Jesus was the object of heavenly worship

JESUS WAS THE OBJECT OF HEAVENLY WORSHIP
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Revelation14:1 1Then I looked, and there before me
was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him
144, 000 who had his name and his Father's name
written on their foreheads.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
The PerfectChurch
Revelation14:1-5
S. Conway
How well it is for us, in forming our estimates and in regulating our conduct,
to have set before us a true ideal and a faultless standard! To compare
ourselves with ourselves, that is, with men like ourselves, is, so St. Paul tells
us, not wise. And all experience proves the truth of his word. The low levels of
ordinary religious life in the present day all result from our practically, not
professedly, putting before ourselves standards which are faulty and inferior,
instead of those which would be constantly summoning us to higher and holier
attainment. Now, the Word of God is ever furnishing us with such perfect
standards. Our Lord againand again bids us turn our gaze heavenward, that
we may see there how we ought to judge and what we ought to be. How
frequently he speaks ofour Fatherin heaven, that we may beheld in God the
true ideal of all fatherhood! And that we may the better understand and act

towards our children, he tells us that "in heaven their angels do always
behold," etc. And when his opponents murmured, as was their wont, at his
receiving sinners and eating with them, he rebuked them by the reminder that
in heaven there is not murmuring, but joy, even over "one sinner that
repenteth." And here in these verses we who belong to the Church on earth
have given to us a vision of the perfect Church - the Church in heaven. And
the contemplationof it cannotbut be well for us, that we may judge thereby
our beliefs, our worship, our selves, and seek more and more to conform them
to the heavenly pattern. Observe, then -
I. THAT WE CANNOT LIMIT THE CHURCH TO ANY ONE VISIBLE
CORPORATEBODY. The claims of any such Church body here on earth to
be exclusively the Church, and the denial of membership therein to all outside
that body, are shown to be false by the fact that the notes and characteristics
of the true Church are found in many Churches, but exclusively in none.
There are, thank God, few Churches, if any, that have not some of them. Out
of all of them the Church is gathered, but to no one of them is it confined. The
members of the Church are describedhere as having the name of the Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ "written upon their foreheads." Now, this is a figure
of speechto tell of the characterof those who form the Church; that that
characteris:
1. God like. It is the Father's name which is written; hence they who bear it
are holy and without blemish, perfecteven as the Father in heaven is perfect.
2. Visible. It is written on their foreheads. The light shines before men; it
cannot be hid. That godliness is much to be questionedwhich no one can see,
or which is hidden awayand kept for only certain seasons,places,and
surroundings. That which is here said teaches the reverse of such a doubtful
thing.
3. And it is permanent. It is "written." "Litera scripta manet." It abides, not
being a thing assumed for a time, and like the goodnesstold of by Hosea,
which as the "morning cloud" and "early dew goeth away." It is the habit of
the life, the continual characteristic ofthe man. Such, in generalterms, is the
distinguishing mark of membership in Christ's true Church. And againwe

gratefully own that in all Churches it is to be found. Would that it were on all
as in all!
II. THE CENTRE OF THE WORSHIP OF THE PERFECTCHURCHIS
"THE LAMB." St. John says, "I beheld the Lamb;" not "a Lamb," as the
Authorized Version reads. He does not stop to explain. He has so often spoken
of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Lamb, that there canbe no room for doubt as
to his meaning. It is the Lord Jesus Christ, not so much in his more majestic
attributes - his might, majesty, and dominion - that we are bidden behold, but
in his sacrificialcharacteras "the Lamb of God who taketh awaythe sin of
the world." As such he is the Centre of the Church's adoration. He is seenon
Mount Zion, that site of Israel's temple being takencontinually in Scripture as
the symbol of the home of God's redeemedand the scene oftheir eternal
worship. He is surrounded by the Church of the Firstborn - "the firstfruits"
unto God, whom he has redeemedby his blood. The number named here,
twelve and the multiples of twelve, is ever associatedwith the Church. And the
twelve times twelve tells of the Church's completion, the "accomplishmentof
the number of the elect." Now, in the midst of that perfect assembly, that
Church of which these are the representatives, stands "the Lamb" as the
Object of the adoration, the love, and the worship of all. That Church on
earth must, then, lack this distinct note of the heavenly Church if in it Christ
the Sonof God, as the Redeemer, the Saviour, the Sacrifice for the world's
sins, be not lifted up as the Objectof all trust, love, and obedience, and if he be
not so regardedby the members of such Church. Let us ask - What is he to
ourselves? How do we look upon him who is thus lookedupon by the Church
in heaven? In the midst of our Zions, do we see, as the chief, the central, the
pre-eminent figure, the Lamb of God? And in the inner temple of our own
hearts, is he there enshrined and enthroned as he hath right and ought to be?
What is our hope and what our trust? How can we ever hope to be numbered
with "the Church of the Firstborn," if the name of him, to which every heart
there responds, awakesno echo, no answering thrill, in us? Our lips utter that
name often enough, and in all manner of ways; but what do our hearts say?
That is the question to which this vision of the Lamb on Mount Zion,
surrounded by the adoring Church, should give rise in every one of us. And
may God grant that it may meet with a satisfactoryanswer!

III. THE WORSHIP OF THE PERFECTCHURCHIS A JOYFUL
WORSHIP. We are told that "they sung a new song." Joyfinds utterance in
song;it is its natural expression;and when, therefore, we read of the songs of
heaven, it is proof of the joys of that blessedplace. The worship of heaven
takes this form. Here, prayer and preaching form, and properly form, part of
our worship; but there, praise alone is heard. Here, we wail our litanies and
pour forth our supplications; but there worship is all song - the voice of glad
thanksgiving and joyful praise. How much is told us of the blessedfuture in
that one fact!And of this song we are told many precious things.
1. How full voiced it is! St. John likens it to that "ofmany waters" - that loud,
resonantsound as when the floods lift up their voice, or the sea roars, or
where some vastvolume of water pours itself from over a greatheight to some
far down depth. What a sound comes up from that boiling caldron of tossing
waves!The magnitude of the sound of that song is what St. John seeksto set
forth by his similitude of "many waters."
2. And its majesty also is indicated by its comparisonto "a greatthunder " -
the voice of the Lord as they of old regardedit. It is no mean, trivial theme
that has inspired that song, but one that wakes up every heart, and opens the
lips of all the redeemed, to show forth the praise of him who hath redeemed
them. It is a noble song, grand, glorious. How could it be otherwise, telling as
it does of deeds of such Divine heroism, of conquests of such moment, and of
sacrifice so vast?
3. And how sweeta song is it also!For St. John supplies yet another
similitude: its sound was like that "ofharpers harping with their harps." So
sweet, so soulsubduing, so full of heavenly delight, that it brought smiles to
the saddestcountenance, andwiped awayall tears. And is not the song of
redemption just such a song as that? Even we know of songs of Zion so
unspeakablybeautiful, and set to music such as, it seems to us, even angelic
choirs might rejoice in. But if earthly song canbe so sweet, though coming
from lips and hearts so little pure, what must that song have been which is
told of here, and which St. John can only compare, for its unutterable beauty,
to the strains of the most perfect instruments that the ancient world knew of -
the harp, Judah's national symbol, and bestbeloved accompanimentof

praise? But not alone the mingled magnitude, majesty, and sweetnessofthe
sound of this song is setforth here, but also its substance.
4. It was "a new song." There had never been anything like it before. They
who sang it had never joined in, or even heard of, such song till they sang it in
the presence of. the Lamb on Mount Zion. It could not but be new, for it was
inspired by new and glorious revelations of God; sung amid conditions and
surroundings that were all new, and by hearts and lips made new by the
renewing grace of the Holy Spirit of God. Much there had been in days past
for which they had been constrainedto praise and give thanks, but till now the
half had not been told them, and hence none of their old songs would serve.
They must sing a new song;it could not but be new.
5. And it was knownby none but those who sang it. "No man could learn that
song but," etc. How can he who has never even been to sea know the joy of
him who has been saved from shipwreck? Who but the child knows the
mother's love? The song told of here is but the result of the experiences
through which they who sing it have been led. How, then, canthey sing it who
have known none of these things? But those representedby the hundred and
forty-four thousand know the depths of sin and sorrow from which, and the
heights of holiness and joy to which, and the love by which, and the purpose
for which, they have have been uplifted. They know the conviction of sin, and
the joy of pardon, and the Holy Spirit's grace, and the love of Christ. But
what does the unbeliever know of these things? and how, therefore, can he
learn this song? The question comes - If such be the worship of the heavenly
Church, are our Churches on earth preparing their members to join therein?
Churches here should be vestibules for the heavenly Church. Is the Church
with which we are associatedso to you and me? No one can learn that song
unless they be redeemed. Have we the qualification? Have we come to Christ?
Are we trusting in him? "We must begin heaven's song here below, or else we
shall never sing it above. The choristers of heavenhave all rehearsedtheir
song here ere they took their places in the choir of heaven." But only Christ
can touch the soul's sin darkened eye, and cause it to see that truth which will
make redemption precious, and hence he who is our Saviour must be also our
Teacher. So only can we learn the new song of his redeemed.

IV. ITS MEMBERSARE WITHOUT FAULT. After that the blessed
condition of the redeemed has been set forth, we are next shown their
character. The generaland symbolic expressionwhich tells how they all have
the "Father's name written on their foreheads" is expanded and explained by
the more definite declarations whichwe must now notice. It is said "they are
without fault," or "blameless,"as the RevisedVersion reads;and the apostle
specifies four of the chief temptations to which they had been exposed, and
which they had resistedand overcome.
1. And the first he names is that of impurity. In the unusual expressionin
which this sin is referred to, there is no countenance of any teachings which
would give higher place to the single over the married life. If the unmarried
alone are amongstthe redeemed, it is questionable if one of the apostles ofour
Lord would be found there. But that which is pointed at is those sins of which
it is best not to speak, but which we know full well have their roots in the very
centre of our nature, and which it is a lifelong struggle to repress and subdue.
But this must be done, and - blessedbe he who saves notonly from the guilt,
but the might of sin! - it may be done, and is being done, even as it was with
"these" ofwhom our text tells.
2. Half heartedness. Greatwas,and greatis, the temptation to follow Christ
only along paths not difficult. But to follow him "whithersoever" he went - ah!
how many would be and are sore tempted to shrink from that! They would
follow their Lord for some way - even at times a long way; but to follow where
difficulty, danger, disgrace, death, waited for them - from that how many
would shrink! But "these" did not.
3. Conformity to the world. "These"hadthe holy courage to be singular, to
come out "from among men," to go againstthe stream, to be other than the
rest of men. low difficult this is those only know who have tried to do as
"these" did. The assimilating power of the societyin which we mingle is
almost resistless, andoften it is full of spiritual peril. It was so to those for
whom St. John wrote, and not seldom it is so still. Hence we have to go unto
Christ "without the camp, bearing his reproach." "These"did this, and so
won the high honour and rich reward told of here.

