This Sulphureousness of its Soil, and its fiery Mountains and Caverns. we shall easily find to be the Roman Territory, or the Country of Italy-which by all accounts antient and modern is a Storehouse of fire; as if it were condemned to that fate by God and Nature, and to be an Incendiary, as it were, to the rest of the World. And, seeing, Mystical Babylon, the Seat of Anti-Christ, is the same Rome and its Territory, as it is understood by most Interpreters of former and of latter ages; you see both outlines meet in this point, and that there is fairness, on both hands to conclude That, at the glorious appearance of our Saviour, the Conflagration will begin at the City of Rome and the Roman Territory." Page 120. "Nature hath saved us the pains of kindling the fire in those parts of the Earth; for, since the memory of man, there have always been subterraneous fires in Italy. And the Romans did not preserve their Vestal fire with more constancy, than Nature hath done her fiery Mountains in some part or other of that Territory. Let us then suppose, when the fatal time draws near, all these burning Mountains to be filled and replenished with fit materials for such a design, and when our Saviour appears in the clouds, with a host of Angels, that they all begin to play, as fireworks at the triumphal entry of a Prince. Let Vesuvius, Etna, Strongyle, and all the Volcanic Islands, break out into flames; and by the Earthquakes, which then will rage, let us suppose new eruptions, or new Mountains opened in the Apennines, and near to Rome; and to vomit out fire in the same manner as the old Volcanos. Then let the Sulphureous ground take fire, and seeing the Soil of that Country, in several places is so full of Brimstone, that the steam and smoke of it visibly rise out of the Earth; we may reasonably suppose, that it will burn openly and be inflamed at that time. Lastly, the Lightnings of the Air, and the flaming streams of the melting skies, will mingle and join with these burnings of the Earth; and these three causes meeting together, as they cannot but make a dreadful scene, so they will easily destroy and consume whatsoever lies within the compass of their fury." Page 121, "Thus you may suppose the beginning of the General Fire, and it will be carried on by like causes, though in lesser degrees, in other parts of the Earth. But as to Rome, there is still, in my opinion, a more dreadful fate that will attend it; namely, to be absorbed or swallowed up in a Lake of Fire and Brimstone, after the manner of Sodom aud Gomorrah. This, in my judgment will be the fate and final conclusion of the Mystical Babylon, to sink as a great mill stone into the Sea and never to appear more. Hear what the Prophet says, 'A Mighty Angel took up a Stone, like a great Mill Stone, and cast it into the Sea, saying Thus with violence shall that great City Babylon be thrown down and shall be found no more at all.'Apoc. xviii. 21." 66 Page 121. Simply to be burned, does not at all answer to this description, by sinking like a Mill Stone into the Sea, and never appearing more, nor of not having its place ever more found; that is, leaving no remains or marks of it. A City that is only burned cannot be said to fall like a Mill Stone into the Sea; or that it can never more be found; for, after the burning of a City, the ruins stand and its place is well known. Wherefore, in both respects besides this exterior burning, there must be an absorption of this Mystical Babylon, the Seat of the Beast, and thereupon a total disappearance of it. This also agrees with the suddenness of the Judgment, which is a repeated character of it—Chap. xviii. 8, 10, 17, 19. Now, what kind of absorption this will be, into what, and in what manner we may learn from what St. John says afterwards, chap. xix. 20. The Beast and the False Prophet were cast alive into a Lake of Fire and Brimstone. You must not imagine, that they were bound hand and foot, and so thrown headlong into the Lake; but, they were swallowed up alive, they and theirs, as Corah and his Company; or, to use a plainer example, after the manner of Sodom and Gomorrah, which perished by fire, and, at the same time, sunk into the Dead Sea or the Lake of Brimstone." Page 122." This was a lively type of the fate of Rome, or Mystical Babylon; and 'tis fit it should resemble Sodom, as well in its punishment, as in its crimes. Neither is it a hard thing to conceive how such an absorption may come to pass, that being a thing so usual in Earthquakes; and Earthquakes being so frequent in that region. And lastly, that this should be after the manner of Sodom, turned into a Lake of Fire, will not be at all strange, if we consider, that there will be many Subterraneous Lakes of Fire at that time, when the bowels of the Earth begin to melt, and the Mountains spew out streams of liquid fire. The ground therefore being hollow and rotten in those parts, when it comes to be shaken with a Mighty Earthquake, the foundations will sink, and the whole frame fall into the Abyss of Fire below, as a Mill Stone into the Sea. And, this will give occasion to that cry, Babylon the Great is fallen, is fallen, and shall never more be found." Page 123. "This seems to be a probable account, according to Scripture and reason, of the beginning of the General Fire, and of the particular fate of Rome." Page 124. "It may indeed be made a question, whether this fiery vengeance upon the Seat of Anti-Christ will not precede the general Conflagration, at some distance of time, as a forerunner and forewarner to the World, that the rest of the People may have space to repent; and particularly the Jews, being spectators of this Tragedy, and of the miraculous appearance of our Saviour, may see the hand of God in it, and be convinced of the Truth, and Divine Authority of the