Part of a study of Revelation

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5 Christ received this prophesy ofrō God, & he alone of none in heaven nor in earth neither under the earth was able \or worthy/ to open \& read/ the |prophetic| book neither to look thereon, excep |till| Christ appeared & took it out of y^e hand of God, & therefore he is \certainly/ risen from the dead, Ffor this & become the first fruits & them that sleep: for he merited this worthiness by his    death. Worthy is the lamb that was slain death. Thou art worthy to take the book & to open the seals thereof for thou wast slain & hast redeemed us to God by thy blood &c Apoc. 5.9 out of every kindred & tongue & people & nation & hast made us unto o^r God kings & priests & we shall reign on the earth.

6 By his death therefore he has merited a kingdom w^ch w^thout such his merit would not have been erected, & therefor the salvation of as many as shall be chosen by him to inherit this kingdom is due to his merit. We are commanded to forgive our enemies & what is freely, & what \God/ requires of us cannot be injustice in himself. Gods justice consists in punishing no|ne|body beyond their merit \his mercy in pardoning freely. He may forgive/; {illeg} he may forgive \{freel freely} freely/ without injustice: for otherwise he \would/ not command us to forgive. our en A king is not injust for pardoning a malefactor if whenever he may do it without injuring other people & In such a case satisfaction is not requisite in order to mercy. If we have all offended & done nothing to merit the erecting of a new kingdom God might have justly left us \all men/ among those who shall not inherit it & they that \shall/ inherit this kingdom must ascribe it to Gods mercy through the merit & intercession of Iesus Christ. There is a satisfaction: but it consis{illeg}ts rather in procuring Gods merc appeasing God's wrath & procuring his mercy, then in enabling him to forgive out of justice

7 The publick worship of Christians in their Churches is described in this prophesy by the worship of God & Christ in the Temple of heaven First The four Animals representing the people in the outward Court rest not morning & evening saying Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty w^ch was & is to come. And when those Beasts \Animals/ give glory & honour & thanks to him that sitteth upon the throne who liveth for ever & ever, the four & twenty elders fall down before him that sitteth on the throne & worship him that liveth for ever & ever & cast their crowns before the throne saying: Thou art worthy o Lord to receive glory & honour & power for thou hast created all things & for thy pleasure they are & were created. This is the |proper| worship of God Almighty: next follows the \proper/ worship of Iesus Christ. When he had taken the book of prophesy out of the hand of Iesus Christ him that sat upon the throne, the four Animals & 24 Elders fell down before the Lamb saying having every one of them harps & gold vials full of odors w^ch are the prayers of the saints [\to be/ offered up to God by the \mediation of y^e/ Lamb] & they sung a new song saying thou art worthy to take the book & to open the seals thereof for thou wast slain & hast redeemed u{t}|s| to God by thy blood out of every kingdom kindred & tongue & people & nation & hast made us unto o^r God kings & priests & I we shall reign on the earth. And I heard y^e voice of many Angels round about the throne & the beasts \Animals/ & the elders – saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power & wisdome & strength & honour & glory & blessing. Next {t} In the last \next/ place follows the joynt worship of God & the Lamb saying And every creature w^ch is in heaven & on y^e earth & under the earth & such as are in the sea & all in them heard I, saying, Blessing & honour & glory & power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne & unto the Lamb for ever & <2r> ever. And the four Animals said, Amen. And \in the last place/ the four & twenty elders fall down {illeg}|&| worship him that liveth for ever & ever. And to explain what is meant by the odours w^ch are the prayers of the saints, an \the H/ Angel appears in the great Fast \w^th a golden censer to perform the office of the High Priest/ & in the time of silence & offers incense w^th the prayers of all saints upon the golden Altar w^ch was before the throne. And the smoke of y^e incense w^th y^e prayers of the saints ascended up before God out of the Angels hand. Which Angel by the circumstances is the High Priest & represents Christ the mediator of o^r prayers great High Priest the Mediator of o^r prayers. And there is {illeg} I T a further worship afterwards given to God Almighty in this same Temple by the 144000 standing with the Lamb on mount Sion & sin before the throne & singing a new son {sic}, & on the sea of glass & singing the same song of Moses & the Lamb saying Great & marvellous are thy works Lord God Almighty &c. All which \together/ is a mystical description of the whole worship of Christians.

8 \All/ The worship here given to Christ resprects {sic} his humane nature. For it is given to him in the form of a Lamb who was slain for us, & who received this prophesy from God & by his death became worthy to receive it. He is here worshipped not as a God but as a King, the man Christ Iesus |our Lord,| not as God Almighty but as King of Kings \& Lord of Lords/ who has redeemed his elect w^th his blood & made them kings & priests under him. And therefore this worship is given him without any breach of the first commandment. Because | when he was \in power he did not arrogate the being worshipped but/| he \laid aside his emptied himself of his dominion & took upon the form of a servant & being found in fashion as a man he hum {sic}/ humbled himself to death & became obedient |un|to death even the death of the cross therefore God hath \highly/ exalted him & given him a name w^ch is above every name that at the name of Iesus every knee should bow of things in heaven & things in earth & things under the earth & that every tongue should confess that Iesus Christ is the Lord to the glory of God the father. We are bound to give all kings such honour & worship as is suitable to their dominion dignity & dominion over us, much more to Christ Iesus the king of kings the Lord of the whole creation. To give him honour & worship suitable to his dominion the man Christ Iesus as o^r \Lord &/ king w^th such a worship as is suitable to his dominion is so far from being against the first commandment that it redounds to the glory of God the father who has made him king & granted given him this name above every name. This worship is due \from the whole creation/ to the Lamb of God, the Man Christ Iesus who hath was slain f & hath redeemed us with his blood, & to deny him this worship \to him as a king/ is to rebell against the King of Kings & to deny the Lord that bought us.

9 The Worship given to God & Christ in this prophesy is their peculiar proper incommunicable worship. To give glory & honour \& thanks/ to y^e Lamb that \because he/ was slain for{illeg} us & hath redeemed us with his blood is a worship which cannot be given to God Almighty y^e creator of heaven & earth nor to any other but the lamb. To give glory & honour \& thanks/ to him that sitteth upon the throne because he hath created all things, is a worship w^ch cannot be given to the Lamb nor to any other but God Almighty the creator of heaven & earth. And to give it to any other would be a breach of the first commandment & a denyal of the God above who created all things, & having & having \an {sic} having another God besides the God of the Iews the/ creator of all things, & thereby a denyal of that that God the al that God. For as Iob tells us If I beheld the Sun when it shined or the Moon walking in brightness, & my heart hath been secretly enticed or my hand mouth hath kissed my hand; this also were an iniquity to be punished by the judge; for I should have denyed the God w^ch is above: so if we give to any other being that worship or any part thereof w^ch by the first commandment is due \appropriated/ to God Almighty the the creator of heaven & earth; \by that act by that act/ we have {illeg} another God or other Gods contrary to that \that/ commandment, & deny the God w^ch is above \above the God of the Iews/ the Almighty creator of heaven & earth. [And for this