4. Insincerity. When to confess Christmeant, perhaps, the loss of all things,
yea, their very lives; when martyrdom was the guerdon of faithful
acknowledgmentof their Lord, how tremendous must have been the
temptation to tamper with truth, to conceal, to compromise, to evade, to
equivocate!But of "these" it is said, "in their mouth was found no guile." He
who is the Godof truth, yea, who is the Truth, everlays greatstress on this
virtue of guilelessness, whilstdeceitand lies are declaredabominable in his
sight.
CONCLUSION. Suchwas the characterof that perfectChurch - "the
firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb." Doubtless there were all other forms of
Christ likeness -love, patience, meekness, andthe rest - for the varied forms
of Christ's grace as seenin characterare generallyfound in clusters. Where
you find some you generally find others, yea, in some measure, all of them.
But as we read of only what is said here, our heart well nigh despairs, and
would altogetherwere it not that the same source of all goodness is open to us
as to them of whom we here read.
"Oh, how can feeble flesh and blood
Burst through the bonds of sin?
The holy kingdom of our God,
What man can enter in?" And the sadreply would be, "None," were itnot
that he who summons us to such high attainment ministers all neededgrace.
Therefore we may and we must be "holy as he is holy." - S. C.
Biblical Illustrator
A Lamb... and with Him an hundred forty and four thousand.
Revelation14:1-13
The 144,000

J. A. Seiss, D. D.
I. WHO ARE THESE 144,000?Theyare the identical 144,000sealedones
spokenof in chapter 7., with only this difference, that there we see them in
their earthly relations and peculiar consecration;and here we see them with
their earthly careerfinished, and in the enjoyment of the heavenly award for
their faithfulness.
II. WHAT ARE THE CHIEF MARKS OR CHARACTERISTICSOF
THESE 144,000?
1. The first and foremostis that of a true and conspicuous confession. They
have the name of the Lamb and the name of His Father written on their
foreheads. This is their public mark as againstthe mark of the worshippers of
the Beast. There is nothing more honourable in God's sight than truth and
faithfulness of confession.
2. Another particular is their unworldliness. Whilst most people in their day
"dwell upon the earth," sit down upon it as their restand choice, derive their
chief comfort from it, these are "redeemedfrom the earth" — withdrawn
from it, bought awayby the heavenly promises and the Divine grace to live
above it, independent of it. They are quite severedfrom the world in heart
and life.
3. A third point is their pureness. "They are virgins," in that they have lived
chaste lives, both as to their faithfulness to God in their religion, and as to
their pureness from all bodily lewdness.
4. A further quality is their truthfulness. "In their mouth was not found what
is false." These people were truthful in speech, had also a higher truthfulness.
They have the true faith; they hold to it with a true heart; they exemplify it by
a true manner of life. They are the children of truth in the midst of a world of
untruth.
III. WHAT, THEN, IS THEIR REWARD?
1. Taking the last particular first, they stand approved, justified, and accepted
before God. "They are blameless." To standbefore God approved and

blameless from the midst of a condemned world — a world given over to the
powers of perdition by reasonofits unbelief and sins, is an achievementof
grace and faithfulness in which there may well be mighty exultation.
2. In the next place, they have a song which is peculiarly and exclusively their
own. Though not connectedwith the throne, as the Living Ones, nor crowned
and seatedas the Elders, they have a ground and subject of joy and praise
which neither the Living Ones nor the Elders have; nor is any one able to
enter into that song exceptthe 144,000.None others everfulfil just such a
mission, as none others are ever sealedwith the sealof the living Godin the
same way in which they were sealed. Theyhave a distinction and glory, a joy
and blessedness, afterall, in which none but themselves canever share.
3. They stand with the Lamb on Mount Zion. To be "with the Lamb," as over
againstbeing with the Beast, is a perfectionof blessing which no language can
describe. It is redemption. It is victory. It is eternalsecurity and glory. To be
with the Lamb "on Mount Zion" is a more specialposition and relation.
Glorious things are spokenof Jerusalemwhich have never yet been fulfilled.
On His holy hill of Zion God hath said that He will setup His King, even His
Son, who shall rule all the nations (Psalm 2.). The Lamb is yet to take
possessionofthe city where He was crucified, there to fulfil what was written
in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin over His head when He died. And when that
once comes to pass, these 144,000are with Him, His near and particular
associatesin that particular relation and administration.
4. They are "a firstfruit to God and to the Lamb," not the firstfruit of all the
saved, for the Living Ones and the Elders are in heavenly place and glory
above and before them; but a firstfruit of another and particular harvest; the
firstfruit from the Jewishfield, in that new beginning with the Israelitish
people for their fathers' sakes,whichis to follow the ending of the present
"times of the Gentiles." They are brought to the confessionofChrist, and
sealedin their foreheads with the name of both the Fatherand the Son, during
the time that the rest of their blood-kin are covenanting with and honouring
the Antichrist as Messiah.
IV. WHAT, NOW, OF THE ANGEL-MESSAGES?

1. The first message.Thatan angel is the preacher here is proof positive that
the presentdispensation is then past and changed. It is no longerthe meek
and entreating voice, beseeching men to be reconciledto God, but a great
thunder from the sky, demanding of the nations to fear the God, as over
againstthe false god whom they were adoring — to give glory to Him, instead
of the infamous Beastwhom they were glorifying — to worship the Makerof
all things, as againstthe worship of him who can do no more than play his
hellish tricks with the things that are made; and all this on the instant, for the
reasonthat "the hour of judgment is come."
2. The secondmessage. With the hour of judgment comes the work of
judgment. A colossalsystemof harlotry and corruption holds dominion over
the nations. God has allowedit for the punishment of those who would not
have Christ for their Lord, but now He will not allow it longer. Therefore
another angelcomes with the proclamation: "Fallen, fallen, the great
Babylon," etc. The announcement is by anticipation as on the very eve of
accomplishment, and as surely now to be fulfilled. The particulars are given in
chapter 17. and 18. There also the explanation of the object of this
announcement is given. It is mercy still struggling in the toils of judgment, if
that by any means some may yet be snatched from the opening jaws of hell;
for there the further word is, "Come out of her, My people," etc.
3. The third message. And for the still more potent enforcementof this call a
third angelappears, preaching and crying with a greatvoice, that whosoever
is found worshipping the Beastand his image, or has the Beast's mark on his
foreheador on his hand, even he shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God
which is mingled without dilution in the cup of His anger, and shall be
tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the angels and in the
presence ofthe Lamb, and the smoke of their torment ascends to the ages of
ages, andthey have no restday and night! It is an awful commination; but
these are times of awful guilt, infatuation, and wickedness.And when men are
in such dangers, marching direct into the mouth of such a terrible perdition, it
is a greatmercy in God to make proclamation of it with all the force of an
angel's eloquence. The same is also for the wrongedand suffering ones who
feel the power of these terrible oppressors. Ittells them how their awful griefs
shall be avengedon their hellish persecutors.

4. The fourth message. There is no suffering for any class ofGod's people in
any age like the sufferings of those who remain faithful to God during the
reign of the Antichrist. Here, at this particular time and juncture, is the
patience or endurance of them that keep the commandments of God and the
faith of Jesus. To come out of Babylon, and to stand alooffrom its horrible
harlotries, is a costly thing. Therefore there is another proclamation from
heaven for their specialstrengthening and consolation. Whetherthis word is
also from an angelwe are not told; but it is a messagefrom glory and from
God. And it is a sweetand blessedmessage.It is a message whichJohn is
speciallycommanded to write, that it may be in the minds and hearts of God's
people of every age, and take awayall fearfrom those who in this evil time are
calledto lay down their lives because they will not worship Antichrist.
"Blessedare the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth." And when
violence, cruelty, and slaughterare the consequence ofa life of truth and
purity, the soonerit is over the greaterthe beatitude.
(J. A. Seiss, D. D.)
The communion of saints
ArchdeaconManning.
I. The communion of saints is THE RESTORATIONOF FELLOWSHIP
BETWEENGOD AND MAN. There are in the will and work of God three
perfect and eternal unities: the unity of three Persons in one nature; the unity
of two natures in one Person;and the unity of the Incarnate Son with His
elect-the Head with the members of His Body mystical. This is the foundation
of the communion of God and man. "A Lamb stood," etc.
II. The communion of saints is THE RESTORATION OF THE
FELLOWSHIP OF MEN WITH EACH OTHER. Our regenerationunites us
to the Divine Personin whom God and man are one; and by union with Him
we are reunited to all whom He has likewise united to Himself. As the vine has
one nature in rootand stem, branch and spray, fibre and fruit, so the mystical
and true Vine in earth and heaven has one substance and one life, which is the

basis of all fellowshipin love and will, in sympathy and action, in mutual
intercessions ofprayer, and in mutual ministries of power. Lessons:
1. Let us learn, first, that we can never be lonely or forsakenin this life. No
trial can isolate us, no sorrow can cut us off from the communion of saints.
There is but one thing in which the sympathy of Christ has no share, and that
is, the guilt of wilful sin.
2. And let us learn further, by the reality of this heavenly fellowship, to live
less in this divided world.
3. Lastly, let us learn from this communion of saints to live in hope. They who
are now at restwere once like ourselves — fallen, weak, faulty, sinful, etc. But
now they have overcome. Only one thing there is in which we are unlike them:
they were common in all things except the uncommon measure of their
inward sanctity. In all besides we are as they; only it is now our turn to strive
for the crown of life.
(ArchdeaconManning.)
Having His Father's name written in their foreheads
The sublimest human distinction
Homilist.
I. It is the most BEAUTIFUL. The face is the beauty of man; there the soul
reveals itself, sometimes in sunshine, and sometimes in clouds. The beauty of
the face is not in features, but in expression, and the more it expresses of
purity, intelligence, generosity, tenderness, the more beautiful. How beautiful,
then, to have God's name radiating in it! God's name is the beauty of the
universe.
II. It is most CONSPICUOUS. "Intheir foreheads." It is seenwhereveryou
go, fronting every object you look at. Godliness cannotconcealitself. Divine
goodness is evermore self-revealing.

