But this must be a little cleared. Is God the author of sin ? * God put it into their hearts.' He did not only rule the events, ' but he put it into their hearts,' &c.
I answj^r, the phrases 'of the Scripture are well enough known in this kind. ' God gave them up to a reprobate sense,' Rom. i. 21. The falling of the people from Rehoboam, it is said, * it was of the Lord ; ' and God bade Shimei rail. Divers such phrases there are in the Scripture. How must these be understood ? Thus : not that God doth allow or command any thing that is evil, much less that he doth infuse any evil into men, so that when it is said he put these things into their hearts, here is neither an outward command nor an inward infusion. What is it, then? Here is a finding of them in an evil and sinful estate, and God useth that evil, and mischief, and wickedness that he finds to his own end and purpose ; he infuseth no malice or evil, but finding of it, he useth it to his own particular end and purpose, and makes way and vent for it upon particular occasions. These ten kings, he infuseth no love of superstition into them, but finding them evil, and not as they should be, subjects of his kingdom, and mis- liking his sweet government, it was just with God to give them up to be slaves to the beast, and by consequence to the devil himself, that spake and wrought by the beast. So I say God took away the impediments, and opened a way to their evil disposition. He used their evil disposition to this or that particular thing, even as a workman that finds an ill piece of timber, he makes not the timber ill, but when he finds it ill, he useth it to his own good purpose; and as a man, it is Luther's comparison (d), as a man that moves a horse that is lame, he doth not put lameness into the horse, but useth him to his own purpose being lame, so God, finding these men evil in the general, he directs this ill into particular courses, to w^ork itself this way and not that, in this particular action, not in that. For God, although he be not the author of evil, yet he is the orderer of it ; and he determines and directs it both to the object and also to that end which he pleaseth,
In a word, consider sin in three distinct times : before the commission, in it, and upon the performance. Before, God doth not command it, nor infuse it, but disallow and forbid it. In the sin, he permits it to be done. * That is, ' gift.'— G.
OVER EARTHLY KINGS. 523
How ? By subtracting of his grace in not working, then by offering occa- sions that are good in themselves, and thirdly, by tradition, by giving men up to Satan ; as here the beast is given up to Satan, and the kings are given up to the beast. So that God gives men up by subtraction of his grace, and by tradition ; and then he doth uphold them in the com- mitting of sin, upholds the powers. And when it is done, applies them to this particular, and not to that particular. In the doing of it, he limits it, he sets the bounds of it, both for the time of it, as also for the measure of it, as here in the text, ' Thus long shall the ten kings give up their crowns to the beast, and thus far shall they go, until the time come that the word of God shall be fulfilled.' So he limits sin in the committing of it, both for the measure and also for the time. * The rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the back of the righteous,' Ps. cxxv. 3.
Thus you see the meaning of the words, ' God will put into their hearts ;' that is, by withdrawing of his grace, which they deserved by their sinful courses ; and offering to them this man of sin, this beast, which shall come with such efficacies of error, so that his grace being withdrawn, and they given up to the devil, to Satan and the beast, they shall without doubt be deluded and seduced, but with this limitation, until the time come that the word of God shall be fulfilled.
I might be large in this point, but it is not so suitable to the occasion, only somewhat must be said for the unfolding of the text. So much, there- fore, for that.
' God put into their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree to give up their kingdoms to the beast,'
They agree all unto it ; and therefore it was not a thing done by force. Rome and the heathen emperors did compel men, did overcome men by force of arms. These agree. It was a voluntary and a free act in them. Necessary it was in regard of God's judgment, but it was free and voluntary in regard of themselves ; for with one consent they gave up their kingdoms to the beast.
Thus having unfolded the meaning, we come to observe some truths and conclusions that do arise out of the words. I will not mention all, or the most that might be observed, but only some special.