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THE 




GLIMPSES WITHIN THE GATES. 



Rev. JAMES D. BURNS, M. A. 

HAMPSTEAD, LONDON. 




MAY 12 

<fi.uaiiy tiF 



PUBLISHED BY THE 

AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY, 
28 CoRNHiLL, Boston. 



OF THE 

933 



RIVERSIDE, CAMBRIDGE: 
STEREOTYPED AND PRINTED BY H. 0- HOUGHTON. 



THE LIBRARY OF THE 
MAY 1 ^ 1933 



umyLt^Mit Of 




CONTENTS. 



Page 

No Sorrow There, _ 5 

No Night There, 9 

No More Curse, 13 

No More Death, 17 

No Temple There, 21 

The Open Gates, 25 

The Holy Service, 29 

The Unceasing Song, 33 

The Beatific Vision, 37 

The Shining Mark, 41 

The Great Multitude, 45 

The White Robes, 49 

The Palms of Victory, 53 

The City's Glory, 57 

The City's Light, gl 

The Twelve Foundations, 65 

The Crystal Sea, 69 

The Emerald Kainbow, 73 

The Seven Lamps, 77 



8349 f 3 



iv CONTENTS. 

Page 

The Tabernacle over them, 81 

The Eoyal Banquet, 85 

The River of Life, 89 

The Tree of Life, 93 

The Crown of Life, 97 

The Hidden Manna, 101 

The White Stone and the New Name, ...105 

The Morning Star, 109 

The Pillar in the Temple, 113 

The Inscriptions on the Pillar, 117 

The Seat on the Throne, 121 

KiCHEs OF Glory, 125 




THE CELESTIAL CITY. 



^0 Qoxvom ®l)£r€. 



" Neither sorrow, nor crying, nor pain." — Rev. xxi. 4. 



OD," says Augustine, " had one Son 



without sin ; He has had no son with- 
out sorrow." 

' Look back on the way by which God has 
led thee, O traveler to Zion ! through the 
wilderness. If sometimes thou hast walked 
in sunshine, and with the free elastic step of 
hope and joy, how often, how quickly, have 
clouds gathered above thee, and left thee to 
go onward in heaviness and gloom! Thou 
hast had to cleave thy way through a great 
fight of afflictions." The Man of Sorrows " 
has marked thee with the sim of sufferinp;. 
He has made thee feel the weight and sharp- 




THE CELESTIAL CITY. 



ness of the spiritual cross. And how often 
has it been from the red letters of thy trial 
that thou hast slowly deciphered the new 
name, ''Son?" 

Would a Christian be without that chas- 
tisement whereof all the children " are par- 
takers ? " Would that be gain which made 
him an outcast and strano;er? Has he not 
seen affliction sealed and bound up with the 
blessings of the covenant? learned how 
great a privilege it is to hear the Father's 
graver voice, and feel his correcting hand ? 

O blessed affliction, who deserves thee ! 
Not every one attains to the great preferment 
of trial. For the iron chain of suffering 
links with the golden chain of glory. Not 
only is it suffering, then glory ; — but suffer- 
ing, therefore glory. '' This light affliction 
worketh a weight of glory." These are the 
rough steps by which faith climbs upward 
to the throne. 

Why then art thou filled with vexing 
[ thoughts? Look forward to the end, when 

i 



NO SORROW THERE. 



patience shall have " its perfect work," and 
witness-bearing, in this temptation, its bright 
reward. 

The toilsome stages of thy journey end 
on the border of the better country. No 
sorrow, no crying, no pain are there ! No 
anguish of temptation, no shrinkings of fear, 
no tears of penitence, no agony of prayer. 
The cross is lifted off. The bitter cup is 
taken from thee. The trenching and the 
pruning are over, and on every branch of 
the tree which felt the knife, cluster the 
peaceable fruits of righteousness," the pleas- 
ant grapes of the vineyard of God. There 
we are past the preface and first pages of the 
covenant, which teach us what the discipline 
of sonship is. We are now in the heart and 
core of its blessings, knowing how glorious 
are the privileges of sonship, how unspeak- 
able its joys. We shall cry out no more for 
sore bereavement or besetting sin. We shall 
watch no more against an enemy, * nor see 
some evil shadow lurk in every pleasure. 



8 



THE CELESTIAL CITY. 



and feel it steal upon our sleep. Our 
Father's hand has wiped away our tears. 
The Saviour's voice says, Weep not, the 
days of thy mourning are ended ! " And 
the thought of past grief and trouble will 
come to us only to sweeten every moment of 
our rest. For sin, our deepest sorrow, comes 
not there. There, O Christian ! " the evil 
heart of unbelief" throbs no more, and the 
poisoned garment of the flesh has fallen from 
thee for ever. 

It will be thy blessedness there to think 
thou hast borne pain and trial for thy 
Lord. For every wound of thy warfare, for 
every talent of thy service, thy Lord will 
say Well done ! " For there the martyr, 
who had the baptism of blood, stands next 
the Prince of Sufferers — Him, who thinks 
the crown of thorns not the least among his 
" many crowns." 

Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 
looking unto Jesus ; who, for the joy that was 
Bet before him, endured the cross.'* 
Heb. xii. 1, 2. 



3^0 Ntgljt (illjere. 

" There shall be no night there." — Rev. xxii. 5. 

'jnVENING and morning make up the 
days of Earth — dark and bright stripes 
woven alternate and unceasing in the swiftly 
lengthening web of Time. Our changeful 
lives are like intricate devices traced upon 
that checkered Avoof. They run out and 
grow to their completeness through days of 
sunshine or of shadow. But no dusky veil 
is drawn over the clear sky of Heaven — no 
wandering film or vapor stains the long 
bright day of Eternity. Here, amidst our 
toil, our warfare, and weariness, we need 
niglit with its soft and quiet slumber. The 
waste of the day must be repaired by the 
still repose of night, and the spirit bathed in 
dews of forgetfulness, to be refreshed for the 
morrow's work. So each day is shut up and 



10 



THE CELESTIAL CITY. 



shrouded in its little grave of darkness, as 
our whole broad life of threescore years and 
ten contracts at last into the narrow house. 

But in the life of Heaven there are no 
wasted powers, no flagging energies, no 
weariness, and no slumber. Euch wor- 
shiper keeps an everlasting vigil of adoration 
before the throne. No bell rin2:s the hour 
of prayer. No twilight star kindles its sweet 
signal for Earth's evening hymn, but the 
heart times its happy thoughts to the grand 
movement of Heaven's unresting service. 
There, in silent watchfulness, or genial com- 
munion, or serene activity, it breathes the 
free, pure, bracing element of a sinless being. 

There is no interruption there, — no sor- 
rowful partings — no reluctant severance of 
pleasant fellowships — no shutting up of 
sweet and holy chapters of life, with " Arise, 
let us go hence." In the Father's house 
friend has never said to friend, " farewell ! " 
There it is no more expedient" that Christ 
should be away. The Son is in the house 



NO NIGHT THERE. 11 

for ever, and the Comforter also abides for 
ever. 

There are no dreams there — no blank 
hours in which the spirit roves through a 
land of shadows, and mocks itself with its 
shapeless fancies, and gropes after that which 
it cannot find. For that is the land of 
purged vision, and of blest realities — all 
that the mind can grasp, the heart rest in, 
and the soul take to itself as an heritage for 
ever. " In Thy light shall we see light." 

Here, O Christian ! thou often walkest in 
darkness and hast no light. Sin separates 
between thee and God. Unbelief, like a 
thick cloud, hides His face from thee. Thou 
must go by a dark way into the dark valley. 
But there Sin and Death have passed away, 
and drawn their shadow — darkness — after 
them. The briMit and mornino; Star " 
now shinetli in its strength. Nor is there 
one lonely place unillumined by its glances, 
not one lowly heart uncheered by its smile. 
Hast thou watched with the Saviour one 



12 



THE CELESTIAL CITY. 



hour of the night in Gethsemane? Or, 
when tliou shouldst have watched, hast thou 
slept for sorrow ? There thou shalt awake 
and walk with him in sweet companionship 
for ever. " The day breaks, and the shadows 
flee away," and thou, my soul, art with thy 
Saviour and thy God alone, as if in the uni- 
verse there were none besides — yet in a 
society where all are like him, and all love 
him, and all are altogether lovely. 

" The light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and 
the light of the sun seven-fold, as the light of seven 
days, in the day that the Lord bindeth up the 
breach of his people, and healeth the 
stroke of their wound." — 
Isaiah xxx. 26. 





5^0 Moxt (Huree. 



" There shall be no more curse." — Rev. xxii. 3. 



HAT makes the world a land of exile 



to him who follows Christ ? What 
gives him the heart of a stranger in passing 
through it ? What but -the curse of sin that 
overshadows it — the burden of sin he bears 
— knowino; that he can not for ever lav it 
down, till he has passed into the land of 
holiness and rest. 

How different was it once ! Then Earth 
was the abode of purity — the home of all 
that was blessed and lovely — a suburb of 
the Celestial City — a gate of the Temple 
tliat mio-ht be called " Beautiful," throuo-h 
which gleams came from the great glory 
Avithin, and breathings of angels' songs. 
But Earth, O man ! was cursed " for thee. 
Wherever thou goest, this curse has left its 




14 THE CELESTIAL CITY. - 

black and bitter trace. Beneath thee — in 
every worm that writhes, and thorn that 
stings. Around thee — in every leaf that 
falls, and flower that fades. About thee — 
in every storm that darkens heaven, and 
vapor that breathes pestilence and death. 
Beside thee — in every form of suffering 
and sorrow. Within thee — in the " body 
of sin " which clings to thee and drags down 
thy spirit, and lies like a weight upon the 
springs of life. Listen, and thou wilt hear 
the wail of creation " groaning and travail- 
ing in pain " — the creature made subject " 
to change and decay, and mourning in sack- 
cloth, ever since man, its prince and ruler, 
went into exile and slavery. Look, and thou 
wilt see the " flying roll " of curses every- 
where unfolded — filled, like the proph- 
et's, with lamentations, and mourning, and 
woe." But that curse will not follow thee 
into the land whither thou goest. Thou 
shalt dwell in a better paradise than Adam, 
for the serpent crept into Eden — in a better 



NO MORE CURSE. 



15 



inheritance than the earthly Canaan, for sin 
entered there. No evil mist will darken the 
brightness of the sky of heaven. No ser- 
pent-trail will sully one of its unwithering 
flowers. No lingering vestige of corruption 
will alarm thee* — no breath of temptation 
ruffle the serenity of thy sinless rest. 

How often here, on earth, has that loud 
and bitter cry issued from the holiest lips, 
" Oh, wretched man that I am ! who sliall 
deliver me from the body of this death ? " But 
there no groan shall be heard, no sorrowful 
complaint — but the everlasting song, " Who 
shall separate us from the love of Christ ? " 

And, if lying under this ban of sin, this 
earth still wears such loveliness — if the 
desert can bloom and brighten under the 
sunshine of the Christian's hope — what a 
vision of beauty, what a mystery of holy 
rapture will be his, when he is in the land 
whence every dark disturbing element has 
been withdrawn — in " the new heavens and 
new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." 



16 



THE CELESTIAL CITY. 



Strive, then, against sin ; and while thou 
strivest, let the painfulness of warfare endear 
the thought of thy eternal home. 

Follow holiness, and while thou followest 
it, look forward to the blessed certainty that 
awaits thee — for He is faithful that hath 
promised." Think of the stainless vestment 
that will be put on thee — emblem of the 
sinless purity that dwells for ever in the 
soul — the glory and the beauty that are 
within. 

" I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful 
in my God; for he hath clothed me with the 
garments of salvation, he hath covered 
me with the robe of right- 
eousness." — Is. Ixi. 10. 





No Moxt Hmtl). 

" There shall be no more death." — Rev. xxi. 4. 

TTOW often does the thought of the 
mysterious change that awaits him, 
cast gloom and heaviness over the Christian's 
mind ! Who can watch the blight, and 
withering, and defacement of that which 
was once so fair, — who has seen the suf- 
fering, the anguish, the unknown pang in 
w^hich the spirit tears itself from its tene- 
ment, and rends the earthly shroud, — and 
not felt that it is a bitter tribute we must 
pay ere we pass into endless life and free- 
dom ? 

How often have the mists, arising from the 
gloomy valley through w^hich we must go, 
hidden from our eyes the view of the better 
land beyond! Nor, pass where we may, 
can we escape the sense of this dread pres- 

2 



18 



THE CELESTIAL CITY. 



ence, this haunting mystery. Everywhere 
we see Death reign. Since Abel's grave 
was dio;o;ed under the wall of Eden, where 
has the King of Terrors not left his foot- 
prints ? On every rod of earth he has 
reared some ghastly memorial, — in every 
market-place proclaimed his title, — on every 
wall set up his banners, — in every garden 
hewn out a sepulcher. Earth still holds a 
place where the Lord lay." Within each 
of us those seeds are sown which must lay 
these bodies in the dust. 

And these are the bitter and poisonous 
fruits of sin. Death came by Sin. Sin 
mined the citadel, and Death stormed it. 
And because Sin has struck its roots into 
his nature, and coiled itself round every 
fiber of his being, even the heir of spiritual 
life must be through all his earthly days the 
bearer of a body of death." 

