The Pulpit Commentary — Revelation — Section 54

He conquers mind ; he slays not existence, but its curses and its, wrongs. . "Out ,of bis Dlouth. w,ent a_ sh&rp t.wo-ajged sword." (7) BrightMSll. No dark thougpts, clouding bis brow, 1ndicatiag anger or sa.dneSB, but bright looks withal. "His counte~nee was • the sliri shineth in his strength.'' ·. This Man was the. greatest gltf. of Heaven 'to,tbe . l'll.Oe. In ,him dwelleth not ~miy all the 'fulness of wha.t is purest and grandllBt in human nature, but all" the fulness of the Godhead bodily.'' · ·. III. 'lBAT A WONDERFUL nlPBESSION FBOlll ETERNITY IS HADE UPON llAN. '!,A.nd ,then I saw him, I fell at his feet as (one] dead." It is a physiological fact that a · sudden rush of strong emotions will stop the heart and arrest the current of life in. ite )low,. What were John's emotions? Was there amazement, Was he a.mazed'at seeing One whom he loved above all others, and with whom h.e ha.d parted, some few years before, on the :Mount of Ol1ves, when a cloud receiv~ him out of sight, 'now in form sublimely unique and overwhelmingly majestic? Was it dffil<l, Was · he terror-struck at: the marvellous apparition? Was it remorse. 1 Did t'he e:lfulgenoe of its purity quicken within hi!Il such a sense of guilt as li.!led him with self-loathing and horror ? I know riot. Perhaps all these emotions blended in a tidal rush that physically paralyzed·him for a while; When Isaiah, in the temple, saw the Lord on high and lifted up, he exclaimed, " Woe is me l for I am undone." When Job heard the voice speaking ou.t of the whirlwind, he exclaimed," I abhor myself in dust and ashes." When Christ appeared to Peter, he cried out," Depart from me; for I am a sinful man;, O:Lord;'" ··· When the Roman ruffians, in the garden of Gethsemane, saw the ·moral majesty q1:1'hls brow, and beard his words, such emotions rushed up within · tlien,: as .stopped their hearts, and they " went backward and fell to the ground." Et.emity is C011Sta.ntly makin,goolemn impressions upon man. hi most cases, perhaps, the impressioni'are' superficia1 and fugitive, but frequently in certain seasons and con'." · ditions·of lire they are terrible beyond,description. There are but few men who have µ.ot felt at times ·something of the moral terrors of Elipbaz: "In thonghts from the visions-of'the night, when deep sleep falleth on men, feat came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones t:.o sha1i:e." No impressions, however, from eternity are so deep and salut!lry as those conveyed to the heart by profound meditations on the ·doctrines, the history, ·and the cbaT&Cter of Christ. Such impressions are the means by which the all-loving Father ·renews the moral character of lus children and makes them meet for bis everlasting fellowship and service.-D. T.