Subjective Christianity: 1. A river.
"And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear [bright] as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb." All along this book of gorgeous imagery and symbol we have been looking at Christianity as a subjective reality. Objective Christianity is simply a speculation; a thing of criticism, imagination, and logic; a thing for men to quarrel about, and even to fight about at times. It is a creed—nothing more. But subjective Christianity is a life; it is the creed eaten, digested, and transmitted into the blood and fibre of the soul. In this verse this life appears in three aspects.
I. AS FLOWING. It is a "river," not a stagnant lake, confined within certain banks, without any progressive motion, but a river flowing on, winding its way through every faculty of the soul, and giving to all new freshness and vigour.
II. AS TRANSLUCENT. "Pure river of water of life, clear as crystal." What object in nature is more sublimely beautiful than a deep flowing river, so pure as to mirror all the pearls and shells and living creatures that lie fathomed below, and all the shifting clouds and brilliant orbs that circle above? Vital Christianity is essentially clear and cleansing; it flows through the soul, and leaves no "spot" or "wrinkle," or any such thing.
III. AS IMPERIAL. "Proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb." It does not spring from any human fountain. It is from the primal force of all life—God and the Lamb. It is a river, "the streams whereof make glad the city of God." "The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."—D. T.