The Pulpit Commentary — Revelation — Section 413

JL BY WHOK. A goodly company is presented to our view. For: 1. " Mueh people lfl hea'IIM" ware seen by St. John, and he heard the" great voice" of their united praise. And as they beheld the proof of their ancient adversary'11 utter overthrow, in that "the BD1oke" of the fire by which his city was consumed "rose up for ever and ever:,• then their praise burst forth again : "and again they said, Alleluia" (ver. 3). 2. And next, the nprese-nlatives ef th6 whole Ohurch. of God, "the twenty-four elders," and the repre- eentatives of the creation of God, "the four living creatures "-join in this praise, and proatrating themselves worship him, Mying, "Amen; Alleluia." 3. Then is heard "I.\, f1<lice f!! a great multitude n (ver. 6), and the sound of their praise was as vast in volume and force as that of the many waters of the much-resoundillg sea, or the deep renr- berating thunders which roll amidst the clouds of heaven. Blessed it is to see the great throng of those who render this praise; let us be thankful for the multitude of the aaved, but mindful, too, that not one was there, whether small or great, but were "servants" of God, and feared him. IIL How. The words which express their gratitude and joy are worthy of our care- ful: heed. 1. Alleluia. Here alone in the New Testament is this word found, where it is repeated fonr times. It is borrowed from the Psalms, of which fifteen either begin or end with "Hallelujah." In Ps. civ. 35 it is first found, and allusion seems to be made here to that passage. "The sinners shall be consumed from the earth, and the wicked shall be no more. Praise the Lord, 0 my soul. Hallelujah." Thus in the dark timee of old· the Church sustained her faith by these holy songs, and now the redeemed in heaven, having realized what then was but hoped for, lift again their "Hallelujah.., The praises of earth are prophetic of and preparatory to the praises of heaven. 2, Then oomes the ascription to the Lord of salvation. It is meant to affirm that salvation la of the Lord. There had been times when their faith faltered and well-nigh failed amid the darkness and distress of their earthly lot. But now they know and they acknow- ledge that salvation is of the Lord. And of him only. It is all due to him. 3. Gl-Ory. Of this, too, there had at one time been sad misgiving. For the cause of God seemed · to be everywhere suffering defeat. The world seemed everywhere to win, and the Name of God to be held in contempt. The glory did not seem to belong to God, but to some other. But now all doubt was gone. 'l'he glory was the Lord's. His foes had made war with him, but had suffered complete overthrow at his hands. 4-. Power. This also was now evidently the Lord's. Sometimes it had seemed as if the might and malice of the devil were too strong to be overcome. But now it was certain. "Salvation, and glory, and power belong to our God." And all this they repeat, and with them the elders and the living creatures unite. Thus in innumerable throni, with loud acclaim aud llliih deepest, holiest love, they render praise to the Lord, to wh1om they owe their all, and to whom, therefore, all praise is due. Let us lis•en to this glorious praise, this heavenly hallelujah, and learn to doubt our doubts and deny our denials; learn that salvation is of the Lord, and glory and power likewise, howenr much our unbelieving hearts may q1iestion and fear and faint. IV. -WHEREFORE. A threefold cause is given. 1. The judgment of the harlot-city. For (1) she had made others sin; she had i:orrupted the earth with her abomination. She had, by her emisaaries, spread her deadly influence fa.r and wide, poisoning the springs of life, making them fountains of evil and sin. Ah, how differently we judge here on earth! li a bad, depraved, vicious man-a corrupter of youth, a poisoner of men's moral life-live amongst us, and he be but wealthy as this harlot was, and has, like her, pleasing and attractive manners, we condone his wickedness and make all manner of excuse for his sins. But not so with the saints of God. And (2) she had shed the blood of God's saints. 'fhose who were the salt of the earth she had put out of the way; those who were the light of the world she had ruthlessly extinguished as far sa she could. 'l'hey who would have been as breakwaters, buffeting back the inrushing ftoods of sin, she put to death. All her power had gone to make earth like hell. That such a one should be j,1dged was indeed good cause for heaven's hallelujah11. Have we sympathy with such joy? Would the like reason excite in us like delight? Do we hate such as Heaven hates, such as this harlot was and is evermore? 2, TM marriage of the Lamb. (Ver. 7.) Marriage festivals are ever, and rightly, regarded as joyous seasons if the marriage be worthy of the name. How much more, then, the marriage, the consummation of the union betwixt Christ and his Church I TAen i, joy 458 THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN THE DIVINE. [on. xa:. 