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her double according to her hath filled, fill to her double.

works in the cup which she

:

ii. 13; Rev. xxii. 12.

"Reward her even as she rewarded you." This is not done to encourage retaliation in others, nor is it done for the purpose of retaliation, but on the principle above suggested, viz., that of rendering to men according to their works. God pours out the wickedness of men upon them; he makes them eat of the fruit of their own doings. "Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts;" Jer. ii. 19. Such is the principle of the divine government. God is said to visit the iniquities of men upon them, because retribution is all under his wise direction and care; and the saints even are sometimes said to punish the wicked, because they are made the agents, or executors, of the divine will. Fill to her double. - When sins are fully punished, when the cup of judgment, or wrath, is filled to the brim, and running over, the sinner is said to be punished double; but nothing more is meant than that the punishment was certainly full and adequate. Perhaps the expression was adopted from that part of the Mosaic code which required the thief to "restore double for what he had stolen ;" Exod. xxii. 4, 7. The Lord added to Job double for all he had lost; Job xlii. 10. It was said of Jerusalem, that she had "received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins;" Isa. xl. 2. The revelator, who abundantly proved himself to have been a diligent student of the prophets, perhaps drew his style in this instance from Jer. xvi. 18: "And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because they have defiled my land, they have filled mine inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable and abominable things." The cup which

7 How much she hath glo

Rome had filled refers doubtless to the cup mentioned xvii. 4, which was "full of abominations," with which the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk; xvii. 2. The command is, fill to her double; i. e., pour out her wickedness upon her; fill her to satiety with her own doings. The portion of a man's cup, in the style of the Scriptures, is the punishment which he deserves, and which God inflicts upon him. "Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and a horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup;" Psa. xi. 6. Of the wicked it is said, "Waters of a full cup are wrung out to them;" Psa. lxxiii. 10. As Rome was to be fully punished, though not unjustly, it is said, "fill to her double." She had made the nations drink of the cup of her abominations, and she was made, therefore, to drink of the cup of God's indignation. See xiv. 9-11. This drinking of the cup of God's indignation is the same as suffering the plagues which fell on Rome, both the city and the empire; for, at the pouring out of the seven vials it is said: "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;" xvi. 19. From this it appears certain that the punishment described in xiv. 10, 11 is none other than that of the vials. And the vials were surely all to be poured out on the earth; xv. 1; xvi. 1-8, 10, 12, 17.

7. So much torment and sorrow give her. - This shows that the filling of the cup double, mentioned in the preceding verse, was not intended to conflict with the principle of rendering to every man according to his works. It was evidently a hyperbolical expression, the intent of which is exactly showed in the words of this verse: "How much she hath glori

rified herself, and lived deli- in her heart, I sit a queen, and ciously, so much torment and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow give her: for she saith sorrow.

fied herself and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her ;" i. e., reward her according to her works. We should not be justified in inferring from this verse that God was unwilling mankind should live happily on the earth. True and solid happiness is always to be found in the way of well doing. But Rome did not seek to live happily, in the true sense of that word, but deliciously. She gave herself up to pleasure, and "she that liveth in pleasure [i. e., who lives for that alone] is dead while she liveth ;" 1 Tim. v. 6. When men live for pleasure merely, they may perhaps live deliciously, but they do not find

"What nothing earthly gives, or can destroy, The soul's calm sunshine, and the heartfelt joy."

"A good man shall be satisfied from
himself;" Psa. xiv. 14. He has with-
in himself sources of real satisfaction;
he is of all men most happy. He has
"rest to his soul." But Rome did not
seek for true happiness, but false de-
light. She gave no heed to the call
of duty, but sought pleasure only;
"she glorified herself and lived deli-
ciously;" and in proportion to her
wickedness were her torment and
sorrow measured out to her. Saith
in her heart, I sit a queen. - When she
was in the height of her power and
glory, she comforted herself with the
reflection, "I sit a queen, and am no
widow, and shall see no sorrow;"
but was she not fatally deceived? |
This is so evidently taken from
Isaiah's description of the pride of
Babylon, that we cannot forbear the
quotation: "Sit thou silent, and get
thee into darkness, O daughter of the
Chaldeans for thou shalt no more be
called, The lady of kingdoms;" Isa.
xlvii. 5. "And thou saidst, I shall be
a lady forever: so that thou didst not
lay these things to thy heart, neither
didst remember the latter end of it.

Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thy heart, I am, and none else besides me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children;" vs. 7, 8. "Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth; and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off; and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know;" ver. 11. How was Babylon of old lifted up! How blind was she to the inevitable consequences of her actions! What disappointments awaited her! So with Rome, the Babylon of the Apocalypse. She sat a queen, in her own estimation. She feared no widowhood, no loss of children. Being represented by a woman raised to the highest pinnacle of earthly grandeur, her approaching state of humiliation is represented by the sorrows of the same woman, when reduced to widowhood, and bereft of her children, on which she hoped to lean for support in her declining years. This should be a lesson to all, not to be presumptive, vain, selfconfident, but to remember that there is no height of human grandeur from which men may not be thrown down. Babylon of old fell; Jerusalem fell; Rome fell: That immense empire, which embraced almost the whole known world, was wasted away. God is the ruler among the nations. Righteousness alone is true exaltation; sin is a reproach, and will bring any nation down to the dust.

8. Plagues. The plagues are here mentioned once more. See the long note on xv. 1. They are there called "the last plagues," because they were the only ones that remained to be described in the Apocalypse, and because the wrath of God was filled up, or finished, by or in them; xv. 1, 6, 8. They were all descriptive of temporal

them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them;" ii. 3. TShe shall be utterly burned with fire.—Those who have paid a careful attention to the style of the Apocalypse will see no occasion for understanding this strictly. Rome suffered greatly from fire, about the time the Apocalypse was written, when Nero made so conspicuous a figure. It is well known, that he sought to throw the blame of the conflagration on the Christians, as though they were a band of incendiaries; and as a punishment, to cover up the atrocity of his charge, he ordered that numbers of them should be dressed in the skins of beasts and worried to death by dogs; and others were smeared with pitch, and then attached to crosses, and set on fire, to serve as human torches in the gardens of the emperor, where the usual games of the circus were performed, Nero himself driving a chariot, in the habit of a charioteer. In addition to this, Rome suffered greatly afterwards by conflagrations.

8 Therefore shall her plagues | shall be utterly burned with fire: come in one day, death, and for strong is the Lord God who mourning, and famine; and she judgeth her. judgments, for the whole seven of the vials were poured out on the earth; xvi. 1, 9; xviii. 4. The whole series of plagues, commencing with xiv. 9-11, and extending to the end of the Apocalypse, was descriptive of temporal judgments. The figure of pouring out the wrath of God is kept up through the whole, the mixture of wrath being in some cases contained in a cup, in others, in bowls, or vials; but this slight change in the imagery makes no change in the sense. Come in one day. Her plagues were her punishments; and are expressly said to be "death, and mourning, and famine," and burning with fire. These, we are told, shall come in one day. We are not to understand this strictly, as of a day of twenty-four hours. The phrase "one day" is used in the Scriptures to signify a short time. "Therefore the Lord will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day;" Isa. ix. 14. "And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day;" x. 17. "Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children;" lxvi. 8. Thus when it is said her plagues shall come in one day, the meaning seems to be, that they should not come consecutively, but together; that no time of any importance should intervene between them. Death, and mourning, and famine. These judgments, "death, mourning, and famine," are often mentioned as national judgments, by the sacred writers. They are the consequences of war, which devas-dor and the vices of Rome, would of tates a country more than any other cause. The march of a victorious army towards Jerusalem is thus described by the prophet Joel: "A fire devoureth before them, and behind

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Strong is the Lord God, who judgeth her. All the sacred writers speak of the power of God as being very great. He raiseth up and casteth down. The mighty in his hand are as nothing. He was abundantly able to execute all the threatened judgments upon Rome, notwithstanding she was regarded as the mistress of the world.

9. Committed fornication and lived deliciously. See the comments already offered on verses 3 and 7 of this chapter. These kings, who had been infatuated and inflamed by the splen

course bewail her misfortunes. They beheld her decline and overthrow. They saw her influence depart; so that, in comparison with what she had been, she would be almost as nothing.

9 And the kings of the earth, | Alas, alas! that great city Babywho have committed fornication lon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.

and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,

10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying,

mourn

11 And the merchants of the earth shall weep and over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:

12 The merchandise of gold,

to their own safety. They stood afar
off for fear of the torment; and la-
mented the fall of the city.
Is
thy judgment come. We have al-
ready mentioned so frequently the
judgments denounced in the Apoca-
lypse, that it seems scarcely necessary
to offer anything further here. The
judgment was a present temporal
judgment. It had come.
See verse 8
of this chapter; also the notes on xiv.
7; xv. 4; xvi. 5-7; xvii. 1; xix. 2;
and xx. 12, 13. If the student of the
Scriptures will observe carefully those
notes, he cannot fail to gain a correct
idea of the scriptural doctrine of judg-
ment.

