"Grace and Glory"
(No. 3358)
A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, JUNE 12, 1913.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON THURSDAY EVENING,
FEBRUARY 6, 1868.
"The Lord will give Grace and Glory." Psalm 84:11.
IT is very wise to look within ourselves to discover our own weakness
and spiritual poverty, but it is very unwise to be always dwelling upon
that weakness and poverty–and to forget that our strength does not lie
there, nor are our riches to be found within ourselves! Let us look
within to be humbled, but not to be made unbelieving. Look within, so
as to be driven from all confidence in ourselves, but never so as to
shake our absolute confidence in God. Our text, as it were, beckons us
away from seeking the living among the dead, calling us up from
searching for precious jewels amid dross and refuse, but directs us to
the living God Himself–the overflowing Fountain of every good thing,
our Father whose arm is not shortened that it cannot save, and whose
ear is not heavy that He cannot hear us tonight! He–He– Jehovah,
Himself, the Infinite, Eternal, Everlasting, Inimitable I AM–He will
give Grace and Glory, so that though you may think you have no Grace,
He will give it to you, and though you may fear that you shall never
obtain Glory, yet He can and will bestow it upon you! He will give
Grace and Glory. The very first word of the text, I say, is a taking us
away from leaning upon the broken reeds of our own self-reliance and a
calling us away to the Rock of our salvation, where we may rest with
security!
"He will give Grace and Glory." That word, "give," also takes us off
from our natural legality of self-trust. I think that we are all very
apt to go back to the bondage of Mount Sinai. We are like those foolish
Galatians! We are often "bewitched," so that we do not obey the Truth
of God, but, having begun in the Spirit, we seek to be made perfect in
the flesh and, being saved already by faith, we often try to be
perfected by the works of the Law!
"'Tis strange, 'tis passing strange, 'tis amazing," that after having
felt the whip of legal bondage, we should wish to go back to the brick
kilns of Egypt and to be slaves once more! The text says, "He will give
Grace and Glory," which is the very opposite of wages and puts us on
the footing of Grace and not on the footing of debt. Oh, it is a
blessed thing to see a finger from the sky thus beckoning us away from
underneath the quaking mountain, where even Moses confessed that he did
altogether fear and quake! It is a blessed thing to be set free from
the thunder and lightning, and the Voice as of a trumpet, and to be
brought to the blood which speaks better things than that of Abel, and
to hear God speaking concerning His great and unspeakable gifts to us!
Now, in the spirit of these two thoughts, let us come to this text,
which is very simple, extremely simple, but which is also exceedingly
full of comfort if the Lord shall apply it to our hearts by the Holy
Spirit.
There are just two great and splendid gifts that God here declares He
will bestow. First, the gift of Grace, and then next, the gift of
Glory. We will take the first gift first in our meditations–
I. GOD WILL GIVE GRACE.
To whom will He give Grace? Broadly understood, we may say that He will
give Grace to His own chosen ones. So is it in the Covenant of Grace.
"I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have
compassion on whom I will have compassion. So, then, it is not of him
that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God that shows mercy." Grace
is a most Sovereign thing. God has the right to give it where He
pleases and He takes care that the Sovereignty shall be seen. Some of
His chosen ones have gone afar into sin, but He gives them Grace, for
all that. Some of them may be on the very verge of destruction and come
to the last hour of life–but still, He will give them Grace–and there
is not one upon whom His electing love has set the broad arrow of the
Kingdom, marking that man to be a vessel of mercy, who shall pass away
without receiving Divine Grace! This is a broad statement and though
there are some that cavil at it, yet rest assured that it is the Truth
of God!
Another statement we may also make as broadly, namely, that He will
give Grace to all those who were specially redeemed by Christ As many
as Christ has redeemed and purchased by His blood, shall be His, for we
hear Him say, "The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep."
