Four creatures, their meaning (Williams, Devotional Commentary on the Gospel Narrative, vol. 1 - Thoughts on the study of the Holy Gospels, new ed., 1870)
Text: "And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle." Revelation 4:7 Quote: Again, "as for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four had also the face of an eagle." Now, if we take the Man for our Lord's Incarnation; and the Lion, as the regal animal, the emblem of Judah, for the sign of our Lord's eternal Kingship and Kingdom; and the Ox, or Calf, as the sacrificial animal, for the Atonement; and the Eagle, as usually supposed, for our Lord's Divinity; we should have His Incarnation, His Kingdom, His Atonement, and His Divinity, in each of the Gospels, and in all; whatever countenance may more peculiarly characterize each one severally. One face meets us more particularly,...