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conquered the western empire in the fifth and fixth centuries. By this politic meafure, the not only dis rected their confciences, but commanded their arms, and made them the inftruments of her power and grandeur. They were now "her horns." She had alfo now "a tail *," which, being the bafeft and filthicft part of an animal, is here ufed as a fymbol for her foul fuperftition, which the had now firmly cablished. And he had now drawn “ a "third part of the ftars of heaven, and caft them

to the earth;" that is, all the Chriftian bishops and churches of the weftern, which was the third part of the Roman empire, into her idolatry. So complete were her wicked triumph and exaltation, that there remained fcarcely a ray of the Gospel of Chrift to be feen, and that only in a perfecuted remnant, finall indeed. From all which it is evident, that the prophet, by the " great dragon," does not liere refer to the pagan emperors, as former commentators have thought, but to the Pope; and that it was in the feventh century, and not before, that this"dragon ftood before the woman, for to devour "her child, as foon as it was born," as we fhall fee in the next verfe.

Ver. 5." And the woman brought forth a "man child, who was to rule all nations "with a rod of iron; and the child was caught up to heaven, unto God, and to his throne."

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The prophet continues to reprefent the Church under the metaphor of a woman with child. He had before fhown, that he had been mistaken in her

***And the Lord fhall make thee the head, and not the tail." Deut. xxvii. 13. The prophet that teacheth lies, he is the

tail." Ifaiah, ix. 15.

reckoning,

reckoning, in the fourth century; he reprefents her as having come to her full time, and bringing forth a man child." I have endeavoured to prove, that this full time was in the feventh century. I fhall, however, here add one argument more, to elucidate the fame truth. The natural and full time of a woman, is when she has brought her child to a certain degree of maturity; after which the becomes unfit and no longer able to fuflain and bear her burden, and is therefore delivered of it. This was exactly the cafe of the church in the feventh century. She had laboured during the courfe of fix centuries, in propagating the Gofpel of Chrift. She had brought it to a certain degree of maturity, by proclaiming, and making it known in all parts of the earth; but by falling into falfe doctrines, and abominable herefies, altogether inconfiftent with it, the had now become no longer fit or able to labour in the vineyard of Chrift, and to carry the burden of a farther propagation of his Gofpel, and therefore the is here reprefented as delivered from it.

And the " brought forth a man child." It is certainly a queftion of the first importance to afcertain, what the prophet means by "a man child." Bishop Newton, and others fince his time, have confidered it as a type of Conftantine the Great, but without the leaft countenance from the text to warrant it. I will venture to affert, that there are no figures in the prophecies, which are not natural and perfect. To make a woman with child, travailing in birth, and bringing forth, a perfect figure, the child must be brought forth, and delivered out of the thing typified; but how they have contrived to bring this emperor forth, or to deliver the church of him as a woman brings forth, or is delivered of a child out of herself, I cannot imagine. Yet this is the plain meaning of the text. It is true, that she brought

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over this emperor from paganism into herself, into her own faith, as the had brought over millions before; but she never brought him forth, nor was ever delivered of him as a woman is delivered of a child out of herself, because he never returned to pagan idolatry, but died a member, within the Chriftian pale. And would the text admit of that conftruction, it could not be a diftinguishing mark of the child, and therefore a nugatory expreffion, rather tending to confound, than explain the true fenfe of it. Again, the child to be brought forth by the church, is not defcribed as a male child or infant, but as a MAN CHILD; a child in a fiate of manhood at the time of its birth, to denote that it fhould be strong and powerful, and as effentially fo when born, as it would ever be: a mark which will apply to no temporal prince, or human creature. To thefe arguments I fhall add, that the great characteristic mark of this child is, that" he was to rule all nations with a rod of iron;" that is, as iron, in its natural ftate, is the moft firm, ftrong, and inflexible of all metals, fo this child was to rule, not fome only, but all nations, with infinite power, and the moft perfect juftice and righteousness: a mark which cannot be rightly applied to Conftantine, or any other temporal prince, as no fuch ever did, nor can it be fuppofed ever fhall, rule over all nations, and much lefs with perfect justice and righteousness.

Seeing then that no temporal prince or human being, can answer to this prophetic type of a MAN CHILD, let us fearch the Scripture, the only fource whence we can draw right information upon the fubject and as it will not be denied, that a woman must have previously conceived that, which she is to deliver up, let us inquire what it was, that was fown in, received, or conceived by the church, and with which the had laboured and travailed in

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birth; because it will lead to that of which she was to be delivered. Now thefe unerring oracles of truth tell us, it was the WORD OF GOD, or Gospel of Chrift. Chrift, in the parable of the fower, fays, "the feed "of the church is the word of God*: St. Paul tells the church of Theffalonica, "the had received (or conceived) the word of God, which (fays he) effectually worketh in you that believe." St. Peter, treating of the new birth, fays it is produced not "of corruptible, but of incorruptible feed, by the "word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever;" that WORD which is the true Gospel of Chrift, or fpiritually Chrift himself§; that word which the Pfalmift tells us fhall break the kings of the earth with a "rod of iron;" and the prophet here, that word which "fhall rule the nations with a rod of "iron, as the veffels of the potter, eafily broken to "pieces;" and which he here describes in the fame

manner.

But to leave prophetic allegory: it was that divine fyftem of theology and morality, that fublime, unchangeable, and eternal fitnefs of things, founded in the wisdom and truth of an infinitely righteous and perfect God, revealed to mankind through Jefus Chrift. Here then we have the man child, with which the woman was to travail in birth, and of which fhe was to be delivered; the child which "the dragon was to ftand before the woman, for to "devour, as foon as it was born ;" and the child "which was to be caught up to heaven unto God, "and to his throne." How completely and remarkably do the events meet this interpretation! The church has laboured in propagating the word of God nearly fix centuries, fuffering many pangs and

* Luke, viii. II. § John, i. 1.

ti Theff. ii. 13.
Pfalm ii. 1. 9.

K 3

1 Pet. i. 23.

perfecutions

perfecutions from the Jews and Romans; at length, in the feventh century, having fallen into divers abominable fchifms, the became no longer fit or capable of discharging her truft, and fupporting the labour of propagating the word of God, and therefore was delivered of it. It was now that the Pope, being clothed with the powers of univerfal bishop, and having firmly established his idolatry," food before" the church to "devour" the word of God. But although he was permitted to drive the church into the "wilderness," yet, as the prophet foretels, her child, the word of God, which the had brought forth into the world, was not deftroyed, but "caught

up unto God, and to his throne;" that is, it was taken under the efpecial protection of his almighty providence, and, notwithstanding all the exertions of the Pope, preferved in a" remnant" unto this day: that fo, mindful of his everlafting covenant with Adam, Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob, and of his eternal purpose of restoring it to the church, through his bleffed Son, he might in his own time enable her to purify herself, to triumph over all her enemies, and to reft in peace and everlafting felicity in the kingdom of Chrift, and bosom of her Redeemer. And accordingly we know from hiftory, that through the merciful providence of God there has been a "remnant" of the church (though fmall indeed, compared with the numbers of which the confified in the fourth century), who have never ceafed to bear faithful teftimony to the word of God; notwithstanding all the tricks, forgeries, frauds, and perfecutions of the church of Rome, even unto death.

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Ver. 6.-" And the woman fled into the wilderness, where the bath a place prepared "of God, that they fhould feed her one thoufand “two hundred and threefcore days."

* Rev. xiv. 6.

Before

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