mon-wealths, troubles, tumults, uproars, and great alterations of states and kingdoms. The darkening of the fun, moon, and flars, and rolling together of the heavens, do by a metaphor in the fcripture, fignify the wrath of God; which they being not able to endure, are faid here to blush at, to cover themselves, to hide themselves, to be afhamed of themselves, to remove out of their places, no more to do their office, &c. For as birds do hide themselves, and thrust their heads into bufhes, when the eagle cométh abroad: And as all beafts of the foreft do tremble and couch in their dens, when the lion roareth: and as the fubject doth hide himself, and dare not fhew his head, with whom the King is difpleafed; So here it is faid, that the whole earth doth tremble, and all the celeftial creatures are amazed and confounded with beholding the angry face of God against the world, in fo much that they do as it were draw a canopy over them, hide themselves under a cloud, and furceafe to do their offices.

The darkning of the fun and moon, is taken in this fenfe in the fecond of Joel, and alfo in the fecond chapter of the Acts of the Apoftles. For there God promifing and foretelling, that in the laft days he would abundantly power forth of his Spirit upon all flefh (which is to be underflood

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of the plentiful preaching of the gofpel in the apostles time, and the abundance of grace that was given with the fame) addeth, that for the contempt of fo great grace and mercy, he would fhew wonders in heaven above, and tokens in the earth beneath: blood and fire, and the vapour of smoke; the fun fhall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come. The meaning of the prophet is, as Peter alfo doth expound it, that God from heaven will fhew fuch apparent figns of his wrath against the world, that men fhould be no lefs amazed, than if the whole order of nature were inverted. And this was performed, when as the Jews for the contempt of Chrift and his gofpel, were moft miferably deftroyed by the Romans.

Even fo here, under the opening of the fixth feal God doth threaten, that for the murdering of his fon Chrift, and his apoitles, and innumerable Christians, he would bring ftrange judgments and extraordinary calamities upon the world, according as all hiftory do fhew, that thofe times were full of bloodshed, commotions, famine, pestilence, and miferies of all forts. I am not ignorant, that the darkening of the fun and moon, and the falling of the ftars from heaven, are fometimes in this book put for the

obfcurity and corruption of pure doctrine, and the falling away of the pastors of the church from their fincerity and zeal. But in this place the circumftances will not bear that fenfe:

First, Because here the darkening of the fun and moon, &c. is joined with an earthquake; the rolling together of the heavens, and the moving of mountains and islands out of their places, which argueth a moft horrible confufion of all things.

Secondly, Becaufe afterward in the eighth chapter, he doth of purpofe fpeak of the corrupting of pure doctrine, and the falling away of the minifters, referring it to that chapter, as his proper place.

Thirdly, Becaufe the kings and captains of the earth here immediately mentioned, would never have been caft into any fuch perplexities and horrors upon any corruption of doctrine and ministry, as we here read of. For commonly men are not any whit touched or moved with that, or fuch like things..

Laftly, Becaufe the fcope and intention of the Holy Ghoft, under the opening of this fixth feal, is to defcribe corporal, not spiritual; vifible, not invifible judgments;. for he doth orderly and of purpose handle them in the next chapter.

Now, whereas it is faid in the last three

verfes, that the kings of the earth, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bond-man, and every free-man hid themfelves in dens, and amongst the rocks of the mountains, and faid to the rocks and mountains, fall on us,' Rev. vi. 15,16,17, the fenfe and meaning of all is this, that thefe vifible judgments fhould be fohorrible and extraordinary, that all forts of men then living upon the face of the earth, hould even with themselves buried quick, or that they might run into a moufe-hole, to hide themfelves from the wrath of the Lamb. For being both outwardly terrified with the fenfible judgments, and inwardly griped and tormented with the fury of their own confciences, they are at no hand able

to endure it.

CHAP. VII.

THIS HIS Chapter doth wholly appertain unto the opening of the fixth feal.It fheweth generally, how God in the midft of all the troubles which happened under the opening of the fixth feal, yet did preferve his own church, and mercifully provide for his own people.

This feventh chapter may very fitly be divided into three parts.

First, It fheweth, that as God did moft fearfully punish the world with visible and fenfible judgments, as we have heard before: So now he would fet upon them with invifible and spiritual plagues, which are of all others molt grievous and intolerable.

Secondly, It fheweth the state and condition of the church militant here on earth, as before was fhewed under the opening of the fifth feal, the ftate of the church triumphant in the heavens, namely, that it is fealed and fet in fafety from all dangers.

Thirdly, It fheweth the blessed and happy ftate of all God's elect, and their fervent praises and zealous worship of God, who thus mercifully did provide for their fecurity in the midst of greatest perils and extremities.

And after that, I faw four angels ftand on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the winds fhould not blow on the earth, nei⚫ther on the fea, neither on any green tree," Rev. vii. 1.

These four angels are angels of darknefs, or four devils, which is proved by this rea fon, that they hold the four winds from blowing on the earth, that is, ftop the