396 Rev. They are exhorted to be zealous, and repent. tried in the fire, that thou mayest see. SECT. ble of helping thee. And as I require no price, to buy of me gold, vi. or equivalent for my treasures, but only a con- thou mayest be rich; viction of such an incapacity to make an ade- and white raiment, iii. 18 quate return for them, I advise thee, in that that thou mayest be way, to buy of me a full supply for all thy ne- clothed, and that the cessities; blessings, as desirable as gold tried shame of thy nakedness do not appear: in the fire, that thou mayest indeed be rich; and anoint thine eyes and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, with eye salve, that and that the shame of thy nakedness may not appear. Apply to me for an interest in my righteousness and sanctifying grace; that thou mayest be absolved before God, and adorned with every virtue which can render thee lovely in his sight. And whereas thou art blinded with such unhappy self conceit, come, and anoint thy eyes with my sovereign e salve, that thou mayest see; for I can bring thee to right sentiments of thyself, and of thy state; and can teach thee to judge of objects accord19 ing to their real worth. In the mean time, 19 As many as I imagine not, that what may seem severe in this love, I rebuke and address, proceeds from any unkindness to thee; therefore, and refor whomsoever I love, I reprove and correct. pent. Instead, therefore, of ungratefully quarrelling at so kind an admonition, set thyself immedi ately and diligently to improve it: Be more zealous for the future, than thou hast ever been in time past, and deeply repent of thy prevail20 ing indolence and degeneracy. e chasten be zealous Behold, I 20 Behold, I stand a and he with me. have stood for a long time, and I still stand at at the door, and the door, and knock; waiting for admittance hear my voice, and knock if any man into your hearts. If any man hear my voice, open the door, I will with a due regard, and open the door; if he come in to him, and welcome me with the affection due to such will sup with him, Friend, and such a Saviour, how mean soever his circumstances in life may be, and how faulty soever his character may formerly have been, I will enter into his house, and, like some princely guest, will bring my own rich and delightful entertainment along with me; I will sup with him, and he shall sup with me; I will treat him with the most endearing and familiar friendship, accept the tokens of his affection, and give him the most solid evidences of mine. 21 Let this variety of motives then engage you, O ye Laodiceans, to shake off that dull lethargic temper which has so long given me cause of complaint: and for your further encouragement, 21 To him that Reflections on the epistles to Philadelphia and Laodicea, 397 vi. overcometh, will I hear the last promise which I make, to all who SECT. grant to sit with me exert themselves in that holy warfare, to which in my throne, even as I also overcame, I am calling you, with becoming vigour and Rev. and am set down resolution: as for the valiant conqueror, I will iii. 21 with my Father in give him to sit down with me upon my glorious his throne. and exalted throne in the heavenly world; as I also myself have conquered the enemies which violently assaulted me in the days of my flesh, and am set down with my Father upon his throne; my faithful servants shall partake with me of this honour in the great day of my appearing, 22 He that hath and shall live and reign with me for ever. He 22 an ear, let him hear therefore, that hath an ear to hear, let him be all what the Spirit saith attention on this occasion, and hear what the unto the churches. Spirit saith to the churches; regarding what has been addressed to each, as intended to afford matter of general instruction. IMPROVEMENT. 13 In what age, or in what place, will the church be entirely free verse from this Laodicean temper, which is so justly complained of by our Lord, and represented as so loathsome to him; I mean, an indolence in religion, often joined with arrogance and spiritual pride too, as if great attainments were made, where it is almost matter of doubt, whether the very essentials be remaining! Let us not indulge to a vain conceit of our own wisdom, and riches, 16, 17 and sufficiency; but let us thankfully hearken to that kind invitation, which he here gives us, to come and purchase that of 18 him, without money, and without price, by which we may be truly and substantially enriched; that by which we may attain to real knowledge and true discernment; and may be clothed with ornaments and glories, which shall render us amiable in the eyes of God. How long has our compassionate Saviour been waiting upon us! How long has he stood knocking at the door! And O, for what guests hath he been excluded! who have filled 20 our hearts and taken the throne in them, while the entrance has been denied to the Lord of glory and of grace! Let us humble ourselves in the dust before him, and entreat that he would