A New Creation
(No. 3467)
A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, JULY 15, 1915.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
"He who sat upon the throne said, Behold I make all things new."
Revelation 21:5.
Men generally venerate antiquity. It were hard to say which has the
stronger power over the human mind– antiquity or novelty. While men
will frequently dote upon the old, they are most easily dazzled by the
new. Anything new has at least one attraction. Restless spirits
consider that the new must be better than the old. Though often
disappointed, they are still ready to be caught by the same bait and,
like the Athenians of Mars Hill, spend their time in nothing else but
either to tell or to hear some new thing. And as for ourselves, dear
Friends, as we sometimes mournfully think of the flight of time, we are
known to cheerfully look out upon the new epochs as they begin to dawn
upon us. If our calendar suggests some dismal memories in the past, our
calculation predicts some happier prospects in the future! And it will
sometimes happen that we leave so much anxiety, adversity and
chastisement behind us, that it is a relief to hope that the tide has
turned, and that a course of comfort, prosperity and mercy lies before
us. One weeps over the past and the lost. I suppose the best of men
must do so at times. I am sure those of us who are not the best, feel
often constrained to pour out some such a lamentation as this–
"Much of our time has run to waste– Our sins, how great the sum! Lord,
give us pardon for the past And strength for days to come."
I do not know but it is sometimes as well, when one has been plunged in
sorrow, or feels ashamed of his past life– after having regretted that
which is bygone and repented of it, and over it–to feel as if he
breathed another atmosphere and had started on a fresh career. Having
thrown away the old sword, he is now about to see what he can do with
the new. Having put off an old garment, he is desirous to walk more
worthily of his vocation with fresh ones that are provided for him.
Perhaps the thought of freshness, the fact of new times having dawned
on our path, may be a little help to those of us who are dull and
heavy. And we may be stirred up to action, or, if not to action, it may
awaken earnest hope that the infusion of a new start into our lives,
new vigor instead of the old lethargy, new love instead of the old
luke-warmness, new zeal instead of the old death-likeness–new,
pertinacious, persevering industry for Christ instead of the old
idleness, may result. God grant that it may be so!
Looking at the text in this light, I think it speaks to everyone here
present. Would you begin anew, lo, there is One who can help you to do
so! From the Throne of God where sits the once Crucified but now
Glorified Savior, there comes a whisper of hope to each and every soul
who would be made new and would begin life anew. "Behold I make all
things new." In trying to bring out the thoughts contained in this
exclamation from the Throne–from the Emperor of the Universe, from the
court of the King of Kings–we shall first speak, very briefly, of the
new creation. Secondly, we should bid you adore the great Regenerator
And, in the third place, we shall ask you to behold with attention, the
fact before you, with a view of receiving benefit from it Observe the
text speaks of–
I. A NEW CREATION.
"I make." That is a Divine Word. "I make all things." That, also, is
Divine. "I make all things new." That seems to reach the third stage,
wherein the thrice holy God appears glorious in the highest degree! "I
make all things new." This our Lord Jesus Christ has done upon the
greatest scale! We must view His purpose. It is the purpose and
intention of the Lord Jesus to make this world entirely new. You
recollect how it was made at first–pure and perfect. It sang with its
sister spheres the song ofjoy and reverence. It was a fair world, full
of everything that was lovely, beautiful, happy, holy. And if we might
be permitted to dream for a moment of what it would have been if it had
continued as God created it, one might fancy what a blessed world it
would be at this moment! Had it possessed a teeming population like its
present one, and if, one by one, those godly ones had been caught away,
like Elijah, without knowing death, to be succeeded by pious
descendants–oh, what a blessed world it would have been! A world where
every man would have been a priest and every house a temple, and every
garment a vestment, and every meal a sacrifice, and every place
holiness to the Lord, for the Tabernacle of God would have been among
them and God, Himself, would have dwelt among them! What songs would
have hailed the rising of the sun–the birds of paradise caroling on
every hill and in every dale their Maker's praise! What songs would
have ushered in the stillness of the night! Yes, and angels, hovering
over this fair world, would oft have heard the strain of joy breaking
the silence of midnight, as glad and pure hearts beheld the eyes of the
Creator beaming down upon them from the stars which stud the vault of
Heaven!
But there came a serpent and his craft spoiled it all. He whispered
into the ears of Mother Eve–she fell, and we fell with her–and what a
world this now is! If a man walks about in it with his eyes open, he
will see it to be a horrible sphere. I do not mean that its rivers, its
lakes, its valleys, its mountains are repulsive. No, it is a world fit
for angels, naturally, but it is a horrible world morally! As I walked
the other day down the streets of Paris and saw the soldiers with their
pretty dresses–and the knives and forks which they carried with them
to carve men and make a meal for death–I could not help thinking this
is a pretty world, this is. Only let one man lift his finger and a
hundred thousand men are ready to meet a hundred thousand other men,
all intent upon doing–what? Why, upon cutting each other's throats!
Upon tearing out each other's bleeding hearts and wading up to their
knees in each other's gore till the ditches are full of blood, horses
and men all mingled, and left to be food for dogs and for carrion
crows! And then the victors on either side in the fray, return, beat
the drums and sound the trumpets and say, "Glory! Glory! Look what we
have done!" Devils could not be worse than men when their passions are
let loose. Dogs would scarcely tear each other as men do. Men of
intellect sit down and put their fingers to their foreheads, racking
their brains to find out new ways of using gunpowder, and shot, and
shell–so as to be able to blow twenty thousand souls into eternity as
easily as 20 might be massacred by present appliances! And he is
considered a clever man, a patriot, a benefactor of his own nation,
who, by dint of genius, can discover some new way of destroying his
fellow creatures. Oh, it is a horrible world, appalling to think of!
When God looks at it, I wonder why He does not stamp it out, just as
you and I do a spark of coal that flies upon our carpet from the fire!
It is a dreadful world.
But Jesus Christ, who knew that we would never make this world much
better, let us do what we would with it. He designed from the very
first to make a new world of it. Truly, truly, this seems to me to be a
glorious purpose! To make a world is something wonderful, but to make a
world new is something more wonderful still! When God spoke and said,
"Let there be light," it was a fiat which showed Him to be Divine. Yet
there was nothing, then, to resist His will. He had no opponent–He
could build as He pleased and there were none to pluck down. But when
Jesus Christ comes to make a new world, there is everything opposed to
Him. When He says, "Let there be light," Darkness says, "There shall
not be light." When He says, "Let there be order," Chaos says, "No, I
will maintain confusion." When He says, "Let there be holiness, let
there be love, let there be truth," the principalities and powers of
evil withstand Him and say, "There shall not be holiness, there shall
be sin! There shall not be love, there shall be hate! There shall not
be truth, there shall be error! There shall not be the worship of God,
there shall be the worship of sticks and stones–men shall bow down
before idols which their own hands have made!"
And yet, for all that, Jesus Christ, coming in the form of a Man,
revealing Himself as the Son of God, determines to make all things new!
And be assured, Brothers and Sisters, He will do it! Though He pleases
to take His time and to use humble instrumentalities to effect His
purposes, yet do it He will! The day shall come when this world shall
be as fair as it was at the primeval Sabbath. When there shall be a new
Heaven and a new Earth, wherein shall dwell righteousness. The ancient
prophecy shall be fulfilled to the letter! God shall dwell among men.
Peace shall be domiciled on earth and Glory shall be ascribed to God in
the highest! This great work of Christ, this grand design of making
this old world into a new one shall be carried into effect!
In order to accomplish this, it has come to pass that Christ has made
for us a New Covenant The Old Covenant was, "Do this and live." That
Covenant was a sentence of death upon us all. We could not do,
therefore we could not live, and
so we died. The New Covenant has nothing in it contingent upon
creature-doing, but it bases all its provisions upon Christ having done
the work! "I will, and you shall," this is the language of the New
Covenant? The Covenant of Law, in which we were weak through the flesh,
left us mangled and broken. The Covenant of Grace reveals God's
kindness towards us and our part, thereof, has been fulfilled for us by
our Surety, Christ Jesus. Thus it runs, "Their sins and their
iniquities will I remember no more forever; a new heart also will I
give them, and a right spirit will I put within them." The old world is
still under the old Covenant of Works and its children perish, for they
cannot carry out the conditions of the Covenant–they cannot keep God's
Law–they break it constantly, and they die. But the children of Grace
are under the New Covenant of Grace, and through the precious blood,
which is the penalty of the old broken Covenant, and through the
spotless righteousness of Christ, which is the fulfillment and
magnifying of the old Covenant, the Christian stands secure and
rejoices that he is saved! Christ has thus made His people dwell under
a New Covenant, instead of under the old one.
In addition to the New Covenant, Christ has been pleased to make us new
men. His saints are "new creatures in Christ Jesus." They have a new
nature! God has breathed into them a new life. The Holy Spirit, though
the old nature is still there, has been pleased to put within them a
new nature. There is now a contending force within them–the old carnal
nature inclining to evil and the new God-given nature panting after
perfection. They are new men, "begotten again unto a lively hope, by
the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." This new nature is
moved by new principles. The old nature needed to be awed with threats,
or bribed with rewards–the new nature feels the impulse of love!
Gratitude is its mainspring–"We love Him because He first loved us."
No mercenary motive now stirs the new creature–
"My God, I love You not because
I hope for Heaven thereby,
Nor yet because who love You not
Must burn eternally."
I love You, O my Savior, because on the Cross You did bear shame, and
spitting, and manifold disgrace for me. New principles stir the new
nature which God has given! And this new nature is conscious of new
emotions. It loves what once it hated–it hates what once it loved. It
finds blight where once it sought for bliss, and finds bliss where once
it found nothing but bitterness. It leaps at the sound which was once
dull to its ears–the name of a precious Christ! It rejoices in hopes
which once seemed idle as dreams. It is filled with a Divine enthusiasm
which it once rejected as fanatical! It is now conscious of living in a
new element, breathing a fresh air, partaking of new food, drinking out
of new wells not dug by men or filled from the earth. The man is
new–new in principles and new in emotions!
And now the man is also new in relationship. He was an heir to
wrath–he is now a child of God. He was a bondslave–he is now a free
man. He was the Ishmael who dwelt in the wilderness–he is now the
Isaac, and dwells with Sarah after the tenor of the New Covenant. He
rejoices in Christ Jesus and feasts to the full! He was once the
citizen of earth– he is now a citizen of Heaven. He once found his all
beneath the clouds, but now his all is beyond the stars! He has new
relationships. Christ is his Brother. God is his Father. The angels are
his friends and the despised people of God are his best and nearest
kinsfolk! And therefore the man has new aspirations. He now pants to
glorify God! What cared he about the glory of God once? He now pants to
see God–once he would have paid the fare, if it had cost his life,
that he might escape from the Presence of the Lord! Now he hungers and
thirsts after the living God. Yes, if his soul had wings, and he could
break the fetters of this mortality, he would mount at once to dwell
where Jesus is! Dear Friends, are you new men and women? If you are,
you understand what it is. If you are not, I know I cannot explain it
to you. Oh, to be born-again is a great mystery! Blessed is the soul
that comprehends it! But he that knows it not will never learn it by
the lips–he can only know it by the Spirit of God causing him to also
be made a new creature in Christ Jesus.
Thus far I have said that the objective of Christ was to make a new
world, and He began by making a New Covenant. Then, through His Spirit,
He goes on to make new men under the New Covenant, and you will see
that by this means He makes a new society. Swelling words have been
spoken and great attempts taken in hand to renovate society, but you
can never renovate society till you have renovated the individual
members who compose society! You may build a brick house, if you
please, but, build it as you like, it will be a house of brick upon
whatever principles of architecture it may be constructed! Not until
that brick shall be transformed to marble can you hope to "dwell in
marble halls." So men may launch their divers theories and patent their
social inventions, but after they have reshaped the society of sinners,
it will
still be a sinful society! It is otherwise with Christ. By making new
men, He makes a new society, which society He calls His "Church." That
Church He sends into the world to act upon the rest of mankind. Verily,
the day will come– whether it shall be at His Second Advent or before
His Second Advent, I do not know–the day will come when, from the east
to the west, and from the north to the south, there shall be a new
world as far as men are concerned! There shall be no injustice towards
the poor. There shall be no envying of the rich. There shall be no law
to make men slaves. There shall be no power to oppress because there
shall be no will to do it! Our Lord Jesus Christ shall put a new heart
into earth's kings and then He shall come Himself to take their thrones
and their crowns, and to be, Himself, our Universal King, and in His
day shall the righteous flourish!
