Page images
PDF
EPUB

He would establish and make Jerusalem a praise in the earth; ye who are now pleading with God, day and night, and ye are many; rejoice, and leap for joy! your prayers have ascended into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth; they are the golden vials full of odours, spoken of by the apostle; and in answer to the prayers of all saints from the foundation of the world, the Lamb of God once slain, but alive for evermore, has taken the book of the mystery of God, and has opened all the seals thereof: and now, let all in heaven, and all in earth, and all under the earth, and such as are in the sea, hear the voice of Him that speaketh from heaven, for the prophets and the apostles have begun to sing a new song, saying, "Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof, for thou wast slain; and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation." The time of the conversion of all nations is come. "Listen, O isles, unto me, and hearken, ye people from far; The Lord hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me; and said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified." (Isa. xlix. 1-3.) "Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth. For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall

be far away. The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, The place is too strait for me: give place to me that I may dwell." (Isa. xlix. 18-21.) "So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun." (Isa. lix. 19.) "They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord." (Isa. lxv. 25.) "My house shall be called an house of prayer for all people." (Isa. lvi. 7.)

Ver. 10. "And hast made us kings and priests; and we shall reign on the earth.” "And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom; and all dominions shall serve and obey him." (Dan. vii. 27.) Ver. 11-13. "And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne, and the beasts, and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands." This is the innumerable company of angels, the mount Sion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem coming down from heaven, as a bride adorned for her husband. And they also sing a new song, "saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing." Thus saith the Lord-"I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall swear." (Isa. xlv. 23.) Therefore was seen and heard in the vision-" Every creature which is in heaven, and in the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, saying, Blessing,

and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever." "And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever." (Ver. 14.) So complete will be the final accomplishment of all that is written in the Scripture of truth, that the writers of the Scriptures, and the writings themselves, are represented as falling down, when all is finished, and giving glory, and honour, and thanks to Him that sat on the throne, and who liveth for ever and ever. Ye prayerless professors, ye cannot partake of this glory; ye can know nothing of the joy unspeakable and full of glory. Hitherto thy Lord saith, "ye have asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: for the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God." (John xvi. 24, 26, 27.)

CHAPTER XVI.

REV. chap. vi. 1, 2. “And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering and to conquer." The opening of the seals is a figure of the unfolding, the making plain the mystery of God. When the Lamb opened one of the seals, John heard as it were the noise of thunder, the voice of God, who would Himself speak, yea, roar, when He came to make Himself fully known. One of the four beasts, that is the first, Isaiah, said, Come and see. "And I saw, and behold a white horse," a figure of righteousness and peace. And he that sat on him had a bow, with which he shot arrows and wounded the hearts of the king's enemies; the arrows of truth converting sinners unto God. And a crown was given unto him, and he went forth conquering and to conquer. The opening of the seals has a twofold interpretation. There is disclosed the mystery of the Divine counsel from the beginning of the world up till this time, and the mystery of the same counsel from this time until the end. Christ went forth riding on the white horse when He laid the foundation of the world; and God has said unto Him, "Sit on my

[ocr errors]

right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool;” (Heb. i. 13;) and He must reign until He shall have put down all rule, and all authority, and power. What is here taught is the triumphant counsel and purpose of God, which Isaiah has declared, when God said by Him, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure;" (Isa. xlvi. 10;) and again, "For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater; so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void; but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." (Isa. lv. 10, 11.) In all that is past, Jesus has conquered; not one of all the children His Father gave Him has been lost. Not one purpose of the Divine plan has been frustrated; at this moment, Jesus wears the crown of victory, for He has triumphed over all, and in all things; and now is to be witnessed by angels and men a glorious manifestation of His conquests upon this earth; for the prayer He taught His disciples will now be answered; His Father's name will be hallowed; His Father's kingdom shall come; His Father's will shall now be done on earth as in heaven. Then will Christ have conquered all.

Ver. 3, 4. "And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red; and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another; and there was given unto him a great sword." When the second seal was opened, the second beast, the prophet Jeremiah said, Come and see. The red horse is a figure of

« PreviousContinue »