NO. 3251<\/b><\/p>\n
A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, MAY 25TH, 1911,<\/b><\/p>\n
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,<\/i><\/p>\n
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cIn the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.\u201d-Revelation 22:2.<\/i><\/p>\n
Another Sermon by Mr. Spurgeon, upon the same text, is No. 1,233 in Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, \u201cHealing Leaves.\u201d<\/p>\n
You will remember that, in the first paradise, there was a tree of life in the midst of the garden. When Adam; had offended, and was driven out, God said, \u201cLest he put forth his hand, and take of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever, therefore the Lord God drove out the man.\u201d It has been supposed, by some, that this tree of life in the garden of Eden was intended to be the means of continuing man in immortality, that, his feeding upon it would have supported him in the vigor of unfailing youth, preserved him from exposure to decay, and imparted, by a spiritual regeneration, the seal of perpetuity to his constitution. I do not know about that. If it were so, I can understand the reason why God would not, have the first man, Adam, become immortal in the lapsed state he was then in, but ordained that the old nature should cite, and that the immortality should be given to a new nature, which should be formed under another leadership, and quickened by another Spirit.<\/p>\n
The text tells us that, in the center of the new paradise, the perfect paradise of God, from which the saints shall never be driven, seeing it is to be our perpetual heritage, there is also a tree of life. But here we translate the metaphor; we do not understand that tree to be literal. We: believe our Lord Jesus Christ to be none other than that tree of life, whose leaves are for the healing of the nations. We can scarcely conceive, of any other interpretation, as this seems to us to be so full of meaning, and to afford us such unspeakable satisfaction.<\/p>\n
At any rate, beloved, if this be not the absolute purpose of the sublime vision that John saw, it is most certainly true that our Lord Jesus Christ is life from the dead, and life to his own living people. He is all in all to them; and by him, and by him alone, must their spiritual life be maintained. We are right enough, then, in saying that Jesus Christ is a tree of life, and we shall so speak of him in the hope that some may come and pluck of the fruit, and eat and live for ever. Our desire shall be so to use the sacred allegory that some poor dying soul may be encouraged to lay hold on eternal life by laying hold on Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n
First, we shall take the tree of life in the winter with no fruit on it;<\/i> secondly, we shall try to show you the tree of life budding and blossoming;<\/i> and, thirdly, we shall endeavor to show you the way to partake of its fruits<\/i>.<\/p>\n
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I. <\/b>And first, my brethren, I have to speak to you of Jesus Christ, The Tree Of Life In The Winter.<\/p>\n
You will at once anticipate that I mean, by this figure, to describe Jesus in his sufferings<\/i>, in his dark winter days, when he did hang upon the cross, and bleed, and die; when he had no honor from men and no respect from any; when even God the Father hid his face from him for a season, and he was made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. My dear friends, you will never see the tree of life aright unless you first look at the cross. It was there that this tree gathered strength to bring forth its after-fruit. It was there, we say, that Jesus Christ, by his glorious merits and his wondrous work achieved upon the cross, obtained power to become the Redeemer of our souls, and the Captain of our salvation.<\/p>\n
Come with me, then, by faith, to the foot of the little mound of Calvary, and let us look up and see this thing that came to pass. Let us turn aside as Moses did when the bush burned, and see this great sight. It is the greatest marvel that ever earth, or hell, or heaven beheld, and we may well spend a few minutes in beholding it.<\/p>\n
Our Lord Jesus, the ever-living, the immortal, the eternal, became man, and, being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and died the death of the cross. That death was not on his own account. His humanity had no need to die. He might have lived on, and have seen my death if so he had willed. He had committed no offense, no sin, and therefore no punishment could fall upon him.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor sins not his own
He died to atone.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
Every pang upon the cross was substitutionary; and for you, ye sons of men, the Prince of glory bled, the Just for the unjust, that he might bring you to God. There was no smart for himself, for his Father loved him with a love ineffable; and he deserved no blows from his Father\u2019s hand, but his smarts were for the sins of his enemies, for your sins and mine, that, by his stripes we might be healed, and that through his wounds reconciliation might be made with God.<\/p>\n
Think, then, of the Savior\u2019s death upon the cross. Mark ye well that it was an accursed death<\/i>. There were many ways by which men might die, but there was only one death which God pronounced to be accursed. He did not say, \u201cCursed is he that dies by stoning, or by the sword, or by a millstone being fastened about his neck, or by being eaten of worms,\u201d but it was written, \u201cCursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.\u201d By no, other death than that one, which God did single out as the, death of the accursed, could Jesus Christ die. Admire it, believer, that Jesus Christ should be made a curse for us. Admire, and love; let your faith and your gratitude blend together.<\/p>\n
It was a death of the most ignominious kind<\/i>. The Roman law subjected only felons to it and I believe not even felons unless they were slaves. A freed Roman must not so die, nor a subject of any of the kingdoms that Rome had conquered, but only the slave who was bought and sold in the market could be put to this death. The Jews counted Jesus worthy to be sold as a slave, and then they put him to a slave\u2019s death for you.<\/p>\n
Besides, they added to the natural scorn of the death their own ridicule<\/i>. Some passed by, and wagged their heads. Some stood still, and thrust out their tongues at him. Others sat down, and watched him there, and satisfied their malice and their scorn. He was made the center of all sorts of ridicule and shame. He was the drunkard\u2019s song and even they that, were crucified with him reviled him. And all this he suffered for us. Our sin was shameful, and he was made to be a shame for us. We had disgraced ourselves, and dishonored God, and therefore Jesus was joined with the wicked in his death, and made as vile as they.<\/p>\n
Besides, the death was exceedingly painful. We must not forget the pangs of the Savior\u2019s body, for I believe, when we begin to depreciate the corporeal sufferings, we very soon begin to drag down the spiritual sufferings too. It must be a fearful death by which to die, when the tender hands and feet are pierced, and when the bones are dislocated by the jar of erecting the cross, and when the fever sets in, and the mouth becomes hot as an oven, and the tongue is swollen in the mouth, and the only moisture given is vinegar mingled with gall. Ah, beloved! the pangs that Jesus knew, none of us can guess. We believe that Hart has well described it when he says that he bore-<\/p>\n
\u201cAll that incarnate God could bear,
With strength enough, and none to spare.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
You cannot tell the price of griefs, and groans, and sighs, and heart-breakings, and soul-tearings, and rendings of the spirit, which Jesus had to pay that he might redeem us from our iniquities. It was a lingering death.<\/i> However painful a death may be, it is always satisfactory to think that it is soon over. When a man is hanged, after our English custom, or the head is taken from the body, the pain may be great for the instant, but it is soon over and gone. But in crucifixion a man lives so long that, when Pilate heard that the Savior was dead, he marvelled that he was dead already. I remember hearing a missionary say that he saw a man in Burmah crucified, and that he was alive two days after having been nailed to the cross; and I believe there are authenticated stories of persons who have been taken down from the cross after having hung for forty-eight hours, and after all have had their wounds healed, and have lived for years. It was a lingering death that the Savior had to die.<\/p>\n
O my brethren, if you put these items together, they make up a ghastly total, which ought to press upon our hearts,-if we are believers, in the form of grateful affection, or if we are unbelievers, provoking us to shame that we do not love him who loved the sons of men so much.<\/p>\n
And the death of the Lord Jesus Christ for us<\/i>, we must also add, was penal<\/i>. He died this death of the condemned. Perhaps most men would feel this to be the worst feature; for, if a man shall die by never so painful a death, if it be accidental, it misses the sting which must come into it if it be caused by law, and especially if it be brought by sin, and after sentence has been passed in due form. Now, our Lord Jesus Christ was condemned by the civil and ecclesiastical tribunals of the country to die. And what was more, \u201cit pleased the Lord to bruise him, he hath put him to grief.\u201d Jesus Christ died without any sin of his own, yet he died a penal death, because our sins were counted as his. He took upon him our iniquities as though they were his own, and then, being found in the sinner\u2019s place, he suffered, as if he had been a sinner, the wrath that was due for sin.<\/p>\n
