Why May I Rejoice?

A SERMON DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, OCTOBER 29, 1876,

BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"Not withstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject
unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in
Heaven." Luke 10:20.

You will remember that last Lord's-Day we saw our Lord correcting a
very natural grief and supplying its place by a more necessary sorrow,
as He said to the women, "Weep not for Me, but weep for yourselves, and
for your children." [See No. 1320–"Why Should I Weep?"] Now, this
morning we shall see Him correcting a very natural joy and directing
its gladness into a more elevated channel. "Notwithstanding in this
rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice,
because your names are written in Heaven." If we commit ourselves to
Him, He will guide us aright in all things and teach us to sanctify,
alike, our grief and our gladness.

We shall commence our discourse by saying that our Lord did not blame
or upbraid the 70 for rejoicing that the devils were subject to them.
It would have been a very strange thing if they were not joyous on the
occasion of so great a success. They had been sent forth upon their
Lord's errand. They had gone forward unhesitatingly in His name, girded
with His strength. And His power had been revealed so that His name had
been glorified–should they not rejoice? It was the Kingdom of God
which they had proclaimed–should they not be joyful? It was their
Lord's enemy, as well as their own, who had "fallen like lightning from
Heaven"–should they not exult? It was not likely, therefore, that the
Lord Jesus was angry at their joy when they returned, saying, "Lord,
even the spirits are subject unto us through Your name."

We must read our Lord's words according to the manner of Oriental
speech. The peculiar idiom of our Savior's speech often makes Him
appear to be actually forbidding what He only places in a secondary
place. He did not mean, in the present instance, to censure their joy
in their success, but only to make it subordinate to another rejoicing
and to prevent its growing to excess. Some have thought that they
detected in the 70 too much personal exultation, if not an almost
childish triumph in the success which they had achieved. I must confess
I see small traces of such a feeling in their report to their Master.
Our Lord Himself evidently coincided with the truth of their report,
for He, also, said, "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from Heaven."

I can hardly think that He could have seen that sight without joy and,
therefore, in some measure, He shared in the feelings of His servants.
Had He observed in these Brothers that excess of childish exultation
and vainglory which is supposed, I think He would hardly have gone on
to invest such novices with yet more power–but yet, He did so, for we
read in the 19th verse–"Behold I give unto you power to tread on
serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and
nothing shall by any means hurt you." Had they been intoxicated with a
sort of childish glee, the wisdom of our Lord, as Commander in that
Crusade, would have led Him to say to them, "I had many things to have
given unto you, but you cannot bear them now. I see already that you
are intoxicated with your present victories and, therefore, I must
withhold from you the extraordinary gifts of My kingdom till you are
better prepared to receive them with humility and to use them with
wisdom."

Such prudent conduct would have been in accordance with the usual
proceedings of our wise Teacher. But He saw no such excessive
exultation. Whatever He might fear as likely to occur, by-and-by, He
saw nothing, as yet, to blame in them and so He went on to say,
"therefore I give you power over all the power of the enemy, and
nothing shall by any means hurt you." We cannot understand Him to be
condemning their rejoicing over the fall of devils, for He says,
"Rejoice rather," and this almost implies that you may rejoice in the
first subject of joy in some degree. "Notwithstanding," He says, "in
this rejoice not; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in
Heaven." The one is forbidden only in comparison with the other. We may
rejoice that God blesses our labors, but still, it must be a far less
prominent joy than

that which springs out of our personal interest in the salvation of
God! Church members may be glad when they see a great revival and their
numbers largely increased. But, at such times it is doubly necessary to
look to vital godliness and personal religion or the joy may be turned
into mourning.

