In taking a general view of the infinite variety of new teachers that fprung up at this time, jarring among themselves, corrupting the genuine fources of faith and morals, and deluding their fellowcreatures with poisonous novelties, one cannot help obferving with how great propriety they had been long before defcribed by the apoftle St. Jude in the following manner: "Thefe are clouds without water, which are carried about by winds; trees of the autumn, unfruitful, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; raging waves of the fea, foaming out their own confufion; wandering ftars." Ep. v. 12, 13. They are firft compared to clouds without water, or that promife water, but are carried about by winds without giving any; that is, thefe new teachers promise genuine apoftolical doctrine, which they call reformation, but it is mere deceit. They are termed autumnal trees, unfruitful, twice dead, plucked up by the roots, that is, they are become barren Chriftians, bringing forth no fruit, twice dead, by the want of faith and morality. Like dead trees plucked up from the earth, they are banifhed out of the Church, from which they ought to receive their fpiritual life and nourishment. They are like the raging waves of the fea, foaming out their confufion; they are turbulent, proud, rebellious against their mother, the Church, which they furiously affault with flander, calumny, and blafphemy. Laftly, like wandering ftars, they wander about in mazes of imaginary knowledge, paffing from one error to another without knowing where to fix their fieps.

"And power was given to them, (the locufts,) as the fcorpions of the earth have power," ver. 3. Thefe locufts have peculiar qualities, not to be found in the common locufts. They have the power of fcorpions, that is, a power of ftinging.

This allegory fhews, that the reformed fects, here fignified by the locufts, were empowered, by the divine permiffion, to fting or violently to torment thofe of the Catholic communion, whom they had left, and against whom they conceived and still retain a rancorous animofity.

"And it was commanded them, (the locufts,) that they should not hurt the grafs of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree: but only the men who have not the fign of God on their foreheads," ver. 4. The locufts, or the fects of proteftants are not allowed by almighty God to hurt the grafs of the earth, that is, the whole body of the common faithful; nor every green thing, as the Greek and Latin texts exprefs it, that is, not all the vegetable greens that shoot up higher than the grafs, denoting the princes, magiftrates, and others fuperior in dignity to the commonality; nor are they allowed to hurt every tree, or all the paftors with their clergy. In short they are not permitted to pervert the whole or any of the three different claffes of the faithful, namely, minifters of religion or the clergy, the princes and perfons and civil dignity, and. the common people.

The expreffion however of all or every one indicates that fome of all these forts will be ensnared. In general, they will not be allowed to feduce any others of the Church's members, but those who have not the fign of God on their foreheads, that is, those who are not folidly fixed in their faith and morals, but fuffer themselves to be influenced by their paffions, by worldly views or pleafures, and who confequently have not courage to withstand the temptation, nor to fight under the banner of religion. Thefe have not the fign of God on their foreheads: they cowardly give up this characteristic fign, the Cross of Chrift, with its perfecutions, felf-denials and mortifications: they go over to

In taking a general view of the infinite variety of new teachers that fprung up at this time, jarring among themselves, corrupting the genuine fources of faith and morals, and deluding their fellowcreatures with poisonous novelties, one cannot help obferving with how great propriety they had been long before defcribed by the apoftle St. Jude in the following manner: "Thefe are clouds without water, which are carried about by winds; trees of the autumn, unfruitful, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; raging waves of the fea, foaming out their own confufion; wandering ftars." Ep. v. 12, 13. They are firft compared to clouds without water, or that promife water, but are carried about by winds without giving any; that is, thefe new, teachers promise genuine apoftolical doctrine, which they call reformation, but it is mere deceit. They are termed autumnal trees, unfruitful, twice dead, plucked up by the roots, that is, they are become barren Chriftians, bringing forth no fruit, twice dead, by the want of faith and morality. Like dead trees plucked up from the earth, they are banished out of the Church, from which they ought to receive their fpiritual life and nourishment. They are like the raging waves of the fea, foaming out their confufion; they are turbulent, proud, rebellious against their mother, the Church, which they furiously affault with flander, calumny, and blafphemy. Laftly, like wandering ftars, they wander about in mazes of imaginary knowledge, paffing from one error to another without knowing where to fix their steps.

"And power was given to them, (the locufts,) as the fcorpions of the earth have power," ver. 3. Thefe locufts have peculiar qualities, not to be found in the common locufts. They have the power of fcorpions, that is, a power of ftinging.

This allegory fhews, that the reformed fects, here fignified by the locufts, were empowered, by the divine permiffion, to fting or violently to torment thofe of the Catholic communion, whom they had left, and against whom they conceived and ftill retain a rancorous animofity.

"And it was commanded them, (the locufts,) that they should not hurt the grafs of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree: but only the men who have not the fign of God on their foreheads," ver. 4. The locufts, or the fects of proteftants are not allowed by almighty God to hurt the grafs of the earth, that is, the whole body of the common faithful; nor every green thing, as the Greek and Latin texts exprefs it, that is, not all the vegetable greens that shoot up higher than the grafs, denoting the princes, magiftrates, and others fuperior in dignity to the commonality; nor are they allowed to hurt every tree, or all the paftors with their clergy. In fhort they are not permitted to pervert the whole or any of the three different claffes of the faithful, namely, minifters of religion or the clergy, the princes and perfons and civil dignity, and. the common people.

The expreffion however of all or every one indicates that fome of all thefe forts will be ensnared. In general, they will not be allowed to feduce any others of the Church's members, but those who have not the fign of God on their foreheads, that is, those who are not solidly fixed in their faith and morals, but fuffer themselves to be influenced by their paffions, by worldly views or pleafures, and who confequently have not courage to withstand the temptation, nor to fight under the banner of religion. Thefe have not the fign of God on their foreheads: they cowardly give up this characteristic fign, the Cross of Chrift, with its perfecutions, felf-denials and mortifications: they go over to

their enemies who feduced them, and from them learn to have a horror of imprinting that falutary mark on their foreheads, which was fo much the practice of antiquity, as Tertullian informs us. "At every ftep," fays he, "whenever we come in or go out, when we put on our clothes or fhoes, when we wash, when we fit down to table, when we light a candle, when we go to bed-we imprint on our foreheads the fign of the crofs.” Lib. de Coron, Milit. c. 3.

From the present text of the Apocalypfe under our confideration, it appears then that, though almighty God, in the unfearchable ways of his wif dom, allows the proteftant fects to have a certain degree of power, yet in his goodness he puts a bridle to this power, and prefcribes to it determinate limits, left it should over-run too great a part of Chrift's kingdom." Hitherto fhalt thou come, and fhalt go no further, and here thou shalt break thy fwelling waves." Job. c. 38. v. 11. Mahometanifm and the Greek fchifm had already torn away a large body of the Catholic community; but the fupreme Ruler of the universe had promised, that his Church fhould ftand as vifible as if feated on a mountain and that hell itself fhould not prevail against it t. Thefe affurances are a fecure bulwark to it, and though the Sovereign Difpofer has permitted the new-generated poifon of the prefent age to infect fome part of his Church, the greater part is preferved found and untainted, and fhines forth with brighter luftre to the world. Many large countries rejected the reformation, and stedfaftly adhered to the ancient faith, and even in moft of those kingdoms, which adopted the innovation, there are still remaining by the providence of God, fome that refufe to bow their knees to Baal, and though few, like grapes remaining after the vintage,