Works of John Bunyan: Solomon's Temple Spiritualized:1164

 

Or, Gospel Light Fetched out of the Temple at Jerusalem, to let us
More Easily into the Glory of New Testament Truths.

XIII. Of the height of these pillars that thus stood before the porch of the door of the Temple.

The pillars were eighteen cubits high apiece, and that is as high, yea, as high again as the highest giant that ever we read of in the Word; for the highest of which we read was but six cubits and a span. True, the bedstead of Og was nine cubits long, but I trow the giant himself was shorter (Deut 3:11; 2 Chron 3:15).[5] But put the longest to the longest, and set the one upon the shoulders of the other, and yet each pillar was higher than they.

We have now, as I know of, but few that remain of the remnant of the giants; and though they boast as if they were higher than Aga, yet these pillars are higher than they. These pillars are the highest; you may equal them; and an inch above is worth an ell below. The height therefore of these pillars is, to show us what high dignity God did put upon those of his saints whom he did call to be apostles of the Lamb: for their office and call thereto is the highest in the church of God. These men, I say, were made thus high by their being cast in such a mould. Of that which added yet further to their height we will speak anon: we only speak now of the high call by which they, and only they, were made capable of apostolic authority. The apostles were sent immediately, their call was extraordinary, their office was universal; they had alike power in all churches, and their doctrine was infallible (Acts 26:16; 1 Cor 9:1; Gal 1:1; 1 John 1:1; 3 John 2:23).

And what can our pretended giants do or say in comparison with these? The truth is, all other men to these are dwarfs, are low, dark, weak, and beneath, not only as to call and office, but also as to gifts and grace. This sentence, 'Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ,' drowneth all! What now are all other titles of grandeur and greatness, when compared with this one sentence?

True, the men were but mean in themselves; for what is Paul or what Apollos, or what was James or John? Yet by their call to that office they were made highest of all in the church. Christ did raise them eighteen cubits high; not in conceit; for so there are many higher than they, but in office, and calling, and Divine authority.

And observe it, these stand at the door, at the entering into the temple of God, at which they enter that go in thither to worship God, to shew that all right worship, and that which will be acceptable to God, is by, or according to, their doctrine.

XIV. Of the chapiters (capitals) of the pillars of the Temple.

There were also two chapiters made for the pillars of the temple; for each, one; and they were five cubits high apiece. These were for the adorning of the pillars, and therefore were types and shadows of that abundance of grace which God did put upon the apostles after the resurrection of our Lord. Wherefore, as he saith here, the chapiters were upon the pillars; so it saith that great grace was upon all the apostles (Acts 4:33).

These chapiters had belonging to them a bowl made pummil-fashion, and it was placed upon the head of them, perhaps to signify their aptness to receive, and largeness to contain of the dew of heaven; that shadow of the doctrine of the gospel; which doctrine the apostles, as the chief, were to receive and hold forth to the world for their conversion. Hence, as the bowls were capable to receive the dew of heaven, these are said to receive 'grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name' (Rom 1:5; 1 Kings 7:16,42; 2 Chron 4:13; Deut 32:10; Rom 15:29).

There was also upon these chapters a net-work, or nets like unto chequer-work, which still added to their luster. These nets showed for what intent the apostolical office was ordained; namely, that by their preaching they might bring many souls to God. And hence Christ calls them fishermen, saying, 'Ye shall catch men' (Matt 4:19; Mark 1:17; Luke 5:10; 2 Cor 12:16). The world is compared to a sea, men to fishes, and the gospel to a net (Eze 47:10-12; Matt 13:47-50). As therefore men catch fish with a net, so the apostles caught men by their word, which word, as I told you, to me is signified by this net-work upon the top of these pillars. See therefore the mystery of God in these things.

XV. Of the pomegranates adjoined to these nets on the capitals.

There were also joined to these nets upon the top of the pillars pomegranates in abundance; four hundred for the net-work. Pomegranates, you know, are beautiful to look on, pleasant to the palate, comfortable to the stomach, and cheering by their juice (1 Kings 7:42; Cant 4:3, 8:2, 4:13, 6:11, 7:12). There were to be two rows of these pomegranates for one net-work, and so two rows of them for the other.

And this was to show that the net of the gospel is not an empty thing; but is sufficiently baited with such varieties as are apt to allure the world to be caught by them. The law is but a sound of words, but the gospel is not so; that is, baited with pomegranates; with variety of excellent things. Hence it is called 'the gospel of the kingdom,' and 'the gospel of the grace of God,' because it is, as it were, baited with grace and glory, that sinners may be allured, and may be taken with it to their eternal salvation (Matt 24:14; Acts 20:24).

Grace and glory, grace and glory! These are the pomegranates with which the word of the gospel is baited, that sinners may be taken and saved thereby. The argument of old was 'milk and honey'; that was, I say, the alluring bait, with which Moses drew six hundred thousand out of Egypt, into the wilderness of old (Exo 3:8). But behold we have pomegranates, two rows of pomegranates; grace and a kingdom, as the bait of the holy gospel; no wonder, then, if, when men of skill did cast this net into the sea, such numbers of fish have been caught, even by one sermon (Acts 2). They baited their nets with things that take to the eye and taste.

Nets are truly instruments of death, but the net of the gospel doth catch to draw from death; wherefore this net is contrary; life and immortality are brought to light through this. No marvel, then, if men are so glad, and that for gladness they leap like fishes in a net, when they see themselves caught in this drag of the holy gospel of the Son of God. They are caught from death and hell, caught to live with God in glory!

Works of John Bunyan: Solomon's Temple Spiritualized:1163

 

Or, Gospel Light Fetched out of the Temple at Jerusalem, to let us
More Easily into the Glory of New Testament Truths.

XI. Of the great brazen altar that stood in the inner court of the
Temple.

1. In the inner court stood the great brazen altar which Solomon made. This is evident; for that when he kneeled upon the scaffold there to pray, he kneeled before this altar. See Exodus 40:6, 29; 2 Chronicles 6:13; 2 Kings 16:14; Joel 2:17.

2. This altar seems to be placed about the middle of this court over against the porch of the house; and between it and the temple was the place where Zechariah was slain. This altar was called 'the altar of burnt-offering,' and therefore it was a type of Christ in his divinity. For Christ's body was our true burnt-offering, of which the bodies of the sacrificed beasts were a type; now that altar upon which his body was offered was his Divinity or Godhead; for that, and that only, could bear up that offering in the whole of its suffering; and that therefore, and that only, was to receive the fat, the glory. Hence it is said he, 'through the eternal Spirit, offered himself without spot to God' (Heb 9:14).

3. For Christ is priest, and sacrifice, and altar, and all. And as a priest he offered, as a sacrifice he suffered, and as God he supported his humanity, in that suffering of all the pains it underwent (Gal 1:4, 2:20; 1 Peter 3:18; Heb 9:14).

4. It was then Christ's Godhead, not the tree, that was the altar of burnt-offering, or that by which Christ offered himself an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour.

5. That it was not the tree, is evident, for that could not sanctify the gift, to wit, his body; but Christ affirmeth, 'that the altar sanctifieth the gift.' And by so saying, he affirmeth that the altar on which he offered his offering was greater than the offering itself (Matt 23:19). Now the body of Christ was the gift; for so he saith, I give my flesh for the life of the world (John 6).