But "I know that my Redeemer liveth." 
I have seen his empty grave, and the folded 
shroud. I know that he was dead and is 



NO MORE DEATH. 19 

alive ; that dying, he destroyed him that 
had the power of death," and that living, 
he will be " the Resurrection and Life " to 
me ! At his girdle hang the keys of Hell 
and Death." And when the believer falls 
asleep, a voice from heaven speaks the words 
heard of old among the tombs of Bethany, 
" He that believeth in me, though he were 
dead, yet shall he live ; and whosoever liveth 
and believeth in me shall never die." 

Blessed assurance ! hope full of immortal- 
ity ! I shall see his face ; him and not 
another, in the land where death comes no 
more. There the fear, the foreboding, the 
gloom, the mystery shall have passed away. 
For sin can not enter there ; and with sin, 
death has perished, and every evil thing that 
was here a type and shadow of death. 

And there the heritage of eternal life will 
be mine. The crown of life will be mine. 
Through endless ages stretching before me 
in clear bright prospect, I shall know that 
there will be no change, no parting, no de- 



20 THE CELESTIAL CITY. 

cay, no death, because no sin. All through 
that love, whose first step was from the 
throne to Calvary ; and the next, from Cal- 
vary to the grave. 

The stone is rolled aw^ay from the sepul- 
cher of all who beheve. My Saviour has 
left the prints of his feet in the dark valley, 
from end to end, and made it the highway 
to the everlastino; kino;dom. Let me wait 
prayerfully, and work dihgently " all the 
days of my appointed time." And when 
this frail tent of earth loosens, and shrinks, 
and falls, may I pass forth from it, as Peter 
from his prison, wakened by an angel, and 
find myself standing in a trance of joy on 
the street of the new Jerusalem! 

" For we know, that, if our earthly house of this tabernacle 
were dissolved, we have a building of God, an 
house not made with hands, eternal 
in the heavens." — 
2 Cor. V. 1. 



><^<^^<^^<^<^<^<^ »»»»»»» 



5^0 (li:^mpk ^\)tvt. 

" I saw no temple therein.'* — Rev. xxi. 22. 

TT was the new Jerusalem, coming down 
out of heaven from God," with its girdle 
of jasper walls, and its coronal of glittering 
towers, that the apostle saw from the Mount 
of Vision. He thought of his own Jeru- 
salem, and of the streets where he had 
walked with his Lord, and the temple where 
he had heard his voice ; and the eye of the 
confessor of Patmos, long separated from his 
brethren, with his calendar of silent Sab- 
baths notched week after week in an exile's 
memory, would wander over the mass of ■ 
stately buildings to mark the temple, up- 
lifted in that element of purple clearness. 
If so fair the city, how glorious must be the 
shrine ! 

He sees no temple therein " — no sacred 



22 



THE CELESTIAL CITY. 



and guarded spot — no visible center and 
crowning point of glory. There is no place 
in all that shining city of God " four square" 
and compact together," of which it might 
be said, Here stand and worship with un- 
sandaled feet, for this is holy ground ! For 
what he sees is a city, and a temple likewise 
— a city wherein each citizen is a king — 
a temple wherein each worshiper is an an- 
ointed priest — a holy city, at once the 
home and sanctuary of the royal priesthood 
of Eternity. How must he, who had pray- 
ed toward Jerusalem, have longed to pass 
through urates each called " Beautiful," — 
and take part in that high office of devotion ; 
to have each day a Lord's Day with its one 
chanoeless vision of the Son of Man. 

How should it cheer the Christian's spirit, 
when in sickness, or lonesomeness, at a dis- 
tance from the sanctuary, or worshiping in 
these lower courts with a cold wandering 
heart, that yet a little while, and that temple 
will be his dwelling-place, and all his being 



NO TEMPLE THERE. 



23 



consecrated to holy service and priestly min- 
istration. If " one day in his courts is bet- 
ter than a thousand," wliat will a thousand 
be in the land where all time shrinks to a 
twinkling point, and the lifetime of a w^orld 
marks not a hair-breadth on the dial ? 

Once there he dwells for ever in the 
presence of God, and in the love of Christ, 
and in the communion of the Holy Ghost, 
and in the fellowship of the saints. " For 
the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are 
the temple of it." No more pilgrimage, for 
" they are now before the throne of God." 
No silent Sabbaths, for day and night they 
praise him. No check and intermission to 
holy worship, for they " dwell in the secret 
place of the Most High." No ordinances, 
no imagery, no sacraments, no hours of 
prayer, no written word, for Christ standeth 
no more " behind the lattice-work" of sym- 
bolism, but " looketh forth clear as the sun " 
and showeth himself " face to face." For 
ordinances, they have perpetual communion ; 



24 



THE CELESTIAL CITY. 



for sacraments, open vision ; for hours of 
prayer, an unceasing festival of praise ; for 
a witnessing Spirit, a manifested Saviour ; 
for tlie written oracles, the living voice. 

The Lord's Prayer of Eternity is fulfilled, 
as all are gathered into the temple of his 
spiritual presence, to go out no more. 

" That they all may be one ; as thou, Father, art in me, and 
I in thee, that they also may be one in us. I in 
them, and thou in me, that they may 
be made perfect in one." — 
John xvii. 21, 23. 





" The gates of it shall not be shut." — Rev. xxi. 25. 

n^HINE eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet 
habitation." Here the Christian dwells 
as in a guarded fortress, a beleaguered city, 
with enemies around him, exposed to con- 
tinual alarms. Armed and vigilant, he must 
stand upon his guard. He must watch against 
foes without, who never slumber ; and watch 
as sleeplessly against foes within. The " evil 
heart of unbelief" is as a traitor within the 
citadel. But there, in the better country, he 
dwells in a " peaceable habitation, and in a 
sure dwelling, and in a quiet resting-place." 

There is neither adversary, nor evil occur- 
rent." He has " finished his course ; he has 
fought the fight ; he has kept the faith." 
He has rendered up his armor, his watch- 
word, his trust, unto God. He rests in God, 



26 THE CELESTIAL CITY. 

and the everlasting arms " are around him, 
to keep him from fear of evil. 

The heavenly city has gates and walls for 
beauty, not security. Violence shall no 
more be heard in thy land ; wasting, nor de- 
struction within thy borders ; but thou shalt 
call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates. 
Praise." The glory of the Lord is its de- 
fense. It needs no battlement, and no bra- 
zen gate. It is open, but guarded as the 
camp of the chosen tribes in the desert, when 
the fiery pillar shone upon the tents of Ja- 
cob, — as the wide border of Canaan, along 
which angels stood sentinels, during the keep- 
ing of the solemn feasts. 

Here, walking amidst thick-sown perils, 
breathing a poisoned air, and tried by a 
treacherous heart, how often does the be- 
liever feel as if he walked in chains. He is 
laden with a heavy burden, and his spirit is 
often crushed in the dust by grievous bond- 
age. Yet even now, looking unto Jesus," 
with what gladness he feels the darkness, the 



THE OPEN GATES. 



27 



weight, the thralldom, at times removed; and 
learns, that when he walks most " under law 
to Christ," he walks most " at liberty." 

But what a blessed sense of freedom, and 
enlargement, and stirring energy, will be his 
in the Jerusalem above! "The gates are 
never sliut." There, like a trusted child, he 
can roam through all the chambers of his 
Father's dwelling, through the fair lands and 
gardens of his heritage. Like tlie heir of a 
royal line, he can visit at will all the cities 
and provinces of the kingdom. No restraint 
shackles the movements of his freeborn 
spirit. No fear trammels his light step. No 
doubt casts a fleeting stain on the clear mir- 
ror of his soul, to dim the image of his lov- 
ing Father. He is free to all the worlds of 
his sovereignty, the starry mansions of his 
Father's house ; free to all the realms of his 
spiritual kingdom. The bright name on 
his forehead" opens to him all its glories 
and resources. The principalities of heaven 
honor the blood-bought privilege of the heir 



28 



THE CELESTIAL CITY. 



of salvation. He shall ''go in and out," and 
wherever he goes, find nurture for his fer- 
vent powers, and glean materials for ador- 
ing contemplation. For all that w^as pure, 
and lovely, and excellent on earth, is gath- 
ered there. " The kings of the earth 
have brought their glory and honor to it." 
Prophets are there. Martyrs are there. 
Apostles are there. Angels are there. 
Christ is there. God is there. 

" Ye are come unto Mount Sion, and unto the city of the 
living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innu- 
merable company of angels, to the general as- 
sembly 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." 
Heb. xii. 22-24. 





" They serve Him day and night in His temple.'* — 
Rev. vii. 15. 

"DLESSED are they that dwell in Thy 
house : they will be still praising Thee." 
Day and night (as we speak on earth, for 
" there is no night there through the 
bright unbroken watches of eternity, they 
serve God in his temple. They sit not now 
by the gate ; they stand not in the porches ; 
they minister in the outer court no more. 
They are within the vail, in the presence of 
the Most High, swinging the golden censer, 
and striking the full-toned harp of their 
praises. 

If, here on earth, one day in His courts 
was better than a thousand, what will it be 
when God's waiting saints are called to the 
great gathering and festival in the heavens ? 



30 THE CELESTIAL CITY. 

"As the days of a tree, are the days of my 
people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the 
work of their hands." When He to whom 
a thousand years are as one day — a thou- 
sand cycles a fleeting second of eternity — 
says " long," he sets the seal and consecra- 
tion of his own infinite being upon their 
blessedness. 

Here we can not, if we would, be con- 
stantly employed in the service of God. 
Our bodies faint through weariness ; our 
minds flag and fail in a prolonged concentra- 
tion of their powers. And how many evil 
influences are at work within our souls to 
distract and overpower them ! How many 
worldly thoughts and anxieties flutter over 
our minds at the still hour of devotion, or in 
the house of God, like the birds descending 
on Abraham's sacrifice ! 

But how far otherwise will it be when we 
enter on the keeping of that Sabbath to 
which this mortal life is but the " evening of 
preparation " ! Then, there will be no Ian- 



THE HOLY SERVICE. 



31 



guishing nor faintness, — no inertness and no 
cessation, — no heart wandering after vanity, 
no soul cleaving to the dust; but a holy 
service of God, in which the spirit will find 
at once its exercise and its refreshment. 
There the air it breathes, the pure element 
of light in which it lives, will minister 
strength and alacrity to its swift elastic 
powers. It will soar to heights of holy con- 
templation, balancing itself on calm ethereal 
wings, and floating on in unutterable joy. 
" In waiting on the Lord it will renew (or 
transform^ its strength," passing by a swift 
ascension into higher circles of service, as it 
dilates from within to larger capacities of 
blessedness. 

What the nature of these employments 
may be, we know not. We know they will 
be worthy of spiritual bodies and sinless 
minds. How gladly will they see the secret 
course of Providence unveiled, the bright 
devices of that plan which seemed here so 
raveled and perplexing ! How intently will 



32 



THE CELESTIAL CITY. 



they watch the unfolding mystery of grace, 
and tell to prmcipalities and powers what it 
is to feel and return a Saviour's love ! With 
what rapture gaze on the flashing rays of 
the " many-colored wisdom of God," or the 
softened splendor of his attributes in the 
rainbow like an emerald round the throne ! 
A ceaseless but ever-varied course of sacred 
services, in which their being will glide on 
from joy to joy, and their natures advance 
from strength to strength, and the glorified 
intelligence climb ever up from round to j 
round of that shining ladder which rests its 
foot on the marble pavement, and hides its 
summit in light ineffable ! 

" Go thou thy way till the end be : for thou shalt rest, and 
stand in thy lot at the end of the days." — 
Daniel xii. 13. 




J 




Sllje Mnaasing Song. 

" They sing the song of Moses, and of the Lamb." — 
Rev. XV. 3. 

^HEY stand on that calm crj'-stal sea, a 
white-robed company, gathered safe into 
the Father's house. No enemy can vex 
them now ; the rough winds of their trial 
blow no more for ever. They stand with 
peace in their hearts, with light upon their 
faces, and thanksgiving on their lips. For 
there is not one there who can not speak of a 
great danger and a great deliverance, of a 
hard warfare and a glorious victory. 

Each one holds a golden harp. Each 
voice sings to the music of these heavenly 
instruments, Great and marvelous are 
Thy works. Lord God Almighty ; just and 
true are thy ways, thou King of saints." 
And as he sings, he thinks of the " great 

3 



34 



THE CELESTIAL CITY. 



works " that have been done for him, of the 
true ways " by which he has been led 
through the wilderness to his home. 

Let these sweet consenting voices — these 
bursts and gushes of ethereal melody— reach 
thy heart, O soldier of the cross, and 
breathe a fresh spirit into thy holy warfare ! 
What thou art, these heavenly singers once 
were. What they are, thou, when these 
troublous times are over, wilt be. As they 
sing of trial and victory, so wilt thou, when 
thou takest off thine armor and puttest on 
thy festal garments. Thou too wilt strike 
thy harp in symphony with their ringing 
halleluiahs. Thy voice will blend with the 
exulting song of praise to Him who loved 
thee and washed thee from thy sin — the 
song which angels can not sing, and to which 
they listen as a strain of thanksgiving be- 
yond their powers. 