Now, my Brothers, taking the incident as it will apply to ourselves,
there may be some of you, here present, to whom God has given many
gifts for use in the kingdom of Heaven. He may also have given you
influence in His Church and power among men of the world. And,
moreover, your gifts and your power have not been used in vain, they
have been made useful in many ways so that your course has been one of
honor and success. The kingdom of God has come near to many through you
and the great enemy's kingdom has suffered injury by your means.
Because of all this, you are greatly cheered. Is this wrong? Ought you
not to be full of joy? I say yes, assuredly, you are bound to be glad!
We should all be grateful for gifts, grateful for influence, grateful
for success–but a gratitude which is not attended with joy can
scarcely be called gratitude at all!

Would you have gratitude lament the possession of the blessing for
which she is grateful? There must be joy in the thing received or else
one can hardly be imagined to be thankful! If gratitude for these
things is a duty, then surely a measure of joy concerning them must
also be a duty! You may rejoice that to you is this Grace given, to
preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. And you
may be glad that from you the Word of God has sounded forth throughout
all the region in which you dwell. Thus far we go, but we must not
exceed due bounds lest we become trans-gressors–this joy must be held
within its own lines and never suffered to run riot. Let us pause and
see how our Lord Jesus puts a restraining, "notwithstanding," and a
repressing negative upon this joy when He judges that it is in danger
of passing due bounds.

And let us also note how He supplies the place of this joy by something
higher and better when He says– "Notwithstanding in this rejoice not,
that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your
names are written in Heaven." We shall dwell upon three things this
morning. First, the joy which needs moderating– "Notwithstanding in
this rejoice not." Secondly, the joy which needs exciting–"Rather
rejoice." And then, thirdly, the joy of the Lord in sympathy with this
last joy. Just read the first line of the 21st verse–"In that hour
Jesus rejoiced in spirit." Our Lord could unite in this joy under
certain aspects of it.

I. First, then, THE JOY WHICH NEEDS MODERATING. It is the joy of
triumph over evil spirits, the joy of having preached the Gospel and
worked wonders–in a word, the joy of gifts, power and success. This
needs moderating, first, because it is so apt to degenerate into pride.
The 70 were not proud, for they said, "Lord, even the devils are
subject unto us through Your name." This was a very proper way of
reporting results. They did not arrogate any measure of the success to
themselves, but they ascribed it to the matchless, all-conquering name
which they had used. So far, all was well.

But, my Brothers, the tendency of human nature is towards
self-exaltation and so, by degrees, we come to emphasize the, "to us,"
and we allow the, "through Your name" to be uttered softly, and yet
more softly until it is only used as a matter of form–and we, in our
hearts, ascribe the whole success to ourselves. If God shall bless any
man with long-continued success in soul-winning, even though that is a
higher achievement than the casting out of devils, there is an evil
tendency in our corrupt nature which will tempt such a man to dream
that in him there is some peculiar excellence or special virtue. He
will say in his heart, "Lord, even great sinners and proud infidels
have been turned to You by my preaching," and he may, at the same time,
forget that it was not his preaching, but the name of Jesus, which
accomplished the notable deed.

We are nothing, however much God may have worked by us! All the glory
is due unto the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, yet we are so base as to
take credit to ourselves! Who among us can claim to have been perfectly
free from this temptation? True, the Lord keeps His servants humble
when He uses them, and if they abound in Grace they may safely abound
in gifts, also. Saints may be safely trusted with abundant influence if
they are abundantly under the influence of the Holy Spirit. But to be
preserved when thus eminently honored is an exceedingly great favor!
When we see a successful worker walking very humbly, we may say, "This
is the finger of God." Leave corrupt nature to itself and as a warm
atmosphere soon causes dead flesh to become putrid, so will the ease
and comfort of self-congratulation and prosperity speedily breed
corruption in human nature! Therefore it is necessary that joy in gifts
and success should be kept under due control and, if it is tolerated in
a measure, as it may be, it must, nevertheless, not be indulged to any
great extent lest evil consequences come to us. To here may it come,
but no further, lest the Lord behold us waxing exceedingly proud and

put us aside from His work, altogether, and take unto Himself other
instruments which will not attempt to rob Him of His Glory.

