16 nations, and tongues. And the ten horns which thou sawest, and the wild beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate, and naked, and shall eat her 17 flesh, and burn her with fire. For God hath put it into their hearts to execute his sentence, and to agree, and to give their kingdom to the wild beast, till the words of 18 God shall be fulfilled. And the woman whom thou sawest is the great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

CHAP. XVIII. 1. And after these things I saw another angel coming down out of heaven, having great power, 2 and the earth was enlightened with his glory. And be cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become a habitation of devils, and a hold of every unclean spirit, and a cage of 3 every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich, through the abundance of her delicacies.

And I heard another voice out of heaven, saying, Come

V. 16. And shall eat her flesh-Devour her immense riches. V. 17. For God hath put it into their hearts-Which indeed no less than almighty power could have effected, to execute his sentence, till the words of God-Touching the overthrow of all his enemies, should be fulfilled.

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V. 18. The woman is the great city which reigneth-Namely, while the beast is not, and the woman sitteth upon him.

CHAP. XVIII. Ver. 1. And I saw another angel coming down out of heaven -Termed another, with respect to him who came down out of heaven, ch. x. 1, and the earth was enlightened with his glory-To make his coming more conspicuous. If such be the lustre of the servant, what images can display the majesty of the Lord, who has thousand thousands of those glorious attendants ministering to him, and ten thousand times ten thousand standing before him?

V. 2. And he cried, Babylon is fallen-This fall was mentioned before, ch. xiv. 9, but is now declared at large, and is become a habitation, a free abode, of devils, and a hold, a prison, of every unclean spirit-Perhaps confined there where they had practised all uncleanness, till the judgment of the great day. How many horrid inhabitants hath desolate Babylon! Of invisible beings, devils, and unclean spirits; of visible, every unclean beast, every filthy and hateful bird. Suppose then Babylon to mean heathen Rome. What have the Romanists gained? Seeing from the time of that destruction, which they say is past, these are to be its only inhabitants for ever.

V. 4. And I heard another voice-Of Christ, whose people, secretly scattered even there, are warned of her approaching destruction; that ye be not partakers of her sins-That is, of the fruits of them.

What a remarkable providence it was, that the Revelation was printed in the midst of Spain, in the Great Polyglot Bible, before the Reformation! Else how much easier had it been for the Papists to reject the whole book, than it is to evade these striking parts of it!

out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her 5 sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her

sins have reached even to heaven, and God hath remem6 bered her iniquities. Reward her even as she hath rewarded, and give her double according to her works; 7 in the cup which she mingled, mingle to her double. As much as she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her because she hath said in her heart, I sit as a queen, and am no widow, and 8 shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her plagues come

in one day, death, and sorrow, and famine; and she shall be burnt with fire; for strong is the Lord God who 9 judgeth her. And the kings of the earth who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall weep and mourn over her, when they see the smoke of 10 her burning. Standing afar off for fear of her torment,

saying, Alas, alas! thou great city Babylon, thou strong 11 city! In one hour is thy judgment come. And the mer

chants of the earth weep and mourn over her: for none 12 buyeth their merchandise any more; Merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and pearl, and fine linen,

V. 5. Even to heaven -An expression which implies the highest guilt. V. 6. Reward her-This God speaks to the executioners of his vengeance, even as she hath rewarded others: in particular the saints of God, and give her double-This, according to the Hebrew idiom, implies only a full retaliation.

V. 7. As much as she hath glorified herselfBy pride, and pomp, and arrogant boasting; and lived deliciously—In all kind of elegance, luxury, and wantonness; so much torment give her-Proportioning the punishment to the sin. Because she saith in her heart-As did ancient Babylon, Isa. xlvii. 8, 9, I sitHer usual style. Hence those expresssions, “The Chair, the See of Rome;" she sat so many "years," as a queen-Over many kings, "Mistress of all churches; the supreme; the infallible; the only spouse of Christ; out of which there is no salvation;" and am no widow-But the spouse of Christ; and shall see no sorrow-From the death of my children, or any other calamity, for God himself will defend-" The Church."

V. 8. Therefore, as both the natural and judicial consequence of this proud security, shall her plagues come-The death of her children, with an incapacity of bearing more: sorrow of every kind, and famine-In the room of luxurious plenty; the very things from which she imagined herself to be most safe; for etrong is the Lord God who judgeth her Against whom therefore all her strength, great as it is, will not avail.

