femblance of the judgments in both cafes. Some refemblance too there is between these plagues, and those of Egypt. Rome papal hath already (XI. 8.) been diftinguished by the title of Spiritual Egypt, and refembles Egypt in her punishments as well as in her crimes, tyranny, idolatry, and wickedness.

2 And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noifome and grievous fore upon the men which had the mark of the beaft, and upon them which worshipped his image.

Vial the firft (ver. 2.) is poured out upon the earth; and fo the hail and fire of the firft trumpet (VIII. 7.) were caft upon the earth. It produceth a noifome and grievous fore; and in this refpect refembleth the fixth plague of Egypt, (Exod. IX. 10.) which was boils breaking forth with blains. This plague is inflicted upon the men who had the mark of the beast, and upon them who worshipped his image; which is to be understood of the others alfo, where it is not expreffed. Whether thefe fores and ulcers are natural or moral, the event muft fhow.

3 And the fecond angel poured out his vial upon the fea and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living foul died in the fea.

4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.

5 And I heard the angel of the waters fay, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and waft, and fhalt be, because thou haft judged thus:

6 For they have thed the blood of faints and prophets, and thou haft given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.

7 And I heard another out of the altar fay, Even fo, Lord God almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.

Vial the fecond (ver. 3.) is poured out upon the fea, and the fea becomes as the blood of a dead man, or as con

gealed

gealed biood: and in like manner under the fecond trumpet (VIII. 8.) the burning mountain was caft into the fea, and the fea became blood. Vial the third (ver. 4.) is poured out upon the rivers and fountains of waters, and they became blood: and in like manner under the third trumpet (VIII. 10.) the burning ftar fell upon the rivers and fountains of waters. There is a clofe connexion betwen these two vials; and the effects are fimilar to the first plague of Egypt, (Exod. VII. 19.) when the waters of Egypt, and their ftreams, and their rivers, and their ponds, and their pools of water became blood. Seas and rivers of blood manifeftly denote great flaughter and devaftation and hereupon (ver. 5, 6.) the angel of the waters, for it was a prevailing opinion in the east, that a (9) particular angel prefided over the waters, as others did over other elements and parts of nature, and mention was made before (XIV. 18.) of the angel who had power over fire; this angel of the waters celebrates the righteous judgments of God in adapting and proportioning the punishments of the followers of the beaft to their crime; for no law is more juft and equitable, than that they. who have been guilty of hedding the blood of faints and prophets, fhould be punished in the effufion of their own blood. Another angel out of the altar (ver. 7.) for (VI. 9.) under the altar were the fouls of them who were flain for the word of God and for the teftimony which they held, declares his affent in the moft folemn manner, Even fo, Lord God almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.

8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the fun; and power was given unto him to fcorch men with fire.

9 And men were fcorched with great heat, and blafphemed the name of God, which hath power over thefe plagués: and they repented not to give him glory.

(9) Imò Perse exiftimant peculiari angelo demandatum effe tueri aquas,

&c. Hyde de Relig. Vet. Perfarum, Cap. 6. p. 139. Vide etiam Cap. 19.

As

As the fourth trumpet affected the fun; (VIII. 12.) fo likewife the fourth vial (ver. 8, 9.) is poured out upon the fun. An intenfe heat enfues; and men blafpheme the name of God, and repent not to give him glory. Whether by this intenfe heat of the fun, he meant litterally uncommon fultry feafons, fcorching and withering the fruits of the earth, and producing peftilential fever and inflammations; or figuratively, a moft tyrannical and exorbitant exercife of arbitrary power by thofe who may be called the fun in the firmament by the beaft, the pope or emperor; time muft difcover. Men fhall be tormented, and complain grievoufly; they fhall like the rebellious Jews (If. VIII. 21.) fret themfelves, and curfe their king, and their God, and look upward, look upward not to pray but only to blafpheme; they fhall not have the fenfe or courage to repent, and forfake their idolatry and wickedness. When the events fhall take place, and these things fhall all be fulfilled, not only thefe prophecies of the vials fhall be better understood, but alfo thofe of the trumpets, to which they bear fome analogy and refemblance.

10 And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the feat of the beaft; and his kingdom was full of darkness, and they gnawed their tongues for pain,

11 And blafphemed the God of heaven, because of their pains and their fores, and repented not of their deeds.

Vial the fifth (ver. 10, 11.) is poured out upon the feat or throne of the beast, and his kingdom becomes full of darkness, as Egypt did (Exod. X. 21.) under her ninth plague. This is fome great calamity which fhall fall upon Rome itself, and fhall darken and confound the whole Antichriftian empire. But ftill the coufequences of this plague are much the fame as thofe of the foregoing one; for the fufferers, inftead of repenting of their deeds, are hardened like Pharaoh, and still perfift in their blafphemy and idolatry, and obftinately withstand all attempts of reformation.

12 And the fixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the caft might be prepared.

13 And I faw three unclean fpirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.

14 For they are the fpirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth, and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God almighty.

15 Behold, I come as a thief. Bleffed is he that watcheth and keepeth his garments, left he walk naked, and they fee his fhame.

16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue, Armageddon.

the

Vial the fixth (ver. 12.) is poured out upon great river Euphrates, and the water thereof is dried up, to prepare a paffage for the kings of the eaft. Whether by Euphrates be meant the river fo called, or only a mystic Euphrates, as Rome is myftic Babylon; and whether by the kings of the east be meant the Jews in particular, or any eastern potentates in general; can be matters only of conjecture, and not of certainty and affurance till the event fhall make the determination. Whoever they be, they appear to threaten the ruin and deftruction of the kingdom of the beaft: and therefore (1) the agents and emiffaries of popery, (ver. 13, 14.) of the dragon, the reprefentative of the devil, and of the beaft, the reprefentative of the antichriftian empire, and of the falfe prophet, the reprefentative of the antichriftian church, as difagreeable, as loquacious, as fordid, as impudent (2) as frogs, are employed to oppofe them, and ftir up the princes and potentates of their communion to make their united and laft effort in a religious war. neceffity these must be times of great trouble and afflic

(1) The three unclean fpirits like frogs Mr. Mann conceives to be the Dominicans, Franciicans, and Jefuits. Dominicani, rancifcani, et

Of

tion; fo that an exhortation is inferted (ver. 15.) by way of parenthefis, of the fuddenness of these judgments, and of the bleffedness of watching, and of being cloathed and prepared for all events. Beza conceives that this verfe was transferred hither from the 3d chapter, where it fhould be fubjoined to the 18th verfe: but the 3d chapter and the 16th chapter are at too great a distance for fuch a tranfpofition to be made. However it is

certain that this infertion hath in fome measure disturbed the fenfe, and broken the connection of the discourse; for our tranflators as well as feveral others render the following words (ver. 16.) And he gathered them together, the evil fpirits and agents before mentioned gather all the forces of the popith princes together, into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon, that is the mountain of deftruction.

17 And the feventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, faying, It is done.

18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, fuch as was not fince men were upon the earth, fo mighty an earthquake and fo great.

19 And the great city was divided into three parts; and the cities of the nations fell and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.

20 And every iland fled away, and the mountains were not found.

21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every jłone about the weight of a talent: and men blafphemed God because of the plague of the hail: for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

Vial the feventh (ver. 17.) is) oured out into the air, the feat of Satan's refidence, who is emphatically ftiled

(Eph. II