great voice, as of a trumpet: And I turned, fays he, to jee the voice of him that spake unto me. And being turned, I faw feven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the feven candlefticks one like the Son of Man, cloathed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. 4. IT may not be amifs to make a few fhort remarks upon the whole paffage:-1 faw one like the Son of Man. The very name which is given to our Lord in the Book of Daniel, and to which Book many of the descriptions in the Revelations refer. So Daniel fays,-I saw, in the night vifions, and, behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven *. The fame title which our Lord gives himself, and, therefore, he will appear in our glorifed nature, and in the form in which he suffered. That glorified humanity is the bleffed medium betwixt us and the pure Deity, and, without which, there could be no harmony, no union. His garment and girdle are emblems of his priestly office; an aufpicious form for us, indeed, seeing he hath engaged to atone and plead for finners. His head, and his hairs, were white like wool, as white as snow. This character denotes him to be the Ancient of Days, and fhews his awful gravity, dignity, and fublime wisdom, and whofe counfels are from everlafting-who worketh all things according to the counfel of his own will. His eyes are as a flaming fire, which denote his keen, piercing knowledge-searching the hearts, and trying the reins, of the children of men. Flaming fire feems an awful emblem of his divine indignation against fin, and against such as shall be found his enemies at his glorious appearing. * Dan. vii. 13. 5. His 5. His feet, like unto fine brafs, as if they burned in the furnace; by which, we may understand, the stately and clear steps of his providence, which will then be clearly feen; for all will be permanent, and clear, and made vifible to every eye. His feet may denote his irresistible power, to tread down all oppofition, whether from men or devils. Let the potsherds ftrive with the potsherds, every creature with its own rank; but woe to him that fhall perfift in ftriving with his Maker. For he will now fpeak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his fore displeasure and his voice as the founding of many waters. The voice by which he will call all nations together, which those that are in their graves fhall hear and come forth: For now, the mighty God, even Jehovah, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rifing of the fun until the going down thereof. All fhall hear, and all muft obey, the dreadful fummons-none so great as to be excufed-none fo fmall as to be overlooked; but we must all come forth. This voice may likewife denote the dreadful sentence which he will pass upon the ungodly; loud and terrible, indeed; and, like rushing waters, not only loud and dreadful, but irrefiftible, impetuous-no fooner pronounced but executed; fwift, as the lightning, are they driven away in their wickednefs, and plunged into the lake which burneth with fire and brimftone for ever! 6. He had in his right hand feven stars.-The right hand is a proverbial phrafe, to fignify his power and readineis to help, and the safe protection of such as he keeps. The feven flars, as we are told, are the angels, or chief ministers, * Pfalm 1. *. minifters, of the feven churches, and may fignify all his faithful minifters, till time fhall be no more. Stars are for guides, figns, and feafons; fo are the true ministers of a glorious Immanuel: and these he keeps as the apple of his eye, and will cause them to shine as the brightness of the firmament, and as the ftars, for ever and ever *. 7. OUT of his mouth went a fharp two-edged fword.This sword may refer to the word of the Gospel, which is faid to be quick and powerful-Sharper than any twoedged word, piercing, even to the dividing asunder of foul and Spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a difcerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart t. But observe, it is twofavour of life unto life, edged, and, therefore, is either the or of death unto death. Or, the fword may fignify his awful juftice, now to be declared, and executed, upon his enemies. As he fays, If I whet my glittering fword, and mine hand take hold on judgment, I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me ‡. 8. AND his countenance was as the fun shining in his ftrength-Exceeding glorious to fuch as have owned him for their Lord; but dreadful to fuch as are found rebels against him. And when I saw him I fell at his feet as dead. The amazing effulgence quite overcame him, so that he fainted away; and Oh! my poor fellow-finner, if the beloved difciple, now grown old, and a fufferer in the fervice of his Divine Master, could not withstand the fight of that dazzling glory,-what will become of thee when he comes cloathed in terror, and majesty, to execute vengeance on fuch as know him not, but have defpised all the gracious efforts of mercy and love? *Dan. xii. 4. † Heb. iv. 12. Deut. xxxii. 41. 9. BUT 9. BUT he laid his right hand upon me, the fure token of love and favour, faying, Fear not; I am the firft and the laft; I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore: Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. This laft verfe identifies the Perfon, and infallibly affures us who he is, and gives fweet encouragement to fuch as fly to him for refuge. The fum of this august defcription is to fhew, that every thing of wisdom, power, majesty, , grace, and love, are found in Him who died for a ruined race, and will now be the Judge of heaven and earth, the living and the dead, and, at whose awful bar, we must all shortly appear. II. Secondly, I now come to confider the parties to be judged; and that is,-All the human race; all who have lived, all who do, or shall live. The fea muft give up her dead-and death, and hades, muft give up their dead, that all may be judged, every man according to their works. Whether they be loft, or faved, I appre hend, is an affair which is determined at their leaving the prefent world, feeing as the tree falls fo it muft lie, and, as death leaves the foul, judgment is fure to find it ; but, as there are degrees of blifs or punishment (which must be according to their works) that awful day must bring thofe works to light, when every man's work must be made manifeft by fire, and the fire shall try every man's work of what fort it is. For as one ftar differeth from another star in glory, fo fhall it be in that day. We cannot fuppofe the Thief upon the Crofs will vie in glory * Rev. i. 12—19. with with Abraham or Mofes, or Samuel or Elijah; or the Infant, that juft emerged into life, looked round, and fhut its eyes, and was taken to paradife, will fhine like an Apoftle, who has endured the Crofs, defpifed the fhame, fought valiantly for his Lord, and refifted even unto blood, brought honour to his Master, and been the happy inftrument of bringing many fouls to glory. O, no; thefe, undoubtedly, must have a share of glory adequate to their labour and purity here. So, on the other hand, thofe who have had the opportunity of clearly knowing their master's will, and have not done it, but, on the contrary, have fet it at nought, and not only fo, but have been the unhappy means of leading or feducing others to ruin,-must be beaten with many stripes; that is, must have a feverer doom, a heavier punishment, than he who has not had the fame opportunities, or hath but juft neglected his own falvation, though even he must go away into everlasting punishment; and the leaft degree of that punishment is what I pray God, neither I, nor any I am addreffing, may ever feel. 2. This day muft exhibit an open, fair, and free trial, that every thing which has been done, either in fecret or open, may be clearly feen, to the honour or shame of the parties concerned; for, as all things are naked, and without a covering, before God,-fo will he make manifeft the fecrets of all hearts. O may it be deeply impresfed upon our hearts, as it was upon the heart of our Poet, when he faid, "I think of nothing elfe; I fee! I feel it! All Nature, like an earthquake, trembling round! All |