DISCOURSE: 2515
THE FELICITY OF HEAVEN
Revelation 14:1-5. And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the Mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Fathers name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: and they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the first-fruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.
A CONSIDERABLE part of the Book of Revelation is yet involved in impenetrable obscurity; though we doubt not but that, when the predictions contained in it shall have been fulfilled, the whole will appear as lucid and intelligible as any other prophecies which have been already accomplished. There are parts however which may be understood by every reader; and which are particularly interesting, on account of the sublime views which they unfold to us of the heavenly state. Indeed in the whole of the inspired volume there will not be found such bright displays of heaven as in this closing part of the sacred canon. The vail seems on many occasions to be drawn aside, as it were, and we are admitted to see and hear all that is taking place in the regions of bliss. The passage before us is of this kind. The Apostle himself was, as it were, caught up into the third heavens, where he saw his adorable Lord and Saviour in the midst of all his redeemed people, and heard the songs with which they proclaimed his praise. His record concerning it will lead me to set before you,
I. The blessedness of heaven—
There the Lord Jesus Christ dwells in the midst of his redeemed people—
[Heaven doubtless was the place now opened in vision to the Apostle’s view: it was “Mount Sion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem [Note: Hebrews 12:22.].”
There the Lord Jesus Christ dwells, still retaining in his person all those marks which his murderous enemies inflicted on his sacred body, when he offered himself a sacrifice for the sins of a ruined world. He was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world; and in that sublime character does he yet appear, though seated on his heavenly throne: for in that character he is most glorified in himself, and most endeared to his redeemed people.
Around him stand the myriads of his redeemed. They are called “an hundred and forty and four thousand, “every tribe of Israel having twelve thousand of its members “sealed in their foreheads” as God’s peculiar property [Note: Revelation 7:4.], and “having the Father’s name engraven there” as an evidence of their relation to him. But we are not to suppose that there are no more in heaven than the number specified: for they are in reality a multitude that no man can number, out of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues [Note: Revelation 7:9.].”]
There are they adoring him with unceasing songs of praise—
[The song in which they join, though not specified here, is made known to us in a former chapter. It is “a new song;” because it was unknown to the bright morning stars which were first created, nor could possibly be sung by those who never fell. Hence it is said to be “a song which no man could learn, except those who had been redeemed from the earth.” Hear the song itself, as reported to us by him who heard it: “They sang a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on earth.” He then adds, “And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels, round about the throne and the beasts and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing [Note: Revelation 5:9-12.].” Here are two things to be noticed; one is, that the song was new; for it could not be sung till the Lamb was slain; and the other is, that the angels are unable to join in the song of the redeemed: for whilst the redeemed celebrate his praises as having been “slain for them, and having redeemed them to God by his blood,” the angels can only join so far as to acknowledge, that He is “worthy to receive” the praises that are so offered to him.
This chorus of the redeemed, swelled as it is by the acclamations and amens of all the angelic hosts [Note: Revelation 5:13-14.], is “as the sound of many waters, and loud as thunder itself:” yet is the song so melodious, that every one of the redeemed accompanies it with his harp; for it is “the voice of harpers harping with their harps.” The music of the temple-service in the days of Solomon must have been grand beyond all that men of this age can conceive: but not Solomon in all his glory could form a conception of that melody which John heard, and which, I pray God, we may be admitted to hear, and join in, to all eternity.
It is said of all this band, that “they follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth.” Whilst they were in this world, they endeavoured to walk in his steps, and to follow him in all his ways; and now they attend upon him through the boundless expanse of heaven, all vying, as it were, with each other in testifying their love and gratitude to their adorable Redeemer. As in the days of old, at the time of Jesus’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem, “the whole multitude followed him, crying, Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest [Note: Matthew 21:9.];” so now in heaven they follow him with similar acclamations, and rest not day nor night from this glorious employment [Note: Revelation 4:8.].
Such are the circumstances related by the Apostle: but, to form any idea of the bliss enjoyed by the heavenly hosts, we must ourselves be partakers of it: the language of mortality cannot paint it; nor, if an angel were to come from heaven to describe it, could our feeble apprehensions grasp the mighty theme.]
