Revelation 22:17

The Spirit and the Bride, Revelation 22:17

17. And the Spirit&c. "The Bride" is, it is here implied, the Church on earth, imploring her Lord about to come to her. But the Bride throughout this book has been the perfect or heavenly Church; notice the identification of the Church in both states. Notice also the identity of St Paul's doctrine, and in part of his imagery, Galatians 4:26: Ephesians 5:25 sqq. "The Spirit" is, as in Romans 8:26, the Spirit dwelling in or inspiring the faithful: the Spirit says, "Come!" when He teaches the Bride to say it.

Come The word is (in the true text) the same here as in Revelation 6:1; Revelation 6:3; Revelation 6:5; Revelation 6:7.

let him that heareth say, Come The prayers of the Church are prayed, not preached; yet they do serve for instruction to those who only "hear" them: by hearing they are educated to join in them. Cf. Colossians 3:16.

let him that is athirst Isaiah 55:1.

come Correlative to the "coming" of Christ to us is our "coming" to Him. The invocation "Come!" in the earlier clauses is certainly addressed to Him, so that this does not express the answer to it. But it is evident (even more evident in the Greek than in the English) that the thought is present of the one coming being correlative to the other. We come to Christ, that we may learn to "love His appearing," and be able to cry to Him "Come," instead of fearing it.

and whosoever&c. Omit "and": the last clause of the verse is rather explanatory of the preceding one than coordinate with it.

freely i.e. "without money and without price:" see on Revelation 21:6.