3 And they give the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and full of wonder are your works, O Lord God, Ruler of all; true and full of righteousness are your ways, eternal King.
Then Moses and the children of Israel made this song to the Lord, and said, I will make a song to the Lord, for he is lifted up in glory: the horse and the horseman he has sent down into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my strong helper, he has become my salvation: he is my God and I will give him praise; my father's God and I will give him glory. The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name. Pharaoh's war-carriages and his army he has sent down into the sea: the best of his captains have gone down into the Red Sea. They were covered by the deep waters: like a stone they went down under the waves. Full of glory, O Lord, is the power of your right hand; by your right hand those who came against you are broken. When you are lifted up in power, all those who come against you are crushed: when you send out your wrath, they are burned up like dry grass. By your breath the waves were massed together, the flowing waters were lifted up like a pillar; the deep waters became solid in the heart of the sea. Egypt said, I will go after them, I will overtake, I will make division of their goods: my desire will have its way with them; my sword will be uncovered, my hand will send destruction on them. You sent your wind and the sea came over them: they went down like lead into the great waters. Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? who is like you, in holy glory, to be praised with fear, doing wonders? When your right hand was stretched out, the mouth of the earth was open for them. In your mercy you went before the people whom you have made yours; guiding them in your strength to your holy place. Hearing of you the peoples were shaking in fear: the people of Philistia were gripped with pain. The chiefs of Edom were troubled in heart; the strong men of Moab were in the grip of fear: all the people of Canaan became like water. Fear and grief came on them; by the strength of your arm they were turned to stone; till your people went over, O Lord, till the people went over whom you have made yours. You will take them in, planting them in the mountain of your heritage, the place, O Lord, where you have made your house, the holy place, O Lord, the building of your hands. The Lord is King for ever and ever.
See, a king will be ruling in righteousness, and chiefs will give right decisions. And a man will be as a safe place from the wind, and a cover from the storm; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shade of a great rock in a waste land.
And their voices are sounding in a new song, saying, It is right for you to take the book and to make it open: for you were put to death and have made an offering to God of your blood for men of every tribe, and language, and people, and nation, And have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they are ruling on the earth. And I saw, and there came to my ears the sound of a great number of angels round about the high seat and the beasts and the rulers; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Saying with a great voice, It is right to give to the Lamb who was put to death, power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and blessing. And to my ears came the voice of everything in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and of all things which are in them, saying, To him who is seated on the high seat, and to the Lamb, may blessing and honour and glory and power be given for ever and ever.
Mercy and faith have come together; righteousness and peace have given one another a kiss. Faith comes up from the earth like a plant; righteousness is looking down from heaven.
And the voice of the angel of the waters came to my ears, saying, True and upright is your judging, O Holy One, who is and was from all time: For they made the blood of saints and prophets come out like a stream, and blood have you given them for drink; which is their right reward. And a voice came from the altar, saying, Even so, O Lord God, Ruler of all, true and full of righteousness is your judging.
Saying with a loud voice, Salvation to our God who is seated on the high seat, and to the Lamb. And all the angels were round about the high seat, and about the rulers and the four beasts; and they went down on their faces before the high seat, and gave worship to God, saying,
It has seemed good to me to make clear the signs and wonders which the Most High God has done with me. How great are his signs! and how full of power are his wonders! his kingdom is an eternal kingdom and his rule goes on from generation to generation.
For to us a child has come, to us a son is given; and the government has been placed in his hands; and he has been named Wise Guide, Strong God, Father for ever, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his rule and of peace there will be no end, on the seat of David, and in his kingdom; to make it strong, supporting it with wise decision and righteousness, now and for ever. By the fixed purpose of the Lord of armies this will be done.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Revelation 15
Commentary on Revelation 15 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 15
Re 15:1-8. The Last Seven Vials of Plagues: Song of the Victors over the Beast.