Again, this joy which needs to be moderated should be restrained by the
reflection that it is no evidence of Grace in the heart that we possess
gifts, or that we are successful. Talents are possessed even by wicked
and slothful servants. Grace without talent will save, but talent
without Grace will only increase our condemnation! "Though I speak with
the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as
sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of
prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I
have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity,
I am nothing." The highest conceivable gifts for Church work and the
greatest influence in the Church are worthless apart from Divine Grace!

The possession of such powers may be accompanied by hypocrisy and
falsehood–it was so in our Lord's day. Judas worked miracles. Judas
preached the Gospel. Judas was not only a member of the Church, but a
trusted officer in it. Yet Judas went unto his own place, for he was a
son of perdition. Our Lord tells us to expect many cases of graceless
workers, for He says, "Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord,
have we not prophesied in Your name? And in Your name have cast out
devils? And in Your name done many wonderful works? And then will I
profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, you that work
iniquity."

Observe that this warning speaks not of a few, but of many! We shall
not only see a Judas once in 18 centuries, but many of whom this shall
be the case. Men have gone forth making use of the name of Jesus and
God has honored the name though He has not accepted the men who used
it. They have preached and the message has been true, and God has
acknowledged the Truth–but the men have not been true and,
consequently, they have been abhorred of the Lord. Good seed will grow
even though it was scattered by a leprous hand. Let us beware, however,
of speaking the Truth of God with lying lips. Let us beware, lest we be
like Balaam, who had his eyes opened to see marvelous visions of the
future and his tongue inspired to utter deep things, and yet he fell
among the accursed because he ran greedily after a reward.

Do not rejoice, then, dear Brothers, because God blesses you in what
you are doing, so that you see souls saved and yourself honored, for
this might happen to one for whom the Lord has no regard. But rather
rejoice in being really and truly one of the Lord's own people, written
in Heaven. Let us keep under our body and watch unto prayer, lest
haply, after having preached to others, we, ourselves, should become
castaways. It will be a dreadful thing to keep the door of the King's
great banquet hall and open it to others–and yet to perish with
hunger!

Moreover, it is very unsafe to rejoice unduly in the work which we have
done because the work, after all, may not turn out to be all that it
appears. I do not know how much of real good the 70 had worked. There
can scarcely have been very many converts, for otherwise the number of
the names would have been greater when the disciples assembled in the
upper room at Pentecost. We will not, however, judge the work of the
seventy. But we do know this, that it is very easy for us to go forth
and, for a time, to succeed so that it seems as if even the devils were
subject to us. And yet there may be no true Word of God. Crowds may
gather to listen. There may be manifestations of deep emotion. The
number of the conversions put down on paper may be very great and yet
there may be little or nothing in the whole matter worthy of real joy.

So it may be in other forms of service–in the Sunday school or in any
other place, we may think we have succeeded and yet we may have only
been building a baseless structure on sand which the next tide will
carry away. We ought to remember that every man's work must be tested
before long, "for the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it
is." It is too early to begin to rejoice until the fire has passed over
our lifework. The edifice is very lofty and apparently very fair, but
what if those walls should turn out to be composed of straw, the
foundations of stubble and the rafters of dry wood? How soon will they
yield to the fire and how rapidly will the fabric disappear!

He who has built the tiniest cell of sparkling gems, or the smallest
cottage of gold, has done more than he who has heaped aloft into the
air a pyramid of hay! It is not the quantity of work done, it is not
the space occupied in Church history, it is not the noise of our great
works–the question is, what is really and truly done? The quality is
far more important than the quantity. The enduring character of the
work is far more to be considered than the flash and the glare of it.
Therefore rejoice not, O young man, in all the brilliant success which
has, for the present, attended you. And rejoice not even you, old man,
though you have had half a century of prosperity! Rejoice not so much
in this as to exalt yourself because of it. But rather rejoice in
something safer and more gracious–rejoice that your name is written in
Heaven, if so it

is!