III. It is most HONOURABLE. A man sometimes feels proud when he is told
he is like some greatstatesman, ruler, thinker, reformer. How transcendently
honourable is it to wearin our face the very image of God! Let us all seek this
distinction. With the Father's name on our foreheads we shall throw the
pageantry of the Shahs, the Czars, and all the kings of the earth into
contempt.
(Homilist.)
The name on the forehead
Preacher's Portfolio.
I.A CLAIM OF APPROPRIATION.
II.A SIGN OF OFFICE.
III.A MARK OF DIGNITY.
IV.A PLEDGE OF SECURITY.
V.A MEMENTO OF OBLIGATION.
1. To remember that ye are not your own.
2. To profess openly.
3. Faithfully to discharge functions.
4. To the exercise ofunvarying trust.
5. To be holy.
(Preacher's Portfolio.)
Harpers harping with their harps
Musicalart in its relation to Divine worship

J. W. Shackelford, D. D.
We claim for music the first place among the fine arts.
1. Becauseit is the most ideal, for the ideal is the highest.
2. Becauseit most thoroughly expressesthe various emotions of the human
mind, and therefore has the widest reachover human life.
3. Because, like love, it is eternal.
I. WHAT KIND OF MUSIC IS BEST? Universalagreementon the subjectis
not to be expected, because the subject is so mixed up with questions of
expediency, of taste, of knowledge.People have a right to expectthat the
canticles and hymns shall be sung to music in which they can join, but devout
people who can sing must be taught that, while spiritually alert, they must be
vocally silent in many parts of Divine worship.
II. HOW CAN WE BEST SECURE THE BEST MUSIC FOR DIVINE
WORSHIP? As to the voices, assuming that those of the men are sweetin
quality, the successofa male choir may be said to depend on three things
mainly: First, that the voices of the boys shall be properly trained, so that they
produce a clearand flute-like tone. Secondly, that no music should be
attempted which is beyond the ability of the choir to execute. Thirdly, that
nothing be put on the programme until it is thoroughly rehearsedand well
known. Then let everything be done "decentlyand in order." Then will our
Church music be a realhelp to devotion. Hearts will be uplifted, voices
upraised. Then will our sacredsongs be as the echo of the angelic songs above,
and God will be glorified.
(J. W. Shackelford, D. D.)
Music in heaven
G. Kingsley.
There is music in heaven, because in music there is no self-will. Music goes on
certain laws and rules. Man did not make these laws of music; he has only

found them out; and if he be self-willedand break them, there is an end of his
music instantly; all he brings out is discord and ugly sounds. The greatest
musician in the world is as much bound by those laws as the learner in the
school, and the greatestmusician is the one who, insteadof fancying that,
because he is clever, he may throw aside the laws of music, knows the laws of
music best, and observes them most reverently. And therefore it was that the
old Greeks,the wisestofall the heathens, made a point of teaching their
children music; because theysaid it taught them not to be self-willed and
fanciful, but to see the beauty of order, the usefulness of rule, the divineness of
laws. And therefore music is fit for heaven; therefore music is a pattern and
type of heaven, and of the everlasting life of God, which perfectspirits live in
heaven; a life of melody and order in themselves;a life of harmony with each
other and with God.
(G. Kingsley.)
They sung as it were a new song
The new song in the soul
Fred. Brooks.
(with Ephesians 5:19): — The text from St. Paul is the necessaryintroduction
to the one from St. John. They both suggestfor us the necessaryconnectionof
inner and outer harmony of being. What makes martial music noisy, blatant,
offensive? It is when a spirit of mere savagequarrelsomenessis in connection
with it. And what makes it majestic and able to marshal and lead hosts? It is
the force of national duties and earnestness, giving it commanding power. Our
texts give the highest Christian form of this truth, the connectionof inner and
outer harmony. It declares that no man canlearn the new song who has not
been redeemedin nature; none cansing it who has not made, first, melody in
the heart unto the Lord. First, considerthis in connectionwith the statement
that holiness, goodness, is a concord. Every virtue is a harmony. It is the result
of combining different and separate tendencies. Itis complex. It is, as it were,
a chord of the inner music, formed by striking different notes of character

together, and combining them in one. And that is what makes virtue so hard
of acquisition and a virtuous Christian life such a struggle. The true graces
are harmonies of different notes;are chords of character;not merely a single
note of character, struck with a single finger, easily, and at once;but each, a
combination of various notes of character, revealedonly by using all the hand,
and both hands of life; including different parts and requiring earnest,
anxious toil, before it is harmoniously and truly struck — struck with
pleasure to the greatHearer, to whose earyour charactermakes melodyin
your heart, the Lord. Look at some of the severalvirtues, and see if it be not
so;that eachone is a chord, a combination, a harmony. Take love, or charity,
the most winning and prominent of virtues. It is not simple. In its true height
it is a combination. It is composedof the union of self-sacrifice and
benevolence to others. Passionis never true love, for it is selfish. Or take
another human virtue, true human courage, and see its componentparts.
Who is a brave man, but he who, keenlyalive to pain, tingling through and
through with sensitiveness ofdangerand love of life, is yet also full of the
sense ofduty and the glow of patriotism, and out of those two very different
parts constructs the delicate, perfect harmony of his courage?Oragain, select
a third one out of the catalogue ofnoble human characteristics;and see how,
in its true form, it is harmony, a combination of differing elements. Take
freedom, liberality, or liberty of spirit. There is a true and a false freedom.
The false freedom is simply license. It has only one thought — to do its own
will, to getits own desire, to be unbound by others'will. It has no harmony. It
has but a single note, a single tone, and it is easilygained. There is no struggle,
no argument to reconcile and combine any differences in a melody. But there
is a truer human liberty than this; that which Paul describes whenhe says,
"as free, but as servants";one which strives, while doing its own will, to be
sure that it is also doing the will of Godand truth; one which labours to
combine obedience with freedom, to be obediently free and to be freely
obedient; to make it the freest actionof the human will to do God's will, and
to obey the commandments of His love and truth. That is a hardly gained, but
a very rich harmony. Take still one more example of the fact that every virtue,
in its true, essentialform, is a concord, a combination of tones. You will find it
in the trait of justice. To be just is not a very simple operation. It requires,
first, wisdom, judgment, intelligent powerof discerning and discriminating. It

requires, secondly, courage,freedomto announce the decisionof wisdom,
without fear or prejudice. It requires, thirdly, temperateness, powerofself-
restraint, that there be no excess, orpassion, or over-statementof one's
decisions in the vehemence of his convictions. Every actof justice must include
these three. But let us think on a little further. The Bible calls human virtues
and graces "fruits of the Spirit." Their harmony is produced by the Spirit of
God. Have you ever stood and wondered at the wild, sweetmusic of an
AEolian harp — held by no human hands, resonantunder no human fingers,
but swayedby the breathing winds of nature, bringing forth its strange
combined melodies? Such an instrument is the human soul. Strung and held
by no human hands, with the spiritual breath of God the Spirit passing over
its strings, seeking to awakenthem to speak in those perfectharmonies which
we call "virtues," but which the Bible calls "fruits," or results "of the Spirit."
Oh, let us not quench the Spirit. It is about us, fraught and laden with all the
airs and strains of God; able and waiting to call them out of our hearts, and
the materials of our characterand nature. By it we may be able to make
melody in our hearts to the Lord. By it we may strive to do here what the
redeemedshall de by it at lastbefore the throne, in that land of the Spirit. We
may learn from the Spirit that perfect new song which canonly be sung by a
melodious heart and nature.
(Fred. Brooks.)
The music of heaven
S. D. Hillman.
1. The heavenly song is describedas "a new song." And it is so in that the
theme of it will be new. "They sing," says St. John, "the song of Moses the
servant of God, and the song of the Lamb." The song of Moses celebrated
redemption out of Egypt. Here, on earth, the Church cannot fully
comprehend the whole development of the plan of Divine mercy. The process
is still going on, and not until all the savedare brought to glory will it be
completed; and hence those songs which most appropriately express our
holiest thoughts and aspirations here will not be suited to our condition

hereafter. "The new song" is adapted to our enlarged powers and to our
altered circumstances.
2. Continued freshness will characterise the song of heaven. The sweetest
strains lose more or less of their freshness by constant repetition.
3. Further, the music of heaven shall give rise to new emotions. In the life of
the celebratedcomposerHandelit is statedthat upon being askedhow he felt
when composing "the Hallelujah Chorus," he replied, "I did think I did see all
heaven before me, and the greatGod Himself." And it is said that a friend
calledupon him when he was in the act of setting to music the pathetic words,
"He was despisedand rejectedof men," and found him absolutelysobbing.
What will be the emotions of joy and gratitude which will be experienced
when all the redeemed, gatheredout of every nation, and kindred and tongue
shall unite as with one heart and one voice, and sing "the song of Moses and of
the Lamb"?
4. And then unlike the songs ofearth, "the new song" shallnever be
interrupted. Sin, sorrow, death, are all unknown there! The song of heaven
shall be an eternalsong, and the strains of the music of the heavenly harpers
shall flow on for evermore!Have you the prospectof joining the heavenly
throng?
(S. D. Hillman.)
A song of freedom
J. M. Hoppin.
A "new song," it is doubtless the song of a new and higher victory. A song is,
above all, an expressionof the heart, something spontaneous, the irrepressible
upspringing of an inward emotion. A bird sings because it cannot help
singing, and because its little heart is thrilling with an overflowing joy; and so
they who sing the "new song " have had, doubtless, some true experience of a
greatgoodand joy which causes them to sing. I think that it is the experience
of every thoughtful man that all the real misery springs, in some way, from

