i'lte work effected is compleb,. The love wbich resteth on believen abideth evermore. To be perpetually an object of redeeming love may well move the heart to joy, and itme the lips to song I But what will the song be?· Let us notice : 2. The content, of tM Mmg. We see at once that '.it is a song of pr&ise to the Lord Jesus Christ. .As the blessings descend from him and through him, so shall the praises of believers rise to him. (1) The Tumour of achieving all this good is attributed to .him. "To him b. the glory"-all the glory. · "Nothing brought him from above, Nothing but redeeming love." He could, as Creator, have blotted man out of being for his transgressions, and ba'n> brought nobler souls into life. But no; he rushed to our rescue, and gave up his lif• to ensure our own. He did all the work, and of it he shall bear the glory. (2) The everlasting royalty is ascribed to him. "And the dominion (T?. 1r.pd.To~)." The word means one or more of three thing8-fltrength, sway, victory. Here all th!ee are included. Infinite might is his, who spoiled principalities and powers, and triumphed over them in himself. The sway of souls is liis. He who, died. for them-and he alone -is worthy to rule them. To this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that Ae might be Lord. .And the ultimate victory shall be his. re He must reign, till he bath put all enemies µnder his feet." It aeems as if this song were th_e gladsome echo of the words, "the Ruler of the kings of the earth." For to this royalty of the Son of God the believer respands in triumphant jubilation. The will of the saved one is not -only in entire acquiescence therewith, but he could not endlll'e the thought.of the world's sovereignty being anywhere else than in the hands of the Son of God. Yea, more, it is the thought of this sovereignty of Christ that makes his heart swell with. noblest joy. For only those pierced hands can be trusted to guide earth's chariot- wheels. Only he who died for man shall by man be owned as Lord. Only this will be his fitting recompense for Calvary's woes, that the royal diadem encircling his brow ahall .be there amid the hallelujahs and praise of those whom he haa re<leemed, pardoned, sanctified, and glorified I How- vast will the "gather1ng of the people be" I Jiow ecstatic their cry, " Crown him, crown him, King·of kings and Lotd of lords "1
Ver. 7.-1.'he outlook: the ucontlcoming of ou,- L<Yrd.1 Tbere are one or two more 'introductory themes presented to us, before we are fairly launched on the exposition of the visions and scenery of this book. In this ve1·se we have a summing up of its specific outlook. The apostolic seer beholds the Son of man enthroned in heaven, and unfolds, in symbol, the movements on earth till the Lord returns again. Hence the view which bounds the scene is this-" he cometh." We propose in this homily to set forth the place which the New 'l'estament assigns to the second coming of Christ, in its relation to the Divine dispensations, to the faith and life of the Church, and to the outlook of the world. We _hope, in doing so, to avoid some evils which have given ua much .concern, and which seriously impede the preparation of the Church for her Lord's return. · We must not, in thinking of our Saviour's coming again, be led to think of him as now absent from his Church in such sense as to leave her lonely, helpless, and forlorn. He is not only near his Church, but in it-the Holy Ghost is her Comforter, She is not desolate-the real presence is in the heart of every believer, in the assemblies of the sai~ts, and at the feast of the Holy Communion. Nor must we let our attention be taken off from the responsibilities our Lord has entrusted to us, by any of the interminable and profitless disputes 88 to the day or the hour of his appear- ing. It may be questioned whether the evil one ever used a more powerful engine for perplexing and injuring the Ohurcb, than by dragging her into disputes of days and years, and so far taking off her attention from the words, "Be ye ready." Nor. will it accord with the demands of our Lord on our fidelity if we allow ourselves to dnft into the notion that the world is getting worBe and worse, that the gospel is meant to be .a failure, that the great work of winning the globe for Christ will never be done by any missionary effort, but will be brought about by the reappearing of our Lord. We have no scriptural warrant for auy such conclusion, and we regard it 88 a most lamentably. 1 A valuable oollation and arrangement of passages on the second coming of our Lord·' 1rill.be fo11J1d in·• The Parouaia.' b7 Bev. J. 8.,BtlSllell, D.D., 2nd edil (Filher Unwin). , OD. 1 1-20.] THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN THE DIVINE: 13