1. the seven last plagues—Greek, "seven plagues which are the last."
is filled up—literally, "was finished," or "consummated": the prophetical past for the future, the future being to God as though it were past, so sure of accomplishment is His word. This verse is the summary of the vision that follows: the angels do not actually receive the vials till Re 15:7; but here, in Re 15:1, by anticipation they are spoken of as having them. There are no more plagues after these until the Lord's coming in judgment. The destruction of Babylon (Re 18:2) is the last: then in Re 19:11-16 He appears.
2. sea of glass—Answering to the molten sea or great brazen laver before the mercy seat of the earthly temple, for the purification of the priests; typifying the baptism of water and the Spirit of all who are made kings and priests unto God.
mingled with fire—answering to the baptism on earth with fire, that is, fiery trial, as well as with the Holy Ghost, which Christ's people undergo to purify them, as gold is purified of its dross in the furnace.
them that had gotten the victory over—Greek, "those (coming) off from (the conflict with) the beast-conquerors."
over the number of his name—A, B, C, Vulgate, Syriac, and Coptic omit the words in English Version, "over his mark." The mark, in fact, is the number of his name which the faithful refused to receive, and so were victorious over it.
stand on the sea of glass—Alford and De Burgh explain "on (the shore of) the sea": at the sea. So the preposition, Greek, "epi," with the accusative case, is used for at, Re 3:20. It has a pregnant sense: "standing" implies rest, Greek "epi" with the accusative case implies motion "towards." Thus the meaning is, Having come TO the sea, and now standing AT it. In Mt 14:26, where Christ walks on the sea, the Greek oldest manuscripts have the genitive, not the accusative as here. Allusion is made to the Israelites standing on the shore at the Red Sea, after having passed victoriously through it, and after the Lord had destroyed the Egyptian foe (type of Antichrist) in it. Moses and the Israelites' song of triumph (Ex 15:1) has its antitype in the saints' "song of Moses and the Lamb" (Re 15:3). Still English Version is consistent with good Greek, and the sense will then be: As the sea typifies the troubled state out of which the beast arose, and which is to be no more in the blessed world to come (Re 21:1), so the victorious saints stand on it, having it under their feet (as the woman had the moon, see on Re 12:1); but it is now no longer treacherous wherein the feet sink, but solid like glass, as it was under the feet of Christ, whose triumph and power the saints now share. Firmness of footing amidst apparent instability is thus represented. They can stand, not merely as victorious Israel at the Red Sea, and as John upon the sand of the shore, but upon the sea itself, now firm, and reflecting their glory as glass, their past conflict shedding the brighter luster on their present triumph. Their happiness is heightened by the retrospect of the dangers through which they have passed. Thus this corresponds to Re 7:14, 15.
harps of God—in the hands of these heavenly virgins, infinitely surpassing the timbrels of Miriam and the Israelitesses.
3. song of Moses … and … the Lamb—The New Testament song of the Lamb (that is, the song which the Lamb shall lead, as being "the Captain of our salvation," just as Moses was leader of the Israelites, the song in which those who conquer through Him [Ro 8:37] shall join, Re 12:11) is the antitype to the triumphant Old Testament song of Moses and the Israelites at the Red Sea (Ex 15:1-21). The Churches of the Old and New Testament are essentially one in their conflicts and triumphs. The two appear joined in this phrase, as they are in the twenty-four elders. Similarly, Isa 12:1-6 foretells the song of the redeemed (Israel foremost) after the second antitypical exodus and deliverance at the Egyptian Sea. The passage through the Red Sea under the pillar of cloud was Israel's baptism, to which the believer's baptism in trials corresponds. The elect after their trials (especially those arising from the beast) shall be taken up before the vials of wrath be poured on the beast and his kingdom. So Noah and his family were taken out of the doomed world before the deluge; Lot was taken out of Sodom before its destruction; the Christians escaped by a special interposition of Providence to Pella before the destruction of Jerusalem. As the pillar of cloud and fire interposed between Israel and the Egyptian foe, so that Israel was safely landed on the opposite shore before the Egyptians were destroyed; so the Lord, coming with clouds and in flaming fire, shall first catch up His elect people "in the clouds to meet Him in the air," and then shall with fire destroy the enemy. The Lamb leads the song in honor of the Father amidst the great congregation. This is the "new song" mentioned in Re 14:3. The singing victors are the 144,000 of Israel, "the first-fruits," and the general "harvest" of the Gentiles.
servant of God—(Ex 14:31; Nu 12:7; Jos 22:5). The Lamb is more: He is the SON.
