But take a wider range, and look at the great facts of European history. At the Lateran Council in 1513, after all the so-called heretics had been silenced or burned, it was proclaimed, ‘No one now opposes, no one now objects,’ and then the orator addressing the Pope said, ‘The whole body of Christendom is now subjugated to one head, even to thee.’ But it is calculated that there are now more than 95,000,000 Protestants in Europe, and 67,000,000 members of the Greek Church, making together 162,000,000 who reject the Pope’s authority, against 157,000,000 who profess to submit to it. Putting all these facts together, I may ask any reasonable man, any one who looks at great facts instead of minute details, Is there not reason to believe that the consumption has begun? What else is it that has taken away his dominions, broken up his concordats, overturned his throne, stripped him of his property, and above all has set 95,000,000 in Europe alone free from his yoke? What else is it but the fulfilment of the prophecy, ‘Whom the Lord shall consume with the Spirit of His mouth,’ preparatory to the time when He shall ‘destroy him with the brightness of His coming?’ Now there are many lessons that we might learn if we had but time from this subject; _e.g._, I might well spend all the time that remains in pressing on you the importance of keeping clear of all alliance with Rome. If God is consuming her, God’s people must have nothing to do with her either in politics or religion, for if they do, they will find themselves drawn into the vortex into which she must infallibly sink. The message to them is, ‘Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.’ But this is not my point in this lecture. I am anxious rather that we should look on the whole subject as an encouragement to faith. Surely some amongst us are too fainthearted about the truth. It really seems as if they could trust the Lord Jesus for their own souls, but not for His church, or for His truth: as if they had forgotten the text, ‘Are not thine eyes upon the truth?’ They value their Bible, and are ready to contend for it even unto the death; but still, they do not above half believe it. They are ready to go forth to battle, but they are not ready to begin, like Jehoshaphat, with the hymn, ‘Praise the Lord!’ They would rather chant some plaintive lament, and go into the battle with the doleful expectation of defeat. But this is not faith. This is not trust in the Lord Jesus. Ah! but one says he cannot rely on government, and another that he does not trust in bishops. But what has this to do with it? No one asks you to trust in rulers either in Church or State, for the Scripture says, ‘Put not your trust in princes.’ What we ask you to do is to trust the Lord Jesus Christ at the right hand of God. Trust Him, and all will be right, though all other objects of trust fail you.