The General Convocation Around Mount Zion

DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 5, 1882,

BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"Butyou are come unto mountZion, and unto the city of the living God,
the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the
general assembly and church of the first-born, which are written in
Heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men
made perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the
blood of sprinkling, that speaks better things than that of Abel."
Hebrews 12:22-24.

THE whole passage will be considered, but our special central text will
be verse twenty-three– "To the general assembly and church of the
first-born, which are written in Heaven." Paul is displaying the
superiority of the New Covenant to the old. He tells us what Israel,
after the flesh, came to at their best in the morning hours of the Law
and what the first-born after the Spirit have come to under the Gospel.
He pictures the great assembly of the chosen people round about Mount
Sinai and then His Inspired mind describes an infinitely larger and
happier gathering, to which all Believers have come, around Mount Zion.
Not only the Hebrews to whom he was writing, but all the people of God
are gathered together in one general assembly, of which the blessed God
is the center. Paul shows us the joyful difference between the two
gatherings and the feelings and pursuits of those who compose them.

What we shall need, this morning, is a little careful attention to the
deep meaning of the text and an intensely earnest desire to actually
enter into the enjoyment of the privileges which are herein set before
us. Our text contains an incalculable wealth of meaning–it is written
according to God's riches in Glory by Christ Jesus. Surely it was
written as with a pen of diamond upon plates of gold set with jewels!
May God, by His Grace, lead us fully into it. We would not only speak
of privilege as possible, but would say with Paul, "We are come unto
it." As surely as we are not come to the terrors of the Law, so surely
we are come to the blessings of the Gospel!

Read in verse 18, "You are not come," and then in verse 22, "But you
are come." We do not only hear of Zion and her festivities, but we are
come to them! We do not merely know the letter of the Gospel, but we
have come into the inner and spiritual meaning of it by personal
enjoyment. "We are come." I would ring out those words as a sort of
musical accompaniment to the Truths of God uttered. All through the
sermon let our hearts rejoicingly say, "We are come!" "We are come!" We
have obtained, by faith, all that which is set before us in the text!

I. First, I want to set out, as I may be able, A CONTRAST PRESENTED IN
THE ENTIRE PASSAGE which we have read–a contrast between the economy
of Law and the economy of Grace. Every good thing is enhanced in value
by its opposite. Light is all the brighter to eyes which have wept in
darkness. Food is all the sweeter after you have known hunger. And Zion
is all the fairer because of Sinai. The contrast between Free Grace and
Law makes Grace appear the more precious to minds that have known the
rigor of the Commandments.

The contrast presented here is sevenfold. It may be that the idea of
this sevenfold contrast first occurred to Bengel, that prince of
critics, but I have ventured to differ from his form of it and I hope
that in so doing I have set forth the contrast as to the seven things
more clearly than he has done, so that even the humblest here will
catch each point and retain each contrast in his memory. Notice the
contrasts. First, as to place (v. 18), "You are not come unto the mount
that might be touched." Verse 22–"but you are come unto mount Zion,
and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem." Behold
Sinai with its rugged crags–scarcely had a human foot ever trod it,
perhaps, until that hour in which Jehovah descended upon it in
splendor–it had remained a virgin peak which the foot of man had never
polluted.

There was no habitation of man upon it, neither did it yield pasture
for flocks. The Mount of God stood out in terrible sublimity against
the sky, holding communion with the stars, but refusing to deal with
men. It was sublime, but stern and tempest-beaten. God came upon Sinai
with His Law and the dread mountain became a type of what the Law would

be to us. It has given us a grand idea of holiness, but it has not
offered us a pathway thereto, nor furnished a weary heart with a
resting place, nor supplied a hungry soul with spiritual food. It can
never be the place where congregated multitudes erect a city for
themselves and a Temple for the living God–it is not the shrine
offellowship, but the throne of authority and justice.