But now, what thing is that which is greater than his body, save the altar, his Divinity on which it was offered? The tree then was not the altar which sanctified this gift, to make it of virtue enough to make reconciliation for iniquity (John 6:51, 17:19; Heb 9:14; Col 1:19-21). Now, since this altar of burnt-offering was thus placed in the inner court, it teaches us several things:

First, That those that come only into the outward court, or that rest in a bare appearance of Christianity, do not, by so doing, come to Jesus Christ; for this altar stands not there. Hence John takes notice only of the temple and this altar, and them that worship therein, and leaves out the outward court, and so them that come no farther (Rev 11:1,2).

Second. This also teaches us that we are to enter into the temple of God by blood. The altar, this altar of burnt-offering, stood as men went into the temple; they must go by it; yea, there they must leave their offering, and so go in and worship, even as a token that they came thither by sacrifice and by blood.

Third. Upon this altar Solomon, at the dedication of the temple, offered thousands, both of oxen and of sheep, to signify, surely, the abundant worth and richness that would be in the blood of Christ to save when it should be shed for us. For his blood is spoken of with an 'how much more.' 'For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works, to serve the living God!' (Heb 9:13,14, 11:12; 2 Chron 7:5-8).

Let us then not dare to stop or stay in the outward court, for there is no altar there. Nor let us dare, when we come into this court, to be careless whether we look to this altar or no. For it is by blood we must enter; 'for without shedding of blood is no remission.' Let us always then, when we come hither, wash our hands in innocency, and so compass this holy altar: for that by Christ, who is the altar indeed, we are reconciled to God. This is looking to Jesus; this is coming to God by him, of whom this altar and the sacrifice thereon was a type.

XII. Of the pillars that were before the porch of the Temple.

There were divers pillars belonging to the temple; but in this place we are confined to speak of only two; namely, those which stood before the temple.

These pillars stood before the porch or entrance into the temple, looking towards the altar, the court, and them that were the worshippers there; also they were a grace and beauty to the front of the house.

1. These pillars stood, one on the right hand and the other on the left, at the door of the porch of the temple, and they had names given them, you may be sure, to signify something. The name of that on the right hand was called Jachin, [God] shall establish; and the name of that on the left hand was Boaz, in it is strength (1 Kings 7:21; 2 Chron 3:17).

2. These two pillars were types of Christ's apostles; of the apostles of circumcision, and of the uncircumcision. Therefore the apostle Paul also calleth them pillars (Gal 2), and saith that that pillar on the right hand was a type of himself and his companions, who were to go to the uncircumcised, and teach the Gentiles the way of life. When James, Cephas, and John, saith he, 'who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision' (Gal 2:9). So then, these two pillars were types of these two order of the apostles in this their divers service for God.

3. And that Paul and Barnabas were signified by those on the right hand, to wit, to be the apostles of the Gentiles, he showeth again, where he saith, I am 'the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost' (Rom 11:13, 15:16).

4. And since the name of this pillar was Jachin, shall attend it; so also, that God would bless his word preached by them to the Gentiles, to the conversion of numbers of them, maugre the opposition of the enemy.

5. This is further implied, for that they were made of brass; as he saith of the prophet, I have made thee a fenced brazen wall, an iron pillar; and their fighting against thee shall nothing at all prevail (Jer 15:20). Wherefore Paul says of himself, 'I am set for the defence of the gospel,' 'that the truth thereof might continue with you' (Phil 1:17; Gal 2:5).

Works of John Bunyan: Solomon's Temple Spiritualized:1162

 

Or, Gospel Light Fetched out of the Temple at Jerusalem, to let us

More Easily into the Glory of New Testament Truths.

IX. Which way the face or front of the Temple stood.

1. The temple was built with its face or front towards the east, and that, perhaps, because the glory of the God of Israel was to come from the way of the east into it (Eze 43:1-4, 47:1). Wherefore, in that its front stood toward the east, it may be to show that the true gospel church would have its eye to, and expectation from, the Lord. We look, said Paul, but whither? We have 'our conversation,' said he, 'in heaven,' from whence our expectation is (2 Cor 4:18; Phil 3:20; Psa 62:5).

2. It was set also with its face towards the east, to keep the people of God from committing idolatry; to wit, from worshipping the host of heaven, and the sun whose rising is from the east. For since the face of the temple stood toward the east, and since the worshippers were to worship at, or with their faces towards the temple, it follows that both in their going to, and worshipping God towards that place, their faces must be from, and their backs towards the sun.[3] The thus building of the temple, therefore, was a snare to idolaters, and a proof of the zeal of those that were the true worshippers; as also to this day the true gospel-instituted worship of Jesus Christ is. Hence he is said, to idolaters, to be a snare and trap, but to the godly a glory (Isa 8:14, 60:19).

3. Do but see how God catched the idolatrous Jews, by this means, in their naughtiness: 'And he brought me,' saith the prophet, 'into the inner court of the Lord's house, and behold at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men with their backs toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces towards the east' (Eze 8:16). It was therefore, as I said, set with its face towards the east, to prevent false worship, and detect idolaters.

4. From the east also came the most blasting winds, winds that are destructive to man and beasts, to fruit and trees, and ships at sea (Exo 10:13; Job 27:21; Eze 17:10, 19:12; Psa 48:7; Eze 27:26). I say, the east wind, or that which comes from thence, is the most hurtful; yet you see, the temple hath set her face against it, to show that the true church cannot be blasted or made turn back by any affliction. It is not east winds, nor none of their blastings, that can make the temple turn about. Hence he saith that Jacob's face shall not wax pale. And again, 'I have made thy face strong against their faces,' and that 'the gates of hell shall not prevail against it' (Isa 29:22; Eze 3:8; Matt 16:18).

5. It might also be built with its face towards the east, to show that the true church looketh, as afore I hinted, for her Lord and King from heaven; knowing, that at his coming he will bring healing in his wings; for from the east he will appear when he comes the second time without sin unto salvation, of which the sun gives us a memento in his rising there every morning. 'For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be' (Matt 24:27; Mal 4:2; Heb 9:28; Col 3:4; 2 Peter 3:11-14).

6. Christ, as the north pole, draws those touched with the lodestone of his word, with the face of their souls towards him, to look for, and hasten to his coming. This is also signified by the temple standing with its face towards the east.

X. Of the courts of the Temple.

I perceive that there were two courts belonging to the temple. The first was called the outward court (Eze 40:7, 46:21).

1. This was that into which the people of necessity first entered, when they went to worship in the temple; consequently, that was it, in and by which the people did first show their desires to be the worshippers of God. And this answers to those badges and signs of love to religion, that people have in face, or outward appearance (Matt 23:27; 2 Cor 10:7).

2. In this, though there may sometimes be truth, yet oftener lies and dissimulation: wherefore commonly an outward appearance is set in opposition to faith and truth, as the outward is in opposition to the inner court, and outward to the inner man; and that is, when it is by itself, for then it profits nothing (Rom 2:28; 1 Cor 13:1-3; 2 Cor 5:12).

