Having thus defcribed the parties, he farther tells us they should fight; "and the dragon and his "angels fought, and prevailed not." Now, whoever is acquainted with hiftory muft perceive, that the war here predicted did take place, and that the Pope has made feveral attempts by open violence, not to dwell upon other means, fuch as his frauds and inquifitorial cruelties, to crufh the reformers. He will find, that it was in the fixteenth century, that the Pope, aided by all the powers of the Emperor of Germany, made a great effort to obtain his end, and that Maurice of Saxony ftopped his career, and compelled him to make the religious peace at the Diet at Augfburg; and that he made another attempt of the fame kind, affifted by. the fame power, in the next century; when Adolphus King of Sweden, after a long-continued war, compelled him to make the treaty of Westphalia. And thus "the dragon and his angels "prevailed not:" they did not fucceed in crushing the Reformation; which, in a wonderful manner, has been growing into ftrength and power ever fince, notwithstanding fome ineffectual attempts to prevent it; while at the fame time the power and influence of the church of Rome have been declining, until it is reduced to a fhadow. "Neither was "the place of the dragon and his angels found any more in heaven," in the reformed church; for the reformers feparated themselves from the apoftate church, by protefting against its doctrines. They abjured the church of Rome, and the Roman church anathematized them. From this epoch we fhall find that the prophet confiders the church of Chrift as divided into two feparate bodies: one party reformed, and therefore under the divine protection; and the other, as remaining in its corrupted state, under the influence of the church of Rome. 66 Ver. Ver. 9.-" And the great dragon was caft "out, that old ferpent called the Devil, and "Satan, the deceiver of the whole world: he "was caft out into the earth, and his angels "were caft out with him." It is evident from the preceding verse, that Satan, the enemy of God and man, was caft out of the church at the time of the Reformation; but it does not feem fo clear at firft view of the text, to what place, or among what defcription of mankind, his art and cunning induced him to refort, in order farther to profecute his plan, of deceiving and deftroying the human race. Perhaps a fummary of his hiftory may affift in folving the difficulty. He was firft" caft out" of Paradife (that original fcene of his fraud and deception), for feducing our first parents, and retired among their pofterity; over whom he reigned until he had betrayed them into fuch extreme fin and wickedness, that " every imagination of the thoughts of their hearts was only "evil continually*;" which induced God to deftroy them by the flood. Being again "caft out," he afcended from the bottomlefs pit among the fons of Noah, and feduced them into polytheifm, prevailing on them to believe, that any thing and every thing they should think proper to adopt, was God. Here again foiled and "caft out," by the prevalence of the word of God over the heathen world, he fecretly crept into the bofom of the church; which having divided and diftracted, he led it into Mohamedan fenfuality and wickednefs, and into Papal idolatry and luft. And here we are told, that he should again be "caft out" from thence by the Reformation. Now, among what clafs of mankind could he hope to find agents, to affift him in his plan of drawing * Gen. vi. 5. 4 Ibid. vii. viii. per tot. mankind mankind into perdition? He could not return to the antediluvian world, for that was no more; nor to the heathen world, for he had made there a complete, experiment with his tricks and frauds without fuccefs; nor to the Mohamedan church, for his opiates had entirely enervated and lulled them into a fate of filthy fenfuality and ftupor; nor to the church of Rome, for her Jefuits having been banifhed and difperfed, her Inquifition fuppreffed, her fire and faggot extinguifhed, and her people immerfed in fenfual indolence and abominable vice, fhe was no longer an active and fit inftrument for his purpose. Where then could he be "caft out," but among that reprobate clafs of mankind defcribed by St. Jude, as the mockers in the last time, who "fhould walk after their own ungodly lufts*; who fhould feparate themfelves (from all religion), fenfual, not having the fpirit; ungodly "men, who turn the word of God into lafciviouf"nefs, denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jefus Chrifi" who, according to St. Paul, "perfuade themfelves they can live without God in "the world" and therefore believe, that there is no God. Among this clafs of men Satan was " caft," as we are told by the prophet. "He was caft into the "earth, and his angels with him;" into a country of people full of irreligion, impiety, and darknefs, whofe hearts being hardened and dark like the earth, an opake body, folid, impenetrable, and incapable of receiving light from the fun, that great luminary of the temporal world, were incapable of receiving the light of the fpiritual world, the word of God, the "fun of righteoufnefs." This country was FRANCE; for no other country upon 66 * Ver. 18. + Ibid. 19. Ibid. 4. Rev. xvi. 10. earth } earth fo completely, fo perfectly fulfils this figurative description. Ever fince the Reformation, while other nations have been improving in moderation in respect to the true church of Chrift, in religion, morality, and public faith, FRANCE has been increafing in pride and ambition; aspiring to obtain univerfal monarchy by public perfidy, holding no treaties to be binding longer than the wanted the power of violating them with impunity; living in extravagance and diffipation, having a moft magnificent court, and leading men into every fenfual paffion, into every kind of incontinence, irreligion, and impiety. Here, according to the text, Satan and his angels were "caft:" here he took his ftand; and here he laid his plan of farther perfecuting the church, and of leading mankind into perdition. But what artifice, what fraud, what fcheme was now left untried which promifed fuccefs? He had led our first parents to believe that they should be "as gods*;" he had betrayed the antediluvian world, a fingle family excepted, into fuch a ftate of corruption and wickedness, as led to their deftruction. He had feduced the pofterity of Noah into polytheifm. He had betrayed the church of Chrift, and indeed the Chriftian world, into Mohamedan and Papal darknefs, which in a manner excluded the true word of God from the hearts of men. But being defeated in all thefe infernal projects, what then remained fo promifing of fuccefs, as a fcheme of leading men into atheism, or a belief that there is no God, no future ftate of rewards and punishments; and that death is only an eterna! fleep of the foul? This was a doctrine more artful, deep, and fafcinating to the fallible reafon of man, than any he had before invented. It opened at once an unlimited field for the utmoft gratifica tion of the worft paffions, and the perpetration of every fin with impunity. It releafed them from the inceffant reproofs of right reafon, the dreadful remorfe of a never-dying confcience in this world, and from all fear of punishment in a future life. Nor has he been idle in his work, fince the Reformation. He has converted, or, as his inftruments call it, frater. nized the nation of France, confifting of 25,000,000 of people (a few pious Chriftians excepted), and millions upon millions of other countries into his infernal project; and he has in the four quarters of the globe his emiffaries and agents at this moment, poisoning mankind with atheism and anarchy. But, fool! that God, whofe exiftence you deny, and whofe holy word you have treated with ridicule and contempt, and who has defeated all your former fchemes, fhall fay to you, "Hitherto "fhalt thou come, but no further; and here thy "proud waves (of wickedness) fhall be ftayed *. Ver. 10. And I heard a loud voice, faying in heaven, Now is come falvation, "and the kingdom of our God, and the poiver of his Christ; for the accufer of our "brethren is caft down, which accused them "before our God day and night." 66 The prophet having foretold the Reformation, here reprefents, by "a loud voice in heaven," the great joy of the church, upon that great and bleffed event. And where was the real Chriftian, whose heart was not made joyful by the Diet at Augfburg, and the treaty of Weftphalia, by which religious liberty became established, and the Gospel of Chrift in a manner releafed from Papal captivity and darknefs? And is there not great reafon to believe, from the tenor of the Scripture, and preceding events, |