Heaven Below
(No. 1800)
A SERMON DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 21, 1884,
BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
"They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the
sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of
the throne shall feed them and shall lead them unto living fountains of
waters." Revelation 7:16,17.
LET us think of this happiness, that we may be comforted in the
prospect of it. All this is already enjoyed by tens of millions of the
redeemed! Some of those who were very dear to us on earth, whose faith
we desire to follow, are now forever with the Lord and this is their
joyful portion–"They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat." Our comfort lies in
the sweet reflection that we are journeying to this goodly land! This
Divine inheritance is ours–we have the seal of the Holy Spirit upon
our title deeds–we have tasted of the grapes of its Eshcol and we
already rejoice in the light and warmth of its celestial city to which
we draw near! In a little time we shall be actually within the gate of
pearl and shall know, in an instant, infinitely more of its glory than
an Apostle could teach us here below. We are like one who has, in his
hands, the guidebook of a country to which he is journeying–he finds
in it fair pictures of the scenery of the land and the architecture of
the cities–and as he reads each page, he says to himself, "I am going
there! This is what I shall soon behold!"
It would be a wretched thing to have such a book in one's hands and to
be entering upon a lifelong banishment from home and the home country!
Then would we have to say, "This was my country, once, but I shall
never see it again. Fair are its skies and lovely are its vales, but my
eyes shall ache in vain to gaze upon them. I am exiled forever from my
own dear land!" It is not so with us who are believers in Christ–our
faces are towards Immanuel's land, the land which flows with milk and
honey, and we have a portion among the blessed–a mansion is being made
ready for each one of us and we have this promise–"Go your way till
the end: for you shall rest and stand in your lot at the end of the
days." Rejoice, then, Beloved, for if your portion on earth is slender,
if your condition here is sorrowful, if your trials multiply, if your
strength declines, yet it is but a little while and He that will come
shall come and shall not tarry!
Well does our hymn tell us that–
"An hour with our Lord will make up for it all." We shall forget the
pains of a long life in a half-hour of the vision of the Well-Beloved!
Comfort one another with these words! Look before you. It is brightness
beyond though it is darkness here. Anticipate your sure reward, it
comes with all speed. I speak but the sober truth–it seems but a day's
journey from this spot to the heavenly highlands! It is so little a
while since I was a boy and yet, in less space, I shall be with God! It
seems but a few days to you who are aged people since you climbed your
mother's knee and yet, in far less time you will behold the face of
your soul's Bridegroom! Then all trouble will be ended and eternal joy
will crown your head!
But I want you to do, this morning, and, by God's Grace I think we
shall accomplish it, a little more than receive comfort. I long that we
may "sit together in the heavenlies" even now. It seems to me that this
world, if Christians lived as they should, would become a nether
Heaven. The true Christian life, when we live near to God, is the rough
draft of the life of full communion above! We have seen the artist draw
with his pencil, or with his charcoal, a bare outline of his picture.
It is nothing more, but still, one could guess what the finished
picture will be from the sketch before you. One acquainted with the
artist could see upon the canvas all the splendor of color peeping
through the dark lines of the pencil.
Now, I want you, today, to see "the patterns of things in the heavens."
We have much of Heaven here–at any rate, we have the Lamb who is the
Glory of the Eternal City! We have the Presence of Him that sits upon
the Throne of God among us, even now! We have, if not the perfect
holiness of Heaven, yet a justification quite as complete as that of
the glorified! We have the "white robes," for, "the blood of the Lamb"
has washed them even now! And if we have not yet the palm branches of
final victory, yet, thanks be to God, we are led in triumph in every
place–and even now, "this is the victory that overcomes the world,
even our faith." Therefore–
"I would begin the music here,
And so my soul should rise!
Oh, for some heavenly notes to bear
My passions to the skies."
