mh_parser/vol_split/66 - Revelation/Chapter 4.xml

<div2 id="Rev.v" n="v" next="Rev.vi" prev="Rev.iv" progress="95.88%" title="Chapter IV">
<h2 id="Rev.v-p0.1">R E V E L A T I O N.</h2>
<h3 id="Rev.v-p0.2">CHAP. IV.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Rev.v-p1">In this chapter the prophetical scene opens; and,
as the epistolary part opened with a vision of Christ (<scripRef id="Rev.v-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Rev.1.1-Rev.1.20" parsed="|Rev|1|1|1|20" passage="Re 1:1-20"><i>ch.</i> i.</scripRef>), so this part is
introduced with a glorious appearance of the great God, whose
throne is in heaven, compassed about with the heavenly host. This
discovery was made to John, and in this chapter he, I. Records the
heavenly sight he saw, <scripRef id="Rev.v-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Rev.4.1-Rev.4.7" parsed="|Rev|4|1|4|7" passage="Re 4:1-7">ver.
1-7</scripRef>. And then, II. The heavenly songs he heard,
<scripRef id="Rev.v-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Rev.4.8-Rev.4.11" parsed="|Rev|4|8|4|11" passage="Re 4:8-11">ver. 8, to the end</scripRef>.</p>
<scripCom id="Rev.v-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Rev.4" parsed="|Rev|4|0|0|0" passage="Re 4" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Rev.v-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Rev.4.1-Rev.4.8" parsed="|Rev|4|1|4|8" passage="Re 4:1-8" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Rev.4.1-Rev.4.8">
<h4 id="Rev.v-p1.6">The Vision of Heaven. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Rev.v-p1.7">a.
d.</span> 95.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Rev.v-p2">1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door
<i>was</i> opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard
<i>was</i> as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said,
Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be
hereafter.   2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and,
behold, a throne was set in heaven, and <i>one</i> sat on the
throne.   3 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and
a sardine stone: and <i>there was</i> a rainbow round about the
throne, in sight like unto an emerald.   4 And round about the
throne <i>were</i> four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw
four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they
had on their heads crowns of gold.   5 And out of the throne
proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and <i>there
were</i> seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are
the seven Spirits of God.   6 And before the throne <i>there
was</i> a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the
throne, and round about the throne, <i>were</i> four beasts full of
eyes before and behind.   7 And the first beast <i>was</i>
like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast
had a face as a man, and the fourth beast <i>was</i> like a flying
eagle.   8 And the four beasts had each of them six wings
about <i>him;</i> and <i>they were</i> full of eyes within—</p>
<p class="indent" id="Rev.v-p3">We have here an account of a second vision
with which the apostle John was favoured: <i>After this,</i> that
is, not only "after I had seen the vision of Christ walking in the
midst of the golden candlesticks," but "after I had taken his
messages from his mouth, and written and sent them to the several
churches, according to his command, after this I had another
vision." Those who well improve the discoveries they have had of
God already are prepared thereby for more, and may expect them.
Observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Rev.v-p4">I. The preparation made for the apostle's
having this vision.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Rev.v-p5">1. <i>A door was opened in heaven.</i>
Hence we learn, (1.) Whatever is transacted on earth is first
designed and settled in heaven; there is the model of all the works
of God; all of them are therefore before his eye, and he lets the
inhabitants of heaven see as much of them as is fit for them. (2.)
We can know nothing of future events but what God is pleased to
discover to us; they are within the veil, till God opens the door.
But, (3.) So far as God reveals his designs to us we may and ought
to receive them, and not pretend to be wise above what is
revealed.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Rev.v-p6">2. To prepare John for the vision, a
trumpet was sounded, and he was called up into heaven, to have a
sight there of the things which were to be hereafter. He was called
into the third heavens. (1.) There is a way opened into the holiest
of all, into which the sons of God may enter by faith and holy
affections now, in their spirits when they die, and in their whole
persons at the last day. (2.) We must not intrude into the secret
of God's presence, but stay till we are called up to it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Rev.v-p7">3. To prepare for this vision, <i>the
apostle was in the Spirit.</i> He was in a rapture, as before
(<scripRef id="Rev.v-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Rev.1.10" parsed="|Rev|1|10|0|0" passage="Re 1:10"><i>ch.</i> i. 10</scripRef>), whether
in the body or out of the body we cannot tell; perhaps he himself
could not; however all bodily actions and sensations were for a
time suspended, and his spirit was possessed with the spirit of
prophecy, and wholly under a divine influence. The more we abstract
ourselves from all corporeal things the more fit we are for
communion with God; the body is a veil, a cloud, and clog to the
mind in its transactions with God. We should as it were forget it
when we go in before the Lord in duty, and be willing to drop it,
that we may go up to him in heaven. This was the <i>apparatus</i>
to the vision. Now observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Rev.v-p8">II. The vision itself. It begins with the
strange sights that the apostle saw, and they were such as these:—