In relation to this blessedness, the point which more particularly demands our attention is,
II.
The character of those that are admitted to it—
This is minutely marked,
1. In its source—
[“They have been redeemed from among men.” Once they were in bondage even as other men: but God in his mercy delivered them “by a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm.” Israel when in Egypt were an exact picture of them in their unregenerate state. Their subjection to sin and Satan was entire: nor could they by any means cast off the yoke with which they were bound. But God, in his tender mercy, pitied them; and sent his only dear Son to redeem them; to redeem them, by offering his own soul a ransom for them, and by enabling every one of them for himself to burst his bonds. Thus to God’s sovereign love and mercy must their emancipation be traced in the first instance, and then to the efficacy of the Redeemer’s blood, and the almighty power of his grace. As Israel were “a nation taken out from the midst of another nation for the praise of the glory of his grace,” so are all that either are, or shall be, transferred to the heavenly Canaan, “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people, that they may shew forth the praises of him that hath called them out of darkness into his marvellous light [Note: 1 Peter 2:9.].”]
2. In its progress—
[“They are a willing people, though made so in the day of God’s power [Note: Psalms 110:3.]:” and the very instant that they begin to taste redeeming love, and to experience the mighty working of God’s power on their souls, they offer themselves up to God “as first-fruits to God and to the Lamb.” The first-fruits of every thing were God’s peculiar portion: nor could any man appropriate them to his own use without being guilty of sacrilege. And such are all who are truly converted unto God [Note: James 1:18.]. Under this character then they present themselves to him: they know that “they are not their own, but his: and therefore they desire to glorify him with their bodies and their spirits, which are his [Note: 1 Corinthians 6:20.].” They account this “a reasonable service [Note: Romans 12:1.];” and they engage in it with their whole hearts.
Having consecrated themselves to God, they endeavour to be faithful to their engagements. This is what is meant, when it is said in my text, “They were not defiled with women; for they are virgins.” It is of spiritual fornication that the Apostle speaks. This is a common figure in the Holy Scriptures. Men are often said to “go a whoring after their idols.” But the saints in glory have kept themselves from spiritual, as well as from open and outward, idolatry. They have given up themselves to the Lord Jesus Christ, as a virgin betroths herself to her husband [Note: 2 Corinthians 11:2.]: and they have “kept themselves pure;” not transferring to any rival the regards which are due to God alone.
Nor is it from overt acts only that they have abstained, but from unfaithfulness even of thought or desire. They know that God requires the heart: and that the smallest alienation of the affections from him would excite his just resentment. They have therefore laboured to be sincere and without offence before him: and through the grace and mercy of their God “they have been preserved blameless [Note: Jude, ver. 24.]:” so that “in their mouth there was no guile; and they are found without fault before the throne of God.”
Here you see the whole Christian life depicted; and the process by which every saint in glory is fitted for his place. The whole work of grace originates with God, and is carried on by God to its final issue. But man is neither an unwilling nor inactive servant in the house of his God. He is aware that he must be meet for the inheritance of heaven before he can possibly enjoy it. This meetness therefore he aspires after, and labours for with all his might: and, through the operation of God’s grace upon his soul, he is fully prepared for glory, being perfected after the Divine image, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile.]
Permit me now to address you all,
1.
As candidates for heaven—
[Men who are candidates for earthly honours find that much labour is necessary for the attainment of their object. Be assured then, brethren, that notwithstanding heaven is a free gift of God for Christ’s sake, yet must it be laboured for as much as if it were altogether the fruit of our own exertions: as it is said, “Labour not for the meat that perisheth, but for that which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man will give unto you.” And permit me to ask, Is it not worth a whole life of most strenuous exertion? Consider only the representation that has been given of it: is it not desirable to be of that happy number, who are following the Lamb through all the courts of heaven, and with voice and harp ascribing to him all possible glory and praise?
