and Voices, to illustrate it. The Book being now Unrolled, there were Trumpets, with wonderful Concomitants, Exhibited successively on the Expanding Backside of it. Whereupon the Book was Eaten, as it were to be Hidden, from Interpretations; till afterwards, in the Inside of it, the Kingdom of Anti-christ came to be Exposed. Thus, the Judgments of God on the Roman Empire, first unto the Downfal of Paganism, and then, unto the Downfal of Popery, which is but Revived Paganism, are in these Displayes, with Lively Colours and Features made sensible unto us.
Accordingly, in the Twelfth Chapter of this Book, we have an August Preface, to the Description of that Horrid Kingdom, which our Lord Christ refused, but Antichrist accepted, from the Devils Hands; a Kingdom, which for Twelve Hundred and Sixty Years together, was to be a continual oppression upon the People of God, and opposition unto his Interests; until the Arrival of that Illustrious Day, wherein, The Kingdom shall be the Lords, and he shall be Governour among the Nations. The Chapter is (as an Excellent Person calls it) an Extravasated Account of the Circumstances, which befell the Primitive Church, during the first Four or Five Hundred Years of Christianity: It shows us the Face of the Church, first in Rome Heathenish, and then in Rome Converted, before the Man of Sin was yet come to Mans Estate. Our Text contains the Acclamations made upon the most Glorious Revolution that ever yet happened upon the Roman Empire; namely, That wherein the Travailing Church brought forth a Christian Emperour. This was a most Eminent Victory over the Devil, and Resemblance of the State, wherein the World, ere long shall see, The Kingdom of our God, and the Power of his Christ. It is here noted,
First, As a matter of Triumph. 'Tis said, Rejoyce, ye Heavens, and ye that dwell in them. The Saints in both Worlds, took the Comfort of this Revolution; the Devout Ones that had outlived the late Persecutions, were filled with Transporting Joys, when they saw the Christian become the Imperial Religion, and when they saw Good Men come to give Law unto the rest of Mankind; the Deceased Ones also, whose Blood had been Sacrificed in the Ten Persecutions, doubtless made the Light Regions to ring with Hallelujahs unto God, when there were brought unto them, the Tidings of the Advances now given to the Christian Religion, for which they had suffered Martyrdom.
Secondly, As a matter of Horror. 'Tis said, Wo to the Inhabiters of the Earth and of the Sea. The Earth still means the False Church, the Sea means the Wide World, in Prophetical Phrasæology. There was yet left a vast party of Men that were Enemies to the Christian Religion, in the power of it; a vast party left for the Devil to work upon: Unto these is a Wo denounced; and why so? 'Tis added, For the Devil is come down unto you, having great Wrath, because he knows, that he has but a short time. These were, it seems, to have some desperate and peculiar Attempts of the Devil made upon them. In the mean time, we may Entertain this for our Doctrine,
Great Wo proceeds from the Great Wrath, with which the Devil, towards the end of his Time, will make a Descent upon a miserable World.
I have now Published a most awful and solemn Warning for our selves at this day; which has four Propositions, comprehended in it.
Proposition I. That there is a Devil, is a thing Doubted by none but such as are under the Influences of the Devil. For any to deny the Being of a Devil must be from an Ignorance or Profaneness, worse than Diabolical. A Devil. What is that? We have a Definition of the Monster, in Eph. 6.12. A Spiritual Wickedness, that is, A wicked Spirit. A Devil is a Fallen Angel, an Angel Fallen from the Fear and Love of God, and from all Celestial Glories; but Fallen to all manner of Wretchedness and Cursedness. He was once in that Order of Heavenly Creatures, which God in the Beginning made Ministering Spirits, for his own peculiar Service and Honour, in the management of the Universe; but we may now write that Epitaph upon him, How art thou fallen from Heaven! thou hast said in thine Heart, I will Exalt my Throne above the Stars of God; but thou art brought down to Hell! A Devil is a Spiritual and Rational Substance, by his Apostacy from God, inclined unto all that is Vicious, and for that Apostacy confined unto the Atmosphere of this Earth, in Chains under Darkness, unto the Judgment of the Great Day. This is a Devil; and the Experience of Mankind as well as the Testimony of Scripture, does abundantly prove the Existence of such a Devil.
About this Devil, there are many things, whereof we may reasonably and profitably be Inquisitive; such things, I mean, as are in our Bibles Reveal'd unto us; according to which if we do not speak, on so dark a Subject, but according to our own uncertain, and perhaps humoursome Conjectures, There is no Light in us. I will carry you with me, but unto one Paragraph of the Bible, to be informed of three Things, relating to the Devil; 'tis the Story of the Gadaren Energumen, in the fifth Chapter of Mark.
First, then, 'Tis to be granted; the Devils are so many, that some Thousands, can sometimes at once apply themselves to vex one Child of Man. It is said, in Mark 5.15. He that was Possessed with the Devil, had the Legion. Dreadful to be spoken! A Legion consisted of Twelve Thousand Five Hundred People: And we see that in one Man or two, so many Devils can be spared for a Garrison. As the Prophet cryed out, Multitudes, Multitudes, in the Valley of Decision! So I say, There are multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of Destruction, where the Devils are! When we speak of, The Devil, 'tis, A name of Multitude; it means not One Individual Devil, so Potent and Scient, as perhaps a Manichee would imagine; but it means a Kind, which a Multitude belongs unto. Alas, the Devils, they swarm about us, like the Frogs of Egypt, in the most Retired of our Chambers. Are we at our Boards? There will be Devils to Tempt us unto Sensuality: Are we in our Beds? There will be Devils to Tempt us unto Carnality; Are we in our Shops? There will be Devils to Tempt us into Dishonesty. Yea, Tho' we get into the Church of God, there will be Devils to Haunt us in the very Temple it self, and there tempt us to manifold Misbehaviours. I am verily perswaded, That there are very few Humane Affairs whereinto some Devils are not Insinuated; There is not so much as a Journey intended, but Satan will have an hand in hindering or furthering of it.
Secondly, 'Tis to be supposed, That there is a sort of Arbitrary, even Military Government, among the Devils. This is intimated, when in Mar. 5.9. The unclean Spirit said, My Name is Legion: they are such a Discipline as Legions use to be. Hence we read about, The Prince of the power of the Air: Our Air has a power? or an Army of Devils in the High Places of it; and these Devils have a Prince over them, who is King over the Children of Pride. 'Tis probable, That the Devil, who was the Ringleader of that mutinous and rebellious Crew, which first shook off the Authority of God, is now the General of those Hellish Armies; Our Lord, that Conquered him, has told us the Name of him; 'tis Belzebub; 'tis he that is the Devil, and the rest are his Angels, or his Souldiers. Think on vast Regiments of cruel and bloody French Dragoons, with an Intendant over them, overrunning a pillaged Neighbourhood, and you will think a little, what the Constitution among the Devils is.
Thirdly, 'tis to be supposed, that some Devils are more peculiarly Commission'd, and perhaps Qualify'd, for some Countries, while others are for others. This is intimated when in Mar. 5.10. The Devils besought our Lord much, that he would not send them away out of the Countrey. Why was that? But in all probability, because these Devils were more able to do the works of the Devil, in such a Countrey, than in another. It is not likely that every Devil does know every Language; or that every Devil can do every Mischief. 'Tis possible, that the Experience, or, if I may call it so, the Education of all Devils is not alike, and that there may be some difference in their Abilities. If one might make an Inference from what the Devils do, to what they are, One cannot forbear dreaming, that there are degrees of Devils. Who can allow, that such Trifling Dæmons, as that
