denotes the progress of Almighty vengeance throughout the world.

"He which sat on the horse is called Faithful and True," intimating that His procedure on the present occasion, would accomplish the promises so long given to His people. The description given of the conduct of this Glorious Being, is strikingly impressive,—“ He judgeth and maketh war righteously." Here is the object of his figurative progress through the earth,-judgment upon the guilty,-warfare against His foes. Since the deluge, man had been permitted to go on sinning against Heaven with impunity, especially BABYLON THE GREAT, as yet had remained unpunished, and the blood of the saints and martyrs was unavenged. Now, however, complete and final retribution would be poured out upon a guilty world; and though the judgments of the KING OF KINGS would inflict unexampled misery and utter destruction, justice would still characterize them.

The bloody vestment, worn by the All-merciful Redeemer, is awfully expressive of His mission. Instead of being clad in robes of state and grandeur, becoming Him who is KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS;—or instead of assuming the appearance of which the same Apostle speaks,-“ I looked and beheld a lamb as it had been slain ;" on this fearful occasion, He comes forth "clothed with a vesture dipt in blood," Similarly the "sword proceeding out of his mouth,”"his ruling the nations with a rod of iron," and “his treading the winepress of the wrath of God," too clearly betoken the awful effects to be produced, and prove beyond all doubt, that some tremendous and bloody slaughter of our guilty race, is the object which calls Him forth. Alas! what must be the extent of the tremendous carnage of mankind, to justify the language of the angel who stands in the sun,— "And he cried with a loud voice to all the fowls that fly in the midst of Heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto THE SUPPER OF THE GREAT GOD!"

upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, and lord of LORDS. And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into And the remnant were upon the horse, which and all the fowls were

a lake of fire burning with brimstone. slain with the sword of him that sat sword proceeded out of his mouth filled with their flesh."

There can be no question, I think, that this sublime and awful description is purely figurative. The fact of the Redeemer being represented coming from Heaven on a white horse, proves this, especially as the very same symbol is employed in the First Seal, which all acknowledge to be figurative. That vision of "the white horse, and him that sat thereon, who went forth conquering and to conquer," denotes clearly the first triumphs of Christianity in the earth. This magnificent description of the WORD OF GOD upon a "white horse, clothed with a vesture dipt in blood; and he treadeth the winepress of the wrath of God," similarly

denotes the progress of Almighty vengeance throughout the world.

"He which sat on the horse is called Faithful and True," intimating that His procedure on the present occasion, would accomplish the promises so long given to His people. The description given of the conduct of this Glorious Being, is strikingly impressive,—“ He judgeth and maketh war righteously." Here is the object of his figurative progress through the earth,―judgment upon the guilty,—warfare against His foes. Since the deluge, man had been permitted to go on sinning against Heaven with impunity, especially BABYLON THE GREAT, as yet had remained unpunished, and the blood of the saints and martyrs was unavenged. Now, however, complete and final retribution would be poured out upon a guilty world; and though the judgments of the KING OF KINGS would inflict unexampled misery and utter destruction, justice would still characterize them.

The bloody vestment, worn by the All-merciful Redeemer, is awfully expressive of His mission. Instead of being clad in robes of state and grandeur, becoming Him who is KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS;-or instead of assuming the appearance of which the same Apostle speaks,-“ I looked and beheld a lamb as it had been slain ;" on this fearful occasion, He comes forth "clothed with a vesture dipt in blood," Similarly the "sword proceeding out of his mouth,”— "his ruling the nations with a rod of iron,”—and “his treading the winepress of the wrath of God," too clearly betoken the awful effects to be produced, and prove beyond all doubt, that some tremendous and bloody slaughter of our guilty race, is the object which calls Him forth. Alas! what must be the extent of the tremendous carnage of mankind, to justify the language of the angel who stands in the sun,— "And he cried with a loud voice to all the fowls that fly in the midst of Heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto THE SUPPER OF THE GREAT GOD!"

The parties in this terrible conflict are next mentioned,-"And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies;" that is, the kingdoms of Europe constituting the ten-horned Wild Beast (including England), and the other potentates of the earth with their armies. This constitutes, therefore, the only UNIVERSAL WAR which has ever occurred. No exception, no qualification is stated,-" The beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies."

This mighty and innumerable host are "gathered together to make war against Him that sat on the horse, and His army." What are we to understand by this? Surely not that man did knowingly contend with God, and rush upon the thick bosses of the buckler of Omnipotence! It rather signifies that, in pursuing their present object, viz.: attacking the Jews after their restoration, the Beast and the Kings of the earth were, in point of fact, "fighting against God," opposing themselves to the long-pledged promises and solemn oath of the Almighty,—" I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of SUCCESSIVE GENERATIONS.'

As already observed, it has commonly been supposed, that the Anti-Christian powers were assembled on this occasion for the express purpose of crushing the cause of God, and destroying His people from the face of the earth. The opposite party in this conflict, "the Word of God and the armies of Heaven," have been thought to favour this theory, or rather to prove it. But, even were these "Armies upon white horses" visibly and literally engaged in the battle, nothing of this sort could follow. The saints of God can not be meant by "the armies which are in Heaven," whose spotless and perfect state is symbolized by the "white linen fine and clean," in which they are arrayed. The true interpretation then of this army which follows Christ is, that it is a figurative representation of the important fact, that PRINCIPALITIES and POWERS in Heavenly places, will, under the guidance of their GREAT

CAPTAIN, execute the wrath of the Almighty upon the AntiChristian powers of the earth.

In a conflict of this unequal nature, between man and God upon a battle-field, it can excite no surprise that the particulars of the event are not given,-the result alone is stated. "The Beast was taken, and with him the False Prophet that wrought miracles before him,"-i. e. the Romish Hierarchy. The sublime conciseness of this description, infinitely transcends the well-known classical account of a battle, "Veni, vidi, vici."

The utter and irrecoverable perdition of the two monstrous systems of CIVIL and SPIRITUAL DESPOTISM, which have for so many ages leagued with the God of this world for the destruction of mankind, both in England and the rest of Europe, is here set forth in language that can never be mistaken. "The Beast and the False Prophet were taken, and cast alive into the lake of fire," and probably the finest piece of composition, inspired or uninspired, which the world contains, is the description of the entry of the False Prophet, or "Babylon the Great," into the lower regions, in Isaiah xiv. 21 to the end. The 28th chap. of Ezek. ver. 1-19, is scarcely inferior.

"The remnant" who "were slain with the sword of Him that sat upon the horse," seems to denote the other kings and their armies, not constituting the "the Ten-horned Beast.” These are also styled "the kings of the earth." These potentates and their armies share a similar fate, being destroyed at the bidding of the Almighty. The ridiculous idea of Jones and others, that, their being slain with the sword signifies their conversion to the faith of the gospel by the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God,—is completely refuted by the next words; "And all the fowls of Heaven were filled with their flesh."