wrath and ruin, denounced upon the mystical Babylon in Revelations, are directed. The bitterness of these plagues, and the distinctive characters of the power upon which they are to fall, are described at much length in the 17th and 18th chapters of Revelations. "And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the Great Whore, that sitteth upon many waters: with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication; and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. * "So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads, and ten horns." "the The woman is not the beast; but she sits upon it. Also, she sits upon "many waters," and upon beast."―Therefore, the "many waters" are "the beast;" according as it is immediately afterwards described,"The seven heads are seven mountains," or kingdoms; (6 Ion which the woman sitteth; and there are seven kings." "And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings; which have received no kingdom as yet, but receive power as kings at one time, in union with the beast."_ Namely, this is the Rome revived, the Romano-Christian empire: consisting of the indefinite number of * It is only those who withdraw themselves from the world, its fashions, and feelings, and impressions, who can perceive the colour and character and features of this hideous apostacy, and consummate form of wickedness. different sovereign powers, which have grown up out of the stump of the ancient Roman empire:-namely, “all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth," with which the Babilonish whore hath committed fornication. And these are the "many waters" upon which the whore sitteth: according as it is just afterwards described, "The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues." And all these sovereign kingdoms and nations, thus represented as "the ten horns," "these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate, and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire." God hath put into their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast:"-so that the beast and the ten kings, who were formerly in union and in league, shall afterwards fight against the whore, and destroy her:-the "many waters" upon upon which she rode proudly, as a ship in full sail, shall swallow her up in the midst of them; as was prophesied of the sudden destruction of Tyre at the height of her glory. "For The mystical whore of Babylon is thus described, in the midst of her glory and sinfulness, on the eve of her sudden annihilation. "And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand, full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:-and upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth.' And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs [wit nesses] of Jesus. And when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.” The fall of this great Money-empire from its towering height of prosperity, has not been altogether unforeseen, or unpredicted. Young has said, of the British empire, comparing it with Tyre, "her fall is to be feared; unless the fate of most former empires betray us into mistake; and that national poison which has ever proved mortal, is mortal no more." And again, of its present state of boasted splendour and luxury, "Most nations have been gayest, when nearest their end; and like the taper in the socket, have blazed as they expired."* "The night of my pleasure hath he turned into fear unto me. Prepare the table, watch in the watch-tower, eat, drink; Arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield"-of the taking of Babylon. "For thus hath the Lord God said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth. And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen, a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels; and he hearkened diligently with much heed. And he cried [as] a lion,— My lord, I stand continually upon the watch-tower in the daytime, and I am set in my watch whole nights, and behold here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground."+ The doom of covetousness and money-worship is more repeatedly and heavily pronounced than almost * Young, Lett. 2d. Isai. xxi. 4, 5. ↑ Ib. 6-9. any other judgment in Scripture; and apparently with reference to an ultimate consummation of the oppressions and cruelties, and idolatries and apostacies, which shall grow up out of it.- "Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil." "Because thou (Babylon) hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee; because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein." "Thou hast consulted shame to thy house, by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul [against thy own life, so that it is forfeited]. For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.* Many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not."+ "Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you:"-our difficulties and distresses in money-matters, which are increasing as we become a richer nation, are a witness against us, and the principles upon which we found our strength; but † 2 Pet. ii. 2, 3. *Hab. ii. 8-11. we are blind, and cannot see the sign:-" and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. together in the last days." Ye have heaped treasure "The righteous shall see, and shall laugh at him: saying, Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches."† Christ's stead." "Depart ye cursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was an hungered and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not." "The poor," says the Homily," are in And Archbishop Eanbald said, "The hand of the poor man is the treasury of Christ."§ If this be so; and Mr. Sadler says, "The whole of the modern system-in agriculture, in manufactures, in commerce, in shipping, in the currency, even in scienceis an attack upon the privileges of labouring poverty :if this be true also; and the poor are as systematically oppressed as they ever were in Athens, or in Rome, or in Judæa, or in the worst periods of covetousness and luxury, and oppression; then is the reign of riches and commerce expressly the subject of this curse, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment."|| |