be ia All ill ,a}l...;...;the ·Centre~ the Circumference, the Beginning, e.ud tie End of all. 6ocHHhe Light of it. · UL Ssomnn.~ "And hsd:'(baving] a wall great and high,and had (having] twelve gate&, and: Ml"the gates· twelve angels," etc. (vers.12-14). The metropolis of thls spiritual oommonwealth is abundantly protected. It had a.- wall "great and high," nnptegtlailie aud llllsoaleable, It had "twelve gates,". three for each point, of ,the compass---'' north,"" south," "east,"" west." ... Twelve-foundations" also it had,.and all ,the twelvw 1gil.tes guarded by "angels," that excel in strength, The systems of goveriunen1i and social order that ·-wen · construct, how -frail and tntnsient they are! 'l'hey•are ootistantly changing, breaking up in confusion, and themselves·si:nkmg into ruin.! ( ·· · · · "Here a TI1in ma.u bis:soeptre breaks, The next a broken 'sceptre takes,. And warriors :ll'in and lose,; . , This rolling world c~ never stal)d, Plundered and plu~ke.d from· hand W lian\l.. Aa power decay~ arid grows.'' · _But. '-here is a· kingdom that cannot be moved, a "city that hath foundations, whose Builder and Maker is God." · · · .. · -• · ' IV. SYXMBTRY. "And he tht talked [spake] with me had a golden reed !bad for a µieasuni· 'i golde:n. reed) to measure the cityland the gates thereof,• and, the wall thereof"·(ver. 15). The metropolis of this commonwealth is not reared,eaprleiousfy and wit~~t il~n. ,EverY: ?1ate~al is properly measur~ an~ put in itlf right position. Th~ ·Aroh1tect 1s ·of unernng sktU, ,Is there any symrnetry in our schemes -0f govilrn;. ment,:,vtrether political, social, or ecclesiastic? What one generation bas·conatruoted; and'admired· as just and ·wise, the next, blessed with a higher education, pronottoaes bbtb•un'liighteous··and unwise. The ,Architect of thili city measured. the whole·by "the golden rule.'' ·· "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and thy neighbour as thyself." . ·• ' . '' · · _ , .• •· , ·, ·V. AKPL'ITUDE. "The city Heth foursquare, and the length is as large (greatJas tile !Jreatlth "' (ver. 16), The-Oity is of vast dimensions. The walls that enclose it stretch_ over, about fifteen hundred.miles. "The length and the breadth and the height oMt:are• equal."· There is nothing limited or narrow in the scheme of social• order which God has established· for the· government of communities;, 'it embraces all, of whatsoe'Ver tribe or land, secular 1oondition, or grade of intelleot or culture; Look at tbe·politica7, schemes that men formulate 1.- As a rule, they,are ever in favour, of the rich &Il.d the powerful-the: few, to the disadvantage of the· multitudes, Look 1tt·the nligiou, eohemes! As a rule; how miserably narrow I Offieialdom·has tnmed templ~ illto ·shops, preachers into_ traders; -and the God of infinite love into ~, object whose approbati~n 1 !1,r :to ~, obtained 'OY fulsome fla~ry, whining oajolery1 and ci:ing~g servility, expressed: m prayers and hymns that shook the common eenlie 1and oonlicielioo of the unsophisticated ·amongst mankind. Oh that we could "comprehend·with,all the aaintis wh&t is the height, the depth, the lmgth, the breadth, ol God's love" I·· · • 'Vl/·CosTLI~"ESS; Thing8 that men regard as the.most pre6i0us and costly al'e here mentioned as belonging to this wonderful social edifice. "And the building of the' wall of it was of jasper: and the_ city was pure gold," etc. (vers. 18-21). In the description we have "jasper," ."_gold,". "precio11S stolles," "sapphire," "chalcedony," "emerald," ".pearls," etc. 'l'he pearl was regarded by the ancients as of all things the most precious. Elsewhere God's truth, his Word, his motal system, ·is· represented as"' more precious 'than gold,· yea, than even fine gold."·' It is the transcendent good; 1. The greatest thiog in the unive1'Se is 1nind. 'Mind is the maker and mana~r, the mmer•and lord, -of all material systems. 2. The greatest thing in mind is love, , Pure~ disinterested, self-sacrificing, Christ-like love, this identifies us with· God/ makes u'ti one wif}h hirn. "There abidethJ'~ says Pahl, "faith, hope, charity; -•• •• the greatest of theile is charity." This love •-is the essence of· that eoci!ll order which' God has established in hia moral cre;ation-. AU· the precious stones, the gold,- th~ pearls; etc.; of the creation, are puerilities compared to this.-D. T. , · ·.' ·· · ,.
Vers, 22-27.-The ~ttve glaryoj heaven(No,'.1). "And I sin, m temple tbeniia: ctt~ llL 1.-21.] THE REVELATION OF St- JOHilt THE t>tvINE. Ml