wisdoms, parts, gifts, liberties, and all that is ours in this great service.

But if a man's condition and state be private, what must he do to help forward the fall of Babylon?

Take heed that thou do nothing to hinder God's public design by your private practices, put away the evil of all your doings, lest your private wickedness do ponere obicem to God's providence.

Achan's wickedness was committed in the dark, and with much privacy, yet what influence had it into public misery.

Miriam and Aaron murmured against Moses, and envied at him, for which she was stricken with leprosy whereby the whole congregation was stayed, and their march hindered. It is said, 2 Chron. xx. 33, that the high places were not pulled down, "because the people were not prepared for the Lord;" not because the prince was not prepared, or the great ones not prepared, but because the people were not prepared. It is in regard of truth, as in regard of error in this particular, though the baker may have kneaded his dough, that is, his false opinion, and made it ready, yet as the prophet Hosea speaks, and as Zanchy interprets the place, he sets not in, till the oven be heated, that is, the heart of the people warmed and prepared for it. So for a truth also, or a public mercy and deliverance, though God have provided it for a people, yet it is not handed to them, and set in, till their hearts be warmed and prepared for it. You may observe therefore, that when David had made his penitential psalm for his own sin, Ps. li., after much supplication for the pardon of his own evil, and for grace, and comfort he comes at last in the 18th verse to this petition : "Do good in thy good pleasure unto Sion," &c. How comes that in here? Yes, when a man hath once repented of his own sin, and cleared that reckoning, then he is fittest to ask mercy for the church, and till then unfit. Therefore though in regard of your own souls, your own eternity, you will not part with your own sins, yet if you have any pity, any compassion, any bowels towards your own country, or churches of God, put away the evil of all your doings.

Though your condition be never so private, you may discover the ways of Babylon, the works and complotments of the Babylonish party: and the discovery of evil is half its

ruin, as the apostle speaks, 2 Tim. iii. 9, "They shall proceed no further, for their folly shall be made manifest to all.”

You may believe down the walls of Babylon. Faith removes mountains, though it be but a grain; by it the walls of Jericho fell, in the blowing of those poor rams' horns. And the walls of Jericho were built up to heaven, surely then the walls of Babylon cannot be higher. Wherefore seek out those promises and threatenings, set your heart towards them, bear yourselves upon them, urge, and press God by virtue of them, and say, though it be very unlikely that Babylon should fall, yet God hath thus and thus promised, thus and thus threatened, and he is faithful, here I will stay, and here I will wait.

You may spread the blasphemies of the Babylonish faction in the eyes of heaven. Thus did Hezekiah when Rabshakeh blasphemed, and we know how it prevailed. Great and grievous have the blasphemies been wherewith the men of Babylon have blasphemed the saints of God, and the footsteps of his anointed, which God takes as done against himself, and so repays them, Ezek. xxxv. 12, compared with the 13th verse. In the 12th verse it is said, "I have heard all thy blasphemies which thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, they are laid desolate, they are given us to consume:" but in the 13th verse these words are charged upon them, as if they were spoken against God himself: "That with your mouth you have boasted against me, and have multiplied your words against me." Therefore at the 14th verse follows the punishment. The spreading of their hellish blasphemies, is exceeding prevalent with God, and very potent.

You may use all the interest you have in heaven, and whatsoever credit you have there, improve it, which we beseech you do now in this particular. Your prayers puts them under God's curse.

Though your condition and station be never so private, you may according to your place, curse the practices and complotments of all the enemies. Doth not Jacob seem to pronounce a curse upon the practices of Simeon and Levi, though his own children, Gen. xlix. 7, "Cursed be their wrath for it was cruel, &c., for in their anger they slew a man, and in their self-will they digged down a wall." What

is the endeavour of the Babylonians, but to dig down the walls of Jerusalem, and of our protection. Oh, my soul come not thou into their secret. God hath commanded that Meroz should be cursed, and cursed bitterly; because they went not forth to help the Lord against the mighty. How bitterly then are they to be cursed, that go forth to help the mighty against the Lord.

It was a statute and a law in Israel, that if any removed the ancient landmarks, he shall be cursed. "Cursed," says the text, "shall he be that removes the ancient landmarks, and let all the people say Amen." What is the ancient landmark of England, but our laws and religion? and therefore if any man shall remove this our landmark, cursed shall he be, of the Lord cursed, and let all the people say Amen.

