The Pulpit Commentary — Revelation — Section 124

firteeu clergymen, reside in its mldat.- Nowhere else ii ft mentioned. fn Mered Scripture.· This wonderful letter brings under our notice a <:hara.et#' to h adored, at1 ·M«'!IY lo & coveted, and a dtmny to be $01.lflht, · · · · · · L A OHABAarBB TO BB A.DOUD. 'l'his character ia here exhibited as : 1. Hdg. "He that ls holy.• No man ever appeared on this-earth BO entirely and unquestionably pure aa Christ was. He was "separate from sinners." None of his most: malignant con- temporaries oonld convince him of sin. Judas, after the betrayal, cried our.," I have sinned. in that I have bat.rayed the innocent blood." He was, indeed, "the holy, ~be hvailea!B, the undefiled" Son of God.· His spotless and undoubted holiness Ii a mW!t i.neoritroverti.ble arg11ment for the Divinity of his gospeL a. Trw. " He that is tr!Je.• He 1.- true in the highest sense. (1) True in sentiment. All his sympathies were. in accord with eternal reality. (2) 'frue in tpeuh. All his language, was in exact agree- ment with his se:ntimenta. (8) 'l'rue in character. No shifting from· eternal right. • To this end was I born, to thia end came I into the world, to bear witneu to the truth.• He stands in the world'& history, amidst the world's shams, like the sun amidst the ever--abifting clouds. 3. Supreme. "He that bath the key of David." What this mean.a I know not. It cannot mean, however, that Christ in any moral sense resembled the moral character of David. One thing, however, is clear, that David obtained terrible authority over all the resources of Israel. He had a "key " to the resources of the kingdom, and Christ h&s a key to the moral em~ of heaven. Ha baa supremacy of the highest kind, " He that openeth, and no· man shutteth ; and shutteth, and no man openeth." " He dispenses and he withholds God's trea- aurea; he give(! or he denies this or that talent, this or that blessing. In a yet more solemn meaning of the words, it is bis to admit into and his to exclude from the et.arm! kingdom of ~ory. In spiritual and eternal things, wherever there is a door, Christ has the key of it" (Dr. Vaughan). All the doors to human nsefalntlllll, distnity, and happiness are at his disposal. 1I. Alt ENERGY TO BB coVl!lTBD. "Thou hast a little strength [power].• Thill Church had a little power. What wu it.? Not physical· force, not intellectual capacity, not regal rule, but moral. Force to resist tbe wrong and pursue the right, force to serve the Almighty and to bleSB mankind. In relation to this moral strength notiee : 1, lt i& tl111 ~ of true uaefulnesa. "Behold, I have eet before· thee an o~ door [ a door opened], and no man can [ which none oan] shut it: for thou hut a little strength." It is implied that a little moral strength fits a man for usefulness to someexten:t. Henoe the door of opportunity is thrown open to him. Every man baa a mission in life, but he only is qualified to enter on it who has moral strength. Alas I the millions are morally impotent, and they live and die without entering on the prosecution of their great duty in life. 2. It is the energy of loyal obedi~ •• And ban kept [ didst keep] my word." 1'his moral strength· enables ·a ma.n to hold on to duty, to hold on to the right with all the tenacity of life, to .fee) with Job, " Though he 1lay me, yet will I trnst in him;" like Paul to say, " I count not my life dear unto me," etc. 3, It ia the energy fi/ true COlfflJfle.. "And hast not denied [didst not deny] my Name." "The tenses used," says Bishop Carpenter," point back to some epoch in the history of this Church when some heavy trial or persecution arose which tested the sincerity, fidelity, or Christian love of the faithful" Who can estimate the temp- tation wbioh every jlOOd man has in a world of infid,•Js, often malignant, to deny his Lord and Master? Peter yielded to it. What invincible courage is required! Courage like that wb,ich Paul bad when he said, " God forbid that I should glory,» etc.; and again, "Who shall 11Cparate · me from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation?" etc. -4,, II u the t:ntrfJYO/morul lO'IHfl'6ignty. "Behold, I will make them of'(I give otJ the ,ynagogue .<>f Satan, [of themJ whlch say they are JeWB, and are not, but do lie; liehofd, I will make them to eome and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee." Who are those spoken of as "of the synagogue of Satan "? W-ere they the J11daizing Ohristians, or persecuting Jews? Why spend time with ~ h . or other critics, to start sucli an inquiry? No one can determine, nor does it matter; they were moral antagonists to the congregation at Philadelphia. Concern- ing them we are here told that the men of moral strength will bring them to their feet; they will not ~Iy subdue them, but inspire.them with love. · High moral power ia tM highest 10?ereignty that one roan ean wield over another; it 111bduee the heart,; on. m. 1-2'.] THE ,REVELATION OP' ST; JOHN THE DIVINE. 14.l