during the time of their incursions. But as the sea would also soon extinguish the fire of such a flaming mountain, so their fury and power was only of short duration.

Thus history furnishes abundance of testimony in completion of this prophecy, for the confirmation of our faith. Those minutely acquainted with the events during this period, will readily consent, that one third part of the inhabitants of Africa, and on the European sea coast of the Mediterranean, died violent deaths by these judgments; and that one third part of the ships, or towns, cities, islands and states have been destroyed by these cruel invaders, and in consequence of their incursions. Ezek. xxix. 4. 5.

Some of my readers perhaps, would rather take Atilla to be this burning mountain, who is termed the scourge of God, and the dread of the world. He certainly was the most terrible of all men, who at the head of his Huns, had nearly desolated the whole earth, and filled it with blood and slaughter; wherefore he might properly have been predicted, under the figure of a burning mountain. But his invasion of the Roman empire, from A. D. 445 to 456, though dreadful beyond expression, does not realize all the features of this prophecy.

III. TRUMPET ACCOMPLISHED FROM A. D. 472-To 522%

Verse 10. And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;

11. And the name of the star is called wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

Nature is by far the most pleasing source of images in all poetry, and the prophets appear to have taken a particular delight, to express the stupendous mysteries of God in her sublime language. The highest objects in the natural world are the sun, moon, and stars; and by these they represent the principal personages either in the world politic, or in the Church. Dan. viii. 10. Isa. xiv. 12. li. 16. xlix. 13. xliv. 23. Math. xxiv. 29. It would by no means accord with all the features of the prophecy under this trumpet, to explain its contents of the world politic, and this star of a king, kingdom, empire, prince, or ruler of the people. In my opinion, this star must signify an eminent doctor, or ruler of the Church, ch. i. 20. Bengelius has here understood Arius and his heresy, and Dr. Gill Pelagius and the pernicious effects of his heretical doctrines concerning the original corruption of human nature, and the necessity of Divine grace. But this trumpet is too late for Arius, who lived in the reign of Constantine; and the doctrines of Pelagius were suppressed by the eloquent pen of Augustine, and the councils of the Gauls, Britons, and Africans, before they acquired that degree of celebrity, ascribed to this star. Some expositors have understood it of Origen; but his reputation has only been considerable among the monastic orders, and his doctrines were attended with no such pernicious effects. Besides, this trumpet must, from its connexion with the general tendency of all these judgments, refer to an event of such a nature, as not only effects the Church, but also the Roman empire: which has only been the case in a small degree, even with Arianism.

This star represents the bishop of Rome, in his aspiring efforts to pre-eminence and spiritual supremacy in the Church of Christ; for which the immediate foundations were laid, during this period, according to the concurring testimony of those eminent historians, Walch and Mosheim. By this ambitious grasp at rank and ecclesiastical

jurisdiction, the Roman pontiff opened a large fountain of corruption among the clergy; prepared the way for the consequent introduction of superstition, and Popery; and commenced those odious and bitter contentions between the patriarchs, which caused so many assassinations and cruel wars, and finally ended in that fatal separation of the Eastern and Western Churches.

I do not mean to assert, that the fall of this great Roman star during this period, consisted in pretensions to a supremacy over the powers of this world; or that he assumed as yet the title of supreme lawgiver and judge of the whole Christian Church, which he claimed in succeeding times, No, his fall consisted in publicly pretending, and strenuously labouring from this time, to establish a divine right to pre-eminence of rank, office, and power, as a court of appeals among all his brethren, because he was the successor of St. Peter, and vicegerent of Christ on earth. This ambitious scheme was engendered by the Roman pontiff in the commencement of this period, and acknowledged to that extent in the Western Church before its close, as signified by the prophecy of this trumpet.

Soon after the persecution had ceased, and the Church began to enjoy peace and prosperity under the auspices of the Roman emperors, a great change took place throughout all ranks of Christendom, but especially among the higher orders of the clergy. Constantine attached considerable revenues and privileges to all officers in the Church; and when in succeeding time, every congrega. tion became endowed with large funds, they were under the direction and management of the bishops. In consequence of this state of ease and happiness, an evident decline of piety and holiness ensued, and the ministers of the gospel soon lost the former genuine lustre of their office; while some fell into views of self-interest, luxury or indolence, and others made all efforts to create new ranks, and titles of honour and distinction among

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themselves for their own aggrandizement. The bishop of Rome had, so early as the third century, obtained a distinguished seat in the Episcopal order; because he was bishop of that ancient metropolis of the empire, and surpassed all his brethren in magnificence, revenues, the number of his ministers, and the size of his diocess. We even meet with encomiums upon that Church in the second century, indicative of peculiar distinction. When therefore, at this time, all ran for the palm of honour, he had already gained a considerable start through the prejudices of the times, and now employed both prudence and craft to establish his pre-eminence, before his competitors should be able to meet him on equal ground.

Hitherto he had only enjoyed a pre-eminence of rank, (from respect for the Church at Rome,) not incompatible with the Christian spirit. But during the period of this trumpet, he pursued a most unchristian train of measures, in order to gain a degree of dignity, power and dominion over his brethren, absolutely inconsistent with the spirit of Christianity, and the final aim of Heaven in the establishment of the Church on earth. Thus fell a star of the first magnitude, from the celestial sphere of the general Church of Christ.

The causes by which the bishop of Rome was induced, thus publicly to pretend a divine right, in support of his ambitious scheme for supremacy, were the vigorous efforts of Acacius, bishop at Constantinople, towards acquiring a superiority of rank. This prelate had been exalted by the third canon of the council held at Constantinople, A. D. 381-and by the twenty eighth canon of the council at Chalcedon, A. D. 451, to an equal rank with the patriarchs of Rome, Antioch, and Alexandria, because he was bishop of the imperial city. This was perfectly consistent with the fundamental maxim of Church government at that time, when the rank of bishops was determined, by the rank of the cities where they resided. But now, when

Rome was on the decline, and Constantinople had risen to the summit of eminence, by having become the seat of the empire; its bishop also rose a formidable rival and check to the growing authority of the Roman patriarch. Simplicius, who at this time filled the Roman chair, was thereby mortified, and stimulated into vehement measures. His successor, Felix II. interfered in the transactions of the East, the same as he had done, in settling disputes between the clergy, and protecting the bishops against their lawful patriarchs, in order to acquire influence and authority to establish his own supremacy, in which he too well succeeded. Thus elated by pride and zeal, he called a council at Rome, on purpose to excommunicate Acacius, bishop of Constantinople, which no one before him had ever ventured to attempt. This arrogant and unwarrantable step, occasioned a schism between the Eastern and Western Churches, which is said to have lasted twentyfive years, but in fact, was never healed until their final separation. Felix and his successors prosecuted their ambitious plan with such vehemence and obstinacy, that the Eastern bishops at last consented, and erased Acacius's name from their sacred register, covered with eternal disgrace. Thus the Roman pontiff gave a deadly wound to the pre-eminence of the patriarch of Constantinople, and under the garb of zeal for the Church, tacitly established his own supremacy. Symmachus ascended the Roman chair amid a scene of blood and slaughter, occasioned by his election. The council Palmare, A. D. 498, settling his right to the Roman see, for the first time established the position, by the instigation of Symmachus, that the Pope is accountable to God only; by which they exalted him even above the reach of councils, and laid the first foundation for his future pretensions of infallibility. Ennodius, that extravagant flatterer of Symmachus, found the opinions of his time so favourable to the wishes of these lordly pontiffs, that he maintained in his apology for this council: