There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south, and three on the west. Sermons
I. ITS FIRST CHARACTERISTIC IS HOLINESS. It is set up in the midst of evil and in opposition to it. It is holy, for it is "from God;" it is holy, for it promotes holiness in its subjects; all who pertain to it are called to be saints. Whatever is not in harmony with true ideas of holiness can have no part in the holy city. II. ITS ORIGIN IS DIVINE. "It cometh down out of heaven from God." The true Church has its fount in him. He calls the first band out of the surrounding darkness. All is of his grace. He gives the Word which is the seed of the kingdom, he is the Father of all. The Church's grandest idea is that it is of God. III. IT HAS ITS HIGHEST ADORNMENT IN THE MANIFESTATION OF THE DIVINE GLORY. But "the glory of God" is the symbol of God himself. We approach the true Shechinah. The glory of the Church is the presence of God. How near is that manifested glory brought to us in the Incarnation! how near in the abiding Spirit's presence! This is the true light that shineth over the city. IV. ITS STABILITY, HARMONY, AND ORGANIC UNITY ARE REPRESENTED IN THE FIGURE OF THE CITY. Here are taught the intercourse, the fellowship, the safety, the mutual interest, of the holy ones. What is here ideally presented may not always be actually found. We deal with the patterns of the heavenly things. V. THE FREEDOM OF ITS ACCESS TO ALL NATIONS is here declared. The gates of the city, ever open, stand to the east, the west, the north, the south. But one city; but all may enter. VI. THE CHURCH IS BUILT UPON THE FOUNDATION OF THE APOSTLES AND PROPHETS. All the living Christianity has its basis here. VII. THE SPLENDOUR, BEAUTY, PERFECTNESS, STRENGTH, AND GREATNESS OF THE CHURCH OF GOD - the living Christianity of ours and of every day, and the whole idea of the same - are set forth in the utmost wealth of symbolical extravagance. VIII. THE INTIMATE ALLIANCE OF THE DIVINE SETS ASIDE THE EARTHLY AND IMPERFECT ELEMENTS. There is no visible temple. "The Lord God the Almighty, and the Lamb, are the temple of it." The illumination of the whole city is found in the life and grace of Christ. IX. THE UNIVERSALLY DIFFUSED BENEFICENT INFLUENCE OF CHRISTIANITY is declared. The nations walk in the light of it, and - X. THEIR RECIPROCAL ACKNOWLEDGMENT is found in that they "bring their glory and honour into it." XI. ITS IMMUNITY FROM THE CONTAMINATION AND DEFILEMENT OF EVIL is indicated. Nothing unclean, nothing untrue, nothing of evil nature, enters it. It is ideal. True. Yet no evil elements shall ultimately be found in the Church of Christ; and, as at first we stated, the earthly is lost in the heavenly, of which it is at once the beginning, the type, and the pledge. - R.G.
I saw a new heaven and a new earth. I. SCRIPTURE DISTINCTLY REVEALS THE FACT THAT THIS WORLD IS NOT DESTINED TO CONTINUE AS IT IS. "The fashion of this world changes" is the constant statement of the inspired writers. We seem to learn this from the very fading qualities of everything that surrounds us. We have scarcely enjoyed the warmth of the summer sun when the leaves of autumn fall fast and thick around us. These have scarcely disappeared when we tread upon the snows of winter; and these have scarcely melted away before the budding of spring again surrounds us, and Nature gives indications that she is about once more to revive. It is not only from Scripture that we gain such lessons as this. We give it to you as a fact, which is proved to demonstration by science, that there is constantly going on, in the mechanism of the universe a similar decay to that which is going on in any other mechanism that you know. You are aware that the various planets that surround our globe move through an atmosphere; and that this atmosphere acts as a repelling and hindering force upon the planets which thus move; and that this hindering force, acting constantly upon every planet that moves through space, must eventually so check the velocity of those planets, and at length so act upon their movements, as to bring the whole of the planet-machinery to a stand. And, in addition to this, you are to remember that science points out to us the fact that in the very centre of our globe there exists a sufficient quantity of igniting matter to burst the crust of our globe, and make it a ruin at our feet. And now for what object is this to be? Is there to be anything in the place of this materialism when it thus falls into ruin? Or are we to reside in a place altogether different from this our world — a place rather spiritual than material in the elements that compose it? "I beheld a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth were passed away." "We, therefore, look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness." In the first place, the incarnation of Christ would lead us to infer, I think, that we were destined to be material as well as spiritual in our final and everlasting state. You are to remember, again, that Christ when He rose from the dead did not fling away materialism for ever; on the contrary, His body came back to His spirit, just as ours shall come back. And not only so, but He now bears that glorified body in the courts of heaven. And we may conclude that if Christ has thus brought materialism up to the courts of God, if He not only walked the earth in a material body, but now resides in heaven in glorified materialism, materialism is destined to decay, only that it may be purified with the fires of the last day. But, again, this is only a natural inference to be drawn from another doctrine of the Christian religion — I mean the resurrection of the body. Thus we come to the conclusion that when St. John saw a new heaven and a new earth he saw what literally should come out of the ruins of the old. And then who can describe the beauty of such a residence as this? Scripture only gives us a glimpse into paradise. Methinks, perhaps, we could not understand what paradise was; we could not realise the beauty of its sounds, the richness of its sights, the glories of its landscape. And so Scripture only gives us a glimpse into the glories of our future home. But in order to make this more evident we would ask you to remark that there is to be not only a new earth, but a new heaven as well. We perhaps could understand that the earth required renewing. It is inhabited by a sinful race. But you will naturally ask, Why does heaven require to be renewed — heaven, the residence of God. But we think you mistake in fancying that the heaven which is here stated to be renewed is the heaven wherein God dwells. We think, rather, it alludes to the firmamental space that surrounds this earth, and that what St. John means to assert is that not only does the earth become renewed by the process of the last fiery trial, but that also the atmosphere itself, the place wherein planets move, where the whole machinery of the stars is at work, that this place too is purged by a similar process. If so, we ask you, Does not imagination at once falter when we strive to conceive such a splendid spreading of materialism as this must throw open? Not only shall the earth, then, be clad with beauty, but there shall come a clearing process upon the air; and this shall so throw open the firmamental regions to man's view, and so render the planetary system visible, as to make the scene literally accord with the vision of St. John — a new heaven, as well as a new earth.II. WHAT SHALL BE THE PRE-EMINENT MARK AND CHARACTERISTIC OF THE ARRANGEMENTS AND INHABITANTS OF THIS GLORIOUS SCENE? St. Peter tells us, "We look for new heavens and a new earth, in which dwelleth righteousness"; and we therefore infer that righteousness will be the characteristic of the future heavens and earth. If there was anything permitted there that was not thoroughly righteous — if there was anything like impurity infecting the region or sinfulness throwing its taint upon the scene, then in vain should we hope for such a beautiful residence. And thus there comes the practical question to ourselves, Are we or are we not fitted for such a scene as this? Fasten not your affections upon things below. Take them as God gives them to you: enjoy them as far as God allows you; but, remember, there is decay in everything you see. (J. P. Waldo, B. A.) I. THAT THERE IS A GREAT CHANGE TO TAKE PLACE IN THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH. 1. The new heaven implies that the future state will be suited to the soul in the fullest possible sense. There will be no night there — i.e., there will be no ignorance there. The "god of this world" will not have any power in "the new heaven," nor will any evil men or false teachers be found there to blind or delude the minds of the inhabitants. The state will be perfectly adapted to the redeemed soul. There will be no doubt there. Certitude will be the mental state of all in the future life; nor will there be any fear in that state. The deep mysteries of the future will not create any fear in the minds of the redeemed. There will be no falsehood in that state either; no one who loveth or doeth a lie shall enter into it: truth will be the very atmosphere of the place. There will be no such thing as a selfish emotion experienced by any soul in the "new heaven." Righteous principle will be the governing power in all. Neither will there be any hatred in the "new heaven." All will be sweet and harmonious reasonableness. 2. It will be suited to the body. It will be a state of established health and vigour. The "new earth" will abound in all the elements of true and pure strength. So perfect will the body, which we shall then possess, be in all its parts, that we shall never be conscious of any evil passions whatsoever. There will be no want in the "new earth." The "new earth" will be richly supplied with all that the new body will require; the new earth and the resurrection body will be most thoroughly fitted the one for the other. 3. The society of the future state will be of the purest and the best. The character of the inhabitants will be such that defection will be impossible. There will be great progression to fuller knowledge, larger views, and more comprehensive understanding of things spiritual and eternal. The very thought of it is an inspiration; what must an experience of it be? II. THAT THE FUTURE STATE WILL BE ONE OF VERY INTIMATE SPIRITUAL ASSOCIATION BETWEEN GOD AND HIS PEOPLE. "The tabernacle of God will be with men." III. THAT THE FUTURE STATE WILL BE ENTIRELY FREE FROM ALL TRIAL (D. Rhys Jenkins.) I. IT WILL BE IN A SENSE A NEW STATE.1. It may be physically new. 2. It may be dispensationally new. Christ will deliver up the kingdom to God the Father. 3. It may be relatively new. New in the estimation and feeling of the occupants. II. IT WILL BE A STATE WIDELY DIFFERING FROM ALL PRECEDING ONES. 1. The difference will arise from the absence of some things which were identified with all the preceding states.(1) All the elements of mental agitation — pride, ambition, avarice, revenge, doubt, fear, envy, guilt — will be excluded from heaven.(2) Death-beds, funeral processions, cemeteries, are not known there.(3) Suffering. 2. This difference will arise from the presence of some things which have not been in connection with any preceding states. (1) (2) (a) (b) (D. Thomas, D. D.) 2. Our occupation in a future state will be greatly influenced by material things. It would be unreasonable to attribute to the future life an entire absence of all those warm and sensible accompaniments which give expression and force to our present being. Christ did not come to take sway all taste for the beautiful in nature, but to refine and elevate those powers by which we apprehend and appreciate the lovely and the sublime. Our capacity for investigating the works of God will not merely remain undestroyed, but be developed so as to meet the requirements of the new state of being. When we have made the material world minister to our wants; when we have gathered to our tables the produce of all lands, and when we have culled from the beauties of nature for the adornment of our homes — nay, further, when we have made the steam-power print for our use the ripest thoughts of the greatest minds, and when we have girdled the earth with an electric band, so that words of hearty friendship may be flashed as in a moment to the uttermost ends of the world — when we have done all this have we yet put the works of Omnipotence to their highest use? Are there not fields yet to be entered, regions yet to be explored, treasures yet to be discovered, harvests yet to be reaped? 3. We anticipate future opportunities to unravel the perplexities of a Divine providence. 4. The new earth, with its new and sinless life, will afford opportunity for the more perfect comprehension of the mysteries of grace. (F. Wagstaff.) 1. The happiness of heaven will be derived from increased and perfected knowledge. On earth our residence is so short, our mental faculties are so limited, our hearts are so carnal, and our opportunities of acquiring knowledge are, in many cases, so few, that the wisest and the holiest know but little either of the character or the works of God. What sources of happiness will be afforded by the moral government of God, when we are permitted to read the sealed book of providence, and by the work of redemption, when, in the very presence of the Redeemer, we gaze upon its height and depth and length and breadth. 2. The happiness of heaven will be derived from holiness of character. Sin and misery are so connected that no mere change of place can sever them; and the mind of man is so much its own place that, if unsanctified, it would make a hell of heaven. 3. The happiness of heaven will be derived from the society of angels and the redeemed. 4. This happiness will be derived from the presence and friendship of Jesus Christ. 5. This happiness will be derived from the employments of the inhabitants. II. THE PECULIARITIES BY WHICH THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN WILL BE DISTINGUISHED. 1. The happiness of heaven will be perfect in its nature. That is, it will be free from every imperfection and alloy that mingles with our enjoyments here. 2. The happiness of heaven will be various in its degrees. There is a prophet's reward, and a righteous man's reward. 3. The happiness of heaven will be progressive and eternal. (S. Alexander.) (J. M. Neale, D. D.) 2. There shall be in heaven no more devouring waves. 3. There shall be in heaven no buried secrets. The sea is full of concealment and mystery. The scientific explorer dredges out wondrous revelations from the bosom of its gloomy depths. In heaven all earthly secrets shall be revealed, and there shall be no more sea. 4. There shall be in heaven no restless existence. The changeful tides, the constant agitation of surface, the winds and hurricanes, the ever-shifting scenery of old ocean are a picture of human life, with its rises and falls, its joys and sorrows, its births and deaths, its successes and failures — fickle, transitory, uncertain, unsatisfactory human life. What, is it possible that all this agitation of time shall some day cease? Its unquiet of body, its tumult of mind, its yearning of soul all come to an end? Yes, in heaven, where "there is a rest for the people of God," a blessed calm, an eternal peace of soul in the presence of God. (M. D. Kneeland, D. D.) I. The existence of the sea implies SEPARATION. The sea, along with its accompanying lakes and rivers, is in this world the great divider. In the peculiar arrangements of land and water on the surface of the earth we have a clear and unmistakable evidence of God's intention from the very beginning of separating mankind into distinct nationalities. For this separation a twofold necessity suggests itself. It exercised a restraining and a constraining influence. Had mankind been permitted to remain for an indefinite period in one narrow region of the earth, brought into close and constant communication with each other, and speaking the same language, the consequences would have been most disastrous. They would have inevitably corrupted one another. Family and individual interests would have come into frequent and violent collision. Their proximity would have been the occasion of endless wars and deeds of violence and bloodshed. God, therefore, mercifully interfered; He separated mankind into distinct nations, placed them in different scenes and circumstances, and effectually kept them apart by means of seas and trackless oceans; and thus the maddening passions of man were rendered comparatively innocuous, or circumscribed within the narrowest possible limits. Another reason for this separation of the human race by means of the sea was that national character might thus be formed and educated — that the one type of human nature might develop itself into every possible modification by the force of different circumstances and experiences. If there were no individuality among nations mankind could make no progress; all human societies would lose the mental activity, the noble competition, the generous emulation which distinguish them; there would be no mutual instruction, nothing to keep in check local evils, and by the better agencies of one region stimulate into action similar agencies in another. And it is a remarkable circumstance that this barrier continued insurmountable while the infant races were receiving the education and undergoing the discipline that were to qualify them for enlarged intercourse with each other. When, however, the day appointed by God to enlighten and emancipate the world approached, the sea became all at once, through the improvement of navigation and ship-building, the great highway of nations, the great channel of communication between the different and distant parts of the world. Christianity is rapidly melting the separate nationalities into one; but the fusion of these discordant elements into one glorious harmony, pure as sunlight, inspiring as a strain of perfect music, will never be accomplished in this world. "And there was no more sea." Methinks these words must have had a deep and peculiar significance to the mind of the old fisherman when we think of the circumstances in which he was placed when he wrote them. A touching tradition pictures the aged apostle going day after day to an elevated spot on the ocean-rock, to which, Prometheus-like, he was chained, and casting a longing look over the wide waste of waters, as if by thus gazing he could bring nearer to his heart, if not to his sight, the beloved land and the cherished friends for whom he pined. The cause of his beloved Master needed the aid of every faithful arm and heart, but he could do nothing. Oh! a feeling of despondency must have often seized him when he thought of all from which the cruel sea divided him. And when the panorama of celestial scenery was spread out before his prophetic eye, to compensate him for the trials of banishment, with what joy, methinks, must he have seen that from horizon to horizon there was no sea there — nothing to separate — nothing to prevent the union and communion of those whom the grace of Christ had made free, and His power had transferred to that "large place"! "And there was no more sea." Do not these words come home to our own hearts with peculiar tenderness of meaning? For what home is there whose circle of happy faces is complete, from which no wanderer has gone forth to the ends of the earth? Heaven is the land of eternal reunion. The friends who bade reluctant farewell to each other on earth, and dwelt apart with wide seas rolling between, shall meet on the eternal shore to separate no more for ever. II. "And there was no more sea." These words imply that in heaven there shall be no more CHANGE. The sea is the great emblem of change. There is nothing in the world more uncertain and unstable. Now it lies calm and motionless as an inland lake — without a ripple on its bosom; and now it tosses its wild billows mountains high, and riots in the fury of the storm. And not only is it the emblem of change: it is itself the cause, directly or indirectly, of nearly all the physical changes that take place in the world. We cannot name a single spot where the sea has not some time or other been. Every rock that now constitutes the firm foundation of the earth was once dissolved in its waters, lay as mud at its bottom, or as sand and gravel along its shore. The materials of our houses were once deposited in its depths, and are built on the floor of an ancient