William Huntington

XXX The Violent Storm, and Heavenly Calm

"O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted! behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires." ISAIAH 54:11

IN this chapter the Jewish elect, the children of God who passed, under the ministry of Christ, out of the old covenant into the new, are bid to break forth into singing, and cry aloud, though they did not travail with child, but came forth, as it were, at an instant; for although they had been barren, and not borne, yet, being now a gospel church, she is the married wife, and not those who abide in the old covenant, though the Jerusalem that now is had more children than the heavenly Jerusalem. Those that abode by the old covenant are desolate, and had no husband; and a large family of children, without a husband, was no honour to her, but rather a scandal. She is bid to enlarge the place of her tent, to show the church is portable, and to stretch forth the curtains of her habitation. One of the coverings and curtains of the ancient tabernacle was fine twined linen, which I think was typical of the righteousness of the saints, called white linen, clean and white. And the spouse, when adorned with this, says, "I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem; as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon." This is the covering robe of the whole church; and blessed is he whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered with it.

She is bid to lengthen her cords of faith, peace, and love, and to strengthen all the stakes that embrace and bind these cords about them. And God promises that she shall break forth on the right hand and on the left, and that her seed should inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities, which had been without God, now to be inhabited by God in his saints. Two things Goal comforts her against, which lay heavy upon convinced sinners, the shame of their youth, which is grievous when the sins of youth are set before them. "Remember net the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions," says one, Psalm xxv. 7. He comforts the Gentiles against the reproach of their widowhood. The Jews used to call the Gentiles the forsaken and the desolate; but God promises to wipe away this reproach, and to give them better names: "Thou shalt no more be termed, Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah, and thy land Beulah: for the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married." The name forsaken is changed for the name of God's delight; and instead of desolate it is wedded. And so it follows: "For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name: and thy Redeemer the holy One of Israel; the God of the whole earth shall he be called." But I will come to my text, which is full of comfort to these poor Gentiles.

"O thou afflicted!" Many are the afflictions of the righteous: and these poor Gentiles, upon their receiving the gospel and turning to God from idols, were wretchedly used by those that abode by the old idolatry. These fell violently upon them. The devil stirred up the whole world to make new gods, and to oppose the gospel, and persecute its converts; as it follows: "The isles saw it, and feared; the ends of the earth were afraid, drew near, and came. They helped every one his neighbour: and every one said to his brother; Be of good courage. So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It is ready for the sodering: and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved." But God encourages Gentile Zion under all this: "Fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God." "Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee, shall fall for thy sake," Isaiah liv. 15. Dreadful were the persecutions which these poor creatures endured. But, besides all this, they were sorely afflicted within; for, being bred up in idol worship, find this being deeply engraved on the hearty the word must cut as deep as the root, and pierce and wound dreadfully before this false religion could be cut off at the fibres, and destroyed in all its branches; no less than a mighty power could: effect it. "Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So mightily grew the word of God, and preveiled." Again: when the false gods which they had been led to worship and adore were discovered, by divine revelation, to be nothing but vile creatures, apostate angels, devils, the enemies of God, and the only destroyers of men, this must, when charged home, and these charges seconded by an enlightened conscience, make dreadful work within; especially when the fall of man was discovered, a broken law understood, and sins, by that glass, set in the light of God's countenance. "O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted!"

The holy law of God, when the Almighty applies it in all its purity, holiness, and spirituality, to the conscience of the poor sinner, is a figurative tempest, as Paul calls it, a mount burning with fire, blackness, and darkness, and tempest, Heb. xii. 18. For, as in a tempest the heavens are black with clouds, so, while this store lasts, there is nothing but cloudy and dark days, Ezek. xxxiv. 12. There is in the soul a grows darkness, yea, a horror of great darkness; darkness that maybe felt, and is felt; and God himself seems hid in terrible clouds also, which appear to keep us more and more at a distance, when we are labouring night and day to draw nigh, and endeavouring to find acceptance. "Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud, that our prayer should not-pass through."

In a tempest there is generally a strong wind; hence, it is called a windy storm: "O that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest. I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest." The dreadful spirit of bondage, which is called the north wind, makes the sinner tremble, and is attended with such horrors and terrors that the soul is abashed, confused, bewildered, and confounded, and neither knows what he is, where he is, nor what he is about. And, under all this dismal and horrible gloom, there is a dreadful sound in his ears, Job xv. 21; terrors take hold on him as waters, a tempest stealeth him away; and, as a storm, threatens to hurl him out of his place, Job xxvii 20, 21. The curses and threatenings of the law, like violent claps of thunder, roll over, one after another. God answers the sinner in the secret place of thunder, and proves him at the waters of strife. At such times every minister of Christ is a Boanerges, a son of thunder. And it is with the sinner as it is described in the 6th chapter of the Revelations; at the opening of every seal there is nothing heard from the cherubim, but the noise of thunder, crying, Come, and see, Rev. vi. 1, And sometimes it appears as if seven thunders had uttered their voices all at once.

