And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all [of] gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which [are] upon the top thereof:
Ver. 2. What seest thou?] The sight was already in sight; but the prophet had not seen it, or noted it, if the angel had not stirred him up to it. If the Lord give us not sight as well as light, if he enlighten not both organ and object too, if he shine not into our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of himself in the face of Jesus Christ, 2 Corinthians 4:5, seeing we shall see, but not perceive; with Hagar, we shall not be able to discern the fountain that is just before us.
I have looked] Carefully viewed the sight. It is expected ut acti agamus; that having a talent of grace we trade with it; that our will, which at first conversion was merely passive, should be afterward active; that we, which once were darkness, but now are light in the Lord, shall walk as children of light, Ephesians 5:8 .
Behold a candlestick] That is, the Church, as Revelation 1:20 .
All of gold] Pure gold as the candlestick in the tabernacle, Exodus 25:31, which is therefore called the pure candlestick, Lev 24:4 Exodus 31:8, noting out the Church's purity in doctrine and manners. Chrysostom, that golden preacher, testifieth of some saints in his time, that they were puriores caelo, purer than the visible heaven. "Her Nazarites were purer than the driven snow, whiter than milk, ruddier than rubies, their polishing was of sapphire," Lamentations 4:7 .
With a bowl] Heb. gullah, an oil glass or oil cruse; a hollow round vessel, quod pariter Latine recte gulam appellas, saith a Lapide; which you may not unfitly call a gullet, or throat; for as the throat receiveth the food and transmitteth it to the stomach, so did this vessel receive the oil to be transmitted to the lamps. It figured Christ, in whom it pleased the Father that all fulness should dwell, Colossians 1:19, for the Church's use, John 1:16; John 3:34 .
And his seven lamps thereon] Signifying the manifold graces and diversity of gifts in the Church by the same Spirit of Christ, 1Co 12:4; 1 Corinthians 12:6 "For of his fulness we all receive grace for grace," John 1:16 .
And seven pipes to the seven lamps] Heb. seven and seven, that is, seven, I say seven, by the figure anadiplosis, a repetition of the same word, saith Sanetius. This is a better gloss than that of those that say the Hebrew text is corrupted; as having two sevens for one. These seven pipes you must imagine to be in the bottom of the bowl, to distribute the oil to each lamp; the grace of Jesus Christ to each Christian, that he may shine as a lamp or luminary in the world, holding forth the word of life, Philippians 2:15,16, as the hand doth the torch, or the watch tower the light, and so the haven, to weather beaten mariners.