Now I believe the way for us to regard that happy day in which He will
make all things new–that happy day when the lion shall eat straw like
the ox and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, when the sword
shall be turned into the sickle, and the spear into the pruning
hook–the way for us to regard that day, I think, is not standing with
our mouths open expecting it, but by setting to work after the Master's
own fashion, seeking to bring it about! To gather out the elect from
mankind, to illustrate the Gospel practically in our lives and so to do
as Jesus did among the sons of men– promoting light, and peace, and
truth, and holiness and happiness as God may help us!
I wish we had more time to enter fully into this part of the subject.
We have not and, therefore, we must leave it, but may you and I have a
part in this new creation! Turning to our second point, I want you to–
II. ADORE THIS GREAT REGENERATOR.
He says, "Behold I make all things new." Behold Him! He is a Man
dressed in the common garments of the poor! He has no form nor
comeliness and when you shall see Him there is no beauty in Him that
you should desire Him. He has come to make the world new. He has no
soldiery, no book of laws, no new philosophy. He has come to make the
world new and to do this He has brought with Him–what? Why, Himself He
spends a life of weariness and sorrow among those who despise Him–and
if you want to know first and foremost how He makes all things new, you
must see Him sweating great drops of blood in the Garden–that is the
blood of the new world which He is pouring forth! You must see Him
bound, scourged, spat upon, led to the accursed tree! While God's wrath
for sin is yet unspent, the world cannot be new, but when that wrath on
account of sin is all poured upon the head of the great Substitute,
then the world stands in a new relation to God and it can be a new
world! See the Savior, then, in groans and pangs which cannot be
described, bearing the curse of God, for He made Him to be sin for us,
though He knew no sin. The curse fell on Him, as it is written, "Cursed
is every one that hangs on a tree." It pleased the Father to bruise
Him. He has put Him to grief. He has made His soul to be an offering
for sin." That dolorous pain, then, of the Master, was the world's
new-making! It was then and there that the world was born-again. No
mother's pangs, when she brought forth a man-child, were such as those
of Christ when He brought forth the new creation! It was there in the
travail of His soul–did you ever catch that idea, "the travail of His
soul"?–it was there that the new world was born! "Behold I make all
things new" is a mysterious voice from the broken heart of a dying
Savior! From the empty tomb, as He rises, I hear it come in silvery
notes, "Behold I make all things new." You must trace the birth of the
New Creation up to the grave of our Lord Jesus Christ, to the place
where the Cross stood and where His body lay.
But the actual operations of new-making the world takes place through
the truth which Christ promulgated. After the relation of the world to
God had been changed by the sufferings of Jesus, the world's thought
concerning God came to be changed by the preaching of Jesus. He came
and revealed God to man as man had never before seen God. It was
through Him we learned that "God is Love." It was through Him that we
understood that "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have
everlasting life." It is the preaching of the Cross of Jesus that is to
make the world new! It is not the philosophies of men, but the Wisdom
of God which effects the change! In the Presence of Christ your
philosophies must sink into darkness as stars in the presence of the
sun!
And it is also by the giving of the Holy Spirit, as the result of the
Ascension of Christ on high, that the world is made new. Thus He gives
power to the ministry. There were 3,000 new creations in one day when
Peter preached the Gospel under the influence of the Holy Spirit! And
that blessed Spirit of God is here tonight! Oh, I would that there
might be some new creations tonight–that that Divine heavenly Spirit
would come into some of your souls and drop there that vital spark of
heavenly flame which shall never be quenched, but shall burn brightly
in Heaven forever! Wherever the
Gospel is preached, the Spirit is present in that Gospel, and He gives
faith to men, gives life to men, and so they are made new and the
new-making thus goes on! I have not time–though thoughts crowd into my
mind–to speak about the way in which Christ thus new-makes the world.
It is quite certain that three parts of His history are connected with
it. I have only referred to His death, His burial and His Resurrection,
but I might go on to speak of His constant and prevalent intercessions,
for His pleading before the Throne of God is also a part of the mighty
operation! Nor can I doubt but that His Second Advent will be the
bringing out of the top stone with shouts of, "Grace, Grace unto it!"
