II.OF HISTORY.

III.OF SCRIPTURE.

IV.OF SALVATION.

V.IN THE LIFE OF THE BELIEVER.

VI.IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.

(D. R. Key, M. A.)

1. It is so in reference to theological aspirations.

2. Immortal aspirations are likewise met in Jesus. Men believe in a hereafter. On the last page of life's book we do not write Finis, but "To be continued in our next." Christ ministers to this yearning for immortality. "I go to prepare a place for you"; "This day thou shalt be with Me in Paradise"; "Where I am there also shall My servant be."

II. Jesus is the Alpha and Omega of HUMAN CHARACTER. Christ comprehended in Himself every form of excellence. No virtue was lacking; each grace was present. A visitor in Spain, delighted with the paintings of Rubens, asked where his bad pictures were? He failed to discover them. Inquire for the defects of Christ, and you cannot get an answer.

III. Jesus is the Alpha and Omega of HUMAN PRIVILEGE. What is true of the Bible is true also of Christ. It meets all moral needs. There is a bridge in a certain Austrian city on whose parapets stand twelve statues of the Saviour. He is represented in various relationships, as, for instance, prophet, priest, king, physician, pilot, shepherd, sower, carpenter. The country people, coming into town soon after dawn with produce for the market, pause before the sower or the shepherd Christ, and offer their prayers through Him. The artisans, two hours later, repairing to the workshop, bend before the carpenter Christ. Later on the sailor kneels at the feet of the pilot Christ. And in the warm sunlight of the forenoon invalids, creeping out to enjoy the fresh air, rest under the shadow of the Great Physician. Apt symbol of our Lord's adaptation to universal necessities! He is all and in all.

(T. R. Stevenson.)

II. AS IT RELATES TO THE PERSONAL ENJOYMENTS AND SALVATION OF THE TRUE BELIEVER.

III. JESUS CHRIST IS THE ALPHA AND OMEGA OF THE GREAT WORKS OF NATURE AND PROVIDENCE.

(T. Hutchings.)

II. Then we consider the title as EXPRESSIVE OF OUR SAVIOUR'S ACTION IN ALL THE MOVEMENTS OF THE UNIVERSE. The self-existent and independent one must necessarily be the author and upholder of all created existence. Observe

1. How unlimited is the power which is thus attributed to our Lord. The fact of creation is in one point of view the most stupendous of which we have any knowledge. While all this is awful, is it not delightful to reflect how that power is wielded by our best Friend, by One whose heart is as tender as His arm is strong, and wielded for the welfare of those who put their trust in Him?

2. He carries all things forward to their consummation. He terminates as well as originates all the processes of the universe — all beings, all things, all existence. We are not to think of Him as severed from Bib works, but as pervading and upholding them, and still conducting them all. He is the centre of all forces, the fountain of all law, the sustainer of all existence. Look around you in your own world; in the multitude of the activities that you witness you behold the exercise of His power. It is seen in the flowing river, in the restless ocean, in the rising and setting sun, in the still or stormy atmosphere, in all activities of organic substance, in animal and vegetable life. It is His power that bursts in the budding of the plant; His beauty which is unfolded in the opening flower; it is His providence which shapes the life of the buzzing insect, His will that determines the mode and manner of its death. Even the smallest grain of dust takes its shape from His hands; He directs the course of every particle of spray, every feather and every snowflake in the breeze. There is nothing too minute for His care, as there is nothing too great for His might. Look into the inner world of the soul, and with equal certainty you can discern His movements there. Not only did He lay down His life to provide redemption for us, but by His Spirit He applies that redemption to the individual soul. The work of grace in its beginning, its continuance, its consummation, is all of Him. There is human instrumentality, but the efficiency is all Divine.

III. Again, consider the title as intimating that ALL THINGS EXIST ON OUR SAVIOUR'S ACCOUNT, AND ACTUALLY AND ULTIMATELY TEND TO THE PROMOTION OF HIS GLORY. It is not a subject for dogmatism, scarcely for speculation, when we say that the purpose of creation was the manifestation of the Divine attributes, to give expression and embodiment to the truth, the purity, the beauty, the wisdom, the goodness, and the perfection of the attributes which exist in the Divine mind, that God might complacently behold and rest in His works, and that His intelligent creatures, beholding these perfections in the visible universe, might respond to those expressions of the Divine with devout and joyful adoration. Christ came to restore the Divine order which sin had interrupted, and all creation, true to the purpose of its existence, co-operates with Him for this end. His Incarnation is not an isolated fact; it is the centre of the universe, pointing to the past order which has been broken and is yet to be restored.

(W. Landels.)

I. He is the A and the Z of THE PHYSICAL UNIVERSE. By Him were all things made that are made. It is exciting to see a ship launched. The people gather in a temporary gallery erected for their accommodation. The spectators are breathless, waiting for the impediments to be removed, when down the ship rushes with terrific velocity, the planks smoking, the water tossing, the flags flying, the people huzzaing, bands of music playing. But my Lord Jesus saw this ship of a world launched with its furnaces of volcano, and flags of cloud, and masts of mountain, and beams of thunderbolt, while the morning stars shouted, and the orchestras of heaven played, "Great and marvellous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty!" The same hand that put up this universe will pull it down.

II. Christ is the A and the Z of THE BIBLE. Here is a long lane, overshadowed by fine trees, leading up to a mansion. What is the use of the lane if there were no mansion at the end? There is no use in the Old Testament, except as a grand avenue to lead us up to the Gospel Dispensation. You may go early to a concert. Before the curtain is hoisted, you hear the musicians tuning up the violins, and getting ready all the instruments. After a while the curtain is hoisted, and the concert begins. All the statements, parables, orations, and miracles of the Old Testament were merely preparatory, and when all was ready, in the time of Christ, the curtain hoists, and there pours forth the Oratorio of the Messiah — all nations joining in the Hallelujah Chorus.

III. Christ is the A and the Z of THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. A sermon that has no Christ in it is a dead failure. The minister who devotes his pulpit to anything but Christ is an . impostor. What the world wants now is to be told in the most direct way of Jesus Christ, who comes to save men from eternal damnation. Christ the Light, Christ the Sacrifice, Christ the Rock, Christ the Star, Christ the Balm, Christ the Guide.

IV. Christ is the A and the Z in THE WORLD'S RESCUE. When the world broke loose, the only hand swung out to catch it was that of Jesus.

V. Christ is the A and the Z IN HEAVEN. He is the most honoured personage in all the land. He is known as a World-Liberator. The first one that a soul entering heaven looks for is Jesus. At His feet break the doxologies. Around His throne circle the chief glories. At heaven's beginning — Christ, the Alpha. Then travel far on down the years of eternity, and stop at the end of the remotest age, and see if the song has not taken up some other burthen, and some other throne has not become the centre of heaven's chief attractions. But no; you hear it thrummed on the harps and poured from the trumpets and shouted in universal acclaim, "Christ, the Omega!"

(T. De Witt Talmage.)

II. Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, because of His ALL-SUFFICIENCY. Like the literal Alpha and Omega, He includes everything within Himself. He is the beginning and the ending, which is, and was, and is to come — the Almighty — the All-sufficient. There is nothing which a believer needs but he will find it in the Lord Jesus.

1. A sufficient Saviour. His name was called "Jesus," because He saves His people from their sins. You can do nothing which more truly honours Him, than to trust your salvation entirely to Him.

2. A most attractive and assimilating pattern of all moral excellence. In His direct operations on the mind, the Holy Spirit is the immediate sanctifier of God's people; but it is by revealing the great model of all excellence in the person of the Lord Jesus, that the Holy Spirit changes them into the same likeness.

2. A wise Counsellor and unerring Guide. He knows the end from the beginning; He sees the issue of every undertaking, not only in time, but in eternity. His counsel is wonderful, for it meets the very case; and — what cannot be said of much good advice — He can not only give the best counsel, but He can make you willing to take it. In His ever-living Word, He has left principles available in all the casuistry which ever can occur in your experience — formulae which only need to be filled up with your particular case, and the doubt is at once dispelled — the path is at once made plain.

III. Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, because ALL THINGS THAT CONCERN THE CHURCH ARE IN HIM SUMMED UP OR "RECAPITULATED." In His person the Church on earth finds its access to God, and the earnest of its everlasting life; and in that same person the Church of the glorified finds the guarantee of permanent joy — the stability of its bliss secured. All that belong to Him are safe within the circle of the changeless love and all-embracing might of Him who filleth all in all.

IV. Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, because HE IS THE FIRST AND THE LAST, the beginning and the ending — He that liveth and is alive for evermore. There is a power which bade Lebanon rise, and a power which can bid Lebanon and his continental roots subside in fiat chaos again. The day will come when that hoary deep must die — when old Ocean will lift up his waves and clap his cymbal hands no more. Yes, old apparatus of the universe, obsolete version of a system fast verging to decay, ye soon must vanish, and make room for a world where there is no more sea, and for cities which don't need the sun. But when ye are gone the Fountain of Life will still include in His all-encircling fulness everything that lives.

(Jas. Hamilton.)

1. The figurative mode of expression He employs.

2. The evident sense of His communication. Christ precedes all things by the eternity of His nature; He pervades all things by the omnipresence of His Spirit; He survives all things by the immortality of His nature.

II. THE SOLEMN CONFIRMATION CHRIST DEIGNS TO AFFORD. He announces —

1. The eternity of His duration.

2. The omnipotency in His possession. Christ says that He is the Almighty.

III. THE BLESSED CONSOLATION THE SAVIOUR DESIGNS TO BESTOW.

1. The security it affords to the believer amid the calamitous changes of life.

2. The stability of the Church amid the overthrow of empires.

3. The immortality of the Christian amid the ravages of death.

(J. Blackburn.)

(T. Guthrie.)

1. Sometimes they signify nothing more but only a long duration (Genesis 17:8; Numbers 10:8; Genesis 49:26; Habakkuk 3:6; 1 Samuel 3:13; Exodus 21:6).

2. The next sense they are used in is to denote a duration continuing as long as the subject exists, and then putting it in a state out of which it shall never be restored (Numbers 24:20; Deuteronomy 13:16; Jude 1:7).

3. In other places of Scripture the words "eternal" and "for ever" signify in a higher sense a duration, not figuratively, but properly and literally everlasting, without end, though not without beginning. Thus angels and the souls of men are eternal, or immortal.

4. The last and highest and most absolutely perfect sense of the words "eternal" and "everlasting," is when they signify a duration of inexhaustible and never-falling permanency, both without beginning and without end. And not only so, but including also necessary and independent existence, so as in no manner whatsoever to derive from any other.

II. SOME OBSERVATIONS CONCERNING THIS DOCTRINE OF THE ETERNITY OF GOD IN PARTICULAR.

1. This eternity is a perfection, an attribute, by which God is very frequently described in Scripture, in order to raise in our minds a just veneration of His Divine majesty (Deuteronomy 33:27; Romans 16:26; Isaiah 57:15; 1 Samuel 15:29; 1 Timothy 1:17; 1 Timothy 6:16; Psalm 102:24).

2. Not only in Scripture is God frequently described by this attribute of eternity, but even under the light of nature also is He represented to us after the same manner. For since it is in some degree a perfection to be, and a greater degree of that perfection, to continue in being, it is evident, when we conceive of God the most perfect being, we must conceive Him to be infinite in this perfection also, as well as in others. Again, it is evident even to the meanest capacity which considers things at all, that He who first gave being to all other things could not possibly have any beginning Himself, and that He who hath already existed from all eternity, independently and of Himself, cannot possibly be liable to be deprived of His being, and must therefore necessarily exist for an eternity to come.

3. The true notion of the Divine eternity does not consist in making past things to be still present, and things future to be already come, which is an express contradiction. The eternal, supreme cause has such a perfect, independent, and unchangeable comprehension of all things, that in every point or instance of His eternal duration, all things past, present, and to come, must be, not indeed themselves present at once, but they must be as entirely known and represented to Him in one single thought or view, and all things present and future be as absolutely under His power and direction (Psalm 90:4; 2 Peter 3:8).

III. WHAT USE THIS MEDITATION MAY BE TO US IN PRACTICE.

1. This attribute of eternity, absolute, necessary, and independent, is one of the principal characters by which the true God of the universe is distinguished from false Gods.

2. The consideration of the eternity of God is an argument why His providence ought not to be cavilled at, nor His promises doubted of, even though there be no present appearance of the performances of His promises, and no present way of explaining the methods of His providence.

3. The consideration of God's eternity is a sure ground of trust and confidence, of hope and cheerfulness, to good men at all times, seeing His protection may be relied on and depended upon for ever.

4. The consideration of this Divine perfection, the eternity of God, is a ground for frail and mortal man to hope for pity and compassion from Him.

5. The consideration of God's being eternal leads us to a right knowledge and just sense of the excellency of that reward, wherewith He will finally crown those who obey His commandments.

6. If God is eternal this consideration ought to be matter of infinite terror to all impenitent sinners; that He who liveth for ever, as He will reward His servants eternally, so He can punish His enemies as long as He pleases, for there is no end of His power.

(S. Clarke, D. D.)

I. As HE WAS.

1. He was — in the bosom of the Father from all eternity.

2. He was — a little helpless babe, born in a stable, cradled in a manger.

3. He was — "a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief."

4. He was — a sacrifice for sin.

5. He was — again on earth forty days (Acts 1:3).

II. HE IS — HIS PRESENT STATE AND CIRCUMSTANCES.

1. He is — glorified.

2. He is — the head of His Church.

3. He is — preparing a place for us.

4. He is — in a state of expectation.

III. HE IS TO COME.

1. His second advent is as certain as His first, and depends upon it.

2. He is to come — suddenly and unexpectedly.

3. He is to come — with power and great glory.

4. He is to come — for the final consummation of all things.

(Dean Close.)

1. As a "brother"; his heart glows with a Christly fraternity for the good of all the Churches throughout all the world.

2. As a sufferer; he is in "tribulation." The best men on earth are subject to suffering.

II. A character of distinguished excellence banished by BLOODY PERSECUTORS. "In the isle called Patmos." On this desolate island, amidst the greatest villains of the age, this great character was banished. Strange that the Providence of heaven should have allowed one of the most Christly men on the earth at that time to live for an hour in such a scene. But Patmos to John, and Patmos to the other residents, was a different place. To John it was a theatre of sublimest revelations — the very gate of heaven.

III. A character of distinguished excellence banished by bloody persecutors for the CAUSE OF CHRIST. He bore "testimony of Jesus," and preached the "Word of God."

(Homilist.)

2. The blessings, the promises, the hopes, the privileges of the kingdom, and the glorious prospects of life and immortality belonged in common to all the holy brethren. They were brethren in affection; they loved one another with a pure love fervently; they were brethren in profession, a holy band of brothers, united together in the faith, hope, and profession of the gospel; they were brethren in action, holy obedience, devoted effort, in deed and in truth, in work and in warfare, in sorrow and suffering, in conflict and conquest, in life and in death.

3. They were also companions. They were companions in friendship, like David and Jonathan; companions in love, like Paul and Timothy; companions in arms, as soldiers of the Cross. They had all the same cause, interest, and object; the same profession, conflict, and triumph; and the same cause, prospects, and glory.

4. The objects in which John was their brother and companion were three: the tribulation, the kingdom, and patience of Jesus.(1) He was their brother in tribulation. This supposes subjection to all the common calamities of life; we are born to trouble as the sparks fly upwards. It includes persecutions for the sake of Christ. Of these the primitive saints had a large share. To be a brother and companion in tribulation includes sympathy with the afflicted. The fellowship of saints consists greatly in sympathetic feelings. If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it.(2) He was a brother and companion in the kingdom of Christ. Observe the connection between the tribulation and the kingdom of Jesus. If we suffer with Him, we shall reign with Him. The Lord Jesus Christ is the King of this kingdom. He is the King of Zion — the King of martyrs. As a King, he was prefigured by many an ancient type — Melchizedek was king of Salem; Moses was king in Jeshurun; Judah was the lawgiver from whom the Shiloh came. The kingdom was foreshadowed as well as the King. The people of Israel were a royal priesthood, a kingdom of priests.(3) The patience of Jesus Christ. This word includes a patient enduring, a patient waiting, and a patient persevering.

5. The exile of the apostle. His grace shall be sufficient for us; He will perfect His strength in our weakness.

6. It was for the sake of Jesus that John was now an exile; but He for whom he suffered was infinitely worthy; and John was ready to count all things but loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus his Lord.

(James Young.)

II. THE FULNESS OF THE REVELATION TO A SINGLE SAINT. "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day." That was a magnificent service which was performed for that troubled soul on his seagirt isle that Sabbath day. The presence of one worshipper is sufficient to start the angelic choir, to secure the entrance of the high priest in his robes of ascended majesty. One troubled spirit requires the whole of the Divine ministry. The disciple of Christ who puts himself in the line with Divine commands, whatever his estate or humiliation, often finds the whole splendid ritual produced for him. It was the Lord's day when this mighty revelation came to the prisoner. He was in the spirit, though depressed and anxious. Many persons will stay away from church because of evils which have come or misfortunes in the family. But they thus fail of the very relief God has vouchsafed to those who seek to serve Him. The choicest blessings are for those who are in the line of appointed duty. The individual is not overlooked. We are taught here how in all the mighty movements of nations and the universe itself Christ has time to spare and disposition to care for His humble, persecuted disciples.

III. THE CONTINUED STORY FOR THE WORLD. "Write therefore the things that thou sawest." After the personal revelation comes the permanent message for the ministry, the Church, and the world. There was to be a book and a commentary by the living One. Attention was here called to the value of permanent records of the Lord's will for the Church in all ages. The Bible was not only largely written by captives, but has been ever the prisoners' book.

(William R. Campbell.)

II. BROTHER AND COMPANION IN TRIBULATION. There was tribulation in the Churches then, as now; in some cases it was "much tribulation" (Acts 14:22), or "great tribulation" (Revelation 2:22; Revelation 7:14). "Weeping endured for a night" (Psalm 30:5); for this is the night, and it is the time of tears. What John suffered, these Churches suffered; what they suffered, he suffered: for the sympathy between all the members of the body was quick and instantaneous in these days of love. Sympathy between the members of Christ's body is little known in these last days; so many non-conducting materials have prevented the communication. The world has come in; false brethren have come in; the members do not realise the vitality of their connection with the Head. The links are broken; the fine nerves that carried the spiritual feeling through every part have frozen or become insensible, if not dead. Who of us appreciates this deep, true spiritual union, with which no external unity can intermeddle, either to hinder or to help?

III. BROTHER AND COMPANION IN THE KINGDOM. The kingdom belongs alike to all the members of the one body from the beginning. One in sorrow, one in joy; one in shame, one in glory; one in tribulation, one in triumph!

IV. BROTHER AND COMPANION IN THE PATIENCE OF JESUS CHRIST. Until that kingdom come, there is need of patience; patience such as all the saints have shown in the days of their pilgrimage; the patience exhibited by the Master Himself; the patience of faith and hope; the patient waiting for the kingdom. Be patient unto the coming of the Lord. Be patient under wrong, and suffering, and weariness, and hope deferred.

(H. Bonar, D. D.)

II. THE COMMON ROAD TO THAT COMMON ROYALTY. There are no short cuts nor bye-paths for the Christian pilgrim. There is "tribulation in Christ," as surely as in Him there are peace and victory, and if we are in Christ we shall be sure to get our share of it. The Christian course brings new difficulties and trials of its own, and throws those who truly out-and-out adopt it into relations with the world which will surely lead to oppositions and pains. It has not ceased to be a hard thing to be a real and thorough Christian. The law is unrepealed — "If we suffer with Him, we shall also reign with Him." But this participation in the tribulation that is in Christ has another and gentler aspect. The expression points to the blessed softening of our hardest trials when they are borne in union with the Man of Sorrows.

III. THE COMMON TEMPER IN WHICH THE COMMON ROAD TO THE COMMON ROYALTY IS TO BE TRODDEN. Patience is the link, so to speak, between the kingdom and the tribulation. Sorrow does not of itself lead to the possession of the kingdom. All depends on the disposition which the sorrow evokes, and the way in which it is borne. We may take our sorrows in such a fashion as to be driven by them out of our submission to Christ, and so they may lead us away from and not towards the kingdom. The worst affliction is an affliction wasted, and every affliction is wasted unless it is met with patience, and that in Christ Jesus. A vivid metaphor underlies the word — that of the fixed attitude of one bearing up a heavy weight or pressure without yielding or being crushed. Such immovable constancy is more than passive. The true Christian patience implies continuance in well-doing, besides meek acceptance of tribulation. The first element in it is, no doubt, unmurmuring acquiescence in whatsoever affliction from God or man beats against us on our path. But the second is, continual effort after Christian progress, notwithstanding the tribulation. The storm must not blow us out of our course. We must still "bear up and steer right onward," in spite of all its force on our faces, or, as "birds of tempest-loving kind" do, so spread our pinions as to be helped by it towards our goal.

