16 And the four and twenty elders which fat before God on their feats, fell upon their faces and worshipped God,

17 Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God almighty, which art and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and haft reigned.

18 And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead that they should be judged, and that thou shouldst give reward unto thy fervants the prophets, and to the faints and them that fear thy name, small and great, and shouldst destroy them which destroy the earth.

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At the founding of the seventh trumpet (ver. 15.) the third woe commenceth, which is rather implied than expressed, as it will be described more fully hereafter. The third woe brought on the inhabiters of the earth is the ruin and downfall of the Antichristian kingdom: and then, and not till then, accordingly to the heavenly chorus, the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our Lord and of bis Christ, and be shall reign for ever and ever. St. John is rapt and hurried away as it were to a view of the happy milmillenium, without confidering the steps preceding and conducting to it. At the fame time the four and twenty elders, or the minifters of the church, (ver. 16, 17, 18.) are represented as praising and glorifying God for manifesting his power and kingdom more than he had done before: and give likewise an intimation of some succeeding events, as the anger of the nations, Gog and Magog, (XX. 8.) and the wrath of God, displayed in their destruction, (XX. 9.) and the judging of the dead, or the general judgment, (XX. 12.) and the rewarding of all the good, Small and great, as well as the punishing of the wicked. Here we have only a summary асcount of the circumstances and occurrences of the seventh trumpet, but the particulars will be dilated and inlarged upon hereafter.

And thus are we arrived at the confummation of all things, through a series of prophecies extending from the apostle's days to the end of the world. It is this series which has been our clue to conduct us in our interpretation of these prophecies: and tho' fome of them may be dark and obfcure, confidered in themselves, yet they receive light and illustration from others preceding and following. All together they are as it were a chain of prophecies,

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cies, whereof one link depends on, and supports another. If any parts remain yet obfcure and unfatisfactory, they may perhaps be cleared up by what the apostle himself hath added by way of explanation.

XXV.

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XXV.

An Analysis of the Revelation.

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PART II.

OST of the best commentators divide the Apocalyps or Revelation into two parts, the book Sealed with seven feals, and the little book. But it happens unluckily, that according to their divifion the leffer book is made to contain as much or more than the larger: whereas in truth the little book is nothing more than a part of the fealed book, and is added as a codicil or appendix to it. We would also divide the Revelation into two parts, or rather the book fo divides itself. For the former part proceeds, as we have feen, in a regular and successive series from the apostle's days to the confummation of all things. Nothing can be added, but it must fall some where or other within the compass of this period; it must in fome measure be a refumption of the fame fubjects; and this latter part may most properly be confidered as an inlargement and illustration of the former. Several things, which were only touched upon, and delivered in dark hints before, fore, require to be more copioufly handled, and placed in a stronger light. It was faid that the beast should make war against the witnesses, and overcome them: but who or what the beast is we may reasonably conjecture indeed, but the apostle himself will more surely explain. The transactions of the seventh trumpet are all fummed up and comprised in a few verses, but we shall fee the particulars branched out and inlarged into as many chapters. In short this latter part is designed as a fupplement to the former, to complete what was deficient, to explain what was dubious, to illustrate what was obfcure: and as the former described more the deftinies of the Roman empire, so this latter relates more to the fates of the Christian church.

19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his teftament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thundrings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

This last verse of the eleventh chapter, in my opinion, should have been made the first verse of the twelfth chapter; for it appears to be the beginning of a new fubject. It is fomewhat like the beginning of Ifaiah's vifion; (VI. 1.) I faw the Lord fitting upon a throne (the ark) high and