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thing that is in Heaven above, or in the earth "beneath, or in the waters under the earth, and "to bow down to them," would also set up such images in all parts of the world, and worshipping themselves, command all men to worship them, instead of the true God? that believing in the fallen and corrupt state of man, themselves being men, would desire to put themselves in every respect, upon an equality with that God who is infinitely perfect? that believing in a future state of rewards and punishments to be administered only by that God, would assume the administration thereof upon themselves? that they would assume to themselves and rob that God of all his divine attributes? Of his wisdom, his justice, and his truth by suffering no appeal to his holy word or even to himself, from their judgment, decrees and opinions? his mercy, by granting of pardons and absolutions for the sins of man? his holiness, by the pretended purity and sanctity of their church, and the personal assumption of the title itself; his power, by their undertaking to curse and destroy or to save in a life to come, the souls of men? In short would they have assumed his infallibility which refers to all his attributes; and, in addition to this catalogue of blasphemies, would they have "lived," as St. Paul has it, "without God in the world," in all manner of pride, pomp, lasciviousness, and filthy lusts, massacreing and destroying their fellow-creatures and the children of God, who would not submit to

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their blasphemous will, and worship their dark and dreadful idolatry? I ask by what rule of reason in judging, can any man conclude that such men, committing such an accumulation of crimes and blasphemies not for a short time, but for a series of ages; not secretly, but avowedly and in the face of the world supporting, maintaining and keeping them alive by their secret intrigues, frauds, fictitious miracles, and blasphemous doctrines, ceremonies, and decrees; and yet that they should believe in the existence of a God who will reward the good and punish the evil actions of men done in the body? It is impossible! If they had decreed that there is no God, we should have concluded that such was their faith? but actions speak louder than words, and are by far the most certain tests of truth. Looking at their actions, do they not demonstrate that they have neither believed in a state of future rewards and punishments, nor in a God; but have been led into captivity by "a strong delusion," according to St. Paul, “that they should believe a lie," the lie of atheism, THAT THERE IS NO GOD. To this captivity he also plainly refers, where he tells the Thessalonians that the mystery of iniquity, (the mystery of Atheism was alive, and at work in his day,)" for," says he, "the mystery of iniquity doth already work," and would continue to work until the apostacy should be "taken out of the way*." And when we look back to all the powers which have existed upon earth,

*ii. Thess. ii. 6, 7.

since the Apostle's time, there have been none which have been such faithful labourers in the vineyard of the mysteries of iniquity, as the Popes. In the dawn of their authority and influence they began their mysterious and iniquitous frauds, and have been constantly adding to them, age after age, ever since, until the apostacy itself, sickened with their blasphemous presumptions, have cast them up, but unfortunately to prepare the stomach for a more deadly draught, the poison of French Atheism. Thus, whether the Prophet alludes to the temporal or spiritual captivity of the Pope, or both, the Prophecy has been completely fulfilled in both; and thus it also seems to have been consistent with the Divine justice, that while they have been seducing and deceiving the souls of mankind to their eternal ruin, their own souls should be led into the same dreadful situation.

Ver. 10. continued. "Here is the patience. "and faith of the saints!"

INTERPRETATION AND COMPLETION.

With this sentence of admiration and wonder, the Prophet concludes the complete Prophetic History of the Church of Rome. Struck with astonishment at her allurements, mysterious frauds, blasphemies, and long continued cruelties; and with admiration and wonder at the amazing fortitude, patience, and perfect resignation of those saints, those pious Christians, who seeing

through the veil of her abominations, by the grace of God, and light and life received from Christ, would not only reject and oppose her blasphemous superstition, but bear up against all her cruelties, all the torments of the sword, the rack, and of fire; suffering their bodies to be pressed, mangled, massacred, their limbs to be distended, dislocated, and burned to ashes at the stake, without a murmur; yea, with joy, to be thought worthy to suffer in the cause of truth, the Prophet breaks out into this rapturous exclamation, "Here is the patience and faith of the saints;" that is, Bebold! let all the world behold, the inexpressible power of the grace of God and faith in Christ, in the souls of men! What tortures, far surpassing the fallen nature of man to bear, do they enable him to suffer! What fortitude! What patience! What resignation to his divine will! and with what joy do they inspire the souls of men, in sure and certain hope, that a temporal death, endured in the cause of truth, will save them from the second and eternal death, and translate them into a state of never ending immortality and happiness in the bosom of their CREATOR, their REDEEMER and their GOD.

Here then we have the PROPHETIC or anticipated hisory of THE CHURCH OF ROME, a monstrous wicked and impious Ecclesiastical Power; so dissimilar and eccentric in its nature and constitution, from any thing that ever had been, or that was probable ever could be in the world, that the utmost stretch of human credulity could not have conceived it possible it ever could be a his

tory of events to come in after ages, of events revealed by the omniscient Son of the MOST HIGH GOD, to his beloved disciple John; revealed, written, and published in the latter end of the first century, five hundred years at least before the existence of that Church; before the Bishop of Rome received a commission, or his authority of universal Bishop; and before he had passed one decree, or performed any one act as Pope, or the founder and head of it. Now, let any person, let even the sceptic or the wilfully blind atheistical infidel, examine this prophetic history, carefully, critically, and with all his usual tergiversations and sophistry; then turning to the numerous histories of the Church of Rome written since her rise and the establishment of her power; compare them together; and I hesitate not to affirm, that if he has not smothered all perception of truth in his mind, he will confess, that although the former is contained in ten short verses only, yet the multiplicity and variety of the events considered, it is wonderfully concise, brief, and nervous in its style; more regular and methodical in narration; more copious, chaste, and abundant in description, without the least tautology; and, in short, that it eminently excels, in every other essential of a complete and perfect history, all the histories of the Church of Rome, which have been written by the most learned and accurate of her historians,, who, as it were, have been contemporary spectators of the events themselves since her rise. These being demonstrable, and, indeed, obvious truths, arising out of its own internal A a 2

VOL. ii.

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