described by his Apostle in this book as being "the root and the offspring," as he had been declared by himself to be "the Son and the Lord of David;" -who was indeed "made of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by his resurrection from the dead";"-and who, having purchased our pardon by his death, hath "all power given him in heaven and in earth," angels and principalities and powers being made subject unto him". And then what can be more affecting than the description which follows; when the Redeemer himself, appearing in the midst of the throne, under the symbol of a Lamb, the emblem of his suffering state,—the symbol under which he was prefigured in types, and foretold in prophecy, and lastly pointed out by the Baptist himself;-and yet with

66

seven horns and seven eyes," the emblems of universal knowledge and almighty power,-takes the book out of the hands of Him who sat on the throne: while the innumerable multitudes of the redeemed, with the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders, fall down before the Lamb, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever", "saying with a loud

1 Chap. xxii. 16.

2 Matt. xxii. 41-45.

3 Rom. i. 3, 4.

4 Matt. xxviii. 18.

5 1 Pet. iii. 22.

6 John i. 29.

7 Luke i. 69; Zech. iii. 9. iv. 10. As the seven horns of the Lamb signify our Lord's omnipotence, so do the seven eyes his omnipresence. These seven eyes are described in Zech. iii. 9. iv. 10. to be "the eyes of the Lord which run to and fro through the whole earth." They are in that passage said to be inscribed on "a stone," which is

probably "the precious stone, the head stone of the corner," described in Isai. xxviii. 16; 1 Pet. i. 6, 7; Luke xx. 17; Acts iv. 11. and therefore, being applied to Christ, appear to have reference to this description. Dean Woodhouse.

8 For an illustration of the expressions in ver. 8, see Woodhouse and Vitringa, p. 214. "They are said to sing a new song"". For the peculiar force and meaning of this expression see Woodhouse on ver. 9; and compare Psalm xxxiii. 1. xcvi. 1. xcviii. 1.

voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever."

It is impossible that any thing can bring before the mind, in a more affecting manner, the majesty and the humility of our great Redeemer, or fill us with more exalted ideas of that infinite condescension and love, in which, for us men and for our salvation, he humbled himself to the death of the cross;and of that glory to which he is exalted at the right hand of God, where he "hath a name given him, which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father"." And as it is calculated to give us a just idea of the character of the events, which are the subject of this Prophecy, so is it also of the dignity and the importance of the Revelation which is contained in it.

PART II. SECT. III.

The Seals.

CHAPS. VI. VII.

"AND I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and 1 I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: 2 and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. And 3 when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that 4

9 Phil. ii. 9-11.

was red and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and 5 there was given unto him a great sword. And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat 6 on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and 7 see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast 8 say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and 9 with death, and with the beasts of the earth. And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the tes10 timony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice,

saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge 11 and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should 12 be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, 13 and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, 14 when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scrowl when it is rolled together; and every moun15 tain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks 16 of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the 17 throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

1

"AND after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, 2 nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt 3 the earth and the sea, saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in 4 their foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed.an hundred and forty and four 5 thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben

8

were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thou- 6 sand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand. Of the 7 tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar › were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand. After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which 9 no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried 10 with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood 11 round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and 12 thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. And one of the elders 13 answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto 14 him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. There- 15 fore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst 16 any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed 17 them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”

The view which has been taken of the preceding part of this prophecy, and of the Person who is the great Agent in it, and particularly in the vision which is the subject of our present consideration, will naturally lead us to expect, that the subjects contained in this sealed book should be connected with that religion; of which the Redeemer,-having laid the foundation, when he rose again from the dead and ascended up to heaven to the right hand of Godagain appears in this Prophecy as the great protector and friend; fulfilling the promise which he made to his Apostles, when he sent them forth to

preach the gospel to every creature,-"Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world."

It is due, however, to the fair and impartial consideration of this portion of this important Prophecy, to state,-that there are some commentators, of great eminence, who have applied the prophecies of the sealed book to other subjects, which are not immediately connected with the history and fortunes of the Christian religion: and as the question of the principle, on which we explain the prophecies contained in the Seals, is of great importance, considered not merely with reference to the true interpretation of the prophecies which are contained in the Seals, but of those also which are contained in the Trumpets and the Vials; we will consider briefly the peculiar character of the opinions of these writers; and the grounds, on which the application of their peculiar views of prophetical interpretation to the prophecies before us, appears to rest.

1. The first is the opinion, which has been adopted from Grotius, with some modifications, by Hammond and Lightfoot, that the Seals describe the judgments which were inflicted on the Jewish state and people, till their final subversion by the Romans1.

2. The second is that which has been adopted by Mede, Bishop Newton, and others; that the Seals describe the history of the Roman Empire, and the external history of the Church, till the public recognition of Christianity by Constantine2.

3. Another is that which has been adopted by

1 See Hammond in locum, and Lightfoot, Harmony of the New Testament. Works, Vol. 1. p. 342.

2 See Vitringa, pp. 230, 231, and Woodhouse's Annotations on the Seals.