The Vision of the Glory of God
Table of Contents
The Vision of the Glory of God: Part 1
IN the trust that the Lord will, for His own name's sake, give me much reverence of spirit while treading upon such holy ground, I would give forth to the Church what I believe to be a true, though feeble and imperfect, interpretation of the awful yet beautiful vision described by the prophet Ezekiel (chapters 1 & 10), and its connection with every other revelation of visible glory recorded in Scripture. It is not, however, with the desire of producing a skilful interpretation, by which the mind might be amused or interested, that I do so, but because it is clear to me that it involves most important principles both of judgment and conduct; and, if rightly understood, would enable many a saint to detect error and darkness in his path, and to turn from that which is set aside, by the verdict of God, for dishonor and death, " to see this great sight,"-so often partially, but so soon to be completely and perfectly revealed, as it is written, " The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it" (Isa. 40;5).
The renewed, and, therefore, emboldened spirit of the saint is called into present intimacy with this glory; not only the moral glory made known to us in the face of the Lord Jesus, but the grandeur, holiness, and majesty soon to be revealed to sight; for " God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit, for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God" (1 Cor. 2;10-12); and it is, indeed, one of the special acts of " the Comforter" " to take of the things of Christ" (the things concerning His glory, for He saith, " All things that the Father hath are mine"), " and show them unto us,-to show us things to come" (John 16;13-15).
Al! serious thought of God's glory is painful to the flesh; for " God is light, and in him is no darkness at all;" whereas the flesh is but darkness, and in it is no light at all; and light and darkness cannot meet in fellowship. "Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty," is His name and character; whereas we " are carnal and sold under sin." Might, power, and majesty belong unto God; "all flesh is grass, and the glory of it as the flower of the field;" for the sun of God's glory is "no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth" (James i, 11). The new creature in Christ Jesus can alone have fellowship with it,-the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus can alone enable us to gaze on it with an undimmed eye, and with a happy and fearless heart.
Thus the glory of the Lord was made known to Daniel (Dan. 10): "His body was like beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in color to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude;" and the effect on him is thus described by himself: " There remained no strength in me; for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength." The hand of the Lord then touches him, and he is set first upon his knees, and then upright; but still " he stood trembling, and set his face toward the ground and stood dumb;" but when the voice of the Lord was heard in grace, saying, " O man! greatly beloved, fear not, be strong; peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong," the ready answer is, " Let my Lord speak, for thou hast strengthened me."
In the vision of similar glory given to Isaiah (Isa. 6) we see the same results: " I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and hid train filled the temple; above it stood the Seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered hi& face, with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God of Hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory;" then he said, "Woe is me, for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts!" But when the living coal from the altar had touched his lips with the blessed word, " Thine iniquity is taken away and thy sin is purged;" he was prompt to answer the Lord's call of " Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" by " Here am I, send me."
At mount Tabor, when the glory of the kingdom was revealed in the person of its King, who was transfigured before His, disciples, and that "visage which was marred more than that of any man," did shine as the sun, and His raiment became white as the light, and the majesty of the voice of God was heard, "they fell on their faces, and were sore afraid;" and in after days, when the glory of the same Lord was revealed yet more distinctly to one of those very disciples, " he fell at his feet as dead"
(Rev. 1:13-18). But, as at Tabor, Jesus had touched them, and said, " Arise, be not afraid;" so also at Patmos, He laid His right hand on John, saying, "Fear not; I am the first, and the last: I am he that liveth and was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death:" and thus strengthened, he could give heed to the voice " as the sound of many waters," in collectedness and joy of spirit, and bear away the messages of love and warning to the Churches: and yet more, when the voice of the trumpet called him up to heaven, "immediately he was in the Spirit," and so could stand beside the dazzling throne before which the elders bowed, either to weep or to rejoice, in fellowship of heart with all that was revealed there. He was in the Spirit, and that glory is the Spirit's home.
In the vision before us (Ezek. 1) this is repeated.
"This, "says the prophet, " was the appearance of the likeness of the Lord, and when I saw it I fell upon my face;" but the voice that spoke to him said, " Stand upon thy feet, and I will speak to thee, and the Spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet."