(A. Maclaren, D. D.)

1. It is here that Christianity makes issue with the whole world on the question of human greatness. It works out the recovery of transgressors by the transforming power of sacrifice. And so it establishes a kingdom, which is itself the reign of the patience of Jesus. The whole plan centres in this one principle, that the suffering side of character has a power of its own, superior in some respects to the most active endeavours. And in this it proves its originality by standing quite alone.

2. The office of the Christian martyrs is hero explained. We look back upon the long ages of woe, the martyr ages of the Church, and we behold a vast array of active genius and power, that could not be permitted to spend itself in works of benefaction to the race, but was consecrated of God to the more sacred and more fruitful grace of suffering. The design was, it would seem, to prepare a Christly past, to show whole ages of faith populated with men who were able, coming after their Master and bearing His cross, to suffer with Him, and add their human testimony to His.

3. We see in this subject how it is that many persons are so abundantly active in religion with so little effect; while others who are not conspicuous in action accomplish so much. The reason is that one class trust mainly to the virtues of action, while the others unite also the virtues of patience. One class is brother and companion in the kingdom and works of Jesus, the other in the kingdom and patience of Jesus.

4. The reason why we have so many crosses, trials, wrongs, and pains, is here made evident. We have not one too many for the successful culture of our faith. The great thing, and that which it is most of all difficult to produce in us, is a participation of Christ's forgiving, gentleness, and patience. This, if we can learn it, is the most difficult and the most distinctively Christian of all attainments. Therefore we need a continual discipline of occasions, poverty, sickness, bereavements, losses, treacheries, misrepresentations, oppressions, persecutions; we can hardly have too many for our own good, if only we receive them as our Saviour did His cross.

(H. Bushnell, D. D.)

(M. R. Vincent, D. D.)

(J. Parker, D. D.)

II. TO MAKE IT INTENSELY SAD. "And companion in tribulation." Not even aged apostles are exempt from sorrow. But while in this solitude, St. John was not wholly occupied with his own suffering; he remembered that of his fellow Christians. The companionship of pain will merge into the companionship of praise.

III. TO MAKE IT SUPREMELY GODLY. "And in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ."

IV. TO MAKE IT DEEPLY CONSCIOUS OF ITS INNOCENCE. "For the Word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ." A consciousness of rectitude is always a soul-sustaining influence in periods of trial.

V. TO MAKE IT SUBSERVE THE DIVINE PURPOSE. "What thou seest write in a book." God can make the wrath of persecutors, the tribulations of saints, to praise Him. Lessons:

1. That wicked men have a strange power of rendering sad the lives of the good.

2. That loneliness may augment the efficiency of ministerial work.

3. That the common sufferings of the Christian life should have a uniting tendency.

4. That God gives bright visions to tried saints.

(J. S. Exell, M. A.)

2. Solitariness for Christ is not the worst condition. Christ can make up that another way, and if there be a necessity of withdrawing men from their duty: neither doth John lose anything by his banishment; for he finds more intimate communion with Christ, and gets more of His mind: nor doth the Church lose anything by it; for she gets this revelation of God's mind. If we believed this we would never go out of God's way to make up His work: for if He please to lay us by He knows how to make up that both to ourselves and God's people. The Christian Church is as much beholden to Paul's imprisonment in epistles, as to his liberty in preaching.

3. Honest suffering for Christ hath often with it the clearest manifestations of Christ. Folks that will continue faithful and bide by their duty through sufferings, they shall not only not be losers but gainers (1 Peter 4:14).

(James Durham.)

2. The second thing referred to is the time of the vision: "The Lord's Day." It is His Day because it is the day of His Divine appointment. This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will be glad and rejoice in it. And it is His day because He is the subject of it. His personal glory; His victory and triumph over death and the grave; His holding the keys of hell and of death; from the subjects of holy meditation on this blessed day.

(J. Young.)

1. It is the memorial of His resurrection.

2. It eternises the sabbatic ideal. A day of fulfilment, completion, and rest.

3. It is the earnest of the ultimate enfranchisement of the race. A day of enlarged liberty and not of more stringent bondage.

II. THE SPIRIT'S DAY.

1. It "takes of the things of Christ" and shows them unto us.

2. The entire being is uplifted and transformed. Inspiration is no fruitless ecstacy, no mere festival of the emotions; it is full of practical impulse, intellectual enlightenment, and moral purification.

3. Only "in the Spirit" can the Lord's Day, especially the great Easter Day, be fully and profitably observed.

(St. J. A. Frere, M. A.)

I. THE FIRST PRINCIPLE EMBODIED IN THE OBSERVANCE OF THE LORD'S DAY IS THE DUTY OF CONSECRATING .A CERTAIN PORTION OF TIME, AT LEAST ONE SEVENTH, TO THE SERVICE OF GOD. This principle is common to the Jewish Sabbath and to the Christian Lord's Day. "Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath Day." "Keep the day holy" — consecrate it — so the precept runs. Such a consecration implies two things. It implies a separation of the thing consecrated from all others, and a communication to it of a quality of holiness or purity which it had not before. The day is to be unlike other days, and it is also to be marked by some positive characteristics which should proclaim its dedication to God. Now, to this idea of a special consecration of a section of time, it is sometimes objected that in a true Christian life all time is already consecrated. Does not this consecration of a section of time ignore the obligation to a service which knows no limits? The answer is, that the larger obligation of love is not ignored because the smaller obligation of duty is insisted on. All a Christian's time is, properly, consecrated time. But, practically, in many cases, none at all would be consecrated, unless an effort were made to mark a certain portion of it off by a special consecration. And apart from its importance in the life of a servant of God, the public setting apart of a certain measure of time to God's service, is a witness to God's claims borne before the world, calculated to strike the imaginations of men. Such an observance makes room for the thought of God amidst the pressing importunities of business and enjoyment.

II. A SECOND PRINCIPLE REPRESENTED IN THE LORD'S DAY IS THE PERIODICAL SUSPENSION OF HUMAN TOIL. This principle is closely connected with that of the consecration of time. In order to make the day, by this particular prohibition, unlike other days; in order to make room for the acknowledgment of God on it, ordinary occupations are suspended. Here we have a second principle which is common to the Jewish Sabbath and to the Christian Lord's Day. In the Old Testament a variety of particular occupations are expressly forbidden on the Sabbath — sowing and reaping, gathering wood, kindling a fire for cooking, holding markets, all kinds of trade, pressing grapes, carrying burdens of all kinds; and in a later age the Pharisees and the lawyers added very largely to these prohibitions. It was against the Pharisaic perversions of the Sabbath that our Lord protested both by act and word, reminding His countrymen that the Sabbath was made for the moral good of man, and not man for the later legal theory of the Sabbath. But the broad principle of abstinence from labour, however it was caricatured in the later Jewish practice, was itself a sacred principle, and it passed on as such into the Christian observance of the Lord's Day. Thus the Sabbath and the Lord's Day agree in affirming two principles, the hallowing of a seventh part of time, and the obligation of abstinence from servile work on one day in seven. But are they identical? May we rightly, scripturally, call the Lord's Day the Sabbath? These questions must be answered in the negative. The Jewish Sabbath and the Christian Lord's Day, while agreeing in affirming two principles, differ in two noteworthy respects. First, they differ, as has already been implied, in being kept on distinct days. The change was made because there was an imperative reason for making it. For the Lord's Day and the Sabbath differ, secondly, in the reason or motive for observing them. The Sabbath is the weekly commemoration of the rest of God after creation. It brought before the mind of the Jew the ineffable majesty of the great Creator, between whom and the noblest work of His hands there yawns an impassable abyss. Now, the Christian motive of observing the Lord's Day is the resurrection of Christ from the dead. That truth is to the Christian creed what the creation of the world out of nothing is to the Jewish creed. It is the fundamental truth on which all else that is distinctively Christian rests; and it is just as much put forward by the Christian apostles as is the creation of all things out of nothing by the Jewish prophets. The Jewish Sabbath stands in the same relation to the Lord's Day as does circumcision to Christian baptism; as does the Paschal Lamb to the Holy Communion; as does the law in general to the gospel. It is a shadow of a good thing to come. It is only perpetuated by being transfigured, or rather it is so transfigured as to have parted with its identity. The spiritual consecration of a seventh part of time, the abstinence from labour, these remain; but the spirit, the governing motive of the day, is fundamentally changed.

III. But here a third, and a last principle, comes forward, which is embodied by the day. And this third principle is, THE NECESSITY OF THE PUBLIC WORSHIP OF GOD. The cessation of ordinary work is not enjoined upon Christians, only that they may while away the time, or spend it in self-pleasing or in something worse. The Lord's Day is the day of days, on which Jesus our Lord has a first claim. On this great day every instructed and believing Christian thinks of Him as completing the work of our redemption, as vindicating His character as a teacher of absolute truth, as triumphing publicly over His enemies, as conquering death in that nature which had always hitherto been subject to the empire of death, as deigning, now that He has overcome the sharpness of death, to "open the kingdom of heaven to all believers." And when the religious obligations of the day have been complied with, there are duties of human kindliness which may well find a place in kind deeds and words to friends, in visits to the sick, in acts of consideration for the poor; all of these are in keeping with the spirit of the day. Above all, the day should be made — mark it well, parents and guardians — a bright, as well as a solemn day, for children — first solemn, but then and always bright; so that in after life they may look back on the Sundays of childhood as on the happiest days of youth. Among the thoughts which Sunday, more than other days, brings to us is the memory of those whom we have known and loved, and who have passed away — the memory of the dead. We do well to make the most of these thoughts. They are sent to us from above to enable us to prepare, after our measure, and by God's grace, to follow. But, as I have said, the mental atmosphere of a true Christian, on Sunday especially, is above all things an atmosphere of worship. He may think it right and reverent to say little; but the day says to him from its early dawn, "Lift up thy heart," and his answer is, "I lift it up unto the Lord." He is, in his way, like St. John, "in the Spirit." He sees the higher and the everlasting realities; he measures earth against heaven, and time against eternity, and poor, weak man against the almighty and everlasting Creator. Sundays such as these are to the human life like shafts in a long tunnel — they admit at regular intervals light and air; and, though we pass them all too soon, their helpful influence does not vanish with the day. It furnishes us with strength and light for the duties which await us, and makes it easier to follow loyally the road which God's loving providence may have traced for each one of us, on towards our eternal home.

(Canon Liddon.)

II. IT IS THEIR DUTY TO BE IN THE SPIRIT ON THE LORD'S DAY, AND IN HIS HOUSE OF PRAYER.

III. THE DANGER OF THOSE WHO NEGLECT THE PRIVILEGE OF SABBATH ORDINANCES, AND FORSAKE THE ASSEMBLING OF THEMSELVES TOGETHER IN THE HOUSE OF PRAYER. Did it ever occur to you why the Creator made man in His own image and likeness, on the evening before the Sabbath? Let me say that surely it was thus done in order that His gifted creature might forthwith enter upon the observance of the Sabbath; that he might begin his life with that worship of the Most High which was the chief end of his being. It is related concerning one of the richest mines of Peru, that thousands passed over it without noticing the wealth beneath their feet, until at length a poor Indian, just falling down a precipice, snatched at a bush to save his life, and exposed a mass of ore, of which it appeared that the whole surface of the mountain was composed. If ye had attended in the house of prayer, and caught at the ordinances of the gospel, the treasures of the love of Christ would have been discovered, and they would have made you rich indeed.

(R. P. Buddicom, M. A.)

(G. Matheson, D. D.)

1. The sanctification of the day of our Lord's resurrection by the new-covenant Church was prophetically notified by David when he wrote Psalm 118:22-24.

2. The example of the apostles and early Christians carries with it the weight of conclusive authority.

3. The usefulness with which the observance of the Christian Sabbath has been attended is a full ratification of all it has claimed.

II. AS A DAY OF HOLY EMPLOYMENT.

1. The Sabbath should be hallowed by the cessation of secular business and toil. In this respect it should strictly answer to the signification of its name, and be a day of rest.

2. The Sabbath should be hallowed by the careful avoidance of all frivolities, and all pleasures which do not advance the spiritual welfare.

3. The Sabbath should be hallowed by devotional attendance on the public worship of God. Nor must you imagine that an occasional attendance on the engagements of public worship is an adequate discharge of obligation. To be regular, to be punctual, to be devout — these must characterise your habits in the service of your God.

4. The Sabbath should be hallowed by performance of the relative and private duties of religion.

III. AS A DAY OF CHRISTIAN GLADNESS AND ANTICIPATION.

1. Gladness, on this blessed season, must inspire every Christian mind. A source of joy exists in the events it commemorates.

2. Anticipation necessarily arises out of the nature of the institution. The Sabbath is emphatically, as it always has been, type. We anticipate, from the rest of the Sabbath, that age so earnestly desired, when religion shall have completed her triumphs. "The Lord's Day" is a distinct memorial of the period, when the latter glory shall dawn; and when the incense of pure worship shall be offered to the living God from every kindred and tongue and people.

(J. Parsons.)

2. Whose voice was this he heard? It was the voice of the Son of Man, a brother and a friend. It was a voice infinitely gracious, unutterably tender, full of compassion.

3. What was the voice which the prophet heard? It was "a great voice."(1) It was great in its author, the great God and our Saviour.(2) It was great in its nature, its power and excellence, magnitude and mystery.(3) It was great in its subject, the plans and arrangements of providence and grace.(4) It was great in its design, to arouse the regards of a slumbering world.

4. What the voice resembled. It was "as of a trumpet." It was not a mere sound, but an articulate voice. It was as the voice of a trumpet, sonorous, powerful, solemn, and majestic; gracious, awful, clear, and commanding; giving forth a distinct and certain sound. It was as the trumpet of the God of Israel, the symbol of His presence.

5. Whence the voice came: "I heard a voice behind me." It came from behind as the voice of a Watchman, whose eye never slumbers, whose eye never sleeps. It came from behind as the voice of a Teacher: "Thine eyes shall see thy teachers; and thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, or when ye turn to the left."

(J. Young.)

1. The voice was marked by clearness.

2. By fulness. Is there any voice in nature equal to the voice of the old ocean — majestic, full, continuous, drowning all other sounds?

II. A WONDERFUL PERSONAGE FROM ETERNITY APPEARS TO MAN.

1. The scene of the appearance.

2. Its characteristics.

(1)Royalty.

(2)Purity.

(3)Penetration.

(4)Firmness.

(5)Dominion.

(6)Victory.

(7)Brightness.

III. A WONDERFUL IMPRESSION FROM ETERNITY IS MADE UPON MAN. What were John's emotions? Was there amazement at seeing One whom he loved above all others, and with whom he had parted, some thirty years before? Was it dread? Was he terror-struck at the marvellous apparition? Was it remorse? Did the effulgence of its purity quicken within him such a sense of guilt as filled him with self-loathing and horror? Perhaps all these emotions blended in a tidal rush that physically paralysed him for a while.

(D. Thomas, D. D.)

I. Because it contains the Divine THINGS, the other only contains the SYMBOLS. Divine virtues are not in the letter press, they are only represented there. But in the Christly life they themselves are breathing, operative, soul-fashioning forces.

II. Because it is THE END OF CULTURE, THE OTHER ONLY THE MEANS. When men get into them the true spiritual graces, the moral principles and temper of Christ, they have realised the end of Divine training. The paper Bible is the means of this.

III. Because it is SELF-OBVIOUS, THE OTHER REQUIRES EXPLANATION. A Christly life is a Bible that a child can read, that men of all tribes and languages can interpret. Not so with the paper Bible, it contains many things "hard to be understood."

IV. Because it is IMPERISHABLE, THE OTHER IS TEMPORARY. The principles of truth, love, and goodness that are written on the human soul are not only indestructible in themselves, but the substance on which they are written is indestructible, it is eternal life. Conclusion: Prize the paper Bible by all means, but don't superstitiously worship it. Prize the Christly life, it is greater than all literature.

(Homilist.)

1. It does not write merely upon the suggestion of some interesting topic.

2. It does not write for the desire of popular authorship.

3. It does not write in the hope of financial remuneration.

4. It writes upon the prompting of a Divine impulse.

II. THAT IT RECORDS CELESTIAL VISIONS.

1. It does not record the fancies of fiction.

2. It does not record the vagaries of philosophy.

3. It records the higher moral experiences of the soul.

III. THAT IT WRITES FOR THE MORAL INSTRUCTION OF THE CHURCH. "And send it unto the seven Churches which are in Asia."

1. The Church needs the instruction of Christian authorship.

2. Christ requires that Christian authorship should seek the moral good of the Church.Lessons: —

1. God commands good men to write books for the welfare of the Church.

2. Let men seek the higher moods of authorship.

3. Let us cultivate an experience of soul worthy of record.

(J. S. Exell, M. A.)

(R. F. Horton, M. A.)

1. The relationship of authority. The only Lord in the kingdom of souls.

2. The relationship of oversight. Christ knows all Churches, reads their inner heart, sounds the depths of their impulses.

3. The relationship of moral discipline. In all the letters there is commendation, rebuke, promise, threatening. His spiritual providence and power run through all.

II. CHRIST SPEAKS THROUGH THEIR "ANGELS," OR MESSENGERS TO ALL.

III. CHRIST PROMISES GREAT BLESSINGS TO THE VICTORIOUS IN ALL.

1. The resistance of evil is the characteristic of all Christians. Other men may speak against evil — condemn evil in words; but the Christian resists it.

2. The resistance of evil must in all cases be personal. To be supposed that there can be any social or ecclesiastical resistance of sin as sin is a delusion. It is to Him "that over-cometh," not it.

3. The resistance of evil is a matter of difficulty. Every warfare implies difficulty, peril, enterprise, perseverance, and so forth.

4. The resistance of evil, though difficult, may be achieved. "To Him that overcometh," etc. Thank God, in the case of every man evil may be overcome, and the triumph is one of the most blessed in the history of intelligent beings.

IV. CHRIST DEMANDS ATTENTION TO THE VOICE OF THE SPIRIT IN ALL. The "Spirit." What Spirit? God. God in Christ's ministry.

(Caleb Morris.)

1. In all Christ assumes different aspects.

2. In all Christ addresses Himself through a special officer.

3. In all Christ declares His thorough knowledge of their moral history.

4. In all Christ promises great blessings to the morally victorious.

5. In all Christ commands attention to the voice of the Spirit.

6. In all Christ's grand aim is spiritual culture.

7. In all Christ observes a threefold division.(1) A reference to some of the attributes of Him who addresses the Church.(2) A disclosure of the characteristics of the Church, with appropriate admonition, encouragement, or reproof.(3) Promises of reward to all who preserve in their Christian course and overcome the spiritual enemies who assault them.

II. CIRCUMSTANCES IN WHICH SOME OF THEM DIFFER.

1. We find two (Smyrna and Philadelphia) who receive commendation.

2. Two (Sardis and Laodicea) are censured.

3. Three (Ephesus, Pergamos, and Thyatira) contain mingled censure and commendation. In these cases the approbation precedes the blame, showing that it was more grateful to commend than to reprove.

(D. Thomas, D. D.)

2. The precious material of which they are formed. They are golden candlesticks. The formation of the Church is the doing of the Lord, and marvellous in our eyes. The plan, the contrivance, the direction, and formation of the golden candlesticks were all Divine and heavenly; bearing the impress of the hand that formed them. They are called golden candlesticks, to express their intrinsic excellence, their purity and value, their glory and beauty, their splendour and their preciousness. They are called golden candlesticks, to express the estimation in which they are held by the family of heaven.

3. The form and number of the golden candlesticks. They were seven. There was but one candlestick in the ancient sanctuary, which represented the one Church of Israel — complete within itself.(1) The number implies the purity of the light; it proceeds from the pure celestial oil.(2) The fulness of the light; a plenitude of glory is poured from the Churches, to enlighten and cheer a dark world.(3) The power of the light; it has a power of holy influence and everlasting consolation; the power of sweet attraction.(4) The variety of the light; the beauty and variety of the colours of the rainbow meet and mingle here.(5) The unity of the light; there is a blessed unity without uniformity; although there are seven, they are all one; they have all one support, they are formed of one material, nourished by the same means.