3. Hence, though the outward court was something to the Jews, because by outward bodies they were distinguished from the Gentiles; yet to us it is little, for now 'he is not a Jew who is one only outwardly.' Therefore all the time of the Beast's reign, this court is given to be trodden under foot; for, as I said, outward show will avail nothing, when the Beast comes to turn and toss up professors with his horns (Rev 11:10-12).

4. But as there was an outward, so there was an inner court, a court that stood nearer the temple; and so to the true practical part of worship, than that outward court did (Eze 10:3, 46:1; 1 Kings 6:36).

5. This inner court is that which is called 'the court of the priests,' because it was it in which they boiled the trespass-offerings, and in which they prepared the sin-offering for the people (2 Chron 4:9; Eze 46:20).

6. This court, therefore, was the place of practice and of preparation to appear before God, which is the first true token of a sincere and honest mind. Wherefore here, and not in the outward court, stood the great brazen altar, which was a type of Christ, by whom alone the true worshippers make their approach with acceptance unto God. Also here stood the great brazen scaffold, on which the king kneeled when he prayed for the people, a type of Christ's prayers for his when he was in the world (2 Chron 6:13; John 17).

7. Wherefore this court was a type of practical worship, and so of our praying, hearing, and eating, before God. There belonged to this court several gates, an east, a south, and a north gate; and when the people of the land went into this court to worship, they were not to go out at that gate by which they came in, but out of the gate over against it, to show that true Christians should persevere right on, and not turn back, whatever they meet with in the way. 'He that entereth in by the way of the north gate to worship, shall go out by the way of the south gate; and he that entereth in by the way of the south gate, shall not return by the way of the gate whereby he came in, but shall go forth over against it' (Eze 46:9).

8. These courts were places of great delight to the Jews, as both feigned and sincere profession is to those that practice therein. Wherefore, when the Jews did enter into these, they did use to do it with praise and pipe, as do both hypocrites and sincere ones. So then, when a man shall tread in both these courts, and shall turn what he seems to be, into what he should be in reality; then, and not till then, he treads them as he should; for then he makes the outward court, and his treading there but a passage to that which is more inward and sincere. But he that stays in the outward one is but such an one as pleases not God, for that he wants the practice of what he professes with his mouth.

Works of John Bunyan: Solomon's Temple Spiritualized:1161

 

Or, Gospel Light Fetched out of the Temple at Jerusalem, to let us
More Easily into the Glory of New Testament Truths.

VII. Of the foundation of the Temple.

The foundation of the temple is that upon which it stood; and it was twofold: First, the hill Moriah, and then those great stones upon which it was erected. This hill Moriah, as was said afore, did more properly typify Christ. Hence Moriah is called 'The Mountain of the house,' it being the rock on which it was built. Those great stones, called foundation-stones, were types of the prophets and apostles (Matt 16:18; Eph 2:20,21; Heb 11:10). Wherefore these stones were stones of the biggest size, stones of eight cubits, and stones of ten cubits (1 Kings 7:10).

Now, as the temple had this double foundation, so we must consider it respectively and distinctly; for Christ is the foundation one way, the prophets and apostles a foundation another. Christ is the foundation personally and meritoriously; but the prophets and apostles, by doctrine, ministerially. The church, then, which is God's New Testament temple, is said to be built on Christ the foundation; so none other is the foundation but he (1 Cor 3:11,12). But as it is said to be built upon the apostles, so it is said to have twelve foundations, and must have none but they (Rev 21:14).

What is it then? Why, we must be built upon Christ, as he is our priest, sacrifice, prophet, king, and advocate; and upon the other, as they are infallible instructors and preachers of him; not that any may be an apostle that so shall esteem of himself, nor that any other doctrine be administered but what is the doctrine of the twelve; for they are set forth as the chief and last. These are also they, as Moses, which are to look over all the building, and to see that all in this house be done according to the pattern showed to them in the mount (Exo 39:43; John 20:21-23; 1 Cor 3:9, 4:9).

Let us then keep these distinctions clear, and not put an apostle in the room of Christ, nor Christ in the place of one of those apostles. Let none, but Christ, be the high-priest and sacrifice for your souls to God; and none but that doctrine which is apostolical, be to you as the mouth of Christ for instruction to prepare you, and to prepare materials for this temple of God, and to build them upon this foundation.

VIII. Of the richness of the stones which were laid for the foundations of the Temple.

These foundation stones, as they were great, so they were costly stones; though, as I said, of themselves, of no more worth than they of their nature that were left behind. Their costliness therefore, lay in those additions which they received from the king's charge.

First, in that labor which was bestowed upon them in sawing, squaring, and carving. For the servants, as they were cunning at this work, so they bestowed much of their art and labor upon them, by which they put them into excellent form, and added to their bigness, glory, and beauty, fit for stones upon which so goodly a fabric was to be built.

Secondly, these stones, as they were thus wrought within and without, so, as it seems to me, they were inlaid with other stones more precious than themselves. Inlaid, I say, with stones of divers colors. According as it is written, I 'will lay thy foundations with sapphires' (Isa 54:11). Not that the foundations were sapphires, but they were laid, inlaid with them; or, as he saith in another place, 'They were adorned with goodly stones and gifts' (Luke 21:5).

This is still more amplified, where it is written of the New Jerusalem, which is still the New Testament church on earth, and so the same in substance with what is now. 'The foundations of the wall of the city,' saith he, 'were garnished with all manner of precious stones' (Rev 21:19). True, these there are called 'The foundations of the wall of the city,' but it has respect to the matter in hand; for that which is before called a temple, for its comparative smallness, is here called a city, for or because of its great increase: and both the foundations of the wall of the city, as well as of the temple, are 'the twelve apostles of the Lamb' (Rev 21:14).

For these carvings and inlayings, with all other beautifications, were types of the extraordinary gifts and graces of the apostles. Hence the apostle calls such gifts signs of apostleship (Rom 15:19; 2 Cor 12:12; Heb 2:4). For as the foundation stones of the temple were thus garnished, so were the apostles beautified with a call, gifts, and graces peculiar to themselves. Hence he says, 'First apostles'; for that they were first and chief in the church of Christ (1 Cor 12:28).

Nor were these stones only laid for a foundation for the temple; the great court, the inner court, as also the porch of the temple, had round about them three rows of these stones for their foundation (1 Kings 7:12). Signifying, as it seems to me, that the more outward and external part, as well as that more internal worship to be performed to God, should be grounded upon apostolical doctrine and appointments (1 Cor 3:10-12; 2 Thess 2:15, 3:6; Heb 6:1-4).

Works of John Bunyan: Solomon's Temple Spiritualized:1160

 

Or, Gospel Light Fetched out of the Temple at Jerusalem, to let us
More Easily into the Glory of New Testament Truths.

V. Who was to fell those trees, and to dig those stones, with which
Solomon built the Temple.

As the trees were to be felled, and stones to be digged, so there was for that matter select workmen appointed.

These were not of the sons of Jacob nor of the house of Israel; they were the servants of Hiram, king of Tyre, and the Gibeonites, namely, their children that made a league with Joshua, in the day that God gave the land of Canaan to his people (Josh 9:22-27; 1 Kings 5:1; 1 Chron 28, 29).

