thefe were all married in the town, and alfo begot and yielded many bad brats, too many to be inferted. But to pafs by this: When the giant had thus ingarrifoned himself in the town of Manfoul, and had put down and fet up whom he thought good, he betakes himfelf to defacing. Now there was in the market-place of Manfoul, and also upon the gates of the castle, an image of the bleffed king SHAD DAI; this image was fo exactly engraven (and it was engraven in gold), that it did the most resemble SHADDAI himfelf, of any thing that then was extant in the world. This he bafely commanded to be defaced, What No-truth and it was bafely done by the hand of Mr. No-truth. Now you must know, that as Diabolus had commanded, and that by the hand of Mr. No-truth, the image of SHADDAI was defaced; he likewife gave order that the fame Mr. No-truth fhould fet up, in it's ftead, the horrid and formidable image of Diabolus; o the great contempt of the former King, and debafing his town of Manfoul. did. All law-books deftroyed that Moreover, Diabolus made havock of all remains of the laws and ftatutes of SHADDAI, ould be found. that could be found in the town of Manfoul; to wit, fuch as contained either doctrines or morals, with all civil and natural documents: alfo relative feverities he fought to extinguith. (a) To be fhort, there was nothing of the remains of good in Manfoul, which he and Will-be-will fought not to deftroy; for their defign (a) When Satan has obtained full poffeffion of the heart, he gradually draws it off from the obfervance of those duties we owe to God and man, as reasonable creatures; fuch as ordinances, public and private prayers, obedience and affection to parents and relatives; and alfo from that important duty, effential to the welfare of our immortal fpirits, SELFEXAMINATION.-Thefe being neglected, the finner becomes at length, by evil courfes, to every good work reprobate, Tit. i. 16. May the Lord ftir us up to use the means of grace, that we may not thus make fhipwreck of faith and a good Conscience! fign was, to turn Manfoul into a brute, and to make it like to the fenfual fow, by the hand of Mr. No-truth. When he had deftroyed what law and good orders he could, then further to effect his defign, namely, to alienate Manfoul from SHAD- The edicts of Diabolus fet up. DAI her king, he commands, and they fet up his own vain edicts, ftatutes, and commandments, in all places of refort or concourfe in Manfoul, 1 John ii. 16, to wit, fuch as gave liberty to "the lufts of the flesh, the lufts of the eyes, and the pride of life, which are not of SHADDAI, but of the world." He encouraged, countenanced, and promoted, lasciviousness and all ungodliness there. Yea, much more did Diabolus to encourage wickednefs in the town of Manfoul; he promised them peace, content, joy, and blifs, in doing his commands, and that they fhould never be called to an account for their not doing the contrary, And let this ferve to give a tafte to them that love to hear of what is done beyond their knowledge, afar off in other countries. (a) : Now Manfoul being wholly at his beck, and brought wholly to his bow, nothing was heard or feen therein but that which tended to fet up him. They have a new lord-may or, and a new But now, he having difabled the LordMayor and Mr. Recorder from bearing any office in Manfoul, and feeing that the town, before he came to it, was the most antient of corporations in the world; and fearing, if he did not maintain greatnefs, they at any time fhould object that recorder. he (a) Mere fpeculative knowledge is hurtful, and often deAtructive, to many fouls.-Be it remembered, that man loft happiness by afpiring to know beyond the bounds of his duty Self-knowledge, i. e. a due fenfe of our wretchedne and wants, is a bleffed means, through grace, of regaining a happier paradife than we loft; fince it leads to the Saviour, who is the fullness of every defireable bleffing. Hence, the moft profitable science is, to know the only true God, and Jefus Chrift whom he hath fent: this is eternal life, Joha xvii. 3. May we fo run, as to obtain the glorious prize he had done them an injury; therefore, I fay (that they might fee that he did not intend to leffen their grandeur, or to take from them any of their advantageous things), he did chufe for them a lord-mayor and a recorder to himself; and such as contented them to the heart, and fuch also as pleased him wonderous well, The new lord mayor. The name of the mayor that was of Diabolus's making, was the lord Luftings. A man that had neither eyes nor ears; all that he did, whether as a man or an officer, he did it naturally as doth the beast; (a) and that which made him yet more ignoble, though not to Manfoul, yet to them that beheld, and were grieved for it's ruin, was, that he could never favour good, but evil. The new reorder. 