be out of his mind, as its established sign is perpetually surrounding his head and his throne.

A more particular description of his person and excellencies immediately follows: His face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire. There is such a similarity between this part of the description and what we have stated in chap. i. 15, 16., (which was considered in your hearing,) it may suffice at present to remark, that both are intended to set forth the matchless glory and dignity of the person of the Mediator, and the incomparable excellencies of which he is possessed. In the kingdom of nature, there is not a more glorious object than the sun, when he shines in the full splendour of his meridian brightness: and there is not among the servants of God any that is so dignified, or clothed with such personal worth and excellency as the Mediator; nor any, the light of whose countenance can be so refreshing to the saints. But while his friends have cause of exultation at the displays of his glory, his incorrigible enemies have every reason to be afraid. How easy for him, whose feet are like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace, to render them miserable beyond description.

While the displays of the glory of this angel were filling the prophet with admiration, his attention was attracted by the appearance of a little book which he held in his hand. He had in his hand a little book opened.-This book could not be a distinct or separate work from the one which John had formerly seen, because we hear of no other volume beside the book with seven seals which was received by the Lamb. It must have been either a part or the whole of that volume. It is unnatural to suppose that it comprised the whole work; because the different rolls were taken off and perused. It has therefore been considered as the remainder of the sealed book; and as the different seals were now opened, and the rolls or sheets to which they had been attached were laid aside, it is supposed that it might now be represented both as an open and a little book. But if it had contained all the subsequent prophecies

of the Revelations, it could not with propriety be called a little book, because it would still have comprised the largest half of the original volume. It seems to have been a supplement to the other, or rather an explanatory note, which was written upon a separate piece of parchment, and appeared to be hung by a thread or clasp to the bottom of the roll. It had no seal, neither was it wrapped up in a cylindrical form, but was open and ready to be perused.

We have a duplicate of the whole work, together with this supplementary or explanatory note, in the book of the Revelations. The only difference between what John saw in vision, and that which he has laid before us by the pen of inspiration, appears to be, that in the latter, the note or supplement is engrossed into the body of the work; in the former, it was presented in the shape of a distinct or separate symbol. And as it now forms part of the book of Revelation, it will be necessary, in order to any satisfactory explanation of its contents, to determine where it begins and where it ends.

The first may be easily decided; because, when the prophet, in the mystical sense of the expression had eaten the book, he was immediately told, that he must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings; it is therefore natural to suppose, that his very first predictions were to disclose the contents of the little book. Its commencement, therefore, must be with chap. xi. It is more difficult, however, to determine where it ends. There is one line of demarcation beyond which it would be unreasonable to suppose that it extended, viz. the 16th chapter. That chapter contains the prophecy of the seventh trumpet; and as all the trumpets belong to the sealed book, the contents of that chapter cannot form any part of the contents of the little book. We must therefore suppose, that the matter of this book has been engrossed between the 11th and 16th chapters; nor are we shut up to conclude, that all the intermediate chapters belong to it. Chap. xv. is manifestly introductory to the one that follows, explaining how the seven angels came to pour out their seven vials;

it therefore stands connected with what follows, and not with any thing that precedes it, and cannot be a part of the little book. Chap. xiv. contains the history of one of those consolatory visions with which the prophet was favoured, when any new and distressing scene was about to be disclosed; it occupies the same place in the account of the seventh trumpet which the chapter before us does in the account of the little book; and, therefore, cannot belong to that book any more than chap. xv. But, by glancing over the preceding chapters, any person will see that they are of a different character, and that they refer to times and events of a different description from those which follow. Chapters xi., xii., and xiii., are then the only parts of the Revelation which can reasonably be supposed to have been presented to John in the form of a little book open, which the angel held in his hand.