The knowledge of God's glory, then, is answered thus by man. All he may have boasted in as comeliness in the flesh is turned to corruption; he learns by it his own weakness, poverty, and uncleanness; he is cast into the dust, and can only say with a trembling heart, " I have heard of thee with the hearing of the ear; but now mine eye seeth thee, wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes" (Job 42: 6). But herein may we rejoice, that grace can then come with its message of joy " to fill the hungry and empty with good things," to set us upon our feet, that we may have fellowship with the glory which has humbled us.
The visions made to Isaiah and Ezekiel, which cast them to the dust as men, and taught them to know in power the solemn truth, " All flesh is as grass," became graven within them; and out of their trembling yet strengthened hearts came forth those mighty utterances of everlasting truth which were the bringing in of all they had seen to bear in destruction upon the pride of Israel and the nations, and the declaration of the triumphs of the grace they had known; " For as truly as I live, saith the Lord, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord" (Num. 14: 21).
Daniel was strengthened to tell the burthen of sorrow and then of joy which remained to his own people; and John (the 'Church's Daniel) was the messenger of all that eventful tale of woe, and yet of surpassing triumph, which was to be the history of the Bride of the Lamb, from the day of His absence till they are crowned together " in the day of his espousals, and the day of the gladness of his heart."
If, therefore, the flesh has still vigor for its own pursuits, if the world has still power to charm us, defiled as it is, is it not because we have not yet seen, or that we abide not in the glory of God's presence? When the prophets saw these wonders, surely they needed nothing else, except as they could use in service to the glory they had seen. When John had seen the throne and Him that sat on it, and had heard the harpers and the new song of the Lamb's exaltation, what was earth to him? Surely nothing, save as the place of his tribulation and patience; and this is the privilege of every saint, to know that glory in spirit, and by judging all present things in the light of its permanent and surpassing excellence, to be enabled " to count them but dung;" so that not only flesh should lose its comeliness in our eyes, however naturally attractive, but all that is adapted to it, " the lust of the eye and the pride of life"-all that the "god of this world" has to give, to keep the heart away from God, should be turned into corruption before us; for this is the sure portion of it all; all, all that is of man, when the glory of the throne of the Lamb breaks in upon this sinful world, when its utmost beauty, " the grace of the fashion of it," will wither and fade before the burning radiance of the light of God's glory in the face of His Son,-then shining as the sun in its strength.
In the unfeigned hope that many will enter into the truth of these prefatory remarks, by having communion with the revelations themselves, through the Spirit, I would go on to the explanation of that in Ezekiel, as the representation of the presence of God in administrative government on earth, and therefore never revealed, indeed never existing, till a fit place had been raised for His presence among His own separated people.
Jehovah had called Abraham to Himself, and watched over him with tender care; He was equally the God of Isaac and Jacob, and His eye was never removed from their circumcised children; but until His arm was raised in power for their rescue out of Egypt, He had never been openly declared to the heathen as their Guardian. As far as the world could discern it, there was no evidence of God's direct interference with anything on earth till then, except in judgment. It was true that the cry of Israel in their bondage had risen up unto Him, and He had not ceased to remember His covenant with their fathers; and " He looked upon them, and had respect unto them:" but the world cared not for that; it knows God only in His acts; and until they were seen in judgments upon Egypt, neither His love for Israel nor His faithfulness to His promises were known or regarded. Israel's deliverance was, however, to make God known; and so " That ye may know that I am the Lord,” was the message to Pharaoh: and further, they were delivered into a condition, in which, as separate to Him, God might exhibit Himself, through them, to the world; and so they were led forth by the glory of the Lord into liberty in the wilderness, that the glory might eventually dwell among them in the nearest fellowship. The cloud and fire went before them to the mount of God in the wilderness; and there Jehovah came near unto them, and spoke unto them, but they could not then bear Him so near unto them; and they said unto Moses, " Speak thou with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die,"-for they were dismayed by the glory of His presence. But God answered their weakness in mercy; " and the law was ordained in the hands of a Mediator" (Gal. 3: 19). The sacrifices were also immediately appointed, as typically foreshadowing the love of God in setting apart a sinless substitute for man's sin, and the holiness of God finding no answer in man, but in His death. The tabernacle erected for God's dwelling place, was sanctified for Him also by the sprinkling of blood; and then it is said, " There will I meet you to speak there unto thee; and there will I meet the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory, and I will dwell among the children of Israel, and be their God" (Exod. 29: 42-45). The gradual approach of man to his God to be blessed, and God to man to make him a blessing, may be distinctly traced in what follows, in accordance with this declared intention of the Lord.