The Jews under the Law had that stern hill for their center and they
compassed it about with pale countenances and trembling knees. We
gather to quite another center, even unto the palace-crowned steep of
Zion. There David dwelt of old and there David's Lord revealed Himself.
The hill of Zion rose above the city of Jerusalem and the two,
together, formed the favored spot where Jehovah deigned to dwell in
solemn state in the midst of His chosen nation–"For the Lord has
chosen Zion; He has desired it for His habitation." There the service
of His sanctuary was carried on and around it clustered all the palaces
of Judah and the habitations of the chosen people. It was called "the
City of Vision" and the City of Peace. God dwelt in the midst of her
and, therefore, she was not moved.

"Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth is Mount Zion."
"God is known in her palaces for a refuge." "God shall help her, and
that right early." This is a type of the dispensation in which the Lord
comes to man in a vision of peace and manifests Himself in forgiving
Grace. The Lord dwells with men in the Person of the Man, Christ Jesus,
and we come to Him and find our habitation in Him in all generations.
Even as the sparrow has found a house and the swallow a nest for
herself, where she may lay her young, so do we come to dwell at the
altars of God, in the city which His Grace has founded and His power
has garrisoned.

The places in their contrast are full of teaching. This mountain that
might not be touched, we are told, in the next place, "burned with
fire." God made the mountain melt and flow down. The Lord also
thundered in the heavens and the Highest gave His voice–hailstones and
coals of fire." Sinai was altogether on a smoke; innumerable lightning
flashed forth around the summit of the hill and Jehovah revealed
Himself in flaming fire. What, then, have Believers come to, instead of
fire? Why, to another form of fire–to "an innumerable company of
angels"–"He makes His angels spirits, His ministers a flame of fire."
Some of those bright beings are called seraphim, or, burning ones, for
they come and go like flames of fire!

It must have been terrible to look up to Sinai and see it casting forth
its flames, but it is with delight that we look towards the angels who
excel in strength and spend that strength in the service of the Lord
and His people! These are a wall of fire round about us. "Are they not
all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be
heirs of salvation?" Has He not given them charge over us to keep us in
all our ways? It is most glorious to think of the position every
Believer occupies today, for we are all come where the hosts of God
encamp about us! David said, "The chariots of God are twenty thousand,
even thousands of angels." Daniel said, "Ten thousand times ten
thousand stood before Him." The Prophet flings his thousands about as
if they were mere units!

Think of Jehovah's legions! Jesus speaks of the Father sending Him 12
legions of angels in a moment. The Lord Jehovah has more legions to
send to one spot than the Roman Empire could have mustered in all its
length and breadth. And every single warrior of these legions is able
to destroy a whole army in a single night, as one of them did when he
smote Sennacherib. What mighty spirits, what flaming spirits, what pure
spirits, what glorious spirits they are! And we have communion with
them! We have come to an innumerable company of angels. We do not
always realize it as we should, but these loving spirits are about us
as surely as they were around Jacob in his dream. If our eves were
opened, we would see horses of fire and chariots of fire round about
the Lord's servants!

"Millions of spiritual creatures walk this earth, both when we wake and
when we sleep." God comes to us by them– "He rode upon a cherub and
did fly." Angels contend against evil spirits and are our defenders.
This, then, is our position–we are come to the countless hosts of our
Father's messengers and not to devouring flames. Pursue the contrast
and you find on Mount Sinai that there was blackness, doubtless made
the more intensely black as the vivid lightning flashed out from it.
"You are not come unto blackness," says Paul. What is the contrast to
this? "But you are come to the general assembly and church of the
first-born, which are written in Heaven."

Perhaps you do not, for a moment, see any contrast, but I will soon
show it to you. Blackness is the symbol of sorrow, it is the garb of
mourning. Everywhere we associate blackness with grief, but now Paul
sets before us the grandest embodiment ofjoy! The word for general
assembly in the original suggests a far-reaching festivity. "You are
come to the panequris–to a solemn festive assembly, comparable to the
National Convocation of the Greeks which was held around

the foot of Mount Olympus every four or five years, when all the Greeks
of different states came together to keep up the national feeling by
festivities and friendly competitions which I will explain further on.

