The Pulpit Commentary — Revelation — Section 232

Vera. 1--6.-Soukileme, "And when he had opened the seventh seal, there wu ailence in heaven about the space of half an hour," etc. This portion of the dream ol. John, like other port.tons, has Jewish elements of thought brought into strange and grotaque combinations. In dreams there are no new objects or elements of thought or emotion, but old OWl8 brought int-0 unique forms by an ungoverned imadnatioa. Whilst they are evermore difficult, if not impossible to interpret, they are at ail times available for the illustrating and impressing of truth. 'fhe words may be fairly taken to il1U1trate soul-silence, " There was [followed] silence in heaven a.bout the space of half an hour." That is, silence for a time. It is suggested- I. THAT l!OUL-SILDOJ!I OFTEJI l'OJ.WWS GREAT EXCITEMENT. The opening of the seals, the unfolding of the wonderful dispensations of the Divine government up to the close of the world's history, must have excited the feelings and strained the faculties of the spectators to an unusual intensity. The soul-lake was no longer without a ripple; it wa.s heaved into swelling surges. It is ever so in soul-life ; after great tumult there comes a calm. This is always and pre-eminently the case with the genuinely faithful and holy. From the storms of remorse, secular anxieties, and social bereave- ments, the soul of the genuinely Ohristly rises into a " peace that pa.sseth all under- standing." In truth, in the case of- all regenerate souls, gree.t excitement is often the condition of peace and tranquillity. It is not until the storms of moral conviction become so terrible that the spirit cries out, "Lord, save, or I perish I " that the omnific voice, " Peace, be still I " will take effect, and there comes a " great ea.Im." Ble888d silence this I How grand is such a silence! It is the highest gift of man, nay, Divinity il.tielf. " How grand 11 Silence I In her tranquil deeps What mighty things are born I Thought, Beauty, Faith, All good ;-bright Thought, which springeth forth at once, Like sudden sunrise ; Faith, the llllgel-eyed, Who takes her rest beside the heart of man, Serene and still; eternal Beauty, Ol'own'd With :11.owers, that with the oha.nging seasons ohange; And good of all kinds. Whilst the babbling verse Of the vain poet frets its restless way, In 1tat,ely strength the sage's mind flows on, Making no noise :-and so, when cl!lmorous crowds Rush forth, or tedioua wits we.ken the senate-hou110, Or some fierce actor stamps upon his stage, With what a gentle foot doth silent Time Steal on his everlasting joumey I " (Bany Comwa.11.) II. TB.A.T SOUL-BILJl:NCE IS OFTEN FOUND ABSORBING WORSHIP, " And I l!&W the aeven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets," etc. Here begins a new series of visions. The seven trumpets follow the seven seals, a.nd this series extends to the close of the eleventh chapter. The "seven trumpets n are aiven to the seven angels or ministers that stand in the presence of God. .But it ia not ;..ith these seven angels or messengers that we have now to do ; they will engage our attention further on, Our concern at present is with the angel connected with the altar-" the angel that stood at the altar, having a. golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer [addJ it with the prayers of a.ll saints upon the golden altar which. was before the throne. This symbolical representation of worship is derived from the Jewish temple, and it may illustrate to us the fact: 1. Thi¥" the prayers of saints on earth are of great practica,l interest in the spiritual vnitlef'se. (1) They are offerings that a.re acceptable to its Supreme Ruler. "And the smoke ot the inoense, whlch came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God." True prayer is acceptable to the Infinite Father. (2) In rendering them acceptable to God, bis highest spiritual ministers a.re deeply engaged. Here is .an angel standing towards the altar with a golden censer, receiving incense that he might give it " with the prayers of all saint.a.• Elsewhere, in numerous passages of Holy Writ, angels are reJ.!N88nted as rendering apiritual assistance to good men. May they not be ooostan~l7 gomg eo by inbreathillj those heaveulf thoughts t}:lat wµ.l in1pire t)le soul W1th the UTELATION. ' 958: nm·· REVELATION· OF ST. lOHN THB DIVINE. [<lll. vm. 1-lJ. hone-,devotions? 