fhall be called by grace or born again of the Spirit: for thus runs the covenant; The word that I bave put in thy mouth, and the spirit that I have put upon thee, fhall never depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy feed, nor out of the mouth of thy feed's feed, from henceforth and for ever, If. lix. 21. Hence we may conclude, that the Spirit of God will never leave the earth, till the mystery of iniquity be revealed by his light; Antichrift confumed by him, as the breath of Chrift's mouth; and the mystery of God be finished, as be bath declared by his fervants the prophets, Rev. x. 7.

And be came and took the book out of the right hand of him that fat upon the throne, v. 7. Christ hav ing come forth from the Father, and completed the work he gave him to do, he now was afcended to the Father, and drew nigh unto him. According to Daniel's vifion, be came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages fhould Jerve him: bis dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which fhall not be deftroyed, Dan. vii. 13, 14. which is a prophecy of the Saviour's coronation in heaven, which prophecy is fulfilled in this chapter, and confirmed in the next. And there was d crown given unto him, and he went forth conquering and to conquer, Rev. vi. 2. And we find that the coronation-anthem is fung in this chapter upon B

the

the reception of this book, faying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was flain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and bonour, and glory, and bleffing, Rev. v. 12. It is a copy of his kingdom that he is here going to receive, in which he will meditate day and night, Deut. xvii. 18, 19. and order his throne, and manage his government with wisdom infinite, and rectitude divine, till his kingdom of grace fhall be confummated in everlasting glory, and Zion's king be acknowledged the king eternal, immortal, and invifible, the only wife God, worthy of all honour and glory for ever. Amen. 1 Tim. i. 17. all authority and all power befide being put down, 1 Cor. xv. 24. This will then be acknowledged, and then we fhall Speak of the glory of this kingdom, and talk of the power. His mighty acts fhall be made known, when we are made perfect in knowledge, and the glorious majesty of bis kingdom, Pfal. cxlv. 11, 12. shall be displayed in the eternal bleffedness of his fubjects.

I come now to the words of my text-And when he had taken the book [fealed with seven feals], the four beafts, and four and twenty elders, fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of faints. I will offer my thoughts under the fol lowing heads.

ift, What this fealed book is, which is here received by the Lamb.

2dly, What these four beafs are who appear in company with the elders.

3dly, Who these four and twenty elders are, that fall down with the beafts.

4thly, The object of their adoration, the Lamb, and why fo called.

5thly, The mufic or melody of their harps, and the cause of it.

6thly, What their golden vials are, and why called fo.

7thly, and lastly, Defcribe their odours, faid to be the prayers of all faints, and what a faint is.

First, What book is this which God the Father held forth, and which none but the prevailing Lion of the tribe of Judah could receive and open. I answer, it is not the book of the law. That the Mediator received, with all its commands, conditions, contents, and curfes, before he entered upon his public miniftry. Sacrifice and offering thou didst not defire; mine ears haft thou opened: burnt-offering and fin-offering hast thou not required. Then faid I, Lo, I come in the volume of the book it is written of me: I delight to do thy will, O my God; yea, thy law is within my heart. I bave preached righteoufnefs in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips; O Lord, thou knowest, Pfal. xl. 6—9. This ancient prophecy had been fulfilled before this fealed book was delivered to him, which was not done till the Saviour had finished the work of redemption. He is the Lamb B 2

fain

flain that receives this book; which fhews that he had been crucified under the curfe of the law, and entered the Holy of Holies with his own blood, before the delivery of this fealed book. In short, the Saviour had magnified the law, and ́made it honourable, by a life of perfect conformity thereto; he had preached it in all its spiritual meaning, as no other ever did, or ever will do; and by his making his foul an offering for fin, he had endured the curse of it, and thus delivered his own elect from the command of it [to do for life], and redeemed them from the curse of it [which condemns to hell]; and as a law magnified, and difarmed of its killing power, he keeps it in his own hand, that we may find access to God by a new and living way, through the vail of his fief-without being arrested, captured, or cursed, by that fiery difpenfation.

The law being thus magnified, and the righ teousness of it preached in the great congregation, the law in its fpiritual meaning had been publifhed by the Saviour, and made known in the world to thousands. Therefore this fealed book cannot be that; for this had not been revealed to the fons of men when John faw it delivered, as appears plain by the feals being clofed, which were afterwards opened in their order.

Nor is this book the book of God's remembrance, which he keeps in behalf of them that fear the Lord, and fpeak often one to another, to whom God hearkens, and whofe converfation the Lord hears; and a book of remembrance is written before

bim, for them that fear him, and think on his name, Mal. iii. 16.

Nor is the black catalogue of finners ungodly deeds intended by this book, which is a book of remembrance alfo, which God fwears he will never forget-The Lord hath fworn by the excellency of Jacob (that is, by himself), furely I will never forget any of their works, Amos viii. 7. Sin makes an awful impreffion on this book, as well as on the book of confcience. The fin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond, it is graven upon the table of their heart, Jer. xvii. 1. The point of this diamond will cut deep, when the dreadful eye of justice makes the finner's heart transparent, and the awakening flames of wrath make confcience fufceptible of feeling. But all these books will be opened at the great decifive day, to the aftonishment and eternal triumph of the juft, and to the endless fhame, confufion, and contempt of the wicked, Dan. xii. 2. vii. 10.

Nor is the book of life meant by this book, in which the names and number of all the elect are enrolled, who are faid to have their names written in the book of life, Phil. iv. 3. and written among the living in Jerufalem, who are to be called holy, Ifa. iv. 3. and all whose name was not found written in this book were caft into the lake of fire, Rev. xx. 15. But this book of life had been made known more or less by the antient prophets in a mysterious way; and afterwards was Spoken by the Lord,