REVELATIO 15 COMMETARYEDITED BY GLENN PEASE

Seven Angels With Seven Plagues

1 I saw in heaven another great and marvelous

sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues—

last, because with them God’s wrath is completed.

1.BARNES, “And I saw another sign in heaven - Another wonder or extraordinary symbol. The word “sign” here - s?µe???? se‾meion - is the same which in Rev_12:1, Rev_12:3; Rev_13:13, is rendered “wonder” and “wonders,” and in Rev_13:14; Rev_16:14; Rev_19:20, “miracles.” The word is not found elsewhere in the Book of Revelation, though it is of frequent occurrence in other parts of the New Testament. See it explained in the notes on Rev_12:1. Here it is used to denote something wonderful or marvelous. This is represented as appearing in heaven, for the judgments that were to fall upon the world were to come thence. Compare Rev_11:19; Rev_12:1; Rev_14:1, Rev_14:6,Rev_14:13-14, Rev_14:17.Great and marvelous - Great and wonderful, or suited to excite admiration - ?a?µast?`? thaumaston. The subsequent statements fully justify this, and show that the vision was one of portentous character, and that was suited to hold the mind in astonishment.Seven angels - Compare the notes on Rev_1:4.Having the seven last plagues - The article here, “the seven last plagues,” would seem to imply that the plagues referred to had been before specified, or that it would be at once understood what is referred to. These plagues, however, have not been mentioned before, and the reason why the article is used here seems to be this: the destruction of this great anti-Christian power had been distinctly mentioned, Rev. 14. That might be spoken of as a thing now well known, and the mention of it would demand the article; and as that was well known, and would demand the article, so any allusion to it, or description of it, might be spoken of in the same manner, as a thing that was definite and fixed, and hence, the mention of the plagues by which it was to be accomplished would be referred to in the same manner. The word “plagues” - p???a`? ple‾gas, from, p????´ ple‾ge‾ - means properly a wound caused by a stripe or blow, and is frequently rendered “stripe” and “stripes,” Luk_12:48; Act_16:23, Act_16:33; 2Co_6:5; 2Co_11:23. It does not elsewhere occur in the New Testament, except in the Book of Revelation. In this book it is rendered “wound” in Rev_13:3, Rev_13:12, Rev_13:14; and plagues in Rev_9:20; Rev_11:6; Rev_15:1, Rev_15:6,Rev_15:8; Rev_16:9, Rev_16:21; Rev_18:4, Rev_18:8; Rev_21:9; Rev_22:18. It does not occur elsewhere. The secondary meaning of the word, and the meaning in the passage before us, is “a stripe” or “blow inflicted by God”; calamity or punishment. The word “last” means those under which the order of things here referred to would terminate; the winding up of the affairs respecting the beast and his image - not necessarily the closing of the affairs of the world. Important events were to occur subsequent to the destruction of this anti-Christian power Rev. 19–22, but these were the plagues which would come finally upon the beast and his image, and which would terminate the existence of this formidable enemy.For in them is filled up the wrath of God - That is, in regard to the beast and his image. All the expressions of the divine indignation toward that oppressive and persecuting power will be completed or exhausted by the pouring out of the contents of these vials. Compare notes on Rev_10:7, where the word rendered “filled up” - e?te?e´s?? etelesthe‾ - is rendered “finished.”

1B. BARCLAY, “THE VICTORS OF CHRIST

Rev. 15:1-2

And I saw another sign in heaven, great and wonderful--it was seven angels, with seven plagues

which are the final ones, because in them the wrath of God reaches its climax. And I saw what I can only call a sea of glass intermingled with fire; and I saw standing beside the sea of glass, with the harps of God, those who had emerged victorious from their struggle with the beast and with his image and with the number of his name.

It might have been thought that John could have conveniently stopped when he had told of the reaping of judgment; but he has still much to tell--the final horrors, of the thousand year reign of the saints, of the final battle and of the final blessedness.

He has told of the opening of the seven seals; he has told of the sounding of the seven trumpets; and now he must tell of the pouring out of the seven bowls of the wrath of God. His arrangement is typical of the way the apocalyptic writers tended to arrange their material in groups of seven and of three and would regard three groups of seven as standing for perfection.

The scene is in heaven. Before John tells of the seven angels with the seven bowls of wrath, he has a picture of those who came through martyrdom for Christ. They are standing beside the sea which looked as if it was of glass. We have already seen this sea in Rev. 4:6. This time the glass is intermingled with fire, a natural addition in the circumstances. This is a passage of judgment and fire in Scripture is often the symbol of judgment. There comes upon Egypt hail mingled with fire (Exo.9:24); the chaff is to be consumed in the fire (Matt.3:12); our God is a consuming fire (Heb.12:29). The whole scene is grimly illuminated with the lurid light of the fire of judgment which is to descend upon the earth.

We are shortly to hear of the song of Moses. This is the song which Moses sang when the children of Israel had come triumphantly through the dangers of the crossing of the Red Sea. Even so, as H. B. Swete puts it, the martyrs have come safely through the sea of martyrdom and have arrived at the shore of heaven.

It is said that the martyrs have emerged victorious from their contest with the forces of Antichrist. There is something very significant here. The martyrs died the most savage deaths and yet they are said to have emerged victorious. It was the very fact that they had died that made them victors; if they had remained alive by being false to their faith, they would have been the defeated. Again and again the records of the early church describe a day of martyrdom as a day of victory. In the record of the martyrdom of Saint Perpetua we read: "The day of their victory dawned, and they walked from prison to the amphitheatre as if they were walking to heaven, happy and serene in countenance." Jesus said: "Whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it" (Matt.16:25). The real victory is not prudently to preserve life but to face the worst that evil can do and if need be to be faithful to death. "May God deny you peace," said Unamuno the Spanish mystic, "and give you glory."

2. CLARKE, “Seven angels having the seven last plagues - Under the emblems of harvest and vintage God’s judgments on the enemies of his Church have already been pointed out: but these are farther signified by the seven vials, which are called the seven last plagues of God. The seven last plagues appear to fall under the seventh and last trumpet. As the seventh seal contained the seven trumpets, so the seventh trumpet contains the seven vials. And as seven angels sounded the seven trumpets, so seven angels are appointed to pour out the seven vials, angels being always the ministers of Providence. This chapter contains the opening vision which is preparatory to the pouring out of the vials.The Targum of Jonathan on Isa_51:17, Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of his fury, uses the same words employed by the evangelist here: “Jerusalem, thou hast received from the face of the Lord the cup of his wrath; ?? ???? ??? ????? yath pailey casa dilvata, “the Phials of the cup of malediction “ find again on Isa_51:22 : I will take out of thy hand the cup of malediction; ?? ???? ??? ????? yath Pailey casa dechemti, “the Phials of the cup of my indignation.”

2B. ELLICOTT, “(1) And I saw another sign in (the) heaven.—The sign is, as we noticed before

(Revelation 12:1), a token, not a mere empty wonder. This sign is called “great and marvellous;” it introduces a new set of scenes; the same characters will reappear, but we must start with fresh attention.The seer sees seven angels (not “the seven angels;” it is perfectly needless to ask what angels, orto try and identify them with the trumpet angels) having seven plagues, the last, because in them is completed the wrath of God. The statement that these are the last plagues seems to show that the set of visions now commencing carry us down to the end of the age; there are no other plagues after these: they are the last plagues; the vials, like the seals and the trumpets, run up to the final consummation. They are plagues; the word carries us back to Egypt: on Egypt fell the ten plagues which showed forth God’s righteous power, and exposed the hollow pretensions of the magicians and their gods; the wild beast-power and the false prophet-power of that day was crippled and exposed. In like manner upon the wild beast-power of later ages the plagues of God fall. They are plagues, because they are sent forth, not like the trumpets to warn men to repent, but upon those who have obstinately refused to return; they are not goads to the wavering, but they are strokes upon the wilful and hardened; they are directed against those who are deliberately hostile.

3. GILL, “And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous,.... This chapter is a preparation to the pouring out of the seven vials, as Rev_16:1 is to the sending of the seven epistles, and Rev_2:1 to the seven seals and seven trumpets: the vision is called a "sign", because what was seen was significative of future events; a sign of the coming of Christ, of his kingdom, and of the destruction of antichrist; and it is said to be a sign "in heaven", where John was called up, and where he had his visions; and it was "another", a different one from that in Rev_12:1 which represented the downfall of Paganism, but this the downfall of Popery; and it is a very "great" one, it is expressive of great things, as the fall of Babylon the great, or the judgment of the great whore, and the great glory of the church and kingdom of Christ; and it is "marvellous", for the two grand events it respects are very wonderful; as that antichrist, who was once in such power, should be destroyed, and that by such weak means, in the esteem of men, as the preaching of the Gospel, which is no less marvellous than the fall of Jericho by the sound of rams' horns; and that the church, which was in so low an estate in the wilderness, for the space of 1260 days or years, should become so glorious. The vision follows,

seven angels, having the seven last plagues; these are not the same angels that blew the seven trumpets, for they are not contemporary with them, but are more likely the same with those in the preceding chapter; though they seem rather to be different from them: if these were angels literallyunderstood, their having plagues is no objection to their being good angels, since such are often the executioners of God's wrath; and that these good ones, appears from one of them talking with John, and showing him the judgment of antichrist, and another the bride, the Lamb's wife, and her glory, Rev_17:1 though they seem rather to be the ministers of the Gospel, since they are said to come out of the temple, Rev_15:6 and since the destruction of antichrist will be by the breath of Christ's mouth, or by the preaching of the Gospel; unless it should be thought that members of churches are designed, since these angels receive their vials from one of the four living creatures, Rev_15:7 or preachers of the word; and may denote some very principal men, as kings, who will now be come to Zion, and be members of Gospel churches, and will be the nursing fathers and protectors of them; and these will hate the whore, and burn her flesh with fire; but of these angels, see more on Rev_15:6. They are said to have "the seven last plagues"; that is, in their vials; for these seven plagues are the same with the seven vials of the wrath of God, to be poured out upon antichrist; and are no other than so many steps, ways, and means, by which God will bring on and finish his destruction: these are called the last plagues, because they will be in the last days: there have been plagues before, as at the destruction of the old world, and of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the plagues of Egypt, and the downfall of several monarchies and kingdoms, and of Paganism in the Roman empire; but these will fall upon antichrist, and will be the last upon him, for they will issue in his utter ruin; they will be the last plagues upon the earth, there will be no other after them, but the conflagration of the world, and the general destruction of the wicked in hell. These plagues are the same with the third woe, and are an explanation of it, and belong to the sounding of the seventh trumpet, which brings in the kingdoms of this world to become the kingdoms of Christ, and the time of God's wrath upon the nations, or Gentiles, the Papists, and of judging the dead, and destroying them that destroyed the earth, Rev_11:15 for these plagues do

not follow upon the harvest and vintage, nor has this vision any respect to them, nor to be connected with the preceding chapter, but with Rev_11:1 and gives an enlarged view, both of the glory of Christ's kingdom, and of the ruin of antichrist, by these plagues, called the last:

for in them is filled up the wrath of God; upon the beast, and his followers.

4. HENRY, “Here we have the preparation of matters for the pouring out of the seven vials, which was committed to seven angels; and observe how these angels appeared to the apostle - in heaven; it was in a wonderful manner, and that upon account, 1. Of the work they had to do, which was to finish the destruction of antichrist. God was now about to pour out his seven last plagues upon that interest; and, as the measure of Babylon's sins was filled up, they should now find the full measure of his vindictive wrath. 2. The spectators and witnesses of this their commission: all that had gotten the victory over the beast, etc. These stood on a sea of glass, representing this world, as some think, a brittle thing, that shall be broken to pieces; or, as others, the gospel covenant, alluding to the brazen sea in the temple, in which the priests were to wash (the faithful servants of God stand upon the foundation of the righteousness of Christ); or, as others, the Red Sea, that stood as it were congealed while the Israelites went through; and, the pillar of fire reflecting light upon the waters, they would seem to have fire mingled with them; and this to show that the fire of God's wrath against Pharaoh and his horses should dissolve the congealed waters, and destroy them thereby, to which there seems to be an allusion by their singing the song of Moses, in which, (1.) They extol the greatness of God's works, and the justice and truth of his ways, both in delivering his people and destroying their enemies. They rejoiced in hope, and the near prospect they had of this, though it was not yet accomplished. (2.) They call upon all nations to render unto God the fear, glory, and worship, due to such a discovery of his truth and justice: Who shall not fear thee? Rev_15:4.

5. JAMISON, “Rev_15:1-8. The last seven vials of plagues: Song of the victors over the beast.the seven last plagues — Greek, “seven plagues which are the last.”is filled up — literally, “was finished,” or “consummated”: the prophetical past for the future, the future being to God as though it were past, so sure of accomplishment is His word. This verse is the summary of the vision that follows: the angels do not actually receive the vials till Rev_15:7; but here, in Rev_15:1, by anticipation they are spoken of as having them. There are no more plagues after these until the Lord’s coming in judgment. The destruction of Babylon (Rev_18:2) is the last: then in Rev_19:11-16 He appears.

5B. NOTES, “ Chapter 14 took us to the end and so here we begin again. Most all schools agree that the book of Revelation is not chronological. This is the third and last of the three great signs in heaven.1. woman clothed with the sun in 12:1.2. great red dragon opposed to God in 12:3.3. seven angels with seven last plagues here.

This is the last of them for after this there is to be only joy and no more judgment. The plagues came before the Exodus out of Egypt and plagues come before the eternal exodus out of this fallen world into the new heaven and new earth.This is the grand fanale of the wrath of God. Barnhouse says, "The idea of finality is uppermost." It is over after this and so the songs of victory already begin for the light at the end of the tunnel can be clearly seen. This is the end of the repetition for there is no more judgment to come. God's wrath does have an end, but his love never ends.

Rev. 15:1-4 Another sign in introduced--seven angels having seven last plagues. These are the last judgmentswhich God brought upon the wicked of that day. First, however, we have a brief interlude as the redeemed--those who came off victorious from the beast--sing praise to God. The sea of glass was introduced in the throne scene in 4:6. Those who had obtained victory over the beast (the martyrs) are before the throne of God (the same as in 7:9-17 and 14:1-5). The sea of glass "mingled with fire" perhaps symbolized the fire of God's judgment on the beast or the persecutions

by which the saints were purified. Their "having harps of God" symbolized their praise and adoration to God. The victorious sing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. When Israel stood on the banks of the Red Sea and saw Pharaoh and all his army drowned, Moses sang a song of victory (Ex. 15). Likewise, the victorious saints, when standing on the sea of glass, sing a song of exaltation and praise to God for His works, justice, and holiness. Much of the language given in the praise is parallel to expressions found in the Psalms. (Compare Psalm 89:9; 111:2; 139:14; 145:17). Much comfort and joy was brought to the suffering saints on earth when they beheld this glorious and triumphant scene. DAVID RIGGS

5C. COFFMAN. “This, the shortest chapter in Revelation, together with Revelation 16, for which it is merely the introduction, again takes us through the whole cycle of time to the eternal judgment (Revelation 16:17-21). Several times already the final judgment has been prophesied (Revelation 6:12-17; 11:15-19; 14:14-20). Many have pointed out the remarkable resemblances between the seals, trumpets, and bowls. All are judgments of God; the areas affected by them are similar, especially in the trumpets and bowls sequences. Thus, in the trumpet series: (1) the earth; (2) the sea; (3) the rivers; (4) the sun; (5) the abyss, or throne of the beast; (6) the Euphrates; and (7) the final judgment are exactly the same as the things mentioned in the bowl sequence, and in the same order. Hendriksen thoroughly developed these parallels.[1]There is also a progression. Whereas the trumpet judgments were restricted to "one third," the bowl judgments are not so limited. However, the woman, the dragon, and the two beasts of Revelation 12-14 are operative throughout exactly the same time period; namely, all the way to the end of time.Some scholars, such as Ladd, view those chapters (Revelation 12-14) as "an interlude between the trumpets and bowls";[2] but as Roberson observed:The seven bowls are usually classed with the seals and trumpets; and there obviously is a close affinity, particularly with the latter; but the connection with the woman and her enemies (Revelation12-14) is even closer. They belong to the long struggle of the church in the world.[3]The conclusion required by all of this was stated by William Milligan:Nothing can more clearly prove that the Revelation of St. John was not written upon chronological principles than the scenes to which we are introduced in the fifteenth and sixteenth chapters of the book.[4]"These chapters describe the entire period between the first and second coming of Christ."[5] In all of these extensive views, "John is telling us something of what will happen in the end-time and something of what goes on in human history."[6] "The statement that these are the last plagues shows that the set of visions now commencing carries us clown to the end of the age."[7] The thought is not that of focusing all of the revelation upon the very end-time, but a bird's-eye view of all time subsequent to the prophecy, including the very end.But the vision does not move immediately to the terrible judgments. "Once more there is a pause, as if the safety of God's people in the midst of all this sin and judgment could not be insisted on sufficiently."[8] The anticipatory, consolatory vision of the song of the redeemed is again heard (Revelation 15:2-4).Lenski pointed out another relation between the seals, trumpets, and bowls: "The seals reveal, the trumpets announce, and the bowls execute the long-restrained anger of the living God."[9] Earle's excellent outline of this short chapter is:I. The waiting angels (Revelation 15:1).II. The victorious saints (Revelation 15:2-4).III. The emerging angels (Revelation 15:5-8).[10]SIZE>[1] William Hendriksen, More than Conquerors (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1956), p. 26.[2] George Eldon Ladd, A Commentary on the Revelation of John (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1972), p. 203.[3] Charles H. Roberson, Studies in Revelation (Tyler, Texas: P. D. Wilmeth, P.O. Box 3305,1957), p. 114.[4] As quoted by Albertus Pieters, Studies in the Revelation of St. John (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1954), p. 241.[5] William Hendriksen, op. cit., p. 191.[6] Leon Morris, Tyndale Commentaries, Vol. 20, Revelation (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1969), p. 187.

[7] W. Boyd Carpenter, Ellicott's Bible Commentary, Vol. VIII (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1959), p. 604.[8] J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1937), p. 1085.[9] R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. John's Revelation (Minneapolis, Minn.: Augsburg Publishing House, 1943), p. 461.[10] Ralph Earle, Beacon Bible Commentary, Vol. 10 (Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 1967), p. 584.And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having seven plagues, which are the last, for in them is finished the wrath of God. (Revelation 15:1)And I saw another sign in heaven ... Beasley-Murray connected this mention of the seven angels with "the seven angels that stand before God (Revelation 8:2),"[11] concluding that this structural parallelism between the trumpets and bowls corresponds to a parallelism in content. Lenski, however, did not agree, translating this expression without the article (the), "I saw ... seven angels,"[12] as in our version (ASV). The point would not appear to be important. The perfect number "seven" could also symbolize an innumerable company of angels waiting and ready to do the will of God. Hardly anything here is to be understood literally. Plummer observed that:The last time this statement was made was in Revelation 12:1, where the history of the war between Satan and the church began ... Again, John returns to the beginning to trace the development of the punishments inflicted upon men for their worship of the devil.[13]Seven plagues, which are the last ... This does not mean that they refer exclusively to the end. "Whenever in history the wicked fail to repent in answer to partial manifestations of God's anger in judgments, the final effusion of wrath follows."[14][11] G. R. Beasley-Murray, The Book of Revelation (Greenwood, South Carolina: The Attic Press, 1974), p. 234.[12] R. C. H. Lenski, op. cit., p. 453.[13] A. Plummer, The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 22, Revelation (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950), p. 381.[14] William Hendriksen as quoted by Morris, op. cit., p. 187.

6. PULPIT, “And I saw another sign in heaven. The last time we had this expression was in Rev_12:1-17., where the history of the war between Satan and the Church was begun. Once more we have a new departure, the seer again, as it were, returning to the beginning? in order to trace the course of the punishments inflicted on men for their worship of the devil. Rev_15:1-8. gives a short summary of this, which is expanded in Rev_16:1-21.; and it is introduced, as usual, by a vision of the saints in glory, in order to comfort and support the Christian in his warfare (cf. Rev_6:1, Rev_6:2; Rev_7:3; Rev_14:1-5, Rev_14:13). The "sign" is what is described in the following account. "In heaven" probably merely means in a conspicuous position (cf. Rev_12:1). Great and marvellous. On account of the terrible nature of the events depicted. Seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God; seven angels having seven plagues, the last [ones], because in them is finished the wrath of God. The seer describes what he sees subsequently, as if all the actors were present at one moment. In reality, he sees the actions of the "seven angels" in succession. The number seven denotes the universal, all-extending nature of the plagues (see on Rev_1:4; Rev_5:1, etc.). They are the last plagues, because they lead on to the description of the final fall of the power of the devil in its various forms, and to the account of the last judgment of God and the eternal bliss of the saints in glory.

7. BI 1-4, “Divine severity and human heroismI.Divine severity. Undoubtedly in the government of this world there is the stormy as well as the mild, the gloomy as well as the pleasant. The government under which we live on this earth often assumes aspects of terrible severity.II. Human heroism. The heroes here suggested are:1. Those who have conquered the wrong. Sin is a hideous, ravenous, iniquitous “beast,” served and worshipped by unredeemed men the world over. The foe against which the true hero fights is sin, and sin only.2. Those who ascribe their victory to God. Observe—

(1) Their posture is one of safety. The sea does not surge about them; it is beneath them. It is a position of splendour. The crystal sea on which they stand is made brilliant by fire. There is no posture of soul so sublime and safe as the true posture of worship. The Shekinah beams around them as their glory and defence. Observe—(2) Their anthem.(a) Triumphant praise.(b) Philanthropic devotion. (David Thomas, D. D.)

The song of Moses U and the song of the Lamb.—The song of Moses and the LambI. The triumphant choir. He calls these triumphant choristers “conquerors out of the beast,” which implies that victory over him is an escape from a dominion in which the conquerors before their victory were held. They have fought their way, as it were, out of the land of bondage, and have won their liberty. By Christ we conquer. Through faith, which lays hold on His power and victory, we too may conquer.II. The position of this victorious chorus. As Moses and the ransomed hosts stood on the shore of the Red Sea, so these conquerors are represented by anticipation as standing on the safe beach, and looking out upon this sea of glass mingled with fire, which, calm, crystal, clear, stable, and yet shot through and through with the red lines of retributive judgment, sleeps above the buried oppressors. Observe that besides its picturesque appropriateness and its historical allusion, this sea of glass has a distinct symbolical meaning. “Thy judgments are a mighty deep.” “Oh! the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God; how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!” That great ocean of the judgment of God is crystalline—clear though it be deep. If we cannot look to its lowest depths, that is not because there is any mud or foulness there, but partly because the light from above fails before it reaches the abysses, and partly because our eyes are uneducated to search its depths. If it be clear as far as the eye can see, let us trust that beyond the reach of the eye the clearness is the same. And it is a crystal ocean as being calm. They who stand there have gotten the victory, and bear the image of the Master. By reason of their conquest, and by reason of their sympathy with Him, they see that what to us, tossing upon its surface, appears such a troubled and tempestuous ocean, is calm and still; and their vision, not ours, is the true one. It is a “sea of glass mingled with fire.” Divine acts of retribution, as it were, flash through it, if I may so say, like those streaks of red that you see in Venice glass, or like some ocean smitten upon the one side of every wave by a fiery sunlight, while the other side of each is dark. So through that great depth of God’s dealings there flashes the light of retribution.III. The occasion of the song, and the song itself. “They sing the song of Moses and of the Lamb.” The “song of Moses” was a song of triumph over destructive judgment; the “song of the Lamb,” says my text, is set in the same key. The one broad, general lesson to be drawn from this is the essential unity, in spite of all superficial diversities, of the revelation of God in the Old Covenant by law and miracle and retributive acts, and the revelation of God in the blew Covenant by the Cross and Passion of Jesus Christ. And there is another principle here, and that is the perfect harmony of the retributive acts of God’s destructive dealings in this world, and the highest conception of His love and mercy which the gospel brings us. “When the wicked perish,” says one of the old proverbs, “there is shouting.” And so there ought to be. When some hoary oppression that has been deceiving mankind for centuries with its instruments and accomplices is swept off the face of the earth, the more men have entered into the meaning of Jesus Christ’s mission and work, and the more they feel the pitying indignation which they ought to feel at seeing men led away by evil, and made miserable by oppression, the more they will rejoice. And the last thought that I would suggest to you is, that according to the teaching of my text, we may take that old, old story of the ransomed slaves and the baffled oppressor, and the Divine intervention, and the overwhelming ocean, as a prophecy full of radiant hope for the world. That is how it is used here. Pharaoh is the beast, the Red Sea is this “sea of glass mingled with fire,” the ransomed Israelites are those that have conquered their way out of the dominion of the beast. And the “song of Moses and of the Lamb” is a song parallel to the cadences of the ancient triumphant chorus, and celebrating the annihilation of that power which drew the world away from God. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)

The hymn of the victorsI. Who were they that sang? It is a question of moment for men still. Man is man the world through, and no temptation has touched us with its polluting finger which did not touch them. The image of the beast and the varied semblances of sins had presented themselves to their minds. The stamp of indulged desire, of unrestrained passion, of selfishness and mean thoughts, of untruth and cowardice, of unmanliness and impurity, was heated ready for their brows and backs as it is for ours. The number of the beast is sometimes a swelling magnitude, always a perfected and enticing product in the computation of earth. Public opinion, now elevated to a moral law as high in authority and terrible in sanction as that of Horeb, had to be counted with and opposed by them as by us. The morals of their age had to be avoided as a test or guide, and they, as we, had to rise higher than material interests, and explode, with the stout breath of earnestness and sincerity, the bubbles which, though hollow and worthless, were radiant under the worldly sun. They had come victorious from the beast and from his image, and from his mark and from the number of his name. The essence of their triumph lay in this—that they had educated themselves to look upon the permanent relation of things. The tendency that always tempts us is to see only the narrow relations that are close about us. They think only upon the daily occupation of hand and head, and their converse with their friends embraces no greater theme. But the true mind, beyond the glare of the present, sees the brightness of another life, and the reality of another world. He is continually applying the standard of eternal life to the fragmentary portions of existence on earth.II. See, too, the subject and the value of their song. Like nearly every hymn in this Book, it tells of the works of God. It is not silent upon the judgments that are seen, nor upon the sorrows and failures of men; but it looks to the One Hand that is powerful, and it asserts that all the works which are done by God are just works and true. There is a sense in which we can clearly see this ourselves, for we can distinguish between the operation and the result. There is a solvent with God for the issues of human deeds. Man works while God overrules. Centuries of investigation have been heaped upon centuries; books beyond counting have been written; but notwithstanding, we are still like children gazing curiously at a great machine, and our conclusions and theories are like heaps of shifting sand upon a forsaken shore.III. Behold the prospect they hold out.1. It is a prospect of advancing holiness to themselves. Though enwrapt within eternal blessedness there are long distances, we will not say of purity, but of attainments, which they may yet tread. Is immortality, then, a range and region of perpetual progress? Are we not to lie down in it and sleep, and let the great worlds of a renewed universe wheel round unthought of and unobserved? The whole of the Book says, No. It speaks of endless activity, of mightier attempts and more glorious achievements than we dared to conceive on the earth, of ceaseless efforts towards a glad success.2. As to the progress of earth. “All nations,” they say, “shall come and worship before Thee.” Out of the present actual world there is constantly springing, hour by hour, another world, which in its turn begets a fresh condition of things; for nothing sleeps, and events are never still. The prophecy in this light is inspired with force and fruit. There is a progress of the nations, and therefore of those who compose the nations, distinctly foretold. For worship is the condition of progress, development, and advancement. The nation, as the man, which has ceased to worship, has ceased to grow. Ideals then are lost or dissolved. The higher is unattained because there is no vision of the Highest. But where worship is real, unflagging, and unabused, where nations can see the Eternal One, that sits upon His throne, and hear the hymns that swell from lips of brothers who have fought the good fight of faith, and by the might of Christ have won, there is the guarantee of national principles that will not be cheaply sold, of national stability that challenges and defies assault, and of national progress that expands and strengthens because it has learnt that there is a rhythm and sweetness in the life which has shaped itself to the changeless law, and an articulate gladness and glory which issues from the cross of self-denial and sacrifice. (W. M. Johnston, M. A.)

The song of God’s heroesI. The service of song is the highest employment of redeemed man. The redeemed whom John saw in vision had left behind them all the imperfections of life, and reached its consummation. The toil and the care were ended. The long battle had closed. Here is the first point to be marked, viz.,

that perfection of life was the spirit of their song. All the discipline of the earthly had been for this end, that every conflict of the heart should become the element of praise; that every sorrow should change into thanksgiving; that their souls, by all the education of life, should be tuned as harps for God. We may observe still further, that it is the noblest office of music to become the language of those emotions that border on the infinite and eternal. There is nothing in this world that can so completely lift a man’s soul above the cares and doubts of time, right up to the throne of God, as the inspiring notes of a psalm of praise. Here, then, is the lesson which the words have for us to-day: just as Christian life approaches the heavenly spirit, that life becomes one song of praise. For the essential principle of Christian life is self-surrendering love to God, and that can bring thanksgiving out of sorrow. You may have known men, old and grey in the Christian conflict, over whom great sorrows have rolled, but they are yet young in soul, for life has renewed its youth in thanksgiving.II. That song unites the spiritual heroes of all the ages. Men from the dispensation of Moses—menfrom that of Christ; this seems implied in the words, “They sing the song of Moses and the Lamb.”1. The true heroes of all ages are engaged in one conflict. We are told in the 13th chapter that “the beast had power given unto him to make war with the saints.” There were men in the past whose battle was hard fought in the heart—they overcame. There are such men now. Life is full of heroisms. He who in the little things of daily life fights on unnoticed and unknown, is in spirit a great warrior. The man who does not know hard struggles does not know how the soul rises into song.2. One means of victory—faith U Observe what a glorious idea this gives of heaven. Men from all ages united by one conflict; their song tuned to one spirit of praise. No age is barren—as in music, many voices, but one harmony UIII. Its theme is God’s connected dispensations. On earth we praise God for redemption; in heaven they praise God for the whole economy of revelation. (E. L. Hull, B. A.)

The song of Moses and the LambWithout pretending to settle what events may be thus prophetically alluded to, we may safely consider our text as belonging to a glorious season, when Christ shall have mightily interfered on behalf of His people, and swept away those who have resisted His authority. The song is a song of exultation, sung by the righteous, and called forth by judgments which have overwhelmed the wicked. The song is one not only of thanksgiving to the Lord, but of exultation over the wicked, and of rejoicing in their destruction. We hardly know a more perplexing truth, nor one which more shows how vast a change will have passed over our feelings when we shall have put on immortality, than that of our acquiescing in the punishment of the wicked; yea, of our approving that punishment, and magnifying God for the vindication of His attributes. It is not merely that those whom wrath overtakes and consigns to perdition will be our fellow-men, beings of the same race, and therefore linked with us by most intimate associations. This were much; for this would seem enough to seal our lips, or cause lament to mingle with our song. But it must come to pass that, in variety of instances, there will be the division of families, so that whilst one member is with the Israelites, another will be with the Egyptians. And this division must be thoroughly known. We must believe that, with all the consciousness that some whom they tenderly loved have earned for themselves a heritage of shame and despair, the ransomed of the Lord will feel how the Divine attributes have been magnified in the punishment awarded to the impenitent, and join in praising their Maker for the manifestation of His justice. And this—however we may shrink from what appears so unnatural—this describes to us what is loftiest in Christian attainment, and what, therefore, may justly be looked for in our future state of being. I know that it would be Christian perfection to have God all in all; to make Him so completely the centre of the affections, or to be so lost in Deity as to have no will but His will, and no end but His glory. We proceed to observe that the song of the triumphant Church is described, not only as the song of Moses, but as that also of the Lamb. “They sang the song of Moses, the servant of God, and of the Lamb.” Now we may be said to feel more at home with the song of the Lamb than with that of Moses; for this is a song of which, even now, we can strike some notes, whereas we look on that of Moses with a kind of awe and dread, as though it were not suited to such minstrelsy as ours. It is the song of grateful confession that we owe everything to the Redeemer, and that His blood and righteousness have been the alone procuring causes of deliverance from ruin and a title to immortality. And there is vast beauty in the retention of the name of the Lamb in the melodies of

heaven. Were not the wounds of the Redeemer the arms with which He mastered the enemies of God? and what are they now but trophies of the unmeasured achievement? To appear therefore as the Lamb, “a lamb as it had been slain,” in the midst of all the magnificence of the everlasting city, is to appear as the mighty Conqueror who led captivity captive. And if it be as the Lamb that Christ is most glorious, what but the song of the Lamb shall be most on the lips of those for whom He died? We doubt not there will be many and various hymns chanted in the celestial temple. Archangel to angel, cherubim to seraphim, and man to man, will roll sublime choruses, such as our speech cannot now embody, nor our thought embrace. But one hymn there will be which shall be peculiar to men. One anthem shall be heard in which none but those who were once ready to perish will be able to join, but which their voices will never be weary of uttering: “Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.” “Great and marvellous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints.” Such is a portion of the lofty anthem. To take this anthem in Rs largest application, we may say that it celebrates the greatness and the justice of God as displayed in the occurrences of the judgment day. And it is well worth your attention, that these two characteristics shall be finally declared to have distinguished the whole business of the judgment. It will be a great and marvellous work, when the tares shall have been separated from the wheat, all unrighteousness detected and exposed, the wicked banished, and the faithful exalted. The spectacle has never yet been presented to the inhabitants of this earth, so fraught with the manifestations of Omnipotence as shall be that of the general judgment. What display of power can equal that which will be given by the resurrection of the dead? And if the gathering together of the buried generations, reconstructed and reanimated, be the mightiest imaginable display of God’s power over matter, what shall more declare His power over mind than that laying bare of all the secrets of men’s hearts, on which the last sentences shall be founded, and by which they will be justified? Then you must add the portents and signs which are to herald the Judge: the storm and the calm alike proclaim that Omnipotence is there. But this is not the whole of the chorus. The Church affirms God’s ways to be just and true, as well as His works to be great and marvellous. And this is a most important assertion, when considered as called forth by the transactions of the judgment. There is something overwhelming in the thought that the untold millions of the human population will undergo an individual scrutiny; that they will come, man by man, to the bar of their God, and each be tried by his own privileges and powers. We can hardly put from us the feeling that, in so enormous an assize, there will be cases comparatively overlooked, for which due allowance is not made, or in which the sentence is not founded on a full estimate of the circumstances. But whatever our doubts and suspicions beforehand, “Just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints,” is the confession, you observe, which will follow the judgment. It is a confession, we are bold to say, in which the lost will join with the redeemed. The feeling in every condemned man shall be that, had there been none but himself to be tried, his case could not have received a more patient attention, or a more equitable decision. And we rejoice in hearing the chorus which is chanted on the glassy and fiery sea. It tells us that God will be justified when He speaks, and clear when He judgeth. (H. Mellvill, B. D.)

The song of Moses and of the LambWhat has one to do with the other? Here are the oldest of recorded events and words joined with the farthest and latest possible events and words. Here is the beginning of earth’s human history united with its Divine consummation. Here are the words of earth and heaven coupled together. The song of Moses, and the song of the Lord Christ—the song of Israelitish victory and of Christian victory, in one breath of thanksgiving. And as we look more carefully we see it is all very full of parallels. The singers in both cases stand by a sea—the Red Sea of Egypt, and heaven’s sea of fire,—and they are each singing in an attitude and strain of deliverance and freedom from enemies and of victory. And the sentiments of the two songs are the same. God’s great power and display of judgment, and the acknowledgment of all nations.I. When I find an event like the old Israelitish victory, or a song like that of Moses, carried forward and appearing in the future heavenly history and combined with Christ’s victory and song, it lights up human life with a new meaning and radiance.1. It has, in the first place, this value: it connects the end with the beginning. How early that old victory and song of Moses were—one of the very first human victories under God’s guidance! How far away seems that first victory from the heavenly end, when there shall be no more struggle

or pain! How since Moses multitudes and generations and companies of men have all had their contests again and again! How, with every day, it comes to each one of us! How premature seems the old song of victory when a new enemy is to come immediately! How ceaseless seems the struggle to us! And so God puts into one phrase for us the earliest and last song of victory, the beginning and the end, the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb, the victory of Moses over Pharaoh and one evil, and Christ’s victory over all evil and all enemies. No matter how early in the struggle you may be, the end is shown, and Christ’s victory is coupled with it, and you are to think of them together. Do not say, discouragingly, “The contest will be renewed again in another way to-morrow”; but say, “The contest will end surely, and ritually victoriously in the Lamb’s triumph.”1. But there is a better, deeper thought of encouragement than this, which comes out of that connection—“the song of Moses and of the Lamb.”2. It is that all righteous issues, and all struggles of men, are parts of Christ’s issue and struggle and victory; and so each man’s song is sung with and in the new song of the Lamb. We need to think of this. Christ’s contest and death and victory were not all a history alongside of ours, to which we can look up from our own and take courage; but they contain ours and all the struggles and victories of the servants of God everywhere. See how close and dear that makes Christ’s life to you. Oh, as I am led through a life’s discipline, am told to do without this or that, am bid to contend with this or that selfishness, am pressed hard by this or that sorrow, am tempted to give up my trust in God’s care and to be sour or reckless, how it helps me to go and put all this experience into the gospel story, to translate it into the struggle of the Lamb of God, to think of it all as a part of His issue. My struggle and victory to-day is no mere disjointed, separated thing, done alone and without lasting effect, but it is a part of a great victory of the Lamb already won. This little song, which I sing through my tears, as I conquer a hard temptation and struggle through a sea of evil, is a part of Christ’s song. It does not lose itself in earth’s air and die, but it shall live in Christ’s song to the end of eternity, when tears are all wiped away.3. And so that brings me to a third thing which the phrase teaches us about our life on earth—it is that God would have it happy. Earth’s song He continues into heaven, not its tears: Moses’ song of victory, not of his troubles. Are you singing any hymn of victory to-day? Are you joyful over a dead sin, or are you merely merry in slavery or sad in defeat?II. What we learn of heaven and of its life from the text.1. First, it gives us this thought of heaven: as a place in which each one of us has a marked individuality and history, even in Christ’s presence. Heaven would be an unbearable place unless we lived ourselves individually—enjoyed and felt ourselves. And this thought is given us in the fact that the song sung by Moses the servant of God is remembered and repeated there. Human names and experiences and victories are mentioned there in the very company of the name and experience and victory of the Lamb. A city of kings will heaven be; all natures marked and distinct; all with a history and a claim to distinct remark and notice.2. Then there is this further thought—the communion of saints. They not only all join in the song of the Lamb, but in the song of Moses the servant of God. They use the words which commemorate not only Christ’s victory, but the victory of Moses too. Think of it: the voices that all go up to Christ, all also using Moses’ experience and Moses’ song words! It is that Christian truth: Your experience is mine, and mine is yours. Every man’s victory I sing, and every man sings mine, as part of that same salvation of the Lamb which has rescued and sanctified you or me or the man who sings. Oh, get some of this heavenly power of communion of saints now! Do not let anything cut you off from a life that is showing God’s victory. Sing its song; put yourself into its experience and place, and you will sing your own song and fill your own place all the better and more fully.3. Then, lastly, this text tells me of the thoughts which are the atmosphere of heaven. Often we wonder—“What is the new song? What will be my state of mind—what my sentiments?” This passage tells us. The song of the Lamb is the song of Moses, the servant of God. The words of the song of heaven. They are but the nobler, fuller use of Moses’ lyric words. Heaven’s song is a new setting to God’s harp of any song we have sung on gaining a spiritual victory over enemies by God’s power here and now and in this earthly life. Let a man triumphantly resist a temptation, conquer a passion, win a new grade of character by God’s power, and he has the very sentiments exalting and moving his heart and life which the new song will have in richest and completest harmony. (Fred. Brooks.)

The song of triumph

The life of the redeemed is here represented as a service of song. This will not seem surprising if we reflect on the function of song. There has never been a time in which music has played so large a part in the general life as it does to-day. What is music? It is not the mere pastime of an idle hour, or the mere sensuous gratification of an artistic mind.1. It is a language, the highest, except poetry, that we are acquainted with, if indeed, in fundamental particulars they can be separated the one from the other. It is often the only language that can give expression to the highest thoughts of the mind or the deepest feelings of the heart. It is also to be noticed that all life, as it approaches perfection, becomes melodious. The life of heaven, then, is a service of song, not after any idle or sensuous fashion, but because the life of heaven is life perfected. Man in complete accord with his surroundings, man moving in absolute harmony with the will of God, man redeemed from all imperfections, and cleansed from all sin by the very constitution of his nature, is man melodious.2. It is worth noticing, further, that there is no music like the music of triumph, and no songs like those which celebrate deliverance. And I take it as beautifully significant, that the burden of this song should be what it is, and that it should be called “the song of Moses and of the Lamb.” Moses, the much tried servant of God, the heroic leader of a stiffnecked people; and the Lamb, the eternal symbol of sacrificial suffering and sorrow. For it is a mistake to suppose that noble sorrow nobly borne silences the voice of song. Shelley says, “Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thoughts.” It is partly true; it is mainly sentimental. But this is wholly true, that sorrownobly borne is impotent to hang or keep the harp upon the willows. Song breaks from it as the phoenix from the flames. The most triumphant poem of this century is “In Memoriam,” and we know the sable circumstances of its birth. It is even so. Some birds sing best in the dark. And in the gracious providence of God beauty is not far away from ashes. The oil of joy exudes from mourning, and the garment of praise often covers a spirit of heaviness.3. It is further suggested by this vision of the redeemed, that the conquerors of all ages take part in this song. The conflict varies from age to age. The beast that has power to make war against the saints assumes many forms. And the radiant hope here “set before us,” is that all who have overcome, will unite in the eternal song. For there is no power which can unite the hearts of men like music, as they know full well who march to battle with the beating of the drum or the notes of the pibroch. Now think of a society gathered from all ages and lands, filled with a life of which song is the only natural and adequate expression, and you have a picture of “the better land” as John saw it in his prophetic dream. It is likely that it occurred to him in this form, as he watched from his lonely rock some sunset glories blazing far and wide across the blue Mediterranean. Out there, on the very verge of the horizon, he catches sight of the faithful ones, no longer groaning beneath the oppressor, no longer struggling with the beast, and no longer divided among themselves: one perfect society, telling in unending song of the wondrous works of God, proclaiming the eternal vindication of His just and righteous ways, and reminding us that the confusions of time are only in appearance, and that the essential harmony will be made manifest by and by. Conclusion:1. Let us expect conflict. “No cross, no crown.”2. Let us look for victory from the right source. “Looking unto Jesus,” etc. (James Thew.)

The song of the glorifiedI. The joyful employment of glorified spirits.1. The song in which all the saints shall join in heaven is a song of triumph over dangerous and powerful enemies.2. Saints in glory are here said to sing the song of the Lamb, or a song in which they are instructed by the Lamb of God, which has respect to the glorious deliverance which He hath wrought out for them.II. The subject-matter of this song.1. The great and wondrous nature of the works of God shall be made the subject of devout and joyful celebration in the world of glory.(1) The vast works of creation will then be seen in an their magnitude and beauty. Many glorious effects of God’s creative power, of which we have now no knowledge, will then be disclosed. From an elevated point will glorified spirits survey the works of creation, and be pleasingly astonished at their almost boundless immensity, their beautiful order and gradation.(2) Then also the great designs of Providence will be laid open in all their lustre and glory. As the

intellectual sight will then be amazingly strengthened and improved; so the darkness which now veils many of God’s providential dispensations shall then be dispersed.(3) Then also shall the godlike purposes of Divine grace to save many sinners from hell, and bring them to heaven, be displayed in all their loveliness; their origin and end will be fully disclosed, and furnish the saints in glory with rich occasion for admiration and joy. These great and marvellous works of God will be then perfectly known, and harmoniously celebrated.(4) The infinite power of God, which is a just object of terror to the wicked, and which will inevitably plunge them into perdition, is the source of consolation and the subject of praise to all true believers. Holy pleasure mixed with solemn awe attends a contemplative view of this Divine attribute even in the present life. In heaven Jehovah shall be praised as the Lord God Almighty. This character will excite the profoundest reverence as well as the highest pleasure in the breasts of the heavenly worshippers, for as it will proclaim the infinite distance there is between them and their maker, so it will insure to them everlasting peace and safety. For what power can control the will, or alter the purposes of Him who in might is infinite? The justice and truth of God’s ways are celebrated in heaven as well as their great and marvellous nature. “Just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints.”(1) In the upper world glorified spirits celebrate the justice of God—His justice towards friends and foes, the perfect righteousness of His dealings towards all ranks of creatures in heaven, on earth, and in hell. There in a particular manner do they acknowledge the justice and propriety of all those events which puzzled and disturbed their minds when here below. They have no accusation to offer, no complaint to bring against the King of saints; in the whole of His management they heartily acquiesce, and sing a lofty song of praise to His justice and rectitude.(2) But the heavenly choir celebrate the truth as well as the justice of their Maker. Just and true are Thy ways. As a God of Truth the Almighty hath invariably revealed Himself in all ages, and this title very properly belongs to Him (Psa_100:5). As such He is justly extolled by His people now, but in a much nobler manner shall He be praised on this account hereafter. Then the truth of His predictions to the world at large; His inviolable regard to the promises made to the Church in everyage and in every state; His fidelity to every individual that has made or shall make a part of it; His steady attachment to that covenant which through His Son He enters into with every true believer, and His immutable care to confer the blessings it contains, shall be the topics of joyful acclamation by glorified spirits.(3) The people of God are repeatedly spoken of in the sacred oracles under the title of saints, “Thou King of saints.” Now these pure and happy souls have God for their King. The great God indeed is the Sovereign of all His creatures. He exercises universal dominion over the works of His hands, and His right thereto is founded on the nature of things, and the relation He bears to them. He is the Creator and of course the Sovereign and Lord of all. All creatures owe Him subjection and obedience, and over all He rules without control. But saints are under His peculiar government. He is their King in a sense which can be applied to none but such as fear and love Him, and have His image drawn upon their hearts. Application:1. Let us be thankful for the pleasing descriptions of the heavenly world which are given us in the gospel of Christ.2. Let the consideration of the state to which our deceased believing friends are advanced, and the manner in which they are employed, mitigate our sorrow on account of their removal hence.3. Let the subject of the songs of Zion be improved for present comfort. Are the works of God no less just and true than they are great and marvellous? Do they as loudly proclaim his unspotted rectitude and inviolable faithfulness as the exceeding greatness of His power and majesty? Let every fearful thought then be instantly dismissed. Let every rebellious sigh be hushed in the Christian’s breast.4. Let us all be ambitious to join hereafter in this delightful song, and for that end let us now seek an interest in the Divine favour through the Redeemer. (N. Jennings.)

Israel in EgyptI. Regard the position of the children of Israel as emblematical of our own. And here we observe that, like the Church of God, the vast host of Israel had been delivered from bondage. With a high hand and an outstretched arm, our God has led us forth from the place of our captivity, and joyfully we pursue our way through the wilderness. But with the children of Israel it was not all joy; they were free, but their master was at their heels. Pharaoh was loth to lose so valuable a nation

of servants. Affrighted Israel beheld her infuriated oppressor close at her rear, and trembled for the issue; even so it is with some of you; you think you must be driven back again like dumb cattle into Egypt, and once more become what you were. But once more: the children of Israel were in a position more wonderful than this. They came to the edge of the Red Sea; they feared their enemies behind; they could not fly on either hand, for they were flanked by mountains and stupendous rocks; one course only was open to them, and that course was through the sea. God commands them to go forward. The rod of Moses is outstretched, and the affrighted waters divide; a channel is left whilst the floods stand upright, and the waters are congealed in the heart of the sea. O living army of the living God! ye, like Israel, keep the floods of Providence still standing fast: but when the last of you shall be gone from this stage of action, God’s fiery wrath and tremendous anger shall dash down upon the ground whereon you now are standing, and your enemies shall be overwhelmed in the place through which you now walk safely.II. The triumph of Moses was a picture of the ultimate triumph of the Lamb. Yes, the day is drawing nigh when God’s enemies shall no longer make it necessary for God’s providence to be apparently disturbed to save His people, when the great designs of God shall be accomplished, and therefore when the walls of water shall roll together, whilst in their inmost depths the everlasting burning fire shall still consume the wicked. Well, I now want to show you why it was that Moses triumphed, and why it is that by and by we shall triumph. One reason why Moses sung his song was because all Israel were safe. Oh! it is my strong belief that in heaven there shall not be a vacant throne. I rejoice that all who love the Lord below must at last attain to heaven. But, perhaps, the major part of the joy of Moses lay in the destruction of all the enemies of God. I see the trembling church, fearing to he overthrown: I mark her leaders bending their knees in solemn prayer, and crying, “Lord, save Thy people, and bless Thy heritage.” But mine eye looks through the future with telescopic glance, and I see the happy period of the latter days when Christ shall reign triumphant.III. Some interesting particulars in the song which will doubtless have a place in the everlasting orchestra of the redeemed when they shall praise the Most High.1. The first thing I would have you notice in it is, that from beginning to end it is a praise of God, and of nobody else but God. The last song in this world, the song of triumph, shall be full of God, and of no one else. Here you praise the instrument; to-day you look on this man and on that, and you say, “Thank God for this minister, and for this man.” To-day you say, “Blessed be God for Luther, who shook the Vatican, and thank God for Whitfield, who stirred up a slumbering church” but in that day you shall not sing of Luther, nor of Whitfield, nor of any of the mighty ones of God’s hosts; forgotten shall their names be for a season, even as the stars refuse to shine when the sun himself appeareth. The song shall be unto Jehovah and Jehovah only.2. And next note that this song celebrated something of the fierceness of the enemy. I believe the last song of the redeemed, when they shall ultimately triumph, will celebrate in heavenly stanzas the wrath of man overcome by God. Sometimes after great battles, monuments are raised to the memory of the fight, and of what are they composed? They are composed of weapons of death and of instruments of war which have been taken from the enemy. Now, to use that illustration as I think it may be properly used, the day is coming when fury, and wrath, and hatred, and strife shall all be woven into a song: and the weapons of our enemies, when taken from them, shall serve to make monuments to the praise of God.3. And then note how they sang the total overthrow of the enemy. I believe that at the last, a part of our triumph will be the fact that there is not one left. We shall look abroad throughout the earth, and see it all a level sea, and not one foeman pursuing us—“not one—not one”! Raise thyself never so high, O thou deceiver, thou canst not live, for not one shall escape. Lift thy head never so proudly, O despot, thou canst not live, for not one shall escape. O heir of heaven, not one sin shall cross the Jordan after thee; not one shall pass the Red Sea to overtake thee; but this shall be the summit of thy triumph—Not one, not one, not one of them is left.4. Furthermore, in this song of Moses you will notice there is one peculiar beauty. Moses not only rejoiced for what had been done, but for the future consequences of it. He says—“The people of Canaan, whom we are about to attack, will now be seized with sudden fear; by the greatness of thy arm they shall be as still as a stone.” Oh! I think I hear them singing that too, sweetly and softly—“as still as a stone.” How would the words come full, like gentle thunder heard in the distance—“as still as a stone.” And when we shall get on the other side the flood, see the triumph over our enemies, and behold our Master reigning, this will form a part of our song—that they must henceforth be “as still as a stone.” There will be a hell, but it will not be a hell of roaring

devils, as it now is. They shall be “as still as a stone.”5. And last of all, the song concludes by noticing the eternity of God’s reign, and this will always make a part of the triumphant song. They sang—“The Lord shall reign for ever and ever.” Then I can suppose the whole band broke out into their loudest strains of music. “The Lord shall reign for ever and ever.” Part of the melody of heaven will be—“The Lord shall reign for ever and ever.” That song has cheered us here—“The Lord reigneth; blessed be my rock!” And that song shall be our exultation there. “The Lord reigneth for ever and ever.” (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Great and marvellous are Thy works.—The works of God, as King of saints, great and marvellousI. The work of redemption, which God has wrought, and in which the saints are peculiarly interested, is a marvellous wore.II. The various revelations by which God has brought the saints, in the several ages of the world, to the knowledge of this redemption, are also marvelous.III. The dispensation of God’s providence toward the church, in correcting and punishing her for her declensions, and in delivering her out of dangers and afflictions, are great and marvellous.IV. That work, by which God fits and prepares the saints for glory, is great and marvellous.1. The conversion of a sinner is a great work, as it makes in him a mighty change.2. This is a marvellous work, as it is a work of marvellous grace.3. This is a marvellous work, as it is wrought in a marvellous manner.4. This is a great work, as it is effected by Divine power.V. The dispensations of God’s providence toward particular saints, in bringing them to glory, are great and wonderful. (J. Lathrop, D. D.)

God’s wonderful worksIt is said of Napoleon that when Marshal Duroc, an avowed infidel, was telling a very improbable story, giving his opinion that it was quite true, the Emperor quietly remarked, “There are some men capable of believing everything but the Bible.” Infidels look at the Holy Bible superficially, and find fault with the form in which it appears, and reject it because of its mysterious contents, thereby maintaining that religion ends where mysteries begin. It is true that there are events too high, too wonderful and too deep, such things as pass our understanding, recorded in God’s most holy Word. For instance, the doctrine of the Trinity in Unity, Three Persons yet one God, is most mysterious. This we cannot possibly understand, but then God does not ask us to, only to accept it with childlike faith. Again, the whole scheme of our Redemption from beginning to end is a profound mystery. Now look at some of God’s mysterious and marvellous works in creation.1. And first in the “field.” Think of the various kinds of small seeds, such as wheat, barley, oats, and rye, which the sower takes in his hands, sows, and leaves in the earth to take care of themselves, but really to be looked after and to be taken care of by God.2. Furthermore, God cares for our pleasures and happiness as well aa for our sustenance. This may be seen in the abounding and universal beauty of this magnificent world, where everything works so silently, so surely, and so harmoniously, thereby obeying the laws ordained by its Maker. Oh, let us pray earnestly against harbouring the spirit which, indeed, observes the works of God and of Christ, which simply arouses our curiosity, “makes us marvel, and leave Him, and go our way,” as the Scribes and Pharisees did when put to silence.3. Again, not only once a year, as in the harvest, are the marvellous works of God visible. “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament sheweth His handy work.” What a glorious sight by day to behold the “sun, which cometh forth out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a giant to run his course,” and by night to see the clear moon and the twinkling stars! Can we look up there, and not think of God the Maker and Upholder of them all? Alas for us if we can and then simply “marvel and go our way” without a thought of Him. Whilst we accept mysteries in the “natural world,” shall we reject “Bible mysteries”? (J. T. Hughes.)

Just and true are Thy ways.—The rectitude of GodI. The demands of His law attest the truth of this testimony. The Heavenly Teacher has reduced

all the demands which the Eternal Governor makes upon us to a twofold command.1. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,” etc. Is this demand just? This depends upon three things.(1) Whether we have the power of loving any one supremely.(2) Whether God has attributes adapted to awaken this love within us.(3) Whether these attributes are revealed with sufficient clearness to our minds. The affirmative to these things must be admitted by all.2. “Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you.” Not “whatsoever men do unto you,” that might be sinful; but whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you. Would you have them false, dishonest, unkind, tyrannic, towards you? Whatsoever ye would that they should be to you, be so to them. Can anything be more just?II. The intuitions of His moral creatures attest the truth of this testimony. In all moral intelligences there is—1. An intuitive sense of the right. All have an inbred sentiment of right and wrong. This sentiment implies a moral standard, and what is that standard but God?2. There is an intuitive love of the right. All moral souls love the right in the abstract; they are bound to do it. “I delight in the law of God after the inner man.” All consciences go with God.3. There is an intuitive remorse. Misery springs up in the soul from a conscious departure from the right. Cain, David, Belshazzar, Judas, are examples.4. There is an intuitive appeal to God under the wrong as the Friend of the right. Oppressed humanity involuntarily looks to God as Judge of all the earth. Deep in the soul of the moral creation is the feeling that God’s ways are just and right. No argument can destroy this consciousness.III. The mediation of His Son attests the truth of this testimony.1. His life was the development of Divine righteousness. He was incarnate rectitude. “He did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth.”2. His death was the highest homage to Divine rectitude. He could have escaped death. It was the inner sense of right that urged Him on.3. His system is the promoter of Divine righteousness. His truth inculcates it; His Spirit promotes it. His Spirit comes to “convince the world of sin, righteousness,” etc.IV. The retributions of His government attest the truth of this testimony. Look at the expulsion of Adam, the deluge, the burning of Sodom, the extermination of the Canaanites, the destruction of Jerusalem, and the dispersion of the Jews. Look on to the retribution of the last day, and see what rectitude marks the whole (Mat_25:1-46.). (Homilist.)

God’s ways just and trueTake a straight stick and put it into the water, and it will seem crooked. Why? Because we look upon it through two mediums, air, and water: there lies the deceptio visus; thence it is that we cannot discern aright. Thus the proceedings of God in His justice, which in themselves are straight, without the least obliquity, seem unto us crooked; that wicked men should prosper, and good men be afflicted; that servants should ride on horseback and princes go on foot; these are things that make the best Christians stagger in their judgments. And why? but because they look upon God’s proceedings through a double medium, of flesh and spirit; that so all things seem to go cross though, indeed, they are right enough. And hence it is that God’s proceedings in His justice are not so well discerned—the eyes of man alone being not competent judges thereof.

8. PULPIT, “The victors' song.The visions of this book are drawing to a close. Those immediately before us are meant to indicate the last judgments which must fall on the world, ere out of the ruin and from it there shall emerge the new heavens and the new earth. But another break in the gloom is permitted to us here. The apostle casts his eyes, not downward, but upward. He beholds two groups of beings in the upper realm. The first is composed of seven angels who have seven plagues, which are the last. The second is composed of great multitudes—of those who, while the struggle was going on below, soared out of it, and were victorious. The work of the first group will he noted in subsequent homilies. The song of the second is before us now. If we ask and answer four questions, we shall know as much about the song and the singers as it is possible to do in this state. The four queries are:

(1) Who are singing the song?

(2) At what time?

(3) What are the contents of it?

(4) Where is it being sung?

I. WHO ARE SINGING THE SONG? They "that come victorious from ( e?? ) the beast," etc. (Rev_15:2). Then it is evident that they are those who once were in the scene of conflict here below; who had to maintain a fight, hard and stern, against a godless world and a corrupt Church; in fact, against all the forces which, led on by "the dragon," are used by the first and the second beasts. We cannot mistake them, any more than we can the glorious company mentioned in the seventh and fourteenth chapters. They once were strugglers and wrestlers here. But their toils are over, and they have gained the victory. They it is who now are singing the song.

II. WHEN? TO WHAT TIME DOES THE APOSTLE POINT US? It may be remarked by some, that inasmuch as the visions of the conflict indicate future troubles, so the brighter visions indicate future glories. True. But we must remember that we are already more than eighteen hundred years onward, and therefore that the struggles of this present time are "future" from the Patmos standpoint. Besides, the song is being sung simultaneously with the raging of the conflict. They sing in one realm who have sped out of ( e?? ) the other. The dragon, the first beast, the second beast, war still. Some have already escaped out of the confusion, have gained the victory, and are singing ( a?´?d??s? ) the song. A further indication of time is given in Rev_15:4, "All nations shall come and worship"—future— p???????´s??s?? . So that it is evidently before the great work of the world's conversion is completed. Thus we are brought by the time marks in the paragraph to the conclusion to which we have previously come, viz. that the Church of God exists in two realms. One part of it is in the struggle; another has risen beyond it. Their gladness and song have already begun.

III. WHAT OF THE SONG ITSELF?

1. It has a remarkable name. "The song of Moses U and U the Lamb." By the former the deliverance out of Egypt was effected. By the latter a redemption infinitely greater, of which the earlier one was but a faint and feeble type; i.e.the song is a celebration of redeeming love, dud reviews the great redemptive work in all its phases, stages, and ages. £

2. It has joyous accompaniments. "Having the harps of God." Under the Jewish worship, as far back as David's time, the harp was used to aid in sacred song. In a higher realm, where the joy is complete, the "harp" will never be hung on the willows, and will never be out of tune.

3. Its contents are manifold.

(1) It celebrates Divine attributes. "Thou only art holy."

(2) It magnifies the rectitude of the Divine government. "Righteous and true are thy ways."

(3) In it the Divine greatness is extolled. "King of the ages; "The Almighty."

(4) It finds inspiration in the manifestation of the righteous acts of God. To saints above, from their loftier standpoint, the glory of the Divine dealings is far more clear than it can possibly be to us. We "dwell in clouds below."

(5) The certainty of the coming triumph gladdens their hearts. "All nations shall come," etc. (cf. Psa_86:9; Isa_2:2-4; Isa_66:23; Zec_8:22; Mal_1:11). Our Saviour's words intimate to us that the progress of the kingdom of God on earth is witnessed by the saints from their blissful seat in Paradise (cf. Joh_8:56, Greek).