Moreover, the law is a fiery law; it reveals the hot displeasure of God at all the unrighteousness of men, and like lightning flashes cutting convictions, which, being attended with the piercing sword of the Spirit, wound, scorch, wither, and dry up, the spirits; "For by fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many." God himself compares the case of the poor Gentiles, under these, their afflictions, to the deluge in the days of Noah: "For this is as the waters of Noah unto me for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shaft not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee." According to the above account the wrath of God is the thunder and lightning which had attended Gentile Zion in this storm and tempest; and this God owns: "For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee," Isaiah liv. 7, 8. And, in order to comfort her, and to calm her fears, and dissolve her doubts, he swears to her that he never will be wroth with her nor rebuke her in a vindictive way any more.

Now, as God compares the great inundation of the Gentiles affliction to the deluge in the days of Noah, I shall drop a few words upon that subject, or upon the account of God's proceedings; in which it is said, "The same day-were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened," so that the torrents from above, and the fountains from beneath both conspired together. And just so it appears to be with the poor sinner when God takes him in hand. It is said, "Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest." And the beginning of such a storm the convicted sinner feels, and he fears the whole contents; for this raining snares is nothing else but the heavens revealing our iniquity, Job xx. 27. Sins are the snares of the soul; and what has been kept secret in the book of God's remembrance is revealed and set in order before the sinner's eyes when God takes him in hand, and in the light of God's countenance; and they appear more in number than the hairs of our head; and strength fails under the load. But this is not all; for as sure as God applies his law, attended with his hot displeasure at sin, and discovers our iniquity in that glass, so sure, at the same time, do all the corruptions of the heart boil up, and discover themselves too; enmity, rebellion, desperation, unbelief, every concupiscence, and Satan's rage, all rise up together; for as a fountain casteth out her waters, so the heart casteth out its wickedness, Jer. vi. 7; or as Isaiah saith, "The wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt." So that the poor sinner has a torrent from above, and a great deep broken up beneath: and between these two he is at his wit's end. But this teaching shows him and assures him how matters will go with the wicked in the great day; for as sure as Abraham, by offering up his son, saw Christ's day, so sure does a sinner; thus taught of God, see the day of judgment.

"O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted!" I cannot help thinking but this word, tossed, alludes to the ark of Noah, which went upon the face of the waters, for that must meet with a good deal of tossing upon a sea without a shore; and all vessels are much tossed upon the waves and swells of the sea, especially when the waters are agitated with a violent storm and tempest, such as God compares the church's troubles to in my text.

"O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted!" afflicted both in body and soul, tossed in a tempest, and destitute of all consolation. And so the mind of a poor sinner is tossed from one thing to another; first upon a broken law which works death and wrath; then into his own heart, where he sees nothing but then enmity, impenitency, and rebellion; then to his past life, to his own evil way, which was not good, and there he meets with a thousand crimes; then he looks forward to the day of judgment, and nothing is to be seen there but an inexorable judge to consume the adversaries. If he looks to the earth, trouble and anguish, and if to the heavens they appear as iron; if he looks to his own "performances, there is sin in them all; and if to the encouraging promises, the accounts of impostors and apostates meet him there; if he looks to the saints, their safe and happy state provokes him; and if he looks to his sinful companions, they shun and ridicule him; so that the vileness of his nature within, and the sight of his past follies without; the accusations of conscience, and the darts of Satan; keep him full of tossings to and fro, both by day and by night, Job vii. 4. Besides this, he is tossed from one human invention to another. He tries alms, forms of prayer, vows, and resolutions; and goes for counsel to all the divines and religious characters that he knows: and some cry one thing, and some another; lo here, and lo there; and he tries all their advice, and, like the woman with her issue, gets worse instead of better; for there are but a few interpreters who understand this hand-writing; nor are landsmen of much use in this storm. Nevertheless, all this helps forward this work, though it appears to us only to help forward our calamity; for it makes us sick of an arm of flesh, and it teaches us to know the unskilfullness of such physicians; and this makes the Saviour the more precious when he appears; and, being a friend in need, he is much prized; and he that does the whole work shall receive the whole glory. "O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted?" No comforters among men, no comfort from the promises, no comfort from the Spirit, no comfort of hope, no comfort of love, no comfort in the world, no comfort in life, no comfort in thyself, no comfort from God.

