June 19

all are comforted, improved, and established. To them the Sabbath is an emblem of, and a preparation for, the rest that remains, when the busy week of life is over. They are here learning and loving the song they will sing for ever. The temple below only precedes and introduces the temple above—Thus the pious Philip Henry would often end his “pleasant things” on the evening of the Lord’s day, by saying—“Well, if this be not heaven, it must be the way to it.”

JUNE 19.—“I am Alpha and Omega.”—Revelation 1:8.

ALPHA and Omega are the first and last letters in the Greek alphabet; and therefore stand for the commencement and termination of any concern in question—Therefore it is here added by way of explanation, “The beginning and the ending.”

It is proper to observe that this is the way in which God characterizes himself: “Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God”—This is very decisive. And yet the Lord Jesus applies this title to himself. “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty”—We are not ignorant of the pretence of some, that God the Father is here intended; but nothing like evidence supports it; while the attempt itself betrays a concession that if the words were the words of our Saviour, his divinity would be established. But read again: “I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia. And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, 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 again: “It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.” “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.” Here he is undeniably the speaker; and equally is he so in our text. Now if he had been thus called only in one place, it would have been sufficient for our purpose: but the frequency of the appropriation of the title shows how necessary it is that we always entertain proper apprehensions of his greatness.

But what is the import of the title itself? First, it regards his nature, and shows the duration of it. It never began, and will never end. Hence in another place he is said to be “the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever.” And Paul holds forth this truth by comparing, or rather contrasting him with the creation—He was before the world appeared; and he will be when it is no more: “Thou, Lord,

in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: they shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; and as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail." It is true that angels, and the spirits of just men made perfect, and even their glorified bodies, will be immortal. But they will not continue like him. They are only streams, he is the fountain of life. They are branches, he is the vine that sustains them. In him they will live, and move, and have their being for ever. If he should suspend his influence for a moment, they would return to their original nothingness—"He only," therefore, "hath immortality."

It also regards his agency—The continuance and exclusiveness of it—That he is the commencer and completer—That he is all in all—In what?

Let us look at creation. Modern science has surprisingly enlarged our conceptions of the magnitude and extent of the universe; but glorious and immense as it is—we use only the language of Scripture: "All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made." "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." Thus he is the first cause, and the last end of the whole.

Let us look at providence. Preservation, if it be not a continued creation, requires a continual agency—"And he is before all things, and by him all things consist." "He upholdeth all things by the word of his power." How many creatures are there visible, and what myriads of myriads more, that are invisible, in the air, the water, and the earth! And the eyes of all wait upon him. He openeth his hand and satisfieth every living thing. He is the King of kings, and the Lord of lords. He raises them up, and brings them down, as he pleases: they fulfil his purposes, and will appear at his tribunal. Empires are formed or destroyed at his nod. All their revolutions are connected with his cause; and the kingdom and nation that will not serve him shall perish. He is the head over all things to the Church which is his body; the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

Let us look at redemption. He trod the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with him. By himself he purged our sins. When he died he said, It is finished. And by the one offering up of himself, we are assured he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. And he is not only the Alpha and Omega in obtaining eternal redemption for us, but in the application of it. He saves us by the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. We live in the Spirit; we walk in the Spirit; and this Spirit is "the Spirit of Christ," and derived only from him. The Apostle therefore calls him "the author and finisher of our faith." He is all that faith sees, lays hold of, relies upon, rejoices and glories in. Whose blood but his cleanses us from all sin? Whose righteousness but his can we mention in our approach to God? In whom alone are we free from all condemnation? He only lives to make intercession for us. He only is our advocate