that, as in the case of Enoch and Elijah, at least some must be in heaven in their bodily forms. In the second, that, on the great occasion of the death of our Lord, "the graves were opened, and many of the bodies of the saints," which slept, arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many."*

In the third place, in the description of the city of the living God given by Paul in the Hebrews, a distinction is made between the "general assembly and the church of the first born which are written in heaven," and the "spirits of just men MADE PERFECT;" and these latter, I consider, are those who rose at the crucifixion, and are what I conceive are represented " by the elders." Their numbers we can have no idea of; but most probably they consist of those who had been most eminently useful and faithful in their day and generation, and had borne the heat and burden of the day. And this interpretation of the meaning of the elders, appears to my mind the more probable, from the circumstance of their not being introduced either in the visions of Isaiah or Ezekiel; nor is there anything at all resembling them, or that can answer to them. And the reason is obvious: there were then no spirits of just men made perfect in heaven-the resurrection at the time of the Saviour's crucifixion not

* Matt. xxvii. 52, 53.

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having taken place; and there having been no previous resurrection, there was no part of the saved church for the four and twenty elders, therefore, to represent. But after that great event, the case was different; many of the spirits of the just were "made perfect," that is, their bodies and souls were united, and therefore formed a separate and distinct class of heavenly inhabitants.

The lightnings, and thunderings, and voices, which proceeded out of the throne, bring us to the transactions of Sinai, and to the transcript of the mind and will of God, as there made known in the promulgation of the moral law; and appear to say, that whilst there is a bow of mercy around the throne, in virtue of the covenant of grace, there is at the same time vengeance and wrath to the wicked, and to every transgressor of that law.

The seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, said to be the seven spirits of God, and which are referred to in ch. i. v. 4, evidently appear to represent the Holy Trinity, and answer to the golden candlestick with seven branches, which was before the most holy place.

The sea of glass before the throne, clear and transparent as crystal, is in allusion to the molten sea of brass used for the purification of the priests; and appears to signify, that, in opposition to a thick and troubled sea, "whose waters cast up mire and dirt,” heaven is a place of settled peace. Perhaps the idea

is correctly conveyed in the following beautiful lines of Watts:

"There shall I bathe my weary soul

In seas of heavenly rest;

And not a wave of trouble roll
Across my peaceful breast."

Beyond all these in the Jewish encampment, and enclosing the tabernacle, consisting of the glory of God, the priests, the candlestick, and the molten sea, was the whole body of the people, the twelve tribes, disposed under four large battalions or armies, and each under one general standard of the four principal tribes, forming a square. The standard of Judah was on the east side; that of Ephraim on the west; Reuben on the south; and that of Dan on the north and each of these standards had a tribe on the right and the left; thus completing the twelve tribes, and taking in the whole number of the people, the whole of the visible church.

We might expect, therefore, to find the analogy in the description of the heavenly world continued, and this whole body of the people represented in heaven. Accordingly, what St. Paul styles "the general assembly and church of the first-born,”— those not yet "made perfect," as distinct from the elders, or those who are made perfect, that is, the redeemed myriads of yet disembodied spirits-are represented as "four living creatures full of eyes before and behind, in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne."

It is very evident that the description given in Isaiah and in Ezekiel, and the one in this place, are. all "derived from the same original; and that whatever may seem to be the difference between the Seraphim of Isaiah, and the Cherubim of Ezekiel, it is here reconciled by their being brought into comparison with a third common measure, namely, the 'living creatures' of St. John's vision."

The original term is very improperly, in our Bible, translated "beasts." A beast is inferior, and throughout the whole of the prophetic scriptures represents masses of human beings acting below the dignity of their nature; whereas these living creatures are far superior in intelligence to man, and perfectly holy. The difficulty must be great, of representing under a simile, to our conceptions, the spirits of the just in heaven, in their disembodied state; and Ezekiel intimates this difficulty of expressing it by similitudes taken from earthly things, by saying, " as it were the likeness of four living creatures."

In both prophets we see the resemblance to the same animals; but in Ezekiel each "living creature" appears to have the four likenesses in itself, and together therewith a general resemblance to the human form that is, that dignified appearance which distinguishes man from other animals, resulting from his superior intelligence. It is here said, that they were respectively like a lion, an ox, the face of a man, and a flying eagle, each chief of its class, signifying the strength, power, and vigour ;

the usefulness, industry, and labour; the reason and quick-sightedness, with which they serve, obey, and worship God.

From both visions, it appears that no part of these beings was without that wonderful part of animal creation, eyes-the inlets of knowledge and intelligence, expressible of the infinite superiority of their understanding to anything known or experienced in this world, and perfectly agreeing with other parts of Scripture which represent the perfection of knowledge in heaven.

Their position, likewise, before the throne, is agreeable to what is related of that of the righteous dead: "absent from the body, present with the Lord." They are here described as "in the midst of the throne and round about the throne," as if their situation could not be exactly fixed. Ezekiel likewise says, "in the midst ;" but at the same time expresses the uncertainty of their position by these words, "They ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning;" both, however, expressly implying, that it is as near the throne of God as it can be! What they mean, however, in one vision, they mean in the other, and represent in a lively manner the high honour, the blaze of intelligence, the superlatively exalted qualities, the unbounded range, and the delightful employment of every individually saved sinner; thus forming the " general assembly of the church of the first-born, whose names are written in heaven," and who never-ceasingly cry