God were the author of it: it is a condition of the creation, proceeding from the freedom of the will of man, who was invested with creation's weal or creation's woe. It is not a thing in itself, but the evil condition of a thing, proving that the creation is not the Creator,—is as wide from him as wrong is from right, as evil is from good : yet doth it also prove that there is a power in God greater than creation, when he shall, in spite of its inbred evil, have drawn it back unto himself and glorified it with himself for ever and ever. Sin proves God to be different and separate from creation. Redemption proves God to be greater than creation, and able with it to do all his pleasure. Creation, is God manifested; creation fallen, is God obscured; creation redeemed, is God glorified. But more of this when we come to the song of redemption. The song of creation, which is before us, expresseth first that God had created all things; next, that by reason of his will they exist, and by reason of the same will they were created. The first of these propositions denies the eternity of matter, and of every spirit, save God alone, and asserteth their origin to be out of nothing. Moreover, it denieth the existence of more than one being from eternity; and asserteth that Being, who alone is self-existent, to be the same who in heaven doth wear the human form, and shew himself through the risen body of Christ. The all things are sometimes separated into "the things in heaven, and the things in earth, visible and invisible" (Col. i. 16; Eph. i. 10). And at other times they are divided into the "things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth" (Phil. ii. 10). But, however divided, they include no more than the things which were made in six days, and at the end of six days pronounced very good. The second proposition asserteth, that they were made according to or by reason of his will; that is to say, he was the cause unto himself of creation; a most important doctrine for us to know, and to be persuaded of, yea, and to feel, in order that when we contemplate creation and meditate our own being, we may be able to say, The good which I see here is of God, and it shews forth the goodness that is in God. If God's will had been influenced from without, creation would have been no manifestation of himself. Besides that it is absurd to make that a cause, which is not yet in being. The end

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indeed of creation is asserted, in the third proposition, to be the same will of God. They both exist on account of his will, and were created on account of his will; and being so, they exhibit what his will is, what his disposition is, what be the attributes of his being just as, when a man is left to his own will, that which he does shews you what his natural disposition is; but, if he be under another influence, you know not how much to assign to himself, and how much to assign to that which actuates him from without. Now creation was very good; therefore very goodness is the nature of God, which also the Apostle declareth, James i. 17: "Every good gift, and every perfect gift, is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness nor shadow of turning." And again, another Apostle declareth, that all the sin "that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." But more than goodness appeareth in this, that when the world had engendered all evil within its own rebellious heart, God took in hand to deliver it from its own inbred wickedness, by coming into it himself and contending with its rebellious disposition: and in so doing he shewed himself to be a threefold subsistence, which could redeem it, and inform it, and yet be altogether separate from it. One in it he is by the Holy Spirit, one with it by the Son, and yet one apart from it by the Father; so that, though creation be doubtless a work of God in Trinity, yet is it redemption alone which makes that Trinity manifest; yea, makes it a truth necessary to worship, as I have shewn at large in Sermon VI. on the Incarnation.-But here again we are treading on the subject of the next chapter: only let it be observed that in this chapter which presenteth us with creation's Lord, enthroned in the midst of his creatures, and receiving their homage, there is yet another great confirmation of the Divinity of Christ; for if nothing more worthy of God can be spoken of him than that he created all, then this is the essential, the pre-eminent, the noble function of God, and nothing higher, nothing better, nothing more divine, can be asserted of him, at the mention of which, the crowned heads of heaven are uncrowned, and fall prostrate before the throne. Can Jesus Christ, then, be any thing less than God, of whom it is asserted continually,

that he created all things? " For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him" (Col. i. 16). "All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John i. 3). 'By whom also he made the worlds" (Heb. i. 2); compared with Heb. xi. 3, "through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God." Surely, then, Christ is God: it is high treason against God to deny it, and they who do so, are in a damnable case; from which may the good Lord deliver them.

THE SEVEN-SEALED BOOK.