"Behold I will lay thy stones with fair colours." I will turn thee from a vessel on the waves into a building of mercy. "I have laid in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation;" and upon that rock shalt thou be built, and neither sin nor death shall ever prevail against either thee or that. And in doing this, "Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding-place," Isaiah xxviii. 17. "Judgment also will I lay to the line;" I will exact full satisfaction of thy Surety for every breach of the line of precept: and righteousness will I lay to the plummet; I will exact a perfect obedience in uprightness; so that Zion shall be redeemed with judgment executed on her Surety, and her converts with righteousness perfected by her covenant Head. And you that lie unpolished in the quarry of fallen nature shall come to this foundation that I have laid in Zion, and as lively stones I will build you up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. "Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner-stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded." "I will lay thy stones with fair colours," and make thee and thy daughters as corner-stones, polished after the similitude of a palace, Psalm cxliv. 12. God laid the foundation, and God takes from the quarry of the impenitent race of mankind whom he will and brings them to Christ; when he hath polished them for his purpose, and lays them upon the foundation, making them one in him, and one among themselves, and builds them up a spiritual house, a palace for the King of kings and Lord of lords; hence called a temple, an habitation of God through the Spirit. "I will lay thy stones with fair colours;" it shall be a building of every precious stone that adorns the diadem of princes; as it is written, "The Lord of hosts shall defend them; and they shall devour, and subdue with sling-stones; and they shall drink, and make a noise as through wine; and they shall be filled like bowls, and as the corners of the altar. And the Lord their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land." Here we see the materials of this building, and what sort of stones they are; not Portland, nor marble, but the stones that adorn a crown of state, or jewels; as it is written, "Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another; and the Lord hearkened, and heard it: and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that reared the Lord, and that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him," Mal. iii. 16, 17. Here the stones of which the church is composed; am I God will lay them with fair colours, that they may answer to the foundation, which is of sapphires. Now there are various colours in these precious stones; and we see that the breastplate of the high priest, and the materials of the foundation of the New Jerusalem, the Lamb's wife, were mostly the same sort of stones. "O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted! Behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours."

Now these precious stones require a deal of cutting and polishing before the beauty and lustre of them appear, which is the principal cause of their being so violently tossed in the above tern, pest. And as the foundations of the heavenly Jerusalem were the same as were set in the breastplate of judgment, and in which stones were all the names of the twelve tribes engraved, this serves to show us that the twelve brilliant stones, at the foundation of the heavenly Jerusalem, should send their lustre, and shine with all their glory, throughout that mysterious fabric called the bride, the Lamb's wife. God says, in my text, that he will lay Gentile Zion's stones with fair colours. And here I must be beholden to the students of nature for some of the colours of these stories. And before I begin I will observe this, that among all the variety of colours that are found among these stones there is not one that is black: "I am black, but comely," Song i. 5. Black was her natural complexion; her comeliness is borrowed. Nor is any of their colours that of pale, which is a sign of sickness, guilt, and death: "And I looked, and, behold, a pale horse; and he that sat on him was death." Pale is the colour of a soul sick, and sick of sin; which colour is to be changed at the appearance of grace: "Therefore thus saith the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob, Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale. But when he seeth his children, the work of mine hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name," Isaiah xxix. 22, 23. By all which it appears that God's presence and God's work make a change in Jacob's pale countenance. Nor do I find any of the rouge which such as Jezebel use, who painted her face and looked out of the palace window to charm Jehu, who ordered her to be hurled from the window for the horses to trample on, and the dogs to eat. The colours of these stones seem to set forth the things which are common and natural. "I will lay thy stones with fair colours."

The diamond is the richest, hardest, and most valuable, of all the stones in nature; its natural colour is white. This colour is applied to the church: "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow." "And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge and to make them white." And when these are purged and set,stated from the wicked, the diamond itself doth not exceed them: "When the Almighty scattered kings in it, it was white as snow in Salmon," Psalm Ixviii. 14.

Jacinth is a purple colour, worn by sovereign princes; And purple raiment was on the kings of Midian, Judges viii. 26. This is the royal colour; and he hath made us kings and priests unto God, and we shall reign for ever and ever. Hence our Lord, Who compares the members of his church, which cleave unto him who is the head of it, to hair of this colour: "Thine head upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair of thine head like purple. The king is held in the galleries," Song vii. 5. "I will lay thy stones with fair colours,"

Topaz, a beautiful yellow. And this gold colour is the colour of faith: "I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir." This is the colour of faith, or faithfullness, I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich." He was girt about the papa with a golden girdle, Rev. i. 13. Truth was his girdle as a prophet; faithfulness his girdle as a priest; and righteousness his girdle as a king: "And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins."

Sardius, or sardine, a blood colour. Not only are the saints red, being washed in the blood of Christ, but red with the blood of martyrs. And of this colour is the church described: "In that day sing ye unto her, A vineyard of red wine. I the Lord do keep it; I will water it every moment; lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day."

Jasper. The best is green; an emblem of life. Every thing in the creation is green. "Blessed is the man-that trusteth in the Lord: he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river; her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit." And our Lord's command to the devouring locust of Turkish preachers is, "That they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads," Rev. ix. 4.

Sardonyx, reddish, bordering on white; the true virgin's colour, suitable to souls espoused to the Son of God, "I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." And this modest and blushing colour is the cause of the Lord's kind entreaty; "Let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely." It is the colour of a blushing countenance, such as they have who are tender lovers of God, as may be seen in Ezra: "I am ashamed," says he, "and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head." I might mention the chrysolite, dingy green, as expressive of young converts, just quickened, and that is all; and the beryl, pate green, a pale countenance; for such souls have no life but in their convictions and appetite; and yet by these things these poor souls live, or are kept alive: And in all these things, and in these only, is the life of their spirits, Isaiah xxxviii. 16.