spiritual wrong. If he have lost friends, which is one of our greatnatural
griefs, yet if sin had not thrust itself into this sorrow, if the soul of the friend
as well as one's ownhad been perfectly true to God, and to right, one would
find in the bereavementa cause to rejoice, for to the holy dead God reveals
the fulness of His love. It is the conscious wantof the love of God, manifesting
itself in acts of selfishness, ingratitude, and treasonto truth and duty — it is
always this that has made the human spirit wail. Selfishness is a constantpain,
and love a constantjoy. I do not deny the many natural sorrows oflife, and
that they are sometimes painful beyond human power to endure, but we
would be strong from a Divine strength to bear troubles and sufferings which
fall to our lot in this life, and they would be only for our discipline and
perfection, were we without transgression. Thesewould be outside sufferings.
But it is the feeling that we have acted unrighteously, that we have stained our
soul's honour, that we have been unthankful to the heavenly Father. It is this
that consumes the spirit within us. If we arc raisedfor one instant by the
quick motion of faith, by the absorbing exercise of prayer, by the unselfish act
of pure obedience, into the light and liberty of God's presence, we gaininward
freedom and peace, we experience anabsolute deliverance from the tyranny
of evil. We may perceive, then, why the powerof sin in our human nature is
calledin the Scriptures a "bondage." It is pure absolutism. Let the bondsman
strive once to free himself, to shake himself loose from his bonds, to change his
own nature, and he will see what a graspevil has. To be freed from the power
of evil would soothe all pangs, would wipe awayall tears, sorrow, care, and
would restore to the life-giving presence and joy of God. Can we not then
begin, in some feeble manner I grant, to perceive or imagine what may be the
significance ofthe "new song"? It is in truth a song of freedom, and we need
not wonderthat it is represented to be like the sound of many waters, the
outpouring of innumerable hearts on the free shore of eternity, for God has
made the soul to be free and to have no law over it but the law of love. There
are, indeed, but few such chords that vibrate in human hearts. Sorrow is one
of these. Coleridge saidthat at the news of Nelson's death no man felt himself
a strangerto another; and of these universal chords, that of freedom is also
one. Such a spontaneous cry rises from an enslavednation, whose chains are
broken by some God-inspired man. Never shall I forgetthe mighty shout I
heard that went up from the whole people of Florence, gatheredtogetherin

the greatmarket-square of the beautiful city on the Arno, at the news of a
decisive victory gainedover the powerful enemy of Italian independence —
Austria. A new, unlooked-for joy poured into the hearts of the suffering and
long-oppressedItalian people that they were at length free! It made them one.
It overflowedtheir hearts with sudden strength, and men fell upon each
other's necks and kissedeachother, and their joy found expressionin shouts
and songs. So it will be a new joy in heaven to be free — to be free from the
shameful oppressionof evil. The believer may, in some feeble and imperfect
measure, in his besttimes, when Christ his Light is near, be able to conceive of
this state of entire victory over, or deliverance from, sin, because he has in the
present life yearnings after it, and prophecies of it; but to the unrenewed mind
this truth is not quite clear. It is, on the contrary, a thought which gives that
mind, when it thinks at all, much uneasiness and confusion. For it has had
fleeting tastes ofsweetnessin this earthly life, and in those pleasures into
which God does not come, poor though they be, and it fears to lose those
alloyed and swift-passing experiencesofhappiness in being holy. It would not
release entirelyits hold upon these, for fear of losing its happiness altogether.
But we must let go one to win the other. We must push off from the shore of
this world to gain the free shore of eternity; and so complete is the victory of
heaven, that not even such an electric thought of evil as has been described,
shall pass over the soul. Holiness is happiness. Goodness is joy. Love is
freedom. There are no remains of the conflict of temptation. The spell of sin is
broken; and as freedom is one of those things that never grows old, so the
song of heaven shall be a "new song."
II. But another and higher sense remains, in which it would seemthat the
song of heaven is calleda "new song," arising from the fact that this heavenly
freedom which is sung, does not end in ourselves, in our freedom or holiness
or joy, but ends in Christ, and in the Divine will in which dwells this pure and
mighty powerof the soul's deliverance from evil.
(J. M. Hoppin.)
The song of the redeemed

R. Watson.
I. THEIR CHARACTER. They are "redeemedfrom the earth." Redemption,
in their ease, was notmerely virtual, but actual;not in price only, but also in
power. It was a redemption carried into their personalexperience. Suchmust
ours be, or the price of our redemption has been paid for us in vain. There is
pardon, finely representedas implying submission to God, and acceptance
and acknowledgmentby him. The Father's name is written in their foreheads.
There is confessionofGod before men. They practised no unholy
concealment;their religionwas public, and declaredat all hazards. They were
undefiled. They were unspotted from the world, even its more prevalent
errors-errors recommendedby example, justified by sophistry, alluring by
interest, and enforcedby persecution. There is their obedience. This is
impressively described by their following the Lamb whithersoeverHe goeth.
There is their completeness. Sanctifiedthroughout, they were preserved
blameless in spirit, soul, and body. And there is their redemption from earth.
They were redeemed from its corporate society, as the world. That remained;
they were chosenout of it. They were redeemed from its cowardlyand selfish
principles, by which truth is sacrificedto ease and gain; whereas these
sacrificedease andgain for truth. From its example; for, while the multitude
were wandering after the beast, these were following the Lamb. From Rs
pollutions; for they had been washedfrom their sins by the blood of Him who
loved them. From earth itself; for they are now before the throne.
II. THEIR PLACE. "Before the throne."
1. It is the place of glorious vision.
2. It is the place of eternal security. Day is there, never succeededby night.
There is quiet, unbroken by alarm: the gates of the city are not shut by day or
night. There is life, never to be quenched in death. For ever does the river flow
from under the throne, and the tree of life feels no winter.
III. THE REPRESENTEDACTION.
1. "Theysang." Powerfulemotions of joy seek foroutward expression. This is
one of the laws of our very nature. The expressionwill be suitable to the

emotion. Grief pours forth its wailings;joy is heard in the modulations of
verse, and the sweetswells and cadencesofmusic.
2. They sang "a new song." Everydeliverance experiencedby the saints of
God calls for a new song:How much more, therefore, this, the final
deliverance from earth! Their song is new, as demanded by new blessings.
John saw before the throne "a Lamb, as it had been newly slain." The phrase
intimates that blessings for ever new will flow from the virtue of His
atonement, and the manifestationof the Divine perfections by Him. Nor shall
the song be new as to individuals only, but as to the whole glorified Church.
3. They sang it "before the throne." The glorious fruit of "the travail of His
soul."
IV. THE PECULIARITY OF THEIR EMPLOYMENT. "No mancould learn
that song." Notso much to the sound, the music, of the song, as to its subject,
does this language refer;and such subjects only can be turned into song, as
dwell in the very spirits of the redeemed.
1. There are remembered subjects. The redeemed from earth recollectthe
hour when light broke In on their darkness.
2. There are presentsubjects.
(R. Watson.)
The unlearned song of the redeemed
C. A. Bartol.
What can be the meaning of this singular announcement of a song not to be
taught even to the other inhabitants of heaven? We need but refer to a
familiar principle of the mind's operations, whose religious significanceis
often not perceived;by which toil, pain, and trial, however grievous in the
experience, turn to comfortand delight in the retrospect. As, by the influence
of chemicalattraction, the most glossywhite is brought out on textures
originally of the blackestdye, or as the mere constantfalling of the bleaching

sunlight makes a dull surface glisten like snow, so do the soul's melancholy
passageschange as they are actedon by reflection, and the darkestthreads of
its experience brighten in the steady light of memory. There are few
enjoyments more exquisite than the father feels in telling his son of the
hardships of his early life. How he dilates on the efforts and sacrificeswith
which he beganhis career!But would he spare one hard day's labour, though
it wore and bent his frame? one hour's thirst, with which his lips were
parched? Not one: not one act of self-denial, not one patient stretch of
endurance; for all these, by this transforming principle, have become most
pleasantto his mind. On the same principle, we can understand, without
referring to unworthy motives, the soldier's interest in his oft-repeated
narratives. Oh, the dark and deadly scene!the ground wet with blood, and the
smoke of carnage mounting heavy and slow over the dead and the dying I It is
not necessarilythat his soul breathes the spirit of war; but it is that these, like
other trials, turn to joys, as viewed from the height of his present thought,
stretching picturesquely through the long valley of the past. The same
principle operates in the hardships of peacefullife. The sailorhas a like
gladness from the dangers with which he has been environed on the stormy
deep. He interprets the almost intolerable accidents that overtook him into
goodand gracious providence, and sings of his calamity, privation, and fear.
So all the sweetestsongs, andall the grandestand most touching poetry, that
have ever been on earth breathed into sound or written in characters, have
sprung out of such work and strife, sorrow and peril. And why should not a
new song, unknown even to the elder seraphs, be so composedand framed in
heaven, out of all life's trouble and disaster;while the mercy of God, the
atoning influence of Christ, all heavenly help and guidance that they have
receivedin their struggles, shalladd depth and melody to those voices of the
redeemed? Such is the mystery and bounty of the Divine. Paradoxicalas it
may seem, God means not only to make us good, but to make us also happy,
by sickness,disaster, anddisappointment. For the truly happy man is not
made such by a pleasantand sunny course only of indulged inclinations and
gratified hopes. Hard tasks, deferredhopes, though they "make the heart
sick," the beating of adverse or the delay of baffling winds, must enter into his
compositionhere below, as they will finally enter into his song on high. There
is more than pleasantfancy or cheering prediction in that language about

beauty being given for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of
praise for the spirit of heaviness;for out of dust and ashes alone beauty can
grow;supreme gladness glistens nowhere but upon the face where grief hath
been sitting; and the highest praise to God is sung when He hath delivered us
from the pit of woe and despair. The opening of one of the most strangely
beautiful flowers, from the roughest of prickly and unsightly stems, is an
emblem of the richestblooming of moral beauty and pleasure from thorns
and shapes of ugliness in the growth of the immortal mind. But there is a
strict condition. They who would blend their voices in that happy choir, to
which the hosts of heaven pause to listen, must be faithful in performing this
toil, in overcoming this temptation, in enduring this trial. An ancient poet
says, it is a delight to stand or walk upon the shore, and to see a ship tossed
with tempest upon the sea;or to be in a fortified tower, and see hosts mingled
upon a plain. But what is such pleasure compared with that felt by those who
look down from the firm ground of heavenupon their own tossings in the
voyage they have with a sacredand religious faithfulness accomplished, and
fix their retrospective eye on the fight they, with a holy obstinacy, wagedwith
their own passions and besetting sins?
(C. A. Bartol.)
The new song
James Kidd, B.A.
We shall begin our meditation on this vision by considering the occupationof
those referred to. They sing. Praise is often spokenof as the chief occupation
of the saints in heaven. Nor need we wonder that such is the case. Theyhave
passedto the land of pure delight. They mingle in congenialsociety. Above all,
they behold Him, whom they have long adored afar off, and with Him they
maintain unbroken communion. His presence and voice fill their hearts with
joy, deep and intense. Nor does the inspiration of their song come only from
the present; it comes also from the past. Then they fully learn what has been
done to them and for them during their earthly journey. This praise, too, is
unceasing. Other engagements and interests concernmen in this life. They