Think then, when thou art in the storm 
of adversity, where deep calleth unto 
deep," how gladly thou wilt sing the song 



THE UNCEASING SONG. 35 

of Moses on the other side. Thy foes may 
pursue thee, but the Lord fights for thee. 
The pillar of cloud and fire is between thee 
and them. The Saviour's voice whispers in 
the darkness, When thou passest through 
the waters, I will be with thee." Thou 
must be baptized with his baptism of trial 
" in the cloud and in the sea." He will 
compass thee about," even here, " with 
songs of deliverance;" and there, the mem- 
ory of thy peril and thy terror will give 
more fullness and fervor to thy psalm of 
triumph. 

And will not one Name be uppermost in 
thy praises — his, who loved thee, and died 
for thee, and lives for thee, and guides thee 
with a gentle hand to thy home, and com- 
forts thee with the sweet words of his pro- 
mises by the way ? 

Not in thine own might and power, but in 
his, wilt thou be kept from falling, and up- 
holden to the end. In his strength thou 
art to strive ; in his love to obey ; in his 



36 THE CELESTIAL CITY. 

faithfulness to trust that thou wilt be kept 
"faithful unto death." 

As thou goest through the wilderness, 
" lean " on him. As thou runnest the race, 
" look " to him. Think of the great cloud 
of witnesses " that compass thee about, and 
let their songs and thanksgivings tell thee 
that they so looked and trusted and over- 
came. By the blood of the Lamb, and the 
word of their testimony," they stood fast in 
the evil day, and have won the crown of 
life. Therefore they sing — 

" Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and 
riches and wisdom and strength and honor 
and glory and blessing." — 
Rev. V. 12. 





" The}^ shall see his face." — Rev. xxii. 4. 

rpHE face of God! the brightness of that 
uncreated glory whereon none can look 
and live, before which worshiping angels 
veil their feces with their wings." 

It was only the shadow of that glory 
which Moses saw, — the outer folds, the 
wavino; skirts and fringes of the light in 
which He dwells, — what the blue and 
purple curtains of the tabernacle were to 
the luminous Shekinah-cloud within. 

What a mystery of blessedness will be 
the heritage of the redeemed ! The least in 
the kingdom of heaven is greater than the 
mightiest of prophets. To each it will be 
given to stand in the cleft of the rock," 
and behold the light of that transforming 
vision, — the clearness, the splendor and " self- 



38 THE CELESTIAL CITY. 

infolding fire," pass before him. Each will 
hear the voice that proclaims his goodness 
along the ages of eternity. 

How quickly do the brightest glimpses we 
have here of the favor of God, and the love 
of Christ, and things " eternal in the heav- 
ens," pass away ! The bright vision grows 
dim and fades from us ; or rather, our weak 
sight and unstable hearts can not hold it long. 
Like the great sheet filled with living forms 
let down before Peter in his trance, it is 
drawn up again into heaven. 

At times we see in spiritual things a glory 
and beauty which things around us do not 
possess. We feel attracted and uphfted by 
them. We could wish to build a tabernacle 
on the calm bright summits from which we 
have seen the land that is very far off." 
But the elements of the world " bring us 
again into bondage." The earthly over- 
shadows and shuts out the heavenly. The 
evil influences that set so strongly, like con- 
trary currents in the soul, gather strength 



THE BEATIFIC VISION. 39 

again, and draw away our tliouglits and 
]ono:ino:s into lower channels. 

But there we shall " arise and walk in the 
licrht of the Lord." We shall see his 
face." In his glory we shall behold the 
fullness and consummation of his grace. 
We shall rest in the calm assurance of his 
favor, and have clearer insight into the ex- 
cellencies of his nature, and look into the 
deep thoughts of the infinite mind. 

We shall see the face of Jesus ; and 
thouD-h nothinp; more were told us of heav- 
en's glory, this would be enough. It was 
enouo;h for him who saw the visions of God. 
To John it was a dearer remembrance that 
he leaned on the Saviour's bosom, than that 
he looked through the door opened in heaven, 
and heard those harpings and sevenfold hal- 
lelujahs. " It doth not yet appear what we 
shall be ; but we know that Avhen he shall 
appear, we shall be like him ; for we shall 
see him as he is." 

To be with him, for ever, whom we love ; 



40 THE CELESTIAL CITY. 

to see that face radiant with grace, which 
was wet with Gethsemane's sweat of blood ; 
that brow, on which are " mam^ crowns," 
wearing the mark of the crown of thorns. 
Oh ! if here the faint shining of his counte- 
nance gives so much gladness, what will the 
unclouded brightness of it be ? To see a 
hight yet unsealed, a breadth yet unmeas- 
ured, a depth yet unsounded in his love — 
will be the beatific vision and endless joy of 
the redeemed. The knowledge of a " love 
that passeth knowledge " is the Apocalypse 
of Eternity. 

" Now we see through a glass, darkl}'; but then face to face: 
now I know in part; but then shall I know 
even as alsc I am known." — 
1 Cor. xiii. 12. 





(Jilje Sljining Maxk. 

" His name shall be in their foreheads." — Rev. xxii. 4. 

T)ELOVED, now are we the sons of 
God," Thus the apostle points the 
behever's eye beyond the dark and troubled 
scenes of life to his glorious heritage of hopes, 
to the privileges of his heavenly birth. 

Here there is no outward sign to strike 
the world's eye, that such a name and line- 
ao-e are his. No device blazoned on shield 
or banner, no jeweled star upon the breast, 
marks out the nobility of heaven. They 
are princes in disguise, as was their Lord 
before them. " Therefore the world knoweth 
us not, because it knew him not." And 
will they court smiles w^here he met with 
frowns ? Will they think it strange or hard 
that those hands will not weave a garland 
for them which twisted the crown of thorns 



42 



THE CELESTIAL CITY. 



for him ? Their " citizenship is in heaven," 
and no earthly parchment or royal seal 
attests it. And as his enemies would not 
see in the Christian apostle the citizen of 
Rome, the world can not see in the simple 
guise of the Christian, " walking humbly 
with his God," one who is free to the 
Jerusalem that is above," ''a citizen of no 
mean city." 

But the day is coming when there will be 
a " manifestation " of the sons of God. The 
mean disguise of their humiliation will be 
stripped aside. The heirs of the kingdom 
will take place and rank after their long 
exile. They will be transfigured as beseems 
their ancestry, with brightness on their faces, 
and their Father's name in their foreheads. 
Each will bear that superscription, and re- 
flect that image, — he that is lowest in the 
kingdom, as well as he who is highest. One 
star may differ from another star in glory, 
but the rays of each will hold that sacred 
cipher. 



THE SHINING MARK. 



43 



The common vessels in the Lord's house 
shall be like " the golden bowls before the 
altar," each bearing the legend, Holiness 
to the Lord." For in the brio-lit name on 
their foreheads, there is the seal of their 
spiritual purity, the token of their Father's 
favor, the pledge of " glory and honor and 
immortality." 

Here they bear the marks of the Lord 
Jesus," not in visible imprint, not in fleshly 
wounds, as those bleeding marks which 
have been fabled of visionaries of the cloister. 
They bear them in chastened affections, in 
lowly lives, in crucified tempers and desires, 
in Christ-like meekness and gentleness." 
It is such a life as his who said, The world 
is crucified unto me, and I unto the world," 
that has the mark of the spiritual cross. 

But then, when they are with the Lord, 
the bridit sio;n of their hio-h callino; will be 
clearly seen. The outward glory will be in 
measure as the inward holiness. The name 
without will be a witnessing index to the 



44 THE CELESTIAL CITY. 

deep and blessed experience within, of a 
peace with God " which " passeth under- 
standing." Nor will that symbol of royal 
honor and priestly consecration ever grow 
dim or fade away. "Be ye glad and rejoice 
for ever in that which I create ; for behold 
I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her 
people a joy." 

Each, in his own place in the heavenly 
city, will be one of its perpetual ornaments, 
" for glory and for beauty." Each, in tliat 
shining seal upon his forehead, will show his 
oneness with Christ, and all together the 
completeness of the family of which he is 
the head. For " on him shall they hang 
all the glory of his Father's house," and he 
shall bear it uninjured and untarnished for 
ever. 

" Thou shalt be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, 
and a royal diadem in the hand of thy 
God." — Isaiah Ixii. '3. 



#r£at JHuUitubc. 

" A great multitude, which no man could number." — 
Rev. vii. 9. 

TTOW would it cheer the apostle, one of 
the few standard-bearers of the faith, 
and now severed from the communion of the 
saints, to behold this great congregation of 
worshipers, to hear their voices blending 
round the throne " like the sound of many 
waters J " 

How often is the Christian's mind weighed 
down with heaviness, when separated from 
his brethren in sickness or solitude ; or when, 
in the common intercourse of life, he finds 
few to sympathize wath his sorrows and 
hopes ! Let him not think concerning this 
trial, that any " strange thing " has hap- 
pened to him. His Master was alone ; and 

as he was, so are we in this world." Yet 



46 THE CELESTIAL CITY. 

as he said, not alone, because the Father 
is with me ; " so where one disciple stands 
weeping for the Lord, or two walk together 
and speak of him, does he come to revive 
their drooping hearts. 

Each of these heavenly worshipers passed 
through the same sorrowful experience on 
earth. Each had to ''fill up " his own 
measure of '' the afflictions of Christ," that 
he might thus be made conformable unto 
his death." What mysteries of spiritual 
trouble did these hearts once shut up within 
them ! By what dark and strange ways 
were they led ; but this is the end, — "^There- 
fore are they before the throne of God," 
Each in his own time struggled through the 
mists and glooms of his pilgrimage, to emerge 
at last into the shadowless light of eternity. 

'' These are they which came out of great 
tribulation." The first human spirit that 
ever ascended there left its body bleeding 
upon earth. And one after another, those 
who like " righteous Abel " have been 



THE GREAT MULTITUDE. 47 



tried and found faithful, have followed him 
to glory. Each, like his Lord, has been a 

man of sorrows." Not an eye there that 
has not wept, or looked up in tearless 
anguish. Not a heart but has well-nigh 
broken in an agony of prayer. Not a spirit 
that has not been torn with deep and bitter 
wounds. In all its forms of sickness or 
grief, poverty or pain, reproach or slighting, 
temptation or darkness, or deadly trouble, 
affliction has pressed upon them. Each has 
borne his solitary burden, and felt that his 
were sorrows wherewith " a stranger doth 
not intermeddle." 

How different is it now ! Each, purified 
by suffering, has "come to the heavenly 
Jerusalem, and an innumerable company of 
angels, and the general assembly and church 
of the first-born, and to God, and to Jesus 
Christ." How different their view of trial, 
when they were " perplexed, though not 
despairing, cast down, though not destroyed." 
Each was bitter at the time, but it has left 



48 



THE CELESTIAL CITY. 



an enduring sweetness. Each prepared them 
for their inheritance and rest. Each made 
heaven more welcome when it came. And 
now they are all assembled there, one family 
in Christ. Called " from every nation and 
kindred and people and tongue," — they are 
one in name, one in speech, one in worship, 
one in love. 

And the same hand that upheld them, and 
brought them out of tribulation, can sustain 
thee, and deliver thee from thine. Thou 
hast the same Saviour, the same word of 
promise : — 



" In the world ye shall have tribulation, but in me ye have 
peace. Be of good cheer, I have overcome 
the world." — John xvi. 33. 



m)t lllljite Hobcs. 

" Clothed with white robes." — Rev. vii. 9. 

TF it seem strange to connect the thought 
of " great tribulation " with that con- 
course of blessed worshipers, it may seem 
even more strange to think that theirs, now 
a state of saintly purity, was once a state of 
sin. But the thought is not strange to their 
minds. They have not forgotten, they have 
no wish to forget, what they were. 

They could not be ashamed of this re- 
membrance without being ashamed of their 
Saviour's love, and his dying anguish, and 
the blood of atonement. If upon the throne 
he is still the " Lamb as it had been slain," 
they can not beliold him without the thought, 
"Slain for us!" If he has not forgotten 
Bethlehem and Galilee and Gethsemane 
and Calvary, no more do they forget the 



50 



THE CELESTIAL CITY. 



days when, under the burden and guilt of 
sm, they first looked to the cross, and felt 
that his blood flowed there to atone and to 
purify. Therefore they sing, " Glory unto 
hiin that loved us and washed us from our 
sins in liis own blood." 

For if each of that white-robed company 
has come out of " great tribulation," each 
has been redeemed from grievous bondage. 
Sin, indeed, was the secret root of their sor- 
row. Wherever suffering is, sin has gone 
before it, as the shadow follows the moving 
cloud. And if the robes of their holy ser- 
vice are white and glistening, they can not 
look at them without thinkino; of their former 
stains. They are " washed," — not one speck 
now sulHes their immaculate purity ; but 
their hands have not cleansed them. No 
penitential tears could thus have washed 
them ; no life-blood of willing martyrdom ; 
no baptismal waters ; no sacramental grace. 
They came as sinners, and washed in the 
fountain which God has opened, and the 



THE WHITE ROBES. 51 

blood of God's Son has filled, — that sacred 
laver in the court of the temple, which 
alone avails to the purifying of the con- 
science and the spirit. 