ocean. What are now dry continents were once ocean-beds; and what are now sea-beds will be future continents. Everywhere the sea is still at work — encroaching upon the shore — undermining the boldest cliffs by its own direct agency. And where it cannot reach itself, it sends its emissaries to the heart of deserts, and the summits of mountain ranges, and the innermost recesses of continents — there to produce constant dilapidation and change. Viewed in this light there is a striking appropriateness in there being no more sea in the eternal world. Heaven is the land of stability and permanence. There will be progress, but not change; growth, but not decay. There will be no ebb and flow — no waxing and waning — no rising and setting — no increasing and diminishing in the life of heaven. There will be perfect fulness of rest in the changeless land where there is no more sea. III. The existence of the sea implies the existence of STORMS. And is not this life, even to the most favoured individuals, a dark and rainy sea, with only here and there a few sunlit isles of beauty and peace, separated by long and troubled voyages? There are many outward storms that beat upon us in this world — storms of adversity arising from personal, domestic, or business causes; as soon as one blows past, another is ready to assail us. And there are inward storms — storms of religious doubt, of conscience, of temptation, and, worse than any of these, the raging of our own corrupt affections and unsubdued desires. Between these two seas many of us are scarcely ever allowed to know what a calm means. But amid all these storms we are strengthened and consoled by the assurance that they are necessary, and are appointed to work together for good. Yet still we long for their cessation, and look forward with joyful hope to the region of everlasting peace. In heaven there will be no stormy winds or raging waters. Through the shoals and the breakers, and the sunken rocks of those perilous worldly seas, the Christian voyagers, some on boards and some on broken pieces of the ship, will escape all safe to land — and there shall be no more sea. (H. Macmillan, D. D.) II. NO MORE REBELLIOUS POWER. God lets people work against His kingdom in this world. It is not to be always so. The kingdom of God is in the earth, and the kingdom of God admits of opposition. Strange! But the opposition, even here on earth, all comes to nothing. Men may work against God's kingdom, the waves may rave and rage; but beneath them there is a mighty tidal sweep, and God's purposes are wrought out, and God's ark comes to "its desired haven," and all opposition is nugatory at the last. But there comes a time, too, when there shall be no more violence of rebellious wills lifting themselves against God. The opposition that lies in all our hearts shall one day be subdued. The whole consent of our whole being shall yield itself to the obedience of sons, to the service of love. III. NO MORE DISQUIET AND UNREST. Surely some of us are longing to find anchorage whilst the storm lasts, and a haven at the end. There is one, if only you will believe it, and set yourselves towards it. There is an end to all "the weary oar, the weary wandering fields of barren foam." On the shore stands the Christ; and there is rest there. (A. Maclaren, D. D.) (C. H. Parkhurst, D. D.) 1. Our life is a mystery — birth, health, sickness, death. 2. Revelation is a mystery — prophecy, miracles, Calvary. 3. Providence is a mystery — prosperity of ungodly, adversity of the godly, death of children, war. II. THERE WILL BE NO MORE TROUBLE. The sea a picture of our life — restless, stormy. 1. Business troubles. 2. Domestic troubles — an erring son, bereavement. 3. Personal troubles — disease of body, perplexity of mind about religion, spiritual needs. III. THERE WILL BE NO MORE IMPURITY. IV. THERE WILL BE NO MORE DANGER. 1. Danger from pernicious books. 2. Danger from evil companions. 3. Danger from Satanic influences. V. THERE WILL BE NO MORE HIDDEN LIFE. VI. THERE WILL BE NO MORE SEPARATION. (A. Gray Maitland.) 1. Social caste. 2. National prejudices. 3. Religious sectarianism. 4. Selfish interests. 5. Mutual misunderstandings. None of these will exist in heaven. II. THERE IS NO MUTATION THERE. The only change is that of progress. 1. Progress in higher intelligence. 2. In loftier services. 3. In nobler fellowship. No change in the way of loss. The crown, the kingdom, the inheritance — all imperishable. III. THERE IS NO AGITATION THERE. Human life here has many storms. In how many hearts does deep call upon deep, and billows of sorrow roll over the soul! In heaven there are no. spiritual storms. (Homilist.) I. THE SEA IS EMBLEMATIC OF SEPARATION. Think of receiving a cablegram to-day telling that, say in Australia, a loved mother or child was lying ,lying and calling for you. How keenly you would feel the barrier set by the sea! II. THE SEA IS EMBLEMATIC OF PERIL. Some of the saddest wrecks on record have taken place on our coasts. The sea, therefore, is a fit type of peril. Now "the sea is no more" in heaven, and so there is no occasion of hurt, no cause of danger, no need for anxiety. We