Revelation 5:8

Having received the little scroll from the Lord, all worshiped it, fully aware of the salvation it is destined to bring to humanity, and the punishment it holds for the impure demons. The elders holding harps signify the harmonious and melodious nature of their confession …

The harps indicate the harmonious and melodious divine doxology, while the incense indicates the sweet-smelling sacrifice of the faithful that is offered through a most pure life, as the apostle says: "We are the aroma of Christ." The bowls are symbolic of the thoughts from …

And when he had opened the book, the four living creatures, and the four and twenty ancients fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. The Lamb opened the book …

Just as it is proper for us to seek the Lord shining with the light of good works, so also is it proper for us to seek him abundantly provided with the gift of spiritual prayers. Hence it is good that the women who came …

And when He had opened the book, etc. When by His passion the Lord proved that the proclamations of both Testaments were fulfilled in Him, the Church, giving thanks, also offers itself to sufferings, so that, according to the Apostle, it may complete in its …

), the four living creatures, and the four-and-twenty elders, the Christian people, under their minister, lead up the chorus. Here observe, (1.) The object of their worship-- the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ; it is the declared will of God that all men should honour the Son as they honour the Father; for he has the same nature.

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And when he had taken the book,....

had taken--Greek, "took." fell down before the Lamb--who shares worship and the throne with the Father. harps--Two oldest manuscripts, A, B, Syriac and Coptic read, "a harp": a kind of guitar, played with the hand or a quill. vials--"bowls" [TREGELLES]; censers. odours--Greek, "incense." prayers of saints--as the angel offers their prayers (Re 8:3) with incense (compare Ps 141:2).

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I SHOULD not have addressed you upon the subject of intercession today if this week had not been set apart for general prayer, for it was only two Sabbaths ago that I endeavored to set before you the duty and privilege of intercession [Sermon #1049, Intercessory Prayer.] However, as our mind is now directed to it again, it may be that the line upon line, the precept upon precept, the here a little and there a little, may not be without benefit to us. The vision before us is a very remarkable one.

I SHOULD not have addressed you upon the subject of intercession today if this week had not been set apart for general prayer, for it was only two Sabbaths ago that I endeavored to set before you the duty and privilege of intercession [Sermon #1049, Intercessory Prayer.] However, as our mind is now directed to it again, it may be that the line upon line, the precept upon precept, the here a little and there a little, may not be without benefit to us. The vision before us is a very remarkable one. We do not intend, for we have not the time, to go into all the details of it. No doubt it is a vision referring to some special occasion, but at the same time we may regard it as descriptive of the usual worship which is offered before the Throne of God and the Lamb. We have sometimes in continental galleries seen a mediaeval painting representing the assembly of the great council of the ancient German Empire. There is the emperor surrounded by the various kings, princes, electors, dukes, and counts. Yonder are the knights of the Golden Fleece. There are the bishops and the cardinals, the barons, knights, and burghers of various degrees making up a marvelous spectacle of pomp and pageantry. If we made minute enquiries we should, perhaps, discover the one particular Diet which the picture represented—but even without such investigation the painting is instructive—we know that if it represents the Diet on one occasion, the one might stand for all. And so in the great assembly of Heaven, the outline which the seer of Patmos gives us here may, if we wish to be very accurate, be referred to some one particular event. But it will suffice for us to believe that it represents in general the homage which is rendered at the Throne of the Eternal.

THIS morning [Sermon #2095, Volume 35—The Lamb in Glory.] we had a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ appearing in Heaven in His Sacrificial Character, being adored in that Character, looking like a Lamb that had been slain, and being worshipped under that aspect in the very center of Heaven.

THIS morning [Sermon #2095, Volume 35—The Lamb in Glory.] we had a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ appearing in Heaven in His Sacrificial Character, being adored in that Character, looking like a Lamb that had been slain, and being worshipped under that aspect in the very center of Heaven. I tried, as far as ever I could, to insist upon it that we must never hide the Atoning Sacrifice—that Christ, as the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world—is always to be brought to the front, to be put foremost in our preaching and in our practice, too. In this verse we go a step further. This blessed Lamb appears in Heaven as the Mediator between God and men. At God's right hand was the Book of His Eternal Purposes. None dared even to look upon it—it was hopeless that any creature should be able to loose its seven seals. But there came forward this glorious Lamb who had the marks of His slaughter upon Him and He took the Book out of the right hand of Him that sat upon the Throne of God! Thus He acted as Mediator, Interpreter—taking the will of God and translating it—letting us know the meaning of that writing of the right hand of God which we could never have deciphered, but which, when Christ looses the seals, is made clear to us! Jesus Christ, then, is seen as our Sacrifice in the capacity of Mediator and, in that capacity, He becomes the object of the adoration, first, of the Church, then of all the thousands and ten thousands of angels, and then of every creature that God has made! It would be too large a subject to take in all those hallelujahs and, therefore, in speaking, tonight, I select only these three verses to set forth the song of the Church, the adoration of the Church of God, rendered to the bleeding Lamb as the Mediator between God and men. I shall have only two divisions. First, behold the worshippers. And, secondly, listen to their song. I.

And when he had taken the book, the four beasts ... - The acts of adoration here described as rendered by the four living creatures and the elders are, according to the explanation given in Rev 4:4-7, emblematic of the honor done to the Redeemer by the church, and by the course of providential events in the government of the world. Fell down before the Lamb - The usual posture of profound worship. Usually in such worship there was entire prostration on the earth. See the Mat 2:2 note; 1Co 14:25 note. Having every one of them harps - That is, as the construction, and the propriety of the case would seem to demand, the elders had each of them harps. The whole prostrated themselves with profound reverence; the elders had harps and censers, and broke out into a song of praise for redemption. This construction is demanded, because: (a) The Greek word - ἔχοντες echontes - more properly agrees with the word “elders” - πρεσβύτεροι presbuteroi - and not with the word “beasts” - ζῶα zōa; (b) There is an incongruity in the representation that the living creatures, in the form of a lion, a calf, an eagle, should have harps and censers; and, (c) The song of praise that is sung Rev 5:9 is one that properly applies to the elders as the representatives of the church, and not to the living creatures - “Thou hast redeemed us to God by thy blood.” The harp was a well-known instrument used in the service of God. Josephus describes it as having ten strings, and as struck with a key (Ant. Rev 7:12, Rev 7:3). See the notes on Isa 5:12. And golden vials - The word “vial” with us, denoting a small slender bottle with a narrow neck, evidently does not express the idea here. The article here referred to was used for offering incense, and must have been a vessel with a large open mouth. The word “bowl” or “goblet” would better express the idea, and it is so explained by Prof. […]