But we must accept the invitation here, if we are to be numbered with the wedding guests above; we must taste of the earthly banquet, if we are to be made partakers of the heavenly. And therefore, in conclusion, let me urge those, if any there be, who have not yet opened the door of their hearts to admit the Saviour, to apply these words of my text to their souls this night, and to pray that God will enable them to listen to the pleading voice of Him who speaks, to obey the gracious summons of Him who knocks, and so to become inheritors of this most blessed promise. And let this be the unceasing cry of us all

"Come, Saviour Jesus, from above;

Assist me with Thy heavenly grace;
Empty my heart of earthly love,
And for Thyself prepare the place!
Oh, let Thy sacred presence fill

And set my longing spirit free!
Which pants to have no other will,

But day and night to feast on Thee."

"To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with

my Father in His throne."-REV. iii. 21.

ACH one of the messages addressed to the Seven Churches closes with a promise of this kind, a promise of reward and triumph to those who should conquer in the good fight of faith to which they had been called.

And each one of these promises is so worded as to apply to each individual member of each particular Church. The messages themselves are addressed to the "angels," ie. the presiding ministers, of the Churches the purport of the messages is, of course, intended for the entire body of Christians together; but the promise of due reward is made to the individual. The entire Church might not continue faithful; but each member who kept the faith would be rewarded all the same. The Church of Ephesus

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might still persist in "leaving her first love," but the single Ephesus Christian who remained true and constant should in no wise lose his reward. The Church of Pergamos or of Thyatira might still permit the practices of idolatry and licentiousness to go on, but every single member of those Churches who escaped the pollution, would undoubtedly receive his reward. It is a very important fact, and one that ought to have a great influence upon our lives-the fact declared in chap. ii. 23, and reiterated over and over again all through the Bible-that whatever a man's circumstances may be, in whatever place his lot may be cast, God "will give unto every one of us according to our works."

And there is another point that we may notice about these promises addressed to the Seven Churches: the reward that is held out appears, as a rule, to be peculiarly adapted to the circumstances and condition of the particular Church; eg. the Ephesus Church had "left her first love;" she is bidden to "repent and do the first works;" and the reward "to him that overcometh " is the partaking of "the tree of life,” concerning which it is said, in chap. xxii. 14, "Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life." From this we learn, that those who repent, and do God's commandments, will have a share in such blessedness as even Adam and Eve did not know; for they were not permitted to eat of the tree of life in Eden; but now "he that overcometh" will be allowed to eat of that tree, and the leaves, which at first were forbidden to man, should now be for the healing of the nations which

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have been wounded by the ravages of sin. Christian conqueror will be able to heal his wounds, where even Adam in his innocence was not permitted to approach. Then the Church of Smyrna was bidden to be "faithful unto death," and so her promised reward is, "He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death." The faithful endurance of death in this life for the sake of Christ will assure, so to speak, an escape from death in life to come. Pergamos was forbidden to eat that sacrificed unto idols, and bidden to avoid defilement, and therefore her reward is, "to eat of hidden manna, and the gift of a white stone." As a reward for her abstaining from the food of devils, she is to have the food of God; and for avoiding pollution, she is to have a gift of snow-white purity. The Church of Thyatira was suffering much from ungodly foes; and to her it is granted, if she overcomes, to rule over them and break them to shivers with a rod of iron; and hers is to be the special brightness of the morning star as the reward of victory. Sardis, as we have seen, was a decaying Church, and there were only "a few names which had not defiled their garments;" "and they," says. Christ, "shall walk with me in white;" but to all who should overcome the promise is made of being clothed in white raiment, and those who should confess Christ before opposing multitudes will be confessed by Him before the hosts of heaven. Philadelphia had not denied the name of Christ, and had been bidden to hold fast; and so he that overcometh here is to be a pillar, firm and unmoveable, in the temple of God; and is to have the name of God and Jesus, and the

new name of Christ written upon him. This last promise to the Laodicean Church seems to be somewhat of a more general one; its specially glorious character may perhaps be owing to the specially miserable condition of the Laodicean Church, which would make victory all the more difficult to attain ; but it is even more on account of its being the last of the promises, and thus gathering, as it were, the force of all the rest into one. However, be this as it may, it certainly sets before us the wonderful height of glory which awaits the redeemed beyond. The reward of the conqueror is to be nothing less than a participation in the very "throne of God and of the Lamb." And thus the words of our blessed Lord, in His prayer for disciples in John xvii., are to be literally fulfilled," And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one."

But there are a few considerations arising from these divine promises addressed to the Seven Churches, and especially from this last one, which we may very profitably take to ourselves as a fitting conclusion to our study of this subject. And let us pray that the Holy Spirit may lead us so to lay to heart these teachings of the word of God, that they may indeed produce a real and lasting effect upon our lives.

The first consideration that suggests itself in these words, "To him that overcometh," is, that they may imply a conflict and a warfare. This thought might seem to some an unnecessary one, because we all know that there is no aspect under which the Christian