The Face of the Deep (on Revelation); Poems

2. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

According to one or other Version " In the midst of the street of it " either closes the first verse or opens the second.

If now I may treat it as opening ver. 2, it appears to belong to the revelation of where and how stood the Tree of Life; that figure of Christ Crucified for our salvation, and constituting Himself our Meat indeed and Drink indeed in the Sacrament of His most Blessed Body and Blood: which how should we name without words of love, yet how shall words of our love worthily name it?

With sevenfold powers. Our love at best is cold and poor, at best unseemly for Thy state,

This best of ours. Creatures that die, we yet are such as Thine own hands deigned to create:

We frail as flowers, We bitter bondslaves ransomed at a price incomparably great

(Why will we die?)— " Come and repent: come and amend: come joy the joys unsatiate " —

Perhaps the banyan tree (of which I have read) was created with its exceptional habit of self-multiplication in unbroken unity, to show us one natural tree capable of standing "in the midst... and on either side," for the more confirmation of our faith.

If, on the other hand, ver. 2 should be considered as not commencing until the words, "And on either side of the river," then the double (and no more than double) presence of the Tree of Life recalls to adoring love those Two Natures of our Redeemer, distinct whilst inseparable, which the Two Candle sticks upon Christian Altars are designed to express.

In the Revised Version a marginal reading substitutes " twelve crops " for " twelve manner of fruits." This alternative word bears witness to the inadequacy of eternity itself to empty into the creature's apprehension a full knowledge of the Creator: because the crops are yielded and the nations fed (see ch. ii. 7: and ver. 14 of the present ch.), satisfied, fed again, for ever and ever. For the twelve crops corresponding with the twelve months appear to provide for them, that is, for the entire year; but twelve months when heaven is in question seem perforce a figure not of the years of time but of some aspect of eternity. In accordance with which surmise I remark, that these mystical months being twelve are not paralleled by the thirteen moons of a temporal year, moons which wax and wane in an ever renewed incompleteness. That moon which was ordained to rule over the night, rules not the perpetual day.

The other reading, " twelve manner of fruits," reminds us that the flavour of the wilderness Manra is said to have been mysteriously adapted to the palate of each eater. And if the type, much more will the True Bread from Heaven satisfy and still excite and still appease every taste and craving of the many thousands of the perfected Israel; those tribes and families whose thousands of thousands dwell at last in the Lord's Tabernacle and rest upon His holy hill.

" And the leaves of the Tree were for the healing of the nations." — To this revelation, so mysterious by reason of its context, I attempt not to assign conjectual time or place. I rest in Christ's declaration even to His assembled Apostles:

" It is not for you to know the times or the seasons...." Still, something it does teach me if I learn from it that what ever the multitudes of the redeemed need, that our tender Saviour Himself becomes to them.

Lord Jesus, so long as seemeth Thee good, give us faith rather than knowledge, and hope than assurance. Feed us when we need feeding, heal us when we need healing. Grant us to find peace by conforming ourselves lovingly to Thy good Will and pleasure, peace here and peace hereafter. Amen.

3. And there shall be no more curse: but the Throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him:

4. And they shall see His face; and His Name shall be in

Where the Throne of God and of the Lamb is established in uncontested dominion; where His servants serve Him with no more fightings without or fears within; where in Beatific Vision they see His Face; where His Name is in their fore heads: there is and can be " no more curse."

What may I understand by " His Name shall be in their foreheads? " (If I may) I will not think of it as a Name then newly impressed there; but rather as the consummated, in effaceable, fully-developed glory of that Name into which the elect were once baptized in weakness who finally must bear it in power. To participate in the Name is (by adoption) to participate in the Nature (consider i St. Peter i. 2 — 4): to bear the Name in full view, " in their foreheads," is to show forth the restored Divine Image and Likeness before the face of all people. The forehead expresses thought, reason, intellect; and these supernaturalized by grace become wisdom in union with the Uncreated Wisdom. One Name, one Wisdom, one Love, with God: this is what we hope for — we dare not hope for less than this — when unto the God of gods we appear every one of us.

If the Name in the forehead do indeed (amongst whatever else) express the consummation of a gift conferred in Baptism, then surely day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment, the Divine Likeness should be developing, augmenting, deepening in each of us. The progressive work may be hidden, —

" Who ever saw the earliest rose first open her sweet breast? " —

and well is it that from our too self-conscious eyes it is hidden! but none the less line upon line, here a little and there a little, the transfiguring process must be going on: or else, woe is us! the latent likeness is inevitably weakening, diminishing, even if not yet ready to vanish away.

God, for Christ's sake, nerve us to stake all on the incon ceivable hope set before us.

Who shall stay their ruinous mass? Besotted, reckless, possessed, decoyed, They hurry to the dolorous pass.

O Lord Jesus, Who biddest us here serve Thee, and promisest that hereafter Thy servants shall serve Thee; make Thy command dear to us as Thy promise. Now give us grace to fulfil Thy command, and afterwards of exceeding grace fulfil to us Thy promise; that we may serve Thee now in love and then in love, and may see Thy Face of Love for ever and ever.

5, And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

" By night on my bed I sought Him Whom my soul loveth: I sought Him, but I found Him not." Night represents to us separation, privation, baffled endeavour, unsuccessful search: none of which will baulk heavenly bliss. "There shall be no night there."

Candle or light of sun is not for them whose whole body shall be full of light: such illumination from without applies not to children of light conformed to their Original. That which is outward is lent, and may be withdrawn: God's crowning gifts to His elect become so to say their attributes, inseparable from their persons to all eternity, "for the Lord God giveth them light."

