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Sermon of that time, were held, of incurring the im

putation of Schism, was much greater, than the occasion required, and, upon the whole, a sort of panic terror. For, though a causeless separation from the church would indeed have loaded the Reformers with much and real guilt, yet when the abuses of it had risen to that height as to reduce an honest man to the alternative, either of committing sin, or of leaving its communion, they might well have justified themselves on the evident necessity of the thing, and had no need of a positive command to authorize their separation. All this is, now, clearly seen ; and if the first Reformers did not see thus much (as very probably they did not) all that follows is, That the doctrine of Antichrist, from which that command derived its effect, was less necessary to their cause, than they supposed it to be; not, that the doctrine itself is without authority, or the command without obligation.

Lastly, I observe, that, though the violences of the time might force the Reformers to take shelter in this doctrine of Antichrist, and though the prejudices of the time might induce them to take the advantage, they did, of it: yet, neither of these considerations affords any

VIII.

just presumption against the doctrine, as it lies
in scripture, and is enforced by us at this time
out of it; because we argue, not from their au-
thority, but from the prophecies themselves ;
which are much better understood by us, than
they were by them; and are still maintained
to speak the sense, which they put upon them,
I mean with respect to the general application
of them to the church of Rome, though we
have nothing to apprehend either from the
power of that church, or from the prejudices ,
of the people.

1

Let no man, therefore, rashly conclude, from the free use made of this doctrine by our old Reformers (and there is scarce one of them that has not left behind him a tract or discourse on Antichrist) that it hath no better or other foundation, than in their interests or passions. A reasonable man sees, that it has no dependance at all upon them. That Luther, indeed, heated in the controversy with the church of Romė, and smoaking, as I may say, from the recent blast of the papal thunders, should cry out, ANTICHRIST', shall pass, if

SERMON
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you will, for a sally of rage and desperation But that we, at this day, who revolve the prophecies at our ease, and are in little more dread of modern Rome, than of ancient Babylon, should still find the resemblance so striking as to fall upon the same idea ; and should even be driven against the strong bias of prejudice (which with us, in England, for above à centúry past, has drawn the other way) to adopt the language of our great Reformer; this, I say, is a consideration of another sort, and will not be put off so slightly.

Still, there are other prejudices, which oppose themselves to this great Protestant principle, That the Pope is Antichrist; and these, it will not be beside the purpose of this Lecture to consider. It may, then, be said,

,

II. “ That, although there be not the same evident necessity for bringing this odious charge against the Papacy, as there was formerly in the infancy of Reformation, yet obvious reasons are not wanting, which may possibly induce the Protestant churches of our times to repeat and inforce it. So long as the

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separation is kept up, the partizans of the Sermon cause will not scruple to lay hold on every popular topic, by which it may be promoted. But an ill name, is the readiest of all expedients, and generally the most effectual, for this service. And as Heretic is the term in use, when the church, of Rome would discredit the Reformation ; so, Antichrist serves just as well, in the mouth of a Protestant, to disgrace the Catholic party. Hence, the people are gratified in a low spite against the person of the Pope; the better sort are confirmed in their religious or politic aversion to the church of Rome; and Princes themselves are invited to come in aid of the prophecies, by turning their arms and councils against a godless antichristian tyranny: and all this, to the ruin of public peace,

and in defiance of Christian charity.”

2

When men declaim, instead of arguing, or, what is worse, when they argue from their suspicions only, it may not be easy to give them an answer to their satisfaction. Otherwise, one might reply,

First, That the question is not, what use has been, or may be, made of this doctrine concerning Antichrist; but whether there be reason to believe that such doctrine is really contained in sacred scripture. If there be, it

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SERMON will become us to treat it with respect, how

much soever it may have been misapplied, or perverted.

In the next place, one might observe that no man, who understood the state of this controversy, ever applied the prophecies concerning Antichrist to the person of the Pope, but in general to the church of Rome, or rather to the Antichristian spirit, by which it is governed; or, if to the Pope, to him only as representing that society, of which he is the head; and so far only, as he acted in the spirit of it. And there is nothing strange or unusual in this use of the term. When Hobbes wrote his famous book, called LEVIATHAN (a word, now at least, of almost as ill sound, as Antichrist itself) no man supposes, that he meant to apply this character, exclusively, to the person of any prince, then living; but, in general, to civil government, according to the ideas he had formed of it. And this way of speaking, as I have before observed, is especially familiar to the sacred writers. Many of the Popes are said to have been, and, for any thing I know, may have been, Saints, in their private morals: so that when we apply the term, Antichrist, to them, we do not mean to stigmatize their persons, but merely to express the sense which the prophecies lead us to