Christ loved His Church and gave Himself for it. The chosen are spoken
of in this manner, "These are they who are redeemed from among men,"
and although the redemption of Christ has its universal aspect very
plainly taught in God's Word, and I hope we shall never try to take
away the force of those universal passages–yet there is a special
redemption besides. "He is the Savior of all men," says the Apostle,
"especially of them that believe." Now, that special redemption is of
such a kind that to all those who are concerned in it, He will give
Grace. Not one whom Christ has thus redeemed from among men shall
perish! Not one of His own blood-bought sheep shall be devoured by the
wolf. Not one member of that body of His shall be maimed. Not one part
of His bride, the Church, shall be destroyed! To every one of these, it
is quite certain, He will give Divine Grace!
And although some think that these two Truths of God are not practical,
yet are they eminently so, for this, among other things, is one
practical result–that we preach with holy confidence, with quiet
confidence, that our preaching cannot be in vain since we do not cast
the net at a chance, but believe that God will fill it and that when
the Gospel is preached, it must be the savor of life unto life to many!
"Other sheep have I," said Christ, "who are not of this fold: them also
must I bring," and therefore do we preach, because they must be
brought!
As the farmer sows the corn broadcast, with all the freer hand because
he knows there is a predestined harvest, even so do we. And as a
fisherman who should have a Divine promise that he must catch fish
would throw in the net and toil all night cheerfully because he knew he
could not labor in vain, so is it with us. We know that if we are
steadfast, unmov-able, always abounding in the work of the Lord, this
is our comfort–that our labor is not in vain in the Lord! "He shall
see His seed! He shall prolong His days and the pleasure of the Lord
shall prosper in His hands." I take the expression of the text, then,
without qualification–He will give Grace.
But now, coming to ourselves–for we cannot tell, except by marks and
evidences, who are those chosen and who are those specially
redeemed–it may be said that the Lord will give Grace to every
believing soul. If you will put your whole reliance upon the Atonement
of Christ, He will give Grace to you. Though your faith should be so
slender that it seems to you to be nothing but a bruised reed, He will
not break your faith, but He will give you Grace–and though the
spiritual life should seem to be so dim as to be nothing but as smoking
flax, He will not quench it, but will give Grace. If you believe,
though it is with the faith of despondency, you shall have Divine
Grace! If you rest in Christ, though there should be much fear and much
mistrust mingled with your reliance, yet He will give Grace. "'He that
believes and is baptized shall be saved." It says nothing as to how
much he believes, nor how little–"He that calls upon the name of the
Lord shall be saved." It does not say how loud he is to call, but if
his call is never so faint, yet if he does but call, He shall have
Grace! "Him that comes unto Me I will in no wise cast out." It does not
say whether he comes walking, or running, or crawling–if he does but
come–he shall not be cast out! If you believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, then of you it shall be said, "The Lord will give Grace."
The same may be said to every repenting sinner. If you abhor your sin,
if you resolve in God's strength to give it up, if the sweetness has
turned to bitterness, if it is like gravel between your teeth, then He
will give you Grace, for when you are thoroughly sick of sin and self,
then will He give you Grace to joy and rejoice in Christ!
The same shall be said of all those who are prayerful. He will give
Grace to all who seek it with earnest hearts through the Savior. At the
Mercy Seat, whether you are a saint or sinner, if you draw near to God
in sincere prayer, He has already given you some Grace and He will give
you more. Every time that you go to God with true-hearted confidence in
prayer, put this before you emblazoned in letters of gold, "He will
give Grace."
You shall not find that you wait upon God in vain, for He has not said
in secret or dark places of the earth, "Seek you My face in vain." He
will, to every prayerful one, give Grace.
I might continue these instances as to different characters, but rest
assured, dear Friend, if you are a Believer, and you use prayer and
repentance, you shall find His promise true in all your conditions. If
you go forth to work for God, He will give Grace. In the vineyard you
shall find Him furnishing you with tools, yes, and giving you strength
equal to your day. He will give Grace. And if you are laid aside from
active service and made to toss to and fro upon the bed that grows
harder every hour till the skin is broken and the bed becomes a misery,
still He will give Grace. Perhaps you are untried at suffering, but He
will give you Grace. Perhaps you are naturally of an impatient
spirit–wait upon Him–He knows how to bring your spirit down one way
and lift it up another! He will give Grace.
