This wonderful lamb with seven horns is said to have seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. These seven spirits are not seven angels; for though the church be called the apple of the Lord's eye, Zech. ii. 8; yet angels are never so called that I remember; nor is the number of angels that attend the church of God confined to seven. Elisha had the whole mountains round about covered with them at Dothan, and Jacob saw such a number of them on the plains of Mahanaim, that he calls them an host. They all minister to the children of God in turn, not a small number only; as it is written, they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?" and, if all are ministering spirits, and all sent forth to minister, they cannot be so small a number as seven, seeing we read of twenty thousand at one place, Psalm lxviii. 17; and twelve legions at another, Matt. xxvi. 53.

"Are

But rather the Holy Ghost is intended; the number seven implying the perfection of Deity, he being a person in the Godhead, and equal to the Father and the Son; from whom, in conjunction with the Father and the Son, this revelation is sent to the churches; "Grace be unto you, and peace from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven spirits which are before his throne; and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness." Or the Spirit's sevenfold gifts may be intended by the number seven, agreeable to ancient prophesy; " And the Spirit of the

Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of council and might, the spirit of knowledge, and of the fear of the Lord," Isaiah xi. 2.

"Be

These seven eyes are quoted from ancient prophesy, which came to Joshua when the cornerstone of the second temple was laid; which was to point Joshua to Christ the chief corner-stone, that is set at nought of so many builders. hold the stone that I have laid before Joshua: upon one stone shall be seven eyes; behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day." This text I have often heard handled, and the seven eyes have been held forth as all sorts of eyes looking to Christ, some for help, and some out of envy. However, they are the eyes of the Lamb, and the eyes of him who is the stone of Israel. "For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven they are the eyes of the Lord [not men nor devils' eyes], which run to and fro through the whole earth," Zech. iv. 10. These seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God, are said to be sent forth into all the earth, Rev. v. 6, agreeable to the Saviour's promise; "It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart I will send him unto you;" which, blessed be his precious name, he has. He has sent forth this sevenfold unction or eyesalve, which is, to anoint

our eyes that we may see, Rev. iii. 18. These seven eyes of the Lord are sent forth into all the earth, that we who were once darkness might be made light in the Lord, Eph. v. 8. Upon the church of God there hath been, and still is, a large measure of the Spirit of God; and though not in all his fulness, yet in all his sevenfold operations, and to each living member of the mystical body of Christ, a measure to profit withal. "Now there

are diversities of gifts, but the same spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man, to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom," which makes a man wise in the mysteries of God, and wise to salvation through faith; "to another, the word of knowledge by the same Spirit," that he may take Christ for himself, whom to know is eternal life, and know how to speak a word in season to others; "to another, faith by the same Spirit," that he may believe to the justification of his soul, and strengthen the faith of others; "to another, the gifts of healing by the same Spirit," for the good of the church, that bodily and spiritual diseases may be healed by the great Physician; " to another, the working of miracles," that the apostles might by them confirm their mission and commission; "to another, prophesy;" that a minister forewarn the churches of evils to come, and

may

strengthen them against them, and foretell them of good to come, and encourage their hope to expect it; "to another, discerning of spirits," that à minister may try those upstarts that say they are apostles or evangelists, and prove them liars, if they are not. "To another, divers kinds of tongues," that ministers may overthrow the false constructions that erroneous men, or carnal scholars, have put upon the word of God; "to another, the interpretation of tongues," that the pure, uncorrupted sense of scripture, may be handed down to us, instead of old wives' fables and country tales, that turn from the truth, and that hard or difficult parts of scripture might be made plain to our shallow comprehensions. "But all these worketh that one and the selfsame spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will," 1 Cor. xii. 4—11.

These are the seven eyes and the seven spirits of God, or the Holy Ghost, who is perfect God, in his sevenfold gifts and graces, who will never leave the earth till the last elected soul that ever shall be called by grace or born again of the Spirit: for thus runs the covenant; "My Spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, from henceforth and for ever." Hence we may conclude, that the Spirit of God will never leave the earth till the mystery of iniquity be revealed by his light; Antichrist consumed by him, as the breath of Christ's mouth;

and "the mystery of God be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets."

"And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne." Christ having come forth from the Father, and completed the work he gave him to do, he now was ascended to the Father, and drew nigh unto him. According to Daniel's vision, "He came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed;" which is a prophesy of the Saviour's coronation in heaven, which prophesy is fulfilled in this chapter, and confirmed in the next. "And a crown was given unto him, and he went forth conquering and to conquer," Rev. vi. 2. And we find that the coronation anthem is sung in this chapter upon the reception of this book; "Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing." It is a copy of his kingdom that he is here going to receive, in which he will meditate day and night, Deut. xvii. 18, 19; and order his throne, and manage his government with wisdom infinite, and rectitude divine, till his kingdom of grace shall be consummated in everlasting glory, and Zion's king be acknowledged "the King eternal, immortal, and