We have in the text —
I. An Invitation to Christ to come, presented by
(1) The Spirit.
(2) The Bride.
(3) The Hearer.
II. An Invitation to come to Christ, addressed to
(1) The Thirsty.
(2) The Willing.
The Invitation to Christ.
The invitation is given (1) by the Spirit, (2) by the Bride, and (3) by the Hearer. The Spirit and the Bride are not identical, as if the Spirit simply spoke through the Bride, that is, the Church. And yet the writer of the Apocalypse does not mean that the Spirit, as the third Person in the Trinity, gives the invitation directly to the second Person to hasten His coming. By the Spirit, St. John means those who are especially endowed with the spirit of wisdom and of utterance. There was in the Early Church a distinct order or school of " prophets " to whom the word of the Lord came, as it came to the prophets of the old dispensation. But it did not come from without. The word was in their heart. It was the Spirit within them ; it was the Spirit of God express- ing itself by them. People, says Dr. W. M. Macgregor, had the * 0. A. Scott, The Book of the JRevelation, 336.
REVELATION xxn. 17 415
wisdom and the courage in those days to believe that in their lowly gatherings the voice of God was sometimes heard. When plain men spoke above themselves, in words all depth and fire and essential insight, speaking so as to catch their fellows up to God, it was reverently confessed that the Spirit of God was speaking ; and on the lips of these men, who for the moment had the inspired utterance, the recurring word was, " Come, Lord Jesus." Then the Bride, the whole Church of Christ, joined in the invita- tion. And last of all the hearer, every hearer of this book ; not only the Church in her ideal unity, but each individual member of every Christian congregation where the book shall be read is invited to demand the fulfilment of the Lord's promise, " Behold, I come quickly."
1. The Spirit says, Come. — It is true that the spirit of this world and age does not speak thus. The more it strives after ease and comfort in this life, the further it is from wishing to have the present state of things ended by the coming of the Lord. But the Spirit of God and of Christ, which is meant here — the true spiritual life- throb of the children of God ; the power of faith and salvation, of hope and patience, by which they fight their way victoriously through this world — this Spirit cries at all times. Come, Lord Jesus ; come to our aid in every difficulty ; come and advance Thy Kingdom; even by the very obstacles raised by Thine enemies come, and by Thine advent make an end to all sorrow and suffering! This Spirit, emanating as it does from eternity, implants in our hearts a holy longing after this eternity, and is itself the innermost strength of this holy longing, of this love for the Lord and His appearing. It is this same Spirit that creates a deep yearning for freedom from all the bonds of sin and death, and for entire unity with the Lord ; that creates the burning desire to see the Church of Christ healed of all schisms and corruption, and the honour of the glory of the Lord made manifest before the whole world, and incontest- ably established for all eternity. Thus does the Spirit continually incite to the prayer, " Come, Lord Jesus ! "
^ In what respect the kingdom^ of the world, and the glory of them, differ from the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory, which are God's forever, is seldom, as far as I have heard, intelli-
4i6 COME
gibly explained from the pulpit ; and still less the irreconcilable hostility between the two royalties and realms asserted in its sternness of decision. Whether it be, indeed, Utopian to believe that the kingdom we are taught to pray for may come — verily come — for the asking, it is surely not for man to judge ; but it is at least at his choice to resolve that he will no longer render obedience, nor ascribe glory and power, to the Devil. If he cannot find strength in himself to advance towards Heaven, he may at least say to the power of Hell, " Get thee behind me " ; and staying himself on the testimony of Him who saith, " Surely I come quickly," ratify his happy prayer with the faithful " Amen, even so, come, Lord Jesus." ^
Lo as some venturer, from his stars receiving
Promise and presage of sublime emprise, Wears evermore the seal of his believing
Deep in the dark of solitary eyes,
Yea to the end, in palace or in prison,
Fashions his fancies of the realm to be, Fallen from the height or from the deeps arisen,
Ringed with the rocks and sundered of the sea ; —
So even I, and with a pang more thrilling, So even I, and with a hope more sweet,
Yearn for the sign, 0 Christ ! of Thy fulfilling, Faint for the flaming of Thine advent feet.^