loved the wages of unrighteousness—principles diverging from the line of truth, and representing the divine plan of salvation as an economy of wages, instead of an economy of grace.

V. 15. So hast thou also them that Οὕτως ἔχεις καὶ σὺ κρατοῦντας τὴν διδαχὴν hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, τῶν Νικολαϊτῶν ὁμοίως. Or, according to which thing I hate. the common editions, ὁ μισῶ.

§ 63. This last ó moỡ, is probably the most correct reading; as it corresponds with the expressions before made use of on occasion of mentioning the same doctrine. The word ouoíos, on the contrary, after the xai at the commencement of the verse, would appear almost a pleonasm; unless we suppose it is intended to refer us back to what is said of this doctrine in the address to the Ephesian angel. same as if we adopted the expression, I hate.

The result in such case would be the

We have already noticed the character of this Nicolaitan doctrine, (§ 45,) that it was probably something seducing the mind from the true faith, as the appellation signifies something overcoming the people. We have also noticed that the verb translated hold, signifies also to wield; as in the use of a weapon of offence or defence. The holders of this doctrine being, not merely passive believers, but those who taught its principles polemically or if principles themselves are spoken of, they are such as maintain these Nicolaitan views.

Which thing I hate.'-Some light is thrown on this expression by comparing it with Jude 23, "Hating the garments spotted with the flesh." μισοῦντες καὶ τὸν ἀπὸ τῆς σαρκὸς ἐσπιλωμένον χιτῶνα. Flesh, as we have before noticed, is a figure of moral perfection; as, in the human form, it is essential to physical perfection. The flesh of Christ represents his righteousness; flesh generally, as of created beings, represents human pretensions to righteousness-the supposed or pretended moral perfections of man. The garments spoken of by the apostle, are without doubt garments of salvationmeans of salvation to protect the soul and cover the shame of guilt, as the literal garment protects and covers the human body. The only garment of this spiritual kind without spot, is the perfect robe of divine righteousness obtained by imputation. A garment of salvation, spotted by the flesh, is a supposed robe of divine righteousness, intermingled or spotted with a certain portion of pretended human perfection—a robe partly of Christ's righteousness, and partly of man's merits.

This pretension of dividing with Christ the glory of redemption, must be peculiarly hateful to him, who has declared that he will not give his glory to another, Is. xlii. 8, and xlviii. 11, and it should be equally hateful to every disciple jealous of the honour of his Master. The Christian is thus especially called upon to hate this garment spotted by the flesh while the doctrine.

represented by this garment is declared to be peculiarly hateful to the Holy Spirit. This peculiar error of mixing up our own merits with those of our Saviour, and claiming, as it were, at least a part of the honour due to him, seems to partake of the robbery for burnt offering spoken of, Is. lxi. 8. It may also be typically alluded to in the prohibition, Lev. xix. 19, "Thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee."

Vs. 16, 17. Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against thee with the sword of my mouth. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Το him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth, saving

he that receiveth it.

Μετανόησον οὖν· εἰ δὲ μή, ἔρχομαί σοι ταχὺ καὶ πολεμήσω μετ ̓ αὐτῶν ἐν τῇ ῥομ φαίᾳ τοῦ στόματός μου. ̔Ο ἔχων οὓς ἀκουσάτω τί τὸ πνεῦμα λέγει ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις· τῷ νικῶντι, δώσω αὐτῷ τοῦ μάννα τοῦ κεκρυμμένου, καὶ δώσω αὐτῷ ψῆφον λευκὴν καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν ψῆφον ὄνομα καινὸν γεγραμμένον, ὃ οὐδεὶς οἶδεν εἰ μὴ ὁ λαμβάνων.