Great and marvellous are thy works, &c.—part of Moses' last song (De 32:3, 4). The vindication of the justice of God that so He may be glorified is the grand end of God's dealings. Hence His servants again and again dwell upon this in their praises (Re 16:7; 19:2; Pr 16:4; Jer 10:10; Da 4:37). Especially at the judgment (Ps 50:1-6; 145:17).
saints—There is no manuscript authority for this. A, B, Coptic, and Cyprian read, "of the NATIONS." C reads "of the ages," and so Vulgate and Syriac. The point at issue in the Lord's controversy with the earth is, whether He, or Satan's minion, the beast, is "the King of the nations"; here at the eve of the judgments descending on the kingdom of the beast, the transfigured saints hail Him as "the King of the nations" (Eze 21:27).
4. Who shall not—Greek, "Who is there but must fear Thee?" Compare Moses' song, Ex 15:14-16, on the fear which God's judgments strike into the foe.
thee—so Syriac. But A, B, C, Vulgate, and Cyprian reject "thee."
all nations shall come—alluding to Ps 22:27-31; compare Isa 66:23; Jer 16:19. The conversion of all nations, therefore, shall be when Christ shall come, and not till then; and the first moving cause will be Christ's manifested judgments preparing all hearts for receiving Christ's mercy. He shall effect by His presence what we have in vain tried to effect in His absence. The present preaching of the Gospel is gathering out the elect remnant; meanwhile "the mystery of iniquity" is at work, and will at last come to its crisis; then shall judgment descend on the apostates at the harvest-end of this age (Greek, Mt 13:39, 40) when the tares shall be cleared out of the earth, which thenceforward becomes Messiah's kingdom. The confederacy of 'the apostates against Christ becomes, when overthrown with fearful judgments, the very means in God's overruling providence of preparing the nations not joined in the Antichristian league to submit themselves to Him.
judgments—Greek, "righteousnesses."
are—literally, "were": the prophetical past for the immediate future.
5. So Re 11:19; compare Re 16:17. "The tabernacle of the testimony" appropriately here comes to view, where God's faithfulness in avenging His people with judgments on their foes is about to be set forth. We need to get a glimpse within the Holy place to "understand" the secret spring and the end of God's righteous dealings.
behold—omitted by A, B, C, Syriac, and Andreas. It is supported only by Vulgate, Coptic, and Primasius, but no manuscript.
6. having—So B reads. But A and C, read "who have": not that they had them yet (compare Re 15:7), but they are by anticipation described according to their office.
linen—So B reads. But A, C, and Vulgate, "a stone." On the principle that the harder reading is the one least likely to be an interpolation, we should read, "a stone pure ('and' is omitted in A, B, C, and Andreas), brilliant" (so the Greek): probably the diamond. With English Version, compare Ac 1:10; 10:30.
golden girdles—resembling the Lord in this respect (Re 1:13).
7. one of the four beasts—Greek, "living creatures." The presentation of the vials to the angels by one of the living creatures implies the ministry of the Church as the medium for manifesting to angels the glories of redemption (Eph 3:10).
vials—"bowls"; a broad shallow cup or bowl. The breadth of the vials in their upper part would tend to cause their contents to pour out all at once, implying the overwhelming suddenness of the woes.
full of … wrath—How sweetly do the vials full of odors, that is, the incense-perfumed prayers of the saints, contrast with these!
8. temple … filled—(Isa 6:4); compare Ex 40:34; 2Ch 5:14, as to the earthly temple, of which this is the antitype.
the glory of God and … power—then fully manifested.
no man was able to enter … the temple—because of God's presence in His manifested glory and power during the execution of these judgments.