19. The Use Of Faith, If Popery Should Return Upon Us
THE USE OF FAITH, IF
POPERY SHOULD RETURN
UPON US "The just shall live by his faith."—HAB. 2:4.
O UR inquiry is, how we may live by faith, with reference to those difficulties we have, or may have, to contend with in the days in which we live. The last topic we spoke to was, how we may live by faith in reference to all the reproaches and scornful contempt that are cast upon that way of worship, that order and fellowship of the gospel, which we adhere to, and the persecutions which we may undergo on that account. I now proceed:— 2. The second difficulty that we have, or may have, to contend with, is the return of Popery into this land. Half the talk of the world is about this subject. I have nothing to say to some among ourselves; but I truly believe, that those who have the conduct of the papal, antichristian affairs
throughout the world are endeavoring to bring it in upon us. I remember what holy Latimer said when he came to die, "Once I believed Popery would never return into England; but," said he, "I find it was not faith, but fancy." I hope it does not prove so with many of us. Now, what I am to speak about is this,—how we should live by faith, both in the prospect of the danger of it, and if it should come upon us. I shall mention a few things which I exercise myself with. If you have more supporting thoughts, and a better guidance of light, I pray God confirm it unto you.
(1.) The first thing I would focus my thoughts upon, and that my faith relies on, in this case, is this,—there is a fixed, predetermined time in the counsel of God, when Antichrist and Babylon, and idolatry and superstition, along with the profanity of life they have introduced, will be destroyed. It is so fixed, that it will not be altered: all the wisdom of men, all the sins of men, and all our disbelief, will not delay it a day; it will assuredly happen in its appointed season. This time is calculated in Scripture by days, by months, by years;—not so we can know the exact time of it, but so we can know the certainty of it; for if it has only so many days, so many months and years, then it must have a definite end.
Under the Old Testament we see this consistently. God says to Abraham, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years; and also that nation whom they serve I will judge," Gen. 15:13, 14. They did not know the beginning or the end of these four hundred years; but they knew that at the end of them it would be as God had said: and "on that very day it came to pass," Exod. 12:41. Similarly, God threatens the Jews with a seventy-year captivity in Babylon: "And it will come to pass," says God,
"when seventy years are completed, that I will punish the king of Babylon,
and that nation for their iniquity," Jer. 25:11, 12. The church did not know when they began, or when they would end; but this they knew, that the same day they were completed it would be as God had said. And so it was.The setting and calculating of the time of the Man of Sin, of Antichrist, by days, and months, and years, is to secure our faith in the precise determination of the season, but not to satisfy our curiosity about when the season should be. But the consideration of this, that there is such a time, or a predetermined season, is a great foundation of faith and patience. Isa.
60:22, "A little one will become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the LORD will hasten it in his time." But if there is a fixed time for the fulfillment of this promise, you may ask, "How can it then be hastened?" Well, if you live in the exercise of faith and patience, it will surprise you; it will come when you do not think it will, nor expect it: "I will hasten it in his time;"—"I will not bring it before its time, be you ever so patient or impatient; but exercise faith and patience, and I will so arrange it, that it will be a sweet surprise to you." And it is a means of patience,
Hab. 2:3, "If the vision" seems to "tarry, wait for it; for it will surely come."
When we know it will come, when we know there is such a predetermined time, and that it will surely come, it is a great basis for patience to wait for it. This is a great consideration for me, and I leave it with you. Here I can exercise faith, without imagination or conjecture, that there is a certain predetermined time in the counsel of God wherein he will pour out all his judgments and plagues upon the antichristian world, until Antichristianism is destroyed and eradicated.
(2.) Another thing that comforts my heart is this—it is no less glorious to suffer under the beast and the false prophet than it was to suffer under the dragon. The book of Revelation is chiefly made up of these two things—of
the persecutions of the church; one by the dragon, and he is conquered; the other by the beast and false prophet, and they shall be conquered. The dragon was the pagan power of the Roman empire; and it was a glorious thing to suffer under that power. Those who did so are described in Revelation 7:14, 15, "These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sits on the throne shall dwell among them."
And of those that suffered under the beast and the false prophet it is said in Revelation 12:11, "They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony." We consider them great and glorious individuals who won the freedom of the gospel and the Christian religion by suffering against the pagan power, and who destroyed all idolatry by their blood, starving and "famishing all the gods of the earth," Zephaniah
2:11. Never were men more glorious than they. These made up the "Turba palmifera;" that is, the company who, with palms in their hands, and a new song in their mouths, give glory unto God, Revelation 7:9–12. I say, it is not less glorious to suffer under the beast and false prophet, the second persecuting power—that is, the papal, antichristian power—than it was before under the pagan. This is what the church has for many ages conflicted with, and must continue to do so, until the time comes when they shall have a perfect and complete conquest over this also. It is a glorious thing, and I would have you reckon upon it as such. If a time of going into Smithfield should again come—if God shall call us to that fiery trial or any other, whatever it may be—remember that to suffer against Antichrist is as great and glorious as to suffer against Paganism.
(3.) Though our persons fall, our cause shall be as truly, certainly, and infallibly victorious, as that Christ sits at the right hand of God. Among the pagans, men of courage did not value their own lives, so long as their cause was carried on. Now, however your persons or my person may fall in this trial, yet the cause in which we are engaged shall as surely conquer as Christ is alive and shall prevail at last. Upon the first rise of the beast, it is said in Revelation 13:7, "He made war with the saints, and overcame them."