And these were types of our gospel ministers, who are the men appointed by Jesus Christ to make sinners, by their preaching, meet for the house of God. Wherefore, as he was famous of old who was strong to lift up his axe upon the thick boughs to square wood for the building of the temple; so a minister of the gospel now is also famous, if much used by Christ for the converting of sinners to himself, that he may build him a temple with them (Psa 7:4-6; Rom 16).

But why, may some say, do you make so homely a comparison? I answer, because I believe it is true; for it is grace, not gifts, that makes us sons, and the beloved of God. Gifts make a minister; and as a minister, one is but a servant to hew wood and draw water for the house of my God. Yea, Paul, though a son, yet counted himself not a son but a servant, purely as he was a minister. A servant of God, a servant of Christ, a servant of the church, and your servants for Jesus' sake (Titus 1:1; Rom 1:1; Col 4:5).

A man then is a son, as he is begotten and born of God to himself, and a servant as he is gifted for work in the house of his Father; and though it is truth the servant may be a son, yet he is not a son because he is a servant. Nor doth it follow, that because all sons may be servants, that therefore all servants are sons; no, all the servants of God are not sons; and therefore when time shall come, he that is only a servant here, shall certainly be put out of the house, even out of that house himself did help to build. 'The servant abideth not in the house for ever,' the servant, that is, he that is only so (Eze 46:16,17; John 8:35).

So then, as a son, thou art an Israelite; as a servant, a Gibeonite. This consideration made Paul start; he knew that gifts did not make him a son (1 Cor 12:28-31, 13:1,2).

The sum then is, a man may be a servant and a son; a servant as he is employed by Christ in his house for the good of others; and a son, as he is a partaker of the grace of adoption. But all servants are not sons; and let this be for a caution, and a call to ministers, to do all acts of service for God, and in his house with reverence and godly fear; and with all humility let us desire to be partakers ourselves of that grace we preach to others (1 Cor 9:25).

This is a great saying, and written perhaps to keep ministers humble: 'And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your ploughman, and your vine-dressers' (Isa 61:5). To be a ploughman here is to be a preacher; and to be a vine-dresser here is to be a preacher (Luke 9:59-62; 1 Cor 9:7,27; Matt 20:1-4,8, 21:28). And if he does this work willingly, he has a reward; if not, a dispensation of the gospel was committed to him, and that is all (1 Cor 9:17).

VI. In what condition the timber and stones were, when brought to be laid in the building of the temple.

The timber and stones with which the temple was built were squared and hewed at the wood or pit; and so they made every way fit for that work, even before they were brought to the place where the house should be set up: 'So that there was neither hammer, nor axe, nor any tool of iron heard in the house while it was in building' (1 Kings 6:7).

And this shows, as was said before, that the materials of which the house was built were, before the hand of the workman touched them, as unfit to be laid in the building as were those that were left behind; consequently that themselves, none otherwise but by the art of others, were made fit to be laid in this building.

To this our New Testament temple answers. For those of the sons of Adam who are counted worthy to be laid in this building, are not by nature, but by grace, made meet for it; not by their own wisdom, but by the Word of God. Hence he saith, 'I have hewed them by the prophets.' And again, ministers are called God's builders and laborers, even as to this work (Hosea 6:5; 1 Cor 3:10; 2 Cor 6:1; Col 1:28).

No man will lay trees, as they come from the wood, for beams and rafters in his house; nor stones, as digged in the walls. No; the stones must be hewed and squared, and the trees sawn and made fit, and so be laid in the house. Yea, they must be so sawn, and so squared, that in coupling they may be joined exactly; else the building will not be good, nor the workman have credit of his doings.

Hence our gospel-church, of which the temple was a type, is said to be fitly framed, and that there is a fit supply of every joint for the securing of the whole (1 Peter 2:5; Eph 2:20,21, 4:16; Col 2:19). As they therefore build like children, that build with wood as it comes from the wood or forest, and with stones as they come from the pit, even so do they who pretend to build God a house of unconverted sinners, unhewed, unsquared, unpolished. Wherefore God's workmen, according to God's advice, prepare their work without, and make it fit for themselves in the field, and afterward build the house (Prov 24:27).

Let ministers therefore look to this, and take heed, lest instead of making their notions stoop to the Word, they make the Scriptures stoop to their notions.

Works of John Bunyan: Solomon's Temple Spiritualized:1159

 

Or, Gospel Light Fetched out of the Temple at Jerusalem, to let us
More Easily into the Glory of New Testament Truths.

Solomon's Temple Spiritualized

'Thou son of man, shew the house to the house of Israel;—shew them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out hereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof.'—Ezekiel 43:10, 11

I. Where the Temple was built.

The temple was built at Jerusalem, on Mount Moriah, in the threshing-floor of Arnon the Jebusite; whereabout Abraham offered up Isaac; there where David met the angel of the Lord, when he came with his drawn sword in his hand, to cut off the people at Jerusalem, for the sin which David committed in his disorderly numbering the people (Gen 22:3-5; 1 Chron 21:15, 21:12; 2 Chron 3:1).

There Abraham received his Isaac from the dead; there the Lord was entreated by David to take away the plague, and to return to Israel again in mercy; from whence, also, David gathered that there God's temple must be built. This, saith he, is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of the burnt-offering for Israel (1 Chron 21:28, 22:1, 3:1).

This Mount Moriah, therefore, was a type of the Son of God, the mountain of the Lord's house, the rock against which the gates of hell cannot prevail.

II. Who built the Temple.

The temple was built by Solomon, a man peaceable and quiet; and that in name, by nature, and in governing. For so God had before told David, namely, that such a one the builder of the temple should be. 'Behold,' saith he, 'a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about; for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days. He shall build a house for my name, and he shall be my son, and I will be his father' (1 Chron 22:9,10; Psa 72:1-4).

As, therefore, Mount Moriah was a type of Christ, as the foundation, so Solomon was a type of him, as the builder of his church. The mount was signal, for that thereon the Lord God, before Abraham and David, did display his mercy. And as Solomon built this temple, so Christ doth build his house; yea, he shall build the everlasting temple, 'and he shall bear the glory' (Zech 6:12,13; Heb 3:3,4). And in that Solomon was called peaceable, it was to show with what peaceable doctrine and ways Christ's house and church should be built (Isa 9:6; Micah 4:2-4).

III. How the Temple was built.

The temple was built, not merely by the dictates of Solomon, though he was wiser than Ethen, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, and all men (1 Kings 4:31). But it was built by rules prescribed by, or in a written word, and as so delivered to him by his father David.

For when David gave to Solomon his son a charge to build the temple of God, with that charge he gave him also the pattern of all in writing; even a pattern of the porch, house, chambers, treasuries, parlors, &c., and of the place for the mercy-seat; which pattern David had of God; nor would God trust his memory with it. 'The Lord made me,' said he, 'understand in writing, by his hand upon me, even all the works of their pattern.' Thus, therefore, David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of all; and thus Solomon his son built the house of God (1 Chron 28:9-20).

