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LECTURES  ON  THE 
 REVELATION  OF  ST  JOHN, 
 
LECTURES 
 
 REVELATION  OF  ST  JOHN. 
 
 BY 
 
 C.   J.^VAUGHAN,    D.D. 
 
 DEAN    OF   LLANDAFF   AND    MASTER   OF   THE  TEMPLE. 
 
 FIFTH    EDITION. 
 
 Hontron : 
 MACMILLAN    AND    CO. 
 
 1882 
 
 [The  Right  of  Translation  and  Reproduction  is  reserved. ^ 
 
QtamttOSQt: 
 
 PRINTED    BY    C    J.     CLAY,     M.A. 
 AT  THE  UNIVERSITY  PRESS. 
 
■^^^^    \     ^^^ 
 
 '\  o 
 
 ^  SG8I  ^  03a  ^ 
 
 p,     ^ •'VV 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 These  Volumes  contain  a  series  of  Lectures  on  Ike 
 Revelation  of  St  John  delivered  in  the  years  1861 
 and  1862  in  the  Parish  Church  of  Doncaster.  A  simi- 
 lar work  published  last  Autumn  on  the  Epistle  to  the 
 Philippians  will  have  prepared  my  readers  for  the  plan 
 here  pursued. 
 
 It  may  be  necessary  just  so  far  to  repeat  what 
 was  stated  in  the  Preface  to  those  Lectures  as  to 
 explain  that  the  English  Translation^  prefixed  to  each 
 Discourse  is  not  offered  as  a  substitute  for  that  con- 
 tained in  the  Authorized  Version,  but  only  as  a  literal 
 representation  of  the  idiom  of  the  original  text,  de- 
 signed to  assist  the  understanding  of  the  commentary 
 which  follows. 
 
 There  are  those  who  can  rest  with  satisfaction  in  a 
 more  vague  and  popular  exposition  of  the  language 
 of  Holy  Scripture.  The  attempt  to  render  intelligible 
 to  an  unlearned  congregation  the  accuracies  of  the 
 sacred  language,  and  to  draw  a  meaning  not  always 
 visible  on  the  surface  from  shades  and  turns  and 
 niceties  of  expression,  will  appear  doubtless  to  such 
 persons  a  waste  of  labour,  if  not  a  distraction  of  the 
 attention  from  matters  of  vital  and  saving  import. 
 Others  have  learned  a  different  and  (as  I  venture  to 
 think)  a  truer  lesson  from  the  experience  of  interest 
 awakened,  and  thought  quickened,  and  reverence  height- 
 
 ^  These  translations  are  made  from  Tischendorf 's  -znd  Edition,  Leipsic, 
 1849. 
 
viil  Preface, 
 
 much  as  of  the  writer;  a  deduction  made  by  himself, 
 and  not  a  programme  of  conclusions  already  reached 
 by  another.  I  shall  be  well  contented  to  be  thought 
 deficient  in  comprehensive  ideas,  if  I  may  assist  others 
 in  the  formation  of  a  right  judgment  upon  the  actual 
 utterances  of  the  sure  word  of  Prophecy  itself. 
 
 And  now  I  would  dedicate  my  work,  with  its  mani- 
 fold imperfections,  to  the  beloved  Church  of  England, 
 as  a  contribution,  poor  and  inadequate,  to  her  Divine 
 ministry  as  a  witness  and  a  keeper  of  Holy  Writ ;  with 
 the  humble  prayer  that  in  this  as  in  all  her  offices  she 
 may  be  kept  faithful  to  her  high  trust,  holding  an  even 
 way  between  diverging  extravagances,  and  commending 
 the  truth,  alike  by  its  beauty,  by  its  wisdom,  and  by 
 its  strength,  to  every  maiis  coiiscience  in  the  sight  of  God. 
 
 The  Vicarage,  Doncaster, 
 May  19,  1863. 
 
 PREFACE  TO  THE  THIRD  EDITION. 
 
 In  this  Third  Edition  the  literal  translations  are  no 
 longer  prefixed  to  the  Lectures.  They  will  still  be 
 found  interwoven  in  the  body  of  the  Lectures  them- 
 selves. The  marginal  references  are  now  placed  at  the 
 foot  of  the  page ;  and  a  few  passages  have  been 
 omitted,  which  had  only  a  local  or  passing  interest. 
 The  whole  has  been  carefully  revised,  but  without  any 
 material  change. 
 
 The  Temple, 
 
 Decetnber  9,   1869. 
 
^^  or  rr//je;>^ 
 
 SYNOPSIS 
 
 OF    THE 
 
 BOOK   OF   REVELATION. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Chap.  I.  II.  III. 
 
 The  Preface. 
 
 The  Vision  of  the  Risen  Saviour. 
 Messages  to  Seven  Churches  of  Asia. 
 
 PART  I. 
 Chap.  IV.  to  VIIL  i. 
 
 The  heavenly  council. 
 
 The  sealed  roll. 
 
 The  adoration  of  the  Lamb. 
 
 The  opening  of  six  seals. 
 
 The  sealing  of  the  faithful. 
 
 The  great  multitude  before  the  throne. 
 
 The  opening  of  the  seventh  seal. 
 
 PART  II. 
 
 Chap.  VIII.  2  to  XL 
 
 The  sounding  of  six  trumpets. 
 
 The  little  roll. 
 
 The  two  witnesses. 
 
 The  sounding  of  the  seventh  trumpet. 
 
Synopsis, 
 
 PART  III. 
 
 Chap.  XII.  XIIL  XIV. 
 
 The  three  enemies. 
 The  Lamb  on  mount  Sion. 
 The  four  proclamations. 
 The  harvest  and  vintage. 
 
 PART  IV. 
 
 Chap.  XV.  XVI. 
 
 The  seven  bowls  of  wrath. 
 
 PART  V. 
 
 Chap.  XVIL  XVIII.  XIX. 
 
 Babylon  and  her  judgment. 
 The  Divine  Conqueror  and  His  victory. 
 
 PART  VI. 
 Chap.  XX. 
 
 The  binding  and  loosing  of  Satan. 
 The  last  judgment. 
 
 PART  VII. 
 Chap.  XXI.  XXII. 
 
 The  holy  city  and  its  glory. 
 Concluding  admonitions. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 LECTURE  I. 
 
 Page 
 Chap.  i.   12,  13.     And  being  turned,   I  saw  seven  golden   candle- 
 sticks ;   and  in  the  midst  of  the  seven  candlesticks  one 
 like  unto  the  Son  of  Man i 
 
 LECTURE  IL 
 
 Chap.  ii.  4.     Nevertheless  I  have  somewhat  against  thee,  because 
 
 thou  hast  left  thy  first  love 1 1 
 
 LECTURE  in. 
 
 Chap.  ii.  10.     Be  thou  faithful  unto  death,  and  I  will  give  thee  a 
 
 crown  of  life 33 
 
 LECTURE  IV. 
 
 Chap.  ii.  17.     And  in  the  stone  a  new  name  written,  which  no  man 
 
 knoweth  saving  he  that  receiveth  it 46 
 
 LECTURE  V. 
 
 Chap.  ii.  29.     He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear  what  the  Spirit 
 
 saith  unto  the  churches 5  * 
 
xli  Contents, 
 
 LECTURE  VI. 
 
 Page 
 Chap.  hi.  i,  2.     Thou  hast  a  name  that  thou  livest,  and  art  dead. 
 Be  watchful,  and  strengthen  the   things   which   remain, 
 that  are  ready  to  die 73 
 
 LECTURE  VII. 
 
 Chap.  ih.  8.     Behold,  I  have  set  before  thee  an  open  door,  and  no 
 
 man  can  shut  it 87 
 
 LECTURE  VIII. 
 Chap.  III.  15.     I  would  thou  wert  cold  or  hot  .        .        .        .       ^.     loi 
 
 LECTURE  IX. 
 
 Chap.  iv.  r.     After  this  I  looked,  and,  behold,  a  door  was  opened 
 
 in  heaven         .         . 116 
 
 LECTURE  X. 
 
 Chap.  v.  6-  And  I  beheld,  and,  lo,  in  the  midst  of  the  throne  and 
 of  the  four  beasts,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  elders,  stood  a 
 Lamb,  as  it  had  been  slain,  having  seven  horns  and  seven 
 eyes,  which  are  the  seven  Spirits  of  God  sent  forth  into  all 
 the  earth 131 
 
 LECTURE  XI. 
 
 Chap.  v.  13.  And  every  creature  which  is  in  heaven,  and  on  the 
 earth,  and  under  the  earth,  and  such  as  are  in  the  sea, 
 and  all  that  are  in  them,  heard  I  saying,  Blessing,  and 
 honour,  and  glory,  and  power,  be  unto  Him  that  sitteth 
 upon  the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb  for  ever  and  ever     .      145 
 
 LECTURE  XIL 
 
 Chap.  vi.  16.     Hide  us  from  the  face  of  Him  that  sitteth  on  the 
 
 throne,  and  from  the  wrath  of  the  Lamb  .         .        .        '159 
 
Contents.  xiii 
 
 LECTURE  XIII. 
 
 Page 
 
 Chap.  VII.  i,  3.  And  I  saw  another  angel  ascending  from  the  east, 
 having  the  seal  of  the  living  God  :  and  he  cried  with  a 
 loud  voice  to  the  four  angels,  to  whom  it  was  given  to 
 hurt  the  earth  and  the  sea,  saying,  Hurt  not  the  earth, 
 neither  the  sea,  nor  the  trees,  till  we  have  sealed  the 
 servants  of  our  God  in  their  foreheads       .         .         .         •     1 74 
 
 LECTURE  XIV. 
 
 Chap.  VII.  13.     What  are  these  which  are  arrayed  in  white  robes? 
 
 and  whence  came  they  ? 188 
 
 LECTURE  XV. 
 
 Chap.  viii.   i.     And  when  he  had  opened  the  seventh  seal,  there 
 
 was  silence  in  heaven  about  the  space  of  half  an  hour       .     203 
 
 LECTURE  XVI. 
 
 Chap.  ix.  12.     One  woe  is  past ;  and,  behold,  there  come  two  woes 
 
 more  hereafter 219 
 
 LECTURE  XVIL 
 
 Chap.  X.  8.  And  the  voice  which  I  heard  from  heaven  spake  unto 
 me  again,  and  said,  Go  and  take  the  little  book  which  is 
 open  in  the  hand  of  the  angel  which  standeth  upon  the  sea 
 and  upon  the  earth  ........     -236 
 
 LECTURE  XVIII. 
 
 Chap.  XI.  12.  And  they  heard  a  great  voice  from  heaven  saying 
 unto  them,  Come  up  hither.  And  they  ascended  up  to 
 heaven  in  a  cloud  :  and  their  enemies  beheld  them  .         -251 
 
 LECTURE  XIX. 
 
 Chap.  XI.  19.     And  the  temple  of  God  was  opened  in  heaven:  and 
 
 there  was  seen  in  His  temple  the  ark  of  His  testament      .     ■267 
 
xiv  Contents. 
 
 LECTURE  XX. 
 
 Page 
 Chap.  xii.  5,  6,     Her  child  was  caught  up  unto  God  and  to  His 
 
 throne.     And  the  woman  fled  into  the  wilderness      .         .     282 
 
 LECTURE  XXL 
 Chap.  xii.  7.    There  was  war  in  heaven  .••...    494 
 
 LECTURE  XXn. 
 
 Chap.  xii.  ii.  And  they  overcame  him  by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb, 
 and  by  the  word  of  their  testimony ;  and  they  loved  not 
 their  lives  unto  the  death 307 
 
 LECTURE  XXIII. 
 
 Chap.  xii.  17.  And  the  dragon  was  wroth  with  the  woman,  and 
 went  to  make  war  with  the  remnant  of  her  seed,  which 
 keep  the  commandments  of  God,  and  have  the  testimony 
 of  Jesus  Christ S^o 
 
 LECTURE  XXIV. 
 Chap.  xiii.  10.     Here  is  the  patience  and  the  faith  of  the  saints       .     332 
 
 LECTURE  XXV. 
 
 Chap.  xiv.  i.  And  I  looked,  and  lo,  a  Lamb  stood  on  the  mount 
 Sion,  and  with  Him  an  hundred  forty  and  four  thousand, 
 having  His  Father's  name  written  in  their  foreheads  .     346 
 
 LECTURE  XXVI. 
 
 Chap.  xiv.  13.  And  I  heard  a  voice  'from  heaven  sa5dng  unto  me, 
 Write  :  Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord  from 
 henceforth :  Yea,  saith  the  Spirit,  that  they  may  rest 
 from  their  labours ;  and  their  works  do  follow  them  .         '359 
 
Contents.  xy 
 
 LECTURE  XXVII. 
 
 Page 
 Chap.  xiv.  if.,  iS.     The  harvest  of  the  earth  is  ripe.     Her  grapes 
 
 are  fully  ripe 372 
 
 LECTURE  XXVIII. 
 
 Chap.  xv.  3.     And  they  sing  the  song  of  Moses  the  servant  of  God, 
 
 and  the  song  of  the  Lamb 386 
 
 LECTURE  XXIX. 
 Chap.  XVI.  15.     Behold,  I  come  as  a  thief 398 
 
 LECTURE  XXX. 
 
 Chap.    xvi.    15.     Behold,  I   come  as  a  thief.     Blessed  is  he  that 
 
 watcheth .         . 4i'2 
 
 LECTURE  XXXL 
 
 Chap.  XVII.  17.     Until  the  words  of  God  shall  be  fulfilled        .         .    425 
 
 LECTURE  XXXII. 
 
 ClTAP.  XVIII.  4.     Come   out   of  her,   my   people,   that   ye   be  not 
 
 partakers  of  her  sins 439 
 
 LECTURE  XXXIII. 
 
 Chap.  XIX.  19.  And  I  saw  the  beast,  and  the  kings  of  the  earth, 
 and  their  armies,  gathered  together  to  make  war  against 
 Him  that  sat  on  the  horse,  and  against  His  army     .         .     454 
 
 LECTURE  XXXIV. 
 
 Chap.  xx.  6.  Blessed  and  holy  is  he  that  hath  part  in  the  first 
 resurrection:  on  such  the  second  death  hath  no  power, 
 but  they  shall  be  priests  of  God  and  of  Christ,  and  shall 
 reign  with  Him  a  thousand  years      .....     469 
 
xvi  Contents. 
 
 .LECTURE  XXXV. 
 
 Page 
 Chap,  xxi,  5.    And  he  that  sat  upon  the  throne  said,  Behold,  I  make 
 
 all  things  new  .....  ...     484 
 
 LECTURE  XXXVI. 
 
 Chap.  xxi.  •2-2.     And  I  saw  no  temple  therein :  for  the  Lord  God 
 
 Almighty  and  the  Lamb  are  the  temple  of  it     .         .         .     499 
 
 LECTURE  XXXVn. 
 
 Chap.  xxii.  2.   And  the  leaves  of  the  tree  were  for  the  healing  of  the 
 
 nations 513 
 
 LECTURE  XXXVIIL 
 
 Chap.  xxii.  11.  He  that  is  unjust,  let  him  be  unjust  still:  and 
 he  which  is  filthy,  let  him  be  filthy  still ;  and  he  that  is 
 righteous,  let  him  be  righteous  still :  and  he  that  is  holy, 
 let  him  be  holy  still 529 
 
LECTURE    I, 
 
 REVELATION   I.    12,    Ij. 
 
 A7id  being  turned,  I  saw  seven  golden  candlesticks  ;  and 
 in  the  midst  of  the  seven  candlesticks  one  like  unto 
 the  Son  of  Man. 
 
 I  PURPOSE  to  call  your  attention  on  some  future  occa- 
 sions to  those  brief  Epistles  to  the  seven  Churches  of 
 Asia  Minor,  which  are  contained  in  the  second  and 
 third  chapters  of  the  Revelation  of  St  John.  May  God 
 grant  His  blessing  to  our  study  of  them  !  May  He 
 opeji  our  understanding  that  we  may  imderstand  the 
 Scriptures'^,  and  our  hearts  to  receive  the  things  which 
 are  spoken ! 
 
 To-night  we  must  say  something  in  the  way  of 
 preface;  something  of  the  human  writer,  and  of  his 
 circumstances;  something  of  the  Divine  Author,  and 
 of  the  character  in  which  He  thought  it  good  here  to 
 reveal  Himself.  The  application  of  the  Vv'hole  to  our- 
 selves will  be  found  in  the  few  words  read  as  the  text. 
 
 Sermons  on  the  Book  of  Revelation  are  too  often 
 regarded  as  visionary  and  fantastic.     Parts  oi  the  book 
 
 ^  Luke  xxiv.  45. 
 V.  R.  I 
 
2  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 are  difficult  of  interpretation:  perhaps  the  key  which 
 is  to  unlock  them  is  not  yet  in  the  hands  of  man.  But 
 it  will  be.  And  meanwhile  we  ought  to  study  the 
 book  itself,  and  become  so  imbued  with  its  general 
 spirit  as  not  to  be  unaware  of  the  fulfilment  from  mere 
 ignorance  of  the  prophecy.  For  doubtless  it  is  more 
 than  conceivable  that  a  very  marked  and  certain  fulfil- 
 ment of  a  prophecy  might  be  overlooked  and  unnoticed 
 by  those  who  had  never  turned  their  attention  to  the 
 language  in  which  the  prophecy  itself  was  expressed. 
 The  book  itself  opens  with  an  emphatic  benediction 
 upon  its  students.  Blessed  is  Jie  that  readeth,  and  they 
 that  hear  the  zvords  of  this  prophecy,  aitd  keep  those  tilings 
 which  are  zvritten  therein  :  for  the  time  is  at  hand^. 
 
 And  if  there  are  some  things  dark  in  this  prophecy, 
 there  are  more  things  plain.  Even  in  the  darkest  parts 
 there  is  already  a  glimmering  light.  Already  we  can 
 see  a  clear  testimony  running  through  it  to  the  holi- 
 ness of  God,  to  the  power  of  Christ,  to.  the  providence 
 which  is  working  in  or  overruling  all  things,  to  the 
 divine  purpose  which  all  things  and  all  men  are 
 willingly  or  unwillingly  subserving,  and  to  that  final 
 triumph  of  good  over  evil,  of  Christ  over  Antichrist, 
 of  God  over  Satan,  which  will  be  the  last  and  most 
 decisive  justification  of  the  ways  of  God  to  men.  All 
 this  lies  on  the  surface  of  the  book.  And  I  know  not 
 that  a  more  profitable  occupation  could  be  found  for 
 men  of  the  world — men  of  business,  men  of  activity, 
 men  of  intelligence  and  influence — than  the  repeated 
 perusal  of  a  part  of  God's  Word  which  says  to  them, 
 even  in  its  most  obscure  and  mysterious  disclosures, 
 1  Rev.  i.  3. 
 
I.]  Chap,  I.   I — 20.  3 
 
 God  Is  at  work,  God  has  a  purpose,  God  will  at  length 
 manifest  His  reign,  in  this  world  which  you  treat  too 
 much  for  the  present  as  if  it  were  all  your  own.  Take 
 heed  that  you  be  not  disregarding,  that  you  be  not  even 
 fighting  against  God^,  and  destined  therefore  to  be 
 overthrown  when  He  triumphs.  I  know  not  that  there 
 is  one  chapter  of  this  Book  which  does  not  enforce 
 upon  us  this  great  lesson. 
 
 And  surely  we  need  not  speak  of  its  lessons  for  a 
 very  different  class.  We  need  not  say  what  its  open- 
 ing chapters  and  what  its  closing  chapters  are  to  the 
 suffering,  to  the  solitary,  to  the  sick  and  the  dying. 
 They  have  a  voice  certainly  for  these,  if  they  are  ever 
 silent  to  the  prosperous  or  to  the  self-confident. 
 
 We  will  endeavour  so  to  speak  upon  that  part  of 
 the  Book  of  Revelation  which  is  proposed  for  our  con- 
 sideration here,  as  that  the  word  uttered  shall  be  un- 
 deniably a  zvord  of  trnth  and  soberness^.  God  help  us 
 to  make  it  so  ! 
 
 Let  us  read  the  Preface  to  the  Book,  as  it  stands  in 
 the  sacred  page  itself. 
 
 A  revelation^  of  Jesus  Christ.  A  revelation  is  an 
 unveiling  or  uncovering  of  an  object  before  hidden. 
 That  object  may  be  either  a  thing  or  a  person.  In 
 two  successive  verses  of  one  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to 
 the  Romans  we  read  of  revelation  of  a  future  glory, 
 and  of  a  revelation  of  those  for  whom  that  glory  is 
 destined.  /  reckon  that  the  sufferings  of  the  present  season 
 are  not  zvorthy  to  be  compared  ivith  the  glory  that  shall 
 be  revealed  nnto  [upon)  us.  For  the  earnest  expectation  of 
 the  creation  zvaiteth  for  the  manifestation — but  the  word 
 
 1  Acts  V.  39.  2  Acts  xxvi.  25.  ^   Vase  i. 
 
 1  —  2 
 
4  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 is  the  same,  the  revelation — of  the  sons  of  God^.  Thus 
 the  same  book  of  prophecy  which  is  a  revelation  of 
 things  future  may  be  also  called  a  revelation  of  Him 
 who  is  the  author  and  the  finisher'^ ,  the  origin  and  the 
 end,  of  all. 
 
 Which  God  gave  Him.  Even  in  heaven  the  words 
 of  the  Gospel  are  still  true.  The  Father  loveth  the  Son, 
 and  showeth  Him  all  things  that  Himself  doeth^.  Every 
 revelation  of  God's  counsels  comes  to  man  from  the 
 Father  through  the  Son. 
 
 The  object  of  this  particular  revelation  is  then 
 stated.  To  show  to  His  servants  things  which  must  come 
 to  pass  speedily.  It  is  a  disclosure  of  the  divine  counsels 
 with  reference  to  the  future  course  and  final  destiny 
 of  the  Church  and  of  the  world. 
 
 And"^  He,  God  Himself,  signified  it,  this  revelation, 
 sending  by  His  angel,  to  His  servant  John,  who  testified 
 the  word  of  God  thus  communicated  to  him,  ajid  the 
 testimony  thus  borne  by  the  Father  of  {concerning)  Jesits 
 Christ'",  even  all  tJdngs  that  he  sazu.  The  general  pur- 
 port of  all  the  visions  vouchsafed  to  the  Apostle  in  the 
 scenes  which  follow  was  a  testimony  borne  by  God 
 Himself  to  His  Son  Jesus  Christ. 
 
 Blessed^  is  he  that  readeth,  and  blessed  are  tJicy  that 
 hear  the  words  of  the  prophecy  and  keep  the  things  that 
 are  zvritten  in  it :  for  the  season  of  their  accomplishment 
 is  near.  A  prophecy,  in  the  Scriptural  sense  of  that 
 term,  is  any  comm.unication  made  by  man  to  men  under 
 the  inspiration  of  God.  But  here  the  nature  of  the 
 communication    makes    it,   in    large  measure,  what  we 
 
 ^  Rom.  viii.  i8,  19.  2  Yiok).  xii.  1.  ^  John  v.  20. 
 
 ■*   Verse  2.  ^  Compare  i  John  v.  9,  10.  ^   Verse  3. 
 
I.]  Chap.  I.    I — 20.  5 
 
 more  commonly  understand  by  the  word  prophecy,  a 
 prediction  of  things  to  come. 
 
 Jolui^  to  the  seven  congregatio?is  in  Asia.  The  enu- 
 meration which  presently  follows  of  the  Churches  de- 
 signed shows  that  Asia  is  here  used  in  its  narrowest 
 sense  ;  not  of  the  quarter  of  the  globe  so  denominated, 
 not  even  of  Asia  Minor,  but  of  one  province  on  the 
 western  side  of  that  country,  expressly  distinguished  in 
 two  well-known  passages  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles^ 
 from  Cappadocia  and  Pontus,  from  Phrygia  and  Pam- 
 phylia,  from  Galatia,  Mysia,  and  Bithynia. 
 
 Grace  to  yo?i  and  peace  from  Him  who  is  and  zvJio 
 was  and  zvho  cometh,  the  self-existent,  eternal,  ever-living 
 God  ;  and  from  the  seven  Spirits  which  are  before  His 
 throne^,  the  Holy  and  Blessed  Spirit  whose  gifts  are 
 diffused  through  all  the  Churches ;  and^  from  Jesus 
 Christy  the  faithful  witness — who  speaks  that  He  doth 
 knoiu,  and  testifies  that  He  hath  seen^ — the  firstborn  of 
 the  dcad^,  the  first-fruits  of  the  universal  resurrection^, 
 and  the  ruler  of  the  kings  of  the  earth. 
 
 To  Him  zvho  loveth  us,  and  washed  ns  from  onr  sins 
 in  His  blood,  and^  who  made  us  a  kingdom,  a  royal  race, 
 a  body  and  a  house  of  kings,  priests  to  God  His  Father^, 
 to  Him  who  is  both  God  and  also  the  Father  of  our 
 Lord  Jesus  Christ,  to  Him  be  the  glory  and  the  pozver 
 unto  the  ages:  Amen. 
 
 Behold^'^ — such  is  the  very  frontispiece  of  the  pro- 
 phecy which  is  to  follow — such  the  crowning  event  to 
 
 ^    Verse  4-  ^  Acts  ii.  9,  10.  xvi.  6,  7. 
 
 2  Compare  Rev.  iv.  5.  ^   Verse  5.                      ^  Jf^hn  iii.  11. 
 
 ^  Compare  Col.  i.  18.  ^  i  Cor.  xv.  10.             ^   Verse  6. 
 
 ^  Compare  Rev.  v.  10.  i  Pet.  ii.  9.                           ^"^   Verse  7. 
 
6  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 which  all  else  in  history  and  in  prophecy  is  pointing 
 and  leading  on — Behold,  He  conieth  with  the  clouds^  and 
 every  eye  shall  see  Him,  yea,  and  wJwsoever  they  were 
 \\\\o  pierced  Him,  and  all  tJie  tribes  of  the  earth,  once  His 
 rejecters  and  blasphemers,  shall  wail  over  Him.  They 
 shall  look  tLpon  me  zvJiom  they  have  pierced,  as  the  Prophet 
 Zechariah  wrote  of  old,  and  they  shall  moiLi^n  for  Him  as 
 one  mourneth  for  his  only  son,  and  shall  be  in  bitterness 
 for  Him  as  one  that  is  in  bitterness  for  J  lis  firstborn^. 
 Yea,  Amen :  the  thing  is  true,  and  the  will  of  God  is  the 
 will  of  His  people. 
 
 I  am^  Alpha  and  Omega,  the  first  and  the  last,  saith 
 the  Lord  {Jehovah)  God,  who  is  and  who  was  and  zuho 
 Cometh,  the  Almighty.  I  am  the  Lord,  I  change  not^ :  I 
 ever  live,  to  make  good  my  word. 
 
 And  now  we  are  to  hear  more  of  the  human  writer, 
 and  more  of  the  Divine  Author,  of  the  book  open 
 before  us. 
 
 The  human  writer  was  the  great  Apostle  and  Evan- 
 gelist St  John.  He  had  reached  now  a  late  point  in  his 
 long  pilgrimage.  At  this  time  he  was  a  banished  man. 
 The  storm  of  persecution  had  broken  upon  him  in  his 
 gentle  and  stedfast  ministry  at  Ephesus,  and  had  driven 
 him  to  the  little  island  of  Patmos  for  the  testimony  of 
 the  truth.  In  that  solitude,  however,  he  was  not  alone. 
 Shut  out  as  he  now  was  from  all  Christian  converse,  he 
 was  only  the  more  fitted  for  converse  with  Christ.  De- 
 barred by  no  fault  of  his  own  from  all  Christian,  ordi- 
 nances, expelled  from  that  congregation  in  which  for  so 
 long,  day  after  day,  he  had  uttered  the  message  of  truth 
 and  the  call  of  love,  he  was  admitted  now  to  worship  in 
 
 ^  Zech.  xii.  jo.  "   Verse  S.  ^  Mai.  iii.  6. 
 
I.]  Chap.  I.    I — 20.  7 
 
 the  very  sanctuary  above,  and  to  receive  if  he  might  no 
 longer  give  instruction  from  the  lips  of  the  Divine  Master 
 Himself.  It  is  not  in  days  of  abounding  comfort  and 
 engrossing  occupation,  even  if  it  be  occupation  for  Christ, 
 even  if  it  be  comfort  in  the  society  of  Christian  people, 
 that  the  soul  is  most  accessible  to  the  visitation  of  Christ 
 Himself.  It  is  when  earthly  coverings  are  stripped  off, 
 it  is  when  little  can  be  done  and  less  enjoyed,  it  is  when 
 quiet  has  passed  into  loneliness,  and  leisure  into  enforced 
 inaction,  that  Christ  Himself  draws  nigh,  and  says.  Fear 
 not:  for  I  am  with  tJiee^.  It  was  so  with  St  John.  / 
 John  ^,  yonr  brother,  and  fellow -partner  in  the  tribulation 
 and  kingdom  and patiejice  in  Christ  Jesns,  became  in  {came 
 to)  the  island  which  is  called  Patmos  because  of  the  word  of 
 God  and  the  testimony  of  Jesus.  And  there  /  became^  in 
 spirit  on  the  Lord's  day.  On  that  day  of  the  week  which 
 from  the  memory  of  Christ's  resurrection  had  already 
 become  the  chosen  festival  of  His  disciples;  that  day 
 which  He  had  Himself  more  than  once  selected  for  His 
 own  appearance  to  them  between  Resurrection  and 
 Ascension';  that  day  which  His  Apostles  expressly 
 honoured  as  the  day  of  the  Church's  offerings  and  of 
 the  chief  breaking  of  bread  in  the  ordinance  of  Commu- 
 nion^; on  that  same  day  on  which  we  are  now  assembled, 
 according  to  the  rule  of  many  centuries,  for  prayer  and 
 praise  and  exhortation,  St  John  was,  in  a  special  sense, 
 in  spirit;  his  very  bodily  and  mental  existence  was  as  it 
 were  merged  and  lost  in  the  spiritual;  he  was  placed 
 under  the  direct  and  peculiar  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit; 
 not  only  influenced  by  Him,  as  he  always  was,  for  irt- 
 
 1  Isai.  xliii.  5.  2   Verse  9.  ^   Verse  10. 
 
 •*  John  XX.  19,  26.  »  Acts  xx.  7.     i  Cor.  xvi.  1. 
 
8  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 struction  and  guidance  and  comfort,  but  so  actuated  and 
 possessed  by  Him  as  to  be,  like  St  Paul  on  an  occasion 
 of  which  he  has  left  us  the  record,  caught  up  to  the  third 
 heaven^  and  privileged  to  hear  tinspeakable  words  which 
 it  was  not  lawful  for  a  man  to  tUter^. 
 
 In  this  state  of  ecstacy  and  of  inspiration,  he  heard 
 behind  him,  first  of  all,  a  loitd  voice  as  of  a  trumpet, 
 a  voice  speaking  with  all  the  clearness  and  emphasis 
 of  a  trumpet's  tone,  and  directing  him^  to  keep  a 
 record  of  certain  things  which  were  about  to  be  shown 
 to  him,  and  then  to  transmit  them  to  seven  different 
 congregations  in  some  of  the  chief  towns  of  Asia  Minor. 
 To  St  John  and  to  the  first  readers  of  this  book  the 
 names  of  these  places  were  just  as  familiar  as  the  names 
 of  seven  towns  of  our  own  country  or  of  our  own  county 
 at  this  day  would  be  to  us ;  and  it  gives  us  a  startling 
 sense  of  the  reality  and  nearness  to  this  earth  of  the 
 risen  Saviour,  to  hear  of  His  sending  an  actual  mes- 
 sage with  the  living  voice  to  living  men,  characterizing 
 the  present  state  of  each,  and  adapting  to  it  some 
 precise  word  of  reproof,  of  encouragement,  and  of  ad- 
 monition. 
 
 And  thus  we  pass  from  the  writer  to  the  Author; 
 from  the  messenger  to  the  Sender;  from  the  beloved 
 Apostle  to  the  Divine  Saviour  Himself,  in  whose  name 
 and  by  whose  authority  St  John  spoke  and  wrote  on 
 earth,  and  whose  own  words  we  may  still  read  in  these 
 seven  Epistles  to  the  Asiatic  Churches. 
 
 None  can  fail  to  be  impressed  by  the  manifesta- 
 tion here  made  of  the  risen  life  and  (we  may  add)  of 
 the  risen  mind  of  Jesus.     It  seems  to  have  been  one 
 
 1  2  Cor.  xii.  2,  4.  ^   Verse  11. 
 
I.]  Chap.  I.    I — 20.  9 
 
 object  of  the  Inspired  Word  to  teach  us  how  much 
 and  how  little  of  change  passed  over  Him  In  the  final 
 transition  from  earth  to  heaven.  The  great  change 
 was  not  In  Ascension  but  In  Resurrection.  Ascension 
 was  a  change  of  place;  Resurrection  was  a  change  of 
 state.  What  Jesus  was  when  He  appeared  to  His  dl<5- 
 ciples  on  the  evening  of  the  first  Easter  Day,  that  and 
 none  other  He  Is  still.  When  St  Stephen  In  the  near 
 prospect  of  his  last  sufferings  looked  tip  stedfastly  into 
 heaven,  and  by  faith  beheld  the  glory  that  shall  be  re- 
 vealed^, he  was  able,  In  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
 to  recognize  Jesus  the  Son  of  Man  in  the  person  stand- 
 ing on  the  right  hand  of  God.  When  Saul  In  his  journey 
 drew  near  Damascus,  and  a  light  brighter  than  the 
 noonday  sun  revealed  to  him  the  presence  of  that  Sa- 
 viour whose  cause  upon  earth  he  had  set  himself  to 
 destroy,  still  the  words  which  he  heard  were  those  of 
 the  very  same  Jesus  who  had  once  taught  and  suffered 
 on  earth  ;  there  was  the  same  care  for  the  sorrows  of 
 the  afflicted,  and  the  same  identification  of  Himself 
 with  the  Interests  and  with  the  very  persons  of  His 
 redeemed.  Saul,  Sard,  zvhy  persec7Ltest  thou  me?... 
 I  am  Jesus  zvhom  thou  persecntest'^.  Was  it  not  still  the 
 very  same  Person  who  had  said  on  earth,  He  that 
 receiveth  yotc  receiveth  me^ —  Whosoever  shall  do  the  will 
 of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven,  the  same  is  my  brother, 
 and  sister,  and  mother'^ —  Verily  I  say  nnto  yon,  InasmncJi 
 as^ye  have  done  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these  my  brethren, 
 ye  have  done  it  unto  me'°f 
 
 ^  Acts  vii.  55.     Collect  for  St  Stephen's  Day. 
 
 2  Acts  ix.  4,  5.  ^  Matt.  x.  40. 
 
 ^  Matt.  xii.  50.  ^  Matt.  xxv.  40. 
 
lO 
 
 Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 And  yet  in  this  vision  of  the  Son  of  Man^  vouch- 
 safed to  the  beloved  disciple  in  his  solitude  in  Patmos, 
 there  was  something  more  of  terror.  It  was  a  vision: 
 in  that  one  word  lies  the  explanation.  There  was  a 
 disclosure  of  righteous  displeasure  to  be  made  to  some 
 of  His  earthly  congregations,  and  even  for  the  rest  the 
 message  was  from  the  Judge.  It  was  not  only  the 
 compassionate  Saviour  suffering  in  the  sufferings  of  His 
 disciples,  who  was  here  to  be  seen  and  heard.  Rather 
 it  was  the  Son  of  Man  as  He  shall  hereafter  take  His 
 seat  on  the  tJirone  of  His  glory,  and  cause  to  be  gathered 
 before  Him  all  the  nations'^.  His  garment^  was  now  the 
 long  and  ample  robe  of  judicial,  of  kingly  power.  The 
 hair  of  His  head*  was  white  with  the  blinding  splendour 
 of  His  holiness  and  of  His  glory.  His  eyes  were  as  a 
 flame  of  fire,  searching  in  their  discernment,  and  con- 
 suming in  their  judgment.  His  feet^  were  like  the  fine 
 brass  burning  in  a  furnace;  denoting  at  once  an  un- 
 wearied endurance  and  a  resistless  strength.  And  his 
 voice  as  the  sound  of  many  zvaters  ;  that  utterance  so  im- 
 pressive, so  majestic,  so  all-pervading,  as  we  have  heard  it 
 sometimes  on  the  shore  of  the  Ocean,  which  is  audible 
 through  and  above  all  other  sounds,  reducing  them  to 
 feebleness  without  caring  to  silence  or  to  overbear  them. 
 Even  such  is  Christ's  voice  amongst  the  many  voices  of 
 earth.  Amidst  their  loudest  tones  He  is  instantly  audi- 
 ble at  His  pleasure:  at  His  pleasure  He  says  to  them, 
 Peace,  be  still^,  and  they  cease  instantly,  and  there  is  a 
 great  calm. 
 
 And''  having  in  His  right  hand  seven  stars,  after- 
 
 ^    Verse  12.  ^  Matt.  xxv.  31.  ^   Verse  13. 
 
 *   Verse  14.  "    Verse  15.  ^  Mark  iv.  39.  ^   Verse  16. 
 
I.]  Chap,  I.    I — 20.  II 
 
 wards  explained  as  denoting  the  angels,  that  is,  the 
 rulers  or  chief  pastors,  of  the  seven  cJinrcJies  already 
 named.  And  ont  of  His  nioiitJi  there  was  a  tivo-edged 
 shm^p  sivord  going  forth ;  the  emblem  of  that  Word 
 of  God  which  is  called  the  sivord  of  the  Spirit^,  and 
 said  to  be  quiek  and  poiverfnl,  and  sharper  than  any 
 tivo-edged  sivord,  piereijig  even  to  the  dividing  asunder 
 of  sold  and  spirit,  and  of  the  joints  and  marroiu,  and 
 disce7'ning  the  thoughts  and  intents  of  the  hearf\  It  is 
 from  the  mouth  of  Jesus  that  every  word  of  God  pro- 
 ceeds, whether  it  be  a  word  of  conviction  or  of  con- 
 solation, of  mercy  or  of  judgment.  And  His  coun- 
 tenance was  as  the  sitn  when  he  shineth  in  his  power; 
 even  so  dazzling,  even  so  confounding  to  the  gaze  of 
 man. 
 
 And  was  this  He  whom  upon  earth  St  John  had 
 known  so  familiarly.'*  Was  this  He  in  whose  bosom 
 he  had  lain  at  that  last  supper,  and  said,  Lord,  which 
 is  he  that  betray eth  Thee^f  When"^  I  sazv  Him  thus, 
 thus  transformed,  thus  glorified,  /  fell  at  His  feet  as 
 one  dead.  Well  might  such  be  the  effect,  even  upon 
 the  spirit  of  a  just  man  made  perfect^ — and  St  John 
 was  still  in  the  body — of  such  an  open  revelation  of 
 the  risen  glory  of  Christ.  But  He  laid  His  right  hand 
 upon  me — that  hand  of  strength  and  of  blessing  which 
 St  John  had  last  seen  uplifted  in  the  Ascension,  when, 
 wJiile  He  blessed  them,  He  zvas  parted  from  them  and 
 carried  up  into  heaven^ — saying,  Fear  not:  I  am  tJie  first 
 and  the  last ;  I  am  He  who  hath  neither  beginning  of 
 days  nor  end  of  life\'  they  that  trust  in  me  trust  in 
 
 1  Eph.  vi.  17.  2  Heb.  iv.  12.  ^  John  xxi.  20. 
 
 ^   Vo'se  17.         5  Hel).  xii.  23.         ^  Luke  xxiv.  51.         ''  Heb.  vii.  3. 
 
1 2  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 One  who  cannot  fail  nor  forsake  them,  but  is  the  same 
 yesterday  and  to-day  and  for  ever^.  But  more  still  than 
 this.  And^  the  living  One ;  and  I  became  dead:  blessed 
 words!  I  once  tasted  death  for  every  nian^ ;  once  hung 
 upon  the  cross,  bearing  the  sin  of  the  world^:  once  knew 
 pain  and  torture  and  desertion,  desertion  of  man  and 
 of  God,  and  cried  in  the  extremity  of  anguish,  My  God, 
 my  God,  why  hast  Thou  forsaken  me^f  once  bowed 
 the  dying  head,  even  like  unto  the  sons  of  men,  and 
 said,  //  is  finisJied^ — Father,  into  Thy  hands  I  com- 
 mend my  spirit\'  once  filled  a  mortal  tomb,  and  de- 
 scended, like  the  spirits  of  the  faithful,  into  the  Hades 
 of  the  departed ^  /  became  dead ;  and  behold,  I  am 
 living  tcnto  the  ages  of  the  ages:  raised  from  the  dead, 
 I  die  no  more:  death  hath  no  more  dominion  overme'^ :  the 
 last  enemy  is  destroyed^*^  for  me,  and  shall  surely  be  so 
 for  all  who  are  mine.  And  I  have  the  keys  of  death  and 
 of  Hades.  In  my  hand  are  the  keys  which  unlock  the 
 gates  of  death  and  the  grave:  when  I  shut,  no  man 
 openeth;  wKen  I  open,  none  can  shut^\ 
 
 Write^^  then  the  things  zvhich  thon  sawest;  describe 
 this  vision,  for  the  Church's  instruction,  warning,  and 
 comfort;  tell  to  its  latest  generations  vv^hat  I  am  now 
 in  the  heavenly  places;  what  in  glory,  what  in  mind 
 and  in  will,  what  in  the  recollection  of  the  past,  what 
 in  the  purposes  of  the  future.  Write  too  the  things 
 which  are,  those  eternal  unchangeable  verities  which 
 have  been  or  which  shall  be  disclosed  to  thee.     Write 
 
 1  Heb.xiii.  8.  ^   Verse  \.'^.  ^  Heb.  ii.  9. 
 
 *  John  i.  29.  5  Matt,  xxvii,  ^^  *  John  xix.  30. 
 
 ^  Luke  xxiii,  46.  ^  Psahn  xvi,  lo.  ^  Rom.  vi.  9. 
 
 '^^  I  Cor.  XV.  26.  11  Rev.  iii.  7.  ^^   Verse  19. 
 
I.]  Chap.  I.    I — 20.  13 
 
 also  the  things  which  are  about  to  be  {become)  after  these 
 things ;  those  wonderful  scenes  of  the  Church  of  the 
 future,  and  of  the  world  of  the  future,  which  are  about 
 to  pass  in  bright  yet  mysterious  procession  before  thee, 
 and  of  which  though  tJiotc  knozvest  not  now  thon  sJialt 
 know  hereafter^  the  secret  meaning  and  the  sure  ful- 
 filment. In  the  meantime  let  one  fragment  of  the 
 vision  be  explained  to  thee,  since  the  Church  of  the 
 present  needs  it  for  her  admonition  and  for  her  con- 
 solation. The  secret'^  of  the  seven  stars  which  thou  sawest 
 7ip07i  my  right  hand,  and  the  seven  golden  candlesticks. 
 The  seven  stars  are  the  angels  of  the  seven  congregations ; 
 and  the  seven  candlesticks  are  seven  congregations. 
 
 Thus  then  we  have  reached  the  point  selected  as  our 
 special  word  for  this  evening.  Being  turned,  I  saiv  seven 
 golden  candlesticks ;  and  in  the  midst  of  the  candlesticks 
 one  like  unto  the  Son  of  Man.  As  it  is  said  in  the  follow- 
 ing chapter,  These  things  saith  Hc.zvho  ivalketh  in  the 
 midst  of  the  seven  golden  candlesticks'^.  And  now  we  have 
 read  that  the  seven  candlesticks  amongst  which  He  thus 
 walks  are  the  seven  churches,  the  seven  congregations. 
 
 The  congregations  specially  concerned  in  this  vision 
 were  seven  in  number.  They  were  then  planted  in  po- 
 pulous towns,  and  they  had  Apostles  for  their  founders, 
 Apostles  for  their  visitors,  yes,  Apostles  for  their  pastors. 
 Where  are  they  now  1  Blotted  from  the  very  face  of  the 
 earth.  The  warning  uttered  here  to  some  of  them  was 
 little  regarded :  for  their  sins  they  were  cut  off,  and  their 
 candlesticks  one  after  another  were  removed  out  of  their 
 place. 
 
 Yet  has  Christ  His  congregations  still,  and  He  is  to 
 
 ^  John  xiii.  7.  ^   Verse  ^o,  ^  Rev.  ii.  r. 
 
1 4  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 them  just  what  He  was,  as  much  as  He  ever  was,  to  the 
 Asiatic  churches.  Amongst  the  golden  candlesticks — 
 and  the  church  of  this  town  is  one  of  them — Christ 
 walks  still.  The  congregation  here  assembled,  He  is  in 
 the  midst  of  it. 
 
 This  is  the  one  thought  which  I  designed  to  leave 
 with  you  this  evening.  /  saw  seven  golden  candlesticks, 
 and  in  the  midst  of  the  candlesticks  one  like  nnto  the  Son 
 of  Man,  yes,  the  Son  of  Man,  the  Son  of  God,  Himself 
 
 What  is  the  candlestick  "i  It  is  the  church,  it  is  the 
 congregation,  it  is  the  Christian  body,  in  a  particular 
 town.  It  is  not  only,  though  it  be  chiefly  and  most  pro- 
 minently, in  its  worship  that  Christ  is  thus  present  in  it. 
 He  is  walking  in  the  church,  that  is,  the  professedly 
 Christian  body,  in  this  town,  at  all  times  and  in  all 
 places  ;  on  every  day  of  the  week,  and  in  all  the  various 
 scenes,  private  or  public,  in  which  any  one  of  all  that 
 body  moves,  acts,  and  lives.  Do  not  suppose  that,  if 
 we  are  decorous  in  our  worship  when  we  meet  here  to- 
 gether, that  is  all  that  the  great  Shepherd  and  Bishop  of 
 our  sonls^  requires  or  indeed  sees  in  us.  Do  not  sup- 
 pose that  then  only  are  you  a  church,  in  the  Scripture 
 sense  of  that  word,  when  you  are  gathered  for  prayer 
 and  praise.  Do  not  suppose  that  it  is  left  with  you  to 
 have  Christ  walking  among  you,  or  not  so  walking,  at 
 your  pleasure,  by  frequenting  or  else  forsaking  that 
 assembling  of  ourselves  together'^  to  which  the  promise 
 of  His  presence  is  specially  guaranteed.  No ;  whether 
 here  or  there,  whether  in  the  church  or  in  the  family, 
 whether  in  the  secret  chamber  or  in  the  market-place, 
 whether  in  the  shrine  of  the  heart  or  in  the  commerce 
 1  I  Pet.  ii.  25.  •  2  Heb.  x.  25. 
 
I.]  '  Chap.  I.   I — 20.  15 
 
 and  contact  of  men,  in  all  places  alike,  and  at  all  times 
 equally,  Christ  is  present  amongst  us  :  we,  we  collect- 
 ively, are  one  of  His  golden  candlesticks,  and  amongst 
 those  golden  candlesticks,  whether  seven  in  number, 
 or  (as  now)  more  than  seven  thousand  times  seven.  He, 
 the  Son  of  Man,  He,  the  Son  of  God,  is  evermore 
 walking  and  taking  account. 
 
 And  we  shall  see  at  each  step  as  we  advance 
 through  the  affecting  and  heart-stirring  addresses  which 
 follow,  that  Christ,  who  is  thus  present  in  His  congre- 
 gations, is  able  to  characterize  each  of  them  not  in- 
 dividually only  but  collectively.  As  each  one  of  us 
 separately,  so  all  of  us  together  bear  a  certain  stamp 
 and  colour  before  Him.  He  can  say  whether  the 
 church  of  this  town  is  in  a  healthy  state  or  a  sickly 
 state;  whether  the  Christian  community  as  a  whole  is 
 living  in  faith  and  hope  and '  charity,  or  not  so  living  ; 
 whether  there  is  a  deadness  in  it  spiritually,  or  a 
 spiritual  vitality:  whether  there  are  any  sins  specially 
 defiling  and  polluting  it — sins  practised  by  some  and 
 too  little  regarded  by  the  rest — sins  of  prevailing  world- 
 liness,  sins  of  inconsistency,  sins  of  strife  and  uncharit- 
 ableness,  sins  of  ungodliness,  sins  of  sensuality,  sins  of 
 intemperance  and  lust,  sins  of  spiritual  idolatry ;  or 
 whether  this  be  one  of  those  communities  against  which 
 Christ  has  but  a  few  things^  in  which  at  all  events  He 
 can  tell  of  much  charity  and  faith  and  patience,  and  of 
 the  last  works  as  more  than  tJie firsi'^. 
 
 These  are  some  of  the  thoughts  which  ought  to  be 
 stirring  within  us  as  we  read  the  brief  summary  pre- 
 sented in   the   text,   and   to  v/hich   the   contemplation 
 
 ^  Rev.  ii.  19, 
 
■I  6  Revelation,  [lecx. 
 
 of  the  separate  Epistles  to  the  seven  churches  ought 
 to  give  week  by  week  an  added  force  andTulness. 
 
 0  how  shall  I,  God  helping  me,  carry  into  the  hearts 
 and  consciences  of  this  congregation  the  solemn  and 
 edifying  voice  of  this  night's  subject  ?  Much  do  we 
 need  it.  Since  the  fathers  fell  asleep,  all  things  con- 
 tinue as  they  zvere  from  the  beginning  of  the  creatio7i^. 
 O  where  is  the  sign  of  His  coming  ?  It  is  not  in 
 heaven,  that  thou  shouldest  say,  I  see  the  white  cloud 
 descending,  and  one  sitting  upon  it,  whose  form  is  like 
 the  Son  of  Man.  It  is  not  on  earth,  that  thou  shouldest 
 say,  Lo,  here  is  Christ,  or,  Lo,  He  is  there\  One  sign 
 was  once  given,  and  it  was  the  sign  of  the  prophet 
 Jonas^ :  Jesus  was  declared  to  be  the  Son  of  God  once 
 for  all  with  power  by  restirrection  from  the  dead'^.  Now 
 the  heaven  has  closed  after  Him :  and  it  is  only  to 
 such  eyes  as  those  of  His  first  martyrs  and  Apostles^ 
 that  it  has  ever  been  permitted  even  for  a  moment  to 
 gaze  after  Him  into  that  glory.  We  walk  by  faith,  not 
 by  sight^ :  and  often  is  faith  severely  tasked  and 
 patience  wellnigh  exhausted.  Yet  behind  that  veil  He 
 is ;  and  if  He  comes  not,  it  is  chiefly  because  He  is 
 long-sufferi7ig  to  tts-ward,  not  willing  that  any  should 
 perish,  but  that  all  shoidd  come  to  repentance.  But  the 
 day  of  the  Lord  will  come,  and  come  as  a  thief  in  the 
 night\  Though  it  tarry,  zvait  for  it ;  because  it  will 
 surely  come,  it  zvill  not  tarry^.  Even  now  He  is  walking 
 among  His  candlesticks :  and  there  are  eyes  even  upon 
 earth  which  see  Him  there.     God  grant  that  our  eyes 
 
 1  2  Pet.  iii.  4.  2  Mark  xiii.  21.  ^  Matt.  xii.  39. 
 4  Rom.  i.  4.                      ^  Acts  vii.  55.      i  Cor.  ix.  i. 
 
 «  2  Cor.  V.  7.  ''2  Pet.  iii.  9,  10.  ^  Hab.  ii.  3. 
 
I.J  Chap.  I.    I — 20.  17 
 
 be  not  blind  to  Him  !  God  grant  that  we  may  not 
 only  be  looking  out  for  His  Epiphany,  but  also  seeing 
 Him  now  by  faith  !  If  it  be  so,  we  shall  be  also  His 
 witnesses.  By  piircncss,  by  kindness,  by  the  Holy  Ghost, 
 by  love  unfeigned,  by  the  armour  of  rigJiteousness  on  the 
 right  hand  and  on  the  left^,  we  shall  be  bearing  every 
 day  a  strong  if  silent  testimony  ;  drawing  towards  Him 
 the  eyes  of  others  also,  and  persuading  them  to  become 
 followers  of  us,  even  as  we  are  of  Jesus.  We  look  not 
 at  the  tilings  %uhieh  are  seen,  but  at  the  things  ivhieh  are 
 not  seen:  for  the  things  zvhich  are  seen  are  temporal ; 
 hut  the  things  which  are  not  seen  are  eternal. 
 
 ^  2  Cor.  vi.  6,  7.  -  2  Cor.  iv.  r8. 
 
 First  Sunday  after  the  Epiphany, 
 January  13,  i86r. 
 
 V.  R. 
 
LECTURE    II. 
 
 REVELATION   II.   4. 
 
 Nevertheless  I  have  somewhat  against  thee,  because  thou 
 hast  left  thy  first  love. 
 
 Let  us  first  read  the  Epistle  to  the  church  of  Ephesus 
 as  a  v/hole.  It  occupies  the  first  seven  verses  of  the 
 chapter. 
 
 To  the  angel  of  the  congregatioji  in  Ephesus  write.  The 
 speaker  is  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  revealed  in  vision  to 
 the  beloved  disciple  some  60  years  after  His  Ascension ^ 
 Lapse  of  time  has  no  place  in  heaven.  Christ  being 
 raised  from  tJie  dead  dieth  no  more"^ :  He  is  the  same 
 yesterday  and  to-day  and  for  ever^. 
 
 The  person  spoken  to  is  St  John^;  an  exile,  at  the 
 time,  in  the  island  of  Patmos,  for  the  word  of  God  and 
 for  the  testimony  of  Jesus  Christ.  He  was  in  the  Spirit 
 on  the  Lord's  Day,  and  heard  his  Master's  voice  saying 
 to  him,  What  thon  seest,  write  in  a  book,  and  send  it  to  the 
 seven  cJinrcJies  wJiicJi  are  in  Asia. ...To  the  aiigel  of  the 
 congregation  in  Ephesns  write^. 
 
 ^   The  later  of  the  assigned  dates  of  St  John's  exile  in  Patmos  has  here 
 been  adopted,  though  with  a  full  sense  of  the  difficulty  of  the  question. 
 -  Rom.  vi.  9.  '^  Heb.  xiii.  8.          "*  Rev.  i,  9 — 11.         ^   Verse  i. 
 
LECT.  II.]     Revelation.    Chap.  ii.  i — 7.  19 
 
 The  angel  of  the  church  is  its  chief  minister  or  pastor. 
 The  title  is  borrowed  from  the  Jewish  synagogue ;  in 
 which  the  angel  or  messenger  of  the  assembly  was  the 
 person  who  presided  over  and  managed  the  meetings  for 
 worship,  charged  as  it  were  with  the  messages  of  the 
 people  to  God,  leading  their  devotions,  inviting  the 
 exhortations  of  those  who  were  qualified  to  address  the 
 congregation,  and  exercising  also  (it  is  said)  something 
 of  discipline  over  its  members.  The  angel  then  of  the 
 church  in  Ephesus  is  the  presiding  minister  of  the  Chris- 
 tian body  there. 
 
 You  will  notice  that  Christ  recognizes  such  a  person 
 in  His  congregation.  God  is  not  the  author  of  confusion^ 
 but  of  order  in  His  churches.  There  is  a  meaning,  there 
 is  a  reality,  in  the  commission  given  after  due  training 
 and  discipline  to  a  particular  man  to  undertake  the  office 
 of  guiding  and  of  shepherding  the  flock  of  Christ  in  a 
 particular  place.  Christ  recognizes  him  as  holding  an 
 office,  and  if  He  has  anything  to  say  to  the  congregation, 
 He  says  it  (so  the  text  teaches  us)  through  him.  Write^ 
 He  says  to  St  John,  not  to  the  church,  but  to  the  angel  of 
 the  church,  in  Ephesus. 
 
 There  is  sometimes  a  misplaced  humility  on  the 
 part  of  Christian  ministers,  as  well  as  sometimes  a  mis- 
 placed assumption.  It  is  not  the  language  of  truth,  and 
 therefore  it  is  not  the  language  of  Christian  humility,  for 
 a  minister  to  pretend  to  have  no  charge,  no  commission, 
 no  office  divinely  constituted,  amongst  those  whom  yet 
 he  teaches,  to  whom  yet  he  administers  the  Word  and 
 the  Sacraments.  If  Christ  did  not  set  him  to  do  these 
 things,  it  would  be  a  great  impertinence,  a  great  pre- 
 
 ^   I  Cor.  xiv.  33. 
 
20  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 sumption,  that  he  should  undertake  them.  Therefore, 
 while  he  ought  to  humble  himself,  he  ought  not  to  dis- 
 parage his  office^ :  if  his  commission  does  not  come  from 
 Christ,  he  is  the  most  presumptuous  of  men  to  set  him- 
 self up  to  teach. 
 
 There  is  a  further  thought  to  be  suggested  from  these 
 first  words.  In  some  respects  the  minister  and  his  con- 
 gregation are  sure  to  be  alike.  There  will  be  some  such 
 resemblance  between  his  state  and  theirs  (speaking 
 generally)  as  shall  justify  both  being  described  in  the 
 same  terms.  /  know  thy  works  may  be  said  to  him,  and 
 it  may  mean  his  people  also.  We  must  not  press  the 
 remark  too  far.  A  good  minister  may  sometimes  be 
 unsuccessful  in  impressing  his  people.  And  even  under 
 the  worst  of  ministers  God  will  not  always  leave  Himself 
 without  witness.  In  the  lanes  and  yards  of  a  most 
 neglected  parish  there  shall  still  be  found  here  and  there 
 a  pious  and  a  holy  person,  showing  that,  if  the  ministers 
 of  Christ  should  hold  their  peace,  the  very  stones'^  will  cry 
 out  concerning  Him  ;  if  the  people  cannot  live  by  the 
 bread  dispensed  in  public,  they  may  yet  derive  life  and 
 nourishment  from  some  other  word  proceeding  in  a  more 
 exceptional  manner  out  of  the  month  of  God^. 
 
 Such  are  some  of  the  lessons  to  be  drawn  from  the 
 superscription  of  the  letter.  Unto  the  angel  of  the  con- 
 gregation in  Ephesus  zvrite. 
 
 These  things  saith  He  who  holdeth  the  seven  stars  in  his 
 right  hand ;  He  who  keeps  in  His  own  control  and  under 
 His  own  management  the  ministrations  of  His  messen- 
 gers :  for  the  seven  stars,  you  remember,  are  the  angels  of 
 the  seven  chtcrches.     It  is  a  very  awful  thought,  and  yet  a 
 
 ^  Rom.  xi.  13.  2  Lui^g  ^ix.  40.  ^  Matt.  iv.  4. 
 
11.  ]  Chap.  II.    I — 7.  21 
 
 very  strengthening  and  encouraging  thought  also,  for 
 Christ's  appointed  ministers  :  He  holds  them  in  His  own 
 hand.  O  how  seriously,  how  gravely,  how  religiously, 
 ought  they  to  deport  themselves  in  the  exercise  of  their 
 ministry !  If  it  is  worth  anything,  it  means  not  only 
 that  Christ's  hand  is  in  it,  but  that  it  is  itself  in 
 Christ's  hand  ;  every  movement,  every  step,  every  plan, 
 every  function,  taken  and  formed  and  exercised  in  Him, 
 under  His  guidance,  under  His  control,  in  His  strength 
 alone. 
 
 And  then  for  the  congregation.  Who  walketh  in  the 
 midst  of  the  seven  golden  candlesticks.  The  seven  caJidle- 
 sticks  which  thou  sazuest  are  the  seven  chnrcJies^.  He,  the 
 great  High  Priest  passed  through  the  heave7is^,  has  not 
 transferred  to  His  ministers  the  real  charge  and  over- 
 sight of  His  people  on  earth  :  He  has  given  them  an 
 office,  a  real  and  a  responsible  office ;  but  He  has  not 
 handed  over  His  people  absolutely  to  them,  in  such 
 sense  that  they  are  to  be  the  channels  of  His  grace, 
 the  communicators  of  His  living  and  life-giving  Spirit 
 to  the  church  tvhich  is  His  body^.  No,  in  this  the  highest 
 sense  of  all,  every  individual  Christian  is  in  direct  con- 
 tact and  communion  with  Christ  Himself.  It  is  not 
 through  the  minister  that  he  derives  grace  from  Christ : 
 upon  each  separate  soul  the  Spirit  is  poured  out,  and 
 it  is  because  Christ  lives  that  every  single  Christian  lives 
 also*.  Christ  walks  Himself  among  His  candlesticks  : 
 and  each  separate  lamp,  of  all  the  thousands  which  make 
 up  the  branches  of  one  candlestick,  is  as  much  trimmed 
 and  tended  and  fostered  by  Christ  Himself  as  if  there 
 
 ^  Rev.  i.  20.  ^  Heb.  iv.  14.  ^  Eph.  i.  22,  23. 
 
 *  Acts  ii.  17,  18.     John  xiv.  19. 
 
2  2  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 were  no  other  but  that  one,  and  as  if  there  were  no 
 human  agency  at  all  constituted  for  its  oversight. 
 
 And  now  let  us  look  at  the  first  of  seven  descrip- 
 tions of  the  possible  state  of  a  Christian  congregation. 
 What  was  the  condition  in  Christ's  sight  of  the  church 
 at  Ephesus  in  the  days  of  St  John,  of  that  church  which 
 has  now  utterly  perished  so  that  the  v^xy  place  thereof 
 knows  it  no  more^  ? 
 
 I  know^  thy  works :  that  may  be  said  to  each  one  : 
 that  is  the  general,  the  universal  truth :  whatever  we 
 are,  as  a  body  or  as  individuals,  Christ  knows  it  ex- 
 actly ;  He  knows  our  works,  our  conduct,  our  spirits,  our 
 life,  past,  present,  and  to  come.  And  thy  toil,  and  thy 
 patience,  and  that  thon  canst  not  bear  evil  men,  atid 
 didst  try  those  who  say  of  thcjnselves  that  they  are 
 apostles,  that  they  have  a  message  and  a  commission 
 from  Christ,  and  they  are  not  such,  and  didst  find  thein 
 false;  and^  hast  patience,  and  didst  bear  for  iny  names 
 sake,  and  didst  7wt  weary.  Thus  then  there  is  toil,  and 
 patience,  and  abhorrence  of  evil,  and  discernment,  and 
 again  patience,  and  endurance,  and  unwearied  exertion. 
 What  can  be  wanting  here } 
 
 Bnt^  I  have  against  thee  that  thon  didst  let  go  thy  first 
 love.  Remember^  then  ivhence  thon  hast  fallen,  and  re- 
 pent, and  do  the  first  zvorks :  and  if  not,  I  am  coming 
 for  thee,  coming  as  regards  thee,  coming  in  a  manner 
 which  concerns  thee — such  is  the  force  of  the  pronoun 
 employed — and  will  remove  thy  candlestick  otct  of  its 
 place  unless  thon  shall  have  repented,  unless  before  my 
 visitation    takes   place  thou    shalt   have   acquired    that 
 
 1  Psalm  ciii.  i6.  ^  ygrse  2.  ^  Verse  3. 
 
 ■*  Fersf  4.  ^  Fc7'Sc'  5. 
 
II.]  Chap.   II.    I — 7.  23 
 
 new  mind  which  ever  brings  after  it  a  new  life.  La- 
 borious, enduring,  diligent,  uncompromising,  yet  thou 
 hast  left  thy  first  love.  And  except  that  be  recovered, 
 Christ  will  move  away  thy  candlestick,  and  thou  shalt 
 be  a  church  no  more.  The  loss  of  love,  even  without 
 the  accompanying  loss  of  patience,  of  diligence,  or  of 
 purity,  demands  repentance  or  prognosticates  ruin. 
 
 But  the  reproofs  of  Christ  are  all  tempered.  Not 
 like  our  own,  which  can  only  see  in  a  person  the 
 good,  or  only  the  evil.  Not  like  our  own,  which  often 
 confound  in  one  sweeping  judgment  that  which  is 
 beautiful  with  that  which  is  defective,  and  count  it  a 
 false  and  dangerous  compromise  to  allow  to  one  who 
 is  wanting  In  one  grace  the  praise  of  possessing  another. 
 Thou  didst  let  go,  He  says,  thy  first  love....Biit^  this 
 thou  hast,  that  thou  Jiatest  the  zvorks  of  the  Nicolaitans, 
 which  I  also  hate.  We  may  suppose  that  the  Nico- 
 laitans were  the  Antlnomians  of  the  Asiatic  Church  ; 
 persons  who  taught  that  the  conduct  is  immaterial  if  the 
 faith  be  right ;  that  a  man  may  say  he  hath  faith'\  and, 
 if  so,  may  be  indifferent  altogether  to  his  works ;  or 
 who  at  least,  if  they  did  not  teach  thus,  yet  encouraged 
 the  deceitful  heart  in  drawing  this  inference,  by  failing 
 to  set  strongly  and  even  sharply  before  men  the  utter 
 ruin  of  an  inconsistent  and  unholy  life,  and  then  not  least 
 but  most  of  all,  when  that  sinful  life  is  combined  with  the 
 loud  profession  of  a  saving  faith. 
 
 And  are  we  left  here  .^  left  with  this  ambiguous 
 message  of  blame  and  of  approval .?  No,  the  reproofs 
 of  Christ  are  always  followed  by  exhortations,  and  the 
 exhortations  of  Christ  by  His  encouragements  and  by 
 
 ^  Verse  6.  -  James  ii.  14. 
 
24  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 His  promises.  So  it  is  here.  Let  him^  that  hath  an  ear, 
 let  him  whose  heart  is  not  so  hardened  that  the  inward 
 ear  has  utterly  lost  its  hearing,  Jiear  what  the  Spirit 
 saith  to  the  eoiigregations :  To  him  that  cojiqiiereth  I  will 
 give  to  eat  of  the  tree  of  life,  ivhich  is  in  the  paradise  of  my 
 God.  Once  the  tree  of  life  was  forbidden  to  man  :  lest 
 Jie  should  put  forth  his  hand  and  eat  of  it  and  live  for 
 ever,  he  was  sefit  forth  from  the  garden  of  Eden,  and 
 a  flaming  szvord  was  placed  at  the  east  of  the  garden,  to 
 keep  from  him  tJie  way  of  the  tree  of  life"^.  But  now  in 
 Christ  Jesus  this  consequence  of  the  Fall  is  to  be  done 
 away  ;  and  the  last  chapter  of  the  Bible  tells  us  how 
 in  the  midst  of  the  street  of  the  heavenly  city  there  shall 
 stand  the  tree  of  life,  bearing  tivelve  manner  of  fruits,  and 
 yieldi7tg  her  frnit  every  montJi,  and  the  leaves  of  the  tree 
 are  for  the  healing  of  the  nations^.  Life,  eternal  life,  is 
 union  with  God* :  to  him  that,  overcometh  it  shall  be 
 given  to  be  for  ever  with  God,  dwelling  in  His  presence, 
 and  sharing  His  immortality. 
 
 To  him  that  conquer eth.  It  is  not  said,  that  over- 
 cometh this  enemy  or  that  enemy,  but  in  general,  to  hint 
 that  overcometh.  It  is  implied  that  we  are  here  in  the 
 midst  of  a  battle,  from  which  we  cannot  escape,  and 
 of  which  the  issue  is  doubtful.  Would  to  God,  my 
 brethren,  that  we  were  all  conscious  of  this  !  If  once 
 the  notion  of  conflict,  of  warfare,  of  battle,  were  dis- 
 tinctly present  to  us,  there  would  be  a  hope  for  the  most 
 backward.  Few  of  us  would  deliberately  choose  the 
 side  of  evil.  None  certainly  would  be  willing  to  dwell 
 with   everlasting  burnings^.     But  the  art  of  the  enemy 
 
 1  V.rse  7.  -  Gen.  iii.  22—24.  ^  ^^^-  ^^"-  ^' 
 
 "*  John  xvii.  3.  ^  Isaiah  xxxiii.  14. 
 
II.]  Chap.  II.    1 — 7.  25 
 
 is  shown  in  this,  that  he  contrives  to  make  us  uncon- 
 scious of  being  in  a  battle  at  all.  We  wrestle  7iotagamst 
 JlesJi  and  blood^,  and  therefore  flesh  and  blood  may, 
 if  they  will,  be  unaware  of  the  wrestling.  The  zueapons 
 of  our  ivarfare  are  not  carnal'^  and  therefore  none  can 
 wield  them  who  are  not  first  in  some  sense  spiritual. 
 My  brethren,  we  love  to  imagine  that  all  is  peace  around 
 us.  We  say  to  ourselves,  Peace,  Peace^.  We  try  to  hope 
 that  what  the  Scripture  tells  us,  what  sermons  and  re- 
 ligious books  tell  us,  of  a  constant  conflict,  is  all  fancy, 
 or  at  least  all  figure.  We  do  not  see  any  enemy  ;  we  do 
 not  feel  any  struggle  :  m.ay  we  not  just  fold  our  arms, 
 and  take  life  as  it  comes,  and  yet,  if  only  we  avoid  gross 
 sins,  be  all  right  at  last } 
 
 In  answer  to  all  such  calculations,  the  words  before 
 us  come  in  with  their  grave  and  solemn  yet  sober  warn- 
 ing :  To  him  that  ove7xometJi,  My  brethren,  we  may 
 fancy  many  things,  and  we  may  deceive  ourselves  or  be 
 deceived  in  many  things  ;  but  I  greatly  doubt  whether 
 any  one  ever  yet  deceived  himself  really  upon  this  all- 
 important  question,  whether  he  is  a  fighting  man  in- 
 wardly, or  a  resting ;  whether  life,  spiritual  life  I  mean, 
 is  to  him  in  any  sense  a  struggle ;  whether  he  is  truly 
 figJiting  wider  Christ's  banner  against  sin,  the  world,  and 
 the  deviP,  truly  Christ's  soldier  as  well  as  Christ's  servant, 
 in  the  life  which  he  now  lives  in  the  body. 
 
 It  is  not  a  pleasant  view  of  life  :  it  is  one  which 
 makes  a  great  demand  upon  our  energy  and  upon  our 
 self-denial:  it  is  one  which  must  materially  alter  the  way 
 in  which  we  commonly  deal  with  ourselves  and  the  way 
 
 ^  Ephes.  vi.  12.  ^  2  Cor.  x,  4.  ^  jgr.  vi.  14. 
 
 *  Service  for  Baptism  of  Infants. 
 
26  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 in  which  we  commonly  deal  with  others.  It  is  much 
 pleasanter  to  pass  on  quietly  and  evenly,  to  float  down 
 the  stream  of  habit  and  inclination,  to  see  one  another's 
 good  points  and  to  rest  tranquilly  upon  our  own,  to 
 suppose  that  much  of  the  Bible  imagery  is  exuberant 
 and  oriental,  and  that  everything  in  it  must  be  read 
 in  the  light  of  sober  experience  and  of  common  sense. 
 Yes,  my  friends,  let  it  all  be  read  so;  but  let  us  not 
 read  it  with  shut  eyes  and  blinded  hearts.  If  there  is 
 no  conflict  in  us,  if  life  is  easy,  if  we  cannot  understand 
 why  the  world  should  be  called  or  thought  of  as  a 
 battle-field,  let  us  ask  ourselves  why  this  is  so :  is  it 
 because  we  are  so  good  that  sin  is  no  temptation  to 
 us  ?  or  is  it  because  others,  who  have  found  life  a 
 great  struggle,  and  have  always  acted  and  spoken  as 
 if  even  the  righteous  could  scarcely  be  saved^,  have  been 
 fantastic  in  their  scruples  or  visionary  in  their  aspira- 
 tions }  Search  and  look,  and  pray  for  God's  help  in 
 the  enquiry  ;  and  see  whether  before  next  Sunday  you 
 have  not  found  in  your  path  a  very  real  enemy ;  some 
 definite  evil  temper,  evil  habit,  or  evil  lust ;  some  posi- 
 tive tendency  to  sin,  in  heart,  in  tongue,  or  in  life  ;  at 
 least,  some  indisposition  to  a  known  duty  towards  God 
 or  man ;  which  the  calmest  reason,  no  less  than  the 
 most  explicit  revelation,  will  pronounce  to  be  a  foe  to 
 salvation,  and  against  which,  if  not  yet  against  the  whole 
 body  and  army  of  sin,  you  must,  as  you  love  your  soul, 
 gird  yourself  for  combat. 
 
 To  hhn  that  overcometh.  Now  the  text  singles  out 
 for  us  one  particular,  in  which  we  may  be  exposed  to 
 the  danger  of  not  overcoming.    NevcrtJieless  I  have  some- 
 
 1  I  Pet.  iv.  1 8. 
 
II.]  Chap,   II.    1  —  7.  27 
 
 zvhat  against  thee,  because  thou  hast  left  thy  first  love.  Or, 
 But  I  have  against  thee  that  thou  didst  let  go  thy  first 
 love.  The  first  love  spoken  of  is  the  original  love  ;  that 
 love  with  which  a  person  has  set  out  in  his  Christian 
 course.  I  admit  then  that,  in  its  full  strength  of  ex- 
 pression, the  warning  here  given  is  only  applicable  to 
 those — and  I  fear  they  may  not  be  all  of  us — who  have 
 once  known  something  of  real  love  for  Christ.  To 
 others  it  can  apply  only  indirectly.  To  others  it  must 
 say,  How  serious  it  is  never  to  have  loved  Christ !  How 
 alarming  should  be  the  thought  of  not  having  yet  even 
 set  out!  What  chance  can  there  be  of  reaching  a  goal 
 for  which  you  have  not  started  }  What  hope  of  finding 
 yourself  in  the  haven  where  you  would  be^,  if  you  have 
 never  yet  quitted  the  harbour  of  self-security  at  the  oppo- 
 site side  of  the  great  stormy  ocean  .''  If  it  is  sad  to  have 
 lost  something  of  your  first  love  for  Christ,  is  it  not  yet 
 more  awful  never  to  have  had  any } 
 
 Thus  the  words  of  Christ  are  ever  a  two-edged 
 sword.  There  is  a  word  written  for  the  backslider ; 
 and  yet  even  that  word  has  an  admonition  too  for  the 
 unconverted.  But  are  we  not  in  some  sense,  very  many 
 of  us,  within  the  scope  of  its  first  meaning,  within  the 
 reach  of  its  first  application  .'* 
 
 You  observe  that  it  is  no  answer  to  the  charge 
 here  written,  to  say  that  you  are  still  living  in  all 
 Christian  habits.  You  have  noticed  how  very  strongly 
 this  is  expressed  in  the  context.  Labour  for  Christ, 
 patience  and  submission,  hatred  of  evil  and  zeal  for 
 good,  these  things  were  all  still  true  of  that  church 
 which  had  yet  left  its  first  love.     As  in  other  things,  so 
 
 ^  Psalm  cvii.  ^o. 
 
2  8  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 in  religion,  the  force  of  habit  is  strong.  A  person  who 
 has  once  begun  to  pray  and  to  read  God's  Word  and 
 to  attend  the  Holy  Communion  finds  it  almost  easier 
 to  go  on  with  these  things  than  to  give  them  up.  To 
 give  them  up  is  to  attract  notice  ;  notice  from  Christian 
 friends,  notice  from  worldly  neighbours.  To  give  them 
 up  is  to  awaken  conscience ;  to  arouse  everything  that 
 is  in  us  of  conviction  and  of  godly  fear  into  an  open 
 condemnation  of  our  act  and  of  our  state.  To  go  on 
 with  Christian  habits,  even  when  Christian  love  has 
 grown  faint,  is  to  avoid  observation  and  to  lull  con- 
 science ;  to  satisfy  a  sense  of  duty,  and  to  keep  all  things 
 in  train  for  the  possibility  of  a  return. 
 
 Dare  we  say,  my  brethren,  in  how  many  hearts  here 
 open  before  God  the  text  sounds  as  a  true  indictment } 
 It  is  not  in  the  ranks  of  the  openly  indifferent,  not 
 amongst  known  sinners,  amongst  the  immoral  or  the  pro- 
 fane, that  we  must  seek  them  :  rather  will  they  be  found 
 amidst  our  regular  worshippers,  amidst  our  at  least  occa- 
 sional communicants,  amongst  those  whom  we  cannot 
 but  respect,  for  whom  (so  far  as  we  know  them)  we  can- 
 not but  be  hopeful.  Do  not  some  of  these  look  back 
 sadly  and  sorrowfully,  and  perhaps  with  bitter  self-re- 
 proaches, upon  a  time  in  their  lives  more  devoted  than 
 the  present  t  a.  time  when  they  were  more  alive  to  the 
 love  of  Christ,  and  when,  if  their  life  was  not  more 
 consistent,  at  least  their  heart  was  tenderer  and  more 
 spiritual  ? 
 
 The  inward  experience  of  all  Christians  tells  of  va- 
 riations. There  are  days,  there  are  seasons,  there  are 
 periods,  of  less  or  of  more  comfort,  of  less  or  of  more 
 devotion,  of  less  or  of  more  faith  and  hope  and  love. 
 
II.]  Chap.  II.    I — 7.  29 
 
 There  is  a  health  of  the  soul,  as  well  as  a  health  of  the 
 body,  each  of  which  is  liable  to  fluctuation.  This  is  and 
 has  been  and  will  be.  Nowhere  do  we  find  such  alter- 
 nations, such  vicissitudes  of  spiritual  feeling  more  strongly 
 or  more  fully  expressed  than  in  the  Book  of  Psalms. 
 No  doubt  these  things  tend  to  good.  They  promote  hu- 
 mility. They  induce  watchfulness.  They  teach  a  man 
 how  entirely  he  depends  upon  the  grace  of  God  for  his 
 happiness  as  well  as  for  his  strength.  And  after  every 
 season  of  depression,  of  coldness,  of  deadness  of  spirit, 
 a  man  flies  back  as  it  were  with  double  eagerness  to  the 
 spring  of  contentment  and  of  satisfaction  which  is  still 
 by  the  longsuflering  of  God  open  for  his  return. 
 
 But  the  text  speaks  of  something  more  than  this.  It 
 speaks  of  a  decay,  not  of  a  variation.  It  speaks  of  a 
 man  leaving  or  losing  his  first  love,  and  acquiescing  in 
 that  loss.  It  speaks  of  a  man  settling  down  into  a  lower 
 state  of  spiritual  life  than  that  which  he  once  aimed  at 
 and  once  knew.  It  speaks  of  backsliding  ;  that  express- 
 ive word  which  indicates  not  a  sudden  fall,  not  an  oc- 
 casional inconsistency,  not  a  temporary  loss  of  tone  and 
 vigour  in  the  spiritual  life,  but  a  gradual  slipping  back- 
 wards :  gentle,  unmarked,  unnoticed  in  its  course,  but 
 apparent  in  the  result,  when  a  man  who  has  let  himself 
 drift  at  last  finds  himself  gone,  perceives  that  he  is  not 
 where  he  was  nor  what  he  was,  though  he  cannot  retrace 
 the  method  or  the  steps  of  his  retrogression. 
 
 It  may  be  that  he  has  rested  too  securely  in  grace 
 once  given,  and  trusted  in  the  permanence  of  feelings 
 once  aroused.  It  may  be  that  he  has  sufl"ered  the  world 
 to  come  in  upon  him,  and  to  rub  away  something  of  the 
 gloss  and  bloom,  the  beauty  and  the  freshness,  of  his 
 
30  >  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 first  devotion.  It  may  be  that  he  has  allowed  himself  to 
 mingle  in  the  strife  of  religious  party,  and  to  substitute  a 
 zeal  for  truth  in  the  place  of  a  humble  life  of  secret  com- 
 munion with  God.  Or  it  may  be  that  a  mere  familiarity 
 with  the  words  and  with  the  habits  of  the  Gospel  has 
 been  permitted  to  make  the  things  signified  and  the  in- 
 ward realities  of  the  kingdom  less  strong  and  less  forcible 
 to  him.  And  yet,  all  the  while,  it  is  possible  that  the 
 habits  of  a  Christian  may  be  all  retained,  and  nothing 
 altered  in  him  except  that  innermost  spirit  of  all,  which 
 is  known  only  to  a  man  himself  and  to  the  God  of  the 
 spirits  of  all  flesh^. 
 
 Three  things  are  very  evident  from  the  terms  in 
 which  this  state  is  here  described. 
 
 I.  First,  that  it  is  a  state  of  danger.  It  is  a  fall 
 from  grace.  Remember  from  whence  thoit  art  falle7t.  It 
 is  a  condition  requiring  repentance  ;  special  repentance 
 for  it  as  for  a  special  sin.  Repent.  If  therefore  thou 
 shall  not  repent.  It  is  a  state  provoking  judgment.  God 
 is  displeased  by  it.  When  His  Spirit  has  been  given,  it 
 might  at  least  be  cherished.  It  is  not  much  to  ask  of 
 a  man,  that  he  depart  not  from  grace  once  vouchsafed. 
 That  undoing  of  the  divine  work  done,  that  carelessness 
 which  treats  as  a  thing  of  little  value  the  possession  of 
 the  love  of  Christ,  that  want  of  appreciation  of  things 
 that  differ  which  will  even  acquiesce  in  the  return  of  a 
 deadness  once  quickened,  must  indeed  bear  a  condemn- 
 ing aspect  in  heaven,  where  the  light  of  God's  counte- 
 nance is  the  one  thing  valued,  where  the  Lord  God  Al- 
 mighty and  the  Lamb'^  are  the  very  sum  and  life  of  all. 
 
 ^  Num.  xvi.  2  2.  2  j^gv.  xxi.  22,  23. 
 
II.]  Chap.  II.    I — 7.  31 
 
 /  will  cojne  upon  thee  quickly,  and  will  reuiove  thy  candle- 
 stick out  of  its  place,  except  thou  repcjit. 
 
 2.  Secondly,  even  from  this  state  there  is,  on 
 earth,  a  possibihty  of  return.  Remeviber  from  whence 
 thou  art  fallen.  Let  memory  rehearse  to  you  the  joys 
 which  belonged  to  a  forfeited  condition.  Think  what 
 it  was  to  have  Christ  near  to  you.  Think  what  it 
 was  to  love  Him  as  having  first  loved  you\  Think 
 what  it  was  to  see  His  death  for  sin  as  an  act  of 
 personal  love  to  you,  and  to  be  able  to  say,  The  very 
 life  which  I  now  live  in  the  flesh  I  live  by  faith  in  tJie 
 Son  of  God,  luho  loved  me  and  gave  Himself  for  me^. 
 Think  what  it  was  to  have  the  light  of  His  countenance 
 streaming  upon  you  unchecked,  and  to  be  conscious 
 of  that  practical  influence  upon  your  life  v/hich  an 
 Apostle  has  described  as  the  love  of  Christ  constraining 
 him^.  Think  of  these  things,  ere  yet  memory  itself  has 
 become  a  lifeless  remorse,  and  pray  God  so  to  assist 
 you  with  His  grace  that  you  may  not  only  holdfast  the 
 thijtgs  which  remain  but  recover  the  things  which  are 
 passed  ;  and  humbling  yourself  deeply  before  Him  as 
 a  self-accusing  backslider,  may  hear  also  in  your  inmost 
 heart  those  gracious  words  of  forgiveness,  /  will  heal 
 their  backsliding,  I  zvill  love  them  freely  ;  for  miiie  anger 
 is  turned  away  from  Jiim'^. 
 
 3.  Finally,  for  these,  and  for  all,  what  a  view  is 
 here  opened  of  the  precariousness  of  the  Christian  life ; 
 of  the  tenderness  and  delicacy  of  the  plant  of  divine 
 grace  in  the  heart  of  man !  It  will  bear  no  rough 
 handling;    still    more,  it  will    bear    no    trifling  and    no 
 
 1  I  John  iv.  19.  2  Qal.  ii.  oq,  ^  2  Cor.  v.  14. 
 
 *  Hoiea  xiv.  <. 
 
32  Revelation,  [lect.  ii. 
 
 neglecting :  it  is  not  indigenous  ;  it  is  not  a  native 
 of  that  soil ;  it  is  of  the  nature  of  an  exotic ;  it  has 
 been  transplanted  into  earth  from  heaven,  and  the  light 
 and  the  warmth,  the  dew  and  the  rain  of  heaven  are 
 essential  to  its  very  life  in  its  new  resting-place.  There- 
 fore, ivJiat  I  say  unto  you  I  say  imto  ally  WatcJi^.  Be 
 not  highmmded,  but  fear\  Let  him  that  thinketh  he 
 standeth  take  heed  lest  he  fall^.  We  are  only  safe  while 
 we  are  walking  closely  with  God,  setting  Him  always 
 before  us,  dwelling  in  the  light  of  His  countenance 
 and  under  the  shadow  of  His  wing.  Love  may  be 
 lost  without  losing  obedience ;  and  when  love  goes,  life 
 goes.  We  all  know  in  earthly  relations  how  poor  a 
 thing  mere  duty  is,  where  there  is  no  love  ;  how  cold  and 
 calculating,  how  comfortless,  how  barren.  Well  may 
 it  be  said,  Love  and  you  will  obey:  love  God,  love  Christ, 
 and  then  do  what  you  will,  you  will  not  go  far  astray. 
 
 O  God,  who  hast  pr-epared  for  them  that  love  Thee 
 such  good  things  as  pass  man's  understanding ;  pour  into 
 our  hearts  such  love  toward  Thee^  that  we,  loving  Thee 
 above  all  things,  may  obtain  Thy  promises^  which  exceed 
 all  that  we  can  desire,  through  Jesus  Christ  oicr  Lord^. 
 
 ^  Mark  xiii.  37.  ^  Rom.  xi.  20.  ^  r  Cor.  x.  12. 
 
 ^  Collect  for  the  Sixth  Sunday  after  Trinity. 
 
 Sfxond  Sunday  after  the  Epiphany, 
 Januaiy  20,  1861. 
 
LECTURE    III. 
 
 REVELATION   II.    lO. 
 
 Be  thou  faithful  unto  death,  and  I  will  give  thee  a  croivn 
 
 of  life. 
 
 In  the  beautiful  passage  which  comes  before  us  in 
 due  course  this  evening  there  is  little  need  for  expla- 
 nation. I  will  read  it  to  you  with  a  word  or  two  of 
 comment. 
 
 And^  to  the  angel,  or  chief  pastor,  of  the  congrega^ 
 tion,  or  Christian  body,  in  Smyrna  zvrite :  These  things 
 saith  the  first  and  the  last ;  He  who  was  in  the  begin- 
 ning, and  shall  be  still  in  the  end ;  He  who  hath 
 neither  beginning  of  days  nor  end  of  life^;  He  who  is 
 the  same  yesterday  and  to-day  and  for  ever^,  sharing  in 
 the  immortality  and  in  the  eternity  of  God.  Whieh 
 ivas  dead,  and  is  alive:  more  exactly,  He  who  became 
 dead,  and  lived ;  He  who  once  passed  into  the  state 
 of  death,  into  the  condition  of  a  dead  man,  and  then 
 lived,  was  raised  from  death,  to  die  no  more  for  ever. 
 You  remember  in  the  Apostles'  Creed  how  carefully 
 this  point  is  noted.     Was  eriicified,  dead,  and  buried :  not 
 
 ^  Verse  8.  "'  Heb.  vii.  3.  ^  xjei,.  ^iii.  8. 
 
 V.  R.  3 
 
34  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 only  died,  but  was  dead ;  not  only  suffered  all  the  pains 
 of  dying,  but  also  continued  for  a  time  in  the  grasp 
 of  death,  and  in  that  condition  underwent  all  that  men 
 have  to  undergo,  the  lying  in  the  grave,  and  the  so- 
 journing in  Hades  the  place  of  departed  spirits.  There 
 are  some  who  dread  the  state  of  death,  the  condition 
 of  being  dead,  even  more  than  they  dread  the  act  of 
 dying.  For  these  it  is  written  that  Christ  not  only 
 died  but  was  dead  :  whatever  they  have  to  encounter 
 of  strangeness  or  of  separation,  He  has  known.  He 
 has  borne,  in  Himself;  and  they  may  trust  themselves 
 with  Him.  He  not  only  feels  for  them,  but  He  can  feel 
 with  them,  in  all.  He  became  dead,  and  again  He  lived. 
 So  shall  it  be  with  them. 
 
 I  hiow^  thy  tributatioji  and  thy  poverty — but  thou  art 
 rich.  We  are  reminded  here  of  the  contrast  elsewhere 
 drawn  in  Scripture  between  worldly  and  true  riches.  So 
 is  he,  our  Lord  says,  who  layeth  np  treasiLre  for  himself, 
 and  is  not  rich  toward  God^.  Lay  not  2Lp  for  yourselves 
 ti'e aster es  upon  earth... but  lay  up  for  yourselves  treasures  in 
 hea%)en^.  And  so  St  James  says,  Hearken,  7ny  beloved 
 brethren :  Hath  not  God  chosen  the  poor  of  this  zvorld 
 rich  in  faith,  and  heirs  of  the  kingdom  which  He  hccth 
 promised  to  tJiem  that  love  Him*?  So  was  it  with  the 
 Church  here  addressed.  /  k7iow  thy  poverty — but  thou, 
 ai't  rich.  The  wealth  of  this  world  is  denied  thee  ;  but 
 thou  hast  a  better  and  a  truer  treasure,  of  which  this 
 world  knows  nothing.  And  I  know  thy  reviling,  or  blas- 
 phemy, on  the  part  of  those  zuho  say  that  they  tJiemselves  are 
 Jews,  who  arrogate  to  themselves  the  position  of  God's 
 
 1  Verse  9.  ^  Luke  xii.  21.  ^  Matt.  vi.  19. 
 
 ^  James  ii.  5. 
 
in.]  Chap.  II.  8 — ii.  35. 
 
 chosen  Israel,  and  they  ai^e  not  such  really,  but  are  a  very 
 syjiagogue  of  Satan,  Probably  the  faithful  Christians  in 
 Smyrna  were  suffering  from  the  calumny  and  persecution 
 of  the  Jewish  body,  in  some  form  or  other ;  that  is, 
 either  of  a  Judaizing  party  within  the  professed  Church, 
 or  of  unconverted  and  avowed  Jews  without.  Of  these, 
 whichever  they  were,  it  is  here  declared  in  the  strongest 
 terms  that,  so  far  from  having  any  real  claim  to  the 
 exalted  position  which  they  assumed  as  descendants  of 
 Abraham,  they  were  a  very  synagogue  of  Satan  ;  proved 
 by  their  works  to  be  followers  of  him  who  was  a  liar 
 and  a  inui^dcrer  from  the  beginning^ ^  and  to  have  neither 
 part  nor  lot  in  God's  truth  or  in  God's  acceptance. 
 
 Fear^  not  at  all  the  things  which  thou  art  about  to  suffer. 
 Behold,  the  devil  is  about  to  cast  some  of  you  into  prison, 
 that  ye  may  be  tried.  I  do  not  tell  you  that  you  shall 
 not  suffer,  and  suffer  sharply.  Satan  hath  desired  to  have 
 youy  that  he  may  sift  you  as  wheat^ :  you  are  to  be  sub- 
 jected to  a  trying,  that  is,  a  testing,  an  exploring,  and  a 
 sifting  process  ;  it  must  be  shown  which  of  you  are  true 
 men,  and  which  false ;  it  must  be  shown,  to  yourselves 
 and  to  those  who  look  on,  what  there  is  in  you  of  real 
 living  constant  faith,  and  what  there  is  in  you  of  empty 
 hollow  cowardly  profession.  I  cannot  excuse  you  from 
 this  necessity.  It  would  not  be  for  your  good,  and  it 
 would  not  be  for  the  good  of  God's  cause  on  earth,  that 
 your  false  parts  should  be  covered  up  and  disguised 
 to  the  end,  or  that  your  life  on  earth  should  be  one 
 of  smooth  easy  tranquil  routine,  making  no  demand 
 upon  your  principles,  upon  your  courage,  or  upon  your 
 divine  strength.     You  are  to  be  cast  even  into  prison, 
 
 ^  John  viii.  44.  ^  Verse  10.  ^  Luke  xxii.  31. 
 
 3—2 
 
36  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 that  you  may  be  tried.  And  ye  shall  have  a  tribulation 
 of  ten  days :  a  storm,  sharp  but  short,  is  about  to  burst 
 upon  thee  :  in  the  retrospect,  if  not  in  the  endurance, 
 thou  wilt  describe  it  as  but  a  ten  days'  suffering  :  become, 
 show  thy  sq[^,  faithful  unto  death,  and  I  will  give  thee  (not 
 a  but)  the  crozvn  of  life.  Prove  thyself  faithful,  trust- 
 worthy, one  who  can  be  relied  upon,  just  up  to  death; 
 through  whatever  may  lie  between  thee  and  that  last 
 decisive  sealing  moment :  there  thy  trial  ends,  whatever 
 it  may  have  been  till  then  :  just  up  to  death ;  there  thy 
 responsibility  is  bounded  :  till  then  thou  art  in  charge  of 
 thyself;  after  that  I  am  in  charge  of  thee ;  after  that, 
 thou  hast  no  longer  any  risk,  or  any  room  for  anxiety : 
 show  thyself  faithful  unto  death,  and  then,  at  that 
 moment,  just  as  thou  emergest  from  that  dark  stream, 
 or  more  exactly  according  to  the  figure  here  employed, 
 just  as  thou  reachest  that  goal,  just  as  thy  strained  and 
 wearied  and  panting  form  arrives  at  that  winning-post,  I 
 the  judge  of  the  race,  I  the  arbiter  of  the  contest,  will 
 stretch  out  my  hand  to  thee,  and  in  my  hand  shall 
 be  the  prize  of  the  combat,  even  that  crown,  that  gar- 
 land, that  imperishable,  that  incorruptible  wreath  \  of 
 which  we  heard  in  the  Epistle  for  last  Sunday,  which, 
 being  interpreted,  is  life,  eternal  life,  rest  in  God,  the 
 fruition  of  God,  union  with  God,  through  His  beloved 
 Son,  by  the  eternal  Spirit,  even  for  ever  and  ever. 
 
 Let"^  him  that  hath  an  ear  hear  zvhat  the  Spirit  saith  to 
 the  congregations :  he  that  conquer eth  shall  not  be  injured  on 
 the  part  of  [by)  the  second  death.  The  second  death  shall 
 have  no  power  over  him  to  whom,  as  having  overcome 
 in  the  conflict,  as  having  been   victorious   in  the  race, 
 
 ^  I  Cor.  ix.  25.  ^  Verse  11. 
 
Ill 
 
 .]  Chap.  II.   8 — II.  37 
 
 Christ  has  given  the  wreath  of  life.  The  second  death, 
 a  very  awful  expression,  is  a  term  used  more  than  once 
 in  the  20th  and  21st  chapters  of  this  Book.  Thus,  for 
 example,  Blessed  and  holy  is  he  that  Jiath  part  in  tJie  first 
 resurrection :  on  such  the  second  death  hath  no  power,  but 
 they  shall  be  priests  of  God  and  of  Christ,  and  shall  reign 
 with  Him  a  thotisand years.  Again,  And  death  and  hell 
 were  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire :  this,  the  lake  of  fire,  is  the 
 second  dcath'^.  And  once  more,  But  the  fearful,  and  un- 
 believing, and  the  abominable,  and  murderers,  and  whore- 
 viongers,  and  sorcerers,  and  idolaters,  and  all  liars,  shall 
 have  their  part  in  the  lake  luJiicJi  bunieth  zuith  fire  arid 
 brimstone:  zvJiich  is  the  second  deatJi^.  We  must  all  die 
 once  ;  so  we  heard  in  the  first  Lesson  for  this  morning^ ; 
 all,  that  is,  except,  as  St  Paul  teaches  us  in  the  chapter 
 just  read  to  you*,  the  one  generation  which  shall  be 
 alive  upon  earth  at  Christ's  second  Advent ;  we  must 
 all,  with  this  exception,  die  once ;  but  we  need  not  die 
 twice  over  :  the  second  death  is  that  dying  over  again 
 after  death,  which  is  the  terrible  doom  of  the  sinner ; 
 that  destruction  of  both  soul  arid  body  in  Jiell^  of  which  our 
 Lord  warns  us  to  be  afraid ;  that  reunion  of  a  revived 
 body  with  a  lost  soul®,  which  is  to  be  the  misery  of  the 
 wicked  in  the  world  beyond  the  grave.  From  this  second 
 death  Jesus  Christ  came  upon  earth  and  died  to  redeem 
 us :  O  let  not  us  whom  He  came  to  save  choose  death 
 and  refuse  life  !  He  that  overcometh  shall  not  be  injured 
 by  the  second  death.  On  such  the  second  death  hath  no  power. 
 Thus  was  St  John  instructed  to  write  from  Patmos  to 
 the  Church  at  Smyrna.     It  was  a  message  serious  in- 
 
 1  Rev.  XX.  6,  14.  -  Rev.  xxi.  8.  ^  Gen.  iii.  19. 
 
 4  I  Cor.  XV.  51.  ^  Matt.  x.  28.  ^  John  v.  29. 
 
■38  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 deed,  in  one  sense  alarming,  alarming  to  flesh  and  blood, 
 alarming  with  reference  to  the  destinies  of  the  life  that 
 is,  but  a  message  of  unmixed  approval  and  hope  with 
 reference  to  the  life  unseen  and  eternal.  I  know  thy 
 tribulation;  I  know  thy  poverty,  as  the  world  counts 
 poverty ;  I  know  how  thou  art  reviled  by  those  who  call 
 themselves  the  people  of  God  ;  I  know  too  how  thou  art 
 about  to  suffer ;  a  process  of  trial,  of  discrimination,  of 
 searching  and  sifting,  is  soon  to  begin  for  thee  :  but  till 
 now  thou  hast  been  faithful ;  be  faithful  to  the  end,  and 
 the  crown  of  life  is  thine. 
 
 It  is  interesting  to  be  able  to  give  any  personal  appli- 
 cation to  one  of  these  messages  to  the  churches.  In 
 the  case  of  Smyrna,  alone  perhaps  of  all,  we  can  do 
 this.  We  know  the  name  of  an  early  angel  of  the  church 
 of  Smyrna ;  his  name,  his  character,  and  his  end.  He 
 may  have  been  the  very  person  to  whom  St  John  here 
 writes.  Certainly  St  John  had  seen  him,  and  spoken 
 with  him.  We  still  possess  both  a  letter  of  his  writing, 
 a  description  of  his  character,  and  a  detailed  record  of 
 his  martyrdom.  And  this  last  so  beautifully  illustrates 
 the  prophecy,  the  charge,  and  the  promise,  on  which  we 
 have  been  dwelling,  that  I  think  it  will  be  instructive 
 as  well  as  interesting  to  remind  you  of  some  few  of  its 
 particulars,  showing  how  that  venerable  servant  of  Christ 
 was  enabled  by  His  grace  not  to  fear  any  of  the  things 
 which  he  had  to  suffer,  how  he  endured  a  tribulation  of 
 ten  days,  was  faithful  unto  death,  and  then  received  from 
 his  Saviour  the  promised  crown  of  life. 
 
 We  read  that  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  167  a  cruel 
 persecution  broke  out  against  the  Christians  of  Asia 
 Minor.     Polycarp,   the   aged   bishop    of  the  church  of 
 
III.]  Chap,  II.  8 — II.  39 
 
 Smyrna,  would  fain  have  awaited  at  his  post  the  fate 
 which  threatened  him.  But  the  entreaties  of  his  people, 
 and  the  duty  of  not  courting  danger  needlessly,  induced 
 him  to  withdraw  to  a  neighbouring  refuge,  where  he 
 busied  himself  day  and  night,  as  he  was  wont,  in  prayers 
 and  intercessions ;  intercessions,  it  is  specially  men- 
 tioned, for  all  communities  of  Christ's  people  scattered 
 throughout  the  world.  From  thence  he  retired  to 
 another  hiding-place,  still  desiring  that  the  hand  of  God, 
 not  his  own  hand,  should  be  visible  in  summoning  him 
 to  the  martyr's  crown.  At  last  his  place  of  retreat  was 
 discovered  ;  discovered,  we  read,  by  the  evidence  of  a 
 child,  who  had  been  forced  by  torture  to  make  known 
 where  he  was.  Satisfied  now  that  his  hour  was  come,  he 
 refused  further  flight,  saying.  The  will  of  God  be  done. 
 He  came  down  from  the  upper  story  of  the  house  to 
 meet  his  captors,  ordered  them  as  much  refreshment  as 
 they  might  desire,  and  only  asked  of  them  this  favour, 
 that  they  would  grant  him  yet  one  hour  of  undisturbed 
 prayer.  The  fulness  of  his  heart  carried  him  on  for  two 
 hours,  and  even  the  heathen,  we  are  told,  were  touched 
 by  the  sight  of  the  old  man's  devotion.  He  was  then 
 conveyed  back  to  the  city,  to  Smyrna. 
 
 The  officer  into  whose  hands  he  was  delivered  was 
 one  of  those  men  who,  like  Pilate  in  a  yet  more  awful 
 crisis,  would  rather  be  humane  than  cruel,  if  only  some 
 compromise  can  be  discovered  by  which  they  may  recon- 
 cile self-interest  with  clemency.  But  this  cannot  always 
 be  done.  Sometimes  the  fidelity  of  the  prisoner  himself 
 prevents  it.  WJiat  harju,  the  officer  asks  him,  can  it  be 
 for  you  to  offer  sacrifice  to  the  Emperor  ?  Such  was  the 
 test  commonly  proposed  to  an  accused  Christian  ;  that 
 
40  Revelatio7t.  [i.ect. 
 
 he  should  submit  to  pay  divine  honours  to  the  Roman 
 Emperor.  This  might  not  be.  The  servant  of  the  Lord 
 must  not  for  any  consideration  be  guilty  of  idolatry. 
 When  it  was  found  that  there  was  no  sign  of  yielding,  pity 
 was  exchanged  for  anger,  and  he  was  roughly  flung  from 
 the  carriage  in  which  he  was  being  conveyed  into  the 
 city.  When  he  appeared  in  the  amphitheatre  before  the 
 "tribunal  of  his  judge,  the  Roman  magistrate  said  to  him, 
 Swear,  curse  Christ,  and  I  zvill  set  thee  free.  But  the  old 
 man  answered  in  words  familiar  to  many  of  you,  Eighty 
 and  six  years  have  I  served  Christ,  and  He  has  never  done 
 me  wro7ig :  hoiv  then  can  I  curse  Hint,  my  King  and  my 
 Saviour  ?  When  they  continued  to  press  him,  he  said, 
 Well  then  if  y oil  desire  to  know  what  I  am,  I  tell  you 
 freely,  I  am  a  CJiristian  !  If  you  desire  to  know  what 
 Christianity  is,  appoint  an  hour,  and  hear  me.  In  vain 
 the  magistrate  threatened  him  with  being  thrown  to  the 
 wild  beasts  or  burned  alive :  and  at  last  the  fatal  pro- 
 clamation was  publicly  made,  that  Polycaip  confessed  him- 
 self a  Christian.  This  was  the  death-warrant.  The 
 people  shouted  aloud,  TJiis  is  the  teacher  of  Atheism,  the 
 father  of  the  CJiristians,  the  enemy  of  07ir  Gods,  who  has 
 taught  so  many  not  to  pray  to  the  Gods,  and  not  to  sacrifice  ! 
 He  was  condemned  to  be  burnt  alive.  Jews  and  Gen- 
 tiles, the  whole  synagogue  of  Satan  described  in  the 
 passage  before  us,  alike  hastened  in  rage  and  fury  to 
 collect  wood  from  the  baths  and  the  workshops  for  the 
 funeral  pile.  The  old  man  laid  aside  his  garments,  and 
 took  his  place  in  the  midst  of  the  fuel.  When  they 
 would  have  nailed  him  to  the  stake,  he  said  to  them, 
 Leave  me  thus,  I  pray,  unfastened :  He  who  has  enabled 
 me  to  brave  the  fire,  zvill  give  me  strefigth  also  to  endure  its 
 
III.]  Chap.  II.   8 — II.  41 
 
 fierceness.  He  then  uttered  this  brief  prayer  :  O  Lord, 
 Almighty  God,  the  Father  of  Thy  beloved  Son  Jesus  Christ, 
 through  whom  zve  have  received  a  knowledge  of  Thee  ;  God 
 of  the  angels  and  of  the  zuhole  creation,  of  the  ivJiolc  race  of 
 man,  and  of  the  saints  wJio  live  before  Thy  presence ;  I 
 thank  Thee  that  Thou  hast  thought  mc  zvorthy,  this  day 
 and  this  hour,  to  sJiare  the  cup  of  Thy  Christ  among  the 
 number  of  Thy  zvitnesses  I  The  fire  was  kindled  ;  but  a 
 high  wind  drove  the  flame  to  one  side,  and  prolonged 
 his  sufferings  :  at  last  the  executioner  despatched  him 
 with  a  sword. 
 
 Thus  did  an  angel  of  the  church  in  Smyrna  endure 
 grief  suffering  wrongfully^.  Thus  did  he  show  himself 
 faithfil  ujito  death,  and  receive  through  martyrdom  the 
 croivn  of  life.  Christ  does  not  quench  the  fire  that  would 
 consume  His  servants  ;  but  He  makes  it  purifying  ;  and 
 through  it  lies  for  them  the  path  of  life. 
 
 And  now,  my  brethren,  for  ourselves.  The  da3^s  of 
 martyrdom  are  suspended  at  least,  if  not  for  ever  ended. 
 Yet  still,  if  not  called  to  be  Christ's  martyrs,  we  are  all 
 called  to  be  what  that  name  literally  rendered  denotes, 
 Christ's  witnesses.  To  each  one  of  us,  as  much  as  ever 
 in  the  first  days  of  the  Church  to  martyrs  or  confessors, 
 to  Polycarp  or  to  Peter,  the  charge  of  Christ  is  this,  Be 
 thou,  faithfil  unto  death,  and  I  zvill  give  thee  the  crown  of 
 life. 
 
 Faithful.  Trustworthy.  One  whom  Christ  can  trust. 
 One  whom  Christ  can  rely  upon.  One  whom  his  Master 
 can  entrust  with  His  goods.  One  who  can  be  depended 
 upon  not  to  use  upon  himself  that  which  was  deposited 
 with  him  for  the  good  of  others.     One  who  is  quite  sure 
 
 1   I  Pet.  ii.  19. 
 
42 
 
 Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 not  to  squander  and  not  to  hoard  talents  committed  to 
 him.     Again,  one  who  can  be  relied  upon  not  to  say  one 
 thing  to  his  Master's  face  and  another  thing  behind  his 
 Master's  back  ;  not  to  say  to  Him,  with  every  show  of 
 earnestness,  I  go,  Lord,  at  Thy  bidding,  and  then  not  to 
 go*;  not  to  profess  devotion,  zeal,  and  diligence,  and  yet 
 in  act  and  deed  to  be  lukewarm,  idle,  and  neglectful. 
 These  are  some  of  the  things  involved  in  that  grave  word 
 faithftd.     My  brethren,  I  mention  them  with  seriousness, 
 and  I  mention  them  also  with  trembling.     I  know  that 
 these   are  amongst  the  characteristics  of  Christ's  true 
 servants  :    but  if  so,   I   fear  we  have    much  cause   for 
 doubting  our  own  right  to  that  glorious  name.     We  all 
 know  what  we  count  faithfulness,  and  what  we  stigma- 
 tize as  unfaithfulness,  in  a  servant ;  how  rigid  v/e  are  in 
 the  exaction  of  a  perfect  uprightness ;  how  we  treat  as 
 dishonesty  the  smallest  appropriation  of  that  property  of 
 ours  which  is  in  his  hands  ;  how  we  expect  the  entire 
 devotion  of  time  and  strength,  of  mind  and  body,  to  the 
 service  once  undertaken,  to  the  interests  once  confided. 
 Which  of  us  can  bear  the  application  of  such  a  test  in 
 reference  to  the   service  of  a  heavenly  Master.?     Well 
 might  St  Paul  speak  of  faithfulness  as  one  of  Christ's 
 gifts— is  it  not,  of  all,  the  greatest .?— and  say  of  himself 
 that  he  had  obtained  mercy  of  the  Lord  to  be  faithfiiP . 
 
 0  my  brethren,  it  is  of  no  use  coming  hither  with 
 large  professions,  calling  Christ  Loi^d,  Lord^,  while  we 
 kneel  here  in  His  worship,  confessing  ourselves  to  be 
 unprofitable  servants,  miserable  offenders,  once  or  twice 
 a  week,  and  yet  making  no  endeavour  in  the  week 
 which  follows  to  correct  these  faults,  or  to  rise  to  that 
 
 1  Matt.  xxi.  30.  2  J  Cor.  vii.  25.  ^  Luke  vi.  46. 
 
Ill 
 
 .]  Chap.  II.  8 — II.  43 
 
 devotion  which  we  seem  to  think  due  from  us.  If  we 
 are  not  in  danger  from  the  fires  of  martyrdom,  we  are 
 in  great,  in  hourly  danger  from  a  fire  more  trying  and 
 more  searching  still ;  the  temptation  of  ^n  easy,  a 
 worldly,  a  self-satisfied  spirit ;  the  flattery  of  a  self- 
 complacent,  a  complaisant  and  a  time-serving  world  ! 
 Well  m.ight  Christ  go  round  this  congregation,  and  say 
 to  each  of  us,  and  repeat  it  over  and  over  again  as  a 
 charge  not  easy  of  obedience,  Be  thou  faitJifiLL..And 
 thou,  be  thou  faithful !  I  have  put  into  thy  hands  one 
 of  my  talents,  or  two  of  my  talents,  or  five  of  my  talents^ 
 as  the  case  may  be :  I  have  given  thee  a  certain  number 
 of  years  to  spend  on  earth  ;  I  have  given  thee  a  certain 
 amount  of  wealth,  or  of  influence,  or  of  power ;  I  have 
 given  thee  a  Bible,  I  have  given  thee  a  church  ;  I  have 
 given  thee  reason,  I  have  given  thee  a  conscience,  I 
 have  given  thee  a  soul :  occupy  till  I  conie^ ;  be  faithful ; 
 let  me  trust  thee ;  use  the  gift  well ;  do  not  forget  who 
 gave  it ;  do  not  forget  whose  it  is  even  while  it  is  in  thy 
 hands  ;  do  not  forget  who  will  call  for  an  account  of  it ; 
 be  faithful  !  O  be  faithful !  Be  not  ashamed  of  me 
 before  men^;  let  conscience  speak;  make  out  what  is 
 right,  and  also  do  it ;  do  it  like  a  man ;  do  it,  and  fear 
 not ;  do  it,  and  bid  others  do  it,  and  encourage  them  in 
 doing  it !  Say,  like  Polycarp,  Christ  never  did  me  auy 
 wrong;  how  can  I  revile  Himf  how  can  I  forget,  how 
 can  I  disobey,  how  can  I  turn  aside  from  Him  ? 
 
 Be  thou  faithful  tuito  death.  Perhaps  death  seems 
 a  long  way  off.  Perhaps  you  say  in  your  heart.  How 
 can  I  hold  out  so  long  i*  It  may  come  sooner  than 
 you  think.     Do  not  let  it  surprise  you!     But  if  it  tarry, 
 
 1  Matt.  XXV.  15.  2  Luke  xix.  13.  ^  Mark  viii.  38. 
 
44  Revelatioii.  [lect. 
 
 if  it  wait  till  the  threescore  years  and  ten  or  even  the 
 fonrscore  years^,  yet  wait  for  it :  it  will  surely  come  : 
 and  when  it  comes,  you  will  be  glad  that  you  did  wait 
 for  it.  It  is  a  very  great  thing  to  know  that  there  is 
 a  fixed  limit,  fixed  in  God's  counsels,  fixed  in  Christ's 
 foreknowledge,  after  which  all  responsibility  will  be 
 taken  off  from  us,  all  strain  relaxed,  all  effort  ended, 
 every  sinew  and  every  nerve  resting !  Just  until  death 
 struggle  on  ;  take  each  day  by  itself;  try  to  do  the  will 
 of  God,  try  to  be  faithful  to  Christ,  just  through  that 
 one  day ;  and  in  many  senses  every  evening  will  be  a 
 death,  and  every  morning  a  resurrection  ;  you  may  say 
 to  yourself  in  the  morning,  Let  me  be  faithful  just  until 
 the  evening,  and  at  evening  you  may  trust  yourself  with 
 Christ  just  until  the  morning  ;  and  thus,  accepting  God's 
 merciful  ordinance  of  day  and  night  as  it  v/as  intended, 
 you  will  be  helped  through  your  pilgrimage  ;  at  last  that 
 night  will  come  when  faithfulness  has  been  consum- 
 mated ;  then  you  will  have  been  faithful  unto  death  : 
 and  what  then  ? 
 
 /  IV ill  give  thee  the  croiun  of  life.  Is  not  that,  little 
 as  we  may  yet  conceive  of  it,  worthy  of  some  endeavour, 
 of  some  striving,  of  some  watchfulness  ;  of  some  self- 
 denial  ?  O  do  I  address  to-night  any  despisers  of  ever- 
 lasting life^?  any  who  are  thinking  scorn  of  that  pleasant 
 land^f  Alas!  there  are  such  :  at  times,  I  fear,  we  are 
 all,  more  or  less,  among  them.  There  are  times  when 
 we  cannot  rouse  within  us  any  just  appreciation  of  the 
 prize  for  which  we  are  running,  of  the  heaven  for  which 
 we  are  fighting.  This  is  a  sad  thing  ;  a  sad  dishonour 
 to  God,  a  sad  ingratitude,  a  sad  unbelief     Even  Chris- 
 
 1  Psal,  xc.  lo.  2  ^^^^  j.jjj_  ^5_  3  Psalm  cvi.  24. 
 
III.]  Chap.  II.  8 — II.  45 
 
 tians  are  not  free  from  it:  how  is  it  with  those  who 
 are  not  Christians  ?  How  is  it  with  the  careless,  with 
 the  sinful,  with,  the  hard-hearted?  Seek  ye  the  Lord  zvhile 
 He  may  be  fo2L7id ;  call  ye  upon  Him  zvhile  He  is  near'^ ! 
 
 God  grant  that  the  words  now  spoken  may  not 
 have  been  spoken  in  vain  !  May  He,  who  alone  can, 
 speak  His  own  call  to  the  inward  ear ;  and  raise  some, 
 even  this  night,  even  among  those  who  are  here  as- 
 sembled, from  the  death  of  siii  to  the  life  of  righteousness'^ ! 
 
 ^  Isai.  Iv,  6.  -  Burial  Service. 
 
 Sexagesima  Sunday, 
 Febncar-y  3,    1861. 
 
LECTURE    IV. 
 
 REVELATION   II.    I/. 
 
 Ajid  in  the  stone  a  new  name  zuritten,  which   no  man 
 knozvetJi  saving  he  that  receiveth  it. 
 
 These  are  the  last  words  of  the  message  to  the 
 church  of  Pergamos.  That  message  is  of  a  mixed 
 character.  Praise  and  blame  are  mingled  in  it.  In 
 the  same  degree  perhaps  it  is  a  message  more  exactly 
 suited  to  the  state  of  a  modern  congregation  than  one 
 of  entire  approval,  such  as  we  considered  last  Sunday 
 evening  in  the  Epistle  to  the  church  of  Smyrna. 
 
 Each  of  these  addresses  begins  with  the  mention 
 of  some  characteristic  of  Him  from  whom  it  comes. 
 In  the  case  of  Pergamos,  the  selection  of  that  cha- 
 racteristic prepares  us  for  the  tone  of  the  Epistle 
 itself  To^  the  jxngel  of  the  congregation  in  Pergamos 
 zuiHte :  These  things  saith  He  that  hath  the  two-edged, 
 the  sharp  sivord.  We  read  of  this  sword  in  the  first 
 chapter.  We  read  of  it  also  in  the  Epistle  to  the 
 Hebrews.  The  word  of  God  is  living  and  active,  a?id 
 sharper  than  any  tzuo-edgcd  sword,  piercing  even   to  the 
 
 ^  Verse  12. 
 
LECT.  IV.]     Revelation.     Chap.  ii.  12 — 17.  47 
 
 dividijig  asunder  of  soul  and  spirit,  and  of  the  joints  and 
 marrozv,  and  is  a  discerner  of  the  thoughts  and  intents  of 
 the  heart^.  This  szvord  of  the  Spirit,  zvhich  is  the  word  of 
 God^,  proceeds  out  of  the  mouth  of  Christ. 
 
 But  although  we  are  thus  prepared  for  a  message 
 of  discrimination  and  reproof,  the  first  words  are  of  a 
 different  character.  /  knozv^  zvJiere  thou  dwellest,  even 
 where  the  tJirone  of  Satan  is.  A  veiy  fearful  description, 
 and  indicating  a  very  merciful  recognition  on  the  part 
 of  Christ  of  the  difficulties  and  of  the  temptations  of  His 
 people.  In  this  case  He  was  able  to  testify  that  diffi- 
 culties and  temptations,  of  an  outward  kind  at  least,  had 
 not  overcome  their  constancy. 
 
 Ajid  tJwu  holdest  my  name.  The  name  of  a  person 
 is  in  Scripture  language  the  summary  of  what  he  is. 
 The  name  is  the  brief  description  ;  that  which  brings 
 the  whole  person  before  us.  The  name  of  God  is  the 
 revealed  character  of  God  ;  the  sum  of  His  attributes* ; 
 God  'such  as  He  is.  In  like  manner  the  name  of 
 Christ  is  the  revelation  of  Christ ;  the  sum  of  His  cha- 
 racteristics ;  Christ  such  as  He  is.  The  congregation  of 
 Christians  here  addressed  had  held  fast  what  they  had 
 been  taught  of  Christ. 
 
 And  didst  not  deny  my  faith  in  the  days  in  zvhich 
 Antipas  my  faithful  zuitness  zuas  slain  beside,  or  among 
 you,  zvhere  Satan  dzvelleth.  Even  the  sight  of  a  mar- 
 tyrdom, a  witness  unto  death,  had  not  deterred  them 
 from  holding  fast  their  profession.  To  deny  Christ  is 
 to  say,  like  Peter  in  his  night  of  trial,  I  knozu  him  not'" ; 
 I  have  nothing  to  do  w^ith  Him  ;  I  owe  Him  no  alle- 
 
 1  Heb.  iv.  12.  ^  Eph.  vi.  17.  ^  Verse  13. 
 
 ^  Exod.  xxxiv.  5,  6,  7.  ^  Luke  xxii.  57. 
 
48  Revelatio7i.  [lect. 
 
 glance;  He  Is  not  my  Master ;  I  am  not  His  servant. 
 This  the  Christians  of  Pergamos  had  not  done.  They 
 had  been  stedfast  under  this  severe  trial. 
 
 But  what  the  fires  of  martyrdom  could  not  do,  a 
 more  secret  and  insidious  snare  might  effect.  They 
 who  could  brave  martyrdom  for  Christ  cannot  always 
 resist  an  enemy  in  their  own  camp :  some  bosom  sin 
 may  do  what  intimidation  and  persecution  have  failed 
 to  effect.  Listen  then.  Biit^  I  have  against  thee  a  fezu 
 things.  How  serious  a  beginning !  Which  of  us  can 
 hear  unmoved  when  Christ  says,  I  have  against  theeafevi) 
 things  ? 
 
 Thou  hast  there,  in  Pergamos,  ine?i  holdifig—'ii  is 
 the  same  word  used  above,  Thou  holdest  my  name — the 
 teaching  of  Balaam,  zvho  taiLgJit  to  Balak  how  to  throw 
 a  stumblingbloek  before  the  sons  of  Israel,  namely,  both  to 
 eat  things  sacrificed  to  idols,  and  to  commit  fornication. 
 That  sti'ange  mixture  of  a  man,  as  Balaam  has  been 
 called  but  too  truly,  a  man  who  heard  the  zvords  of  God 
 and  saw  the  vision  nf  the  Almighty^y  yet  whose  heart 
 went  after  covetousness^  and  made  a  fatal  compromise 
 between  the  service  cf  God  and  the  service  of  Mammon  ; 
 when  he  found  that  he  was  not  allowed  to  curse  Israel, 
 and  thus  to  possess  himself  of  the  promised  reward  in 
 one  way,  suggested  to  Balak  a  more  subtle  but  far  more 
 potent  spell,  in  the  form  of  a  temptation  to  Israel 
 through  the  lusts  of  the  flesh.  The  iniquities  described 
 in  the  25th  chapter  of  the  Book  of  Numbers,  following 
 Immediately  upon  the  unsuccessful  visit  of  Balaam  in 
 which  cursing  itself  had  been  supernaturally  turned  into 
 blessing,  are  expressly  ascribed  in  a  later  chapter  of  that 
 
 ^  Verse  14.  -  Numb.  xxiv.  4,  16.  ^  1  Pet.  ii.  15.     Jude  ir. 
 
IV.]  Chap.  II.    12 — 17.  49 
 
 Book  to  the  secret  agency  of  Balaam.  Behold,  these 
 caused  the  children  of  Israel,  tJirougJi  the  counsel  of 
 Balaam,  to  coniniit  trespass  against  the  Lord  in  the 
 matter  of  Peor,  and  there  zvas  a  plagne  among  the  con- 
 gregation of  the  Lord^.  This  old  snare  was  laid  again 
 at  IJergamos  by  some  who  should  have  known  better. 
 So"^  hast  tJwn  too  men  liolding  tJie  teacJiing of  Nicolaitans  in 
 like  manner. 
 
 There  is  no  occasion  for  distinguishing  here  between 
 the  doctrine  of  the  Nicolaitans  and  the  doctrine  of 
 Balaam.  The  supposed  necessity  for  doing  so  has 
 arisen  from  a  misunderstanding  of  the  proper  place  of 
 the  word  also  in  our  Version  of  the  15  th  verse.  It  is 
 not  also  them  that  hold,  but  so  hast  thon  also,  thou  at 
 Pergamos,  as  well  as  Israel  of  old,  them  that  hold.  The 
 Nicolaitans  were,  as  we  saw  on  a  former  occasion,  a 
 body  of  Antinomians  ;  persons  who  talked  loudly  of  the 
 liberty  of  Christ,  and  used  that  Wh^vty  for  an  occasion  to 
 the  flesJi^.  They  were  amongst  those  described  in  the 
 Epistle  of  St  Jude  as  ungodly  men,  turning  the  grace  of 
 our  God  into  lasciviousness^ ;  persons  who  either  openly 
 taught,  or  by  their  general  language  encouraged  the 
 notion,  that  we  may  continue  in  sin  on  purpose  that  grace 
 may  abound^.  O,  my  brethren,  how  can  I  pass  on 
 without  one  word  of  grave  and  anxious  caution  on 
 this  all-important  subject  ?  I  know  that  none  of  us  hold 
 the  language  of  the  Antinomian  :  but  is  there  not,  in 
 days  of  general  Gospel  light,  a  tendency  in  that  direction 
 in  practice  t  Is  there  not  a  vague  unavowed  unrealized 
 idea  that  the  Atonement  has  made  sin  less  fatal,  that 
 
 1  Numb.  xxxi.  16.  ^  Verse  15.  ^  Gal.  v.  13. 
 
 *  Jude  4.  ^  Rom.  vi.  i. 
 
 V.  R.  4 
 
50  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 even  sin  indulged  and  persisted  in  may  yet  not  work 
 death  ?  And  can  any  affront  to  Christ  be  so  great  as  the 
 notion  that  it  is  safe  to  live  under  His  Gospel  in  a 
 lower  state  of  watchfulness  and  purity  than  we  durst 
 have  acquiesced  in  under  the  Law  ?  If  while  zue  seek  to 
 be  justified  by  CJirist,  ive  ourselves  also  are  foimd  sinners, 
 is  therefore  Christ  the  minister  of  sin  ?  God  forbid. 
 For  if  I  build  again  the  things  zuhich  I  destroyed^  if  in  my 
 after  conduct  I  return  to  those  sins  which  I  professed  when 
 I  became  a  Christian  utterly  to  abolish,  /  make  myself  a 
 transgressor^,  and  2S^  fallen  from  gi'ace'^ . 
 
 Repent^,  then;  such  is  the  natural  inference;  and  if 
 not,  I  am  coming  for  thee,  coming  as  regards  thee,  coming 
 for  thy  discomfiture  and  punishment,  quickly,  and  will 
 war  with  them  in,  that  is,  in  the  power  of  exercise  of,  the 
 siuord  of  my  mouth.  Though  the  whole  congregation  has 
 not  fallen  into  the  snare,  yet  the  whole  congregation,  the 
 congregation  represented  by  and  personified  in  its  angel, 
 must  repent.  There  is  such  a  thing  as  an  aggregate  and 
 corporate  guilt ;  a  guilt  in  which  the  body  partakes,  even 
 though  members  of  the  body  may  be  individually  free. 
 There  is  such  a  thing — the  Epistles  to  the  Corinthians 
 exemplify  it^ — as  a  church  repenting  for  its  members ; 
 a  humiliation  of  all  for  the  sins  of  some.  I  wish  we 
 thought  more  of  this  duty.  It  ought  to  afiect  us,  and  it 
 ought  to  humble  us,  to  look  abroad  upon  the  sins  and 
 upon  the  punishments  of  our  fellow-Christians.  We 
 ought  to  feel  for  them,  to  pray  for  them,  yes,  and  (as  it  is 
 here  written)  to  repent  for  them.  If  they  are  hard  and 
 sinful,  let  our  hearts  be  tender;  let  us  intercede,  let  us 
 
 1  Gal.  ii.  17,  1 8.  -  Gal.  v.  4.  .3  Verse  16. 
 
 ^  I  Cor.  V.  2.     2  Cor.  vii.  ir., 
 
mgmm^ms^Ksm. 
 
 IV.]  C/iap.  II.    12 — 17.  51 
 
 sorrow,  let  us  be  contrite,  for  them.  It  may  be  that  our 
 repentance  may  avert  the  threatened  judgment.  If  not, 
 if  thou  shalt  not  repent,  /  am  coining  npon  thee  qiuckly, 
 and  zvill  zvar  with  tJieni  ivith  the  szuord  of  my  month ; 
 even  as  It  is  written,  He  shall  smite  the  eai'th  with  the  rod 
 of  His  month,  andzvitJi  the  brcatJi  of  His  lips  shall  He  slay 
 the  zvickcd^. 
 
 Let'^  him  that  hath  an  ear  hear  what  the  Spirit  saith  to 
 the  congregations :  To  him  that  conquer eth  I  will  give  of  the 
 hidden  manna,  and  I  zvill  give  him  a,  zvhite  stone,  and 
 npon  the  stone  a  new  name  graven^  zvhicJi  no  one  knoiveth 
 bnt  he  zuJio  received  it. 
 
 Such  is  the  pecuHar  promise  made  in  the  case  of 
 this  Church,  to  him  that  couqnercth.  I  zvill  give  Jiim  of 
 the  hidden  manna.  There  may  be  an  allusion  here  to 
 that  omer  full  of  manna  which  Aaron  was  charged  to 
 lay  up  in  a  golden  vessel  within  the  ark  of  the  covenant^, 
 as  a  memorial  for  ever  of  the  care  of  God  in  the  desert. 
 The  conqueror  in  the  Christian  warfare  shall  be  allowed 
 to  eat  of  that  hidden  food  ;  to  eat,  that  is,  of  the  true 
 bread  of  which  the  manna  was  an  earthly  emblem,  even 
 of  Him  who  said,  /  am  the  living  bread  which  came  down 
 from  Jieaven :  if  any  man  eat  of  this  bread,  he  shall  live 
 for  ever^. 
 
 Again,  /  zvill  give  him  a  zvhite  stone  ;  I  suppose,  a 
 new,  clean,  bright  stone,  unused  before  ;  with  something 
 cut  upon  it;  a  name,  a  new  name,  intelligible  only  to  the 
 owner,  a  secret  between  him  and  the  giver,  a  name 
 of  honour  and  of  happiness,  a  promotion  and  a  glory  to 
 the  bearer,  in  which  none  can  intermeddle,  and  of  which 
 
 Isr.i.  xi.  4.  ^  Verse  17.  ^  ExocL 
 
 4  John  vi.  51. 
 
 4—2 
 
SS9 
 
 52  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 nothing  can  deprive  him.  I  would  understand  the  pro- 
 mise thus  simply,  and  not  lose  myself  in  a  multitude  of 
 conflicting  ideas  which  the  words  taken  singly  might 
 possibly  introduce.  We  shall  regard  the  peculiar  promise 
 by  v/hich  Christ  this  night  would  encourage  us  to  zeal 
 and  boldness  in  our  life's  warfare,  as  the  promise  of  a 
 personal,  an  incommunicable,  and  an  inalienable  posses- 
 sion, to  be  a  secret  between  us  and  Him ;  a  secret  of 
 deep  love,  a  secret  of  undying  life. 
 
 We  ask  not  what  the  name  is :  the  text  tells  us  that 
 no  man  knows  it  but  the  owner.  TIioil  shalt  be  called  by 
 a  new  7iame,  ivhich  the  moicth  of  the  Lord  shall  name^. 
 Wait  till  He  names  it.  In  the  mean  time,  he  that  be- 
 lieveth  on  tJie  Son  of  God  hath  the  witness  i}i  himself^. 
 The  Spirit  Himself  bcareth  witness  with  onr  spirit  that  zve 
 are  the  sons  of  God^.  Now  we  are  the  sons  of  God,  and  it 
 doth  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be :  bict  we  know  that, 
 when  He  shall  appear,  we  shall  be  like  Him,  for  we  shall 
 see  Him  as  He  is^.  The  secret  of  the  Lord  is  zvith  them 
 that  fear  Him:  and  He  zuill  show  them  His  covenant^. 
 The  manna  of  their  supply  is  a  hidden  manna:  the  stone 
 of  their  credentials  is  a  white  stone,  clear  and  clean,  and 
 the  name  graven  upon  it  no  man  knoiveth  bnt  he  who 
 rcceiveth  it. 
 
 And  thus  the  thought  to  be  left  with  you  this  evening 
 is  that  of  the  secret  confided  to  a  Christian;  of  the  deep, 
 the  mysterious  treasure  which  is  put  into  his  heart ;  the 
 dignity  and  the  security  and  the  happiness  of  being  in  pri- 
 vate personal  constant  communication  v/ith  Christ  Him- 
 self; of  having  something  to  do  with  Him  by  Himself, 
 
 ^  Isai,  Ixii.  2.  ^  j  John  v.  10.  ^  Rom.  viii.  16. 
 
 ^  I  John  iii.  2.  ^  Psalm  xxv.  14. 
 
IV.]  Chap.  II.    12 — 17.  53 
 
 apart  from  every  other  person  in  the  world  ;  of  being  able 
 to  take  Him  into  his  heart  by  faith,  and  feed  upon  Him\ 
 and  live  by  Him  ;  of  standing  in  a  certain  relation  to- 
 wards Him,  as  individually  cared  for,  individually  loved ^ 
 individually  redeemed,  individually  saved ;  of  having 
 Christ  all  for  his  own,  not  in  a  selfish  sense,  but  yet  in  a 
 personal  sense;  and  of  actually  existing  by  faith  in  Him, 
 and  living  because  He  livesl 
 
 Perhaps  there  are  some  persons  who  can  rest  satisfied 
 with  a  more  superficial  or  a  more  gregarious  kind  of  reli- 
 gion ;  persons  who  are  well  contented  to  be  only  one  of 
 a  crowd  of  worshippers,  inhabitants  of  a  redeemed  world, 
 or  members  of  a  baptized  Church.  And  these  are  all 
 grounds  of  hope :  starting-points,  true  and  real,  for  a 
 Christian  life.  But  I  am  sure  there  are  those  amongst 
 us  who  yearn  after  something  deeper  and  more  personal. 
 There  are  those  whose  cry  is.  Lord,  show  jis  the  Father, 
 and  it  siifficeth  us'^ ;  those  who  can  rest  in  nothing  out- 
 side the  veil,  not  in  the  table  of  shew-bread,  not  in  the 
 altar  of  incense,  not  in  the  golden  candlesticks,  but  feel 
 that  they  must  penetrate  within  that  partition  by  the 
 help  of  the  blood  of  sprinkling^ ,  actually  reach  the  mercy- 
 seat  where  God's  own  light  shines,  and  eat  of  that  hid- 
 den manna  which  is  treasured  within  the  ark  of  life. 
 They  may  be  contented  to  struggle  on,  for  their  few 
 years  of  life  below,  in  a  light  less  than  perfect,  and  with 
 a  hope  less  than  confident,  if  they  may  but  be  assured 
 that  there  is  a  day  of  emancipation  and  of  illumination 
 before  them,  that  there  is  a  secret  which  shall  one  day 
 be  confided  to  them,  an  access  to  Christ,  direct  and  per- 
 
 1  John  vi.  57.  2  Qal.  ii.  20.  ^  John  xiv.  19. 
 
 ^  John  xiv.  8.  *  Heb.  x.  19.     xii.  24. 
 
mmm 
 
 54  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 sonal,  which  shall  be  opened  to  them  hereafter  and 
 never  closed. 
 
 Such  is  the  promise.  And  now  I  will  end  this 
 discourse  with  two  or  three  brief  reflections  springing 
 naturally  out  of  the  subject. 
 
 I.  And  first  a  word  of  caution  to  those  who  are 
 inclined  to  disparage  and  to  despise  religion.  It  is 
 plain  you  do  not  know  what  true  religion  is.  You  must 
 have  formed  a  wrong  idea  of  it.  You  could  net  look 
 down  upon  it  if  you  knew  its  real  dignity.  A  Christian 
 has  meat  to  eat  that  ye  know  not  of\  A  Christian  is  one 
 who  is  in  secret  communication  with  God  ;  yes,  whose 
 very  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God'.  A  Christian  is  one 
 to  whom  God  tells  His  secrets.  You  would  think  it  a 
 great  thing  to  be  in  the  confidence  of  some  earthly 
 potentate  :  you  would  feel  yourself  raised  in  the  scale 
 of  honour  by  being  known  or  suspected  to  be  behind 
 the  scenes  as  to  the  purposes  and  plans  of  some  power- 
 ful sovereign  v/hose  movements  half  the  world  is  watch- 
 ing with  a  mixture  of  wonder  and  apprehension  :  you 
 would  feel  that  to  be  the  depository  of  his  secrets  was  to 
 be  a  man  of  consequence,  a  man  of  mark  amongst  your 
 fellows.  What  must  it  be  then  to  be  in  the  confidence 
 of  God  }  to  have  it  said  of  you,  TJie  secret  of  the  Lord  is 
 with  him  ?  Christ  gives  him  to  eat  of  the  hidden  manna, 
 and  promxises  him  a  name  which  no  man  knoweth  save 
 the  Giver  of  it  and  the  receiver.  It  will  not  do  to  despise 
 the  Christian  life.  Those  of  us  who  know  it  not  for 
 themselves  ought  at  least  to  look  upon  it  with  respect  and 
 awe.  It  is  not  beneath,  it  \sfar  above  them  ;  yes,  out  of 
 their  sight  ^ 
 
 1  John  iv.  32.  1  Col.  iii.  3.  '  Psalm  x.  5. 
 
IV.]  Chap.  II.    12 — 17.  55 
 
 2.  Again,  for  Christians  themselves  the  text  has 
 more  than  one  word  of  exhortation.  It  bids  them  not 
 cleave  to  the  dust,  but  rather  arise  and  claim  their 
 privilege.  Ambition  in  earthly  things  is  a  snare  and  a 
 disappointment';  but  in  heavenly  things  St  Paul  himself 
 taught  us,  by  example  and  precept,  to  be  ambitious^ 
 We  ought  to  feel  that  there  is  nothing  save  unbelief 
 alone  between  us  and  the  very  vision  of  God.  Ye 
 are  not  straitened  in  God,  ye  are  straitened  in  your 
 own  hearts ^  We  pray  too  often  as  if  we  were  really 
 afraid  of  being  heard,  as  if  we  should  be  frightened  at 
 the  answer.  We  rise  from  our  knees  as  if  to  run  away, 
 like  Jonah,  from  the  presence  which  ought  to  be  so 
 dear  to  us^  Just  as  the  heaven  is  opening,  just  as 
 the  comfort  and  strength  for  which  in  words  we  were 
 asking  is  on  the  very  point  of  descending^,  we  end  and 
 are  gone,  and  the  gift  lights  upon  a  desert.  This  ought 
 not  so  to  be.  We  ought  to  form  a  very  high  estimate 
 of  what  is  meant  by  eating  of  the  hidden  manna,  of 
 living  upon  the  true  bread  of  God,  of  having  God's 
 secret  with  us,  of  being  shown  by  Him  His  covenant. 
 And  so  estimating  it,  we  ought  also  to  be  ambitious  of 
 its  attainment ;  we  ought  to  follow  on  earnestly,  as  the 
 Prophet  says,  to  know  the  Lord'^,  and  count  no  pains  and 
 no  patience  too  great  if  we  may  but  at  last  enter  into  it 
 3.  Finally,  remember  and  forget  not  to  whom,  and 
 to  whom  only,  the  promise  of  the  text  is  given.  It  is 
 to  him  that  conqneixtJi.  Yes,  let  us  write  that  word  on 
 our  hearts.     It  is  not  indeed,  God  be  praised,  that  we 
 
 1  Phil.  iii.  14.  2  Rom.  xv.  10.     2  Cor.  v.  9.     i  Thess.  iv.  11. 
 
 2  2  Cor.  vi.  12.  ^  Jonah,  i.  3.  ^  Psalm  Ixxxi.  13,  14. 
 
 '°  Hos.  vi.  3. 
 
56  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 are  to  overcome  first  and  then  God  will  g\wQ  us  as  a 
 reward  the  hidden  manna :  God  knows  our  weakness 
 too  well,  and  Is  far  too  merciful  towards  us,  to  leave  us 
 to  fight  the  battle  alone,  and  then  appear  only  to  crown 
 the  victor :  God  nerves  the  right  arm  which  is  to  wield 
 the  sword  \  and  the  only  sword  which  can  prevail  is  the 
 sv\ord  of  His  Spiritl  But  still  I  would  remind  you  that 
 it  is  to  him  who  is  really  fighting, _^^///'/;/^  7nanfidly  under 
 Christ's  banner  against  sin,  the  zvorld,  and  the  devil^,  and 
 fighting  not  in  vain  but  with  a  measure  of  true  success, 
 that  the  promise  is  here  made  of  the  hidden  manna  and 
 of  the  mysterious  name.  It  is  not  by  dreamy  reveries, 
 it  is  not  by  soaring  fancies,  it  is  not  by  idle  wishes  or  self- 
 deceiving  resolutions,  that  a  Christian  makes  progress 
 towards  the  apprehension  of  the  mystery  of  God.  It  is 
 by  conquering.  It  is  by  making  his  life  a  real  thing, 
 with  definite  duties  and  clear  aims.  It  is  by  praying 
 every  day,  and  many  times  in  each  day,  for  grace  to 
 repent  of  all  sins  and  to  do  the  whole  will  of  God  what- 
 soever it  be  for  him*.  It  is  by  maintaining  a  serious  and 
 a  watchful  spirit,  conscious  of  the  great  issues  of  life,  and 
 awake  to  the  reality  of  things  unseen.  It  is  by  turning 
 every  fall  into  a  step  onwards  and  upwards ;  by  arising 
 again  instantly,  through  humiliation  and  prayer,  and 
 renewing  the  conflict ;  by  forgettiiig  things  behind,  and 
 reaching  forth  unto  things  before^  and  pressing  ever 
 forward  towards  the  prize  of  his  high  calling  i7i  Christ 
 Jesus^.  It  is  thus  ;  but  not  thus  only.  While  the  life  is 
 carefully  watched  and  rectified  and  purified,  there  is  also 
 a  constant  under  life  and  inner  life  of  the  soul,  main- 
 
 1  Psalm  xliv.  3.  ^  Eph.  vi.  17.  ^  Baptismal  Service. 
 
 *  Col.  iv.  12.     I  Thess.  v.  18.  ^  Phil.  iii.  15,  14. 
 
IV.]  Chap.  II.    12 — 17.  57 
 
 tained  by  that  secret  intercourse  with  God  which  must 
 begin  here  if  it  is  ever  to  be  fulfilled  and  satisfied  above. 
 The  inner  life  and  the  outer  life  act  and  react  upon  each 
 other.  The  inner  life  demands  consistency  in  the  outer ; 
 without  that  congruity  it  could  not  exist :  but  equally 
 does  the  outer  life  require  vitality  in  the  inner,  and 
 without  that  vitality  within,  it  would  itself  be  deranged, 
 stand  still,  and  die.  To  him  that  conqiiereth  ivill  I  give 
 of  the  hidde7i  manna:  and  only  by  eating  of  the  hidden 
 manna  can  any  man  conquer.  The  paradox  is  in  the 
 words,  not  in  the  thing  signified  :  we  live  for  God  by 
 living  in  God ;  and  again  the  life  in  Him  is  fostered  by 
 the  life  for  Him.  God  grant  us  all  both  these  things  ; 
 first  to  live  in  the  Spii^it,  and  then  to  zvalk  in  the  Spirit^. 
 
 1  Gal.  V.  25. 
 
 QUINQUAGESIMA   SUNDAY, 
 February  IQ,    1861. 
 
LECTURE    V. 
 
 REVELATION   II.   29. 
 
 He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear  what  the  Spirit  saith 
 tcnto  the  chiircJies, 
 
 Between  Pergamos,  the  place  of  which  we  spoke 
 last  Sunday,  and  Sardis,  the  place  to  which  the  fifth 
 of  these  letters  is  addressed,  lay  the  city  of  Thyatira. 
 We  are  familiar  with  the  name  in  connection  with 
 the  history  of  St  Paul.  At  Philippi,  the  first  con- 
 vert was  a  person  of  Thyatira.  A  certain  woman, 
 named  Lydia,  a  seller  of  purple,  engaged  in  that  dye- 
 ing trade  for  which  the  place  and  neighbourhood  of 
 Thyatira  was  famous,  who  worshipped  God,  who  was 
 already  a  proselyte  to  the  faith  and  worship  of  Israel, 
 Jieard  ns ;  zvhose  heart  the  Lord  opened,  that  she  attended 
 tinto  the  things  which  zvere  spoken  by  Paul.  And  when 
 she  was  baptized  and  Jier  household^,  &c.  This  may 
 have  been — we  know  not — the  beginning  of  that  church 
 in  Thyatira  to  which  the  message  now  before  us  was 
 many  years  later  addressed. 
 
 1  Acts  xvi.  14,  15. 
 
LECT.  v].    Revelation.     Chap.  ii.  i8 — 29.  59 
 
 And^  to  the  angel  of  the  congregation  in  TJiyatij-a 
 write :  These  things  saith  the  Son  of  God,  ivJio  hath  His 
 eyes — whose  eyes  are,  as  a  flame  of  fire,  for  brightness 
 and  for  discernment  ;  and  His  feet  are  like  fine  brass, 
 for  unwearied  endurance  and  resistless  strength.  We 
 are  thus  prepared  for  a  message,  in  whole  or  in  part, 
 of  reproof  and  judgment.  But  the  first  words  are  all 
 of  approval.  /  know""  thy  zvorks,  and  thy  love,  and  faith, 
 and  serviee,  or  ministration,  and  patienee,  and  thy  last 
 works  as  being  more  than  the  first.  There  is  not  only 
 a  holding  fast,  but  a  going  forward.  There  is  progress, 
 and  there  is  improvement.  Much  is  attained,  and  what- 
 ever there  is  is  in  advance  of  what  there  was.  The  last 
 works  are  more  than  the  first. 
 
 But'^  I  have  against  thee  that  then  lettcst  alone, 
 leavest  free,  sufferest  to  go  unrestrained,  the  woman 
 Jezebel.  I  am  bound  to  say  that  there  is  much  au- 
 thority for  reading  thy  zvife  Jezebel;  as  if  the  person 
 spoken  of  was  the  wife  of  the  angel  or  pastor  of  the 
 Church  himself  It  is  perhaps  easier  to  explain  why 
 the  pronoun  thy  should  have  been  wrongly  omitted 
 than  why  it  should  have  been  arbitrarily  inserted.  A 
 minister  of  Christ  may  have  the  misfortune  to  have 
 a  bad  wife.  Or  he  may  have  been  culpably  careless 
 or  culpably  self-willed  in  choosing  his  wife.  In  either 
 case  he_  is  much  to  blame  if  he  lets  alone,  if  he  leaves 
 free,  gives  scope  to,  evil  practices  in  his  own  house : 
 it  is  his  business  to  coerce  evil,  if  he  cannot  secure 
 good. 
 
 llioiL   lettest  alone   the  ivonian,  or  thy  wife,   Jezebel, 
 
 1  Verse  i8.  "^  Verse  lo.  ^  y^y^e  20. 
 
6o  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 ivho^,  calling  herself  a  prophetess,  a  person  with  a  mes- 
 sage from  God,  both  teacheth  and  misleadeth  my  servajits 
 to  commit  fornication  and  to  eat  things  sacrificed  to  idols 
 The  general  tendency  of  the  error  is  the  same  which 
 we  read  of  at  Ephesus  and  at  Pergamos.  The  teaching 
 of  the  Jezebel  of  Thyatira  is  of  the  same  character  with 
 that  of  the  Nicolaitans  of  Ephesus,  and  of  the  Nico- 
 laitans  and  followers  of  Balaam  at  Pergamos.  But  the 
 language  of  the  passage  before  us,  read  simply  and 
 naturally,  as  we  should  desire  to  read  all  the  words  of 
 Holy  Scripture,  w^ould  seem  to  say  that  at  Thyatira, 
 whether  in  the  family  of  the  pastor  of  the  Church  or 
 not,  there  was  a  personal  influence  at  work,  the  example 
 and  persuasions  of  some  well-known  woman,  in  the 
 direction  of  Antinomianism  and  of  immorality.  And 
 just  as  the  work  of  Balaam  was  in  some  places  being 
 done  over  again — so  unchanged  is  human  nature  in  all 
 ages — whole  generations  and  centuries  after  his  decease  ; 
 so  in  this  place  there  was  the  character  and  work  of  the 
 infamous  queen  Jezebel  being  re-exemplified  and  re- 
 enacted  ;  the  character  and  work  of  her  who  held  sway 
 over  a  weak  and  unprincipled  husband,  and  used  that 
 ascendancy  for  purposes  of  oppression,  of  licence,  and 
 of  idolatry.  TJiere  ivas  none  like  tmto  Ahab,  who  did 
 sell  himself  to  work  zvickedness  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord, 
 whom  Jezebel  his  zuife  stirred  np^.  Ahab  the  son  of  Omri 
 did  evil  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord  above  all  that  were 
 before  him.  A  nd  it  came  to  pass,  as  if  it  had  been  a  light 
 tlmig  for  Jiiin  to  walk  in  tJie  sins  of  Jeroboam  the  son 
 
 ^  The  addition  of  the  accent,  changing  the  article  (7))  into  the  relative 
 (17),  is  adopted  above  (not  vi^ithout  hesitation)  in  correction  of  a  more  than 
 usvially  defective  construction.  ^  i  Kings  xxi.  25. 
 
v.]  Chap.   II.    1 8 — 29.  61 
 
 of  Nebat,  that  he  took  to  ivifc  Jezebd  the  daughter  of 
 Ethbaal  king  of  the  Zidonians,  and  went  and  served 
 Baal,  and  zvor shipped  him.... And  Ahab  did  more  to 
 provoke  the  Lord  God  of  Israel  to  anger  than  all 
 the  kings  of  Israel  that  ivere  before  him^.  Jeroboam 
 for  political  purposes  had  set  up  forbidden  emblems  of 
 worship^;  but  Ahab  first  introduced  the  open  worship 
 of  false  Gods,  and  it  was  his  wife  Jezebel  who  stirred 
 him  up  to  do  so.  Thus  she  became  the  type  of  all 
 those  who  in  any  age  exercise  a  woman's  influence  on 
 the  side  of  ungodliness,  licentiousness,  and  idolatry. 
 Such  an  influence  was  at  work  in  the  Church  here 
 addressed. 
 
 And^  I  gave  her  time  that  she  might  repent;  and  she 
 is  not  zvilling  to  repent  out  of.,  as  to  leave,  Jier  for- 
 nication. Even  the  wickedest  person,  man  or  woman, 
 has  time  given  him  for  repentance.  God  hates  nothing 
 that  He  has  made.  He  wills  not  the  death  of  any 
 sinner,  but  rather  that  he  should  turn  and  be  saved, 
 should  repent  and  live^.  It  was  so  even  with  the  im- 
 moral person  here  spoken  of.  Time  was  given  her; 
 but  she  would  not  use  it.  There  was  no  will  to  re- 
 pent. Therefore  for  the  sake  of  others  the  time  must 
 now  be  shortened,  and  after  one  more  trial  judgment 
 must  follow. 
 
 Behold''',  I  throzu  her  on  to  a  couch,  and  those  who 
 commit  adultery  zvith  her  into  gi^eat  tribulation,  except 
 they  repent  out  of,  so  as  to  abandon,  Jier  zvorks.  The 
 bed  of  adultery  shall  be  changed  into  a  bed  of  sickness  ; 
 the  pleasures  of  sin  into  great  tribulation. 
 
 ^   I  Kings  xvi.  30,  31,  33.  -  i  Kings  xii.  26,  27,  28. 
 
 2  Verse  21,  ^  Ezek.  xviii.  32.     2  Pet.  iii.  9.  ^  Verse  23. 
 
62  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 Aiid^  her  children  I  will  slay  in  (witJi)  death,  I  will 
 surely  and  utterly  put  to  death.  And  all  the  congrega- 
 tions shall  learn  in  their  terrible  example  that  I  am  He 
 who  searchcth  reins  and  hearts ;  and  I  will  give  to  yon^ 
 each  one,  according  to  yotir  works. 
 
 If  this  woman  and  her  partisans  were  members, 
 as  they  may  seem  to  have  been,  of  the  nominal  Church 
 in  Thyatira,  we  shall  be  reminded  here,  in  the  bodily 
 judgments  of  sickness  and  death  denounced  against 
 them,  of  the  words  of  St  Paul  in  his  first  Epistle  to 
 the  Corinthians,  with  reference  to  a  different  and  per- 
 haps slighter  form  of  disobedience,  For  this  cause  many 
 ai^e  weak  and  sickly  among  yo?iy  and  many  sleep"' ;  or 
 again  of  his  own  sentence  pronounced  upon  an  offender 
 against  the  rules  of  morality  in  an  earlier  part  of  the 
 same  Epistle,  For  I  verily,  as  absent  in  body,  but  present 
 in  spirit,  have  judged  already,  as  though  I  were  present, 
 concerning  him  that  hath  so  done  this  deed,  in  the  name 
 of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  when  ye  are  gatJiered  together, 
 and  my  spirit,  with  the  poiuer  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
 to  deliver  such  an  one  unto  Satan  for  the  dcstritction  of 
 the  flesh,  that  the  spirit  may  be  saved  in  the  day  of  the 
 Lord  Jesus^.  It  is  a  fearful  thing  to  be  brought  nigh 
 to  God,  as  Christians  are  brought  near  to  Him"*,  \\\  or- 
 dinance and  in  privilege,  unless  there  be  also  a  corre- 
 sponding spirit  ;  a  v/ill  to  submit  to  Him,  and  a  hearty 
 love  of  His  service. 
 
 I  would  remark  too,  before  we  pass  on,  how  ex- 
 pressly our  Lord  here  claims  for  Himself  the  distinctive 
 attributes  of  God.     /  am  He  who  searcheth  reins  and 
 
 ^  Verse  23.  ^  j  (^qj.,  xi.  30.  ^  i  Cor.  v.  3,  4,  5. 
 
 ^  Heb.  X.  31.     xii.  22,  23.  ... 
 
v.]  Chap.  ir.    i^ — 29.  63 
 
 hearts.  The  righteous  God,  such  is  the  language  of 
 Scripture,  trieth  the  hearts  and  reins'^.  And  here  Christ 
 says,  /  am  He,  all  the  eongregations  shall  learn  that  I  am 
 He^  who  doth  so.  O  then  there  is  no  room  for  hesita- 
 tion in  asking  of  Him  all  that  we  would  ask  of  God. 
 We  may  well  say  in  the  Litany,  O  God  the  Son,  Re- 
 deemer of  the  world,  have  merey  upon  ns  miserable  sin- 
 ners... O  Lamb  of  God,  that  takes t  azvay  the  sins  of 
 the  world.  Grant  ns  thy  peace.  I  and  my  Father  are 
 o?ie^. 
 
 But^  to  yon  I  say,  the  rest  in  Thyatira,  all  who  have 
 not  this  teacJdng,  zuhosoever  know  not  the  deep  things 
 of  Satan,  as  they  say ;  I  throw  not  ttpon  you  any  other 
 burden  :  only  ^,  that  ivhich  ye  have,  hold  until  I  be  eome. 
 