Difficult it is for us to think of them, 
lifted now so high above our low- though ted 
region of fears and sorrows, as once crushed 
under the bondage of sin, and the tyranny of 
a selfish will, and the " evil heart of un- 
belief." But so it was. They have known 
the strife with temptation, the strength of 
the w^orld, the weakness of the flesh, " fight- 
ings without and fears within." Sin vexed 
and saddened them all their days. As they 
became more holy in life, more spiritual in 
mind, they were more quick of sight to 
detect sin, more sensitive of conscience to 
shrink from it. 

The whiter the garment, the darker shows 
the smallest stain on it. The higher they 
climbed up their rugged and saintly path, 
the lower did they lie before their God. 
And when, to those toiling in the valley, 



UNIVERSITY OF 
ILUNOIS LIBRARY 
AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 



52 



THE CELESTIAL CITY. 



they seemed to stand on a serene eminence 
of faith in clear sunlight, and were called 
" chief of saints," they could only think 
what grace had done, and call themselves 

chief of sinners." For the highest point of 
Christian attainment is that from which one 
has the clearest view of Christ's worth aitd 
his own un worthiness. But now they are 
with pure hearts and white raiment before 
the throne. 

And as a " cloud of witnesses," they be- 
hold us striving as once they strove, weeping 
as once they wept, praying as once they 
prayed. Let their example bid us be of 
good cheer. Let the luminous track they 
have left behind — that ''path of the just," 
which is "as the shining light," be ours. 
Like them, let us " look off" from the false 
shows and images of time, which would be- 
guile us of our reward, and look steadfastly 
unto Jesus. 



*' Not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and 
patience inherit the promises.*' — Heb. vi. 12. 




(Jlje |)alm0 of iJictorg. 

" With palms in their hands." — Rev. vii. 9. 

TT was not merely a congregation of wor- 
" shipers that the apostle saw in that white- 
robed multitude, but an army of warriors 
rejoicing when the fight is over, and the 
victory won. Each had not only to endure 
tribulation, but to resist subtle forces of evil 
at work within him and without him. He 
had to strive against that spiritual substance, 
from which dark shadows of temptation 
were thrown forward on his soul. Not 
with flesh and blood do we wrestle, but with 
principalities and powers." 

For the white robes, each was once ar- 
rayed in bruised and dinted armor. For 
the palm of victory, he grasped the sword. 
Through all the days of his earthly sojourn- 
ing, the warfare lasted. Often was he ready 



54 



THE CELESTIAL CITY. 



to faint through weariness, often daunted 
by the great company that was leagued 
against him, — spiritualities of wickedness" 
swarming about his path, ambushed in his 
very thoughts. But through the grace of 
Christ he persevered, and in his strength 
he overcame. 

Often did he look for the evening shadow 
that was to call him from the tumult of the 
fight, but it did not come till death came. 
As long as life beat within him, that life was 
a struggle, and a discipline^ of hardness. 
Not till the golden bowl was broken, the 
sword of his warfare lay shivered beside it, 
and the weary soldier was borne home by 
angels to his rest. 

He has " fought the good fight ; he has 
finished his course, and kept the faith," and 
the everlasting gates are thrown open. An- 
gels chant before him the psalm of victory. 
Saints throng around him with words of 
welcome. His Father smiles " Well done !" 
His Lord, " the righteous Judge," gives 



THE PALMS OF VICTORY. 



55 



him the reward of faithful service, and he 
stands 

" With those just spirits that wear victorious palms, 
Hymns devout and holy psalms 
Singing everlastingly." 

And now he looks back from his rest on 
the rough and toilsome track through w^hich 
he fought his way, and wonders that he was 
often ready to faint and fail. How often did 
he doubt the Saviour's love at the very 
moment that love upheld him ; and distrust 
the issue, when the Saviour's death and life 
together assured him of the victory. He 
has received the reward of victory now ; 
but through Christ he was victorious, even 
then. For once that sacred bond of faith 
knits us to our unseen Lord, " what or who 
shall separate us from the love of Christ?" 
" Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, 
or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword ? 
Nay, in all these things we are more than 
conquerors through him that loved us." 

More than conquerors," for he says, Be 

L 



56 THE CELESTIAL CITY. 

of good cheer, I have overcome the world." 
''And this is the victory that overcometh the 
world, even our faith," that He, the Captain 
of salvation, has for all his followers over- 
come. 

The earthly conqueror knows that through 
his own strength he must overcome, but the 
Christian, " more than conqueror," knows 
that Christ has already overcome. The 
earthly conqueror can not gain a victory 
without losses, but the Christian is " more 
than conqueror," because all his losses turn 
to gains. The earthly conqueror can not 
carry the fruits of his victories to the grave, 
but the Christian is " more than conqueror," 
for they follow him up to glory. There first 
he receives the crown, the robe, the un- 
withering palm ; and all eternity is the feast 
of his triumph. 

" I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy 
salvation." — Psalm xiii. 5. 




" Having the glory of God." — Rev. xxi. 11. 

LORIOUS things are spoken of thee, O 
city of God ! " but this is the sum and 
fulfiUment of them all. Even in this cloudy 
and glimmering time, — this season of twi- 
light views and shadowy glimpses, — thou 
shinest, O Zion ! as a light in this dark 
world. 

And better days are in reserve for thee 
on earth than any thou hast seen as yet, 
when it will be said, " Arise, shine ; for thy 
light is come, and the glory of the Lord is 
risen upon thee." Blessed hope, that re- 
vives the believer's heart, when " iniquity 
abounds," and love waxeth cold," and the 
cause of God is depressed, and the light of 
living godliness is weak and low, as if the 
lamp were going out in the temple ! 

And how often does thine own lamp burn 



58 THE CELESTIAL CITY. 

dim, O Christian ! in this damp and heavy 
atmosphere of earth ? How often, in the 
honr of strong temptation, does a gloom, " a 
horror of great darkness," seem to fall with 
a deadly chill upon thy spirit ! Or insensi- 
bly, through the insidious power of an evil 
world, thou art beguiled to slumber. 

Thy spirit falls short of the high reach of 
earlier desire and aim, — the spring-tide full- 
ness and overflow of feeling ebbs, — and, ere 
thou art aware, thou hast left thy first 
love," and " the things which remain are 
ready to die." 

And then, when gloom and sorrow and 
self-reproach have followed the season of 
declension, what joy is thine when " the 
day-«pring from on high" revisits thy soul, 
and " the Sun of Righteousness rises, with 
healing in his wings." Then the prayer of 
Moses is thine, " Lord, show me thy glory ;" 
and the faint glimpses of it which are given 
thee, how do they gladden the spirit and 
disperse the mists that overhung it ! 



THE CITY'S GLORY. 59 

But what will it be, when thou dwellest in 
the noontide liglit and clearness of the glory 
of God, — when thou art a priest and wor- 
shiper in the heavenly temple ? There it is 
no Shekinah, no luminous symbol, that 
marks his presence ; but that Presence, in 
unvailed splendor, is itself there, shining in 
constant communications of love and favor, 
— streaming forth in glorious sun-bursts of 
life and blessedness and joy. 

If to Moses it was a sufficient promise, 
" My presence shall go with thee, and I will 
give thee rest ; " what will it be when that 
presence shall rest on thee, and overshadow 
thee, and hold thee in, and fold thee about 
for ever? 

If David had more gladness put into his 
heart by one gleam of light from God's 
countenance than all earthly blessings could 
impart, what will it be when that light flows 
in upon tliee without check or dimness ? 
when all the affections and capacities of a 
holy being are filled with light and gladness 



60 THE CELESTIAL CITY. 

to the brim? The Saviour's face will ever 
shine on thee. The Father's glory will be 
ever seen upon thee. All darkness will be 
chased away from thy mind, — all fear and 
heaviness from thy heart. There will be 
" no part dark," but, to the innermost re- 
gion of the spirit, a blessed and inspiring 
sense of life and freedom and peacefulness. 
There will be no presentiment nor foretaste 
there, but perfect and full-orbed enjoyment. 
No " appearance of the likeness of the glory 
of the Lord;" but a vision which will be 
a transformation into " the light of the 
knowledge of the glory of God in the face 
of Jesus Christ ! " 

" Thy sun shall no more go down ; neither shall thy moon 
withdraw itself; for the Lord shall be thine 
everlasting light, and the days of thy 
mourning shall be ended." 
Isaiah Ix. 20. 





" The Lamb is the light thereof." — Rev. xxi. 23. 



LL the light that shines on the pilgrim's 



path, as he goes on his way to the far- 
off city of his rest, is light from Him, " the 
brightness of the Father's glorj^," — " Im- 
mannel, God with us." 

All light that in this dark world illumines 
the mind, and cheers the heart, and brings 
the realities of heaven more near and vivid 
to the spirit, is light that dwells in him as 
its center, and streams from him as its 
source. Life, gladness, healing, and purity, 
reach and fall upon the soul out of heaven, 
in the clear shinino; of the brio;ht and 
mornino; star." So sweet the o:race, so hio-h 
the blessing, that " having not seen " him, 
save in the spiritual revelation of faith, it 
" loves him, and believing, rejoices with joy 
unspeakable and full of glory." 




G2 



THE CELESTIAL CITY. 



But oh, what joy unspeakable will that be, 
when the soul enters into light unspeakable, 
and is possessed wholly of that light ! What 
earthly gladness can shadow that which will 
flow in upon it, when, caught up into 
paradise," it sees the glory of heaven gather- 
ed up and concentrated in the glorified 
humanity of Christ. It is one like unto 
the Son of man," who stands a great light 
in the midst of heaven, and all his saints 
like lesser lights move round him in their 
courses, shining in the brightness they re- 
ceive from him. 

For it is as the Lamb that he is the light 
of heaven. As the once suffering Redeemer, 
now Prince and Head of God's unsuffering 
kingdom, he is there " highly exalted " and 
" crowned with glory and honor." To each 
of his redeemed, the face that was bright on 
Tabor is not more beautiful than that which 
grew dark on Calvary. The visage once 
marred more than any man," is all the fairer 
now for their remembrance of its passion and 



THE CITY'S LIGHT. 



63 



pain. Heaven takes its glory from him, for 
tliey can see nothing there but in the light 
of him who is altogether lovely." Each 
golden plate and jeweled corner-stone throws 
back his image, gleams and sparkles in his 
light ; and all precious things are cast into 
the mold and fused together to make up an 
image of that affluence of glory which his 
presence showers over heaven. 

It is because " the Lamb is the light 
thereof," that the light of the city is like 
unto a stone most precious, even like a 
jasper-stone, clear as crystal." For what 
constellation of material splendors would be 
to the redeemed so glorious as the vision of 
the Lord? — so fair as one glance of that 
eye — one look of that countenance, which 
chano:es them into the same imao;e? No 
a, need to them of sun or moon. These are 
but torches that burned dimly in the night- 
watches, but go out on the breaking of the 
day, — glimmering lamps at the outer gate of 
God's house, that may be quenched when 



64 



THE CELESTIAL CITY. 



the guests are met and the high festival 
begun. 

Let the thought cheer thee, O believer! 
amidst " the sufferings of this present time," 
that such glory will yet be revealed, and re- 
vealed in thee. Here thou often " walkest 
in darkness and hast no light." Thy Lord 
may be hidden from thy sight, or thou be- 
holdest him, " but not nigh." But there 
thou shalt walk all the day " in the light of 
his countenance." " In thy Light shall we 
see light," and shine " all glorious within," 
knowing as we are known ; loving also, in 
our measure, as we are loved. " As for 
me, I will beliold thy face in peace ; I shall 
be satisfied, when I awake with thy like- 
ness." 

"The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for 
brightness shall the moon give light unto thee; 
but the Lord shall be unto thee an ever- 
lasting light, and th}^ God thy 
glory." — Isaiah Ix. 19. 



"The wall of the city had twelve foundations." — 



HE Seer beheld these foundations laid in 



twelve massive tiers or courses, under- 
girding the holy city beneath the jasper 
wall, clasping it round and round in solid 
and burnished coils, as of adamant. And 
in these jeweled stones, cut in luminous 
ciphers, so as to be plain to all who drew 
near, were the names of the twelve apos- 
tles of the Lamb." What a recompense for 
life -long trial, when John saw his own 
name, branded in the earthly Jerusalem, 
thus blazoned on the wall of the Jerusalem 
above ! 

Not through eminent merit, or shining 
graces, are these names there, but as ^' apos- 
tles of the Lamb." These are they which 



Kev. xxi. 14. 




5 



66 THE CELESTIAL CITY. 

" followed the Lamb " whithersoever he 
went. They heard his voice, and loved his 
ways, and learned of him who was " meek 
and lowly;" and when he died, and rose 
again, and went up to heaven, they went 
forth in the power of his promise and spirit- 
ual presence, and preached over the world 
salvation through his blood. 

These first received the baptism of fire. 
These were the first heralds of the cross. 
In the simple truths of the gospel which 
they first uttered, they laid the foundations 
of the City of God. " The church is built 
on the foundation of apostles and prophets, 
Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner- 
stone." And it is meet that on the lowest 
stone of the spiritual temple their names 
should be preserved in everlasting remem- 
brance. 

Here, O Christian men ! behold the deep- 
hewn foundations of your hope. Learn 
how safe and inviolate is the charter of 
your inheritance. That hope is based on 



THE TWELVE FOUNDATIONS. 