And answerable to this, Christ Jesus, the builder of his own house, WHOSE HOUSE ARE WE, doth build his holy habitation for him to dwell in; even according to the commandment of God the Father. For, saith he, 'I have not spoken of myself, but the Father which sent me. He gave me a commandment what I should speak.' And hence it is said, God gave him the revelation; and again, that he took the book out of the hand of him that sat on the throne; and so acted, as to the building up of his church (John 12:49,50; Rev 1:1, 5:5).

IV. Of what the Temple was built.

The materials with which the temple was built were such as were in their own nature common to that which was left behind; things that naturally were not fit, without art, to be laid on so holy a house. And this shows that those of whom Christ Jesus designs to build his church, are by nature no better than others. But as the trees and stones of which the temple was built, were first hewed and squared before they were fit to be laid in that house, so sinners, of which the church is to be built, must first be fitted by the word and doctrine, and then fitly laid in their place in the church.

For though, as to nature, there is no difference betwixt those made use of to build God's house with, yet by grace they differ from others; even as those trees and stones that are hewed and squared for building, by art are made to differ from those which abide in the wood or pit.

The Lord Jesus, therefore, while he seeketh materials wherewith to build his house, he findeth them the clay of the same lump that he rejecteth and leaves behind. 'Are we better than they? No, in no wise' (Rom 3:9). Nay, I think, if any be best, it is they which are left behind. 'He came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance' (Mark 2:17). And, indeed, in this he doth show both the greatness of his grace and workmanship; his grace in taking such; and his workmanship in that he makes them meet for his holy habitation. This the current of Scripture maketh manifest; wherefore it is needless now to cite particulars: only we must remember, that none are laid in this building as they come out of the wood or pit, but as they first pass under the hand and rule of this great builder of the temple of God.

Works of John Bunyan: Solomon's Temple Spiritualized:1158

 

Or, Gospel Light Fetched out of the Temple at Jerusalem, to Let us
More Easily into the Glory of New Testament Truths.

[TO THE CHRISTIAN READER]

COURTEOUS CHRISTIAN READER,

I have, as thou by this little book mayest see, adventured, at this time, to do my endeavor to show thee something of the gospel-glory of Solomon's temple: that is, of what it, with its utensils, was a type of; and, as such, how instructing it was to our fathers, and also is to us their children. The which, that I might do the more distinctly, I have handled particulars one by one, to the number of threescore and ten; namely, all that of them I could call to mind; because, as I believe, there was not one of them but had its signification, and so something profitable for us to know.

For, though we are not now to worship God in these methods, or by such ordinances, as once the old church did: yet to know their methods, and to understand the nature and signification of their ordinances, when compared with the gospel, may, even now, when themselves, as to what they once enjoined on others, are dead, may minister light to us. And hence the New Testament ministers, as the apostles, made much use of Old Testament language, and ceremonial institutions, as to their signification, to help the faith of the godly in their preaching of the gospel of Christ.

I may say that God did in a manner tie up the church of the Jews to types, figures, and similitudes; I mean, to be butted and bounded[1] by them in all external parts of worship. Yea, not only the Levitical law and temple, but, as it seems to me, the whole land of Canaan, the place of their lot to dwell in, was to them as ceremonial, or a figure. Their land was a type of heaven, their passage over Jordan into it a similitude of our going to heaven by death (Heb 3:5-10). The fruit of their land was said to be uncircumcised (Lev 19:23), as being at their first entrance thither unclean (Exo 12:15). In which their land was also a figure of another thing, even as heaven was a type of sin and grace (Lev 6:17, 23:17).[2] Again, the very land itself was said to keep Sabbath, and so to rest a holy rest, even then when she lay desolate, and not possessed of those to whom she was given for them to dwell in (Lev 26:34,35).

Yea, many of the features of the then church of God were set forth, as in figures and shadows, so by places and things, in that land. 1. In general, she is said to be beautiful as Tirzah, and to be comely as Jerusalem (Can 6:4). 2. In particular, her neck is compared to the tower of David, built for an armory (Cant 4:4). Her eyes to the fish-pools of Heshbon, by the gate of Bethrabbim. Her nose is compared to the tower of Lebanon, which looketh towards Damascus (Cant 7:4). Yea, the hair of her head is compared to a flock of goats, which come up from mount Gilead; and the smell of her garments to the smell of Lebanon (Cant 4:1,11).

Nor was this land altogether void of shadows, even of her Lord and Savior. Hence he says of himself, 'I AM the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys' (Cant 2:1). Also, she, his beloved, saith of him, 'His countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars' (Cant 5:15). What shall I say? The two cities Sion and Jerusalem were sometimes set forth as the two churches, the true and the false, and their seed Isaac and Ishmael (Gal 4).

I might also here show you, that even the gifts and graces of the true church were set forth by the spices, nuts, grapes, and pomegranates, that the land of Canaan brought forth; yea, that hell itself was set forth by the valley of the sons of Hinnom and Tophet, places in this country. Indeed, the whole, in a manner, was a typical and a figurative thing.

But I have, in the ensuing discourse, confined myself to the temple, that immediate place of God's worship; of whose utensils, in particular, as I have said, I have spoken, though to each with what brevity I could, for that none of them are without a spiritual, and so a profitable signification to us. And here we may behold much of the richness of the wisdom and grace of God; namely, that he, even in the very place of worship of old, should ordain visible forms and representations for the worshippers to learn to worship him by; yea, the temple itself was, as to this, to them a good instruction.

But in my thus saying, I give no encouragement to any now, to fetch out of their own fancies figures or similitudes to worship God by. What God provided to be an help to the weakness of his people of old was one thing, and what they invented without his commandment was another. For though they had his blessing when they worshipped him with such types, shadows, and figures, which he had enjoined on them for that purpose, yet he sorely punished and plagued them when they would add to these inventions of their own (Exo 32:35; 2 Kings 17:16-18; Acts 7:38-43). Yea, he, in the very act of instituting their way of worshipping him, forbade their giving, in any thing, way to their own humors or fancies, and bound them strictly to the orders of heaven. 'Look,' said God to Moses, their first great legislator, 'that thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount' (Exo 25:40; Heb 8:5). Nor doth our apostle but take the same measures, when he saith, 'If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord' (1 Cor 14:37).

When Solomon also, was to build this temple for the worship of God, though he was wiser than all men, yet God neither trusted to his wisdom nor memory, nor to any immediate dictates from heaven to him, as to how he would have him build it. No; he was to receive the whole platform thereof in writing, by the inspiration of God. Nor would God give this platform of the temple, and of its utensils, immediately to this wise man, lest perhaps by others his wisdom should be idolized, or that some should object, that the whole fashion thereof proceeded of his fancy, only he made pretensions of Divine revelation, as a cover for his doings

Therefore, I say, not to him, but to his father David, was the whole pattern of it given from heaven, and so by David to Solomon his son, in writing. 'Then David,' says the text, 'gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and of the houses thereof, and of the treasuries thereof, and of the upper chambers thereof, and of the inner parlours thereof, and of the place of the mercy-seat, and the pattern of all that he had by the spirit, of the courts of the house of the Lord, and of all the chambers round about, of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries of the dedicated things: also for the courses of the priests and the Levites, and for all the work of the service of the house of the Lord, and for all the vessels of service in the house of the Lord' (1 Chron 28:11-13).