 One  of  the  great  snares  of  the  early  Church  was 
 a  misplaced  use  of  the  term  and  idea  of  knowledge. 
 We  have  all  heard  of  the  Gnostics  as  a  great  body 
 of  heretics  in  early  days,  having  many  subdivisions 
 under  different  modes  of  teaching.  The  name  of  the 
 Gnostics  is  derived  from  the  word  which  means  know- 
 ledge. They  were  those  who  professed  to  seek  or  to 
 have  found  a  keener  and  deeper  insight  into  the  mys- 
 teries of  truth  than  other  men  possessed.  They  were 
 fond,  we  may  suppose,  of  the  expression,  deep  things. 
 They  talked  much,  I  doubt  not,  of  the  deep  things  of 
 God ;  an  expression  borrowed  perhaps,  in  sound  though 
 not  in  sense,  from  St  Paul's  words  in  an  Epistle 
 already  referred  to,  The  Spirit  searehcth  all  things, 
 yea,  the  deep  things  of  God'".  It  seems  doubtful  whe- 
 ther they  did   not   even  talk   of  their  insight  into   the 
 
 ^  Psalm,  vii.  9.  -  John  x.  30.  "  Verse  24. 
 
 ^  Verse  ^^.  ^  i  Cor.  ii.  10. 
 
64  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 deep  thi7igs  of  Satan  ;  perhaps  into  the  mystery  of  his 
 existence  as  a  power  of  evil,  of  his  fall  from  good,  of 
 his  mode  of  tempting,  if  not — entering  upon  still  more 
 perilous  ground — of  the  details  of  actual  sin,  as  learned 
 by  tasting  for  oneself  of  the  forbidden  thing.  Our  Lord 
 here  addresses  those  who  have  been  wise  enough  to 
 remain  ignorant  of  such  knowledge.  To  you  I  speak, 
 who  know  not  the  depths  of  Satan,  as  they  say ;  who 
 have  not  followed  them  into  the  mysteries  of  their  occult 
 science,  but  have  preferred  to  follow  the  Gospel  rule,  / 
 zvould  have  yoii  zvise  iinto  that  which  is  good,  and  simple 
 coneerning  eviP .  Upon  you  I  throw  no  new  burden  :  I 
 only  bid  you  hold  fast  that  which  you  have,  until  I  come. 
 The  burden  which  you  have  already,  is  that  of  which  we 
 read  at  the  close  of  the  nth  chapter  of  St  Matthew's 
 Gospel ;  Take  my  yoke  upon  yon,  and  learn  of  me. . . 
 and  ye  shall  find  rest  unto  your  souls :  for  my  yoke  is 
 easy,  and  my  burden  is  ligJit^.  From  this  burden,  the 
 burden  of  faith  and  love,  of  entire  trust  and  of  watchful 
 obedience,  I  cannot  release  you  :  to  do  so  would  be  to 
 sever  you  from  rest  and  from  happiness,  and  to  subject 
 you  again  to  that  other  yoke,  the  laiv  of  sin  and  death  ^  ; 
 from  which  I  died  and  rose  again  to  set  you  free. 
 
 And^  he  that  conquer eth  and  keepeth  my  zuorks  unto 
 the  end,  I  will  give  him  authority  over  the  nations :  and^ 
 he  shall  shepherd,  or  rule,  thent  zvitJi  an  iron  rod,  as  the 
 pottery  vessels,  the  works  of  the  potter,  ar-e  shattered ; 
 as  I  also  have  received  from  my  FatJier.  The  faithful 
 servant  of  Christ  shall  partake  in  that  power  which  God 
 has  given  to  Him  over  the  nations.      The  reference  is 
 
 1  Rom.  xvi.  19.  "  Matt.  xi.  29,  30.  ^  Rom.  viii.  2. 
 
 4  Verse  26.  ^  Verse  27. 
 
v.]  Chap.  II.   1 8 — 29.  65 
 
 to  the  words  of  the  2nd  Psalm,  Thou  art  my  Son ;  this 
 day  have  I  begotten  Thee:  Ask  of  me,  and  I  shall  give 
 TJiee  the  heatheii  for  Thine  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost 
 parts  of  the  earth  for  Thy  possession.  Thou  shall  break 
 them  with  a  rod  of  iron  :  Thou  shall  dash  them  in  pieces 
 like  a  potter's  vessel^.  The  promise  made  to  the  Chris- 
 tian victor  is  that  he  shall  share  in  this  dominion.  Do 
 ye  not  knozu,  St  Paul  asks  of  the  Corinthian  Christians, 
 as  though  it  were  a  first  principle  of  revelation,  that 
 the  saints  shall  judge  the  ivorld"  ?  Like  sheep  they  are 
 laid  in  the  grave,  it  is  said  of  the  wicked  in  the  49th 
 Psalm  ;  death  shall  feed  on  them  ;  and  tJie  upright  shall 
 have  dominioji  over  them  in  the  morning^.  I  sazv  thrones, 
 says  the  Prophet  in  a  later  chapter  of  this  Book,  and 
 they  sat  upon  tJiem,  and  judgment  was  given  zuiio  them : 
 and  I  saw  the  souls  of  them  that  were  beheaded  for  tfie 
 witness  of  Jesus,  and  for  the  zvord  of  God.., and  they  lived 
 and  reigned  with  Christ  a  thousand  years^.  Them  also 
 which  sleep  in  Jesus  zvill  God,  in  the  day  of  His  second 
 coming,  bring  with  Him^,  with  Jesus  ;  and  they  shall 
 be  the  assessors  of  His  work  of  judgment.  He,  the 
 Christian  conqueror,  shall  rule  them  'zvith  a  rod  of  iron... 
 even  as  I  also  have  received  of  my  Father. 
 
 There  is  yet  another  and  to  our  ear  a  sweeter  pro- 
 mise. And^  I  will  give  him  the  morning  star.  In  the 
 last  chapter  of  the  Book  we  read,  /  Jesus  am  the  root 
 and  offspring  of  David,  and  the  bright  and  morning  star\ 
 The  words  before  us  are  therefore,  /  will  give  myself 
 to  him.     But  myself  especially  in  one  character  ;  as  the 
 
 ^  Psalm  ii.  7,  8,  9.  '  i  Cor.  vi.  2.  ^  Psalm  xlix.  14. 
 
 *  Rev.  XX.  4.  ^  I  Thess.  iv.  14.         ^  Verse  28. 
 
 ^  Rev.  xxii.  16. 
 
 V.  R.  ? 
 
mm 
 
 66  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 light  of  life  ;  as  the  light  which  springs  up  in  the  morn- 
 ing after  a  long  night  of  gloom  and  storm  ;  as  the  joy 
 and  the  comfort  of  the  weary  watcher,  the  compensation 
 for  long  waiting,  and  the  prize  of  long  struggling.  It 
 is  not  wholly  unlike  the  words  of  St  Peter  with  refer- 
 ence to  the  prophetic  word  ;  Wkej^eimto  ye  do  well  if 
 ye  give  heed,  as  to  a  lamp  giving  light  in  a  murky  place, 
 until  day  dazvn  and  the  day-stai"  a7'ise  in  yoitr  hearts^. 
 The  promise  is,  that  that  day  shall  dawn,  that  that  day- 
 star  shall  at  last  rise  upon  our  hearts.  Even  in  this 
 life,  if  we  struggle  on  in  faith  and  patience,  with  an 
 assured  and  assuring  hope ;  hereafter,  in  the  day  of 
 Christ's  appearing,  with  perfect  joy  and  full  salvation. 
 
 Let'^  him  that  hath  an  ear  Jiear  zvhat  the  Spirit  saith  to 
 the  congregatiojis, 
 
 ^  Our  subject  for  to-night  has  been  long  and  various  : 
 let  us  not  separate  without  an  earnest  effort  to  fix  in 
 our  hearts  two  or  three  at  least  of  its  special  lessons  for 
 ourselves. 
 
 I.  Happy  is  he  of  whom  it  can  be  said  by  the 
 Searcher  of  hearts,  that  his  latest  works  are  more 
 than  his  earliest.  Let  each  ask  himself.  Can  this  be 
 said  of  me }  However  far  I  may  now  be  from  Chris- 
 tian perfection,  or  even  from  a  Christian  maturity,  yet 
 can  I  hope  that  I  am  getting  forward,  that  I  am,  in 
 the  highest  sense  of  all,  improving }  Does  the  word 
 of  Christ  come  to  me  with  a  little  more  of  power  and 
 of  reality  than  it  once  did }  Is  my  attention  more 
 firmly  fixed  in  reading  or  listening  to  it  t  Have  I  more 
 interest  in  the  things  of  God  and  Christ  and  the  soul } 
 Then  again.  Am  I  a  little  more  successful  in  the  struggle 
 
 1  2  Pet.  i.  iQ.  ^  Verse  20. 
 
v.]  Chap.  II.    1 8 — 29.  6^ 
 
 with  my  sins,  with  my  besetting  sin  most  of  all  ?  Am 
 I  a  little  less  selfish,  or  a  little  less  proud,  or  a  little 
 less  irritable,  or  a  little  less  passionate,  or  a  little  less 
 perverse,  than  I  once  was  ?  Is  my  heart,  with  its  affec- 
 tions and  lusts ^  at  all  more  under  my  control  ?  Is 
 my  life  at  all  more  useful,  more  diligent,  more  self- 
 denying,  in  things  small  or  great,  than  once  it  was  ? 
 O  I  need  not  enumerate  all  these  particulars :  which 
 of  us  does  not  know  whether  the  life  of  his  soul  is 
 healthy  or  sickly^  improving,  standing  still,  or  going 
 backward  ?  Then  carry  the  question  home  :  Can  Christ 
 say  of  me,  that  my  last  works  are  more  than  the  first  ? 
 
 2.     A    second    point   which    forces    itself  upon    our 
 
 notice  in  this  passage  is  the  special  responsibilities   of 
 
 women    in   reference  to   the  character  of  the  Christian 
 
 body  in   any   particular  place  ;    the   power  which  they 
 
 possess,  for  good  or  else  for  evil,  in  giving  the  tone  to 
 
 society,  and  practically  settling  the  amount  of  influence 
 
 which  religion  shall  have  upon  the  world  in  which  they 
 
 move.     I  speak  not  here  of  such  abominations  as  those 
 
 to  which  Thyatira  was  a  victim.     Such  things  have  been 
 
 in  later  days,  in  courts  and  in  private  houses,  even  in 
 
 our  own  land  :  but,  God  be  praised,  the  progress  of  right 
 
 feeling,  and  the  example  of  rulers,  has  at  least  made 
 
 them  hide  themselves,  and  where  they  now  exist,  they 
 
 exist  not  by  sufferance  but  by  stealth,  luring  the  unwary 
 
 secretly,  or  masking  themselves  under  hypocrisy.     But 
 
 none  the  less  on  that  account  is  the  warning  one  for 
 
 all  times,  that  upon  women  rests  in  large  measure  the 
 
 responsibility  of  the  life  and  conduct  of  individuals  and 
 
 of  communities  with  reference  to  religion  and  the  Gospel. 
 
 1  Gal.  V.  24.  ^  3  John  1. 
 
 5—2 
 
msmmmmmmm 
 
 68  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 If  they  are  ashamed  of  Christ ;  if  they  do  not  speak 
 plainly  in  defence  of  right  and  good  ;  if  they  listen  com- 
 placently to  that  worldly  language  which  sets  God  aside, 
 or  to  that  dangerous  trifling  which,  half  in  pretence  and 
 half  in  reality,  makes  a  mock  of  sin^ ;  more  than  this,  if 
 they  do  not  take  care  to  be  themselves  both  exemplary 
 in  conduct,  and  thoroughly  devout  in  feeling  and  ob- 
 servance ;  they  may  depend  upon  it  that,  thus  far  at 
 least,  their  influence  over  the  world  is  all  but  omni- 
 potent ;  they  have  the  control  of  its  society,  if  not  of 
 its  business  or  of  its  politics,  and  even  as  they  are,  in 
 tone,  principle,  and  feeling,  such  in  these  respects,  and 
 not  higher  or  better,  will  the  world  of  men  be. 
 
 3.  A  third  consideration  solemnly  presses  itself; 
 namely,  the  constant  side-growth  of  carelessness  wher- 
 ever the  true  Gospel  of  the  grace  of  God  is  preached 
 and  accepted  :  how  the  very  angel  of  the  church,  in 
 other  respects  faithful  and  accepted,  may  be  letting  alone 
 a  Jezebel  by  his  side  ;  how,  in  other  words,  there  may  be 
 a  root  of  bitterness  springing  tip  to  troiible^  a  congregation 
 or  to  defile  a  soul,  not  only  in  spite  of,  but  even  out  of 
 and  because  of  the  glorious  Gospel  which  tells  man  of  a 
 free  forgiveness.  And  not  to  dwell  again  upon  a  topic 
 presented  for  consideration  last  Sunday,  let  us  add  now 
 one  word  upon  what  I  may  call  the  retaliations  of  sin ; 
 how  soon  the  bed  of  self-indulgence  becomes  the  bed  of 
 suffering,  and  one  who  has  sought  it  in  wantonness  may 
 have  to  keep  it  in  punishment.  Yes,  indeed,  a  volume 
 might  be  written,  luritten  within  and  without,  and  written 
 in  burning  words  oi  lamentation  ajtd  mourni7ig  and  woe^ , 
 upon  the  one  familiar  yet  awful  sentence,  Be  stire  your 
 
 1  Prov.  xiv.  9.  2  Heb.  xii.  15.  ^  Ezek.  ii.  10. 
 
v.]  Chap.  II.    1 8 — 29.  69 
 
 sin  zvill  find  y 021  oiit^.  You  cannct  go  one  step  aside 
 from  perfect  uprightness  or  perfect  purity,  without  some 
 real  and  probably  perceptible  consequence  of  suffering. 
 And  this — for  so  the  words  on  which  I  am  commenting 
 warn  us — not  so  much  in  the  form  of  a  punishment 
 appended  or  afiixed  to  sin  by  God  the  Judge  of  all,  but 
 rather  in  the  form  of  a  punishment  inflicted  by  the 
 sin  itself;  a  punishment  which  is  itself  the  very  sin 
 developed  ;  that  very  thing  in  its  full-blown  maturity 
 which  looked  so  attractive  in  the  germ  and  bud.  Every 
 inordinate  affection,  every  vile  imagination,  every  act  oi 
 unfaithful,  unrighteous,  or  dishonest  stewardship,  has  in 
 its  hand,  so  to  speak,  the  lash  which  is  to  scourge  it, 
 and  we  ourselves  are  made,  in  God's  fearful  yet  most 
 just  economy,  the  executioners  of  our  own  vengeance, 
 BeJiold,  I  zvill  cast  her  into  a  bed,  and  them  that  commit 
 adnltery  with  Jier  into  great  tribzdation,  except  they  repent 
 of  her  deeds. 
 
 4.  And  thus,  fourthly,  we  come  back  to  the  subject 
 of  this  morning  and  of  this  whole  season,  the  duty  and 
 necessity  and  healing  mercy  of  repentance.  Except  they 
 repent.  Then,  if  they  repent,  punishment  will  hold  its 
 hand.  And  to  repent  is  to  be  happy  again  ;  to  be  at 
 one  with  God  who  is  our  happiness ;  to  be  at  home 
 again  after  long  exile  ;  to  be  at  rest  again  after  sore  toss- 
 ings.  Repentance  is  not  a  terror  :  when  rightly  under- 
 stood, it  is  a  cup  of  blessing.  And  he  who  asks  for  it 
 shall  have.  But  if  we  have  not,  if,  in  other  words,  we 
 ask  not,  then  Ave  frustrate  all  God's  designs  of  good 
 towards  us.  If  He  has  to  say  of  any  one  of  us,  old  or 
 young,  rich  or  poor,  in  this  congregation,  /  gave  Jiim 
 
 ^  Numb,  xxxii,  23. 
 
mmmmmmmmamm 
 
 70  Revelation.   "  [lect. 
 
 space ^  I  gave  he7'  space,  to  repent,  and  he  repented  not,  she 
 repented  not ;  then  indeed  there  is  no  ministry  to  be 
 looked  for  save  the  ministry  of  punishment \  that  one 
 ministry  which  has  in  it  only  gloom,  only  misery,  because 
 we  have  despised  mercy  and  would  not  have  the  love  of 
 the  Lordl 
 
 5.  Again,  and  very  briefly,  observe,  in  this  respect 
 also,  the  tenderness  of  Christ;  that  to  those  who  will 
 carry  His  yoke",  to  those  who  desire  to  submit  them- 
 selves to  His  discipline.  He  makes  it  very  gentle  ;  He  is 
 not  always  adding  to  it ;  He  is  not  either  constantly  or 
 at  intervals,  throwing  upon  the  galled  neck  a  little  more, 
 and  yet  a  little  more,  of  weight  and  of  pressure,  but  on 
 the  contrary  utters  this  promise  in  the  words  before  us, 
 Upon  yon  I  zvill  put  none  other  burden :  only,  that 
 which  ye  have  already,  hold  fast  till  I  come.  Upon  the 
 servants  of  sin,  the  willing  captives  of  evil,  those  who  are 
 determined  to  hold  to  that  which  they  know  will  be  their 
 ruin,  upon  them  He  does  impose  new  burdens  :  He  makes 
 sin  very  oppressive,  at  times  very  irksome,  sickening  in 
 its  after-taste  if  not  at  the  moment^:  upon  them  He  lays 
 an  ever  tightening  and  grov/ing  thraldom,  by  which  the 
 sinner  is  made  to  testify  against  himself  that,  if  the  ways 
 of  God  are  ways  of  pleasantness^,  the  path  of  sin  is  a  path 
 of  thorns  and  snares,  of  remorse  and  wretchedness.  But 
 upon  those  who  strive  to  walk  in  His  ways,  upon  those 
 who  do  not  desire  to  taste  forbidden  knowledge  or  be- 
 come acquainted  by  experience  with  the  depths  of  Satan, 
 upon  those  who  know  their  own  weakness  and  trust  only 
 in  their  Saviour's  strength,  upon  them  He  will  lay  no 
 
 1  Heb.  X.  26,  27.  2  i?i-ov.  i.  29,  30.  ^  Matt.  xi.  29. 
 
 *  Micah  vi.  13.  s  prov.  iii.  17. 
 
v.]  Chap.  II.   1 8 — 29.  71 
 
 new,  no  other  burden  :  only  let  them  patiently  carry  that 
 which  they  have  already  carried,  and  keep  that  narrow 
 path  in  which  they  have  already  walked,  and  they  shall 
 find  it  every  day  easier  and  more  tolerable ;  one  day 
 shall  teach  another,  and  one  night  testify  to  another^; 
 till  at  length  He  himself  shall  come,  and  then  the  eter- 
 nal day  dawns,  and  the  day-star  arises  finally  upon  their 
 hearts. 
 
 6.  Finally,  let  them  know  that  the  service  of  Christ 
 is  a  service  not  of  weakness,  not  of  cowardice,  but  of 
 strength  and  power.  To  Jiini  that  overcometh  will  I  give 
 power  over  the  nations.  Already  we  see  this  in  some 
 degree  verified.  Knowledge,  they  say,  is  power :  cer- 
 tainly faith  is  power,  and  certainly  holiness  is  power. 
 Not  only  it  shall  be.  Do  not  read  the  promise  before 
 us  as  though  it  were  altogether  future.  There  is  a  fulfil- 
 ment of  it  even  now.  If  ye  have  faith  but  as  a  grain  of 
 niustard  seed'\  ye  shall  be  strong  even  to  remove  moun- 
 tains. If  you  cherish  holiness,  which  is,  in  other  words, 
 a  spirit  of  self-dedication,  of  self-consecration  to  God,  in 
 your  hearts  ever  so  imperfectly,  you  will  find  that  it  will 
 make  you  strong,  even  in  this  life,  in  the  same  degree  in 
 which  it  is  itself  yours.  Herod  feared  John,  knowing  that 
 he  was  a  just  man  and  an  holy,  and  observed  hint".  It  is 
 so  still.  Those  who  do  not  love  holiness,  in  their  hearts 
 fear  it.  Conscience  bears  it  witness.  In  the  long  run, 
 like  truth  its  sister,  it  is  great  and  shall  prevail.  Like 
 truth,  it  is  the  thing  which  is  ;  and  it  shall  stand  when 
 all  that  is  not,  all  that  is  a  lie,  all  idols,  and  all  ungodli- 
 ness, shall  have  passed  back  into  nothingness.  As  the 
 vessels  of  a  potter  shall  all  these  be  broken  to  shivers, 
 
 1  Psalm  xix.  2.  ^  Luke  xvii.  6.  ^  Mark  vi.  20. 
 
Hi 
 
 72  Revelatio7z,  [lect.  v. 
 
 and  nothing  shall  be  left  in  that  day  save  God,  and  God's 
 truth,  and  God's  servants.  May  He  grant  that  we  in 
 that  day  be  amongst  the  true,  the  real,  and  the  imperish- 
 able, having  first  turned  (if  it  might  be  so)  some  others 
 to  righteousness^  by  the  faintly  reflected  lustre  of  the 
 bright  and  morning  star ! 
 
 ^  Dan.  xii.  5. 
 
 First  Sunday  in  Lent,. 
 Febrtiaiy  17,  i86r. 
 
LECTURE   VI. 
 
 Revelation  hi.  i,  2. 
 
 TJlou  hast  a  name  that  thoii  livest,  and  art  dead.  Be 
 watchful,  and  strengthen  the  things  which  remain, 
 that  are  ready  to  die. 
 
 Behold  tJierefore,  St  Paul  says,  the  goodness  andseve^'ity 
 of  God^.  I  know  not  where  we  could  find  that  combi- 
 nation of  attributes  more  remarkably  exemplified  than 
 In  the  Epistle,  which  comes  before  us  this  evening,  to 
 the  church  In  Sardis. 
 
 It  would  be  beside  the  mark  of  our  present  purpose 
 to  say  anything  of  the  history  of  Sardis.  It  was  a  cele- 
 brated and  ancient  city.  The  names  of  Croesus,  of 
 Cyrus,  and  of  Alexander,  are  all  connected  with  it. 
 Long  sieges  and  sudden  surprises  ;  demolitions  by  fire 
 or  earthquake  often  repeated,  and  reconstructions  after 
 each ;  a  condition  of  importance  under  various  empires, 
 for  almost  twenty  centuries,  and  at  last  a  reduction  to  a 
 mere  village  of  paltry  huts  among  scattered  ruins ;  such 
 has  been  and  such  is  Sardis,  viewed  apart  from  the 
 Gospel  by  the  light  of  common  history.     In  this  aspect 
 
 ^  Rom.  xi.  2 '2. 
 
74  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 it  Is  a  place  almost  without  a  moral,  except  that  which 
 can  be  read  In  all  ruins  and  In  all  vicissitudes.  But 
 Sardls  has  a  moral  all  its  own,  when  we  read  It  not  in 
 the  light  of  common  history  but  in  the  light  of  Holy 
 Scripture  and  of  the  words  of  the  risen  and  ascended 
 Lord. 
 
 And^  to  the  angel  of  the  congregation  in  Sardis  zvrite. 
 We  know  not  when  or  by  whose  ministry  or  by  what 
 special  providence  the  Christian  community  was  founded 
 in  this  city ;  nor  are  we  acquainted,  I  believe,  with  the 
 names  of  any  of  its  first  pastors.  These  things  are  In- 
 teresting when  they  occur.  Ephesus,  Smyrna,  and  even 
 Thyatira,  have,  as  we  have  seen,  some  link  of  connection, 
 slighter  or  stronger,  with  other  records  of  the  Christian 
 history.  But  in  Sardls  we  are  left  with  the  interest  of  the 
 address  itself;  one  of  the  keenest  and  most  thrilling 
 which  ever  proceeded  out  of  the  mouth  of  Christ. 
 
 These  things  saith  He  who  hath  tJie  seveJi  Spirits  of 
 God.  The  same  expression  occurs  In  the  ist  chapter. 
 Grace  be  unto  yon  and  peace  fvm  Him  which  is  and  zuJiich 
 was  and  which  is  to  come,  and  from  the  seven  Spirits  which 
 are  before  His  throne,  and  from  Jesns  Christ  I  When  the 
 holy  and  blessed  Spirit  of  God  is  thus  described  in  a 
 sevenfold  character,  it  is  designed,  no  doubt,  to  express 
 His  diffusion  (as  we  call  it)  through  the  universal  Church; 
 the  manifold  gifts  and  graces  by  which  He  pervades  all 
 the  congregations  of  Christ's  people  everywhere.  And 
 here  we  are  reminded  that,  wherever  the  Holy  Spirit  acts. 
 He  acts  as  the  Spirit  of  Jesus;  it  Is  He  who  has  the 
 seven  Spirits  of  God:  even  as  the  Holy  Spirit  Is  described 
 in  a  well-known  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  as 
 
 1  Verse  i.  ^  Rev.  i.  4. 
 
VI.]  Chap.  III.    I — 6.  75 
 
 the  Spirit  of  Christ,  no  less  than  as  the  Spirit  of  Him 
 that  raised  tip  Jesus  from  the  dead'^ ;  and  even  as  our 
 Lord  Himself  says  in  His  last  discourse  with  the  disciples, 
 When  the  Comforter  is  come,  zvhom  I  zvill  send  tnito  yon 
 from  the  Father,  even  the  Spirit  of  truth,  which  proceedeth 
 from  the  Father,  He  shall  testify  of  me  '^. 
 
 And  the  seven  stars.  Former  remarks  have  familiar- 
 ised us  with  this  expression.  The  seven  stars  are  the 
 angels  of  the  seven  cJiurches^ ;  and  Christ,  the  Lord  of  the 
 churches,  holds  them  all  in  His  hand.  It  is  only  by  His 
 blessing  and  under  His  direction  that  any  earthly  ministry 
 can  be  made  efficient.  The  pastors  of  the  congregation 
 are  in  the  hand  of  Christ :  it  may  be  for  their  encourage- 
 ment to  remember  this,  or  it  may  be  for  their  warning  : 
 but  they  are  connected  with  Him  by  their  office,  and 
 woe  is  unto  them  if  in  His  hand  they  either  sleep  or  sin! 
 
 /  knozu  thy  works.  Yes,  that  is  so  in  every  case ; 
 from  Him  who  searches  the  heart  nothing  can  be  con- 
 cealed :  what  does  He  see  in  this  instance  1  That  thou 
 hast  a  name  that  thou  livest,  and  art  dead.  Surely  there 
 never  was  a  more  terrible  word  than  that.  A  name  to 
 live,  and  yet  all  the  while  dead!  The  nominal  condition, 
 we  should  all  say,  aggravates  the  actual.  Better  be  dead, 
 and  know  it,  and  wear  no  disguise,  and  practise  no 
 hypocrisy,  than  clothe  the  ghastly  skeleton  with  the 
 semblance  of  vitality,  and  be  dead  indeed  while  in  name 
 thou  livest.  Alas  that  it  should  be  needful  for  us  to 
 speak  of  such  possibilities !  But  it  is  needful.  We  may 
 fear  that  there  are  many  cases,  though  veiled  from  hu- 
 man eyes,  in  which  Christ  the  Judge  of  all  sees  death  in 
 life. 
 
 ^  Rom.  viii.  9,  ii.  ^  John  xv.  26.  ^  Rev.  i.  20. 
 
■ 
 
 76  Revelatio72.  [lect. 
 
 I  would  earnestly  invite  any  persons  here  present  who 
 think  that  the  description  may  perhaps  be  true  of  them, 
 not  to  turn  away  from  it.  And  that  for  many  reasons.  For 
 truth's  sake,  for  honesty's  sake,  to  avoid  self-deception, 
 to  avoid  a  fatal  surprise  when  recovery  and  amendment 
 will  be  names  unknown.  But  to-night,  most  of  all  for 
 another  reason ;  because  the  words  of  Christ  which  follow 
 are  so  wonderfully  tender  even  to  them.  Grave  and  seri- 
 ous even  beyond  other  words  of  His ;  yet  still  so  ten- 
 der ;  tender  in  their  tone,  but  tender  also  in  the  concern 
 which  they  express  and  in  the  hope  which  they  foster. 
 
 Thou,  who  hast  a  name  to  live,  and  art  in  deed 
 all  the  while  dead,  be^  watchful;  become  wakefiil'is  the 
 exact  expression ;  so  precisely  that  of  St  Paul  in  his 
 Epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  Awake  thou  that  sleepest, 
 and  arise  from  the  dead,  and  Christ  shall  give  thee 
 light^.  Death,  in  this  life,  is  but  sleep.  We  do  not 
 dare  to  shut  our  ears  against  some  awful  words  of  Holy 
 Scripture  which  speak  of  cases  in  which  even  here 
 below  a  conscience  is  actually  seared,  and  there  is  no 
 such  thing  as  a  renewing  again  imto  repentance^ .  But 
 as  a  general  rule  the  words  are  true  of  spiritual  matters 
 as  well  as  of  temporal,  While  there  is  life  there  is 
 hope.  Become  wakeful  is  Christ's  call  even  to  the  dead 
 soul ;  yes,  even  (which  is  still  more  remarkable)  to  the 
 nominally  alive  but  really  dead  soul ;  arid  sti^engtlien 
 the  things  remaining,  zvhich  zvere  about  to  die ;  the  tense 
 is  remarkable ;  zuhich  were  going  to  die  if  I  had  not  come 
 and  spoken  to  thee :  for  I  have  not  found  thy  works 
 perfect,  or  more  exactly,  fulfilled  or  completed,  before 
 my    God.      Death  was  in  progress  here ;    a  process    as 
 
 ^  Verse  1.  ^  Eph.  v.  14.  '  Heb.  vi.  4,  6. 
 
VI, 
 
 ]  •  Chap.  III.    I — 6.  'J'] 
 
 it  were  of  spiritual  mortification  was  going  on  in  the 
 soul ;  some  parts  of  it  were  already  dead,  and  the 
 numbness  of  death  was  creeping  gradually  onward  and 
 upward  over  the  rest :  soon  it  would  be  too  late  for 
 the  will  to  arrest  the  fatal  work;  but  at  this  moment, 
 Christ  calling,  and  Christ  quickening,  and  Christ 
 enabling,  it  may  be  done.  Strengthen  the  things  zvJiicIi 
 remain :  by  a  vigorous  and  well-directed  effort  restore 
 to  firmness  the  relaxing  and  decaying  parts  of  thy 
 spiritual  being :  and  needful  is  it,  for  I  have  not  found 
 thy  works  completed^  fully  done,  in  weight  and  tale  and 
 measure,  before  my  God. 
 
 Whose  works  indeed  are  so  ?  Who  has  not  need 
 to  say,  /  am  a7i  nnprofitalile  servant,  not  only  for  the 
 reason  given  in  the  Gospel,  because  I  have  done  at  best 
 that  only  zvhich  was  my  duty  to  do^,  but  also,  and  far 
 more,  because  I  have  done  my  duty  scantily,  imper- 
 fectly, intermittently,  if  not  grudgingly  ?  O  we  see 
 that  God  does  examine  and  take  account  of  our  works ; 
 and  that  it  is  reason  enough  for  a  solemn  call  to  repent- 
 ance, even  that  those  works  were  not  fdfilled  as  well 
 as  attempted  ! 
 
 ■Remember'^  then  hozv  thou  hast  received  and  didst  hear  ; 
 call  to  mind  the  nature  of  that  deposit  of  truth  which 
 has  been  left  with  thee,  and  of  that  instruction  which 
 Apostles  and  Evangelists  gave  thee  ;  and  keep  it ;  hold  it 
 fast ;  guard  well  and  watchfully  what  thou  hast  been 
 taught ;  and  repent.  If  then  thou  shalt  not  have  been 
 azuake — it  is  the  same  word  used  in  the  2nd  verse,  Become 
 awake~\i  then,  when  a  certain  time  shall  arrive,  thou 
 art  found  not  to  have  kept  awake,  /  will  come,  more 
 
 1  Luke  xvii.  lo.  2  y^yse  3. 
 
yS  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 exactly  /  shall  have  come,  my  arrival  will  be  an  accom- 
 plished fact,  and  thoic  shall  not  know  zuhat  Jionr  I  will 
 come  upon  thee ;  or  more  precisely,  diiring  what  sort  of 
 hour  I  shall  have  come  upon  thee:  not  only  the  very  hour 
 of  my  arrival,  but  even  the  sort  of  hour,  shall  be  found 
 to  have  been  unknown  to  thee  ;  thou  shalt  be  seen  to 
 have  had  no  conception  of  the  time  of  day  or  night 
 fixed  for  my  coming.  The  figure  is  familiar  to  us  in 
 the  Gospels  and  Epistles.  In  the  24th  chapter  of  St 
 Matthew's  Gospel  \  in  the  12th  chapter  of  St  Luke's 
 Gospel'"^,  in  the  5th  chapter  of  the  1st  Epistle  to 
 the  Thessalonians^  in  the  3rd  chapter  of  the  2nd  Epistle 
 of  St  Peter*,  the  same  comparison  is  used  to  denote 
 the  suddenness  of  Christ's  second  coming,  and  the  fearful 
 surprise  of  those  to  whom  He  comes.  Behold,  we  read 
 in  the  i6th  chapter  of  this  Book,  /  come  as  a  thiep. 
 In  one  of  the  passages  just  mentioned  it  is  said,  as  it  is 
 here  implied,  that  it  is  only  with  regard  to  the  unprepared, 
 the  unguarded,  the  sleeping  portion  of  the  Church  that 
 the  figure  employed  will  be  appropriate.  But  ye,  brethre?i, 
 St  Paul  says  to  the  Thessalonians,  are  not  in  darkness, 
 that  that  day  should  overtake y oil  as  a  thief  ^.  Sudden  it 
 will  be,  but  to  those  who  are  watching  for  it  it  will  not 
 be  a  surprise. 
 
 Buf  thoiL  hast  a  fezv  names  in  Sardis,  ivho  defiled  not 
 their  garments.  Names  are  used  for  persons :  the  relative 
 employed  is  not  zvhich  but  who.  Elsewhere  the  few 
 things  were  against ;  it  is  said  to  Pergamos,  I  have  a  fezv 
 things  against  tJiee^ :  here  the  many  things  are  against, 
 
 ^  Matt.  xxiv.  43.  2  Luke  xii.  39.  ^  r  Thess.  v.  1. 
 
 ^  2  Pet.  iii.  10.  ^  Rev.  xvi.  15.  ^  i  Thess.  v.  4. 
 
 ^  Verse  4.  ^  Rev.  ii.  14. 
 
VI 
 
 ,]  Chap.  III.    I — 6.  79 
 
 and  the  few  things  for.  In  Sardis  there  were  a  i^sY,  and 
 only  a  few,  who  had  not  lost  the  purity  of  their  baptismal 
 dress.  We  need  not  ask  how.  St  James  tells  us  of  a 
 defilement  arising  from  the  world.  Pure  rcligioii  and 
 tmdefiled  before  God  and  the  Father  is  this. .  .to  keep  himself 
 tmspotted  from  the  world^.  St  Jude  tells  us  of  a  defile- 
 ment arising  from  the  flesh.  Hating  even  the  garment 
 spotted  by  the  jiesh^.  We  can  scarcely  doubt  that  the 
 latter  was  here,  as  elsewhere,  as  in  all  times,  the  chief 
 defiler.  The  inhabitants  of  Sardis,  we  are  told,  bore  an 
 ill  repnte  among  the  ancients  for  their  volnptnons  habits  of 
 life.  Doubtless  it  was  an  ever-recurring  snare  to  the 
 Christians  who  lived  amongst  them.  So  insidious  are 
 the  lusts  of  the  flesh  ;  so  mingled  with  amiable  impulses  ; 
 so  easily  excused  as  pardonable  weaknesses  ;  so  per- 
 petually with  us,  carried  about  in  our  very  selves,  not 
 excluded  even  when  the  world  is  shut  out,  even  when 
 every  living  being  is  removed  from  us ;  carried  into 
 deserts  with  the  hermit,  carried  into  monasteries  with  the 
 recluse ;  that  we  wonder  rather,  and  admire  the  g-race  of 
 God,  if  there  be  a  few  names  undefiled  in  Sardis,  than  if 
 many  there  be  found  corrupt ;  and  our  very  hearts  fail 
 us  when  we  think  of  the  overwhelming  difficulties  through 
 which  the  Christian  soldier  has  to  fight  his  way,  if  there 
 be  indeed  any  truth  in  the  divine  saying,  Blessed  are  the 
 pure  iri  heart :  for  they,  and  as  it  is  clearly  intended,  they 
 only,  shall  see  God^. 
 
 And  they  shall  walk  ivith  me  in  white  garments  ; 
 beeause  they  are  zvortJiy.  He^  that  eonquereth,  even  he 
 shall  elothe  Jdmself  in  zvhite  garments.     Yes,  such  is  the 
 
 ^  James  i.  ^y.  ^  Jude  23.  ^  Matt.  v.  8. 
 
 ^  Verse  r^. 
 
So  Revelation,  [ 
 
 LECT. 
 
 argument  which  must  prevail  with  us,  if  any  can,  for  not 
 defihng  our  garments :  the  promise  that,  if  only  we  can 
 bear  the  fiery  trial  for  a  little  while,  through  the  Saviour's 
 help,  grace,  and  intercession,  we  shall  then  be  allowed  to 
 follow  Him  whithersoever  He  goetJi^,  to  walk  about  with 
 Him  (such  is  the  figure)  in  the  freedom  of  the  Paradise 
 above,  clothed,  even  like  Him,  in  raiment  white  as  the 
 light'^.  To  those  whose  hearts  are  defiled  already  with 
 sin  this  may  seem  but  a  poor  prospect :  they  who  have 
 once  tasted  of  the  poisoned  cup  can  scarcely  relish  after- 
 wards the  pure  river  of  the  water  of  life^ :  they  had 
 rather  hear  of  some  Mahometan  paradise,  in  which,  after 
 a  probationary  abstinence  below,  they  might  revel  ever- 
 more in  the  gratifications  of  sense.  But  for  those /tw  in 
 Sardis  who  have  been  enabled  thus  far  to  keep  them- 
 selves pure,  it  is  indeed  a  joy  above  other  joys  to  look 
 forward  to  a  time  when  holiness,  instead  of  a  constant 
 and  an  unequal  struggle,  shall  have  been  made  their 
 second  nature.  And  to  those  also,  a  larger  number 
 it  may  be  amongst  us,  who  have  not  been  quite 
 thus  far  blameless  ;  to  those  who  have  felt  the  force 
 of  temptation,  and  have  suft'ered  it  to  come  near  to 
 them,  and  have  not  wholly  kept  themselves  from  the 
 accursed  thing  but  who  have  also  deeply  repented, 
 and  have  borne  the  scorching  fire  of  remorse  and  pun- 
 ishment, and  know  what  sin  is  in  its  vindictiveness 
 towards  those  who  would  renounce  and  escape  from 
 it ;  to  these  also  there  will  surely  be  a  sweet  sound 
 in  the  promise  here  made  to  him  that  conquereth ; 
 not  to  him  only  who  has  kept  himself  pure,  but  to 
 hijn    also  who  through   pain  and   shame    and   anguish 
 
 ^  Rev.  xiv.  4.  2  Matt.  xvii.  2.  ^  Rev.  xxii.  i. 
 
VI 
 
 ,]  Chap.  III.   I — 6. 
 
 has  been  brought  safe  at  last  into  the  victory  wherewith 
 Christ  crowns  His  soldiers. 
 
 And  I  will  not  blot  out  Ids  name  out  of  the  roll  of  life, 
 that  list  of  the  saved,  of  which  we  hear  so  much  in  the 
 later  and  latest  chapters  of  this  Revelation  of  St  John^ ; 
 his  name  shall  not  be  erased  from  the  record  of  the 
 citizens  of  the  heavenly  city  ;  and  I  ivill  acknozvledge  his 
 name  before  my  Father  and  before  His  angels.  The  repre- 
 sentation is,  that  there  are  those  whose  names  will  be 
 erased  from  the  book  of  life.  It  is  the  same  distinction 
 which  is  drawn  in  the  Parable  of  the  Marriage  Feast, 
 between  the  guests  who  sit  down  at  the  banquet,  and  the 
 guests  whom,  the  King,  when  he  comes  in,  permits  to 
 remain  at  it  as  having  on  a  wedding  garment'^.  Perhaps 
 we  may  say  with  Scriptural  truth  that  the  names  of  all  of 
 us  are  entered  at  Baptism  as  citizens  of  the  heavenly 
 city,  but  that  not  all  will  be  found  there  when  the  books 
 are  opened  in  the  judgment.  A  process  of  erasure  is 
 ever  going  on,  beside  the  process  of  entering  :  when  the 
 soul  has  finally  taken  its  choice  for  evil,  when  Christ  is 
 utterly  denied  on  earth  and  trodden  underfoot,  when  the 
 defilement  of  sin  has  become  inveterate  and  indelible, 
 then  the  pen  is  drawn  through  the  guilty  name,  then  the 
 inverted  style  smears  the  wax  over  the  unworthy 
 characters,  and  when  the  owner  of  that  name  applies 
 afterwards  for  admittance,  the  answer  is,  1  knoiv  thee  not: 
 depart  hence,  thou  zvilling  zvorker  and  lover  of  iniquity"" ! 
 
 On  the  other  hand,  there  are  those  whose  names  will 
 not  be  erased,  but  confessed  openly  before  God  and  the 
 holy  Angels  as  true  citizens  because  they  have  been  first 
 
 1  Rev.  xiii.  8.    xx.  12.    xxi.  27.     xxii.  19.         "  Matt.  xxii.  10,  11,  12. 
 2  Matt.  xxY.  12.     Luke  xiii.  27. 
 
Si  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 true  combatants.  He  that  conqiiereth.  Not  he  who  has 
 been  without  sin.  Not  he  who  has  never  fallen.  Not  he 
 who  has  been  exempted  by  a  happy  disposition  from  the 
 worst  trials  and  temptations  of  a  fallen  nature.  No, 
 none  of  these.  Christ  came  not  to  call  the  righteous.  They 
 that  be  whole  need  not  a  physician^.  Not  these  :  but  they 
 rather  who  have  had  a  hard  fight  for  it  with  self  and 
 sin;  with  world  and  flesh  and  devil,  separately  now,  and 
 now  combined;  who  fell  often,  but  ever  rose  again; 
 were  often  defeated,  but  never  vanquished  ;  were  often 
 struck  down,  but  only  upon  their  knees,  and  by  the  help 
 of  prayer  and  faith  and  patience  were  made  conquerors 
 at  last  through  the  grace  of  Him  that  loved  them.  These, 
 having  confessed  Christ  below,  shall  be  confessed  by  Him 
 as  His  before  His  Father  and  before  His  angels. 
 
 Lef'  him  that  hath  an  ear  hear  what  the  Spirit  saith  to 
 the  congregations. 
 
 The  subject  thus  unfolded  has  carried  Avith  it,  point 
 by  point,  its  application.  My  last  words  for  this  evening 
 will  revert  to  the  fragment  read  as  the  text.  Thou  hast  a 
 name  that  thon  livest,  and  art  dead.  Yet  thou,  even  thou, 
 be  watchful,  and  strengthen  the  things  which  re77tain,  that 
 are  ready  to  die ;  so  iniquity  shall  not  be  thy  ruin^. 
 
 I  suppose,  if  there  is  a  case  which  we  should  call 
 hopeless,  a  case  which  we  shrink  from  in  others  with 
 dislike  and  should  deprecate  in  ourselves  with  trembling, 
 it  is  the  condition  here  described ;  that  of  one  who  has  a 
 name  to  live,  and  is  dead.  There  is  a  hoUowness  about 
 it  and  a  practical  disguise,  if  not  a  pretence  and  a 
 hypocrisy,  which  is  as  abhorrent  to  our  natural  instincts, 
 when  we  view  it  calmly,  as  to  God's  righteous  judgment. 
 
 ^  Matt.  ix.  12,  13.  ^  Versed.  ^  Ezek.  xviii.  30. 
 
VI.]  Chap.  III.    I — 6.  8 
 
 J 
 
 It  is  often  the  one  boast  of  a  life,  sometimes  it  is  the  one 
 trust  of  a  deathbed,  Thank  God,  I  am  no  hypocrite :  no 
 one  can  say  of  me  that  I  ever  professed  reHgion.  Out 
 of  the  very  absence  of  a  name  to  live  is  gathered  a 
 peradventure  that  we  may  not  be  dead.  And  wretched 
 and  miserable  as  it  must  be  to  a  Christian  friend  or 
 pastor  to  listen  to  the  expression  of  so  baseless  a  hope, 
 we  yet  cannot  deny  that  it  was  better  to  have  been  true 
 to  oneself  than  untrue,  better  not  to  have  passed  oneself 
 off  upon  others  as  righteous  when  we  were  not  so,  than  to 
 have  had  a  name  to  live  and  yet  to  have  been  all  the 
 while  dead. 
 
 And  yet  there  may  be  cases  in  which,  almost  with  no 
 word  or  wish  of  ours,  the  world  gives  us  credit  for  being 
 other  and  better  than  we  are.  Not  only  those  of  us  who 
 hold  a  sacred  office,  and  who,  in  the  absence  of  any  rea- 
 son for  a  contrary  judgment,  may  naturally  be  supposed 
 to  mean  what  we  say,  and  to  be  in  some  degree  that  to 
 which  we  summon  others  ;  but  amongst  the  congregation 
 also  there  will  always  be  persons  of  orderly  life  and 
 Christian  observance,  of  quiet  deportment  and  temperate 
 habits,  to  whom  their  neighbours  naturally  give  the  name 
 that  they  live,  believe  them,  in  other  words,  to  be  Chris- 
 tians indeed,  and  act  only  a  right  and  charitable  part  in 
 so  regarding  them.  Yet  many  even  of  these  in  the  judg- 
 ment of  their  Saviour  may  still  be  dead.  There  may  be 
 no  heart  in  their  religion,  and  nothing  higher  than  nature 
 in  their  decent  life.  Secret  prayer  may  be  neglected, 
 and  secret  conflict  unknown  :  the  seemly  dress  may  be 
 the  covering  of  a  corpse,  and  observance  of  forms  an 
 apology  for  deadness  of  spirit.  It  is  not  that  they  are 
 wrong   to    attend    Christ's  worship ;    not  that  they  are 
 
84  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 wrong  to  lead  blameless  lives :  not  for  these  things  does 
 Christ  here  condemn  them.  But  He  bids  them  remem- 
 ber that  the  life  of  the  soul,  like  the  life  of  the  body,  is 
 a  secret  thing ;  that  good  conduct  and  right  observance 
 ought  to  spring  out  of  a  heart  seeking  after  God  and 
 renewed  by  God's  Spirit ;  and  that,  where  this  is  not, 
 there  is  no  real  though  there  be  many  an  apparent  sign 
 of  spiritual  vitality ;  there  may  be,  and  there  ought 
 to  be,  a  name  to  live,  but  the  reality  is  not  of  life  but  of 
 death. 
 
 My  brethren,  God  sends  you  this  timely  message,  to 
 awaken  you  to  self-examination  and  godly  fear.  But  He 
 does  not  send  it  to  make  you  despair.  He  does  not 
 send  it  to  make  you  think  your  case  hopeless.  He  does 
 not  send  it  to  shake  your  confidence  in  His  fatherly  love, 
 or  in  His  willingness  to  hear  and  to  bless  and  to  save 
 you.  Listen  once  again  to  the  words  which  follow.  Be- 
 come awake,  and  strengtJien  the  things  which  remain,  that 
 were,  when  I  spoke,  ready  to  die.  At  present  you  are 
 asleep,  lethargic,  torpid  ;  the  energies  of  your  immortal 
 soul  are  not  yet  called  out  to  make  your  salvation  sure  : 
 they  must  become  so ;  you  must  awaken  to  the  concerns 
 of  your  soul  as  you  are  already  perhaps  awake  to  those 
 of  your  mind  and  of  your  body  ;  you  must  become  awake, 
 and  you  must  keep  awake,  for  in  your  case  sleep  is  dis- 
 ease, and  disease  is  death. 
 
 How  do  we  judge  of  sleep  and  waking  in  the  case 
 of  a  soul  1  How  }  As  in  the  mind,  as  in  the  body.  Is 
 the  soul  in  exercise  t  Its  exercise  is  seeking  God,  com- 
 muning with  God,  praying  to  God,  going  in  and  out  and 
 finding  strength  and  comfort  in  His  presence.  Tried  by 
 this  test,  how  many  of  us  are  awake,  and  how  many 
 
VI.]  Chap.  III.    I — 6.  85 
 
 sleeping  ?  Alas  !  we  do  not  like  to  own  it ;  but  the  state 
 of  the  soul,  in  many  a  vigorous  mind,  and  in  many  an 
 active  body,  the  state  of  the  soul  is  one  of  confirmed  and 
 unresisted  and  unconscious  paralysis.  Well  may  Christ 
 say  to  every  soul,  save  perhaps  a  few,  in  this  congrega- 
 tion— and  those  few  will  most  of  all  bless  Him  for  the 
 summons — Become  wakeful.  Azuake  thou  that  sleepest, 
 and  arise  from  the  dead'^. 
 
 And  He  adds,  in  words  of  deep  wisdom  and  comfort 
 too,  Strengthen  the  tilings  which  remain,  that  are  ready  to 
 die.  Christ  never  calls  us  to  make  something  from  no- 
 thing. There  is  in  each  of  us  just  that  little  germ,  or 
 seed,  or  spark,  which  can  by  God's  grace  be  expanded 
 or  quickened  or  kindled  into  more.  Christ  says  to  us, 
 You  believe  in  God:  believe  also  in  me^.  Or,  Yoil  call  me 
 Lord,  Lord^ :  now  mean  the  thing  that  you  say.  Or, 
 You  are  attentive  to  many  duties :  you  are  a  kind  father, 
 a  dutiful  son,  a  just  master,  a  diligent  servant :  now  do 
 all  these  things  from  a  higher  motive  ;  from  a  sense  of 
 Christian  duty  ;  out  of  love  to  me.  Or,  You  make  many 
 exertions  to  attend  my  worship ;  you  listen  respectfully, 
 you  pray  reverently :  now  come  hither  with  a  view  to 
 meeting  me  ;  desire  my  help  and  my  love  ;  ask  for  it, 
 seek  it,  knock  at  the  gate,  until  you  are  heard  and  an- 
 swered. Or,  You  avoid  many  sins  ;  you  count  many  in- 
 dulgences degrading  and  sinful;  you  practise  temperance, 
 you  abhor  profaneness,  you  shun  gross  misconduct,  you 
 cannot  bear  the  openly  sinful :  but  hitherto  you  have  too 
 much  (whether  it  be  known  to  yourself  or  unknown) 
 follov/ed  inclination  in  your  war  with  evil :  now  begin  to 
 look  within  and  see  whether  there  be  not  in  your  bosom 
 
 1  Eph.  V.  14.  2  John  xiv.  i.  '  Luke  vi.  46. 
 
86  Revelation.  [lect.  vi. 
 
 some  secret  thing  which  God  approves  not,  and  call  in 
 my  help,  as  a  power  real  and  trusted  in,  to  enable  you 
 to  dislodge  and  to  expel  it.  Be  not  satisfied  with  a  half- 
 service:  be  a  soldier  all  over,  and  follow  my  banner 
 across  the  whole  world  of  evil !  Strengthen  thus  the 
 weak  dying  elements  of  Christian  grace  ;  and  in  the  end 
 perhaps  even  thou,  thou  that  hast  now  but  a  name  to 
 live  and  art  dead,  shalt  find  thyself  one  of  those  blessed 
 conquerors,  who  shall  walk  with  me  in  white,  and  hear 
 their  names  confessed  before  my  Father  and  before  His 
 angels. 
 
 Second  Sunday  in  Lent, 
 February  24.,   1861. 
 
LECTURE    VII. 
 
 REVELATION   III.   8. 
 
 Beholdy  I  have  set  before  thee  an  open  door,  and  fto  man 
 can  shjct  it. 
 
 There  is  an  eloquent  passage  in  the  great  History  of 
 the  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  in  which  the 
 writer,  an  unbeliever  and  a  scoffer  at  the  Gospel,  de- 
 scribes the  state  of  the  seven  Churches  of  Asia  Minor 
 after  the  Turkish  conquest  in  the  14th  century. 
 
 The  captivity  or  rnin  of  the  seven  ChurcJies  of  Asia 
 was  consummated... In  the  loss  of  Ephesns,  the  Christians 
 deplored  the  fall  of  the  first  A  ngel,  the  extinction  of  the 
 first  candlestick,  of  the  Revelations:  the  desolation  is 
 complete ;  and  the  temple  of  Diana,  or  the  church  of 
 Mary^  zvill  equally  elude  the  search  of  the  curious  travel- 
 ler. The  circus  and  three  stately  theatres  of  Laodicea  are 
 nozv  peopled  with  wolves  and  foxes ;  Sardes  is  reduced 
 to  a  miserable  village ;  the  God  of  Mahomet... is  invoked 
 in  the  mosques  of  Thyatira  and  Pergamus ;  and  the 
 popidousness  of  Smyrna  is  supported  by  the  foi^eign  trade 
 
SS  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 of  the  Franks  and  Armenians.  Philadelphia  alone  has 
 been  saved.., At  a  distance  from  the  sea,  forgo tteji  by  the 
 EmperorSy  encompassed  on  all  sides  by  the  Turks,  her 
 valiant  citizens  defended  their  religioji  and  freedom  above 
 fourscore  years ;  and  at  lengtJi  capitulated  with  the 
 proudest  of  the  Ottomans.  Among  the  Greek  colonies 
 and  churches  of  Asia,  Philadelphia  is  still  erect,  a  colnmn 
 in  a  scene  of  nans. 
 
 It  is  an  error,  I  think,  to  see  in  this  exception, 
 this  exemption  of  Philadelphia  from  the  desolation 
 of  Ephesus  or  of  Sardis,  a  fulfilment  of  prophecy. 
 The  addresses  before  us  are  all  directed  not  to  cities, 
 but  to  churches.  Probably  the  church,  that  is,  the 
 Christian  body,  in  each  of  them  formed  but  a  small 
 part  of  the  population  :  its  state,  whether  zealous  or 
 lukewarm,  whether  stedfast  or  backsliding,  affected  pro- 
 bably but  in  a  slight  degree  the  heathenism  which  sur- 
 rounded it :  the  promises  given  to  each  are  spiritual 
 not  temporal ;  and  the  existence  in  the  nineteenth  cen- 
 tury of  a  populous  Mahometan  town  on  a  spot  where 
 once  a  Christian  angel  taught  and  guided  his  congre- 
 gation, cannot  in  any  sense  be  looked  upon  as  the 
 reward  of  their  faith  or  the  result  of  his  self-sacrifice. 
 It  is  by  such  misinterpretations  of  Scripture,  and  more 
 particularly  by  such  attempts  to  discover  fulfilments 
 of  prophecy  where  they  are  irrelevant  or  visionary,  that 
 great  dishonour  has  been  done  to  the  cause  of  Christ, 
 and  the  unbeliever  himself  has  been  furnished  with 
 those  shafts  of  ridicule  of  which  I  thought  it  right 
 to  omit  more  than  one  in  the  passage  just  quoted. 
 Let  us  turn  now  from  the  words  of  man  to  the  words 
 of  God. 
 
VII 
 
 .]  Chap.  III.   7 — 13.  89 
 
 A  lid}  to  the  aiigel  of  the  congregation  in  Philadelphia 
 write :  These  things  saith  the  Holy,  the  True. 
 
 There  are  times,  my  brethren,  when  these  attri- 
 butes, which  sound  in  some  ears  almost  severely,  come 
 to  us  with  a  force  and  an  attractiveness  possessed  by 
 no  other.  In  seasons  of  unbelief  and  darkness,  such  as 
 will  come  now  and  then  to  all  men,  I  believe  there  is 
 no  argument  for  the  Gospel  so  powerful  as  the  holi- 
 ness of  Christ :  it  is  worth  whole  volumes  of  evidences, 
 the  impression  left  upon  the  mind  by  His  absolutely 
 blameless  life,  by  His  perfect  purity,  by  His  entire 
 freedom  from  guile,  by  His  abhorrence  of  evil  in  every 
 shape  and  form  and  guise.  And  at  other  times  also, 
 when  we  are  sorely  tossed  and  buffeted  by  inward 
 temptation  ;  when  our  iniquities  press  heavily  upon  us, 
 not  so  much  with  the  desire  for  forgiveness,  as  with  the 
 longing  for  freedom,  the  question,  Who  shall  deliver  me 
 from  this  body  of  death"^  which  I  carry  about  with  me 
 in  my  own  corruptions  t  then  to  think  of  One  who  is 
 absolutely  holy,  separate  in  that  sense  f^om  sinners'^, 
 tempted  like  us  yet  zvithoict  sin"^,  of  One  whom  to  know 
 is  to  be  free,  whom  to  reach  is  to  be  out  of  reach  of 
 evil,  is  a  rest  and  refreshment  to  the  soul  such  as  no 
 promise  of  forgiveness  (could  it  be  made)  without  holi- 
 ness can  ever  be,  and  of  all  Christ's  glorious  character- 
 istics, this  will  shine  out  as  the  very  brightest  and  most 
 comforting,  which  describes  Him  under  the  terms,'  He 
 that  is  holy,  the  Holy  One. 
 
 He  that  is  true.  He  that  cannot  deceive.  He  on 
 whose  lips  is    no    guile.     He   who   tells   us   the   thing 
 
 ^   Verse  7.  -  Rom.  vii.  24.  ^  Heb.  vii.  26. 
 
 *  Heb.  iv.  15. 
 
go  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 which  is,  and  who  never  swerves  from  it.  He  who 
 speaks  that  which  He  knows,  and  keepeth  His  promise 
 for  ever.  What  a  refuge  from  this  world's  broken 
 promises,  and  from  man's  vain  guesses  at  truth  ! 
 
 He  that  hath  the  key  of  David,  that  ope7ieth  and  no 
 one  shall  s/mt,  and  He  shntteth  and  no  one  shall  open. 
 The  words  are  quoted  from  a  remarkable  passage  in 
 the  Book  of  the  Prophet  Isaiah,  with  reference  to  the 
 removal  of  one  treasurer,  and  the  appointment  of 
 another,  over  the  royal  house  of  Judah.  And  it  shall 
 come  to  pass  in  that  day,  that  I  will  call  my  servant 
 E Hakim... and  I  will  clothe  him  with  thy  robe... and  I 
 will  commit  thy  government  into  his  hajid...and  the  key 
 of  the  house  of  David  zvill  I  lay  npon  his  shoulder ;  so 
 he  shall  open,  and  none  shall  shut ;  and  he  shall  shut, 
 and  none  shall  open"^.  The, key  was  the  badge  of  office  ; 
 of  that  office  to  which  it  belonged  to  open  or  to  refuse 
 to  open,  to  shut  or  to  refuse  to  shut,  each  closet  and 
 compartment  of  the  royal  treasury.  It  has  pleased  our 
 Lord  to  employ  this  figure  here  with  reference  to  His 
 own  position  in  the  House  of  God.  In  returning  to 
 the  words  as  here  applied,  we  may  pause  for  a  moment 
 at  a  passage  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  which  will 
 show  us  what  God's  house  is  and  what  is  Christ's  place 
 in  it.  We  there  read,  Who  [Christ  Jesus)  was  faithful 
 to  Him  that  appointed  Him,  as  also  Moses  was  faithful 
 in  all  His  house,  the  house  of  God :  the  words  are 
 quoted  from  the  I2th  chapter  of  the  Book  of  Numbers^ 
 And  then  at  a  later  verse ;  And  Moses  verily  was  faith- 
 ful in  all  His  house  as  a  servant,  for  a  testimony  of 
 those  things  which  were  to  be  spoken  after:    but  Christ 
 
 ^  Isai.  xxii.  20,  21,  22.  "  Numb.  xii.  7. 
 
VII. J  Chap.  III.   7 — 13.  91 
 
 as  a  Son  over  His  ozvn  house,  or  as  it  might  be  again 
 rendered,  His,  that  is,  God's  house:  ivhose  house  are  we, 
 if  we  hold  fast  the  confidence  and  the  rejoicing  of  the 
 hope  firm  nnto  the  end^.  Over  this  house  then,  this 
 house  which  we  are  if  we  are  Christians  indeed,  Christ 
 holds  the  office,  in  every  sense,  of  opening  and  of 
 shutting  at  His  will.  He  dispenses  and  He  withholds 
 God's  treasures.  He  gives  or  He  denies  this  or  that 
 talent,  this  or  that  position,  this  or  that  opportunity, 
 this  or  that  blessing.  In  a  yet  more  solemn  meaning 
 of  the  words,  it  is  His  to  admit  into  and  His  to  exclude 
 from  the  eternal  kingdom  of  glory.  In  spiritual  and 
 eternal  things,  wherever  there  is  a  door,  Christ  has  the 
 key  of  it.  Now  let  us  hear  the  present  application  of 
 this  title. 
 
 /^  know  thy  works  ;  behold,  I  have  give7t  before  thee 
 a  door  opened,  which  no  one  can  sJint.  The  figure  of  an 
 open  door  is  of  almost  frequent  use  in  Scripture,  and 
 particularly  in  the  writings  of  St  Paul.  Thus  in  his  1st 
 Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  he  says.  But  I  will  tarry  at 
 Ephesus  until  Pentecost:  for  a  great  door  and  effectual 
 has  been  opened  unto  me,  and  there  are  many  adversaries^. 
 Again,  in  the  following  Epistle;  Furthermore,  when  I 
 came  to  Troas  to  preach  Chris  fs  Gospel,  and  a  door  was 
 opened  unto  me  in  the  Lord,  I  had  no  rest  in  my  spirit, 
 because  I  found  not  Titus  my  brother^.  And  once  more, 
 in  the  Epistle  to  the  Colossians;  Withal  praying  also  for 
 us,  that  God  would  open  unto  us  a  door  of  tctterance  {a  door 
 of  the  word^  to  speak  the  mystery  of  Christ,  for  which  I 
 ajn  also  in   bonds^.     And   the  same    expression  occurs 
 
 ^  Heb.  iii.  2,  5,  6.  ^   Verse  8.  ^  i  Cor.  xvi.  8,  9. 
 
 ■*  2  Cor.  ii.  12,  13.  '  Col.  iv.  3. 
 
9  2  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 in  the  14th  chapter  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  :  They 
 rehearsed  all  that  God  had  done  with  them,  and  hozv  He 
 had  opened  to  the  Gentiles  a  door  of  fait Ji^.  In  all  these 
 places  the  word  door  is  exactly  equivalent  to  our  expres- 
 sion, an  opening.  An  opening  was  made  for  me  to 
 preach  Christ's  Gospel.  I  found  a  large  opening  at 
 Ephesus.  At  Troas  God  made  an  opening  for  me.  To 
 the  Gentiles  God  gave  an  opening  for  the  reception  of 
 the  faith.  Thus  the  assurance  to  the  Christians  of 
 Philadelphia  will  be,  that  Christ  has  made  an  opening 
 for  them ;  an  opening,  I  think  we  may  say,  for  doing 
 His  work  on  earth,  and  an  opening  for  their  final  en- 
 trance into  those  many  mansions  of  which  He  Himself 
 holds  the  key. 
 
 Because  thon  hast  a  little  strength,  and  didst  keep  my 
 zvord,  and  didst  not  deny  my  name. 
 
 Such  is  the  character  to  which  the  reward  of  the 
 opejt  door  is  promised.  A  little  strengtJi,  not  perfect,  not 
 triumphant  strength,  not  to  be  boasted  of,  not  to  be 
 trusted  in,  but  still  strength,  real  strength,  a  little  real 
 strength.  It  is  very  encouraging  to  those  of  us  who  are 
 at  all  in  earnest,  to  see  how  Christ  recognizes  and  ap- 
 preciates a  little  thing  in  His  service.  There  is  all  the 
 difference  in  the  world  between  a  little  and  none ;  be- 
 tween a  few  things  and  nothing;  between  imperfection 
 and  death.  A  little  strength  implies  many  prayers  and 
 many  struggles ;  it  is  not  the  state  of  one  who  lets  him- 
 self alone;  it  is  not  the  state  of  one  who  lives  without 
 God  and  thinks  scorn  of  Christ.  He  who  has  even  a 
 little  strength  is  described  as  keeping  Christ's  Word^ 
 and  .not  denying  His  name.     He  treasures  that  which 
 
 ^  Acts  xiv.  27. 
 
VII.]  Chap.  III.   7 — 13.  93 
 
 he  has  been  taught,  and  neither  in  word  nor  by  act  says 
 that  he  knows  Him  not.  The  reward  then  of  a  little 
 strengtJi  is  a  door  opened.  And  one  illustration  of  the 
 meaning  of  that  promise  is  given  in  the  words  which 
 next  follow. 
 
 Behold  \  /  give  some  of  the  synagogue  of  Satan,  of 
 those  zvho  say  of  tJicniselves  that  they  are  Jews,  and  they 
 aj'e  not,  bict  lie ;  behold,  I  will  make  them  that  they  shall 
 have  covie — by  a  certain  time  their  coming  will  be  a  fact 
 accomplished — ecnd  shall  be  worshipping  before  thy  feet, 
 and  may  know  that  I  loved  thee.  We  have  heard  some- 
 thing more  of  those  here  described,  in  the  message  to 
 the  church  of  Smyrna.  They  are  those  who  loudly 
 claim  for  themselves  the  title  of  children  of  Abraham, 
 and  yet  bear  no  trace  of  his  likeness^  They  may  be 
 inside  the  Church,  or  outside;  Judaizing  Christians,  or 
 persecuting  Jews;  men  such  as  those  against  whom  St 
 Paul  waged  so  earnest  a  warfare,  who,  while  professing 
 to  believe  in  Christ,  held  the  necessity  of  completing 
 His  salvation  by  obedience  to  the  ceremonial  law";  or 
 else  such  as  those  ivJio  killed  the  Lord  Jesns  and  perse- 
 ented'^  His  Apostles  everywhere,  w^ho  rejected  altogether 
 the  truth  of  the  Gospel,  and  made  it  an  act  of  religion  to 
 destroy  such  as  called  on  Christ's  name.  The  promise 
 here  is,  that  of  these  Christ  will  grant  some  to  the  faithful 
 labours  of  the  church  of  Philadelphia.  Some  of  them 
 shall  be  convinced  and  converted  by  their  life  and  doc- 
 trine, and  brought  to  acknowledge  the  faith  which  once 
 they  laboured  to  destroy. 
 
 A  further  promise  follows.     Because^  thou  didst  keep 
 
 1   Verse  ().  ^  Matt.  iii.  9.     John  viii.  39.  ^  Acts  xv.  i. 
 
 4  I  Thess.  ii.  15.  ^   y^^.^^  jq. 
 
94  Revelatio7t,  [lect. 
 
 the  word  of  my  patience,  that  word  of  mine  which  de- 
 mands patience,  and  teaches  patience,  and  gives  a  motive 
 for  patience,  and  shows  where  patience  may  be  found, 
 /  also  zuill  keep  thee  out  of  the  hour  of  trial  zvJiicJi  is  about 
 to  come  upon  the  whole  world,  to  tiy  those  who  dwell  upon 
 the  earth.  We  may  suppose  that  the  trial  here  pre- 
 dicted is  one  of  those  general  persecutions  throughout 
 the  Roman  empire  which  recurred  from  time  to  time 
 during  the  first  three  centuries,  and  in  which  many,  who 
 had  seemed  in  smoother  times  to  be  running  well,  made 
 shipwreck  altogether  of  their  faith  and  hope.  To  the 
 Christians  at  Philadelphia,  who  without  very  loud  pro- 
 fessions or  very  splendid  successes  had  yet  a  little 
 strength,  had  kept  Christ's  word  and  not  denied  His 
 name,  it  is  promised,  not  perhaps  that  they  should  be 
 exempted  from  persecution — that  might  have  been  a 
 doubtful  blessing — but  that  Christ,  according  to  the 
 exact  terms  employed,  would  keep  them  out  of  it,  that  is, 
 would  so  keep  them  inwardly  by  His  almighty  power 
 that  they  should  be  enabled  to  escape  out  of  it  without 
 loss  of  courage  and  fidelity.  If  He  might  not  keep 
 them  from  trial \  He  might  yet  keep  them  out  of  it;  so 
 keep  as  that  they  should  escape  its  real  risk,  that  of 
 drawing  back  unto  perdition  ^. 
 
 P  am  coming  quickly:  hold  that  which  thou  hast, 
 that  no  one  receive  thy  crown.  Let  this  be  your  en- 
 couragement; let  this  be,  if  necessary,  your  warning: 
 /  am  coming,  yes,  coming  quickly.  For  you  at  least 
 individually,  coming  quickly.  Soon  will  death  be  here; 
 and  that  for  you  is,  in  many  respects  though  not  in  all, 
 the  day  of  His  coming.     Whole  centuries  may  yet  have 
 
 1  John  xvii.  15.  2  jjeb.  x.  39.  ^   y^rse  11. 
 
VIl 
 
 .]  Chap.  III.    7—13.  95 
 
 to  run,  after  you  are  laid  in  the  grave,  before  the  second 
 Advent  of  your  Lord :  but  at  death  probation  ends,  and 
 responsibility;  doubt  and  danger,  temptation  and  infir- 
 mity: from  that  day,  for  you,  dates  the  Advent:  hold 
 fast,  till  then,  and  the  crown,  the  wreath  or  garland 
 which  encircles  the  head  of  the  victor,  that  incorruptible, 
 imperishable  wreath  of  which  St  Paul  speaks  in  his  ist 
 Epistle  to  the  Corinthians \  will  be  for  ever  securely 
 yours.  Tliat  no  one  receive  thy  crown.  Using  the  figure 
 (as  in  the  passage  just  referred  to)  of  the  public  games 
 of  Greece,  the  Christian  runner  or  the  Christian  combat- 
 ant is  charged  to  beware  lest  the  garland  which  a  little 
 watchfulness  and  a  little  perseverance  would  have  secured 
 to  him  should  fall  to  another's  lot.  It  is  a  figure  not 
 to  be  pressed  beyond  its  measure.  No  Christian  was  ever 
 the  gainer  by  a  brother's  loss  :  no  man  ever  really  won 
 the  garland  of  another:  in  the  hands  of  the  Judge  of 
 our  contest  are  crowns  enough  for  all,  and  he  who  wins 
 not  his  own  will  not  take  another's. 
 
 He  "^  tJiat  conqiicreth,  I  zvill  make  him  a  pillar  in  the 
 temple  of  my  God ;  and  forth  he  shall  not  go  oiU.  It  is  a 
 little  striking,  as  a  mere  coincidence,  that  travellers 
 describe,  among  the  few  ruins  of  Philadelphia  at  this 
 day,  four  strong  marble  pillars  standing  in  one  spot, 
 which  once  supported  the  dome  of  a  church,  and  on  the 
 sides  of  these  pillars  inscriptions.  It  is  added.  One  soli- 
 tary pillar  of  high  antiquity  has  been  often  noticed,  as  re- 
 minding beholders  of  the  remarkable  zvords  in  the  Apoca- 
 lyptic message  to  the  Philadelphian  Church,  Him  that 
 overcometh  will  I  make  a  pillar  in  the  temple  of  my  Gcd; 
 and  he  shall  go  no  more  out. 
 
 1  I  Cor.  ix.  25.  ^   Verse  12. 
 
96  Revelation.       <  [lect. 
 
 The  promise  is  that  of  a  secure  and  permanent 
 position  in  God's  heavenly  temple.  Philadelphia  is 
 said  to  have  been  singularly  liable  to  earthquakes : 
 not  a  building,  common  or  sacred,  but  it  might  sud- 
 denly fall  in  ruins:  the  promise  here  made  is,  that 
 no  such  risks  shall  await  the  heavenly  temple,  or 
 those  who  have  been  built  into  it.  The  general  figure 
 will  resemble  that  of  other  passages  of  Scripture  in 
 which  individual  Christians  are  compared  to  the  stones 
 of  which  the  temple  of  God  is  built;  as  when  St  Paul 
 says  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  In  zvJiom,  even  in 
 Christ,  all  the  building,  or  perhaps  more  exactly,  eveiy 
 separate  part  of  the  building,  fitly  framed  together  groweih 
 into  an  holy  temple  in  the  Lord :  in  whom  ye  also,  indi- 
 vidually, are  being  btcilt  tip  together  for  an  habitation  of 
 God  in  the  Spirit'^.  Gr,  as  St  Peter  says  again,  in  his 
 first  Epistle,  To  whom,  even  to  Christ,  coming,  a  living 
 stone... ye  also  yourselves,  as  living  stones,  are  being  built 
 up,  a  spiritual  house\ 
 
 And  I  zu ill  grave  7ipon  him — we  heard  just  now  of 
 the  inscriptions  upon  the  pillars — the  name  of  my  God ; 
 that  is  what  gives  him  a  right  to  be  there,  he  belongs 
 to  God;  he  is  one  of  the  consecrated  and  dedicated  ones, 
 in  whom  God  is  by  the  Spirit:  and  the  name  of  the  city 
 of  my  God,  the  nezi>  Jerusalem,  she  zvho  descendeth  cut  of 
 heaven  from  my  God;  that  is  his  description ;  he  is  one 
 of  the  citizens  of  the  heavenly  city,  of  that  city  which  is 
 now^  in  heaven  with  God,  and  which  shall  one  day  be 
 manifested  as  God's  abiding-place  with  man:  a/id finall-y, 
 my  new  name  ;  that  name  of  which  we  read  in  the  Epistle 
 to  Pergamos,   that  no  man  knoweth  it  saving  he  that 
 
 ^  Eph.  ii.  21,  22.  2  I  Pet.  ii.  4,  5. 
 
VII 
 
 ]  Chap.  III.   7—13.  97 
 
 receiveth  if ;  that  name  which  is  a  secret  between  Christ 
 and  Christ's  servant,  inasmuch  as  it  expresses  a  relation- 
 ship into  the  very  meaning  of  which  the  world  cannot 
 enter. 
 
 Let'^  him  that  hath  an  ear  hear  what  the  Spirit  saith 
 to  the  congregations. 
 
 We  have  endeavoured  to  do  this  as  we  read  :  the 
 apphcation  has  accompanied  the  interpretation.  And 
 now  the  time  is  short :  we  can  afford  but  one  topic 
 of  concluding  exhortation  :  let  that  be  the  few  words 
 read  as  the  text,  Behold,  I  have  set  before  thee  an  open 
 door,  and  no  man  can  shut  it.  We  shall  take  the  words 
 in  two  senses,  and  speak  of  a  door  of  opportunity,  and 
 a  door  of  admission. 
 
 I.  I  know  not  whether  we  quite  appreciate  the 
 promise  in  its  former  sense.  To  those  of  us  who  have 
 a  little  strength  Christ  promises  openings  for  His  service. 
 Naturally  we  are  well  contented  to  let  that  service  alone. 
 Of  our  own  personal  safety,  our  own  deliverance  in  the 
 day  of  judgment,  we  do  sometimes  think.  If  it  wonld 
 please  God  to  pardoii  my  sin  and  take  me,  is  a  very  com- 
 mon aspiration  when  sickness  or  trouble  is  upon  us. 
 And  our  idea  of  the  happiness  of  heaven  is  much  the 
 same:  a  place  of  tranquillity,  a  place  where  tJie  zuicked 
 cease  from  troubling  and  the  weary  are  at  rest^^  such  is 
 the  heaven  which  most  of  us  picture:  and  can  we  wonder 
 if  to  active  minds  and  vigorous  bodies  such  a  heaven 
 offers  few  attractions  to  overbear  the  temptations  of 
 things  that  are  seen.'* 
 
 Christ  deals  with  us  in  greater  wisdom,  when  He 
 offers  to  His  servants  an  open  door.     It  is  a  far  nobler 
 
 1  Rev.  ii.  17.  2   Verse  13.  ^  Job  iii.  17. 
 
98  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 thing,  and  to  noble  natures  far  more  alluring,  to  say, 
 Work  for  me,  than  to  say,  Repose  in  me  ;  to  say,  I 
 have  something  for  thee  to  do,  something  which  will 
 task  all  thy  energies,  something  which  will  arouse  every 
 dormant  power,  something  which  will  be  of  use  to  me 
 and  to  my  brethren,  something  which  will  show  thy 
 gratitude  not  in  words  but  in  deeds,  than  to  say,  Work 
 is  over,  now  rest ;  enter  into  a  paradise  of  recreation 
 and  of  contemplation  ;  there  enjoy  thyself,  there  forget 
 toil,  there  know  what  it  is  to  be  free  from  responsi- 
 bilities, there  learn  what  it  is  to  be  unoccupied  and 
 yet  blameless. 
 
 There  are  many  persons  in  this  day  who  are  look- 
 ing out  for  a  mission.  Man's  mission,  and  woman's 
 mission  ;  a  sphere  (as  it  is  called)  of  Christian  useful- 
 ness ;  something  new,  something  untried,  something  in 
 which  we  may  be  the  first,  something  which  may  be 
 spoken  of  as  our  enterprise  and  our  achievement :  these 
 are  ideas  floating  in  many  minds,  whether  as  dreams, 
 as  projects,  or  as  employments.  It  is  the  way  of  our 
 time  :  people  want  some  new  thing,  and  happily  there 
 is  no  lack  of  new  things  to  be  learned  and  to  be  done. 
 Each  new  scheme  of  Christian  benevolence  has  its  use, 
 has  its  place,  has  its  blessing,  if  only  it  be  begun,  con- 
 tinued, and  ended  in  God. 
 
 In  the  meantime,  let  Christ  Himself  stand  amongst 
 us  and  say  to  each  one,  /  have  set  before  thee,  thee 
 personally,  thee  individually,  an  open  door!  Do  not 
 imagine  that  my  work  is  to  be  done  only  in  new  ways 
 or  by  original  minds:  in  the  trivial  round,  in  the  com- 
 mon duty,  in  intercourse  with  others  in  the  house  and 
 in  the  street,   in  the  faithful  and  rep-ular  fulfilment  of 
 
VII.]  Chap.  III.  7 — 13.  99 
 
 each  relation  of  life,  in  kindness  to  a  few  poor  neigh- 
 bours, in  visiting  a  few  sick  folk,  in  helping  to  instruct 
 the  ignorant,  in  caring  for  souls  that  lie  in  darkness, 
 in  a  thousand  ways,  each  by  itself  simple  and  humble, 
 thou  mayest  glorify  me,  and  serve  thy  generation  ere 
 thou  fall  on  sleep.  Only  take  heed  that  all  be  indeed 
 done  for  me,  and  in  my  name  and  strength,  and  in 
 the  energy  of  a  redeemed  soul,  and  I  will  set  before 
 thee,  day  by  day,  an  open  door,  some  opportunity  of 
 quiet  usefulness,  in  which  thou  mayest  serve  me,  and 
 in  which  I  will  be  glorified.  The  reward  of  Christ's 
 servants  in  this  life  is,  in  its  measure,  the  same  with 
 that  spoken  of  as  reserved  for  them  hereafter,  His 
 servants  shall  serve  Him^. 
 
 Do  not  think  that  it  is  a  light  thing  to  have  a  door 
 opened  before  you  by  Christ.  Many  persons  miss  it 
 altogether  by  keeping  their  eyes  fixed  on  the  earth. 
 Many  others  say  to  themselves  when  they  see  it,  To- 
 fnorroiu,  to-morrow,  and  before  to-morrow  it  is  closed. 
 And  many  try  to  push  rudely  through  it,  in  their  own 
 way  and  in  their  own  strength  ;  and  somehow  they 
 never  pass  the  entrance ;  they  have  no  passport ;  they 
 are  turned  back  at  the  door,  or  they  sttimble  and  are 
 snared^  just  inside  it. 
 
 Let  these  few  hints  be  as  words  to  the  wise,  that 
 they  appreciate  as  they  ought,  with  reference  to  oppor- 
 tunities, the  gracious  promise.  Behold,  I  have  set  before 
 thee  an  open  door,  and  no  man  can  shnt  it. 
 
 2.  But,  finally,  the  door  is  a  figure  not  for  oppor- 
 tunity only,  but  also  for  entrance  and  admission.  We 
 have   all   heard   and    (I   would  hope)  trembled  at  the 
 
 1  Rev.  xxii.  3.  ^  Isai.  viii.  15. 
 
lOO 
 
 Revelation, 
 
 [lECT.  VII. 
 
 saying,  And  the  door  was  sJmt^.  That  pregnant  phrase 
 for  exclusion  may  teach  us  what  its  opposite  is,  a  door 
 opened  ;  opened  to  admit,  opened  to  welcome,  opened 
 to  receive  and  to  entertain.  Those  who  have  even  a 
 little  strength,  those  who  keep  Christ's  Word,  those  who 
 do  not  deny  Him  before  men,  shall  find  the  door  of 
 His  heavenly  presence  not  closed  before  them,  but 
 opened  :  He  will  guide  them  towards  it  :  He,  as  they 
 fight  their  way  up  to  it,  will  cover  their  head  and  nerve 
 their  arm ;  He,  as  they  pass  through  it,  will  hail  them 
 as  good  and  faithful  servants,  and  make  them  glad  for 
 ever  with  the  joy  of  His  coiintenance''\ 
 
 Behold^  I  come  qnickly :    hold  that  fast  which   thon 
 hast,  that  no  man  take  thy  crown. 
 
 1  Matt.  XXV.  TO. 
 
 -  Matt.  XXV.  21.     Psalm  xxi.  6. 
 
 Third  Sunday  in  Lent, 
 March  3,  1861. 
 
LECTURE    VIII. 
 
 REVELATION   III.    1 5. 
 
 /  would  thou  wert  cold  or  hot. 
 
 It  is  not  perhaps  without  some  regret  that  we  find 
 ourselves  at  the  last  of  the  Epistles  to  the  seven 
 churches.  God  grant  that  our  study  of  them  may 
 not  have  been  quite  in  vain !  May  He  grant  His 
 special  blessing  to  that  last  and  most  solemn  admoni- 
 tion which  He  sends  to  us  to-night  in  the  address  to 
 the  church  of  Laodicea. 
 
 The  name  of  Laodicea  is  not  wholly  unknown  to 
 us  either  in  history  or  in  Scripture.  We  read  of  it  in 
 the  letters  of  the  great  Roman  Orator,  who  visited  it, 
 and  administered  justice  there,  in  his  capacity  of  Pro- 
 consul of  Cilicia.  We  read  of  it,  more  than  a  century 
 afterwards,  as  totally  destroyed  by  an  earthquake,  but 
 restored,  without  aid  from  Rome,  by  the  exertions  of 
 the  inhabitants  themselves.  Of  the  subsequent  ruin  of 
 the  city  in  the  Turkish  invasion  during  the  14th  cen- 
 tury, we  heard  last  Sunday.  Modern  travellers  speak 
 of  its  present  state  as  one  of  blank  dreariness.  Nothiiig 
 can  exceed,  says  one  of  these,  the  desolatio7i  and  melmi- 
 
I02  Revelation,  [lect- 
 
 choly  appear arice  of  the  site  of  Laodicea :  no  picturesque 
 features  in  the  nature  of  the  ground  on  which  it  stands^ 
 relieve  the  dull  uniformity  of  its  undulating  and  bari^en 
 hills ;  and  zvitJi  few  exceptioiis,  its  grey  arid  widely 
 scattered  ruins  possess  no  architectural  merit  to  attract 
 the  attention  of  the  traveller.  Yet  it  is  impossible  to  view 
 them  without  interest,  when  we  consider  what  Laodicea 
 once  was,  and  how  it  is  connected  with  the  early  history 
 of  Christianity,  It  is  indeed  in  that  connection  that 
 its  name  still  lives  amongst  us. 
 
 We  know  not  for  certain  by  whose  preaching  Lao- 
 dicea received  the  Gospel.  Yet,  lying  as  the  city  did 
 near  the  great  Roman  road  from  Ephesus  to  the  East, 
 we  can  scarcely  doubt  that  St  Paul  himself,  in  one  of 
 his  journeys  throtcghout  Phrygia^,  or  over  all  the  country 
 of  Phrygia"^,  of  which  we  read  in  the  i6th  and  i8th 
 chapters  of  the  Acts,  was  its  first  Apostle  and  Evange- 
 list. There  is  an  ambiguous  expression  on  this  subject 
 in  the  Epistle  to  the  Colossians.  I  would  have  yott  know 
 J  WW  great  conflict  I  have  for  you  and  for  them  in  Laodicea, 
 and  for  as  mariy  as  have  not  seen  my  face  in  the  flesh^. 
 Does  he  assert,  as  many  have  imagined,  that  both  the 
 Colossian  and  Laodicean  converts  were  among  those 
 whom  he  had  never  personally  visited  .''  Or  may  we  not 
 rather  understand  him  as  distinguishing  between  those 
 at  Colossse  and  Laodicea  who  had,  and  others  who  had 
 not,  seen  his  face  in  the  flesh \^  In  addition  to  the  great 
 improbability  of  his  having  overlooked  two  places  of 
 
 ^  Acts  xvi.  6.  2  A(,|-g  xviii.  23.  ^  Col.  ii.  i. 
 
 *  If,  in  reading  the  verse  commented  upon,  the  emphasis  is  strongly  laid 
 upon  the  word  not,  the  sense  will  be  that  expressed  in  the  latter  of  the, 
 above  alternatives. 
 
VIII.]  Chap.  III.   14 — 22.  103 
 
 interest  and  importance  when  making  a  missionary 
 journey  more  than  once  through  the  region  in  which 
 they  were  situated,  we  can  scarcely  read  the  Epistle  to 
 the  Colossians  without  inferring  that  both  that  church 
 itself  and  the  neighbouring  congregation  in  Laodicea 
 were  bound  to  the  writer  by  close  ties  of  personal  inter- 
 course. Thus  we  read  in  the  4th  chapter.  Salute  the 
 brethren  in  Laodicea,  and  NympJias,  and  the  congregation 
 at  his  house^.  The  Christians  at  Laodicea  appear  to 
 have  met  for  worship  at  the  house  of  Nymphas,  one 
 probably  of  their  richer  brethren.  And  ivhen  my  letter 
 has  been  read  among  yon,  caiise  that  it  be  read  also  in 
 the  co7tgregation  of  the  Laodiceans — the  two  places  were 
 very  near  together — and  see  that  ye  also  read  the  epistle 
 from  Laodicea ;  that  is,  not  a  letter  written  from  Lao- 
 dicea, but  a  letter  which  would  reach  them  from  Lao- 
 dicea. The  probability  is  that  the  letter  which  St  Paul 
 thus  describes  is  not  any  lost  letter,  but  that  which  we 
 possess  as  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  ;  headed,  accord- 
 ing to  one  tradition,  the  Epistle  to  the  Laodiceans,  and 
 designed  probably  as  a  circular  letter,  to  be  sent  by  turns 
 to  all  the  congregations  in  that  district,  which  acknow- 
 ledged St  Paul  as  their  great  and  first  Apostle. 
 
 St  Paul  had  a  great  conflict  for  them  in  Laodicea. 
 His  heart  yearned  over  them,  and  struggled  for  them  in 
 prayer.  Not  without  cause,  as  the  address  now  before 
 us  indicates. 
 
 And^  to  the  angel  of  the  congregation  in  Laodicea 
 write:  These  things  saith  the  Amen.  Amen  is  the  He- 
 brew  word  for    Verily.     It  is   the   expression  either  of 
 
 ^  Col.  iv.  i^,  16.  ^    P^crse  14. 
 
I04  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 strong  affirmation  or  of  hearty  assent.  No  word  is  more 
 familiar  to  us.  It  closes  every  confession  and  every 
 prayer  and  every  thanksgiving.  Most  of  all  familiar  is 
 it  to  us  in  the  discourses  of  our  Lord.  Verily  I  say 
 unto  you.  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you.  St  Paul  says, 
 in  his  2nd  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  with  regard  to 
 all  iJie  promises  of  God,  hi  Him  {Christ)  is  yea,  and  iti 
 Him  Amen^:  in  Christ  is  affirmation,  and  in  Christ  is 
 verity.  Even  as  He  said  of  Himself  in  His  discourse 
 with  Nicodemus,  Verily,  verily,  {Amen,  Amen,)  I  say 
 unto  thee.  We  speak  that  zue  do  know,  and  testify  that  we 
 have  seen'.  In  man's  teaching  about  God  and  heavenly 
 things,  there  must  be  something  of  uncertainty  if  not  of 
 conjecture;  but  Christ  is  the  Amen,  the  Vej^ily,  He  who 
 alone  can  speak  with  positiveness,  as  having  come  forth 
 from,  and  continuing  still  one  with.  Him  of  whom  He 
 testifies. 
 
 These  tilings  saith  the  A  men,  the  trustworthy  and  true 
 %vitness,  the  origin  of  the  creation  of  God.  As  it  is  said 
 in  the  opening  words  of  St  John's  Gospel,  All  things 
 were  made  by  Him,  and  without  Him  was  not  anything 
 made  which  was  made^ ;  or  more  exactly.  All  tlmigs 
 became,  came  into  existence,  by  means  of  Him,  and  apart 
 from  Him  came  into  being  not  even  one  thing  which  has 
 come  into  being.  Or  again,  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Colos- 
 sians,  WJio  {Christ)  is  the  image  of  the  invisible  God, 
 the  first-born  of  all  creation ;  for  in  Him  were  created 
 all  things  which  are  in  heaven  and  which  are  07t  earth, 
 the  visible  and  the  invisible ..  .all  things  through  Him  and 
 tuito  Him  have  been  created,  by  His  agency  and  for  Him 
 as  their  end  and  aim,  and  He  is  Himself  before  all,  and 
 
VI 
 
 II.]  Chap.  III.   14 — 22.  105 
 
 all  things  in  Him  consist^ ;  He  continues  to  all  things 
 their  consistence  and  coherence ;  but  for  Him  all  things 
 would  dissolve  and  fall  asunder.  He  is  the  origin,  and 
 He  is  the  continuance,  of  the  creation  of  God, 
 
 After  this  brief  rehearsal  of  the  claims  to  attention 
 of  Him  who  speaks,  the  message  thus  proceeds. 
 
 /^  knozu  thy  zvorks,  that  thon  art  neitJier  cold  nor  hot. 
 I  would  thon  wert  cold  or  hot.  So^,  becanse  thon  art  litke- 
 'wann,  and  neitJier  cold  nor  hot,  I  am  abont  to  vo7nit  thee 
 out  of  my  mouth.  Thy  lukewarmness  has  made  me  sick 
 of  thee.  We  must  hear  more  of  the  description  before 
 we  can  rightly  apply  it.  Because^  tJioic  say  est,  I  am  rich 
 and  have  groiun  rich,  and.  in  nothing  have  need,  a7id  knozv- 
 est  not  that  thon  art  zin- etched — but  there  is  a  force 
 beyond  this  in  the  original;  that  thon  art  the  wretched  one 
 and  the  pitiable  one ;  just  as  in  the  prayer  of  the  Publi- 
 can in  the  parable  the  full  expression  is,  God  be  merciful 
 to  me  the  sinner^,  to  me  who  am  by  emphasis  and  by 
 excess  above  others  a  sinner — and  knozvest  not  that  thou 
 art  the  zvretched  one  and  the  pitiable  and  beggarly  and  blind 
 and  naked ;  P  counsel  thee — I  who  cannot  approve,  I  who 
 cannot  flatter  thee,  I  who  must  regard  thy  state  with 
 displeasure  and  even  (as  it  is  above  said)  with  loathing, 
 can  yet  and  will  yet  advise  thee — /  counsel  thee  to  buy 
 gold,  properly  gold-coin,  from  me,  tried  by  fir e'^,  that  thou 
 mayest  grow  rich,  and  zvhite  garments,  that  thou  ijtayest 
 cast  them  round  thee,  and  zo  tJie  disgrace  of  thy  nakedjzess 
 
 -^  Col,  i.  15,  16,  17.  -   Verse  15.  ^   Veise  16. 
 
 ■*   Verse  17.  ^  Luke  xviii.  13.  ^   Verse  18. 
 
 ^  lAitv^Wy ,  fired  out  of  fire  ;  that  is,  tukich  has  stood  the  test  of  fire,  and 
 has  eo me  forth  from  it  pure  atid  without  alloy.  Compare  i  Pet.  iv.  12, 
 Beloved,  be  not  surprised  at  the  firing  {finery  process)  which  is  happeiiing  in 
 your  case  unto  trial  for  you. 
 
io6  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 may  not  be  shown;  and  eye-salve  to  anoint  tJiine  eyes  withal^ 
 that  thou  inayest  see.  The  advice  of  Christ  is,  in  each 
 particular,  first  to  know  the  truth  of  our  condition,  to 
 become  aware  of  our  spiritual  poverty,  our  spiritual 
 nakedness,  and  our  spiritual  blindness,  and  secondly  to 
 apply  to  Him  for  the  relief  of  each.  To  b?ty  of  Him, 
 He  says;  recalling  the  well-known  figure  of  the  Prophet 
 Isaiah,  Ho,  every  one  that  thirstetJi,  come  ye  to  the  waters, 
 ajid  he  that  hath  no  money ;  come  ye,  buy  and  eat;  yea, 
 come,  buy  wine  and  milk  without  money  and  without 
 price^.  Such  was  the  advice  given,  but  too  late,  to  the 
 foolish  Virgins  in  the  parable.  Go  ye  ratJier  to  them  that 
 sell,  and  bicy  for  yourselves:  and  while  they  went  to  buy 
 the  Bridegroom  came'^.  So  may  it  not  be  with  us  whom 
 Christ  here  counsels! 
 
 As^  many  as  I  love,  I  rebuke  and  chasten:  but  there 
 is  again  a  force  in  the  original,  not  to  be  lost  sight  of, 
 arising  from  the  place  of  the  pronoun  :  /,  as  many  as  I 
 love;  or.  For  my  part... it  is  my  wont:  unlike  earthly 
 friends,  who  cannot  bear  to  speak  a  severe  word  to 
 those  whom  they  love ;  who  can  only  bear  to  give 
 present  pleasure,  even  when  they  know,  or  might  see, 
 that  it  is  misplaced  and  injurious ;  who  keep  their 
 harsh  words  for  their  enemies,  and  lavish  their  soft 
 words  upon  their  friends  ;  unlike  them,  I  may  rebuke, 
 where  it  is  needed,  my  sign  of  affection,  and  say  to 
 thee,  not  because  I  hate  but  because  I  love  thee.  Be 
 zealous  therefoi'e,  and  repent. 
 
 Behold^,  I  stand  at  tJie  door,  and  knock.  If  any  one 
 shall  have  heard  my  voice^  and  opened  the  door,  I  will 
 
 ^  Isai.  Iv.  I.  2  Matt.  xxv.  9,  10.  ^   Verse  19. 
 
 4     JZ/'i'vp  nrs 
 
VIII.]  Chap.  III.   14 — 22.  107 
 
 both  come  in  to  him,  and  will  sup  ivitJi  him,  and  he  him- 
 self with  me.  Such  is  the  attitude  of  Christ  towards 
 sinners.  Even  towards  the  most  unsatisfactory,  even 
 towards  the  most  sinful,  He  patiently  maintains  that 
 attitude  till  the  very  close  of  life.  He  is  like  one 
 knocking  at  a  closed  door.  I  know  not  that  any 
 amplification  of  man  could  add  anything  to  the  signi- 
 ficance or  to  the  power  of  this  comparison.  We  will 
 reserve  a  few  brief  words  of  enforcement  for  our  con- 
 cluding application. 
 
 He^  that  conqim^eth,  I  will  give  to  him  to  sit  down 
 with  me  on  my  throne,  as  I  also  overcame,  and  sat  down 
 with  my  Father  on  His  throne.  On  earth  He  had  said, 
 Ye  which  have  follozved  me,  in  the  regeneration  zvhen  the 
 Son  of  man  shall  sit  in  the  throne  of  His  glory,  ye  also 
 shall  sit  npon  twelve  thrones,  judging  the  tivelve  tribes 
 of  Israel'^.  But  now  it  is  promised  that  the  twelve 
 thrones  shall  be  one  throne,  and  that  one  throne  the 
 throne  of  Christ.  The  glory  that  shall  be  revealed 
 shall  be  a  glory  of  union  with  Christ  ;  the  glory  hot 
 of  assessors  of  Christ,  not  of  companions  of  Christ,  but 
 of  persons  incorporated  and  as  it  were  merged  in 
 Christ  ;  the  glory  of  those  who  have  been  found  in 
 Him^y  so  that  what  He  is  they  are,  what  He  does 
 they  do,  because  He  lives  they  live  also^,  and  zuhere  He 
 is  there  shall  also  His  servant  be^.  Thus  are  the  words 
 finally  verified,  /;/  the  world  ye  shall  have  tribulation  : 
 but  be  of  good  cheer,  I  have  overcome  the  workV. 
 
 Lef  him  that  hath  an  ear  hear  what  the  Spirit  saith 
 to  the  congregations. 
 
 1   Verse  i\.  -  Matt.  xix.  28.  ^  Phil.  iii.  9.         •*  John  xiv.  19. 
 
 =  John  xii.  26.  ^  John  xvi.  ^^,  ''    Ve7-u'  22. 
 
io8 
 
 Revelation. 
 
 [lect. 
 
 The  difficulties  of  exposition  to-night  have  been 
 few ;  and  the  materials  for  application  many. 
 
 I.  And  first  we  must  endeavour  to  understand  the 
 particular  state  of  mind  and  life  to  which  the  reproofs 
 and  counsels  of  this  passage  are  directed.  /  know  thy 
 works,  that  thou  art  neither  cold  nor  hot... thou  art  luke- 
 warm, and  neither  cold  nor  hot.  The  phrase  has  passed 
 into  sermons  and  religious  books  ;  and  no  phrase  could 
 be  more  expressive.  We  all  know  the  flat  insipid 
 vapid  sickly  taste  of  tepid  water  :  what  is  the  corre- 
 sponding thing  in  character.?  Alas!  I  fear  many  of 
 us  have  but  to  think  what  we  are  towards  Christ  and 
 the  things  of  Christ.  Let  us  do  so,  my  brethren.  You 
 see  that  one  of  the  chief  marks  of  a  lukewarm  Christian 
 is  self-ignorance  and  consequent  self-satisfaction :  O 
 let  us  not  have  that  mark  upon  us  !  Let  us  be  very 
 plain  with  ourselves,  at  all  events  !  Christ  sees  us  as 
 we  are  :  so  let  us  do.  He  knows  our  works  :  O  let 
 us  not  be  blind  to  them  ! 
 
 Neither  cold,  nor  hot.  Who  may  be  described  as 
 cold  towards  Christ  t  Those,  of  course,  first  of  all,  who 
 do  not  at  all  acknowledge  Him;  those  who  never  visit 
 His  house,  or  do  so  merely  as  a  form ;  those  who 
 have  no  thought  at  all  about  Him,  no  pretence  of 
 gratitude,  no  sense  whatever,  at  any  time,  of  His  good- 
 ness, of  His  forbearance,  of  His  dying  love.  This 
 surely  is  a  dreadful  state  to  be  in.  And  yet  in  some 
 respects  it  seems  to  be  spoken  of  here  as  less  dreadful 
 than  a  lukewarm  state. 
 
 On  the  other  hand,  who  are  described  as  hot,  fervent 
 and  glowing  towards  Christ  t     Surely  they  whose  whole 
 
 ,  •^.+-  .-^^..-w^*-.  J  ^  ^, 
 
 _    r ja .    lA 
 
VIII.]  Chap.  III.    14 — 22.  109 
 
 whose  whole  soul  is  kindled  and  warmed  and  illumi- 
 nated by  the  love  of  Christ ;  they  who  can  say,  like 
 St  Paul,  The  love  of  Christ  constraineth  me^ ;  or,  like 
 St  John,  We  love  Him,  because  He  first  loved  tis^ ;  or, 
 like  St  Peter,  Lord,  TIwii  knowest  all  tilings ;  Thou 
 knozuest  that  I  love  Thee^.  They  whose  whole  life  is 
 one  constant  sacrifice  of  thankfulness  and  of  devotion ; 
 they  who  can  declare  with  truth  that  it  is  no  longer 
 they  who  live,  but  Christ  tvho  lives  in  them,  and  that 
 the  life  ivJiich  they  nozv  live  in  the  flesh  they  live  by  faith 
 hi  the  Son  of  God  who  loved  them  and  gave  Himself 
 for  them^. 
 
 Between  these  two  extremes  are  the  lukewarm  : 
 and  perhaps,  if  any  such  computation  could  be  made 
 with  profit,  this  intermediate  condition  is  of  all  the 
 commonest.  It  is  not  that  we  are  open  unbelievers  : 
 it  is  not  that  we  even  doubt  the  truth  of  the  atonement, 
 or  the  certainty  of  the  judgment,  or  the  reality  of  an 
 eternal  world :  it  is  not  that  we  do  not  sometimes 
 pray,  sincerely  and  earnestly,  for  forgiveness  and  for 
 a  new  spirit.  Nor  is  it  perhaps  that  we  are  combining 
 with  our  faith  in  Christ  some  definite  sin  ;  it  is  not 
 that  we  are  either  living  immoral  lives,  or  tempting 
 others  to  do  despite  to  the  convictions  of  their  con- 
 science. It  is  none  of  these  things.  Our  state  is  one 
 best  described  by  negatives.  We  are  not  decided.  We 
 are  not  in  earnest.  We  are  not  devoted.  We  are  not 
 at  work  for  Christ.  We  have  taken  no  line.  We  are 
 not  enlisted,  or  rather  we  are  not  serving — for  enlisted 
 we  all  are — in  Christ's  army.     His  enemies  are  not  our 
 
 ^  2  Cor.  V.  14.  2  J  John  iv.  19.  ^  John  xxi.  17. 
 
 *  Gal.  ii.  ia. 
 
1 1  o  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 enemies,  nor  His  friends  our  friends.  We  are  not  with 
 Him\  When  we  hear  of  a  sin,  it  does  not  wound  us. 
 When  we  hear  of  a  glorious  act  of  Christian  heroism, 
 it  does  not  thrill  us  with  emotion.  When  we  pray,  we 
 do  not  go  forth  in  heart  and  soul  with  our  petition  : 
 when  we  praise  God  with  our  lips,  there  is  no  fire  of 
 thankful  love  in  our  breast :  when  we  give  alms,  we 
 do  it  without  charity :  when  we  sit  by  a  bed  of  sick- 
 ness, we  are  not  entering  with  deep  sympathy  into  the 
 suffering  in  body,  or  the  disease  in  soul,  of  him  who 
 lies  there.  In  short,  a  lukewarm  state  in  religion  is 
 just  what  the  word  itself  expresses  ;  something  flat  and 
 spiritless  and  vapid  and  poor ;  something  betwixt  and 
 between,  a  nondescript  between  two  positives,  itself 
 neither  this  nor  that ;  a  state  provoking  and  irritating 
 by  its  very  indefiniteness,  by  the  impossibility  of  cha- 
 racterizing it,  by  its  claim  of  a  title  which  does  not 
 belong  to  it,  of  a  standing-place  which  has  no  basis  of 
 reality. 
 
 2.  Such  is,  in  very  rough  outline,  the  character  of 
 the  lukewarm,  of  the  neither  cold  nor  hot.  We  must 
 place  separately,  as  this  passage  teaches  us  to  do,  its 
 special  tendency  to  self-ignorance  and  self-deception. 
 We  might  have  thought  that  no  one  could  exemplify 
 this  condition  without  being  aware  of  it.  We  might 
 have  thought  that  the  absence  of  all  fervour  and  glow 
 in  our  religion  would  be  felt  inwardly  as  a  great  want. 
 No.  The  lukewarm  Christian  has  a  standard  of  his 
 own,  and  he  comes  up  to  it.  He  may  be  perfectly 
 satisfied  with  his  attainments.  Probably  his  notion  of 
 Christ's  requirements  is  substantially  that  of  his  world  ; 
 
VIII.]  Chap.  III.    14 — 22.  Ill 
 
 he  and  they  have  agreed  together'^  to  modify  and  soften 
 down  the  severer  and  sterner  demands  of  the  Gospel  ; 
 to  say,  This  could  not  have  been  meant,  nor  this,  nor 
 this  ;  to  say,  This  will  be  enough,  this  will  satisfy  the 
 spirit  of  Christ's  law,  if  not  its  letter ;  and  thus  it 
 scarcely  occurs  to  him  to  feel  any  misgiving  as  to  the 
 approval  of  Christ  or  the  award  of  His  judgment. 
 T/ioic  sayesty  I  am  ricJi,  and  increased  with  goods,  and 
 have  need  of  nothing ;  and  knozvest  not  that  thoii  art 
 wretched  and  miserable  and  poor  and  blind  and  naked. 
 Thus  we  learn  to  look  upon  self-satisfaction  with 
 peculiar  suspicion.  If  we  think  that  all  is  well  with  us, 
 that  we  have  only  to  go  on  as  we  are,  and  all  will  end 
 well ;  we  may  be  nearly  sure  that  we  are  still  in  tJie 
 broad  zv ay  and  have  never  entered  in  at  the  strait  gate^. 
 This  spirit  is  the  very  opposite  of  that  upon  which 
 Christ's  blessing  is  pronounced,  when  He  says.  Blessed 
 are  they  zvhich  do  hunger  and  thirst  after  righteousness^. 
 The  lukewarm  Christian  has  no  such  hunger  and  thirst. 
 He  who  is  neither  cold  nor  hot  is  generally  a  self- 
 satisfied  man  :  he  has  no  idea  of  needing  a  thorough 
 change:  he  thinks  himself  safe  and  rich  and  in  need 
 of  nothing,  and  never  suspects  himself  of  being  all  the 
 time,  in  God's  sight,  wretched  and  poor  and  blind  and 
 naked.  Would  that  it  might  please  God  to  strike  the 
 arrow  of  His  conviction  through  some  self-complacent 
 heart  this  night !  If  He  could  only  see  us  self-accusing 
 and  self-emptied,  then  there  would  be  room  in  us  for 
 the  sweet  entrance  of  His  Gospel. 
 
 3.     We  shall  notice,  thirdly,  the  words  themselves 
 which  were  read  as  the  text  of  this  Sermon  ;  /  would 
 
 1  Acts  V.  n.  2,  Matt.  vii.   i  z.  ^  Matt.  v.  6. 
 
1 1 2  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 thou  wert  cold  or  hot.  We  have  heard  what  it  is  to  be 
 cold  ;  and  well  might  we  wonder  that  Christ  would 
 have  us  rather  cold  than  lukewarm.  But  we  must  all 
 have  noticed  how  peculiarly  abhorrent  to  God  is  inde- 
 cision and  irresolution  of  character.  There  is  no  deal- 
 ing with  such  a  man.  He  is  not  one  man;  he  is  tv/o 
 men.  You  know  not  where  you  have  him.  What  can 
 you  appeal  to.^  How  can  you  move  him.?  What  is  he.? 
 It  is  as  though  heaven  itself  were  impatient  of  such 
 doublemindedness,  provoked  by  the  impracticability  of 
 such  indecision.  /  would  thou  zvert  cold  or  hot:  then 
 might  thy  place  be  assigned  thee;  then  might  the  mis- 
 chief of  thy  misnomer  be  remedied,  and  thy  power  to 
 mislead  and  to  injure  broken. 
 
 But  there  is  more  than  this  in  the  words  before  us. 
 The  lukewarm  is  really  further  from  God's  kingdom 
 even  than  the  cold.  He  is  out  of  the  reach  of  shocks. 
 The  terrors  of  the  Lord  fly  past  him.  Conscience  is 
 armed  against  surprises.  He  thinks  he  is  a  Christian: 
 in  the  same  degree  is  he  further  from  becoming  one.  A 
 man  who  knows  that  Christ  is  not  yet  his  Saviour  may 
 one  day  fall  at  His  feet:  when  the  great  waves  of  this 
 troublesome  world  beat  upon  him,  he  may  yet  cry  out, 
 O  lead  me  to  the  rock  that  is  higher  than  I^:  but  a  nomi- 
 nal Christian,  most  of  all  a  self-satisfied  man,  must  go 
 on  as  he  is ;  what  he  is  not,  he  will  not  be ;  for  better  or 
 worse,  his  line  is  taken,  and  for  him  change  is  not. 
 
 4.  Thus  we  speak,  echoing  one  part  at  least  of  the 
 inspired  declaration.  But  Christ  allows  no  man  to  say 
 that  he  is  forbidden  to  hope  for  change.  Even  the  self- 
 complacent  self-deluding  Christian  is  counselled  to  come 
 
VIII 
 
 .]  Chap.   III.    14- 
 
 and  buy  of  Christ.  Even  he  is  told  that  it  is  because 
 Christ  loves  him  that  He  rebukes.  Even  to  him  the 
 promise  is  specially  addressed,  Behold,  I  stand  at  the 
 doo7%  and  knock :  if  any  man  hear  my  voice,  and  open  the 
 door,  I  will  come  in  to  him,  and  will  snp  zvith  him,  and 
 he  zvith  me. 
 
 My  brethren,  we  have  great  cause  to  thank  and  to 
 bless  Jesus  Christ  for  the  tone  in  which  He  speaks  to 
 us.  We  do  need  gentleness.  Sinners  are  much  to  be 
 pitied,  though  they  are  much  to  be  blamed.  If  the 
 threatenings  of  judgment,  if  the  going  away  into  ever- 
 lasting punishment'^ ,  if  the  figures  of  the  undying  worm 
 and  the  ?mqtcenched  firc'^,  mean  anything,  or  are  not 
 wholly  delusive  ;  then  indeed  a  merciful  Saviour,  and 
 one  who  has  learned  of  Him,  may  well  look  with  deep 
 compassion  upon  souls  running  headlong  into  that 
 destruction.  The  servant  of  the  Lord  must  not  strive, 
 but  be  gentle  toward  all  men,  if  God  peradventicre  ivill 
 give  them  repentajice  to  the  acknowledging  of  the  truth, 
 and  that  they  may  recover  themselves  out  of  the  snare  of 
 the  devil,  being  taken  captive  by  him,  the  servant  of  the 
 Lord,  at  His  (God's)  ivilP.  To  speak  angrily  to  them 
 would  be  of  no  avail:  they  are  proof  against  such 
 sounds:  it  is  but  stopping  the  ear  a  little  more  closely, 
 and  they  can  escape  from  the  molestation.  But  how 
 different  ought  it  to  be,  hovv^  different  has  it  again  and 
 again  been  found  in  fact,  when  the  words  of  Christ 
 are  such  as  these  to  them.  Behold,  I  stand  at  thy  door, 
 and  knock!  The  thought  of  a  Divine  Person,  our  Lord 
 and  our  God,  knocking  for  admittance;  coming  to  us 
 divested  of  His  terrors,  and  pleading  with  us  as  a  sup- 
 
114  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 pliant;  to  be  told  that  this  is  the  meaning  of  everything 
 which  befalls  us,  this  the  object  of  every  pang  of  re- 
 morse, of  every  chastisement  for  sin,  of  every  disap- 
 pointment of  a  heart's  wish,  of  every  dispensation  of 
 an  afflicting  Providence,  of  every  pain  and  sorrow,  of 
 every  sickness  and  care,  of  every  loss  and  woe,  that 
 Christ  may  make  His  knock  heard  ;  that  the  revelry 
 within,  with  its  clamours  and  its  intoxications,  may 
 for  a  moment  be  interrupted,  so  that  the  owner  of  the 
 mansion  may  hear  at  last  that  calm  patient  ceaseless 
 sound,  and  bestir  himself  to  let  the  stranger  in;  to  be 
 assured  that  in  that  simple  act  of  admission  lies,  even 
 for  the  most  guilty,  life  and  salvation;  to  be  taught  that 
 that  to  which  we  are  called  is  a  feast,  a  feast  which 
 Christ  will  furnish,  and  at  which  He  will  be  Himself 
 both  guest  and  host;  these  things  are  not  words  of 
 weakness,  they  are  words  of  strength  ;  they  are  mighty 
 through  God  to  the  pulling  down  of  st7'ongholds  \  to  the 
 levelling  of  human  pride  and  the  softening  of  human 
 obduracy. 
 
 May  it  be  so,  my  brethren,  with  us!  I  know  that 
 I  address  some  to-night  who  have  been  very  obstinate 
 in  disregarding  Christ's  knock.  In  their  hearts  they 
 feel  that  the  word  is  true;  but  they  have  other  guests 
 within,  whose  company  they  will  not  part  with  ;  sinful 
 habits,  sinful  tempers,  sinful  lusts,  which  must  go  if 
 Christ  enters,  and  which  they  do  not  choose  to  dismiss ; 
 or  else  they  are  too  indolent  to  rise  and  open  to  Him, 
 too  idle  and  too  procrastinating  to  step  across  the 
 threshold  even  for  salvation;  and  thus,  whatever  the 
 particular  cause,  the  result  is  the  same ;  life  is  hurrying 
 
VIII.] 
 
 Chap.  III.    14 — 22. 
 
 115 
 
 on,  and  they  are  not  saved} ;  the  twelve  hours  of  their 
 day  are  steadily  advancing  to  eventide,  and  soon  the 
 night  Cometh,  whe7t  no  man  can  work}.  Earnestly,  anxi- 
 ously, affectionately,  in  the  name  of  Christ,  for  the  sake 
 of  their  own  souls — would  we  plead  with  these  yet  once 
 more  to-night,  that  they  neglect  not  so  great  and  so 
 full  salvation.  Christ  stands  at  the  door  of  your  heart, 
 and  knocks.  O  let  him  that  hath  an  ear  hear  while  it 
 is  day,  and  open! 
 
 ^  Jer.  viii.  -20. 
 
 ^  John  ix.  4. 
 
 Fourth  Sunday  in  Lent, 
 March  10,  1861. 
 
LECTURE    IX. 
 
 REVELATION    IV.    I. 
 
 After  this  I  looked,  and,   beJiold,  a  door  was  opened  in 
 
 heaven. 
 
 For  most  Christians  the  Revelation  of  St  John  consists 
 of  five  chapters,  and  three  or  four  intermediate  para- 
 graphs. The  three  opening  chapters,  containing  the 
 Epistles  to  the  seven  churches,  with  their  preface,  and 
 the  last  two  chapters,  containing  the  description  of  the 
 heavenly  state,  with  a  few  fragments  from  the  4th,  5  th, 
 6th,  7th,  and  14th  chapters,  are  practically  for  us  the 
 whole  of  that  Book,  of  which  the  first  chapter  says, 
 Blessed  is  he  that  readeth^,  and  the  last  chapter,  If  any 
 man  shall  take  away  from  the  words  of  this  prophecy,  God 
 shall  take  away  his  part  out  of  the  book  of  life^. 
 
 I  have  hoped,  my  brethren,  to  do  something,  if  it  be 
 but  little,  on  this  and  several  future  occasions,  to  assist 
 you  in  studying  the  Revelation  of  St  John.  I  believe 
 that,  if  we  only  read  it  together,  carefully  attending  to 
 its  words,  and  just  gathering  up  any  fragments  of  its 
 solemn  teaching,  it  would  be  well,  it  would  be  better 
 than    nothing,    it   would    not  be  to   be  despised.     We 
 
LECT.  IX.]  Chap.  IV.  117 
 
 should  at  least  ascertain  in  this  way,  as  we  can  ascer- 
 tain in  no  other  way,  how  much  of  the  Book  really  is 
 unintelligible,  or  too  mysterious  for  a  common  Chris- 
 tian's use.  Many  of  us  have  never  done  even  this : 
 and  I  doubt  whether  that  is  quite  a  reverent  treatment 
 of  any  part  of  God's  Holy  Word. 
 
 One  thing  must  be  understood  at  the  outset ;  that 
 where  we  doubt  we  must  say  so,  and  where  we  are  in 
 the  dark  we  must  say  so.  We  are  not  to  go  to  this 
 commentator  and  that,  and  frame  some  temporary  ex- 
 pedient for  slurring  over  a  difficulty.  Anything  rather 
 than  that.  The  book  had  better  be  reverently  closed 
 than  irreverently  handled.  And  it  is  an  irreverent 
 handling  if,  to  save  ourselves  the  discomfort  of  doubt 
 or  the  discredit  of  ignorance,  we  put  upon  the  utterance 
 of  wisdom  an  interpretation  of  folly,  or  trust  to  escape 
 from  the  self-imposed  conflict  in  a  cloud  of  ambiguous 
 words  or  conjectural  thoughts.  If  any  one,  an  inter- 
 preter should  be  candid  :  if  anywhere,  at  least  in  the 
 study  of  God's  Word  we  should  constantly  and  ingenu- 
 ously speak  the  truth. 
 
 I  do  not  despair  of  a  real  blessing  being  vouchsafed 
 to  this  endeavour.  I  am  sure  that  it  will  interest  us. 
 I  am  sure  that  it  will  attract  us  to  God's  Word,  even 
 in  its  less  audibly  vocal  parts.  I  am  sure  that  it  will 
 assist  us  in  that  eminently  important  work  of  fixing  the 
 boundaries  between  our  knowledge  and  our  ignorance, 
 and  thus  (for  must  not  this  ever  be  the  result  1)  of 
 growing  perceptibly  in  that  true  wisdom  which  is  true 
 humility.  I  need  not  ask  every  heart  in  this  congre- 
 gation to  offer  a  special  prayer  to  God  that  this  m.ay 
 he  so. 
 
ii8 
 
 Revelation. 
 
 [lect. 
 
 I  will  remark  at  the  very  outset,  that  the  section  of 
 this  Divine  Book  on  which  we  enter  to-night  extends 
 from  the  first  verse  of  the  4th  chapter  to  the  first  verse 
 of  the  8th  chapter,  both  inclusive. 
 
 You  will  bear  in  mind  that  the  Church  of  Christ 
 upon  earth  at  the  time  when  this  Book  was  written  was 
 in  a  state  of  heavy  depression,  of  great  discouragement. 
 St  John  himself  was  in  exile  for  the  word  of  God  and 
 for  the  testimony  of  Jesus^.  The  Epistles  to  the  seven 
 churches  tell  a  tale  by  no  means  cheering.  We  read  of 
 martyrdoms  in  some  of  them^  We  read  of  an  hour  of 
 temptation  coming  upon  the  whole  then  known  world, 
 to  try  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth^.  We  read  too,  far 
 worse,  of  i7iiquity  abounding  and  love  waxing  cold"^,  of 
 feeble  strength  and  prevailing  lukewarmness,  even  in 
 the  bosom  of  the  Church  itself 
 
 Now  it  is  in  the  midst  of  these  anxieties  and  of 
 these  distresses  that  the  vision  on  which  we  are  about 
 to  enter  is  disclosed. 
 
 After^  these  things,  after  the  first  vision;  its  dis- 
 closures and  directions,  /  saw,  and  behold,  a  door  set 
 open  in  the  heavefi.  We  shall  have  occasion  perpetually 
 to  refer  to  passages  of  the  Old  Testament  for  illustra- 
 tions of  expressions  used  in  this  Book.  Now  this  first 
 verse,  we  shall  find,  has  its  parallel  in  the  opening  of 
 the  prophecies  of  Ezekiel.  It  came  to  pass  in  the  thirtieth 
 year,  in  the  fourth  month,  in  the  fifth  day  of  the  month, 
 as  I  was  among  the  captives  by  the  river  of  Chebar^ — 
 you  see  how  distress  and  sorrow  and  solitude  favour 
 communications  between  a  man  and  his  God ;  you  see 
 
 ^  Rev.  i.  9.  2  j^gy_  jj    J 2.  3  ^ey_  jj;    jq 
 
IX.]  Chap.   IV.  1 1 9 
 
 it  in  St  John,  and  here  you  see  it  also  in  Ezekiel — that 
 the  heavens  were  opened,  and  I  saw  visions  of  God.  That 
 is  the  meaning  of  the  door  opened  in  heave7t.  It  is  in 
 order  to  let  the  eye  of  the  seer  pass  freely  in. 
 
 And,  behold,  there  was  the  first  voice,  zvhich  I  heard 
 as  if  of  a  trumpet  talking  with  me.  The  first  voice  is 
 the  voice  which  St  John  had  heard  in  the  vision  of  the 
 first  chapter.  /  zvas  in  the  spirit  on  the  Lord's  day,  a7id 
 heard  behind  me  a  great  voice  as  of  a  trumpet,  saying, 
 I  a7n  Alpha  and  Omega^,  &c.  Now  he  says  that  he 
 heard  again  this  first  voice,  the  voice  of  the  first  vision, 
 the  voice  as  of  a  trumpet  talking  with  him.  Behold, 
 there  was  in  my  ear  the  same  first  voice  over  again, 
 saying.  There  is  a  peculiarity  here  :  it  is  even  one  say- 
 ing, a  person  saying  to  me :  and  we  cannot  doubt  who 
 the  person  is,  when  we  remember  that  the  same  voice, 
 heard  in  the  first  chapter,  said,  /  ain  Alpha  and  Omega, 
 the  first  and  the  last'^.  It  is  then  a  person  saying,  Come 
 up  hither,  and  I  will  show  thee  things  which  must  come 
 to  pass  after  these.  Must,  because  it  is  the  will  of  God  ; 
 must,  because  they  are  written  in  His  book  which  is 
 now  about  to  be  unrolled. 
 
 Immediately^  I  became  in  spirit.  The  same  expres- 
 sion has  just  been  quoted  from  the  first  chapter,  /  was 
 ill  spirit  on  the  Lord's  day^,  I  passed  into  a  state  in 
 which  the  spirit,  the  soul  possessed  and  pervaded  by 
 the  Holy  Spirit,  was  for  me  the  only  existence.  The 
 whole  mind  and  soul  were  raised  out  of  the  region  of 
 earth  and  earthly  things,  and  filled,  occupied,  absorbed, 
 engrossed,  by  the  contemplation  of  heavenly  revelations, 
 
 ^  Rev,  i.  lo.  ^  Rev.  i.  ii. 
 
 ^   Verse  2.  *  Rev.  i.  10. 
 
I20  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 And  behold,  a  throne  zvas  set,  already  set,  in  the 
 Jieaven^  and  upon  the  throne  there  was  One  seated,  al- 
 ready seated.  The  description  is  that  of  a  council  in 
 the  very  act  of  being  held.  It  is  not  to  be  taken  as 
 a  description  of  the  ordinary  heavenly  state:  it  is  the 
 account  of  an  assembly  or  council  gathered  together 
 for  a  special  purpose.  Thus  we  shall  compare  it  with 
 the  vision  of  the  prophet  Micaiah  in  the  last  chapter 
 of  the  first  Book  of  Kings.  /  sazv  the  Lord  sitting  on 
 His  throne,  and  all  the  host  of  heaven  sta^iding  by  Him 
 on  His  right  hand  and  on  His  left^ :  and  then  follows 
 an  account  of  the  particular  subject  of  the  heavenly 
 council ;  the  fate  of  the  wicked  king  Ahab,  and  his 
 approaching  fall  at  Ramoth-gilead.  It  is  so  here.  The 
 whole  scene  is  introductory  to  a  vision  of  judgment 
 v/hich  will  unfold  itself  hereafter. 
 
 And'^  He  that  zvas  seated  on  the  throne  was  like  in 
 sight  to  a  precious  stojie,  jasper  and  sardian.  We 
 read  in  the  2ist  chapter  of  a  jasper  stone  clear  as 
 crystal'^ ;  that  is  the  emblem  here  used  to  express  by 
 its  perfect  and  sparkling  whiteness  the  unsullied  purity 
 and  holiness  of  God.  The  sardian,  or  cornelian,  on 
 the  other  hand,  by  its  fiery  red  colour  indicates  God's 
 righteous  judgment.  And  a  rainbozv  was  round  the 
 throne,  like  in  sight  to  an  emerald.  We  all  remember 
 the  special  significance  of  the  rainbow,  as  recorded  in 
 the  9th  chapter  of  the  book  of  Genesis.  It  is  the 
 emblem  of  faithfulness  ;  faithfulness  even  amidst  judg- 
 ment. //  shall  come  to  pass,  wheji  I  bring  a  cloud  over 
 the  eai'th,  that  the  bozv  shall  be  seen  in  the  cloud ;  and  I 
 zviil  remember  my  covena?it...I  zvill  look  tipon  it,  that  I 
 
 "   Verse  ^.  ^  Rev.  xxi.  ir. 
 
IX.]  Chap,  IV.  121 
 
 may  remember  the  everlasting  covenant^.  More  especially 
 is  it  the  emblem  of  returning  mercy ;  of  hope  reviving 
 after  the  deluge  ;  of  a  faithful  care  exercised  over  the 
 little  flock  of  Christ  when  it  is  wellnigh  submerged  and 
 lost  in  the  tempest  of  human  strife  or  of  divine  judg- 
 ment. Such  were  the  tokens  exhibited  on  the  very 
 face  of  the  vision  to  cheer  the  drooping  hopes  of  the 
 Church  of  Christ  on  earth. 
 
 A  nd^  7'oiuid  the  throne  were  thrones  tiuenty  and  fonr  ; 
 and  upon  the  thrones,  the  tiventy  and  four,  I  saw  elders 
 seated,  clad  vi  white  garments^  and  tipon  their  heads 
 crowns  of  gold.  These  are  the  representatives  of  God's 
 Church.  We  need  not  be  curious  about  the  exact  num- 
 ber by  which  the  vision  typifies  them.  It  may  have 
 been  suggested  by  the  combination  of  the  representa- 
 tives of  the  two  Dispensations,  the  twelve  Patriarchs 
 and  the  twelve  Apostles.  Or  it  may  have  been  with 
 reference  to  what  we  read  in  the  ist  Book  of  Chronicles 
 of  the  four  and  twenty  chief  men  of  the  house  of  Aaron, 
 among  whom  David  distributed  the  various  offices  of 
 the  priesthood  I  We  shall  hear  the  four  and  twenty 
 elders  describing  themselves  as  priests  as  well  as  kings*: 
 and  the  white  raiment,  and  even  the  holy  crowjt  of  pure 
 gold,  with  its  well-known  inscription  Holiness  to  the 
 Lord,  is  described  in  the  book  of  Exodus  as  the  pecu- 
 liar possession  of  the  Levitical  priest^  The  four  and 
 twenty  elders  here  are  representatives  of  all  those  whom 
 Christ  has  redeemed  by  His  blood,  and  has  made 
 priests  as  well  as  kings  to  God. 
 
 ^  Gen,  ix.  12 — 16.  ^   Verse  \. 
 
 3  I  Chron.  xxiv.  r — -19.  "*  Rev.  v.  ro. 
 
 ^  Exod.  xxxix,  30. 
 
1 2  2  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 And'^  out  of  the  thro7ie  go  forth  lightnings  and  voices 
 and  thunders ;  Indications  of  approaching  judgment  ; 
 just  as  we  read  In  the  book  of  Exodus,  amongst  the 
 preparations  for  the  giving  of  the  Law  on  Mount  Sinai, 
 It  came  to  pass  on  the  third  day  in  the  morning,  that 
 there  zvere  thunders  and  lightnings,  and  a  thick  cloud 
 up07t  the  mount,  and  the  voice  of  the  trumpet  exceeding 
 loud;  so  that  all  the  people  that  was  in  the  carnp  trejnbled: 
 and  then  Moses  brotcght  forth  the  people  out  of  the  camp  to 
 meet  with  God^. 
 
 And  there  were  seven  torches  of  fire  bur7iing  before 
 the  throne,  which  are  the  seven  spirits  of  God:  the  Holy 
 Spirit  of  God  regarded  In  His  operations,  In  His  diffu- 
 sion, as  we  noticed  at  the  opening  of  the  3rd  chapter: 
 just  as  St  Paul  says,  In  his  ist  Epistle  to  the  Corinth- 
 ians, Now  there  are  diversities  of  gifts,  but  the  same 
 Spirit^. 
 
 And^  before  the  throne  there  was  as  it  were  a  sea  of 
 glass,  like  crystal;  that  is,  a  sea  calm  and  clear  as  if  It 
 had  been  of  transparent  glass,  or  rather — for  glass  In 
 those  days  was  wanting  in  perfect  transparency — like 
 the  clear  and  bright  crystal.  The  position  of  this  sea 
 in  the  vision  may  have  been  suggested  by  that  of  the 
 molten  sea  In  front  of  the  temple  of  Solomon^:  but  its 
 significance  Is  far  greater;  It  denotes  the  depth  and 
 vastness  of  God's  works  and  ways.  Thy  judgmejits  are 
 like  the  great  deep^.  Thy  way  is  in  the  sea,  and  Thy  path 
 in  the  great  waters,  and  Thy  footsteps  are  not  knowri^. 
 The  sea  Is  the  emblem  of  God's  counsels,  In  their  un- 
 
 1    Verse  5.  ^  Exod.  xix.  16.  ^  i  Cor.  xii.  4. 
 
 *  Versed.  ^  2  Chron.  iv.  9,  10. 
 
 *  Psalm  xxxvi.  6  (Pra3'er-Book  Version).  ^  Psalm  Ixxvii.  19. 
 
IX.]  Chap.  IV.  123 
 
 searchable  depth,  their  measureless  expanse,  their  free- 
 dom, their  purity,  and  their  strength. 
 
 There  is  yet  another  remarkable  feature  to  be  added 
 to  the  picture.  And  in  the  midst  of  the  throfie — or,  as 
 I  rather  believe,  according  to  a  well-known  idiom  of  the 
 original  language,  between  it  and  the  throne,  in  the  inter- 
 val between  the  sea  and  the  throne  itself — and  around 
 the  throne  were  fotir  living  creatures  full  of  eyes  before 
 ajid  beJiind.  As  the  four  and  twenty  elders  are  the 
 representatives  of  the  Church,  so  the  four  living  beings 
 are  representatives  of  creation.  The  number  foiLr  is 
 characteristic  of  the  earth,  with  its  four  quarters,  four 
 corners,  and  four  winds.  The  figure,  originally  taken 
 from  the  cherubim  in  the  tabernacle — over  the  ai'k  the 
 cherubims  of  glory  sJiadowing  the  inercy-seaf — was  ap- 
 plied in  the  visions  of  the  prophet  EzekieP,  in  a  manner 
 from  which  the  description  before  us  is  transferred. 
 
 And^  the  first  living  creature  was  like  a  lion  ;  and 
 the  second  living  creature  like  a  calf,  or  rather,  a  yoiing 
 ox;  and  the  third  living  creature  having  its  coimtejtance 
 as  of  a  humaji  being ;  and  the  fourth  living  creature  like 
 an  eagle  flying.  It  lies  on  the  surface  to  observe  here 
 specimens  of  different  classes  of  creation;  wild  beasts 
 and  tame,  birds  of  the  air,  and  that  rational  being  to 
 whom  others  are  subjected.  I  know  not  whether  we 
 may  not  see  also  in  the  description  of  these  living 
 beings  which  are  brought  so  near  the  throne  of  God 
 to  utter  His  praise,  something  also  of  a  combination  of 
 those  qualities  which  in  their  distinctness  and  separa- 
 tion mark  each  one  of  these  races.  When  we  add  to- 
 gether the  generous  boldness  of  the  lion,  the  enduring 
 
 1  Heb.  ix.  5.  2  Ezek.  i.  5.     x.  1—22.  ^   Yi,yse  7. 
 
124         .  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 industry  of  the  ox,  the  soaring  aspiration  of  the  eagle, 
 and  the  tender  touching  sympathy  of  the  man,  have  we 
 not  in  one  whole  that  character  which  is  most  fit  to  take 
 up  its  abode  in  God's  presence,  and  with  ceaseless  praise 
 to  declare  His  glory? 
 
 Ajid^  the  four  living  creatures,  one  by  one  of  them 
 having  six  ivings  apiece,  around  and  withi7i  are  fidl  of 
 eyes:  it  is  a  very  strong  expression;  properly  teem  with 
 eyes;  the  emblem,  I  suppose,  of  ceaseless  vigilance  and 
 strong  vitality:  aitd  rest  they  have  not,  by  day  and  by 
 night,  saying,  Holy,  holy,  holy  is  the  Lord  {Jehovah)  God, 
 the  Almighty,  who  zvas  and  luho  is  and  zvho  conieth. 
 The  first  words  of  this  hymn  of  praise  are  found  in  the 
 corresponding  vision  of  the  Prophet  Isaiah.  /  saw  the 
 Lord  sitting  iLpon  a  throne,  high  and  lifted  np,  and  His 
 train  filled  the  temple.  Above  it  stood  the  seraphims — 
 answering  to  the  living  creatitres  of  which  we  have  read 
 in  Ezekiel  and  here — each  one  had  six  wings ;  with  twain 
 he  covered  his  face,  and  with  twain  he  covered  his  feet, 
 and  zuith  twain  he  did  fiy.  And  one  cried  unto  another, 
 and  said.  Holy,  holy,  holy  is  the  Lord  of  hosts ;  the 
 whole  earth  is  full  of  His  glory'^.  Of  the  concluding 
 words  of  the  verse  immediately  before  us  we  have 
 heard  already  in  the  ist  chapter ^  And  they  are  in 
 fact  identical  with  that  revelation  of  God  which  was 
 made  to  Israel  on  the  occasion  of  which  we  read 
 in  the  first  lesson  for  this  morning,  when,  in  answer 
 to  the  enquiry  of  Moses  as  to  the  name  by  which  he 
 was  to  speak  to  them  of  their  Deliverer,  God  said 
 unto  Moses,  I  AM  THAT  I  AM:  and  thns  shall  thou 
 say  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  I  AM  hath  sent  77ie  unto 
 
 1    Verse  8.  ^  js^i.  vi.  i — 3.  ^  Rev.  i.  8. 
 
IX.]  Chap.  IV.  "t2  5 
 
 yoii}.  He  zvho  zvas  and  ivho  is  and  zvho  cometh  is  He 
 who  has  neither  beginning  of  days  nor  end  of  life'' ;  He 
 who  knows  neither  origination  nor  circumscription  of 
 being ;  He  who  is  the  same,  the  unchangeable  God,  in 
 the  remotest  past,  in  the  moment  that  is,  and  to  the 
 remotest  future. 
 
 And^  whenever  the  living  creatures  shall  give  glory 
 and  honour  and  thanks  to  Him  who  sitteth  upon  the 
 throne,  who  liveth  to  the  ages  of  the  ages,  to  an  eternity 
 which  comprehends  not  units  of  years  only,  but  ages 
 of  which  each  unit  is  an  age,  the'  twenty  and  four 
 elders  will  {are  wont  to)  fall  down  before  Him  that 
 sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  zvorship  Him  that  liveth 
 unto  the  ages  of  the  ages,  and  cast  their  crowns  before 
 the  throne,  saying,  Worthy"  art  Thou,  the  Lord  {Je- 
 hovah) and  our  God,  to  have  received  the  glory  and  the 
 honour  and  the  power,  because  Thou  didst  create  all 
 things,  and  through  {piving  to)   Thy  will  they  zveie,  and 
 
 zuere  created. 
 
 We  have  reached  but  the  very  opening  of  the 
 vision:  we  have  not  yet  reached  the  subject  of  the 
 council :  we  have  not  yet  completed  the  scenery  of  the 
 presence-chamber  itself.  But  the  time  forbids  our  pro- 
 ceeding to-night  beyond  the  limits  of  this  one  chapter. 
 Let  us  endeavour  to  collect  from  it  a  few  of  its  chief 
 lessons  before  we  conclude. 
 
 I.  The  first  of  these  must  be,  the  reality  of  a 
 heavenly  world,  and  of  its  concern  and  connection  with 
 this.  As  soon  as  ever  a  door  is  opened  in  heaven, 
 the    prophet   hears    voices    and    sees    forms    above,    of 
 
 1  Exod.  iii.  14.  -  Heb.vii.  3.  ^   Verse  ^. 
 
 4   Verse  10.  '    Verse  11. 
 
126  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 which  a  moment  before  he  was  utterly  unconscious. 
 Surely  it  is  well  that  we  should  be  reminded  that  the 
 world  of  sight  and  sense  is  but  a  small  fraction  of 
 God's  universe.  There  is  another  world  in  full  ex- 
 istence and  in  full  operation  beside  and  above  this. 
 That  other  world  has  its  inhabitants.  That  other  world 
 has  its  plans  and  its  purposes,  its  presences  and  its 
 agencies,  even  like  this.  That  other  world,  though 
 distinct  from,  is  closely  connected  with  this  ;  and  the 
 subjects  of  its  chief  deliberations  are  the  interests  and 
 the  fortunes,  the  events  and  the  destinies,  of  this  lower 
 world  which  is  the  home  of  those  whom  we  call  the 
 living. 
 
 2.  What  an  astonishment  would  it  be  to  any  one 
 of  us,  my  brethren,  to  see  that  door  into  heaven 
 suddenly  opened !  We  may  suppose  that  something 
 of  this  kind  actually  happens  at  the  completion  of  that 
 change  which  we  denominate  death.  O  what  a  marvel, 
 what  a  confusion,  what  a  discomfiture,  must  it  be  to 
 a  worldly  man  or  to  a  sinner  to  find  at  the  moment 
 of  death  that  this  thing  which  we  have  so  long  seen 
 and  handled,  in  which  we  have  so  long  lived  and 
 moved,  was  not,  after  all,  the  whole  or  the  chief  part 
 of  that  which  is !  It  can  need  little  more  than  this 
 flash  of  surprise — very  little  of  examinations  of  wit- 
 nesses, or  of  confessions  of  the  accused,  or  of  sentences 
 of  judges — to  tell  them  how  utterly  unequipped  they 
 are  for  a  world  so  different !  If  the  assurance.  We  shall 
 see  Him  as  He  is^,  is  a  suflicient  argument  for  the 
 blessed  transformation  of  the  righteous  at  the  hour  of 
 Christ's  coming,  then  surely  the  prediction,   They  shall 
 
 ^  I  John  iii.  2. 
 
IX.]  Chap,  IV.  127 
 
 see  it  as  it  is,  will  be  a  sufficient  statement  of  the  misery 
 of  entering  unrepentant,  unforgiven,  unbelieving,  into 
 the  world  of  spirit,  of  reality,  of  heaven. 
 
 3.  But  the  revelation  of  a  world  co-existent  with 
 our  own,  though  separated  from  its  view  at  present 
 as  by  a  solid  and  closed  door  in  heaven,  was  not  de- 
 signed in  the  passage  before  us  to  be  so  much  a  terror 
 as  an  encouragement.  To  Christian  persons,  to  those, 
 that  is,  who  mourn  for  sin,  and  renounce  and  forsake  it, 
 and  trust  in  Christ  only,  and  pray  for  the  grace  of  the 
 Holy  Spirit  to  make  them  and  keep  them  His,  it  ought 
 to  be  and  will  be  a  real  comfort  to  remember  that  just 
 inside  that  door  there  is  a  heaven,  and  a  throne  set,  and 
 a  God  seated  thereon,  and  a  holy  and  loving  council 
 gathered,  and  plans  under  preparation  for  purposes  of 
 good  to  the  poor  struggling  and  suffering  people  below ; 
 and  that  round  the  throne  is  the  covenant  bow,  pro- 
 mising evermore  a  clear  sJiining  after  rain^,  and  pledg- 
 ing the  very  faithfulness  of  God  to  their  final  rescue  and 
 deliverance.  There  have  been  times  repeatedly  in  the 
 Church,  and  there  are  times  repeatedly  in  every  sepa- 
 rate human  life,  at  which  all  things  seem  to  be  against 
 success*^,  against  the  power  to  endure,  against  the  hope 
 of  perseverance  and  of  escape.  How  good  is  it,  at  such 
 times,  to  turn  to  a  scene  like  that  here  disclosed  !  to 
 be  reminded  of  something  exactly  opposite  to  chance 
 and  change,  something  which  bespeaks  purpose,  some- 
 thing which  tells  of  a  clue  threading  the  labyrinth,  and 
 of  a  plummet  sounding  the  depths !  He  who  cojnmits 
 the  keeping  of  his  soul  into  God's  hands,  as  into  the  hands 
 of  a  faithful  Ci'eatcr^,  through  His  Son  Jesus  Christ,  is 
 
 ^  2  Sam.  xxiii.  4.  ^  q^j^  ^lii.  36.  ^  i  Pet.  iv.  19. 
 
128  Revdation.  [lect. 
 
 being  cared  for  and  thought  for  and  planned  for  inside 
 that  door,  as  certainly  as  if  it  were  for  him  already 
 opened,  and  he  heard  the  first  voice  saying,  Come  up 
 hither,  a?id  I  will  show  thee  things  tvJiich  must  be  here- 
 after. 
 
 4.  St  Peter  says,  in  words  just  referred  to,  as  into 
 the  hands  of  a  faithful  Creator.  He  goes  back,  for  the 
 redeemed,  to  a  claim  and  a  tie  yet  earlier  than  redemp- 
 tion. He  teaches  them  to  feel  that,  when  sin  is  put 
 away,  when  there  is  peace  between  the  soul  and  God 
 by  a  method  not  of  nature,  and  not  of  creation,  but 
 of  subsequent  spontaneous  grace ;  then  the  plea  of 
 creation  resumes  its  original  power,  and  that  he  who 
 can  say,  /  am  Thine  in  Christ,  may  go  on  to  say,  For- 
 sake not  the  work  of  Thine  own  hands'^.  Even  such  is 
 the  note  here  struck.  Is  not  that  the  very  meaning 
 of  the  four  living  beings,  representatives  (as  we  have 
 seen)  of  all  parts  and  sections  of  creation  t  Was  not 
 that  description  written  for  the  very  purpose  of  remind- 
 ing us  that  God  in  Christ  has  all  power  in  earth  as 
 well  as  in  heaven  ;  that  in  the  strictest  sense,  all  things 
 serve  Him'^f  Life  and  death,  things  present  as  well  as 
 things  to  come,  accident  and  disease,  want  and  age  ; 
 yes,  things  more  outward  still,  the  bread  and  the  water, 
 the  fire  and  the  covering,  the  judgments  of  sword  and 
 famine  and  pestilence^  the  mercies  of  dew  and  rain 
 and  fruitful  seasons'*  ;  all  are  God's,  all  are  Christ's  ; 
 and  if  God's,  if  Christ's,  then  the  Christian's  too.  All 
 ihi?igs  are  yours,  for  7^  ai^e  Chris  fs,  and  CJirist  is  God's". 
 O   what  an  antidote  to  life's  cares,  for  those  who  can 
 
 1  Psalm  cxxxviii.  8.  ~  Psalm  cxix.  91  (Prayer-Book  Version). 
 
 2  Ezek.  xiv.  21.  '^  Acts  xiv.  17.  ^  i  Cor.  iii.  22,  23. 
 
IX 
 
 .]  Chap.  IV.  129 
 
 use  it !  It  springs  from  the  fact  that  creation  itself, 
 in  all  its  parts,  rational  and  irrational,  has  its  repre- 
 sentatives before  the  throne  in  heaven,  and  ascribes  the 
 glory,  the  honour,  and  the  strength,  to  Him  who  sits 
 upon  the  throne,  who  liveth  for  ever  and  ever ! 
 
 5.  But  if  the  thought  of  the  four  living  beings 
 which  typify  creation  has  something  of  comfort  for  us 
 in  reference  to  the  v/orld  above,  how  much  more  that 
 of  men  of  our  own  flesh  and  likeness,  who  are  already 
 clad  in  the  robes  of  priesthood,  and  admitted  to  the 
 sight  of  God  and  to  the  ministrations  of  the  heavenly 
 temple  !  TJiat  zvorld^  is  not  all  peopled  wath  strange 
 and  unknown  forms.  Men  are  there ;  patriarchs,  pro- 
 phets, apostles  ;  saints  and  martyrs ;  common  men  too, 
 poor  men,  humble  men,  men  whom  we  have  known, 
 men  whom  we  have  loved,  familiar  forms,  friends  and 
 guides,  young  and  old,  now  made  perfect  tJiroiigh  suffer- 
 ings'^ :  they  are  there  ;  and  one  part,  no  doubt,  of  their 
 employment  is  adoration  ;  they  fall  down  before  Him 
 that  sits  on  the  throne,  and  cast  their  crowns  before 
 the  throne,  saying,  Thou  art  zvorthy,  O  Lord :  but  this 
 is  not  all ;  it  is  no  fancied  lesson  which  bids  us  read 
 in  this  chapter  a  proof  of  their  care  also  and  interest 
 in  us  ;  of  their  being  as  it  were  members  of  a  heavenly 
 council  of  which  the  subject  is  earth,  earth  and  its 
 fortunes,  the  church  in  its  struggle  with  the  world,  the 
 soul  of  the  Christian  combatant  in  its  battle  with  the 
 powers  of  evil.  Surely,  in  this  sense  at  least,  the  elders 
 here  described  are  representatives  of  us.  We  are  com- 
 passed about  with  a  great  cloicd  of  ivitnesses,  as  we  run 
 the   race  set  before  us^ ;    and    those   witnesses  are  not 
 
 1   Luke  XX.  35.  2  Heb.  ii.  10.  ^  Heb.  xii.  i. 
 
 V.  R.  9 
 
130  Revelation.  [lect.  ix. 
 
 mere  spectators ;  they  are  members  too  of  the  heavenly 
 council,  and  we,  we  ourselves,  we  here  below,  are  the 
 subject  and  concern  of  their  consultations. 
 
 6.  The  closing-  word  is  obvious  ;  Are  we  Christians 
 indeed  ?  Are  our  faces  and  our  feet  set  heavenwards  ? 
 Are  we  running  with  patience  the  race  set  before  us  ? 
 Are  our  desires  after  holiness,  our  aspirations  after  the 
 life  of  Christ?  O,  if  not,  the  thought  of  a  throne  in 
 heaven,  and  yet  more  of  a  council  in  heaven,  of  a  plan 
 in  heaven,  a  plan  which  has  for  its  end  the  discomfi- 
 ture of  evil  and  the  safety  of  the  Christian,  can  be  only 
 indifferent  to  you,  or  else  alarming.  And  whether  you 
 will  have  it  so  or  not,  it  is  true.  God  has  a  purpose, 
 and  through  favouring  and  adverse  circumstances  He 
 is  surely  guiding  it  to  its  end.  O  be  with  Him  and 
 not  against  Him  in  it !  O  submit  yourselves,  while 
 you  may,  to  Christ,  and  so  shall  you  not  be  ashamed 
 before  Him  at  His  coming^. 
 
 ^  I  John  ii.  28, 
 
 Fifth  Sunday  in  Lent, 
 March  17,  1S61. 
 
LECTURE    X. 
 
 REVELATION   V.   6. 
 
 And  I  beheld,  and,  lo,  in  the  midst  of  the  throne  and  of  the 
 four  beasts,  a7id  in  the  midst  of  the  elders,  stood  a  Lamb, 
 as  it  had  beeft  slain,  Jiaving  seven  horns  a7td  seven  eyes, 
 which  are  the  seven  Spirits  of  God  sent  forth  iiito  all 
 the  earth. 
 
 The  4th  chapter  presented  to  us  the  spectacle  of  a 
 council  gathered  in  heaven.  There  was  a  throne  set, 
 and  One  seated  upon  it,  who  is  God  Himself.  The 
 throne  itself  is  encircled  with  its  rainbow,  the  emblem 
 of  divine  faithfulness,  and  more  particularly  of  divine 
 mercy  emerging  out  of  a  scene  of  judgment.  Around 
 the  throne  are  four  and  twenty  thrones,  occupied  by  so 
 many  elders  in  the  dress  of  a  royal  priesthood.  From, 
 the  throne  go  forth  ceaseless  lightnings  and  thunderings 
 and  voices  ;  indications,  like  those  on  Sinai',  of  a  coming 
 ministry  of  judgment.  Before  the  throne  is  a  sea  of 
 glass ;  the  image  of  God's  counsels,  in  their  depth,  their 
 vastness,  their  purity,  and  their  strength.  Between  the 
 sea  of  glass  and  the  throne  itself  are  four  living  creatures, 
 
 1  Exod.  xix.  i6. 
 
 9-2 
 
132  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 each  representing  a  whole  class  of  animated  being,  and 
 each  typifying,  it  may  be,  a  component  quality — courage, 
 industry,  aspiration,  sympathy — of  that  perfection  of  cha- 
 racter which  shall  approach  nearest  to  the  throne  of  God. 
 The  chapter  closes  with  the  adorations  of  the  two  classes 
 thus  far  introduced  ;  the  adorations  of  the  four  living 
 creatures,  and  the  adorations  of  the  four  and  twenty  el- 
 ders, to  the  holy,  almighty,  and  eternal  God,  from  whose 
 undisputed  will  creation  itself  has  derived  its  being. 
 
 Thus  everything  is  prepared  for  further  disclosure  : 
 but  the  Christian's  heart  misses  thus  far  one  element  of 
 comfort  and  hope.  Let  us  see  whether  the  chapter  on 
 which  we  enter  to-night  will  supply  this  want. 
 
 And^  I  saw  on  tJie  i^ig/it  hand,  lyii^g  oi"^  the  open 
 palm,  of  Him  that  sat  on  the  throne  a  book,  that  is,  a 
 paper  roll,  written  ivitJnn  and  beJiind ;  so  full  of  matter 
 that  the  ,back  of  the  roll  was  not,  as  usual,  left  blank, 
 but  the  writing  was  seen  to  overflow,  as  it  were,  upon  it. 
 
 We  shall  be  reminded  here  of  what  is  said  of  the 
 tables  of  the  law  as  originally  committed  to  Moses,  that 
 they  were  written  on  both  their  sides  ;  on  the  one  side  and 
 on  the  other  ivcre  they  written"^;  and  still  more  exactly  of 
 the  prophetic  roll  described  in  the  opening  of  the  pro- 
 phecies of  Ezekiel ;  Ajid  zuhen  I  looked,  behold,  an  hand 
 zuas  sent  tinto  me ;  ajid,  lo,  a  roll  of  a  book  zvas  therein  : 
 and  He  spread  it  before  me;  and  it  zuas  zvritten  zvithin  and 
 zvithont ;  and  there  zvas  zvritten  therein  lamentations  and 
 moJirning  and  zvoe^. 
 
 It  is  further  said  of  the  roll  s,^^xv  in  this  vision,  that 
 it  ^2.^  fast  sealed  with  seven  seals.  It  is  of  little  conse- 
 quence to  settle  the  position  of  these  seals  ;    in  what 
 
 ^  Verse  i.  ^  Exod.  xxxii.  15.  ^  Ezek.  ii.  9,  10. 
 
X.]  Chap.  V.    I — 6.  133 
 
 manner  they  were  seen  to  secure  that  document,  the 
 contents  of  which  had  been  already  observed  to  extend 
 even  to  its  outer  side.  The  only  important  point  is  to 
 notice  the  prophetic  significance  of  a  sealed  roll.  And 
 we  shall  find  an  exact  parallel  in  one  of  the  prophecies 
 of  Isaiah.  And  the  vision  of  all  is  become  ttnto yoiL  as  the 
 ivords  of  a  hook  {roll)  that  is  sealed,  zvhieh  men  deliver  to 
 one  that  is  learned,  saying,  Read  this,  I  pray  thee :  and  he 
 saith,  I  eannot ;  for  it  is  sealed'^.  The  sealing  was  some- 
 thing which  precluded  the  reading.  Even  learning  was 
 of  no  avail  until  the  seal  was  removed.  Thus  the  roll 
 of  God's  counsels,  here  lying  upon  the  open  hand  of 
 Him  that  sat  on  the  throne,  could  have  no  message  for 
 His  servants,  so  long  as  the  seals  or  any  of  the  seals 
 remained.  So  long  the  mystery  of  God  was  not  a  secret 
 told,  but  a  secret  kept. 
 
 And'^  I  sazv  a  migJity  angel,  proclaiming  in  a  loud  voice, 
 Who  is  zvorthy  to  open  the  roll,  and  to  loose  the  seals  of 
 it  ?  And'^  no  one  ivas  able,  in  the  Jieaven,  nor  on  the  eai^th, 
 nor  under  the  earth — no  created  power,  neither  angel 
 nor  man  ;  nor,  of  men,  either  the  living  or  the  dead — to 
 open  the  roll,  no,  nor  to  look  tpon  it.  And^  I zvept  much, 
 in  the  disappointment  of  excited  expectation,  because  no 
 one  ivas  foitnd  zuorthy  to  open  the  roll,  nor  to  look  upon  it. 
 I  saw  that  it  was  full  of  God's  counsels  and  of  God's  pur- 
 poses ;  I  knew  that  those  counsels  and  those  purposes 
 concerned  His  Church  on  earth ;  I  saw  that  Church  op- 
 pressed and  persecuted,  slowly  making  way,  and  easily 
 driven  backwards;  I  felt  that  explanation  was  all  that  was 
 needed  to  make  God's  dealings  with  it  consistent  and 
 even  welcome :  and  yet  here,  at  the  very  moment  when 
 
 ^  Isai.  xxix.  ri.  2  y^^^^  2.  ^  Verse-i.  ^  Verss  ^. 
 