This joy, again, however good our work may be, is to be moderated
because it does not prove that we are anymore gracious than others of
far less gift and usefulness. Did you notice in the chapter which
precedes my text, that nine of the Apostles attempted to cast out a
devil from a lunatic child, but were unable to accomplish it, so that
they said to the Master, "Why could not we cast him out?" The majority
of the sacred conclave of Apostles failed to cast out a devil and yet
70 inferior persons all return with joy, and say, "Lord, even the
spirits are subject unto us." Do you draw the inference, therefore,
that the 70 were superior to the Apostles? If you do, you have made a
very grand mistake, for they were by no means so! And it would be a
very great pity for any person who has been made useful in the kingdom
of God to infer that he is, therefore, better than those whose earnest
labors are crowned by no such apparent results.

An obscure child of God whose name has never been mentioned in the
Church may yet be more worthy than we are! Of all estimates of
ourselves, that which is founded upon our apparent usefulness is likely
to be most deceptive! Be very careful, Sir, if you consider yourself to
be something because you have worked wonders! I will show you the
choicest of my Master's children on sick beds! I will show you the
richest and rarest piety connected with illiterate poverty! I will show
you a man who cannot speak a sentence, grammatically, who lives in the
very bosom of Christ! And you will blush for the depth and power of his
vital godliness!

I will find you one who shines as a precious jewel in Jehovah's sight,
compared with whom you are a poor dull pebble–and yet you are highly
esteemed–and he has little honor. His prayers have been of a thousand
times more use to the Church than your preaching! Yes, it may be that
your preaching has owed its success to his prayers! We cannot judge
character by gifts! He who has one talent, and uses it well, shall have
better acceptance at the last than he who has five talents and uses
them ill. And he who fills his circle, though that circle is small,
shall have far more comfort, therein, than he who, with a vast field,
has, nevertheless, left the major part of it altogether unfilled. Great
importance in the public mind is no argument of great Grace! A man is
none the worthier for being successful! The best may not be the most
prosperous. Boast not yourself, O fisherman, because your net is
filled, for as good men as you are have toiled all night and taken
nothing!

Again, this joy in success needs to be kept under tight rein because it
is not an abiding joy. If you, O man, rejoice today because of subject
devils, what will you do tomorrow when the devils break loose again? If
you return from your labor full of success and rejoice, what will you
do when, another time, you will have to plow the thankless rock and
break the plowshare? What if your Master should send you where there
will be no response to your invitations? What if He should send you
among Samaritans who will not even hear you and you shall have to go
from city to city and wipe off the dust of your feet against them? What
if you should meet a child possessed of a devil and find that you
cannot cast out the evil spirit because this kind goes not out except
with prayer and fasting? Why, Man, you will be sorely depressed, then,
and your courage will fail!

If you have fed your soul upon such light bread as apparent success, it
will enfeeble you and what will you do when your prosperity wanes? You
will not have steadfastness enough to go on under discouragement and
you will shun your Lord's service. This will be evil, indeed! O for a
faith that is nourished on something better than appearances–a faith
which does not live on gifts or influence, or present success, but
sustains itself upon the unfailing promise of the ever blessed God.
This is what we need!

Once again, this joy, if we were to be filled with it to overflowing,
would be found unable to bear the strain of trial, trouble, temptation
and especially of death. Take the last–will any man, when he lies
dying, be able to console himself with the reflection, "I have
testified of Christ to others"? Will he not need some other confidence?
Will he not require something far more personal? Will this be the sweet
morsel that shall stay the hunger of his soul? What if he had power
over devils? May not devils yet obtain power over him? Will he be able
to cheer himself amidst death's chilly waves with this boast–"I was a
loud talker and a mighty professor, and the cause of Christ grew under
my leadership"? No, in such times as that we shall need surer
consolations and more Divine stays than these.