Whatever personal injury hath been done unto you by any of the enemies of the churches, you may, you must pass them by, so far as it is a private concernment, and you shall not lose hereby, your forgiveness hastens their ruin. For this cause, as you may read Numb. xii. 2, 3, 4, God himself took vengeance on Miriam, because Moses was a meek man. See how the mention of his meekness is brought in by way of parenthesis at ver. 3, as the cause of God's proceedings against her, ver. 4. Wherefore, my beloved, have any been wronged and injured by your and God's enemies, carry it meekly, carry it humbly, no revenge, no revenge, but all forgiveness. And have they begun to fall before you, let there be much rejoicing, but no insulting; praises, but no insulting; prayer still, but no insulting. Let your moderation be known to all, for God is at hand. These are your duties; which things if they be in you and abound, in due time Babylon shall fall, and you shall see it; for the next doctrine tells us it :

Though antichristian and Romish Babylon be never so great, yet it shall fall, and fall assuredly.

This is but equal: those that have fallen from God, shall fall by God; those that have made others to fall, shall fall themselves. Now the man of sin is the star that is fallen from heaven, who in 2 Thess. ii. 3, as some observe, is called in the abstract, apostacy, not an apostate, a falling away, not one that is fallen away, so notorious is he for sinful falling

And as God rewards grace with his own grace, so he rewards sin with its own likeness.

* How else shall Sion rise, if Babylon do not fall? It is said, when the Lord exalteth the low tree, he bringeth down the high tree, then shall all the trees of the forest rejoice. God is making way to such a jubilee, therefore Babylon must fall, and that assuredly.

Those that are too big for themselves, and cannot manage their own greatness, must needs fall. Pride goes before a fall. It is the natural genius of Babylon to be proud and great, great and proud. Babel was at first built to affront providence, that the world might be no more drowned. Afterwards says that king, in Daniel, "Is not this great Babylon that I have built for mine honour?" And, Rev. xviii., saith our late Babylon," I sit a queen," &c. They have been great, and in their own eyes great, surely therefore their own weight shall sink them.

Must not those needs fall, that are set in dark and slippery places, whom the angel of the Lord drives? Now, if ever, the places of God's enemies are very slippery, themselves in the dark, and the angel of God driving them. Therefore they shall fall, and fall assuredly.

And if so, then learn we how to take notice of, and behold these great works of God concerning the fall of Babylon, as they fall out in our generation. It is in regard of the evil that comes to evil men, as in regard of the good that comes to the good. Now when the saints do receive any mercy, their hearts stick not in it, nor their eyes on it, but they see it lying under its relation, in relation to the word and promise, saying, It is indeed a great mercy that I have a house, and place to dwell in ; but God hath not only given me sweet habitation, but he hath given it me in the way of a promise, to perform the mercy promised. He hath given me wife, children, and friends, to perform the mercy promised. Nay, he hath given me Christ himself, to perform the mercy promised. Luke i. Thus they see all things lying under a promise in that relation. So also when ye see any judgment befal the enemies of God's church, you are not to look upon them as mere works of God, but to look upon them in their relations, in relation to the threatening, as lying under the threatening, and the fruits of it; and the reason hereof is

see the whole

this especially, because otherwise you do not work of God, when you do see it before you. As it is said of Israel, "Yet the Lord hath not given you eyes to see," &c. Deut. xxix. 4.

As now suppose that a fool, a madman, or a beast should come into the congregation, though they should see the water of baptism, yet they would not see the sacrament, or half the sacrament, because they could not see it under its relation. Wherefore, my beloved, whenever you shall behold the hand of God upon the world, in the fall of Babylon, and his great works, that way, be sure that ye behold them under the relation, in relation to the Lord's threatening, and say: True, here is a Babylonish priest crying out, Alas, alas, my living! I have wife and children to maintain, and all is gone, my preferment is gone, my hope is gone, my place and office gone. But all this is to perform the judgment threatened. God threatened before, that he would "put it into the hearts of the princes of the earth, to eat her flesh and drink her blood," Rev. xvii. 16. Now it is in a great measure fulfilled, for her great revenues and rich livings are in part her flesh and blood. God said before, that "her merchants should stand afar off weeping and wailing, and saying, Alas, alas, that great city," Rev. xviii. Thus is the word of the Lord fulfilled, and God is faithful.

As the fall of Babylon is very certain, so it is the duty of the saints to speak of it as if it were done already.

We are bound to honour the faithfulness of God, more than the faithfulness of any other, because other things are faithful to us, as Salvian observes, because he is faithful. We expect cooling and cleansing from the water, and that is faithful. Why? For God is faithful, he bids it be faithful We expect warmth and light from the fire, and that is faithful. Why? For God is faithful, he bids it be faithful In all these faithful creatures there is but a drop of God's faithfulness; and when they promise, we believe them and shall we not believe Him, when he promises

to us.

to us.

:

and when he threatens?

When a faithful friend promises,

we say it shall be; but we are to honour God's faithfulness more, and therefore to speak of the thing promised or threatened, as if it were done already.

When we do but begin a good work, God speaks of it as