The Pulpit Commentary — Revelation — Section 91

llb.tagonistic tbose circumstances may be. Qw, benevplent M~ pas in vested all mwal IIDWds with the power not only ttO rise abQve eJ:ternltl oirc~tanCeEI, ,but, t\>: iub- ordbmte· the·most hostile to their advan~ge. 2.- That the eye of <Jlariat f'(!COg'fl,'H!f/8.611~ part of a man's character, whether good. or bad. In all characters, even the beat, t}le,.a is a mingling of the good and bad, and the elements of each are recognized. Mark what i• ,here said ·ooneeroing the good of the Ohuroh at E.phesus. " Thou holdest fast flly Name, and hast not denied my faith." Mark also what is said concerning the,evi) m them. It would seem that they did ·not sufficiently resist the wrong. "I have.a· few things against thee, because thou hast there .them that hold the dootrine of Balaam, who taught Balao to cast a stumbling-block before the child,ren of Israel, to eat things t1acriftced unto jdols, and to commit fornication." . It would seem from thi~ ,that..they might have done more than they did in expelling by moral force suck base and ,pet- nieious ch&l'!Wters frooi their midst. So far as they failed they were defectj,v~. ui, faith,, zeal, and oourage. Thus Christ marks the evil and the good in the chata.ctecu:,i.,h,ia discipl~.approving the one.and reproving the other.. , .. , ,, , . · : -, . , -. ;, :III., A BEFORHA~IVE. DEMAND. " Repent; or else I will oome unto; thee.~ 1. Repentance is wwr:al reformation. It is not a !llere change fa. theological ,,oolief, in putward conduct, or in ecclesiastical relations and rituals, but in the heart, in the ;master <lisposition of the soul. It is the turning of the whole from the selfish to the benevolent,.from the wrong to the right. It is, moreover, a law binciirig on all men. His word commands ma.n everywhere to "repent." It is 1;he neces.sity of all' men. "Unless ye repent ye shall all likewise perish." 2. Repentance is an urgent MeeaSity. '' Repent.;,for else I will <:oroe unto thee quicltly." I will come in, retributi~e jµstice, and that qu.iokly-quick as the lightning. '' I will fight agp.inst them with thEl' sword ofmy mouth,"' Not a material sword, but a mwal. ,His word has a.power-to destmy as well as to eave. A word of his oan annihilate the univer!Nil, He baa only,to will, and it is done. His word carries fatal pestilences, devastating storms, and blighting famines. , What an argument of terror is tbis. urging the duty of moral reformation I u 'IW.' A PROMlBE OF BLEBBEDNEss. "He that bath an ear, let him h11ar wht\t the ,6pirit sa.ith:unto the Churches; To him that overcometh will I give, to eat ,of .the hidden .manna, and will give him a white .stone, and in the atone a new name written, which -DO man knoweth saving he that Teeeiveth it." 'fhe,µi:omises· here made by the Spirit ,are to a certain class-those .who have .conquered. . Who are the conq\lerors iQI ,Uf~s battle? Not tho8'3 who by sword or bayonet or any deadly instrmnentl! ha.ve d_~roye4 the mortal lives of men. Such are not the victors, but victims. tQ ,theii:- .owu v.ani.tJ,. am:bition,-greed, and brutal passions., !fhe real conquerors in lif;i's qattle ~ t}l,O!lflrtvho oonquer all-the .tJvil1dn· .their, QW1I, ,nature, and get, th1Hnl\Ste~y over -aU theii: .-pulsee and passions, He is the sublimest conqueror wh0i!J11o1111rushed mqst.of,the.~gs and ,eilils·oOiftf. Two blessings am.here promised ~ suoh. 1 . .T/iechoi;:est: nourishmerit. The•" bidden manna." "I will give· to eat .of the hi<lilen man,na." •'.l.'hough they absent themselves from the sumptuous feasts o( idolatry, referred• to in the. previous .verses, they shall have food far better-the "hidden ma1111&." .Food lulfils two functions-it satis:fies and it strengthens. The best .fOQd ..is tha.t ,wl\ich sqpplie!:!. the mOit happiness and .the most vigour.. This "hidden ,rpiµiµa," which, u Clirist, does this. - (1) His doctrines are bread to the intellect. '£}lay are full of noUJish;m,ent for the, l!Ilental powers. (2) It is fellowship-is bread to the. heart.. Loving intercourse with 'him will develop, strengthen, and gladden all the; sympathies of the h!lN,'t,,, (~ His spirit is bread to the whole life. To partake of, hl.s spirit, thtil spirit of sllpreme love to ,God, consecration to the true and the right, and ui;i_iv11rsal sympathy; with Jl'l~, is to:get that wihich, will invigorate ev!lry.facu.lty and 1i_pre, of our being. His, 11,pjrit ·,jsiudeed the strength,of humanity. It is the moral wine that give11 at.once the highe~t elevation' :to .soul, and. the strongest oharacter, ."He-that ee,tet]J.., !Ile ''.-,-my moral spirit-"even he shall li11e ,by me." .It promises: 2. The highest distinct~ (1) The sign of distinotion; 'f,A white.st.one.'' "Perhaps," says :Qr, Tristram, ",t~ white ·stone,, the pure and sparkling· dianiPnd. may be pl!¥li:d .in contrast , w:i,tli, tll!I Ql1an:QS .SU'Pplied to the votaries of lEsculapius, w.1t~ the o~b~t~. ~haracteis l~r~~ :o.. Q, ,them, ~na which were worn,as amulets to protect them fr.om,duiease. This ,ijp}TltQ!ll ,11t;onjj, inBCtibedi like the Urim, .with a name which no m11,n knE\w, may M. fort).l itl),p reve!a.tio11 ,which.the l.ord will make .to his faithful.people~ of myste~it:11 hid9$!1 l>Elfille froJU, ki.zli,s oa. n. 1-29.] THE ltEVELATION, OF ST. JOHN THE· DIVINE. 108