Christian Religion: I say this supposition would leave room for these and some other prophetic scenes, which we know not well where to place. But seeing, The Day of the Lord is represented in Scripture, as one entire thing without interruption or discontinuation, and that it is to begin with the destruction of Anti-Christ, we have warrant enough to pursue the rest of the Conflagration from this beginning and introduction. * * Page 127. "If we may be allowed to bring Prophetical passages of Scripture to a natural sense, as doubtless, some of those must that respect the End of the World;-these phrases-of the Wine-press of the Wrath of God, Apoc. xiv. 10, 19; chap. xvi. 19; chap. xix. 15. Drinking the fierceness of His Wine, poured, without mixture, into the Cup of His indignation; with expressions of the like nature, that occur some times in the old Prophets, but especially in the Apocalypse. These, I say, might receive a full and emphatical explication from this state of things which now lies before us. I would not exclude any other explication of less force, as that of alluding to the bitter cup, or mixed potion, that used to be given to malefactors. But that, methinks, is a low sense when applied to these places in the Apocalypse. That these phrases signify God's remarkable judgments, all allow, and here they plainly relate to the End of the World, to the last plagues, and the last of the last plagues, chap. xvi. 19. Besides, the Angel that presided over this Judgment, is said to be an Angel that had power over Fire, and those who are to drink this potion are said to be tormented with Fire and Brimstone, chap. xiv. 19." Page 128. "This presiding Angel seems to be our Saviour Himself, chap. xix. 15; who, when He comes to execute Divine vengeance upon the Earth, gives His orders in these words, Gather the Clusters of the Vine of the Earth for her Grapes are fully ripe, chap. xiv. 18, 19. And thereupon the Destroying Angel thrust in his Sickle into the Earth and gathered the Vine of Earth and cast it into the great Wine-press of the Wrath of God. And this made a potion compounded of several ingredients, but not diluted with Water, chap. xix. 10. And this was indeed a Potion of Fire and Brimstone, and all burning materials mixed together. The similitudes of Scripture are seldom nice and exact, but rather bold, noble and great; and according to the circumstances, which we have observed, this Vineyard seems to be the Earth, and this Vintage the End of the World, the pressing of the Grapes into the Cup or Vessel that receives them, the distillation of burning liquers form all parts of the Earth, into the trough of the Sea, and the Lake of the Red Fire, the blood of these Grapes so flowing into it." Page 129. ""Tis true, this Judgment of the Vintage and Winepress, the effects of it seem to aim more especially at some particular Region of the Earth, chap. xiv. 20. And I am not against that, provided the substance of the explication be still retained, and the Universal Sea of Fire be that, under this name of a Sea of Glass, mingled with Fire, chap. xvi. 2. This, I think, expresses the highest and complete state of this Conflagration, when the Mountains are fled away, and not only so, but the exterior Regions of the Earth quite dissolved like snow before the Sun, and the Channel of the Sea filled with a mass of liquid Fire, and the same Fire overflowing the whole Globe and covering the whole Earth, as the Deluge, or the first abyss. Then will the Triumphal Songs and Hallelujahs be sung for the Victories of the Lamb over all His Enemies, and over Nature itself. Apoc. xv. 3, 4: Great and marvellous are Thy Works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy Ways, Thou King of Saints. Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy Name? for Thou only art Holy, for all Nations shall come and worship before Thee, for Thy Judgments are made manifest." POETRY. STANZAS FOR PROTESTANT ASSOCIATIONS. COME forth to the battle-for truth and for right!- "Conciliate "-yes 'tis a fair-sounding speech :- But flies sword-in-hand the assailant to meet. We have trusted too long and too fondly believed Those who mocked at the dupes they cajoled and deceived, And we raise the fair Protestant standard once more. G. H. TO A FRIEND ON AN EXCHANGE OF BIBLES. From me the dearest treasure take, When in thy secret hour of pray'r Amid the friends thy thoughts who share, Think that thy pray'r of earnest faith May save from harm a soul— May nerve it in the hour of death And wing it to the goal. When bliss is thine-here thou wilt find "All good is from above In grief 'twill bid thee be resign'd, And trust a Saviour's love. Thy precious gift I'll daily con, And as my pray'rs I sigh, Will think thy views in unison Are mounting to the sky. 'Tis sweet to feel that heart with heart, At God's High Mercy seat, Though earth's most dreary distance past, 'Tis joy to know (whate'er betide Ere life's weak chords be riven) To teach the way to Heaven. James v. 16. G. H. The following lines are prefixed to an edition of the Bible published in the year 1612: "ON THE INCOMPARABLE TREASURE OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. "Here is the spring where waters flow, To quench our heat of sinne; Here is the tree where trueth doth grow Here is the judge that stints the strife Here is the bread that feeds the life The tidings of salvation deere Reade not this book, in any case, Reade not, but first desire God's grace Pray still in faith, with this respect That knowledge may bring this effect Then happy thou, in all thy life Yea, double happy shalt thou be SONNET. BY MRS. GEORGE NORMAN. (For the Protestant Magazine.) Oh, England, England, o'er thee cometh fast The tortured pangs which none save martyrs dare Nor heeds the prayer the faithful remnant sends, |