'neffes on the spot 32. They were the very fame claffes of perfons, who have actually been the greateft fufferers in the course of the French Revolution, and it was by means of their over- : throw that it was accomplished.

Now who were their enemies?

.

But I am under an engagement to tranfcribe fome extracts from Jurieu. With respect to the Street of the Great City, which St. John (v. 8), points out as the place, in which the witneffes of Civil and Religious Liberty fhall be particularly filenced, Jurieu fays, I cannot 'hinder myself from believing, that this hath a parti'cular regard to France, which at this day is certainly the most eminent country, which belongs to the popish Kingdom.-It is the most flourishing state in Europe. It is in the middle of the popifh empire, betwixt Italy, Spain, Germany, England, exactly as a street or place of concourfe in the middle of a city 33. It may be added, that, when we regard the Great City as denoting the whole range of the different antichriftian countries, the expreffion in the original (xi. 8), ή πλατεία πόλεως της peryans, the broad way of the great City, feems in a peculiar manner applicable to a country fo much resorted to as France. It is faid in the next verse (v. 9), and they of the people and kindreds, and tongues, and nations, fhall fee their dead bodies, and fhall not fuffer their dead bodies to be put into graves, i. e. fays Jurieu, the Truth fhalf

be flain, but it fhall not be buried. Burial is a degree 'beyond death, and is always joined with a total cor'ruption and destruction.-Those who hinder their bu'rial, are the tribes, languages, people, and nations, i. e.

6

⚫ feveral neighbour nations 34.' Thefe nations, who fhall

32 P. 21. This Differtation was published in 1747.

33 Vol. II. p. 247.

3 Vol. II. p. 248.

be witnesses of the tyranny to which they fall victims, by continuing their intercourse with the people of France, fhall not fuffer the great truths of religious toleration and of civil freedom to become extinct among them. Thus England, in particular, by the boldness and depth of its fpeculations on toleration and on government, excited a fimilar fpirit of inquiry in the writers of France. Not to fuffer a perfon to be put into the grave denotes,' fays Dr. Lancaster, in his Symbolical Dictionary, that he shall be remembered, and not suffered to be put into 'eternal filence.'

It is faid in the apocalypfe, immediately previous to the account of the Great Earthquake, that they heard a great voice from heaven, faying unto them, come up hither. In explaining these words, Jurieu gives the following account of that Revolution in France which he expected. Heaven is the throne, it is the fovereign dignity, which in a state is exactly the fame, that heaven 'is to the earth, in light, in luftre, in good or bad in'fluences, in fituation, and in elevation. From heaven, 'i. e. from authority, and the prince who reigns; they heard a voice, they received an order; not a small * clandeftine filent voice, but a great voice, i. e. a public command, a folemn edict; and this voice faid unto 'them, come up hither. Many perfons, on perufing this paffage, have been inclined to exclaim, has not this prediction been completely verified? Was it not from the prince who reigned, when led to it by an unforeseen preffure of circumstances and imperious neceffity, that the Revolution derived its immediate origin? Was not a folemn edict published from authority, inviting the people to co-operate in the accomplishment of a Reformation? Did they not actually hear a voice, did they not actually receive an order, iffuing from the throne, faying, come up hither? Did not the Tiers Etat, whose inter

pofition

pofition in the government had fo long been prohibited, receive a public command from Louis XVI. to affift in the national deliberations, and to devife means for correcting abufes, which could no longer be tolerated 35?

Jurieu, having related what he conceived would be the manner of commencing the Revolution in FRANCE, afterwards proceeds to point out its certainty, its progrefs, and its confequences. But previous to quoting from him, I fhall again fubmit the words of St. John to the attention of the reader. And the fame hour was there a Great Earthquake, and the Tenth Part of the City fell, and in this Earthquake the titles of men being feven thoufand were deftroyed. It is known,' fays Jurieu, by all who are verfed in the prophets, that in the prophetic style an earthquake fignifies a great Com

95 The circular letter or public command of Louis XVI. convoking the states general, and inviting the three eftates to affume a fhare in the legiflature, in order to accomplish a Reform, has in particular been appealed to, as containing an exact fulfilment of the expectations of Ju ricu. It was promulgated at Verfailles the 24th of Jan. 1789. For the fubfequent paffages in it fee the New Ann. Reg. for 1789, p. 111. We order and expressly enjoin you, therefore, foon after the receipt of the prefent letter, to convene and affemble in the town of the moft proper of the three claffes (trois etats),—that they may confer and * communicate together on fubjects of complaints, grievances, and remonfrances, and the means and advice they may have to propofe to the ge'neral assembly of the same states; and after having done thus much, 'they are to chuse and name such and fuch perfons, &c. and fo many 'and no more of EVERY clafs, all of them worthy of this diftin'guished mark of trust, on account of their integrity, and the fuperior 'abilities they are endowed with. They fhall be furnished with 'proper inftructions and fufficient power to propofe, remonftrate, advise, and confent to every thing, that may concern the prefent or future wants of the ftate, THE REFORM OF ABUSES, the establishment of 'fteady and permanent order in every branch of the adminiftration, the general prosperity of our kingdom, and the welfare of ALL and EACH 'of our fubjects.'

