made an image of his dead fon, and firft honoured him as a dead man, at length as a god, &c. And as the Pagans had their gods to be applied to by persons

us, Pfal. cxxiv. 1. 2. 3. God's enemies, feeing they are not good men, the fcripture accounts them beafts. Chrift was attacked by bulls and lions, Pfal. xxii. 12. 13.; for when men turn perfecutors, they fet up themselves against the Deity, and withal lay afide all humanity. There are five beafts which God's turtle has been specially in hazard to be swallowed up by.

1. The Egyptian beaft, the great dragon,' Ezek. xxix. 3. This was a cruel beast that made the Lord's people groan long under the greateft bondage. A bloody beaft; fee the bloody edict, Exod. i. 16. When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, faid Pharaoh to the midwives, and fet them upon the flools; if it be a fon, then ye shall kill him. It had near swallowed them up, Exod. xv. 9. The enemy faid, I will purfue, I will overtake, I will divide the Spoil: my luft shall be fatisfied upon them, I will draw my fword, my hand shall deftroy them. See how the turtle groans to the Lord against this beaft, Pfal. Ixviii. 30. Rebuke the company of Spearmen, Heb. the beast of the reeds. And the people of God comfort themfelves under their danger in the text by the end of the Egyptian beaft, Pfal. Ixxiv. 13. 14. Thou didst divide the fea by thy ftrength: thou brakeft the heads of the dragon in the waters. Thou brakeft the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gaveft him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.

2. The Babylonian beaft, the lion, Dan. vii. 4. Jer. xlix. 19. Dreadful was the havock this beast made on them; it burnt the temple and the fynagogues, filled the land with blood, fpared neither men, women, nor children. See the whole book of Lamentations. And the text lets you fee how they were well nigh being fwallowed up by him. Yet God broke out the teeth of that fierce lion.

3. The Perfian beaft, the bear, a bloody beaft, Dan. vii. 5. This though it lay quiet for a while, yet hindered the building of the temple and the city a long time, and kept the church fore at under. But under this beat a bloody maffacre was fet on foot, Efth. iii. The confpirators have their frequent meetings, ver. 7. the court is friendly to them, and the bloody day is fet, ver. 12. 13. and all becaufe Mordecai would not bow to Haman an Amalekite, one of thofe against whom the Lord had fworn he would have war for ever. How near

1

of feveral callings, countries, difeafes, &c. fo the Papifts are well nigh even with them in that. The

was the church then to be swallowed up? But God broke the plot, and ruined that beast too.

4. The Grecian beaft, the leopard, Dan. vii. 6. This beaft had almoft fwallowed up the church under Antiochus Epipla nes, who raised a most dreadful perfecution against the Jews, polluted the temple, forbade the public worship of God, and fet up in the temple the image of the Heathen Jupiter, and cruelly murdered many that would not comply with idolatry, Dan. xi. 3.-34. Yet they furvived that beaft.

5. The Roman beaft, which is nameless, Dan. vii. 7. The fcripture fpeaks of two Roman beasts, that were both heavy to

the church.

ift, The great red dragon, Rev. xii. 3. that is, the Roman empire headed by the Pagan emperors, whom the devil ftirred up to perfecute the church for the first three hundred years. Horrible was the havock of Chriftians made under ten perfecuting Pagan emperors. So that it is reckoned there were as many Chriftians flain under them as that, if ye would fuppofe them at this butchering work for one year, there would be five thousand martyrs for every day of that year.

2dly, The beaft with the name of blafphemy, Rev. xiii. 1. that is, the Roman Chriftian or rather Antichriftian empire, headed by the Pope, the Popish kingdom, whereof the Pope is the head. All the reft are gone. This is the only remain ing bealt that is threatening, at this day, the fwallowing up of the church in thefe lands. But this beaft, the Antichriftian kingdom, is the common fink of all the evil qualities of the other beafts, Rev. xiii. 2. and has outdone them all. So that eight hundred thoufand are reckoned to have loft their lives in thirty years under this beast, which has lafted many hundreds of years. Yet multitudes in Britain and Ireland at this day are doing what they can to run us into the paw of this bear, the mouth of this lion and dragon. But let us cry, 0 deliver not thy turtle-dove unto this beast. We may fee that we are in fearful danger of it. The fymptoms of it are,

(1.) The frightful appearance that Papifts and Popery are making now in these lands. It is known that great numbers of Papifts are come, and are ftill coming from abroad; that they are drawing together in an unusual manner; that they are arming themselves, no doubt for fome bloody defign. The locufts spoke ef, Rev. ix. 3. aie fwarming in the land, well

Pagans had their gods for the feamen, fhepherds, husbandmen, &c. fo the Papifts have St Nicholas for

known in the northern parts: and no doubt through all corners they are trafficking, though in difguife. They have dreadful fuccefs, perverting many, and mafs is faid publicly and avowedly in feveral parts. So that these twenty-five years fince K. James was on the throne, they have never fo lifted up their heads as now.

(2.) The juft fears there are of the pretender's getting into the throne, a Papist bred up in the maxims of Popery and French government, from whom nothing can be more expected than the ruin of the Proteftant religion. To this Papifts and malignant Jacobites are bending their united endeavours; and have fo far ripened their accurfed project, that they are very confident of fuccefs.