IV. WHERE IS THE SONG BEING SUNG? "I saw U them U standing by the glassy sea" Here, as indeed throughout the chapter, there is an allusion to the ransomed host of Israel when they stood by the shores of the Red Sea and sang, "Sing ye to the Lord," etc. That sight furnishes the material for the imagery here. And the underlying thought which that imagery conveys is this—they stand now in the realm of victory, like as Israel of old when they saw their enemies dead upon the seashore. They are in "the land of triumph," "There are no foes to encounter there." Here is the fighting; there, is the rest. Here, the cross; there, the crown. Here, the sigh; there, the song. Here, the foreboding fear; there, all fear is forever done away.

In view of all this, let us note:

1. It is not for nought that we are asked to maintain the conflict with evil, in the Name and on behalf of our Lord. "If we suffer, we shall also reign with him." In the day of victory, his triumph will be ours. "Be thou faithful unto death, and I wilt give thee a crown of life."

2. However much perplexity and distress the mystery of the Divine ways may occasion us now, we may rest assured that when God's judgments are made manifest, they will be the theme of adoring praise. There will be seen to be a unity about them which as yet we can scarcely discern; a steadfast advance through age after age which in the present brief span of our earthly life we cannot trace; and we cannot doubt that the ultimate issue will reveal a grandeur, a vastness, and a completeness in redemption's plan, which only the Infinite Eye can now discern. Therefore observe:

3. Meanwhile it is an infinite comfort and stay to our souls amid this troubled scene, to have had sketched beforehand for us the tribulations through which we must enter the kingdom, and the glories of the kingdom in which we shall triumph when the tribulation is over.

9. MEYER, “THE SONG OF MOSES AND OF THE LAMB

Rev_15:1-8

The imagery in the magnificent scene with which this chapter opens is perhaps borrowed from Pharaoh’s overthrow in the Red Sea, which, as the rich lines of an Eastern dawn illuminated its waters, seemed like a sea of glass mingled with fire. So, beside the crystal sea of Time, from whose surface all traces of storm will have been removed and on which the eternal morning will be breaking, we, who by grace have overcome, shall celebrate the final victory of God. We shall sing an anthem in which the Hebrew and the Christian, the children of the old dispensation and of the new, the souls who have seen through a glass darkly and those who have beheld face to face, shall rejoice together.One day we shall see the rightfulness of all that God has done, Rev_15:4. All His ways are just and true, whether our poor human sense detects this or not. Let us dare to affirm it even now. Ponder that great name-King of the ages, Rev_15:3, R.V. He only is holy; we need the perfect cleansing and righteousness which He gives us, that we may dare to stand in His presence. From this radiant vision, we turn sadly to the fate of the godless, Christ-rejecting world. See Rev_15:1-8; Rev_14:1-20; Rev_13:1-18; Rev_12:1-17; Rev_11:1-19; Rev_10:1-11; Rev_9:1-21; Rev_8:1-13.

10. Paul Kretzmann, “The Angels with the Seven Vials and the Opening of the Temple.

The sea of glass and the song of praise:

v. 1. And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous: seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.

v. 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.

v. 3. And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints.

v. 4. Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? For Thou only art holy; for all nations shall come and worship before Thee; for Thy judgments are made manifest.

The general woes which were to strike the earth and especially the Church, directly or indirectly, were pictured in previous visions. But in the fifth vision, which opens here, the plagues, or the revelation of the wrath of God over the enemies of the Church, are depicted, the present chapter serving as an introduction for the series. The prophet writes: And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous: seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is completed the wrath of God. And I saw what resembled a glassy sea mixed with fire, and those that had come away conquerors from the beast and from his image and from the number of his name standing at the glassy sea, having harps of God. This was a portent as great as any of the preceding ones, and it was full of marvels. That the tables have now been turned, and that the kingdom of Anti-Christ and all the enemies of Christ shall now be visited with plagues, is a great and marvelous fact, but a fact that should fill the believers with comfort and courage. The seven last plagues the seven angels had, including the plague of the final Judgment; for the wrath of God was to find its completion, its final fulfillment, in these plagues. The crystal sea which was mentioned chap. 4:6 ishere again included in the vision, mixed with fire, as a symbol of divine majesty. On its shores all the faithful believers, all the Christians that had refused to be blinded by any anti-Christian pomp and doctrine, were assembled, with harps in their hands, ready to sing a hymn of praise to the God of their salvation.

This song is now described: And they sang the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and wonderful are Thy works, Lord God the Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, King of the nations. Who shall not fear Thee, Lord, and glorify Thy name? For Thou alone art holy; for all nations shall come and worship before Thee, because Thy righteous judgments are revealed. As Moses, the prophet and servant of God, sang a hymn of praise after the final deliverance from the host of Pharaoh, Exo_15:1-27, so the saints in heaven sing a song in honor of Him that delivered them out of all the dangers and tribulations of the last days. There is no mention of their own works nor even of their own sufferings; their only thought is the exaltation of God and of the Lamb. They extol Him for the greatness and marvelousness of His works in dealing with them in His mercy, for the justice and truth of His ways in dealing with all nations. For the final result of the Lord's doing will be that all nations, all men, will be obliged to acknowledge His sovereignty and to give honor to Him as the holy Judge of the nations. The judgments of the Lord, as they were about to be revealed in this vision, would impress all men so that they would finally, in the midst of their obstinate hatred of Him, and in spite of themselves, have to admit that they were right and true. Separate from sinners, pure and holy, beyond all fault-finding, He reigns as the King Supreme.

11. EBC, “THE SEVEN BOWLS.NOTHING can more clearly prove that the Revelation of St John is not written upon chronological principles than the scenes to which we are introduced in the fifteenth and sixteenth chapters of the book. We have already been taken to the end. We have seen in chap. 14 the Son of man upon the throne of judgment, the harvest of the righteous, and the vintage of the wicked. Yet we are now met by another series of visions setting before us judgments that must take place before the final issue. This is not chronology; it is apocalyptic vision, which again and again turns round the kaleidoscope of the future, and delights to behold under different aspects the same great principles of the Almighty s government, leading always to the same glorious results.One other preliminary observation may be made. The third series of judgments does not really begin till we reach chap. 16. Chap. 15 is introductory, and we are thus reminded that the series of the Trumpets had a similar introduction in Rev_8:1-6. It is the manner of St. John, who thus in his

Gospel introduces his account of our Lord’s conversation with Nicodemus in chap. iii. by the last three verses of chap. 2, which ought to be connected with the third chapter; and who also introduces his narrative regarding the woman of Samaria by the first three verses of chap. 4.To introduce chap. 16 is the object of chap. 15."And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, angels having seven plagues, which are the last, for in them is finished the wrath of God (Rev_15:1)."The plagues about to be spoken of are "the last," and in them the final judgments of God upon evil are contained. What they are, and who are the special objects of them, will afterwards appear. Meanwhile, another vision is presented to our view: -"And I saw as it were a glassy sea mingled with fire; and them that come victorious out of the beast, and out of his image, and out of the number of his name, standing upon the glassy sea, having harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are Thy works, O Lord God the Almighty; righteous and true are Thy ways, Thou King of the nations. Who shall not fear, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? for Thou only art holy: for all the nations shall come and worship before Thee; for Thy righteous acts have been made manifest (Rev_15:2-4)."It can hardly be doubted that the glassy sea spoken of in these words is the same as that already met with at Rev_4:6. Yet again, as in the case of the hundred and forty and four thousand of Rev_14:1, the definite article is wanting; and, in all probability, for the same reason. The aspect in which the object is viewed, though not the object itself, is different. The glassy sea is here mingled with fire, a point of which no mention was made in chap. 4. The difference may be explained if we remember that the "fire" spoken of can only be that of the judgments by which the Almighty vindicates His cause, or of the trials by which He purifies His people. As these, therefore, now stand upon the sea, delivered from every adversary, we are reminded of the troubles which by Divine grace they have been enabled to surmount. It was otherwise in chap. 4. No persons were there connected with the sea, and it stretched away, clear as crystal, before Him all whose dealings with His people are "right." The sea itself is in both cases the same, but in the latter it is beheld from the Divine point of view, in the former from the human.The vision as a whole takes us back to the exodus of Israel from Egypt, and hence the mention of the song of Moses, the servant of God. The enemies of the Church have their type in Pharaoh and his host as they pursue Israel across the sands which had been laid bare for the passage of the chosen people; the waters, driven back for a time, return to their ancient bed; the hostile force, with its chariots and its chosen captains, "goes down into the depths like a stone;" and Israel raises its song of victory, "I will sing unto the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously, the horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea."* (* Exo_15:1)The song now sung, however, is not that of Moses only, the great centre of the Old Testament Dispensation; it is also the Song of the Lamb, the centre and the sum of the New Testament. Both Dispensations are in the Seer’s thoughts, and in the number of those who sing are included the saints of each, the members of the one Universal Church. No disciple of Jesus either before or after His first coming is omitted. Everyone is there from whose hands the bonds of the world have fallen off, and who has cast in his lot with the followers of the Lamb. Hence also the song is wider in its range than that by which the thought of it appears to have been suggested. It celebrates the great and marvelous works of the Almighty in general. It speaks of Him as the King of the nations, that is, as the King who subdues the nations under Him. It rejoices in the fact that His righteous acts have been made manifest. And it anticipates the time when all the nations shall come and worship before Him, shall bow themselves at His feet, and shall acknowledge that His judgments against sin are not only just in themselves, but are allowed to be so by the very persons on whom they fall.A second vision follows: -"And after these things I saw, and the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened; and there carne out from the temple the seven angels that had the seven plagues, clothed with a precious stone pure and lustrous, and girt about their breasts with golden girdles. And one of the four living creatures gave unto the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who liveth forever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from His power: and none was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels should be finished (Rev_15:5-8)."The temple spoken of is, as upon every occasion when the word is used, the shrine or innermost sanctuary, the Holy of holies, the peculiar dwelling-place of the Most High; so, that the seven

angels with the seven last plagues come from God’s immediate presence. But this sanctuary is now beheld in a different light from that in which it was seen in Rev_11:19. There it contained the ark of God s covenant, the symbol of His grace. Here the eye is directed to the testimony, to the two tables of the law which were kept in the ark, and were God’s witness both to the holiness of His character and the justice of His government. The giving of the law then was in the Seer’s mind, and that fact will explain the allusions to the Old Testament found in his words. The description of the seven angels, as clothed with a precious stone pure and lustrous (not with "fine linen" as in the Authorized Version) may be explained, when we attend to the second characteristic of their appearance, girt about their breasts with golden girdles. These words take us back to the vision of the Son of man in chap. 1, where the same expression occurs, and where we have already seen that it points to the priests of Israel, when engaged in the active service of the sanctuary. The angels now spoken of are thus priestly after the fashion of the Lord Himself, who is not merely the Priest but also the High Priest of His people. The high priest, however, wore a jeweled breastplate; and in correspondence with the nobler functions of the New Testament priesthood, these jewels are now extended to the whole clothing of the angels spoken of. A similar figure for the clothing of the glorified Church meets us in the prophecies of Isaiah: "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness; as a bride groom decketh himself (the margin of the Revised Version calling attention to the fact that the meaning of the original is "decketh himself as a priest") with a garland, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels;"1 while the same figure, though applied to Tyre, is employed by Ezekiel: "Every precious stone was thy covering."2 The seven angels are thus about to engage in a priestly work. (1 Isa_61:10; 2 Eze_28:13)This work is pointed out to them by one of the four living creatures, the representatives of redeemed creation. All creation owns the propriety of the judgments now about to be fulfilled.* (*Comp. Rev. 6)These judgments are contained, not in seven "vials," as in the Authorized Version, but in seven golden bowls, vessels probably of a saucer shape, of no great depth, and their circumference largest at the rim. They are the "basins" of the Old Testament, used for carrying into the sanctuary the incense which had been lighted by fire from the brazen altar. They were thus much better adapted than "vials" for the execution of a final judgment. Their contents could be poured out at once and suddenly.The bowls have been delivered to the angels, and nothing remains but to pour them out. The moment is one of terror, and it is fitting that even all outward things shall correspond. Smoke, therefore, filled the sanctuary, and none was able to enter into it. Thus, when Moses reared up the tabernacle, and the glory of the Lord filled it, "Moses was not able to enter into the tent of meeting:"1 thus, when Solomon dedicated the temple and the cloud filled the house of the Lord, "The priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud."2 Thus, when Isaiah beheld the glory of the Lord in His temple, and heard the cry of the Seraphim, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts," "the foundations of the thresholds were moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke;"3 and thus, above all, when the law was given, "Mount Sinai was altogether on smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly."4 (1 Exo_40:35; 2 1Ki_8:11; 3 Isa_6:4; 4 Exo_19:18; Heb_12:18)All due preparation having been made, the Seven Bowls are now poured out in rapid and uninterrupted succession. As in the case of the Seals and of the Trumpets, they are divided into two groups of four and three; and those of the first group may be taken together: -"And I heard a great voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels, Go ye, and pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of God into the earth. And the first went, and poured out his bowl into the earth; and it became a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and which worshipped his image. And the second poured out his bowl into the sea; and it became blood as of a dead man, and every living soul died, even the things that were in the sea. And the third poured out his bowl into the rivers and the fountains of the waters; and it became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters saying, Righteous art Thou which art and which wast, Thou holy one, because Thou didst thus judge: for they poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and blood hast Thou given them to drink: they are worthy. And I heard the altar saying, Yea, O Lord, God, the Almighty, true and righteous are Thy judgments. And the fourth poured out his bowl upon the sun; and it was given unto it to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched

with great heat: and they blasphemed the name of the God which hath the power over these plagues; and they repented not to give Him glory (Rev_16:1-9)."Upon the particulars of these plagues it is unnecessary to dwell No attempt to determine the special meaning of the objects thus visited by the wrath of God - the land, the sea, the rivers and fountains of the waters, and the sun - has yet been, or is ever perhaps likely to be, successful; and the general effect alone appears to be important. The chief point claiming attention is the singular closeness of the parallelism between them and the Trumpet plagues, a parallelism which extends also to the fifth, sixth, and seventh members of the series. Close, however, as it is, there is also a marked climax in the later plagues, corresponding to the fact that they are "the last," and that in them "the wrath of God is finished."1 Thus the first Trumpet affects only the third part of the earth, and the trees, and all green grass: the first Bowl affects men.2 Under the second Trumpet the "third part" of the sea becomes blood, and the third part of the creatures which are in the sea die, and the third part of the ships are destroyed: under the second Bowl, the "third part" of the sea is exchanged for the whole; the blood assumes its most offensive form, blood as of a dead man; and not the third part only, but every living soul died, even the things that were in the sea."3 Under the third Trumpet the great star falls only upon the "third part" of the rivers and fountains, and they become wormwood: under the third Bowl all the waters are visited by the plague, and they become blood.4 Lastly, under the fourth Trumpet only the "third part" of sun and moon and stars is smitten: under the fourth Bowl the whole sun is affected, and it is given unto it to scorch men with fire.5 With this climactic character of the Bowls as compared with the Trumpets may also be connected a striking addition made to the details of the third Bowl, to which in the Trumpet series there is nothing to correspond. The angel of the waters, not an angel to whom the smiting of the waters had been entrusted, but the waters themselves speaking through their angel, and the altar, that is, the brazen altar of chap. 6:9, respond to the judgments executed. They recognize the true and righteous character of the Almighty, and they welcome this manifestation of Himself to men. (1 Rev_15:1 2Comp. Rev_8:7; Rev_16:2 3Comp. Rev_8:8-9; Rev_16:3 4Comp. Rev_8:10-11; Rev_16:4 5Comp. Rev_8:12; Rev_16:8)Another feature of these Bowls will at once strike the reader, - their correspondence to some of the plagues of Egypt: for in the first we see a repetition, as it were, of that sixth plague by which Pharaoh and his people were visited, when Moses sprinkled ashes of the furnace towards heaven, and they became "a boil breaking forth with blains upon man and beast,"1 and in the second and third a repetition of the first plague, when Moses lifted up his rod and smote the waters, that were in the river, "and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood."2 The fourth Bowl reminds us of the terror of the appearance of the Son of man in Rev_1:16, when "His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength." (1 Exo_9:10; 2 Exo_7:20)One other characteristic of these plagues ought to be noticed. It comes to view no doubt only under the fourth, yet, as we shall immediately see, it is not to be confined to it The plagues had no softening or converting power. On the contrary, as at Rev_9:20-21, the impiety of the worshippers of the beast was only aggravated by their sufferings; and, instead of turning to Him who had power over the plagues, they blasphemed His name.From the first group of Bowls we turn to the second, embracing the last three in the series of seven: -"And the fifth poured out his bowl upon the throne of the beast; and his kingdom was darkened; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; and they repented not of their works (Rev_16:10-11)."The transition from the realm of nature to the spiritual world, already marked at the introduction of the fifth Seal and of the fifth Trumpet, is here again observable; but, as in the case of the sixth Trumpet, the spiritual world alluded to is that of the prince of darkness. With darkness he is smitten. That there is a reference to the darkness which, at the word of Moses, fell upon the land of Egypt when visited by its plagues can hardly be doubted, for the darkness of that plague was not ordinary darkness; it was "a darkness that might be felt."* More than darkness, however, is alluded to. We are told of their pains and of their sores. But pains and sores are not an effect produced by darkness. They can, therefore, be only those of the first Bowl, a conclusion confirmed by the use of the word "plagues" instead of plague. The inference to be drawn from this is important, for we thus learn that the effects of any earlier Bowl are not exhausted before the contents of one following are discharged. Each Bowl rather adds fresh punishment to that of its predecessors, and all of them go on accumulating their terrors to the end. Nothing could more clearly show how impossible it is to interpret such plagues literally, and how mistaken is any effort

to apply them to the particular events of history. (* Exo_10:21)The sixth Bowl follows: -"And the sixth poured out his bowl upon the great river, the river Euphrates, and the water thereof was dried up, that the way might be made ready for the kings that come from the sun-rising. And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits, as it were frogs: for they are spirits of devils, working signs, which go forth unto the kings of the whole inhabited earth, to gather them together unto the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. (Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.) And they gathered them together into the place which is called in Hebrew Har-Magedon (Rev_16:12-16)."Probably no part of the Apocalypse has received more varied interpretation than the first statement of this Bowl. Who are these kings that come from the sun-rising is the point to be determined; and the answer usually given is, that they are part of the anti-Christian host, part of those afterwards spoken of as the kings of the whole inhabited earth, before whom God dries up the Euphrates in order that they may pursue an uninterrupted march to the spot on which they are to be overwhelmed with a final and complete destruction. Something may certainly be said on behalf of such a view; yet it is exposed to serious objections.1. We have already at Rev_9:14, at the sounding of the sixth Trumpet, been made acquainted with the river Euphrates; and, so far from being a hindrance to the progress of Christ’s enemies, it is rather the symbol of their overflowing and destructive might, 2. We have also met at Rev_7:2 with the expression "from the sun-rising," and it is there applied to the quarter from which the angel comes by whom the people of God are sealed. In a book so carefully written as the Apocalypse, it is not easy to think of anti-Christian foes coming from a quarter described in the same terms. 3. These kings "from the sun-rising" are not said to be a part of "the kings of the whole inhabited earth" immediately afterwards referred to. They are rather distinguished from them. 4. The preparing of the way "connects itself with the thought of Him whose way was prepared by the coming of the Baptist. 5. The type of drying up the waters of a river takes us back, alike in the historical and prophetic writings of the Old Testament, to the means by which the Almighty secures the deliverance of His people, not the destruction of His enemies. Thus the waters of the Red Sea were dried up, not for the overthrow of the Egyptians, but for the safety of Israel, and the bed of the river Jordan was dried up for a similar purpose. Thus, too, the prophet Isaiah speaks: "And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea, and with His scorching wind shall He shake His hand over the river, and shall smite it into seven streams, and cause men to march over dryshod. And there shall be an highway for the remnant of His people, which shall return, from Assyria; like as there was for Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt."l Again the same prophet celebrates the great deeds of the arm of the Lord in the following words: "Art thou not it which dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep; that made the depths of the sea a way for the redeemed to pass over?"2 And, once more, to a similar effect the prophet Zechariah: "I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria. . . . And He shall pass through the sea of affliction, and shall smite the waves of the sea, and all the depths of the Nile shall dry up. . . . And I will strengthen them in the Lord; and they shall walk up and down in His name, saith the Lord."3 It is unnecessary to say more. In these "kings from the sun-rising" we have an emblem of the remnant of the Israel of God as they return from all the places whither they have been led captive, and as God makes their way plain before them. (1 Isa_11:15-16; 2 Isa_51:10; 3 Zec_10:10-12)Nor is this all. In the fate of these foes a striking incident of Old Testament history is repeated, in order that they may be led to the destruction which awaits them. When Micaiah warned Ahab of his approaching fate, and told him of the lying spirit by which his own prophets were urging him to the battle, he said, "I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right hand and on His left And the Lord said, Who shall entice Ahab that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one said on this manner; and another said on that manner. And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said, I will entice him. And the Lord said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And He said, Thou shalt entice him, and shalt prevail also; go forth and do so."* In that incident of Ahab’s reign is found the type of the three lying spirits or demons which, like frogs, unclean, noisy, and loquacious, go forth from the three great enemies of the Church, the dragon, the first beast, and the second beast, now first called the false prophet, that they may entice the "kings of the whole inhabited earth" to their overthrow. And they succeed. All unknowing of what is

before them, proud of their strength, and flushed with hope of victory, these kings listen to the demons and gather themselves together unto the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. It is a supreme moment in the history of the Church and of the world; and. before he names the battlefield which shall, in its very name, be prophetic of the fate of the wicked, the Seer pauses to behold the assembled armies. Upon the one side is a little flock, but they are all "kings," and before them is He by whom, like David before the host of Israel and over against the Philistines, the battle shall be fought and the victory won. On the other side are the hosts of earth in all their multitudes, gathered together by the deceitful promise of success, The Seer hears the voice of the Captain of salvation, Behold I come as a thief, to break up and to destroy. He hears further the promise of blessing to all who are faithful to the Redeemer’s cause: and then, with mind at rest as to the result, he names the place where the final battle is to be fought, Har-Magedon. (* 1Ki_22:19-22)Why Har-Magedon? There was, we have every reason to believe, no such place. The name is symbolical. It is a compound word derived from the Hebrew, and signifying the mountain of Megiddo. We are thus again taken back to Old Testament history, in which the great plain of Megiddo, the most extensive in Palestine, plays on more than one occasion a notable part. In particular, that plain was famous for two great slaughters, that of the Canaanitish host by Barak, celebrated in the song of Deborah,1 and that in which King Josiah fell.2 The former is probably alluded to, for the enemies of Israel were there completely routed. For a similar though still more terrible destruction the hosts of evil are assembled at Har-Magedon. The Seer thinks it enough to assemble them, and to name the place. He does not need to go further or to describe the victory. (1Judges 5; 2 2Ch_35:22)The seventh Bowl now follows: -"And the seventh poured out his bowl upon the air; and there came forth great voice out of the temple, from the throne, saying; It is done; and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders j and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since there were men upon the earth, so great an earthquake, so mighty. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and Babylon the great was remembered in the sight of God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And great hail, every stone about the weight of a talent, cometh down out of heaven upon men: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof is exceeding great (Rev_16:17-21)."The seventh or last Bowl is poured out into the air, here thought of as the realm of that prince of this world who is also "the prince of the power of the air."* All else, land and sea and waters and sun and the throne of the beast, has now been smitten so that evil has only to suffer its final blow. It has been searched out everywhere; and therefore the end may come. That end comes, and is spoken of in figures more strongly colored than those of either the sixth Seal or the seventh Trumpet. First of all a great voice is heard out of the (sanctuary of the) temple, from the throne, saying, It is done, God’s plan is executed. His last manifestation of Himself in judgment has been made. This voice is then accompanied by a more terrible shaking of the heavens and the earth than we have as yet been called to witness, the earthquake in particular being such as was not since there were men upon the earth, so great an earthquake, so mighty. (* Eph_2:2)Some of the effects of the earthquake are next spoken of. More especially, The great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. As to the meaning of "the cities of the nations" there can be no doubt. They are the strongholds of the world’s sin, the places from which ungodliness and impiety have ruled. Under the shaking of the earthquake they fall in ruins. The first words as to "the great city" must be considered in connection with the words which follow regarding Babylon, and they are more difficult to interpret. By some it is contended that the "great city" is Jerusalem, by others that it is Babylon. The expression is one which the Apocalypse must itself explain, and in seeking the explanation .we must proceed upon the principle that in this book, as much as in any other of the New Testament, the rules of all good writing are followed, and that the meaning of the same words is not arbitrarily changed. When this rule, accordingly, is observed, we find that the epithet is, in Rev_11:8, distinctly applied to Jerusalem, the words "the great city, where also their Lord was crucified" leaving no doubt upon the point. But, in Rev_18:10; Rev_18:16; Rev_18:18-19; Rev_18:21, the same epithet is not less distinctly applied to Babylon. The only legitimate conclusion is, that there is a sense in which Jerusalem and Babylon are one. This corresponds exactly to what we otherwise learn of the light in which the metropolis of Israel appeared to St John. To him as an Apostle of the Lord, and during the time that he followed Jesus

in the flesh, Jerusalem presented itself in a twofold aspect. It was the city of God’s solemnities, the centre of the old Divine theocracy, the "holy city," the "beloved city (Rev_11:2; Rev_20:9)." But it was also the city of "the Jews," the city which scorned and rejected and crucified its rightful King. When in later life he beheld, in the picture once exhibited around him and graven upon his memory, the type of the future history and fortunes of the Church, the two Jerusalems again rose before his view, the one the emblem of all that was most precious, the other of all that was most repulsive, in the eyes both of God and of spiritually enlightened men. The first of these Jerusalems is the true Church of Christ, the faithful remnant, the little flock that knew the Good Shepherd’s voice and followed Him. The second is the degenerate Church, the mass of those who misinterpreted the aim and spirit of their calling, and who by their worldliness and sin "crucified their Lord afresh, and put Him to an open shame." In the latter aspect Jerusalem becomes Babylon. As in Rev_11:8 it became "spiritually," that is mystically, "Sodom and Egypt," so it becomes also the mystical Babylon, partaker of that city’s sins, and doomed to its fate. This thought we shall find fully expanded in the following chapter. The question may indeed be asked, how it comes to pass that, if this representation be correct, we should read, immediately after the words now under consideration, that Babylon the great was remembered in the sight of God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. But the answer is substantially contained in what has been said. When Jerusalem is first thought of as "the great city," it is as the city of "the Jews," as line centre and essence of those principles by which spiritual is transformed into formal religion, and all sins are permitted to hide and multiply under the cloak of a merely outward piety. When it is next thought of as Babylon, the conception is extended so as to embrace, not a false Judaism only, but a similar falseness in the bosom of the universal Church. Just as "the great city where also our Lord was crucified" widened in Rev_11:8 to the thought of Sodom and Egypt, so here it widens to the thought of Babylon. May it not be added that we have thus in the mention of Jerusalem and Babylon a counterpart to the mention in Rev_15:3 of "the song of Moses and the Lamb"? These two expressions, as we have seen, comprehend a song of universal victory. Thus also the two expressions, "the great city" and "Babylon," having one and the same idea at their root, comprehend all who in the professing Church of the whole world are faithless to Christian truth.Further effects of the last judgment follow. Every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. Effects similar, though not so terrible, had been connected with the sixth Seal. Mountains and islands had then been simply "moved out of their places."1 Now they "flee away." Similar effects will again meet us, but in an enhanced degree.2 As yet, while mountains and islands flee away, the earth and the heavens remain. In the last description of the judgment of the wicked the heavens and the earth themselves flee away from the face of Him that sitteth upon the throne, and no place is found for them. The climax in the different accounts of what is substantially the same event cannot be mistaken. (1 Rev_6:14; 2 Rev_20:11)The same climax appears in the statement of the next effect, the great hail, every stone about the weight of a talent, that is, fully more than fifty pounds. No such weight had been spoken of at the close of the seventh Trumpet in Rev_11:19.Again, however, here is no repentance and no conversion. Those who suffer are the deliberate and determined followers of the beast. As under the fourth Bowl, therefore, so under the seventh they rather blaspheme God amidst their sufferings, because of the plague of the hail, for the plague thereof is exceeding great.

12. PULPIT, “Divine severity and human heroism."And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast," etc. This fragment of John's vision, or dream, brings under our attention and serves to illustrate two subjects:

(1) Divine severity; and

(2) human heroism.

I. DIVINE SEVERITY. "And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up [finished] the wrath of God" (verse 1). Undoubtedly in the government of this world there is the stormy as well as the mild, the gloomy as

well as the pleasant. The government under which we live on this earth often assumes aspects of terrible severity. Its manifold ministers or angels bear to us manifold "plagues "—afflictions, which our sin-stricken consciences refer to Divine indignation or wrath.

1. The principle of severity is seen in material nature. In the inorganic realms all things do not seem mild and pleasant. We have tornadoes sweeping destruction over sea and land, we have earthquakes that engulf cities, sounds are heard and sights are witnessed that overwhelm with terror and alarm.

2. This principle of severity is seen in the plantal realm. In gardens and orchards, as well as in the fields and woods, the open commons and the wild prairies, there is heard the moaning groan and felt the blasting breath of severity shivering the fruit, scattering the blossoms like hoar frost, freezing the very roots of life.

3. This principle of severity is seen in the sentient domain. From the behemoths that prowl in the forests, and the leviathans that sport in oceans, to the tiniest microbes in the microscopic world, there are aspects of severity, pains of birth and death, of hunger and thirst, and of predatorial ravages and tortures. There is an undertone of sadness heard throughout. "The whole creation groaneth," etc.

4. This principle of severity is seen in human history. Bodily diseases, secular indigence, social annoyances, heart bereavements, physical dissolution,—in all these there is often the ghastly appearance of Divine severity. The "seven angels," with their "seven plagues," appear in all directions. I am far enough from averring that the ministry of pain is a malignant ministry, but, otherwise, it is benign Will the ministry of pain ever continue? Will the "seven angels" be ever on the wing, bearing the "plagues"? Cowper says—

"The groans of nature in this nether world,

Which Heaven has heard for ages, have an end."

Will they have an end? Heaven grant they may!