2. That the prayers of aaints on earth eurl·ata lnft11ffl()e on 1M tldg, ~ Una,. We an t.old, "the angel t.ook the censer, and filled it• with fire of the &ltar. and out it -into the earth: and there were [followed) voices,, and thunderings, and ligbt.ung,, and-an earthquake." The ·prayers have gone up, and the sprinkling of the. uhe&.snhward symbolize their effects on the earth. What oonvulaions, what nwolu- ti8Dli,:ttieprayersof the saints have effected.on this earth ere now! and what tlieyeff'ect now they will continue to do. Now,in the midst of all this devotion there would aeem to be ..period of nlfflce. The profoundest hll8b, the deepest silence ,of the soul. are .found in worsh,ip. Here all its faculties work harmoniously,. and all its .sympathies flow, as. a deep nveririthout a ripple on its surface. "The Lord is in his holy tanple; let all the ~•keep silenoe before him." The realiza.tion of the Divine Presence can never fail to hush the 80ul into profound tranquillity, and in this tranquillity its grandest poe- sibilities germinate and grow. "Silence," says an illlllltriOUB thinker," is the elemenlt in wmca:· great things fashion themselves together, that at length. they may emerge full..fonned and majestic int.o the daylight of life which they\ are thenceforward ro· rule.~· , , lll.,TDAT 801l'L-81LlfflOE Ol!"TEN SPIUNGS FROH HlGB EXPEOTANOY, "And the seven angela· which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound." And as the angels raised their trumpets t.o their mouths ready to blow, a breathless. expectancy would be excited. In earnest waiting there is genera.Dy silence-waiting for the last breath of a friend; waiting for the verdict of a jury which decides the deli vera.nce or the destruction of a~-life. Holy souls that now witnessed the scene of the trumpets about to utter a blast felt that great things were coming, that stupendous events were rolling up on the wheels of Providence, and there was " sileoce in heaven about the space of half an hour." What wonderful things are before 118 all! Were we all eam~stly waiting for these things, waiting for the "manifestation of the sons of God," waiting the advent of him who is to wind up the affairs of the world, how silent should we be !-D. T. Vers. 7-13 ; eh. ix. and x.- Be "m,en trumpets : " the re'IJol-utiom of matter and mind. "The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth : and the third pa.rt of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up," etc. We take these verses, extending from the seventh verse of the eighth char,ter to the end of the tenth chapter, together, because they all refer to the "trumpets, ' and are records of a portion of John's most wonderful dream. A dream can be reoalled, narrated, but seldom, if ever, rightly interpreted. It is generally, perhaps, uninterpretable. Pietistic simpletons and speculative pedants have propoundell their interpretations and are still doing eo; and what literary rubbish is the result! But though a dream may he incapable of interpretation, it can generally and usefully be used as an illustration qf great truths. Thus we endeavour to use all these m:yst.erious and multifarious visions that John had in Patmos. This vision serves to illustrate-- I. SollE OF THl!I WONDERPUL . REVOLUTIONS THBO'l"GH WHIOH OUR WORLD Ill 0011- BTANTLY ,PAl!SING. After the sounding of each of the seven trumpets, what a series of marvels was evolved! There are two classes of marvel here. 1. These m the material .spAere; As the first four 11681s were introduced by the cry of "Come," it has been observed that the first four trumpets are followed by judgments on natural objects-the earth, the sea, the rivers, the lights of heaven. What followed the blast of the first trumpet ? " There followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast u~ the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up." " Trumpets," says Moses Stuart, "the usual emblems of war and bloodshed, are ch088Jl as emblems of the series of judgments now to be inflicted." Does the language here Zikt-ally refer to some physical events that wm befall this earth ? From, the character of the whole book, which is metaphorical, this is not likely. But evt1nts of an astound- ing iharaoter are suggested as occurring on this earth. After this the second trumpel; sounded, " and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third pa.rt of the sea became blood." The words suggest the idea of some volcanic mountain disoolourin~ the ocean so that it appears as bl~, destroying a great ,POrden or the creawres that lived in its depth and that floated on its waves. TheD, with the sao.udina of the 5hird trUD1pet, another tenible event oooure : " And then, ~ I mt.,fmt, t.:..;.11J]' TD dVEtATION OF ST. JOHN THE DIVINll. 1159·.