meekness, Moses caught the likeness of what he saw. The character of his God was impressed on him. He could not be angry with any when God was so patient with all, he became " very meek." This is just the apostle's idea, "from glory to glory." For it is the Christian's experience still. God's glory is His goodness, His loving-kindness, His patience, His mercy, His truth. And we as we know Him in Christ, become good as He is good. In beholding, in admiring, in adoring, we become like the Blessed Object of our worship. It is sometimes asked, Where is the security for holiness on the principle of the gospel? It does not appeal to self-interest, it does not hold out escape from hell, or the attainment of heaven as the reward of goodness. Men cannot be made really good by such means; for real goodness is likeness to God. And the fear of hell, though set before us all day long, will never produce this result; nor will the hope of happiness hereafter. To be made like God, we must be brought "The Spirit of the Lord" does this for us by And as the softened wax receives the face to face with Him. revealing Christ in our hearts. impression of the seal, these hearts melted by His gracious power receive the impression of the goodness of our God. Let us learn from this scripture what real glory is. Power, wealth, intellectual greatness, are but tinsel; real glory in God or man is, to be good. The tinsel shall soon fade. "So sleeps the pride of former days, So glory's thrill is o'er; And hearts that once beat high for praise, Shall feel that pulse no more." God's glory fadeth not; and that of His people (for they are like Him) is as enduring as His own. PHILIPPIANS I. 6. "Being confident of this very thing that He who hath begun a good work in you, will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." HERE is very much that is profitable, and as consoling as profitable. "A good work.' Where? "In you," i. e., in the heart of man. What is a good work? We may see it in its opposite. If we tempt a man to sin, if we familiarise him with evil, if we lead him to do what he would once have shrunk from, it is a bad work, the worst we can perform. If we lead a man out of sin to God, shewing him sin's true character, teaching him to know God, to feel the power of His love, and to fix his hopes on God's eternal recompense, we do a good work, the best we can perform. This is the work here referred to. It had been the apostle's work at Philippi, it is the work of every Christian still. But St Paul was not the real worker at Philippi. Mark his words -"He which hath begun a good work in you." God was the worker, the apostle was but His instrument. It was God who "opened the heart of Lydia, that she attended to the things" he spake. The case is the same still. The most earnest and zealous Christian cannot work in another's heart. To arouse the conscience, to appeal with power to the affections, to raise the hopes above a present world, to overcome and sway the will, is God's work; He, and He alone, can "order the unruly wills and affections of sinful men." Real religion is thus in all generations the same. It is the same objectively; righteous Abel had the same object of faith with ourselves. It is the same subjectively; God is its author, its only author in the heart of man. And There is great consolation here, for "He who hath begun will perform." Are we sure? I am "confident of this very thing," says St Paul. He will not begin and leave unfinished. He will not forsake the work of His own hands. To perform means to carry on. how long will He carry on this good work in His people's hearts? "Till the day of Jesus Christ." They shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels." And the jewels made up in that day supposes the work finished. 66 A king's coronation is at hand, and his jewels are being prepared. We see the royal jeweller busily engaged with rubies and diamonds, and we ask him why? He answers, They are my Sovereign's jewels, and I am preparing them for his use. Now "the kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king who made a marriage for his son." And the espousals and coronation are together. When "the marriage of the Lamb is come," He "shall sit upon the throne of His glory." And for that day of the gladness of His heart" His jewels are now being prepared. These jewels are His believing, His holy ones. And He who hath begun to prepare them for the day of glory will not cease His work till that day arrive. 