But think of the alternative: think, if you are not admitted there, where will you be, and be to all eternity! There is no middle place between heaven and hell. The idea of purgatory is a mere Popish delusion. As, if you have not the mark of Jehovah’s name upon your forehead, you must bear the stamp of Satan’s children; so if you are not made partakers of the glories of heaven, you must for ever participate in the miseries of hell. See what is spoken but a few verses after my text. “If any man worship the beast, and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation: and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb; and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night.” Now though this is spoken primarily of those who enter into the abominations of popery, and bear on their forehead or on their hand the mark of that idolatrous Church, it is true also of all who die in their sins: the persons that are not admitted to the marriage-supper of the Lamb, are “cast out into outer darkness, where is weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth for ever.” Compare now these states: both those in heaven and those in hell are “in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb;” but the one, as the monuments of mercy, and joint-heirs of glory; the other, as monuments of vengeance, and heirs of wrath and fiery indignation. Need I then say to you, be diligent to make your calling and election sure? I pray you, consider how many there are who fall short of this inheritance. Of all that came out of Egypt, two only entered the promised land: and the perishing of all the rest in the Wilderness is set forth as an admonition to you, lest you also come short of the promised rest [Note: 1 Corinthians 10:1-6. with Hebrews 3:17 to Hebrews 4:1.]. I cannot then be too urgent with you on this important subject. I would have you all to succeed in this great enterprise, and so to approve yourselves to your Saviour now, that you may be counted worthy to dwell with him in a better world.]
2. As expectants of it—
Strange it is that every one conceives heaven to be his portion, though he never in the whole course of his life made one effort to obtain it. But, beloved brethren, you have already heard the character of those who are in heaven; and that to those only will heaven be assigned. Inquire then whether you have attained this character? What have you experienced of that great work, the work of redemption? Have you been delivered from the yoke of sin and Satan? Have you been brought out from an ungodly world, as the Israelites were from Egypt; and are you living like them under the guidance and government of Jehovah? Does your conscience bear witness for you, that you have presented yourselves to him as the first-fruits, desiring to be wholly and altogether his? When have you so surrendered up yourselves to him? Do not imagine that your dedication to him in baptism, or in any other public ordinance, is any evidence of your having personally fulfilled this duty, unless you are yet in the habit of renewing that dedication of yourselves to him in secret from day to day. And, supposing that you have given yourselves to him, have you been faithful to your engagements, so that in the last day, when the time for your everlasting union with the heavenly Bridegroom shall come, we may “present you as a chaste virgin to Christ?” Have the world and the flesh so far lost their ascendant over you, that you no longer comply with their solicitations, or yield to their temptations? Finally, Can the heart-searching God attest, that, as far as respects any wilful sin, you are blameless and harmless, and shining as lights in the midst of a dark world? These things are indispensably necessary to any well-grounded expectation of the heavenly glory: and if, whilst destitute of these essential marks, you buoy up yourselves with the hopes of heaven, you do but deceive your own souls to your eternal ruin. I even appeal to yourselves: would you who have never touched a harp be able at a moment to accompany with it a band of music, and to join harmoniously in the sublimest strains? How then shall you, if undisciplined and unprepared, accompany the heavenly hosts in all their songs of praise? Their song, as you have before heard, is one which none but the sealed can learn: and were you admitted there in an unconverted state, your harp would yield nothing but discordant sounds, nor would a single note of your voice be in unison with the heavenly choir.
But I would hope and trust, that there are many here who on good grounds are expecting a portion among the saints in light. To such then I would say, “Press forward, forgetting the things which are behind, and reaching forward to that which is before.” And, if at any time the thought occur to your mind, Can such a sinner as I be saved? then look into heaven, and see who there are already around the throne: do you not see there a Manasseh, a Mary Magdalen, a dying thief, and a whole host from the Church at Corinth [Note: 1 Corinthians 6:10-11.]? Then there can be no reason for you, or any other person, to despond. Only seek to be interested in the redemption that Christ has wrought out for you, and every thing else will follow. Through him you shall be justified; through him you shall be sanctified; “through him you shall be presented unto God without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, yea, as holy and without blemish:” for to all who seek acceptance through him, “he is made of God, wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.”]