have wants that must be supplied; they have burdens that must be borne; they
have battles that must be fought. And these urge them to prayer as often as to
praise. Even up to the Jordan's bank they must stretchforth their hands and
raise their voice in supplication. But, in that better land, they enjoy
satisfactionand rest. Full provision has been made, and they have only to
celebrate the goodnessthat has done it all. That which they sing is called"a
new song." It is heavenly in origin and character. It is no feeble strain of
earth, weak in thought and poor in expression. It far transcends in matter and
in form the psalms and hymns and spiritual songs ofthe Church below. These
were suited to the partial knowledge ofthis lowersphere, but they are
inadequate to the fuller view and the deeper experience to which the
redeemedhave risen. Of that anthem we catchsome echoes in the revelation
which John has given us. It is a song of salvation, it is a shout of triumph. It is
called"the song of Mosesand of the Lamb," and this title is suggestive ofits
tenor. From a danger greaterthan that to which the Israelites were exposed
have those who are with the Lamb been delivered. Notfrom physical evil or
an earthly enemy, but from spiritual loss and death, and from the power of
the wickedone, have they been rescued. Notonly, therefore, do they sing the
song of Moses;they sing also the song of the Lamb. Being a new song, it must
be learned by those who would sing it. But the text warns us that this is
possible only for those who have undergone a certain training. Without
discipline we cannot take our place in the choir above, engage in the
occupations, orenjoy the beauties and delights of the Paradise above. This,
indeed, we might understand apart from revelation. All experience combines
to suggestit. In the material world everything has its place and work, and is
speciallyfitted for filling the one and performing the other. We recognise in
that sphere the reign of law. Every branch of industry has its own rules and
its own methods. To learn these an apprenticeship must be undergone. And
this is as applicable to the moral regionas it is to the socialand the
intellectual. Place a man of dissolute habits, of vicious temper, of impure
thought, of blasphemous speech, in the company of men and womenwho are
spiritual in tone, pure in thought, reverent in speech, and what will his
experience be? Not certainly one of satisfactionand enjoyment. He will be
wretched. He will long to escape that he may go to his own company and to his
own place. Now, this truth, which is receivedand actedon in all spheres of

human activity, has force beyond the limits of earth. It touches the
constitution of things: it rests on our nature, and must, therefore, determine
our experience not only here but hereafter. To occupy our minds with the
foolish, if not the wicked, things of earth, is to render ourselves incapable of
dealing with the concerns of heaven; that before we can even learn the song of
the redeemedwe must have been prepared, for not every one canlearn the
new song that is being sung before the throne, before the four beasts, and
before the elders. But we are not only warned that preparation is required; we
are also taught in what it is to consist. Its generalcharactermay, indeed, be
gatheredfrom what has just been said. We have been reminded that to engage
heartily in any occupationwe must make ourselves acquainted with its rules
and methods, that to enjoy any societywe must have in some measure risen to
the attainment of its members. In order, then, to discoverwhat is needful, by
way of training, before we canjoin this company, enjoy their fellowship, and
sing their song, we have only to inquire by what features they are marked.
They are spiritual in character, they are with the Lamb on Mount Zion, they
are pure and holy. From this it follows that the education which those who
would join them must undergo is spiritual. It is not intellectual only. Mere
acquaintance with what concerns persons is not of necessitysympathy with
them. Only when knowledge touches heartand life can there be fellowship, for
only then are companions animated by the same spirit and interested in the
same subjects and pursuits. Nor, on the other hand, can the training be
merely mechanical. By no outward washing or cleansing can we free the soul
from its foul blot; can we make ourselves pure, worthy to stand before the
greatwhite throne and Him who sits thereon. The one hundred and forty and
four thousand who do learn the song are said to have been "redeemedfrom
the earth." They have been "redeemed." This indicates that by nature they
are not fit for the occupationreferredto. The faculty qualifying them for it
has been lost, and has to be restored. The dormant faculties must be roused
and developed, the powers that have been misapplied must be converted. The
term "redemption" is employed in Scripture in two different senses, orrather
to suggesttwo aspects ofthe change which it indicates. At one time it signifies
release from the bondage of the Evil One without; at another, release from the
bondage of the evil nature within. Here it is the inner rather than the outer
reference that is in view. It is less escape from slaveryand danger than purity

and elevationof characterthat is thought of. Not at once are we made fit for
heaven in the fullest sense:not at once is the hold which sin has gained on us
relaxed. That comes by struggle, by warring againstthe powers and
principalities arrayed againstus, and to which we have submitted.
Emancipation in this view is education, growth, advance. The possibility of it
rests on living faith, and the realisationof it is gradual, to be carried forward
day by day. We have not yet attained, neither are we already perfect, but we
follow after, pressing "towardthe mark for the prize of the high calling of
God in Christ Jesus."In His footsteps we should be seeking to walk, and only
as we are doing so are we preparing ourselves for the engagements andthe
delights of the BetterLand. That such is the nature of the redemption spoken
of in the text becomes still clearerwhenwe observe that those spokenof are to
be redeemed "from the earth." By the earth is meant the lower nature, and
what stands relatedto it. To be redeemed from the earth is to be lifted above
it, to use it without abusing it, to act under the control of the Spirit, and this is
a movement that should be upward as wellas onward — not monotonous
progress on a dead level, but achievement, victory, exaltation. It must be
apparent to every one that redemption from earth means meetness for
heaven, Heaven and earth, in their spiritual use, stand opposedto eachother.
To be subject to the one is to be beyond the range and influence of the other.
We should then be striving after this redemption; we should be seeking to
value aright the things around, and we should be endeavouring to free
ourselves from their dominion; we should be struggling, that the evil powers
within may be subdued — knowing that only thus can we be prepared for
joining the glorious company above, for learning the new song, and for
celebrating the praise of Him who hath wrought salvationfor us.
(James Kidd, B.A.)
The new song
T. G. Selby.
Whilst passing in early manhood through a stage of deep dejection, John
Stuart Mill found occasionalcomfortin music. One day he was thrown into a

state of profound gloomby the thought that musical combinations were
exhaustible. The octave was only composedoffive tones and two semi-tones.
Not all the combinations of these notes were harmonious, so there must be a
limit somewhere to the possibilities of melody. No such possibility can limit the
range of the "new song," for it shall be pitched to the key of God's ever-
renewedmercies. We need not dread an eternity of monotonous, mill-round
worship. The originality of God's mercy will be a spring of originality in us.
(T. G. Selby.)
No man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand
Man training for heaven
Homilist.
I. HEAVEN REQUIRES HIS TRAINING. Man cannot blend in the happy
harmony of the celestialstate without previous training. Analogy would
suggestthis. In the physical system, every being is fitted to his position; his
organismis suited to his locality. In the socialsystemthe same principle of
fitness is required. The stolid clowncould not occupythe professor's chair;
nor could he who is reckless concerning law, right, and order, occupy the
bench of justice. It is just so in relation to heaven. To feel at home in the
societyof the holy, cheerfully to serve the Creatorand His universe, and to be
in harmony with all the laws, operations, and beings, in the holy empire, we
must manifestly be invested with the same character. But what is the training
necessary? It is moral — the training of the spiritual sympathies; the heart
being brought to say, "Thy will be done."
II. REDEMPTION IS THE CONDITION OF HIS TRAINING. "Those who
were redeemedfrom the earth. The redemption here referred to is evidently
that procured by the system of Christ (Revelation5:9). The training requires
something more than education;it needs emancipation — the delivering of the
soul from certain feelings and forces incompatible with holiness — a
deliverance from the guilt and power of evil. The grand characteristicof
Christianity is, that it is a power"to redeem from all evil."

III. THE EARTH IS THE SCENE OF HIS TRAINING. "Redeemedfrom the
earth." The brightest fact in the history of the dark world is, that it is a
redemptive scene. Amidst all the clouds and storms of depravity and sorrow
that sweepoverour path, this fact rises up before us as a bright orb that shall
one day dispel all gloom and hush all tumult. Thank God, this is not a
retributive, but a redemptive scene. But it should be remembered that it is not
only a redemptive scene, but the only redemptive scene.
(Homilist.)
Angelic incompetency
T. De Witt Talmage.
It seems that when the song of grace rises in heaven, there are a great
multitude who are incompetent to take part in it. What is the song that utterly
defies the unfallen spirits of heaven? It is the song of redemption, and I shall
give you two or three reasons whythose unfallen spirits find it an
impossibility to sing it.
1. First, they never were redeemed. from sins. Standing in the light of heaven,
they know nothing about the joy of rescue. Having sailedfor ages onthe
smooth seas ofheaven, they know nothing about the joy of clambering out
from the eternalshipwreck. Beautiful and triumphant song, but they cannot
sing it. It is to them an eternalimpossibility.
2. Again, these unfallen spirits of heavencannot mingle in that anthem
because they do not know what it is to be comforted in suffering. You
sometimes find a pianist who has been through all the schools, and has his
diploma; but there seems to be no feeling in his playing. You say: "What's the
matter with that musician?" Why, I will tell you: he has never had any
trouble. But after he has lost children, or been thrust into sickness,then he
begins to pour out the deep emotion of his own soulinto the instrument, and
all hearts respond to it. So, I suppose that our sorrows here will be somewhat
preparative for the heavenly accord. It will not be a cold artistic trill, but a
chant struck through with all the tenderness of this world's sufferings.

3. Again, I remark that the unfallen spirits of heavencannot join in the
anthem of grace in heaven, because they never were helped to die. Deathis a
tremendous pass. Do you not suppose when we get through that dark pass of
death, we are going to feel gratitude to Christ, and that we will have a glorious
anthem of praise to sing to Him? But what will those unfallen spirits of heaven
do with such a song as that? They never felt the death shudder. They never
heard the moan of the dismal sea. But you say: "That makes only a half and
half heaven; so many of these spirits will be silent." Oh, there will be anthems
in which all the hosts of heaven canjoin. The factthat there will be a hundred
and forty and four thousand, as statedin the text, intimates that there will be
a vast congregationparticipating. That song is getting sweeterand louder all
the time. Some of our friends have gone up and joined in it. If our hearing
were only goodenough, we would hear their sweetvoices rippling on the night
air.
(T. De Witt Talmage.)
Not defiled with women
Undefiled
W. Milligan, D. D.
The words cannot be literally understood, but must be takenin the sense of
similar words of the Apostle Paul, when, writing to the Corinthians, he says,
"ForI am jealous overyou with a godly jealousy;for I espousedyou to one
husband, that I might present you as a pure virgin to Christ." Such a "pure
virgin" were the hundred and forty and four thousand now standing upon the
Mount Zion. They had renounced all that unfaithfulness to God and to Divine
truth which is so often spokenof in the Old Testamentas spiritual fornication
or adultery. They had renounced all sin. In the language of St. John in his first
Epistle, they had "the true God, and eternal life." They had "guarded
themselves from idols."
(W. Milligan, D. D.)

