most part of them, in their practice of reproaching all ministers and godly people that are not of their way.

I must confess it is my opinion that we have been much to blame in not making known to common Christians somewhat more of the nature of the heresies of the first ages, and the effects of them, by which they might have been better fortified against them; for now, for want of such information, the poor wretches take old, rotten, damned heresies, for new light from the Spirit of Christ, and many, are ready, upon that very notion and account, to run after them to their own perdition, little knowing or thinking that ever these heresies were in the world before, and how they were used by Christ and his church. Had they but known when and how their highly honoured fancies did first arise, and what they brought forth, and how they sped, and what men they were that handed them down from Simon Magus till the time of their burial, the devil could not so easily have dug them up again, and have got religious men to make a feast of them. My brethren, therefore, that may blame me now for mentioning them, must accept of this excuse of my doings, instead of a conformity to their minds, till my own be altered.

By the way, it is to be noted, that the success that the devil had by those old heresies, by which he attended the springing church, and the Gospel of Christ, besides the hinderance of men's conversion in particular, was this: he occasioned the crimes of these heretics to be charged on all Christians, (as out of Epiphanius, I said before); so that the common reports among the heathen, that the Christians did eat their own children, and that they put out the lights at their meetings, and were unclean together, were raised from the wickedness of these Simonians and Gnostics; and withal, by this means, the persecution of the Christians was much increased and renewed, though yet the heretics themselves were not persecuted, as Justin Martyr affirms, (Apolog. 2,) and Origen., (lib, vi. cont. Celsum,) which might come from hence,

1. Because the heretics taking all outward actions to be indifferent, and good and evil to consist but in opinion, as some of their spawn among us also do, did judge it lawful to sacrifice to idols, or do any such thing that the magistrate bid them do, (which is Hobbs's religion,) rather than to suffer persecution; whereby they escaped, when the Christians, that were more tender-conscienced, and knew of a higher Lord and Master in heaven, durst not do so.

2. And withal it is plain, that the devil was the grand agent, both in the heresy and the persecution, and, therefore, would not persecute his own, having no mind to destroy his own kingdom.

I might, but for tediousness, run down this sad history of the devil's sowing the tares of heresy from age to age till this very day, wherein, it will appear, that he is a devoted enemy to Christ and his church; but I will overpass most of them, which you find in Epiphanius, Austin, Philastrius, or Theodoret, at pleasure, and only note next, his attempts to bring in Mahometanism and popery.

For the latter, he was as vigilant to corrupt the church itself, as to draw heresies out of it; to which end, he made special use of the pride, and pomp, and secular honours, and greatness of the bishops; so that, by degrees, he brought into most churches on earth too much error in some matters of doctrine, too much formality and superstition instead of true rational devotion in the worship of God, and too much tyranny and usurpation of authority over their brethren, instead of the true discipline and government of Christ. How much the church of Rome miscarried in all these, especially in this last, above all the churches on earth, is also too evident to those that are not unwilling to see.

And it is to be noted, that the more that, or any church was corrupted, the less careful was the devil to raise heresies out of it, or separations from it, because he had rather, if it might be, hereticate the whole; and while he had so great hopes and likelihood of poisoning their daily food and habitations at home, he was the less careful to draw them into dangers abroad; nor would he disturb them much with the clamours of heretics, while themselves did grow apace so like to them. This is the reason why the church of Rome hath had fewer separating heresies, since it began to be corrupted, schismatical, and tyrannical, than it had when it was more pure, and than the catholic church had in the first and purer times.

And, doubtless, this design of the devil, to corrupt the church of Rome, and cause them to claim an universal episcopacy and headship over the whcle catholic church, and to make that the centre of the church's union, is so evidently like himself, and suited to his ends, and so contrary to Christ, that he may easily be known to be his, (that is, Christ's) adversary. Whether the pope be the antichrist or not, I am sure the devil shows him

self an antichrist in his exaltation and usurpation. The millions of souls that have been drowned in superstition, and led blindfold in commended ignorance, do show who hath been the pilot in that sea. The blood that hath been shed in Germany, France, Spain, Italy, England, and other nations, by fire and sword, for the suppression of a reformation, and extinguishing of the light, do show, that he, who was a murderer from the beginning, hath led on the inquisitors and blood-suckers to the work. The wilful opposing of evident truths, the obstinate refusal of all healing means, the carnal maintaining of their own interest, and rejecting all counsels of the prudent and moderate, doth show who it is that befriendeth their usurpation so doth the ground which they have laid for perpetual dissentions, by the horrible schism, which they have caused and continue, making the catholic church a new thing, even the same with the Roman, and proudly calling the whole christian world to own their bishop as their head and governor, and declaring all that refuse it to be out of the catholic church, and resolving upon an everlasting separation from all that cannot so far stoop to them, and so unchurching all the churches of Christ in the world, except their own, and these that make themselves their subjects, and by proclaiming themselves infallible, putting us out of all hopes of a cure of the least of their abuses, injuries, or errors, till the sword cure it, or God open their eyes. All this shows that the devil hath been playing as great a game at Rome (by these pretended St. Peters) of late, as he did by Simon Magus in the beginning: besides all the corruptions in doctrine and worship, which they have introduced, teaching men to pray to and for the dead, to adore the bread and worship it with divine worship, to worship images, to pray to God in a tongue which they understand not, when they might as easily use that which they do understand, maiming the Lord's supper, with too many the like; professing that they can live perfectly, without sin, yea, and meritoriously, and supererogate besides, and lay up a treasury of merits to redeem souls from purgatory: these, and abundance more, show that the prince of darkness hath had too great a hand in ruling their conclave and counsels, and an evil angel hath kept the keys too long of the castle of St. Angelo, or else there had not been such key keepers imposed upon their church.

If yet any question whether the devil hath had a hand in introducing their tyranny and errors, and in laying the foundation of their schism and corruptions, let him but peruse the

histories of one six or seven hundred years before Luther's time, and see how their popes entered, how they reigned, and how they ended. Let but their own writers, Platina, Ciaconius, Stella, and many more, be heard, who will tell you how some of them bought the popedom of the devil, how divers were conjurers, and multitudes horrible adulterers, or murderers. The mere English reader may, in short, take up with what Dr. Prideaux will inform him, from the year six hundred and six till one thousand six hundred and twenty three, and after; that is, from the beginning of Boniface the Third, till near the end of Urban the Eighth.

Thus hath the prince of darkness, Beelzebub, showed us his designs, and led on the armies that have marched against Christ, improving his craft and power, and deluḍing poor souls to be his unhappy instruments to blow out the glorious light of the Gospel, and hinder its efficacy, and disturb and tear in pieces the church, hold those in thraldom that Christ will rescue out of his hands.

And it is not altogether to be passed over, for the further discovery where the kingdom of Satan most consisteth, that the devil had formerly, in the times of popery, incomparably more power among men to appear to them, and haunt their houses and vex them, than now he hath. It is certainly known, that till the reformation, the haunting of houses and apparitions were much more common than now. And, at this day, it is much commoner among the papists than the protestants; I have spoken with old people, very credible for true godliness and honesty, that have professed when they were young, they have lived in such houses with papists, where they were vexed with them frequently day and night. I know, when we ask the papists the reason of this, they say 'It is because Satan will not trouble his own.' But, by that rule, all the Indians and barbarous heathens should not be his own, whom he commonly so troubleth. He will exercise his tyranny, and domineer as far as God restraineth him not and we see he is more restrained with us than with them. Though I know, that as here he hath too many wicked men which are his servants, so he may and doth sometime exercise the like tyranny; but it is not so common as it is with them. The like I may say of witches, which with them have been more numerous, saving that of late so great a number were found in two or three counties here.

The next work of Satan against the church, that we shall mention, is his setting up Mahomet, whose Alcoran was vented

about the time that Pope Boniface the Third obtained of Phocas his universal supremacy, above six hundred years after Christ. It is a doubt among divines, whether the Mahometans should be reckoned infidels or heretics. For they confess, even Mahomet in his Alcoran, that Jesus Christ was a great prophet, that he was the mind of God, the wisdom of God, the word of God, and the Messiah which was foretold in the law, and by the prophets; that he was born of the Virgin Mary, conceived without any earthly father, by divine inspiration; that he was righteous ; that he gave sight to the blind, healed the lame and sick, and raised the dead to life again; that he was taken up into heaven, and shall come again. Thus much of his Gospel God hath forced these multitudes of his enemies to attest.

But then they take up some of the old heresies, and say, that Christ was not crucified, but his image, or one like him, the Jews being deceived. They say, he shall come again on earth, at the end of the world, to confirm the law of Mahomet; the first propagators of the christian faith, they say, were good and holy men; but they would sottishly persuade men, that our books and religion are since corrupted, and that Mahomet's name is wiped out, of whom great matters were there spoken.

Whether we name them heretics or infidels, the matter is not great; but we know that they deny Christ's Godhead, as the Socinians do, being taught it by Sergius, the Arian monk, who was Mahomet's schoolmaster, and the maker of their religion. And though they thus far own Christ absolutely considered, yet, compared with Mahomet, they neglect him; and under pretence of the fore mentioned defection they hate the churches of Christ on earth, and are persecutors and professed enemies to the christian name.

So that a double hand of Satan is apparent in their profession; first, in the framing and founding of it; and secondly, in carrying it on. As he did by the rest of the heretics, so he hath done by them; while they retain and acknowledge some truths, as the unity of the Godhead, &c., they are made instruments of destroying the rest, and of ruining the professors of the true religion. I know Satan could not have procured them their great successes and victories, if God had not permitted or had a hand in it; but our sins had made us ripe for such a judgment. Victories and worldly powers have been the planters and propagators of their faith.

That it is of Satan, and one of his master-pieces in the great war that he hath with Christ, is manifest: