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tiehtt executing the &Inn commission, What peace-ethere
cannot be true peace, there cannot be real peace ; there may
be a treacherous peace, there may be a false pretence of
Peace " to long as the whoredonis of thy mother. Jezebel
and her witchcrafts are so many." Here then is the history.
The application of it in the New Testament that I alluded to
is remarkable, and I wish to take it briefly in passing
Isdore, I show you the application of all this to the papacy.
We are authorized by a passage in the New Testainent,
wherever we find such features as those described in the
character of this woman Jezebel, there to apply the name of
Jezebel:- I will read a message from the Lord Jesus Christ to
the church of Thyatira, and We find in it these words.:—
" And unto the angelof the church in Thyatira write : these
things saith thes-Son of God, who bath his eyes like unto a
name of fire, and his. feet are like fine brass : I know thy
'Works and charity and service and faith, widths, patience and
thy works: and the last to be more than the first. Notwith-
-standing I have 'a few things against thee because thou
'merest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a
prophetess, to teach and to seduce my. servants. to commit
,
fornication, and 'to eat thins sacrificed unto idols,"
"I have sornewhotagaiust you," says the Lord God, ". be-
taus° you sufler that woman Jezebel, becatise you could bear
-her with complacency, although she seduces my people to
-commitefornieation, and to eat things . sacrificed to' idols ;
litre sonaewhat against you, saith the Lord God, because you
have so little- feeling of the honour due to me that you can
sit quietly andalirregaed the idolatries of that woman Jezebel."
(Hear.) You see there that the evils existing in the Church
of Thyatira, bore the aspect of idolatry, and the Lord himself
called the promoter of them by the name of Jezebel. If then I
can. discern those same features in any existing system I have
the warrant of the New Testament for applying the very
name, as well as the character of Jezebel to that system.
(Hear, hear.) Let us, then, try.this system. The first fea- •
true in the scriptural history and character of Jezebel was
her heathen idolatry. Now, my lord, lam quite aware of
the comparative wantof interest that always attends, and must
attend, written documents ; at the same time it is absolutely
necessary, if sound information is to be propagated in the
country, we should get it out of authentic sources—not con •
fining ourselves to our own observations, hut referring our
hearers to sources whence they can supply themselves. I
have here a work. of the celebrated Joseph Mede, entitled,
"The Apostacy of the Last Times." From that work, under
the head of Demonology, I will read the account he gives to
us of the heathen mode ofidolatry, and the parallel he points
out between it and Popery. (Hear, hear.) " Demons in
the Gentile theology were an inferior sort of deified powers,
as a middle between the sovereign gods and mortal men."
So says Plato—(in Symposio) so say all the Platonists, and
well might all the other sects of philosophers. lam sure the
most do for it is a very antient doctrine, insomuch that Plu-
tarch fetcheth this distinction between sovereign gods and
' demons, as far as the antiquity of Zoroaster, "they (says he)
seem to me to have solved great and difficult doubts,- who
have placed the demons between the gods and men; and found
out what in some sort uniteth and joine' us with, them..
,Whether this be the doctrine of the Magi and Zo-
roaster, .or the Thracian. doctrine, derived from Or-
pheus, or the Egyptian or Phrygian," am (p. 11:)'
Again, Plato saith in -his 4iinposiinu, " God, is not ap-
proacheet by neenehut ell 'commerce and intercourse between;
gods and men is performed by the 'mediation a demons."
yoit Wish to see in what particulars? Demons," saith
he, " are reporters and carriers from men to the god!, and
again from the gods to men, of the supplications and prayers
of the one, and of the injunctions and rewards of devotion
from the other." And Appuleius, in the place forequoted
(his treatise concerning the demon of Socrates), describes
them thus :—" Demons are middle powers, by whom both
our desires and merits pass unto the gods • they are carriers
between coon on earth and the gods •in heaven ; from hence
of prayers, from thence of gifts : they bring to and fro ; from
hence petitions, thence supplies.: or they arc certain inter-
preters on both sides, and conveyers of recommendations ;"
" for," said' he, " it beseems not the majesty of the sove-
reign gods to manage these things themselves." Whence it
is that Cetera. in Origen• terms his demons " the peers, pre-
sidents, wants, and officers of the Most High God,
who, bei eglected, can do so much hurt as the peers and
officers of the Persian or Roman kings." (page 13.) Then
there is an account of• what the heathens held concerning
demons ;—but, what were these demons ? I come now unto
another part of this doctrine, which concerns the original of
-,:deinons, whom you shall find to be the souls of men deified
qfter death, for the canonising of the souls of deceased wor-
thies is not now first devised among Christians, but was an
idolatrous trick even from the days of the elder world; so
that the devil, when he brought in this apostatical doctrine
among Christians, swerved but little from his ancient me-
thod of seducing mankind. Let Heaiod speak in the first
Pieces as being of the most known the most ancient. He
tells us, that " when those happy men of the first and golden
age of the world were departed this life, the great Jupiter
promoted them to be demone; Ahat is, keepers and protec-
tors or patrons of earthly mortals, and overseers of their
good 'and evil works, givers of riches," &c. The same Plato
would have all those who die valiantly in the field to be
" accounted of the golden kind," and to be made demons,
and the oracles to he consulted how they should be buried
`a-7'stl honoured, arid accordingly ever afterwards-their sepul-
, ehren to-be served and adored as the sepulchres of demons ;
in Illie;snantier should be done unto all who in their lifetime
excelled' in vittue, whether they died through age or other-
wise. ThisSallan Eusebius quotes, to parallel with it the
then _hartalesai practice of Christians in honouring the me-
mory of martyrs, by holding their assemblies at their sepul.
chres, to the end that he -might show the Gentiles that
Christians also honoured their worthies in the worthiest
fashion. But it had been well if, in the' next ages
after, thia custom of Christians (then but resembling) had
not promisthe very same " doctrine of demons " which
the Geritlia4 nractised. * * * *
Philo Byblius out of the Phoenician history saith, concerning
the Baalims which arc mentioned in Scripture, Bard Belus
whose worship Jezebel, the daughter of Ithobaal, King of
Tyre, brought into Israel, was a deified Phoenician, King of
that name, as Virgil will tell us, in the verse concerning the
Phoenician queen Dido—
" Implevitque mero pateram quern Belus et omnes
" A Belo soliti."
Nay, Baal, or in the Chaldee dialeet, Bel, (for all in one,)
was the first King of Babel, after iiiinrod. And as it is
written (Eusebi. Chron„) ,that he was deified, and reputed
a God after death, whence afterwards they called all other
demons Baalim, even as because the first Roman emperor
was called Caesar, thence were all the emperors after him
styled Caesars. * * * * * . So we see here,
that the Babylonians and the neighbouring countries, which
spoke the Hebrew tongue, or some dialect thereof, called
all demons Baalim, from the first demon, -or deified King, in
the world, Baal or ktelus, from the time when Belus lived in
Babel. Phoenicia with the neighbouring people, was under
the kingdom of Babel, whence may seem also to have come
their community of language and ceremonies. Arid here
note a wonderful frilatery3;-ttote aid ttabtlitto acct patrt,i,
Me world, of ambitious diaiiiirTiOin was also the foundress of
idols and the mother of-the fornications and abominations
of the earth. But that we may return again more close to
the matter iii hand, this order of demons or soul gods, as I
may call them, found place in the regions of the elder
Romans, who called theirs Penates, Lases,' and Manii Dii,
and %lieu once they began to canonize their deceased
emperors, which was from the time of Augustus, they called
them din or-gods, which before that time was more general.
Tully, in Its' second book concerning laws, shall be my
witness tifithis countrymen acknowledged this distinction
of sovereikir goda, and soul deified power, for then you
find this law.' "Let them worship the gods, hoth those
who were ever anointed celestial, and those whom their own
haVeadvanced to heaven." And again, "Let the rites of
separate souls be kept inviolable, and let them account the de-
ceased worthies as Gods." Would to God the present Chrit-
tian Romans- had not renewed this law. * * * * But
lest I might seem to have no measure in raking this Ethnical
dunghill, I will now leave the theology of the original of de-
mons, and show •you yet another piece -of that doctrine,
namely, concerning the manner how demons were to be wor-
shipped, and as it were brought to the lure of men when they
. had occasion of devotion with them, and this was done by
consecration of images. This you shall hear from an an-
cient author, and passing skilful in the mysteries—even
Hermes Trisgemistus, who, in his Asclepius, speaketh in
English thus :—" It is a wonder (saith he) beyond all won-
. ders (and he saith truly) that man should find out a way to
make 'Gods ; yet, because (saith he) our forefathers erred
much through unbelief, and had small regard to religion and
divine worship,- therefore they divined an art to make Gods,
(he meaneth images) and because they could not make souls
(he means to their senseless bodies) therefore they called the
'souls of demons and angels, and put them into their
images and holy mysteries, by which means alone these images
have power of helping and hurting; which, thus incorporated,
he saith, are called by the Egyptians holy animals" And in
. another place :—" That kind of Gods (saith he) which men
melee is composed of two natures—of a divine, which is first
and more sacred ; and of that which is amongst men, namely,
the matter whereof they are made." The sum of all this
Inastery is, that images were made as bodies, .to be informed
with demons as with souls, for an image was a trap to catch
demons, and a device to tie them to a place, and to keep them
from flitting. The like also hath Eusebius out of Porphyry,
that the Gods did exceedingly delight in consecrated images,
' and were circumscribed and enclosed therein as in a sacred
place, and the image being taken away, that is, dissolved,
which detaineth the duty upon earth. * * * * Hence
came that answer or defence of the Gentiles as Arnebins
snakes them speak—" We do not think brass and gold and
ailver and other metals of images to be Of themselves Gods
slid holy powerS, but in them we worship and reverence the
• ads b!etight into these images by sacred dedication, and
iLeePing theie residence there." And in another place he
makes this objection for their behalf—" But you say, per-
' Hans the deities present themselves unto you in some sort
'trader the images, and because the Gods cannot be seen they
are thus worshipped and have religious service don them. !