4. The use and design of the seven golden candlesticks. The use of a candlestick is to receive, exhibit, and dispense the light. Now, the Church of Christ does this by her purity; her purity of doctrine, purity of communion; purity, simplicity, and spirituality of worship; and by her spiritual power to command heavenly purity. She does it by her testimony to the character of God, in the embodied form of Divine truth, in the pure essential doctrines of grace, and she does it by her efforts to publish the gospel; as a witnessing Church, in maintaining the truth; and a missionary Church, in dispensing the truth throughout the whole world.

(James Young.)

1. Between the two revelations of God to man which meets us respectively at the commencement and at the close of the sacred Scriptures, we find the closest connection. He who appeared to our first parents walking among the trees of the garden, appeared in vision to the beloved disciple in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks in the Isle of Patmos. The two Divine manifestations were essentially the same, although they differed in outward form and circumstances. Between them there were connecting links. The experience of the exile on Horeb, for instance, was repeated in the case of the exile in Patmos. The same vision of the burning bush which appeared to Moses appeared to John in the vision of the seven golden candlesticks. The Son of Man associated Himself with the one symbol in the same way that He had associated Himself with the other. The occasion in both oases was similar. The burning bush was never to be extinguished, it was to become a candlestick; and the fire of God's dealings with His people for their purification was to become a conspicuous light held aloft to lighten the whole world. The same truth is still further illustrated by the fact that the vision of John in Patmos was based upon the Jewish tabernacle and temple. Separated outwardly from the solemnities of the ancient worship — from the priesthood, the altars, the sacrifices, the festivals, the Hebrew Christians could still enjoy all that was most precious and enduring in the possession of their race. And the modification in the old form which the apostle beheld was itself full of significance. The single candlestick of pure gold, whose light illumined the holy place which was the pattern of the Church upon earth, appeared before John in the darkness and loneliness of his exile, multiplied into seven distinct candlesticks, as if each branch of the prototype had become a separate candlestick; in token that the original Jewish Church, which was one — the Church of a single people — had differentiated into a Christian Church, which while one as to its unity of faith and love, is also many as regards its organisation and individual life, the Church of all nations and people and tribes and tongues. And as the vision of Patmos was thus connected with the tabernacle and temple, and with the vision of Horeb, so we can trace them all back to the Adamic revelation, whose symbol was the tree of life in the midst of the garden. The difference between the living tree and the dead fuel on the hearth or in the lamp, is that the fire in the one, owing to the conserving power of the vital principle, is burning without being consumed; whereas in the other is the burning and consuming — reducing to dust and ashes, because of the absence of the vital conserving principle. The bowls which contained the oil were shaped like an almond-nut, the knops looked like the flower buds, and the carved flowers resembled the fully-expanded blossoms of the almond tree. This tree was selected as the pattern of the golden candlestick, and as that which yielded Aaron's miraculous rod, because it is the first to awaken from sleep of winter, as its Hebrew name signifies. It was a symbol of the life of nature, rising in perpetual youth and beauty out of the decaying ruins of man's works. And so the Hebrew candlestick might be regarded as emblematical of the life of the Church, being the first to awaken out of the wreck of human sin, exhibiting its beauties of holiness and fruits of righteousness, while all around the world is wrapt in the winter sleep of spiritual torpor.

2. But between the revelation of Eden and the revelation of Patmos there are some striking points of contrast. The revelation of Eden was given in circumstances of peace and happiness. Nature was a faithful outward reflection of man's moral state. Its beauty and fruitfulness coincided with man's moral beauty and fruitfulness. But the revelation of Patmos was amid widely different circumstances. The symbol of it was not the tree that grew spontaneously by the laws of natural growth, but the candlestick wrought by human hands, with the sweat of the face. The gold of which it was composed was dug with toil and trouble from the mine, melted in the furnace, purified from its ore, and not cast into a mould, but beaten out of a solid piece with the hammer into the form in which it appeared. The oil for the light was also beaten from the olive berries grown, gathered, and expressed by human toil and skill; and the wick in like manner was a human manufacture made of the fine twined linen which formed part of the curtains of the tabernacle. The whole idea of the candlestick implied toil and trouble. And this is the great characteristic of the revelation of which it is the symbol. Everything connected with it indicates salvation from sin through toil and suffering. Every image, every symbol and type in sacred Scripture, speaks of the curse of the ground and the sorrow of the soul which sin had brought into the world. This great factor is taken into account in all remedial schemes. The first promise to our race announces redemption through pain and toil and sorrow. The bruising of the serpent's head is to be accomplished only through the wounding of the victor's heel. The Levitical institutions disclose the painfulness of the covenant of grace in g most remarkable manner. Their limitations, their restrictions, their heavy burdens, their awful sanctions, their sacrifices of blood and death, all speak in the most impressive manner of the evil of sin and the costliness of the deliverance from it. And the life and death of our Saviour disclose this in a way still more solemn and emphatic. The trees of Eden in His case were converted into the Cross of Calvary; and the glorious fiat of the first creation, "Let there be light, and there was light," into the awful cry of darkness and death — the birth-pang of the new creation, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" In the midst of the seven golden candlesticks the beloved disciple heard Him saying, "I am He that liveth and was dead." In the midst of the throne, John, through his tears, saw "a Lamb as it had been slain."

3. Another point of contrast between the revelation or Patmos and the revelation of Eden is the clearness and fulness of the one, in comparison with the dimness and obscurity of the other. God talked with Adam not only among but through the medium of the trees of the garden, conveyed to him spiritual instruction by the objects and processes of nature around him. Religion meant to Him simply the knowledge, worship, and service of God as He was revealed by the objects and processes of nature; and on these points nature could give him all the light that he needed. But we have sinned and fallen, and religion to us includes, besides these elements, repentance of sin and dependence upon an atonement. Nature therefore cannot solve the awful doubts which arise in the human heart regarding the justice of God. "How shall man be just with God?" We need that He who at first commanded the light to shine out of darkness, should give us the light of the knowledge of His glory in the face of Jet-as Christ. God has given to us this special revelation, suited to our altered sinful state, in the economy of redemption.

4. And now we come to the last point of contrast between the revelation of Eden and the revelation of Patmos, namely, the transitory nature of the one and the permanence of the other. God appeared to our first parents walking among the trees of the garden. These trees were in their very nature evanescent. But, on the other hand, God in Christ appeared to the beloved disciple in Patmos in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; and these candlesticks were the symbols of the Word of the Lord which endureth for ever. The form and substance of these candlesticks indicated the imperishable nature of the revelation which they symbolised. They were all beaten out of solid gold — the most enduring of all earthly materials — the very pavement of heaven itself. They were carved with the figures of flowers and fruits, preserving the exquisite loveliness of the fading flowers and fruit of earth in an imperishable form. Thus they are appropriate emblems of the beauty and glory of the new creation of God, a creation, though new, yet founded as it were on the ruins of the old, fashioned of lasting and unfading materials, and yet combining all the beauty and glory of that which shall pass away.

(H. Macmillan, D. D.)

II. THE MATERIALS OF WHICH THE CANDLESTICKS ARE MADE. They are of gold. Generally in Scripture gold symbolises the holy, the perfect, the Divine. The Churches are "in God the Father, and in Christ Jesus, our Lord." They are not from beneath, but from above; they are not of the world, even as Christ is not of the world. They are composed of men born from above. With Divine glory they shine; with Divine beauty they stand forth before the world, representing the surpassing and all-precious excellence of Him in whose beauty they s re beautiful, and in whose perfection they are perfect. Golden Churches! Golden men t Golden witnesses for Christ and His truth! How far the Church of God in the past centuries, since John wrote, has fulfilled the description, ecclesiastical history can tell. The age of gold was not a long one; and then followed the silver, the brass, and the iron. How much of gold is to be seen in the Churches of our day?

III. THE NUMBER OF THE CANDLESTICKS. Seven —

1. Perfection. As the one sunbeam is composed of seven parts, and thus perfected into whiteness, so seven is the Divine number of perfection, or completeness.

2. Variety. The manifold gifts of the one Spirit, sent from the one Christ.

3. Unity. Seven is oneness; oneness with diversity: one firmament, many stars.

4. Covenant-certainty. Seven is the covenant-number (Genesis 21:31). The Churches are the Churches of the everlasting covenant — the covenant between the Father and the Son — "ordered in all things, and sure."

(H. Bonar, D. D.)

1. This implies His presence with His people (Exodus 33:14, 15; Psalm 132:13, 14; Isaiah 43:1, 2). He is in the midst of the golden candlesticks as the great High Priest, trimming, preparing, and lighting the lamps.

2. The symbol supposes communion and fellowship; He walks in the midst of the golden candlesticks.

3. The words imply Divine superintendence; His peculiar power and providence; His gracious inspection; His unceasing care.

4. The words are expressive of Divine operation. Jesus works while He walks; He is never idle.

(1)He works by His Spirit.

(2)He works by His providence.

(3)He works by His judgments, as well as by His mercy.

(4)The effects of Christ's working are manifold and gracious.The first effect is holiness. The next effect is happiness, everlasting consolation and good hope through grace. A third effect is glory: Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.

5. His presence implies the stability of the Church. He is in the Church as the God of nature, providence, and grace; and no weapon formed against her shall prosper.

II. His DIVINE PERSON.

1. The human nature of our Lord Jesus Christ — "I saw one like unto the Son of Man."(1) The likeness. There is the likeness of resemblance: God sent forth His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh. He was not sinful flesh, but lie bare the likeness. There is the likeness of identity: He that was in the form of God was really God; He that was in the form of a servant was really a servant; and He that was made in the likeness of men, and was found in fashion as a man, was really a man. There is also the likeness of equality: He not only took the nature of man, but his frail, afflicted, mortal state. And there is here also the likeness of representation: in His low and afflicted condition on earth, we have an image of man as a mourner and a mortal; and in His glorified condition at the Father's right hand, we have a representation of what the saints in heaven shall for ever be. As we have borne the image of the earthly, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.(2) The reality of His human nature. Although comparison is here employed, yet the reality is implied in the comparison. The incarnation of the Son was an important part of the counsels of eternity. This great doctrine was taught by types and symbols. All his appearances to the holy patriarchs were preludes and pledges of His coming in the flesh.(3) The necessity of His human nature. As a Prophet, it behoved Him to be made like unto His brethren; as a Priest, to be taken from amongst men; as a King, to be made of the house of David. Thus in the glorious description that follows, He appears in the likeness of the Son, and human members are ascribed to His Divine person.

2. The Divine nature of our blessed Lord.(1) The likeness of the Son of God. There is here, as in His human nature, the likeness of resemblance — He resembles God; He resembles Him in everything; He is the perfect image of the invisible God.(2) The reality of His Deity.(3) The necessity of His Deity. It behoved Jesus to be God as well as man, that He might be the Daysman between both parties; that His Deity might impart infinite value to His obedience and suffering and atoning sacrifice; that He might be the object of faith, hope, and confidence; and that His Deity might impart power and dignity to His intercession and His government.

3. The wonderful union between the Divine and human natures in His one Divine person; as Immanuel, God with us. He is both God and man in two distinct natures, and one person for ever. This union is ineffable, unsearchable, mysterious, and Divine. It is the great mystery of godliness; God manifest in the flesh.

4. The effects of this union.

(James Young.)

I. THE VALUE OF THIS VISION TO US.

1. It is a representation of the same Christ who suffered for our sins.

2. It represents to us what Christ is now.

3. It represents what He is to the Churches.

4. The effect it would have upon us if we really felt and understood it.We should fall at His feet as dead. Blessed position! We are never so truly living as when the creature dies away in the presence of the all-glorious reigning King.

II. THE MEANING OF THE VISION.

(C. H. Spurgeon.)

I. EXPLAIN THE VISION WHICH ST. JOHN BEHELD, AND NOTICE ITS EFFECT UPON HIM.

1. The personage described as in the midst of the seven candlesticks was a representation of Him who was accustomed, while upon earth, to designate Himself, "The Son of Man."

2. St. John further describes His situation: He was in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks.(1) This exhibits the character and duty of the Churches of Christ. They are candlesticks. Having been themselves enlightened from above, it is the duty of Christians to diffuse light.(2) The light which Christians are required to shed on the gloom of a sinful world is not their own, but a borrowed light. The light which they possess has been kindled within them by the Father of lights.(3) The care which Christ manifests towards the Churches.

3. The glorious Person who appeared to John is also described in His habit. He was "clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle." The dress was sacerdotal. He is not only a prophet and a king but also an high priest.

4. In this representation of Christ He is more particularly described by the parts and members of His body.(1) "His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as snow." A hoary head denotes age; and may not our adorable Saviour be thus set forth as the "Ancient of Days"?(2) His eyes are described as "a flame of fire," clearly to denote His piercing knowledge.(3) His feet are described as "like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace." This is symbolical of the power of Christ, which nothing can resist. Whatever opposition may be made to the Divine plans and proceedings, it will utterly fail.(4) His voice was "as the sound of many waters." The same simile is employed by the prophet (Ezekiel 43:2). The roar of waters is powerful, and is heard afar. And so Christ will command attention. By the representation before us, He probably intended to signify that, however His words had been disregarded by the fallen Churches, they could not drown His voice.

5. The glorious Personage whom the apostle beheld in the vision is also described as holding in His hand seven stars. Stars appear when the sun has withdrawn himself; so Christian ministers are the ambassadors of Christ, the Sun of Righteousness, praying men, in Christ's stead, to be reconciled to God. Of what service are the stars to the mariner, as he sails over the trackless deep! The Christian is a mariner, voyaging over the sea of life, anxiously tending towards the haven of the skies, yet fearing lest he should make shipwreck of faith. The ministers of Christ are stars. Their peculiar office is to hold forth the light of God's truth, and, by their course in the world, by their life and conversation, to be examples and guides to their flocks. Christian ministers are stars, and have, therefore, orbits assigned them in which to move. The Head of the Church plants each in His proper place within it.

6. The protection which Christ affords to His ministers is also strikingly set forth in this description. He holds them in His right hand. He holds the stars in His right hand, and every one of them is immortal till His work is done.

7. Of the glorious Personage whom St. John saw in the vision, he says that there went out of His mouth a sharp two-edged sword. This sword manifestly denotes the word of truth which Christ has spoken. If it fail to cut the heart of the sinner with conviction, it will pierce and destroy him.

8. In the vision under our notice, we have Christ represented as with a countenance like the run shining in his strength. Oh, how changed from that visage which was so marred more than any man!

II. DEDUCE ONE OR TWO SUITABLE REMARKS FROM THE SUBJECT BEFORE US.

1. The clearer the discoveries which Christ makes of HimseLf, the more humbled shall we be under a sense of our own vileness.

2. God vouchsafes special comfort and support to those who suffer for His sake.

3. What cause will the enemies of Christ have to tremble, when He appears, in the last day, to judge them!

(W. Cardall, B. A.)

II. THE MANNER IN WHICH THE FIRST SCENE WAS USHERED IN.

1. The fulfilment of the vision is guaranteed. "I am Alpha and Omega." God will ever live to carry on His work.

2. The permanency of the revelation is implied. "What thou seest, write."

3. The universal reference of this revelation is expressed.

III. THE REAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE SCENE ITSELF.

1. The Saviour's relation to His Church.(1) He occupies a central position, "in the midst of the seven candlesticks." This was a position of authority and honour.(2) He assumes a brother's form. This was intended for the comfort of the saints; for while the Saviour wore a brother's nature, He would retain a brother's heart.(3) He performs the office of an intercessor. Long robes were worn by men of lofty station: but the girdle seems to refer to the priest's official robe.

2. The Saviour's relation to the opponents of His cause.(1) His supreme authority. The white hair is intended to remind us of the knowledge, experience, and authority of age.(2) His clearness of vision. Not a tear was ever shed, but the eye of Jesus saw it; not an act of cruelty or of crime was ever perpetrated, but the Saviour marked it in His book.(3) His irresistible force. He can tread to dust His fiercest foes.(4) His terrible majesty. Nothing is more majestic than the crash of the cataract. Those who have seen the Fall of Niagara never can forget the impression it made upon the mind.

3. The Saviour's relation to Christian enterprise.(1) The safety and guidance of His agents. "He had in His right hand seven stars."(2) The power of His word. "And out of His mouth went a sharp, two-edged sword." The two edges show the manifold effects of Christian teaching.(3) The unsullied glory of the Saviour. Whatever happens, the glory of Jesus will never pass behind a cloud. No greater comfort can the Christian find than this.

(Evan Lewis, B. A.)

II. The apostle alludes to his FRAME OF MIND at the time this vision was given him: "I was in the Spirit." The blessing of God comes in the use of His appointed means; and supernatural communications begin where the highest effort of ordinary grace ends. God honoured His Sabbath, and He honoured the prayerful endeavours of His servant, by His revelations at that time. There is a spirit of the Sabbath which all believers should seek to attain, and which, when cultivated to the utmost, will bring them well nigh to the borders of inspiration, and to the gate of heaven.

III. We come to the FIRST SUPERNATURAL SIGN. "And heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet, saying," or as of a speaking-trumpet, the epithet "saying" agreeing not with the "voice," but with the "trumpet." Such an instrument was much in use amongst the ancients. It was employed by generals to give orders to their armies. The brazen lungs of Stentor, mentioned by Homer, in the wars of Troy, were probably of this kind. Hence the "voice of a trumpet" is used in Scripture for a loud and authoritative word of command.

IV. THE LANGUAGE HE HEARS. How important it is to note clown impressions as they occur! How needful, for correct preservation, to record them at once! Our memories are treacherous. New scenes arise to obscure the deepest impressions in our minds.

V. THE VISION HE BEHOLDS. "And I turned to see the voice that spake with me." The true reason why natural beauty and tasteful proportions are disregarded in the image before us is, that it is solely of a hieroglyphical character. Hieroglyphics have no pretension to beauty. Symmetry is the last quality that is studied in their construction. In conformity with this method of instruction, we have the image assumed by Christ in vision to John, with this difference, that it is given only as a heiroglyphical representation, and not as a delineation of His real form. The value of hieroglyphics lies in their meaning, and their beauty in their design. What beauty could our first parents see in the imagery by which their restoration was promised, apart from the design? What beauty was there in the serpent of brass, in the altar of burnt offering, in the figures of the cherubim, in themselves considered? What glory is there in the Cross, apart from its design? What beauty in a Lamb as it had been slain, even in the midst of the throne? What is there to gratify the eye, the ear, or the taste, in the only relics of a symbolical ritual, in baptism and the Lord's Supper? We have here the utmost simplicity of emblems combined with the highest grandeur of design. Visible signs are employed to lead to the contemplation of invisible realities. Under these impressions, we turn again to the vision before us. We expect now no external loveliness and attractions, and are prepared to look for its whole beauty in the moral sentiments it inspires. His appearance, as when known to John in the flesh, would have been equally incompatible with the purpose and the time. He assumes the very figure the occasion required. It was modelled by the revelations He came to unfold. It was not His natural dress, but His adornment for a particular interview; not His home attire, but His equipment for a special expedition. It is not the beau ideal of the Christian's God, but the symbolical representation of the means by which His kingdom would be established in the whole earth. If the whole aspect had been mild and alluring, it would have given a false impression to John of what it was intended to prefigure and the purpose for which it was assumed. It revealed the combination of those perfections in Christ which would be required; the resources at His command, His unslumbering zeal, His terror in battle, the certainty of His conquest, the serenity of His government, and the glory of His reign. The high priest's breast-plate is associated with the warrior's coat of mail, the snow-white locks of age with the sparkling eye of youth, unconquerable prowess with melting pity, the awfulness of justice with the endearments of love, the thunder of His arm with the radiance of His smiles.

(G. Rogers.)

1. And first, it is the true sustaining power of the spiritual life.

2. Again, as objective faith is the sustenance of spiritual life, so is it the true antidote of one of the greatest dangers which beset the soul in times of strong religious excitement — that of morbid self-contemplation. Remorse, terror of conscience, growing scrupulousness, deepening awe at the sanctities of religion — all tend to fix the eye of the awakened soul on itself in a minutely introspective, anxious study, which tends to despondency and alarm, and, sadder still, depressing the soul's energies, creates fresh hindrances to restoration and to peace. The remedy is to be found in an objective faith. Combine with the care of the soul a deeper care to realise the presence of Him in whom it lives. This vision of His love is the counteracting stay. The soul looks safely on itself, if it look still more earnestly on its God. The one vision is the true complement of the other.