Our voices are not clear as yet–they are half-choked with the fogs and
smoke of earth. They will be perfectly attuned before long! At any
rate, let us go over the notes, and if we cannot reach to the full
melody of the heavenly music, yet let us run up and down the scale and
try some easy passages. Come, let us worship, adore and rejoice, as our
departed ones are doing, and thus enjoy some of "the days of Heaven
upon the earth." That shall be my drift this morning, as the Holy
Spirit shall instruct me.
I. Keeping to the text, however, I want to speak, first, of THE
PERFECTION OF THE PROVISION which is enjoyed in Heaven–"They shall
hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on
them, nor any heat." This is the perfection of the provision.
I must, by your permission, go a little further back to make my
description of this provision more complete. Notice the last sentence
of the 15th verse–"He that sits on the throne shall dwell among them."
In the reading we interpreted, according to the Revised Version, which
gives a more correct rendering–"He that sits on the throne shall
spread His tabernacle over them." The glorified dwell under the shadow
of God! It is for this reason that, "the sun shall not light on them,
nor any heat," because they dwell in God. Oh, what a dwelling place
that will be! You and I are often like Noah's dove, sent out flying
over a weary waste and finding no rest for the soles of our feet–but
they dwell in the ark forever! We go in and out and find pasture, but
in that going in and out we are sometimes troubled. Up yonder they "go
no more out forever," but eternally behold the face of the King and
forever dwell at God's right hand where there are pleasures
forevermore!
Oh what a joy this must be in Heaven, to be always within the circle of
the eternal Presence, which is always seen, always unclouded, always
enjoyed! Such a dwelling means transformation, for none can dwell with
God but those who are like He–free from sin and perfect in holiness.
We cannot abide in God forever unless we are like He and this, in
itself, is boundless bliss. The abiding in the outspread pavilion of
Jehovah will certify a similarity of sanctity and purity between the
redeemed and the great Father who becomes their dwelling place. The
Lord shall tabernacle over His glorified people–He shall be their
eternal home!
Next we are assured that they shall have no necessities. "They shall
hunger no more." To be supplied when we hunger is the mercy of
earth–never to hunger at all is the plenitude of Heaven! God shall so
fill the souls of His redeemed that they shall have no longings–their
longings shall be prevented by their constant satisfaction! That which
they enjoy will be more than they ever desired to enjoy, or ever
imagined that they could be capable of enjoying! Imagination's utmost
height never reached to the exceeding bliss and glory of the world to
come. The saints confess in Glory that it never entered into their
hearts to guess what God had prepared for them that love Him! Heaven
shall exceed all the desires of God's people–they shall not, even with
their enlarged capacities, be able to wish for anything which they do
not already possess–so that they shall hunger no more in the sense
that they shall never pant for more than they have.
They shall have done with the desires which it is right for them to
have here–desires which intimate their present imperfection. Here it
is their duty and privilege to long after perfection, to be sighing and
crying for a perfect deliverance from every shade of sin. But they
shall not sigh and cry for this in Heaven, for they shall be without
fault before the Throne of God! None of them shall cry, "O wretched man
that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" This, on
earth, is one of the most deeply spiritual of cries–only heard from
those whose sanctification is greatly advanced. None have ever uttered
that bitter exclamation but men like Paul, to whom the slightest speck
of sin has a horror about it akin to death, itself!
Fanatical persons talk about being perfect–it is the talk of blind
men! But those whose eyes have seen the Lord, abhor themselves and sigh
and cry over what other men call failures, mistakes and infirmities. To
them their heart-sins and unseen faults are things to weep over! They
have sharp hunger and piercing thirst after complete likeness to
Christ. This likeness the saints possess only before the Throne of
God–and they shall not thirst any more, even after this best and most
desirable of attainments, since they shall enjoy it to the fullest!