A chalcedony, a pale cast of blue; descriptive of their case who are just verging out of the storm, finding the clouds blowing over, and the blue sky just appearing. Take it altogether thus: my church is as brilliant as the diamond by sanctification in Christ; in the shining majesty of reigning grace as purple as the jacinth; in purifying faith as rich and as yellow as the topaz; under the great atonement as red as the sardius; in life and verdure as green as the jasper; as a chaste virgin as fair and blushing as the sardonyx; and even the least of all the family, under the influence of my Spirit, are full as green as the chrysolite, or the beryl, not dried up, but verdant; and every soul upon which the true light shines, like the chalcedony, has got a tinge of the rainbow, and is coming into peace with me.

And thus have I endeavoured to show my reader these stones which the word of God holds forth; and he promises to lay them with fair co-colours. All the colours which I know any thing of I have hinted at. And I would, to God that the light of my understanding could but keep pace with the energy of my soul; my reader would have a much fuller account. But this word has often been both a caution and a support: "If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth; that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ: to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen," "O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted! behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours."

"And lay thy foundations with sapphires." Here must be an astonishing change to come from the tempest of Sinai, and from the deluge of Noah, to be built as a diamond or ruby upon a foundation laid with sapphires. But the whole of this mystery, both of the storm and of the foundation, is taken from something of the same sort that was exhibited once before this, in view of the sons of men; as will appear at the giving of the law, and at what was displayed afterward. The storm and tempest are taken from Sinai, and from the flood of Noah.

First, from the giving of the law. "And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice. And the Lord came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the Lord called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up. And the Lord said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the Lord to gaze, and many of them perish. And let the priests also, which come near to the Lord, sanctify themselves, lest the Lord break forth upon them. And Moses said unto the Lord, The people cannot come up to mount Sinai: for thou changedst us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it. And the Lord said unto him, Away, get thee down; and thou shalt come up, thou, and Aaron with thee: but let not the priests and the people break through to come unto the Lord, lest he break forth upon them." And after the law was given it is said, "And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die." This is such a storm as never appeared in this world before, nor will it ever appear again till the general doom, when the trumpet of the archangel will raise the dead, and the voice of the law be called over again, in all its real meaning, and be enforced with fire, and brimstone, and a horrible tempest, which must be the portion of their cup who cleave to a covenant of works, and yet break that covenant, Read Psalm xi. 6. This storm fell upon Israel; and this same storm fell upon Gentile Zion, attended with the torrents from above, and the inundations from beneath, which appeared in Noah's flood. But after this Israel had a more pleasing exhibition, and so had the poor Gentiles in my text; and, indeed, the matter of my text is taken principally from this storm, and from what succeeded it. The storm that we have seen is in the 19th and 20th chapters of Exodus; but the following calm is in chapter the 24th, which I shall transcribe, in order to make my matters clear.

"And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the Lord, thou, and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: and worship ye afar off. And Moses alone shall come near the Lord; but they shall not come nigh, neither shall the people go up with him. And Moses came, and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the Lord hath said will we do. And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which-offered burnt-offerings, and sacrificed peace-offerings of oxen unto the Lord. And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basons, and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient. And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words. Then went up Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness." From this account is my text taken. The Gentiles begin in a tempest, and then they are founded with sapphires. And here is the first storm that Israel saw, when the heavens above them were black, the mountain trembled and smoked, the thunder rolled, and the lightning flashed, as if the whole mountain was all on fire. "God's voice," says Paul, "then shook the earth." And such a sight, and such a storm, no soul ever saw before in this world. But it was to prepare them for a better and a more heavenly display of divine goodness. They first offer sacrifices; then the blood is sprinkled on the book and on the people; and then Moses, the mediator, the priests, and the elders, draw near, and see the God of Israel; and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness. In the former appearance of God darkness was his secret pavilion; in thick darkness he came to Moses; the heavens were covered with clouds, and nothing was seen or heard but the voice of words, the trumpet, the earthquake, the wind, and the fire: but in this appearance all is serene, calm, and tranquil; no storm, nor so much as even a cloud to be seen; the very body of heaven was not only clear, but it appeared in his clearness. And, if my reader will receive it, this is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believes. In order to make clear work of this, I will endeavour,

1. To inquire who this is that the elders saw: it was the Lord God of Israel.

2. Inquire a little into the pavement: there was under his feet as the paved work of a sapphire stone. And,

3. This is the representation of it: it was the body of heaven in his clearness, The divine person here seen by the elders and others was the Son of God in a human form, attended with the brilliant perfections of his deity shining forth, in which glorious rays the elders saw the whole heavens, clear and without a cloud. And this sight was intended to lead their faith and hope to his future incarnation; at which time that stormy and tempestuous dispensation called the law would have its fulfilling, and its eternal end. That this is the divine person here seen, I shall attempt to prove by two visions similar to this sight, and both in the Old Testament, previous to the coming of Christ in the flesh: "And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it; from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake," Ezek. i. 26-28. In this account there is a clear firmament over this glorious appearance. Here is the rainbow, which secures the world from a Second deluge, and the saint from being drowned in destruction and perdition. Here is the representation of a throne. The glorious perfections of deity are the throne, upon which is the appearance of a man, which is our Immanuel, God with us. From his loins upward and downward he appeared as fire; for wherever he goes he is to the elect a refiner; and therefore he appears like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap, Mal. iii. 2. And if my reader will read this whole chapter he will find the cherubims are attending him, Which are gospel ministers; and the wheels, which are the churches, attending on the cherubs; and the appearance of his throne is like the appearance of a sapphire stone. This is the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ in the churches; and happy are they that are enlightened to see this, and enabled to believe it, and in love to embrace it.