Follow the Lamb whithersoeverHe goeth
The followers ofthe Lamb
C. H. Spurgeon.
I. AN OUTLINE OF THE CHARACTER OF THOSE BLESSED ONES
WHILE THEY ARE HERE.
1. First, notice their adherence to the doctrine of sacrifice while they are here:
"These are they which follow the Lamb."
2. And, next, it is clearof these people that they followedthe Lamb by
practically imitating Christ's example, for it is written, "These are they which
follow the Lamb whithersoeverHe goeth." Try to put your feetdown in the
footprints that He has left you. Do aim at complete conformity to Christ; and
wherein you fail, mark that.
3. Now, notice in the sketchofthese people that they recogniseda special
redemption: "These were redeemedfrom among men." Christ had done
something for them that He had not done for others.
4. And as they recognizeda specialredemption, they made a full surrender of
themselves to God and to the Lamb: "These were redeemedfrom among men,
being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb." If you are the firstfruits unto
God, be so;if you belong to yourself, serve yourself; but if, by the redemption
of Christ, you are not your own, but bought with a price, then live as those
who are the King's own, who must serve God, and cannotbe contentunless
their every action shall tend to the Divine glory, and to the magnifying of
Christ Jesus.
5. These people who are to be with Christ, the nearestto Him, are a people
free from falsehood. "In their mouth was found no guile." If we profess to be
Christians, we must have done with all craft, policy, double-dealing, and the
like. The Christian man should be a plain man, who says what he means, and
means what he says.

6. And then, once more, it is said that they are free from blemish; "they are
without fault before the throne of God."
II. A GLIMPSE OF THE PERFECT PICTUREIN HEAVEN.
1. Well, first, those who are with Christ enjoy perfect fellowshipwith Him. Up
there, they "follow the Lamb whithersoeverHe goeth." Theyare always with
Him.
2. Well, now, notice in this complete picture, next, that up there they are
perfectly acceptedwith God: "These were redeemedfrom among men, being
the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb." God always accepts them; He
always looks upon them as His firstfruits, bought with His Son's blood, and
brought by His Son into His heavenly temple, to be His for ever. Sometimes
here we mar our service;but they never mar it there.
3. Observe, also, that they have perfecttruth there in heart and soul: " In
their mouth was found no guile." "No lie," says the RevisedVersion. Here, we
do fail into error inadvertently, and sometimes, I fear me, negligently.
4. One more feature of that perfect picture is this, they enjoy perfect
sinlessnessbefore God:"They are without fault before the throne of God."
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
The followers ofJesus
T. Kidd.
I. THE INSTRUCTIVE VIEW OF CHRISTIANS which the text presents.
1. To follow Jesus is to maintain a visible professionof His religion. Are we
doing this, or are we halting and hesitating? Is our characteruniform, or are
we religious and the contrary just as serves our convenience, and meets the
wishes of our associates?
2. To follow Jesus is to receive Him as a Saviour. This implies the subjection of
the soulto Him.

3. To follow Jesus is to listen to Him as a teacher. A scholarfollows his
master; he respects his authority.
4. To follow Jesus is to obey Him as a Sovereign.
5. To follow Jesus is to imitate Him as an example.
II. What there is in such persons REMARKABLE;or why our attention
should be so particularly directed to them: "These are they."
1. We see in them the favourites of heaven. The Lord loves them; He honours
them; He delights to bless them, and to do them good.
2. We see in them the monuments of Divine mercy. "These are they" whom
God hath calledout of darkness into His marvellous light.
3. They are the most honourable characters onthe face of the earth.
Honourable in reality, not in appearance;in the sight of angels and of God,
not perhaps in the judgment of men.
4. They are the most happy persons in times of difficulty and trial. These enter
into the spirit and life of religion: they taste its comfort, they prove its real
enjoyment.
5. They are the instruments of the Redeemer's glory. "All Mine are Thine,
and Thine are Mine; and I am glorified in them"; glorified in their faith, their
patience, their hope, but especiallyin their holy and active obedience.
6. They will be the inhabitants of a better world, the companions of Christ in
His kingdom.In that upper world they still follow Him, but without the least
reluctance, without the most distant feeling of languor. Reflections:
1. Are we the followers of Jesus?
2. What cause have we all to lament our carelessnessandcowardice in
religious concerns!
3. Let us rise to greatervigour in the ways of the Lord, and be unreservedly
devoted to Him.
(T. Kidd.)

Devotionto Christ
R. Forgan, B. D.
I. In devotion to Christ we find THE TRUE GUIDE OF LIFE.
II. In devotion to Christ, we find THE TRUE JOY OF LIFE.
III. In following Christ is revealed to us THE TRUE END OF LIFE.
(R. Forgan, B. D.)
The followers ofthe Lamb
W. Dyer.
I. WHAT IT IS to follow the Lamb whithersoeverHe goeth. In His
commandments — teaching — providences — example. Truly, without
hypocrisy; constantly, without apostasy. Speedily, truly, undividedly,
zealously, humbly, cheerfully, diligently, constantly, faithfully, transcendently.
II. WHY they follow the Lamb. Because theyare redeemedby His blood —
enlightened by Him — loving Him — possessingHis spirit, etc.
III. THE EXCELLENCY of following the Lamb. They have His presence —
shall know His mind — may come boldly to Him — shall be protectedby
Him, etc.
IV. HOW THEY MAY BE KNOWN who follow the Lamb. By their character
— spirit — name — graces — associates— language.
(W. Dyer.)
Absolute obedience to the guidance of Christ
Bp. Woodford.

We do not, of course, take the number here specifiedas implying more than
greatness andcompleteness. Itis based, probably, upon the number of the
twelve apostles, and of the twelve tribes largely multiplied, and expresses, as
has been said, the native and not degenerate progenyof the apostles. Theyare
the princes of the kingdom, perfect in a multiform unity, which are so
delineated, equally derived from every quarter. What has won them their high
pre-eminence? What has causedthem to exceltheir brethren, so as to stand
nearestto the Lamb upon the heavenly mount? Others may be pure, for the
pure alone shall see God; others are redeemed, for otherwise there could be
no salvation; but that which builds the thrones of the twelve and the long line
of saints who come after is the following — the Lamb whithersoeverHe goeth.
I. IT IS PROBABLE THAT THERE ARE FEW, IF ANY, AMONGST YOU
WHO DO NOT HOLD WHAT CALLED THE MAIN TRUTHS OF THE
GOSPEL. Complete unbelief is yet a rare thing amongstus. But if we go a
little further and inquire to what the acceptanceofthe Christian Faith on the
part of the multitude amounts, it will be found that their belief is but vague
and general, that a vast element of scepticismmingles with their faith. To a
certain extent, and to a certainextent only, do they follow the leading of
Christ. Whilst He speaks ofthat which is easyof apprehension, which accords
with the natural instinct, or is of palpable utility, they attend Him closely. Lo!
He tells of meekness, andpurity, and uprightness, and charity; they go
heartily along with Him. He warns of a judgment to come, by which the
inequalities of this earthly life shall be adjusted; this squares with the
conclusionof human intellect and is cordially received. But when He would
lead them further, to the acceptanceoftruths which cannot be demonstrated,
which to some extent, at any rate, must be believed on the witness of others,
they recoil. Thus the duty and expediency of public worship is admitted. It is a
national acknowledgmentof duty, an instrument of Christian instruction; but
to partake of the BlessedSacramentinvolves the admission of certain
supernatural powers still operating among us, and forthwith the great
congregationdwindles to a scantycompany. Nay, is not this sort of feeling on
the increase?Justas there have been those who would not neglectprayer,
though abstaining from Holy Communion; so, because prayer involves the
.presentaction of God, we are now hearing of men refusing to pray, and

reducing religion yet further to the hearing and acting out moral lessons.
Thus, while the guidance of the Lamb conducts to the knowledge ofwhat is
within the graspof human reason, men are well pleasedto wait upon His
steps;but no soonerdoes He move, as it were, out of the open country, and
pass onward into the narrower defiles of a land on which rest clouds and
darkness, and there is nothing to guide save His footfall, than their steps halt.
They follow Him not whithersoeverHe goeth.
II. But we would not confine the application of the text to the case ofdoctrine;
IT MAY WELL BE EXTENDED TO THAT OF PRACTICE ALSO. There is
no more sadspectacle thanthat of a man whose conduct falls short of his
convictions. He can admire the nobility of character, the self-devotion, the
unworldliness of the saints of God; he is acute enough to perceive that the
doctrines which theoreticallyhe has accepteddo, if fairly workedout, leadto
a higher line of life; but, withal, he shrinks from pursuing it. He foreseeshow
much must be surrendered, how many difficulties must be encountered, how
few, perhaps, will appreciate him when all is done; and so he continues to live
on a commonplace life of coldness and self-indulgence, with high principles
and low practice — a splendid ideal, but no personalapproachto it. "These
are they which follow the Lamb whithersoeverHe goeth!" How do they stand
out, those saintly ones, in sharpestcontrastwith the half-obedience of
ordinary Christians! Once having embracedthe faith, theirs was the firm,
unflinching tread of men prepared to resignall, to lose all. Through evil
report and goodreport, through honour and dishonour, they followedtheir
Lord whithersoeverHe led. Whithersoever — to the snapping asunder of
closestties, to the abandonment of our cherished hopes. Whithersoever — to
the restraint of the reasoning faculty, to the submission of private opinion, to
the subjectionof the will, to the quenching of the passions. Wouldto God we
might only drink in a little of their temper! There is, it has been well said, a
first superficial will in man which resents opposition, refuses chastisement, as
the child puts from it the medicine draught. So even Jesus Christprayed that
the cup might pass from Him. There is a second, deliberative will in man,
which is formed upon reflection, and which is, in fact, the realact of volition.
By this Jesus Christ took the cup and drank it to the dregs. That, whatever
our first impulse, this secondtruest will shall in all things acquiescein what

