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LECTURE X.

REV. v. 9, 10. "And they sung a new song saying, thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.”

There is such harmony, beauty and knowledge, in every part of the word of God, that the bible student, whose heart is interested in the same, has often, while reading, been led to stop and admire the order, wisdom and light which burst upon his enraptured vision, at the unfolding of the figures and truths which until that moment, perhaps, lay in darkness, doubt, and obscurity, and seemed to be wrapt up in a mysterious veil that almost makes the reader quail and come to the conclusion that he is treading on forbidden ground; but, perhaps, in an unexpected moment, the inspired penman, seemingly having anticipated our ignorance or darkness, throws out a spark of that live coal which had touched his lips, and our darkness is dispelled, ignorance vanishes before the fulness of knowledge of the word of God, and we stand reproved and admonished for our stupidity and ignorance in the figures and truths before explained. Our text is a brilliant spark of that fire which is upon the altar between the cherubims, and gives us a clear ray of light to discover the allusion of the figures contained in the fourth and fifth chapter of this book. It is conveyed unto us by way of a chorus, like the angels' song at the birth of our Saviour in Bethlehem of Judea. It explains to us in a divine song what the four beasts are, and gives a key to unlock the mystery of the twenty-four elders, and clearly shows who opens the seals of the book. I shall, in illustrating this subject, inquire

I. Who they were that sung this new song?
II. Show the song and the occasion of it, and
III. Speak of the reign and the place where.

I. We are to inquire who are the singers in this grand chorus? The prophet calls them " the four beasts," or as it might have been more properly translated, four animte beings; and the "four and twenty elders," he also calls them "saints." See the 8th verse, "And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of the saints." Then comes in our text, " And they sung a new song," &c. The four beasts is a figurative representation of the whole New Testament church, not only in character but in chronology representing the four different stages of trial, through which the church should pass in her pilgrimage in the wilderness of this world, before she would enter the visible kingdom of her glorious Redeemer, the New Jerusalem, and reign on the earth. And every individual christian, who may live any length of time after his conversion, passes through some or all of these states of trial. The four and twenty elders are the twelve patriarchs which are sometimes called prophets, and the twelve apostles of the Lamb. For it is said, we are built on the prophets and apostles, Jesus Christ being the chief corner stone, and figuratively it may represent the faithful and true ministers of Jesus Christ, the same as the twenty-four courses of the priesthood under the Jewish economy. See I. Chron. xxiv. 7-19. And the four beasts are typified by the four grand divisions of the Jewish camp under Moses. The first on the east, was to follow the standard of Judah; that on the south side, and second in the march, was the standard of Reuben; on the west side, Ephraim and his, was the third standard in the march; on the north side was Dan's standard, and Dan brought up the rear in the march of the Jews through the wilderness. What their several standards were, I cannot tell except that of Judah, which marched in front, immediately after the ark, which in all probability was a lion. And our "first beast" under consideration. was "like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle." These represent the four grand divisions of the gospel church. The first represents the church in the apostolic age, when the church went forth bold as a lion, preaching and proclaiming the gospel among all nations. The second state or division of the church, was the times of persecution and slaughter by

the Roman emperors, represented by the calf. The third state of the church was in Constantine's day, when the church enjoyed privileges as a man, and became independent, and like a natural man, proud, avaricious and worldly. The fourth and last state of trial was when the anti-christian beast arose, and under the scourge of this abomination the church having two wings given her, like the wings of an eagle, she flew into the wilderness where a place being prepared for her she is nourished from the face of the serpent a thousand two hundred and three score days. Rev. xii. 6, 14.

This of course would include the whole christian church until Christ's second coming, when anti-Christ will be destroyed, and the church delivered from all her foes, and brought into her New Jerusalem state, where John now sees in his vision the whole family of the redeemed singing the grand chorus as in the verses following our text. "And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousands and thousands of thousands." In this vision John has the same view which Daniel had in his vision. See Daniel vii. 10. Daniel saw the same throne, and the same numbers stood before it, which proves, almost beyond a doubt, that Daniel's vision carries us into the eternal, immortal and glorified state; for John in the next verses carries us into the eternal state of the righteous.

