God's soveraignty displayed from Job 9. 12. : Behold he taketh away, who can hinder him? &c., or, A discourse shewing, that God doth, and may take away from his creatures what hee pleaseth, as to the matter what, the place where, the time when, the means and manner how, and the reasons thereof : with an application of the whole, to the distressed citizens of London, whose houses and goods were lately consumed by the fire : an excitation of them to look to the procuring causes of this fiery tryal, the ends that God aims at in it, with directions how to behave themselves under their losses / by William Gearing ...

SECT. X.

[ X] God takes away peace sometimes from a people, and settlement from States and Nations: In all these pub∣lick changes we must eye God as the cause of causes; whatsoever the in∣struments be, whether good or evil, few or many, whether they act by fraud or force, it is God doth all in all, and they do nothing but what God per∣mits them, and worketh by them. Commonly the Instruments of publick changes are very evil, and the way they take is evil. The four Monarchies pre∣sented to Daniel in a Vision, are repre∣sented like four cruel Beasts. The Chal∣dean in the likeness of a Lion, the Persian in the shape of a Bear, the Grecian, or Macedonian, in the like∣ness of a Leopard, and the Roman by a strange. Monster, with iron teeth, in∣timating that great Conquerours, that make great changes, are most com∣monly like wilde and savage beasts. All those savage Beasts fore-mentioned, fa∣stened their Claws upon the Church of Christ.

1. The Assyri•• or Babylonian

came like a Lion roaring after his prey. In the daies of Pekah King of Israel came Tiglath-Pilneser, King of As∣syria, and took Ijon, and Abel-Beth-Maacha, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, and all the Land of Naphtali, and carried them Captive to Assyria, 2 Kings 15.29. And in the ninth year of Hoshea King of Israel, Shalmane∣ser King of Assyria came up thorow∣out all the Land, and went up to Sa∣maria; and besieged it three years: In the ninth year of Hoshea, he took Sa∣maria; and carried Israel away unto Assyria, and transplanted the ten Tribes, placing them in Halath, and in Habor, by the River of Gozan, and in the Cities of the Medes. Now the Assyrian was Gods Instrument to re∣move Israel out of their own Land, yet it is said the Lord did it, 2 Reg. 17.18. The Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight; there was none left but the Tribe of Judah only: Also Judah kept not the Commandments of the Lord their God, &c. This Beast also invaded Ju∣dah also in the time of Sennacherib, and cruelly threatned Jerusalem, where

the Temple of God, the special place of his worship was; and in the time of Nebuchadnezzar, this Beast besieged Jerusalem, and took it, and burnt the House of the Lord, and the Kings house, and all the houses of Je∣rusalem, and every great mans house burnt he with fire, and carried multi∣tudes of the people to Babylon, and held them in bondage seventy years. Now see what God saith of this cruel Beast▪ Isai. 10.5, 6. O Assyrian [or woe to the Assyrian, as some read it] the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation; I will send him against an hypocritical Nati∣on, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. What doth God make of this great Conquerour, the Assyrian Emperour, that prevailed over his own people, and many others, but as the Rod of Gods anger, and one that could do no more than a rod or staff without a hand; if the Lord had not mannaged it, this staff could have done nothing; the Lord makes use of Instruments as a staff, and soon sets them behind the door;

and this appeared by the great slaugh∣ter that God made in the Host of this proud Assyrian; for in one night an Angel of the Lord smote in the Camp of the Assyrians, an hundred fourscore and five thousand; and Sennacherib himself was slain by his own sons, Isa. 37.36, 37.

2. The Persian Monarchy represent∣ed by the Bear, though by the hand of God this Beast was so muzzled, as not utterly to destroy the people of God, and so over-ruled by the Lord, as to give opportunity to the people of God to return and build the Temple, and re∣pair the City of Jerusalem, yet were they afterward persecuted by the Court of Persia, and brought in danger by the pride of Haman, abusing his favour with Ahasuerus the Persian Monarch.

3. The Macedonian represented by a Leopard, came with his flying wings to destroy the Church of God in Ju∣dah: afterward it was most grievously afflicted by two limbs of this Beast, viz. that of the South, and that of the North, especially that of the North; sc. Antiochus Epiphanes, whose cruel∣ties are notably set forth in the first book of the Macchabees.