Then shall be ful-filled–finally and exhaustively fulfilled–the
saying that is written, "Behold I make all things new." The text begins
with, "Behold!" and I am going to close with that same note of
admiration. I want you to– III. BEHOLD AND TO BELIEVE.
Behold the Lord Jesus is now enthroned in Heaven! He it is who makes
all things new. Is not this what some of you here present deeply need?
If you look within yourselves, you will see much to disgust and alarm
you. Perhaps you dare not take stock of yourselves–you dare not
consider where you are, nor what you are, nor where you are bound. "To
speak candidly," you say, "I need reforming." Very likely, but you need
a great deal more than mere reformation! I have heard of a being who
habitually used to swear, "God mend me!" Somebody said, "Better make a
new one." That is the case with full many of you. You are saying,
"Well, I will turn over a new leaf." You had better shut the book up,
altogether, and never turn over any more leaves, for all the pages are
alike bad! "Oh, well," says one, "I shall try if I cannot alter." I
wish you would try God's altering of you, instead of altering
yourselves. "Well, but surely, surely, I may wash and be clean! I will
try to make myself as clean as possible!" Yes, yes, that is all very
well–but what if you have a corpse in the house? I would have you make
it clean, yet that will not make it live! However much you may wash it,
it is still corrupt. You may reform yourselves as much as ever you
please–all your reformation will be futile–you need more, a great
deal more than that! The fact is, you must be made new! Nothing less
will do! You must be made new! You must be born-again!
"Ah!" says one, "if I could be made new, there might be a chance for
me." Well now, Christ looks down from His Throne in Heaven and He says,
"Behold I will make all things new." "Yes," you say, "but He will not
make me new." Why not? Does He not say, "I make all things new"? "But
my heart is as hard as a rock," you say. Well, but He says, "I will
make all things news," so He can give you a new heart! "Oh, but I am so
very stubborn." Yes, yes, but He makes all things new, and He can make
you as tender and sensitive as a little child! Oftentimes a gray-headed
sinner has looked back to his childhood and remembered the time when he
used to sing his little hymn at his mother's knee–and he has said,
"Ah! I have been in many strange places since then, and my heart has
got seared and hard! I wish I could get back to what I was then!" Well,
you can, you can! Christ can bring you there! No, He can bring you to
something better than you ever were when those golden ringlets hung so
plentifully about that pretty little head of yours, for you were not so
innocent, then, as you now think you were! Christ can make you really
pure in heart. He can make you a new creature, so that you shall be
converted and become as a little child. "Oh," you say, "how can I get
it? How can I prepare myself for Him?" You do not need to prepare
yourself for Him! Go to Him just as you are–trust Him to do it and He
will do it! That is faith, you know–trust, dependence. Can you believe
that Christ can save you? Oh, can you believe that? Well now, will you
try Him to save you? Will you trust Him to deliver you from your
drunkenness, from your angry temper, your pride, your love of self,
your lusts? Do you desire to be a new creature in Christ Jesus? If so,
that very desire must have come from Heaven! I hope that He has already
begun the good work in you and He that begins it will carry it on. Do
not be afraid, however bad your character, or however vicious your
disposition. "Behold," says Christ, "I make all things new."
What a wonder it is that a man should ever hate a new heart! You know
if a lobster loses its claw in a fight, it can grow a new claw–and
that is thought to be very marvelous. It would be very wonderful if men
would be able to grow new arms and new legs, but who ever heard of a
creature who grew a new heart? You may have seen a branch lopped off a
tree, and you may have thought that, perhaps, the tree will sprout
again, and there will be a new limb, but who ever heard of old trees
getting new sap and a new core? But my Lord and Master, the Crucified
and exalted Savior, has given new hearts and new cores! He has put the
vital substance into men afresh and made new creatures of them! I am
glad to notice the tears in your eyes when you think on the past–but
wipe them away, now, and look up to the Cross and say–
Just as I am, without one plea, But that Your blood was shed for me,
And that You bid me come to Thee, O Lamb, O God, I come."
"Oh, make me a new creature!" If you have said that from your heart,
you are a new creature, dear Brother or Sister, and we will rejoice
together in this regenerating Savior!