II. HUMAN HEROISM. "And I saw as it were a sea of glass [a glassy sea] mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over [that come victorious from] the beast, and over [from] his image, and over his mark, and over [from] the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass [standing by the glassy sea], having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses," etc. (verses 2, 3). The heroes here suggested are:

1. Those who have conquered the wrong. They are those "who have gotten the victory over the beast." And what is the beast? Moral wrong in all its elements and forms. Sin is a hideous, ravenous, iniquitous "beast," served and worshipped by unredeemed men the world over. The foe against which the true hero fights is sin, and sin only. He who destroys life and tramples on humanrights is no hero, but a mercenary murderer. From no character do I recoil with such horror as from him who sells his time, his body, his all, to slaughter his fellow men. Nor do I feel scarcely a greater abhorrence for such a character than for those who, professing to be the ministers of Christ, rhetorically extol such as heroes, and subscribe to monuments to perpetuate their infamous history. I wonder greatly that the reports of the horrors of that war lately going on in the Soudan, inaugurated and supported, alas! by what has been rightly denominated the shuffling, starving, slaughtering Parliament of the time, do not rouse all England to arms against the Governments and the Churches that can tolerate for an instant such stupendous crimes.

2. Those who ascribe their victory to God. Observe:

(1) Their posture. "They stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God" (verse 2). It is suggested that their position is one of safety. The sea does not surge about them; it is beneath them, hard as ice. It is a position of splendour.The crystal sea on which they stand is made brilliant by fire. There is no posture of soul so sublime and safe as the true posture of worship.

The Shechinah beams around them as their glory and defence.

(2) Their anthem. "They sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb" (verse 3).

(a) Their anthem breathes triumphant praise. They recognize in their triumphs the "great and marvellous works" of God, and the truth and rectitude of his ways. God is righteous. "Just [righteous] and true are thy ways, thou King of saints [the ages]" (verse 3). Notice:

( a ) The demands of his Law attest the truth of this testimony. The heavenly Teacher has reduced all the demands which the eternal Governor makes upon us to a twofold command.

(i.) "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart." His demand is our supreme love. Is this demand just? This depends upon three things:

(a) Whether we have the power of loving any one supremely.

(b) Whether God has attributes adapted to awaken this love within us.

(c) Whether these attributes are revealed with sufficient clearness to our minds.

The affirmative to these things must be admitted by all. All men do love some object supremely. The Eternal has attributes in every variety of aspect and attraction. The heavenly Teacher has reduced the demands to another command.

(ii.) "Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so unto them." Not "whatsoever men do unto you"—that might be sinful; but "whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you." Would you have them false, dishonest, unkind, tyrannic, towards you? Whatsoever ye would that they should be, be so to them. Can anything be more just?

( ß ) The intuitions of his moral creatures attest the truth of this testimony. In all moral intelligences there is:

(i.) An intuitive sense of the right. All have an inbred sentiment of right and wrong. This sentiment implies a moral standard; and what is this standard but God?

(ii.) An intuitive love of right. All moral souls love the right in the abstract; they are bound to do it. "I delight in the Law of God after the inward man." All consciences go with God.

(iii.) An intuitive remorse. Misery springs up in the soul from a conscious departure from the right. Cain, Belshazzar, Judas, are examples.

(iv.) An intuitive appeal to God under the wrong as the Friend of the right. Oppressed humanity involuntarily looks to God as Judge of all the earth. Deep in the soul of the moral creation is the feeling that God's ways are just and right. No argument can destroy this consciousness.

( ? ) The mediation of his Son attests the truth of this testimony. Christ came to establish judgment—rectitude in the earth. "What the Law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, and for sin condemned sin in the flesh."

(i.) His life was the development of Divine righteousness. He was incarnate judgment. "He did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth."

(ii.) His death was the highest homage to Divine rectitude. He could have escaped death. It was the inner sense of right that urged him on.

(iii.) His system is the promoter of Divine righteousness. His truth inculcates it. His Spirit promotes it. His Spirit comes to convince the world of sin, of righteousness, etc.

( d ) The retributions of his government attest the truth of this testimony. Look at the expulsion of Adam, the Deluge, the burning of Sodom, the extermination of the Canaanites, the destruction of Jerusalem, and the dispersion of the Jews.

(b) Their anthem breathes philanthropic devotion. "Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy Name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments [righteous acts] are made manifest" (verse 4). The words may be regarded as expressing a desire that all men, all the nations, should worship God. Genuine piety is always philanthropic. He who loves the Father will love his children, and will desire all the brethren to worship the Father "in spirit and in truth." Genuine piety and genuine philanthropy are convertible expressions, modifications of the same sovereign principle—love.—D.T.

2 And I saw what looked like a sea of glass

glowing with fire and, standing beside the sea,

those who had been victorious over the beast and

its image and over the number of its name. They

held harps given them by God

1.BARNES, “And I saw as it were a sea of glass - In Rev_4:6, a similar vision is recorded - “And before the throne there was a sea of glass, like unto crystal.” See the notes on that passage. The sea of glass here means a sea clear, pellucid, like glass: an expanse that seemed to be made of glass. There it was entirely clear; here it is mingled with fire.Mingled with fire - That is, a portion of the sea was red like fire. It was not all clear and pellucid, as in Rev_4:6, but it was as it were a tesselated expanse, composed in part of what seemed to be glass, and in part of a material of a red or fiery color. In the former case Rev_4:6, the emblem was designed to represent the pure worship of heaven without reference to any other symbolic design, and hence, the sea is wholly clear and pellucid; here, in connection with the purpose of furnishing an appropriate symbol of the divine majesty, there is united the idea of punishment on the foes of God, represented by the fiery or red color. If it is proper, from conjecture, to suggest the meaning of this as an emblem, it would be that the foundation - the main element - of all the divine dealings is justice or holiness - represented by the portion of the sea that seemed to be glass; and that there was, in this case, intermingled with that, the image of wrath or anger - represented by the portion that was fiery or red. The very sight of the pavement, therefore, on which they stood when worshipping God, would keep before their minds impressive views of his character and dealings.And them that had gotten the victory over the beast - Rev_13:11. That is, they who had gained a victory in times of persecution and temptation; or they whom the “beast” had not been able, by arts or arms, to subdue. The persons referred to here, I suppose, are those who in the long dominion of the papal power, and amidst all its arts and corruptions - its threats and persecutions - had remained steadfast in the truth, and who might thus be said to have gained a victory - for such victories of piety, virtue, and truth, amidst the corrupting influences of sin and error, and the intimidations of power, are the most important that are gained in this world.And over his image - See the notes on Rev_13:14-15. The meaning is, that they had not been led to apostatize by the dread of the power represented here by the “image of the beast.” In all the attempts of that power to subdue them - to intimidate them - to induce them to give up their attachment to the truth as it is in Jesus - they had remained steadfast in the faith, and had triumphed.

And over his mark - See the notes on Rev_13:16. Over all the attempts of the beast to fix his mark upon them, or to designate them as his own.And over the number of his name - See the notes on Rev_13:17-18. Over all the attempts to fix upon them that mysterious number which expressed his name. The general sense is, that in times of general error and corruption; when the true friends of Christ were exposed to persecution; whenevery effort was made to induce them to become the followers of the “beast,” and to yield to the corrupt system represented by the “beast,” they remained unmoved, and adhered firmly to the truth. The number of such in the aggregate was not small; and with great beauty and propriory they are here represented as rejoicing and giving thanks to God on the overthrow of that corrupt and formidable power.Stand on the sea of glass - That is, before God. They are now seen in heaven, redeemed and triumphant.Having the harps of God - Harps that pertained to the worship of God; harps to be employed in his praise. See the notes on Rev_14:2.

1B. COFFMAN. “And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire; and them that come off victorious from the beast, and from his image, and from the number of his name, standing by the sea of glass, having harps of God.As it were a sea of glass mingled with fire ... Rist and a number of others believe that there is an indirect reference here to the Red Sea,[15] through which God delivered the first Israel from the wrath of Pharaoh; and the typology certainly fits, but Beckwith declared such an interpretation as "purely fanciful."[16] Perhaps it is best to view it as "symbolizing the majesty and holiness of God,"[17] as in Revelation 4:6. The group here assembled is clearly the host of the redeemed from earth, as in a number of similar visions throughout the prophecy. As for the glass sea, Lenski was sure that, "It is the same as that in Revelation 4:6."[18]Having harps of God ... "These are symbolical of heavenly melodies."[19] "The harps are a symbol of their victory ... of praise and worship to God."[20] We prefer the view that sees the harps as symbols of the songs of the saints, especially of that song which this company was about to sing (Revelation 15:3). It is nothing short of phenomenal that a whole group of commentators go hog wild on this verse and find nothing at all in it except literal harps. Even Lenski identified them as "zithers of God on which to play the music of the glory song!"[21] Beasley-Murray saw "harps for the worship of God."[22] "They are holding the harps that God had given them."[23] Earle was certain that "these harpists sing as well as play."[24] Such literalisms are absolutely preposterous. As Pieters said:Literalism is here hopeless. How could one put the wrath of God in a bowl and pour it on the sun?[25]Actual harps in heaven? Who could believe such a thing? Is there also a department of cats to supply the cat gut strings? Ridiculous! Note that God "gave" these harps to the singers. What else could this be except the voices which were created by God? In the entire history of the world up to this time, that is the only musical instrument which God ever made; and we refuse to believe that he will enter into the manufacture of mechanical instruments of music in heaven. In Revelation 8:4, the "incense" is the prayers of the saints; here the "harps" are the songs of the redeemed, as the very next verse says. To literalize "harps" here, and then to declare that this constitutes divine approval of mechanical instruments in Christian worship, is just as unreasonable as it would be to declare the "incense" of Revelation 8:4 to be literal and as divine approval of the burning of sacred incense in Christian worship. We dare to affirm that not a single one of the exegetes who did this to the harps would dare to follow their own reasoning and apply it to the incense. How strange it is that the same scholars who have no trouble at all seeing the symbolical nature of these visions in the instance of the incense, lose all rationality when they come to the "harps."

2. CLARKE, “A sea of glass - A spacious lucid plain around the throne, from which fiery coruscations were continually emitted: or, the reflection of the light upon this lucid plain produced the prismatic colors of the most vivid rainbow.Over the beast, and over his image - See the notes on Revelation 13:1-18 (note).

2B. ELLICOTT, “(2) And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire.—The wild beast rose out of the sea (Revelation 13:1); the evil-hearted woman sits upon many waters (Revelation 17:1); they draw strength from the wild, and ungoverned, and short-sighted impulses of human passion;

in opposition to this near the throne of God is the calm and translucent sea of God’s counsels of righteousness and love, now clear as crystal, now ruddy with the fire of righteous indignation, the expression of His eternal will against sin. Such is the appearance of this glass-like sea now that the angels of the plagues are going forth.But the seer saw more than this fire-flushed sea. He saw also those that are victorious over the wild beast. These he describes (such is the literal translation) as those who conquer out of the wild beast, &c.; they come off conquerors out of the struggle, and they escape from the temptation to worship his image and wear the badge of his service: they “escape victorious from” his image and from his mark. When he sees these, they are standing upon (i.e., on the shore of) the sea of glass, holding harps of God. We have had the harps mentioned previously (Revelation 5:8; Revelation 14:2); it is appropriate. The life which has been a discord to the world rises into true music before God; those who will make their life a melody must take it first as a conflict. The harps they hold are called harps of God, not merely because they are dedicated to Him. but because they are truly God’s. All the most glorious and noble things in nature were named God’s: the lofty trees were “trees of God “; the high-piled mountains were “mountains of God “; so also the harps which strike forth the richest music are “harps of God.” Nor is this a mere phrase to be considered as equivalent to very great or very glorious; great and glorious the trees, hills, and harps are, but only a prosaic or a profane mind can be satisfied with such a naked equivalent. The godly saw the hand of God in these things; and St. John knows that the noblest melody in the ears of God is the noble life of faith, suffering, and love. The power of such a life is in God, not in itself (John 15:5; Galatians 2:20), and the music of such a life is music which God makes (2 Corinthians 4:7-10), drawing the sweetest tones from the strings which are smitten with pain and sorrow; and as its life’s music is God-taught, so does its song of triumph sound from a harp not its own, but God’s. If our power to sing in trial here a song worthy of God is only found in God, so will the songs of heaven be sweet only in Him, for those who dwell there shall be all taught of Him.

3. GILL, “And I saw, as it were, a sea of glass mingled with fire,.... Not baptism, but rather the blood of Christ, which may be compared to a sea, for its abundant virtue and efficacy in cleansing from all sin; and to a sea "of glass", since in it are clearly seen free justification, full pardon, peace and reconciliation; and may be said to be "mingled with fire", being attended in the application of it with the Spirit of God, whose gifts and graces are sometimes signified by fire: and so, according to others, this sea may represent the pure church of God, as washed in the blood of the Lamb; compared to a sea for the multitude of which it consists, and to a sea of glass, because of the transparency and clearness of its principles and practices, and may be said to be mingled with the fire of love and zeal: most interpreters understand it of the world, which is like a sea for the multitude of its inhabitants; and sometimes to a troubled one, because of the restlessness and disquietude of the wicked in it; but here it is like a sea of glass, for the quiet, and peace, and rest it shall be in at this time; though it is commonly said to be like such a sea, partly because all things are manifest, and open to an omniscient God; and partly because of its outward splendour, and the brittleness, frailty, and transitoriness of it; and to be mixed with fire, either because of the light of the Gospel, and the operation of the Spirit in the hearts of some that are in it, or because of the afflictions and persecutions the saints in it; though it seems best of all to understand it of the Gospel, as in See Gill on Rev_4:6; and which may be said to be mingled with fire, either because of the powerful and clear demonstration of the Spirit that attends it to the minds of many, or that heat of persecution which is raised by it; see Luk_12:49 or rather it denotes the purity of the Gospel in those times, its general spread, and the great zeal and fervour of the professors of it, since persecution will now be at an end.

And them that had gotten the victory over the beast; over antichrist, signified the beast, that rose up out of the sea, and out of the earth, Rev_13:1 and which are the same, and were but one, though in different forms, as from hence appears: the beast first overcame the saints, by slaying of them; and they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, by preaching and professing the Gospel, by their close and constant adherence to it, and by dying for it:

and over his image; caused by him to be made to the first beast; and is no other than the Popish religion, which bears a resemblance to Paganism; and which the saints may be said to get the victory over, by standing out against it, opposing and refuting it, not giving into it, but bearing their

testimony against it:

and over his mark; refusing to receive it either in their forehead, or in their right hand; that is, either to swear allegiance to him, or profess his religion. This clause is wanting in the Alexandrian copy, Vulgate Latin, Syriac. Arabic, and Ethiopic versions:

and over the number his name; that is, they would not own his supremacy and authority, nor embrace his doctrines, nor obey his orders, nor be reckoned his followers in any form or shape; see Rev_13:15. These conquerors John saw

stand on the sea of glass; which, if applied to the blood of Christ, shows that these confessors were purified by it, and were more than conquerors through it; that they were come out of great tribulation, and had washed their garments, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb; and were just come up from the washing, and stood upon, or rather by, or "near the sea", as the Arabic version renders it, in allusion to the priests at the molten sea, in the temple: but if the world is meant by the sea, their standing upon it designs their victory and triumph over it by faith, their having it under their feet, and their contempt of it; but rather, since the Gospel is intended, it may denote their solid standing upon the doctrines of it, the foundation of the apostles and prophets, and their steadfast continuance in them, and faithful abiding by them, whereby they got the victory over antichrist:

having the harps of God: their hearts in an excellent frame, tuned and disposed by God, to sing his praise, and set forth his glory; having them filled with spiritual joy and gladness, and with great thankfulness, on account of their victory, the happy state of Christ's church, and the destruction of its enemies: the allusion is to the people of Israel, Moses and the men, and Miriam and the women with timbrels and dances standing on the sea shore, when the Egyptians were destroyed, singing the praises of God; as is still more manifest from the following verse.

4. MACLAREN, “THE SONG OF MOSES AND THE LAMBThe form of this vision is moulded partly by the circumstances of the Seer, and partly by reminiscences of Old Testament history. As to the former, it can scarcely be an accident that the Book of the Revelation abounds with allusions to the sea. We are never far from the music of its waves, which broke around the rocky Patmos where it was written. And the ‘sea of glass mingled with fire’ is but a photograph of what John must have seen on many a still morning, when the sunrise came blushing over the calm surface; or on many an evening when the wind dropped at sundown, and the sunset glow dyed the watery plain with a fading splendor. - Nor is the allusion to Old Testament history less obvious. We cannot but recognize the reproduction, with modifications, of that scene when Moses and his ransomed people looked upon the ocean beneath which their oppressors lay, and lifted up their glad thanksgivings. So here, by anticipation, in the solemn pause before the judgment goes forth, there are represented the spirits that have been made wise by conquest, as gathered on the bank of that steadfast ocean, lifting up as of old a hymn of triumphant thankfulness over destructive judgments, and blending the song of Moses and of the Lamb, in testimony of the unity of spirit which runs through all the manifestations of God’s character from the beginning to the end. Ever His judgments are right; ever the purpose of His most terrible things is that men may know Him, and may love Him; and ever they who see deepest into the mysteries, and understand most truly the realities of the universe will have praise springing to their lips for all that God hath done. I. Notice the Triumphant Choir. ‘I saw them that had gotten the victory over the beast and over his image, and over the number of his name.’ Now I am not going to plunge into Apocalyptic discussions. It is no part of my business now either to ask or answer the question as to whether this Beast of the Revelation is a person or a tendency. I do not care, for my present purpose, whether, supposing it to be a person, an embodiment of certain tendencies, it is a person in the past or in the future; whether it was a veiled designation of the Emperor Nero, or whether it is a prophecy of some yet unborn human embodiment of transcendent wickedness. The question that I would ask is rather this, - Whoever the beast is, what makes him a beast? And if we will think about that, we may get some good out of it. What is the bestial element in him, whoever he be? And the answer is not far to find - Godless selfishness, that is ‘the mark of the beast.’ Wherever a human nature is self-centered,

God-forgetting, and, therefore, God opposing (for whoever forgets God defies Him), that nature has gone down below humanit3% and has touched the lower level of the brutes. Men are so made as that they must either rise to the level of God or certainly go down to that of the animal. And wherever you see men living by their own fancies, for their own pleasure, in forgetfulness and neglect of the sweet and mystic bonds that should knit them to God, there you see the image of the beast and the number of his name.’ But besides that godless selfishness, we may point to simple animalism as literally the mark of the beast. He who lives not by conscience and by faith, but by fleshly inclination and sense, lowers himself to the level of the instinctive brute-life, and beneath it, because he refuses to obey faculties which they do not possess, and what is nature in them is degradation in us. Look at the unblushing sensuality which marks many ‘respectable people’ nowadays. Look at the foul fleshliness of much of popular art and poetry. Look at the way in which pure animal passion, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eye, and the love of good things to eat, and plenty to drink, is swaying and destroying men and women by the thousand among us. Look at the temptations that lie along every street in our great cities, for every young man, after dusk. Look at the thin veneer of culture over the ugliest lust. Scratch the gentleman, and you find the satyr. Is it much of an exaggeration, in view of the facts of English life to-day, to say that all the world wonders after and worships this beast? Further, notice that to escape from the power of the beast it is needful to fight one’s way out. The language of my text is remarkably significant. This Apocalyptic writer does not mind about grammar or smoothness so long as he can express his ideas; and he uses a form of speech here that makes the hair of grammatical purists stand on end, because it vigorously expresses his thought. He calls these triumphant choristers ‘conquerors out of the beast,’ which implies that victory over him is an escape from a dominion in which the conquerors, before their victory, were held. They have fought their way, as it were, out of the land of bondage, and, like revolted slaves, have won their liberty, and marched forth triumphant. The allusion to Israel’s exodus is probable. ‘Egypt was glad when they departed.’ So the bondsmen of this new Pharaoh recover freedom by conflict, and the fruit of their victory is entire escape from the tyrant. That victory is possible. The Apocalypse shows us that there are two opposing Powers - this said ‘beast’ on the one side, and ‘the Lamb’ on the other. In the Seer’s vision these two divide the world between them. That is to say, Jesus Christ has conquered the bestial tendencies of our nature, the selfish godlessness which is apt to cast its spells and weave its chains over us all. The Warrior-Lamb, singular and incongruous as the combination sounds, is the Victor. He conquers because He is the Lamb of sacrifice; He conquers because He is the Lamb of innocence; He conquers because He is the Lamb of meekness, the gentle and, therefore, the all-victorious. By Christ we conquer. Through faith, which lays hold on His power and victory, we too may conquer. ‘This is the victory which overcometh the world, even our faith.’ Young men and women, may I make my appeal specially to you? Do not let yourselves be led away captives, like cattle to the shambles, by the fascinations and seductions of this poor, fleeting present. Keep your heel on the neck of the animal that is within you; take care of that selfish godlessness into which we all are tempted to fall. Listen to the trumpet-call that ought to stir your hearts, and summons you to freedom and to victory through the blood of the Lamb. And by humbly clasping Him as your Sacrifice, your Leader, and your Power, enroll yourselves amongst those who, in His own good time, shall come victorious out from the beast and from his image. II. Still further, notice the position of this victorious chorus. ‘I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire; and they stand on the sea of glass.’ Of course the propriety of the image, as well as the force of the original language, suggests at once that by ‘on the sea of glass’ here, we must understand, on the firm bank by its side. As Moses and the ransomed hosts stood on the shore of the Red Sea, so these conquerors are represented as standing on the safe beach, and looking out upon this sea of glass mingled with fire, which, calm, crystal, clear, stable, and yet shot through and through with the red lines of retributive judgment, sleeps above the buried oppressors. Observe that besides its picturesque appropriateness and its historical allusion, this sea of glass has a distinct symbolical meaning. "We find it appearing also in the great vision in the fourth chapter, where the Seer beholds the normal and ideal order of the universe, which is - the central throne, the ‘Lamb that was slain’ in the interspace between the Throne and the creatures as mediator; and round about, the four living beings, who represent the fullness of creation, and the four and-twenty elders, who represent the Church in the Old and the New Covenants as one

whole. Then follows, ‘before the Throne was a sea of glass,’ which cannot be any part of the material creation, and seems to have but one explanation, and that is that it means the aggregate of the Divine dealings. ‘Thy judgments are a mighty deep.’ Oh! the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God; how unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out.’ Such a signification fits precisely our present passage, for the sea here represents that beneath which the tyrant lies buried for evermore. That great ocean of the judgment of God is crystalline-clear though deep. Does it seem so to us? Ah I we stand before the mystery of God’s dealings, often bewildered, and not seldom reluctant to submit. The perplexity arising from their obscurity is often almost torture, and sometimes leads men into Atheism, or something like it. And yet here is the assurance that that sea is crystal clear, and that if we cannot look to its lowest depths, that is not because there is any mud or foulness there, but partly because the light from above fails before it reaches the abysses, and partly because our eyes are uneducated to search its depths. In itself it is transparent, and it rises and falls without mire or dirt,’ like the blue Mediterranean on the marble cliffs of the Italian coast. If it is clear as far as the eye can see, let us trust that beyond the reach of the eye the clearness is the same. And it is a crystal ocean as being calm. They who stand there have gotten the victory and bear the image of the Master. By reason of their conquest and by reason of their sympathy with Him they see that what to us, tossing upon its surface, appears such a troubled and tempestuous ocean, as calm and still. As from some height, looked down upon, the ocean seems a watery plain, and all the agitation of the billows has subsided into a gentle ripple on the surface, so to them looking down upon the sea that brought them thither, it is quiet - and their vision, not ours, is the true one. It is a ‘sea of glass mingled with fire.’ Divine acts of retribution as it were flash through it, if I may so say, like those streaks of red that are seen in Venice glass, or like some ocean smitten upon the one side of every wave by a fiery sunlight, while the other side of each is dark. So through that great depth of God’s dealings there flashes the fire of retribution. They who have conquered the animal, the godless self, see into the meaning and the mercifulness of God’s dealings with the world; and we here, in the measure in which we have become victors over the rude animalism and the more subtle selfishness that tend to rule us all, and in the measure in which we bear the image of Jesus Christ, and therefore have come into sympathy with Him, may come to discern with some clearer understanding, and to trust with more unfaltering faith, the righteousness and the mercy of all that God shall do. III. Lastly, notice the occasion of the song, and the song itself. ‘They sing the song of Moses and of the Lamb.’ The Song of Moses was a song of triumph over destructive judgment; the Song of the Lamb, says the text, is set on the same key. The one broad, general lesson to be drawn from this, is one on which I have no time to touch, viz., the essential unity, in spite of all superficial diversities, of the revelation of God in the Old Covenant by law and miracle and retributive acts, and the revelation of God in the New Covenant by the Cross and Passion of Jesus Christ. Men pit the Old Testament against the New; the God of the Old Testament against the God of the New. They sometimes tell us that there is antagonism. Modern teachers are wanting us to deny that the Old is the foreshadowing of the New, and the New the fulfilment of the Old. My text asserts, in opposition to all such errors, the fruitful principle of the fundamental unity of the two; and bids us find in the one the blossom and in the other the fruit, and declares that the God who brought the waters of the ocean over the oppressors is the God that has mercy upon all, in Jesus Christ, His dying Son. And there is another principle here, upon which I need not do more than touch, for I have already anticipated much that might have been said about it, and that is the perfect harmony of the retributive acts of God’s destructive dealings in this world, and the highest conception of His love and mercy which the gospel brings us. ‘When the wicked perish,’ says one of the old proverbs, ‘there is shouting.’ And so there ought to be. When some hoary oppression that has been deceiving mankind for centuries, with its instruments and accomplices, is swept off the face of the earth, the more men have entered into the meaning of Jesus Christ’s mission and work, and the more they feel the pitying indignation which they ought to feel at seeing men led away by evil, and made miserable by oppression, the more they will rejoice. God’s dealings are meant to manifest His character and that in order that all men may know and love Him. We may, therefore, be sure, and keep firm hold of the confidence, that whatever He doeth, however the methods may seem to vary, comes from one unalterable and fixed motive, and leads to one unalterable and certain end. The motive is His own love; the end the glory of His Name, in the love and knowledge of men

whose life and blessedness depend on their knowing and loving Him. So, dear friends, do not let us be too swift in saying that this, that, and the other thing are inconsistent with the highest conceptions of the Divine character. I believe, as heartily as any man can believe, that God has put His witness in our consciences and minds, and that all His dealings will comply with any test that man’s reason and man’s conscience and man’s heart can subject them to. Only we have not got all the materials; we look at half -finished work; our eyes are not quite so educated as that we can pronounce infallibly, on seeing a small segment of a circle, what are its diameter and its sweep. I am always suspicious of that rough-and-ready way of settling questions about God’s revelation, when a man says: I cannot accept this or that because it contradicts my conception of the Divine nature.’ Unless you are quite sure that your conceptions are infallibly accurate, unless you deny the possibility of their being educated, you must admit that agreement with them is but a leaden rule. And it seems to me a good deal wiser, and more accordant with the modesty which becomes us, to be cautious in pronouncing what does or does not befit God to do, and, until we reach that loftier point of vision, where being higher up we can see deeper down, to say ‘the Judge of all the earth must do right. If He does this, then it is right.’ At any rate let us lay hold of the plain truth: ‘O Lord! Thou preservest man and beast,’ and then we may venture to say, ‘Thy judgments are a mighty deep,’ and beneath that deepest depth, as the roots of the hills beneath the ocean, is God’s righteousness, which is like the great mountains. The last thought that I would suggest is that, according to the teaching of my text, we may take that old, old story of the ransomed slaves and the baffled oppressor and the Divine intervention and the overwhelming ocean, as prophecy full of radiant hope for the world. That is how it is used here. Pharaoh is the beast, the Red Sea is this ‘sea of glass mingled with fire,’ the ransomed Israelites are those who have conquered their way out of the dominion of the beast, and the song of Moses and of the Lamb is a song parallel to the cadences of the ancient triumphant chorus, and celebrating the annihilation of that power which drew the world away from God. So we may believe that as Israel stood on the sands, and saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore, humanity will one day, delivered from all its bestiality and its selfishness, lift up a song of thanksgiving to the conquering King who has drowned its enemies in the depths of His own righteous judgments. And as for the world, so for individuals. If you take the Beast for your Pharaoh and your task-master, you will ‘sink’ with him ‘like lead in the mighty waters.’ If you take the Lamb for your sacrifice and your King, He will break the bonds from off your arms, and lift the yoke from your neck, and lead you all your lives long; and you will stand at last, when the eternal morning breaks, and see its dawn touch with golden light the calm ocean, beneath which your oppressors lie buried for ever, and will lift up glad thanksgivings to Him who has washed you from your sins in His own blood, and made you victors over ‘the beast, and his image, and the number of his name.’

5. JAMISON, “sea of glass — Answering to the molten sea or great brazen laver before the mercy seat of the earthly temple, for the purification of the priests; typifying the baptism of water and the Spirit of all who are made kings and priests unto God.mingled with fire — answering to the baptism on earth with fire, that is, fiery trial, as well as with the Holy Ghost, which Christ’s people undergo to purify them, as gold is purified of its dross in the furnace.them that had gotten the victory over — Greek, “those (coming) off from (the conflict with) the beast-conquerors.”over the number of his name — A, B, C, Vulgate, Syriac, and Coptic omit the words in English Version, “over his mark.” The mark, in fact, is the number of his name which the faithful refused to receive, and so were victorious over it.stand on the sea of glass — Alford and De Burgh explain “on (the shore of) the sea”: at the sea. So the preposition, Greek, “epi,” with the accusative case, is used for at, Rev_3:20. It has a pregnant sense: “standing” implies rest, Greek “epi” with the accusative case implies motion “towards.” Thus the meaning is, Having come TO the sea, and now standing AT it. In Mat_14:26, where Christ walks on the sea, the Greek oldest manuscripts have the genitive, not the accusative as here. Allusion is made to the Israelites standing on the shore at the Red Sea, after having passed victoriously through it, and after the Lord had destroyed the Egyptian foe (type of Antichrist) in it. Moses and the Israelites’ song of triumph (Exo_15:1) has its antitype in the saints’

“song of Moses and the Lamb” (Rev_15:3). Still English Version is consistent with good Greek, and the sense will then be: As the sea typifies the troubled state out of which the beast arose, and which is to be no more in the blessed world to come (Rev_21:1), so the victorious saints stand on it, having it under their feet (as the woman had the moon, see on Rev_12:1); but it is now no longer treacherous wherein the feet sink, but solid like glass, as it was under the feet of Christ, whose triumph and power the saints now share. Firmness of footing amidst apparent instability is thus represented. They can stand, not merely as victorious Israel at the Red Sea, and as John upon the sand of the shore, but upon the sea itself, now firm, and reflecting their glory as glass, their past conflict shedding the brighter luster on their present triumph. Their happiness is heightened by the retrospect of the dangers through which they have passed. Thus this corresponds to Rev_7:14, Rev_7:15.harps of God — in the hands of these heavenly virgins, infinitely surpassing the timbrels of Miriam and the Israelitesses.

