way; but alas! with their departing it may be faid, their ftrength hath departed from them: however the quarrel is clear, for an oppreffed people's acting, upon fo juft, so neceffary an account as the interest of religion, against the cruelty and violent encroachments of Antichrift, wherein as the Lord hath eminently owned his people, fo I dare not queftion he will yet appear,. and filence the adverfaries of his truth by fuch an argument, against which they fhall not debate.

4. That universal deluge of blood which for these hundred years paft hath overflowed much of Europe, can be a witnefs, to this, that the Lord hath taken peace from men who would not embrace the peace of the gofpel offered in thefe laft times, and given his enemies who had fhed the blood of the faints, blood to drink in great measure. I am fure poor Germany can prove this, which for twenty years together was a field of dead men, and France from the days of Henry the II. to the establishment of Henry the IV. How long was the low countries made a ftage of war, where many a cruel Spamard did fall under the sword of an avenging God; befides the late bloody wars in Britain and Ireland, and what doth this declare, but that Jefus Christ hath taken the fields, and it will not be now with the kings of the earth, to opprefs his church and withstand the truth as in former times.

I fhall but add, how wonderfully hath the Lord appeared in delivering his church at the greatest extremity, hath turned his enemies counfels and defigns upon themselves, brought about the great works of these last times, by means fo unexpected and improbable, that we may fay, as to what of his judgment is already execute against Antichrift, hath been no less marvellous, than that Jericho's walls fhould fall at the found of a trumpet of ram's horn, or a cake of barley-bread tumbling into the host of Midian fhould fmite and overthrow the fame: furely when we confider what the Lord hath done, and how exactly that doth anfwer the Scripture, we may have much to confirm us anent the further accomplishment of his word, and be affured that the term of his long suffer

ing towards Babylon is at an end, war is denounced, and the execution already begun, which must not have a clofe until judgment be accomplished into victory.

IV. Ground which may confirm the faith of the faints, and be as a pledge in their hand of the full accomplishing of the Scripture; yea, that this is near, is this, that the day is now turned and that prophefied victory which the church should have over Antichrift before the end, is not only begun, but in a great measure advanced.

This is indeed a great confirmation, when we fee so marvellous a crifis in the church's cafe, her recovery from so defperate and hopeless a difeafe already begun, that it fhall be further perfected; we are made to wonder at the greatness of these things yet promised, but why fhould we not alfo wonder at that which God hath already done for his church in our days; the Scripture doth fhew that Antichrift's ruin muft begin by the word, that this ftroke fhall be gradual, and however that great work of God meet with much oppofition yet it fhall no more go back in the whole, and muft we not fay in all this the word is fulfilled, it hath not hitherto failed the church, but the event in every circumstance made to anfwer to the fame.

Now to clear this we would confider these two, I. That the church's victory over Antichrift is this day so far advanced. 2. How the Lord's very immediate hand hath been moft difcernable therein.

1. The firft I need but name, whilft it is fo manifeft what the Lord hath wrought for his church, for we have feen kingdoms and nations fubject themfelves to the truth, the kingdom of Antichrift grow dark with the breaking up of the light, and many of his followers made to gnafh their teeth, being fcorched with the heat and power of the gospel : In how great a measure is that interest now fhaken, if we confider what the Lord hath wrought, what a great reformation hath been in Britain and Ireland, through much of France, Germany, Sweden, the low countries, Pole, Denmark, yea, even in Hungary and Tranfilvania; fure this was a great

work, which should be marvellous in our eyes, how that Antichriftian empire, contrived with fuch wifdom, underpropt with fo great ftrength, whofe commands not long fince were received as oracles, with an awe and respect only due to God, hath in such a measure begun to fall before the power of the word. O! the righteous judgment of the Lord, which he hath fhewed forth upon that adverfary, and fhould be a pledge to us of the further manifestation thereof, an adverfary we may fay, the greatest that ever the church had, whofe little finger hath been forer than the loins of all who went before, if we confider his cruelty over men's bodies, tyranny over their confcience, with fo long a continuance of that trial; in refpect of whom it may be faid, Pharaoh was an eafy tafk-mafter, Antiochus and the Roman emperors mild, who for near one thousand and two hundred years, did carry on a desperate and bloody war against the church.

II. The fecond which I would at fome more length follow forth is this, How the Lord's hand and fomething of an extraordinary providence hath been no lefs difcernable in this late raifing of the church, and her begun victory over Antichrift than in the first planting of Chriftianity by the apostles, this is a truth which to many may feem ftrange, but when seriously confidered, if prejudice do not darken men's judgment, will appear from fure and folid grounds; now to demonftrate this, I would here offer fome very convincing witneffes, which may help to ftrengthen the faith of the godly, and give Atheism some dash.

First witness to this truth, is that wonderful fuccefs which the gofpel in these last times hath had, wherein men must fee the great power of God, and efficacy of the Spirit, in fome measure as manifeft, as in the first rife of the Chriflian church, if we confider,

1. From what a small spark, fo great a fire did break up, which in a fhort time put Europe in a flame, and made fo great a change therein, even Luther's appearing against Texupon the account of his indulgencies, O! but God's time of working may be oft contrary to our time of expecting.

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2. What a fwift progrefs did the gofpel have? may we not fay with wonder, can a nation be born at once, yet, this we have feen, how many nations and cities in one and the fame age; yea, in less than forty years, was brought in fubjection to the truth, and these inftruments whom scarce any durft own at first, made to fee great princes with armies on the fields for the interefts of Chrift.

3. Have we not feen religion propogated by martyrdom, no less than in the primative times, and men's effays to ruin the church helped it further to grow. O! what but a divine power could thus bring gold out of iron and clay, bring a flourishing church out of their ashes, and turn her poison to a prefervative; but alas it is fad! that whilst men were burned for the truth and reading of the Scripture, their affection did alfo burn in reading the fame, but now with our liberty, there is fo great a decay.

4. Must not the wife and politicians of the world confess this late increase of the church is a thing above their reach, moft cross to all their rules, which they cannot fee how in an ordinary way it could be brought about.

5. Were not inftruments most unlikely for fo great a work, if we would judge as men, that fuch a poor handful, as Luther, Zuinglius, Melanchton, Bucer, &c. fhould go forth to confront that power which then made the earth to tremble, might it not feem as improbable as the fending forth of fome fishermen to fubdue the nations?

6. It is known they were none of the Rabbies of the time, whofe repute and fame might have purchased easy access to their meffage, nay, they were loaded with all the reproach which their adverfariés could devife, with novelty of doctrine, deceit and falfehood in their dealing, represented to the world as monfters; Luther was forced to anfwer himself a printed relation of his death, how he was carried away foul and body by the Devil.

7. Was not the meffage they carried moft oppofite to men's carnal inclinations, to these principles they had fucked in from their infancy, to the religion of their fathers; yea, in

a word, had no outward encouragements, the whole world feemed to combine against them; Luther at his firft appearance excommunicated by the pope, prefcribed by the emperor, and good Melanchton was oft made to faint when he thought on fo great a fpate of opposition, so that without the convey of an extraordinary power, nothing could have looked more improbable.

Second witness that may let the world fee a wonderful providence in this late raising of the church, is this, these sharp affaults which the church met with from a party, no less cruel and powerful than any adversary which the church had in the primitive times; for I am fure the world must confess that no ordinary mean had wanted for an essay to crush the gofpel in its firft budding forth, that both counsel and force, the authority of law, backed with greatest rage and violence in its execution: yea, the power of the prince of the earth was put forth to the utmoft, to withstand this great work of God in thefe laft ages.

To clear this, I fhall only point at fome remarkable affaults which did tryft the dawning of the gofpel, that may shew fomething above nature going along with it.

1. We find a Spanish emperor devoted to the Popish intereft, more powerful than any who went before, brought in on Germany with the very first breaking up of the light, which might feem a dreadful lett to the gofpel's fpreading.

2. The rife of the Boors and Anabaptist party, whose being fo grofs deftructive to civil order, to the interefts and proprieties of men, did look like a fad tryft, and a probable mean to beget much prejudice against the truth.

3. That fad overthrow of the duke of Saxony, and Landgrave of Heffe, who were fuch great patriots to the church, did then threaten the very ruin of the Proteftant interest in Germany.

4. The council of Trent, where the Popish party had all their politics on foot in a ftrong combination, how to ruin. the church.

5. The Interim of Germany, a moft fubtile contrivance to