The Pulpit Commentary — Revelation — Section 269

tt WBS still standing, though soon to fall-before his mind. And it was to him a aymbol and type of all Israel, if not of the whole Church of God (cf, St. Paul, "In whom the whole building fitly framed together groweth into a holy temple unto the Lord"). He is telling of the Church of God throughout the whole world and in all ages of time. Therefore we may take "the temple of God" 88 representing the Church in its outward form. Now, God has his ideal for this. What is it? The Catholic declares the true Church. to be th1>: great body of the baptized, organized into one organic whole. The individualist asserts that there is no such body that man can know of, but that the Church consists of "living stones," that is, of individual souls who have been quickened into the life of God by personal faith in Christ. And there. are multitudes of subdivisions under each of these two ruling beliefs. But all such out- ward forms will be measured, tested, tried. And what will the standard be to which conformit.y will be demanded? Christ's herald said," Now also the a.xe is laid at the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire" (Matt. iii. 10). By this supreme test will a.11 our Church organi- za.tions be tried. What fruit have they borne in that which is the end of all religion- the making of bad men good, and good men better ? Have souls in such Churches been quickened, converted, cheered, built up, a.nd helped hea.venward? If so, well If not, then not well. No antiquity, orthodoxy, catholicity, popularity, beauty, wealth, or any other such plea will stand if God's Etande.rd be not answered to, and h~ demand for "good fruit" be not met. The axe will fall, and the tree will go down. 2. rhe altar. This also was to be measured. We may take" the altar" as the symbol of the worship of the Ch11rch. .Around it Israel gathered; on it the fire was perpetually burning; from it was tit.ken the tire which enkindled the incense that went up· in the immediate presence of God. It was the centre -0f Israel's worship: there was but one altar fur them all. It therefore does set forth the worship of the Church according to the Divine ideal, and the altar was to be measured, tha.t, that worship might be compared with that ideal. Is our worship fervent, On that alta.r was an ever-burning fire. Upon the heads of the disciples at Pentecost descended fire, telling that Christ's people were to be known by their ardour. And the altar fire tells that worship is to be/M"Wnt. Is it spiritual 1 Does it ascend up to God as the smoke or the sacrifice mounted up and up into the heavens,-symbol, beautiful, striking, appropriate, of that uplifting of the heart, that real outgoing of the soul after God, which belongs to all true wonhip? .And, above all, is it sacrificial 1 The altar was for sacrifioo. Worship that has not this element in it will be rejected when that measurement of the altar told of here takt11 place. .And let no one think that having correct views as to the atonement of Obrist, and me.king mental reference thereto, or verbal, by adding on, as we should, to 11.Il our prayers, "through Jesus Christ our Lord "-let no one think that that fulfils the ideal of altar worship. No; our worship may ring with the mention of that ever-blessed Name, and our views may be of the most unexeeptional sort, and there be not one atom of" sacrifice" in our worship. And often and often, a.sin the Lord's prayer, that Name ma.y not be heard at all, a.nd ideas about the atonement may be very crude, and yet the worship be full of sacrifice, and will bear well the measuring which is to be applied to all our worship. Sacrifice means giving up something which we s.hould like to keep. Was not Christ's sacrifice such? Is not all sacrifice such? If, then, worship do not carry with it the giving up of anything, sa.ve the little time that it occupies to get through with it; if sin be not given up, nor self, nor that which we have and could spare, and our brother needs ;-if there be naught of this, where is the sacrifice? how will our worship bear God's test? 3. The people. "Them that worship therein "-so we read. Now, the Divine ideal for these may be learnt by noting what was not to be measured. And we are told in ver. 2 that "the court which is without the temple • , . meBSure it not." It was to be east out, left out of the reckoning altogether. Now, the outer court of the temple was the addition of Herod ; he was given to erecting magnificent build- ing&, and the addition of this outer court did und~btedly add much to the splendour of the whole fabric. But suoh court had no place in the tabernacle nor in the temple of Solomon or that of Zerubbabel. But Herod had made this outer court in the temple at Jerusalem. lt was thronged by all manner of people. There it was the money- ohange!8 had their tables, and they who bought and sold doves. The Gentiles might come there, though they might not paes into what wu especially the temple, ancl ea. xi. 1-19.] THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN 'l'HE DIVINE. 301