jaice. O! how eafy and fweet is his yoke? and thus he fubfcribes from that delectable orchard of the Leoline prifon. Gue de Bres, The ringing of my chain hath been fweet music in my ears, all my former difcourfes were but as a blind man's. of colours, in refpect of my prefent feeling. O what a precious comforter is a good confcience! The Lord Henry Otto a Bohemian, who suffered in the late perfecution, faid to the minister, I was troubled, but now I feel a wonderful refreshment; O now I fear death no longer, I will die with joy: and on the fcaffold cried out, Behold I fee the heavens opened, pointing with his hands at the place, where others obferved a certain brightnefs that did dazzle their eyes; and thus died with great cheerfulness. I fhall but add the laft words of that holy and great man, Mr. Wifbart, who thus fpake amidft the fire, This flame doth torment my body, but no whit abate my spirits.

Fourth witnefs, is thefe great and remarkable judgments of God, which in thefe laft times have befallen the adverfaries and perfecutors of the church, who have been most notour for their opposition to the truth; wherein we must say a divine hand hath been fo difcernable, that ordinary obfervers could not pafs the fame without a remark, but must acknowledge the righteous judgment of God, that it cometh not by guefs, and at an adventure, but doth convincingly feal the word.

This is indeed a grave fubject, wherein we should be very ferious and fober, for the judgments of God are a great depth, nor can we determine from events, but in fo far as they anfwer to the word; it may fometime happen to wicked men according to the work of the righteous: but on the other hand, it is a fure truth that God is known by the judgment he executes, and in every age doth point out fin to the world by remarkable ftrokes, fome great examples of judgment, which as a beacon are fet forth for men to obferve; and truely we may fay, these remarkable inftances of the judgment of God, fince he began to found a retreat to his church from Babylon, are far beyond other preceding ages. I would be fparing to repeat what of this kind is published by others,

but that in fpeaking to this truth, I cannot pafs it in a general, whilst there are fo many inftances wherein the Lord hath made himfelf known, and thefe fuch a convincing feal and confirmation of the truth, and the following relations, I dare with confidence fay there is not any paffage or matter of fact here fet down without fome clear and fatisfying grounds, as to. the certainty thereof.

I fhall firft inftance Charles the V. whofe undertakings for many years were followed with fuccefs, until once he fet himself to perfecute and oppress the church, and bathed his fword in the blood of the Proteftants, with his cruel and unjust usage of the duke of Saxony, from which time his affairs began visibly to decline, he is forced to fly before Mauritius, and seek a retreat in the furtheft confines of the empire, and after broken with melancholy and difcontent, like another Dioclefian, doth refign his empire, and turn tɔ a private life.

Philip the II. of Spain, one of the greatest perfecutors of the church in thefe laft ages, whofe work was to root out the Proteftant religion in his dominions, and therefore fèt on foot that horrid engine of the inquifition, yet at last finds all his effays fruftrate, and after the lofs of many millions of treasures, and of fome 10000 lives by war, yea, of a confiderable part of the Netherlands, and after the breaking of his great Armado at fea against the English, by a very remarkable ftroke from heaven, is at laft faitten in his body by a ftrange difeafe, or ather a confluence of difeafes, which his phyficians could neither understand nor cure, his body falling out in grievous boils, whence (befides putrid matter) there did iffue fuch abundance of vermin, that by-standers could hardly cleanfe, or endure the horrid fmell thereof; that fo he who had put fo many of the faints to cruel torments by the inquifition, was himfelf tormented for two years together with inexpreffible pain and anguish.

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Henry the II. of France, a moft violent enemy to the church, whilft he had caufed fentence Annas de Burgh to death, having folemnly protefted in fuch words, Thefe eyes of

mine fhall fee thee burnt: a little before the appointed time of his execution, running in the lifts with a spear against Count Montgomery, is pierced through the eye, with fuch a wound, that in a fhort time fent him to his grave, and fruftrate his expectation. I fhall mention elsewhere how remarkably the judgment of God did purfue him.

Henry the III. who (whilst he was duke of Anjou) did affift at that horrid council kept at St. Cloud near Paris, where the massacre was concluded, is fome years after stabbed to death by a jacobine friar in that very chamber; a thing which Du Serres doth twice mention with a remark, as a marvellous inftance of the judgment of God.

The duke of Guife, the great executioner of that massacre, with his brother the cardinal, a special contriver of the fame, are not long after killed by Henry the III. at Blois, with whom they had oft joined in council to root out the Proteftants, and which is very obfervable, by a fpecious show of friendship were circumvented, and with folemn oaths and promises as treacherously reached as the admiral and Protestants by Charles the IX. were at Paris, and these two who were his great counfellors thus are dealt with, having blood measured out to them for blood, and treachery, as they had dealt treacherously with the faints.

We find alfo the duke of Aumale, who was a joint actor with the duke of Guife in that maffacre, doth a little after fall by a fhot off the walls, at the fiege of Rochel, which not only Du Serres, but also Davilla, who was very Popish, doth particularly relate, where we may fee what a bloody end the great contrivers and actors of that horrid maffacre had.

Henry the IV. a prince of excellent parts, and great natural accomplishments, was followed with marvellous fuccefs whilft he owned the truth, yet, after many victories, and the • breaking of the catholic league, turns Popi, and abjures the Proteftant religion, but, lo! within a little he is stabbed in the mouth by a Jefuit, on which a Proteftant gentleman used this freedom with him, Sir, you have denied God and his truth with your mouth, and he hath given you there a firoke, take heed

you deny him not alfo with your heart, left the next ftroke be there; which, as the French history fheweth, did accordingly fall out, when he was stabbed by Ravilack. Du Serres, his own hiftoriographer, doth fhew it was through the very heart, and it was too evident, that fometime before his death he had turned cordial and zealous for the Popish intereft.

Ferdinand the II. a great perfecuter of the church in Germany, who after his victory over Frederick and the Bohemian ftates, made it his work to root out the church and Proteftant religion there, and turned that country into a bloody fhambles, not sparing any rank who would not abjure the truth, but a fhort time after, we find the avenger of blood (in whofe fight that of his faints is precious) purfueth him, raifeth up the Swedes for an adversary, under whose sword most of those cruel wretches, that were the Bohemian fcourge do fall, turneth Germany and the emperor's countries into a field of blood, breaketh that great army, which for many years had given law to Germany, fo that as fome hiftorians. mention, an army of twenty-four thoufand captains, because all old expert foldiers was broken in the plain fields, with a huge flaughter; yea, the violence and cruelty of the Popish party, thus measured out to them, as they had meafured to the poor church of Bohemia and the Palatinate, and Ferdinand the emperor broken with breach upon breach, that men may fee the judgment of God pursuing a bloody perfecutor.

Thefe barbarous cruel Irish, who of late carried on that horrid massacre there, fparing no Proteftants, whatever was their age or rank, without compaffion to women or children; O! how vifibly did the judgment of the Lord reach them, and for that favage blood-fhed, give them blood to drink in great measure, their chief leader Macguier Machune, and after Philomy Oneal taken, publicly executed, most of them confumed by the fword, their fpirits fo debafed, that a few English or Scots foldiers, would have chafed multitudes of them, fo that the world might fee divine vengeance eminently pursuing them, which in a few years did root out most of that cruel generation.

We have an obfervable inftance alfo recorded of Sir James Hamilton, natural brother to the earl of Arran, who in king James the Vth's time, was by the Popish clergy promoted against fuch as were then suspected of favouring the Proteftant religion, in which place he was moft terrible and cruel against all he could reach; yea, fo violent, that some of his near kinsmen were by him brought under the lafh of his power; but lo! when at his greatest height, whilft he is making it his work to crush the gospel in its budding forth, this is made the mean of his ruin, and by one of his friends whom he pursued on the account of religion, he is accused of treafon, and notwithstanding of the folicitation of the Popifh clergy for him, as their great patriot, he is presently arraigned, beheaded and quartered in the public ftreet of Edinburgh.

It is also known, what violent perfecutors cardinal Beaton, and his fucceffor bishop Hamilton were, who were no less conspicuous instances of the judgments of the Lord in that time; also what befel one friar Campbel, who did bitterly rail on that excellent man, Mr. Patrick Hamilton, when he was burnt at St. Andrews, to whom Mr. Hamilton at the ftake in great vehemency said, Wicked man thou knowest the contrary, and haft fometimes professed the fame, I appeal thee to answer before the judgment feat of Chrift; and within a few days after, (which in that time was very notour) this friar fell fick, and in great horror of confcience, as one mad died.

There are indeed many fuch remarkable inftances, it is known how the judgment of God did pursue these three great apoftates from the truth, Olivares chancellor of France, Latomus, and Francis Spira, who after they had quit their profeffion, and over their light denied the truth, died with great horror of confcience, crying out to by-ftanders what a hell they found within them. Du Serres doth fhew, how that chancellor of France, through the torment and anguish of his mind, caufed the very bed to fhake under him; but fince there are many examples of this kind already upon record, I do the more briefly touch it: and fhall only add some