the book, and to open the seals thereof for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne, and the beasts,

and kindred, and people and tongue. They were not Jewish Christians

nation; from the Gentiles as well as the Jews. The Gentiles were to praise, and honor, and glorify, Christ as the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world. And what was to become of every nation, and kindred, and people, and tongue, out of whom these early converts, these first fruits, were gathered? Were they always to remain strangers to Christ? We shall see as we proceed.

Lamb. The phraseology is somewhat similar to what we found in Rev. iv. 11: “Thou art worthy, Oonly; they were gathered from every Lord, to receive glory, honor, and power," &c. And why was the Lamb worthy? and what was he worthy of? We shall find answers to these questions in the following words. To take the book. - He was worthy to take the book, and to loose the seals thereof. There was an honor in being permitted to do this; and the Lamb was worthy of that honor. Thou wast slain. - This was the reason why he was worthy. He had 10. Kings and priests. - This is given himself up to the cruel death still a part of the new song. The of the cross, and suffered and died. redeemed acknowledged that the He had not done this merely for the Lamb had made them kings and obtaining of glory. His own advan- priests unto God. They reigned with tage was not what he was seeking. Christ in his moral kingdom. They And hast redeemed us. - It was for had power over the nations to rule the good of others that he suffered them; Rev. ii. 26, 27; also, i. 6. and died. What more could he do? They joined with Christ in his kingly It is the highest gift a man can and priestly office; and so all true bestow, to surrender his own life. | Christians will do, until he shall Such was the sacrifice Jesus made; deliver up the kingdom to God, the and-on that account he was worthy to Father. On the earth. This part take the book and open the seals of the song is surely not to be forthereof. By thy blood. That is, gotten. This living and reigning by thy death. In consequence of with Christ is on the earth. Faithful Christ's death and resurrection, [and Christians are kings and priests unto the latter could not have taken place God, on the earth. How does Jesus without the former,] they had been reign on the earth? In what sense redeemed. They had believed on is he a king? He reigns over the him; they had obtained a knowledge hearts and consciences of men; he is of his word; and by faith in his a spiritual king. Every pure-hearted death, and resurrection, and teach- Christian is joined with him in this ings, they had been delivered from reign, and exercises a like influence, their errors and their sins. This is though vastly below him, of course, what is meant by being redeemed by in point of power. the blood of Christ. The blood is the metaphor for his death and for his doctrine. ¶ Out of every kindred, &c. These were the first fruits; they were not the general harvest. They were redeemed out of every nation,

-

11. Of many angels. In his further description of the celestial abode, John saw vast numbers of angels round about the throne, and round about the beasts and the elders. The number of them was illimitable. We

and the elders and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;

12 Saying with a loud voice,

Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.

13 And every creature which

They worshipped the Lamb that was slain; but they worshipped him not as God, for the worship of the Lamb is in all cases kept distinct from the worship of him who sitteth on the throne." The Lamb is not in a single instance represented as the being that sitteth on the throne. But even though the Lamb is not worshipped

perceive here, that the beasts and elders are not to be regarded as representatives of angels, but of the church on earth. Number of them. That is, the number of the angels was ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands. And what does this mean, only that they were innumerable? This phraseology is borrowed from the Old Testa-as God, but as the Redeemer, yet in ment. "The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels; the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place;" Psa. Ixviii. 17. Possibly the revelator had his mind on this passage, and possibly it was on the words of Daniel. "A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him; thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him;" vii. 10. The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews copies this phraseology in his description of the heavenly Jerusalem. "Ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels;" xii. 22.

the latter character he is "Worthy to receive [ascriptions of] power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing." This is a magnificent eulogium. And here we see again the tendency of the revelator's mind to the perfect number seven. The points of ascription were seven, and the evident intent was to frame as grand an eulogium as the mind could conceive.

13. And every creature, &c. - Here was something additional to all that had been said. The first worship which John saw rendered was offered by the four living creatures, and the four and twenty elders, viz., the representatives of the church on earth; Rev. iv. 9-11. They fell down before Him that sat on the throne. They worshipped, at first, the Father

12. Loud voice. The mingling of so many voices would be well described by a loud voice. The inten-only, for the Lamb had not then been tion of the revelator was not to give the idea that every one spoke as loudly as he could; but that such an innumerable host making an ascription together, it would of course be loud. This, therefore, furnishes no justification for the vociferous exhortations and prayers of some Christians. Worthy the Lamb. How can we refrain from quoting one verse of that beautiful hymn of Watts ?