" And they shall reign for ever and ever." — Joseph's dungeon was antechamber to the second throne-room of a kingdom: our own case, unless by our own fault. Bonds and bars seem a strange preparation for a throne, yet such they become when

God wills it. May it please Him by the weakness, endurance, inferiority, obedience, patience, of our present lot, to train us for future grandeur! A little here: all there. " Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His Holiness. For His anger endureth but a moment; in His favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning."

It is possible to be so disheartened by earth as to be deadened towards heaven. Israel groaning under the Egyptian bondage fell into such a temper: " Say unto the children of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments: and I will take you to Me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the Lord. And Moses spake so unto the children of Israel: but they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage."

O my God, by Whose loving Providence sorrows, difficulties, trials, dangers, become means of grace, lessons of patience, channels of hope, grant us good will to use and not abuse those our privileges; and of Thy great goodness keep us alive through this dying life, that out of death Thou mayest raise us up to immortality. For His sake Who is the Life, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

6. And lie said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to shew unto His servants the things which must shortly be done.

"These sayings are faithful and true": — "Write: for these words are true and faithful" (ch. xxi. 5). The two texts are nearly similar, but whilst that from the earlier chapter calls upon St. John to execute his prophetic office, the other goes on to mention God's "servants" in general. St. John's gift and glory are personal and unique; yet are the gift and glory of all saints like unto them. Apostles and Prophets take pre cedence among the brethren; yet are constituted such not for their own exclusive weal, but pointedly for the edifying of the body of Christ.

" Freely ye have received, freely give." " Go, and do thou likewise."

"The things which must shortly be done." — Shortly: never theless our Master Himself in condescension to His hearers once said: "After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them." On earth the word appears to be spoken from the viewpoint of time, in heaven from the viewpoint of eternity.

Creatures of time, such as were those whom Christ instructed, are as children, speaking as children, understanding as children, thinking as children. The full grown man of eternity puts away childish things.

O Lord our Wisdom, so teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Amen.

In so far as time is long, I comprehend that it suffices for the work of salvation. In so far as it is short, I comprehend that it contains not one superfluous moment.

7. Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

Here at first sight and according to what precedes and follows, the angel (ch. xxi. 9) might seem still to be the speaker. But rather with the Bride let us recognize the Voice of the Beloved, saying, " Open to Me." For what were it to us that another should come quickly? Or who but He Whom our soul loveth should pronounce upon us a benediction?

Even if in this and in much beside I be mistaken, I hope to be held at least in some degree excused. For not (please God) as courting error do I err, but rather as seeing very darkly through my glass.

O Gracious Master, Thou seekest us and we seek Thee: find us and be found of us. If not the illumination of Jacob, yet give us his good will and holy fear when he awaked out of sleep and said: " Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not. How dreadful is this place! " Everywhere Thou art present: teach us everywhere to discern Thee, rejoicing unto Thee with reverence. Amen.

Once before (ch. iii. u), our Lord being then undoubtedly the Speaker, He used the same words to the Church of Phila delphia, but followed by an injunction: " Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown." And twice hereafter shall we meet with the same promise of His coming vouchsafed by His own lips.

On this occasion we receive it coupled with a blessing on the very act which now by His grace we are endeavouring to perform, and which at the outset of this Book of Revelation (ch. i. 3) was commended to us under sanction of a similar blessing. For with the Father of Lights is no variableness, neither shadow of turning: He is the Same yesterday and to day and for ever. Thus Christ referred the lawyer simply to the old established Law for the terms of salvation: "A certain lawyer stood up, and tempted Him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And He said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live." And in St. John's First Epistle we read: " Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning."

So also in the Parable of the Two Sons, the injunction remained in force however long obedience was delayed: "Son, go work to-day in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but afterwards he repented, and went."

Once by night the Apostles supposed that they saw a spirit; and Jesus said unto them, "It is I, be not afraid." Once in the morning St. Mary Magdalene supposed that she talked with the gardener; and Jesus said unto her, "Mary."

If we had love like theirs the more we looked for Him the more we should behold Him. [Yet as I read not anywhere that any pious soul ever mistook for Jesus one who was not Jesus, so I beseech Him to forgive me the thought of my heart whereinsoever I err.]

" In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths."

He saith to me, He saith to thce, Breathing His Grace-conferring Breath: "Lovest thou Me?"

Ah, Lord, I have such feeble faith, Such feeble hope to comfort me: But love it is, is strong as death, And I love Thee.

8. And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.

I think this passage (on which I cannot attempt any sort of full comment) may safely suggest that no height of holiness attainable on this side of the grave can afford positive proof that the saint is already fully ripe for beatitude; with not one weak point still to be fortified, not one defect to be made good.

For behold St. John the beloved, at the very moment when he calls our attention to his having seen and heard things such as might well make man go softly all his years, if not in the bitterness at least in the solemn aspiration of his soul, — behold St. John for the second time offering to do that which was not lawful.

Sometimes the harvest is white and garnered before the harvest months are fulfilled. Sometimes it stands unreaped long after we would fain have chanted harvest home. Thank God that "the reapers are the angels " and not our short-sighted selves: and that not even angels may reap unsent.

But St. John is habitually our example. Here he sets us a pattern of affectionate gratitude and veneration towards one who ministers in things spiritual; which we in just measure may thankfully imitate towards our own spiritual pastors, accounting them worthy of double honour and esteeming them very highly in love.

9. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

"For I am..."—-All is in the present: by no means ended and consigned to the past. The speaker (apparently a deathless Angel) not merely was but is St. John's fellowservant, of his brethren the prophets, of them who keep the sayings of this Book. Thus are the lives of any such twain lovely and pleasant, being such as neither immortality nor mortality shall divide.

We too, I too, the first of us and the last, may aspire to the same blessed fellowship. By service, — spending and selfspending for God: by prophecy, — illustrating in our daily life the pleasantness of His ways and peace of His paths: by keeping the sayings,— watching, praying, obeying, in preparation for the day of the consummation of all things. This we can do: this will we not do?

For our all is at stake: and that which momentarily draws nearer and nearer to us is inevitable, be it gain or loss, salvation or ruin. Let us worship God by consecrated life and offered substance; by will, desire, affection; not grudgingly or of necessity, for He loveth a cheerful giver. Martyrs have worshipped Him exultant in torture, Confessors unashamed in shame, lofty Saints in self-sacrifice, lowly Saints in selfdiscipline. All Saints have worshipped, are worshipping, will worship Him for ever and ever. This we also can do: and this will we not do?

"The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God, and the Fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all evermore. Amen."

I suppose that no insight or profundity of mortal man ever has been adequate to the full exploration of this Apocalypse. I feel certain that no natural shallowness need render it a dead letter to man, woman, or child. We may wonder in vain over the personality of the Angel and over his vocation, but his practical precept is as clear as day: " Worship God."

Indeed all through the Book of Revelation lessons enforcing what we must or must not do or be, are as clear and as definite as in the rest of Holy Writ. What can be easily understood furnishes occupation for a lifetime: "The wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein." But this promise can be claimed only by wayfarers along, "the Way of Holiness": neither by standers-still in that way, nor by vagrants along any other way, can it be claimed.

To study the Apocalypse out of idle curiosity would turn it, so far as the student's self were concerned, into a branch of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. And what came of Eve's curious investigation of the original Tree we all know.

Obey to the limit of knowledge, and in all probability obedience may extend knowledge.

10. And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.

may have changed, inasmuch as this verse seems to form one unbroken sequence with those which immediately follow.

If eighteen hundred years ago the time was "at hand," how urgently at hand must it now be! If then it behoved disciples to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the prophecy, how urgently now! If then it was of the Divine Grace and Mercy that the Book was left unsealed, still is it of the Divine- Grace and Mercy that it continues unsealed to our own day. If then it was high time to awake out of sleep, truly is it so now.

Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness,

And let us put on the armour of light. Night for the dead in their stiffness and starkness!

Day for the living who mount in their might Out of their graves to the beautiful land.

Mount, look not back, mount to life and to light, Mount by the glow of your lamps all on fire,

Up from the dead men and up from the night. The night is far spent, the day is at hand.

A disobedient and gainsaying people withstood the stretched forth Divine hands. A blinded people rejected the sheltering wing of Divine Love.

Alas for the disobedient, gainsaying, blinded multitude before whom the Book now stands open! Alas for them: and what for ourselves?

Our eyes we can open or shut; but the opened Book never can we shut. Whom it cannot instruct it must judge.

O Lord our only Saviour, we cannot bear alone our load of responsibility: upbear us under it. We look without seeing unless Thou purge our sight: grant us sight. We read without comprehending unless Thou open our understanding: give us intelligence. Nothing can we do unless Thou prosper the work of our hands upon us: oh prosper Thou our handiwork. WTe are weak: out of weakness make us strong. We are in peril of death: come and heal us. We believe: help Thou our unbelief. We hope: let us not be disappointed of our hope. We love: grant us to love much, to love ever more and more, to love all, and most of all to love Thee.

11. He that is unjust, let Mm be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.

Or as in the Revised Version: "He that is unrighteous, let him do unrighteousness still: and he that is filthy, let him be made filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him do righteous ness still: and he that is holy, let him be made holy still." Despite the correspondence of the two translations, the Authorized may perhaps be understood to convey a doom of fixedness whether in good or evil; the Revised, a sentence of freedom to persist in the same good or evil: such determined persistence amounting to actual progress in either quality, if we are to adopt a marginal alternative reading which at each clause of the verse substitutes "yet more" for "still."

Thus once more pressing home on us that man is his own destroyer: especially if stress may be laid upon the word let as permissive rather than imperative. More horrible than what he incurs is what he makes himself: it has become his habit to be wicked, foul; and not only his habit, it has become his taste. "Let him."

On the other hand, how safe and glorious thus transpires the lot of the righteous man and the holy. On him too a doom passes, on him a sentence of freedom, on him a permissive fiat. He too by God's grace has made himself what he is: it has become his habit to be just and pure; and not merely his habit, it has become his taste. " Let him."

Then let us not merely flee from the wrath to come. Let us court righteousness, make love to holiness.

Yet how court righteousness? "For the Righteous God trieth the hearts and reins." How dare make love to holiness when " Great and terrible " is God's most Holy Name?

O God, Whose Presence fills space, take away our ungodli ness and Thou shalt find none.

Thou Whose Presence we cannot flee, do away our offences and cleanse us from all defilements of flesh and spirit.

12. And, behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall he.

A dear and saintly person, one of my own nearest and dearest, who had been aforetime a great reader and lover of pious literature, when near her end expressed as at that period her almost exclusive love of Holy Scripture: the Inspired Text itself, no longer the comment; although still she prized such human work as elucidated the blessed Text. She fed on the Word of Life, being evidently fed with food convenient for her. Thus she prepared for death: thus went out to meet the Bridegroom, having oil in her lamp.