5B. NOTES COLLECTED, “JAMES DAVIS, "Chapters 12 & 13 portrayed the devil standing upon the seashore while a beast was coming out of the sea to bring havoc against God's people. But here in chapter 15 the sea is so calm that it reflects the sun's rays like a mirror. It is definitely a tranquil and peaceful scene as compared to the previous scenes. The scene is reminiscent of the song of Moses and Miriam sung by the Israelites after crossing the Red Sea by the hand of God's deliverance. (Exodus 15:1-18)

History repeats inself because God defeats evil partially and then permanently. The flocks of the lamb have been victorious over the wolf.

Richardson, "Anyone who has seen the radiant colors of sunset reflected on the waters of a calm and peaceful sea can appreciate the beauty of the picture. On the shore of the sea are gathered a company of victorious and joyful singers, who have fought themselves free of the beast..." They did not escape but they were victorious over.

Heaven made, God given harps. Here are the most unique instruments in the universe. What music can we expect from them?

6. PULPIT, “And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire. "And I saw" indicates a new phase of the vision (cf. Rev_14:6, Rev_14:14, etc.). The sea was like glass, either because of its pure transparent appearance, or on account of its consistency; the saints being subsequently described as standing on it. (For a full discussion of the meaning, see on Rev_4:6.) The sea, the elders, and the triumphal hymns of praise are all characteristic of the vision in Rev_4:1-11.Mingled with fire. In Rev_4:1-11. it was described as "like unto crystal." The fire is an emblem of purity; the same idea is also conveyed by the "crystal." Fire is also a symbol of judgment, which is the theme of the song of the saints (Rev_4:4). 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; and them that come victorious from the beast and from his image, and from the number, etc. Omit "and over his mark," according to all the best authorities. Standing by (or, on), having harps. (On "the beast" and "his image," etc., see on Rev_13:1-18.) These victorious ones stand by (such, probably, is the force of e?p?´ ) the sea (see above and on Rev_4:6). The "harps" are characteristic of the heavenly melodies (Rev_5:8; Rev_14:2). This multitude has been before described in Rev_7:9. From his image; that is, from the temptation to worship the image.

7. PULPIT, “"The wrath of God."Such is the subject of this and the following chapters.

I. WHAT IS IT? "The wrath of God" is simply that will of God which forever has linked together sin and suffering; that will by which woe follows wickedness everywhere and always. It is calm, not passionate; inexorable, not capricious; ever just, as man's wrath too often is not; and never selfish, is ours too often is.

II. IS TERRIBLE TO EVIL DOERS. See the several symbols of it as they are given one by one in the account of the outpouring of the seven vials. And, separate from all symbol, see how everywhere and always and evermore, suffering, like a sleuth hound, tracks the steps of sin, and sooner or later fastens its fangs in the sinful man or sinful people. So sure is this, that that shrewd, wise, observant man who wrote the Book of Proverbs declared it as the testimony of all experience that they are "fools" who "make a mock at sin."

III. WILL HAVE AN END. Not that the will of God, without which he could neither be the God of holiness nor the God of love; that ordains the everlasting union of sin with suffering—not that that will can ever end or change, but that, the purpose of his will being accomplished by the extirpation of sin, there shall no longer be occasion for suffering. Hence we say the wrath of God will have an end. And accordingly these very plagues are called "the seven lastplagues." It would be dreadful to think that the moral condition of men should ever be as it is, and has been during all the past. But it will not. The day will dawn when there will no longer be need for any more plagues, and when the last of them, they all having done their work, shall pass away forevermore (verse 1).

IV. IS CONSENTED TO BY ALL THE COMPANY OF HEAVEN. The saints, they celebrate its manifestation by their song. The living ones (verse 7) consign to the charge of the seven angels the seven vials of the wrath of God. Angels, who come forth from the inmost shrine of the temple of God, and are vested as his priests, undertake this awful work; the holy, the blessed, the glorified, the redeemed, those saved by the mercy of God, all alike consent. It is a fearful, but a most solemn and salutary fact, to remember that there will not be found a solitary individual amongst the holy and the good who will intercede against or do aught but consent to God's judgments against sin. Even he who is the Lamb of God, the Friend and Saviour of sinners, consents; yea, more than this, for it is his song that his saints sing in celebration of these judgments of God. Left utterly alone with his sin—without one friend—will he be who now refuses to give up his sin and submit to Christ.

V. EVIDENCES THE HOLINESS OF GOD. (Verses 3, 4.) The conviction constrains the confession, "Thou only art holy; Righteous and true are thy ways"—so sing they who sing the song of Moses and of the Lamb. What worth is any government, what worth especially would be the government of God, if it were as the sceptic cynic in Ecclesiastes says it is, that "there is one end to the righteous and to the wicked"? There would be no need of a hell by and by, for earth would be hell already. Blessed forever be his Name, who makes "the way of transgressors hard."

VI. WILL BE FOLLOWED BY THE COMING "OF ALL NATIONS TO WORSHIP BEFORE" GOD. (Verse 4.) This most precious truth explains the song that the saints sing. How could they sing if sin and suffering were to go on forever; if evil were to be eternal, or if the woes of the world meant the destruction of the world? But knowing and seeing clearly, as they do, how all these judgments of God conduce to the glory of God; and that as the cloud of his majesty filled the temple (verse 8), so shall that glory fill all the earth; therefore they can, not merely with calmness, but with joy, contemplate the pouring out of the vials, even of the wrath of God. But for the faith of this how could thoughtful men endure to live?

VII. WARNS US TO FLEE FROM THE WICKEDNESS THAT AROUSES IT TO THE LOUD JESUS CHRIST. For he it is in whom we are sheltered from the wrath due to sin of the past, and from the power of sin present and future.—S.C.

7. JOHN MACDUFF, “THE SONG OF THE HARPERS BY THE GLASSY SEA

I saw before me what seemed to be a crystal sea mixed with fire. And on it stood all the people who had been victorious over the beast and his statue and the number representing his name. They were all holding harps that God had given them. And they were singing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb:

"Great and marvelous are your actions,

Lord God Almighty.

Just and true are your ways,

O King of the nations. Rev. 15:2-3

The seven angels who were holding the bowls of the seven plagues came from the Temple, clothed in spotless white linen with gold belts across their chests. Rev. 15:6

Then I heard a mighty voice shouting from the Temple to the seven angels, "Now go your ways and empty out the seven bowls of God's wrath on the earth." Rev. 16:1

We have, in previous chapters, taken a rapid glance at two out of the three great parallel series of visions in the Book of Revelation—those of the Seals and those of the Trumpets. One other group of figures, that of the Vials, still remains, previous to the grand final disclosures regarding the Celestial City and the Church of the glorified. We found the two former were preceded by magnificent introductory visions—the adoration of the slain Lamb, and the Angel with the golden censer standing by the golden altar. So also is it in the case of the Vials, in which there was to be a new symbolic outpouring of divine judgment on one especially of the portentous monsters delineated in chapter 13— "the Beast and his image."

The true Church being, moreover, basely counterfeited in this hybrid foe, which conjoined the horns of the Lamb with the mouth of the dragon, could not fail to tremble for her own safety, and to stand in need of a special upholding word of comfort in the prospect of retribution. That preparatory vision of consolation is given in the words we are now to consider. Before the seven golden-belted angels come forth from the opened temple, bearing in their hands the cups or bowls of wrath to be poured on an apostate church and an apostate world, John has his attention directed to another "sign in heaven." It is a sea, calm as glass, mingled with fire. A crowd of victors are seen on its shores, uniting with harp and voice in a song of lofty adoration.

There would seem to be little doubt as to the real allusion in the suggestive imagery. Standing, indeed, now (as the spectator himself describes in chapter 14), "on the sands of the sea," looking across the Aegean Sea—its calm waters transmuted into molten gold—the island-home of the Apostle-prisoner and its surroundings may have possibly added power and reality to the figure.

But who can question that it had its grand original in the memories of another sea-shore—other minglings of fire—and other harps of triumph? Who can fail, in this new apocalyptic representation, to call to remembrance that ever-illustrious scene in early Jewish story—the proudest in all the old Hebrew annals—when the Israelites, ranged on the sands of Asia with the Red Sea between them and their old house of bondage, sang their song of victory—Miriam and her sisters answering with timbrels, as they made the shores ring with the refrain, "Sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider has He thrown into the sea"?

Nor is it the name given, "The Song of Moses"—which alone is suggestive of the allusion. The glassy sea was "mingled with fire." Have we not here, also, the counterpart in that opening drama of the Exodus—the pillar of fire giving its glorious light to Israel, but flashing vengeance on their Egyptian pursuers? You may remember the exceptional appointment on that night of miracle, with reference to this fiery column—it "removed and went behind the Hebrews." At other times their pioneer and precursor, it now remained in their rear; so that as the Israelites, rank by rank, reached the opposite shore, they saw its lurid light reflected in the waters. The opposite side of thesame pillar formed a murky cloud and darkness to the Egyptians; or, if it emitted light, it was only the fitful gleams and coruscations of the forked lightning—the arrows of God—to dazzle and perplex and terrify.

After the world's long night of peril, the symbolic Church of 'just men made perfect'—God's glorified Israel—having left forever behind them the land of their oppressors, stand safe on the heavenly shore. Every billow of tribulation is hushed—all is changed into a calm, reflecting the glory of the Everlasting Hills, and of the Sun of Righteousness. How vivid the contrast between that glassy, waveless sea—without a disturbing element—and the apostate Church on earth spoken of in chapter14 as "seated on many waters"—fretted with tempest, tossed on a troubled ocean-sea which cannot rest! Blessed and glorious emblem of everlasting tranquillity—these celestial harpers celebrating the downfall of all evil, and recognizing, in the survey of the past; the love, wisdom, and faithfulness of God's every dealing—this their joyful testimony and experience on these blissful shores, "We went through fire and through water, but You brought us out into a wealthy place."

We may add, in a word, yet one other feature of resemblance. It is the place which the vision occupies in the Apocalypse, in connection with the pouring out of the vials; recalling vividly, also, the vial-plagues of Egypt, the pouring forth of which preceded Israel's emancipation. For although we have spoken of these beautiful words as a prologue or introduction to the seven plagues which follow, perhaps from the literal rendering of one of the phrases we may also assign to them this additional significance, that they are not only anticipatory, but are rather sung all through the course of the vial-outpouring. The golden-belted angels pause, so to speak, to listen in silence to their mandate; but after the former have issued from the temple, the song continues. It is not a brief introductory solo merely—a solitary paean before the conflict; but rather like martial music mingling in the roll of battle, or like words of heart-cheer and sympathy borne ever and always, amid the surging of the tempest, to the ears of the perishing crew. If so, the song has this additional interesting characteristic, that it is being sung now—that as the judgment-angels are abroad on their mission, the ear of faith can catch up its strains. The song of the perfected Church we shall come to hereafter; the present is that of the partially completed and completing ranks of the glorified.

It is the song sung on the Heavenly Mount while the battle is still raging in the plain beneath. Let us then, for a little, ungird the wilderness-armor and hearken to the music of the harps of God. On His own Sabbath, it may be, the day and hour of solemn truce, with the arms of conflict piled on the silent sands, let us forget the Egypt plagues behind, and the perils of the desert before, and listen with rapt reverence to "the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb."

There are various interesting views we may take of this blended song. First, we may regard it as the Song of the two Dispensations—that of the Old and the New—the mighty multitude of

redeemed gathered in under both, meeting under their great representative heads—a united Church. The glorious company of apostles, the goodly fellowship of prophets, and the noble army of martyrs, are assembled on the celestial shores to sing the song of their common deliverance—to mingle their combined yet diverse experiences, and proclaim these for the encouragement of the drooping and faint-hearted, who are still struggling in the conflict, or buffeting the billows.

How vast and varied are these experiences! Each harper has his own tale to utter and his own song to sing. There are the patriarchal harps swept by the hand of Abel and Noah, Abraham and Joseph; telling of purposes of covenant love proclaimed amid the withered bowers of Eden, or written in the rainbow of heaven that spanned the receding waters of the flood, or recalling mercies that were showered around the tent of the Pilgrim of Canaan, and the Captive in the Egyptian dungeon. There are the prophetic harps, from Moses to Malachi, rehearsing those glowing utterances which evoked of old their tuneful melodies. There is Isaiah, resuming the very strain of his undying parable of consolation, "Comfort, comfort my people." There is Hezekiah with his balm-words for the troubled and terror-stricken, "God is our refuge and strength, a present help in trouble," There is David and Daniel, with their older memories of heroic faith and calm reliance, which led to ultimate deliverance and victory. There is the harp of the Simeons and Annas, who, in their day and generation, stood on the threshold of a new era of time, celebrating still the praises of the great "Consolation of Israel," for whom they had long waited, and waited not in vain. There is the Baptist, in the presence of the "True Light," uttering louder than ever his old proclamation, "He must increase, but I must decrease."

One after another of the apostolic band has his own hallowed story to relate—reminiscences of touching tenderness, and motives and encouragements to brave and stern endurance. John has more glorious visions of endearing fellowship with his great Lord than all the sublime picturings of Patmos. Paul has to tell how the things that happened unto him "have fallen out rather to the furtherance of the Gospel." Peter, in loud accents which know no faltering, can now exclaim, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You." We can listen to the holy women of Judea, and Galilee who tracked on earth the footsteps of Incarnate Mercy, joining with the Miriams and the Deborahs of the olden dispensation in abundantly uttering the memory of His great goodness, and talking of His righteousness. There are the Marys and the Elizabeths, rejoicing in God their Savior. There is the weeping penitent of Gennesaret with nothing now but the tear of love in her eyes, sweeping her harp with bolder hand because she had been forgiven much. There is the woman of Sychar and Mary of Magdala, and the sisters of Bethany, and the other holy watchers by the tomb of buried love, now echoing and prolonging the song through everlasting ages which they were the first to raise, "The Lord is risen indeed."

There are the martyred multitudes under Pagan Rome, and the faithful and heroic confessors under Papal Rome, who are described, in this vision of the crowned harpers, as having "gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over the number of his name." But we are lost in the attempt to catch up or follow these lofty harmonies. It is the blending, in one magnificent cadence, of all the voices of the fast-gathering Church triumphant—from Adam, re-tuning the broken harp of Paradise lost, to those who are at this very hour entering the spirit-land; all of every rank and of every age—from the true Israelite wearing the monarch's crown, to the true Israelite whose earthly birthright was rags and penury—from the aged Melchizedecs and Methuselahs and Elis, to the little children who sang their hosannahs in the temple—the representatives of ten thousand thousand whose infant tongues, stilled on earth, have been early tuned to the immortal song.

Oh! whatever be the jarring notes of conflicting ages and conflicting sects here, all is harmony

yonder. "Those who are delivered from the noise of archers," now, in the fellowship of unmarred and unbroken communion, rehearse to one another, harp answering to harp, and soul to soul, "the righteous acts of the Lord." It is the realization of the longed-for unity of God's people—the interchange of the patriarchal and the apostolic—the Jewish and the Christian—the Song of Moses blending in sweet accord with the Song of the Lamb; and the words of sublime liturgy, so often belied on earth, become the noble and truthful liturgy of Heaven, "The Church throughout all the world does acknowledge You!"

II. Another view we may take of this blended ascription is, that which is most obvious, to regard it as the song of PROVIDENCE and the song of GRACE. "The Song of Moses"—the song of Providence. "The Song of the Lamb"—the song of Grace, or Redemption. The anthem itself is an antiphonal strain, sung in alternate parts; and its subject-matter, as given in verses 3, 4, would seem to justify the twofold division. It was God's wondrous providential "works," in the miraculous plagues of Egypt and the passage of the Red Sea, which formed the special theme of the olden Song of Moses. The Song of the Lamb, again—that of the New Testament Church—celebrated rather the wondrous "ways" of God—His justice, His truth, His dreadful holiness, as manifested in the plan of redemption. And, therefore, if the strains of the former befittingly be this, "Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty," no less appropriate and beautiful are those of the latter, "Just and true are all Your ways, O King of the ages; who shall not fear You, and glorify Your name? for You only are holy."

First, then, let us hear these harpers sing the Song of PROVIDENCE, "the Song of Moses, the servant of God." They delight, in other words, to sing a song similar to that which Moses sang on the shores of the Red Sea—the leading characteristic of which is the recognition and adoration of God's sovereignty. It is worthy of special note, how strikingly, in all their references to the exodus, the Hebrew psalmists and prophets love to bring into bold prominence this grand feature of the personal agency, foreknowledge, and power of Jehovah. "They went through the flood on foot; then did we rejoice in Him." "He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through, and He made the waters to stand as a heap. In the daytime, also, He led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of fire." "You rode upon Your horses and Your chariots of salvation. You walked through the sea with Your horses—through the heap of great waters."

And these are but the echoes of the original song itself. "Your right hand, O God, has become glorious in power. Your right hand, O Lord, has dashed in pieces the enemy. With the blast of Your nostrils the waters were gathered together; the floods stood upright as a heap. The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil. You blew with Your wind; the sea covered them, they sank as lead in the mighty waters . . . The Lord shall reign forever and ever!" Oh! blessed assurance for the Church of God in the midst of all tribulations, and one we have found so often repeated in this closing Book of the sacred Canon, that there is a personal will and a personal God enthroned behind and above these apparently conflicting elements! The God of the olden pillar-cloud is in the pillar-cloud still. Man proposes, but God disposes.

It is for us, meanwhile, patiently to wait the development of His plans; to take on trust these strains from the harpers which we cannot understand until we ourselves join their ranks. Every evolution in the great program is His, who presides alike over the counsels of His Church and the destinies of the nations. It is He who now strengthens and appoints the angels of judgment. It is His own mighty voice which gives the commission, "Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth." When that judicial errand was being accomplished, the subsequent confession of one of these ministers of vengeance would doubtless be that of all—"And I heard the angel of the waters say, 'You are righteous, O Lord, who are, and were, and shall be, because

You have judged thus!" These glorious Beings, in the execution of their ministry, ask no questions. It is JEHOVAH, the Lord God Almighty, the Just, and the True, and the Holy—who has given them their mandates. With unswerving loyalty, forth they go, panoplied in "pure and white linen, having their chests girded with golden sashes."

And when their task is done—when the last vial has been outpoured, and the Great Voice again comes out of the Temple of Heaven, saying, "It is done"—when they return to their thrones to surrender their trust, and lay the emptied vials at the feet of their great Lord—what is the next entry of the recording spectator? "After these things I heard a voice of much people in Heaven, saying, Alleluia! Salvation, and glory, and honor, and power unto the Lord our God: for true and righteous are His judgments . . . And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters,, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia! for the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!"

Let us catch up the lofty echo of this Song of Moses—the Song of Providence; the song sung—yes, and now being sung, on the shores of glory! The Providence which sits enthroned over the Church and the world presides over our individual destinies. Often there may be profound mysteries in the Divine dealings, "deep may call to deep." We may at times lose the footsteps of a God of love, and be led in our bewilderment to exclaim, "Your way is in the sea, and Your path in the deep waters, and Your judgments are not known." But there is a day coming when the rectitude of His dealings and doings will be vindicated—when the floods which now lift up their waves and make a mighty noise shall be stilled into a glassy calm, mirroring nothing but the red, fire-like glory of Justice, and Mercy, and Love; and when, not with the blare of the trumpets of earthly warfare, but on the tuneful chords of Heaven's own sweetest instrument, we shall sing with the harpers on the glassy sea—"The Song of Moses, the Servant of God."

The Second theme of the twofold song is "The Song of THE LAMB"—the Song of Grace and of Redemption. This is a louder, loftier, sublimer strain. We have met it before, more than once, in the previous figures, so that we have the less need to dwell on it here. In the connection in which it stands in the present passage, we are forcibly reminded of one of the most impressive incidents in the life of our Incarnate Redeemer. Moses, the author of the Song of Providence, in company with another illustrious fellow-harper from the glassy sea, came down to an earthly mount to witness the Transfiguration of Him whose day they had both seen afar off, and were glad. It was not, however, the theme of Providence which then engrossed their thoughts, nor the Song of Providence which thrilled on their lips. "They appeared in glory, and spoke of His death, which He would accomplish at Jerusalem."

As if they would thereby proclaim, that the theme of Redemption, the Song of the Lamb, is the sublime topic which fixes the contemplation—tasks the immortal energies of the redeemed above—the blessed bond of union linking together the varying dispensations—the legal, the prophetical, the Gospel—the Church on earth and the Church in Heaven. All other themes pale before it. All other works and designs of Providence constellate around the Cross of Calvary, as the planets around a central sun. No other theme, no other song, has any glory, by reason of this glory which excels—Christ is all and in all! Not only of Him and through Him, but "to Him are all things." Glorious indeed is the Song of Creation—the song which the psalmist puts into the lips of the starry heavens, as these spangled, glittering minstrels of the skies declare the glory of God and show forth His handiwork—day unto day uttering speech, and night unto night showing knowledge.

Glorious, too, was that Song of Moses on the Red Sea shores. No greater or more signal earthly deliverance was ever celebrated in poetry or music. It stands out by itself with peerless grandeur, in annals sacred and profane. But, after all, what a feeble type of that deliverance which is being now sung and celebrated by the heavenly harpers!—a deliverance from the bondage of condemnation and death!—as we look across the sea of Divine wrath, and behold our sins, like the hosts of Pharaoh, sunk into its depths! Oh! sing unto the Lord a new song, for He has done marvelous things! His right hand and His holy arm have gotten Him the victory. Thanks, eternal thanks, be unto God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

If the befitting utterance of Creation and Providence be, "Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty," Redemption, as it takes its stand by the Cross, and beholds the meeting in blissful harmony of all the attributes of Jehovah—Truth with Mercy, and Righteousness with Peace—has this song, too, peculiarly its own, "Just and true are all Your ways, O King of the ages! who shall not fear You, and glorify Your name? for You only are holy."

Let us sing that twofold blended song now, that we may sing it forever. It is continually waxing louder. Well-known voices missed on earth, add to the sublime harpings and melodies of the skies. The host passing through the Red Sea of earthly trial is, age by age, year by year, week by week, diminishing; the shores of glory are crowding with ever-augmented numbers. Meanwhile, let the girded angels of judgment go forth on their mission—and whether it be to pour the contents of their incense-bowls on a desolated world—on rivers, and fountains, and sea, and lights of heaven—amid predicted voices and thunderings, lightnings and earthquake—the crash of falling cities and the wild paroxysms of affrighted nature; or whether it be to carry these vials to individual homes and hearths—we shall listen to the voice of Him who has given the mandate, "Go your ways;" we shall hearken to the calm lullaby stealing down from the harpers on the sea of glass, as they proclaim, amid all convulsions and all changes, the sway alike of a God of Providence and Grace, and exhort us to sing with them, even now, what will form the theme and anthem of eternity, "The Song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the LAMB!"

3 and sang the song of God’s servant Moses and

of the Lamb:

“Great and marvelous are your deeds,

Lord God Almighty.

Just and true are your ways,

King of the nations.[a]

1.BARNES, “And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God - A song of thanksgiving and

praise, such as Moses taught the Hebrew people to sing after their deliverance from Egyptian bondage. See Exo. 15. The meaning here is, not that they would sing that identical song, but that, as Moses taught the people to celebrate their deliverance with an appropriate hymn of praise, the redeemed would celebrate their delivery and redemption in a similar manner. There is an obvious propriety here in referring to the “song of Moses,” because the circumstances are very similar; the occasion of the redemption from that formidable anti-Christian power here referred to, had a strong resemblance to the rescue from Egyptian bondage.And the song of the Lamb - The hymn which is sung in honor of the Lamb, as their great deliverer. Compare the notes on Rev_5:9-10, Rev_5:12-13.Saying, Great and marvelous are thy works - See the notes on Rev_15:1. The meaning is, that great power was evinced in redeeming them; and that the interposition of the divine goodness in doing it was marvelous, or was such as to excite wonder and admiration.Lord God Almighty - This would seem to mean the same thing as the expression so common in the Old Testament, “Yahweh, God of hosts.” The union of these appellations give solemnity and impressiveness to the ascription of praise, for it brings into view the fact, that he whose praise is celebrated is Lord - Yahweh - -the uncreated and eternal One; that he is God the creator, upholder, and sovereign of all things; and that he is Almighty - having all power in all worlds. All these names and attributes are suggested when we think of redemption; for all the perfections of a glorious God are suggested in the redemption of the soul from death. It is the Lord the Ruler of all worlds; it is God - the Maker of the race, and the Father of the race, who performs the work of redemption; and it is a work which could be accomplished only by one who is Almighty.Just and true - The attributes of justice and truth are brought prominently into view also in the redemption of man. The fact that God is just, and that in all this work he has been careful to maintain his justice Rom_3:26; and the fact that he is true to himself, true to the creation, true to the fulfillment of all his promises, are prominent in this work, and it is proper that these attributes should be celebrated in the songs of praise in heaven.Are thy ways - Thy ways or dealings with us, and with the enemies of the church. That is, all the acts or “ways” of God in the redemption of his people had been characterized by justice and truth.Thou King of saints - King of those who are holy; of all who are redeemed and sanctified. The more approved reading here, however, is “King of nations” - ?? ßas??e?`? t??? e?????? ho basileus to‾n ethno‾n - instead of “King of saints” - t?`? a?????? to‾n hagio‾n. So it is read in the critical editions of Griesbach, Tittmann, and Hahn. The sense is not materially affected by the difference in the reading.

1B. BARCLAY, “THE SONG OF THE VICTORS OF CHRIST

Rev. 15:3-4

And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb:

Great and wonderful are your works, O Lord, God the Almighty; Just and true are your ways, King of the nations. Who shall not fear and glorify your name, O Lord? Because you alone are holy; Because all the nations will come and worship before you; Because your righteous judgments have been made plain for all to see.

The victorious martyrs sing two songs. They sing the song of the Lamb which, as we have seen, is the song which they alone could learn (Rev. 14:3). They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God. This was the song which Moses sang in triumph to God after the safe crossing of the Red Sea. It is in Exo.15:1-19. "The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.... Who is like thee, 0 Lord, among the gods, who is like thee, majestic in holiness, terrible in glorious deeds, doing wonders?... The Lord will reign for ever and ever." This song was stamped upon the memory of the Jews. It was sung at every Sabbath evening service in the synagogue. At every Jewish service the recital of the Shema (compare the verb, HSN8085), the creed of Israel, was followed by two prayers--it still is--and one of these prayers refers to this song: "True it is that thou art Jehovah our God, and the God of our fathers, our King, and the King of our fathers, our Saviour, and the Saviour of our fathers, our Creator, the Rock of our Salvation, our Help and our Deliverer. Thy name is from everlasting, and there is no God beside thee. A new

song did they that were delivered sing to thy name by the sea-shore; together did all praise and own thee King, and say, Jehovah shall reign, world without end! Blessed be the Lord who saveth Israel." The song of Moses commemorated the greatest deliverance in the history of God's people Israel, and the victorious martyrs, brought through the sea of persecution to the promised land of heaven, sing that song.

But the martyrs have their own song. Two things stand out about it.

(i) It is almost entirely composed of quotations from the Old Testament. We set down first the words in the song and below them the Old Testament passages of which they remind us.

Great and wonderful are your works.

O Lord, how great are thy works! (Ps.92:5); The works of the Lord are great (Ps.111:2); he has done marvellous (wonderful) things (Ps.98:1); Wonderful are thy works (Ps.139:14).

Just and true are your ways.

The Lord is just in all his ways, and kind in all his doings (Ps.145:17).

Who shall not fear and glorify your name, O Lord

All the nations thou hast made shall come and bow down before Thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name (Ps.86:9).

You alone are holy.

There is none holy like the Lord (1Sam.2:2); Let them praise thy great and terrible name! Holy is he! (Ps.99:3); Holy and terrible is his name (Ps.111:9).

All the nations will come and worship before you.

All the nations thou hast made shall come and bow down before thee, O Lord (Ps.86:9).

Your righteous judgments are made manifest.

The Lord has made known his victory, he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations (Ps.98:2).

A passage like this lets us see how steeped in the Old Testament John was.

(ii) There is another thing which must strike anyone about the song of the triumphant martyrs. There is not one single word in it about their own achievement; from beginning to end the song is a lyric outburst on the greatness of God.

Heaven is a place where men forget themselves and remember only God. As R. H. Charles finely puts it: "In the perfect vision of God self is wholly forgotten." H. B. Swete puts it this way: "In the presence of God the martyrs forget themselves; their thoughts are absorbed by the new wonders that surround them; the glory of God and the mighty scheme of things in which their own sufferings form an infinitesimal part are opening before them; they begin to see the great issue of the world-drama, and we hear the doxology with which they greet their first unclouded vision of God and his works."

2. CLARKE, “They sing the song of Moses - That which Moses sang, Exo_15:1, when he and the Israelites, by the miraculous power of God, had got safely through the Red Sea, and saw their enemies all destroyed.

And the song of the Lamb - The same song adapted to the state of the suffering, but now delivered Christians.Great and marvellous are thy works - God’s works are descriptive of his infinite power and wisdom.Lord God Almighty - Nearly the same as Jehovah, God of hosts.Just and true are thy ways - Every step God takes in grace or providence is according to justice, and he carefully accomplishes all his threatenings and all his promises; to this he is bound by his truth.

2B. COFFMAN. “And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are thy works, O Lord God, the Almighty; righteous and true are thy ways, thou King of the ages.And they sing the song of Moses ... and ... the Lamb ... Morris said of this, "They sing (presumably to their own harp accompaniment)."[26] At least, Morris named such a conclusion what it is; namely, a presumption, a presumption which we do not allow for a moment as in any sense valid. The notion of literal harps is simply not in this passage. The text says "they sing."Of Moses and of the Lamb ... Perhaps no more is meant by this than the unity of the saints of both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Moses was the grand Old Testament type of Christ. See extensive development of this in my Commentary on Hebrews, pp. 67-69. The song is that of redemption.Great and marvelous are thy works, O Lord God, the Almighty ... Significantly, this song, made up of a blended collection of Old Testament texts, deals not with the overcoming of the saints, but with the mighty works of God. "There is not a single word about their own achievement."[27] Self is at last forgotten; selfishness is finally destroyed. In heaven, the song of Moses and the Lamb is exclusively an anthem of loving praise to the Almighty.The Almighty ... "This title, which is ascribed to God nine times in Revelation, is found but once elsewhere in the New Testament (2 Corinthians 6:18)."[28]Thou King of the ages ... The KJV has "King of the saints," and the ASV margin has "King of the nations." The passage is true, however it may be rendered.[26] Leon Morris, op. cit., p. 188.[27] William Barclay, The Revelation of John (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1976), p. 120.[28] Robert H. Mounce, Commentary on the New Testament, Revelation (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1977), p. 288.

