down from heaven, having the key of the bottomlefs pit, and a great chain in his hand; and lays hold on the devil, and binds him, and casts him into the bottomless pit, and shuts him up, and fets a seal upon him; that he should deceive the nations no more." Satan's being difpoffeffed of that highest monarchy on earth, the Roman empire, and cast out in the time of CONSTANTINE, is represented by his being cast down from heaven to the earth: "But now there is something far beyond thathe is caft out of the earth, and is shut up in hell, and confined to that alone; fo that he has no place left him in this world of mankind, high or low." *

Thus we have enumerated a few of those passages in the word of God, which appear to look forward to a far more brilliant display of the light, liberty, and purity of the gospel, than the world has ever yet experienced. And have we not every reason to hope that the Lord God is now about speedily to usher in this illustrious and most defirable day?

Our Lord reproves those who could difcern the face of the sky, but could not difcern the signs of the times. Now, from a confideration of the many prophecies yet unfulfilled, and from a ferious attention to the figns of the times, we may indulge the hope that this grand jubilee is at hand. The present period is a crisis replete with great events. The Lord of Hosts is shaking all nations. And shall christians be filent and inactive spectators? No. It is our duty to pray for the day, "when the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unftopped; when the lame man shall leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall fing: When in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the defert."

The power of Antichrist is falling; -the spirit of civil and religious liberty is spreading; the day has begun to dawn, and one of its most pleasing harbingers is this-the day-ftar of light is arifen; the dark shades of bigotry and fuperftition are retiring. Men begin to read and

think for themselves, even in those countries where every avenue of intellectual light was nearly shut. The nations begin to fee the folly of fubmitting their perfons to civil, and their minds to religious tyranny.

The flaying the witnesses, probably has already taken

At

place at the revocation of the Edict of Nantz.* the reformation in Germany, the great day of gofpel light and liberty began to break on the nations, and ever fince that period the papat power has been gradually decaying. It has received a furprising and unexpected blow, by those late events, which have taken place in a neighbouring nation, and still alarm the world. And we have reason to conclude, that the angel is EVEN NOW pouring out the fixth vial on the kingdom of the beaft. " And the fixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates, and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the East might be prepared." As the river Euphrates was the fupport and defence of Babylon literally taken, so here it is to be understood metaphorically. By the great river Euphrates we may understand every thing that tended either to fupport or defend the popish power and the drying up this river, is a taking away the incomes and supplies, and thereby hastening its downfal. How remarkably are the incomes and supplies of the Roman church dried up by the revolution which has taken place in France! What vast sums of money are now withdrawn from that man of fin! So that a way is made for the kings of the Easti. e. JESUS CHRIST and his MINISTERS (called Michael and his angels) the only kings who will destroy the popish tyranny. And as CYRUS, the chief of the kings of the East, who took and destroyed literal Babylon, was a type of Christ, so it intimates that the Lord Jesus, and his ministers, shall destroy Antichrift, by

* The Edict of Nantz was an act passed by Henry IV. of France, in 1598, granting toleration to Protestants. This edit was revoked by Louis XIV. in 1685, and immediately a most horrible persecution ensued. See this subject treated at large in Edwards's Attempt, part iii. p. 90.

preaching the everlasting gospel, which is the sword pro ceeding out of his mouth! Never was there a time in which these prophecies appeared to receive a more literal accomplishment. We may encourage the hope, therefore, that foon the seventh angel will pour out his vial. Let us now inquire by what means the Lord will introduce this desirable day. The God of infinite wisdom can never be at a lofs for means or instruments to effect his designs. All nature shall obey his sovereign mandates. If he but speak the word, a nation shall be born at once, Yet let it be remembered, that, most probably, it will be a gradual work, like the light of the fun, it will shine more and more unto the perfect day.

We have reafon to suppose that the method observed will be somewhat like the following: the Lord will re move the OBSTACLES which lie in the way of the conver fion of the heathen nations. And these obstacles are two, fold, viz. those around, and those within them. When reflecting on those which are external, we cannot but feel a confiderable degree of grief, that they are so numerous and of fuch a nature.

One obstacle is the unhappy contentions and divisions which fubfift among Christians. These prejudice the minds of men againft Chriftianity, and lead them to conclude, that it is not so excellent in its nature, and so amiable in its tendency, as its advocates pretend. The heathen nations form their opinion of it from the conduct of its profeffors. And, alas! what a melancholy picture does it exhibit! But before the nations of the earth shall be brought in, both Jew and Gentile shall be united. And I am inclined to think, that the present di versity of opinion shall, in a great measure, cease, and that golden age of Chriftianity return, in which it fhall again be said, the multitude of them that believed were of one heart, and of one foul.

Another obstacle is the impurity of those who are styled Christians. The unholy lives of profeffors cast a stumbling-block in the way, and harden the wicked in their oppofition to the Gofpel,

One obstacle more cannot escape our notice; and that is the horrible cruelties committed by those who profess the Christian religion. These cruelties are too well known to be now enumerated: and, truly, they are too horrible to be related, without torturing all the finer feelings of the mind, and harrowing up the very foul! The dreadful barbarities committed-by whom? must I say by Christians? by the followers of the meek and compaffionate JESUS?-in the Eastern and the Western Indies, and particularly on the coast of Africa-are more than fufficient to prejudice the minds of the natives againft Christianity. Can we wonder if these poor uncultivated Indians abhor that system of religion, which is embraced by those by whom their houses are burned, themselves and their families dragged to mifery, to torture, and to death-a lingering death, rendered a thoufand times more terrible by all the tortures which hellish fagacity can invent? The SLAVE TRADE, therefore, that infamous commerce in human blood, which has disgraced this nation for more than two hundred years, this trade, I say, must be relinquished before the inhabitants of Africa will receive the Gofpel. *

These are some of the external obstacles; but there are also internal difficulties in the way of the univerfal spread of the Gospel of Christ, viz. the ignorance of the mind, the rebellion of the will, and the fenfuality of the affections: " The carnal mind is enmity against God." Now, these must be removed, and this work will the Lord most certainly effect, by fending the Gospel to these nations: "For how shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? or how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear, without a preacher? and how shall they preach, except they be fent?"

The Gofpel was once preached through all the world. But the glorious light continued not long: gross darkness now covers the nations. But the Lord will again cause his name to be known to the uttermoft parts of the earth. And all the commotions in nations and kingdoms are probably designed to prepare the way of the Lord Jesus, as the earthquake, the tempeft, and the fire, prepared Elijah for the ftill small voice in which God was. The Gofpel is the grand inftrument in the hands of the Eternal Spirit, by which he will fubdue all things unto himself. The Lord has sent many minifters as heralds to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, to those poor and long-benighted nations, for whose fouls no man cared. O may a double portion of the Spirit reft on these miffionaries, and crown their labours with abundant success! " The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few: Pray ye, therefore, the Lord of the harvest, that he would fend forth labourers into his harvest."

The Lord will effect his great work, by the operation of the Spirit on their hearts. The nations of the earth are as the valley full of dry bones; but the Spirit of God, that divine breath, will come from the four winds, and will breathe on them, and they shall live.

Now this shall be accompanied by an out-pouring of the Spirit of prayer, on individuals, and on churches. This appears to be one of the strongest arguments to fupport the pleating idea, that this feason of profperity awaiting the church of Chrift, is now fast approaching: for with pleafure be it recorded, that a large number of churches in this kingdom have (for fome time paft) engaged to fet apart one hour in the evening of the first Monday in every valendar month, to join in fervent prayer to God for a