The prophet was now to deviate, in some measure, from the order which he had observed in announcing his predictions. Instead of proceeding in a regular chronological series, he was to turn back, and give a more full and expanded view of scenes which had been described in part; and, that the thread of his narrative might not be broken, he throws this supplementary matter into the form of an episode, or incidental narrative, to which he has given the title of a little book.

The attitude which the angel assumed upon his descent to the earth, could not fail to be noticed by John. He set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth. By the earth, the Jews understood the large continents of Asia and Africa, or all those places to which they had access by land; and by the sea, they meant the continent of Europe, and the numerous islands with which it is surrounded, or all those places to which they had access only by water. And as they knew nothing of America, the empire of the whole world must have appeared to be under the management of this angel, as the three known and grand divisions of it were under his feet. There may be some mystical design here, not merely in the commanding attitude which he assumed, but also in the direc

tion in which he stood. His right foot being upon the sea, and his left on the dry land, he must have appeared with his back towards the East, and his face in the opposite direction. Ever since the introduction of the New Testament dispensation, Europe has been the most remarkable seat of the church. In the course of a few centuries, the back of Messiah was turned upon the Asiatic states; but since the introduction of Christianity, he has never been without a church in Europe, and especially in the European islands. Here, according to the ancient promise, his hand has been in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers, Psa. lxxxix. 25. Whether this view of his position be correct or not, it cannot fail to give satisfaction to every devout mind to be assured, that all the different regions of this lower world are under the mediatorial rule of Christ. He hath set one foot in the sea and the other upon the land; and who would dare to move either of them, seeing they are like pillars of fire, or as fine brass that burneth in a furnace.

He had no sooner taken this position, than he cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth.-The voice of the lion arrests the attention, and fills the fiercest and stoutest inhabitants of the forest with terror. There is something peculiarly terrific in the sound, not so much from the strength, as from the peculiarity of the tone. When any other animal raises its voice, it is easily known from what direction it proceeds; but the lion has so much of the powers of a ventriloquist, that it cannot be known from his voice in what thicket he is lurking; it seems to come from all directions at once. Hence the beasts of the forest can do nothing but quake; they are afraid to lie still in their dens, lest he make a spring upon them: and they are equally afraid to run, lest, in attempting to escape, they should take the direction in which he is watching, and should throw themselves into the paws of their adversary.* The allusion appears, however, to be to the strength and majesty rather than to any peculiarity in the tone of the lion's voice; for he cried, it is said, with a loud voice. He lifted up his Sparman's Voyage to the Cape.

voice in a strong loud tone, that the inhabitants of all those regions upon which he was standing might be roused, and attend to the disclosure which he was about to make.

The shout of this mighty angel was succeeded by seven loud peals of thunder, which followed one another in the quickest succession. These thunders, too, had something very remarkable in their expression. What is here rendered Seven thunders uttered their voices, may be literally translated, Seven thunders spake their voices. Thunder, in general, is the most confused crash, or the most indistinct sound, that can well be conceived. But these mystical thunders were like intelligent beings, endowed with reason and the powers of articulation; they spake when they thundered, and the language in which their expressions were uttered was intelligible to the prophet; for they had no sooner finished their address, than he proceeded to commit their sayings to writing, but was prohibited by a voice from heaven, saying unto him, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.-Invention has been often put to the rack to find out what was actually spoken. For though John was commanded to seal them, yet as he was not prevented from telling that he had heard them, it has been supposed that it cannot be unwarrantable to search into their meaning. But though this reason might defend the inquirer against the charge of presumption, it is manifest that all inquiries upon this subject must be fruitless. The things which they uttered were known to the prophet, but being put under a strong seal, which to this day is not yet taken off, it is impossible for us to know them. And as it was by the express command of God (for the voice came from heaven) that they were put under this seal, any attempt to understand their meaning must be something like an effort to be wise above what is written.

The prophet returns to his account of the mighty angel, and informs us, that he lifted up his hand to heaven, and sware. The external form in which this oath was taken claims attention; it was by the lifting up of the hand toward heaven. Dif