Instead of the colors of grim death, we see the joyous congregating of
all the clans, the glad union of all the children of God who are
scattered abroad! We, this day, in loving fellowship with the Church,
are come to the great gathering of God, the holy convocation of saints
of every tongue, the central home of all the tribes of His great
family! It is a gathering for solemn purposes, for it is a "Church."
But still for joyous purposes, for it is a national holiday. A solemn
joy, a holy delight pervades the atmosphere which the one great Church
of God is breathing! You say to me, "Do you mean the Church in Heaven?
" Yes, I mean the Church in Heaven, but on earth, too! Why divide it?
There is only one Church!

Here and there, earth and Heaven, make a little division to our senses,
but there is no division in the mind of God– He sees one general
assembly of all His people, of all nations, kindreds, people and
tongues. Cannot you realize the scene and note the Glory of it? Cannot
your mind come to the general assembly? Cannot you feel that you are
standing in company with all the chosen of God of every age, clime and
place, keeping high holiday with them before the Most High, singing
continually with them His praises and doing Him service with delight? I
am so glad not to be alone, but to be one of the general assembly and
Church of the first-born, which are written in Heaven, that I feel
ready to shout for joy! What a contrast this is between the blackness
of coming sorrow by the Law and the joyous whiteness of the garments of
those who believe!

Follow the next point of contrast and you have darkness mentioned. "Nor
unto blackness and darkness." The cloud on Sinai was so dark as to
obscure the day, except that every now and then the lightning flash lit
up the scene. What are we come to in contrast to that darkness? "To God
the Judge of all." Possibly it does not strike you with joy when I
mention it, but this is, perhaps, the most joyous of all the clauses of
the passage! "God is Light and in Him is no darkness at all." What a
contrast to the darkness of the Law is a reconciled God! "Oh, but," you
say, "He is there as the Judge of all and that makes us tremble," Why?
Why? It makes me leave off trembling when I think that I am come "to
God the Judge of all," that Christ has brought me near, even to the
Judge, so that 1 have nothing to dread from Him! What can the Judge do
but pronounce sentence of acquittal upon the man for whom Christ has
made expiation? What can He do to harm us?

Nothing! But much to help us for, rolling every slander away, He will
make the righteous to shine forth as the sun in the Kingdom of their
Father! We are standing, today, in the Presence of that great God who
looks upon His people with delight and awards them their several
crowns. In this great gathering of the first-born, they wrestle with
sin, they run the race of perseverance, they proclaim His honor and
sing His praises. This is, in fact, the highest delight of all the
saints– to gather unto their God! And what follows next? Why,
tempest–it is said, "You are not come unto the mount that might be
touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness,
and tempest." All over the top of Sinai there swept fierce winds and
terrible tornadoes, for the Lord was there!

All Heaven seemed convulsed when God did rend it and descended in
majesty upon the sacred mountain! But what do you and I see? The very
reverse of tempest– "The spirits of just men made perfect," serenely
resting! What more is there for them to do? They are perfect! They have
fought the fight. They have run the race, they are crowned, they are
full of ecstatic bliss–the light of God is on their brows, the Glory
of God is reflected from their faces–everything like a storm is far
gone from them! They have reached the fair haven and are tossed with
tempest no more. Today you and I have come where we hold fellowship
with the immutably serene who are resting in the Glory which God has
appointed them! This is a part of the splendid pageantry of the
Covenant of Grace, and we are come to it–

"Even now by faith we join our hands With those that went before And
greet the blood-besprinkled bands On the eternal shore."