The poor Waldenses looked upon themselves to be the people there prophesied of; and said, when they were under the butcheries of the papal power, "We are the conquered people of God; but there shall come forth conquerors." When going to die, they knew and believed their cause would conquer. And so, after Antichrist has conquered and prevailed over persons for a season, at length it will come to a final issue. "They shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them; for they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful," Revelation 17:14. The gospel shall be victorious. This is the third thing that greatly comforts and refreshes me—that if God should give me the honor, the strength, and grace to die in this cause, my cause shall be victorious, as sure as if I had the crown in my hand.
(4.) The judgments of God will come upon the anti-Christian world when they least expect them; when the kings of the earth do not anticipate them; indeed, when believers themselves do not foresee them;—they will arrive so suddenly. The Holy Ghost says so explicitly, Rev. 18:8, "Her plagues will come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she will be utterly burned with fire." How is it possible that one who is in the state and condition she is in, could have her plagues come upon her in one day? The reason is provided, "For strong is the Lord God who judges her." Almighty
strength will be exerted for its accomplishment. And if this is not enough, the 17th verse tells you that it will occur in "one hour." And I truly believe that the destruction of this cursed anti-Christian state (of the head of it) will be brought about by none of the means we see or are aware of; but that the strong Lord God will break in upon her and destroy her by ways unknown to us. It may be tomorrow; it may not be for another hundred years. She herself, when it is done, will not expect such a thing. Verses 7, 8, "She has glorified herself, and lived luxuriously; for she says in her heart, I sit as a queen, and am no widow, and will see no sorrow. Therefore her plagues will come in one day." When she is boasting herself, destruction will come;— when the kings of the earth have no expectation of it; for they will cry, verse 16, "Alas, alas! That great city, Babylon, that mighty city; for in one hour such great riches have come to nothing." And believers themselves will be like the children of Israel in Egypt. When Moses came they could not believe, because of the cruel bondage they were under: it is likely the day when God's judgments will come upon Antichrist, the old enemies of Jesus Christ.
(5.) I would strongly consider the magnitude of God's indignation against those who shall in the slightest comply with Antichristianism when it does come upon us. In Rev. 13:11, there is mention of "a beast that had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon" (which, I think, is the pope), "and he exercises all the power of the first beast;" that is, he exercises a power comparable to the pagan power. And what then? Verse 16, "He caused all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads; and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark." It doesn't matter what the mark is; but to receive anything from him, is to receive his mark; either in our foreheads, where we
shall show it to all the world; or in our right hands, more privately, where it may be shown when opportunity arises. What then? Well, in chap. 14:6, 7,
"I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment has come: and worship him that made heaven and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." When
Antichrist would bring his mark on the foreheads of the people and into their hands, God, by his gospel, calls men from their false worship and idolatry. But what if they do not obey? The 9th and 10th verses tell us a "third angel followed, saying with a loud voice, If any man worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb," etc. Some will be inclined to say, "Let us make a fair compromise, and use some compliance, to put an end to these disputes." No; do it at your own risk. God says you shall drink of the wine of his wrath, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation, and that forever and ever. And I believe with all my heart and soul that this will be the fate of all the men and women in this nation that shall comply with any return of antichristian idolatry among us;—God shall pour out his indignation upon them.
(6.) Remember that if the trial comes, it is a day of battle; and it is not for you, when you should just engage in a battle, to be considering this or that way or contrivance to escape. No; it is courage, and constancy, and faith alone, that must be set to work, or you will not be preserved. All your
wisdom and contrivances will not preserve you; but it being come to the issue between Christ and Antichrist, "it is the girding up the loins of your mind," and a "resisting unto blood against sin," and persisting in it, that is your duty, and must preserve you. Nothing will save you but faith, courage, and constancy.
(7.) There are in the Scripture indications that those who, in a special manner, adhere to God and his worship, with faith, love, and delight, shall be preserved and saved. I do not propose this to you as an object of your faith; all the rest I do: but I say, there are indications that give me some satisfaction; that those who with quick and lively spirits act in faith, love, and delight in God and his worship, or those who are worshippers in the inner court of the temple, shall be particularly protected at such a time. But I am afraid few of us will have it; because I see so much coldness and indifference generally growing upon us and the churches of Christ. It makes me think trials will come upon us all; for we have need of them.To conclude,— First. Let not your talk about strange things keep the thoughts of these things you have been hearing out of your hearts; for you will be tested with Antichristianism before you die. We talk of news, and great things we expect in the world, and that Antichrist shall be destroyed: and so he will; but I do believe he will test us severely in the meantime.Secondly. Be careful of calculations. How woefully and miserably have we been mistaken by this! We know the time is determined,—its beginning and ending is known to God; and we must live by faith until its fulfillment.
Thirdly. As many of us as have recently committed ourselves in covenant to God, let us remember that we have taken the "mark of God upon our foreheads;" and it will ill become us to set the mark of Antichrist by it.
This is all I have to offer to you as to living by faith under the apprehensions of those difficulties we have to contend with, in reference to the incoming of profanity and idolatry, with which we are threatened by hell and the world, which are at this day combining together to bring them again upon this nation.