12th verse, "Saying with a loud voice, worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever. And the four beasts said, amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth forever and ever." Nothing can be more evident than that John here saw the whole family of the redeemed, as they will be after the first resurrection; for he gives the several situations of every part of the whole family as they actually were, that is, in body or the situation of their bodies at that very time when he was writing, "every creature," that is in person, in their bodies as they will be after the resurrection. Not all mankind,

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as some vainly suppose, but those who are redeemed, or who may hereafter be redeemed, 'out of every kindred, [and tongue, and people, and nation." See our text. If it had been "all nations," &c. he would not have said "out of," &c. Therefore we must take the whole in connection. But John saw every creature whose bodies then were some of them in heaven, as Enoch and Elijah; every creature who was then alive on the earth, like himself and brethren; every body of the saints that had slept and been buried under ground, or in the sea, and all the saints who were yet in the loins of their fathers. In one word, he saw the whole general assembly, and church of the first born, whose names were written in the Lamb's book of life. These four beasts are the same living creatures which Isaiah saw when he had a view of the glory of God. Isa. vi. 1-3, "In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims; each one had six wings: with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory." Ezekiel also saw the same living creatures that Isaiah calls "seraphims," and John "four beasts." Ezekiel calls them "cherubims.” Ezek. i. and x. chapters. John says, Rev. iv. 8, " And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him," the same as Isaiah's "seraphims." These wings are the graces of the spirit, as is strongly implied by Ezekiel i. 12, "And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go they went; and they turned not when they went." "With two they covered their face," humility and repentance; "with two they covered their feet," that is, they walked by two of the graces, faith and patience, faith in God and patient in tribulation, "and with two they did fly," hope and love. They "mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary, walk and not faint," says the prophet Isaiah xl. 31. And again John says, they were "full of eyes before and behind, and they were full of eyes within." Showing that they would have just views of sin, of God, and his word, and of themselves: they could look back and see their sins, and the pit from which they had been delivered, and with gratitude remember their Redeemer. They could with eyes of faith look

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forward and believe in the promises of God, and have a view of the glory that shall be revealed at his second coming. With eyes within, they could look into their own hearts and see the remaining corruption and hidden depravity that lies lurking in every corner of the soul, and by this means put off the old man with his deeds. They are represented by John as being praying souls, "and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of saints." Every one had these vials, says John. How then, I ask, can the prayerless man or woman think to join this celestial throng?"Having every one of them harps," showing that all of them would have new hearts, be born of God; so they would be enabled to sing in the New Jerusalem state the new song.

These are the characters and persons which John saw represented by the four and twenty elders and the four beasts. I shall now

II. Show what we may understand by the new song the occasion of it.

and

The prophet John had been led by the Angel through seven different stages of the church, by the vision of the nystery of the seven stars and seven golden candlesticks, under the name of the seven churches of Asia, which ought to be understood symbolically down to the time when the judge stands at the door ready to enter into the supper of the great God, when all wicked flesh will be destroyed, and till the marriage supper of the Lamb arrives, when all the righteous will be raised, enter into the glorified state, and live and reign with him on earth. Then it is perfectly natural that after we had read the history of the church through all her trials, persecutions, and imperfections, we should be led to see her deliverance on the other side of the banks of Jordan, or beyond the power of death, and to hear a part at least of that new song which no man can sing unless he is redeemed from the earth.

In the second and third chapters of Revelation, we have the history of the church, as I have endeavored to show in my lectures on the churches. In the fourth and fifth chapters we have a view of the glorified state, and the characters given of those who will enjoy the privilege of that state, the song which will employ the golden harps, and the place where. The characters I have already given. The song is represented as a new song. It is new because it is sung only in that state where all things are

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