The Fourth Vial

Men are
burned [margin] with a great heat (Rev. 16:9 see also New Trans., JND),
and blaspheme the name of God. There is a remarkable similarity in the spheres of judgment in the first four trumpets and vials — the earth, sea, rivers, fountains, and sun being smitten in each; the vials, as before noticed, being more extensive and severe. And as we saw in former judgments, so it is recorded now, that instead of these things leading men to repent, it brings out horrible blasphemy. How bad is the human heart! How oft should the believer’s cry to God be —
“Take Thou my heart, and let it be
For ever close to all but Thee!”
How strikingly in the apocalyptic judgments we see that terror and judgment harden instead of soften the human heart; so here again, in the midst of their sufferings,
they blasphemed the name of God, who hath power over these plagues, and they repented not to give Him glory (Rev. 16:9).