Unhappy will he be who has accustomed himself to live upon the
excitement of crowded meetings, or upon the laudatory criticisms of
friends. Gifts, attainments, labors, successes all heaped together
cannot support a soul on the verge of eternity! There is ever present
the fact that such things are no sure sign of regeneration. Did not the
sons of the Pharisees cast out devils? Did not the people say of Simon
Magus, "This man is the great power of God"? Yet these were graceless
deceivers! We must have sure evidence of the new birth. We must know
that our citizenship is in Heaven! We must know

that we belong to Jesus! In one word, we must know that our names are
written in Heaven or else we shall find ourselves utterly undone in our
dying hours!

For all these reasons, then, be not too elated because of devils
conquered, crowds gathered, or souls saved. But hearken to your Lord's
voice while He points you to other reasons for rejoicing.

II. So now we come, secondly, to consider THE JOY WHICH NEEDS EXCITING.
"Rather rejoice because your names are written in Heaven." I am glad,
my Brothers and Sisters, that this is the joy in which we indulge to
the full, because it is one in which all the saints may unite and take
their share. If you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, my dear Brother,
though you can do but little for Him, you may rejoice that your name is
written in Heaven! Here the bedridden Sister may rejoice! Here the
incurably diseased may exult! The child of God, whose tongue is
silenced by infirmity, and whose conflicts with devils are confined to
his closet and his chamber, may come in and say, "I, too, can rejoice
that my name is written in Heaven."

Have you ever remarked how our aged friends always delight to sing–

"When I can read my title clear To mansions in the skies, Ibid farewell
to every fear, And wipe my weeping eyes"?

They do so because experience has led them to dwell much on the joy of
having their names written in Heaven! The joy which our Lord commends
is one which springs from faith, while the other joy arises alone from
sight. A man can see that he has gifts. He can see that he has power
and influence. He can see that he has success. But rest assured that
every joy which comes to Believers through the sight of the eyes is a
doubtful joy! It is a dainty of which we must eat in scanty measure.
Have you found such honey as this? Do not eat too much of it lest it
sicken you.

But the joy caused by our names being written in Heaven comes offaith,
for eye has not seen the record, neither has any angel read it to
us–and only because we believe in Jesus are we assured of it–for this
reason the joy grows in good soil and is, in itself, safe. All the joys
of faith are safe as the water which flowed from the smitten Rock. No
poisonous streams can ever issue from that source! This joy is a
heavenly manna of which a man may eat according to his eating and let
his soul be satiated. This is healthy meat which breeds no plague in
the camp as the eating of the quails did, for the quails were sent in
wrath to satisfy their fierce desires.

We never hear of men dying of eating the manna which came down from
Heaven, but they did die through eating the quail–which was food for
their lusts. Be it yours to get as much as ever you can of the joys of
faith and especially of this–"Rather rejoice that your names are
written in Heaven." This joy consists in knowing our
election–"knowing, dearly Beloved, your election of God"–knowing that
your names were written in Heaven from before the foundation of the
world! Oh, what an inconceivable delight is this! To be God's choice is
the choicest of delights! The joy of having your name written in Heaven
includes the joy of knowing that you are precious to the Lord, for it
is written, "a book of remembrance was kept for them that feared the
Lord and that thought upon His name, and they shall be Mine, said the
Lord, in the day when I make up My jewels."

To be written in Heaven means that we are precious in the sight of the
Lord, that He has noted us down in the list of His crown jewels and
will preserve us for Himself till the day in which all His sacred
regalia shall be complete. Blessed are those who stand recorded in the
inventory of Heaven's jewel house! To be written in Heaven means that
you claim the right of citizenship in the New Jerusalem, "the Church of
the First-Born, whose names are written in Heaven." Just as there is a
roll kept by great cities in which they inscribe the names of citizens,
so do we rejoice that our names are written in the roll of the City
above, and that, from now on, our citizenship is in Heaven, from where
we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus!