3. GILL, “And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God,.... Not that in Deu_32:1 but that in Exo_15:1 and the sense is, either that they observed the law of Moses, which he as a servant in the Lord's house faithfully delivered, and kept it distinct from the Gospel, and did not blend them together, as in the times before; or rather, that they sung a song like that of Moses, and on a like occasion. Pharaoh was the very picture of the pope of Rome; his oppression and cruel usage of the Israelites represent the tyranny and cruelty of the Romish antichrist; and the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt, and the destruction of the Egyptians at the Red sea, which occasioned the song of Moses, were an emblem of God's bringing his people out of antichristian bondage, and of the ruin of antichrist, upon which this song is sung; and Rome, in this book, is called Egypt, Rev_11:8. The Jews have a notion, that the very song of Moses itself will be sung in the world to come, in the days of the Messiah; for they say, there are in it the times of the Messiah, and of Gog and Magog, and of the resurrection of the dead, and the world to come (l). And this song was sung by the Levites in the daily service (m).

And the song of the Lamb; the Lamb of God, who was slain for the sins of men; the same song of which mention is made, Rev_5:9 the song of redeeming love, a song of praise for the blessings of grace which come through him, and of deliverance by him:

saying, great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; Christ is in this song addressed as a divine person, as Lord of all, God over all, blessed for ever, the Almighty God, as his works declare him to be; his works of creation, providence, and redemption, which are all great and marvellous, particularly the accomplishment of the glorious things spoken of his church, and the destruction of his enemies, which are here designed:

just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints: made so by his Father, and acknowledged by all his people, and especially at this time, when his kingdom will more visibly and gloriously appear: the Alexandrian copy, one of Stephens's, the Complutensian edition, and Arabic version, read, King of nations, as in Jer_10:7 from whence this, and the beginning of the next verse, seem to be taken; the Vulgate Latin and Syriac versions read, "King of ages", an everlasting King, as in Jer_10:10 but the generality of copies read as we have it: and the ways of this King are just and true; his purposes, decrees, and counsels of old, are faithfulness and truth; all his proceedings towards his own people, his subjects, are mercy and truth; his precepts and ordinances, his worship and service, are just and true, in opposition to every false way; and all his judgments upon his enemies, which are intended, are just, being what their sins deserved, and are true, being agreeably to his word and threatenings.

3B. ELLICOTT, “(3) And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb.—They join their voices to the music of their harps. The song of Moses was a pæan of victory over Pharaoh and his hosts (Exodus 14:26-31; Exodus 15:1-21). Israel stood on the margin of the Red Sea and saw the tokens of the overthrow of the great world-power of that day; so these saints stand by the border of the fire-blent sea of glass, and sing the song of triumph over the doom of the great world-powers of every age. The cases are parallel, the songs are alike; and it would not be out of place were the words of that other song of Moses, the man of God, to be heard from those who are made glad according to the days of their affliction, and who are clothed with the beauty of the Lord their God (Psalms 90:1; Psalms 90:15; Psalms 90:17). They also sing the song of the Lamb. The Apocalypse is full of Christ; the Lamb is the axis on which the world of its scenery moves; He is the key of earth’s history; the victory of the saints is in Him (Revelation 12:11); their song of triumph is of Him who put a new song in their mouth and in whom all things are reconciled (Ephesians 1:10; Philippians 2:10-11).3C. ELLICOTT, “(3, 4) Great and marvellous are thy works. . . .—The song is better thus translated:—“Great and marvellous are Thy works,Lord God Almighty.Just and true are Thy ways,Thou King of the nations.Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Thy name?Because Thou only art holy:Because all the nations shall come and worshipin Thy presence:Because Thy judgments were manifested.”The works are called “great;” the “ways” are called just and true. It is not mere marvel which calls forth the song of praise, but righteousness, truth, and holiness. The Almighty is the righteous ruler.The English version has “King of saints;” the reading should be “King of the nations” or else, perhaps, “King of the ages” The latter reading harmonises well with the immediate context and with the other passages, which link the thought of “the ages” with the “righteous dealings” of God. “Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth” (Psalms 119:142; comp. also Psalms 119:144; Psa_119:151-152;Psa_119:160). But the former is to be preferred; it is appropriate in a song which celebrates a victory over those who vaunted themselves as the princes of this world, and which proclaims the submission of the nations to God; and it seems to have been transplanted here from Jeremiah (Jeremiah 10:7): “Who would not fear thee, thou King of the nations?” The song celebrates the noble acts of the Lord; it declares them to be great; but it is not their greatness, it is their righteousness and faithfulness which calls forth the grateful praise. The long days of oppression, and the seeming silence of the Almighty, when the prayer and cry “How long?” has risen from perplexed and suffering saints, have brought the temptation of the psalmist: “I have cleansed my heart in vain” (Psalms 73:3-13). But now the righteous acts of the Lord are manifested; now it is acknowledged that “verily there is a reward for the righteous; verily He is a God that judgeth in the earth” (Psalms 58:11). Though clouds and darkness have sometimes been round about Him, it is now beyond doubt that “righteousness and judgment are the habitation of His throne” (Psalms 97:2).

4. SBC, “The Song of the Triumphant Church.Our text suggests two topics of discourse; for it gives what may be called a definition of the song which the triumphant Church sings, and it then furnishes the words of which that song is composed. We have, therefore, in the first place, to examine the language by which the song is described: "the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb"; we have then, in the second place, to consider the language employed: "Great and marvellous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, thou King of saints."I. Now it admits of no dispute that when the song of the triumphant Church is called "the song of Moses the servant of God" the reference is to the Church of the Israelites and their leaders when Pharaoh and his hosts had been buried in the waters. And it is very observable, and in some respects almost mysterious, that it should be this "song of Moses" to which glorified saints still strike their harps. The song was not only of thanksgiving to the Lord, but exultation over the wicked, rejoicing in their destruction. The song of the triumphant Church is described not only as "the song of Moses," but as that also of "the Lamb." "They sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and of the Lamb." Now we may be said to feel more at home with "the song of the Lamb" than with that of Moses, for this is a song of which even now we can strike some notes; whereas we look on that of Moses with a kind of awe and dread, as though it were not suited to such minstrelsy as ours. "The song of the Lamb," which the Evangelist heard, may be considered as that "new song" which is given in other parts of the book of Revelation, the burden of which is the "worthiness" of the Redeemer. The "thousand times ten thousand of thousands" which are "round about the throne" were heard by St. John saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing." There is something similar to this in the strain which mingles with that of lofty exultation as the Church beholds her overthrown enemies. And if, therefore, "the song of Moses" be one which shows such subjugation or refinement of human feeling as is almost unintelligible, at least "the song of the Lamb" is in thorough harmony with what is now felt and chanted by believers; it is the song of grateful confession that we owe everything to the Redeemer, and that His blood and righteousness have been the alone procuring cause of our deliverance from ruin and our title to immortality.II. "Great and marvellous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, thou Kingof saints." Such is a portion of the lofty anthem. Taking this anthem in its largest application, we may say that it celebrates the greatness of the plan of God as displayed in the occurrences of the judgment-day. And it is well worthy our attention that these two characteristics should be finally declared to distinguish the whole business of the judgment. It will be "a great and marvellous work" when the "tares shall have been separated from the wheat," all unrighteousness detected and exposed, the wicked banished and the faithful exalted. And this is not the whole of the chorus. The Church affirms God’s "ways" to be "just and true," as well as His "works great and marvellous"; and this is a most important assertion when considered as called forth by the transactions of the judgment. The judgment will include in its searchings and sentences the heathen world as well as the Christian—men who have had none but the scantiest portion of revelation and those who have been blessed with its fulness. And even in a Christian community there is the widest difference between the means and opportunities afforded to different men; some being only just within sound of the Gospel, whilst others are continually placed within sound of its messages. All this seems to invest with great difficulty the business of the judgment. It shows that there must be various standards: one standard for the heathen and another for the Christian; one for this heathen or this Christian and another for that. And there is something overwhelming in the thought that the untold millions of the human population will undergo an individual scrutiny; that they will come man by man to the bar of their Judge, each to be tried by his own privileges and powers. We can hardly put from us the feeling that in so enormous an assize there will be cases comparatively overlooked, in which due allowance will not be made, or in which sentence will not be founded on a full estimate of the circumstances. But whatever our doubts and suspicions beforehand, "just and true are Thy ways, thou King of saints," is the confession, which will follow the judgment. It is a confession, we are bound to say, in which the lost will join with the redeemed. The feeling of every condemned man shall be that, had there been none but himself to be tried, his case could not have received a more patient attention or a more equitable decision. The praise which is chanted on the glassy and fiery sea tells us that God will be justified when He speaketh, and clear when He judgeth.H. Melvill, Penny Pulpit, No. 1656.

References: Rev_15:3.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. iii., No. 136; Homilist, 3rd series, vol. iv., p. 20; H. Wonnacott, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xiv., p. 186.

Revelation 15:3-4

The Triumph of Goodness.I. Moses is not to be regarded here exactly as a historic personage; certainly it is not the song which he composed that is meant, nor the song that was composed by the Lamb; but here is the theme: Moses and the Lamb. And what was Moses in this heavenly tableau, to the thoughts of those addressed but the beginning of a great Divine dispensation of mercy and of education? He, far back in the wilderness and in the beginnings and sources of history, organised truth, and beauty, and right, and set a-going those great services by which the soul was to be enriched and ennobled. In other words, he was the beginner. The song, beginning with Moses and ending with the Lamb, connected the very first dawn of Divine truth, in the earliest periods, with its first flow and all its mutations clear down to the time of Jesus Christ, who in Jerusalem was, and who now in the new Jerusalem is, typified as the Lamb. The figure to us is almost dead, but to the Jew, who had been accustomed to associate with the sacrificial lamb whatever was sweet, whatever was beautiful, whatever was pure and unworldly in perfection, the figure meant immensely more than it means to us.II. The song was of triumph. It was the shout, the jubilatic outcry, of the universe, that stood around about the ends of things, looking back to the beginning and seeing the way of God down through the whole dispensation of time in the world, now fulfilled and brought to a triumphant close in the other life. All that there was in the different heroes, all that there was in the different dispensations, all the judgments, all the sufferings, all the reformations, all the growths, all the developments, all the victories, whatever had gone to make up the moral elements in human history, in the household, and in matters touching priestly offices and prophetic qualities in those who witnessed in the wilderness, in prisons, and in the mountains, the apostolic administrations, and all the after-periods, and doubtless all that which has come down from the Apostles’ day to ours; all these things constitute the theme of that great, heavenly, outbreaking song. And what is the result of it? It is simply the chanting of the old bard by which the deeds of his chief are narrated, as we narrate the achievements, enterprises, battles, and victories of an hero. "Great and marvellous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? for Thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before Thee; for Thy judgments are made manifest." Here, then, is the Divine catastrophe—evil gone under; imperfections swelled out to perfectness; ungrowth and crudeness brought up to ripeness and to beauty; goodness triumphant through the universal realm. All nations shall come to Thee, not one being left out.III. This was the vision, not of time, but of the upper sphere; and it was this: the absolute triumph of the Divine part in man. They who have gone before, and for generations yet those that shall follow us, must see the flesh stronger than the spirit in the great mass of mankind. Time, looked at from any high standpoint, is a most sad and dreary experience, unless we have some outlet, unless we have some compensation somewhere. The might and power of past ages has been physical, passionate, sensuous, devilish; and although here and there there have been sprinklings of goodness, although here and there there have been a thousand sweet voices heard, yet in the main the chant of time has been hoarse, harsh, cacophonous. In the main the movement of the human race has been the movement of vast bodies with vast sufferings, and vast wastefulness, and vast uselessness. But they who stand disengaged from the ignorance and darkness of time, they who are lifted up, and are at a point of vision where they can see the past, the present, and the future—I behold them, not bearing witness to us, but in their own unconsciousness breaking out into ecstacies of gladness because God is justified. He who brought into existence this globe, with all its miserable populations, in the last estate shall stand and be glorified in the thought and feeling of those who behold the end as well as the beginning. "Thou only art holy." "All nations shall come and worship before Thee." Why? "For Thy judgments are made manifest." There is charity; there is explanation; there is reconciliation; there is harmonisation; and in the end it shall appear, when we see from the beginning to the end of this tremendous, and as yet uninterrupted, riddle of life and time, with an unclouded eye and with a vision just, and true, and perfect—then it shall appear that God is lovely and beautiful.

H. W. Beecher, Christian World Pulpit, vol. viii., p. 165.

5. JAMISON, “song of Moses ... and ... the Lamb — The New Testament song of the Lamb (that is, the song which the Lamb shall lead, as being “the Captain of our salvation,” just as Moses was leader of the Israelites, the song in which those who conquer through Him [Rom_8:37] shall join, Rev_12:11) is the antitype to the triumphant Old Testament song of Moses and the Israelites at the Red Sea (Exo_15:1-21). The Churches of the Old and New Testament are essentially one in their conflicts and triumphs. The two appear joined in this phrase, as they are in the twenty-four elders. Similarly, Isa_12:1-6 foretells the song of the redeemed (Israel foremost) after the second antitypical exodus and deliverance at the Egyptian Sea. The passage through the Red Sea under the pillar of cloud was Israel’s baptism, to which the believer’s baptism in trials corresponds. The elect after their trials (especially those arising from the beast) shall be taken up before the vials of wrath be poured on the beast and his kingdom. So Noah and his family were taken out of the doomed world before the deluge; Lot was taken out of Sodom before its destruction; the Christians escaped by a special interposition of Providence to Pella before the destruction of Jerusalem. As the pillar of cloud and fire interposed between Israel and the Egyptian foe, so that Israel was safely landed on the opposite shore before the Egyptians were destroyed; so the Lord, coming with clouds and in flaming fire, shall first catch up His elect people “in the clouds to meet Him in the air,” and then shall with fire destroy the enemy. The Lamb leads the song in honor of the Father amidst the great congregation. This is the “new song” mentioned in Rev_14:3. The singing victors are the 144,000 of Israel, “the first-fruits,” and the general “harvest” of the Gentiles.servant of God — (Exo_14:31; Num_12:7; Jos_22:5). The Lamb is more: He is the SON.Great and marvelous are thy works, etc. — part of Moses’ last song (Deu_32:3, Deu_32:4). The vindication of the justice of God that so He may be glorified is the grand end of God’s dealings. Hence His servants again and again dwell upon this in their praises (Rev_16:7; Rev_19:2; Pro_16:4; Jer_10:10; Dan_4:37). Especially at the judgment (Psa_50:1-6; Psa_145:17).saints — There is no manuscript authority for this. A, B, Coptic, and Cyprian read, “of the NATIONS.” C reads “of the ages,” and so Vulgate and Syriac. The point at issue in the Lord’s controversy with the earth is, whether He, or Satan’s minion, the beast, is “the King of the nations”; here at the eve of the judgments descending on the kingdom of the beast, the transfigured saints hail Him as “the King of the nations” (Eze_21:27).

5B. NOTE, Songs of victory characterize both the O.T. and N.T. saints. There is no victory and no heaven without song. The songs here are coming before the judgments for they are certain and the victory of God's people and plan is certain. Here are the saints and the songs of all the history of God's people. They are one now in victory over all. All the battles and all the suffering fade away and all is joy and song for ever.

6. PULPIT, “And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb. Most probably the song of deliverance after the passage of the Red Sea (Exo_15:1-27.), to which this bears a general resemblance. Moses is called the "servant of God" in Exo_14:31 and elsewhere. The song of Moses is also the song of the Lamb; the Old Testament and the New Testament Churches are one. Saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty (cf.Exo_15:7, "And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them;" also Psa_111:2; Psa_139:14). This song, like that in Rev_4:8, is addressed to the "Lord God Almighty." Just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.The reading of the Textus Receptus, a???´?? , "of saints," is certainly incorrect. It does not appear in any Greek manuscripts, but was inserted by Erasmus to represent the sanctorum of his Vulgate, which word, however, is itself a corruption of saeculorum, the true Vulgate reading representing a???´??? . ??????? , "of nations," is read in à , A, B, P, 1, 7, 8, 14. etc., An-dress, Primasius; while a???´??? , "of ages," is the reading of à , C, 95, Vulgate, etc. It has been conjectured that ??T?O? (by itacism for e?????? ) has been confused with ??O?O? . a parallel to the reading, " King of nations" is found in Jer_10:7, Hebrew text and Theodotion, but not LXX.: "Who would not fear thee, O King of nations?" which is very like the succeeding clause in Jer_10:5, especially in connection with the "nations" there mentioned. The title "King of the ages," or "eternal King," is applied to God in 1Ti_1:17, and in the Book of Tobit twice (13:6 and 10), but seems unknown to the Old Testament.

7. CHARLES SIMEON, “THE SONG OF MOSES AND THE LAMBRev_15:3-4. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name?

THE reign of Antichrist, and his ultimate destruction, occupy a large portion of the Revelation of St. John. His destruction has been foretold in the chapter which precedes my text; and is more circumstantially declared in that which follows it. In the chapter before us we have an introductory vision, representing the joy and triumph which the glorified saints would express on that occasion. But respecting the particular circumstances of the vision, commentators are by no means agreed. Where this is the case, I would not presume to speak with confidence, especially where I am under the necessity of differing from those which are most generally, and most justly, approved. But it appears to me, that too little attention has been paid to the context; and that if the parallel, which is evidently drawn between the deliverance at the Red Sea and our redemption by Christ, be taken as a clue, the whole will be unravelled, and simplicity itself will pervade that, which, with any other interpretation, will present nothing to our view but inexplicable obscurity.

“A sea of glass” is mentioned before, in the fourth chapter [Note: Rev_4:6.]; where it is supposed to refer to the brazen sea which was in the temple, and which was filled with water for the service of the priests [Note: 1Ki_7:23-26.]. But we are not on that account limited to that view of it in this place. It is well known, that the same images are used in reference to different things, especially in this highly figurative book: and the reference must always be determined by the context. Now consider, What is the subject that is here spoken of? It is the destruction of all the enemies of God and of his Christ. And what is the illustration given of it? It is taken from the destruction of Pharaoh and the Egyptian hosts in the Red Sea. And what are the terms in which this deliverance is celebrated? They precisely accord with those which were used by Moses and the Israelites on thatoccasion; as we shall more distinctly point out in our further view of the subject. Now take this clue, and the whole vision will be extremely clear, and perfectly harmonious in all its parts, without any occasion for fanciful conjectures. We will paraphrase the whole in conformity with this idea.

“I saw, as it were, a sea,” where “the saints had got the victory” over their persecuting and bloodthirsty enemies: and it was, “as it were, a sea of glass mingled with fire:” the waters, having overwhelmed all God’s enemies, were now calm, and clear as crystal itself, whilst the coruscations of light emanating from the pillar of fire, and shining with the brightest possible effulgence, made the whole sea appear as if it were mingled with fire [Note: This is a common appearance of water reflecting the rays of the rising or setting sun.]. And I saw the victorious saints “standing (close) upon it [Note: The not adverting to this sense of the word ? ð ? (apud, prope, juxta: see Schleusner,) seems to have been the occasion of most of the strange explanations given of the whole passage.].” And I heard them “sing a song to the Lamb” of God, precisely similar to that which was sung by Moses and the Israelites at the Red Sea, adoring “their God and King” as the sole author of their deliverance, and prophetically declaring, that he shall in due time “reign over all nations for ever and ever [Note: Compare ver. 2–4. with Exo_15:1; Exo_15:6; Exo_15:18.].”

This song we now proceed to consider. The former part of it consists of retrospective adoration; and the latter part, of prospective exultation and triumph.

Let us notice what is spoken by them in a way—

I. Of retrospective adoration—

Filled with the profoundest gratitude, they celebrate,

1. The deliverance they have experienced—

[Great was the deliverance vouchsafed to Israel; as Moses said, “In the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath,

which consumed them as stubble [Note:Exo_15:7.].” But beyond all comparison greater is that deliverance which the saints experience from the enemies of their salvation: and, when their triumphs are complete, they will have proportionably greater reason to sing, “Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty!” Dreadful have been the sufferings which multitudes have endured from the antichristian powers. But it is not from a mere human foe that they have been rescued, but from the great dragon, that old serpent, the Devil, and from all his hosts. Nor is it from a mere temporal death that they have escaped, but from everlasting death in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone. Nor is it by a mere exercise of power that this deliverance has been effected for them, but by the incarnation and death of God’s co-equal, co-eternal Son; from whence it is that they sing, “Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty;” “just and true are thy ways, Thou King of Saints:” for, as Jehovah, the Redeemer of Israel, was their King, and took them under his own immediate government, so is “the Lord God Almighty our King,” even “the King of all the saints,” that ever have been or ever shall be saved. It is “the Mighty God,” who, by the wonders he has wrought for us, is become the “the Prince of Peace [Note: Isa_9:6.].”]

2. The perfections of God displayed in it—

[Most cruel had been the conduct of Pharaoh towards the children of Israel: and God had repeatedly declared, both to him and to Israel themselves, that he would deliver them out of his hands. When therefore Pharaoh, with all his host, was destroyed in the Red Sea, Moses particularly noticed the correspondence between his impiety and the judgments inflicted on him: “The enemy said, I will pursue; I will overtake; I will divide the spoil; my soul shall be satisfied upon them: I will draw my sword: my hand shall destroy. Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters [Note: Exo_15:9-10.].” But view the perfections of God in the work of redemption. Verily, “God knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished [Note: 2Pe_2:9.].” Or, take a more comprehensive view of it: see Justice, not merely as honoured by the atonement made for sin, but as demanding salvation, if I may so speak, for those for whom it was offered; demanding it, as due to him who made that atonement, and as due to those who trust in it for their acceptance before God. See Truth also fulfilling all the promises of God to his believing people, and making the very rage of their enemies the occasion of displaying more abundantly in their behalf his power and grace. Not even Mercy itself will appear more glorious to the redeemed soul in heaven, than will these once hostile perfections of justice and truth: for whilst the saint was in his unconverted state, these were the perfections which most loudly called for the judgments of God upon him; but, on his believing in Christ, they instantly became his advocates, and from thenceforth will remain through eternal ages his greatest security. As the Lord Jesus is “faithful and just to forgive him his sins,” so will he be in confirming to him that forgiveness for ever and ever.

Here I must particularly call your attention to the correspondence between the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. Moses sang, “Who is like unto thee, O God, among the gods? Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders [Note: Exo_15:11.]?” So, in the words following my text, God’s holiness is acknowledged; “Thou only art holy;” whilst, in my text itself, all the other perfections of the Deity are magnified and adored.]

The song of the redeemed proceeds yet farther in strains,

II. Of prospective exultation and triumph—

How forcible is the appeal which they make to the whole universe!

[It is particularly said of the Israelites on that occasion, that “when they saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord and his servant Moses [Note: Exo_14:31. N. B. This is the chapter appointed to be read on Easter-even, which marks the suitableness of the subject to that day.].” And certainly we cannot suppose, that there was so much as one among them that was not deeply impressed with the mercy vouchsafed unto him. And shall there be found one amongst those who profess to have been

redeemed by Christ, “who will not fear him, and glorify his name?” It is said of the converts in the millennial age, that “they shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days [Note: Hos_3:5.].” And indeed it is impossible to contemplate this goodness, and not desire to give up ourselves entirely to him. Such a surrender of ourselves to him must appear to all “a reasonable service [Note: Rom_12:1.].” Having been “bought with such a price,” even “with the precious blood of that spotless Lamb [Note: 1Pe_1:18-19.],” what can we think of for a moment, but to “glorify him with our bodies and our spirits which are his [Note: 2 Cor. 6:20.]?”

And have we not abundant encouragement to do so? Look at the Israelites at the Red Sea. How many of them perished in the sea? Not one. And how many of their enemies escaped destruction? Not one; “The waters covered them;there was not one of them left [Note: Psa_106:11.].” And shall it not be so with those who commit themselves to the guidance of the Lamb? Will not He also “make the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over [Note:Isa_51:10.]?” Yes, “they shall go over dry-shod. [Note: Isa_11:15.]” As the Hebrew Youths in the furnace “had not so much as the smell of fire pass upon them,” so shall the whole body of the redeemed escape from their trials without even the shadow of an injury sustained by them. We cannot conceive a greater disparity than between Pharaoh with his “six hundred chariots of war,” and the unarmed hosts of Israel with a million of women and children to protect: but God was on their side: and God is on our side too: and “it is not his will that one of his little ones should perish [Note: Mat_18:14.].” It matters not how numerous or potent our enemies may be: let us only fear “the King of saints,” and confide in him; and we shall soon “behold them all dead upon the sea-shore [Note: Exo_14:30.].”]

What the redeemed in their song inculcate as so reasonable, they look forward to as certainly to be accomplished in due season throughout the whole earth—

[This is very particularly insisted on in the song of Moses: “The people shall hear and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestine. Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed: the mighty men of Moab, trembling, shall take hold upon them: all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away. Fear and dread shall fall on them: and the Lord shall reign for ever and ever [Note: Exo_15:14-18.].” So shall our adorable Redeemer be feared throughout the whole earth, as it is said in the words following my text, “All nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments [Note: ä é ê á é þ ì á ô á .] (thy saving truths) are made manifest.” The obligation to fear and glorify our blessed Lord is becoming more extensively known: and the time is not far distant now when it shall be universally known and universally acknowledged. The wonderful works that he has wrought shall not be heard so partially and with such indifference as they now are: the glad tidings of redemption shall be carried to the utmost ends of the earth, and “all flesh shall see the salvation of God:” “All kings shall fall down before him; all nations shall serve him.” Blessed prospect! worthy to be celebrated by the heavenly hosts! and worthy of the incessant attention of every child of man!]

And now let me ask, Who will not fear and glorify our redeeming God?

[Are any of you who are here present prepared to say, that he does not deserve this tribute at your hands? What would you have thought of an Israelite who should have made such an assertion at the Red Sea? And, if you would have condemned him as a graceless and ungrateful wretch, what must you think of yourselves, who have experienced such infinitely richer mercy at his hands? O come; come and stand upon this sea of glass: behold its waves all calmed and smooth as crystal itself: see the coruscations of the cloud, and the impress of the Deity himself upon it: reflect on what has been wrought for you. Ponder the height and depth and length and breadth of the incomprehensible love contained in it: take your harps: tune them to the songs of the redeemed above: begin the song of Moses and the Lamb: join, with however feeble notes, the choir above: and look forward to the day when you shall strike your harps even as they do; and your notes shall be heard as loud and as melodious as any of theirs. O blessed day! “Look for it: hasten to it.” It is but a little time longer, that you have to contend with principalities and powers. Your victory over them is sure: and shall speedily be consummated. Your enemies are following you indeed, as Pharaoh did, saying, “I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil: my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.” But, in a little moment, “God will

blow with his wind; and the sea shall cover them: and they shall sink as lead in the mighty waters [Note: Exo_15:9-10.].” To the weakest amongst you all, is this consolatory message sent: “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousnesss. Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing: and they that strive with thee shall perish. Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought [Note: Isa_41:10-12.].” May this glorious consummation speedily be accomplished! Even so, Amen, and Amen!]

8. PULPIT, “The prelude of the plagues—the beginning of the end.It seemed as if all was ended with the harvest and the vintage, of which we are told in the close of the previous chapter. What can come after the ingathering of the saints and the final judgment? And, indeed, nothing can. But what is here given in the chapters that follow is the more detailed setting forth of the Divine judgments upon the Church's three great enemies—the dragon and the two beasts; or, in other words, the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. The overthrow of Satan is, however, related last of all. Ere the Divine judgments on these enemies of the people of God begin, we have the song of the redeemed—the song, as it is termed, "of Moses the servant of God and of the Lamb." An objection may be felt by some that the saints of God should be represented, as they are here, as exulting over the awful woes which had come upon their enemies. Is such triumph over a fallen foe in harmony with the Spirit of Christ, and with the perfectly sanctified nature of the inhabitants of heaven? In reply, we may say that what is right anywhere is right everywhere; and if it were right for Israel to exult over the dead Egyptians and the utter destruction of Pharaoh and his hosts—as surely it was—then like exultation over far worse foes cannot be wrong. We are scarcely able to comprehend either Israel's or St. John's condition of mind. We have so long dwelt at ease, in the enjoyment of full liberty, none daring to make us afraid, that the intense feeling aroused by hideous murder, bloody cruelty, monstrous injustice, and relentless oppression, threatening, not one or two, but a whole people, and enacted under our own eyes, and felt in our own persons—what all this would arouse in men's minds we do not know, and can scarce imagine. One present amid the Sepoy massacres in the Indian Mutiny tells with what fresh understanding he and his fellow worshippers listened in church to the lessons which fell then to be read out of the Book of Joshua. Burning indignation against wrong can never be wrong. It was in Christ, and should be in us. Exultation, therefore, over its downfall is not only natural, but right. The coupling together of the song of Moses and of the Lamb teaches that in the first we are to find the pattern of the second. Note, therefore—

I. THE SCENE. Our thoughts are sent back to the thrilling story of Israel in Egypt. The pouring out of the vials is called by the same name—"plagues"—as were God's judgments in Egypt. And the scene of this song alludes plainly to Israel at the Red Sea. We are standing before a sea of glass, as we read in Rev_4:1-11. But that sea now seems "mingled with fire." On its margin stand the throngs of the redeemed. That sea so lustrous, so still, so smooth, so firm, like as the Red Sea seemed in comparison with the fearful storm of the night of the Exodus. But it had been a sea of judgment to their foes. In its depths lay horse and rider, chariot and horseman, Pharaoh and his army. Fitly did the fire, mingled with this sea of glass, tell of that. And the rejoicing Israelites were the type of which the redeemed Church of Christ, safe in glory, is the antitype. This scene is another reminder, out of many more, that in the story of Israel may be read, in symbol, the story of the Christian Church. The comfort, the counsel, and the warning—for all are there—of the one are for the other also.

II. THE SONG.

1. It is a song, not a speech. Sung, not said. Music, the vehicle of song, is the language of thoughts that lie too deep for words. Words are not adequate to tell of the heart's feelings. The flush of shame; the flash of the angry eye—as his, whose "eyes were as a flame of fire;" the tears of sorrow; the sigh of distress. More than words is wanted, and music is one of the many means, more expressive far than words, whereby the deeper feelings and thoughts of the heart are uttered. Music is especially animated with joy, and the fact that the heavenly company "sing." tells of their "joy of heart."

