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and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord Goa Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.

9. And when those beasts give glory, and honor, and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever.

10. The four-and-twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

11. Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honour, and power for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are, and were created.

After this vision relating to the things which are,' other visions succeed of the things which must be hereafter,'-ver. 1. The scene is laid in heaven; and the scenery is drawn in allusion to the encampment of the children of Israel in the wilderness, Numbers, i. 2. God is represented, ver. 2, 3, sitting on his throne, as in the tabernacle or temple, much in the same manner as the prophet Ezekiel, i. 26, 27, 28, hath described him. Next to the tabernacle encamped the priests and Levites; and next to the throne, ver. 4.— were four-and-twenty elders sitting,' answering to the princes of the four-and-twenty courses of the Jewish priests; clothed in white raiment,' as emblems of their purity and sanctity; and they had on their heads crowns of gold,' Christ having made them, ‘a royal priesthood,'-1 Pet. ii. 9, and 'kings and priests unto God,'— Rev. v. 10. Out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings, and voices,'-ver. 5, the usual concomitants and attendants of the divine presence: and there are seven lamps of fire burning before the throne,' answering to the golden candlestick with seven lamps, which was before the most holy place in the tabernacle. Before the throne there was also a sea of glass, like unto crystal,'—ver. 6. answering to the great molten sea or laver in the temple of Solomon : 'and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne,' that is, before and behind the throne, and on each side of the throne, 'were four beasts' or rather four living creatures (wa,) representing the heads of the whole congregation in the four quarters of the world, and resembling the Cherubim and Seraphim in Ezekiel's and Isaiah's visions, Ezek. i. 10, x. 14; Is. vi. 2, 3, or rather resembling the four standards or ensigns of the four divisions in the camp of Israel, according to the traditionary description of them by Jewish writers. The first living creature was like a lion,'

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• Majores nostri dixerunt, &. [Our forefathers have said, &c.] See Aben Ezra and others quoted by Mr. Mede, p. 437.

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ver. 7, which was the standard of Judah with the two other tribes In the eastern division; and the second like a calf' or ox, which was the standard of Ephraim with the two other tribes in the western division; and the third had a face as a man,' which was the standard of Reuben with the two other tribes in the southern division; and the fourth was like a flying eagle,' which was the standdard of Dan with the two other tribes in the northern division; and this traditionary description agrees also with the four faces of the Cherub in Ezekiel's visions. Of these living creatures and of the elders, the constant employment is to celebrate, in hymns of praise and thanksgiving, the great and wonderful works of creation and providence, ver. 8-11.

CHAP. V.

1. AND I Saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.

2. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?

3. And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.

4. And I wept much because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.

5. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not behold the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

6. And I beheld, and lo, in the midst of the throne, and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders stood a Lamb, as it had been slain, having seven horns, and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.

7. And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.

8. And when he had taken the book, the four beasts, and four-and-twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.

9. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

10. And hast made us unto our God kings and priests and we shall reign on the earth.

11. And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne, and the beasts, and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;

12. Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.

13. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I, saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

14. And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four-andtwenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

Future events are supposed by St. John, as well as by Daniel and other prophets, in a beautiful figure, to be registered in a book, for the greater certainty of them. This book is in the right hand of God,'-ver. 1, to denote, that as he alone directs the affairs of futurity, so he alone is able to reveal then. This book, through the abundance of the matter, was written within and on the back side;'* as the roll of the book, which was spread before Ezekiel, ii. 10. was written within and without.' It was also 'sealed,' to signify that the decrees of God are inscrutable, and sealed 'with seven seals,' referring to so many signal periods of prophecy. In short we should conceive of this book, that it was such an one as the ancients used, a volume or roll of a book, or more properly a volume consisting of seven volumes, so that the opening of one seal laid open the contents only of one volume. All creatures are challenged to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof,'— ver. 2. But no one (daç) in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth,'-ver. 3, neither angels, nor men, nor departed spirits were any of them qualified to comprehend and communicate the secret purposes of God. St. John wept much,'-ver. 4, at the So in Juvenal, Sat. I. 5.