But again: "Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubims there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne. And he spake unto the man clothed with linen, and said, Go in between the wheels, even under the cherub, and fill thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubims, and scatter them over the city. And he went in my sight." Here again we have the firmament, the sapphire stone, and the throne; and here is Christ executing his priestly office, clothed with linen garments, and the throne attends him; for he is to be a priest upon his throne, Zech. vi. 13. The cherubims and the wheels had got coals of fire, even live coals from the altar which are the words of God:" will make my words in thy mouth fire." The cherubims dispense the word, and pray for success in the work; but it is the right hand of Christ's power that makes it effectual and gives it all its heat; it is his hand that scatters it over the city, which shows the excellency of the power to be of him, and not of man. And when the hand of the Lord scatters these coals they always go with power in the Holy Ghost, and with much assurance. I shall now come,

2. To treat of the pavement. There was under his feet as the paved work of a sapphire stone. This, whatever it is, is to be the foundation of Zion; for so says God in my text, "I will lay thy foundations with sapphires."

The sapphire stone, if report be true, is the next in value, and the next in hardness, to the adamant, or diamond. It is blue, of a beautiful sky colour; and the best sort of them have golden specks in them. The blue colour represents the heavens, and the golden specks the stars and other luminaries of the heavens. This was the paved work of the sapphire stones that were seen under the feet of the Lord God of Israel.

3. And this is the conclusion of the description, it was as the body of heaven in his clearness. The body of heaven signifies the whole heavens, in opposition to the skirts, or parts of it. And this whole body was clear, or in its native clearness. There was neither rain, hail, or snow; no storms, winds, nor tempest; not a cloud to be seen; no fogs, smoke, or vapour; the heavens were neither hazy, lowering, nor gloomy. And this is the appearance of things if we take our prospects from Christ and his throne; the sapphire stones attend the appearance of the man, and the throne on which he sits.

But then it may be asked, What is become of all the storm? Why this king, who sits upon this sapphire throne, suffers no storms to interrupt his peaceful reign; for his throne is upholden by mercy, and mercy is always calm. "Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place; as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land." The tempest is hid from the believer's eyes in this covert; and the cold north wind is hid from those who embrace this hiding place. But, then, what is to become of the procuring cause of this storm? I mean sin, the transgression of the law. The Lord answers this: "I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee, Isaiah xliv. 22; and, "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us." Yea more, he hath cast them as a stone into the depths of the sea; so that the body of heaven appears in all its clearness from them. The king that sitteth upon his sapphire throne scattereth away these evils with his eyes, Prov. xx. 8.

But what is become of vindictive justice, declaring all accursed that continue not in all things written in the book of the law to do them, and that the soul that sins shall die? The man that sits upon this sapphire throne was made a curse for us; he died the just for the unjust; upon him the judgment of the sentence was executed, and by his death justice is satisfied; and both unite to support this sapphire throne: "Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne; mercy and truth shall go before thy face. Here is nothing going forth here but mercy and truth; mercy goes forth for our generation, and truth to make us free indeed. But what is become of vindictive wrath, which was revealed in the storm? Answer: That wine-press is trodden, and all the dregs of that cup were swallowed up in the death of Christ. Come to him, and thou shalt experience the truth of what I advance, as others have done, and confessed it with joy. "And in that day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortest me." In the face of Christ God for ever shines delighted, well pleased, reconciled, loving and propitious to men. Approach this throne, and thou shalt find it so; and not only find the body of heaven clear, but more; for in Christ his glory covers the heavens, and the earth is full of his praise, Hab. iii. 3.

And now let my reader observe this, the brilliant perfections of the godhead of Christ, and the illustrious glory that beams from them, are his throne of glory, or his glorious throne. This glory fills the heavens; and in the glory of his own divine perfections is he enthroned. But the human nature which our Lord assumed, and which was offered in sacrifice for us, into whose lips grace Was poured, and he is blessed for ever, and in whom dwells all fullness of grace, and all the treasures of knowledge; he, with all his fullness, is our sapphire throne, our throne of grace. "The key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder: so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house." Compare this with Rev. iii. 7.

I will, says God, lay thy foundation with sapphires. "But other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." And it is in him that God is well pleased; in him every attribute and perfection of God shines and harmonizes in the salvation, of our souls. Here is the goodness of God to pardon, while justice, by the blood of the covenant, sends prisoners out of the pit, life quickens us, omniscience provides for us, omnipotence supports us, and omnipresence protects us. The wisdom of God provides all this for our glory, while pity and compassion are displayed in accepting us in Christ; lovingkindness draws us to him, and mercy is built up for ever in the glorification of the saints; the law is honoured, and the honour and the authority of the lawgiver is established; peace is proclaimed, reconciliation is made, and friendship between God and man is restored; and grace reigns through righteousness over all the aboundings of sin, over death, and over all the wisdom, craft, and malice, of devils. This is the foundation that God has laid in Zion; and this foundation is laid with sapphires. Here heaven is cleared of all its storms, and transgressors of all their cloud of sins, while every perfection of Deity supports the throne, and conspires to uphold and adorn the church. Stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved, and let thine heart be fixed, trusting in the Lord.