2. It is a song wherein all the glory is given to God. Moses does not say one word of himself, but bids the people "sing unto the Lord." So was it, so will it be.

3. It lingers on the terribleness of their enemies. It tells of their proud boast, their cruel intent, their formidable power. Thus the "wrath of man" praised God. And in the future review, when we think of our adversaries, the seemingly insuperable difficulties—these will be, as the like were, part of our song.

4. It tells of the enemies' complete overthrow.

5. The future consequences of this victory. Moses celebrates that. How "the dukes of Edom, the people of Palestina," will be moved with fear. And so in the song of the Lamb, "Who shall not fear," etc.? (Rev_4:4). The redeemed distinctly contemplate further triumphs for the Lord over those as yet not yielded to him. The "firstfruits," "the Church of the Firstborn," "the elect of God"—and it is these, and their glorious salvation, which is portrayed here—are, as their prototypes were, for the blessing of others, many others; "all the nations of the earth" are to be blessed in Christ and in his seed. And the elect are to be the instruments. And the mighty lever that shall overturn the mass of error and sin shall be God's marvellous mercy to them. Oh to be numbered amongst "the sacramental host of God's elect"! For they are—

III. THE SINGERS OF THIS SONG. They were and are such as:

1. Once were bond- men.

2. Had been in sore peril of being re-enslaved.

3. Their preservation due to the fact that they had been "kept by the power of God." It was his restraining hand had held back the waves, that but for this would have overwhelmed them.

4. They are a "blood-besprinkled band." On the lintel and doorposts of every house of Israel the blood of the Paschal lamb had been sprinkled, and so had they and theirs been saved alive. Never were they to think that it was for their own worthiness they were saved. To crush such thought the Passover sacrifice was ordained. And the singers of this song owe their all to the fact that for them Christ's blood was shed. In virtue of that they are what and where they are. Do any ask—How is this? We answer -

"I cannot tell the woe

Which thou wast pleased to bear,

O Lamb of God; but this I know—

That all my sins were there."

4 Who will not fear you, Lord,

and bring glory to your name?

For you alone are holy.

All nations will come

and worship before you,

for your righteous acts have been revealed.”[b]

1.BARNES, “Who shall not fear thee, O Lord - Reverence and adore thee; for the word “fear,” in the Scriptures, is commonly used in this sense when applied to God. The sense here is, that the judgments about to be inflicted on the beast and his image should and would teach people to reverence and adore God. There is, perhaps, included here also the idea of awe, inasmuch as this would be the effect of punishment.And glorify thy name - Honor thee - the name being put for the person who bare it. The sense is, that, as a consequence of these judgments, men would be brought to honor God, and to acknowledge him as the Ruler of the earth.For thou only art holy - That is, in these judgments he would show himself to be a holy God; a God hating sin, and loving righteousness and truth. When it is said that he “only” is holy, the expressionis used, of course, in a comparative sense. He is so pure that it may be said that, in comparison with him, no one else is holy. Compare the notes on Job_4:18; Job_15:15.For all nations shall come and worship before thee - That is, as the result of these punishments inflicted on this dread anti-Christian power, they shalt come and worship thee. Everywhere in the New Testament the destruction of that power is connected with the promise of the speedy conversion of the world.For thy judgments are made manifest - To wit, on the beast. That formidable power is overthrown, and the grand hindrance to the universal spread of the true religion is now taken away. Compare the notes on Isa_26:9.

1B, COFFMAN, “Who shall not fear the Lord ...? This is a rhetorical question meaning that all people shall indeed fear and honor God.All nations shall come and worship thee ... Rist criticized this passage as being, "out of harmony with the belief expressed throughout Revelation that the nations shall stubbornly refuse to repent."[29] Such a criticism does not properly construe the meaning. It is everywhere taught in the prophecy that "an innumerable company" will be saved (Revelation 7:9) from "every tribe and tongue and nation and people." It is that company who are meant here. They are the true nations who shall come and worship before the Lord. When God is through with this world, all that remains of it will glorify God. "The Apocalyptist thus declares the absolutely universal recognition of God in the End."[30] "The teaching of the Scriptures is that in the end the whole universe will acknowledge the righteousness of all God's acts and verdicts."

2. CLARKE, “Who shall not fear thee - That is, All should fear and worship this true God, because he is just and true and holy; and his saints should love and obey him, because he is their King; and they and all men should acknowledge his judgments, because they are made manifest.

2B. ELLICOTT, “(4) Who shall not fear . . .—Rather, Who will not fear, &c. (the word “Thee” should be omitted, because Thou art holy. The word rendered “holy” is not that which is usually employed when the holiness of God is spoken of; it is a word which, when applied to men, denotes one who reverences the sacred obligations of natural and moral order, apart from the thought of mere law or custom. The word is applied here, and inRevelation 16:5, to God, and denotes the recognition of those sacred obligations which the character of God, if I may say so with reverence, imposes upon Himself. It is the remembrance that God will, as Judge of all the earth, do right, and will vindicate the expectations of those who stay themselves upon His character, which generates a holy fear of Him.All nations shall come and worship . . .—Translate, All the nations worship, because Thy judgments (or, righteous acts) are manifested. The song is one in anticipation. The angels of judgment are going forth; the righteous dealings of God will be seen; but these things are spoken of as though accomplished: their completion is a divine certainty.

3. GILL, “Who shall not fear thee, O Lord,.... At this time the people of the Jews shall seek after Christ, and fear him and his goodness; the forces of the Gentiles shall be brought into Zion,

whose heart shall then fear, and be enlarged; the fear of the Lord will be in all places, and in all men, both Jews and Gentiles, Hos_3:5

and glorify thy name? by ascribing all divine perfections to him, giving him divine worship and adoration, and attributing the whole of salvation to him, and the glory of all that is done for his church, and against its enemies:

for thou only art holy; not only perfectly holy, as man, but infinitely and essentially holy, as God, and the fountain of holiness to his people, as Mediator: this character seems to be given in opposition to antichrist, who arrogantly assumes the title of holiness to himself, when it only belongs to Christ.

For all nations shall come and worship before thee; the Gospel shall now be preached to all nations, and the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of it; the kingdoms of this world will become Christ's, and his kingdom shall be to the ends of the earth, and all people shall obey him: the words seem to be taken, with some other phrases before used, out of Psa_86:8

for thy judgments are made manifest; or "thy justifications", or "righteousnesses"; the perfect righteousness of Christ, and the doctrine of justification by it, will now be most clearly revealed, and generally received, in opposition to the Popish doctrine of merits, works of supererogation, &c. or the judgments of the King of saints upon antichrist, who will now avenge their blood, which he has shed; see Rev_17:1 and the justice and righteousness of his proceedings against the man of sin will be notorious and manifest to all, and be acknowledged, as in Rev_16:5.

4. “Great and marvelous are thy works, o Lord, Righteous and true thy ways,King of the ages! Thou art hailed, All earth shall sing they praise.Who shall not glorify and fear, o Lord, Thy great and holy name?All nations worship at thy feet, Thy righteous acts proclaim.

5. JAMISON, “Who shall not — Greek, “Who is there but must fear Thee?” Compare Moses’ song, Exo_15:14-16, on the fear which God’s judgments strike into the foe.thee — so Syriac. But A, B, C, Vulgate, and Cyprian reject “thee.”all nations shall come — alluding to Psa_22:27-31; compare Isa_66:23; Jer_16:19. The conversion of all nations, therefore, shall be when Christ shall come, and not till then; and the first moving cause will be Christ’s manifested judgments preparing all hearts for receiving Christ’s mercy. He shall effect by His presence what we have in vain tried to effect in His absence. The present preaching of the Gospel is gathering out the elect remnant; meanwhile “the mystery of iniquity” is at work, and will at last come to its crisis; then shall judgment descend on the apostates at the harvest-end of this age (Greek, Mat_13:39, Mat_13:40) when the tares shall be cleared out of the earth, which thenceforward becomes Messiah’s kingdom. The confederacy of ‘the apostates against Christ becomes, when overthrown with fearful judgments, the very means in God’s overruling providence of preparing the nations not joined in the Antichristian league to submit themselves to Him.judgments — Greek, “righteousnesses.”are — literally, “were”: the prophetical past for the immediate future.

6. PULPIT, “Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy Name? Omit "thee." The latter part is from Jer_10:7 (see on Jer_10:3). The former part contains the same idea as Jer_10:6, "Thy Name is great in might." Compare the similar ascription of praise to the beast in Rev_13:4. The following three clauses supply the reasons for thus fearing and glorifying God. For thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest; for thy righteous acts have been made manifest (Revised Version). "Holy" is ??´s??? , not a?´???? . It is a word which is applied more particularly to human acts. Perhaps it is used here in connection

with the manifest justice of God's acts before all nations; cf. the song of Moses (Exo_15:11), "Who is like thee, glorious in holiness," etc.? The three clauses supply the reason for fearing and glorifying God, as mentioned in the first part of the verse.

(1) He himself is in his nature holy;

(2) his sway extends over all nations;

(3) the righteousness of his acts is now visible to all.

Afford adds, "Thy deeds of righteousness acted out towards the nations, both in the publication of the gospel and in the destruction of thine enemies."

5 After this I looked, and I saw in heaven the

temple—that is, the tabernacle of the covenant

law—and it was opened.

1.BARNES, “And after that I looked - After I had seen in vision the redeemed thus referred to, celebrating the praises of God, I saw the preparation made for the execution of these purposes of judgment.And behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony - Not the whole temple, but only that part to which this name was given. The word “tabernacle” - s????´ ske‾ne‾ - means properly a booth, hut, tent, and was the name commonly given to the tent or tabernacle that was erected in the wilderness for the service of God. See the notes on Act_7:44. The same word came naturally to be applied to the temple that was reared for the same purpose in Jerusalem. It is called the “tabernacle of testimony,” because it was a testimony or witness of the presence of God among the people - that is, it served to keep up the remembrance of him. See the notes as above on Act_7:44, where the same Greek phrase is used as here - rendered there “tabernacle of witness.” The word “temple” here - ?a?`? naos - does not refer to the whole of the building called the “temple,” but to the holy of holies. See the notes on Heb_9:3. This was regarded as the unique dwelling-place of God; and it was this sacred place, usually closed from all access, that now seemed to be opened, implying that the command to execute these purposes came directly from God himself.In heaven - That is, that part of heaven which corresponds to the most holy place in the temple was opened; to wit, what is the unique residence of God himself.Was opened - Was thrown open to the viewer John, so that he was permitted to look, as it were, upon the very dwelling-place of God. From his holy presence now came forth the angels to execute his purposes of judgment on that anti-Christian power which had so long corrupted religion and oppressed the world.

1B. BARCLAY, “THE AVENGING ANGELS

Rev. 15:5-7

And after this I saw, and the temple of the tent of witness in heaven was opened, and there came out of the temple the seven angels who have the seven plagues; and they were clothed in shining white linen, and they were girt about the breasts with golden girdles. And one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God who lives for ever and ever.

The tent of witness, or the tent of testimony, is a common title in the Old Testament for the tabernacle in the wilderness (Num.9:15; Num.17:7; Num.18:2). It is, therefore, clear that John is seeing this picture, not in terms of the Jerusalem temple, but in terms of the ancient tabernacle.

It is from within the tabernacle that the seven avenging angels come forth. In the centre of the Holy Place within the tabernacle lay the Ark of the Covenant, the chest in which were contained the tables of the ten commandments, the essence of the Law. That is to say, these angels come out from the place where the Law of God rests and come to show that no man or nation can with impunity defy the Law of God.

They are clothed in a shining white robe and are girt about the breasts with a golden girdle. The robes of the angels are symbolic of three things. (a) Their dress is priestly dress. The robe of white fine linen and the gold embroidered girdle about the breast is the dress of the High Priest. The High Priest might well be called God's representative among men; and these angels come forth as the avenging representatives of God. (b) Their dress is royal dress. The white linen and the high girdle are the garments of princes and of kings; and these angels come forth with the royalty of the King of kings upon them. (c) Their dress is heavenly dress. The young man at the empty tomb of Christ was clothed in a long white garment (Mk.16:5; Matt.28:3); and the angels are the inhabitants of heaven, come to execute God's decrees upon earth.

It is one of the four living creatures who hands them the bowls of the wrath of God. When we were thinking about the four living creatures when they first emerged on the scene (Rev. 4:7) we saw that the first was like a lion, the second like an ox, the third like a man, and the fourth like an eagle; and that, they may well symbolize all that is strongest and bravest and wisest and swiftest in nature. if that be so, it is fitting that one of them should hand the bowls of wrath to the seven angels. The bowls of wrath are to bring disasters in nature to the world; and the symbolism may well be that nature is handing itself to God to serve his purposes.

2. CLARKE, “The temple of the tabernacle of the testimony - The temple which succeeded the tabernacle, in which was the testimony, viz., the two tables, Aaron’s rod, pot of manna, holy anointing oil, etc. All bearing testimony to the truth of God and his miraculous interposition in their behalf.

2B. COFFMAN, “The temple of the tabernacle of the testimony ... "John is here seeing this picture, not in terms of the Jewish temple, but in terms of the ancient tabernacle."[32] In this, he joins so much of the rest of the New Testament in absolutely ignoring and bypassing the Jewish temple. "This phrase, tabernacle of the testimony is found in only one other place in the New Testament (Acts 7:44),"[33] where it occurs in the address of Stephen. One of the most significant things in the New Testament is this absolute bypassing of the Jewish temple by New Testament writers. The author of Hebrews is another conspicuous example. We have commented upon this extensively in this series: Commentary on Acts, pp. 142ff, Commentary on Mark, pp. 272ff, Commentary on 1Corinthians, pp. 50ff, and Commentary on 1Peter, pp. 192ff. It was the ancient tabernacle, not the Jewish temple, that was made like the pattern God showed to Moses.

3. GILL, “And after that I looked,.... That is, after John had seen the above vision, he looked again,and saw what follows:

and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened; this does not refer to heaven itself, the antitype of the holy of holies, which is opened by the blood of Christ, by which he himself has entered, and his people have boldness to enter now by faith, and where their souls always enter upon their departure from their bodies; for of this temple cannot be said what is in Rev_15:8 nor to the Jerusalem state, or the most glorious state of the church on earth, during the thousand years' reign; for in that there will be no temple, Rev_21:22 much less to any material temple on earth; the temple at Jerusalem was destroyed before this vision was, and is never to be rebuilt; nor will there be any third temple, as the Jews vainly expect: but to the church of God in the spiritual reign of Christ, under the blowing of the seventh trumpet; and designs the same thing as in Rev_11:19 and this is to be understood as what will be, not before, but after the seven angels have poured out their vials; for till they have fulfilled the seven plagues, there is no entering

into the temple for smoke, Rev_15:8 and besides, it was after these things; after John had seen the seven angels, with the seven last plagues, Rev_15:1 that he beheld the temple opened. The church is called "the temple", in allusion to Solomon's temple, because of its builder, materials, situation, magnificence, strength, holiness, and use; See Gill on 2Co_6:16 and the tabernacle, in allusion to the tabernacle of Moses, which was before the temple, because God dwells in it, as he did in that; and because like that it is movable, and but for a while; and points at this church state, which will not always be so, but change and sink into the Laodicean state: and it is called "the tabernacle of the testimony", as that was; the testimony was the law, or the two tables of stone, so called, because they testified what was the good, and perfect, and acceptable will of God; and these being put into the ark, were a testimony of the covenant between God and the people of Israel, and were a witness against them, when they transgressed them, Deu_31:26 and over these were the mercy seat, and cherubim, as a testimony of the divine Presence; and the law being put into the ark, hence the ark was called the ark of the testimony, and that being placed in the tabernacle, that was called the tabernacle of the testimony, or of witness, Num_1:50 and all these were types of, and came to signify Christ, and the covenant of grace, the Gospel, and the mysteries of it: so that by the opening of the temple, &c. is meant a free exercise of the true religion, a setting up of Gospel churches according to the original plan, a keeping of the ordinances, as they were first delivered, and a more clear discovery of Gospel truths: it is the same with the open door in the Philadelphian church state, Rev_3:8 as well as that at this time there will be a full manifestation of the judgments of God upon antichrist: the Alexandrian copy leaves out the word "behold".

4. HENRY, “Observe, I. How these angels appeared - coming out of heaven to execute their commission: The temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened, Rev_15:5. Here is an allusion to the holiest of all the tabernacle and temple, where was the mercy-seat, covering the ark of the testimony, where the high priest made intercession, and God communed with his people, and heard their prayers. Now by this, as it is here mentioned, we may understand, 1. That, in the judgments God was now about to execute upon the antichristian interest, he was fulfilling the prophecies and promises of his word and covenant, which were there always before him, and of which he was ever mindful. 2. That in this work he was answering the prayers of the people, which were offered to him by their great high priest. 3. That he was herein avenging the quarrel of his own Son, and our Saviour Jesus Christ, whose offices and authority had been usurped, his name dishonoured, and the great designs of his death opposed, by antichrist and his adherents. 4. That he was opening a wider door of liberty for his people to worship him in numerous solemn assemblies, without the fear of their enemies.

4B. ELLICOTT, “(5) And after that . . .—Better, And after these things I saw, and there was opened the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony (or, witness) in the heaven. This temple is called the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony; the expression sounds cumbrous, but it is nevertheless suitable. St. Stephen spoke of “the tabernacle of witness” in the wilderness, which was made after the pattern showed in the mount (Acts 7:44). The tabernacle was well called the tabernacle of witness, for it contained the ark of the testimony with the Law of God, and was a perpetual witness of God’s presence among His people. The temple of the tabernacle then is the shrine, or inner sanctuary, of the heavenly true tabernacle, after the pattern of which the tabernacle of Moses was fashioned, which is now opened.

5. JAMISON, “So Rev_11:19; compare Rev_16:17. “The tabernacle of the testimony” appropriately here comes to view, where God’s faithfulness in avenging His people with judgments on their foes is about to be set forth. We need to get a glimpse within the Holy place to “understand” the secret spring and the end of God’s righteous dealings.behold — omitted by A, B, C, Syriac, and Andreas. It is supported only by Vulgate, Coptic, and Primasius, but no manuscript.

5B. “After these things (after the interlude of praise) the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened (meaning God will now reveal His righteous works and keep His pledge of vindication) and the seven angels that had the seven plagues came out. They came out from the temple (where the throne is, 16:17), which means they came out from the presence of God. They were clothed in pure and white linen (some ancient manuscripts have "stone;" see ASV and its

footnote) and having their breasts girded with golden girdles (such as was worn by the glorified Christ; see 1:13 and the comments on that verse). Their appearance represents the fact that they are glorious messengers of God. One of the four living creatures (cherubims, 4:6-9) gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials ("bowls" ASV) full of the wrath of God. The bowls are of gold; they are used in the service of God. All of the instruments of the temple in the Old Testament were of pure gold. They are "full of the wrath of God" indicating God will not tolerate the wicked any longer; the time for their judgment has come. The temple was filled with the glory of God and no one was able to enter it until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed (vs. 8). This corresponds to the times when the tabernacle (Ex. 40:34-35) and the temple were completed (1 Kings 8:10-11). The fact that none were able to enter until the seven plagues were finished shows that the wrath of God was altogether full. There would be no room for intercession now. The bowls were ready to be emptied; the judgment has come. The word "plagues" (vss. 1, 6, 8) is a key word to the correct interpretation of the bowls of wrath of chapter 16. DAVID RIGGS

6. PULPIT, “And after that I looked, and, behold; and after these things 1 saw. The characteristic commencement of a new vision or portion of a vision (see on Rev_4:1, etc.). The temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened.The tabernacle had its counterpart in heaven (Heb_8:5). In Exo_25:16, Exo_25:21 we have the reason of the title "tabernacle of the testimony"—a name which is common in the Bible (see Exo_38:21; Num_1:50, Num_1:53;Num_9:15; Num_10:11). The "temple" is the ?a?´? , the inner shrine, the holy of holies which contained the ark of the testimony, which in Rev_11:1.9 is seen in connection with the judgments of God. Thence now proceed the angels bearing the plagues for men.

6. PAUL KRETZMANN, “The seven angels with the seven vials:

v. 5. And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened;

v. 6. and the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.

v. 7. And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth forever and ever.

v. 8. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power; and no man was able to enter into the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

The hymn of the perfected saints served as a prologue to the revelation whose preparatory incidents are now shown. It was a marvelous sight which met the eyes of John: And after these things I saw, and there was opened the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven. This was the very innermost shrine and sanctuary, the most holy place of the heavenly temple. The temple is here called the tabernacle of witness, since it symbolizes the presence and revelation of God's justice, and its opening indicated that the most holy God was now ready to speak and to act through His representatives, or messengers. This the prophet describes: And there came out of the sanctuary the seven angels having the seven plagues, clothed in white, shining linen, and girded about their breasts with a golden girdle. The fact that these angels were clothed in gold and light gives an indication of, their origin, while the linen denotes their sacred office as priests of the Lord. These seven angels were the bearers of the seven last plagues against the enemies of the Lord.

And another fact is related in the preliminary incidents: And one of the four living beings gave to the seven angels seven golden vials filled with the wrath of God, Him that lives forever and ever, and the sanctuary was filled with the smoke of the glory of God and of His power, and no one is able to enter into the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels are completed. One of the four cherubs that stood around the throne, acting at God's command, delivered to the seven angels bowls, or vials, filled with the wrath of the everlasting God. And the seven angels were not

to hold back with this wrath, but were to pour it out upon the enemies of the Lord. This revelation of God's justice was attended with praise and honor for Himself, as the smoke indicates which filled the sanctuary. See Isa_6:4. Till the plagues are over, the presence of God is unendurable and His majesty unapproachable.

The meaning of this picture seems fairly evident. From the sanctuary of God, from the midst of the Christian Church, men should arise as witnesses and soldiers of Christ to attack and overcome the kingdom of Anti-Christ and all anti-Christian teaching. Clothed in linen they were and with golden girdles, in the garments of the exalted Christ. For they were sure from the very start that their testimony and their battle would be victorious, since they were dealing with enemies that had really been overcome through the victory of Christ. Thus these angels, witnesses of God and for the Lord, were to be instruments of the wrath of God to convey to all enemies of the Church God's condemnation. With the smoke of the glory and power of God arising and following them, what enemy will be able to withstand them?

Summary

In two preliminary, or introductory, pictures, that of the perfected saints praising the Lord, and that of the seven angels receiving the vials of God's wrath, the seven last plagues upon the enemies of the Lord are ushered in.

7. PULPIT, “Final judgments proclaimed.From this point commences the final delineation of the overthrow of the kingdom of evil. It may be difficult, if not impossible, to interpret the symbolical language in detail into realistic descriptions. Probably such interpretation is misleading. But the great ideas stand out prominently, and afford matter for contemplation, and, without puzzling the lowly reader, will help him to a knowledge of the "ways" and "judgments" of God. The complete vision of the destruction of "Babylon" reaches to the end of the eighteenth chapter. The portion named above is preliminary. A glance through the whole is sufficient to assure us that it represents a widespread struggle—a struggle of the utmost intensity and severity, and a final one. Within it occur the significant, prophetic words, "It is done!" Let this first glance, starting at the first words and reaching to the last, embrace the whole in a preliminary view, and we shall be instantly arrested—

I. BY THE SEVERITY OF THE JUDGMENT THREATENED. The vision is one of judgment, not of warfare. It is only incidentally that the idea of war is introduced (Rev_16:14, Rev_16:16; Rev_17:14). Judgment is the burden of the vision. The severity of the judgments is seen in the terms used. There are seven vials, or bowls. The first becomes "a noisome and grievous sore," etc. (Rev_15:2); the second a cause of death—"every living soul died;" the third turns "the rivers and fountains of the waters" into "blood ;" the fourth, "men were scorched with great beat;" the fifth, "they gnawed their tongues for pain;" the sixth prepares the way for the coming of (antagonistic) kings (this requires a subsequent interpretation); the seventh brings "lightnings and voices and thunders" and "a great earthquake, such as was not since there were men upon the earth." Thus is set forth ideally the utmost painfulness and severity of judgments. Much of the imagery carries us back to Egypt's plagues.

II. We are further arrested by the UNIVERSALITY OF THE JUDGMENT. There is no reference to portions of the earth, as earlier (Rev_8:7-11).

III. BY THE FINALITY OF THE JUDGMENTS. "In them is finished the wrath of God." It is the judgment of "Babylon the great," "the great harlot that sitteth upon many waters." "Babylon the great, the mother of the harlots, and of the abominations of the earth," whose flesh they shall eat, and "shall burn her utterly with fire." Thus by outward materialistic judgments are we to see a spiritual conquest and destruction and judgment ideally represented. Blessed are they who are not included in "the judgment of the great harlot"!—R. G.

8. PULPIT.5-8, “Genuine discipline of soul."And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was

opened: and the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen," etc. I do not know that 1 can turn these words to a more legitimate and practical use than by using them as an illustration of genuine soul discipline. In this light they suggest to us the source, the ministers, and the indispensability of genuine soul discipline.

I. THE SOURCE OF GENUINE SOUL DISCIPLINE. "After that [these things] I looked [saw], and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened" (Rev_15:5). The discipline, as we have seen, was of apainful character. It involved "seven angels" with "seven plagues." Whence did it proceed? Not from secondary instrumentalities, fortuitous circumstances, or a heartless, rigorous fatality, but direct from the presence of the Infinite. The language here points to the inner compartment of the old Jewish tabernacle, known as the "holy of holies." There the Jew regarded Jehovah as especially revealing himself to them, and as communicating to them his ideas and plans. To a genuinely disciplined soul all influences from heaven tending to purify and ennoble are regarded as coming direct from the presence of the great Father. Its inner eye, so to speak, is so opened and quickened that it glances into the very shrine of the Almighty. It feels that "every good and perfect gift cometh down from the Father of lights," etc. It is a characteristic, or rather a law, of true religiousness that it bears the soul away through nature, churches, and chapels, right up into the very presence of God, to the very fontal Source of all good, the mighty Mainspring that works the universe. God is its all in all. It can truly say, "I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened" (Rev_15:5). The grand difference between a spurious and a genuine religiousness of soul is this—the one busies itself about the fussy doings and foggy dogmas of little sects, and the other is so absorbed with the Supreme Good, that it feels with the old Hebrew, "Whom have I in heaven but thee? and whom on earth do I desire but thee?"

II. THE MINISTERS OF GENUINE SOUL DISCIPLINE. "And the seven angels came out of the temple, having [that had] the seven plagues" (Rev_15:6). The great Father who makes his children "meet for the inheritance of the saints in light," carries on his sublime educational work by angels or ministers. Concerning those ministers, observe:

1. They are complete in number and qualification. "Seven angels" and "seven plagues."

2. They go forth direct from his presence. "Came out of the temple," etc.

3. They are divinely marked and attired as God's priests. "Clothed [arrayed] in pure and white linen [precious stones pure and bright], and having their breasts girded [girt about the breasts] with golden girdles" (Rev_15:6).

4. They have a commission of severity. "And one of the four beasts [living creatures] gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials [bowls] full of the wrath of God, who liveth forever and ever" (Rev_15:7). (The wrath of God is his antagonism to sin.) In the great moral school of humanity there has always been, as in all schools, not a little severity. True soul education involves pain. The very severity is a blessing. "What son is he whom the father chasteneth not?" "Our light afflictions, which are but for a moment," etc. Whilst the majority of men regard this life as a market, or a banquet, or a playground, he who regards it as a great moral school has the only true idea—as a school in which every object is a lesson, every agent a teacher, and every teacher coming forth directly from God.

III. THE INDISPENSABILITY OF GENUINE SOUL DISCIPLINE. "No man [no one] was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled [should be finished]" (Rev_15:8). The idea suggested is that no man could enter into the shrine or into the immediate presence of God until the discipline had been fully accomplished. Here is a commentary on this: "Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart, who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity." Cleanness in hands and heart means having conduct void of offence towards God and man. Freedom from vanity means moral reality. These two things, moral cleanness and moral reality, are the qualifications for ascending to the "holy hill," or fellowship with God. "It is not," says Luther, "he who sings so well or so many psalms, nor he who fasts or watches so many days, nor he who divides his own among

the poor, nor he who preaches to others, nor he who lives quietly, kindly, and friendly, nor, in fine, is it he who knows all sciences and languages, nor he who works all virtuous and all good works that ever any man spoke or read of; but it is he alone who is pure within and without."—D.T.

6 Out of the temple came the seven angels with

the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean,

shining linen and wore golden sashes around their

chests.

1.BARNES, “And the seven angels - See the notes on Rev_15:1.Came out of the temple - Were seen to come from the temple; that is, from the immediate presence of God.Having the seven plagues - See the notes on Rev_15:1. Each one entrusted with a single “plague” to be executed upon the earth. The meaning here is, that they were designated or appointed to execute those plagues in judgments. The symbols of their office - the golden vials - were given to them afterward, Rev_15:7.Clothed in pure and white linen - The emblem of holiness - the common representation in regard to the heavenly inhabitants. See the notes on Rev_3:4; Rev_7:13. Compare Mat_17:2; Luk_9:29; Mar_16:5.And having their breasts girded with golden girdles - See the notes on Rev_1:13. The meaning is, that they were attired in a manner befitting their rank and condition.

1B.COFFMAN, “And there came out ... the seven angels ... All was in readiness for the judgment to be executed. The appearance of these angels seems to be significant, as indicated by the golden girdles resembling the apparel of Christ himself (Revelation 1:13), apparently conveying that they were wearing the livery of their Master and therefore engaged in his business, just as a jockey wears the colors of the owner in a horse race. The judgment belongs to Christ.Arrayed with precious stone ... This is an additional description of the apparel of the angels. It is translated, "clothed in pure and white linen" in the KJV, which is undoubtedly correct. The way this change came about is interesting:The word for linen is found in the Vatican and Sinaiticus manuscripts, and a very similar word meaning precious stone occurs in the Alexandrinus and the Codex Ephraemi manuscripts.[34] Butthe scholars of the ASV preferred precious stone, on the basis of the critical "law" that "the more difficult reading is likely to be the original."[35] But after ASV was published, the Chester Beatty Papyrus was found to support the KJV rendition.[36] On account of this, the RSV went back to the KJV translation.It would be difficult indeed to find a better example of just how arbitrary and undependable the so-called "Lectio Difficilior" actually is. It has been invoked to justify a whole family of unjustifiable renditions. See "Excursus on New Testament Criticism" in my Commentary on James, 1,2 Peter 1,2, 3John and Jude, pp. 282-290.

