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of the mysbery of iniquityp which \n the spirit out of the mouth of the dragon, whereof we are to expect the revival and Roinj? forth ujpin under the sixth rial of wrath, immediately before the day of the ird When we say that ibe arhilrartne*!* of umvcr*al and absolute governnieat was permitted of God, in order to quicken the desire of his ctiurch atlcr the great Tledeenier, we do not mean that \m church was permitted to grumble or complvn, tnuoh iesA to roBist or attempt the overthrow of any power, however arhiirory and violent; for this would Imvc been to tVjmcDt qum-rcls. and set on foot strugglen, aixl embroil the church in endless •trifo with the world, and bring in pi^rpctual ■nxJety about her present condition : whereas the *nd hi Tiew was to place her undci iho necessary condition of tuffering and bearing, without any expectation of deliverance*, until the Son and Heir of all power should he brought in to po^scs^ bis ttwu. Moreover, with all il» burden ami opprea- iion, the institution of a regular arbitrary gorem* ment, over th«t portion of the earth where the church did Chiefly take root, was truly a groat blessing, as Peter in hia First Epistle doth argtie; wa^ A Divine institution for good, as Paul, in lit EpiFitte to the Romans, absolutely asserteth ; and 1 may add, w;es a >;taudin^ type and emblem ofthe universal andautocratic monarchy of Christ, ■} So that, on every account, it was right worthy to/ be obeyed, though ever and anon raging u^th brutal invtincl of oppression againat the saints of God. And most worthy is it of all obsorvation, thai no where did the church take permanent root, save within the bounds of that region of tiic earth which the four monarchies successive ly possessed ; a filct which well proveth that regular and permanent governnteiit, howevt-r opprvvsivc. is infinitely more ftiTourabIc to religion than the changing and fluc- tuating humours cf popular commouwcalths, or the successive waves of foreign conquest. Vet, though TU£ THtlLZ UNCLEAR AI'lUtT?). 867 m^ Satan in thii, as ta all thingK elf»e, ^va» oittwiiicd and overruled ior good to tbe cliurcb, 1 argue not tbe leB$ that tlie church was intended at the first to have the rule wiibiu herself, yc& and orcr the world, aa Ood manifested by giving the victory to Abrabam over Chcdcrlaonwr, who evidently lusted after absolute rule. And thiti continued till tl»e oppression of Kgy|>t \ frum wliieb, whcu the cburch was delivered, and reconfltituted at Sinai, she was presented with a form of powercmanatiug from, and rest