men, the faithful Paftors, who stood intrepid against it; for, the weak things of the world hath God chofen, that he may confound the ftrong, 1 Cor. 1. 27. How vain and fenfeless the attempt, in any power below heaven, to force the Church to change her belief! when He, who built her up, had pronounced that the gates of hell fould never prevail against her, Matt. xvi. 18. How is it poffible that the Church fhould ever be prevailed upon to declare against the Divinity of Chrift, which is the very Rock on which the ftands? The rife of Arianifm therefore ferved only as a touchftone, to diftinguifh the found part of Chriftians from the unfound. It was an useful inftrument to separate the chaff from the corn: There must be herefies, fays St. Paul, that they who are approved, may be made manifeft, 1 Cor. xi. 19. method Chrift made ufe of to purge away all drofs from his Church, and the pure metal only remaining, fhe fhone with more brightnefs. While on the other hand Arianism, not being able to ftand against fuch fuperior luftre, withdrew by degrees, and funk quite away.

This

Such is the Hiftory of what relates to the fecond age of the Church.

CHA P. V.

The Hiftory of the third Age of the Chriftian Church. The Opening of the third Seal

APOC. Chap. VI. v. 5. And when he, the Lamb, had opened the third feal, I heard, says St. John, the third living creature, faying: Come, and fee. And behold a black horse, and he that fat on him, had a pair of fcales in his hand.

V. 6. And I heard as it were a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, faying: Two pounds of wheat

for

for a penny, and thrice two pounds of barley for a penny, and fee thou hurt not the wine and the oil.

Here is announced a dreadful Famine, which is the firft ftep taken by the Almighty for the deftruction of the Empire of Pagan Rome; and with it commences the third age of the Church, about the year 406.

The Voice cries out: Two pounds of wheat for a penny, and thrice two pounds of barley for a penny. The Roman penny or denarius is, in our money, about feven pence three farthings, an exorbitant price in those days for two pounds of wheat or fix pounds of barley, and fhews great scarcity. This famine afflicted the Western Roman Empire in 406 and the following years, when Arcadius reigned Emperor in the Eaft, and Honorius in the Weft; the body of the Roman Empire having been divided into two States: the Eaftern, the Capital of which was Conftantinople; and the Weftern, having Rome for its Capital; which laft is the subject of our present confideration. The famine was occafioned by the irruption of those barbarous nations, the Goths, the Vandals, the Huns, the Alans, &c. who came in fwarms from the North, invaded the Roman Provinces, and carried devastation along with them. This is attefted by all the Hiftorians of those times. These people were fent by Almighty God to execute his avenging juftice on idolatrous Rome and its Empire, to diftrefs it with calamities, to seize its Provinces, to humble its pride, and put an end to its power and dominion.

The black colour of the horfe is fuitable to the nature of famine, which waftes and dries the body, and tinges the fkin with a blackish hue, agreeably to that of Jeremias: Our skin is burnt as an oven, by reafon of the violence of the famine, Lamen. v. 10. The black or funeral colour of the horse agrees also with the condition here confidered of the heathen Ro

man

iman Empire, which is now going into destruction. And he that fits on the horse, is Alaric, King of the Goths, the principal nation among those that concurred in the fubverfion of the Roman State: and in Alaric may be comprehended the Chiefs of the other nations. The rider holds a pair of fcales in his hand to weigh the grain, which indicates that the dearth will be fo great, that all grain will be fold by exact weight and measure. And here we may take notice of the propriety of this fpectacle being fhewn to St. John by the third living creature, or the Prophet Ezechiel, who had announced to the Jews the like calamity, with which God intended to punish them. Thus fpoke God by that Prophet: Behold I will break in pieces the staff of bread in Jerufalem; and they fail eat bread by weight, and with care; and they fball drink water by measure, and in diftrefs, Ezech. iv. 16. Let us also observe, that the Voice which fpoke, came from the midst of the four living Creatures, that is, it was one voice compofed of the voices of the four living Creatures, or of the four great Prophets, Ifaias, Jeremias, Ezechiel, and Daniel. They feverally foretold the fall of Ancient Babylon, which was a figure of the fall of Pagan Rome, this city being ftyled Babylon in the Apocalypfe. On account therefore of their common prediction, their voices are joined in one to announce the approaching fate of Rome. But it is added: Hurt not the wine and the oil. This expreffion feems to point at the character of the invaders of the Roman territory, who were all Northern people, and confequently not being used to wine and oil, which are not produced in their countries, naturally neglected them, while at the fame time they fwept away all the grain. In northern countries at prefent both wine and oil are imported and commonly used, but it was not fo in those days, when little or no commerce or even communication fubfifted between the northern and fouthern nations.

