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the other personages of this the celestial court and council we now proceed with grave and solemn thought, walking in nothing by our own wisdom, but meekly and humbly interpreting the word of God, by the wisdom that cometh from above, which, as a minister of Christ's church, we believe that we are furnished with, even with the Spirit of power and of love, and of a sound mind; the gift which was in Timothy by the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.

OF THE FOUR-AND-TWENTY ELDERS.

"And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold" (Rev. iv. 4). To divide exactly between the elders and the four living creatures is perhaps one of the nicest points connected with the interpretation of this book: surely it is that which hath cost myself most thought; and I would not proceed on this undertaking without every help with which revelation and sound reason can furnish me. The four living ones are evidently the same in substance as the four cherubim which Ezekiel saw, being like them full of eyes (Ezek. x. 12), and having the same faces of a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle (Ezek. i. 10); and, like them, upbearing the throne of the highest (Ezek. i. 26). There are diversities, indeed, but not of such a kind as to cast any doubt upon their being the same mystery in the substance of it. Now those cherubim which Ezekiel saw, he expressly knew to be the cherubim which were in the most holy place of the temple of Jerusalem; which are the same in substance with those which were formed by Moses, by the express commandment of God, and which bore upon their wings and heads the cloud of glory wherein Jehovah dwelt; which glory unveiled, Ezekiel saw them upbearing in his vision, which glory John saw them upbearing in heaven; for the place of the four living creatures is in the midst of the throne, and (not round about, as in our version, but) in circle of the throne,—that is, as I understand it, their place was the midst of the throne, and all within its circumference, and that no part of them was without; or, in a word, the bearers of the throne, even as they were in the most holy place, and

in Ezekiel's vision, and as they are promised to be when Christ shall come again (Psalm xviii. 10). What is signified by this constant accompaniment of the cloud, or presence chamber of God, what is signified by these upbearers of the throne of God, I have already ascertained to be, the church, in my third Lecture, pp. 249-255; and the time is not yet arrived in the order of this vision for confirming this conclusion; only I thought it good to say thus much concerning it, in order to help us in our exposition of the elders, who, adopting the same song as the four living creatures, do declare themselves to be of the same redeemed church. Now in the most holy place of the cherubim, and the cloudy presence chamber and throne of God, there was nothing answerable in any way to these four-and-twenty elders; nor in the veil which was also embroidered over with cherubim (Ex. xxvi. 31); nor on the walls of the holy place, whereon all round about were carved figures of cherubim (1 Kings vi. 29), is there any mention whatever of these elders, or of any thing answerable thereto. But though nothing save the high priest, with the blood of the sacrifice, might come in unto the cherubim and the cloudy presence chamber of the throne of God; into the holy place without the veil, which was all encircled around with carved cherubim, all the priests of the house of Aaron might enter to minister. Now these priests were divided into twenty-and-four courses in the days of David the king, as it is written in the xxiv th chap. of the First Book of Chronicles. And this ordinance of the kingdom of David was not suffered to go down, but continued in being until the days of our Lord, seeing we are told (Luke i. 5) that the Baptist's father was of the course of Abia. Moreover the singers also who were instructed in the songs of the Lord, even all that were cunning, were likewise divided into twenty-four courses. (1 Chron. xxv.) Thus, then, the whole of the men of Israel who might come near to God, to do the service of his house, were represented by the number twenty-four; and if each of these courses is seen represented in the head person thereof, then, as the whole tribes of Israel were represented by the twelve patriarchs and the twelve princes of the tribes, so the whole priesthood would be represented by the twentyfour heads who are named in the xxiv th chapter of the First

Book of Chronicles. These drew near to the presence of the Lord, but yet not so near as the cherubim; and, if I err not, the key to the symbol of the twenty-four elders is to be found in this very thing. They answer to the whole Aaronic priesthood, whose part it was to burn incense upon the golden altar before the Lord (Luke i. 9); and accordingly it is declared (ch. v. 8), that these elders had every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, or golden bowls full of incense. This shews them to be

priests, for none else might burn incense but the priests of the house of Aaron; and the addition of harps given to them, doth shew them also to stand in the place of the singers, who, as hath been said, were likewise divided into four-and-twenty courses. While, by these signs, we determine them to be that which in the temple was represented by the priesthood and by the singers, we have additions to the symbol, as the greenness in the case of the rainbow; of which the first is, that they sit on thrones which are placed round about the throne; and the second is, that they have on their heads crowns of gold. These two signs clearly indicate that there belongeth to them, not only the priestly but likewise the royal prerogative, which were separated under the former dispensation, but now are united in us believers, who are a royal priesthood, even as the elders sing, "Thou hast made us kings and priests." We are further confirmed in this interpretation by the white raiment in which they are clothed, for that was the raiment proper to a priest. We shall take it, therefore, as the best interpretation, both of the number and the preferment of these elders, that they signify the royal priesthood of God; and with this interpretation we shall endeavour to work our way, and see how it answers.