V. 10. Thou strong city-Rome was anciently termed by its inhabitants, Valentia, that is, Strong. And the word Rome itself in Greek signifies strength. This name was given to it by the Greek strangers.

V. 12. Merchandise of gold, &c. Almost all these are still in use at Rome, both in their idolatrous service, and in common life, fine linen-The sort of it mentioned in the original, is exceedingly costly. Thyne-wood-A sweet smelling wood, not unlike citron, used in adorning magnificent palaces-vessels of most precious wood-Ebony in particular, which is often mentioned with ivory: the one excelling in whiteness, the other in blackness, and both in uncommon' smoothness.

and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all sorts of thyne wood, and all sorts of vessels of ivory, and all sorts of vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, 13 and marble; And cinnamon, and amomum, and odours, and ointment, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep; and merchandise of horses, and of chariots, and of bodies and 14 souls of men. And the fruits which thy soul desireth are departed from thee, and all things that were dainty and splendid are perished from thee, and thou shalt find them 15 no more. The merchants of these things who became rich by her, shall stand afar off, for fear of her torment, 16 weeping and mourning, Saying, Alas, alas! the great city that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and adorned with gold, and precious stones, and pearl: 17 in one hour so great riches are become desolate. And every ship-master, and all the company belonging to ships, and sailors, and all who trade by sea, stood afar 18 off, Ánd cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, 19 saying, What city was like the great city? And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and mourning, saying, Alas, alas! the great city wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea, by reason of her magni. 20 ficence; for in one hour she is made desolate. Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye saints, and apostles, and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.

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And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and threw it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence

V. 13. Amomum—A shrub whose wood is a fine perfume, and beasts-Cows and oxen, and of chariots-A purely Latin word is here inserted in the Greek. This St. John undoubtedly used on purpose, in describing the luxury of Rome; and of bodies-A common term for slaves, and souls of men-For these also are continually bought and sold at Rome. And this of all others is the most gainful merchandise to the Roman traffickers.

V. 14. And the fruits-From what was imported they proceed to the domestic delicacies of Rome; none of which is in greater request there, than the particular sort which is here mentioned. The word properly signifies, pears, peaches, nectarines, and all of the apple and plumb kinds, and all things that are dainty-To the taste, and splendid-To the sight; as clothes, buildings,

furniture.

Most of the expres

V. 19. And they cast dust on their heads-As mourners. sions here used in describing the downfall of Babylon, are taken from Ezekiel's description of the downfall of Tyre, ch. xxvi. and xxvii.

V. 20. Rejoice over her, thou heaven-That is, all the inhabitents of it, and more especially, ye saints: and among the saints still more eminently, ye apostles and prophets,

V. 21. And a mighty angel took up a stone, and threw it into the sea-By a like emblem Jeremiah fore-shewed the fall of the Chaldean Babylon, ch. li. 63, 64.

shall Babylon, the great city, be thrown down, and shall 22 be found no more at all. And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee, and no artificer of any kind shall be found any more in thee, and the sound of a mill-stone 23 shall be heard no more at all in thee, And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee, and the voice of the bridegroom and the bride shall be heard no more in thee; for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. 24 And in her was found the blood of prophets, and saints, and of all that had been slain upon the earth.

CHAP. XIX. 1. After these things I heard a loud

V. 22. And the voices of harpers-Players on stringed instruments; and musicians Skilful singers in particular, and pipers-Who played on flutes, chiefly on mournful, whereas trumpeters played on joyful occasions, shall be heard no more in thee, and no artificer-Arts of every kind, particularly, music, sculpture, painting, and statuary, were there carried to their greatest height. No, nor even the sound of a mill-stone shall be heard any more in thee-Not only the arts that adorn life, but even those employments without which it cannot subsist, will cease from thee for ever. All these expressions denote absolute and eternal desolation. The voice of harpers-Music was the entertainment of the rich and great; trade the business of men of middle rank; preparing bread and the necessaries of life, the employment of the lowest people; marriages, in which lamps and songs were known ceremonies, are the means of peopling cities, as new births supply the place of those that die. The desotion of Rome is therefore described in such a manner, as to shew that neither rich nor poor, neither persons of middle rank, nor those of the lowest condition, should be able to live there any more. Neither shall it be re-peopled by new marriages, but remain desolate and uninhabited for ever.