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-summi plena jam margine libri Scriptus et in tergo, necdum finitus Orestes. - and Orestes' bulky rage

Unsatisfied with margins closely writ

Foams o'er the covers, and not finished yet."-[DRYDEN.]

sad disappointment; but who now is concerned or grieved, that he cannot understand these prophecies? However, he is comforted, ver. 5, with an assurance, that still there was one who had power and authority to reveal and accomplish the councils of God. The Son, of God, and he alone, was found worthy to be the great revealer and interpreter of his Father's oracles, ver. 6, &c.: and he obtained this privilege by the merits of his sufferings and death. Whereupon the whole church, ver. 8, &c. and all angels, ver. 11, &c. and all creatures, ver. 13, &c. sing praises to God and to the Lamb for such glorious manifestations of divine providence. All this is by way of preface ar introduction, to show the great dignity, importance, and excellence of the prophecies here delivered.

CHAP. VI.

1. AND I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come, and see.

2. And I saw, and behold, a white horse; and he that sat on him had a bow, and a crown was given unto him, and he went forth conquering and to conquer.

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As the seals are opened in order, so the events follow in order too. The first seal or period, ver. 1, 2, is memorable for conquest, and was proclaimed by the first of the four living creatures, who was like a lion, and had his station in the east. And I saw, and behold, a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow, and a crown was given unto him, and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.' This first period commenceth with Vespasian and Titus, who from commanding in the east were advanced to the empire ;* and Vespasian for this reason was regarded, both by Romans and foreigners, as that great prince, who was to come out of the east, and obtain dominion over the world. They went forth to conquer;' for they made an entire conquest of Judea, destroyed Jerusalem, and carried the Jews captive into all nations. As these prophecies were written a few years before the destruction of Jerusalem, they properly begin with some allusion to that memorable event; and a short allusion was sufficient, our Saviour himself

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* Kujus (Vitellii) tempore Vespasianus in oriente principatum arripuit. [In his Vitellius's) time, Vespasian while in the east seized the empire.] Aurel. Victor. Epit. cap. 8.

Tacit Hist. lib. 5, p. 217, edit. Lipsii. Sueton. in Vesp. cap. 4. Joseph. de Bull.Jud lib. 6, cap 5. sect. 4, p. 1283, edit. Hudson.

having enlarged so much upon all the particulars. The bow,' the white horse,' and the crown' are proper emblems of victory, triumph, and royalty; and the proclamation for conquest is fitly made by a creature like a lion. This period continued during the reigns of the Flavian family and the short reign of Nerva, about twenty-eight years.

They who suppose this book to have been written in Domitian's time, some years after the destruction of Jerusalem, are obliged to give another explanation of this first seal, applicable to some subsequent event, that it may not be deemed a history of things past, instead of a prophecy of things to come. Now this notion is, that this first seal exhibits a representation of the person and dignity of Christ, and of the triumphs of the Christian religion over all the powers of Paganism. At the same time they allow (as it is generally allowed) that the six first seals especially relate to Heathen Rome, and comprehend so many notable periods in the Roman history. But where then is the propriety or consistency, of understanding this first seal of Christ and the Christian religion, and the succeeding seals of successive revolutions in the Roman Empire, during its pagan and unconverted state? and what good reason can be given for representing the Church in triumph and glory, at a period when it was most grievously persecuted and afflicted? Would it not have been more uniform and of a piece, and have agreed better with the series and order of true history, if they had applied this first seal to the conquest of Vespasian and Titus, and the destruction of Jerusalem; as they have applied the second seal to the wars of Trajan and Adrian with the Jews, and the third and following seals to transactions of other Roman emperors? The four living creatures have their stations, as we have shown, in the four quarters, east, west, south, and north, to denote from what part we are to look for the completion of the prophecy: and as Trajan proceeded from the west,' Septimus Severus from the south,' and Maximin from the north,' what other emperor before them, besides Vespasian, came from the east,' which was the station of the lion, who made the first proclamation? It should seem therefore that the interpretation which was first proposed is the more eligible, and indeed I cannot see how this first seal can be well explicated otherwisc, consistently with the truth of history and other circumstances of the prophecy; and if this be the true interpretation, this is a farther argument that the book was more probably written in the persecutions under Nero than in those under Domitian.

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