Thus might I continue to take the text from its absolute sense and
apply it to all the characters that are pictured in God's Word as
having a part and lot in the blessedness of salvation–and we may say
of each of these, "He will give Grace."
But to turn the subject a moment, let us ask, What Grace will God give?
He will give all manner of Grace. There is Grace not only in fullness,
but in all variety treasured up in Christ Jesus. As our needs are many,
so the forms in which Grace blesses us are many, and He will give Grace
in all these forms! Do you mourn tonight your ignorance of the deep
things of God? Do you feel yourself to be like a little child studying
His A. B. C. book in God's great school? Then if you want to understand
with all saints what are the heights and breadths, and to know the love
of Christ which passes knowledge, He will give you Grace! He will give
Grace to instruct. He will make you to know even as you are known. He
shall give you His Holy Spirit who shall lead you into all the Truths
of God and take of the things of Christ and show them to you. He will
give instructingGrace!
Perhaps tonight you are in some great dilemma. There is one difficulty
on the right aide and another on the left. There are mountains behind
and the rolling sea in front, and you say, "What shall I do?" "Stand
still and see the salvation of God," for He will give you delivering
Grace. If He does not give you money to fill your purse, He will give
you Grace to help you to bear your poverty. If He does not give you
health to bring you off your sickbed, He will give you Grace to make
your bed in all your suffering, so that you shall bear it and yet
rejoice in the Lord always! He will give Grace. If you will only wait,
you shall have directing Grace. You shall hear a voice near you,
saying, "This is the way; walk you in it." If you will do as David did
when he said, "Bring here the ephod"–that was in order that he might
ask of God's priests what he should do–if you will wait until Christ,
God's great High Priest, takes the sacred Urim and Thummim, He shall be
pleased to send the Light of God into your soul and you shall have
directing Grace to guide you on your way! "He that trusts in his own
heart is a fool, but He that trusts in the Lord, mercy shall compass
him about."
But you need, dear Friends, perhaps at this moment, not so much
instruction and direction as comfort. It may be you are feeling greatly
depressed. Your spirits have sunk very low, indeed. Well, He will give
you Grace. The doctor can give medicine, but God can give Grace! A dram
of Grace is often better than a pound of what the world can give in the
form of cordials. Oh, what blessed revivals of spirit God can give to
His downcast ones!
I think it is one of the delights of the Spirit of God to comfort
mourners. I know it is, for He might, if He had pleased, have taken the
name of The Instructor, and Jesus might have spoken of Him as The
Quickener, but yet it is so blessed to recollect that He did not do so,
but that the name of The Comforter was especially His because we need
most His comfort to strengthen and fortify us for all life's
endurances. We need most the comfort of the Holy Spirit, and that is
His main business, His gracious occupation–that in which He most
delights to act–to comfort all that are tried and mourn!
When a man has many titles, he will naturally choose to be best known
by the one which he likes best. And the Holy Spirit uses this name of
The Comforter, though He has many more names besides. Oh, you, then,
who are troubled and distracted, tossed with tempest and not comforted,
Jesus comes, and He says, "He will give you Grace," and if He does
this, you need not wish to have your trouble removed, but, like Paul,
be quite satisfied with the gracious promise, "My Grace is sufficient
for you."
Possibly, however, dear Friend, you are not troubled tonight. Beware of
that! Be thankful and pray that you may not be. "Lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil." But it is possible that you now
need Grace to lead you to make advances in inward sanctification–and
though this may seem very difficult to you in the position in which you
are placed, and burdened as you are with your inward corruptions, yet
He will give Grace! You have a bad temper? Down with it! "I cannot,"
you say. But He will give Grace. You have a proud spirit. Away with it!
"I cannot conquer it," you say. He will give Grace. You have grown cold
of late and lukewarm–you must be revived–you must recover from this
backsliding. You say, "How?" He will give Grace! Grace is the one thing
that is needed to put the Christian into a healthy state of soul! And
the promise of the Lord which we are using tonight–and repeating so
often in your ears–is just to the point–He will give Divine Grace.