3. Once more: the same truth holds good as to our progress in any single grace. We gain more by looking on what is perfect than by striving against what is imperfect. One of the strongest laws of our nature is the law of imitation. We grow into what we behold. St. Paul is only expressing this great law of assimilation in its highest reality, when he says that, "beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, we are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." Objective faith is therefore the ordained process in the perfecting of the inner life. We subdue our pride not by mourning over it, but by feeding on the lowliness of Jesus. We learn how to give way to others by contemplating His self-sacrifice. Anger has no power over us, while He who was smitten on the cheek is vividly before our mind. We are stronger to bear pain while we look on the Crucifixion. In conclusion: The catholic principle of life is Christ revealed to the soul. His work in us is the impression of the look on which we feed. Our likeness to Him is the reproduction in us of the features of a Countenance towards which we are continually turned. We live by going out of ourselves; we become what we look upon. "We live by faith; not by sight." We are what we believe. As some of the lower creatures change their colour according to the food on which they feed, so are we transformed by that which we have received within as the daily food of our soul's communings. The realities in which we learn to live become our own real life.

(Canon T. T. Carter.)

1. The apostle saw the ascended Saviour as the High Priest of men.

2. The apostle saw in the High Priest of men the tokens of His human Incarnation.

II. THAT CHRIST IS FROM THE GREAT ETERNITY. "His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as snow."

1. As from the great Eternity, Christ can give men counsel.

2. As from the great Eternity, Christ should win the reverence of men.

3. As from the great Eternity, Christ is the pattern of men.

III. THAT CHRIST IS MOST PENETRATING IN HIS SCRUTINY. "And His eyes were as a flame of fire."

1. That Christ is most penetrating in His scrutiny of the creed, conduct, and activity of His Church.

2. He scrutinises with terrible wrath the conduct of the enemies of His Church.

IV. THAT CHRIST IS MOST UNWEARIED IS HIS PURPOSES. "And His feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace."

1. Christ is unwearied in His purpose of love toward His Church and Gospel.

2. Christ is unwearied in His purpose of moral retribution toward the enemies of His Church.

V. THAT CHRIST IS MOST SUBLIME AND EFFECTIVE IN HIS UTTERANCES. "His voice as the sound of many waters." "Out of His mouth went a two-edged sword."

1. The voice of Christ is majestic. It is as the resounding of many waters.

2. The voice of Christ is diffusive. The sound of many waters can be heard at a great distance, in almost any direction.

3. The voice of Christ is piercing. It is like a two-edged sword.

VI. THAT CHRIST IS SUPREME IN HIS BENEFICENT GLORY. "And His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength."

1. Because of the glorious majesty that is in Him.

2. Because of the influence He exerts upon growth.

3. Because of the joy He inspires.Lessons:

1. That Christ is the hope of His Church in time of persecution.

2. That soul-visions are given to men at times of holy communion with God.

3. That the world has a Divine High Priest.

(J. S. Exell, M. A.)

2. That our Lord Jesus Christ, not only bears these offices, but In an excellent and glorious manner. There is no such king, no such priest, no such prophet as He.

3. It holds out that our Lord Jesus's stateliness and glory doth not mar nor hinder Him in the application of His offices, and executing them for the good of His Church. Christ's greatness and glory is so far from unfitting Him for the discharge of His offices, that He hath robes compacted, and Himself so fitted, as He may handsomely go about the discharge of them, being still girded, though the girdle be of gold.

(James Durham.)

2. "His eyes were as a flame of fire" (Daniel 10:6). His eyes are the symbol of His Deity or omniscience. His knowledge is absolutely perfect and infinite.(1) The words imply the splendour of His knowledge. He not only beholds all objects, and every object, but His eyes shed a splendour on everything He sees.(2) The words imply the purity of His knowledge. He beholds holiness with infinite delight. He is of purer eyes than to behold evil, and He cannot look upon sin. He is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.(3) The words imply the minuteness of His knowledge.

3. "And His feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace." This is the symbol of the Deity of Christ, His Divine power, His glory and majesty, His eternity and immutability. It is the symbol of His gracious presence with His people.

4. "And His voice as the sound of many waters." There is a twofold voice attributed to Christ — the voice of His mercy, and the voice of His majesty.

5. "And He had in His right hand seven stars." Stars are symbols of rulers, who are of two classes — civil and sacred. We proceed to consider the next symbol mentioned, the "right hand" of Christ. The right hand is the symbol of wisdom. God's hand and His counsel are synonymous terms: it is the symbol of power — "Thy right hand is become glorious in power." It is the symbol of honour. It is the symbol of favour: The man of God's right hand is the Son of His love. It is the symbol of comfort: "In Thy presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." It is the symbol of security: The child was caught up to the throne of God, beyond the reach of every foe. It is the symbol of mercy: "God saves by His right hand, and the arm of His strength."

6. "Out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword." There is, as we have seen, a twofold view of the voice of Christ: the voice of His majesty, and the voice of His mercy. It is the last of these that is here intended.(1) Why is the Word compared to a sword? The Word is compared to a sword, to express its keen and penetrating power, its blessed properties and mighty operations. It has a moral power to touch the heart, to impress the image of the truth upon the mind, to lead the sinner to look with holy mourning on Him whom he hath pierced.(2) The Word of God is called the sword of the Spirit, because it was indited by the Spirit; because it is employed by the Spirit; because it is blessed by the Spirit, in its sweet and gracious influences; because it is explained by the Spirit — He that inspired it is the best and the only infallible expositor; and, finally, because its gracious effects arise from His powerful operation on the soul.(3) It proceeds out of Christ's mouth, as the only-begotten Son of God came forth from the bosom of the Father to reveal Him.(4) It must be used and improved by every child of God.(5) What are some of its wonderful effects? There is a twofold effect of the Word of God — one of mercy, and one of judgment.

7. "His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength."(1) There is majesty in the symbol.(2) There is might in the symbol.(3) There is mercy in the symbol. What a blessing to creation is the influence of the sun! What a blessing to the universe is the Sun of Righteousness, arising with healing and salvation in His wings!(4) There is beauty in the symbol. The sun is the loveliest object in creation. And who can express the beauty of the Saviour?(5) It is also the symbol of His favour and His love. When the face is mild, placid, and serene, like the sun without a cloud, it is the index or emblem of favour and affection.(6) It is the symbol of anger as well as of love: "The face of God is set against them that do wickedly."(7) It is the symbol, in a word, of knowledge, of holiness, and happiness. Thus the Sun of Righteousness shines upon the saint, and pours the marvellous light of His glory, in incomprehensible sweetness and majesty, upon the weary pilgrim in passing through the wilderness.

(James Young.)

1. There is nothing that so soon changes the colour of the hair as trouble. Well, surely, Jesus, my Lord, had enough suffering to whiten His hair.

2. My text sets forth the beauty of Christ. Whimsical fashion changes its mind very often as to which is the best colour for the hair. The Romans sprinkled theirs with silver and gold. Our ancestors powdered theirs white. Human custom decides this and declares that; but God declares that He likes frost colour best when He says: "The hoary head is a crown of glory if it be found in the way of righteousness."

3. The antiquity of the Jesus. It is no new Christ that has come. He saw the first star beam on the darkness, the first wave swing to its place, and He heard the first rock jar down to its place in the mountain-socket. "His hair is white as the wool, as white as the snow" — an aged Christ. Ah, that gives me so much confidence! It is the same Jesus that heard David's prayer — the same Jesus on whose breast John laid. You cannot bring Him a new ease. He has had ten thousand cases just like it before. He is an aged Christ. There are times when we want chiefly the young and the gay about us; but when I am in deep trouble give me a fatherly old man or a motherly old woman. More than once in the black night of sorrow have I hailed the grey dawn of an old man's hair. When I want courage for life I love to think of Christ as young and ardent; but when I feel the need of sympathy and condolence I bring before me the picture of an old Jesus: "His hairs as white as the wool, as white as the snow." Is there not a balm in this for the aged?

(T. De Witt Talmage.)

(Canon Knox Little.)

1. This symbol exhibits to us the stability of the kingdom of Christ, and the energy of His government. The great cause of the stability of Christ's kingdom amidst all attempts to shake and subvert it, is the invincible energy of His administration. "His feet are like fine brass." He has fixed His plan of government with infinite wisdom, and He carries it into full effect. No circumstances can occur to thwart or disappoint Him.

2. The absolute purity of the administration of Christ. "His feet are like fine," or polished, "brass, burning," purified, "in a furnace." Men, indeed, have attempted to defile His purity and to sully His spotless character. They have clothed Him with the most detestable attributes. They have accused His administration of folly and injustice. They have invoked His sacred name to prosper plans of iniquity, and to sanction the most unhallowed usurpations. No; still "His feet" are pure and bright "like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace."

3. The administration of Christ abounds with splendid and stupendous displays of His glory. His reign suffers no interruption, and with perfect wisdom and righteousness He invariably administers His great kingdom. His enemies, however, sometimes think that He has abandoned the reins of government, and is indifferent how things are conducted. They feel and act as if they were without superintendence and control (Psalm 94:5-7). The ungodly rejoice. The neglected and suffering saints become fearful and despondent. But there are seasons in which the King of Zion gloriously appears, fulfilling promises and executing threatenings, working salvation for His Church, and easing Himself of His adversaries.

4. Christ is continually making progress in accomplishing His wise and holy purposes. He is ever carrying forward His great plan of mercy and of judgment.

5. Let us make the administration of Christ the subject of our devout study. The knowledge which we shall thus acquire of His character, the confirmation which we shall thus receive to our faith, will amply reward all our pains.

(James Stark.)

I. IT IS NEVER ALTOGETHER SILENT. How many are employed, in almost every quarter of the globe, in proclaiming the message of mercy! As the noise of the seas is created by a multitude of separate waves, so the glad tidings of great joy are announced by a multitude of individual heralds.

II. THE VOICE OF CHRIST IS ADDRESSED TO ALL THE ENDS OF THE EARTH. As we stand upon the beach, we may have something like a community of feeling with the inhabitants of the most distant climes; for the waters of the same great deep wash the shores of all the continents of the globe, and speak in the same tones of mystery and magnificence to all the sons and daughters of Adam. It may be said of the ebbing and flowing tides, as of the other works of creation and of Providence (Psalm 19:3, 4). And the love of Christ is expansive as the broad ocean; for He sends forth His invitations of mercy to every kindred and people and nation. The inhabitants of the various countries of the globe cannot understand each other's speech, as every province has its own tongue or dialect; but the noise of the seas is a universal language, proclaiming to all the power and the majesty of the ever-living Jehovah. And how delightful to anticipate the period when the harmony of the heralds of salvation will be as the sound of many waters, when the same truths will be echoed from shore to shore, and when the uniform reverberation of the tides will be emblematic of the one gospel preached among all nations! (Isaiah 52:8).

III. THE VOICE OF CHRIST IS FITTED TO INSPIRE US WITH AWE AND REVERENCE. There is something in the very aspect of the ocean which expands and elevates the mind. Almost every one is constrained to be serious as he stands solitary on the strand, and looks abroad upon the world of waters before him, and listens to the ceaseless agitation of the far-resounding surge. The shoreless sea is the mirror of infinite duration; and as the floods lift up their voice, we feel as if they were repeating their commission from the High and the Holy One who inhabiteth eternity (Psalm 29:3, 4). It is thus, too, with the gospel (Psalm 119:161). The truth as it is in Jesus has a self-evidencing power — it commends itself to the conscience — it carries with it a conviction that it is a communication from heaven.

IV. THE VOICE OF CHRIST IS BY MANY DISREGARDED. How few, as they pass along the beach, ever think of listening to the dashing of the waves! Some may mark their various murmurs, and their magnificent echoes, and, ascending in thought to Him who formed the seas, and who sendeth the wind out of His treasuries, may contemplate with adoring wonder the glory of Jehovah; but upon the mass of individuals the noise of the many waters makes no impression. And it is thus, too, with the gospel. How many make light of the great salvation! How many listen to the joyful sound as to a matter in which they have no interest — even as to the noise of many waters!

(W. D. Killen, D. D.)

1. Note well, that instrumentality is of temporary use, and is intended for the time of darkness. The Lord will use instruments till He Himself appears, but even those whom He calls "stars" are only the transient apparatus of a passing night.

2. This should make us think very humbly of ourselves; for this illustrates our weakness. Were we lights of the first magnitude, the darkness would no longer remain.

3. Still, instrumentality is honourably spoken of by Him whose judgment is supremely wise, The Lord Jesus does not despise the agency which He employs.

4. Stars are guides, and so are the Lord's true ministers. Some stars in yonder sky have done measureless service to wanderers over the trackless deep, and to those who have lost themselves in the labyrinths of the forest.

5. A certain star, the morning star, is also the herald of the day. Happy messenger of God, who has the sound of his Master's feet behind him.

6. It is an honourable comparison that the instruments of God's good pleasure have put upon them in being compared to stars; for the stars are the comfort and solace of the night. "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth glad tidings!"

7. Instrumentality is honourably placed; for we see the stars in the right hand of Him who is the First and the Last. They may be despised by those who oppose the Word, but they need not be ashamed; for while the right hand of God is their position, they are more honourable than the princes and kings of the earth.

8. See, also, how true instrumentality is graciously sustained. The chosen servants of the Lord are under special protection; for they shine in Christ's right hand.

II. THE PLACE OF REAL POWER. "Out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword." Not out of the stars, but out of our Lord's mouth goes the strength which wins the day.

1. The true power of the Church lies in Christ personally. The power of a Church in the presence of her Lord. He has not deposited power in men; He retains it in Himself, and from Himself we must seek it. Behold the infinite resources of the Church; all power is in Jesus, and Jesus is with His people.

2. The power lies in Christ's word: "Out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword." The power is not in the stars, but in the word which made the stars.

3. It is not only His word, but it is His word as He Himself speaks it. It is not the letter of the word which Jesus spake eighteen hundred years ago which works wonders; but it is that same word as He now delivers it into our ear and heart by His own living, loving, heart-subduing voice.

4. The word is in itself adapted to the Divine end, for it is sharp and two-edged; and when it is spoken by the Lord, its adaptation is seen. The gospel is very sharp when the Spirit of God lays it home. No doctrine of men has such piercing power.

III. THE SOURCE OF TRUE GLORY.

1. To the saints the glory of Christ lies in Himself: His own countenance is the centre of glory.

2. The favour of Christ, if it be enjoyed by a Church, is effectual for all purposes.

3. The brightness of our Lord cannot be measured, neither could His glory be endured of mortal men if once it were fully revealed. "His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength." John therefore could not gaze upon that countenance, but fell at his Lord's feet as dead. And if the Lord Jesus were to manifest Himself to us as He really is, in all His unveiled majesty, we should die with excess of joy.

4. If Christ's face be so bright, then we know where to trace all the light and all the glory that we have ever seen or known. Is there any beauty in the landscape? It is the sun that makes it beautiful. Is there any brightness in any object round about us? It is the sun that makes it bright.

(C. H. Spurgeon.)

2. Because of the lightsomeness of it; for Christ is to believers as the sun is to the world (John 1:9).

3. His countenance is as the sun shining in his strength, for the refreshingness of it (Psalm 4:6, 7). His countenance maketh the heart more glad than corn and wine and worldly comforts whatsoever.

4. His countenance is so compared from the effectual influence ii hath on believers' growth (Malachi 4.).

(James Durham.)

II. Reverence, then, is by no means only or chiefly an ecclesiastical virtue; it is necessary to the perfection of man as man, and to the well-being of society. But REVERENCE IS PECULIARLY A CREATION OF RELIGION. And if we ask why religion is thus the teacher and the Church the school of reverence, the answer is, Because religion unveils before the soul of man a Greatness compared with which all human greatness is insignificance itself. To the eye of religious faith, over every life, every character, every institution, every ideal, there is inscribed, "God alone is great." If the Christian's eye resin reverently upon an excellence, whether of saint, or office, or institution, beneath His throne, it is not as on something satisfying or final: it is as on an emanation from the Source of greatness. When reverence is in the immediate presence of God, it takes a new form, or it adopts a new expression. It offers that which it offers to none other or less than God. It offers adoration. The least that reverence can do in the presence of boundless Power, Wisdom, and Goodness, is to prostrate before Him every created faculty. For close contact with God produces on the soul of man, first of all, an impression of awe; and this impression is deep in exact proportion to the closeness of the contact. When reverence for God is rooted in the soul, the soul sees God in all that reflects and represents Him on earth, and yields it for His sake appropriate recognition. The father, representing His parental authority; the mother, reflecting His tender love; the powers that be in the State, ordained by God as His ministers; pastors of His Church, to whom He has said, "He that despiseth you despiseth Me"; great and good men, whether in past ages or our contemporaries; the Bible, which embodies for all time His revelation of Himself and His will concerning us; the laws of the natural world, when they are really ascertained, as being His modes of working; the sacraments, as channels of His grace, or veils of His presence; all that belongs to the public worship of Christ in His temples here on earth — these are objects of Christian reverence because they are inseparable from Him Who is the Only Great. Conclusion:

1. Reverence is a test, a measure of faith. We do not see God with our bodily eyes: faith is a second sight which does see Him. If men see God, they will behave accordingly. Apply this to behaviour in a church. But if He is with us, if His presence explains and justifies all that is said and sung, must it not follow that whatever expresses our feeling of lowly awe at the nearness of the Most Holy, before whom His angels veil their faces, is but the common sense of the occasion. No one could for long lounge back in an easy chair if moved by a sense of burning indignation; no one with tender affection in his heart could long maintain an expression of countenance which implied that he was entirely out of temper. He would be conscious that the contrast was ridiculous. In the same way, if a man sees God, he will behave as it is natural to behave in the presence of the Almighty. He will be too absorbed to look about at his fellow-worshippers; too much alive to the greatness and awfulness of God to care what others think about himself: he will yield to those instinctive expressions of reverence which the Creator has implanted in us by nature and refined and heightened by grace; and he will find that the reverence of the soul is best secured when the body, its companion and instrument, is reverent also.

2. Reverence begins from within. It cannot be learned as a code of outward conduct. To act and speak reverently, a man must feel reverently; and if he is to feel reverently, he must see our Lord. If he feels what it is to be in God's presence, to speak to Him, to ask Him to do this or that, to promise Him to attempt this or that; if he has any idea of the meaning of these solemn acts of the soul, the outward proprieties will follow.

3. Lastly, reverence, the deepest, the truest, is perfectly compatible with love. In sober earnest, reverence is the salt which preserves the purity of affection, without impairing its intensity. We are so framed that we can only love for long that which we heartily respect. The passion which is lavished for a few hours upon an object which does not deserve respect is unworthy of the sacred name of love. And God, when He asks the best love of our hearts, would preserve it from corruption by requiring also the safeguard of reverence.

(Canon Liddon.)

(G. MacDonald.)

1. In times of persecution and loneliness.

2. In the communion of the Lord's day.

3. Upon the threshold of important duty.

II. SOMETIMES THESE VISIONS HAVE AN APPALLING EFFECT UPON THE SOUL.

1. There is in this terror of the soul an element of deep humility and reverence.

2. This terror of the soul is not overcome by the most intimate friendship with Christ.

III. IN THESE VISIONS THE GOOD ARE CONSOLED AND STRENGTHENED BY THE MERCIFUL CONDESCENSION OF CHRIST.

1. There was the strengthening assurance of a kindly action, "And He laid His right hand upon me."

2. There was the encouraging utterance of a compassionate word, "Fear not."Lessons:

1. Soul-visions are Divinely given to the good.

2. Soul-visions are not always at first welcome to the good.

3. That the compassion of Christ renders soul-visions the chief joy of the Christian life.

(J. S. Exell, M. A.)

II. THE MEANS BY WHICH THE APOSTLE WAS REVIVED: "He laid His right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not." It is evident from this circumstance that the vision was now close before him. The same hand which had been seen upon the seven lamps was now laid upon him. Here was a further evidence of the reality of the vision. How easily could that hand have crushed him! How well it knew the weight of a hand which distinguishes mercy from judgment! How familiar with the motions indicative of tenderness and aid! This friendly act is accompanied with the encouraging words, "Fear not!" It dispels at once all painful apprehensions from the mind of John, restores the vigour of his frame, and enables him calmly to survey the unearthly and irradiated image before him, and to receive instructions from His lips. Sudden changes, whether of a beneficial or of a disastrous kind, have their effect, first upon the old, and then upon the renovated part of our natures. The more, indeed, we are habituated to the contemplation and indulgence of spiritual motives, the more promptly will they come to our aid, and the nearer they will approach to the instinct of a new nature; but we can never expect to arrive at such a degree of refinement in the present state, in which the instinct of nature shall be surpassed by the promptitude of grace, for that would be to suppose their characteristic distinction to be destroyed.

III. A MORE FAMILIAR ANNOUNCEMENT OF HIS PERSON IS NOW GIVEN: "I am the first and the last," etc.

IV. THE COMMISSION IS RENEWED: "Write the things," etc.

(G. Rogers.)