Faith has brought us into that one communion in which all saints live,
whether they are on earth or in the Father's house above. Follow the
contrast further and you come to the sound of a trumpet. This resounded
from the top of Sinai. Clarion notes most clear and shrill rang out,
again and again–the high commands of the thrice-holy God. You are not
come to that. Instead of a trumpet, which signifies war and the stern
summons of a king, you are come unto "Jesus the Mediator of the New
Covenant," and the silver tones of, "Come unto Me, all you that labor
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Here is nothing to
disturb the ears, for, "He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause His
voice to be heard

in the streets. A bruised reed shall He not break, and the smoking flax
shall He not quench." No message thunders out, "Stand off!" but holy
affection cries, "Come, and welcome!" God has come to you in the Person
of the Mediator, the Man, Christ Jesus." In the Person of Jesus we see
nothing to alarm, but everything to encourage. Oh, for faith to see,
with joy, the Mediator of that New Covenant which does not so much
command as work in us to will and to do! Is not this one of the
choicest blessings of the position we now occupy, that instead of the
trumpet, we hear the sweet and saving voice of Jesus bidding us repose
in His salvation and be eternally blessed?

The seventh contrast lies in this–together with the trumpet, there
sounded out a Voice–a Voice which was so terrible that they asked that
they might not hear it again. They cowered down under it like poor,
frightened children, terrified by the penetrating sound! They could not
endure another word! They begged that the voice would be silent. We
have come to another voice–the voice of "the blood of sprinkling–that
speaks better things than that of Abel." There is a voice from Zion,
there is a voice that rolls over the heads of the innumerable company
of angels, a voice of the Lord that is full of majesty and exceedingly
comfortable to the "general assembly and Church of the first-born" who
know the joyful sound! The blessed Word speaks life, pardon,
reconciliation, acceptance, joy, eternal bliss! Happy people, whose
ears have discerned this heavenly voice! "They shall walk, O Lord, in
the light of Your Countenance." The more of this voice the better–it
never wearies the ear, nor distresses the heart–

"Blood has a voice to pierce the skies, 'Revenge,' the blood of Abel
cries! But the dear blood of Jesus slain Speaks peace as loud from
every vein." We are come to it, for we have been washed in it and its
sweet, prevailing note is filling our heart with music even now!

Now, dear Friends, I have set forth the contrast and I want you to
think it out by the help of the ever-blessed Spirit. To all that was
transacted at Sinai the people could not come, nor did they wish to
come–they kept at a distance, for they were afraid–but to all that is
displayed on Zion we may come! No, what is better, I hope we can say
with the Apostle, "We are come." We now enter into it and delight in
it–it has become our life and our joy! All that the people saw at
Sinai distressed them. All that we see at Zion electrifies us with
delight–we scarcely know how to bear ourselves as we think of the
wondrous Glory of love!

We are not warned off; we are not driven into fear and bondage, but we
come unto the Mountain of God and there we feast, rejoicing in Him,
even in all that He is and does! The veil is torn from the top to the
bottom and we have access to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. There I
leave the instructive contrast. May the Holy Spirit bless it.

II. I beg you, in the second place, to follow me in what may not,
perhaps, so much strike you, but it is certainly worthy of your
attention, namely, A COMPARISON IN OUR MORE CENTRAL TEXT. Our position
is that, "We are come to the general assembly and Church of the
first-born which are written in Heaven." It is a comparison, not with
anything Jewish, for that would not have been suitable, but with a
Gentile festival, which more readily lent itself to the Apostle's great
thought.

Let me give you, first of all, a rough sketch. In Greece, in her
happier times, in order to preserve a national unity, the various
states, kingdoms, or republics which constituted Greece proper, held,
at the foot of Olympus, a great gathering to which none came as
participators except citizens of the various Greek nationalities. The
object of the gathering was that every part of the Greek nature might
be educated and displayed and the unity of the Greek race be
remembered. Poets came and sang verses which they had composed with
care; orators stood and discoursed to gain the crown for eloquence; men
of all kinds of mental attainments were there emulating each other. At
the same time, all sorts of athletic exercises for the development of
the body were going on.

The territory in which this was held was considered to be sacred.
Though the states were often at war with one another, they never
carried the war into that particular region. It was a quiet, peaceful,
neutral spot. Do you not glimpse a parallel? No man was allowed to
compete in any of the exercises and contests except he had been at
least 10 months or more in preparation for them. Those who were
conquerors had no gold given them as reward–a simple crown of olive
leaves was all–but it was thought a most sufficient reward for the
most exhausting feats and for the greatest self-denial–such as
resistance unto blood and dislocation of bones.

