1. The good is embodied in a personal life. “He that sat,” etc. “Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” He was the Right--incarnate, living, acting; and this, not only during His corporeal life here, but in all His disciples through all times.
2. The good embodied in a personal life is aggressive in its action. “He went forth,” etc. Wherever the sunbeams break, darkness departs; so with the right, it is always conquering. In its aggressiveness it moves--
(1) Righteously. The “horse” is the instrument it employs to bear it on to victory. The good is not only pure in its nature and aims, but pure in its methods.
(2) Triumphantly. The “bow” carries the arrow, and the arrow penetrates the foe.
(3) Royally. “There was given unto Him a crown.” Right is royal, the only royal thing in the universe, and the more perfectly it is embodied the more brilliant the diadem. Hence Christ is crowned with glory and honour, “exalted above all principalities and powers,” etc.
II. The development of evil in human history.
1. War (Rev_6:4). The spirit of murder burns throughout the race. The “red horse” is ever on the gallop.
2. Indigence (Rev_6:5). Famine generally follows the sword.
3. Mortality (Rev_6:8). With every breath we draw some one falls.
4. Martyrdom (Rev_6:9-11).
(1) A martyr is one who dies for the truth.
(2) He is one who in heaven remembers the injustice of His persecutors.
(3) He is one who in the heavenly world is more than compensated for all the wrongs received on earth. In heaven they have--
(a) Purity.
(b) Repose.
(c) Social hopes.
5. Physical convulsion (Rev_6:12-17).
(1) Our earth is constantly subject to great physical convulsions.
(2) These are always terribly alarming to ungodly men.
(3) The alarm of ungodly men is heightened by a dread of God. “The wrath of the Lamb.” A more terrific idea I cannot get. It is an ocean of oil in flames. ( D. Thomas, D. D.)
A white horse.
The going forth of the gospel
1. That the preaching of the gospel cometh not by guess amongst a people, but is sent and ordered as other dispensations are, and hath a particular commission. It is one of the horses He sendeth here. So, Act_16:1-40., the Spirit putteth them to one place, and suffereth them not to go to another place. There is not a sermon cometh without a commission.
2. That the success of the gospel goeth not by guess. The gospel hath its end as well as its commission (Isa_55:10; 2Co_2:14).
3. The gospel is most mighty to conquer when Christ armeth it with a commission and doth concur therewith (2Co_10:4).
4. From this description of the horse and his rider and his employment, observe that the great end of the gospel, where it cometh, is to subdue souls. Thai is the end of a ministry, to bring souls in subjection to Christ (2Co_10:5). And it hath its end when Christ’s arrows are made powerful to pierce hearts (Eph_4:8; Psa_68:18).
5. The gospel conquereth more or less wherever it cometh. When Christ is mounted He is going to conquer, if it were but to take one fort or one soul from Satan.
6. Taking this conquest and flourishing estate of the gospel to relate to the first times thereof when it came into the world. Observe that most frequently the gospel at its first coming amongst a people prevaileth most, and hath more sensible success than at any other time. So was it when it came first to the world, its victories were swift and speedy, increasing more for a few years at that time than afterwards in many generations. (James Durham.)
Conquering, and to Conquer.--
The Redeemer’s conquests
I. The adversaries of our redeemer.
1. The powersof darkness.
2. All men in an unrenewed and unconverted state.
3. False systems of religion, which, although perhaps assuming the name of Christianity, are hostile to its spirit and design.
II. The instruments which our Redeemer employs.
1. The publication of His Word.
2. The agency of His Spirit.
III. The victories of our Redeemer.
1. They are founded upon His right to universal domain.
2. They are continuous, and widely extended.
3. They are essentially connected with the diffusion of pure and perfect happiness.
In conclusion: how important it is--
1. That you should yourselves surrender your hearts in personal subjection to the Redeemer’s power.
2. That you devote your energies tothe further extension of His empire. (J. Parsons.)
The future triumph of our King
I. The illustrious personage described.
1. His spotless charchter. “A white horse.”
2. His warfare. “A bow.”
3. His exaltation toregal dignity. “A crown.”
4. His gradual conquest. “Conquering and to conquer.”
II. Sentiments and reflections suitable to the subject.
1. We should cultivate and cherish the most exalted estimate of the person of Jesus Christ.
2. The imminent peril in which those are placed who continue among the adversaries of Jesus Christ.
3. Are you among His true and faithful subjects?
4. Strive, by every means in your power, to advance the extent and glory of His dominion. (J. Clayton, M. A.)
The Conqueror
Behold the combat beyond all others important, the combat between Christ and Satan for the human soul.
I. The cause of strife--the soul. A colony of heaven had been taken by the powers of hell, and the effort to restore it to allegiance was the main cause of this celestial war. The domination of Satan over the human soul is despotic, degrading, and destructive.
II. The battle. The Divine Saviour stronger than the strong man armed as our champion. The first grapple seems to have been the temptation in the wilderness, the next in the performance of miracles, the next the death grapple, the last the rising from the dead and ascension into heaven.
III. The victory. It was complete, it was benevolent, it was unchanging. The attack which the Saviour made upon the enemy was such as to tear away the very source and energies of his power. In the time of the Lord’s victory we do not see traces of carnage, nor hear orphans wailing the dead; but a voice breathes the comfortable word, “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain.” The triumphs of the Saviour brighten with the lapse of time. Time cannot tarnish their lustre, nor death itself destroy. (W. M. Punshon, D. D.)