And now, if my reader will ascend two or three steps higher, and I will wait till he comes, I will show him greater things than these; namely, a heaven within a heaven. And in this namely heaven I saw a wonder, "A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars." Here is a yen within a heaven, a heaven upon earth. In this heaven I see the sun's Creator outshine the sun. "Unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings." "The Lord shall be to thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory; thy sun shall no more go down." Over the throne is a firmament, even over the head of Christ and his church, Ezek. i. 25, and a rainbow without a cloud. Here is the blue sky in the sapphire, and the body of heaven in his clearness. In this heaven there are precious things put forth by the moon, and under this propitious luminary new fruit shall be ripe every month, or at every new moon. "And by the river, upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months; and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine." And these trees cannot cease bearing every month, because the moon in this heaven is never to be withdrawn: "Thy sun shall no more go down, neither shall thy moon withdraw itself." Thus have I showed the firmament, the rainbow, the sun, and the moon; and if my reader would see the twelve signs, he may discover them on the crown of the church; Pleiades also, or the seven stars beyond the bull, he will see in Rev. i. 16; "And he had in his right hand seven stars." The inferior stars are to be found among the saints, who shine as lights in the world, and among them who are useful in converting souls; for, "They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever." And what heaven would my reader wish to enjoy under the sun but this? Here is the general assembly, the angels, and God the judge of all, and Christ the mediator.

Having offered my thoughts on the above storm and peaceful calm, I will now enter a little into the next verse, which is; "And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones." The use of windows is to look through, to let in light, and to keep out rain, hail, wind, and snow; and the glorious gospel, or the glory of God shining in the gospel, and bringing life and immortality to light, is called a window, or windows. It is by and through the gospel that the dear Redeemer looks upon us: "He standeth behind our wall," says the church; "he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice." He stood, throughout the old dispensation, behind the partition-wall that separated Jews from Gentiles; he looked forth at the windows by the covenants he made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and he showed himself through the lattice of the types, figures, and shadows, of the legal sacrifices; but so as to be but dimly seen. To these windows poor dark souls, blinded by Satan, and convinced of it, come, in order to get light, and to look into the mysteries of redemption and salvation. "Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?" Isaiah Ix. 8. And as, the gospel is a clear revelation of former dark mysteries, anal the truth of former types; and as pardon and regeneration are promised, and the way of obtaining it pointed out; it is in allusion to the sea of glass in the tabernacle, and the brazen sea in the temple, called a sea of glass: "And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire; and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God." Now God says that he will make Zion's windows of agates.

The agate, according to account, was of great estimation in the days of old, but afterwards grew into disesteem. The different agates of different countries are numerous, and the sorts various: they are hard, and of the flint kind. It is said to be harder than fine jasper, and to receive a better polish. They are found in various countries, and of course they differ in colour. They are found in Sicily and in Candy; and there are agates found among the Indians, and at Thebes in Egypt, and in Thrace, and about the mountain Oeta, in the hill Parnassus, and in Cesbus and Messene, and also in the island of Rhodes. But the reason that these are made use of by the Holy Ghost to represent the light of the saints is the various things that are discovered in them. For you shall find naturally imprinted in them, say the learned, the form and proportion of rivers, woods, and labouring horses, coaches, and little chariots, or horse litters, together with furniture belonging to horses; and in Messene they have flowers imprinted in them like those which grow in the highways, and in paths by the fields. Now, whether these labourers in the mysteries of nature are right or wrong, I will not dispute; but sure I am that all these things are seen by the light which shines in mount Zion. This I myself am a living witness of; for I have seen the river of life, and the streams of it which make glad the city of God: and I have seen the safety of them that sleep in the woods, Ezek. xxxiv. 25. And I read of horses in Pharaoh's chariots, and of God's goodly horse in the battle, Cant. i. 9; Zech. x. 3. Of all the stones that I ever read of, I never read of any one kind, nor even all the precious stones, put them all together, that have so many different representations of things in them as this stone hath, which is called he agate. Nor do I remember to have seen the name of this stone above twice or thrice in all the Bible. It is not found in Aaron's breastplate, nor in the foundations of the heavenly Jerusalem; and yet this stone is made use of to represent the light of the church: "I will make thy windows of agates." And applicable enough it is that this stone is brought in to set forth the light of God's holy city; for when out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God is pleased to shine, here the poor sinner sees himself, his own heart, and the hearts of all mankind. In this city we see the king of glory in all his beauty, and the God of glory shining in his face. Here is the fountain of' life, and all its springs; the river of pleasure, and all its streams; the tree of life, and its healing leaves; the fruit thereof, and their cheering effects. Here is the feast of fat things, and the wines on the lees well refined; here is the armour of the King of kings, and the army of heaven sharing in the triumph, and shouting victory when he led captivity captive; here is the city of God, of which so many glorious things are spoken; salvation is its walls, the faithfulness of God in his promises is its golden pavement, and the pearl of great price, in his various characters, is its gates; God himself is its builder, and the glory of God its light. And what shall I say more? "I will make thy windows of agates."

