~moor and the din of a thousand armies on the shore are lost all)idst the roar of the lnooming waves. Such was the voice that came to John from eternity, and such a voice comea to.all men in every oondition and in every age, clear and full, bearing messages t;o ~ soulfrpm the great Father of spirits. 'l'rue, clear, full, and CQntinlious though that voice be, it is only heard by those who, like John, are" in theSpiri~:'~whosespirits are allve and elevated with the real and the Diviue. ,, II. THAT .A WONDERll'UL PERSONAGE FROM ETERl'fITY .A.PPEABB TO llliN. "Like unto the Son of man." Christ was indeed the Son of man, not the son of a tribe or of a class, hilt the Son of humanity, free from all national peculiarities, tribal idiosyncrasies, or ecclesiastical predilections. Observe here two things. 1. The scene of the appear- ~ •.• In the ~dst of the seven candlesticks." '!'he seven Churches, viz. those of "Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Phill\tlelphia, and Laodicea," are here represented as " golden candlesticks;" they are precious lights, they bear and diffuse the light of God. Why these seven Churches are here selected and addressed rather than other Churches, of. which there were several, some more important than these, IUOh as the Church at Corinth, 'l'hessAlonica, etc., I know not. It might have been becaUBe they had ln their combination all those excellences and defects, needs and duties, which together represent the universal Church, the Church of all times and landa. It was in these Churches, these "candlesticks," that the " Son of man" now appeared to John. He who would see Christ must look for him in h8 Churches, the communions of holy men. 2. The characteriatics qf the appearance. Mark the description. He w.as "clothed wit;h a garment down to the foot, and girt --.bout, the papa with a golden girdle "-a long, ample robe of regal authority. " His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow." Does the white hl\ir indicate decay? It frequently does so with us. Snowy locks are at once the sign and consequence of declining strength. Not so with him. He is" the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever." " Fire," 1,&ys Trench," at its highest intensity is white; the red in fire is of the earth, earthy; it implies something which the. fire has not yet thoroughly subdued, while the pure flame is absolutely white. '!'his must be kept in mind whenever we read of white as the colour and livery of heaven." "His eyes were as a flame of fire" -eyes that penetrate into the deepest depth of the soul, discern moral distinctions, and burn with a holy indignation at the wroug. "His feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace." This indicates strength at once enduring aud resistless. "He had in his right hand seven stars." These seven stars represent, it ia supposed, the chief pastors of the seven Churches. An ideal pastor is a moral star, catching and reflecting the light of the Sun of Righteousness. "Out of his mouth went [proceeded} a sharp two-edged sword." This is the Word of the truth, elsewhere called the" sword of the Spirit," quick and powerful, etc. The sword by which Christ fights his moral l>attles and wins his moral conquests is not the sword of steel, but the sword of truth. "His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength." "Of the angel by the vacant tomb 1t is said his countenance was like lightning (Matt. xuiii. 3); here the countenance of the Lord is compared to the sun at its brightest and clearest, in the splendour of the highest noon, no veil, no mist, no cloud obscuring its brightness." Here, then, is the wonderllil Personage which has appeared to us, the children of men, from eternity. '!'hough he is "the Son of man," thoroughly human, he has an attitude and aspect that are superhuman. His voice clear as a "trumpet" and full as an ocean, his regal robes girt with a "golden girdle," his "hair white· as snow," radiating ,.tful~ent purity, his feet strong as" brass," his hand clasping "seven stars," his mouth fia.-;hmg out. a " two-edged sword," and hie countenance luminous as the "sun 1n bis '4tren~tn." What manuer of man is this? The symbolical representation here indicates: (1) Royalty. He Li !obed as a king-" ~lothed with a ~rm~nt down to' the foot." Christ was a royal Man m the truest and highest sense-ro"3l 1n thought, aympathy, aim, .:::iarnoter. (2) Purity. His brow encircled with locks white as snow;_ "His head and hi.1 hairs were white like wooL" The only morally spotless ·man the tac)e' • ever known. (3) Penetratwn. · His eyes pierced into the deepest depths of h.uman: '6ieught; they were" as a flame of fire." (4) Firmneu. There was no vacillation·of IJIID'liose but inliexible and invincible. " His feet like unto fine brass.,. (6) ·Dominwn;
"lle .ltad in his right hl\ud seven stars." (6) Victory. His victorJ.88 ar, Baving'the brightest and purest intelligences in h!s posseesi?n ~nd ~t his oommand. bloOdleaa,' · cu. 1. 1_:20.] THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN THE DIVINE. 53