1. He saw <i>a throne set in heaven,</i> the seat of honour, and
authority, and judgment. Heaven is the throne of God; there he
resides in glory, and thence he gives laws to the church and to the
whole world, and all earthly thrones are under the jurisdiction of
this throne that is set in heaven. 2. He saw a glorious one upon
the throne. This throne was not empty; there was one in it who
filled it, and that was God, who is here described by those things
that are most pleasant and precious in our world: <i>His
countenance was like a jasper and a sardine-stone;</i> he is not
described by any human features, so as to be represented by an
image, but only by his transcendent brightness. This jasper is a
transparent stone, which yet offers to the eye a variety of the
most vivid colours, signifying the glorious perfections of God; the
sardine-stone is red, signifying the justice of God, that essential
attribute of which he never divests himself in favour of any, but
gloriously exerts it in the government of the world, and especially
of the church, through our Lord Jesus Christ. This attribute is
displayed in pardoning as well as in punishing, in saving as well
as in destroying sinners. 3. He saw <i>a rainbow about the throne,
like unto an emerald,</i> <scripRef id="Rev.v-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Rev.4.3" parsed="|Rev|4|3|0|0" passage="Re 4:3"><i>v.</i>
3</scripRef>. The rainbow was the seal and token of the covenant of
the providence that God made with Noah and his posterity with him,
and is a fit emblem of that covenant of promise that God has made
with Christ as the head of the church, and all his people in him,
which covenant is as the waters of Noah unto God, an everlasting
covenant, ordered in all things and sure. This rainbow looked like
<i>the emerald;</i> the most prevailing colour was a pleasant
green, to show the reviving and refreshing nature of the new
covenant. 4. He saw <i>four-and-twenty seats</i> round about the
throne, not empty, but filled with <i>four-and-twenty elders,</i>
presbyters, representing, very probably, the whole church of God,
both in the Old-Testament and in the New-Testament state; not the
ministers of the church, but rather the representatives of the
people. Their sitting denotes their honour, rest, and satisfaction;
their sitting about the throne signifies their relation to God,
their nearness to him, the sight and enjoyment they have of him.
<i>They are clothed in white raiment,</i> the righteousness of the
saints, both imputed and inherent; <i>they had on their heads
crowns of gold,</i> signifying the honour and authority given them
of God, and the glory they have with him. All these may in a lower
sense be applied to the gospel church on earth, in its worshipping
assemblies; and, in the higher sense, to the church triumphant in
heaven. 5. He perceived lightnings and voices proceeding out of the
throne; that is, the awful declarations that God makes to his
church of his sovereign will and pleasure. Thus he gave forth the
law on mount Sinai; and the gospel has not less glory and authority
than the law, though it be of a more spiritual nature. 6. He saw
<i>seven lamps of fire burning before the throne,</i> which are
explained to be <i>the seven Spirits of God</i> (<scripRef id="Rev.v-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:Rev.4.5" parsed="|Rev|4|5|0|0" passage="Re 4:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>), the various gifts, graces, and
operations of the Spirit of God in the churches of Christ; these
are all dispensed according to the will and pleasure of him who
sits upon the throne. 7. He saw <i>before the throne a sea of
glass, like unto crystal.</i> As in the temple there was a great
vessel of brass filled with water, in which the priests were to
wash when they went to minister before the Lord (and this was
called a <i>sea</i>), so in the gospel church the sea or laver for
purification is the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, who cleanses
from all sin, even from sanctuary-sins. In this all those must be
washed that are admitted into the gracious presence of God on earth
or his glorious presence in heaven. 8. He saw <i>four animals,</i>
living creatures, between the throne and the circle of elders (as
seems most probable), standing between God and the people; these
seem to signify the ministers of the gospel, not only because of
this their situation nearer to God, and between him and the elders
or representatives of the Christian people, and because fewer in
number than the people, but as they are here described, (1.) By
their many eyes, denoting sagacity, vigilance, and circumspection.
(2.) By their lion-like courage, their great labour and diligence
(in which they resemble the ox), their prudence and discretion
becoming men, and their sublime affections and speculations, by
which they mount up <i>with wings like eagles towards heaven</i>
(<scripRef id="Rev.v-p8.3" osisRef="Bible:Rev.4.7" parsed="|Rev|4|7|0|0" passage="Re 4:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>), and these
wings full of eyes within, to show that in all their meditations
and ministrations they are to act with knowledge, and especially
should be well acquainted with themselves and the state of their
own souls, and see their own concern in the great doctrines and
duties of religion, watching over their own souls as well as the
souls of the people. (3.) By their continual employment, and that
is, praising God, and not ceasing to do so night and day. The
elders sit and are ministered unto; these stand and minister: they
rest not night nor day. This now leads to the other part of the
representation.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Rev.v-p8.4" osisRef="Bible:Rev.4.8-Rev.4.11" parsed="|Rev|4|8|4|11" passage="Re 4:8-11" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Rev.4.8-Rev.4.11">
<h4 id="Rev.v-p8.5">The Vision of Heaven. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Rev.v-p8.6">a.
