Revelation 8:3-5 And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given to him much incense… I. THE EMPLOYMENT IN WHICH PIOUS MEN ARE STATED TO ENGAGE. 1. Prayer is the habit by which pious men on earth are always prominently distinguished. There is not one in the universe of our intelligent race who is not under obligation to pray. While men in the alienation of unconverted nature violate the obligation, and indulge in passions and in habits which are utterly incompatible with its performance, men on the other hand, who have been the subject of renovating influence, are, from the moment of receiving it, imbued with the principles and with the instincts of prayer. 2. Prayer thus distinguishing pious men is directed for important and comprehensive objects. It commonly has respect to temporal objects, craving the communication of temporal benefits. But these must always be secondary, and should be desired with a reservation to the Divine wisdom as to whether it will be for our well-being or for our disadvantage to receive them. And then the prayers of the saints, when rightly offered, must not merely be personal, directed to their own welfare, but intercessory, directed to the welfare of others. 3. Prayer thus distinguishing pious men, and directed for important and comprehensive objects, is always attended by peculiar characteristics — humility; a deep conviction of insignificance in the presence of a God so great, and of impurity in the presence of a God so holy. II. THE MANNER IN WHICH THAT EMPLOYMENT IS COMMENDED BEFORE GOD. An angel is represented as coming and standing at the altar; "and there was given unto him much incense," etc. 1. Observe, first, the person. There is satisfactory evidence to identify the Saviour with the angel who is here presented to us. It is He who takes the prayers of the saints and presents them before the throne. 2. Notice the station. He is represented as coming and standing at the altar, "having a golden censer," and the altar, moreover, is described as "the golden altar." The Jewish priest could not stand by the altar of incense unless he had first of all offered an atonement for sin: and when there is a vision of our Lord Jesus as the High Priest of our profession standing by the golden altar, the necessary assumption is, that He too had first offered an atonement for sin. 3. Observe the act. It is stated that there was given to Him much incense, that He might offer it, with the prayers of all saints, upon the golden altar which was before the throne. Here, then, is the exercise of the Saviour's office of Intercessor in identification with the prayers of the saints; and it is a most sublime and a most thrilling thought, that there is no prayer offered in humility, faith, and earnestness, for objects which are coincident with the Word of God, but what is borne upward and presented by the Saviour before the throne of the heavenly Father. And whether prayer be offered in the midnight darkness or in the noontide light — whether prayer be offered in the secret chamber or in the public assembly — whether prayer be offered in the mansion or in the cottage, in the prison-house or in the palace, in the tropics or at the poles, it rises upward, becomes interwoven and identified with the much incense of the Saviour's merits, and so penetrates into the very holiest of all. III. THE RESULT IN WHICH THE EMPLOYMENT SO COMMENDED MUST TERMINATE. 1. The success of the prayers of the saints is invariable. The success of the prayers presented on this occasion is indicated by the expression that "the smoke of the furnace ascended up before God out of the angel's hand." The ascent of the prayers, mingled with the incense, out of the hand of the angel before God is intended to signify its acceptance. May we not deduce this fact from the Divine nature of our Redeemer? Is not His will one with the will of the Father? and must not what He deigns to present in His condescension as Mediator before the Father be accepted by the Father in connection with Himself? Then, again, may not this fact be deduced from the value of the atonement which He has offered upon the Cross? Is that defective? Is that presented with doubt and uncertainty in the presence-chamber of the celestial palace? Has it not been sealed by His resurrection from the dead, and by His ascension into heaven and His enthronement in royalty there? Is it possible for the Intercessor to plead His atonement in vain? Then, again, this fact may also be deduced directly from the express declaration of the Sacred Writings. 2. The success of the prayers of the saints shall be manifest. "The angel took the censer and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake" — physical signs and convulsions pronouncing "Amen "to the one delightful truth. (J. Parsons.) Parallel Verses KJV: And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. |
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