thefe periods, and is equally powerful at all times.

The

The certainty of the fall of Rome is intimated by the repetition of it. She shall become an heap of ruins, to which nothing but frightful ani folitary ravenous beafts and birds fhall re ort. greatnefs of her idolatries and fuperftitions, the extenfive influence which they have had on kings and people through the western world, and the unjuft gain which her fpiritual office-bearers, called the merchants of the earth, have accumulated, by making merchandise of mens fouls, are the caufes of her fall.

Verses 4th, 5th.—And I heard another voice from heaven, faying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her fins, and that ye receive not of her plagues: for her fins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.

When the fall of Rome shall be just at hand, the state of divine providence fhall give the last call to any of the people of God, who have ftill adhered to her, to abandon her without delay, left they should share of her fins and of her plagues. How long fome ferious and well difpofed perfons" may adhere to Papal Rome, being misled by ne

ceffary

ceffary ignorance, and how many calls of divine providence to come out of her they may refift, and yet be the people of God, it is not our proyince to fay. They are in the hands of that God, who is perfectly wife, merciful, and juft; and who will at last pass that fentence upon them, which even they themselves must acknowledge to be perfectly right. But the whole ftrain of this book declares the miferable and hopelefs fituation of of thofe, who adhere to Papal Rome, under that dispensation of divine providence, which introduces her final bverthrow...

"They fhall receive of her plagues." Relative to this very period, it is faid, in chap. xvi. 15, "Behold, I come as a thief, bleffed is he that ".watcheth." And in chap. xiv. 8,-11. this awful truth is ftated at full length. To these paf fages, and to the commentary upon them, the reader is referred.

The punishment of Rome fhall be great, because her iniquities are great. It fhall then be delayed no longer, because the measure of her iniquities fhall be filled up.

Ver. 6th-9th. Reward her even as fhe rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which fhe hath filled, fill to her double. How much

much the hath glorified her felf, and lived delicioufly, fo much torment and forrow give her for fhe faith in her heart, I fit a queen, and am no widow, and fhall fee no forrow. Therefore fhall her plagues come in one day, death and mourning, and famine; and fle fhall be utterly burnt with fire: for ftrong is the Lord God who judg eth her. And the kings of the earth who have committed fornication, and lived delís ciously with her, fhall bewail her, and lab ment for her, when they fhall fee the fmoke of her burning, Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, faying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city: for in one hour is thy judgement come. And the merchants of the earth fhall weep and mourn over her, for no man byyeth her merchandife any more: the merchandise of gold, and filver, and precious ftones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and filk, and fearlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner veffels of ivory, and all manner veffels of moft precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, and cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincenfe, and wine, and

oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beafts, and sheep, and horfes, and chariots, and flaves, and fouls of men. And the fruits that thy foul lufted after, are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly, are departed from thee, and thou fhall find them no more at all. The merchants of these things which were made rich by her, fhall stand afar off, for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, and faying, Alas, alas! that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious ftones and pearls: For in one hour fo great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in fhips, and failors, and as many as trade by fea, stood afar off, and cried when they faw the smoke of her burning, faying, What city is like unto this great city? And they caft duft on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, faying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the fea, by reafon of her coftlinefs; for in one hour is she made defolate.

VOL. II.

I i

In

In these verses, it is predicted at great length and in most striking terms, that Papal Rome shall be fully punished for the great injuries which fhe had done to the people of God for a long time. The greatnefs of her fall fall be in proportion to the height of luxury and pride to which fhe had arifen. Her best, most steady, and powerful friends, thofe of the kings of the earth who fhall adhere to her to the last, shall be unable to give her any effectual fupport, and shall be able only to weep and wail for her helpless and miferable fituation. The merchants of the earth fhall then weep, because Rome no longer continues a mart for all the neceffaries and luxuries in which they traded. E. specially the fpiritual office-bearers, who with peculiar propriety are ftiled the merchants of the Papal kingdom, shall mourn, because no man buyeth their merchandise.

The articles of merchandise are enumerated in verfes 12th and 13th. These are the articles for which the ornaments of the Papal churches and the luxuries of Rome caufe fo great a demand. The last two are not very common articles of merchandise, excepting with the office-bearers of Papal Rome, "flaves", or as it is in the original, owμaTw; that is, bodies, and "fouls of men." In these two articles Papal Rome hath dealed largely, and hath made moft extravagant profits on them. The bodies of men were an extenfive article of trade in her ftore of holy relicts. And of the

fouls