move amid perils now. III. THE SEA IS EMBLEMATIC OF COMMOTION. The sea is never still. Even at its calmest there are ebbings and flowings, and sometimes in storm the disturbance is very great, we have our calms, but also our storms. A life of uninterrupted prosperity would be good for none of us. But the heavenly experience is better than earth's best. When we reach the land of light the need of testing shall be past, and the reason for discipline shall have vanished away. And so "the sea shall be no more." (G. Gladstone.) I. The sea is that which sunders man from man. It divides nation from nation, as well as land from land. Whatever the original unity of the race, it breaks that unity apart. That is the very epithet that a Latin poet (Horace), who lived just before St. John's time, applied to it — the "dissociable" ocean. So long as the seas intervene, this is a divided world. The family of souls cannot be literally one; the universal neighbourhood and brotherhood at which the gospel aims cannot be actually represented till the first earth is passed away and there is no more sea. But if there is one thought that lies nearer the heart of the gospel than any other, it is that of the perfect oneness, or flowing together, and living together, of the nations and souls of men. The bond of that harmony began, in fact, to be woven when Christ was born, and the angels predicted peace at His coming, at Bethlehem. We know well enough how slowly the consummation has advanced against wars, crusades, caste, slavery, the complicated injustices and wrongs of a selfish society! Hereafter it will not be so. Hatreds, suspicions, oppressions, cruelties, quarrels, are all to be swept away. The spirit of Christ's mediation shall be the reigning force. So much for the society at large. Think, too, of the heavenly comfort it must bring to private hearts to have all the sorrows of personal separations ended. There will be no empty rooms that feel empty, or deserted hearts. Communion, fellowship, love, the presence of the loved, will be perpetual. II. There is a second character of the sea which probably likewise suggested it to St. John, for Christian comfort, as an image of what is of the earth earthy, and must therefore pass away before the coming in of an everlasting satisfaction. The ocean is all a field of nothing but barrenness. Nobody makes a home on that restless, fluctuating floor. The sailor is a ceaseless fugitive. Nothing settles or abides on that restless breast. All the life it ever sees or supports is a transitional, passing life, moving from one tarryingplace or coast to another. What an image it is of the fickle and transient elements of this world that now is, compared with the fixedness and stability and blooming life of that which Christ has opened! More than this: there is a key to this second part of the meaning of the text in the closing passage of the chapter that goes just before. "The sea gave up the dead which were in it." The sea is a great graveyard. It is the home of the drowned and buried that it has swallowed up by thousands. And it never allows affection to set up a sign where the dead go down. There is no harvest from it, except the harvest of the resurrection. But then, following this scene of the judgment is the new creation, and when the Evangelist comes just after to speak of that, his mind goes back to the sepulchral sea. And lo! it is gone for ever. In other words, dropping the figure, that new world — the Christian home — is all a dwelling-place of life — life everywhere; life without sleep; life for ever. Deselations and destructions are come to a perpetual end. Everything there must be as useful as it is beautiful, and as fruitful as it is fair. You may say there is s wild and wondrous beauty about the ocean; and no doubt in this material world it has its uses; hat neither the gospel in this world nor the evangelic descriptions of the next recognise any beauty that is not the source of peace, or life, or benefaction. Heathen beauty, Greek beauty, cold, restless, faithless intellectual beauty, must be baptized into the warm "spirit of life" in Christ Jesus, or there is no room for it in the heaven Christ opens. (Bp. F. D. Huntington.) 1. The fertility of the earth. 2. The temperature of climates. How serviceable are its gales, and how refreshing are its breezes, especially after the burthen and heat of the summer's day! 3. Employment and sustenance to man. The first followers and chosen disciples of our Lord were chiefly "fishermen." 4. Intercourse with foreign and distant lands. Again, the sea — 5. Affords security and defence for weaker states, and enables them to withstand the entrenchments of their more powerful neighbours. 6. It signally subserves the purposes of its Creator. "Fire and vapour, storm and tempest, all fulfil the Almighty's word." Once the sea arose, "the deeps were broken up, and the foundations of the earth were discovered," in order to destroy the world. II. Some EMBLEMS taken from "the sea." In other words, the instructive lessons it particularly gives. 1. It reveals somewhat of the Divine perfections. Doth it not remind us continually of His power, His mercy, and His judgments? How widely spread, how fathomless! 