Beloved, observe that as they have no kind of hunger, so they have also
no measure of thirst. That is to say, they have no needs, no
unsatisfied wishes of any sort. In whatever form a need might approach
them, it is excluded, for both hunger and thirst are shut out. Oh,
Brothers and Sisters, it has been blessed to hunger and thirst after
righteousness–what must that higher blessedness be which rises above
even these holy desires! We have wishes, here, which ought not to be
gratified–these occasion us our sharpest pangs of hunger–but there we
shall never know an unlawful wish, a wandering desire, or even an
unwise longing. We shall have all things that a renewed heart can
enjoy! All that our perfected nature can yearn after, we shall
possess–there shall be no unsatisfied craving of our manhood, neither
our risen body nor our sanctified spirit shall be moved to hunger or
thirst after any evil, for there shall be nothing about us which has a
tendency that way. The provision made for us shall be so absolutely
complete that before we can desire any good thing, we shall find it!
Before we know a need, we shall have enjoyed the supply! This is
wonderful! Yes, but all I can tell you is not half of the truth!
Further, as we read, we discover a third blessing, namely, that every
overpowering influence is tempered–"Neither shall the sun light on
them." What if by that, "sun," is meant the full Glory of God! If you
and I could be introduced into the Divine Presence at once and as we
are, the first result upon us must be a swoon and the second must be
death! We are not able to endure the blaze of Deity as yet–its Glory
would cause a sunstroke to the soul! We might well cry with good Mr.
Walsh, "Hold, Lord! Hold! Remember I am but an earthen vessel and I
cannot as yet hold much of You." We are not prepared to endure the Lord
as our Sun in meridian splendor! In Heaven they are able to endure the
immediate Presence of God, not only because of the Mediatorship of
Christ, through whom the Glory of God shines with tempered splendor
upon the saints, but also because they, themselves, are strengthened.
From all this earthly grossness, they are enabled to stand in that
Light of God to which no mortal man can now approach. To us, even, "our
God is a consuming fire" while we are here. But in the saints there
remains nothing to consume. The Light of God is not too bright for eyes
that Christ has touched with Heaven's own eye salve! The vision of the
Infinite is not too glorious for those whom the Lord has prepared to be
with Him and to see His face! What John of Pat-mos could not bear, the
weakest saint in Heaven can endure–not for an hour, but for the whole
stretch of eternity! Blessed, indeed, are they who shall behold the
King in the ivory palaces above!
When it is added, "Nor any heat," we learn that injurious influences
shall cease to operate. By our surroundings here, we are troubled with
many heats. The very comforts of life, like warm weather, tend to dry
us up. A man may have gold; a man may have health; a man may have
prosperity and honor till he is withered like the heath in the desert
in the day of drought. Unless a dew from the Lord shall rest upon the
branch of the prosperous, he will be parched, indeed! We have need of
Grace whenever God gives us blessings of a temporal kind. But no heat
of that sort shall happen to saints in Heaven–they can be rich,
honored, perfectly beautiful and yet under no temptation to
self-exaltation! Here the heats which are around us tend to fever us.
Our fellow men grow hot about this and that–the pursuit of wealth, the
triumph of party politics, the honor of a family and so forth–and we
are all too apt to feel the common condition.
Within ourselves, heats arise–unhealthy and unholy heats. We cannot go
through this plague-smitten world altogether unscathed. Every now and
then we return to our quiet chamber and feel that we have
sickened–sickened in the company wherein we have tarried for an
hour–sickened, even, in contact with those whom we sought to bless. Up
yonder no fever shall burn the hearts of the glorified! Traveling
through the wilderness of this world, all of a sudden the hot sirocco
of worldliness sweeps over us, laden with the burning dust of the
desert, bearing death beneath its wings. Only God can keep us in that
evil hour–only as we lie on our faces before Him can we hope to
outlive the blast. Many are the temptations of this life. Some of them
soft and deceptive, others fierce and terrible. But up yonder no
sirocco shall ever blow and the inhabitant shall no more say, "I am
sick."
See, then, the perfect provision which is made by Christ for His saints
above, and listen while we try to show that this same provision, in a
modified way, lies at our hands even now. Come, Beloved, do we not
dwell in God? Do we not sing,
"Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations"? If any of
you Believers have wandered away from your resting place, whose fault
is that? Has not the Lord given you Himself to be your perpetual
Pavilion? Has not Jesus said, "Abide in Me"? Have you not sung in that
sweet 23rd Psalm, "I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever"? What
more do you need? The Lord has spread His tabernacle over you–abide
under the shadow of the almighty!