1. This was the prostration of guilt and unworthiness, arising from the presence of a sin-abhorring God. If anything can humble a sinful creature, it is to stand in the presence of infinite purity, greatness, and majesty.

2. This was the prostration of weakness and mortality.

3. This was the prostration of terror and alarm.

4. This was the prostration of holy worship.

5. This was the prostration of satisfied delight.

6. Here we may see the overwhelming power of the majesty of God.

7. Here we may see the boundless love and compassion of Jesus.He deals with His people in infinite kindness. As their days are, their strength shall be.

II. THE GRACIOUS ACT OF OUR BLESSED LORD: "He laid His right hand upon me."

1. This was a human hand; so it seemed to be. One like the similitude of the sons of men touched the prophet's lips, and one who was the Son of Man laid His right hand on John.

2. This was not an angel's hand, but the right hand of Jesus. Amidst the splendours of the vision, John might forget that the Son of Man was the actor on the scene.

3. This was the act of the Shepherd of Israel, who gathers the lambs with His arm, carries them in His bosom.

4. This was the act of our great High Priest, who is possessed of infinite tenderness, who is touched with the feeling of all our infirmities.

5. This touch was marvellous. The angel of the Lord did wondrously, and Manoah and his wife looked on; everything here was astonishing and wonderful.

6. This touch was mysterious: He looks to the earth, and it trembles; He touches the mountains, and they smoke.

7. This touch was omnipotent: it was the saving strength of His right hand (Psalm 77:10-15).

8. There was majesty in the touch; it was the touch of that hand which He lifts up to heaven and says, I live for ever.

9. There was mercy in the touch. The eye that pities, and the arm that brings salvation, meet together here in marvellous conjunction.

10. There was comfort in the touch (Psalm 16:11).

11. There was Divine blessedness conveyed by the touch.

12. There was infinite love in this mysterious act. It was not a heavy blow, but a kind and gentle touch.

III. THE COMFORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT PRESENTED TO JOHN: "Saying unto me, Fear not." Fear not the wrath of God, for He is your Father. Fear not the law of God, for it has been magnified, honoured, and exalted. Fear not the curse of God, for it has been inflicted, exhausted, and removed. Fear not death, the dark king of terrors, for by My death he has been vanquished, and swallowed up in victory.

IV. THE GROUNDS OF HOLY COMFORT.

1. His essential Deity: "He is the first and the last, and the Living One." The essential Deity of the God of Israel is often assigned as a ground of comfort to the ancient Church (Genesis 15:1; Isaiah 41:10, 14; Isaiah 43:1, 2). The Deity of Christ affords the same ground of comfort to His people still. From His power, under the feeling of frailty and infirmity; from His eternity, under the fear of approaching dissolution (Psalm 90:1, 2); from His covenant mercy, under the conviction of sin and unworthiness (Psalm 103:13-18); from His covenant faithfulness, under the fear that the Lord will cast us off.

2. His person: "I am He that liveth and was dead."

3. His office: "I am He that liveth and was dead." This office consisteth of three great parts — the office of a Prophet, of a Priest, and of a King.

4. His redeeming work.

(James Young.)

1. This is open to illustration from the common events of human life.

(1)Doctor's report of child's health.

(2)A view of the next seven years' trials, etc.

(3)We value a friend for his discretion in such matters.And yet you, who cannot bear these revelations, ask to be shown the Infinite God! A child who cannot bear the twinkle of a candle demands to look upon the noonday sun!

2. This is gracious on the part of God. Child: all the books he has to learn, at once! See how many different languages he has to learn without ever going beyond English! Every new department has a language of its own. If he could hear them all at once, he would enter Babel at a step! Observe: If we could see the last from the first, it would make us impatient of all that lay between. Mark the unhappy effect of such impatience:

(1)Imperfect knowledge.

(2)Restless temper.

(3)Immature conclusions.A great part of the advantage is in the actual growing. We want breadth as well as height. The day dawns; the year develops; the harvest comes little by little. We are, then, in the line of the Divine movement in receiving revelation by degrees. This is the law. This is God's way.

3. Any unwillingness to submit to this method of revelation is proof of an unsound and presumptuous mind. It would be accounted so in the family, in business, in statesmanship. In all things it is well to serve an apprenticeship. Let us know that life is a continual revelation. We cannot see over the wall that separates to-morrow from to-day. But Christ says, "What is that to thee? follow thou Me." We are revealed to ourselves little by little. Another hint, another gleam, and so let knowledge come to us even as the sun shineth more and more unto the perfect day. John could recline on Christ's breast, yet was dazzled and overpowered by the suddenly revealed glory of his Lord. There is a familiar side of Christ, and a side unfamiliar. Some mountains are accessible on one side only.

(J. Parker, D. D.)

1. The occasion.

2. The reason.It was partly fear. That fear originated partly in a sense of his own weakness and insignificance in the presence of the Divine strength and greatness. How shall an insect live in the furnace of the sun? We are such infirmity, folly, and nothingness, that, if we have but a glimpse of omnipotence, awe and reverence prostrate us to the earth. The most spiritual and sanctified minds, when they fully perceive the majesty and holiness of God, are so greatly conscious of the great disproportion between themselves and the Lord that they are humbled and filled with holy awe, and even with dread and alarm. The reverence which is commendable is pushed by the infirmity of our nature into a fear which is excessive. There is no doubt, too, that a part of the fear which caused John to swoon arose from a partial ignorance or forgetfulness of his Lord. Shall we charge this upon one who wrote one of the gospels and three choice epistles? Yes, it was doubtless so, because the Master went on to instruct and teach him in order to remove his fear. He needed fresh knowledge or old truths brought home with renewed power in order to cure his dread. As soon as he knew his Lord he recovered his strength. Study, then, your Lord. Make it your life's object to know Him.

3. The extent. "As dead." It is an infinite blessing to us to be utterly emptied, spoiled, and slain before the Lord. Our strength is our weakness, our life is our death, and when both are entirely gone we begin to be strong, and in very deed to live.

4. The place. "At His feet." It matters not what aileth us if we lie at Jesus's feet. Better be dead there than live anywhere else. He is ever gentle and tender, never breaking the bruised reed or quenching the smoking flax. In proportion as He perceives that our weakness is manifest to us, in that degree will He display His tenderness. "He carrieth the lambs in His bosom."

II. THE SAME DISCIPLE RESTORED.

1. By a condescending approach. "He laid His hand upon me." No other hand could have revived the apostle, but the hand which was pierced for him had matchless power.

2. The communication of Divine strength. "His right hand" — the hand of favour and of power. There must be actual strength and energy imparted to a swooning soul, and, glory be to God, by His own Holy Spirit, Jesus can and does communicate energy to His people in time of weakness. He is come that we may have life, and that we may have it more abundantly. The omnipotence of God is made to rest upon us, so that we even glory in infirmities. "My grace is sufficient for thee, My strength is made perfect in weakness," is a blessed promise, which has been fulfilled to the letter to many of us. Our own strength has departed, and then the power of God has flowed in to fill up the vacuum.

3. A word from the Master's own mouth. Truly there are many voices and each has its significance, but the voice of Jesus has a heaven of bliss in its every accent. Let but my Beloved speak to me, and I will forego the angelic symphonies. Though He should only say, "Fear not," and not a word beyond, it were worth worlds to see Him open His mouth unto us. But you say, can we still hear Jesus speak of us? Aye, by His Spirit.

III. THE SAME DISCIPLE STILL FURTHER INSTRUCTED.

1. As to the Lord's person — that He was most truly Divine. Art thou afraid of Him, thy Brother, thy Saviour, thy Friend? Then what dost thou fear? Anything of old? He is the first. Anything to come? He is the last. Anything in all the world? He is all in all, from the first to the last. What dost thou want? If thou hast Him thou hast all.

2. As to His self-existence. Creatures are not living in themselves: they borrow leave to be; to God alone it belongs to exist necessarily. He is the I AM, and such is Christ. Why, then, dost thou fear? If the existence of thy Lord, thy Saviour, were precarious and dependent upon some extraneous circumstances thou wouldst have cause for fear, for thou wouldst be in constant jeopardy.

3. As to His atoning death.

4. As to His endless life.

5. As to His mediatorial office.Conclusion: The glory and exaltation of Christ is —

1. The saint's cordial.

2. The sinner's terror.

3. The penitent's hope.

(C. H. Spurgeon.)

I. The text is most consolatory in the PROSPECT Of death. Keys are symbols of authority and law, and these keys of death remind us that government and order prevail in the realm of mortality. The gate of the grave is not blown about by the winds of chance; it has keys, it is opened and shut by royal authority. The engineer who constructs a locomotive knows what distance it will cover before it is worn out, one engine being calculated to accomplish a greater mileage, another less. Using material of a certain weight and quality, the engineer knows with tolerable accuracy what wear and tear his machine will endure, and, barring accidents, how long it will run. Thus He by whose hand we are fashioned knows the possibilities of our individual constitution, how far the throbbing machinery will go ere the weary wheels stand still; our appointed days are written in our physiological powers, not in some mystical Book of Fate. From this point of view it is not difficult to understand how one organism will endure for long journey, whilst another necessarily breaks down, having accomplished a few stages only. We said, "barring accidents," the locomotive will cover a given distance; but what of the accidents which may put an end to the career of the locomotive long before its possibilities are exhausted? and what of the thousand accidents which put a period to human life in its very prime and power? The answer is, Under the personal sovereign government of heaven no real accident is possible to virtue. The woodman knows how trees of different species require to be felled at various seasons; it is best that some are cut down with the fresh leaves of spring upon them, that the axe smites others whilst they are robed in summer's pomp, whilst a third order must fall when the sap dies down in autumn and the leaves are tinged with the colours of decay. The forester knows when to smite the forest glories; and there is One who knows why some human lives cease in their sweet spring, why others perish in manhood's pride, and why, again, others are spared to patriarchal years. At the right time, at the right place, in the right way, shall we suffer the stroke of mortality. Death to some may be a blind fury cutting short life's thin thread; but the Christian knows that the capital power is in the hands of One whose name is Love, and before His fingers turn the key His eyes of flame see the necessity and dictate the moment.

II. The text is most consolatory in the ARTICLE of death. We have here, not only teaching concerning the law of death, but also precious doctrine touching its Lord. Jesus Christ is the Lord of death. The law of death is the active will of Jesus Christ. It is the glory of Christianity that it consistently exhibits law, not as some metaphysical rule or impersonal force, but as the action of a personal, intelligent, loving Ruler. The law of creation is the will of a wise and gracious Creator, who rejoices in all that His hands have made; the law of evolution is the will of an Evolver, who with wise purpose and unfailing intelligence presses forward all things to some "far-off Divine event"; the law of dissolution is the will of a just and infallible Judge, who determines all crises. When Dr. James Hamilton was dying his brother spoke to him of "death's cold embrace." Said the dying saint, "There is no cold embrace, William; there is no cold embrace." If our dissolution were effected simply by some mysterious abstract law working in the dark, it were indeed a cold embrace; but it is no longer cold when it is the pressure of that breast on which John leaned. In the light of this text death becomes transfigured; the keys are in the pierced hand; the keys are golden, they open the door into heaven. Whilst we think of these things even now strange music steals upon our senses, the rough wilderness smiles with flowers, a light above the brightness of the sun touches pain and sickness and sepulchre into gold, and in the hour and article of death these foretastes shall be fulfilled beyond all imagination; we shall not taste death; we shall not see it.

III. The text inspires deep consolation touching the issues of death. "I am alive for evermore." "I have the keys of the invisible universe."

1. There is a limit to the power of death. It does not destroy the personality; the dead may live again, live in new power and splendour.

2. There is a limit to the range of death. "Alive unto the ages of the ages." In the face of those oriental systems which threatened men with endless deaths, transmigrations, and metamorphoses, systems which modern paganism seeks to revive, Christianity holds that the faithful pass through one eclipse only into personal, conscious, immortal life. The law of death is not the law of all worlds; there are spheres where it has no place, golden ages undimmed by its shadow. Christ alive for evermore declares that immortality is the prerogative of the highest being also. The monad is inaccessible to death by being too low; man in Christ shall be inaccessible to death by being too high. "Fear not." True, we can never be wholly reconciled to death. Darwin used to go into the London Zoological Gardens, and, standing by the glass case containing the cobra di capello, put his forehead against the glass while the cobra struck out at him. The glass was between them: Darwin's mind was perfectly convinced as to the inability of the snake to harm him, yet he would always dodge. Time after time he tried it, his will and reason keeping him there, his instinct making him shrink. The instinct was stronger than both will and reason. And it is much like this with the Christian's attitude toward death: he knows that its sting cannot harm him, but there is an instinct within him that causes him to shrink whenever he comes into contact with the ghastly thing, and this instinct will not be altogether denied whatever the Christian reason and will may say. But in this shrinking is no terror or despair.

(W. L. Watkinson.)

II. EXAMINE THE REMEDY IN ITS SEVERAL PARTS. Christ not only bids His people fear not, but He urges reasons why they should not. These reasons are contained in the several parts of the remedy.

1. "I am the first and the last, I am He that liveth," or, as it might be rendered, "I am the Living One." Several ideas are comprehended under these expressions: Christ existing from everlasting to everlasting — Christ the author and end of all things — Christ their sum and substance. The epithets are, you perceive, expressive of His Godhead. The others which He assumes in the text have respect to His humanity. How beautifully they all unite to dispel the fears of His people! Some of these fears are to be chased away by His Godhead some by His humanity; to chase away all Christ speaks both as God and as man.

2. "I was dead." In how striking a contrast this part stands to the last! The glory of the Deity is now shaded by the darkness of a human grave. But what an amount of comfort this part is calculated to afford; for, if Christ was dead, why should you fear to approach the throne of grace on which He now sits? But, again. If Christ was dead, why should you, who are one with Him, fear the punishment of your sins? That punishment is all past already. And still farther. If Christ was dead, why should you fear to die? Perhaps you are among those who, through fear of death, are subject to bondage. Then Christ died to deliver you from this fear.

3. "Behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen." This part is another strange contrast to the last, another brilliant evolution of the character of your exalted Lord. The darkness of a human grave is now dispelled by the light of immortality.

4. "And have the keys of hell and of death." At death there is a separation not only from friends and the world, but even from your very self. Christ has the keys of all these doors. He has the key of the door by which the body and soul of His people separate. You cannot die, therefore, till Christ with His own hand open the door; the last breath is the turning of the lock. What serenity this should shed around the death-bed of the believer, and how strong consolation it should impart to those who are left behind! Christ has also the keys of the doors by which the souls and bodies of believers pass to each other for an eternal union. If saints on earth "groan within themselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of their body" — if their souls, even when inhabiting their earthly tabernacle, "do groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with their house which is from heaven" — what must be the longings of these souls as the winter of death advances to its close, and the time of the redemption of their bodies draws nigh!

(G. Philip.)

I. To speak a little to each of the things in the text, to unfold them, so as that the ground of comfort in them may appear.

1. As to His death. On this I offer these few remarks:(1) His death supposeth — His incarnation and living as a man in the world (John 1:14).(2) His death was vicarious: He died in the room and stead of sinners.(3) His sufferings and death were most exquisite: "God spared not His own Son."(4) His sufferings and death were satisfactory, and that fully.

2. As to His resurrection and the life to which He was restored. Here consider —(1) That God raised up Christ.(2) Where He now lives. It is in heaven, which we had forfeited by sin, but where we still would fain be.(3) For what He lives. The apostle tells us that it is to make intercession for us, and He Himself says it is to prepare a place for us in His Father's house, where there are many mansions.

3. The eternity of this life. The man Christ lives for evermore. He will eternally represent His own sacrifice as the foundation of our eternal glory: and as for His kingdom, it is an everlasting kingdom that shall not be destroyed (Daniel 7:14). Let us —

4. Attend to His mediatorial sovereignty. Hell and death are terrible to the believer, but Christ holds the keys of both. Now these things, the death, resurrection, life, and power of Jesus, may be considered three ways in order to improve them for consolation to the saints.

(1)As patterns and examples.

(2)As pledges, assuring the saints of what they wish for.

(3)As containing in them sufficient salves for all their sores.

II. To point out THE NATURE OF THAT CONSOLATION WHICH SAINTS MAY DERIVE FROM THESE. For this purpose let us take a view of the fountains of their fears and distrust.

1. There is the super-eminent glory and infinite majesty of the great God. This, when seen and considered by poor worm man, whose habitation is in the dust, is a great source of fear. Can ye not look straight forward to Divine majesty, then fetch a compass and look through the veil of the flesh of Christ? and so ye may see God and not die. "Often and willingly," said Luther, "would I thus look at God."

2. Sin is another fountain for fear: sinfulness considered with the nature of God. But fear not, O Christian Christ was dead and is alive for evermore; therefore the guilt that exposes to hell-fire is done away. Do ye doubt the completeness of the satisfaction? Behold Christ in heaven with the complete discharge in His hand. He is out of prison. He brought the keys with Him and is now on the throne.

3. The sinner sees pollution in himself and holiness in God. When they behold the spotless purity of God, and themselves as an unclean thing, they are ready to say, Oh, will God look on vile me? will these pure eyes cast a favourable glance on such a dunghill-worm? Fear not, Christ was dead and is alive. He is made of God unto you sanctification.

4. Desertions are a cause of fears. The deserted soul is an affrighted soul. Good news to you in your low state Christ died, and in His death He was forsaken of God; and yet He now enjoys the bosom of the Father and the light of His countenance. Who would not be content to follow Christ, even through the valley of the shadow of death?

5. Temptations are a source of fears. Sometimes Satan gets leave to dog saints at their heels. This fills them with fear: but to such I say, Fear not. Christ died and is alive evermore. He that thus lives evermore gave a deadly wound to the tempter. We have no more to do but to cry to our Lord, who, from His own temptations, well knows how to succour His tempted people.

6. Death is the cause of much fear. But fear not: He that was dead is alive; and when ye are carried off you shall be with Him who is infinitely better than all earthly relations.

7. Hell is a fountain of fears. But fear not, for Christ died; and if so, He suffered the torments thou shouldst have suffered in hell as to the essentials of them. God will not require two payments for one debt.

III. IMPROVEMENT.

1. The comfortless state of them that are out of Christ.

2. The duty of Christians to improve these things for their actual comfort.(1) The grieving of the Spirit cuts the throats of our comforts.(2) Good men sometimes build their comforts on outward blessings; hence when these are gone their comfort is gone.(3) On grace within them, not on grace without them; the comfort of some streams from their obedience principally, therefore it is soon dried up; whereas the death and life of Christ are liable to no change, as is our obedience.(4) Upon the coming in of words to their minds. Hence, when a promise comes in they are comforted; when a threatening, all is gone. I do believe that the Spirit comforts His people by the word, and that He makes words come in with an impression on the soul (John 14:26). But then these words lead the soul direct to Christ and to build our comfort on Him; but it is not of God to build it on the bare impression of a comfortable word. The coming in of a word should guide us to Christ; and though the impression, the guide go, yet we may keep our hold of Him.A word to other two sources of the saint's fears.

1. Weakness and spiritual inability for the duties of religion. The soul taking a view of the great work it has to do, what strong lusts are to be mortified, temptations resisted, duties performed; and then, considering how weak and unable it is for any of these things, it is even ready to sink. But fear not: Christ died, etc. (Hebrews 12:12).

2. The danger of an evil time is another source of fear (Psalm 49:5). An evil time is a time of many snares. The soul is afraid that he will never stand out, but one day will fall. Fear not: Christ died, and it was an evil time, a time of many snares, yet He came safe off. This He did as a public person, and so it is a pledge that ye shall also be carried through (Hebrews 4:14-16).

(T. Boston, D. D.)

1. It is, first, the nearer approach in love of what was so terrible in grandeur. He laid His right hand upon me saying, "Fear not." So, then, the Highest and Most Awful can be gentle. He whose feet can trample like burning brass has a hand whose touch is soothing; and the great voice, which crashed like a trumpet through the Sabbath stillness, can be so modulated as to reassure the trembling heart.