This interpretation is confirmed by the very name "Elder," which hath been the name of the office of the chief ruler in God's house, from the time that it was constituted under Moses the servant of God, until this day. It was an office for rule and for judgment, begun by God's own commandment unto Moses, and by his own gift constituted, Num. xi. 16; their number being seventy. And from this time forward it continued an ordinance in Israel, that the Sanhedrim, or the great council of the nation, should consist of seventy elders. And to this great council of

state, Christ so often referreth in the Gospel, when he speaketh of suffering at the hand of the elders. (Luke ix. 22.) In every synagogue of the Jews there were also several elders, and one who was called the chief elder, or ruler of the synagogue. And to the Christian church a similar constitution was given. The Apostles ordained elders in every city, whom Paul chargeth (Acts xx.) as the overseers, bishops, or rulers of the whole church. And over them there was always one appointed to preside, who again is addressed in the seven epistles as the angel of the church. Peter calls himself a co-presbyter, 1 Peter v. 1: "Who also am an elder." And when the Apostles gathered a council concerning circumcision, the elders sat with them in solemn assembly. Seeing then that the office of ruler in the house of God, from first to last, hath been denominated by the name Elder, we are to believe that in the Revelation, which contradicts nothing, but harmonizes every thing in all the other books of Scripture, this name will have a full accordance with what it hath every where else, and that rule, and power, and judgment will be of the substance of the elder's office. Accordingly when we look to that best exposition of the personages in this book, the words which they are made to utter, we find that by this very character of " power is the worship of the elders distinguished from that of the four living creatures, who ascribe glory, and honour, and thanks; while the elders ascribe glory, and honour, and power, to Him that sitteth upon the throne. (verses 9, 11.) We consider it therefore to be established, from many collateral, yet distinct sources, that these elders combine the priestly and the royal character, and by their number denote the completeness of those who are permitted to fill that high pre-eminence.

I deem it of great importance to be exact in fixing the interpretation of every symbol; and as this of the twenty-four elders is one of the greatest importance, I shall call your attention to yet another observation, derived from the manner in which they are called into action, and the part which they perform in the great dramatic representation of events which this book contains. In general, they act in concert with the four living creatures, yet after a manner peculiar to themselves. In this chapter, verse 10, "they fall down.

before Him that sat on the the throne, and worship...... and cast their crowns before the throne." This is the style and manner of potentates doing homage to the King of kings, from whom they hold their thrones, and crowns, and dominions. It is the manner of acknowledging derived power, and of holding a dependent and subordinate. authority; and, no doubt, teacheth a great lesson to all kings and judges of the earth of whom they hold their power, when even the thrones and princedoms of heaven thus render homage to the Great King. And seeing that both the church and the state were to be thus constituted in the way of governors and governed, I say not, but that it is one of the great ends served by this portion of the heavenly constitution, to teach kings to bless the Son, and do him perpetual reverence. This observation I make by the way and having ascertained that this their action indicates power, I proceed to the next instance, which is in the 9th verse of the vth chapter, and upon which I have observed above, that it adds to the attribute of power those of priesthood and of praise the functions of the priest and the singer; whereof both are in their essence. subordinate to God;—a priest ever offering gifts, a singer ever offering praise, and both being servants to the Most High. To the idea of power this therefore adds the idea of perpetual subordination to a superior, who is also the object of worship; or, in other words, that they hold of him who is at once their King and their God; that is, of Christ, at once God and the King of the creatures; at once the worshipped and the Head of the worshippers. The third time the elders are introduced, is in the consummation of the act of seals; where (vii. 13) one of them confers with the seer concerning the white-robed ones who, with triumphal palms, sung the song of salvation, and who are in truth the church enjoying their blessedness after having accomplished their long probation of trials. And why should an elder confer with them? because, as I judge, the elders also are white-robed, are of the same character with the triumphant church; are in truth the symbol of the church brought into her kingdom and glory. And to this also agrees the circumstance above referred to, of their number twenty-four being taken from the condition of the priesthood and the songsters, not before but

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