134  "  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 that  explanation  seemed  to  be  vouchsafed,  there  was  no 
 mediating  voice  to  read  it  from  the  language  of  God 
 into  the  language  of  men,  or  to  make  the  dead,  the 
 sealed,  the  silent  page  an  open  revelation  and  a  living 
 voice.  And  I  wept  imick,  because  no  one  was  found  woj^thy 
 to  open  the  roll.  O  my  brethren,  the  tears  of  the  Apostle 
 may  seem  to  us  exaggerated  and  unreal.  We  cannot 
 enter  into  that  agony  of  expectation,  into  the  anguish  of 
 that  hope  deferred,  out  of  which  those  tears  flowed. 
 Alas !  even  the  open  book,  the  book  read  to  us  by  a 
 Saviour,  the  book  which  tells  us  of  the  mind  of  God  and 
 of  all  His  purposes  concerning  us,  gives  us  no  comfort, 
 awakens  in  us  no  desire,  meets  in  us  too  often  with  no 
 response.  How  do  the  tears  of  St  John  reprove  us ! 
 What  a  depth  of  unthankfulness  on  our  part,  what  a 
 dulness  of  spiritual  apprehension  and  of  spiritual  interest, 
 do  they  reveal  by  contrast !  Well  has  it  been  written. 
 The  words,  I  wept  much,  caii  only  be  tender  stood  by  those 
 zuho  have  lived  in  great  catastrophes  of  the  Church,  and 
 entered  with  the  fullest  sympathy  into  her  sufferings . . .  With- 
 out tears  the  Revelation  zvas  not  writteji,  neither  can  it 
 without  tears  be  understood. 
 
 And^  one  from  among  the  elders  saith  to  me,  Weep  not: 
 behold,  One  conquered,  even  the  Lion  that  is  of  the  tribe  of 
 Judah,  the  root  of  David,  zuho  openeth — that  is,  conquered 
 so  as  to  open — tJie  roll  and  the  seven  seals  of  it.  Conquered 
 so  as  to  open.  The  glory  of  opening  the  book  of  God's 
 counsels  is  the  result  of  Christ's  victory  in  redemption. 
 It  is  one  part  of  the  Wherefore  God  also  hath  highly 
 exalted  Him"^,  of  which  we  heard  this  morning  in  the 
 Epistle  for  the  day.     To  be  the  unfolder,  the  revealer, 
 
 ^  Verse  5.  -  Phil.  ii.  9. 
 
X.]  Chap,  V.   I — 6.  135 
 
 the  expositor,  of  God's  counsels  to  God's  Church  and 
 God's  creatures,  is  one  part  of  that  mediatorial  reign 
 Upon  which  the  Saviour  entered  through  sufferings. 
 
 The  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  It  is  evident^  we  read 
 in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  that  otcr  Lord  sprang-  out 
 of  Jiidah^ .  And  in  the  prophetic  blessing  of  the  sons  of 
 Jacob,  the  lion  is  made,  as  you  remember,  the  emblem 
 of  that  particular  tribe.  Judah  is  a  lioiis  whelp :  from  the 
 prey^  iny  son,  thou,  art  gone  up :  lie  stooped  dowji,  he  couched 
 as  a  lion,  and  as  an  old  lioji ;  ivho  shall  rouse  him  7ip'^? 
 Strength  and  courage,  a  prowess  noble  and  generous,  are 
 the  ideas  conveyed  by  the  figure. 
 
 The  root  of  David,  an  expression  occurring  again  in 
 the  last  chapter  of  this  Book,  /  ain  the  root  and  offsp7'ing 
 of  David^,  is  derived  from  the  language  of  the  nth 
 chapter  of  the  Prophet  Isaiah,  the  root  of  Jesse^ ;  meaning 
 a  product  of  the  root,  just  as  seed  is  so  commonly  used 
 for  that  which  springs  from  it.  The  root  of  David  is  He 
 who  according  to  God's  promise  sprang  in  the  fulness  of 
 time  from  the  royal  stock  of  David.  How  say  the  Scribes, 
 and  say  truly,  that  Christ  is  the  Son  of  David'' f  Hath  not 
 the  Scripture  said,  that  Christ  comcth  of  the  seed  of  David, 
 and  out  of  the  tozvn  of  Bethlehem  ivhere  David  was^f 
 
 He  then  it  is;  He  of  the  predicted  tribe,  from  which 
 Shiloh  shotdd  come\  He  of  the  predicted  house,  to  which 
 it  was  promised  that  God  would  not  fail  David^ ;  He  it 
 is,  who  by  His  victory  over  death  and  the  grave  for  man 
 has  secured  to  Himself  the  glory  of  opening  to  man  the 
 book  of  God's  counsels. 
 
 ^  Heb.  vii.  14.  ^  Gen.  xlix.  9.  ^  Rgy.  xxii.  16- 
 
 4  Isai.  xi.  I.  5  Mark.  xii.  35.  ^  John  vii.  42. 
 
 7  Gen.  xlix.  10.  ^  Psalm  Ixxxix.  34  (Prayer-Book  Version). 
 
136  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 And^  I  saw  m  the  midst  of  the  throne  and  the  four 
 living  creatitres,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  elders^  occupying, 
 that  is,  the  central  spot  in  the  panorama,  a  Lamb  stand- 
 ing— the  original  expression  is  yet  more  remarkable  ;  the 
 word  is  the  diminutive  form,  a  little  Lamb,  as  though  to 
 enhance  still  further  the  tenderness  and  the  pathos  of 
 the  image — as  if  having  been  slain;  alive,  not  dead; 
 standing,  not  prostrate ;  and  yet  bearing  marks  as  of 
 recent  slaughter.  How  exactly  is  this  the  description 
 of  Him  whom  the  I.amb  typifies,  when,  returning  to 
 His  disciples  after  His  resurrection  in  the  fulness  of  a 
 resumed  life,  He  was  yet  able  to  show  them  the  nail- 
 prints  in  His  feet  and  hands,  and  the  mark  of  the  spear- 
 wound  in  His  side^!  There  stood  a  Lamb  as  it  had  been 
 slain.     I  am  He  that  liveth,  and  zvas  dead^. 
 
 The  elder  had  pointed  to  a  lion,  the  lion  of  the  tribe 
 of  Judah :  the  prophet,  when  he  looks,  beholds  a  lamb. 
 It  is  indeed  a  true  parable.  Strength  and  gentleness, 
 courage  and  patience,  victory  and  suffering,  might  and 
 innocence,  meet  together  and  kiss  each  other "^  in  Christ. 
 But  whence  this  last  emblem  .^  Where  first  do  we  read 
 of  Christ  under  the  type  of  the  Lamb  }  St  John  in  the 
 1st  chapter  of  his  Gospel  records  the  memorable  testi- 
 mony of  the  Baptist,  who,  seeing  on  a  certain  day  Jesns 
 coming  tinto  him,  said  of  Plim,  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God 
 zvhicJi  taketh  azuay  the  sin  of  the  zvorld^I  And  lest  there 
 should  remain  any  doubt  as  to  the  allusion  involved  in 
 that  saying,  the  same  Evangelist  quotes  as  fulfilled  in 
 the  circumstances  of  the  crucifixion  of  Jesus  that  which 
 was  enjoined  with  reference  to  the  sacrifice  of  the  Pas- 
 
 ^  Verse  6.  ^  John  xx.  25 — 27.  ^  Rev.  i.  18. 
 
 ^  Psalm  Ixxxv.  10.  ^  John  i.  29. 
 
X.]  Chap.  V.    I — 6.  137 
 
 dial  Lamb  in  the  book  of  Exodus,  A  bom  of  Jam  shall 
 not  be  broken^.    Yes,  my  brethren,  it  is  not  only  or  chiefly 
 of  the  innocence  of  Jesus,  that  these  things  are  written 
 in  Scripture.     When  He  is  spoken  of  as  the  Lamb  of 
 God,  it  is  far  more  as  our  great  Sacrifice.     Christ  our 
 Passover,  our  Paschal  sacrificed,  is  sacrifieed  for  ics:  there- 
 fore let  us  keep  the  feast'^.     Redeemed  not  with  corruptible 
 things. .  .but  with  tJie preeious  blood  of  Christ,  as  of  a  Lamb 
 ivitJiout  blemish  and  ivitJiout  spot^ .     And  thus  is  fulfilled 
 that  which  was  written  of  old  in  the  great  Gospel  pro- 
 phecy of  Isaiah,  He  is  brougJit  as  a  lamb  to  tJie  slaughter... 
 The  Lord  hath  laid  on  Him  the  iniquity  of  us  all...  Thou 
 shall  make  His  soul  an  offering  for  sin... He  bare  the  sin  of 
 many,  and  made  intereession  for  the  transgressors^.    These 
 are  the  reasons  why  Passion  week,  why  Palm  Sunday 
 and  Good  Friday,  ought  to  be  a  holy  season  to  us ;  be- 
 cause every  one  of  us  is  concerned  in  that  sacrifice,  not 
 only  as  a  beautiful  exhibition  of  benevolence  or  of  pa- 
 tience, but  as  that  one  transaction  on  which  every  hope 
 of  man  is  suspended,  by  which,  if  at  all,  our  iniquity  is 
 forgiven  and  our  sin  purged^     Henceforth  throughout 
 this  book  we  shall  find  this  figure  entirely  consecrated  to 
 this  one  sacred  use.     Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that  ivas  slain^. 
 They  washed  their  robes,  and  made  them  zvJiite  in  the  blood 
 of  the  Lamb'^.      They  overcame  Jiim  by  the  blood  of  the 
 Lamb^.      These  are  they  ivhich  follozv  the  Lamb  zvhitherso- 
 ever  He  goeth^.     The  glory  of  God  did  lighten  it,  and  the 
 Lamb  is  the  light  tJiereof^^. 
 
 ^  Exod.  xii.  46.    John  xix.  36.  ^  i  Cor.  v.  7,  8.  ^  i  Pet.  i.  18,  19. 
 
 ^  Isai.  liii.  6,  7,  10,  12.  ^  Isai.  vi.  7.  ^  Rev.  v.  12. 
 
 ''  Rev.  vii.  J4.  ^  Rev.  xii.  ir.  ^  Rev.  xiv.  4. 
 
 10  Rev.  xxi.  23. 
 
138  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 Having  seven  horns.  The  horn  in  Scripture  is  the 
 symbol  of  strength.  It  is  said  of  the  tribe  of  Joseph  in 
 the  blessing  of  Moses,  His  horns  are  like  the  horns  of 
 nnicorns;  with  them  he  shall  push  the  people  together  to  the 
 ends  of  the  earth^.  And  so  in  the  132nd  Psalm,  to  take 
 a  single  example  out  of  many,  The7'e  will  I  make  the  horn 
 of  David  to  biid'^.  The  horn  is  the  strength.  Mine  horn 
 is  exalted  in  the  Lord...  He  shall  give  streiigth  unto  His 
 Ki7tg,  and  exalt  the  horn  of  His  Aiiointed^.  My  fait  J  if ul- 
 fiess  and  my  mercy  shall  be  zvith  hint :  and  in  my  7iaine 
 shall  his  horn  be  exalted'^.  The  horn  is  the  strength  :  the 
 seven  horns  denote  the  fulness  of  strength. 
 
 It  is  further  said.  And  seven  eyes,  which  are  the  seven 
 Spirits  of  God  sent  forth,  or  more  exactly,  iji  process  of 
 being  sent  forth,  into  all  the  earth.  The  seven  eyes,  the 
 symbol  at  once  of  omniscience  and  of  life ;  of  universal 
 presence  and  of  vigorous  vitality,  are  the  seven  Spirits  of 
 God ;  the  one  Holy  Spirit  of  God  in  His  sevenfold  gifts 
 of  grace ;  that  Holy  Spirit  who  is  the  Spirit  of  the  Son 
 as  of  the  Father ;  even  as  our  Lord  said  on  earth,  When 
 the  Comfoi'ter  is  come,  whom  I  zvill  send  unto  you  from 
 the  Father,  even  the  Spirit  of  truth,  which  proceedeth  from 
 the  Father,  He  shall  testify  of  me'''.  Of  this  Holy  Spirit 
 it  is  here  said,  that  His  manifold  operations  are  sent  forth 
 into  all  the  earth,  and  that  still,  wherever  manifested,  they 
 are  the  workings  of  One  who  is  the  Spirit  of  Christ  the 
 Lord  of  the  Church. 
 
 I  have  thought,  my  brethren,  that  there  is  enough  in 
 the  few  verses  now  read  to  you  to  furnish  us  with  just 
 that  instruction  which  is  most  suitable  to   the   solemn 
 
 ^  Deut.  xxxiii.  17.  ^  Psalm  cxxxii.  17.  ^  i  Sam.  ii.  r,  ro. 
 
 ^  Psalm  Ixxxix.  24.  °  John  xv.  26. 
 
X.]  Chap.  V.   I — 6.  139 
 
 commemoration,  on  which  we  this  day  enter,  of  the 
 circumstances  of  the  Passion  and  Death  of  our  Lord 
 and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ. 
 
 I.  And  first,  as  to  the  position  which  our  Lord 
 occupies  in  the  Church  in  heaven.  His  is  there  the 
 central  figure;  and  He  is  there  as  the  Lamb  that  was 
 siain.  He  is  there  with  the  tokens  of  His  sacrifice  clear 
 and  fresh  upon  Him.  O,  my  brethren,  while  men  are 
 discussing  below  what  Christ  is  and  is  not  ;  while  they 
 are  weighing  and  measuring,  too  often  modifying  and 
 paring  down,  the  words  of  Scripture  with  reference  to 
 the  pre-existence  or  the  omniscience  or  the  Divinity  of 
 Christ ;  lift  your  eyes  above,  and  see  for  yourselves  what 
 your  Saviour  is  in  heaven  !  See  where  He  stands  ;  in 
 the  very  midst  of  the  throne  and  of  the  elders  ;  wor- 
 shipped even  where  God  is  enthroned ;  and  still  in  this 
 one  character,  as  the  Lamb  that  once  was  slain  !  I 
 think  we  cannot  be  mistaken  in  throwing  upon  this  one 
 fact  the  whole  weight  of  our  hope  and  our  trust.  We 
 shall  not  be  too  curious  in  investigating,  where  the  Word 
 of  God  does  not  guide  us,  the  mode  and  method  of  Pro- 
 pitiation and  Atonement :  but  we  shall  see  in  this  one 
 exhibition  of  the  attitude  and  the  character  which  the 
 Saviour  bears  in  heaven,  a  proof,  worth  ten  thousand 
 reasonings,  of  what  He  is  in  Himself,  and  of  what  He 
 is  to  us.  I  am  not  afraid  of  our  resting  too  much  upon 
 the  Atonement:  I  am  far  more  afraid  of  our  disparaging 
 and  forgetting  it.  No  man  was  ever  made  to  sin  by 
 believing  that  Christ  was  made  siu^  for  him.  Men  may 
 make  an  excuse  for  their  sins  out  of  anything;  free 
 grace  may  be  made  an  excuse,  and  so  may  inexorable 
 
 ^  2  Cor.  V.  21. 
 
1 40  Revelation,  [lect.. 
 
 justice  be  made  an  excuse  ;    universal  redemption  may 
 be  made  an  excuse,  and  limited    redemption    may   be 
 made  an  excuse  for  sin  :   but  I  say  again,  a  deep  and 
 hearty  trust  in  the  blood  of  Christ  cleansing  fi'om  all  sin  ^ 
 never   yet   had    any   effect,   so  far  as  it  was  deep  and 
 genuine,  but  that  of  making  a  man  sorry  for  his  sin,  and 
 ashamed  of  his  sin,  and  desirous  to  rise  out  of  it  to  walk 
 in    newness   of  life.      There  is  mercy  with   Thee:   what 
 then  ?  that  Thou  mayest  be  trifled  with,  sinned  against, 
 trodden  underfoot  ?     No,  that  Thoit  mayest  be  feared: 
 therefore  shall  ThoiL  be  feared^'.    O  let  this  season  not  pass 
 by  us  unused  !     O  let  some  who  have  of  late  too  much 
 resigned  themselves  to  the  power  of  evil  habit,  look  this 
 week  upon  the  Lamb  that  was  slain,  and  arise  to  renew 
 their  warfare !     O  let  some  who  have  been  perplexing 
 themselves  about  things  which  are  too  high  for  them, 
 some  who  have  been  tampering  with  the  sophistries  of 
 unbelief,    and    scanning   with    a   cold    eye    and    a   pre- 
 sumptuous intellect  their  Saviour's  place  in  the  economy 
 of  God,  look  up  yet  once  again  towards  heaven,  and  by 
 faith  behold  Him  standing  on  the  right  Jiand  of  God^ : 
 see  Him  occupying  the  central  spot  in  the  assembled 
 company  of  heaven  ;  and  bow  their  own  heads,  together 
 with  angels  and  archangels,  with  representatives  of  crea- 
 tion and  representatives  of  the   Church    of  every   age, 
 before  the  one  exalted  form  oi  the  Lamb  for  sinners  slain! 
 And  O,  if  there  be  others,  as  assuredly  there  are,  in  this 
 congregation,  whose  bane  is  not  so  much  one  definite 
 root  of  bitterness'^  troubling  and  defiling  them,  but  rather 
 that  blight  of  worldliness,  that  irresistible  though  most 
 
 1  I  John  i.  7.  2  Psalm  cxxx.  4.  ^  Acts  vii.  56. 
 
 ^  Heb.  xii.  15. 
 
X.]  Chap.  V.   I — 6.  141 
 
 insidious  power  of  the  things  that  are  seen,  eating  away 
 all  spirituality  of  mind,  all  faith  in  things  above,  and 
 leaving  only  the  shell  and  husk  of  a  man,  a  being  with- 
 out soul,  without  aspiration,  without  a  heaven  or  a  God  ; 
 let  these  too  utter,  before  they  go  hence,  that  earnest, 
 that  availing  cry  of  a  spirit  tied  and  bound  with  its  sin  to 
 the  God  who  cares  for  us  and  can  save  ;  let  them  arise 
 and  look  upon  the  form  of  the  Lamb  that  was  slain,  and 
 carry  forth  with  them  into  to-morrow's  battlefield  that 
 sign  of  the  cross  in  which  alone  man  conquers  ! 
 
 2.  And  along  with  this  thought  of  the  Lamb  as  it 
 had  been  slain,  carry  with  you  also  that  of  the  Divine 
 Spirit  sejit  fortJi  into  all  the  earth.  Is  not  this  our  justifi- 
 cation for  the  work  of  missions  ?  Is  not  this  our  one 
 practical  hope  for  our  own  souls  ? 
 
 How  slow  we  all  are  to  believe  in  that  which  we 
 see  not !  Even  more  timid  than  our  trust  in  a  Divine 
 Mediator  is  our  trust  in  a  Divine  Spirit.  And  yet,  my 
 brethren,  I  know  of  no  comfort  for  sinners  but  in  those 
 two  things,  in  that  twofold  yet  most  harmonious  faith. 
 What  should  we  be  without  a  Divine  Saviour  ?  What 
 should  we  be  without  a  Divine  Spirit }  And  O  what 
 should  we  be  but  for  the  reconciling  and  harmonizing 
 knowledge  that  the  Divine  Spirit  is  the  very  eye  of  the 
 Divine  Saviour ;  the  penetrating  and  pervadmg  and 
 vivifying  ray  which  goes  forth,  not  from  some  unknown 
 source,  but  from  that  central  Sun,  for  the  comforting  and 
 the  healing  of  the  nations^  ? 
 
 Yes,  my  friends,  God  has  not  left  us  to  zvork  ont 
 our  own  salvation"^  without  help.  His  Spirit  is  abroad 
 amongst  us ;  yea,  sent  forth  already  into  all  the  earth. 
 
 1  Rev.  xxii.  2.  ^  Phil.  ii.  12. 
 
142  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 Wherever  there  is  a  gentle  thought,  wherever  there  is  a 
 holy  desire,  wherever  there  is  a  kind  and  dutiful  and 
 Christian  feeling,  it  is  of  Him.  And  wherever  there  is 
 such  a  sight  seen  as  a  sinner  arising  and  returning  to  his 
 Father^ ;  and  wherever  there  is  a  poor  wounded  spirit 
 pouring  itself  out  before  a  long-forgotten,  yet  now  at  last 
 remembered  God  ;  and  wherever  there  is  a  Minister  in- 
 terceding with  God  for  his  people,  and  laying  out  his  life 
 in  their  service  ;  and  wherever  there  is  a  congregation 
 listening  with  all  their  heart  to  the  message  delivered  to 
 them  on  this  holy  evening  from  the  throne  of  God  in 
 heaven  ;  there  is  the  Holy  Spirit  at  work :  there  is  one 
 of  the  eyes  of  the  Lamb  bent  upon  man  from  its  central 
 standing-place  above ;  bent  upon  him  not  with  search- 
 ing force  only,  but  also  with  quickening  life  and  with 
 transforming  and  irradiating  love.  And  wherever  in 
 some  distant  land  a  lonely  messenger  is  plying  his  weary 
 way  through  discouragement  and  disappointment ;  re- 
 membering sadly,  this  Sunday  evening,  the  congregations 
 far  away  in  his  own  native  country,  amidst  which  he  once 
 went  up  to  worship,  and  sighing  in  his  estrangement  for 
 but  one  of  those  companions  in  going  to  the  house  of 
 God'',  who  might  have  cheered  his  solitude  and  lightened 
 his  depression;  but  still  turning  back  again  and  yet 
 again  to  his  Bible  as  his  light  and  his  stay ;  still  ponder- 
 incr  the  glorious  prophecies  which  tell  of  the  Lords  house 
 being  hereafter  established  on  the  top  of  the  motmtai?ts  and 
 of  ^//  nations  flowing  to  it^ ;  or  still  resting,  with  a  yet 
 more  fond  tenderness,  on  the  thrice-told  tale  of  Geth- 
 ^emane  and  Calvary,  and  learning  there  a  meekness  of 
 endurance  and  a  patience  of  hope  and  a  strength  of  love 
 1  Luke  xy.  18.  ^  Psalm  xlii.  4.  ^  Isai.  ii.  2.     Mic.  iv.  i. 
 
X.]  Chap.  V.    I — 6.  143 
 
 not  elsewhere  to  be  gathered  ;  and  then  going  forth  once 
 more  to  his  wearisome  and  often  thankless  labour  in 
 calling  to  hearts  that  will  not  understand,  and  to  souls 
 that  will  not  be  redeemed ;  wherever  these  things  are, 
 there  also  are  the  seven  Spirits  of  God  operating  in  the 
 earth  :  these  things  come  not  out  of  the  barren  ground  ; 
 these  things  are  no  product  of  the  natural  fallen  sinful 
 heart ;  they  are  all  of  God  :  and  He  who  does  one  thing 
 that  is  above  man  can  do  all  things  that  are  above  man 
 at  His  pleasure;  these  things  are  an  earnest  and  a  fore- 
 taste of  things  greater  and  more  glorious  still  ;  they  not 
 only  bid  us  labour  on  and  not  faint,  but  they  also  open 
 to  us  a  glimpse  of  that  further  and  furthest  future, 
 the  faintest  gleam  of  which  outshines  and  eclipses  the 
 brightest  and  the  fairest  of  earth's  fleeting  visions. 
 
 These  things  are  our  hope.  We  see  a  power  work- 
 ing which  is  not  man's,  nor  on  man's  scale  or  level. 
 We  see  here  and  there — not  everywhere,  not  where 
 we  will,  but  where  God  wills — a  something,  we  know 
 not  how  to  designate  it,  which  testifies  the  omnipotence 
 of  the  grace  of  God.  Mixed  at  present  with  much 
 that  is  most  opposite  to  it ;  overborne  oftentimes,  and 
 almost  lost  in  the  intermixture ;  coexisting,  it  may  be, 
 in  the  same  house  and  in  the  same  chamber,  with  that 
 which  is  altogether  earthly  and  sinful,  sensual  and  devil- 
 ish^. But  there  it  is.  It  has  its  own  character,  which 
 we  cannot  misread  :  it  has  its  own  promise,  which  the 
 world  itself  can  scarcely  gainsay.  It  says  to  us,  God 
 is,  and  Christ  is,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  is;  and  that 
 which  is  shall  one  day  be  made  manifest :  there  is 
 7iothing  covered,  for  good  or  for  evil,  that  shall  not  be 
 revealed"".     It  says,  When  you  lay  your  schemes  on  the 
 
 1  James  iii.  15.  2  Matt.  x.  26. 
 
■144 
 
 Revelation.  [lect.  x. 
 
 supposition  that  nothing  is  real  but  that  which  is  visible, 
 beware,  beware  !  there  is  something  else,  and  one  day 
 your  eyes  will  be  blinded  with  the  excess  of  that  light 
 against  the  mild  radiance  of  which  on  earth  you  closed 
 them.  It  says,  O  help,  and  hinder  not,  that  work 
 which  is  all  God's  ;  the  work  of  holiness  within,  the 
 work  of  evangelization  without !  See  that  you  be  on 
 the  right  side  yourself,  and  that  you  assist  the  right 
 cause  in  others !  The  Lamb  stands  before  the  throne 
 of  God  as  the  one  object  of  adoration  ;  stands  there 
 with  the  mark  of  slaughter  still  fresh  as  when  eighteen 
 hundred  years  ago  that  slaughter  was  accomplished  ;  see 
 that  He  be  to  you,  as  to  Apostles  and  martyrs  of  old, 
 your  Lord  and  your  God^ !  The  seven  Spirits  of  God 
 are  abroad  on  earth,  moving,  shining,  enlightening, 
 quickening :  they  work  here  and  there  ;  in  this  house 
 and  in  that ;  in  this  town  and  in  that ;  in  this  land 
 and  in  that ;  where  Christ  is  professedly  known,  and 
 where  Christ  is  a  name  named  but  by  the  few :  see 
 that  they  work  in  you  !  see  that  they  be  your  light, 
 your  hope,  your  strength  !  see  that  they  be  welcomed 
 by  you,  and  not  spurned  ;  cherished  and  fostered,  and 
 not  grieved  nor  quenched  !  See  that  there  be  no  doubt 
 on  which  side  you  are  in  the  great  battle  of  the  Lord 
 and  His  enemies  ;  rejoicing  not  in  iniquity,  but  rejoicing 
 zvith  the  triitJi^ ;  showing  forth  tJie  same  mind  which  was 
 in  Christ  Jesns,  and  living  the  life  which  you  now  live  in 
 the  Jiesh  by  faith  in  the  Son  of  God,  who  loved  you  and 
 gave  Himself  for  you^ ! 
 
 1  John  XX.  28.  ^  I  Cor.  xiii.  6. 
 
 ^  I  Pet.  iv.  I.     Phil.  ii.  5.     Gal.  ii.  20. 
 
 Sunday  next  before  Easter, 
 March  24,   1 861. 
 
LECTURE    XL 
 
 REVELATION  V.    1 3. 
 
 And  every  creatiwe  wJiich  is  in  heaven,  and  on  the  earthy 
 
 and  imder  the  eatih,   and  sueh  as  are  in  the  sea^ 
 
 and  all  that  are  in  them,  heard  I  saying,  Blessing, 
 
 and  hojiour,  and  glory,  and  pozver,  be  imto  Hint  that 
 
 sitteth  npon  the  throne,  and  imto  the  Lamb  for  ever 
 
 and  ever, 
 
 » 
 
 Our  subject  for  Palm  Sunday  completed  the  scenery 
 of  the  heavenly  council-chamber  by  the  introduction 
 of  that  which  is  to  be  henceforth  its  central  figure. 
 /  beheld,  and  lo,  in  the  midst  of  the  th'one  and  of  the 
 four  beasts,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  elders,  stood  a  Lamb 
 as  it  had  been  slain^,  retaining  even  in  resumed  life 
 tokens  of  a  previous  slaughter,  having  seven  horns,  em- 
 blems of  the  fulness  of  strength,  and  seven  eyes,  which 
 are  the  seven  spirits  of  God  sent  fo7'tJi  into  all  the  earth. 
 We  drew  from  this  description  its  two  most  obvious 
 lessons ;  the  first  as  to  the  position  occupied  by  the 
 Saviour  in  heaven  as  the  Lamb  that  was  slain,  and  the 
 second  as  to  the  presence  in  all  the  earth  of  that  Divine 
 Spirit  who  is  the  very  eye  of  Christ ;  and  then  we  re- 
 ^  Rev.  V.  6. 
 V.  R.  '  10 
 
1 46  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 served,  to  be  our  Easter  subject,  the  reception  of  the 
 Lamb,  His  adoration,  in  the  very  presence  of  God  Him- 
 self, in  the  three  separate  doxologies,  the  utterance  of 
 three  separate  and  distinct  bodies,  which  fill  the  rest  of 
 the  chapter  on  which  we  then  entered. 
 
 You  have  not  forgotten  the  introduction  of  the 
 Lamb  to  the  Prophet's  view.  There  is  a  scroll  lying 
 on  the  open  hand  of  Him  that  sits  on  the  throne ;  a  roll 
 of  a  book,  so  full  of  contents  that  the  writing  spreads 
 from  front  to  back  :  it  is  written  within  and  without ; 
 and  the  writing  concerns  the  Church  of  God  ;  it  will 
 clear  much  of  the  mystery  of  the  Divine  will ;  it  will 
 show  that  even  the  oppression  of  God's  cause  on  earth 
 has  a  purpose,  and  the  sufterings  of  God's  people  on 
 earth  an  explanation,  and  the  maze  of  human  life 
 and  of  the  world's  life  a  pervading  and  guiding  clue ; 
 it  will  throw  light  'upon  the  past,  it  will  cheer  the 
 present,  it  will  reveal  things  to  come :  but  the  scroll 
 is  fast  sealed  with  seven  seals,  and  no  one  in  heaven 
 or  in  earth  is  found  worthy  to  take  it  into  his  hand 
 or  even  to  look  thereon.  It  is  presently  announced 
 that  one  Person,  one  alone,  has  prevailed  to  do  this. 
 The  victory  gained  on  the  Cross  has  procured  for  the 
 Lamb  of  God  this  glory,  that  He  be  the  receiver  and 
 the  opener,  the  revealer  and  the  explainer  of  the  coun- 
 sels of  God  to  man. 
 
 And}  He  came,  a7id  now  He  hath  received  it,  the 
 sealed  roll,  out  of  the  right  hand  of  Him  that  sat  on 
 the  throne.  He  has  received  the  revelation :  now  shall 
 His  people  know  it,  by  the  inward  teaching  of  that 
 Spirit  which  is  the  mind  of  God,  which  is  the  eye  of 
 
 1  Verse  7. 
 
XI.]  Chap,  V.   7 — 14.  147 
 
 Christ,  and  which  is  sent  forth  in  sevenfold  agencies 
 into  all  the  earth.  Now  shall  we  know.  Not  yet. 
 The  very  acceptance  of  the  Mediatorship  of  truth,  the 
 very  investiture  with  the  Revealer's  office,  is  hailed  by 
 the  heavenly  hosts  with  those  admiring  acclamations 
 which  must  interrupt  for  the  moment  the  execution  of 
 the  work  itself. 
 
 And}  when  He  received  the  roll,  the  fonr  living  crea- 
 tures, representatives  of  creation,  and  the  tiventy  four 
 elders,  representatives  of  the  Church  of  every  age,  fell 
 before  the  Lamb,  having  each  one,  that  is,  of  the  elders, 
 a  harp,  and  having  golden  bozvls  full  of  incense,  which 
 are  the  prayers  of  the  holy,  of  the  consecrated,  of  those 
 who  belong  to  God  only.  This  verse  explains  the  im- 
 portance attached  in  the  ceremonial  Law  to  the  burn- 
 ing of  incense.  The  book  of  Exodus  contains  minute 
 directions  for  the  composition  of  it ;  and  those  direc- 
 tions close  with  a  solemn  prohibition  of  the  use  of  it 
 for  any  but  a  sacred  purpose.  //  shall  be  unto  you 
 most  holy...  Ye  shall  not  make  to  yourselves  accordi?ig  to 
 the  composition  thereof :  it  shall  be  unto  thee  holy  for  the 
 Lord.  Whosoever  shall  make  like  tcnto  that,  to  smell 
 thereto,  shall  eveji  be  cut  off  from  his  people'^.  The  sweet 
 smelling  incense  was  designed  as  an  emblem  of  prayer. 
 The  1st  chapter  of  St  Luke's  Gospel  tells  us  that, 
 while  the  incense  was  burning,  the  whole  multitude  of 
 the  people  were  wont  to  be  praying  without^.  And  the 
 141st  Psalm  makes  this  very  application  of  the  emblem. 
 Let  my  prayer  be  set  forth  before  Thee  as  incense,  and  the 
 lifting  up  of  my  hands  as  the  evening  sacrifice*'.     The 
 
 1  Verse  8.  2  Exod.  xxx.  36,  37,  38.  3  L^^e  i.  10. 
 
 *  Psalm  cxli.  2. 
 
 10—2 
 
1 48  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 incense  with  which,  in  the  passage  before  us,  the  bowls 
 are  filled  for  offering  before  the  Lamb,  is  emblematical 
 of  the  prayers  of  God's  saints. 
 
 The  elders  in  this  vision  are  the  representatives  of 
 the  whole  Church.  And  therefore  we  shall  see  nothing 
 here  of  vicarious  prayers ;  nothing,  I  mean,  of  prayers 
 offered,  strictly  speaking,  by  the  Church  in  heaven  for 
 the  Church  on  earth ;  of  a  human  mediation,  even  if  it 
 were  that  of  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect^,  for  those 
 who  have  one  Mediator  and  need  none  other.  The 
 prayers  which  the  elders  offer  in  the  vision  are  represen- 
 tative prayers,  not  vicarious ;  their  own  as  representing 
 all,  not  the  prayers  of  others  rendered  efficacious  by 
 their  intercession. 
 
 It  is  an  encouraging  thought  surely,  when  rightly 
 understood,  that  the  prayers  of  Christ's  servants  are  the 
 incense  which  smells  sweetly  in  heaven.  The  assurance 
 that  prayer  is  not  forced  upon  God,  but  His  delight^;  not 
 a  thing  which  we  have  to  press  upon  His  notice,  but  that 
 which  He  looks  for  in  us  as  our  suitable  gift ;  that  the 
 application  for  His  help,  and  the  thanksgiving  for  His 
 goodness,  and  even  the  confession  of  sin  and  infirmity, 
 is  the  very  thing  which  He  recognizes  as  suitable  to 
 our  nature  and  a  tribute  to  Himself;  should  assist  us 
 in  coming  with  this  thing  to  the  throne  of  grace,  that 
 we  may  contribute  to  that  censer  full  of  sweet  odours 
 which  is  the  one  acceptable  offering  before  the  throne 
 in  heaven. 
 
 And^  they  sing  a  nezv  song,  inspired  by  the  scene  be- 
 fore them,  by  the  sight  of  the  Lamb  of  God  in  His  new 
 character  of  the  Mediator  of  God's  revelations,  saying, 
 
 '  Heb.  xii.  23.  ^  Yxo^^.  xv.  8.  ^  Verse  9. 
 
XI.]  Chap.  V.   7 — 14.  149 
 
 Worthy  ai't  Thoit  to  receive  the  roll^  and  to  open  the  seals  of 
 it:  because  Thou  wast  slain,  and  didst  purchase  for  God  in 
 Thy  blood  oict  of  every  tribe  and  toiigue  and  people  aiid 
 nation,  and'^  didst  make  them  a  kingdom  and.  priests,  and 
 they  reign  over,  or  npon,  the  earth.  This,  as  we  saw  last 
 Sunday,  is  the  foundation  of  every  office,  and  of  this 
 amongst  others,  exercised  by  Jesus  Christ  towards  His 
 Church  on  earth.  He  humbled  Himself,  and  became  obe- 
 dient ^  unto  death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross  :  wherefore  God 
 also  hath  higJdy  exalted  Him,  and  given  Him  a  name 
 zvhich  is  above  every  fiame^.  One  part  of  that  name,  of 
 that  character,  which  is  the  reward  of  His  humihation,  is 
 that  of  the  Revealer  of  God's  counsels.  Thou  art  wor- 
 thy to  receive  the  book,  because  TJiou  wast  slain. 
 
 And  didst  purchase  for  God  in  Thy  blood.  The  blood, 
 that  is,  the  death,  of  Christ,  was  our  purchase.  Ye  are 
 not  your  oivn  :  ye  were  bougJit  for  a  price^.  Not  redeemed 
 with  corruptible  things,  silver  or  gold.  ..but  with  the  pi^ecious 
 blood  of  Christ'^.  My  brethren,  let  us  not  be  afraid  of 
 that  most  true,  most  just,  most  scriptural  expression. 
 None  other  can  give  so  briefly  or  so  strongly  the  truth 
 which  is  our  life.  The  more  man  would  rob  us  of  it,  so 
 much  the  more  let  us  hold  it  fast  as  God's  gift. 
 
 Thou,  didst piLrchase  out  of,  that  is,  men  belonging  to, 
 eveiy  tribe  and  tongue  and  people  and  nation.  The  redemp- 
 tion of  Christ  is  world-wide.  There  is  nothing  local  in 
 it.  There  is  no  restriction  in  its  intention,  and  there  is 
 no  restriction  in  its  application.  It  is  co-extensive  with 
 the  earth  in  its  design  ;  it  is  co-extensive  with  human 
 nature  in  its  efficacy.     There  is  no  disposition,  no  con- 
 
 1  Verse  10.  '^  Phil.  ii.  8,  9.  *  i  Cor.  vi.  20. 
 
 4  I  Pet.  i.  18,  19. 
 
150  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 formation,  no  peculiarity  of  temper  or  understanding,  of 
 state  or  of  heart,  which  the  purchasing  blood  cannot  reach 
 and  meet.  And  it  will  be  seen  that  it  has  reached,  that 
 it  has  met  all.  It  will  be  seen  that,  where  it  has  failed 
 to  save,  it  has  not  been  because  it  was  inappropriate, 
 but  only  because  it  was  unappropriated  ;  because  men 
 would  not  use  it,  not  because  it  was  even  for  them 
 useless. 
 
 ThoM  didst  make  them,  that  is,  those  who  were  thus 
 purchased,  those  who  took  to  themselves  the  redemption 
 which  is  for  all,  a  kingdom  and  priests.  A  royal  priest- 
 hood^ St  Peter  calls  them.  A  kingdom  here  is  a  form  of 
 expression  nearly  similar  to  a pjdesthood  there.  It  means 
 a  race  of  kings,  as  the  other  means  a  body  of  priests. 
 We  saw,  in  commenting  on  the  4th  chapter^,  that  both 
 these  offices  were  designated  by  the  attire  of  the  elders  ; 
 the  white  robe  of  priesthood,  and  then  the  kingly  crown. 
 
 And  they  reign,  not  shall  reign,  over,  or  else,  but  not 
 necessarily,  upon,  the  earth.  Already  Christ  has  the  do- 
 minion, though  not  yet  is  every  foe  visibly  subjected  to 
 Him  :  they  shall  be  I  And  they  who  are  Christ's,  they 
 who  are  united  to  Him  by  the  possession  of  one  Spirit, 
 are  whatever  He  is  :  if  He  lives,  they  live ;  if  He  is  in 
 heaven,  they  are  in  heaven*;  if  He  with  whom  they  are 
 one  is  reigning  over  the  earth,  then  are  they  reigning  : 
 all  things  are  yours... the  world,  or  life  or  death,  or  things 
 present  or  things  to  come  ;  all  are  youi's,  for  ye  are  Christ  s^. 
 But  there  is  a  veil  over  all  these  things  at  present,  and 
 therefore  we  are  still  looking  forward  to  what  St  Paul 
 describes  as  the  day  of  the  unveiling  of  the  sons  of  God^. 
 
 1  I  Pet.  ii.  9.  ^  Rev.  iv.  4.  ^  i  Cor.  xv.  25.     Heb.  ii.  8. 
 
 *  Eph.  ii.  6.  ^  I  Cor.  iii.  21,  22,  23.  ^  Rom.  viii.  19. 
 
XI.]  Chap.  V.   7 — 14.  151 
 
 What  must  It  have  been  to  St  John,  and  to  the  poor 
 distressed  persecuted  Church  of  his  time,  to  receive  such 
 an  account  of  the  true  position  of  their  Master  and  of 
 His  servants !  Whatever  the  appearance  might  be,  He  a 
 King-,  and  they  therefore  kings  too !  A  cloud  between 
 Him  and  the  earth  :  nothing  more  :  a  thin  white  cloud, 
 only  not  transparent :  and  behind  it  the  heavenly  pre- 
 sence-chamber ;  behind  it  the  Lamb  that  was  slain,  in- 
 vested with  an  almighty  dominion  ;  behind  it  the  repre- 
 sentatives of  the  Church  ruling  in  Him  over  the  earth ! 
 Well  may  they  wait  a  while,  and  suffer  a  little :  assuredly 
 there  is  a  glory  which  shall  outweigh  and  outshine  it  allM 
 
 Thus  we  have  listened,  my  brethren,  to  one  doxo- 
 logy ;  now  let  us  turn  to  the  second. 
 
 And'^  I  saiv — the  usual  commencement  of  a  new  or 
 partly  new  disclosure,  even  though  the  next  word  may 
 intimate  more  of  sound  than  sight — aiid  I  heard  a  voice 
 of  many  angels  rotcnd  about  the  throne  and  the  living 
 creaticres  and  the  elders ;  and  the  number  of  them  was 
 myriads  of  myriads  and  thousands  of  thousands — the 
 larger  number  is  put  first,  with  that  consciousness  of 
 grandeur,  and  that  indifference  to  formal  rules  of  rhe- 
 toric, which  well  suits  the  transcendant  sublimity  of  the 
 utterance — saying"^  zvith  a  loud  voice.  Worthy  is  the  Lamb 
 that  hath  been  slain  to  receive  by  adoring  ascription  the 
 power  and  riches  and  wisdom  and  strength  and  honour  and 
 glory  and  blessing !  We  shall  not  stay  to  examine  and 
 scrutinize  each  expression.  The  only  word  which  could 
 cause  a  moment's  hesitation,  the  term  riches,  is  already 
 familiar  to  us  all  in  St  Paul's  writings,  and  especially  in 
 his  Epistle  to  the  Epheslans.      The  riches  of  His  grace. 
 
 1  Rom.  viii.  18.  ^  y^y^e  11.  ^  Verse  12. 
 
T  5  2  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 The  riches  of  the  glory  \  The  exceeding  riches  of  His  grace  ^. 
 The  riches  of  His  glory  ^  And  yet  more  precisely,  the 
 tmsearchable  riches  of  Christ^.  It  denotes  that  inexhaus- 
 tible treasure  of  perfection,  and  more  especially  of  good- 
 ness and  mercy  towards  men,  which  is  contained  and 
 centred  in  Christ. 
 
 This  then  is  the  second  doxology  :  and  you  will 
 have  observed  that  it  differs  materially  from  the  former. 
 Hitherto  our  eyes  have  been  fixed  on  what  we  have 
 described  as  the  council-chamber  itself.  The  former 
 doxology  came  from  thence.  It  was  the  adoration  of 
 the  elders  who  represent  the  Church,  though  seconded 
 as  it  were  by  the  living  beings  who  represent  creation, 
 and  who  could  not  look  on  in  idle  indifference  upon 
 the  adoration  of  their  present  Lord.  But  now  we  are 
 bidden  to  extend  our  gaze,  and  notice  what  may  rather 
 be  called  the  setting  and  the  framework  of  the  council- 
 chamber.  Its  walls  are  no  work  of  stiff  and  solid 
 masonry ;  on  this  side  and  on  that,  on  the  north  and  on 
 the  south,  on  the  east  and  on  the  west,  it  is  compassed 
 only  by  infinite  space  ;  and  that  surrounding  expanse  is 
 peopled  by  myriads  of  angels,  of  those  spiritual  and  un- 
 fallen  beings  who,  instead  of  triumphing  in  the  sin  and 
 shame  of  man,  view  his  fortunes  with  tenderest  sym- 
 pathy, desire  to  look  into^  the  wonderful  counsels  of  his 
 redemption,  and  rejoice  with  an  unselfish  yet  thrilling 
 transport  over  each  several  si?iner  that  repcnteth  ^  They 
 throng  on  eveiy  side  the  outer  courts  of  the  presence- 
 hall  ;  not  occupying  its  seats,  because  the  matter  under 
 discussion  affects  not  them  directly,  but  the  world  and 
 
 1  Eph.  i.  7,  i8.  2  Epii,  ii.  y,  3  Eph.  Hi.  i6. 
 
 ^  Eph.  iii.  8.  ^  i  Pet.  i.  12.  ^  Luke  xv.  ro. 
 
XI 
 
 .]  Chap,  V.   7— 14.  153 
 
 the  Church  of  man ;  yet  forming  an  assemblage  of 
 deeply  interested  spectators,  whose  songs  of  praise 
 mingle  now  with  the  adorations  of  the  elders,  to  say  at 
 least,  Worthy  the  Lamb  that  zvas  slain,  if  they  cannot 
 actually  say  with  the  redeemed,  the  Lanib  that  was  slain 
 for  tts  !  Thus  are  the  words  seen  as  though  in  the  very 
 act  and  process  of  their  accomplishment.  To  the  intent 
 that  nozu  tmto  the  principalities  and  poivers  in  heavenly 
 places  inigJit  be  knozvn  by  the  CJinrch  the  manifold  wisdom 
 of  God\ 
 
 And  thus,  through  the  adorations  of  the  elders,  and 
 the  acclamations  of  angelic  hosts  around,  we  pass,  in 
 the  third  and  last  place,  to  the  words  of  the  text,  and 
 the  consummation  of  the  whole. 
 
 And^  every  creattLre  zvhich  is  in  the  heaven  and  upo7i  the 
 earth  and  beizeath  the  eaj^th,  in  the  regions,  it  may  be,  of 
 the  departed,  and  upon  the  sea,  and  the  things  which  are 
 in  them,  the  inhabitants  of  all  these  departments  and 
 divisions  of  the  universe,  even  all  persons — for  it  is  of 
 rational  and  intelligent  beings  that  the  whole  passage 
 speaks — heard  I  saying,  To  Him  that  sitteth  upon  the 
 throne,  and  to  the  Lamb,  be  the  (all)  blessing  and  the 
 honour  and  the  glory  and  the  might  tmto  the  ages  of  the 
 ages,  even  to  the  utmost  range  of  that  eternity  of  which 
 the  component  parts  are  themselves  not  years  but  ages. 
 And^  the  four  living  creatjtres  tittered  the  Amen,  and  the 
 elders  fell  and  zvorshipped.  And  thus  the  wide  and  ever- 
 widening  circle  of  adoration  has  been  compacted  once 
 more  around  its  centre,  and  the  last  Amen  is  uttered  by 
 the  same  lips  which  opened  and  which  led  the  chorus  of 
 praise. 
 
 ^  Eph.  iii.  10.  2  Verse  13.  ^  Verse  14. 
 
154  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 My  brethren,  it  seems  as  though  the  passage  on 
 which  we  have  dwelt,  and  the  great  festival  on  which  we 
 are  assembled,  conspired  to  guide  us  to  one  point  as  the 
 conclusion  of  all  our  meditations,  THE  ADORATION  OF 
 THE  Lamb  that  was  slain. 
 
 There  is  a  very  celebrated  picture  by  an  ancient 
 master  bearing  that  title.  It  is  impossible  to  look  upon 
 it  unmoved.  The  imagery  of  the  Apocalyptic  vision  is 
 most  faithfully,  I  dare  say  most  devoutly,  pourtrayed. 
 The  impression  is  that  of  a  loving  earnestness,  anxious 
 to  present  to  the  very  senses  the  scene  which  St  John 
 beheld  when  the  first  voice,  as  of  a  trttmpet,  said  to  him. 
 Come  tip  hither,  and  I  zuillshozv  thee  things  which  m,nst  be 
 hereafter^.  And  yet  it  is  there  more  than  anywhere  that 
 we  learn  the  essential  difference  between  the  Divine 
 Word  and  the  human  copy.  The  first  impression  of  that 
 picture  is  amazement  and  awe  ;  the  second  is  disappoint- 
 ment and  almost  displeasure.  The  description  of  the 
 Lamb  that  was  slain  is  for  the  ear  and  for  the  soul,  not 
 for  the  eye,  nor  for  literal  embodiment.  It  is  to  the 
 thing  signified,  not  to  the  sign,  that  I  would  direct  your 
 gaze  to-night. 
 
 If  we  may  judge  by  the  few  glimpses  of  heavenly 
 things  which  the  Scripture,  which  this  book  of  Scripture 
 more  particularly,  presents  to  us,  adoration,  simple 
 adoration,  is  one  great  part  of  the  work  of  heaven. 
 Have  any  of  us  known  what  it  is  to  be  in  the  presence 
 of  one  whom  we  revere  on  earth  }  How  full  of  happi- 
 ness, of  rest,  of  satisfaction,  is  the  mere  gazing  upon 
 that  loved  and  honoured  face  !  We  can  dispense  with 
 all  else :  it  is  enough  to  be  in  that  presence ;  enough  to 
 
 1  Rev.  iv.  I. 
 
XI.]  Chap.  V.   7— 14.  155 
 
 take  in  through  the  eye  the  countenance  and  the  mind 
 within  it:  the  going  forth  of  that  reverent  love  is  of 
 itself  refreshment  and  comfort ;  we  take  in  in  the  giving 
 out. 
 
 If  these  things  can  be  even  on  earth,  judge  ye  what 
 they  must  become  when  read  in  the  language  of  heaven! 
 We  are  scarcely  aware,  w^ithout  purposely  looking  for  it, 
 how  much  of  our  public  worship  is  mere  adoration.  If 
 you  were  asked  at  the  end  of  a  solemn  service  in  this 
 place.  What  did  you  ask  for }  what  particular  accessions 
 of  good,  earthly  or  spiritual,  did  you  implore  of  God  t 
 you  would  find  it  impossible  to  return  such  an  answer  as 
 should  account  for  half  or  for  one  quarter  of  the  time 
 occupied.  No;  we  came  together,  in  part  at  least,  to 
 adore  :  to  say  to  ourselves,  to  say  to  one  another,  to  say 
 before  God,  How  great  is  He !  how  glorious  !  how  won- 
 derful in  His  works  and  ways,  as  well  as  in  His  goodness 
 toward  the  children  of  men  !  What  else,  what  more,  is 
 contained  in  that  oft-repeated  doxology,  Glory  be  to  the 
 Father,  and  to  the  Son,  and  to  the  Holy  Ghost ;  as  it  was 
 in  the  beginning,  is  nozv,  and  ever  shall  be,  zuorld  without 
 end?  Many  of  us,  I  fear,  treat  that  doxology  as  a  form, 
 a  vain  repetition  ;  and  so  that  other  doxology  with  which 
 sermons  conclude.  But  in  these  things  our  whole  soul 
 ought  to  go  forth  to  Him  who  is  spoken  of:  then  most 
 of  all  are  we  anticipating  the  worship  of  just  men  made 
 perfect^.  We  are  far  too  apt  to  measure  all  worship  and 
 all  religious  knowledge  by  its  direct  bearing  upon  our- 
 selves. In  reading  the  Word  of  God,  we  select  just 
 those  parts  which  seem  to  have  something  for  the  soul, 
 in  the  way  of  comfort  or  of  exhortation,  and  we  throw 
 
 1  Heb.  xii.  23. 
 
156  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 aside  the  rest.  Whereas,  if  we  were  fully  instnicted  unto 
 the  kingdom  of  heaven^,  we  should  regard  all  as  having  a 
 direct  bearing  upon  us  which  tells  us  anything  whatever 
 of  what  God  is;  which  gives  us  any  new  insight  into  His 
 character,  into  His  attributes,  into  His  purposes,  into 
 His  mind  and  will.  Everything  which  adds  to  our  know- 
 ledge of  God  adds  to  our  store  for  praise. 
 
 And  even  thus  is  it  with  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  also. 
 It  is  a  selfish  doctrine  which  altogether  confounds  thanks- 
 giving and  praise.  The  exhortation  distinguishes  the 
 two.  To  render  thanks  for  the  great  benefits  received  at 
 His  hands  ;  that  is  thanksgiving.  To  set  forth  His  most 
 worthy  praise ;  to  tell,  that  is,  what  He  is  in  Himself; 
 that  is  adoration,  that  is  praise. 
 
 And  do  not  the  holy  Angels  themselves  teach  us  a 
 lesson  on  this  point  in  their  doxology  of  which  we  have 
 spoken  to-night.'*  They  had  not  sinned;  they  needed 
 not  redemption;  the  blood  of  Christ  was  not  shed  for 
 them;  He  took  not  on  Him  the  nature  of  angels'^ ;  not  for 
 their  sake  did  He  humble  Himself  and  become  obedient 
 unto  dcatJi^.  And  yet  it  is  they  who  sing.  Worthy  is  the 
 La7nb  tJiat  was  slain  !  Assuredly,  my  brethren,  there  is 
 something  in  this  Easter  festival  which  should  raise  our 
 thoughts  above  self,  even  when  salvation  is  in  question. 
 If  we  know  not  yet  that  Christ  has  saved  us  personally, 
 still  we  can  begin  to  praise.  We  can  say  with  the  An- 
 gels, WortJiy  is  the  Lamb  that  was  slain,  if  we  cannot  yet 
 add  with  St  Paul,  who  loved  me  and  gave  Himself  for  me*. 
 And  it  is  through  this  view  of  Christ  that  the  other,  the 
 more  personal  hope,  has  been  ere  now  gained. 
 
 1  Matt.  xiii.  52.  2  j^eb.  ii.  16.  ^  p^ii.  \i  g. 
 
 *  Gal.  ii.  20. 
 
XI.]  Chap.  V.   7 — 14.  157 
 
 0  my  brethren,  begin  with  the  adoration  of  the  Lamb 
 that  was  slain  !  Take  into  view  that  which  is  involved 
 in  those  words.  Think  of  the  humiliation  of  Christ. 
 Think  of  His  life  on  earth.  Think  of  His  words  and  of 
 His  works.  Think  of  His  self-denial,  think  of  His  self- 
 sacrifice.  Think  of  His  sufferings,  and  of  their  motive. 
 Think  of  His  agony,  of  His  cross,  of  His  grave.  Then 
 see  that  grave  opened.  See  Him  coming  forth  from  it, 
 as  at  early  dawn  on  this  sweet  first  day  of  the  week,  m 
 the  pozver  of  2,  risen,  an  endless  life'^.  See  Him  meeting 
 His  disciples,  alive  now  from  the  dead,  with  a  word  of 
 tenderest  pity,  of  aptest  consolation,  of  thrilling  power, 
 for  each  case,  and  for  every  circumstance  of  each.  Mark 
 the  dignity,  the  majesty,  the  mystery,  of  that  resumed 
 life.  Observe  what  an  awe  rests  now  on  the  hearts  of 
 disciples  once  familiar.     None  of  thcni  durst  ask  Him, 
 
 Who  art  Thou  ?  knowing  that  it  zuas  the  Lo7'd^.  See 
 how  rapidly  now,  as  once  how  slowly,  He  is  able  to  lead 
 them  onward  in  the  knowledge  of  the  secrets  of  His 
 kingdom.  Resurrection  itself  has  read  to  them  half  the 
 riddle.  It  has  solved  for  them  already  the  strange  enig- 
 ma of  a  life  within,  a  life  beyond,  and  a  life  above.  At 
 last  behold  Him  rise,  not  from  the  lower  parts  of  the 
 earth^  only,  but  from  earth  itself.  See  His  hands  up- 
 lifted as  in  act  of  blessing"*,  when  calmly,  and  at  first 
 wellnigh  Imperceptibly,  He  begins  to  be  received  tip^ ,  be- 
 gins to  ascend  tip  ivhei'e  He  was  before  ^.  At  last  behold 
 the  cloud  ^,  that  same  cloud  which  ever  figures  in  the  pro- 
 phecy of  His  return  to  judgment  ^  come  between,  and 
 
 1  Heb.  vii.  16.  -  John  xxi.  12.  ^  Eph.  iv.  9. 
 ^  Luke  xxiv.  50.  '"  Luke  ix.  51.  ^  John  vi.  62. 
 ^  Acts  i.  9.                           ^  Matt.  xxvi.  64.     Rev.  i.  7. 
 
158  Revelation.  [lect.  xi. 
 
 intercept  the  view  of  the  lessening  form.  With  these 
 things  let  your  acquaintance  with  Christ  begin.  Start 
 from  this  point,  from  this  restingplace  of  history,  of  fact, 
 of  evidence,  and  be  not  afraid  to  be  presumptuous  if  on 
 that  basis  you  adore.  Soon  will  you  know  more  of  Him. 
 Bow  in  His  presence,  if  it  be  but  in  the  outermost  circle 
 of  all,  outside  the  circle  of  the  elders,  outside  the  living 
 wall  of  Angels,  in  a  spot  where  scarce  one  ray  of  the 
 true  living  glory,  scarce  one  echo  of  the  worthy  adoration 
 of  the  Lamb  that  was  slain,  has  as  yet  made  its  way ; 
 stand  there,  afar  off'^,  if  it  be  so,  as  befits  a  creature  and 
 a  sinner — as  befits,  let  me  rather  say,  one  who  has 
 hitherto  trifled  with  or  stood  aloof  from  the  revelation  of 
 a  Saviour — smite  upon  your  breast  there,  and  say,  God 
 be  mercifid  to  me  a  sinner  !  yet  even  there  bow  your  head 
 and  worship  !  Soon  will  you  be  brought  nigh  ;  made  jzigh 
 by  the  blood  of  Christ'^  made  real  to  you  !  But  O  let  not 
 one  soul  in  this  great  congregation  withhold  altogether 
 this  night  his  Easter  tribute  !  Let  all  give  as  they  can, 
 not  of  material  things,  silver  or  gold,  but  of  that  oblation 
 which  is  dearer  to  God  than  any  corruptible  gift,  the 
 offering  of  a  free  heart^,  the  rising  towards  Him  of  a  con- 
 trite spirit ! 
 
 ^  Luke  xviii.  13.  ^  Eph.  ii.  13. 
 
 ^  Psalm  liv.  6  (Prayer- Book  Version). 
 
 Easter  Day, 
 
 March  31,  1861. 
 
LECTURE    XII, 
 
 REVELATION   VI.    1 6. 
 
 Hide  us  from  the  face  of  Him  that  sittetJi  on  the  throne, 
 and  from  the  wrath  of  the  Lamb. 
 
 The  sealed  roll  has  been  taken  out  of  the  hand  of  Him 
 that  sat  on  the  throne,  and  the  Lamb  has  prevailed  to 
 open  it\  The  threefold  adoration;  the  thrice  repeated 
 doxology,  of  the  elders,  of  the  Angels,  and  of  the  created 
 universe;  v/hich  occupied  our  thoughts  on  the  evening 
 of  Easter  Sunday,  is  at  length  silent.  A  hush  of  expec- 
 tation pervades  the  heavenly  presence,  and  the  chapter 
 which  comes  before  us  to-night  will  tell  the  story  of  that 
 breaking  of  the  seals  which  is  to  set  the  revelation  free 
 and  turn  the  mystery  of  God^  into  a  secret  told.  May 
 God  give  us  the  wisdom  to  speak  and  the  grace  to  hear, 
 not  only  with  understanding,  but  unto  edifying ! 
 
 And^  I  sazv  zvhen  the  Lamb  opened  one  of  the  seven 
 seals,  and  I  heard  one  of  the  four  liviiig  creatures  sayiftg, 
 as  it  were  a  voice  of  tJiunder,  Come,  And^  /  saw,  and 
 behold,  a  horse  all  white ;  and  one  who  sat  upon  Jam, 
 having  a  bow  ;  and  there  was  given  to  him  a  crown  ;  and 
 he  went  forth  conqueriitg,  and  that  he  might  conquer. 
 
 1  Rev.  V.  5.  2  Rey,  x.  7.  ^  Verse  r.  *  Vsrse  2. 
 
1 60  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 The  opening  of  each  separate  seal  is  not  the  opening 
 of  a  portion  of  the  roll,  but  a  necessary  preliminary  to 
 the  opening  of  the  entire  roll.  What  the  Prophet  sees, 
 as  each  particular  seal  is  broken,  is  not  something  in  the 
 roll  itself,  but  something  which  occurs  on  the  stage  of 
 vision  at  the  moment  when  that  step  is  taken  towards 
 the  unfolding  of  God's  counsels. 
 
 In  the  case  of  the  first  four  seals,  the  act  of  breaking 
 is  followed  by  a  loud  utterance  from  one  of  the  four 
 living  beings  which  represent  the  universe  of  animated 
 creation.  The  vision  which  is  thus  introduced  affects 
 creation  in  some  one  of  its  great  departments. 
 
 The  utterance  itself  consists  of  the  single  word,  Come; 
 not,  as  the  ordinary  reading  gives  it.  Come  and  see.  The 
 latter  would  have  been  addressed  to  the  Prophet :  the 
 former  is  more  probably  addressed  to  the  Lamb  of  God, 
 whose  coming  in  glory  is  the  desire  and  expectation  of 
 the  creation^,  and  is  in  some  definite  manner  promoted 
 and  advanced  by  that  which  the  accompanying  vision 
 denotes. 
 
 The  particular  vision  which  attends  the  breaking  of 
 the  first  seal  is  that  of  a  white  horse,  with  a  rider  bearing 
 a  bow,  with  its  sharp  arrows  ready  for  conflict,  and  a 
 crown,  the  emblem  of  victory.  It  has  been  usual  to  see 
 in  this  figure  the  person  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  going 
 forth,  in  His  righteous  government  and  by  His  holy  Gos- 
 pel, conquering  and  to  conquer.  Similar  emblems  are 
 applied  to  Him  in  the  45th  Psalm',  and  in  the  19th 
 chapter  of  this  bookl  But  the  similitudes  of  Scripture 
 are  not  to  be  thus  restricted  to  one  sole  application :  and 
 a  comparison  of  this  with  subsequent  figures  will  guide 
 
 1  Rom.  viii.  19.  ^  Psalm  xlv.  3,  4,  5.  ^  Rev.  xix.  11— 16. 
 
XII.]  Chap,  VI.  i6i 
 
 us  rather  to  the  notion  of  human  warfare,  of  Invasion 
 and  conquest,  as  the  reahty  here  to  be  understood.  The 
 suffering  and  oppressed  Church  of  the  time  of  St  John  is 
 taught  to  connect  the  idea  of  conquest — of  such  victories 
 as  those  which  had  extended  and  were  to  extend  over 
 the  whole  known  earth  the  dominion  of  imperial  Rome 
 — first  with  the  overruHng  sovereignty  of  God,  out  of 
 whose  presence  and  by  whose  edict  all  human  power 
 goes  forth,  and  secondly  with  the  final  establishment  of 
 a  power  not  human,  even  with  the  coming  of  Him  who 
 is  the  Lord  of  the  Church,  and  to  whom  all  the  kingdoms 
 of  the  earth  shall  be  eventually  made  to  bow. 
 
 A  lid  ^  zvhen  He  opened  the  second  seal,  I  heard  the  second 
 livhig  creature  saying,  Come.  And"^  there  came  forth  an- 
 other horse,  red;  and  to  him  that  sat  npon  Jiim  it  zu as  given 
 to  take  peace  out  of  the  earth,  and  that  they  shall  slay  07ie 
 another  ;  and  there  was  given  to  him  a  great  sivord. 
 
 The  former  was  a  vision  of  conquest ;  this  is  a  vision 
 of  intestine  discord,  of  civil  war.  They  shall  kill  one 
 another.  And  this  too  is  both  overruled  by  God  Him- 
 self for  His  own  work  of  power  and  grace,  and  also  con- 
 duces in  some  definite  manner  to  the  coming  of  Christ ; 
 to  the  overthrow  of  opposing  force,  and  to  the  establish- 
 ment of  His  reign  on  earth. 
 
 And^  when  He  opened  the  third  seal,  I  heard  the  third 
 living  creature  saying,  Come.  And  I  saw,  and  behold,  a 
 horse  all  black ;  and  one  that  sat  upon  him,  having  a 
 balance  in  his  hand.  And^  I  heard  a  voice  in  the  midst  of 
 the  four  living  creatures  saying,  A  choenix  of  ivheat  for  a 
 denarius,  and  three  chcenixes  of  barley  for  a  denarius;  and 
 the  oil  and  the  wine  injure  thou  not.     This  rider  upon  the 
 
 1  Verse  3.  ^  Verse  4.  ^  'Verse  5.  ^  Verse  6. 
 
 V.  R.  II 
 
1 62  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 black  horse  is  the  image  of  scarcity.  The  balance  in 
 his  hand  recalls  the  words  of  the  prophecy  of  Ezekiel. 
 And  thy  meat  which  thoic  shalt  eat  shall  be  by  weight. 
 Son  of  maUj  behold,  I  will  break  the  staff  of  bread  i^t 
 Jerusalem:  and  they  shall  eat  bread  by  weight,  and 
 with  care ;  and  they  shall  drink  water  by  vieasiu^e,  and 
 with  astonishment ;  that  they  may  want  bread  and  water, 
 and  be  astonied  one  witJi  another,  and  consume  away  for 
 their  iniqjtity'^.  When  corn  has  to  be  weighed,  not 
 measured,  it  is  a  time  of  scarcity.  This  too  is  one  of 
 God's  judgments. 
 
 In  this  instance,  however,  the  operation  of  the  judg- 
 ment is  to  be  limited.  A  voice  is  heard,  fixing  bounds 
 to  the  severity  of  the  infliction.  The  chcenix  was  from 
 a  pint  and  a  half  to  a  quart  of  English  dry  measure:  and 
 a  choenix  of  wheat  was  reckoned  as  a  day's  provision,  a 
 somewhat  scanty  day's  provision,  for  one  man.  The 
 denarius,  varying  at  different  times  from  about  eight 
 pence  half-penny  to  seven  pence  half-penny  of  our 
 money,  was  the  daily  pay  of  a  common  soldier,  and  the 
 average  wages  (it  may  be  inferred,  for  example,  from  the 
 language  of  the  Parable  of  the  Labourers  in  the  Vine- 
 yard) of  a  working  man^  Thus  the  whole  of  a  day's 
 earnings  would  go  in  the  purchase  of  one  man's  bread. 
 Nothing  would  be  left  over  for  the  purpose  of  one  super- 
 fluity, or  even  for  securing  house  or  clothing.  If  others 
 depend  upon  him,  he  must  have  recourse  to  the  cheaper 
 and  less  nutritious  form  of  food,  and  instead  of  his 
 choenix  of  wheat  must  content  himself  with  the  equiva- 
 lent three  choenixes  of  barley.  But  the  dearth  here  pre- 
 dicted stops  short  of  absolute  famine.     Food  there  shall 
 
 1  Ezek.  iv.  lo,  i^,  17.  ^  Matt.  xx.  2. 
 
XII 
 
 .]  Chap.  VI.  163 
 
 be,  though  dear  and  scanty :  the  oil  and  the  wine  are 
 not  yet  to  be  injured:  there  is  to  be  anxiety  and  diffi- 
 culty and  distress,  but  thus  far  not  starvation. 
 
 A  nd}  whe7i  He  opened  the  fourth  seal,  I  Jieard  the  fourth 
 living  creature  saying,  Come.  Aiid"^  I  saw,  and  behold,  a 
 horse  all  livid,  of  a  pale,  green,  discoloured  hue ;  and  one 
 who  sat  npo7t  him,  his  name  Death  ;  and  Hades,  the  per- 
 sonification of  the  grave  and  of  the  abode  of  the  dead, 
 follow eth  zvith  him :  and  tJiere  was  given  him  authority 
 over  the  fourth  part  of  the  earth,  to  kill  througJi  sword,  and 
 thi'oiigh  famine,  and  through  death,  that  is,  by  pestilence, 
 and  by  the  wild  beasts  of  the  earth.  Hades  has  been  de- 
 scribed here  as  the  hearse  of  death  ;  following  to  receive 
 those  whom  death  strikes  down.  And  you  will  observe 
 here  the  enumeration  of  all  those  forms  of  destruction 
 which  are  given  in  one  of  the  prophecies  of  Ezekiel  as 
 God's  four  sore  judgmefits"^ ;  the  sivord,  and  famine,  a?id 
 pestilence,  and  those  noisome  (destructive)  beasts  which 
 come  to  take  possession  of  a  region  depopulated  by  the 
 former  calamities. 
 
 Thus  the  first  four  visions  have  given  us  the  various 
 images  of  conquest,  of  civil  war,  of  scarcity,  and  of 
 mortality.  Each  of  these  is  presented  to  the  eyes  of  a 
 suffering  and  buffeted  Church,  as  one  of  those  all  things 
 which  are  in  the  hands  of  God,  and  which  are  zvorkijig 
 together  for  eventual  ^^^^*  to  the  cause  of  Christ  on  earth. 
 Each  one  of  them  is  prefaced  by  the  call  to  Him,  on  ^ 
 the  part  of  Creation  itself,  to  come  and  deliver  it  from 
 the  bondage  of  corruption  into  the  glorious  liberty  of  the 
 children  of  God^. 
 
 ,1  Verse  7.  2  y^,,^^  g.  '  Ezek.  xiv.  21. 
 
 *  Rom.  viii.  28.  ^  Rom.  viii.  21. 
 
 II — 2 
 
164  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 The  fifth  vision  is  of  a  different  character,  and  dif- 
 ferently introduced. 
 
 Aiid^  wheji  He  opened  the  fifth  seal,  I  saw  beneath  the 
 altar — we  have  not  yet  had  an  altar  described  as  part 
 of  the  scene ;  but  the  transition  to  the  imagery  of  the 
 earthly  temple,  with  its  great  altar  of  burnt-offering  stand- 
 ing in  front  of  the  building,  is  easily  and  naturally  made 
 — the  souls  of  them  that  had  been  slam  because  of  the  word 
 of  God,  and  because  of  the  testimony  which  they  held.  The 
 word  here  used  for  the  souls  of  the  martyred  saints  is 
 that  which  expresses  their  natural  life  rather  than  their 
 spiritual:  their  spirits  are  in  the  Paradise  of  the  blessed^* 
 their  lives  (if  the  expression  might  be  used)  are  seen  at 
 the  bottom  of  the  altar  on  which  they  had  been  offered 
 in  sacrifice  to  God.  The  blood  is  the  life^  was  the  re- 
 peated statement  of  the  Old  Testament.  And  in  one 
 section  of  the  Levitical  Law  we  read  this  precise  in- 
 struction. The  priest.., shall  ponr  all  the  blood  of  the 
 sacrifice  at  the  bottom  of  the  altar  of  the  biirnt-offeringy 
 which  is  at  the  door  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  cojigregation^ . 
 The  image  then  is  that  of  the  blood  of  righteous  Abel 
 crying  from  the  ground^  against  his  murderer:  only  here, 
 in  accordance  with  the  subject,  it  is  as  it  were  personified 
 and  dramatized  into  the  voice  of  souls.  And^  they  cried 
 with  a  loud  voice,  saying,  Until  when,  Thou  Master,  the 
 holy  one  and  true,  dost  Thou  7tot  judge  a7id  avenge  our 
 blood — how  long  dost  Thou  refrain  from  judging  and 
 avenging  our  blood — frojn  those  who  dzvell  on  the  earth  ? 
 It  is  not  that  saints  in  Paradise  desire  vengeance:  it  is 
 the  voice  of  their  blood  crying  from  the  ground,  and 
 
 ^  Verse  9.  ^  Luke  xxiii.  43.  ^  Deut.  xii.  23. 
 
 *  Lev.  iv.  7.  °  Gen.  iv.  10.  ^  Verse  10. 
 
XII.]  Chap.  VL  165 
 
 rising  into  the  ears  of  a  righteous  Judge  who  cannot 
 suffer  iniquity  and  cruelty  to  triumph  as  now  for  ever. 
 And^  there  zv as  given  to  thejn  zvhite  raiment,  and  it  was 
 bidden  them  that  they  shall  rest  yet  a  zvhile,  U7itil  their 
 fellozv-servants  also  and  their  bretJireji  zvJio  are  to  be  slain 
 as  they  themselves  also  were,  shall  have  fulfilled,  or  com- 
 pleted, their  work,  or  their  course. 
 
 Here  then  to  the  other  predicted  troubles  amidst 
 which  and  in  which  is  to  be  heard  the  cry  of  Creation 
 for  the  coming  of  the  Lord  Jesus  ;  amidst  which  and  in 
 which  the  Church  of  Christ  is  to  see  by  faith  the  con- 
 trolling hand  of  God  and  the  very  prophecy  of  their 
 glory ;  is  added  yet  this,  the  sign  of  martyrdom,  of  lives 
 given  willingly  in  Christ's  cause,  of  persecution  even 
 unto  death  befalling  those  who  have  devoted  themselves 
 in  soul  and  in  body  to  His  service.  This  also,  the 
 righteous  blood  shed  upon  the  earth'^  in  the  cause  of  Christ, 
 is,  if  it  be  rightly  understood,  a  sign,  not  of  the  discomfi- 
 ture of  His  truth,  but  of  the  certainty  of  His  coming  to 
 judgment.  It  is  thus  that  St  Paul  uses  it  in  his  2nd 
 Epistle  to  the  Thessalonians.  So  that  zve  ourselves  glory 
 in  you  in  the  churches  of  God  for  your  patieiice  and  faith 
 in  all  your  persecutions  a7id  tribulations  that  ye  oidiLre ; 
 which  is  a  manifest  token  of  the  righteous  judgmeiit  of 
 God,  that  ye  may  be  counted  worthy  of  the  kingdom  of  God, 
 for  which  ye  also  suffer;  seeing  it  is  a  righteous  thing  zvith 
 God  to  recompense  tribidation  to  them  that  trouble  you;  and 
 to  you  zvho  are  troubled  rest  with  us,  when  the  Lord  Jesus 
 shall  be  revealed  from  heaven  with  His  mighty  angels,  in 
 flaming  fire  taking  vengeance  on  them  that  know  not  God, 
 and  that  oley  not  the  Gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ; 
 
 1  Verse  11.  ^  Matt,  xxiii.  35. 
 
 v/ 
 
1 66  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 who  shall  be  punished  zuith  everlasting  destruction  from  the 
 presence  of  the  Lord,  and  from  the  glory  of  His  power, 
 wheii  He  shall  come  to  be  glorified  in  His  saints,  and  to  be 
 ad7nired  in  all  them  that  believe  \ 
 
 And  the  opening  of  the  sixth  seal   is   followed  by- 
 signs  of  this  very  result. 
 
 And^  I  saw  when  He  ope^ied  the  sixth  seal,  and  there 
 arose  a  great  earthquake,  and  the  snn  became  black  as  sack- 
 cloth of  hair,  and  the  moon  all  became  as  blood,  a?td^  the 
 stars  of  the  heaven  fell  to  the  earth,  like  a  fig-tree  having 
 shed  its  winter  figs  when  shaken  by  a  great  wittd ;  and^ 
 the  heaven  was  withdrawn  like  a  scroll  in  the  act  of  being 
 rolled  tcp,  and  every  mountain  and  island  were  moved  out 
 of  their  places.  And^  the  kings  of  the  earth,  aiid  the  chiefs  ^ 
 and  the  commanders,  and  the  rich,  and  the  strong,  and 
 every  man  bofid  and  free,  hid  themselves  in  the  caves  and 
 i7i  the  rocks  of  the  moimtains,  ajtd^  say  to  the  moimtaitis 
 and  to  the  rocks,  Fall  on  tis,  and  hide  us  from  the  face  of 
 Him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  from  the  wrath  of 
 the  Lamb :  because  there  came  the  great  day  of  His  wrath, 
 and  who  is  able  to  stand  ? 
 
 We  recognize  in  this  passage  much  of  the  imagery 
 of  the  Old  Testament  Prophets.  /  will  show  wonders  in 
 the  heavens  and  in  the  eartJi,  blood,  and  fire,  and  pillars  of 
 sjnoke :  the  sun  shall  be  turned  into  darkness,  a7id  the  moon 
 into  blood,  before  the  great  and  the  terrible  day  of  the  Lord 
 come''.  L  clothe  the  heavens  with  blackness,  and  I  make 
 sackcloth  their  covering^.  All  the  host  of  heaven  shall  be 
 dissolved,  and  the  heavens  shall  be  rolled  together  as  a 
 
 ^  2  Thess.  i.  4 — 10.  ^  Verse  12.  ^  Verse  13. 
 
 ^  Verse  14.  ^  Verse  15.  ^  Verse  16. 
 
 7  Joel  ii.  30,  31.  ^  Isai.  1.  3. 
 
XII 
 
 .]  Chap.  VI.  167 
 
 scroll:  and  all  their  host  shall  fall  down,  as  the  leaf falleth 
 off  from  the  vine,  and  as  a  falling  fig  from  tJie  fig-tree"^. 
 The  day  of  the  Lord  of  hosts  shall  be  upon  every  one  that 
 is  proud  and  lofty,  and  upon  every  one  that  is  lifted  tip... 
 And  they  shall  go  into  the  holes  of  the  rocks,  a? id  into  the 
 caves  of  the  earth,  for  fear  of  the  Lord,  and  for  the  glory 
 of  His  majesty,  vuhen  He  ariseth  to  shake  terribly  the  eartJi^, 
 They  shall  say  to  the  mountains,  Cover  us ;  and  to  the 
 hills,  Fall  on  us^.  /  beheld  the  earth,  and  lo,  it  zvas 
 without  form,  and  void ;  and  the  heavens,  and  they  had  no 
 light.  /  beheld  the  mountains,  and  lo,  they  trembled,  and 
 all  the  hills  moved  lightly.  I  beheld,  and  lo,  thei^e  was  no 
 man,  and  all  the  birds  of  the  heavens  were  fled.  L  beheld, 
 and  lo,  tlie  fruitful  place  was  a  wilderness,  and  all  the  cities 
 thereof  were  broken  dozun  at  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  and 
 by  His  fierce  anger^. 
 
 Whatever  secondary  fulfilments  this  opening  of  the 
 sixth  seal  may  have  found  in  history  ;  as  in  the  fall  of 
 the  Roman  Empire,  or  in  the  destruction  of  idolatry,  or 
 in  the  demolition  of  any  great  persecuting  and  oppress- 
 ing power  in  any  age  of  the  v/orld  ;  who  does  not  feel  as 
 he  listens  to  it,  that  it  has  one,  and  can  have  but  one, 
 full  and  exhaustive  accomplishment,  in  the  events  which 
 shall  precede  and  usher  in  the  second  coming  of  our 
 Lord  Himself  for  judgment  ? 
 
 And  now,  drawing  towards  the  last  application  of 
 the  striking  and  important  passage  which  has  engaged 
 our  attention  to-night,  I  must  beg  you  to  observe  that 
 the  key  to  its  meaning  is  to  be  found,  in  every  particular, 
 in  our  Saviour's  great  prophecy,  contained  in  the  24th 
 
 ^  Isai.  xxxiv.  3,  4.  ^  Isai.  ii.  12,  19.  ^  Hosea  x.  8. 
 
 ■*  Jer.  iv.  23 — 26. 
 
1 68  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 chapter  of  St  Matthew's  Gospel,  and  in  the  13th  chapter 
 of  the  Gospel  by  St  Mark,  and  delivered  in  answer  to 
 the  question  of  His  disciples  as  they  sat  with  Him  over 
 against  the  temple.  Tell  its,  when  shall  these  things  be  ? 
 and  what  shall  be  the  sign  of  Thy  coming,  and  of  the  end 
 oftheworld^f 
 
 We  have  interpreted  the  six  visions  disclosed  in  the 
 chapter  from  which  the  text  is  taken,  as  predicting  trou- 
 bles and  sorrows  to  come  upon  the  world  and  upon 
 the  Church,  and  as  assuring  the  true  servants  of  God 
 that  all  these  things  are  under  His  control  and  govern- 
 ance, and  shall  all  issue  in  and  contribute  to  that  final 
 establishment  of  Christ's  kingdom  which  shall  involve 
 the  overthrow  of  every  kind  and  form  of  evil.  Now 
 refer,  in  this  connection,  to  the  following  verses  of  the 
 24th  chapter  of  St  Matthew.  Ye  shall  hear  of  wars  and 
 rumours  of  wars ;  the  white  horse  of  conquest,  and  his 
 rider  armed  with  the  bow  and  going  forth  conquering 
 and  to  conquer;  see  that  ye  be  not  troubled:  for  all  these 
 things  mnst  come  to  pass,  but  the  end  is  not  yet.  For  natioii 
 shall  rise  agaifist  nation,  and  kingdom  against  kingdom  ; 
 the  red  horse  of  intestine  discord,  and  his  rider,  to 
 whom  was  given  the  great  sword,  to  X.2^q  peace  from  the 
 earth ;  a?id  there  shall  be  famines,  and  pestilences,  the 
 black  horse  of  scarcity,  and  the  pale  horse  of  mortality, 
 a7id  earthquakes,  in  divers  places.  A II  these  are  the  be'gi?t- 
 ning  of  sorrozus^.  Theji  shall  they  deliver  you  7ip  (what 
 can  be  more  exact,  more  remarkable,  than  the  coinci- 
 dence of  very  order  and  sequence  of  the  two  lines  of 
 prediction.'')  to  be  afflicted,  a7id  shall  kill  you  ;  souls  shall 
 be  seen  under  the  altar,  martyred  lives,   of  those  who 
 
 ^  Matt.  xxiv.  3.  2  Matt.  xxiv.  6—8. 
 
XII.]  Chap,  VI.  169 
 
 have  been  slain  for  the  word  of  God,  and  for  the  testi- 
 mony which  they  bore  :  but  he  that  shall  endure  unto  the 
 end,  the  same  shall  be  saved^.  And  then,  Immediately 
 after  the  tidbulation  of  those  days  shall  the  sun  be  darkened, 
 and  the  moon  shall  not  give  her  light — the  very  figures  of 
 the  sixth  seal — a?id  the  stars  shall  fall  from  heaven,  and 
 the pozuers  of  the  heavens  shall  be  shaken.  And  then  shall 
 appear  the  sign  of  the  Soji  of  Man  in  heaven :  and  then 
 shall  all  the  tribes  of  the  earth  mourn  ;  they  shall  hide 
 themselves,  the  other  prophecy  says,  in  the  very  dens 
 and  rocks  of  the  mountains,  from  the  anticipated  wrath 
 of  the  Lamb  ;  and  they  shall  see  the  Son  of  Man  coming 
 in  the  clouds  of  heave  Ji,  witJi  power  and  great  glory"^.  The 
 6th  chapter  of  this  book  of  Revelation,  and  with  it  the 
 result  of  the  opening  of  the  sixth  seal,  stops  just  short  of 
 this  actual  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man.  All  is  prepared  ; 
 the  terror  of  that  expectation  has  fallen  upon  the  wicked ; 
 but  there  still  remains  one  preliminary  of  which  we  shall 
 hope  to  speak  on  the  next  Sunday  evening. 
 
 I  have  found  it  most  difficult  to  compress  into  one 
 discourse  the  great  revelation  which  has  now  come  before 
 us,  and  to  coerce  on  every  side  the  desire  to  justify  and 
 to  enforce  the  interpretation  given.  One  word  I  must 
 add,  in  reference  to  the  parallel  prophecy  of  St  Mat- 
 thew's Gospel.  What  a  commentary  upon  that  prophecy 
 is  the  chapter  now  before  us  !  It  is  the  ancient  belief, 
 whatever  difficulties  may  beset  it,  that  the  book  of 
 Revelation  was  written  after  the  destruction  of  Jerusa- 
 lem ;  under  Domitian,  not  under  Nero.  If  this  be  so, 
 remark  that  St  John,  and  He  who  taught  and  inspired 
 St  John  with  the  vision  of  truth,  did  not  consider  the 
 1  Matt.  xxiv.  9,  13.  -  Matt.  xxiv.  29,  30. 
 
1 70  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 prophecy  of  our  Lord  contained  in  the  chapter  referred 
 to,  to  be  completed  and  done  with,  as  many  would  now 
 tell  us,  when  Jerusalem  fell.  The  ruin  of  Jerusalem, 
 and  of  the  Mosaic  and  Levitical  institutions  with  it,  was 
 a  fulfilment,  but  not  the  fulfilment,  of  our  Saviour's 
 words.  Those  words  are  wonderful  in  all  senses ;  not 
 least  in  this  sense,  that  they  are  manifold  in  their 
 accomplishment.  Wherever  there  is  a  little  flock  in  a 
 waste  wilderness  ;  wherever  there  is  a  Church  in  a  world  ; 
 wherever  there  is  a  power  of  unbelief,  ungodliness,  and 
 violence,  throwing  itself  upon  Christ's  faith  and  Christ's 
 people,  and  seeking  to  overbear  and  to  demolish  and  to 
 destroy ;  whether  that  power  be  the  power  of  Jewish 
 bigotry  and  fanaticism,  as  in  the  days  of  the  first  disci- 
 ples ;  or  of  Pagan  Rome,  with  its  idolatries  and  its  cruel- 
 ties, as  in  the  days  of  St  John  and  of  the  Revelation  ; 
 or  of  Papal  Rome,  with  its  lying  wonders  and  its  anti- 
 christian  assumptions,  in  ages  later  still ;  or  of  open  and 
 rampant  Atheism,  as  in  the  days  of  the  first  French 
 Revolution  ;  or  of  a  subtler  and  more  insidious  infidelity, 
 like  that  which  is  threatening  now  to  deceive^  if  it  zvere 
 possible,  tJie  very  elect^ ;  wherever  and  whatever  this 
 power  be — and  it  has  had  a  thousand  forms,  and  may  be 
 destined  yet  to  assume  a  thousand  more — then,  in  each 
 successive  century,  the  v/ords  of  Christ  to  His  first  disci- 
 ples adapt  themselves  afresh  to  the  circumstances  of 
 His  struggling  servants  ;  warn  them  of  danger,  exhort 
 them  to  patience,  arouse  them  to  hope,  assure  them  of 
 victory ;  tell  of  a  near  end,  for  the  individual  and  for 
 the  generation  ;  tell  also  of  a  far  end,  not  for  ever  to  be 
 postponed,  for  time  itself  and  for  the  world ;  predict  a 
 
 ^  Matt.  xxiv.  24. 
 
XII.]  Chap,  VI.  171 
 
 destruction  which  shall  befall  each  enemy  of  the  truth, 
 and  predict  a  destruction  which  shall  befall  the  enemy 
 himself  whom  each  in  turn  has  represented  and  served  ; 
 explain  the  meaning  of  tribulation,  show  whence  it 
 comes,  and  point  to  its  swallowing  up  in  glory  ;  reveal 
 the  moving  hand  above,  and  disclose,  from  behind  the 
 cloud  which  conceals  it,  the  clear  definite  purpose  and 
 the  unchanging  loving  will.  Thus  understood,  each  sepa- 
 rate downfall  of  evil  becomes  a  prophecy  of  the  next 
 and  of  the  last :  and  the  partial  fulfilment  of  our  Lord's 
 words  in  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  or  of  St  John's 
 words  in  the  downfall  of  idolatry  and  the  dismemberment 
 of  Rome,  becomes  itself  in  turn  a  new  warrant  for  the 
 Church's  expectation  of  the  second  Advent  and  of  the 
 day  of  Judgment. 
 
 My  brethren,  shall  that  expectation  of  the  Church  be 
 to  you,  to  each  one  of  us  who  are  here  this  night  assem- 
 bled, a  hope,  or  a  fear } 
 
 I.  I  address  doubtless  some  to-night  whose  pre- 
 vaihng  spiritual  condition  is  one  of  carelessness.  I  say 
 not  how  it  may  be  with  them  while  they  listen  to  the 
 Word  of  God  in  this  place  :  but  mark  their  course 
 through  the  week  which  follows ;  mark,  as  man  cannot, 
 but  as  God  can  and  does,  their  secret  walk  before  the 
 Father  of  spirits  ;  and  we  cannot  say  that  it  is  Christian, 
 we  cannot  say  that  it  is  vigilant,  we  cannot  say  that  it  is 
 reverent,  we  cannot  say  that  it  is  that  of  one  who  is  really 
 waiting  for  the  return  of  the  Son  of  God  to  judgment. 
 O,  my  brethren,  would  to  God  that  you  would  listen 
 inwardly  to  the  revelation  of  a  day  in  which  you  must  be 
 an  actor !  Let  the  words  of  the  text  itself  move  you. 
 Hide  us  from  the  face  of  Him  who  sitteth  upon  the  throne. 
 
1 72  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 and  fro7n  the  wrath  of  the  Lamb !  The  face  of  God; 
 you  must  see  it  one  day;  O  can  you  bear  it?  What  will 
 it  be  to  you  ?  Will  it  be  to  you  the  face  of  a  Father  ? 
 Will  it  be  to  you  a  face  known  long  by  faith,  in  the 
 intercourse,  through  long  months  and  years  of  earthly 
 life,  of  a  true,  a  spiritual  communion  ?  Will  it  be  to 
 you  a  face  which  has  often  shone  upon  you  with  bene- 
 diction and  peace,  assuring  you  of  pardon,  and  enlighten- 
 ing you  with  grace  ?  Or  will  the  other  be  your  concep- 
 tion of  it ;  that  fearful  thing  which  is  expressed  in  words 
 burning  with  their  concentrated  intensity,  tJie  wrath  of 
 the  Lamb  ?  the  wrath,  the  displeasure,  the  indignation, 
 the  slowly  and  reluctantly  gathered  yet  now  unalterable 
 and  inevitable  judgment,  of  Him  who  was  once  your 
 Sacrifice  for  sin,  your  Propitiation,  your  Advocate  with 
 the  Father'^,  yea  the  very  Lamb  of  God  ivho  took  away 
 the  si?t  of  the  world^  ?  Nay,  my  brethren,  if  the  very 
 Lamb  of  God  be  angry,  where  shall  we  find  a  refuge? 
 O  while  yet  He  is  your  Saviour,  know  Him,  we  beseech 
 you,  and  flee  to  Him  as  such  ! 
 
 2.  And  I  speak  to  some — God  grant  they  be  many 
 — who  have  done  this  ;  who  know  Christ  as  the  Lamb 
 of  God  ;  who  have  given  Him  their  sins  to  cancel  for 
 ever  with  His  most  precious  blood,  and  themselves  too, 
 their  souls  and  bodies,  to  be  that  daily  sacrifice  of  praise 
 and  thanksgiving  in  which  He  is  well  pleased.  The 
 revelation  before  us  is  full  of  comfort  for  these.  It  says 
 to. them,  God  is  on  your  side ;  be  not  afraid:  luhat  ca?z 
 man  do  unto  you  ^  ?  be  not  afraid  of  change  inward  or 
 outward ;  be  not  alarmed  at  tvars  and  rumours  of  zuars  *  / 
 
 1  I  John  ii.  I.  2  John  i.  29.  ^  Psalm  cxviii.  6. 
 
 ^  Matt.  xxiv.  6. 
 
XII.]  Chap.  VI.  173 
 
 dread  not  civil  commotions ;  tremble  not  at  days  of 
 want,  of  disease,  of  prevalent  mortality;  a  tJioiisand sJiall 
 fall  beside  thee,  and  ten  tJioiisand  at  thy  rigJit  handy  but  it 
 shall  not  come  nigh  thee  ^ ;  or,  if  it  does,  it  shall  be  only  as 
 the  messenger  of  thy  Saviour,  to  give  thee  a  speedier 
 entrance  into  the  world  of  life  and  joy.  All  tilings  arc 
 yours ;  life  and  death,  tilings  present  and  things  to  coine  ^. 
 When  the  last  great  day  comes,  for  you  It  shall  have  no 
 terror.  The  ivratli  of  the  Lamb  shall  be  a  combination 
 unknown  to  you.  To  you  the  sign  of  the  Son  of  Man  in 
 heaven^  shall  be  but  the  accomplishment  of  His  own 
 gracious  promise,  /  will  come  again,  and  receive  yon  nnto 
 myself  that  where  I  am,  there  ye  may  be  also  *. 
 
 1  Psalm  xci.  7.  ^  j  Cor.  iii.  21,  22.  ^  Malt.  xxiv.  30. 
 
 ^  John  xiv.  3. 
 
 Second  Sunday  after  Easter, 
 April  14,   1 86 1. 
 
LECTURE    XIII. 
 
 REVELATION   VII.    2,   3. 
 
 A  nd  I  sazv  another  angel  ascending  from  the  east,  having 
 the  seal  of  the  living  God :  and  he  cried  zvith  a  loud 
 voice  to  the  foicr  angels,  to  whom  it  was  given  to  Jinrt 
 the  earth  and  the  sea,  saying,  Hicrt  not  the  earth, 
 neither  the  sea,  nor  the  trees,  till  we  have  sealed  the 
 servants  of  onr  God  in  their  foreheads. 
 
 We  are  in  momentary  expectation  of  the  opening  of  the 
 seventli  seal.  Six  seals  have  been  broken ;  and  the 
 breaking  of  each  has  been  followed  by  a  certain  sign 
 witnessed  on  the  stage  of  vision.  It  has  been  shown 
 how  each  one  of  the  great  classes  of  human  suffering 
 is  in  reality  under  the  control  of  God,  and  how  each 
 one  is  premonitory  of  and  preparatory  for  the  return  of 
 Christ  in  glory.  The  cry  of  creation  which  introduces 
 each  is  the  brief  and  significant  Come,  addressed  to  the 
 Lamb  that  was  slain,  and  expressing  that  earnest  expecta- 
 tion of  the  creature  itself,  which  is  waiting,  ever  waiting, 
 for  the  manifestation  of  the  sons  of  God^.  There  has  been 
 seen  the  white  horse  of  conquest,  and  the  red  horse  of 
 
 ^  Rom.  viii.  19. 
 
LECT.  XIII.]  Revelation,     Chap.  vii.    i — 8.  175 
 
 discord,  and  the  black  horse  of  scarcity,  and  the  pale 
 horse  of  mortality ;  there  has  been  seen,  as  the  fifth 
 seal  was  broken,  the  vivid  image  of  Christian  martyr- 
 dom ;  and  at  the  opening  of  thp  sixth,  the  fearful  repre- 
 sentation of  those  last  terrors  which  shall  instantly 
 precede  the  second  Advent  of  the  Son  of  Man.  We 
 were  prepared  therefore  to  expect  the  immediate  open- 
 ing of  the  seventh  and  last  seal,  and  with  it  the  arrival 
 of  the  consummation  of  all  things. 
 
 But  a  whole  chapter  intervenes.  Might  it  not  be 
 apprehended  that  amidst  convulsions  so  terrific  as  those 
 described  under  the  opening  of  the  sixth  seal  the  Church 
 itself  might  founder  }  Who  shall  secure  Christ's  servants 
 against  being  Involved  in  that  catastrophe  .''  Such  Is  the 
 misgiving  to  v/hich  the  particular  revelation  now  before 
 us  would  minister. 
 
 And^  after  this  I  saiv  foicr  angels  staiidiiig  at  tJie  four 
 corners  of  the  earth,  holding  fast  the  four  winds  of  the  earth, 
 that  thn^e  might  not  breathe  a  wind  upon  the  earth,  nor 
 upon  the  sea,  nor  against  any  tree. 
 
 The  winds  are  the  symbols  of  judgment.  And  the 
 four  zvinds  Indicate  the  universality  of  that  judgment :  it 
 comes  from  every  quarter.  Thus  we  read  in  the  prophet 
 Jeremiah:  Upon  Elani  zvill  I  bring  the  four  winds  from 
 the  four  quartei^s  of  heaven ;  explained  by  the  words 
 which  follow,  And  I  zvill  bring  evil  upon  them,  even  my 
 fierce  anger,  saith  the  Lord".  And  so  in  the  prophecy 
 of  Daniel :  /  saiu  in  my  vision  by  night,  and  behold,  the 
 four  winds  of  the  heaven  strove  tipon  tJie  great  sed\ 
 
 The  winds  are  symbols  of  judgment ;  and  the  Angels 
 are  to  be  executioners  of  that  judgment.      They  are  so 
 
 1  Verse  i.  "  Jer.  xlix,  36,  37.  ^  Dan.  vii.  2. 
 
1 76  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 described  in  the  verse  which  follows.  But  at  present 
 they  are  seen  restraining  the  winds.  They  have  thus  a 
 double  office,  which  will  become  apparent  as  we  proceed. 
 
 A7td^  I  sazv  another  qngel going  np  from  the  rising  of 
 the  Sim,  ascending  from  that  point  on  the  horizon  which 
 is  the  exact  place  of  the  sunrise,  having  a  seal  of  {belong- 
 ing to)  the  living  God,  The  mission  of  this  Angel  is 
 entirely  one  of  hope  and  cheering :  he  rises  from  the 
 east,  the  quarter  of  light  and  of  the  dayspring.  Thus 
 the  emblem  is  that  of  the  song  of  Zacharias  :  Through 
 the  tender  mercy  of  our  God ;  whereby  the  dayspring  from 
 on  high  hath  visited  us,  to  give  light  to  them  that  sit  in 
 darkness  and  in  the  shadow  of  deaths  to  guide  onr  feet  into 
 the  way  of  peace'^. 
 
 And  he  was  crying,  as  he  went  up,  zvith  a  loud  voice  to 
 the  four  angels  to  whom  it  was  given  to  injure  the  earth 
 and  the  sea,  saying^,  Injure  ye  not  tJie  earth,  nor  the  sea, 
 nor  the  trees,  until  zue  have  sealed  the  servants  of  our  God 
 on  their  foreheads. 
 
 Until  we  have  sealed.  One  alone  actually  impresses 
 the  seal :  the  rest  concur  and  assist  by  restraining  the 
 operation  of  judgment  until  the  sealing  is  accomplished. 
 
 The  image  of  the  sealing  is  derived  from  the  book  of 
 the  prophet  Ezekiel.  There,  too,  are  found  the  execu- 
 tioners of  vengeance,  in  contrast  with  the  one  sealer. 
 A7id  behold,  six  men  came  from  the  zvay  of  the  higher  gate, 
 which  lieth  toward  the  north,  and  every  man  a  slaughter- 
 weapon  in  his  hand :  and  one  man  among  them  was  clothed 
 with  linen,  with  a  writer s  inkJwrn  by  his  side... And  the 
 Lord  said  unto  him,  Go  through  the  midst  of  the  city, 
 through  the  midst  of  Jerusalem,  and  set  a  mark  upon  the 
 
 ^  Verse  2.  ^  Luke  i.  78,  79.  ^  Verse  3. 
 
XIII 
 
 .]  Chap.  VII.    I — 8.  177 
 
 foreheads  of  the  men  that  sigh  and  that  cjy  for  all  the 
 abominations  that  be  done  in  the  midst  thereof  And  to  the 
 others  He  said  iri  mine  J  tearing,  Go  ye  after  him  throngJi 
 the  city,  and  smite :  let  not  yoitr  eye  spare,  7ieither  have  ye 
 pity  ...but  come  not  near  any  man  tcpon  whom  is  the  mark  ; 
 and  begin  at  my  sanctuary  ...And  behold,  the  man  clothed 
 with  linen,  which  had  the  inkhorn  by  his  side,  reported  the 
 matter,  saying,  I  have  done  as  thou  hast  commanded  me  ^. 
 Even  such  is  the  object  of  the  seahng  here.  It  is  to 
 mark  out  certain  persons  as  belonging  to  God,  and  thus 
 to  save  them  from  being  involved  in  those  last  judg- 
 ments which  are  coming  upon  the  world.  The  seal  is 
 that  which  appropriates.  When. the  question  is  asked, 
 Whose  is  this  image  and  superscription'^  f  the  answer  will 
 be,  God's ;  and  the  consequence  will  be  respect  and 
 safety.  The  effect  of  the  seal  visible  in  the  forehead 
 will  be  like  that  of  the  blood  upon  the  door-post  of 
 the  Israelites,  in  the  last  and  sorest  of  the  plagues  of 
 Egypt.  When  He  seeth  it.  He  will  pass  over  the  door, 
 and  zvill  not  suffer  tJie  destroyer  to  come  in  unto  your 
 ho7ises  to  smite  you'^.  The  ministers  of  God's  judgment 
 have  it  equally  in  charge  to  spare  the  righteous  and  to 
 slay  the  wicked.  They  whose  mission  it  is  to  consume 
 the  guilty  city,  have  first  to  lead  out  of  it  the  one 
 servant  of  God  within  it.  Haste  thee,  escape  thither, 
 to  the  place  of  safety,  for  I  cannot  do  anything  till 
 thou  be  come  thither^.  It  is  said  to  them,  Hurt  not 
 the  earth,  neither  the  sea,  nor  the  trees,  till  we  have 
 sealed  the  servants  of  our  God  in  their  foreheads.  The 
 Lord  knoweth  how  to  deliver  the  godly  out  of  temptation, 
 
 1  Ezek.  ix.  2 — 6,  11.  ^  Matt.  xxii.  20.  ^  Exod.  xii.  23. 
 
 ■*  Gen.  xix.  22. 
 
 V.  R.  12 
 
1 78  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 as  well   as  to  reserve  the  tuijust  unto  the  day  of  judg- 
 ment to  be pimished^ . 
 
 And^  I  heard  the  miniber  of  the  sealed ;  there  were  a 
 hnndred  and  forty  and  four  thousand  sealed  out  of  eveiy 
 tribe  of  the  sons  of  Israel  (Jacob) :  oiit^  of  the  tribe  of 
 Jndah  tzvelve  thousand  sealed :  ont  of  the  tribe  of  Reitben 
 tzvelve  t J  ions  and :  ont  of  the  tribe  of  Gad  twelve  thousand : 
 oiLt^  of  the  tribe  of  As  her  twelve  thoicsand :  out  of  the  tribe 
 of  Nephthalini  tzvelve  thousand :  out  of  the  tribe  of 
 Manasseh  twelve  thousand :  out^  of  the  tribe  of  Symeou 
 twelve  thousand :  out  of  the  tribe  of  Levi  tzvelve  tJiousand : 
 out  of  the  tribe  of  Isachar  twelve  thoiLsand :  out^  of  the 
 tribe  of  Zabulon  twelve  tJiousand :  out  of  the  tribe  of 
 Joseph  {Ephraiiri)  tzvelve  thoitsand :  out  of  the  tribe  of 
 Benjamin  tzvelve  thousand  sealed. 
 
 There  is  much  that  is  remarkable  in  this  enume- 
 ration. No  one,  I  suppose,  ever  dreamed  of  taking 
 it  literally ;  of  supposing  it  to  say  that  precisely  twelve 
 thousand  persons,  neither  less  nor  more,  of  the  Israelites 
 of  each  tribe  were  eternally  saved.  But  though  not 
 to  this  extent,  there  have  been  those  who  restrict  the 
 passage  to  the  national  Israel,  and  see  in  it  a  de- 
 scription of  that  remnant  according  to  the  election  of 
 grace"^  of  which  St  Paul  speaks  in  his  Epistle  to  the 
 Romans  as  gathered  out  from  the  generally  unbelieving 
 nation.  Nothing  can  be  more  erroneous  than  this  re- 
 striction. The  whole  language  of  the  book  of  Reve- 
 lation testifies  against  it.  The  Israel  spoken  of  in  it 
 everywhere  is  the  Israel  of  God^ ;  the  true  circumcision, 
 
 1  2  Pet.  ii.  9.  2  Y^r^e  4.  ^  Verse  5. 
 
 4  Verse  6.  ^  Verse  7.  ^  Verse  8. 
 
 7  Rom.  xi.  5.  «  Gal.  vi.  16. 
 
XIII.]  Chap.  VII.   I — 8.  179 
 
 in  the  spirit,  not  in  the  letter  ^ ;  they  who  worship  God  in 
 the  spirit^  and  rejoice  in  Christ  Jesns,  and  have  no  confi- 
 dence in  thefiesh^. 
 
 But  I  must  not  occupy  our  time  this  evening  with  a 
 discussion  of  the  opinions  of  men.  It  will  be  enough  to 
 point  out  very  briefly  a  few  of  the  peculiarities  of  this 
 description  ;  to  assign  its  place  as  a  whole  in  the  pro- 
 phecy before  us  ;  and  then  to  draw  from  it  its  solemn 
 lessons  for  ourselves. 
 
 Many  things  in  the  enumeration  itself  caution  us 
 against  a  servile  adherence  to  its  literal  meaning.  One 
 tribe  of  Israel  is  altogether  omitted,  the  tribe  of  Dan. 
 Judah,  the  fourth  in  order  of  birth  among  the  sons  of 
 Jacob,  here  stands  first ;  it  was  the  tribe  from  which  the 
 Saviour  sprang.  Levi  is  again  found,  and  now  in  a 
 subordinate  place,  among  his  brethren :  there  is  no 
 longer  a  Mosaic  ritual,  nor  a  human  priesthood.  No 
 discernible  order  is  preserved  in  the  enumeration  ;  as  if 
 to  show  that  distinctions  of  birth  are  done  away  in 
 Christ,  and  that  the  thing  spoken  of  is  wholly  above  and 
 beyond  all  questions  of  parentage  or  blood  or  race.  The 
 Israel  here  spoken  of  is  the  Israel  not  of  man  but  of 
 God  :  in  Christ  Jesus  is  neither  Greek  nor  Jezv,  circum- 
 cision or  tcncircunicision,  Barbarian,  Scythian,  bond  nor 
 free :  but  Christ  is  all,  and  in  all^. 
 
 We  have  already  seen,  and  shall  have  still  more 
 occasion  to  notice  in  the  concluding  chapters  of  this 
 book,  that  the  number  twelve  is  significant  of  the 
 Church.  Thus  in  one  of  the  latest  chapters  we  read 
 of  that  glorious  city  which  is  the  Church  of  heaven, 
 that  it  had  tzvelve  gates,  and  at  the  gates  tivelve  angels, 
 
 1  Rom.  ii.  29.  2  Phil.  iii.  3.  3  Col.  iii.  11. 
 
 12 — 2 
 
1 80  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 and  names  written  thereon,  which  are  the  names  of  the 
 twelve  tribes  of  the  children  of  Israel. .  .and  the  wall  of 
 the  city  had  twelve  foundations,  and  in  them  the  names 
 of  the  twelve  Apostles  of  the  Lamb^.  That  passage  con- 
 tains, it  may  be,  the  origin  of  the  selection.  The  twelve 
 tribes  of  Israel,  and  the  twelve  Apostles  of  the  Lamb. 
 Thus  the  number  of  the  sealed  is  a  hundred  and  forty 
 and  four  thousand  ;  the  number  twelve  multiplied  by 
 itself  first,  and  then  by  thousands.  It  denotes  multi- 
 tude, completeness,  perfection  :  it  expresses  the  accom- 
 plishing of  the  number  of  the  elect,  and  the  fulness  of 
 Christ's  kingdom. 
 
 And  can  we  doubt,  after  proceeding  thus  far,  what 
 is  the  precise  thing  designated  by  the  sealing }  We 
 have  seen  God's  judgments  abroad  in  the  earth  :  we 
 have  seen  the  train  and  procession  of  executioners, 
 starting  with  the  sword  of  Roman  conquest,  and  ending 
 with  the  prognostications  of  the  instantly  impending 
 Advent.  We  have  heard  great  men  and  mighty  men 
 and  chief  captains,  the  rich  and  the  strong,  yes,  high 
 and  low,  bond  and  free,  one  with  another,  calling  to 
 the  mountains  and  rocks  to  fall  on  them  and  to  hide 
 them  from  the  immiinent  wrath  of  the  Lamb.  And  we 
 have  traced  the  very  same  line  of  prediction  through 
 our  Lord's  own  prophecy  of  the  things  that  should 
 come,  as  it  is  written  in  the  24th  chapter  of  St  Mat- 
 thew's Gospel  and  the  13th  chapter  of  the  Gospel  by 
 St  Mark.  We  have  seen  there  also  the  very  same  order 
 and  sequence  :  wars  and  rumours  of  wars  ;  nation  rising 
 against  nation  ;  famines,  pestilences,  then  martyrdoms  ; 
 then,  after  those  tribulations,  the  sun  darkened  and  the 
 
 ^  Rev.  xxi.  12,  14. 
 
XIII.]  Chap.  VII.    1 — 8.  i8i 
 
 moon  withdrawing  her  light,  and  the  sign  of  the  Son 
 of  Man  already  seen  in  heaven.  He  is,  as  it  were,  in 
 act  to  descend.  The  sixth  seal  is  opened,  the  seventh 
 is  trembling  for  its  breaking.  At  that  point  the  one 
 prophecy  says,  I  saw  four  angels  standing  at  the  four 
 corners  of  the  earth,  restraining  the  four  winds  of  final, 
 devastating,  desolating  judgment ;  and  I  saw  another 
 angel  rising  from  the  east,  and  bidding  them  wait  till 
 he  should  have  sealed,  for  distinction  and  preservation, 
 the  servants  of  his  God  and  theirs :  and  the  other  pro- 
 phecy says.  The  Son  of  Man  shall  send  His  a7tgels  with 
 a  great  sound  of  a  tritmpet^  and  they  shall  gather  together 
 His  elect  from  the  fonr  zuinds,  from  one  end  of  Jieaven  to 
 the  other^.  What  can  be  more  precise,  to  the  very 
 letter,  to  the  very  end,  than  the  coincidence  of  the  two 
 prophecies  ?  What  more  evident,  to  one  who  will  judge 
 of  Scripture  by  Scripture  and  ask  the  Holy  Spirit  who 
 inspired  both  to  interpret  to  him  each  by  each,  than 
 that  the  sealed  of  the  one  are  the  elect  of  the  other, 
 and  that  the  loving  purpose  and  the  preserving  care 
 in  the  one  and  in  the  other  is  the  same,  not  less  in 
 the  occasion  of  its  exercise  than  in  the  nature  of  its 
 operation  ? 
 
 The  next  paragraph,  our  next  discourse,  will  extend 
 and  enlarge  the  field  of  vision,  from  the  hundred  and 
 forty  and  four  thousand  sealed,  to  the  great  niultitnde 
 zvhich  no  man  could  member  standing  before  the  throjie 
 and  before  the  Lamb"^ :  but  for  the  present  our  eye  is 
 fixed  upon  that  particular  generation,  be  it  what  it  may — 
 it  may  be  even  our  own — which  shall  be  alive  upon 
 the  earth  at  Christ's  second  coming  :  we  are  taught  to 
 
 1  Matt.  xxiv.  31.  2  Rev.  vii.  9. 
 
1 82  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 expect  that,  as  it  was  in  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem, 
 so  shall  it  be  in  the  still  more  terrible  judgments  of  the 
 last  time ;  tJiey  that  are  Christ's''  shall  be  safe  in  their 
 Ark  whatever  happens  ;  the  Deluge  which  overwhelms 
 all  else  shall  only  bear  it  up'' ;  the  Lord  knoweth  them 
 that  are  His^^  and  the  seal  in  the  forehead  shall  be  their 
 safeguard  from  all  evil.  For  the  elect's  sake,  whom  He 
 hath  chosen,  He  hath  shortened  the  days  "*.  If  it  were  pos- 
 sible— but  it  is  not  possible — they  shall  deceive  the  very 
 elect  ^  Then  shall  He  send  His  angels,  and  shall  gather 
 together  His  elect  from  the  fonr  winds,  from  the  nttermost 
 part  of  the  earth  to  the  uttermost  part  of  heaven  ^. 
 
 Such  is  the  vision  of  the  sealing.  It  is  the  other 
 side  of  that  picture  of  gloom  and  terror  upon  which 
 we  gazed  last  Sunday.  It  is  the  secret  of  that  difference 
 which  we  see  everywhere  around  us  between  man  and 
 man.  It  is  the  explanation  of  that  profound  calm,  of 
 that  quiet  confidence,  of  that  invincible  strength,  of  that 
 bright  hope,  which  has  been  seen  again  and  again,  in 
 hours  of  private  distress  and  of  public  danger,  in  those 
 and  in  those  only  who  have  the  Lord  for  their  God. 
 Thou  wilt  keep  him  in  peifect  peace  whose  mind  is  stayed 
 on  Thee,  because  he  trusteth  in  Thee '.  TJiere  was  a  thick 
 darkness  iii  all  the  land  of  Egypt  three  days  :  they  saw 
 not  one  anotJier,  neitJier  rose  any  from  his  place  for  three 
 days :  but  all  the  children  of  Israel  had  light  in  their 
 dwellings  ®. 
 
 My  brethren,  in  these  days  of  quiet  ease  we  can 
 scarcely  read  as  we  ought  either  this  or  any  other  of 
 
 1  I  Cor.  XV.  23.  ^  Gen.  vii.  17.  ^2  Tim.  ii.  19. 
 
 *  Mark  xiii.  20.  ^  Matt.  xxiv.  24.  ^  Mark  xiii.  27. 
 
 ^  Isai.  xxvi.  3.  ^  Exod.  x.  22,  23. 
 
XIII 
 
 .]  Chap.  VII.   I — 8.  1 8 
 
 o 
 
 the  revelations  of  this  Book.  It  was  written  in  days 
 of  depression,  of  persecution,  of  alarm  :  it  is  only  in 
 such  days  that  it  can  be  duly  read.  There  are  coun- 
 tries even  now  in  which  the  true  flock  of  Christ  is 
 a  small  and  despised  remnant ;  perhaps  even  in  our 
 own  land,  perhaps  very  near  to  us,  there  are  homes  in 
 which  the  true  Christian  is  solitary,  rejected,  ridiculed  ; 
 there  the  thought  of  the  sealing  is  full  of  comfort,  full 
 of  help  ;  the  doctrine  of  the  Divine  election  becomes 
 there  not  an  abstruse  theory  but  a  living  strength,  and 
 God  is  glorified  in  it. 
 
 But  can  any  passage  of  God's  Word  be  more  full 
 of  serious,  anxious,  discriminating  thought  for  every 
 one  of  us  ?  Our  days  are  days  of  quietness  ;  days  of 
 permitted,  of  encouraged,  of  respected  religion  ;  days 
 of  wide-spread,  almost  of  promiscuous  profession.  It 
 is  true :  but  not  on  that  account  is  the  offence  of  the 
 Cross  ceased^ ;  not  on  that  account  is  consistency  less 
 difficult,  temptation  less  searching,  sin  less  virulent; 
 not  on  that  account  is  distress  and  anguish,  inward 
 and  outward,  spiritual,  mental,  bodily,  less  frequent 
 of  occurrence,  or  less  hard  to  bear  ;  not  on  that  ac- 
 count are  the  misgivings  of  the  soul  less  painful,  the 
 heart-searchings  of  a  deathbed  less  agonizing,  or  the 
 realities  of  a  coming  judgment  less  certain  or  less  ter- 
 rible. Only  the  sealed  can  pass  through  any  of  these 
 safely.  O,  my  brethren,  is  the  seal  of  God  in  your  fore- 
 head .?  Can  you  not  tell.?  Does  the  inspired  Word 
 leave  us  in  doubt  on  that  grave  subject }  What  is  God's 
 seal .?  St  Paul  answers  that  question  when  he  says,  in 
 his  2nd  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  i\^^zc/  He  who  stablish- 
 
 1  Gal.  V.  II. 
 
1 84  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 eth  lis  with  you  in  Christy  a7td  anointed  us,  is  God ;  who 
 also  sealed  us,  and  gave  the  earnest  of  the  Spirit  in  our 
 hearts^.  And  again,  in  writing  to  the  Ephesians,  And 
 grieve  not  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God,  wherein  ye  were  sealed 
 unto  a  day  of  redemption'^.  The  Holy  Spirit  is  God's 
 seal.  Where  He  is,  there  is  safety.  Where  He  is,  God 
 sees  His  mark,  His  own  possession,  one  who  belongs 
 to  Him,  one  over  whom  He  watches,  one  whom  He  will 
 keep  in  that  hour  of  temptation  which  shall  come  tipon  all 
 the  world,  to  try  them  that  dwell  upon  the  earth  ^ 
 
 And  does  any  one  doubt  whether  this  Holy  Spirit 
 dwells  in  him  ?  Where  His  fruits  are,  there  is  He : 
 where  is  love,  and  joy,  and  peace,  and  long-suffering,  and 
 gentleness,  and  goodness,  and  faith,  and  meek?iess,  and  tem- 
 pera7tce'^,  where  is  the  love  of  Christ  and  charity  towards 
 all  men,  there  is  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God,  there  is  God's 
 seal,  there  is  he  who  shall  be  safe  from  condemnation, 
 there  is  he  who  shall  not  be  Jiurt  of  the  second  death  ^. 
 
 The  subject  itself  suggests  two  words  of  concluding 
 advice. 
 
 I.  First,  to  those  who  hope  that  they  have  the  seal 
 of  God.  I  might  say  to  you,  Let  him  that  thinketh  he 
 standeth  take  heed  lest  he  falP.  I  might  say,  Grieve  7tot 
 that  Holy  Spirit  by  whom  ye  were  sealed'^,  I  might  say,  Be 
 eager  to  press  on  unto  perfection ;  remembering  who  has 
 said,  //  is  impossible  for  those  who  were  once  ejtlightened^ 
 and  tasted  of  the  heavenly  gift,  if  they  shall  fall  away,  to 
 renew  them  again  unto  repentance^ .  All  these  are  grave 
 and  needful  warnings.    O  slip  not  back  by  little  and  little 
 
 ^  1  Cor.  i.  ■21,  22.  2  Eph.  iv.  30.  ^  Rev.  iii.  10. 
 
 ^  Gal.  V.  22,  23.  5  j>eY  ij,  ij_  6  J  Qqx.  x.  12. 
 
 "*  Eph.  iv.  30.  ^  Heb.  vi.  4,  5,  6. 
 
XIII.]  Chap.  VII.   I — 8.  185 
 
 from  your  present  standing  place !    O  suffer  not  a  self- 
 confident  and  at  last  a  self-righteous  spirit  to  rob  you  of 
 that  only  strength,  of  that  only  safeguard,  which  is  in 
 the  Holy  Spirit  Himself,  who  is  your  badge  and  seal ! 
 But  for  to-night  my  word  of  application  is  different.     It 
 is  as  to  the  spirit  in  which  you  walk  toward  them  that 
 are  zvithoitt^,  toward  those  who  are  destitute  of  God's 
 seal.     There  is  such  a  thing — we  see  too  much  of  it — 
 ^s  a  selfish  spirit  even  in  the  things  of  God.     There  are 
 those  to  whom  their  own  safety  is  all  in  all.     There  are 
 those  to  whom  it   is  no  real  concern  if  others  perish. 
 They  cannot  help  it,  they  say.     Perhaps  they  misplace 
 the  revelation  of  God's  seal,  the  doctrine  of  the  divine 
 election,  and  say.  It  is  of  God  that  one  is  taken  and  the 
 other  left^;  I  cannot  reverse  it.     No,  but  you  can  and 
 you    ought    to    mourn  over  the  ruin  of   the  reprobate, 
 over  the  perdition  of  the  lost.     You  ought  to  be  able 
 to  say  with  the  Psalmist,  Rivers  of  zvaters  run  dozun  mine 
 eyes,  because  men  keep  not  Thy  lazv  ^.    /  am  horribly  afraid 
 for  the  imgodly  that  forsake  Thy  laiv^.    It  ought  to  press 
 heavily  upon  you  to  see  so  large  a  portion  (we  must 
 fear)  of  God's  human  creation  hurrying  on  blindfold  to. 
 the  horrible  despair  of  the  last  day.     You  ought  to  be 
 able  to  enter  into    the    humane    and    pious    feeling   of 
 that  great  and  good  man   of  a  century  ago,  who,  be- 
 lieving in   the   absolute   sovereignty  of  God  to  choose 
 whom  He  will  for  salvation  and  to  condemn  whom  He 
 will    to    ruin,  yet   devoted    one    day   in    each  week    to 
 mourning   and    lamentation  over  the   perdition  of  the 
 wicked,  as  though  the  doctrine  itself  which  his  intellect 
 
 ^  Col.  iv.  5.  ^  Luke  xvii.  34.  ^  Psalm  cxix.  136. 
 
 ^  Psalm  cxix.  53  (Prayer-Book  Version). 
 
1 86  Revelatio7i,  [lect. 
 
 accepted  was  so  bitter  to  his  heart  that  it  was  a  very 
 crucifixion  of  self  to  bow  down  in  the  belief  of  it  be- 
 fore the  throne  of  the  Almighty.  We  who  hold  not 
 his  doctrine  in  that  bare  and  fearful  form  might  even 
 the  more  be  expected  to  imitate  his  practice.  Our 
 mourning  for  the  wicked  who  live  around  us  might 
 express  not  anguish  for  an  unchangeable  decree,  but 
 rather  intercession  for  the  averting  of  a  doom  not  yet 
 finally  spoken.  And  will  not  that  mourning  express 
 itself  also  in  efforts,  real,  earnest  and  unwearied,  to 
 pluck  at  least  some  bi-aiids  from  the  biLvning^,  through 
 the  grace  of  that  Saviour  who  still  pleads  with  and  still 
 pleads  for  us  .'* 
 
 2.  But  my  last  word  to-night  must  be  addressed 
 to  the  unsealed.  There  are  those  here  to-night  who 
 are  quite  conscious  that  there  is  no  saving  mark  on 
 their  forehead.  There  was  once  a  mark  there.  In  Holy 
 Baptism  that  infant  brow  was  signed  for  a  moment  with 
 the  sign  of  Christ's  cross,  in  token  that  there  was  pre- 
 sent there  a  bespoken  servant,  an  enlisted  soldier,  of 
 the  Lamb  that  was  slain.  But  where  is  that  mark  now  } 
 O  how  long,  how  utterly,  has  it  been  erased  !  Sins  of 
 the  world,  sins  of  the  flesh,  sins  of  the  devil ;  vanity, 
 folly,  self-pleasing — whatever  self-pleasing  was  for  him, 
 perhaps  intemperance,  perhaps  passion,  perhaps  deadly 
 lust — these  things  came  for  admittance,  and  were  har- 
 boured in  the  secret  soul ;  fainter  and  fainter  grew  the 
 seal  of  promised  service,  until  the  divine  ownership  was 
 quite  forgotten,  and  the  willing  slave  of  sin  became  at 
 last  free  from  righteousness'^.  And  there  are  those  here 
 to-night — more   still  perhaps  in  number — who  without 
 
 ^  Amos  iv.  II.  2  Rom.  vi.  20. 
 
XIII.]  Chap.  VII.    I — 8.  187 
 
 running  to  any  excess  of  riot  ^,  have  yet  lived  forgetful 
 of  Christ,  and  cannot  say  even  to  themselves  that  they 
 are  ready  for  the  day  of  His  appearing.  And  there  are 
 here  also  to-night  a  (qw  utter  self-deceivers ;  persons 
 who  are  cherishing  a  fallacious  hope,  one  which  cannot 
 possibly  abide  the  day  which  shall  be  revealed  in  fire, 
 and  when  the  fi,re  shall  try  every  man's  hope,  as  well  as 
 every  man's  work,  of  what  sort  it  is^.  O,  my  brethren, 
 careless,  sinful,  self-deceiving,  as  the  case  may  be,  to  yon 
 is  the  word  of  salvation  yet  once  more  sent^ I  To  you 
 is  the  minister  of  Christ  commissioned  to  tell  of  that 
 coming  tempest  which  shall  mingle  earth  and  sea  and 
 sky,  and  in  which  none  shall  be  able  to  stand  except 
 Christ's  sealed.  On  them  the  fire  of  judgment  sJiall  Jiave 
 110  power  ;  not  an  hair  of  tJieir  head  shall  be  singed,  neither 
 shall  the  smell  of  fire  pass  upon  them ".  O  pray — that 
 you  can  still  do,  if  it  be  but  the  cry  of  him  who  durst 
 not  lift  up  so  much  as  his  eyes  unto  heaven^ — pi'ay,  in 
 words  (qw,  direct,  importunate,  that  God,  while  yet  there 
 is  time,  will  stamp  His  seal  on  you  !  What  that  seal  is, 
 you  know :  it  is  the  holy  and  blessed  Spirit,  of  whom  it 
 is  expressly  written,  Ask,  and  it  shall  be  given  you  ^. .  .God 
 will  give  the  Holy  Spirit  to  them  that  ask  Him\  But 
 lose  not  an  hour.  There  are  hearts  so  hard  that  grace 
 itself  ceases  to  soften  them ;  brows  so  obdurate  that  the 
 very  seal  of  the  living  God  makes  no  impress  ! 
 See  that  ye  refuse  not  Him  that  speaketh  ^. 
 
 ^   I  Pet.  iv.  4.  2  J  Qqt^^  jjj^  j^.  3  ^cts  xiii.  26.  ^  Dan.  iii.  ■27. 
 
 ^  Luke  xviii.  13.      ^  Matt.  vii.  7.  ''  Luke  xi.  13.  ^  Heb.  xii.  25. 
 
 Third  Sunday  after  Easter, 
 Aj>ril  21,  1 861. 
 
LECTURE    XIV. 
 
 REVELATION    VII.     1 3. 
 
 What  are  these  zuhich  are  arrayed  in  zvhite  robes  f  atid 
 whence  came  they  ? 
 
 We  are  still  occupying  the  interval  between  the  opening 
 of  the  sixth  and  of  the  seventh  seal.  The  fearful  sights 
 and  signs  which  accompanied  the  former,  those  vain  cries 
 for  protection  and  concealment /r^;;/  the  face  of  Him  that 
 sitteth  on  the  throne  and  from  the  ivrath  of  the  Lamb^ 
 have  been  followed  by  a  widely  different  vision,  assuring 
 Christ's  true  servants  of  perfect  safety  among  the  terrors 
 and  judgments  of  the  latter  days.  A  certain  number, 
 large,  compact,  symmetrical,  accurately  foreknown  in  its 
 sum  and  in  its  items,  has  been  disclosed  to  the  seer 
 under  the  figure  of  a  sealing  ;  a  marking  of  the  servants 
 of  God  with  God's  seal,  as  their  safeguard  against  the 
 ministry  of  the  destroyer.  We  saw  in  this  a  special 
 reference  to  the  generation  of  men  which  shall  be  alive 
 upon  the  earth  at  our  Lord's  second  Advent.  We 
 noticed  the  exact  conformity  of  this,  as  of  former  parts 
 of  the  prophecy  now  before  us,  to  our  Saviour's  own 
 
 ^  Rev.  vi.  i6. 
 
LECT.  XIV.]    Revelation.     Chap.  vii.  9 — 17.         185 
 
 description  of  the  times  of  the  end.  As  here  the 
 ministry  of  Angels  is  employed  to  protect  the  servants 
 of  God  from  the  blast  of  those  four  zvinds  which  are 
 symbolical  of  a  desolating  and  a  world-wide  judgment; 
 so  there  we  read  that  as  soon  as  the  sign  of  the  Son  of 
 Man  appears  in  Jieaven  to  the  discomfiture  of  the  tribes 
 of  the  earth  \  the  Angels  shall  be  sent  forth  to  gather  to- 
 gether His  elect  from  the  four  zvinds,  from  the  uttermost 
 part  of  the  earth  to  the  uttermost  part  of  heaven  '\  The 
 elect  there  are  the  sealed  here. 
 
 But  there  is  a  vision  yet  beyond.  The  effect  of  the 
 sealing  is  negative :  it  protects  from  judgment.  The 
 sealed  man  is  a  safe  man  :  there  shall  no  torme?it  touch 
 him^.  But  though  safety  is  a  great  thing,  it  is  not  every- 
 thing. The  revelations  of  God  in  Christ  are  not  nay 
 but  yea:  in  Him  is  yea,  and  in  Him  Amen*.  Let  us 
 ask  not  only  what  the  servants  of  Christ  shall  not  be  ; 
 not  condemned,  not  outcast,  not  lost,  not  miserable ; 
 but  also,  further,  what  they  shall  be.  Let  us  raise  the 
 curtain,  God  helping  us,  from  the  world  which  is  beyond 
 death  and  the  grave,  and  see  to-night,  in  some  of  its 
 particulars — future  visions  will  show  us  more  of  them — 
 what  is  the  state  which  God  destines  for  His  people, 
 when  they  shall  have  safely  surmounted  the  waves  of  this 
 troubleso7ne  woidd,  and  reached  by  His  guiding  hand  the 
 haven  where  they  wotdd  be^. 
 
 After^  these  things  I  saw,  and  behold,  a  great  multi- 
 tude, which  to  number  no  man  was  able,  out  of  every  nation 
 and  all  tribes  and  peoples  and  tongues,  persons  standing 
 before  (in  presejice  of)  the  throne  and  before  {in  pi'esejice  of) 
 
 ^  Matt.  xxiv.  30.  -  Mark  xiii.  27.  ^  Wisd.  iii.  I. 
 
 *  2  Cor.  i.  20.  ^  Psalm  cvii.  30.  ^  Verse  9. 
 
1 90  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 the  Lamb,  clothed  in  zvhite  robes,  and  palm  branches  were 
 in  their  hands. 
 
 This  last  figure  guides  us  to  the  true  interpretation 
 of  the  imagery  employed.  We  are  not  to  think  here  of 
 heathen  uses  of  the  palm  as  an  emblem  of  victory :  a 
 far  sweeter  and  holier  reminiscence  is  awakened.  The 
 scene  before  us  is  the  antitype  of  the  most  joyous  and 
 inspiriting  of  all  the  observances  of  Israel,  that  of  the 
 feast  of  Tabernacles ;  instituted,  as  you  know,  in  com- 
 memoration of  God's  care  and  protection  during  their 
 wanderings  in  the  wilderness^  and  also  of  His  continued 
 Providence  in  the  supply  of  all  the  fruits  of  the  earth 
 in  their  season^  It  was  held  at  the  close  of  the  year's 
 out-door  labours :  with  it  the  season  of  rest  began. 
 The  festival  itself  was  marked  by  many  peculiar  and 
 expressive  ceremonies.  During  its  continuance  the 
 houses  were  deserted,  and  the  whole  population  lived 
 in  booths  or  arbours  made  of  or  adorned  with  leafy 
 boughs  of  trees ;  carrying  in  their  hands,  wherever  they 
 went  to  and  fro,  branches  of  palm  ;  and  praising  God 
 with  loud  songs  for  His  mercies  to  their  nation  in  every 
 age,  and  rejoicing  before  Him  in  the  completion  yet 
 once  more  of  the  toils  of  vintage  and  of  harvest.  The 
 8th  chapter  of  the  book  of  Nehemiah  describes  the 
 revival  of  this  institution  in  the  days  following  the  return 
 from  Babylon.  They  foimd  written  in  the  laiv  zvhich  the 
 Lord  had  commanded  by  Moses,  that  the  children  of  Israel 
 should  dzvell  in  booths  in  tJie  feast  of  the  seventh  month; 
 and  that  they  shonld  publish  and  proclaim  in  all  their 
 cities,  and  in  Jerusalem^  saying,  Go  forth  nvJo  the  mount, 
 and  fetch   olive   brandies  and  pine  brandies  and  myrtle 
 
 ■  ^  Lev.  xxiii.  43.  ^  Exod.  xxiii.  16. 
 
XIV 
 
 .]  Chap.  VII.  9 — 17.  191 
 
 branches  and  pahii  brandies  and  brancJies  of  thick  trees 
 to  make  booths,  as  it  is  zvritten.  So  tJie  people  went  forth, 
 and  brought  them,  and  made  themselves  booths^  every  one 
 upon  the  roof  of  Jus  house,  and  in  their  courts,  and  in  the 
 courts  of  the  honse  of  God,  and  in  the  street  of  the  water- 
 gate,  and  in  the  street  of  the  gate  of  Ephraim.  And  ad 
 the  congregation  of  tJiem  that  were  come  again  out  of  the 
 captivity  made  booths,  and  sat  imder  tJie  booths... and  there 
 was  very  great  gladness^.  Other  significant  rites  had 
 been  added  to  the  original  institution,  to  which  some- 
 thing of  allusion  may  here  be  observed.  Thus,  at  the 
 time  of  the  morning  oblation,  either  on  each  day  or 
 certainly  on  the  eighth  day  of  the  feast,  a  priest  drew 
 a  vessel  full  of  water  from  the  fount  of  Siloam,  and 
 poured  it  out  in  the  court  of  the  temple  at  the  foot  of 
 the  altar  of  burnt-offering,  while  the  people  sang  the 
 words  of  the  prophet  Isaiah,  TJierefore  with  joy  shall  ye 
 draiv  water  out  of  the  ivells  of  salvation^\  A  custom  to 
 which  our  Lord  is  supposed  to  have  referred  when  in 
 the  List  day,  that  great  day  of  the  feast,  the  feast  of  Taber- 
 nacles, Jesus  stood  and  cried,  saying,  If  any  man  thirst, 
 let  him  come  ujito  me,  and  drink"^.  The  evening  of  the 
 first  day  of  the  feast  was  marked  by  a  great  illumination 
 and  by  torch-light  dances  with  joyous  songs.  Thus,  to 
 quote  a  few  words  descriptive  of  the  scene,  tJie  feast  of 
 Tabernacles  zvas  a  season  of  universal  joy... the  entire  popu- 
 lation again  dwelt  in  tents,  but  not  zuith  the  accompanimcjits 
 of  travel,  fatigue,  and  solicitude  ;  all  was  hilarity,  allzvore 
 a  holiday  appearance :  the  varied  green  of  the  ten  tJiousand 
 brancJies  of  different  trees  ;  tJie picturesque  ceremony  of  the 
 water  libation;  tJie general  illumination;  the  sacred  solem- 
 1  Neh.  viii.  14 — 17.  ^  Isai.  xii.  3.  ^  John  vii.  37. 
 
192 
 
 Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 nities  in  and  before  the  teiriple ;  the  feast,  the  dance,  the 
 sacred  song ;  the  full  harmony  of  the  choral  music ;  the 
 bright  joy  that  lighted  iip  evejy  face,  and  the  gratitude  at 
 harvest  home,  which  swelled  every  bosom  ;  all  conspired  to 
 make  these  days  a  season  of  pu7'e,  deep,  and  lively  joy, 
 which,  in  all  its  elements,  finds  no  parallel  among  the  obser- 
 vajtces  of  men. 
 
 Such  is  the  scene  from  which  the  imagery  of  the 
 passage  before  us  is  largely  borrowed.  The  troubles 
 of  the  wilderness  are  ended  :  the  harvest-home  of  the 
 Church  is  come. 
 
 And^  they  cry  with  a  lotcd  voice,  saying,  Salvation  to 
 our  God,  our  salvation  is  unto,  is  wholly  due  to,  our  God 
 who  sitteth  upon  tJie  throne,  and  to  the  Lamb.  Salvatioji 
 belongeth  tmto  the  Lord'^ :  it  is  all  His,  from  first  to  last ; 
 every  step  of  the  way,  and  its  termination.  Yes,  self-con- 
 fidence, self-righteousness,  self-exaltation,  vanity,  there, 
 in  heaven,  in  God's  presence,  will  be  as  impossible,  as 
 they  are  natural  and  common  here. 
 
 And"^  all  the  angels  were  standing  around  tJie  throne 
 and  the  elders  and  the  fotir  living  creatures — the  scene  is 
 still  that  of  the  4th  and  5  th  chapters,  notwithstanding 
 the  introduction  of  the  altar  in  the  6th  ;  the  Angels  here, 
 as  before,  constitute  not  the  inner  but  the  outer  circle, 
 the  setting  as  it  were  of  the  seal,  the  frame  of  the  picture 
 — and  they  fell  before  (in  presence  of)  the  throne  on  their 
 faces,  and  worshipped  God,  saying^,  Amen:  the  {all) 
 blessing  and  the  gloiy  and  the  wisdom  and  the  thanks- 
 giving and  the  honour  and  the  power  and  the  strength  is 
 unto,  belongs  wholly  to,  our  God  unto  the  ages  of  the 
 ages. 
 
 1  Verse  10.  ^  Psalm  iii.  8.  ^  Verse  11.  ^  Verse  12. 
 
XIV.]  Chap.  VII.  9—17.  193 
 
 The  great  multitude  which  no  man  could  munher  of  the 
 ransomed  and  saved,  standing  in  heaven  before  the  throne 
 of  God,  join  with  one  voice  in  ascribing  solely  to  Him 
 and  to  the  Lamb  the  praise  of  their  salvation.  And  the 
 Angels,  in  whose  presence,  while  earth  lasted,  there  was  joy 
 over  every  sin7ier^^  one  by  one,  ivho  repented,  may  well 
 rejoice,  with  a  joy  accumulated  and  intensified,  over  the 
 final  ingathering  of  all  who  have  been  saved.  Most  of 
 all,  well  may  they  echo  the  ascription  of  all  glory  to  God 
 and  to  the  Lamb.  Amen,  even  so  ;  it  is  indeed  He  who 
 hath  kept  us  from  our  fall ;  it  is  indeed  He  who  hath 
 brought  you  back  from  yours  ! 
 
 Ajid^  one  from  among-  the  elders  answered — no  ques- 
 tion had  been  put,  but  there  is  such  a  thing  as 
 answering  a  thought,  a  silent  wonder — saying  to  me, 
 These  zuho  are  clothed  in  the  zvhite  robes,  who  are  they, 
 and  zuhence  came  they?  And^  I  have  said  to  him,  I 
 straightway  said  to  him — the  speed  of  the  reply  is  de- 
 noted by  the  tense — My  Lord,  Thou  knowest.  The 
 reverence  expressed  is  not  adoration.  It  is  the  awe 
 due  to  an  inmate  of  heaven,  to  a  representative  (as 
 we  have  seen)  of  the  Church  already  made  perfect. 
 Thou  knowest ;  I  know  not :  tell  me. 
 
 And  he  said  to  me,  These  are  they  zvJio  come  oict  of 
 the  great  tribulation.  The  expression  is  found  in  the 
 prophecy  so  often  referred  to  in  the  24th  chapter  of 
 St  Matthew's  Gospel.  For  then  shall  be  great  tribulation, 
 such  as  was  not  since  the  beginning  of  the  world  to  this 
 time,  no,  nor  ever  shall  be^.  And  we  can  scarcely  doubt 
 its   special   reference   to   the   case   of  those   who   have 
 
 1  Luke  XV.  10.  2  Yeyse  13.  ^  Verse  14. 
 
 ^  Matt.  xxiv.  2r. 
 
 V.  R.  13 
 
194  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 endured  the  last  and  sorest  afflictions  which  usher  in  the 
 coming  of  the  great  day. 
 
 The  sealed,  those  who  have  been  preserved  as  God's 
 elect  through  the  final  tribulation,  are  now  among  the 
 great  multitude  clothed  in  white  robes.  To  them  above 
 all  would  the  expression  now  under  notice  be  appro- 
 priate. But  is  it  not  appropriate  in  some  degree  to  all 
 the  saved  ?  May  not  the  sufferings  of  a  lifetime,  the 
 whole  of  one  life's  sorrows,  temptations,  and  distresses, 
 be  summed  up  with  no  exaggeration  in  the  words,  the 
 great  tribulation  ?  Taken  as  a  whole,  looked  back  upon 
 from  its  end,  the  most  prosperous  life  has  had  something 
 in  it  to  justify  its  being  called  a  tribulation.  How  much 
 more  the  lives  of  Christians  in  those  first  days  of  the 
 Church  when  reproach  and  persecution  were  the  com- 
 mon lot  of  the  disciples  }  These  are  they  who  come,  come 
 gradually,  come  successively,  one  after  another,  till  all  be 
 gathered — such  is  the  exact  force  of  the  language  em- 
 ployed— out  of  the  great  tribulation,  and  they  washed  their 
 robes,  and  made  them  white  ift  the  blood  of  the  Lamb. 
 They  found  cleansing,  in  both  its  parts,  in  the  blood  of 
 the  Lamb.  There  they  found  a  free  forgiveness :  there 
 they  found  newness  of  life. 
 
 Therefore'^  are  they  before  {in  preseiice  of)  the  throjie  of 
 God,  and  serve  Him  by  day  and  by  night  in  His  temple, 
 a7id  He  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne  shall  taberiiacle  tipon 
 them.  They  shall  hunger  no  more,  7ior  thirst  any  viore, 
 nor  shall  the  sun  fall  np07i  tlie^n,  7ior  a7iy  heat,  such  as  that 
 of  the  scorching  wind  of  the  desert ;  becanse"^  the  La7nb 
 whicJi  is  i7i  tJie  niidst  of  the  thro7ie,  who  has  been  seen  in 
 the  vision  to  occupy  the  mid  space  before  the  throne, 
 
 ^  Verse  15.  ^  Verse  17. 
 
XIV.]  Chap.  VII.  9 — 17.  195 
 
 tends  them,  is  their  Shepherd,  and  leads  them  to  life- 
 springs  of  waters,  a7id  God  shall  wipe  away  every  tear 
 from  their  eyes. 
 
 There  is  but  one  expression  here  which  calls  for 
 anything  in  the  way  of  explanation. 
 
 He  that  sitteth  upoji  the  throne  shall  tabernacle  upon 
 them.  Shall  dwell  as  in  a  tent,  such  is  the  exact  ex- 
 pression, untOy  so  as  to  reach  and  to  cover,  them.  The 
 word  is  that  used  in  the  1st  chapter  of  the  Gospel  by 
 St  John,  The  Word  became  flesh,  and  taberjiacled  among 
 ns^.  And  again,  in  one  of  the  later  chapters  of  this 
 Book,  /  heard  a  great  voice  out  of  the  throne  sayiiig, 
 Behold,  the  tabernacle  of  God  is  zvith  men,  and  He  will 
 tabernacle  with  them,  and  they  shall  be  His  people,  a7id 
 God  Himself  shall  be  zvith  them  as  their  God  ^.  The  verb 
 is  the  same,  but  not  the  preposition.  With  them  there  ; 
 unto  or  upon  them  here.  And  there  is  a  great  beauty 
 in  the  difference.  There  may  be  in  each  case  a  reference 
 to  the  festival  of  which  we  have  spoken,  the  feast  of 
 Tabernacles.  God  Himself,  in  the  heavenly  antitype  of 
 that  festival  which  is  here  described,  shall  have  His 
 tabernacle,  His  green  and  leafy  booth,  among  the  rejoic- 
 ing people.  But  instead  of  dwelling  apart  in  it,  like  one 
 of  the  inhabitants  of  the  holy  city  in  its  joyous  festival 
 His  tabernacle  shall  comprehend  them  all.  He  shall 
 tabernacle  tmto,  so  as  to  reach  and  cover  and  embrace, 
 them  all.  He  shall  spread  over  them  His  protecting 
 curtain,  and  they  shall  all  be  safe  and  at  rest  beneath 
 it.  Thus  the  language  of  the  prophecy  of  Isaiah 
 shall  be  exactly  fulfilled,  There  shall  be  a  tabernacle 
 for  a  shadoiv  in  the  day-time  from  the  heat,  and  for 
 
 ^  John  i.  14.  2  Rev.  xxi.  3. 
 
 13—2 
 
196  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 a  place  of  refuge,  and  for  a  covert  from  storm  and  from 
 rain^. 
 
 The  figures  of  the  i6th  and  17th  verses  are  derived 
 from  various  passages  of  the  Old  Testament.  They 
 shall  not  hunger  nor  thirst :  neither  shall  the  heat  nor  sun 
 smite  them :  for  He  that  hath  mercy  on  them  shall  lead 
 them,  even  by  the  springs  of  water  shall  He  guide  theni^. 
 The  Lord  is  my  Shepherd :  I  shall  not  want.  He  maketh 
 me  to  lie  down  in  green  pastures :  He  leadeth  me  beside  the 
 still  waters^.  He  shall  feed  His  flock  like  a  shepherd^. 
 And  the  Lord  God  will  wipe  away  tears  from  oif  all 
 faces^. 
 
 And  now,  my  brethren,  let  us  gather  up  into  one  or 
 two  comprehensive  heads  the  doctrine  of  this  whole 
 passage.  Let  us  ask  the  question  of  the  elder,  Whence 
 came  these  f  Let  us  see  who  they  are,  that  we  may 
 know  whether  we  shall  ever  be  among  them.  They  are 
 very  briefly  described  as  having  zvashed  their  robes,  a7id 
 made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb. 
 
 I.  We  may  bless  God  for  that  account  of  them. 
 The  robes  were  not  always  white.  It  does  not  say, 
 They  are  those  who  had  never  sinned.  It  does  not 
 say,  They  are  those  who  never  soiled  the  spotless 
 purity  of  their  baptismal  dress.  No,  they  are  those 
 who  on  earth,  before  they  left  earth,  had  washed  their 
 robes,  and  made  them  white. 
 
 Therefore,  my  brethren,  we  do  not  turn  away  from 
 the  words  because  we  are  sinners  ;  because  our  hearts 
 testify  against  us  ;  because  we  are  conscious  of  many 
 a  stain  upon  these  lives  and  souls  of  ours.     Those  of 
 
 1  Isai.  iv.  6.  ^  Isai.  xlix.  lo.  ^  Psalm  xxiii.  i,  2. 
 
 *  Isai.  xl.  II.  ^  Isai.  xxv.  8. 
 
XIV.]  Chap,  VII.  9 — 17.  197 
 
 whom  we  here  read  are  not  of  those  ninety  and  ni7ze 
 Just  persons  which  7ieed  no  repentance  \  They  are  rather 
 like  him  of  whom  we  read  in  the  prophet  Zechariah, 
 who  is  seen  at  first  clad  in  filthy  garine7its  ;  but  of  whom 
 the  Angel  of  the  Lord,  or  One  greater  yet  than  he,  has 
 said  to  those  that  stood  before  him.  Take  away  the 
 filthy  garments  from  him ;  and  then  to  him,  Behold,  I 
 have  caused  thine  iniquity  to  pass  from  thee,  a7zd  I  will 
 clothe  thee  with  change  of  raiment"^.  Of  them  might  it  be 
 said,  as  of  the  Corinthians  to  whom  St  Paul  addressed 
 the  words,  And  such  were  some  of  you ;  sinners  not 
 only  in  the  corruption  of  a  fallen  nature,  but  in  definite 
 act  also;  but  ye  are  washed,  but  ye  are  sanctified,  but  ye 
 are  justified,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  by  the 
 Spirit  of  our  God^. 
 
 In  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  Yes,  they  washed 
 their  robes,  and  made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the 
 Lamb. 
 
 There  is  hope  then  for  sinners.  They  are  not  ex- 
 cluded. Some  of  those  who  form  this  glorious  com- 
 pany in  heaven  had  occasion  to  wash  their  robes  even 
 from  very  foul  stains.  But,  my  brethren,  is  that  washing 
 done  in  us  }  It  is  little  to  say,  We  may  wash  our  robes, 
 however  stained  and  soiled  :  is  it  done .''  is  it  in  pro- 
 gress }  are  our  robes  in  process  of  this  washing }  There 
 is  another  place,  of  which  we  read  in  the  closing 
 scenes  of  this  book*,  which  must  receive  those  whose 
 garments  are  left  soiled,  left  stained,  and  who  die  so. 
 God  has  7io  pleasure  hi  our  death ;  but  we  must  tzirti 
 ourselves^,  we  must  submit  to  His  turning,  if  we  would 
 
 1  Luke  XV.  7.  2  2ech.  iii.  3,  4.  ^  i  Cor.  vi.  n. 
 
 ^  Rev.  xxi.  8.  ^  Ezek.  xviii.  32. 
 
198  Revelation.  [lect, 
 
 live.  In  the  blood  of  the  Lamb :  there,  in  that  death 
 for  sin,  in  that  sacrifice,  full  and  perfect,  once  offered, 
 in  that  blood  which  cleanse th  from  all  sin  \  there  seek 
 forgiveness,  there  leave  sin,  there  discard  self,  there  learn 
 to  live  henceforth  not  nnto  yourself  but  unto  Him  which 
 died  for  you  and  rose  again  ^. 
 
 2.  And  let  us  look,  before  we  separate,  not  at 
 the  earthly  life  only,  but  at  the  heavenly  life  also, 
 of  these  who  are  here  shown  to  us.  We  have  seen 
 whence  they  came ;  from  washing  their  robes  in  the 
 blood  of  the  Lamb;  from  enduring  in  His  name  and 
 strength  the  great  tribulation  of  mortal  life ;  its  ad- 
 versities without,  its  greater  conflicts  with  temptation, 
 with  self,  with  sins  and  fears,  within.  Now  let  us  see 
 whither  they  come :  what  is  the  life  of  heaven  as  here 
 disclosed  t 
 
 (i)  It  is  a  life  of  comfort.  No  more  hunger,  no 
 more  thirst,  no  more  distress  or  weariness  in  bearing  the 
 burden  and  heat  of  an  earthly  day^  God  Himself  has 
 wiped  away  every  tear  from  their  eyes. 
 
 (2)  It  is  a  life  of  safety.  God  Himself  has  spread 
 His  tabernacle  over  them.  They  are  under  His  shelter. 
 No  evil  can  approach  where  He  Himself  dwells :  and 
 they  are  keeping  the  feast^  not  in  separate  booths  of  their 
 own,  but  in  the  tabernacle,  under  the  tent,  of  God. 
 
 (3)  It  is  a  life  of  thankfulness.  They  cry  with  a 
 loud  voice,  saying,  Salvatiojt  to  our  God  I  Our  salvation 
 we  ascribe  to  our  God  and  to  the  Lamb.  Our  salvation  : 
 then  we  are  saved :  we  speak  of  it  as  a  thing  known 
 and  felt  to  belong  to  us ;  and  as  being  our  own,  we  can 
 
 1  I  John  i.  7.  2  2  Cor.  v.  15.  '  Matt.  xx.  12. 
 
 ^  I  Cor.  V.  8. 
 
XIV.]  Chap.  VII.  9 — 17.  199 
 
 trace  its  origin.  We  see  whence  it  came  ;  we  see  how, 
 at  every  step,  it  was  God's  doing :  could  we  have  made 
 ourselves  thoughtful  ?  could  we  have  opened  our  own 
 tmder standings  to  understa7id  tJu  Scriptures  ^  or  onr  own 
 hearts  to  attend  to  the  tilings  spoken  ^  /  could  we  for  our- 
 selves have  repented  of  sin,  found  Christ,  gained  a  new 
 S'^irit,  wrought  righteous jtess^,  trodden  Satan  underfoot? 
 These  things,  and  every  change  and  chance  and  circum- 
 stance of  life  which  aided  or  fostered  any  one  of  them, 
 all  were  God's  work :  we  see  it  now  in  the  retrospect, 
 as  we  desired  and  sought  to  own  it  at  the  time.  And 
 as  we  know  the  added  value  which  any  possession, 
 whether  in  itself  small  or  great,  derives  from  its  being 
 the  gift  to  us  of  a  loved  friend,  even  so  is  salvation 
 itself  made  dearer  and  more  precious  by  the  thought 
 of  its  being  the  work  throughout  of  God's  love  and 
 of  God's  care  for  us,  the  purchase  of  Christ's  blood, 
 the  fruit  of  the  long  patience  with  us  of  the  Holy 
 Spirit. 
 
 (4)  It  is  a  life  too  of  service.  They  serve  Him  day 
 and  night  in  His  temple.  Heaven  would  be  no  heaven 
 to  the  Christian,  if  it  were  a  place  of  selfish  repose :  it 
 is  one  of  the  brightest  of  all  its  revelations  that  it  is  to 
 be  a  place  of  service.  But  of  what  nature }  Not,  like 
 earth's  best  and  highest  service,  one  of  many  imperfec- 
 tions, one  of  intermittent  zeal,  one  of  frequent  drooping 
 and  flagging,  the  service  of  a  corruptible  body  and 
 of  a  sinful  soul ;  but  a  service  like  that  of  Angels,  yet 
 with  a  motive  (if  it  might  be  so)  even  more  constrain- 
 ing than  theirs,  a  service  hearty,  constant,  perfect,  a 
 service  of  day  and  of  night,  a  service  carried  on  in  God's 
 
 1  Luke  xxiv.  45.  ^  ^^ts  xvi.  14.  ^  Heb.  xi.  33. 
 
200  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 temple,  that  is,  in  God's  presence,  the  service  of  God's 
 priests,  ministering  not  in  holy  places  made  with  ha?ids^, 
 but  in  the  very  scene  and  presence  of  His  glory.  Of 
 the  details  of  that  service  we  presume  not  to  speak : 
 we  see  it  to  be  a  service  of  praise  and  thanksgiving  ; 
 may  it  not  be  also  one  of  ministration  ;  of  mission  and 
 of  ministry  to  others  also  ;  even  though  earth's  woes  are 
 ended,  and  the  expectation  of  the  creature  ^  fulfilled  ? 
 