If this closing chapter of the Apocalypse finds some with few words of their own, God's grace may yet be teaching them by it, and by all that went before, a solemn preparation for death or for the Second Advent. Either may be very near: one at least cannot be very far distant: "Behold, I come quickly."

^ Every ending includes a solemn element: the ending of God's Revelation to humankind is solemn indeed. Every ending, winding up, cutting short, foreshadows the ending, winding up, cutting short of life and of probation.

The reiterations of the Apocalypse emphasize this finality, this note of preparation. There is nothing new under the sun. " That which hath been is named already, and it is known that it is manj neither may he contend with Him that is mightier than he." "Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. And this is the promise that He hath promised us, even eternal life."

He Who once had His reward with Him and His work before Him, has fed His flock like a shepherd, gathering and carrying and gently leading the tender ones. Now has He His reward in readiness to give to every man according as his work shall be. Christ worked for man the work of Redemption: the Holy Spirit worked in man the work of sanctification: all men one by one have or have not worked out their own individual salvation with fear and trembling.

The reward is for all work in general, but is assigned to each work in proportion. " He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully." The far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory though incommensurate with any desert will yet be harmonized with each desert. Sun, moon, stars, differ in glory: star from star in glory.

"Behold, I come quickly."— Quickly He cometh, whether we behold or whether we forbear. " Behold, He cometh with clouds ": — blessed are they to whom the brightness of His Presence dissipates every cloud.

And His reward is with Him. What know we of that reward? It is Himself, as He declared to Abram: " I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward."- It is Himself above all and beyond all: this, and beside this "such and such things," as of yore He spake concerning David His beloved.

Faith spurning the world claims kindred with Moses: " By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; choosing rather to suffer afflic tion with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward."

Whoso trusts in Him shall be as Ruth: " The Lord recom pense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under Whose wings thou art come to trust."

Whoso desires and is warned by His judgments, " In keeping of them there is great reward."

"Verily there is a reward for the righteous." " He that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded." The knowledge of wisdom is sweet and good: " When thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off."

" If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: for thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the Lord shall reward thee."

" When thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret Himself shall reward thee openly."

" When thou prayesr, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly."

"When thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly."

"Whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in My Name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward."

" Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man's sake.

Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven."

" Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ." Confidence under trials " hath great recompence of reward." For God " is a Rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." " For the Son of Man shall come in the Glory of Hi's Father with His angels; and then He shall reward every man accord ing to his works." Amen.

13. I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End,

" I am Alpha and Omega " is here declared for the fourth time. Thus is it at the beginning (ch. i. 8), and still thus at the end; thus at the first, and still thus at the last. We change, He changes not, Yet even in ourselves constitutional changeableness cannot annul a certain inherent unchangeableness, which so far corresponds with His in Whom we live and move and have our being: for we are His offspring. His Immutability is reflected in our identity: as He cannot deny Himself, so neither can we deny ourselves. Rocks may fall on us, mountains cover us; but under mountain and rock remains the inextinguishable I.

Not but the Omnipotent Creator could if He willed anni hilate His creature: " With God all things are possible." But no such decree is revealed.

14. 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.

Or as in the Revised Version: " Blessed are they that wash their robes...."

The two readings taken together suggest the sanctity of obedience, the sanctity of repentance, and the exceeding great reward of both. Nor indeed were either excluded could the other possibly find admission; for human obedience being at best imperfect so far needs repentance; and repentance is the particular form of obedience practicable by even the most imperfect.

Our last opportunity is not lost so long as repentance remains accessible. This snatches the brand from the burning, this wrenches the prey from between the teeth of the mighty.

Almost beyond belief it seems blessed in the eternal kingdom to " have right to the Tree of Life."

All is of God's grace, nothing of man's desert. Of His grace it pleases Him to constitute such a privilege our " right "; and our right thenceforward it becomes, whilst first and last all is of grace. " For He spake, and it was done; He com manded, and it stood fast."

As the hart desireth the water-brooks, doth our soul so long after that Tree of Life? Surely yes, if we be not lower than the beasts that perish.

... Alas! not " surely " at all, unless our present longings can stand one test which too often shames them. For already we have a right to our own precious Tree of Life, Christ in the Sacrament of His most Blessed Body and Blood.

Because our Saviour longed for us on earth we are con vinced that He longs for us in heaven.

If we long not for Him on earth, who shall kindle our longing for Him in heaven?

To "do His commandments" is the condition on which depends our "right to the Tree of Life." One of His com mandments is: " Do this in remembrance of Me." St. James warns us: "Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all."

Good Lord Jesus, our only Hope; because we cannot help ourselves, help Thou us. Because we cannot quicken our selves, quicken Thou us. Because we cannot kindle ourselves, kindle Thou us. Because we cannot cleanse ourselves, cleanse Thou us. Because we cannot heal ourselves, heal Thou us. For Thou hast no pleasure in our impotence, lifelessness, coldness, pollutions, infirmity. If Thou desire our love, who shall give us love wherewith to love Thee except Thou Who art Love give it us? Helpless we are, and our helplessness appeals to Thee.

"Through the gates into the city." — Such gates as Isaiah celebrates, and whereunto he indicates the approach: " Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.... The way of the just is uprightness: Thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just. Yea, in the way of Thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for Thee; the desire of our soul is to Thy Name, and to the remem brance of Thee. With my soul have I desired Thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek Thee early: for when Thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness."