67 



the living rock of truth, the faitliful word 
of him who is the Truth." Bk\ss God 
for the glorious and unperplexing simplicities 
of the gospel. Cling to its elemental say- 
ings, its plain verities. Christ Jesus came 
into the world to save sinners." Him that 
Cometh unto me I will in nowise cast out." 
" Come unto me all ye that labor, and are 
heavy laden, and I will give you rest." 
How rich that field of truth wherein no foot 
can wander without striking on some such 
golden vein of mercy ! 

Yours is a " city which hath foundations," 
a kingdom which can not be moved," " an 
inheritance which fadeth not away," a 
tabernacle which will not be taken down." 
Amidst the false and wavering shadows of 
Time, " you have in heaven a better and 
more enduring substance." Cast not away 
therefore your confidence, which hath such 
recompense of reward." Be ye " steadfast 
and unmovable" likewise. 

These foundations were garnished with 



68 



THE CELESTIAL CITY. 



all manner of precious stones."" But what 
is mingling radiance of sapphire and topaz, 
of amethyst and chrysoprase, to the glory of 
God, to the vision of the Saviour? Yet 
these are there, all that earth holds excellent 
and precious ; and the loveliness even of 
earth should lead you to discern, in material 
elements and forms, types and simiHtudes 
of heaven. If such the embroidery of the 
footstool, what must be the splendor of the 
throne ! Surely the almond-knobs and lily- 
work that wreathe the door-posts of the 
temple, the fair adorning of God's outer 
courts, should make you long to " see his 
power and his glory," so as only they are 
seen in the sanctuary above. 

*' Oh, send out thy light and thy truth; let them lead 
me, let them bring me unto thy holy hill, 
and to thy tabernacles." — 
Psalm xliii. 3. 





" They stand on the sea of glass." — Kev. xv. 2. 

TT is "through much tribulation" that the 
Christian must enter the kingdom of 
God. Through " windy storm and tempest," 
through rough and swelling waters, he must 
keep his onward way. How often tossed 
upon a sea of troubles, trembling for weak- 
ness in the grasp of a strong temptation, or 
dragging his slow steps from sorrow unto 
sorrow, does he say, " I am come into deep 
waters, where the floods overflow me. I 
sink in deep ooze, where there is no stand- 
ing." Deep calleth unto deep at the noise 
of thy water-spouts ; all thy waves and thy 
billows are gone over me." How often, like 
the apostle's prison ship, struck by the storm- 
wind Euroclydon, and " driven up and down 
in Adria," is there no resource in the deep 



70 THE CELESTIAL CITY. 

night and under starless skies, but to cast 
forth his anchors and wait for the day. 

And now that day is springing, and there 
is a great calm. He has passed through the 
rude waves of his tribulation. The days of 
his fear and struggling and strong crying 
are ended. From the perils of these worldly 
seas he has escaped safe to land." What 
an emblem of rest and quietness and security 
has each of the redeemed before his eyes and 
under his feet. He stands on "the sea of 
glass," — the crystal pavement, that stretches 
far away into shining distance before the 
throne. As if the expanse of the shoreless 
ocean, unruffled by a breath, had been so 
fixed for ever, and charmed into everlasting 
stillness. They stand on this " sea " with 
" quietness and assurance," as their heritage 
for ever. They are taken up into a great 
tranquilhty, " perfect peace " around them, 
and within them a harmonious calm. A 
blessed trance, in which their eyes are open, 
and the heart silently fills with joy, as a 



THE CRYSTAL SEA. 



71 



vessel at a fountain. Their life is now " the 
keeping of a Sabbath." They have enter- 
ed into rest/' and ceased from their own 
works, as God did from his." They are 
at rest from trial and temptation, from 
watches and alarms, from evil spirits and 
wicked men, from strife and violence and 
clamor, from rough winds and swelling 
waters and toilsome ways. In this sense, 
there is ''no more sea" (xxi. 1). The 
" noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, 
and the tumult of the people," are stilled by 
him who " sitteth King upon the flood." 

No restless passion troubles the grave and 
settled mind. Each soul possesses itself in 
strength and confidence. Each is kept, 
" like a city that is compact together," by a 
" peace which passeth understanding." No 
vexing thought hovers over the clear spirit, 
to cast the smallest shadow from its wino; : 
no breath of evil ruffles the serenity of the 
holy heart. All passions and affections and 
desires are still in the presence of God, as 



72 THE CELESTIAL CITY. 

Solomon's brazen sea in the court of the 
temple. 

The apostle saw this sea of glass " mingled 
with fire," as if the reflection of the seven 
lamps, ever burning before the throne, was 
visible in its crystal deeps, in dazzling veins 
and streaks of brightness. A symbol, it 
might be, of God's abiding presence in the 
glorified soul. For each will in his place 
reflect his glory — each will be a mirror of 
the uncreated Excellence. Each, in his 
deep peace, will have as deep a joy in the 
vision of God. And the Spirit of God will 
dwell and move in each as fire ; not now to 
search and purify, but to keep their love and 
fervor up to the fullest strain of their ethe- 
real powers. 

" The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed ; 
but my kindness shall not depart from thee, 
neither shall the covenant of my 
peace be removed." — 
Isaiah liv. 10. 



^\)t (ffmeralb HainbotD. 

" A rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an 
emerald." — Rev. iv. 3. 

ITT HAT John now sees in Patmos re- 
sembles what Ezekiel saw by Chebar ; 
but there is one point of difference. The 
Hebrew prophet saw the firmament of the 
terrible crystal," and the sapphire-colored 
throne, and the mystic Appearance, and the 
beautiful arch of fire, " as the likeness of 
the bow that is in the cloud in the day of 
rain." But there it was an amber-tinted 
halo that arched the throne, — an angry and 
threatening brightness ; for God had pre- 
pared his throne for judgment. 

Here the brilliant coronal is wreathed of 
a soft and tempered light, — "a rainbow, in 
sight like unto an emerald ; for God is sit- 
ting on the throne of grace. This blessed 



74 



THE CELESTIAL CITY. 



sign is bended round the throne by the hands 
of God, in token of love and hope and rec- 
onciliation, — the sweet symbol of the cove- 
nant of everlasting peace. 

It is God in Christ, O trembling heart of 
faith ! who sits for tliee on the throne of 
heaven. All his majesty now throws luster 
on his mercy ; and in the light of his mercy, 
in the face of Jesus, thou beholdest all his 
bright perfections, and canst worship him 
" in the beauty of holiness." Only because 
the Mediator stands before the throne, and 
the way through the vail is sprinkled with 
his blood, hast thou freedom of access and 
sureness of acceptance and sweetness of 
communion. 

How pleasant, when the thunder-cloud 
drifts from the sky, and the clear blue light 
is streaming cool through its rents, and the 
green summer-fields sparkle with dewy fresh- 
ness, and the rain -scented thickets of bloom 
send pulses of fragrance through the air, to 
see the rainbow fling its glittering loop round 



THE EMERALD RAINBOW. 75 

the somber vault, and open its seven stripes 
of color out of the storm, like some beauti- 
ful flower of light ! You see in it the holy 
emblem of God's covenant with man, — 
Love's device blazoned on Heaven's ever- 
lasting shield, — the signal-flag of hope and 
peace flying high in the tempest. All the 
secret hues of light are there, braided and 
woven, to vivify the type to the eye and 
heart of man. But in the " rainbow round 
the throne," all colors seem to mingle and 
flow into one, and that the softest and most 
refreshing to the eye. It is Earth's chosen 
color, — the household dress of our common 
mother, — the emerald tint of spring, on 
which we love to look, and can look longest. 

Thus drawing near to the throne of God 
in Christ, we see, in the bright display of 
his mercy, the blended splendor of his holi- 
ness and wisdom and truth and power. In 
the grace " that bringeth salvation," we be- 
hold all the attributes of glory meet and 
mingle and harmonize. The Father's eye 



76 



THE CELESTIAL CITY. 



saw the brilliant halo that hung round the 
Cross of Calvary, and with it he has arched 
his throne ; and his mercy, thus glorified, is 
" unto all and upon all them that believe." 
How blessed now to see all his holy perfec- 
tions in seeing his mercy, to look through 
that mercy to the mild and chastened splen- 
dor of his glorj', to think that in the inner- 
most center of the sapphire light there is a 
heart beating with love and tenderness to 
man. For God is not in the earthquake and 
whirlwind and fire, as he is in the still small 
voice, interpreted by Christ, the living Word. 
And there for ever, at the burning core and 
heart of that great splendor, sitteth God in 
Christ, the beatific Vision of the glorified. 

" Though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is 
turned away, and thou comfortedst 
me." — Isaiah xii. 1. 





©Ije Qtmn Camps. 

"Seven lamps of fire, burning before the throne." — 
Rev. iv. 5. 

TT was no massive candlestick, as in the 
Jewish temple, wrought by cunning 
hand, in shaft and bowl, of beaten gold, and 
embossed with delicate knop and flower. 
Rather a constellation of living fires, burn- 
ing up from ethereal springs, shedding mys- 
tic radiance on the throne, and underneath 
on the crystal sea. 

For these are the seven Spirits of God," 
the One Divine Spirit in sevenfold fullness 
of gift, and sevenfold diversity of operation, 
— One glorious Person repeating the image 
of his infinite perfection in the seven muTors 
of the type. There he shows forth his glory 
before the throne, as worthy with the Father 
and Son to be worshiped and glorified. 



78 THE CELESTIAL CITY. 

There he is now, radiating light and grace 
and vital energy to the hearts of men ; the 
Spirit of truth glorifying Christ by revealing 
to the soul his image, and assimilating the 
soul, by his indwelling presence, to that 
which he reveals. He is there, amidst the 

lightnings and thunderings and voices " 
that issue from the throne, shining a calm, a 
clear, and silent fire. For serene Wisdom 
touches the secret springs of Providence. 
Peace is at the heart of all its agitations, and 
light upon the inner edges of all its clouds. 
These lights burn on, and tremble not for 
earthly wind or air. 

How often, brethren of the faith ! do 
God's ways in the great world without, and 
the little world within us, seem dark and 
strange. " Clouds and darkness are round 
about him." Our eyes can not pierce them, 
and the lamp of faith bums dim, and the 
mists come down and settle upon our unquiet 
hearts. But still the " seven lamps " burn 
before the throne. These mists and vapors 



THE SEVEN LAMPS. 



79 



are for iis, not for him. He speaks to us 
from the cloudy pillar," and says, What 
I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt 
know hereafter." 

And before the throne " these lamps will 
ever burn. They shall never be quenched, 
— never grow dim and die, — for witli the 
Father and Son, the Holy Spirit lives and 
reio;ns for ever and ever. These OTidino- 
liglits of Time will shine, the great watch- 
lamps of Eternity. Their holy splendor will 
mingle with the beams of God's countenance, 
and the rays of his glory streaming from the 
face of Jesus Christ. 

Nothing that is evil and earthly lives 
within their range. All heat of passion, all 
flame of discord, all turbulent desire, die 
where that pure radiance falls, as sunlight 
quenches firelight. There the Spirit of 
light and holiness completes the baptism of 
fire " which was here begun. With seven- 
fold illumination and inspiring energy, he 
will fill the spirits of the just to the measure 



80 THE CELESTIAL CITY. ' 

of their powers. The golden vessels of the 
sanctuary will by him be filled Avith the 
wine of life. 

He will be there replenishing all minds 
with light, all hearts with love ; touching all 
lips with altar-fire, and breathing fervor and 
inspiration into the devotion of Eternity. 
Here it is from grace to grace ; there from 
glory to glory. 

It is thine, O Blessed Spirit ! to lead us 
these first steps in the way of life. Hold 
up our goings through this evil world. Keep 
our feet from falling. Where thou art, 
there is liberty and pleasantness and safe 
guidance. Lead us on, thou steadfast Light, 
from stage to stage of life's journey, till we 
stand before God in the light everlasting. 

"Thy Spirit is good; lead me into the land of upright- 
ness." — Psalm cxliii. 10. 





(tabernacle ovtv tijem. 

" He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them," 
(lit. "make a tabernacle over them.") — Rev. vii. 15. 

n^HE image is drawn from the peculiar 
favor enjoyed by the chosen people in 
their wanderings, from the visible protection 
of the Most High. He had made himself 
an habitation with men, showed his glory in 
the mystic fire, and spoken his oracles from 
" the cloudy pillar." The shadow of his 
presence lay upon the thousand tents of 
Jacob. 

In a far higher sense, in the state of the 

glorified, " the tabernacle ^ of God is with 

men, and he will dwell with them," and 

they in him. The holy Jerusalem is the 

royal pavihon of his majesty. Into it he 

has gathered all the riches and honor of his 

kingdom. In it he manifests his glory by 
6 



82 



THE CELESTIAL CITY. 



immediate revelation, and gladdens with 
ever-shining favor the hearts of the redeemed. 
There, all their wants are supplied from his 
infinite resources, — the " riches of his glory." 
" Tliey shall hunger no more, neither shall 
they thirst any more." They will feel no 
craving passion, no unsatisfied desire, but be 
ever drawing from the deep well-spring of 
life and blessedness. 