God speaks anddoes about us and for us, must be our effort; so only can we
train ourselves here for following the Lamb whithersoeverHe goeth along the
infinite windings of the Everlasting Hills.
(Bp. Woodford.)
The firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb
The greatersalvation
S. Conway, B. A.
There is a salvationgreaterand less. Forhere it is said that these hundred and
forty-four thousand are "firstfruits." Therefore we learn —
I. WHAT THESE ARE NOT.
1. They are not all the saved. The very word indicates that there is much more
to follow. They are but the beginning. Nor —
2. Are these firstfruits the mass of the saved. True, a large number is named;
but what is that comparedwith the "greatmultitude that no man can
number, out of every," etc.
II. WHAT THEY ARE. The word "firstfruits " teaches us that these thus
named are —
1. The pledge of all the rest. Thus Christ has "become the Firstfruits of them
that slept" (1 Corinthians 15:20). And so the natural firstfruits of corn
guaranteedthe rest of the harvest. For the same sun, and all other nurturing
forces which had ripened the firstfruits, were there ready to do the same
kindly office for all the rest. And so we are told, "The Spirit of Him that
raisedup Jesus from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies." The
same power is present for both the first and after fruits.
2. The pattern and representative of all the rest. Compare the first and after
fruits. In the main they were alike, and so in the spiritual world also. But —

3. The firstfruits were pre-eminent over the rest. They were specially
presentedto God, and held in honour; so was it with the natural grain. But,
without question, there is pre-eminence implied in being the firstfruits of the
heavenly harvest.(1)In time. Theirs is "the first resurrection," ofwhich we
read in chap. Revelation20. "The rest of the dead lived not againuntil the
thousand years," etc. (chap. 20.).(2)In honour. St. Paul calledit "the prize of
our high calling of God in Christ Jesus." And our Lord tells us that there is a
"first" and "last" in the kingdom of heaven; "a least" and "a greatest.""One
star differeth from another star in glory." There is "anentrance administered
abundantly," and there is a "being savedso as by fire."(3)In service. That
they were pre-eminent here, who that knows their history on earth, or reads
even this book, will question?(4)In character. See how they are describedas
to their spiritual purity, their unreservedconsecration, theirseparateness
from the world, their guilelessnessand freedom from all deceit.(5)In the
approval of God. Of them it is written, "Blessedand holy is he that hath part
in the first resurrection" (chap. Revelation20.).
4. They are the electof God. In another part of this book they are spokenof as
"the called, and chosen, and faithful." All are not firstfruits, greatest, first, in
the kingdom of heaven. The very words imply order, gradation, rank. But it is
for us to take heed as to —
III. WHAT WE SHOULD STRIVE TO BE.
(S. Conway, B. A.)
The Church God's firstfruits
W. Milligan, D. D.
The mention of the hundred and forty and four thousand as "firstfruits"
suggeststhe thought of something to follow. What that is it is more difficult to
say. It can hardly be other Christians belonging to a later age of the Church's
history upon earth, for the end is come. It canhardly be Christians who have
done or suffered more than other members of the Christian family, for in St.
John's eyes all Christians are united to Christ, alike in work and martyrdom.

Only one supposition remains. The hundred and forty and four thousand, as
the whole Church of God, are spokenof in the sense in which the same
expressionis used by the Apostle James:"Of His own will He brought us
forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His
creatures." Notas the first portion of the Church on earth, to be followedby
another portion, but as the first portion of a kingdom of God wider and larger
than the Church, are the words to be understood. The whole Church is God's
firstfruits, and when she is laid upon His altar we have the promise that a time
is coming when creationshall follow in her train, when "it shall be delivered
from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of
God," when "the mountains and the hills shall break forth before the
Redeemerinto singing, and all the trees of the fields shall claptheir hands."
Why shall nature thus rejoice before the Lord? Let the Psalmistanswer:"For
He cometh, for He cometh to judge the earth: He shall judge the world with
righteousness, andthe people with His truth."
(W. Milligan, D. D.)
In their mouth was found no guile.
Truthfulness
It is related that when Petrarch, the Italian poet, a man of strict integrity, was
summoned as a witness, and offered in the usual manner to take an oath
before a court of justice, the judge closedthe book, saying, "As to you,
Petrarch, your word is sufficient."
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
THE CITADEL OF THE SAINTS AND THE SERVANTS OF THE LAMB.

(1) And I looked. . .—Better, And I saw, and behold, the Lamb (not “a
Lamb:” it is the Lamb, the true Lamb of God, againstwhom the wild beast
wages savageand subtle war) standing on the Mount Sion. The Saviour, the
Lamb, in whose blood the saints have found their victory, is seenstanding on
the citadelof the heavenly city. Babylon is to be introduced (Revelation14:8).
In contrast, Zion, the chosenabode of God(Psalm 132:13-18), the type of the
spiritual city whose citizens are true to the King (comp. Psalm2:6; Psalm
74:2; Hebrews 12:22-24), is introduced. There are to be seenthe Lamb, setas
King upon the holy hill of Zion, and with Him the sealedones, His faithful
soldiers and servants. They are described as 144,000 innumber: a number
which represents the full growth of the choice ones ofGod, the true Israel of
God. (See Note on Revelation7:4.) These have their Father’s name on their
foreheads:they canbe recognisedas children of God, (Comp. Note on
Revelation7:2-3, and Revelation22:4.)
BensonCommentary
Revelation14:1-4. I looked, and behold a Lamb — The Lord Jesus, in the
form of a lamb, or as the Lamb of God, which takethaway the sins of the
world, and not only with horns like a lamb; stoodon mount Sion — Namely,
the heavenly Sion; and with him a hundred forty and four thousand — The
same selectnumber that was mentioned Revelation7:4, the genuine followers
of the twelve apostles, apostolicallymultiplied, and therefore the number of
the church, as six hundred and sixty-six is the number of the beast;and as the
followers of the beasthave the name of the beast, so these have the name of
God, and, as some copies add, of Christ, written in their foreheads — As being
the redeemedof God and of the Lamb, his now unalienable property, and as
having been, when on earth, his professedservants, and the same as the
witnesses.This prophecy often introduces the inhabitants of heaven as a kind
of chorus, with great propriety and elegance. The church above, making
suitable reflections on the grand events which are foretold in this book,
greatly serves to raise the attention of real Christians, and to teachthe high
concernthey have in them. Thus is the church on earth instructed, animated,
and encouraged, by the sentiments, temper, and devotion of the church in

heaven. And I heard a voice — Or sound, from heaven— Sounding clearer
and clearer;first at a distance;as the sound of many waters — Or thunders;
and afterward, being nearer, it was as of harpers harping on their harps — It
sounded vocally and instrumentally at once. And they sung — With voices
and instruments of music; as it were a new song — The Christian song, which
they sung before, chap. 5.; and no man could learn that song but the hundred
and forty-four thousand — Those who had been the true spiritual
worshippers of the one true God, through the one true Mediator, Jesus
Christ; all the restof mankind offering up their devotions to other objects,
and through other mediators; or not worshipping with a truly spiritual
worship; which were redeemedfrom the earth — From this present evil
world, being bought by the blood of Christ, and delivered from the guilt and
powerof sin by the word and Spirit of God. These are they which were not —
Or, had not been, defiled with women — It seems that one kind of defilement,
and the most alluring temptation, is put for every other. Or rather, the
meaning is, that they had kept themselves pure from the stains and pollutions
of spiritual whoredom, or idolatry, with which the other parts of the world
were miserably debauchedand corrupted. These are they which follow the
Lamb whithersoeverhe goeth — Who are nearestto him; or rather, the
meaning is, who followedthe Lamb in all things while on earth; who adhered
constantly to the religion of Christ, in all conditions and in all places, whether
in adversity or prosperity; whether in conventicles and deserts, or in churches
and cities. These were redeemedfrom among men — Rescuedfrom the
corruptions prevalent among mankind, and consecratedas the first-fruits
unto God and the Lamb — An earnestand assurance ofa more plentiful
harvest in succeeding times. And in their mouth was found no guile — They
were as free from hypocrisy as from idolatry; for they were without fault
before the throne of God — They resembled their blessedRedeemer, who did
no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth, (1 Peter2:22,) and were, as the
apostle requires Christians to be, blameless and harmless, the sons of God
without rebuke, &c., Php 2:15. But possibly it may be asked, Where did such
a church ever exist, especiallybefore the Reformation? To which it may be
replied, That it hath existed, and not only in idea, history demonstrates;as it
hath been before evinced that there hath been, in every age, some true
worshippers of God, and faithful servants of Jesus Christ; and as Elijah did

not know the seven thousand who had never bowed the knee to Baal, so there
may have been more true Christians than were always visible.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
14:1-5 Mount Sion is the gospelchurch. Christ is with his church, and in the
midst of her in all her troubles, therefore she is not consumed. His presence
secures perseverance. His people appear honourably. They have the name of
God written in their foreheads;they make a bold and open professionoftheir
faith in God and Christ, and this is followedby suitable actings. There were
persons in the darkesttimes, who ventured and laid down their lives for the
worship and truth of the gospelofChrist. They kept themselves cleanfrom
the wickedabominations of the followers ofantichrist. Their hearts were right
with God; and they were freely pardoned in Christ; he is glorified in them,
and they in him. May it be our prayer, our endeavour, our ambition, to be
found in this honourable company. Those who are really sanctifiedand
justified are meant here, for no hypocrite, howeverplausible, canbe
accountedto be without fault before God.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
And I looked- My attention was drawn to a new vision. The eye was turned
awayfrom the beastand his image to the heavenly world - the Mount Zion
above.
And, lo, a Lamb - See the notes on Revelation5:6.
Stoodon the mount Zion - That is, in heaven. See the notes on Hebrews 12:22.
Zion, literally the southern hill in the city of Jerusalem, was a name also given
to the whole city; and, as that was the seatof the divine worship on earth, it
became an emblem of heaven - the dwelling-place of God. The scene ofthe
vision here is laid in heaven, for it is a vision of the ultimate triumph of the
redeemed, designedto sustainthe church in view of the trials that had already
come upon it, and of those which were yet to come.
And with him an hundred forty and four thousand - These are evidently the
same persons that were seenin the vision recordedin Revelation7:3-8, and

the representationis made for the same purpose - to sustain the church in
trial, with the certainty of its future glory. See the notes on Revelation7:4.
Having his Father's name written in their foreheads - Showing that they were
his. See the notes on Revelation7:3; Revelation13:16. In Revelation7:3, it is
merely saidthat they were "sealedin their foreheads";the passagehere
shows how they were sealed. Theyhad the name of God so stamped or
marked on their foreheads as to show that they belongedto him. Compare the
notes on Revelation7:3-8.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
CHAPTER 14
Re 14:1-20. The Lamb Seenon Zion with the 144,000.TheirSong. The Gospel
Proclaimedbefore the End by One Angel: The Fall of Babylon, by Another:
The Doomof the BeastWorshippers, by a Third. The Blessednessofthe Dead
in the Lord. The Harvest. The Vintage.
In contrastto the beast, false prophet, and apostate Church (Re 13:1-18)and
introductory to the announcement of judgments about to descendon them
and the world (Re 14:8-11, anticipatory of Re 18:2-6), stand here the
redeemed, "the divine kernel of humanity, the positive fruits of the history of
the world and the Church" [Auberlen]. The fourteenth through sixteenth
chapters describe the preparations for the Messianic judgment. As the
fourteenth chapter begins with the 144,000ofIsrael(compare Re 7:4-8, no
longerexposedto trial as then, but now triumphant), so the fifteenth chapter
begins with those who have overcome from among the Gentiles (compare Re
15:1-5 with Re 7:9-17); the two classesofelectforming togetherthe whole
company of transfigured saints who shall reign with Christ.
1. a—A, B, C, Coptic, and Origen read, "the."
Lamb … on … Sion—having left His position "in the midst of the throne,"
and now taking His stand on Sion.
his Father's name—A, B, and C read, "His name and His Father's name."