"Worthy the Lamb, that died," they cry, "To be exalted thus;"

"Worthy the Lamb," our hearts reply, "For he was slain for us."

seen. When the Lamb took the book, to open the knowledge of it to men, then the four living creatures and the elders fell down before him, and rendered the prayers and praises of all the redeemed, who had been taken from "every kindred and tongue and people and nation." But a sublimer scene was yet to appear. All the hosts of heaven joined in the worship: angels, the number of whom was "ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands," said with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain," &c. Here all heaven is included, as well

is in heaven, and on the earth, as are in the sea, and all that and under the earth, and such are in them, heard I saying,

cal, - the creation of the revelator's glowing fancy,—to set forth, in the highest manner of which he was capable, the honor and glory which were due to the Lamb of God. Such being the principle on which we receive the language, we now proceed to make such inferences as seem to us to be justifiable.

as all who had been redeemed on earth, “out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;" ver. 9. To understand the true intent of the revelator in these matters, we must look carefully at his object and his plan. The great subject of all the praise was, that the Lamb had prevailed to open the seals of the book; ver. 9. All that follows in That the four living creatures, and this chapter is designed to reflect the four and twenty elders, existed honor upon him, in connection with only in the imagination of John, has the Father. That is the great point already been stated by us. But they at which the revelator aims. His formed the court of heaven, in John's object was not to teach how many description, and he calls all heaven Christ died to save,- -or how many to his aid in rendering honor to the had at that time been redeemed, Lamb. The second class that were - or how many angels there were, named had an actual existence, viz., or whether all mankind shall at last the redeemed. There were many be saved. We say, these were not who had been brought to know Christ, his objects. We may, indeed, very and had been redeemed out of every safely make inferences from what he nation, and kindred, and people, and said, in regard to these subjects. His tongue. These also John calls to his remarks are extraordinary, and very aid in magnifying the Lamb. In the valuable, as affecting important ques- third place, he summons all mantions in theology; but those points kind, every intelligent creature in were not the subjects to which he the universe, to aid him in praising directed his descriptions. His whole the Lamb; and the language which object was to glorify the Lamb. He he puts into their mouths is this, carries him up to the highest point of "Blessing, and honor, and glory, and honor; and puts all beings but God power, be unto him that sitteth upon himself beneath him. And what is the throne; and unto the Lamb, forthe plan followed by the revelator? ever and ever." Some writers, and We regard the passage, from the 8th among them Prof. Stuart in his late to the 14th verse of this chapter, as work on the Apocalypse, would try to one of the most eloquent which the make out that the revelator did not Apocalypse contains. There are three intend to embrace all mankind in his classes who are summoned to aid in description; that the word all here, ascribing glory to the Lamb. 1st. is not intended to signify every one, Those who had been redeemed out but is used merely in a general sense. of every nation, and kindred, and For ourself, we shall despair of ever people, and tongue. 2d. All the being able to frame language which angelic world, the number of whom will include all mankind, if this does was ten thousand times ten thousand, not. It seems to us that the phraseand thousands of thousands. And ology of the revelator is peculiar. as though this were not sufficiently He must have intended all intelligent brilliant, he summoned, 3d. "Every beings. This is the grandest periphcreature in heaven, and on earth, and rasis in the whole Bible, the fullest under the earth, and in the sea, and circumlocution. It is no wonder that all that are in them." We are Prof. Stuart said, several years ago, inclined to regard the whole as sceni-"Things in heaven, earth, and under

Blessing, and honor, and glory, the Lamb, for ever and ever. and power, be unto him that 14 And the four beasts said,

sitteth upon the throne, and unto Amen. And the four and twenty

the earth, is a common periphrasis of to teach any particular theological the Hebrew and New Testament wri- tenet. It was not the design he had ters for THE UNIVERSE, (ta pan, or in view. He was seeking to show ta panta, the ALL, the WHOLE.)" the praise of which Christ was worBut further, when John is speaking thy; and he represented all beings in of those redeemed on earth, he says the universe, especially those who they came "OUT OF every kindred, had been, and who were to be, reand tongue, and people, and nation;" deemed by him, as joining in his ver. 9. But not so here in yer. 13. praise. One can scarcely conceive There is no reference made to the why he should have done this, why OUT OF; the WHOLE (ta panta) are he should have used the expressive represented as praising God and the language he employed to represent Lamb. Mark the language: "Every all intelligent beings, if he had becreature which is in heaven, and on lieved, as some Christians in this day the earth, and under the earth, and do, that a large portion of those for such as are in the sea, and ALL THAT whom Jesus died will never, either ARE IN THEM, [there is an intentional in time or eternity, receive any benavoiding of the OUT OF,] heard I say-efit from his mission. Supposing the ing, Blessing, and honor," &c., &c.

Why should John summon less than all intelligent beings? Can any reason be assigned? Would his plan have been rendered any more perfect by summoning a part only of the human race? Those who maintain that his language had respect to a part only, ought to feel themselves able to establish the following three points: First, they should show, that the language employed by John was such as a man would naturally use in speaking of a part of the human race. Second, they should show, that for a part to be called on to praise Christ, and not the whole, was more consistent with the plan which John then had in his mind, than if the whole had been thus called on. And who will undertake that? Third, they should show, that for a part to be called on, and not the whole, was more consistent with the character of the Lamb of God, and the objects for which he labored as the mediator between God and men, than if the whole had been thus called on. We do not suppose, that John's purpose in the passage we have considered was

revelator to have entertained the opinions of the Calvinistic divines, is it probable that he would have used the language which he did use? If they were engaged in a work of the imagination, to describe the honor that Jesus shall receive, would they summon all intelligent beings, without distinction, and represent them all as joining in ascriptions of praise to Christ? It is highly improbable. It seems to us very unreasonable to suppose that the revelator did not intend to embrace all intelligent beings in his description; the whole form and force of his language tend to show that he did mean to embrace them all.