In the fubject of this Seal we fee fhine forth that Wisdom, the attribute of the Lamb, Apoc. v. 12. fee p. 20. according to the dictates of which he demolishes kingdoms and raises up others.

The Sounding of the third Trumpet.

APOC. Chap. VIII. v. 10. And the third Angel, fays St. John, founded the trumpet, and a great ftar fell from heaven, burning as it were a torch, and it fell on the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters:

V. II. And the name of the ftar is called wormwood. And the third part of the waters became wormwood: and many men died of the waters, because they were made

bitter.

Here is an allegorical defcription of new calamities that were to be inflicted on heathen Rome and its provinces. A great ftar falls from heaven: this great ftar represents the above-named powerful nations of the North; it falls from heaven; they are fent by Almighty God to deftroy Rome, as formerly Nabuchodonofor was fent to deftroy Jerufalem, and Cyrus to deftroy Babylon. This Star is faid to burn like a torch, on account of the defolation which these Barbarians fpread in their progrefs, by laying wafte the cities and country by fire. The Star fell on the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters. Those people spread themselves over a third part of the Roman provinces, fignified by the Rivers; they invaded particularly the western parts; then fell upon Rome itself and Italy denoted by the fountains of waters. That the Rivers and Waters fignify the Provinces of the Roman Empire, appears from the explication given by the Angel to St. John in chap. xvii. ver. 15. of the Apocalypfe. The waters which thou faweft, where the harlot fitteth, are peoples, and nations, and tongues. Furthermore, the name of the Star is wormwood; the Star may well be called wormwood,

wormwood, fince it caufed fuch bitter diftreffes, fuch bitter calamities, and in fine ruin to the Roman people. The fame kind of expreffion for calamities, fent by the hand of God, we find in the Prophet Jeremias: Behold, faid the Lord, I will feed this people, the Jews, with wormwood, and will give them water of gall to drink, Jerem. ix. 15. Lastly, the third part of the waters became wormwood: and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter: a great number of the Romans perifhed by the bitter draught of those calamities.

The difafters, and devaftations by fire, that af flicted the Roman dominions at this time, may therefore very juftly be compared to the effects of Lightning, Apoc. viii. 5. fee page 28.

But here we muft obferve, that this third Trumpet founded not only war and ruin to the pagan Roman Empire, but also a terrible alarm to the Chriftians in it, as they became involved in thofe general calamities, and fuffered extremely. Befides, they had lived for fome time with comfort under Chrif tian Emperors, and fhared their benevolence and protection; but this bleffing alfo was now wrefted from them by the Northern invaders, who fuperfeded the western Roman Emperors, and feizing their Provinces, fet up there their own Princes, who were either idolaters or Arians. Nay even Hiftory informs us, that about the year 480 there was not one Catholic King in the world. Odoacer, who reigned over Italy, was an Arian; the fame were the kings in Spain, and Genferic in Africa. The different princes in Gaùl or France were also either heathens or Arians. In the eaft reigned the Emperor Zeno, an abettor of the Eutychian heresy; and the Kings of Perfia were pagans.

The Fouring out of the third Vial of the wrath of God. APOC. Chap. XVI. v. 4. And the third Angel, fays St. John, poured out his Vial upon the rivers and the fountains of waters: and there was made blood.

V. 5.