230 THE OLIVE LEAF. CHAP. 



warfare of earth would be done with for ever. Like 

 the broken sword laid in the grave are the gates of the 

 celestial city. Their existence reminds the inhabitants 

 of a former condition of warfare and insecurity, while 

 their open state shows the contrast between the old 

 guarded fortress, exposed to continual alarms, and the 

 present freedom and enlargement of the quiet habita- 

 tion, defended only by the glory of God, as the wide 

 border of Canaan was guarded by angel sentinels 

 during the keeping of the solemn feasts. For beauty 

 therefore, not for use, the heavenly city has its twelve 

 gates. Useful things exhaust their meaning in their 

 use. But beautiful things, like pearls and flowers, have 

 an exhaustless significance, and are suggestive of a 

 purer and higher world. The pearly gates are there- 

 fore beautiful instead of useful, or rather they have a 

 higher use than their earthly prototypes had. They 

 are for a symbolical purpose. Like the staves that 

 bore the ark during the wilderness wanderings and 

 were finally drawn out when the ark was brought into 

 the temple, but not removed, being still kept in the 

 most holy place, although no longer needed, for the 

 sake of the precious memories and associations con- 

 nected with them, the gates of the heavenly city, 

 though no longer needed for defence against the 

 enemy, are still preserved because of the deep lessons 

 of Divine grace which they teach. All that might 

 cause fear or a feeling of insecurity will be gone for 

 ever; but all that will remind the redeemed of the 

 way by which they had been led in the past, all that 



