there any Inquifition known to be in any part of Europe, except in Portugal and Spain; for even in popish countries, they have long fince banifhed that inhuman infult upon God and man, and indeed in fome places, they never would fuffer it publickly to be set up; I fay publickly, for God only knows what villanies have been tranfacted in fecret; but the day of judgment will manifeft it, when the noble army of martyrs shall stand forth, and their marks and scars, the tests of their love to their faviour, will appear as witneffefs against their cruel perfecutors. 3. As popery made its advances gradually, 'till near its fummit, so it seems to fall gradually, 'till near its final ruin, and there like a dying monfter, may make an ineffectual ftruggle which may prove its overthrow, and that may be very impetuous, and fudden, so that it may be faid in one hour he is made defolate.* But, on the other hand, mahometanifm began fuddenly, and by force of arms, was carried on with great rapidity, and but little appearance as yet of a decline, and will, in all probability as fuddenly be brought down, by what means, or at what time, I fhall not pretend to fay; for wifer men than I have erred both as to time and manner of these great events; it is fufficient to me that God has declared it shall be; as for the times and manner it may not be proper for us to know them. 4. I now come to the fecond great revolution which will take place, to ufher in the kingdom of our God and his Chrift, to wit, the chaining of the dragon; for the two pillars of his throne being brought down, his overthrow cannot be far off; and here it is defcribed with inimitable fublimity, an angel is deputed, having the key of the tremendous prison called, the bottomlefs pit; an angel is the sheriff to the awful fovereign of earth and fkies, and the text fays, he laid hold of the Dragon, that old Serpent which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and caft him into the bottomless pit, and fet a feal upon him that he should deceive the nations no more, 'till the thousand years shall be fulfilled, &c. From hence I fhall, firft, take notice of this formidable enemy of God and man. Secondly, his imprisonment. Thirdly, fubjoin fome remarks. First, then, with regard to this enemy of God and man, we are at no lofs to fix upon a proper object, seeing he has fo many names given him in the text. The term dragon gives us an idea of a monster, extremely cruel and voracious; a term in fcripture given to wicked and tyranical men, in great power, and poffeffed of great cruelty. Hence, when the pfalmift is recounting the great deliverances which God had granted his people in former times, and referring to the deftruction of Pharoah and his army he says, thou didst divide the fea by thy strength: thou brakeft the heads of the dragons dragons in the waters. So the church, labouring under oppreffions, reminds God of his former deliverance, art thou not it which hath cut Rahab and wounded the dragon? + And where a fucceeding king of Egypt, another hard harted Pharoah, was treading in the steps of his predceffor, the Lord declares that with his fore and great, and strong fword he shall punifh Leviathan, the piercing ferpent, even Leviathan that crooked ferpent; and he shall flay the dragon in the fea. For as holy princes and gracious rulers are called, gods, being the emblems and reprefentatives of God on earth, immitating him in being a terror to `evil doers, and a praife to fuch as do well; fo wicked tyrants, full of cruelty, rapine and fpoil, are the representatives and imitators of the devil, are justly called by the name of their mafter. So that dragon is one of the proper titles of this grand enemy of whom I am now fpeaking. It is faid of dragons, that their breath is fo hot and poisonous, that nothing can grow where they are; their habitations are therefore habitations of defolation, the true emblems of this great dragon; for truly where he hath his den no bud of grace can be found there. His breath is poisonous, and deftructive to the utter exterminating all spiritual life and vigour in the foul of man. 2. BUT this dragon is more terrible than any of the human or beaft kind, in that he is called by way of horrid eminence A GREAT RED DRAGON, * Pfalms lxxiv. 14. + Ifaiah i. 9. Ifaiah xxvii. I. as as, having seven heads and ten horns; * and, to show his amazing power, all his feven heads are crowned. His maliginty is as great as his power, for he ftands ready to devour the fruit of the church, namely, every new-born foul, as foon as ever the divine change is made. He is likewife a real monfter, not in form only, but even in power alfo; hence he fends floods after the woman, the church, in order that she may be carried away. Sometimes floods of persecutions have raged and foamed, beginning with Cain down to the prefent times, not in all places at once, nor equally at all times; for in this cafe the earth, human power, has befriended the woman and even swallowed up the flood. t 3. THIS dragon with his tail, viz. power and cunning, lies and deceit, drew a third part of the stars and did caft them down before him; fuch is his amazing influence. By the stars, we may understand his fellow angels, whom he feduced, and who are called morning stars, who once did fhout for joy when God beheld all the works which he had made, and pronounced them very good. By ftars, again, we may understand gospel ministers, who are called ftars alfo; and alas! how many of thefe has the wiley tempter been too cunning for! and what need have all to take care leaft after preaching to others they fhould become caft aways, feeing his power and malice is particularly levelled at them. *Rev. xii. 3. + Rev. xii. 16. 4. BUT Job xxxviii. 7. 1 Cor. ix. 27. 4. BUT we need not wonder at the dragon making war upon the church, or her minifters, or seducing his fellow angels, when he dares to lift up his rebellious arm against his maker, "waring against Heaven's matchlefs king," and even struggling for omnipotence. The war in heaven, in its primary fenfe, refpects the first affault, made by this arch rebel, against the throne of God, as well as that which is still carrying on in the militant church, and where he is trying to oppofe all the bleffed schemes of grace and mercy; that if poffible they may be rendered abortive and of non effect. In fhort, the fwelling pride, the infufferable haughtiness of this dreadful adverfary, is juftly decribed by the prophet in the following vaunting ftile. I will afcend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the ftars of God. I will also fit upon the mountain of the congregation in the fides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of clouds, I will be like the Moft High. * 5. He is in the text ftiled that old ferpent, alluding to the form in which he deceived the mother of the human race, and this title anounces his exceeding craft and cunning. Much is faid, in prophane authors, of the guile and fubtilty of many of the ferpents, as well as the enormous bulk of fome of them. It is also thought by some that before the fall, they had legs and a kind of an errect pofture or attitude; yea that they had speech; and hence the woman was not furprized *Ifaiah xlv. 13, 14. |