And therefore,' this
Roman felt (and really it seems as if a spirit of prophecy from God
had come on him), 'something great and glorious will come out of
these wild Germans, while the Romans will rot away and perish in
their sins.' That was true enough. We see it true at this day.
For what happened? That great Roman empire, Babylon the great, as
St. John calls it in the Revelations, perished miserably and
horribly by its own sins; while our forefathers rose and conquered
it all, and live and thrive till this day. But it is curious that
they never throve really, though they made great conquests, and did
many wonderful deeds, till they became Christians: but as soon as
they became Christians, they began to thrive at once, and settled
down, and became that great family of nations, and kingdom of God,
which we call Christendom; England, France, Spain, Italy, Germany,
Sweden, and the other countries of Christian Europe; which God has
so prospered for his Son Jesus Christ's sake, in spite of many sins
and shortcomings, with wealth and numbers, skill, and learning, and
strength, that now the empire of the whole world depends upon these
few small Christian nations, which in our Lord's time were only
tribes of heathen savages: so that here again our Lord's great
parable was fulfilled.
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