Still beginning, never ending, still begin, The thunder of an endless adoration: Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation

Which have kept the truth may enter in. Roll ye back, ye pearls, on your twelvefold station:

No more deaths to die, no more fights to win! Lift your heads, ye gates, that the righteous nation Led by the Great Captain of their sole salvation

15. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

^ Here the entire evil company must be understood literally, with the exception of " dogs," which seems figurative. Various texts of Holy Writ under this same figure exhibit wickedness, or alienation from goodness, or brand certain tempers or habits as abominable; whilst an enactment of the Mosaic Law suggests typically this final exclusion of dogs: " Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the Lord thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the Lord thy God." — " Against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue." " Dogs have compassed Me: the assembly of the wicked have enclosed Me.... Deliver My soul from the sword; My darling from the power of the dog." "Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, and save me from bloody men.... And at evening let them return; and let them make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city. Let them wander up and down for meat, and grudge if they be not satisfied." " His watchmen... are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough." "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs." " Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers." " It had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire."

and murderers " degrade man's lower nature, " sorcerers... and idolaters " his higher nature. " Whosoever loveth and maketh a lie," whilst it seems to start with heart idolatry and go on to material idolatry, may also surely include liars in general, who, misusing the best member that they have, and loving darkness rather than light, put darkness for light and light for darkness.

If all lying great or small is here branded with infamy, we may fairly assume that any and every taint of the other sins indicated is likewise here condemned by that Gracious God and Saviour, Who threatens that He may not smite, and often smites that He may not cast off for ever; and Who condescends to entertain a plea for the very dogs, even for some whom largehearted Job himself had haply disdained to set with the dogs of his flock: c< Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs. And she answered and said unto Him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs. And He said unto her, For this saying go thy way;. the devil is gone out of thy daughter." It behoves us to barricade the approaches of our souls against the creeping tide of evil: though the tide may scarce have turned, the danger has begun.

" Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hathcommitted adultery with her already in his heart." — " Whoso ever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment." — " Rebellion is as the sin of witch craft." — "If I have made gold my hope, or have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence; if I rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because mine hand had gotten much; if I beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness; and my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand: this also were an iniquity to be punished by the judge: for I should have denied the God that is above."

16. I Jesus have sent Mine Angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the off spring of David, and the bright and morning star.

" It is I, be not afraid." Yea, Lord, so bring us unto the haven where we would be.

The countenance of Thy messenger may be like the coun tenance of an Angel of God very terrible: we ask him not whence he is, neither telleth he us his name.

Thee, Lord, we know: Thee we trust. Thy Name we know: in Thy Name we take refuge. Grant us grace to do so of a truth: grant steadfastness, patience, faith, hope, love, to Thy Church expectant.

O Root of David, mould us after Thine own Heart. O Offspring of David, be formed in us by the operation of Thy Most Holy Spirit.

O Bright and Morning Star, kindle us to shine as stars for ever and ever; all differing in glory, yet one and all resplendent to Thy glory. Amen and Amen.

It is _" in the Churches " that these things are testified. To myself it is in the beloved Anglican Church of my Baptism: a living branch of that one Holy Catholic Apostolic Church which is authoritatively commended and endeared to every Christian by the Word of God. "The Lord added to the Church daily such as should be saved." " And so were the Churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily." " The Church of God, which He hath purchased with His own Blood." "God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all Churches of the saints." " Christ... the Head over all things to the Church, which is His Body, the fulness of Him that fjlleth all in all." " Now unto Him that is ^ able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen." " Christ is the Head of the Church.... The Church is subject unto Christ.... Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish." "The house of God, which is the Church of the Living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." " Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for He is faithful that promised;) and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching."

Our Lord is designated as the " Sun of Righteousness " by a Prophet: the sun without peer rules over the planetary system. But Christ with lips full of grace deigns to call Himself " the Bright and Morning Star ": which star solitary in office and in dignity lights up hope for the darkened world and promises and ushers in day after night. Yet is it a veritable star amid fellow stars; incomparably the Chiefest, but among ten thousand.

The shout of a King is among them. One day may I be

If in itself we care not for our own glorification, still let us care, long, pray for it, that so our glory may by a condescension of grace enhance Christ's excelling glory, and that even in the great day of final award He may not be ashamed to call us brethren.

Turning to a parable of nature, we perceive the bright and morning star which renews our gladness, to be none other than the sweet calm evening star of our twilight solace. So and much more art Thou, Good Lord Jesus, the consolatory Star of this vigil of our mortality; and so dost Thou reveal Thyself as the all-surpassing Star of the festival of our immortality.

17. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

The Church has no independent existence. Christ, Whose mystical body she is, is her Head: the Holy Ghost, Whose temple she is, is her overruling Will and Power. Severed from the Head she would die: emptied of the Indwelling Presence she would return to corruption.

Yet is not all this even on her side by constraint, but willingly. The Bridegroom chooses the Bride by free will of Divine Love: the Bride by free will of love human and super human chooses the Bridegroom. The Most Holy Spirit freely chooses His Temple: the living and breathing Temple in the fortress of her will and the secret place of her affections freely enshrines her God.

In the peaceful verse under contemplation, " the Spirit and the Bride " speaking with one voice say " Come " with one will. The Indweller is Love: and therefore the Temple is. full of love. God the Holy Spirit is that Person of the All Holy Trinity Who " Proceedeth ": He has imparted Himself to Christ's mystical Bride, and by His Divine impulse she pants to share every good and every perfect gift which is hers with the worldwide family of man. Because a Flowing River is His emblem, therefore a stagnant pool never can be hers.