And his overshadowing presence will de- 
fend them from all evil and hurt and malig- 
nant influences. The sun shall not light 
on them, nor any heat." The covering of 
his tent screens the traveler from the fervor 
and sultriness and blinding glare of an east- 
ern noon. It shields him from the heavy 
and chillino; dews of night. From all the 
evils of this desert life, God is to his people 
here a refuge and safeguai'd ; and hereafter 
he will hide them " secretly in his pavilion," 
where no evil can come near them. Upon 
every dwelling-place of Mount Zion the 
glory shall be a defense. And there shall 



THE TABERNACLE OVER TIIEM. 



83 



be a tabernacle in the daytime from the 
heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a 
covert from storm and from rain." The 
tent of the desert must soon be struck and 
folded, and the wayfarer again exposed to 
heats and dews ; but the tabernacle which 
God has pitched will not be taken . down. 
He has been the dwelling-place of the faith- 
ful in all generations. He will be their 
everlasting home. 

Here, O pilgrim of eternity ! thou farest 
through barren wastes ; but thou art going 
home. Thou dwellest in a tent which must 
soon shrivel up and loosen into dust; but 
this should only endear the thought of thy 
quiet and secure dwelling-place in heaven. 
In this " weary land " your heart sometimes 
fails, and you cast yourself down in a dark 
and troubled mood under Elijah's juniper, 
instead of sitting in the " shadow of the 
great Rock." But there thy dwelling will 
be eternal, " the Rock of ages," and thou 
shalt drink of the living water that gushes 



84 THE CELESTIAL CITY. 

from its clefts. Therefore now abide in 
him." Watch daily at his gates, wait at 
the posts of his doors." Pray that you may 
"^dwell," by the grace of a daily communion, 
in the secret place of the Most High." 
Resort thither, by Christ, ''the Way," the 
living Way, by which mortal weakness joins 
itself to everlasting strength. Dream not, 
as others, of making God a refuge merely in 
times of sorrow, — a porch by the way-side 
in which you may take shelter from a pass- 
ing storm. One thing desire of the Lord ; 
and let that one thing concentrate and bind 
up the multitude of thoughts within thee, 
into a vehement longing and necessity of 
the soul. 

" That 1 may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days 
of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, 
and to inquire in his temple.'* 
Psalm xxvii. 4. 




Sflje Hogal Banquet. 

"The marriage-supper of the Lamb." — Rev. xix. 9. 

^^^HEN we shrink from bearing the re- 
proach of Christ, let us remember 
what he is now doing for us in heaven. 
Tliere he stands, the loving Intercessor, pray- 
ing that our faith fail not. There he prepares 
a place for us, and looks forward to the time 
when all his saints will be prepared to meet 
him, and he will present them unto the 
Father " a glorious church, not having spot, 
or wrinkle, or any such thing." His joy, 
his honor, his glory, will not be complete 
till the great gathering of the saints, when 
all things are ready, and he and those for 
whom he died will be " one, as he and the 
Father are one." " One," in a visible cov- 
enant, and union of everlasting love. 

The closest and holiest relationship of 



86 THE CELESTIAL CITY. 

earth is chosen as its symbol. His by solemn 
betrothal now, they will be his by manifest 
choice and recognition then, — a high solem- 
nity, a festival of gladness, — of which all 
shows of earthly joy, however deep and 
pure, are but the faintest images. Then will 
he come forth in glorious apparel," and all 
who, though they saw him not, yet loved 
him, will stand arrayed in his own unsullied 
righteousness, " as in fine linen, clean and 
white." And between them will pass the 
tender greeting, " My beloved is mine, and 
I am his!" and the great rejoicing of eter- 
nity will begin. None may enter the palace 
gate of heaven clothed with sackcloth." 
All have on the wedding garment, for " in 
his presence is fullness of joy." 

If that presence on earth blessed the mar- 
riage feast of Cana, how blessed " will 
those be w^ho are " called unto the marriage 
supper of the Lamb." The highest joy the 
heart has known on earth is but the shadow 
of the common joy of heaven, as earth's 



THE ROYAL BANQUET. 



87 



clearest light is but the shadow of heaven's 
glory. All the water there is turned into 
wine , and the vessels are filled to the brim. 
Mary, the mother of Jesus, is there, rejoicing 
in God, her Saviour ; and all the disciples 
are there, saying, ^' Thou hast kept the best 
wine until now." And the servants there 
are shining angels, gladly ministering unto 
the heirs of salvation." 

There abides pleasure without alloy, and 
enjoyment without end. The King has 
brought his guests into the banqueting 
house, and " his banner over them is love," 
to be furled never more. In the sure posses- 
sion of that love which was " stronger than 
death," in the serene consciousness of God's 
favor, they have endless resources of blessed- 
ness suited to the wants of an endless being. 
" Blessed are they that " on earth hunger 
and thirst after righteousness." Dost thou 
mourn that thy desires for holiness and 
heaven, and the vision of the Saviour and 
the fruition of God, are so feeble? The 



88 



THE CELESTIAL CITY. 



faintest longing shows that immortal life 
stirs within thee, and that spark will not be 
quenched. Or, dost thou lament that as 
yet thou hast no quiet and abiding sense of 
satisfaction for thy spiritual wants? Pray 
and wait, for the promise is, " There is no 
want to them that fear him." " Bread shall 
be given thee ; thy water shall be sure." 
Here, at times, some little joy enters into 
thy heart, as if it trickled, drop by drop. 
There thou shalt " enter into joy " as the 
wide and bottomless element of thy being. 
And it will be as lasting as it is pure. The 
joy of the redeemed flows from God as its 
fountain, and after all its windings, returns 
into God as its ocean. 

"The joy of the Lord is your strength." — 
Nehemiah viii. 10. 





Sllje lircr of £ik 

" And he showed me a pure river of the water of life, clear 
as crystal, proceeding* out of the throne of God and of 
the Lamb." — Rev. xxii. 1. 

A S thou goest on thy way, look not back 
to a paradise that is lost. Look for- 
ward, and long for a better paradise that is 
promised. The second Adam, the Lord 
from heaven," is the keeper of the garden, 
and, to cheer thy fainting spirit, gives thee 
glimpses of the beauty and pleasantness 
within. A river went out of the region of 
Eden, to water the garden which was man's 
first heritage. But that garden is withered, 
and its river is dry. Man is an outcast and 
wanderer, and every well he digs in the 
wilderness is bitter as Marah to his lips. 

But what our sin has forfeited, God's 
mercy has given back, and it will be lost 
no more. There is a river, the streams 



90 THE CELESTIAL CITY. 

whereof make glad the city of our God." 
Even here, in this desert land, hast thou not 
drunk of its refreshino; streams ? Passins: 
through this " valley of Baca," hast thou 
not come to springs fed by dews of heavjen, 
and drawn water with joy out of wells of 
" salvation ? " Yet how often hast thou 
journeyed many days as " in a dry and 
parched land where no water is ? " Or, 
sitting by the well, hast felt thy heart so 
cold, thy faith so feeble, that, as if thou 
hadst nothing to draw with, thou hast gone 
thy way athirst and unrefreslied? 

But in the better country, the river of 
life flows on in a deep, full, and brimming 
tide. Through the midst of the new Jeru- 
salem it runs, and nothing can hinder the 
happy citizens from coming to its banks, and 
drawing at will from its reviving waters. 

It is " water of life," communicating ever- 
fresb supplies of life and vigor and gladness 
to those who drink of it. It is " a river of 
water of life," gliding onward in a calm. 



THE RFV^ER OF LIFE. 



1 

91 



stately, and unhindered current. It is "pure," 
and " clear as crystal," holding nothing in 
solution that can sully or ruffle its trans- 
})arent purity, — ever keeping in its glassy 
deeps the images of all that is beautiful and 
serene and holy. And, unlike the river of 
the former paradise, which flowed from 
earthly springs, it " proceedeth out of the 
throne of God and of the Lamb." Till that 
throne shakes, its springs will never cease to 
flow. It has its sources in the innermost 
depth of heaven, — in the secret heart of God, 

— and thus it ever replenishes itself from 
fountains that are inexhaustible. Blessed em- 
blem of all that can refresh and satisfy the 
lonmno-s of the immortal mind, — limitless 
supplies of spiritual life and joy, — of "peace 
which passeth understanding," flowing from 
the mystery of a " love which passeth knowl- 
edge! " The Father showing forth his glory, 

— the Son opening his heart of love, the 
Spirit filling the mind with light and blessed- 
ness ! 



92 



THE CELESTIAL CITY. 



How narrow and limited are our capacities 
here ; how seldom, if ever, are they satisfied 
as they might be ! But there they are ever 
widening and enlarging; and as they expand, 
life and gladness are ever flowing in and 
keeping them at the full. By the wells of 
the wilderness, think, O Christian ! of the 
well of Bethlehem. Thirst for the water 
which Jesus gives, and which springs up 
into everlasting life." Let this be thy daily 
prayer: ''Make me to drink of the river of 
thy pleasures," that well of love which 
gushes from thy heart, — pure, deep, abound- 
ing, and perpetual ! And after being led by 
his Spirit to the " nether springs " of grace, 
the Lamb shall lead thee to the " upper 
springs," — the " living fountains of waters " 
which flow in the " goodly heritage " above. 

"All my springs are in thee.'* — Psalm Ixxxvii. 7. 




®m of Cife. 

" In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the 
river, was there the tree of life." — Rev. xxii. 2. 

TN the earthly paradise there was a " tree 
of life" — but only one — " in the midst of 
the garden." When man fell, the eating of 
it would have entailed on him an immortality 
of woe. But thine is an inheritance, O pil- 
grim to Zion ! where life is not only given 
back to thee, but " given more abundantly." 
There, this tree of sovereign virtue grows in 
its native soil. Every-where it blooms, the 
emblem of happiness that will never end. 
All along the banks of the river, its branches 
overhang the peaceful current, and the 
screening foliage casts a cool and delicious 
freshness over the streets where the holy 
citizens walk in white. 

Here, now and then, at seasons and in 



94 THE CELESTIAL CITY. 

scenes dear to thy memory, thou hast sat 
under the shadow of thy Lord with great 
delight," and found his " fruit sweet to the 
taste." But how few and how transient 
have been those seasons of hallowed enjoy- 
ment ! Their very rareness marks them out 
as green spots in the waste. They are 
places like those where the patriarchs planted 
groves and reared altars, because God had 
there met with them, but divided from each 
other by long and sultry marches. 

But in the Paradise above, that shadow 
neither moves nor turns. Thy Lord departs 
not from thee, nor thou from him. This 
" great delight " is the law and element of 
thy being. But there will be more than 
gladness. There will be nurture suited to 
the needs and longings of a purified spirit. 
All that can satisfy the desires and capacities 
of a sinless nature will be supplied in abun- 
dance and variety. To this tree every month 
brings the ripeness and mellowness of sum- 
mer, and its boughs are laden with twelve 



THE TREE OF LIFE. 



95 



kinds of clustering fruits. Its very leaves 
have a sweet balsamic virtue. They are not 
to be trodden under foot, but are for the 
healing: of the nations." 

With these leaves the Saviour bound up 
and healed thy wounds, and thou hast learn- 
ed to value them ; — to prize the shnplest 
words of Christ, because they have life in 
them, — the commonest mercies of God, be- 
cause they have love in them. If the leaf 
of heaven have health in it, wdiat fragrance 
will be in its flowers, what sweetness in its 
fruits ? 

How vivid a type of the fresh and ever- 
varied delights reserved for those to whom 
the Saviour's death has opened the heavenly 
Paradise ! What fullness of joy " is in 
the Father's presence, — what richness of 
provision in his house ! There are many 
mansions " there. There is " bread enough 
and to spare." Its wine-vessels are filled to 
the brim. Its fruits never cloy. Its pleas- 
ures never fade. There is no sameness, no 



96 THE CELESTIAL CITY. 

satiety, no weariness, in the exquisite enjoy- 
ments which fill up the bright and spacious 
round of an immortal being. " Not as the 
world giveth " does Christ give. 

The life of heaven may appear dull and 
blank and monotonous to the world ; but 
not to thee, O Christian ! Thou hast the 
key to it in the love of Christ. Were it 
not eternity, it would be too short to give to 
him all thou hast to give of thy love, and to 
receive from him all thou hast to receive of 
the ''joy which is unspeakable and full of 
glory." The tokens and pledges of that 
love, — thy sweet experiences of heaven, — will 
be ever new. There are the pleasant fruits 
which thou shalt gather. For Time's win- 
ter is past, the rain is over and gone ; " and 
the happy soul is " summering high in bliss 
upon the hills of God." 

"Because thy loving-kindness is better than life, my 
lips shall praise thee." — Psalm Ixiii. 3. 




"^^^ %^^§ %^^§ 



®lje €voim of Cifc. 



''Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a 



HRIST warns his faithful saints at Smyr- 



na, tried sore already, to prepare for a 
fierce storm of tribulation gathering in the 
distance. Still he says to them, Fear 
not ! " A little while and it will burst upon 
you, and again a little while, and it will 
pass away, and you will be witli your Lord ! 
There is a needs be " that you should be 
tried even unto death ; but be ye " faithful 
unto death, and I will give you a crown of 
life." It is long since the aged Poly carp, 
and many of these saints at Smyrna, walked 
through the heated furnace to their crown. 
But the words that spoke fervor and courage 
and endurance to them speak to us. 

In the warfare we wage, if we have taken 
7 



crown of life." — Rev. ii. 10. 