Let me just say a few words to those of you who love the Lord. You may
have some very bad children, or you may have some relatives who are
going on in sin from bad to worse. I earnestly recommend you
attentively consider my text. "Behold," says Christ, "I make all things
new." "No, no," says the old father, "I used to pray for my boy. He
broke my heart. He brought his mother's gray hairs with sorrow to the
grave. But he has gone away and I have not heard from him for
years–and I am almost afraid to wish I ever hear from him again–for
did seemed so reckless that my only comfort is in trying to forget
him." "Yes," says a husband here, "I have prayed for my wife so many
times that I feel tempted to give it up–it is not likely that I shall
ever live to see her saved." Oh, but, Brothers and Sisters, we do not
know! Since the Lord saved us, there cannot be any limits as to what He
can do! Look at the text, "Behold I make all things new." I will pray,
"Lord, make my children new." You shall pray, "Lord, make my wife new."
You godly wives who have ungodly husbands, you shall pray, "Lord, make
our husbands new." You who have dear friends who lie upon your bosom,
as you anxiously think of them, pray the Lord Jesus to make them new!
When our friends are made new, ah, what a great comfort they are–just
as much so as they formerly were a sorrow. The greater the sinner, the
greater the joy to loving Believers when they see him saved! "Behold,"
says Christ–I do like that word–"Behold it! Stand and look at it! See
how I took the man when he was up to his neck in sin and made him
preach the Gospel! Can I not do the same again? Look there and see the
dying thief upon the cross, black with a thousand crimes–I washed him
and took him to Paradise the same day! What can I not do? Behold I make
all things new."
Courage, my Brothers and Sisters. We will not entertain any more doubt
about Christ's power to save! Rather, by God's Grace, may we henceforth
believe more in Him and, according, to our faith, so shall it be done
unto us. If we can only trust Him for those of our friends whose faults
seem to us few and light, our little trust will reap little reward. But
if we can go with strong faith in a great God, and bring great sinners
in our arms and put them down before this mighty Regenerator of men and
say, "Lord, if You will, You can make them new"–and if we will never
cease the pleading till we get the blessing, then we shall see
ever-accumulating illustrations of the fact that Jesus makes all things
new–and calling up the witnesses of His redeeming power, we shall cry
in the ears of a drowsy Church and an incredulous world, "Behold,
behold, behold! He makes all things new." The Lord give us to see it!
Amen.
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: REVELATION 1:1-14.
Verse 1. The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him, to
show unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass; and He
sent and signified it by His angel unto His servant John. Twice is that
title used– "servant." This is a revelation to Christ's servants, made
first unto His servant, John. There is no higher honor under Heaven
than to be the servant of such a Master. His servants we are this day,
and we find in that service perfect freedom and the highest imaginable
delight. This, then is to us.
2-3. Who bore record of the Word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus
Christ, and of all things that he saw. Blessed is he that reads and
they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which
are written therein: for the time is at hand It is not said, "Blessed
is he that understands the Book of Revelation," or else I am afraid
very few would come in for that benediction, but, "Blessed is he that
reads and they that hear," for it is a blessed thing to hear our Father
speaking, even when we cannot understand it. When you were a little
child, how did you learn to understand your father but by at first
hearing him say a great deal which was far above you and out of your
reach? I love to read those parts of God's Word which I cannot yet
understand, because I remember there are some parts which I do
understand, now, which I did not once–and it was by reading them,
hearing them and thinking of them, that gradually light broke into my
soul! Why, then, should I not go on reading this Book of Revelation,
though as yet I may be able to sustain no theory about it, may not as
yet, indeed, understand it? But notice this. The Doctrine of this Book
is practical after all. I think this Book has been trailed in the mire
by being used as a sort of astrologer's book to tell us about the
future, in-
stead of being used practically to humble us before God, and to teach
us to lean upon eternal wisdom, which knows all things from the
beginning. Oh, that we might more practically use the Doctrine of the
Second Advent than has generally been done–not to speculate upon
it–but to be warned by it to be on the watch for the coming of the
Lord!
4. John to the seven churches, which are in Asia: Grace be unto you,
and peace, from Him which is, and which was, and which is to come Is
not this the Father, Jehovah, the I AM, who lives in all tenses and
fills all time?
4. And from the seven Spirits which are before His throne. Are not
these the symbols of the Holy Spirit, whose varied and perfect work are
seen today among men, not only on the Throne of God, but before the
Throne, working in the midst of the people of God?