You must never say you cannot be as holy as So-and-So. Never tell me
you cannot grow to be as patient as Job, or as believing as Abraham.
Job received his patience and Abraham received his believing from God!
He is not straitened in His gifts to us. He is as ready to enrich us as
He was to enrich those ancient ones. Go to Him with child-like
confidence, with this in your mouth, "He will give Grace."
Now, it is not possible for me to state the case of everyone of my
Brothers and Sisters now present. You may be lacking in strength or
protection, or you may be needing correction and rebuke–but whatever
your great need, His Grace will meet it and so the promise is suitable
to every one of us, "He will give Grace." Come, you poor Hannah, you
whose lips move in silent prayer because of some very painful domestic
affliction. Tell the Lord what it is! There may be no change in your
circumstances, but oh, if He gives you Grace, it will seem very
different from what it was!
Man of business, you have come here tonight having passed through a
world of trouble during the day. You cannot get it out of your mind and
somehow you cannot see how the Lord can alter it. Well, He may not, but
He will give you Divine Grace and then the difference will be
marvelous!
Thus might I select the trouble of each one, but I am sure that
whatever the wound is, this plaster will just fit it. The world's
comfort is described by one of the Prophets thus, "The bed is shorter
than that a man may stretch himself upon it, and the covering is too
narrow for him to wrap himself in it." Ah, it is not so with my text!
Now, stretch yourselves, you that have big troubles. "He will give
Grace," is a bed quite long enough for you! Now, then, you that are
most naked and deprived of warmth–rap this around you–surely this
will set your soul a glow–"He will give Grace." "All necessary Grace
will God bestow."
Perhaps you are shivering tonight at the thought of the greatest enemy
of all, namely, death! And as you are getting old, perhaps you fear his
approach. Well, but Friend, He will give Grace and though you must die,
yet Grace will enable you to go through the Jordan singing in its
utmost depths, triumphing in the Grace which will surely bring you safe
to the other side! He will give Grace–Grace of all sorts to those who
earnestly seek it.
But now, again–still shifting the kaleidoscope a little–taking the
same thought only putting it in other lights. In what manner will God
give Grace?
Well, dear Friends, He will give it sufficiently. He will give you as
much Grace as you need, though certainly none to spare. Each man shall
have his omer full of manna every day. There shall be no lack in the
Lord's camp! There shall be abundant Grace for abundant temptation or
trial. And for those who are in many trials, there shall be Grace yet
superabundant!
The Lord will give His Grace seasonably. It shall always come just when
we need it–
"He is never before His time, He is never behind."
Whenever your testing or trouble shall come, your Grace shall come,
too, and when you arrive at the spot where you will have to put your
back down to the burden, there shall the Grace be given that will
strengthen your back to bear the load! You shall not meet with
abounding Grace when you do not require it, but just as your days, so
shall your strength be.
God will also send this Grace of His readily. You shall not have to tug
and strain to get it. You shall not have to labor and toil to win it.
It shall drop upon you like honey falling from the comb! It shall come
as freely to you as the water bubbles up from the great spring. He will
be a very present help in time of trouble and be glad to deliver
you–as glad to deliver you as you are to be delivered!
And the Grace shall come to you constantly–not fitfully and only
sometimes, but at all times! By night and by day. God shall never cease
to bless you, for His mercy endures forever–
"At home or abroad, on the land and the sea, As your days shall demand,
shall your strength always be." If the earth should forget the Covenant
which God made for it with the sun and moon. If seedtime and harvest,
and summer and winter should pass away, as they must in the general
conflagration, yet still the mountains may depart and the hills be
removed, but the Covenant of His Grace shall not depart from you! Grace
shall come to you constantly.
But remember one thing. It will come to you mediately, that is to say,
not direct from God immediately, but mediately through Christ. You
shall get your Grace from Him in whom it has pleased the Father that
all fullness should dwell. And, in another sense, you shall get it
mediately through the use of means. "For this will I be enquired of by
the house of Israel, to do it for them." He will give Grace, but you
must pray for it! He will give Grace, but you must search the
Scriptures to find it! He will give Grace, but you must observe Gospel
ordinances–you must not be negligent of Baptism or the Lord's Supper!
