many others, at that time alive on earth, who shall be restored for so long, only to an Adamitical state of innocency, according to the tenor of the covenant of nature made with Adam; and therefore shall be mutable, and shall fall, when in like manner they are assaulted by Satan. Out of these shall spring the brood of Gog and Magog. Thus you see how some shall never fall, whilst others shall. And you see on what grounds I have thus distinguished: viz. by the difference of being in Christ by the covenant of grace; and being in Adam, or as Adam in innocency, according to the covenant of nature. So that these that fall cannot be said to fall from grace, because they never had that which is properly called grace. And the reason of my so distinguishing is, because the Sacred Scriptures do so.

In tumbling over books I have found some learned companions in this opinion thus far; (if that will enable it to go down better with any ;) among whom I will name Dr. Twiss, in his letter sent by Dr. Meddus to Mr. Mede; also the learned author of The Retired Man's Meditations," in the last chapter on the manifestation of the sons of God. And learned Mr. Mede himself says in his letter to Dr. Meddus,y I have discovered my opinion of the thing; (meaning the first resurrection, &c.) but de 'modo how it shall be, I could willingly abstain from determining. We must be content to be ignorant of the manner of many things, which for the matter we are nevertheless bound to believe. Too ⚫ much adventuring here, without a sure guide, may be dangerous; and breed intolerable phantasies, ' as it did among some in those

ancient times; which occasioned,

as may seem, the death and burial of the main opinion itself, so gene.

:

rally at first believed. Yet, thus 'much I conceive the text seems to imply that these saints of the 'first resurrection should reign here on earth in New Jerusalem, in a 'state of beatitude and glory, parI taking of the divine presence and 'vision of Christ their King; as it were in a heaven upon earth, or new paradise, immutable, unchange'able, &c. That (for the better ' understanding of this mystery) we 'must distinguish between the state ' of the New Jerusalem,' and the 'state of the nations which shall 'walk in the light thereof:' they ⚫ shall not be both one, but differing. Therefore what is spoken particularly of the New Jerusalem, 'must not be applied to the whole • Church which then shall be. New ⚫ Jerusalem is not the whole Church, but the metropolis thereof, as also of the new world. The state of the nations which shall walk in her light, though happy and glorious, yet shall be changeable; as appears by the commotion of the 'nations, seduced at the end of the

6

thousand years. But the state of 'those who dwell in New Jerusalem 'shall be extra omnem mutationis aleam" Blessed are those that 'have part in the first resurrection, 'for on them the second death hath no power.'

Though I agree with them in the substance of their statement, yet not in the latitude of it. For I include the living, that are changed at the coming of Christ, with those raised from the dead at the first resurrection. I am not persuaded, secondly, that all the nations that are said to walk in the light of New Jerusalem,

shall attain only to a changeable perfection, to miscarry at last; because the text does not say, either, expressly, all the nations; nor does it, in that indefinite speech, the nations,' any how intimate, that it intends the universal of all nations: for then it needed not to have distinguished Gog and Magog. And that which follows in our text, that they are gathered together, and they come up, notes an extracted collection of parts or parcels out of diverse nations, called out by the devil's seduction; not all the nations themselves for it were impossible for any one place to hold all nations mustered together for battle. that some shall be immutably happy, others mutably, is undeniable. 1st. Because, though the New Jerusalem shall be enlightened with the glory of God and of the Lamb, and the nations of them that are saved shall walk in the light thereof; yet some remain seduceable, and are seduced at last to their own destruction. 2ndly. Because some encompass, as enemies, the camp of the saints; others are the saints encompassed. 3rdly, Over some the second death hath no power; over others it hath.

But

If any think a state of happiness, equal to that of paradise, inconsistent in regard to those who have no grace, I answer: We know that Adam himself, in a state of innocency, had no grace, properly so called, -either of justifying faith, or sanctifying infusions of the Holy Spirit, (which are additions to the nature of them now saved,) but only an exact rectitude of nature: and yet God judged him meet, and would make him no meeter, for that glorious state in paradise. And likewise all the angels had but a natural perfection from their crea

tion; yet were they accounted by God himself fit for his glorious presence in heaven. If they had ever received saving infused grace, they could never have fallen from it; as all the Scriptures touching perseverance do demonstrate: therefore it was on account of their natural perfect rectitude, that they were at first put into heaven. Those that fell, fell into a state of wanted grace; but those that stood, stood not (I conceive) by inward sanctifying grace. For they were in no union with Christ as sons;a but were in relation to Christ as servants.b