Whenever you dwell in God and the Lamb feeds you, do you not also
realize that next expression, "they shall hunger no more"? Can you not
sing when Christ is with you and you dwell in God–
"I thirst, but not as once I did,
The vain delights of earth to share!
Your wounds, Immanuel, all forbid
That I should seek my pleasures there.
It was the sight of Your dear Cross
First weaned my soul from earthly things
And taught me to esteem as dross,
The mirth of fools and pomp of kings." A child of God in communion with
Christ would not lift his finger to possess a world, nor wink his eye
to see all the pomp of kings, nor move a step to enjoy all the honors
of rank nor rise from sitting at Jesus' feet to learn all the wisdom of
philosophy. He is already filled–what more can he have? The best of
the best has fallen to his portion and shall he change it? No! Like the
olive tree, he says, "Should I leave my fatness and go to be promoted
over the trees?" And with the fig, he cries, "Should I forsake my
sweetness and go to be promoted over the trees?" He that eats of the
bread which Jesus gives him shall hunger no more! The husks of carnal
joy have no attractions to the son who banquets at his father's table.
"Neither shall they thirst any more." They shall feel that the Lord
Jesus is such an all-satisfying, all-sufficient portion that their
desires can go no further. I have sped across the sea with flying
sails, bidding each gale send me according to its will, hoping that I
might somewhere find a port. Restlessly have I hastened to and fro and
been tossed up and down, the sport of every wave. My spirit has sped on
and on through fair and foul, never abiding long in one place. Happily
there came a day when I found a fair haven! Down went my anchor–it
took fast hold and held my boat. Under the lee of Calvary I found rest!
Now blow, you winds, or cease to blow as shall best please you! I stir
not out to sea again. In the fair haven of the love of God in Christ
Jesus shall my spirit abide forever!
If we could but reach this resolve, dear Brothers and Sisters, and hold
to it, we should have no more anxieties and longings and we also would
hunger no more, neither thirst any more. And then how blessedly true it
is to those who dwell in God and live near to Jesus that now the sun
does not light on them. God, in His infinite majesty and holiness, does
not overwhelm us–
"Till God in human flesh I see, My thoughts no comfort find. The holy,
just and sacred Three Are terrors to my mind. But if Immanuel's face
appears All hope, my joy begins! His love forbids my slavish fear, His
Grace removes my sins."
What a blessing it is to see God in Christ and to rejoice in Him! And,
now, Beloved, if you are being daily fed by Jesus and are dwelling in
God, the light of the sun, as to temporal prosperity, will do you no
harm! You may be rich, but you will not trust in uncertain riches. You
may be famous, but you will be as humble as if you were obscure. You
may be learned, but you will sit at Jesus' feet. You may be indulged
with all kinds of worldly prosperity and yet these things will not
prove a snare unto you. "Neither shall the sun light on them, nor any
heat."
Those who dwell in God are no longer parched with inward heat. We
notice people of God who are anxious and fretful–and cause a great
deal of misery for people round them by always worrying, fidgeting and
being in a state of nervous excitement. But holy souls, who abide in
Christ, take everything calmly. You can remember such persons, both men
and women–whatever happened, they remained unmoved, patient and
cheerful. Great losses came in the course of business, but the Brother
did not lose his balance. Sad bereavements came, but the Sister did not
repine. If the Believer en-
dured a sharp affliction, his chief concern was that the Lord would
sanctify it to him–if people persecuted or slandered him, he was not
surprised, for he expected to be hated by the world when he became a
follower of Jesus.
