A history of the work of redemption. Containing the outlines of a body of…

That the church of God has always met with great opposition in the world, none can deny. This is plain by profane history as far as that reaches; and before that, divine history gives us the same account. The church of God▪ and its religion and worship▪ began to be opposed in Cain's and Abel's time, and was so when the earth was filled with violence in Noah's time. After this, how was the church opposed in Egypt! and how was the church of Israel always hated by the nations round about, agreeable to that in Jer. xii.9 "Mine heritage is unto me as a speckled bird, the birds round about are against her." After the Babylonish captivity, how was this church persecuted by Antiochus Epiphanes and others! ⟨p. 239⟩and how was Christ persecuted when he was on earth! and how were the apostles and other Christians persecuted by the Jews, before the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans! How violent were that people against the church▪ and how dreadful was the opposition of the Heathen world against the Christian church after this before Constantine! How great was their spite against the true religion! Since that, how yet more violent, and spiteful, and cruel, has been the opposition of Antichrist against the church!

There is no other such instance of opposition. History gives no account of any other body of men that have been so hated, and so maliciously and insatiably pursued and persecuted, nor any thing like it. No other religion ever was so maligned age after age. The nations of other professions have enjoyed their religion in peace and and quietness, however they have differed from their neighbours. One nation has worshipped one sort of gods, and others another, without molesting or disturbing one another about it. All the spite and opposition has been against this religion, which the church of Christ has professed. All other religions have seemed to show an implacable enmity to this; and men have seemed to have, from one age to another, such a spite against it, that they have seemed as though they could never satisfy their cruelty. They put their inventions upon the rack to find out torments that should be cruel enough; and yet, after all, never seemed to be satisfied. Their thirst has never been satisfied with blood.