Rev. xvii. 15. and that all the world should wonder after the beast, Rev. xiii. 3. This also came to pass in the church of Rome. It was foretold that this Antichrist should be eminent and remarkable for the sin of pride, pretending to great things, and assuming very much to himself: so in the forementioned place in Thessalonians, “That he should exalt himself above all that is called God,” or that is worshipped. So Rev. xiii. 5. “And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things, and blasphemies.” Dan. vii. 20. the little horn is said to have a mouth speaking very great things, and his look to be more stout than his fellows. This also came to pass in the Pope, and the church of Rome. — lt was also prophesied, that Antichrist should be an exceeding cruel persecutor, Dan. vii. 21. The same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them: Rev. xiii. 7. “And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them.” Rev. xvii. 6. “And I saw the woman drunken. with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.” This also came to pass in the church of Rome. — It was foretold, that Antichrist should excel in craft and policy: Dan. vii. 8. “In this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man.” And verse 20. “Even of that horn that had eyes.” This also came to pass in the church of Rome. — It was foretold, that the kings of Christendom should be subject to Antichrist: Rev. xvii. 12, 13. “And the ten horns which thou sawest, are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.” This also came to pass with respect to the Romish church. — It was foretold, that he should perform pretended miracles and lying wonders: 2 Thess. ii. 9. “‘ Whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all power, and signs, and lying wonders.” Rev. xiii. 13, 14, “And he doth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth, in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth, by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast.” This also came to pass in the church of Rome. Fire coming down from heaven, seems to have reference to their excommunications, which were dreaded like fire from heaven. — lIt was foretold, that he should forbid to marry, and command to abstain from meats: Tim. iv. 38. “Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God had created to be received with thanksgiving.” This also is exactly fulfilled in the church of Rome. — It was foretold, that he should be very rich, and arrive at a great degree of earthly splendor and glory: Rev. xvii. 4. “And the woman was arrayed in purple, and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones, and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand.” And so chap. xviii. 7. 12, 13.16. This also is come to pass with respect to the church of Rome. — lt was foretold, that he should forbid any to buy or sell, but those that had his mark; Rev. xiii. 17. And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” This also is fulfilled in the church of Rome. — It was foretold, that he should sell the souls of men, Rev. xviii. 13. where, - in enumerating the articles of his merchandise, the souls of men are mentioned as one. This also is exactly fulfilled in the same church. — It was foretold, that Antichrist would not suffer the bodies of God’s people to be put into graves: Rev. xi. 8,9. “And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city — and they — shall not suffer their dead

bodies to be put in graves.” This also has literally come to pass with respect to the church of Rome. — I might mention many other things which were foretold of Antichrist, or that great enemy of the church so often spoken of in scripture, and show that they were fulfilled most exactly in the Pope and the church of Rome.

How strong an argument was this, that the scriptures are the word of God!

2. But I come now to a second-inference; which is this: from what has been said, we may learn what the spirit of true Christians is, viz. a spirit of suffering. Seeing God has so ordered it in his providence, that his church should for so long a time, for the greater part of so many ages, be ina suffering state, yea, and often ina state of such extreme suffering, we may conclude, that the spirit of the true church is a suffering spirit, otherwise God never would have ordered so much suffering for the church; for doubtless God accommodates the state and circumstances of the church to the spirit that he has given them. We see by what has been said, how many

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and great suffering the Christian church for the most part has been under for these 1700 years: no wonder therefore that hrist so much inculeated upon his disciples, that it was necessary, that if any would be his disciples, “they must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow him.”

And we may argue, that the spirit of the true church of Christ is a suffering spirit, by the spirit the church has shown and exercised under her sufferings. She has actually, under those terrible persecutions through which. she has passed, rather chosen to undergo those dreadful torments and to sell all for the pearl of great price, to suffer all that her bitterest enemies could inflict, than to renounce Christ and his religion.. History furnishes us with a great number of remarkable instances, sets in view a great cloud of witnesses. This abundantly confirms the necessity of being of a spirit to sell all for Christ, to renounce our own ease, our own worldly profit, and honour, and our all, for him, and for the gospel.

Let us inquire, whether we are of such a spirit. How does it prove upon trial! — Does it prove in fact that we are willing to deny ourselves, and renounce our own worldly interest, and to pass through the trials to which we are called in providence? Alas, how small are our trials, compared with those of many of our fellow Christians in former ages! And I would on this occasion apply that in Jer. xii. 5. “If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then, how canst thou contend with horses?” If you have not been able to endure the light trials to which you have been called in this age, and in this land, how would you be able to endure the far greater trials to which the church bas been called in former ages? Every true Christian has the spirit of a martyr, and would suffer as a martyr, if he were called to it in providence.

3. Hence we learn what great reason we have, assucedly to expect the fulfilment of what yet remains to be fulfilled of things foretold in scripture. The scriptures foretel many great things yet to be fulfilled before the end of the world. But there seem to be great difficulties in the way. We seem at present to be very far from such a state as is foretold in the scriptures; but we have abundant reason to expect, that these things, however seemingly difficult, will yet be accomplished in their season. We see the faithfulness of God to his promises hitherto. How true has God been to his church, and remembered his mercy from generation to generation! We may say concerning what God has done hitherto for his church, as Joshua said to the children »f Israel, Josh. xxiii. 14. “That not one thing hath failed of all the Lord our God hath spoken concerning his church;” but all things are hitherto come to pass, agreeable to the divine prediction. This should strengthen our faith in those promises, and encourage us, and stir us up to earnest prayer to God for the accomplishment of the great and glorious things which yet remain to be fulfilled.

It has already been shown how the success of Christ’s redemption was carried on through various periods down to the present time.;

4thly, [come now to show how the success of Christ’s redemption will be carried on from the present time, until Antichrist is fallen, and Satan’s visible kingdom on earth is destroyed. — And with respect to this space of time, we have nothing to guide us but the prophecies of scripture. Through most of the time from the fall of man to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, we had scripture history to guide us; and from thence to the present time we had prophecy, together with the accomplishment of it in providence, as related in human histories. But henceforward we have only prophecy to guide us. And here I would pass by those things that are only conjectural, or that are surmised by some from those prophecies which are doubtful in their interpretation, and shall insist only on those things which are more clear and evident.

We know not what particular events are to come to pass before that glorious work of God’s Spirit begins, by which Satan’s kingdom is to be overthrown. By the consent of most divines, there are but few things, if any at all, that are foretold to be accomplished before the beginning of that glorious work of God. Some think the slaying of the witnesses, Rev. xi. 7, 8. is not yet accomplished. So divines differ with respect to the pouring out of the seven vials, of which we have an account Rev. xvi. how many are already poured out, or how many remain to be poured out; though a late expositor whom I have before mentioned to you, seems to make it very plain and evident, that all are already poured out but two, viz. the sixth on the river Euphrates, and the seventh into the air. But I will not now stand to inquire what is intended by the pouring out of the sixth vial on the river Euphrates, that the way of the kings of the east may be prepared; but only would say, that it seems to be something immediately pveparing the way for the destruction of the spiritual Babylon, as the drying up of the river Euphrates, which ran through the midst of old Babylon, was what prepared the way of the kings of the Medes and Persians, the kings of the east, to come in under the walls, and destroy that city.

But whatever this be, it does not appear that it is any thing which shall be accomplished before that work of God’s Spirit is begun, by which, as it goes on, Satan’s visible kingdom on earth shall be utterly overthrown. And therefore I would proceed directly to consider what the scripture reveals concerning the work of God itself, by which he will bring about this great event, as being the next thing which is to be accomplished that we are certain of from the prophecies of scripture.

And, first, I would observe two things in general concerning it.

1. We have all reason to conclude from the scriptures, that just before this work of God begins, it will bea very dark time with respect to the interests of religion in the world. It has been so before those glorious revivals of religion that have been hitherto. It was so when Christ came; it was an exceeding degenerate time among the Jews: and so it was a very dark time before the Reformation. And not only so, but it seems to be foretold in scripture, that it shall be a time of but little religion, when Christ shall come to set up his kingdom in the world. Thus when Christ spake of his coming to encourage his elect, who cry to him day and night, in Luke xviii. 8, he adds this, ‘* Nevertheless, when the Son of Man cometh, Shall he find faith on the earth?’ Which seems to denote a great prevalence of infidelity just before Christ’s :oming to avenge his suffering church. Though Christ’s coming at the last judgment is not here to be excluded, yet there seems to be a special respect to his coming to deliver his church from their long continued sufferiag persecuted state, which is accomplished only at his coming at the destruction of Antichrist. That time that the elect ery to God, as in Rev. vi. 10. “How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?” and the time spoken of in Rev. xviii. 20. “Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles, and prophets, for

God hath avenged you on her,” will then be accomplished.

It is now a very dark time with respect to the interests of religion, and such a time as this propbesied of in this place; wherein there is but a little faith, anda great prevailing of infidelity on the earth. There is now a remarkable fulfiiment of that in 2 Pet. iii. 3. “Knowing this, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts.” And so Jude, 17, 18. “But beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; how that they told you there. should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly Justs.” Whether the times shall be any darker still, or how much darker, before the beginning of this glorious work of God, we cannot tell. 4

2. There is no reason from the word of God to think any other, than that this great work of God will be wrought, though very swiftly, yet gradually. As the children of Israel were gradually brought out of the Babylonish captivity, first one company, and then another, and gradually rebuilt their city and temple; and as the heathen Roman empire was destroyed by a gradual, though a very swift prevalency of the gospel; so, though there are many things which seem to hold forth as though the work of God would be exceeding swift, and many great and wonderful events should very suddenly be brought to pass, and some great parts of Satan’s visible kingdom should have a very sudden fall, yet all will not be accomplished at once, as by some great miracle, as the resurrection of the dead at the end of the world will be all at once; but this is a work which will be accomplished by means, by the preaching of the gospel, and the use of the ordinary means of grace, and so shall be gradually brought to pass. Some shall be converted, and be the means of the conversion of others. God’s Spirit shall be poured out first to raise up instruments, and then those instruments shall be used and succeeded. And doubtless one nation shall be enlightened and converted after another, one false religion and false way of worship exploded after another. By the representation in Dan, ii. 3, 4. the stone cut out of the mountain without hands gradually grows. So Christ teaches us, that the kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, Matt. xiii. 31, 32. and like leaven hid in three measures of meal, ver. 33. The same representation we have in Mark iv. 26, 27, 28. and in the vision of the waters of the sanctuary, Ezek. xlvii. — The scriptures hold forth as though there should be several successive great and glorious events by which this work should be accomplished. The angel, speaking to the prophet Daniel of those glorious times, mentions two glorious periods, at the end of which glorious things should be accomplished: Dan. xii. 11. “And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall bea thousand two hundred and ninety days.” But then he adds in the next verse, “Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days;” intimating, that something very glorious should be accomplished at the end of the former period, but something much more glorious at the end of the latter.

