duces immediately a song of joy, announcing the glory of the millennium: “And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready."

It is not to be imagined that so terrible a catastrophe as the destruction of papal usurpation will be regarded by all the powers which have submitted to it, with indifference. For, although the kings of the earth, animated, perhaps, by infidel principles, will at length be roused from their apathy, and make the harlot desolate, and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire; (see Revelations, xvii. 16;) yet, when they shall perceive that her removal is likely to be succeeded by the universal spread of the gospel, they will reunite and "make war with the Lamb;" (Revelations, xix. 11-19;) and endeavour, perhaps, to re-establish the system which they had just before overthrown. But he who is emphatically “the King of kings, and the Lord of lords," will arise in his wrath, and "break them with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."

This defeat does not necessarily imply a literal contest between the followers of Christ and the kings of the earth; for it may be effected by some sudden judgment, which will awaken, among those hostile princes, mutual animosities, and induce them to work each other's destruction. "We have seen this accomplished, in part, already, in the antipathies and wars which have raged between infidelity, and popery; and such may be the progress of things, till, like two furious beasts of prey, they shall both be destroyed. The account itself agrees with this supposition; for, though the armies of the beast are said to have gathered together against the armies of Him that sat upon the horse, yet there is no mention of any being engaged in this overthrow but himself. It is he that "smites the nations,"-" treads the wine-press," and has his "vestment dipt in blood." It is remarkable, too, that, in the corresponding prophecy of Isaiah, chapter lxiii. verses 1-5, he is said to have trodden the wine-press alone, and of the people, there was none with him."*

This overthrow of the antichristian powers is immediately followed by the binding of Satan.

Fuller on the Book of Revelations.

The prophetic vision of this event is stated in the following manner:-"And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit, and a great chain, in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled." From this passage we understand, that, when all the instruments by which Satan has deceived mankind, shall have been destroyed, he himself shall be restrained and prevented from obstructing the progress of the gospel for a thousand years; and, during this restraint, the reign of the Messiah shall be extended over the whole world. Then shall the kingdom, and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, be given to the people of the saints of the Most High. The loftiest stations, the throne, the cabinet, and the senate, shall be adorned with all the graces of genuine piety;-" officers shall be peace, and exactors righteousness;" nations, in their conduct towards each other, shall be influenced by the purest motives; the oppressor's rod shall be broken; the fetters of slavery shall be burst asunder; intemperance and riot, infidelity and

profaneness, ignorance, superstition, and formality, shall prevail no longer; all ranks of persons will be eminently spiritual and useful, walking in the light of God's countenance, and being filled with the Holy Spirit; while heaven and earth shall unite in this joyful anthem ;"The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever.”

It may be inquired," Where are the signs of his coming?" This question can scarcely be put with seriousness, much less with bold effrontery, in the present day;-a day in which so great an interest is evidently excited in the christian world in behalf of this important object. Let the inquirer contemplate the institution of Sunday Schools, and the consequent efforts that are made in almost every village of Britain, and in numerous districts even of the sister island, for the instruction of the poor; so that nearly a million of children, who might otherwise have perished in ignorance and vice, are taught to read the word of God; and, in numerous instances, are impressed with the importance of religion. Let him contemplate establishments of a similar nature in France, Germany, America, and India, where myriads more of the rising generation are rescued from moral darkness, and initiated into the know

ledge of Christianity. Let him reflect on the zeal which operates in the public mind for the encouragement of missions, and the munificence with which those admirable institutions are supported. Let him pursue the track of the christian preacher across the deep, landing on a torrid, or a frozen clime; penetrating the habitations of poverty and vice; exhibiting to the mind, darkened by falsehood, the illuminations of divine truth; cheered by the confessions, and tears, and faith, and piety, of a contrite pagan; erecting a house for God amidst the temples of idolatry, and witnessing the triumph of christian holiness over the abominations of heathenism. Let him reflect on the stupendous labours of the British and Foreign Bible Society, both at home and abroad; the diffusion of Divine knowledge, by these means, through a. large portion of the heathen world; and the interest and solicitude which the Sacred Scriptures excite among those who have long been 'perishing for lack of knowledge." These are signs which no one can mistake. The intimations which they give of an approaching change in the moral world are unequivocal. The great engine is prepared; already it is set in motion; it has begun its magnificent operations; the Spirit of God is superintending all its movements; and will render it efficient for the

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