The presence or visible glory of Jehovah was either accompanied or surrounded by a cloud; and this cloud was the sure token of His presence, enfolded, as it were, within it, or very near to it. It was first made visible to Israel as guiding them on to the Red Sea, and through it (Ex. 13: 20-22 14: 19, 20, 24),-as their rereward also in their danger, and out of which it is declared the Lord looked when He troubled the host of the Egyptians. The glory itself is noted as first made visible to them when the manna was given (Ex. 16: 10); yet still afar of, though hovering round them, and leading them on; but it was not until the event before stated had taken place, where the cloud rests on the mountain, and the people are led to the foot of it, that they learn what man is slow to learn, that " our God is a consuming fire," and that all flesh must be destroyed by His presence; the scene described there is man's humiliation before the holiness of God, as I have before briefly shown in the history of the prophets, and man's only answer to that holiness in God's own gift of love, the blood of the holy victim (Ex. 24: 6-8 Heb. 9: 18, 19); and then, as sanctified by that blood, boldness of access to the glory which had but just caused them " exceedingly to fear and quake." Before the shedding of the blood sprinkled upon the altar and the people, none dare touch the mountain (Heb. 12: 20, 21); but after this " went up Moses, Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the Elders of Israel; and they saw the God of Israel, and there was under His feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in clearness;" and as the evidence of their boldness in His presence, it is said, "And upon the nobles of the children of Israel He laid not His hand, also they saw God, and did eat and drink." And into yet nearer access was the typical mediator called; for he was folded up in the cloud with the glory of the Lord as it, which the cloud covered six days, " and the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the children of Israel." It was this glory, thus for the first time described to us, that afterward came yet nearer to all the people dwelling in the midst of the camp of Israel.; at times visible to all Israel, but always, until grieved away by their sin, dwelling between the cherubim in the most holy place in the golden Tabernacle, to be consulted by the anointed high priest as the channel of God's wisdom and love to Israel. The cloud was always visible to all Israel, as hovering over the camp by day and by night in the wilderness, as the sign of God's presence within the tabernacle; but when the glory was grieved away, as though it were the chariot of the Lord, it enfolded the glory and hid it, and rolled away at the bidding of Him who was within it. Its first entrance into the camp of Israel, as its dwelling-place, is recorded in Ex. 40: 33-35 after the golden mercy-seat, or propitiatory, is set up, the priests cleansed and anointed, " according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, and so Moses had finished the work." The cloud then covers the tent of the congregation:-" And the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle, and Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation." And then again, after the cleansing of the people (Lev. 9: 23, 24), when " the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the people, and there came a fire from before the Lord, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat, which, when all the people saw, they shouted and fell upon their faces."
In this consisted the strength and value of Israel, that they were thus made, as a people, a vessel unto honor, sanctified to contain the treasure of God's glory; their high and holy prerogative was the fulfillment of the promise;-" I will dwell among you, and walk among you; and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people." And it was in the understanding of this, that Moses pleaded so earnestly" If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence; for wherein shall it be known here, that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth" (Ex. 33). When Abraham was called out to receive the promises of God, it was said to, him by the Lord, "I will bless thee, and make thy name great;" but to this was added, " and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blest;" this has clearly never been fulfilled in Abraham personally, nor indeed in his seed, whether natural or spiritual; but surely it will be (for the gifts and callings of God are without repentance) when they are able to sustain the glory of God's abiding presence, that He may act through them in blessing to others; to this was Israel called in the manner I have shown; they were chosen out of the nations, and set on high, not only to be blessed by their own happiness in the favor of God, but to carry about with them in the wilderness the golden tabernacle, and its holy and gracious inhabitant; and afterward in the land of their rest, to have His presence ever with them in the " exceeding magnifical temple," and so to exhibit the blessing of His presence to the world, that all nations might turn to Him from their gods of wood and stone, as it is written, " My house shall be a house of prayer for all nations;" and in this they failed, for they sinned, and the glory departed, and the vessel was broken. To the same place, though in a far higher sense, is the mysterious and spiritual Israel called (1 Cor. 3: 16, 17; 2 Cor. 6: 16). And the day is not far distant, when it will be seen to be true in both, in the triumph of God's grace and power, for " the Scripture cannot be broken."
