Transcribed from the [1862?] John Stabb (Tract 272) edition by David Price, email [email protected]
THERE is something especially imposing in the sight of great multitudes; hence, apart from the bliss, the glory, and the joy which the happy hosts are represented as possessing in the Apocalyptic vision, there is a peculiar sublimity in the description given in Revelation vii. 9, 10: “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.”
The solitary traveller excites no attention; the ordinary concourse of even crowded cities soon becomes familiar; but when large masses of humanity are congregated together for any common object, it is impossible to be an unconcerned spectator of the scene. We may have little personal interest in the purpose that has led them to assemble; we may be perfect strangers to the mighty host; but by some mysterious law we identify ourselves with them, and that not only when they are actually present, but even when they have but an imaginary existence on the graphic page of descriptive narrative.