When the conquerors went home, we are told that they were drawn into
their own cities with horses in great state, and the gates were not
opened to them, but a breach was made in the city wall that they might
be admitted with unusual

pomp. The whole business of the festival was held in high esteem by the
Greek people and religion lent its rites and ceremonies to make the
gathering the more imposing. The Apostle, I do not doubt, had seen it.
At any rate, the words which he uses properly and naturally suggest it.
Think for a moment! Before us stands the city which is the center of
this unrivalled congregation of the first-born! Jerusalem stands in her
place and the Acropolis, Mount Zion, looks down upon the scene. To the
city of the living God, the living children of God have come!

Look how the Presence of the Lord brings together an innumerable
company! Far as imagination can fly, the space is filled with shining
ones who compose the court of the Most High! Observe the free-born
burgesses of the holy city, enrolled by God that they may participate
in the exercises which make illustrious this noblest of all assemblies!
Look, yonder are the runners and the wrestlers! Perhaps you do not
think there can be much festivity about engagements which involve so
much of endurance as running and striving for the mastery, but your
Greeks were of another mind and these contests were a part of the
pleasures of the festival.

How much I wish that we could look upon all the conflicts, sufferings
and troubles of this mortal life as occupations of the great festive
gathering which is now being held in Heaven and in earth around the
city of our God. Look! Yonder is the Judge, the great Umpire of His
people's efforts, ready to award the crowns! And who are those sitting
in their seats and looking on? These are they who have taken their turn
in these grand displays and, having won their crowns, there they sit,
"the spirits of the just made perfect," "the cloud of witnesses."
Today, my Brothers and Sisters, you are participating in that great
international gathering of all the people of God! Are you not glad to
be here? When I was visiting one of our sick friends, he uttered a
sentence which stuck to me and, indeed, suggested my subject.

He said, "I have had some education for Heaven in attending the
Tabernacle." "How is that?" "Because I have become used to worshipping
with a great company of godly people–used to joining in the songs of
great multitudes–and I shall feel at home among the number that no man
can number." Yes, it is sweet to go up with your multitude who keep
holy day! The number adds a charm to your worship and gives to our
hearts a tone of exhilaration which otherwise they might have lacked.
Behold, then, the countless bands of the redeemed assembled around the
chosen mountain! Brethren, you are not around a blazing mountain, nor
do you compose a trembling assembly of persons who, like slaves, are
afraid of their great and terrible master! You are come, today, to the
great festival in which earth and Heaven unite!

That assembly is one and indivisible. Around the Throne of the Most
High your Apostle represents all the saints as gathered to hold one
glorious feast. "Has it begun?" you ask. Yes, it is going on, now, and
you are come to it–if you are living by faith as you ought to
live–you are now engaged in it. "Oh, but," you say, "I am wrestling."
That is a part of the festival! "I never thought of that," cries one.
But it is even so. When the national meeting was held at Olympus, there
were contests of all kinds and these were not regarded with sorrow, but
with exultation. "What? Would you have me look at my suffering and
wrestling as part of a festival?" Yes! I would have you glory in them
and view them in the same high and heroic light in which the Apostle
sets them forth in the figure before us!

The exercises are now proceeding. The sacred orators are now doing
their part–you heard the singers just now. I count it a high honor to
hold your attention while I tell you of the Glory of my Lord and Master
who, Himself, contended here on earth and endured the Cross, despising
the shame! Thousands of others are discoursing as I do, for the
assembly abounds in the rich gifts of utterance. And everywhere, chosen
spokesmen are telling out the wonderful wisdom and love of God! Many at
this meeting have hymns to sing, or books to write, and all are doing
their best to make the assembly a notable one! Look at another class of
chosen men and mark how they are struggling with temptation, warring
against error, running in the course, or bearing heavy weights! Yes,
that is all a part of the grand display which the Lord is making before
all intelligent beings, wherein the power of love, the energy of faith,
the splendor of Grace and the triumph of good are being made manifest
to the Glory of God by us!

