"And one of the elders asked St. John if he knew who these were who were thus arrayed in white robes, and whence they came? And when he answers, Thou knowest; the elder said unto him"-" These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple; and He that sitteth upon the throne shall dwell amongst them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst 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 them, and shall lead them unto the living fountains of waters, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes."

Mede conceives that the latter part of the vision, relating to the innumerable multitude of believers, refers chiefly to the seventh trumpet; but I see no reason why it should not be applicable to the vast number of those who became converts to Christianity from among the heathen in the first ages, and who were cleansed from their sins by the blood of the Lamb, and having suffered in the cruel persecutions of the times, were admitted into the presence of God, and communion with him, were delivered from all the evils of this life, and were become the flock

of the true Shepherd, or, as he is here described, the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne.

We now come to the seventh seal, which is a most important one, comprehending the seven trumpets. During the first six seals the empire of Rome, closely connected with the progress of Christianity, was still standing, and in some degree flourishing; till after many vicissitudes the pagan idolatry was at length wholly overthrown. Under the seventh seal that empire begins to verge towards its decline and fall, and the seven trumpets proclaim so many stages of its ruin, by the seven-fold order of plagues, contributing gradually to its destruction; the progress of which is displayed by suitable images, while the successive trumpets are sounding the alarm. Vengeance is mine, and I will repay, saith the Lord."

66

The blood of so many martyrs, shed under Roman auspices, required an exemplary punishment to be inflicted on the inhabitants of the Roman empire. Even the piety of the Roman emperor could no more avert the dreadful justice of God than the piety of Josiah could avail to prevent the punishment of the blood shed by Manasseh. For this just vengeance the souls of the martyrs were represented, under the fifth seal, as appealing to God, and they received an admonition to

rest for a while, and when their fellow-servants and their brethren should also be slain by the Roman tyrant, the time should then be fulfilled. That time was now almost arrived. After a short period of tranquillity the hour of retribution was at hand.

"And when he had opened the seventh seal there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour, and seven trumpets were given to the seven angels which stood before God." This silence betokens a short space of tranquillity for the Church, after its establishment, and the demolition of idolatry. Eusebius and Lactantius both extol the serenity which prevailed during the reign of Constantine, and medals are in existence, after his conversion to Christianity, with CONSTANTINUS ANG. on one side, and BEATA TRANQUILLITAS on the reverse. This was the time when the angels in the four corners of the earth were restraining the winds from blowing upon it, and after, the converts both of Jews and Gentiles were sealed, for the purpose of pre

servation.

This temporary silence is also added as a period of calm, preparatory to a dreadful storm, during which, another angel is represented as coming and standing at the altar with a golden censer, in

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.