66 There is much to cheer in this thought. If God has taught us anything of our sinfulness, and anything of His love; if He has taught us to look to Him as a Father, and put our trust in His grace, we may be "confident of this very thing," that He will perform the work He has begun. Only let us not be dismayed at the means He makes use of for performing it. Years as they roll on, may bring with them anxiety, sorrow, bereavement, but no strange thing is happening to us. "Earthly care is a heavenly discipline." And grievous as it often is to nature, and very grievous as sorrow and bereavement are, they are the polishing of the stones of grace. If we endure them, God dealeth with us as with sons. The Lord Jesus shall soon be revealed in His glory. Exalted then with Him who died for us, jewels in His crown of brightness, we shall look back from the light of eternity on all our course in time, and understand the reason of the severest dealings of our God. There shall be no murmuring, no repining there. The GLAD Consciousness that we are His-made meet for HIS USE-FOR EVER, shall make rich amends for all our sorrows now.* *The above three "Notes" are part of an admirable series of Bible-class exercises by the Rev. W. Tait, Rugby. Reviews. Expounded by F. B. HOOPER, The Revelation of Jesus Christ by John. Rector of Upton Warren. Two vols. THAT these two massive octavos are the fruit of much thought, much research, and much labour, no one, we are sure, will question. They bear the mark of all these characteristics in every chapter. Adopting what one might in some respects call an ultra-præterist view of the Apocalypse, the author treats his fellow-commentators with fairness, receiving or rejecting their expositions without heat or dogmatism. Yet though we can so far write favourably of the work, we must add that we dissent from nearly the whole of it. When we received it, we thought of entering into a full and minute examination of it. But we soon found this, we may say, impossible; our points of divergence or opposition being so numerous, and our points of agreement so few. We thought also of making extracts from the body of the work, as specimens of the author and illustrations of his system. But we consider it better on the whole-fairer both to the author and to our readers to give at length a page or two of the very minute and detailed “Contents" prefixed to the work. We take the author's analysis of the concluding chapters of the work : D. I: v. 1. DESCENT OF AN ANGEL. Angel-Jesus.-Coming: an indication of a progressive work.-A chain part of the machinery only, D. II v. 2-3. BINDING OF DRAGON. Parallelism with xii. 9.-The dragon, &c.: significations of the four appellations. And bound him. Nature of the binding must be appropriate to the thing signified, and correlative to the loosing in xii. 9: a withdrawal of Satan's liberty to possess men, and to stir up persecution. Wemyss and Wordsworth q.-Satan's three downfalls.-1000 years: not symbolical: not indefinite.-Cast him, &c.: restraint put upon Satan comparative, not complete.-Not deceive ANY MORE. Hence the meaning is to be learnt from the previous descriptions of his deceiving. These indicate deluding the heathen into enticing or coercing the Lord's people to swerve from their allegiance.-Loosed, D. III: v. 4-5. 1ST RESURRECTION, &C. 386 387 v. 4. vv. 4-6 not an Interlude.-Thrones implies kingly judges.—I beheld: where? not on the earth, but in the heaven. Hence the millennial reign must be in heaven.-They were seated. Who? The expression not indefinite. Not the 24 elders:' nor the saints:' nor'angels' nor the presence-angels:' but Jesus and "his martyrs." The construction.-Judgment was given: to, on, or by them? Ans. "Power of passing sentence was given." Who receive the sentence? Not the martyrs, but the confessors. Hermas q.-The souls. Not "the murdered souls," but a symbol of martyrs. Stuart's arguments examined. Inferences.-Beheaded. An indication of martyrs under pagan Rome. They who worshipped not, &c. No distinction can be made into classes. Refers to the 144,000, &c. This an independent sentence.-Both lived. Not "lived again," but rose to a higher life.-And reigned with Christ:-were admitted to the highest honours of the celestial state, 394 v. 5. The rest. Who? Not "the godless dead;" but the righteous, who had not been confessors.- Until implies their resurrection at the end of the 1000 years.--This is the first resurrection. The meaning expressed fully. The doctrine :-a translation of confessors of Christ under the beast from hades to heaven 1000 years before the main body of the righteous dead. Proofs: I. from the Apoc. II. from the N. T. at large. III. An objection considered.-A paraphrase of this Division, D. IV: v. 6. AN INTERLUDE. Blessed and holy in a high sense.-They shall be, &c. Congruity with i. 6: v. 10, INTERPRETATIONS OF FIRST RESURRECTION AND MILLENNIAL REIGN. Six theories and their history briefly stated.-1. Premillenarians' theory of a corporeal resurrection, and reign with Christ on earth. Arguments in refutation: Stuart's and Hengstenberg's: 17 advanced by Brown and other Postmillenarians.-2-4. Three theories based, more or less, on the figurative hypothesis. Postmillenarians' theory of a reign of principles. 