Revelation 21:1-8 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.… I. Some of the many present uses of "THE SEA." Among other special particulars, and mast material, one of the most prominent that strikes us is, it causes under Providence — 1. The fertility of the earth. 2. The temperature of climates. How serviceable are its gales, and how refreshing are its breezes, especially after the burthen and heat of the summer's day! 3. Employment and sustenance to man. The first followers and chosen disciples of our Lord were chiefly "fishermen." 4. Intercourse with foreign and distant lands. Again, the sea — 5. Affords security and defence for weaker states, and enables them to withstand the entrenchments of their more powerful neighbours. 6. It signally subserves the purposes of its Creator. "Fire and vapour, storm and tempest, all fulfil the Almighty's word." Once the sea arose, "the deeps were broken up, and the foundations of the earth were discovered," in order to destroy the world. II. Some EMBLEMS taken from "the sea." In other words, the instructive lessons it particularly gives. 1. It reveals somewhat of the Divine perfections. Doth it not remind us continually of His power, His mercy, and His judgments? How widely spread, how fathomless! 2. The sea represents the varied characters of men. 3. The vicissitudes of human life. 4. The state and circumstances of the world. III. Some EVENTS either literally or figuratively represented as fulfilled — "there shall be no more sea." 1. No more dangers! no more hazards, likened to "perils on the sea." 2. No more trials, deceptions, errors, mistakes, and persecutions from the world! 3. No more concealment of, or the keeping from us what is agreeable, and of which we would desire the possession. 4. No more straitened limits and bounded habitations. 5. No more estrangement from our brethren. 6. No more separation from our friends. 7. No longer any distance (any of our present intervening barriers) between the Christian and his God. (W. Williams, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. |
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