But I now proceed to show how this glorious work shall be accomplished.

1. The Spirit of God shall be gloriously poured out for the wonderful revival and propagation of religion. This great work shall be accomplished, not by the authority of princes, nor by the wisdom of learned men, but by God’s Holy Spirit: Zech. iv. 6, 7. “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. Who art thou, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain, and he shall bring forth the head stone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.” So the prophet Ezekiel, speaking of this great work of God, says, chap. xxxix. 29. “Neither will I hide my face any more from them; for I have poured out my Spirit on the house of Israel, saith the Lord God.” We know not where this pouring out of the Spirit shall begin, or whether in many places at once, or whether, what hath already been, be not some forerunner and beginning of it. % aor

This pouring out of the Spirit of God, when it is egun, shall soon bring great multitudes to forsake that vice and wickedness which now so generally prevails, and shall cause that vital religion, which is now so despised and laughed at in the world, to revive. The work of conversion shall break forth, and go on in such a manner as never has been hitherto; agreeable to that in Isa. xliv. 3, 4, 5. — -God, by pouring out his Holy Spirit, will furnish men to be glorious instruments of carrying on this work; will fill them with knowledge and wisdom, and fervent zeal for the promoting the kingdom of Christ, and the salvation of souls, and propagating the gospel in the world. So that the gospel shall begin to be preached with abundantly greater clearness and power than had heretofore been: for this great work of God shall be brought to pass by the preaching of the gospel, as is represented in Rev. xiv. 6, 7, 8. that before Babylon falls, the gospel shall be powerfully preached and propagated in the world.

This was typified of old by the sounding of the silver trumpets in Israel in the beginning of their jubilee: Lev. xxv. 9. “Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land.” The glorious times which are approaching, are as it were the church’s jubilee, which shall be introduced by the sounding of the silver trumpet of the gospel, as is foretold in Isa. xxvii. 13. “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the Jand of Assyria, and the outcasts of the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem.” And there shall be a glorious pouring out of the Spirit with this clear and powerful preaching of the gospel, to make it successful for reviving those holy doctrines of religion which are now chiefly ridiculed in the world, and turning many from heresy, and from Popery, and from other false religion; and also for turning many from their vice and profaneness, and for bringing vast multitudes savingly home to Christ.

That work of conversion shall go on in a wonderful manner, and spread more and more. Many shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord, and shall come as it were in flocks, one flock and multitude after another continually flowing in, as in Isa. Ix. 4, 5. “Lift up thine eyes round about, and see; all they gather themselves together, they come to thee; thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. Then thou shalt see and flow together.” And so verse 8. “Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?’ And it being represented in the forementioned place in the Revelation, that the gospel shall be preached to every tongue, and kindred, and nation, and people, before the fall of Antichrist; so we may supdose, that it will soon be gloriously successful to bring o multitudes from every nation; and it shall spread more and more with wonderful swiftness, and vast numbers shall suddenly be brought in as it were at once, as you may see, Isa. lxvi. 7, 8, 9.

2. This pouring out of the Spirit of God will not effect the overthrow of Satan’s visible kingdom, until there has first been a violent and mighty opposition made. In this the scripture is plain, that when Christ is thus gloriously coming forth, and the destruction of Antichrist is ready at hand, and Satan’s kingdom begins to totter, and to appear to be imminently threatened, the powers of the kingdom of darkness will rise up, and mightily exert themselves to prevent their kingdom being overthrown. Thus after the pouring out the sixth vial, which was to dry up the river Euphrates, to prepare the way for the destruction of spiritual Babylon, it is represented in Rev. xvi. as though the powers of hell will be mightily alarmed, and should stir up themselves to oppose the kingdom of Christ, before the seventh and last vial shall be poured out, which shall give them a final and complete overthrow. We have an account of the pouring out of the sixth in verse 12. And then upon this, the beloved disciple informs us in the following verses, that “three unclean spirits like frogs shall go forth unto the kings of the earth, to gather them together to the battle of the great day of God Almighty.” This seems to be the last and greatest effort of Satan to save his kingdom from being overthrown; though perhaps he may make as great towards the end of the world to regain it.

When the Spirit begins to be so gloriously poured forth, and the devil sees such multitudes flocking to Christ in one nation and another, and the foundations of his kingdom daily undermining, and the pillars of it breaking, and the whole ready to come to swift and sudden destruction, it will greatly alarm all hell. Satan has ever had a dread of having his kingdom overthrown, and he has been opposing of it ever since Christ’s ascension, and has been doing great works to fortify his kingdom, and to prevent it, ever since the day of Constantine the Great. To this end he has set up those two mighty kingdoms of Antichrist and Mahomet, and brought in all the heresies, and superstitions, and corrupt opinions, which there are in the world. But when he sees all begin to fail, it will rouse him up exceedingly. If Satan dreaded being cast out of the Roman empire, how much more does he dread being cast out of the

whole world!

It seems as though in this last great opposition which shall be made against the church to defend the kingdom of Satan, all the forces of Antichrist, and Mahometanism, and heathenism, will be united; all the forces of Satan’s visible kingdom through the whole world of mankind. And therefore it is said, that “spirits of devils shall go forth unto the kings of the earth, and of the whole world, to gather them together to the battle of the great day of God Almighty.” And these spirits are said to come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet; i. e. there shall be the spirit of Popery, and the spirit of Mahometanism, and the spirit of heathenism, all united. By the beast is meant Antichrist; by the dragon, in this book, is commonly meant the devil, as he reigns over his heathen kingdom; by the false prophet, in this book, is sometimes meant the Pope and his clergy: but here an eye seems to be had to Mahomet, whom his followers call the great prophet of God. This will be as it were the dying struggles of the old serpent; a battle wherein he will fight as one that is almost desperate.

We know not particularly in what manner this opposition shall be made. It is represented as a battle; it is called the battle of the great day of God Almighty. There will be some way or other a mighty struggle between Satan’s kingdom and the church, and probably in all ways of opposition that can be; and doubtless great opposition by external force; wherein the princes of the world who are on the devil’s side shall join hand in hand: for it is said, * The kings of the earth are gathered together to battle,” Rev. xix. 19. And probably withal there will be great opposition of subtle disputers and carnal reasoning, and great persecution in many places, and great opposition by virulent reproaches, and also great opposition by craft and subtlety. The devil now doubtless will ply his skill, as well as strength, to the utmost. The devils, and those who belong to their kingdom, will every where be stirred up, and engaged to make an united and violent opposition against this holy religion, which they see prevailing so mightily in the world. — But,

3. Christ and his church shall in this battle obtain a complete and entire victory over their enemies. They shall be totally routed and overthrown in this their last effort. When the powers of hell and earth are thus gathered together against Christ, and his armies shall x come forth against them by his word and Spirit to fight with them, in how august, and pompous, and glorious a manner is this coming forth of Christ and his church to this battle described! Rev. xix. Il. &c. And to represent to us how great the victory should be which they should obtain, and how mighty the overthrow of their enemies, it is said, verses 17, 13. that ‘all the fowls of heaven are called together, to eat the great supper given them, of the flesh of kings, and captains, and mighty men,” &c. and then, in the following verses, we have an account of the victory and overthrow.

In this victory, the seventh vial shall be poured out. It is said, Rev. xvi. 16. of the great army that should be gathered together against Christ: “and he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue, Armageddon;” and then it is said,“And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.” Now the business is done for Satan and his adherents. When this victory is obtained, all is in effect done. Satan’s last and greatest opposition is conquered; all his measures are defeated; the pillars of his kingdom broken asunder, and will fall of course. The devil is utterly baffed and confounded, and knows not what else to do. He now sees his Antichristian, and Mahometan, and heathenish kingdoms through the world, all tumbling about his ears. He and his most powerful instruments are taken captive. Now that is in effect done which the church of God had been so long waiting and hoping for, and so earnestly crying to God for, saying, ‘“* How long, O Lord, holy and true?” Now the time is come.

The angel who set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the earth, lift up bis hand to heaven, and swore by Him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and all things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that when the seventh angel should come to sound, the time should be no longer. And now the time is come; now the seventh trumpet sounds, and the seventh vial is poured out, both together; intimating, that now all is finished as to the overthrow of Satan’s visible kingdom on earth. This victory shall be by far the greatest that ever was obtained over Satan an his adherents., By this blow, with which the stone cut out of the mountain without hands shall strike the image of gold, and silver, and brass, and iron, and clay, it shall all be broken to pieces. This will be a finishing blow to the image, so that it shall become as the chaff of the summer threshing floor.