This is a broad subject for rejoicing, for it includes priceless
privileges and honors more than royal. We also rejoice that our names
are written, that is, known and published in Heaven. Paul mentioned
certain of his fellow servants of whom he said, "whose names are
written in Heaven." As much as to say though they have neither fame nor
honor here, they have a perpetual record where honor is worth
receiving, namely, before the Throne of God! The heavenly writing
signifies that we are part and parcel of Christ's new kingdom! We are
inscribed among His soldiers, we are commissioned to bear hardness for
His sake. We are written in Heaven among the friends of Jesus, we are
accounted as of the sacred brotherhood! In the great book of the Divine
Fatherhood, we are numbered among the children and, from now on, we

shall be regarded and treated as belonging to the one family in Heaven
and in earth. This is the matter concerning which we are called to
rejoice. "Rejoice that your names are written in Heaven."

I see in this fact abundant cause for joy, but I cannot stay, this
morning, to bring it out in detail. I would have you joy in the great
Grace which first inscribed your name in God's eternal book. Oh, bless
the sovereign, distinguishing, discriminating Grace which wrote down
your unworthy name where there might have stood the name of a king, or
of an emperor, or the name of a person of great repute, of superior
talent, or of great eloquence and learning! Instead of those which men
esteem to be great names, there stands your common name! Therefore give
the Grace of God all the glory evermore! And then rejoice in the Grace
which has kept your name inscribed in that heavenly roll, so that over
you that ancient threat of the Law has had no power–"Whoever has
sinned against Me, him will I blot out of my Book." (Exo. 32:33).

But up to now you have stood among those of whom the Spirit speaks
expressly in the Book of the Revelation–"He that overcomes, the same
shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out
of the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before My Father, and
before His angels." There stands your name, still recorded in the
Lamb's Book of Life, though many a tear of yours might well fall upon
it to think what Grace it is which keeps it there and will keep it
there forever! A name among God's sons and daughters is better for you
than if your name were in Debrett's Peerage, or in the Royal Almanac de
Gotha. Being in the Book of Life guarantees you peace, joy, security,
blessedness now–and secures you a place hereafter among the
blood-washed host in the "many mansions," which Christ has gone to
prepare for those whom His Father has given Him!

Sit down now, Beloved, and let your soul triumph to the last degree of
joy in this–your names are written in Heaven! Forget the falling
devils for awhile, forget your abilities, forget your successes. Cast
these all at your Redeemer's feet, where they ought to be, and then
take this to yourself as your joy, your portion, your Heaven
below–that your name is written in the family register of the Eternal!
May the Holy Spirit inspire you with this sublime delight. Brothers and
Sisters, this is a joy which can be cultivated. How are we to cultivate
it? If we desire to have much of this joy, we must make the fact sure.
We must be certain that our names are written in Heaven, or else we
cannot rejoice in it. Let your faith grow until it reaches the full
assurance of faith and then shall you rejoice that your names are
written in Heaven!

"How am I to know it?" one asks. Well, Friend, one thing is sure, if
God has written you down among those who are saved, you can soon know
it because you are saved! If you are forgiven, your name is written
among the forgiven. If you are, indeed, quickened and made alive, your
name is written among the living in Zion. I will not invite you to go
further and peer into that which is unrevealed, for if I did so I
should be as much out of my sphere as those are who pretend to bring
men messages from the spirit world! The Lord gives not to any soul,
dead in sin, the least right to believe that it is written among the
living. Neither gives He to any ungodly man the liberty to hope that he
is written among the elect of

God.

We must have evidence, not dreams and airy suppositions! And the
evidence of our name being written in Heaven is that we have been
called by Grace out of the world to follow Jesus. We see our election
by our calling, and nothing else. We may know what is written about us
in Heaven by that which is written within us on earth. If Grace has
written upon your heart till you are "an Epistle of Christ, known and
read of all men," your name is in His secret book! If you are trusting
in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are His, and the Lord knows them that are
His. He has written them down in His own private tablets which He
carries in His bosom. If your name is among true Believers on earth, it
is among the redeemed in Heaven–you need not question that, for the
declarations of Scripture put it beyond a doubt.