24 arguments in refutation : 4 others advanced by Birks and other Premillenarians. Wordsworth's arguments in support of his views refuted.-5. Stuart's theory of a reign in heaven. -6. Hengstenberg's theory of a first stage of bliss in heaven, the second and higher stage being on earth. This view refuted.-Summary interpretation of the millennial passage. Objections answered from Hengstenberg, D. V: v. 7-8. RESULTS OF LOOSING. S. shall be loosed: correlatively to his binding. Stuart's and Hengstenberg's views.-Out of his prison: what place intended.-The four corners, &c. The notions of the Easterns respecting the country of Yajooj and Majooj.-Gog, &c. Their history sketched, D. VI: v. 9. THE GOGIAN INVASION. Encompassed, &c.: the heart of Christendom endangered.-Fire, &c.: symbolic of an interposition of Providence. Precedents. Asc. Esaia. 4 Ezra xiii. The Targums, D. VII: v. 10. SATAN'S FINAL DOOM. Termination of attacks on Christendom, 408 417 420 435 440 443 446 An objection to the chronological adjustments answered, Historical application. 1. The unimpeded growth of the Church to A.D. 1500. 2. The invasions of Christendom by the Seljukian Turks circa A.D. 1070, and by the Ottomans circa A.D. 1476: applicability of the designation Gog and Magog: epoch and durations. Summary, 447 Coincidences with Gog, Objection from the mixing up of the two Dispensations answered: the junction of the two Mysteries indicated, Interpretations of 7th seal-period, PART V. CONCLUSION to the MYSTERY OF GOD: XX. 11-15. (c). FINAL SCENE OF JUDGMENT. HEPTAD XXV: xx. 11-15. Introductory remarks. 1. This tableau is identical with that of iv-v. 2. This scene follows in close chronological order on that which precedes it. 3. The epoch of this scene coincides with the termination of the last. 4. This scene neither precedes the millennium, nor follows at a remote distance from it, D. I; v. 11. VANISHING OF UNIVERSE. 452 453 459 461 Him, &c. Jesus.-The heaven, &c., i.e., the symbolical, denoting the full end of the Jewish Dispensation, 466 D. II: v. 12. RESURRECTION OF JUST. The dead, i. e., 'the rest' of the righteous. Rolls: a symbol of records of works, &c.-Another of the just: shews, that the just appear in this judgment, 469 D. III: v. 12. JUDGMENT OF JUST. Degrees of bliss according to their works,' . 471 D. IV: 13. RESURRECTION OF UNJUST. The sea, those raised from it must be the wicked.-Death and Hades give up their souls, 471 D. V: v. 13. JUDGMENT OF UNJUST. The differences, as cpd. with v. 12, confirm the view taken, 473 D. VI: 14. ANNIHILATION OF HADES. 474 474 Symbolises the consummation, D. VII: v. 15. THE SECOND DEATH, PART VI. SUPPLEMENT to the TWO MYSTERIES: XXI.-XXII. 5. (3). THE NEW JERUSALEM. HEPTAD XXVI. Introductory remarks. Is an earthly or a heavenly state symbolised? HEPTADAL PRELUDE: vv. 1-9, A new heaven, &c. Not to be taken literally: significations: realisation.-Passed away: not "limited to the desolations caused by sin:" exactitude of expression.-Sea no longer no persecuting worldpower.-Is. lxv. 17.-New Jerusalem: the 3 cities representative of Judaism, Heathenism, and Christianity.-Descending: the salient point: denotes entering on a state of progressive purification.—The city the Church, and not merely individuals.-As a bride: directs to xix. 7, but the epochs are not identical.-The tabernacle of God. The prototype a temple in heaven. Abstract and exposition of Heb. viii-xiii. Intimate communion with God within the Church denoted. -God will wipe, &c.: denotes chiefly exemption from spiritual evils: a refutation of futurist millenarian views. — The first things: i.e., those of the first Dispensation.- Write, &c.: points to xix. 9: xxii. 6. They are done: meaning, reference, and realisation.-Life gratuitously: the doctrine of free grace proclaimed at the Reformation. A contrast with the millennial period.-Conquers: implies persecution.-Inherit: an allusion to Christ's death. I will be, &c.: 2 Sa. vii. 14. The faint-hearted = time-servers. -Faithless unbelievers and mere professors.-Abominable" the effeminate," &c.— Murderers and fornicators: not to be taken spiritually.-Wizards =all superstitious practices.-Idolaters, i.e., practically.-Liars : those specially who hold not "the truth."-Arrangement and cpn. with ix. 20-21 and xxii. 16.—Applicability to the times of the Reformation.-Vv. 5-8 digressive. One of the seven: why.-The Lamb's wife, Introductory remark, THE HEPTAD-PROPER. D. I: v. 10. SEER'S TRANSLATION. To a mountain. Appropriate places of vision. The site has reference to the thing seen, rather than to the seer. Shews, that heaven is not the locality. The signification.-The glory of God God's special presence, D. II: v. 11-17. THE EXTERIOR. = D. III: 18-23. DETAILS IN AND OUT. The superstructure=the excellence of the doctrines, &c. on experience. 477 479 507 507 509 |