Yea, moreover, he had from heaven, or by Divine revelation, what the candlesticks must be made of, and also how much was to go to each; the same order and commandment he also gave for the making of the tables, flesh-hooks, cups, basins, altar of incense, with the pattern for the chariot of the cherubims, &c. (vv 14-19). 'All this, said David, the Lord made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the work of this pattern' (v 19). So, I say, he gave David the pattern of the temple, so David gave Solomon the pattern of the temple; and according to that pattern did Solomon build the temple, and no otherwise.

True, all these were but figures, patterns, and shadows of things in the heavens, and not the very image of the things; but, as was said afore, if God was so circumspect and exact in these, as not to leave any thing to the dictates of the godly and wisest of men, what! can we suppose he will now admit of the wit and contrivance of men in those things that are, in comparison to them, the heavenly things themselves? (Heb 8:5, 9:8-10,23, 10:1).

It is also to be concluded, that since those shadows of things in the heavens are already committed by God to sacred story; and since that sacred story is said to be able to make the man of God perfect in all things—2 Timothy 3:15-17—it is duty to us to leave off to lean to common understandings, and to inquire and search out by that very holy writ, and naught else, by what and how we should worship God. David was for inquiring in his temple (Psa 27:4).

And, although the old church-way of worship is laid aside as to us in New Testament times, yet since those very ordinances were figures of things and methods of worship now; we may, yea, we ought to search out the spiritual meaning of them, because they serve to confirm and illustrate matters to our understandings. Yea, they show us the more exactly how the New and Old Testament, as to the spiritualness of the worship, was as one and the same; only the old was clouded with shadows, but ours is with more open face.

Features to the life, as we say, set out by a picture, do excellently show the skill of the artist. The Old Testament had the shadow, nor have we but the very image; both then are but emblems of what is yet behind. We may find our gospel clouded in their ceremonies, and our spiritual worship set out somewhat by their carnal ordinances.

Now, because, as I said, there lies, as wrapped up in a mantle, much of the glory of our gospel matters in this temple which Solomon builded; therefore I have made, as well as I could, by comparing spiritual things with spiritual, this book upon this subject.

I dare not presume to say that I know I have hit right in every thing; but this I can say, I have endeavored so to do. True, I have not for these things fished in other men's waters; my Bible and Concordance are my only library in my writings. Wherefore, courteous reader, if thou findest any thing, either in word or matter, that thou shalt judge doth vary from God's truth, let it be counted no man's else but mine. Pray God, also, to pardon my fault. Do thou, also, lovingly pass it by, and receive what thou findest will do thee good.

Thy servant in the gospel,

JOHN BUNYAN.

Works of John Bunyan: Solomon's Temple Spiritualized:1157

 

Or, Gospel Light Fetched out of the Temple at Jerusalem, to Let us
More Easily into the Glory of New Testament Truths.

BY THE EDITOR]

Of all the wonders of the world, the temple of Solomon was beyond comparison, the greatest and the most magnificent. It was a type of that temple not made with hands, eternal in the heavens, of that city whose builder and maker is God, and which, at the consummation of all things, shall descend from heaven with gates of pearl and street of pure gold as shining glass, and into which none but the ransomed of the Lord shall enter. Jesus, the Lamb of God, shall be its light and glory and temple; within its walls the Israel of God, with the honor of the Gentiles, shall be brought in a state of infinite purity. No unclean thing will be able to exist in that dazzling and refulgent brightness which will arise from the perfection of holiness in the immediate presence of Jehovah; and of this, as well as of the whole Christian dispensation, the temple of Solomon was a type or figure. It would have been impossible for the united ingenuity of all mankind, or the utmost stretch of human pride, to have devised such a building, or to have conceived the possibility of its erection. The plan, the elevation, the whole arrangement of this gorgeous temple, proceeded from the Divine Architect. 

He who created the wondrous universe of nature condescended to furnish the plan, the detail, the ornaments, and even the fashion of the utensils of this stately building. 'David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and of the houses thereof, and of the treasuries thereof, and of the upper chambers thereof, and of the inner parlors thereof, and of the place of the mercy seat, and the pattern of all that he had BY THE SPIRIT, of the courts of the house of the LORD, and of all the chamber round about, of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries of the dedicated things' (1 Chron 28:11,12). 'Now, behold I have prepared for the house of the Lord an hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver; brass, and iron without weight, timber and stone also, and all manner of cunning workmen' (1 Chron 22). 

And lest his heart should fail before a work so vast, 'David said to Solomon, Be strong and of good courage, and do it; fear not, nor be dismayed: for the Lord God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord' (28:20). Thus furnished with wisdom from above, with materials and with cunning workmen, and, above all, with the approbation and protection of his God, Solomon commenced, and eventually finished, this amazing structure, and fitted it to receive the sacred implements, all of which, to the minutest particular, had been made by Moses, 'after their pattern, which was shewed him in the mount' (Exo 25:40).

Every part of the building, including the foundation, its altar, its courts, the holy of holies, all the utensils, and the ark, were types of that more glorious system which, in the fulness of time, appeared as the antitype, and perfected the Divine revelation. The temple becomes therefore an object of our special attention as a light to guide us while searching into gospel truths.

Under the peculiar aid of Divine guidance and protection, this sumptuous structure was finished, and most deeply impressive were the ceremonies on the day of its consecration. Solomon had made to himself an everlasting name, and it would be natural to expect that in such a scene of splendid triumph he would have felt exalted to the proudest height that human nature was capable of attaining. But Solomon had not only heard of God by the hearing of the ear, but by internal communion had seen and conversed with him. He could say with Job, when he had been restored from the deepest abasement to an elevated position, 'Mine eye seeth thee, wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.' 

Thus, in Solomon's beautiful prayer on the dedication of this gorgeous temple, he humbly inquires, 'Will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have built?' (2 Chron 6:18). Thus was completed the most perfect, splendid, and magnificent building that was ever erected by human hands. Still it was only a type of that infinitely more glorious antitype, the Christian dispensation. 'Most stately and magnificent is the fabric of God's house, yielding admirable delight to such whom free grace has vouchsafed to give spiritual eyes to discern it; far surpassing the splendor of its ancient type, the temple of Solomon, which was once the wonder of the world.' 'A greater than Solomon is here.' 'The BRANCH he shall build the temple of the Lord'—the more glorious, spiritual, eternal temple (Zech 6:12).

In a few hundred years after the temple of Solomon was finished, this sumptuous structure was doomed to destruction, like all the fading handiwork of man. Sin enervated the nation which should have protected it; while the immensity of its riches excited the cupidity of a neighboring royal robber. It was plundered, and then set on fire; the truth of the declaration made by Job upon the perishable works of man was eminently displayed—'For man to labor he is born, and the sons of the burning coal they mount up fluttering.' In a few days the labor of years, aided by unbounded wealth and resources, was reduced to a heap of ashes. 