He will give Grace, but you must listen to the Word, and hear, and your
souls shall live! He will give Grace, but you must get into communion
with God and draw near to Him–have your times of quiet retirement, of
still meditation, for although the Lord makes the conduit head to flow
unto the marketplace, yet He expects His people to bring their pitchers
there to get them filled! Though He spreads the table, yet He does not
force the food into our mouths! We must come to the table and eat of
the dainties which He has prepared. He is very liberal and gracious.
Oh, be not straitened in yourselves, for you need never be straitened
in Him! So we come back to the text. He will give Grace, but we must
take care that we go to Him for it in His own appointed way.
But now to close upon this first promised blessing, Who isit will give
Grace? This brings us back in a circle to the spot from which we
started. "He will give Grace." Oh, I want so to make each Believer
cling to his God! He will give Grace. You will not get Grace from out
of yourselves! It will never spring up within us apart from God. He
will give Grace. You will not get Grace merely by using the means of
Grace, as some do mechanically and who feel quite satisfied when they
have had their morning prayer, or have been to the public service, if
there is one, and have read their Bible Chapter, and so on, their
hearts being really asleep all the time. No! You must go to God, for it
is He who gives Grace and no one else can! And what a blessing it is
that you do not need anyone to help you to come to Him! You can
approach Him yourselves, through Jesus Christ! And He has promised, not
by a priest, nor by any means of that kind, but by Himself, to give you
Grace, so that you, tonight, who have not any Grace, if you come to
God, you will get it! You will not get it by working and praying, and I
do not know what, all in themselves, but if your mind can get right to
the invisible God and ask Him for Grace, He will give it! Depend upon
it, no man ever did sincerely seek the Grace of God but that, sooner or
later, he had it. A man may be a long time seeking and he may anxiously
look and not discover what he needs, but though the promise tarry, wait
for it–it will come! God is faithful to His promise and He will in due
time answer your prayers, for there it is on record, "He will give
Grace." Do not blot the promise out of your heart, poor Soul, but cling
and hang on to it! As a drowning man clings and hangs on to a plank, so
do you to this Divine assertion, "He will give Grace."
May the Lord apply those remarks, and now let us say a few words upon
the second great promise– II. HE WILL GIVE GLORY.
He will "give Grace and Glory." That word, "and," seems very little as
we hear it. It is nothing but a very common conjunction which is used
so plentifully that it seems to carry no meaning in it at all! But in
this case we would not take ten thousand pounds for these three letters
which make this little word, "and." "The Lord will give Grace and
Glory." Why, He has riveted the two things together–Grace and Glory!
There are many who would like to take that diamond rivet out, but they
cannot. The Lord does not say that He will give Grace and perdition. He
does not say, on the other hand, that He will give Glory without first
giving Grace. He has put the two together–and what God has joined
together let no man put asunder!
If we have Grace, we shall as surely have Glory, for the two are tied
up in one bundle. These are twin stars that shine together and if you
have shared His Grace, then His Glory cannot be denied. Grace shall
flower into Glory as the bulb in the blossom! Grace shall rise as the
fountain and Glory shall be its spreading river!
If we possess the Grace, we shall not perish, but if we have it not, we
must perish and never know the Glory! It is not possible that those
shall be glorified who have not first of all been justified, and then
sanctified–and where Grace does not reign in our hearts we shall not
reign in Heaven!
"He will give Grace and Glory." Now, the Glory that He shall give–oh,
that we had the power to see it and to understand it! Eye has not seen,
the ear has not heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man to
conceive the things which God has prepared for them that love Him! But
He has revealed them unto us by His Spirit, "that we may search all
things, even the deep things of God." We do, therefore, know a little
of what that Glory is. The eye does not, the ear does not, but the
enlightened soul taught of the Spirit of God does know what the Glory
will be. So far as this we know, that the Glory which we who have
obtained Grace are to receive is the Glory of Heaven–whatever Heaven
may be, a place or a state, or both, as is most probable! Whatever may
be meant by the streets of shining gold, the gates of pearl, the walls
of jasper, calcedony, and sapphire. Whatever may be indicated by
crowns, and palms, and harps of gold–whatever may be meant by the
river of the Water of Life and trees that bear twelve manners of
fruits–all this in perfection is the inheritance of those who have
Grace in their hearts! Oh, you shall have the harps, you shall wave the
palms, you shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the
Kingdom of God! If there are degrees in Glory, as some say, yet this
thing is very certain, that the very least of the saints will have
Glory–and I do not see how the very greatest could have more.