"Oh," you say, "I cannot look at my sorrows in such a light." No doubt
the men who were wrestling or racing found that, for the present, it
was not joyous. Yet they did not shun it, for they had earnestly
desired the day when they might be allowed to share in the national
display. They counted it a high honor to be permitted to take part,
even, in the roughest contests. None but a Greek could do so. You,
also, have put your name down for a place in the Church of God–this is
a high honor, to which none but the twice-born, whose names are written
in Heaven, can be admitted– accept the hardship with the honor!

"Oh, but," you say, "I have run a long time, I have run for 50 years!"
Splendid running, this! I do not believe that even at Olympus they ever
saw a man run for 50 years at a stretch. Keep on! Do not suffer the
glory of the day to fail! You say this sheds a strange light upon
Christian life. Say, rather, a blessed light which will delight the
eyes and hearts of enthusiastic Believers. The Father of all takes
delight in this assembly–it is the joy of Christ to look down upon His
champions, whose faith He sustains, whose faith He accepts! He is
saying to devils, "Look on and see what lovers of right can do!" Look
on, you innumerable company of angels, and see what Grace can do in the
hearts of poor, feeble men and women, making them strong to do
exploits!

My Brothers and Sisters, see what feats were performed of old! Read the
11th chapter of this Epistle. Remember how the Lord's own elect stood
at the stake and burned to the death without yielding? Think how they
were stretched on racks, but would not deny their Lord! They were
dragged at the heels of wild horses. They were roasted over slow fires,
or were stung to death by wasps! Their endurance is more glorious than
all that can be told of the heroes of Greece! What wonders men have
done through Grace! God has glorified His name by what He has enabled
men to bear and do! This our Lord would have us look at and unite in!
Now, what can we do? God help us to do our best. Oh for Grace to suffer
more, to give more, to work more, to be more firm in resisting
temptation, more pure in all godly conversation! Champions, shall the
day of Glory decline? Your feast has scarcely reached its greatest
day–let not courage, or patience, or faith begin to flag. May we be
jealous for the honor of the chosen race to which we belong.

Our text adds to the term, "general assembly," that of the "Church of
the first-born." "Oh," say the commentators, "this is tautology!" Not
so. The Apostle felt bound, after having used such a remarkable
comparison, to call us back to the solemnity of the matter and remind
us that it is "a Church" which is gathered. You and I have come to a
great Church meeting where all the saints of God are met at this
moment. What makes a Church? An ecclesia? These words may help
you–they are, first, a people chosen. Next, a people called. Then a
people culled. Then a people consecrated. And then a people
congregated. So do they become the Church of the living God–separated
unto God by His electing love; called out from the world by His
effectual calling; culled out by being separated through a work of
Grace; congregated and gathered together into one in Christ–and
forevermore consecrated to Divine service!

This is what you and I have come to. Oh for words with which to speak
our joy for admission into such a company! Brothers and Sisters, notice
that Paul was writing to Hebrews, and the Hebrews, no doubt, gloried in
their great feasts, when all the tribes came up to Jerusalem. Yes, Paul
knew all about those feasts and all that they meant–but this is an
assembly to which the Jewish ritual offers us no parallel. Hebrews come
to that festival, but it is by no means peculiarly theirs. "They shall
come from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the
south." Just as at Olympus, Spartans, Thebans, Athenians and
Corinthians all came and melted into Greeks, so will they come–Jews,
Gentiles, men of this Church, and of that–and they will all melt into
one general assembly! It is not a peculiar assembly of Hebrews, but a
general assembly of all the first-born.

Note, dear Friends, the individuals who compose the company. They are
all high born, for they are all first-born. There is but one
emphatically first-born, namely, Jesus Christ, Himself. But being one
with Him, we become the firstborn of God through the new birth! By our
union to Christ and by the blessed processes of Grace, we are made and
known to be the first-born of God. Now the first-born among men had the
ascendancy and sway in the household, even as, "the meek shall inherit
the earth." The day comes when righteousness shall be to the fore. The
first-born had the excellency. "Reuben, you are My first-born, My
might, and the beginning of My strength, the excellency of dignity, and
the excellency of power."

