crystal: and in the midst of the transparent, that the figures of persons were reflected from it as if it were water. The floor, or pavement before the tabernacle, on which the people stood to worship God, was composed of plates or slabs, highly polished. It looked like glass, and when persons stood upon it, their images were so clearly reflected, that they seemed almost to be standing on the open sea. Hence, we read, Rev. xv. 2, "And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire; and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God." They stand on the sea of glass, for so the pavement seemed to be; and they had the harps of God, because they came there to praise him; it was the place on which the people stood when they assembled to sing in chorus the sacred songs of the temple. In the midst of the throne.· The beings referred to had a very near approach to the throne; they were nearer to it than were the four-andtwenty elders. The cherubim seemed to be in the midst of the ark. "For the cherubims spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above;" 1 Kings viii. 7; 2 Chron. v. 8; Heb. ix. 5. From this near relation which the cherubim held to the throne, came the idea of the revelator. ¶Four beasts, or rather four living creatures. The four beasts were hieroglyphical representations, though the word beasts seems to be an unfortunate translation; for they certainly are described as intelligent beings, "saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come." "It was a most unhappy mistake in our translators, (says Dr. Doddridge,) to render the word zoa, beasts; it certainly signifies any other kind of animals, that is, of creatures which

throne, and round about the have animal life, as well as beasts. The word beast not only degrades the signification, but the animals here mentioned have parts and ap pearances which beasts have not, and are represented as in the highest sense rational." The revelator seems to have copied from Ezekiel in this description. To describe the approach of Jehovah, the prophet said, "The heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God;" chap. i. 1. "And I looked, and behold a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire. Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man. And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings. And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot; and they sparkled like the color of burnished brass. And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings. Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward. As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle. Thus were their faces; and their wings were stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies. And they went every one straight forward; whither the Spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when they went. As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps: it went up and down

7 And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.

hands of man; and hence all the skill denoted by the human hand was attributed to God. This is the highest degree of skill possessed by any creature; had there been greater, the prophet would have chosen it. Their wings were joined; and thus, although they had the powers of different beings, yet there was a sense in which they were one. All the powers of the four were designed to represent the powers of the Being who called himself One Lord. They turned not when they went; for as each had four faces, there was no need that they should do so. Man, the most perfect being on earth, sees but one way at the same time. He must therefore turn his body when he wishes to change his direction. To take away what would be an imperfection in the Deity, the prophet gives his images each four faces; and hence they turned not when they went, but went every one straight forward. And now as to the likeness of their faces. Each one had the face of a man, INTELLIENCE; the face of a lion, the king of beasts, MAJESTY, STRENGTH; the ace of an ox,-[a sacred animal vhich the Egyptians worshipped; hence the golden calf of the children of Israel,] denoting STRENGTH, PATIENCE, FAITHFUL LABOR; the face of an eagle, SOARING, PIERCING. The eagle soars to the highest height, and he has the most piercing sight. Now let any man, even of the most brilliant fancy, put himself into the age in which Ezekiel lived, and see if he can devise an image which will describe more fully and correctly the attributes of the Deity. The whole of the tenth chapter of Ezekiel is on the same subject. Both chapters contain the prophet's description of

8 And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy,

what he called "the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord;" i. 28. ¶ Full of eyes. See Ezek. i. 18; x. 12. It is evident the revelator had Ezekiel's description in his mind. The revelator's words are, "full of eyes before and behind," i. e., on every side. They had faces every way, and, of course, they had eyes every way. The eye is the metaphor for sight and intelligence; and the idea is, that God can see and understand all things at a glance. 7. Like a lion.· This is evidently a copy from Ezekiel's hieroglyphics; i. 10. ¶ Like a calf. — Ezekiel said, ox; they are of the same species. ¶ Face as a man. — This also comes from Ezekiel. ¶ Flying eagle. — No one, we should think, could doubt that the revelator followed the prophet. He was not writing the effusions of a sickly brain, but copying from the standard sacred books of the Jews; and when the intent of these metaphors is seen, and their force and power understood, they are known to convey ideas of the greatest grandeur concerning the Deity.

8. Six wings.- Ezekiel's images had wings. ¶ Full of eyes. — We have already noticed this under ver. 6. ¶ Rest not day or night, i. e., cease not from their glorious employment; abate not from the expression of their reverence. This distinction is very necessary to be observed, because it is said of the worshippers of the horrible Roman beast, that they "have no rest day nor night;" xiv. 11. But the words in the case before us have no such sense as the words bear in the latter quotation. Holy, holy, holy.

- Thrice holy art thou, O Lord God Almighty. This is the most solemn form of ascription in all the Bible. Isaiah has a figure very like Eze

holy, Lord God Almighty, which | was, and is, and is to come.