In this victory will be a most glorious display of divine power. Christ shall therein appear in the character of King of kings, and Lord of lords, as in Rev. xix. 16. Now Christ shall dash his enemies, even the strongest and proudest of them, in pieces; as a potter’s vessel shall they be broken to shivers. Then shall strength be shown out of weakness, and Christ shall cause his church as it were to thresh the mountains, as in Isa. xli. 15. “Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff.” And then shall be fulfilled that in Isa. xlii. 13, 14, 15

4, Consequent on this victory, Satan’s visible kingdom on earth shall be destroyed. When Satan is conquered in this last battle, the church of Christ will have easy work of it; as when Joshua and the children of Israel had obtained that great victory over the five kings of the Amorites, when the sun stood still, and God sent great hailstones on their enemies, they after that went from one city to another, and burnt them with fire: they had easy work of subduing the cities and country to which they belonged. So it was also after that other great battle that Joshua had with that great multitude at the waters of Merom. So after this glorious victory of Christ and his church over their enemies, over the chief powers of Satan’s kingdom, they shall destroy that kingdom in all those cities and countries to which they belonged. After this the word of God shall have a speedy and swift progress through the earth; as it is said, that on the pouring out of the seventh vial, “the cities of the nations fell, and every island fled away, and the mountains were not found,” Rev. xvi. 19, 20. When once the stone cut out of the mountain without hands had broken the image in pieces, it was easy to abolish all remains of it. The very wind will carry it away as the chaff of the summer threshing floor. Because Satan’s visible kingdom on earth shall now be destroyed, therefore it is said, that the seventh vial, by which this shall be done, shall be poured out into the air; which is represented in scripture as the special seat of his kingdom; for he is called the prince of the power of the air, Mph. ii 2. Now is come the time for punishing levia-WUKK UF REDEMPTION, 3tl

than that piercing serpent, of which we read in Isa. xxvii. 1. “Jn that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword, shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan, that crooked serpent, and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.”

Concerning this overthrow of Satan’s visible kingdom on earth, would, |. Show wherein this overthrow of Satan’s visible kingdom will chiefly consist; 2. The extent and universality of this overthrow.

1. J would show wherein this overthrow of Satan’s kingdom will chiefly consist. I shall mention the particular things in which it will consist, without pretending to determine in what order they shall come to pass, or which shall be accomplished first, or whether they shall be accomplished together.

(1.) Heresies, and infidelity, and snperstition, among those who have been brought up under the light of the gospel, will then be abolished. Then there will be an end to Socinianism, and Arianism, and Quakerism, and Arminianism; and Deism, which is now so bold and confident in infidelity, shall then be crushed, and driven away, and vanish to nothing; and all shall agree in the same great and important doctrines of the gospel; agreeable to that in Zech. xiv. 9. “And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one.” Then shall be abolished all superstitious ways of worship, and all shall agree in worshipping God in his own ways: Jer. xxxii. 39. “And I wili give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them.”

(2.) The kingdom of Antichrist shall be utterly overthrown. His kingdom and dominion has been much brought down already by the vial poured out on his throne in the Reformation; but then it shall be utterly destroyed. Then shall be proclaimed, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen.” When the seventh angel sounds, “the time, times and half, shall be out, and time shall be no longer.” Then shall be accomplished concerning Antichrist the things which are written in the 18th chapter of Revelation, of the spiritual Babylon, that great city Rome, or the idolatrous Roman government, that has for so many ages been the great enemy of the Christian church, first under heathenism, then under Popery: that proud city which lifted herself up to heaven, and above God himself in her pride and haughtiness; that cruel, bloody city, shall come down to the ground. Then shall that be fulfilled, Isa. xxvi. 5. “For he bringeth down them that dwell on high, the lofty city he layeth it low, he layeth it low, even to the ground, he bringeth it even to the dust.” “She shall be thrown down with violence, like a great mill stone cast into the sea, and shall be found no more at all, and shall become an habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.” Now shall she be stripped of all her glory, and riches, and ornaments, and shall be cast out as an abominable branch and shall be trodden down as the mire of the streets. All her policy and craft, in which she so abounded, shall not save her. And God shall make his people, who have been so persecuted by her, to come and put their foot on the neck of Antichrist, and he shall be their footstool. All the strength and wisdom of this great whore shall fail her, and there shall be none to help her. The kings of the earth, who before gave their power and strength to the beast, shall now hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire, Rev. xvii. 16.

(3.) That other great kingdom which Satan has set up in opposition to the Christian church, viz. his Mahometan kingdom, shall be utterly overthrown. The locusts and horsemen, in the 9th of Revelation, have their appointed and limited time set them there, and the false prophet shall be taken and destroyed. And then, though Mahometanism, has been so vastly propagated in the world, and is upheld by such a great empire, this smoke, which has ascended out of the bottomless pit, shall be utterly scattered before the light of that glorious day, and the Mahometan empire shall fall at the sound of the great trumpet which shall then be blown.

(4.) Jewish infidelity shall then be overthrown. However obstinate they have been now for above 1700 years in their rejection of Christ, and instances of the conversion of any of that nation have been so very rare ever since the destruction of Jerusalem, but they have, against the plain teachings of their own prophets, continued to approve of the cruelty of their forefathers in crucifying Christ; yet when this day comes, the thick veil that blinds their eyes shall be removed, 2 Cor. iii. 16; and divine grace shall melt and renew their hard hearts, “and they shall look on him whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness, as one that is in bitterness for his first born,” Zech. xii. 10. &c. And then shall the house of Israel be saved: the Jews in all their dispersions shall cast away their old infidelity, and shall wonderfully have their hearts changed, and abhor themselves for their past unbelief and obstinacy; and shall flow together to the blessed Jesus, penitently. humbly, and joyfully owning him as their glorious King and only Saviour, and shall with all their hearts, as with one heart and voice, declare his praises unto other nations.

Nothing is more certainly foretold than this national conversion of the Jews is in the 11th chapter of Romans. And there are also many passages of the Old Testament which cannot be interpreted in any other sense, which I cannot now stand to mention. Besides the prophecies of the calling of the Jews, we have a remarkable seal of the fulfilment of this great event in providence, by a thing which is a kind of continual miracle, viz. their being preserved a distinct nation in such a dispersed condition for above 1600 years. The world affords nothing else like it. There is undoubtedly a remarkable hand of providence in it. When they shall be called, then shall that ancient people, that were alone God’s people for so long a time, be God’s people again, never to be rejected more: they shall then be. gathered into one fold together with the Gentiles; and so also shall the remains of the ten tribes, wherever they be, and though they have been rejected much longer than the Jews, be brought in with their brethren the Jews. The prophecies of Hosea especially seem to hold this forth, that in the future glorious times of the church, both Judah and Ephraim, or Judah and the ten tribes, shall be brought in together, and shall be united as one people, as they formerly were under David and Solomon; as Hos. i. 1]. and so in the last chapter of Hosea, and other parts of his prophecy.

Though we do not know the time in which this conversion of the nation of Israel will come to pass; yet thus much we may determine by scripture, that it will be before the glory of the Gentile part of the church shall be fully accomplished; because it is said, that their coming in shall be life from the dead to the Gentiles, Rom. xi. 12. 15.

(5.) Then shall also Satan’s heathenish kingdom be overthrown. Gross heathenism now possesses a great part of the earth, and there are supposed to be more heathens now in the world, than of all other professions

Pf taken together, Jews, Mahometans, or Christians. But then the heathen nations shall be enlightened with the glorious gospel. There will be a wonderful spirit of pity towards them, and zeal for their instruction and conversion put into multitudes, and many shall go forth and carry the gospel unto them; and then shall the joyful sound be heard among them, and the San of Righteousness shall then arise with his glorious light shining on those many vast regions of the earth that have. been covered with heathenish darkness for many thousand years, many of them doubtless ever since the times of Moses and Abraham, and have Jain thus long in a miserable condition, under the cruel tyranny of the devil, who has all this while blinded and befooled them, and domineered over them, and made a prey of them from generation to generation. Now the glad tidings of the gospe! shall sound there, and they shall be brought out of darkness into marvellous light.

It is promised, that heathenism shall thus be destroyed in many places. God has said, that the gods that have not made these heavens and this earth, shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens, Jer. x..11. and that he will utterly abolish idols, Isa. ii. 18 — Then shall the many nations of Africa, the nations of negroes, and other heathens who chiefly fill that quarter of the world, who now seem to be in a state but little above the beasts, and in many respects much below them, be enlightened with glorious light, and delivered from all their darkness, and shall become a civil, Christian, understanding, and holy people. ‘Then shall the vast continent of America, which now in so great a part of it is covered with barharous ignorance and cruelty, be every where covered with glorious gospel light and Christian love; and instead of worshipping the devil, as now they do, they shall serve God, and praises shall be sung every where to the Lord Jesus Christ, the blessed Saviour of the world. So may we expect it will be.in that great and populous part of the world, the East Indies, which are now mostly inhabited by the worshippers of the devil; and so throughout that vast country Great Tartary: and then the kingdom of Christ will be established in those continents which have been more lately discovered towards the north and south poles, where now men differ very little from the wild beasts, excepting that they worship the devil, and beasts do not. The same will be the case with respect to those countries which have never yet been discovered. Thus will be gloriously fulfilled that in Isa. xxxv. 1. “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them: and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.” See also verses 6, 7.

2. Having thus shown wherein this overthrow of Satan’s kingdom will consist, I come now to the other thing to be observed concerning it, viz. its universal extent. The visible kingdom of Satan shall be overthrown, and the kingdom of Christ set up on the ruins of it, every where throughout the whole habitable globe. Now shall the promise made to Abraham be fulfilled, that “in him and in his seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed;’’ and Christ now shall become the desire of all nations, agreeable to Hagyai ii. 7. Now the kingdom of Christ shall in the most strict and literal sense be extended to all nations, and the whole earth. There are many passages of scripture that can be understood in no other sense. What can be more universal than that ia Isa. xi. 9. “Wor the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” As much as to say, as there is no part of the channel or cavity of the sea any where, but what is covered with water; so there shall be no part of the world of mankind but what shall be covered with the knowledge of God. So it is foretold in Isa. xlv. 22. that all the ends of the earth shall look to Christ, and be saved. And to show that the words are to be understood in the most universal sense, it is said in the next verse, “I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.”

So the most universal expression is used, Dan. vii. 27. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High God.” You see the expression includes all under the whole heaven.

When the devil was cast out of the Roman empire, because that was the highest and principal part of the world, and the other nations that were left were low and mear in comparison of those of that empire, it was represented as Satan’s being cast out of heaven to the earth, Rev. xii. 9. but it is represented that he shall be cast out of the earth too, and shut up in hell, Rev. xx. 1, 2, 3. — This is the greatest revolution by far that ever came to pass: therefore it is said in Rev. xvi. 17, 18, that on the pouring out of the seventh vial, there was a great earthquake such as was not since men were upon earth, so mighty an earthquake and so great. And this is the third great dispensation of providence which is in scripture compared to Christ’s coming to judgment. So it is in Rev. xvi. 15. There, after the sixth vial, and after the devil’s armies were gathered together to their great battle, and just before Christ’s glorious victory over them, it is said, “Behold I come quickly; blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments.” So it is called Chrisi’s coming in 2 Thess. ii. 8. Speaking of Antichrist, it is said, “and then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.” See also Dan. vii. 13, 14, where Christ’s coming to set up his kingdom on earth, and to destroy Antichrist, is called coming with clouds of heaven. And this is more like Christ s last coming to judgment, than any of the preceding dispensations which are so called, on these accounts:

(1.) That the dispensation is so much greater and more universal, and so more like the day of judgment, which respects the whole world.

(2.) On account of the great spiritual resurrection there will be of the church of God accompanying it, more resembling the general resurrection at the end of the world than any other. This spiritual resurrection is the resurrection spoken of as attended with judgment, Rev. xx. 4.

(3.) Because of the terrible judgments and fearful destruction which shall now be executed on, God’s enemies. There will doubtless at the introducing of this dispensation be a visible and awful hand of God against blasphemers, deists, and obstinate heretics, and other enemies of Christ, terribly destroying them, with remarkable tokens of wrath and vengeance; and especially will this dispensation be attended with terrible judgments on Antichrist; and the cruel persecutors who belong to the church of Rome, shall in a most awful manner be destroyed; which is compared to a casting of Antichrist into the burning flame, Dan. vii. 11. and to casting him alive into the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, Rev. xix. 20.

Then shall this cruel persecuting church suffer those judgments from God, which shall be far more dreadful than her cruelest persecutions of the saints, agreeable to Rev. xviii. 6, 7, — The judgments which God shall execute on the enemies of the church, are so great, that they are compared to God’s sending great hailstones from heaven upon them, every one of the weight of a talent, as it is said on the pouring out of the seventh vial, Rev. xvi. 21. “And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God, because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.” And now shall os ae treading of the wine press spoken of, Rev. xiv. els

(4.) This shall put an end to the caureies suffering state, and shall be attended with their glorious and joyful praises. The church’s afflicted state is long, being continued, excepting some short intermissions, from the resurrection of Christ to this time. But now shall a final end be put to her suffering state. Indeed after this, near the end of the world, the church shall be greatly threatened; but it is said, it shall be but for a little season, Rev. xx. 3, for as the times of the church’s rest are but short, before the long day of her afflictions are at an end; so whatever affliction she may suffer after this, it will be very short; but otherwise the day of the church’s affliction and persecution shall now come to a final end. The scriptures, in many places, speak of this time as the end of the suffering state of the church. So Isa. li. 22. God says to his church with respect to this time, “behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury, thou shalt no more drink it again.” Then shall that be proclaimed to the church, Isa. xl. 1, 2, “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” Also that in Isa. liv. 8,9. belongs to this time. And so that in Isa. Ix..20, “The Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.” And so Zeph. iii. 15, “The Lord hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the King of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more.”

The time which had been before this, had been the church’s sowing time, wherein she sowed in tears and in blood; but now is her harvest, wherein she will come again rejoicing, bringing her sheaves with her. Now the time of the travail of the woman clothed with the sun is at an end: now she hath brought forth her son,

ai e yy for this glorious setting up of the kingdom of Christ through the world, is what the church had been in travail for, with such terrible pangs, for so many ages: Isa. xxvi. 17. “Like as a woman with child that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O Lord.” See Isa. lx. 20. and lxi. 10, 11. And now the church shall forget, her sorrow, since a man child is born into the world: how succeed her joyful praise and triumph. Her praises shall then go up to God from all parts of the earth; as Isa. xlii. 10, 11, 12. And praise shall not only fill the earth, but also heaven. The church on earth, and the church in heaven, shall both gloriously rejoice and praise God, as with one heart, on that occasion. Without doubt it will be a time of very distinguished joy and praise among the holy prophets and apostles, and the other saints in heaven: Rev. xviii. 20. “Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets, for God hath avenged you on her.” See how universal these praises will be in Isa. xliv. 23, “Sing, O ye heavens, for the Lord hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel.” See what joyful praises are sung to God on this occasion by the universal church in heaven and earth, in the beginning of the 19th chapter of Revelation.

(5.) This dispensation is above all preceding ones like Christ’s coming to judgment, in that it so puts an end to the former state of the world, and introduces the everasting kingdom of Christ. Now Satan’s visible kingdom shall be overthrown, after it had stood ever since the building of Babel; and the old heavens and the old earth shall ina greater measure be passed away then than before, and the new heavens and new earth set up in afar more glorious manner than ever before.

Thus I have shown how the success of Christ’s purchase has been carried on through the times of the afflicted state of the Christian church, from Christ’s resurrection, until Antichrist is fallen, and Satan’s visible kingdom on earth is overthrown. — Therefore I come now,

Secondly, To show how the success of redemption will be carried on through that space wherein the Christian church shall for the most part be in a state of peace and prosperity. And in order to this, 1 would,

1 Speak of the prosperous state of the church through the greater part of this period.

2. Of the great apostasy there shall be towards the close of it: how greatly then the church shall be threatened by her enemies for a short time.

I. I would speak of the prosperous state of the church through the greater part of this period. And in doing this, would, 1. Describe this prosperous state of the church; 2. Say something of its duration.

Ist. I would describe the prosperous state the church shall be in.

And, in the general, I would observe two things.

1. That this is most properly the time of the kingdom of heaven upon earth. Though the kingdom of heaven was in a degree set up soon after Christ’s resurrection, and in a further degree in the time of Constantine; and though the Christian church in all ages of it is called the kingdom of heaven; yet this time that we are upon, is the principal time of the kingdom of heaven upon earth, the time principally intended by the prophecies of Daniel, which speak of the kingdom of heaven, whence the Jews took the name of the kingdom of heaven.

2. Now is the principal fulfilment of all the prophecies of the Old Testament which speak of the glorious times of the gospel which shall be in the latter days. Though there has been a glorious fulfilment of those prophecies already, in the times of the apostles, and of Constantine; yet the expressions are too high to suit any other time entirely, but that which is to succeed the fall of Antichrist. This is most properly the glorious day of the gospel. Other times are only forerunners and preparatories to this: other times were the seed time, but this is the harvest. — But more particularly,

1.) It will bea time of great light and knowledge. The present days are days of darkness, in comparison of those days. The light of that glorious time shall be so great, that it is represented as though there should then be no night, but only day; no evening nor darkness. So Zech. xiv. 6, 7. “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark. But it shall be one day, which shall be known to the Lord, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shali be light.” — It is further represented, as though God would then give such light to his church, that it should so much exceed the glory of the light of the sun and moon, that they should be ashamed: Isa xxiv. 23. “‘Then the moon shall be confounded, and the - sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients, gloriously.”

There is a kind of veil now cast over the greater part of the world, which keeps them in darkness: but then this veil shall be destroyed: Isa. xxv. 7. “And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations.” And then all countries and nations, even those which are now most ignorant, shall be full of light and knowledge. Great knowledge shall prevail every where. It may be hoped, that then many of the Negroes and Indians will be divines, and that excellent books will be published in Africa, in Ethiopia, in Tartary, and other now the most barbarous countries; and not only learned men, but others of more ordinary education, shall then be very knowing in religion: Isa. xxxii. 3, 4. “The eyes of them that see, shall not be dim; and the ears of them that hear, shall hearken. The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge.” Knowledge then shall be very universal among all sorts of persons; agreeable to Jer. xxxi. 34. “And they shall teach no more every man bis neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them.”

There shall then be a wonderful unravelling of the difficulties in the doctrines of religion, and clearing up of seeming inconsistencies: so “crooked things shall be made straight, and rough places shall be made plain,” and darkness shall become light before God’s people. Difficulties in scripture shall then be cleared up, and wonderful things shall be discovered in the word of God, which were never discovered before. The great discovery of those things in religion which had been before kept hid, seems to be compared to removing the veil, and discovering the ark of the testimony to the people, which before used to be kept in the secret part of the temple, and was never seen by them. ‘Thus, at the sounding of the seventh angel when it is proclaimed, “that the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ;” it is added that “the temple of God was opened in heaven; and there was seen in his temple the ark- of bis testament.” So great shall be the increase of knowledge in this time, that hea-WORK OF REDEMPTION. Sy

ven ae be as it were opened to the church of God on earth.

(2.) It shall be a time of great holiness. Now vital religion shall every where prevail and reign. Religion shall not be an empty profession, as it now mostly is, but holiness of heart and life shall abundantly prevail. Those times shall be an exception from what Christ says of the ordinary state of the church, viz. that there shall be but few saved; for now holiness shall become general: Is. Ix. 21. ‘Thy people also shall be all righteous.” Not that there will be none remaining in a Christless condition; but that visible wickedness shall be suppressed every where, and true holiness shall become general, though not universal. And it shall be a wonderful time, not only for the multitude of godly men, but for eminency of grace: Isa. lxv. 20. “There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not’filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old, but the sinner being an hundred years old, shall be accursed.” And Zech. xii. 8. “He that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them.” And holiness shall then be as it were inscribed on every thing, on all men’s common business and employments, and the common utensils of life: all shall be as it were dedicated to God, and applied to holy purposes: every thing shall then be done to the glory of God: Isa. xxiii. 18. “And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the Lord.” And so Zech, xiv. 20, 21. — And as God’s people then shall be eminent in holiness of heart, so they shall be also in holiness of life and practice.