Fire also is His symbol. His Flame has kindled hers: and therefore from her spreading flame the hearer who hath ears to hear likewise catches fire, and echoes and cries and cannot but cry " Come."

"And let him that is athirst come."— We thirst: with the call to come give us the will to come, most Bountiful Lord Jesus. Thou Who turnedst water into wine; Who saidst, " Give Me to drink "; Who criest, " If any man thirst let him come unto Me and drink"; Who saidst, "With desire I have desired "; Who declarest, " My Blood is drink indeed "; Who saidst in extremity, " I thirst "; suffer us not to make ourselves as Dives, but join us to Thyself and quench our thirst.

When the Spirit saith, " Come," He fulfils in our ears that all-gracious promised ministry whereby He brings to our remembrance the blessed sayings of Christ; Who in the course of His earthly ministry said likewise, " Come," sometimes to one, sometimes to another, sometimes to a multitude; and Who while addressing each however individually conveyed also a message, charge, lesson, to many others, and even by analogy or inference to all. Let us arise and go to Him Who came to us before He bade us come to Him.

"Come ye after Me."— Lord Jesus, Whose call the'b'lessed brothers Peter and Andrew obeyed with warm hearts, grant to €ach of us like warmth and like obedience; a good start a good course, a good goal. Call us all, I beseech Thee, grant saving grace to us all.

" First be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift."— Lord Jesus, since I can never deliver my brother, grant me at least never to wrong him. Enable us by love to serve one another and to offer ourselves unto Thee.

Be not extreme to test or sift: Thy Love can turn to fire and gold Me and my gift.

Should be thi offering of my thrift: I am but poor, yet love makes bold Me and my gift.

" All that are in the graves shall hear His Voice, and shall come forth." — Lord Jesus, Who in pure Love madest Thy grave with the wicked and with the rich in Thy death, for that same Love's sake turn the wicked from their evil ways, and enrich all souls with heavenly treasure: that so when a great company hearing Thy Voice shall come forth from their graves, they may have their portion in the resurrection of life.

" Whosoever cometh to Me, and heareth My sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: he is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock." — Lord Jesus, grant us grace to come to Thee in obedience, and by constant obedience to abide with Thee; that our foundation may be upon the Rock of Ages, and that underneath us may be the Everlasting Arms. Hold us fast that we may cleave unto Thee; embrace us that we may cling unto Thee.

" I will come and heal him." — Lord Jesus, Who knowing whereof we are made, and remembering that we are but dust, beholdest all our palsies and grievous torments of body and soul, have compassion on us and heal us. We are not worthy: yet speak the word.

"Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." — Lord Jesus, help us to take Thy yoke upon us, and learn of Thee: that being meek and lowly our souls may rest in Thee all the while we labour and bear our due appointed burden patiently.

" I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to re pentance." — Lord Jesus, Who earnest from heaven to earth to call us, wean us from earth that we may ascend to Thee in heaven. Thou leftest heaven for love of us: forbid it, that we should not leave anything or everything for love of Thee! Thou sinless earnest in contact with sin for love of us: enable us for love of Thee to repent and sin no more.

" Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of Man be come." — Lord Jesus, Who art Thyself our Way and our End, surfer not persecution or pleasure or any circumstance, to hinder our pressing forward to meet Thee at Thy coming. Be Thou here our city of refuge, and hereafter our home.

" Come." — Lord Jesus, Whom holy Peter loved and Who didst much more love Peter, grant us faith all-venturesome for Thy sake, hope for an anchor sure and steadfast, love responsive to Thy loving call.

" I am the Bread of Life: he that cometh to Me shall never

hunger." — Lord Jesus, evermore give us this Bread, give us Thyself. Thou Who in love givest Thyself to us in the Blessed Sacrament of Thy Body and Blood, grant us grace in love to receive Thee, in love to retain Thee, in love to be joined to Thee eternally.

"All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me; and him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out." — Lord Jesus, draw ^ us, we will run after Thee. Bring us into the many mansions of Thy Father's house that we may be glad, and rejoice in Thee remembering Thy Love. Make us upright that we may love Thee.

" I came down from heaven, not to do mine own Will, but the Will of Him that sent Me."— Lord Jesus, Who for us men and for our salvation earnest down from heaven, I beseech Thee assist us by Thy grace so to do Thy Will and the Will of Him that sent Thee, that in heart and soul we may mount up and abide with Thee in heaven.

" No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day." — Lord Jesus, our Great High Priest, vouchsafe to intercede for us with the Father that He may draw us. Receive Thou us, and raise us up at the last day. Whom have we in heaven but Thee? and sinners as we are, whom hast Thou on earth but us?

" No man can come unto Me, except it were given unto him of My Father."— Lord Jesus, we plead Thy Strength, we plead with Thee our own weakness. Can a woman forget her sucking child? Yea, Lord: yet wilt not Thou forget us.

" If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me." — Lord Jesus, grant us daily grace for daily need. Daily patience for a daily cross. Daily, hourly, incessant love of Thee, to take up our cross daily and bear it after Thee.

" If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink." — Lord Jesus, if we thirst not, give us thirst; if we thirst, give us to drink. Withhold not from us Thyself and Thy Most Holy Spirit, that we thirst no more, neither go elsewhere to draw.