If he prospered, he did not get into a heat of pride and begin to crow
over everybody else like a cock on his dunghill. In patience he
possessed his soul. God's good gift of the Holy Spirit comforted and
strengthened him. He could say, "My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is
fixed: I will sing and give praise." "Neither shall the sun light on
them, nor any heat." How much of mischief comes to the human body
through its heats! The doctor looks hopeful when our blood grows cool,
again, and the fever ceases. The best cure for the fever of the soul is
to be made to dwell under the shadow of the Almighty and to be fed by
the Lord Jesus Christ–for that sacred shadow and that health-giving
food prevent the burning sickness from coming near the chosen of the
Lord. "He that dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide
under the shadow of the Almighty. You shall not be afraid for the
terror by night, nor for the arrows that fly by day; nor for the
pestilence that walks in darkness; nor for the destruction that wastes
at noonday. A thousand shall fall at your side and ten thousand at your
right hand; but it shall not come near you." Safe, calm, happy, restful
shall you be–your soul shall dwell at ease and with the meek you shall
inherit the earth.
"Ah," somebody says, "you are setting us up an exceedingly high
standard." I am setting up a standard to which multitudes of God's
people have attained and to which I would have you all attain! If this
blessed bribe of Heaven below does not make you ambitious to rise to
this level, what more shall I say? It is for your own profit and for
God's Glory that you should not rest content short of this. Rise from
the dust, my Brothers and Sisters! Ascend to the hill of the Lord and
stand in His holy place! Abide in Christ! Feed upon Christ and then all
this shall be yours, today and throughout life! So much for the
perfection of the provision.
II. Now give me your heart's attention while I touch a noble string,
and that is–THE DESCRIPTION OF THE PROVIDER. "For the Lamb which is in
the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto
living fountains of waters." You see, this is the reason for all the
provision and enjoyment–the verse begins with the word, "For,"
signifying that this is the cause of all the happiness of the
blessed–that the Lamb feeds and leads them!
Who is this that feeds them? It is the Lamb. I wish it were possible
for me to communicate to you the enjoyment my own soul has had in
meditating upon this blessed word, "The Lamb," as it stands in this
connection. Does it not teach us, first, that our comfort and life must
come from our Incarnate Savior–the Lamb? The expression is very
peculiar–it is a figure and no figure–a mixed metaphor, and yet most
plain and clear! It is written, "The Lamb shall shepherd them." This is
an accurate interpretation. How is that? A shepherd–and that Shepherd
a Lamb! Here is the Truth of God which the words contain–He that
saves, is a Man like ourselves. He that provides for His people is,
Himself, one of them– "For which cause He is not ashamed to call them
brethren."
A lamb is a member of the flock, but in this case the Lamb is the
Shepherd of the flock–a Shepherd who is also a Lamb must be the most
tender shepherd conceivable, the most sympathetic and brotherly
guardian that can be! When a man is shepherd to sheep, he should be
compassionate, but he cannot be so tender as if he actually partook of
their nature. In our case, our Shepherd is, to the fullest, a partaker
of our nature–we are men and our shepherd is a Man. Beloved, our
soul's support, our spiritual meat lies in this–that the Son of God is
a partaker of flesh and blood and is one of ourselves! He that sits
upon the Throne of God is our kinsman, a sharer in our nature, a
brother born of adversity– why, surely this heavenly Truth is manna
from Heaven, the food of saintly souls! The Lamb is our hope, our
comfort, our honor, our delight, our glory!
Does it not mean more than that? "The Lamb" surely refers to sacrifice.
Only run your eyes back a verse or two and you have the key of the
expression, "they that washed their robes and made them white in the
blood of the Lamb." He, then, that feeds His people in Heaven is the
Sacrifice, the Atonement, the Expiation. In Heaven they glory in the
Cross. Each one sings, "He loved me and gave Himself for me." The
glorified drink the deepest draughts of delight from the fact that God
was made flesh and that, in human flesh, He offered perfect expiation
for human guilt. Brothers and Sisters, these two fountains are here as
well as there! Come, let us drink of them! Let us prevent our thirst by
the water of the well of Bethlehem and by streams from the smitten
rock!