4. The fourth Beast, viz. the Ro∣man Monarchy, is worse than all the three former Beasts; and that Vision of Daniel fore-mentioned, is suited to that of S. John in Rev. 13.1, 2. And I stood upon the sand of the Sea, and saw a Beast rise up out of the Sea, having seven heads, and ten horns, and upon his horns ten Crowns, and upon his heads the name of Blasphemy; and the Beast which I saw, was like unto a Leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a Bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a Lion, and the Dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. The reason why Daniel did not liken the fourth to any Beast, as the former three were, is because it was a Mon∣ster compounded of the cruelties of the several beasts, sc. of a Lion, Bear, and Leopard, this Beast was like them all. Now this Beast was some hun∣dreds of years before it came to its full growth, and being distant from Judah, the Church of God felt no∣thing of its fury till the Age before Christ came in the flesh. The first time that this Beast put forth his Paws against the Church, was about sixty one years before the Birth of Christ, when

Pompey, the Roman General, taking advantage of the contentions of the two Brethren (Hircanus and Aristobulus, of the Race of the Macchabees) a∣bout the Priesthood and Principality, took from them the City and Temple of Jerusalem, and made them Tribu∣tary to the Romans: whereupon, he and others with him, presumed to en∣ter into the Temple, and saw such things that was not lawful for them to see; after which violence and presump∣tion, it is noted of Pompey, that was very victorious before, above any one Roman, that he was very unhappy in his wars afterward, and being van∣quished by Julius Caesar, fled into E∣gypt for refuge, and there was murder∣ed where he looked for succour. Cras∣sus committed horrid sacriledge, he robbed the Temple in Jerusalem of ten thousand Talents (that is, two hun∣dred thousand pounds of our money) and afterwards being overthrown of the Parthians, had molten gold powred down his throat to satisfie his greedy appetite. One notable mischief the Romans did to the people of God, was the placing of that cruel Herod in the Throne, who was made King by the

favour of Augustus and Mark An∣thony; he was a Vassal to the Ro∣mans, though a cruel Tyrant to the people of God: And now the Scep∣ter was departed from Judah, and the Law-giver from under his feet; this Herod slew the Sanedrin and Grand Council of the Land, and murdered the Infants at Bethlehem, from two years old and under, out of a desire to murder Christ in his Infancy. This fourth Beast murdered the Prince of Life, and Lord of Glory, Pilate the Roman Judge condemning him, and the Roman Souldiers putting it in exe∣cution: And the Jews, who formerly had suffered by this fourth Beast, as the Church of Christ, and now joyning with this Beast against Christ, they be∣came the most malignant persecutors of Christ and his Church, stirring up the Roman Magistrates in several Provinces and Cities to persecute the Apostles of Christ, and the sincere professors of the truth; and remaining in their rebellion and enmity against Christ, they were unchurched; and the Kingdome of the Gospel being translated from them to the Gentiles, the wrath of God came upon them to the uttermost; eleven

hundred thousand of them were slain by the Sword, Famine and Pestilence, at the Siege, by Vespasian and Titus his Son, and the residue sold for slaves, and afterwards five hundred thousand of them ruinated by A∣drian the Emperour. And because the Soveraign Power was now setled in the Emperours, that I may speak further of the fury of this Beast against the Saints of the most High, I think fit to the two former descriptions in Daniel, and that in Revel. 13. to add another out of Revel. 17.3. where S. John saith, I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blas∣phemy, having seven heads, and ten horns. This is explained, ver. 9. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sitteth. Ver. 10. And there are seven Kings, five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come, and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. Ver. 11. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. Ver. 12. And the ten horns which thou sawest, are ten Kings, which have received no King∣dome as yet, &c. These shall hate the

whore, and make her desolate and na∣ked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. Ver. 16. and ver. 17. The woman which thou sawest, is that great City which reigneth over the Kings of the earth. The seven Heads are seven Mountains on which the Wo∣man sate: This Woman is that great City of Rome built upon seven hills, viz. Mons Palatinus, Capitolinus, Cae∣lius, Quirinalis, Aventinus, Vimina∣lis, Esquilinus. They also signifie se∣ven Kings, or seven sorts of Supreme Magistrates, by which the City and Empire hath been, and is governed. Supreme Magistrates in Scripture are called Kings, when Israel was formed into a Commonwealth, they had Mo∣ses set over them, Deut. 33.4, 5. Moses commanded us a Law, &c. and he was King in Jesurun, when the Heads of the people, and the Tribes of Israel were gathered together. So the Dukes of the Sons of Esau are called Kings, Gen. 36.31. These are the Kings that reign∣ed in the Land of Edom, before there reigned any King over the children of Israel; that is, before Israel was de∣livered out of bondage, and was form∣ed into a Commonwealth, and had