 (5)  But  we  should  ill  express  the  prominent  feature 
 of  the  revelation  here  presented,  if  we  failed  to  add, 
 lastly,  that  the  life  of  the  redeemed  in  heaven  is  a  life 
 of  entire  dependence  upon,  devotion  to,  and  union 
 with,  the  Lamb  that  was  slain.  The  Lamb,  which  is  in 
 the  midst  of  the  throne,  shall  feed  them,  and  shall  lead  them 
 t0tto  livi7ig  fountains  of  waters.  He  is  their  Shepherd: 
 therefore  can  they  lack  nothing^.  All  that  the  Saviour  was 
 upon  earth  to  the  first  disciples — their  Teacher,  their 
 Friend,  their  Master,  their  Protector,  their  Guide,  their 
 Upholder,  their  Restorer^this  He  is  to  them :  all  this, 
 and  more.  The  disciples  upon  earth  scarcely  knew  Him 
 as  their  Redeemer,  scarcely  at  all  as  their  Priest,  scarcely 
 at  all,  only  just  when  He  was  leaving  them  after  Resur- 
 rection, as  their  Lord  and  their  God'^,  To  be  with  Him 
 now,  knowing  Him  as  we  all  do  by  report,  as  some  of 
 us  do  by  contact  and  experience,  would  be  a  widely  dif- 
 ferent thing.  O  the  safety,  O  the  comfort,  O  the  repose 
 and  the  satisfaction,  of  being  for  ever  with  the  Lord,  in 
 whose  blood  we  have  already  washed  our  robes  !  There 
 is  the  point  of  contact.  We  must  know  Him  first  as 
 our   Sacrifice,   as  the    Saviour   who,   though    God,    be- 
 
 1  Heb.  ix.  24.  ^  Rom.  viii.  19.  ^  Psalm  xxiii.  i. 
 
 *  John  XX.  28.  " 
 
XIV.]  Chap.  VII.  9 — 17.  201 
 
 came  Man,  and  in  that  human  nature  died  for  our  sins. 
 Then  we  shall  appreciate  His  other  offices.  Then  to 
 be  fed  by  Him,  then  to  be  led  by  Him,  will  be  in- 
 deed the  consummation  of  the  joy  of  heaven.  To  be 
 with  Him  in  a  relation  yet  more  intimate  than  that 
 of  the  beloved  disciple  who  leaned  on  His  breast  at 
 stepper^ ;  to  be  with  Him  as  not  only  redeemed,  but  also 
 inhabited  by  Him ;  to  be  with  Him  as  one  cared  for 
 upon  earth,  sought  out,  rescued,  emancipated,  sanctified  ; 
 as  one  carried  safely  through  life's  dangers,  soothed 
 under  life's  sorrows,  supported  through  life's  trying  and 
 painful  end ;  to  be  with  Him  at  last,  as  never  before, 
 face  to  face^,  and  yet  without  ceasing  to  be  with  Him 
 heart  to  heart  and  spirit  to  spirit ;  to  be  always  with 
 Him,  and  for  ever  ;  to  do  everything,  not  only  for  Him, 
 but  in  His  presence,  under  His  eye,  and  beneath  His 
 smile ;  this  will  be  beyond  mere  safety,  beyond  mere 
 comfort,  beyond  mere  service,  however  constant  and 
 perfect ;  this  will  be  a  relation  into  which  no  human 
 love  ever  admitted  ;  this  will  be  a  community  of  life 
 and  soul  beyond  the  nearest  and  dearest  of  earth's 
 friendships ;  this  will  be  the  ideal  to  which  human  sym- 
 pathy pointed,  this  the  goal  of  which  human  love  was 
 but  the  starting-point. 
 
 And  so  we  descend  from  the  mount  of  transfigura- 
 tion, saying,  It  zvas  good  for  21s  to  be  there^.  Good  for 
 us,  if  it  made  us  yearn  after  that  fulfilment :  good  for  us, 
 if  it  made  us  enquire  of  ourselves  whether  we  are  on 
 the  way  to  it :  good  for  us,  if  it  sends  us  back  into 
 earth's  common  duties,  humbler,  sadder,  wiser  men  : 
 good  for  us  if  it  makes  us  care  more  for  Christ's  little 
 
 ^  John  xxi.  20.  2  I  Cor.  xiii.  12.  ^  Matt.  xvii.  4. 
 
202  Revelation,  [lect.  xiv. 
 
 ones'^  who  have  not  yet  strayed  as  we  have;  whom  it 
 may  be  our  happiness  even  to  keep  from  straying,  to 
 strengthen  against  falling,  to  preoccupy  for  Him  with 
 the  word  of  His  grace'^y  ere  yet  the  hand  of  another  can 
 have  stamped  upon  them  the  seal  of  sin  and  death. 
 
 1  Matt,  xviii.  6.  2  Acts  xx.  32. 
 
 Fourth  Sunday  after  Easter, 
 April  28,  1861. 
 
LECTURE    XV. 
 
 REVELATION   VIII.    I. 
 
 And  when   He  had  opened  the  seventh  seal,  there  was 
 sileiice  in  heaven  about  the  space  of  half  an  hour. 
 
 This  verse  forms  the  conclusion  of  that  series  of  visions 
 which  has  engaged  our  attention  for  the  last  three  Sun- 
 days. We  have  been  witnessing  the  breaking  of  those 
 seals  which  guarded  the  contents  of  the  book  of  God's 
 counsels  from  every  created  eye.  The  breaking  of  each 
 separate  seal  was  followed  by  the  disclosure  of  some 
 new  emblem  of  judgment.  The  opening  of  the  sixth 
 seal  introduced  the  well-known  imagery  of  the  signs 
 which  shall  immediately  precede  the  second  Advent  of 
 the  Lord  from  heaven.  But  just  at  the  moment  when 
 the  sight  of  the  Son  of  Man  Himself  coining  in  the  clouds 
 with  power  and  great  glory^  might  have  been  anticipated, 
 we  are  interrupted  by  a  two-fold  episode  or  interlude ; 
 the  vision  of  the  sealing,  and  the  vision  of  the  saints' 
 rest  above.  In  the  one  we  are  instructed  as  to  the 
 safety  of  God's  elect  through  the  latest  and  sorest  of 
 His  earthly  judgments  upon  sin  :  in  the  other,  we  are 
 
 ^  Matt.  xxiv.  30. 
 
204  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 shown  something  of  the  nature  of  that  happiness  which 
 is  to  be  theirs  when  the  trials  of  Hfe  are  for  ever  ended. 
 And  now  one  single  verse  announces  to  us  all  that  is 
 here  to  be  told  of  the  final  consummation.  We  shall 
 see  reason  to  doubt  w^hether  the  book  itself,  the  sealed 
 book,  the  book  which  the  Lamb  takes  out  of  the  right 
 hand  of  God,  and  of  which  he  has  now  broken  each  suc- 
 cessive seal,  is  ever  read  to  us ;  whether  its  contents  are 
 not  rather  reserved  for  a  future  state,  to  be  the  subject 
 of  satisfying  and  adoring  meditation  through  the  ages  of 
 the  eternal  age.  The  breaking  of  each  of  the  first  six 
 seals  is  followed  by  a  new  sign,  a  new  scene,  a  new  dis- 
 closure: but  the  consequence  of  the  opening  of  the 
 seventh  seal  is  not  sign  nor  scene,  not  speech  nor  dis- 
 closure, but  silence :  it  is  the  signal  for  the  dropping  of 
 the  curtain  upon  the  stage  of  vision,  and  when  it  rises 
 again,  it  is  for  a  new  act,  with  other  performers  and 
 amidst  altered  circumstances.  The  impediments  are 
 removed,  the  scroll  is  spread,  the  Divine  Reader  is  pre- 
 pared :  but  the  actual  reading  is  not  for  earth  but  for 
 heaven  ;  they  who  would  understand  the  whole  counsel 
 of  God  must  first  lay  aside  the  body,  and  receive  their 
 final  adoptio7t  by  becoming  children  of  the  resiirreetion^. 
 
 Heaven  had  resounded  with  thankful  voices  ascribing 
 salvation  to  God  and  to  the  Lamb.  The  surrounding 
 hosts  of  Angels  had  echoed  the  thanksgivings  of  the 
 saved ;  and  a  tumult  of  praise  had  filled  the  ears  of 
 him  who  was  permitted  to  see  and  to  hear  all  these 
 things.     But  now  there  is  a  change. 
 
 And'^  when  He,  the  Lamb,  opened  the  seventh  seal, 
 there  became  {took  place)  a  silence  in  the  heaven  as  it  were 
 
 ^  Rom.  viii.  23.     Luke  xx.  36.  ^  Verse  i. 
 
XV.]  Chap.  VIII. 
 
 20' 
 
 during  a  half-hour.  Instead  of  the  reading  of  the  book 
 at  that  time,  there  ensued  a  silence.  May  we  not  say 
 that  the  Prophet  himself  had  not  yet  attained  the  con- 
 dition of  one  qualified  to  hear  it  ?  that  none  can  hear  it 
 in  its  fulness  until,  first,  he  has  himself ///^^  on  hicorrup- 
 tion^,  and  until,  secondly,  the  7nystery  of  Go(P  is  absolutely 
 fulfilled  ? 
 
 But  that  silence,  that  silence  in  heaven,  that  pause 
 in  the  disclosures  of  the  eventful  day  during  which  St 
 John  zvas  in  tJie  Spirif,  has  it  not  other  meanings  for 
 us  besides  a  mere  postponement  of  full  knowledge  ? 
 •Does  it  not  bid  us  look  to  the  earth,  and  see  the  end 
 of  man's  raging  ?  Does  it  not  bid  us  look  up  to  heaven, 
 and  see  the  commencement  of  an  eternal  calm  ? 
 
 Once  so  loud,  nozv  so  silent ;  do  we  not  see  in  the 
 words  before  us  a  solemn  intimation  of  the  futility  of 
 all  human  strivings  against  the  Lord  and  against  His 
 Chris f  ?  What  will  man's  greatness  be  in  the  day  when 
 God  enters  into  the  judgment  ?  What  will  then  be 
 earthly  ambition,  earthly  power,  earthly  wealth,  and 
 self-indulgence,  earthly  talent,  influence,  and  genius, 
 when  the  possessor  of  each  will  be  on  his  last  trial, 
 and  the  soul  is  standing  naked  before  the  throne  of 
 God  ?  Not  for  nothing  does  the  silence  iji  Jieavcn  follow 
 upon  the  scenes  of  conquest  and  discord,  of  persecu- 
 tion and  slaughter,  recorded  in  the  6th  chapter,  as 
 though  to  echo  and  enforce  the  prophetic  announce- 
 ment, Be  silent,  O  all  flesh,  before  the  Lord:  for  He  is 
 raised  up  out  of  His  holy  habitation^.  The  Lord  is  tJi 
 His  holy  temple :  let  all  the  earth  keep  silence  before  Him^. 
 
 1  I  Cor.  XV.  53.  "-  Rev.  x.  7.  "  Rev.  i.  10. 
 
 4  Acts  iv.  26.  ^  Zech.  ii.  13.  ^  Hab.  ii.  20. 
 
2o6  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 And  for  those  who  on  earth  have  not  been  among 
 God's  enemies  but  among  His  servants,  is  it  not  a  cheer- 
 ing revelation  which  tells  them  of  a  silence  at  last  from 
 earth's  contentions,  of  a  hiding  at  last  in  God's  pavilion 
 from  the  strife  of  tongues^  ?  Let  them  practise  even  now 
 for  that  sweet  silence,  by  gentleness,  by  meekness,  by 
 patience  under  provocation  ;  by  bowing  the  head  to  let 
 the  storm  pass  over  it ;  by  keeping  the  spirit  from  resent- 
 ment, and  the  lips  from  retort  of  evil.  I71  your  patience 
 possess  ye  your  sotds^. 
 
 And  now  we  enter  upon  a  new  section  of  this  holy- 
 Book  :  that  of  the  seven  trumpets.  It  extends  from  the 
 2nd  verse  of  the  8th  chapter  to  the  last  verse  of  the 
 nth.  We  shall  see  some  remarkable  points  of  resem- 
 blance to  the  section  just  concluded  ;  more  particularly, 
 the  change  of  subject  and  character  between  the  fourth 
 and  fifth  trumpets,  and  the  pause  or  interlude  between 
 the  sounding  of  the  sixth  trumpet  and  of  the  seventh. 
 You  will  not  for  a  moment  think  of  this  section  of  the 
 prophecy  as  following  chronologically  upon  the  former. 
 It  is  subsequent  to  it  in  the  order  of  disclosure,  but  not 
 necessarily  subsequent  to  it — certainly  not  all  subsequent 
 to  the  whole  of  it — in  the  order  of  fulfilment.  As  the 
 former,  so  this  also  had  no  doubt  a  minor  fulfilment, 
 perhaps  many  minor  fulfilments,  in  times  near  to  (or  in 
 part  coincident  with)  those  of  St  John  himself:  and 
 certainly  the  former,  no  less  than  this,  carries  us  down 
 to  the  very  end  of  time.  The  two  visions,  briefly  dis- 
 tinguishable as  that  of  the  seven  seals  and  that  of  the 
 seven  trumpets,  are  on  the  whole  rather  parallel  to  each 
 
 ^  Psalm  xxxi.  20.  ^  Luke  xxi.  19. 
 
XV.]  Chap, 
 
 VIII. 
 
 207 
 
 other  than  consecutive.     Let  me  now  read  to  you  the 
 first  part  of  this  new  vision. 
 
 A  nd}  I  saw  the  seven  angels  who  stand  in  the  presence 
 of  God,  and  tJiere  were  given  to  them  seven  trumpets. 
 
 In  the  1st  chapter  of  St  Luke's  Gospel,  in  the  account 
 of  the  vision  of  Zacharias  in  the  temple,  we  read,  Ajid 
 the  angel  answering  said  tmto  him,  I  am  Gabriel,  that 
 sta?td  in  the  presence  of  God^.  For  the  fuller  expression 
 here,  we  may  turn,  by  way  of  illustration  though  not  of 
 doctrine,  to  a  passage  in  the  Apocryphal  book  of  Tobit. 
 /  am  Raphael,  one  of  the  seven  holy  a^igels  which  present 
 the  prayers  of  the  saints,  and  which  go  in  and  out  before 
 the  glory  of  the  Holy  One^.  We  shall  understand  from 
 the  form  of  the  language  before  us,  that  something  of 
 gradation,  of  order  and  rank,  among  the  holy  Angels, 
 is  here  faintly  indicated.  TJie  seven  angels  who  stand  in 
 the  prese7ice  of  God  are  distinguished  among  the  many 
 angels  round  about  the  throne,  of  whom  we  read  in  the 
 5  th  chapter  that  tJieir  number  was  myriads  of  myriads 
 and  thousands  of  thotisands*. 
 
 The  trumpet  had  various  sacred  associations  in  the 
 history  and  ritual  of  Israel.  In  the  giving  of  the  Law 
 on  Mount  Sinai  it  was  the  last  signal  of  God's  immediate 
 presence.  There  were  thunders  and  lightjiings,  and  a 
 thick  cloud  upon  the  mount,  and  tJie  voice  of  the  trumpet 
 exceeding  loud.  ..And  zvhen  the  voice  of  the  trumpet  soimded 
 long,  and  waxed  louder  and  louder,  Moses  spake,  and  God 
 answered  him  by  a  voice^.  Hence  its  solemn  application 
 in  the  New  Testament.  The  Lord  Himself  shall  descend 
 from  heaven  with  a  shout,  with  the  voice  of  the  archaiigel, 
 
 ^  Verse  2.  ^  Luke  i.  19.  ^  Tob.  xii.  15. 
 
 ^  Rev.  V.  II.  ^  Exod.  xix.  16,  19. 
 
2o8  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 and  with  the  tintinp  of  God}.  The  trumpet  was  the  ap- 
 pointed summons  to  sacrifice  and  to  worship^  There 
 was  an  annual  feast  of  trumpets,  on  the  first  day  of  the 
 seventh  months  The  trumpet  was  the  signal  of  war ; 
 announcing  its  approach,  and  summoning  to  defence*. 
 But  various  as  were  the  Old  Testament  associations,  all 
 sacred  and  solemn,  with  the  sounding  of  the  trumpet, 
 there  was  one,  and  (so  far  as  I  remember)  one  only, 
 with  the  particular  combination  here  found,  that  of  seven 
 trumpets.  In  the  6th  chapter  of  the  book  of  Joshua, 
 we  read  the  following  directions  for  the  siege  of  the 
 first  city  which  opposed  Israel  after  the  passage  of  the 
 Jordan.  The  Lord  said  imto  Joshua,  See,  I  have  given 
 into  thine  hand  Jericho,  a7id  the  king  thereof,  and  tJie 
 mighty  me7t  of  valour.  And  ye  shall  co7npass  the  city,  all 
 ye  men  of  war,  and  go  roimd  about  the  city  once.  Thus 
 shalt  thou  do  six  days.  And  seven  priests  shall  bear  before 
 the  ark  seven  trumpets  of  rams'  horns :  and  the  seventh 
 day  ye  shall  compass  the  city  seven  times,  and  the  priests 
 shall  blow  with  the  trumpets.  A  nd  it  shall  come  to  pass, 
 that  when  they  make  a  long  blast  with  the  ram's  horjz,  a7id 
 when  ye  hear  the  sound  of  the  trumpet,  all  tJie  people  shall 
 shout  with  a  great  shout ;  and  tJie  wall  of  the  city  shall 
 fall  down  flat,  and  the  people  shall  ascend  tip  every  man 
 straight  before  him^.  And  a  minute  description  follows 
 of  the  manner  in  which  the  command  was  obeyed  and 
 the  promise  of  victory  fulfilled.  By  faith  the  walls  of 
 Jericho  fell  down,  after  they  were  compassed  about  seven 
 days^. 
 
 This   passage  of  the  Old  Testament  will  be  found 
 
 1  I  Thess.  iv.  i6.  ^  Num.  x.  lo.  ^  Num.  xxix.  i. 
 
 *  Ezek.  xxxiii.  3.     i  Sam.  xiii.  3.  ^  jogh.  vi.  2—5.  ^  Heb.  xi.  30. 
 
XV.]  Chap,  VIII.  209 
 
 to  contain  the  key  to  the  prophecy  now  before  us. 
 You  will  bear  in  mind  the  leading  ideas :  there  is  a 
 hostile  city,  walled,  guarded,  and  full  of  armed  men : 
 God's  people  are  set  to  capture  it ;  its  capture  is  essential 
 to  their  conquest  of  Canaan  ;  yet  not  a  blow  is  to  be 
 struck  by  any  arm  of  flesh  :  the  ark  of  God,  the  repo- 
 sitory of  His  law,  the  symbol  of  His  presence,  is  to  be 
 carried  in  solemn  procession,  amongst  the  ridicule  (we 
 may  well  imagine)  of  the  hosts  which  looked  on  from 
 that  city's  walls  ;  and  the  only  sound  which  is  to  break 
 the  silence,  during  the  first  six  days  of  this  strange  cere- 
 monial, is  to  be  that  of  seven  trumpets  entrusted  to 
 seven  priests  who  are  to  sound  them  day  by  day  imme- 
 diately before  the  ark  of  God's  covenant :  on  the  seventh 
 day  the  procession  is  seven  times  repeated,  and  at  the 
 seventh  circuit,  at  a  louder  blast  of  the  trumpet,  the 
 people  give  a  shout,  and  the  city  walls,  crowded  perhaps 
 with  mocking  foes,  fall  prostrate  at  the  invader's  feet. 
 Bear  these  particulars  in  mind  :  and  if  it  should  appear 
 that,  in  this  prophecy  on  which  we  to-night  enter,  the 
 Israel  of  God}  is  taught  to  expect  a  like  but  far  more 
 glorious  triumph  over  the  combined  force  of  a  greater 
 and  more  terrible  enemy,  and  to  hear  in  each  blast  of 
 the  symbolic  trumpet  a  promise  and  an  instalment  of 
 victory,  at  least  we  shall  say  that  the  interpretation  is 
 simple  and  Scriptural,  though  we  may  refrain  from  point- 
 ing the  finger  at  particular  items  of  fulfilment  in  the  past, 
 or  gratifying  a  human  curiosity  by  detailed  prognostica- 
 tions of  fulfilment  in  the  future. 
 
 And^  another  angel  came  and  stood  to  (at)  the  altar, ^ 
 having  a  golden  censer ;  and  there  was  given  to  him  mnch 
 
 1  Gal.  vi.  16.  2  Verse  3. 
 
 V.  R.  14 
 
2IO  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 incense,  that  he  might  give  it  to  the  prayers  of  all  the 
 saints  on  to,  throwing  it  upon,  the  golden  altar  which  was 
 before  {iji  presence  or  iii  front  of)  the  throne.  A  nd}  there 
 went  ttp  the  smoke  of  the  incense  for,  to  give  sweetness  to, 
 the  prayers  of  the  saints,  out  of  the  hand  of  the  angel,  before 
 {in  the  presence  of)  God. 
 
 At  the  opening  of  the  fifth  seal  we  had  an  altar 
 introduced  without  further  explanation  I  That  was  the 
 altar  of  burnt-offering,  which  stood  before  the  door  of 
 the  tabernacle  or  temple  itself.  Here  again  we  have  an 
 altar  spoken  of:  but  now  it  is  the  golden  altar  of  in- 
 cense, which  was  one  part  of  the  furniture  of  the  holy- 
 place  ;  of  the  outer  division,  that  is,  of  the  temple ;  the 
 same  altar  which  we  read  of  in  the  opening  of  St  Luke's 
 Gospel :  there  appeared  tL7tto  him  {Zacharias)  an  angel  of 
 the  Lord  standing  on  the  right  side  of  the  altar  of  incense^. 
 We  before  remarked,  in  reference  to  the  other  altar,  how 
 easy  is  the  transition  from  the  scenery  of  God's  presence 
 in  heaven  to  that  of  His  temple  on  earth :  the  readers  of 
 this  Book  would  ask  no  explanation  and  no  justification 
 of  the  introduction  of  one  or  the  other  of  these  altars 
 amongst  images  in  many  respects  incongruous. 
 
 You  observe  that  in  the  Authorized  Version  the  in- 
 cense is  said  to  be  offered  zvith  the  prayej^s  of  all  saints  ; 
 and  in  the  following  verse  its  smoke  is  said  to  have  come 
 with  the  prayers  of  the  saints,  and  so  ascended  up  before 
 God.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  more  correct 
 form  of  the  expression  is  the  one  before  read  to  you. 
 There  was  given  to  him  innch  incense,  that  he  might  give  it 
 to  the  prayers  of  all  the  saints  07i  to,  that  is,  to  be  offered 
 upon,  tJie  golden  altar.     The  incense  was  used  to  give  a 
 
 ^  Verse  4.  2  Rgy^  yi.  9.  ^  Luke  i.  11. 
 
XV 
 
 ,]  Chap,  viiL  211 
 
 sweet  scent  to  that  fire-offering  upon  which  it  was  thrown. 
 When  the  Angel  has  incense  given  him  to  throw  upon 
 the  prayers  of  the  saints,  it  indicates' that  those  prayers 
 may  now  rise  with  acceptance  to  the  throne  of  God  ;  in 
 other  words,  that  the  time  for  actually  offering  them, 
 because  the  time  when  God  will  answer  them,  is  now 
 fully  come.  And  then  there  goes  up  the  smoke  of  the 
 incense  out  of  the  Angel's  hand,  for  (that  is,  to  give 
 a  sweet  scent  to)  those  prayers  which  before  were  lying 
 as  it  were  savourless  because  premature. 
 
 I  need  not  say  one  word  to  caution  any  one  here 
 present  against  a  perverse  misapprehension  of  the  office 
 which  is  thus  assigned  to  the  Angel.  We  are  looking 
 upon  a  vision,  a  vision  full  of  glorious  meaning,  but  not 
 to  be  rigidly  pressed  into  separate  particulars  of  doctrine. 
 We  Christians  know  oi one  and  but  one  Mediator'^.  The 
 Angel's  part  is  not  one  of  intercession  or  of  mediation : 
 he  comes  simply  to  testify  that  God's  time  is  come,  and 
 that  the  prayers  of  the  saints  for  deliverance  and  for 
 victory  have  been  heard  and  shall  now  be  answered. 
 
 And"^  now  the  angel  has  taken  the  censer,  and  he  filled 
 it  from  the  fire  of  the  altar,  and  cast  the  contents  upon 
 the  earth.  The  censer  had  fulfilled  its  first  office,  that 
 of  scenting  and  perfuming  the  prayers  of  the  saints  : 
 now  it  has  a  ministry  of  judgment ;  it  is  filled  afresh 
 Avith  live  coal  taken  from  the  altar  of  incense,  and  emp- 
 tied upon  the  earth  below.  And  there  arose  tJiunders 
 and  lightnings  and  voices  and  an  earthquake.  These  are 
 the  premonitions  of  judgment. 
 
 And^  the  seven  angels  who  had  the  seven  tnunpets 
 prepared  themselves  that   they   might  sound;  raised  the 
 
 1  I  Tim.  ii.  5.  2  y^y^e  5.  ^  y^^.^^  5. 
 
 14—2 
 
212  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 trumpets,  and  stood  in  readiness  to  blow  them.  And'^  the 
 first  sounded  ;  and  thei'e  became^  that  is,  came,  ox  followed^ 
 hail  and  fire  mixed  in  blood,  and  it  was  cast  npon  the 
 earth :  and  the  tJiird part  of  the  earth  was  burned  np,  aiid 
 the  third  part  of  the  trees  was  burned  icp,  and  all  green 
 grass  zvas  burned  tip.  The  figures  employed  correspond 
 in  some  degree  with  the  incidents  of  the  plague  of  hail, 
 when,  as  it  is  written,  the  Lord  sent  thunder  and  hail,  and 
 the  fire  ran  along  upon  tJie  ground...  So  there  zv  as  hail,  and 
 fire  mingled  with  the  hail,  very  grievous... And  the  hail 
 smote  throughout  all  the  land  of  Egypt  all  that  was  in  the 
 field,  both  man  and  beast ;  and  the  hail  smote  every  herb  of 
 the  field,  and  h'ake  every  tree  of  the  field^.  Here,  in  the 
 vision  before  us,  the  hail  and  the  fire  are  present,  but 
 they  are  now  mingled  in  blood ;  a  new  and  frightful 
 element,  showing  that  something  more  is  indicated 
 than  a  mere  storm,  however  wild  and  preternatural  in 
 its  character. 
 
 And^  the  second  angel  sounded ;  and  as  it  were  a  great 
 mountain  burning  with  fire  was  cast  into  the  sea  ;  and  the 
 third  part  of  the  sea  became  blood,  and^  there  died  the  third 
 part  of  the  creatures  that  were  in  the  sea,  even  those  which 
 had  lives,  and  the  third  part  of  the  ships  were  destroyed. 
 
 The  consequences  of  the  first  trumpet  affected  the 
 earth  :  the  operation  of  the  second  is  upon  the  sea. 
 Again  there  is  a  similarity  to  one  of  the  plagues  inflicted 
 of  old  upon  Egypt,  when  all  the  waters  that  were  i7i  the 
 river  were  turned  to  blood,  and  the  fish  that  was  i7i  the 
 river  died. .  .andtJiere  zvas  blood  throughout  all  the  land  of 
 Egypt  ^.     The  figure  of  the  burning  mountain  is  found 
 
 1  Verse  7.  ^  Exod.  ix.  23 — 25.  '  Verse  8. 
 
 ^  Verse  ^.  ^  Exod.  vii.  20,  21. 
 
XV.]  Chap.  VIII.  213 
 
 first  in  the  book  of  the  prophet  Jeremiah,  where,  among 
 the  denunciations  against  Babylon,  we  read,  Behold,  I 
 avi  against  thee,  O  destroying  mountain,  saith  the  Lord.,, 
 and  I  zvill  stretch  oitt  mine  hand  upon  thee,  and  roll  thee 
 doivn  from  the  rocks,  ajid  will  make  thee  a  burnt  moun- 
 tain \  And  the  limited  operation  of  this  as  of  the  other 
 judgments  here  recorded  finds  a  striking  illustration  in 
 the  prophet  Amos,  who  says,  TJius  hath  the  Lord.  God 
 shoivcd  unto  me :  and  behold,  the  Lord  God  called  to  co7i- 
 tend  by  fire,  and  it  devoured  the  great  deep,  and  did.  eat  tip 
 a  part'^.  The  violence  of  the  convulsion  denoted  by  the 
 casting  of  a  great  mountain  into  the  sea  is  strongly  indi- 
 cated to  us  in  the  well-known  words  of  our  Lord,  illus- 
 trating the  omnipotence  of  faith,  If  ye  have  faith,  and 
 doidit  not,  ye  shall  not  only  do  this  which  is  done  to  the 
 fig-tree,  but  also  if  ye  shall  say  unto  this  mountain.  Be  thou 
 removed,  and  be  thoic  cast  into  the  sea,  it  shall  be  done^. 
 It  is  spoken  of  as  the  most  obviously  impossible  of  all 
 things  to  natural  strength ;  as  lying  within  the  reach  of 
 that  strength  alone  which  faith  draws  down  for  us 
 from  God. 
 
 And^  the  third  angel  sounded ;  and  the^'e  fell  out  of 
 the  heaven  a  great  star  burning  as  a  tor  eh  ^  and  it  fell  upon 
 the  third  part  of  the  rivers,  and  upon  the  springs  of  the 
 waters.  And^  the  name  of  the  star  is  called  Wormwood^ 
 from  the  bitter  nauseous  herb  which  bears  that  name  ; 
 and  the  third  part  of  the  waters  became  {turned)  into  worm- 
 wood, ajid  many  of  mankind  died  from  {in  consequence  of) 
 the  water's,  because  they  were  embittered. 
 
 The  second  was  a  plague  affecting  the  sea  ;  this  Is 
 
 1  Jer.  li.  25.  2  Ai^o5  vii.  4.  3  Matt.  xxi.  21. 
 
 *  Verse  10.  °  Verse  11. 
 
2 1 4  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 upon  spring  and  river  waters.  It  is  one  of  the  judg- 
 ments predicted  by  the  prophet  Jeremiah;  Behold,  I  will 
 feed  them,  even  this  people^  with  wormivood,  and  give  them 
 water  of  gall  to  d^'ink  \ 
 
 A7id'^  the  fourth  angel  sounded ;  a7id  there  was  smitten 
 the  third  part  of  the  sun,  and  the  third  part  of  the  moon, 
 and  the  third  part  of  the  stars,  that  the  third  part  of  them 
 might  be  darkened,  and  the  day  might  not  display  [cause  to 
 shine)  its  third  part,  and  the  night  likewise;  that  the 
 brightness  of  the  sun  by  day  and  of  the  moon  by  night 
 might  be  diminished  by  one  third  of  each.  We  may  be 
 reminded  here  of  the  plague  of  darkness  over  the  land  of 
 Egypt  ^ ;  but  you  will  not  fail  to  notice  the  peculiarity 
 attending  each  of  these  four  inflictions,  that  it  is  a 
 limited  judgment,  not  affecting  the  whole  of  any  one 
 of  its  objects,  and  therefore  not  yet  final. 
 
 And^  I  saw,  and  I  heard  a  single  eagle,  flying  in  mid 
 heaven,  saying  with  a  mighty  voice.  Woe,  woe,  woe  to  them 
 that  divell  on  the  earth,  from  ihi  conseque^ice  of)  the  re~ 
 maijiing  voices  of  the  trumpet  of  the  three  angels  who  are 
 about  to  sound  ! 
 
 At  this  ominous  point  we  must  break  off  our  ex- 
 position for  this  time.  It  is  well  if  any  curiosity  has 
 been  awakened  as  to  the  things  of  God,  as  to  His 
 Word,  and  as  to  His  coming  judgments.  We  have 
 much  yet  to  say  on  the  voices  of  these  trumpets.  We 
 have  scarcely  touched  as  yet  upon  their  significance. 
 It  was  necessary,  in  order  to  a  just  view,  to  take  the 
 first  four  at  least  together.  You  will  have  noticed  that 
 they  form  a  connected  group,  and  that  they  are  strongly 
 
 ^  Jer.  ix.  15.  ^  Verse  12.  ^  Exod.  x.  21. 
 
 *  Verse  13. 
 
XV.]  Chap.  VIII.  215 
 
 marked  off — If  only  by  the  triple  cry  of  the  woe-fore- 
 boding eagle,  but  not  less  by  their  own  subject  and 
 character — from  the  three  which  follow.  They  are  ex- 
 hibited to  us,  in  form  at  least,  as  God's  judgments  upon 
 inanimate  nature,  and  upon  mankind  only  mediately, 
 only  as  affected  by  inanimate  nature  or  using  it  for 
 His  purposes.     But  I  must  not  anticipate. 
 
 For  to-day  I  must  bring  to  a  close,  with  a  brief  word 
 or  two  of  solemn  application,  our  meditations  upon  this 
 book  of  Holy  Scripture. 
 
 I.  I  would  say  first,  let  this  passage  teach  us  what 
 prayer  is.  We  naturally  think  of  prayer  rather  as  it 
 leaves  earth  than  as  it  enters  heaven.  We  are  conscious, 
 painfully,  often  bitterly,  conscious,  of  its  many  hin- 
 drances, its  sad  imperfections,  its  inherent  sins.  It  is 
 useful  to  think  of  these  things,  and  to  seek  counsel 
 from  man  and  help  from  God  against  them.  But 
 amongst  these  aids,  divine  and  human,  to  the  exercise 
 of  prayer,  let  us  not  fail  to  place  that  one  with  which 
 this  passage  provides  us  ;  the  thought  of  the  arrival  of 
 prayer  (if  I  might  so  express  it)  in  the  presence-chamber 
 above.  There  is  great  force  in  those  words  of  comfort 
 addressed  to  Cornelius,  Thy  prayers... are  come  tip  for  a 
 memorial  before  God^.  These  poor  thoughts  and  words 
 of  ours,  with  which  we  present  ourselves,  in  the  house  of 
 prayer  or  in  the  secret  place  of  our  own  dwelling,  before 
 the  face  of  God,  have  a  meaning,  have  a  vitality,  they 
 do  not  return  into  our  own  bosom  ^  they  do  not,  at  least 
 they  need  not,  drop  back  wingless  upon  the  earth  ;  no, 
 they  quit  us,  they  go  up,  they  reach  heaven,  they  are 
 regarded  there  as  an  offering,  there  is  a  special  altar  for 
 
 *  Acts  X.  4.  ^  Psalm  xxxv.  13. 
 
2 1 6  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 them  there,  and  it  stands  in  front  of  the  very  throne  of 
 God.  And  if  at  times  they  lie  there  on  the  heavenly 
 altar  as  though  disregarded  and  unheard,  if  no  answer 
 seems  to  come,  if  we  rise  from  prayer  and  fancy  our- 
 selves unprofited,  let  this  passage  teach  us  how  this  is  : 
 the  prayers  are  only  waiting  for  the  incense  to  be  sprin- 
 kled on  them,  the  incense  which  God  provides,  the 
 incense  which  He  will  surely  provide  for  them  when  the 
 right  time  comes,  and  which  will  make  them  at  last  a7i 
 odour  of  a  sweet  smell,  a  sacrifice  seasonable  and  therefore 
 acceptable  to  Himself^.  There  was  given  him  much  incense, 
 that  he  viigJit  give  it  to  the  prayers  of  all  the  saints  for 
 their  offering  on  the  golden  altar  luJiich  was  before  the 
 throne.  And  the  smoke  of  that  iiicense  went  itp  for  the 
 prayers  of  the  saints,  that  is,  to  render  them  availing, 
 before  the  face  of  God.  Only  take  heed  that  your  prayers 
 be  offered  through  the  one  mediation  of  Christ  the  Lamb 
 of  God,  and  then  pray  07i  and  faint  not"^,  and  assuredly 
 the  time  of  their  acceptance  and  the  time  of  your 
 answer  will  come. 
 
 And  does  not  this  passage  give  us  what  I  may  in- 
 deed call  a  formidable  idea  of  the  consequences  of 
 Christian  prayers }  The  same  censer  which  has  just 
 been  used  to  sprinkle  the  sweet  incense  upon  the  prayers 
 of  saints,  is  instantly  afterwards  scattering  fire  upon  the 
 earth,  and  there  are  thunders  and  lightnings  and  voices 
 and  a7t  earthquake,  and  then  begins  that  series  of  judg- 
 ments of  which  the  issue  is  the  last  end.  How  exactly 
 is  this  the  aspect  of  prayer  presented  in  the  Parable  of 
 the  Unjust  Judge.  A7id  shall  7iot  God  ave7ige  His  ow7i 
 elect,  which  C7y  day  and  night  u7ito  Hi77z,  though  He  bear 
 
 ^  Phil.  iv.  1 8.  2  Lui^e  xviii.  i. 
 
XV, 
 
 ]  Chap.  VIII.  217 
 
 long  zvitk  them  ^  /  The  final  answer  to  Christian  prayer, 
 the  fulfilment  of  the  cry  uttered  from  generation  to  gene- 
 ration, Thy  kingdom  conte^,  is  the  discomfiture  and  de- 
 struction of  all  evil ;  sin  first  of  all,  and  with  it  all  those 
 who  have  determinately  taken  part  with  sin.  Yes,  the 
 prayer  of  a  Christian  man  may  be  set  forth,  as  the 
 Psalmist  says,  before  God  as  incense^ ;  but  it  returns  back 
 upon  earth  jn  the  shape  of  a  fire  to  consume  evil.  Let 
 us  take  good  heed  that  we  hate  our  sins,  and  struggle 
 against  them,  and  never  take  part  with  them ;  and  then, 
 when  sin  is  judged  ^  we  shall  not  be  condemned  with 
 it,  but  for  ever  set  free  in  that  perfect  liberty  which  is 
 the  very  rest  of  heaven. 
 
 2.  Lastly,  let  the  text  itself  suggest  to  us  the  ad- 
 vantage of  an  occasional  pause  and  stillness.  There  was 
 silence  in  heavejt  abont  the  space  of  half  an  hour.  I  speak 
 not  now  of  the  intended  meaning  of  the  words  in  con- 
 nection with  their  context :  that  we  have  looked  into : 
 but  I  say  that  they  have  a  just  application  derivable 
 from  their  very  sound  and  form.  The  world  lies  too 
 close  round  all  of  us  :  it  is  a  world  of  shadow,  not  of 
 substance ;  but  it  loudly  asserts  its  own  reality  and  per- 
 manence, and  we  are  prone,  for  peace  sake,  or  else 
 under  the  influence  of  its  false  boastings,  to  say  even 
 as  others,  that  the  world  is  all.  Much  do  we  all  need 
 seasons  of  reflection,  half-hours  of  silence,  that  we  may 
 at  last  comnume  ivith  our  ozvn  hearts  and  be  still^.  Yet 
 how  fearful  are  we  of  entering  into  that  close  communion 
 with  the  soul  within  us !  How  glad  are  we  to  drown  its 
 remonstrances,  to  lull  its  misgivings !    Who  is  there  of 
 
 ^  Luke  xviii.  7.  2  Matt.  vi.  10.  ^  Psalm  cxli.  2. 
 
 ■*  I  Cor.  xi.  32.  ^  Psalm  iv.  4. 
 
2i8  Revelation,  [lect.  xv. 
 
 us  all,  who  sees  himself  indeed  as  God  sees  him  ?  May- 
 God  make  us  willing  so  to  judge  ourselves  that  we  may 
 not  be  judged'^!  Be  brave  to  face  yourselves;  be  diligent 
 to  use  well  and  watchfully  every  season  of  solitude  and 
 seclusion ;  that  so,  when  the  time  comes  that  you  must 
 die  alone,  and  be  judged  alone,  and  alone  enter  into 
 eternity,  you  may  find  yourself  in  reality  not  alo7ie,  be- 
 cause  your  Saviour  3.nd  your  Father  is  with  you  '^  ! 
 
 ^  I  Cor.  xi.  31.  -  John  xvi.  32. 
 
 Fifth  Sunday  after  Easter, 
 May  5,   1861. 
 
LECTURE    XVI. 
 
 REVELATION    IX.    12. 
 
 One  woe  is  past ;  mid,  behold,  there  come  two  woes  mor^ 
 hereafter. 
 
 Four  trumpets  have  already  sounded :  three  yet  re- 
 main. The  trumpets  are  signals  of  war:  the  seven 
 trumpets,  to  the  ear  of  an  Israelite,  would  recall  the 
 idea  of  a  hostile  city,  compassed  about  by  the  army 
 of  God's  people,  and  destined  to  a  final  overthrow,  not 
 by  an  arm  of  Jlesh^,  but  by  the  special  intervention 
 and  interposition  of  God.  We  can  scarcely  err  in 
 seeing  thus  much  in  that  section  of  the  Book  of  Revela- 
 tion which  is  now  before  us.  Like  all  God's  words,  it 
 has  a  sound  of  terror  in  it,  and  a  sound  of  mercy.  // 
 was  a  cloud  and  darkness  to  them,  to  the  enemies  of 
 God — thus  was  it  written  of  the  pillar  of  the  divine 
 presence  in  the  passage  of  the  Red  Sea — bitt  it  gave 
 light  by  night  to  these^ ;  the  light  of  guidance,  the  light 
 of  comfort,  the  light  of  hope,  to  the  Israel  of  God^,  His 
 people,  His  chosen^.     In  the  days  of  St  John  the  Church 
 
 1  2  Chron.  xxxii.  8.  ^  Exod.  xiv.  20.  ^  Gal.  vi.  16. 
 
 *■  Isai.  xliii.  20. 
 
2  20  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 of  Christ  was  a  little  army  compassing  a  mighty  strong- 
 hold, a  city  great  and  zvalled  up  to  Jieaven  \  peopled  with 
 gigantic  powers,  and  ready  to  laugh  to  scorn  its  few  and 
 feeble  assailants.  How  hopeless  must  it  have  seemed  to 
 them  to  maintain  the  struggle  !  how  improbable  that  the 
 faith  of  Christ  could  even  exist  amidst  such  perils,  much 
 less  conquer  against  such  odds  !  But  the  vision  of  the 
 seven  trumpets  was  full  of  hope,  full  of  comfort,  for  them. 
 It  bade  them  remember  the  siege  of  Jericho  in  the  days 
 of  old,  when  by  faith  alone  the  victory  was  won,  with- 
 out one  blow  struck  or  one  engine  aimed  by  man. 
 Even  so  should  it  be  in  that  greater  and  more  mag- 
 nificent war  by  which  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  are 
 to  be  made  at  last  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and  of 
 His  Christ'^.  In  each  successive  generation  the  Church 
 is  to  be  listening  for  the  note  of  that  sacred  trumpet, 
 which  is  her  assurance  that  the  battle  is  the  Lord's^ ; 
 that  He,  in  nature  and  in  providence  as  well  as  in 
 grace,  is  working  and  warring ;  that  He  is  purposing 
 and  acting,  He  ruling  and  overruling,  in  all  the  affairs 
 of  men ;  and  that  in  the  end,  when  the  set  time  is  come*", 
 His  people  will  find  themselves  triumphant,  not  by  might 
 nor  by  power'"  of  theirs,  but  by  the  power  and  Spirit  of 
 the  Lord  of  hosts  Himself. 
 
 We  paused,  a  month  ago,  at  the  break  between 
 the  sounding  of  the  fourth  trumpet  and  of  the  fifth. 
 We  have  read  the  account  of  the  sweet  incense  being 
 put  to  the  prayers  of  the  saints,  lying  till  then  as  it 
 were  dormant  upon  the  golden  altar  before  the  throne. 
 That  was  the  sign  that  the  time  was    now  come   for 
 
 *  Deut.  i.  28.  2  Rey^  ^i.  15.  ^  i  Sam.  xvii.  47. 
 
 *  Psalm  cii.  13.  ^  Zech.  iv.  6. 
 
XVI.]  Chap,  IX.  22  1 
 
 their  being  answered.  And  we  have  read  how  the 
 very  censer,  which  had  just  been  used  to  give  fra- 
 grance to  the  prayers  of  the  saints,  was  immediately 
 afterwards  employed  to  scatter  fire  from  off  the  same 
 altar  upon  the  earth.  Prayer  has  two  aspects.  It 
 brings  an  answer  of  peace  to  the  offerer  :  it  brings  an 
 answer  of  judgment  upon  the  world  of  evil.  Shall  not 
 God  avenge  His  ozvn  elect,  zvhich  cry  day  and  night 
 unto  Hint,  thongJi  He  bear  long  zvith  them  ^  ?  We  have 
 read  also  of  the  consequences  of  the  sounding  of  the 
 first  four  trumpets:  first  of  the  plague  of  hail  and  fire 
 mingled  in  blood,  destroying  the  vegetation  of  the  earth  ; 
 secondly,  of  the  great  bicrning  mountain  cast  into  the 
 sea,  with  ruin  to  life  and  to  navigation  ;  thirdly,  of 
 the  great  star  tJirowji  from  heaven,  carrying  fatal  bit- 
 terness into  spring  and  river  waters ;  fourthly,  of  the 
 smiting  of  sim  and  moon  and  stars,  so  that  the  third 
 part  of  each  was  darkened.  And  we  just  reached  the 
 verse  read  again  as  this  night's  text,  in  which  we  are 
 told  that,  terrible  as  had  been  the  inflictions  prefigured 
 by  the  first  four  blasts  of  the  Angels*  trumpets,  there 
 would  be  a  woe  greater  and  more  fearful  still  in  the  three 
 which  are  to  follow. 
 
 To-night,  before  I  attempt  interpretation,  I  shall 
 read  to  you  the  two  passages  which  make  up  the  con- 
 tents of  the  9th  chapter,  and  which  bring  us  to  the 
 margin  of  that  double  episode  or  interlude  which,  in 
 the  case  of  the  trumpets  as  before  of  the  seals,  post- 
 pones the  arrival  of  the  seventh  judgment,  of  the  final 
 catastrophe.  You  will  follow  me  from  the  1st  verse  of 
 the  9th  chapter. 
 
 ^  Luke  xviii.  7. 
 
2  2  2  Revelation,  [lect, 
 
 Aiid^  the  fifth  ajigel  sounded ;  and  I  saw  a  star 
 fallen  out  of  the  heaven  upon  the  earth ;  and  tJiere  was 
 given  to  it,  or  rather  (as  the  fact  shows)  to  hi7n,  the  key 
 of  the  well  of  the  abyss. 
 
 In  St  Luke's  account  of  the  miracle  of  heaHng  the 
 man  possessed  with  devils,  we  read  that  they,  the  evil 
 spirits,  besought  Him,  Jesus,  that  He  would  7iot  com- 
 mand them  to  go  out  iazvay)  into  the  deep"^.  The  ex- 
 pression there  is  the  one  here  used.  The  deep  is  the 
 abyss,  the  bottomless  pit  of  hell,  the  home  of  the  devil 
 and  his  angels.  It  was  the  natural  place  (if  w^e  might 
 so  speak)  for  tlie  evil  spirits,  expelled  from  man,  to 
 be  sent  to  ;  and  they  were  eager  to  avoid  it.  In  the 
 passage  now  before  us  the  figurative  representation  is 
 that  hell,  the  abode  of  the  evil  spirits,  lies  below  the 
 earth,  and  communicates  with  it  by  an  opening  like 
 the  mouth  of  a  well,  having  upon  it  a  cover  closed 
 and  locked.  And  now  there  is  seen  a  star,  the  Scrip- 
 tural emblem  of  a  power  or  ruler,  not  falling,  but  al- 
 ready/^//^;/,  out  of  the  heaven  tipon  the  earth,  to  which, 
 or  to  whom,  the  key  of  this  cover  is  entrusted,  that  he 
 may  unlock  and  open  it.  We  shall  expect  under  this 
 figure  the  description  of  some  manifestation  of  evil,  of 
 some  working  of  diabolical,  of  Satanic,  agency,  which 
 has  before  been  coerced  and  suppressed. 
 
 And^  he  opened  the  zvell  of  the  abyss ;  and  there 
 went  tip  a  smoke  out  of  the  well,  as  the  smoke  of  a 
 great  furnace ;  and  the  sun  zvas  darkeiied,  and  the  air, 
 by  [in  consequence  of)  the  smoke  of  the  zvelL  And^  out 
 of  the  smoke  tJicre  came  forth  locusts  2ipon  the  earth ; 
 and  there  was  given  to  them  power  [authority)    as   the 
 
 ^  Verse  r.  -  Luke  viii.  31.  ^  Verse  2.  ^  Verse  3. 
 
XVI.]  Chap.  IX.  223 
 
 scorpions  of  the  earth  have  poiver.  And^  it  was  bidden 
 them  that  tJicy  shall  not  injure  the  grass  of  the  earth, 
 nor  any  green  thing,  nor  any  tree,  except,  but  only, 
 the  men  ivhoever  they  be  that  have  not  the  seal  of  God 
 on  their  foreheads :  referring  to  the  vision  of  the  seal- 
 ing in  the  7th  chapter.  And"^  it  was  given  them  that 
 they  should  not  kill  them,  but  that  they  shall  be  tor- 
 tured five  months ;  indicating  by  the  broken  number, 
 like  the  third  part  so  often  repeated  in  the  8th  chapter, 
 or  like  the  ten  days  of  the  2nd  chapter^,  that  even 
 this  woe  is  not  yet  final.  It  is  to  be  a  repeated,  re- 
 iterated, protracted  torture ;  not  giving  the  relief  of 
 death,  but  keeping  men  alive  in  their  misery.  Aiid 
 the  torture  of,  inflicted  by,  them  is  like  the  torture  of  a 
 scorpion  zvhen  it  has  struck,  or  wounded,  a  man.  A?td^ 
 in  those  days  mankind  shall  seek  death,  ajid  they  shall 
 not  find  it ;  and  they  shall  long  to  die,  and  death  fiees 
 from  them.  A  frequent  figure  in  Scripture  for  a  state 
 of  utter  distress  and  wretchedness.  Wherefore  is  light 
 given  to  him  that  is  in  misery,  and  life  unto  the  bitter  in 
 soul ;  which  long  for  death,  but  it  cometh  not ;  and  dig  for 
 it  more  than  for  hid  treasures  ^  ? 
 
 And^  the  likenesses,  or  forms,  of  the  locusts  were  like 
 horses  made  ready  unto  war ;  and  upon  their  heads  were 
 as  it  were  crozvns  like  gold ;  and  their  faces  were  as  faces 
 of  men  {Jmman  beings)  ;  and  ^  tJiey  had  hair  as  women  s 
 hair ;  and  their  teeth  ivere  as  of  lio7is ;  and  ^  they  had 
 breastplates  as  iron  breastplates  ;  and  tJie  sound  of  their 
 zvings  was  as  the  sound  of  cJiariots  of,  drawn  by,  many 
 
 1  Verse  i^.  ^  Verse  i^.  3  Rev.  ii.  lo. 
 
 *  Verse  6.  ^  Job.  iii.  20,  21.  ^  Verse  7. 
 
 ''  Verse  8.  ^  Verse  9. 
 
2  24  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 horses  running  to  war.  Ajid^  they  have  tails  like  those 
 of  scorpions,  aitd  stings  ;  and  in  their  tails  is  their  power 
 {authority)  to  injure  ma7iki7id  during  five  months  ;  having"^ 
 {and  they  have)  as  king  over  them  an  angel  of  the  abyss  ; 
 his  7zame  in  the  Hebrew  Abaddon,  and  in  the  Greek  tongue 
 he  hath  a  name  Apollyon,  the  destroyer.  The"^  one  Woe  is 
 gone :  behold,  there  come  yet  two  Woes  after  these  tilings. 
 
 The  imagery  of  this  passage  is  drawn  from  the 
 plague  of  locusts,  described  in  the  lOth  chapter  of  the 
 book  of  Exodus.  We  have  another  and  in  some  respects 
 fuller  account  of  that  fearful  infliction  in  the  prophecies 
 of  Joel.  We  can  ill  conceive  in  our  country  the  horrors 
 involved  in  the  appearance  of  a  swarm  of  those  devouring 
 insects.  You  have  heard  the  description  of  it  by  St 
 John :  now  listen  to  a  few  words  from  that  of  the 
 Prophet  Joel.  A  natioii  is  come  up  upon  my  land,  strong, 
 and  without  number,  whose  teeth  are  the  teeth  of  a  lion... 
 The  meat  offering  and  the  drink  offering  is  cut  off  from 
 the  house  of  the  Lord  :  The  priests,  the  Lord's  ministers, 
 mourn  ^...A  fire  devour etJi  before  them,  and  behind  them  a 
 flame  burneth :  the  land  is  as  the  garden  of  Eden  before 
 them,  and  behind  them  a  desolate  wilderness.,.  The  appear- 
 ance of  them  is  as  the  appearance  of  horses ;  and  as  horse- 
 men so  shall  they  riui.  Like  the  noise  of  chariots  on  the 
 tops  of  mountains  shall  they  leap. .  .as  a  strong  people  set  in 
 battle  array. . .  They  shall  run  like  mighty  meii ;  they  shall 
 climb  the  wall  like  men  of  war... The  earth  shall  quake 
 before  them  ;  the  Jieavens  shall  tremble :  the  sun  and  the 
 moon  shall  be  dark,  and  the  stars  shall  withdraw  their 
 shining^ . 
 
 1  Verse  lo.  -  Verse  ii.  ^  Verse  12. 
 
 *  Joel  i.  6,  9.  ^  Joel  ii.  3 — 5,  7,  10. 
 
XVI.]  Chap.  IX.  225 
 
 Aitd'^  the  sixth  ajigel  sounded ;  and  I  heard  a  single 
 voice  out  of  the  fonr  hor7is  of  the  golden  altar  zvhich  is 
 before  {in  presence  of)  God,  even  one  saying'^  to  the  sixth 
 angel,  him  ivJio  had  the  trumpet,  Loose  the  four  angels  that 
 are  bound  at  {near)  the  great  river  Euphrates.  And^ 
 there  were  loosed  the  four  angels  who  had  been  made  ready 
 unto  the  hour  ajid  day  and  month  and  year,  that  is,  the 
 exact  time  fixed  in  God's  counsels,  that  they  should  slay 
 the  third  part  of  mankind.  A  nd  ^  the  number  of  the  armies 
 of  the  Jiorse  {cavalry)  ivere  two  myriads  of  myriads,  twenty 
 thousand  times  ten  thousand,  two  hundred  millions  :  / 
 heard  the  number  of  them.  And^  thus  I  saw  tJie  horses  in 
 the  vision,  and  those  who  sat  -upon  them,  Jiaving  breast- 
 plates of  fire  and  jacintJi,  a  stone  the  colour  of  the  dark 
 purple  hyacinth,  and  brimstone ;  and  the  heads  of  the 
 horses  were  as  Jieads  of  lions,  and  out  of  their  mouths 
 goeth  forth  fire  and  smoke  and  brimstone.  From  ^  {by) 
 these  three  plagues  were  slain  the  third  part  of  mankind, 
 by  {in  consequence  of)  the  fire  and  the  smoke  and  the 
 brimstone  zvhich  goeth  forth  out  of  their  mouths.  For  ^  the 
 power  {authorityi)  of  the  horses  is  in  their  mouth  and  i)i 
 their  tails  ;  for  tJieir  tails  are  like  serpents,  Jiaving  heads, 
 and  through  them  they  injure.  And^  the  rest  of  mankind, 
 luJio  zvere  not  slain  tJirough  these  plagues,  repented  not  out 
 of,  so  as  to  leave,  the  zvorks  of  their  hands,  that  they 
 should  not  worship  the  evil  spirits,  and  tJie  idols  of  gold 
 and  of  silver  and  of  brass  and  of  stone  and  of  zvood,  which 
 can  neither  see  nor  hear  nor  walk  :  and^  they  repented  not 
 out  of  their  murdej's,  nor  out  of  their  sorceries,  nor  out  of 
 their  fornication,  nor  out  of  their  thefts. 
 
 ^  Verse  13.         ^  Verse  14.         ^  Verse  15.        ^  'Vejse  16.        *  Verse  17. 
 ^  Verse  18.  ^  Verse  rQ.  ^  Verse  20.  '^  Verse  21. 
 
 V.  R.  15 
 
2  26  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 Some  of  those  who  hear  me  to-night  will  remem- 
 ber that  I  said  at  the  beginning  of  this  course  of 
 Lectures  that  I  should  often  have  occasion  to  speak 
 doubtfully  as  to  the  meaning  of  portions  of  this  Book. 
 I  did  not  regard  that  as  a  reason  for  avoiding  the  Book 
 altogether.  Rather  does  it  exercise  care  and  patience, 
 humility  and  expectation,  and  in  the  same  degree  foster 
 in  us  some  of  the  highest  qualities  required  for  the  study 
 of  God's  Word  in  all  its  parts. 
 
 The  interpretation  of  the  passage  now  before  us  is 
 an  example  of  this  uncertainty.  I  can  but  give  you  the 
 result  of  my  own  anxious  study  of  it,  aided  by  such  helps 
 as  I  possess ;  and  briefly  say,  in  doing  so,  that  other 
 persons  have  been  led  to  other  and  very  various  con- 
 clusions. 
 
 In  five  out  of  the  six  visions  which  occur  in  this 
 section  of  the  Book  of  Revelation,  natural  objects  are 
 introduced  ;  trees  and  grass,  sea  and  ships,  rivers  and 
 fountains,  sun  and  moon  and  stars,  and  then  the  devour- 
 ing locusts.  Are  we  to  take  these  things  literally.'*  Are 
 we  to  say  that  judgments  are  predicted  having  these 
 natural  objects  for  their  scope  and  import }  The  answer 
 is,  that  in  every  one  of  these  visions  we  have  something 
 introduced,  some  instrument  or  some  agency,  wholly 
 supernatural ;  and  not  only  this,  but  wholly  unsuitable 
 to  the  description  if  restricted  to  natural  objects  and 
 taken  in  a  literal  sense.  Thus,  to  take  a  single  example, 
 the  great  mountain  burning  zvith  fire  and  cast  into  the  sea 
 at  once  removes  the  second  of  these  judgments  out  of 
 the  field  of  nature,  and  prevents  our  understanding  of 
 the  sea  and  ships  literally  that  result  which  is  thus 
 figuratively  and  typically  brought  to  pass. 
 
XVI.]  Chap,  IX.  227 
 
 The  trumpet  Is  a  martial  instrument.  The  whole 
 group  of  judgments  falling  under  the  section  of  the  trum- 
 pets has  war  for  its  general  subject.  A  series  of  fearful 
 images  Is  introduced,  of  which  the  burden  is,  over  and 
 over  again,  the  prediction  contained  In  the  discourse  of 
 our  Lord,  so  often  referred  to,  In  the  24th  chapter  of 
 St  Matthew  and  the  13th  of  St  Mark.  Nation  shall  rise 
 against  nation,  and  kingdom  against  kingdom.  Ye  shall 
 hear  of  wars  and  rumotirs  of  wars^. 
 
 War  is  one  of  God's  own  judgments  upon  the  earth. 
 It  Is  so  described  in  the  well-known  prophecy  of  Ezekiel. 
 /  bring  a  sivord  upon  that  land,  and  say,  Szvord,  go 
 through  the  land"^.  It  Is  difficult  for  us,  in  a  time  of 
 peace,  to  enter  Into  the  anguish  and  desolation  through 
 which  men  pass  when  that  peace  is  for  them  broken. 
 We  must  not  wish  to  be  able  to  realize  this.  Rather 
 ought  we  to  thank  God  day  by  day  for  allowing  us  In 
 this  country  to  live  on  without  experience  of  this  scourge 
 of  nations.  But  no  doubt  our  inexperience  personally 
 and  nationally  of  the  disasters  and  miseries  which  war 
 brings  Into  families  and  into  human  hearts  makes  such 
 passages  as  that  now  under  consideration  less  vivid  to 
 us,  less  solemn,  and  less  Impressive.  And  it  inclines  me 
 to  pass  more  rapidly  than  I  should  otherwise  have  done 
 through  the  detailed  descriptions  here  presented. 
 
 There  is  first  seen  a  great  and  fiery  hailstorm,  typi- 
 fying the  desolations  caused  by  that  plague  of  war  which 
 is  ever  and  anon  In  the  course  of  centuries  breaking 
 forth  anew  to  agitate,  afflict,  and  enfeeble  nations  at 
 enmity  with  God.  Those  who  look  carefully  Into  the 
 figures  of  Scripture,  and  throw  the  light  of  the  Old  Tes- 
 
 ^  Matt.  xxiv.  6,  7.  2  Ezek.  xiv.  17. 
 
 15—2 
 
2  28  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 tament  upon  the  New,  find  in  the  trees  and  grass,  upon 
 which  that  first  judgment  falls,  emblems  of  those  who 
 are  lofty  and  of  those  who  are  humble  in  station  ;  of  the 
 great  men  of  the  earth,  and  of  the  people.  In  like  man- 
 ner, in  the  second  judgment,  the  mountain  is  the  type 
 of  a  kingdom;  the  burning  mountain  of  a  kingdom  upon 
 which  the  fire  of  judgment  is  lighting :  the  sea,  of  the 
 world  and  its  nations ;  the  sea  becoming  blood,  of  a 
 wide-spread  loss  of  human  life  by  the  sword  and  its  con- 
 sequences. So  again,  in  the  third  judgment,  the  star  is 
 a  ruler ;  the  burning  star,  a  ruler  on  fire  with  the  lust  of 
 ambition,  conquest,  and  vengeance :  the  rivers  are  the 
 emblem  of  affluence  and  of  national  prosperity  ;  and 
 their  bitterness,  of  the  poisoning  as  it  were  of  the  springs 
 of  such  prosperity.  And  the  fourth  judgment,  with  its 
 darkening  of  two-thirds  of  the  lights  of  heaven,  indicates 
 long  periods  of  distress  and  anguish,  not  yet  indeed  the 
 last  and  most  permanent  of  all,  but  still  seasons  pro- 
 tracted and  repeated  :  if  one  look  itnto  the  earth,  behold 
 darkness  and  sorrow,  a7id  the  light  is  darkened  in  the  hea- 
 vens thereof^. 
 
 For  the  fifth  judgment,  that  of  the  plague  of  locusts, 
 we  have  an  inspired  interpreter  in  the  prophet  Joel. 
 He  has  already  used  that  terrible  scourge  as  a  type  of 
 hostile  invasion  ;  describing  the  inroad  of  the  Assyrian 
 host  under  Sennacherib  in  figures  borrowed  from  those 
 insect  swarms.  In  the  passage  before  us  many  expres- 
 sions, as  we  have  seen,  are  precisely  the  same  with  those 
 of  the  Old  Testament  Prophet.  But  there  are  some 
 which  belong  wholly  to  this  Book.  There  is  the  opening 
 of  the  bottomless  pit  by  the  instrumentality  of  a  star  in 
 
 1  Isai.  V.  30. 
 
XVI.]  Chap.  IX.  229 
 
 human  likeness.  The  star  is  again  perhaps  a  ruler.  It 
 is  thrown  from  heaven,  to  indicate  the  judicial  character 
 of  that  which  follows  :  for  heaven  is  throughout  as  much 
 the  seat  of  jiLdgment  as  the  throne  of  grace^.  The  opening 
 of  the  pit  is  followed  by  that  rising  smoke,  the  product 
 of  the  fire  of  hell,  which  denotes  the  diffusion  on  earth 
 of  the  diabolical  spirit  of  cruelty  and  hatred.  Out  of 
 this  smoke  come  the  locusts  :  out  of  the  diabolical  spirit 
 diffused  on  earth  come  those  desolating  hordes  of  com- 
 batants which  resemble  the  fatal  locust-swarms,  in  their 
 multitude,  in  their  suddenness,  and  in  their  devastation. 
 To  the  well-known  traits  of  the  locust  is  added  also,  to 
 complete  the  horror,  the  malice  of  the  scorpion.  To  the 
 likeness,  marked  also  in  Joel,  of  horses  and  chariots 
 rushing  to  battle,  is  added  here  the  crown  which  be- 
 tokened sovereignty  over  the  conquered,  and  the  long 
 hair,  as  of  women,  which  amongst  ancient  nations  was 
 the  sign  of  an  uncivilized  and  barbarian  race.  But  first 
 and  last  stands  the  sign  of  the  origination  of  this  woe 
 from  Satanic  influence,  and  its  management  throughout 
 by  Satanic  agency. 
 
 And  thus  we  pass  to  the  sixth  judgment.  A  voice  is 
 heard  from  among  the  four  horns  of  that  golden  altar  on 
 which  lie  for  sacrifice  the  prayers  of  saints.  It  is  the  cry 
 of  God's  oppressed  people  on  earth  which  brings  down 
 this  judgment  upon  the  world  of  their  oppressors'.  The 
 judgment  itself  consists  in  setting  free  four  Angels 
 hitherto  bound ;  in  giving  scope,  that  is,  to  the  operation 
 of  a  particular  agency  thus  far  restrained  by  God's  long- 
 suffering  towards  the  world  of  the  ungodly^.     The  Angels 
 
 ^  Psalm  cxxii.  5  (Prayer-Book  Version).     Heb.  iv.  16. 
 2  Exod.  iii.  9.  ^2  Pet.  ii.  5. 
 
230  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 are  four  in  number,  in  allusion  to  the  four  corners  of  the 
 earth,  or  the  four  winds,  to  express  the  world-wide 
 character  of  the.  judgments  foretold.  The  place  of  their 
 binding  first  and  then  of  their  loosing  is  the  river 
 Euphrates ;  marked  in  the  Old  Testament  as  the  bound- 
 ary between  the  kingdom  of  Israel  and  the  kingdoms  of 
 the  East,  whether  Assyrian,  Chaldean,  or  Persian ;  as 
 the  limit  from  beyond  which  came  the  host  of  invading 
 nations  to  make  war  upon  the  nations  and  upon  the 
 city  of  God.  The  Euphrates  is  thus  used  as  a  general 
 emblem  of  the  seat  of  God's  hosts  of  war  gathered  for 
 attack  upon  an  unbelieving  or  apostate  world.  Just  as  we 
 read  in  the  13th  chapter  of  the  Prophet  Isaiah  :  The  noise 
 of  a  multitude  hi  the  mountains,  like  as  of  a  great  people : 
 a  tumultuotis  noise  of  the  kingdoms  of  nations  gathered 
 together :  the  Lord  of  hosts  muster eth  the  host  of  the  battle. 
 They  come  from  a  far  country,  from  the  e7id  of  heave7t, 
 even  the  Lord,  and  the  weapojis  of  His  indignation,  to 
 destroy  the  whole  laiid^.  Who  the  enemy  is,  against 
 whom  the  hosts  of  the  Lord  are  thus  mustered,  may 
 be  gathered  from  the  20th  and  21st  verses.  He  is 
 the  world  sunk  in  sin,  and  therefore  hostile  to  the 
 Church. 
 
 And  we  shall  understand  that  the  predictions  of  these 
 two  chapters,  like  those  contained  in  the  section  of  the 
 seven  seals,  are  manifold,  not  single,  in  their  fulfilment. 
 .Wherever  war  has  been  employed,  under  God's  over- 
 ruling Providence,  to  humble  pride  and  to  break  up,  as 
 it  has  done  again  and  again,  overgrown  and  overbearing 
 powers,  there  have  these  chapters  had  an  accomplish- 
 ment again  and  again ;  and  each  separate  accomplish- 
 
 ^  Isai.  xiii.  4,  5. 
 
XVI 
 
 .]  Chap.  IX.  231 
 
 ment  has  been  in  its  turn  a  prediction  and  prognostica- 
 tion of  the  greatest  accompHshment  and  of  the  last. 
 Those  hordes  of  invading  barbarians  which  broke  up  the 
 monster  Empire  of  Rome,  and  out  of  whose  conquests 
 Modern  Europe  eventually  grew,  were  one  fulfilment — 
 they  were  not  the  only  fulfilment — of  the  prophecies  on 
 which  we  have  dwelt  to-night.  Never  were  the  figures 
 of  the  locust-swarms,  with  their  teeth  as  of  lions  and 
 their  hair  as  of  women,  more  strikingly  exemplified  than 
 in  those  irruptions.  But  they  did  not  exhaust  the  pro- 
 phecies before  us.  When  the  mighty  power  of  the  French 
 Empire  at  the  beginning  of  this  century  was  broken  up 
 by  a  coalition  as  of  God's  hosts  mustering  for  the  battle 
 against  human  pride  and  human  ambition,  then  was 
 there  a  new  fulfilment,  itself  prophetic  of  another  and 
 another  until  the  last  of  all.  The  words  of  God  are 
 manifold  in  their  application,  just  because  they  deal  not 
 with  instances  only,  but  with  principles. 
 
 But  it  is  time  that  I  should  recall  your  thoughts  from 
 general  and  historical  matters  to  such  as  are  individual 
 and  personal. 
 
 I.  And  amongst  these  I  must  place  first  the  indica- 
 tions here  given  of  the  connection  between  earth  and 
 hell.  We  have  often  had  occasion  in  commenting  upon 
 this  Book  of  Scripture  to  speak  of  the  nearness  to  us  of 
 heaven,  and  of  the  world  in  which  God  is.  To-night  we 
 are  reminded  that  if  men  will  not  have  heaven  open  to 
 them,  if  they  will  break  ofT  the  connection  between  earth 
 and  heaven,  they  must  expect  to  have  that  between  earth 
 and  hell  opened.  Man  and  his  earth  lies  between  two 
 worlds  of  spirit,  and  one  or  the  other  must  be  actively 
 operative  upon  him.     Little  do  they  know  of  the  things 
 
232  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 of  God  who  affect  to  doubt  the  existence  of  either;  to 
 whom  the  idea  of  spirit  and  spiritual  agency  Is  a  vision- 
 ary and  unreal  thing.  As  heaven  Is  above  us,  separated 
 from  our  view  but  by  a  screen  or  veil  (I  might  almost 
 say)  of  earthly  atmosphere ;  so  is  hell  beneath  us,  and  it 
 has  an  aperture  upon  earth,  always  existing,  and  some- 
 times unlocked  and  opened.  We  ourselves,  with  all  our 
 boasted  independence,  and  freedom  of  will  and  action, 
 are  strangely  influenced  oftentimes,  both  for  good  and 
 evil,  by  powers  and  agencies  not  our  own ;  powers  of  the 
 world  beneath,  or  else,  by  God's  mercy,  powers  of  the 
 world  above  us\  And  between  these  two  unseen  worlds 
 we  live  and  move  generally  unconscious.  We  think 
 that  our  own  world,  the  world  of  sense  and  of  time,  Is 
 all  in  all.  We  neither  fear  the  infection  of  the  unseen 
 world  of  evil,  nor  desire  and  seek  the  communion  of  the 
 unseen  world  of  good.  My  brethren,  the  belief  In  either 
 of  these  would  be  good  for  us.  We  greatly  want  serious- 
 ness, and  we  greatly  want  decision.  We  have  no  sense 
 of  danger.  We  hope  to  drift  through  life,  and  to  find 
 ourselves  at  last  In  a  painless  state,  if  not  In  a  world  of 
 glory.  It  Is  this  idleness,  this  dreaminess,  of  soul  and 
 spirit,  which  makes  the  Lord's  Table  empty,  and  suffers 
 so  many  of  us  to  go  on  calling  Christ  Lord^  Lord,  with- 
 out once  setting  ourselves  to  do  the  things  which  He 
 says'^. 
 
 2.  And  there  Is  a  special  lesson  contained  for  us  in 
 the  closing  verses  of  the  9th  chapter,  which  I  the  more 
 willingly  notice  because  It  is  in  exact  harmony  with  the 
 teaching  of  this  day's  Gospel.     The  rest  of  the  men,  which 
 
 1  Heb.  vi.  5.  2  Lui^e  vi.  46. 
 
XVI.]  Chap.  IX. 
 
 233 
 
 were  not  killed  by  these  plagiLes,  yet  repented  7iot  of  the 
 zuorks  of  their  hands.  If  one  zvent  nnto  the^n  from  the 
 dead,  they  will  repent ;  such  is  the  idea  of  human  nature  : 
 but  the  answer  is  ready,  If  they  hear  not  Moses  and  the 
 prophets,  neither  will  they  be  persuaded  though  one  rose 
 from  the  dead^.  God's  visitations  pass  lightly  over  souls 
 asleep  in  sin.  They  miss  altogether  their  scope  and 
 purpose.  They  ascribe  them  all  to  other  causes  than 
 His  will  or  His  act.  War  itself  with  all  its  terrible 
 consequences  they  ascribe  to  human  motive,  and  they 
 never  see  in  it  the  scourge  of  God.  Is  it  not  so  with  all 
 God's  providences  ?  Which  of  us  has  not  lived  through 
 a  thousand  of  them,  and  never  seen,  never  noticed,  never 
 given  heed  to  one  ?  Death,  sudden  death,  coming  into 
 our  street  or  into  our  home,  which  of  us  has  not  hardened 
 his  heart  again,  after  a  very  brief  pause,  against  lessons 
 which  this  ought  to  teach,  and  sinned  on  as  before  ?  O 
 the  desperate  hardness  of  the  human  heart !  What  can 
 melt  it,  save  omnipotent  grace  "^  I  wish  I  could  hope 
 that  some  of  those  who  hear  me  to-night  were  deeply 
 impressed  with  their  own  obdurate  impenitence.  It  is 
 not  all,  but  it  is  something,  that  we  be  so.  I  am  sure  it 
 is  one  of  the  lessons  of  life  ;  one  of  its  surest,  saddest, 
 and  most  solemn  lessons.  How  is  it,  we  say  to  our- 
 selves, and  well  may  we  say  it,  that  I  do  not  feel  as  I 
 ought  this  stroke  of  chastisement ;  this  loss,  this  anxiety, 
 this  sickness,  this  death  }  I  feel  that  I  ought  to  feel,  but 
 I  feel  it  not.  Happy  they  who  from  this  lesson  as  to 
 their  own  hardness  draw  the  right  inference  as  to  their 
 need  of  God's  grace ;  and  not  only  draw  the  inference, 
 
 ^  Luke  xvi.  30,  31. 
 
2  34  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 for  that  perhaps  we  all  do,  but  also  act  upon  it,  by  call- 
 ing upon  God  to  break  in  pieces  tJie  netJier  niillstojie^  of 
 their  heart,  and  make  them  repentant,  believing,  humble, 
 earnest  men ! 
 
 3.  My  brethren,  I  pause  to-night  in  fear  lest  we  be 
 hearers  of  the  Word  of  God,  a7id  not  doers'^.  I  tremble 
 lest  we  be  too  much  separating  the  two  things,  hearing 
 and  doing.  How  dreadful  will  it  be  for  us,  ministers 
 and  people  alike,  if  with  a  certain  degree  of  interest  in 
 the  disclosures  of  the  Word  of  God,  a  certain  pleasure 
 in  listening  to  its  interpretation,  and  even  in  taking  part 
 in  the  worship  which  accompanies  it,  we  be  combining 
 a  thoroughly  worldly  and  careless  life  ;  much  more  a 
 life  of  self-indulgence,  folly,  or  sin  !  But  stop  short  of 
 this  ;  say  only,  a  life  of  indecision,  of  halting  between  two 
 opinions^,  of  faith  in  Christ  and  of  compromise  with  evil. 
 Not  in  displeasure,  dear  brethren,  but  in  some  disappoint- 
 ment, some  sadness,  some  sorrow,  because  we  think  that 
 our  Lord  Himself,  looking  upon  us  from  heaven,  must 
 feel  this  for  us,  would  we  urge  you,  and  press  it  also 
 upon  ourselves,  that  we  rest  not  in  the  condition  of  the 
 wayside,  of  the  shallow,  of  the  thorn-choked  and  world- 
 encumbered  hearer,  but  anxiously  pray  and  labour  that 
 we  may  in  deed  and  in  truth  bring  some  fruit  toperfectioji^. 
 The  judgments  of  God,  in  this  world  and  in  eternity,  are 
 to  light  upon  those  men  who  have  not  the  seal  of  God 
 in  their  foreheads.  Let  us  he  jealous  over  ourselves  luith 
 godly  jealousy^  that  that  mark  be  ours !  Then  shall  all 
 things^  however  outwardly,  however  extensively  disas- 
 trous, work  together  for  our  good^.      Who  is  he,  and  what 
 
 1  Job  xli.  24.  2  James  I.  22.  ^  i  Kings  xviii.  21. 
 
 *  Luke  viii.  14.  ^  2  Cor.  xi.  2.  **  Rom.  viii.  28. 
 
XVI.]  Chap.  IX.  235 
 
 is  that,  that  will  harm  you,  if  ye  be  folloivers^  of  the 
 Lamb  that  was  slain  ?  God  grant  to  us  in  this  place  a 
 work  real,  substantial,  and  abiding ;  an  impression  heart- 
 deep  ;  souls  penetrated  with  His  grace,  and  lives  trans- 
 formed by  His  power ! 
 
 ^  I  Pet.  iii.  13. 
 
 First  Sunday  after  Trinity, 
 June  2,  1861. 
 
LECTURE    XVII. 
 
 REVELATION  X.   8. 
 
 And  the  voice  which  I  heard  from  heave7t  spake  unto  me 
 again,  and  said,  Go  and  take  the  little  book  which  is 
 open  in  the  hand  of  the  angel  which  standeth  7ipon  the 
 sea  and  upon  the  earth. 
 
 We  are  now  in  the  pause  between  the  sixth  trumpet 
 and  the  seventh.  It  has  already  been  noticed  that  this 
 pause  or  interlude,  like  that  of  the  7th  chapter  between 
 the  opening  of  the  sixth  and  of  the  seventh  seal,  has 
 two  parts  ;  the  one  occupying  the  loth  chapter,  and  the 
 other  the  first  thirteen  verses  of  the  i  ith.  It  is  with  the 
 former  that  we  are  concerned  this  evening. 
 
 We  have  read  of  judgments  of  every  description  be- 
 falling the  world  of  the  ungodly.  Is  there  to  be  any 
 end  of  these  things  1  Are  they  to  continue,  are  they  to 
 be  for  ever  repeating  themselves,  generation  after  gene- 
 ration, without  limit  and  without  change  t  The  answer 
 to  this  question  will  be  found  in  the  chapter  now  before 
 us.  A  further  question  will  arise,  as  to  the  condition  of 
 God's  servants  in  a  world  upon  which  His  judgments 
 are  falling  and  to  fall ;  as  to  their  position,  duty,  power, 
 
LECT.  XVII.]      Revelation.     Chap.  x.  237 
 
 and  hope  ;  which  will  meet  its  reply  in  the  section  which 
 follows. 
 
 And^  I  saw  artother  mighty  angel  going  down  out  of 
 the  heaven^  with  a  cloud  cast  about  him  ;  and  the  rainboiv 
 was  upo7t  his  head,  a?zd  his  countenance  was  as  the  sti?t, 
 and  his  feet  \YQ\'Q.  as  pillars  of  fire  ;  and^  havi?ig  in  his 
 hand  a  little  roll  opened. 
 
 Another  mighty  angel.  The  same  combination  of 
 words,  a  strong  or  mighty  angel,  occurred  in  the  5th 
 chapter.  And  there  also  it  is  found  in  connection  with 
 a  roll  or  book.  /  saw  a  mighty  angel  proclaiming  in  a 
 loud  voice,  Who  is  worthy  to  open  the  book  and  to  loose  its 
 seven  seals^  ?     A  7nighty  angel:  and  here,  another  mighty 
 
 In  other  respects  there  is  a  wide  difference  between 
 the  two  passages.  We  are  not  to  imagine  that  the  roll, 
 or  book,  is  the  same  there  and  here.  The  form  of  the 
 word  is  different.  Here  the  diminutive  form  is  used 
 with  emphasis.  There  it  was  a  roll  :  here  it  is  ex- 
 pressly called  a  little  roll.  There  the  roll  is  seen  strong- 
 ly sealed  :  here  it  is  already  opened.  There  no  one  is 
 found  worthy  to  opeti  or  even  to  look  upon  it  ^ ;  the  mighty 
 Angel  can  but  make  proclamation  concerning  it  in  a 
 tone  of  doubt  and  even  of  despair,  Who  is  worthy  to 
 open  the  book  ?  here  an  Angel  holds  it,  holds  it  open  in 
 his  hand,  and  the  Prophet  who  sees  the  vision  is  bidden 
 to  take  it  out  of  the  Angel's  hand.  The  other,  the  roll 
 of  the  5th  chapter,  was  the  book  of  God's  counsels  as  a 
 whole  ;  the  time  for  its  communication  is  not  yet ;  when 
 its  seventh  seal  is  broken,  then  shall  the  end  come^ ;  and 
 
 ^  Verse  i.  -  V^erse  i.  ^  Rev.  v.  2. 
 
 *  Rev.  V.  3.  °  Matt.  xxiv.  14. 
 
238  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 they  who  are  privileged  to  read  it  must  be  already  not 
 on  earth,  but  in  heaven  :  this,  the  little  roll  of  the  lOth 
 chapter,  is  one  particular  portion  or  section  of  prophecy, 
 which  is  given  to  St  John,  while  still  in  the  body,  to 
 communicate,  however  enigmatically,  to  the  Church  on 
 earth. 
 
 But  though  the  little  book  here  brought  into  view 
 contains  not  the  whole  but  only  a  particular  part  of 
 God's  counsels,  there  is  no  lack  of  importance  or  of 
 majesty  in  the  circumstances  of  its  revelation.  The 
 Angel  who  holds  it  is  clothed  in  a  cloud ;  and  has  upon 
 his  head  the  rainbow,  that  well-known  image  of  God's 
 faithfulness,  and  in  particular  of  His  reviving  and  re- 
 storing mercy  after  a  season  of  severe  judgment  ;  and 
 his  face  shines  as  the  sun,  and  his  feet  are  as  pillars  of 
 fire  for  majesty  and  strength ;  and  he  set  his  right  foot 
 on  the  sea,  and  the  left  on  the  earth,  as  though  he  would 
 assert  the  right  of  Him  from  whom  he  came  to  an  abso- 
 lute and  unbounded  sovereignty  over  every  part  of  crea- 
 tion ;  and^  he  cried  with  a  great  voice  eveji  as  a  lion 
 roareth.  And  when  he  thus  cried ^  the  seven  thunders  spake 
 {tittered^  their  own^  that  is,  their  several  distinctive,  voices. 
 And^  when  the  seven  thunders  spake,  had  spoken,  /  was 
 about  to  write :  and  I  heard  a  voice  out  of  the  heaven,  say- 
 ing, Seal  the  things  which  the  seven  thunders,  spake,  and 
 write  them  not. 
 
 The  expression  the  seven  thnnders  does  not,  I  believe, 
 occur  elsewhere  in  Scripture.  Thunder  is  emblematical 
 of  the  voice  of  God ;  what  St  John  heard  was  some 
 utterance  of  the  mind  and  purpose  and  will  of  God  : 
 and  the  selection  of  the  number  seven,  as  a  complete 
 
 1  Verse  3.  2  y^yse  4. 
 
XVII 
 
 ,]  Chap.  X.  239 
 
 and  a  sacred  number,  is  one  which  we  have  frequently 
 noticed  already  in  this  Book.  We  may  perhaps  recall 
 the  expression  of  the  29th  Psalm  ;  it  is  the  glorious  God 
 that  inaketJi  the  thimder^ :  and  again  that  of  the  12th 
 chapter  of  St  John,  where  we  read  that  when  there  came 
 a  voice  from  Jieave7i  in  answer  to  the  prayer  of  Jesus, 
 Father,  glorify  Thy  name ;  the  people  that  stood  by  and 
 heard  it  said  that  it  t/mndered ;  others  said,  An  angel 
 spake  to  Him  ^ 
 
 Whatever  on  this  occasion  the  divine  voice  uttered, 
 St  John  was  not  allowed  to  write  it  for  the  immediate 
 instruction  of  the  Church.  He  was  charged  to  seal  up, 
 instead  of  opening,  that  which  the  seven  thunders  had 
 spoken  in  his  hearing.  It  is  a  vain  curiosity  therefore 
 which  prompts  any  one  to  speculate  upon  these  myste- 
 rious sounds. 
 
 And^  the  angel  zuhom  I  saw  standing  upon  the  sea 
 and  npon  the  earth  lifted  np  his  right  hand  to  the  heaven, 
 and^  sware  in  (by)  Him  ivho  liveth  tmto  the  ages  of  the 
 ages,  who  created  the  heaven  and  tJie  tilings  that  are  in  it, 
 and  the  earth  and  the  things  that  aix  in  it^  and  the  sea  and 
 the  things  that  are  in  it,  that  there  shall  no  longer  be  time, 
 that  is,  loss  of  time,  delay,  postponement,  biit^  that  in 
 the  days  of  the  voice  of  the  seventh  angel,  whenever  he  is 
 about  to  sound  with  the  trumpet,  tJien  ivas  finished — it  is 
 expressed  retrospectively,  as  it  will  appear  after  the 
 event,  and  to  denote  the  certainty  of  that  event  as  though 
 already  witnessed — then  zvas  finished,  that  is,  then  is 
 destined  to  be  finished,  the  mystery  of  God,  as  He  evange- 
 lized His  ozvn  servants  the  prophets  ;  that  is,  according  to 
 
 1  Psalm  xxix.  3  (Prayer-Book  Version).  ^  Jq^^  xii.  28,  29. 
 
 2  Verse  5.  ^  Verse  6.  ^  Verse  7. 
 
240  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 tJie  glad  tidmgs'^  which  He  conveyed  to,  and  then  by, 
 His  servants  the  prophets. 
 
 T/ie  mystery  of  God  is  God's  secret.  A  mystery  in 
 Scripture  does  not  mean  something  which  cannot  be  un- 
 derstood or  explained  ;  it  is  never  applied  to  such  mat- 
 ters, for  example,  as  the  origin  of  evil,  or  the  doctrine  of 
 the  Trinity  in  Unity ;  it  does  mean  a  secret,  but  then 
 a  secret  may  be  told,  and  when  told  is  no  mystery.  The 
 mystery  or  secret  of  God  means  therefore  the  whole  of 
 His  plan  and  of  His  counsel  concerning  this  earth  in  its 
 present  state  of  discipline  and  of  imperfection  ;  all  that 
 God  purposes  to  do  upon  it  and  towards  it,  even  till  that 
 which  we  read  of  as  the  time  of  the  end^,  the  close  of  this 
 His  last  dispensation,  and  the  introduction  of  that  new 
 heavens  and  new  earth  whei^eiit  dwelleth  righteousness  ^. 
 
 •The  statement  then  is  that  a  time  is  fixed  in  God's 
 counsels  for  the  completion  and  termination  of  the  pre- 
 sent mixed  state  ;  that  the  sounding  of  the  seventh  trum- 
 pet, according  to  the  figurative  language  of  this  portion 
 of  the  Book  of  Revelation,  shall  be  the  signal  for  the 
 close  of  that  which  is ;  and  that  this  purpose  and  deter- 
 mination of  God  is  good  news  to  His  servants. 
 
 The  language  is  largely  borrowed  from  the  prophet 
 Daniel.  The  very  question  which  we  have  regarded  as 
 the  key  to  this  chapter  is  there  to  be  found  in  words : 
 How  long  shall  it  be  to  the  end  of  these  zuonders  ?  And 
 then  the  answer  itself:  And  I  heaj-d  the  man  clothed  in 
 linen,  which  zvas  upon  the  zvaters  of  the  river,  when  he  lift 
 tip  his  right  hand  aiid  his  left  hand  tcnto  heaven,  and 
 sware  by  Him  that  liveth  for  ever,  that  it  shall  be  for  a 
 time,  times,  and  an  half ;  and  when  He  shall  have  accom- 
 
 ^  Luke  viii.  i.  ^  Dan.  xii.  4,  9.  ^  2  Pet.  iii.  13. 
 
.]  Chap.  X.  241 
 
 XVII 
 
 plished  to  scatter  the  power  of  the  holy  people,  all  these 
 things  shall  be  finished.  A  nd  I  heard,  but  I  understood 
 not :  then  said  /,  O  my  Lord,  what  shall  be  the  end  of 
 these  things?  And  lie  said,  Go  thy  zvay,  Daniel ;  for  the 
 words  are  closed  np  and  sealed  till  the  time  of  the  end'^. 
 How  beautiful  an  illustration  of  that  which  St  Peter 
 describes  as  the  condition  of  God's  prophets  in  old 
 time,  enquiring  and  searcJiing  diligently ,  searching  what  or 
 zuJiat  manner  of  time  the  Spirit  of  Christ  which  zvas  in 
 them  did  signify,  and  obliged  to  content  themselves  with 
 the  knowledge  that  not  unto  themselves  but  unto  us  they 
 did  minister  the  things"^  which  they  darkly  uttered  ! 
 
 And'^  the  voice  zuhich  /before  heard  out  of  the  heaven, 
 I  heard  it  again  talking  zvitJi  me,  and  saying,  Go,  take  the 
 little  roll  which  is  opened  in  the  Jiand  of  the  angel  zvho 
 stands  on  the  sea  and  on  the  earth.  And^  I  zvent  azvay  to 
 the  angel,  telling  Jiini  to  give  me  the  little  roll.  And  he 
 saith  to  me.  Take  and  eat  it  tip :  and  it  shall  make  thy 
 inzvard part  bitter,  but  in  thy  mouth  it  shall  be  as  sweet  as 
 honey.  And'""  I  took  the  little  roll  out  of  the  hand  of  the 
 angel,  and  ate  it  up :  and  it  was  in  my  mouth  as  honey 
 sweet ;  and  zvJien  I  ate  it,  my  inzvard  part  zvas  made  bitter. 
 Aitd^  they  say  to  me,  that  is,  it  was  said  to  me,  Thou 
 must  again,  as  before  in  the  vision  of  the  seals  and  of 
 the  trumpets,  prophesy  zvith  regard  to  peoples  and  with 
 regard  to  nations  and  tongues  and  kings  many.  And  the 
 little  roll  is  no  doubt  the  word  of  this  coming  prophecy  ; 
 even  of  the  prophecies  which  are  to  follow  in  subsequent 
 chapters  of  this  Book. 
 
 Here  also  we  shall  be  reminded  of  an  earlier  prophet. 
 
 1  Dan.  xii.  6 — 9. 
 ■*  Verse  9. 
 
 2  I  Pet.  i.  10 — 12. 
 5  Vej'se  10. 
 
 3  Verse  8. 
 6  Verse  11 
 
 V.  R. 
 
 16 
 
242  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 Ezekiel.  Be  not  thou  rebelliotcs,  like  that  ir hellions  house  : 
 open  thy  mouth,  and  eat  that  I  give  thee.  And  when 
 I  looked,  beliold,  an  hand  was  sent  unto  ^ne :  and  lo,  a  roll 
 of  a  book  was  thei'ein...a7id  there  was  'ivritte7i  therein 
 lamentations  and  mourning  and  woe^,,.So  I  opened  my 
 mouth,  a7id  He  caused  me  to  eat  that  roll... and  it  was  in 
 my  mouth  as  honey  for  sweetness ..  .Moreover ,  He  said  unto 
 me — here  is  the  explanation  of  the  symbolical  act — all 
 my  ivords  that  I  shall  speak  tmto  thee,  receive  iii  thirte 
 heart,  and  hear  ivith  thine  eai^s :  and  go,  get  thee  to  them  of 
 the  captivity,  unto  the  children  of  thy  people,  arid  speak  tinto 
 them,  and  tell  them,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God^.  He  who 
 would  cany  God's  words  to  another  must  first  be  im- 
 pressed and  penetrated  with  them  himself.  He  must 
 not  only  hear^  read,  mark,  and  learjt,  but  also  (according 
 to  the  Scriptural  figure)  inwardly  digest '  them.  Thy 
 tuords,  another  Prophet  says,  were  fozcnd,  and  I  did  eat 
 them  ;  and  Thy  word  zvas  tmto  me  the  joy  and  i^ejoicing 
 of  mine  heai't"^ .  Hozu  sweet,  \hQ  Psalmist  says,  a7^e  Thy 
 words  unto  i7iy  taste,  yea,  sweeter  tha7i  ho7iey  to  i7iy  mouth  *. 
 And  yet  this  same  word  which  is  sweet  to  the  taste  is 
 found  afterwards  bitter  in  the  digestion.  Ezekiel  him- 
 self, in  a  verse  closely  following  upon  those  already 
 quoted,  tells  how  the  spirit  lifted  hi77z  up,  a7id  took  him 
 away,  a7id  he  we7it  i7i  bitte7'7iess,  i7i  the  heat  of  his  spirit'^. 
 The  very  sweetness  of  the  divine  revelation  has  an  after- 
 taste of  bitterness  in  the  thought  of  its  bearing  upon  the 
 world  of  man. 
 
 I  would  draw  three  grave  lessons,  in  conclusion,  from 
 the  words  which  have  to-night  occupied  us. 
 
 1  Ezek.  ii.  8 — 10.  ^  Ezek.  iii.  2,  3,  10,  11.  ^  Jer.  xv.  16. 
 
 ^  Psalm  cxix.  103.  ^  Ezek.  iii.  14. 
 
XVII.]  Chap.  X.  243 
 
 I.  The  mystery  of  God  is  a  great  deep^.  However 
 much  Pie  reveals,  there  is  more  behind.  The  Httle 
 book  may  be  taken  out  of  the  Angel's  hand,  but  the 
 voices  of  the  seven  thunders  are  at  the  same  moment 
 sealed  up  from  man. 
 
 Would  to  God,  my  brethren,  that  there  were  in  us 
 more  of  desire,  more  of  curiosity,  as  to  God's  counsels ! 
 more  of  that  spirit  of  which  we  read  in  an  earlier  portion 
 of  this  book,  when  St  John  zuept  imcch  because  no  one 
 was  found  worthy  to  open  and  to  read  the  book^  which 
 was  to  tell  of  God  !  In  all  other  matters  we  are  inqui- 
 sitive ;  we  find  it  difficult  to  lay  down  at  the  call  of  more 
 serious  duty  a  narrative,  true  or  fictitious,  of  the  course 
 of  a  human  life  :  but  of  God's  will  and  God's  purposes, 
 though  they  concern  us,  though  we  ourselves  are  the 
 objects  of  them,  we  think  we  know  enough  without 
 enquiry;  they  are  far  above  out  of  onr  sight^,  and  we 
 care  not  whether  they  are  brought  to  us  or  no. 
 
 Perhaps  there  are  too  many  books  in  the  world  :  it 
 was  perhaps  better  for  men  when  the  Bible  was  almost 
 the  only  book  accessible  to  them,  and  when  the  Bible 
 itself  was  less  cheap  and  common.  We  might  almost 
 say  so,  judging  from  what  we  see  of  the  present,  and 
 from  what  we  have  heard  of  the  past.  But  it  would  be 
 an  unthankful  use  of  God's  gifts,  to  charge  their  abun- 
 dance with  the  guilt  of  our  neglect.  It  is  not  a  mere 
 paucity  of  books  which  will  drive  men  to  the  Bible : 
 often  has  the  Bible  lain  for  weeks  together  unopened  on 
 the  shelf  of  a  house  in  which  it  was  the  only  book.  And 
 amongst  the  most  reverent  and  the  most  profound 
 students  of  the  Bible  have  been  men  who  had  at  com- 
 
 ^  Psalm  xxxvi.  6.  ^  Rev.  v.  3.  '  Psalm  x.  5. 
 
 16 — 2 
 
244  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 mand  all  the  treasures  of  literature  and  science.  It  is 
 the  heart,  not  the  circumstances ;  it  is  the  disposition  of 
 the  mind  towards  God  and  towards  duty,  and  not  the 
 absence  of  attractions  drawing  it  elsewhere  ;  which  makes 
 a  man  care  for  that  which  God  has  disclosed,  and  strive 
 to  penetrate  into  mysteries  which  lie  not  on  the  surface 
 of  Revelation. 
 
 I  doubt  not  there  are  present  to-night  some  who 
 bitterly  lament,  and  some  who  strongly  accuse  them- 
 selves of,  a  want  of  interest  in  God's  Word.  They 
 would  it  were  otherwise  ;  but  they  do  not  find  it 
 attractive,  and  they  do  not  find  it  instructive.  It  is 
 so  with  many :  it  has  been  so  at  certain  times  with 
 all  of  us. 
 
 One  thing  we  may  say  with  confidence  ;  that  no  man 
 ever  lost  interest  in  the  Bible  by  a  too  frequent  or  a  too 
 devoted  study.  Those  who  do  not  find  it  attractive 
 are  those  who  for  some  reason,  or  for  no  reason  beyond 
 mere  carelessness,  have  never  given  it  a  chance  :  they 
 read  it  only  as  a  form,  and  a  form  will  it  remain  to 
 them.  Let  us  dig  deep ;  let  us  read  it,  as  we  can, 
 late  and  early  ;  and  God  will  not  allow  it  to  be  to  us 
 for  long  a  dry  or  a  repulsive  study.  0  Jioiv  love  I 
 Thy  law,  the  Psalmist  says :  and  why }  do  not  the 
 words  which  follow  suggest  a  reason  for  this }  It  is 
 my  meditation  all  the  day^.  His  delight  is  in  the  lazv 
 of  the  Lord,  a7id  in  His  lazv  doth  he  meditate  day  a7id 
 night'^. 
 
 2.  This  passage  suggests  to  us  another  peculiarity 
 of  the  Word  of  God.  It  has  two  opposite  effects.  In 
 the  mouth  it  is  sweet :  in  the  digestion  it  is  bitter. 
 
 ^  Psalm  cxix.  97.  2  Psalm  i.  ■2. 
 
XVII.]  Chap.  X.  245 
 
 Neither  of  these  effects  is  wrought  in  a  careless  or 
 indifferent  reader.  Both  ahke  presuppose  one  who  re- 
 ceives the  Revelation  with  his  whole  heart. 
 
 //  was  in  my  month  sweet  as  honey.  And  yet  to 
 St  John,  as  of  old  to  Ezekiel,  it  was  a  revelation  of 
 judgment.  It  ivas  zuritten  within  and  without ;  and 
 tJiere  ivas  writtoi  therein  lamentations  and  monrning 
 and  zvoe^.  What  was  there  to  make  its  first  taste 
 sweet  t  There  was  this  :  it  was  a  communication  from 
 God  to  one  who  loved  God.  It  is  a  joy  to  the 
 faithful  to  hear  God's  voice  at  all ;  to  be  His  organ 
 and  His  minister  for  any  purpose  :  so  entire  is  the  ap- 
 proval of  their  heart  for  whatever  God  hath  spoken, 
 so  truly  do  they  lose  themselves  in  Him,  and  learn 
 to  measure  things  not  by  their  own  standard  but  by 
 His,  that  the  sound  is  attractive  even  in  its  sterner 
 accents,  and  the  cup  of  wormwood,  if  a  divine  hand 
 has  mixed  it,  is  in  their  mouth  sweet  as  honey.  What- 
 ever God  says  they  know  to  be  holy  and  jnst  and  good^ ; 
 whatever  He  does  they  feel  to  be  guided  by  unerring 
 wisdom  and  by  perfect  righteousness  ;  even  where  He 
 threatens,  or  even  when  He  executes  judgment,  they 
 know  that  a  necessity  of  which  He  is  the  judge,  a 
 necessity  which  they  can  trust  and  which  already  they 
 can  partially  appreciate,  has  prompted  and  enforced  it : 
 nay,  if  He  requires  them,  as  He  required  His  prophets 
 of  old,  to  carry  the  message  of  denunciation  ;  or  if  He 
 requires  them,  as  He  required  warriors  and  kings  of  old, 
 or  those  who  bear  the  sword^  of  justice  now,  to  take  part 
 in  its  execution  ;  still  they  can  feel  that  the  word  is  right- 
 eous, the   duty  imperious  if  painful,  and   the  cause  of 
 
 ^  Ezek.  ii.  10,  ^  Rom.  vii.  12.  '  Rom.  xiii.  4. 
 
246  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 God's   truth   higher   and   nobler   than   the   instincts  of 
 nature  or  the  yearnings  of  affection. 
 
 And  this  is  applicable  to  all  Christians.  We  ought 
 to  receive  and  to  ponder  God's  whole  revelation  ;  not 
 its  gentler  and  softer  parts  only,  but  those  which  are 
 sadder  and  sterner  too ;  not  those  verses  or  chapters 
 only  which  tell  of  unconditional  forgiveness  and  illimit- 
 able mercy,  but  those  also  which  ring  the  knell  of  sin 
 and  disclose  to  an  incredulous  world  the  future  punish- 
 ment  of  the  wicked.  It  is  not  because  it  is  a  joyful 
 message,  but  because  it  is  God's  message,  that  the 
 revelation  is  szveeter  than  honey  and  the  honey cojnb'^  to 
 him  who  loves  God.  It  is  the  being  spoken  to  at  all 
 by  Him,  which  is  the  joy  and  the  glory.  It  is  the  being 
 in  communication  at  all  with  the  source  of  light,  with 
 the  fountain-head  of  truth  ;  it  is  the  being  fed  out  of 
 the  heavenly  store,  and  dealt  with  as  one  cared  for 
 bv  Him  who  is  life  and  love ;  it  is  this  which  the  faith- 
 ful servant,  it  is  this  which  the  reverent  son,  regards  as 
 above  price,  and  accepts  in  every  part  with  adoring 
 gratitude. 
 
 This  too  explains  to  us  why  to  many  the  Word  of 
 Revelation  is  a  sealed  book  ;  why  it  awakens  no  in- 
 quisitiveness  and  conveys  no  satisfaction.  It  is  because 
 they  cannot  realize  God  as  speaking  in  it.  It  is  because 
 the  mists  of  worldliness  or  of  unbelief  or  of  sin  have 
 so  spread  themselves  over  the  heart,  that  the  vision  of 
 the  Divine  Speaker  is  clouded  and  obscured^  Hence 
 the  necessity  for  honest  dealing  with  ourselves  ;  hence 
 the  demand  for  quiet  thought  and  secluded  meditation  ; 
 hence  the  call  to  commtc7te  with  our  own  heart,  ajtd  in 
 
 1  Psalm  xix.  10.  ^  2  Cor.  iv.  4. 
 
XVII.]  Chap.  X.  247 
 
 our  chamber,  and  to  be  still^ ;  hence  the  cruelty  of  those 
 who  strew  our  way  with  stumbhngblocks  of  doubt,  and 
 hedge  it  with  thorns  of  unbelief,  when  they  ought  rather 
 to  be  using  all  diligence  to  strengthen  the  feeble  kiiees'^ 
 and  to  point  upwards  the  drooping  eye,  to  show  how 
 near  God  is  to  man,  and  how  powerful,  even  in  its 
 secrecy,  the  working  of  His  Spirit. 
 
 The  word  was  sweet  in  the  prophet's  mouth  :  but 
 in  its  after-taste  it  was  bitter.  How  can  one  who 
 cares  for  man,  as  God,  as  Christ,  teaches  him  to  care, 
 rejoice  with  unmixed  joy  in  the  message  which  comes 
 to  him  from  above  ?  It  is  God's  message,  and  it  is 
 sweet  to  hear  God  speak:  \t  is  God's  message,  and  it 
 is  glory  and  joy  enough  to  be  permitted  to  receive  and 
 to  hand  it  on.  But  when  he  reflects  what  must  be  the 
 consequences  of  a  slighted  mercy,  of  a  despised  cross, 
 of  a  refused  Spirit;  and  then  sees  how  many  of  his 
 fellow-creatures,  of  those  who  are  of  one  nature  and 
 one  blood  with  him,  are  slighting  God's  mercy,  are  doing 
 despite  to  the  Saviour's  cross,  are  refusing  and  at  last 
 utterly  quenching  Christ's  Holy  Spirit ;  can  it  be,  ought 
 it  to  be,  without  some  dash  of  bitterness  that  he  drinks 
 the  cup  of  truth  and  eats  the  bread  of  divine  know- 
 ledge ?  Did  not  Apostles  and  Prophets,  did  not  his 
 Saviour  Himself,  go  before  him  m  this  experience  ?  Did 
 not  his  Lord  weep  over  Jerusalem }  Did  not  St  Paul 
 say  that  he  conld  wish  Jdinself  accursed  from  Ch7'ist  for 
 his  brethren'^  t  Yes,  these  are  just  and  holy  thoughts  ; 
 consistent  with  an  entire  approval  of  the  ways  of  God, 
 and  with  the  deepest  sense  of  the  justice  and  goodness 
 of  each  one  of  God's  words. 
 
 ^  Psalm  iv.  4  (Prayer-Book  Version).         -  Isai.  xxxv.  3.         ^  Rom,  ix.  3. 
 
248  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 3.  There  is  a  third  and  last  lesson  taught  in  the 
 chapter  on  which  we  have  dwelt.  It  is  drawn  from  a 
 word  not  fully  rendered  in  our  Version  ;  that  which 
 says  that  the  message  which  declares  to  God's  servants 
 the  approach  of  the  end  is  a  message  of  glad  tidings. 
 Then  is  the  mystery  of  God  finisJied,  as  He  evangelized 
 His  servants  the  prophets. 
 
 There  is  much  in  this  life  which  a  true  Christian  can- 
 not see  without  uneasiness.  God  is  dishonoured,  God  is 
 provoked,  every  day'^.  The  triumph  of  good  is  delayed, 
 the  boastings  of  evil  are  emboldened,  and  there  is  no- 
 thing to  be  said  but  that  tJie  Lord  hath  spoken,  and  that 
 they  who  believe  in  Him  are  sure  that  He  zvill  also  bring 
 it  to  pass^.  But  the  voice  of  the  scoffer  is  loud  and  inso- 
 lent. Where  is  the  promise  of  His  coming  ?  A II  things  con- 
 tiiiiie  as  they  iv  ere  from  tJie  beginning  of  the  creation^ :  why 
 should  change  ever  come }  That  is  why  the  message  of 
 the  Angel  is  a  Gospel.  In  the  days  of  the  voice  of  the 
 seventh  angel,  whenever  he  is  about  to  sound,  the7t  is  the 
 7nysteiy  of  God  finisJied.  It  is  the  art  of  the  unbeliever 
 to  turn  God's  longsuffering,  whereby  He  gives  space  for 
 repentance'^,  into  an  argument  for  the  non-fulfilment  of 
 God's  promise.  How  sad  !  how  ungrateful !  TJie  Lord  is 
 not  slack  concerning  His  promise,  bnt  is  longsnffering  to 
 tis-ward^.  The  course  of  nature  has  long  been  unin- 
 terrupted :  is  the  God  of  nature  therefore  powerless  to 
 interrupt  it  t  The  times  of  this  ignorance  Godzvinked  at^ : 
 is  it  therefore  not  within  His  power  to  cut  them  short } 
 
 Brother,  sister,  wearied  with  the  long  provocations  of 
 
 ^  Psalm  vii.  12  (Prayer-Book  Version).  -  Isai.  xlvi.  11. 
 
 ^  2  Pet.  iii.  4.  ^  Rev.  ii.  11.  ^2  Pet.  iii.  9. 
 
 ^  Acts  xvii.  30. 
 
'II.]  Chap.  X.  249 
 
 XV 
 
 the  wicked,  sad  and  sick  at  heart  with  the  sophistries  of 
 unbehef  and  with  the  insolences  of  ungodliness,  yet  take 
 courage  when  thou  hearest  of  tJie  days  of  the  voice  of  the 
 seventh  angel  zuho  is  about  to  sound  !  TJien  shall  the  mys- 
 tery of  God  be  finished.  Then  shall  they  that  dzuell  in  dust 
 awake  and  sing^.  Then  shall  the  purposes  of  God  be 
 accomplished,  and  His  ways  ^^cv^y  justified  to  man. 
 
 My  brethren,  are  we  so  decidedly  on  God's  side,  as 
 that  that  catastrophe  will  be  to  us  gain  ?  On  which  side 
 are  we  ?  Who  is  on  the  Lord's  side^  ?  who  ?  Not  he  who 
 is  entangled  in  the  lusts  of  the  flesh^,  and  is  pleading  the 
 strength  of  a  young  man's  passions  as  a  sufficient  excuse 
 for  gratifying  them.  Not  he  who  is  immersed  in  the 
 calculations  of  business,  and  making  the  cares  of  this 
 world^  a  reason  for  taking  no  thought  for  eternity.  Not 
 he  who  Is  satisfied  with  a  form  of  godliness y  but  in  heart 
 and  life  is  denying  its  pozver^.  For  these  it  had  been  well 
 if  this  life  were  all.  For  these  there  is  no  gospel  in  the 
 prophecy  of  the  completion  of  tJie  mystery  of  God.  Bet- 
 ter were  it  for  them  that  the  end  were  indefinitely  post- 
 poned. Better  for  them  that  there  were  no  end,  or  that 
 they,  like  the  beasts  that  perish^,  might  be  excused  from 
 participation  in  it.  But  the  voice  sounds,  the  oath  is 
 ratified  in  heaven,  In  the  days  of  the  voice  of  the  seventh 
 angel  the  mystery  of  God  shall  be  accomplished. 
 
 God  give  to  many  of  us  grace  to  pass  the  boundary 
 line  between  darkness  and  light,  between  death  and  life, 
 between  the  poiuer  of  Satan  ^  and  the  glorious  liberty  of  the 
 sons  of  God^ !     Then,  then  only,  shall  we  know  what  rest 
 
 ^  Isai.  xxvi.  19.  -  Exod.  xxxii.  26.  ^  ^  Yq\..  ii.  18. 
 
 ^  Mark  iv,  19.  ^  2  Tim.  iii.  5.  ^  Psalm  xlix.  12. 
 
 "^  Acts  xxvi.  18.  8  Rom.  viii.  21. 
 
50  Revelation.  [lect.  xvii. 
 
 is,  what  peace,  what  hope.  And  in  the  coming  to  Christ 
 is  the  crossing  of  that  Hne.  He  that  heareth  my  word, 
 a7td  believeth  on  Him  that  sent  me,  hath  everlasting  life, 
 and  shall  not  come  into  condemnation,  but  is  passed  from 
 death  unto  life^.  So  simple,  so  decisive !  O  why  not 
 more  ?  Why  so  small  a  company  ?  Pray,  pray — for  that 
 we  can  all  do — that  He  i7i  zvhom  we  are  not  straitened'^ 
 may  pour  out  largely  of  His  grace  upon  the  ministers 
 and  upon  the  congregation,  that  we  may  speak  in  faith 
 and  also  hear  in  faith ;  may  believe  that  which  He  re- 
 veals, and  love  that  which  He  promises  ;  so  that  there 
 may  be  added  daily  to  His  true  Church  amongst  us  such 
 as  shall  he  savcd^ ! 
 
 ^  John  V.  24.  ^  2  Cor.  vi.  12.  ^  Acts  ii.  47. 
 
 Second  Sunday  after  Trinity, 
 June  9,   1 86 1. 
 
LECTURE    XVIIL 
 
 REVELATION    XI.    12. 
 
 A  nd  they  heard  a  great  voice  from  heaven  saying  unto 
 them,  Come  tip  hither,  A  nd  they  ascended  ttp  to  heaven 
 in  a  cloud :  and  their  enemies  beheld  them. 
 
 How  does  the  Church  stand  related  to  the  foregoing 
 predictions  of  judgment  ?  Will  the  overfloivings  of  tin- 
 godlitiess^  entirely  submerge  it?  When  the  Son  of  Man 
 Cometh,  will  He  find  any  faith  on  the  earth  ^  f  and  how 
 much  ?  What  proportion  of  His  professed  servants  will 
 have  remained  unaffected  by  the  prevailing  unbelief,  at 
 last  (it  may  be)  the  triumphant  infidelity,  of  the  world 
 which  surrounds  them  ?  And  what  will  be  the  condition, 
 what  the  work,  what  the  success,  what  the  end  nearer  or 
 more  remote,  of  \\\q  faithful  among  the  faithless  ?  These 
 are  some  of  the  questions  which  may  naturally  have 
 arisen  out  of  preceding  disclosures,  and  to  which  we  may 
 conceive  the  section  now  opening  before  us  to  contain 
 an  answer. 
 
 And^  there  zuas  given  me  a  reed  like  a  measuring  rod, 
 one  saying — the  act  was  accompanied  by  a  voice,  we  read 
 
 1  Psalm  xviii.  3  (Prayer-Book  Version).  "  Luke  xviii.  8.  ^  V"erse  i. 
 
252  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 not  whose  voice,  saying — Arise  and  measuj'e  the  temple  of 
 God,  and  the  altar,  and  them  that  worship  tJierei^i,  in  the 
 temple. 
 
 There  is  another  passage,  in  the  21st  chapter,  where 
 
 this  act  of  measuring  is  repeated.     And  he  that  talked 
 
 with  me  had  a  golden  reed  to  measure  the  city,  and  the 
 
 gates  thereof,  and  the  wall  thereof^.    The  original  of  both 
 
 passages  is  found  in  the  40th  chapter   of  the  Prophet 
 
 Ezekiel  ;   when  in  the  visions  of  God  the  prophet  was 
 
 brought  from  the  place  of  his  captivity  into  the  land  of 
 
 Israel,  and  set  7ipon  a  ve^y  high  mountain,  and  behold, 
 
 there  was  a  man... with  a  line  of  flax  in  his  hand,  and 
 
 a  measiudng  reed :  and  he  stood  in  the  gate^.     The  line 
 
 of  flax,  or  thread,  was  for  measuring  larger  distances; 
 
 the  reed  for  the  measurement  of  buildings.     And  then 
 
 there  follows  a  detailed  account  of  the  measurement  in 
 
 vision    of  the   temple   at  Jerusalem,   giving   assurance 
 
 to  the  captive  Israelites  of  a  coming  day  of  national 
 
 restoration. 
 
 Since  Ezekiel  wrote,  a  new  meaning  had  been  given 
 to  God's  temple.  Even  before  Jerusalem  was  destroyed, 
 even  while  the  material  temple  was  still  standing — how- 
 much  more  now,  when  (as  we  believe)  the  sword  of  Ro- 
 man conquest  had  already  done  its  work  upon  the  holy 
 city  and  its  sanctuary — the  name  of  the  temple  of  God 
 had  been  transferred  from  the  building  on  Mount  Zion 
 to  the  living  community  of  believing  men.  Take  a  single 
 example  (out  of  many)  from  St  Paul's  Epistle  to  the 
 Ephesians.  Noiv  therefore  ye  are  no  more  strangers  and 
 foreigners,  but  fellow-citizens  with  the  saints,  and  of  the 
 household  of  God  ;  and  are  built  7ipon  the  foimdation  of  the 
 1  Rev.  xxi.  15.  2  Ezelc.  xl.  2,  3. 
 
.]  Chap.  XI.    I — 14. 
 
 XVIII 
 
 apostles  and  prophets,  Jesus  Christ  Himself  being  the  chief 
 corner-stone  ;  in  zvJioni  all  the  building  fitly  framed  together 
 growetJi  unto  an  holy  temple  in  the  Lord :  in  zvhom  ye  also 
 are  builded  together  for  an  Jiabitation  of  God  through  the 
 Spirit^.  The  temple  of  God  is  holy ;  which  temple  ye 
 are^. 
 
 Now  to  measure  this  temple  Is  to  mark  out  Its  extent ; 
 to  ascertain  how  much  (if  I  might  so  express  it)  is  tem- 
 ple ;  what  are  the  dimensions,  what  the  limits,  of  that 
 which  is  really  holy.  Like  the  very  different  yet  not 
 wholly  divergent  vision  of  the  sealing,  It  Is  the  object  of 
 this  passage  to  Indicate  the  safety,  because  the  indelible 
 consecration,  of  God's  true  servants ;  the  certainty  that 
 there  will  always  be  upon  earth,  in  the  worst  of  times,  In 
 the  jnost  degenerate  of  nations,  a  little  remnant  of  called, 
 and  chosen,  and  faithfuP ;  always  a  true  shrine  in  which 
 these  worship  apart  from  the  strife  of  to?igues^,  and  an 
 accepted  altar  of  burnt-offering  on  which  lives  and  souls 
 are  constantly  dedicated  through  the  mediation  of  the 
 one  High  Priest,  and  in  virtue  of  His  one  sacrificed 
 
 And^  the  court  that  is  outside  the  temple  cast  forth 
 without,  leave  out  of  the  reckoning,  and  measure  it  not. 
 There  are  two  words  in  the  original  language  both  ren- 
 dered temple  in  our  Authorised  Version.  One  of  these — 
 constantly  used  in  the  Gospels  and  Acts,  when  we  read 
 that  Jesus  Himself,  or  His  disciples  afterwards,  ivent 
 up  into  the  temple  and  taught'^ — includes  all  the  sacred 
 precincts,  the  temple  itself  and  its  courts  :  the  other 
 denotes   the   actual    building,  what    may  be  called  the 
 
 1  Eph.  ii.  19 — 21.  2  I  Cor.  iii.  17.  ^  Rev.  xvii.  14. 
 
 *  Psalm  xxxi.  20.  ^  Heb.  vii.  24,  27.  ^  Verse  2. 
 
 ^  John  vii.  14. 
 
254  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 shrine,  only ;  and  is  the  word  always  used  in  the  more 
 solemn  sense  already  referred  to,  namely,  that  spiritual 
 temple  which  is,  under  the  Christian  dispensation,  the 
 true  house  and  dwelling-place  of  God  \  Here  then  the 
 prophet  is  directed  to  measure  the  shrine,  the  actual 
 building  of  the  temple,  but  to  leave  out  the  court  which 
 is  outside  the  shrine.  For  it  was  given  by  the  word  of 
 Christ  to  the  nations^  aitd  they  shall  trample  on  the  holy 
 city  dtiring  forty  and  two  months. 
 
 The  words  are  borrowed  from  our  Lord's  own  pro- 
 phecy in  the  2ist  chapter  of  the  Gospel  by  St  Luke. 
 And  Jerusalem  shall  he  trodden  down  of  the  Gentiles,  tmtil 
 the  times  of  the  Gentiles  be  fulfilled''^  When  we  translate 
 the  temple  into  its  Christian  sense ;  when  we  understand 
 by  Jerusalem  the  city  of  the  living  God^,  and  by,  the 
 Jewish  people  the  Israel  of  God^;  we  must  also  regard 
 the  Gentiles  here  spoken  of,  not  in  the  first  meaning 
 of  the  term,  as  nations  that  belong  not  to  the  natural 
 Israel,  but  rather  as  those  who  are  not  of  the  true  seed 
 of  Abraham,  not  men  of  faith,  not  Christians  indeed  : 
 and  we  shall  see  in  the  prediction  here  given  the 
 announcement  of  a  desecration  of  that  body  which 
 ought  to  be,  and  by  profession  is,  all  holy,  by  the  ad- 
 mixture of  many  who  belong  not  in  heart  and  life  to  it. 
 The  shrine  is  to  be  measured  :  the  court  is  to  be  left  out. 
 There  shall  always  be  a  true  Church,  a  true  spiritual 
 divine  temple :  but  there  shall  be  appended  to  it  a 
 larger  space  which  must  be  described  rather  as  an  outer 
 court  of  that  temple,  a  community  which  partakes  not 
 in  the  true  worship  of  devotion  and  self-dedication,  and 
 
 1  2  Cor.  vi.  i6.  ^  Luke  xxi.  24.  ^  Heb.  xii.  22. 
 
 4  Gal.  vi.  16. 
 
XVIII.]  Chap.  XI.    I  — 14.  255 
 
 which,  whatever  its  profession  and  whatever  its  name, 
 is  in  reality  a  multitude  without  grace  and  without 
 vitality. 
 
 And  this  desecration  of  the  temple-court  is  described 
 as  lasting  for  forty  and  two  months.  This  is  a  period 
 which  often  recurs,  though  in  different  shapes,  in  pro- 
 phecy. Forty-two  months  make  up  a  period  of  three 
 years  and  a  half;  a  period  also  of  twelve  hundred  and 
 sixty  days.  This  is  probably  the  idea  of  the  saying  of 
 the  prophet  Daniel  in  his  7th  chapter,  a  time  a?id  times 
 and  the  dividing  of  time^ ;  or  again,  in  the  12th,  <3;  time, 
 times,  and  a  half^.  The  three  and  a  half,  which  is  the 
 half  seven,  is  the  symbol  of  a  period  broken  and  limited  ; 
 as  the  other,  the  number  seven,  is  of  a  period  complete 
 and  perfect. 
 
 Now  during  this  period  of  partial  corruption  even 
 within  the  sacred  precincts,  this  treading  down  of  the 
 very  courts  of  the  temple  by  those  who  in  reference 
 to  the  real  life  of  the  Church  aj'e  not  Israel  though 
 they  be  of  IsraeP ;  what  will  be  the  position  of  that  truth 
 which  it  is  the  business  of  Christ's  people  to  make  known 
 on  earth  t  that  trutJi  of  which  the  CJiureh  is  called  in 
 St  Paul's  1st  Epistle  to  Timothy  the  pillar  and  ground^? 
 The  verses  which  follow  will  tell  us. 
 
 And^  I  zvill  give  to  my  two  ivitnesses :  the  speaker 
 is  God  Himself:  the  words  in  the  1st  verse.  And  the 
 angel  stood,  which  otherwise  complicate  the  whole  passage 
 by  seeming  to  claim  for  the  angel  a  character  which 
 could  not  be  his,  are  not  found  in  the  best  copies,  and 
 you   may  have  noticed  that   they  were  omitted  in  the 
 
 1  Dan.  vii.  25.  ^  Dan.  xii.  7.  ^  Rom.  ix.  6. 
 
 4  I  Tim.  iii.  i.^.  ^  Verse  3. 
 
256  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 rendering  to-night  given.  /  ivillgive  to  my  tzvo  ivitncsses, 
 and  they  shall  propJiesy  during  a  thousand  two  Jiundred 
 and  sixty  days,  clothed  in  sackcloths,  in  garments  of  sack- 
 cloth. 
 
 Prophesy,  you  will  remember,  does  not  necessarily 
 vix^-a^x  predict.  It  is  telling  forth,  rather  than  foretelling. 
 It  is  speaking  God's  words,  for  God,  in  the  name  and  by 
 the  authority  of  God.  It  is  the  delivering  God's  mes- 
 sage, whether  of  rebuke  or  of  encouragement,  of  admo- 
 nition or  of  prediction. 
 
 The  period  spoken  of,  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  days, 
 is  the  same  with  that  already  noticed  ;  the  forty-two 
 months ;  the  three  years  and  a  half;  the  time,  times, 
 and  half  a  time. 
 
 The  witnesses  prophesy  in  sackcloth  garments,  be- 
 cause their  function  is  one  severe  and  full  of  sadness  ; 
 because  they  must  be  in  the  zvorld,  yet  7iotofit^;  because 
 their  very  garb  and  demeanour  must  testify  against  it, 
 whether  in  its  antichristian  or  in  its  nominally  Christian 
 part,  that  the  works  thereof  ai^e  eviP.  This  was  the  dress 
 of  Elijah  in  his  days  ;  girt  with  a  girdle  of  leather  about 
 his  loins^.  This  was  the  dress  of  him  who  came  after- 
 wards in  the  spirit  and  power  of  Elias* ;  the  same  John 
 had  his  raime^it  of  camel's  hair,  and  a  leathern  girdle 
 about  his  loins ;  and  his  meat  was  locusts  and  zvild 
 honey  °.  The  special  witnesses  of  God  in  a  luxurious 
 and  self-pleasing  age  are  often  marked  out  from  the 
 world  by  signs  of  self-denial,  of  austerity,  and  even  of 
 isolation. 
 
 Who  then,  you  will  ask,  are  the  two  witnesses  here 
 
 '  John  xvii.  11,  14.  2  j^j^j^  yji_  y_  z  ^  Kings  i.  8. 
 
 ^  Luke  i.  17.  5  Matt.  iii.  4. 
 
XVIII.]  Chap,  XI.   I — 14.  257 
 
 described  ?     Let  us  complete  their  portraiture  before  we 
 give  such  answer  as  we  may  to  that  question. 
 
 These  ^  men  are  the  two  olive-trees^  and  the  two  candle- 
 sticks,  which  stand  in  the  presence  of  the  Lord  of  the 
 earth. 
 
 The  figure  is  that  of  the  prophet  Zechariah.  Aiid 
 the  angel  that  talked  with  me  came  agaiii,  and  waked  mey 
 as  a  man  that  is  wakened  out  of  Ids  sleep,  and  said  tmto 
 me,  What  seest  thon  ?  A  nd  I  said,  I  have  looked,  and 
 behold,  a  candlestick  all  of  gold,  z^ith  a  bowl  upon  the  top 
 of  it,  and  his  {its)  seven  lamps  thereon,  and  seven  pipes  to 
 the  seven  lamps  zvhich  are  upon  the  top  thereof:  and  two 
 olive-trees  by  it,  one  upon  the  right  side  of  the  bozvl,  and  the 
 other  upon  the  left  side  thereof^.  Then  anszvered  I  and 
 said  tmto  him,  What  are  these  two  olive-trees  upon  the 
 right  side  of  the  candlestick  and  upon  the  left  side  thereof? 
 And  I  answered  again  and  said  tmto  him.  What  be  these 
 two  olive  branches  which  through  the  tzvo  golden  pipes 
 empty  tJie  golden  oil  out  of  themselves  ?  A  nd  he  answered 
 me  and  said,  Knozvest  thoic  not  what  these  bcf  And  I 
 said,  No,  my  lord.  Then  said  he,  These  are  the  two 
 anointed  ones,  that  stand  by  tJie  Lord  of  the  whole  earth^. 
 
 The  witnesses  here  are  said  to  be  the  two  olive-trees 
 and  the  tzvo  candlesticks  which  stand  before  the  Lo7'd  of  the 
 earth.  And  the  vision  of  Zechariah  has  taught  us  to 
 connect  the  two  emblems.  The  olive-trees  are  the 
 feeders  of  the  lamps.  ThroiLgh  the  two  golden  pipes  they 
 empty  the  golden  oil  oict  of  themselves  into  the  lights  which 
 shine  before  God.  How  glorious  a  description  of  the 
 office  of  the  earthly  witnesses !  They  are  channels  of 
 grace,  and  they  are  concentrations  of  light.    The  Church 
 
 ^  Verse  ^.  2  Zech.  iv.  i — 3.  ^  Zech.  iv.  11 — 14. 
 
 V.  R.  17 
 
258  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 in  her  darkest  times  shall  not  lack,  has  not  lacked, 
 these.  Woe  be  to  the  witnesses  who  are  neither,  who 
 are  not  both,  of  these  things !  Woe  be  to  them  if  they 
 forget  their  office  of  feeding  the  Church's  lamps  !  woe  be 
 to  them  if  they  forget  their  office  of  shining  brightly 
 before  her  with  their  own  ! 
 
 But  we  have  still  to  pursue  the  description. 
 
 And^  if  any  one  wills  {desires)  to  injiLi'e  them,  the  two 
 \v{tYiQs?,&s,fii^e  goes  forth  out  of  their  month,  and  devours 
 their  enemies :  and  if  any  one  wills  {desires)  to  i7ijure 
 them,  thus  must  he  be  slain.  These^  have  authority  to  shut 
 the  heaven,  that  rain  may  not  wet  the  ground  during  the 
 days  of  their  prophesying :  a7id  they  have  authority  over 
 the  waters  to  turn  them  into  blood,  and  to  strike  the  earth 
 in  {ivitJi)  every  stroke  {ox  plague)  as  often  as  they  will. 
 
 The  witnesses  are  men  of  like  infirmities  with  others  ^, 
 but  they  are  endued  in  virtue  of  their  commission  with  a 
 supernatural,  an  irresistible  strength.  To  them  are  here 
 ascribed  some  of  the  separate  acts  of  God's  illustrious 
 witnesses  of  old.  Like  Moses,  they  can  smite  the  waters ; 
 and  all  the  waters  in  the  river  which  fertilizes  Egypt 
 shall  be  ttcrned  stYdAgh.t'ws.y  ^^^^^  blood^.  Like  Elijah,  they 
 can  say  to  the  wicked  and  idolatrous  king.  There  shall 
 not  be  dew  nor  rain  these  years  but  according  to  7ny  ivord^: 
 and  it  shall  not  rain  on  the  earth  by  the  space  of  three  years 
 and  six  mo7iths^.  Like  the  same  great  prophet,  they 
 can  say  to  the  armed  company  that  comes  out  for  their 
 capture,  If  I  be  a  man  of  God,  then  let  fire  come  down 
 from  heaven,  and  consume  thee  and  tJiy  fifty '^.     These  are 
 
 1  Verse  5.  2  y^^se  6.  ^  Acts  xiv.  15. 
 
 ^  Exod.  vii.  20.  ^   r  Kings  xvii.  i.  ^  James  v.  17. 
 
 7  2  Kings  i.  10. 
 
XVIII.]  Chap,  XI.   I — 14.  259 
 
 samples  of  the  power  of  the  witnesses  ;  instances  taken 
 from  the  history  of  the  past,  and  transferred  into  the 
 region  of  the  future.  The  power  which  is  in  the  wit- 
 nesses, the  true  witnesses  whoever  they  be,  is  God's 
 power;  therefore  it  is  infinite;  therefore,  if  He  will,  He 
 can  make  its  applications  also  the  same ;  therefore,  if  He 
 will.  He  can  exert  in  a  different  form,  yet  with  results 
 equally  marvellous,  that  power  which  in  all  ages  is  the 
 same ;  the  same  in  its  origin,  the  same  also  in  its 
 end. 
 
 And^  zvhen  they  shall  have  finished  their  testimony^  the 
 wild  beast  zvhich  goes  up  out  of  the  abyss  shall  make  war 
 with  them  and  conquer  thein  and  kill  them  :  And'^  their 
 corpse  is  ipon  the  street  of  the  great  city,  which  is  called 
 spiritually^  that  is,  figuratively,  Sodom,  and  Egypt,  where 
 their  Lord  also  was  crucified.  A  nd^  certain  of  the  peoples 
 and  tribes  and  tongues  and  nations  look  upon  their  corpse 
 during  three  days  and  a  half,  and  suffer  not  their  corpses 
 to  be  put  into  a  tomb.  And^  they  that  dwell  npoji  the 
 earth  rejoice  over  them  a7td  make  merry,  and  shall  send 
 gifts  to  one  another,  because  these  two  prophets  tortured 
 them  that  dwell  on  the  earth. 
 
 We  heard  of  the  abyss  in  the  9th  chapter.  The  ivild 
 beast  from  the  abyss  is  an  anticipation  here  of  the  17th 
 chapter.  It  may  be  enough  at  present  to  say  that  the 
 spirit  of  persecution  is  the  evil  spirit  in  its  aspect  of 
 brute  violence.  This  wild  beast  from  the  abyss  makes 
 war,  in  one  form  or  another,  upon  the  witnesses,  and 
 gains  a  short-lived  triumph.  But  not  until  they  have 
 finished  their  testimony :  God  suffers  them  not  to  be 
 silenced  till   their  work  for  Him  is  done.     Bccaiise  his 
 
 ^  Verse  7.       ^  Verse  8.       ^  Verse  9.       ^  Verse  10. 
 
 17—2 
 
26o  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 hour  was  not  yet  come  ^  is  as  much  a  reason  for  the 
 failure  of  an  aggression  upon  Christ's  servant,  as  upon 
 Christ  Himself. 
 
 The  place  of  their  fall,  when  it  is  permitted,  is  the 
 street  of  that  world  which  is  called  Sodom  for  its  wicked- 
 ness ;  Egypt,  as  the  scene  of  Israel's  bondage ;  and 
 Jerusalem,  for  its  murder  of  the  Lord.  Yes,  the  world 
 is  the  same  in  all  ages:  the  mode  and  form  of  its 
 persecutions  may  vary ;  but  the  root  of  all  its  persecu- 
 tions, hatred  of  the  condemning  holiness  of  Christ,  is 
 invariable  and  constant. 
 
 And  there  is  a  triumph  over  the  fall  of  Christ's  wit- 
 nesses. The  world  rejoices  over  them,  as  one  after 
 another  they  pass  away  from  the  scene  of  their  testimony; 
 for  deeply  had  the  sting  of  their  words  and  the  sting  of 
 their  deeds,  the  reproof  of  their  Gospel  and  the  reproof 
 of  their  example,  entered  into  the  souls  of  their  despisers 
 and  their  adversaries  :  it  had  been  a  torture  to  them, 
 though  they  carried  it  well  before  one  another;  there 
 was  a  voice  in  them  which  echoed  its  voice,  the  voice  of 
 a  convicting  conscience,  and  the  voice  of  an  anticipated 
 judgment.  For  three  days  and  a  half,  for  the  half  of  the 
 seven,  for  a  period  short  and  incomplete,  the  triumph  of 
 the  world,  the  dance  around  the  corpses,  is  suffered  to 
 continue :  men  send  gifts  one  to  another,  as  in  a  day  of 
 feasting  and  of  joy  over  glad  tidings  ^ :  Herod  ajid Pilate, 
 before  at  enmity,  are  made  friends  together^  in  their  time 
 of  triumph  :  then  the  scene  changes. 
 
 And'^  after  the  three  days  and  a  half  a  spirit  of  life 
 out  of  God  entered  in  thein,  and  they  stood  upon  their 
 
 1  John  vii.  30.  ^  Esther  ix.  22.  "  Luke  xxiii.  12. 
 
 *  Verse  11. 
 
XVIII.]  Chap.  XI.   I— 14.  261 
 
 feet ;  and  a  great  fear  fell  7ipon  those  ivho  beheld  them. 
 And^  I  heard  a  great  voice  out  of  the  heave^i  saying  to 
 them,  Ascend  hither.  And  they  ascended  into  the  heaven 
 in  the  clond ;  a7td  their  enemies  beheld  them.  And^  in  that 
 honr  there  became  [took  place)  a  great  earthquake,  and  the 
 tenth  part  of  the  city  fell,  and  there  were  slain  in  the 
 earthquake  names  {persons)  of  men  {human  beings)  seven 
 tJiousand ;  and  the  rest  became  affrighted,  and  gave  glory 
 to  the  God  of  the  heaven. 
 
 The  ^  second  Woe  is  gone :  the  third  Woe,  behold,  cometh 
 quickly. 
 
 We  observe  in  the  description  here  given  a  remain- 
 ing feature  of  the  history  of  EHjah :  the  chariot  of  fire 
 and  horses  of  fir e^,  by  which  he  was  at  last  taken  up, 
 have  left  their  mark  upon  the  prophecy  of  the  two  wit- 
 nesses. But  we  have  also  a  close  analogy  to  the  order 
 of  our  Lord's  own  history.  A  season  of  testimony :  at 
 last  the  hour  is  come;  the  serpent  bruises  the  heeP ;  the 
 body  lies  upon  the  earth  :  after  three  days  a  spirit  of  life 
 reenters  it ;  death  is  followed  by  resurrection,  and  resur- 
 rection by  ascension.  Even  thus  is  it  with  the  most 
 faithful  of  His  witnesses.  Their  names  for  a  time  may 
 be  cast  out  as  evil^ ;  their  word  is  slighted,  their  work 
 frustrated,  their  fall  hailed  with  rejoicing:  but  there 
 comes  for  them  a  7norning  of  joy  after  this  night  of  weep- 
 ing''; their  cause  triumphs,  though  they  may  be  no  more  ; 
 their  memory  revives,  and  is  honoured  when  honour  can 
 no  more  elate  :  they  themselves  are  in  the  heavenly  man- 
 sions :  already  rest,  hereafter  glory  ! 
 
 1   Verse  12.  ^  Vejse  13.  ^  Verse  14. 
 
 4  2  Kings  ii.  11.  ^  Gen.  iii.  15.  ^  Luke  vi.  22. 
 
 7  Psalm  XXX.  5. 
 
262  .     Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 Nor  is  it  without  many  premonitory  judgments  that 
 their  earthly  work  is  suffered  to  pass  from  the  earth.  The 
 tenth  part  of  the  city  fell... there  were  slain  of  vten  seve?i 
 thousand... the  refmiant  were  affrighted,  and  gave  glory  to 
 the  God  of  heaven.  Yes,  God  leaves  not  His  witnesses 
 zvithout  witness'^:  from  time  to  time  He  makes  them 
 honouj-able'^  and  He  makes  them  formidable  ;  formidable 
 in  the  human  conscience,  formidable  too  in  the  world 
 which  looks  on. 
 
 And  do  we  ask  now,  as  so  many  have  asked  before 
 us,  Who  are  the  two  witnesses  ?  Are  they  Moses  and 
 Aaron  ?  Are  they  Caleb  and  Joshua  ?  Are  they  Moses 
 and  Elijah  ?  Are  they  Zerubbabel  and  Joshua  ?  Are  they 
 Luther  and  Melanchthon  ?  Are  they — stranger  questions 
 still — are  they  the  two  Dispensations,  the  Law  and 
 the  Gospel?  Are  they  the  two  Testaments,  the  Old 
 Testament  and  the  New  ?  Has  not  the  very  reading  of 
 the  passage  silenced  some  of  these  questions,  and  widened, 
 enlarged,  amplified,  and  elevated  the  rest  ?  Yes,  the 
 witnesses  are  in  one  sense  ideal,  but  in  another  sense  they 
 are  real  persons :  they  are  the  witnesses  of  revelation, 
 the  witnesses  of  truth,  the  witnesses  of  the  Gospel,  the 
 witnesses  of  God,  the  witnesses  of  Christ,  in  every  age : 
 personified  here  as  two  in  number,  as  though  in  memory 
 of  Him  who  sent  forth  His  first  disciples  not  one  by  one 
 but  two  and  two  ^ ;  as  though  to  encourage  the  faithful 
 witness  of  each  age,  we  might  say  of  each  place  and  of 
 each  house,  when  he  deems  himself  forsaken,  with  the 
 assurance  that  he  is  not  alo7ie  * ;  not  alone  really  in  refer- 
 ence to  human  companionship,  any  more  than  in  refer- 
 
 ^  Acts  xiv.  17.  ^  Isai.  xlii.  21.  ^  Luke  x.  i. 
 
 ^  John  xvi.  32. 
 
XVIII.]  Chap.   xl.   I- — 14.  263 
 
 ence  to  that  heavenly  presence  which  is  the  essence  of 
 his  strength  and  the  fountainhead  of  his  courage. 
 
 Moses  and  Ehjah  appeared  together  on  the  mount  of 
 transfiguration  as  the  representatives  of  the  witnessing 
 grace  of  the  Old  Testament.  Not  less  did  they  fore- 
 shadow the  like  characteristic  of  the  New.  Happy  they 
 who  are  permitted  to  feel  themselves  not  alone  in  their 
 testimony !  to  be  conscious,  even  when  they  hear  it  not 
 outwardly,  of  the  voice  of  human  as  of  divine  sympathy, 
 and  to  recognize  in  it  the  fulfilment  of  His  promise  who 
 said,  /  will  give  poiver  unto  my  two  witnesses,  and  they 
 shall  prophesy  ! 
 
 I  have  referred  you  oftentimes,  in  proof  of  interpret- 
 ations of  this  Book  here  given,  to  the  words  of  our  Lord 
 Himself  in  the  24th  chapter  of  St  Matthew's  Gospel. 
 Let  me  do  so  yet  once  more.  See  how  conclusively  the 
 seal  of  His  authority  is  set  to  the  view  here  presented. 
 
 We  have  heard  of  wars  and  rumours  of  wars  ;  nation 
 rising  against  nation,  and  kingdom  against  kingdom. 
 And  now  we  have  heard  of  defections  within  the  Church 
 itself;  an  outer  court  trodden  down,  as  well  as  an  inner 
 shrine  measured.  And  then  of  a  witness  borne  through 
 twelve  hundred  and  sixty  days  by  messengers  clothed  in 
 the  g-arb  of  sorrow  and  of  rebuke.  Listen  now  to  these 
 few  verses.  Ye  shall  hear  of  wars  and  rumours  of  wars 
 ...All  these  are  the  beginning  of  sorrows.  Then  shall  they 
 deliver  you  up... And  ye  shall  be  hated  of  all  nations 
 for  my  name's  sake.  And  theji  shall  many  be  offended, 
 and  shall  betray  one  another,  and  shall  hate  one  another. 
 And  many  false  pi^ophets  shall  rise,  and  shall  deceive 
 mMny.  And  because  iniquity  shall  abound,  the  love 
 of  many  shall  wax  cold.     Thus  is   the   outer   court  of 
 
264  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 the  temple  gradually  desecrated.  One  encroachment 
 after  another  has  diminished  the  sacred  area.  Mutual 
 betrayal,  mutual  hatred,  deception  from  within,  abound- 
 ing iniquity,  love  waxing  cold.  But  he  that  shall  endii^x 
 tinto  the  end,  the  same  shall  be  saved^.  Measure  still  for 
 preservation  the  te^nple  of  God,  and  the  altar ^  and  them 
 that  worship  therein.  There  is  a  remnant  still  of  the 
 faithful.  Notice  what  next  follows.  And  this  gospel  of 
 the  kingdom  shall  be  preached  in  all  the  ivorldfor  a  zvitnesSy 
 the  exact  word  here  employed,  nnto  all  nations ;  and  then 
 shall  the  end  come"^.  The  two  witnesses  must  raise  the 
 voice  of  their  prophesying  during  the  interval  longer  or 
 shorter,  the  symbolical  three  years  and  a  half,  forty  and 
 two  months,  or  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  days,  of  mingled 
 fidelity  and  defection,  of  a  measured  shrine  and  a  trampled 
 court ;  and  then,  then  at  length,  in  the  days  of  the  voice 
 of  the  seventh  angel,  zvho  is  abont  to  soimd^  then  shall  the 
 end  come  ;  then  shall  the  mystery  of  God  be  finished  even  as 
 He  evangelized  His  servants  the  prophets.  Such  is  the 
 consistency,  such  the  harmony,  such  the  unity,  of  the 
 Word  of  God. 
 
 The  passage  on  which  we  have  dwelt  is  in  many 
 points  of  view  a  solemn  and  discriminating  revelation. 
 Which  is  our  dwelling-place  in  the  holy  city  t  the  shrine, 
 or  the  court  t  the  part  measured  for  sanctity,  or  the  part 
 abandoned  for  desecration  t  We  cannot  answer.  The 
 language  is  too  figurative.  Then  read  it  thus.  How  do 
 we  stand  towards  the  two  witnesses  }  towards  those  who 
 in  our  day  are  bearing  witness  in  the  world  for  God  ? 
 We  will  hope  that  the  ministers  of  the  Church  are 
 amongst  them  ;  at  all  events,  whatever  they  be  personally 
 
 1  Matt.  xxiv.  6,  8 — 13.  •         2  Matt.  xxiv.  14. 
 
XVIII.]  Chap,  XI.   I — 14.  265 
 
 — and  God  is  the  Judge — the  message  they  carry  is  a 
 divine  message ;  if  not  personally,  yet  officially,  in  virtue 
 of  the  Word  they  preach  and  the  Sacraments  they  ad- 
 minister, they  are  the  olive-trees  of  God's  grace,  and  the 
 candlesticks  of  God's  light ;  they  are  charged  with  God's 
 commission,  and  they  offer  to  you  God's  salvation.  How 
 do  you  receive  it .?  We  read  here  of  the  tivo prophets  tor- 
 menting them  that  dwell  on  the  earth.  If  the  Word  is 
 faithful,  it  will  torment  as  well  as  comfort.  It  will  leave 
 a  sting  in  careless,  worldly,  sinful  hearts ;  it  will  awaken 
 an  echo  there,  just  because  the  heart  of  man  and  the 
 Word  of  God  answer  the  one  to  the  other ;  because  He 
 who  sends  the  word  made  the  heart,  and  never  leaves 
 Himself  without  witness  in  the  latter  when  He  speaks  to 
 us  in  the  former. 
 
 I  am  persuaded,  my  brethren,  that  there  are  some 
 here  present  whom  the  two  prophets  torment.  I  am 
 quite  sure  that  there  are  those  amongst  us  who  come 
 hither  week  by  week  to  be  tormented  by  God's  Word. 
 It  reads  them  to  themselves.  It  speaks  as  one  that  has 
 eyes  and  hands.  It  is  no  blind,  darkling  message,  grop- 
 ing about  for  the  chance  of  finding.  It  is  no  feeble, 
 irresolute,  tentative  message,  catching  at  men  and  grasp- 
 ing shadows.  No,  it  is  qnick  and  powerfid^;  it  goes 
 straight  to  the  conscience,  making  many  a  Felix  tremble^, 
 and  many  an  Agrippa  resolve  almost  to  be  a  Christian  ^ 
 But  remember,  it  may  do  all  this  and  yet  not  save  your 
 soul.  O  for  that  one  little  step  which  yet  remains  to  be 
 taken;  that  actual  arising  a7id  going  to  your  Father^; 
 that  real  coming  to  Christ  that  yon,  may  have  life  ^ !   If  the 
 
 1  Heb,  iv.  12.  2  ^cts  xxiv.  25.  ^  ^^ts  xxvi.  28. 
 
 ^  Luke  XV.  18.  5  John  v.  40- 
 
266  .      Revelation.  [lect.  xviii. 
 
 Word  torments,  it  is  only  that  it  may  arouse  you  to 
 listen  ;  it  is  only  that  you  may  take  it  to  you  as  your 
 guide,  your  light,  and  your  comforter.  Be  assured  that 
 it  will  be  for  your  happiness  to  give  it  entrance.  The 
 witnesses  may  be  feeble  men  ;  they  may  speak  oftentimes 
 to  unthinking  audiences,  who  put  them  aside  contemp- 
 tuously and  no  harm  happens.  But  for  all  that  they 
 have  God's  power  as  well  as  God's  authority  with  them  ; 
 and  after  their  brief  day  (it  may  be)  of  contempt  and 
 blasphemy  they,  their  word  at  any  rate,  will  be  called  to 
 ascend  in  the  cloud,  their  enemies  beholding.  Trifle  not,  my 
 brethren,  now  with  that  word  which  must  one  day  judge 
 you !  Every  word  spoken  to  you  from  this  place  in  the 
 name  of  Christ  will  have  to  be  accounted  for  :  not  only 
 so;  the  word  itself,  He  says,  shall  judge  yotc  in  the  last 
 day^.  May  He  give  it  entrance,  while  it  is  still  light  and 
 not  fire ;  a  light  to  cheer  and  to  enlighten,  not  a  fire 
 to  scorch  and  to  consume  ! 
 
 We  are  in  the  pause  between  two  trumpets  :  six  blasts 
 have  sounded ;  the  seventh  is  yet  to  come.  When  it 
 comes,  it  will  be  the  end  ;  the  end  of  this  world,  the  be- 
 ginning of  that  world'';  the  close  of  time,  the  dawn  of 
 eternity.  Take  heed  lest,  coining  suddenly,  it  find  you 
 sleeping^ !  The  end  of  all  thiiigs  is  at  hand:  be  ye  there- 
 fore sober,  and  watch  tmto  prayer'^.  The  second  Woe  is 
 past :  behold,  the  third  Woe  comet h  quickly  ! 
 
 1  John  xii.  48.  2  L^ke  xx.  34,  35.  ^  ^lark  xiii.  36. 
 
 4  I  Pet.  iv.  7. 
 
 Third  Sunday  after  Trinity, 
 June  16,   1861. 
 
LECTURE     XIX, 
 
 REVELATION   XI.    1 9. 
 
 And  the  temple  of  God  was  opened  in  heaven:  and  there 
 was  seen  in  His  temple  the  ark  of  His  testament. 
 
 Four  Lectures  have  already  been  devoted  to  that  section 
 of  the  Book  of  Revelation  which  we  complete  this  even- 
 ing. The  vision  of  the  seven  trumpets  represents  to 
 us  in  a  sacred  allegory  the  ancient  story  of  the  siege  of 
 Jericho.  The  great  city  with  its  walls  and  bulwarks  be- 
 fore which  the  little  army  of  the  faithful  is  encamped, 
 and  which  must  fall  before  they  can  gain  entrance  into 
 the  heavenly  Canaan,  is  now  the  world  of  sin,  of  apo- 
 stasy, of  unbelief;  the  world,  calling  itself  by  different 
 names  in  different  centuries,  but  uniform  and  unchanged 
 through  all  ages  at  least  in  this,  that  it  is  not  subject  to 
 the  law  of  God\  and  is  not  on  the  side  of  Christ  in  His 
 warfare  against  the  enemies  of  human  good  and  human 
 happiness.  Against  this  world,  changing  ever  in  its 
 form,  but  unchanged  and  unchangeable  in  its  deep  inner 
 principles,  the  Church  which  is  Christ's  army  has  to 
 make  war  in  Christ's  name.    And  how  .?    When  does  the 
 
 ^  Rom.  viii.  7. 
 
268  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 Church  wage  a  right  and  a  successful  war  against  this 
 world  ?  Not  when  she  borrows  its  weapons,  of  deceit  or 
 violence,  oi  anger  and  clamour  and  evilsp caking'^,  or  else 
 of  insidious  guile  and  cunning  craftiness"^.  Not  thus  was 
 Israel  of  old,  the  Church's  type  and  pattern,  taught  to 
 deal  with  opposing  hosts  or  frowning  ramparts.  Not  by 
 might,  nor  by  power,  bnt  by  my  Spirit,  saith  the  Lord  of 
 hosts.  Who  art  tho2i,  O  great  mountain  ?  Before  my 
 servant,  before  my  people,  before  the  ark  of  my  cove- 
 nant, before  my  word  and  my  will  and  my  outstretched 
 arni^  thon  sJialt  become  a  plain  ^.  Let  the  priests  carry 
 forth  out  of  the  camp  the  sacred  ark  ;  let  seven  priests  go 
 before  it  sounding  their  seven  trumpets  ;  thus  let  them  do 
 six  days,  and  on  the  seventh  day  thus  let  them  do  seven 
 times  ;  and  at  the  seventh  time  of  compassing  the  city 
 on  that  seventh  day,  at  the  prolonged  sound  of  the  last 
 trumpet,  the  people  shall  shont  with  a  great  shont,  and  the 
 zualls  of  the  city  shall  fall  down  flat,  so  that  the  people  may 
 go  up,  every  man  straight  before  him^,  and  find  every 
 obstacle  vanished  and  gone ;  for  the  battle  is  the  Lord's^, 
 and  the  cause  of  His  Church  is  His  cause. 
 
 And  we  have  read  of  the  blowing  of  those  six  blasts 
 by  which  through  long  ages  the  final  triumph  of  good 
 has  been  prepared  and  heralded.  We  have  heard  of  one 
 judgment  after  another  befalling  the  world  of  the  ungodly^; 
 judgments  by  which  antichristian  powers  have  been  suc- 
 cessively weakened,  and  ungodly  lives  individually  hum- 
 bled. We  sought  not  to  personify  or  to  localize  where 
 God  has  not  thus  limited  the  sphere  and  scope  of  His 
 judgments  :  we  have  been  satisfied  to  say  that  thus  and 
 
 1  Eph.  iv.  31.  2  Eph^  iv.  14.  3  Zech.  iv.  6,  7. 
 
 *  Josh.  vi.  5.  ^  X  Sam.  xvii.  47.  ^  2  Pet.  ii.  5. 
 
XIX.]  Chap.  XI.   15- — 19.  269 
 
 thus  in  kind  and  in  purpose  it  has  been  again  and  again 
 aforetime,  that  thus  and  thus  in  kind  and  in  purpose  it 
 shall  be  again  so  long  as  there  remains  one  enemy  un- 
 subdued or  one  element  of  evil  erect  and  not  prostrated 
 before  Christ.  But  we  read  in  the  lOth  chapter  a  solemn 
 prediction  that  thus  it  shall  not  be  for  ever  ;  that  this 
 mixed  scene  is  not  destined  to  permanence  ;  that  at  a  day 
 fixed  already  in  God's  counsels  there  shall  be  an  end, 
 there  shall  he  time,  that  is,  delay,  no  longer,  the  mystery 
 of  God  has  an  end,  and  that  end  shall  not  always  tarry. 
 God  is  longsnjfering  to  tcs-ward,  not  zuilling  that  any  should 
 perish,  bnt  that  all  shoidd  come  to  i^epentance,..One  day  is 
 with  the  Lord  as  a  thousand  years,  and  a  tJioiisand  years 
 as  one  day... But  tJie  day  of  the  Lord  will  come,  and  come 
 as  a  thief  in  the  nigJit'^.  This  assurance  we  have  under- 
 stood to  be  the  direct  object  of  the  former  of  the  two 
 interludes  between  the  sounding  of  the  sixth  trumpet 
 and  of  the  seventh. 
 
 And  on  last  Sunday  evening  we  entered  into  the 
 meaning  of  the  latter  of  these  two  interludes,  that  of 
 the  two  witnesses.  We  notice  how  exact  is  the  parallel- 
 ism, in  this  point  as  in  every  other,  between  the  pro- 
 phecies entrusted  to  St  John  in  this  Book  of  Revelation 
 and  the  memorable  prediction  uttered  by  our  Lord  Him- 
 self at  the  close  of  His  ministry  upon  earth.  The  two 
 witnesses  described  in  the  earlier  half  of  this  chapter 
 as  prophesying,  that  is,  speaking  for  God,  in  a  garb  of 
 penitence  and  mourning  during  the  three  years  and  a 
 half,  the  forty-two  months,  or  the  twelve  hundred  and 
 sixty  days  of  the  Church's  partial  unfaithfulness ;  a 
 period  designated  by  the  twofold  characteristic  of  an 
 1  2  Pet.  iii.  8—10. 
 
270  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 inner  shrine  measured  for  preservation  and  an  outer 
 court  abandoned  to  desecration  ;  these  two  witnesses 
 who  have  power  with  God^  through  the  prevalence  of 
 prayer,  and  power  from  God  to  work  His  wonderful 
 works  on  an  incredulous  and  a  gainsaying  world  ;  who 
 are  overcome  at  last  when  they  have  finished  their  testi- 
 mony by  the  forces  of  evil,  and  yet  at  the  very  moment 
 of  their  seeming  discomfiture  are  bidden  to  ascend  to 
 heaven,  like  their  Lord,  in  the  very  sight  of  their  ene- 
 mies ;  what  are  these  but  the  impersonation  of  that  wit- 
 nessing power  of  which  our  Lord  Himself  spoke  when 
 He  said,  that,  while  many  within  His  Church  should  be 
 deceived,  and  many  offended ;  while  iniqnity  should 
 abound  and  the  love  of  many  zvax  cold ;  while  neverthe- 
 less there  should  be,  like  the  measured  temple  of  this 
 vision,  those  amongst  His  people  who  should  endure  to 
 the  end  and  be  saved ;  while  all  this  is  going  on  in  His 
 Church  and  in  the  world,  this  gospel  of  the  kingdom  shall 
 be  preached  in  all  the  world  for  a  witness  unto  all  nations, 
 and  then  shall  the  end  come  ^  ? 
 
 And  to-night  we  reach  the  very  prediction  of  that  end ; 
 reach  it,  we  may  say,  for  the  second  time — for  we  were 
 brought  to  the  same  limit  by  the  vision  of  the  seven 
 seals — and  yet,  even  now,  not  for  the  last  time  :  there 
 is  more  still  to  be  told  of  the  fortunes  of  Christ's  earthly 
 Church,  and  out  of  the  completion  of  one  line  of  pro- 
 phecy will  arise  yet  again  the  commencement  of  another. 
 
 The  last  words  read  to  you  from  this  place  were  the 
 ominous  words  of  the  14th  verse.  The  second  Woe  is 
 past :  the  allusion  is  to  the  last  verse  of  the  8th  chapter, 
 where  aji  eagle  (not,  as  in  our  Version,  an  angel)  flying 
 
 ^  Gen.  xxxii.  28.  2  Matt.  xxiv.  11 — 14. 
 
XIX.]  Chap,  XI.   15— I g.  271 
 
 m  mid  heaven  is  heard  proclaiming  with  a  loud  cry, 
 Woe,  woe,  woe  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  by  reason  of 
 the  other  voices  of  the  ti^uvipet  of  the  three  angels  that  are 
 about  to  sound^ !  Thus  at  the  end  of  the  description  of 
 the  consequences  of  the  fifth  trumpet  we  read  again, 
 One  Woe,  one  of  these  three  Woes,  is  past,  a7id  behold, 
 there  come  tivo  Woes  more  hereafter.  And  so  here,  when 
 the  sixth  trumpet  is  over,  with  all  that  has  followed  it,  in 
 the  episode  of  the  little  book  and  of  the  two  witnesses, 
 we  have  the  final  preparation  for  the  sounding  of  the 
 seventh  trumpet  in  the  words,  The  seco7td  Woe  is  gone  by : 
 the  tlm^d  Woe,  behold,  cometh  qidckly.  The  third  is  the 
 effect,  viewed  in  one  aspect,  in  its  bearing  upon  the 
 world  of  sin,  of  the  trumpet  of  the  seventh  Angel. 
 
 And'^  the  seventh  angel  sounded ;  a7id  there  became 
 {arose,  or  ensued)  great  voices  iii  the  heaven,  even  persons 
 sayhig — we  know  not  whose  voices  ;  they  are  those  of 
 the  inhabitants  of  heaven  generally — The  kingdom,  the 
 dominion,  or  kingly  government,  of  the  world  is  become 
 the  possession  of  our  Lord  and  of  His  Christ — the  ex- 
 pression is  that  of  the  2nd  Psalm,  quoted  in  the  4th 
 chapter  of  the  Acts,  against  the  Lord  and  against  His 
 Anointed^,  that  is.  His  King — and  He  shall  reign  unto  the 
 ages  of  the  ages.  Up  to  this  time  there  had  been  some 
 semblance  of  truth  in  the  insolent  boast  of  the  tempter, 
 when,  after  showing  to  our  Lord  all  tJie  kingdoms  of  the 
 world,  he  declared,  All  this  power  is  delivered  tmto  me, 
 arid  to  whomsoever  I  will  I  give  it^.  But  so  shall  it  not 
 be  even  in  semblance  always.  At  the  sounding  of  the 
 seventh  trumpet,  the  voices  in  heaven  proclaim  that  the 
 
 ^  Rev.  viii.  13.  ^  y^^j'se  15.  3  ^^^ts  iv.  26. 
 
 ■*  Luke  iv.  =,  6. 
 
272  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 kingdom  of  the  world  has  become  visibly  and  actually 
 that  which  it  always  was  in  right,  the  possession  of  God 
 and  of  His  Christ,  and  He,  Christ,  or  God  in  Christ, 
 shall  reign  for  ever  and  ever.  The  Lord  shall  be  King 
 over  all  the  earth :  in  that  day  shall  there  be  one  Lord,  and 
 His  najne  one  \ 
 
 And^  the  tzventy-four  elders  who  in  the  presence  of  God 
 zvere  seated  npon  their  thrones,  fell  tipon  their  faces  and 
 zv  or  shipped  God,  saying^,  We  thank  Thee,  O  Lord,  the 
 God,  the  Almighty,  He  who  is  and  He  who  was,  because 
 Thon  hast  received  Thy  great  power  and  didst  reign  ;  and^ 
 the  nations  were  angered,  and  there  came  TJiine  anger,  and 
 the  season  of  the  dead  to  be  judged,  and  the  season  to  give 
 their  reward  to  Thy  servants  the  prophets,  and  the  saints, 
 and  them  that  fear  Thy  name,  the  small  and  the  great ^  and 
 to  destroy  them  that  destroy  the  earth. 
 
 The  tzventy-four  elders.  The  scenery  of  the  4th  and 
 5th  chapters  still  continues  ;  the  council  is  still  sitting  in 
 heaven  upon  the  fortunes  of  earth  ;  with  such  additional 
 features  as  we  have  from  time  to  time  noticed  in  the 
 sections  which  followed.  And  here  the  adorations  of 
 the  5th  chapter  are  renewed,  in  special  acknowledgment 
 of  the  assumption  of  universal  dominion  by  the  Lord 
 and  His  Christ.  The  final  establishment  of  God's  king- 
 dom on  earth  is  felt  as  an  tmspeakable gift^  in  heaven. 
 
 Our  version  says.  Lord  God  Almighty,  which  art,  and 
 zvast,  and  art  to  come.  The  last  words,  and  art  to  come, 
 though  found  in  similar  passages  in  the  ist  and  4th 
 chapters,  are  not  found  here ;  and  for  this  reason,  that 
 the  coming  is  here  no  longer  future  :  the  establishment  of 
 
 ^  Zech.  xiv.  9.  2  y^yse  16.  ^  Verse  17. 
 
 ^  Verse  18.  ^  i  Cor.  ix.  15. 
 
XIX.]  Chap.  XI.    15 — 19.  273 
 
 God's  kingdom  here  celebrated  is  the  fulfihiient  and 
 therefore  the  abrogation  of  that  part  of  the  divine  title 
 which  describes  Him  as  about  to  come. 
 
 Thou  hast  received,  or  taken  to  Thee,  Thy  great  pozver. 
 The  power  was  always  God's ;  but  He  had  not  before 
 set  free  all  its  energies  to  crush  and  to  annihilate  that 
 which  opposed  itself.  God  in  times  past,  so  the  Apo- 
 stles Barnabas  and  Paul  spoke  at  Lystra,  suffered  all 
 nations  to  walk  in  their  own  ways,  though  He  left  not 
 Himself  zvithout  zuitness  \  The  times  of  this  ignorance, 
 St  Paul  said  at  Athens,  God  winked  at :  kit  now  coin- 
 mandcth  all  men  everywhere  to  repeiit ;  because  He  hath 
 appointed  a  day^  in  the  which  he  zvill  judge  the  zvorld  in 
 righteousness'^.  That  day  is  here  described  as  come,  and 
 God  reigns. 
 
 A  nd  the  nations  were  angered.  The  language  is  again 
 that  of  the  2nd  Psalm.  Why  do  the  heathen  rage,  and 
 the  people  imagine  a  vain  thing  ?  The  kings  of  the  earth 
 set  themselves^  and  the  rulers  take  counsel  together,  against 
 the  Lord  and  against  His  Anointed^.  It  has  been  a  con- 
 stant fretting  against  God's  yoke,  a  constant  rage  against 
 God's  truth  and  God's  holiness.  That  has  been  the 
 brief  history  of  all  these  long  centuries.  But  this  pas- 
 sage, like  many  others  in  Scripture,  tells  us  that  there 
 shall  be  an  aggravation,  a  concentration,  of  that  anger 
 towards  the  time  of  the  end^.  We  shall  hear  more  of  it 
 in  the  later  portions  of  this  Book. 
 
 And  then  upon  this  anger  of  the  nations,  thus  ga- 
 thered and  aggravated,  shall  come  down  the  more  for- 
 midable and  terrific  anger  of  God.     The  7iations   zvere 
 
 ^  Acts  xiv.  1 5,  17.  2  Acts  xvii.  30,  31.  ^  Psalm  ii.  i,  2. 
 
 ^  Dan.  xii.  4,  9. 
 
 V.  R.  18 
 
2  74  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 angered,  and  there  came  Thine  anger.  The  contrast  is 
 that  of  St  Paul's  prophecy  to  the  Thessalonians  ;  And 
 the?i  shall  that  wicked  be  revealed,  whom  the  Lord  shall 
 consnme  with  the  spirit  of  His  inoitth^  and  shall  destroy 
 with  the  brightness  of  His  co^niftg^. 
 
 And  the  season  of  the  dead  to  be  judged.  We  have 
 heard  in  past  chapters  of  many  judgments  upon  the 
 living:  but  now  the  season  is  come  for  the  judgment  of 
 the  dead.  Therefore  it  is  the  last  judgment ;  it  is  the 
 time  of  the  end.  There  shall  be  a  time  of  trouble,  it  is 
 written  in  the  book  of  Daniel,  such  as  never  zuas  since 
 there  zvas  a  7tatio?i  even  to  that  same  time... And  many  of 
 them  that  sleep  in  the  dust  of  the  earth  shall  awake,  some 
 to  everlasting  life,  aiid  some  to  sJiame  and  everlasting  con- 
 tempt'^. 
 
 And  to  give  their  i^eward,  that  is,  the  due,  the  pro- 
 mised reward,  to  Thy  servants  the  prophets.  Just  as  we 
 read  in  our  Lord's  own  words,  He  that  receiveth  a  prophet 
 in  the  name  of  a  propJiet,  that  is,  because  he  is  a  prophet, 
 shall  receive  a  prophet's  reward^.  He  who  has  given  up 
 his  heart  first,  and  then  his  life,  to  being  God's  witness 
 and  God's  representative  on  the  earth,  shall  in  no  wise 
 lose  his  reward  in  the  day  of  God's  kingdom. 
 
 But  all  cannot  be  God's  prophets.  Is  there  no  wider 
 designation  than  that }  It  is  added,  and  to  the  saints, 
 and  to  them  that  fear  Thy  name,  small  and  great.  The 
 saints  are  those  who  are  consecrated ;  those  who  are 
 God's  own ;  those  who  belong  to  Him,  by  His  redemp- 
 tion first,  and  then  by  their  own  will  and  self-dedication. 
 And  they  are  further  described  as  those  that  fear  God. 
 My  brethren,  it  is  an  elementary  description  ;  it  seems 
 
 1  2  Thess.  ii.  8.  ^  D^n.  xii,  i,  2.  ^  Matt.  x.  41. 
 
XIX.]  Chap.   XI.    15 — 19.  275 
 
 to  have  but  little  of  a  Gospel  sound :  but  yet  I  would 
 say,  let  us  not  despise  it ;  and  once  again,  let  us  not 
 take  it  for  granted  !  There  is  less  in  us  than  there 
 ought  to  be  of  the  fear  of  God  ;  less  in  us  than  there 
 ought  to  be  of  that  reverence  for  His  greatness  and  for 
 His  holiness  and  for  His  judgment,  which  would  make 
 us  afraid  of  displeasing  Him.  Perfect  love  indeed  casteth 
 02it  fear^ ;  but  not  until  fear  has  done  its  work;  not 
 until  fear  has  grown  up  into  watchfulness,  watchfulness 
 into  obedience,  and  obedience  of  life  into  oneness  of 
 will. 
 
 All  cannot  be  God's  prophets  ;  but  all  can  be  His 
 saints,  because  all  can  fear  Him  :  yes,  it  is  written,  they 
 are  both  small  and  great.  Humble,  insignificant,  poor, 
 and  young  ;  as  well  as  rulers  and  teachers,  as  well  as  the 
 rich  and  the  honoured  in  their  generation.  Let  none  of 
 us  miss  by  our  own  carelessness  that  which  is  so  freely 
 ours  by  God's  gift.  High  and  low,  rich  and  poor ;  young 
 men  and  maidens,  old  men  and  children;  one  ivitJi  another'^! 
 
 A  nd  to  destroy  those  who  destroy  the  earth.  There  is 
 only  one  word  in  the  original  language  for  destroying  and 
 corrupting.  Thus  in  one  of  St  Paul's  Epistles  to  the 
 Corinthians,  where  our  Version  says,  If  aiiy  maji  defile 
 the  temple  of  God,  him  shall  God  destroy  ^,  the  two  words 
 are  one  in  the  original  text  and  in  the  marginal  reading, 
 If  a7iy  man  destroy  the  temple  of  God,  him  shall  God 
 destroy.  To  defile  is  to  destroy.  To  corrupt  the  earth 
 is  to  destroy  the  earth.  It  is,  to  spoil  God's  work  ;  to 
 mar  and  to  disfigure  by  its  abuse  that  which  God  made 
 all  beautiful  and  all  holy.     See  then  what  a  sinful  life  is  ! 
 
 ^  I  John  iv.  18.  ^  Psalm  xlix.  2.     cxlviii.  12. 
 
 '^  I  Cor.  iii.  17. 
 
 18—2 
 
276  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 See  how  God's  enemies,  that  is,  the  ungodly  and  the  sin- 
 ful, are  regarded  in  heaven !  They  destroy  the  earth. 
 God  meant  everything  for  one  use,  and  they  turn  every- 
 thing to  another  use.  God  meant  His  creation  to  be 
 enjoyed  by  His  creatures ;  enjoyed  with  moderation, 
 enjoyed  with  thankfulness,  enjoyed  in  kindness,  in 
 tenderness,  in  love ;  and  behold,  we  have  gone  forth  to 
 trample  and  to  waste,  to  sully  and  to  defile,  to  turn  to 
 selfish  indulgence,  to  use  as  instruments  of  vile  tempta- 
 tion, or  as  implements  of  unholy  warfare,  those  things  or 
 those  persons,  those  members  and  faculties,  those  bodies, 
 those  minds,  those  souls,  which  might  have  been  and 
 which  ought  to  have  been  altogether  applied  to  His 
 service  and  made  vocal  with  His  praise.  And  now  at 
 last  the  season  is  come  to  destroy  those  who  have  thus 
 destroyed  the  earth. 
 
 We  must  hasten  to  the  last  words  of  the  passage. 
 
 And^  the  temple  of  God  zuas  opened  in  the  Jieaven,  and 
 there  was  seen  the  ark  of  His  covenant  in  His  temple,  and 
 there  became  (took  place,  or  ensued)  lightnings  and  voices 
 a?id  thunders  and  a  great  hail. 
 
 The  temple  of  God  was  opened.  The  secret  place  of  His 
 dzvelling^  was  thrown  wide  open,  giving  sight,  giving 
 access,  giving  place  and  abode  for  men.  That  holiest  of 
 alP,  into  which  in  the  days  of  old  none  entered  save  one 
 only,  once  in  each  year,  and  even  then  with  a  fear  and 
 trembling,  an  accuracy  of  ceremonial  and  a  scrupulosity 
 of  observance,  scarcely  less  formidable  than  exclusion  ; 
 that  inner  shrine  of  all  is  now  seen  by  the  Prophet  un- 
 veiled and  opened,  and  whoever  will  may  enter.     And 
 
 1  Verse  19.  ^  Psalm  xxvii.  5  (Prayer-Book  Version). 
 
 ^  Heb.  ix.  3. 
 
XIX 
 
 .]  Chap.  XI.    15 — 19.  277 
 
 this,  not  in  a  vision  of  the  earthly  temple,  which  was  a 
 shadow  and  figtcre  of  the  triic^,  but  of  the  heavenly  temple 
 itself;  even  of  that  abode  of  God  Himself  of  which  the 
 Mosaic  tabernacle  was  designed  as  the  type,  the  testi- 
 mony, and  the  memorial. 
 
 And  tJiere  was  seen  within  this  heavenly  temple,  thus 
 at  last  thrown  open,  the  ark  of  God's  covenant.  We  all 
 know  what  that  sight  must  have  been  to  an  Israelite. 
 In  the  early  history  of  that  nation,  during  its  wandering 
 in  the  wilderness,  the  ark  was  at  once  the  centre  of  the 
 collective  life,  and  the  focus  of  the  divine  presence. 
 Where  the  ark  rested,  there  was  for  the  time  the  nation's 
 home ;  when  the  ark  moved,  the  nation  must  seek  for 
 itself  a  new  home :  when  at  last  the  nation  had  rest,  the 
 ark  had  a  permanent  home  prepared  for  it,  and  thence- 
 forth no  eye  but  that  of  the  high  priest,  and  once  in 
 each  year,  ever  fell  upon  it.  And  now  for  several  cen- 
 turies the  ark  itself  had  been  lost  to  Israel.  From  the 
 day  of  the  Babylonian  conquest  there  had  been  no  ark. 
 The  glory  of  the  latter  house  was  in  this  respect  certainly 
 less  not  greater  tJian  of  the  former'^,  that  the  ark  of  the 
 covenant  was  lost  to  it.  The  holy  of  holies  was  hence- 
 forth empty  ;  a  sign  of  national  decay,  a  preparation  for 
 the  withdrawal  of  national  privileges.  Now  at  length 
 the  eye  of  St  John  rests  once  again  in  vision  upon  the 
 lost  ark  of  his  nation :  he  sees  it  in  heaven,  and  he  sees 
 it  disclosed  to  public  gaze.  There  is  no  longer  any 
 enclosing  wall,  no  longer  a  concealing  curtain.  What 
 could  this  indicate  but  that  the  mystery  of  God  is  now 
 finished,  His  secret  told,  His  counsels  accomplished, 
 His  work  concerning  man  consummated.'*     What  could 
 
 ^  Heb.  ix.  24.  2  ll^xg.  ii.  9. 
 
278  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 this  indicate  but  the  coming  of  the  promised  refreshing 
 from  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  of  the  times  of  restitution 
 of  all  things  \  of  the  recognition  of  the  divine  adoption, 
 of  the  manifestation  of  the  sons  of  God^^f  The  ark  was 
 the  symbol  of  the  divine  presence,  of  the  divine  favour, 
 of  the  divine  protection.  Its  disclosure  in  the  open 
 temple  tells  of  the  unveiling  of  that  mystery  which  has 
 till  now  enveloped  the  condition  of  His  people,  and  the 
 declaration  before  men  and  angels  that  they  are  what 
 they  are. 
 
 The  sight  of  the  ark  was,  if  we  might  so  speak,  the 
 natural  end  of  the  section  of  the  seven  trumpets.  It 
 was  the  ark  which  took  Jericho ;  no  arm  of  flesh,  but 
 only  that  symbol  of  the  divine  strength  and  presence. 
 If  we  had  before  doubted  the  allusion  here  to  that  por- 
 tion of  the  history  of  Israel,  the  mention  of  the  ark 
 would  have  gone  far  to  establish  it.  It  assures  the  true 
 Israel  of  the  protection  of  Him  i^i  whom  is  everlasting 
 strength^.  It  says,  As  certainly  as  the  walls  of  Jericho 
 fell  of  old  before  the  material  ark  of  God,  so  surely  shall 
 all  the  powers  of  sin,  the  world,  and  the  devil,  be  broken 
 and  perish  before  that  word  and  that  will  which  is 
 pledged  to  give  you  the  victory. 
 
 A  nd  there  were  lightnings  and  voices  and  thimders  and 
 a  great  hail.  The  day  of  the  recognition  of  the  sons  of 
 God  must  be  a  fearful  day  for  His  enemies  and  their 
 persecutors.  A  day  of  darkness  and  of  gloominess^ ;  a 
 day  of  judgment  too,  and  of  confusion  and  contempt. 
 
 And  thus  the  curtain  falls  for  the  second  time  upon 
 the  great  drama.     The  succession  of  the  seven  trumpets, 
 
 ^  Acts  iii.  19,  21.  -  Rom.  viii.  19.  ^  jsai.  xxvi.  4. 
 
 ■*  Joel  ii.  1. 
 
XIX 
 
 .]  Chap,  XI.    15 — 19.  279 
 
 like  that  of  the  seven  seals,  has  brought  us  to  the  end  of 
 time,  and  if  further  disclosures  are  yet  to  be  vouchsafed 
 to  us,  they  must  take  up  the  plot  again  at  a  point  higher 
 than  the  catastrophe. 
 
 For  the  present,  what  shall  we  learn  from  the  accom- 
 paniments and  consequences,  as  here  detailed  to  us,  of 
 the  sounding  of  the  seventh  trumpet  ? 
 
 We  pray  day  by  day.  Thy  kingdom  come^.  Have  we 
 ever  stayed  to  think  what  will  be  when  God  at  last  grants 
 that  prayer  ?  We  often  speak  of  the  ways  in  which  we 
 may  promote  God's  kingdom  ;  by  seeking  His  glory  and 
 obeying  His  will  in  our  daily  lives,  or  by  aiding  those 
 machineries  which  are  at  work  in  the  world  for  its  im- 
 provement or  evangelization.  Have  we  ever  thought 
 what  it  will  be  when  God's  kingdom  is  come?  What 
 will  be  left  then  of  this  life,  of  this  world,  which  is  now 
 so  much  to  all  of  us,  which  is  now  all  in  all  to  many  ? 
 In  other  words.  How  much  of  our  present  lives  is 
 entirely  holy  and  heavenly  ?  how  much  can  survive  the 
 wreck  of  earth,  and  be  transferred  into  a  world  in  which 
 God  is  all  ? 
 
 Do  none  of  us,  to  speak  honestly,  prefer  the  present 
 mixed  state;  the  state  in  which  God,  in  which  Christ,  if 
 He  be  anything,  is  at  least  not  all;  in  which  many  things 
 survive  of  which  God  cannot  approve ;  in  which  almost 
 everything  which  has  place  at  all,  has  about  it  the  leaven 
 of  the  carnal,  the  earthly,  and  the  transitory  ?  Are  we 
 prepared,  even  willing,  much  more  gladly,  to  part  with 
 these  things ;  with  the  things  which  are  seen,  with  the 
 things  which  are  temporal'^  f  Shall  we  ever  be  satisfied, 
 wJien  we  aivakc,  with  God 's  likeness  ^  ? 
 
 1  Matt.  vi.  10.  2  2  Cor.  iv.  18.  ^  Psalm  xvii.  15. 
 
28o  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 At  present  our  sins  find  company,  and  our  good 
 deeds,  if  there  be  any,  shine  by  contrast.  At  present 
 we  can  flatter  ourselves  with  the  idea  that  v/e  are  better 
 than  many,  and  that  none  are  perfect.  We  can  measure 
 ourselves  by  ourselves^  mid  compare  ourselves  among  our- 
 selves'^, and  derive  some  hope,  if  some  reproof  also,  from 
 that  comparison.  How  will  it  be  with  us  when  saints 
 and  angels  must  be  our  companions,  and  when  all  that 
 survives  is  perfectly  pure  } 
 
 At  present  we  are  familiarized  by  long  use  with  many 
 things  which  are  not  according  to  God's  will ;  and  few 
 men  live  out  theif  threescore  years  and  ten  ^  without  find- 
 ing their  sensibilities  somewhat  blunted,  and  their  esti- 
 mate of  the  sinfulness  of  sin  robbed  of  something  of  its 
 severity.  How  shall  we  ever  learn  to  echo  that  doxology 
 of  the  elders.  We  thank  Thee,  O  Lord  God  Almighty,  be- 
 cause Thou  hast  taken  to  Thee  Thy  great  power,  and  be- 
 cause Thy  kingdom  is  comef 
 
 What  a  change,  what  a  wonderful  change,  is  implied 
 in  the  announcement.  Thy  kingdom  is  come  !  If  we  are 
 ever  to  learn  that  song,  what  manner  of  persons  ought  we 
 to  b^  now  ifi  all  holy  conversation  and  godliness^ ! 
 
 Yes,  that  is  the  lesson  for  us.  Let  God's  kingdom 
 come  to  us,  to  us  personally  ;  let  it  come  now,  that  king- 
 dom which  is  righteousness  a7id  peace  attd  joy  in  the  Holy 
 Ghost ^ ;  that  kingdorn  of  God  which  is  within''' ;  in  the 
 secret  heart  that  loves  God,  in  the  devoted  life  which 
 does  God  service ! 
 
 If  the  righteous  scaixely  be  saved,  where  shall  tJie  un- 
 godly a?id  the  sinner  appear  ^  ? 
 
 ^  2  Cor.  X.  la.  ^  Psalm  xc.  lo.  ^  2  Pet.  iii.  11- 
 
 ^  Rom.  xiv.  17.  ^  Luke  xvii.  21.  ^  .1  Pet.  iv.  18. 
 
XIX.]  Chap.  XI.    15 — 19.  281 
 
 And  then  the  ark  seen — the  ark  of  the  covenant ;  the 
 ark  which  testifies  to  God's  faithfuhiess  ;  the  ark  which 
 is  God's  presence  !  How  wilHngly  at  present  do  we  dis- 
 pense with  that  sight !  How  Hghtly  sits  upon  our  souls 
 that  captivity  at  Babylon  in  which  the  ark  is  altogether 
 missing !  How  little  care  we  if  we  spend  a  life-time 
 without  Christ,  zvithoiU  God,  in  tJie  world'^  I 
 
 And  yet  we  shall  miss  Him  one  day.  We  shall  feel 
 it  disconsolate  to  pass  through  an  old  age  without  Him  ; 
 cold  and  blank  to  die  without  Him ;  terrible  to  stand 
 before  God  without  a  Saviour  in  the  judgment !  May 
 He  give  us  grace  to  think  of  these  things  now ;  now, 
 while  it  is  still,  we  trust,  the  accepted  time ;  now,  while  it 
 is  still  not  quite  past  the  day  of  salvation  ^ !  May  this 
 night  see  some  knee  bowed  before  God  which  has  long 
 refused  to  bend  ;  some  heart  softened  which  has  long 
 been  obdurate  !  Not  yet  have  begun  those  last  voices 
 that  bespeak  a  closing  age;  those  last  thunderings  which 
 are  the  crash  of  worlds.  Not  yet  has  the  Redeemer  be- 
 come the  Judge,  or  the  mercy-seat  been  exchanged  for 
 the  great  white  throne^.  While  we  have  time,  let  us  seek 
 God  !     Call  ye  jipon  Him  ivhile  He  is  near^ ! 
 
 1  Eph.  ii.  12.  "  1  Cor.  vi.  3.  ^  j^gy.  xx.  11. 
 
 4  Isai.  Iv.  6. 
 
 Fourth  Sunday  after  Trinity, 
 Jzine  23,  1861. 
 
LECTURE    XX. 
 
 REVELATION    XII.  5,  6. 
 
 Her  child  was  caught  up  unto  God  and  to  His  throne. 
 A  nd  the  woman  Jled  into  the  zvildcrness. 
 
 It  was  on  the  23rd  of  June  that  we  last  closed  our  me- 
 ditations on  this  Book,  at  the  end  of  the  nth  chapter. 
 The  vision  of  the  seven  trumpets,  like  the  earlier  vision 
 of  the  seven  seals,  had  evidently  brought  us  to  the  end 
 of  all  things  \  We  have  seen  in  the  Book  of  Revelation 
 thus  far,  and  we  shall  see  in  it  hereafter,  not  so  much 
 one  continuous  stream  of  prophecy,  starting  from  the 
 times  of  St  John,  and  carrying  down  the  fortunes  of  the 
 Church  with  historical  precision  till  they  are  finally  lost 
 in  the  great  ocean  of  eternity ;  but  rather  a  number  of 
 parallel  streams,  each  marked  by  some  definite  purpose 
 and  principle,  and  each  ending  only  with  the  end  of 
 time,  even  with  that  last  discomfiture  of  the  opposing 
 powers  of  evil  which  shall  introduce  the  universal  reign 
 of  Christ,  and  usher  in  the  new  heavens  and  new  earth 
 zvherein  dzvelleth  righteousness  ^. 
 
 We  shall  not  be  surprised  therefore  to  observe  in  the 
 
 1  I  Pet.  iv.  7.  22  pet_  ^[i  j^^ 
 
LECT.  XX.]    Revelation.     Chap.  xii.   i — 6.  283 
 
 section  now  to  be  opened  a  return  to  a  very  elementary 
 point  in  the  history  of  the  Church  of  God.  The  general 
 subject  of  the  three  chapters  which  form  this  section  is, 
 The  enemies,  the  three  enemies,  of  Christ's  Church.  We 
 shall  find  that  this  also  is  a  passage  complete  in  itself, 
 and  ending  only  with  the  same  catastrophe  of  the  powers 
 of  evil  which  we  have  already  observed  as  the  termina- 
 tion of  the  vision  of  the  seals  in  the  1st  verse  of  the  8th 
 chapter,  and  of  the  vision  of  the  trumpets  in  the  last 
 verse  of  the  nth.  Our  subject  to-night  will  be  the  first 
 six  verses  of  the  12th  chapter.  Join  your  prayers  with 
 mine,  my  brethren,  that  our  resumption  of  the  study  of 
 this  Divine  book  may  be  fruitful,  not  in  curious  specu- 
 lation and  not  in  intellectual  gratification,  but  above  and 
 before  all  else  in  the  quickening  of  our  Christian  vigi- 
 lance, and  in  the  increase  of  our  knowledge  of  God  in 
 His  Son  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
 
 A  nd  ^  a  great  sign  zvas  seen  in  the  heaven.  A  wonder 
 might  be  a  mere  marvel;  a  surprise  ending  with  itself: 
 a  sign  is  a  signal  ;  it  points  to  something ;  it  denotes 
 something  ;  it  has  a  meaning,  and  it  has  an  object.  In 
 the  heaven;  that  is  the  stage  on  which  everything  passes 
 before  the  eye  of  the  Apostle.  We  read  at  the  opening 
 of  the  4th  chapter,  A  door  zvas  opened  in  heaven,  and  the 
 first  voice  said,  Come  tip  hither,  and  I  will  show  thee  things 
 which  innst  be  hereafter.  The  heavenly  stage,  on  which 
 many  groups  of  actors  have  before  presented  themselves, 
 is  occupied  now,  to  the  eye  of  the  seer,  with  a  new 
 portent. 
 
 A  woman  elotfied  zvith  the  sun;  enveloped  in  that 
 dazzling  light  which  is  the  emblem  of  the  divine  glory. 
 
 ^  Verse  i. 
 
284  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 And  the  moon  is  beneath  her  feet:  all  borrowed,  all 
 reflected  light,  is  too  mean  to  be  the  characteristic  of 
 her  upon  whom  the  glory  of  God  Himself  has  been 
 bestowed.  Arise,  shine :  for  thy  light  is  come,  and  the 
 glory  of  the  Lord  is  risen  upon  thee^. 
 
 And  on  her  head  is  a  crozun  of  tzvelve  stars.  The  num- 
 ber twelve  is  throughout  this  book  indicative  of  the 
 Church.  The  city  had  tzvelve  gates,  and  at  the  gates 
 tzvelve  angels. . .  The  zvall  of  the  city  had  tzvelve  foundations, 
 and  in  them  the  names  of  the  tzvelve  apostles  of  the 
 Lamb'^.  Even  in  the  four  and  tzuenty  elders  of  the  4th 
 chapter  we  recognize  the  twice  twelve :  they  are  the 
 representatives  of  the  Church  under  both  its  dispensa- 
 tions; the  twelve  Patriarchs  of  the  Jewish,  and  the 
 twelve  Apostles  of  the  Christian.  It  is  thus  here.  The 
 woman  clothed  with  the  sun,  and  having  on  her  head  a 
 crown  of  twelve  stars,  is  the  Church  of  God  ;  the  Church, 
 regarded  as  one  whole  from  the  days  of  Abraham, 
 perhaps  we  may  say  from  the  day  of  the  Fall  itself, 
 under  whatever  special  dispensation  placed,  the  Patri- 
 archal, the  Israelite,  or  the  Christian. 
 
 A  nd  ^  being  zvith  child  she  crieth,  travailing,  and  tor- 
 tured to  bear.  In  sorrow,  it  was  written  of  old,  thou  shall 
 bring  forth  children  *.  Not  without  anguish,  an  anguish 
 of  preparatory  anticipation  and  an  anguish  of  present  en- 
 durance, does  the  Church  herself  bring  forth  her  children. 
 The  greater  and  the  more  momentous  the  birth,  the 
 stronger  the  agony  through  which  it  is  accomplished. 
 
 A nd^  there  zvas  seen  another  sign  in  the  heaven:  and 
 behold,  a  great  red  dragon.     Red,  as  the  colour  of  fire, 
 
 ^  Isai.  Ix.  I.  2  |^gy_  xxi.  12,  14.  ^  Verse  2. 
 
 ^  Gen.  iii.  16.  ^  Verse  3. 
 
XX.]  Chap.  XII.    I — 6.  285 
 
 and  as  the  colour  of  blood  \  Red,  as  the  emblem  of  the 
 waster  and  destroyer,  as  the  emblem  of  him  who  was  a 
 iniLvdcrcr  from  the  beginning'^.  The  dragon  is  that  fabu- 
 lous monster  of  whom  ancient  poets  told  as  Jmge  in  size, 
 coiled  like  a  snake,  blood-red  in  colour  or  shot  zvitJi  cJiangin^ 
 tints,  insatiable  in  voracity  and  ever  athirst  for  human 
 blood.  In  the  Old  Testament  the  dragon  first  appears 
 in  the  74th  Psalm  as  the  representative  of  all  sea  ani- 
 mals :  ThoiL  didst  divide  the  sea  by  Thy  strength ;  Thou 
 brakes t  the  heads  of  the  dragons  in  the  waters^.  And  so 
 in  the  91st  Psalm,  among  the  various  instances  of  the 
 power  and  security  of  the  godly,  this  occurs  as  the  com- 
 pletion and  crown  of  all :  TJ102L  shall  tread  npon  tJie  lion 
 and  adder  ;  the  yonng  lion  and  the  dragon  shall  thou  tram- 
 ple luider  feet  ^  And  thus,  when  the  literal  sea  is  ex- 
 changed for  the  figurative,  for  that  surging  multitude  of 
 peoples  and  nations  which  lifts  np  its  voice  against  God 
 even  as  the  floods  lift  ttp  their  zvaves^ ;  the  dragon  be- 
 comes the  fit  emblem  for  the  leader  and  ruler  of  the 
 world's  aggressions  upon  the  Church  of  God.  Thus  the 
 dragon  represents  in  various  passages  of  the  prophets  of 
 the  Old  Testament  °  that  great  Egyptian  power  which 
 had  been  the  first  oppressor  of  the  Church  of  Israel. 
 And  thus  with  equal  fitness  it  becomes  in  this  Book  of 
 Revelation  the  title  of  that  prince  of  this  zuorld'^  whose 
 deep  and  bitter  hostility  to  God  and  His  Christ  prompts 
 all  the  efforts  and  frames  all  the  machinations  by  which 
 the  w^orld  seeks  to  undermine  the  influence  of  the  Sa- 
 viour and  of  His  people.  The  dragon  is  henceforth 
 another  name  for  the  devil  or  Satan. 
 
 ^  2  Kings  iii.  22.       ^  j^]^^^  ^X\\.  44.       ^  Tsalm  Ixxiv.  13.       ^  Psalm  xci.  13. 
 ^  Psalm  xciii.  3.  ^  igai.  H.  p.     Ezek.  xxix.  3.  ''  John  xiv.  30. 
 
2  86  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 He  is  further  described  here  as  having  seven  heads, 
 and  ten  hoinis,  probably  upon  the  seventh  head,  and 
 tLpon  his  heads  seven  diadems.  We  shall  have  more  to 
 say  of  these  emblems  hereafter.  At  present  it  will 
 suffice  to  notice  that,  though  there  is  a  unity  of  person 
 in  the  arch-enemy  of  God,  he  is  yet  in  his  operations  a 
 many-headed  power;  he  exercises  his  influence  through 
 many  channels ;  every  phase  of  the  ungodly  antichristian 
 world  is  one  of  his  manifestations  :  and  further,  the 
 power  which  is  thus  various  and  thus  multiplied  is  also 
 a  strength  ;  it  possesses  ten  horns,  the  scriptural  emblem 
 of  vigour  and  force  :  we  cannot  despise  the  power  of  evil, 
 though  we  may  forbode  its  downfall.  The  prince  of  this 
 world,  as  here  pourtrayed,  has  seven  heads  and  ten 
 horns,  and  upon  his  seven  heads  seven  crowns.  God 
 would  never  have  us  disparage  the  power  of  our  great 
 enemy,  or  the  magnitude  of  that  danger  which  arises 
 out  of  it. 
 
 And^  his  tail  sweeps  the  third  part  of  the  stars  of  the 
 heaven,  and  cast  them  to  the  earth.  The  figure  is  found 
 in  the  8th  chapter  of  the  prophet  Daniel,  where  it  is 
 said  of  the  power  designated  as  the  little  horn  of  the 
 he-goat,  that  it  ivaxed  great ^  even  to  tJie  host  of  heaven  ; 
 ajid  it  cast  down  some  of  the  host  and  of  the  stars  to  the 
 ground,  and  stamped  iLpon  them  I  It  is  a  figure  expres- 
 sive of  great  arrogance  and  great  success.  The  dragon 
 exercises  so  great  an  empire  that  it  is  as  though  his  very 
 tail  could  sweep  down  a  third  part,  that  is,  a  large  por- 
 tion, of  the  stars  of  heaven,  and  throw  them  upon  the 
 earth.  The  prince  of  this  world,  who  is  the  devil,  lords 
 it  for  the  present  over  his  subjects ;    and  gives   some 
 
 1  Verse  4.  ^  Dan.  viii.  10. 
 
XX.]  Chap,  XII.   I — 6.  287 
 
 colour  to  his  arrogant  boast  before  the  Saviour,  All 
 this  pozvcr  ivill  I  give  Thee,  and  the  gloiy  of  them ; 
 for  that  is  delivered  ttnto  me,  and  to  ivJiomsoever  I  will 
 I  give  it^. 
 
 A  7id  the  dragon  stands  in  presence  of  the  woman  who 
 was  abont  to  bear,  that  zvhenever  she  lias  born  he  may 
 devour  Jier  child.  It  is  like  Pharaoh  watching  for  the 
 infant  life  of  Moses :  it  is  like  Herod  planning  the  de- 
 struction of  the  infant  life  of  Jesus.  These  kings  were 
 agents  of  the  dragon ;  illustrating  the  sort  of  eagerness 
 with  which  Satan  himself  plots  against  the  Redeemer 
 and  against  His  Church.  Most  of  all  did  his  wrath 
 arise  when  now  the  impending  advent  of  the  Saviour  to 
 the  Church  and  to  the  world  was  threatening  the  very 
 existence  of  his  own  permitted  and  usurped  power. 
 Such  is  the  point  of  time  to  which  the  verse  now  before 
 us  directs  our  attention  ;  the  incarnation,  the  nativity, 
 the  first  advent,  of  Christ. 
 
 And'^  she  bore  a  man  child,  who  is  to  shepherd  {rule) 
 all  the  nations  in  {with)  an  iron  rod.  When  the  fdness 
 of  the  ti7ne  was  come,  God  sent  forth  His  Son,  born  of 
 a  woman,  born  tender  the  lazv,  to  redeem  them  that  were 
 tmder  the  law  ^  That,  I  need  scarcely  say,  is  the  event 
 here  described.  The  Church  itself,  which  has  been  one, 
 I  would  repeat,  from  the  beginning,  whatever  the  par- 
 ticular dispensation  under  which  God  might  place  it, 
 is  here  said,  in  a  figure,  to  have  born  the  Saviour.  It 
 is  a  figure,  but  an  expressive  one.  Christ,  as  a  Man, 
 was  born  of  the  Church,  as  well  as  to  it. 
 
 And  who  was  He  t  What  was  the  destiny,  as  marked 
 out  by  prophecy,  of  Him  who  thus  entered  a  world  of 
 
 1  Luke  iv.  6.  -  Verse  5.  ^  Gal.  iv.  4,  5. 
 
288  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 sin,  in  all  tilings  save  sin  only  piade  like'^  unto  men? 
 It  is  He  of  whom  it  was  written  in  the  2nd  Psalm, 
 Thou  art  my  Son,  this  day  have  I  begotten  Thee :  Ask  of 
 me,  and  I  shall  give  Thee  the  heathen  for  Thine  inheritance, 
 and  the  uttej'most  parts  of  the  earth  for  Thy  possession  : 
 Thou  shall  break  them  with  a  rod  of  iron ;  Thou  shall 
 dash  them  in  pieces  like  a  potter's  vessel'^.  The  child  born 
 of  a  woman,  born  of  God's  Church,  is  the  destined  ruler 
 of  a  universal  empire.  All  Thine  enemies  shall  feel 
 Thy  hand :  Thy  right  hand  shall  find  cut  those  that  hate 
 Thee\ 
 
 A  7id  her  child  zvas  caught  away  unto  God  and  to  His 
 throne.  The  years  of  infancy  and  boyhood,  the  years 
 of  youth  and  of  manhood,  the  workshop  of  Nazareth, 
 the  journeyings  to  Jerusalem,  the  call  of  disciples,  the 
 labours  of  teaching  and  of  healing,  the  cruel  mocking  a?id 
 scourging^,  the  bitter  cross  and  the  quiet  grave,  all  are 
 passed  over :  He  who  declares  ihe  end  from  the  begin- 
 ning'^ speaks  here  but  of  birth  and  of  ascension,  and 
 tells  us  only  that,  while  the  dragon  stood  in  readiness  to 
 devour  the  child  which  should  be  born,  the  child  was 
 caught  up  unto  God  and  to  His  throne. 
 
 And^  the  zvonian,  the  mother  of  that  child,  the 
 Church  of  which  and  to  which  He  was  born,  fled  into 
 the  wilderness,  where  she  hath  a  place  there  prepared  from 
 {on  the  part  of)  God,  that  there  they  may  nurture  her 
 during  a  thousand  two  htindi^ed  and  sixty  days.  The 
 child  is  caught  up  to  God  and  to  His  throne.  The 
 woman  flees  into  the  wilderness.  Like  Israel  of  old 
 fleeing  from  the  wrath  of  Pharaoh,  the  Church  of  God, 
 
 ^  Heb.  ii.  17.  -  Psalm  ii.  7 — 9.  ^  Psalm  xxi.  8. 
 
 ^  Heb.  xi.  36.  ^  Isai.  xlvi.  10.  •  ^  Veise  6. 
 
XX.]  Chap.  XII.    I — 6.  289 
 
 whose  Lord  and  Master  has  been  taken  up  from  her, 
 finds  a  dwellingplace  in  her  desolation  in  the  wilderness. 
 There,  like  Israel  of  old,  she  has  food  provided  for  her 
 of  God  ;  bread  from  heaven  to  eat  \  and  water  of  life 
 from  the  stricken  rock.  The  period  of  her  abode  is 
 described  in  figures  now  familiar  to  us.  The  twelve 
 hundred  and  sixty  days  are  the  same  period  during 
 which  God's  two  witnesses  prophesy  clothed  in  sackcloth. 
 It  is  the  same  period,  otherwise  described  as  one  of 
 forty  and  two  months,  during  v/hich  the  holy  city  is 
 trodden  underfoot  of  the  Gentiles  ^  It  is  the  same 
 period,  otherwise  described  as  one  of  three  years  and  a 
 half,  oi  a  time  and  times  and  half  a  time^,  during  which 
 our  Lord's  own  ministry  upon  earth  was  protracted,  and 
 after  which  the  spirit  of  life  from  God  entered  irdo  the  two 
 dead  witnesses  and  tJiey  ascended  np  to  heaven  in  a  clond 
 while  their  enemies  beheld  them^.  It  is,  in  short,  that 
 period,  of  the  three  and  a  half,  the  half  seven,  the  broken 
 and  imperfect  as  opposed  to  the  complete  and  sacred 
 whole,  which  is  again  and  again  the  designation  of  the 
 reign  of  evil,  of  the  humiliation  of  God's  truth  and  of 
 God's  Church,  as  contrasted  with  that  endless  triumph  of 
 the  cause  of  holiness  and  of  Christ  which  shall  comfort 
 the  sufferings  of  Zion  and  redress  the  wrongs  of  the 
 saints. 
 
 Such,  my  brethren,  is  the  thought  which  has  been 
 made  our  text  for  this  evening.  Christ  already  exalted 
 to  the  throne  of  God  :  the  Church  an  exile  in  the  wil- 
 derness, but  provided  there  with  a  dwellingplace  and  a 
 nurture  which  testify  even  in  her  sorrows  to  the  care 
 
 1  John  vi.  31.  "  Rev.  xi.  2,  3.  ^  Rev.  xii.  14. 
 
 *  Rev.  xi.  II,  12. 
 
 V.  R.  19 
 
290  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 and  the  love  of  a  Father,  a  Saviour,  and  a  Comforter. 
 A  few  concluding  words  will  rise  naturally  out  of  this 
 contrast. 
 
 1.  And,  first,  as  to  the  safety  and  the  glory  of 
 Christ  Himself.  He  rests  from  His  labours^.  He  is  free 
 from  temptation.  He  is  comforted  from  His  sorrows. 
 This  is  something.  Something,  for  those  who  love  Him, 
 to  know  that  He  who  once  bore  shame  and  grief  for  us, 
 is  now  set  down  at  the  right  hand  of  the  tJirone  of  God^. 
 In  that  victory,  in  that  calm,  in  that  glory,  is  the  pro- 
 mise and  the  foretaste  of  our  own.  We,  too,  if  we  be 
 faithfid  7mto  death^,  shall  one  day  be  with  Him  and 
 behold  His  glory  *. 
 
 2.  Again,  as  to  the  power  of  Christ  at  present  over 
 evil  and  for  His  Church.  If  He  is  where  we  believe 
 Him  to  be,  He  must  indeed  be  mighty  to  save^.  All 
 power  is  given  unto  Him  in  heaven  and  in  earth  ;  and  He 
 says  Himself,  Lo,  I  am  witJi  yon  alway^.  Trust  in  Him, 
 look  to  Him,  serve  Him,  a7id  ftothing  shall  by  any  means 
 hurt you'^ :  neither  death,  nor  life,  nor  things  present,  nor 
 things  to  come.     All  are  yours,  for  ye  are  Christ's^. 
 
 3.  Once  more,  as  to  our  proper  place  and  proper 
 state  in  this  world.  The  woman,  that  is,  the  Church, 
 fled  into  the  wilderness.  It  is  there,  in  the  desert,  that 
 a  place  is  prepared  for  her  of  God.  It  is  there  that  her 
 work  lies,  and  it  is  there  that  her  happiness  will  be 
 found.  My  brethren,  it  has  been  the  misfortune,  and  it 
 has  been  the  misery,  and  it  has  been  the  sin,  of  the  pro- 
 fessed   Church   in   all   times,  that  she  would   not  stay 
 
 1  Rev.  xiv.  13.  2  Heb.  xii.  2.  ^  j^gy  jj^  jq^ 
 
 ^  John  xvii.  24.  ^  Isai.  Ixiii.  i.  ^  Matt,  xxviii.  18,  20. 
 
 7  Luke  X.  19.  8  J  (^Qj.^  iii_  22^  23. 
 
XX.]  Chap,  XII.   I — 6.  291 
 
 there.  She  would  not  rest  where  God  had  prepared  a 
 place  for  her.  She  would,  in  heart  at  least,  Utrii  back 
 again  into  Egypt'^.  Or,  if  she  could  not  get  back,  she 
 would  make  her  wilderness  as  like  Egypt  as  possible. 
 She  would  sit  there  at  one  time  depressed  and  languid, 
 remembering  the  fleshpots  which  were  denied  her.  She 
 would  rise  at  another  time,  and  make  her  tents  one  vast 
 bazaar,  in  which  all  the  finery  and  all  the  luxury  of 
 Egypt  should  be  simulated  and  parodied.  You  all  know 
 how  the  Church  has  copied  and  flattered  the  world. 
 You  all  know  how  unwilling  our  own  individual  hearts 
 are  to  recognize  and  to  acquiesce  in  our  true  position  as 
 strangers,  pilgrims,  sojourners  upon  earths  It  is  no 
 vain  parable  which  bids  us  this  night  remember  who  we 
 are  and  where ;  occupants  of  a  shifting  station,  not 
 dwellers  in  a  permanent  home.  If  for  us  the  Child,  the 
 Child  divine  and  human,  the  Man  Christ  Jesus,  has 
 indeed  been  caught  up  to  God  and  to  His  throne ;  then 
 there,  with  Him,  where  He  dwells,  where  He  sitteth  at 
 God's  right  hand,  there,  and  not  here,  is  our  home  and 
 our  citizenship.  If  ye  then  be  risen  with  Christy  seek 
 those  things  which  are  above  ^ 
 
 4.  But,  yet  again,  though  we  have  Jiere  no  continuing 
 city  but  seek  07ie  to  comedy  let  us  not  forget  the  comforting 
 and  inspiriting  assurance  that  God  Himself  has  here 
 provided  for  us  not  only  a  sojourn  but  a  nurture.  That 
 they  should  feed  her  tJiere  a  tJionsand  two  hundred  and 
 threescore  days.  Alas  for  that  ingratitude  which  makes 
 light  of  God's  provision  for  us !  For  Israel  of  old, 
 during  his  sojourn  in  the  wilderness,  He  provided  bread 
 
 1  Acts  vii.  39.  2  Heb.  xi.  13.  ^  Col.  iii.  i. 
 
 ■*  Heb.  xiii.  14. 
 
 19 — 2 
 
292  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 from  heaven  to  eat^ — angels'  food  He  calls  it^ — and  a  sup- 
 ply of  water  from  the  hard  barren  .rock.  He  provided  a 
 cloud  to  go  before  them,  and  fire  to  give  them  light  in 
 the  night  season^.  He  gave  them  also  His  statutes  and 
 ordinances,  speaking  to  them  by  man's  voice,  and  reveal- 
 ing to.  them  His  righteous  and  loving  will.  Has  He 
 done  less  than  this  for  the  Church  of  Christ  in  her  exile  } 
 What  conld  have  been  done  more  that  He  has  not  done  for 
 us* }  He  has  given  His  holy  Word  to  be  a  lamp  to  our 
 feet^  and  a  light  to  onr path^.  He  has  given  us  His  voice 
 within,  the  voice  of  an  instructed  and  enlightened  con- 
 science, saying,  This  is  the  way,  zualk  ye  ift  it,  when  we 
 are  turning  aside  to  the  right  hand  or  to  the  left^  He 
 has  given  us  ordinances  of  a  pure  and  spiritual  worship ; 
 words  of  prayer,  sound  and  fervent ;  sacraments,  to  teach 
 the  soul  through  the  senses,  and  to  be"  the  link  between 
 the  life  that  is  seen  and  the  life  that  is  unseen.  He 
 has  promised  to  hear  when  we  pray,  and  wherever  but 
 tzvo  or  tJwee  are  gathered  together  in  His  name,  thejx  to  be 
 in  the  midst  of  them\  He  has  given  us,  above  all,  His 
 Holy  Spirit,  to  be  the  light  and  the  guide,  to  be  the 
 Comforter  and  the  Sanctifier,  of  all  who  believe.  If  for 
 the  present  He  has  denied  us  sight.  He  has  given  us  in 
 its  stead  that  which  for  us  at  present  is  far  better ;  that 
 faith  which  is  the  assurance  of  things  hoped  for,  that  faith 
 which  is  the  evidence  of  things  not  seen^.  If  with  these 
 things  given  we  are  still  thankless  and  careless  ;  if  we 
 despise  His  ordinances,  if  we  turn  away  from  His  table ; 
 if  we  leave  His  Word  unread,  H^is  gift  of  conscience  un- 
 
 ^  John  vi.  31.  2  Psalm  Ixxviii.  25.         ^      ^  Psalm  cv.  38. 
 
 ^  Isai.  V.  4.  5  Psalm  cxix.  105.  ^  Isai.  xxx.  21. 
 
 '  Matt,  xviii.  20.  »  Heb.  xi.  i. 
 
XX.]  Chap.  xii.    I — 6.  293 
 
 heeded  ;  if  we  cotcnt  the  blood  of  the  covenant  whei'ezvith 
 we  zvei'e  sanctified  an  unholy  thing,  and  do  despite  even 
 unto  the  Spirit  of  grace '^ ;  neither  shoidd  we  be  persuaded'^, 
 neither  should  we  be  convinced,  neither  should  we  be 
 converted,  though  the  sight  of  Christ  Himself  in  heaven 
 were  flashed  upon  our  eye,  or  the  yawning  gulf  of  hell 
 revealed  suddenly  beneath  our  feet ! 
 
 Hozv  shall  zue  escape  if  we  neglect  so  great  salvation  ^, 
 or  turn  aivay  from  Him  that  speaketh  from  heaven^  f 
 
 ^  Heb.  X.  29.  ^  Luke  xvi.  31.  ^  Heb.  ii.  3. 
 
 ^  Heb.  xii.  25. 
 
 Twenty-third  Sunday  after  Trinity, 
 November  3,    1861. 
 
LECTURE    XXI. 
 
 REVELATION   XII.   /. 
 
 There  was  war  in  heaven. 
 
 The  Child  is  caught  up  to  God  and  to  His  throne,  and 
 His  mother  flees  into  the  wilderness  to  escape  from  the 
 disappointed  fury  of  the  dragon.  That  was  the  parable 
 which  we  sought  to  interpret  two  Sundays  ago.  Nor 
 was  the  interpretation,  by  the  help  of  Scripture,  difficult. 
 The  woman  clothed  with  the  sun  and  crowned  with 
 twelve  stars  bore  the  infallible  tokens  of  the  Church  of 
 God.  The  child  destined  to  rule  all  nations  with  a  rod 
 of  iron  could  be  no  other  than  He  to  whom  it  was  said 
 in  the  language  of  prophecy  in  the  2nd  Psalm,  Ask  of 
 me,  and  I  shall  give  Thee  the  heathen  for  Tlmie  inheritajice, 
 a7id  the  lUtermost  parts  of  tJie  earth  for  thy  possessio7i : 
 Thoii  shall  break  them  with  a  rod  of  iron :  Than  shalt 
 dash  them  in  pieces  like  a  potter's  vessel'^.  The  Saviour 
 born  to  the  Church  is  also,  in  another  point  of  view, 
 born  of  her.  And  He  whom  the  dragon  had  been  stand- 
 ing ready  to  devour,  is  caught  away  out  of  his  reach, 
 even  to  the  throne  of  God  in  heaven.     The  point  of  time 
 
 1  Psalm  ii.  8,  9. 
 
LECT.  XXI.]    Revelation.    Chap,  xii.   7 — 9.  295 
 
 which  we  have  thus  reached,  in  the  retrospect  presented 
 in  the  early  verses  of  the  chapter,  is  the  Ascension  of 
 our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  We  have  seen  Him 
 safely  housed  in  heaven,  placed  beyond  the  assaults  alike 
 of  suffering  and  of  temptation,  restored  to  the  glory  which 
 He  had  zvith  the  Father  before  the  world  was  ^ ;  and  we 
 were  called  to  rejoice  in  the  thought  of  that  safety  which 
 He  has  already  attained,  and  which  contains  within  it 
 the  very  pledge  and  promise  of  our  own.  Meanwhile 
 the  Church  remains  below ;  remains  in  the  wilderness, 
 where  she  has  a  place  and  a  nurture  provided  for  her  of 
 God,  and  where  at  a  future  time  we  shall  read  some- 
 thing more  of  her  perils,  her  safeguards,  and  her  conso- 
 lations. 
 
 But  to-night  our  eyes  are  taught  to  follow  the  track 
 of  the  ascending  Son,  and  to  notice  that  which  accom- 
 panies His  return  into  the  presence  of  God  and  into  the 
 glory  which  for  our  sakes  He  had  deserted.  I  will  first 
 read  to  you  the  whole  passage,  and  then  go  back  to 
 comment  upon  so  much  of  it  as  may  fall  within  the  space 
 and  time  allotted  to  us. 
 
 -  A7id^  there  became  {arose)  a  war  in  the  heaven;  Michael 
 and  Ids  angels  to  war  ivith  the  dragon :  and  the  dragon 
 warred,  and  his  angels ;  and^  they  availed  not,  they  had 
 not  strength  for  the  contest,  nor  was  place  of  them  found 
 any  longer  in  the  heaven.  And^  he  was  thrown,  the  great 
 dragon^  the  ancient  serpent,  he  that  is  called  the  devil 
 [slanderer),  and  Satan  [the  adversary),  he  zvho  leads  astray 
 the  whole  world,  he  was  throwit  upon  the  earth,  and  his 
 angels  zvere  thrown  zvith  him.     And°  I  heard  a  great  voice 
 
 ^  John  xvii.  5.  2  ^7-^^  -.  3  y^rse  8. 
 
 ^  Verse  9.  ^  Verse  10. 
 
296  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 in  the  heaven  sayings  Now  is  become  {come  to  pass)  the 
 salvation  and  the  might  and  the  kingdom  of  our  God  and 
 the  authority  of  His  Christ,  hecanse  the  accuser  of  our 
 brethren  is  throzvn  down,  he  who  accused  them  before  our 
 God  by  day  and  by  night.  And'^  they  conquered  him  be- 
 cause of  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  and  because  of  the  word  of 
 their  testimojiy,  and  they  loved  7tot  their  life  unto,  as  far  as, 
 up  to  the  very  extent  of,  death.  Therefore  ^  rejoice,  ye 
 heavens,  and  ye  that  tabernacle  therein :  Woe  to  the  earth 
 and  to  the  sea  !  becatise  the  devil  {slanderer)  is  gone  down 
 to  you,  having  great  wrath,  knowing  that  he  hath  but  a 
 short  season. 
 
 Let  us  take  the  various  points  in  order. 
 
 There  arose  a  war  in  heaven.  The  Child  was  caught 
 up  unto  God  and  to  His  throne  ;  and  then  the  Evangelist 
 sees  a  war  in  heaven.  The  stage  which  was  formerly 
 occupied  by  the  visions  accompanying  the  opening  of 
 the  seven  seals  and  the  blowing  of  the  seven  trumpets, 
 and  on  which  lately  were  seen  the  woman  travailing  in 
 birth  and  the  dragon  watching  for  her  delivery,  is  now 
 tenanted  by  contending  armies  ;  Michael  and  his  angels 
 warring  against  the  devil  and  his  angels.  It  is  some- 
 thing which  follows  upon  the  completion  of  the  earthly 
 work  of  Jesus  and  His  return  into  the  heavenly  places. 
 
 Let  us  look  at  the  contending  forces.  On  the  one 
 side  the  leader  is  the  person  designated  as  Michael. 
 This  name  is  found  altogether  five  times  in  Scripture. 
 Twice  in  the  lOth  chapter  of  the  prophet  Daniel,  where 
 he  appears  under  the  somewhat  vague  titles  of  Michael 
 one  of  the  chief  princes,  and  again,  Michael  your  prince^. 
 Again  in  the  12th  chapter  of  the  same  book.     And  at 
 
 ^  Verse  11.  ^  Verse  12.  ^  Dan.  x.  13,  21. 
 
XXI 
 
 ,]  Chap.  XII.   "]'■ — 9.  297 
 
 that  time  shall  Michael  stand  up,  the  great  prince  which 
 standeth  for  the  children  of  thy  people :  and  there  shall  be 
 a  time  of  trouble,  such  as  never  zvas  since  there  zvas  a 
 nation  even  to  that  same  time :  and  at  that  time  thy  people 
 shall  be  delivered,  every  one  that  shall  be  found  ivritten  in 
 the  book.  And  many  of  them  that  sleep  in  the  dust  of  the 
 earth  shall  awake,  some  to  everlasting  life,  and  some  to 
 shame  and  everlasting  contempt.  And  they  that  be  zvise 
 shall  shine  as  the  brightness  of  the  firmament ;  a?td  they 
 that  turn  ma?iy  to  righteousness  as  the  stag's  for  ever  and 
 ever^.  I  quote  this  passage  at  length,  because  the 
 connexion  there  assigned  to  the  person  designated  as 
 Michael  with  the  subject  of  the  general  resurrection  and 
 the  final  judgment  seems  to  point  to  an  interpretation  of 
 the  passage  now  before  us  which  appears  to  be  alone 
 adequate  and  satisfactory.  The  remaining  occurrence 
 of  the  name  is  in  the  Epistle  of  St  Jude,  where  it  is 
 found  in  this  combination,  Michael  the  archangel,  or  the 
 chief  (or  ruler)  of  angels ". 
 
 I  would  not  speak  with  positiveness  upon  a  point  not 
 decided  by  Revelation.  But  I  am  inclined  to  believe 
 that  Michael  is  here  a  name  for  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
 Himself  We  have  already  had  Him  described,  in  one 
 aspect,  under  the  figure  of  a  Lamb  ;  in  relation  at  once 
 to  His  innocence  and  to  His  sacrifice.  In  another  aspect, 
 He  has  been  pourtrayed  as  a  human  child,  the  promised 
 seed  of  the  woman  ;  in  reference  to  His  incarnation  and 
 to  the  reality  of  His  manhood.  Here,  again,  it  may 
 well  be  that  He  is  spoken  of  as  the  Lord  of  Angels ;  as 
 the  great  Prince  zvhich  standeth  for  the  childre?z  of  His 
 people^ ;  in  regard  to  His  conflict  with  the  powers  of  evil, 
 
 1  Dan.  xii.  1—3.  ^  Jucle  9.  ^  Dan.  xii.  i. 
 
298  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 and  His  victory  over  the  prince  of  this  ivorld^.  And  thus, 
 without  entering  into  the  question  whether  the  name 
 may  be  uniformly  restricted  to  our  Lord  alone,  or 
 whether,  like  other  names  under  which  He  is  presented 
 in  this  book,  it  may  also  have  another  use  as  the  title 
 of  one  of  His  holy  Angels,  we  may,  I  think,  consider 
 that,  when  we  read  of  a  conflict  between  Michael  and  his 
 angels  on  the  one  side,  and  the  devil  and  his  angels  on 
 the  other,  we  are  reading  of  a  warfare  in  which  Christ 
 Himself  is  engaged,  a  v/arfare  in  which  Christ  alone 
 could  lead  on  the  combatants  to  victory. 
 
 And  now  what  does  Scripture  teach  us  as  to  the 
 time  and  circumstances  of  this  conflict  ?  of  this  downfall 
 of  Satan,  as  it  were,  from  heaven  to  earth  ? 
 
 There  is  one  passage,  in  the  Gospel  of  St  Luke,  of 
 which  the  verses  before  us  are  (if  we  might  say  so  with 
 reverence)  a  mere  expanded  paraphrase.  The  seventy 
 disciples  have  just  returned  from  their  mission,  reporting 
 that  even  the  devils  aj'e  subject  tiiito  tJieui  through  the  name 
 of  Jesus.  And  He  said  nnto  tJieni,  I  beheld  Sata7i  as 
 lightning  fall  from  Jieaven.  And  He  goes  on  to  give 
 them  authority  .over  all  the  poiv,er  of  the  enemy ".  Thus 
 the  sacred  te^t  has  also  a  divine  interpreter.  Satan 
 thrown  out  of  heaven  is  a  figure  expressive  of  a  loss  of 
 power.  To  fall  from  heaven  to  earth  is  to  undergo  a 
 forfeiture  of  supremacy  without  a  forfeiture  of  existence  ; 
 a  defeat  but  not  a  destruction ;  a  weakening  but  not  an 
 extinction. 
 
 And  to  this  agree  several  other  passages  of  the  New 
 Testament.  Thus  we  read  in  the  nth  chapter  of  the 
 same  Gospel.       When  the  strong  one  fully  armed  guards 
 
 1  John  xiv.  30.  -  Luke  x.  17 — 19. 
 
XXI.]  Chap.  XII.   7 — 9.  299 
 
 his  ozvn  hall,  his  goods  are  at  peace  ;  but  ivheii  the  stronger 
 than  he  has  come  against  him  and  conquered  him,  He 
 taketh  aivay  his  complete  armonr  on  which  he  trusted,  and 
 divideth  his  spoils^.  How  exactly  is  this  the  conflict 
 and  the  victory  described  in  the  words  before  us  ! 
 
 Again,  in  the  12th  chapter  of  St  John's  Gospel.  Now 
 is  the  Judgment  of  this  zuorld ;  nozv  shall  the  prince  of  this 
 zvorld  be  cast  ont :  and  /,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth, 
 will  drazv  all  men  unto  me.  And  this  He  said,  signifying 
 by  zvhat  death  He  was  to  die"^.  Observe  (i)  the  very 
 figure  of  the  casting  out ;  and  (2)  the  combination  of 
 this  with  the  death  by  crucifixion  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 Once  more,  in  the  i6th  chapter  of  St  John.  Whcji 
 He,  the  Comforter,  is  come,  He  zvill  7'eprove  {convict)  the 
 world... concerning  jiLdgment,  because  the  prince  of  this 
 world  is  already  judged"^.  Sentence  is  already  passed 
 upon  him,  though  not  yet  finally  executed. 
 
 Yet  again,  in  the  2nd  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
 HejDrews.  ForasmucJi  then  as  the  children,  spoken  of  in 
 the  last  quotation  from  the  8th  chapter  of  the  prophet 
 Isaiah,  are  partakers  of  flesh  and  blood,  He  also  Himself 
 in  like  manner  partook  of  the  same :  that  by  means  of 
 death  He  might  destroy  him  that  hath  the  pozver  of  death, 
 that  is,  tJie  devil ;  and  deliver  all  those  who  by  fear  of 
 death  were  all  their  lifetime  stibject  to  bondage  *. 
 
 O  the  wonderful  harmony  (when  rightly  interpreted) 
 of  the  Word  of  God  !  (i)  The  seventy  disciples  by  the 
 power  of  Jesus  had  dealt  a  fatal  blow,  to  the  extent 
 of  their  mission,  upon  the  power  of  evil.     They  had  set 
 
 1  Luke  xi.  21,  22.  '^  John  xii.  31 — 33.  ^  John  xvi.  8,  n. 
 
 ^  Heb.  ii.  14,  15. 
 
300  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 free  bodies  and  souls  which  Satan  had  hotind'^  through 
 long  years,  in  disease  or  sin.  In  these  things  the  Saviour 
 saw,  not  by  anticipation  only,  the  fall  of  Satan  from 
 his  usurped  dominion.  (2)  Still  more  decisively  was 
 this  downfall  enacted  in  the  words  and  works  of  His 
 own  ministry  as  a  whole.  Then  indeed  did  the  stronger 
 than  the  strong  man  armed  enter  into  the  guarded  hall, 
 and  scatter  possessions  till  then  securely  kept.  (3)  But 
 in  a  higher  sense  than  either  of  these  was  the  sacrifice 
 of  the  death  of  Christ  a  casting  out  of  Satan  from  his 
 heaven.  Then  was  it,  in  that  great  consummation  of 
 the  work  of  redemption,  that  Satan  lost  his  subjects 
 and  the  Saviour  drew  tliem  to  Himself  That  was  (in 
 the  language  of  the  primeval  prophecy)  a  bnnsing  of 
 the  serpent's  head"^  at  the  moment  and  in  the  very  act 
 of  his  fancied  triumph.  That  was  indeed  the  very  judg- 
 ment of  the  prince  of  this  world.  From  that  time  forth 
 he  was  a  condemned  and  sentenced  criminal ;  from  that 
 time  forth  the  world  which  still  served  him  was  convicted 
 concerning  his  judgment^  by  every  single  operation  of 
 the  Spirit  of  truth  in  teaching,  quickening,  or  comfort- 
 ing, however  long  might  be  the  interval  between  the 
 sentence  and  the  punishment,  between  the  judgment 
 and  the  execution.  (4)  But,  above  all,  and  with  a 
 truth  yet  beyond  these,  was  the  glorious  Ascension 
 of  Christ  the  casting  out  from  their  heaven  of  the  devil 
 and  his  angels.  When  He  ascended  up  on  high,  He  led 
 captivity  captive^;  angels  and  a?(thorities  and  powers, 
 evil  no  less  than  good,  were  then  made  subject  tmto  Him  V 
 it  was  when  the   Divine  Child,  the  Man   Christ  Jesus, 
 
 1  Luke  xiii.  i6.  2  Qgjj_  jjj_  j-  3  John  xvi.  11. 
 
 ^  Eph.  iv.  8.  ^  I  Pet.  iii.  22. 
 
XXI.]  Chap.  XII.   7 — 9.  301 
 
 was  at  last  caught  tip  inito  God  and  to  His  throne,  that 
 there  arose  that  decisive  war  in  heaven  in  which  the 
 dragon  and  his  angels  fought  and  prevailed  not,  neither 
 was  their  place  found  any  more  in  heaven. 
 
 This  is  that  conflict  and  that  victory  of  which  the 
 text  tells  us.  There  was,  we  doubt  not,  an  earlier 
 struggle  and  an  earlier  defeat.  God  made  all  things 
 upright:  if  there  be  one  intelligent  and  moral  being 
 who  is  now  the  enemy  of  good,  that  being  must  have 
 fallen ;  that  being  is  not  as  God  made  him  ;  that  being 
 has  corrupted  himself,  and  departed  by  whatever  steps 
 from  an  original  righteousness.  We  believe  not  in  the 
 existence  from  the  first  of  two  antagonist  powers,  one 
 wholly  good,  and  one  wholly  evil.  We  account  not 
 for  the  origin  of  evil :  we  leave  it  as  one  of  those 
 secret  things,  one  of  those  really  inscrutable  mysteries, 
 with  which  Revelation  has  not  dealt,  which  belong  wholly 
 to  the  Lord  our  God^.  But  one  faint  glimpse  or  two  v/e 
 do  perceive  in  Scripture  of  a  fall  from  good  affecting 
 not  man  only.  Our  Lord  tells  us,  in  the  8th  chapter 
 of  St  John,  that  the  devil  abode  not  in  the  truth'^ ; 
 continued  not  in  that  light  of  holiness  in  which  he 
 v.^as  first  created  and  made.  And  St  Peter  speaks, 
 in  his  2nd  Epistle,  of  God  not  sparing  angels  wJlcji  they 
 sinned,  but  casting  tJieni  dozvn  to  hell,  and  delivering  the?n 
 to  chains  of  darkness,  to  be  reserved  unto  judgment^ .  And 
 St  Jude  echoing  the  same  language  says,  And  the  angels 
 zvliich  kept  not  their  first  estate — their  ozvn-  begin nij^g  is 
 the  exact  expression — /;///  deserted  their  proper  habitation, 
 He  hath  reserved  in  everlasting  chaiizs  tender  darkness  tinto 
 the  Judgment  of  the  great  day  ^     These  things  we  accept 
 
 1  Deut.  xxix.  29.         2  joi^n  viii.  44.         ^  2  Pet.  ii.  4.         ■*  Jude. 6. 
 
302  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 in  their  simplicity ;  we  read  and  fear.  We  see  in  them 
 a  new  proof  of  the  malignity  of  sin  :  that  evil  which 
 could  enter  God's  presence  must  indeed  be  audacious, 
 must  indeed  be  powerful.  We  see  in  them  a  new 
 proof  of  God's  righteous  judgment :  if  God  spared  not 
 angels  when  they  sinned,  take  heed  lest  He  also  spare 
 not  thee'^.  We  see  in  them  a  new  proof  of  the  mag- 
 nitude of  our  own  spiritual  dangers ;  compassed  about 
 not  more  with  abounding  mercies  than  with  schemes 
 and  stratagems  of  invisible  foes^  Well  may  these 
 thoughts  add  earnestness  to  our  prayers,  and  intensity 
 to  our  watchfulness. 
 
 But  with  this  earlier  and  more  mysterious  warfare 
 the  text  is  remotely  concerned.  It  may  be  that  the 
 language  before  us  is  tinged  and  coloured  from  that 
 ancient  history ;  but  its  own  import  is  that  which  we 
 have  already  assigned  to  it.  The  place  of  the  trans- 
 action is  its  interpreter.  The  Child,  divine  at  once  and 
 human,  after  incarnation,  after  temptation,  after  suf- 
 fering, after  crucifixion,  after  resurrection,  after  mani- 
 festation to  His  vWtnesses  who  are  to  proclaim  Him  to 
 the  world,  has  at  length  been  caught  up  to  God  and 
 to  His  throne.  Victories  won  below,  by  Himself  and 
 by  His  disciples,  over  the  spiritual  hosts  of  evil ;  bodies 
 released  from  suffering,  souls  from  possession  ;  words  of 
 truth  spoken,  deeds  of  mercy  done ;  a  perfect  example 
 set  of  patience,  of  holiness,  of  humanity,  of  godliness ; 
 a  life  of  contempt  and  obloquy  crowned  by  a  death 
 of  shame  and  anguish,  and  then  reversed  by  a  blessed 
 and  glorious  resurrection  ;  these  things,  in  their  various 
 parts  and   degrees,  have  struck  a  deadly  blow  at  the 
 
 1  Rom.  xi.  -21.  ^  Eph.  vi.  12. 
 
XXI 
 
 .]  Chap.  XII.   7 — 9.  3O3 
 
 throne  and  empire  of  evil,  and  justified  to  the  full  the 
 song  of  anticipative  triumph,  /  beheld  Satan  as  lightning 
 fall  front  heaven  \  But  when,  after  all  these  things 
 done  and  borne,  the  Conqueror  Himself  arises  in  the 
 crowning  miracle  of  the  Ascension,  and  strikes  at  the 
 heavenly  portals  for  admission  as  the  Lord  strong  and 
 mighty,  tJie  Lord  mighty  in  battle~ ;  when  He  takes  His 
 seat  in  heaven,  not  for  Himself  alone,  but  as  the  Me- 
 diator and  Intercessor  of  all  who  believe  ;  when,  in  ful- 
 filment of  His  most  true  promise.  He  proceeds  to  claim 
 from  His  Father  the  gift  of  His  Holy  Spirit  to  carry 
 on  in  individual  hearts  below  the  good  fight  of  fait  J i^ 
 and  the  transforming  work  of  sanctlfication  ;  then  at  last, 
 then  most  decisively,  did  Michael  the  great  Prince 
 stand  up  for  His  people  against  the  enemy  and  the 
 destroyer;  then  did  He  realize  to  the  full  the  scene 
 afterwards  disclosed  in  vision  to  the  eye  of  His  Apostle 
 and  Evangelist,  There  arose  a  zvar  iji  heaven,  on  the 
 stage  of  prophetic  manifestation,  Michael  and  His  aiigels 
 fonght  against  the  dragoii,  and  the  dragon  fought  and  Ids 
 angels,  and  prevailed  not,  neither  was  their  place  foimd  ajiy 
 more  in  Jieaven. 
 
 My  brethren,  the  small  portion  of  the  passage  to 
 which  our  thoughts  have  been  confined  may  suggest  to 
 us  two  or  three  important  reflections  before  we  conclude. 
 
 Do  not  imagine  that  because  the  war  in  heaven  is 
 ended  and  ended  well,  therefore  the  war  on  earth  is  over 
 too.  Nothing  can  be  so  fatal  as  a  false  security.  It  is 
 true,  Christ  has  conquered  ;  and  you  know  through  what 
 severe,  what  protracted,  what  cruel  conflicts.  And  it  is 
 true  that  in  thus  conquering  He  conquered  not  for  Him- 
 
 1  Luke  X.  18.  2  Psalm  xxiv.  8.  ^  i  Tim.  vi.  12. 
 
304  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 self  alone.  He  was  not  only  bearing  our  griefs^,  but 
 also  fighting  our  battles.  And  when  He  had  almost 
 reached  the  end  of  the  long  struggle  He  said,  The priiice 
 of  this  zvorld  is  judged^;  now  shall  the  prince  of  this 
 world  be  cast  out^.  But  remember,  there  is  all  the 
 difference  between  a  victory  secured  to  those  who  will 
 fight,  and  a  victory  certain  and  safe  whether  we  fight  or 
 fight  not.  Christ  cast  Satan  from  his  throne:  but  He 
 did  so  for  those  who  are  His,  His  by  a  living  faith,  His 
 by  a  careful  obedience ;  not  for  those  who  just  call  Him 
 Lo7'd,  Lord,  but  do  not  in  any  sense  the  things  wJiich  He 
 says^.  Christ  is  the  Captain  of  our  salvation^ ;  but  only 
 soldiers  have  a  Captain ;  only  fighting  men  can  conquer. 
 We  shall  hear  on  a  future  day  that,  so  far  from  being 
 annihilated,  the  power  of  Satan  is  rather  stimulated  by 
 defeat :  it  is  as  if  he  were  come  down  to  earth  with  added 
 wrath  because  he  knozus  that  he  has  bict  a  short  time. 
 Thus  then  the  first  question  for  all  of  us  is.  Am  I  a 
 fighting  man  .?  If  not,  the  victory  of  Christ  cannot  be 
 mine. 
 
 And  therefore  I  would  say  to  undecided  persons — by 
 which  I  mean  persons  who  have  not  yet  consciously 
 enlisted  themselves  in  God's  service  under  Christ's  ban- 
 ner— I  would  that  you  might  be  persuaded,  by  His  grace 
 working  with  the  Word,  to  see  what  a  formidable,  what  a 
 tremendous  struggle  is  really  going  on,  whether  you  take 
 part  in  it  or  no,  between  the  condemned  but  not  yet 
 executed  evil  one,  and  the  glorified  but  not  yet  unresisted 
 Saviour.  Half  and  more  than  half  of  our  vacillation  and 
 of  our  lukewarmness  in  the  things  of  the  soul  arises  from 
 
 ^  Isai.  liii.  4.  2  j^j^^^  j^^j^  jj^  3  jo^jj  xii.  31. 
 
 ^  Luke  vi.  46.  ^  Heb.  ii.  10. 
 
XXI 
 
 .]  Chap.  XII.   7—9.  305 
 
 shutting  our  eyes  to  the  war  which  is  raging  around  us. 
 We  soften  down  the  expressions  of  Scripture  till  they 
 mean  anything  or  nothing.  We  give  new  names  to  old 
 sins,  and  think  that  we  have  changed  their  character  by 
 a  mere  change  of  title.  We  misplace  or  misread  the 
 claims  of  Christian  charity,  and  make  a  merit  of  in- 
 dulgence towards  frailty,  and  almost  of  connivance  at 
 sin.  And  even  this  is  not  all  nor  the  chief  part  of  the 
 evil.  Our  own  inner  self  is  infected  by  it.  We  try  to 
 drift  easily  down  the  stream  of  life,  seeing  everything 
 in  bright  colours,  amusing  ourselves  as  we  go,  and  avoid- 
 ing everything  that  might  trouble  our  repose  or  shake 
 our  security  and  self-confidence.  And  this  kind  of  life 
 is  very  pleasant,  very  alluring:  it  is  tranquillizing  in  it-, 
 self,  and  it  makes  us  very  agreeable  one  to  another.  But 
 is  it,  is  it — for  that  \?>  the  real  question — is  it  true .''  is  it 
 what  God  commands  .'*  is  it  what  God  approves  1  Open 
 His  Holy  Word  where  you  will ;  in  its  histories  or  in  its 
 prophecies,  in  its  Psalms  or  in  its  Proverbs,  in  its  Gospels 
 or  in  its  Epistles ;  and  is  not  this  written  on  every  page, 
 The  world  is  one  great  battlefield,  and  he  who  will  make 
 it  a  mere  spectacle,  a  place  of  idle  lounging  or  of  listless 
 sauntering,  is  in  reality  fighting  against  his  God^  and 
 forfeiting  his  immortal  crown  1 
 
 Life  is  a  serious  thing ;  if  only  for  this  one  reason, 
 that  in  it  a  spiritual  war  is  perpetually  waging,  in  which 
 Christ  and  Satan  are  the  combatants,  and  human  souls 
 the  possession  to  be  lost  or  won.  Be  on  Christ's  side, 
 and  the  victory  is  certain.  In  the  world  ye  shall  have 
 tribulation ;  but  be  of  good  cheery  I  have  overcome  the 
 world'\  In  the  world  ye  shall  have  temptation  ;  but  be 
 ^  Acts  V.  39.  ^  John  xvi.  33. 
 
 V.  R.  20 
 
3o6  Revelation.  [lect.  xxi. 
 
 of  good  cheer,  I  have  overcome,  I  have  cast  out,  the 
 tempter.  But  remember  also,  He  that  is  not  with  me  is 
 against  me  ;  and  to  be  against  Christ  is  to  be  a  lost  man. 
 Happy  they  who,  amidst  whatever  discouragements  from 
 without  or  from  within,  are  yet  bearing  about  them  the 
 one  badge  of  assured  victory,  We  sign  him  with  the  sign 
 of  the  cross ^  in  token  that  hereafter  he  shall  not  be  ashamed 
 to  confess  the  faith  of  Christ  crucified,  and  manfully  to 
 fight  under  His  banner  against  sin,  the  zvorld,  ajid  the 
 devil,  and  to  continue  Christ's  faithfid  soldier  ajid  servant 
 unto  his  life's  end'^  ! 
 
 ^  Service  for  Infant  Baptism. 
 
 Twenty-fifth  Sunday  after  Trinity, 
 November  i7»   1861. 
 
LECTURE    XXII. 
 
 REVELATION   XII.    II. 
 
 And  they  overcame  him  by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  and  by 
 the  word  of  their  testimony  ;  and  they  loved  not  their 
 lives  unto  the  death. 
 
 I  beheld  Satan  as  ligJitning  fall  from  heaven^.  We 
 noticed  last  Sunday  the  stages  by  which  that  saying  of 
 our  Lord,  uttered  on  the  occasion  of  the  return  of  the 
 seventy,  was  carried  to  its  accomplishment.  The  words 
 which  He  spoke,  and  the  works  which  He  wrought,  on 
 earth,  were  all  so  many  blows  struck  at  the  integrity  of 
 Satan's  empire  over  the  world  which  he  calls  his  own. 
 The  sufferings  of  Christ,  His  entire  self-surrender,  His 
 obedience  even  unto  death  '\  and  that  death  the  death  of  the 
 ci^oss,  were  in  a  yet  higher  sense  the  ejection  of  Satan 
 from  his  usurped  dominion  over  man.  Then  were  the 
 words  yet  more  decisively  fulfilled,  The  prince  of  this 
 world  is  judged^.  It,  the  promised  seed,  shall  brnise  thy 
 head,  even  in  the  very  moment  in  which  thou  shalt  brnise 
 his  heel*.     But  in  a   higher   degree   and   with   a  fuller 
 
 1  Luke  X.  i8.  2  Phil,  ii,  8.  ^  john  xvi.  ii. 
 
 *  Gen.  iii.  15. 
 
 20—2 
 
3o8  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 meaning  still  was  Satan  cast  out  from  his  heaven  by  the 
 glorious  Resurrection  and  the  glorious  Ascension  of  our 
 Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  It  was  when  tJie  Child 
 was  caiLght  tip  to  God  and  to  His  throne  that  that  decisive 
 war  arose  in  heaven,  of  which  the  result  was  that  the 
 great  dragon,  the  ancient  serpent,  he  that  is  called  slanderer 
 and  the  adversary,  he  who  leads  astray  the  whole  world, 
 zvas  throzvn  from  heaven  npon  the  earth,  and  his  angels 
 with  him. 
 
 I  would  have  you  notice,  my  brethren,  before  we 
 pass  on,  the  description,  the  fourfold  description,  here 
 given  us  of  that  spiritual  enemy  with  whom  our  struggle 
 and  our  warfare  lies.  He  is  (i)  the  great  dragon;  the 
 prince  of  this  world^ ;  the  leader  and  commander  (as  we 
 saw  in  a  former  Lecture)  of  the  aggressions  of  the  world 
 upon  the  Church  of  Christ,  upon  the  people  of  God. 
 He  is  (2)  the  ancieiit  serpent ;  the  very  person  who  in  the 
 earliest  days  of  our  race,  having  himself  fallen  yet  earlier 
 from  his  original  uprightness,  appeared  as  the  tempter  of 
 man,  and  through  his  bodily  appetite  seduced  him  from 
 his  Maker.  He  is  (3)  tJie  slanderer  and  the  adversary, 
 the  devil  and  Satan  ;  he  who,  as  we  read  in  the  opening 
 of  the  Book  of  Job,  and  again,  more  briefly,  in  the  3rd 
 chapter  of  the  prophecies  of  Zechariah,  calumniates  and 
 slanders  before  God  those  whom  he  has  first  deceived 
 and  overthrown  below.  How  unlike  the  heroic  attributes 
 with  which  poetry  has  invested  the  great  enemy  of  man  1 
 how  unlike  the 
 
 Princely  counsel  in  his  face  yet  shone 
 Maiestic  thd  in  rtiijt  ; 
 
 ^  John  xii.  31. 
 
XXII.]  Chap,  XII.    lo,   II.  309 
 
 or, 
 
 With  monarchal  pride 
 Conscious  of  highest  zvorth ; 
 
 of  which  we  read  in  our  Milton  !  The  enemy  of  God  is 
 as  mean  as  he  is  cruel.  He  is  the  slanderer,  or  calum- 
 niator, as  well  as  the  adversary.  He  first  seduces  man, 
 and  then  tells  of  him  !  And  thus  (4)  he  is  described  as 
 the  misleader  of  all  the  world  ;  he  zvho  leads  astray  all 
 the  world.  We  all  know  how  vile  a  character  must  that 
 be  which  can  take  pleasure  in  misdirecting  a  benighted 
 traveller  as  to  the  route  which  he  must  take  to  gain  the 
 end  of  his  journey.  We  have  all  read  in  Scripture  the 
 words  which  have  been  made  to  form  a  part  of  our  Com- 
 mination  Service,  Cursed  is  he  that  inaketh  the  blind  to  go 
 out  of  Ins  zuaj/^.  Now  that  completes  the  description 
 here  given  of  him  whom  our  Lord  in  the  accomplish- 
 ment of  His  work  of  Redemption  cast  down  out  of  his 
 heaven. 
 
 My  brethren,  I  count  it  a  great  matter  that  we  should 
 divest  ourselves  of  any  notion  of  sin  as  being  a  great 
 or  a  noble  thing.  The  devil,  who  is  the  wielder  of  the 
 concentrated  power  of  sin,  is  the  impersonation  of  all 
 that  is  mean  and  cowardly  and  dastardly.  He  uses  his 
 intellect  to  deceive  others,  and  when  he  has  succeeded 
 in  setting  man  against  God,  he  then,  as  this  passage 
 forcibly  describes  it,  endeavours  as  it  were  to  set  God 
 against  man.  It  is  a  great  step  gained  when  the  devil  is 
 unmasked  to  us  ;  when  we  learn  to  abhor  him  for  his 
 contemptible  and  odious  character,  at  least  as  much  as 
 we  dread  him  for  his  usurped  and  abused  power. 
 
 ^  Deut.  xxvii.  18. 
 
3IO  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 Now  the  loth  and  two  following  verses,  read  to 
 you  last  Sunday,  contain  a  song  of  triumph  in  heaven 
 over  the  downfall  of  the  devil  and  his  angels.  You 
 are  reminded  that,  though  fallen  from  heaven  through 
 the  finished  work  of  Christ,  the  devil  has  yet  an 
 existence  and  a  dominion  too  left  him  for  a  time  on 
 earth.  In  the  passage  now  before  us  these  two  thoughts 
 are  combined.  I  shall  not  stay  to  enquire  very  curiously 
 whose  voice  is  heard  in  heaven  thus  celebrating  Satan's 
 fall  and  warning  the  earth  of  his  remaining  pov/er  and 
 aggravated  fury.  Whether  it  vv^as  the  voice  of  the 
 righteous  dead,  or  Vv^hether  it  was  the  voice  of  the  holy 
 Angels,  makes  little  difference  to  the  interpretation. 
 Perhaps  the  pronoun  used  in  the  text,  tJiey^  not  zve,  may 
 rather  indicate  that  the  speakers  are  not  themselves  of 
 human  but  of  angelic  nature.  The  song  itself  is  one 
 partly  of  celebration  and  partly  of  anticipation.  The 
 kingdom  of  our  God  and  the  authority  of  His  Christ  was 
 established  by  the  work  of  redemption.  But  that  king- 
 dom, that  authority,  is  not  yet  in  the  full  sense  come. 
 We  still  pray,  Thy  kingdom  come  \  All  is  ready  :  the 
 throne  is  erected  ;  multitudes  of  subjects  flock  around 
 it  and  do  homage,  homage  of  heart  and  life,  to  Him  who 
 sits  thereon:  but  not  yet  is  every  enemy  made  His  foot- 
 stoop ;  sin  still  struggles,  still  in  individual  cases  prevails, 
 still  in  many  parts  of  the  earth  reigns  paramount;  and 
 death,  which  follows  after  sin,  is  not  yet  destroyed  by 
 the  crowning  miracle  of  the  general  resurrection  I  But 
 the  accuser  of  our  brethren  is  already  cast  down  :  he 
 could  not  co-exist  in  heaven  with  the  Mediator  and 
 the  Intercessor.     The  entrance  of  the  Advocate  is  the 
 
 1  Matt.  vi.  10.  Heb.  i.  i?,.  ^  i  Cor.  xv.  26. 
 
XXII 
 
 .]  Chap.  XII.    lo,   II.  311 
 
 expulsion  of  the  slanderer.  The  work  of  redemption 
 accomplished  is  the  silencing  of  the  accuser  above,  as 
 well  as  the  silencing  of  the  accuser  within. 
 
 And  they  overcame  Jiini.  We  are  reading  here,  you 
 will  remember,  of  the  time  of  the  Ascension.  And  at 
 that  time  no  Christians  (strictly  so  called)  had  yet  died. 
 The  victory  spoken  of  is  one  which  in  its  full  sense 
 could  not  be-  won  until  after  Christ's  Ascension  and  the 
 descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  the  Church.  St  Stephen 
 was  the  first  example  of  it.  Doubtless  the  Old  Testa- 
 ment saints  had  conquered  through  the  same  power. 
 Not  only  was  Christ  foreoi^daincd  before  the  foundation 
 of  the  zvorld^,  but  we  believe  that  the  Redemption 
 threw  its  healing  virtue  behind  as  well  as  before  ;  upon 
 those  who  could  only,  like  Abraham,  see  the  day  of 
 Christ^  in  vision,  as  well  as  upon  those  who  walked 
 in  the  brightest  light  of  its  noonday.  Still  the  words 
 of  the  text  have  their  fullest  accomplishment  in  the 
 period  after  Christ's  coming.  And  we  shall  best  regard 
 them  as  anticipative  and  prophetic  in  their  tone ;  as 
 describing  the  victory  which  has  been  won  by  Christ's 
 servants,  one  after  another,  and  age  after  age,  under  the 
 dispensation  of  the  Gospel;  and  of  which  the  completion 
 of  Christ's  work  by  ascension  contained  not  the  promise 
 only  but  the  power. 
 
 Now  therefore  let  us  fix  our  thoughts  upon  the 
 revelation  here  made  to  us  of  the  manner  of  the  Chris- 
 tian victory.  And  while  we  dwell  upon  its  three  chief 
 instruments,  as  they  are  here  disclosed  to  us,  let  us  do 
 so — God  grant  us  grace  to  do  so — in  a  spirit  of  serious 
 self-application,  remembering  that  if  we  conquer  we  must 
 
 1  I  Pet.  i.  20.  ,  ^  John  viii.  56. 
 
312  Revelation.      '  [lect. 
 
 conquer  thus  and  not  otherwise,  and  that  if  we  conquer 
 not  we  can  never  win  our  crown. 
 
 I.  First  then,  it  is  here  written,  they  conquered 
 him  through  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.  Every  Christian, 
 whether  he  live,  like  St  John,  in  the  first  century,  or, 
 like  us,  in  the  nineteenth,  conquers  the  devil  oiuing 
 to — for  that  is  the  exact  force  of  the  word — the  blood 
 of  the  Lamb.  Every  true  Christian  is  a  fighting  man. 
 He  has  an  enemy,  and  he  knows  it.  They,  we  believe, 
 will  manage  their  warfare  best  and  most  skilfully,  who 
 most  clearly  realize  to  themselves  the  fact  of  a  personal 
 though  spiritual  adversary.  We  ivrestle  7iot  against  flesh 
 and  blood,  but  against  principalities,  against  poivers,  against 
 the  rulers  of  the  dai'kness  of  this  tuorld^.  Lest  Satan, 
 the  same  Apostle  writes,  should  get  an  advantage  of  tis  : 
 for  we  are  7tot  ignorant  of  his  devices'^.  St  Paul  had 
 a  strong  sense  of  the  existence  and  the  personality  of 
 the  devil.  It  was  so  with  other  Apostles.  St  James  : 
 Resist  the  devil:  and  he  will  flee  from  you^.  St  Peter : 
 Your  adversary  the  devil  as  a  roariftg  lio7t  walketh  about, 
 seekiftg  zvhom  he  may  devour ;  zvhom  resist,  stedfast  in 
 thefaith^.  And  One  greater  than  any  Apostle  said,  in 
 language  made  memorable  alike  by  its  occasion  and  by 
 its  consequences,  Simon,  Simon,  behold,  Sata?i  hath  de- 
 sired to  have  you,  that  he  may  sift  you  as  wheat :  but  I 
 have  prayed  for  thee,  that  thy  faith  fail  not'\  Those 
 who  have  done  Christ's  work  on  earth  most  stoutly 
 and  most  bravely  have  all  been  men  who  felt  them- 
 selves to  be  fighting  a  battle  day  by  day,  not  with 
 vague   and    impalpable  ideas,  not  with  general  notions 
 
 ^  Eph.  vi.  \i.  2  2  Cor.  ii.  rr.  ^  James  iv.  7. 
 
 *  I  Pet.  V.  8,  9.  ^  Luke  xxii.  31,  32. 
 
XXII.]  Chap.  XII.    lo,    II.  313 
 
 or  abstract  principles  of  evil,  but  with  a  living  spiritual 
 enemy,  whose  access  to  them,  whose  presence  with 
 them,  they  could  almost  trace  like  that  of  a  man.  They 
 conquered  him,  it  is  written  of  these,  as  one  by  one  they 
 hd^YQ  finished  their  coicrse  and  accomplished  their  warfare^, 
 him  the  deceiver  and  the  slanderer,  him  the  tempter 
 and  the  accuser,  ozvi?ig  to  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.  This 
 was  the  secret  of  their  strength. 
 
 None  of  you,  my  brethren,  will  be  afraid  of  the 
 expression  which  God  Himself  has  here  given  us.  It 
 is  one  of  the  signs  of  good  amongst  us  as  a  nation, 
 that  we  jealously  watch  and  guard  the  possession  of 
 the  doctrine  of  Propitiation.  A  man  who  gainsays  the 
 Atonement  must  find  himself  an  audience  amongst  a 
 few  learned  men  ;  he  is  not  one  who  has  with  him 
 that  almost  infallible  mark  of  the  true  Gospel,  that 
 the  common  people  hear  him  gladly'^.  We  may  thank 
 God  for  this :  it  is  one  of  the  many  proofs  that  the 
 Gospel,  the  pure,  the  simple,  the  often  despised  Gospel, 
 came  from  the  God  of  nature,  from  the  God  of  the 
 human  heart,  from  Him  who  kneiv  zvhat  was  in  man^ 
 because  He  had  Himself  made  man.  But  I  have  a 
 few  plain  things  to  say  to  those  who  prize,  as  we,  I 
 am  sure,  all  prize,  the  words,  and  the  thing  signified 
 by  the  words,  atonement,  propitiation,  sacrifice,  the  blood 
 of  the  cross,  the  blood  of  the  Lamb^.  The  blood  of  the 
 Lamb  evidently  means  the  blood  shed  by  Him  who  is 
 called  in  Scripture  the  Lamb  of  God  which  taketh  away 
 the  sin  of  the  zuorld^\  It  means,  as  our  Communion  Ser- 
 vice expresses  it,  the  fnll,  perfect,  and  sufficie?it  sacrifice 
 
 1  2  Tim.  iv.  7.     Isai.  xl.  2.  -  Mark  xii.  37.  ^  John  ii.  25. 
 
 ^  Col.  i.  20.  ^  John  i.  29. 
 
314  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 oblation,  and  satisfaction,  fo7'  the  sins  of  the  whole  world, 
 which  Christ  our  Saviour  made  there,  upon  the  cross, 
 by  His  one  oblation  of  Himself  once  offered. 
 
 Now  do  I  not  speak  this  evening  to  many  hearts 
 which  will  echo  the  word  in  their  secret  depths  ?  TJiey 
 overcame  the  devil  because  of  {owing  to)  the  blood  of  the 
 Lamb.  Can  you  overcome  evil,  can  you  get  rid  of 
 one  sin  ;  of  the  clogging  guilt,  of  the  condemning  voice, 
 of  the  enthralling  and  enfeebling  power,  of  any  one  sin- 
 ful temper,  evil  desire,  or  hurtful  lust ;  without,  apart 
 from,  the  blood  of  the  Lamb  ?  What  is  it,  so  many  of 
 you  as  ever  know  what  peace  of  mind  is,  which  gives 
 you  that  peace  ?  What  is  it,  so  many  of  you  as  know 
 what  it  is  to  struggle  manfully  with  a  temptation,  which 
 gives  you  the  heart  so  to  struggle  ?  What  is  it,  so  many 
 of  you  as  know  what  it  is  to  rise  again  to  your  feet 
 after  a  fall,  which  gives  you  encouragement  so  to 
 arise  and  renew  your  conflict  ?  I  might  run  through 
 all  the  possible  stages  and  phases  of  a  Christian  life, 
 and  ask  with  respect  to  each,  Do  you  not  owe  it 
 primarily  to  the  blood  of  the  Lamb  ?  to  the  assurance 
 that  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  did  on  the  cross  bear  and 
 take  away  the  sins  of  the  world,  and  therefore  also 
 your  sins?  that  He  is  the  propitiation,  as  St  John 
 writes,  for  our  sins,  and  not  for  ours  only — lest  wc 
 should  say,  Perhaps  I  may  not  be  one  of  those  true 
 Christians  of  whom  he  speaks — but  also  for  the  sins 
 of  the  whole  world^  ?  Thus  we  claim  for  ourselves, 
 and  would  preserve,  God  helping  us,  for  every  later 
 and  latest  generation  of  the  Church,  the  comforting 
 and    strengthening   power   of   the    simple    heaven-sent 
 
 ^  I  John  ii.  2. 
 
XXII.]  Chap.  XII.   lo,    IT.  315 
 
 doctrine  of  the  Atonement  made  for  our  sins  and  for 
 all  sins  by  the  blood,  that  is,  by  the  death,  of  our 
 Saviour  and  our  Redeemer. 
 
 But,  while  we  do  so,  we  must  no  less  earnestly  press 
 upon  you  and  upon  ourselves  the  serious  enquiry,  Are 
 we  indeed  making  this  use  of  the  blood  of  the  Lamb  ? 
 Are  we  indeed  overcoming  our  sins,  one  by  one,  and 
 every  one,  through  this  faith  in  our  forgiveness  i^  Let 
 us  take  heed  lest  we  be  fighting  for  the  Atonement,  in- 
 stead of  conquering  through  it ;  lest  we  be  champions  of 
 the  doctrine  only,  and  not  champions  of  our  Saviour 
 through  the  doctrine.  Let  us  all,  if  God  gives  us  grace, 
 love  the  very  sound  of  the  words,  atonement,  propitia- 
 tion, sacrifice,  yet  not  because  they  are  the  watchwords 
 (as  they  ought  to  be)  of  the  whole  Church  ;  but  because 
 we  have  tried  for  ourselves  the  thing  to  which  they 
 testify,  and  have  found  it  in  our  own  experience  salutary 
 and  iifegiving  to  the  soul. 
 
 2.  It  is  here  written,  in  the  second  place,  that 
 Christians  overcome  the  devil  through  {pzving  to)  theivord 
 of  their  testimony :  that  is,  the  word  or  message  which 
 they  attest ;  of  which  they  are  witnesses. 
 
 The  word,  or  message.  That  is  the  simple  and  ex- 
 pressive account  of  God's  Revelation.  It  is  a  word,  an 
 utterance,  something  said  by  God  to  us.  It  is  not 
 exactly  a  book  ;  though  a  book  contains  and  embodies 
 it.  It  was  originally  something  spoken  ;  spoken  by  the 
 Son  of  God  on  earth,  or  else  spoken  by  the  Son  of  God 
 from  heaven.  God  hath  in  these  last  days  spokeii  tmto  ns 
 by  His  Son^.  Let  us  think  thus  of  Revelation.  God 
 has  spoken  to  us.  God,  who  had  already  given  us  a 
 1  Heb.  i.  2. 
 
3 1 6  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 voice  without  and  a  voice  within ;  the  voice  of  nature, 
 arguing  from  the  things  that  are  made  the  eternal  power 
 and  Godhead'^  of  Him  who  made  them;  and  the  voice 
 of  reason  and  conscience,  teUing  us,  and  enforcing  upon 
 us  in  detail,  the  great  leading  principles  of  truth  and 
 falsehood,  of  right  and  wrong ;  the  same  God  has 
 thought  it  worth  while  to  add  to  these  two  voices  yet 
 a  third  and  a  fourth ;  another  voice  without,  and  another 
 voice  within ;  the  voice  of  His  Revelation,  and  the 
 voice  of  His  Spirit.  How  ought  we  to  press  forward 
 to  catch  these  new  sounds ;  these  new  communications 
 added  to  the  former !  They  must  be  true,  they  must  be 
 important,  they  must  be  serviceable,  they  must  be  ur- 
 gent ;  or  God  would  not  have  gone  on  to  add  them  to 
 the  disclosures  of  Himself  already  given,  or  to  seal  their 
 utterance  with  the  very  blood  of  the  Lamb. 
 
 To  this  word,  this  new  or  added  word  of  God,  it  is 
 here  said  that  we,  if  we  be  Christians  indeed,  are  all 
 witnesses.  TJiey  overcame  him  in  virtue  of  the  word  of 
 their  testimony.  My  brethren,  in  what  sense  can  any  of 
 us  be  called  witnesses  to  God's  Word,  to  God's  Revela- 
 tion 1  How  is  our  evidence  given  1  how  is  our  testimony 
 borne  "l  Is  it  borne  by  a  brave  avowal  of  our  convic- 
 tions }  Is  it  borne  by  never  being  ashamed  of  Christ  t 
 Is  it  borne  by  obedience  }  Is  it  borne  by  bringing  every 
 part  of  our  life — thought,  motive,  aim,  word,  spirit,  act — 
 into  conformity  with  that  word  which  we  call  our  creed 
 and  our  Gospel }  These  are  serious  questions :  God 
 give  us  grace  to  ponder  them,  and  to  answer  them  as  we 
 must  one  day  answer  them  to  Himself! 
 
 3.     There  is  yet  a  third  instrument  of  victory.     And 
 
 1  Rom.  i.  ■zo. 
 
XXII.]  Chap,  XII.   lo,   II.  317 
 
 they  loved  not  their  life  mito  death.  They  carried  their 
 life's  devotion  even  to  the  length  of  death.  They  over- 
 came the  devil  by  a  self-sacrifice  which  stopped  not  short 
 of  death.  Of  whom,  my  brethren,  is  this  written  }  Who 
 has  any  conception  now  of  such  self-devotion  t  God 
 does  not  call  us,  at  this  time — He  may  call  us  to  it,  such 
 judgment  may  begin  again  at  the  house  of  God^ — but  at 
 present  God  does  not  call  us  to  the  endurance  of  perse- 
 cution commonly  so  called,  of  martyrdom  commonly  so 
 called,  m  attestation  of  our  faith  in  Christ.  We  are  not 
 called,  now,  to  show  our  self-devotion  by  dying  for  Christ : 
 but  we  are  all  called,  at  all  times,  to  show  our  self-devo- 
 tion by  living  for  Christ.  Let  us  read  the  words  as 
 though  they  were  for  us,  They  loved  not  themselves  2cnto 
 the  life:  they  loved  not  their  own  pleasure,  their  own 
 inclination,  their  own  ease,  their  own  will,  even  to  the 
 length*  of  life  :  they  were  ready  even  to  devote  a  life, 
 a  whole  life,  with  all  its  pleasures  and  interests,  with  all 
 its  enjoyments  and  all  its  occupations,  to  the  glory  of 
 God  and  to  the  service  of  their  Saviour.  Yes,  my 
 brethren,  this  it  is,  chiefly,  to  which  we  are  now  called : 
 and  it  is  of  more  consequence  that  we  fix  our  thoughts 
 calmly  and  steadily  upon  that  which  God  commonly  de- 
 mands of  us,  than  that  we  should  be  gazing  backward 
 into  the  far  past,  or  onward  into  the  possible  future,  at 
 that  which  He  did  once,  or  which  He  may  yet  again, 
 require  of  His  people.  He  may  bid  us  die  for  Him  : 
 He  does  bid  us  live  for  Him.  If  we  do  not  the  one, 
 the  less,  we  may  be  quite  sure  that  we  shall  never  rise  to 
 the  other,  the  higher  and  the  more  glorious.  Which  of 
 all  us  is  giving  his  life,  the  life  that  now  is  ^,  and  while  it 
 1  I  Pet.  iv.  17.  2  I  Tim.  iv.  8. 
 
3 1 8  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 still  is,  to  his  Saviour  ?  Which  of  us  is  subordinating  all 
 his  wishes  to  that  Saviour's  will,  regulating  all  his  words 
 by  that  Saviour's  rule,  and  all  his  acts  by  that  Saviour's 
 example  ?  He,  and  he  only,  is  overcoming  the  devil  by 
 not  loving  himself  unto  the  life.  He,  and  he  only, 
 should  the  fires  of  persecution  and  of  martyrdom  be 
 again  kindled,  will  be  made  willing  and  made  able  to 
 overcome  the  devil  by  not  loving  life  itself  unto  the 
 death. 
 
 Let  us  reflect  thoughtfully  upon  the  three  topics  now 
 presented.  The  blood  of  the  Lamb,  the  word  of  the 
 testimony,  and  the  devotion  of  life  even  unto  death. 
 The  atonement  which  is  our  hope,  the  word  which  is 
 our  testimony,  the  self-surrender  which  is  our  obedience. 
 May  He,  in  whose  hand  are  the  hearts  of  all  men,  give 
 meaning  within  to  the  sounds  heard  outwardly !  May 
 He  quicken  in  us  a  wholesome  dread  of  doctrine  dis- 
 joined from  practice  ;  of  revelations  accepted,  not  used  ; 
 of  a  seed  falling  upon  stony  places  or  among  the  thorns, 
 and  bringing  no  fruit  to  perfectio7t  ^  I  Surely  of  all  the 
 terrors  of  the  last  great  day  none  will  be  so  appalling  to 
 witness,  none  so  agonizing  to  endure,  as  that  of  him  who 
 shall  say,  /  ate  and  I  drank  in  Christ's  presence,  but  He 
 never  knew  me  ^^ :  I  called  Him  my  Saviour,  biU  He  never 
 saved  me  from  my  sins  ^ :  I  triisted  in  the  blood  of  sprijik- 
 ling^^  but  I  treated  it  all  the  time  as  an  nnholy  thing,  and 
 did  despite  day  by  day  to  the  Spirit  of  grace  ^  ! 
 
 As  yet  the  day  of  grace  holds  out,  and  the  door  of 
 acceptance  is  not  closed.  Seek  ye  the  Lordzvhile  He  may 
 be  found ;  call  ye  zipon  Him  while  He  is  near:  let  the 
 
 1  Matt.  xiii.  5,  7.    Luke  viii.  14.       ^  Luke  xiii.  26,  27.       ^  Matt.  i.  21. 
 ■*  Heb.  X.  29.  ^  Heb.  xii.  24. 
 
XXII 
 
 .]  Chap.  XII.    lo,    II.  319 
 
 wicked  forsake  his  way,  and  the  unrighteous  man  his 
 thoughts  ;  and  let  him  return  unto  the  Lord,  and  He  zvitl 
 have  merey  upon  him;  and  to  our  God,  for  He  will 
 abundantly  pardon  \ 
 
 1  Isai.  Iv.  6,  7. 
 
 Sunday  next  before  Advent, 
 November  24,   1861. 
 
LECTURE    XXIII. 
 
 REVELATION   XII.    I/. 
 
 And  the  dragon  was  ivroth  with  the  woman,  and  went  to 
 make  war  luith  the  remnant  of  her  seed,  which  keep 
 the  commandments  of  God,  and  have  the  testimony  of 
 Jesus  Christ. 
 
 We  spoke  last  of  the  three  weapons  by  which  the  Chris- 
 tian victory  is  won,  as  they  are  described  for  us  in  the 
 song  of  triumph  in  heaven  over  the  downfall  of  the  great 
 enemy  of  man.  They  overcame  him  because  of  the  blood  of 
 the  Lamb,  and  because  of  the  wo7'd  of  their  testimony,  and 
 they  loved  not  their  life  unto  death.  The  atonement  made 
 for  all  sin  in  the  death  of  Christ ;  the  word  or  message 
 of  God,  to  which  all  true  Christians  bear  in  act  and  in 
 endurance  a  firm  and  intelligible  testimony;  and  that 
 spirit  of  entire  self-devotion  and  self-surrender  which 
 perseveres  even  unto  death,  and  stops  not  short  (if  God 
 so  require)  of  the  sacrifice  of  life  itself  for  Christ. 
 
 The  fall  of  Satan  having  been  seen  in  the  Prophet's 
 vision  as  a  fall  from  heaven  to  earth  consequent  upon 
 the  Ascension  of  the  risen  Jesus  from  earth  to  heaven,  it 
 suits  the  form  of  the  vision  to  congratulate  the,  heavens 
 
LECT.  XXIII.]    Revelation.    Chap.  ^ii.  12 — 17.     321 
 
 upon  his  departure,  and  to  warn  the  regions  below  of  his 
 arrival.  Therefor'e  ^  rejoice,  ye  heavens,  and  ye  that  taber- 
 nacle therein.  Woe  to  the  earth  and  to  the  sea,  because  the 
 devil  is  gone  doivn  to  you,  Jiaving  great  wrath,  kjiowiiig 
 that  he  hath  a  short  season. 
 
 You  will  notice  here  that  we  are  not  to  localize  too 
 much  the  event  described.  The  real  thing  spoken  of 
 is  the  breaking  of  Satan's  power  by  the  Redemption. 
 The  devil  is  like  one  who  has  been  violently  thrown 
 from  a  great  height,  and  falls  upon  the  earth  bruised  and 
 humbled.  /  beheld  Satan  as  lightning  fall  from  heaven  I 
 It  is  a  figure  of  speech  ;  but,  like  all  the  figures  of  Holy 
 Scripture,  a  figure  full  of  meaning.  Satan  is  no  longer 
 master:  if  any  one  still  serves  him,  it  is  his  own  fault ; 
 he  need  not  do  so:  Christ  has  vanquished  the  devil;  has 
 thrown  him  down  from  his  eminence :  in  the  same  degree 
 the  fury  of  the  devil  is  aggravated  ;  his  desire  to  injure 
 increases  as  his  power  to  injure  is  circumscribed  :  if  he 
 has  fallen  from  heaven  to  earth,  he  is  come  there  with 
 great  wrath  because  he  knows  that  he  has  but  a  short 
 time. 
 
 And  if  we  are  asked  who  they  are  who  are  here 
 bidden  to  rejoice,  and  to  whom,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
 warning  voice  is  addressed  ;  we  must  answer,  in  accord- 
 ance with  the  general  tenor  of  Scripture  teaching,  that 
 by  the  one  is  meant  those  servants  of  God  whose  warfare 
 is  acconiplisJied'^,  and  by  the  other  those  who  are  still  in 
 the  world's  battle-field,  amidst  temptation  and  danger, 
 their  rest  still  future,  their  victory  not  yet  won.  To  these, 
 and  yet  more,  if  it  be  possible,  to  that  ungodly  and 
 idolatrous  world  which  surrounds  or  mingles  with  them, 
 
 1  Verse  12.  ^  Luke  x.  18.  ^  Isai.  xl.  2.    * 
 
 V.  R.  21 
 
322  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 the  sound  of  alarm  may  well  be  uttered  from  heaven, 
 that  the  enemy  Avhom  Christ  has  dethroned  still  exists, 
 still  works ;  and  that  with  a  rage  heightened  by  the  con- 
 sciousness that  sentence  is  already  passed  upon  him,  and 
 the  time  of  its  execution  fixed  and  near. 
 
 And  now  we  return  to  that  which  was  the  subject  of 
 an  earlier  part  of  this  chapter,  the  condition  of  her  who 
 had  born  upon  earth  the  Divine  Child  ;  in  other  words, 
 of  that  Church  of  God,  of  which,  as  concerning  the  flesh, 
 Christ  came,  zvho  is  over  all,  God  blessed  for  ever  \  The 
 6th  verse  told  us,  as  if  by  anticipation,  that  the  ivo7nan, 
 •when  her  Son  was  caught  up  unto  God  and  to  His 
 throne,  ^^<^  ijtto  the  zuilderness,  zuhei'e  she  hath  a  place  pre- 
 pared for  her  by  God,  that  they  might  nmirish  her  there  a 
 thousand  tiuo  hundred  and  iJiteescote  days.  The  inter- 
 vening passage  has  explained  to  us  the  occasion  of  this 
 flight.  The  enemy  at  first  seen  was  directing  his  hostility 
 not  against  the  woman  but  against  her  child.  Now  we 
 have  heard  of  the  war  between  that  child  and  the  dragon, 
 and  of  its  termination  in  the  defeat  and  expulsion  of  the 
 dragon;  sending  him  back  to  earth  with  the  mark  of 
 destruction  upon  him,  and  with  a  determination  to  use 
 to  the  uttermost  for  purposes  of  evil  his  brief  time  of 
 respite.  Thus  we  are  prepared  for  the  introduction  of 
 the  five  verses  on  which  we  are  now  to  dwell. 
 
 And'^  when  the  di^agon  sazu  that  he  was  cast  unto  the 
 earth,  he  persecuted  the  womafi  who  bare  the  man  child. 
 And^  there  were  given  to  the  woman  the  two  wings  of  the 
 great  eagle.  The  allusion  is  to  that  passage  in  the  book 
 of  Exodus  in  which  Moses  is  instructed  to  say  to  the 
 Israelites  in  the  name  of  God,  Ye  have  sce?i  what  I  did 
 ^  Rom.  ix.  5.  2  y^rse  13.  ^  y^rse  14. 
 
XXIII.]  Chap.  XII.    12 — 17.  323 
 
 tinto  the  Egyptians,  and  hoiv  I  bare  you  on  eagles  wings, 
 and  brought  you  unto  myself^.  And  the  same  figure  is 
 more  fully  drawn  out  in  the  inspired  song  of  Moses.  He 
 found  him,  Israel,  i7t  a  desert  land,  and  in  the  waste  howl- 
 ing wilderness  ;  He  led  him  about,  He  instructed  Jam ^  He 
 kept  him  as  the  apple  of  His  eye.  As  an  eagle  stiri'eth  up 
 her  nest,  fluttereth  over  her  young,  spreadeth  abroad  her 
 wings,  taketh  them,  beareth  them  on  her  ivings :  so  the 
 Lord  alone  did  lead  him,  and  there  was  no  strange  God 
 with  him ".  And  so,  once  again,  in  the  well-known  words 
 of  the  prophet  Isaiah :  They  that  zvait  tcpo7i  the  Lord 
 shall  renew  their  strength :  they  shall  mount  tip  with  wings 
 as  eagles :  they  shall  run,  and  not  be  zveaiy  ;  and  they  shall 
 walk,  and  not  faijit^.  Thus  the  figure  was  consecrated 
 in  the  Old  Testament  to  the  one  use  of  expressing  God's 
 special  care  and  providence  for  His  people  and  His 
 chosen.  There  were  given  to  the  woman  the  two  luings  of 
 the  great  eagle,  that  eagle  of  which  the  Church  had  so 
 often  read  in  her  Old  Testament  Scriptures,  that  she 
 anight  fly  into  the  wildejyiess  tinto  Jier  place,  where  she  is 
 nourished  for  a  season  a7zd  seasons  and  half  a  season  from 
 the  face  of  the  serpent.  The  expression  here  used  to  denote 
 the  length  of  the  Church's  sojourn  in  the  wilderness  is 
 first  found  in  the  prophecy  of  the  7th  chapter  of  Daniel, 
 with  reference  to  the  war  of  the  persecuting  power 
 against  the  saints  of  the  Most  High :  And  they  shall  be 
 given  into  his  Jia7td  ttntil  a  time  and  times  and  the  dividing 
 of  time  *.  And  again  in  the  1 2th  chapter  of  the  same 
 Book,  where,  in  answer  to  the  question  of  the  preceding 
 verse,  Hozu  long  shall  it  be  to  the  end  of  these  wonders  f 
 
 ^  Exod.  xix.  4.  2  Deut.  xxxii.  10,  11,  12.  ^  Isai.  xl.  31. 
 
 ^  Dan.  vii.  25. 
 
324  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 it  is  declared  that  it  shall  be  for  a  time^  times,  and  an 
 halp.  It  is  the  same  period,  of  the  half  seven,  of  three 
 years  and  a  half,  of  forty-two  months,  or  of  twelve 
 hundred  and  sixty  days,  which  we  have  often  had  occa- 
 sion to  explain  in  former  discourses  on  this  Book  as  the 
 symbol  of  the  duration  of  the  predicted  sufferings  and 
 trials  of  the  Church  of  God ;  a  period  short  in  comparison 
 with  the  whole  of  time,  short  in  comparison  with  the 
 glory  which  shall  be  revealed"^  and  with  the  eternity  which 
 shall  follow,  though  it  be  not  short  in  itself,  nor  in  the 
 feeling  and  apprehension  of  those  who  are  still  fighting 
 their  way  through  it.  We  have  already  had  it  expressed 
 in  the  6th  verse  of  this  chapter,  with  reference  to  this 
 very  subject,  under  the  equivalent  form  of  a  thoiisa7id 
 tivo  hundred  and  threescore  days. 
 
 And^  the  serpent  cast  ont  of  his  month  after  the  ivoman 
 water  as  a  river,  that  he  might  make  her  to  be  car7'ied 
 away  by  the  river.  The  figure  is  precisely  that  of  the 
 124th  Psalm.  If  it  had  not  been  the  Lord  who  was  on 
 our  side,  when  men  rose  np  against  tts ;  tJien  they  had 
 swalloived  us  up  quick,  when  tJieir  wrath  zvas  kindled 
 against  us:  then  the  zvaters  had  overzv helmed  us,  the  stream 
 had  gone  over  our  soul:  thcfi  the  proud  waters  had  g07ie 
 over  our  soul.  Blessed  be  tJie  Lord,  who  hath  not  given  us 
 as  a  pi'cy  to  their  teeth^.  The  flood  cast  out  of  the 
 dragon's  mouth  is  a  flood  of  raging  multitudes  rising 
 against  the  Lord  and  against  His  Christ'',  and  seeking  to 
 overwhelm  the  Church's  faith  and  the  Church's  life. 
 The  dragon  as  the  priiice  of  this  world^  marshals  the 
 world's  hosts  against  the  growing  power  of  the  truth. 
 
 •^  Dan.  xii.  6,  7.  2  j>om.  viii.  18.  ^  Verse  15. 
 
 *  Psalm  cxxiv.  2 — 6.  ^  Acts  iv.  26.  ^  John  xii.  31. 
 
xxiil]  Chap.  XII.    12 — 17.  325 
 
 What  a  significance  must  this  Imag-e  have  had  for  those 
 who  lived  In  the  first  age  of  the  Church,  when  the  fire  of 
 persecution  was  raging  under  Nero,  Domitlan,  or  Declus, 
 to  consume  all  who  would  not  revile  their  Saviour  and 
 pay  an  Impious  adoration  to  the  Image  of  the  Roman 
 Emperor!  But  hear  what  next  follows.  WJmi  the 
 enemy  shall  come  lit  like  a  flood,  the  Spirit  of  the  Lo7'd  sJiall 
 lift  tip  a  standard  against  him  \ 
 
 And^  the  earth  helped  the  woman,  and  the  earth  opened 
 her  month  and  drank  tip  the  river  which  the  dragon  cast 
 out  of  his  month.  The  worldly  power  of  persecution  is 
 swallowed  up  by  another  power,  Itself  also  of  the  earth. 
 Just  as  In  past  ages  the  kingdom  of  Babylon,  the  great 
 persecutor  of  the  Church  of  Israel,  was  overthrown  by 
 the  kingdom  of  Persia,  which  took  under  its  protection 
 the  exiled  remnant,  and  restored  it  to  Its  land  and  to  its 
 temple ;  even  thus  should  it  be  with  the  Empire  of 
 Pagan  Rome:  it  also  should  be  humbled  and  partitioned 
 by  a  new  power,  barbarian  and  godless  In  its  beginning, 
 but  destined  in  due  time  to  embrace,  in  name  at  least, 
 the  faith  once  abhorred,  and  to  Introduce  that  new  order 
 of  things  which  should  make  a  nominal  Christianity  the 
 religion  of  states  and  nations,  and  secure  it  for  ever 
 against  the  risk  of  a  repetition  of  bygone  persecutions. 
 How  singular  a  prediction  !  how  far  beyond  the  reach  of 
 human  foresight!  yet  also  how  exactly,  how  marvellously 
 fulfilled !  The  prophecy  Is  not  that  which,  however 
 improbable  it  might  have  appeared,  was  at  least  obvious 
 to  an  Inventor ;  namely,  that  the  faith  of  Christ,  then  so 
 much  despised,  should  one  day  be  adopted  by  the 
 Roman  Empire  :  but  rather,  that  persecuting  Rome  itself 
 
 ^  Isai.  lix.  19.  2  Ycrse  i6. 
 
326  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 should  be  absorbed  and  engulphed  in  another  kingdom 
 or  group  of  kingdoms,  which  should  help  the  Church 
 without  ceasing  to  be  worldly,  and  put  down  the 
 Church's  enemies  without  really  incorporating  itself  in 
 the  Church.  What  eye  save  that  of  God  Himself  could 
 have  foreseen  this  particular  phenomenon,  or  recorded  it, 
 centuries  before  its  accomplishment,  in  the  Scriptures  of 
 His  truth  ? 
 
 And^  the  dragoji  was  angered  at  the  woman,  and  de- 
 parted to  make  war  with  the  rest  of  her  seed,  who  keep  the 
 commandments  of  God,  and  have  the  testimoiiy  of  jfesus. 
 The  dragon  is  foiled  in  his  direct  attack  upon  the 
 woman,  that  is,  upon  the  Church  of  Christ  collectively ; 
 and  quits  her  for  the  purpose  of  making  war  with  the 
 rest  of  her  seed,  that  is,  with  those  individual  Christians 
 who  have  survived  former  persecutions,  and  who  are 
 characterized  in  the  last  words  of  the  chapter  as  those 
 who  keep  the  conmia7idme7its  of  God  and  zvJio  have,  hold 
 or  maintain,  tJie  testimony  of  Jesus.  The  malice  and  the 
 violence  of  the  prince  of  this  world  has  been  unable  to 
 prevent  the  Church  from  rooting  itself  firmly  in  the 
 earth  :  it  must  be  recognized,  even  by  him,  as  beyond 
 his  reach  as  an  institution  :  he  must  acquiesce  in  its 
 existence  as  a  fact,  and  turn  his  defeated  rage  some 
 other  way.  Henceforth  he  leaves  the  woman,  and  goes 
 to  make  war  with  the  surviving  individuals  of  her  seed. 
 
 And  is  not  this  also  true,  remarkably  true,  to  history 
 and  to  fact  1  No  one  now  seriously  dreams  of  extirpating 
 Christianity  from  the  earth.  The  dragon  has  long  ceased 
 from  that  labour.  But  not  on  that  account  is  the  great 
 war  ended.     The  Church  is,  no  doubt,  a  standing  monu- 
 
 ^  Verse  17. 
 
XXIII 
 
 .]  Chap,  XII.    12 — 17.  327 
 
 ment  of  the  truth  of  the  Gospel.  The  Church,  by  which 
 we  understand  the  whole  body  of  professed  Christians 
 united  into  one  body  by  the  use  of  certain  ordinances 
 and  by  the  acknowledgment  of  a  common  Revelation  ; 
 the  Church,  so  understood,  is  indeed,  as  St  Paul  called  it, 
 the  w^xy  pillar  and gi'oicnd  of  the  trutli^^  that  which  sup- 
 ports and  bears  up  the  fabric,  that  without  which  the  ex- 
 istence of  the  true  religion  on  earth  would  be  (humanly 
 speaking)  impossible.  But  that  which  can  no  longer  be 
 done  by  open  siege  may  yet  perhaps  be  effected  by  a 
 process  of  insidious  undermining  :  the  war  which  must 
 end  as  against  the  woman  may  be  carried  on  as  against 
 her  seed  ;  and  if  it  be  successful  against  the  latter,  it  will, 
 indirectly  at  least,  not  weaken  only  but  destroy  the 
 former.  It  will  be  little  to  have  the  Church  of  Christ 
 existing,  if  the  members  of  that  Church  are  vanquished. 
 If  the  remnant  of  tJie  seed  Q2.Vi  be  subdued  and  captured, 
 the  dragon  himself  may  acquiesce  in  the  escape  and  in 
 the  security  of  the  woman. 
 
 Now  therefore,  my  brethren,  our  concluding  word  of 
 exhortation  will  divide  itself  for  us  into  two  practical 
 considerations. 
 
 I.  First,  you  will  observe  the  description  here  given 
 of  the  true  seed.  It  is  twofold.  They  keep  the  cornmaitd- 
 nients  of  God,  and  they  Jwld  tJie  testimony  of  Jesus.  Either 
 of  these  without  the  other  must  be,  for  us  at  least — we 
 enter  not  into  the  question  as  it  may  affect  past  ages,  or 
 nations  still  sitting  in  darkness — an  incomplete,  nay,  a 
 fallacious  test  of  true  membership,  of  true  worship.  It  is 
 the  old  combination  ;  faith  and  works  ;  a  heart  sprinkled 
 front  an  evil  cojiscience'^  and  a  life  suitable  to  one  who 
 
 1   I  Tim.  iii.  15.  ^  Heb.  x.  22. 
 
o 
 
 28  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 loves  God.  You  will  think  that  I  might  find  some  newer 
 topic:  could  I  find  a  topic  more  discriminating-,  or  more 
 important  ?  Neither  of  these  two  things,  I  would  repeat 
 it,  will  suffice  for  us  without  the  other.  Do  not  say,  If 
 I  keep  God's  commandments,  that  is  enough  ;  I  know 
 nothing  about  the  testimony  of  Jesus,  but  I  am  persuad- 
 ed God  will  not  condemn  a  man  who  has  lived  a  good  life. 
 Every  word  in  such  a  sentence  is  capable  of  just  refuta- 
 tion :  but  I  would  rather  repeat  the  remark,  You  are  told 
 here  that  two  things  are  necessary ;  and  it  is  frightful 
 presumption  to  put  asunder  that  which  God  has  thus 
 joined.  Keep  the  commandments  of  God :  deal  with  your- 
 self honestly  on  this  point ;  be  not  deceived  ;  enter  into 
 judgment  with  yourself:  it  is  far  better  that  you  should 
 do  this  than  that  God  should  do  it ;  and  it  is  only  if  we 
 judge  ourselves  that  the  promise  is  to  us  that  we  shall  not 
 be  judged^.  I  believe  that  of  all  Gospel  Sermons  the  most 
 Evangelical  is  the  rehearsal  of  the  Ten  Commandments ; 
 the  rehearsal  of  each  and  of  all,  in  their  solemn  severity, 
 in  their  spiritual  import,  in  their  personal  application ; 
 and  the  enquiry  which  must  ever  follow  them.  How  shall 
 /,  a  sinner,  become  just  with  God'^  ?  how  shall  I  make  my 
 heart  clean?  how  shall  I  be  pure  from  my  ozvn  sin^  ?  To 
 a  man  so  questioning,  the  testimony  of  Jesus  will  sound 
 sweet  and  attractive ;  telling  of  One  who  His  ozvn  self 
 bare  our  sins'^^  of  One  who  offers  to  endue  us  with  a  new 
 Spirit^.  To  that  man  it  will  be  no  comfort  to  hear  that 
 he  may  sin  on  and  not  die  for  it ;  that  he  may  fall  asleep 
 in  his  sins  and  yet  awake  to  find  himself  pardoned.  To 
 him  rather  will  it  be  a  comfort  to  hear  that  already,  now 
 
 ^  I  Cor.  xi.  31.  2  Job  ix.  2.  ^  Prov.  xx.  9. 
 
 *  I  Pet.  ii.  24.  ^  Ezek,  xi.  19. 
 
XXIII 
 
 ,]  Chap.  XII.    12—17. 
 
 at  once,  not  tomorrow  but  today,  he  may  loose  the  bur- 
 den from  his  back  at  the  sight  of  Christ's  cross,  and  go 
 forth  a  forgiven  man  to  be  holy  and  to  be  strong  in  God. 
 That  is  salvation.  That  is  redemption.  Not  the  liberty 
 to  keep  the  testimony  of  Jesus  without  keeping  the  com- 
 mandments of  God.  Not  the  liberty  to  use  words  of  love 
 and  faith  towards  Jesus,  and  go  forth  in  works  to  deny 
 Him.  But  the  grace,  day  by  day,  according  to  our  need, 
 to  look  upward  and  be  sure  of  an  answer ;  the  infusion 
 into  the  palsied  withered  arm  of  the  power  to  be  straight 
 and  flexible  ;  the  replacing  of  the  leprous  defilement, 
 even  while  we  wash  in  the  foimtain  once  opened  for 
 silt  and  for  undeanness  \  as  with  the  very  flesh  of  the 
 Utile  cJiild'^,  so  that,  behold,  we  are  again  clean  !  That 
 is  what  we  call  salvation.  That  is  what  includes  in  one 
 whole  the  two  blessed  characteristics,  they  keep  the  com- 
 mandments  of  Cod,  and  they  maintain  the  testiniojiy  of 
 Jesus. 
 
 2.  Secondly,  you  will  observe  that  it  is  against  such 
 persons  that  the  dragon,  who  has  given  up  attacking  the 
 Church  collectively,  has  now  gone  forth  to  make  war. 
 Our  great  enemy,  we  have  seen,  does  not  now  so  much 
 dread  as  once  he  did  the  existence  of  Christianity  upon 
 earth,  or  the  establishment  of  the  Church  upon  earth  ;  he 
 thinks  he  can  deal  with  it  in  detail :  if  he  can  make  havoc 
 of  the  members,  he  cares  less  about  the  body  ;  the  body 
 will  soon  be  a  mere  inert  lifeless  trunk  if  he  can  only  lop, 
 off  one  by  one  its  limbs.  So  that,  I  repeat  it,  he  is  now 
 clealing  with  Christians  individually  and  in  detail.  Alas! 
 my  brethren,  does  he  so  deal  quite  unsuccessfully  }  Tell 
 me,  you  who  know  something  of  the  Christian  life ;  tell 
 ^  Zech.  xiii.  i.  ^  i  Kings  v.  14. 
 
330  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 me,  you  who  know  what  it  is  to  be  softened  in  heart  by 
 the  thought  of  Jesus,  and  who  also  have  taken  pains  not 
 to  disjoin  faith  from  works,  but  rather  to  endeavour  to 
 keep  the  commandments  of  God  as  well  as,  and  by  the 
 help  of,  the  testimony  of  Jesus  :  have  you  not  foui"^d  this 
 life  a  struggle  ?  is  it  any  exaggeration  to  say  that  you 
 have  found  it  a  warfare,  a  daiily  battle  ?  And  are  you 
 not  sometirnes — yes,  confess  it,  are  you  not  every  day 
 more  or  less — worsted  in  that  ever  old,  ever  new  conflict? 
 Are  you  not  sometimes  saying  in  your  heart,  I  must  give 
 it  up  ?  I  am  making  no  way  ?  I  am  as  far  from  my  rest 
 and  my  inheritance^  now  as  I  was  five  years  or  ten  years 
 or  twenty  years  ago  ?  My  brethren,  the  dragon  is  making 
 war  with  you  just  because  you  are  one  of  those  who  do 
 in  some  sense  keep  the  commandments  of  God  and  the 
 testimony  of  Jesus.  Let  that  be  some  comfort  to  you. 
 He  would  not  go  to  war  with  you,  if  you  were  altogether 
 on  his  side.  Draw  encouragement  even  from  your  de- 
 feats. Rise,  renew  the  good  fighi'^ ;  look  upwards  yet 
 again  ;  see  the  Captain  of  your  satvation^  passing  through 
 all  before  you,  sin  alone  excepted  ;  hear  Him  heaving 
 on  earth  the  deep  sigh ;  hear  Him  saying,  My  God, 
 my  God,  why  hast  Thou  forsaken  me*' f  behold  Him 
 alone  in  the  wilderness  for  forty  days  and  nights  with 
 the  tempter ;  behold  Him  at  last  conquering  not  amidst 
 only  but  by  means  of  defeat,  bnnsing  the  serpent s 
 head  in  the  very  moment  of  the  serpent's  bruising 
 His  heel^ ;  hear  Him  saying  to  you,  Be  of  good 
 cJieer ;  I  have  overcome  tJie  zvorld^ :  recall  these  things, 
 ponder  them,  digest  them  inwardly,  and  then,  whoso- 
 
 ^  Deut.  xii.  9.  "^  \  Tim.  vi.  12.  ^  Heb.  ii.  10. 
 
 *  Matt,  xxvii.  46.  ^  Gen.  iii.  15.  ®  John  xvi.  33. 
 
XXI 
 
 11.]  Chap.  XII.    12 — 17. 
 
 Vo-^ 
 
 ever  you  be,  lay  aside  eveiy  lueight,  and  the  sin  which 
 doth  so  easily  beset  you,  and  run  with  patie7ice  yet  a 
 little  longer  the  race  that  is  set  before  you,  looking  unto 
 Jesus '  I 
 
 ^  Heb.  xii.  i,  2. 
 
 Sfxond  Sunday  in  Advent, 
 December  8,    t86i. 
 
.      LECTURE    XXIV. 
 
 REVELATION   XIII.     10. 
 
 Here  is  tJie  patience  and  the  faith  of  the  saints. 
 
 The  season  of  Advent  Is  one  of  special  preparation  for 
 the  coming  of  Christ's  kingdom.  It  seems  no  unsuitable 
 employment  to  continue  our  examination  of  that  section 
 of  this  holy  Book  which  tells  us  of  the  enemies  of  Christ's 
 kingdom  ;  tells  us,  In  other  words,  what  are  the  powers 
 and  Influences  which  oppose  Its  coming ;  and  directs  us 
 to  the  proper  means  of  counteracting  them,  both  Indivi- 
 dually and  collectively ;  both  In  our  own  hearts,  and  as 
 members  of  that  Church  zvJiicJi  is  Chrisfs  body'^. 
 
 The  enemies  here  pourtrayed  are  three.  We  have 
 dwelt  In  the  last  four  Lectures  upon  the  first  and  chief 
 of  these ;  the  great  spiritual  adversary,  the  devil  or  Satan. 
 The  chapter  now  before  us  describes  the  other  two.  I 
 approach  the  subject  not  without  anxiety.  The  Inter- 
 pretation Is  not  easy ;  In  some  respects,  It  may  be,  less 
 than  certain.  Still  more  do  I  fear  lest  to  any  of  us  it 
 should  be  more  curious  than  profitable :  lest  any  of  us 
 should  miss  its  deep  spiritual  lessons  :  lest  he  who  speaks 
 
 1  Eph.  i.  23. 
 
LECT.  XXIV.]     Revelation.     Chap.  xiii.  333 
 
 to  you  should  ever  forget  that  his  business  in  this  place 
 is  with  souls,  not  with  minds  ;  or  if  with  minds,  yet 
 only  so  far  as  the  mind  acts  upon  the  soul,  informing 
 it,  enlightening  it,  directing  it,  so  that  it  may  conduct 
 its  warfare  more  wisely,  with  a  clearer  insight  into  its 
 enemies'  plans,  and  a  more  accurate  chart  of  the  country 
 through  which  it  must  fight  its  way  to  glory.  In  this 
 sense,  and  in  this  sense  only,  may  he  who  ministers  say 
 legitimately,  /  zvill  speak  to  the  spii'it,  and  I  %vill  speak 
 to  the  tinderstanding  also  :  I  zvill  preaeh  zvith  the  spirit^ 
 and  I  zvill  preaeh  zvith  the  -nnderstanding  also^.  God 
 grant  us  all  grace  thus  to  speak  and  thus  to  hear ! 
 
 And'^  I  zvas  set  upon  the  sand  of  the  sea.  St  John  is 
 still  in  the  spirit,  and  still  in  heaven  :  but  at  this  point  the 
 scenery  of  his  vision  embraces  the  great  restless  ocean, 
 as  he  had  seen  it  many  times  from  his  island  prison ;  and 
 he  is  standing  upon  the  sand  on  which  it  dashes.  It  was 
 thus  with  the  Prophet  Daniel  in  the  case  of  that  vision 
 of  his  7th  chapter  to  which  we  shall  have  occasion  so 
 often  to  refer  in  the  interpretation  of  that  now  before 
 us.  Daniel  spake  and  said,  I  sazv  in  my  vision  by  night, 
 and  behold,  the  four  winds  of  the  heaven  strove  npon  the 
 great  sea^.  The  sea  is  the  emblem  of  human  multitudes  ; 
 of  the  nations  of  the  world  in  their  vast  expansion  and 
 in  their  busy  unresting  agitation.  We  shall  notice,  as 
 we  advance,  how  suitable  to  the  opening  subject  is  this 
 position  of  the  seer. 
 
 A  nd  I  sazv  a  wild  beast  j'ising  ont  of  the  sea,  having 
 ten  horns  and  seven  heads,  and  iLpon  his  horns  ten  diadems, 
 and  upon  his  heads  names  of  blasphemy.  The  horns  are 
 first  mentioned,  as  first  visible  in  its  rising.     The  ten 
 
 1  I  Cor.  xiv.  iv  2  Verse  i.  ^  Dan.  vii.  ^. 
 
334  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 horns  are  collected  upon  the  seventh  head.  And  they 
 are  crowned ;  in  token  of  dominion  and  sovereignty. 
 Upon  the  heads  are  inscribed  names  of  blasphemy. 
 Blasphemy  has  two  senses  :  sometimes  it  is  reviling  God, 
 speaking  irreverently  or  rebelliously  against  His  revela- 
 tion or  His  Providence  ;  sometimes  it  is  the  assumption 
 by  a  creature  of  the  attributes  of  the  Creator,  the 
 arrogating  to  oneself  of  an  honour  or  a  power  which 
 belongs  to  God  only.  The  Jews  said,  TJiou  blasphemest, 
 when  our  Saviour  declared  Himself  to  be  the  Son  of 
 God\  In  both  these  senses,  but  especially  in  the  latter, 
 the  word  is  here  used. 
 
 And'^  the  ivild  beast  which  I  saw  was  like  a  leopard, 
 and  his  feet  were  as  the  feet  of  a  bear,  and  his  mouth  was 
 as  the  mouth  of  a  lion.  Thus  it  combined  in  itself  the 
 characteristics  of  the  several  animals  seen  in  the  corre- 
 sponding vision  of  the  Prophet  Daniel.  The  first  was 
 like  a  lion... And  behold,  another  beast,  a  second,  like  to  a 
 bear. .  .After  this  I  beheld,  and  lo  another,  like  a  leopard^. 
 
 And  the  dragon  gave  him  his  power  a7td  his  throne 
 and  great  authority.  The  dragon,  the  prince  of  this 
 world^,  does  not  assume  a  bodily  form  ;  but  he  prepares 
 for  himself  an  agent  and  a  representative.  The  second 
 enemy  is  thus  the  viceroy  of  the  first. 
 
 And^  1  saw  one  of  his  heads  as  if  having  been  slaifi 
 unto  death :  and  the  stroke  of  his  death  was  healed.  The 
 wound  was  not  deadly  only,  but  fatal :  it  was  unto 
 death.  And  that  death  was  the  death  of  the  animal 
 itself:  the  wound  of  his  death:  the  mortal  wound  in- 
 flicted upon  one  of  the  seven  heads,  is  the  death  of  the 
 
 '  Dan.  vii.  4 — 6. 
 
 ^  John  X.  36.  2  y^j'sc  1,  '  Dai 
 
 *  John  xii.  31.  ^  Verse  3. 
 
XXIV.]  Chap.  XIII.  335 
 
 wild  beast  itself.  But  the  fatal  stroke  is  recovered  from. 
 A7id  the  zvhole  eartJi  zvondered  aft £7"  the  wild  beast ;  won- 
 dered, as  it  followed  him,  at  his  supernatural  vitality. 
 
 And^  they  worshipped  the  dragon,  because  he  gave  the 
 authority  which  has  been  described — sucJl  a?itho?Hty — to 
 the  wild  beast ;  a?id  they  worshipped  the  wild  beast,  saying, 
 Who  is  like  tinto  the  luild  beast  ?  and  who  is  able  to  war 
 with  him  ?  And^  tJiere  iv as  given  to  Jiim  a  month  speaking 
 great  things  and  blasphemy,  and  there  was  given  him 
 authority  to  act  during  forty-tivo  months ;  the  same 
 period  so  often  designated  as  that  of  the  affliction  of  the 
 Church  under  her  oppressor. 
 
 A7td^  he  opened  his  ihouth  mito  blasphejnics  against 
 God,  to  blaspheme  His  7iame  and  His  taber7iacle  a7id  the7n 
 that  tabe7niacle  {dwell)  i7t  the  heave7t.  A7id^  it  was  given 
 to  hi77i  to  make  ivar  zuitJi  the  sai7its,  a7id  to  co7iquer  the77i  ; 
 a7id  tJiere  was  given  hi7n  authority  over  every  tribe  a7id 
 people  a7id  to7igue  a7id  7iation.  A7id^  all  they  that  dwell 
 up07t  the  ea7'th  shall  zvo7'ship  hi77i,  every  one  whose  7ia77ie 
 has  710 1  been  ivritte7i  i7i  the  book  of  life  of  the  La77ib  that 
 hath  bee7t  slai7i,  f 7^0771  the  fou7idatio7i  of  the  world.  In  a 
 later  chapter  we  read,  whose  7ia77ie  has  7iot  bee7i  zvritten  i7i 
 the  book  of  life  fro7n  the  fou7idatio7i  of  the  luorld^.  Here 
 therefore  also  I  would  understand  the  words  fro7n  the 
 fotmdation  of  the  zvorld  as  belonging  to  written,  and  not 
 to  slai7Z.  Eve7y  07ie  zvhose  7ia77ie  has  7iot  bce7i  written 
 fro77i  the  fou7idatio7i  of  the  zuorld  i7i  the  book  of  life  of  the 
 La77ib  that  hath  bce7i  slai7i. 
 
 If^  a7iy  07ie  has  an  ear,  let  hi7n  hear.  If^  a7iy  07ie  is 
 destined  to  go  i7ito  captivity,  i7ito  captivity  he  goes :  if  a7iy 
 
 1  Verse  4.       2  y^.^^^  5.       3  y^j.,g  5,       4  y(,rse  7. 
 5  Verse  8.       «  Rev.  xvii.  8.    "  Verse  9.       ^  Verse  10. 
 
1,^6  Revelation.  [ 
 
 LECT. 
 
 in  {by)  sword  Is  destined  to  perish,  he  must  in  {by)  sword 
 be  killed.  The  words  are  quoted  from  the  prophet  Jere- 
 miah. Ajid  it  shall  come  to  pass,  if  they  say  tmto  thee. 
 Whither  shall  we  go  forth  ?  then  thou  shall  tell  them, 
 Thus  saith  the  Lord;  Such  as  are  for  death,  to  death;  and 
 such  as  are  for  the  sword,  to  the  sword ;  and.  such  as  are 
 for  the  famine,  to  the  famine ;  and  such  as  are  for  the 
 captivity,  to  the  captivity'^.  God's  judgments  are  to  fall 
 heavily  upon  His  people :  they  cannot  resist  them. 
 
 Here  is  the  patience  and  the  faith  of  the  saints.  In 
 these  coming,  these  predicted,  these  inevitable  sufferings 
 under  the  power  of  the  second  enemy  of  the  Church,  a 
 large  demand  will  be  made  upofi  the  submission  and 
 upon  the  faith  of  God's  saints. 
 
 Ajid^  I  saw  another  ivild  beast  rising  out  of  the  earth. 
 The  picture  of  the  second  enemy  would  be  incomplete 
 without  that  of  the  third.  The  first  point  of  difference 
 is  the  quarter  from  which  each  rises  in  the  vision.  The 
 second  was  from  the  sea :  the  third  is  from  the  earth. 
 And  he  had  two  horns  like  those  of  a  lamb,  and  he  spoke 
 as  a  dragon.  There  is  a  union  of  the  two  characteristics, 
 of  mildness  and  of  subtlety.  And^  Jie  does  {exercises) 
 all  the  authority  of  tJie  first  wild  beast  in  his  presence.  As 
 the  second  enemy  is  the  representative  of  the  first,  so 
 the  third  is  the  abetter  of  the  second.  And  he  made  the 
 earth,  and  them  that  dwell  in  it,  that  they  shall  worship 
 the  first  zvild  beast,  the  stroke  of  wJiose  death,  whose  fatal 
 wound,  zvas  healed.  And^  he  does  great  signs;  that  he 
 may  {so  as  to)  make  even  fire  to  descend  07it  of  the  Jieaven 
 upon  the  earth  in  the  sight  of  mankind.     And^  he  leads 
 
 ^  Jer.  XV.  2.         2  Verse  ii.  ^  Verse  12. 
 
 *  Verse  13.  ^  Verse  14. 
 
XXIV.]  Chap,  XIII.  337 
 
 astray  those  who  dzvell  on  the  earth,  because  of  the  signs 
 zvkich  were  given  him  to  do  in  the  preseiice  of  the  wild 
 beast ;  saying  to  those  zuho  dzvell  on  the  earth  to  make  an 
 image  to  the  wild  beast  that  has  the  stroke  of  the  sword  and 
 lived.  And^  it  was  given  to  him  to  give  breath  to  the  image 
 of  thie  wild  beast,  that  the  image  of  the  wild  beast  might 
 both  speak  and  make  (catise)  that  as  many  as  worship  7iot 
 the  image  of  the  wild  beast  be  slain.  And^  he  snakes  all, 
 the  small  and  the  great,  and  the  rich  and  the  poor,  and  the 
 free  and  the  bondmen,  that  they  should  give  them  {that 
 there  should  be  given  to  them)  a  mark  tipon  their  right 
 hand  or  on  to  their  forehead,  ajtd^  that  no  one  is  able  to  buy 
 or  to  sell  btit  he  who  has  the  mark,  that  is,  the  name  of  tJie 
 zvild  beast,  or  the  number  of  his  7iame.  Here  *  is  wisdom. 
 Let  him  that  hath  an  understandi^ig  count  the  number  of 
 the  wild  beast:  for  it  is  a  man's  number;  that  is,  a 
 human  number,  a  number  known  in  common  reckoning ; 
 and  his  number  is  six  hundred  and  sixty  and  six. 
 
 I  have  desired  on  many  accounts  to  combine  in  one 
 view  the  whole  revelation  thus  presented.  And  now  let 
 us  gather  up  the  chief  points,  and  afterwards  apply  the 
 subject  to  ourselves. 
 
 The  second  enemy  of  Christ's  Church  is  the  world. 
 The  devil  is  the  first.  The  world  is  the  second.  The 
 wild  beast  rises  out  of  the  sea  which  is  the  symbol  of 
 the  multitudes  of  nations,  and  he  bears  upon  him  the 
 evident  tokens  of  that  vision  of  the  7th  chapter  of  the 
 book  of  Daniel,  the  interpretation  of  which  is  expressly 
 given  at  its  close,  in  the  verses  beginning,  These  great 
 beasts,  which  are  four,  are  four  kings^.     The  devil,  who  is 
 
 1  Verse  15.  2  y^^^e  16.  ^  Verse  17. 
 
 *  Verse  18.  ^  Dan.  vii.  17. 
 
 V.  R.  22 
 
338  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 the  prince  of  this  world,  employs  the  power  of  this 
 world  as  his  own  instrument  of  persecution.  The  seven 
 heads  of  the  wild  beast  denote  the  multiplication  and 
 the  succession  of  worldly  powers  arrayed  against  the 
 Church.  The  deadly  wound  indicates  some  blow  struck, 
 with  apparently  fatal  consequences,  at  the  power  of  the 
 ungodly  and  Antichristian  world.  Such  a  blow  was  the 
 conversion  of  the  Emperor  Constantine  to  the  faith  of 
 Christ,  and  the  establishment  of  a  nominal  Christianity 
 as  the  religion  of  the  great  Roman  Empire.  It  might 
 have  seemed  as  though  the  trials  of  the  Church,  collec- 
 tively at  least,  were  then  for  ever  ended.  But  the 
 deadly  wound  was  healed.  Not  yet  had  the  kingdovts 
 of  the  world  re'dWy  become  the  kitigdo7ns  of  oiw  Lord  and 
 of  His  Christ'^;  the  nominally  Christian  empire  could 
 persecute  as  well  as  the  openly  idolatrous  :  he  that  ivas 
 born  after  the  flesh  was  still  the  natural  enemy  of  Jiirn 
 that  %vas  born  after  the  spirit^;  and  Papal  Rome  in  later 
 ages  too  often  resumed  the  sword  which  Pagan  Rome 
 had  dropped. 
 
 This  vitality  of  the  Antichristian  power  is  described 
 as  awakening  the  admiration  of  the  world  itself.  It  has 
 been  in  all  times  the  wonder,  as  well  as  the  boast,  of  the 
 world,  to  reflect  upon  its  own  greatness.  Whether  it  be 
 as  the  persecutor,  or  whether  it  be  as  the  seducer,  the 
 Avorld  is  great ;  it  is  idle,  it  is  delusive,  to  gainsay  it : 
 and  deep  down  in  the  world's  own  conscience  there  is 
 that  which  marvels  at  the  empire  which  it  wields.  How 
 must  the  children  of  this  world  say  sometimes  in  the 
 secret  of  their  souls,  O  wonder  of  wonders,  that  God 
 should  permit  us  thus  to  triumph  over  the  children  of 
 
 1  Rev.  xi.  15.  2  Qai.  iv.  29. 
 
XXIV.]  Chap,  XIII.  339 
 
 light '^ !  And  then  the  devil  reassures  them  with  one  of 
 his  lying  vanities,  and  argues  from  present  success  even- 
 tual triumph.  They  worshipped  the  beast^  saying.  Who  is 
 like  tmto  the  beast  ?  who  is  able  to  make  war  with  him  ? 
 
 My  brethren,  it  is  of  great  importance  that  we  should 
 rightly  use  the  word  of  God's  prophecy,  and  not  least 
 when  it  speaks  to  us  of  the  world's  warfare  against  His 
 Church.  Too  ready  have  men  been,  in  all  times,  to 
 transfer  the  application  of  the  truth  to  others  from  them- 
 selves. How  eager  have  even  Christian  men  been  to 
 give  a  name,  and  consequently  a  limit,  to  the  enemy 
 here  described !  One  has  called  him  Paganism,  and 
 thus  thrown  him  altogether  back  into  the  unreality  of  an 
 obsolete  age.  Another  has  called  him  Romanism,  and 
 has  thus  rendered  it  impossible  that  the  word  of  warning 
 should  reach  him  and  his  friends  in  the  fastness  of  a 
 Protestant  security.  O  for  a  warning  voice  to  say  to  us, 
 Wheresoever  the  carcase  is,  there  zvill  the  eagles  be  gathered 
 together"^:  wherever  the  spirit  of  the  zvorld^  is,  there  is  the 
 scope  of  God's  judgments :  let  it  call  itself  what  it  may, 
 Pagan  or  Christian,  Popish  or  Protestant,  the  world  is 
 still  God's  enemy;  still  hates  the  light '^ ;  still  is  not  sub- 
 ject to  the  law  of  God'" ;  still  is  offended  in  Ch'ist^,  first 
 for  His  humility,  and  then  for  His  holiness ;  still  looks 
 coldly  upon,  still  casts  out,  still,  if  it  dares — and  it  does 
 dare — will  persecute,  those  who  by  act  and  word  testify 
 of  it  that  its  works  are  eviV  I  Let  us  look  well  within, 
 and  see  whether  this  second  enemy  of  Christ  has  no 
 lodgment  and  no  camp  there ;  whether  our  world,  be  it 
 
 ^  Luke  xvi.  8.  ^  Matt.  xxiv.  i%.  ^  i  Cor.  ii.  12. 
 
 *  John  iii.  20.  ^  Rom.  viii.  7.  ^  Matt.  xiii.  57. 
 
 ^  John  vii.  7. 
 
 22 — 2 
 
340  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 what  it  may — orthodox  perhaps  in  doctrine,  correct  in 
 opinion,  decent  in  conduct,  orderly  in  worship — has  not 
 its  own  recognized  departures  from  Christian  practice 
 and  from  Christian  charity ;  whether  it  does  not  lord  it 
 over  us  with  a  rule  paramount  to  Christ's,  and  exclude 
 from  the  pale  of  its  communion  those  who  zuorship  the 
 Lord  God  and  Him  only'^.  Depend  upon  it,  there  is, 
 even  for  us  in  these  days,  one  and  but  one  security ;  and 
 it  is  that  of  the  first  age,  of  St  John's  lifetime,  of  saints 
 and  martyrs  of  the  earliest  days  of  the  Gospel ;  the 
 being  written  from  the  beginning  of  the  world  in  the 
 Lamb's  book  of  life.  All  they  that  dwell  upon  the  earth 
 shall  worship  the  beast,  whose  names  are  not  thus  written. 
 We  read  not  the  names  in  that  book ;  it  is  not  yet 
 opened  ;  that  remains  for  a  later  vision  and  for  the  dis- 
 closures of  the  end  of  all  things'^:  yet  can  we  certainly 
 judge,  for  ourselves  if  not  for  others,  whether  our  names 
 are  there,  when  we  read  in  God's  Word  the  catalogue  of 
 the  graces  of  the  Spirit^,  and  ask  with  an  impartial 
 earnestness  whether  any  of  those  graces,  even  in  germ, 
 are  ours. 
 
 We  pass  to  the  third  enemy.  The  second  is  the 
 world  in  its  power :  what  is  the  third  .'*  how  are  his 
 features  drawn  t 
 
 He  rises  out  of  the  earth :  whoever  he  is,  there  is  the 
 mark  of  earthliness  upon  his  very  origin.  He  has  the 
 outward  characteristics  of  the  lamb ;  but  most  unlike 
 these  is  his  utterance :  he  speaks  as  a  dragon  ;  with  all 
 the  cunning  and  with  all  the  fatal  persuasiveness  of  the 
 original  tempter,  the  ancient  and  the  subtle  serpent.  It 
 is  his  business  to  play  into  the  hands  of  the  second 
 1  Matt.  iv.  10.  2  I  Pet^  jy,  v^.  3  q^i.  y.  22,  23. 
 
XXIV.]  Chap.  XIII.  341 
 
 enemy.  He  makes  the  earth  and  its  inhabitants  to 
 worship  tlie  beast  whose  deadly  wound  was  healed.  In 
 this  enterprise  he  works  wonders.  Fire  comes  down 
 from  heaven  at  his  bidding.  Nay,  when  he  has  moulded 
 an  image  of  the  beast  whom  he  abets,  he  can  even 
 breathe  life  into  it  and  make  it  speak.  ,  So  little  decisive 
 are  mere  marvels,  as  to  their  source  and  origin.  The 
 devil  has  his  sorceries  :  the  world  is  full  of  them.  Never 
 was  an  age  more  full  of  them  than  ours :  how  men  gaze 
 and  listen  and  admire  as  new  prodigies  are  opened 
 before  them,  and  say,  or  think  if  they  say  not,  Perhaps 
 the  Christian  miracles  can  thus  be  explained  away,  or 
 put  at  any  rate  in  the  same  rank  with  the  marvels  of 
 modern  magnetism  or  spirit-intercourse!  Woe  to  him 
 who  in  such  days  has  disjoined,  in  his  Christian  evi- 
 dences, signs  of  power  from  signs  of  goodness,  the  mira- 
 cles of  Christ  from  the  character  of  Christ,  indications  of 
 superhuman  strength  from  words  such  as  never  man 
 spake^  and  a  spirit  such  as  man  never  breathed  ! 
 
 The  object  of  the  lying  ivonders  ^  wrought  by  the  third 
 enemy  is  to  enforce  the  worship  of  the  second.  Every 
 one  who  would  be  admitted  to  the  commerce  of  human 
 life  must  receive  the  mark  of  that  beast  which  is  the 
 world's  power,  upon  the  right  hand  which  is  to  do  life's 
 business,  or  upon  the  forehead  which  is  to  show  itself 
 in  life's  society. 
 
 I  shall  enter  into  no  curious  questions  here  as  to  the 
 interpretation  of  the  last  words  of  the  chapter.  It  has 
 not  yet  been  given  to  man  to  speak  decisively  upon  the 
 symbol  there  disclosed.  Here  is  wisdofn :  let  him  that 
 hath  an  understanding  count  the  nnmbcr.     That  wisdom, 
 
 ^  John  vii.  46.  ^  2  Thess.  ii.  9. 
 
34-  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 that  understanding,  seems  as  yet  to  have  been  withheld. 
 We  have  already  seen  something  of  the  symbolism  of 
 numbers  in  this  Book.  We  have  noticed  the  perfect 
 seven,  and  the  imperfect  half  seven  ;  the  one  the  emblem 
 of  the  duration  of  the  glory  that  shall  be,  the  other  of 
 the  duration  of  the  conflicts  and  tribulations  of  the 
 present.  We  have  noticed  also  that  number  twelve, 
 which  (with  its  multiples)  is  the  Apocalyptic  signal  of  the 
 Church  ;  the  tivelve  stars  ^,  the  foicr  mid  twenty  elders  ^,  the 
 himdred  and  forty  four  thousand  zvhich  were  redeemed 
 from  the  eartJi  ^  Can  it  be — the  question  has  been  asked, 
 though  we  presume  not  to  answer  it — that  the  six 
 hundred  sixty  and  six,  the  thrice  repeated  six,  the  reite- 
 ration of  the  half  twelve,  is  itself  the  symbol  of  the  world, 
 as  the  full  and  perfect  twelve  is  of  the  Church  ;  itself, 
 without  looking  further,  the  intended  badge  of  the  lying 
 pretender,  even  as  the  other  is  the  index  of  the  real,  the 
 permanent,  and  the  true } 
 
 The  third  enemy — we  may  gather,  I  think,  from  the 
 marks  affixed  to  him — is  the  ungodly  Antichristian 
 wisdom,  as  the  second  is  the  ungodly  Antichristian  power, 
 of  the  world.  It  is  that  false  philosophy,  that  scieitce 
 falsely  so  called^,  that  speculative  and  sceptical  opinion, 
 that  reason  without  humility  and  without  God  ;  which, 
 with  all  its  professions  of  elevation  and  of  independence, 
 has  ever  been  the  real  ally  of  the  world  and  the  bitterest 
 enemy  of  revelation  and  of  the  Church.  This  it  was 
 which  propped  up  a  system  of  idolatry  in  which  it  had 
 itself  no  vestige  of  faith.  This  it  was  which  united  with 
 the  coercive  power  of  a  heathen  state  in  running  down 
 
 1  Rev.  xii.  i.  ^  Rgy^  iy.  4.  3  j^gY.  xiv.  3. 
 
 ^  I  Tim.  vi.  20. 
 
XXIV.]  Chap.  XIII.  343 
 
 and  making  havoc  of  the  new  religion  and  the  young 
 Church  of  Christ.  TJiis  wisdom  descendeth  not  from  above^ 
 but  is  earthly^  sejtsiial,  devilish  \  The  brute  force  of  the 
 second  enemy  were  powerless  without  this  intelligence 
 of  the  third.  Sometimes  the  two  may  work  together  in 
 one  ruler ;  the  demoniacal  acuteness,  and  the  animal 
 cruelty.  Sometimes,  more  often  perhaps,  they  are  found 
 disjoined  ;  and  the  only  link  of  union  is  a  common  god- 
 lessness.  That  is  the  combining  and  cementing  sym- 
 pathy. That  is  the  one  characteristic  which  the  second 
 enemy  shares  with  the  third.  Both  of  them  look  earth- 
 ward ;  neither  can  lift  up  his  eyes  to  the  God  above. 
 Therefore  they  are  one  in  their  work,  one  in  their  aim, 
 and  one  in  their  end. 
 
 My  brethren,  I  spoke  of  the  danger  of  giving  names 
 to  the  Church's  enemies,  lest  we  lose  sight  of  their" 
 existence  in  places  where  their  working  may  be  most 
 insidious.  I  spoke  of  the  world  within  us ;  the  world 
 which  hates  holiness,  the  world  which  even  now  per- 
 secutes Christ.  May  I  not  add  one  word  of  special 
 warning  as  to  the  enemy  last  described  }  May  I  not 
 speak  of  the  possible  prevalence  in  us  of  a  worldly 
 wisdom  ;  of  an  understanding  not  regulated  by  con- 
 science, not  enlightened  by  the  Word  of  God,  not  sanc- 
 tified by  a  spirit  of  reverence,  not  elevated  by  habits  of 
 devotion  }  Is  there  not  in  this  age,  is  there  not  even 
 amongst  ourselves,  a  wilfulness,  a  perverseness,  a  way- 
 wardness, concerning  truth,  concerning  revelation,  which 
 leads  many  persons  very  far  astray  from  the  way  of  holi- 
 ness and  from  the  way  of  peace .?  You  know  that  it  is 
 thus  ;  you  know  that  the  work  of  the  third  enemy  is  ever 
 
 1  James  iii.  15. 
 
344  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 going  on,  not  only  in  lands  still  lying  in  darkness,  not 
 only  amongst  those  who  have  openily  denied  and  for- 
 saken their  Saviour,  but  even  amongst  men  who  still  call 
 Him  Lord,  and  still  attend  upon  the  ordinances  of  His 
 worship.  Let  us  say  it  plainly,  the  enemy  is  more  or 
 less  in  all  of  us.  He  is  one  of  the  many  accomplices  of 
 the  devil  in  these  hearts  of  ours.  Let  us  not  blind  our 
 eyes  to  his  presence  or  to  his  power.  Let  us  watch  and 
 pray  ahvays^,  as  against  the  temptations  of  the  flesh,  as 
 against  the  crafts  of  the  devil,  as  against  the  solicitations 
 of  pleasure,  the  illusions  of  fashion,  or  the  intimidations 
 of  the  world  ;  so  also  against  the  false  glare  of  an  en- 
 lightenment professing  to  be  wise  above  what  is  written  ^, 
 against  the  sophistries,  the  insolences,  and  the  ignorances, 
 of  a  philosophy  which  knows  not  and  seeks  not  God  ! 
 
 The  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  is  our  true  light,  our 
 certain  guide.  With  it  in  our  hearts,  we  need  not  fear. 
 While  we  read  the  Gospel,  while  we  trust  in  Christ,  while 
 we  worship  God,  while  we  cherish  the  Spirit,  we  may  ask 
 what  we  will,  we  may  investigate  what  we  will,  we  may 
 enquire  and  we  may  examine,  we  may  ransack  the  trea- 
 sures of  human  knowledge  and  sound  the  depths  of 
 human  wisdom,  and  we  shall  never  make  shipwreck  of 
 the  faith.  The  faith  is  founded  up07i  a  rock  ^  a  rock  that 
 is  higher  than  inan^ :  let  him  plant  his  foot  there,  and  he 
 is  safe  for  time,  and  safe  for  eternity. 
 
 And  this  I  say,  brethren,  the  time  is  short.  What 
 shall  warrant  to  us  the  continuance  of  life  itself,  with 
 all  its  manifold  openings  for  amendment  and  for  use- 
 fulness 1     What  shall  guarantee  any  man  for  one  day 
 
 1  Luke  xxi.  36.  -  i  Cor.  iv.  6.  ^  Matt.  vii.  25. 
 
 ^  Psalm  Ixi.  2. 
 
XXIV.]  Chap.  XIII.  345 
 
 against  the  stroke  of  death  ?  Shall  strength  or  health, 
 shall  the  very  prime  of  manhood,  shall  high  birth, 
 shall  illustrious  station,  shall  the  happiness  of  a  Royal 
 home^  shall  the  interests  (as  man  judges)  of  the  first 
 of  nations  ?  Let  it  not  have  been  for  nothing  that 
 this  word  reaches  you  on  a  day  so  dark  and  cloudy, 
 so  mournful  in  its  tidings,  so  anxious  in  its  prognosti- 
 cations !  Let  it  say  to  you,  Whatsoever  thy  Jiand findeth 
 to  do,  do  it  ivith  thy  might  ^  I  Let  your  prayers  ascend 
 tonight  in  a  deep  sense  of  God's  greatness,  of  Christ's 
 sovereignty,  and  of  the  necessity  of  htmg  fellow-ivorkers 
 with  God^  in  behalf  of  Christ,  while  yet  there  is  time  ! 
 And  let  your  prayers  ascend  day  and  night  from  this 
 time  forward  with  double  earnestness  for  your  Queen 
 and  for  her  Royal  house,  that,  if  the  happiness  of  her 
 earthly  day  be  henceforth  darkened,  a  light  not  of  earth 
 may  arise  upon  her  with  a  twofold  brightness  ;  that  she 
 may  ahvays  incline  to  God's  zvill  even  when  it  is  grievous, 
 and  walk  in  God's  ivay  even  when  it  is  rough,  may 
 be  endued  plenteonsly  with  heavenly  gifts,  and  finally, 
 after  this  life,  may  attain  everlasting  joy  and  felicity, 
 through  Jesns  Christ  our  Lord! 
 
 1  This  Lecture  was  delivered  on  the  evening  of  the  day  on  vi^hich 
 tidings  were  received  of  the  death  of  His  Royal  Highness  the  Prince 
 Consort. 
 
 2  Eccles.  ix.  lo.  *  i  Cor.  iii.  9. 
 
 Third  Sunday  in  Advent, 
 Dec.  15,   i86i. 
 
LECTURE    XXV. 
 
 REVELATION   XIV.    I. 
 
 Ajtd  I  looked y  and  lo,  a  Lamb  stood  on  the  mount  Sion, 
 and  with  Him  an  hundred  forty  and  four  tJioicsaiid, 
 having  His  Father  s  name  ivritten  in  their  foreheads. 
 
 We  are  In  the  midst  of  a  section  of  this  Book  descrip- 
 tive of  the  enemies  of  Christ  and  His  Church.  So 
 formidable  has  been  the  account  of  the  maUgnity, 
 subtlety,  and  power  of  those  enemies,  that  we  can 
 well  imagine  something  of  despair  creeping  over  the 
 minds  of  its  readers.  There  shall  arise  false  Christs 
 and  false  prophets,  and  shall  show  great  signs  and  won- 
 ders, insomiteJi  that,  if  it  were  possible,  they  shall  deceive 
 the  very  elect^.  They  that  Jieard  it  said,  Who  then  can 
 be  saved""?  At  this  point  therefore  a  bright  vision  of 
 the  glory  that  shall  be  revealed^  is  interposed  amidst 
 the  gloomy  disclosures  of  danger  and  warfare.  The 
 general  character  of  the  brief  passage  now  to  be  con- 
 sidered— forming  the  Epistle  for  a  festival  kept  yes- 
 terday, that  of  Innocents'  Day — will  remind  us  of 
 an   earlier   vision,   that    of  the  sealing  and    its    conse- 
 
 "  Luke  xviii.  26.  ^  i  Pet.  v.  i. 
 
LECT.  XXV.]    Revelation.    Chap.  xiv.  i — 5.  347 
 
 quences  as  described  in  the  7th  chapter.  That  also 
 formed  an  interlude  in  the  great  drama,  a  sort  of  episode 
 in  the  inspired  poem  ;  occurring  between  the  opening 
 of  the  sixth  and  of  the  seventh  seal,  as  though  to  com- 
 fort the  hearts  of  the  faithful  in  the  prospect  of  scenes 
 so  dark  and  so  portentous.  There  is  one  chief  point 
 of  difference  between  the  two  :  the  vision  of  the  seal- 
 ing is  to  assure  Christ's  servants  of  their  safety  amidst 
 God's  judgments ;  the  vision  of  the  Lamb  standing  on 
 mount  Sion  is  to  assure  Christ's  servants  of  their 
 safety  from  the  crafts  and  assaults  of  Satanic  or  human 
 foes. 
 
 Now  let  us  first  read  the  five  verses  proposed  for 
 consideration  this  evening. 
 
 And^  I  saw — the  usual  opening  of  a  new  vision — 
 and  beJiold,  the  Lamb  standing  on  the  mount  Sion.  Not 
 a  Lamb,  but  the  Lamb.  By  this  time  the  figure  of  the 
 Lamb  is  so  familiar  to  the  readers  of  the  Book  in  its 
 application  to  Christ  the  Saviour  and  Redeemer  that 
 it  may  be  introduced  without  comment  or  explanation. 
 It  is  the  same  Lamb  who  was  first  named  in  the  5th 
 chapter'^,  and  who  from  that  point  onwards  has  been 
 spoken  of  again  and  again  as  the  well-known  Mediator 
 and  Intercessor,  the  Son  of  God  and  the  Son  of  Man, 
 our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  They  overcame  Jiim,  we  read  in 
 the  1 2th  chapter,  without  a  word  of  interpretation,  by  the 
 blood  of  the  Lamb  ^. 
 
 The  Lamb  is  here  seen  standing  on  the  mount  Sion. 
 That  which  was  properly  one  of  the  group  of  hills 
 forming  the  metropolis  of  Israel  became  in  the  language 
 of  prophecy  the  name  of  that  heavenly  city  which  is 
 
 ^  Verse  i.  "  Rev.  v.  6.  ^  Rev.  xii.  ii. 
 
34^  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 to  be  the  everlasting  abode  of  the  Saviour  and  of  His 
 redeemed.  Thus  we  read  in  the  Prophet  Isaiah,  that 
 the  redeemed  of  the  Lord  shall  return,  and  come  with 
 singing  unto  Zioii ;  and  everlasting  joy  shall  be  upon 
 their  head:  they  shall  obtain  gladness  and  joy ;  and 
 sorrow  and  mourning  shall  jlee  away  \  And  thus  too 
 in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  in  the  description  of  the 
 present  privileges  of  true  Christians  in  their  communion 
 already  with  heaven  and  its  inhabitants,  we  are  said  to 
 have  come  tmto  moimt  Sion  and  7cnto  the  city  of  the  living 
 God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  and  to  an  innumerable  com- 
 pany  of  angels,  to  the  general  assembly  and  church  of  the 
 firstborn  which  are  written  in  heaven,  and  to  God  the 
 Judge  of  all,  and  to  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect, 
 a7id  to  Jesus  the  Mediator  of  the  new  covenant'^.  The 
 Mount  Zion  is  the  capital  of  the  heavenly  kingdom. 
 Yet  have  I  set  my  King  icpon  my  holy  hill  of  Zion  ^. 
 
 St  John  then  in  vision,  being  still  himself  in  heaven, 
 sees  before  him  the  chosen  city  of  God's  presence. 
 Mount  Zion  wherein  TJioic  hast  divelt^,  and  the  Lamb 
 standing  there  on  its  highest  eminence,  and  ivith  Him 
 were  a  hundred  and  forty  and  four  thousands,  having 
 His  name  a?td  the  name  of  His  Father  written  upon 
 their  foreheads.  We  have  read  before,  in  the  vision  of 
 the  sealing,  of  this  special  number.  /  heard  the  num- 
 ber of  them  zvhich  zvere  sealed :  and  there  we7x  sealed  a 
 hundred  and  forty  and  four  thoiisand  of  all  the  tribes  of 
 the  children  of  Israel^.  The  number  twelve,  with  its 
 multiples,  and  more  particularly  the  twelve  times  twelve, 
 is,  as  we  have  often  remarked,  the  token  in  this  Book 
 
 ^  Isai.  li.  II.  2  Heb.  xii.  22 — 24.  ^  Psalm  ii.  6. 
 
 *  Psalm  Ixxiv.  2.  °  Rev.  vii.  4. 
 
XXV 
 
 .]  Chap.  XIV.    1—5.  349 
 
 of  the  Church  of  Christ ;  a  selection  suggested  doubt- 
 less by  the  twelve  Patriarchs  on  whom  the  Church 
 of  the  Old  Testament  was  founded,  and  by  the  twelve 
 Apostles  who  are  the  pillars  of  the  New.  The  redeemed 
 of  the  Lord  are  seen  by  the  Evangelist,  in  fulfilment 
 of  the  words  just  quoted  from  the  prophet  Isaiah,  to 
 have  come  to  Zion,  and  to  be  there  gathered  around  Him 
 whose  presence,  wherever  it  be,  is  their  heaven. 
 
 And^  I  Jieard  a  sound  out  of  the  heaven — not,  you 
 observe,  a  sound  from  Mount  Zion,  but  from  above, 
 out  of  heaven — as  a  sound  of  many  waters  and  as  a 
 sound  of  a  great  thunder ;  and  the  sound  which  I  heard 
 was  as  of  Jiarpers  Jiarping  on  their  harps.  The  combi- 
 nation of  fulness,  of  majesty,  and  of  sweetness,  in  the 
 sound  heard,  is  expressed  by  bringing  together  the  three 
 comparisons  thus  indicated.  And'^  they,  the  heavenly 
 harpers,  siiig  a  new  song  before  {in  presence  of)  the  thi^one 
 and  before  [in  presence  of)  the  four  living  creatures,  re- 
 presentatives, as  we  heard  in  earlier  discourses,  of  cre- 
 ation, and  the  elders,  representatives  of  the  universal 
 Church ;  and  no  one  was  able  to  learn  the  song,  except 
 the  hundred  and  forty  and  four  tJioiLsands,  even  they 
 who  have  been  purchased  from  the  earth.  The  heavenly 
 song,  though  sweet  and  glorious  in  its  general  sound 
 to  the  ear  of  the  Prophet  who  is  still  in  flesh,  can  be 
 learned  only  by  those  who  are  no  longer  clogged  with 
 mortality,  but  have  already  passed  through  death  into 
 incorruption  and  glory. 
 
 These"^  are  they  ivho  were  not  defiled  zvith  women: 
 for  they  are  virgins.  These  are  they  zvho  follozu  the  Lamb 
 ivheresoever  He  goeth.     These  were  purchased  from  among 
 
 ^  Verse  2,  *  Verse  3.  ^  Verse  4. 
 
350  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 mankind,  2iS  firstfrnits  to  God  and  to  the  Lamb.  And^ 
 in  theij"  mouth  was  not  fottnd  falsehood :  for  they  are 
 blameless.  The  last  words,  before  the  tJirone  of  God,  are 
 not  found  in  the  best  manuscripts. 
 
 Beautiful  and  quickening  words,  my  brethren  !  They 
 suggest  two  main  topics  :  first,  the  character  of  these 
 redeemed  and  glorified  saints ;  and  secondly,  the  nature 
 of  their  heavenly  state. 
 
 I.  We  may  perceive  in  the  character  here  pre- 
 sented four  leading  features :  purity,  obedience,  un- 
 worldliness,  and  truthfulness. 
 
 (i)  These  are  they  zvhich  were  not  defiled.  They  led 
 upon  earth  a  clean  and  a  holy  life.  They  eschewed  in 
 every  form  the  sin  of  uncleanness  and  of  impurity.  They 
 were  pure  in  heai^t :  and  therefore  they  shall  see  God^. 
 
 The  subject  thus  suggested  bears  no  amplification 
 from  the  pulpit.  Far  more  of  harm  than  of  good  is  done 
 by  any  enlargement  upon  it.  But  the  heart  of  each  one 
 knoweth  its  own  bitterness  ^ :  where  is  he  who  is  entirely 
 ignorant  of  the  fearful  malignity  of  those  temptations 
 which  come  to  us  through  the  passions  and  lusts  of  the 
 flesh  ?  When  our  Lord  said  in  reference  to  this  matter, 
 He  that  is  without  sin  among  yon,  let  him  first  cast  a  stone 
 at  her  whose  guilt  is  open  before  you,  we  read  that,  as 
 He  stooped  down  again  after  saying  this  and  continued 
 to  write  on  the  ground,  they  zvhich  heard  Him,  being 
 convicted  by  their  own  conscience,  zuent  out  one  by  one, 
 beginning  at  the  eldest ,  even  unto  the  last'^.  They  who 
 would  have  listened  unmoved  to  the  most  searching 
 questions  as  to  sins  of  dishonesty  or  of  revenge,  could 
 
 1  Verse  5.  2  Matt.  v.  8.  ^  Pro  v.  xiv.  10. 
 
 *  John  viii.  7,  9. 
 
XXV 
 
 ,]  Chap,  XIV.   1—5.  35 
 
 not  bear  the  application  of  the  test  to  this  one  most 
 secret,  most  subtle,  and  most  malignant  thing.  They 
 went  out  one  by  one,  convicted  by  their  own  conscience. 
 They  could  not  bear  the  glance  of  that  heart-searching 
 eye  upon  this  one  point  in  their  hearts.  They  must  get 
 away  before  He  should  lift  Himself  up  and  look  at  them. 
 And  yet,  my  brethren,  that  e3^e,  not  of  the  body  but  of 
 the  spirit,  was  upon  them  all  the  time,  and  they  felt  it ; 
 they  knew,  even  if  they  would  not  own  it,  that  He  kneiv 
 what  zvas  in  man  \  And  that  same  eye  is  upon  all  our 
 hearts  and  upon  each  of  our  hearts,  upon  all  our  lives 
 and  upon  each  of  our  lives,  this  night.  And  with  what 
 result }  What  does  it  see  there  }  Are  not  we  too  con- 
 victed by  our  own  conscience  }  Would  not  some  of  us  be 
 glad  to  go  out,  like  those  Jews  of  old,  to  escape  the 
 scrutiny }  But  we  cannot.  The  glance  is  upon  us  all : 
 let  us  be  still  under  it,  and  let  us  pray  that  it  may  work 
 conviction  and  that  it  may  work  conversion  in  iis  all. 
 
 For  indeed,  my  brethren,  we  know  also  that  there  is 
 such  a  thing  as  purity  of  heart  even  in  this  sinful  world, 
 and  that  they  who  would  ever  stand  with  the  Lamb  upon 
 the  mount  Zion  must  by  His  grace  in  some  measure 
 attain  to  it.  It  is  not  the  commonness  of  sin  which  will 
 excuse  it.  God  commands  us  to  fight  against  it ;  He 
 bids  us  to  escape  from  \\.  for  our  lives'^ ;  He  offers  us  His 
 Holy  Spirit  to  make  escape  possible,  yea,  to  make  final 
 victory  certain.  And  there  are  those  who  have  escaped  ; 
 and  there  are  those  who  have  conquered.  There  are 
 those  who  by  God's  blessing  upon  the  early  discipline  of 
 a  holy  home  have  grown  up  from  childhood  pure  in 
 heart.     And  there  are  those  who  through  a  more  severe 
 
 1  John  ii.  25.  2  Gen.  xix.  17. 
 
352  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 process  have  regained  a  once  sullied  or  forfeited  purity. 
 How  shall  it  be  with  those  who  have  neither  kept  nor 
 regained,  who  have  lost  and  have  not  recovered  ?  Let 
 us  set  it  before  ourselves  as  a  paramount  and  most  real 
 object,  that  we  who  profess  to  have  hope  in  Christ  purify 
 ourselves  even  as  He  is  pure  \ 
 
 (2)  The  second  mark  of  the  saved  is  obedience. 
 These  are  they  zvJiich  folloiv  the  Lamb  wheresoever  He 
 goeth.  It  is  not  perhaps  certain  whether  this  is  here 
 made  a  part  of  their  earthly  condition  or  of  their  hea- 
 venly reward.  It  may  be  said  of  either  ;  it  may  be  said 
 of  both.  In  the  place  where  it  stands  we  can  scarcely 
 exclude  its  reference  to  their  life  below. 
 
 If  any  man  serve  me,  our  Saviour  said,  let  him  follow 
 me :  and  where  I  am,  there  shall  also  my  servant  be  '^.  To 
 follow  Christ  wherever  He  leads  is  the  most  general  and 
 also  the  most  comprehensive  of  all  the  marks  of  a 
 Christian.  Folloiv  me  was  the  call  by  which  He  made 
 men  His  disciples^:  they  forsook  all,  and  followed  Him 
 was  the  sign  that  His  service  was  undertaken  *.  The  call 
 was  then  to  a  literal  following :  it  bade  men  leave  work 
 and  home,  and  attend  from  place  to  place  One  who 
 had  not' where  to  lay  His  head^.  Flesh  and  blood  often 
 shrank  from  this  :  nothing  but  a  firm  and  earnest  faith 
 could  make  such  a  life  endurable.  But  the  chief  trial 
 even  then  lay  in  that  part  of  the  work  which  still  remains 
 for  us  all.  Many  of  us  would  submit  to  a  three  years' 
 wandering  in  the  service  of  One  whose  love  and  whose 
 wisdom  lightened  the  toil,  and  whose  sure  word  of 
 promise  held  out  heaven  as  the  reward.     But  to  follow 
 
 1  I  John  iii.  3.  2  j^j^j^  ^ii.  26.  ^  Matt.  iv.  19. 
 
 *  Luke  V.  II.  5  Luke  ix.  58. 
 
XXV.]  Chap,  XIV.    1—5.  353 
 
 Him,  as  He  required,  in  spirit  also ;  to  walk  in  the  steps 
 of  His  example ;  to  be  like  Him  in  His  patience,  to  be 
 like  Him  in  His  devotion,  to  be  like  Him  in  His  dis- 
 interestedness, to  be  like  Him  in  His  temper,  mind,  and 
 life ;  this  was  the  hard  thing :  this  it  was  which  caused 
 many  to  be  offended  in  Him  \'  this  it  w^as  which  made 
 many  say  to  His  call,  /pray  Thee,  have  me  excused^;  this 
 it  was  which  led  many  who  had  attended  Him  for  a 
 season  to  ^0  back  at  last  a?id  walk  ivith  Him  no  more  ^ 
 
 The  stress  of  the  words  for  each  one  of  us  is  on  the 
 last  clause,  wheresoever  He goeth.  Some  of  us  are  willing, 
 it  may  be,  to  follow  the  Lamb  a  certain  way  or  in  a 
 certain  direction.  There  are  some  things  which  He 
 requires  of  us  which  we  are  willing  to  give.  A  gentle 
 temper  is  ready  to  offer  meekness :  a  vigorous  frame  is 
 ready  to  give  diligence.  But  try  the  gentle  temper  by 
 proposing  to  it  some  work  of  courage ;  try  the  vigorous 
 frame  by  laying  upon  it  not  something  to  be  done  but 
 something  to  be  suffered,  some  task  of  irksome  charity, 
 or  some  season  of  wasting  sickness ;  and  perhaps  you 
 will  find  that  the  word  ivheresoever  has  applied  a  test 
 fatal  to  many  professions  and  severely  trying  to  all  If 
 we  would  know  whether  we  have  upon  us  this  mark  of 
 the  redeemed  in  heaven,  we  must  look  not  at  those  parts 
 of  our  Christian  duty  which  suit  our  natural  taste  or  fall 
 in  with  our  natural  temper,  but  rather  at  those  which  run 
 counter  to  inclination,  and  which  but  for  Christ  we 
 should  certainly  not  perform.  Irksome  duties,  difficult 
 duties,  uncongenial  duties,  are  the  real  tests  of  our  state. 
 It  is  he  who  follows  the  Lamb,  not  some  way,  but  zvhere- 
 soever  He goeth,  who  shall  rest  with  Him  upon  His  holy 
 
 1  Matt.  xiii.  57.  2  \j^q  xiv.  i8.-  ^  John  vi.  ^6. 
 
 V.  R.  23 
 
354  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 hill^,  and  learn  the  new  song  which  belongs  exclusively 
 to  His  redeemed. 
 
 (3)  The  third  mark  is  unworldliness.  I  could  not 
 suffer  you  to  overlook  the  solemn,  I  might  well  say  the 
 fearful  import  of  that  repeated  phrase,  redeemed  froiji  the 
 earth,  7'edeemed  from  among  meii.  It  is  the  hope  of  many, 
 and  apart  from  the  Gospel  we  might  well  call  it  an 
 amiable  and  a  charitable  hope,  that  with  the  exception 
 perhaps  of  a  i^\N  great  criminals,  a  few  oppressors  or 
 corrupters  of  the  world,  who  have  actually  defied  God 
 and  staked  everything  upon  wickedness,  heaven  will  be 
 thrown  wide  open  to  all ;  and  that  thus  the  fears  and 
 conflicts  of  the  good  for  themselves  and  for  others,  the 
 tears  and  sorrows  of  Christ's  servants  over  those  who 
 will  forsake  and  trample  upon  God's  law'^,  will  be  proved 
 by  the  event  to  have  been  exaggerated  or  superfluous. 
 And  I  know  not  whose  heart  has  not  sometimes  been 
 distressed,  or  whose  understanding  has  not  sometimes 
 been  staggered,  by  the  terrible  urgency  of  that  charge 
 and  prediction  of  our  Lord,  Strive  to  enter  in  at  tJie  strait 
 gate ;  for  many,  I  say  unto  yon ^  will  seek  to  enter  in,  and 
 shall  not  be  able^.  But  while  we  shrink  justly  from  the 
 attempt  to  apply  in  individual  instances  such  words  of 
 fear  and  warning,  we  must  indeed  take  them  home  all 
 of  us  to  ourselves.  If  we  are  saved,  it  must  be  not  with 
 the  earth,  but  as  redeemed  from  it ;  purchased  from 
 among  men  by  the  blood  of  the  cross,  and  sealed  as 
 God's  by  the  personal  gift  of  His  Spirit  \  It  is  in  this 
 sense  that  I  would  press  upon  you  to-night  the  word 
 unworldliness.     There  must  be  a  difference  between  us 
 
 1  Psalm  XV.  I.  ^  Psalm  cxix.  53,  136,  158.  ^  Luke  xiii.  24. 
 
 *  2  Cor.  i.  22.     Eph.  i.  13.     iv.  30. 
 
XXV 
 
 .]  Chap.  XIV.   1—5.  355 
 
 and  the  men  who  cast  in  their  lot  with  this  world.  It 
 must  be  evident  to  any  who  know  us  thoroughly,  that 
 our  aims,  our  habits,  our  principles,  our  affections,  have 
 all  an  object  above  this  life,  an  earnestness  and  a  sted- 
 fastness  which  they  derive  from  our  connection,  real 
 though  secret,  with  One  who  is  already  in  heaven,  our 
 Father,  our  Redeemer,  and  our  Sanctifier. 
 
 (4)  There  is  yet  a  fourth  mark.  /;/  their  month  was 
 foinid  no  gjdle,  or  no  falseJiood.  To  purity,  and  to  obedi- 
 ence, and  to  unworkiliness,  we  must  add  this  virtue  also, 
 truthfulness.  It  is  given  in  the  32nd  Psalm  as  one  fea- 
 ture of  the  forgiven  man,  of  him  wJiose  sm  is  covered, 
 that  in  his  spirit  there  is  no  guile  \  What  has  the  for- 
 given man  to  conceal  1  Why  should  he  be  crooked,  why 
 should  his  tongue  depart  from  the  truth,  when  God  who 
 knows  all  has  pardoned  and  cancelled  all }  While  he 
 was  keeping  his  secret,  while  he  was  avoiding  God,  while 
 he  was  afraid  and  ashamed  to  tell  out  all  to  Him  and 
 heartily  to  seek  forgiveness,  so  long  he  had  a  motive  for 
 guile  ;  so  long  truth  was  his  enemy  ;  so  long  the  thing 
 that  is  was  at  variance  with  the  thing  which  seemed. 
 But  the  hnndred  and  forty  and  fonr  thousand  are  all  re- 
 deemed, all  forgiven.  They  have  told  God  all  their 
 secrets,  and  what  God  knows  they  care  not  if  man 
 knows.  They  are  not  masked  men,  they  are  frank  and 
 real.  See  the  difference  between  a  Christian  man  and  a 
 worldly  man  in  this  one  respect !  See  how  the  one  cares 
 about  appearances  :  What  will  men  think  of  me  ?  how 
 can  I  gain  or  keep  their  good  opinion  .?  how  shall  I 
 prevent  this  or  that  from  being  known  against  me }  how 
 shall  I  keep  the  veil  ctose  over  this  folly,  that  weakness, 
 1  Psalm  xxxii.  i,  2. 
 
 23—2 
 
356  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 this  vice  ?  It  Is  not  so  with  a  Christian.  /  acknowledged 
 my  ways,  he  says,  and  Thou  heardest  me.  All  my  zvays 
 are  before  Thee^ ;  all  my  past  sins,  all  my  present  Infirmi- 
 ties, all  my  shortcomings  and  backslidlngs.  Now  there- 
 fore why  should  I  fear  ?  If  God  has  forgiven,  zvhat  can 
 man  do  unto  me ^  ?  Let  me  give  glo7y  to  the  Lord  God^  of 
 my  salvation,  by  making  no  secret  of  the  state  from 
 which  He  has  redeemed  me. 
 
 Other  senses  of  the  words  before  us  are  patent  and 
 obvious :  I  select  this  one  as  most  appropriate  to  the 
 call  of  this  solemn  season.  Soon  will  another  year  have 
 gone  in  to  its  account;  and  let  each  one  ask  himself, 
 What  account  will  it  carry  of  me }  Let  us  strip  off  all 
 our  disguises,  and  come  every  one  of  us  Into  God's 
 presence  as  we  are.  To  Him,  it  is  written,  all  things  are 
 naked  and  opened^:  let  us  have  no  reserve  with  Him  our- 
 selves. Then  shall  we  know  that  blessedness  of  which 
 David  speaks  so  touchingly ;  the  blessedness  of  him 
 whose  unrigJiteousness  is  forgiven  and  whose  sin  is  covered, 
 of  him  to  whom  the  Lord  impttteth  not  iniquity,  in  whose 
 spirit  there  is  no  guile  ^,  In  whose  mouth  no  falsehood  !     • 
 
 2.  Our  time  has  been  fully  occupied  with  the  first 
 topic  proposed,  the  character  of  God's  saints.  We  have 
 no  space  for  the  second,  their  condition  In  glory.  But 
 this  we  may  briefly  say;  that  they  are  safe,  that  they  are 
 at  rest,  that  they  are  happy,  that  they  are  with  Christ. 
 The  song  which  they  learn,  we  are  expressly  told,  Is  not 
 yet  Intelligible  to  us :  when  we  speak  of  their  condition, 
 we  fall  at  once  Into  negatives  :  by  their  safety  we  mean 
 that  they  are  not  like  us  In  danger ;  by  their  rest,  that 
 
 ^  Psalm  cxix.  26,  168.  ^  Psalm  cxviii.  6.  ^  Josh.  vii.  19. 
 
 *  Heb.  iv.  13.  5  Psalm  xxxii.  i,  2. 
 
XXV, 
 
 ]  Chap.  XIV.    1—5.  357 
 
 they  are  not  like  us  toiling  ;  by  their  happiness,  that  they 
 are  not  like  us  suffering  from  sorrow  or  suffering  from 
 sin  :  and  indeed  in  these  negatives  there  is  a  reality  of 
 comfort  which  we  may  thankfully  accept  and  treasure. 
 Amidst  them  all  there  is  one  and  but  one  positive;  they 
 are  with  Christ.  His  name  and  His  Father's  name  is  in 
 their  foreheads :  they  are  marked  for  His  own  :  and  they 
 stand  with  the  Lamb  on  the  mount  Zion.  Is  that 
 thought  more  to  us,  or  less,  than  the  others  1  is  the 
 presence  of  Christ  more  or  less  intelligible  to  us,  more 
 or  less  attractive  to  us,  than  the  absence  of  care  and  fear, 
 of  pain  and  sorrow  .''  Alas  !  that  is  a  question  which  we 
 dare  not  answer.  It  is  to  ask  in  other  words.  What  is 
 Christ  Himself  to  us  now.'*  What  place  does  He  occupy 
 in  our  life,  in  our  heart,  yes,  in  our  religion }  Is  He 
 anything  more  than  a  name  for  the  atonement  .'*  as 
 little  of  a  real  Person,  of  a  living  Saviour,  as  is  the  doc- 
 trine, the  blessed  doctrine,  of  sacrifice,  of  propitiation, 
 of  forgiveness  of  sin  }  It  was  not  so  once.  It  was  not 
 so  to  St  Peter,  to  St  John,  to  St  Paul :  it  was  not  so  to 
 the  Ethiopian  nobleman,  it  was  not  so  to  the  Philipplan 
 jailer :  it  is  not  so  to  any  one  of  the  hundred  and  forty 
 and  four  thousand  who  were  indeed  redeemed  from  the 
 earth.  If  to  any  of  us  Christ  is  an  abstraction  ;  a  doc- 
 trine, a  name,  and  not  a  living  and  life-giving  Saviour; 
 then  indeed  we  have  lost  out  of  our  heaven  its  one  bright 
 light,  its  one  positive  and  intelligible  revelation :  we 
 wonder  not  that  our  eyes  are  upon  earth,  that  our  hearts 
 know  no  lofty  aspiration,  that  we  acquiesce  in  a  life  of 
 time  and  sense,  and  have  no  hunger  and  thirst  after  joys 
 invisible  and  eternal,  if  in  that  unseen  world  there  is  no 
 central  figure,  no  Son  of  Man  carrying  our  sorrows,  no 
 
358  Revelation.  [lect.  xxv. 
 
 Son  of  God  swift  to  hear  and  mighty  to  save.  There, 
 yes  there,  is  our  deficiency  :  we  are  hke  persons  travel- 
 ling without  a  guide,  voyaging  without  a  pilot,  fighting 
 without  a  captain,  labouring  without  a  master.  Instead 
 of  demanding  a  Saviour,  we  are  satisfied  with  a  theology: 
 instead  of  trusting  in  a  Person,  we  are  catching  at  a 
 shadow.  Can  we  wonder  that  in  such  a  condition  the 
 glory  that  shall  be  revealed^  becomes  to  us  colourless, 
 cold,  and  unattractive  t  even  because  we  have  lost  alto- 
 gether the  personal  faith  which  breathed  in  the  Apostle 
 when  he  wrote  for  all  time  those  glowing  words  of  in- 
 spiration, Beloved,  now  are  we  the  sons  of  God ;  a7id  it 
 doth  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be :  hit  ive  know  that, 
 zvhen  He  shall  appear,  we  shall  be  like  Him  ;  for  we  shall 
 see  Him  as  He  is  ^. 
 
 1  I  Pet.  V,  I.  2  I  John  iii.  i. 
 
 Sunday  after  Christmas  Day, 
 December  29,  1861. 
 
LECTURE    XXVI. 
 
 REVELATION   XIV.    1 3. 
 
 And  I  heard  a  voice  from  heaven  saying  unto  me,  Wi'ite : 
 Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord  from  hence- 
 forth :  Yea,  saith  the  Spirit,  that  they  may  restfivm 
 their  labours  ;  and  their  zvorks  do  follow  them. 
 
 The  Lamb  of  God  has  been  seen  standing  upon  the 
 Mount  Zion  with  the  hundred  and  forty  and  four  thou- 
 sand who  were  redeemed  from  the  earth.  You  were 
 called  last  Sunday  evening  to  dwell  upon  that  glorious 
 revelation.  The  character  of  the  redeemed,  as  there  set 
 before  us  under  the  four  heads,  of  purity,  of  obedience, 
 of  unworldliness,  of  truthfulness;  and  then  their  heavenly 
 state,  as  one  of  safety,  of  rest,  of  happiness,  of  converse 
 and  communion  with  Christ;  these  were  our  topics  on 
 that  occasion.  By  such  considerations  the  hearts  of  the 
 faithful,  depressed  and  alarmed  by  the  terrible  preceding 
 disclosures  of  the  power,  the  subtlety,  and  the  malignity 
 of  the  three  enemies  of  their  Lord  and  of  His  Church, 
 are  appropriately  reassured  and  comforted  in  the  prospect 
 of  tJie  glojy  that  shall  be  revealed  \    We  are  evidently  now, 
 
 1  I  Pet.  V.  1. 
 
360  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 as  in  former  visions,  hastening  on  towards  the  great 
 catastrophe.  This  chapter  itself  ends  not  but  with  the 
 end  of  all  things.  The  passage  which  is  to  be  presented 
 this  evening  has  been  described  as  the  text,  the  brief 
 and  pregnant  summary,  of  those  ampler  revelations  which 
 fill  the  remaining  chapters  of  this  Book.  It  consists  of 
 four  several  announcements  ;  three  by  angelic  voices, 
 and  one,  that  of  the  text  itself,  by  a  voice  greater  and 
 more  glorious  still,  even  as  the  announcement  itself  is 
 of  a  greater  and  more  glorious  character.  I  purpose  to 
 treat  the  three  angelic  proclamations  as  words  waiting 
 for  development  in  the  following  sections  of  the  pro- 
 phecy ;  and  to  concentrate  your  attention  as  quickly  as 
 possible  upon  the  refreshing  and  comforting  message 
 heard  by  the  Apostle  out  of  heaven  itself 
 
 And'^  I  saw  another  angely  thus  distinguished  from 
 Angels  whose  ministry  has  been  described  in  earlier 
 chapters,  ^Tj'w^  in  mid-heaven,  having  an  everlasting  gospel 
 to  aniioimce  over  {so  as  to  reach)  them  that  sit  on  the  earth: 
 the  expression  is  that  of  the  4th  chapter  of  St  Matthew's 
 Gospel ;  The  people  zvhich  sat  in  darkness  saw  great  light ; 
 and  to  them  whieh  sat  in  the  region  and.  shadozv  of  death 
 light  is  sprung  tcp^ :  the  choice  of  the  word  indicating,  it 
 may  be,  something  of  spiritual  inaction  and  torpor :  a7id 
 over  every  nation  and  tribe  and  to7igtce  and  people ;  saying^ 
 in  a  mighty  voice,  Fear  God,  and  give  Him  glory,  ascribe 
 to  Him  the  character  which  is  His,  because  the  honr  of 
 His  judgment  is  come ;  and  worship  Him  who  made  the 
 heaven  and  the  earth  and  the  sea  and  springs  of  waters. 
 
 An  everlasting  gospel.  We  shall  notice  in  this  uni- 
 versal proclamation  of  an  everlasting  Gospel  one  of  the 
 
 ^  Verse  6.  ^  Matt.  iv.  16.  ^  Verse  7. 
 
XXVI.]  Chap,  XIV.  6 — 13.  361 
 
 predicted  signs  of  the  approach  of  the  end.  And  this 
 gospel  of  the  kingdom  shall  be  preached  in  all  the  world  for 
 a  witness  nnto  all  nations ;  and  then  shall  the  end  come^. 
 It  is  called  a  Gospel,  a  message  of  glad  tidings:  and 
 yet  its  first  sound  is  one  of  alarm  and  warning.  It  was 
 always  so.  From  that  time  J'esns  began  to  preaeh,  and  to 
 say,  Repent:  for  the  kingdom  of  Jieavcn  is  at  Jiand'^.  Till 
 a  man  fears,  he  can  never  know  hope.  The  first  call  of 
 the  everlasting  Gospel  itself  is  to  fear  God  and  to  worship 
 the  universal  Creator. 
 
 And^  another,  a  second,  angel  followed,  saying.  Fallen, 
 fallen  is  the  great  Babylon,  site  wJio  of  the  zvine  of  the 
 wrath  of  her  fornication  has  made  all  the  natio?is  to  drink. 
 This  is  the  first  mention  of  that  name  which  is  to  occupy 
 so  prominent  a  place  in  the  subsequent  chapters  of  this 
 Prophecy.  I  will  reserve  any  comment  upon  it  until  we 
 reach  that  fuller  disclosure.  At  present  we  accept  as 
 one  signal  of  the  last  end  the  announcement  of  the  fall 
 of  that  pov/er,  be  it  what  it  may,  which  stands  to  the 
 Church  of  Christ  in  the  position  v/hich  Babylon  for  so 
 long  occupied  to  the  Church  of  the  Old  Testament.  The 
 wine  of  the  zvratJi  of  her  fornication  is  a  condensed  ex- 
 pression for  that  intoxicating  draught  of  seductive  sin 
 which  must  bring  after  it  the  wrath  of  God.  The  wine- 
 cup  of  her  fornication  is  also  the  wine-cup  of  the  divine 
 displeasure  and  judgment.  Sin,  zvhcn  it  is  finished, 
 bringeth  forth  death*.  Judgment  is  sin  itself  given  back 
 developed  to  the  sinner  ^ 
 
 And^  another  angel,  a  tJiird,  follozved  them,  saying  in 
 a  mighty  voice,  If  any  man  zvorsJdps  the  wild  beast  and  his 
 
 1  Matt.  xxiv.  14.  2  jviatt.  iv.  17.  ^  Versed. 
 
 4  James  i.  15.  ^  3  Cq^.  y,  jq.     Qal.  vi.  7,  8.  ^  Verse  9. 
 
J 
 
 62  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 image,  according  to  the  description  of  the  preceding 
 chapter  ^  and  receives  a  mark,  the  mark  of  which  we 
 read  in  the  same  chapter  as  the  condition  of  commerce 
 with  the  world,  upon  his  forehead  or  on  to  his  hand ;  he^ 
 also  himself  as  well  as  the  great  enemy  whom  he  serves, 
 shall  drink  of  that  wine  of  the  wrath  of  God  which  is 
 mingled  tinmixed  {nndihtted)  in  the  cup  of  His  indignation, 
 and  shall  be  tormented  in  fire  and  brimstone  in  the  presence 
 of  the  angels  and  in  the  presence  of  the  Lamb.  He  who 
 has  been  driven  by  the  fear  of  man  to  a  compromise 
 with  evil  shall  find  that  there  was  a  fear  behind,  could 
 he  but  have  felt  it,  stronger  still  and  more  formidable, 
 the  fear  of  God  and  of  His  judgment  upon  all  sin.  Fear 
 not  them  which  kill  the  body — would  that  the  words 
 might  ring  betimes  in  the  hearts  of  us  who  are  still 
 among  the  living — but  are  not  able  to  kill  the  sotd :  but 
 rather  fear  Him  which  is  able  to  destroy  both  soul  and 
 body  in  he  11^.  And'^  the  smoke  of  tJieir  torment  goes  up 
 unto  ages  of  ages — the  figure  is  derived  from -well-known 
 passages  of  the  historical  and  prophetical  Scriptures " — 
 and  they  have  not  rest,  by  day  and  by  night,  who  worship 
 the  wild  beast  and  his  image,  and  if  any  one  receives  the 
 mark  of  his  name.  Rest  of  inaction  there  is  none  in 
 the  eternal  world :  some  rest  not  day  nor  night  from 
 praise*' ;  others  rest  not  day  nor  night  from  suffering : 
 no  soul  once  created  can  again  cease  from  existence 
 and  from  consciousness.  Here''  is  the  patience  of  the 
 saints,  zvho  keep  the  commandments  of  God  and  the  faith 
 of  Jesus.  In  the  willingness  to  wait  for  rest  and  for 
 redress  until  God  Himself  shall  thus  arise  to  rid  them 
 
 1  Rev.  xiii.  15,  16.         ^  Y^rse  10.         ^  Matt.  x.  28.         ^  Verse  ir. 
 ^  Gen.  xix.  28.     Isai.  xxxiv.  10.  ^  Rev.  iv.  8.  ^  Verse  12. 
 
XXVI.]  Chap.  XIV.  6 — 13.  363 
 
 for  ever  of  their  adversaries  is  seen  that  spirit  of  patience 
 which  is  one  of  the  chief  characteristics  of  the  saints  of 
 God. 
 
 And'^  I  heai'da  voice  out  of  the  heaven  saying.  Write  ; 
 record  for  the  Church's  comfort  this  revelation  which 
 follows  :  Blessed  are  the  dead  zuho  die  in  the  Lord  from 
 henceforth :  Yea,  saith  the  Spirit,  in  order  that  they  shall 
 (jnay)  rest  from  their  toils:  and  tJieir  works  follozv  with 
 them.  The  words  from  hencefoi^th  can  scarcely  be  severed 
 from  the  time  of  the  proclamation.  The  end  is  drawing 
 on.  The  everlasting  Gospel  is  being  preached  to  all  na- 
 tions in  immediate  anticipation  of  the  Saviour's  Advent. 
 The  fall  of  the  embodied  enemy  of  the  Church  is  foreseen 
 as  already  accomplished.  The  future  punishment  of  the 
 wicked  is  announced  as  determined  and  instant.  The 
 accompanying  revelation  of  the  blessedness  of  the  dead 
 is  coupled  with  the  words  from  henceforth;  as  though 
 that  blessedness  were  about  to  receive  its  final  and  com- 
 plete fulfilment.  It  is  at  the  time  of  the  end  that  the 
 blessedness  of  the  dead  will  be  consummated  in  a  sense 
 not  before  perfected.  Resurrection  is  needed  to  convert 
 fulness  of  rest  into  fulness  of  joy. 
 
 The  voice  of  the  consenting  Spirit  ratifies  the  an- 
 nouncement. Yea,  saith  the  Spirit ;  even  so ;  the  word 
 is  true  and  faithful :  blessed  are  the  dead  zvJio  die  in  the 
 Lord,  and  die  /;/  order  that  they  may  rest  from  their  toils : 
 the  expression  denotes  not  exertion  only,  but  wearisome 
 and  exhausted  exertion.  And  their  ivorks,  their  works 
 of  love  and  faith  done  in  a  lifetime  spent  below,  folloiv 
 zvith  them  ;  attend  and  accompany  them  as  it  were  into 
 that  eternal  world-  where  nothing  truly  done  for  Christ 
 
 ^  Verse  13. 
 
364  Revelatmi.  [lect. 
 
 in  this  life  shall  in  any  wise  lose  its  due  recompence  of 
 reward.     Let  us  ponder  the  words. 
 
 It  is  obviously  of  the  utmost  moment  that  we  rightly 
 understand  who  are  spoken  of  Alas,  my  brethren,  the 
 context  has  warned  us  that  the  blessing  here  pronounced 
 is  not  for  all.  The  blessed  dead  are  placed  in  marked 
 contrast  with  those  who  in  this  life  have  borne  the  mark 
 of  the  beast,  which  is  the  world,  on  their  forehead  and 
 upon  their  hand.  How  glad  are  we,  for  ourselves  and 
 for  those  dear  to  us,  when  it  comes  to  the  last  solemn 
 moment,  to  forget  that  there  is  any  distinction  between 
 the  death  of  the  righteous  and  of  the  wicked,  betv/een 
 the  death  oi  one  who  has  loved  and  served  Christ  and 
 of  one  who  has  lived  withotd  Him  in  tJie  zvorld} !  It 
 seems  so  hard  to  preserve  that  distinction  when  the  day 
 of  grace,  for  good  or  for  evil,  is  ended,  and  when  the 
 earth  is  now  open  to  receive  the  poor  corruptible  frame 
 which  can  no  longer  henceforth  do  good  or  do  evil. 
 And  indeed  we  count  it  no  mark  of  true  faith,  but  the 
 very  contrary,  to  speak  at  such  a  moment  words  of 
 severity  to  the  sorrowing  survivors.  Chainty  hopeth  as 
 well  as  endureth  all  things  I  And  the  Church  itself  utters 
 promiscuously  over  all  her  members,  over  all  who  have 
 once  been  incorporated  into  her  by  Christian  baptism 
 and  have  never  been  cut  oft"  from  her  by  a  sentence  of 
 formal  excommunication,  every  word  of  comfort  and  of 
 expectation  which  she  has  in  her  treasure-house  for  the 
 most  exemplary  and  the  most  devoted.  The  words  of 
 the  text  itself  are  read  thus  by  the  graves  of  many  whose 
 Christian  course  has  been  far  from  stedfast,  far  from 
 consistent,  far  from  exemplary  or  devoted.     Thus  it  is 
 
 1  Eph.  ii.  12.  2  J  Qq^^  jjjji   w^ 
 
XXVI 
 
 .]  Chap.  XIV.  6 — 13.  365 
 
 and  thus  it  must  be,  unless  the  words,  Let  both  grow  to- 
 gether tintil  the  harvest^,  be  expunged  from  our  Gospels, 
 or  man  presumes  to  seat  himself  in  that  tribunal  of  judg- 
 ment which  belongs  only  to  Him  by  whom  characters 
 are  tested  and  by  wJioni  actions  are  weighed"^. 
 
 But  if  man  is  thus  to  stand  aside  from  the  office  of 
 judgment,  more  than  ever  is  it  necessary  that  we  should 
 try  and  judge  ourselves.  And  those  words  which  it 
 would  be  cruel  to  utter  in  the  house  of  mourning  and 
 under  the  pressure  of  a  late  bereavement,  it  is  the  more 
 needful,  on  that  very  account,  to  impress  upon  all  alike 
 in  the  house  of  God  in  days  of  health  and  vigour,  while 
 yet  self-examination  differs  from  a  last  judgment,  and 
 even  self-condemnation  (if  it  be  so)  from  the  final  con- 
 demnation of  God. 
 
 Blessed  are  the  dead  zvJiich  die  in  the  Lord.  It  is  in 
 these  last  words  that  the  anxious,  the  critical  question 
 lies.  To  die  in  the  Lord  we  must  first  have  been  in  the 
 Lord.  I  am  entering  into  no  disputed  doctrines.  I  do 
 not  say  for  how  long  a  person  must  have  been  in  the 
 Lord  before  he  can  die  in  the  Lord.  I  have  a  very  deep 
 codviction  of  the  freeness  of  God's  mercy,  of  the  power 
 of  His  grace,  and  of  the  reality  of  that  transition  by 
 which  a  penitent  sinner  crosses  over  from  death  unto  life. 
 I  read  in  the  Bible  how  rapid  in  God's  hands  may  be  the 
 work  of  repentance,  faith,  and  holiness,  in  the  heart  of 
 a  sinful  man.  We  could  not  visit  a  bed  of  sickness,  we 
 could  scarcely  minister  in  the  congregation,  but  for  this 
 confidence.  We  must  be  able  to  look  upward  to  One 
 known  to  be  Almighty  as  well  as  most  merciful,  and  say, 
 Lord,  show  forth  that  mercy,  Lord,  exercise  that  power 
 1  Matt.  xiii.  30.  ^  i  Sam.  ii.  3. 
 
o 
 
 66  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 in  the  case  of  this  soul,  of  these  souls,  now  before  Thee ! 
 But  this  knowledge  and  this  faith  only  give  urgency  to 
 the  call  that  we  examine  ourselves  whether  zue  be  in  the 
 Lord\  So  great  is  the  difference  between  being  in  the 
 Lord  and  being  out  of  the  Lord,  that  almighty  power  as 
 well  as  boundless  love  need  to  be  put  forth  in  order  to 
 carry  one  human  soul  across  that  boundary  line  between 
 life  and  death. 
 
 To  be  in  the  Lord  is  to  be  included  in  Christ,  to  be 
 enveloped  in  Christ,  to  be  incorporated  in  Christ,  to 
 have  put  on  Christ'^,  to  have  the  very  life  Jiidden  with 
 Christ  in  God^.  These  are  figures,  expressive  and  Scrip- 
 tural figures,  but  figures  still  :  what  is  the  actual  truth 
 itself  which  they  embody  ?  To  be  in  the  Lord  is  to  be 
 united  to  Christ  by  having  His  Holy  Spirit  dwelling  in 
 us,  felt  inwardly  in  His  comfort  and  in  His  strength,  and 
 manifested  outwardly  by  His  new  and  living  fruits.  The 
 dead  who  die  in  the  Lord  are  those  who  die  possessed  of 
 this  vital  union  with  Christ. 
 
 Do  the  words  sound  unreal  and  formal }  God  grant 
 they  be  not  so  to  any  of  us  !  For  if  they  be,  how  can 
 the  thing  itself  be  realized  in  our  experience  t  It  is  not, 
 we  are  taught,  a  mere  passing  wish  to  die  the  death  of  the 
 righteous'^:  it  is  not  an  expression  or  two  of  sorrow  for 
 sin  ;  not  a  mere  cry  to  the  Lord  to  have  mercy  upon  us : 
 still  less  is  it  a  vision  of  angels,  or  a  vision  of  the 
 Saviour  Himself,  beckoning  a  departing  spirit  into  a 
 paradise  of  light  and  bliss.  It  is  not  this  which  either 
 fulfils  the  meaning  of  a  death  in  the  Lord,  or  even 
 furnishes  a  well-grounded  hope  that  such  has  our  end 
 
 1  2  Cor.  xiii.  5.  ^  q^I.  iii.  27.  ^  Col.  iii.  3. 
 
 ■*  Num.  xxiii.  10. 
 
XXVI.]  Chap,  XIV.  6 — 13.  367 
 
 been.  It  is  not  without  reason  that  we  caution  one  part 
 at  least  of  this  congregation  against  building  too  much 
 tipon  evidences  like  these.  Look  for  something  surer 
 than  this  in  the  case  of  a  dying  friend  :  pray  too  for 
 yourself,  that  your  eye  may  be  fixed  upon  something 
 more  real  than  beautiful  visions,  your  feet  set  upon 
 something  more  substantial  than  excited  feelings,  when 
 now  you  are  girding  yourself  for  your  last  journey,  and 
 anticipating  your  speedy  appearance  before  God  your 
 Creator,  Redeemer,  and  Judge. 
 
 Blessed  are  the  dead  zuJiicJi  die  in  the  Lord.  We  can 
 all  echo  that  voice  from  heaven.  We  do  feel,  every  one 
 of  us,  that  it  must  be  a  blessed  thing  to  die  the  death  of 
 the  right eoi Ls ;  that  is,  of  the  man  who  is  safe  in  Christ. 
 Strange  that  we  should  be  able  to  postpone  as  we  do  the 
 decision  of  the  great  question.  Am  I  in  Christ }  What 
 a  gambling  spirit  must  there  be  in  us  by  nature,  that  we 
 should  be  able  to  go  out  and  come  in,  to  rise  up  and  lie 
 down,  to  work  and  to  rest,  to  transact  business  and  to 
 enjoy  society,  day  by  day  and  night  by  night  through  a 
 long  lifetime,  and  yet  never  know  whether,  if  death  came 
 to  us,  as  come  he  may  at  any  moment,  we  should  awake 
 up  in  heaven  or  in  hell !  May  we  watch  and  pray  ahvays^ 
 that  we  be  not  overcome  by  that  insidious  tendency, 
 fostered  as  it  is  by  the  popular  theology  of  our  time,  to 
 obliterate  altogether  the  boundary  line  between  perdition 
 and  salvation ;  to  regard  every  one  as  a  compound  of  good 
 and  evil,  concerning  which  the  only  question  is  which 
 shall  finally  preponderate ;  or  to  conceive  of  a  future 
 state  in  which  the  good  qualities  of  all  shall  survive  and 
 flourish,  and  the  bad  qualities  of  all  shall  have  fallen  off 
 *  Luke  xxi.  36. 
 
68  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 from  them  Into  nothingness.  Life  is  a  struggle ;  the 
 spiritual  life  is  a  conflict ;  there  is  advance  and  progress 
 in  it,  there  is  also  retrogression  and  decay ;  there  are 
 ambiguous  states,  in  man's  judgment ;  there  are  heats 
 and  chills,  gusts  and  lulls,  fevers  and  lethargies,  sick- 
 nesses and  recoveries :  but  through  all  these  things  God's 
 eye  sees,  we  doubt  not,  a  more  simple  and  single  inner- 
 most condition ;  sees  here  a  soul  which  is  in  union  with 
 Christ  however  imperfect,  and  sees  there  a  heart  ignorant 
 altogether  of  that  personal  faith  and  trust  and  love  which 
 is  the  test  and  touchstone  of  a  Christian  indeed. 
 
 Thoughts  such  as  these,  my  brethren,  should  urge  all 
 of  us  to  a  very  plain  dealing  with  our  own  hearts  and 
 souls.  ^  Let  us  not  be  destitute — God  forbid — of  the  one 
 thing  needful  ^ !  Seek  ye  the  L ord  while  He  may  be  foimd  : 
 call  ye  npon  Him  while  He  is  near^. 
 
 Blessed  are  the  dead  zvhich  die  in  the  Lord ;  blessed 
 from  henceforth  ;  blessed  from  the  moment  of  their  death, 
 blessed  yet  more  as  the  end  of  all  things  draws  near. 
 Then  shall  the  condition  of  repose  be  exchanged  for 
 a  condition  of  glory ;  the  unclothed  soul  for  the  soul 
 clothed  up07t  with  that  spiritual,  that  resurrection  body, 
 which  St  Paul  describes  as  its  Jiouse  from  heaven  ^.  For 
 action,  for  those  blessed  works  of  unwearied  miinistration, 
 for  which  God,  we  doubt  not,  destines  His  saints  in  the 
 ages  of  an  eternal  existence,  the  soul  will  need  the 
 presence  of  that  body  which  shall  be  restored  to  it  at 
 the  resurrection  of  the  just  ^,  For  rest,  for  repose  after 
 the  storms  of  life,  for  thankful  reminiscence,  adoring 
 praise,  and  glorious  anticipation,  the  soul  divested  of  the 
 
 ^  Luke  X.  42.  ^  Isai.  Iv.  6.  ^  %  Cor.  v.  2,  4. 
 
 ^  Luke  xiv.  14. 
 
XXVI.]  Chap,  XIV.  6 — 13.  369 
 
 body  will  suffice  :  Verily  I  say  tmto  thee,  Today  shalt 
 thoic  be  zvith  me  in  paradise  \  Blessed^  from  henceforth,  are 
 the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord :  Even  so,  saitJi  tlie  Spirit ; 
 for  they  rest  from  their  labours. 
 
 Rest.  What  a  word  is  that  for  tolling  and  suffering 
 men  !  Where  is  he  whose  heart  does  not  dwell  upon  it 
 as  his  one  want,  his  one  hope  ?  Rest  from  his  labours  : 
 not  so  much  from  his  work  ;  for  that  to  a  vigorous  mind 
 and  a  healthy  body  is  no  burden :  work  by  itself,  mode- 
 rate in  amount,  interesting  in  kind,  remunerative  in  re- 
 sult, is  no  curse ;  a  man  scarcely  would,  if  he  could, 
 part  with  it.  But  rest  from  wearying,  annoying,  irri- 
 tating, fruitless  labour,  that  is  what  the  text  promises  ; 
 and  for  such  rest  who  will  not  be  thankful  1  Rest  from 
 excessive  toil ;  rest  from  anxious  toil ;  rest  from  uncon- 
 genial toil ;  rest  from  the  provocations  of  men  ;  rest 
 from  tJie  strife  of  tongnes^ ;  rest  from  jealousy  and  cold- 
 ness and  suspicion  and  ingratitude  ;  rest,  above  all,  from 
 failure,  from  failures  without,  and  from  failures  within  ; 
 from  the  sense  of  incomplete,  of  frustrated,  of  mis- 
 directed, vain,  injurious  toil ;  of  good  left  undone  when 
 most  desired,  of  evil  too  often  done  when  intention, 
 resolution,  and  purpose  were  most  against  it.  To  rest 
 from  these  things  will  be  motive  enough  for  dying.  He 
 that  is  dead  is  freed  from  sin  ^.  And  there  are  other 
 troubles  too  from  which  a  Christian  will  find  rest  in 
 death.  Doubt  and  anxiety  never  wholly  excluded  in 
 life  ;  doubt  of  mind,  and  doubt  of  heart ;  long  searchings 
 after  truth,  and  scarce  a  glimmering  of  light  attained  ; 
 painful  misgivings  as  to  things  most  surelv  believed^  yet 
 
 1  Luke  xxiii.  43.  ^  Psalm  xxxi.  20.  ^  Rom.  vi.  7. 
 
 *  Luke  i.  I. 
 
 V.  R.  24 
 
3  70  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 eluding  too  often  the  hand  that  would  actually  grasp 
 them  ;  anxieties  for  our  own  safety,  and  anxieties  more 
 bitter  still  for  the  eternal  safety  of  another ;  wrestlings 
 in  prayer  for  the  one  and  for  the  other,  protracted  to 
 weariness  and  at  last  not  decisive :  who  shall  enumerate 
 all  the  ills  from  which  the  text  promises  deliverance  when 
 it  says  that  they  who  die  in  the  Lord  shall  from  that 
 moment  rest  frorh  their  labours  ;  rest  from  their  toils, 
 and  rest  also  from  their  troubles  ? 
 
 A  lid  their  works  follow  with  them.  Not  one  act  ho- 
 nestly done  for  Christ;  done  in  humility,  done  in  sincerity, 
 done  in  earnestness,  done  in  unselfishness ;  shall  fail  or 
 be  forgotten  when  the  joyful  sunimons  shall  be  heard  at 
 evening,  Call  the  laboiirei's,  and  give  tJiem  their  hire^.  We 
 dwell  not  upon  these  things  :  We  ask  rather.  Where  is 
 that  one  act  of  mine  which,  I  do  not  say  deserves,  but 
 could  possibly  receive,  a  recompence  ?  We  know  from 
 the  sure  word  of  inspiration  that  they  who  hear  in  the 
 judgment  of  deeds  of  mercy  done  to  their  suffering  Lord 
 below  exclaim  in  arrtazement,  Lord,  tvhen  saw  we  Thee 
 in  distress,  and  succoured  Thee^  ?  It  is  not  for  man  to 
 anticipate  the  reward  of  his  deeds  on  earth :  he  knows 
 that  the  very  best  of  them  needs  itself  to  be  forgiven, 
 needs  to  be  washed  in  tears  of  repentance  and  sanctified 
 through  a  more  availing  blood.  This  is  well.  When  we 
 have  done  all  those  tilings  which  are  commanded  tis,  we 
 ought  to  say,  We  are  tmprofitable  servants,  we  have  done 
 at  best  what  it  was  our  duty  to  do^:  rather  have  we 
 sinned  and  gone  astray  times  without  number.  Never- 
 theless the  word  of  God  standeth  sure.  They  shall  rest 
 from  their  labours :  and  their  works  follow  with  them. 
 
 1  Matt.  XX.  8.  2  yi^xx,  XXV.  37.  »  Luke  xvii.  10. 
 
XXVI.]  Chap.  XIV.  6 — 13.  371 
 
 Let  us  pray  to  God,  every  one  of  us,  that  He  will  be 
 pleased  so  to  prosper  His  word  this  day  heard  amongst 
 us,  that  we  may  awake /"r^;;/  the  death  of  sin  to  the  life  of 
 righteousness.  Let  not  indifference,  let  not  indolence,  let 
 not  self-complacency,  let  not  self-delusion,  so  reign  among 
 us  as  to  multiply  dubious  deathbeds  and  frightful  resur- 
 rections. As  God  sees  us,  thus  and  not  otherwise  let  us 
 see  ourselves.  May  He  grant  that  a  work  thorough  and 
 substantial  be  wrought  in  this  congregation  while  there 
 is  time ;  that  having  first  lived  to  the  Lord,  we  may  also 
 die  to  the  Lord^  even  as  He  to  this  end  both  died  and  rose 
 and  revived,  that  He  might  be  Lord  both  of  the  dead  and 
 living^ !  May  He  say  to  each  of  us,  as  He  dismisses  us 
 in  peace  out  of  this  life,  Go  thou  thy  way  till  the  end  be  : 
 for  thotc  shall  rest  and  stand  i7z  thy  lot  at  the  end  of  the 
 days^  I 
 
 1  Rom.  xiv.  8,  9.  2  D^n.  xii.  13. 
 
 Second  Sunday  after  Christmas, 
 January  5,   1862. 
 
 24 — 2 
 
LECTURE    XXVIL 
 
 REVELATION   XIV.    1 5,    1 8. 
 
 The  harvest  of  the  earth  is  ripe.     Her  grapes  ai^e 
 f icily  ripe. 
 
 The  end  of  all  tilings  is  at  hand"^.  We  have  read  of  the 
 blessedness  of  the  Christian  dead;  that  blessedness  which 
 from  the  first  has  been  one  of  rest,  and  which />'<?;;/  Jience- 
 forth  shall  be  one  of  glory  also.  The  fulfilment  of  that 
 saying  is  in  the  event  now  to  be  described.  We  are 
 to  speak  to-night  of  a  harvest  and  of  a  vintage.  How 
 deeply  we  are  all  concerned  in  this  revelation  will  be 
 evident  as  we  proceed.  And  God  grant  that  before  we 
 conclude  our  hearts  may  be  so  impressed  and  solemnized 
 by  the  great  subject,  that  we  may  go  hence  with  fixed 
 resolutions  and  with  earnest  heart-deep  prayer. 
 
 And^  I  saw,  and  behold,  a  white  cloud.  We  know 
 now  what  is  coming.  That  expression,  a  cloud,  a  white 
 cloud,  is  the  signal  of  the  second  Advent.  TJiis  same 
 Jesus,  wJdcJi  is  taken  np  from  you  into  heaven^  shall  so  come 
 in  like  manner  as  ye  have  seen  Him  go  into  heaven^. 
 In  like  manner :   and  how  then  did  He  go }    While  they 
 
 1  I  Pet.  iv.  7.  ^  Verse  14.  ^  Acts  i.  11. 
 
LECT.  XXVII.]   Revelation.   Chap.  xiv.  14 — 20.     373 
 
 beheld.  He  was  taken  up,  and  a  cloud  received  Him  ont  of 
 their  sight^.  Even  thus  shall  He  return.  Then  shall 
 they  see  the  Son  of  Man  coming  in  a  cloud  with  pozver  and 
 great  glory"^.  We  are  quite  prepared  therefore  for  the 
 next  words.  And  upon  the  cloicd  One  seated  like  to  a 
 son  of  man.  The  description  is  precisely  that  of  the 
 preliminary  vision  of  this  Book.  A7id  in  the  midst  of  the 
 candlesticks  One  like  tmto  a  son  of  man^ ;  One  who 
 described  Himself  in  the  words  which  follow,  /  am  the 
 first  and  the  last :  I  am  He  that  liveth,  and  zvas  dead ; 
 afid  behold,  I  am  alive  for  evermore  ^  The  original  is 
 found  once  again  In  the  Prophet  Daniel :  /  sazu  in  the 
 night  visions,  and  behold  one  like  the  Son  of  Man  came 
 with  the  clouds  of  heaven,  and  came  to  the  Ancient  of  days, 
 and  they  brought  Him  near  before  Him.  A  nd  there  zvas 
 given  Him  dominion,  and  glory,  and  a  kingdom... His 
 dominion  is  an  everlasting  dominion  zuJiicJi  shall  not  pass 
 azvay,  and  His  kingdom  that  which  shall  not  be  destroyed^. 
 Having  tipon  His  head  a  golden  crowjt,  the  symbol  of 
 His  coming  kingdom,  and  in  His  hand  a  sharp  sickle. 
 Bear  in  mind  the  two  passages,  one  In  the  Old  Testament, 
 the  other  In  the  New,  in  which  the  sickle,  whether  in 
 prophecy  or  parable,  is  figuratively  introduced.  The 
 one  Is  found  in  the  book  of  the  Prophet  Joel.  Let  the 
 heathen  be  zvakened,  and  come  up  to  tJie  valley  of  Jehosha- 
 phat :  for  there  zvill  I  sit  to  judge  all  the  heathen  round 
 about.  Put  y£  in  the  sickle,  for  the  harvest  is  ripe. .  .for 
 their  wickedness  is  great.  Multitudes,  multitudes,  in  the 
 valley  of  decision  :  for  the  day  of  the  Lord  is  near  i7i  the 
 valley  of  decision^.     And  the  other  in  the  Gospel  of  St 
 
 ^  Acts  i.  9.  2  Lui^e  xxi.  27.  ^  Rev.  i.  13. 
 
 ^  Rev.  i.  17,  18.  '"  Dan.  vii.  13,  14.  «  jogi  jij^  j^^  j^^  14. 
 
3  74  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 Mark.  So  is  the  kingdom  of  God,  as  if  a  man  sJiould 
 cast  seed  into  the  groimd ;  and  should  sleep  and  rise  night 
 and  day,  and  the  seed  should  spring  ajid  grow  iip  he 
 knoweth  not  how.  For  the  earth  bringeth  forth  fruit  of 
 herself ;  first  the  blade,  then  the  ear,  after  that  the  fell 
 corn  in  the  ear.  But  zvhen  the  fruit  is  brought  forth, 
 immediately  he  putteth  in  the  sickle,  because  the  harvest  is 
 come^.  In  these  two  passages  lies  the  explanation  of 
 the  twofold  use  of  the  sickle  in  the  paragraph  before  us. 
 
 And'^  another  angel,  besides  those  already  men- 
 tioned in  this  Book,  and  more  particularly  in  the 
 earlier  verses  of  this  chapter,  came  forth  out  of  the 
 temple,  out  of  the  shrine  which  is  God's  presence, 
 crying  in  a  mighty  voice  to  Him  that  was  seated  upon 
 the  cloud.  Send  (^put  forth)  thy  sickle,  and  reap ;  because 
 the  hotcr  is  com.e  to  reap,  because  the  harvest  of  the  earth 
 is  dried  (ripe).  The  commission  to  reap  comes  to  the 
 Son  from  the  Father.  Of  that  day  and  that  hour  know- 
 eth no  vian,  no,  not  the  angels  which  are  in  heaven, 
 neither  the  Son,  but  the  Father^.  The  Father  hath  given 
 Him  autJiority  to  execute  judgment  also,  because  He  is  the 
 Son  of  Man.  I  can  of  mine  own  self  do  nothing :  as  I 
 hear,  I judge^. 
 
 A  nd^  He  that  was  seated  upon  the  cloud  cast  His  sickle 
 upo7i  the  earth,  in  token  of  the  process  to  which  He  was 
 called,  and  the  earth  was  reaped. 
 
 And^  another  angel  came  forth  out  of  the  temple  which 
 zvas  in  the  heaven,  having  himself  also,  as  well  as  the  Son 
 of  Man,  a  sharp  sickle.  You  will  notice  the  distinction 
 of  persons.     The  Son  of  Man  had  a  sharp  sickle  which 
 
 1  Mark  iv.  26—29.  2  y^rse  15.  ^  Mark  xiii.  32. 
 
 4  John  V.  27,  30.  ^  Verse  16.  ^  Verse  17. 
 
XXVII.]  Chap,  XIV.    14 — 20.  375 
 
 was  employed  for  the  reaping.     This  angel  has  a  sharp 
 sickle,  and  there  is  a  difference  in  its  use. 
 
 And^  another  angel  canw  forth  out  of  the  altar ^  he 
 who  hath  authority  over  the  fire ;  that  is,  as  we  read 
 in  the  8th  chapter,  over  the  fire  of  the  altar^.  Fire  is 
 the  emblem  of  judgment.  Authority  over  fire  is  a 
 commission  of  judgment.  And  we  shall  bear  in  mind 
 the  vision  of  an  earlier  chapter  in  which  the  souls  of 
 the  martyred  saints  are  seen,  at  the  opening  of  the 
 fifth  seal,  as  lying  below  the  altar  on  which  they  have 
 been  as  it  were  offered  up  to  God  as  a  burnt  sacrifice, 
 and  crying,  How  long,  O  Lord,  holy  and  true,  dost  Thou 
 not  judge  and  avenge^  ?  We  shall  expect  therefore  in 
 the  passage  now  under  consideration  some  display  of 
 the  divine  judgment  upon  a  world  which  has  persecuted 
 the  saints  of  God.  And  Ju  called  with  a  iiiighty  ciy  to 
 him  that  had  the  sJiai^p  sickle,  that  is  to  the  Angel  of 
 the  17th  WQVSQ,  saymg,  Send  {fiit  forth)  thy  sliarp  sickle, 
 and  gather  in  the  vintage  of  the  buncJies  of  the  vine  of 
 the  earth  ;  because  the  cluster  of  the  earth  is  exactly  ripe. 
 And^  the  angel  cast  Ins  sickle  into  the  earth,  and  gathered 
 in  the  vintage  of  tJie  vine  of  the  earth,  and  cast  it  into 
 the  luinepress  of  the  wrath  of  God,  the  great  winepress; 
 And'""  the  winepress  zvas  trodden  without  the  city ;  and 
 there  came  forth  blood  out  of  tJie  winepress  as  far  as,  to 
 the  height  of,  tJie  bridles  of  the  horses,  from  a  distance 
 of,  over  an  area  measuring  in  extent,  a  thousand  six 
 hundred  furlongs. 
 
 -   Wine  is  called  in  Scripture  from  the  resemblance  of 
 coloilr  the  blood  of  the  grape.    He  washed  his  gai^ments  in 
 
 1  Verse  18.  ^  Rev.  viii.  5.  ^  Rev.  vi.  9,  10. 
 
 *  Verse  19.  ^  Verse  20. 
 
376  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 ivine,  it  is  said  of  Judah  in  the  last  blessing  of  Jacob, 
 and  his  clothes  in  the  blood  of  grapes  \  Thou  didst  drink, 
 it  is  said  to  Israel  in  the  song  of  Moses,  tJie  pure  blood 
 of  the  grape^.  Elsewhere  the  figure  is  reversed.  Wine 
 is  used  for  blood,  and  to  tread  the  winepress  is  to  execute 
 a  sanguinary  vengeance.  Wherefore  art  Thou  red  i7t  Thine 
 apparel,  it  is  asked  in  ancient  prophecy  of  the  victorious 
 Messiah,  <^;2<^  Thy  garments  like  him  that  treadeth  in  the 
 winefat  ?  I  have  trodden  the  winepress  alone,  such  is  the 
 reply,  and  their  blood  shall  be  sprinkled  upon  my  garmejtts^ 
 and  I  will  staiii  all  my  raiiJtent.  For  the  day  of  veiigeaiice 
 is  in  mine  heart ,  and  the  year  of  my  redeemed  is  co7ne^. 
 The  vintage  of  the  earth  is  its  great  and  final  judgment. 
 
 The  city  spoken  of  in  the  last  verse  is  the  holy  city 
 Jerusalem,  used  as  elsewhere  for  the  Church  of  Christ. 
 The  winepress  is  trodden  outside  this  city ;  to  indicate 
 that  the  judgments  described  affect  not  the  faithful  ser- 
 vants of  God.  To  them  belongs,  not  the  vintage  of  wrath, 
 but  the  harvest  of  love. 
 
 As  far  as  the  bridles  of  the  horses.  The  scene  pre- 
 sented is  that  of  a  conquering  host  accompanying  and 
 sharing  the  triumph  of  a  Divine  Leader.  It  is  an  antici- 
 pation of  the  disclosures  of  a  later  chapter.  I sazv  heaven 
 opened,  and  behold,  a  zvhite  horse ;  and  He  that  sat  npon 
 him  was  called  Faithful  and  True,  and  in  righteousness 
 He  doth  judge  and  make  war.  And  the  armies  which  wei-e 
 in  heaven  followed  Him  upon  zvhite  horses,  clothed  in  fine 
 linen,  white  and  clean'^. 
 
 The  depth  of  the  sea  of  blood  is  up  to  the  bridles  of 
 the  horses  ;  and  its  extent  is  a  thousand  and  six  hundred 
 
 ^  Gen.  xlix.  ii.  -  Deijt.  xxxii.  14.  ^  Isai,  Ixiii.  1 — 4. 
 
 ^  Rev.  xix.  II,  14. 
 
XXVII.]  Chap.  XIV.   14 — 20.  377 
 
 furlongs.  The  judgment  Is  coextensive  with  the  earth. 
 The  vine  reaped  is  the  vine  of  the  earth.  And  therefore 
 the  symbol  of  the  extent  of  the  judgment  is  the  symbol 
 of  the  earth  itself;  of  its  four  corners,  its  four  quarters, 
 its  four  winds,  its  four  aspects  ;  the  number  four  mul- 
 tiplied into  itself  and  then  amplified  into  hundreds. 
 The  extent  of  the  world-wide  judgment  was  a  space 
 designated  in  figure  as  one  of  sixteen  Jinndred  furlongs . 
 
 Thus  the  whole  vision  has  divided  itself  before  us 
 into  two  great  portions.  There  is  a  harvest,  and  there 
 is  a  vintage.  In  the  one  there  is  an  ingathering  into  the 
 divine  garner  of  true  and  solid  grain.  In  the  other 
 there  is  a  treading  in  the  winepress  of  wrath  of  the 
 ripened  clusters  of  the  vine  of  the  earth.  We  will  not 
 say  that  the  two  figures  are  never  interchanged  in 
 Scripture.  We  will  not  say  that  the  emblem  of  harvest 
 is  never  used  in  Scripture  for  the  judgment  of  sinners, 
 or  the  emblem  of  vintage  never  used  in  Scripture  for 
 the  ingathering  of  the  saints.  In  the  parable  of  the 
 tares  certainly  the  two  are  blended.  In  the  time  of 
 harvest^  explained  afterwards  as  tJie  end  of  the  zuorld,  I 
 will  say  to  the  reapers,  Gather  ye  together  first  the  tares, 
 and  bind  them  in  bundles  to  burn  them :  b?it  gather 
 the  zvheat  into  my  barn^.  And  yet  even  in  that  parable 
 there  is  not  wanting  one  special  feature  of  the  scene 
 here  presented.  The  Son  of  Man  shall  send  forth  His 
 angels,  and  they  shall  gather  out  of  His  kingdom  all 
 things  that  offend,  and  thejn  ivhich  do  iniquity,  and  shall 
 cast  them  into  a  furnace  of  fire'^.  He  says  not  that  the 
 same  agency  shall  be  employed  to  reap  the  harvest  of 
 the  righteous.      Rather  is  it  implied  that  an  act  more 
 
 ^  Matt.  xiii.  30,  39.  ^  Matt.  xiii.  41,  42. 
 
;^yS  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 directly  divine  ^'dW.  gather  His  wheat  into  the  garner'^. 
 Then  shall  the  righteous  shine  forth  as  the  sim  in  the 
 kingdom  of  their  Father'^. 
 
 Such  at  all  events  is  the  account  here  given  us  of 
 that  last  judgment.  The  Son  of  Man  puts  forth  the 
 sickle  which  is  to  reap  the  earth.  It  is  He  who  binds 
 one  by  one  the  sheaves  of  ripe  corn  which  are  to  con- 
 stitute the  world's  great  harvest.  It  is  He  who,  when 
 all  stand  ready  for  the  last  removal,  conveys  them  safely 
 into  the  eternal  garner.  It  is  He  (to  drop  the  language 
 of  allegory)  who  both  carries  to  His  rest  the  individual 
 Christian,  and  shall  gatljer  together  all  who  have  sepa- 
 rately departed  in  the  great  and  final  miracle  of  the 
 rcsnrrection  of  the  jiist^.  In  the  virjtage  of  the  earth  it 
 is  not  so.  The  ministry  of  wrath  is  executed  by  other 
 hands.  Not  the  Son  of  Man,  but  the  Angel,  gathers  the 
 vine  of  the  earth,  and  casts  it  into  the  winepress  of  the 
 wrath  of  God. 
 
 And  is  there  not  a  beauty  and  a  tenderness  in  this 
 contrast  ?  It  is  as  though  that  Son  of  Man  and  Son  of 
 God,  who  is  the  Jndge  of  quick  anddead'^,  the  Judge  alike 
 of  the  righteous  and  of  the  wicked,  loved  one  half  of  His 
 office  and  loved  not  the  other.  It  is  ag  though  He 
 cherished  as  His  own  prerogative  the  harvest  of  the  earth, 
 and  were  glad  to  delegate  to  other  hands  the  vintage. 
 It  is  as  though  the  ministry  of  mercy  were  His  chosen 
 office,  and  the  ministry  of  wrath  His  stern  necessity. 
 One  like  nnto  the  Son  of  Man  puts  forth  the  sickle  of  the 
 ingathering:  one  of  created  though  it  be  of  angelic 
 nature  is  employed  to  send  forth  the  sickle  of  the  de- 
 struction. 
 
 1  Matt.  iii.  12.         ^  Matt.  xiii.  43.        ^  Luke  xiv.  14.        ^  Acts  x.  42. 
 
XXVII.]  Chap.  XIV.    14 — 20.  379 
 
 But  while  we  dwell  thankfully  upon  the  thought  thus 
 presented,  we  must  beware  of  pressing  It  Into  conse- 
 quences unreal  and  unscrlptural.  The  overthrow  of  evil, 
 the  casting  down  and  casting  out  of  all  sin  and  of  all 
 who  have  obstinately  done  and  loved  Iniquity,  Is  a  work 
 essentially  belonging  to  the  Redeemer  and  the  Mediator. 
 Without  it  His  other  work  were  imperfect,  were  defec- 
 tive, were  but  half  done.  We  must  not  so  speak  of 
 mercy  as  to  forget  justice  and  judgment.  We  dis- 
 tinguish between  the  two ;  but  in  God's  sight  It  may  be 
 the  two  are  one.  To  permit  the  permanence  of  evil,  to 
 acquiesce  In  the  triumph  of  those  who  do  and  love 
 iniquity,  would  be  to  leave  the  righteous  unsaved,  and 
 the  work  of  righteoiLsness  ^  undone  for  ever.  The  act  of 
 judgment  must  be  done :  we  say  only  that  the  Saviour 
 loves  better,  and  claims  more  Immediately  and  ex- 
 clusively as  His  own,  the  work  of  grace  and  the  office 
 of  salvation. 
 
 And  now,  my  brethren,  let  us  fix  our  latest  thoughts 
 .this  evening  upon  the  brief  words  read  as  the  text.  The 
 harvest  of  the  eartJi  is  ripe :  such  is  the  cry  to  the  reaper. 
 Her  grapes  are  fully  ripe :  such  Is  the  cry  to  the  vine- 
 gatherer.  We  may  regard  either  of  the  two,  first  col- 
 lectively, and  afterwards  individually. 
 
 I.  When  that  day  comes  of  which  the  revelation 
 before  us  gives  warning,  the  day  of  the  second  coming 
 of  the  Son  of  Man,  it  will  be  because  the  harvest  of 
 the  earth  Is  ripe.  The  amount  of  produce  which  is 
 capable  of  production  will  then  Indeed  have  been  pro- 
 duced. The  harvest  of  good  upon  earth  will  be  ripe 
 for  the  ingathering.     It  is  a  serious  thought  and  full 
 
o 
 
 80  Revelation,  I  lect. 
 
 of  practical  value  when  we  contemplate  it  steadily.  It 
 says  to  us,  It  is  not  the  husbandman  only  who  has  a 
 destined  end  of  his  labours.  It  is  not  tJie  husbandman 
 only  who  zvaitetJi  for  the  precious  frnit  of  tJie  earth,  and 
 hath  long  patience  for  it,  tmtil  he  receive  the  early  a7id 
 latter  rain^.  It  is  not  the  husbandman  only  who  looks 
 far  forward,  and  carries  on  every  process  of  his  calling 
 with  an  eye  firmly  fixed  on  a  distant  month  and  a 
 remote  perfection.  God  also  has  a  far  foresight  and 
 a  long  patience,  God  also  has  an  end  in  view,  God  also 
 is  gradually  and  resolutely  working  on  to  that  end,  in 
 matters  which  concern  the  moral  and  spiritual  govern- 
 ment of  this  earth  which  he  created.  Though  we  see 
 that  government  but  in  small  fragments  and  by  casual 
 glimpses,  yet  are  we  sure  that  it  is  real  and  stedfast,  and 
 that  we  ourselves  are  both  objects  of  it  and  also  instru- 
 ments. We  believe  that  every  work  of  piety  and  of 
 charity,  every  institution  which  has  God's  glory  and 
 man's  good  for  its  aim,  still  more  every  human  life 
 which  has  been  carried  through  on  a  system  of  divine 
 faith  and  human  love,  has  contributed  and  shall  con- 
 tribute to  that  total  sum  of  good  at  the  completion  of 
 which  the  harvest  of  the  earth  collectively  will  be  ripe 
 for  the  sickle  of  the  heavenly  Reaper.  A  time  will 
 surely  come — it  may  be  soon,  it  may  be  when  we  have 
 mouldered  for  ages  in  the  sepulchre — when  a  voice  from 
 the  eternal  temple  shall  say  to  Him  that  sits  on  the 
 cloud,  Thrust  in  Thy  sickle,  and  reap:  for  the  time  is 
 come  for  Thee  to  reap :  for  the  harvest  of  the  earth  is  ripe. 
 Often  as  we  stand  in  the  hour  of  mourning  by  the  grave 
 opened  for  a  new  sojourner,  we  pray  that  He  who  has 
 >  James  v.  7. 
 
xxvil]  Chap.  XIV.   14 — 20.  381 
 
 all  processes  and  all  events  in  His  hand  will  be  pleased 
 sJioi^ly  to  accomplisJi  the  luunber  of  His  elect,  and  to 
 hasten  His  kingdom^.  That  is  a  prayer  that  the  harvest 
 of  the  earth  may  soon  be  ripe. 
 
 It  is  still  more  touching,  and  even  more  instructive, 
 to  apply  the  same  words  to  the  individual  harvest.  The 
 sacred  Scriptures  have  suggested  such  an  application. 
 As  there  is  a  harvest  of  the  earth  for  good,  so  also  is 
 there  a  harvest  of  the  soul,  a  storing  of  each  separate 
 Christian  in  the  garner  of  safety  and  of  blessedness. 
 TJion  shalt  come  to  tJiy  grave  in  a /ullage,  said  Eliphaz  the 
 Temanite  to  his  friend,  like  as  a  shock  of  corn  cometJi  in 
 in  his  season'^.  Here  too  there  is  an  immaturity  and  a 
 ripeness.  How  unfit,  how  visibly  unfit,  are  many  of  us 
 for  that  ingathering ;  many  even  of  those  for  whom  a 
 safe  ingathering  may  be  eventually  deemed  not  hopeless  ! 
 What  could  that  infirm  purpose,  what  could  that  sharp 
 temper,  what  could  that  unconquered  appetite,  what 
 could  that  still  struggling  lust,  do  in  heaven  t  How  un- 
 suitable, how  incongruous,  how  inharmonious  !  Wait  a 
 while.  Wait  and  observe.  Wait  and  learn.  The  har- 
 vest comes  not  in  God's  processes,  whether  of  grace  or 
 of  nature,  at  the  season  of  the  sowing,  or  at  the  first 
 shooting  of  the  blade,  or  at  the  first  filling  of  the  ear 
 with  grain.  Not  yet  perhaps  have  the  clods  been 
 broken  by  the  harrowing;  not  yet  perhaps  the  furrows 
 softened  *by  the  rain  of  autumn ;  not  yet  the  ear  filled 
 by  the  showers  of  spring-time  ;  not  yet  the  stalks  shaken 
 by  the  drying  winds,  or  the  grain  mellowed  and  the  field 
 whitened  to  harvest^  by  the  long  sunny  days  of  glorious 
 
 ^  Service  for  the  Burial  of  the  Dead.  ^  Job  v.  26. 
 
 3  John  iv.  35. 
 
382  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 summer.  These  things  God  does  for  those  who  wait  for 
 Him.  Some  few  there  may  be  who  are  allowed  to 
 spring  suddenly  into  the  fulness  of  a  Christian  maturity, 
 and  transferred,  long  before  the  year  of  earthly  life  has 
 completed  its  circuit,  into  the  rest  and  the  safety  of  the 
 heavenly  garner.  But  far  more  often  it  is  a  process  of 
 expectation,  of  culture,  of  seasonable  discipline  and  of 
 slow  ripening.  And  God,  we  believe,  in  each  case  in- 
 spects and  conducts  this  process  for  His  children.  If 
 they  were  not  in  His  hands  for  it  and  under  it,  human 
 life  would  indeed  be  a  riddle  without  a  solution. 
 Dreary  and  desolate  would  it  be  for  any  of  us  to  be 
 exposed  to  life's  shocks  and  storms  and  buffetings  with- 
 out a  hand  over  us,  without  a  guiding  purpose,  and 
 without  a  definite  end.  And  sometimes  for  all  of  us  it 
 is  hard  to  see  this  hand,  to  understand  this  purpose,  or 
 to  expect  this  end.  That  is  because  the  whole  process 
 spoken  of  is  one  for  faith  not  for  sight.  If  we  could  see 
 the  growth  at  its  root,  there  would  be  no  room  for 
 patience,  none  for  trust,  and  none  for  courage.  The 
 needful  thing  is  that  we  place  ourselves,  at  the  greater 
 and  at  the  lesser  turnings  of  life,  in  the  darker  and  in 
 the  lighter  places,  in  the  rougher  and  in  the  smoother, 
 at  the  disposal  of  One  whom  having  not  seen  we  yet  be- 
 lieve in  and  yet  love'^.  If  we  will  do  this,  and  if  we  will 
 not  only  wait  but  follow,  not  only  trust  but  obey,  then 
 in  due  time,  sometimes  partially  here,  always  perfectly 
 hereafter,  we  shall  be  enabled  to  perceive  the  clue  and 
 to  trace  the  plan  ;  not  only  to  believe  that  all  has  been 
 well,  but  to  see  that  it  has  been  well  thus  and  thus,  for 
 this  cause  and  that,  because  otherwise  this  might  have 
 1  I  Pet.  i.  8. 
 
XXVII.]  Chap.   XIV.    14 — 20.  383 
 
 been  which  would  have  been  evil  for  me,  because  not 
 otherwise  could  this  have  been  which  was  for  my  good. 
 And  then,  when  at  last  the  fricit  is  brought  forth, 
 immediately  he  ptitteth  in  the  sickle,  because  the  harvest  is 
 come'^.  Thrust  in  thy  sickle,  and  reap:  for  the  time  is 
 come  for  thee  to  reap :  because  the  Jiarvest,  not  perhaps  of 
 the  earth,  but  of  this  soul,  is  ripe, 
 
 2.  We  turn  unwillingly,  but  we  must  turn — it  shall 
 be  but  for  a  last  moment — from  the  harvest  to  the 
 vintage ;  from  the  one  half  of  the  text,  The  harvest  of 
 the  earth  is  ripe,  to  the  other  half  of  the  text,  Her  grapes 
 are  f idly  ripe.  Here  also  there  is  room  for  a  distinction. 
 There  is  a  vintage  of  the  earth,  and  there  is  a  vintage  of 
 the  soul. 
 
 It  was  said  by  them'  of  old  time,  The  world  hath 
 lost  his  youth,  and  the  times  begin  to  wax  old"^.  Two 
 thousand  years  ago  was  this  felt  by  moralists  and  by 
 philosophers.  How  is  it  now  }  Does  it  not  indeed  seem 
 to  many  of  us  that  the  measure  of  the  earth's  evils  and 
 the  measure  of  the  earth's  sins  must  be  by  this  time 
 well-nigh  full }  W hereunto  shall  it  grow^  if  it  is  to  grow 
 yet  without  limit }  If  knowledge  is  to  increase  year  by 
 year,  and  each  year  with  a  more  entire  severance  from 
 the  source  and  spring  of  truth ;  if  the  ingenuity  of 
 wickedness  is  to  advance  step  by  step  with  its  audacity, 
 and  human  skill  unenlightened  by  divine  wisdom  is  all 
 that  can  be  set  to  cope  with  it  in  either;  if  luxury  on 
 this  side  and  wretchedness  on  that  must  more  and  more 
 stand  apart  and  face  each  other,  the  one  in  cold  disdain, 
 the  other  in  envious  hostility ;  if  God  is  to  be  more  and 
 more  banished  from  His  earth,  and  restricted  with  an 
 
 1  Mark  iv.  29.  ^  ^  Esdras  xiv.  10.  *  Acts  v.  24. 
 
384  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 ever-growing  jealousy  within  the  limits  of  an  unreal,  at 
 least  of  a  distant  and  an  inactive  heaven  ;  shall  not  these 
 things  to  a  Christian  eye  be  signs  rather  of  a  hastening 
 than  of  a  procrastinated  end  ?  Shall  we  not  see  in  them 
 all  so  many  indications  of  the  appearance  of  the  white 
 cloud  and  of  the  approach  of  Him  that  sits  thereon  ? 
 Shall  we  not  hear  in  every  sound  the  voice  of  the  angel 
 crying  unto  his  fellow,  Thrust  in  thy  sharp  sickle,  and 
 gather  the  clusters  of  the  vine  of  the  earth  ;  for  her  grapes 
 are  fully  ripef 
 
 God  grant  that  it  be  not  needful  in  this  congre- 
 gation to  speak  of  the  individual  ripening  for  the 
 vintage  of  wrath  and  judgment !  Yet  there  is  such  a 
 process :  and  it  is  carried  on  side  by  side  with  the 
 individual  ripening  for  the  harvest.  There  is  such  a 
 thing  as  a  man  being  matured  for  punishment,  as 
 well  as  a  man  being  matured  for  glory.  There  are 
 those  in  whom  all  things  that  should  have  been  for 
 their  welfai^e  turn  into  occasions  of  falling'^.  There  is 
 an  obstinate  hardening  of  the  heart  against  conviction  ; 
 there  is  a  resolute  returning  again  and  again  to  an  evil 
 way ;  there  is  a  hearing  with  sealed  ear  and  a  seeing 
 with  closed  eye ;  there  is  a  refusal  of  mercy,  and  there 
 is  a  daring  of  judgment ;  there  is  an  increasing  neglect 
 of  the  means  of  grace,  and  a  growing  skill  in  using  the 
 means  of  grace  without  using  them ;  there  is  a  deep- 
 ening darkness  upon  the  understanding,  and  a  thick- 
 ening film  upon  the  conscience,  and  a  progressive 
 insensibility  to  remonstrance,  and  (the  words  must  be 
 spoken)  a  gathering  dislike  and  at  last  hostility  towards 
 God  Himself;    which,  like  the  opposite   symptoms  of 
 
 ^  Psalm  Ixix,  22, 
 
XXVII.]  Chap.  XIV.   14 — 20.  385 
 
 grace  in  the  soul  of  the  Christian,  indicate  the  approach 
 of  an  individual  end,  and  define  to  the  eye  of  the 
 beholder  the  nature  of  that  end  which  is  hastening 
 on.  It  is  to  the  sickle  of  the  vintage  that  these  signs 
 point,  even  as  the  others  pointed  to  the  sickle  of  the 
 harvest.  Let  us  look  earnestly  each  one  of  us  into 
 the  secrets  of  these  veiled  and  cloked  hearts  of  ours, 
 as  they  lie  open  this  night  before  the  eye  of  our 
 Judge!  As  yet,  through  His  grace,  the  saddest,  the 
 most  fatal  sign  may  be  reversed,  and  the  vintage  of 
 wrath  changed  for  any  one  of  us  into  the  harvest  of 
 glory.  But  tJie  time  is  sJwrt'^.  Death  waits  not  for 
 our  tarrying :  and  dead  souls  have  been  chained  erenow 
 in  living  bodies.  Let  the  dead,  while  yet  there  is  time, 
 hear  in  their  living  graves  that  voice  of  tJie  Son  of  God 
 which  whosoever  hears  shall  live'^.  So  shall  we  hear  that 
 voice  zvithjoy  and  not  with  grief  ^,  when  it  sounds  at  the 
 last  day  through  the  sepulchres  of  many  generations, 
 and  summons  all  who  hear  to  resurrection  and  judgment. 
 
 ^  I  Cor.  vii.  29.  -  John  v.  25.  ^  Heb.  xiii.  17. 
 
 Second  Sunday  after  the  Epiphany, 
 January  19,    1862. 
 
 V.  R.  25 
 
LECTURE    XXVIII. 
 
 REVELATION   XV.    3. 
 
 A  nd  they  sing  the  song  of  Moses  the  servant  of  God,  and 
 the  song  of  the  Lamb. 
 
 We  enter  tonight  upon  a  new  section  of  this  Divine 
 Book.  The  last  passage  of  the  14th  chapter  brought 
 down  the  inspired  disclosure  to  the  very  end  of  all  things. 
 After  the  vision  of  the  harvest  and  the  vintage  there  can 
 be  no  later  transaction  upon  the  defiled  and  desecrated 
 earth.  The  next  revelation  in  order  of  time  must  be 
 that  of  the  7iezu  heavens  and  new  earth  zv herein  dwelleth 
 righteousness  \ 
 
 But  though  this  must  be  the  sequence  of  events  in 
 order  of  chronology,  there  are  parts  of  the  picture  still 
 to  be  completed  before  we  are  prepared  for  the  descent 
 of  the  holy  city  from  heaven  to  earth,  and  the  final 
 establishment  amongst  men  of  the  tabernacle  of  God, 
 In  particular,  we  have  yet  to  learn  in  fuller  detail  the 
 fate  of  the  three  enemies  described  in  the  last  section. 
 We  have  heard  in  the  14th  chapter  in  general  terms 
 that  their  overthrow  is  destined  and  certain.  But  the 
 particulars  of  the  overthrow  have  not  yet  been  disclosed. 
 ^  2  Pet.  iii.  13. 
 
LECT.  XXVIII.]     Revelation,     Chap.  xv.  2^^'] 
 
 The  vision  of  the  seven  Vials,  occupying  the  15th 
 and  1 6th  chapters,  begins  but  does  not  exhaust  this  dis- 
 closure. We  will  read  the  opening  of  that  vision  this 
 evening,  and  draw  a  few  lessons  from  it,  by  God's  help, 
 for  our  own  instruction  and  admonition. 
 
 And'^  I  saw  another  sign  in  the  heaven,  great  a7td 
 marvellous,  seven  a^igels  having  seven  plagues,  the  last  of 
 all,  because  in  them  was  f til  filled  the  wrath  of  God. 
 
 A  sign  is  a  signal.  It  is  not  a  mere  portent  or  pro- 
 digy. It  has  a  meaning :  it  points  to  something :  it 
 indicates  a  purpose  and  a  design. 
 
 A  plague  is  a  stroke.  It  is  something  inflicted  by  a 
 person  and  upon  a  person  as  a  punishment  or  judgment. 
 We  shall  hear  more  of  its  meaning  on  a  future  occasion. 
 
 These  seven  plagues  are  further  described  as  the  last 
 of  all.  Therefore  this  vision,  like  so  many  which  have 
 preceded  it,  will  be  found  to  carry  us  down  to  the  last 
 end.  It  is  not  a  mere  repetition  of  former  visions  which 
 have  brought  us  to  the  same  point :  nor  will  subsequent 
 visions  bringing  us  to  the  same  point  be  mere  repetitions 
 of  this.  Each  one  has  its  own  scope  :  each  one  has  its 
 own  features :  each  one  presents  God's  work,  God's 
 counsel,  in  some  new  aspect,  or  with  some  new  design. 
 
 And"^  I  sazv  as  it  zvere  a  sea  of  glass,  mingled  with  fire. 
 We  read  in  the  4th  chapter  of  a  sea  of  glass  like  imto 
 crystal^  before  the  throne  of  God  in  heaven  :  and  we  saw 
 in  that  figure  a  representation  of  God's  counsels,  in  their 
 vastness,  in  their  purity,  and  in  their  strength.  The 
 words  mingled  with  fire  introduce  more  distinctly  the 
 thought  of  judgment.  We  shall  expect  in  the  vision 
 which  follows  not  only  an  exhibition  of  God's  wonderful 
 
 ^  Verse  I.  2  Verse  i.  ^  Rev.  iv.  6. 
 
 25 — 2 
 
o 
 
 SS  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 works  and  ways,  but  also  an  application  of  His  marvel- 
 lous power  and  infinite  wisdom  to  the  office  of  retribu- 
 tion and  punishment. 
 
 And\  saw  them  that  escape  victor  ions  from  tJie  wild 
 beast.  The  expression  is  peculiar :  it  is  literally  those 
 zuho  conquer  out  of  the  wild  beast ;  that  is,  those  who  are 
 victorious  so  as  to  escape  out  of  his  power.  And  from 
 his  image,  that  is,  from  worshipping  his  Image  ;  and  from 
 the  number  of  his  name,  that  is,  from  bearing  as  a  badge 
 upon  their  forehead  or  upon  their  hand  the  impress  of 
 that  number  which  typifies  his  name  \  I  saw  them  stand- 
 ing upon,  or  rather  at,  on  the  shore  of,  the  sea  of  glass, 
 holdiftg  harps  of  God;  harps  consecrated  to  God,  belong- 
 ing to  God's  heavenly  temple.  We  read  in  the  5th 
 chapter  of  the  four  and  twenty  elders  having  every  07ie 
 of  them  harps'^.  And  again,  in  the  vision  of  the  hundred 
 and  forty  and  four  thousand  standing  with  the  Lamb  on 
 the  mount  Slon,  we  read,  And  I  heard  the  voice  of  hajpers 
 harping  with  their  harps  ;  and  they  sang  as  it  were  a  new 
 song  before  the  throne  ^  Those  who  prevail  over  the 
 world  and  its  enticements,  and  reach  at  last  the  heavenly 
 presence  of  their  Saviour,  will  need  the  harps  of  God  to 
 sing  His  praise. 
 
 And^  they  sing  the  song  of  Moses,  servant  of  God,  and 
 the  song  of  the  Lamb.  The  figure  of  the  redeemed  stand- 
 ing on  the  margin  of  the  sea  of  glass  recalls  the  thought 
 of  the  rescued  and  victorious  Israelites  when  now  they 
 had  finally  escaped  from  the  house  of  bondage,  and  in 
 the  miraculous  passage  of  the  Red  Sea  had  seen  the  arm 
 of  God  put  forth  for  the  discomfiture  and  overthrow  of 
 
 1  Rev.  xiii.  16—18.  ^  ^^.^  y_  g. 
 
 *  Rev.  xiv.  2,  3.  •*  Verse  3. 
 
xxviii.]  Chap.  XV.  389 
 
 the  Egyptians.  Israel  sazv  that  great  ivork  ivhich  the 
 Lord  did  upon  the  Egyptians :  and  the  people  feared  the 
 Lord,  and  believed  the  Lord,  and  His  servant  Moses.  Theii 
 sang  Moses  and  the  cJnldren  of  Israel  this  song  unto  the 
 Lord,  and  spake,  saying,  I  ivill  sing  unto  the  Lord,  for  He 
 hath  triumphed  gloriously :  the  horse  and  Jus  rider  hath 
 He  throzvn  into  the  sea.  Who  is  like  unto  Thee,  O  Lord, 
 among  the  gods  ?  zvho  is  like  Thee,  glorious  in  holiness, 
 fcaifid  in  praises,  doing  ivonders  ^  ?  Of  that  deliverance 
 the  redemption  consummated  in  heaven  will  be  the 
 glorious  antitype.  They  sing  the  song  of  Moses,  servant 
 of  God. 
 
 But  the  song  of  the  redeemed  in  heaven  has  another 
 element,  unknown  altogether  to  Israel  after  the  flesh. 
 Theirs  is  no  mere  triumph  over  dangers  escaped,  over  a 
 work  achieved,  over  a  victory  won.  It  is  not  a  mere 
 repetition  of  the  song  of  Moses  in  the  Exodus  of  Israel : 
 it  is  also  the  song  of  the  Lamb.  They  overeame  Jam  by 
 the  blood  of  the  Lamb"^.  The  exultation  of  heaven  is  not 
 so  much  a  triumph  over  a  fallen  foe,  it  is  rather  a  thanks- 
 giving to  Him  by  whose  cross  they  conquered,  and  in 
 zvhose  light  alone  they  now  see  light  ^ 
 
 And  though  that  song  is  one  which  none  can  fully 
 learn''  but  they  who  have  been  aecountedzvorthy  to  obtain 
 that  zvorld'"  and  to  share  that  great  salvation,  still  we  are 
 permitted  here  to  catch  its  echo,  and  to  learn  something 
 of  its  thoughts  and  tones.  Saying,  Great  and  marvellous 
 are  Thy  zvorks.  Lord  God  Almighty :  just  and  trite  are 
 Thy  zcays,  Thou  King  of  the  nations.  Who  ^  zvill  not 
 fear,  O  Lord,  and  glorify  Thy  name?  because  Thou,  only 
 
 1  Exod.  xiv.  31.     XV.  r,  ir.  ^  Rgv.  xii.  11.  ^  Psalm  xxxvi.  9. 
 
 4  Rev.  xiv.  3.  °  Luke  xx.  35.         «  y^^se  4. 
 
390  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 art  holy ;  because  all  the  nations  shall  come  and  zvorship 
 in  Thy  presence  ;  because  TJiyjicdgments,  Thy  decisions  or 
 sentences  upon  right  and  wrong,  were  manifested,  are 
 now  once  for  all  displayed  and  revealed  by  their  execu- 
 tion. The  words  are  gathered  for  the  most  part  from 
 various  passages  of  the  Old  Testament.  And  the  song 
 itself  is  heard  by  the  Apostle  in  the  spirit  of  prophecy, 
 as  that  which  will  hereafter  celebrate  the  final  downfall 
 of  evil,  when  the  revelations  of  this  Book  shall  have  been 
 finally  and  for  ever  fulfilled. 
 
 And^  after  these  tilings  I  saw,  and  there  was  opened 
 the  shrine,  the  innermost  part,  of  the  tabernacle  of  tJie 
 testimony  in  the  heaven.  The  testimony  means  God's 
 witness  of  Himself;  that  which  He  has  testified  to  men 
 of  His  will  and  of  His  purposes.  It  is  particularly 
 applied  to  His  revelation  of  Himself  in  the  Law  of  the 
 Old  Testament.  He  gave  imto  Moses,  when  He  had  made 
 an  end  of  commnning  zvith  him  upon  Mount  Sinai,  two 
 tables  of  testimony,  tables  of  stone,  written  with  tJie  finger 
 of  God"^.  Thou  s  halt  put  into  tJie  ark  tJie  testimony  which 
 I  shall  give  thee  I  Thus  the  taberjtacle  of  the  testimony 
 means  the  tabernacle  which  contained  the  Law  of  God. 
 And  the  shrine  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  testimony  means 
 the  inner  compartment  of  the  tabernacle  ;  that  which  was 
 known  as  the  Holy  of  Holies,  or  the  most  holy  place. 
 We  read  in  the  nth  chapter  of  the  temple  of  God  being 
 opened  in  heaven,  and  of  there  being  seen  in  His  temple 
 the  ark  of  His  covenant  ^  From  the  imagery  of  the  divine 
 presence,  as  detailed  in  the  4th  and  5th  chapters,  there 
 is  an  easy  transition  in  the  mind  of  an  Israelite  Prophet 
 
 1  Vej'se  5.  -  Exod.  xxxi.  18.  ^  Exod.  xxv.  16. 
 
 ^  Rev.  xi.  19. 
 
xxviii.]  Chap.  XV.  391 
 
 to  the  tabernacle  or  temple  which  was  the  scene  of 
 God's  peculiar  presence  on  earth ;  and  when  he  would 
 represent  any  part  of  his  vision  m  connection  with  the 
 secret  of  God's  personal  agency,  he  does  so  by  describ- 
 ing the  opening  of  that  mysterious  shrine  in  which  God 
 for  many  generations  veiled  rather  than  revealed  Himself 
 below. 
 
 And^  there  came  out  the  seven  angels  who  had  the 
 seven  plagues,  clothed  in  lificii  piwe  and  bright,  and  girt 
 about  their  breasts  with  golden  girdles.  They  were  at- 
 tired as  God's  priests.  They  have  a  service  to  do,  and 
 they  have  a  sacrifice  to  offer. 
 
 And'^  one  of  tJie  four  living  creatui'cs,  of  whom  we 
 read  in  the  4th  chapter  as  the  representatives  of  all 
 creation  engaged  in  a  ceaseless  work  of  adoration  and 
 praise  before  the  throne  of  God,  gave  to  the  seven  angels 
 seven  golden  boivls  full  of  the  wratJi  of  God  who  liveth 
 unto  the  ages  of  the  ages. 
 
 The  vessels  given  are  those  shallow  bowls  in  which 
 incense  was  wont  to  be  offered  ou  the  golden  altar 
 within  the  holy  place  (or  outer  compartment)  of  the 
 tabernacle.  It  is  an  awful  thought :  the  punishment 
 of  sin  itself — for  it  is  of  that  that  we  are  about  to 
 read — is  in  a  certain  sense  an  offering  of  incense  to 
 God.  The  Angels  who  minister  minister  in  the  dress 
 of  priests :  and  the  bowls  which  are  full  of  the  divine 
 wrath  are  the  same  in  which  frankincense  is  offered 
 upon  God's  altar.  The  description  is  precisely  parallel 
 to  that  in  the  8th  chapter,  where  the  censer  which 
 has  just  been  used  to  give  vitality  to  the  prayers  of 
 saints  is  afterwards  filled  with  fire  of  the  altar  ^y    and 
 
 1  Verse  6.  ^  Verse  7.  ^  Rev.  viii.  5. 
 
392  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 emptied  in  the  form  of  judgment  upon  the  earth 
 below. 
 
 These  incense-bowls  are  given  to  the  ministering 
 angels  by  one  of  the  four  living  beings  who  represent 
 creation.  The  agencies  of  which  we  are  about  to  read 
 as  employed  in  the  judgments  which  follow  are,  in  form 
 at  least,  judgments  upon  natural  objects,  and  judgments 
 by  natural  instruments  also. 
 
 The  zvrath  of  God  is  in  other  v/ords  the  will  of 
 God  that  sin  should  suffer.  God  cannot  be  affected 
 (need  I  say  it .?)  by  any  human  passion :  but  God 
 does  will  that,  where  there  is  sin,  there  should  be 
 punishment.  He  wills  it,  not  though,  but  because.  He 
 is  the  God  of  truth,  of  righteousness,  and  of  mercy ; 
 because  sin  is  not  less  man's  enemy  than  it  is  His 
 enemy ;  and  because,  where  sin  reigns,  peace  and  hap- 
 piness cannot  enter. 
 
 And  this  God  who  wills  that  sin  should  suffer  is 
 also  the  God  ivho  liveth  for  ever  and  ever ;  liveth  (as  the 
 forcible  language  of  the  original  text  expresses  it)  unto 
 the  ages  of  the  ages,  even  to  the  boundless  extent  of 
 those  everlasting  ages  of  which  the  very  component 
 parts  are  everlasting  ages  too.  Woe  unto  Jiim  then  who 
 dares  to  strive  zvith  his  Maker  * .-' 
 
 And'  tJie  shrine,  the  innermost  sanctuary  of  all, 
 the  Holy  of  Holies,  was  filled  from  the  smoke  from 
 the  glory,  the  manifested  presence,  of  God,  and  from 
 His  pozver ;  and  no  one  could  enter  into  the  shrine  until 
 the  seven  plagues  of  the  seven  angels  be  accomplished. 
 
 Thus  was  it  when  the  first  tabernacle  was  dedi- 
 cated in  the  wilderness.  Then  a  cloud  covered  the  tent 
 1  Isai.  xlv.  9.  2  y^rse'^. 
 
XXVIII.]  Chap.  XV.  393 
 
 of  the  congregation,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  fiUcd  the 
 tabernacle.  And  Moses  ivas  not  able  to  enter  into  the 
 tent  of  the  co72gregation,  because  the  clond  abode  tJiereon, 
 and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  filled  the  tabernacle^.  Thus 
 was  it  also  when  the  more  permanent  and  more  mag- 
 nificent temple  was  dedicated  by  king  Solomon  on  the 
 Mount  Zion.  Lt  came  to  pass,  when  the  priests  were 
 come  ont  of  the  holy  place,  that  the  cloud  filled  the  hoiise 
 of  the  Lord,  so  that  the  priests  could  not  stand  to  minister 
 because  of  tJie  cloud ;  for  the  glory  of  the  Lord  had  filled 
 the  house  of  the  Lord^.  Then  it  was  a  cloud  ;  veiling 
 the  insufferable  brightness  of  that  glory  the  presence  of 
 which  it  indicated.  But  when  the  vision  is  of  judg- 
 ment, when  the  ministry  for  which  the  divine  temple 
 is  opened  is  a  ministry  of  punishment,  then  we  read, 
 not  of  the  shadowing  cloud,  but  of  the  lurid  fiery 
 smoke.  It  was  thus  when  Isaiah  in  vision  saw  the  Lord 
 sitting  upon  a  throne,  His  train  filling  the  temple.  The 
 posts  of  the  door  moved  at  the  voice  of  Him  that  cried, 
 and  the  house  luas  filled  with  smoke  '^.  This  sign  pre- 
 pared the  seer  for  the  nature  of  the  commission  which 
 he  was  to  execute  ;  a  commission  of  rebuke  and  denun- 
 ciation to  a  disobedient  and  gaijisaying  people^.  Even 
 so  it  is  in  the  revelation  now  before  us.  The  golden 
 bowls  in  the  hands  of  the  seven  angels  are  full,  not  of 
 their  proper  frankincense,  but  of  the  wrath  of  God,  and 
 therefore  the  temple  is  seen  to  be  filled  with  smoke 
 from  the  glory  of  God,  and  no  man  can  enter  into  the 
 temple  until  the  plagues  with  which  they  are  charged  be 
 accomplished. 
 
 ^  Exod.  xl.  34,  35.  2  I  Kings  viii.  10,  11. 
 
 3  Isai.  vi.  I,  4.  ■*  Rom.  x.  21. 
 
394 
 
 Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 The  passage  on  which  we  have  dwelt  tonight 
 has  its  own  proper  message,  of  warning,  of  counsel, 
 of  comfort,  to  each  soul  here  present  in  the  worship 
 of  the  visible  Church  below.  What  if  that  message, 
 in  each  of  its  forms,  be  to  each  one  of  those  who  hear 
 it  a  thricetold  tale  ?  I  know  nothing  so  formidable, 
 when  we  reflect  upon  it,  as  the  thought  of  the  blunted 
 edge  of  truth.  What  can  be  so  dreadful,  to  a  con- 
 science not  yet  silenced  for  ever,  as  the  thought  of 
 Isaiah's  oft-quoted  message  from  a  temple  filled  with 
 the  smoke  of  judicial  fire  .'*  Go,  and  tell  this  people, 
 Hear  ye  indeed,  bnt  imderstand  not ;  and  see  ye  indeed, 
 but  perceive  not :  Make  the  heart  of  this  peotile  fat,  and 
 make  their  ears  heavy,  and  sJmt  their  eyes ;  lest  they  see 
 with  their  eyes,  and  hear  with  their  ears,  and  tmderstand 
 with  their  heart,  and  co7ivert,  and  be  healed'^.  Who  shall 
 not  pray  with  an  agony  of  earnestness  our  Church's 
 solemn  and  ever  timely  petition.  From  hardness  of  heart, 
 and  contempt  of  Thy  word  and  commandment.  Good  Lord, 
 deliver  us  f 
 
 Perhaps  we  are  in  danger  of  too  much  portioning 
 and  parcelling  our  congregations  into  the  two  great 
 classes  of  good  and  evil,  holy  and  unholy.  Christians 
 and  sinners.  This  is  God's  office,  not  man's  :  and  in 
 His  great  mercy  He  has  postponed  yet  a  while  for  us 
 this  last  and  decisive  discrimination.  At  present  not 
 only  are  we  unable  to  pass  this  final  sentence  upon 
 one  another  :  even  within  ourselves  many  of  us  may  be 
 conscious  of  the  presence  as  of  two  persons  rather  than 
 of  one ;  of  a  good  and  an  evil,  a  holy  and  an  unholy, 
 a  Christian  and  a  sinner.     Even  for  ourselves  we  can- 
 
 1  Isai.  vi.  9,  lo. 
 
XXVIII.]  Chap.  XV.  395 
 
 not  yet  positively  prognosticate  either  hell  or  heaven. 
 The  struggle  is  not  yet  ended  for  any  one  of  us,  upon 
 which  hangs  the  destiny  of  an  eternity.  But  it  will 
 end  :  God  grant  us  grace  to  remember  that  :  this  strug- 
 gle will  end ;  will  for  each  one  of  us  one  day  be 
 ended  ;  and  we,  with  that  end,  either  saved  or  lost. 
 At  present,  haply  for  this  cause  are  we  left  to  struggle, 
 left  to  waver  in  hope  as  in  condition,  that  every  word 
 of  God,  not  a  few  of  His  words  only,  may  be  audible 
 and  appropriate  to  all  of  us  ;  His  word  of  warning  to 
 that  in  us  which  is  evil,  His  word  of  counsel  to  that 
 in  us  which  is  perplexed.  His  word  of  comfort  to  that  in 
 us  which  is  humble  and  earnest  and  believing. 
 
 I.  We  read  in  many  of  these  chapters  of  God's 
 judgments  upon  sin.  With  how  poor  and  feeble  an 
 interest  do  we  sometimes  listen !  I  suppose  there  is 
 nothing  which  a  sinner  so  little  expects  as  the  punish- 
 ment of  his  sin.  I  say,  of  his  sin.  Of  sin  in  general 
 he  can  discourse  readily  ;  of  its  sinfulness,  of  its  risk, 
 of  its  misery.  But  his  sin,  what  does  he  think  of  that } 
 Does  he  at  all  realize  the  warning  voice,  Be  sure  your 
 sin  will  find  you  out'^f  your  sin  }  find  you  out .?  Alas  ! 
 it  is  in  vain.  He  listens,  he  assents  ;  strange  to  say, 
 he  can  even  admire  the  sermon  which  threatens  him, 
 he  can  even  hear  gladly  the  preacher  who  reasons  with 
 him  of  righteousness  and  temperance  and  judgment  to 
 come'^ ;  and  yet  sin  on,  and  sin  on,  and  sin  on,  and  at 
 last  die  (terrible  words  !)  in  his  sin  ^  The  Revelation  of 
 St  John,  such  a  chapter  as  that  now  open  before  us, 
 ought  to  be  a  good  book  for  a  sinner's  study.  It  tells 
 of  God's  wrath  against  sin.     It   tells    of  the   intimate 
 
 1  Num.  xxxii.  23.  "^  Acts  xxiv.  25.  ^  John  viii.  21. 
 
39^  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 connection,  the  inseparable  union,  not  only  between 
 sin  and  punishment,  but  also  between  mercy  and  jtidg- 
 ment^.  It  tells  of  incense-bowls  charged  already  with 
 the  wrath  of  God,  and  angel-hands  prepared  already 
 with  those  last  plagues  which  are  to  fill  up  the  measure 
 of  His  righteous  retribution.  And  can  we  not  hear 
 already,  if  we  will  listen  for  them,  the  first  mutterings 
 of  that  thunder  ?  Have  not  you,  so  many  of  you  as 
 have  committed  sin,  felt  its  sting  also  ?  Whatever  you 
 may  think  of  the  darling  lust  now  reigning  in  your 
 bosom,  at  least  are  you  not  conscious  of  the  folly  and 
 shame  and  wretchedness  of  some  former  ?  Can  you 
 not  judge  of  this  from  that  ?  Can  you  not  even  by 
 this  experience  see  that  it  is  possible  that  God's  word 
 may  come  true,  when  it  tells  you  that  His  ivrath  is 
 revealed  from  heaven  against  all  nngodliness  and  tmright- 
 eonsness  of  men  ^f 
 
 2.  We  spoke  too  of  counsel.  Counsel  ever  grows  out 
 of  warning,  and  ever  passes  on  into  comfort.  Break  off 
 thy  sins  by  righteousness^ ,  that  is  at  once  counsel.  Here 
 counsel  takes  a  very  practical  form.  It  says,  See  that 
 you  get  the  victory  over  the  beast  (which  is  the  world) 
 and  over  his  image  and  over  his  mark  and  over  the 
 number  of  his  name.  It  says,  Be  not  afraid  of  a  man  that 
 shall  die\  It  says,  Put  not  your  trust  in  a  man  that  shall 
 die.  It  says.  Live  a  life  above  this  life ;  a  life  all  your 
 own  ;  a  life  which  shall  continue  when  all  else  is  stripped 
 off  from  you ;  a  life  independent  of  time,  independent 
 of  circumstance,  independent  of  human  opinion  and  of 
 mortal  chance  and  change,  because  it  is  already  hidden 
 with  Christ  in  God,  and  when  Christ  shall  appear,  then 
 
 1  Psalm  ci.  i.         ^  j^q^^^  j^  jg^         z  D^n.  iv.  27.         ^  Isai.  li.  12. 
 
XXVIII. 
 
 ]  Chap.  XV.  397 
 
 and  then  only  sJiall  appear^  shall  be  revealed,  with  Him  \ 
 Be  a  man  of  God  ;  be  a  servant  of  Christ ;  have  no  mark 
 on  your  brow  but  the  mark  placed  there  at  your  bap- 
 tism in  token  that  you  would  not  be  asJiamcd  to  confess  the 
 faith  of  Christ  crucified.  O  where  is  that  mark  now  ? 
 Ask  yourselves,  every  one  of  you  ! 
 
 3.  And  some  need  tonight  comfort  even  more  than 
 counsel.  Your  way  is  long  and  dark,  thorny  and  steep, 
 disconsolate  and  lonely.  You  hear  on  every  side  the 
 question  of  the  scoffer,    Where  is   the  promise   of  His 
 
 .2 
 
 often,  and  then  your  life  is  dreary  indeed  :  dark  in  the 
 present,  and  dark  also  in  the  prospect.  What  does  this 
 night's  text  say  to  you  1  Does  it  not  say,  Yet  a  little 
 while,  and  He  that  shall  come  ivillcome,  and  will  not  tarry^f 
 Does  it  not  say.  Look  up,  and  lift  up  your  heads,  for  your 
 redemption  draweth  nigJi  ^  ?  I  saw  as  it  were  a  sea  0  ^ glass 
 mingled  zvith  fire :  and  I  saw  them  that  had  gotten  the 
 victory,  those  who  for  His  names  sake  had  laboured  on 
 earth  and  suffered  and  not  fainted^ ,  stand  on  the  margin  of 
 that  sea,  having  the  harps  of  God ;  and  I  heard  them  sing 
 the  song  of  redemption  and  the  song  of  the  Lamb  ;  yea,  I 
 heard  them  sing  with  one  voice  the  triumphant  hymn  of 
 the  justified  and  the  glorified,  Unto  Him  that  loved  us,  and 
 washed  us  from  our  sins  in  His  oivn  blood,  and  hath  made 
 us  kings  and  priests  unto  God  and  His  Father,  to  Him  be 
 glory  and  dominion  for  ever  and  ever'' ! 
 
 1  Col.  iii.  3,  4.         2  2  Pet.  iii.  4.         ^  JqI^^  vi.  30.  "*  Heb.  x.  37 
 
 5  Luke  xxi.  28.  ^  Rev.  ii.  3.  ^  Rgy,  j,  5^  5. 
 
 Fourth  Sunday  after  the  Epiphany, 
 February  2,  1862. 
 
LECTURE    XXIX. 
 
 REVELATION   XVI.    1 5. 
 
 Behold,  I  come  as  a  thief. 
 
 Seven  angels  have  been  seen  to  come  forth  out  of  the 
 heavenly  temple,  and  seven  golden  bowls  have  been 
 given  to  them  full  of  the  wrath  of  God.  The  special 
 object  of  the  judgments  now  to  commence  is  the  second 
 of  the  three  enemies  of  Christ  and  His  Church,  the  zuild 
 beast  from  the  sea  \  which  unites  in  itself  the  attributes  of 
 the  worldly  power  in  every  form  and  phase.  These 
 judgments  have  been  executed  in  a  greater  or  less  degree 
 throughout  all  time.  From  the  day  when  Pharaoh  and 
 the  Egyptians  in  their  hot  pursuit  of  the  escaping  Israel 
 were  overwhelmed  in  the  waters  of  the  Red  Sea,  down  to 
 the  latest  overthrow  which  history  has  recorded  of  earthly 
 power  and  ambition  whether  personal  or  national,  at  the 
 very  moment  (it  may  be)  of  its  fancied  triumph — and 
 this  very  century  has  witnessed  at  least  one  such  discom- 
 fiture— God  has  been  making  all  His  enemies  to  feel  His 
 hand^,  and  God's  Church  has  been  faithfully  recognizing 
 in  every  such  disaster  the  cheering  truth  that  the  Lord 
 
 ^  Rev.  xiii.  i.  ^  Psalm  xxi.  8  (Prayer-Book  Version). 
 
LECT.  XXIX.]    Revelation.    Chap.  xvi.  i — 14.      399 
 reigiietJi^,    that    verily  He  is  a  God  that  jiidgeth  in  the 
 
 earth  ^ 
 
 But  the  terms  of  this  prophecy,  no  less  than  the 
 position  which  it  occupies  in  the  Book  of  Revelation, 
 prepare  us  to  expect  a  more  intense  and  concentrated 
 manifestation  of  God's  judgment  upon  an  opposing  and 
 blaspheming  world  as  the  last  end  of  all  things  shall 
 draw  on.  The  judgments  of  which  we  here  read  are 
 described  as  the  seven  last  plagues,  in  which  is  filled  up 
 the  zvrath  of  God^.  Let  us  listen,  my  brethren,  with  the 
 awakened  interest  which  is  due  to  this  reflection.  We  are 
 to  read  tonight  of  some  of  the  signs  of  Clunsfs  coining 
 and  of  the  ejid  of  the  zvorld^.  This  mingled  scene,  of 
 humble  faith  and  of  proud  boasting,  of  heaven  discerned 
 by  a  few  and  things  present  and  seen  trusted  in  by  the 
 many,  is  not  to  be  for  ever.  Happy  they  who  are 
 contented  to  be  in  the  minority,  to  be  despised,  to  be 
 desolate,  to  be  solitary  now,  if  so  be  they  may  be  owned 
 in  the  eternity  which  is  to  follow  as  the  wise  and  faithful 
 and  holy  who  shall  see  God's  face  and  ever  be  with  the 
 Lord'. 
 
 The  Angels  had  already  presented  themselves  in 
 the  prophetic  vision  clad  in  the  garb  of  priests,  and  had 
 already  received  from  one  of  the  four  living  creatures 
 before  the  throne  of  God  the  seven  golden  bowls  which 
 are  to  be  the  implements  of  their  ministration.  And 
 now  we  are  to  mark  the  progress  of  that  ministration 
 itself 
 
 And^  I  heard  a  great  voice — our  Version  adds,  out  of 
 the  temple ;  at  all  events,  out  of  heaven,  though  the  par- 
 
 ^  Psalm  xciii.  i.  ^  Psalm  Iviii.  ii.  ^  j^^y   ^v.  i. 
 
 *  Matt.xxiv.  3.  ^  I  Thess.  iv.  17.  ^  Verse  i. 
 
400  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 ticular  source  of  the  sound  may  not  be  further  indicated 
 — saying  to  the  seven  angels,  Go  your  zuay,  poiw  out  the 
 seven  bowls  of  the  wrath  of  God  into  the  earth.  The  wrath 
 of  God  denotes,  it  is  needless  to  say,  no  angry  passion  on 
 the  part  of  Him  who  is  altogether  holy,  but  rather  that 
 will  of  God  that  sin  should  suffer,  without  which  He 
 would  not  be  the  God  of  holiness  ;  let  me  add,  without 
 which  He  would  not  be  the  God  of  love. 
 
 And^  the  first  angel  went  forth,  and  poured  ont  his 
 bowl  into  the  earth.  All  were  to  be  poured  upon  the 
 earth  in  its  wider  sense :  but  the  first  was  poured  upon 
 the  earth  in  its  narrower  sense  also,  the  earth  as  distin- 
 guished from  the  sea  and  from  the  rivers,  the  dry  land 
 itself.  And  tJiere  became  as  the  consequence  of  that  out- 
 pouring an  evil  and  pain fnl  sore  upon  the  vien — it  is  the 
 wider  term  for  men,  iipon  those  Jmnian  beings,  upon  those 
 of  mankind — who  had  the  mark  of  the  wild  beast,  and  who 
 habitually  zuorshipped  his  image.  That  is  the  condition 
 of  being  an  object  of  this  judgment.  It  is  they  whose 
 forehead  or  right  hand  bears  the  mark  of  the  beast  which 
 is  the  world.  It  is  they  who  habitually  worship  the 
 image  of  the  beast  which  is  the  world.  Learn,  my 
 brethren,  what  it  is  to  be  a  friend  of  the  world  !  to  be  one 
 who  takes  his  maxims  and  his  conduct  and  his  religion 
 too  from  those  around  him,  from  the  world  greater  or 
 smaller,  from  the  men  and  the  women  amongst  whom 
 he  lives,  and  not  from  God  only !  Whosoever  will  be  a 
 friend  of  the  zvorld  is  the  enemy  of  God'^. 
 
 We  shall  be  struck  w^ith  the  resemblance  between 
 the  plagues  here  described  and  those  which  fell  of  old 
 upon   Pharaoh   and  his  people  in  preparation  for  the 
 
 ^  Verse  2.  2  James  iv.  4. 
 
XXIX.]  Chap,  XVI.   I — 14.  401 
 
 Exodus  of  Israel.  That  which  we  have  just  read  has 
 its  exact  counterpart  in  the  sixth  of  the  plagues  of 
 Egypt \  Yes,  the  history  of  the  Old  Testament  is  no 
 obsolete  record,  no  lifeless  letter;  it  is  the  epitome  of 
 God's  dealings  with  man  in  all  time :  wheresoever  there 
 is  a  servant  of  God  in  any  land  or  age,  there  is  again  the 
 safety  and  the  blessedness  of  Israel ;  wheresoever  there 
 is  a  proud  man  setting  up  himself  against  God's  Word 
 and  God's  people,  there  once  again  is  the  character  and 
 the  sure  fate  of  Pharaoh  :  wheresoever  the  earease  of  sin 
 is,  there  in  every  generation  will  the  eagles  of  God's  judg- 
 ment be  gathered,  together  ^ 
 
 And^  tJie  second  ^.Vl^qS.  poured  out  his  bowl  i?ito  the  sea: 
 and  there  became  blood  as  of  a  dead  man,  corrupt  and 
 putrid,  and  every  soul  of  life,  every  living  thing,  died, 
 even  the  things  that  were  in  the  sea. 
 
 And^  the  third  angel  ponredoiit  his  bowl  into  the  rivers 
 and  into  tJie  springs  of  the  waters  ;  and  there  became  blood. 
 Thus  the  second  and  third  plagues  together  correspond 
 to  the  first  of  the  plagues  of  Egypt ;  that  by  which  all 
 the  waters  of  the  country,  streams,  rivers,  ponds,  and 
 pools,  were  turned  to  blood  ^  Could  there  be  a  more 
 terrible  infliction  upon  the  life  of  any  nation }  or  could 
 there  be  a  more  terrible  picture  of  that  later  judgment 
 by  which  sin  when  it  is  finisJied'i^  to  be  made  to  bring 
 forth  death^f 
 
 And'^  I  heard  the  angel  of  the  waters,  the  angel  to 
 whom  this  ministry  upon  the  waters  of  the  earth  had 
 been  entrusted,  saying,  Jnst  art  Thou,  O  Holy  One  who 
 art  and  zvho  wast,  because  Thou  didst  judge  these  things, 
 
 1  Exod,  ix.  8—10.  2  Matt.  xxiv.  28.  ^  y^.^^^  ^^  4  y^j.^^  ^^ 
 
 ^  Exo4.  vii.  19 — 21.  •*  James  i.  15.  ^  Verse  f). 
 
 V.  R.  26 
 
402  Rev.elation.  [lect. 
 
 form  and  execute  these  judgments;  because^  blood  of 
 saints  and  of  propJiets  did  they,  the  objects  of  this  plague, 
 potir  out ;  and  blood  didst  Thoit  give  them  to  drink  :  they 
 are  zvorthy ;  they  deserve  their  doom.'  Aiid^  I  heard 
 the  altar  saying,  that  altar  of  burnt-offering  beneath  which 
 the  souls  of  martyred  saints  were  seen  lying  at  the  open- 
 ing of  the  fifth  seal  ^  ;  that  altar  of  burnt-offering  out  of 
 which  the  angel  of  fire  came  in  immediate  preparation 
 for  the  earth's  vintage*;  Yea,  Lord  God  the  Almighty ; 
 true  and  just  are  Thy  judgments.  The  voice  of  the  altar 
 is  the  voice  of  persecuted  and  martyred  saints  ;  of  those 
 whose  lives  have  been  offered  as  a  sacrifice  of  devotion 
 and  suffering  :  and  they  bear  witness,  as  they  look  on 
 from  the  abodes  of  rest  and  felicity,  that  God's  name  is 
 now  vindicated  and  glorified  ;  that  all  men  see  that  He 
 is,  and  is  that  He  is  ;  a  God  of  truth,  a  God  of  faithful- 
 ness, a  God  of  holiness,  and  a  God  of  strength. 
 
 And^  the  fourth  angel  poured  out  his  bozvl  -upon  the 
 sun ;  and  it  zvas  given  to  it  to  seorch  men  iinankind)  171 
 {with)  fire.  And^  men  [mankind),  all,  that  is,  save  the 
 remnant  who  had  been  faithful,  were  seorcJied  with  a 
 great  heat ;  and  men  {mankind)  blaspJiemed  the  name  of 
 God  who  hath  the  authority  over  these  plagues,  and  they 
 repented  not  to  give  Him  glo?y.  Such  is  the  effect  of 
 suffering  upon  an  enemy  of  God.  Who  knozueth  the 
 pozver  of  Thine  anger  ?  the  Psalmist  asks  :  even  aceording 
 to  Thy  fear,  so  is  Thy  wrath''.  A  man  who  does  not  fear 
 God  will  miss  altogether  the  purpose  of  His  inflictions. 
 How  often  have  we  seen  that  effect  of  suffering  upon  the 
 wicked  !    There  is  nothing  softening  in  it,  nothing  truly 
 
 ^  Verse  6.  ^  Ve7-sc  7.  ^  Rev.  vi.  9.  "^  Rev.  xiv.  18. 
 
 5  J^^rse  8.  ."  ^  Verse  g.  "  Psalm  xc.  11. 
 
XXIX.]  Ckap,.XYi.   1 — 14.  403 
 
 humbling,  nothing  in  any  way  remedial.  It  makes  him 
 angry.  He  blasphemes  the  name  of  that  God  who  has 
 power  over  the  infliction,  kicks  against  the  goad '^  which 
 pricks  him,  and  repents  not  to  give  God  glory. 
 
 Ajid"^  the  fifth  angel  poured  out  his  boiul  upon  the 
 throne  of  the  wild  beast.  God's  judgments  are  now 
 coming  home:  His  right-aiming  thitndei'bolts  are  not 
 only  gone  abroad,  hut  fiying  to  the  rnark^ ;  and  that  world 
 which  has  hitherto,  as  it  were,  suffered  incidentally,  or 
 suffered  providentially,  or  suffered  through  nature,  is 
 now  sought  out  in  its  very  seat,  on  its  very  throne,  and 
 finds  itself  like  an  insect  in  the  grasp  of  a  giant,  or  like 
 a  lump  of  clay  in  the  hand  of  its  potter. 
 
 And  his  kingdom  became  darkened,  like  Egypt  under 
 that  terrific  plague  of  darkness  which  was  the  last  but 
 one  of  God's  sore  judgments  ^ ;  and  they  gnazued  their 
 tongues  out  of  {by  reason  of)  the  pain,  and'"  blasphemed 
 the  God  of  the  heaven  out  of  their  pains  and  out  of  their 
 sores,  and  repented  not  out  of  (so  as  to  give  up)  their 
 works.  Over  tJiem  zvas  spread,  the  Book  of  Wisdom  says 
 of  the  Egyptians,  aji  heavy  nigJit,  an  image  of  that 
 darkness  which  shoidd  afterward  receive  them :  but  yet 
 were  they  unto  themselves  more  grievous  than  the  darkness^. 
 
 And''  the  sixth  angel  poured  out  Ids  bowl  upon  the 
 great  river,  the  EupJirates  ;  and  its  zvatcr  was  dried,  that 
 the  way  of  the  kings  zuho  are  from  the  rising  of  the  sun 
 might  be  prepared. 
 
 At  the  sounding  of  the  sixth  trumpet,  we  shall  re- 
 member, there   is    a  similar   introduction    of  the  river 
 
 ^  Acts  xxvi.  14.  ^  Verse  10.  ^  Wisdom  v,  11. 
 
 ^  Exod.  X.  21 — 23.  ^  Vci'se  11.  ^  Wisdom  xvii.  21. 
 
 •''  Verse  j2. 
 
 26 — 2 
 
404  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 Euphrates.  Loose  the  four  angels  ivhich  aj^e  bound  at  the 
 great  river  Euphrates  \  The  Euphrates,  speaking  roughly, 
 was  the  boundary  between  Israel  and  Israel's  invaders. 
 It  was  the  eastern  barrier  (with  the  desert  between)  of 
 the  holy  land  and  of  the  chosen  people  ^  Even  so  early 
 as  the  time  of  Abraham,  if  we  rightly  read  the  somewhat 
 obscure  record  of  the  14th  chapter  of  the  book  of  Ge- 
 nesis, there  was  an  invasion  of  the  future  inheritance  of 
 Israel  by  kings  from  the  cast,  and  an  overthrow  of  those 
 invaders  by  the  father  of  the  faithful.  It  was  on  his 
 return  from  the  defeat  and  slaughter  of  kings  from  the 
 east,  that  the  priest-king  Melchisedec  met  Abraham,  and 
 blessed  him  in  the  name  of  tJie  most  high  God^, 
 
 This  one  reference  will  sufficiently  explain  to  us  the 
 type  here  presented.  The  river  Euphrates,  the  ancient 
 barrier  between  Israel  and  the  enemies  of  Israel ;  the 
 typical  barrier  between  the  Church,  which  is  the  Israel 
 of  God^y  and  the  enemies  of  the  Church  ;  is  to  be  dried 
 up,  to  prepare  the  way  of  the  kings  from  the  east.  What 
 does  this  say,  but  that  an  aggression  upon  Christ's 
 people,  a  great  and  a  final  aggression,  shall  be  facilitated 
 by  God's  permission  and  providence  t  that  even  as  the 
 Exodus  of  Israel  from  Egypt  was  made  possible  by  the 
 drying  of  the  Red  Sea,  and  the  entrance  of  Israel  into 
 Canaan  by  the  drying  of  the  Jordan,  so  shall  the  last 
 attack  of  the  Church's  foes  be  made  possible  by  the 
 drying  of  the  Euphrates  t  The  typical  home  of  the 
 Church  in  the  language  of  all  prophecy  is  Palestine  and 
 Jerusalem  ;  and  therefore  the  typical  home  of  the  foes 
 of  the  Church  is  in  the  region  to  which  Palestine  and 
 
 ^  Rev.  ix.  14,  2  Gen.  xv.  18.  ^  Gen.  xiv.  i — 20. 
 
 4  Gal.  vi.  16. 
 
XXIX.]  Chap.  XVI.   I — 14.  405 
 
 Jerusalem  ever  looked  as  the  quarter  of  danger,  as  the 
 source  of  attack.  The  enemies  of  Christ  are  gathering 
 for  one  last  and  decisive  onslaught  upon  His  servants 
 and  upon  His  throne :  God  foresees  this ;  God  permits 
 this ;  yea,  God  would  have  it  so  :  and  therefore  one  of 
 His  latest  vials  of  judgment  is  poured  upon  the  Eu- 
 phrates, that  the  hostile  powers  may  march  undisturbed 
 against  Jerusalem,  and  meet  their  great  discomfiture  in 
 a  struggle  the  deadliest  and  the  last  of  all. 
 
 Observe,  it  is  no  mark  of  God's  favour  when  the 
 way  of  an  ungodly  man  is  made  to  prosper.  And  it  is 
 no  mark  of  God's  favour  to  the  cause  of  evil  when  the 
 gathered  force  of  infidelity  and  atheism  is  allowed  to 
 throw  itself  upon  the  cause  and  Church  of  Christ.  It 
 is  out  of  that  conflict  that  eventual  victory  will  arise  for 
 the  truth.  Be  not  dismayed  if  the  floods  of  ungodly 
 violence  or  of  anti-christian  blasphemy  rise  high  against 
 the  Word  of  God  or  against  the  kingdom  of  His  Christ. 
 In  these  things  God  is  only  drying  the  Euphrates  that 
 the  foe  may  pass  it  unhindered  to  his  ruin.  TJie  kings  of 
 the  earth  may  stand  up  and  its  riders  be  gathered  together 
 against  the  Lord  and  against  His  Christ :  vet  have  I  set 
 my  King  npon  viy  holy  hill  of  Z ion  \  Only  be  on  Christ's 
 side  yourself,  resolutely  and  decisively ;  and  depend 
 upon  it,  in  the  long  run  you  must  win,  you  must  conquer. 
 
 And^  I  sazv  ont  of  the  month  of  the  dragon^  and  ont 
 of  the  month  of  the  wild  beast,  and  ont  of  the  month  of  the 
 false  prophet,  tJirce  unclean  spirits,  as  it  were  frogs.  We 
 have  scarcely  yet  done  with  the  plagues  of  Egypt. 
 Here  is  the  second  of  the  ten  plagues  ^  in  a  form  most 
 
 ^  Psalm  ii.  6.     Acts  iv.  26.  -  Verse  13. 
 
 ^  Exod.  viii.  i — 7. 
 
4o6  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 noxious  and  most  terrible.  Each  of  the  three  great 
 enemies  of  Christ  contributes  an  unclean  spirit  to  the- 
 work  of  enticement  and  of  seduction.  The  first  enemy, 
 the  drago?i  of  the  I2th  chapter,  the  original  tempter  and 
 destroyer,  the  devil  himself;  the  second  enemy,  the  wild 
 beast  out  of  the  sea  oi  th.Q  13th  chapter,  the  world  in  its 
 unchanged  and  unchangeable  hostility  to  Christ ;  and  the 
 third  enemy,  the  wild  beast  out  of  the  earth  of  the  same 
 13th  chapter,  here  first  designated  as  the  false  prophety 
 that  subtler  and  more  ingenious  power,  the  sensual  and 
 worldly  wisdom,  by  which  the  brute  force  of  the  world 
 has  ever  been  directed  and  supported  in  its  assaults 
 upon  the  truth ;  each  one  of  these  sends  forth  from  his 
 mouth  an  unclean  spirit  suitable  to  his  special  work  and 
 character,  for  the  purpose  which  remains  to  be  described 
 in  the  words  which  follow. 
 
 Foj^^  they,  these  unclean  spirits,  are  spirits  of  demons, 
 doing  signs,  working  miracles  as  proofs  and  credentials 
 of  their  mission,  which  go  foj'th  npon,  or  against,  the 
 kings  of  the  whole  world — npon,  in  their  professed  amity  ; 
 but  against,  in  their  real  and  ruinous  hostility — to  collect 
 them  unto  the  war  of  that  day,  the  great  ds-y  of  God  the 
 Almighty.  The  representation  is  precisely  that  of  one 
 of  the  Psalms  in  which  you  have  joined  this  evening. 
 The  hill  of  Sion  is  a  fair  place,  and  the  joy  of  the  zuhole 
 earth... God  is  well  known  in  her  palaces  as  a  sure  refuge. 
 For  lo,  the  kings  of  the  earth  ai^e  gathered  and  gone  by 
 together.  They  marvelled  to  see  such  things:  they  were 
 astonished,  and  suddenly  cast  doiun  I  The  three  enemies 
 are  about  to  make  one  last  stand  against  the  power  of  the 
 truth.  They  are  to  fight  one  desperate  battle  on  which 
 1  Verse  14.  2  Psalm  xhiii.  1 — 4. 
 
XXIX 
 
 ]  Chap.  XVI.   I— 14.  407 
 
 they  will  stake  all.  Every  nation  shall  contribute  its 
 quota  to  that  vast  armament.  They  will  have  it  so  :  and 
 God,  instead  of  hindering,  will  facilitate  that  gathering. 
 While  they  send  out  their  emissaries  to  collect  the 
 promised  contingents,  God  will  dry  the  Euphrates  for 
 them,  that  they  shall  have  full  scope  and  a  free  course. 
 It  is  His  pleasure  as  well  as  theirs  that  the  war  of  ages, 
 shall  have  its  decisive  battle.  The  foe  is  confident  of 
 victory,  and  He  that  dwelleth  in  heaven  laughs  him  to 
 scoru'^.  Let  them  gather;  let  them  move  heaven  with 
 their  martial  music,  let  them  shake  earth  with  the 
 praneiugs  of  their  mighty  ones'^  ?  let  them  say  like  the 
 Assyrian  of ,  old,  By  the  nmltitiide  of  my  chariots  am  I 
 come  up  to  the  height  of  the  mountains  ;  and  zuith  the  sole 
 of  my  feet  have  I  dried  up  all  the  rivers  which  withstood 
 my  progress : — Hast  thou  not  heard  long  ago,  shall  God 
 answer,  hozv  I  have  done  it^  ?  was  it  not  by  the  pouring 
 out  of  one  of  my  vials  that  the  great  river  was  dried  up 
 to  prepare  thy  way? 
 
 There  is  an  agency  of  God  ;  and  there  is  an  agency 
 too  of  man.  God  dries  the  Euphrates  ;  the  enemy  emits 
 the  spirits,  the  unclean  and  lying  spirits,  which  are  to 
 draw  the  nations  across  it.  Thus  it  is  in  all  tifne  :  man 
 can  ill  distinguish  between  the  agency  of  permission  and 
 the  agency  of  causation  ;  between  that  power  which 
 stands  aside  and  makes  room,  and  that  power  which 
 solicits,  which  inspires,  and  which  directs.  That  which 
 God  hinders  not  He  in  some  sort  does.  Often  does  His 
 Word  speak  of  Him  as  acting,  where  a  cautious  and 
 timid  theology  might  rather  speak  of  Him  as  allowing. 
 This  we  know,  and  thus  far  at  all  events  we  are  safe  in 
 
 ^  Pialm  ii.  4.  ^  judges  v.  22.  ^  Isai.  xxxvii.  24 — 26. 
 
