away, and the mountains were not found:' Rev. xvi. 20. meaning that the papists in that day fhall have neither mountain nor island to fly unto.

A ta

And laft of all, the Holy Ghost faith, that there fell a great hail like talents out of heaven upon the idolaters; infomuch, at they blafphemed God, because of the plague of the hall: for the plague thereof was exceeding great.' lent was about the weight of threefcore pound, as fome write. Then it followeth that this hail of God's wrath upon the pa pifts fhall be moft terrible and fearful, and beat them down to the ground, as it were an hail of mill-ftones, or plough-irons.Now when this hail of talents cometh, as affuredly come it fhall, then fhall the kingdom of popery be beaten to duft and pow der: and therefore no wonder though the idolaters, feeing all this, be in a most horrible rage, and blafphemed God, as St. John faith, Rev. xvi. 21. becaufe of this exceeding and moft extraordinary plague, which fhall then come upon them. But now to conclude, and wind up all together: for as much as this laft vial is poured into the air (God faith It is done,') ar extraordinary earthquake followeth, the great city of Rome is rent, Babylon called into queftion, and fearful hail-ftones of wrath poured down upon the idolaters; I do con

clude, that Rome fhall fall finally, and come to utter deftruction in this life.

Now let us proceed to further proof. In 'the eighteen chapter of this book the whore of Babylon faith in heart: I fit, being a queen, and am no widow, and shall fee no forrow. Therefore fhall her plagues 'come in one day, death, and forrow, and famine, and fhe fhall be burnt with fire; for that God which condemneth her is a ftrong Lord,' Rev. xviii. 8. Ifa. xlvii. f First, Here Rome is described as fhe was in the height and top of her pride and fe"curity, when the held the dominion of the kings of the earth, and boafted that the was the head of the catholic church, carrying herself very infolently above all kings and emperors, treading upon their necks, and making them attend at her gates barefoot in the midst of winter, as history report. Yea, and that he was no widow; that is, no folitary or defolate perfon, but one that had many lovers which were ftrong to defend her, fo as the fhould feel no want nor fee any forrow. But the time will come, and draweth on apace, wherein fhe fhall be thoroughly punished for her haughtiness, and intolerable pride and fecurity: for the Holy Ghoft faith, her plagues fhall come in one day; that is, fuddenly, fhortly, and fpeedily, even death,

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forrow, and famine, and the shall be burnt with fire; for that God which condemneth her is a strong Lord.' If this be not plain enough to prove an utter overthrow of Rome, I know not what can be plain enough. For if death, famine, and fire will not pull her down, I know not what fhall pull her down. But St. John faith flatly, that God himself, who is a strong Lord, will oppofe himself against Rome, and condemn her. Who can uphold her? Can the king of Spain? Can the cardinals? can the emperor? Can all the dukes of Italy, and all the potentates of the earth that take part with her? No, no, they are all too weak. For if God take against a man, who can reclaim him, faith the Holy Ghoft? For he doth whatsoever he • he will.' And again, God is wife in heart, and mighty in ftrength; who ever hardened his heart against him and prof pered? If God call not back his anger, the most proud hearts are bowed under him,' Job xxiii. And God faith in Ezekiel xxii. Can thy hands be strong, or can thy heart endure in the day that I fhall

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have to do with thee?" Then it followeth that though Babylon fit as a queen, and all her lovers take part with her, ye be caufe the ftrong Lord is against her, there fore the fhall come to utter deftruction.

Some of good judgment in the truth

have gathered from this place, that the very city of Rome fhall be burnt with fire, which affuredly may well be: but this I am fure of, that the phrase of burning with fire,' Amos v. 6. doth in the prophets always fignify an utter deftruction and defolation of a city or a kingdom; and therefore it followeth, that Rome fhall be utterly destroyed.

But behold yet a ftronger and plainer proof. For St. John faith,

A mighty angel took up a stone like a great millftone, and caft it into the fea, faying, With fuch a violence fhall that great city Babylon be caft down, and fhall be found no more, Rev. xviii. 21. All men know, that old Babylon in Chaldea was destroyed by the Medes and Perfians long before St. John wrote this book; and therefore that is not here meant: but the new Babylon, which is Rome, as before hath been proved. The phrases of speech, and the figns which the prophets used to declare the destruction and defolation of old Babylon, are here alluded unto the destruction of Rome. For we read in the prophecy of Jeremiah, that the prophet having written in a book all the evil that fhould come upon Fabel, for holding God's people fo long in moft miferable captivity, faid to Serajah, When thou comeft unto Babel, thou fhalt read

⚫ all these words, and when thou haft made an end of reading this book, thou fbalt bind a ftone to it, and caft it into the midft of Euphrates, and fhalt fay, Thus fhall Babel be drowned; and fhall not rife up from the evil that I will bring C upon her, her, although they weary themfelves,' Jer. li. 61. Now let us confider how this agreeth with the fame which is here fet down, and we fhall find, that all things are here fet down with greater force to exprefs, as it were, a deeper vengeance, and a more heavy and unrecoverable deftruction.

First, There is a man; here is a mighty angel: there the man taketh up a ftone; here the angel taketh a great stone like a mill-ftone: there the ftone is caft into the river; here into the deep fea. All these circumstances being applied to Rome, do greatly aggravate the matter, and very plainly fhew, that it fhall fall without all hope of For the Lord declareth by this forcible fign of cafting a mill-ftone into the fea, that the city and kingdom of antichrift fhall be caft deep down into perdition, and fhall lie overwhelmed and drowned in the fame for ever.

recovery.

For if old Babylon was utterly deftroyed, and came to a final defolation in this life; much more fhall Rome, as the Holy Ghoft