The saints are the excellent of the earth, in whom is all our delight.
The first-born were consecrated to God and we, too, are dedicated
persons, set apart unto God, "for you are not your own; you are bought
with a price." The first-born were redeemed–so have we been purchased
with the precious blood of Christ. The first-born had the estate, the
throne and the priesthood. Vast is the inheritance of the first-born of
God–all things are theirs–they are heirs of God, joint-heirs with
Jesus Christ. To the first-born belonged honor–"Such honor have all
the saints." There are younger brothers in every family who receive
comparatively little if they happen to be descended from great lords.
But there are no younger Brothers in the family of God. They are all
first-born, all heirs! And what is wonderful to tell–each one of them
has all the estate, for it is so infinite that, though if I have all,
you can have all, too–an innumerable company of this blessed
first-born race can have the whole of God to be their portion forever
and ever!

But then it is added that they are enrolled. As I have already told
you, they enrolled the competitors in the Greek festivals and a man
took care, months before, to get his name set down for a place. Thus
God has enrolled the names of His people. They are written–where? In
the earth? No–the wicked are written in the earth! But the names of
the Lord's people are written in Heaven! In the Divine decree that
never changes, in the Divine heart that never alters, in the Divine
memory that never fails, in the Divine thought that never forgets–all
the names of the godly are written! I do not know how to set this out,
but I want you to feel as if you were standing, this morning, in that
great assembly with spiritual exercises going on around you–such as
struggling against sin, striving for the mastery over error, patiently
enduring pain and working holy work.

The Judge is looking on, with the crowns in His hands, ready to place
them upon each conqueror's head. The air breathes perfume and is full
of music, for all around is joy. When a man suffers, if he looks upon
it as punishment, he feels like a criminal tied up to be lashed. But if
he knows that his path is a necessary part of the road to victory, he
bears it without complaint. If we all understand that this period is
not comparable to a battle, of which the result hangs in the balance,
but comparable to those deeds of prowess with which of old men
celebrated a victory, then the face of things is altered and our toils
are transfigured! Angels come down and poor men and women are lifted
up, triumphing in patience and giving pleasure to their Lord. They are
bringing honor to that favored city which God has prepared for them. We
are here amid the throng, not as spectators, only, but sharing in the
overflowing joy! Oh, the bliss of feeling that even now, Heaven is
begun below and the sufferings of this present life are but a part of
the Glory of the Lord manifested in His people!

III. We will conclude by noticing the third point, which is–A COMING
TO BE ENJOYED. This is the essence of it all–"We are come" unto this
general assembly and Church of the first-born. How, then, do we come? A
difficulty meets us at the outset. You that have never thought of this
great assembly which my imagination and heart have tried to picture
this morning–you cannot come. The porter stands at the barrier and
keeps you back. You cry, "Let me come!" No, you may not come. This
festival is only for the first-born and you are not that by nature. You
must first be born again and become one of the first-born. The Spirit
of God must make you a new creature in Christ Jesus–and then the
porter will open the wicket and say–"Come in, and welcome." Which part
are you going to take in this great gathering? Will you fight against
sin? Will you wrestle against error? Will you run for the crown? Will
you sing, or speak? What will you do in this great congress of all the
saints? But these questions do not apply until, first, you are born
from above!

Next, you must be enrolled, Your name must be written down, not in our
Church Book, but in the Church Book of the Lord above. I would to God
that some of you would be moved to say, "Oh, that my name were written
there!" The name of every Believer is upon Christ's heart, hands and
shoulders. If you believe that Jesus is the Christ. If you are trusting
in Him, your name is among the enrolled! If you believe in Him that
rose, again, from the dead, and He is the Author and Finisher of your
faith, then come and welcome–you are one of those whose names are
written in Heaven! The general assembly would miss you if you were
absent–yes, Heaven, itself, cannot be perfect if you do not enter its
ranks–for all the saints must be there, or else it will not be a
perfect gathering! Would you have them mourning in Heaven and saying,
"Such an one is not here!" Why, Heaven's songs would be suspended if
one child of the family were left in the outer darkness! There must be
a believing in Jesus and then there will be a reception into the chosen
assembly!