98 THE CELESTIAL CITY. 

up the cross, what hope could we have if we 
did not liear his voice in the thickest of the 
fight, — if we did not see him wave the 
banner and point to the prize ? It is only 
in him, as " a very present help," that we 
can overcome. And when all his saints are 
at his feet, each wearing this bright diadem 
on his forehead, how deep will be the Sav- 
iour's joy. For every crown he sees, a drop 
of Iiis blood was given ; and for every ran- 
somed spirit that wears one, a jewel sparkles 
in his own. 

It is a ''crown of life," — the reward of 
faithfulness unto death, and victory in death, 
— the seal and emblem of life immortal. It 
is a " crown of righteousness, — the reward 
laid up for those who have walked with 
the Lord their Righteousness in peace and 
equity, and kept their steadfastness in an 
evil time, — the memorial of their complete 
and unsullied purity. It is a " crown of 
glory," — symbol of favor and honor and 
blessedness to be enjoyed in the presence of 



THE CROWN OF LIFE. 



99 



God, — a crown like that which Christ wears. 
All heaven lies within that golden circlet. 

It is an incorruptible crown," — a crown 
of amaranth, ever fresh and green and un- 
fading. No rust or dimness will gather on 
that virgin gold. No sereness or blight will 
stain the leaves of that un withering w^reath. 
For the blessedness of which it is the em- 
blem knows no change nor decay. He who 
is over the house of God dispenses its honors 
with a full hand and a willing heart. There 
are no alternations, no vicissitudes, in that 
" fullness of joy." No planet waxes and 
wanes in the sky of heaven, — no tide ebbs 
and flows in ^hat crystalline sea ; but all is 
ever at the full. 

For such a " recompense of reward," who 
would not be faithful to his Master's ser- 
vice? Who that knows the love of Christ 
but would serve him unto death, were there 
no white robe, no golden crown ! But he 
sends us not " a warfare at our own charge," 
nor does he leave us without hope of reward. 



100 THE CELESTIAL CITY. 



Let US bear the cross as far as our Master 
bore it, and then lay it down. It may press 
heavily on us, at times, and we may not be 
able to look up ; but when it presses most 
heavily, he wdll stand by us and help us to 
bear it. He will divide the load, or double 
the strength. In looking unto him we shall 
be lightened. In waiting on him our strength 
will be renewed. And through that very 
weight and pressure, borne with a meek and 
chastened and trustful spirit, things invisible 
will grow clearer by degrees. It is the 
deepening twilight of earth which shows the 
stars of heaven. And in the shadows of the 
cross w^e begin to see the br^'^htness of the 
crown of life. 

" Ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done 
the will of God, ye might receive the 
promise." — Heb. x. 36. 





^xbltn ilTanna. 

" To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden 
manna." — Rev. ii. 17. 

^PHEIR daily bread was given to Israel in 
the wilderness by the immediate hand of 
God. Every dawn, through all these years 
of wandering, the silent miracle came like 
the sunlight, and the sweet provision was 
sprinkled round the tents in the early dew. 
And, as a lasting memorial, this manna, 
gathered into a golden urn, was preserved in 
the sanctuary ages after the curtains of the 
desert tabernacle had given place to the 
cedar house of Solomon. This vessel of 
manna, placed in the ark, stood in the holiest 
of all, within the vail. It was hidden from 
the eyes of man. The cherubim of glory 
overshadowed it. The mystic Shekinah 
gleamed above it. 



102 



THE CELESTIAL CITY. 



These things were for an allegory. In 
the manna which he gathered from the 
ground, the godly Israelite saw an emblem 
of Him who said, in after time, " I am the 
bread of life." Every dewdrop, in which a 
seed of that heaven-sown provision lay, held 
its image of the Saviour. He is the " true 
bread," " the living bread which came down 
from heaven, whereof if a man eat, he shall 
live for ever." 

AVherever the faintest pulses of spiritual 
life are beating, that life has been implanted 
by him, and by him it will be nourished and 
maintained. He now, within the vail, min- 
isters by his Spirit all needful supplies of 
grace to his people. For the hidden life, he 
provides " hidden manna." He gives meat 
to eat which the world knoweth not of." 
Nor, though hidden," is it the less abun- 
dant, though unbelief often checks the free 
supply. The hand may be secret, but the 
gift is generous and godhke. The manna 
laid up in heaven's golden urn is inexhaust- 



THE HIDDEN MANNA. 



103 



ible as his love. It is not " sliew-bread," 
hallowed and forbidden to common use, — but 
" daily bread," dispensed with divine pro- 
fusion, and without which our souls must 
starve and pine. We can not measure our 
necessities. Let us not limit our demands. 
Let us ask much, that we may receive much. 

And this is meat which enduretli to 
everlasting life." It is to him that over- 
cometh" it will be given. It is himself that' 
Christ will give in all his fullness of grace 
and affluence of glory, for the endless frui- 
tion of the redeemed. Every high and pure 
desire will possess itself in him. In him 
they will find an infinite resource for an in- 
finite affection. 

The manna, laid up in the golden vessel, 
underwent no change. Nor will the "bread 
of heaven " ever lose its sweetness to the 
spiritual taste ; but Christ will be the only- 
desired and all-sufficing portion of the saints. 
If, in the days of his flesh, he spake of his 
I greatest miracles as crumbs " from his 



104 



THE CELESTIAL CITY. 



table (as if they had dropped carelessly from 
his hand), what will be the children's 
bread"? If from the five loaves of the 
fisher lad of Tiberias he fed the multitude in 
the desert, what will it be, when he gathers 
his saints in ranks around him to satisfy the 
mighty longing of eternity? 

Here on earth let us seek to be brought, 
at every point of our weakness and want, 
into contact with that grace which is bound- 
less and all-available. And hereafter, through 
every affection and energy of a purified 
nature, we shall be drawn to the communion 
of his love, and be filled with all the 
fullness of God." 

" I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness." 
Psalm xvii. 15. 




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Slje lD[)it€ Stolu anir tlje ^^id ^anu. 

And I will give him a white stone, and in the stone a 
new name written, which no man knoweth, saving he 
that receiveth it." — Rev. ii. 17. 

n^HE world in its wrath and pride had 
risen up against the bearers of the cross. 
It was not worthy of them, but it treated 
them as if they were not worthy of it. The 
hohest was the most shining mark for the 
arraign of slander. The weakest was not 
too low to be crushed by its iron heel of 
power. The w^orld's law had no even scales 
and bandaged eyes before the cross. And 
when one, "not ashamed" of that cross, was 
dragged before its tribunals, each judge 
dropped the black stone into the urn. Each 
would have written on that stone a name of 
bitter hatred and falsehood and scorn, had 
he spoken out what he believed a Christian 



106 



THE CELESTIAL CITY. 



man to be. Christ was scourged and cruci- 
fied, — Barabbas went free. 

The offense of the cross is not ceased." 
There is open condemnation for the Christian 
here ; but there is open absolution there. 
The Master saith to every tried and faithful 
servant, " I will give thee a white stone, and 
in the stone a new name written, — my own 
name ! " Antipas had been condemned to 
die for Christ in the court of Pergamos ; but 
the lictor's stroke releases him from the 
world's wrong and pain, and he goes to re- 
ceive the white stone " from the hand of 
his Lord. 

Even on earth, the white stone with the 
new name is given. Have we chosen Christ 
as our Master? Have we received him as 
" the Lord our Righteousness " ? Have we 
peace with God through the blood of his 
cross " ? Does his Spirit dwell in us ? That 
" white stone," token of forgiveness, emblem 
of innocence and favor, is ours ; and though 
worlds were in the one scale, this httle sym- 



THE WHITE STONE AND THE NEW NAME. 107 



bol would outweigh them, if cast into the 
other. When justified, we receive it, and 
the "new name " which is in it the Spirit 
writes upon our hearts. He erases the name 
" child of wrath," and writes Christ's own 
name, " Son of God." And when his clear 
and holy light shines on the letters of that 
name, and it brightens in the heart, like the 
jeweled stones of the Urim and Tliummim 
in the darkened sanctuary, the soul cries, 
Abba, Father ! I, an heir of condemnation, 
am become heir of God, and joint-heir with 
Christ." 

This is the seal of the Spirit, " which no 
man knoweth, saving he that receiveth it." 

The world seeth him not, neither knoweth 
him," but we know him, for he dwelletli 
with us, and is in us." The world can not 
know the inward evidence ; be it ours to 
show it the outward sign. That new name, 
written in the fair letters of a saintly life, a 
crucified spirit, a heavenly mind, should be 
" known and read of all men." As we go 



108 



THE CELESTIAL CITY. 



on our way, let us silently preach Christ to 
others. Let our life be a sweet attraction, 
— our look a tender invitation. And some 
Avho would not read a written epistle may 
be constrained to read the luminous words 
of a living one. 

In the new Jerusalem, the " new name " 
is bright on every brow. Yet the old name 
of earth will not be forgotten there. For 
though resting with his Lord, Christ's ser- 
vant, slaughtered at Pergamos, is still An- 
tipas, my faithful martyr." For him Glory 
had no laurel. History no niche, Poetry no 
song, and his ashes were scattered on the 
winds, or gathered into a nameless urn. 
But his name was spoken out of heaven by 
the lips of Christ. 



" I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine/* 
Isaiah xliii. 1. 




iHorning-Star. 

" I will give him the morning-star." — Rev. ii. 28. 

TT is a desperate warfare which the soldier 
of Christ wages with his invisible foes. 
It often seems to last through long hours of 
darkness. His only resource is to look up 
and pray for light. Through the weary 
watches, he cries, " Oh that the day would 
break, and the shadows flee away ! " And 
gleams of light fall through the clouds, and 
he sees that there is One who fights for him, 
— One who has fought and overcome, and 
w^hose presence is the pledge of victory. As 
Luther Sinai's in the battle- son o; of the Ref- 
ormation : — 

" No strength of ours checks Satan's pride; 
To tempt it is perdition: 
But the right Man fights on our side; 
From God is his commission. 



110 THE CELESTIAL CITY. 

Ask ye, who is the same ? 
Christ Jesus is his name, — 
The Lord of heaven's host; 
No other Lord we boast, 
And he the day must carry." 

To him that fights the good fight of faith, 
the heavenly Captain says, " I will give thee 
the morning-star ! " As if that fair, white 
orb, whose dewdrop of light trenr.bles on the 
front of dawn, is to sparkle on the victor's 
brow. The " spiritual body " may be crown- 
ed with some such glorious symbol in heaven. 
Some bright device of immortality may dis- 
tinguish apostle or martyr among the sons 
of God, so that around the Sun of Right- 
eousness the saints, shining like morning- 
stars, may move in glorious rings, — each to 
each signaling his name, through the bound- 
less deeps of eternity. 

But Christ consecrates the symbol by 
making it a type of himself: "I am the 
bright and Morning-Star." In giving such 
a token of favor, he gives himself to his re- 
deemed, in a fullness of joy and light and 



THE MORNING-STAR. Ill 

glory of which they can not conceive in this 
twilight-time of earth. He will appear to 
them as the sign of hope and gladness, — 
the Star of the Resurrection Morn ; and 
that sweet light will prelude the long, unset- 
ting watches of the eternal day. 

And in that light shall they be changed. 
This " corruptible shall put on incorruption, 
and this mortal immortality," and the body 
of our vileness be made like to the body of 
his glory," — shining like the hght, filled 
with holy gladness and divine illumination. 
Yet a few days of warfare and weariness, 
and this glory shall be revealed in us. 

Christ our Life shall appear," and " we 
shall be like him." 

Are we girding on our armor, like good 
soldiers, and standing on our watch ? Are 
we bindino; on our sandals and trimmino; our 
lamps, like servants who would be found 
faithful ? The long night will wear to an 
end ; the hard struggle will end in victory. 
And then will come the cloudless day and 



112 



THE CELESTIAL CITY. 



the spotless robe and sinless peace and end- 
less rest. 

" Light is sown for the righteous, and 
gladness for the upright in heart." Here it 
lies in the furrows, under the mold, in a rude 
and ungenial clime. There it shall have 
blossomed and ripened wdth hundred-fold in- 
crease, and the rich fruitage will w^ave thick 
and golden through the long summer-time 
of eternity. One ray of heaven's sunshine 
will be brighter than firmaments of earthly 
suns and stars. The gleaning of the grapes 
of that celestial growth will be better than 
the richest vintages of earth. Our life- 
gathered wisdom is but the alphabet of 
heaven's full-toned speech ; our highest dis- 
coveries, the crude rudiments of its learning. 
The Ark of Eternity floats on waters that 
drown the loftiest Ararats of Time. 

*'He will beautify the meek with salvation." 
Psalm cxlix. 4. 



©Ije |)tUar tn tlje S^mpU. 

" Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple 
of m}' God." — Rev. iii. 12. 

^HE foundations of a spiritual temple are 
already laid in the world. Out of the 
loud tumult and false appearances of Time, 
God's great work calmly unfolds itself, and 
rises without sound of axe or hammer." 
Stone by stone, and course by course, it will 
be built up and compacted, till " the head 
stone is brought forth Avith slioutings." 