2. That John may not fear, his Master proceeds to announce who and what He is. The first word needs to be strongly emphasised; "I am the First and the Last," as if the voice had said, "It is I, and not another, who am thus exalted." Can we doubt that with this word the personality of Him who spoke came in full force upon the heater's soul? Well for us, in danger and dread, if our past life has tender and vivid associations with Him with whom we have to do, if we have known Him as the Hearer of our prayer, the Helper of our weakness, the Cleanser of our hearts. "I, then, whom thou knowest, and lovest, and canst trust — I am the First and the Last, and the Living One, and I became dead." It is not only said that Jesus is first and last, He is the First and the Last. No assertion of Deity could be more explicit. But like all such Scripture statements, this is made in the practical form best suited to the hearers' need. To the heart that quails and faints amid new revelations of dazzling majesty and overwhelming force, it is announced that His Loved One is behind and beyond all change, and that all life and power flow out from Him, the Living One. It is added that He "became dead," to remind His creature of expiation for all sin, and of the immutable heart which once broke, rather than be pitiless.

(G. A. Chadwick, D. D.)

(J. Trapp.)

I. OUR TEXT IS CHRIST'S NEW INTRODUCTION OF HIMSELF TO THE CHURCH MILITANT. It is the revelation of Himself in His Lordship, clothed with the authority and resource of spiritual empire. In His hands are the keys of mastery. To His service bend all heaven's powers. But what I want just now to emphasise is, that right in the centre of this vision of glory the old familiar Christ of the gospels is made clearly discernible. Not only is He the Living One with the keys; He is the One who became dead; the One, therefore, who lived and moved within range of historic observation. This is a point of present and pressing importance. It indicates and guards us against two opposite tendencies which threaten the vitality of Christian faith. On one hand there is a too evident readiness to minimise the importance of our evangelic narratives; to pass lightly over the great historical facts on which our gospel is based, and even to acquiesce in an account of those events which rob them of all special, not to say trustworthy, significance. On the ether hand, there is a not less evident and equally disastrous tendency in the opposite direction. Some men never seem to get beyond history. The Christ they know is the Child at Nazareth, the homeless Wanderer in Judaea, the sympathetic Teacher and Worker in town and village, the willing Sufferer on Calvary. All this is good. It is a gain for which we ought to be devoutly thankful to have recovered from superstition and conventionalism the simple grandeur of Christ's actual human life. But this revived interest in the Christ of history is accompanied with some peril to the adequate conception of our Lord and Saviour. The absorbing study of His example, His principles, His revelation of God, His interpretation of man, His work and sacrifice for the redemption of the race, may very effectually obscure the grandeur of His eternal supremacy, and rob us of the strength and comfort derivable from fellowship with the living Lord. Christ is not dead; He is risen. His life to-day is more than the influence of an unquenchable memory and of a love which the world cannot let die. The Christ of history is the living Christ upon the throne. He who was on earth is in heaven. He who is in heaven has come down again and fills the earth. His real presence has entered into every epoch of history. His personality is the most potent contemporary presence in life to-day. Our text sets us in right relation alike to the historic and the risen Christ. It saves us from the indefiniteness of that dreamy faith which declines to seek foothold on the solid earth, which claims self-sufficiency of intuitive knowledge and spiritual certainty. And, on the other hand, it leads us on from that mere back-looking and wingless faith which never escapes from earth and time, which never realises and rejoices in the personal presence of the living Lord.

II. AN INTELLIGENT FAITH IN CHRIST MUST BEGIN WITH THE STUDY OF HIS EARTHLY LIFE. It must look to what He was in order to know what He is. It must understand His work below before it can appreciate the character of His reign above. It must master the facts as a means towards possessing the truths of God's dispensation of grace. The reasons for this are obvious. Our earliest knowledge of Christ must come to us as our knowledge of any other historical person comes, through the portraiture of competent witnesses and biographers. But not only for the outline of Christ's personality and purpose are we dependent upon New Testament history. We must betake ourselves to the same quarter for an explanation of Christ's living power, for an interpretation of the mission He lives to complete, for an understanding of how we are to come into relation with His grace. The evangelical records set forth no mere passing events, no mere transitory phase in the evolution of Divine unfolding, which may be left behind and forgotten as if superseded by clearer and loftier revelations. The Cross of Calvary fills every page of history and overflows into eternity, stretching back and on in perpetual enactment. The Apocalyptic Seer, standing on his high mountain, looked back and saw the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world; he turned his gaze towards the future, and saw the endless ages gathering around the Lamb that had been slain, singing the song of victory through sacrifice. And to the Cross we must go to find God, to know Christ, to learn penitence, to reap forgiveness, to discover life and liberty. Yea, it is by beginning at Jerusalem that faith discovers where and how to find the living Christ, in what way and with what joy to attain fellowship with the risen Lord. But there is yet another reason why faith has need to master and to appropriate the facts of historical revelation. The historic Christ who lived, spake, worked, died, and rose again in our midst, supplies the ultimate ground of verification on which faith rests for its spiritual beliefs and hopes. A religion which is to take adequate grip of man must satisfy the eye and the brain not less than the heart and the spirit. It must approve itself by facts as well as by reasons and sentiments. You tell me, for instance, that God is love. How do you know that? It is not a natural idea. It is, as men phrase it, too good to be true. So says my natural and hesitating heart. Do you refer me to your experience? Do you affirm that the faith has been kindled in you by direct operation of the Divine Spirit? But are there no possibilities of misinterpretation and mistake? Has God ever spoken or wrought in other ways to warrant your belief that He is now speaking and working in you? I cannot believe it until God proves it by an appeal to all the considerations and all the instincts and all the lines of evidence which can reach me down here in the darkness. And that is what God has done. He has come down and embodied His message in a life which appeals to all the faculties, and responds to all the demands, of my nature. The historic Christ proves the trustworthiness of my spiritual conviction, and from the con-temptation of that gracious life I go forward to the confident enjoyment of the elevating and constraining truth. So, too, in reference to the resurrection of the dead, that great gospel of glad tidings to a world filled with the dead and the dying. It is only when I can see and say, "Now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept," that I regain the balance of hope and faith. The intimations of immortality in me immediately radiate with fresh light. All the arguments grounded in nature, in reason, in justice, in spiritual experience, gather a clearer probative force. The accomplished fact of Christ's resurrection interprets and verifies the instincts and promptings of my spirit within me, and beholding the risen Christ I can ask with exultant confidence, "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" and can sing with grand assurance the apostolic song, "Thanks be unto God," etc. Here, then, must Christian knowledge and spiritual faith find their foundation — in a devout mastery of the life and work of the incarnate Christ.

III. BUT BEGINNINGS ARE ONLY BEGINNINGS, AND MUST NOT BE MISTAKEN FOR COMPLETIONS. To have mastered the alphabet and the grammar of a language is to have come into possession of the key to its wealth of literature and ideas, but not into possession of the literature and ideas themselves. It is possible to know much about Christ and nothing of Him. For Christ is not contained in any or all the facts and doctrines concerning Himself. They interpret and point the way to Him. But He, the living Lord, whom they interpret, who gives significance and animation to them, is a Person, not an idea, and sits upon the throne of life, to be found of all who seek Him, waiting to bestow the blessings which His incarnate life wrought and revealed. Our study, therefore, of the great history, and of the doctrines of grace, is barren and futile unless we are guided thereby to seek and find the personal, living Saviour; to take from His own hands the gift which Christian history and doctrine explain, and to find in Him the actual enjoyment of promises made and truths revealed. There are two senses in the New Testament in which men are said to know Christ. Nicodemus said, "Master, we know that Thou art a teacher come from God, because..." Here we have an instance of close observation, of thoughtful appreciation, of faultless logic leading to an irresistable conclusion. "We know, because..." This was, for the moment, all he knew of Christ: an external understanding — logical, convincing, veracious, but ineffective. How different was Paul's declaration, "I know whom I have believed"! Not, mark you, "I know in whom I have believed"; still less, "I know in what I have believed." "I know," said he, "whom I have believed." The knowledge was personal, inward, constraining — a knowledge arising out of living fellowship with Christ, and which conferred upon him the power of a new and radiant heart. In this same sense Paul had once prayed that he might know Christ. At the time he uttered that prayer he knew all the facts of the great biography, and had expounded in his principal letters the profound significance of the Lord's death and resurrection. Not in that sense, nor in those relations, are we to interpret his prayer for more knowledge of Christ. It was for fuller, deeper, personal possession of the Christ who unfolds Himself within the sacredness of Christian experience, whose gracious personality fills heaven with ceaseless wonder and adoration, whose presence in the heart expands into fresh discoveries of significance and charm.

(C. A. Berry.)

(A. M. Fairbairn, D. D.)

II. THE TRANSITION THROUGH WHICH OUR LORD PASSED. John would be no stranger to Him by and by. Was that eye, like a flame of fire, to tell of corruption? Do those feet, burning as with fine brass, tell of corruption? Does that Voice, like the sound of many waters, tell of corruption? Nay; He had been dead, but now was alive again, and the promises He hath given were assured by His resurrection. No matter what there should be on the part of John in regard to Hades or to death, no matter what he might dread, let him renounce his dread, let him stand on his feet, let him look his Saviour in the face and recognise the old smile as well as that voice, and lay down upon His breast as he was wont to do before our Lord was a sufferer on the Cross. Death had no more dominion over Him now. "He was alive for evermore." Come what might, there would be no other sacrifice for sin; no other sacrifice wanted. "I am alive for evermore"; and the liabilities of His humanity were exhausted; all the sacrificial responsibilities of His mediatorship were exhausted, there was not a fragment of those responsibilities left. It was finished. He had made an end of sin; He had abolished death, and swallowed it up in victory; He had become the resurrection and the life in perpetuity, throughout all the ages world without end.

III. THE SOVEREIGNTY WHICH HE CLAIMED. All harmonised; all was coherent in the three several great departments of this text. Look at the supremacy of the sovereignty He assumed, and take care to use that connecting particle there, "and I have the keys of hell and of death." Now, the relations of Hades to you and to me are momentous in the extreme. But press questions as we may, to a very great extent they can obtain no satisfactory reply. I may, however, tell you one thing about Hades, and that is it is very effectually controlled. Supposing all the principalities and powers amidst the evil spirits of Hades were to come in all their force and in all their malignity against the Church of Christ which He had purchased with His own blood, what then? It was a foregone conclusion; and the principalities and powers in perdition would just ingloriously succumb. They might boast, as the poet says, "Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven," but they are in servitude after all their vaunting, and He whom they serve is no other than He whom they crucified.

(W. Brock, D. D.)

II. DEATH NEVER COMES AT RANDOM. The key is in the hand of the Saviour, and it is used with determination and judgment. He employs various means and instruments, but they are all under His control, and work His will.

III. OUR LIFE ON EARTH IS UNDER THE CONSTANT NOTICE OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. He takes constant notice of what we do, and of what we neglect. For as His turning the key at last is a judicial act, it supposes a close and accurate inspection, and proceeds upon it. Of Him who had the key it is said, also, that "His eyes were as a flame of fire." With these eyes he sees all that is done — they pierce through every disguise — the darkness and the light are both alike to them. If those who trust in Him are left to suffer, it is not from inadvertency, or indifference, or impotence, but from design for their profit.

IV. HIS POWER IN DEATH CANNOT BE RESISTED.

V. SOULS UPON WHOM THIS KEY IS TURNED, THOUGH SEPARATED FROM THIS WORLD, DO NOT CEASE TO BE. Their mode of existence and sphere of operation are changed, but the vital power remains. They see with these eyes no more, and no more hear with these ears; but still see and hear and under. stand. The key that opens the door for their departure from earth, opens the door of admission to another world.

VI. THE INVISIBLE WORLD IS UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE SAVIOUR.

(D. Merrill.)

II. THE ROYAL CHRIST PROCLAIMS HIS SUBMISSION TO DEATH. Such a statement implies our Lord's assumption of flesh. The only possibility of death, for the Living One, lies in His enwrapping Himself with that which can die. As you might put a piece of asbestos into a twist of cotton wool, over which the flame could have power, or as a sun might plunge into thick envelopes of darkness, so this eternal, absolute Life gathered to itself by voluntary accretion the surrounding which was capable of mortality. Let us bow before that mystery of Divine love, the death of the Lord of Life. The motive which impelled Him, the consequences which followed, are not in view here. But there is another consideration that I may suggest. The eternal Life became dead. Then the awful solitude is solitary no longer. As travellers are cheered on a solitary road when they see the footprints that they know belonged to loved and trusted ones who have trodden it before, that desolate loneliness is less lonely when we think that He became dead.

III. THE ROYAL CHRIST PROCLAIMS HIS ETERNAL LIFE IN GLORY. "Behold!" — as if calling attention to a wonder — "I am alive for evermore." Again I say we have here a distinctly Divine prerogative claimed by the exalted Christ. For that eternal life of which He speaks is by no means the communicated immortality which He imparts to them that in His love go down to death, but it is the inherent eternal life of the Divine nature. The "I" of my text is the Divine-human Jesus. The manhood is so intertwined with the Deity that the absolute life of the latter has, as it were, flowed over and glorified the former; and it is a Man who lays His hand upon the Divine prerogative, and says, "I live for evermore." And so, "because I live, ye shall live also." We cannot die as long as Christ is alive. Christ's resurrection is the pledge and the source of eternal life for us.

IV. THE ROYAL CHRIST PROCLAIMS HIS AUTHORITY OVER THE DIM REGIONS OF THE DEAD. The original does not read "hell and death," but "death and" Hades, the dim unseen regions in which all the dead, whatsoever their condition may be, are gathered.

(A. Maclaren, D. D.)

(W. Lloyd, D. D.)

1. Scriptural representations of Christ show plainly that He liveth for evermore. When we would prove that man is a frail creature, we ask the question, What is flesh? And for an answer, we repeat Isaiah's representation, "All flesh is grass," etc. Now, compare these representations of men in general with the designations of the Man Christ Jesus, and you will see a striking contrast. What creature more durable than the sun? What is more immovable than a rock? And was not this the very metaphor which Christ used when speaking of Himself as God-man?

2. The types of Scripture import that He lives for evermore. I will mention only two, Moses' burning bush, and Melchisedec.

3. The testimony of God, recorded in Scripture, shows that Jesus lives for ever. First, hear the testimony of the Father, "The Lord said unto my Lord," etc. Hear next the testimony of the Son. "Thou wilt show Me the path of life," etc. Hear also the testimony of the Holy Ghost. It was He who dwelt in the prophets, "testifying of the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow." And what do these prophets, as directed by Him, say? One, speaking of Christ, expresses himself, "He asked life of Thee, and Thou gavest it Him, even length of days for ever and ever"; and another tells us, that "of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end."

4. Scripture doctrines evince the glorious truth that Christ lives for evermore. There is what is called the analogy of faith; now, the truth of which we speak is not only agreeable to this analogy but essential to it. For instance, according to Scripture, our Lord Jesus is the trustee of the new covenant. Yes, "He hath received gifts for men, yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them." H so, must He not live that He may distribute these gifts? Another doctrine of Scripture is, that Christ shall be the judge of the world. But how could Christ judge the world if it were not that He shall live to the end of days? And, then, how could He say, "come" to the righteous, and "depart" to the wicked, unless He were to live thereafter, even through a glorious eternity?

II. THE IMPORT OF CHRIST'S LIVING FOR EVERMORE.

1. It denotes that Christ shall eternally exist. This is the lowest sense of the words. What is death but a dissolution of the human frame? but Christ's humanity shall never cease to be. The body which was crucified He still retains, and shall do so for ever.

2. Christ shall be everlastingly happy. In the days of Christ's flesh, His afflictions were singular. If His trials were singular on earth, His pleasures in heaven are surpassing.

3. Jesus shall be eternally honoured.

4. Christ shall be everlastingly active. This seems to be the idea conveyed by the term life. Do you inquire wherein is Christ active? In reply, shall I direct your attention to His constant preservation of millions of beings, for "by Him all things consist?" I choose rather to point you to His deeds of grace. Behold Him in heaven — there "He ever liveth to make intercession for us." But His exertions are not confined to the abodes of bliss. It is Jesus "who executeth judgment for the oppressed," etc. But how long shall Jesus thus live and be active? In His humbled state, not above thirty-three years had elapsed, when He said of His work, "It is finished"; but rejoice, O Christians, His heavenly business shall never cease. "The Lord shall reign for ever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations."

III. IN WHAT DIFFERENT CHARACTERS CHRIST SHALL LIVE FOR EVER.

1. He shall live for ever as the glorious representative of God.

2. He shall live for ever as our gracious intercessor.

3. He shall live for ever as our spiritual King.

IV. THE ENDS OF CHRIST'S LIVING FOR EVERMORE.

1. Hereby glory is brought to God. Ask you for a proof of God's justice in punishing? I point you to the Cross, and say, "Behold, the Surety of sinners died." But do you seek an evidence of retributive justice in rewarding? I direct your attention to the throne, and cry, "Behold, He lives for evermore."

2. Hereby a reward is given to Christ. He still remembers Gethsemane and Calvary, but He sees of the travail of His soul, and is satisfied. Oh, what must that satisfaction be, in the mind of the glorified Jesus!

3. Hereby believers are comforted. Does Christ live for evermore? Our justification must be permanent. Our sanctification is made certain. Does Jesus live for evermore? It secures support in the performance of every duty. Though we are feeble, He is strong; though we are depressed, it is He that raiseth up.

4. Hereby the inhabitants of heaven are transported. A gracious visit from Christ made a desert lightsome to Moses; the valley of the shadow of death comfortable to David; a fiery furnace easy to the three children. Oh, then, what will it be for ever with the Lord in heaven!

(E. Brown.)

1. Absolute spontaneity. No being ever died but Christ who had the feeling that he need never die — that death could be for ever escaped.

2. Entire relativeness. He died for others. "He was bruised for our iniquities," etc.

3. Universal influence.

II. HIS LIFE IN HEAVEN IS A LIFE OF ENDLESS DURATION.

1. His endless duration is a necessity of His nature.

2. His endless duration is the glory of the good.

III. HIS LIFE IN HEAVEN IS A LIFE OF ABSOLUTE DOMINION OVER THE DESTINIES OF MEN.

1. There is nothing accidental in human history.

2. Departed men are still in existence.

3. Death is not the introduction to a new moral kingdom. The same Lord is here as there.

4. We may anticipate the day when death shall be swallowed up in victory.

(Homilist.)

(Bp. Phillips Brooks.)

(Canon Liddon.)

1. In a historic Christ.

2. In a living Christ.

3. In a Christ personal to each of us.

1. In a historic Christ. There was such a man. The story of Him is not an invention. Even if it were conceded that everything told of Him is not literally true, He was a reality. His figure is real and palpable in history. Moreover, this man is prolonged into posterity. He has had a vast influence in history. But no serious mind or conscience either denies or deplores that influence. To deplore Christ is to renounce the right to moral consideration. Even if He is not the Redeemer, He has been a vast blessing. He deserves more attention and gratitude than Plato, Aristotle, Dante, Shakespeare, Newton, or any of the heroes of culture and civilisation. He has done more for the race, for humanity as humanity. None of the most precious boons of civilisation would have been here to-day without Christianity, without Christ. He came in and raised a new civilisation out of the wreck of the old. Especially is this so with the achievements of love and their growth. Nobody has ever exerted such an influence, whether you like it or whether you do not. And it is an effect produced by one who went in the face of human nature. He gave effect, it is true, to certain vast, deep human tendencies, but so far as human prejudices and tastes go, He went in their teeth. What a personality! You cannot get more out than was in. If so much has been got out, how much must there have been in that miraculous soul! And how much remains. All this may be recognised by a dead faith, a poor but honest faith, a faith merely historic and intelligent, as a mere matter of observation. But this is hardly faith. It is not living faith. It is not the kind of response Christ died to evoke. On some who study Christ as a mere figure in history there dawns another kind of influence from Him. They begin as historians, as critics; they end as sympathisers, advocates, enthusiasts. They came to embalm Him with their spices, and they stay to worship and return to confess. They can no more be impartial, as if it were Napoleon, Socrates. The ordinary able man may merely discuss Him. But no human-hearted man, no man of soul, can really be impartial in dealing with Christ. Our sympathies are engaged, captured, preoccupied. The historic Christ stirs in humane minds a faith, a response, which makes mere criticism difficult or impossible. His beauty, terror, dignity, and invincibility tell. His love, mercy, faithfulness master us. His indomitable grace survives death and rises in us. He becomes an imaginative ideal, and then a moral imperative. His principle of Divine Sonship becomes the base of a new religion. But this is a principle which is inseparable from His Person. But many separate the two, and are at a stage at which they answer to His principle more than to His Person. They think more of His present legacy than of His present life. Now these have no dead faith. Yet they have not a living faith. "They are between two worlds: one dead, the other powerless to be born." They are much more than critics and historians. But they are not yet the property of Christ, slaves like Paul, devotees like John. They believe in the Christ that lived and was dead. But they do not believe in the absolute Victor, Redeemer, and King, in the Christ that liveth for evermore, with the keys of hell and death. A living faith is not mere sympathy with a historic Christ.