Still, there is a third meaning which must not be overlooked. "The
Lamb" must refer to the meekness of character, the lowliness and
condescension of the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus Christ on earth was
"led as a lamb to the slaughter." He was "meek and lowly in heart." He
walked up and down among men, the Friend of sinners, the Lover of
little chil-
dren, the Companion of the poor and, today, He is not otherwise than He
was on the earth! Though Heaven adores Him, He is still as
compassionate and condescending as He was in the days of His flesh–and
this is why He can feed His people so well both here and in Heaven.
I beg you to dwell upon that word, "Lamb," till you feed upon it with
your whole souls. Jesus has joined Himself to His flock–"As the
children are partakers of flesh and blood, He, also, Himself, likewise
took part of the same." As surely as He is God, He is also Man, indeed
and of a truth–not in semblance, but in reality–
"Itis my sweetest comfort, Lord,
And will forever be,
To muse upon the gracious truth
Of Your humanity.
Oh, joy! There sits in our flesh,
Upon a throne of light,
One of a human mother born,
In perfect Godhead bright!
Forever God, forever Man,
My Jesus shall endure
And fixed on Him, my hope remains
Eternally secure."
He is also our Sacrifice–"The Lamb slain from the foundation of the
world." What rest came unto our hearts when we first understood the
meaning of that word–"Behold the Lamb of God which takes away the sin
of the world"! Continue to behold Him and all your feverish heats will
be abated–and your hunger and thirst of spirit will be done.
Jesus is so meek and lowly, as I have said, that you may approach Him
at all times, and He will manifest Himself to you. He is tender and
gentle, and never makes Himself strange unto His own flesh. Sitting at
His feet you shall find rest unto your soul. "Neither shall the sun
light on you, nor any heat."
The Character of our Lord, then, brings our spirit all that it needs.
But this is not all–the text speaks of "the Lamb which is in the midst
of the throne" as feeding them. Think of that, the Lamb in the midst of
the Throne of God! Can you put these two things together–a Sacrifice
and a Throne? That same Savior who opened His veins that He might
cleanse us from sin now wears the imperial purple of the universe! He
that stooped to be made sin for us is now Supreme Sovereign, King of
kings and Lord of lords! Think of that and be comforted. Our
Representative is glorified! Our Covenant Head, our second Adam, is in
the midst of the Throne of God! God the Father has exalted the Mediator
to the place of power and honor and rule. Our Savior has all power in
Heaven and in earth!
Sometimes when I think of my great King and Captain exalted to so
glorious an estate, I feel that it matters nothing what becomes of me,
His poor follower. The sun of persecution smites not when He is seen as
God over all, blessed forever! Hunger is not hunger and pain is not
pain for such a loved One! In blissful sympathy with the unutterable
delights of Jesus, we are happy at our worst, feeling that if Christ is
rich, we are not poor. And if Christ is happy, we are not disappointed.
His victory is our victory! His Glory is our glory! Feel this union
with your enthroned Lord and you will begin to be in Heaven!
Yet further, remember that when we read of "the Lamb which is in the
midst of the throne," it must mean that our Redeemer is the most
conspicuous of persons. In the forefront of the Throne of God is Jesus!
He is seen of angels. He is continually beheld with wonder by all the
servants of our God. The sovereignty of God, His royal power, His
eternal majesty are at the back of Christ to sustain His cause and make
His name illustrious. He must reign! Every eye must see Him, every knee
must bow to Him and every tongue must call Him Lord to the glory of God
the Father! He shall have all enemies under His feet and shall be
extolled, exalted and be very high. My heart rejoices to remember this
fact in this cloudy and dark day! Though our modern thinkers sneer at
the Gospel and skeptics scoff at the doctrine of the Nazarene. Though
all manner of scorn is poured upon our holy faith, yet the Lord has set
His Son upon His holy hill and He is there with Him to secure His
everlasting dominion, despite the assaults of men and devils!
