First, In matters of Doctrine, there he increaseth lies, 1having forsaken once the Truth: if the truth be once forsaken, men do not know whither they shall go: Grant but one error (we use to say) a thousand will follow, and 2they will multiply abundantly, especially some errors, there are some such breeding lies as if they be granted, there must be a great many others to maintain them. Never was there such an increase of false Doctrine, of lies in that sense, as there is at this day, in Revel. 12. 15. the 3text saith, that when the Dragon could not prevail against the Church, against the woman, by bloody persecutions, (for that's the meaning of it) then saith the text the Dragon cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the floo[…] this was the policy of the Devil, first labouring by violence to prevail against the Church, but that he could not do, and when he could not do that, then he cast w• ter out of his mouth like a flood, that it, as Interpre[…] observe, he did labour by a deluge of error and her […] 4undo the Church, when he could not do it by open violence: Truly this Scripture is even fulfilled, concerning us this very day, the Lord hath been pleased to curb the ⟨p. 205⟩5Dragon in this sense, and those that were instruments of the Dragon in open and violent pierce[…]cution, so that they cannot persecute the Truths as they were wont to do; now this is the way of the Devil, this Dragon he sends out of his mouth a flood of Errors and Heresies after the Truth, after the Church, labouring to swallow up all by this flood; and certainly we are in a great deal of danger at this day in this respect, there is a flood and deluge of such things, of all sorts almost of old errors that ever were, and many of them extreme dangerous, and men are serviceable to the Dragon in this thing more than 6they are aware of, Oh! that we could but see the subtlety of Satan in this, in the continual increasing of lies, for these four or five years there hath been such an increase as it could never have been thought;
First, In matters of Doctrine, there he encreaseth lyes, 1having forsaken once the Truth: if the truth be once forsaken, men do not know whither they shall go: Grant but one error (we use to say) a thousand will follow, and 2they will multiply abundantly, especially some errors, there are some such breeding lyes as if they be granted, there must be a great many others to maintain them. Never was there such an encrease of false Doctrine, of lyes in that sense, as there is at this day, in Revel. 12. 15. the 3text saith, that when the Dragon could not prevail against the Church, against the woman, by bloody persecutions, (for that's the meaning of it) then saith the text the Dragon cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the floo〈…〉 this was the policie of the Devil, first laboring by violence to prevail against the Church, but that he could not do, and when he could not do that, then he cast w• ter out of his mouth like a flood, that it, as Interpre〈…〉 observe, he did labor by a deluge of error and her 〈…〉 4undo the Church, when he could not do it by open violence: Truly this Scripture is even fulfilled, concerning us this very day, the Lord hath been pleased to curb the ⟨p. 205⟩5Dragon in this sense, and those that were instruments of the Dragon in open and violent perse〈…〉cution, so that they cannot persecute the Truths as they were wont to do; now this is the way of the Devil, this Dragon he sends out of his mouth a flood of Errors and Heresies after the Truth, after the Church, laboring to swallow up all by this flood; and certainly we are in a great deal of danger at this day in this respect, there is a flood and deluge of such things, of all sorts almost of old errors that ever were, and many of them extream dangerous, and men are serviceable to the Dragon in this thing more than 6
- 11. Lies in Doctrine.1. Lyes in Doctrine.
- 2Uno absurdo dato mille sequuntur.Vno absurdo dato mille sequuntur.
- 3These times.
- 4Rev. 12. 5. enlightened.Rev. 12. 5. enlightned.
- 5England.
- 6Let Novelists mark.
