capable of moving in obedience to its volitions, while the body remains quiescent, well represents an army moving over foreign lands, in obedience to the commands of its government, while the mass of the population, out of which it is projected, remains stationary within its geographical limits. All wild beasts, while fiercely excited, lash their tails with violence. When Italy was the body, and Rome the head of the republic, its tail, sweeping from Asia Minor to Britain, and from Africa to Belgium, overthrew and cast down to the earth all the governments in the intervening regions of the political firmament, among which was the government of Judea, which the birth of Christ found subjugated into a roman province. The roman dragon did not attempt, until after that event, to devour or destroy the woman—the jewish nation or mosaic church :-but it endeavoured, by the destruction of the apostles and earliest disciples of the christian church, to devour the woman's child as soon as it was born.

5. "And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne."

In the fulness of her time the mosaic, brought forth the christian, church: the superiority of the offspring over the parent is expressed by the former being a male, (so, and not man child, should the greek word be translated.) By all nations, I believe, but certainly by the Jews, a superiority of dignity has been from the remotest ages ascribed to the male sex the rod, or sceptre, of iron, denotes the strength

and durability of the kingdom of Christ, as predicted by Daniel, vii. 14,

His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his the kingdom which shall not be destroyed.'

The protection which divine Providence extended over the infant church miraculously defeated all the efforts of the roman dragon to devour it, and has preserved it for its destined exaltation to everlasting glory-the woman's male child was caught up unto God and to his throne.

6. "And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days."

While divine Providence has been disciplining the church, in its progression from infancy to maturity, for its predestinated glory, the Jews are, as it were, in a wilderness, like the scape-goats driven from the temple, without a country or fixed habitation: they are, nevertheless, as directly (though not so visibly caught up unto heaven) as the christian church, under the special superintendance of God-they shall not perish in the wilderness-but trodden under foot as they have been, and alas! yet are by their accursed oppressors, their nation, sustained as marvellously as were their forefathers in the wilderness of old, will be preserved for a gloriously eminent participation in the blessings which are to open on the world at the, now rapidly approaching, termination of the great prophetic period of 1260 years.

7. "And there was war in heaven: Michael and his

angels fought against the dragon: and the dragon fought, and his angels.

8. "And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

9. "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan: which deceiveth the whole world he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him."

From the birth of christianity, the conflict between the church (represented by Michael and his angels) on the one part, and the powers of roman paganism (typified by the great dragon, the old serpent, the Devil, Satan and his angels) on the other part, was incessant and arduous until, by the emperor Constantine and his successors, paganism was cast out of the heaven of imperial establishment. Satan's angels in the empire were the augurs and other pagan priests, all of whom were cast out from their powerful and opulent establishments, which were levelled to the earth by the christian emperors, particularly by Theodosius the great in the year 380.

10. "And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

11. "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony: and they loved not their lives unto the death."

The saints are represented as exulting over the downfal of paganism in the roman empire, and the consequent first beginning of the promised reign of Christ upon earth-they proclaim their joy at the

overthrow of the persecutor of their brethren. The christians, by the subornation of the pagan priests, were incessantly accused of all sorts of horrible crimes, particularly, of treasonable conspiracies against the lives of the emperors. Those accusations, publicly maintained by the most deliberate perjuries, were among the most efficient causes of the dreadful persecutions which, for three hundred years, so keenly tried the faith of the primitive christians, who finally triumphed over the malice of all their enemies by the fortitude with which they endured their glorious martyrdom-the word of their testimony.

12. "Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time."

To spiritually minded persons, whose thoughts and affections were lifted from earth to heaven, the expulsion of paganism from all civil authority and influence was the greatest of all possible temporal blessings. By relieving their faith from torment and disgrace it enabled them to profess and diffuse it in safety and with honor.-But to carnal minded persons, the inhabiters of the earth and of the seathe adoption of christianity by the emperors was productive, not of blessings, temporal or spiritual, but of the severest afflictions. During the reign of paganism none were exposed to religious persecution, excepting spiritually minded persons, who loving not their lives, when their religion was concerned, unto the death, were always ready to seal the confession

of their faith with their blood. But when the profession of christianity, professed and protected by the emperors, became the only avenue to their favor, vast multitudes of worldly minded persons publicly renounced paganism, and became nominal converts to the imperial religion. But, under every variety of hue the chameleon is still the same animal, and carnal-mindedness, however it may change the profession of its faith, will always exhibit its own brutal qualities. The carnal professors of the patronised religion, incapable of holding, like the children of light, 'the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace,' were soon divided by acrimonious schisms into furiously hostile sects, and, contending fiercely for the official dignities and other emoluments of a wealthy establishment, let loose upon each other all the ferocious passions which they were wont cordially to combine in directing against the comparatively small number of the meek and lowly followers of the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. For many years the conflicting sects covered christendom, European, African, and Asiatic, with blood and ashes, as if the infernal spirit of religious persecution, exasperated at being deprived of his first victims, had turned with aggravated wrath upon his own votaries. But the infant church had not been persecuted by Pagans alone. The Jews were, if possible, its still more malignant and active enemies: and on the downfal of paganism they too received their full share of the dreadful and just retribution. A fierce and relentless hatred of them was the only sentiment in which all the contending sects of nominal christians united :