" I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." — Lord Jesus, in Whose hand is the soul of every living thing and the breath of all mankind, to the lifeless impart life, to the living increase life: for Thou Thyself art the Life, and apart from Thee we have no life.

" Lazarus, come forth." — Lord Jesus, Who in love to Martha and her sister and Lazarus gavest them back to one another for yet a brief space of mortal life; give back to us, I beseech Thee, our beloved whom Thou hast taken to Thyself: reunite us not in mortal life but immortal, not for a little while but for ever. This I pray for generation after generation of mankind until all be fulfilled; and the last acceptable souls going home to Thee, find with Thee those also who shall not return to them.

" They shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God." — Lord Jesus, grant us wisdom with the Wise Men and with all who tread in their steps, not to grudge any long journey that leadeth to Thee, but in patience to possess our souls.

"If any man come to Me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple." — Lord Jesus, what Thou requirest enable us to do and be, for verily flesh and blood enter not into the kingdom of God. Grant us selfrestraint, self-denial, self-oblation, the lesser love enhancing the greater; the pure sacrifice which is acceptable to Thee.

"Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God." — Lord Jesus, give us Thine own grace of love and care for little children, that we may bring them to Thee in Holy Baptism, and watch over them body and soul. And I beseech Thee make us like them, that so Thou mayest love and care for us with them.

" If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow Me." — Lord Jesus, with Thy call pour forth grace responsive to that call; that so high saints may walk on high with Thee, perfect as Thou art perfect. Yet call to mind, I beseech Thee, that compassion whereby Thou saidst, " He that is able to receive it, let him receive it," — call to mind Thy condescension when by the mouth of St. Peter Thou protestedst, "Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? " — and pardon even every one that prepareth his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary. Be merciful to first and last.

" Zacchseus, make haste, and come down; for to-day I must abide at thy house." — Lord Jesus, when Thou biddest us come down, give us grace to humble ourselves. Thou art our salvation: come Thou to our hearts and abide there this day, every day, for ever.

"The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." — Lord Jesus, Only Sacrifice, Only Saviour, Thou Who seekest us to save us, give us gracious yearnings that seeking Thee we may be saved. We are lost if Thou seek us not: self-lost if we seek not Thee. From utter irretrievable loss, O Saviour of the lost, deliver us.

" I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on Me should not abide in darkness." — Lord Jesus, suffer us not to love darkness rather than light; but help us so to do good works and come into the light, that our deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought in God.

" Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come." — Lord Jesus, we know not, but Thou knowest. Thou Who in loving pity watchest over us, grant us in longing love to watch for Thee. Alas for me! grant me, even me, such great love.

" When the Son of Man shall come in His glory... then shall He sit upon the Throne of His glory: and before Him shall be gathered all nations." — Lord Jesus, when rocks cannot hide us or mountains cover us, be Thou our shield and hidingplace from the wrath to come.

" Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom pre pared for you from the foundation of the world." — Lord Jesus, Thou waitest to be gracious. We wait for Thy loving-kindness in the midst of Thy temple. The eyes of all wait upon Thee: give us, I pray Thee, our meat in due season, row that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, hereafter the marriage supper of Thy kingdom.

" If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself." — Lord Jesus, let us not faint, but have patience, awaiting the fulfilment of this Thine all-consol atory promise. For Thou the Truth art True, though every man were a liar.

" I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you." — Lord Jesus, never suffer us to despond, saying, the Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but Thy word shall not pass away.

" If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him." — Lord Jesus, Blessed be Thou Who for love of us becamest lonely in life, while men hid as it were their faces from Thee, and unutterably lonely in Thy last Agony, when the Father Himself hid His Face from Thee.

" Come and dine." — Lord Jesus, mortal life is our night of abstinence: grant us eternal life for our day of feasting. Blessed is he that eateth Bread in the kingdom of God: in the Church Militant here, in the Church Triumphant hereafter. With Thee here in a Mystery: with Thee hereafter face to Face.

" If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou Me."— Lord Jesus, Who sweetly orderest all things, give to each one of us, I beseech Thee, the special grace proper to his vocation: that the contemplative may sit ever at Thy Feet in spirit, and the active may follow in Thy blessed footsteps which went about doing good. Amen and Amen.

" Come.... And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." — Once more our will is made the turning-point. God's Will is revealed in that word of mercy " Come ": man's will is still in question.

Do I then ignore or deny the doctrines of Prevenient Grace and Predestination? God forbid; but neither when He saith Come, can I deny or ignore that so He saith. He Who is the Truth cannot but mean Come when He saith Come.

Yet Christ declares plainly: " No man can come unto Me, except it were given unto him of My Father " — establishing the necessity of Prevenient Grace.

And St. Paul writing under Inspiration states: " Whom He did predestinate, them He also called."

What then do I think? God helping me, I will think this. The Divine Call has been addressed to me,- has reached me, has urged my will, convinced my understanding, moved my heart. At the Judgment Bar never can I plead, No man hath hired me; never can I claim the few stripes of one who knew nothing of his Lord's Will. I observe moreover that my call being a practical one, demanding not intellect on my side but obedience, enjoins practice rather than subtil theory, and is re sponded to by simplest obedience. My understanding breaks down: so be it. Please God, my will shall not break down, nor my faith make shipwreck.

" Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: He is just, and having salvation."

This Call which cries " Come," and addresses " whosoever will," is a call to refreshment, solace, overflowing plenty, boundless endless supply, sustenance of immortality. A call without stint, without bar: " Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."

Yet some Christians traverse the world like walking funerals rather than like wedding-guests! (Know thyself.) " But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: for he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was."

