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SONNET V.

The Same.-Rev. iv, 6-8.

These very creatures wrapt Ezekiel saw

(Ezek. i. x. xliii.)

Upbear the throne, when he by Chebar's stream

Gat sights of God: in them those cherubim (Ezek. x. 20.)

He recogniz'd, with whom God did withdraw,

To dwell in the Holiest place, that place of awe,

Where never enter'd light of lamp nor beam
Of day. They are the same who with the gleam
Of flaming sword kept Eden, when God's law,

Our father brake, and o'er the sacred strand
Was driven of God. And is it not foretold,

That when the church in utmost need shall stand, He who the heaven's bow'd, and forth of old

On cherub rode, once more shall bare his brand, And ride on cherub strong to save his fold?

(Gen. iii.)

(Ps. xviii.)

SONNET VI.

The Same.-Rev. iv. 6, 7, 8.

The Place Holy wherein these creatures dwelt,

(Heb. ix.)

Was but the emblem of that city bright
Where dwells the church with God in God's own light.
Such too, was Eden, where no curse was felt;

Nor ever shall be in that city, built

Of lively stones, elected men; whose right
Is ever to behold with open sight,

The glory of the Lamb, to them forth dealt

As unto none besides: whom for his wife With his good Spirit, the ris'n Lord doth seal, Till the redemption of this mortal life ; When, like these living creatures, she shall feel

(Rev. xxii. 3.)

(xxi. 9, 10.)

One heart, one soul, one mind with Christ; all rife With his desire to work creation's weal.

SONNET VII.

The same Subject.-Rev. iv. 6, 7, 8.

We are the body of God's holiness,

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The sanctu'ry of his strength; and do upbear
The glory of his throne; and ever hear,
Or feel, by mystic union, all the bliss
Of his most secret counsels, and express

His mind to every creature: Therefore near,
Within His very throne, we dwell, and wear
Those eyes of intuition, and that dress

Of power, from olden time deriv'd; when God abode Within Jeshurun's tents, and nations smote,

In squadrons four the wilderness they trod, (Num. ii. 2.) With eagle, lion, ox, and man fair wrought,

On standards four, o'er which Jehovah rode : Wherefore the church retains that fourfold note.

SONNET VIII.

The four-and-twenty Elders.-Rev. iv. 4.

And round about the throne, in order set,

Were other thrones, twice twelve; whereon in state
Sat elders crown'd, array'd like priests who wait

Upon God's temple, and their glory get

From looking on His glory: They are met
Creation's lords to greet, the Lamb, who late

Went forth from heaven to save with peril great
The sinful earth, and now, with blood all wet,

Returns to claim his prize, bought with the cost
Of wounds and sufferings vast. In circle round
The elders and the throne, th' angelic host,
Myriads on myriads, stand: all creatures found
In earth or sea are there, and those who boast
Of heav'n, or dwell in deeps profound.

LECTURE XIII.

JESUS CHRIST THE REDEEMER.

REV. V. 6-14.

And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. 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 odours, which are the prayers of saints. 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. 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 thousand, and thousands of thousands; 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. 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 honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped Him that liveth for ever and ever.

WE set forth in our former Lecture, that this action of our blessed Lord, whereby he possesseth himself of the sealed book in the hand of God, and openeth its seven

seals, and by seven acts of power, dispossesseth the beast and the false prophet, and all their adherents, of the earth, and with his raised saints occupieth the thrones, and ruleth it in righteousness, is nothing else than the fulfilment of another integrant part of the Redeemer's office, to redeem the inheritance according to the ancient ordinance of the Goel, or redeemer, laid down in the Book of Leviticus (ch. xxv), and exemplified in the act of Boaz, recorded in the Book of Ruth (ch. iv), and in that of Jeremiah, recorded in the thirty-first chapter of that Prophet. If this be the true interpretation of the delivery of the sealed-book into the hands of the Lamb slain, there ought to be found in the Old Testament, prophetical anticipations and typical significations of this great action of redeeming the earth, which is deemed of such weighty importance as to be made the subject of such a magnificent scene in the court of heaven. Of these there be many, from amongst which we select the following.

First, the manner of bringing the children of Israel into the possession of the inheritance of the promised land, was a wonderfully exact type of the transaction before us. To understand this, it is necessary to remember that the book of the Old Testament contained no more of the Scripture, than what is written in the xxth, xxist, xxiid, and xxiiid chapters of the Book of Exodus. These four chapters containing laws, moral, ecclesiastical, and political, were included in one book or roll, which the children of Israel having heard, swore to keep; and the oath was confirmed by blood of bulls and of goats, sprinkled both upon the book and upon all the people (Exod. xxiv). And this book thus consecrated with blood, was laid up on the side of the ark, and is that which in Scripture is commonly signified by the book of the law. Now we have the authority of the Apostle Paul (Heb. ix), for calling this a Testament, the Old Testament, in contrast with the New Testament; which was ratified with the blood of Christ, and sealed up unalterably by the death of the testator. Accordingly, if we examine that document as it is contained in the four chapters referred to above, we find that it is after the nature of a bequest, bestowing upon them the land of promise (Exod. xxiii. 23-31), and securing them in it for ever, upon the condition of their

keeping the laws, moral, judicial, and political, therein laid down. That was the land of Canaan, whereof the bounds are precisely described in the deed itself; and of which God declares by the mouth of Moses (Deut. xxxii. 8), that when he divided the earth among the sons of Adam, he reserved this portion for his people Israel. Here, therefore, is the Old Testament, which in all respects was such a type of the new, that the one is commonly expressed in terms of the other. It is the language of the Scripture, and the current language of the church, that we are passing through the wilderness, fed with the manna of heaven, followed by the waters of the rent rock of Christ, and sojourning towards the land of promise, the heavenly Canaan. Such language is authorised by the Apostle (1 Cor. x; Heb. iii. iv), and by our Lord's discourse (John vi), and by the Apocalypse (ch. xii); and by the cumulative proof of a thousand types, whose collective force the Christian church hath in no age thought of doubting. Seeing, then, that on all hands it is allowed that Canaan bequeathed to the children of Israel by the Old Testament, is the proper type of the inheritance bequeathed to the spiritual church by the New Testament, confirmed in the blood of Christ, we may well expect that the giving possession of the former should shadow forth. the giving possession of the latter, as set forth in the transaction before us.

When the children of Israel had accomplished the forty years' sojourn in the wilderness, according to the sharpedged word of the Lord, which he spake on the day of provocation, and every man of stature who provoked the Lord, save Caleb and Joshua, had fallen in the desert; and those who were then children, had crossed Jordan and been circumcised; "they kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho. And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day. And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year." These signs sufficiently declare that the wilderness dispensation was at an end, and that a new dispensation in the history of the people

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