and Saints bloud to drinke, and now thou hast given them bloud to drinke: This is the reason why he acknowledgeth this not onely righteous, but according to his old and ancient proceeding, his righteoufneffe ever fince Mofes his time, and fince the world began: that is Gods manner, Gen. 9.4, 5. He that Sheds mans blond, by man skall his bloud be shed: God alway hath been of that mind: They that put others to death, that shed innocent bloud,Their bloud fhall goe for their blond, Gen. 9. 6. to that purpofe juftly fpeaks that book; it is that which they have found, for they are worthy. And when he adds further, I heard another Angel out of the Altar fay, Even fo, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy indgements: That is another Angel, a Minifter and Meflenger of Gods juftice. This phrafe, out of the Altar, in this Book, doth usually hold forth fome under-perfecution, either going, or new come out of perfecution: for fo it is expreffed in the 6.Rev. 9. I saw under the Altar the foules of them that were flaine for the Word of God, and for the teflimony which they held. The Altar is Christ, and Chrift fuffering; and thofe under the Altar, are they that suffered with Chriit for the Word of God, fpeaking of the Primitive Chriftians in their first perfecution: But here he doth not fay, they were under Martyrdome,but they were come out from under the Altar; And that holds forth thofe Chriftians in the Low-countreyes, who of a long time had been under perfecution by Duke Dalvi, and other Spanish Princes; Duke Dalva boafts of it, there were 36000.that he had put to death, Hugonites and Proteftants; Judge you what the rest might also do;and all for the teftimony of Iefus, for holding forth true Proteftant Religion; but they were all refcued by the faithfulueffe of God, giving and bleffing the courage of Q. Elizabeth: and now they are got out from under the Altar, and now they are freed from wrestling with fuch great difficulties as had been like to finke them, if God had not by his ftretched out arme refcued them. And looke as in 1584. Cicill fet forth that book, fo this Angel from under the Altar fet forth a Law in 1586. wherein by the confent of all the States generally of the confederate Provinces, they enact and enjoyne, that none of the bloudy sect of the Jefuites, nor any of their Scholars, whether he be Ítranger, or borne in the Land, fhall have liberty to come into the Country, but be put to capital punishment as an enemy to the the State; and they have been in fome measure carefull of that Law, though more in Grave Maurice his time, then fince; and fo they justly fay Amen to the Queens Law,that as she put thofe Popish Emiffaries to the paine of High Treafon,hanging, drawing, and quartering, and thus gave them bloud to drink; fo this Angel from out of the Altar faith Even fo, he faith Amen to it, let it even be fo with them, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgements; they acknowledge Gods Almighty power, that had given them power to make that Law against them, who had fo lately fuffered under them; and acknowledge Gods righteous judgements; for that State that makes a Law to the fame purpose, which they have found enacted in another State, they doe fay Amen to what hath been done, and both the one State and other acknowledge it to be a righteous judgement of God, and the adminiftration, a just law, and a juft execution. This (as others have done before me) I take to be the naturall and true meaning of this Vial in the feverall parts thereof, without wrefting of the words, nor neede it be offentive to any that fuch particular perfons are named as the accomplishers of this Vial,confidering the matters were not of fmall importance, but of great confequence and admiration, all ftates rang of thefe laws, and it raifed all Christendome in combuftion,the wars of eighty eight, the Spanith invafion had fpeciall refpect to this, and had not the Lord borne witneffe to his people and their Law, in defeating the intendments of their enemies, against both the Nations, it might have been the ruine of them both: So you fee the meaning of the words of the Text. . The words are many, and though containing much matter in 4. verfes, I shall fhortly contract and recollect the substance contained in them into one note, and handle that one at this time, as conceiving all the doctrine of thefe words may be grafped together in one Obfervation; For though there be liberty of entring into common places of Gods righteoufneffe and immutability, and of his justice in retaliation, and of his omnipoter.cic, out of this Text; yet all these particulars have been fpoken to in the former Chapter, in the third verfe, and in the fourth, Lord God Almighty, iuft and true are thy wayes, than King of Saints. That for God being ever the fame, which was and is to come, we have fpoken to it divers times before in this book; and Dol. and therefore though they be Catechifme points, which my place calleth me to attend upon; yet I fhall not here speak to then, having fo lately handled the most of them, but therefore I will onely speak to this Doctrine, which containes all the verfes. This is the note then, That upon the discovery of the deadly corruption of the Religion of the Sea of Rome, it was a righteous judgement of God, and fuch as argued him unchangeable ever, like himselfe; That the Priefts and Jefuites who carryed that Religion up and down the Nations,hould be ad judged or condemned to a bloudy death. This is the summe. For fo you fee it is upon the discovery of their sea of bloud, of the Religion of the Sea of Rome, to be a Sea of bloud. We opened and Thewed before, that The fecond Angel poured out his vial on the fea, that is, on the Religion of the Sea of Rome, and difcovered it to be as the bloud of a dead man, made