After the Lord had thus taken His place in the midst of His people Israel, His name and character were of course developed according to the circumstances that called them forth. In their journeying through the wilderness, He was known as their Guide and Shepherd, though oftentimes smiting them in righteousness, and turning away from them in sorrow. All the glory afterward unfolded, and yet to be more fully so, was doubtless always in the cloud which declared His presence, for " He is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever."-" The I AM,"—" The Lord God Almighty, which is, which was, and which is to come." But every event in Israel's history brought forth in broader and more distinct features, His attributes and His purposes. Thus in tracing Israel's perplexing history of that day, we see Him as their Shepherd opening heaven for their food, when earth was barren, and bearing them on eagles' wings in His love; yet we shall see, too, how often He hid His face from them in wrath, and how constantly He was thrown upon the remembrance of His own covenant; though for the fathers' sakes He never left them, but always went before them. The glory, however, soon departed from the tabernacle to the cloud: and in every instance, I believe, where He exercises wrath against them, the glory is seen coming, not from the tabernacle, but the cloud, as though fie had been previously grieved, and driven from the place He desired to dwell in, by their sin; and only continued with them in long-suffering till He was provoked by their rebellion to vindicate His holy name, as still present with them, by chastisement and judgment. "But he, being full of compassion, destroyed them not; yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath; he remembered that they were but dust, a wind that passeth away and cometh not again"
(Psa. 78; 38; 39).
When coming into the land, the glory of the Lord takes the part, seen soon after by Joshua, and made known to him in these words, " Nay, but as Captain of the Lord's host am I come" (Josh. 6;14). The changed circumstances of Israel revealed the Lord, not any longer as the tender and vigilant Shepherd only, but as the " Lord mighty in battle." Having " rolled away the reproach" of His people in circumcision by the banks of the Jordan; having sealed in this sign His own gracious forgetfulness of the forty years' sin and shame, He leads them on to victory. The overflowing waters of Jordan stand up in a heap, and are still till the glory moves on-the proud walls of Jericho fall before it, " for the ark of the Lord compassed the city;" and though grieved and driven away by the sin of Achan, as promptly returns at the cry of repentant Israel; and all the might of. Canaan is quickly subdued in righteousness, by the power of the glory of the Lord dwelling in the midst of His consecrated people.
After the death of Joshua, they served the gods of the nations; though in remembrance of His covenant, the glory still continued among them in long-suffering and sorrow, yet was Israel subjected, for their sin, to the nations which had been so easily subdued by them while they were walking in obedience; but as the glory still " dwelt among them," whenever they cried unto the Lord in penitence, He arose in their behalf, and " delivered them out of the hand of all their enemies." It was not till the iniquity of the priesthood had polluted the sanctuary, and that even this was unregarded by Israel, except as oppressive to themselves (1 Sam. 2), and little cared for by those who feared Him, that " He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent which he placed among men, and delivered his strength into captivity, and his glory into the enemy's hands" (Psa. 78: 60;61), and " I-chabod" was written upon Israel (1 Sam. 4: 21;22).
(To be continued.)
The Vision of the Glory of God: Part 2
It was during the continuance of their distress and bondage to the Philistines, consequent on the loss of their strength and glory, that they were tempted, in forgetfulness and disregard of the cause of their calamity, to cry out to Samuel, " Give us a king to judge us" (1 Sam. 8;5;6). They turned not in sorrow to their God, they did not look for the return of the glory on which alone their strength depended, but they sought, by complying with the customs of other nations, to gain equality with them, at least in, worldly. strength. They did not reject Samuel personally, but his mode of government; thinking that a kingly rule, in its pomp and apparent energy, would obtain for them the prosperity they needed. In this they rejected God; they cared not, in their unbelief, for that glory, the presence of which was their only real security, but gave up the pre-eminence of blessing it always insured to them, and were content to be as others. The Lord in His mercy endured this too, and brought (as He always must, or evil would overcome Him), good out of their rebellion,- and fulfilled His own purpose in setting up that Royal Throne, on which His own KING will surely sit to rule in righteousness in that day, which will be as the " morning without clouds, as the clear shining after rain" (2 Sam. 23).