2. CLARKE, “The seven angels came out of the temple - To show that they were sent from God himself.Clothed in pure and white linen - Habited as priests. For these habits see Exo_28:6, Exo_28:8; and see the note on Rev_1:13.

2B. ELLICOTT, “(6) And the seven angels . . .—Better, And there came out the seven angels who

had the seven plagues from the temple, clothed in linen, pure, glistening, and girt about their breasts with golden girdles. The temple is the inner shrine, or sanctuary; it was this which was measured (Revelation 11:1); it was out of this that the angel with the sharp sickle came for the vintage of the earth (Revelation 14:7); out of this now came the seven angels with the seven plagues. It is well to remember this, for these plagues are not, like the judgments of the trumpet, calls to repentance; they are plagues on those who have refused to return, who have rejected the sanctuary, the tabernacle of witness, which the Lord pitched among men, and who have refused, like obstinate builders, the stone which has become the head of the corner. Out of the rejected temple the angels of wrath come; it is ever true that out of rejected mercies the heaviest of plagues are forged. The angels are clad in a garb resembling that of Christ (Revelation 1:13); they are come forth to do His bidding; they are clothed in raiment which indicates their righteous errand. (Comp.Revelation 19:8; Acts 1:10; Acts 10:30.) Instead of linen, some MSS. have “a stone:” the angels, according to this, were “clad in a stone, pure, brilliant.” There is a parallel thought in Ezekiel, who describes the splendour of the King of Tyre: “Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond,” &c. (Ezekiel 28:13).

3. GILL, “And the seven angels came out of the temple,.... By which it appears, that they are such who are of, or belong to the church of Christ; and are either ministers, or members of churches, who will be the executioners of God's wrath upon the beast, and his followers; some copies, and the Complutensian edition, read, "out of heaven":

having the seven plagues; that is, they were appointed to inflict them, and were preparing and furnishing for it, and quickly had orders to do it:

clothed in pure and white linen; in which habit angels have been used to appear, as at our Lord's resurrection and ascension, and is by some thought to be expressive of the purity and holiness of angels; but rather saints are meant, who appear in the habit of priests, being all made kings and priests; and denotes their being clothed with the pure and spotless robe of Christ's righteousness, which is fine linen, clean and white, and the righteousness of the saints, Rev_19:8 and also their spiritual joy in their present situation, and in the view of the destruction of antichrist, their sackcloth being put off, in which they, the witnesses, before appeared. So the linen garment of the high priest was, as Philo the Jew says (n), made of "fine linen", ?a?a??tat??, "most pure". The Alexandrian copy, and some copies of the Vulgate Latin version, and some exemplars mentioned by Andreas Caesariensis, an ancient commentator on this book, read, "clothed with a stone, pure and white"; as if they were arrayed in garments of stone, which is not likely; unless reference is had to the stone asbestos, of an iron colour, found, as Pliny says (o), in the mountains of Arcadia, of which linen was made, called "asbestinum", and of that garments; which were so far from being consumed by fire, that they became clean and brighter by it; or to the Carystian stone, which the inhabitants of Carystus used to comb, spin, and weave, and make carpets of (p).

And having their breasts girded with golden girdles; such an one as Christ himself was girded with, Rev_1:13 and this some understand of the love, which the breasts of angels are filled with towards the saints, and their readiness to perform all good offices to them, and to execute the judgments of God upon their enemies, whenever they have orders: but since these angels come out of the temple, and members of Gospel churches seem designed, rather this is to be understood either of the grace of faith, which is much more precious than of gold that perisheth, which receives the righteousness of Christ, puts it on, and girds it about the believer; or of love, the love of God and Christ, which encompass the saints about, and constrain them, and engage them in fervent love to them, and one another: or of the girdle of truth, Eph_6:14 which is near and close to them, and which keeps them close to Christ; nor can they depart totally and finally from him, or that; or in general, this may denote their strength and readiness for what service they shall be called to; see Luk_12:35.

4. HENRY, “How they were equipped and prepared for their work. Observe, 1. Their array: They were clothed with pure and white linen, and had their breasts girded with golden girdles, Rev_15:6. This was the habit of the high priests when they went in to enquire of God, and came out with an answer from him. This showed that these angels were acting in all things under the divine

appointment and direction, and that they were going to prepare a sacrifice to the Lord, called the supper of the great God, Rev_19:17. The angels are the ministers of divine justice, and they do every thing in a pure and holy manner. 2. Their artillery, what it was, and whence they received it; their artillery, by which they were to do this great execution, was seven vials filled with the wrath of God; they were armed with the wrath of God against his enemies. The meanest creature, when it comes armed with the anger of God, will be too hard for any man in the world; but much more an angel of God. This wrath of God was not to be poured out all at once, but was divided into seven parts, which should successively fall upon the antichristian party. Now from whom did they receive these vials? From one of the four living creatures, one of the ministers of the true church, that is, in answer to the prayers of the ministers and people of God, and to avenge their cause, in which the angels are willingly employed.III. The impressions these things made upon all who stood near the temple: they were all, as it were, wrapt up in clouds of smoke, which filled the temple, from the glorious and powerful presence of God; so that no man was able to enter into the temple, till the work was finished. The interests of antichrist were so interwoven with the civil interests of the nations that he could not be destroyed without giving a great shock to all the world; and the people of God would have but little rest and leisure to assemble themselves before him, while this great work was a doing. For the present, their sabbaths would be interrupted, ordinances of public worship intermitted, and all thrown into a general confusion. God himself was now preaching to the church and to all the world, by terrible things in righteousness; but, when this work was done, then the churches would have rest, the temple would be opened, and the solemn assemblies gathered, edified, and multiplied. The greatest deliverances of the church are brought about by awful and astonishing steps of Providence.

5. JAMISON, “having — So B reads. But A and C, read “who have”: not that they had them yet (compare Rev_15:7), but they are by anticipation described according to their office.linen — So B reads. But A, C, and Vulgate, “a stone.” On the principle that the harder reading is the one least likely to be an interpolation, we should read, “a stone pure (‘and’ is omitted in A, B, C, and Andreas), brilliant” (so the Greek): probably the diamond. With English Version, compare Act_1:10; Act_10:30.golden girdles — resembling the Lord in this respect (Rev_1:13).

5B. JAMES DAVIS, "It has been suggested that the scene represents the purity of God's wrath. The angels are dressed in clean shining linen and are wearing golden sashes around their chests. The bowls containing God's wrath are pure gold. The glory of God's presence is portrayed as the temple is filled with smoke. The marvelous truth about God's judgment is that it is executed in holiness and righteousness. It isn't a vindictive judgment. "Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone-- an image made by man's design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead." (Acts 17:29-31) Justice is not vindictive.

5C. Barclay, "The procession of the angels from the tabernacle symbolically shows that they are coming out from the resting place of the Divine Law to vindicate that Law, and to show that it cannot be disobeyed."

6. PULPIT, “And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues; there came out the seven angels that had, etc. These angels are distinguished from the other angels only by the fact that they bore the seven plagues. These they have not yet, but they receive them directly after. The phrase is added here to distinguish the angels meant. These angels have once before (Rev_15:1) been described in the same manner. Clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles. ??´??? , "linen," is found in à , B, P, 7, 14, 97, Andreas, Primasius. ??´??? , [precious] "stone," is read in A, C, 38 (margin), 48, 90, Vulgate. It seems more probable that ??´??? is the correct word; for in no other place in the New Testament is ??´???

found except in Mat_12:20, where it signifies "flax;" while the ordinary word for linen, viz. ß?´ss?? or ß?´ss???? , is found in Rev_18:12, Rev_18:16, and Rev_19:8, Rev_19:14, as well as in Luk_16:19. If ??´??? be the correct reading, the image is perhaps suggested by the priestly garments (cf. Exo_28:42, and vide infra). For the idea of "clothed in precious stone," the LXX. reading of Eze_28:13 is usually quoted. We may refer also to the stones of the high priest's breastplate, and to the description in Rev_17:4. And having their breasts girded with golden girdles (cf. the vision of our Lord in Rev_1:13, and the priestly attire described inExo_28:8).

7 Then one of the four living creatures gave to the

seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the

wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever.

1.BARNES, “And one of the four beasts - See the notes on Rev_4:6-7. Which one of the four is not mentioned. From the explanation given of the design of the representation of the “four beasts,” or living creatures, in the notes on Rev_4:6-7, it would seem that the meaning here is, that the great principles of that divine government would be illustrated in the events which are now to occur. In events that were so closely connected with the honor of God and the triumph of his cause on the earth, there was a propriety in the representation that these living creatures, symbolizing the great principles of divine administration, would be particularly interested.Gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials - The word used here - f?a´?? phiale‾ - means properly, “a bowl or goblet, having more breadth than depth” (Robinson, Lexicon). Our word vial, though derived from this, means rather a thin long bottle of glass, used particularly by apothecaries and druggists. The word would be better rendered by “bowl” or “goblet,” and probably the representation here was of such bowls as were used in the temple service. See the notes on Rev_5:8. They are called in Rev_16:1, “vials of the wrath of God”; and here they are said to be “full of the wrath of God.” The allusion seems to be to a drinking cup or goblet filled with poison, and given to persons to drink - an allusion drawn from one of the methods of punishment in ancient times. See the notes on Rev_14:10. These vials or goblets thus became emblems of divine wrath, to be inflicted on the beast and his image.Full of the wrath of God - Filled with what represented his wrath; that is, they seemed to be filled with a poisonous mixture, which being poured upon the earth, the sea, the rivers, the sun, the seat of the beast, the river Euphrates, and into the air, was followed by severe divine judgments on this great anti-Christian power. See Rev_16:2-4, Rev_16:8,Rev_16:10, Rev_16:12, Rev_16:17.Who liveth forever and ever - The eternal God. The particular object in referring to this attribute here appears to be, that though there may seem to be delay in the execution of his purposes, yet they will be certainly accomplished, as he is the ever-living and unchangeable God. He is not under a necessity of abandoning his purposes, like people, if they are not soon accomplished.

1B, COFFMAN, “Are these literal bowls? Not any more than the harps were literal harps, which means they were not in any sense literal. See under Revelation 15:2 for Pieters' comment on the absurdity of taking any of this literally.Bowls ... This is a very interesting word. "It meant (1) a shallow vessel used for drinking purposes,"[37] as in the case of Old King Cole who called for his pipe and his bowl; (2) a broad shallow vessel used for libations as in Revelation 5:8; and (3) it signified a funerary urn for the ashes of the dead."[38] "This word is found only in Revelation 5:8; 15:7; 16:1-17; 17:1; 21:9."[39]Full of the wrath of God ... The bowls were not literal receptacles of any kind, as nothing literal could be a suitable container of the wrath of God. They rank with the incense, the harps, the horses, the trumpets, etc., as part of the imagery of the vision. The fact of their being "golden" speaks of the extreme value in God's purpose of judgment. "The wrath of God is simply the operation of God's righteous law against sin ... That law is adverse to evil, and will eventually root

evil out."[40] The dramatic scenes of Revelation 16 are designed to symbolize just that.The execution of God's wrath in the outpouring from the hands of these angels is directed against all evil. Many scholars make what appears to be a very limited application of these divine judgments. Beeson limited them to the wrath of God in the destruction of Jerusalem;[41] McDowell applied them to the great conflict between the Christ and the Caesars;"[42] Wilcock said they were directed against Babylon as a composite of both the sea-beast and the land-beast;[43] Roberts wrote, "These are the last plagues upon the pagan city of Rome";[44] Hinds saw them as "a series of events that will ultimately end the papal hierarchy and accomplish the destruction of the man of sin."[45] There was a measure of God's wrath fulfilled in all such things; but we refrain from identifying these judgments exclusively with any particular time-frame, as did Beasley-Murray, for example, who understood them as "messianic judgments of the last time."[46]The overriding meaning of these bowls is that when people of any time, place, or circumstance have repeatedly flouted initial and repeated heavenly warnings (by judgments), there comes the time of total overthrow and destruction. This is nothing new. It has always been God's way, Pharaoh of the Old Testament being a classical example; and the Christian dispensation will provide other examples of the same phenomenon; indeed it has already done so.

2. JAMES DAVIS,"John sees seven angels with seven golden bowls of wrath. The bowls of wrath are about to be poured out upon the earth. The seven bowls of wrath represent God's complete judgment against Rome. Judgment, thus far upon the enemies of the saints has only been partial for God was endeavoring to bring them to repentance. Now the longsuffering of God is completed and earth will fill the full fury of God's wrath. Earth will experience the complete and full wrath of God."

3. GILL, “And one of the four beasts,.... Or living creatures: now we hear of them, as of the four and twenty elders, under the blowing of the seventh trumpet, Rev_11:16 with which this vision is contemporary; these living creatures are the ministers of the Gospel; See Gill on Rev_4:6 and this was one, or the first of them, who was like a lion, for fortitude and courage, and whose voice was as the noise of thunder, Rev_4:7 and so fitly represents those ministers who shall give out the vials of God's wrath: not any particular person is designed, who shall be at this time; and much less Luke the evangelist, as Lord Napier thinks; nor Peter, who prophesied of the last time, 2Pe_3:10 as Grotius; but a set of Gospel ministers, comparable to one of the living creatures John had before seen; of whom it is said, that they

gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever: these seven vials are for the seven last plagues to be put into, and out of which they are to be taken, or poured, and inflicted; see Rev_21:9 hence it appears, that the seven plagues, and the wrath of God, are the same thing, and both design God's judgments upon antichrist; and thesebeing expressed by "vials", which are measures, and large ones, show the large abundance and plenteous effusion of God's wrath, and the secret, sudden, and irresistible power of it; and yet that it will be poured out in measure, according to righteous judgment, and therefore it is put into vials; and these golden ones, expressive of the purity, holiness, and justice of the divine proceedings: and it will be very terrible; it will be, not the wrath of men, but of God, and a cup of the fierceness of his wrath; it will be the wrath of the living God, of him that lives for ever, and as he is, such will his wrath be; it will continue for ever, for this wrath will issue in the everlasting destruction of antichrist: so the wrath of God is signified by a wine cup of fury, Jer_25:15 and that destruction, and those plagues which God designed to bring upon Pharaoh, are by Jonathan ben Uzziel, in his Targum on Gen_40:12 called ?????? ?????, "a vial of wrath", which he should drink of: and in the pouring out of there seven vials, there is in some of them a manifest allusion to the plagues of Egypt. So the cup of trembling, in Isa_51:17 is by the Targumists called ????, "a vial", and also "the cup of fury", Isa_51:22 and that these vials were not small narrow mouthed vessels, but large broad mouthed ones, and more properly basins or bowls, is manifest from the use of the word with Jewish writers. The dishes on which the loaves of the shewbread were set, each of which loaves was ten hands breadth long, and five broad (q), are by the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem on Exo_25:29 called ?????, "vials"; and so the chargers offered at the dedication of the tabernacle, Num_7:13 are, by the same, rendered vials, which weighed 130 shekels; and so the silver bowl they offered, is, by Josephus (r), called a vial: the bowls in Amo_6:6 are, by the Targum there, said to be "silver vials". The lordly dish brought by Jael to Sisera, Jdg_5:25 the

Targum calls the vial of the mighty ones; and the earthen vessels used at the trial of the suspected wife, and at the cleansing of the leper, are both by Jewish writers said to be "vials" (s). Now these vials were given to the seven angels by one of the living creatures, the ministers of the word; from whence it seems that these angels design members of churches, as distinct from ministers; and may intend civil magistrates, and very principal ones, as kings of the earth, who, in this state of things, and times, will belong to the churches, and will be the instruments of destroying antichrist: and these vials may be said to be given to them by the ministers, since they will execute this vengeance in consequence of their prayers, and the churches', called vials full of odours, Rev_5:8 and because these great men will be stirred up by the ministers of the Gospel, and by their ministrations, to do this work; see Rev_18:4.

4. BI, “The wrath of GodObserve—1. That what was called seven plagues in the foregoing verse is here called seven golden vials full of the wrath of God: in this verse vials are full cups. Vials of wrath are prepared when the measures of a people’s sins are filled up; full cups of sin are followed with full vials of God’s wrath. Next, these vials are said to be of gold, signifying that these judgments proceed from a just God, with whom there is no corruption nor iniquity in judgments, He being holy in all His ways, and righteous in all His works. These vials are also said to be full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever, as an aggravation of the same, it not being like the wrath of a mortal man, of short continuance; it is the wrath of Him that ever lives to maintain His wrath, and to uphold and sustain the sinner under the execution and infliction of this wrath, that the sinner cannot run from Him.2. The executioners of this wrath are said to be seven angels. The angels, which are merciful attendants upon the godly, are also at God’s command, the executioners of His wrath upon the wicked. These angels are here said to be seven, to signify that God’s judgments upon His Church’s adversaries shall be heavy and great; one angel plagued all Egypt, and destroyed Sennacherib’s mighty host, but here went out seven angels to destroy antichrist.3. The tremendous dreadfulness of this wrath, intimated by filling the temple with smoke, thereby signifying that the wrath of God, kindled against His enemies, shall be unto them like a devouring and consuming fire, before the flame of which burst forth, a cloud of smoke appears. Learn—That almighty God is glorified in the destruction as well as in the salvation of sinners; His glory is as well seen in His smoking wrath against the wicked, as in His saving mercy towards the godly. The temple was filled with smoke, from the glory of God, and from His power; it follows, no man was able to enter into the temple; that is, to deprecate God’s anger and supplicate His mercy, or to avert the plagues threatened and now just ready to be inflicted; when mercy has been long offered and despised, the Lord at last becomes inexorable, and will suffer none to intercede or plead with Him (Jer_15:1). (W. Burkitt, M. A.).

5. JAMISON, “one of the four beasts — Greek, “living creatures.” The presentation of the vials to the angels by one of the living creatures implies the ministry of the Church as the medium for manifesting to angels the glories of redemption (Eph_3:10).vials — “bowls”; a broad shallow cup or bowl. The breadth of the vials in their upper part would tend to cause their contents to pour out all at once, implying the overwhelming suddenness of the woes.full of ... wrath — How sweetly do the vials full of odors, that is, the incense-perfumed prayers of the saints, contrast with these!

5B. ELLICOTT, “(7) And one of the four . . .—Better, And one from among the four living beings gave to the seven angels seven golden vials (or, bowls) full, &c. The vials are the shallow bowls which were used for incense. They are filled with the wrath of God, and that wrath is now to be poured out “upon the kingdoms that have not called upon God’s name” (Psalms 79:6). These vialsare given by one of the living creatures who represent creation; it is thus through creation that the wrath of God can visit the rebellious; that wrath of God is simply the operation of God’s righteous law against sin. His statutes are eternally righteous. He has given to all things a law which cannot be broken; that law is adverse to evil, and will in the end root it out, for it does the bidding of God, who lives unto the ages of the ages.

6. PULPIT, “And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels; four living beings. These, as representing life on the earth (see on Rev_4:6; Rev_5:9), are appropriately chosen as the medium for conveying to the angels the plagues about to be inflicted on men. This description is very like what is related of the cherubim—from which the idea of the living beings is evolved (see on Rev_4:6)—in Eze_10:7, "And one cherub stretched forth his hand from between the cherubims unto the fire that was between the cherubims, and took thereof, and put it into the hands of him that was clothed with linen: who took it, and went out." (On the "seven angels," see on Eze_10:1.) Seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth forever and ever. Seven; as showing the complete nature of the wrath of God (cf. Eze_10:1," In them is fulfilled," etc.). Golden; the characteristic of the heavenly things and places (cf. Rev_4:4; Rev_21:18, etc.), and which is also sometimes used of other things to indicate gorgeousness and unusual splendour (cf. Rev_18:16). (On "vials," see on Rev_5:8, and compare with Rev_14:10, "the cup of his indignation.") Compare the expression, "who liveth forever and ever," with the possible reading of Eze_10:3, "thou King of the ages."

8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the

glory of God and from his power, and no one

could enter the temple until the seven plagues of

the seven angels were completed.

1.BARNES, “And one of the four beasts - See the notes on Rev_4:6-7. Which one of the four is not mentioned. From the explanation given of the design of the representation of the “four beasts,” or living creatures, in the notes on Rev_4:6-7, it would seem that the meaning here is, that the great principles of that divine government would be illustrated in the events which are now to occur. In events that were so closely connected with the honor of God and the triumph of his cause on the earth, there was a propriety in the representation that these living creatures, symbolizing the great principles of divine administration, would be particularly interested.Gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials - The word used here - f?a´?? phiale‾ - means properly, “a bowl or goblet, having more breadth than depth” (Robinson, Lexicon). Our word vial, though derived from this, means rather a thin long bottle of glass, used particularly by apothecaries and druggists. The word would be better rendered by “bowl” or “goblet,” and probably the representation here was of such bowls as were used in the temple service. See the notes on Rev_5:8. They are called in Rev_16:1, “vials of the wrath of God”; and here they are said to be “full of the wrath of God.” The allusion seems to be to a drinking cup or goblet filled with poison, and given to persons to drink - an allusion drawn from one of the methods of punishment in ancient times. See the notes on Rev_14:10. These vials or goblets thus became emblems of divine wrath, to be inflicted on the beast and his image.Full of the wrath of God - Filled with what represented his wrath; that is, they seemed to be filled with a poisonous mixture, which being poured upon the earth, the sea, the rivers, the sun, the seat of the beast, the river Euphrates, and into the air, was followed by severe divine judgments on this great anti-Christian power. See Rev_16:2-4, Rev_16:8,Rev_16:10, Rev_16:12, Rev_16:17.Who liveth forever and ever - The eternal God. The particular object in referring to this attribute here appears to be, that though there may seem to be delay in the execution of his purposes, yet they will be certainly accomplished, as he is the ever-living and unchangeable God. He is not under a necessity of abandoning his purposes, like people, if they are not soon accomplished.

1B. BARCLAY, “THE UNAPPROACHABLE GLORY

Rev. 15:8

And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter into the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels had been completed.

The idea of the glory of God being symbolized as smoke is common in the Old Testament. In the vision of Isaiah the whole house was filled with smoke (Isa.6:4).

Further, the idea that no one could approach while the smoke was there is also common in the Old Testament. This was true both of the tabernacle and of the temple. Of the tabernacle it is said: "Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting, because the cloud abode upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle" (Exo.40:34-35). Of the dedication of Solomon's temple it is said: "And when the priests came out of the holy place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord" (1Kgs.8:10-11).

There is a double idea here. There is the idea that the purposes of God will often be clouded to men, for no man can see into the mind of God; and there is the idea that the holiness and the glory of God are such that man in his own right can never approach God.

But R. H. Charles sees more in this passage. No man could come into the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels have been completed. Charles sees in that a symbolic statement that no approach of man to God can halt the coming judgment.

2. NOTE, Smoke makes it impossible for man to be in the presence of it and breathe, and so it is symbolic of the fact that none can live in the presence of God's glory. Here is, indeed, holy smoke. It is too late now for any intercession for the countdown is complete and judgment is ready. Barnhouse writes, "What insight we should have here of the holiness of God, and may we not be allowed to think that behind this hiding smoke the heart of God is weeping, even as the Lord Jesus wept over Jerusalem, as He acknowledged that all the efforts of His mercy had been in vain,m and that the city refused all of His offers of pardon and love?"3. GILL, “And one of the four beasts,.... Or living creatures: now we hear of them, as of the four and twenty elders, under the blowing of the seventh trumpet, Rev_11:16 with which this vision is contemporary; these living creatures are the ministers of the Gospel; See Gill on Rev_4:6 and this was one, or the first of them, who was like a lion, for fortitude and courage, and whose voice was as the noise of thunder, Rev_4:7 and so fitly represents those ministers who shall give out the vials of God's wrath: not any particular person is designed, who shall be at this time; and much less Luke the evangelist, as Lord Napier thinks; nor Peter, who prophesied of the last time, 2Pe_3:10 as Grotius; but a set of Gospel ministers, comparable to one of the living creatures John had before seen; of whom it is said, that they

gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever: these seven vials are for the seven last plagues to be put into, and out of which they are to be taken, or poured, and inflicted; see Rev_21:9 hence it appears, that the seven plagues, and the wrath of God, are the same thing, and both design God's judgments upon antichrist; and thesebeing expressed by "vials", which are measures, and large ones, show the large abundance and plenteous effusion of God's wrath, and the secret, sudden, and irresistible power of it; and yet that it will be poured out in measure, according to righteous judgment, and therefore it is put into vials; and these golden ones, expressive of the purity, holiness, and justice of the divine proceedings: and it will be very terrible; it will be, not the wrath of men, but of God, and a cup of the fierceness of his wrath; it will be the wrath of the living God, of him that lives for ever, and as he is, such will his wrath be; it will continue for ever, for this wrath will issue in the everlasting destruction of antichrist: so the wrath of God is signified by a wine cup of fury, Jer_25:15 and that destruction, and those plagues which God designed to bring upon Pharaoh, are by Jonathan ben Uzziel, in his Targum on Gen_40:12 called ?????? ?????, "a vial of wrath", which he should drink of: and in the pouring out of there seven vials, there is in some of them a manifest allusion to the plagues of Egypt. So the cup of trembling, in Isa_51:17 is by the Targumists called ????, "a vial", and also "the cup of fury", Isa_51:22 and that these vials were not small narrow mouthed vessels, but large

broad mouthed ones, and more properly basins or bowls, is manifest from the use of the word with Jewish writers. The dishes on which the loaves of the shewbread were set, each of which loaves was ten hands breadth long, and five broad (q), are by the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem on Exo_25:29 called ?????, "vials"; and so the chargers offered at the dedication of the tabernacle, Num_7:13 are, by the same, rendered vials, which weighed 130 shekels; and so the silver bowl they offered, is, by Josephus (r), called a vial: the bowls in Amo_6:6 are, by the Targum there, said to be "silver vials". The lordly dish brought by Jael to Sisera, Jdg_5:25 the Targum calls the vial of the mighty ones; and the earthen vessels used at the trial of the suspected wife, and at the cleansing of the leper, are both by Jewish writers said to be "vials" (s). Now these vials were given to the seven angels by one of the living creatures, the ministers of the word; from whence it seems that these angels design members of churches, as distinct from ministers; and may intend civil magistrates, and very principal ones, as kings of the earth, who, in this state of things, and times, will belong to the churches, and will be the instruments of destroying antichrist: and these vials may be said to be given to them by the ministers, since they will execute this vengeance in consequence of their prayers, and the churches', called vials full of odours, Rev_5:8 and because these great men will be stirred up by the ministers of the Gospel, and by their ministrations, to do this work; see Rev_18:4.

4. JAMISON, “one of the four beasts — Greek, “living creatures.” The presentation of the vials to the angels by one of the living creatures implies the ministry of the Church as the medium for manifesting to angels the glories of redemption (Eph_3:10).vials — “bowls”; a broad shallow cup or bowl. The breadth of the vials in their upper part would tend to cause their contents to pour out all at once, implying the overwhelming suddenness of the woes.full of ... wrath — How sweetly do the vials full of odors, that is, the incense-perfumed prayers of the saints, contrast with these!

4B. COFFMAN, “And the temple was filled with smoke ... "The main point of this is the inevitability of the plagues. When God's good time has come, nothing can stop final judgment."[47] This symbolizes the judicial hardening of the incorrigibly wicked. It will be recalled from Isaiah 6:4ff that the "smoke" from God's presence meant the prophecy of the hardening of Israel. So here, the smoke means that, in this situation, God's work of grace is finished. "None was able to enter into the temple." "The sanctuary is inaccessible ... the time for intercession is past."[48]Rather than limit this to the end time, when this very condition of the human race will probably have occurred, why should it not also include the irrevocably wicked of any and all generations? It is a dreadful thing to contemplate, no matter how it may be interpreted. How dreadful must be that day, when for any man, or any nation, there comes the time when God's face is turned away, when his holy presence is obscured by smoke, and when prayer may receive no answer except the petitioner's agony. The bowls of the wrath of God were indeed once poured out upon rebellious Jerusalem, not because she rebelled against Rome, but because she had previously rebelled against God in the rejection of Christ. They were again poured out upon pagan Rome. When the vast wicked empire had finished with tormenting and persecuting the saints, and when the time came for God to humiliate her under the heel of the invader, the city fell in 476 A.D. From this it may be concluded that there is no world situation of entrenched wickedness anywhere on earth that has ever been safe, or ever will be safe, from the type of judgments signified by these bowls.

4C. ELLICOTT, “(8) And the temple . . .—Translate, And the temple (the same word—naos—is used as in Revelation 11:1) was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his might; and no one was able to enter into the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels should be finished. As in the wilderness (Exodus 40:34-35), and as at the dedication of Solomon’s temple (1 Kings 8:10-11), the tokens of God’s presence filled the temple, so it is now, but with a difference: it is smoke, not cloud, which is the symbol of God’s presence. But the vision which perhaps, under all circumstances, most nearly corresponds with the present is that of Isaiah (Isaiah 6); there the prophet beheld the vision of God. His train filled the temple, and the house was filled with smoke, and a message of judgment was given to the prophet; that message declared that the sin of the people had reached a climax: they had trifled with convictions, and henceforward the words of God’s servants would harden rather than awaken them. “Make the heart of this people fat, and

make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes,” &c. (Isaiah 6:9-10), till the desolating judgments had fallen. The general drift of the present vision is similar; the days of warning are over: the plagues which now fall will fall on those who have trifled with convictions: the sanctuary which was opened as a refuge is now closed: none can enter till the plagues have descended. The time has come when the judgments of God fail to stir the conscience which has been deadened by sin; the day when the gracious influences towards repentance was felt has passed. The word that has been spoken is about to descend in judgment (John 7:48). “Who shall not pray, with an agony of earnestness, From hardness of heart and contempt of Thy word and commandment, good Lord, deliver us?” (Dr. Vaughan).5. PULPIT, “And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power. The "smoke" suggests

(1) the cloud, or Shechiuah, the symbol of God's presence and glory (cf. Exo_16:10 : Exo_24:16);

(2) the sign of God's active operation (Exo_19:18);

(3) the token of judgment and calamity (Isa_14:31; Psa_18:8; Rev_14:11). All three significations receive their fulfilment in this place. And no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled; should be finished (Revised Version). Just as when God manifested his presence on Sinai the people were not allowed to approach, so here no one is allowed to approach the ?a?´? , the dwelling place of God, while he is manifesting his judgments. The description is intended to convey an impression of the awful sacredness of God's presence. (For the explanation of the parts of this verse, see on previous verses.)

Footnotes:a. Revelation 15:3 Some manuscripts agesb. Revelation 15:4 Phrases in this song are drawn from Psalm 111:2,3; Deut. 32:4; Jer. 10:7; Psalms 86:9; 98:2.New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.