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we wish to convey our most exalted conception of the pure spirituality of heavenly worship, how can we find more fitting description than the words, "I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it?"

Now we would not deny the deep and exquisite appropriateness of these symbols. But, even while employing them, it is right to ask whether such was intended to be their immediate application. Does "the great city" of the vision, "the holy Jerusalem descending out of heaven from God," picture to us, in the first instance, the final abode of the blessed?

It will at once be answered that it must be so, as the final judgment is represented as having taken place (xx. 12-15), the first heaven and the first earth as "passed away" (xxi. 1), while a Voice from the Throne has proclaimed, "Behold I make all things new," adding, "IT IS DONE." After this, what remains to be described but the final heaven?

Now we fully admit that this heavenly state is described in the words (xxi. 3, 4), which, often as repeated, must fall like music on every Christian's ear :--

"Behold, the dwelling of God is with men, And he will dwell among them, And they will be his people,

And God himself will be with them, their God,

And God will wipe every tear from their

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beginning with the 9th verse, is unconnected with the series of occurences which that vision has detailed, although, indeed, reproducing some of its particulars. We have, in fact, a picture rather than a prophecy; and we may find it worth while to observe that it is a companion picture to one that had been before given of the great antagonist power to truth and righteousness.

In ch. xvii. 1, we read, "There came one of the seven angels who had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great Harlot that sitteth upon many waters."

Here (xxii. 9) we read, "There came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither; I will shew thee the Bride, the Lamb's wife."

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It is plain, from the phrase, that a direct intended. On the one Harlot, on the other the Bride: on the one side Babylon, on the other Jerusalem. Again, to behold the former, the prophet is "carried away in the spirit into the wilderness" (xvii. 3); to contemplate the latter, he is "carried away in the spirit to a great and high mountain" (xxi. 10). These parallels betoken close analogy. "Babylon" is undoubtedy the emblem, not of a city, or a place, but of some great form of spiritual evil exemplified in the union of false belief with unprincipled secular power, and essentially antagonistic to the church of Christ. Is it not, then, at least probable that the Jerusalem of the contrasted delineation was intended, in general, as the type of that church.

Further there are particulars in the vision which shew that the New Jerusalem is still closely related to

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a terrestrial state. "The kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it." Through the everopen gates, it is receiving constant accessions. In the words (xxi. 24), "the nations of them which saved shall walk in the light of it," the phrase we have marked with italics should, according to all the best critics, be omitted. "The nations" (and this word ever denotes those who are without the pale of the church, as the Gentiles in distinction from the Jews) "shall walk in its light." And, more strikingly still, we are expressly told (xxii. 2) of the tree of life which grows in the midst of the street of the city, not only that its fruit is for the refreshment of the saved, but that its "leaves" are for the healing of the nations. This language plainly requires us to apply the vision, in part at least, to the present state, as it shows that even round about the New Jerusalem there are nations that require to be healed, and, therefore, of the sinful and the miserable.

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We conclude, then, that in the delineation of the heavenly Jerusalem, we have the IDEAL OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. To this "city of the living God," as the Epistle to the Hebrews (xii. 22) assures us, the faithful have already 66 come. The spiritual Sion is here among us now; and as notwithstanding gricvous failure and sin, Jehovah delighted of old in the chosen city, so now, notwithstanding all earthly imperfection and defilement, do the Lord God and the Lamb condescend to dwell in the community of saints. Sometimes, in the natural world, we awake to a new sense of wonder, mystery, and even awe, as some scientific discovery brings to light the marvels amid which we have been heedlessly living, and in the evolution of which we have been

bearing an unconscious part. May not this great vision of the Apocalypse in like manner arouse us to a perception of the sublime realities. which enclose us in the spiritual world, where we have found our true heritage? The "gates of pearl" and the "street of gold," "the wall great and high" and "the foundations garnished with all manner of precious stones," the "river of water of life clear as crystal" and "the tree of life, which bears twelve manner of fruits," belong not to a fair dream, sentimental and almost sensuous, of a Paradise far away beyond the resurrection, but to the realities of our present condition as part of the great invisible Church of God. Babylon, no doubt, is here on earth with its malice and meretricious craft. As surely, is the New Jerusalem here, with its indwelling God and Saviour. The names of the old foes in Old Testament story, do but set forth to us the deeper spiritual antagonisms of the New. False worship, moral darkness, inevitable doom, belong to the powers opposed to the city of the faithful; while of this latter it is already true that there is "no temple therein, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it," that "there shall be no night there," and that "there shall be no more curse."

