having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his." In keeping with this we find the nllUlber of the sealed that which denotes fixedness and completeness. They are all there, all delivered, not from earthly trials, but from Divine judgment&; not O!Ul of them.~ lost, Blessed are they on whom this seal of the living God is found •. For note-.. . .. · UL Tam SEALING. 1,Vhat was its purpose and intents? These were various accord~ ing to those whoiµ it was d.esigned sho11ld be affected by it. 1. 'f'l,e sealed ones them- •elves. (1) The sealing should assure them that God would ever keep a people for his Name in the.m~dst of the earth. As they saw the s~al of God upon here one and thllfe another, and as .they remembered how it had ever been so, they would be sa"ed frmn the despair which fell upon Elijah, who thought he alone was left to stand up for God. But.God showed him the seven thousand sealed ones, and so comforted him. And as we behold them now we are assured that such shall never be wanting. (2) It wow.!l mutually .mcouia,;e them. lt would show them that they were not alone; the joy IUld strength which c.ome from the communion of saints would be theirs. (3) It woul<f ~ full of help to themselves; for as a seal attests validity and genuineness in. that to whwb. it is attached, so this seal would prove that their title to be called chUdi:.~n of God a.Jl4 heirs of eternal life was valid and true. And as a seal is a mark of ownership...:. ~~ our gov.ernment broad arrow on all its property-so. this seal was God's depla1·stioq they: .were hill; and blessed i~ that soul that is assured of this. And as a seal sepur~ and.guards, as the tomb of our .Lord was sealed, so this seal i11 the guarantee of <!eliver- ~ce and safety a.mid aU possi?le i~ It ~as this _seal which made faul br~k forth mto th11,t prean of exultant praise with which the eighth chapter of his Epistle to. the Romans concludes. And .similar gladness shall it give to all upon whom this~ is found,, But: 2. To the unsealed tbi11 staling has intent and purpose. 'l'o lead t,bem to conf8BS the beauty of holiness. This bas ever been the mighty converting force. The holy character wrought by the Spirit of God has made.such impression upou the minds of ungodly men that they have been con~trained to gaze a.t it, to admire, to ~n- fess. iµ excdlenee and goodness, and to foel the wretched contrast of their own. lives. and· to long after the like seal of God for themselves. And so it has won many to inqJJfre, to repent, to believe, and.to be sav.ed. "Let your light so shine," etc. (Ma~t. v. ~6). 3, To the minis~s of hi'sfudgments. 'l'hat they migltt spare the sealt!d oue,s. They do. The retreat of the. Christians to Pella ere Jerusalem fell, the protection granted to the Chur-0h at Rome-Augustine tells or it-in the midst of the havoc that Alar~ and his Hu~ wrought upon the rest of Rome, are illustrations. The passing ove'r of the houses of Israerhas been repeated again aud again in like circumstances, and will. be repeated wbensoe.ver such•circ.umstances recur. As the badge of the whiw CrOlill secures immunity in the midst of war to those who wear it, for it is known that they are ministers of mercy, go where they will, so the seal of the living God, the holy, b!!&utiful, Christ-like lives of bis people, have often made men love and honour them 1 prize al)Q. preserve them amid horrors of battle, or of famine, or of pestilence, or aught he$ide. And at the la&t gr1;at judgment-day, when the angels of wrath see the seal of the living God, they wiil pass over thos11 on whom it is found. What urgency, then, iioes all this. lead to St. Paul's well-known words, " Grieve not the Holy Sp~rit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day ofredemption!"-S. C.
Ver. 3.-The wrath-re,,trq,ining power of righteousness. "H nrt not the ••• till we have sealed," etc, These words send back our thoughts to like wor<ls addressed to Lot at Sodom, by the all.gel who was urging him to flee therefrom. " Haste thee," said he, ".l)Scape thither [to Zoar]; for I cannot do anything till thou be come thither" (Gen. xix.). Sodom's ruin was suspended till Lot was safe. The wrath of God was ready to .burst forth on the wicked cities of the plain, but it was restrained until the one tjghteoris man in them was removed out of danger. "Until then,u so the destroy- ing angel said, "l cannot do ll,Jlything." That incident is one out of many more, &11d OJJJ: tett tells of.one of the cbielest of them, by which it is shown that gl)Odness baa gr~at~r power than wicked~~ss.: A.nd this is a very instructive fact, and bas parall~ bniumerab(e. God's recognition of the wrath-restraining might of righteousnesa i,s clearly shown fo the prayer which Abraham offered for those sinful cities (G~Il. xviiL). Abrih!lm believed in. it to llQ great an e;r.tent that be pl0JL<led that if there were ~ty1 Q1 218 THE REVELA'fION <JF S'1.'. JOHN THE DIVINE. [OH, vn. l-'-17.