THE SECOND VIALL REVEL. 16. 3. And the fecond Angel poured out his viall upon the Sea, and it became as the blood of a dead man, and every living foule died in the Sea. His Verfe defcribes the pouring out of the Viall of the fecond Angel: For the fubject, He poures it on the Sea; and the effect was, the Sea became as the blood of a Deadman, and the effect of that, en the living foules in the Sea, they all dyed. The allufion is, to a like plague upon e Egypt, in the 7. of Exod. 20 ́21. Where Mofes ftrucke the River Nilus, and it was turned to blood, as heere The Sea became as the blood of a dead man ; and all the fish in the Rivers dyed; that is, of all forts fome. ୯ Now for the meaning of this fecond Viall. First, for the Sea, What is heere meant by the Sea? And what by the Sea becomming blood, and as the blood of a dead man? And how is every living foule in this Sea, faid to dye by this meanes? The Sea cannot be ment the ordinary Sea of waters, for you cannot bring any judgement on that fea, that can afflict AntichriftiD ans ans more then Chriftians; if you fhould corrupt all the Sea (as the Papifts expound it, and yet they beleeve all thefe evils redound to Antichrift.) What hurt will it be to Antichrift more then to the Church of Chrift? If all the fish in the fea died, What would it hurt Antichrift more then Chriftian Nations? cannot Antichrift be fupplyed with other dainties on the fhore, out of the Flocks and Heards, and out of the Fields and Woods, and out of the Ayre from the Fowles there, though he never had any Fish at his Table? That therefore cannot bec the meaning. But the fea is the fea of the Antichriftian world, a distinct world from that heavenly ftate wherein other Reformed Churches ftand. The Sea, as you know, is the confluence of all the Rivers and Fountaines of waters; they all finally are gathered together into one place, and are called Sea. And truly the confluence & concourfe of all the fprings of the Churches, they do meet together in one Religion, that is the common receptacle of all; All my fresh Springs are in the Lord, Pfal.87. 7. In that Religion which the Church profeffeth: And therefore Religion was refembled in the 4 of the Revel, verf.6. B7 the fea of Glaffe like unto Chryftall, that is, all the Ordinances of God they were fo cleare, as that you might fee Chrilts face in them as in a mirrour or glaffe, a Cor. 3.18. 3 Wherein the state of Religion in the New Teftament diffcred from the flate of Religion in the old Teftament, Where the Brazen fea in Salomons Temple was indeed bright as braffe, but thicke and not tranfparent, you could not fee fo clearly the blood of Christ in it ; and yet there was a sea of Waters: What to doe? In the 2 Chron.4.2. to the end of the 6. verfe, which was for the Priests to wash in. Now what is it that can cleanse the Priefts, but onely the blood of the Lord Iefus. Now that was resembled by the water in the Brazen fea, Therefore all the Ordinances of Chrift, which did hold forth the blood of Chrift, to the washing and purging of the Priests and people of God, that is the fea. Now this fea, as you heard in the 15. Chapter of the Revelation, the 2. verfe, In the Reformed Churches is a fea of Glaffe, though mingled with Fire; mingled with fome contention, yet the face of Chrift might be cleerely feene in it. But this fea heere, that is, the Popish Religion, is the confluence of all their Ordinances, as they doc ad mini; minifter the worship of God: And upon this fea, upon this Re ligion,is the fecond Viall poured. In the former Viall First,men tumbled at the lives of Papilts, and thefupon at the lives of them that led them,at their Prielts covetoufneffe,ignorance, and hipocrifie. they liked not their lives, though at first they fumbled not at their religion but thought it was the fault of their lives; but foone after, they stumble at their Religion fo that the next Vial is poured on their Religion, the Ordinances themfelves,as they are difpenced by them: the Viall is poured on them fo farre as they differ from Reformed Churches. Then what? This being the fea, how is this fea come to be as bloud? That is this Religion of theirs is convinced, and difcovered to be, not fuch as holds forth the cleansing blood of the Lord Iefus, as the Sea in Salomons Temple did and as the fea of Glaffe like unto Chri tall did, but holds forth the blood of a dead man : A dead Christ, and dead Ordinances to any fpirituall life. There is no life, no power, no favour of goodneffe in it; as the blood of a dead man, which is not like the living blood of Chrift, to cleanfe and purifie, and to give life; hoftever eats my flesh, and drinks my bloud hath eternall life, fohn 6.54 But this is the blood not of the liveing God, but of a dead man, there is the best of it, and what is that? Fitto pollute and defile, fit to choake a man, but not to feed him; not to cleanfe and purge lim. And every thing living in that feadyed: Every thing, That is every foule that had no other life, but what was bred and fed in that Religion; and had no other Christian life but what he fucked and derived from that Religion, they all perished everlastingly, this is the meaning of the words of the Text. Now then it may be further demanded for clearing of this meaning, who is this Angell that poures cut this viall of Gods wrath on this fea? the fea (you fay) is Antichriftian religion, for the first began with the earth; this goes up higher, and fo higher, and higher, till it come to the throne, and till at length Babilon be fallen: So that all the fe plagues fall on the antichriftian fate. But who is this Angell that poureth out this Viall? There be fome conceive that they are they who met in the councell of Trent, and gathered all the streames of Pcpish priests, and their doctrine, and practise, and ratified them all in that Councell; yea fome thinke that Bellarmine hath done the Church of God good fervice, in gathering the body of Controverfies, betweene proteftants and popish Churches,and hath delivered them in fo many volumes that you might have a whole fea of antichriftian doctrine. worship, and governement by him confirmed, though I doe not diflike the notion, and it will fall into the true meaning, yet that holds not close to the letter of the Text, for the Text makes all the Angels to be *Rev.15 5. fuch as come out of reformed Churches, the Temple open 6. in heaven; members of reformed Churches, all cloathed in pure and white linnen, godly Chriftians, righteous foules, and girded with golden girdles, ftablished in the truth of the Gofpell, therefore they cannot be the Bishops,and Doctors of Reme, nor Bellarmine nor any of them that have held forth Popish Religion in a Popish Church; What then? Then it muft bee other Minifters and Profeffors of reformed religion, who have discovered the religion of the antichriftian ftate to be as it is. Obiect. You will fay can they turne Popish Religion to bloud. The Doctors of Trent indeed have, Bellarmine makes it worse by maintaining and confirming of it. True but can Minifters of reformed Churches be faid to doe fo. Marke they are fayd to poure out a viall, not by making their religion worse, but making it appeare as bad as it was; They being righteous men, they could not corrupt religion, but difcover it, and make it appeare, that all the decrees of the councell of Tent, and of Bellarmine, and such Popish writers; they discovered them to bee nothing but a fea of corrupt do&rine, and wor ship all the ftreames that run in that fea, are ali polluted and filthy, that who fo lives and dies in them, perifheth everlastingly. And fuch were all thofe worthy fervants of Chrift, that have written either against the Trident Councell, or againit Bellarmine, that have convinced their Doctrine and worship to be all polluted and corrupted, and to be fuch that if a man know and practife, and beleeve no better he cannot be faved, fuch hath been Chenmitius, and Junius, Chamier, Whitaker, and Reignolds, Perkins, and Ames,and the reft of the holy Saints of God, that have poured out this viall of Gods wrath, that is, that by their doctrine, and writings from the word have pou red out fuch cleare conviction, and refutation of their doctrine and worship, that to all that are not partiall, it appeares to be not not the bloud of the Lord Iefus, but of a dead man, and therfore who ever lives and dies, in that religion, hee cannot die better then a reprobate, nor live better then an hypocrite, this is the true meaning of the fecond viall. The first note that we may gather (I will not be long in it,nor Do in this place the matter requires it not,in fome places it might.) As upon the corruption of common Chriftians followes the corruption of religion, fo by the difcovery of the corruptions of Chriftians, or upon the difcovery of the corruption of common Chriftians, followes the difcovery of corruption in Religion. This note followes upon the former words, compare this verfe with the second trumpet, vpon the founding of the second trumpet, there was brought in corruption of religion,in the Imperiall Chriftian world, as in the 8. Chapter of this booke, and the 7.8 9. ver. The first Angell founded, and there followed baile and fire mingled with bloud, whereby all the green grasse was burnt up, &c. The first Angell poured out fire and bloud, that is vncharitableneffe, and contentioufneffe, and fo corruption grew in the fpirits of common Chriftians, and what fellowed upon that? And thereupon the fecond Angel founded,. and there fell a great mountaine burning with fire, caft into the fea, on the contentioufneffe, and quarelling of common Chriflians and their ambition. There grew contention, about primacy in Church Governours, and that fo far corrupted the fea (A mountaine of high preferment being caft into the fea) that a third part of the fea became bloud, here was a third part a great part of their religion, fpecially that which concernes governement, became bloud, very noifome, both their doctrine and governement: fo that looke as on the corruption of the lives of Christians, prefently religion grew corrupt, fo on the difcovery of corruption in common Chriftians. In this fecond viall follows the difcovery of corruption in religion it felf,in this fecond viall : and looke by what degrees, the trumpets founding, brought in corruption into the Church; by the fame degrees, the vials bring forth the difcovery of corruption in the Church thevials of Gods wrath difcover corruption & pollution in Religion. The reafon of this point is taken from the powerfull effi- Reafor cacy of all religion,to transforme the fincere profeffors of it, to the like nature with it felfe, looke what the religion is,fuch |