The very meanest, the very doorkeepers, if such there should be in the
House of the Lord above, will have Glory! And I am sure we can say of
Heaven that if we may but have the lowest place there, we will bless
the Lord to all eternity! The Glory that God can give is the Glory of
Heaven!
In the next place, it is the Glory of eternity. Eternity! Oh, when we
begin to speak of that word we know not how to speak! Eternity!
Eternity! Eternity! It must expound itself. We are always confusing it
with time, and speak of the "countless ages of eternity" as though
there were any "ages," or could be anything like counting in eternity
at all, which is of unending duration! Now, the Glory which Christ is
to give us will be such a Glory as that. It will never know a pause,
never draw near to a conclusion, never decline and we shall never grow
weary of it–nor will it be weary of us. It is the Glory of eternity!
Further, Brothers and Sisters, we are told by the Lord that the Glory
which He will give to His people is the Glory of Christ "The Glory
which you gave Me I have given them." Can you conceive how glorious
Christ is, not only in His Nature originally, but now that He has
obtained as a reward, a seat upon His Father's Throne and at His
Father's right hand? Brothers and Sisters, whatever Glory Jesus may
have, He will share it with us, when we shall be like He and when we
shall see Him as He is. It is the Glory of Christ!
And hence, to crown all, it is the Glory of the Father Himself, for
Christ partakes in His Father's Glory, and even so shall we! Does not
your heart long and pant to know by actual enjoyment what this Glory
is? Oh, to get away from looking in the mirror and to have a view of
Christ's face! To have the clouds and mists all swept away, and in the
serene atmosphere of Heaven to behold the King in His beauty, and the
land that is very far off!
Why, this Glory is the Glory of perfect nature–spotless, s inless,
incorruptible–a body that can know no weakness, or sickness, or decay!
A soul that will not be capable of temptation, that cannot be fretted
by care, nor distracted by trouble!
It is the Glory of victory. The Glory which God will give His people is
the Glory of bruising Satan under his feet shortly, the Glory of seeing
the arrows and the bow, the sword and the shield of the devil forever
broken in pieces! The Glory of seeing all the hosts of Hell confounded
and put to the blush eternally by everyone of the saints in whom Christ
shall reign forever!
It is the Glory of perfect rest, perfect happiness and perfect
security. It is the Glory of the foot upon the Rock, with the new song
in the mouth and the goings established! It is the Glory of the
blessed. He who knows what it is when the whole soul shall be as full
of happiness as it can hold, shall float, swim, dive and plunge into
seas of heavenly rest! It is when it shall not be possible for a man to
have a wish ungratified, nor a desire unfulfilled! It is where every
power shall find ample employment without weariness, and every passion
shall have full indulgence without so much as a fear of sin–
"Oh, happy hour, oh, blest abode, I shall be near and like my God! And
every power find sweet employ In that eternal world ofjoy!"
Do you not again say, "Why are His chariots so long in coming?" Why do
You delay, Beloved? Be You as a roe or a young hart upon the mountains
of Beza!
And now, to close. The text says, "He will give Glory." So, then,
although Glory is a reward and is often called so, yet still it is a
gift! The rewards of Grace are of Grace. They are not legal rewards
given to us because we deserve them. As one says, Christ first gives
His servants Grace to serve Him, and then rewards them as if they had
served Him in their own strength, though their service, indeed, is His
work in them rather than their work for Him! It is a gift then. There
is not a soul in Heaven that is there by merit. There is not a note of
self-righteousness to mar the song of Free Grace before the Throne of
God! It is all love, undeserved love, love without limit, love to be
extolled throughout eternity!