But you say, again, "How am I to get into that assembly? I hope I have
been born again and that my name is written among the Lord's redeemed
people, but I still do not feel as if I were in the festive
gathering–I feel more like one in the arena contending for very life."
So did many at Olympus. They were fighting and wrestling and, while so
engaged, they endured great hardships, yet their valiant strife was a
part of the grand scene and they would not have been absent for any
reason. So, dear Friends, what we must do is this–first, God helping
us, let us partake in the joy of the one Church! Why should I not be as
happy as yon angels are? They have not so much reason to be happy as I
have, for Jesus never took their nature, or died for them–

"Never did angels taste above Redeeming Grace and dying love." And you,
spirits of the just, why should not I participate in all your joy? What
blessing belongs to you which does not, also, belong to me, except the
one delight of absolute perfection? Am I not saved? Am I not washed? Am
I not clothed? Am I not a child of God–in all things, just what you
are, except that one finishing stroke–which I am sure to

have in due time when I have concluded my wrestling and my running? Let
us joy in God today and, surely, even in Heaven they know no greater
bliss than this! To joy in God through Jesus Christ our Lord is
happiness at its highest! May the Spirit of God help us!

If we wish to feel we are among the Lord's host, let us participate in
their service. There is something for you and for me to do–and to
enjoy this holiday we must all take a share in its engagements. Come,
Brother, quicken your pace! You are not making enough progress in the
Divine life–hasten your steps, throw away every weight–and cast off
the garment which entangles your feet. You, too, dear Brother, over
there in the workshop, where you hear bad language and see bad
practices–go in for the wrestling–see what you can do! In the name of
the Lord grasp the evil which opposes you! Fling an evil custom on its
back and win a victory for purity and truth! Thus shall we each, by
vying with the rest, contribute to the grand result and share in the
general triumph!

And when we are participating in the service, let us, next, feel that
we can possess the inheritance! It is "the assembly of the
first-born"–let no man miss his birthright! See how the Apostle
introduces Esau as a warning and how he bids us regard our afflictions
as chastisements which prove our sonship? Come, then, act as sons and
rejoice in your Father's riches which are all your own! Let us not
remain half-starved through the penury of our unbelief, but let us be
filled to the brim through the richness of the faith which the Spirit
of God has worked in us! Let us look on all things round about us with
quite a different eye–not walking like slaves who dread their
taskmaster and scarcely dare to call their breath their own–but like
free men who have the Judge of all upon their side and can have nothing
to fear in life or death! Deep be our reverence, but high our joy as we
stand in His gracious Presence and, with all the blood-bought, rejoice
with joy unspeakable and full of glory!

At this moment our question is, "Lord, what will You have me to do?"
Our cry is–"Here am I! Send me." Use me, my Lord, glorify Yourself in
me! And while the innumerable company of angels look on, help me to do,
dare, wrestle and win till You shall give to me, also, the crown of
life that fades not away! This will not be a payment of debt, but a
gift of Grace. The metaphor of a Greek assembly excludes all notion of
wages for work. No mercenary thought entered the mind of a single Greek
who strove for the mastery at the assembly. He had nothing to win but a
crown of olive leaves! No money was ever given–it would have degraded
the festival to a common show!

Therefore you are not invited to contend that you may win a reward by
your own merit. Ours is holiday work which it is joy to perform. Moved
by a spiritual chivalry, saints do and dare for Jesus out of love for
Him. His service is its own reward! To die for Him is life! To live for
Him is Heaven! Let others boast their pedigree and nationality–we have
reached the august convocation of the ransomed of the Lord who have
come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads!
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Chariots of Iron