who worship God so beautifully in accordance with the New Testament, in chapter vii. are silenced, though present, and another body of the same Christian Church is foisted in between them and the throne of God and the Lamb, who neither prostrate themselves like suppliants, nor plainly trace to the blood of Christ their acceptance with God, but stand in the character of victors, and are arrayed in the emblems of a triumph. It is true, indeed, when an elder describes them to St. John, he states, that "they had washed themselves in the blood of the Lamb;" but even this expression is feebler than the acknowledgment of the four beasts and twenty-four elders, who confessed, "Thou hast redeemed us to God by thy blood;" for though both expressions are scripturally correct, the latter of the two is the stronger in the renunciation of merit. Moreover, in the worship, (chapters iv. and v.) though the angels are not said to prostrate themselves in the character of suppliants, they expressly worship and

adore Christ for the redemption of mankind; but in chapter vii. they assume the most humiliating posture, and yet omit all mention of the Saviour, and very significantly confine their worship to God. Whence is this? If these represent the worship in heaven, how shall we explain this variety, or alteration, in the service? Will one part of the glorified Church worship Christ on their knees, and another part, distinguished by tokens of victory, not only stand whilst angels lie prostrate on their faces, but join with them in a very ambiguous acknowledgment of Christ? Or can this denote the worship of a true militant church? That any part of the visible Church should on their knees adore Christ, and trace to him alone the redemption they have obtained, whilst angels are imagined as assenting to his honour and praise, is perfectly accordant with all we read in Holy Scripture; but that the same body of the Church should at other times be represented as silent, while divine

worship is celebrated, and another part of the same visible Church crowned as victors, as though they purchased a triumph, should presume to stand in the divine presence, whilst angels are imagined as lying prostrate in the humiliation of guilty suppliants; and that both these should perform a very ambiguous service, as brief as it is cold, appears altogether unaccountable, except on the solution we have ventured to suggest. We think, therefore, that this part of the vision denotes the firm establishment of the worship and mediation of saints and angels, and the suspension of the direct worship of God in Christ, or the loss in the visible Church of that great evangelical truth-the key-stone of the Gospel-namely, "There is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ."

M

CHAPTER VIII.

Silence or portentous calm previous to the Northern irruptions. The Angel-priest, or Roman bishop. The censor with strange fire. The tempest, or judgment. Sketch of the Roman bishopric. Its date prior to the Northern irruptions. Confirmatory extracts from Recapitulation. Surplus popu

Soame's Mosheim.

lation of the North.

- The prevailing opinions of ex

positors on the seven trumpets.

First trumpet. - Parallels in fulfilled prophecies.

Alaric and others. - Third part refers to the final di

- Odoacer. Theodoric. Amalgamation of the con

querors with the conquered.

- In the mean time, grow

ing influence of the Roman bishop. Superstition increases. - Opposed by Vigilantius without success. — The Roman bishop courted by all. — Uncertain date of his rise. His reign over the Western empire distinct from and prior to that over the Gothic kingdoms. The general prevalence of the apostasy occasioned the fall of the empire.- Popery in England at least till 1857.-The Goths inflicted great evils. — Adopted the apostasy. Established at length civil and religious liberty, which will subserve God's purposes;

but the

Saracens and Turks imposed an error and a perpetual

subjection.

Verses 1, 2. "AND when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets."

We now approach a difficult part of the prophecy; but our previous remarks have, perhaps, almost suggested its meaning. When the earthquake had overturned Paganism, God's anger at the prosperous Christian Church was restrained until it had arrived at a given pitch of enormity. The four winds were to blow upon the empire, as soon as vital Christianity was withdrawn into cells and cloisters and private life, and no longer retained chief influence in the Church. that change had now taken place. The palm-bearing multitude denoted this departure in the visible and now imperial Church. The next event then to be looked

But