Beloved, I wish it were in my power to set, forth Christ crucified,-Christ visibly crucified amongst you! Oh, that, I could so paint him that the eyes of your heart could see him! I wish that I could make you feel the dolour of his griefs, and sip that bitter cup which he had to drain to the dregs. But if I cannot do this, it shall suffice me to say that that death is the only hope for sinners<\/i>. Those wounds of his are the gate to heaven. The smarts and sufferings of Immanuel are the only expiatory sacrifice for human guilt. O ye who would be saved, turn your eyes hither! Look unto him: and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth. There is life in a look at him, but there is life nowhere else. Despise him, and you perish. Accept him, and you shall never perish, neither shall all the powers of hell prevail against you. Come, guilty souls! Jesus wants not your team or your blood; his tears can cleanse you; his blood can purify you. If your heart be not as broken as you would have it, it is his broken heart, not yours, that shall merit heaven for you. If you cannot be what you could, he was for you what God would have him to be. God is contented with him, so be you also contented with him; and come and trust him. Oh, how may delays be over, and difficulties all be solved, and just as you are, without one plea, but that the Savior bled, come to your heavenly Father, and you shall be \u201caccepted in the Beloved.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thus, then, Jesus Christ hanging on the cross is the tree of life in its winter time.<\/p>\n
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II. <\/b>And now let me show you, as I may be enabled, That Selfsame Tree Of Life When It Had Blossomed And Brought Forth Fruit.<\/p>\n
The he stands,-Jesus,-still the same Jesus,-and yet how changed! The same Jesus, but clothed with honor instead of shame, able now to save them to the uttermost that some unto God by him. My text says of this tree that it bears \u201ctwelve manner of fruits.\u201d I suppose that is intended to signify that a perfect and complete assortment of all supplies for human necessities is to be found in Christ,-all sorts of mercies for all sorts of sinners; all kinds of blessings to suit all kinds of necessities. We read, of the palm tree, that every bit of it is useful, from its root to its fruit. So is it with the Lord Jesus Christ. There is nothing in him that we could afford to do without. Their is nothing about Jesus that is extraneous or superfluous. You can put him to use in every part, in every office, in every relationship.<\/p>\n
A tree of life is for food. Some trees yield rich fruit. Adam in the garden lived only on the fruit of the garden. Jesus Christ is the food of his people,<\/i> and what dainties they have! What satisfying food, what plenteous food, what sweet food, what food precisely suitable to all the wants of their souls Jesus is! As for manna, it was angels\u2019 food; but what shall I say of Christ? He is more than that, for-<\/p>\n
\u201cNever did angels taste above,
Redeeming grace and dying love.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
Oh, how richly you are fed! The flesh of God\u2019s own Son is the spiritual meat of every heir of heaven. Hungry souls, come to Jesus if you would be fed.<\/p>\n
Jesus gives his people drink also<\/i>. There are some tropical trees which, as soon as they are tapped, yield liquids as sweet and rich as milk, and many drink and are refreshed by them. Jesus Christ\u2019s heart blood is the wine of his people. The atonement which he has perfected by his sufferings is the golden cup out of which they drink, and drink again, till their mourning souls are made glad, and their fainting hearts are strengthened and refreshed. Jesus gives us the water of life, the wines on the lees well refined, the wine and milk, without money and without price. What a tree of life to yield us both meat and drink!<\/p>\n
Jesus is a tree of life yielding clothing too.<\/i> Adam went to the fig tree for his garments, and the fig leaves yielded him such covering as they could. But we come to Christ and we find, not fig leaves, but a robe of righteousness that is matchless for its beauty, comely in its proportions, one which will never wear out, which exactly suits to cover our nakedness from head to foot, and when we put it on makes us fair to look upon, even as Christ himself. O ye who would be rearrayed till ye shall be fit to stand amongst the courtiers of the skies, come ye to Jesus, and find garments such as you need upon this tree of life!<\/p>\n
