(evidently quoting Zechariah), 'and the Lamb is the light
thereof.' So the city is lit as by one central glow of radiance that
flashes its beams into every corner, and therefore 'there shall be no
night there.'

Now this promise, too, bears on churches and on individuals. On the
Church as a whole it bears in this way: the only means by which a
Christian community can fulfil its function, and be the light of the
world, is by having the presence of God, in no metaphor, the actual
presence of the illuminating Spirit in its midst. If it has not that, it
may have anything and everything else--wealth, culture, learning,
eloquence, influence in the world--but all is of no use; it will be
darkness. We are light only in proportion as we are 'light in the Lord.'
As long as we, as communities, keep our hearts in touch with Him, so
long do we shine. Break the contact, and the light fades and flickers
out.

The same thing is true, dear brethren, about individuals. For each of us
the secret of joy, of purity, of knowledge, is that we be holding close
communion with God. If we have Him in the depths of our hearts, then,
and only then, shall we be 'light in the Lord.'

And now look at the last point which follows, as I have said, as the
result of the other two.

III. 'Jerusalem shall be without walls.'

It is to be like the defenceless villages scattered up and down over
Israel. There is no need for bulwarks of stone. The wall of fire is
round about. The Prophet has a vision of a great city, of a type unknown
in those old times, though familiar to us in our more peaceful days,
where there was no hindrance to expansion by encircling ramparts, no
crowding together of the people because they needed to hide behind the
city walls; and where the growing community could spread out into the
outer suburbs, and have fresh air and ample space. That is the vision of
the manner of city that Jerusalem was to be. It did not come true, but
the ideal was this. It has not yet come true sufficiently in regard to
the churches of to-day, but it ought to be the goal to which they are
tending. The more a Christian community is independent of external
material supports and defences the better.

I am not going to talk about the policy or impolicy of Established
Churches, as they are called. But it seems to me that the principle that
is enshrined in this vision is their condemnation. Never mind about
stone and lime walls, trust in God and you will not ne