d.</span> 95.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Rev.v-p9">—8 And they rest not day and night, saying,
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to
come.   9 And when those beasts give glory and honour and
thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,
  10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat
on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and
cast their crowns before the throne, saying,   11 Thou art
worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou
hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were
created.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Rev.v-p10">We have considered the sights that the
apostle saw in heaven: now let us observe the songs that he heard,
for there is in heaven not only that to be seen which will highly
please a sanctified eye, but there is that to be heard which will
greatly delight a sanctified ear. This is true concerning the
church of Christ here, which is a heaven upon earth, and it will be
eminently so in the church made perfect in the heaven of
heavens.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Rev.v-p11">I. He heard the song of the four living
creatures, of the ministers of the church, which refers to the
prophet Isaiah's vision, <scripRef id="Rev.v-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.6.1-Isa.6.13" parsed="|Isa|6|1|6|13" passage="Isa 6:1-13"><i>ch.</i>
vi</scripRef>. And here, 1. They adore one God, and one only,
<i>the Lord God Almighty,</i> unchangeable and everlasting. 2. They
adore three holies in this one God, the Holy Father, the Holy Son,
and the Holy Spirit; and these are one infinitely holy and eternal
Being, who sits upon the throne, <i>and lives for ever and
ever.</i> In this glory the prophet saw Christ, and spoke of
him.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Rev.v-p12">II. He heard the adorations of the
<i>four-and-twenty elders,</i> that is, of the Christian people
represented by them; the ministers led, and the people followed, in
the praises of God, <scripRef id="Rev.v-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Rev.4.10-Rev.4.11" parsed="|Rev|4|10|4|11" passage="Re 4:10,11"><i>v.</i> 10,
11</scripRef>. Here observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Rev.v-p13">1. The object of their worship, the same
with that which the ministers adored: <i>Him that sat on the
throne,</i> the eternal everliving God. The true church of God has
one and the same object of worship. Two different objects of
worship, either co-ordinate or sub-ordinate, would confound the
worship and divide the worshippers. It is unlawful to join in
divine worship with those who either mistake or multiply the
object. There is but one God, and he alone, as God, is worshipped
by the church on earth and in heaven.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Rev.v-p14">2. The acts of adoration. (1.) They <i>fell
down before him that sat on the throne;</i> they discovered the
most profound humility, reverence, and godly fear. (2.) They
<i>cast their crowns before the throne;</i> they gave God the glory
of the holiness wherewith he had crowned their souls on earth and
the honour and happiness with which he crowns them in heaven. They
owe all their graces and all their glories to him, and acknowledge
that his crown is infinitely more glorious than theirs, and that it
is their glory to be glorifying God.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Rev.v-p15">3. The words of adoration: they said,
<i>Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honour, and
power,</i> <scripRef id="Rev.v-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Rev.4.11" parsed="|Rev|4|11|0|0" passage="Re 4:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>.
Observe, (1.) They do not say, <i>We give thee glory, and honour,
and power;</i> for what can any creature pretend to give unto God?
But they say, <i>thou art worthy to receive glory.</i> (2.) In this
they tacitly acknowledge that God is exalted far above all blessing
and praise. He was worthy to receive glory, but they were not
worthy to praise, nor able to do it according to his infinite
excellences.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Rev.v-p16">4. We have the ground and reason of their
adoration, which is threefold:—(1.) He is the Creator of all
things, the first cause; and none but the Creator of all things
should be adored; no made thing can be the object of religious
worship. (2.) He is the preserver of all things, and his
preservation is a continual creation; they are created still by the
sustaining power of God. All beings but God are dependent upon the
will and power of God, and no dependent being must be set up as an
object of religious worship. It is the part of the best dependent
beings to be worshippers, not to be worshipped. (3.) He is the
final cause of all things: <i>For thy pleasure they are and were
created.</i> It was his will and pleasure to create all things; he
was not put upon it by the will of another; there is no such thing
as a subordinate creator, that acts under and by the will and power
of another; and, if there were, he ought not to be worshipped. As
God made all things at his pleasure, so he made them for his
pleasure, to deal with them as he pleases and to glorify himself by
them one way or other. Though he delights not in the death of
sinners, but rather that they should turn and live, <i>yet he hath
made all things for himself,</i> <scripRef id="Rev.v-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Prov.16.4" parsed="|Prov|16|4|0|0" passage="Pr 16:4">Prov.
xvi. 4</scripRef>. Now if these be true and sufficient grounds for
religious worship, as they are proper to God alone, Christ must
needs be God, one with the Father and Spirit, and be worshipped as
such; for we find the same causality ascribed to him. <scripRef id="Rev.v-p16.2" osisRef="Bible:Col.1.16-Col.1.17" parsed="|Col|1|16|1|17" passage="Col 1:16,17">Col. i. 16, 17</scripRef>, <i>All things were
created by him and for him, and he is before all things, and by him
all things consist.</i></p>
</div></div2>