When the ark of the Lord was fully restored to its place in Israel, it was to be the glory of a kingdom. The Lord had chosen and anointed their king. His grace had triumphed over their rebellion, and David, as a type of the true "Beloved," brings back the ark, to accredit and set forth Israel as God's kingdom; and therefore, the next chapter to that which describes the return of the ark (2 Sam. 6), is the prophetic announcement of " the offspring of David " (Rev. 22: 16), to sit upon that throne forever, as it is quoted by the apostle (2 Sam. 7: 14 Heb. 1: 5), " I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a son;" and, from henceforth, the glory revealed that which was seen by the prophet on the hills of Moab, and which is yet to be seen by all in its alone worthy fulfillment, " He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: THE LORI) GOD IS WITH HIM, AND THE SHOUT OF A KING IS AMONG THEM" (NUM. 23: 21).
The throne, however, in its true glory, was not established, even typically, in David, but in Solomon his offspring. His wisdom, and prosperity, and reign of peace, were the partial exhibition of the blessings yet to be revealed on earth, as declared in the 72nd Psalm; and not only so, but as building the beautiful temple, he stood to foreshow the great Solomon, or " Man of rest," of whom it is said, " Even He shall build the temple of the Lord, and He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon His throne "
(Zech. 6: 12;13). The throne of Solomon is also called "the throne of the Lord:" " Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king instead of David his Father, and prospered, and all Israel obeyed him " (1 Chron. 29;23).
Though the ark, therefore, had been restored, and the Lord was with Israel again, and had given them rest from all their enemies, yet it was not till it was brought in solemn triumph, and placed in the beautiful habitation prepared for it by Solomon that the full favor of God is marked to Israel's throne, as it had been before to the wandering camp of His flock in the wilderness, " For it came to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one to make one sound, to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord,-saying, For he is good, for his mercy endureth forever; that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God" (2 Chron. 5;13).
The glory thus revealed, I believe to have been seen in full vision by Ezekiel-the kingly glory of Jehovah. The same attributes of God were of course always in the glory, for it was I Hs presence, and He is from everlasting to everlasting; yet the blessing of kingly government, as that in which God could, and will therefore yet more fully manifest Himself in the day of the Son of man, had not been previously known; but from the moment the glory of the Lord sanctioned the throne of Judah, that kingdom became the care of Jehovah; and as every gracious intention toward man on the part of God failed in man's failure, till the Son of man came as claimant of every blessing, and by never failing, secured for Himself, and for others, every place of authority and blessing delegated to man, and among others, this last revealed to us, that of king; and as Son of man, the offspring of David, and the Lion of the tribe of Judah, lie will one day prove that nothing that God has ever sanctioned can be set aside, except by a higher and further gift; and that if earth is ever to be blessed, it will be by the righteous dominion of His Son, " who will bear the glory and sit upon His throne," " for the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David, and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end " (Luke 1: 32,33).
From this period of the return of the glory, till the scattering of Judah under the judgments of that sad word Lo-ammi, no further or fuller revelation of God was made to them. As directly dealing with Israel, though it were in wrath, it must have been in this character; and, therefore, it is plain that the vision of Ezekiel is the revelation of his kingly glory. The glory of the throne, which will one day be revealed in the sight of all, as it is written, " And the Lord shall be king over all the earth, and in that day there shall be one Lord, and His name one " (Zech. 14: 9).
From the day of Solomon, as in every other instance, Israel gradually fell away from its privileges and blessings. Sin had grieved the Lord, and He ceased to stand forth actively in their behalf, or He would have justified their sin in the sight of the world. The glory doubtless soon left the temple, but not Israel. In the cloud it still hovered over the throne and land of Judah, and was ready to answer every cry of penitence, putting forth instant power to destroy or discomfit the enemies of His people. Though the staff Beauty was probably soon broken, yet Bands was not till Judah was dispersed (Zech. 11); and around the remnant still the glory spread its covering wing in sorrow, destroying the Assyrian in answer to the cry of Hezekiah-making a wall of chariots and horsemen between the hosts of Syria and the prophet-following the weary Elijah to Horeb, and at last the companion of the mournful captive by the river Chebar; for earth, and an earthly throne were its care, till heaven was opened, and a further glory revealed there.