2. The sea represents the varied characters of men. 3. The vicissitudes of human life. 4. The state and circumstances of the world. III. Some EVENTS either literally or figuratively represented as fulfilled — "there shall be no more sea." 1. No more dangers! no more hazards, likened to "perils on the sea." 2. No more trials, deceptions, errors, mistakes, and persecutions from the world! 3. No more concealment of, or the keeping from us what is agreeable, and of which we would desire the possession. 4. No more straitened limits and bounded habitations. 5. No more estrangement from our brethren. 6. No more separation from our friends. 7. No longer any distance (any of our present intervening barriers) between the Christian and his God. (W. Williams, M. A.) 2. The sea, to St. John, was doubtless a source of fear and terror. The Jews seem to have had no love for the mighty deep. They invariably looked upon it with dread and awe. St. John appears to have shared the sentiment of his countrymen. From his desolate island he had gazed upon the sea in its many and ever-changing moods. His mind associated the most terrible objects with it. It was out of the sea that he saw arise the wild beast having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his heads the name of Blasphemy. It was on the many waters of the deep that he saw seated that purple-clad woman who had upon her forehead written, "Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth." To him the sea was a type of the confederate forces of evil that were sweeping over the world, spreading ruin and desolation; of the fearful storms that were breaking in upon the infant Church. But it was only to last for a season. Gradually the wild instincts of the human heart would be subdued. The fierce billows of opposition and wickedness and unbelief would be hushed and stilled. They had their limits fixed: "Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further; and here shall thy proud waves be stayed." There should be "no more sea." 3. The sea was a type of the world's unrest. That AEgean Sea, laving the rocky island of Patmos, like the great ocean everywhere, was never still. Whenever he looked out upon it, its waters were heaving and tossing to and fro. A picture of the disquietude of the human spirit apart from God. He had felt it himself before he became a disciple of Jesus Christ: he had seen it in the life of his countrymen, in the life of the philosophers he had met at Ephesus, in the life of that Roman world with which, in various ways, he had been brought into contact. Unrest was the sign everywhere. The world was full of a restless life, of longings and questionings and yearnings it could not still. And the sea described that restlessness better than anything else. And John turned with relief from the troubled scene which everywhere presented itself to the rest-giving work of the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ. 4. The sea was a symbol of mystery. It was specially so to the ancients with their limited knowledge of its vast confines and of the wonders and glories of its fathomless depths. Think of the mountains that lie beneath the surface of the deep; of the life with which it teems of the towns and villages it has engulfed; of its myriads of nameless graves; of the secrets it keeps; of tales it has to unfold. Oh, sea! thy name is mystery. And the mystery of which the sea speaks meets us everywhere. Find a man who is not awed with a perception of life's mysteriousness, and you have found a man who has never seriously begun to think. No sooner do I ask, "What am I? Whence came I? Why am I here? Whither am I going?" than I am conscious that I am in the presence of profound and inscrutable mysteries. Why should there be disease and pain? Why do the innocent suffer with the guilty? What was the origin of evil, and why was it permitted to enter the world? Why does a good and wise Providence allow storm and tempest to overtake men? And here is our comfort, that John foresaw a time when the mysteries of life shall be swallowed up in knowledge. No longer will the great sea of doubt or mystery roll over us; we shall know as we are known, the day shall break, and the shadows rice away, and the dark, impenetrable waters shall be no more. (J. H. Burkitt.) 5659 bride July the Twenty-Fifth no Temple Therein He that Overcometh. A New Creation 29Th Day. A Nightless Heaven. 31ST DAY. The Vision and Fruition of God. The Disciple, -- Master, it is Clear to Almost Everyone that to Disobey God And... The Foundation of the Church among the Jews The City that Hath Foundations The Land of Rest The Heritage of the Lord's People. --Rev. xxi. 5-7. Whether God Always Loves More the Better Things? The Impassibility and Immortality of the Risen Body. Christ's Finished and Unfinished Work All Fulness in Christ A Word for the Persecuted Why they Leave Us The Apostolate. An Impossibility Made Possible 'Three Tabernacles' Departed Saints Fellowservants with those yet on Earth. Greeks Seek Jesus. He Foretells that He Shall Draw all Men unto Him. |
    |