But besides these matters of fact, let us heed what hints the Scriptures give de jure, touching the influence of Christ's mediatorship, in restoring part of mankind into a changeable happy estate in the time of the thousand years. For though it be not express, Rev. xxi, 2, that the nations shall eat of the fruit of the tree of life, in the midst of the New Jerusalem; yet it is positively there asserted, that the leaves of that tree shall be for the healing of the nations. And in 1 Tim. iv, 10, "God is the Saviour of all men, especially of them that believe." Yea, in 1 Tim. ii, 5, 6, we have more, and in higher terms: viz. "There is one God and one Mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who

yea, as if it shall have its own proper and peculiar season and opportunity to appear; and that with some signal testimony. Lastly, we have, Rev. xxi, 24: And the nations ' of them that are saved shall walk ' in the light of New Jerusalem :" which relative word 'saved,' must needs have respect to a Saviour and salvation. So that at the least it seems to signify thus much: viz. that Christ, when he burns the world, reserves these out of the fire, to be an appendix of the new creation, (as Lactantius, Sixtus Senensis and Dr. Twisse understand,) whatever Christ doth more for them afterwards.

I propound these as things, that are not absolutely put out of all doubt by the Scriptures; whereby the candid Reader may either make a stand and consider, or launch out further, as he sees cause. At the same time, he may be stayed from invectives against my labors herein, by considering that what we have discoursed in this present section, is not of what God does ordinarily, but what he does extraordinarily— viz. but once, and by extraordinary means, to an extraordinary end and degree. So that ordinary rules and notions of men cannot be meet judges of these things, but must submit to the sentence of the sacred Scriptures.

There is yet one knot concerning Gog and Magog remaining: viz. whether the time of their insurrection and destruction falls at the end of the thousand years, or at the beginning, as Ezekiel (chap. xxxviii and xxxix) seems to fix it: who first prophesies the insurrection and destruction of Gog and Magog; and afterwards (in chap. xl, &c.) prophesies of the glorious state of the

c Chapters xxxviii, 22; xxxix. 6.

Church, as if it were to follow the other.

To clear this, fix we in our minds that golden rule of Mr. Mede, "That the old prophets for the most part spake of the great things of Christ indefinitely, as to the time." This he instances of the coming of Christ; concerning which they spake without distinction of his first and second. Whereas then Ezekiel prophesies the destruction of Gog in the land of Magog by fire, as St. John also does,d some of the most learned ancient fathers, (as Cyprian and Ireneus, &c.) expected a double fire of destruction to be executed upon the world: namely, one at the beginning of the thousand years, to destroy the wicked that shall be then extant; another at the end thereof, for the destruction of the wicked that shall then rise up against the kingdom of Christ. And this they expected according to the Scriptures for of the first fire mention is made, 2 Peter iii, (according to our former exercitation ;) and of the latter by St. John, Rev, xx, 9: though he also had before hinted the first fire, Rev. xix, 20. Which things being so, do very well reconcile Ezekiel and St. John.

And

Furthermore, and yet nearer to the matter, several others of the most learned ancients (as Tertullian,e) conceive Ezekiel's Gog to be the same with that of John. what is still more to the purpose, Ezekiel himself, (notwithstanding the order of placing his prophecy before urged,) lets fall several passages which intimate to us, that the final destruction of Gog and Magog is not at the beginning of the glorious state of the Church on earth. He averreth, that first" the people of Israel shall dwell safely in their

d xx, 9. e Lib. adv. Marc. c. xxiv.

own land, before Gog shall come up against them;" and then "in the latter years shall Gog come into the land of Israel."f And he assures us, that, after the destruction of Gog, "there shall be seven years to burn their weapons, and above seven months to bury the slain of Gog:"g which, (whether we take it figuratively, to intend a long complete time; or literally,) is too long a time, and too incongruous a condition, to be inserted into the very body and heart of the glorious estate of the Church on earth as it is stated and terminated by St. John, Rev. xx, 1-6; and therefore far more fit to be placed at the end of that glorious state, at which last time, St. John is positive, that there must arise an enemy. And therefore, from the order of placing distinct histories or prophecies in the Old Testament (the weakest argument that can be, to state the time and order of the things themselves!) we have no more reason to infer, that Ezekiel puts the destruction of Gog at the beginning of that glorious estate, than that St. John does, who also describes the mode of that estate, Rev. xxi, after he had spoken of the destruction of Gog, chap. xx.

