As witnesses for God, against the most flagrant violation of the first principles of revealed religion, the jews and the protestants have been constant and unanimous in their testimony, from the first rise of Antichrist; and have been fellow sufferers and martyrs together in the same holy testimony, which they have not yet finished: and time will shew how they will be united in their death and resurrection, whether they be figurative, or natural. The chief part of that fear and disquietude, which Moses foretold to the jews would be the consequence of their denial of Christ, arose from the bigotry of the Romish was constituted a God over Pharoah, and his word was fate. (Exodus vii. 1.) And thus Jeremiah was appointed over the nations, to build up, and to pull down. (Jer. i. 10.) And as Jeremiah handed round amongst the nations to which he prophe sied, the prophetic cup of divine wrath, and even compelled them to drink it, (Jer xxv. 28,) so do these two modern prophets figuratively inflict their plagues, by denouncing the judgments of God impending over idolatry and apostacy. (Rev. xiv. 10.) In what manner this part of their prophecy is made good, by fire proceeding out of their mouths, to the destruction of their enemies ;-by shutting heaven, that it rain not any heavenly influences of grace upon idolaters, but only blood and wrath; will be shewn in a future section. с с church, and the persecutions with which, in all popish countries, they were perpetually harassed and destroyed. For the infallible head of the church having fallen into so great an error, as the establishing the worship of images, "giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils, that is, to the adoration of demons, or dead men and women canonized,† was like the jews, (Rom. x. 2,) xea * 1 Tim. iv. 1. Imo † Αλλ' ότι ο θύει τὰ ἔθνη, δαιμονίοις θύει καὶ ὁ Θεῶ illud dico, que immolant Gentes, dæmoniis immolant, et non Deo. The apostle here positively asserts that the heathen Gods were wicked spirits, or devils in the proper sense of the word; and the psalmist, according to the Septuagint, (Ps. xcvi. 5,) says the same : ὅτι πάντες οἱ 'θεοι τῶν ἐθνῶν δαιμόνια. The heathens themselves had a different idea of their gods and demons, but the primitive christians, says Whitby, "engaged to force their gods, by the power of the name of Christ, to confess themselves to be evil spirits, even before their worshippers. Quic quid Damonum colitis, victi dolore, quid sunt eloquntur; ipsis testibus, esse eos Damones, de se verum confitentibus credite. Minucius p. 31. Tertul. Apol. c. 23." Their evil doctrines, and seduction of mankind from the knowledge and worship of the true God to the vilest idolatries, and to abominable and even human sacrifices, (Ps. cvi. 37,) is a sufficient indication what sort of spirits they were. The destroying the heathen idolatry lous, (without knowledge, and above measure,) as is mostly the case in an erroneous belief. (Acts viii. 3.) And the obstinacy of the jews, in the abhorrence they always expressed against image worship, in persons who professed to know the true God, was felt as a sting, and revenged as a reproach; just as the pure maxims of Christ's doctrine, for the same reasons, were excepted against by the pharisees; "Master, thus saying thou reproachest us.' The same seducing spirits, which suggested such impious and antichristian doctrines to sin-deceived minds,* suggested also, in due consistency with such a corrupt faith, a suitable is called, destroying the works of the devil, (1 John iii. 8,) and is turning them from the power of Satan unto God. (Acts xxvi. 18.) The saint gods, and false mediators which are worshipped under various names in the church of Rome, are gods of the same stamp,-their doctrines are the same, and their worship idolatry. Rev. ix. 20. 1 Tim. iv. i, &c. Rev. xvi. 14:-xviii. 2. Daniel (xi. 39,) calls them Mahuzzim, God's protectors; and the saints in the church of Rome has every one his office, in the same manner as the gods of the pagans had before them. Leviticus xvii. 7.-Deut. xxxii. 17.-2 Chron. xi, 15.2 Kings xvii. 17.-Isa. xiii. 21 lvii. 5.-Ezek. xvi. 2:-- xx. 26. R * Isa. xxvii. 11.2 Thess. ii. 11. departure from christian charity, and even from the common sympathy of human nature. That the jews, as living evidences of the truth of God, and faithful conservators and guardians of the holy scriptures,* should have been objects of peculiar aversion and rancour in the dark ages of popery, is the less to be wondered at; since the scriptures themselves were beheld with extreme jealousy, and an evil eye; and were not exempt from their full share in the general persecution which raged against all the evidences of divine truth. They were found equally contumacious, and incorruptible by any other means than force and torture, to make them speak in favor of the dogmas of popery. They were therefore kept out of sight, cloathed also in sackcloth, and persecuted with every species of literary torture, and loaded with contempt and blasphemy; and at last incarcerated in the * Faithful for the main part,-à little tender only upon one point, the scripture evidences that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messias of the prophets. Their blasphemy against the scripture will be pointed out on another occasion, as this was only one of the tricks of the lonely dungeon of an unknown tongue, of which the appointed keepers had lost the key, and which they had long ceased to visit.* trade. St Paul's objection against an unknown tongue in the church was of course over-ruled, by the superior authority of his infallible Holiness; who had power even to abrogate one or more of the commandments of God himself, and transubstantiate Christ into an idol, * The reading of the word of God is forbidden to the people in general, and those to whom it is indulged must have a licence for it, which comes very high, and is with great difficulty ob.. tained. The reason is plainly because the Bible is an heretical book, and the fomenter of heresy. Bishop Burnet in his His.. tory of the Reformation, relates several instances of women and children condemned to the flames, by the bloody Bishop Bonner, for no other crime than the being in possession of a Bible The Bible itself was burnt by the hands of the common hangman, and no translation suffered, until in the progress of the reformation they were obliged, in protestant countries, to allow. one of their own manufacture, armed at all points, and fitted for their purpose. Their chief authorities maintain the propriety of concealing the light of the word under a bushel, contrary to our Saviour, (Matt. v. 15,) and in opposition to the opinion. of St. Paul, (1 Cor. xiv. 2.): "Hæreticum est affirmare sacras scripturas necessario in linguas vulgares converti debere." "It is heresy to maintain that the holy scriptures ought necessarily to be translated into the vulgar languages." Sanders, de visib. Monarch. lib. 7.-And before the "Indices Expurgatorii.” published by the POPES authority, the fifth general rule is |