which the Protestants hurt, but do not torment, and after which they are no more seen. We extract the comment upon the 12th verse.

"V. 12. One wo is past.' The period of 300 years assigned to the power of the locusts being expired, St. John then adds, one wo is past.' Before the angel sounded the fifth trumpet, see p. 169, three woes were pronounced to follow the sounding of the three last trumpets, namely, fifth, sixth, and seventh. And now the prophet tells us, that the first of these woes, which was announced by the fifth trumpet, is past. This wo, therefore, is the calamity occasioned by the swarm of locusts. I leave it to the reader to deter mine, whether the breaches and desolations made in the Church of Christ, as we have seen by the Reformation, be not a truly dismal wo, and worse than any part that has happened in the foregoing ages. Some part of this wo must also be referred to the convulsions that happened in different countries, particularly in France; and the impious attacks made there upon religion, as explained above.

"When one reflects, that of the three hundred years allowed to the reign of the locusts, there remain only fifty or fifty-five to run, one cannot but wish, with an earnest heart, that the people represented by those insects would enter into a serious consideration of that circumstance.

"What a happiness! if, during this short remaining interval, some part of them at least would submit to see their errors, and the great mischief that has been done to the Church by their revolt against it. It is full time to lay down all animosity against their ancient mother, think of a reconciliation, and ask to be received again into her bosom. She is an indulgent parent, and her arms are always open, even to her rebellious children, when they come in tears to implore her forgiveness. They should be sensible, that Christ is not only the protector of his beloved Spouse, the Church, but also the avenger of the injuries done to her. This power he has frequently exerted. The four preceding ages furnish us with the most evident proofs of it, under the respective four Vials of the wrath of God. She was revenged in the punishment of her persecutors, the Roman Emperors, in the first age. The Arians, who impugned her faith and harrassed her cruelly in the second age, felt

1771.

This work was printed in the year

also the avenging hand of the Son of God, whom with his Church they had blasphemed: after sore calamities, they were doomed to sink into annihilation. The third age exhibited to us a most conspicuous exertion of the two-edged sword of Christ, in the destruction of the cruel idolatrous Romans, for their having spilt the blood of his and his spouse's children. The fourth age was distinguished by the punishment of the Greeks, for their rebellion against the same Church; and the world still sees them groaning under slavery for their inflexible obstinacy. Such having been the conduct of the Supreme Guardian of his Church through the course of all the Christian ages, is it not an object of consideration highly interesting to the Protestants, lest some such disaster should also be their fate? The Saviour of mankind waits with patience for the return of his strayed sheep, but their obstinacy at last forces his hand to strike.

·

"Unhappy children of the Reformation! Refuse not to hear the wholesome advice of the Prophet Isaiah: Seek ye the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near.' iv. 6. Hear the voice of God speaking to Israel, and make the application: Return: O Virgin of Israel return to these thy cities.' Jerem. xxxi. 21. And again, Be converted, O house of Israel, and do penance for all your iniquities: and iniquity shall not be your ruin. Cast away from you all your transgressions, by which you have trausgressed, and make to yourselves a new heart and a new spirit; and why will you die, O house of Israel? For I desire not the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God; return and live.' Ezek. xviii. 30, 31, 32. But if deaf to all admonitions, they continue hardened in their own way, what remains to be done but to lament their misfortune, and in bitterness of soul, turn our eyes from the pouring out of the following Vial." P. 226.

The pouring out of the fifth Vial Apocal. xvi. 10. prefigures the destruction which is to overtake Protestants in the year 1825.

"Here the Angel pours out the fifth Vial of the wrath of God on the" Seat of the Beast," or rather, according to the Greek text, on " the Throne of the Beast." We have observed in the prelude to the Vials, see page 42, that the general term beast, has a double meaning, signifying idolatry or heresy, accordingly as either, like to a wild beast makes its ravages in the Church. In the first and third ages it

denoted idolatry, the subject of the history of those two ages. Here it is the image of heresy, the heresy of the Reformation, the characteristic of the fifth age. Upon the throne therefore of this beast, the Vial is poured out, that is, upon the kings and governors of the Protestant states, as they are the persons that sit, rested with power upon the thrones of those heretical kingdoms. They however, are themselves subordinate to their chief Abaddon, who, as was specified in the text of the Trumpet, commands over all, and sits upon the throne as king paramount. "The Protestant states become of course, involved with their princes in the calamities poured out from the Vial, as we shall see presently. But furthermore we may observe, that besides the single and general appellation of beast used here to express heresy, the Prophet exhibits to us in the Trumpet of this age a particular beast, by which he represents and describes the heresy of the Reformation, namely, a locust monster, which is partly locust, partly human, partly leonine, and partly scorpi. on." P. 229.

"In fine, we saw in the first trumpet, the Roman Emperors persecuting the Christian Religion; and the first vial was poured upon them. In the second trumpet we saw the Arians rebelling against the Church; and the second vial was poared upon them. In the third trumpet we saw the Roman Empire declining on account of its idolatry, and enmity to Christianity; and the third vial was poured upon it to extinguish it. In the fourth

trumpet we saw the revolt of the Greeks, against the Church, and the fourth vial punished them. In the fifth trumpet we see the Protestants revolting against the Church; upon whom must the fifth vial fall?

"The vial being poured upon the throne of the beast,' it flows down from thence over his whole kingdom, the realm of the Reformation. For, his kingdom became dark, and they gnawed their tongues for pain.' But with respect to the nature of this punishment, we shall be entirely silent, and leave it to be disclosed by the event. We shall only remark that, to judge from the expression of the text, the scourge seems to be severe, and we are extremely sorry it will be so ill received. And they blasphemed the God of Heaven because of their pains and wounds,' or sores, and did not penance for their works.'

"We shall here add another remark. The expression they gnawed with their tongues for pain, or rather, as it is in the Greek original, they did gnaw their tongues for pain, seems to refer to a time prior to that which follows, as is thus expressed, they blasphemed, &c. and may therefore relate to the first part of the punishment imported by this vial, which may be the scourge inflicted on the French people, and perhaps others, and seems to indicate distress of famine, &c.'" P. 231.

The Edition from which these extracts are made, was published at Dublin, by Wogan, in 1812.