§ 64. Repent.' This term we have already noticed (§ 44) as signifying a change of mind or views; and this we may add, not merely with regard to one general view of matters of religion, but with regard to a view, or views, of any particular subject. The angels of the churches do not represent the heathen, or the unconverted, or opposers of Christianity. On the contrary, they are addressed as professors of Christian faith, as those holding fast the name of Jesus, and not denying his faith—as those who have borne, and have been patient, and have laboured for his name's sake, and yet they are called upon to repent; that is, to change their minds, or views, in respect to certain points of doctrine, or, as systems to expurgate their systems of certain errors. They are not threatened with the loss of their souls, or with eternal perdition, if they do not repent, or thus change their views; but they are threatened in one case with the removal of the candlestick, or church, with which the angel is connected; and in the other, with the speaker's coming and contending against them with the sword of his mouth. As a general rule, therefore, we may say that repentance, μɛzávolα, is a change of mind; but to understand in what respect it is spoken of as a change of mind, we must take into consideration the circumstances of each case under which the term is used. In the present case, the angel, or system of Pergamos, was to change in respect to the errors represented by the teachers of the Balaam and Nicolaitan doctrines.

'I will come unto thee quickly,'—that is, suddenly, (§ 4,) intellectually equivalent to a sudden development of truth.

And fight against thee.'-The contention of truth with error. The instrument" the sword of my mouth,"-the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, with its twofold interpretation, the two-mouthed sword of the mouth of God. The weapons of our warfare, says the apostle, are not

carnal, (2 Cor. x. 4,) they are not material, of course ;-not only so, they are not literal-"They are mighty to the pulling down of strong holds," but their might is not in the letter, but in the spirit of revealed truth.

66

§ 65. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna.' To the overcoming principle, as we have supposed it to be, will be given the manifestation of its participation in the element of eternal life, designated as the hidden manna. "I am the bread of life," said Jesus, "I am the bread which came down from heaven. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness and are dead.”—The literal manna could not preserve them from death, it could prolong life only for a time, but the hidden or spiritual manna secures eternal life. "The bread which I give is my flesh, which I give for the life of the world."-The moral perfection, the righteousness of Christ, are given for the salvation of the world. Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, ye have no life in you :" equivalent to the declaration, Except ye participate in the righteousness and atonement of Jesus Christ, ye can have no hope of eternal life.. "Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."-To whomsoever the merit of Christ's righteousness and of his atonement is imputed, to them the assurance is given of a new existence. "For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.”—The righteousness of Christ, enjoyed by imputation, is a means of sustenance for eternal life, as his atonement is the means of saving the sinner from eternal perdition. "He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him."-The disciple participating by imputation in these merits of Christ, is identified or counted identic with him in the sight of God; they in him, and he in them. This is the bread that came down from heaven, and those that participate in this bread shall live for ever. Here three substances, manna, bread, and flesh, are severally spoken of as figures of the means of eternal life.

God so loved the world that he gave his own Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but should have eternal life, (John iii. 16.) Jesus Christ gave himself, we are also told, (1 Thess. v. 10, and Gal. i. 4,) that we might live together with him. Christ himself, therefore, must be the hidden manna, as he is the spiritual bread of life, to be participated in by the overcoming principle (ó vizõv).

He gave himself, his flesh and blood.-But we know that literally his body saw no corruption; although the spirit separated from the body on the cross, that spirit and that body, on the third day, were again reunited. Jesus reassumed the same material body, the same flesh, and the same bones; consequently we must presume that when he speaks of giving his body, and of the eating of his flesh, he alludes to something else than the material objects bearing these names; and this something else we suppose to be, the

body of his merits. His flesh representing his righteousness or moral perfection, and his blood being the figure of his virtual propitiation in behalf of the sinner—as the physical blood is the essential of natural life; and flesh, not only as an article of food, like bread, is a means of sustaining life, but is also essential to the beauty of the natural body. The beauty of the Lord consisting in the flesh of his moral perfection, his righteousness; in allusion to which it is said, Is. xxxiii. 17, Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty; and Ps. xc. 17, Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us and as the want of this righteousness on the part of the disciple is spoken of by the prophet under the figure of leanness-Is. xxiv. 16, "From the uttermost parts of the earth have we heard songs, glory to the righteous; but I said, My leanness, my leanness, wo is me!"