5. And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness. Telling us the
Truth of God and only the Truth–the Witness to be relied upon,
deserving of our faith.
5, 6. And the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings
of the earth; unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in
His own blood. And that made us kings andpriests unto God and His
Father; to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
7. Behold. Regard it attentively. Think of it, and meditate upon it.
7. Behold, He comes with clouds. This is a grand Doctrine which should
never be kept in the background! The Scriptures are not fully to be
understood, except with this addition–they are not, indeed, complete
unless we understand that there is something yet to come. The Old
Testament without the first coming of Christ is a riddle without a
key–and the New Testament without the Second Coming of Christ is
somewhat in the same condition.
7. Behold, He comes with clouds; and every eye shall see Him. Your
eyes, dear Friend, and mine. "Every eye shall see Him." Whatever in the
future we shall not see, we shall see Him! We may depend upon that.
"And they also which pierced Him." What a sight it will be for
them–not only for those Romans and Jews who actually put Him to death,
but for all of us who by our sins have pierced Him, by our evil words,
our backslidings, have put Him to shame!
7. And they also which pierced Him: and all the tribes of the earth
shall wail because of Him. Even so, Amen. It is certain–here is the
seal, the great Divine Affirmative put to this–"Even so, Amen."
8, 9. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, says the
Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. I,
John, who also am your brother and companion in tribulation, and in the
kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called
Patmos, for the Word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ
Being there for having preached the Gospel–no doubt sent there as a
punishment that that eloquent tongue also might, for a while, be
silenced, and that his loving precepts might not so build up the
Church. "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's-Day"–the first day of the
week, especially set apart for the Lord's worship. Notice that John
observed this day. Though he was on a desert island, though he was far
away from all Christian companionship, yet he took care to spend that
day in worship, to draw near to God! Let us, then, never make excuses
when we are travelling, and when we are away for purposes of
recreation. The Lord's-Day is as much the Lord's-Day to us in one part
of the world as another, and let us take care that we get the advantage
of it. He has fenced it about on purpose for our benefit. It is not a
day of bondage, but a day of holy joy and rest. Let us not miss the
blessings which are so ripe this day. "I was in the Spirit on the
Lord's-Day"–that is the Spirit of God came upon him, gave him to
understand, and see, and feel spiritual things. Oh, that this might be
the condition of all God's people here this morning!
10. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's-Day, and heard behind me a great
voice as of a trumpet Clear, shrill, musical.
11. Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last and what you
see, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in
Asia: unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos and unto
Thyatira, and unto Sar-dis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
There were Churches in each of these places. It is not the custom of
the Holy Spirit to talk of the Church of England, but He would speak of
the Church in London, the Church in Birmingham, the Church in
Newcastle. These are each separate and distinct, independent Churches,
though they are one in Christ Jesus–yes, each Church is, in itself,
complete and entire if it is ordered according to the mind of the Holy
Spirit.
12. And I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. Very naturally.
When we hear a voice, we like to see the person from whom the voice
comes. Hence I believe the reason why we often like the portrait of the
preacher, and it is not, after all, anything more than an innocent
infirmity that a man should wish to see the face of him who has spoken
to him.
12. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlestich. Or candelabra or
lamp stands. Not, as you get in the Old Testament, one great
seven-branched golden candlestick, but seven distinct candelabra, for
these Churches are separate and entire, each Church in its own
individuality.
13. And in the midst of the seven candlesticks One like unto the Son of
Man Or probably unto a son of man–like unto a man, for,
notwithstanding all the majesty, the Person was that of a Man, and we
are never to forget that, glorious as is the Godhead of Christ, and
majestic as He is in all His sublime offices, yet, nevertheless, He
most surely is Man–a very sweet consoling thought.
13. Clothed with a garment down to the feet.
13. And girt about the chest with a golden band A royal robe. A band
all decked and adorned with jewelry.
14. His head and His hair were white like wool, as white as snow. For
He is the Ancient of Days, and all the wisdom that is supposed to
belong to gray hair is with Him.
14. And His eyes were as a flame of fire. Discerning, burning into
everything.
Upon a throne of light, One of a human mother born, In perfect Godhead
bright."