Of the vision thus interpreted, it will be easy to appropriate the special particulars to the corresponding spiritual realities. Thus, the names of the Twelve Tribes are upon the gates; the names of the Twelve Apostles on the foundations, shewing to us the accord of Old Testament and New; while, without being fanciful, we may add that through the gates of the former dispensation the city is entered; while the more spiritual forms of truth, as taught by the Apostles,

constitute the everlasting basis of the whole. Twelve angels are at the gates the sentinels of heavenreminding us that the Church, amid all its foes, has its invisible guardians, protecting it from sudden invasion and destruction evermore. The "wall great and high" speaks to us of rigid and inflexible separation from an ungodly world, as well as of inviolable security and defence. But still that wall is pierced by "open gates," not in one direction merely, but in all-" on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates.' To all quarters of the world those gates look forth. Not a wanderer from any part of earth's wilderness shall turn a wistful glance to those portals and see even one, barred against him. "Whosoever will, let him come.' May there not also be an implied rebuke to the spirit of sectarian bigotry? Men are ever prone to cry, "My gate is the only entrance: no admission to the New Jerusalem but this." While still every gate is open, and there is God's angel equally at all.

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"The city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth." "The length, and the breadth, and the height of it are equal." Symmetry is a characteristic of the spiritual Church of Christ. As some As some of the Fathers have it, there is here "the length of Faith, the breadth of Charity, and the height of Hope, so as not to be moved by any winds of doctrine; and where any one of these dimensions is lacking, the perfect stature of the Church does not exist." It should, however, be noted, that the word equal in the last part of verse 16, does not necessarily mean mutually equal. Probably the intention of the clause is to depict the height, like the breadth and length, as everywhere the same; i. e., no

one part of the enclosing wall higher than any other. The city is a perfect square, but not a perfect cube, which would seem, even in a vision, incongruous and impossible. The "twelve thousand furlongs," or stadia by which the length and the breadth are admeasured, bear an evident relation to the numerical symbolism of the rest of the bookwhere twelve is always a note of the Church, and thousand expressive of vast number. Compare the twelve times twelve thousand of the elect in the seventh chapter.

A meaning equally expressive, may be gained from the garniture of precious stones, by which the foundations are enriched. Remembering that the foundation-stones represent the apostolic band, the jewels which in their far-flashing radiance adorn them, plainly represent the various gifts with which the intellects and hearts of Christ's servants have been stored. In one, there is the clear light of knowledge, and in another the burning lustre of genius. Every character has its own endowment-patient thought, or soaring imagination, a capacity for energetic labour, or a habit of calm submission. The eloquent orator, and the thoughtful enquirer, have each an assigned place. Every precious stone shines with its own glory, which itself is but a partial reflection of the one Light which is over all, and in all.

For "the glory of God doth lighten the city, and the Lamb is the light thereof." Fellowship with God, and the reflection of Christ's character, are the crowning glory of the Church. "There is no night there." The presence of Him who is the true and only Light is perpetual. At all times, and by every member of the family of the redeemed, the privilege of communion with God may be enjoyed.

"I saw," says the Apostle, no Temple therein." There is no centre of worship-no special honour assigned to outward form or appointed place. Nor can any section of the faithful, arrogate the claim-"The Temple of the Lord are we." Co-extensive with the Church is the Sanctuary; and the merit and power of the Great Sacrifice are ever present to the devout heart; for not only "the Lord God Almighty," but "the Lamb, is the temple of it."