2. When we speak of the difference between a dead faith and a living, what we really mean is a difference in the object of our faith more than the kind. The object determines the kind. Living faith is faith in a living Christ. It is only a living Christ that calls out a living faith. Do not fret yourself examining your faith, trying its limbs, feeling its pulse, watching its colour, measuring its work. See rather that it is set on a living Christ. Care for that Christ, and He will care for your faith. Realise a living Christ, and He will produce in you a living faith, He acts in many ways. He acts by His historic character, and He acts by His historic Church. But still more He acts by His Eternal Person and Holy Ghost. This living Lord is invisible, invincible, and immortal; and at the last irresistible; He acts not only on the large course of human events, but directly on living souls and wills, whether humble or refractory; and He rejoices alike in the love of His Father and the love of His redeemed, and in the communion of both. To realise this is more than faith in a historic Christ. Because living faith is faith in a living Christ. If He is not living, faith must dwindle and die. Do you think you can feed living faith on a dead Christ? What I could living faith go on in a God who could let such an one as Christ die, who could disappoint the confident faith of Christ Himself that God would raise Him up to glorious life? If He is not the living, reigning Christ, He is a Christ growing weaker as the ages move on, and He recedes into the past. If He be not a living Christ, then every generation makes His influence more indirect. More souls are interposed between our souls and Him, and absorb His limited light. The world moves on and forgets Him, moves on and leaves Him behind, moves on and outgrows Him. He becomes chiefly a scholar's Christ. Well, this is a frame of mind fatal at least to Christ's place as Redeemer. It may esteem Him as a Benefactor, but it displaces Him as Redeemer. It clears the ground for a totally new religion. It is not simply a redemption we need. If Christ had come to perform a certain work of redemption, and then had ceased to be, then we should have had in Him neither the redemption nor salvation that we need. We need a living Redeemer to take each one of us to God, to be for every one to-day all that He could have been upon earth to any one in that great yesterday, and to be for ever what He is to-day. We need Him as the human conscience of God to come to our rescue against our conscience. If we were left alone with our conscience it would do more, on the whole, to overwhelm us than to redeem us or support us. We need some surety more sure and merciful and universal than our conscience. We need something more worthy than our natural moral manhood. That is our need of a Redeemer, of a living, human Redeemer, a moral owner and King, a living Christ, a Lord and Master more immortal than ourselves, and the root of all that makes our immortality other than a burden. Yes, to lose the living Christ is to lose the living God. Whatever enfeebles the hold of Christ on the world relaxes its sense of God. It is faith in Christ that has kept belief in a God from dying out in the world. It is never the arguments of the thinkers or the intuitions of the saints that have done that. If Christ grow distant and dim, the sense of God fades from the soul and the power of God decays from life. And what happens then? We lose faith in man — in each other, and in ourselves. The soul that in its own strength defies God or dismisses Him from life, has taken the greatest step to losing faith in itself. How is that? It is thus. What I say is, lose the living God and you lose your own soul, your very self-confidence. And it is thus. Make your God not a living God, but a force, a blind, heartless power, or even an irresponsive idea, and you make Him something your heart and will can have no intercourse with. Mediator and Redeemer! must we not go farther even than that with an everlasting Christ? Yes, one step farther. Intercessor! Steward and Key-bearer of the spiritual world! "He ever liveth to make intercession for us." It is an everlasting redemption, and therefore it is a ceaseless intercession. The intercession of Christ is simply the prolonged energy of His redeeming work. The soul of atonement is prayer. The standing relation of Christ to God is prayer. The perpetual energy of His spirit is prayer. It is the risen Redeemer that has the keys of the world unseen — the keys which admit it to history as well as open it to a man. The key of the unseen is prayer. That is the energy of the will which opens both the soul to the kingdom and the kingdom to his soul. But never our prayer. It is a prayer for us, not by us. It is Christ the Intercessor that has the key of the unseen — to deliver from death, to deliver into fulness of spiritual life. The Redeemer would be less than Eternal if He were not Intercessor. The living Christ could not live and not redeem, not intercede. Redemption would be a mere act in time if it were not prolonged as the native and congenial energy of the Redeemer's soul in the intercession of eternity. The priestly atonement of Christ was final, but it was final in the sense of working incessantly on, not only in its echoes and results with us, but in the self-sustained energies of His own Almighty and Immortal Spirit. This is the priesthood which is the end of priesthood, and its consummation the satisfaction of the priestly idea.

3. Faith in Christ is faith in Christ personal to us. We must have the historic Christ and more. We must have the living Christ. But a living Christ who only ruled His kingdom in the unseen by general laws would be no sufficient Saviour. He must be personal to us. He must be our Saviour, in our situation, oar needs, loves, shames, sins. He must not only live, but mingle with our lives. He must charge Himself with our souls. We believe in the Holy Ghost. We have in Christ as the Spirit, the Sacrificer of our single lives, the Reader of our hearts, the Helper of our most private straits, the Inspirer of our most deep and sacred confessions. That is the Christ we need, and, thank God for His unspeakable gift, that is the Christ we have.

(P. T. Forsyth, D. D.)

II. HIS MERCIFUL MISSION. He came to earth to die.

III. HIS RELATION TO US NOW AS OUR LIVING LORD.

1. Our present Lord. He is with us always, even to the end of the world. He is "our very present help," compassing our path and our lying down; with us in the church and in the chamber, in the study and in the market, in the broad field of daily labour and in the sacred sphere of holy service.

2. Our observant Lord. Reading our every thought and feeling.

3. Our sympathetic Lord. Who can estimate the extent to which the burdens of this world have been lightened, its sorrows mitigated, its loneliness relieved, its apprehensions calmed, its whole life blessed by the felt presence of that sympathetic Lord who is "touched with the feeling of our infirmities"?

4. Our appreciative Lord. He values every offering, however small, that is made in purity of heart.

5. Our energising and recompensing Lord. We are not sufficient of ourselves to prevail against the strong spiritual forces opposed to us.

6. Our abiding Lord.

(W. Clarkson, B. A.)

II. The life of which Christ claims to be the Proprietor is A LIFE SUBSEQUENT TO DEATH — a resurrection life: "Was dead." The death of Christ constitutes the foundation of our hope, the ground of our confidence, and the burden of the heavenly song. There could, however, be little or no joy in the hearts of the redeemed in heaven if Jesus Christ had not lived again after having died. To feel, while sharing the bliss of heaven, that the Lord Jesus was away, would shed a dash of bitterness into your cup, otherwise so full of joy, and dim the radiance of your immortality. What pleasure could there be in the feast if He whose beneficence provided it were absent? What joy could there be in your Father's house if the Master of the house were away? If on Calvary the King's Son had been lost, if He had then fallen to rise no more, yet the victory of that day would have been turned into mourning, the loss to God's moral empire would have been greater than the gain — for it would have been greater to lose a Christ than to win a world. But, thanks be to God, costly as was our redemption, it was not at this cost; for He that was dead liveth again; and, behold, He is alive for evermore.

III. The life of which Christ is the Proprietor is ETERNAL. — it is to experience no interruption, no cessation: "I am alive for evermore." His glorified body is beyond the reach of corruption. Immortality flows through every vein, animates every limb, nerves every sinew. The announcement that Christ would live on for ever was peculiarly fitted to encourage the Church in her sorrow and persecution. Her position at this time was most painful and critical. A dark, portentous cloud brooded over her, and threatened to discharge a tempest of endless destruction upon her. But, in the midst of all her gloom and alarm, the Lord Jesus appears as her Hying and life-giving Head, and announces the cheering fact, "I am alive for evermore." Men, by hatred and opposition, may bring the Church low, but they can never destroy; they may scatter, but they can never annihilate.

IV. JESUS CHRIST CLAIMS SUPREMACY OVER DEATH AND HELL — "I have the keys of hell and of death."

1. Jesus Christ is supreme over death. Look at that poor Christian pauper languishing on his pallet of straw in his unfurnished room. His death excites no interest, and is treated as unimportant and insignificant. But there stands One by his bed of death. It is no mortal, no creature whatsoever, it is not Michael or Gabriel; it is the Lord of Life, whose mandate must go forth ere the soul struggles loose from flesh. Disease cannot destroy him, the fever cannot consume him, and want cannot waste away the life, until Jesus gives the word of command for the spirit's departure. A man walking the scaffold trips his foot against a stone, the stone rolls over, and falls upon the casual passer-by, and the result is fatal. The case is brought before a coroner's jury, and as no malice, no intention, can be proved against the man who tripped against the stone, the verdict is given, "Accidental death." In the vocabulary of heaven no such word is found. Men do not die at random. Whether a man dies with the suddenness of a thunderbolt or by lingering consumption, by the hand of the assassin or by an agonising disease, it is by no means fortuitous, for it takes place by the permission and under the immediate presidency of the Lord Jesus.

2. The Living One asserts that Ha has the key of hell, of Hades, the invisible world. This term applies to heaven, hell, and the grave.(1) Jesus Christ has the key of heaven. At the close of this earthly life every human being will undergo the severest scrutiny. It will be for Jesus to decide whether that spirit is fitted for the world of light and blessedness, or whether justice requires it to be doomed to regions of woe and despair for ever.(2) The expression "Hades" applies with equal force to hell literally. Jesus Christ has "the key of hell." What a solemn view does this give of the death of the wicked! They have rejected Christ, banished Him from their thoughts; but it is His hand, the hand that was pierced for them, that held out to them the overtures of pardon and peace, that opens for them the outer gate of death and the inner gate of hell. A few years since, a French scientist discovered that the retina of the eye retains for twenty-four hours after death a faithful image of the last object on which that eye fell during lifetime. He suggested that murderers might be detected by this process. Suppose a man murdered on the high road, if the victim's eye were fastened on the murderer the last lingering moment of his existence, there would be found on the retina a correct image of the murderer. I do not know what amount of truth there may be in this theory, or what practical results may spring from it; but this I believe, that the last object on which the sinner's eye shall fall before he enters the world of retribution will not be the form of weeping friends, or mourning wife, or sorrowing children; it will be something more awful, it will be the form of a rejected and therefore a grieved Saviour.(3) The term "Hades" may signify the grave. Infidelity impiously assigns the key of the grave to Annihilation, who is represented like a goddess presiding over the empire of the dead, and announcing that the opening of the graves of this lower world and the quickening into life of the dust of humanity is a thing incredible and impossible. But Jesus Christ holds the key. If I am doomed to be the prisoner of the graver this I know, that both the prison and the prisoner will be in the custody of the Lord of Life. He will watch my dust. Not an atom shall perish. He will know where to find it all, and how to quicken it all.

(R. Roberts.)

II. What PRACTICAL CONCLUSIONS the apostle draws from it.

1. In the first place, he draws the conclusion that we have a certain and a better covenant.

2. In the next place, we read another practical inference, that Christ Jesus, as our High Priest, ever liveth to make intercession for us.

3. But Christ our High Priest not only pleads for the pardon and forgiveness of our sins; He, as our High Priest, also sanctifies us. For the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ is the "cleansing of the conscience from dead works to serve the living God." It is the dedication of the whole man — body, soul, and spirit — to the service of his Maker, making him fit to appear in His temple.

(Abp. Magee.)

(R. W. Dale, D. D.)

(Dean Goulburn.)

II. "I AM HE THAT LIVETH, AND WAS DEAD; AND BEHOLD I AM ALIVE FOR EVERMORE." We do not worship a dead Saviour. In Him is life; with Him is the fountain of life. "Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more, death hath no more dominion over Him." With joy He announces, "I am He that was dead." He remembers with satisfaction, with exultation, the shame and the pain, the conflict and the agony, by which He accomplished our redemption. He looks back, and with joy, upon the scenes of Bethlehem, Gethsemane, and Calvary. Never will He forget that day when the quivering flesh and fainting heart staggered beneath the awful burden of human sin and Divine wrath. The Cross and the sepulchre were His way to the throne.

III. "AND HAVE THE KEYS OF HELL AND OF DEATH." The key was part of the regalia in eastern courts. Like the sceptre, diadem, and orb, it was a symbol of power, one of the insignia of high office. Our Lord here claims supreme control, unlimited authority over death and the invisible world. Christ has the keys of death. The grave is part of Emanuel's empire. The king of terrors is the vassal of the Lord Jesus Christ. The doors of death cannot open to receive us until Christ has turned the key. We are a fallen race. Sin, being finished, hath brought forth death. Death hath dominion over us. But there is a consolation for us here — a voice like the sound of many waters cries: "I have the key of death." We do not die by chance or haphazard; the time and circumstance of our death are appointed by Christ our Saviour; everything connected with our departure from this world is under His control. Those doors will not be unlocked till you are ready to pass through them. At the right moment He will turn the key of death, and you will have gone through the most terrible crisis of your history as an immortal being. Through the whole of the time of His waiting He is busy preparing you for that crisis. This life is for you a season of discipline, of education, of culture. Not till the preparation process is completed will you be transplanted from the thorny wilderness to bloom in the paradise of God. But while the true Christian may rejoice in this thought, the heart of the sinner may well meditate with terror. When your measure of iniquity is completed; when by persistent sin and frivolity you have made yourself a vessel of wrath fitted for destruction, then the key will be turned, the doors of death will shut upon you, and in that sad hour shall all your joys perish. The door is shut; the key is turned; you have chosen your lot, and it must be yours for ever. Christ has the keys of death — of the grave. Our dust is in His charge. Over the tomb of every saint He writes, "I will raise him up at the last day." He is the Redeemer of the body. He has set His seal upon it; it is His. Our dust is precious in His sight. His eye follows it through all its changes, and keeps it safely. Our mortal frames contain the germ of an immortal body, and out of the dust of death His power shall raise us up beautiful in His own likeness. As the rough bulb buried underground springs up into green leaf and gorgeous bloom — as the grain, perishing in darkness, unfolds into tender blade and ripened ear; so this mortal shall put on immortality, and this corruptible shall put on incorruption when the last trumpet blows. He who has the keys shall loose the bands of death. He turns us now to destruction, but will at last say, "Return, ye children of men." Christ has also the keys of Hades — that is, He is Lord of the invisible world of the dead. Death does not free us from His sceptre, but only brings us more sensibly under His authority. This mouldering frame (exquisitely made though it be) is but the least part of us; in the tombs of the saints we have only the "shells of fledged souls left behind" — the cumbersome garment of the spirit which it has thrown aside, in order to flee away to its rest in the arms of God. The notion that the soul passes the interval between death and the resurrection in a dreamless sleep, has been stoutly defended by many theologians. The most cursory examination will suffice to show that this doctrine has no foundation in the Word of God. It is there plainly taught that disembodied spirits are in a state of conscious enjoyment or misery directly after their exodus from this world. Over the world of disembodied spirits — where the Boule of the good have their perfect consummation and bliss: while the souls of the wicked are reserved in a prison of horror and chains of darkness, until at the last day they shall receive their unavoidable sentence — over this world Christ is King. From His golden girdle hang the keys of both the upper and lower Hades. When He turns the key to let us out of this world, He turns that other key which admits us to our own place in the world beyond the grave. His saints who die in humble and joyful faith, relying on His death, and resting on His promises, are borne by the angels to the gates of the upper Paradise. He who has the key graciously admits them, and bids them welcome from the toils and sorrows of earth to those scenes of quiet rest and calm enjoyment. Christ's enemies, who die rejecting His mercies and blaspheming His name, shall find His dreadful face frowning upon them as they enter the other world. That hand which was so long stretched out to them in mercy shall thrust them into the dolorous prison: house; and, turning the key upon them, He will leave them to anticipate the overwhelming shame and anguish of that dread day. In His Book of Life He inserts the names of His friends. As many as are not written in that book shall be cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death. Agree with thine adversary quickly. Kiss the Son! Accept at His hand deliverance for thy soul.

(T. J. Choate.)

I. The interests of which we can think of. but never comprehend! The glories of which come only within the scope of one eye — the eye of omniscience. The powers of which rest only in the hands of one Being, and He the everlasting King!

II. A ROYAL TITLE EXHIBITED. As creation supposes creator, and law supposes lawgiver, so kingdom supposes king; and the king of such a kingdom must have a royal title which cannot be impugned. "I am He that liveth and was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore, Amen." This title, observe, does not rest on His Divinity alone; that He had from all eternity: nor on His humanity alone; for no mere man could hold space and time in His grasp; and rule life and death; and be the judge of quick and dead. It is a title wrought out by His incarnation, and inseparably connected with His mediatorial character. The substance of it is the life of the God-man with its sorrows, virtues, obedience. It is written as with the blood of His Cross. The light by which we read it is the light of His resurrection. He was born that mothers might forget their sorrow, and rejoice when a man-child is born into the world. He prayed that He might be the hearer of prayer. He died that we might not fear to die, hoping to find life in Him. And now He has gone to claim His kingdom; He has received it from the Father, and through all its wide realms He exhibits His royal title — a title which all the good accept, and which the very devil dare not impugn. His title to this universal kingdom is our title to the blessings of grace and salvation. And so He tells us not to be afraid, for our enemies are vanquished; not to be ashamed, for our redemption draweth nigh. He teaches us to defy all antagonisms; to claim all needful helps; to put our proprietary seal upon every visible thing; to say, "All things are ours, for we are Christ's"; to open our hearts every day for grace; to hasten on every day to glory; to endow ourselves with His unsearchable riches, and to fill our souls unto all the fulness of God.

III. THE GRACIOUS PROCLAMATION MADE. "Fear not." It is very brief. It is a dissuasion from all fear that "hath torment," from all undue anxiety and apprehension, from all excitement, fore-boding, solicitude, which would bring pain. It affects all personal, all relative, and all religious and public interests. "Fear not" for thyself. I will wash thee thoroughly from thine iniquities, and cleanse thee from thy sins, create in thee a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within thee, give thee the joys of My salvation, and uphold thee with My free spirit. "Fear not" for any among thy kindred and acquaintance of the same family of God. There is a shield over the head of each, a Providence as watchful of every one as if that one alone were a dweller on the earth. "Fear not," amid changes however startling, circumstances however unexpected; for I am not a mere watcher over a broken and lawless world, mending, and checking, and trying to save something from the wreck! I am the perfect ruler of a perfect providence, setting kings on their thrones and watching sparrows in their fall; preserving your mightiest interests, and numbering the hairs of your head! Brethren, it is this "fear not" which often we most need to hear; we do not exercise ourselves in great matters — we can trust these to Him, for we feel they are too high for us; but we do painfully exercise ourselves in lesser things as if we had the sole charge of them. Not now, or not there, or not thus, we are always saying. Not now, we say, when the father is called to leave the family of which he is the sole stay. "Let him live, let a few years elapse, let his family be provided for, let his work be done!" It is done, is the answer. His fatherless children are provided for; I have taught him to leave them with Me. "The Father of the fatherless, the Husband of the widow, is God in His holy habitation." Or, we say, "Not there," oh, not there! Away on the sea — a thousand miles from land — let him not die there, and be dropped into the unfathomed grave. Or not in some distant city or far-off land — strangers around his bed, strangers closing his eyes, and then carrying him to a stranger's grave. Let him come home, and die amid the whisperings and breathings of the old unquenchable love. "He is going home," is the answer, and going by the best and only way. "I can open the gate beautiful in any part of the earth or sea." Or, we say, "Not thus," not through such agonies of body, or faintings of spirit, or tremblings of faith — not in unconsciousness — not without dying testimonies. Oh, shed down the light, the fragrancy of heaven, upon the dying bed! The answer is, "They are there, and you are so dull of sense that you perceive them not. Your friend is filled with the 'peace that passeth understanding,' and safe in the everlasting arms."

(A. Raleigh, D. D.)

1. Christ's power is co-extensive with creation. Inorganic as well as organic substances are the Redeemer's servants, and He is "able to subdue all things unto Himself."

2. This power extends over the invisible world.

II. HE POSSESSES THE HIGHEST LIFE.

1. This is life attained subsequently to dying. He poured out that last drop of life-blood to atone for sin, but He rose a Conqueror, and the King of glory.

2. This life is enjoyed in the most glorious destiny. He is above the tumult of sinners, and is the object of angelic rapture.

3. This life is endless. "I am alive for evermore," is the utterance of a Sublime Conqueror. The immortality of Christ's life, is the pledge of ours.

III. HIS PREROGATIVES AS THE LIVING REDEEMER ARE EXERCISED FOR GLORIOUS PURPOSES.

1. They constitute Him a magnificent character. He is the most glorious Representative of power, life, and mercy to the universe.

2. This character He achieved by His work on earth. Enthroned in pomp and power, He does not forget Calvary; He connects His crown of life with His execution — "I am He that liveth, and was dead."

