foreign from their expectation; so he assigns them the measure of their success, setting before them, on various occasions," an open door, which no man can shut."* (Speak of the angel of the church of Philadelphia.)

II. The import of his walking in the midst of the golden candlesticks.

1. It imports an accurate inspection of the state [of every church], both as a society and as individuals. "I know thy works," is a declaration with which he frequently prefaces his admonitory epistles. Nothing in the behaviour of christian churches escapes his notice, whose " eyes are as a flame of fire." He remarks the attention, or inattention, with which his messages are received; he observes who are formal and lukewarm, and who fervent and sincere in their worship; who are diligent in their attendance on the means of grace, and who are glad to avail themselves of trivial excuses for neglecting them. He notices all the different degrees of seriousness which professing christians bring into the divine service. There is not a sigh from the contrite, not a tear of penitential sorrow, or of tender joy, that escapes his notice. "He looks not at outward appearances, but at the heart." He perceives the difference betwixt those churches which have left their "first love," and those who are diligently pressing on to perfection; betwixt those that are indifferent to the extension of his kingdom, and those who are

*Rev. iii. 8.

incessantly labouring and praying for its enlargement; those who decline to the paths of error, and "hold the doctrine which he hates," and those who "hold fast the form of sound words."

2. His walking amongst them implies that his business, so to speak, lies in the management of his churches. It is his "building," his "husbandry." The interest of his church is peculiarly his interest, in the maintenance of which his presence and grace are especially exerted. He walks amongst the churches as a proprietor in his field.

He superintends the affairs of the world, but always with a view to the enlargement and prosperity of his church. The church is his mystical body, with which he is most intimately and inseparably united. He rules the world by his sceptre, but he gladdens the church by his presence. The former consists only of his subjects, this of his brethren and sisters.

3. His walking amongst them denotes the complacency he takes in them. Something of complacency seems to be implied in this expression, "I will set my tabernacle among you and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people." +

(Apply the whole.)

* 1 Cor. iii. 9.

† Lev. xxvi. 11, 12.

392

XLI.

NO TEMPLE IN HEAVEN.

REV. xxi. 22. And I saw no temple therein for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.

THIS book contains a prophecy of the state of the church, from the time in which it was communicated, to the consummation of all things. It includes the principal revolutions to which it was to be subject, and the assaults it was to sustain, during a series of ages, from the time of John to the end of the world. The chapter out of which my text is taken, is, with great probability, considered as a description of the heavenly world. In the chapter preceding, we have a striking description of the day of judgement. " And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works."* After this, a new heaven and a new earth are described, very similar to the language of Peter: "For we look for a new heaven, and a new earth, in which dwelleth righteousness." The perfection of the state represented here is such as

*Rev. xx. 11, 12.

"And

can agree only with the heavenly world. God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. "'* Among the other privileges, access to the tree of life is specified, evidently denoting a state of immortality. "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city."

Considering this as a description of the heavenly state, we shall first endeavour to point out the meaning and import of this declaration, and next attempt some practical improvement.

I. Let us endeavour to point out the meaning and import of this declaration, " I saw no temple therein," &c.

1. It cannot be intended to insinuate that heaven will not be a state of devotion. It is in every part of the word of God, and in this book in particular, represented as a state of the highest and most exalted devotion. Devotion will then be carried to its highest perfection. The absence of the temple does not denote the absence of devotion: as it is the noblest employment of creatures here, it is impossible to suppose it will be neglected in the heavenly world.

2. Nor is it intended to intimate, that there will not be most glorious and supernatural manifesta

*Rev. xxi. 4.

Rev. xxii. 14.

Rev. xv. 2, 3; xiv. 2, 3.

tions of God in that state. Having the glory of God is a most distinguishing part of its description. The peculiar presence of God is announced as one of its peculiar privileges.* "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell amongst them." Contrasting the present with the future state, the apostle says, "Now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face: then shall I see as I am seen, and know as I am known."

The import of this declaration may probably be expressed in the following particulars. There will be no place in the celestial world, distinguished by peculiar tokens of the divine presence above others.

(1.) A temple is a building set apart exclusively for the honour of God, where he was accustomed to manifest his presence in a visible symbol, in distinction from other places. The ancient temple was divided into three compartments. The court, at the door of which stood the brasen altar of burnt offering. To this the victims were brought, and the Israelitish people had had access. The second was the court of the priests, at the farthest end of which stood, on one side, the golden altar of incense, and on the other the table of the shew-bread. This it was the prerogative of the priests only to enter. It was styled, in distinction from the other," the Holy Place." The third was the Sanctum Sanctorum, or "Holy of Holies," where was placed the mercy-seat, surrounded on each side by the cherubim, whose wings were stretched

*Rev. xxi. iii.