Rich and full also are the supplies of Divine grace afforded to the Church. "From the throne of God and the Lamb," i. e., from the heart of the everlasting purpose of God in Christ, strong and stedfast as the Temple mountain, from whose bosom gushed the waters of Siloam, proceeds the water of life, clear as crystal. We are at once reminded of the words "There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High," and of that wonderful vision contained in the forty-seventh of Ezekiel.' As in Ezekiel, too, the banks of the river on both sides are lined by trees of life, unfading in their foliage, unfailing in their fruit. The sustenance and refreshment are perpetual. For the tree "beareth twelve manner of fruits and yieldeth her fruit every month." Our lives are ever changeful in their need but in the stores of the Divine mercy there is satisfaction for every passing hour. In the spring time of promise and glad anticipation, before the flowers of life have had time to expand, and when all other fruitage is but in its blossom, the fruit of the Tree of Life is already ripe: and the little child may prove the satisfaction and the joy of Jesus' love. But the "months" roll on summer brings

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its sultry heats, and the weary labourer droops beneath the burden. of the day. On this Tree, however, there is fruit of cooling refreshment for him; he eats, and renews his strength for nobler toils. In autumn, when the leaves around are falling and other fruits are gone, there is here unwithering beauty and full supply-changed, indeed, but only as the need of life is changed. And when the chill winter of age has descended on the landscape, and the frost has withered other joys, and the flowers of life are in their graves, this Tree still rears its undecaying form more conspicuously beautiful for the surrounding desolation, while the pilgrim, spent and weary, confesses that the most exquisite fruit has been reserved till last "My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever."

Nor do such gifts and privileges terminate with those who receive them in their fulness. The tree of life "overshadows with its leaves those to whom the taste of its fruit is unknown." In other words, the indirect benefits of Christianity are productive of incalculable good to those who have not yet experienced its saving power. "The nations" are "healed:" by the improvement of public opinion, by the recognition of a higher standard of morals, by the abolition of oppressive laws, by the cessation of barbarous and cruel customs. The Hindoo widow is rescued from the burning pile, even though she knows not the widow's God. The Polynesian babe "leaps up in its mother's arm" though parent and child have never heard how Jesus said, "Suffer the little children to come unto me."

Thus is the Church in one important respect the light of the world. In that light "the nations

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chapter of Isaiah, the glory and honour of the kings of the earththe forces of the Gentiles"—are seen gathering to the city of God. First, the benefits conferred through the Church of Christ are unconsciously acknowledged. Then, the moral supremacy of the Church is confessed. Then, converting power is manifested. In increasing numbers do the world's population seek the gates of Zion. On all sides, those gates, as we have seen, are open and so do men come "from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God." This is truly the "reign of the saints." "The Lord God giveth them light, and they shall reign for ever and ever." In proportion as the church is spiritual, it is mighty. The Light is Power. By Truth and Love combined, the faithful attain

dominion over the heart and conscience of the world. By Christ they have been made already "kings and priests;" and "they reign over the earth."*

It is well sometimes to fix our thoughts upon our ideals. The perfect reality may indeed never be attained on earth by the Church collectively, any more than by the individual Christian. But it cheers and strengthens us to contemplate the perfect will of God concerning

us.

In so far as Christ's true presence is acknowledged, and His will obeyed, there is already a realization of the wondrous vision. The lowliest of true believers may claim the blessedness: and, in the humblest circle of Christian fellowship, there is some image of the symmetry and glory of the New Jerusalem. "Glorious things are spoken of thee, O City of God." "Blessed are they that HAVE WASHED THEIR ROBES,† that they may have access to the Tree of Life, and may enter in through the gate into the city."

RICHARD HOOKER.

BY THE REV. R. G. MOSES, LYMINGTON.

In a letter to his friend, Joseph Hughes, dated July, 1809, John Foster says, "I have lately been led into a fancy for possessing my self of the most noted divines of the Established Church, and have bought the principal works of Hooker, Cudworth, Jeremy Taylor, and Barrow. I have read enough of each to be able to talk about them, and to praise them in the customary lingo of criticism without talking altogether without

book. I want a few more of them.

* Observe, over, not on the earth, as in the English translation of ch. v. 10. The best critics in this verse, it may also be remarked, reign, but are reigning. So Lachmann, Tisread the verb in the present tense-not shall chendorf, Tregelles, Alford, Wordsworth.

Such, as all critical students of Scripture know, is the reading approved by all, or almost all, modern biblical scholars; the

slight doubt which still remained being.

changed into moral certainty by the testimony of the recently-discovered Sinaitic MS. Access, too, in the following clause, is a more accurate rendering than right, as in the English version.

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