SERM. 2. He is faid to be like a lamb, but to speak like a dragon; that is, to pretend and make a fhew of great lenity and mildness, in his proceedings; but that really he shall be very cruel, It shall be pretended, that he does all without violence, and without arms; but he shall speak as a dragon, that is, in truth fhall exercise great force and cruelty; either alluding to the cruelty of the dragon, literally fo called; or perhaps prophetically pointing at a particular fort of armed foldiers, called by that name of dragons, or, as we according to the French pronunciation call them, dragoons. 3. He fhall arife during the continuance of the firft beaft, and engage in his caufe; but the first beaft fhall only ftand by and look on, ver. 12. and he exercifeth all the power of the first beast, "before him, and caufeth the earth and them that dwell therein, to worship the beaft, whofe deadly "wound was healed;" plainly declaring that this perfecution fhould not immediately arife from the firft beaft, which is faid to come out of the fea, which in this prophecy denotes the ftate ecclefiaftical, but from the fecond beaft, which comes out of the earth, and denotes the temporal power. But yet all this ought to be acted in the fight of the first beaft, and in his behalf, to compel men to worship him. i 4. That he shall be remarkable for causing fire to come down from heaven to earth, in a wonderful manner, to the great terror and amazement of men; ver. 13. “And he doth great wonders; fo that he It i "maketh fire to com" in from heaven on the " earth in the fight orally, 5: 1 5. That he fhoulderdict all thofe, who would not worship the beaft, all commerce with human fociety, .. LXXX: fociety, the exercise of civil trades and profeffions; S ERM. 6. And laftly (which fems to be the most peculiar and characteristical note of all the reft,) that his number should be 666, that is, (as most of the ancients understand it,) that the numeral letters of a certain word or name, fhould, being computed, amount to that number. And it is exprefly said to be "the num"ber of a man." ver. 18. "Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beaft; for it "is the number of a man." And in the verse before, it is faid to be the number of his name." Now to whom all these characters do agree, and especially the last, concerning the "number of his "name," I fhall not prefume to conjecture; much lefs pofitively to determine, whether he be now in being; because it is faid to require a particular wifdom and understanding to find it out. "Here is wif dom; let him that hath understanding count the "number of the beaft." However the event, when the thing is fully accomplished, will clearly discover it. Thus much is certain, that this extrémé perfecution, whenever it fhall be, will forerun the final destruction of Babylon, which will not then be far off. And concerning this it is that St. John fpeaks, chap. xiv. 12. when he fays, "Here is the patience of the "faints, here are they that keep the commandments "of Gop, and the faith of JESUS." And then he immediately adds, as it is in the text," and I heard "a voice from heaven, faying unto me, Writë, "Bleffed are the dead which die in the LORD, from "henceforth: Yea, faith the Spirit, that they may "reft from their labours; and their works do accompany them." Thus much may fuffice to have been spoken on this text. Bb4 SER on All SERMON Preached faints day. LXXXI. The vanity and wickedness of honouring dead faints, and perfecuting the living. SERM. LUKE XI. 49, 50, 51. Therefore, alfo faid the wisdom of GOD, I will fend them prophets and apoftles, and fome of them they fball Lay, and perfecute: that the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; from the blood of Abel, unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I fay unto you, it shall be required of this generation. HE latter part of this chapter is a very sharp, THE but just invective, made by our SAVIOUR against the hypocrify of the scribes and pharifees, of which he gives many inftances; and this among the rest for one, that they pretended a great honour and refpect for the righteous men, and prophets of former ages, whom their fathers had perfecuted and flain; but yet were of the very fame spirit and temper, and as ready to perfecute good men, as their fathers were. They raised indeed ftately monuments to the memory of thofe faints and martyrs, and adorned them with great art and coft, and it is likely made a great fhew of efteem and veneration for them: but all this while they were of the fame difpofition LXXXI. with their fathers, and bare the fame implacable ha-SERM. tred and malice against the prophets and righteous men who then lived among them, (yea against that great prophet, whom God had fent into the world, JESUS the Son of GoD,) which their fathers did against the good men of their times. And though they disclaimed the cruelty and wickednefs of their fathers, with never so much zeal and vehemency; yet for all that, they were ready to do the fame things. Now this was fo grofs and odious a piece of hypocrify in them, that our SAVIOR doth with great reafon denounce fo fevere a woe against them: "Woe 66 unto you; for ye build the fepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. Truly ye "bear witness, that ye allow the deeds of your "fathers; for they indeed killed them, and ye build "their fupulchres." And then it follows; "there"fore alfo faid the wifdom of GOD, I will fend them "prophets, and apoftles, and fome of them they "shall flay and perfecute: that the blood of all the "prophets, which was fhed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation; "from the blood of Abel, to the blood of Zacharias, "which perished between the altar and the temple.” There are confiderable difficulties in both these paffages. As to the former, "Wo unto you; for $6 ye build the fepulchres of the prophets, and your "fathers killed them. Truly ye bear witness, that ye allow the deeds of your fathers; for they in"deed killed them, and ye build their fepulchres." The force of this reafoning is at first fight not eafy to be difcerned; and therefore expofitors have gone feveral ways to explain it. Some comparing this with the parallel place in St. Matthew's gofpel (chap. xxiii. 29.) will not have our SAVIOUR SERM.SAVIOUR to mean, that by building the fepulchre's LXXXI. of the prophets they expreffed their approbation of their fathers killing them. They did indeed teftify by their usage of the righteous men that lived amongst themselves, that they were of the very fame temper and fpirit, which their fathers had been of; and that they would have done juft as their fathers did, if they had been in the fame circumstances with their fathers; fo that they were witnesses to themselves (as it is in St. Matthew) that they were children of "them which killed the prophets," they owned themfelves their children by descent, and their actions witneffed that they were their children alfo in refemblance; nay (as it is there farther intimated) they seemed refolved to fill up the measure of their fathers :” though all the while they pretended not to approve their fathers behaviour; and therefore whilst they were building the tombs of the prophets, and garnish❤ing the fepulchres of the righteous, they said, if we "had been in the days of our fathers, we would not "have been partakers with them in the blood of the “prophets," And the interpreters that go this way do accordingly render thefe words of St. Luke, not as they are in our tranflation, "ye bear witness that yè "allow the deeds of your fathers" but, ye bear witness, and ye allow (or, are well pleased with) the deeds of your fathers; that is, ye own that they were your fathers, who did these things; and though ye do not in words allow what they did, yet your inward tempers and difpofitions (whether you know it or no) are the very fame with theirs, which you too plainly teftify by your actions; fo that when you build the fepulchres of the prophets,”- you only expofe the deceitfulness and hypocrify of your hearts, your pretences and your actions directly con " tradicting |