now enter as into his own habitation; that he would do us the honour to sup with us; that he would cause us to sup with him; opening to us the stores of his love and bounty, and causing our souls to rejoice in his salvation. "Awaken us, O blessed Jesus, to give thee a most cheerful admittance; and rather shew thy love to 19 us by chastisements and rebuke, than suffer us entirely to forfeit it, by continued insensibility and negligence. Holy and 7 true, who hast the key of David, exert thy power, irresistible in 398 St. John beheld a door opened in heaven: SECT. heaven and on earth, in opening our hearts: and O, set before vi. us an open door of service; and give us to use it to the utverse most, for thy glory. Strengthen us to keep the word of thy 18, 10 patience, and make us unshaken in our attachment to thee, in every hour of temptation, which may come upon the earth, that none may take away our crown." 11 12 Whatever our trials may be, let us rejoice in this, that they will be only for a short duration; for our Lord is coming quickly whatever our combat may be, let us arm ourselves with faith in those glorious promises, which our Lord makes to them that persevere and overcome. Have we not experienced the pleasure of filling a place in the house of God on earth? But this sacred satisfaction, and the holy season which affords it, is quickly over; let us long for the blessed time, when we shall be fixed as immoveable pillars in the temple of God above. And O, may we now wear, engraven on our hearts, the name of our God, and of his heavenly city, and the new name of our triumphant Redeemer, as a token for good, that we shall bear the inscription in bright and everlasting characters 21 above. But even this most expressive promise was not equal to all the purposes of a Saviour's love: that nothing, therefore, might be wanting to enkindle the most generous ambition, he has been pleased to speak of our sitting down with him upon his throne, as he is sat down on his Father's throne. And who then will ever scruple to suffer with him, when thus assured of reigning with him, in everlasting glory! O, who would grudge to resign, not merely the accommodations of life, but even an earthly throne, in the hope of one, so much more radiant, exalted, and permanent! Fear not, little flock! it is your Father's and your Saviour's good pleasure to give you the kingdom, (Luke xii. 32,) and he animates you to pursue it with such compassionate earnestness, as if he could hardly enjoy it himself, unless it were communicated to you. SECT. vii. Rev. SECT. VII. Another scene now opens on the apostle John: in which God is represented as enthroned in celestial glory, surrounded with the hieroglyphical representation of angels, and the glorified church. Rev. IV. 1, to the end. REVELATION IV. 1. REV. IV. 1. AFTER these things, and after Jesus had dic- A looked, and be tated to me these seven epistles, I saw, and hold, a door was oiv. 1 behold, it seemed as if a door were opened in pened in heaven; and and saw a rainbow round the throne of God. which must be here 399 vii. Rev. the first voice which heaven, near to which I was brought; so that SECT. I heard, was as it I was able to look in, and see what passed, and were of a trumpet was transacted there. And the first voice which talking with me: which said, Come I heard before, [was] as loud as the sound of a iv. 1 up hither, and I will trumpet; and while speaking to me, it seemed show thee things to issue out from thence; and it said, Come up hither; and having given thee this charge relating to present things, I will show thee what 2 And immediate- shall be afterwards. And immediately I was 2 ly I was in the spirit: in the Spirit, and an extraordinary vision prewas set in heaven; sented itself to my intellectual view; for behold, and one sat on the and observe diligently a circumstance of so great after. and behold, a throne throne. importance; a throne was set in heaven, to represent that of the blessed God; and there was one sitting upon it, of a majestic form and appearance, and arrayed in robes of glory, suited 3 And he that sat to the situation in which he was. And he 3 was to look upon like who sate [on it] was, in the form and lustre of a jasper, and a sar- his appearance, like a jasper and sardine stone was a rainbow round and a rainbow, in which the bright green, in about the throne, in appearance like the vivid, though soft and agreesight like unto an able colour of an emerald, [was] especially dine stone; and there emerald. prevalent, appeared round about the throne; thousand difficulties, not to say absurdities, which would follow from a contrary supposition; namely, that there is in heaven an animal in the form of a lamb, to represent Christ; and that there are such living creatures as are here described; and that God himself appears in a human form, &c. And this observation I make once for all, desiring that it may be remem. bered, and applied as occasions present. • I was in the Spirit] This phrase keep us, in our interpretation, clear of a signifies, to be under a strong and supernatural impulse, caused by the miraculous operation of the Spirit of God acting on the imagination in such a manner as to open extraordinary scenes, which had not any exact external archetype. And it is much illustrated by the view presented to Ezekiel, when he sat in his house among the elders of the people, (Ezek. viii. 1,) who probably saw nothing but the prophet himself, as one, in a trance, or ecstasy, or b Like jasper, &c.] I do not suppose whose thoughts were so attentively fixed, this refers so much to the colour of these as to be insensible of what passed around stones, as to their lustre, and the radiancy him. We are not therefore to imagine, of the light as reflected from them, when that the person sitting on the throne, or the perfectly polished. The rainbow of emerfour animals, or the four and twenty elders, ald was, no doubt, to express a covenant were real beings existing in nature; of peace; of which the rainbow was, with though they represented, in a figurative Noah, an appointed token. And that manner, things that did really exist. And lively and cheering colour seems to have though it is possible, that aerial scenes been particularly mentioned, not to imply might, by Divine, or angelic power, there were no other, but that the prohave been formed, I think it much more portion of green was greater than ordinary. probable, that all that passed, was purely Compare Ězek. i. 26. in the imagination of St. John. This will 400 Rev. On twenty four thrones were as many elders; SECT. pare Gen. ix. 16.) And, in an extensive circle, 4 And round about vii. round about the throne of God, [there were] the throne were four and twenty seats: twenty four other thrones; and on the thrones and upon the seats I iv. 4 I saw twenty four elders sitting, as an emblem saw four and twen of the Old Testament church, and also of ty elders sitting, the New; and they were clothed in a habit clothed in white raiment ; and they somewhat resembling that of the Levites, or had on their heads Priests, with white raiment; and, in token of crowns of gold. their royal dignity, they had upon their heads e 5 golden crowns. And out of the throne there 5 And out of the came flashes of vivid lightnings and thun- throne proceeded ders, and sometimes articulate voices; and seven derings, and voices ; lightnings, and thunlamps of fire, [were] burning continually before and there were seven the throne; which are the seven spirits of God; lamps of fire, burn. before the throne there was a that is, they represent a great variety of the ing throne, which are Spirit's operations, and those of good angels the seven Spirits of 6 who act in subserviency to him. And before God. the throne [there was] correspondent to the 6 And before the brazen sea in Solomon's temple, (1 Kings sea of glass like unto vii. 23,) a great laver, or sea, which was made crystal; and in the all of pure pellucid glass, which was clear like midst of the throne, crystal itself. And in the middle of the and round about the throne, were four space between the throne and the circle about the beasts full of eyes, throne, [there were] four living creatures and before and behind. to signify their intelligence, and quickness of observance, they appeared full of eyes, both 7 before and behind. These four animals, of a 7 And the first very extraordinary form, seem to have been intended as hieroglyphical representations of the angelic nature and the head of the first ani Twenty four elders.] The number the Spirits standing before the throne, might seems to allude to that of the patriarchs be distinct appearances of angelic forms: and apostles; and they are called Elders, as it is certain some of them were, from as the presidency of elders was common the actions they afterwards performed. among the Jews. And these might be sounding the seven trumpets, &c. considered as representatives of the church, paying homage at the throne in the name of the rest. Four living creatures.] It was a most unhappy mistake in our translators, to ren der the word (a1, beasts: it certainly signifies any other kind of animals, that is of creatures which have animal life, as well as beasts. The word, beast, not only degrades the signification, but the animals here mentioned, have parts and appearances, which beasts have not, and are represented as in the highest sense rational. Seven lamps of fire, &c.] Some think these are the seven Spirits of God, that is, angels spoken of afterwards, chap. v. 6, but I at present doubt, whether, they may not be distinguished, Lamps of fire, or lambent flames, like those that fell upon the apostles on the day of pentecost, (Acts ii. 3,) might perhaps be emblems of the blessed Spirit of God in its various and powerful operations; especially those Hieroglyphical representations, &c.] by which the minds of intelligent created It is well known, the ancients, (borrowbeings are illuminated and purified. And ing them I suppose from the Egyptians,) |