This tree also yields medicine.<\/i> \u201cThe leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.\u201d Lay a plaster upon any wound, and if it be but the plaster of King Jesus, it will heal it. But one promise from his lips, but one leaf from this tree, but one word from his Spirit but one drop of his blood, and this is heaven\u2019s court-plaster indeed. It is true that there was no balm in Gilead, there was no physician there; and, therefore, the hurt of the daughter of Israel\u2019s people was not healed. But there is<\/i> balm in Jesus, there is a Physician at Calvary, and to hurt of the daughter of God\u2019s people shall be healed if she will but fly to Jesus Christ for healing.<\/p>\n
And what shall I more say? Is there anything else your spirits can want? O children of God, Christ is all! O ye ungodly ones, who have been roaming through the world to find the tree that should supply your wants, stop here. This \u201capple tree See Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, No. 1,120, \u201cThe Apple Tree in the Wood;\u201d and No. 3,249, \u201cUnder The Apple Tree.\u201d among the trees of the wood\u201d is the tree which your souls require. Stay here, and you shall have all that you need. For listen,-this tree yields a shelter from the storm.<\/i> Other trees are dangerous when the tempest howls; but he that shelters beneath the tree of the Lord Jesus shall find that all the thunder-bolts of God shall fly by him, and do him no injury. He cannot be hurt who clings to Jesus. Heaven and earth should sooner pass away than a soul be lost that hides beneath the boughs of this tree. And oh, you who have hidden there to shelter from the wrath of God, let me remind you that in every other kind of danger it will also yield you shelter; and if you are not in danger, yet still in the hot days of care you shall find the shade of it to be cool and genial. The spouse in Solomon\u2019s Song said, \u201cI sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.\u201d Get Christ and you have got comfort, joy, peace, and liberty, and when the trouble comes, you shall find shelter and deliverance by coming near to him.<\/p>\n
He is the tree of life, then, yielding twelve manner of fruits, those fruits being always ripe and always ready, for they ripen every month, all being free to all who desire them, for the leaves are not for the healing of some, but \u201cfor the healing of the nations.\u201d What a large word! Then there are enough of these leaves for the healing of all the nations that shall ever come into the world. Oh, may God grant that none of you may die from spiritual sickness when these leaves can heal you, and may none of you be filling yourselves with the sour grapes of this world, the poisonous grapes of sin, while the sweet fruit of Christ\u2019s love are waiting, which would refresh you and satisfy you.<\/p>\n
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III. <\/b>And now I have to show you How To Get At The Fruit Of This Tree Of Life.<\/p>\n
That is the main matter. Little does it boot to tell that there is fruit, unless we can tell how it can be got at. I wish that all here really wanted to know the way, but I am afraid many care very little about it. Dr. Payson had once been out to tea with one of his people, who had been particularly hospitable to him, and when he was going, the doctor said, \u201cWell, now, madam, you have treated me exceedingly well, but how do you treat my Master?\u201d That is a question I should like to put to some of you. How do you treat my Master? Why, you treat him as if he were not Christ as if you did not want him. But you do need him. May you find him soon, for when you come to die, you will want him then, and perhaps then you may not find him.<\/p>\n
Well, the way to get the fruit from this tree is by faith.<\/i> That is the hand that plucks the golden apples. Canst thou believe? That is the thing. Canst thou believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that he died upon the cross?\u201d Yes,\u201d sayest that, \u201cI believe that.\u201d Canst thou believe that, in consequence of his sufferings, he is able to save? \u201cAy,\u201d sayest thou. Canst thou believe that he will save thee? Wilt thou trust him, to save thee? If so, thou art saved. If thy soul comes to Jesus, and says, \u201cMy Lord, I believe in thee, that thou art able to save to the uttermost, and now I throw myself upon thee,\u201d that is faith.<\/p>\n
When Mr. Andrew Fuller was going to preach before an Association, he rode to the meeting on his horse. There had been a good deal of rain, and the rivers were very much swollen. He got to one river which he had to cross. He looked at it, and he was half afraid of the strong current, as he did not know the depth. A farmer who happened to be standing by, said, \u201cIt is all right, Mr. Fuller, you will get through it all right, sir; the horse will keep its feet.\u201d Mr. Fuller went in, and the water got up to the girth, and then up to, the saddle, and he began to get uncomfortably wet. Mr. Fuller thought he had better turn round, and he was going to do so when the same farmer shouted, \u201cGo on, Mr. Fuller; go on; I know it is all right;\u201d and Mr. Fuller said, \u201cThen I will go on; I will go by faith.\u201d Now, sinner, it is very like that with you. You think that your sins are so deep that Christ will never be able to carry you over them; but I say to you,-It is all right, sinner; trust Jesus, and he will carry you through hell itself, if that is needful. If you had all the sins of all the man that have ever lived, and they were all yours, if you could trust him. Jesus Christ would carry you through the current of all that sin. It is all right, man! Only trust Christ. The river may be deep, but Christ\u2019s love is deeper still. It is all right, man! Do not let the devil make you doubt my Lord and Master. He is a liar from the beginning, and the father of lies, but my Master is faithful and true. Rest on him, and all will be well. The waves may roll, the river may seem to be deeper than you thought it to, be,-and rest assured it is much deeper than you know it to be; but the almighty arm of Jesus-that strong arm that can shake the heavens and the earth, and move the pillars thereof as Samson moved the pillars of Gaza\u2019s gates,-that strong arm can hold you up, and tear you safely through, if you do but cling to it, and rest on it. O soul, rest in Jesus, and you are saved!<\/p>\n
Once again. If at the first you do not seem to get the fruit from this tree, shake it by prayer.<\/i> \u201cOh!\u201d say you, \u201cI have been praying.\u201d Yes, but a tree does not always drop its fruit at the first shake you give it. Shake it again, man; give it another shake! And sometimes, when the tree is loaded, and is pretty firm in the earth, you have to shake it to and fro, and at last you plant your feet, and get a hold of it, and shake it with might and main, till you strain every muscle and sinew to get the fruit down. And that is this way to pray. Shake the tree of life until the mercy drops into your lap. Christ loves for men to beg hard of him. You cannot be too importunate. That which might be disagreeable to your fellow-creatures when you beg of them, will be agreeable to Christ. Oh, get ye, to your chambers, get ye to your chambers, ye that have not found Christ; get to your bed-sides, to your little closets, and \u201cseek the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near.\u201d May the Spirit of God constrain you to pray. May he constrain you to continue in prayer. Jesus must hear you. The gate of heaven is open to the sturdy knocker that will not take a denial. The Lord enable you so to plead that, at the last, yet will be able to say, \u201cThou hast heard my voice and my supplication; thou hast inclined thine ear unto me; therefore will I pray unto thee as long as I live.\u201d<\/p>\n
May God add his blessing to these rambling thoughts, for Jesus sake! Amen.<\/p>\n
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON.<\/p>\n
GENESIS 2:1-17; AND REVELATION 22.<\/b><\/p>\n
Genesis 2:1-8. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, and every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had formed.<\/i><\/p>\n
Everything was ready for man\u2019s use, every fruit-bearing tree for his nourishment, every creature to do his bidding, for it was the will of God that he should \u201chave dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.\u201d God did not place the man formed in his image, after his likeness, in an unfurnished house or an empty world, and leave him to provide for himself all that he required but he prepared everything that man could possibly need, and completed the whole plan by planting \u201ca garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.\u201d<\/p>\n
9. And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.<\/i><\/p>\n
That tree of life in the midst of the earthly paradise was to be symbolic of another tree of life in the paradise above, from which the children of God shall never be driven as Adam and Eve were driven out of Eden.<\/p>\n
10-14. And a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; and the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.<\/i><\/p>\n
That river in Eden also reminds us of the \u201cpure river of water of life clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb,\u201d of which we read almost at the end of the Revelation that was given to John in Patmos. Thus the beginning and the end of the Bible call our attention to the tree of life and the river of life in the paradise below and the better paradise above.<\/p>\n
