September 9

“And round about the throne were four and ticenty seats: and upon the seats T saw four and twenty elders sitting, clnthed in white raiment.” — Revelation iv. 4.

some render it “a round table.” From this, some expositors, I think, without straining the text, have said, “There is an equality among the saints.” That idea is conveyed by the equal nearness of the four and twenty elders. The condition of glorified spirits in heaven is that of nearness to Christ, clear vision of His glory, constant access to His court, and familial fellowship with His person: nor is there any difference in this respect between one saint and another, but all the people of God, apostles, martyrs, ministers, or private and obscure Christians, shall all be seated near the throne, where they shall forever gaze upon their exalted Lord, and bo satisfied with His love. They shall all be near to Christ, all ravished with His love, all eating and drinking at the same table with Him, all equally beloved as His favorites and friends, even if not all equally rewarded as servants.

Let believers on earth imitate the saints in heaven in theii nearness to Christ. Let us on earth be as the elders are in heaven, sitting around the throne. May Christ be the object of our thoughts, the centre of our lives. How can we endure to live at such a distance from our Beloved? Lord Jesu, draw us nearer to Thyself! Say unto us, “Abide in Me, ind I in you;” and permit us to sing, “His left hand ig inder my head, and His right hand doth embrace me.”

Oh, lift me higher, nearer Thee,

And as I rise more pure and meet.
Oh, let my soul’s humility

Make me lie lower at Thy feet;
Leas trustiug self, the more I prove
The blessed comfort of Thy lore.