11. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,

12. Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power,

and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.

This vision is distinct from the preceding one, and yet. closely connected in subject, matter, and design. The former comprehends the lineage of the twelve tribes, as incorporated with the Church of Christ, and comforts the servants of the Lamb, by a lively representation of the provident care of God for the security and enlargement of the Church during the following times of great peril, and Romish apostacy. Here St. John beheld an innumerable multitude of saints in heaven, from all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, among which were all the children of God under the Old Testament, in order to animate their drooping spirits under the approaching calamities of the trumpets. Their being clothed in white robes, denotes their characters and employments at present, and during the Millennium: as it was usual for princes and priests to be arrayed in such garments, when in the exercise of their offices. Rev. i. 6. v. 10. They had palms in their hands, which were emblems of victory and triumph among the ancients, as also tokens of great joy at solemn festivals among the Jews. Lev. xxiii. 40. They had vanquished Satan, sin and death, and now commemorated the wonders of his love in the following verse, by which they had been preserved, and brought hither. In this they were joined and assisted by all the angels in heaven, who had been ministering spirits to them, while yet in the wilderness of this world, and now enjoyed the unspeakable plea-. sure, of seeing all their labours crowned with immortal honour. Heb. i. 14. Yet in humility, they ascribe all to

the Lord, who enabled them to accomplish so important a work.

Verse 13. And one of the elders answered, saying unto

me, what are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?

14. And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, these are they, which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

15. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.

16. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.

17. For the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

Verse 13. And one of the elders answered. 'Aπongívoμar, does not only signify to answer, but often, to begin a discourse, to address a person, and thus it ought to be rendered here. The angel addressed St. John, in order to give him more information concerning this multitude of saints, for the comfort of the Church, and himself under his present sufferings.

This innumerable company of saints before the throne of God and the Lamb, were not the holy martyrs. For all the martyrs from the beginning of the world to that time, would not amount to such a great multitude, as St. John here beheld. Beside this, their lot has been determined under the fifth seal, as that of the unhappy dead under the sixth; so that we cannot expect to meet with them so soon again. Nevertheless, the elder describes them as hav

ing come out of great tribulation, by which we may understand the afflictions, reproaches and persecutions of the saints, which they suffered as confessors, and faithful followers of Christ, for his name's sake, and the many trials and temptations in working out their own salvation with fear and trembling, which the children of God have experienced in all ages. Their robes may denote the whole Christian life and conversation, even their most holy actions; which are all imperfect, and not acceptable in themselves before God; wherefore they are said to have washed them, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. These two words, to wash, and to make white, refer to two distinct actions. By being washed in the blood of Christ, we are cleansed from the filth of sin, which refers to justification; and by being whitened or bleached, our imperfections are done away, and we are adorned by the righteousness of Jesus Christ, which denotes sanctification through his spirit. Both acts are here ascribed to the saints, because of their concern, faith, and trust in the use of the means, in order to enter the kingdom of God. There is, however, a considerable difference between their robes and those of the elders, according to the original. They only had stolæ, gowns, but the elders white ruiment, which may denote a higher degree both of sanctification and preferment.

匪

This innumerable multitude then, is the general assembly of all the spirits of just men made perfect, in all ages of the world. For it is worthy of remark, that the words in the original, verse 14, of iexóuevos, should not be rendered, "which came," but, "those coming," so as also to comprehend those which follow, until the second advent of Christ. After this general description of their character, the elder proceeds to inform the apostle of their future reward and employment. I say designedly, their future reward. For, that degree of felicity which they now enjoyed, St. John had beheld, and described in the preceding

verses; and the attentive reader of the original will observe, that in the fifteenth verse, the tense suddenly changes, and runs on in the future to the end of the chapter. The elder therefore informs St. John' in these last verses, of a yet higher degree of happiness and employment, to which these saints would be promoted at a more distant period, namely, in the time of the Millennium, or during the personal kingdom of Christ on earth. A series of important events is carried on in the church militant, but a still more momentous train above, in the Church triumphant; of which we here now and then meet with a faint glance in this prophecy.`

It is said of their present state of happiness: They are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple, in allusion to the priests and Levites, whose service in the temple was constant and uninterrupted. These words denote their present employments, under their great high-priest in the Church of Christ, in which they are engaged on earth among the heirs of eternal salvation, though invisible to our view. Ease and rest is incompatible with felicity in heaven, where all is life and activity for the happiness of all, and where the degrees of glory consist in preferments to stations, in which most good can be done.

But now the tense changes, and the elder describes their future happiness in these remarkable words: And He that sitteth (now) on the throne shall (then) dwell among them. Here a future promotion to a still higher station of felicity, than what they at present enjoy, is evident beyond contradiction. It is no less obvious, that this degree of glory will consist in a more immediate enjoyment of his beatific presence, and such an intimate communion with him, as they had never before experienced. But its points of distinction from other states of felicity, must be learned by a more close inspection of the words of the text. Ennvów, wsw, to dwell, to reside in tents, is never used to signify an immutable continuance of a state of things. Its precise

meaning is, to sojourn under a visible cover, formed for the purpose of dwelling in for a time; as the Israelites dwelled in tents, the soul of man in a body, and God in a temple, 2 Cor. v. 1. 4. 2 Pet. i. 13, 14. Acts vii. 46, Rev. xxi. 3. Thus it is said, our Saviour iszývwsɛ, dwelled in a tent among us, after the Word was made flesh. John i. 14. This phrase seems to denote more than his spiritual presence with his saints, and yet not the same state of happiness, which they now enjoy. It indicates the glorious reign of Christ with his saints on earth, when their felicity will be increased by a personal intercourse with their mortal brethren, and Christ shall dwell with them, in a visible pavilion, as king of all, and in all his personal glory. During this thousand year's reign, the Lord will complete another marvellous enterprise on earth, which even angels and saints will desire to look into. 1 Pet. i. 12. They shall hunger no more, nor thirst any more, for natural or spiritual things; neither shall the sun of trial and affliction light on them, nor any heat of toil, or spiritual labour. Isa. iv. 5. 6. Ps. xci. 1. cxxi. 6. Isa. xlix. 10. XXV. 8. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne, shall feed them with the rich discoveries of himself, as signified by a feast, by new wine in his Father's kingdom, by eating and drinking at his table, where they shall be sweetly and fully satiated and refreshed for ever. and angels will be living fountains of water to each other, and to men, their brethren. John viii. 38. Thus the Lamb, their king oμaver, shall rule them, (reget illos, as the Vulgate version reads) and in the midst of his ancients gloriously a thousand years, to wipe away all tears from their eyes.

Saints

There is no intimation of any separate time annexed to these two visions, and it would be highly improper, to add a time to any prediction in this book without being authorized thereto by the text. For the internal order and method of the Revelation, is a singular masterpiece among

1