Charles Ellicott Commentary Revelation 7:17

"for the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne shall be their shepherd, and shall guide them unto fountains of waters of life: and God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes." — Revelation 7:17 (ASV)

For the Lamb . . . — Translate, Because the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shall tend them, and shall lead them to fountains of waters of life (or, life-springs of waters); and God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes.

The Lamb is described as “the Lamb in the midst of the throne.” The writer told in Revelation 5:6 that he had seen a Lamb in the midst of the throne. When he looked towards the throne, he saw the Lamb as the central object immediately in front of it. He who would draw near to the throne must pass the Lamb. The position that the Lamb held was one of significance, and is therefore repeated here. The Lamb will tend His people as a shepherd tends his flock (the word translated “feed” has this force), and will lead them to the springs of the water of life.

The twenty-third Psalm rises at once to our minds. The Lord who was David’s shepherd (Psalms 23:2), who was the Good Shepherd who sought and brought home the lost for whom He died (Luke 15:4; John 10:11), does not forget the shepherd’s work in heaven. He who made His people drink from the brook along the way (Psalms 110:7), who gave to those who came to Him the water that alone would quench their thirst (John 4:13–14; John 7:37–39), now leads them to the springs of the living water, and makes them drink from the river of His pleasures (Psalms 36:8).

Significantly, the springs of this living water are in the throne itself (Revelation 22:1). Ezekiel saw the stream issuing from the Temple (Ezekiel 48:1), but in the city where there is no temple, we are carried to the very throne of God to find the well-spring of every gladness.

In this emblem of the water, we have another allusion to the Feast of Tabernacles. Among the ceremonies observed at the feast was that of drawing water; the priest drew a vessel of water from the brook of Siloam, poured it out in the temple court by the altar of burnt offering, and the people sang the words, With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation (Isaiah 12:3). Here the Lamb, who is also the High Priest, leads His people to the springs of the water of life. Joy, too, is theirs; for God shall wipe away every tear from (or, out of) their eyes (Isaiah 25:8; Revelation 21:4).

In Isaiah it is said, God shall wipe away tears from off all faces; here it is every tear. Thus shall all sorrow be removed from all; no tears shall gather in any eye, for the sources of sorrow will be cut off in the land where there is no more sin. None can weep again when it is God who has wiped away their tears.

Blessed are they that mourn, said Christ—blessed indeed in this, that God becomes their comforter. Only those who have wept can enjoy this consolation. Who would not shed life’s tears to have God’s hand to wipe them away!