In all this I see the choicest food for the flock of God. To them Jesus
speaks from the Throne and uses, today, words like those which He spoke
on earth. "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good
pleasure to give you the king-
dom." Out of Glory He says, "To Him that overcomes will I grant to sit
with Me on My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My
Father on His throne."
The, "midst of the throne," seems to signify, also, that Jesus has
become the very center of all things. "Unto Him shall the gathering of
the people be." He is lifted up and all men are drawn to Him. He is the
great central sun and all other lights revolve about Him. He is the
heart of the eternal purpose, the hinge of history and the climax of
Revelation! He reigns in the midst of Heaven, even as at this day upon
earth He is in the midst of two or three who are met together in His
name. Our joy is like that of the just made perfect. In this delight we
unite with the general assembly and Church of the firstborn. Jesus, on
the Throne of God, is to our hearts and songs the central Person–and
the Center shall never be removed, neither shall the gathering of His
people be scattered!
Thus you see who it is that feeds the saints in Heaven and I desire you
to feel that if you are to be fed and comforted here below, it must be
by the same great Shepherd of the sheep, in the same Character. There
are no stores for you other than those which are in the hands of Jesus,
in whom all fullness dwells! There are no comforts for you except as
they are given from the Throne of God where the Lamb is reigning! Turn
away, my Brothers and Sisters, turn away from all the frothy novelties
of modern thought and the vain inventions of man–and behold the crown
of your adorable Lord, the Lamb of God's Passover–the Lamb who shall
overcome all the powers of evil and stand in the midst of the Throne of
God!
Dwell on the literal, historical Incarnation of the Son of God! Believe
in His literal death, in His actual Substitution, His complete and
perfect Atonement! Dwell on His rising from the dead and His ascent to
the right hand of God–and never doubt that He is now the supreme
object of Heaven's adoration, the Lord of all things that are or shall
be, sure and certain to be in the latter days exalted above all
principalities and powers and every name that is named! If we can but
live on these Truths of God and delight ourselves in them, we shall
hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on
us, nor any heat–and even here we shall find living fountains of water
and tears shall be wiped from our eyes.
III. I finish by giving only a hint or two upon the third point. That
is to say–THE MANNER OF THIS PROVIDING. We have considered the
provision in its perfection and the Provider in His glorious Character.
Now let us see how this provision is given to the saints in Heaven, for
in the same manner is it brought to us. In two ways the saints in
Heaven enjoy it–the Lamb that is in the midst of the Throne feeds them
and leads them. Go over this, and think, first, of the feeding of them.
The Greek word is, "shall shepherdize them." In Heaven, Jesus is a
Shepherd ruling over all His flock with a happy, genial, sympathetic
sovereignty to which they yield prompt and glad obedience. There the
Lord Jesus cares for His people immediately and personally. He Himself
bestows upon them all that they require.
Here He has under-shepherds and He hands out the food by our poor
instrumentality and, alas, sometimes we are found incapable, or
forgetful and the flock is not fed–but it is never so in Heaven–for
the Lamb Himself maintains the pastorate and acts the Shepherd in a
manner which none of us can emulate. What says the Prophet Micah? "And
He shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of
the name of the Lord, His God; and they shall abide: for now shall He
be great unto the ends of the earth" (5:4).
All else of care and feeding that saints can require in Glory is in
Christ. I know not what it may be, but this I do know, that while they
worship Him, He cares for them. He is among them as the Chief Shepherd,
at whose appearing the under-shepherds shall appear with Him in Glory.
Up yonder Jesus still communes with them very closely, else were it not
written, "The Lamb shall feed them." I remind you, again, of what we
have said–He feeds them, therefore He is their Shepherd. Yet it is the
Lamb that feeds them, therefore He is one with them–as if He fed with
them–as if their food was His food and His food their food and they
were one with Him in all respects! What must fellowship with Christ be
in Heaven! I confess I have sometimes had, and many of you have had,
such communion with Jesus here that if I could but have continued to
enjoy it, it would not have concerned me the turning of a penny whether
I were here or among the angels, for it was bliss enough for me to be
with Jesus!