Thus, having set the goodly stem (I say not every twig) of this discourse, and earthed the roots thereof with the choice mould of sacred Scriptures, at last there springs out thence three chief branches, with fair fruit hanging thereon, which, being gathered, eaten and digested, are very cordial for our practical edification.

1. First, that no external consideration whatsoever is sufficient of itself to restrain a graceless creature

from running into gross sins. Ham saw the dreadful flood upon the ungodly old world, and enjoyed his share in the miraculous preservation of his pious father: yet he went graceless into the ark, and such, or worse, he came out of it; inasmuch as he survived upon the waters only to receive his prophetical father's curse on him and his posterity.h In like manner, the Israelites had seen the stupendous miracles of God,-in bringing them out of Egypt, in carrying them through the Red Sea, and in his appearance at Mount Sinai to give them a law, at which they trembled,—and they had also felt the hand of God upon themselves, for the sin of murmuring;i yet for all these, they committed that horrid idolatry of dancing about the molten calf,-and that whilst the mount was burning before their eyes !k Likewise Judas Iscariot heard the terrible threatnings which his master Christ denounced against obstinate, hypocritical and ungodly men-yea, against himself, when Christ said, "Have I not chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil ?"m and "woe unto that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed; it had been good for that man, if he had never been born."n And on the other hand, he heard those celestial sermons, that Christ preached to win melting sinners, and to comfort the weakest saints; and had a sight of all the glorious miracles his master did, he himself also being enabled by him to work miracles. Yet a Judas will be a Judas; as sure as the devil (that entered into him) will be still a devil. For notwithstanding all that he had seen, heard, and enjoyed from and under his master Christ, he doth so unh Gen. ix. i Ex. xvi. xvii.

m John vi, 70. n Matt,

naturally, ungratefully, and traitorously betray him, that the horridness of the fact in his own eyes caused him to shut his eyes by strangling himself! Yea let us ascend (for I rise by steps) unto that perfect state of Adam and Eve, who had heard sufficiently that direful threat, that if they did eat of the forbidden tree, they should surely die the death; who also had seen all the new created glory of paradise, and felt the joy of their own perfection. Yet for all these (as ye well know the story) they hearken to the devil (and that in the unlovely shape of a serpent) to an unbelief of God, and to their own ruin. The angels that fell, go beyond all these; who having no tempter, or matter of temptation without them, (but, contrariwise, were in perfect glory, beholding the face of God, and enjoying all happiness to encourage them to keep their station,) yet tempted themselves, fell from their own stedfastness, and were tumbled (O dreadful catastrophe!) down to hell. Thus likewise do Gog and Magog; who (whether you will receive them as in Adamitical perfection, whether had rather look upon them as in an inward state of corruption, whilst they live the thousand years,) will have seen and heard enough of the late burning of the world, and all the open wicked; of the transcendent glory of the Church, by a resurrection and mutation; and not have been unwarned (out of this our text) of a future Gog and the judgement to come on him: and yet you see (for God cannot lie) they will prove a Gog-Magog. Gog will be Gog to be seduced, as sure as the devil will be a devil to seduce them, and to rise and attempt the ruin of the most glorious Church

you

or

that ever was, to their own fatal and infernal destruction by fire. Out of all which, we have great reason affectionately to infer the slippery uncertainty of a graceless heart, though otherwise as innocent as Adam;-the aptness of man to believe the devil before God;-the intestine antipathy and enmity of all that are not of the Church, against the Church; though never wronged by the Church, but dealt well with for their sakes;—the audaciousness of sin, when once it hath conceived; in that nothing daunts it ;—and lastly, how little reason we have to rest in any state whatsoever, (either of innocent Adam, or the new created angels; much less in an unregenerate estate,) till we be established with the inspiration and infusion of never fading sanctifying grace from

Christ.

2. The second branch is, that the highest created perfection of nature cannot, of itself, persevere in that its native goodness, without an establishment by addition of a gracious immutability. The final intent of God in such a frame of creatures is, that all, both angels and men, might see their need of God at last, as well as at first, and so be held in a dependance on him from first to last: so that Christ in all things might have the preeminence.P That not any Adamitical perfection, or angelical glory, but Christ alone might bring the stability of a state. And hereby is set forth a most glorious manifestation of God's justice and mercy justice on them that fall, for their non-pursuance of an establishment; and mercy on them that persevere, who waited on him till he did, through Christ, settle them for ever. So that as we hereby learn, that God hath so constituted

P Col. i, 18.