In the description given, in the preceeding chapter, of Him that sat upon the throne; though doubtless there was in his hand that book of power which is the main subject of the vision; yet was it kept back from the sight of the seer, or at least reserved from the particulars of his description, until now that it is presented to our view, with distinct separation and strong relief, to be made the subject of one of the sublimest scenes in heaven, and the occasion of the most tremendous convulsions on the earth. This book brings upon the scene the prime mover of the new choral song in heaven, and the great actor of all the events on earth; even the Lamb which had been slain, and liveth still. For though he also had been present in that celestial company, and could not but have been seen, as he is every where said to be, in the midst of the living creatures and the elders, yet hath no mention of him been made, either in the seer's description of what he saw, or in the words of the living creatures and the elders. And wherefore this reserve? wherefore this holding back of the chief Personage in the glorious action? Because, the occasion which alone is worthy of his appearance hath not yet occurred. But so soon as the book with seven seals had been announced, and every creature in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, challenged to open, or to look upon it, he, who alone is able, comes forward to perform that task which all creation shrunk from in dismay. Now, forasmuch as that which Christ alone could do, is the work of redeeming the world, natural sagacity

would lead us to infer that this book hath some respect unto redemption. The symbols also, under which he appeareth, of a lamb slain, whether looked at in the Paschal sacrifice, or in the Baptist's presentation of him, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world ;" or in the current language of the Apostolical Epistles, “We are redeemed with the blood of Christ, as of a Lamb, without blemish and without spot;" I say in whatever respect considered, this symbol telleth of redemption, and redemption alone and seeing that to open the book, is the end for which he is thus introduced, we may rest assured that he approacheth it in the guise of the Lamb, becauśe, in some way or other, it concerneth redemption. If it concerned creation, there were no propriety in the Divine order of the piece, for the creation honour is all ascribed already without either the presentation of the book or of the Lamb to our view. Nor, if it concerned creation, were there any fitness in presenting him as a Lamb, and a Lamb slain; because thus was he not, when he laid the foundation of the earth, and set his compass on the face of the deep. So, likewise, from considerations merely of order we can perceive that it is not Revelation with which this book is concerned; for to reveal, is proper to him as the Word, as the Prophet, as the Messenger of the covenant, as the Light between the cherubim, as the Apostle of our profession; but it is not proper to him as the Lamb which is slain. To reveal, is proper to him in the form of a man, and not in the form of a lamb; which lamb, though it hath horns and eyes, hath not a mouth like the mouth of a man to speak the glorious things of God, nor speaketh it ever during these visions, and therefore we shrewdly suspect that this sealed book is not so much the symbol of revelation as it is the symbol of redemp tion; in which conclusion we are altogether confirmed by the song which the living creatures and the elders sung over the taking of the book, which is altogether a song of redemption. So much do we gather in general from the order in which this great act is presented unto us.

The word "book" is not used in the Scriptures in that absolute sense in which it is used among us, but generally with some definition of its contents, such as the book of the law, which contained the conditions of the covenant

for the inheritance of the land, and was laid up in the ark in the most holy place (Exod. xxiv; Heb. ix); the book of the purchase (Jeremiah xxxii. 12); that is, as we would express it,the title deeds which went along with every mortgaged portion of land; the Book of the Psalms, the Book of Esaias the Prophet, &c. &c. This, I say, is the manner of speaking concerning books in the Scriptures; and therefore it is a prejudice derived from the customs of these times, which leads us at once to infer that this book, in the right hand of Him that sat on the throne, is a book containing knowledge or information merely. Against this notion we have already argued from considerations of order; and we may also argue against it from the observation of what follows the opening of the seals. That which follows is not revelation, but judgment and destruction, or the signification of destruction suspended for a while. But we must limit speculation by positive proof. There are specialties enow to determine of what kind this book is; the chief of which is, that it was sealed. Now of sealed books I find mention made only of one kind in Scripture; to wit, those which concerned inheritances. There is no mention that the book of the Law was sealed, nor that any of the books of the Prophets was sealed. Daniel, indeed, is called upon to seal up the words of the prophecy of his book, but that is spoken in a figurative sense; for literally Daniel's prophecy was as open for study and inspection as the rest of the Scriptures. It would have been incongruous altogether to seal up the word of God; which was given for opening, and not for concealing. Yea for having treated it as a sealed book, and not opening it to the people, Isaiah doth prophecy that God's judgment will come upon the doctors of Jerusalem (xxix. 11), which also our Lord confirmeth in the Gospels (Luke xxi. 52, &c.) While to books of Divine revelation this characteristic of sealed can in no wise apply, it doth apply, yea, it was by law required, with respect to all books of inheritance whatever, of which there were always two copies taken; whereof the one was sealed, and the other was open. Of this custom we have a particular description in the xxxiid chapter of the prophet Jeremiah. It will be remembered that inheritances in Israel could not be alienated from the family, but reverted every jubilee—that is, every fiftieth year—to the regular heir; to whom therefore it belonged, at