Mtuftrles, and all along our 1hoffll, wa!!hing elt>11n what else would he foul, stiagnant, poisonous. 6. Its aaltnen, ministering iO the life of ita inhabitauts.; hy its weight. aiding in the transmiBSion of those warm currents of which we have spoken.; preventing corruption; and much more. But what we have said is sufficient to show that the 1181!t. is indeed a gift of God. "very good " and precious ; and therefore, as the future shall preserve all that is good, we believe, notwithstanding our text, th&t there shall be stilf ihe blessoo, beautiful sea. But we are glad and grateful to know that those facts, of, which to the J·ewh mind it was the emblem, will not. be hereafter. Of those ~ w-- L UNREST. ' The sea tells of that. Cf. "The wicked are like the troubled sea, when , it cannot rest" (lsa..lvil. 20). "There is sorrow on the sea; it. cannot be qwet• (Ja. mx. 23). "Thon troubled - , Oh, troubled, fretful sea I What ean the o,inses be That thy soft, silvery breast So rarely is at re11t? • E'en when there wind is non, And thou art let alone, Thy heart, IJEllf-troubled, will Keep pal pitating still. • Ah, well may thy um~t Emblem the human bre~t: Yea, the great world l;Utlt. □ d, Where trouble& so abound I" Ye■ ; such ts onr lit'e now. "Man is born to trouble;" and were it not that there II One who is able to hush the waves and MY," Peace, be still!" our hearts would know J10 relit. But yonder we shall rest. Qui68 in wlo. "There shall I bathe my weary soul In eeae of heavenly rest, And not II wave of trouble roll Across my peaceful breast." Il. PADIFUL llYBTnY. So was the - to the Jew, though it be not ao to a Scripture so e~ks of it. "Thy way, 0 Lord, is in the sea;" "Thy judgments are a great deep; ' "Thy path is in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known." The "depths of the sea" tell of that which can never be di11COvered ; hidden from all knowledge. Now, that there is much of such mystery here, we all know. It is part of our trial and discipline, designed to educate us in the blessed lessons of trust in God. So thf!,t, in view and in spite of such mysteries, we may be able to say, "l will ~uat.. and not be afraid." But yonder we shall know even as we are known. Here " we 1188 as through a glass, darkly; but then face to face.'' 1'herefore let us "rest in the Lord, and wait," etc. III. SEPARATION. The sea of old was a complete barrier to intercourse. It was, to St. John, and, even now, it so separates that many shrink from emigration to lands where life would be far brighter for them. But of old, to be "far off upon the sea," to "dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea," was indeed to be cut off almost from the land of the living. Only God could make bis "way in the sea, and his path in great waters." It was possible only to Christ to walk upon the sea. that he might go and succour his disciples. But to men the sea was an impassable harrier, a separating walL Therefore a fit emblem of separation. How many such barriers there a.re t.o our inter-- course with Christ and with our fellow-men I The power of this present w-0rld, tba things aeen and tei;nporal, thia body of fiesh,-these, and yet others, separate between ua and our Lord. And between man and man. Distance, time, diversity of language+ habits of thought, position in life, nnoongenia.lity, ignorance, and many more. But iq. Ohl'iet and with Clirist we all' shall be one. Drawn to him, we shall be drawn to one ~b(ll' a.lao; and as nothillg shall eeparate us from him, so nothing shall separate ~ from each other. " There shall be no more sea." · lV. RusLLJOllT A.GADTST GoD. "Thelloi$1oftheir waves, the tumult of the people" 520 THE RKVELA:TlON OF ST. JOHN THE DIVIN:&. [CB. xxr. 1-27,
(Ps. lxv.). The one atnnds for the other. The same thOUJ?M lie, in the words in Ps. xeiii., "The floods have lifted up, 0 Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice ; the floods lift up their wavee. The Lord on high is mightier than the noise. of ma11y w11te't11, yea, than the mighty wave! of the &ea." The rehel.lious heart. of man, there- fute, is ·that which under this ima,,,uery is set forth. And here in this Book of Revelation : •:The waters ••• are peoples," etc. (oh. xvii. 15). The multitude of the ungodly and iebellious--theseare likened to the sea. Now, in this sense, there shall be no more sea. lfo more ungodly people, no more rebellious hearts. And my hea.'1, 0 my God, shall, then and there, rebel no more,-S. C.