It draws out of the dregs of our memory the horrible recollection of naked children with bloated bellies and protruding ribs. It chills the spine to hear the cries of the hungry in the still of the night.
Beggars are a pitiful display of human want.
Since this passage is part of the vision that John received on the Isle of Patmos, it is good to remind ourselves that as a vision, it must be spiritually interpreted. The various parts that are seen have spiritual meaning. This is God's book and it represents His plan for all history by which he realized the completion of Christ's kingdom, see Rev.4. This Christ does by releasing the four horsemen which are the contents of the first four seals. We noticed that the first horse was white, a representation of the preaching of the gospel by which Christ gathers His church.