And now, after a lapse of about twenty-five centuries, accompanied by John Bunyan, 'a cunning workman,' as our guide, we are enabled to contemplate the account given us of this amazing edifice recorded in the volume of truth, and to compare that utmost perfection of human art, aided from heaven, with the infinitely superior temple in which every Christian is called to worship—to enter by the blood of the everlasting covenant into the holiest of all, the way consecrated by the cross and sufferings of Christ—without the intervention of priests or lordly prelate—without expensive victims to offer as a type of expiation—without limit of time, or space, or place, the poorest and most abject, with the wealthiest—the humbled beggar and the humbled monarch have equal access to the mercy seat, sacrificing those sinful propensities which are the cause of misery, and pleading the Saviour's merits before the eternal Jehovah. 

Christ has consecrated the way, and we enter into the holiest of all not only without fear, but with solemn joy. The cost of Solomon's temple has been estimated at eight hundred thousand millions of money: if this is true, still how infinitely inferior is that vast sum to the inconceivable cost of the eternal temple, with its myriads of worshippers, for which the Son of God paid the ransom, when he made the atonement for transgression, and built that imperishable temple which neither human nor satanic malevolence can ever destroy, and in which every spiritual worshipper will be crowned with an everlasting weight of glory.

While we cannot doubt that the temple and its services contained many types highly illustrative of the Christian dispensation, incautious attempts to find them may lead to fanciful interpretations that tend to cloud, rather than elucidate, gospel truths. Bunyan very properly warns his readers against giving the reins to their imaginations and indulging in speculations like those fathers, who in every nail, pin, stone, stair, knife, pot, and in almost every feather of a sacrificed bird could discern strange, distinct, and peculiar mysteries. The same remark applies to the Jewish rabbis, whose Talmud is full of mysterious shadows. From these rabbinical flints some have thought to extract choice mystical oil to supple the wheels of their fancy—to use a homely expression. Such Jewish rabbis and Christian fathers limped and danced upon one learned leg, to the amazement of all beholders, but not to their edification; their lucubrations may amuse those who have patience to read them, but they afford no instruction. 

Even the learned Samuel Lee, whose work on the temple abounds with valuable information, has strongly tinctured it with pedantry. It is seldom that a more curious jumble is found than in the following paragraph:—' The waxen comb of the ancient figures and typical eels is fully matted and rolled up in shining tapers, to illuminate temple students in finding out the honey that couches in the carcass of the slain Lion of the tribe of Judah.' Bunyan fears nothing in indulging his readers with the vagaries of the Jewish rabbis or Christian fathers—his converse was limited to the prophets and apostles. His object is to make us familiar with those types exhibited in the temple and alluded to by the inspired writers of the New Testament; to use a Puritan expression, he would enable us to plow with our spiritual Samson's heifer to expound the riddle, and thus discover the dark patterns of heavenly things (Heb 9:23,24). Among the many striking objects to which Bunyan directs our wondering eyes, a few should excite our deeper attention while we accompany him in viewing this marvelous temple.

1. All the materials that were used required preparation. The stones must be quarried, squared, and fitted for the building with many a hard knock and the chisel's cutting. So must you and I, my readers, pass through the new birth, and be prepared by the Holy Spirit to fit us for the spiritual building composed of living stones; and if not made meet for that building, we shall be eventually found lifting up our eyes in torment.

2. Very solemn is the consideration insisted on by our author—that all sons are servants to assist in building this spiritual edifice, but all servants are not sons to inherit a place in it; an awful thought, that there have been and now are servants employed in the conversion of sinners, and in building up the saints, who never did nor never will worship in that temple. Let us examine ourselves before we enter that dreary abode, to which we are hastening; 'for there is no work nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave, whither thou goest' (Eccl 9:10).

3. Are we zealously affected to forward the work, be careful then as to the materials we use, 'living stones' not wood, hay, or stubble. May all our persuasions be constantly used to bring poor, thoughtless sinners to repentance, but introduce them not as members of that house until you have a scriptural hope that they have passed from death unto life—that they are believers in Jesus, and have brought forth fruit meet for repentance.

4. All the foundation, the superstructure, the furniture, must be according to the written word of the prophets and apostles, Jesus Christ being the chief cornerstone. Reject all the inventions of man and all human authority in the worship of God.

5. The temple was so built that the worshippers looked to the west toward the holy of holies. All the superstitions and idolatrous notions of man lead him to turn to the east, to worship the rising sun. 'The heathen made the chief gates of their temples towards the west, that these stupid worshippers, drawing nigh to their blind, deaf, and dumb deities, might have their idols rising upon them out of the east.' The temple as a type, and Christianity as the antitype run counter to such idolatrous absurdities and folly.

6. Christian, be content with whatever may be your lot, however humble your place in the church and world. Soon will it be changed for the better. In this world we are working men, and must be content to be clad and fed as such, that we may be fitted for our solemn and joyful change. Soon we shall put on our church-going holiday suit and partake all the dainties of the heavenly feast, the glories of the New Jerusalem. Reader, these are samples of the prominent truths that will occupy your attention as you accompany Bunyan on your interesting visit to Solomon's temple. May you richly enjoy your survey of that astonishing building, under such a trusty and experienced guide.

GEO. OFFOR.

Works of John Bunyan: THE HOLY CITY; OR, THE NEW JERUSALEM:1156

 

[FIFTH. THE PROVISION AND MAINTENANCE OF THE CITY, BY WHICH IT CONTINUETH IN LIFE, EASE, PEACE, TRANQUILITY, AND SWEETNESS FOR EVER.]

'And his servants shall serve him.' That is, HIM ONLY. Indeed his servants serve him always, but yet withal they do too too often serve with the wills and lusts of men, even in their service and worshipping God; that is, they serve him in much affliction, temptation, fear, and persecution; but then they shall serve him without any of these. Yea, 'they shall take them captives, whose captives they were, and they shall rule over their oppressors. And it shall come to pass in the day [O city] that the Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow,—and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve' (Isa 14:2,3), and thou shalt serve the Lord thy God 'without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of thy life' (Luke 1:74,75).

'And they shall see his face.' This also argueth a very great dispensation of grace and mercy to this Jerusalem. When God did deliver up his people into the hand of the king of Babylon, he said it should be done in fury and in anger, and that for their wickedness he would hide his face from his city (Deu 31:17; Jer 33:5). Wherefore, by the sight of his face here, we are to understand that glorious visible appearance of God that then will be for this city and people in the face of all the world (1 Peter 3:12). For by the face of God we are to understand the discovery of his severity, providences, and wonderful outgoings among the sons of men (Job 6:8-13). As also the glorious breaking forth of grace, mercy, and forgiveness through Christ Jesus, all which the people of God shall then most marvellously see and behold (Heb 1:1-3; 2 Cor 4:6).

First. They shall see his severity and judgments upon the whore.

Second. They shall see how God, by his strange judgments and works of wonder, hath brought this about. 'Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee, for thy judgments are made manifest' (Rev 15:4). 'They that are delivered from the noise of archers in the places of drawing water, there shall they rehearse the righteous acts of the Lord, even the righteous acts towards the inhabitants of his villages in Israel' (Judg 5:11).

Third. And as for his mercy, they shall see that their horn is exalted, and that they are near to him. 'Praise ye the Lord' (Psa 148:14).