It is in this place the vision is brought before us. We have traced the glory, from its first appearance to Israel as a nation on the plains of Succoth, going forward in triumph to lead that oppressed people to the beautiful inheritance promised to their fathers, down to its faithful and gracious companionship with the captive prophet, sitting and weeping by the rivers of Babylon. Ample are the details of man's sin and God's mercy to be collected from this long course of time and events; and rich is the profit to be gathered by him that hath ears to hear; but I can only now seek in humbleness to interpret the features of the vision itself, and then to follow it in its future course: and both are replete with instruction and interest.
The characteristic form of each living creature was that of a man (Ezek. 1: 5): "And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man:" as at the outset marking the whole vision to represent the essential attributes of God, as revealed in the Son, in whose form or likeness 'man had been created; and therefore, of necessity, the only form in which perfection could be expressed. The wings, feet, and different faces, mark, I believe, in detail, the attributes of Jehovah in manifestation, but all under the control of the Master form-that of a man, as showing it to be the glory of the only begotten of the Father, " who is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of every creature, who is before all things, and by whom all things consist" (Col. 1: 15, 17).
The faces are first noted in detail (ver. 6); and "the face of a man" (ver. 10), has the pre-eminence given to it, not as confirmatory of what is previously shown, but as marking all the distinctive features of this last and best of God's creatures to be in the glory, not imperfect., limited, and broken, as we judge of it, but perfect and unrestrained in exercise; and is thus a symbol of mind, reason, intellect, knowledge, discernment, &c., &c., and in the exercise of which, when subject to the Spirit of the Lord, we have that communion with God to which no other creature can be called," for who hath known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him? but we have the mind of Christ" (1 Cor. 2:16); and the character of the little Horn with "eyes like eyes of a man," probably has the same meaning, although it is descriptive of great wickedness (Dan. 7: 8). The face is always expressive of the character; and thus " the light of the knowledge of the glory of God" is made known to us " in the face of Jesus Christ," as declaring all the unseen moral glory of the Father, while manifest in the flesh. Action is expressed, as it is in this vision, by symbolic members of a body, such as hands, feet, &c., but character only by the face, and this is too simple a truth to need more proof.
The second face is that of " a Lion," which denotes majesty, terribleness, strength, dignity, as it is written, " a Lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any" (Prov. 30); " The king's wrath is as the roaring of a Lion " (Prov. 19:12; 20: 2). It is said of David, " and he also that is valiant, whose heart is as the heart of a Lion" (2 Sam. 17: 10); of the Gadites, that they were men of war, that they were fit for the battle, that could handle shield and buckler, whose faces were like the faces of Lions, and were as swift as the roes upon the mountains (1 Chron. 12: 8 Amos 3: 8).
Lions were the emblems of the strength and dignity of Judah's throne (2 Chron. 9:17-19), the sign in its standard, and the name and title of its only true king-" the Lion of the tribe of Judah" (Rev. 5).
The third is the " face of an Ox," which equally expresses power; but used in patient, persevering labor, strength subjected to bear burdens: when spoken of God, it is expressive of long-suffering, or continued and patient exercise of power in subjection to love; " much increase is by the strength of the ox" (Prov. 14: 4), " able to bear burdens" (Psa. 144: 14, marginal reading), " used to tread out the corn" (Deut. 25: 4 Hos. 10: 11). Like every other attribute of God, as exercised among His people, it is used in their behalf when obedient, and for their trial and chastisement when disobedient; thus His patient love is subject to all their infirmities, and is exercised in bearing the burdens of care and sorrow, when those burdens are cast upon His love in humbleness, for it is -written, " Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee; he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved" (Psa. 55: 22). But the same power is used in separating the chaff from the wheat as in treading out the corn; and therefore there is doubtless direct connection between the feet and this attribute of God, as the hands are in connection with the man's face; the hand being able as a skilful member to give expression by its cunning, in a thousand ways, to the varied thoughts and intelligence of man's mind; but not so the feet, though they are as useful in diligent and laborious service.