(3.) The formidable power of France, from whence our enemies have their great encouragement. That cruel tyrant is by the late peace now at more leisure to enflave us, and landing an army for fetting the pretender on the throne, to be a tool (in his hand) to ruin our liberties and our holy religion, as he has done at home with his own.

(4.) Many vile men are exalted to places of power and trust, enemies to the Proteftant fucceffion, keen for the Popish pretender, though they have abjured him, for no greater end than that they might thereby get into places to do him fervice and further his intereft. What wonder then that the wicked walk on every fide, and that God's turtle be in hazard of being fwallowed up by the Antichriftian beaft?

II. God may justly give up a finful church and a finful people into the power of the multitude, of this beaft. They have nothing to plead but free mercy, why they fhould not be fo given up, O deliver not the foul of thy turtle-dove unto the wild beast. What has Britain and Ireland, what has Scotland to plead this day, why they fhould not be delivered into the power of the wild beast that is gaping to fuck their blood, and devour us? We may fee we deferve it, if we confider,

1. The fins of the late times. These nations were fome time in a thriving condition, having proclaimed war againft. the beaft, and married themselves to the Lord in a folemn covenant for reformation, to caft off and out all Antichriftian corruption in doctrine, worship, difcipline, and government, life and manners, to banish the false prophet and the unclean fpirit out of them. But behold, by a heaven-daring VOL. II. 3 P

the feaman, St Wendolin for the fhepherd, St John Baptift for the hufbandman, St Magdalene for the

wickedness, the fame generation in the three kingdoms publicly renounce and break that covenant, and for the greater folemnity it is burnt, and of late the ashes of it were gathered by authority, and thrown into the river of the finful union of Scotland and England. Is it any wonder that God is now rifing up to purfue for the penalty, according to that threatening, Lev. xxvi. 25. I will bring a sword upon you, that fball avenge the quarrel of my covenant? This is the head of God's controverfy with the nations; this was the inlet to other abominations: for that being done, the nations run back towards Antichrift again. Scotland takes back the horns of the beaft, England and Ireland the horns and the attire of the whore. Profaneness breaks in like a flood; the faithful are perfecuted, oppreffed, and murdered; and moft part of all ranks make fearful apoftafy and defection from the ways of truth.

2. The fins of the prefent times. We have entered ourfelves heirs to the guilt of former times, by not mourning over the fame, by a woful flacknefs in not purfuing of reforma tion, and heartleffness and faintnefs in the caufe of God. We have gone far to betray the covenanted work of reformation; and enemies want not ground to fay, that they have bought the truth of many in the generation, who are not yet convin ced they have fold it. If we look to,

(1.) A great many in our land, we will fee unordinary monftrous wickednefs, efpecially, though not only, among the nobility and gentry. Atheism and Deifm, I believe, have made greater advances in our day, than ever they did fince the Christian religion was known in the world. All revealed Religion and the fcriptures are ridiculed; and they that have any fenfe of religion on their fpirits, are reckoned to have been foundered in their education. Hence loofe reins are given to all manner of profanenefs and debauchery. Whoredom and adultery, and filthinefs not to be named, have made unor dinary advances, especially fince the union was fet on foot; for having drank of the cup of English filthinefs, they have been made mad. If for thete things God have not a facrifice of the beft blood in Scotland and England, it will be ftrange.

(2.) To the body of the land, we will find them either profane drunkards, fwearers, fabbath breakers, difhoneft, or ig norant, carnal worldlings that mind nothing but the world,

whore, as the Pagans had Flora. The family and country gods are a prodigious number, St Andrew

living in a woful neglect of all religion, from whose heart their own cafe and that of the church lies far off, flighting the precious offers of Chrift, and not bettered by all the means of grace which they have been long living under.

(3.) To profeffors, we will fee the provocation of fons and daughters increased to heaven. How have we left our Br love! where is the tenderness that fometime has feen! A general deadness, formality, and lukewarmnefs has feized them. Carnality and worldly-mindednefs has ate out the life of religion. A light, vain, and frothy fpirit has got in among them, pride and felf-conceit prevail, ordinances are flighted, fermons and facraments treated as things common and unclean, and a fiery divifive fpirit, more frighted at the fins of others than their own, has difhonoured God, and broken us.

(4.) Look where we will, guilt ftares us in the face. We have all finned. God has a controverfy with magistrates, mix nifters, and people; for we have all gone back from the Lord, been unthankful for, and have miferably mifimproved our privileges, and opportunities of advancing the Kingdom of Chritt within us and without us. Let us then conclude, that God may justly deliver us up unto the multitude, the Antichriftian beaft.

HI. If God give up his turtle unto the wild beast, the mul titude of her enemies, it will be a dreadful upgiving. When God let his people fall into the hands of the old Babylonian beaft, terrible was their cafe. And now the Antichriftian beaft, to which the malignant party lend a helping hand, is going to devour us; and if God give us up into their hand, it will be a dreadful upgiving. A Popish pretender mounting the throne, a French army in our country, together with an army of British Papifts and malignants, muft needs be a thought of horror to us. It will be a dreadful upgiving. For then,

1. Religion is ruined. The Babylonian beaft will make fad work of our holy religion, as Pfal. lxxiv. 4-8. King James was not well warm on the throne, till by his abfolute power ree liberty was given to Popifh idolatry through the nations, But what can we expect in the cafe before us, but the overturning at fift dafh all that we have had by the revolution, yea, and the extirpation of the northern herefy, as they call its We muft in that cafe lay our account with the Glencing of mis