18. For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book.

19. And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

Our Lord deigns to testify "unto every man that heareth...": thus acting in accordance with a revelation vouchsafed of His own Nature: " That was the true Light, which lighteth every man...," and in harmony with His declaration before Pontius Pilate: " To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth."

O Lord, if I myself have fallen into either deadly error against which Thou here testifiest: " I acknowledge my transgressions.... Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight: that Thou mightest be justified when Thou speakest, and be clear when Thou judgest... Hide Thy Face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities."

Were it not for the blessing (ch. i. 3) pronounced on him that readeth and on them that hear the words of this Prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein, well might we weep much, confessing our utter unworthiness to open and to read the Book, 01 so much as to look thereon.

Interpretation may err and darken knowledge. Prayer fetches down wisdom from the Father of lights.

Prayer is the safeguard of interpretation, and without interpretation is still profitable.

We seem to bring something of our own to interpretation, and if puffed up may destroy ourselves. Prayer avows desti tution, and lays hold on the riches of Him Who made us.

" If any man shall add.... And if any man shall take away...." — The ruinous sin here denounced of adding to this Revelation to be punished by added plagues, or of taking away from it to be punished by expulsion from blessings, is foreshadowed in two Prophecies of Jeremiah: " Thus saith the Lord concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite; Because that Shemaiah hath prophesied unto you, and I sent him not, and he caused you to trust in a lie; therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed: he shall not have a man to dwell among this people; neither shall he behold the good that I will do for My people, saith the Lord; because he hath taught rebellion against the Lord " — "Thou shalt say to Jehoiakim king of Judah, Thus saith the Lord; Thou hast burned this roll, saying, Why hast thou written therein, saying, The king of Babylon shall certainly come and destroy this land, and shall cause to cease from thence man and beast? Therefore thus saith the Lord of Jehoiakim king of Judah; He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David: and his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost."

" God shall take away his part out of the Book of Life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." — The Revised Version gives a noteworthy variation: " God shall take away his part from the Tree of Life, and out of the holy city, which are written in this book." Sad it were to forfeit the Book of Life and the holy city: sadder still to forfeit the Tree of Life, which represents to us Jesus.

The wilfully dead sever themselves from the Tree of Life, the wilfully foul from the holy city. Dreadful were it simply to be shut up with self in the darkness of a grave-like solitude. What will it be to be shut up as in a grave where the worm dieth not, and where the whole congregation of the denied dead being dead yet cannot die? Yet if I can face the being divorced from that Tree of Life which is Christ, well may I face any and every other loss. Yea, let Ziba take all! nor will I cry unto the King of any lesser matter.

20. He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

If up to this point we have, however feebly, feared, hoped, believed, loved with St. John, now on once again hearing the Voice, " Surely I come quickly," we should be prompt with him to answer: " Even so, come, Lord Jesus."

No hope or fear, faith or love of ours, is worthy to welcome Christ: yet woe is us if they welcome Him not. Woe is us if amid and above terror and clouds of His approach we hail not His Presence as the very bow in the cloud. And as sometimes a second bow fainter, less perfect, further off, appears in the train of the chief rainbow, so in His train will reappear our lost beloved ones who loved us much and Him much more; a hem as it were to His garment, an outer edge to His glory, an over flow to our full cup of bliss. " And now men see not the bright light which is in the clouds." " He shall pray unto God, and He will be favourable unto him: and he shall see His Face with joy."

O Thou Who art as the light of the morning when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds, revive our drooping souls as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain, springing out of the earth toward Thee. Although Thy Church be not so with God, in Whose sight no man living shall be justified, yet have respect unto Thine everlasting covenant ordered in all things and sure; and bring to pass her full salvation, and fulfil all her desire, and make us all to grow. Amen.

Can man feel rest who has no fixed abode? All he lays hold of or can see or hear Is passing by, is prompt to disappear,

This day he breathes in is his latter day, This year of Ume is this world's latter year.

Thus in himself is he most miserable: — Out of himself, Lord, lift him up to Thee, Out of himself and all these worlds that flee; Hold him in patience underneath the rod, Anchor his hope beyond life's ebb and swell, Perfect his patience in the love of God.

If a doubt exists as to which is the more accurate translation, by becoming saints we shall in any case secure St. John's benediction.

At the very commencement (ch. i. i) "The Revelation of Jesus Christ " addressed us: here at the very end " The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ" waits for us. All that lies between has not effected towards ourselves its purpose unless we conclude the whole matter in a culminating grace by fearing God and keeping His commandments.

We have heard enough when God ceases to speak, and have learned enough when we have learned His Will.

Jesus Christ, our Starting Point, our Way, our Goal, look upon us with Thy most gracious eyes, with the eyes of Thy most overcoming pity, with the eyes that recalled St. Peter to himself, to the Communion of Saints, to Thee. Amen.

Weak and watery sets the sun, Day and night in one mist are blended, My harvest is done.

Long while running, how short when run, Time to eternity has descended, Timeless eternity has begun.

Was it the narrow way that I wended? Snares and pits was it mine to shun? The scythe has fallen so long suspended, My harvest is done.

Hope and fear are finished at last, Day hath descended, night hath ascended, Man's harvest is past.

Time is fled that fleeted so fast: All the unmended remains unmended, The perfect, perfect: all lots are cast.

Waiting till earth and ocean be rended, Waiting for call of the trumpet-blast, Each soul at goal of each way it wended, — Man's harvest is past.