The fourth is " the face of an eagle," marking quickness and power of sight, and almost equal rapidity of action, and with which the wings are connected, as the hands with the man, and the feet with the ox. With reference to quickness of sight, the symbol of the eagle cannot be doubted; and I would only quote the Scriptures descriptive of this attribute in our God:—" His eves were as a flame of fire."-" I, the Lord, search the heart, I try the reins."-" Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight, but all things are naked and open unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do."—" Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee, but the night shineth as the day, and the darkness and the light are both alike unto thee."-" The eyes of the Lord run to and fro through the whole earth, to show themselves strong in behalf of those whose hearts are perfect toward him." The rapidity of the eagle's flight is noted in its emphatic history in Job:-" She seeketh the prey, and her eyes behold afar off; and where the slain are, there is she"
(Job 39: 29, 30): and when David would describe the power of Jonathan and Saul, he says, " They were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions" (2 Sam. 1: 23 also Deut. 28: 49; Job 9: 26;
Obad. 1: 4; Prov. 30: 19).
The feet express judgment on the earth, whether in the Church, which is now the only place of judgment (as separating the chaff from the wheat), or in the world in the latter day, when the Son of man cometh to tread the winepress of the wrath of Almighty God; as it is written, " I have trodden the winepress alone, and of the people there was none with me, for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury, and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment" (Isa. 63: 3). And when the remnant of the Jewish people have power given them against the nations gathered round Jerusalem, it is said, " Arise and thresh, O daughters of Zion, for I will make thy horn iron and thy hoofs brass, and thou shalt beat in pieces many people" (Mic. 4: 10-13); and again, " For behold the day cometh that it shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble, and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch; but unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall: and ye shall tread down the wicked in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts" (Mal. 4: 1-3 Psa. 108: 13). That "they sparkled like the color of burnished brass" probably denotes imperviousness to defilement while treading on that which is defiled and defiling, and is a strong corroborative proof of the whole vision being but a symbolic description of the essential glory of the Lord, as the feet of the man appearing to Daniel (Dan. 10), and the Lord Jesus to John (Rev. 1), are described nearly in the same words; in the one, " His arms and his feet like in color to polished brass "-in the other, "His feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace."
(Continued From page 64)
(To be continued.)
The Vision of the Glory of God: Part 3
WINGS are invariably denoted in every description of the cherubim, and declare, I believe, rapidity of action, or I may perhaps say, wherever connected with the cherubim, that they describe the instantaneous action in heaven, consequent on the will of Jehovah, they are further symbols of the standing of everything in heaven as having power to do the will of God, and thus a difference as marked between them and the wheels, inasmuch as one expresses the character of heavenly speed, the other of earthly; and this the careful reader will see in the evident division made in the chapter at the end of the 14th 'verse; the wings only are described till then, as exhibiting the swiftness of obedience or the instant expression of God's will, as "the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning," and the wheels are then spoken of as distinct from the body of the vision, and yet in unity with it; " for the Spirit of the living creature was in the wheels;" now as the wings denote rapidity of obedience in heaven, so do the wheels on earth, being severally the emblems of, speed in air or earth, and the difference is probably distinctly marked in the 19 verse where it is said," when the living creatures Went, the wheels went by them; and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up." The wings were doubtless used to lift up the living creatures, and then the wheels became useless and were lifted up too; but when they moved on the earth, that is, " when the living creatures went, the wheels went on their four sides and turned not when they went."
There are several visions of the glory of God, but in one other only are the wheels mentioned; viz., that of the throne of the Ancient of days: " I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like the pure wool; His throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire" (Dan. 7: 9); and their being so specially noted here is strongly confirmatory of this interpretation of their meaning; for the whole previous prophecy is a description of the dominion exercised on earth by the four empires included in the Image, during the casting of the throne of Judah down to the ground (Psa. 89:44); and the vision describes, as I believe, the judgment of, God, in which He declares all men unfit to rule but Him " who loved righteousness and hated iniquity, and whom He therefore anoints with the oil of gladness above His fellows," saying, " Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of thy kingdom is a right scepter" (Psa. 45).; and having delivered the throne to Him as alone worthy of the trust, all the power and glory is brought into the world by the Son, to execute the Father's judgments, " for He has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son 'of man" (John 5), and the thrones of the world (Assyria, Persia, Greece, Rome, &c.) are cast down, "and the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our 'Lord and His Christ" (Rev. 11:15.; Psa. 89:20-27.; Psa. 110; &c. &c.): in a word, it is the same glory seen by Ezekiel, which in following its course, we shall see has now left the earth,-returning to it again to abide forever.