Such is the hidden manna-typically represented by the literal manna under the old dispensation, and symbolically set forth under the new dispensation in the bread of the last supper:-that bread representing literally the physical flesh of Christ; but spiritually, his righteousness, which, as imputed by sovereign grace to those who are made participators of it, may in the strongest sense be pronounced the true bread, or hidden manna, which comes down from heaven.

This hidden manna, it is said, will be given to him that overcometh; that is, we suppose, o vixar, the principle overcoming the requisitions of the law, will be manifested to be a part of this arrangement by which the righteousness of Jehovah is imputed to the disciple; for, in fact, it is this which gives to the overcoming, the power to overcome.

§ 66. And will give him a white stone.'-This is supposed to be an allusion to an ancient custom of delivering a white stone to such as were acquitted on trial, in token of a full and public pardon, or absolution, or justification. Stones, it is also said, were used by the ancients in criminal processes as votes or ballots; a white stone implying acquittal, and a black one condemnation :-corresponding as a token with the result ascribed, to a participation of the hidden manna The means of obtaining forgiveness, and those of obtaining eternal life, are generally coupled together in the Scriptures, showing two things to be essential to future happiness: an atonement to save from the punishment of actual transgression, and a positive righteousness to furnish a title to reward. Christ died for our sins; but propitiation alone would only save from punishment. Our great mediator and advocate has done more. He offers his own righteousness in our behalf, that we may inherit eternal happiness as the reward of his merits-a reward apparently alluded to, Col. iii. 24. Of this process of justification, as well as of pardon, the white stone may be the token.

It is scarcely correct, however, to represent a person charged with crime as both acquitted and pardoned. For he that is acquitted, or pronounced

innocent, needs no pardon; as it is only after actual condemnation that the accused can be said to be an object for the exercise of mercy. Justification and pardon have nothing in common with each other; accordingly, in the Scriptures, these are two distinct views of the same act of divine goodness— two distinct processes of the same exercise of sovereign grace.

The sinner in himself, standing on his own merits, and obnoxious to the rigour of the law, is condemned-even the sentence of his execution is pronounced. In this position he is an object of mercy; this mercy may be exhibited as a pardon, forgiving all his iniquities-blotting out his transgressions as a cloud, and as a thick cloud his sins (Is. xliv. 22); or as a ransom, in allusion to the fate of a captive or rebellious subject whose life is about to be taken from him, unless ransomed or bought off by some friendly power, or by a propitiation reconciling the offended sovereign to the guilty rebel; or as an atonement, in which the punishment to be suffered by the criminal is borne by another party in his behalf.

If, instead of this, we contemplate the disciple as justified, we must suppose him innocent, not guilty-innocent even in the sight of a heart-searching God. This can only be imagined by supposing the sinner taken as it were out of himself, and adopted, and substituted in the place of one who is perfectly righteous. Such is the process with the disciple, when in divine judgment he is accounted one with Christ-identified with him; the righteousness of Christ and the merit of Christ being accounted that of his follower. Here justification takes place of condemnation; as it is said, (Rom. viii. 1,) there is therefore no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. In this view, the figures of pardon, atonement, or propitiation, or ransom, are not called for. The disciple is supposed in Christ to be tried, and to be found perfect, wanting nothing: not only exempt from guilt, but even having that righteousness which entitles him to the reward of eternal life.

It is evident that both these views exhibit the same action of divine mercy, and the same instrument by which that mercy is exercised.

'God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son.'-Here is the one gift, or act of grace. "God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself."-Here is the one instrument, Christ, by which this grace is exercised. "He, Christ, died for our sins, according to the Scriptures." "He was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities.”— Here is one mode in which the gift of God's only begotten Son is represented as operating-one mode in which the reconciliation spoken of is effected. He, Christ, "who knew no sin, became sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him."-Here is another mode of illustrating the benefit of the same gift, and of explaining the process of the same reconciliation.*

* Some further illustration of this exercise of divine mercy may be found in the