But, oh! When we shall have enlarged our capacities. When our
understanding shall have been cleared, our affections purified and all
our manhood shall be made innocent and Christ-like, what must it be,
then, to behold His Glory, to commune with Him, to lean our head upon
His bosom, to bask in His love and to feel our hearts on fire with love
in return! Oh to be with Him forever–to see no intervening cloud! To
feel no wandering wish, no thought of future declen-
sion, no possibility of grieving Him by sin! What must it be, to be
forever one with Him in Glory! That is bliss above conception! He
shepherdizes them–He Himself does it and, therefore, they are
supremely blessed!
Now do you not think we can enjoy some of this today? Do you question
it? What does the 10th of John mean, if Jesus is not the Good Shepherd
of His sheep at this day? Read it through when you get home. What does
the 23rd Psalm mean? Is that a Psalm for another world, or for this?
Does it not say, "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes
me to lie down in green pastures: He leads me beside the still waters"?
Why, one would think, from the look of your doubtful faces, that it ran
thus–"The Lord has forgotten to be my shepherd. He has given me over
to the wolf. He has driven me into a wilderness and left me among the
dark mountains. I perish in a dry and thirsty land, where there is no
water"! It is not so! We must not think it so, for even here our great
Lord is our Shepherd and He cares for each one of the flock.
Then it is added, "He shall lead." That is another work of the
Shepherd, to lead His flock–"He leads them to living fountains of
waters." You may read it, "He shall guide them to fountains of waters
of life"–it is but a variation of the same thought. Now, even in
Heaven, the holy ones need guiding–and Jesus leads the way. While He
is guiding, He points out to His people the secret founts and fresh
springs which, as yet, they have not tasted. As eternity goes on, I
have no doubt that the Savior will be indicating fresh delights to His
redeemed. "Come here," He says to His flock, "here are yet more flowing
streams." He will lead them on and on, by the century, yes, by the
millennium, from glory unto glory, onward and upward in growing
knowledge and enjoyment! Continually will He conduct His flock to
deeper mysteries and higher glories!
Never will the inexhaustible God who has given Himself to be the
portion of His people ever be fully known, so that there will eternally
be sources of freshness and new delight, and the Shepherd will continue
to lead His flock to these living fountains of water. He will guide
them–
"'From glory unto glory,' that ever lies before Still widening,
adoring, rejoicing more and more, Still following where He leads, from
shining field to field, Himself our goal of glory, Revealer and
Revealed!" He will also cause them to drink of the river of His
pleasures so that they shall be full of bliss. Can we not grasp a
little of this today? If we will but follow Christ, we may drink of the
water which He freely gives to all who believe in Him, even as He gave
to the woman of Samaria. "I cannot see any joy," cries one. No, but
Jesus will lead you to it! "Oh, but I read my Bible this morning and I
did not get anything from it." That may be, but if Jesus had been there
and led you to the fountain, you would have been refreshed!
How the texts open up when Jesus touches them! You are like Hagar–you
have laid your child down among the shrubs to die. You are perishing of
thirst and yet if you would but listen, you might hear the splash of
the falling waters just behind you! You only need the Lord to speak and
open your eyes and you will see rich supplies, for the living fountain
is near at hand. Go to the Savior today, and say, "Lord, lead me to
living fountains of water. I drank years ago and I have been drinking
all along, but Lord I need deeper draughts! I desire to know more and
love more." Jesus will lead you! He will do it now and when He does,
you will realize to the fullest how similar this earth may be to Heaven
above!
Let us commit ourselves like sheep to our great Shepherd! Come, you
wanderers, return to the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls! You that
have been in Him these many years and fed in His pastures, come near to
Him and follow Him yet more closely and your eyes shall be opened to
see new rivers of delight where all seemed dry! You shall find in the
valley of Baca a well–and drinking of it you shall go from strength to
strength, till every one of you in Zion appears before God! How long
will it be, O Ever-Blessed One, till we behold You? Even now the day
breaks!