"And thy gates carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones." Before I enter upon these gates I will inquire a little into the real delights of this city, the foundations of which are said to be sapphires, the windows of it to be agates, and the gates of it to be carbuncles.

The first glory of it is said to be light: "And the city had no need of the sun, neither moon to shine in it; for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof."

2. The next sweet delight is the river of pleasure, which appears to me to be the perpetual emanations of divine love; for charity, says Paul, never faileth: "Thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasure."

3. The third glorious delight of this city is the tree of life, with its delicious fruit: "In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits;" arid, "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God."

4. There is to be in this city a cessation of arms, and an end to all war for evermore: "Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces." "The righteous perish, and no man layeth it to heart; and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. He shall enter into peace."

5. There is to be a perfection of joy, which springs from four things: first, it is the joy of harvest: when the wheat is brought into the barn it is harvest-home. It is the joy of them that divide the spoil: the battle is ended, and the triumph follows. It is the joy of inheritance: the firstborn is of age, and at the fullness of his stature, and takes possession of his inheritance. It is the joy of wedlock: let us rejoice and be glad, for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. They shall come with singing unto Zion, and everlasting joy shall be upon their head, Isaiah li. 11.

6. This city is intended to be the glorious rest of all the saints. God rested in his love when he founded it; his hand rests here in building it up. Here the labourer is to rest from the heat and burden of the day, and from all the oppositions, troubles, and persecutions, of the ungodly. "There remaineth, therefore, a rest to the people of God."

7. This city is said to be free, and to be the mother of us all. Liberty in this state is far from being complete; for although we are brought forth from the prison, and are purged from guilt and filth, and are delivered from the bondage of the law, and from the reigning and destroying power of sin, yet we are burdened with a body of death, and the body of our flesh is doomed to the bondage of corruption; but both shall be delivered. "The creature itself shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God."

8. The next thing of infinite value in this city is the glorious apparel of the citizens. They all wear one colour; and, as priests unto God, they are all clad in linen: "And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white; for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints."

9. The next thing to be observed is this, namely, that there is nothing promised in all this book but to overcomers: "He that overcometh shall inherit all things." Hence they all appear in triumph, and all shout and sing victory. This is represented by the palm branch, which used to be carried in the eastern triumphs: "After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands."

10. They have all got crowns upon their heads. We read of being crowned with knowledge, crowned with lovingkindness, crowned with righteousness, crowned with never-fading glory, and crowned with life; but to be found in Christ in the great day, and to be owned of him, blessed and glorified with him, is the best of all glorious crowns: "In that day [and especially in the great day] shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people." Hence we read that the worshippers above cast their crowns before the throne, saying, "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honour, and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."

11. The next thing to be enjoyed in this city is immortality. These vile bodies of ours must be purged, purified, refined, and changed, and fashioned like unto the glorious body of Christ; weakness must be changed for power; dishonour shall be changed for glory; corruption must be put off, and incorruption be put on; mortality left behind when immortality takes place. This is being clothed upon with our house which is from heaven; and this is what I understand by the following passage: "These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God."

12. The next unutterable delight, and that which crowns all the rest, is, a promised sight of our most wonderful, adorable, ever-blessed, propitious, and ever-loving Father. "The time cometh when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father." "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." "I will make thy windows of agates."

"And thy gates carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones." The carbuncle is red; that is the colour of it. And Christ crucified is the only gate of this city. Without a sacrifice, and satisfaction to justice by it, there can be no pardon; and without a mediator there can be no access to God here or hereafter; for without shedding of blood there is no remission; and into the heavenly Jerusalem there shall in no wise enter any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie, Rev. xxi. 27. And without a mediator none can approach unto God: "No man cometh unto the Father but by me." As our surety he discharges our debts, and by the blood of his covenant we come forth from the prison. By faith in him we come to the light of God's countenance; by filth in him we come to the enjoyment of God's love; by faith in him we pass from death to life; being justified by the faith of him we find peace with God; by faith we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory; "We that believe do enter into rest;" by faith we stand fist in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, while those that believe not are in bondage, and wrath abideth on them. The righteousness of Christ is to ail and upon all that believe: "And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our filth," "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." The Spirit's grace is the firstfruits of glory, and the Spirit himself is the earnest of it; and we receive the promise of the Spirit through faith; and by the eye of faith we obtain the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Christ is therefore the only gate, as I have shewn before in this little work; and it is by the faith of him that we come to enjoy the firstfruits, pledges, earnests, and foretastes, of all these heavenly joys, pleasures, and dainties. And this I have shewn at large.