1 The recorder was one whofe name was Forget-good; and a very forry fellow he was; he could remember nothing but mischief, and to do it with delight. (6) He was naturally prone to de things that are hurtful; even hurtful to the town of Manfoul, and to all the dwellers there. These two, therefore, by their power and practice, examples, and fmiles upon evil, did much more mischief, and settled the common people in hurtful ways; for who doth not perceive, that (a) A fhocking, but true picture of every man by the fall! a compound of devilifh and beaftly lufts and appetites. If we look around, we may fee that irregular aims and defires deluge the world. Moft men havé no higher object or pur fuit than the narrow limits of this vain, perishing world, and are therefore led captive by Satan at his will. Thus it will be, till fovereign grace effects a change; for at that happy period, a new world arifes in the regenerate foul, But they who live and die flaves to their lufts and paffions, must perifh everlastingly; fo reafon and fcripture evince, "If ye live after the flesh, ye fhall die," Rom. vii. 13. (6) Ever fince the fall, the memory is become fo depraved, that it naturally retains evil, but lets flip that which is good; and the imagination is more apt to be taken with the former, than with the latter: be it therefore our daily prayer for a fan&tified memory to retain divine things, and that we may grow up in the knowledge, belief, and love of the truth, that when those that fit aloft are vile and corrupt themfelves, they corrupt the whole region and country where they are. (a) He doth make them new al dermen. Befides thefe, Diabolus made feveral burgeffes and aldermen in Manfoul; fuch as out of whom the town, when it needed, might chuse them officers, governors, and magiftrates; and these are the names of the chief of them: Mr. Incredulity, Mr. Haughty, Mr. Swearing, Mr. Whoring, Mr. Hard-heart, Mr. Pitilefs, Mr. Fury, Mr. No-truth, Mr. Stand-tolyes, Mr. Falfe-peace, Mr. Drunkenness, Mr. Cheating, Mr. Atheism; thirteen in all. Mr. Incredulity is the eldeft, and Mr. Atheism the youngest of the company. There was alfo an election of common-council-men, and others as bailiff, ferjeants, conftables, &c. but all of them, like thofe afore-named, being either fathers, brothers, cousins, or nephews, to them, whose names, for brevity-fake, I omit to mention. He buildeth holds. When the giant had thus far proceeded in three ftrong his work, in the next place he betook him to build fome ftrong holds in the town; and he built three that seemed to be impregnable. The first he called the hold of Defiance, because it was made to command the whole town, and to keep it from the knowledge of it's ancient King. The fecond he called Midnight hold, because it was built on purpose to keep Manfoul from the true knowledge of itself. The third was called Sweet (a) Attend to the following friendly cautions and admoni "Chrift purg'd his temple: fo must thou thy heart. HERBERT. Sweet-fin-hold, because by that he fortified Manfoul against all defires of good. The firft of thefe holds ftood close by Eye-gate, that the light might as much as poffible be darkened there. The fecond was built hard by the old castle, to the end that that might be made more blind, if poffible. And the third Itood in the (a) marketplace. He that Diabolus made governor over the first of these, was one Spite-God, a moft blafphemous wretch. He came with the whole rabble of them that came against Manfoul at first, and was himself one of themselves. He that was made the governor of Midnight hold was one Love-no-light, he was alfo one of them that came first against the town. And he that was made the governor of the hold called Sweet-fin-hold, was one whose name was Love-flesh; he was also a very lewd fellow, but_not of that country from whence the others are bound. This fellow could find more sweetness when he was fucking a luft, than he did in the Paradife of God. (b) Diabolus has And now Diabolus thought himself safe; made his neft. he had taken Manfoul; he had ingarrifoned himfelf therein; he had put down the old officers, and fet up new ones; he had defaced the image of SHADDAI, and had fet up his own; he had spoiled the old law-books, and had promoted his own vain lyes; he had made him new magiftrates, and fet up new aldermen; he had built his (a) Thus Satan fixes his empire in the foul: 1. by means of it's enmity and averfenefs to divine inftruction; 2. by the blindness of the understanding, and perverfenefs of the will, whereby the knowledge of it's lanentable ftate, and of God, are concealed; and, 3. by a habit and delight in fin, rolling it as a fweet morfel under the tongue; all which, if grace prevent not, drown men in destruction and perdition. (6) The language of the depraved fenfualift's heart is, Depart from me, O God, I defire not the knowledge of thy ways:" let others take Chrift and heaven; pleasures and hell fhall be my portion." Evil, be thou my good.". MILTON. |