3. This character so achieved is a mighty power for good. As the life of Titian, or Michael Angelo enters the soul of the student, so does the exalted life of Christ enter man's heart, and elevates him from the dust of sin to the fellowship of God; for "truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son, Jesus Christ, the righteous."

4. The influence of this character is felt in every event that takes place. Our lives are in Christ's hands. There is no chance work about life or death: we are dependent for either upon the will of our exalted Redeemer, who has "the keys of death and Hades."

5. This character attracts to the highest distinctions. The exalted Saviour has not only "opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers," but He attracts them to it by the beauties of His life. "To be with Christ, which is far better" than dwelling on earth for ever, is the experience of all genuine Christians.

(J. H. Hill.)

II. IF CHRIST HOLDS THE KEYS OF HELL, AND OF DEATH, WE KNOW NOT THE DURATION OF OUR LIFE. LET US, THEN, WORK WHILE WE MAY, AND NOT BE SLOTHFUL. Why does Christ hold the keys? In mercy to us, to keep us from agitation and despair. If the time of our death were not a secret, we should have no comfort, and we should be ill fitted for the discharge of our duties. What did God send you into the world for? Not merely to eat, and drink, and sleep and transact worldly business: a beast or bird could live almost as useful, as noble a life. This little span is the threshold of Hades, the prelude of millions of ages in a sphere fitted to your nature, where the soul's aspirations shall not be clogged and fettered, and often brought to nought, by the grossness of this present body; where the thirst for knowledge shall be fully and eternally gratified; where the heart shall drink ever most deeply into the felt love of God; where we shall, with the noble assembly of ransomed saints and preserved angels, find in the presence of God and of the Lamb employment for those vast powers of the soul, of the existence of which powers we are sometimes permitted to get faint ideas. Oh! live for this.

III. CHRIST, THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH, HOLDS DOMINION OVER HADES AND DEATH; THEREFORE THE CHURCH NEED NOT FEAR DEATH. Glorious Captain of our salvation! who could withstand Thee? Thou hast abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light by the Gospel. Death was a curse; Thou has turned it into a blessing. What amazing power! Death was an enemy; Thou hast converted it into a friend. What admirable wisdom! So to baffle and disappoint the plotting spirit of evil.

IV. IF CHRIST HOLDS THE KEYS OF HADES AND OF DEATH, MEN DO NOT DIE BY CHANCE, BUT BY APPOINTMENT; THEREFORE WE SHOULD BE MODERATE IN OUR SORROW FOR DEPARTED FRIENDS.

(W. J. Chapman, M. A.)

I. What is intended by THE POWER OF THESE KEYS here mentioned?

1. A key is first of all used for opening, and hence our Lord can open the gates of death and hell.

2. But a key is also used to shut the door, and even so Jesus will both shut in and shut out, His golden key will shut his people in heaven, as Noah was shut in the ark. Heaven is the place of eternal safety. There the gates shall be fast shut by which their foes could enter, or by which their joys could leave them. But, alas! there is the dark side to this shutting of the gate. It is Christ who with His key shall shut the gates of heaven against unbelievers.

3. By the keys we must further understand here that our Lord rules, for the key is the Oriental metaphor for government. He shall have the key of David: "the government shall be upon His shoulder."

4. One more remark is wanted to complete the explanation of the power of the keys. Our Lord is said to have the keys of death, from which we gather that all the issues of death are at His alone disposal.

II. What is THE KEY OF THIS POWER? Whence did Christ obtain this right to have the keys of hell and death?

1. Doth He not derive it first of all from His Godhead? In the eighteenth verse, He saith, "I am He that liveth," language which only God can use, for while we live, yet it is only with a borrowed life. God saith, "I am, and there is none beside Me," and Jesus being God, claimeth the same self-existence. "I am He that liveth." Now, since Christ is God, He certainly hath power over heaven, and earth, and hell.

2. But the key to this power lies also in our Saviour's conquests. He hath the keys of death and hell because He hath actually conquered both these powers. You know how He met hell in the dreadful onset in the garden; how all the powers of darkness there combined against Him. Grim was the contest, but glorious was the victory, worthy to be sung by angels in eternal chorus.

3. We have one more truth to remember, that Jesus Christ is installed in this high place of power and dignity by the Father Himself, as a reward for what He has done. He was Himself to "divide the spoil with the strong," but the Father had promised to give Him a "portion with the great."

III. THE PRACTICAL BEARING of the whole subject appears to be this — "Fear not."

(C. H. Spurgeon.)

II. I would DISABUSE YOUR MINDS OF SOME MISCONCEPTIONS OF THIS DOCTRINE. You are not, then, in the first place, to confound Hades with Purgatory, or to suppose that it gives, in the slightest degree, countenance to that wretched fiction of the Roman Catholic Church. The two places are essentially distinct. Hades is a place both of woe and of enjoyment, each unmingled in its kind. In Purgatory there is no joy at all, and the misery inflicted is for the purpose of rendering its victims fit for the enjoyments of heaven, and free from the torments of hell. Again, I beg of you not to suppose that this is a new doctrine. It is as old as the Old Testament.

III. I come now TO ARGUE THE POINT FROM SCRIPTURE. I might, indeed, have found plausible probabilities in support of it. It is probable that for souls separated from their bodies there should be a place set apart. God has provided distinct habitations for every other separate variety of created objects. He has provided the land for terrestrial quadrupeds; it is their world. He has provided the sea for fish; it is their peculiar province and native element. He has provided the air for birds. For angels He has expanded heaven; and for devils laid the dark foundations of hell. Why should He not, then, on the same principle, have prepared a separate abode for a class of beings so essentially distinct from every other in the universe, as separate spirits, which are neither angels nor devils, nor properly speaking, men? Separate spirits, however perfect in nature, are obviously in an imperfect or unfinished state. Wanting their material frames, they are comparatively naked; unsheathed in sense, they cannot hold such free intercourse with material things. It seems fit, therefore, that a kind of hiding-place should be provided for them. But is Scripture quite silent on the theme? No; it utters a distinct, if not a deafening sound.

1. Hades, in Scripture, is quite a different place from hell. The real terms in Holy Writ for hell are, Gehenna or Tophet, or the Lake of Fire. Hades is never, we believe, used to denote hell properly so called. It is sometimes used in connections where it must mean some other place — "Death and Hades were cast into the Lake of Fire." How absurd it were to speak of hell being cast into hell! "Thou wilt not leave my soul in Sheol or Hades." Here, assuredly, the term cannot mean hell, else it will follow that Christ's soul went down alive into that fearful pit, and shared there in the torments of the damned — a horrible supposition. It follows, therefore, inevitably, that the place where Christ went down was not the place of final punishment. But that place was Hades. But neither is it heaven by the same showing, since it were absurd to speak of Christ's soul being not left there. Neither can it be the grave, since into the grave His soul never went, and from it could never have risen.

2. The fact that Christ did go to Hades proves that His people must go too; and that He went there is undeniable. Look, again, at the 2nd chapter of the Acts, 31st verse, where Peter, after having quoted David's language in the 16th Psalm, adds, "He seeing this before, spake of the resurrection of Christ, that His soul was not left in hell (or Hades), neither did His flesh see corruption." It follows, demonstrably, that if His soul was not left in Hades, in Hades it must have been. Again, in the 4th chapter of the Ephesians, at the 9th verse, we find the following words: "Now that He ascended, what is it but that He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?" What were these lower parts of the earth? Surely they included Hades. It is vain to tell us that they denote simply the fact that His body descended into the grave. Did His body alone ascend into the heavens? Is not the He who ascended the very He who descended? If He ascended body and spirit, must He not have descended body and spirit too? And if He descended in spirit, where but to Hades could that spirit have gone? If Christ went to Hades, it follows that His people go too. We argue this from His language to the penitent thief, — "To-day shalt thou be with Me in Paradise," which means some place of happiness where the twain were to meet that very day. It could not be heaven, since Christ went not there till His ascension.

IV. But I come TO ANSWER SOME OF THE MORE PROMINENT OBJECTIONS TO THIS VIEW.

1. Some will say: Is not Hades, according to this doctrine, a prison; and how can a prison be, in any sense, or to any parties, a place of happiness? I simply answer: Why should it not? Is not a prison a place of safe-keeping? Are not the innocent kept in prison equally with the guilty till the day of trial? Hades to the good may be a prison; but such a prison as is a house in a day of storm — such a prison as is woven by a mother's arms round her dear babe.

2. Is not this a damping view? I have always, says a Christian, expected that when I died I should go to the highest heaven. But what if you were expecting wrong? Will not the society of thy departed friends be a source of deep gladness to thee in that strange world? It is a mere vulgar error to seek to confine happiness within the compass of even the highest heaven. No; it shall overflow into Hades.

3. It will be said: How do these views agree with the expressions of Paul — "I have a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better; to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord"? And will there not, in Hades, be a revelation of Christ far brighter than the most favoured of His people ever can enjoy upon earth, even though His personal presence be absent? To a disembodied spirit what is personal presence? Can we conceive of it without eyes seeing His comeliness; without ears hearing His voice; without hands handling His sides; without feet standing beside Him, on that firm and lofty ground which borders His great high throne? Is not "seeing Christ as He is" expressly stated to be contemporaneous with His future and final appearance? "We know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, seeing Him as He is." Ought a Christian to have no loftier ambition? Is not a spiritual vision of the moral and spiritual Jesus, of the depth of His wisdom, and the warmth of His love, equally desirable with a sight of His person?

V. BUT HOW DOES THIS CONSORT WITH THE COMMON VIEW WHICH HOLDS THAT WICKED MEN GO IMMEDIATELY AFTER DEATH TO THE EVIL ONE, AND THAT HIS PRESENCE AND AGENCY CONSTITUTE A LARGE PART OF THEIR TORMENT? I am not careful to answer in this matter. I know already that the influences of the Evil Spirit are not confined to hell; they are felt on earth, and they may, for aught I know, be extended to Hades too. Whether the devil in personal subsistence shall be present with his victims there, is a question that cannot be resolved, and which is not worth solution. But what are we to understand by Stephen's vision, taken in connection with his prayer "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." No more, probably, than this, that Christ, through His almighty power and Divine spirit, receives the spirits of His people when they die, saves them from the power of the enemy, acquits them, and bestows them in safe keeping, in the hollow of His hand, till dawns the day of supreme and eternal decision. But has there not been generally thought to be a judgment after death, and does not this imply that every spirit shall, unless chased away by His frown and its own wickedness, find immediate refuge in the "bosom of its Father and its God"? But where shall this judgment take place? Must it be necessarily in the highest heavens? May it not take place in the very room where the man has just gasped his last, or at the gate of Hades? The place of the general judgment is plainly declared, that of the personal and private tribunal is left in awful uncertainty. But again, it may be asked, can it be conceived that the spirits of the just and of the unjust are included in the same place? We ask: Why not? We quote not "Let both grow until the harvest or end of the world," because the reference in that passage is to this world, not to the next. But, we ask: Why, though the place be one, should not the lines of demarcation be numerous, and distinct, and deep? Will not the great laws of moral attraction, which partially operate even here — drawing together similar spirits by a mighty assimilating and converging process — there have their perfect work, and account for the greatness of the gulf which separates the one side of Hades from Abraham's bosom? It remains that we find, in fine, the uses of this doctrine.

1. Is it true? Then it must have its good uses; and then the responsibility of it is shifted back from us upon the everlasting arms of the God of Truth Himself. No seed of truth can produce evil consequences, or fail to produce good.

2. It gives an enlarged view of God's universe. It points out, to those, I mean, who have recently heard of it for the first time, a new province in the Almighty's dominions.

3. This doctrine is cheering to the Christian — cheering both as it confutes the gloomy doctrines of materialism and the sleep of the soul; and as it divides to him the awful ladder of approach to the supreme summit and pinnacle of the heavens. We tremble at the thought of being introduced suddenly, and at once, among the ancients of the heavenly world — into the centre of the circle of eternity — and amid the blaze of those starry splendours, at which "angels tremble as they gaze." This doctrine shows believers an intermediate stage — an arbour on their far pilgrimage — a gentler and a milder light, through which they pass into the "perfect day." Once more, it is full of terrors to the wicked. It holds out to them the prospect of looking forward from Hades to a gulf deeper and darker still, into which they shall yet be plunged. It tells them that their misery shall not be consummated at once, but shall go on by distinct and terrible stages towards its completion.

(G. Gilfillan, M. A.)

I. HE REQUIRES MEN TO RECORD THE REVELATIONS HE MAKES TO THEM.

1. Those which had been experienced.

2. Those things which were now present.

3. Those which were approaching. Now these three classes of things John had to write down. Whatever man has seen, or will see of the Divine, he is bound to record — "Write." Literature, though sadly corrupted and the source of enormous mischief, is a Divine institution. Rightly employed it is one of the grandest forces in human life. Thank God for books, our best companions, always ready with their counsel and their comfort. They are arks that have borne down to us, over the floods of centuries, the vital germs of departed ages.

II. HE EXPLAINS TO MEN THE MEANING OF THE REVELATION HE MAKES TO THEM.

1. The unknown of the knowable. What is mystery to one man is not so to another; and what is mystery to a man to-day is no mystery to-morrow.

2. The unknown of the unknowable. He whom we call God is the great mystery, the absolutely unknowable — whom no man hath seen or can see. Now in the former sense the meaning of the word "mystery" is here employed.

(D. Thomas, D. D.)

1. Which men have seen with the eye of the body.

2. Things which the authors have seen with the eye of the mind.

3. Things which the authors have seen with the eye of the soul.

II. THAT IT CONTAINS THE RECORD OF THINGS WHICH ARE HAPPENING AROUND US. "And the things which are." The Bible records the history of the past ages, of a great antiquity, and in this coincides with our expectation; but it also touches the moral, political, and historic life of men to-day. God knew the ages before they commenced their march, and has enabled men to anticipate their meaning by the gift of a holy inspiration.

III. THAT IT CONTAINS THE RECORD OF THINGS WHICH PERTAIN TO THE FUTURE. "And the things which shall be hereafter."

(J. S. Exell, M. A.)

2. That none should take on them to write anything, as the Lord's mind, for the edification of the Church, without a call to it: I mean not an extraordinary call, as John had; but this I mean, that as there is an ordinary call needful to the preaching of the Gospel, so, in the general, that same consequence will hold in respect of writing for such an end. And if we look through the Scripture, we will find a call for writing as well as for preaching. And to warrant writing, we would conceive so much to be necessary as may(1) Satisfy the man himself as to his being called to such an eminent duty by God, and therefore there must be somewhat to hold out to him that it is God's mind he should undertake such a task.(2) That men walk not by their own satisfaction alone; but that there may be so much as to convince others, that God put them on that work.

3. That a man therefore may have peace as to his undertaking, we conceive there is a concurrence of several things needful to be observed: As(1) There is a necessity of a single end, to wit, God's glory, others' edification; and in part may come in, his own exoneration as to such a duty. It is not self-seeking, nor getting of a name, nor strengthening such a particular party or opinion, that will give one peace in this matter.(2) It is necessary, not only that the thing be truth; but that it may be edifying, profitable, and pertinent, at such a time: God's call to anything, doth ever time it, and tryst it well, as most subservient to the scope of edification.(3) Besides these, there are circumstances in the concurrence of providences trysting together, in reference to the person writing, to the subject written of, the time wherein and occasion whereupon, and such like: which being observed, may contribute to give some light in the thing. As(a) If the person be called publicly to edify the Church; if he be of that weight, as his testimony may prove profitable in the Church for the strengthening and confirming of others, or the like considerations; though no new thing be brought forth by him: which ground, as a moral reason, Luke gives to Theophilus of his writing the Gospel (Luke 1:1).(b) Considerations may be drawn from the subject. As

(i.)If it be a necessary point that is controversed.

(ii.)If the Scripture opened be dark and obscure; and possibly not many satisfyingly writing of it.

(iii.)If the way of handling it be such as gives any new advantage to truth, or to the opening of that Scripture.(c) The time would be considered, if such a truth be presently controverted, or such a subject necessary to be spoken unto now; if such a person's interposing may be useful, if such a duty be neglected, or if such a Scripture be not made use of, and the like.(d) Occasion also may be, from God's putting one to have thoughts of such a subject when others are otherwise taken up, some not having access to be edifying otherwise; as when occasion of study is given, and the thing by public delivery or secret communication is known to others, and called for by them to be made public: or that they would set themselves to it, God giving occasion of health, quietness, means, etc., for it: the thing getting approbation from such as are single, and intelligent, judging such a thing useful; in this the spirits of God's servants would be subject to others.

(James Durham.)

(J. A. Seiss, D. D.)

II. THIS OFFICE IS THE CONJOINT BUSINESS OF THE WHOLE CHURCH. You have sometimes seen methods of illumination by which a rough triangle of wood is dotted all over with tin sockets, and tapers stuck in them. That is not the way in which a Church is to do its evangelising work. The symbol of our text gives a better metaphor — one lampstand holding one light. Now that contains two thoughts.

1. One is the universal obligation. It is the whole Church which composes the stand for the lamp. It is the whole of any Church which is bound equally to evangelistic effort. We are all disposed to think that the Church should do a deal. What about A., B., C., the members of it? It is their business. And it only becomes the duty of the community because it is the duty of each individual within it.

2. A second thought is combined action. We must be contented often to be insignificant, to do functional work, to be one of the great crowd whose hand on the rope gives an indivisible but to Him up yonder not imperceptible pull to bring the vessel to shore. There are a myriad little spheres in the raindrops which make the rainbow, and each of them has a little rainbow in its own tiny depths, but they all fuse together into the sevenfold arch of perfect beauty that spans the sky.

III. THIS OFFICE IS DISCHARGED UNDER THE INSPECTION OF JESUS CHRIST. According to the vision of which the text is the interpretation Christ is, and according to the words of one of the letters He walks, in the midst of the seven candlesticks. The presence of the Christ is the condition of the churches discharging their functions. "He walks," says the letter already referred to, "in their midst," which is the emblem of His continual activity. In so far as we are lights, we are lights kindled, and therefore burning away. There must be a continual replenishing of the inward supply from which the power of illumination comes, as is set forth in another instance in the Old Testament in which this symbol appears — viz., in Zechariah's prophecy, where he sees the arrangements by which the oil is fed to the golden candlestick. The oil must be fed to us, in so far as we are not lampstands, but lamps. That is to say, the great High Priest of the Temple moves as His predecessors did in the ancient sanctuary, and trims the lamps, not quenching the smoking flax, but raising it to a clearer flame. That presence stimulates. It is a solemn thought that He walks in the midst. It is made more solemn when we remember how, in these letters that follow my text, there is in each case repeated, "I know thy works." That inspection of our acts is not all that He is here for, thank God! but He is here for that. Oh, if we believed it, what different people we should be, and what a different Church this would be!

(A. Maclaren, D. D.)

I. IN ITS POSITION. The Church of Christ still waits without the veil, and sheds her blessed light to show to the world the Saviour.

II. THE OFFICE OF THE CHURCH. It does not sanctify, nor save, but it does hold forth the true light, and shed its brightness on a darkened world.

III. THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH.

IV. THE SOURCE OF LIFE TO THE CHURCH.

V. THE BEAUTY OF THE CHURCH AND HER HOLY SERVICES.

VI. THE VALUE OF THE CHURCH.

(J. H. Norton.)

1. That all Christian Churches should be presided over by a recognised pastor.

2. That the pastor is the head and representative of the Church to which he belongs.

3. That the pastor exercises a great moral influence upon the Church with which he is connected.

II. THAT ALL CHRISTIAN CHURCHES ARE UNDER THE PERSONAL SCRUTINY OF CHRIST.

1. Christ knows the Church. This thought should solemnise our Church life, and make it reverent in its disposition of soul.

2. Christ rules the Church. His rulership is for the moral welfare and defence of the Church, and should be obediently acknowledged.

3. Christ passes judgment on the Church. He passes judgment on the works, the patience, the suffering, the discipline, the creed, and the enthusiasm of the Church, and condemns or approves accordingly.

III. THAT ALL CHRISTIAN CHURCHES ARE ENGAGED IN SPIRITUAL CONFLICT.

IV. THAT ALL CHRISTIAN CHURCHES SHOULD BE SENSITIVE TO THE REVELATION OF THE DIVINE SPIRIT. Lessons: —

1. That the ministerial office has the sanction of Heaven.

2. That Churches should be careful in the selection of their pastor.

3. That Churches should seek to cultivate a pure and fervent spiritual life.

(J. S. Exell, M. A.)