(3.) It shall be a time wherein religion shall in every respect be uppermost in the world. It shall be had in great esteem and honour. The saints have hitherto for the most part been kept under, and wicked men have governed. But now they will be uppermost. The kingdoms shall be given into the hands of the saints of the “Most High God,” Dan. vii. 27. “And they shall reign on earth,” Rev. v. 10. “They shall live and reign with Christ a thousand years,” Rev. xx. 4. In that day, such persons as are eminent for true piety and religion, shall be chiefly promoted to places of trust and authority. Vital religion shall then take possession of kings’ palaces and thrones; and those who are in highest advancement shall be holy men: Isa. xlix. 23. “And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers.” Kings shall employ all their power, and glory, and riches, for the advancement of the honour and glory of Christ, and the good of his church: Isa. Ix. 16. “Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breasts of kings.” And the great men of the world, and the rich merchants, and others who have great wealth and influence, shall devote all to Christ and his church; Psa. xlv. 12. “The daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift, even the rich among the people shall entreat thy favour.”

(4.) Those will be times of great peace and love. There shall then be universal peace and a good understanding among the nations of the world, instead of such confusion, wars, and bloodshed, as have hitherto been from one age to another: Isa. ii. 4. “And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” So it is represented as if all instruments of war should be destroyed, as being become useless: Psa. xlvi. 9. “He

maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth: he -

breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder: he burneth the chariot in the fire.” See also Zech. ix. 10. Then shall all nations dwell quietly and safely, without fear of any enemy. Isa. xxxii. 18. “And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.” Also Zech. viii. 10, 11.

And then shall malice, and envy, and wrath, and revenge, be suppressed every where, and peace and love shall prevail between one man and another; which is most elegantly set forth in Isa. xi. 6 — 10. Then shall there be peace and love between rulers and ruled. Rulers shall Jove their people, and with all their might seek their best good; and the people Jove their rulers, and shall joyfully submit to them, and give them that honour which is their due. And so shall there be an happy love between ministers and their people: Mal. iv. 6. “And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers.” Then shall flourish in an eminent manner those Christian virtues of meekness, forgiveness, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, brotherly kindness, those excellent fruits of the Spirit. Men, in their temper and disposition, shall then be like the Lamb of God, the lovely Jesus, The body shall be conformed to the head.

. Then shall all the world be united in one amiable society. All nations, in all parts of the world, on every side of the globe, shall then be knit together in sweet harmony. All parts of God’s church shall assist and promote the spiritual good of one another. A communication shall then be upheld between all parts of the world to that end; and the art of navigation, which is now applied so much to favour men’s covetousness and pride, and is used so much by wicked debauched men, shall then be consecrated to God, and applied to holy uses, as we read in Isa. Ix. 5 — 9. And it will then bea time wherein men will be abundant in expressing their love one to another, not only in words, but in deeds of charity, as we learn, Isa. xxxii. 5. “The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful;” and, verse 8. “But the liberal deviseth liberal things, and by liberal things shall he stand.”

(5.) It will be a time of excellent order in the church of Christ. The true government and discipline of the church will then be settled and put into practice. All the world shall then be as one church, one orderly, regular, beautiful society. And as the body shall be one, so the members shall be in beautiful proportion to each other. Then shall that be verified in Psa. cxxii. 3. “Jerusalem is builded as a city, that is compact together.”

(6.) The church of God shall then be beautiful and glorious on these accounts; yea it will appear in perfection of beauty: Isa. lx. l. “Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.” Isa. lxi. 10. “He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.” On these forementioned accounts, the church will then be the greatest image of heaven itself.

(7.) That will be a time of the greatest temporal prosperity. Such a spiritual state as we have just described, has a natural tendency to temporal prosperity: it has a tendency to health and long life; and that this will actually be the case, is evident by Zech. ‘viii. 4, “Thus saith the Lord of hosts, There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age.” It has also a natural tendency to procure ease, quietness, pleasantness, and cheerfulness of mind, and also wealth, and great increase of children; as is intimated in Zech. viii.. 5, “And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof.”’ — But further, the temporal prosperity of the people of God will also be promoted by a remarkable blessing from heaven: Isa. lxv. 21. “They shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.” And in Mic. iv. 4. “But they shall sit every man under his vine, and under his fig tree, and none shall make them afraid.” Zech. viii. 12. “For the seed shall be prosperous, the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shal’ give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew, and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.” See also Jer. xxxi. 12, 13. and Amos ix. 13. Yea then they shall receive all manner of tokens of God’s presence, and acceptance, and favour: Jer. xxxiii. 9, “And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and an honour before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them: and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and‘for all the prosperity that I procure unto it.” Even the days of Solomon were but an image of those days, as to the temporal prosperity which shall obtain in them.

(8.) It will also be a time of great rejoicing: Isa. xxxv. 10. “And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with songs, and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” Chap. lv. 12. “For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: tle mountains and the hills shall break forth before you.” Chap. lxvi. Il. “‘that ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations: that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory.” Chap. xii. 5. “With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.” Then will be a time of feasting. That will be the church’s glorious wedding day, so far as her wedding with Christ shall ever be upon earth: Rev. xix. 7. “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.” Verse 9. “Blessed are they which are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” But I come now,

2dly. To say something of the duration of this state of the church’s prosperity. On this I shall be very brief. The scriptures every where represent it to be of long continuance. The former intervals of rest and prosperity, as we before observed, are represented to be but short; but the representations of this state are quite dif: - ferent: Rev. xx. 4. “And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus — and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” Isa. Ix. 15. * Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations.”

This may suffice as to the prosperous state of the church through the greater part of the period from the destruction of Satan’s visible kingdom in the world to Christ’s appearing in the clouds of heaven to judgment.

II. I now come to speak of the great apostasy there should be towards the close of this period, and how eminently the church should be for a short time threatened by her enemies. And this I shall do under three particulars,

1. A little before the end of the world, there shall be a very great apostasy, wherein great part of the world shall fall away from Christ and his church. It is said in Rev. xx. 3. that Satan should be cast into the bottomless pit, and shut up, and have a seal set upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more until the thousand years should be fulfilled; and that after that he must be loosed out of his prison for a little season. And accordingly we are told,in the 7th and 8th verses, that when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and should go forth to deceive the nations, which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog. Which seems to show as though the apostasy would. besvery general. The nations of the four quarters of the earth shall be deceived; and the number of those who shall now turn enemies to Christ shall be vastly great, as the army of Gog and Magog is represented in Ezekiel, and as it is said in Rev. xx. 8. that the number of them is as the sand of the sea, and that they went up on the breadth of the earth, as though they were an army big enough to reach from one side of the earth to the other.

Thus after such an happy and glorious season, such a long day of light and holiness, of love, and peace, and joy, now it shall begin again to be a dark time. Satan shall begin to set up his dominion again in the world This world shall again become a scene of darkness and wickedness. The bottomless pit of hell shall be opened, and devils shall come up again out of it, and a dreadful smoke shall ascend to darken the world. And the church of Christ, instead of extending to the utmost bounds of

the world, as it did before, shall be reduced to narrow limits again. The world of mankind being continued so long in a state of such great prosperity, shall now begin to abuse their prosperity, to serve their lust and corrup- ‘tion. This we learn from Luke xvii. 26. &e.

2. Those apostates shall make great opposition to the church of God. ‘The church shall seem to be eminently threatened with a sudden and entire overthrow by them. It is said, Satan shall gather them together to battle, as the sand on the sea shore; and they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city. So that this beloved city shall seem just ready to be swallowed up by them: for her enemies shall not only threaten her, but shall actually have gathered together against her; and not only so, but shall have besieged her, shall have compassed her about on every side.

There is nothing in the prophecy which seems to hold forth as though the church had actually fallen into their hands, as the church had fallen into the hands of Antichrist, to whom it was given to make war with the saints, and to overcome them. God will never suffer this to be again after the fall of Antichrist; for then the day of her mourning shall be ended. But the church shall seem most eminently threatened with utter and sudden destruction.

3. Now the state of things will seem most remarkably to call for Christ’s immediate appearance to judgment. For then the world shall be filled with the most aggravated wickedness that ever it was. For much the greater part of the world shall have become visibly wicked and open enemies to Christ, and their wickedness shall be dreadfully aggravated by their apostasy. Before the fall of Antichrist, most of the world was full of visibly wicked men. But the greater part of these are poor heathens, who never enjoyed the light of the gospel; and others are those that have been bred up in the Mahometan or Popish darkness. But these are those that have apostatized from the Christian church, and the visible kingdom of Christ, in which they enjoyed the great light and privileges of the glorious times of the church, which shall be incomparably greater than the light and privileges which the church of God enjoys now. This apostasy will be most like the apostasy of the devils of any that ever had before been: for the devils apostatized, and turned enemies to Christ, though they enjoyed the light of heaven; and these will apostatize, an] turn enemies to him, though they have enjoyed the light and privileges of the glorious times of the church. That such should turn open and avowed enemies to Christ, and should seek the ruin of his church, will cry aloud for such immediate vengeance as was executed on the devils when they fell.

The wicxedness of the world will remarkably call for Christ’s immediate appearing in flaming fire to take vengeance on them, because of the way in which they shall manifest their wickedness, which will be by scoiting and blaspheming Christ and his holy religion; and particularly, they will scoif at the notion of Uhrist’s coming to judgment, of which the church sha.] be in expectation, and of which they will warn them. For now doubtless will be another fulfilment, and the greatest fulfilment, of 2 Pet. iii. 3, 4. “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking aller their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming! For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” They shall be in no expectation of the coming of Christ to judgment, and shall laugh at the notion. They shall trample all such things under foot, and shall give up themselves to their lusts, or to eat and drink, and wallow in sensual delights, as though they were to be here for ever. They shall despise the warnings the church shall give them of the coming of Christ to judgment, as the people of the old world despised what Noah told them of the approaching flood, and as the people of Sodom did when Lot said to them, “the Lord will destroy this city.” Their wickedness on this account will ery aloud to heaven for Christ’s appearing in flaming fire to take vengeance of his enemies; and also because another way that they shall exercise their wickedness will be in the wicked design and violent attempt they shall be engaged in against the holy city of God, against that holy city, wherein lately, and for so long a time, so much of the religion of Christ had been seen. They shall then be about to perpetrate the most horrid design against this chuarcb.

And the numerousness of the wicked that shall then be, is another thing which shall especially call for Christ’s coming: for the world will doubtless then be exceeding full of people, having continued so long in so great a state of prosperity, without such terrible desolating extremities, as wars, pestilences, and the like, to diminish them. And the most of this world, which shall be so populous, will be such wicked contemptuous apostates

from God. Undoubtedly that will be a day wherein the world will be by far fuller of wickedness than ever before it was from the foundation of it. And if the wickedness of the old world, when men began to multiply on the earth, called for the destruction of the world bya deluge of waters, this wickedness will as much call for its destruction by a deluge of fire.

Again, the circumstances of the church at that. day will also eminently call for the immediate appearing of Christ, as they will be compassed about by their blasphemous murderous enemies, just ready to be swallowed up by them. And it will be a most distressing time with the church, excepting the comfort they will have in the hope of deliverance from God: for all other help will seem to fail. The case-will be come to the last extremity, and there will be an immediate need that Christ should come to their deliverance. And though the church shall be so eminently threatened, yet so will Providence order it, that it shall be preserved until Christ shall appear in his immediate presence, coming in the glory of his Father with all his holy angels. And then will come the time when all the elect shall be gathered in. That work of conversion which has been carried on from the beginning of the church after the fall through all those ages, shall be carried on no more. There never shall another soul be converted. Every one of those many millions, whose names were written in the book of life before the foundation of the world, shall be brought in; not one soul shall be lost. And the mystical body of Christ, which has been growing since it first began in the days of Adam, will be complete as to number of parts, having every one of its members. In this respect, the work of redemption will now be finished. And now the end for which the means of grace have been instituted shall be obtained. All that effect which was intended to be accomplished by them shall “ow be accomplished.

Section IL. Tus I have shown how the success of Christ’s redemption has been accomplished during the continuance of the Christian church under the means of grace. We have seen what great revolutions there have been, and are to be, during this space of time; how the great wheels of providence have gone round for the accomplishment of that kind of success of Christ’s purchase, which consists’in the bestowment of grace on the elect: and we are, in the prosecution of the subject, come to the time when all the wheels have gone round; the course of things in this state of it is finished, and all things are ripe for Christ’s coming to judgment.

You may remember, that when I began to discourse of this third proposition, viz. That from the resurrection of Christ to the end of the world, the whole time is taken up in procuring the success and effect of Christ’s purchase of redemption, I observed, that the success of

thrist’s purchase is of two kinds, consisting either in zrace or glory; and that the success consisting in the former of these, is to be seen in those works of God which are wrought during those ages that the church is continued under the means of grace; and that the success, consisting in the latter, will chiefly be accomplished at the day of judgment.

Having already shown how the former kind of success has been accomplished, I come now, in the second place, to the latter, viz. that kind of success which is accomplished in the bestowment of glory on the church, which shall chiefly be bestowed on the church at the day of judgment. — And here I would-mention two or three things in the general concerning this kind of success of Christ’s purchase. ‘

1. How great the success of Christ’s purchase is, chiefly appears in this. The success of Christ’s purchase Goes summarily consist in the salvation of the elect. But this bestowment of glory is eminently called their salvation: Heb. ix. 28. “To them that look for him, shall he appear the second time, without sin unto salvation.” — So it is called redemption, being eminently that wherein the redemption of the church consists. So in Eph. iv. 30. “Sealed unto the day of redemption;” and Luke xxi. 28. and Eph. i. 14. “Redemption of the purchased possession.”

“2 Al! that is before this, while the church is under the means of grace, is only to make way for the success which is to be accomplished in the bestowment of glory. The means of grace are to fit for glory; and God’s grace itself is bestowed on the elect to make them meet fo

lory.
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3. All those glorious things which were brought to pass for the church while under the means of grace, are but images and shadows of this. So were those glorious things which were accomplished for the church in the days of Constantine the Great; and so is all that glory which is to be accomplished in the glorious times of the church which are to succeed the fall of Antichrist. As great as it is, it is all but a shadow of what will be bestowed at the day of judgment: and therefore, as I have already often observed, all those preceding glorious events, by which God wrought glorious things for his church, are spoken of in scripture as images of Christ’s last coming to judgment.

But I hasten more particularly to show how this kind of success of Christ’s purchase is accomplished.

1. Christ will appear in the glory of his Father, with all his holy angels, coming in the clouds of heaven. When the world are thus revelling in their wickedness, and compassing the holy city about, just ready to destroy it, and when the church is reduced to such a great strait, then shall the glorious Redeemer appear. He through whom this redemption has all along been carried on, he shall appear in the sight of the world; the light of his glory shall break forth; the whole world shall immediately have notice of it, and they shall lift up their eyes and behold this wonderful sight. It is said, “every eye shall see him,” Rev. i. 7. — Christ shall appear coming in his human nature, in that same body which was brought forth in a stable, and laid in a manger, and which afterwards was so cruelly used, and nailed to the cross.

Men shall now lift up their eyes, and see him coming in such majesty and glory as now is to us utterly inconceivable. The glory of the sun in a clear firmament, will be but darkness in comparison of it; and all the glorious angels and archangels shall attend upon him, thousand thousands ministering to him, and ter thousand times ten thousand round about him. How different a person will be then appear from what he did at his. first coming, when he wasasa root out ofa dry ground, a poor, lespised, afflicted man! How different now is his appearance, in the midst of those glorious angels, principalities, and powers, in heavenly places, attending him as his ordinary servants, from what it was when in the midst of a ring of soldiers, with his mock robe and his crown of thorns, to be buffeted and spit upon, or hanging on the cross between two thieves, with a multitude of his enemies about him triumphing over him!

This sight will be a most unexpected sight to the wicked world: it will come as a cry at midnight: they shall be taken in the midst of their wickedness, and it will give them a dreadful alarm. It will at once break up their revels, their eating, and drinking, and carousing. It will put a quick end to the design of the great army that will then be compassing the camp of the saints: it will make them let drop their weapons out of their hands. The world, which will then be very full of people, most of whom will be wicked men, will then be filled with dolorous shrieking and crying; for all the kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him, Rev. i. 7. And, where shall they hide themselves! — How will the sight of that awful majesty terrify them when taken in the midst of their wickedness! Then they shall see who he is, what kind of a person he is, whom they have mocked and scoffed at, and whose church they have been endeavouring to overthrow. This sight will change their voice. The voice of their laughter and singing, while they are marrying and giving in marriage, and the voice of their scoffing, shall be changed into hideous, yea hellish yelling. Their countenances shall be changed from a show of car. nal mirth, haughty pride, and contempt of God’s people; it shall put on a shew of ghastly terror and amazement; and trembling and chattering of teeth shall seize upon them.

But with respect to the saints, the church of Christ, it shall be a joyful and most glorious sight to them: for this sight will at once deliver them from all fear of their enemies, who were before compassing them about, just ready to swallow them up. Deliverance shall come in their extremity: the glorious Captain of their salvation shall appear for them, at a time when no other help appears. Then shall they lift up their beads, and their redemption shall be drawing nigh, Luke xxi. 28. — And thus Christ will appear with infinite majesty, and yet at the same time they shall see infinite love in his countenance to them. And thus to see their Redeemer coming in the clouds of heaven, will fill their hearts full of gladness. Their countenances also shall be changed, but not as the countenances of the wicked, but shall be changed from being sorrowful, to be exceeding joyful and triumphant. And now the wor” of redemption will be finished in another sense, viz. tuat the whole church shall be come pletely and eternally freed from all persecution and mo. lestation from wicked men and devils.

2. The Jast trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised, and the living changed. God sent forth his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, to gather together his elect from the four corners of the earth in a mystical sense, before the destruction of Jerusalem; i. e. he sent forth the apostles, and others, to preach the gospel all over the world. And so in a mystical sense the great trumpet was blown at the beginning of the glorious times of the church. But now the great trumpet is blown in a more literal sense, with a mighty sound, which shakes the earth. There will be a great signal given by a mighty sound made, which is called the voice of the archangel, as being the angel of greatest strength, 1 Thess. iv. 16. “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God.” On the sound of the great trumpet, the dead shall be raised every where. Now the number of the dead is very great. How many has death cut down for so long a timeas since the world has stood! But then the number will be much greater after the world shall have stood so much longer. and through most of the remaining time will doubtless be much fuller of inhabitants than ever it has been. All these shall now rise from the dead. The graves shall be opened every where in all parts of the world, and the sea shall give up the innumerable dead that are in it, Revexxl ls.