Here, in the temple of the visible church, 
those " who seem to be pillars " are often 
shaken and removed ; and our hearts trem- 
ble, and faith droops, as if God's cause would 
fall with them. But no earthly hand sup- 
ports that cause, — no more than the granite 
battlements of a mountain -chain prop up 
the crystal vault which in the distance seems 
to rest upon them 

8 



114 



THE CELESTIAL CITY. 



The heavenly Master calls his servants to 
himself when their earthly work is done, 
and gives them the place prepared for them 
in the " house not made witli hands, eternal 
in the heavens." Blessed labor, — holy war- 
fare, — to be assured of such a recompense. 
To the weakest faith, to the faintest heart, 
in which a spark of spiritual life glows and 
trembles Godwards, it will be given in the 
strength of Christ to overcome. And for 
victory so gained, there is this exceeding 
great reward. He shall have an abiding- 
place and name in heaven, — be made ''a 
pillar in the temple," — that which is essential 
to its beauty and completeness. As a pillar, 
to stand there for ever in the presence of his 
Saviour, — to go no more out, — to feel that 
no violence can assail him, no trouble reach 
him, no evil breathe upon him any more. 
There is nothing deep enough in all God's 
universe to loosen the foundations of his 
trust, — nothing strong enough to come in 
and separate between him and the almighty 



THE PILLAR IN THE TEMPLE. 115 

love in which he stands. His " hfe is hid 
with Christ in God," and tlie hand that 
would threaten this life must strike through 
Christ's love and God's omnipotence before 
it reach it. 

Till all his saints are set in everlasting 
station there, Christ waits as for the out- 
shining of his glory and fulfilling of his 
joy. Till the Father's house is filled with 
all its guests, the heavenly temple is not 
graced with all its pillars, nor garnished with 
all its sacred ornaments. But it will be 
filled at last. Not one pillar will be want- 
ing, — not one of his redeemed left behind, 
— not one jewel of eternity left forgotten in 
the dust of earth. Every mansion w^ill have 
its bright inhabitant, and every golden harp 
its selected minstrel. 

And for this " time of restitution " he 
waits, while here we serve him with cold 
hearts and languid endeavors. How do our 
hands hang down, and our feet falter in the 
way ! How do we sit desponding in the 



116 



THE CELESTIAL CITY. 



dust, or stand idle in the market-place, or 
slumber on the watch with dying lamps in 
our hand, when we should be looking for 
and hasting unto " him, serving him with a 
fervent spirit, suffering for him with a patient 
and joyful mind ! -% 

We are here as " reeds shaken with the 
wind " and bruised by storms ; but " the 
bruised reed he will not break ; " and, through 
his all-sufficient grace, it will grow up into 
the strength and steadfastness of a " cedar 
in Lebanon." The progress of the divine 
life within us may be slow, but " he will 
bring forth judgment unto victory." Let us 
abide in him who is " the Author and Fin- 
isher of our faith." He will not " forsake 
the work of his own hands." 



"Thy gentleness hath made me great.'* 
Psalm xviii. 35. 



^l)t Inscnpttona on tlje pillar. 

" I will write upon him the name of my God." 
Rev. iii. 12. 

"FT ERE and there, in the desolate plains 
and valleys of the Lesser Asia, some 
moldering columns, amidst heaps of ruin, or 
lettered marbles, shattered and defaced, point 
out where a city has perished. These were 
pillars of stately temples reared to the gods 
of Olympus, — memorial tablets which Eph- 
esus, or Sardis, or Philadelphia, had dedi- 
cated to some prince or citizen. 

The Christian men, to whom the apostle 
wrote, passed these temples daily, where 
the white marble dazzled in the sunshine, 
and the golden letters of these inscriptions 
flashed in the light. They had read the 
name of the god or hero to whom each was 
consecrated, the" name of the city in which 



118 



THE CELESTIAL CITY. 



it was reared, and the name of its founder. 
These were the men, " in jeopardy every 
hour," whom Christ encouraged to " fight 
the good fight," by the promise that they 
should be*" pillars" in the heavenly temple. 
His own hand was to place them there, and 
to grave on them the words of solemn con- 
secration. 

" I will write upon him the name of my 
God ! " For it is by his grace they were 
" called and chosen " and kept " faithful," 
and to his glory are they standing there for 
ever. The name of the city of my God 
which is new Jerusalem," — for this is the 
place of their spiritual birth and citizenship, 
— the blessed community into which they 
are gathered, — the mother-city, and abiding 
habitation of their souls. They are in it 
and of it; and " the city which hath founda- 
tions " would not be complete and faultlessly 
beautiful in the eyes of its builder, if one of 
them were not there. 

And lastly, — the name of Him who founds 



THE INSCRIPTIONS ON THE PILLAR. 119 



and dedicates the sacred columns, — " I will 
write upon him my new name." His name 
was glorious as the everlasting Son of the 
Father ; but when he stooped from his 
throne, and wore our flesh, and suffered, and 
died, the Father highly exalted him, and 
gave him a name above every name." 

This blessed name, which here they bear 
and love, will be written visibly hereafter on 
each of the redeemed. Thus he will claim 
in them a perpetual possession, and give 
them assurance of his everlasting love. " I 
have graven thee on the palms of my hands," 
he said, in suffering for them ; and now, 
when they reign with him, it is his own 
name which he engraves. The name of 
Jesus is cut deep in each of these living 
pillars, as in eternal adamant. " God is not 
ashamed to be called their God." Christ 

is not ashamed to call them brethren." 
The new Jerusalem " rejoices to be the 
mother of them all. 

Shall we shrink from confessing that name. 



120 



THE CELESTIAL CITY. 



which is to be the endlessly-repeated sign 
and cipher of heaven ? Shall we be " asham- 
ed " of his cross? Here that name should 
be written on the front of our profession, — 
a golden title, running along every page of 
life. Oh that it were not so often hidden 
beneath the gathering dust and mold of the 
world, — that its luster did not wax dim and 
fade in this false and wildering glare ! That 
we could ever bear it in the strength of 
quietness and confidence and deep untroub- 
led joy, — that our hearts could be, like the 
Grecian mountain, so calm and windless 
that the letters, traced by the priest in the 
ashes of the yearly sacrifice, remained un- 
effaced upon the altar. 

What manner of persons ought we to 
be," when we think of the rock whence we 
were hewn, and of the temple wherein we 
hope to stand? 

They shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that 
day when I make up my jewels." 
Malachi iii. 17. 




utije 0£at on tlje (iLl)roiu 



" To him that overcometli will I grant to sit with me in my 



ERE that glory culminates, which is 



reserved for those who have followed 
Christ in this temptation. This is the high- 
est reach, — the fullest growth and flower 
of their blessedness. Step hy step, he has 
cheered them on with sweet words of prom- 
ise ; and now he leads them to his throne, 
and bids them mount its shinino; stairs, and 
sit thereon in rest and glory everlasting. A 
sudden transition of thouo:ht from the atti- 
tude of standino; and knockini?; at the closed 
door of the heart (v. 20). There the prom- 
ise is, that, when we open the door," he 
will come in " with the blessings of salva- 
tion. Here it is that we, having thus re- 
ceived him, and been accepted in the Be- 



throne." — Rev. iii. 21. 




122 



THE CELESTIAL CITY. 



loved," will be led by him through the open 
door of the Father's house, and presented 
faultless " before him, and seated with our 
Lord upon his throne. What appeal could 
be made to the believino; heart so strong: and 
tender as this, in which the Saviour stands 
before us. One with his suffering. One with 
his glorified people ? What can nerve us to 
the holy obedience and strenuous warfare of 
the Christian life, if not the thought of that 
union whose livino; links Christ's own hand 
clasps and rivets ? What, if not the assur- 
ance of that intense sympathy and spiritual 
communion, which, from the moment it 
begins on earth, will not cease till it is per- 
fected in heaven ? In this holy ground, the 
Saviour has opened the deepest and fullest 
springs of comfort to his people in this wait- 
ing-time. We can trace in his last earthly 
words the recurrence and expansion of this 
thought, like the coming and going of a 
sweeter understrain in a grand and solemn 
melody. 



THE SEAT ON THE THRONE. 



123 



It Is, first, a promise of peace, — liis own 
peace. Peace I leave with you, niy peace 
I give unto you." Then it is a promise of 
joy, — his own joy. Tiiat my joy mii^ht 
remain in you, and that your joy might be 
fulL" Then, in his dying prayer, his love 
rises to its spring-tide, and it is a promise of 
glory, — his own glory. ''The glory which 
thou gavest me I have given them, that they 
may be one, even as we are one." 

From the throne on which he sits. Lord 
of Glory and King of Saints, his eye com- 
mands the checkered track of each, as it 
winds through the wilderness, and goes 
down into the shadow of the valley, and 
issues bright and straight from death to the 
gate of heaven, and thence to the throne. 
He sees each, in his turn, overcoming 
through grace which he supplies, — each 
emerging victorious to receive the recom- 
pense which his grace hath promised. For 
on that throne he alone sits by right, they 
by favor. He sits thereon, Head of the 



124 THE CELESTIAL CITY. 



spiritual body which is exalted in him, — 
first-born among many brethren," — whom 
he uplifts to his own honor and blessedness. 
And angels, those elder brethren of creation, 
who never left the Father's house, see this 
exaltation of the younger, who had fallen, 
without a murmur. They will rejoice in 
our joy ; and with us, though not like us, 
adore that love which has closed up all its 
mysterious passages in this grand result. 

How far off do we stand from the bright- 
ness of such hopes ! How do the shadows 
and powers of this evil world darken our 
spirit and chill our praises ! How do we 
" see him as not now, and behold him as 
not nigh ! " What a faint response do we 
send up to that wondrous prayer that rises 
within the vail ! There " he abideth faith- 
ful," and prays that our faith fail not ! 

"It is a faithful saying: If we be dead with him, we 
shall also live with him ; if we suffer, we 
shall also reign with him." — 
2 Tim. ii. 11, 12. 




" Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered 
into the heart of man, the things which God hath pre- 
pared for them that love him." — 1 Cor. ii. 9. 



^HINGS which God hath prepared for 



our minds strive to grasp them, and grope, 
dazzled, through a mist of glory ! What 
must be the delights and enjoyments, which, 
slowly as it were, he has gathered into the 
chambers of his house, — the heaped -up 
" riches of his glory," — the un wasting re- 
sources of eternity ! It is " an inheritance 
reserved in heaven," an expression which 
implies surpassing splendor and profound 
concealment. How can we conceive of 
blessedness so pure and ethereal as that 
which God " hides in the secret of his pres- 
ence " ? Our thoughts stumble and falter 
among the elemental truths which form the 




them that love him 



how vainly do 



126 THE CELESTIAL CITY. 

lowest step of his throne, — and how can 
they chmb up to its radiant summits? 

Therefore the hints and foreshadowings 
given in the holy Word of tlie great happi- 
ness of heaven, are so often conveyed in 
negative form. They shall hunger no 
more, neither thirst any more." " There 
shall be no more curse." There shall be 
no night there." There shall be no more 
death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither 
shall there be any more pain." " The for- 
mer things are passed away." We can not 
reach the positive reality of an infinite joy. 
Our conceptions are cast into the mold of 
things around us. We strive, how vainly, 
to shape the perishing and evanescent forms 
of Sense into types and similitudes of eter- 
nal Truth. But far beyond the range of 
thought, — the sphere of pure imagination, — 
those thino;s are withdrawn into a remon and 
element of their own, when it is said, " they 
have not entered into the heart of man." 
Yet God hath revealed them to us by 



RICHES OF GLORY. 



127 



his Spirit." He has even on earth endued 
the regenerate nature with some power to 
discern tlie character of that glory, which, 
as of spiritual essence, must remain for ever 
a mystery to the natural mind. And he has 
inspired it with holy affections to love and 
long for the enjoyment of that which it 
dimly sees, with a passionate desire. Only 
heaven's glory can satisfy these fervent 
lono:inp:s throu2;h which the heart throbs as 
if it would break in the utterance: — ''As 
the hart panteth after the water-brooks, so 
panteth my soul after thee, O God," — 
'' Whom have I in heaven but thee, and 
there is none upon earth that I desire beside 
thee?" It is only the spiritual mind that 
can thus ''see the kingdom of God," and be 
satisfied to build up from such materials the 
fabric of its eternal hopes. 

Wonderful grace, that mortal eye should 
ever have seen the faintest vision of this 
glory afar off, — as the beloved disciple, 
wdien the bright foundations and crystal 



128 



THE CELESTIAL CITY. 



battlements and golden streets of the heav- 
enly city shut out the brown sea -beaten 
rocks of Patmos from his view. But p:race 
more wonderful, that hope should ever have 
come to one who has felt the weisfht and 
bitterness of sin, that he should go up into 
it as the city of his habitation, and walk 
amongst its happy citizens, and go out no 
more ! 

That Lord's-day " in Patmos was much 
to be remembered. The Apocalypse is the 
record of its holy hours. ' But how much 
more glorious the open vision of that never- 
ending Sabbath which remaineth for the 
people of God." What an Apocalypse will 
that be, in which the glorified sjjirit records 
its experiences of eternity ! 

" Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may 
have right to the tree of life, and may enter in 
through the gates into the city." 
Rev. xxii. 14. 

XX 
XX 

m LIBRARY OF THE 
MAY 1 a 1933 

UNlVtivSUY Of 