in—Greek, "upon." God's and Christ's name here answers to the seal"upon
their foreheads" in Re 7:3. As the 144,000ofIsrael are "the first-fruits" (Re
14:4), so "the harvest" (Re 14:15)is the generalassemblyof Gentile saints to
be translated by Christ as His first actin assuming His kingdom, prior to His
judgment (Re 16:17-21, the last sevenvials) on the Antichristian world, in
executing which His saints shall share. As Noahand Lot were taken
seasonablyout of the judgment, but exposedto the trial to the last moment
[De Burgh], so those who shall reign with Christ shall first suffer with Him,
being delivered out of the judgments, but not out of the trials. The Jews are
meant by "the saints of the MostHigh": againstthem Antichrist makes war,
changing their times and laws; for true Israelites cannotjoin in the idolatry of
the beast, any more than true Christians. The common affliction will draw
closelytogether, in opposing the beast's worship, the Old Testamentand New
Testamentpeople of God. Thus the way is paved for Israel's conversion. This
last utter scattering of the holy people's powerleads them, under the Spirit, to
seek Messiah, andto cry at His approach, "Blessedis He that cometh in the
name of the Lord."Revelation14:1-5 The Lamb with his company standing on
Mount Sion,
Revelation14:6,7 an angelpreacheth the gospel,
Revelation14:8 another proclaimeth the fall of Babylon,
Revelation14:9-12 and a third, the punishment of them that worship the
beast.
Revelation14:13 The blessednessofthose that die in the Lord.
Revelation14:14-16 The harvestof the world.

Revelation14:17-20 The vintage and winepress of God’s wrath.
God, in this part of the vision, showethhis servant John, that during the whole
reign of antichrist, till the voice mentioned Revelation14:8,
Babylon is fallen, should be heard, notwithstanding all his rage, he would
preserve his church, though it would be but a small number, bearing no better
proportion to the whole world than one hundred and forty-four thousand (the
number of those sealedof eachtribe of Israel, Revelation7:1-17) bare to
whole Israel, which were above six hundred thousand upon both their
numberings, Numbers 1:26. The
Lamb here signifieth Christ, Revelation5:6.
Mount Sion signifieth the church of the gospel, typified by Mount Sion
amongstthe Jews where the temple stood.
An hundred forty and four thousand is the same number that was sealedof all
the tribes of Israel, Revelation7:1-17:not that there was just so many which
made up the church under antichrist’s persecution;but it signifies:
1. A small number in comparisonof such as should be of another stamp.
2. It is a number made up of twelve times twelve, by which is signified that
they were a people that should answerthe Israelites indeed of the Old

Testament, that remnant of the twelve tribes whom God had chosen, who
adhere to the doctrine and precepts of the twelve apostles.
Having his Father’s name written in their foreheads;making an open
professionof being the children and servants of God: as those servants and
soldiers did that had anciently the names of their masters and generals in
their foreheads;it being an ancient custom for masters to brand their
servants, and captains their soldiers, as we do our beasts at this day.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb,.... The Alexandrian copy, and some others,
read "the Lamb"; the same that had been seenbefore in, the midst of the
throne, Revelation5:6; and all the Oriental versions have the same article
also;the Lord Jesus Christ, the Sonof God, for mention is made of his Father
in a following clause;the King of Zion, where he is seenstanding, and the
Redeemerof his people, who are at large described; it is the same Lamb who
is so often spokenofin this book before:in the two preceding chapters an
accountis given of the state of the church, as oppressedunder Rome Pagan,
and Rome Papal, and here of its more glorious and victorious condition, with
Christ at the head of it; in the lastchapter antichrist is described, with his
followers and worshippers, and as exercising tyranny and cruelty upon the
saints, and here Christ and his followers are representedin vision, and some
hints given of the fall of Babylon, and of the wrath of God upon the
worshippers of the beast, and of the happiness of those who belong to the
Lamb: and of him it is here said, that he
stoodon the Mount Zion; by which is meant not heaven, but the church on
earth; why that is called Mount Zion; see Gill on Hebrews 12:22; here Christ
the Lamb stood, as presiding overit, being King of Zion, or the church; where
he stood and fed, or ruled, in the name of the Lord, and in the majesty of his
God; and where he appearedin the defence of his church and people,
oppressedby antichrist; for he is Michaelthat standeth for the children of his
people, and who stands with courage, and in the greatnessofhis strength, and
is invincible; nor does he stand here alone:

and with him an hundred forty and four thousand; the same with those in
Revelation7:3, though all the world wondered after the beast, and all that
dwelt upon the earth worshipped him, yet there was a number preserved that
did not bow the knee to him; a remnant according to the electionof grace,
who were calledout of the world, and brought to Zion, and were on the side of
the Lamb, and abode by him, and cleavedunto him:
having his Father's name written in their foreheads;not baptism,
administered in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost, as some think; nor eternalelection, as others, though as their names
were written in the Lamb's book of life, so this was manifest to themselves and
others, as if his name and his Father's had been written in their foreheads;but
rather adoption, the new name of a child of God, they having the spirit of
adoption, whereby they cried, "Abba", Father, and being openly and
manifestly the children of God, by faith in Christ Jesus;unless it should be
thought there is an allusion to the inscription in the mitre on the foreheadof
the high priest, "holiness to the Lord", and so be expressive of that visible
holiness which will be on the saints in the spiritual reign of Christ, which this
vision respects;see Zechariah14:20;or to the frontlets betweenthe eyes of the
people of Israel, to put them in mind of the law, and their obedience to it,
Deuteronomy 6:8; and so may here denote the engagements ofthose saints in
the service ofGod; though perhaps no more is intended than their open and
hearty professionoftheir faith, and that they were not ashamed of appearing
in the cause ofGod and truth; nor of Christ and his words, his Gospeland
ordinances:the Alexandrian copy, the Complutensian edition, the Vulgate
Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions, read, "having his name, (the Lamb's,) and
his Father's name written in their foreheads";and the Ethiopic version adds,
"and of his Holy Spirit". Mr. Daubuz thinks this vision refers to the times of
Constantine, and to the Christians then, and particularly the council of Nice,
and as contemporary with that in Revelation7:9.
Geneva Study Bible
And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb {1} stoodon the mount Sion, and with him {2}
an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's {3} name written in
their foreheads.

(1) The history of the Church of Christ being finished for more than a 1300
years at which time Boniface the eighth lived as has been said: there remains
the restof the history of the conflicting or militant church, from there to the
time of the lastvictory in three chapters. For first of all, as the foundation of
the whole history, is described the standing of the Lamb with his army and
retinue in five verses, afterhis worthy acts which he has done and yet does in
most mighty manner, while he overthrows Antichrist with the spirit of his
mouth, in the rest of this chapter and in the two following. To the description
of the Lamb, are propounded three things: his situation, place and
attendance:for the rest are expounded in the former visions, especiallyin the
fifth chapter.
(2) Prepared to do his office see Ac 7:56, in the midst of the church, which
mount Zion pictured before.
(3) This retinue of the Lamb is described first by divine mark
(as before in) Re 7:2 in this verse. Then by divine occupation, in that every one
in his retinue most earnestlyand sweetlyRe 14:2 glorify the Lamb with a
specialsong before God and his electangels. Fleshand blood cannothear this
song, nor understand, Re 14:3. Lastly by their deeds done before, and their
sanctificationin that they were virgins, pure from spiritual and bodily
fornication, that is, from impiety and unrighteousness. Theyfollowedthe
Lamb as a guide to all goodness, cleavedto him and are holy to him, as by
grace redeemedby him. In truth and simplicity of Christ they have exercised
all these things, sanctimony of life, the guidance of the Lamb, a thankful
remembrance of redemption by him and finally (to conclude in a word) they
are blameless before the Lord, Re 14:4,5.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary
Revelation14:1. καὶ εἰδον, καὶ ἰδού. The formula[3420]marks the
unexpected, forcible contrastto the preceding vision.[3421]

τὸ ἀρνίον. Since the Lamb appears as the leader of the glorified,[3422]not
only does the contrastbetweenChrist and Satan, with his dragon-form, stand
forth in startling relief; but the form of the Lamb also reminds us that the
Lord himself has by his sufferings and death attained the victory,[3423]
therefore his people must follow him; and that the redemption of believers
(Revelation14:4), and their glorification, depend upon the blood of the
Lamb.[3424]
ἑστός. With the abbreviated form of the part.,[3425]cf. the inf. ἑστάναι, 1
Corinthians 10:12.[3426]
ἐπὶ τὸ ὄρος Σιών. The failure to acknowledgethe proper significance ofthe
entire vision is connectedno less with the arbitrary presumption that Mount
Zion is to be regardedin heaven,[3427]thanwith the allegorizing
interpretation, according to which Mount Zion is regarded as the Christian
Church.[3428]Vitringa unites the reference of the whole to the true
Church,[3429]with the correctacknowledgment[3430]that the locality
representedin the vision is meant properly. Cf. similar localdesignations
within the vision, which are to be understood with absolute literalness,
Revelation14:6; Revelation14:14;Revelation13:1; Revelation13:11;
Revelation12:1; Revelation7:1. The holy place named, the home of the O.
T.—and, therefore, also of the N. T.[3431]
Church, is adapted like no other place for that which is displayed to the
gazing John. With the Lamb there appearone hundred and forty-four
thousand who have the name of the Lamb, and the name of his Father,
written on their foreheads. These one hundred and forty-four thousand are,
according to the usual conception,[3432]identicalwith those mentioned in ch.
Revelation7:4. The number is the same; the sealthere mentioned on the
foreheads may be combined with the names of God which the followers of the
Lamb have written on their foreheads;also the place, Mount Zion, appears to

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