And now all the inhabitants that ever shall have been upon the face of the earth, from the beginning of the world to that time, shall all appear upon earth at once; all that ever have been of the church of God in all ages, Adam and Eve, the first parents of mankind, and Abel, and Seth, and Methuselah, and all the saints who were their contemporaries, and Noah, and Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the prophets of Israel, and the saints in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, and all that were of the chureb in their times; and all the holy apostles of Jesus Christ, and all the saints of their times; and all the noly martyrs under the ten heathen persecutions; and all who belonged to the church in its wilderness state, during the dark times of Antichrist; and all the holy martyrs who have suffered under the cruelty of the Popish persecutions; and all the saints of the present time; and all the saints who are here in this assembly

rd among the rest; and all that shall be from hence tu the end of the world. Now also all the enemies of the church that have or shall bein all the ages of the world, shall appear upon the face of the earth again; all the wicked killed in the flood, and the multitudes that died all over the world among God’s professing people, or others; all that died in all the heathen nations before Christ, and all wicked heathens, and Jews, and Mahometans, and Papists that have died since; all shall come together. Sinners of all sorts; demure hypocrites, those who have the fairest and best outside, and open profane drunkards, whoremasters, heretics, deists, and all cruel persecutors, and all that have died or shall die in sin amongst us.

And at the same time that the dead are raised, the living shall be changed. The bodies of the wicked whc shall then be living, shall be so chanyed as to fit them fon eternal torment without corruption; and the bodies of all the living saints shall be changed to be like Christ’s glorious body, Cor. xv. 51, 52, 53. — The bodies of the saints shall be so changed as to render them forever incapable of pain, or affliction, or uneasiness; and all that dullness and heaviness,’and all that deformity, which their bodies had before, shall be put off; and they shal put on strength, and beauty, and activity, and incorruptible unfading glory. And in such glory shall the bodies of all the risen saints appear.

And now the work of redemption shall be finished in another respect, viz. that all the elect shall now be actually redeemed in both soul and body. Before this, the work of redemption, as to its actual] success, was but incomplete and imperfect; for only the souls of the redeemed were actually saved and glorified, excepting in some few instances: but now all the bodies of the saints shall be saved and glorified together; all the elect shall be glorified in the whole man, and the soul and body in union one with the other.

3. Now shall the whole church of saints be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and all wickea men and devils shall be arraigned before the judgment seat. When the dead saints are raised, then the whole church, consisting of all the elect through all ages, will be standing together, on the face of the earth, at least all excepting those whose bodies were glorified before; and then they shall all mount up as with wings in the air to meet Christ; for it seems that Christ, when he comes ta

ia judgment, will not come quite down to the ground, but his throne will be fixed in the air, in the region of the clouds, whence he may be seen by all that vast multitude that shall be gathered before him. The church of saints therefore shall be taken up from the earth to ascend up to their Saviour. Thus the apostle tells us, that when the dead in Christ are raised, and the living changed, then those who are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we be ever with the Lord, Thess. iv. 16, 17. What a wonderful sight will that be, when all the many millions of saints are seen thus mounting up from all parts of the world!

Then shall the work of redemption be finished in another respect. Then shall the whole church be perfectly and for ever delivered from this present evil world, for ever forsake this cursed ground: they shall take their everlasting leave of this earth, where they have been strangers, and which has been for the most part such a scene of their trouble and sorrow; where the devil for the most part has reigned as god, and has greatly molested them, and which has been such a scene of wickedness and abomination, where Christ their Lord has been cruelly used; and where they have been so hated, and reproached, and persecuted, from age to age, through most of the ages of the world. They shall leave it under foot to go to Christ, and never shall set foot on it again. And there shall be an everlasting separation made between them and wicked men. Before they were mixed together, and it was impossible in many instances to determine which were which; but now all shall become visible; both saints and sinners shall appear in their true characters.

Then shall all the church be seen flocking together in the air to the place where Christ shall have fixed his throne, coming from the east and west, and north and south, to the right hand of Christ. What a mighty cloud of them will there be, when all that ever have been of the church of God, all that were before Christ, all that multitude of saints that were in the apostles’ time, and all that were in the days of Constantine the Great, and all that were before and since the Reformation, and also all that great multitude of saints that shall be in all the glorious times of the church, when the whole earth shall for so many generations be full of saints, and also all that shall be then living when Christ shall come; I say, wnat a cloud of them will there be, when all these are seen flocking together in the region of the clouds at the right hand of Christ!

And then also the work of redemption will be finished in another respect, viz. that then the church shall all be gathered together. They all belonged to one society before, but yet were greatly separated with respect to the place of their habitation; some being in heaven, and some on earth; and those who were on earth together were separated one from another, many of them by wide oceans, and vast continents. But now they shall all be gathered together, never to be separated any more. And not only shall all the members of the church now be gathered together, but all shall be gathered unto their head, into his immediate glorious presence, never to be separated from him any more. This never came to pass until now.

At the same time, all wicked men and devils shall be brought before the judgment seat of Christ. These shall be gathered to the left hand of Christ, and, as it seems, will still remain upon the earth, and shall not be caught up into the air, as the saints shall be. The devil, that old serpent, shall now be dragged up out of hell. He, that first procured the fall and misery of mankind, and has so set himself against their redemption, and has all along shown himself such an inveterate enemy to the Redeemer; now he shall never more have any thing to do with the church of God, or be suffered in the least to afflict or

molest any member of it any more for ever. Instead of that, now he must be judged, and receive the due reward of his deeds. Now is come the time which he has always dreaded, and trembled at the thought of; the time wherein he must be judged, and receive his full punishment. He who by his temptation maliciously procnred Christ’s crucifixion, and triumphed upon it, as though he had obtained the victory, even he shall see the consequences -of the death of Christ which he procured: for Christ’s -coming to judge him in his human nature is the consequence of it; for Christ obtained and purchased this glory to himself by that death. Now he must stand before that same Jesus whose death he procured, to be judged, condemned, and eternally destroyed by him. If Satan, the prince of hell, trembles at the thought of it thousands of years beforehand, how much more will he tremble, proud and stubborn as he is, when he comes to stand at

Christ’s bar!

Then shall he also stand at the bar of the saints, whom he has so hated, and afflicted, and molested: for the saints shall judge him with Christ: 1 Cor. vi. 3. “Know ve not that we shall judge angels?” Now shal he be as it were subdued under the church’s feet, agreeable to Rom. xvi. 20. — Satan, when he first tempted our first parents to fall, deceitfully and lyingly told them, that they should be as gods: but little did he think that the consequence should be, that they should indeed be so much as gods, as to be assessors with God to judge him. Much less did he think, that that consequence would foliow, that one of that nature which he then tempted, one of the posterity of those persons whom he tempted, should actually be united to God, and that as God he should judge the world, and that he himself must stand trembling and astonished before his judgment seat. But thus all the devils in hell, who have so opposed Christ and his kingdom, shall now at last stand in utmost amazement and horror before Christ and his church, who shall appear to condemn them.

Now also shall all Christ’s other enemies be brought to appear before him. Now shall the wicked proud scribes and Pharisees, who had such a malignant hatred of Christ while in his state of humiliation, and who persecuted Christ to death, those before whose judgment seat Christ was once called and stood, as a malefactor at their bar, and those who mocked him, and buffeted him, and spit in his face; now shall they see Christ in his glory, as Christ forewarned them in the time of it, Matt. xxvi. 64, 65. Then Christ was before their judgment seat; but now it is their turn. They shall stand before his judgment seat with inconceivable horror and amazement, with ghastly countenances, and quaking limbs. and chattering teeth, and knees smiting one against another.

Now also all the cruel enemies and persecutors of the church that have been in all ages, shall come in sight together. Pharaoh and the Egyptians, Antiochus Epiphanes, the persecuting scribes and Pharisees, the persecuting heathen Emperors, Julian the apostate. the cruel persecuting Popes and Papists, Gog and Magog, shall all appear at once before the judgment seat of Christ. They and the saints who have in every age been persecuted by them, shall come in sight one of another, and must confront one another before the great Judge, And now shall the saints on their glorious thrones be made the iudges of those unjust kings and ru’ers who have before

Judged and condemned them, and cruelly put them to death. Now shall those persecutors behold the glory to which they are arrived whom they before so cruelly despised and so cruelly used; and Christ will make those holy martyrs as it were to come and set their feet on the pent of their persecutors; they shall be made their footstool.

Thus wonderfully will the face of things be altered from what used to be in the former times of the world; now will all things be coming to rights.

4, The righteousness of the church shall be manifested, and all the wickedness of their enemies shall be brought to light. Those saints who had been the objects of hatred, reproach, and contempt in the world, and were reviled and condemned by their persecutors without a cause, shall now be fully vindicated. They shall now appear clothed with the glorious robe of Christ’s righteousness. It shall be most manifest before the world, that Christ’s righteousness is theirs, and they shall as it were gloriously shine forth in it. And then also shall their inherent holiness be made manifest, and all their good works shall be brought to light. The good things which they did in secret shall now be manifested openly. Those holy ones of God, who had been treated as though they were the filth and offscouring of the earth, as though they were not fit to live upon earth, as worse than beasts or devils, shall now, when things shall appear as they are, appear to have been the excellent of the earth. Now God will bring forth their righteousness as the light, and their judgment as the noon day. And now it shall appear who were those wicked persons that were not fit to live, when all the wickedness of the enemies of Christ and his church, their pride, their malice, their cruelty, their hatred of true religion, shall be set forth in all the horrid acts of it, and with all its aggravations in its proper colours.;

And now the righteous may be heard before this great Judge, who could not be heard before those unjust judges. Now they shall declare their cause, and shall rise up in judgment against their persecutors, and shall declare how they have been treated by them. And now all the wickedness of the wicked of the whole world shall be brought to light. All their secret wickedness, and their very hearts, shall be opened to view, and as it were turned inside out before the bright light of that great day: and things that ee spoken in the ear, in the closet, and done in the dark, shall be manifested in the light, and proclaimed before all angels and men that are, ever were, or shall be.

5. The sentence shall be pronounced on the righteous and the wicked. Christ, the glorious judge, shall pass that blessed sentence on the church at his right hand, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” This sentence shall be pronounced with infinite love, and the voice will be most sweet, causing every heart to flow - with joy. Thus Christ shall pronounce a sentence of justification on thousands and millions, who have before had a sentence of condemnation passed upon them by their persecuting rulers. He will thus put honour upon those who have been before despised: he will own them for bis, and will as it were put a crown of glory upon their heads before the world; and then shall they shine forth as the sun with Jesus Christ in glory.and joy, in the sight of all their enemies.