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This took place not long after the Apocalypse was written, or at any rate it commenced to take place. The wickedness of Rome increased; her glory declined. So much for the city itself. If Rome be put for heathenism, as some writers understand it, it is a well known fact that it greatly declined. In less than three hundred years, its power was almost utterly prostrated throughout the empire, and Christianity established in its place. The seat of the empire was removed from Rome to Byzantium, the name being changed in honor of Constantine - Constantinople signifying the city of Constantine. Taking all the facts into considera- 11. Merchants of the earth. After tion, we incline to the opinion, that the kings, came the merchants to the fall of Rome was represented to bewail the decline of their trade. be thorough and complete, in the They are described as weeping and hyperbolical language of the Apoca- mourning at the loss of their profits. lypse. It is certain she was greatly¶ No man buyeth their merchandise any burned with fire, although not utterly more. - The trade of Rome was greatdestroyed; her influence died away; ly broken up in the course of the her glory departed; the throne was troubles that came upon her. It is removed; she fell, and has not since evident that the revelator draws this risen to that height of power again. part of his vivid description of the Heathenism died utterly out; and the destruction of Rome from Ezekiel's city became the place of the Pon- description of the downfall of Tyre. tiff, the leader of a large branch of Let the reader turn to the 26th and 27th the Christian Church. Rome now chapters of that prophet, and read has nothing of her ancient outward them carefully. He will see that they glory; but she is as much distin-are the model which the revelator guished in our day for her devotion copies. The hyperboles are to be unto the Christian religion, as she was derstood with much latitude of interin the days of the revelator for her pretation. devotion to heathenism.

10. Alas, alas! that great city. This adds nothing to the description in the preceding verse, and is to be regarded only as filling up the imagery. These kings had a due regard

12, 13. Gold, and silver, and precious stones, &c. We must refer here again to Ezekiel's description of the merchandise of Tyre. As if the revelator had said, this destruction of Rome shall much resemble the destruction

and silver, and precious stones, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.

and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,

13 And cinnamon, and odors, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour,

14 And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.

15 The merchants of these things which were made rich we suppose did not enter into the mind of the revelator at all, when he wrote the Apocalypse. Such interpretations belittle the book; and render certain of the Protestant commentators upon the Apocalypse a byword among judicious Catholics. It was the fall of the city of Rome, as the head quarters of the heathen empire, that the revelator was describing; and he saw fit to employ the language of the prophet. It may not be precisely appropriate in every particular; but as a whole it answered the revelator's purpose.

of ancient Tyre, when her great and extensive trade, the foundation of her riches, power and pride, was totally stopped-when she lost all her rich merchandise, which consisted in all sorts of valuable commodities, such as gold, silver, precious stones, pearls, fine linen, scarlet and thyine wood, all curious manufactures in ivory, precious wood, brass, iron and marble: she shall trade no more in those things upon which pride and luxury have set such a value, as spices and perfumes, wine and oil, the finest flour and corn; nor shall she trade in beasts and sheep, in horses and chariots, in 14. Fruits that thy soul lusted after. grooms who go with the horses to - This is a part of the general detake charge of them, and in the souls scription; and shows the miseries that of men, or human beings. Merchan- were to be brought upon the city by dise were all these articles; the mer- the suspension of the trade of the chants of Tyre, and after them the merchants. Their business was not merchants of Rome, traded in them only lucrative to themselves, but was all. One of the most palpable per- advantageous to others, and brought versions of the book of Revelation the means of luxury and enjoyment consists in giving to these passages to Rome. Of these things the city a spiritual sense, and in supposing of course would be deprived; and them to apply to the Roman Catholic hence it is said, "Thou shalt find Church. That church, we have no them no more at all." doubt, has many errors, and has been 15. Shall stand afar off, weeping and guilty of great extortion, cruelty, bar-wailing. - These merchants had been gaining and manoeuvring in spiritual previously represented as weeping things; but in our judgment the de- and mourning for themselves, because scription of the revelator, which we no man bought their merchandise are considering, has no reference to any more; see verse 11. But now the Church of Rome. It respects they mourn for the city itself. They Rome pagan and not Rome papal. had been made rich by her, and they Some writers have supposed the vari- felt a sense of gratitude. Fearful of ous kinds of wares mentioned to be being involved in her torment, they pardons, indulgences, dispensations, are represented as standing afar off, and the like trifles - - matters which weeping and wailing.

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