If you would rejoice in your name's being written in Heaven, not only
be assured of the fact, but meditate much upon it. Let this be
frequently on your mind, "My name is written in Heaven. Beneath the
name of my Lord, the Lamb, it is inscribed. I am one of His redeemed
and He writes me down among His dearly purchased property. He knows me,
looks upon me and regards me as His treasure. I am not my own, I am
bought with a price, I belong to Him." Go, Brothers and Sisters, and
exult in this and let the sweet influence of it be daily seen upon your
life–for this joy, dear Friends, will make all else on earth pale, in
comparison, with the fact your names are written in Heaven!

What if you are rich? Rejoice not in this, for riches take to
themselves wings and fly away, but rather rejoice because your name is
written in Heaven! If you are a man of learning, thank God for your
knowledge and use it for His Glory, but, nevertheless, rejoice not in
this, for what is earthly knowledge often but learned ignorance?
"Rather rejoice because

your name is written in Heaven." If you are a person of position in the
Church, thank God if you may glorify Him thereby! But rather rejoice
because your name is written in Heaven. Are you strong and in good
health? Be grateful for the privilege, but rather rejoice because your
name is written in Heaven!

Turn this Inspired text round another way and if you have any sorrow,
or if you mourn the absence of any earthly good, do not lament too
bitterly–but rather rejoice because your names are written in Heaven!
You are poor. Well, be not despondent, for your name is written in
Heaven! You are despised and your name is cast out as evil–but
rejoice, none the less, for it is written in Heaven! You have but few
gifts and abilities, but your name is written in Heaven! You could not
stand up and edify a multitude, but your name is written in Heaven!
When you die your departure will make but a small gap in the Church's
ranks, but your name is written in Heaven! Whatever you lack or
whatever you suffer, let this console you and, at the same time, let it
strengthen you for service.

The joy of the Lord is your strength, you will feel able to go forward
in God's work when you can boldly say, "My name is written in Heaven. I
may well serve Him who has so graciously redeemed me! He has put me
down among His people, why should I not, therefore, expect Him to be
with me when I go upon His errands and attempt to win Him honor? My
name is written in Heaven and, therefore, I will live for Him to the
utmost of my strength and spend and be spent for His name." There seems
to me to be such a wonderful moral and spiritual power about this joy
in having one's name written in Heaven that it does not require me to
explain why the Savior encourages you to indulge in it!

It is a corrective to the other joy, but it has about it, also,
independently of that, so many admirable uses that we need not add a
word by way of guarding it, or restraining it, but may, on the
contrary, earnestly invite you to partake of it without stint! Eat the
fat and drink the sweet! Rejoice, yes, rejoice abundantly! Rejoice and
yet again rejoice, because your names are written in Heaven!

III. Now, lastly, into this joy the Savior enters and we have to look
in the third place to THE JOY OF THE LORD IN SYMPATHY with it. And so
we add to our text the first sentence of the 21st verse–"In that hour
Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit." Why did He rejoice? I think it was with
a very same joy that He bids us cultivate as far as it related to
Himself, for you see, He rejoiced because Grace was given. He said, "I
thank You, O Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, that You have hid these
things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them unto babes." It
makes Christ's heart glad to think that God has been gracious to the
sons of men–to think that He has plucked some of the race out of the
horrible pit and lifted them up from the miry clay–and brought them
out of darkness into His marvelous light.

It makes His soul glad to see that sin has been overcome in many men
and that many have been renewed in the spirit of their minds by Divine
Grace. Jesus was also glad at the Father's choice. He said, "I thank
You, O Father." He looks at these 70 babes out of whose mouth He has
ordained strength, and He says, "I thank you, O Father, for having
chosen these." They looked a wretched regiment to conquer the world
with, did they not? A company of fishermen and peasants, men of the
lower order! If a man had to shake the world, he might naturally wish
for choice spirits, the elite, the aristocracy of thought, at any rate,
if not the aristocracy of gold and silver! He might wish to select the
refined, the noble, the educated, for his great enterprise.