And thus have we seen the ground of the idolatrous use of
l ars' and found
that the worshipOf them also is a doctrine
9 mous ; for as at first they were ordained for demoua,
, Whatever deity is wershipped in this manner, though it
werethe tree arid sovereign God, ia thereby made e demon.
And thus you have seen the theology of alemoos ; lst, for
their return arid degree to have been supposed by the Gen-
"les, an inferior and middle sort of divine powers between
the sovereign and heavenly Gods and mortal men ; 2nd, their
(Lftice to be as mediators and agents between those sovereign
Gods and men ; 3rd, theiroeigihal to be the deified souls of
worthy men after death.; * * * 4.h, the way to worship
them, to find and receive Benefits from them, namely, by
consecrating images and pillars,ewherein to have and retain
their presence, at devotions to be given them ; sth, to adore
their relies and to temple them. Now, this is remarkable,
as tracing to the same origin of Baal, the idolatry of the
Zidonians, and the idolatry of Jezebel into Israel. He pro-
7,;tteed,4- Now, therefore, judge impartially, whether St.
NN,LL'''' Prophecy be not fulfilled already amongst Christiana:
Who foretold that the time should come when they should
:ause and revive again the " doctrines of demons,"
whether the deifying and worshipping of saints and angels,
Whether the bowing down to images, whether of men or
Other things, visible broaden idols and crosses, like new
sslnon pillars, whether the adoring or templing of relics;
illieo't.,her these make not as hvely an image of the Gentiles'
whether demons as. possibly could be expressed . and
these two words comprehend not the whole pith and
near •
"
si of Christian apostasy, which was to consist in spin:
fernieation or idolatry, as appears revelation. name and
uationsination given by St. John, in his The
Whore of
whore she not rightiv termed the Babylonish
oy on, is • -
derek which bath revived and replanted the doctrines' of
°fts first founded in the antient Babel. This makeS the
parallelver '
more striking. There is much more than this that
esvouldY instructive, but I am sorry I can read so little. I
„s , however, Strongly recommend my reverend brethren
En'utiPyuhteabl themselves in
• shall co possession of this little book, that they
eto give to others the information contains. I
is ,_
.0 nttne myself under this head, to one quotation more ;
_show the inveteracy of idolatry, when once intro-
he'lre c: into a professing church. (Hear, hear.) We may
Cr Messes house,
the idolatry of Jezebel„ so long as she lived in
hartelesses house, among the Zidonians, was comparatively,
and she but when she was married to the churcloof God,
dist;
saL :btained influence in Israel, then her idolatry was
eeCt (Loud cries of " Hear, hear.") Mede says—
under heaven "der re
[kirks, Tartars, or any other unbelieving nation
, unto thy Lord and Saviour ? Are they notall
olio aen theto him,
so that and he to them ? But as for thee, he had
thou
out of many nations to espouse thee to himself;
are thine mayest say with Israel."—lSa. 63, 19:)—" We
..; -but as for them, thou never bearett rule over
.;„,,, grey were not palled by thy name." " But to thee'
likto.a.cot,e wcfrds of Ezekiel) he swore an oath, and entered
called, a .dnant with thee, and them becamest his, and wert
withivaar wilt still be called by tiffs name.' Thee he washed
6r thY birth,
thoroughly washed thee from the pollution
with
gold
al,dand anointed thee with oil. Thou wart decked
and 'vol. -silver, and thy raiment was of fine linen and
aivr4,
_,
and idered work ; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey,
'.111111do.! welt exceeding, beautiful, and didst prosper unto
I'l thy reP9wlt went forth among tin heathen.