which, with a profusion of incense, he offers up the prayers of the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense ascended with the prayers of the saints before God. It has been remarked, that the silence here recorded alludes not only to an historical calm previous to a tempest, but to the silence which prevailed in the temple at the time of offering incense before the Morning, and after the Evening Sacrifice, which took up half an hour. While the sacrifice was offering the temple resounded with trumpets, and other musical instruments'. This, as Newton observes, was the morning of the Church; and therefore silence precedes the sounding of the trumpets. The prayers of the saints, which are expressly declared to be signified under the emblem of incense, confirming the assertion of David, "My prayer shall ascend in thy sight as the incense," appear to have been accepted by God. They may be the same prayers as were before alluded to for retribution on the empire for Christian blood which had been flowing for so many years, and which, (as the time was now arrived,) were at length answered. At least they seem to be followed by the denunciations of speedy judgment, for the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar, and cast it on the earth;

1 2 Chron. xxix. 25—28.

and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and a concussion of the earth.

Mede explains the voices and thunderings as referring to the oracle of God, which was called BATH KOL, and in which responses were given to his ancient people, with thunderings and lightnings. The earthquake alludes to the commotion of the empire under the irruption of the barbarians. Newton quotes Ezekiel, x. 2. where he describes coals of fire taken from between the cherubim and scattered over Jerusalem, as denoting the judgments of God to be executed on that city.

"And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound."

These seven angels may be, according to the ancient tradition of the Jews, the seven archangels which stand in the presence of God. There is certainly an allusion to seven ministers, or overseers of the Almighty, who are called ' "The seven who are the eyes of the Lord, who run to and fro through the whole earth," and are again described in the Apocalypse, (v. 6.) as the seven eyes of the Lamb, which are there explained to be "the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth;" so closely is the Lamb connected with the Father and the Holy Ghost. Whether this conjecture be true or not,

1 Zach. iv. 20.

the office of these ministers of the Lord is here pointed out as presiding over the various disastrous events which were to destroy the great Roman empire, and to change the face of the world. They blew in succession those trumpets which called forth different hostile nations to invade its provinces and to effectuate its ruin. The sound of the trumpet, as Jeremiah says, is the alarm of war.

Before we proceed to contemplate the effects of these seven trumpets it will be proper to observe, and explain the figurative language in which those effects are described.

The Roman community, as Mede justly remarks, is assimilated to the system of the world, whose parts are the earth, the sea, rivers, heaven, and the stars. The earth is the groundwork or basis on which the whole political structure rests, and seems to imply, the people who are the subjects of empire. The sea is the external part, which envelopes the earth, and forms the amplitude or extent of dominion. In this sense it may properly signify the inhabitants of those countries which form the boundary of the empire, or in another sense, and equally appropriate to the subject, it may be applied to the nation at large, comprehended within the communion of the same general laws. The political

rivers, like natural rivers, derive their origin from the sea, and return to it again; such are provincial magistrates, and other administrators of government, while the provinces themselves are the channels of those rivers. The sun, moon, and stars, represent the different dignities in the heaven of supreme power, from the highest sovereign to the lowest prince or ruler in the state. Such an analogy is not only consistent with oriental forms and figures of speech, but may be confirmed by a reference to the prophetic writings. With respect to the third part of these several members of the political system, which was affected by the different plagues, I agree with Mede and Newton, that it may be properly explained as the bounds of the Roman empire, which at that time extended over a third part of the known world.

This may be proved, not only by a reference to history, but by a passage which occurs afterwards in the Apocalypse, where it is said, (chap. xii. 4.) "that the seven-headed, ten-horned dragon, or the heathen Roman empire, drew a third part of the stars of heaven with his tail, and cast them to the earth; that is, it subjected a third part of the princes and powers of the world to its dominion.

These observations premised, we may proceed in the course of Apocalyptical events.

"And the first angel sounded, and there came hail, and fire mingled with blood, and it was cast upon the earth, and a third part of the trees were burned up, and every green herb was burned up."

The final overthrow of the Roman heathen idolatry being accomplished at the end of the sixth seal, the first trumpet of the seventh seal brings a storm of hail, mingled with fire and blood, upon the empire, by the hostile invasion and irruption of the barbarians upon its various provinces. This took place soon after the death of Theodosius the Great, in the year 395. The first trumpet, perhaps, principally refers to the depredations of the Goths and various other nations, under Alaric, who, after ravaging Greece and Italy, besieged Rome, and though bought off at an extravagant price, returned and took it in 410. The image of hail, as descriptive of a hostile invasion, may be proved by a reference to Isaiah, xxviii. 2. "Behold a strong and mighty one from the Lord (he alludes to Salmanasar,) as a tempest of hail, and a whirlwind of destruction, as a flood of many waters overflowing, he shall cast down mightily on the earth.” Also xxx. 30. "And the Lord shall cause His glorious voice to be heard, and shall shew the descent of His arm in the indignation of His anger, and in the flame of a consuming fire, and in dispersion, and tempest, and hailstones." Fire

F