But Jesus Christ is perfectly satisfied with His Father's choice. It
has given me intense joy, sometimes, to think that our dear Savior is
perfectly satisfied to think that His Father should have chosen me. He
is not like Hiram, who, when King Solomon gave him certain cities, was
discontented with them. But our Lord has never spoken a word against
any of the sheep His Father gave Him, nor has He despised any of the
elect ones whom the Father has put into His hands. He is perfectly
content with you, Beloved, perfectly satisfied that you should be
chosen, though you are not one of the wise and prudent, that you should
be chosen, though you are like one of the "base things of this world."
Jesus rejoiced and thanked the Father because of the choice which His
Sovereign Grace made.

Notice the spirit in which Jesus puts His thanksgiving–He is satisfied
with the choice because it is God's choice. "Even so, Father," He said,
"for so it seemed good in Your sight." That is the true spirit of
Christ, to be content with what God wills because God wills it–He has
no questions, no judging, but shows an entire submission, no, an
intense delight, in the august will of God! Let us, also, delight
ourselves, this morning, in the fact that our names are written in
Heaven because God willed them to be there! How well satisfied we ought
to be with that will, but how much more joyous may we be because
Christ, also, is content with that will, by which we are given to Him
that we may be His people.

Then our Savior went on to rejoice because the Grace of God given to us
has revealed to us Christ, and revealed to us the Father, for He says,
"no man knows who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is,
but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal Him." Now, the Grace of
God has manifested itself to you and to me, Beloved in Christ, by
revealing the Father, whom we now inwardly and truly know. We can say
in our very souls, "Our Father which are in Heaven." And we also know
the Son. We cannot tell others all we know of Him, all the secret
fellowships we have had and into what deep communion we have entered,
but we know Christ and are known of Him–and this is our life's work to
go on to know Him yet more and more–and to know the Father in Him.

Jesus exulted because there was a fellowship about all this, for He
speaks of His knowing the Father and the Father knowing Him–and then
of our knowing the Father because the Son has revealed Him to us–all
of which implies a wondrous communication and communion with the Father
and with the Son. Now, this, I take it, is the cream of joy, a joy in
which Christ partakes as He has fellowship with the Father and with us,
and of which we partake as we have fellowship with Him and with the
Father. Now, mark, there is nothing of this in, "Lord, even the devils
are subject unto us." There is nothing of this when we merely have
success in soul-winning. A man may work marvels and yet have no
fellowship with the Father and with the Son and, therefore, he may lack
that which is the essence, the center point, the focus of all true joy!

But he who has his name written in Heaven has had the Father revealed
to him through the Son and in this he may exceedingly rejoice, for the
very news of this is what kings and Prophets waited for and found not.
This is that which even angels desire to look into! Therefore, Brothers
and Sisters, rejoice in the Lord always, and again, I say rejoice! My
last word is for those who know nothing about their names being written
in Heaven. I would like to turn the text upon you for a second or so,
for it has a dark side to you, and I pray God that as you see it, you
may tremble and fly to Christ!

Whatever you have in this world, Sinner, you have nothing worth
rejoicing in because you cannot say your name is written in Heaven!
Rejoice neither in your wealth, your health, your children, your
prosperity, your position, your success–for if your name is not
written in Heaven, Ichabod is written over all your choicest
possessions! As you look on all that you have gained, remember that God
can make your souls to hunger and faint even in the midst of all these
things! Listen to the thunder of that dreadful sentence, "I will curse
your blessings." "The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked,
but He blesses the habitation of the righteous."

Oh that your names may be written in Heaven for His mercy's sake. Amen.

PORTION OF SCRIPTURE READ BEFORE SERMON–Luke 9:51-62; 10:1-24. HYMNS
FROM "OUR OWN HYMN BOOK"–219, 239, 719.
__________________________________________________________________

Rest For The Laboring