15. And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.<\/i><\/p>\n
There was to be occupation for man even in paradise, just as they who are before the throne of God in glory \u201cserve him day and night in his temple.\u201d Idleness gives no joy, but holy employment will add to the bliss of heaven.<\/p>\n
16, 17. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden, thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.<\/i><\/p>\n
Apparently, Adam was not forbidden to eat of the fruit of the tree of life, though, after his fail, he was east out of Eden, as God said, \u201clest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever.\u201d He might freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden except one: \u201cof the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it.\u201d It was a slight prohibition, yet the test was more than man, even in a state of innocence, was able to endure, and, alas! his failure involved all his descendants, for he was the federal head of the human race, and \u201cby one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men.\u201d Happily, there is another federal Head, and therefore we read, \u201cFor if through the offense of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.\u201d<\/p>\n
Revelation 22:1. And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.<\/i><\/p>\n
Rivers partake of the character of the source from which they come that which proceeds \u201cout of the throne of God and of the Lamb \u201cmay well be \u201ca pure river of water of life, clear as crystal.\u201d What but good and perfect gifts can come down from the throne of God? What but pure streams of mercy can flow from the throne of the Lamb?<\/p>\n
2. In the midst of the street of it,-<\/i><\/p>\n
For heaven is a place of sacred intercourse and hallowed communion: \u201cin the midst of the street of it,\u201d-<\/p>\n
2. And on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits,<\/i><\/p>\n
Every variety of joy and blessedness,<\/p>\n
2. And yielded her fruit every month:<\/i><\/p>\n
For the felicities of heaven are ever fresh and ever new, we shall never be satiated or wearied with that heavenly fruit.<\/p>\n
2. And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.<\/i><\/p>\n
Everything in heaven is the very best of the best. The leaves of the trees in earthly gardens are blown about by the blast, and we take but little note of them; but the leaves of the tree of life are \u201cfor the healing of the nations.\u201d O happy place, where even the leaves on the tree have such virtue in them!<\/p>\n
3. And there shall be no more curse:<\/i><\/p>\n
No more thorns or thistles, no more pangs of chid-bearing, no more sickness, or sorrow, or death.<\/p>\n
3. But the throne of God and of the Lamb See Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, No. 1,576, \u201cThe Throne of God and of the Lamb.\u201d shall be in it, and his servants shall serve him:<\/i><\/p>\n
They shall have nothing else to do, and it shall be their supreme delight to serve him perfectly and unceasingly.<\/p>\n
4. And thy shall see his face; See Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, No. 824, \u201cThe Heaven of Heaven.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
Not through a glass darkly, but face to face shall they behold their God. Surely that will be the very heaven of heaven.<\/p>\n
4. And his name shall be in their foreheads.<\/i><\/p>\n
Aaron was to wear upon his forehead a plate of pure gold, with Holiness To The Lord engraved upon it, that the children of Israel might be accepted before the Lord, but the saints in glory are to have the name of their God \u201cin their foreheads.\u201d In the very forefront of their glorified personalities there shall be the marks to betoken that they are the children of God.<\/p>\n
5. And there shall be no night there;<\/i><\/p>\n
The saints in glory will have no need of sleep, so \u201cthere shall be no night there,\u201d but one perpetual day of holy, unwearying service. There shall be no night of ignorance, of sorrow, of sin, of death; there shall be no powers of darkness there, and no darkness in which they might work their evil deeds.<\/p>\n
5. And they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light:<\/i><\/p>\n
Directly and distinctly, without using any means, by his own immediate presence, \u201cthe Lord God giveth them light:\u201d-<\/p>\n
5. And they shall reign for ever and ever.<\/i><\/p>\n