'And his name shall be in their foreheads.' And 'his name.' That is, his fear and image, it shall appear in all their doings. Sometimes he saith he will write his fear and law in their hearts and minds. Which fear and law is all one with that which in this place he calleth his name in their foreheads. The forehead of a man is the place above all parts of the body that is most naked and plain to be beheld of all that pass by; wherefore, when he saith their Father's name shall be in their foreheads, it is as if he had said, the profession of my people shall now be open, and the beauty of it apparent to all beholders; 'I will make' them, saith God, 'a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes' (Zeph 3:20). Every face shall then shine with oil, as well as every heart be replenished with milk and wine. 

This was held forth by the memorial that the Israelites were to wear, at God's command, between their eyes; which memorial was the doctrine of unleavened bread and of the paschal lamb, the doctrine of faith and holiness (Exo 13:6-9; 1 Cor 5:8). Wherefore, by name here, he means the faith and holiness of the gospel, which in those days shall walk openly with honour, with reverence, and esteem before all men. At this day the world will, as I have said, be so far off from opposing and persecuting, that they shall wonder, and tremble, and fear before this people; yea, be taken, affected, and pleased with the welfare of this beloved. 'The mountains and the hills shall break forth before her into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands' (Isa 55:12). 'All nations shall call them blessed, for they shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts' (Mal 3:12). The waters of Noah shall now be no more, the tumultuous multitudes shall now be gone, and there will be no more sea (Isa 54:9; Psa 65:7; 89:9; Rev 21:1,2). Now therefore the doves may be gathering their olive-branches, and also find rest for the soles of their feet, while the ark shall rest upon the mountains of Ararat (Gen 8:4,5).

'The wolf also shall [now] dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; the calf and the young lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.—The lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the suckling shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord (Isa 11:6-9; 56:2-5).

Blessed is he whose lot it will be to see this holy city descending and lighting upon the place that shall be prepared for her situation and rest! Then will be a golden world; wickedness shall then be ashamed, especially that which persecutes the church. Holiness, goodness, and truth shall then, with great boldness, countenance, and reverence, walk upon the face of all the earth. 'From the rising of the sun, even unto the going down of the same, my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts' (Mal 1:11). It will be then always summer, always sunshine, always pleasant, green, fruitful, and beautiful to the sons of God.

 'And it shall come to pass in that day that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim.—And Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation' (Joel 3:18,20). 'And the name of the city from that day shall be, The Lord is there' (Eze 48:35). O blessedness! 'And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to show unto his servants the things that must shortly be done' (Rev 22:6).

I conclude therefore with that earnest groan of Moses, the man of God, 'O satisfy us early with thy mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.—Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil. Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children. And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us; and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it (Psa 90:14-17). Amen.

Works of John Bunyan: THE HOLY CITY; OR, THE NEW JERUSALEM:1155

 

[FIFTH. THE PROVISION AND MAINTENANCE OF THE CITY, BY WHICH IT CONTINUETH IN LIFE, EASE, PEACE, TRANQUILITY, AND SWEETNESS FOR EVER.]

'And there shall be no more curse.' By curse in this place we are chiefly to understand, not the taking away of the curse, the eternal curse which separates between God and the soul for ever-for so the curse in this sense hath always been taken away by virtue of the terms, the general terms of the new covenant, and that in common for every saint in all ages (Gal 3:13)-but by curse here we are to understand that, or those curses that do, and have frequently befallen the church for her sin and apostasy; as namely, the giving up his people to their own darkness and ignorance; his suffering them to swerve from his true worship and ordinances: his giving them up into the hand of those that hate them, to become among them a hissing, a taunt, a reproach, and a by-word, as it is at this day (Zeph 1:12-17; Psa 43:28; Jer 29:18; 44:8,12). 

His taking away from them the means, to wit, the outward word of the gospel, and suffering them to be even at the point to famish for the want thereof (Amos 8:9-13). These and other things are the curses that he here saith shall be no more among his people; for indeed they shall not, because the gospel-pattern shall never be removed more, nor their light to see, nor their love to practice, never be diminished more. Their defense, also, 'shall be the munition of rocks; bread shall be given them, and their waters shall be sure' (Isa 33:16). As here, you find the tree and river of the water of life are fixed now in the midst of this city. Wherefore now the church, as I have all along showed you, shall have her sun at the height, her light as the light of seven days, and shall go no more down for ever. Also she shall never be pulled down. She shall be a tabernacle that shall never be pulled down, neither shall one of the cords thereof be loosed, or one of her stakes again removed (Isa 33:20).

'There shall be no more curse: but the throne of God shall be in it.' Indeed, here lieth the reason of all blessedness to any people, even the presence of God. Now the presence of God is with his people, either at times or seasons, or all together. He will not be to this city a God of times and seasons, even like a way-faring man that tarries but for a night, as he used to be to his people of old, but here he will abide, rest, and dwell (Zeph 3:17; Jer 14:8,9; Zech 2:10,11). I will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and my house shall be built in it, saith the Lord. And, again, 'I will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem for ever' (Eze 43:9). Wherefore John, considering this, he saith, there shall be here no more any curse, but the throne of God. God will now, when he returneth to Jerusalem, bring his seat with him to signify his sitting down in the midst of his people, to be their company-keeper for ever.

[Import of the word THRONE.] 'But the throne of God—shall be in it.' By this word 'throne,' we are to understand yet further these particular things-

First. How blessed a state this city will be in at all times for the answer of prayer! The throne of God will be in the midst of them; the throne of grace, the mercy-seat, they will be open now to all the inhabitants of this city; yea, the fame thereof shall so spread that it shall be rumoured among all the nations that in Jerusalem God will be found speedily; that in Jerusalem the God of heaven and eternal mercy is found at all times by them that seek his face. 'Mine house,' said he, 'shall be called a house of prayer for all people' (Isa 56:7). Yea, many people, and strong nations, shall at that day come to seek the Lord at Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord. And at that day the very fasts of the house of God 'shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore, love the truth and peace' (Zech 8:19-22).

Second. The throne of God being now established in this city, what a government, what rule, what a life of holiness and godliness, what dread and majesty will now be in the hearts of all the sons of this city! How to a hair's-breadth will he command and guide them with his eye at all times, when they should either turn to the right hand or to the left. What wisdom, I say, what holiness, what grace and life will be found in all their words and actions? (Isa 48:17). The throne of God is among them, from which there will come continual influence, light, and splendor, into all their hearts. 'Hear ye the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattereth Israel will gather him and keep him, as a shepherd doth his sheep. For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he. Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock, and of the herd, and their soul shall be as a watered garden, and they shall not sorrow any more at all' (Jer 31:10-12).

Third. The throne of God being in this city, there is also thereby discovered what sway and commanding authority this city will have at this day, as I have already showed you, over all the earth (Isa 2:9,10). 'The Lord also shall roar out of Zion and utter his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth shall shake, but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel' (Joel 3:16). This was figured forth by the throne of Solomon, in the days when that city was in its prosperity; which throne, to show the majesty and commanding awe that then that city had over all, both far and near, it had, for the bearers of the steps, twelve lions, six on this side, and six on that side of the throne (1 Kings 10:18-20). This city shall then be the head and chief, but the tail and reproach no more. 'Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God' (Psa 87:3).