H 4

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• motion

motion of nations, that muft change the face. of the " world 36.'

It' being fuppofed and proved, that the city is the 'whole Babylonian and antichriftian empire"; it must be remembered, that this empire of Antichrift is made. up of Ten Kingdoms, and Ten Kings.-From which 'it is clear, that the Tenth Part of the City fignifies here ' one of those Ten Kingdoms, under the authority of the 'antichristian kingdom. A Tenth Part of the city fell, i. e. one of these Ten Kingdoms, which make up the 'great city, the Babylonian empire, fhall forfake it 38' Now what is this Tenth Part of the city?-In my 'opinion, we cannot doubt, that it is France 39.' This kingdom' MUST BUILD ITS GREATNESS UPON THE 6 RUINS OF THE PAPAL EMPIRE, AND ENRICH ITSELF WITH THE SPOILS OF THOSE WHO SHALL

'TAKE PART WITH THE PAPACY. They, who at this day perfecute the Proteftants, know not whither God is leading them. This is not the way, by which 'he will lead FRANCE to the height of glory. If the comes thither, it is becaufe fhe fhall fhortly change her road. Her greatning will be no damage to Proteftant states; on the contrary, the Proteftant states shall be ⚫ enriched with the fpoils of others, and be strengthened 'by the fall of Antichrift's empire. This Tenth Part of the city fhall fall, with refpect to the рарасу; it ' fhall break with Rome and the Roman religion.' But, fays Jurieu, fome space of time shall pass, probably

36 Vol. II. p. 261.

37 Long, indeed, has this been an approved interpretation. To the word city or civitas, occurring in this ch. of the Rev. a large fignification was annexed, not only by thofe early commentators, Brightman and Goodwin, but also by Fox the martyrologift, in his Eikafmi, publifhed in Latin in the year 1587, p. 124.

38 Vol. II. p. 264.

39 P. 265.

fome years, before France fhall wholly throw off the 'yoke of popery 4o.'

It deferves to be mentioned, that bp. Newton, after ftating three other opinions relevant to the Tenth Part of the city, introduces Jurieu as a famous divine of 'the French church at Rotterdam,' who has given an interpretation, which ought to be preferred to those he had already enumerated. Upon this paffage the bishop

40 Vol. II. p. 260.

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41 On the general character of M. Jurieu I am not disposed myself to enter. I am aware that it was, not without confiderable blemishes. That he is a writer worthy of attention, fome short teftimonials of others respecting him will, however, evince. It may in particular be observed to be a strong prefumption in his favour, that, for the apocalyptical writings of Mede, he entertained the highest respect. Accordingly his celebrated antagonist, Boffuet, ftyles him the difciple of Joseph Mede (L'Apoc. avec une Explication, Par. 1690, p. 389); and Whifton obferves (p. 102), not only that he is a follower of Mede, but that he is certainly to be claffed among our best commentators on this 'book.' From p. 727 of Daubuz it appears that he entertained a similar opinion of him; and Mr. Pyle (pref. p. 18), in his lift of distinguished writers, who have most materially contributed to the right understanding of the apocalypfe, omits not to make particular mention of Jurieu, to whom also he often appeals as an authority in the body of his work. We learn from a trcatife of the learned Dr. Creffener, which was printed in 1690 (Dem. of the Prot. App of the Apoc. pref. p. 28), that by the generality of ftudents in the prophecies, at that time, the fyftem of Jurieu, which he denominates elegant, was regarded as unusually ftriking. Jurieu was the author of a great number of works; and an account of all, or most of them, may be found in the Acta Eruditorum of Leipfic. Their critique on his Accomplishment of the Prophecies I have not feen; but, in incidentally mentioning his confutation of Boffuet's Expofition, they entitle it celeberrimus tractatus, 1685, p. 522. Elsewhere also they style him celeberrimus auctor (1688, p. 625), and auctor multis fcriptis clariffimus (1687, p. 143). I conclude with a teftimony from Bayle. Though an open variance afterwards broke out between him and Jurieu, they were, for a confiderable time, united by the ties of the clofeft intimacy; and the former, in a letter written to Mr. Bafnage in 1675, fays, I honour and admire M. Ju'rieu, and should defire earneftly to be near him, that I may improve by 'his great and incomparable talents.'

himself