Moses set over them as Supreme Ruler under God. Now Rome is famous for these seven Heads, or seven sorts of Governours, I. Kings, II. Consuls, III. Tribunes of the Souldiers, IV. De∣cem-viri, V. Dictators, VI. Empe∣rours, VII. Popes. Tacitus noteth, that among other things, Rome hath this honour, to have Kings for its Vas∣sals. And S. John speaking of these se∣ven sorts of Magistrates, that did suc∣cessively rule in Rome, he saith, five are fallen; that is, when this Vision was presented to John, and the Revelation written by him, viz. five of those se∣ven Supreme Magistrates were fallen; Kings, Consuls, Tribunes, Decem-viri, Dictators: For although there were Consuls many hundred years after, yet they were no longer Heads, as formerly, though they had the same name, yet they came short of the former Consuls in power and dignity.— Then Saint John saith, one is;— that is, the Hea∣then Emperours were then in being; these were then regnant, and had the place of Heads in the Empire: These began to head the Beast (as the sixth Head) about forty years before the Birth of Christ, and continued three

hundred years after Christs birth; I understand it of the Heathen Empe∣rours only, not the Christian.— Saint John addeth, And the other is not yet come, viz. the Popes, they were not then come when John wrote. After the Heathen Emperours were taken a∣way, Rome was left vacant for the Pope; and although the Christian Em∣perours had some power, yet they did not reside at Rome, but continued for a long time at Constantinople, or Raven∣na; and after the power of the Chri∣stian Emperour was broken by the Barbarians, the Pope got Rome, and setled himself there, and so becometh the seventh Head of the fourth Beast.

Now the sixth and seventh Head of this Beast, one that was then in being, and one that was not then come, were the grand Enemies of the Church of Christ.

1. The sixth Head, the Roman Emperours, they raised many bloody persecutions against the Church of Christ, and though God restrained some of them, and gave his Church a breathing, yet many of them tortured their own brains to devise cruel tor∣ments wherewith to torture the Chri∣stians,

as Nero, Tiberius, Domitian, Trajan, Antoninus, Decius, Maximi∣nus, Dioclesian, &c. under whom ma∣ny thousand Martyrs sealed the truth of Christ with their blood: Such was the favour of God to this Realm, that they escaped all, except the last Perse∣cution, which was under Dioclesian: and Alban was the first that suffered Mar∣tyrdome in this Land for the Gospel of Christ. But the Pope, the seventh and last Head, hath been more mischievous, and continued longer than all the rest: Take his first rise, from the time the Heathen Emperours were cut off, and the Pope hath continued 1360 years, or thereabout; and Rome was builded a∣bout a thousand and sixty years be∣fore the Pope arose; so that this Head hath continued neer three hundred years longer than all the other six, which may give us hopes his time is now al∣most expired, and since the Church hath been vexed by him for so many Ages, it is not so much to be admired he should fall speedily, as that he hath stood so long. The Pope was born a∣bout the time of Constantine the Great, and came not to his full stature till about the year six hundred, or somewhat af∣ter,

then Boniface III. made by Phocas, universal Pastor of all the Churches of the world, appeared with his Ecce duo gladii hic: Behold here the two Swords, challenging Imperial and Papal Dignity.

The mischief done to the Church by this seventh Head, hath been partly by fraud, partly by open violence; partly by bringing in corruptions in matter of Doctrine, (Popery is not a single Here∣sie, like that of Apollinaris, or Arri∣us, but a heap and sink, or common sewer, in which there is a confluence of Heresies and corrupt Doctrines meeting together) and partly by rage and cruelties; witness their cruelties to the Albigenses, and Waldenses. About the latter end of the reign of King Hen∣ry the Second, King of England, Pope Alexander III. held a Council at the Lateran Church in Rome, where they consulted about the extirpation of the Albigenses. They were a people that did not acknowledge the Pope, prayed to none but to God alone, had no Ima∣ges, went not to Mass, denied Purga∣tory, and read the holy Scriptures. The Pope therefore gave the same graces to them that should spill the blood of

these poor Christians, as to them that crossed themselves to go to the holy Sepulchre, and fight against the Sara∣zens: Hereupon Dominick, the Au∣thor of the Order of Dominicans, put above two hundred thousand of them to death: This was done in the time of John, King of England, and by the instigation of Pope Innocent the III. And of the Albigenses and Waldenses, Pope Julius the II. was the cause of the death of two hundred thousand.

Now whosoever be the Instruments of great trouble to the Church, or changes in the world, it is the hand of the Lord that doth it; we have no cause to repine and murmure at such and such, but have just cause to blame our selves for it; others have not dealt so ill with us, as we have dealt with God; therefore when God takes a∣way peace, and sends trouble, takes a∣way the fruits of the earth, and sends famine, takes away health, and sends Epidemical diseases, in all these we are to eye God; remember that the Judg∣ments of God are a great deep, and like the great Mountains; if we do not thorowly search the reason of it, let us confess our understandings are too

short to reach to the bottom of it, let us not accuse God of injustice, but con∣fess with Job; Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not; his wayes are unsearch∣able, and past finding out.

Notes

• Dan. 7.2, 3
• 2 Reg. 17.6.
• Plutarchus 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 quasi sep∣ticollem vocat.
• Septem u∣na sibi muro cir∣cundedit arces. Ser∣vius in VI Aen.
• Haliemus Instrumen∣ta servilia etiam Re∣ges. Ta∣cit.
• Du Mou∣lin Re∣spons. ad Cardin. Du Per∣ron.