4o8  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 affirming  constantly'^ ^  that  all  good  is  of  God,  and  that 
 all  evil  is  of  God's  enemy.  It  is  of  good  that  the  conflict 
 of  truth  and  falsehood,  of  light  and  darkness,  should  at 
 last  receive  its  decision  :  it  is  of  evil  that  any  one  soul  is 
 induced  to  cast  in  its  lot,  in  that  struggle,  with  the  hosts 
 of  Antichrist.  God  dries  the  Euphrates :  but  the  unclean 
 spirits  fill  the  invading  ranks. 
 
 Is  not  this,  over  again,  the  very  description  of  the 
 process  by  which  king  Ahab  was  carried  to  his  last  end  ? 
 The  Lord  saidy  Who  shall perstiade  Ahab,  that  he  may  go 
 up  and  fall  at  Ramoth-gilead  f  A7td  one  said  on  this 
 tjianner,  and  another  said  on  that  manner.  And  there 
 came  forth  a  spirit,  and  stood  before  the  Lord,  and  said,  I 
 will  persuade  him.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  him^  Where- 
 with ?  A  nd  he  said,  I  will  go  forth,  and  I  will  be  a  lying 
 spirit  in  the  mouth  of  all  his  prophets  ^  That  wicked 
 king,  then  in  the  last  stage  of  his  guilty  career,  was  a 
 type  of  the  kings  of  the  earth  seduced  by  unclean  spirits 
 to  go  up  and  fall  in  the  battle  of  the  great  day  of  God. 
 God  willed  that  Ahab,  his  day  of  grace  ended,  should 
 be  made  an  example  of  punishment  to  the  generations 
 to  come  :  it  is  only  in  the  language  of  vision  and  of 
 parable  that  He  could  be  said  to  plan  the  agency  by 
 which  that  ruin  was  accomplished.  Even  so  it  is  here  ; 
 but  it  is  expressed  here  with  less  admixture  of  parable. 
 God  dries  the  Euphrates  :  it  is  the  agency  of  the  three 
 enemies  which  gathers  the  kings  to  cross  it. 
 
 Shall  we  stop  curiously  to  enquire,  as  some  have 
 done  in  all  times,  what  mean  these  three  spirits  of 
 seducing  devils  ?  It  is  needless,  it  is  profitless.  We 
 have  examined  the  features,  as  the  Word  of  Inspiration 
 
 1  Titus  iii.  8.  ^  \  Kings  xxii.  20 — 22. 
 
XXIX.]  Chap.  XVI.   1 — 14.  409 
 
 has  drawn  them,  of  each  enemy  out  of  whose  mouth 
 each  issues :  such  as  is  the  source,  such  will  be  the 
 stream  ;  such  as  is  the  enemy  who  originates,  such  will 
 be  the  influence  transmitted.  Only  may  God  give  us 
 wisdom  to  discern,  in  our  own  time  and  in  our  own 
 case,  the  operations  thus  foretold  ! 
 
 Let  us  not  forget  that  close  upon  that  last  mustering 
 to  the  battle  will  follow  the  appearance  of  the  Lord 
 Himself  from  heaven.  Behold,  I  come  as  a  thief.  Blessed 
 is  he  that  zvatcJieth. 
 
 The  mystery  of  iniquity  doth  already  zvork  ^ :  yea, 
 perhaps  already  is  it  hurrying  to  its  last  outbreak. 
 Already  eighteen  hundred  years  ago  was  the  devil  de- 
 nominated the  ancient  serpent"^:  his  malice  and  his  sub- 
 tlety have  grown  with  time,  and  the  prolonged  expe- 
 rience of  human  nature  has  furnished  him  with  new 
 weapons  to  practise  upon  its  passions  and  upon  its 
 infirmities.  Shall  we  not  every  one  of  us  learn  wisdom, 
 even  as  he  our  arch-enemy  has  learned  it }  Shall  we 
 not  be  wise  to  suspect  that  snare  which  he  has  found 
 effective  ?  to  guard  against  that  deception  which  he  has 
 worn  threadbare  ?  to  strengthen  from  above  that  weak- 
 ness w^hich  he  tramples  upon  below  } 
 
 Do  we  not  know  well  enough  what  is  that  unclean 
 spirit  which  comes  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  dragon } 
 that  spirit  of  unbelief,  of  doubting,  mistrusting,  at  last 
 denying,  God's  express  word,  whether  of  revelation,  of 
 command,  or  of  promise,  by  which  in  Eden  itself  the 
 serpent  tempted,  and  by  listening  to  which  woman  first 
 and  then  man  fell  .^  Yea,  hath  God  said?  with  that 
 insidious  questioning  it  first  assails :    Ye  shall  not  surely 
 
 ^  2  Thess.  ii.  7.  2  ;Rgv^  ^ii.  9. 
 
4IO  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 die;  with  that  impious  defiance  it  at  last  prevails'. 
 Which  of  us  has.  not  ten  thousand  times  been  seduced 
 by  the  unclean  spirit  from  the  dragon ;  the  demon 
 of  unbelief,  bidding"  us  first  to  doubt  God,  then  to 
 answer  against  God,  then  to  set  Him  aside  and  dis- 
 obey Him  ? 
 
 And  do  we  not  know,  every  one  of  us,  the  frog  of 
 the  second  enemy  ?  the  evil  spirit  from  the  mouth  of 
 the  beast  which  is  the  world  ?  Need  I  tell  any  one  here 
 present  how  it  assails  us  ?  how  it  bids  us  think  the 
 things  that  are  seen  more  real  and  more  valuable  than 
 the  things  which  are  not  seen  ;  bids  us  deem  nothing 
 so  desirable,  nothing  so  necessary  to  us,  as  the  good 
 opinion  of  a  man  that  shall  die' ;  bids  us  live  for  esteem, 
 or  live  for  praise,  or  live  for  power,  or  live  for  pleasure, 
 or  live  for  wealth,  and  not  live  for  God,  and  not  live  for 
 eternity  ?  They  loved  the  praise  of  men  more  than  the 
 praise  of  God^.  Hoiu  ean  ye  believe,  which  receive  honour 
 one  of  another,  and  seek  not  the  honour  that  cometli  from 
 God  ouly^  ? 
 
 And  what  shall  we  say  of  the  unclean  spirit  of  the 
 third  enemy,  of  the  false  prophet,  the  creature  and 
 abettor  of  the  second  ?  Surely  the  wisdom  of  this  world, 
 no  less  than  the  power  of  this  world,  has  in  this  gene- 
 ration a  real  and  an  oppressive  influence.  How  does  a 
 vain  philosophy,  ^  science  falsely  so  called'",  a  presump- 
 tuous disregard  of  God's  revelation,  a  self-confident 
 assertion  of  the  supremacy  of  reason  as  man's  only 
 informer,  and  of  the  natural  conscience  as  man's  only 
 guide,  make  havoc  in  our  days  of  the  simplicity  of  the 
 
 ^  Gen.  iii.  i,  4.  -  Isai.  li.  12.  ^  John  xii.  43. 
 
 ^  J©hn  V.  44.  ^  I  Tim.  vi.  20. 
 
XXIX 
 
 .]  Chap.  XVI.    I  — 14.  411 
 
 faith,  and  end  by  enslaving  to  the  world  souls  that  were 
 just  escaping  into  the  light  and  liberty  of  heaven  ! 
 
 Remember,  my  brethren,  the  true  aim  and  office  of 
 all  these  influences.  They  are  engaged  in  gathering  men 
 to  the  battle  of  the  great  day  of  God,  and  in  gathering 
 them  there  on  the  wrong  side.  Unbelief,  as  the  root  of 
 all ;  then  worldliness  in  its  two  forms,  the  friendship  of 
 the  world  and  the  wisdom  of  the  world ;  these  things 
 yielded  to  must  be  your  ruin,  because  each  one  of  them 
 alike  and  equally  makes  you  into  an  enemy  of  God. 
 And  already  the  armies  are  marshalling  for  a  conflict 
 such  as  earth  has  not  yet  witnessed  ;  a  conflict  of  which 
 we  know  not  the  duration,  but  of  which  we  know  the 
 result,  the  final  triumph  of  that  cause  of  Christ  which 
 is  the  cause  of  good,  the  final  ruin  of  that  opposing 
 host  of  evil  which. agrees  but  in  this  one  thing,  that  it 
 hates  Christ  and  w^ill  not  have  Him  for  its  Saviour  nor 
 for  its  King.  God  give  us  all  grace,  while  yet  there  is 
 time,  both  to  choose  our  side  rightly,  and  to  keep  it' 
 manfully,  through  the  living  grace  of  Him  who  for  us 
 died  and  rose  again,  and  who  to  them  that  look  for  Hint 
 will  soon  appear  the  second  time  zuitJiout  sin  unto 
 salvation^! 
 
 1  Heb.  ix.  28. 
 
 Fifth  Sunday  after  the  Epiphany, 
 February  9,   1862. 
 
LECTURE    XXX. 
 
 REVELATION    XVI.     1 5. 
 
 BeJiold,  I  come  as  a  thief.     Blessed  is  he  that  zvatchcth. 
 
 We  are  reading  of  the  outpouring  of  seven  golden  vials 
 or  bowls,  containing  the  zvrath  of  God,  and  producing 
 what  are  described  as  the  seven  last  plagues'^.  The  sixth 
 of  these  bowls  of  wrath  was  poured  out  upon  the  river 
 Euphrates,  that  great  landmark  and  barrier  between 
 Israel  of  old  and  the  enemies  of  Israel,  that  celebrated 
 stream  from  beyond  which  from  the  earliest  times  came 
 the  most  formidable  of  Israel's  invaders ;  and  the  effect 
 of  that  outpouring  was  that  the  waters  of  the  river  were 
 dried  up,  tJiat  the  zvay  of  the  kings  from  the  east  might  be 
 prepared^.  The  righteous  judgment  of  God  is  shown 
 in  smoothing  the  way  for  the  advance  of  His  enemies 
 towards  an  intended  triumph  and  towards  an  actual 
 destruction.  God  Himself,  when  the  hour  of  His  last 
 interposition  is  approaching,  facilitates  that  march  by 
 which  the  hosts  of  evil  pass  to  a  decisive  combat  with 
 the  armies  of  Christ. 
 
 ^  Rev.  XV.  I.  2  Rev.  xvi.  12. 
 
LECT.  XXX.]    Revelation,    Chap.  xvi.  15 — 21.     413 
 
 God  prepares  the  wa}^  But  the  influence  by  which 
 the  hosts  of  evil  are  mustered  is  not  of  God.  /  saw 
 tJiree  unclean  spirits  like  frogs  come  cnt  of  the  mouth  of  the 
 dragon,  and  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  beast,  and  out  of  the 
 mouth  of  the  false  prophet  \  Each  of  the  three  great 
 enemies  of  Christ's  truth  and  of  Christ's  Church  con- 
 tributes a  special  influence  towards  this  result,  this 
 gathering  of  the  powers  of  evil  to  combat  and  to  ruin. 
 For  they  are  the  spirits  of  devils,  doing  signs,  working 
 portents  in  attestation  of  their  commission,  ivhich  go 
 forth  upon  or  against — or  perhaps  _/^r,  in  quest  of,  to  fetch 
 — the  kings  of  the  zvJiole  zvorld,  to  gather  them  to  the  war 
 of  that  great  day  of  God  Almighty.  Just  as  the  lying 
 spirit  zventfortJi  to  persuade  Ahab  that  he  might  go  up  and 
 fall  at  Ramoth-gilead,  so  do  these  unclean  spirits  go  forth 
 to  gather  the  rebel  kings  to  that  war  upon  which  shall 
 burst  at  the  set  time  the  manifested  presence  of  God 
 Himself  in  the  person  of  the  Saviour  and  the  Judge  of 
 man. 
 
 At  this  point  the  narrative  is  interrupted  by  the 
 solemn  voice  of  the  warning  just  read  to  you  as  the  text, 
 
 Behold^,  I  am  coming  as  a  thief.  Suddenly  and  by 
 surprise,  at  the  darkest  hour,  the  season  of  general 
 unconsciousness  and  sleep,  when  men  have  barred  their 
 windows  and  locked  their  doors  and  have  laid  themselves 
 down  to  take  their  rest ;  at  such  a  moment,  under  such 
 circumstances,  I  the  Lord  Jesus,  I  of  whom  all  men 
 are  saying,  Where  is  the  promise,  or  where  the  threat,  of 
 His  coming^?  shall  surely  come  again,  even  as  I  first 
 ascended,  to  receive  my  own  U7ito  myself^,  and  to  be  the 
 
 1  Rev.  xvi.  13.  2  Verse  15.  ^  2  Pet.  iii.  4. 
 
 *  John  xiv.  3. 
 
;4 14  Revelatio7i.  [lect. 
 
 Judge  of  quick  and  dead  \  The  day  of  the  Lord  so  conietJi 
 as  a  thief  in  the  night :  for  when  they  shall  say,  Peace  and 
 safety ;  then  sndden  destruction  comet h  upo?i  them'\  The 
 day  of  the  Lord  zuill  come  as  a  thief  in  the  nigJit^.  If 
 therefore  tJiou  sJialt  not  zuatch,  I  will  come  on  thee  as  a 
 tJiief^  and  thou  shall  not  know  what  hour  I  zvill  come  upon 
 thee  *.     Behold,  I  come  as  a  thief 
 
 Blessed  is  he  who  zvatcheth.  They  arc  the  words  of 
 our  Lord  Himself  in  the  Gospel.  Blessed  are  those  ser- 
 vajits,  whom  the  Lord  zvhen  He  cometh  shall  find  zvatcJiing^ . 
 If  the  Advent  is  to  be  thus  sudden,  at  the  darkest  hour, 
 when  sleep  overpowers  the  unexpecting,  there  is  no  safety 
 but  in  vigorous  watching :  wakefulness  must  be  the  one 
 virtue  of  those  who  would  he  found  of  Llim  in  peace,  with- 
 out spot,  and  blameless'^. 
 
 But  he  who  would  well  watch  must  also  in  another 
 sense  be  ready.  At  the  very  moment  of  the  Advent 
 there  will  also  be  the  call  to  action.  The  door  must  be 
 promptly  opened  at  the  Master's  knock :  nay,  the  ser- 
 vant who  would  greet  Him  must  even  go  forth  to  do  so. 
 Blessed  therefore  is  he  zvho  zvatcheth,  and  keepeth  his  gar- 
 ments, lest  lie  zualk  naked  and  men  see  Ids  unseemliness . 
 The  garments  of  the  watcher  must  not  be  laid  aside :  he 
 must  have  his  loins  girded  about,  as  well  as  his  lights 
 burning'^. 
 
 To  this  solemn  exhortation  and  warning  we  shall 
 return  as  our  word  of  application.  In  the  meantime 
 let  us  follow  to  its  close  the  prophetic  narrative  in  the 
 midst  of  which  it  occurs. 
 
 ^  Acts  X.  42.  "  I  Thess.  v.  2,  3.  ^  1  Pet.  iii.  10. 
 
 *  Rev.  iii.  3.  ^  Luke  xii.  37.  ^  1  Pet.  iii.  14. 
 
 ^  Luke  xii.  35. 
 
XXX 
 
 ,]  Chap.  XVI.    15 — 21.  415 
 
 And^  He gatJicrcd  them  togetJier.  To  the  overruling 
 hand  of  God  is  here  ascribed  that  gathering  of  the 
 hostile  forces  which  is  to  decide  for  ever  His  great  con- 
 troversy with  evil.  It  is  the  very  language  of  the  Old 
 Testament  Prophets  in  the  same  connection.  TJioil 
 sJialt  come  up  against  my  people  of  Israel,  as  a  cloud  to 
 cover  the  land :  it  shall  be  in  the  latter  days,  and  I  will 
 bring  thee  against  my  land,  that  the  heathen  may  know  mCy 
 when  I  shall  be  sanctified  in  thee  before  their  eyes".  I 
 will  also  gather  all  nations,  and  ivill  bring  them  down 
 into  the  valley  of  Jehoshaphat,  and  will  plead  with  them 
 there  for  my  people  and  for  my  heritage'^.  The  day  of 
 the  Lord  comeih....For  I  will  gat  Iter  all  nations  against 
 Jerusalem  to  battle. ...Then  shall  the  Lord  go  forth,  and 
 fight  against  those  nations'^. 
 
 To  the  place  wJiicJi  is  called  in  Hebreiv  Harmagedon, 
 the  mountain  of  Megiddo.  It  was  at  Megiddo,  in  the 
 great  plain  of  Esdraelon,  that  king  Josiah  fell  in  battle 
 against  Pharaoh-nechoh  king  of  Egypt  ^  Even  there, 
 in  that  extended  plain,  so  suitable  for  the  evolutions  of 
 contending  armies,  shall  the  last  conflict  of  all  find  its 
 symbolical  place  and  scene.  We  dwell  not  further 
 upon  the  selection.  It  is  not  a  material  conflict,  a 
 conflict  between  armies  of  flesh  and  blood,  for  which 
 we  look  under  the  sign  of  the  battle  of  Armageddon. 
 Thus  much  however  may  be  noticed,  that  the  narne 
 chosen  was  one  full  of  painful  national  associations  ; 
 the  name  of  a  place  saddened  and  solemnized  by  the 
 fall  of  the  best  of  kings  in  a  struggle  with  the  most 
 ancient  of  Israel's  foes  ;    a  name  therefore  tempting  to 
 
 ^  Verse  16.  2  Ezek.  xxxviii.  16.  ^  Joel  iii.  2. 
 
 ^  Zech.  xiy.  1—3.  ^  2  Kings  xxiii.  29.     2  Cbron.  xxxv.  22. 
 
41 6  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 the  enemies  of  God  and  of  His  people,  drawing  them  on 
 as  to  a  certain  victory  when  in  reaHty  they  are  advancing 
 to  a  last  discomfiture. 
 
 And  now  the  troops  are  gathered.  The  sixth  vial  of 
 judgment  has  dried  the  Euphrates  for  them.  God  Him- 
 self seems  to  favour  their  enterprise.  What  remains  but 
 overthrow  for  the  cause  of  Christ  and  His  Church } 
 
 The  kings  of  tJie  eai'th  have  set  themselves,  and  the 
 rulers  have  taken  counsel  together  against  the  Lord  and 
 against  His  anointed,  saying,  Let  7ts  break  their  bands 
 asunder,  and  cast  away  their  cords  from  us.  What  re- 
 mains }  He  that  sitteth  in  the  heavens  shall  laugh :  the 
 Lord  shall  have  them  in  derision... .  Yet  have  L  set  my  King 
 npon  my  holy  hill  of  Z ion  \  The  sixth  vial  is  not  the  last 
 of  all :  there  is  a  seventh  behind. 
 
 And"^  the  seventh  3.ngQ\ poured  out  his  bozvl  iLpon  the  air; 
 upon  that  part  of  nature  which  has  been  described  as  the 
 workshop  of  lightning  and  of  the  thunderbolt ;  and  there 
 came  foi'th  a  great  voice  from  the  shrine,  from  the  Holy  of 
 Holies,  the  innermost  part  of  the  heavenly  temple,  even 
 from  the  throne  itself,  the  voice  of  God,  snyi?ig,  It  has 
 come  to  pass,  It  is  done.  The  work  of  the  seven  angels 
 is  done,  and  with  it  the  accomplishment  of  the  mystery  of 
 God^ :  the  preliminaries  to  the  last  end  are  completed, 
 and  the  catastrophe  of  the  great  human  drama  is  now 
 instant  and  imminent. 
 
 And^  there  became  {arose)  lightnings  and  voices  and 
 thunders,  just  as  at  the  close  of  the  vision  of  the  trum- 
 pets^; and  there  became  {arose)  a  great  earthquake,  such 
 as  became  {arose)  not  since  there  became   {arose)    a   man 
 
 ^  Psalm  ii.  ^ — 4,  6.  Verse  17.  ^  Rev.  x.  7. 
 
 ^  Verse  18.  ^  ;Rey^  ^i.  19. 
 
XXX.]  Chap.  XVI.   15 — 21.  417 
 
 {liuman  being)  upon  the  earth,  so  great  an  earthquake^  so 
 mighty.  A7id^  the  great  city,  called  afterwards  Babylon, 
 became  {was  made)  into  three  parts,  was  divided  into  three 
 parts  ;  and  the  cities  of  the  nations  fell.  And  great  Baby- 
 lon was  remembered  in  the  presence  of  God,  to  give  to  her 
 the  cup  of  the  wine  of  the  ivrath  of  His  anger.  It  was  as 
 though  God  had  for  all  these  ages  forgotten  the  iniquity 
 which  was  crying  against  Babylon  for  vengeance.  TJu 
 times  of  this  ignorance  God  zuinked  at^ ;  He  did  not  inter- 
 pose to  put  a  stop  to  them  :  but  now  it  is  as  though  He 
 had  awaked  as  one  ont  of  sleeps,  and  purposed  to  make 
 the  guilty  city  drink  to  the  very  dregs  the  cup  of  His 
 displeasure. 
 
 All  nature  participates  in  the  fearful  overthrow. 
 And^  every  island  fled,  and  mountains  zvere  not  found. 
 When  you  looked  for  them,  they  were  gone ;  their 
 place  could  not  be  discovered.  And^  a  great  hail  as 
 of  a  talent  in  weight,  a  hail  of  wdiich  each  separate  stone 
 was  of  the  weight  of  a  talent,  cometh  down  out  of  the 
 heaven  upon  men  {inankind) :  a?id  men  {mankind)  blas- 
 phemed God  out  of  {in  consequence  of)  the  stroke  of  the 
 hail ;  because  great  is  its  stroke  exceedingly. 
 
 Thus  we  are  again  brought  to  the  closing  scene 
 of  all.  But  in  this  instance  the  brief  description  of  the 
 last  verses  of  the  chapter  will  be  expanded  into  a  full 
 account  of  the  overthrow  of  the  mystical  Babylon, 
 and  then  of  the  Advent  itself  and  the  last  Judgment. 
 Here,  on  the  threshold  of  these  solemn  disclosures,  we 
 pause  for  this  evening ;  to  impress  upon  ourselves  by  a 
 few  brief  reflections  that  serious  admonition  which  has 
 
 ^  Verse  19.  ^  Acts  xvii.  30.  ^  Psalm  Ixxviii.  65. 
 
 ■*  Verse  ^Q.  ^  Verse  21. 
 
 V.  R.  27 
 
4i8  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 been  made  the  text  of  this  Sermon,  Behold,  I  come  as  a 
 thief.     Blessed  is  he  that  watcheth. 
 
 The  words  divide  themselves  into  two  parts.  One 
 peculiarity  is  noticed  in  the  mode  of  Christ's  coming  : 
 and  one  peculiarity  is  noticed  in  the  mode  of  preparing 
 for  it. 
 
 I.  One  peculiarity  in  the  mode  of  His  coming.  But 
 before  we  can  even  state  it  there  is  a  preliminary  question. 
 God  make  it  audible  to  us  !  Do  we  really  believe  in  the 
 second  Advent  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ }  We  say  every 
 Sunday,  From  thence  He  shall  come  to  judge  the  quick  and 
 the  dead.     Do  we  believe  this  'i 
 
 There  is  much  to  make  it  difficult  of  belief  What 
 do  we  see  t  Is  there  anything  outward  to  make  such  an 
 end  probable }  On  the  contrary,  do  we  not  see  more  and 
 more  of  certainty,  of  regularity,  of  fixedness,  in  the  laws 
 (as  we  term  them)  of  nature  and  of  human  life  and 
 character  t  Things  which  were  once  regarded  as  in- 
 dications of  God's  special  presence  and  special  working, 
 are  now  one  after  another  absorbed  in  the  increased  and 
 increasing  list  of  things  explained  and  things  natural. 
 Thunder  and  lightning,  meteors  and  comets,  eclipses  and 
 earthquakes*  were  once  trembled  at  as  signs  of  God's 
 concern  in  matters  of  human  conduct  and  human  suffer- 
 ing. Now  further  knowledge  has  dispelled  these  appre- 
 hensions :  men  can  handle  the  thunderbolt,  and  calculate 
 the  eclipse,  and  make  laws  for  the  pestilence,  until  they 
 begin  to  entertain,  however  secretly,  the  dark  suspicion, 
 that,  if  they  knew  all,  they  should  discover  that  there 
 was  nothing  left  to  God's  special  province,  nothing  left 
 to  be  His  peculiar  weapon,  nothing  left  to  be  His  pecu- 
 liar charge  and  care.     This  sort  of  experience  has  had  a 
 
XXX.]  Chap.  XVI.   15 — 21.  419 
 
 very  serious  though  a  very  unreasonable  influence  upon 
 men's  practical  faith  in  Revelation.  What  real  connec- 
 tion is  there  between  the  regularity,  the  orderliness,  of 
 nature,  and  its  independence  of  the  Creator  ?  Does  not 
 every  new  law  discovered  add  to  the  wisdom  and  foresight 
 and  power  of  Him  who  ordained  it  ?  Does  it  not  show 
 more  and  more  clearly  the  subjugation  of  nature  to  the 
 one  and  alone  will  of  God  ?  What  if  we  could  thus  see 
 all  thinors  reduced  to  rule  ?  Would  that  make  God's  hand 
 one  whit  less  real  or  one  step  more  distant  ?  These  con- 
 clusions are  not  the  use  but  the  abuse  of  reason  :  they 
 are  the  irrationalities  of  rationalism,  they  are  the  imper- 
 tinences of  presumption.  But  yet  they  have  their  effect. 
 They  are  one  part  of  the  trial  of  our  age.  Will  you  be- 
 lieve that  it  matters  not  whether  God  acts  directly  or 
 acts  mediately ;  and  if  mediately,  whether  a  chain  of  a 
 yard  or  of  a  mile  in  length,  a  chain  of  one  link  or  a  chain 
 of  a  thousand  links,  join  the  individual  result  to  the  mov- 
 ing will }  That  is  the  question  put  to  us.  Reason  as 
 well  as  revelation,  reason  as  well  as  conscience,  answers  it 
 in  one  way  :  human  pride,  human  presumption,  human 
 arrogance,  answers  it  in  another.  Nevertheless  the 
 foundation  of  God  standeth  sure'^ :  and  they  who  are 
 taught  of  God  still  rest  upon  it.  Thy  luord  is  tried  to 
 the  uttermost:  and  Thy  servant  loveth  it'\  God  who 
 created,  God  who  has  preserved  in  being,  God  who  set 
 nature  in  motion,  and  God  without  whom  nature  could 
 no  more  act  for  one  day  than  she  could  have  started  on 
 her  race,  has  declared  to  us — giving  proof,  adapted  to 
 our  understanding  and  to  our  conscience  as  He  consti- 
 tuted each,   that   it  is   He  who   speaks — that  it  is   His 
 
 ^  2  Tim.  ii.  19.  ^  Psalm  cxix.  140  (Prayer-Book  Version). 
 
 2^ — 2 
 
420  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 intention,  at  a  time  known  to  Himself  and  to  none  else, 
 to  close  this  particular  dispensation  which  He  intro- 
 duced ;  to  close  it,  we  know  not  (in  detail)  by  what 
 means,  save  thus  far,  that  the  return  of  His  Son  our 
 Lord  Jesus  Christ,  His  personal  return,  will  precede 
 and  herald  that  close.  The  words  used,  repeated  again 
 and  again,  are  too  simple  and  too  positive  to  bear 
 any  other  meaning.  Behold,  I  come.  This  same  Jesus, 
 zvhich  is  taken  tip  from  you  into  heaven,  shall  so  co7ne  in 
 like  manner  as  ye  have  seen  Him  go  into  heaven  \  To 
 wait  for  His  Son  from  heaven'^  has  been  from  the  begin- 
 ning one  half  of  the  whole  duty,  of  ^he  whole  work,  of 
 the  whole  position,  of  a  Christian. 
 
 I  would  urge  it  upon  you,  my  brethren,  that  you 
 never  allow  yourselves  to  lose  sight  of  this  particular 
 expectation,  nor  to  substitute  anything  else  for  it.  Some 
 people  say,  I  know  that  life  is  uncertain :  I  know  that 
 death  must  come,  and  may  come  very  suddenly,  upon 
 me:  is  not  that  the  same  thing  for  me  as  Christ's 
 Advent .''  We  must  answer.  No :  it  is  not  the  same 
 thing:  it  lacks  the  peculiar  power  and  the  peculiar 
 charm  of  the  Christian  hope.  To  be  looking  for  a 
 Saviour,  to  be  expecting  the  return  of  One  in  the 
 light  of  whose  countenance  is  joy  and  life,  is  a  widely 
 different  thing  from  anticipating  the  arrival  of  the  last 
 enemy^,  even  though  that  arrival  be  for  a  Christian  the 
 signal  of  deliverance  and  the  dawn  of  heaven. 
 
 Behold,  I  come  as  a  thief.  The  thief  comes  at  night ; 
 comes  without  notice;  comes  ivhile  men  sleep'^ ;  comes 
 suddenly  and  by  surprise  upon  a  house  barred  against 
 
 1  Acts  i.  II.  ^  I  Thess.  i.  lo.  ^  i  Cor.  xv.  26. 
 
 *  Matt.  xiii.  25. 
 
XXX.]  Chap,  XVI.    15 — 21.  421 
 
 his  approach.  I  beseech  you  to  remember  that  the 
 second  coming  of  Christ,  that  coming  which  will  set  the 
 seal  of  permanence  upon  what  is,  and  make  your  then 
 state  before  God  your  state  for  ever,  will  have  this 
 special  peculiarity,  it  will  be  a  surprise.  Observe  there- 
 fore that  every  expression  in  which  men  of  intellect  or 
 men  of  the  world  give  vent  to  their  idea  of  the  perma- 
 nence of  the  things  that  are  is  a  sign  of  the  approach  of 
 Christ's  coming :  for  behold,  I  come  as  a  thief.  And 
 everything  in  you  which  says  Peace  and  safety  ^ ;  every 
 feeling  of  your  heart  which  breathes  tranquillity  in  the 
 present ;  every  calcfilation  based  upon  tomorroiv  being  as 
 this  day^ ;  every  confident  look  at  the  bright  cheerful- 
 ness of  your  fireside  or  at  the  healthy  and  happy  count- 
 enance of  wife  or  child ;  still  more  every  prayerless 
 morning  and  every  thankless  night,  when  you  rise  as  to 
 a  life  all  your  own,  or  close  your  eyes  in  sleep  as  upon  a 
 w^orld  which  will  as  certainly  be  yours  tomorrow — is  a 
 sign,  not  of  the  distance,  but  of  the  nearness  of  Christ's 
 Advent ;  for  behold,  I  come  as  a  thief,  and  the  thief  comes^ 
 not  when  men  expect  him,  but  when  they  think  not  of 
 him,  or  rely  upon  the  locks  and  the  bars  which  they 
 have  made  secure  against  him.  The  peculiarity  of 
 Christ's  coming  is  that  everything  which  seems  to  defer 
 really  brings  it  near  ;  everything  which  seems  to  make 
 it  improbable  is  an  argument  of  its  certainty  and  of  its 
 approach.     Behold,  I  come  as  a  thief 
 
 2.  What  shall  we  say  then  t  What  can  we  say  but 
 that  the  inspired  word  is  reasonable  which  adds,  Blessed 
 is  he  that  ivatcheth  ?  Against  an  event  so  sure  in  its  fact 
 but  so  doubtful  in  its  time  what  can  we  do  but  watch 
 
 ^  I  Thess.  V.  3.  2  isai.  Ivi.  12. 
 
42  2  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 always  ?  The  Christian  inference  from  the  revelation  of 
 the  Advent  is  the  duty  of  perpetual  wakefulness.  And 
 what  is  wakefulness  ?  What  is  it  to  watch  always  ?  Is 
 it  to  be  ever  excited,  ever  feverish,  trembling  at  every 
 sound,  fleei7ig  ivheu  no  man  pursiLeth  ^  f  Is  it  to  be  read- 
 ing unfulfilled  Prophecy  with  a  fanciful  imagination  or 
 a  credulous  judgment ;  seeing  the  men  of  our  own  day, 
 magnified  as  we  magnify  them  in  the  fears  or  hopes  of 
 the  present,  pourtrayed  by  face  and  by  name  in  the 
 pages  of  divine  wisdom  ?  Is  it  to  be  calculating  doubt- 
 ful dates  and  interpreting  ambiguous  numbers,  that  we 
 may  ascertain,  if  not  the  day  and  the  hour,  yet  at  least 
 the  year  or  the  ten  years,  within  which  the  Son  of  Man 
 shall  stand  for  judgment  upon  the  earth  ?  All  these 
 things  are  the  abuses  of  the  Christian  expectation  ;  nay, 
 they  are  attempts  to  evade  the  clear  word  of  inspiration, 
 which  tells  us  that  not  to  men,  not  to  Angels,  not  even 
 to  the  Son  Himself  as  the  Son,  as  the  Word,  as  the 
 Revealer  and  the  message-bearer  ^,  is  it  given  to  know  the 
 times  or  the  seasons  ivhich  the  Father  hath  put  in  His  own 
 power^.  Such  attempts,  could  they  be  successful,  would 
 contradict  the  very  first  revelation  of  the  Advent,  Behold, 
 I  come  as  a  thief.  This  know,  that  if  the  goodman  of  the 
 house  had  known  in  what  watch  the  thief  would  come^  he 
 tuonld  have  watched,  and  not  have  suffered  his  house  to  be- 
 broken  through  *.  Watch  tJierefore,  for  ye  know  neither  the 
 day  nor  the  hour  wherein  the  Son  of  Man  cometh  ^. 
 
 Blessed  is  he  that  watcheth.  It  is  to  a  humbler  but 
 a  sounder  mind  that  the  text  thus  summons  us.  To  be 
 wakeful,  in  the  Christian  sense  of  that  word,  is  not  to 
 
 ^  Prov.  xxviii.  i.  ^  Mark  xiii.  32.  ^  Acts  i.  7. 
 
 ^  Luke  xii.  39.  ^  Matt.  xxv.  13. 
 
XXX.]  Chap.  XVI.    15 — 21.  423 
 
 be  sleeping  In  indifference,  not  to  be  sleeping  in  self- 
 indulgence,  not  to  be  sleeping  in  godlessness,  not  to  be 
 sleeping  in  sin.  It  is  to  be  men  of  prayer,  men  of  self- 
 command,  men  of  activity  ;  I  say  it  again,  men  of  prayer. 
 It  is  to  have  the  communication  ever  open  between  the 
 soul  and  its  God.  It  is  to  have  the  aspect  ever  upward 
 and  ever  onw^ard.  It  is  to  have  Christ  ever  real  to  us, 
 the  Holy  Spirit  ever  present.  It  is  to  observe  with 
 a  serious  stedfastness  the  signs  of  the  times  ;  to  compare 
 the  features  of  our  generation  with  the  marks  given  in 
 Scripture  of  the  latter  days,  of  the  times  of  the  end.  It 
 is  to  rejoice  with  a  sincere  and  a  thankful  joy  in  every 
 victory  won  for  Christ  in  the  world  or  in  a  soul.  It  is 
 to  use  this  world  as  not  abicsing  it  ^ ;  to  use  it  as  a  trust, 
 not  as  a  possession.  It  is  to  have  the  affection  set  on 
 things  above,  not  on  tJiiiigs  on  the  earth  ^ ;  to  have  onr  con- 
 versation, our  citizenship,  already  in  heaven  ^ ;  to  have  our 
 very  life,  the  life  that  is  most  dear  and  most  real  and 
 most  precious  to  us,  hidden  even  now  ivith  Christ  in 
 God.  So  zvJicn  Christ,  zuho  is  our  Life,  shall  appear, 
 then  shall  ive  also  appear  zvith  Him  in  glory  *. 
 
 Awake  then  tlu)U  that  steepest'^  I  Be  not  found  of 
 Him,  when  He  cometh,  drowsy  and  stupefied,  over- 
 charged zaith  cares  and  riches  and  pleasures  of  this  life  '\ 
 the  lamp  of  grace  expiring,  or  the  garment  of  holiness 
 laid  aside.  Vainly  shall  we  call  then  to  those  who  have 
 to  give  us  of  their  oil"'  ;  vainly  to  the  mountains  and  rocks 
 to  fall  on  7is  and  hide  us^.  How  shall  we  then  bewail  our 
 procrastination,  our  indifference,  our  hardness  of  heart ; 
 
 ^   I  Cor.  vii.  31.  2  (3q]    jjj_  2.  3  p^ij   []\^  ^o. 
 
 *  Col.  iii-  3,  4.  5  ]£ph.  V.  14.  6  Luke  viii.  14. 
 
 ''  Matt.  XXV.  8.  8  Rev_  yj,  ^5, 
 
424  Revelation,  [lect.  xxx. 
 
 our  omitted  prayers,  our  neglected  Bible,  our  profaned 
 or  wasted  Sundays !  God  grant  that  this  night  may 
 witness  in  some  of  us  that  first  awakening,  or  that  reso- 
 lute return,  which  shall  change  us  by  His  grace  from 
 listless  sleepers  into  earnest,  vigilant,  diligent  watchers ! 
 So,  when  He  appears,  may  we  be  fotmd  of  Him  in  peace'^: 
 when  He  cometh  and  htocketh,  may  we  open  to  Him  imme- 
 diately I 
 
 ^  2  Pet.  iii.  14.  "  Luke  xii.  36. 
 
 QUINQUAGESIMA   SUNDAY, 
 March  2,  1862. 
 
LECTURE    XXXI. 
 
 REVELATION  XVII.    I/. 
 
 Until  the  words  of  God  shall  he  fulfilled. 
 
 Towards  the  close  of  the  i6th  chapter  we  read  In 
 general  terms  that  great  Babylo7i  came  in  remembrajice 
 before  God,  to  give  unto  her  the  cup  of  the  wine  of  the 
 fierceness  of  His  wrath  \  The  section  upon  which  we 
 now  enter  fills  up  that  faint  outline  :  showing  us  with 
 some  precision  what  is  meant  by  Babylon  ;  where  that 
 power  stands  in  the  world's  history ;  what  shall  be  the 
 accompaniments  and  what  the  consequences  of  its  fall  : 
 again  bringing  us,  at  the  close  of  the  19th  chapter,  to 
 the  end  of  all  things,  and  leaving  but  one  section  more 
 after  it  to  complete  the  whole  history,  and  to  bring  the 
 Church  of  God  into  the  rest  which  remaineth  in  heaven 
 for  His  people ". 
 
 A  nd  ^  there  came  one  of  the  seven  angels  who  had  the 
 seveji  bowls,  a?id  talked  zOith  me,  sayiftg,  Hither :  I  will 
 show  thee  the  judgment  of  the  great  harlot  that  is  seated 
 up07t  the  many  waters  ;  with  *  %uhom  the  kings  of  the  earth 
 co7nmitted  fornication,  and  they  who  inhabit  the  earth  were 
 
 ^  Rev.  xvi.  19.  ^  Heb.  iv.  0.  ^  Verse  i.  ■*  Vsrse  2, 
 
426  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 made  drunken  out  of  the  wine,  the  intoxicating  draught, 
 of  her  fornicatio7i.  And^  lie  bore  vie  away  into  a  desert 
 in  spirit,  under  the  influence  of  a  divine  inspiration. 
 A  nd  I  sazv  a  ivonian  seated  npon  a  witd  beast  of  scarlet 
 colour,  teeming  zvith  the  names  of  blasphemy,  having  seve7i 
 heads  and  ten  horns.  These  are  the  well  remembered 
 characteristics  of  the  former  of  the  two  wild  beasts  of 
 the  13th  chapter.  Pie  had  seven  heads  and  ten  horns, 
 and  upon  his  heads  names  of  blaspJiemy'^.  The  woman 
 here  described  is  seated  upon  the  wild  beast  already 
 pourtrayed. 
 
 Amd^  the  woman  was  clad  in  crimson  and  scarlet ; 
 gilded  with  gold  and  precious  stojies  and  pearls  ;  Jiaving  a 
 golden  cup  in  her  hand  teeming  ivith  abominations  and  with. 
 tJie  unclean  tJdngs  of  the  foimication  of  the  earth;  and^ 
 upon  her  forehead  a  name  written,  A  secret:  Babylon  the 
 
 GREAT,  THE  MOTHER  OF  THE  HARLOTS  AXD  OF  THE  ABOMINA- 
 TIONS OF  THE  EARTH. 
 
 And^  I  saw  tJie  woma7i  drunken  out  of  the  blood  of  the 
 saints,  and  out. of  the  blood  of  the  zvitnesses  of  Jesus  ;  and 
 I  wondered,  when  I  saw  her,  with  a  great  wonder.  And^ 
 the  angel  said  to  me,  Why  didst  thou  zvojider  ?  I  zvill  tell 
 thee  the  secret  of  the  ivoman,  and  of  the  wild  beast  which 
 carries  her,  whicJi  has  the  seven  heads  and  the  ten  horns. 
 
 The''  zuild  beast  zvhich  thou  sawest  zvas  and  is  not. 
 The  reference  is  to  the  13th  chapter,  where  we  read  of 
 the  same  wild  beast  which  is  now  again  before  us,  / 
 saw  one  of  his  heads  as  it  were  woiinded  unto  deatJi,  and 
 the  stroke  of  his  death,  that  fatal,  that  deadly  \Yound,  was 
 healed :  and  all  the  earth  zvondered  after  the  wild  beast  ^ 
 
 ^  Verse  3.      ^  Rev.  xiii.  i.      ^  Verse  4.      ^  Verse  5. 
 '"  Verse  6.      ^  Verse  7.         ^  Verse  8.      ^  Rev.  xiii.  3. 
 
XXXI 
 
 .]  Chap.  xvii.  427 
 
 The  wound  was  fatal :  the  beast  was  wounded  to  death  : 
 but  a  supernatural  agency  of  Satan  props  up  the  lost 
 life,  and  is  the  admiration,  on  that  very  account,  of  the 
 world  that  looks  on.  The  wild  beast  zvhich  thoit  sawest 
 was,  and  is  not:  his  proper  life  has  been  destroyed,  but 
 he  has  not  lost  his  being :  and  he  is  about  to  ascend  out  of 
 the  abyss,  and  he  goes  his  ivay  into  destruction.  He  is  to 
 make  one  last  effort,  to  be  followed  by  utter  and  hnal 
 destruction.  We  shall  see  the  explanation  in  the  19th 
 chapter \  And  they  that  dwell  upon  the  earth  shall  be 
 astonished,  zuhose  name  has  not  been  zuritten  on  the  book  of 
 life  from  tJie  foundation  of  the  zvorld,  zvJicn  they  behold  the 
 wild  beast,  hozu  that  he  zvas,  and  is  not,  and  sJiall  be  present 
 {appear)  ;  how  that  after  a  fatal  wound  he  yet  survives, 
 and  is  destined  to  make  once  more  a  formidable  struggle 
 for  empire. 
 
 Here^  is  the  tuiderstanding  that  hath  zuisdom.  Here 
 is  room  for  the  exercise  of  an  enlightened  v/isdom  in  the 
 study  of  a  mysterious  revelation.  And  there  follows  an 
 inspired  commentary  upon  some  parts  of  the  spectacle 
 presented. 
 
 The,  seven  heads  are  seven  mountains,  zvhere  the  woma?i 
 is  seated  up07t  them  ;  upon  which  the  woman  is  seated. 
 The  seven  heads  of  the  wild  beast  indicate,  in  reference 
 to  the  woman,  that  the  seat  of  her  power  is  a  place 
 situated  on  seven  hills.  No  one  acquainted  in  the 
 slightest  degree  with  ancient  literature  can  doubt  that 
 Rome  is  the  place  to  which  this  description  points. 
 The  seven  heads  of  the  beast  denote,  with  regard  to  the 
 woman,  that  her  capital  is  the  city  of  the  seven  hills. 
 But  there  is  another  aspect  of  the  same  feature,  not  in 
 
 1  Rev.  xix.  19,  20.  2  Verse  (). 
 
428  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 reference  to  the  woman,  but  to  the  wild  beast  itself. 
 And^  they,  the  seven  heads,  are  seven  kings,  representa- 
 tives of  as  many  kingdoms :  the  five  fell,  are  fallen  ;  the 
 one  is  ;  tJie  otJier  came  not  yet,  is  not  yet  come  ;  and  zu hen 
 he  hath  come,  he  mnst  continue  for  a  short  time. 
 
 Whatever  difficulty  might  otherwise  have  attended 
 the  interpretation  of  this  remarkable  verse,  the  prophecy 
 of  the  7th  chapter  of  the  Book  of  Daniel  guides  us 
 readily  to  the  mind  of  the  Spirit  ^  concerning  it.  That 
 chapter  presents  to  us  the  figure  of  four  beasts  coming 
 up  from  the  sea,  afterwards  explained  to  denote  fonr 
 kings  which  shall  arise  out  of  the  earth^.  The  fourth 
 beast  has  ten  horns ;  and  is  interpreted  by  the  Prophet 
 himself  to  represent  a  fourth  kingdom  npo7i  earth,  out  of 
 which  ten  kings  shall  arise*.  These  ten  kings  are  followed 
 by  yet  one  more,  diverse  from  the  firsts  with  a  mouth 
 speakhtg  very  great  things''' :  he  makes  zuar  with  the  saints, 
 and  prevails  agai?ist  them,  until  the  Ancient  of  days  comes, 
 the  Son  of  God  Himself,  to  coiisume  and  destroy  his 
 do7ni?tion,  a?id  judgment  is  ^m.\\y  given  to  the  saints  of 
 the  Most  High^.  In  that  prophecy  it  can  scarcely  be 
 doubted  that  we  are  intended  to  see  the  four  kingdoms 
 of  Babylon,  Persia,  Greece,  and  Rome ;  then  the  several 
 kingdoms  into  which  the  empire  of  Rome  was  divided ; 
 and  finally  the  power  of  Antichrist  himself,  upon  which, 
 according  to  the  revelation  of  St  Paul  in  his  2nd  Epistle 
 to  the  Thessalonians,  the  manifestation  of  our  Lord 
 Jesus  Christ  Himself  shall  execute  a  decisive  and  a 
 destructive  judgment". 
 
 ^  Verse  lo.  -  Rom.  viii.  27.  ^  Dan.  vii.  17. 
 
 *  Dan.  vii.  23,  24.  ^  Dan.  vii.  20,  24. 
 
 "  Dan.  vii.  21,  22,  26.  ">   2  Thess.  ii.  8. 
 
XXXI 
 
 .]  Chap.  XVII.  429 
 
 Guided  by  that  clear  course  of  prediction,  we  shall 
 arrive  at  a  certain  conclusion  with  regard  to  the  passage 
 now  under  consideration. 
 
 The  seven  kings  are  seven  kingdoms ;  seven  phases 
 of  the  great  worldly  power  which  is  personified  in  the 
 wild  beast  himself.  Of  these,  when  St  John  wrote,  five 
 had  already  come  and  gone;  Egypt,  Assyria,  Babylon, 
 Persia,  Greece.  The  Prophet  Daniel  was  instructed  to 
 start  from  the  point  at  which  his  own  lot  was  cast,  the 
 sway  of  the  empire  of  Babylon.  He  looks  only  forward. 
 St  John  is  directed  to  look  backward  also.  He  takes  in 
 the  two  earliest  empires  which  exercised  any  influence 
 over  the  fortunes  of  the  Church  of  God.  He  includes 
 in  his  view  the  two  kingdoms  of  Egypt  and  Assyria, 
 which  Daniel  omitted  as  already  past  and  gone  by. 
 Thus  the  fourth  kingdom  of  Daniel  becomes  the  sixth 
 kingdom  of  St  John.  The  sixth  head  of  the  one  beast 
 in  the  Revelation  corresponds  to  the  fourth  beast  in  the 
 prophecy  of  Daniel.  That  sixth  head  is  the  empire  of 
 Rome.  Five  are  fallen.,  St  John  writes  of  his  own  day ; 
 Egypt,  Assyria,  Babylon,  Persia,  Greece:  one  is;  im- 
 perial Rome :  the  other  is  not  yet  come ;  when  it  does 
 come,  it  will  be  found  to  be  a  compound  of  ten  king- 
 doms :  the  peculiarity  of  the  seventh  head  is  that  it  bears 
 upon  it  ten  horns ;  it  has  an  ideal  unity,  but  in  reality 
 it  is  a  cluster  of  kingdoms  ;  not  necessarily  amounting  to 
 the  precise  number  ten,  but  numerous  enough  to  make 
 that  round  number  a  suitable  and  approximate  desig- 
 nation. The  seventh  head  (with  its  ten  horns)  of  the 
 one  beast  in  Revelation  corresponds  to  the  ten  horns 
 upon  the  head  of  the  fourth  beast  in  the  prophecy  of 
 Daniel. 
 
430  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 And^  the  wild  beast  ivJiicJi  zvas  and  is  not,  even  he 
 himself  is  the  eighth,  and  is  of  the  seven,  and  goes  his  way 
 into  destruction.  The  wild  beast  itself,  of  which  the 
 various  worldly  powers  represented  by  the  several  heads 
 have  been  temporary  and  passing  developements,  shall 
 himself  at  last  be  destroyed  like  them  and  after  them. 
 In  destruction  he  is  an  eighth.  In  destruction  he  is  of 
 the  seven.  The  worldly  power  itself  is  doomed  to  a 
 fmal  perdition,  of  which  the  19th  chapter  will  tell  us 
 more. 
 
 And'^  the  ten  horns  wJiich  thon  sazuest  are  ten  kings, 
 ivho  received  not  a  kingdom  as  yet ;  whose  power  is  still 
 in  the  future,  consequent  upon  the  fall  of  Rome  the 
 sixth  head  ;  but  they  receive,  are  destined  to  receive,  an 
 authority  as  kings  during  one  hour,  a  period  limited  and 
 circumscribed,  and  brief  in  duration  when  compared  with 
 the  whole  of  time,  ivith  the  beast,  as  his  associates  and 
 for  their  season  his  representatives.  These^  have  one 
 mind,  one  opinion  or  judgment ;  and  they  give  their 
 pozver  and  authority  to  the  zi'iid  beast.  They  serve  his 
 purposes,  and  prop  his  dominion. 
 
 These ^  shall  make  zvar  zvith  the  Lamb;  a  power 
 which  is  subservient  to  that  of  the  ungodly  world  as  a 
 whole  is  necessarily  hostile  to  the  cause  of  Christ :  but 
 not  only  so  ;  there  shall  be  a  special  outbreak  too  before 
 the  time  of  the  end^ ;  as  the  19th  chapter  declares  to  us, 
 /  sazv  the  zvild  beast,  and  the  kings  of  the  earth,  and  their 
 armies,  gathered  together  to  make  zvar  against  Him  that 
 sat  on  the  horse — before  described  as  King  of  kings  and 
 Lord  of  lords — and  against    His   army^.      These  shall 
 
 ^  Verse  \i.  -  Verse  12.     ^  Verse  13.      ■*  Verse  14. 
 
 ^  Dan.  xii.  9.  ^  Rev.  xix.  16,  19. 
 
xxx: 
 
 ,]  Chap.  XVII.  431 
 
 make  ivar  iviiJi  tJie  Lauib,  and  the  Lamb  sJiall  conquer 
 them,  because  He  is  Lord  of  lords,  and  King  of  kings ; 
 and  they  ivho  are  zvith  Him — again  we  must  refer  to  the 
 disclosures  of  the  19th  chapter  ;  the  saints  who  follow 
 the  Lamb  in  His  triumphant  return  as  there  described — 
 are  called  and  chosen  and  faithful .  The  majesty  of  the 
 Leader,  and  the  character  of  the  followers,  are  assigned 
 as  reasons  for  their  victory  over  the  confederate  hosts 
 of  evil. 
 
 And^  he  saitJi  to  me,  The  zuaters  zu/nch  thou  sazvest, 
 where  the  ha^-lot  sitteth,  are  peoples  and  miiltitndes  and 
 nations  and  tongues.  Such  is  the  Scriptural  interpretation 
 of  a  figure  recurring  frequently  in  the  Word  of  God. 
 The  sea  and  its  waters  are  emblems  of  human  multitudes. 
 The  ma7iy  zvaters  of  the  ist  verse  denote  the  vast  popu- 
 lation over  which  the  mystical  Babylon  has  dominion. 
 
 And"  the  ten  Jiorjis  zvhic/i  thou  sazvest^  and  the  zuild 
 beast,  on  the  seventh  head  of  which  they  are  collected, 
 these  shall  hate  the  harlot,  aitd  shall  make  her  desolate  and 
 naked  and  shall  eat  her  flesh,  and  herself  they  shall  burn 
 up  in  fire.  Rome  herself,  when  the  day  of  her  greatness 
 is  accomplished,  shall  become  the  object  of  attack  to 
 the  various  powers  which  are  to  succeed  her ;  even  the 
 worldly  powers,  as  embodied  in  the  wild  beast  itself, 
 shall  turn  upon  its  great  representative  ;  a  general  dis- 
 memberment of  the  empire  shall  be  the  result ;  the 
 seventh  head,  made  up  as  it  were  of  the  ten  horns,  shall 
 take  the  place  of  the  sixth  ;  the  fourth  beast  of  Daniel's 
 prophecy  shall  succumb  to  its  own  ten  horns  ;  and  a  new 
 phase  of  the  brute  force  of  the  world  shall  have  its  day ; 
 thus  working  out  God's  judicial  sentence  upon  a  former 
 
 1  Verse  15.  "  Verse  16. 
 
432  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 oppressor,  until  in  due  time  its  own  doom  shall  be 
 spoken.  For^  God  gave  {put)  into  their  hearts  to  do  His 
 mind,  to  execute  His  purpose,  aiid  to  make  one  mind,  to 
 make  common  cause  with  one  another,  and  to  give  their 
 kingdom  to  the  wild  beast,  to  let  him  rule  in  them  and  by 
 their  means,  until  the  words  of  God  shall  be  accomplished. 
 
 Aiid^  the  woman  whom  thon  saivest  is  the  gj'eat  city 
 which  hath  a  kingdom  over  the  kings  of  the  cartJi.  These 
 last  words  are  absolutely  decisive  of  the  interpretation  of 
 the  whole.  Every  feature  of  the  strange  vision  has  been 
 separately  Interpreted  by  the  inspired  Word  of  prophecy. 
 The  seven  heads,  the  ten  horns,  the  many  waters,  and 
 now  the  mystical  woman  herself.  She  is  that  great  city 
 under  the  yoke  of  which  the  Church  of  Christ  and  the 
 then  known  world  lay  prostrate  in  the  days  of  St  John. 
 
 We  will  briefly  recapitulate  the  chief  points  of  the 
 prophecy.  The  wild  beast  from  the  sea  of  the  13th 
 chapter  reappears  on  the  stage  of  vision,  with  his  seven 
 heads,  and  his  ten  horns  on  the  seventh  head,  but  bear- 
 ing now  for  the  first  time  a  revolting  and  terrible  form, 
 that  of  an  abandoned  woman  decked  in  gaudy  colours, 
 drunken  with  blood,  and  holding  in  her  hand  a  golden 
 cup  full  of  every  abomination.  On  her  head  she  bears  a 
 title  combining  in  one  view  the  loftiness  and  the  vileness 
 of  her  pretensions;  an  unbounded  dominion  based  upon 
 flattery,  lust,  and  crime.  An  angelic  voice  reads  the 
 riddle  to  the  seer.  The  woman  is  imperial  Rome,  charac- 
 terized first  by  the  seven  hills  of  Its  capital,  and  then  by 
 its  dominion  over  the  kings  of  the  earth.  The  wild 
 beast  itself  is  the  power  of  the  world,  regarded  as  one 
 through  all  time.     Its  seven  heads,  operative  one  by  one 
 
 1  Verse  17.  2  y^^^se  18. 
 
XXXI.]  Chap.  xvir.  433 
 
 and  by  turns,  are  the  successive  empires  which  have 
 predominated  on  the  earth,  and  through  which  the  unit 
 power  of  the  world  has  acted  and  reigned.  The  hving 
 and  moving  head  at  the  time  of  the  prophecy  is  the  sixth 
 out  of  the  seven.  For  the  moment,  the  living  and  mov- 
 ing head  may  be  described  as  a  combination  of  the 
 forces  of  the  seven  :  and  thus  Rome  herself  is  designated 
 in  the  9th  verse  by  that  peculiar  feature  of  the  wild  beast 
 himself.  But  properly  the  Roman  power  is  but  the 
 sixth  of  seven.  Five  empires  have  had  their  day,  and 
 are  no  more :  Egypt  was,  but  is  not ;  Assyria  was,  but 
 is  not;  Babylon  was — was  in  the  days  of  Daniel,  who 
 also  prophesied  of  these  things — but  is  not ;  Persia 
 followed,  and  Greece;  they  too  were,  but  are  not:  now 
 it  is  the  turn  of  Rome.  Will  she  also,  the  oppressed 
 Church  might  eagerly  enquire,  come  to  nothing }  Can 
 this  gigantic  machine,  this  wonderful  organization,  this 
 dominion  at  once  so  vast  and  so  minute,  so  comprehen- 
 sive and  so  penetrating,  ever  know  a  rival,  a  successor,  a 
 conqueror .''  Shall  some  new  reign,  yet  more  literally  co- 
 extensive with  earth,  supplant  and  supersede  it }  The 
 vision  and  the  interpretation  answer  to  this  question  at 
 once  Yes  and  No.  The  Roman  empire  will  be,  like  the 
 former,  overthrown.  The  wild  beast  has  seven  heads, 
 and  Rome  is  the  sixth.  Rome  therefore  will  pass  away: 
 the  oppressor  of  the  Church,  the  tyrant  of  the  world,  has 
 a  definite  term  and  a  destined  end.  But  how  1  To  what 
 sort  of  power  will  Rome  succumb  }  Of  what  character, 
 in  other  words,  is  the  seventh  head  t  The  prophecy 
 answers.  The  seventh  head  is  a  mere  cluster  of  ten  horns. 
 The  Roman  empire  will  have  no  one  successor.  Its  end 
 shall  be  not  a  conquest,  but  a  dismemberment.  That 
 V.  R.  28 
 
434  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 which  follows  It  shall  be  not  one  thing  but  ten  things  ; 
 not  one  kingdom  but  ten  kingdoms.  Diverse  in  all  else, 
 these  ten  kingdoms  shall  make  common  cause  against 
 their  one  predecessor.  The  very  beast  on  which  Rome 
 has  for  so  long  triumphantly  ridden  shall  shake  her  off, 
 shall  turn  upon  her,  shall  aid  the  ten  kings  in  her  spolia- 
 tion and  destruction.  Thus,  in  this  form,  this  new,  this 
 singular,  this  unprecedented  form,  shall  the  last  of  the 
 seven  heads  rise  into  vitality,  and  the  last  of  the  seven 
 empires  begin  its  reign.  And  there  shall  be  none  later 
 than  that  seventh.  After  it,  after  that  partitioned,  that 
 multiform,  that  tenfold  dominion,  that  dominion  of  a 
 head  which  Is  In  fact  but  a  combination  of  ten  horns, 
 there  shall  be  no  more  world-empires.  There  shall  not 
 be  an  unlimited,  an  Interminable  procession  of  these 
 gigantic  powers  across  the  stage  of  the  w^orld.  Six 
 single  powers,  and  then  a  power  which  Is  rather  that 
 of  ten  in  one,  and  then  no  more,  no  more  at  all ;  then 
 Antichrist,  the  man  of  sin,  with  his  lying  wonders  and 
 his  blasphemous  pretensions ;  and  then  the  end ;  tJie 
 Lord  shall  constune  him  zvith  the  spii'it  of  His  mouthy 
 and  destroy  him  with  the  brightness  of  His  coming^. 
 
 My  brethren,  St  John  lived  in  the  time  of  the  vitality 
 of  the  sixth  head,  and  we  live  In  the  time  of  the  vitality 
 of  the  seventh.  In  many  respects  the  world  and  its 
 events  move  slowly.  Centuries  passed  after  St  John 
 was  laid,  last  and  alone  of  the  Apostles,  In  his  tranquil 
 grave  at  Ephesus;  and  still  the  giant  Empire  gave  no 
 signs  of  dissolution.  The  word  of  his  prophecy,  like  the 
 earlier  and  yet  more  marvellous  prophecy  of  Daniel, 
 lay  still  and  seemed  to  sleep.  Unbelievers  may  have 
 1  2  Thess.  ii.  3,  8. 
 
XXXI.]  Chap.  XVII.  435 
 
 mocked  it;  fools  certainly  understood  not*:  but  the 
 Word  of  God  never  dies,  never  really  sleeps  :  it  bides 
 its  time,  but  at  tJie  end  it  shall  speak  and  not  lie'^. 
 How  wonderful  must  the  first  tokens  have  been  of  the 
 approaching  accomplishment  of  this  word  of  God  !  the 
 first  mutterings  of  the  portentous  earthquake  which 
 shook  asunder  the  continuity  of  that  vast  fabric,  the 
 growth  of  ages  and  generations,  and  threw  in  upon  it 
 hordes  of  rude  barbarians,  destined  to  re-make  it  after  a 
 fashion  wholly  new  !  Was  not  the  Christian  eye,  think 
 you,  fixed  upon  that  amazing  process  ?  Did  not  the 
 figures  of  strange  animals,  painted  by  Daniel  and  by 
 St  John  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost^,  seem 
 almost  to  start  from  the  canvass,  giving  energy  to  the 
 dormant  and  life  to  the  dead  ?  And  as  the  Vv^ork  slowly 
 shaped  itself,  modifying  from  time  to  time  its  first  rude 
 outline,  but  never  varying  its  one  distinctive  feature — 
 that  of  partition  not  of  agglomeration,  of  a  number  of 
 kingdoms  not  of  one  kingdom,  of  ten  horns  rather  than 
 of  one  head — must  not  men  have  stopped  sometimes 
 to  compare  the  prediction  with  the  fact,  the  prophecy 
 with  the  history  ?  must  they  not  have  said  to  them- 
 selves, Surely  this  hath  God  spoken,  and  this  hath  God 
 zvroiigJU^:  surely,  if  man  had  been  the  speaker,  he  would 
 not  thus  have  foretold ;  if  man  had  been  the  doer,  he 
 could  not  thus  have  fulfilled  ? 
 
 There  are  those,  my  brethren,  there  are  in  our  days 
 many,  who  disparage  altogether  the  sitre  word  of  pro- 
 pJiecy^.  If  an  event  corresponds  too  minutely  with  a 
 Scripture  to  be  otherwise  accounted  for,  they  say  that 
 
 1  Psalm  xciv.  8  (Prayer-Book  Version).  ^  Hab.  ii.  3. 
 
 3  2  Pet.  i.  21.  *  Num.  xxiii.  23.  ^  2  Pet.  i.  19. 
 
 28—2 
 
43  6  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 the  exactness  of  the  correspondence  is  a  proof  of  for- 
 gery ;  a  proof  at  all  events  that  the  prophecy  was  not 
 written  until  the  event  was  beginning  to  pronounce  itself 
 This  they  dare  not  say  in  this  instance  of  the  prophecy 
 of  Daniel  :  this  they  dare  not  say,  in  the  face  of  all 
 evidence,  of  this  prophecy  of  St  John.  To  predict  four 
 successive  empires  might  have  been  risked  perhaps  in 
 the  days  of  Daniel  by  a  bold  guesser:  to  predict  that 
 the  fourth  empire  would  be  succeeded  by  a  cluster  of 
 empires,  was  a  peculiarity  difficult  to  invent,  dangerous 
 to  enunciate.  To  predict  that  the  power  of  the  world 
 would  have  seven  heads  in  all  and  no  more,  was  just 
 within  the  reach  perhaps  in  the  days  of  St  John  of  an 
 adventurous  speculation  :  to  predict  that  the  seventh 
 head  would  present  a  combination  of  ten  horns,  and  to 
 go  on  to  explain  that  those  ten  horns  would  be  ten  king- 
 doms, and  that  they  and  no  single  power  would  be  the 
 conquerors  and  dividers  of  the  Roman  Empire,  was  a 
 peculiarity,  most  consistent  indeed  with  earlier  revela- 
 tions, but  apart  from  them  as  improbable  in  its  fact,  as 
 it  was  at  all  events  novel  in  its  form. 
 
 The  work'  of  this  evening  Vv^ill  not  have  been  in  vain, 
 if  it  should  lead  some  one  who  has  hitherto  thought 
 slightingly  of  the  records  of  divine  prophecy,  to  do  to 
 them  at  once  greater  honour  and  a  truer  justice  in  the 
 time  to  come.  Learn  from  the  chapter  which  has  now 
 occupied  us  that  it  is  not  only  in  God's  power  to  foresee, 
 but  that  it  is  His  will  also  sometimes  to  foretell,  the 
 occurrences  of  history.  He  has  been  pleased  here  to  an- 
 nounce to  us  that  there  shall  not  again  arise  upon  earth 
 one  colossal  powxr  like  that  of  imperial  Rome.  Not  thus 
 shall  the  ascendancy  of  the  ten  horns,  under  v/hich  we  are 
 
XXXI 
 
 .]  Chap.  XVII.  437 
 
 living,  be  brought  to  its  termination.  Neither  France, 
 nor  Russia,  nor  any  single  state  of  the  East  or  of  the 
 West,  shall  be  by  itself  the  seventh  head  of  the  beast  which 
 is  the  world.  The  time  has  been,  the  time  may  be,  when 
 some  one  such  power  shall  go  far  towards  realizing  for  a 
 moment  the  dream  of  universal  empire  :  but  if  nothing 
 else,  if  no  arts  of  negotiation  and  no  combination  of  hos- 
 tile armies  shall  suffice  to  prevent  it.  Nature  herself  in 
 the  hands  of  God  shall  come  to  the  aid  of  His  prophecy  ; 
 the  conqueror  in  the  moment  of  his  fancied  triumph — we 
 speak  not  without  warrant  from  the  past — shall  bow  to 
 the  supremacy  of  God's  elements,  and  a  force  which  has 
 surmounted  every  other  obstacle  shall  be  dispersed,  it 
 may  be,  and  destroyed  by  the  single  arm  of  a  Russian 
 winter  !  He  scndetJi  fo7'th  His  commandviejit  upoii  earth : 
 His  zvord  rinineth  very  swiftly.  He  giveth  snow  like 
 wool :  He  scattereth  the  hoarfrost  like  ashes.  He  casteth 
 forth  His  ice  like  morsels  :  zvho  ecm  stand  before  His  eold'^f 
 My  brethren,  we  live  under  the  most  peculiar  of  all 
 the  phases  of  the  world's  power ;  and  we  are  taught  in 
 prophecy  that  it  is  the  last  of  all.  Since  St  John  wrote 
 one  phase  has  passed  and  another  has  come  in :  he 
 wrote  under  the  sixth  ;  we  are  living  under  the  seventh  ; 
 and  there  is  no  eighth.  With  what  earnestness  ought 
 we  to  read  and  to  ponder  the  brief  saying  of  the  text, 
 Until  the  zvo7\is  of  God  shall  be  fulfilled  !  God  has  fulfil- 
 led some  of  them,  yea,  many,  since  the  time  that  St  John 
 fell  on  sleep'^.  He  has  caused  the  curtain  to  fall  upon  one 
 act  of  the  drama,  and  He  has  raised  it  by  His  Provi- 
 dence upon  another,  upon  the  last  of  all.  Who  can  tell 
 us  how  long  it  shall  yet  continue,  ere  the  incidents  be 
 
 ^  Psalm  cxlvii.  15 — 17.  ^  Acts  xiii.  36. 
 
438  Revelation,  [lect.  xxxi. 
 
 quite  exhausted  and  the  catastrophe  be  fully  come  ?  At 
 all  events  we  know  this  ;  that  for  each  one  of  us  the 
 spectators,  the  end  of  all  tJiings  is  at  haiid'^ :  if  the  Saviour's 
 Advent  come  not  soon  to  us,  we  shall  surely  go  to  it ; 
 and  for  our  eternal  interests  it  matters  little  in  which 
 of  the  two  forms  we  are  to  behold  it.  Only  let  it  not 
 find  us  unbelievers,  walking  with  the  scoffers  iti  the  last 
 days,  and  saying  Where  is  the  promise  of  His  co^ning"^? 
 Let  us  not  be  found  asking  whether  indeed  God  has 
 spoken  anything,  or  asserting  that  at  all  events  it  cannot 
 be  this,  nor  yet  that !  God  has  foreseen  this  our  time^ 
 and  has  written  of  it.  We  shall  see  more  fully  here- 
 after what  He  has  said  of  it,  and  how  He  has  described 
 its  end.  Meanwhile  let  us  at  least  know  that  there  is  an 
 end  ;  and  let  us  be  waiting  for  it,  and  watching !  It  is 
 a  fearful  thing  to  be  alive  at  one  of  those  turning-points 
 of  prophecy,  when  a  former  phase  of  the  world's  history 
 is  closing,  and  a'  later  opening.  Not  without  care  and 
 fear,  not  without  sorrow  and  pain,  not  without  many  an 
 anxious  look  and  many  di  failing  heart^,  is  the  passage 
 ever  effected  from  one  era  to  another.  How  much  more 
 shall  it  be  thus  with  the  last  of  all !  When  the  words 
 of  God  are  now  all  fulfilled,  and  the  heavens  and  the 
 earth  that  are  now^  are  ready  for  that  purifying  fire 
 from  which  shall  survive  only  righteousness,  which  of  us 
 who  are  here  assembled  shall  meet  unmoved  that  great 
 ordeal  "i     Alas  !  zuho  shall  live  when  God  doeth  this^ ! 
 
 1  I  Pet.  iv.  7.  2  2  Pet.  iii.  3,  4.  ^  Luke  xxi.  26. 
 
 ^  2  Pet.  iii.  7.  ^  Num.  xxiv.  23. 
 
 Third  Sunday  in  Lent, 
 March  23,   1862. 
 
LECTURE    XXXIL 
 
 REVELATION    XVIII.  4. 
 
 Come  out  of  her,  my  people,  that  ye  be  not  partakers  of 
 her  sins. 
 
 All  of  us  have  had  some  experience  of  the  crushing 
 weight  of  things  that  are.  The  present  is  the  real  thing 
 to  us.  For  good  or  for  evil  we  can  scarcely  be  per- 
 suaded that  it  is  not  to  be  permanent.  In  prosperity  we 
 say  that  zve  shall  never  be  moved'^ ;  in  adversity,  that  we 
 shall  never  be  relieved. 
 
 It  is  thus  evermore  in  human  life ;  and  God's  Word 
 has  it  especially  in  view  to  minister  to  this  necessity.  It 
 is  the  one  object  of  Revelation  to  lift  off  the  load  of  the 
 present,  and  to  make  something  else,  something  which  is 
 not  present,  more  real  and  more  urgent  and  more  per- 
 suasive. 
 
 Hence  the  position  assigned  in  Scripture  to  the  grace 
 of  faith.  Faith  is  the  opposite  of  sight.  It  is  the  seeing 
 that  which  is  invisible'^.  A  man  who  can  do  that  is  set 
 free  from  the  tyranny  of  time  and  sense.  He  is  able  to 
 move  in  the  present  as  if  it  already  were  not,  and  in  the 
 future  as  if  it  already  were. 
 
 1  Psalm  XXX.  6.  2  jjeb.  xi.  27. 
 
440  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 There  is  one  part  of  the  inspired  Word  which  spe- 
 cially sets  itself  to  loosen  the  hold  of  the  present.  In 
 the  darkest  hours  of  the  Church's  fortunes  Prophecy  has 
 ever  shone  upon  her  with  the  brightest  light ;  bidding 
 her  look  onward  with  stedfast  hope,  and  upwards  with 
 unswerving  trust. 
 
 It  has  not  been  given  to  us  of  this  generation — let 
 me  rather  say,  it  has  not  been  laid  upon  us — to  appre- 
 ciate by  our  own  experience  the  full  value  of  this  part  of 
 the  prophetic  office.  There  is  no  heavy  burden  lying 
 upon  us  at  this  moment  either  as  a  Christian  nation  or 
 as  a  Christian  Church.  We  think  and  speak,  move  and 
 act,  preach  and  worship,  zvith  all  confidence,  no  man  for- 
 bidding  tis"^.  And  therefore  we  are  poor  judges,  ignorant 
 readers,  of  those  portions  of  the  Book  of  God  which  tell 
 us  how,  when  tJie  waters  roar  and  are  troubled,  when  the 
 mountains  shake  with  the  sivelling  thereof,  there  is  a  river 
 the  st7'eains  whereof  shall  make  glad  the  city  of  God,  yea,  a 
 God  in  the  midst  of  her  at  whose  voice  the  earth  shall 
 melt  azvay ". 
 
 Very  different  would  the  case  have  been  with  us  if 
 we  had  lived  on  the  continent  of  Europe  but  one  half 
 century  ago.  Still  more  if  we  had  lived  in  the  days  of 
 St  John,  when  a  man  might  be  banished  to  the  isle  of 
 Patmos/^r  the  word  of  God  and  for  the  testimo7iy  of  Jesns 
 Christ^.  Then  we  should  have  entered  with  a  keen  and 
 thrilling  interest  into  those  assurances,  new  at  once  and 
 old,  of  God's  care  for  His  Church,  and  of  the  certain 
 discomfiture  of  all  her  foes,  on  wdiich  you  have  been 
 called  to  meditate  last  Sunday  and  to-day.     I  shall  not 
 
 ^  Acts  xxviii.  31.  -  Psalm  xlvi.  3 — 6. 
 
 2  Rev.  i.  9. 
 
XXXII.]  Chap.  XVIII,  441 
 
 close  the  book  tonight  without  endeavouring  to  show 
 you  that  the  subject  is  vocal  also  to  ourselves,  and  that 
 the  call  of  the  text  is  as  personal  in  its  application  as  it 
 is  alarming  in  its  sound. 
 
 The  1 6th  verse  of  the  preceding  chapter  has  pre- 
 pared us  for  the  fuller  disclosures  of  that  which  is  now 
 open.  It  is  scarcely  possible  for  us  to  enter  into  the 
 magnitude  of  the  improbability  (as  it  must  have  appeared 
 to  men  of  that  age)  of  the  event  foretold,  the  utter  down- 
 fall and  dissolution  of  the  mighty  Roman  Empire.  How 
 had  it  struck  its  roots  into  every  soil,  and  spread  its 
 branches  over  all  lands  !  How  did  its  armies  command 
 every  shore,  its  roads  penetrate  every  region,  and  its 
 laws  govern  every  race !  Who  could  believe  that  such  a 
 civilization  was  destined  to  succumb  to  a  new  barbarism, 
 or  such  a  living  and  world-moving  energy  to  the  dis- 
 graceful influences  of  indolence  and  effeminacy }  It 
 needed  more  than  a  bare  and  solitary  verse  of  prediction 
 to  impress  such  an  assurance  upon  the  Church  under 
 Domitian.  Hence,  in  God's  mercy,  and  in  His  great 
 condescension  to  the  infirmities  of  His  people,  hence 
 the  1 8th  chapter  of  this  His  Book  of  Revelation.  It 
 was  communicated  to  cheer  the  heart  of  His  Apostle  in 
 his  exile,  it  was  written  to  carry  comfort  into  the  heart 
 of  the  Church  of  every  land,  by  telling  him  and  them 
 that  as  it  had  been  in  every  age  so  would  it  also  be  in 
 this,  that  the  mightiest  earthly  power  is  as  nothing  in 
 the  sight  of  God  ;  that  as  it  had  been  with  Egypt  and 
 with  her  kings,  as  it  had  been  with  Assyria  and  with  her 
 kings,  as  it  had  been  v/ith  Babylon,  and  as  it  had  been 
 with  Persia,  and  ds  it  had  been  with  Greece,  so  should  it 
 be  also  with  Rome  and  with  her  kings  :  no  weapon  that  is 
 
442  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 formed  against  thee  shall  prosper'^ ,  no  throne  shall  ever  be 
 established  which  seeks  to  tyrannize  over  truth  and  right, 
 over  Christ  and  God. 
 
 And  do  we  not  see  in  this  connection  how  great  a 
 force  is  given  to  the  predictions  of  this  section  of  pro- 
 phecy by  its  borrowing  throughout  the  very  imagery  and 
 language  of  the  past  ?  You  will  find,  as  we  read  tonight 
 the  1 8th  chapter  of  the  Revelation  of  St  John,  that  there 
 is  scarcely  a  verse  which  does  not  adopt  the  figures  and 
 phrases  of  Isaiah,  of  Jeremiah,  or  of  Ezekiel.  It  revives 
 in  express  terms  all  that  had  been  written  of  old,  and 
 executed  of  old,  against  Tyre,  against  Nineveh,  or  against 
 Babylon.  And  with  what  object  1  a  mere  saving  of  trou- 
 ble, a  mere  economy  of  imagination  }  God  forbid  that 
 we  should  allow  in  ourselves  such  a  thougrht  concernincr 
 the  Word  of  His  grace'^ !  May  we  not  rather  say  that 
 St  John  could  not  in  any  manner  have  carried  so  instant 
 a  conviction  to  the  heart  of  the  Church  with  regard  to 
 the  approaching  destruction  of  the  present  enemy  and 
 tyrant  of  the  truth,  as  by  clothing  the  prophecy  in  terms 
 already  fulfilled  in  the  case  of  earlier  foes  .'*  It  was  as 
 though  he  had  said,  You  know  what  God  zvroiight^  in 
 the  days  of  the  fathers,  against  Egypt,  against  Assyria, 
 against  Babylon  :  Rome  is  now  in  their  place,  and  what 
 happened  to  them  shall  happen  also  to  her :  she  sits  in 
 their  seat ;  she  shall  share  their  ruin  and  their  desolation. 
 
 A  vivid  picture  of  the  fall  of  imperial  Rome,  the  op- 
 pressor and  persecutor  of  God's  Church  in  the  days  of 
 St  John  ;  a  picture  so  drawn  and  so  coloured  as  to  sug- 
 gest to  every  mind  the  recollection  of  former  persecutors 
 and  former  overthrows ;  this  lies  on  the  surface  of  the 
 
 1  Isai.  liv.  17.  2  _^cts  xx.  32.  ^  Num.  xxiii.  23. 
 
XXXII.]  Chap.  XVIII.  443 
 
 chapter  now  to  be  read  :  and  there  will  be  a  truth  also 
 found  below  the  surface,  which  will  furnish  a  word  of 
 concluding  application. 
 
 That  we  may  not  break  the  thread  of  the  description 
 by  repeated  references  in  the  course  of  it,  I  will  mention 
 at  the  outset  the  following  chapters  of  the  Old  Testa- 
 ment as  contributing  most  largely  to  its  details:  the  13th 
 and  14th  chapters  of  the  prophet  Isaiah;  the  51st  chap- 
 ter of  the  prophet  Jeremiah  ;  the  26th  and  two  following 
 chapters  of  the  prophet  Ezekiel ;  and  the  3rd  chapter  of 
 the  prophet  Nahum.     These,  but  not  these  only. 
 
 After  ^  these  things  I  saiu  anotJier  angel  coming  down 
 ont  of  the  heaven,  Jiaving  great  authority  ;  and  the  earth 
 was  illiuninated  out  of  {by)  his  glory.  And'^  he  cried  in  a 
 mighty  voice,  saying,  Fallen,  fallen  is  the  great  Babylon, 
 and  become  a  habitation  of  demons,  and  a  prison  of  every 
 unclean  spirit,  and  a  prison  of  every  unclean  and  hated 
 bird,  because^  out  of  the  wifie  of  the  wrath  of  Jier  fornica- 
 tion, that  intoxicating  draught  of  sin  which  brings  the 
 wrath  of  God  after  it,  all  the  nations  have  drunk,  and  the 
 kings  of  the  earth  committed  fornication  with  Iier,  and  the 
 merchants  of  the  earth  grczv  rich  out  of  the  strength  of  her 
 wantonness. 
 
 And^  I  heard  another  voice  out  of  the  Jieaven,  saying. 
 Come  ye  forth  out  of  her,  my  people,  that  ye  partake  not 
 with  her  sins,  and  that  ye  receive  not  out  of  her  plagues : 
 because^  Jier  sins  were  joined  together  as  far  as  the  heaven, 
 formed  as  it  were  a  continuous  fabric  glued  and  cement- 
 ed together  till  its  top  reached  heaven  ^  and  God  at  last 
 remembered  her  crimes,  no  longer  suffered  them  to  grow 
 
 ^  Verse  i.  2  y^rse  1.  ^  Verse  3. 
 
 ^  Verse  4.  ^  Verse  5.  ^  Gen.  xi.  4. 
 
444  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 without  limit,  but  interposed  to  bring  them  into  judg- 
 ment. 
 
 Give^ ye  back  to  her,  ye  executioners  of  vengeance,  so 
 the  heavenly  voice  continues,  as  she  also  herself  gave  back 
 to  others,  ajid  double  ye  the  double^  repay  her  double, 
 according  to  her  works :  in  the  cicp  wherewith,  or  whe7^ein, 
 she  mingled,  mingle  for  her  double.  In  ^  how  many  soever 
 things  she  glorified  Jierself  and  zvas  wanton,  according  to 
 the  multitude  of  her  glories  and  her  wantonnesses,  so 
 7nuch  torture  and  monriiing  give  her.  Because  she  saith 
 in  her  heart,  I  sit  a  qneen,  and  a  zvidow  I  am  not,  and 
 mourning  I  shall  not  see  ;  therefore  ^  in  Ofie  day  shall  arrive 
 her  plagues,  death  and  mourning  and  famine,  and  in  fire 
 shall  she  be  burned  tip :  because  migJity  is  the  Lord  the  God 
 who  judged  her,  who  hath  passed  sentence  upon  her. 
 
 And^  they  shall  weep  and  lament  over  her,  even  the 
 kings  of  the  earth  who  with  her  committed  fornication  and 
 ivere  wanton,  zvhen  they  see  the  smoke  of  her  burnirig,  stand- 
 ing^ afar  off  because  of  the  fear  of  her  torture,  saying, 
 Woe,  woe,  the  great  city,  Babylon  the  mighty  city  !  because 
 in  one  hour  came  {is  cotne)  thy  judgment. 
 
 And^  the  merchants  of  the  earth  zveep  and  moiLr?i  over 
 her ;  because  their  cajgo  no  man  buyeth  any  more ;  cargo'' 
 of  gold  and  silver  and  precious  stone  and  pearl  and  fine 
 linen  and  crimson  ajid  silk  and.  scarlet,  a7id  all  thyine  wood, 
 some  fragrant  aromatic  wood  used  like  the  cedar  in  the 
 temple  for  costly  or  sacred  purposes,  and  every  vessel,  or 
 article,  of  ivory,  and  eveiy  vessel  made  out  of  most  precious 
 zvood  and  of  brass  and  of  iron  and  of  marble,  ajid^  cinna- 
 
 ^  Verse  6.  ^  Verse  7.  ^  Verse  8. 
 
 4  Verse  g.  ^  Verse  10.         ^  Verse  ii. 
 
 ''  Verse  12.  ^  Verse  13. 
 
XXXII 
 
 .]  Chap.  XVIII.  445 
 
 mon  and  balsam  and  incense  and  ungiLent  and  fj^ankincense 
 and  zvine  and  oil  and  fine  floicr,  and  wheat  and  cattle  and 
 sheep,  and  cargo  of  horses  and  candages  and  bodies  (slaves^ 
 and  souls  of  men,  that  is,  human  lives,  converted  into 
 instruments  of  wealth  or  luxury. 
 
 And'^  the  fruit  of  the  desire  of  thy  soul,  that  produce 
 which  thy  soul  lusted  after  ^,  departed  once  for  all  from 
 thee,  and  all  tilings  that  are  rich  and  that  are  bright 
 perished  fj-om  thee,  and  thou  sJialt  not  find  them  any  more. 
 The  ^  merchants  of  these  things,  zvho  grezv  rich  from  her, 
 shall  stand  afar  off  becatise  of  the  fear  of  her  torture 
 iveeping  ami  mourning,  saying^,  Woe,  woe,  the  great  city, 
 zuhich  zvas  clothed  in  fine  linen  and  purple  and.  scarlet,  and 
 gilded  [decked)  ifi  gold  and  precious  stone  and  pearls  ! 
 because  in  one  hour  all  that  zvealth  zvas  desolated. 
 
 And^  every  pilot,  and  every  one  who  sails  to  d.ny  place, 
 and  sailors,  and  all  zvho  zvork  the  sea,  who  trade  by  sea, 
 stood  afar  off  and^  cried,  when  they  saw  the  smoke  of  her 
 burjiing,  saying,  What  city  is  like  the  great  city?  And"^ 
 they  cast  earth  upon  their  heads,  and  cried,  weeping  and 
 mourning,  saying,  Woe,  zvoe,  the  great  city,  in  zvJiicJi  all 
 who  had  their  vessels  on  the  sea  grew  rich  out  of  her  cost- 
 liness !  because  in  one  hour  wees  she  desolated. 
 
 Rejoice  ^  over  her,  O  Jieaven,  and  ye  the  saints  and  the 
 apostles  and  the  prophets  ;  because  God  judged  your  judg- 
 ment out  of  her  ;  God  has  exacted  from  her  the  judgment 
 that  she  executed  upon  you. 
 
 And^  one  {a  cci'tain)  migJity  angel  took  up  a  stone  as  it 
 zvere  a  great  millstone,  and  threzu  it  into  the  sea,  saying, 
 
 ^  V'ej-se  14.  2  Deut.  xii.  15.  ^  Verse  15. 
 
 ^  Verse  16.  ^  Verse  17.  ^  Verse  18. 
 
 "^  Verse  19.  ^  Verse  ^o.  "  Verse  ii. 
 
446  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 Thus  ivith  violence,  properly  with  a  boitnd,  by  a  single 
 bound,  like  that  of  the  stone  thrown  into  the  sea,  shall 
 Babylon  the  great  city  be  t/n^ozvn,  and  shall  ?iot  be  found 
 any  more.  And^  soimd  of  Jiarpers  and  micsicians  and 
 fliiteplayers  and  trnnipcters  shall  not  be  heard  in  thee  any 
 more,  and  every  artisan  of  every  art  shall  not  be  fotmd  in 
 thee  any  more,  and  sound  of  millstone  shall  not  be  heard  in 
 thee  any  more,  ajid^  light  of  lamp  shall  not  shine  in  thee 
 any  more,  and  voice  of  bridegroom  and  of  bride  shall  not  be 
 heard  in  thee  any  more,  because  thy  merchants  were  the 
 great  men  of  the  earth,  because  in  thy  sorcery  were  all  the 
 nations  led  astray,  and^  in  her  was  foimd  blood  of  prophets 
 and  saints  and  of  all  that  have  been  slain  iipon  the  earth. 
 
 The  chief  points  of  this  description  are  not  difficult 
 to  recapitulate. 
 
 The  mystic  woman,  whom  the  17th  chapter  repre- 
 sents to  us  in  her  day  of  triumph,  is  here  exhibited  in 
 the  extremity  and  hopelessness  of  her  fall.  She  has 
 been  thrown  from  the  wild  beast  which  carried  her  ;  the 
 seventh  head  with  its  ten  horns  has  taken  the  place  of 
 the  sixth  head  ;  and  when  that  transfer  and  transition  is 
 once  come,  the  decree  of  deposition  is  inexorable  and 
 final.  The  sixth  head  was  and  is  not.  The  ten  horns 
 hate  the  mystic  harlot,  they  make  her  desolate  and 
 naked,  they  eat  her  flesh,  and  burn  her  with  fire.  Even 
 such  is  the  scene  presented  in  the  1 8th  chapter.  Baby- 
 lon the  great  is  fallen,  is  fallen  !  The  great  city,  seated 
 upon  its  seven  hills,  and  reigning  over  the  kings  of  the 
 earth,  is  now  the  habitation  of  every  savage  and  unclean 
 thing:  in  the  cup  which  she  had  filled  justice  has  now 
 filled  to  her  double.  The  people  of  God  are  called  by 
 1  Verse  22.  ^  Verse  23.  ^  Verse  24. 
 
XXXII 
 
 .]  Chap.  XVIII.  447 
 
 a  voice  from  heaven  to  come  out  of  her  that  they  may 
 escape  aUke  her  sins  and  her  plagues.  The  eye  of  pro- 
 phecy sees  already  the  groups  of  mourners  gathering 
 around  that  portentous  funeral.  There  are  the  kings  of 
 the  earth,  once  her  parasites  and  her  paramours,  weep- 
 ing now  over  the  mighty  city  upon  which  in  a  single 
 hour  judgment  has  signally  fallen.  And  there  are  the 
 merchants  of  the  earth,  once  her  customers  and  her  de- 
 pendents, wailing  now  over  the  mighty  city  with  whom 
 tJie  hope  of  their  gains  is  for  ever  goiie^.  And  there  are 
 the  traders  by  sea,  who  brought  from  every  shore  those 
 superfluities  which  had  become  the  necessaries  of  her 
 self-indulgence,  bemoaning  themselves  now  over  the 
 mighty  city  of  which  all  that  is  left  is  the  smoke  of  its 
 conflagration.  And  mingled  among  these  selfish  lamen- 
 tations is  heard  the  rejoicing  voice  of  a  righteous  hea- 
 ven. The  holy  apostles  and  prophets  see  in  this  fall 
 the  fulfilment  of  a  divine  promise  and  the  execution  of 
 a  divine  judgment.  When  the  stones  of  that  guilty  city 
 are  thrown  down,  so  that  not  one  is  left  standing  upon 
 another,  the  disclosure  is  made  of  a  collective  bloodshed 
 the  voice  of  which  has  been  through  long  centuries  cry- 
 ing unceasingly  and  importunately  from  the  ground. 
 The  policy  of  that  great  empire,  and  the  philosophy  of 
 that  great  empire,  its  principle,  and  its  want  of  principle  ; 
 its  belief  in  human  power,  and  its  indifference  to  divine 
 power;  its  scepticism  as  to  all  truth,  and  its  toleration 
 of  all  religions  which  would  themselves  tolerate ;  all  had 
 conspired  together  to  make  the  empire  of  Rome  the  foe 
 of  Christianity.  Sometimes  by  the  caprices  of  her  rulers, 
 and  sometimes  in  spite  of  their  injunctions,  Rome  had 
 1  Acts  xvi.  19. 
 
448  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 proved  herself  In  fact  not  a  neutral  but  a  persecuting 
 power.  In  her,  when  she  came  to  be  judged  whether 
 by  history  or  by  prophecy,  zvas  found  tJie  blood  of  prophets 
 and  of  saints  and  of  all  that  zvere  slain  tipon  the  earth. 
 And  at  last  judgment  fell ;  a  judgment  of  disruption  and 
 of  dissolution;  a  judgment  full  of  justice,  and  a  judgment 
 full  of  admonition. 
 
 To  the  severity  of  that  judgment  the  city  itself  bears 
 an  infallible  testimony.  So  early  as  the  beginning  of  the 
 15th  century  this  was  the  language  of  a  reflecting  ob- 
 server. The  hill  of  the  Capitol,  on  which  we  sit,  ivas 
 formerly  the  head  of  the  Roman  empire,  the  citadel  of  the 
 earth,  the  terror  of  kings ;  illnstrated  by  the  footsteps  of 
 so  many  triumphs,  enricJied  with  the  spoils  and  tidbiUes 
 of  so  many  nations.  This  spectacle  of  the  zvorld,  how  is  it 
 fallen  I  hozv  changed !  Jioiv  defaced !  the  path  of  victory 
 is  obliterated  by  vines,  and  the  bencJies  of  the  senators  are 
 concealed  by  a  dnnghill  Cast  your  eyes  on  the  Palatine 
 hill,  and  seek  among  the  sJiapeless  and  enormous  fragments 
 tJie  marble  tJieatre,  the  obelisks,  the  colossal  statues,  the 
 politicoes  of  Nerds  palace :  survey  the  other  hills  of  the 
 city,  the  vacant  space  is  interr^upted  only  by  ruins  and 
 gardens.  The  forum  of  the  Roman  people,  where  they  as- 
 sembled to  enact  their  laivs  and  elect  their  magisti^ates,  is 
 now  enclosed  for  the  cultivation  of  pot-herbs,  or  throzvn 
 open  for  the  reception  of  swine  and  buffaloes.  The  public 
 and  private  edifices,  that  were  founded  for  eternity,  lie 
 prostrate,  naked,  and  broken,  like  the  limbs  of  a  mighty 
 giant ;  and  the  ruin  is  the  more  visible,  from  the  stu- 
 pendous relics  that  have  survived  the  injuries  of  time 
 arid  fortune  \ 
 
 ^  Gibbon's  Decline  and  Fall,  chap.  Lxxi. 
 
XXXII.]  Chap,  XVIII.  449 
 
 But  is  it  then  with  walls  and  buildings  that  the  right- 
 eous anger  of  God  wages  its  warfare  ?  Is  it  any  impeach- 
 ment of  the  truth  of  His  prediction,  if  another  city 
 rises  in  its  turn  upon  the  ruins  of  Babylon,  or  another 
 power  diverse  from  the  former  plants  its  throne  upon  the 
 ruins  of  imperial  Rome  ?  Not  so.  It  may  be  notice- 
 able, as  a  permanent  index  of  judgment,  if  wild  beasts 
 of  the  desert  still  lie  where  Babylon  the  glory  of  king- 
 doins  once  spread  wide  her  habitations  ;  if  dragons  still 
 cry  hi  those  pleasant  palaces  ^  where  kings  once  reigned, 
 vassals  of  a  yet  mightier  throne.  But  not  less  really, 
 if  less  visibly,  are  God's  denunciations  against  a  second 
 Babylon  verified,  if  after  the  fall  of  imperial  Rome  papal 
 Rome  rose  and  flourished  for  her  season,  built  herself 
 churches  with  the  stones  of  temples,  and  reigned  in  turn 
 over  subject  consciences  as  her  predecessor  had  reigned 
 over  prostrate  nationalities. 
 
 Against  the  empire  of  Rome  St  John  was  instructed 
 to  lift  the  voice  of  prophecy :  that  was  the  foe  then 
 predominant ;  the  foe  which  invaded  the  sanctuaries  and 
 desolated  the  homes  of  the  Church.  Cold  and  scanty 
 had  been  the  comfort  for  those  days,  if  St  John,  as  some 
 have  dreamed,  had  been  directed  to  keep  silence  on 
 the  present,  and  to  promise  deliverance  from  an  enemy 
 not  yet  arisen.  Prophecy  would  have  been  wanting  to 
 her  chief  duty,  and  neglectful  of  her  noblest  o'i^cQ,  if 
 she  had  overleaped  the  Empire,  and  sought  out  the 
 Papacy  ;  if  she  had  disregarded  the  calamity  that  was, 
 and  spoken  only  of  a  corruption  not  yet  operative. 
 Those  who  interpret  the  mystical  Babylon  as  descrip- 
 tive of  the  errors  and  vices  of  the  Papacy  forget  how 
 
 1  Isai.  xiii.  19,  22. 
 V.  R.  29 
 
456  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 the  same  thing  would  have  presented  itself  to  them 
 under  Nero  or  under  Domitian  ;  how  barren  and  un- 
 persuasive  would  have  been  the  word  of  prediction 
 which  regarded  only  the  sufferers  under  a  Hildebrand 
 or  a  Borgia, 
 
 It  is  ever  the  office  of  divine  prophecy  to  start  from 
 the  present,  and  to  make  things  that  are  the  type  and 
 the  embodiment  of  things  that  shall  be.  Prophecy,  like 
 every  other  part  of  God's  revelation,  is  of  a  practical  not 
 a  speculative  character.  If  it  had  no  bearing  upon  the 
 time  in  which  it  was  delivered  ;  if  it  only  painted  a 
 visionary  scene,  of  which  the  distresses  alike  and  the 
 deliverances  were  of  necessity  unintelligible  to  the  living ; 
 it  would  be  an  instrument  as  unworthy  of  God's  wisdom 
 as  inapplicable  to  man's  need. 
 
 But  has  prophecy  then  no  prospective  doctrine,  no 
 forward  view,  no  lesson  for  times  future  and  distant  t 
 Yes;  in  this  as  in  all  senses,  wheresoever  the  carcase  is, 
 there  will  the  eagles  be  gathered  together'^ :  wheresoever  is 
 the  carcase  of  sin,  there  hovering  round  it  will  be  the 
 eagles  of  judgment.  We  have  only  to  ask  in  any  par- 
 ticular age.  What  is  there  in  this  time,  what  is  there 
 around,  amidst,  or  in  us,  which  resembles,  in  spirit  if  not 
 in  form,  the  condition  of  Tyre,  of  Nineveh,  of  Babylon, 
 of  Rome,  when  God  thus  spake  of  each }  There  have 
 been  times,  it  has  been  well  said,  zvhoi  the  Papacy  looked 
 very  like  the  beast  of  the  Revelation  :  at  such  times,  in  the 
 same  degree,  God's  judgments  upon  Babylon  were  ap- 
 plicable and  appropriate  to  the  Papacy.  We  do  not 
 really  silence  the  Word  of  God  by  asking  what  and  to 
 whom  it  first  spake.  We  only  make  its  teaching  sound 
 1  Matt.  xxiv.  28. 
 
XXXII.]  Chap.  XVIII.  45 1 
 
 and  not  fanatical ;  commending  itself  to  the  understand- 
 ing of  the  wise,  as  well  as  to  the  ear  of  the  ignorant  or 
 the  imagination  of  the  fanciful. 
 
 And  the  Papacy  too  is  for  the  most  of  us  a  thing 
 practically  gone  by.  Depend  upon  it,  however  nume- 
 rous and  however  lamentable  be  the  instances  of  its 
 seductive  influence  amongst  us,  it  is  not,  and  it  will 
 never  again  be,  the  chief  enemy  or  the  chief  peril  of  this 
 age.  And  in  our  attacks  upon  the  Church  of  Rome, 
 erring  and  fallen  as  we  all  deem  her,  let  us  take  heed 
 lest  our  eye  be  diverted  from  a  nearer,  a  more  subtle, 
 and  therefore  a  more  dangerous  foe,  in  our  own  camp, 
 yes,  and  in  our  own  souls.  It  is  easy  to  fulminate 
 threatenings  against  a  corrupt  doctrine  or  an  erring 
 Church  :  it  is  not  easy  to  counterwork  the  mines  of  an 
 insidious  infidelity,  arming  truth  itself  against  the  truth, 
 and  availing  itself  of  every  advance  of  human  know- 
 ledge to  hinder  and  to  disparage  that  which  is  indeed 
 divine. 
 
 For  the  moment,  I  would  ask  you  to  consider  seri- 
 ously with  yourselves  in  what  respects,  if  in  any,  the  sins 
 of  imperial  Rome  may  be  discernible  in  our  country,  in 
 our  Church,  or  in  ourselves.  Not  certainly  in  the  form 
 of  persecution :  not  certainly  in  the  form  of  sanguinary 
 and  relentless  struggles  against  the  energy,  faith,  and 
 hope  of  a  nascent  Christianity.  But  look  carefully  into 
 the  chapter  open  before  us,  and  see  whether  even  these 
 sins,  whether  even  this  hostility  against  truth,  whether 
 even  this  hatred  of  the  heavenly  light  did  not  spring  out 
 of  something  different,  something  apparently  neutral,  if 
 not  positively  beneficial.  Was  it  not  as  the  temporary 
 rider  upon  that  beast  which  is  the, world,  that  imperial 
 
 29 — 2 
 
452  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 Rome  entered  upon  its  crusade  against  the  cause  and 
 against  the  people  of  Christ  ?  Was  it  not  its  worldli- 
 ness,  its  addiction  to  things  of  time,  its  absorption  in  the 
 pleasures  and  luxuries  of  this  life,  its  secular  indiffer- 
 ence, at  last  its  effeminate  sensuality,  which  in  fact  made 
 Rome  cruel,  made  it  a  persecutor,  made  it  an  enemy 
 of  God  ?  Not  for  nothing  is  it  here  said  that  the  mer- 
 chant princes  of  the  earth  were  the  chief  mourners  at 
 Rome's  funeral.  A  country  of  mean  pretension,  of  hum- 
 ble power,  of  scanty  trade,  of  feeble  prowess,  is  in  the 
 same  degree  protected  against  the  risks  of  becoming  a 
 Babylon :  it  is  not  there,  it  is  not  in  such  quarters, 
 that  we  must  look  abroad  in  search  of  her  antitype  in 
 this  century.  But  if  I  see  a  nation  great  in  arts  and 
 arms,  spanning  the  world  with  its  enterprise,  and  em- 
 bracing all  nations  in  its  commerce,  there  I  may  begin 
 to  enquire.  What  are  the  relations  of  that  country  to- 
 wards the  Church  of  Christ  1  Is  it  interested  in  the 
 cause  of  truth }  Is  it  active  in  the  propagation  of  the 
 Gospel  t  Is  it  a  nation  feaj'ing  God  and  working  right- 
 eoiisness'^?  There  too,  in  that  nation,  I  approach  more 
 nearly  to  the  individual  heart,  and  say,  What  is  its  re- 
 lation to  that  world  which  is  the  beast }  Are  its  affec- 
 tions set  on  things  above,  and  not  on  things  on  tJie  earth  ^  ? 
 Is  that  heart  the  abode  of  God's  Spirit,  or  is  it  the 
 hold  of  unclean  and  hateful  things }  And  as  I  hear,  I 
 tremble ;  tremble  lest  this  steed  and  its  rider  be  in  that 
 nation,  in  that  heart,  exemplified  again  ;  tremble  lest  in 
 the  day  of  God's  last  judgment,  which  shall  be  not  upon 
 extinct  nations  and  not  upon  historical  events,  but  upon 
 individual  living  men,  we  should  be  told  that  we  never 
 ^  Acts  X.  35.  2  Qq\^  iii,  2. 
 
.]  Chap,  XVIII.  45 
 
 XXXII 
 
 obeyed  the  charge  to  come  forth  out  of  Babylon,  but, 
 having  been  partakers  of  her  sins,  must  expect  to  re- 
 ceive also  of  her  plagues. 
 
 God  save  us  all  from  that  condemnation,  giving  us 
 grace,  zvJnle  it  is  called  today  \  to  hear  and  fear  ! 
 
 ^  Heb.  iii.  13. 
 
 Fourth  Sunday  in  Lent, 
 March  30,   1862. 
 
LECTURE     XXXIII. 
 
 REVELATION   XIX.    1 9. 
 
 A  lid  I  saw  the  beast,  and  the  kings  of  the  earth,  and  their 
 armies,  gathered  together  to  make  war  agaijzst  Him 
 that  sat  071  the  horse,  and  against  His  aj^my. 
 
 Thus  even  the  destruction  of  Babylon  is  not  the  end  of 
 all  things.  There  is  another  power  and  another  struggle 
 behind.  The  sixth  head  is  not  the  last :  there  is  a 
 seventh  also.  The  passage  now  to  be  examined  is  the 
 necessary  supplement  of  those  which  have  engaged  our 
 attention  for  the  last  two  Sunday  evenings.  When  we 
 have  reached  its  close,  we  shall  have  but  one  record 
 more,  to  bring  us  to  the  end  of  the  Book,  and  with  it  to 
 the  end  of  God's  latest  revelation  to  His  people. 
 
 We  have  found  in  earlier  chapters,  the  14th  and  the 
 i6th,  intimations  of  the  existence  and  of  the  fall  of  some 
 power  designated  by  the  name  of  Babylon.  There  fol- 
 lowed another  aiigel,  saying,  Babylon  is  falle^t,  is  fallen, 
 that  great  city,  because  she  made  all  nations  drink  of  the 
 wine  of  the  wrath  of  her  fornication  \  And  again,  The 
 great  city  was  divided  into  three  parts :  and  great  Babylon 
 
 ^  Rev.  xiv.  8. 
 
LECT.  XXXIII.]     Revelation.     Chap.  xix.  455 
 
 came  in  remembrance  before  God,  to  give  unto  her  the 
 cup  of  the  wine  of  the  fierceness  of  His  wrath  \  These 
 are  dark  hints,  waiting  for  a  later  explanation.  That 
 explanation  follows  in  the  17th  chapter.  It  is  there  told, 
 almost  without  figure,  what  is  the  seat,  and  what  the 
 name,  and  what  the  place  in  history,  and  what  the  sin- 
 gular, the  unprecedented  end,  of  that  power  which  in 
 St  John's  time  was  the  rider  upon  the  wild  beast.  Her 
 seat  was  the  city  of  the  seven  hills.  Her  name,  that 
 of  the  great  empire  then  reigning  over  the  kings  of  the 
 earth.  Her  place  in  history,  the  sixth  and  last  but  one 
 of  those  mighty  empires  which  have  successively  tower- 
 ed above  the  thrones  of  the  earth.  She  comes  after 
 Egypt,  after  Assyria,  after  Babylon,  after  Persia,  after 
 Greece.  Strange  to  tell,  she  does  not  come  before  any 
 one  similar  embodiment  of  the  giant  strength  of  that 
 beast  which  is  the  world.  She  is  to  be  followed  by  a 
 seventh  head  :  but  that  seventh  head  is  a  mere  cluster  of 
 ten  horns.  The  head  exists  but  for  the  purpose  of  car- 
 rying those  ten  horns.  The  power  which  is  to  replace 
 imperial  Rome  is  a  divided  not  a  concentrated  force. 
 Marvellous  prediction  !  audacious,  were  it  not  divine  ! 
 but  not  more  marvellous  in  its  peculiarity,  not  more  bold 
 in  its  positiveness,  than  true  in  its  fulfilment,  in  the  his- 
 tory of  the  past  and  in  the  circumstances  of  the  present ! 
 Such  is  the  substance  of  the  17th  chapter.  The  i8th 
 is  a  graphic  picture  of  the  fall  of  Rome.  You  were 
 called  last  Sunday  evening  to  contemplate  that  picture. 
 You  saw  that  it  is  drawn  from  an  earlier  likeness,  and 
 painted  in  colours  not  new  but  old.  Earlier  prophecies, 
 denouncing  judgment  upon  preceding  empires,  furnish 
 
 ^  Rev.  xvi.  19. 
 
456  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 the  main  features  of  this.  •  Those  things  which  Isaiah 
 and  Jeremiah,  Ezekiel  and  Nahum,  saw  and  recorded  con- 
 cerning Tyre  and  Nineveh  and  Babylon  of  old,  are  here 
 gathered  together,  and  written  of  a  later  tyrant ;  of  an 
 oppressor  not  of  Israel  but  of  the  Church  of  Christ  and 
 of  the  Gospel.  In  the  very  fact  of  that  application,  of 
 that  transfer,  of  that  repetition,  we  see  a  sign  of  the 
 wisdom  and  of  the  grace  of  God.  What  could  be  so 
 encouraging,  so  reassuring,  to  a  prostrate,  exiled,  perse- 
 cuted people,  as  to  be  reminded,  from  their  own  Scrip- 
 tures, of  oppressions  and  sufferings  endured  of  old  time 
 by  God's  servants,  and  of  the  retribution  by  which  those 
 ancient  wrongs  had  been  recompensed  and  redressed  } 
 What  could  be  a  surer  warrant  for  the  hope  that  a  Baby- 
 lon of  the  present,  powerful  as  she  appeared,  and  deeply 
 rooted,  and  securely  fenced  and  guarded,  might  yet  in 
 the  mysterious  working  of  God's  providence  be  brought 
 to  desolation  and  to  nothingness,  than  the  declaration 
 that  one  sits  in  the  seat  of  an  earlier  Babylon,  whose 
 houses  are  now  full  of  doleful  creatures,  wild  beasts  cry- 
 ing in  her  desolate  houses,  and  dragons  m  her  pleasant 
 palaces^.  To  call  Rome  Babylon  was  of  itself  a  pledge 
 of  its  demolition. 
 
 And  we  were  reminded  that  although  the  prophecy 
 of  the  17th  and  i8th  chapters  is  in  itself  a  prophecy  con- 
 cerning imperial  and  not  papal  Rome ;  a  prophecy  ful- 
 filled already  in  that  partition  and  dismemberment  of 
 the  empire  which  was  the  remarkable  end  predicted  for  it; 
 yet  in  so  far  as  other  powers  temporal  or  spiritual  have 
 resembled  or  now  resemble  that  mighty  empire  in  any 
 of  its  features  of  evil,  in  that  same  degree  the  prophecy 
 
 ^  Isai.  xiii.  21,  22. 
 
XXXIII.]  Chap.  XIX.  457 
 
 starts  forth  again  living  and  vocal  against  these.  Wher- 
 ever is  the  carcase  of  sin,  there  are  evermore  the  eagles 
 of  judgment.  Prophecy  has  a  first  sense  which  is  defi- 
 nite and  precise,  personal  or  national :  but  prophecy 
 has  also  a  second  sense,  it  may  be  a  thousand  secondary 
 senses,  in  which  it  is  coextensive  with  the  race  of  man, 
 with  the  scenes  of  his  agency,  and  with  the  duration 
 of  his  trial.  In  what  respects  does  England  that  is 
 resemble  Rome  that  is  fallen  }  In  those  respects  the 
 judgments  of  Rome  will  be  acted  again  upon  England. 
 In  what  respects  do  any  of  us  exhibit  the  likeness  of  that 
 selfish,  sensual,  cruel  being  that  rides  upon  the  wild 
 beast  which  is  the  world  1  In  what  respects  are  we  bent 
 upon  self-aggrandizement  or  self-gratification,  reckless 
 who  suffers  that  we  may  enjoy,  who  perishes  at  our 
 gate  while  we  are  feasting,  who  lacks  those  waters  of  life 
 which  we  are  r2X\v^x  fouling zvith  our  feet^  than  thankfully 
 using }  In  those  respects  are  we  ourselves  reproducing 
 the  characteristics  of  the  mystic  Babylon,  and  in  a  sense 
 more  fearful  than  any  in  which  a  nation  can  experience 
 them  must  we  expect  to  be  also  partakers  of  her  plagues. 
 
 And  now  let  us  listen  to  that  which  follows  upon  the 
 fall  of  Babylon.  In  this  at  all  events,  not  by  application 
 merely,  but  in  its  direct  intention,  we  ourselves  are  per- 
 sonally concerned. 
 
 After^  these  things  I  heard  as  it  zvere  a  mighty  voice 
 of  a  great  7mdtitnde  in  the  heaven,  even  of  people  sayijig, 
 Alleluia,  Praise  ye  the  Lord  ;  the  salvation  and  the  glory 
 and  the povuer  are  onr  God's :  because^  true  and  righteous 
 are  His  judgments  ;  because  He  judged  the  great  harlot 
 who  corrupted  the  earth  in  {througJi)  her  fornication,  a7id 
 
 1  Ezek.  xxxiv.  i8.  ^  Verse  i.  ^  Verse  2. 
 
45  B  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 ave7iged  the  blood  of  His  sei^vants  out  of  her  hand^  forced 
 as  it  were  out  of  her  hand  the  price  of  their  blood. 
 
 And^  now  a  second  time  they  have  said,  Alleluia  :  it  is 
 as  though  he  listens  for  the  sound,  and  announces  it  in- 
 stantly to  those  waiting  below  :  TJiey  have  said  it  again. 
 And  her  smoke  is  ascending  U7ito  tJie  ages  of  the  ages. 
 A  braham  gat  7ip  early  in  the  morning,  and  looked  toward 
 all  the  land  of  the  plain,  and  beheld,  and  lo,  the  smoke  of 
 the  coimtry  went  np  as  the  smoke  of  a  furnace  ^.  The 
 smoke  of  Babylon  goes  up  for  ever  and  ever.  The 
 catastrophe  is  not  fearful  only,  it  is  final.  There  is  no 
 reversal  of  that  doom. 
 
 And'^  the  twenty -four  elders  fell,  and  the  four  living 
 creatures ;  the  former  the  representatives  in  heaven  of 
 the  Church  of  all  time,  the  latter  of  every  part  of  God's 
 creation  ;  and  worshipped  God  who  is  seated  upon  the 
 throne,  sayings  A  men,  A  lleluia.  A  men :  so  be  it ;  so 
 would  we  have  it ;  the  thing  is  good,  and  for  the  glory 
 of  Him  whose  we  are  and  whom  we  serve ^.  Alleluia: 
 praise  ye  the  Lord  :  thus  is  a  new  proof  given  of  the 
 power  and  faithfulness  of  the  Lord  God  Almighty. 
 
 And^  a  voice  came  out  from  the  throne,  saying.  Give 
 praise  to  our  God,  all  His  servants  and  they  who  fear 
 Him,  the  small  and  the  great ;  poor  and  rich,  humble 
 and  powerful,  young  and  old,  one  with  another. 
 
 And^  I  heai'd  as  it  were  a  voice  of  a  great  multitude, 
 and  as  it  were  a  voice  of  many  zvaters,  and  as  it  were  a 
 voice  of  mighty  thunders,  persons  saying.  Alleluia :  because 
 He  reigned,  He  by  one  act  has  vindicated  to  Himself  His 
 great  power,  His  universal  reign,  He,  tJie  Lord,  our  God, 
 
 ^  Verse  3.  ^  Gen.  xix.  27,  28.  ^  Verse  4. 
 
 4  Acts  xxvii.  23.  '^  Verse  5.  ^  Verse  6. 
 
XXXIII 
 
 .]  Chap,  XIX.  459 
 
 the  Almighty.  Let^  us  rejoice  and  exult,  mid  we  will 
 give  the  glory  to  Him  ;  because  there  came  the  marriage  of 
 the  Lamb,  and  His  zvife  prepared  herself;  looking  back 
 upon  it  in  the  vision  of  prophecy  as  a  thing  accomplished 
 and  past :  and""  it  was  given  to  Jier  that  she  should  clothe 
 herself  in  fine  linen,  bright,  piLre  :  for  the  fine  linen  is  the 
 righteousness  of  the  saints. 
 
 TJie  marriage  of  the  Lamb.  The  LamUs  wife.  Here 
 first  enter  these  marvellous  expressions,  hereafter  to 
 become  so  familiar  to  us  in  the  closing  visions  of  this 
 Book.  The  Gospels  and  Epistles  have  prepared  us  for 
 them.  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  certain  king, 
 which  made  a  marriage  for  his  son.  The  wedding  zvas 
 furnished  with  guests  "l  The  ten  Virgins  in  the  Parable 
 go  forth  to  meet  the  bi^idegroom.  They  that  zvere  ready 
 we?it  in  withJiim  to  the  marriage:  and  the  door  zvas  shict^. 
 But  that  Gospel  of  St  Matthew  whidi  speaks  of  the 
 guests  speaks  not  of  the  Bride.  He  that  hath  the  bride, 
 thus  speaks  St  John  the  Baptist  by  St  John  the  Evan- 
 gelist, is  the  bridegroom  ^  But  he  says  not  who  the  bride 
 is  :  we  know  not  from  him  that  there  is  any  further  sig- 
 nificance in  the  figure.  For  that  knowledge  we  turn  to 
 another  Apostle.  /  have  espoused  you,  St  Paul  writes  to 
 a  particular  congregation  as  a  sample  of  the  whole  re- 
 deemed Church,  to  one  husband,  that  I  may  present  you 
 as  a  chaste  virgin  to  Christ^.  The  Epistle  to  the  Ephe- 
 sians  contains  the  key  to  the  mystery.  There  St  Paul 
 teaches  us  that  the  ordinance  of  marriage  itself  is  an 
 emblem  of  the  spiritual  viafi'iage  and  unity  betwixt  Christ 
 aiid  His  Church  \     The  husband  is  the  head  of  the  zvife, 
 
 1  Verse  7.         ^  Verse  8.         ^  Matt.  xxii.  3,  10.         *  Matt.  xxv.  i,  10. 
 5  John  iii.  29.  ^  2  Cor.  xi.  2.  '  Marriage  Service. 
 
460  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 even  as  CJirist  is  the  head  of  the  Church.  We  are  mem- 
 bers of  His  body,  of  His  flesh  and  of  His  bones  \  The 
 espousal  is  past :  the  marriage  is  future.  Read  by  the 
 light  of  this  revelation,  how  expressive  becomes  the  lan- 
 guage even  of  the  Old  Testament!  The  song  of  songs, 
 which  is  Solomon's  ^,  becomes  a  description  of  the  mutual 
 love  between  Christ  and  His  Church.  The  45th  Psalm 
 in  like  manner  tells  of  One,  addressed  as  God,  yet  Him- 
 self anointed  by  God  with  the  oil  of  gladness,  upon  whose 
 right  hand  stands  a  queen  arrayed  in  gold  of  Ophir,  a 
 king's  daughter  all  glorious  zvithin,  whose  clothing  is  of 
 wrought  goUP.  And  here  we  are  told  what  that  clothing 
 is.  The  fine  linen  in  which  the  bride  of  the  Lamb  is 
 attired  is  the  righteoiLsnesses  of  the  saints.  It  is  as  it  were 
 the  compound  and  aggregate  of  all  the  truly  righteous 
 acts  done  by  God's  several  saints  on  earth,  and  of  all 
 the  truly  righteous  characters  which  have  been  formed 
 in  them  by  the  grace  of  His  Holy  Spirit.  The  heavenly 
 Bride,  who  is  the  collective  Church  of  Christ  on  its  final 
 entrance  into  the  rest  which  remains  for  His  people^,  is 
 the  ideal  concourse  and  combination  of  all  those,  the 
 blessed  company  of  all  faithful  people  ^  who  have  here  be- 
 low been  washed  and  justified  and  sanctified  in  the  7iame 
 of  the  Lord  Jesus  and  by  the  Spirit  of  onr  God^. 
 
 And'^  he,  the  angel  who  at  the  beginning  of  this  sec- 
 tion of  the  prophecy  had  come  and  talked  zuith  the  Apo- 
 stle ^  saith  to  me,  Write  ;  record  for  the  edification  of  the 
 Church  the  words  which  follow ;  let  them  become  one 
 of  the  household  sayings,  one  of  the  watchwords,  for 
 
 1  Eph.  V.  23,  30.         2  Song  i.  I.  ^  Psalm  xlv.  7,  13. 
 
 *  Heb.  iv.  9.  ^  Communion  Service.         ^  i  Cor.  vi.  11. 
 
 ''  Verse  g.  ^  Rev.  xvii.  i. 
 
XXXIII.]  Chap,  XIX.  461 
 
 encouragement  and  quickening,  of  the  Church  below  : 
 
 Blessed  are  they  who  have  been  ealled,  bidden  or  invited,  to 
 
 the  snpper  of  the  marriage  of  the  Lamb.      There  are  two 
 
 aspects  of  this  marriage  feast.     The  collective  Church  is 
 
 the  Bride  :    individual  Christians   are  the  guests.     The 
 
 aggregate  of  the  guests  make   up   the  Bride  :    but  the 
 
 figures  of  Scripture  are  manifold  and  versatile,  and  each 
 
 new  application  brings  with  it  an  added  light.     A7id^ 
 
 he  saith  to  me.  These  are  the  true  zvords  of  God.     And  I 
 
 fell  before  Jus  feet  to  zvorship  him.      The  sense  of  the 
 
 wonderful  character  of  this  Angel's  mission  prompted 
 
 the  Apostle  himself  to  an  act  of  adoration.    All  passes  in 
 
 vision  :  we  need  not  curiously  enquire  into  feelings  and 
 
 motives  not  revealed  to  us.     St  John  sees  himself  in  his 
 
 vision  offering  an  act  of  homage,  not  unrebuked,  to  his 
 
 heavenly  interpreter  and  guide.     And  lie  saith  to  me,  See 
 
 thou  do  it  not :  I  am  but  a  fellowservaiit  of  thee  and  of 
 
 thy  bretJiren  who  have  the  testimor.y  of  Jesus :   worship 
 
 God ;  reserve  thy  reverence  and  thy  worship  for  Him: 
 
 for  the  testimony  of  Jesns  is  the  spirit  of  prophecy.     The 
 
 last  words  give  a  reason  why  the  Angel  should  describe 
 
 the  prophets  as  having  the  testimony  of  Jesus.     The 
 
 brief  charge,    Worship   God,    is   parenthetical.     Bestow 
 
 thy  reverence  not  on  me,  but  on  Him  who  is  my  God 
 
 as  thine.     For  I  am  but  a  fellow-servant  of  the  goodly 
 
 fellozvship  of  the  Prophets^,  even  of  all  those  who  have' 
 
 exercised  in  any  age  that  divine  ministry  of  which  Jesus 
 
 is  the  one  subject.     Prophecy,  St  Peter  says,  came  not  at 
 
 any  time  by  the  zvill  of  man :  but  holy  men  of  God  spake 
 
 as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost^.     And  again  he 
 
 says,  Of  which  salvation  the  prophets  enquired  and  searched 
 
 1  Verse  10.  ^  -pg  Deum.  '  2  Pet.  i.  21. 
 
462  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 diligently y  who  prophesied  of  the  grace  that  sJwiild  come 
 tinto  you ;  searching  ttnto,  with  a  view  to,  what  or  what 
 sort  of  [about  what)  time  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  which  in 
 them  testified  before] land  the  suffer i?igs  unto  {affecting) 
 Christ  and  the  glories  after  them,  did  make  its  manifesta- 
 tions'^. The  spirit  of  prophecy  is  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God 
 and  of  Christ,  who  moved  holy  men  of  old  to  utter  that 
 which  God  for  that  purpose  revealed  to  them.  And  that 
 spirit  of  prophecy  was  throughout  tJie  testimony  of  Jesus: 
 He  was  the  great  object,  and  the  great  subject  too,  of  all 
 prophecy.  Even  as  we  read  of  our  Lord  Himself  after 
 His  resurrection,  that,  when  He  would  show  to  the  two 
 disciples  their  slowness  of  heart  in  believing  what  the 
 prophets  had  spoken,  begimiing  at  Moses  and  all  the  pro- 
 phets He  expounded  tmto  them  i7i  all  the  scripttLres  the 
 tilings  concerning  Himself^. 
 
 The  parallel  passage  in  the  22nd  chapter  is  decisive 
 as  to  the  meaning.  See  thou  do  it  not :  for  I  am  thy  fel- 
 loiv-servanty  and  of  thy  bretJiren  the  propJiets^ .  There  the 
 expression  thy  brethren  the  prophets  is  used  as  an  exact 
 equivalent  for  the  phrase  which  stands  here  thy  brethren 
 who  have  the  testimony  of  Jesus.  For  such  throughout  is 
 the  character  of  divine  prophecy  :  even  the  prophets  of 
 the  Old  Testament  spake  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ  and  of 
 the  glory  that  should  follozv.  The  testimony  of  Jesus  is 
 another  way  of  saying  the  spirit  of  prophecy. 
 
 And^  I  saw  the  heaven  already  opened ;  and  behold,  a 
 horse  all  white  ;  and  behold.  One  that  is  seated  upon  him, 
 called  by  name  Faithful  and  True  ;  and  in  righteousness 
 He  judges  and  zvars.     And^  His  eyes  are  aflame  of  fire  ; 
 
 ^  I  Pet.  i.  10,  ir.  2  Luke  xxiv.  27.  ^  ]^gy_  xxii.  9. 
 
 •*  Verse  i\.     .  ^  Verse  12.   , 
 
XXXIII.]  Chap.  XIX.  463 
 
 and  upon  His  hcaddiVQ.  many  diadems,  types  of  His  world- 
 wide empire  as  the  King  of  kings ;  He  having  names 
 zvritten,  glorious  titles,  perhaps  upon  the  several  diadems, 
 a?td  a  name  zuritten  zvhieh  no  one  knozvs  but  He  Hi^nself : 
 even  as  it  is  promised  in  the  message  to  the  Church  of 
 Philadelphia,  Upon  him  that  overeometh  I  zvill  zvrite  my 
 nezv  naine'^.  We  are  not  to  think  of  some  one  particular 
 designation  of  the  glorified  Saviour,  whether  Jesus,  or 
 Son  of  God,  or  King  of  kijigs  and  Lord  of  lords ;  but 
 rather  of  that  which  is  the  meaning  and  use  of  all  names, 
 the  summing  up  of  a  character,  the  presentation  of  a 
 whole  person,  the  revelation  (in  this  case)  of  Christ  Him- 
 self, in  a  manner  before  unknown,  and  still  in  its  fulness 
 incomprehensible  by  any  save  Himself,  as  that  which 
 He  is,  and  as  all  that  He  is.  Only  He  Himself,  and 
 they  who  are  with  Him  and  like  Him  in  His  glory, 
 shall  ever  know  that  glorious,  that  completive  revelation. 
 Aiid"^  elothed  in  a  7'obe dyedzvith  blood :  the  well-known 
 emblem  of  the  great  Conqueror  in  the  63rd  chapter  of 
 the  prophet  Isaiah  ;  Who  is  this  that  cometJi  from  Edom, 
 with  dyed  garments  from  Bozrali  ?  Their  blood  shall  be 
 sprinkled  upon  my  garments,  and  I  zvill  stain  all  my  rai- 
 7nent^.  And  His  name  is  called  the  Word  of  God  ;  the 
 Revealer  and  Communicator  of  God.  Li  the  beginning 
 zvas  the  Word :  and  the  Word  zvas  zvitJi  God :  a?id  the 
 Word  zvas  God.  He  is  now  coming  forth  the  second 
 time  on  an  errand  of  revelation  :  the  only-begotten  Son, 
 zvJnch  is  in  the  bosom  of  the  FatJier,  He  hath  declared 
 Him  ;  as  before  in  grace  and  trutJi,  so  now  in  justice  and 
 judgment  ^     The  Word  of  God  has  both  offices,  even  as 
 
 ^  Rev.  iii.  12.  ^  yg^se  13.  3  jg^j^  jxiii.  i,  3. 
 
 ^  John  i.  I,  17,  i8.' 
 
464  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 God  Himself  has  both  attributes.  The  Word  of  God  is 
 not  only  the  offer  of  salvation  :  it  is  also  sharper  than 
 any  two-edged  szvord,  and  is  a  discerner  of  the  thoughts 
 and  intents  of  the  heart  \ 
 
 And^  the  armies  that  are  in  the  Jieaven,  the  saints  of 
 all  time,  now  appearing  with  Chdst  in  glory  ^  in  the  day 
 oi  the  manifestation  of  the  sons  of  God^,  were  following 
 Him  upon  horses  all  white,  clad  in  fine  linen,  white,  pure. 
 The  armies  of  this  passage  are  the  bride  of  the  former. 
 Even  so  them  also  which  sleep  in  Jesus  will  God  bring 
 with  Him  ^. 
 
 A  nd  ^  out  of  His  mouth  goes  forth  a  sharp  sword,  that 
 in  [with)  it  He  may  smite  the  nations :  and  He  Himself 
 shall  shepherd  {rule)  them  in  [with)  a  rod  of  iron  :  and  He 
 Himself — He  by  Himself;  iox  alone  i-b,  the  corresponding 
 expression  of  the  63rd  chapter  of  the  prophecy  of  Isaiah, 
 /  have  trodden  the  luinepress  alone  ^ — treads  the  winepress 
 of  the  wrath  of  the  anger  of  God  the  A  Imighty.  A  nd  ^  He 
 has  upon  His  robe  and  upon  His  thigh  a  name  written, 
 King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords. 
 
 And^  I  sazv  one  (a  certain)  angel  standing  in  the  sun  ; 
 and  he  cried  with  a  great  voice,  saying  to  all  the  ^birds  that 
 fly  in  mid-heaven.  Hither,  be  ye  gathered  together  to  the 
 gi'cat  supper,  or  banquet,  of  God,  that  ^^  ye  may  eat  flesh  of 
 kings,  and  flesh  of  commanders  of  tJiousands,  and  flesh  of 
 mighty  niejt,  and  flesh  of  horses  and  of  those  who  aix  seated 
 2ipon  them,  and  flesh  of  all,  both  fi'ee  and  bond  men,  and 
 both  small  and  great.    And  "  /  saw  the  wild  beast,  and  the 
 
 1  Heb.  iv.  12.  2  Ycrse  14.  ^  Col.  iii.  4. 
 
 ^  Rom.  viii.  19.  ^  i  Thess.  iv.  14.  ^  Verse  15. 
 
 ''  Isai.  Ixiii.  3.  ^  Verse  16.  ^  Verse  17. 
 
 1"  Verse  18.  11  Verse  19. 
 
XXXIII.]  Chap.  XIX.  465 
 
 kings  of  the  earth  and  their  armies,  gathered  together  to 
 make  (wage)  the  war  zuith  Him  who  is  seated  upon  the 
 horse  and  with  His  army.  And^  the  wild  beast  was 
 seized,  and  the  false  pj^ophet  zuho  was  zuith  him,  zvho  did 
 the  signs  in  his  presence,  the  second  wild  beast  of  the  13th 
 chapter  ^  in  {throiigh)  which  he  led  astray  those  zvho  had 
 received  the  mark  of  the  wild  beast,  and  who  zvere  zvorsJiip- 
 ping  {zvorshippers  of)  his  image :  alive  were  they  cast,  the 
 tzvo,  into  the  lake  of  fire  which  burns  in  {with)  brimstone. 
 Ajid^  the  rest  zvere  slain  in  {with)  the  sword  of  Him  who 
 is  seated  upon  the  horse^  even  with  the  sword  which  pro- 
 ceeded out  of  His  mouth ;  and  all  the  birds  were  filled 
 out  of  {zuith)  their  fiesh. 
 
 Babylon  the  great  has  fallen  before  this  last  scene 
 opens.  The  Church  in  heaven,  for  the  sake  of  the 
 Church  on  earth,  and  yet  more  for  the  manifestation 
 thus  made  of  the  power  and  justice  of  Almighty  God, 
 has  rejoiced  and  given  thanks  over  that  portentous  fall. 
 The  Babylon  of  St  John's  time,  the  Babylon  to  which 
 this  prophecy  primarily  refers,  was  the  great  Roman 
 Empire.  That  application  is  too  strongly  marked  to  be 
 evaded.  And  one  of  the  chief  uses  of  prophecy  would 
 have  been  lost  if  that  application  had  not  been  thus 
 clear  and  decisive.  Prophecy  is  given  to  comfort  the 
 'soul  of  the  Church  that  is  by  the  promise  of  deliverance 
 from  evils  felt  and  realized.  To  promise  the  Church 
 under  Domitian  deliverance  from  the  yoke  of  the  Papacy 
 would  have  been  to  mock  and  not  to  console.  Never- 
 theless prophecy,  even  where  it  has  one  direct  object, 
 has  many  indirect  and  collateral  objects.  Wherever  the 
 spirit  of  Babylon  is,  there  the  prophecy  of  its  overthrow 
 
 1  Verse  20.  ^  Rev.  xiii.  13.  ^  Verse  21. 
 
 V.  R.  30 
 
466  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 starts  again  into  vigour.  And  that  which  was  not  ex- 
 plained nor  meant  to  be  explained  to  St  John,  time  has 
 revealed  to  us  ;  namely,  that  the  fall  of  the  Babylon 
 that  then  was  was  not  destined  to  be  the  immediate 
 precursor  of  the  end  of  all  things.  Even  St  John  was 
 instructed  to  write,  TJiere  are  seven  kings:  five  are  fallen; 
 and  one  is ;  and  the  other  is  7iot  yet  come ;  and  when 
 he  Cometh,  he  mnst  continue  a  short  space'*'.  One  day  is 
 with  the  Lord  as  a  thoiisa7id years  V  and  that  short  space 
 has  been  expanded  by  the  event  into  a  period  of  several 
 centuries.  Other  Babylons,  on  a  smaller  scale,  and  with 
 features  less  precisely  marked,  have  come  and  gone 
 since  St  John's  prophecy  against  Rome  was  fulfilled. 
 The  beast  still  is,  and  still  developes  himself  from  time 
 to  time  in  new  forms  and  shapes.  Wherever  he  deve- 
 lopes himself,  there  arises  another  Babylon ;  and  of  the 
 ruin  of  that  other  Babylon  the  ruin  of  the  first  Babylon 
 and  of  the  second  is  an  infallible  and  an  ever-growing 
 proof.  Yet  none  the  less  on  this  account  must  we 
 ascertain  our  own  exact  place  in  the  chart  of  divine 
 prediction.  We  are  living,  not  in  the  time  of  the  sixth, 
 but  in  the  time  of  the  seventh  head  of  the  wild  beast ; 
 that  head  which  is  known  by  its  ten  horns ;  that  power 
 which  is  designated  by  division,  not  by  concentration  ; 
 by  a  plurality,  not  by  a  unity,  of  crowns  and  thrones  on 
 earth.  And  here  we  read  of  the  closing  scene  of  the 
 period  of  that  seventh  supremacy.  It  is  the  last  of  the 
 empires :  there  is  none  to  follow  it.  It  is  to  terminate 
 in  that  great  outbreak  of  evil  which  under  many  different 
 figures  appears  both  in  Old  Testament  and  in  New 
 Testament  prophecy  as  the  sure  token  of  the  last  end 
 
 1  Rev.  xvii.  lo.  ^2  Pet.  iii.  8. 
 
XXXIII.]  Chap.  XIX.  467 
 
 of  all.  /  saiv  three  imelean  spirits  like  frogs  come  oiU  of 
 the  mouth  of  the  dragon^  and  o?it  of  the  mouth  of  the 
 beast,  and  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  false  prophet.  For 
 they  are  the  spirits  of  devils^  working  miracles,  zvhich  go 
 forth  unto  tJie  kings  of  the  earth  and  of  the  whole  world, 
 to  gather  them  to  the  battle  of  the  great  day  of  God 
 Almighty.  And  he  gathered  them  together  into  a  place 
 called  in  the  Hebreiv  tongue  Armageddon'^.  And  in 
 this  passage  again  :  /  saw  the  beast,  and  the  kings  of 
 the  earth  and  their  armies,  gathered  together  to  make  zvar 
 against  Him  that  sat  on  the  horse,  and  against  His  army. 
 And  then  upon  this  last  concourse  of  the  powers  of 
 evil  bursts  the  full  blaze  of  the  divine  glory  in  the  per- 
 son of  Jesus  Christ,  unto  conviction,  consternation,  and 
 final  ruin. 
 
 God  forbid  that  we  should  lose  ourselves  in  vague 
 generalities,  or  speculate  upon  His  revealed  purposes 
 towards  the  world  without  bringing  the  matter  home  to 
 our  individual  hearts  !  I  know  that  these  scenes  of  bat- 
 tle and  capture  and  conflagration  are  apt  rather  to  dazzle 
 than  to  edify.  But  thus  it  is  written  I  Judge  ye  whether 
 the  words,  or  the  thoughts  suggested  by  them,  are  of 
 man's  invention  or  of  God's  disclosure.  And  if  they  be 
 a  part  of  God's  Revelation,  then  must  they  have  a  use, 
 sound,  rational,  instructive,  quickening,  as  well  as  a  pos- 
 sible misapprehension,  misapplication,  or  abuse.  And 
 I  believe  that  they  are  not  revealed,  not  written,  not 
 studied  and  pondered,  in  vain,  if  they  convey  to  us,  in 
 tones  of  serious  and  solemn  admonition,  these  two  re- 
 flections with  which  I  will  close  this  discourse. 
 
 I.     God  has  a  purpose,  an  end,  in  view  in  all  His 
 
 1  Rev.  xvi.  13,  14,  16.  ^  Luke  xxiv.  46. 
 
 30—2 
 
468  Revelation.  [lect.  xxxiii. 
 
 dispensations ;    a  purpose   real   and   definite ;    an   end 
 which  He  will  surely  reach  and  realize. 
 
 2.  God  counts  as  an  enemy  of  His  Gospel  and  of 
 His  Son  every  man,  high  or  low,  rich  or  poor,  who  is 
 not,  by  choice  and  will,  in  spirit  and  in  life,  embracing 
 that  Gospel,  and  serving  that  Saviour.  He  that  is  not 
 with  me  is  against  me'^. 
 
 The  form  of  that  last  outbreak  of  evil,  the  circum- 
 stances of  that  last  discomfiture  of  evil,  are  still,  even 
 after  the  word  of  prophecy  has  spoken,  amongst  the  secret 
 things  which  belong  tmto  the  Lord  our  God^,  But  of  this 
 be  we  well  assured  ;  that  in  the  camp  of  evil,  then  as 
 now,  will  be  found  the  unbelieving,  the  profane,  the 
 hard-hearted,  the  immoral,  the  deceitful ;  that  in  that  last 
 conflict,  as  in  the  conflict  ever  waging,  there  will  be  no 
 neutrals ;  the  undecided  for  good  is  on  the  side  of  evil, 
 and  the  friend  of  the  world  is  the  enemy  of  God  I  Who 
 is  on  the  Lords  side^  ?  for  he  and  he  only  shall  be  able 
 to  stand  zvhen  Christ  appeareth  °. 
 
 1  Matt.  xii.  30.  "  Deut.  xxix.  29.  ^  James  iv.  4. 
 
 ^  Exod.  xxxii.  26.  °  Mai.  iii.  2. 
 
LECTURE    XXXIV. 
 
 REVELATION    XX.   6. 
 
 Blessed  and  holy  is  he  that  hath  pa7't  in  the  first  resur- 
 rection :  on  such  the  second  death  hath  no  power,  but 
 they  shall  be  priests  of  God  and  of  Christ,  a?id  shall 
 reign  zvith  Him  a  thousa?id years. 
 
 Never  did  we  more  need  the  help  of  God  than  in  en- 
 tering upon  the  interpretation  of  the  chapter  now  before 
 us.  Your  prayers,  my  brethren,  will  not  be  wanting, 
 that  we  may  be  enabled  rightly  to  divide  the  word  of 
 truth  ^  and  wisely  and  powerfully  to  apply  it  to  the  uses 
 for  which  it  was  written. 
 
 And  first  let  me  read  to  you  the  word  itself.  Some 
 fancies  concerning  it  will  be  dissipated  by  laying  the 
 literal  message  full  in  view  :  we  will  then  endeavour  to 
 open  the  windows  wide  above,  that  the  bright  light  and 
 the  healthy  air  of  inspiration  may  shine  and  breathe 
 upon  it. 
 
 And'^  I  saw  a7t  angel  descending  out  of  the  heaven^ 
 
 1  2  Tim.  ii.  i.v  ^  Verse  i. 
 
 \f 
 
470  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 having  the  key  of  the  abyss  and  a  great  chain  laid  on  his 
 hand.  The  abyss  is  that  of  which  we  read  in  the  miracle 
 of  healing  the  demoniac,  when  the  legion  of  evil  spirits 
 who  had  possessed  him  besought  our  Lord  not  to  com- 
 mand them  to  go  out  into  the  deep  \  The  deep  there,  the 
 bottomless  pit  here,  in  both  passages  more  exactly  to  be 
 rendered  the  abyss,  is  the  present  home  of  the  devil  and 
 his  angets^ ;  that  from  which  they  come  forth  on  their 
 errands  of  mischief  and  ruin,  and  to  which  they  return 
 from  each  as  their  assigned  abode  and  prison-house. 
 
 And'^  he,  the  Angel  with  the  key  and  the  chain,  laid 
 hold  on  the  dragon,  of  whom  we  read  so  much  in  the  I2th 
 chapter;  the  ancient  serpent,  whose  operations  began  so 
 early  in  the  human  history,  when  it  was  the  serpent  who 
 beguiled  the  woman  to  break  God's  command  * ;  who  is 
 the  devil,  the  slanderer  or  calumniator,  and  Satan,  the 
 adversary,  of  God  and  His  saints;  and^  bound  him  during 
 a  thousand  years,  and  cast  him  into  the  abyss,  and  locked 
 and  sealed  it  above  him,  that  he  may  not  lead  astray  the 
 nations  any  inore,  tintil  the  thousand  years  be  finished : 
 after  these  it  is  necessary,  to  fulfil  the  counsel  of  God* 
 that  he  be  loosed  during  a  little  time. 
 
 And^  I  saw  tJirones,  or  seats ;  it  is  the  word  used  in 
 the  4th  chapter  for  the  seats  or  thrones  on  which  the 
 four  and  twenty  elders  sat  around  the  seat  or  throne  of 
 God  Himself;  and  some  sat  on  them  ;  who  these  were 
 will  be  told  instantly  ;  and  Judgment,  judicial  power,  was 
 given  them,  given  to  those  who  sat  on  the  seats :  arid  I 
 saw  the  souls  of  those  who  had  been  beheaded,  slain  with 
 the  axe,  because  of  the  testimony  of  Jestcs  and  because  of 
 
 1  Luke  viii.  31.  2  Matt.  xxv.  41.  ^   Verse  2. 
 
 "*  Gen.  iii.  13.     2  Cor.  xi.  3.  ^   Verse -3^.  ^   Verse  4. 
 
.]  Chap,  XX.  471 
 
 XXXIV. 
 
 the  word  of  God ;  that  is,  for  their  fidelity  to  the  testi- 
 mony which  they  had  to  bear  concerning  Jesus,  and  to 
 the  word  or  message  entrusted  to  them  by  God  Himself; 
 and  whosoever  zvorsJiipped  not  on  earth  the  wild  beast,  no 
 nor  his  image,  and  received  not  the  mark  on  to  their  fore- 
 head and  on  to  their  Jiand ;  referring  once  again  to  the 
 record  of  the  latter  part  of  the  13th  chapter;  and  they 
 lived  and  reigned  with  Christ  during  a  thousand  years. 
 The  ^  rest  of  the  dead  lived  not ;  the  word  again  is  to  be 
 omitted  ;  ttntil  tJie  thousand  years  be  finished.  This  is  the 
 first  resiLrrection.  Blessed'^  and  Jioly  is  lie  ivJio  hath  a 
 share  in  the  first  resurrection :  over  these  the  second  death 
 hath  not  aiithority,  but  they  shall  be  priests  of  God  and  of 
 Christ,  and  shall  reign  with  Him  during  a  tJwnsand years. 
 And^  when  the  thousand  years  have  been  fi7iisJied 
 Satan  shall  be  loosed  out  of  his  prison,  and^  shall  come  out 
 to  lead  astray  the  nations  zvhich  are  in  the  four  corners  of 
 the  earth,  Gog  and  Magog ;  using  a  figurative  designa- 
 tion of  the  nations  of  the  world,  found  in  the  38th  and 
 39th  chapters  of  the  prophet  Ezekiel ;  to  gather  them 
 together  zcnto  the  war,  that  final  and  fatal  war  of  which 
 we  have  already  heard  in  the  i6th  and  19th  /:hapters ; 
 zuhose  number  is  as  the  sand  of  the  sea.  And^-  they  went 
 up  over  the  breadth  of  the  earth,  and  surrounded  the  camp, 
 or  army,  of  the  saints,  and  the  beloved  city ;  that  city  of 
 the  living  God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem^,  which  is  the 
 blessed  company  of  all  faithful  people"^.  And  there  de- 
 scended fire  out  of  the  heaven,  and  devoured,  them.  And^ 
 the  devil  who  was  leading  them  astray,  under  whose  fatal 
 
 ^    Verse  5.  2   y^^se  6.  ^  Vei'se  7. 
 
 *   Verse  8.  ^   Verse  9.  *  Heb.  xii.  22. 
 
 ^  Communion  Service.  ^  Verse  10. 
 
472  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 influence  tlie}^  were  thus  led  to  ruin,  was  cast  hito  the 
 lake  of  fi^^e  and  brims  to  jte,  where  are  also  the  ivild  beast 
 and  the  false  prophet^  the  two  wild  beasts  of  the  1 3th 
 chapter,  the  beast  from  the  sea  and  the  beast  from 
 the  earth ;  and  they  shall  be  tormented  by  day  arid  by 
 night  tinto  the  ages  of  the  ages. 
 
 And"^  I  sazv  a  great  zvhite  throne^  a?id  Him  zuho  was 
 seated  thereon,  from  whose  face  fled  the  earth  arid  the 
 heaven,  arid  place  zvas  not  found  for  them.  And"^  I  sazv 
 the  dead,  the  gr'eat  and  the  small — high  arid  lozv,  rich  and 
 poor,  one  with  another  ^ — standing  before  [in  presence  of) 
 the  throne ;  and  rolls  were  opened,  records  of  reference 
 and  of  remembrance  '*,  and  another  roll  was  opened,  which 
 is  that  of  life :  and  the  dead  zvere  judged  out  of  the  things 
 that  had  been  written  in  the  rolls,  according  to  their 
 zuorks.  And^  the  sea  gave,  surrendered,  the  dead  who 
 were  in  it ;  and  death  and  Hades,  the  place  of  departed 
 souls,  gave  the  dead  zvho  were  in  them ;  and  they  were 
 judged  each  one  according  to  their  works.  And^  death 
 and  Hades  were  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire.  This  is  the 
 second  death,  the  lake  of  fire.  And''  if  any  one  was  not 
 found  already  zvritten  in  the  roll  of  life,  he  zvas  cast  into 
 the  lake  of  fire. 
 
 Let  us  briefly  gather  up  the  chief  points  of  the  pro- 
 phecy. 
 
 An  Angel  appears,  descending  from  heaven,  with  a 
 key  and  a  chain  in  his  hand.  He  seizes  the  first  and 
 greatest  of  the  three  enemies  of  God  and  man  described 
 in  earlier  pages  of  this  Book,  binds  him  with  the  chain, 
 and  then  thrusts  him  into  that  dark  and  dismal  abyss 
 
 1   Verse  ir.         ^   Verse  12.         ^  Psalm  xlix.  1  (Prayer-Book  Version). 
 *  Mai.  iii.  16.  ^   Verse  13.  ^   Verse  14.  ^   V^erse  15. 
 
XXXIV.]  Chap.  XX.  473 
 
 which  has  Its  upper  and  only  opening  on  the  surface  of 
 the  earth  of  man.  He  closes  the  mouth  of  the  pit,  and 
 sets  a  seal  upon  the  covering.  Thus  is  Satan  debarred 
 from  his  special  work  of  deceiving  and  seducing  the 
 nations.  But  it  is  intimated  that  this  imprisonment  is 
 not  final.  There  is  to  be  an  interval,  long  but  limited, 
 of  restrained  and  coerced  power ;  at  the  end  of  which 
 shall  come  a  fresh  outbreak,  a  renewed  combat,  and 
 a  decisive  close. 
 
 Meanwhile  another  and  a  widely  different  scene  pre-  . 
 sents  itself.  On  an  opposite  side  of  the  great  stage  of 
 vision  are  seen  seats  set  as  for  judgment,  and  upon  them 
 are  seated  in  the  company  of  Christ  Himself  the  souls 
 of  the  faithful  and  blessed  dead.  While  Satan  is  in  his 
 prison,  they  are  living  and  reigning  with  Christ.  This  is 
 the  first  resurrection. 
 
 At  length  the  thousand  years  are  ended,  and  the  last 
 conflict,  already  under  so  many  forms  foretold,  must 
 rage  and  be  decided.  An  outbreak  unlike  in  its  severity 
 to  any  of  the  foregoing  struggles  and  contests  of  the 
 Church  of  Christ  is  to  bring  to  a  final  issue  the  contro- 
 versy of  God  with  the  apostate  world.  The  nations  are 
 mustered  to  the  encounter,  and  as  you  survey  the  op- 
 posing lines  you  would  declare  that  there  could  be  no 
 doubt  as  to  the  issue.  The  one  host  is  as  the  sa?id  upon 
 the  sea  shore  hi  midtitude^ :  the  other  is  a  little  remnant 
 enclosed  within  walls  and  bulwarks  ^,  against  which  the 
 tide  of  the  sea-like  myriads  dashes  and  spends  itself  in 
 vain  endeavours.  God  is  in  the  midst  of  her  :  therefore 
 she  shall  not  be  moved^.  At  length  the  fire  of  God  falls 
 from  heaven  :   at  the  moment  of  fancied   triumph  the 
 
 ^  Josh.  xi.  4.  2  Isai.  xxvi.  i.  ^  Psalm  xlvi.  5. 
 
474  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 hosts  of  evil  are  driven  back,  and  are  not ;  yea,  the  just 
 anger  of  an  outraged  God  lights  upon  them,  and  the  de- 
 ceiver himself  is  cast  into  that  lake  of  fire  and  brimstone 
 which  has  been  prepared  for  Jdm  ^  from  the  beginning. 
 
 Then  I  see  a  throne  set,  and  from  the  face  of  Him 
 who  sits  thereon  earth  and  heaven  flee  away.  I  see  the 
 children  of  men  gathered  before  that  throne,  an  indis- 
 criminate multitude,  every  distinction  of  rank  and  age 
 cancelled  ;  and  this  has  become  now  the  only,  only  ques- 
 tion, Is  the  name  of  that  one  child  of  Adam  written,  or 
 is  it  not  written,  in  the  book  of  life  ?  According  to  the 
 answer  given  to  that  one  enquiry  is  the  everlasting  doom 
 of  each. 
 
 Nothing  then  hides  or  keeps  back  from  judgment. 
 The  sea  has  in  it  many  bodies  of  the  sleeping ;  the 
 grave  has  many  :  Hades  has  the  souls  of  all.  None  shall 
 withhold  :  none  shall  refuse  to  deliver  its  just  tale  of 
 human  deposits.  Each  answers  to  the  summons  of  each  : 
 the  record  of  judgment  is  coextensive  with  the  record  of 
 creation  :  and  the  Creator  Himself  is  also  the  Judge  of 
 man.  The  lake  of  fire  is  the  second  death ;  and  in 
 comparison  with  its  blank  and  black  despair  the  pains 
 of  a  bodily  dissolution  sink  into  utter  insignificance  and 
 nothingness. 
 
 Such  is  the  general  picture  upon  which  our  eyes  are 
 turned  tonight.  And  now,  my  brethren,  I  must  not 
 evade  a  question  which  has  occurred  already  to  many  of 
 your  minds,  Does  this  passage  speak  of  a  first  and  a 
 second  resurrection  in  such  sense  that  the  resurrection 
 itself — the  resurrection,  I  mean,  of  the  body — is  cut  into 
 two  distinct   and  distant  parts ;  the  resurrection  of  the 
 
 ^  Matt.  XXV.  41. 
 
XXXIV 
 
 ,]  Chap.  XX.  475 
 
 jiist"^  taking  place  at  the  beginning"  of  a  period  here 
 designated  as  one  of  a  thousand  years  in  duration,  and 
 the  resiwrection  of  condemnation  ^  taking  place  at  its 
 close  ?  Are  we  to  understand  that  prior  to  the  close  of 
 this  dispensation  there  will  be  a  long  reign  of  happiness 
 and  peace  and  godliness  upon  earth  ;  the  Lord  Jesus 
 Christ  reigning  below,  with  His  raised  and  glorified  saints, 
 over  an  obedient  and  subjugated  earth  ;  and  afterwards 
 again  a  new  rising  and  confederacy  of  human  beings, 
 under  the  instigation  and  chieftainship  of  Satan,  against 
 the  visible  throne  of  Christ  and  against  the  recognized 
 ascendancy  of  His  people  ?  Is  there  to  be  this  partial 
 or  at  least  temporary  triumph  of  the  Redeemer's  king- 
 dom before  the  final  acknowledgment  of  its  irresistible 
 supremacy  ?  Is  there,  once  again,  to  be  this  conflict 
 between  men  in  natural  and  men  in  spiritual  bodies ; 
 between  men  still  in  flesh  and  men  already  clad  hi 
 incorriiption  ^  ?  Is  the  world  of  spirit  to  be  thus  brought 
 into  collision  with  the  world  of  flesh  ?  Is  the  work  of 
 good,  when  now  it  seemed  to  be  accomplished,  to  be 
 thus  again  assailed,  imperilled,  and  saved  as  by  fir e^? 
 
 I  will  venture  to  say  one  thing :  that  if  this  be  the 
 doctrine  of  the  passage  before  us  it  is  a  passage  which 
 stands  alone  in  Scripture.  Nowhere  else  do  we  read  of 
 two  resurrections,  two  in  time  and  in  circumstances  : 
 nowhere  else  do  we  read  of  a  prejudged  judgment;  a 
 judgment  (which  is  in  other  words  a  discrimination  and 
 a  putting  of  differences)  between  two  classes  of  men  who 
 have  already  been  distinguished  and  dissevered  not  de- 
 cisively alone  but  ostensibly,  the  one  by  having  already 
 
 1  Luke  xiv.  14.  ^  John  v.  29.  ^  j  Qq,-.  xv.  44,  53. 
 
 ^  I  Cor.  iii.  15. 
 
47^  Revelation,      '  [lect. 
 
 reigned  upon  earth  for  a  thousand  years  since  resurrec- 
 tion, and  the  other  by  having  been  left  in  their  graves  a 
 thousand  years  longer  before  resurrection. 
 
 But,  my  brethren,  if  any  word  of  God  holds  a  clear 
 and  unambiguous  language  upon  a  point  of  doctrine,  we 
 must  accept  it  humbly  and  reverently  even  though  it 
 stood  alone  in  the  Bible.  Even  of  discrepancies  and 
 contradictions  between  one  passage  and  another  we  are 
 poor  and  fallible  judges.  Not  on  this  ground  alone 
 would  I  ask  you  to  interpret  any  Scripture  in  this 
 manner  and  not  in  that  manner.  Let  us  ask  therefore 
 whether  in  this  chapter  itself  we  have  a  plain  and  -de- 
 cisive testimony  to  the  doctrine  as  it  has  been  often 
 stated  by  man.  If  it  be  so,  then  we  must  hold  it  in  such 
 sort  of  combination  as  we  can  v/ith  other  and  opposite 
 revelations.  If  it  be  not  so,  then  surely  we  ought  to 
 hesitate  before  we  put  such  an  interpretation  upon  words 
 which  may  bear  another  and  a  more  harmonious  and 
 consistent  sense. 
 