1-21. -------------------------------- on account of the Bridegroom. The bride he has so long and truly loved he possesses at last. " He that bath the bride is the Bridegroom." But, long ere this, this Bridegroom had sought his bride, bad loved her from the first, had shed his blood to save her. But he had a formidable rival. Another suitor sought his bride, and endeavoured by every beguilement to win her for himself. The world wooed her, and sometimes it seemed u if it had really won her. But at length the Bridegroom told of here won her heart. That was at length fully, freely given, so that when he asked, "Lovest thou me?" the answer came back, "Lord, thou knowest that I love thee.,. But with all this love she was not yet ready for her Lord. And the preparation was a long process. But her Lord waited for her patiently; visiting her often in her earthly home, loading her with tokens of bis love; and at length, dearer to him than ever, she stands at his side, for the marriage-day is come. May not the friends of the Bridegroom rejoice on his account? And there is /oy because 'Of the bride. 'l'hat she should have been led to give her heart to One 80 worthy; that she should have been chosen by him who was so worthy, when sbe herself was so Ullworthy; oh, what wondrous happiness was that for such as she was I And now that she should be deemed worthy, and through his grace be worthy. And that at last, made ready, she should stand by his side to whom her heart has been so long given, and know now that they can never be separated any more. No wonder, then, when we remember who the bride is, and who the Bride- groom, that at this marriage there is great joy. The union of Christ and bis Church, which has of necessity been so imperfect and interrupted here, now perfected for ever. Well may the bride put on the lustrous linen raiment, white and ;clistering in the sheen of its exquisite beauty, and the symbol of the purity and righteousness with whicl{ she had been spiritually endowed I For: 3. The preparation of the bride is named as another spring of the heavenly joy, "His wife bath made herself ready," But never could she have done this had it not been " granted to her" to array herself in the bright and pure spiritual raiment which became her marriage dress. So that it is both true that the Church makes hereell ready for Christ, and that it is Christ who makes her ready, But for him she couW not make herself ready, and without her consenting heart he will not make her 80. She works out her own salvation, because he worketh in her both to will and to do. But no matter how the blessed work has been accomplished, there is the unspeakably joyful fact that it is accomplishod. His wife is "ready." The vision is yet future. The robing of the redeemed, the making ready of the bride, is yet going on, This is the meaning of all our disciplines and triali<, of all the pleadings of God's Spirit, of all the means of grace which we are bidden employ, of all the strain and toil of heart which we often have to bear; it_ is all the making "ready " of the bride. But when it is all complete for all the redeemed, all done that had to be done, all borne that had to be borne, and God shall have wiped away all tears from off all faces-that, too, may well call forth, as it assuredly will, another of the hallelujahs of heaven. See to it that we are present at that marriage; for " blessed are they which are bidden to the marriage supper of the Lam b."-S. C. Ver, 8,-Th1.1 ''linen" of Scripture. "For the fine linen is the righteousness of ll&ints." There are higll.ways and byways of the Bible. Many think they have exhausted the Scriptures when they have traversed the King's highway. But there are, as many a delighted traveller baa found, byways less known, and fa: lasa frequented paths, which yield up to the explorer knowledge and beauty and good which they were ignorant of before. The land of Scripture is a glorious land. 'l'here is no region upon earth, however endowed with well-nigh all forms and J.lOIISibilities of the beautiful, that can compare, for variety and sublimity, for loveliness and rich- ness, to the Word of God. Bot whilst we may be familiar with its main i'eatures, if we will be at the pains to a.rob out its less-trodden paths and its hidden nooks and comers-if we may so speak,-it is wonderful what fresh interest and instruction may be often gained. Now, one of those more diligent searchers of the Bible (B. W. Newton) has noted the fact that there are three different kinds of linen spoken of in Scripture, and that the ves~ments made from them were worn on specific and appointed occasions; so that each kind of linen had its religious significance. Let us try and see what that was. Now, of this familiar fabric there were three different kinds. 1. The ordinary maurial, which gives the name~ all varieties of it. The Greeks translated the Hebrew 49, xa.1-21.] THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN THE DIVINE. ~9