It will be seen, that though the throne described by Ezekiel is above the firmament, its action is below it, that is, on the earth, for the unity is not broken by the firmament. The Spirit of life, as coming from Him that sat on the throne, filled the living creatures and then the wheels, " for the Spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels." The whole vision is constituted in this unity, and on it depends its energy and rapidity of action, the instant and unimpeded answer to the will of Him, whose life was in. it all as the spring and power of its movements, and the completeness of unity between the will and act, is thus beautifully stated, " and they went every one straight forward, whither the Spirit was to go, they went and they turned not when they went," which doubtless describes analogously the `unity of that mysterious body, instinct with abut one life, which will be the " fullness of Him that filleth all in all," and will perhaps yet further- teach us indirectly what we pray for when we say, " Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven."
The color of amber "with the fire and brightness round about it" (1: 27), as being the appearance of Him that sat on the throne, again. identifies that appearance which was in the throne above the firmament, with the living creatures below it;` for the same description is given of them in the 4th verse. Again, the moving of the wings..and wheels (verse 24, and 3, 12, 13,) is described as the voice of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty, the voice of speech as the voice of an host." In the 43rd chapter of this prophet, 2nd verse,, this is said to be " His voice." In, the vision in Daniel (Dan. 10), " the noise of his words like the voice of a multitude." In the Apocalypse (Rev. 1), "His voice' was as the sound of many waters," thus clearly marking the action of the living creatures and wheels, to be descriptive of power consequent on, or coincident with, the utterance- of Him who sat on the throne. " The voice of the Lord is upon the waters, the God of glory thundereth, the Lord is upon many waters; the voices of the Lord is powerful, the voice of the Lord is full of Majesty" (Psa. 29); and in Rev. 19, where a voice from the throne calls for praise, as I understand it, to the Almighty. Father who has given the Son both His throne, and His bride, the instant and universal answer, the responsive chorus, is described in its power to be as the voice of the Lord of glory, " as the voice of a multitude, as the voice of many waters, as the voice of many thunderings"
(Rev. 19), and is but the proof how fully in that day the Church of God will be informed with the life of its Head, and how their innumerable voices will be but one voice, and their innumerable thoughts and deeds but one; and that, the mind and will and consequent act of Him " who sitteth upon the flood, yea, who sitteth king forever."
The voice from the throne as heard by the prophet (1: 25), was in mercy and grace, and not in power, the voice of God in communion with the weakness of the creature; and so when He was thus speaking, "the living creatures stood and let down their wings;" and this is more distinctly seen in the 3rd and 10th chapters. In the 3rd, while the Lord is giving the burthen to the prophet, all is still; but when He ceases, it is said, " I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, saying, Blessed be the glory of the Lord from this place; I heard also the noise of the wings of the living creatures, that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels—over against them, and a noise of a great rushing" (chap. 3: 12, 13); and in the 10th, where the humiliation of the Lord is denoted, the living creatures are again seen standing with their wings let down.
The throne, being " in appearance as the sapphire stone" (1: 26), identifies it with the glory seen on mount Sinai, " And they saw the God of Israel, and there was under His feet as it were the paved work of a sapphire stone" (Ex. 24:10).
" The brightness, as the appearance of a bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain," is another symbol which connects the whole vision with the earth's destiny; but as it is also seen in the vision when transferred to heaven, it will be better briefly to speak' of it when considering it there.
" The likeness, as the appearance of a man oil the throne," will not be doubted by any, I believe, to.
be the likeness of the only begotten Son, ever manifested thus as the pattern of man's beautiful form, and into perfect conformity with which the Church is predestinated to be changed in the resurrection (Rom. 8: 29); " for our conversation is in heaven, from whence Also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself" (Phil. 3: 20, 21).
Heaven will be glad, and rejoice, and sing " Alleluia! for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth; Amen, Alleluia!"
Earth will echo back its answer of joy. " The Lord reigneth; let the earth rejoice. Let the sea roar and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. Let the floods clap their hands'; let the hills be joyful together before the Lord, for He cometh to judge the earth; with-righteousness shall he judge the world, ' and the people with equity" (Psa. 97, and 98).
The Father then will commit all judgment unto the Son, and " all men will honor the Son even as they honor the Father" (John v, 22, 2); and then shall " every knee bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, and -every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God, the Father" (Phil. 2: 9-11).
(Continued from page 84.)