unerring direction of the Spirit, fays, that the name and the glory of the Lord, fhall be revered from the weft to the eaft. Here the Deliverer of his church, is represented as taking vengeance on the ifles, for all that they have done againft her. And, as in these European or weftern ifles, he will appear for her falvation; fo from thence fhall his renowned name be spread, and his glory reach as to the rifing of the fun. Having appeared in his awful judgments in the isles, the west, what more natural than that they should fear his name from thence? and that there the latter-day glory fhould begin to fhine? It is the opinion of an eminent divine *; that the gospel will never be totally taken from these western parts of the world. For, as he fays, It has borne up its head for many ages within the fcent of Rome, in thofe of Piedmont, notwithstanding all endeavours to extinguifh it.' He mentions an obfervation of a Jewish writer, that though fome of the lamps in the temple went out in the night, yet the western lamp was always found burning. The lamps, according to him, were representations of the gofpel; and therefore this might fignify the perpetuity of the gospel, in the western parts of the world, when we fee it is extinguished, or at leaft, burning very dim, in moft of the eastern parts. . Be that as it will, the prophet exprefly fays, They shall fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rifing of the fun. And it is obvious, that this extenfive fpread of true and #Charnock's works, Vol. II. p. 710. undefiled religion, is mentioned as the confequence of the Redeemer's appearance in behalf of his church and caufe, well-nigh given up as loft. To the iflands he will repay recompence. So Shall they, taught by divine judgments, fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rifing of the fun. But, if they shall thus fear the name of the Lord; how is it that the enemy shall come in like a flood? If Meffiah fhall be had in honour over all the earth, whence fhall the deftructive enemy arife? One would think, that at fuch a happy period, there fhall be nothing to hurt or to deftroy. To this we would anfwer; that these words, When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord fhall lift up a standard against him, may be confidered as a short summary of all that was faid from the beginning of the chapter: for, from thence to the 15th verfe, we read of the enemy coming in like a flood, and overflowing all banks. From the 15th to the 19th, we read of the Lord going forth as a man of war, to take vengeance on the enemy, who had come in. We fee him going forth as to battle, armed with his breastplate, and his helmet; clothed with the garments of vengeance, and the cloke of zeal. And hence it might juftly be said, in military style, The Spirit of the Lord fhall lift up a standard. By fupplying the word thus, to the last member of the 19th verfe, the whole matter is moft intelligible; So fhall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rifing of the fun: THUS, when the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord fhall lift up a standard against him. Taking things in this view, the enemy mentioned in our text, is precifely the fame with the adverfaries and the enemies in the preceding verse. When the earth fhall be filled with violence; when the man of fin, that wicked one, shall exalt himfelf higher and higher; when the state of the churches fhall be very low, and every thing portending the deftruction of the Chriftian interest, then the Spirit of the Lord fhall lift up a standard. Messiah, on whom is the Spirit of the Lord, Shall fmite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall the word is, Ifa. xi. 4. Zion the Deliverer, and from Jacob. he flay the wicked one, as And there fhall come out of hall turn away ungodliness The judicious will fee the beauty of the paffage confidered in this point of view, as including the deftruction of Antichrift, together with the converfion of the Jews, to which the words following my text do undoubtedly refer. I know the learned Vitringa, already mentioned, underftands the enemy in my text of the Ottoman Turks, the Tartars, the Scythians, and others, who fhall be, ftirred up by Satan, when let loofe to deceive the nations, after his thousand years imprisonment, Rev. XX. 8,9. Thus he, with fome of the Jewish Rabbies, whom he quotes, thinks that Gog and Magog, are meant by the enemy coming in like a flood. It is faid in that twentieth of the Revelation, That the devil shall go out to gather them together to battle; the number of whom is as the fand of the fea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the faints about: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. But though here we have the enemy on the one hand, coming in like a flood, coming up on the face of the earth, and compaffing the camp of the faints; and the Spirit of the Lord difplaying a standard on the other, fire defcending from heaven, and devouring the adverfaries; yet I am inclined to think, that my text refers to fome period prior to the Millennium, rather than to any after it: at leaft, according to the line of the prophecy, it ftands intimately connected with the converfion of the Jews. But to whatever period we refer it, the truth it contains is glorious and comfortable; and has, in all ages, been accomplished in greater or in lefs degree, viz. that when the enemy has come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord has lifted up a ftandard against him. In the text, as in a field of battle, we fee two oppofite parties drawn up: on the one fide, the enemy; on the other, the Spirit of the Lord, the Spirit of Jehovah, as the original hath it: the enemy coming in like an overflowing flood, and the Spirit of Jehovah displaying a standard against · him. What a folemn fight! It furely demands To fee the haughty foe taking the field, and the mighty God going forth to refift him. The one rolling like the Euphrates; the other lifting up a standard, stretching forth a rod, to flem the roaring torrent. In feeing fuch a ftriking fpectacle, we cannot but feel ourfelves. interefted; we muft take a fide, and each of us, all our attention. either be with the enemy, or be animated with the Spirit of the Lord. In further difcourfing on this fubject, I propose, as the God of all grace may be pleased to affift, I. To fhew who is the enemy. II. What may be meant by his coming in like a III. What by the Spirit of the Lord lifting up a IV. Illuftrate and confirm the propofition in the Shewing that the POPE of ROME is the Enemy. THE HE firft part of our general divifion is, to fhow who is the enemy. On this part of our fubject, we shall evince, that the devil, the feed of the ferpent, and Antichrift is the enemy. 1. The devil is the original, the principal, and the implacable enemy. He is the enemy of God and man, of Chrift and his church. In all the glory of innocence he once was wrapt, and on an angelic throne he fat: but he kept not his first eftate. Son of the morning as he was, and fhining among the other morning ftars, he foon fell from |