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with propriety, be applied to no other nation but GREAT BRITAIN. It was BRITAIN that gave to the world a WiCLIFF, that great and unwearied reformer and oppofer of the church of Rome. It was through the labours and doctrines of this great and good man, the Gofpel of Chrift was refcued from Papal fuperftition, and fettled in England, Bohemia, and other parts of Germany. It was GREAT BRÍTAIN where the reformed religion became first -established, as the national religion. It has been GREAT BRITAIN which has been its chief pillar and fupport, by aiding, on many occafions, the reformed churches, against the bloody perfecutions of the church of Rome. It is GREAT BRITAIN that has made the firmeft and nobleft ftand against the poisonous inundations of French atheifm; and, in a good degree, under the merciful providence of God, ftopped the rapidity of its progrefs over the world. And, moreover, there is reafon to hope, upon a comparison with the ftate of other nations, that, in GREAT BRITAIN, the commandments of God" are better "kept," and "the teftimony of Jesus" better observed, than in any other country whatever. The dragon, then, being the type of FRANCE, and "the remnant "of the feed of the church," GREAT BRITAIN, how completely do the facts, of which we have been, as it were, fpectators, verify the prophecy? We have feen France declaring war againft all the powers in Europe, within her reach. She has attacked GREAT BRITAIN, and carried deftruction and conqueft into the Netherlands, Holland, Germany, Switzerland, over the Alps into the heart of Italy, and over the Pyrennees into Spain and Portugal; subjugating a great part of them to her power, or granting to them peace, on terms inconfiftent with their interefts, their fafety, and their honour that the may, at her pleasure, hereafter, reduce them, with her amazing acquifition of ftrength, to her abfolute tyranny. And

this, it is evident, fhe has artfully done, that she might bend her whole force against GREAT BRITAIN alone. This she has alfo done, according to the text, "in great wrath," if we may give credit to the evidence of her own declarations and actions. In her great rage and fury fhe has denounced vengeance and utter deftruction to GREAT BRITAIN, for the virtuous and powerful oppofition made to her atheiftical blafphemy and anarchy, and their all-deftructive confequences. Her raving and wrathful denunciations have been in the language of the Romans, when refolved upon the annihilation of Carthage, her rival in power: "Delenda eft Carthago❞ was their language, and it has often been repeated in her fupreme councils; meaning, that GREAT BRITAIN fhall fall, and the name of it be erased from the church of the world for ever. In direct purfuance of thefe menaces, and to enfure, that fuccefs, which would gratify her unprovoked malice and ambition, fhe had no fooner made peace with Germany, than, by her fecret intrigues, fhe drew into her plan that powerful madman Paul, the emperor of Ruffia, and the kings of Sweden, Denmark, and Pruffia, all meditating the deftruction of this happy ifland: and the is, at this moment, while I am relating the fact, drawing her armies to the fea-coaft, determined to execute her wicked defign. But, merciful God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty," the wifdom of this world is foolishness with thee; thou takeft the wife in their own craftiness; and, by one fmall ftroke of thy omnipotence, in the death of the Emperor of Ruffia, thou haft turned their councils into "foolishness," compelled them to recede from the powerful confederacy, and to leave the dragon alone to go "to war with the remnant of the feed of thy

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* Rev. i. 8.

+ Job, v. 13.

"church

"church." Thou haft hitherto fupported that remnant in this great conteft, for the prefervation of thy holy word, from apoftate and atheistical dark-.. nefs. Thou haft often delivered them when they thought there was none to deliver; in many inftances haft enabled them to defeat the wicked defigns, and to triumph over this wrathful enemy: and haft now, through the wifdom of their councils, prepared them to meet him without fear or difmay. O, forfake them not; but continue to direct their councils by thy wisdom, to give ftrength to their arms by thy power, to lead them in the day of battle, that they may afcribe the victory to thee ALONE, and GIVE TO THEE ALL THE GLORY. And, above all, may they' be deeply impreffed with a fenfe of thy infinite. power, goodness, and mercy, fincerely repent of their fins, keep thy holy commandments, and hold faft "the teftimony of Jefus" in spirit and in truth; for in that cafe, thou haft promifed that thou wilt abundantly pardon," wilt" never leave them, "nor forfake them;" and thy word is "

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THIRTEENTH CHAPTER OF THE REVELATION.O

On the "Beast of the Earth," or the particular Hiftory of the Beast of the bottomless Pit."

6.6

AND I ftood upon the fand of the fea, and faw a beaft rife up out of the fea, having feven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blafphemy.

2 And the beaft which I faw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet

of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and: the dragon gave him his power and his feat and great au-l thority.

3 And I faw one of his heads as it were wounded toi death; and his deadly wound. was healed: and all the world wondered after the beaft.

This was written before the preliminaries of peace.

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4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beaft and they worshipped the beaft, faying, Who is like unto the beast, who is able to make war with him?

5 And there was given unto him a mouth fpeaking great things and blafphenies; and power was given unto him to continuefortyandtwo months. 6 And he opened his mouth in blafphemy against God, to blafpheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.

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nations.

8 And all that dwell upon And all that dwell upon the earth fhall worship him, whofe names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb flain from the foundation of the world. 1

9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.

10 He that leadeth into captivity fhall go into captivity: he that killeth with the fword, muft be killed with the fword. Here is the patience and the faith of the faints.

11 And I beheld another beaft coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he fpake as a dragon.

12 And he exercifeth all the power of the firft beast

before him, and caufeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the firft beaft, whofe deadly wound was healed.

13 And he doeth great wonders, fo that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the fight of

men;

14 And deceiveth them' that dwell on the earth by the means of thofe miracles which he had power to do in the fight of the beaft, faying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image of the beaft, which had the wound by a fword,. and did live.

15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beaft, that the image of the beast should both fpeak, and caufe that as many as would not worship the image of the beaft fhould be killed.

16 And he caused all, both fmall and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads;

17 And that no nume might. buy or fell, fave he that hadthe mark or the name of the beat, or the number of his

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WE have feen that the prophet, in the two laft chapters, has only traced out the great lines of the hiftory of the western part of the church, and of its two great enemies, the Pope and the revolutionary. republic of France, and briefly introduced their characters into his general hiftory. He has not defcended to a particular detail of their actions and. conduct, nor to the particular measures by which the former was to tread the holy city under foot. "1260 years; nor by which the latter was to "KILL "the two witneffes of God, during the space of "three years and an half:" and therefore we shall find that he proceeds in this chapter, in ftrict chronological order, to the particular measures and circumftances of their conduct.

He begins with thofe of the church of Rome, under the figure of "a beast rising out of the fea;" and employs the first ten verfes in foretelling and de-. fcribing the beast which he faw rife up, and whence The derived her power*: the obedience and adoration which men fhould pay to her; her idolatry, her blafphemy, her dreadful and extenfive perfecutions of the word of God in the church of Chrift||, the duration of her power, and depreflion of the church, her captivity and fall **. Here we have a complete hiftory of the western church, fo far as The was concerned with and oppreffed by the church of Rome. Upon this part of her hiftory I shall not, however, enlarge, becaufe many of the figns are predictive of events which have been fulfilled, in ages paft; and my defignis, to confine my remarks as much as poffible to those which relate, as I have already in

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