Earthly kings die, or their empires on earth are taken from them; but as for us whom God hath chosen by his grace, our kingdom is like that of our Lord and Savior, it is an everlasting kingdom.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey shall reign for ever and ever.\u201d I wonder that some wise man does not try to prove that this means that the saints shall reign only for a short time they have whittled \u201ceverlasting punishment\u201d down to next to nothing, why do they not try to reduce the duration of heaven, bliss in the same way. The same words are used concerning the one as concerning the other, so we shall always hold to the eternity both of the one and the other, the bliss and the woe are equally \u201cfar ever and ever.\u201d<\/p>\n
6, 7. And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent him angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done. Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.<\/i><\/p>\n
You have the witness of God, you have the witness of the angel of God, you have the witness of Christ you have the witness of John, and all of them agree that \u201cthese sayings are faithful and true,\u201d and that they relate to facts that shall in due course be established.<\/p>\n
8. And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.<\/i><\/p>\n
And, according to the Church of Rome, he was quite right; but, according to the Word of God, he was quite wrong.<\/p>\n
9. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.<\/i><\/p>\n
Worship none but God; take care not to break the first two of the ten commandments either by worshipping another God or by worshipping the true God under any form of similitude whatsoever.<\/p>\n
10. And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no need to roll it up, and set a seal to it; as it is so soon to be fulfilled, leave it open.\u201d<\/p>\n
11. He that is unjust, let him be just still: and he which is filthy! let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.<\/i><\/p>\n
The Lord\u2019s messenger speaks as if \u201cthe time\u201d were so nearly come that there was no opportunity left for any charge to be made, and this is what will happen, sooner or later, to all men. When they die, their characters will be fixed for ever. The wax will cool, and the impress that it bears will be retained eternally.<\/p>\n
12, 13. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. See Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, No. 546, \u201cAlpha and Omega.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
These must be the words of the Lord Jesus Christ himself; no mere messenger, however high his rank, would have dared to say, \u201cI am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.\u201d<\/p>\n
14, 16. 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. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.<\/i><\/p>\n
We thank God that they are shut out of heaven, for, albeit that we wish all men could be there, yet we would wish none to be there whose characters are of such a kind as this, unless they were washed and cleansed. Heaven would be no heaven if such men could be admitted there. They shall not be; they must, by infallible justice, be excluded from the realms of bliss.<\/p>\n
16. I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.<\/i><\/p>\n
So glory is dawning, for Christ the bright and morning star, has risen,<\/p>\n
17. And the Spirit and the bride say, come. And let him that heareth one, come. And let him that is athirst, come. And whoever will, let him take the water of life freely. See The New Park Street Pulpit, No. 279, \u201cCome and Welcome,\u201d and Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, No. 1,331, \u201cThe Two \u2019Comes\u2019; No. 1,608, \u201cThe Double \u2019Come\u2019;\u201d and No. 2,685, \u201cThe Oft-repeated Invitation.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
Here we have the fact invitations in the Word of God; may all who have not yet accepted them do so now, lest they should never again be uttered in their hearing.<\/p>\n
18-21. For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plaques that are written in this book: and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.<\/i><\/p>\n
So the blessed Book closes appropriately with grace, for \u2019tis grace that-<\/p>\n
\u201cAll the work shall crown
Through everlasting days;
It lays in heaven the topmost stone,
And well deserves the praise.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NO. 3251 A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, MAY 25TH, 1911, DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON, AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON. \u201cIn the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the … Continue reading “CHRIST THE TREE OF LIFE.”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4579","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4579"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4579\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}