 The  first  feature  of  this  prophecy  is  the  binding  of 
 Satan  in  the  bottomless  pit  for  a  period  of  a  thousand 
 years.  What  have  we  elsewhere  in  Scripture  to  aid  us 
 in  the  Interpretation  of  this  figure  } 
 
 On  a  hasty  view  we  might  imagine  that  nothing  short 
 of  an  absolute  cessation  of  every  evil  influence  could  be 
 denoted  by  an  image  so  remarkable.  If  the  tempter  is 
 under  lock  and  key,  the  tempted,  we  might  say,  must  be 
 safe  from  molestation.  And  if  such  safety  has  never 
 yet  been  exemplified  below,  we  must  date  the  prophecy 
 at  a  time  still  future. 
 
 And  yet,  when  we  begin  to  compare  Scripture  with 
 Scripture,  we  recall  several  expressions  which  cannot 
 
XXXIV.]  Chap,  XX.  477 
 
 thus  be  dealt  with.  We  remember  how  our  Lord  speaks, 
 on  the  triumphant  return  of  the  seventy  disciples,  of 
 beholding  Satan  fall  as  lightning  from  heaven  \  We 
 remember  how  at  a  later  time  in  His  ministry,  in  the 
 near  prospect  of  His  own  sufferings  and  glory,  He  says, 
 Noiv  is  the  judgment  of  this  zuorld :  now  shall  tJie  prince 
 of  this  world  be  cast  out^.  We  remember  how,  in  His 
 last  discourse  with  the  disciples  on  the  night  before  He 
 suffered.  He  says  of  the  Holy  Spirit  whom  He  would 
 send  to  them  from  the  Father,  He  shall  reprove  {convict) 
 the  world  of  {concerning)  judgment ;  shall  prove  to  an 
 unbelieving  world  the  reality  of  a  coming  judgment,  and 
 rebuke  them  in  their  own  conscience  for  their  neglect 
 and  disregard  of  it,  by  this  argument,  because  the  prince 
 of  this  zvorld  is  {has  been)  judged^.  The  redemption 
 wrought  out  for  mankind  by  the  uplifted  cross  and  by  the 
 opened  grave  of  Jesus  was  the  condemnation  of  the  world 
 and  of  its  master.  That  redemption  had  in  it  not  the 
 promise  only,  not  the  foretaste  only,  but  the  power  and 
 the  virtue  of  a  judgment  complete  and  final  upon  all  evil. 
 Evil  might  linger  awhile  after  that  redemption  ;  but  it 
 would  linger  as  a  sentenced  and  forejudged  thing.  The 
 devil  might  exist  still,  but  it  would  be  as  a  convict ;  in 
 his  condemned  cell,  which  is  the  abyss  here  spoken  of; 
 waiting  the  striking  of  that  hour  which  shall  consign  him 
 to  the  executioner's  sword.  God  sending  His  ozvji  Son 
 condemned  sin  in  the flesJi'" ;  passed  upon  it  that  sentence 
 of  extermination  which  is  ever  more  nearly  hastening  to 
 its  execution.  We  remember  how  this  very  Book  of 
 Revelation  has  expressed  in  a  similar  figure  the  selfsame 
 
 1  Luke  X.  18.  2  John  xii.  31.  ^  John  xvi.  8,  11. 
 
 ^  Rom.  viii.  3. 
 
4/8  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 truth.  When  the  child  of  the  woman  was  caught  2Lp 
 7uito  God  and  to  His  throne^  there  followed  as  it  were  a 
 war  in  heaven,  of  which  the  issue  was  the  ejection  from 
 it  of  the  devil  and  his  angels  \  That  was  the  effect  of 
 an  accomplished  redemption  upon  the  position  and 
 the  power  of  Satan.  It  was  for  him  a  very  fall  out 
 of  his  heaven.  He  lighted  upon  the  earth  a  humbled, 
 degraded,  maimed  and  mutilated  being,  carrying  about 
 with  him  the  marks  of  a  past  defeat  and  the  symptoms 
 of  a  coming  ruin.  Nay,  St  Peter  and  St  Jude  do  not 
 hesitate  to  use  the  very  figure  here  employed,  with  regard 
 to  the  present  state  and  home  of  the  wicked  one ;  the 
 one  appealing  to  this  as  an  acknowledged  proof  of  God's 
 righteous  judgment  upon  all  sin,  that  He  spared  not 
 even  angels  zvhen  they  sinned,  bnt  cast  them  dozvn  to  hell, 
 and  delivered  them  into  chains  of  darkness  to  be  reserved 
 7mto  judgment'^ ;  the  other,  St  Jude,  in  like  terms,  saying, 
 A  nd  the  angels  which  kept  not  their  first  estate,  bnt  left  their 
 ozvji  habitation.  He  hath  reserved  in  everlasting  chains 
 tinder  darkness  nnto  the  judgment  of  the  great  day^.  The 
 expressions  are  not  only  parallel  to  those  here  before  us, 
 they  are  the  same.  The  evil  angels  are  already  cast  into 
 the  abyss,  chained  there  in  darkness  until  a  day  still 
 future  of  absolute  and  final  destruction,  of  casting  into  a 
 lake  of  fire.  The  difference  is  only  this  ;  that  the  Book 
 of  Revelation  adds  a  brief  period  of  enlargement  and 
 activity  as  the  last  preliminary  to  that  final  judgment 
 which  all  agree  in  distinguishing  from  the  condition 
 that  is. 
 
 The  duration  of  Satan's  imprisonment  is  described 
 as  a  period  of  a  thousand  years.    I  am  not  aware  of  any 
 
 1  Rev.  \\\.  5,  7 — 9.  ^2  Pet.  ii.  4.  ^  Jude  6. 
 
XXXIV.]  Chap,  XX.  479 
 
 instance  in  which  that  particular  duration  is  used  in 
 Scripture  literally.  We  are  all  familiar  with  the  phrases, 
 A  thousand  years  in  Thy  sight  are  but  as  yesterday  \  One 
 day  is  with  the  Lord  as  a  tJioiisand years ^  and  a  thousand 
 years  as  one  day  ^  The  application  of  the  expression  is 
 always  vague,  not  strict :  it  denotes  a  period  protracted, 
 prolonged,  but  indefinite.  Even  thus  is  it  here.  We 
 should  ill  have  entered  into  the  language  or  spirit  of  the 
 Apocalypse  if  we  sought  to  tie  down  such  a  figure  to  a 
 literal  interpretation.  If  we  have  rightly  understood  the 
 words  now  under  consideration,  the  thousand  years  of 
 Satan's  detention  denote  the  whole  space  between  the 
 completion  of  the  w^ork  of  man's  Redemption  by  the 
 Resurrection  and  Ascension  of  Jesus,  and  the  arrival  of 
 that  latest  conflict,  be  it  what  it  may,  which  will  imme- 
 diately herald  the  approach  of  His  second  Advent  in 
 glory. 
 
 We  pause  for  a  moment  to  press  earnestly  upon  our 
 hearts  this  one  obvious  reflection.  If  Satan  is  now 
 bound  ;  if  redemption  was  Satan's  death-warrant ;  if  his 
 home  is  now  the  abyss  ;  if  he  is  there  in  any  sense 
 chained  ;  if  he  is  there  as  a  convict  awaiting  execution  ; 
 how  dreadful  is  it,  and  how  wilful  too,  that  we  should 
 any  of  us  be  still  the  slaves  of  this  vanquished,  convicted, 
 sentenced  being!  How  wanton  must  be  the  subjection 
 in  which  men  and  women  are  still  lying,  by  thousands 
 and  tens  of  thousands,  to  that  power  of  evil  which  Christ 
 not  only  will  come  again  to  judge,  but  did  actually  by 
 His  first  coming  sentence  and  condemn,  yea,  even  as  it  is 
 written,  place  under  chain  and  lock  and  seal !  And  what 
 an  affront  are  we  putting  upon  Christ  crucified  and  risen-, 
 
 ^  Psalm  xc.  4.  2  2  Pet.  iii.  8 
 
480  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 by  doubting  His  power  or  doubting  His  will  to  deliver 
 us,  one  by  one,  from  that  thrall  and  yoke  of  sin  which  as 
 a  whole  He  has  once  for  all  broken  and  crushed  !  Well 
 may  we  seek  some  other  interpretation,  and  fix  some 
 later  day,  for  the  binding  here  described,  when  we  look 
 into  our  own  hearts  and  lives,  and  find  Satan,  for  us  at 
 all  events,  so  full  of  life,  strength,  and  activity !  How 
 different  from  this  condition  is  that  into  which  the  work 
 of  Christ  should  have  brought  us  !  He,  it  is  written,  took 
 our  flesh  and  blood,  and  was  made  like  tnito  tis  in  all 
 things,  sin  only  except  \  that  through  death  He  migJit  de- 
 stroy him  that  had  the  pozver  of  deatJi,  that  is,  the  devil^. 
 .  Let  us  rise  to  the  height  of  our  high  standing,  as 
 servants  of  the  Victor,  not  as  slaves  of  the  vanquished  ! 
 
 When  we  have  interpreted  the  thousand  years  of  the 
 time  that  is,  we  have  settled  by  implication  the  meaning 
 of  the  first  resurrection  and  of  the  reign  of  the  saints 
 with  Christ.  These  also  must  belong  to  the  period  that 
 is  now ;  the  period  between  our  Lord's  Ascension  and 
 His  second  Advent.  You  observe  it  is  the  sonls  that 
 V  are  spoken  of,  not  the  risen  men :  it  is  the  condition  of 
 the  blessed  dead,  not  the  condition  of  the  blessed  here- 
 after in  heaven.  At  the  opening  of  the  fifth  seal  these 
 same  souls  were  seen  under  tJie  altar,  crying.  How  long, 
 O  Lord?  and  then  the  zvhite  robes  of  priesthood  were 
 given  to  each  07ie  of  them,  and  they  were  bidden  to  rest 
 patiently  until  their  brethren  also  should  be  fulfilled^. 
 Here  they  are  seen  invested  with  those  sacerdotal  vest- 
 ments, made  priests  of  God  and  of  Christ,  and  reigning 
 also  with  Him  for  a  thousand  years.  The  period  that  is 
 now   is   the   period   of  the  reign   of  Christ.     He   must 
 
 1  Art.  XV.  -  Heb.  iu  14.  ^  Rev.  vi.  9— 11. 
 
XXXIV.]  Chap,  XX.  481 
 
 reign,  till  God  Jiath  put  all  enemies  under  His  feet. 
 When  all  things,  death  itself  last  of  all,  are  finally 
 subdued  to  Hint,  then  shall  the  Son  also  Himself  be 
 subject ;  the  mediatorial  reign  will  have  answered  its 
 glorious  purpose ;  and  God  Himself  will  thenceforth  be 
 all  in  all^.  It  is  now  that  the  word  is  receiving  its 
 accomplishment,  Sit  thou  at  my  right  hand,  2intil  I 
 make  Thine  enemies  Thy  footstool^.  It  is  in  that  reign 
 that  the  souls  of  Christ's  servants,  as  they  successively 
 pass  into  His  presence,  departing  to  be  with  CJirist, 
 escaping  from  the  body  that  they  may  be  present  with 
 the  Lord^,  are  associated  and  incorporated  with  Him. 
 To  Jiiui  that  overcometh  will  I  grant  to  sit  with  me  in 
 my  throne,  even  as  I  also  overcame  and  am  set  dozvn 
 with  my  Father  in  His  throne'^.  The  first  resurrection 
 is  that  awakening  from  the  death  of  the  body  to  the 
 life  oi  the  soul ;  that  transition  from  a  world  of  shadows 
 into  a  world  of  realities ;  that  passing  from  a  state  in 
 which  we  see  by  means  of  a  glass  darkly  into  a  state  in 
 which  we  shall  SQQface  to  face,  and  knozv  even  as  we  wei^e 
 known'";  which  is  the  Christian's  near  future,  even  as 
 the  resurrection  of  the  body  and  its  transformation  into 
 the  likeness  of  Chrisfs  glorious  body^  is  the  Christian's 
 more  remote  but  nobler  and  more  satisfying  prospect 
 still.  This  is  that  resurrection  of  which  the  wicked  par- 
 take not :  the  7'est  of  the  dead,  those  who  had  not  borne 
 the  testimony  (di  Jesus,  but  had  received  in  their  forehead 
 and  on  their  hand  the  mark  of  that  beast  which  is  the 
 world,  the  rest  of  the  dead  lived  not,  in  that  sense  of  life 
 which  is  alone  the  Gospel's  and  the  Christian's  sense: 
 
 ^  I  Cor.  XV.  25,  28.  2  Psalm  ex.  i.  ^  phii.  i.  23.     2  Cor.  v.  8. 
 
 ^  Rev.  iii.  21.  ^  i  Cor.  xiii.  12,  *  Phil.  iii.  21. 
 
 V.  R.  31 
 
482  Revelatio7i,  [lect. 
 
 ////  the  thousand  years  are  finished  they  exist  only  in  that 
 suffering  of  the  lost  soul  which  is  separation  from  God 
 and  therefore  also  from  life  and  from  hope ;  and  when 
 they  are  finally  reunited  to  the  resurrection  body,  it  will 
 be  for  them  not  a  body  of  glory  ^,  but  a  body  of  shame,  of 
 anguish,  of  torment ;  a  body  suited  to  that  future  life 
 which  is  called  more  properly  the  second  death ;  a  state 
 of  unrest,  of  remorse,  of  despair,  of  companionship  with 
 all  that  is  evil,  of  final  severance  from  everything  good 
 or  lovely  or  loving ;  a  state  of  which  well  may  it  be 
 written  in  the  Book  of  God,  Good  were  it  for  the  ma7i 
 finally  condemned  to  it,  if  he  had  not  been  born,  if  he  had 
 never  been  born  ^ ! 
 
 Of  the  last  prelude  to  this  twofold  consummation, 
 the  resurrection  of  life  and  the  resnrrcction  of  damnation  ^, 
 we  have  often  already  spoken.  One  last  effort  as  of  an 
 unchained  convict ;  one  last  struggle  of  Satan  loosed 
 from  his  prison-house  ;  one  last  and  desperate  enterprise 
 of  all  the  forces  of  evil  gathered  by  every  unclean  spirit 
 to  the  battle  of  iJie great  day  of  God  Almighty'^ — an  enter- 
 prise at  first  apparently  successful,  the  Euphrates  itself 
 dried  for  the  passage  of  the  confederate  kings  from  the 
 East  against  the  Israel  of  God ;  the  nations  of  all  the 
 earth  siirronnding  the  camp  of  the  saints  and  the  beloved 
 city ;  in  other  words  (as  we  understand  it)  a  general  rising 
 of  all  that  have  not  the  love  of  God  in  them  ^  to  disprove 
 and  to  ridicule  and  to  undermine  and  to  trample  under- 
 foot the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints  ® — this  will  be 
 the  sign  of  the  Advent  and  of  the  completion  of  the  age. 
 Upon  this  gathering,  this  confederation  of  infidelity,  of 
 
 1  Phil.  iii.  21.  2  Mark  xiv.  21.  ^  John  v.  29. 
 
 ^  Rev.  xvi.  14.  5  John  v.  42.  ^  Jude  3. 
 
.]  Chap.  XX.  48, 
 
 XXXIV 
 
 ungodliness,  and  of  atheism,  will  burst  the  light  of 
 Christ's  coming,  and  the  devouring  fire  of  God.  Then 
 the  great  white  throne,  the  general  resurrection,  the 
 final  judgment.  The  dead,  small  and  great,  rise,  and 
 stand  before  God.  The  books  are  opened ;  many  a 
 book  of  death ;  many  a  long  and  overflowing  page  of 
 the  records  of  sin  and  ungodliness ;  histories  of  the 
 paths  by  which  souls  have  passed  to  ruin ;  deeds  of 
 darkness,  long  hidden,  now  flashing  with  terrible  sur- 
 prises upon  the  eye  of  the  guilty  man  and  of  a  beholding 
 world  :  many  books  of  death ;  one  book  of  life.  No 
 element  shall  keep  back  one  soul  that  has  been  ever 
 brought  into  being  from  presenting  itself  at  that 
 scrutiny.  TJie  sea  gave  tip  the  dead  that  were  in  it^  and 
 death  and  hell  gave  tip  tJie  dead  that  were  in  tJiem.  And 
 they  zvere  judged  every  man  according  to  their  works. 
 
 Alas,  my  brethren,  my  beloved  brethren,  ivho  shall 
 live  wJien  God  doeth  this^f  In  that  terrible  scene  each 
 one  of  us  will  have  to  bear  his  part :  what  are  we  doing, 
 how  are  we  preparing  for  it.^  Are  we  taking  refuge 
 where  alone  it  can  be  found,  in  Him  who  is  now  the 
 Saviour,  in  Him  who  will  then  be  the  Judge .?  What  a 
 change,  how  fearful,  how  sudden,  will  that  day  bring 
 with  it  for  many !  what  revolutions  of  thought,  what 
 revulsions  of  feeling !  May  we  have  grace  so  to  expect 
 and  so  to  speed  the  coming  of  this  day  of  God,  that  zve 
 may  be  found  of  it,  when  it  comes,  in  peace,  ivithoiit  spot, 
 and  blameless'^ ! 
 
 1  Num.  xxiv.  23.  ^2  Pet.  iii.  12,  14. 
 
 First  Sunday  after  Easter, 
 April  28,   1862. 
 
 31—2 
 
LECTURE    XXXV. 
 
 REVELATION   XXI.  5. 
 
 A  nd  He  that  sat  upon  the  throne  said,  Behold,  I  make  all 
 thins:s  new. 
 
 •Vb' 
 
 At  length  we  are  in  still  waters.  We  have  read  of 
 trials  and  judgments  :  we  have  read  of  foes  and  battles : 
 we  have  read  of  sorrows  of  the  righteous  and  triumphs 
 of  the  ungodly.  Shall  there  be  no  end  of  these  things  ? 
 no  end  of  this  state  of  imperfection,  of  warfare,  of 
 unrest  ?  no  end  of  these  vicissitudes  and  alternations,  of 
 these  inversions  of  right  and  wrong,  of  these  perpetual 
 renewals  of  a  strife  once  decided  ?  The  very  last  chapter 
 was  of  a  somewhat  saddening  and  disheartening  charac- 
 ter. It  told  us  that  even  a  condemned  criminal  differs 
 from  a  criminal  executed  ;  that  Satan  in  his  prison- 
 house  can  still  tempt,  and  shall  one  day  be  loosed.  It 
 told  us  that  redemption  itself  is  not  yet  completed  ;  that 
 there  are  still  years,  perhaps  centuries  of  years,  to  be 
 accomplished,  before  the  work  of  Christ  will  have  taken 
 its  full  effect,  before  the  mystery  of  God^  is  consummated, 
 and  before  the  opening  of  the  book  of  life  shall  have 
 ^  Rev.  X.  7. 
 
XXXV.]  Chap.  XXI.   i — 8.  485 
 
 brought  in  the  final  manifestation  of  the  sons  of  God'^. 
 Though  the  death  and  resurrection,  the  ascension  and 
 glory  of  the  Son  of  Man,  was  the  dethronement,  the 
 humiliation,  the  incarceration  of  the  devil :  thousrh  the 
 souls  of  the  righteous,  after  they  are  delivered  from  the 
 burden  of  the  flesh,  not  only  are  hi  joy  and  felicity^,  but 
 are  even  living  a?id  reigning  zuith  Christ^  during  the 
 typical  thousand  years  which  intervene  between  His 
 departure  and  His  return,  between  the  Ascension  and 
 the  Advent ;  still  the  approach  of  the  termination  of 
 that  period  shall  be  marked  by  new  perils,  by  unexam- 
 pled disasters,  for  the  Church  below ;  the  devil  himself 
 will  exert  a  power  untried  before ;  it  shall  be  as  though 
 he  had  burst  the  bars  of  his  dungeon,  and  had  liberty  to 
 put  forth  all  his  strength  and  all  his  subtlety  for  one  last, 
 one  crowning  effort.  The  evil  spirits  of  deception  and 
 seduction  shall  go  forth  in  every  direction  to  gather  the 
 nations  of  the  earth  to  the  war  of  the  great  day  of  God 
 Ahiighty^.  And  but  too  successful  shall  be  that 
 Satanic  mission.  The  face  of  the  earth  shall  be  dark- 
 ened by  the  mustering  legions :  the  camp  of  the  saints, 
 tJie  beloved  city  ^,  shall  be  like  a  little  fortress  assailed  by 
 countless  hosts ;  like  a  single  rock  in  the  midst  of  the 
 ocean,  against  which  the  surging  tide  is  raging  with  all 
 its  storms.  But  this  conflict,  if  the  sorest,  is  also  the 
 last  of  all.  When  it  ends ;  when  the  intervention  of 
 God  Himself,  when  the  descent  of  Christ  the  Judge  of 
 man,  brings  it  to  its  decisive  close  ;  when  the  fire  from 
 heaven  falls,  as  it  fell  once  on  Carmel,  to  consume  as  it 
 were  tJie  zvood  and  the  stones  and  the  dust  of  the  altar, 
 
 .     1  Rom.  viii.  19.  -  Burial  Service.  ^  Rev.  xx.  4. 
 
 ^  Rev.  xvi.  14.  s  Rev.  xx.  9. 
 
486  Revelatioit.  [lect. 
 
 and  to  lick  up  the  very  water  that  was  in  the  trejtch 
 around  ;  then  shall  an  assembled  universe  bow  the  knee 
 in  final  subjection,  saying,  The Loj^d,  He  is  the  God ;  the 
 Lord,  He  is  the  God^.  The  controversy  will  be  for  ever 
 ended:  then,  As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord,  every  knee  shall 
 bow  to  me,  and  every  tongice  shall  confess  to  God^.  The 
 great  white  throne  is  set  for  judgment.  The  dead,  small 
 and  great,  stand  before  God.  The  book  of  life  is  opened. 
 The  dead  are  judged  according  to  the  tilings  written.  And 
 zuhosoever  is  not  foimd  written  in  the  book  of  life  is  cast 
 into  the  lake  of  fir e^. 
 
 That  which  follows  upon  these  things  must  of  neces- 
 sity be  a  revelation  of  the  world  to  come.  Eye  hath  not 
 seen,  nor  ear  heard^  those  things  which  lie  beyond  the 
 last  great  judgment  of  mankind.  And  yet  it  is  to  these 
 things,  as  revealed  by  God's  Spirit  to  the  beloved 
 Apostle  and  Evangelist  St  John,  that  our  thoughts  are 
 now  to  be  directed.  Henceforth,  in  the  brief  remainder 
 of  that  course  which  has  so  long  engaged  us,  we  are  to 
 seek  by  God's  grace  to  represent  to  ourselves,  as  He 
 may  enable  us,  that  which  He  has  seen  fit  to  disclose  to 
 man  of  the  secrets  of  the  world  beyond  death,  beyond 
 resurrection,  beyond  judgment.  The  subject  is  attrac- 
 tive in  no  mean  degree:  God  grant  that  it  be  an 
 attraction  not  of  the  curiosity  only  but  of  the  heart  and 
 of  the  spirit ;  an  attraction  put  forth  not  by  the  dead 
 page  but  by  the  Spirit  who  zvrote  it  for  our  learning'" ; 
 an  attraction,  not  to  bright  and  beautiful  scenes  of  fancy, 
 but  to  the  love  and  to  the  likeness  of  Him  who  fills  that 
 world,  whose  glory  alone  is  its  light  and  its  temple  ^ ! 
 
 1  I  Kings  xviii.  38,  39.  ^  Rom.  xiv.  11.  ^  Rev.  xx.  11,  12,  15. 
 
 *  I  Cor.  ii.  9.  ^  Rom.  xv.  4.  ^  Rev.  xxi.  22,  23. 
 
XXXV.]  Chap.  XXI.   i — 8.  487 
 
 And^  I  saw  a  new  heaven  and  a  nezv  earth.  The 
 words  are  those  oi  an  earHer  prophet.  It  is  thus  that 
 Isaiah  was  instructed  to  describe  tJie  consolation  of  IsraeP^ 
 For,  beJiold,  I  create  nezv  heavens  and  a  new  earth :  and  the 
 former  shall  not  be  remembered,  nor  come  into  mind  ^.  And 
 St  Peter  in  his  2nd  Epistle,  writing  of  the  Church's  ex- 
 pectation, and  describing  the  nature  of  that  second  deluge 
 by  which  a  sin-stained  earth  should  be  finally  remade 
 for  perpetual  habitation,  states  this  as  the  result  of  all ; 
 Nevertheless  we,  according  to  His  promise,  look  for  nezv 
 heavens  and  a  new  earth,  wherein  dwelleth  righteousness  ^. 
 What  an  image  of  the  deep  pollution  which  sin  has 
 brought  upon  the  things  that  are !  It  is  as  though  not 
 the  earth  only  on  which,  but  the  sky  also  under  which 
 sin  has  revelled  and  displayed  itself,  must  need  oblitera- 
 tion and  renewal  before  it  can  be  fit  for  God's  abode  or 
 for  the  saints'  rest  and  glory.  /  saw  a  new  Jieaven  and  a 
 new  earth :  for  t lie  first  heaven  and  the  first  eartJi  departed, 
 and  are  not ;  we  read  in  the  last  chapter  that  they  had 
 fled  azvay^  before  Him  who  sat  on  the  great  throne  ;  and 
 tlie  sea,  that  waste  expanse,  that  divider  and  severer  of 
 nations,  that  instrument  of  a  material  and  oftentimes  an 
 unrighteous  and  a  cruel  traffic,  tJie  sea  is  not  any  longer. 
 The  change  from  that  which  is  is  to  be  absolute  and  uni- 
 versal. Heaven,  earth,  and  sea,  as  we  look  upon  each, 
 will  each  have  been  dissolved  and  recreated. 
 
 And^  tJie  holy  city,  a  nezv  Jerusalem,  sazv  I  descending 
 out  of  the  heaven  from  God,  prepared  as  a  bride  adorned 
 for  her  husband.  The  latter  figure  is  again  that  of  the 
 prophet  Isaiah.     He  hath  clothed  me  with  the  garments  of 
 
 ^    Verse  r.  2  Luke  ii.  -25.  ^  Isai.  Ixv.  17. 
 
 ■*  2  Pet.  iii.  13.  ^  Rev.  xx.  11.  ^   Verse  2. 
 
488  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 salvation,  He  hath  covered  me  zvith  the  rohe  of  righteotts- 
 ness  ;  as  a  bridegroom  decketJi  himself  ivith  ornaments,  and 
 as  a  bride  adoi-neth  he^^selfwith  her  jewels  \  And  so  in  the 
 45  th  Psalm.  The  kings  daughter  is  all  glorious  zvithin  : 
 her  elotlmig  is  of  wrought  gold.  She  shall  be  brought  tmto 
 the  ki?2g  in  rai77ient  of  needlework'^.  The  Bride  is  the 
 Church  ;  that  blessed  company  of  all  faithf id  people^  which 
 Christ  has  brought  into  a  nearness  of  union  to  Himself  of 
 which  the  ordinance  of  earthly  marriage  is  a  perpetual 
 type  and  witness.  That  union  is  at  present  individually 
 realized  :  it  is  by  virtue  of  it  that  each  several  Christian 
 fights  the  good  fight'^  below,  and  at  last  enters  into  rest^. 
 But  as  regards  the  Church  collectively  this  union  with 
 Christ  is  one  rather  of  espousal  than  of  marriage.  Not 
 until  the  number  of  God's  elect  is  accomplished,  not 
 until  resurrection  and  judgment  have  finally  manifested 
 who  are  His  and  who  is  holy  ^,  shall  the  presentation  of 
 the  Bride  to  her  Divine  Lord  be  actually  and  comple- 
 tively  solemnized.  Christ  loved  the  Chtirch,  and  gave 
 Himself  for  it ;  that  is  in  the  past :  that  He  might  sa?ic- 
 tify  and  clea?ise  it  with  the  washing  of  water  by  the  zvord; 
 that  is  in  the  present ;  that  is  the  process  through  which 
 we  who  are  now  alive  upon  earth,  if  we  be  Christ's  at  all, 
 are  severally  passing  :  that  He  might prese7it  it  to  Himself 
 a  glorions  cimrch,  not  having  spot  or  wri?ikle  or  any  snch 
 thing,  but  that  it  shotdd  be  holy  and  zvithont  blemish  V  that 
 is  in  the  future ;  that  is  the  consummation  which  we  look 
 for ;  that  is  what  St  John  beheld  in  vision,  when  he  saw 
 the  holy  city  descending  out  of  heave?i  from  God,  prepared 
 
 1  Isai.  Ixi.  10.  2  Psalm  xlv.  13,  14.  ^  Communion  Service. 
 
 ^  2  Tim.  iv.  7.  ^  Heb.  iv.  3.  ^  Num.  xvi.  5. 
 
 ''  Eph.  V.  25 — 27. 
 
XXXV.]  Chap.  XXI.    i — 8.  489 
 
 as  a  bride  adorned  for  her  husband.  At  present  Jerusalem 
 the  holy  city  is  above  in  heaven  :  St  Paul  says  of  it,  Jem- 
 salem  zvhich  is  above  is  free"^ ;  and  when  we  are  said  al- 
 ready to  have  come  to  it — ye  are  come  unto  inoimt  Sion, 
 a?  id  nnto  the  city  of  the  living  God,  the  heavenly  Jeriisale7n'^ 
 — this  is  to  express  the  true  fellowship  and  communion 
 which  subsists  already  between  Christians  below  and 
 Christians  departed,  in  their  common  spiritual  union 
 with  Christ  their  Lord.  But  the  city  itself  is  at  present 
 in  heaven.  The  witnesses  of  the  nth  chapter,  when  the 
 spirit  of  life  from  God  enters  into  them,  are  seen  to  ascend 
 up  to  heaven  in  a  cloud  while  their  enemies  behold  them  ^. 
 Heaven  is  the  Christian's  city :  his  conversation  [citizen- 
 ship) is  in  heaven  ^ :  his  kingdom  is  called  the  kingdom  of 
 heaven  ^  This  is  while  his  condition  is  one  of  tumult  and 
 conflict,  while  safety  is  the  one  thing  needful  to  him  :  so 
 long  he  looks  up  to  heave Ji,  and  by  faith  beholds '^  there  a 
 city  which  hath  foundations,  zuhose  builder  and  maker  is 
 God'^.  But  that  glory  which  is  at  present  veiled  shall 
 one  day  be  revealed.  That  sonship  which  is  already  his 
 by  faith  shall  hereafter  be  manifested.  That  Jerusalem 
 which  is  now  above  shall,  when  earth  is  purified  for  it 
 and  renovated,  be  seen,  as  St  John  saw  it  in  his  vision, 
 coming  down  from  God  out  of  heaven.  Yoiir  life  is  hid 
 with  Christ  in  God :  when  Christ,  ivho  is  our  life,  shall 
 appear,  then  shall  ye  also  appear  ivith  Him  in  gloiy  ^. 
 
 And^  I  heard  a  great  voice  out  of  tJie  tJirone  saying. 
 Behold,  the  tabernacle  of  God  is  zvith  men  (mankind),  and 
 He  zvill  tabernacle  zvith  them,  a?id  they  themselves  shall  be 
 
 1  Gal.  iv.  26.  ^  Heb.  xii.  22.  ^  Rev.  xi.  ir,  12. 
 
 4  Phil.  iii.  20.         ^  Matt.  v.  3.  «  Collect  for  St  Stephen's  Day. 
 
 ''  Heb.  xi.  10.         ^  Col.  iii.  3,  4.  ^   Verse  3. 
 
490  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 His  people,  and  God  Himself  shall  be  with  them  as  their 
 God.  Thus  shall  be  fulfilled,  in  a  sense  beyond  any  in 
 which  the  words  were  first  spoken,  that  prophecy  of  God 
 to  His  ancient  people,  /  will  set  my  tabernacle  among 
 yon  ;  and  my  sotd  shall  not  abhor  yon.  And  I  will  walk 
 amo7ig  you,  and  zvill  be  your  God,  and  ye  shall  be  my 
 people'^.  The  tabernacle,  or  tent,  of  the  testimony  in  the 
 zvilderness  ^  was  the  central  sign  of  God's  presence  with 
 Israel :  the  figure  is  still  preserved  even  when  the 
 substance  is  come.  The  tabernacle  of  God  is  ivith  men 
 says  in  other  words,  God  Himself  will  make  His  dwelling- 
 place  am.ongst  you  ;  you  shall  see  Him;  you  shall  talk 
 with  Him  ;  God  Himself  shall  be  zvith  you,  and  be  your 
 God. 
 
 And"^  He  shall  zvipe  away  every  tear  from  their  eyes  ; 
 and  death  shall  not  be  {exist)  any  longer ;  neither  shall 
 motirning  nor  crying  nor  pain  be  {exist)  any  longer  ;  because 
 the  first  {foi^mer)  things  departed.  And^  He  who  is  seated 
 tLpon  the  throne  said,  BeJiold,  I  am  making  all  things  nezv. 
 And  He  saith,  Write  ;  record  these  revelations  :  for  these 
 words  are  faithful  and  true.  And^  He  said  to  me,  They 
 have  co7ne  to  pass,  they  are  done  ;  the  words  uttered,  the 
 things  foretold,  are  accomplished :  so  certain  are  they 
 that  it  is  as  though  they  were  already  seen  fulfilled.  / 
 a7n  the  Alpha  and  the  Omega,  the  first  letter  and  the  last 
 of  the  Greek  alphabet,  the  beginning  and  the  end.  I  am 
 He  who  originated  all  things,  and  I  am  He  who  will 
 consummate  all  things;  the  cause  of  all,  and  the  up- 
 holder of  all,  and  the  end  and  aim  of  all ;  from  whose 
 will  all  things  spring,  and  to  whose  glory  all  converge. 
 
 ^  Lev.  xxvi.  II,  12.         ^  Num.  ix.  15.     Acts  vii.  44.         ^   Verse  ji^. 
 ^   Verse  5.  ^   Verse  6. 
 
XXXV.]  Chap.  XXI.   i — 8.  491 
 
 Of  Him  and  through  Him  and  to  Him  arc  all  things :  to 
 whom  be  glory  for  ever^.  I  to  him  that  tJiirsteth  zv  ill  give 
 out  of  the  spring  of  the  zvatcr  of  life  freely ,  that  is,  gratui- 
 tously, as  an  unbought  gift.  Even  as  the  prophet  Isaiah 
 wrote  of  old,  Ho,  every  one  that  thirsteth,  come  ye  to  the 
 zvatcrs,  and  he  that  hath  no  money :  come  ye,  buy,  and  eat, 
 without  money  and  zvithout price^. 
 
 He  ^  that  conquereth  shall  inherit  these  things  ;  and  I 
 zuill  be  to  him  God,  and  he  himself  shall  be  to  me  a  son. 
 But  ^  for  those  who  are  cowardly,  and  tmfaitJifid,  and  de- 
 filed wit  Ji  abominations,  and  murderers,  a7id  fornicators, 
 and  sorcerers,  and  idolater's,  and  for  all  the  false,  their 
 share  is  in  the  lake  zvJiich  is  kindled  with  fir^e  and  brim- 
 stone ;  which  tiling  is  the  second  death. 
 
 Upon  the  passage  thus  placed  before  us  a  few  words 
 of  application  will  suggest  themselves  to  all.  They  shall 
 be  given,  in  both  their  parts,  as  we  read  them  in  St 
 Peter's  2nd  Epistle. 
 
 I.  Wherefore,  beloved,  seeing  that  ye  look  for  S2icji 
 tilings,  be  diligent  that  ye  may  be  found  of  Him  in  peace, 
 without  spot,  and  blameless  ^. 
 
 For  such  things.  What  things  .?  What  is  that  which 
 is  here  given  as  the  description  of  the  Christian's  heaven; 
 of  his  ultimate  state,  after  resurrection,  after  the  final 
 judgment  1  Let  your  minds  rest  once  again  upon  the 
 several  particulars.  What  will  be  gone  then  t  What 
 shall  we  be  rid  of,  so  many  of  us  as  shall  obtain  that 
 zvorld'^,  which  makes  the  present  life  always  precarious, 
 often  sad,  sometimes  miserable  } 
 
 (i)     Pain  is  one  of  these  things.    How  many  of  those 
 
 1  Rom.  xi.  36.  2  Isai.  Iv.  i.  ^   Verse  7.  ^   Verse  8. 
 
 ^  2  Pet.  iii.  14.  ^  Luke  xx.  35. 
 
492  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 who  hear  me  know  what  pain  is  !  Some  of  you  have  a 
 life  of  pain.  Not  a  day,  not  an  hour,  but  you  are  con- 
 scious of  some  definite  bodily  discomfort,  sometimes 
 rising  into  anguish,  but  always  present  to  you,  whether 
 roused  or  sleeping,  as  a  sort  of  lion  chained  at  your  door, 
 as  a  sort  of  enemy  in  yojtr  habitation  \  for  whom  you  can 
 neither  work  securely  nor  sleep  soundly.  It  is  but  a  few 
 persons,  it  is  only  the  young,  or  the  singularly  strong  and 
 healthy,  who  can  smile  at  the  word  pain,  or  profess  igno- 
 rance of  its  power.  Weariness  itself  is  pain ;  unless  it 
 can  lie  down  at  once  and  sleep  itself  off.  In  the  original 
 language  of  this  holy  Book  there  is  but  one  word  to  ex- 
 press toil  and  pain.  I  scarcely  know  which  of  the  two 
 was  intended,  when  the  words  now  under  notice  were 
 written  down.  Excessive  toil,  too  severe  for  the  strength, 
 too  trying  to  the  brain,  not  allowed  to  break  off,  not 
 allowed  to  pause,  not  allowed  to  rest,  is  at  once  pain 
 too.  Many  of  us  have  known  it.  In  that  respect  we  are 
 all  of  us  working  men.  It  is  a  great  mistake  to  suppose 
 that  head-work  is  no  labour,  or  may  not  be  even  pain. 
 An  overwrought  brain  is  a  suffering ;  yes,  a  torture  and 
 a  torment.  Then  reflect  upon  the  promise.  Whosoever 
 amongst  you  is  a  weary  man,  look  up,  look  forward  ; 
 there  will  be  no  weariness  in  heaven.  And  whosoever 
 amongst  you  is  an  old  man,  beginning  to  feel  tJie  very 
 grassJwpper  a  burden  ^,  full  of  aches  and  pains  if  he  do 
 but  stir  from  his  chair  and  his  fireside ;  remember  there 
 will  be  none  of  this  in  heaven.  And  whosoever  amongst 
 you  is  an  ailing  man  or  a  feeble  woman ;  never  know- 
 ing what  it  is  to  enjoy  a  sense  of  vigour  or  robust- 
 ness ;  never  feeling  equal  to  your  day's  work,  and  never 
 1  I  Sam.  ii.  32.  2  Eccles.  xii.  5. 
 
XXXV.]  Chap,  XXI.    I — 8.  493 
 
 refreshed  by  a  sound  night's  repose  ;  remember  this  will 
 be  all  over  for  ever  in  heaven.  And  whosoever  amongst 
 you  carries  about  with  him  or  her  the  burden  of  some 
 definite  disease  ;  something  perhaps  which  is  not  only 
 painful  but  unsightly  also  or  repulsive  or  humiliating  ; 
 like  that  poor  woman  in  the  Gospel  who  had  borne  long 
 and  suffered  much,  had  spent  all  Jier  living  tipon  physi- 
 cians \  And  zvas  not  Jung  bettered  hid  rather  grezv  worse^ 
 till  at  last  in  a  happy  hour  she  bethought  herself  of 
 touching  the  hem  of  a  Saviours  garment^ — yes,  each  life 
 as  well  as  each  heart  k7ioivs  its  owji  bittej-ness,  with 
 which  it  allows  not  the  stranger  to  intermeddle^ — from 
 this  also  there  will  be  rest  in  heaven.  Take  heed  to 
 yourself,  my  brother,  my  sister,  that  you  do  not  forfeit 
 that  rest ;  that  you  do  not,  as  it  is  written,  come  short  of 
 it^y  and  so  miss  both  worlds ! 
 
 (2)  Another  of  these  things  is  sorrow.  The  mind 
 has  its  pains :  who  has  not  known  something  of  these } 
 Yes,  you  are  all  carrying,  I  doubt  not,  this  night  your 
 little  separate  burdens  of  sorrow  :  or  if  sorrow  be  too 
 strong  a  word  to  express  the  troubles  of  some  of  us,  at 
 least  I  may  speak  of  discomforts,  of  anxieties,  of  fears 
 or  cares,  of  drawbacks  to  perfect  enjoyment,  of  inter- 
 ferences with  the  even  tenor  of  a  peaceful  and  happy 
 life.  One  of  you  is  sorrowing  for  a  friend  ;  one  is  anxious 
 about  the  health  in  mind  or  body  of  a  near  and  beloved 
 relation;  one  is  grieved  and  vexed  with  his  own  back- 
 slidings  and  sins  ;  and  one  is  tortured  by  doubts  of  ac- 
 ceptance, fearful  of  falling  away  finally,  or  (it  may  be) 
 unable  to  grasp  firmly  the  very  realities  of  his  Saviour's 
 
 *  Luke  viii.  43.  -  Mark  v.  26.  ^  Matt.  ix.  20. 
 
 *  Prov.  xiv.  10.  ^  Heb.  iv.  i. 
 
494  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 work  or  power  or  risen  life  in  heaven.  No  one  is  happy 
 while  these  things  are  so  with  him.  And  therefore  I 
 call  upon  all  and  upon  each  of  these  to  gaze  stedfastly 
 upon  the  promise  here  written ;  In  heaven  there  shall  be 
 no  more  soj^rozv  ;  God  shall  zuipe  aivay  every  tear.  You 
 know  well  enough  by  past  experience  that  this  promise, 
 if  not  true  of  heaven,  if  not  true  as  God  (we  believe) 
 makes  it,  will  be  verified  nowhere  else  and  in  no  other 
 manner.  You  have  seen  enough  on  earth,  whether  your 
 abode  upon  it  has  been  long  or  short,  to  convince  you 
 that  if  any  one  were  to  offer  you  an  exemption  from 
 sorrow  here,  he  would  be  a  deluder  and  a  mocker :  do 
 you  not  feel  that  this  gives  God's  Word  a  strong  claim 
 at  least  upon  your  consideration,  when  it  declares  so- 
 lemnly that  in  the  Christian's  heaven  there  will  be  no 
 sorrow,  no  crying,  not  a  tear  1  Yes,  it  is  in  heaven,  in 
 the  Christian  heaven,  in  the  Bible  heaven,  in  God's 
 heaven,  alone  if  anywhere,  that  we  can  hope  to  be  free 
 from  sorrow. 
 
 (3)  And  there  is  a  third  thing.  There  shall  be  no 
 death  there.  In  one  way  or  another  death  is  the  cause 
 of  many  of  our  sorrows  below.  Just  when  we  were  so 
 happily  placed,  just  when  we  had  prepared  our  little  nest 
 and  were  so  safely  housed  in  it,  just  when  the  love  of 
 wife  and  child  was  so  sweet  to  us  and  had  done  us  so 
 much  good,  had  weaned  us  from  self-indulgence  and  self- 
 ishness and  centred  all  our  thoughts  in  that  which  was 
 so  pure  and  so  innocent  and  so  improving ;  death  came 
 one  night,  and  I  rose  in  the  morning  a  desolate  and 
 disconsolate  man.  And  then  again,  without  striking,  he 
 threatens  ;  he  comes  near,  hovers  about,  inspects  as  it 
 were  my  doors  and  windows,  never  wholly  departs,  keeps 
 
XXXV.]  Chap,  XXI.    i — 8.  495 
 
 me  in  perpetual  flutter  and  unrest :  and  how  can  I  know 
 peace  while  this  is  so  ?  Through  feaj'  of  death,  it  is 
 written,  men  are  all  their  lifetime  subject  to  bondage^.  Do 
 not  tell  me,  sinful  man,  that  thou  hast  no  fear  of  death  ! 
 Too  selfish,  it  may  be  to  fear  for  another,  yet  thou  fear- 
 est,  I  can  see  it,  for  thyself.  Thou  art  not  ready  for 
 death  ;  and  yet  death  perhaps  is  almost  ready  for  thee. 
 Therefore,  I  would  say  it  once  again,  if  there  be  any 
 place,  any  state,  which  is  absolutely  and  for  ever  free 
 from  death — where,  as  it  is  written,  death  exists  not — 
 that  surely  is  the  place  for  thee :  surely  thou  wilt  listen 
 to  the  promise,  examine  it  well,  and  if  it  proves  itself, 
 close  with  it. 
 
 These  are  some  of  the  things  which  will  be  ab- 
 sent, departed,  gone  and  done  with,  in  heaven.  But 
 it  were  a  poor  heaven  if  furnished  only  with  negations  ; 
 known  only  by  what  it  has  not ;  bare  walls,  empty 
 spaces,  vacant  of  what  is  unpleasing,  but  not  filled 
 with  that  which  is  good  and  blessed  and  glorious. 
 Therefore  we  must  go  on  to  think  of  what  there  is. 
 We  shall  hear  more  of  it  in  that  which  follows.  But 
 have  we  not  heard  something,  yes,  the  chief  thing  of 
 all,  tonight,  when  we  were  told  that  God  Himself  will 
 be  with  the  Christian  in  heaven,  and  be  his  God  t  He 
 that  overcometJi  shall  inherit  all  tilings :  and  I  tvill  be 
 his  God,  and  he  shall  be  my  son.  I  know  indeed  that 
 some  hearts  in  this  congregation  are  saying  as  they 
 listen,  I  am  not  ready  for  the  sight  of  God :  and  others, 
 I  have  nothing  in  common  with  the  holy  God :  and 
 others.  Let  me  not  see  God,  let  not  God  speak  zvith  me, 
 bst  I  die"^.     These  are  the  first  utterances  of  the  natural, 
 
 1  Heb.  ii.  15.  ^  Exod.  xx.  19. 
 
49^  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 that  is,  the  fallen  Adam  :  while  sin  is  cherished,  I  well 
 know  God  cannot  be  desired,  cannot  be  loved.  But 
 in  itself,  my  brethren,  is  there  not  something  sweet, 
 something  attractive,  something  sustaining  in  that  pro- 
 mise, /  will  be  with  thee,  and  will  be  thy  God?  Yes, 
 it  is  the  distance  from  God,  it  is  the  not  knowing 
 Him,  it  is  the  having  nothing  definite  to  do  with  Him, 
 which  makes  the  thought  formidable :  if  we  felt  sure 
 that  God  was  our  God,  that  He  loved  us,  that  He 
 cared  for  us,  that  He  forgave  us,  that  He  had  taken 
 charge  of  us  and  was  set  upon  comforting  and  blessing 
 and  saving  us,  we  should  cease  to  tremble  then  ;  we 
 should  say,  Lord,  be  it  tmto  me  accoi'ding  to  Thy  zvord^  ! 
 Lord,  be  my  God,  and  let  me,  O  let  me  be  Thy  son 
 through  Jesus  Christ !  To  have  God  with  us  is  to  be 
 perfectly  safe  :  to  have  God  for  our  God^  is  to  be  per- 
 fectly happy. 
 
 Seeing  then  that  ye  look  for  such  things,  take  heed 
 that  ye  miss  them  not.     This  is  the  first  charge. 
 
 2.  And  the  second  is  like  unto  it,  namely  this^, 
 also  given  in  the  words  of  the  same  2nd  Epistle  of 
 St  Peter,  Ye  therefore,  beloved,  seeing  ye  know  these  things 
 before,  beware  lest  ye  also,  being  led  azvay  with  the  error 
 of  the  wicked,  fall  from  yonr  own  stedfastness'^.  The 
 same  passage  which  tells  us  something  of  what  heaven 
 will  be  to  him  that  overcometh  tells  us  also  who  will 
 not  be  found  there.  The  fearful,  and  tmbelieving ;  the 
 abominable,  and  murderers ;  wJwrcmongers,  a7id  sorcerers  ; 
 idolaters,  and  all  liars ;  these  shall  have  their  share  in 
 that  other  place,  that  lake  bitrning  with  fire  and  brim- 
 
 ^  Luke  i.  38.  2  Psalm  xlviii.  14.  ^  Mark  xii.  31. 
 
 •*  2  Pet.  iii.  17. 
 
XXXV.]  Chap.  XXI.   i — 8.  497 
 
 stone,  which  is  the  second  death.  A  fearful  catalogue ; 
 and  needing,  it  may  be,  some  interpretation  of  its  terms 
 to  bring  it  home  to  us  who  read.  But  let  us  think  of 
 one  or  two  items  of  this  description  of  the  lost,  and' 
 let  us  say  within  ourselves,  From  each  one  of  these, 
 Good  Lordy  deliver  me.  The  fearful.  The  fearful  are 
 not  those  who  fear  God  :  not  those  who  have  trembled 
 betimes  at  His  zvord^  and  served  Him  on  earth  with 
 reverence  and  godly  fear"^.  It  is  not  an  excess  of  re- 
 verence which  is  here  spoken  of.  The  fearful  are 
 the  opposite  of  Jiiin  that  overcometh.  They  are  those 
 who  have  been  cowardly  in  the  face  of  God's  enemy. 
 Those  who  have  never  resisted  manfully  in  the  strife 
 with  sin.  Those  who  could  never  rise  to  a  bold 
 confession,  or  bear  opposition  or  ridicule  rather  than 
 deny  Christ  or  betray  Him.  Thus  they  are  classed 
 in  the  place  of  torment  with  the  unbelieving  or  un- 
 faithfnl.  See  what  comes  at  last  of  this  cowardice ! 
 See  who  are  the  associates  then  of  those  who  once 
 thought  that,  if  not  quite  right,  they  were  at  least 
 not  far  wrong !  See  them  there  surrounded  by  mur- 
 derers and  zvhoremongers,  by  idolaters  and  all  liars! 
 O  terrible  end !  O  fatal  compromise  carried  on  too 
 long  and  too  far  with  sinners  and  with  sin  !  O  spirit 
 of  oversensitiveness,  of  dislike  to  trouble,  of  dread  of 
 isolation,  of  inability  to  judge  decisively  and  to  act 
 courageously,  which  has  brought  you,  by  slow  stages, 
 by  easy  descents,  to  a  level  so  vile  and  a  companion- 
 ship so  horrible !  And  now  it  must  be  so,  be  so  for 
 ever.  There  is  no  change  there.  Betzveen  us  and  yoiL 
 there  is  a  great  gidf  fixed^ :    and  none  are  permitted 
 
 1  Isai.  Ixvi.  2.  2  Heb.  xii.  28.  *  Luke  xvi.  26. 
 
 V.  R.  32 
 
498  Revelation.  [lect.  xxxv. 
 
 to  come  or  go  between  the  heaven  of  the  blessed  and 
 the  hell  of  the  lost. 
 
 Think  of  these  things,  my  brethren,  while  yet 
 there  is  time;  time  to  cross  over  from  the  one  state 
 to  the  other ;  time  to  cease  to  do  evil,  time  to  learn  to 
 do  well'^ ;  time  to  repent  of  sin,  time  to  seek  God, 
 time  to  become  in  deed  and  in  truth  a  new  man  in 
 Christ  Jesus.  Let  His  own  words,  heard  yet  once  more 
 this  evening,  draw  you  by  His  grace  towards  Him;  / 
 will  give  unto  him  that  is  athirst  of  the  foimtain  of  the. 
 water  of  life  freely  I  You  know  you  are  athirst :  come 
 then  to  Him,  and  drink ! 
 
 ^  Isai.  i.  16,  17. 
 
 Second  Sunday  after  Easter, 
 May  4,   1862. 
 
LECTURE    XXXVI. 
 
 REVELATION   XXI.   22. 
 
 And  I  saw  no  temple  therein  :  for  the  Lord  God  Almighty 
 ajid  the  Lamb  are  the  temple  of  it. 
 
 And"^  there  came,  thus  the  passage  opens,  one  of  the  seven 
 angels  who  had  the  seven  bowls  full  of  seven  plagues  the 
 last  of  all,  and  talked  with  7ne,  saying,  Hither :  /  will 
 show  thee  the  woman,  the  bride  of  the  Lamb.  In  the  17th 
 chapter  the  same  ministry  was  employed  to  indicate  to 
 the  Apostle  a  very  different  person,  the  guilty  woman 
 who  is  afterwards  described  as  Babylon  the  great,  the 
 mother  of  all  the  abominatiojts  of  the  earth.  It  is  again 
 one  of  the  Angels  entrusted  with  the  last  vials  of  wrath 
 who  shows  to  St  John  that  most  opposite  vision  the 
 description  of  which  is  now  before  us.  The  same  Angels 
 who  are  sent  forth  by  the  So7i  of  Man  to  gather  out  of  His 
 kingdom  all  things  that  offend"^,  are  also  employed  to 
 gather  together  His  elect  from  the  four  winds,  from  07ie  e7id 
 of  heaven  to  the  other  ^. 
 
 1   Verse  <^.  2  Matt.  xiii.  41.  '  Matt.  xxiv.  31. 
 
 32—2 
 
500 
 
 Revelation,  I  lect. 
 
 And'^  he  carried  me  away  in  spirit  on  to  a  jnoimtain 
 great  and  high,  from  whence  a  wide  and  commanding 
 view  might  be  obtained  ;  a7id  showed  me  the  holy  city 
 Jerusalem  descending  out  of  the  heaven,  out  of  {originating 
 froin)  God,  having"^  the  glory  of  God,  enveloped  in  that 
 splendour  which  betokened  to  Israel  of  old  the  light  of 
 God's  presence  :  the  luminary  of  her,  the  light  which  she 
 gives — it  is  the  word  used  in  the  Greek  Bible  in  the  ist 
 chapter  of  Genesis  to  denote  the  heavenly  bodies  which 
 God  set  in  the  firmament  of  heaven  to  give  light  ttpon  the 
 earth  ^ — is  like  a  stone  most  precious,  as  it  were  a  jasper 
 stone  crystallizing,  shining  as  crystal :  she,  the  city,  having^ 
 a  wall  great  and  high  ;  she,  the  city,  havi7tg  twelve  gate- 
 towers,  and  at  the  gate-towers  twelve  angels,  as  though  to 
 guard  the  city  and  to  regulate  its  admissions  ;  and  names 
 inscribed  upon  the  gate-towers,  which  are  names  of  the 
 tzvelve  tribes  of  the  sons  of  Israel  The  heavenly  Jeru- 
 salem shall  be  complete  in  all  its  component  parts, 
 even  as  the  natural  Israel  had  its  twelve  constituent 
 tribes,  each  one  essential  to  the  perfect  whole.  From'" 
 the  sun-rising,  that  is,  facing  a  person  entering  from 
 the  east,  three  gate-towers ;  and  fro7n  the  quarter  of 
 the  northwind,  on  the  north,  three  gate-tozvers ;  and 
 from  the  quarter  of  the  southwind,  on  the  south,  three 
 gate-towers ;  ajzd  from  the  sunsetting,  the  west,  three 
 gate-tozvers,  And^  there  was  the  ivall  of  the  city  having 
 twelve  foundations,  twelve  vast  basement  stones  occupy- 
 ing each  a  twelfth  part  of  the  whole  extent  of  the  city 
 walls  ;  and  on  them  twelve  names  of  the  twelve  apostles 
 of  the  Lamb.     We  shall  all  be  reminded  of  St  Paul's 
 
 1  Verse  lo.  ^  Verse  ii.  '  Gen.  i.  17. 
 
 *  Verse  12.  ^  Verse  13.         ^  Verse  14. 
 
XXXVI.]  Chap.  XXI.  9 — 27.  501 
 
 description  of  the  entire  Church  of  Christ,  as  being 
 built  upon  the  foundation  of  the  apostles  and  prophets, 
 Jesus  Christ  Hi7nself  being  the  chief  comer-stone'^ ;  or 
 of  the  words  of  our  Lord  when  He  said  Himself  to 
 one  of  His  Apostles,  I  say  unto  thee  that  tJiou  art  Peter, 
 the  name  denoting  a  rock,  and  upon  this  rock  I  will 
 build  my  Church,  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail 
 against  it"^. 
 
 And^  he  who  was  talking  with  me  had  a  measure^  a 
 golden  reed,  that  he  might  measure  the  city  and  its  gate- 
 towers  and  its  wall.  We  read  in  the  nth  chapter, 
 though  in  a  very  different  connection,  of  a  similar 
 measuring  of  the  temple  and  the  altar.  And  in  both 
 passages  alike  we  are  referred  back  to  an  earlier  book 
 of  prophecy,  the  concluding  chapters  of  the  Prophet 
 Ezekiel,  where  the  captive  Israelites  are  comforted  in 
 their  dreary  exile  by  a  vision  of  a  rebuilt  city  and  temple, 
 measured  in  every  part  with  the  minutest  exactness,  as 
 an  assurance  that  the  promise  was  no  vague  or  figurative 
 one,  but  destined  in  God's  counsels  to  a  glorious  realiza- 
 tion.    Even  thus  it  is  here. 
 
 And^  the  city  lies  foursquare,  with  four  equal  angles, 
 and  its  length  is  as  much  as  is  also  the  breadth.  A  nd  he 
 measured  the  city  with  the  reed  up  to  furlongs  of  the 
 number  of  twelve  thousands.  The  proportions  of  the  city 
 are  of  such  magnitude  as  to  forbid  any  attempt  to 
 localize  or  to  realize.  Each  of  the  four  sides  of  the 
 city  approaches  to  three  hundred  and  fifty  miles  in 
 length.  And  the  description  goes  on  to  say  that  the 
 length  and  the  breadth  a?id  the  height  of  it  are  equal. 
 We  may  suppose  that  the  city  stands  on  a  gigantic  base 
 
 1  Eph.  ii.  20.  2  Matt.  xvi.  i8.         ^   Verse  15.         ^   Verse  16. 
 
502  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 of  rock  which  is  included  in  the  measurement  of  its 
 height.  Aiid^  he  measured  its  wall  of  a  hundred  and 
 forty-four  citbits  in  height,  maiis  measure,  which  is  in 
 this  case  angeCs  measure.  In  reference  to  human  things 
 even  an  Angel  must  use  human  measurements. 
 
 And'^  the  building,  that  is,  the  material,  of  its  wall 
 was  jasper ;  and  the  city  was  pure  gold,  like  piLre  glass. 
 We  are  guarded  at  each  step  against  attempting  to 
 realize  the  ideal.  The  one  purpose  is  to  express  the 
 glory  of  the  heavenly  state  in  figures  altogether  trans- 
 cending human  experience.  The^  foimdations  of  the 
 zuall  of  the  city  were  adorned  zvith  every  precious  stone : 
 the  first  foundation  was  a  jasper^  the  second  a  sapphire, 
 the  third  a  chalcedon,  the  fourth  an  emerald,  the  fifth  ^  a 
 sardonyx,  the  sixth  a  sardian,  the  seve?ith  a  chiysolith,  the 
 eighth  a  beryl,  the  ninth  a  topaz,  the  tenth  a  chrysoprase, 
 the  eleventh  a  jacinth,  the  twelfth  a7t  amethyst.  Ajid^  the 
 twelve  gate-towers  v/ere  twelve  pearls  :  each  o?ie  severally 
 of  the  gate-towers  was  of  one  pearl.  A  7id  the  street  of  the 
 city  was  gold  pure  as  transparent  glass. 
 
 And^  temple y  or  shrine,  I  saw  not  in  it :  for  the  Lord 
 God  the  Almighty  is  its  temple ^  and  the  Lamb.  And'^  the 
 city  hath  not  need  of  the  sim,  nor  of  the  moon,  that  they 
 should  shine  for  it :  for  the  glory  of  God  enlightened  it, 
 and  the  lamp  of  it  is  the  Lamb.  And^  the  natiofts  shall 
 walk  by  mea7is  of  its  light,  and  the  kings  of  the  earth 
 carry  their  glory  ifito  it.  It  swallows  up  all  other  glories : 
 they  who  enter  it  bring  with  them  all  their  splendour  to 
 be  eclipsed  by  and  absorbed  in  its  brightness :  even 
 the  great  men  of  the  earth,  its  rulers  and  kings,  if  they 
 
 ^  Verse  17.     '  Verse  18.     ^  Verse  19.     ■*  Verse  10. 
 ^   Verse  21.  *  Verse  22.  '  Verse  2^.  ^  Verse  2^. 
 
xxxvi.'J  Chap,  XXI.  9 — 27.  503 
 
 enter  there,  enter  but  to  cast  their  crowjis  before  tJie 
 throne^ ;  enter  but  to  walk  in  its  light,  and  to  see  all 
 other  greatness  grow  pale  and  dim  before  it. 
 
 Aud^  its  gate-towers  shall  not  be  closed  by  day :  for 
 night  shall  not  be  [exist)  there.  Its  gates  shall  never  be 
 shut :  if  shut  at  all,  they  must  be  shut  in  daylight ;  for 
 there  shall  be  no  night  there :  therefore  they  stand  ever 
 open,  in  the  confidence  of  an  entire  safety,  and  for  the 
 constant  influx  of  new  tributes  of  glory,  And^  men 
 shall  carry  the  glory  and  tlie  Jionour  of  the  nations  into  it. 
 In  it  shall  be  fulfilled  the  words  of  the  Prophet  Isaiah, 
 TJurefore  thy  gates  shall  be  open  continnally  :  they  shall 
 not  be  shut  day  nor  nigJit ;  that  men  may  bring  unto  thee 
 the  forces,  or  wcaltJi,  of  the  Gentiles,  and  that  their  kings 
 may  be  brought^. 
 
 And^  there  shall  not  enter  into  it  any  common  (tijzclean) 
 thing,  and  {nor)  he  that  maketJi  an  abomination  and  a  lie, 
 except  {but  only)  those  loho  have  been  written  i7i  the  roll  of 
 life  of  the  Lamb.  Evil  will  then  have  been  put  down 
 throughout  God's  creation  :  the  gates  may  stand  open 
 all  day  long,  for  nothing  unclean  or  abominable  will  be 
 there  to  pass  through  them. 
 
 I.  The  first  remark  which  suggests  itself  upon  the 
 passage  thus  read  to  you  is  as  to  Avhat  may  be  called 
 the  shape  and  size  of  the  heavenly  city.  On  earth  we 
 are  always  narrowing  and  excluding:  it  is  as  though 
 Christians  were  afraid  of  being  lost  in  a  crowd  :  of  being 
 forgotten  and  overlooked  in  a  multitude  of  redeemed 
 and  rescued  souls.  And  therefore  they  make  their  own 
 little  systems,  impose  their  own  arbitrary  conditions,  and 
 
 *  Rev.  iv.  10.  ^   Verse  25.  '   Verse  ^6. 
 
 ^  Isai.  Ix.  II.  *   Veise  27. 
 
504  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 think  the  better  of  their  sect  or  party  in  proportion  as 
 it  admits  fewer  and  excludes  more.  And  even  of  those 
 who  do  not  make  for  themselves  a  new  party  or  a  new 
 sect ;  even  of  those  who  are  contented  to  worship  in 
 their  fathers'  Church,  and  are  glad  that  its  entrance 
 should  be  wide  and  its  comprehension  ample ;  even  of 
 these  how  many  are  found  viewing  one  another  with 
 suspicion  and  mistrust ;  unable  to  stretch  out  to  the 
 right  and  to  the  left  the  hand  of  fellowship,  and  to  say, 
 Grace  be  with  all  them  that  love  our  Lord  Jesiis  Christ  in 
 sincerity  \ 
 
 Now  let  us  seriously  observe  in  this  aspect  the 
 revelation  here  made  to  us  of  the  heavenly  state.  The 
 city  is  of  vast  dimensions.  Its  enclosing  walls  stretch 
 themselves  over  some  fifteen  hundred  miles.  Its  gates 
 are  always  open.  The  glory  and  honour  of  the  nations 
 is  ever  pouring  into  it.  Each  tribe  of  Israel  has  its  own 
 gate,  and  each  several  gate  is  of  one  pearl.  We  read 
 nothing  there  of  watchwords  of  sects,  or  of  banners  of 
 parties.  The  city  lieth  foursquare :  its  length  and  its 
 breadth  and  its  height  are  equal.  All  is  magnificent  in 
 scale,  generous  in  terms,  and  bountiful  in  provision. 
 Whoever  would  enter  there  must  enter  as  the  friend 
 and  the  brother  of  all  else.  Schism  and  discord  and 
 variance  are  words  unknown  there  among  the  followers 
 of  a  common  Lord  and  Master. 
 
 My  brethren,  I  would  solemnly  charge  it  upon  you 
 that  you  practise  betimes  for  that  great  and  glorious 
 commonwealth.  If  the  Church  below  is  split  and 
 divided,  mourn  over  this,  never  glory  in  it.  For  your- 
 selves, try  your  Christianity  by  this  test  amongst  others, 
 ^  Eph.  vi.  24. 
 
.]  Chap,  XXI.  9 — 27.  505 
 
 XXXVI 
 
 Is  it  a  large  and  an  ample  and  a  generous  system  ? 
 Is  it  one  which  tends  to  promote  brotherly  concord 
 and  union  ?  Is  it  one  not  self-made  but  received  of  the 
 Lord^  and  stamped  with  the  general  acceptance  of 
 His  believing  people  ?  Is  it  one  of  which  the  gates 
 can  ever  stand  open  day  and  night ;  one  of  which  it 
 may  be  said  with  truth  that  it  is  world-wide  in  its  offers 
 and  heaven-high  in  its  aspirations  ?  Be  assured  that 
 the  Gospel  was  sent  for  the  Jiealing  of  the  nations  ^  ; 
 and  this  end  would  be  at  once  frustrated  if  the  Gospel 
 itself  were  framed  upon  narrow  suppositions,  or  beset 
 with  repulsive  peculiarities.  How  are  the  hearts  of 
 men  consciously  or  unconsciously  longing  and  yearning 
 for  a  revelation  grand  and  generous  and  elevating  and 
 wise  !  See  that  you  be  presenting  that  revelation  in 
 which  you  believe,  as  a  satisfaction  for  this  want !  Never 
 let  it  be  said  by  candid,  sensible,  and  noble-minded 
 men,  I  cannot  receive  that  Gospel  because  it  does  not 
 lie  foursquare  ;  because  the  length  and  the  breadth  and 
 the  height  of  it  are  not  equal ;  because  its  gates  are  not 
 open  day  and  night ;  because  the  nations  of  them  that 
 believe  can  never  walk  in  the  light  of  it ! 
 
 2.  But  there  is  a  test  of  the  true  Gospel  even 
 more  decisive  than  its  amplitude :  and  that  is  the 
 inherent  holiness  of  its  character.  Can  anything  that 
 defileth,  anything  that  worketh  abomination  or  maketh  a 
 lie,  find  rest,  as  such,  within  the  borders  of  your  Gospel  ? 
 Is  it  a  holy  system  ?  In  your  zeal  for  what  you  deem 
 truth  are  you  ever  tempted  to  overlook  or  to  leave  out 
 holiness  ?  Are  you  careful  so  to  state  your  Gospel 
 as  that  it  shall  give  no  encouragement  practically  to 
 
 ^  I  Cor.  xi.  23.  ^  Rev.  xxii.  2. 
 
5o6  -  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 carelessness  ?  Are  you  more  anxious  to  have  holy 
 brethren  ^  in  it  than  theological  allies  ?  It  is  a  bad  sign 
 in  the  kingdom  below  when  religious  partisanship  is 
 allowed  to  take  the  place  of  spiritual  holiness.  Into  the 
 city  above  there  shall  in  no  wise  enter  anything  that 
 defileth:  let  not  anything  that  defileth  find  acceptance 
 or  shelter  in  the  city  below !  And  if  for  others  this 
 cannot  wholly  be  prevented ;  if  wheat  and  tares  must 
 grow  together'^  in  God's  harvest-field  until  the  day  of 
 final  severing ;  still  let  us  as  individuals  look  to  our- 
 selves :  for  ourselves  we  can  tell,  as  we  can  seldom 
 tell  for  others,  whether  We  are  walking  in  the  light 
 of  sincerity  and  of  godliness ;  whether  there  is  any- 
 thing harboured  within  us  which  is  not  of  God  but  of 
 God's  enemy:  and  great  need  have  we  to  try  and  judge 
 ourselves  concerning  these  things,  lest  perhaps  in  the 
 day  of  the  ma?iifestatwn  of  the  sons  of  God^  we  be  found 
 to  have  neither  part  nor  lot^  in  the  eternal  kingdom  of 
 Christ  and  of  God^. 
 
 3.  The  text  itself  will  suggest  one  closing  lesson 
 of  a  profitable  and  important  character.  In  the  city 
 above,  it  tells  us,  there  will  be  no  temple.  We  know 
 what  the  significance  of  the  temple  was  in  the  Jeru- 
 salem below.  We  know  that  it  was  the  selected  spot 
 of  God's  abode  upon  earth ;  the  place  which  He  had 
 Himself  chosen  to  set  His  name  there^.  And  we  know 
 that  an  Israelite  excluded  by  fault  or  misfortune  from 
 the  sacred  precincts  of  the  temple  regarded  himself  as 
 equally  debarred  from  the  worship  and  from  the  pre- 
 sence of  his  God.      We  know  how  mournful  were  the 
 
 ^  Heb.  iii.  i.  ^  Matt.  xiii.  30.  ^  Rom.  viii.  19. 
 
 *  Acts  viii.  21.  ^  Eph.  v.  5.  ^  Neh.  i.  9. 
 
XXXVI.]  Chap.  XXI.   9 — 27.  507 
 
 strains  of  sacred  song  in  which  king  David  bewailed 
 his  temporary  expulsion  from  the  shrine  and  sanctuary 
 which  he  loved.  When  I  remember  these  things,  he 
 wrote,  as  he  pondered  in  the  land  beyond  Jordan, 
 during  the  unnatural  rebellion  of  his  son  Absalom,  the 
 privileges  from  which  he  was  an  exile,  I  ponr  out  my 
 soul  in  me :  for  I  had  gone  with  the  inultitiide,  I  went 
 with  them  to  the  house  of  God,  with  the  voice  of  joy  and 
 praise,  zviih  a  imiltitude  that  kept  Jiolyday.  O  my  God, 
 my  sold  is  cast  down  within  7ne :  therefore  will  I  re- 
 member thee  from  the  land  of  Jordan,  and  of  the 
 Hermonites,  from  the  hill  Mizar  \  Exclusion  from  the 
 temple  was  then  exclusion  from  vv^orship.  My  soul 
 lojigeth,  yea,  even  faintcth  for  the  courts  of  the  Lord:  my 
 heart  and  my  flesh  crieth  out  for  the  living  God'\  To  be 
 debarred  from  the  courts  of  the  Lord  was  to  be  exiled 
 from  the  living  God. 
 
 How  strange  then  to  Jewish  ears  must  have  been 
 the  announcement,  /  saw  no  temple  therein !  When 
 Ezekiel  was  instructed  to  convey  to  the  captive  Israel 
 a  promise  of  comfort  and  of  restoration,  it  consisted 
 largely  in  a  detailed  description  of  the  temple  that 
 was  to  be,  with  its  ornaments  and  its  ordinances,  its 
 chambers  for  the  priests  and  its  altars  for  the  sacrifices. 
 It  was  thus  that  reality  was  given  to  the  hope  of  the 
 nation  and  to  the  promises  of  its  God.  A  city  without 
 a  temple  would  have  been  to  Israel  after  theflesJi^  rather 
 a  threat  than  a  promise. 
 
 And  how  much  must  St  John  himself  have  had  to 
 learn  and  to  unlearn  before  he  could  rejoice  in  this 
 consummation  of  the  glory  that  should  be  revealed'^ — / 
 
 ^  Psalm  xlii.  4,  6.         ^  Psalm  Ixxxiv.  2.        ^  j  Qqx.  x.  i8.        *  i  Pet.  v.  x. 
 
5o8.  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 saw  no  temple  therein!  He  too  had  shared  doubtless 
 to  the  full  in  the  national  feeling  towards  the  shrine 
 and  sanctuary  of  Israel.  It  was  only  by  slow  and 
 laborious  steps  that  he  had  risen  out  of  local  and 
 material  notions  of  worship.  He  had  heard  his  Master 
 say  on  earth,  and  he  was  taught  to  record  the  words 
 for  the  perpetual  instruction  of  his  Master's  servants, 
 Believe  me,  the  hour  cometh  when  ye  shall  neither  in 
 this  mountain  nor  yet  at  Jerusalem  worship  the  Father. 
 The  hour  cometh,  and  now  is,  when  the  trite  zvorshippers 
 shall  worship  the  Father  in  spirit  and  in  truth:  for 
 the  Father  seeketh  such  to  zvorship  Him.  God  is  a 
 Spirit :  and  they  that  worship  Hiin  must  worship  Him 
 in  spirit  arid  in  trnth'^.  And  it  had  become  one  of 
 the  first  principles  of  the  Christian  faith  that  worship 
 was  no  longer  local  but  spiritual.  TJie  Most  High 
 dzvelleth  not  in  temples  made  zvith  hands ;  as  saith  the 
 prophet,  Heaven  is  my  throne,  and  earth  is  my  footstool : 
 what  house  will  ye  bnild  mef  saith  the  Lord:  or  what 
 is  the  place  of  my  rest  '^  ? 
 
 But  the  secret  of  spiritual  worship,  and  the  assur- 
 ance of  its  eternal  character,  are  things  more  easily 
 assented  to  in  principle  than  realized  in  practice. 
 Are  there  none  of  us,  my  brethren,  even  in  this  late 
 day  of  the  Church,  who  can  ill  enter  into  the  glory 
 of  the  revelation  that  in  heaven  there  shall  be  no 
 temple }  It  is  an  important  and  it  is  also  a  difficult 
 duty  to  give  its  just  place,  and  no  more  than  its  just 
 place,  to  a  building  consecrated  to  Christian  worship. 
 Men  are  ever  oscillating  between  the  too  much  and 
 the  too  little.     Some  speak  of  a  church  in  terms  bor- 
 
 1  John  iv.  21,  23,  24.  2  ^cts  vii.  48,  49. 
 
XXXVI.]  Chap.  XXI.  9—27.  509 
 
 rowed    from   the   temple;    think   that   the  place   itself 
 adds    something   to    the    sanctity   of  worship;    believe 
 that   prayers   offered    in    a   consecrated   building   have 
 a   virtue,   and  that   the   worshippers    in  a  consecrated 
 building  have  an  acceptance,  or  at  least  a  nearness  of 
 access,  which  they  could  not  possess  out  of  it.      And 
 the    effect    of  this    is    far    more    to   disparage  devotion 
 elsewhere  than  to  enhance  it   here.     We   know  indeed 
 that  a  very  peculiar  blessing  rests  upon  united  worship  ; 
 that  our  Lord  Himself  has  promised  to  it  His  special 
 presence ;  that  He  has  encouraged  by  the  utmost  strength 
 of  expression  the  expectation  of  an  answer  from  above 
 to    the   combined    and   united   prayers  of   His   people. 
 We   cannot    estimate   too    highly   the   value   and    the 
 blessedness  of  congregational  devotion.     But  we  must 
 always  be  careful  to  distinguish  between  the  Jewish  and 
 the  Christian  aspect  of  the  place  of  such  worship.     It  is 
 well  that  the  house  of  prayer  should  be  seemly,  should 
 be  convenient,  should  be  beautiful :  we  can  thank  God 
 if   He  has    given    us,  as  in   this  parish,  a  magnificent 
 sanctuary  :  we  see  no  merit,  but  the  very  contrary,  in 
 leaving    the   place    of  divine    worship    mean   and    con- 
 temptible, while  every  treasure  of  art  is  lavished  upon 
 the  improvement  and  adornment  of  private  dwellings. 
 But  we  find  in  all  this  an  added  reason  for  remembering 
 and  not  mistaking  the  Christian  meaning  of  the  word 
 Church  or  temple.     We  know  that  the  Church  now  is 
 not  wood   and  stone,  not  costly  materials  or  beautiful 
 architecture,  but  the  company  of  believing  souls  in  which, 
 as  in  a  body,  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God  has  His  earthly 
 dwelling.     And  we  know  that  the  temple  now  is  not  a 
 structure  of  gold  and  cedar-wood,  equipped  with  altars 
 
5IO  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 of  incense  and  of  burnt-offering-,  with  its  most  holy  place 
 within  the  veil  barred  against  human  step  or  human 
 sight ;  but  that  mystical  body  of  Christ,  of  which 
 every  believer  in  Christ  is  a  member,  which  in  its 
 completeness  is  the  habitation  of  God,  the  place  where 
 His  honour  chvclleth^,  and  within  which  the  sacrifice  of 
 praise"^  and  thanksgiving  is  perpetually  offered  before 
 Him.  It  is  not  the  building  which  is  God's  Church, 
 but  the  congregation  of  living  souls  which  meet  in  it 
 for  worship. 
 
 And  certainly  it  is  of  no  slight  moment  that  we 
 should  all  lay  to  heart  in  this  connection  the  revela- 
 tion recorded  in  the  text,  In  the  heavenly  city  /  saw 
 no  temple.  How  anxious  becomes  the  enquiry  for  each 
 one  of  us.  What  will  become  of  my  worship  then  }  Am 
 I  so  preparing  for  and  so  practising  a  worship  entirely 
 spiritual,  that  when  I  enter  the  eternal  world  I  shall 
 be  ready  to  dispense  altogether  with  a  temple }  At 
 present  God,  in  His  great  condescension  to  the  weak- 
 ness of  our  faith  and  the  earthliness  of  our  vision, 
 allows  us  the  help  of  the  senses  even  where  He  cautions 
 us  against  resting  in  it.  He  grants  us  at  present  the 
 aid  which  we  all  derive  from  places  and  ministers  and 
 ordinances  of  worship.  But  he  tells  us  that  these 
 things  will  one  day  be  withdrawn :  He  tells  us  that 
 even  now  these  things  must  not  be  trusted  in  :  He 
 tells  us  that,  as  He  is  Himself  Spirit,  so  the  only  de- 
 votion which  is  acceptable  to  Him  is  the  devotion  of 
 the  spirit  and  of  the  heart. 
 
 But  is  the  Christian  then,  whether  on  earth  or  in 
 heaven,   without   his   temple  t     Does  he  offer  his  wor- 
 
 :.;....  ^  Psalm  xxvi.  8.  _    2  Heb.  xiii.  15. 
 
XXXVI 
 
 ,]  Chap,  XXI.  9 — 27.  511 
 
 ship  as  it  were  in  the  open  field,  without  house  or 
 shelter?  Let  the  last  words  of  the  text  answer  that 
 question.  The  Lord  God  Almighty  and  the  Lamb  are 
 the  temple  of  it.  The  reason  why  there  is  no  other 
 temple  is  that  no  other  is  needed.  The  worship  of 
 heaven  is  offered  directly,  not  only  to  God,  but  in 
 God.  It  is  as  if  God  Himself  were  the  shrine  in  which 
 man  will  then  adore  Him.  How  magnificent  a  figure ! 
 how  sublime  a  hope !  The  blessed  will  be  so  included 
 in  God  that  even  when  they  worship  He  will  be  their 
 temple.  He,  the  Lord  God  Almighty,  and  the  Lamb. 
 My  brethren,  what  know  we  as  yet  of  any  approach  to 
 such  a  worship  t  It  is  as  much  as  we  can  do  to  believe 
 that  our  prayer  ever  reaches  God  ;  that  it  is  not  utterly 
 spoken  into  the  air'^ ;  that  it  does  not  fall  back  idly  upon 
 the  earth  from  which  it  is  offered.  But  as  to  praying 
 in  God  as  well  as  to  God,  as  to  what  St  Jude  calls 
 praying  in  the  Holy  Ghost^,  what  do  we  know  of  it.'* 
 How  many  of  the  prayers  offered  in  this  house  to-day 
 have  been  offered  in  God  as  well  as  to  God  }  Where 
 God  is,  the  world  is  not,  and  folly  is  not,  and  vain 
 trifling  idle  thought  is  not,  and  sin  is  not :  he  who 
 worships  in  God  worships  apart  from  all  these  things ; 
 his  very  soul  rising  into  a  world  of  spirit,  of  reality 
 and  truth,  not  of  shadow  and  semblance,  above ;  his 
 very  life  absorbed  for  the  time  in  that  life  of  Christ 
 Himself  which  is  centred  and  Jiidden  and  lost  in 
 God^.  Which  of  us  knows  anything  of  such  prayer.? 
 Nay,  which  of  us  knows  anything  of  that  life  itself, 
 of  which  such  prayer  is  at  once  the  food  and  the  ex- 
 
 pression } 
 
 Cor.  xiv.  9.  ,  2  Jude  zo.  '  Col.  iii.  3. 
 
5 1 2  Revelation.  [lect.  xxxvi. 
 
 I  fear,  my  brethren,  the  change  from  earth  to 
 heaven  will  be  too  great,  too  sudden,  too  abrupt,  for 
 almost  any  of  us !  We  trust  that  all  will  be  done  for 
 us  by  that  unknown,  that  unrealized  event,  to  which 
 we  give  the  name  of  death.  Let  us  be  assured  that, 
 whatever  else  death  may  do  or  not  do  for  us,  it  will 
 carry  no  man  for  the  first  time  across  the  boundary- 
 line  between  ruin  and  salvation,  it  will  enable  no  man 
 to  pass  froift  eternal  death  to  eternal  life^.  If  we  would 
 hereafter  worship  in  that  temple  which  is  God  Him- 
 self, Christ  Himself,  we  must  knozv  God  now  by  fait k^, 
 we  must  have  life  now  in  Christ ;  and  then  the  words 
 may  be  verified  to  us,  /  will  see  you  myself,  aiid  yoitr 
 heart  shall  rejoice,  and  your  joy   no   man    taketh  front 
 
 you '. 
 
 1  John  V.  24.         ^  Collect  for  the  Epiphany.  ^  John 
 
 Third  Sunday  after  Easter, 
 May  II,   1862. 
 
LECTURE    XXXVII. 
 
 REVELATION   XXII.   2. 
 
 And  the  leaves  of  the  tree  were  for  the  healuig  of 
 the  nations. 
 
 We  believe  that  we  are  reading  now  of  heaven.  After 
 all  its  conflicts  and  sorrows  the  Church  of  Christ  has 
 at  last  entered  into  peace'^ ,  All  the  sayings  of  God  have 
 now  been  accomplished  :  resurrection,  the  twofold  re- 
 surrection, tJie  resurrection  of  life  and  tJie  resurrection  of 
 condemnation'^ ;  judgment,  the  last,  the  universal  judg- 
 ment, with  its  twofold  and  but  twofold  result :  and 
 there  has  come  in  that  new  scene,  every  feature  of 
 which  is  unlike  the  present,  whether  it  be  in  point  of 
 holiness  or  of  happiness,  of  the  absence  of  evil  or  of  the 
 presence  of  good. 
 
 The  first  five  verses  of  this  last  chapter  of  the  Bible 
 are  our  subject  this  evening.  May  God  give  us  grace 
 so  to  enter  into  their  sense  and  force,  that  we  may  find 
 in   them  not  only   a  resistless  argument  for  this  day's 
 
 ^  Isai.  Ivii.  2.  .  ^  John  v.  29. 
 
 V.  R.  33 
 
514 
 
 Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 work  of  chanty,  but  also  a  constraining  motive  for  a  life 
 of  consistency  and  of  devotion  ! 
 
 And'^  he,  that  holy  Angel  who  was  employed  as  the 
 messenger  and  interpreter  of  this  vision,  shoived  me  a 
 river  of  ivater  of  life,  bright  as  crystal,  going  forth  out  of 
 the  throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb.  He  had  already 
 shown  the  city  itself  descending,  with  its  walls  and  gate- 
 towers,  its  twelve  vast  foundation-stones,  its  street  of 
 transparent  gold,  its  light  the  glory  of  God,  its  only 
 temple  God  and  the  Lamb.  And  now  he  points  out 
 that  further  element  of  its  blessedness  which  is  typified 
 by  a  river,  clear  as  crystal,  of  the  water  of  life.  We 
 all  know  by  description,  none  of  us  perhaps  knows  by 
 experience,  what  water  is  in  eastern  deserts  or  under 
 eastern  suns.  We  all  know  that  our  Lord  himself  when 
 He  was  upon  earth  consecrated  the  element  of  water 
 to  denote  the  promise  of  His  Holy  Spirit;  as  when 
 He  said.  If  any  man  thirst,  let  him  come  unto  me,  and 
 drink  ^.  If  thou  knewest  the  gift  of  God,  and  who  it  is 
 that  saith  to  thee.  Give  me  to  drink ;  thoic  vuouldest  have 
 asked  of  Him,  and  He  zvoiild  have  given  thee  living  water. 
 The  water  that  I  shall  give  him  shall  be  in  him  a  well  of 
 water  springing  up  into  evei'lasting  life  ^  This  spake  He, 
 the  Evangelist  adds,  after  recording  a  similar  prediction 
 in  another  chapter,  of  the  Spirit,  zuhich  they  that  believe 
 on  Him  sJioidd  receive^.  The  water  of  life  is  the  Holy 
 Spirit  of  God.  It  proceeds  out  of  the  throne,  the  one 
 throne,  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb ;  even  as  it  is  written, 
 The  Comforter,  ivJiich  is  the  Holy  Ghost,  wJiom  the  Father 
 will  send  in  my  rcame^.      When  the  Comforter  is  come, 
 
 ^   Verse  i.  ^  John  vii.  37.  ^  John  iv.  10,  14. 
 
 4  John  vii.  39.  ^  John  xiv.  26. 
 
XXXVII.]  Chap.  XXII.    i — 5.  515 
 
 whom  I  zuill  send  unto  you  from  the  Father,  eve7i  the 
 Spirit  of  truth,  which  proccedeth  from  the  Father,  He 
 shall  testify  of  me  \ 
 
 Life  is  the  knowledge  of  God,  access  to  God,  union 
 with  God.  This  is  life  eternal,  that  they  might  knoiv 
 Thee  the  only  true  God,  and  Jesus  CJirist  whom  Thou 
 hast  sent'^.  The  Holy  Spirit  is  the  giver  of  this  life  :  He, 
 coming  into  the  soul,  reunites  it  to  God  ;  opens  the 
 closed  door,  and  admits  the  alien  and  the  exile  into 
 communication  and  communion  with  God  in  Christ  the 
 source  of  life. 
 
 This  life  must  begin  below,  or  it  can  never  be  per- 
 fected above.  The  Holy  Spirit  is  the  earnest,  the  fore- 
 taste, the  firstfruits,  of  the  eternal  life  of  heaven.  But 
 that  which  is  here  vouchsafed  as  it  were  in  the  drops 
 of  a  refreshing  shower,  or  in  the  moisture  of  the  early 
 dew  upon  the  parched  and  withering  grass,  will  then 
 be  enjoyed  at  the  fountain-head  and  in  the  full-flowing 
 stream.  Thou  shall  make  them  drink  of  the  river  of  Thy 
 pleasures^.  Just  as  in  the  paradise  of  the  first  creation 
 a  river  went  out  of  Eden  to  zvater  the  garden^ ;  and  just 
 as  in  the  visions  of  the  prophet  Ezekiel  one  main 
 feature  of  the  predicted  restoration  was  the  issuing  of 
 waters  from  tmder  the  threshold  of  the  house,  that  is,  of 
 the  temple,  eastward,  which  rose  and  rose  until  they 
 were  a  river  that  could  not  be  passed  over,  and  of  which  it 
 is  said  that  everything  shall  live  whither  the  river  cometh^; 
 even  thus  shall  it  be  in  the  heavenly  city:  he  showed 
 7ne  a  pure  river  of  water  of  life,  proceeding  out  of  the 
 throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb.     They  who  shall  obtain 
 
 ^  John  XV.  26.  ^  John  xvii.  3.  ^  Psalm  xxxvi.  8. 
 
 *  Gen.  ii.  10.  ^  Ezek.  xlvii.  i,  5,  9. 
 
 33—2 
 
5 1 6  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 -that  world^  shall  receive  of  the  Spirit  not  by  measure'^. 
 The  cheering  and  cleansing  and  healing  waters  shall 
 flow  in  their  very  sight,  and  they  shall  drink  of  them 
 in  their  sparkling  clearness  and  in  their  rich  abundance. 
 There  shall  be  other  features  also  of  the  forfeited 
 paradise  in  the  paradise  regained.  Iii^  the  midst  of  its 
 street,  of  the  street  of  the  city,  and  of  the  river  hence  and 
 thence,  on  this  side  and  on  that — in  other  words,  on  each 
 side  of  the  river  which  divides  the  street — is  a  tree  of  life, 
 making  (^yielding)  tzvelvefrnits  of  various  kind  ;  according 
 to  each  month,  month  by  month  all  the  year  long,  render- 
 ing its  fridt :  and  the  leaves  of  the  tree  are  u7ito  healing 
 of  the  nations.  The  river  flows  through  the  street  of 
 the  city,  and  the  tree  of  life  stands  on  each  side  of  its 
 stream.  In  Eden  the  tree  of  life  stood  in  the  midst  of  the 
 garden  *  .•  and  when  man  had  sinned,  he  was  driven  out 
 for  this  special  reason,  lest  he  put  fo7^th  his  hand,  and 
 take  also  of  the  tree  of  life,  and  eat,  and  live  for  ever^. 
 In  the  vision  of  Ezekiel,  already  so  often  referred  to, 
 the  image  is  more  general.  And  by  the  river  upon  the 
 bank  thereof,  on  this  side  and  on  that  side,  shall  grow  all 
 trees  for  meat,  whose  leaf  shall  not  fade,  neither  shall 
 tlie  fruit  thereof  be  consumed:  it  shall  bring  forth  7iew 
 fruit  according  to  his  months,  because  their  waters  they 
 issued  out  of  the  sanctuary :  and  the  fruit  thereof  shall  be 
 for  meat,  and  the  leaf  thereof  for  medicine  °.  The  vision 
 of  St  John  combines  the  two.  There  is  the  ti^ee  of  life  of 
 the  original  paradise  ;  but  so  multiplied  that  it  stands 
 on  either  side  along  the  river ;  so  fruitful  that  it  bears 
 every  month ;  so  versatile  that  its  produce  is  of  twelve 
 
 ^  Luke  XX.  35.  2  John  iii.  34.  ^   Verse  2. 
 
 *  Gen.  ii.  9.  ^  Gen.  iii.  22.  ^  Ezek.  xlvii.  12. 
 
XXXVII.]  Chap,  XXII.   i — 5.  517 
 
 sorts,  applicable  to  every  want  and  taste;  and  so  ac- 
 cessible that,  instead  of  being  protected  by  a  flaming 
 sword  to  keep  man  from  the  way  of  the  tj^ee  of  Ife^,  it 
 stands  in  the  very  street,  and  whosoever  will  may  freely 
 pluck  its  fruit.  Thus  is  every  want  of  the  inhabitants 
 of  the  heavenly  city  provided  for.  For  thirst  there  is 
 the  river  of  life ;  for  hunger  there  is  the  fruit  of  the 
 tree  of  life :  and  not  the  fruit  only,  the  very  leaves  of 
 the  tree  have  a  use ;  they  are,  as  Ezekiel  expresses  it, 
 for  medicine ;  the  very  leaves  of  the  tree  are  for  the  heal- 
 ing of  the  nations. 
 
 A7td^  every  accursed  thing  shall  not  be  {exist)  any 
 longer.  The  words  are  from  the  prophet  Zechariah. 
 And  men  shall  dwell  hi  it^  and  there  shall  be  no  more 
 utter  destruction — the  Greek  Bible  gives  it,  there  shall  be 
 no  more  curse,  or  accursed  thing — but  Jerusalem  shall  be 
 safely  inhabited^.  Nothing  upon  which  God's  displeasure 
 rests  shall  exist  any  longer  in  that  new  heaven  and  new 
 earth^.  While  evil  still  mixes  itself  with  good,  God 
 cannot  place  His  throne  among  men.  But  then,  when 
 no  accursed  thing  exists  any  more,  the  words  will  be 
 fulfilled.  And  the  throne  of  God  and  of  tJie  Lamb  shall  be 
 in  it,  in  the  city ;  and  His  servants  shall  serve  Him — 
 serve  Him  as  His  priests  is  the  full  force  of  the  expres- 
 sion— so  that  the  words  of  the  prophet  Malachi  will  be 
 fulfilled.  He  shall  purify  the  sons  of  Levi,  that  they  may 
 offer  tmto  the  Lord  an  offering  in  righteousfiess^.  And^ 
 they  shall  see  His  coicntenance,  and  His  name  shall  be  07i 
 their  foreheads.  There  shall  be  no  mistake  then  as  to 
 whose  they  are  :  their  very  brow  will  bear  their  Master's 
 
 ^  Gen.  iii.  24.  ^   Verse  3.  ^  Zech.  xiv.  11. 
 
 *  Rev.  xxi.  I.  ^  Mai.  iii.  3.  ®   Verse  4. 
 
5i8  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 name,  and  the  service  which  they  render  shall  be 
 rendered  in  His  presence,  in  the  very  light  of  His 
 countenance.  And^  night  shall  not  be  {exist) ;  gloom  and 
 darkness  shall  be  unknown  in  that  happy  and  glorious 
 world  :  and  there  is  not  need  of  lamp  and  of  light,  no 
 need  of  artificial  and  no  need  of  natural  light,  because 
 the  Lord  (jfehovah)  zuho  is  God  shall  give  light  npon  them, 
 shall  pour  His  light  over  them,  and  they  shall  reign  unto 
 the  ages  of  the  ages.  He  hath  made  them  priests  and 
 kings'^. 
 
 Every  clause  in  this  passage  might  furnish  materials 
 for  a  sermon.  The  water  of  life.  The  tree  of  life.  No 
 more  eurse.  No  night  there.  They  shall  see  His  face. 
 They  shall  reign  for  ever  and  ever.  But  I  will  select  just 
 two  points  for  brief  notice ;  the  one  as  a  suggestion  of 
 Christian  hope,  the  other  as  a  call  to  Christian  duty. 
 
 I.     His  servants  shall  serve  Him. 
 
 It  is  the  complaint  of  many  Christian  persons,  I 
 doubt  not,  in  this  congregation,  that  they  are  sore  let  and 
 hindered  by  sin  in  running  the  race  that  is  set  before  thent^. 
 What  is  each  day  but  a  series  of  disappointments  and  of 
 defeats  .-*  How  painful  is  the  contrast  for  each  one  of 
 us  between  his  morning  prayer  and  his  prayer  at  evening! 
 Every  book  of  private  or  family  devotion  is  framed  on 
 that  supposition.  In  the  morning  we  are  taught  to 
 ask  for  grace :  in  the  evening  we  are  taught  to  confess 
 sin.  It  is  the  recognized  condition  of  a  Christian  man 
 in  this  world  that  even  his  prayers  for  God's  help  are 
 (through  his  own  fault)  not  fully  answered.  Vouchsafe, 
 O  Lo7'd,  to  keep  us  this  day  without  sin'^.     Defend  us 
 
 1  Verse  5.         2  j^g^^  j^  ^^         3  Collect  for  4th  Sunday  in  Advent. 
 ^  Litany. 
 
XXXVII 
 
 .]  Chap.  XXII.   I — 5.  519 
 
 tJu'ougJi  this  day  zuith  Thy  mighty  poiver,  thative  may  fall 
 into  no  sin... but  that  all  our  doings  may  be  ordered  by 
 Thy  governance,  to  do  always  that  is  righteous  in  Thy 
 sight^.  Such  is  the  petition,  such  the  aspiration,  with 
 which  the  day's  course  is  opened.  But  who  does  not 
 need,  who  is  not  taught,  to  confess  at  evening  that  that 
 prayer  and  that  hope  have  been  imperfectly  granted  and 
 fulfilled  ?  A  thousand  things  have  arisen  during  those 
 twelve  hours  which  we  looked  not  for ;  and  each  one 
 has  made  a  demand  upon  our  strength  and  courage  to 
 which  we  were  unequal.  We  did  hope  that  this  day  at 
 all  events  that  old  snare  would  have  been  spread  for  us 
 in  vain ;  that  that  evil  temper,  sinful  imagination,  or 
 hurtful  desire,  of  which  we  have  so  often  experienced 
 the  folly  and  the  misery  and  the  wickedness,  had  been 
 so  guarded  against  by  resolution  and  by  supplication 
 that  it  could  not  this  day  have  prevailed  against  us. 
 And  yet  no  sooner  did  it  utter  its  faintest  whisper 
 within  than  we  listened  to  it  and  yielded  and  fell  before 
 it.  The  very  security  which  we  felt  against  it ;  felt,  as 
 we  hoped,  not  in  ourselves  but  in  the  help  of  God  ;  gave 
 it  the  easier  entrance  and  the  readier  success.  These 
 things  are  the  sad  testimony  of  all  Christian  men  and 
 Christian  women.  Those  who  have  aimed  at  a  condi- 
 tion of  perfection,  those  who  said  that  God's  grace  ought 
 to  give  and  might  be  expected  to  give  an  immediate 
 and  entire  release  from  the  chains  of  original  and  actual 
 sin,  have  only  too  often  added  sin  to  sin  ^,  by  both  con- 
 tinuing blind  and  yet  saying,  We  see  ^  For  a  time  they 
 have  confused  together  what  ought  to  be  and  what  is ; 
 sought  to  reconcile  the  doctrine  of  perfectibility  with  the 
 
 1  3r(i  Collect  at  Morning  Prayer.  ^  Isai.  xxx.  i.         '  John  ix.  41. 
 
520  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 experience  of  corruption,  even  at  the  risk  of  calling  evil 
 good  and  good  evW^ :  and  they  have  ended  (how  could  it 
 be  otherwise  ?)  either  in  a  condition  of  self-satisfaction, 
 self-righteousness,  and  therefore  self-deception ;  or  else 
 in  one  of  utter  disappointment,  perhaps  even  of  absolute 
 despair  and  apostasy  from  the  faith.  And  yet,  on  the 
 other  hand,  these  persons  were  right  in  protesting 
 against  the  easiness  of  that  acquiescence  in  defeat  which 
 is  too  characteristic  of  the  Gospel  of  our  times.  It  was 
 right  that  they  should  say,  and  affirm  it  earnestly  and 
 constantly'^,  Jesus  Christ  is  not  the  minister  ^careless- 
 ness, of  unrighteousness,  and  sin^.  Jesus  Christ  came 
 not  to  save  His  people  in  their  sins  but  from  their  sins"^. 
 It  were  a  poor  Gospel,  one  scarcely  worthy  of  being 
 ratified  by  the  blood  of  a  Saviour,  which  would  tell  us, 
 God  has  forgiven ;  but  which  cannot  add,  God  can 
 strengthen  and  God  will  cleanse.  There  must  be  a 
 fault  somewhere,  in  the  receiver  or  else  in  the  thing 
 received,  if  there  be  not  a  deliverance  from  sin,  gradual 
 yet  real,  accompanying  the  deliverance  from  guilt,  from 
 condemnation,  and  from  punishment.  And  it  needs 
 indeed  no  little  wisdom,  in  stating  God's  truth  to  others, 
 and  in  using  it  for  ourselves,  so  to  preach  forgiveness  as 
 not  to  obscure  holiness,  and  so  to  enforce  holiness  as  not 
 to  exclude  mercy.  Great  need  have  we  all  to  use  that 
 wise  petition  of  our  Church  in  its  office  for  the  Visitation 
 of  the  Sick,  Give  ns  a  right  understa7iding  of  ourselves,  and 
 of  Thy  threats  and  promises,  that  we  may  neither  cast  away 
 our  co7tfidence  in  Thee,  nor  place  it  anywhere  but  in  Thee. 
 But  where  is  the  man,  however  watchful  over  himself, 
 however  victorious  through  faith  and  grace  in  the  Chris- 
 
 1  Isai.  V.  20.         2  Titus  iii.  8.         ^  Qal.  ii.  17.  ^  Matt.  i.  21. 
 
XXXVII.]  Chap.  XXII.   i — 5.  521 
 
 tian  warfare,  who  has  not  cause  to  listen  with  exceeding 
 comfort  to  the  promise  here  written.  In  heaven  God's 
 servants  shall  serve  Him  ?  serve  Him,  that  is,  as  they 
 never  served  on  earth ;  even  with  that  completeness  of 
 devotion,  that  constancy  of  resolution,  and  that  un- 
 weariedness  of  zeal,  which  belongs  only  to  Angels  who 
 never  sinned  and  to  just  men  at  length  made  perfect^. 
 Thy  zvill  be  done,  as  in  heaven,  so  in  earth"^,  is  a  prayer 
 never  fully  to  be  answered  until  the  first  heaven  and  the 
 first  eai'th  shdiW  have  passed  away  ^,  and  the  world  that  is 
 shall  have  been  replaced  by  another,  zvherein  for  the  first 
 time  dwelleth  righteousness^. 
 
 God  grant  that  what  has  been  said  may  lead  no  man 
 to  acquiesce  in  a  condition  of  torpid  faith  or  of  low 
 attainment !  Remember  always,  brethren,  and  forget 
 not,  they  who  serve  not  on  earth  will  never  serve  in 
 heaven.  Not  for  the  encouragement  of  sloth  or  languor 
 or  carelessness  are  the  words  written,  but  rather  for  the 
 quickening  of  hope  and  the  enlivening  of  devotion.  If 
 there  be  before  us  a  time  when  imperfection  shall  be  a 
 thing  of  the  past,  and  when  mortality  itself  shall  be 
 sivallowed  np  of  life  ^,  how  ought  we  to  try  ourselves  as 
 to  the  reality  of  that  faith  and  that  grace  which  alone 
 are  destined  to  so  glorious  a  consummation !  If  in 
 heaven  we  shall  see  God,  we  must  take  heed  here  that  we 
 become  pure  in  heart^.  If  in  heaven  we  shall  be 
 enabled  to  serve  Him  with  an  entire  love  and  a  perfect 
 self-devotion,  we  must  see  that  here  below  we  know 
 something  of  the  beginning  of  that  love  and  that  devo- 
 tion ;  know  what  it  is  to  take  delight  in  worship,  and  to 
 
 1  Heb,  xii.  23.  ^  Luke  xi.  2.  ^  Rev.  xxi.  i. 
 
 4  2  Pet.  iii.  13.  5  2  Cor.  v.  4.  ^  Matt.  v.  8. 
 
52  2  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 find  ourselves  strengthened  by  it  for  a  more  vigorous 
 and  a  more  earnest  service. 
 
 2.  The  words  of  the  text,  and  the  occasion  on  which 
 we  are  assembled  \  point  not  more  to  hope  than  to  duty. 
 We  read  in  the  passage  before  us,  with  reference  to  that 
 tree  of  life  which  not  only  grows  freely  but  admits  of  an 
 unrestricted  access  in  the  heavenly  city,  that  as  its  fruit 
 is  for  food,  so  its  leaves,  as  Ezekiel  also  writes,  are  for 
 medicine  ;  the  leaves  of  the  tree  are  for  the  healing  of  the 
 nations.  We  will  not  enter  into  any  questions,  more 
 curious  than  profitable,  whether  perhaps  there  may  exist 
 even  then  nations  and  races  to  which  the  inhabitants  of 
 the  heavenly  city  shall  be  sent  to  minister  salvation  ; 
 whether  one  part  of  the  blessed  and  glorious  occupation 
 of  the  saved  in  that  world  beyond  death,  beyond  resur- 
 rection, beyond  judgment,  may  perhaps  be  the  com- 
 munication of  the  knowledge  of  God  to  kingdoms  and 
 peoples  outside  the  range  of  the  experience  of  the  world 
 that  is.  These  things  we  know  not.  And  certainly  in 
 the  mere  mention  of  them  as  possibilities  we  must  ever 
 be  careful  to  guard  against  such  an  abuse  of  the  words, 
 as  might  apply  them  to  a  sort  of  third  or  middle  state, 
 m  which  persons  who  have  here  heard  of  Christ  and  not 
 profited  by  the  hearing  might  be  imagined  to  exist 
 hereafter  as  though  between  hell  and  heaven.  We 
 know  from  the  certain  word  of  God  that  our  one  oppor- 
 tunity of  securing  salvation  is  in  the  time  that  is.  If  we 
 will  not  accept  Christ  and  love  and  serve  Him  now,  we 
 are  expressly  told  that  that  refusal  or  that  neglect, 
 persisted  in  till  death,  will  be  to  us  absolutely  and 
 finally  fatal.  I  say  therefore  that  if  there  be  such  a 
 ^  A  Collection  was  made  after  this  Sermon  in  aid  of  Missions. 
 
xxxvii.]  Chap.  XXII.    i — 5.  523 
 
 thing  as  a  healing  by  the  leaves  of  the  tree  of  life  to  be 
 ministered  hereafter  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  glorious 
 city,  it  must  be  a  ministration  to  nations  and  races 
 lying  beyond  the  reach  of  the  Gospel  now,  yea,  beyond 
 the  confines  of  that  world  to  which  the  Gospel  of  the 
 kingdom  must  have  been  first  preached  before  the 
 promised  end  shall  come^. 
 
 And  therefore  speaking,  as  alone  v/e  ought  to  be 
 willing  to  speak,  practically,  and  with  God's  sure  word 
 of  Revelation  as  our  guide,  we  must  understand  the 
 healing  here  spoken  of  in  one  of  two  senses :  either  as 
 belonging  to  those  who  are  already  safe  and  at  rest,  or 
 as  taking  place  not  then  but  nov/,  not  after  but  before 
 the  last  end  of  all  things.  They  who  have  been  aceonnted 
 zuortJiy  to  obtain  that  ivorld  and  the  resurrection  from  the 
 dead^  will  reach  it  Jiardly  bestead  and  hungry^.  Like 
 one  of  the  kings  of  Israel  of  old,  they  will  have  need  to 
 rest  awhile  in  the  city,  to  be  healed  of  the  wounds  which 
 the  Syrians  had  given  them^  The  conflicts  of  earth  will 
 have  been  many,  and  the  scars  of  those  conflicts  will 
 have  been  carried  with  them  to  the  grave.  Not  until 
 they  have  entered  the  heavenly  city,  have  bathed  them- 
 selves in  its  stream,  and  eaten  of  the  reviving  fruit  of 
 its  tree  of  life,  will  they  recover  themselves  for  future 
 service.  Surely  for  them  the  leaves  of  the  tree  of  life 
 may  well  be  for  healing.  If  the  stores  of  the  Word  of 
 God  were  medicinal  as  well  as  strengthening  below ; 
 if  out  of  them  we  were  taught  to  pray  that  tJie  diseases 
 of  onr  soids  might  be  healed  as  by  zvJiolesome  medicines  ^^ ; 
 even  so  then  may  the  hurts  and  wounds  of  a  war-worn 
 
 ^  Matt.  xxiv.  14.  -  Luke  xx.  35.  ^  Isai.  viii.  21. 
 
 *  2  Kings  viii.  28.  ^  Collect  for  St  Luke's  Day. 
 
524  Revelation »  [lect. 
 
 race  be  soothed  and  comforted  by  those  leaves  of  the  tree 
 of  life  which  2s^for  the  healing  of  the  nations. 
 
 But  in  any  other  sense  than  this  the  time  for  healing 
 must  be  the  life  that  is.  If  we  are  not  healed  now,  if 
 the  nations  of  the  living  are  not  healed  now  in  this  pre- 
 sent world  by  the  leaves  of  the  tree  of  life,  no  such  heal- 
 ing can  be  for  us  or  for  them  in  the  world  of  resurrection 
 and  of  eternity.  The  matter  is  urgent  and  instant,  if  it 
 be  true.  The  leaves  of  the  tree  are  no\N  for  the  healing  of 
 the  nations. 
 
 And  need  I  prove  to  any  one  that  there  are  diseases 
 amongst  the  nations  which  need  this  one  and  this  only 
 healing  ?  We  need  not  look  far  for  that  proof  Alas  ! 
 our  own  nation — alas !  that  little  sample  of  our  own 
 nation  which  our  own  town  furnishes — is  full  of  such 
 diseases.  And  if  civilization  can  do  something,  and  if 
 science  can  do  something,  and  if  humanity  and  charity 
 can  do  something  to  remedy  these  things  locally  and 
 partially,  yet  how  ineffectual  is  the  attempt  on  a  wide 
 scale,  and  how  shallow  the  result  even  on  a  narrow 
 scale !  Nor  must  we  forget  that  even  that  civilization, 
 and  still  more  that  humanity  and  that  charity,  which 
 thus  busies  itself,  comes  ultimately  from  the  same  source  ; 
 they  are  themselves,  if  not  leaves  of  the  tree  of  life,  yet 
 consequences  of  the  application  of  those  leaves  in  some 
 quarter  or  other  for  healing.  The  Gospel  is  often  for- 
 gotten by  us,  unthankfully  forgotten,  in  its  remoter  con- 
 sequences. We  read  by  the  light  of  our  lamp,  and  we 
 forget  that  it  was  the  sun  at  whose  fountainhead  that 
 lamp  was  originally  kindled. 
 
 And,  my  brethren,  if  even  our  own  country,  if  even 
 our  own  town,  shows  us  hideous  forms  of  fatal  disease. 
 
XXXVII.]  Chap.  XXII.    i — 5.  525 
 
 requiring  a  divine  remedy ;  if  we  feel  that  nothing 
 would  entirely  and  perfectly  cure  any  one  of  those 
 diseases  but  the  reception  into  individual  hearts  of  the 
 true  and  pure  Gospel  of  the  grace  of  God  ;  if  we  feel 
 that  until  that  agency  is  applied  little  can  be  done  for' 
 the  lives,  and  nothing  at  all  for  the  suffering  and  dying 
 souls  of  men ;  can  we  not  without  other  knowledge 
 extend  our  view,  as  we  are  bidden  to  do  this  evening, 
 and  think  how  it  must  be  with  nations  in  which  there  is 
 not  as  yet  even  the  reflection  of  Gospel  light,  not  even 
 its  civilizing  or  humanizing  influences,  to  diminish  the 
 blackness  of  that  shadow  of  death  in  which  God's  creation 
 is  lying  ? 
 
 Think  upon  that  condition  in  three  aspects.  Alas  ! 
 there  is  not  one  in  which  we  cannot  picture  it  without 
 crossing  a  sea  or  traversing  a  desert. 
 
 (i)  Think  of  the  superstitions  of  men  apart  from 
 the  Gospel.  Those  horrible  and  revolting  forms  to 
 which  men  made  in  Gods  image  ^  offer  the  worship  of 
 a  grovelling  and  cowardly  deprecation.  How  they  deify 
 mere  power,  and  pray  that  power  not  to  be  malign 
 towards  them.  How  they  change  the  glory  of  the  un- 
 corruptible God  into  an  image  of  corruptible  man  ;  yea,  of 
 worse  things  than  that,  of  birds  and  beasts  and  creeping 
 things'^;  yea,  of  worse  things  yet  than  these,  of  repre- 
 sentations of  human  passions  and  of  wicked  destructive 
 lusts.  Picture  to  yourselves  your  own  knee  bending 
 to  such  forms  ;  images  of  things  from  which  you  pray 
 that  your  very  dreams  may  be  free  ;  from  which  you 
 pray  that  you  may  be  delivered  even  in  the  shape  of 
 phantoms  and  nightmares  of  your  delirium.  There  are 
 ^  Gen.  i.  16.  ^  Rom.  i.  2X. 
 
526  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 whole  nations  in  that  state ;  bowing  down  to  demons 
 and  devils  like  those  :  do  not  they  need  the  leaves  of 
 that  tree  which  is  for  the  healing  of  the  nations  ? 
 
 (2)  Think  of  the  cruelties  of  men  apart  from 
 the  Gospel.  Are  not  in  deed  the  dark  places  of  tJie 
 earth,  as  the  Psalmist  writes,  full  of  the  habitations 
 of  cruelty  ^  f  Where,  save  in  Gospel  lands,  does  the 
 idea  of  humanity,  of  philanthropy,  linger?  If  even 
 here,  even  amongst  us,  dark  deeds  of  barbarity  are 
 still  practised,  you  know  that  it  is  in  spite  of  the 
 Gospel ;  you  know  that  the  very  law  of  the  land  exer- 
 cises a  controlling,  yea  a  repressive  and  coercive  and 
 punitive  power  over  them.  Even  here  they  cannot 
 in  this  w^orld  be  eradicated  :  even  here  murders,  and 
 violences  yet  worse  than  murder,  are  done  in  the 
 chambers  of  mens  imagery'^  and  in  the  lurking  dens  of 
 human  crimed  How  is  it  where  such  things  are  not 
 even  forbidden,  not  even  discountenanced,  not  even 
 driven  into  hiding-places,  not  even  afraid  to  parade 
 themselves  in  the  light }  Judge  ye,  my  brethren,  judge 
 ye,  whether  the  leaves  of  the  divine  tree  are  not  needed 
 in  this  respect  for  the  healing  of  the  nations. 
 
 (3)  And  what  shall  I  say  of  the  lusts  of  men  ?  Nay, 
 it  becomes  us  not  here  to  speak  of  things  zvhich  are 
 done  of  them  in  secret^  where  Christ  is  not  named,  where 
 His  holy  law  is  a  thing  unknown.  You  know  well 
 enough  what  it  is  which  keeps  these  things  from  being 
 riotous  and  rampant  amongst  us  :  you  know  that ,  but 
 for  the  authority  of  Christ,  and  but  for  the  human  law 
 which   respects  and  re-echoes  the  authority  of  Christ, 
 
 ^  Psalm  Ixxiv.  20.  ^  Ezek.  viii.  12. 
 
 3  Psalm  X.  8  (Prayer-Book  Version).  ^  Eph.  v.  12. 
 
XXXVII.]  Chap.  XXII.   i — 5.  527 
 
 we  should  be  yet  worse  than  we  are;  yet  more  pre- 
 sumptuous, defiant,  and  demonstrative  in  evil :  and  a^^ain 
 therefore  I  say,  if  we  imagine  the  word  of  Christ  and 
 the  yoke  of  Christ  withdrawn  from  any  people,  we  can 
 tell  for  ourselves  what  they  are  likely  to  be,  what  they 
 must  be,  what  fallen  human  nature  must  be  under  its 
 own  guidance  :  and  can  any  heart  in  this  congregation 
 wonder  if  it  is  asked  to  aid  in  imposing  that  salutary 
 yoke,  in  stretching  forth  for  the  healing  of  the  nations 
 the  leaves  of  the  tree  of  life  ? 
 
 Now  that  is  the  work  to  which  you  are  called, 
 invited,  bidden,  this  night.  It  is  not  much  to  which  we 
 summon  you.  There  are  those  in  this  congregation 
 who  have  surrendered  their  nearest  and  dearest  earthly 
 treasures  to  the  work  of  carrying  these  leaves  of  the 
 divine  medicine.  How  small  a  thing  must  these  feel  it 
 to  be  to  be  asked  tonight  only  to  give  money  !  They 
 who  have  allowed  sons  and  daughters  to  go  forth  they 
 knew  not  zvhither^  in  the  name  of  Christ  and  in  the 
 grace  of  His  Cross,  if  they  might  but  win  to  Him  a  soul 
 or  two  from  among  the  heathen  ;  they  who  have  made 
 this  sacrifice  and  called  it  an  honour  even  while  the 
 heart  bled  in  making  it ;  what  can  they  think  of  the 
 task  imposed  tonight  upon  the  worshippers  1  Yet  they 
 will  not  depreciate  the  work  of  those  on  whom  the 
 smallest  part  of  this  glorious  office  has  fallen.  They 
 who  remain  at  home,  enjoy  the  domestic  blessings 
 which  God  has  given,  and  frequent  the  worship  of  God 
 their  Saviour  in  a  beautiful  earthly  temple  Vvdiithcr 
 they  can  go  zvith  the  iiiultitude,  with  the  voice  of  joy 
 and  prais-e^,    to   hear   of    Christ,  to   pray  to    Him,  and 
 
 1  Heb.  xi.  8.  ^  j^^:Cim  xlii.  4. 
 
528  Revelation.  [lect.  xxxvii. 
 
 to  tell  His  glory ;  even  they  can  do  something  for 
 Him :  they  can  aid  those  who  are  gone  forth  by 
 sympathy  and  by  intercession  :  they  can  provide  that 
 material  offering  without  which  the  spiritual  sacrifice 
 can  scarcely  be  made  availing :  they  can  stand  as  it 
 were  on  the  shore  of  the  mighty  ocean  to  cheer  by 
 voice  and  sign  those  who  are  buffeting  with  its  tides 
 and  storms  :  they  can  stand  as  it  were  on  the  watch- 
 tower  which  overlooks  the  field  of  combat,  and  bid 
 God  speed,  with  prayer  to  the  God  of  battles,  to  those 
 who  have  taken  to  them  His  whole  armour^ ^  and  are 
 wrestling  hand  to  hand  with  the  manifested  forms  of 
 evil.  That  is  our  work  tonight :  let  us  not  be  wanting 
 to  it ! 
 
 ^  Eph.  vi.  13. 
 
 Fourth  Sunday  after  Easter, 
 May  18,    1862. 
 
LECTURE  XXXVIII. 
 
 REVELATION     XXII.     1 1. 
 
 He  that  is  jinjiist,  let  hint  be  tuijnst  still:  and  he  zvJiich 
 is  filtJiy,  let  Jiiin  be  filthy  still:  and  he  that  is 
 righteons,  let  him  be  righteous  still:  and  he  that  is 
 holy,  let  hint  be  holy  still. 
 
 They^  shall  reign  for  ever  and  ever.  With  that  em- 
 phatic sentence  the  predictions  of  this  last  Book  of 
 Holy  Scripture  are  brought  to  a  final  close.  There 
 remains  only  a  sort  of  enforcement  and  application  of 
 the  whole,  comprised  in  the  sixteen  verses  which  are 
 yet  left  us  for  consideration,  and  then  our  difficult  and 
 responsible  task  will  be  ended ;  of  which  may  God 
 forgive  the  errors  and  the  deficiencies,  and  bless  to  the 
 furtherance  of  His  work  amongst  us  whatever  may  have 
 been  rightly  spoken ! 
 
 And'^  he,  the  Angel  of  the  2ist  chapter,  said  to  me, 
 These  zvords  are  faithful  and  true  ;  they  are  trustworthy, 
 they  may  be  relied  upon ;   and  they  are  agreeable  to 
 
 1  Rev.  xxii.  5.  -  Verse  6. 
 
 V.  R.  34 
 
530  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 truth,  consistent  with  the  very  thing  that  is  :  and  tJie 
 Lord,  God  Himself,  the  God  of  the  spirits  of  the  prophets, 
 He  from  whose  inspiration  the  prophets  present  and 
 past  have  received  the  impulse  which  moves  and  the 
 light  which  guides  them,  sent  His  angel  to  shozu  to  His 
 servants  things  which  nmst  become  {come  to  pass)  quickly  ; 
 things  of  urgent  importance,  inasmuch  as  their  fulfilment 
 is  not  only  certain,  but  in  the  sight  of  Him  zvith  whom  a 
 thousand  years  are  as  one  day  ^  near  and  instant  too. 
 
 And^  behold,  I  am  coming  quickly.  One  greater  than 
 the  Angel  here  speaks  Himself  Blessed  is  he  zvho 
 keepeth  the  words  of  the  prophecy  of  this  roll.  A  special 
 blessing  is  pronounced  by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  upon 
 those  who  prize,  and  keep  as  a  precious  and  sacred 
 deposit,  this  particular  portion  of  His  revealed  truth. 
 Which  of  us  has  done  so  1  Which  of  us  has  not  rather 
 regarded  it  as  a  mystical,  unintelligible,  and  therefore 
 unprofitable  book  1 
 
 And^  I  John  am  he  who  heareth  and  seeth,  am  the 
 hearer  and  seer  of,  these  things.  He  who  when  relating 
 the  facts  of  the  Gospel  history  and  the  discourses  of  his 
 Divine  Lord  ever  suppressed  and  withheld  his  name, 
 speaking  of  himself  as  another  disciple,  that  other  disciple*, 
 or  the  disciple  zvhom  Jesus  loved^,  now  gives  to  his  work 
 the  authority  of  his  name,  and  attests  by  a  solemn  asser- 
 tion the  reality  of  the  revelation.  It  was  not  a  mere 
 allegory,  a  mere  meditation,  a  mere  dissertation  of  his 
 own  concerning  divine  things.  It  was  not  a  mere  digest 
 of  earlier  prophecies,  with  such  applications  and  inter- 
 pretations as  his  own  opinion  or  his  own  study  might 
 
 1  1  Pet.  iii.  8.  2   Y^j.^^  -.^  3   Y^.yse  8. 
 
 ^  John  xviii.  15,  16.  ^  John  xiii.  23. 
 
XXXVIII.]  Chap,  XXII.  6 — 21.  531 
 
 have  suggested.  It  was  in  the  strictest  sense  the  record 
 of  things  seen  and  Jieard^ ;  seen  in  visions  of  God^,  heard 
 from  the  voice  of  Angels  or  of  One  who  is  greater  still 
 than  they.  So  that  of  this,  as  of  his  other  inspired 
 writings,  St  John  might  still  say,  T/iat  ivhich  we  have 
 seen  and  heard  declare  we  ttnto  yon  ^. 
 
 A  nd  zuhen  I  Jieard  and  zvhcn  I  sazu,  when  I  had  thus 
 ended  my  seeing  and  hearing,  /  fell  to  zvorship  befoi^e 
 the  feet  of  the  angel  zuho  zvas  shoiving  me,  who  was  the 
 indicator  to  me  of,  these  things.  It  is  the  repetition  of 
 an  earlier  record.  So  marvellous  had  been  the  ministry 
 that  the  Apostle  himself  is  tempted  to  offer  a  more  than 
 lawful  homage  to  the  minister  employed.  As  Cornelius 
 once  to  an  Apostle*,  so  here  an  Apostle  to  an  Angel. 
 But  no :  these  things  are  dangerous :  these  homages 
 beyond  respect  and  reverence  to  created  beings  whether 
 of  human  or  angelic  rank  are  unlawful  and  must  not  be. 
 Let  no  man  begnile  yon  of  yonr  reward  in  a  voluntary 
 humility  and  worshipping  of  angels,  intruding  into  those 
 things  which  he  hath  not  seen;  and  not  holding  the  Head^. 
 And'^  he  saith  to  me,  See  thou  do  it  7iot :  I  am  but  a 
 fellow-servant  of  thee  and  of  thy  brethren  the  pivphets,  and 
 of  those  zvho  keep  the  words  of  this  roll :  worship  God ; 
 but  the  order  is  more  emphatic  ;  to  God  pay  thy  worship. 
 Angels  themselves  are  as  far  removed  from  God  as  His 
 human  servants  are  :  they  are  themselves  the  creation 
 of  His  hands,  and  they  recognize  as  their  fellows  and 
 equals  not  only  God's  prophets,  those,  that  is,  who  are 
 employed  to  speak  for  Him  to  men,  but  all,  high  or  low, 
 rich  or  poor,  who  keep    the    words    of   His    revelation. 
 
 ^  Acts  iv.  20. 
 
 "  2  Chron.  xxvi.  5. 
 
 3  I  John  i.  3. 
 
 ^  Acts  X.  25. 
 
 5  Col.  ii.  18,  19. 
 
 <*  Verse  9. 
 
 34—2 
 
532  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 For  Him  reserve  thy  worship.     The  very   Angels   are 
 but  ministers  of  His^  who  do  His  pleasure  \ 
 
 Aitd"^  he  saith  to  me,  Seal  not  the  words  of  the  prophecy 
 of  this  roll:  tJie  season  is  7iear ;  the  time  of  their  accom- 
 plishment is  at  hand.  The  prophet  Daniel  was  taught 
 an  opposite  lesson.  Go  thy  way,  Daniel :  for  the  words 
 are  closed  up  and  sealed  till  the  time  of  the  end.  Blessed 
 is  Jie  that  waiteth,  and  cometh  to  the  tJioiisand  three  hundred 
 a7id  five  and  thirty  days.  But  go  thou  thy  zvay  till  the 
 end  be:  for  thou  shall  rest,  and  stand  in  thy  lot  at  the 
 end  of  the  days^.  But  St  John  is  not  to  seal  his  pro- 
 phecy :  the  season  of  its  fulfilment  is  near.  Such  is  ever 
 the  difference  between  the  prophecy  of  the  Old  and  the 
 prophecy  of  the  New  dispensation.  The  one  belonged  to 
 a  preliminary  and  prefatory  state :  the  other  to  a  com- 
 pletive and  final  condition.  However  long  the  Gospel 
 age  may  have  lasted  or  may  yet  continue,  it  is  the  last 
 time"^:  after  it  there  is  none  other:  then  shall  the  end 
 come  ^. 
 
 Let^  the  wrongdoer  do  wrong  still ;  and  let  the  foul 
 man  be  defiled  still :  and  let  the  righteous  man  do  righteous- 
 ness still ;  and  let  the  holy  man  be  halloived  still  The 
 season  of  fulfilment  is  near :  I  am  coining  quickly.  If  a 
 man  will  do  wrong,  he  must :  if  a  man  will  defile  him- 
 self, he  must :  God  will  not  interpose,  God  cannot  con- 
 sistently with  man's  nature  or  His  own  interpose,  to 
 force  any  man  to  repentance :  if  a  man  will  not  ttcrn  \  if 
 a  man  will  stop  his  ear^  against  God's  voice,  if  a  man  will 
 disregard  conscience,  if  a  man  will  use  the  life  which 
 
 1  Psalm  ciii.  21.  ^   jZerse  10.  ^  Dan.  xii.  9,  12,  13. 
 
 ^  I  John  ii.  18.  s  Matt.  xxiv.  14.        ^  Verse  ir. 
 
 ''  Psalm  vii.  15  (Prayer-Book  Version).  ^  Psalm  Iviii.  4. 
 
XXXVIII.]  Chap.  XXII.  6 — 21.  533 
 
 God  has  given,  and  the  power  which  God  has  given, 
 for  wicked  and  ruinous  purposes,  it  must  be  so  :  the  day 
 of  reckoning  is  not  yet ;  and  the  day  of  reckoning  would 
 be  made  impossible  if  violence  were  done  meanwhile 
 to  human  will  and  to  human  choice.  Tims  sait/i  the. 
 Lord  God,  He  that  JiearetJi,  let  him  hear ;  and  he  that 
 forbcareth  to  hear,  let  him  forbear^.  Evil  men  and 
 seducers  shall  wax  zuorse  and  worse,  deceiving  and  being 
 deceived'^.  It  is  a  solemn  statement  of  the  responsibility 
 of  man.  For  the  time,  though  God  commands,  He  will 
 not  compel :  though  He  calls.  He  will  not  constrain:  this 
 is  your  honr^ ;  if  you  will  destroy  yourselves,  you  can. 
 But  you  need  not :  God  forbid  that  any  man  should  so 
 read  the  words  before  us  as  that  they  should  say  to  the 
 most  sinful,  Si^i  on  a7td  die.  On  that  side  also  there  is 
 no  compulsion.  No  man  is  forced  to  sin:  every  man  is 
 warned,  every  man  is  invited,  every  man  is  pleaded  with 
 by  his  God  within  and  without ;  I  have  no  pleasure  in  the 
 death  of  him  that  dieth.  Why  zvill  ye  die  ?  turn  your- 
 selves, and  live  ye^.  But  this  I  say,  brethren,  the  time  is 
 short^ ;  the  season  is  near:  soon  shall  the  defiled  man  be 
 defiled  for  ever,  and  sin  being  finished  bringeth  forth, 
 death  \ 
 
 Behold'^ ,  I  am  coming  quickly,  and  my  i^ezuard  is  with 
 nie^  to  give  back  to  each  one  as  his  ivork  is.  To  give  back. . 
 That  is  the  meaning  of  retribution.  It  is  the  giving  a 
 man  back  just  what  he  has  done,  the  thing  itself  which 
 he  did  ;  only  not  now  in  the  germ  or  in  the  leaf,  but  in 
 the   full-blown   unsightly   flower,    and   in  the  ripe,  the 
 
 ^  Ezek.  iii.  27.  ^  2  Tim.  iii.  13.  '  Luke  xxii.  53. 
 
 ■*  Ezek.  xviii.  31,  32.  ^  i  Cor.  vii.  39.  ^  James  i.  15. 
 
 ''   Verse  12. 
 
534  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 nauseous,  and  the  noxious  fruit.  That  is  the  judgment. 
 It  is  the  reaping  of  the  thing  sown.  It  is  the  receiving 
 back  the  things  themselves  that  were  once  done  in  the 
 body'^ ;  receiving  back  the  very  acts  and  deeds  them- 
 selves, only  developed,  full-grown,  full-blown,  ripened 
 unto  harvest. 
 
 /^  am  the  Alpha  and  the  Omega,  first  and  last  One, 
 the  beginning  and  the  end.  I  am  He  who  was  before  the 
 worlds,  and  who  shall  be  to  the  countless  ages.  In  the 
 beginning  was  the  Word ;  and  the  Word  was  with  God ; 
 and  the  Word  zvas  God^.  First  and  last  One.  It  is  an 
 attribute,  an  incommunicable  attribute,  of  God  Himself. 
 Thus  saith  the  Lord  the  King  of  Israel,  a7td  his  Redeemer 
 the  Lord  of  hosts  ;  I  am  the  first,  and  I  am  the  last;  and 
 beside  me  there  is  no  God^. 
 
 Blessed^  are  they  who  do  His  commandments,  the  com- 
 mandments of  Christ — for  again  the  speaker  changes — 
 that  their  authority  may  hereafter  be  continuously  over  the 
 tree  of  life,  that  they  may  have  the  right  given  them  to 
 eat  for  ever  of  the  tree  of  life,  and  that  they  may  have 
 entered  in,  may  once  for  all  enter  in,  by  means  of  the  gate- 
 towers,  that  is,  openly  and  without  challenge,  not  surrep- 
 titiously or  by  climbing  up  some  other  way  ^,  into  the  city. 
 Not  all  shall  possess  this  privilege.  Without'',  outside  the 
 heavenly  city,  are  the  dogs,  those  unclean  and  ravenous 
 appendages  of  an  eastern  city,  vv^hich  are  the  type  of  all 
 that  is  dissolute  and  rapacious  in  human  nature  ;  aitd  the 
 sorcerers,  those  who  use  magical  arts  against  the  bodies 
 and  souls  of  men,  the  whole  class  of  men  who  practise 
 upon  the  credulity,  and  through  it  upon  the  innocence 
 
 ^  2  Cor.  V.  lo.  2   Verse  13.          ^  John  i.  r.          ^  Isai.  xliv.  6. 
 
 ^   Vejse  14.  ^  John  x.  i.  '    Verse  15. 
 
XXXVIII.]  Chap.  XXII.  6 — 21.  535 
 
 and  happiness  of  their  fellow-creatures ;  and  the  forni- 
 cators, the  immoral ;  and  the  murderers,  those  who  have 
 either  cherished  or  acted  hatred,  the  murderer's  spirit, 
 against  brother  or  fellow-man  ;  and  the  idolaters,  those 
 who  have  zvorsJiipped  and  served  the  creatitre  in  some  one 
 of  its  forms  more  than  the  Creator'^,  those  who  have  cared 
 more  for  the  favour  or  for  the  approval  or  for  the  love  of 
 man  than  for  that  of  God  and  of  Christ ;  and  eveiy  one 
 loving  and  doing  a  lie.  How  fearful  a  catalogue  of  the 
 excluded !  of  those  v/ho  shall  have  to  spend  eternity 
 together  outside  of  heaven !  of  those  w^io  without  one 
 element  of  charity  or  kindliness,  without  pity  or  sym- 
 pathy or  any  of  those  redeeming  qualities  which  in  this 
 life  may  have  mingled  in  the  composition  of  the  most 
 sinful,  shall  be  the  companions  of  one  another  and  of  all 
 lost  and  wicked  spirits  throughout  the  ages  of  an  inter- 
 minable age  !     God  grant  that  none  of  us  be  of  them  ! 
 
 P  Jesus  sent  my  angel— ox  it  may  be  my  messenger^ 
 the  Apostle  who  wrote  these  things — to  testify  to  yon, 
 these  things,  even  to  the  chnrehes,  I  am  the  root  and  the 
 raee  of  David^,  the  product  of  that  root,  the  offspring  of 
 that  race,  even  as  it  was  written  in  the  book  of  earlier 
 prophecy;  the  star*',  the  brigJit,  the  morning  star,  ushering 
 in  a  day  altogether  beautiful,  altogether  glorious.  Unto 
 you  that  fear  my  name  shall  the  Sun  of  righteotcsness 
 arise  ivith  healing  in  His  wings  ^. 
 
 And^  the  Spirit  and  the  bride  say,  Come.  The  Spirit 
 speaking  in  the  Bride  prays  for  the  Bridegroom's  coming; 
 prays  that  the  long  night  may  end,  the  night  of  drowsi- 
 ness and  of  expectation,  and  that  the  glorious  day  may 
 
 ^  Rom.  i.  25.  2   Verse  i6.  ^  Isai.  xi.  i,  lo.     Jer.  xxiii.  5. 
 
 s  Mai.  iv.  2.  ^   Verse  17. 
 
,536  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 dawn  ^ ;  prays  that  the  cry  may  soon  reach  the  watch- 
 ing ear,  summoning  to  trim  the  lamp  for  its  last  office, 
 and  to  go  out  to  meet  Him,  Behold,  the  Bridegroom  cometh^ ! 
 And  let  him  that  heareth  echo  that  cry,  and  say,  Come. 
 And  let  him  that  thirsteth  come;  let  him  that  is  willing 
 receive  a  water  of  life  freely,  as  a  gift,  zvitJiotit  money  and 
 withotit  price^.  The  cry  for  a  Saviour's  coming  must  be 
 accompanied  by  a  coming  to  Him.  It  is  not  enough 
 that  the  Bride  which  is  the  Church  should  be  longing 
 and  praying  for  the  Advent :  she  too  herself,  and  every 
 one  of  her  earthly  members,  must  be  coming,  perpetually, 
 while  here  below,  to  receive  that  water  of  life  of  which 
 whosoever  drinketh  shall  never  thirst^.  Only  he  who 
 comes  to  Christ  can  safely  pray  Christ  to  come  to  him. 
 
 /^  testify  to  every  one  who  heareth  the  words  of  the  pro- 
 phecy of  this  roll :  If  any  one  shall  have  laid  on  iLpon 
 them,  shall  have  added  other  words  to  them,  God  shall 
 lay  on  upon  him  the  strokes  [plagues)  which  have  been 
 written  in  this  roll:  and^  if  any  one  shall  have  taken  away 
 froin  the  words  of  the  roll  of  this  prophecy,  God  shall  take 
 away  his  share  from  the  tree  of  life  and  out  of  the  holy  city 
 which  have  been  written  (described)  i?t  this  roll.  Let  us 
 hear,  and  fear.  What  does  he  who  puts  upon  this  book 
 vain  and  fanciful  glosses?  makes  it  speak  of  things 
 trifling ;  or  still  worse,  makes  it  speak  things  untrue  to 
 fact ;  or  yet  worse  still,  makes  it  citrse  those  whom  God 
 has  not  cursed'^,  those  whom  prejudice  and  party-spirit 
 alone  have  wilfully  and  uncharitably  set  up  as  foes  ? 
 Does  he  not  add  to  the  words  of  the  prophecy  ?  And  what 
 again  does  he  who  closes  his  Bible  at  the  Epistle  of  St 
 
 1  'Rom.  xiii.  12.        ^  Matt.  xxv.  6.         ^  Isai.  Iv.  i.         *  John  iv.  14. 
 ?   Verse  18.  ^   Verse  19.  "^  Num.  xxiii.  8. 
 
xxxviil]  Chap,  xxii.  6 — 21.  537 
 
 Jude,  and  never  studies  or  ponders  the  solemn  and 
 momentous  pages  which  follow  ?  does  he  not  practically 
 take  aivay  from  the  words  of  the  prophecy,  and  forfeit  at 
 least  the  blessing  of  those  who  keep  ^  and  love  it  ?  From 
 these  and  all  such  errors  on  the  right  hand  and  on  the 
 left  may  God  of  His  great  mercy  preserve  us  all ! 
 
 He"^  saith  zvho  testifieth  these  things,  the  Lord  Jesus 
 Christ  Himself,  Yea,  I  am  coming  quickly.  Amen,  such 
 is  the  reply  of  the  Apostle  and  of  the  Church  of  Christ, 
 come^  Lord  Jesus. 
 
 The^ grace,  the  free  favour  and  blessing,  of  the  Lord 
 Jesus  be  with  all. 
 
 Not  without  some  regret,  my  brethren,  though  I  trust 
 not  without  thankfulness  also,  can  I  bring  to  a  close  our 
 meditations  upon  this  Book.  Would  that  the  last  of  all 
 might  also  be  the  best  of  all !  the  most  full  of  thoughts 
 of  humility  and  godly  fear,  of  reproof  of  correction,  of 
 instruction  in  righteonsness  *  / 
 
 There  has  indeed  been  much  to  humble  us  in  the 
 study  of  this  Book.  Many  things  in  it  we  have  found 
 hard  to  be  understood^.  From  many  others  we  have 
 returned,  it  may  be,  rather  informed  than  edified.  And 
 on  the  whole  we  have  found  ourselves  dull  of  compre- 
 hension and  slow  of  heart  ^  as  to  matters  lying  so  far 
 beyond  the  region  of  the  present,  matters  demanding  so 
 much  of  lively  faith  and  of  deep  devotion. 
 
 Even  this  experience  may  not  have  been  vain  or 
 profitless.  It  shows  us  how  far  we  are  removed  from 
 the  earnestness  and  from  the  simplicity  of  primitive 
 times.     It  shows  us  how  much  we  have  yet  to  do  and 
 
 ^  Rev.  i.  3.  2   y^j'se  20.  ^   Verse  21. 
 
 *  2  Tim.  iii.  16.  ^  2  Pet.  iii.  16.  ^  Luke  xxiv.  25. 
 
538  Revelation,  [lect. 
 
 to  suffer,  every  one  of  us,  before  we  can  recover  that 
 keen  apprehension  of  reaUties  within  the  veil'^,  of  things 
 unseen,   unearthly,   spiritual    and    eternal,   which    shall 
 overcome  in  us  the  lowering  and  deadening  influences 
 of  this  world,  and  make  us  live  in  conscious  strength 
 the  life  which  is  hidden  with  Christ  in  God"^.     The  Apo- 
 calypse, or  the  Book  of  Revelation,  was  designed,  as  its 
 name  imports,  to  be  a  work  of  uncovering  and  unveil- 
 ing ;  of  lifting  off  the  obscuring  cloud  which  rests  upon 
 God's  counsels,  and  opening  them   to  the  full  view  of 
 the  Church  and  of  the  soul.     Is  it  this  to  us  ?     Has  our 
 consideration   of  it   lifted    off  any  such  cloud    for  us  ? 
 Do  we  understand  at  all  better  than  before  any  of  God's 
 counsels  and  of  God's  purposes  ?     Do  we  see,  as  once 
 we  saw  not,  what  God  is  about  in  this  present  state  of 
 our  being  ?    or  indeed  that  He  is  about  anything  ;  that 
 He   means  anything  and   designs  anything  as  the  re- 
 sult  and    the   issue  of  that  strange  yet  commonplace 
 procedure   of  events  which   we  call   the  course   of  this 
 world^  ?     It  is  a  great  thing  when  a  man  is  brought  to 
 believe,  as  a  matter  not  of  doctrine  but  of  conviction, 
 that  there  is  a  God  ;    that  is,  an  eternal,  almighty,  all- 
 wise,  all-holy,  ever-present,  ever-acting  Person,  whose  he 
 is^  and  whose  the  world  is,  and  who,  instead  of  standing 
 aside   and   letting  nature  or   chance  work   on  at  their 
 pleasure,  has  a  hand  over  all  these  things  and  is  guiding 
 them  with  a  purpose  to  an  end.     The  devils,  St  James 
 tells  us,  believe  that  there  is  one  God,  and  tremble^:  we  too 
 often  believe  that  there  is  a  God,  but  with  a  faith  which 
 neither   rejoices    nor   trembles.     Happy  are  we   if  the 
 
 ^  Heb.  vi.  19.  ^  Col.  iii.  3.  ^  Collect  for  5th  Sunday  after  Trinity. 
 
 *  Acts  xxvii.  23.  ^  James  ii.  19. 
 
XXXVIII 
 
 .]  Chap.  XXII.  6 — 2  1.  539 
 
 thought  of  a  future,  in  its  barest  and  most  elementary 
 form — a  future  which  is  in  the  hand  of  God,  and  of 
 which  two  essential  characteristics  are  the  Advent  and 
 the  Judgment — has  been  made  in  any  degree  more  real 
 to  us  by  those  varied  and  reiterated  predictions  of  it 
 with  which  our  ears  and  our  minds  have  during  the 
 study  of  this  Book  been  made  so  familiar  !  God  give 
 us  all  grace  to  receive  into  our  hearts  also  that  primary, 
 that  all-important  revelation  ! 
 
 I  have  selected  for  one  closing  observation  the  re- 
 markable verse  read  to  you  as  the  text.  I  have  to-night 
 passed  over  some  sweeter  and  more  beautiful  words, 
 partly  because  they  have  been  virtually  considered  on 
 former  occasions,  and  partly  because  they  are  almost 
 too  divine  in  themselves  to  admit  of  human  comment 
 or  enlargement.  They  are  rather  for  silent  pondering 
 than  for  public  exhortation.  And  the  Spirit  and  tJie  bride 
 say,  Come.  A  nd  let  him  that  heareth  say.  Come :  and  let 
 him  that  is  athirst  come :  and  zvhosoever  will,  let  him  take 
 the  zvater  of  life  freely.  With  the  text  it  is  otherwise. 
 On  first  hearing  it  we  might  start  back  as  though  it  were 
 not  Scripture.  He  that  is  unjust,  let  him  be  tuijust  still: 
 he  which  is  filthy,  let  him  be  filthy  still.  Can  this  be  from 
 the  same  Book  which  says,  even  in  its  earlier  and  less 
 perfect  teaching,  Let  the  zvicked  forsake  his  way,  and  the 
 unrighteoics  man  his  thoughts  ;  and  let  him  retui'n  iinto  the 
 Lord,  and  He  will  have  mercy  ttpon  him  ;  and  to  our  God, 
 for  He  will  abundantly  pardon  ^  f  Are  we  to  read  the 
 passage  before  us  as  though  it  were  in  conflict  with  this 
 holier  and  brighter  message  1  as  though  it  said.  Let  the 
 zvicked  keep  his  zvay,  and  the  tinrigJiteous  man  his  tJwught: 
 
 1  Isai.  Iv.  7. 
 
540  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 God  desires  his  death :  God  will  not  pardon :  it  is  too 
 late:  he  mnst  sin  on,  and  diet  If  not  this,  what  does 
 it  say  ? 
 
 I  rather  draw  from  it  a  solemn  lesson  as  to  the 
 eventual  stereotyping  of  human  character.  There  comes 
 a  time,  there  will  come  a  time  to  each  one  of  us,  when, 
 whatever  we  are,  that  we  shall  be ;  when  the  seal  of 
 permanence  will  be  set  upon  the  spiritual  condition  ; 
 when  the  unjust  man  shall  be  unjust  for  ever,  and  the 
 righteous  man  shall  be  for  ever  righteous. 
 
 I  know  of  nothing  more  serious,  in  itself  more 
 alarming,  than  this  reflection.  There  is  no  person  in 
 this  congregation  who  does  not  wish,  and  faintly  hope, 
 that  he  may  die  the  death  of  the  righteous  \  There  is  no 
 one  now  living  in  sin  who  does  not  intend  at  some 
 future  time  to  turn  from  it  and  be  saved.  And  we  all 
 have  great  reliance  upon  the  power  of  the  human  will. 
 We  all  think  that  what  we  are  we  are  because  we  choose 
 so  to  be ;  and  at  all  events  that  what  we  wish  to  be  in 
 the  future  we  can  be  and  we  shall  be.  And  we  know 
 from  God's  Word  that  we  are  to  a  great  extent  dealt 
 with  on  this  supposition.  •  To-day  if  ye  will  hear  His 
 voice,  harden  not  your  heart  '^.  Tnrn  yourselves  and  live 
 ye  ^  And  we  know  that  in  early  years  there  is  a  great 
 susceptibility  of  impressions.  A  death  in  a  family,  a 
 sin  discovered  and  punished,  nay,  a  single  sermon,  has 
 often,  in  God's  hand,  changed  the  course  of  a  young 
 life  from  evil  to  good.  And  it  is  so  both  ways.  A  par- 
 ticular companionship,  casual  in  its  origin,  has  led  a 
 young  person  into  folly  or  worse  than  folly  :  the  com- 
 panionship is  broken  off  as  casually  as  it  was  formed  ; 
 
 ^  Num.  xxiii.  lo.  *  Psalm  xcv.  7,  8.  "^  Ezek.  xviii.  32. 
 
XXXVIII.]  Chap.  XXII.  6 — 21.  541; 
 
 tJie  snare  is  broken  with  it,  and  the  young  Hfe  delivered'^. 
 And  we  observe  a  wonderful  versatihty  and  change- 
 ableness  in  that  part  of  life.  From  year  to  year,  almost 
 from  week  to  week,  we  have  seen  a  vicissitude  and  an 
 alternation.  One  week  thoughtful,  diligent,  exemplary ; 
 the  next  week  trifling,  idle,  and  troublesome.  One 
 month  an  attentive  hearer,  a  reverent  worshipper:  the 
 next  month  uninterested  in  the  things  of  God  ;  a  listless 
 and  languid  listener ;  a  careless,  indifferent,  almost  pro- 
 fane member  of  the  congregation.  Thus  the  experience 
 of  one  part  of  life  seems  almost  to  encourage  the  hope 
 that  the  unjust  man  may  not  be  unjust  for  ever ;  almost 
 to  suggest  the  fear  that  the  righteous  man  may  not  be 
 for  ever  righteous.  And  we  cling  to  that  hope,  for 
 others  and  for  ourselves.  I  may  spend,  we  say,  forty  or 
 fifty  years  in  sin  and  ungodliness,  and  yet  have  twenty 
 or  thirty  years  (or  faith  and  calling  ttpon  God'^.  And  the 
 Christian  minister,  and  the  Christian  man  knows  indeed 
 no.  such  thing  as  a  limit  or  a  terminus  of  God's  mercy 
 and  of  God's  grace.  He  could  not  go  about  amongst 
 his  people,  he  could  not  visit  the  homes  of  the  immoral 
 or  the  dying,  nay,  he  could  not  for  himself  bear  the 
 burden  of  life  or  combat  the  misgivings  of  unbelief,  if 
 he  did  not  know  that  with  God  nothing  is  impossible  ^  no 
 hour  too  late  and  no  case  too  desperate. 
 
 But  we  feel  that  there  is  also  a  truth,  and  a  very 
 solemn  and  needful  truth,  on  the  side  of  the  text  which 
 speaks  of  the  permanence,  of  the  unchangeableness,  of 
 human  character.  He  zvhich  is  filthy,  let  him  be  filthy 
 still:  and  he  that  is  holy,  let  him  be  holy  still.     Yes,  my 
 
 .^  Psalm  cxxiv.  6  (Prayer-Book  Version).  ^  Article  X. 
 
 .    .  2  Luke  i.  37. 
 
542  Revelation.  [lect. 
 
 brethren,  for  one  man  who  changes,  a  thousand  and  a 
 million  change  not.  They  pass  on  through  life,  and 
 they  end  it  even  as  they  began.  He  who  in  childhood 
 was  a  spoilt  and  wayward  child,  he  who  in  boyhood  was 
 an  idle  and  self-willed  boy,  he  who  in  youth  was  a 
 passionate  and  a  dissolute  young  man,  he  who  in  man- 
 hood was  a  self-seeking  and  a  worldly  man,  will  probably 
 be  in  old  age  an  avaricious  or  a  selfish  or  an  irreligious 
 old  man,  and  in  the  end  one  who  has  had  his  portion  in 
 this  life  \  has  received  his  good  things  here,  and  must  look 
 only  for  evil  tilings  hereafter  ^  The  experience  of  life  as 
 a  whole  does  not  encourage  the  hope  of  many  sudden 
 changes,  of  many  reversals  of  character,  of  many  bad 
 beginnings  and  good  endings.  As  a  general  rule,  the 
 unjust  man  will  be  unjust  still,  and  the  righteous  and 
 holy  will  be  holy  and  righteous  still. 
 
 But  at  all  events  this  will  be  true  at  a  certain  point, 
 after  a  certain  time.  The  connection  of  the  words 
 before  us  shows  that  it  will  be  so  as  the  end  draws  on. 
 When  Christ's  coming  is  instant,  there  will  be  no  change 
 in  human  character.  When  the  last  conflict  of  which 
 we  have  read  so  often  in  this  Book  once  sets  in,  there 
 will  be  no  room  and  no  time  for  changing  sides.  When 
 the  armies  are  once  marshalled  for  that  final  encounter, 
 there  will  be  no  fresh  desertions  and  no  new  enlistments. 
 The  commanders  will  hold  their  troops  well  in  hand, 
 and  none  shall  break  his  rank^  or  exchange  his  service. 
 Yes,  my  brethren,  after  a  certain  time  the  books  will  be 
 finally  made  up,  the  book  of  life  "^  and  the  book  of  death, 
 and  a  great  voice  as  of  a  trumpet^  will  be  heard  to  say, 
 
 1  Psalm  xvii.  14.  2  l^j,^  ^^-^^  ^5.  ^  jogj  jj^  -, 
 
 ^  Rev.  XX.  12.  5  j^ey  j,  ^q. 
 
XXXVIII 
 
 .]  Chap.  XXII.   6 — 2  1.  543 
 
 HencefortJi  he  that  is  tmcleaii  must  be  unclean  for  ever : 
 henceforth  he  that  is  holy  shall  be  safely  and  for  ever  holy. 
 O  fearful  day  for  the  one !  O  glorious  and  blessed  hour 
 for  the  other ! 
 
 Let  us,  while  we  may — before  that  last  edict  is  gone 
 forth — if  we  are  on  the  wrong  side,  change  our  side 
 speedily.  The  time  is  short'^ :  let  the  past  suffice  us"^  for 
 sin ;  let  the  time  that  is  be  made  available  for  salva- 
 tion. Not  yet  is  the  throne  set  for  judgment'^ :  at  present 
 it  is  the  throne  of  grace  ^  :  let  us  come  to  it  in  great  sorrow, 
 2vith  strong  crying  and  teai^s^  if  so  be  we  may  be  heard  in 
 that  zve  feared^  I 
 
 And  if  happily  we  have  already  crossed  the  line 
 between  death  and  life ;  if  we  have  found  mercy,  and 
 have  begun  to  zvalk  in  nezvness  of  life  ^ ;  then  let  us  look 
 up,  and  lift  up  the  head"^,  in  prospect  of  those  times  of  re- 
 freshing^ when  the  word  shall  have  been  finally  spoken, 
 He  that  is  holy,  let  him  be  holy  still.  O  blessed  consum- 
 mation, when  conflict  shall  be  ended,  and  all  shall  be  rest 
 and  peace  !  when  we  shall  no  longer  fight  each  day  as 
 for  life  and  death,  but  shall  have  upon  our  brow  the 
 impress  of  salvation,  the  seal  which  bears  this  inscription. 
 He  is  mine,  saith  the  Lord :  he  is  righteous  for  ever  :  let 
 him  be  holy  still:  for  him  warfare  is  accomplished,  for 
 him  iniquity  is  pardoned^ :  He  shall  be  mine,  saith  the 
 Lord,  in  that  day  zvhen  L  make  up  my  jezuels  ;  and  /  zjuill 
 spare  him,  as  a  man  spareth  Jus  ozvn  son  that  servcth 
 him. 
 
 ^  I  Cor.  vii.  29.  2  I  Pet.  iv.  3. 
 
 2  Psalm  ix.  7.     Dan.  vii.  10.     Rev.  xx.  ii.  ^  Heb.  iv.  16. 
 
 ^  Heb.  V.  7.  ^  Rom.  vi.  4.  "^  Luke  xxi.  2S. 
 
 ^  Acts  iii.  19.  ^  Isai.  xl.  2. 
 
544  Revelation.  [lect.  xxxviii. 
 
 Then  at  last  shall  ye  ret7irn,  and  discern  between  the 
 righteous  and  the  wicked ;  between  him  that  serveth  God 
 and  him  that  serveth  Him  not  \ 
 
 1  Mai.  iii.  17,  18. 
 
 Fifth  Sunday  after  Easter, 
 May  25,  1862. 
 
 CAMBRIDGE:    PRINTED   BY   C.    J.    CLAY,    M.A.    AT   THE   UNIVERSITY   PRESS. 
 
BS2825 .V365 
 
 Lectures  on  the  Revelation  of  St  John. 
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