out doubt they do. And, therefore, the lssacm of tn, whole, which in ver. 6 the Lord himself solemnly interposes t.o teach his Church, ia for us to-day aa for them of old. " &hold," he says, " I come as a thief." Many there were, many now are, in open 8880Ciation with his people who are not really of his people. 'l'o such especially he addresses bis warning word. 'l'he time of trial, of his judgment, will come thief-like- auddenly, unexpectedly, stealthily, surprisingly, with hostile inient-to those who do llOt watch. For these will be as a man who has laid himself down to sleep, and has put off his clothes. And so the &ud<len coming of the thief finds him unclothed. All which means that we are never to allow ourselves to be separated from Christ. We are to abide in him whom we profess to have "put on," nenr to put off. The love, faith, and fear of him are to be our garments, the Christian state and condition, in which we are always to be. Now, he who doPs not watch puts off, if, indeed, he enr really put on, that state. And hence, when trial comes, he will be detected, exposed, and scorned. for the pretended, but n,)t real, Christian, which he really is. Abuu in <Jhriat, then, is the word to us all, and we need fear no eonfilct, nbt even me fien:est, which our foe may wage.-8. C. Vers. 5-7.-The DiviM rigliteous Judgmentt. The spiritual aspects of these judg• ments must be especially kept in view. For under the veil of outward things the invisible and spiritual thingB are represented. The entire symbolism of the.se verses, and, indeed, of the whole section, plainly shows- . I. 'l'Ju.T .JUDGMKNT PROCEEDS FROM Goo. 'l'heyare the judgments of the" Lord God. the Almighty." "Righteous art shou, which art and which wast, thou Holy One• because tbou didst thus judge." IL THAT THB .TUDGMENTS ASSUME THB FORlll OF WRATBJ!'UI, INDIGNATION. "In them is finished the wrath of God." "Seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever." 'l'he terribleness of that " wrath" must be gathered from the character of the symbols of its expression. The nature of that " wrath" m1111t be ascertained from the teachings on the nature of him whose "wrath" it ia. Ill. THAT THE JUDGMENTS ARE CHARACTERIZED BY GREAT SUFFERlN86 ON Tl!E Pil'l! OF THEM ON WHOM THl!lY ARB INl"LICTJID. Here, doubtless, tho spiritua.l is represe.o.ted by the visible and material. IV. THAT THESE JUDGMENT8 ARE JUSTLY AND RIGHTEOUSLY INl'LICTED. "Righteous art thou, which art and which wast, thou H"IY One, because thou didst thus judge;,. •• Rightwus and true are thy ways, thou King of the ages;" " Yea, 0 Lord God, the Almi~hty, trne and righteous are thy judgments." From these direfol words we musi exclaim truly," It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God," when he ariseth to judgment. How definire is the call to men : 1. To guard against that devotion to evil which is" worshipping the beast and his image." 2. To the faithful to await with awe the final judgments of God upon the enemies of the truth, when he will "separate the just from the unjust," when "the tar011 shall be cast into the tire "!-R. G. Ver. 12.-" The great rillflr, the Eaplvrates." The details of the wonderful symbolism of this book must find their interpreta.tion, if it be needful, a.t the hands of the expositor. For the purposes of homiletic teaching, selections only can be treated. Of the parts of this chapter which serve our purpose we select the pouring forth of the "sixth vial," or "bowl." The whole bvok has but one burden-the confilct of the two kingdoms, light and darkness, Christ and Belia!, good and evil in the world. It embraces the painfulness of the struggle to all men; the safety of the faithful under the Divine keeping; the judgment of God upon the evil ones, and the crushing of the kingdom of evil; and finally the perfect triumph of the Lamb, and of all who are ill him or with him, and their perfect, undimmed, and eternal blessednesa. These principles run, like a golden thread, through all the book. They belong to all time, and to all the varying conditions of the Church. To affix them to one period only is a grievous limitation that overlooks the world-wide use of the book, and turna into a mere temporary history what is an embodiment of ever-active principles. We can see no individual and 'no particular clu8ter of individuals represented to whom the wor,1a of the book mu&t be limited in their application. There is a sequence in the ordtr cm. xn. 1-21.} THB REVELATION OJ! ST. JOHN TBB DIVINE. 4.oo
of event.a, but we can aee no history and no chronology in any true or precise sense ; but the reiteration of the same truth so deeply needed by the early Church, and so applicable to the Church in all ages and in all it& varying conditions. Wi~ these views we proceed to interpret the present symbol-th& drying up of the river, the great river "Euphrates "--1U1d the coming forth of "three unclean spirits, u it were frogs." · What the latter are is told in language that approaches to the literal and realistic. "They are spirits of devils, working signs; which go forth unto the kings of the whole world, to gather them together unto the war of the great day of God, the Almighty." Our inter1:1retation of these symbols leads us t9 see the final nmoual of all hindraru,es to the per:fact development of the antagoni,tic ,pint of"" 1171d error. That the symbols have a cumulative, an incniasing force. aeelllll moat obvioua I this sign is •~reat aud marvellous;•• this is the prepara.tion for "the war of the greai day of God. The effectual conquest can only be made when all let and hindrance shall have been taken off the enemy. Error must fully develop itself. The utmost malignity of evil must be revealed. "The way" must be "made ready for the kings that come from the sunrising." Doubtless in the great human history all forms of error and evil shall present themselves to '' the truth," and the truth shall viodicate itaelf in presence of all. Foul sin shall put forth its utmost vileness; but righteous- ness shall hold its own, and be finally triumphant. Thus is "revealed the lawless one, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of his mouth, and bring to nought by the manifestation of his coming" (2 Thess. H. 8). The enemies of." the Church of the• living God "-that is, and must be, the Uving (JhurcA of God-shall be r ~bed. That they may be so crushed, let the way for their coming be opened. Com- forting is thill word of assuring, confident faith. The "little flock" need not fear, even though their enemies b11 let loose. 'l'he practical lessons are simple. The ecene urg- 1. 'l'o FIDELITY TO THE RIGHT, EVEN THOUGH EVIL GAIN POW&R. Jl. To FEARLESSNESS IN PRESENCE OF THE GREAT FORCES OP EVIL. Ill. To A PATIENT ENDURANCE OF THE OPPRESSION OF EVIL. lV. To ASllURANC:E OF ULl'llilAl E VlOTORY1 FREEDOM:, AND PEAOB.-R. G. 0