9 And when those beasts give glory, and honor, and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,

10 The four and twenty elkiel's, and the two appear to have been mingled in the revelator's mind. "Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings: with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory;" Isaiah vi. 2, 3. T Was, and is, and is to come. An assertion of the eternal being of God, covering wholly the past, the present, and the future.

9. Those beasts give glory.-They are, in the description of the revelator, not only images to represent God's attributes, but they are also agents to execute his will; and thence they worship him. They were next to the throne of God; and not only represent his attributes to us, but also, as the agents of his will, are invested with those attributes, that they may be his ministers the more effectually. Standing next the throne, they set the example of adoration, - an example which at once infuses itself throughout the heavenly hosts.

10. Four and twenty elders fall down. -They imitated the four living creatures in their adoration before the throne. All heaven worships God; all earth should worship Him. That liveth for ever and ever. - God is endlessly existent; the Being who is, and was, and is to come. Cast their crowns. - Why they wore those crowns we have shown under ver. 4. But when engaged in acts of worship, they are represented as taking them from their heads, and laying them down before the throne. The purport of this is, that they were moved

1st. "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honor, and power." 2d. For thou hast created all things." 3d. "And for thy pleasure they are and were created." God's worthiness to receive homage from his creatures arises from the fact that he is their Creator, and that he has made them for a great and glorious purpose. He made them for his pleasure. He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, Ezk. xxxiii. 11, and therefore he did not create them for endless death; and although the wicked die, tempo. rarily, this is not the end in which God rests as his design, for he has no pleasure in their death as such, and permits its reign only for a time, and for a good purpose. Adam Clarke has a fine remark on this passage: "God made all things for his pleasure; and through the same motive he preserves. Hence, it is most evident, that he hateth nothing that he hath made; and could have made no intelligent creature with the design to make it eternally miserable. It is strange that a contrary supposition has ever entered into the heart of man; and it is high time that the

power, for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

benevolent nature of the Supreme God should be fully vindicated from aspersions of this kind." Thus we have seen that the fourth chapter of the Revelation contains a hieroglyphical representation of the supposed dwelling-place of God, of the attributes of the Deity, and the court of heaven. God is described as worthy of the highest worship from all beings in heaven and on earth. In closing our notes on this chapter it is proper to remark, that the imagery is kept up in the revelator's mind through the whole Apocalypse. See iv. ô, 8, 9; v. 6, 14; vi. 1, 6; vii. 11; xiv. 3; xv. 7; xix. 4.

CHAPTER V.

1. And I saw. - John here continues the vision which he commenced to describe in the preceding chapter. He had painted the supposed celestial residence, with the throne of God, and the retinue that surrounded him, and rendered him divine honors; and he now proceeds, in the same style, to the rest of his vision. In the right hand. God held the book; it was the record of his will; it was in his care; and could not be revealed until the proper time, and the proper revelator came. TA book written within and on the back side. Book is not so good a translation as the word roll. The books of the ancients, in outward form and construction, were very different from ours. When we read, as in Rev. vi. 14, that heaven departed as a book when it is rolled together, we see the absurdity of translating the Greek word in every case by book; and hence the translators render it in that verse by scroll. The books of the ancients consisted of long scrolls, generally parchments, sewed or pasted together, and fastened at the ends to two rollers. In the case before us the

book is said to have been written "within and on the back side." How could a mere English reader understand this? To such a reader the last term thus applied would be understood to mean the cover, which is not very fit for being written on; and would, besides, contain no more than might have been contained in one additional leaf, though the book had consisted of a thousand leaves. Now, the long scrolls or books of the ancients were seldom written but on one side, here said to be within, because that side was turned inward in rolling. When any one of these scrolls was written on both sides, it contained twice as much as if written in the usual way. See Ezek. ii. 9, 10. The chief intention of the revelator, in mentioning this circumstance, must have been to signify that this volume was replete with information, and that its contents were not to be measured by its size. -(Campbell, Diss. ii. part i. sec. 3.) Sealed.. Is not this the same book referred to by Daniel? "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, even to the time of the end;" xii. 4. "And he said, Go thy way, Daniel; for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end;" ver. 9. Daniel had foretold the destruction coming upon Jerusalem; but he was directed to seal the roll until the time of the end. When the prophet foretold an event that was not to be of speedy occurrence, he was directed to seal up the sayings as if no use was to be made of the writings at that time, but the fulfilment was to be waited for. If, however, the event was near at hand, then the roll was for immediate use; it was not to be laid away; it was to be kept open. Hence we read, at the conclusion of the Apocalypse, "Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at