But it says that He will give Glory. Now, when will He give it? Ah,
would not some of us like to know! If we could get a hold of some
Prophetical work that would tell us when we were, all of us, going to
get this Glory, I am sure we should pay the price with great readiness
and cheerfulness. But we would be very unwise in so doing–and he is
the wisest man who says–
"My God I would not wish to see My fate with curious eyes."
It is enough for you, Christian, that you will have Glory! And I will
tell you one thing–you will have it before seventy year's time. There
is very little probability with any one of you who have grown up to
manhood or womanhood, that there will be a single exception to that
statement! Well, that is not long, and that is the outside! Some of you
will have it very soon. Ah, we should not wonder if it came to you
before this year of Grace has gone that you will have reached the land
of Glory! Others may be spared a little longer, but what is the
difference in the time? It really seems to be no measurement at all.
Life is only a span at the longest, and but a span even at the
shortest–that it is much the same as compared with eternity. When we
do but get to Heaven, we shall wonder that we thought anything about
time at all. An hour with our God will make up for all its troubles.
Yes, I suppose that but one sight of Christ will take away all the
taste of the bitters of life from our mouths forever! We shall wonder
how we ever could have fretted and worried ourselves with such little
things as they were–such insignificant trifles and how these light
afflictions which were but for a moment and are not worthy to be
compared to the eternal weight of Glory–could have exercised such a
depressing influence upon our spirits at times! If we could blush in
Heaven, surely we would blush to think that we have been so impatient
with tarrying a little while here!
When shall we come to this Glory? Well, we shall come to it when our
work is done. We shall not be kept out of the wage a moment after it is
earned. We shall come to Glory when we are ripe for it. When the fruit
is mellow, the farmer will gather it in. Some grow mellow soon, but
some are naturally sour and they need to be long in the mellowing. We
shall get to Heaven when we have really been tried in the furnace till
there is no more need for the trying–when we have passed through the
last crucible and have come out of it wholly sanctified–the process
being complete.
This much we know, that we shall go to Heaven just when God has
purposed it. The devil himself, with all the hosts of Hell, cannot keep
us back a moment longer than that! We shall go there just when Heaven
will be most Heaven to us. We shall go there just when we should have
chosen to go ourselves, if we had had the wisdom of God to choose for
us. We shall go there just when Christ will be ready to welcome us and
when we shall know that He has prepared a place for us. Let us be
patient awhile then. Only let us hang hard upon this gracious promise,
putting the Lord frequently in mind of it, "He will give Grace and
Glory."
Now, Brothers and Sisters, one more remark. If the Lord does give Grace
and Glory to some of your friends, do not quarrel with Him about it. He
said He would, and when He does, why should we complain? Did you ever
see two persons praying against each other? Can you suppose such a
thing as a Believer praying for one thing and Christ praying for
another? Now, listen to them. There is a Believer praying over a
friend, "Oh, God, spare him! Spare him, I pray You, I beseech You I
entreat You! Spare him and let him yet live here." Listen! There is
Christ praying, too, and He says, "Father, I will that they, also,
which You have given Me, should be with Me where I am." The Believer
wants his friends to be with him where he is! But Christ says, "Where I
am." Now, when Christ's prayers and our prayers cross each other in
this way, I put it to you, which shall win? When we pull one way and
Christ pulls the other, what shall our choice be? Surely we shall say,
"Oh, Lord Jesus, I would not compete with You for a moment! No, You
have a dearer claim upon my friend than I have, for You have bought him
with Your precious blood."
It is hard to part, but let them go! If He has given your dear
children, or your friends, or your partners in life, Grace now, when He
proceeds to give them Glory you may weep, for, "Jesus wept," but you
must not murmur, for that would be to deny Christ's claim to what He
has purchased with His own precious blood!
Oh, that all of you had Grace that you might all have Glory! Do not
hope for Glory without Grace, but Jesus is willing to give it. Whoever
trusts Him shall receive it. May it be the portion of us all, for
Jesus' sake. Amen.