And then shall the sentence of condemnation be passed on the wicked, “Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” Thus shall the church’s enemies be condemned; in which sentence of condemnation, the holy martyrs, who have suffered from them, shall concur. When the words of this sentence are pronounced, they will strike every heart of those at the Jeft hand with inconceivable horror and amazement. Kvery syllable of it will be more terrible than a stream of lightning through their hearts. We can conceive but very little of those signs and expressions of horror which there will be upon it, of shrieking, quaking, gnashing of teeth, distortions of countenance, hideous Jooks, hideous actions, and hideous voices, through all that vast throng.

6. Upon this Christ and all his church of saints, and all the holy angels ministering to them, shall leave this lower world, and ascend up towards the highest heavens. Christ shall ascend in as great glory as he descended, and in some respects greater: for now he shall ascend with his elect church with him, glorified in both body and soul. Christ’s first ascension te heaven soon after his own resurrection was very glorious. But this his second ascension, the ascension of his mystical body, his whole church, shall be far more glorious. The redeemed church shall all ascend with him in a most joyful and triumphant manner; and all their enemies and persecutors, who shall be left behind on the accursed ground to be consumed, shall see the sight and hear their songs.

And thus Christ’s church shall for ever leave this accursed world, to go into that more glorious world, the highest heavens, into the paradise of Ged, the kingdom fe a prepared for them from the foundation of the world.

7. When they are gone, this world shall be set on fire, and be turned into a great furnace, wherein all the enemies of Christ and his church shall be tormented for ever and ever. This is manifest by 2 Pet. iii. 7. “But the heavens and the earth which are now, by the saine word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment, and perdition of ungodly men.” When Christ and his church are ascended to a distance from this world, that miserable company of wicked being left behind, to have their sentence executed upon them here, then, some way or other, this whole lower world shall be set on fire, either by fire from heaven, or by fire breaking out of the bowels of the earth, or both, as it was with the water in the time of the deluge. However, this lower world shall be set ail on fire. — How will it strike the wicked with horror, when the fire begins to lay hold upon them, and they find no way to escape it, or flee or hide from it! What shrieking and crying will there be among those many thousands and millions, when they begin to enter into this great furnace, when the whole world shall be a furnace of the fiercest and most raging heat! insomuch that the Apostle Peter says, (2 Pet. iii. 10. 12.) that “the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burnt up;” and that the “heavens being on fire shail be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat.’ And so fierce shall be its heat, that it shall burn the earth into its very centre; which seems to be what is meant, Deut. xxxii. 22. “For a fire is kindled in my anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains,”

And here shail all the persecutors of the church of God burn in everlasting fire, who have before burnt the saints at the stake, and shall suffer torments far beyond all that their utmost wit and malice could inflict on the saints. And here the bodies of all the wicked shall burn, and be tormented to all eternity, and never be consumed; and the wrath of God shall be poured out on their souls. Though the souls of the wicked in hell do now suffer dreadful punishment, yet their punishment will be so increased at the day of judgment, that what they suffered before, is, in comparison of it, as an imprisonment to the execution which follows it. And now the devil, that old serpent, shall receive his full punishment; now shall that which he before trembled for fear of, fully come upon him. This world, which formerly used to be the place of his kingdom, where he set up himself as God, shall now be the place of his complete punishment, and full and everlasting torment.

And in this, one design of the work of redemption which has been mentioned, viz. putting Christ’s enemies under his feet, shall be perfectly accomplished. His enemies shall now be made his footstool, in the fullest degree. Now shall be the most perfect fulfilment of that in Gen. iii. 15. “It shall bruise thy head.”

8. At the same time, all the church shall enter with Christ, their glorious Lord, into the highest heaven, and there shall enter on the state of their highest and eternal blessedness and glory. While the lower world, which they have left under their feet, is seized with the fire of God’s vengeance, and flames are kindling upon it, and the wicked are entering into everlasting fire, the whole church shall enter, with their glorious head, and all the holy angels attending, in a joyful manner, into the eternal paradise of God, the palace of the great Jehovah, their heavenly Father. The gates shall open wide for them to enter, and there Christ will bring them into his chambers in the highest sense. He will bring them into his Father’s house, into a world not like that which they have left. Here Christ will bring them, and present them in glory to his Father, saying, ‘* Here am I, and the children which thou hast given me;” as much as to say, Here am I, with every one of those whom thou gavest me from eternity to take the care of, that they might he redeemed and glorified, and to redeem whom I have done and suffered so much, and to make way for the redemption of whom I have for so many ages been accomplishing such great changes. Here they are now perfectly redeemed in body and soul; I have perfectly delivered them from all the ill fruits of the fall, and perfectly freed them from all their enemies: I have brought them all together into one glorious society, and united them all in myself: I have openly justified them before ray all angels and men, and here I have brought them all away from that accursed world where they have suffered so much, and have brought them before thy throne: ‘I have done all that for them which thou hast appointed me: I have perfectly cleansed them from all filthiness in niy blood, and here they are in perfect holiness, shining with thy perfect image.

And then the Father will accept of them, and own them all for his children, and will welcome them to the eternal and perfect inheritance and glory of his house, and will on this occasion give more glorious manifestations of his love than ever before, and will admit them to: a more full and perfect enjoyment of himself.

And now shall be the marriage of the Lamb in the most perfect sense- The commencement of the glorious times of the church on earth, after the fall of Antichrist, is represented as the marriage of the Lamb; and this shall be the marriage of the Lamb in the highest sense that ever shall be on earth: but after this we read of another marriage of the Lamb, at the close of the day of judgment. After the beloved disciple had given an account of the day of judgment, in the close of the 20th chapter of Revelation, then he proceeds to give an account of what follows, in the 2lst and 22d chapters; and in the 2d verse of the 2lst chapter, he gives an account, that he saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And when Christ shall bring his church into his Father’s house in heaven, after the judgment, he shall bring her thither as his bride, having there presented her, whom he loved, and gave himself for, to himself without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing.

The bridegroom and the bride shall then enter into heaven, both having on their wedding robes, attended with all the glorious angels. And there they enter on the feast and joys of their marriage before the Father; they shall then begin an everlasting wedding day. This shall be the day of the gladness of Christ’s heart, wherein he will greatiy rejoice, and all the saints shall rejoice with him. Christ shall rejoice over his bride, and the bride shall rejoice in her husband, in the state of her consummate and everlasting blessedness, of which we have a particular description in the 21st and 22d chapters of Revelation.

And now the whole work of redemption is finished. We have seen how it has been carrying on from the fall of mun to this time. But now it is complete with respect to all that belongs to it. Now the top stone of the building is laid. In the progress of the discourse on this subject, we have followed the church of God in all the great changes, all her tossings to and fro that she has been subject to, in all the storms and tempests through the many ages of the world, until at length we have seen an end to all these storms. We have seen her enter the harbour, and landed in the highest heavens, in complete and eternal glory, in all her members, soul and body. We have gone through time, and the several ages of it, as the providence of God, and the word of God, have led us; and now we have issued into eternity after time shall be no more. We have seen all the church’s enemies fixed in endless misery, and have seen the church presented in her perfect redemption before the Father in heaven, there to enjoy this most unspeakable and inconceivable glory and blessedness; and there we leave her to enjoy this glory throughout the never ending ages of eternity.

Now all Christ’s enemies will be perfectly put under his feet, and he shall have his most perfect triuniph over sin and Satan, and all his instruments, and death, and hell. Now shall all the promises made to Christ by God the Father before the foundation of the world, the proinises of the covenant of redemption, be fully accomplished. And Christ shall now perfectly have obtained the joy that was set before him, for which he undertook those great sufferings which be underwent in his state of humiliation. Now shall all the hopes and expectations of the saints be fulfilled. The state of things that the church was in before, was a progressive and preparatory state: but now she is arrived to her most perfect state of glory. All the glory of the glorious times of the church on earth is but a faint shadow of this her consummate glory in heaven.

And now Christ the great Redeemer shall be most perfectly glorified, and God the Father shall be glorified in him. and the Holy Ghost shall be most fully glorified in the perfection of his work on the hearts of all the church. — And now shall that new heaven and new earth, or that renewed state of things, which had been building up ever since Christ’s resurrection, be completely finished, after the very material frame of the old heavens and old earth are destroyed: Rev. xxi. 1. “And I saw a new jeaven, and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away.” — And now will the great Redeemer have perfected every thing that appertains to the work of redemption, which he began so soon after the fall of man. And who can conceive of the triumph of those praises which shall be sung in heaven on this great occasion, so much greater than that of the fall of Antichrist, which occasions such praises as we have described in the 19th chapter of Revelation! The beloved disciple John seems to want expressions to describe those praises, and says, “It was as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.” But much more inexpressible will those praises be, which will be sung in heaven after the final consummation of all things. Now shall the praises of that vast and glorious roultitude be as mighty thunderings indeed!

And now how are all the former things passed away, and what a g’orious state are things fixed in to remain to all eternity! — And as Christ, when he first entered upon the work of redemption after the fall of men, had the kingdom committed to him of the Father, and took on himself the administration of the affairs of the universe, to manage all so as to subserve the purposes of this affair; so now, the work being finished, he will deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father, 1 Cor. xv. 24. “Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule, and all authority and power.” Not that Christ shall cease to reign or have a kingdom after this; for it is said, Luke i. 33. “He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” So in Dan. vii. 14. “That his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” But the meaning is, that Christ shall deliver up that kingdom or dominion which he has over the world, as the Father’s delegate or vicegerent, which the Father committed to him, to be managed in subserviency to this great design of redemption. The end of this commission, or delegation, which he had from the Father, seems to be to subserve this particular design of redemption; and therefore, when that design is fully accomplished, the commission will cease, and Christ will de: liver it up to the Father, from whom he received it.