V. 23. For thy merchants were the great men of the earth-A circumstance which was in itself indifferent, and yet led them into pride, luxury, and numberless other sins.

V. 24. And in her was found the blood of the prophets and saints-The same angel speaks still, yet he does not say in thee, but in her, now so sunk as not to hear these last words; and of all that had been slain-Even before she was built, see Matt. xxiii. 35. There is no city under the sun which has so clear a title to catholic blood-guiltiness as Rome. The guilt of the blood shed under the heathen emperors, has not been removed under the popes, but hugely multiplied. Nor is Rome accountable only for what hath been shed in the city, but for that shed in all the earth. For at Rome under the popes, as well as under the heathen emperors, were the bloody orders and edicts given: and wherever the blood of holy men was shed, there were the grand rejoicings for it. And what immense quantities of blood have been shed by her agents! Charles IX. of France, in his letter to Gregory XIII. boasts, that in and not long after the massacre of Paris, he had destroyed seventy thousand Hugonots, Some have computed, that from the year 1518 to 1548, fifteen millions of Protestants have perished by war and the inquisition. This may be overcharged; but certainly the number of them in those thirty years, as well as since, is almost incredible. To these we may add innumerable `martyrs, in ancient, middle, and late ages, in Bohemia, Germany, Holland, France, England, Ireland, and many other parts of Europe, Afric, and Asia.

CHAP. XIX. Ver. 1. I heard a loud voice of a great multitude-Whose

voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, Hallelujah ; The salvation, and the glory, and the power, to our God. 2 For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, who corrupted the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants 3 at her hand. (And again they said Hallelujah,) and her 4 smoke ascendeth for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders, and the four living creatures fell down, and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen, 5 Hallelujah. And a voice came forth from the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that 6 fear him, small and great. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as a voice of many waters, and as a voice of mighty thunders, saying, Hallelujah : for the Lord God, the Almighty reigneth. Let us be

blood the great whore had shed, saying, Hallelujah-This Hebrew word signifies, Praise ye Jah, or him that is. God named himself to Moses, EHEIÈH, that is, I will be, Exod. ii. 14; and at the same time, Jehovah, that is, He that is, and was, and is to come: during the trumpet of the seventh angel, he is styled, He that is, and was, (ch. xvi. 5,) and not He that is to come: because his long expected coming is under this trumpet actually present. At length he is styled, Jak, He that is, the past, together with the future being swallowed up in the present, the former things being no more mentioned, for the greatness of those that now are. This title is of all others the most peculiar to the everlasting God. The salvation, is opposed to the destruction which the great whore had brought upon the earth. His power and his glory appear from the judgment executed on her, and from the setting up his kingdom to endure through all ages,

V. 2. For true and righteous are his judgments-Thus is the cry of the souls under the altar changed into a song of praise.

V. 4. And the four and twenty elders, and the four living creatures fell down -The living creatures are nearer the throne than the elders. Accordingly they are mentioned before them with the praise they render to God, ch. iv. 9, 10, ch. viii. 14, in as much as there the praise moves from the centre to the circumference. But here, when God's judgments are fulfilled, it moves back from the circumference to the centre, Here therefore the four and twenty elders are named before the living creatures.

V. 5. And a voice came forth from the throne-Probably from the four living creatures, saying, Praise our God-The occasion and matter of this song of praise follow immediately after, ver. 6, &c. God was praised before for his judgment of the great whore, ver. 1-4. Now for that which follows it: for the Lord God, the Almighty, takes the kingdom to himself, and avenges himself on the rest of his enemies, Were all these inhabitants of heaven mistaken? If not, there is a real, yea, a terrible anger in God.

V. 6. And I heard the voice of a great multitude-So all his servants did praise him. The Almighty reigneth-More eminently and gloriously than ever before. V. 7. The marriage of the Lamb is come-Is near at hand, to be solemnized speedily. What this implies, none of the spirits of just men, even in paradise, yet know. O what things are those which are yet behind! And what purity of heart should there be to meditate upon them! And his wife hath made herself ready-Even upon earth: but in a far higher sense, in that world. After a time allowed for this, the New Jerusalem comes down, both made ready and adorned, ch. xxi. 2.