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Wh shul. no fear thee. O Lord, and magnify to thou only ar: not. For all nations shall ro. 1, and who.. ndor: a. the sph because thy judgments

By the arc of plan is meant, as before explained, the firmament that makes the floor of heaven; which here as said to he mumpire anti fire.in allusion to the persecution and troubles, which the faithful servants of God, who are seen standing on this & have sustained durin the whole course of the Christian ages. For here, I miss he observed at transferred to the moment 6. time when ai the seven scourges are completed and 1928, which is at the end of the world. Supposing ourselves therefore, at that point of time, we see a great had a Chrsstat saints standing whor the sea of glass. But who I atticular are they? Those who have overrom th Home to more and his character, or mark,

Is name. By a Beast is generally mean: an anima, that destroys mankind, or ravages a In altusion to that idea, the Beast here stands to idolatry and heres; both which always make great Arrestation and desolation in the Church. Pursuant to the diaphic meaning of the Beast, its image denotes either the idols of the pagan gods, or the pernicious teBr the character or mark of the Beast, warm understand either a real distinctive mark of idolatry of heresy, or a special power exercised in ddtener at either. The number of the mar

thy works, O Lord God Almighty. This canticle is here said to be the canticle of Moses the servant of God, because it bears the sense, and is sung in imitation, of the canticle which the Israelites-sung to God, after having passed the Red Sea under the conduct of Moses, and seen their enemies perish in its gulf. For thus sung they: Let us sing to the Lord; for he is gloriously magnified, the horse and the rider he has thrown into the sea, &c. Exod. xv. 1. To the canticle of Moses the Christian saints immediately join the canticle of the Lamb, singing: Just and true are thy ways, O Kings of Saints; thus extolling his justice and bounty in his dispensations to them, for having subjected them to severe trials, having safely conducted them through by his grace, and crowned them with victory. Then they conclude their religious hymn in addressing Almighty God thus: Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and magnify thy name? For thou only art holy for all nations shall come, and shall adore in thy sight, because thy Judgments, or punishments on the impious, are manifest.

From what has been exhibited in this scene, we learn, that the Almighty is jealous of whatever injuries are offered to his servants, and takes upon himself the judgment of their cause. Though for the proof of their zeal, and for their greater crown, he permits their enemies for a while to exercise their tyrannical power over them, ve

And now may we not, for a moment, take a quiet view of the triumph of the Church over all her enemies? The devil, like a fierce lion, had closely watched her, and made repeated furious attempts to devour her: But the Lion of the tribe of Judah stood for her protection, and defeated all his assaults. Those haughty princes, the Roman emperors, by Satan's instigation, bore down against her with all the weight of their power, to which the faithful opposed no other arms but patience: Nevertheless the edifice of the Church could not be thrown down, because He that built it was himself the Corner-stone, and had declared, it should for ever stand. The pagans persuaded themselves, that by dint of tortures and severities, they could totally crush the Christians, and extinguish their very name : but their expectations were frustrated, and they saw them daily increase under those very oppressions. The more Christians they tortured, or put to death, the more converts were made, from the view of such amazing examples of fortitude; and the Christian blood they spilt, as Tertullian told them, was the seed of new Christians. The heavy pressures the Church laboured under, served but to purify her members like gold in the furnace, and from the fire of persecution she rose up, like the Phoenix, more bright and more vigorous. The idolatrous emperors of Rome looked upon the Christian religion as a mere human invention, and in this lay their mistake: They were ignorant that the work was of Divine construction, that it was the new kingdom of the God of heaven which had just been founded, and to which, by the eternal decrees, all other kingdoms were to give place, Dan. ii. 44. It was the Stone, foretold by the prophet Daniel, cut out of the mountain without hands, Dan. ii. 34, which should break down all preceding powers,even the great empire ofRome itself; that is, it should destroy the empire of idolatry in all nations, and reduce them to the obedience of its own laws, even Rome itself, which was to be for a time the chief seat and fortress of idolatry. This Stone, pursues the same prophet, grew up into a great mountain, and filled the whole earth, Dan. ii. 35, which signi

fies, that the extent of the Christian religion was to have no other bounds but the extremities of the earth. Such being the solid foundation of the Church laid by the Almighty's hand, all human efforts against her must of course prove vain and abortive. The persecutions, however violent, had no other effect but to throw a gloomy veil over her for a while; but that being once removed, she appeared with new strength, and, like the sun emerging from an eclipse, she shone forth with greater lustre, and spread her influence over the whole earth.

Prelude to the pouring out of the Seven Vials.

APOC. Chap. XV. v. 1. And I saw, says St. John, another sign in heaven, great and wonderful : sevin Angels, having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God*.

Here is a new vision, great and wonderful, shown to St. John; seven Angels holding the figurative symbols of seven plagues or scourges, that is, of seven dreadful punishments. They are called the last, because in them is filled up or completed the wrath of God, being inflicted on mankind in the last period of the world, which is the period of Christianity. Accordingly, the first of these scourges takes place, as we shall see, soon after the beginning of the Christian era, and the seventh puts an end to the world.

V. 2. And I saw, continues St. John, as it were, a sea of glass mingled with fire, and them that had overcome the Beast, and his image †, and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having the harps of God;

V.3. And singing the canticle of Moses the servant of God, and the canticle of the Lamb, saying: Great and wonderful are thy works, O Lord God Almighty: Just and true are thy ways, O King of Ages ‡.

* In the Greek text, having seven plagues the last, because in them was fulfilled the wrath of God.

In the Greek is added, and his character.

In the Greek, King of Saints.

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V. 4. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and magnify thy name? for thou only art holy. For all nations shall come, and shall adore in thy sight, because thy judgments are manifest.

By the sea of glass is meant, as before explained, the firmament that makes the floor of heaven; which here is said to be mingled with fire, in allusion to the persecutions and troubles, which the faithful servants of God, who are seen standing on this sea, have sustained during the whole course of the Christian ages. For here, it must be observed, we are transferred to the moment of time when all the seven scourges are completed and pást, which is at the end of the world. Supposing ourselves, therefore, at that point of time, we see a great body of Christian saints standing upon the sea of glass. But who in particular are they? Those who have over

come the Beast, and his image, and his character, or mark, and the number of his name. By a Beast is generally meant an animal that destroys mankind, or ravages a country. In allusion to that idea, the Beast here stands for idolatry and heresy; both which always make great devastation and desolation in the Church. Pursuant to that double meaning of the Beast, its image denotes either the idols of the pagan gods, or the pernicious tenets of heresy. By the character or mark of the Beast, we may understand, either a real distinctive mark of idolatry or heresy, or a special power exercised in da fence of either. The number of the name of the Beast is appropriated, as we shall see hereafter, to the famous abettor of idolatry, Antichrist. Those Christian champions, therefore, who have courageously suffered death, or persecution, or other tribulations, rather than join with idolatry or heresy under any respect whatever, are here collected together in heaven, holding in their hands celestial harps to sound the praises of God. They are employed in singing the canticle of Moses the servant of God, and the canticle of the Lamb: the first, to acknowledge the power and justice of God in the seven terrible plagues or punishments, which he has inflicted upon their enemies, the idolaters and heretics. Thus in that sense they sing: Great and wonderful are