Works of John Bunyan: THE HOLY CITY; OR, THE NEW JERUSALEM:1129

 

[THIRD. A RELATION OF THE GLORY OF THE CITY, ITS WALLS, GATES, AND FOUNDATIONS.]

Ver. 18. 'And the building of the wall of it was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.'

[The glory of the walls.]

In these words you have a discovery of the glory, both of the wall and city itself; and that, as you see, under the notion of two choice metaphors. The wall is jasper, the chief of stones; and the city is gold, the chief of metals. 'And the building of the wall of it was of jasper, and the city was pure gold.'

This jasper is that stone, in the light of which this city is said to descend, as in the light of a stone most precious. Now, as there he saith she descended in the light of this stone, so here he saith this stone is the wall thereof. 'And the building of the wall of it was of jasper.'

This therefore confirmeth unto you what I said of the wall before, to wit, that it was the salvation of God through Christ; wherefore, learn this by the way, that this city shall not be at this day in her own keeping, but in the keeping of Jesus Christ. He with his benefits doth compass her round, and by him alone she lieth down in safety. Wherefore it is from this consideration that God doth say by the mouth of the prophet, I will give them within my house, and within my walls, 'a place and a name better than that of sons and of daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off' (Isa 56:5).

'And the building of the wall,' &c. By this word building, we are to understand both the materials of the wall, the manner of their placing, and the instruments that God will use for the setting up thereof. Now, to speak properly, this wall being the Lord Jesus Christ himself in his precious merits, benefits, and offices, the builder hereof must needs be God himself, for he it is that hath made this Christ for us a safeguard and defence, by making of him our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, by which he doth encompass us round on every side, and that at every moment to deliver us from the power and destruction both of sin, death, the devil, and hell (1 Cor 1:30; Heb 11:10; 3:4).

But again, the building here spoken of is a building of this wall after the destruction of Antichrist, and so long after Christ was sent, and made these things in his own person, to his beloved and blessed church. Wherefore the building of this wall that is here spoken of, it must be understood of the recovering again the purity of those doctrines, in which the Lord Jesus, with all his benefits, is found and made ours, for our everlasting defence and safety. For we find that the king of Babylon, who was a type of our Antichrist, when he came up against Jerusalem, the type of our primitive church, he brake down their city, destroyed their walls, rifled their houses, and killed their children; whose steps, I say, our Antichrist follows to a hair, in treading down the primitive church, corrupting her doctrines-which are her safeguard and wall-also robbing and spoiling the houses of God, and killing his children with a thousand calamities; turning all the heavenly frame and order of church government into a heap of rubbish, and a confused dunghill (Psa 74:4-7).

Wherefore the building again of this wall is to be understood of the recovering, and settling, and fastening the doctrines of Christ, as afore, in which doctrines he in all his benefits is wrapped and held fast for ever. I say, a recovering of them, and setting him up again in his primitive and pure glory, of being our priest, prophet, and king in his church, and a giving unto these offices their own proper length, breadth, height, and depth, letting them rule in all their force, glory, and majesty, and authority, for then will be golden days, and not till then; then, I say, when the several offices of the Lord Jesus do rule in their own nature and largeness of authority, both in the church and in the world (Zech 9:7,8; 14:9; Rev 11:15). Alas! this wall is yet unbuilt, the offices of the Lord Jesus do not yet shine in that purity, nor so stand in their proper places as they shall do at the coming in of New Jerusalem. The wall lies yet but as a heap of rubbish; the offices of the Lord Christ are to this day by many preachers confounded, and removed to and fro, even like loose and rolling stones. These offices, also, are by others attributed to Antichrist, and his children of iniquity; but at this day the nations shall know themselves to be but men, and the doctrines of Christ shall be set again in their own places (Eze 28:2,3; 2 Thess 2:4). 

Now shall every going into this city, and every going out thereof, stand where it ought; and now shall every tower and fortress on this wall be placed as in the days of old; which towers and fortresses are the glorious names and attributes of the Father and Christ; for the name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous flee into it, and are safe. And again, thou hast been a shelter to me, and a strong tower from the enemy. Wherefore now, I say, shall the name of God, as Lord of all, and Father of his church, with the names of the Son, as Head, Saviour, and King of kings, be as the bulwarks to this city (Cant 1:10), to which shall be added all the promises, consolations, encouragements, &c., in the blessed book of God, out of which this city continually shall suck the milk and nourishment of the unsearchable grace of God to them (1 Peter 2:1,2). To all which shall be added many new pieces of timber in the wall, for so it was in the type at the rebuilding of the city (Neh 2:8). By which new pieces I gather, that the special providence of God, and his protection, shall be at this day so fastened in this wall for the complete delivering of this city, both from hell and earth, that she shall stand in full force, safety, and peace, even till the heavens and the earth shall be no more.