it manifeftly appeare, that both their doctrine, and worship, and govemment, was deadly, and fuch as was utterly unwholfome, both for private families and States, Church and Common-wealth; and fo corrupt, as was deadly; who ever lived and dyed in that Religion, lived an hypocrite, and dyed a reprobate. Now the next Angel that comes, upon this difcovery, he poures his vial on the rivers and fountaines of waters, and they became bloud: That is, they make Lawes to adjudge all that carry that Religi on up and downe the Nation, to be guilty of bloud, and therefore to be put to death, as Traitors and Rebels against the State. And this is acknowledged by the Angels of God, I meane those that are Minifters of Gods Juftice, and approve this testimony as authenticall; they acknowledge this a righteous judgement of God, as he that is, was, and hall be alway one and the fame. Thus he was wont to carry it,and thus he doth ftill. In old time, if a man played the falfe Prophet, and fuggefted fuch devices as thefe, the Lord judged him to death,this was his manner : And fo in the New Testament, as in the Old, he condemnes all fuch to death, (and he is most righteous in fo doing.) This is the fumme. It was a great while before this, though not full two thoufand yeares, when Zachary prophefyed, that God would cut off the falfe Prophet, in the 13. Zach. 2,3. and if there were any falfe Prophet fould arife, his father and mother should thrust him through, 1 through, because he spake lyes in the name of the God of truth, It is taken from the hainoufnelle of blafphemy in the 24. Lev. Ref. 1. 16. He that blafphemeth the name of God, all furely be put to death. Every blafphemer shall be put to death. Now we cannot excufe Popish Priests and Jefuites from grofle blafphemy, they that are acquainted with the Ladies Pfalter and Óryfons made to her, cannot but acknowledg fundry blafphemous fpeeches in it, they make their Prayers to the Virgin Mary that shee would requeft her Father, and command her Sonne, and that by the power of a mothers right to forgive their finne, which if this be not blafphemy, I confeffe I know not what is, and in a high degree, unlerle they fhould fay, he were no God at all, and that falls not far fhort of it, to fet a creature above God, and yet this is allowed as good devotion in the Church of Rome: It is true, if a man blafpheme out of ignorance, as Paul did, in the 1 Tim. 1. 13. or if a man blafpheme unwillingly, as he did unwittingly, not knowing what he did, and he did compell fome to blafpheme, det. 26. 11. why if he compell them to Blafpheme, thofe that are compelled, they doe it unwillingly, but if men wittingly blafpheme,knowing what they do, knowing Jefus is God as well as man, and hath power to forgive fins as he is God, and know the Virgin Mary hath neede of a Saviour, as all the daughters of men have, that they fhall put upon her the power to command her Sonne to forgive finnes, this is fuch blafphemy, that hee that will Stand to it, let him die the death; his blood shall bee upon him: If high treafon againit Princes on earth; may juftly be punished by death, verily, this is as dithonourable to the Lord of Heaven, and Prince of all the Princes of the earth. Reaf. 2. A fecond reafon is taken from the point of feducement: As all blafphemous heretiques, fo feducing heretiques are to be put to death. In that refpect that whole 13. of Deut. is spent about the feducing of falfe prophets : and he puts a threefold gradation, if he be a Prophet, (therefore though never fo feemingly holy by his place and gifts,) yet if he turn you away from the Lord your God, and draw you from the wayes of God, what then? thine eye Shall not spare him, he shall furely be put to death, from the 1. ver. to 5. from the 6. ver. to 11. he will have no necrene fe of blood to binder from due execution of Iuftice: but if it be thy brother, the fonne of thy mother, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bofome, or thy friend, which is as thy own foule that shall goe about to seduce thee fecretly, faying, let us goe and ferve other Gods which thou haft not known, thou shalt not confent unto him, nor hearken unto him, thine eye shall not spare him,neither shalt thou conceale him, but thou shalt furely kill him, thine hand all be first upon him to put him to death, &c. from the 12.ver. to the end. If there be never fo many that shall joyn, if a whole City hall joyn together in fuch a courfe, thou shalt rife againft,and deftroy the City, and burne it with fire, and leave not a ftone upon a ftone which fhall not be thrown down, in utter deteftation of that wickedneffe: And he gives a notable reafon for it, why a feducer should be thus dealt withall, because, faith he, he feekes to turne thee away from thy way, and to thruft thee away from the Lord thy God, to turne thee off either by deceit, or to thrust thee off by earnest perswasions; and therefore left you fhould think these falfe prophets faile onely in the object of worship, and not in manner of worshipping, therefore confider in the 22. Iosh. when the two tribes and a halfe fet up an Altar by Iordan, although they thought not they would bring in another object of worship,but another manner of worthip, (here is but another way of worship, whether mediation or fatisfaction of Gods wrath devifed) the whole ten Tribes rife up, and fend a futficient Company or Troop of Militarie men to goe and expoftulate with them, and know whether it were true; and either they would reclaime them from it by argument, or make warre against them; and they had cut off two Tribes and an halfe, if they had found another Altar for worship: Now he that fets up another Mediator or Mediation, Saint or Angel, he fets up as great a matter as another Altar; or he that brings in other mens merits, FALLA 1 |