"I will make thy gates carbuncles." Christ crucified is the door of hope; hope enters by him, and centres in God. He is the door of faith to the Gentiles; the Gentiles find access to God's favour by the faith of him. He is the door of mercy; the sure mercies of David are in him. He is the door of the sheep; we cannot enter into his fold, nor feed in green pastures, but by faith in him. He is the gate of life, by which we pass from the shadow of death, and from the gates of death. He is the gate of righteousness, by which we enter into a state of justification; and he is the gate of truth, by which we enter into liberty, and find freedom of access to God. He is the strait gate, which is attended with so much opposition from men and devils at the entrance; he is the vail through which we pass into the holy of holies. In short, he is the house of God, and the gate of heaven, Gen. xxviii. 17; I say, he is the house that God has provided for us: "Be thou my strong rock, for an house of defence to save me;" and he is the gate that leads to glory; for we have boldness to enter into the holiest of all by the blood of Jesus, Heb. x. 19. But I must come to the last clause of my text, "I will make thy gates carbuncles,"

"And all thy borders of pleasant stones." The word, border, sometimes signifies the boundary of a country, as appears from what follows: "Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for a haven of ships: and his border shall be unto Zidon." Again: But Sidon would not suffer Israel to pass through his border, Num. xxi. 23. All that is meant by these passages is the skirts, extremities, or boundaries, of a country. But sometimes it signifies the limits, suburbs, or liberties, of a city: "But if the slayer shall at any time come without the border of the city of his refuge, whither he was fled; and the revenger of blood find him without the borders of the city of his refuge, and the revenger of blood kill the slayer; he shall not be guilty of blood:" Sometimes border signifies no more than the bounds of a man's landed property: "And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being an hundred and ten years old. And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-serah." Again: "Thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it; whosoever toucheth the mount shall surely be put to death." By all these places it appears that the border is the boundary of any sacred spot, inheritance, or country, and of the liberties of a city. But, then, what is Zion's border? All her borders are to be made of pleasant stones. We shall find a little light upon this subject in Ezekiel. "Moreover, when ye shall divide by lot the land for inheritance, ye shall offer an oblation unto the Lord, an holy portion of the land: the length shall be the length of five and twenty thousand reeds, and the breadth shall be ten thousand. This shall be holy in all the borders thereof round about. Of this there shall be for the sanctuary five hundred in length, with five hundred in breadth, square round about; and fifty cubits round about for the suburbs thereof. And of this measure shall thou measure the length of five and twenty thousand, and the breadth of ten thousand: and in it shall be the sanctuary and the most holy place. The holy portion of the land shall be for the priests," Ezek. xlv. 1=4. Here is, first, an holy portion of the land. This spiritually signifies God's people; called fallow ground, which God ploughs up; good ground, which receives the good seed sowed by the Son of man; the dry ground, which God waters; God's husbandry, which he keeps, called Eden, and the garden of the Lord. This ground is to be holy in all its borders; the Spirit of God and his grace is to be poured out to make it so: "I will pour water on him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring." It is this water that makes this land and all its borders holy. One part of this land is to be for the sanctuary; that is, Christ shall dwell with his people, and he shall be to them for a sanctuary. And this land is to be for the priests, and for the houses of the priests. God hath made all his children kings and priests unto himself; and in this holy portion of the Lord's land they are to labour and live; and all the borders of it are to be holy; that is, God will water with his Spirit and grace every part thereof. And in this holy land there is to be a place for the city: And ye shall appoint the possession of the city five thousand broad, and five and twenty thousand long. You will have a full description of this city in Ezekiel's last chapter. And round this city fifty cubits for the suburbs thereof. Now as this city is the church, the bride, the Lamb's wife, what can the suburbs of it be but the elect of God waiting at the gates, watching at the posts of these doors; souls not yet renewed, not yet laid upon the foundation, not yet built up in faith, not yet perfected in love? These are the suburbs and the borders of the city: I will make all thy borders of pleasure stones. The saints are called the stones of a crown. And it is well known that the stones of a crown are neither all of a sort, nor all of a size. The best sight that I ever had of this sort of stones was in the king's crown, and in the prince's diadem, both in the Tower. The sardonyx, the chrysolite, and the chrysoprasus, do not appear to shine so bright as the diamond, the sapphire, or the ruby; yet there is a shining lustre in them all; for if God dwells with-the broken and the contrite heart, and with them that tremble at his word, there must be a glory upon them; and this light of glory shines upon them, even when they sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death; and such souls see it too; yea, they see a great light. But once more, and I have done. The border of the church does signify the glories of the heavenly country, as appears by what follows: "Thus saith the Lord, A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and hitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children, refused to be comforted because they were not. "Thus saith the Lord, Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord: and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border." This prophecy was fulfilled when Herod slew the children in Bethlehem. Now, the Lord comforts the daughters of Rachel with a promise of rewarding their work in suckling these infants. God tells them that there is hope in their end, and that these children that were not alive, but dead, on which account they refused to be comforted, should come again: "They shall come again from the land of the enemy." That enemy is death, and the land of the enemy is the grave; and so it follows: "And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border." Now, what border can these dead children come again to but to the thousand years reign in the new earth, and to the border of the heavenly country above? where the saints, in white linen, will outshine the diamond; and, having their vile bodies changed and washed in the blood of the Lamb, they will outshine the ruby; in their golden crowns they will exceed the topaz; and, being alive for evermore, they shall be more green than the emerald; in royal majesty they will transcend the amethyst; and their heaven will outshine the sapphire with all its golden specks. "They shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels.