Jesus was to be a shepherd in heaven

JESUS WAS TO BE A SHEPHERDIN HEAVEN
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Revelation7:16-17 16'Neveragainwill they hunger;
never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat
down on them,' nor any scorching heat. 17Forthe
Lamb at the center of the throne will be their
shepherd; 'he will lead them to springs of living
water.' 'And God will wipe away every tear from their
eyes.'"
Heaven Above, and Heaven Below
By Charles Haddon Spurgeon Feb 2, 1890
Scripture: Revelation7:16,17
No. 2128
From: Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Volume 36
Heaven Above, and Heaven Below
“Theyshall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun
light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne
shall feed them, and shall leadthem unto living fountains of waters.”—

Revelationvii. 16, 17. “Theyshall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat
nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall leadthem, even by
the springs of watershall he guide them.”— Isaiah xlix. 10.
JORDAN is a very narrow stream. It made a sort of boundary for Canaan;
but it hardly sufficed to divide it from the restof the world, since a part of the
possessionsofIsraelwas on the easternside of it. Those who saw the Red Sea
divided, and all Israelmarching through its depths, must have thought it a
small thing for the Jordan to be dried up, and for the people to pass through it
to Canaan. The greatestbarrierbetweenbelievers and heaven has been safely
passed. In the day when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, we passed
through our Red Sea, and the Egyptians of our sins were drowned. Great was
the marvel of mercy! To enter fully into our eternal inheritance, we have only
to cross the narrow streamof death; and scarcelythat, for the kingdom of
heaven lieth on this side of the liver as wellas on the other.
I start by reminding you of this, because we are very apt to imagine that we
must endure a kind of purgatory while we are on earth, and then, if we are
believers, we may break loose into heaven after we have shuffled off this
mortal coil. But it is not so. Heaven must be in us before we can be in heaven;
and while we are yet in the wilderness, we may spy out the land, and may eat
of the clusters of Eshcol. There is no such gulf betweenearth and heaven as
gloomy thoughts suggest. Ourdreams should not be of an abyss, but of a
ladder whose footis on the earth, but whose top is in glory. There would not
be one hundredth part so much difference between earth and heavenif we did
not live so far below our privileges. We live on the ground, when we might rise
as on the wings of eagles.We are all too conscious ofthis body. Oh, that we
were oftener where Paul was when he said, “Whether in the body or out of the
body, I cannottell: God knoweth”!If not caughtup into Paradise, yet may
our daily life be as the gardenof the Lord.
Listen a while, ye children of God; for I speak to you, and not to others. To
unbelievers, what canI say? They know nothing of spiritual things, and will
not believe them, though a man should show them unto them. They are

spiritually blind and dead: the Lord quicken and enlighten them! But to you
that are begotten againunto a lively hope by the resurrectionof Jesus Christ
from the dead, I speak with joy. Think of what you are by grace, and
remember that what you will be in glory is already outlined and foreshadowed
in your life in Christ. Being born from above, you are the same men that will
be in heaven. You have within you the divine life— the same life which is to
enjoy eternal immortality. “He that believeth on the Sonhath everlasting
life”: it is your possessionnow. As the quickenedones of the Holy Spirit, the
life which is to last on for ever has begun in you.
At this moment you are already, in many respects, the same as you ever
will be. I might almost repeatthis passagein the Revelationconcerning some
of you at this very hour:— “Whatare these? and whence came they? These
are they that came out of greattribulation, and have washedtheir robes and
made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” I might even go on to say,
“Therefore are they before the throne of God”— for you abide in close
communion with the King— “and serve him day and night in his temple: and
he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.” I am straining no point
when I thus speak of the sanctified.
Beloved, you are now “electaccording to the foreknowledgeofGod,” and
you are “the called according to his purpose.” Already you are as much
forgiven as you will be when you stand without fault before the throne of God.
The Lord Jesus has washedyou whiter than snow, and none canlay aught to
your charge. You are as completely justified by the righteousness ofChrist as
you ever canbe; you are coveredwith his righteousness, and heavenitself
cannot provide a robe more spotless. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God.”
“He hath made us acceptedin the Beloved.” To-daywe have the spirit of
adoption, and enjoy access to the throne of the heavenly grace;yea, and to-
day by faith we are raised up in Christ, and made to sit in the heavenlies in
him. We are now united to Christ, now indwelt by the Holy Ghost: are not
these greatthings, and heavenly things? The Lord hath brought us out of
darkness into his marvellous light. Although we may, from one point of view,
lament the dimness of the day, yet, as comparedwith our former darkness,
the light is marvellous; and, best of all, it is the same light which is to brighten
from dawn into mid-day. What is grace but the morning twilight of glory?

Look ye, beloved: the inheritance that is to be yours to-morrow, is, in very
truth, yours to-day; for in Christ Jesus you have receivedthe inheritance, and
you have the earnestof it in the present possessionofthe Holy Spirit, who
dwells in you. It has been well said, that all the streets of the New Jerusalem
begin here. See, here is the High Streetof Peace, whichleads to the central
palace of God; and now we setour foot on it. “Being justified by faith, we
have peace with God.” The heavenly streetof Victory, where are the palms
and the harps, surely we are at the lowerend of it here; for “this is the victory
that overcomeththe world, even our faith.” Everything that is to be ours in
the home country is, in measure, ours at this moment. As sleeps the oak within
the acorn, so slumbereth heavenwithin the first cry of “Abba, Father!” Ay,
and the hallelujahs of eternity lie hidden within the groans of penitence. “God
be merciful to me a sinner” has in its bowels the endless “We praise thee, O
Lord.” O saints, little do you know how much you have in what you have!
If I could bring believers consciouslynearerto the state of glory by their
more complete enjoyment of the privileges of the state of grace, I should be
exceeding glad. Beloved, you will never have a better God: and “this God is
our God for ever and ever.” Delightyourselves in him this day. The richest
saint in glory has no greaterpossessionthan his God: and even I also can say,
in the words of the psalm,
“Yea, mine own God is he.”
Despite your tribulation, take full delight in God your exceeding joy this
morning, and be happy in him. They in heavenare shepherded by the Lamb
of God, and so are you: he still carrieth the lambs in his bosom, and doth
gently lead those that are with young. Even here he makes us to lie down in
greenpastures: what would we have more? With such a God, and such a
Saviour, all you canwant is that indwelling Spirit, who shall help you to
realize your God, and to rejoice in your Saviour; and you have this also;for
the Spirit of God dwelleth with you and is in you: “Know ye not that ye are
the temple of God?” God the Holy Ghostis not far away, neither have we to
entreat his influence, as though it were rays from a far-off star; for he abides
in his people evermore. I will not saythat heavenly perfection is not far
superior to the highest state that we ever reachon earth; but the difference

lies more in our own failure than in the nature of things. Grace, if realized to
its full, would brighten off into glory. When the Holy Spirit fully possessesour
being, and we yield ourselves to his power, our weaknessis strength, and our
infirmity is to be gloried in. Then is it true, that on earth God is with us, and
there is but a step betweenus and heaven, where we are with God.
Thus I have conducted you to my two texts, which I have put togetheras an
illustration of what I would teach. In the New Testamenttext we have the
heavenly state above; and in the Old Testamenttext we have the state of the
Lord’s flock while on the way to their eternal rest. Very singular, to my mind,
is the samenessofthe description of the flock in the fold, and the flock feeding
in the ways. The verses are almost word for word the same. When John would
describe the white-robed host, he cansay no more of them than Isaiahsaid of
the pilgrim band, led by the God of mercy.
I. First, LET US CONSIDER THE HEAVENLY STATE ABOVE. The
beloved John tells us what he heard and saw.
The first part of the description assures us of the supply of every need.
“Theyshall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore.” In heaven no need is
unsatisfied, and no desire ungratified. They canhave no want as to their
bodies, for they are as the angels of God. Children of poverty, your straitness
of bread will soonbe ended, and your care shallend in plenty. The worst
hunger is that of the heart; and this will be unknown above. There is a
ravenous hunger, fierce as a wolf, which possessessome men: all the world
cannot satisfytheir greed. A thousand worlds would be scarce a mouthful for
their lust. Now, in heaven there are no sinful and selfish desires. The ravening
of covetousnessorof ambition enters not the sacredgate. In glory there are no
desires which should not be, and those desires which should be are all so
tempered or so fulfilled that they cannever become the cause ofsorrow or
pain; for, “they shall hunger no more.” Even the saints need love, fellowship,
rest: they have all these in union to God, in the communion of saints, and in
the restof Jesus. The unrenewedman is always thirsting; but Christ can stay
this even now, for he saith, “He that drinketh of the water that I shall give him
shall never thirst.” Be you sure, then, that from the golden cup of glory we
shall drink that which will quench all thirst for ever. There is not, in all the

golden streets ofheaven, a single person who is desiring what he may not
have, or wanting what he cannot obtain, or even wishing for that which he has
not to his hand. O happy state!Their mouth is satisfiedwith goodthings; they
are filled with all the fulness of God.
And as there is in heaven a supply for every need, so is there the removal of
every ill. Thus saith the Spirit, “Neithershall the sun light on them, nor any
heat.” We are such poor creatures that excess ofgoodsoonbecomes evil to us.
I love the sun: if you had ever seenit shining in the clearblue heavens, you
would not wonder that I speak with emphasis. Life, joy, and health stream
from it in lands where it is enough of pleasure to bask in its beams. But too
much of the sun overpowers us;his warmth makes men faint, his stroke
destroys them. Too greata blessing may prove too heavy a cargo for the ship
of life. Hence we need guarding from dangers which, at the first sight, look as
if they were not perilous. In the beatific state, if these bodies of flesh and blood
were still our dwelling-place, we could not live under the celestialconditions.
Even here, too much of spiritual joy may prostrate a man, and casthim into a
swoon. I would like to die of the disease;but still, a sicknesscomethupon one
to whom heavenly things are revealedin greatmeasure, and enjoyed with
specialvividness. One of the saints cried out in an agonyof delight, “Hold,
Lord, hold! Remember I am but an earthen vessel, and can containno more!”
The Lord has to limit his revelations, because we cannotbear them now. I
have heard of one who lookedupon the sun imprudently, and was blinded by
the light. The very sunlight of divine revelation, favour, and fellowshipcould
readily prove too much for our feeble vision, heart, and brain. Therefore, in
the glorious state flesh and blood shall be removed, and the raised body shall
be strengthened to endure that fierce light which beats about the throne of
Deity. As for us, as we now are, we might well cry, “Who among us shall dwell
with the devouring fire?” But when the redemption of the body has come
about, and the soul has been strengthenedwith all might, we shall be able to
be at home with our God, who is a consuming tire. “Neithershall the sun light
on them, nor any heat.” MayGod grant us to enjoy the anticipation of that
happy period when we shall behold his face, when his secretshallbe with us,
and we shall know even as we are known! Oh, for that day when we shall

enter into the Holiest, and shall stand before the presence ofhis glory; and
yet, so far from being afraid, shall be filled with exceeding joy!
But, further, the description of the heavenly life has this conspicuous
feature— the leading of the Lamb. “The Lamb which is in the midst of the
throne shall feedthem, and shall lead them.” It is heaven to be personally
shepherded by him who is the GreatSacrifice. In this present state we have
earthly shepherds; and when Godgraciouslyfeeds us by men after his own
heart, whom he himself instructs, we prize them much. Those whom the Lord
ordains to feed his flock we love, and their faith we follow, for the Lord makes
them of greatservice to us; but still, they are only underlings, and we do not
forgettheir imperfections, and their dependence upon their Lord. But in the
glory-land “that GreatShepherd of the sheep” will himself personally
minister to us. Those dear lips that are as lilies, dropping sweetsmelling
myrrh, shall speak directly to eachone of our hearts. We shall hear his voice,
we shall behold his face, we shall be fed by his hand, we shall follow at his
heel. How gloriouslywill he “stand and feed”! How restfully shall we lie down
in green pastures!
He shall feed us in his dearestcharacter. As the Lamb he revealedhis
greatestlove, and as the Lamb will he leadand feed us for ever. The Revised
Version wiselyrenders the passage, “The Lamb in the midst of the throne
shall be their shepherd.” We are never fed so sweetlyby our Lord himself as
when he reveals to us most clearlyhis characteras the sacrifice for sin. The
atoning sacrifice is the centre of the sun of infinite love, the light of light.
There is no truth like it for the revelationof God. Christ in his wounds and
bloody sweatis Christ indeed. “He his own self bare our sins in his own body
on the tree.” With this truth before us, his flesh is meat indeed, and his blood
is drink indeed. In heaven we shall know him far better than we do now as the
Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world, the Lamb of God’s
Passover, “the Lamb of God, which taketh awaythe sin of the world.” That
deep peace, that eternally unbroken rest which we shall derive from a sight of
the GreatSacrifice, willbe a chief ingredient in the bliss of heaven. “The
Lamb shall feed them.”

But though we shall see our Lord as a Lamb, it will not be in a state of
humiliation, but in a condition of power and honour. “The Lamb which is in
the midst of the throne shall feed them.” Heaven will largelyconsistof
expanded views of King Jesus, and nearerbeholdings of the glory which
follows upon his sacrificialgrief. Ah, brethren, how little do we know his
glory! We scarce know who he is that has befriended us. We hold the doctrine
of his Deity tenaciously;but in heaven we shall perceive his Godheadin its
truth so far as the finite can apprehend the infinite. We have known his
friendship to us, but when we shall behold the King in his beauty in his own
halls, and our eyes shall look into his royal countenance, and his face, which
outshineth the sun, shall beam ineffable affectionupon eachone of us, then
shall we find our heaven in his glory. We ask no thrones; his throne is ours.
The enthroned Lamb himself is all the heavenwe desire.
Then the last point of the description is full of meaning. The drinking at the
fountain is the secretofthe ineffable bliss. “The Lamb which is in the midst of
the throne shall feed them, and leadthem unto living fountains of waters.”We
are compelledto thirst at times, like the poor flock of slaughter which we see
driven through our London streets;and, alas!we stop at the very puddles by
the way, and would refresh ourselves at them, if we could. This will never
happen to us when we reachthe land where flows the river of the waterof life.
There the sheepdrink of no stagnantwaters, or bitter wells, but they are
satisfiedfrom living fountains of waters. Comfortis measurably to be found in
the streams of providential mercies, and therefore they are to be receivedwith
gratitude; but yet common blessings are unfilling things to souls quickenedby
grace. Corncan fill the barn, but not the heart. Of the wells of earth we may
say, “Whosoeverdrinketh of this watershall thirst again”;but when we go
beyond temporal supplies, and live upon God himself, then the soul receives a
draught of far truer and more enduring refreshment; evenas our Lord Jesus
said to the womanat the well, “He that drinketh of the water that I shall give
him shall never thirst; but the waterthat I shall give him shall be in him a well
of water springing up into everlasting life.” In heaven the happy ones live not
on bread, which is the staffof life, but on God, who is life itself. The second
cause is passedover, and the first cause alone is seen.

In the home country souls have no need of the means of grace, for they
have reachedthe Godof grace. The means of grace are like conduit-pipes,
which bring down the living water to us: but we have found them fail us; and
at times we have used them in so faulty a way that the waterhas lost its
freshness, orhas even been made to taste of the pipe through which it flowed.
Fruit is best when gathered fresh from the garden: the fingering of the market
destroys the bloom. We have too much of this in our ministries. Brethren, we
shall soondrink living waterat the well-head, and gatherthe goldenfruit
from him who is “as the apple tree among the trees of the wood.” We shall
have no need of baptisms and breakings ofbread, nor of churches and
pastors. We shall not need the golden chalices orthe earthen vesselswhich
now serve our turn so well, but we shall come to the river’s source, and drink
our full. “He shall lead them unto living fountains of water.”
At times, alas!we know what it is to come to the pits and find no water;
and then we try to live on happy memories, We sing, and sigh; or sigh, and
sing—
“What peacefulhours I once enjoyed,
How sweettheir memory still!
But they have left an aching void
The world can never fill.”
A cake made of memories will do for a bite now and then, but it makes poor
daily bread. We want the present enjoyment of God. We need still to go to the
fountain for new supplies; for water which standeth long in the pitcher loses
its cooland refreshing excellence. Happy is the man that is not living upon the
memories of what he used to enjoy, but is even now in the banqueting-house!
The present and perpetual renewalof first love and first delight in God is
heaven.
Heaven is to know the substance and the secretof the divine life— not to
hold a cup, but to drink of the living water. The doctrine is precious, but it is
far better to know the thing about which the doctrine speaks. The doctrine is
the salverof silver,, but the blessing itself is the apple of gold. Blessedare they

that are always fed on the substance ofthe truth, the verity of verities, the
essenceofessentialthings.
“He shall lead them unto fountains.” There the eternalsource is unveiled:
they not only receive the mercy, but they see how it comes, and whence it
flows:they not only drink, but they drink with their eye upon the glorious
Well-head. Did you ever see a boy on a hot day lie down, when he has been
thirsty, and put his mouth down to the top of the water at the brim of the
well? How he draws up the coolrefreshment! Drink away, poorchild! He has
no fear that he will drink the well dry, nor have we. How pleasantit is to take
from the inexhaustible! That which we drink is all the sweeter,becauseofthe
measurelessremainder. Enough is not enough: but when we have Godfor our
all in all, then are we content. When I am near to God, and dwell in the
overflowing of his love, I feel like the cattle on a burning summer’s day when
they take to the brook which ripples around them up to their knees, andthere
they stand, filled, cooled, and sweetlyrefreshed. O my God, in thee I feelthat I
have not only all that I cancontain, but all that containethme. In thee I live
and move with perfect content. Such is heaven! We shall have bliss within and
bliss around us; we ourselves drinking at the source, and dwelling by the well
for ever. The fact is, that heaven is God fully enjoyed. The evil that God hates
will be wholly castout; the capacitywhich God gives will be enlarged and
prepared for full fruition, and our whole being will be takenup with God, the
ever-blessed, from whom we came, and to whom it will be heaven to return.
Who knowethGod knowethheaven. The source of all things is our fountain of
living waters.
Thus I could occupyall the morning with my first head; but I must not
tarry, or I shall miss my aim, which is to show you that, even here, we may
outline glory and in the wilderness we may have the pattern of things in the
heavens. This you will see by carefully referring to the secondtext.
II. LET US CONSIDERTHE HEAVENLY STATE BELOW. I think I
have heard you saying, “Ah! this is all about heaven; but we have not yet
come to it. We are still wrestling here below.” Well, well; if we cannot go to
heaven at once, heavencan come to us. The words which I will now read refer
to the days of earth, the times when the sheep feed in the ways, and come from

the north and from the south at the call of the shepherd. “Theyshall not
hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath
mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of watershall he guide
them.”
Look at the former passageand at this. The whole description is the same.
When I noticed this parallel, I stood amazed. John, thou art a great artist; I
entreat thee, paint me a picture of heaven! Isaiah, thou also hast a greatsoul;
draw me a picture of the life of the saintly ones on earth when their Lord is
with them! I have both pictures. They are masterpieces. I look at them, and
they are so much alike, that I wonderif there be not some mistake. Surely
they are depicting the same thing. The forms, the lights and shades, the
touches and the tones are not only alike, but identical. Amazed, I cry, “Which
is heaven, and which is the heavenly life on earth?” The artists know their
own work, and by their instruction I will be led. Isaiahpainted our Lord’s
sheepin his presence on the way to heaven, and John drew the same flock in
the glory with the Lamb; and the fact that the pictures are so much alike is
full of suggestive teaching. Here are the same ideas in the same words.
Brethren, may you and I as fully believe and enjoy the secondpassage,as we
hope to realize and enjoy the first Scripture when we get home to heaven.
First, here is a promise that every want shall be supplied. “They shall not
hunger nor thirst.” If we are the Lord’s people and are trusting in him, this
shall be true in every possible sense. Literally, “your bread shall be given you,
your watershall be sure.” You shall have no anxious thought concerning what
you shall eat, and what you shall drink. But, mark you, if you should know the
trials of poverty, and should be greatlytried, and brought very low in
temporal things, yet the Lord’s presence and sensible consolations shallso
sustain you that spiritually and inwardly you shall know neither hunger nor
thirst. Many saints have found riches in poverty, ease in labour, restin pain,
and delight in affliction. Our Lord canso adapt our minds to our
circumstances, thatthe bitter is sweet, and the burden is light. Paul speaks of
the saints “as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.” Note wellthat the sorrow has
an “as” connectedwith it; but the rejoicing is a fact. “They shall not hunger
nor thirst.” If you live in God, you shall have no ungratified desire. “Delight
thyself also in the Lord, and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”

There may be many things that you would like to have, and you may never
have them; but then you will prefer to be without them, saying, “Nevertheless,
not as I will, but as thou wilt.” If Christ be with you, you will be so happy in
him that wanton, wandering wishes will be like the birds which may fly over
your head, but dare not make their nests in your hair. You will be without a
peevish craving, or a pining ambition, or a carking care. “Oh,” says a
believer, “I wish I could reachthat state.” You may reachit: you are on the
way to it. Only love Christ more, and be more like him, and you shall be
satisfiedwith favour, and sing, “All my springs are in thee”;“My soul, wait
thou only upon God; for my expectationis from him.”
I do not mean that the saints find a full content in this world’s goods, but
that they find such contentin God, that with them or without them they live in
wealth. A man’s life consistethnot in the abundance of that which ho
possesseth;and many a man who has had next to nothing that could be seen
with eyes or handled with hands, has been a very millionaire for true wealth
in possessing the kingdom of the MostHigh. The Lord has brought some of us
into that state in which we have all things in him; and it is true to us, “They
shall not hunger nor thirst.”
Then, next, there is such a thing as having every evil removed from you
while yet in this wilderness. “Neithershallthe heat nor sun smite them.”
Suppose God favours you with prosperity; if you live near to God you will not
be rendered proud or worldly-minded by your prosperity. Suppose you
should become popular because of your usefulness;you will not be puffed up
if Christ Jesus is your continual leader and shepherd. If you live near to him,
you will be lowly. If your days are spent in sunlight, and you go from joy to
joy, yet still no sunstroke shallsmite you. If still you dwell in God, and your
heart is full of Christ, and you are led as a sheep by him, no measure of heat
shall overpoweryou. It is a mistake to think that our safety or our dangeris
according to our circumstances;our safetyor our danger is according to our
nearness to God, or our distance from him. A man who is near to God can
stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and the devil may tempt him to throw
himself down, and yet he will be firm as the temple itself. A man that is
without God may be in the safestpart of the road, and traverse a level way,
and yet he will stumble. It is not the road, but the Lord that keepeththe

pilgrim’s foot. O heir of heaven, commit thou thy way unto God, and make
him thine all in all, and rise above the creature into the Creator, and then
shalt thou hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the heat nor
the sun smite thee.
Further, it is said, that on earth we may enjoy the leading of the Lord. See
how it is put: “Forhe that hath mercy on them shall lead them.” Here we have
not quite the same words as in the Revelation, for there we read, “The Lamb
that is in the midst of the throne shall lead them.” Yet the sense is but another
shade of the same meaning. Oh, but that is a sweet, sweetname: is it not? “He
that hath mercy on them.” He has savedthem, and so has had mercy on them.
Yes, that is very precious, but the word is sweeterstill— “He that hath mercy
on them,” he that is always having mercy on them, he that follows them with
mercy all the days of their lives, he that continually pardons, upholds,
supplies, strengthens, and thus daily loadeth them with benefits: “He that
hath mercy on them shall lead them.”
Do you know, belovedfriends, what it is to be led of the Lord? Many are
led by their own tastes and fancies. Theywill go wrong. Others are led by
their own judgments. But these are not infallible, and they may go wrong.
More are led by other people; these may go right, but it is far from likely that
they will. He that is led of God, he is the happy man, he shall not err. He shall
be conducted providentially in a right way to the city of habitations. Commit
your way unto the Lord: trust also in him, and he will bring it to pass. It may
be a rough way, but it must be a right wayif we follow the track of the Lord’s
feet. The true believer shall be led by the Spirit of God in sacredmatters:“He
will guide you into all truth.” He that hath mercy on us in other things will
have mercy on us by teaching us to profit. We shall eachone sing, “He leadeth
me in the paths of righteousness forhis name’s sake.”We shall be led into
duty and through struggles;we shall be led to happy attainments and gracious
enjoyments; we shall go from strength to strength.
In the case ofthe gracious soul, earth becomes like heaven, because he
walks with God. He that hath mercy on him visits him, communes with him,
and manifests himself to him. A shepherd goethbefore his flock, and the true
sheepfollow him. Blessedare they who follow the Lamb whithersoeverhe

goeth. They have a love to their Lord, and therefore they only want to know
which way he would have them go, and they feel drawn along it by the cords
of love and the bands of a man. If they canget a glance from their Lord’s eye
it suffices them: as it is written, “I will guide thee with mine eye.” Every day
they stand anxiously attentive to do the King’s commandment, be it what it
may. They yield themselves and their members to him to be instruments of
righteousness, vesselsfit for the Master’s use. Beloved, this is heaven below. If
you have ever tried it, you know it is so. If you have never fully tried it, try it
now, and you will find a new joy in it. Jesus says to you, “Take my yoke upon
you, and learn of me, and ye shall find restunto your souls.”
I do not know anything more delightful than to be such a fool, as the world
will callyou, as to yield your intellect to the teaching of the Lord; and to be so
weak that you cannotjudge but accepthis will; and so incapable that even to
will and to do must be wrought in you of the Lord. Oh, to be so unselfed as to
take anything from Christ far more gladly than you would choose ofyour own
accord!If your Lord puts his hand into the bitter box, you will think the
potion sweet;and if he scourge, youwill thank him for being so kind as to
think of you at all. When you getto that point, that you are as a sheep to
whom God himself is the Shepherd, it is well with you. Then you will realize,
even in the pastures of the wilderness, how the rain from heaven drops upon
the inheritance of the Lord, and refreshes it when it is weary. “The peace of
God, which passethall understanding, shall keepyour hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus.”Godgive you to know it, dear friends! I can speak
experimentally of it: it is not only the antepastof heaven, but a part of the
banquet itself.
But now the lasttouch is the drinking at the spring-head. We were not
surprised to find, in our description of heaven, that the Lamb led them to the
fountains of waters;but we are delighted to find that, here below, “evenby
the springs of watershall he guide them.” Beloved, covetearnestlythis
drinking at the springs. It is not all who profess to be Christians who will
know what I am talking about this morning: they will think I have gotinto the
way of the mystics, and am dreaming of things unpractical. I will not argue
with them; let me speak to those who understand me.

Belovedin the Lord, you caneven now live upon God himself, and there is
no living comparable to it. You canget beyond all the cisterns, and come to
the river of the water of life, even as they do in. heaven. To live by second
causes is a very secondarylife: to live on the First Cause is the first of living. I
exhort you to do this with regardto the inspired Word. This is a day of man’s
opinions, views, judgments, criticisms. Leave them all, good, bad, and
indifferent, and come to this Book, which is the pure fount of inspiration
undefiled. When you study the Word of God, live upon it as his Word. I am
not going to defend it; it needs no defence. I am not going to argue about its
inspiration; if you know the Lord aright, his Word is inspired to you, if to no
one else. You know not only that it was inspired when it was written, but that
it is inspired still; and, moreover, its inspiration affects you in a way in which
no other writings canever touch you. It breathes upon you; it breathes life
into you, and makes you to speak words for God, which prove to be words
from God to other souls. Oh, it is wonderful, if you read the word of God in a
little company, morning by morning— simply read it and pray over it, what
an effect it may have upon all who listen! I speak what I do know. If you read
the inspired words themselves, and look up to him who spoke them, their
spiritual effectwill be the witness of their inspiration. This is a miracle-
working Book:it may be opposed, but never conquered; it may be buried
under unbelief, but it must rise again. Blessedare they to whom the Word is
meat and drink. They quit the cistern of man for the fountain of God; and
they do well. “By the springs of watershall he guide them.”
Yet I would exhort you not even to tarry at the letter of God’s word, but
believingly and humbly advance to drink from the Holy Ghosthimself. He will
not teachyou anything which is not in the Bible, but he will take of the things
of Christ, and will show them unto you. A truth may be like a jewelin the
Word of God, and yet we may not see its brilliance until the Holy Spirit holds
it up in the light and bids us mark its lustre. The Spirit of God brings up the
pearl from the deeps of revelation, and sets it where its radiance is perceived
by the believing eye. We are such poor scholars that we learn little from the
Book till “the Interpreter, one- of a thousand,” opens our heart to the Word,
and opens the Word to our heart. The Holy Ghostwho revealedtruth in the
Book, must also personallyreveal it to the individual. If ever you geta hold of

truth in that way, you will never give it up. A man who has learned truth from
one minister, may unlearn it from another minister; but he that has been
taught it of the Holy Ghost, has a treasure which no man taketh from him.
Beloved, we would exhort you to drink of the springs of living waterwhile
you are here. Be often going back to fundamental doctrines. Especiallyget
back to the considerationof covenantengagements.Whence come allthe
deeds of mercy from God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ? Come
they not from eternalpurposes, and from that covenant, “orderedin all
things, and sure,” made or ever the earth was, betweenthe Father and the
ever-blessedSon? Getyou often to the wellof the covenant. I know of nothing
that can make you so happy as to know in your very soul how the Father
pledged himself by oath to the Son, and the Sonpledged himself to the eternal
Father concerning the greatmystery of our redemption. Eternal love and
covenantfaithfulness: these are ancient wells. Do not hesitate to drink deep at
the fountain of electing love. The Lord himself chose you, having loved you
with an everlasting love. Everything comes to the saints “according as he hath
chosenus in him before the foundation of the world.” The Philistines have
stopped this wellfull many a time, but they cannotprevent its waters
bubbling up from among the stones which they have castinto it. There it
stands. “I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with
lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” Getyou back to the love that had no cause
but the First Cause, to the love that knows no change, to the love that knows
no limit, no hesitancy, no diminution, the love that stands, like the Godhead
itself, eternaland immovable. Drink from eternal springs; and if you do so,
your life will be more and more “as the days of heaven upon the earth.” God
grant us to getawayfrom the deceitful brooks to “the deep which lieth
under,” and with joy may we draw water.
Christ’s presence, and fountain drinking— give me these two things, and I
ask no more. The Lamb to feed me, and the fountain to supply me; these are
enough. Lord, whom have I in heaven but thee? Come poverty, come sickness,
come shame, come casting out by brethren; yea, come death itself, nothing can
I want, and nothing can harm me if the Lamb be my Shepherd and the Lord
my fountain.

Before another Sunday some of us may be in heaven. Before this month has
finished, some of us may know infinitely more about the eternalworld than
the whole assemblyof divines could tell us. Others of us may have to linger
here a while. Yet are we not in banishment. Here we dwell with the King for
his work. We will endeavourto keepclose to our Master, and if we may serve
him and see his face, we will not grudge the glorified their fuller joys.
You that know nothing about these things, God grant you spiritual sense to
know that you do not know, and then give you further grace to pray to him,
“Lord, lead me to the living fountains.” There is an inner life, there is a
heavenly secret, there is a surpassing joy; some of us know it, we wish that
you, also, had it. Cry for it. Jesus cangive it you at once. Believe in the Lord
Jesus Christ, and thou shalt live for ever. The now birth goes with faith in
Christ. May he give it you this morning, and may you begin to be heavenly
here, that you may be fit for heaven hereafter. The Lord bless you, dear
friends, for Jesus’sake!Amen.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
The Redeemed, In Heaven
Revelation7:14, 15
S. Conway
These are they, etc. We long to know something of the life to come, the unseen
world, the abode of those who die in the Lord. And here in this chapter a
glimpse, which suggestsmuch more than it reveals, is given to us. Especiallyis
this desire for knowledge concerning the blesseddead intense when any of our
own beloved ones are amongsttheir number. And of whom is not this true?

Hence we searchthe Scriptures to gatherup any the leasthint that they may
give; we study the records of the transfiguration of our Lord on the holy
mount; we ponder the many sayings of his apostles on this most interesting
theme; and this sectionof the Book ofthe Revelation, whichtells of it more
expressly, has made the whole book precious for its sake. We know not where
heaven is, but here we have a vivid picture of the place and those who dwell
there. It was doubtless given in order to cheerthe hearts of the afflicted and
depressedChurch of St. John's day, and we may well believe that it
ministered blessedhelp and hope to them, as it has done to myriads since.
Note -
I. WHO ARE IN HEAVEN. St. John tells us that:
1. They are a multitude. Heavenis no unpeopled place. It is the answergiven
by the Lord to the question his disciples askedhim when he was on earth,
"Are there few that be saved?" Thenhe did not see fit to answerit plainly, but
here there can be no question as to the reply. For:
2. They are "a greatmultitude," one that "no man cannumber." How could it
be otherwise? Would God have createdand perpetuated the race of mankind
knowing for how could he not know the issue of his own work, "Known unto
God are all his works? " - that sin and Satan would win the most of them?
How, in such case, couldour Lord be said to have "destroyedthe works of the
devil"? Without doubt sin doth abound, but grace doth much more abound.
If, at the time St. John was made glad through this vision, as we are through
him, already there were in heaventhis mighty multitude, what must they be
now? and what will they be when the end cometh, and our blessedLord hath
delivered up the kingdom to the Father? They had already "begun to be
merry" (Luke 15.). What must the holy mirth be now? and what shall it not
be?
3. A miscellaneous multitude. "Out of every kindred and nation," etc. How
greatly, then, do they err who think and teachthat only those nations who
here on earth have heard the joyful sound of Christ's holy gospelcan furnish
contingents to that redeemedthrong upon whom St. John delightedly gazed!
What did our Lord go to "the spirits in prison" for, as St. Petertells us he did,

if not to bring them there the joyful tidings which here on earth they had not
heard? How little we yet comprehend of "the breadth, and length, and depth,
and height" of the love of Christ! Surely this vision should help us to a larger
understanding of that infinite love.
4. To them all life had been full of trouble. They had all of them "come out of
greattribulation." Whilst we may not omit the final tribulation of which our
Lord tells in Matthew 24., and to which the opening of the sixth sealrefers, we
cannot limit it to that. "Man is born to trouble;" he is "of few days, and full of
misery." "The whole creationgroanethand travaileth togetherin pain until
now." To how few would life be worth living were it not for he hope of a
better one! But we are placed here as at a school, and the trials of life are the
appointed methods of instruction whereby we unlearn evil and learn good.
The poor often envy the rich; but if all were known, the lot in life, or rather
ere eternallife be gained, of us all is much alike. "The rich and the poor meet
together," and share in their common inheritance of trouble. But from all this
they have now "come out," and are "before the throne of Godand the
Lamb."
5. They had all been lost but for Christ. For they had all sinned. None of them
had kept their garments undefiled. But he who came "to seek and to save
them that were lost" found them; by his Spirit drew them to himself; by his
blood washedtheir sin-stained robes, and made them white; and now, all of
them, not one excepted, are in heavenfull of adoring gratitude to him who
redeemedand saved them by his ownblood. None are there on any other
ground, nor can any everbe. On what, then, are we relying for the hope we all
cherish of one day being where they are?
II. WHAT THEY DO THERE,
1. They celebrate the heavenly harvest home. They carry "palms in their
hands," branches of the palm. No reference is here to heathen uses of the
palm as symbol of victory and the like. But far sweeterand holier
reminiscence is awakened. The scene before us is the antitype of the most
joyous and inspiriting of all the observances ofIsrael - that of the Feastof
Tabernacles.It was held at the close of the year's outdoor labours; with it the

seasonofrest began. "All was safely gatheredin." It commemoratedGod's
care of them in the old wilderness days, and afterwards his continual care of
them by the gifts of his providence. The feastwas a most joyous one. The Jews
said that he did not know joy who knew not the Feastof Tabernacles. One
chief feature of the feastwas the universal carrying of palm branches (cf.
Nehemiah 8:14-17). Suchis the scene from which the imagery of St. John here
is drawn. It told of the troubles of the wilderness ended; the harvest home of
the Church come. It speaks ofeverlasting joy.
2. They serve. Dayand night in God's temple is this service rendered. But in
another place St. John says, "I saw no temple therein;" and hence we must
understand by the temple all heaven and earth, for all, as was the ancient
temple, are to be filled with his glory. And as to the service, who can describe,
who can limit, who can sufficiently setforth, its beneficence, its joy, its glory?
3. They show forth the praises of Godand the Lamb. (Ver. 10.)Festaljoy,
service, worship, the worship which consists in heartfelt praise, - such are the
occupations ofheaven.
III. THEIR EXCEEDING BLESSEDNESS.
1. They want not. They neither hunger nor thirst.
2. They wearynot, as in the travel and toil of the wilderness they had done,
when the fierce heat of the sun smote them; and as in the hard toil of life.
3. They weepnot. The poet Burns used to sayhe could never read this without
tears. And when we think of what life is now - a place of tears - and that there
there shall be none, one's heart may well rejoice. But there are also the
unspeakable joys that come from:
4. The realized presence and love of the Lord Jesus Christ. He shall be as a
Tent to coverthem, as a Shepherd to feed them, as a Guide to lead them to
fountains of living water.
CONCLUSION. Have we those we love in heaven? Rejoice concerning them.
Are we on the way there ourselves? - S.C.

Biblical Illustrator
They shall hunger no more, neither thirst.
Revelation7:16, 17
Heaven below
C. H. Spurgeon.
I. THE PERFECTIONOF THE PROVISION whichis enjoyedin heaven.
1. The glorified dwell under the shadow of God. It is for this reasonthat "the
sun shall not light on them. nor any heat," because they dwell in God. Oh,
what a dwelling-place that will be!
2. Next, we are assuredthat they shall have all their necessitiesprevented.
"They shall hunger no more." To be supplied when we hunger is the mercy of
earth: never to hunger at all is the plenitude of heaven. God shall so fill the
souls of His redeemedthat they shall have no longings:their longings shall be
prevented by their constantsatisfaction.

3. Further, as we read we discovera third blessing, namely, that every
overpowering influence is attempered — "Neither shall the sun," etc. To us
even "our God is a consuming fire" while we are here; but in the saints there
remaineth nothing to consume. The light of God is not too bright for eyes that
Christ hath touchedwith heaven's owneyesalve. Blessed, indeed, are they who
shall behold the King in the ivory palaces above!
4. When it is added, "Nor any heat," we learn that injurious influences shall
ceaseto operate. By our surroundings here we are troubled with many heats.
The very comforts of life, like warm weather, tend to dry us up. A man may
have gold, a man may have health, a man may have prosperity and honour till
he is withered like the heath in the desertin the day of drought. Unless a dew
from the Lord shall rest upon the branch of the prosperous he will be parched
indeed. We have need of grace wheneverGod gives us blessings of a temporal
kind. But no heat of that sort shall happen to saints in heaven: they can be
rich, and honoured, and perfectly beautiful, and yet under no temptation to
self-exaltation.
5. "Neithershall they thirst any more"; they shall feel that the Lord Jesus is
such an all-satisfying, all-sufficient portion that their desires can go no
further. In the fair haven of the love of God in Christ Jesus shallmy spirit
abide for ever.
II. THE DESCRIPTION OF THE PROVIDER. Who is this that feeds them?
It is the Lamb.
1. Does it not teach us, first, that our comfort and life must come from our
incarnate Saviour — the Lamb? The expressionis very peculiar. It is written,
"The Lamb shall shepherd them." This is an accurate interpretation. How is
that? A shepherd, and that shepherd a Lamb! Here is the truth which the
words contain, — He that saves is a man like ourselves. He that provides for
His people is Himself one of them — "Forwhich cause He is not ashamedto
call them brethren." The Lamb is their hope, their comfort, their honour,
their delight, their glory.
2. Does it not mean more than that? "The Lamb" surely refers to sacrifice.
The glorified drink the deepestdraughts of delight from the fact that God was

made flesh, and that in human flesh He offered perfectexpiation for human
guilt.
3. "The Lamb" must refer to the meeknessofcharacter, the lowliness and
condescensionofthe Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus Christon earth was "led as a
lamb to the slaughter." He was "meek and lowly in heart." The characterof
our Lord, then, brings our spirit all that it needs;but yet this is not all: the
text speaks of"the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne" as feeding them.
Think of that, the Lamb in the midst of the throne. Can you put these two
things together, a sacrifice and a throne? He that stoopedto be made sin for
us is now supreme sovereign, King of kings and Lord of lords. Think of that
and be comforted. Our Representative is glorified. Our covenantHead, our
secondAdam, is in the midst of the throne.
III. THE MANNER OF PROVIDING. In two ways the saints in heaven enjoy
it — the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead
them. Go over this, and think first of the feeding of them. The Greek word is
"shallshepherdise them." In heaven Jesus is a shepherd ruling over all His
flock with a happy, genial, sympathetic sovereignty, to which they yield
prompt and glad obedience. Here He has under. shepherds, and He hands out
the food by our poor instrumentality; and, alas I sometimes we are found
incapable, or forgetful, and the flock is not fed: but it is never so in heaven, for
the Lamb Himself maintains the pastorate, and acts the shepherd in a manner
which none of us can emulate. Then it is added, "He shall lead." You may
read it, "He shall guide them to fountains of waters of life"; it is but a
variation of the same thought. Now, evenin heaventhe holy ones need
guiding, and Jesus leads the way. As eternity goes on, I have no doubt that the
Saviour will be indicating fresh delights to His redeemed. "Come hither,"
saith He to His flock, "here are yet more flowing streams." He will lead them
on and on, by the century, aye, by the chiliad, from glory unto glory, onward
and upward in growing knowledge and enjoyment.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Heaven above, and heavenbelow

C. H. Spurgeon.
(with Isaiah 49:10): — In the New Testamenttext we have the heavenly state
above; and in the Old Testamenttext we have the state of the Lord's flock
while on the way to their eternal rest. Very singular is the sameness ofthe
description of the flock in the fold and the flock feeding in the ways. The
verses are almost word for word the same. When John would describe the
white-robed host, he can sayno more of them than Isaiah said of the pilgrim
band, led by the God of mercy.
I. THE HEAVENLY STATE ABOVE.
1. The supply of every need. "They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any
more." The unrenewed man is always thirsting; but Christ can stay this even
now, for He saith, "He that drinketh of the waterthat I shall give him shall
never thirst." There is not, in all the goldenstreets of heaven, a single person
who is desiring what he may not have, or wanting what he cannot obtain, or
even wishing for that which he has not to his hand. Oh, happy state I They are
filled with all the fulness of God.
2. The removal of every ill. Thus saith the Spirit, "Neithershall the sun light
on them, nor any heat." We are such poor creatures that excess ofgoodsoon
becomes evil to us. Hence we need guarding from dangers which, at the first
sight, look as if they were not perilous.
3. The leading of the Lamb.
4. The drinking at the fountain is the secretof the ineffable bliss. "The Lamb
which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and lead them unto living
fountains of waters." We are compelledto thirst at times, and, alas! we stop at
the very puddles by the way, and would refresh ourselves atthem, if we could.
This will never happen to us when we reachthe land where flows the river of
the waterof life. There the sheep drink of no stagnant waters, orbitter wells,
but they are satisfiedfrom living fountains of waters. In the home country
souls have no need of the means of grace, forthey have reachedthe God of
grace.

II. THE HEAVENLY STATE BELOW. I think I have heard you saying, "Ah!
this is all about heaven;but we have not yet come to it. We are still wrestling
here below." Well, if we cannotgo to heavenat once, heavencan come to us.
Isaiahpainted our Lord's sheepin his presence onthe way to heaven, and
John drew the same flock in the glory with the Lamb: and the fact that the
pictures are so much alike is full of suggestive teaching. Here are the same
ideas in the same words.
1. First, here is a promise that every want shall be supplied. "Theyshall not
hunger nor thirst." If we are the Lord's people and are trusting in Him, this
shall be true in every possible sense. Youshall have no anxious thought
concerning what you shall eat, and what you shall drink, but, mark you, if you
should know the trials of poverty, and should be brought very low in temporal
things, yet the Lord's presence and sensible consolationsshallso sustain you
that spiritually and inwardly you shall know neither hunger, nor thirst. Our
Lord can so adapt our minds to our circumstances, that the bitter is sweet,
and the burden is light.
2. Then, next, there is such a thing as having every evil removed from you
while yet in this wilderness. "Neithershallthe heat nor sun smite them."
Suppose God favours you with prosperity; if you live near to God you win not
be rendered proud or worldly-minded by your prosperity.
3. Further, it is said, that on earth we may enjoy the leading of the Lord. See
how it is put: "ForHe that hath mercy on them shall lead them." Here we
have not quite the same words as in the Revelation, for there we read, "The
Lamb that is in the midst of the throne shall lead them." Yet the sense is but
another shade of the same meaning. Oh, but that is a sweetname, is it not?
"He that hath mercy on them." He has savedthem, and so has had mercy on
them. Yes, that is very precious, but the word is sweeterstill — "He that hath
mercy on them," He that is always having mercy on them, He that follows
them with mercy all the days of their lives, He that continually pardons,
upholds, supplies, strengthens, and thus daily loadeth them with benefits.
4. But now the last touch is the drinking at the spring-head. We were not
surprised to find, in our description of heaven, that the Lamb led them to the

fountains of waters;but we are delighted to find that, here below, "evenby
the springs of watershall He guide them." You caneven now live upon God
Himself, and there is no living comparable to it. You can getbeyond all the
cisterns, and come to the river of the waterof life, even as they do in heaven.
To live by secondcausesis a very secondarylife: to live on the First Cause is
the first of living.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
All Souls'Day
Leighton Parks, D. D.
The imagery is Oriental. To a dweller in the East, the first essentialis
protection from the heat of the sun, and from the radiating heat that pours
forth in the evening; the one blasting the energies atnoonday, the other
enervating the spirits at the coming of the night; and then waters to drink in a
thirsty land.
1. Let us, then, enlarge our thought, and say, The life of the dead is a
protectedlife. Think of the greatmultitude that stands before God to-day.
Think of the little children brought into this world all warpedand twisted, so
that they never knew how to play. Think of the young that have grown up
with the promise of joy, only to see the cup of happiness dashedfrom their
lips. Think of the lives that have been misunderstood — the lives that have
gone on day by day doing their duty, sacrificing themselves, seeking onlyfor
what was noble and pure and of goodreport, and all the time misunderstood,
unappreciated, without sympathy, left to bear the burden and the heat of the
day alone. Think of those who have lain for years and years on the bed of
sickness. Think of the women that have borne greatburdens — burdens not
only of misapprehension, of misunderstanding, but of cruel brutality. Think of
the multitudes that have risen day by day only to labour and toil, and have
lain down at night too feeble, too weary, too much oppressed, forany thought
of God, crushed by the burden and the labour of life. Now the word of St.
John is that from all these things they are protected. A life free from care and

responsibility, and the burden and heat of the day. This is the first thought
that St. John would impress upon us in regard to the life of the dead.
Nevermore can those things that are so hard for us light on them. All Souls'
Day should be full of joy for the protected life of the dead. But that is not all.
"They hunger no more; and the Lamb doth lead them," etc.
2. A life of satisfaction;a life in which every wish and aspiration of the soul is
gratified. What a life is that! I like to think of the greatmultitude of God's
children who have entered into that new world and into that new life, seeking
such different things because their needs are so different. One soul seeks only
for rest;and that is given it. Another soul needs peace and harmony after the
long struggle to make peace on earth. Another has been frightened, and longs
for the sense ofsafety, and that is given. Another has all through life been
thirsting for the sight of the Eternal Beauty, which no picture, no statue, no
flaming of the skyat sunset, could adequately express. "We shallsee," said
the prophet long ago, speaking for these artistic souls — "we shall see the
King in His beauty." Others have found the satisfactionoftheir souls in "the
sound of the harpers playing on the harps." The greatmultitude whose souls
have been stirred by music, and yet in the most glorious symphony, in the
noblest chorus, have always felt the human discordthat underlay the
harmony — there they are satisfied, there the perfectharmony of the Eternal
Life soothes, invigorates, and inspires them. Others have laid hold of the tree
of the knowledge oflife. All through life they hungered for knowledge, andyet
all getting of knowledge was the getting also of sorrow. There it is changed.
There the tree of life is seento be the tree of knowledge.Drinking deep of the
Divine life, filling themselves with the life of the Lamb of God, these souls
have found that not through knowledge did they gain life, but that through
life they have gained knowledge. Oh, how wonderful it is to think of this vast
expansion of humanity, as the flowerexpands that has been transplanted into
a more genial clime! It is goodto think of the lives that are satisfiedto-day, as
they stand before the throne of God, and are led by the Lamb to the living
fountains of waters. The life satisfied;the life rejoicing in the knowledge ofthe
thing that it has dreamed of as impossible; the life rejoicing in the knowledge
that every hope that has shotacross its sky was the witness of a reality which
God had prepared for them that love Him. Full salvation. Sin has fallen away

like some filthy garment, and the soul stands in the presence of the King, and
the glory of the King clothes it, and it finds its satisfactionin beholding His
beauty. And how has all this come to pass? "The Lamb shall lead them forth."
The spirit of Jesus is typified by the Lamb. The spirit of perfectsacrifice is
meant by the Lamb. And that spirit has entered into the lives of these men
and women and children. It is the new spirit that has taken possessionof them
in the new life that has made the protection and the eternal satisfaction. It
opens up before us the thought of the endless progress ofthe dead. They are
being led by the Lamb. And now turn back from this picture of the life of the
dead to that other one with which we are so much more familiar, which we
may call the death of the living. We are not protected. On us the sun does light
and the heat does burn; with us the sorrow and sin, and suffering and pain,
and misunderstanding and cruel suspicion, and unkindness and weariness,
and discouragementand hopelessnessexist. How sadit all is! How dark the
picture is, as comparedwith the glory that is revealedby the other! And I
think it is because of this picture, that men so often ask themselves, Things
being as they are, how is it possible that the dead should have perfect joy?
Now St. John entered into that mystery. And he has not pretended that their
joy is complete. He did believe that their life was protected. He did believe
that they were being satisfiedday by day, because theywere following the
Lamb. But he adds, "Godshall wipe awayall tears from off their faces."
Tears!Yes, tears in that glorious life — tears must be there, because ofthe
incompleteness ofhuman life. It is inevitable that they should sorrow. It is no
less inevitable that their sorrow should be comfortedof God. Only standing
before the throne of God there comes the eternal comfortthat must always
come with the remembrance of powerand wisdom and goodness. And so their
tears are wiped away. It is not a life without sorrow. It is a life comforted of
God. And what is their word to us? It is — Follow the Lamb. Strive to have
the spirit of Jesus Christ. For they that have that spirit have now the foretaste
of the life of the dead. FollOw the Lamb, for in following Him and striving to
have His spirit there comes the satisfactionthat the soul can find in no other
way; and all the joy and beauty and glory of life is found to have its
interpretation and its full realisationin the beauty of the life of Jesus Christ.
(Leighton Parks, D. D.)

The Lamb...shall feedthem
The eternalfolding of the flock
J. R. Macduff, D. D.
I. THE SHEPHERD. It is evidently the vision of a pastoralscene whichis now
in the eye of the Apostle of Patmos.
1. The description implies that there will be a continual remembrance on the
part of the ransomedof the death and sufferings of their Shepherd. A Lamb
slain! Strange symbol, in the place where suffering never enters, and death is
unknown!
2. A secondtruth we may gather from this figure of the Lamb leading the
ransomed in the heavenly world is, the perpetuity of Christ's exalted human
nature. It is not as a kingly Shepherd He leads, but as one of the flock Himself
— wearing their nature. He is, and ever will be "that same Jesus," unchanged
and unchangeable.
II. Let us pass now from the glorified LEADER to the glorified FLOCK.
1. All the joys of the ransomed flock will be associatedwith the love and
companionship of their Shepherd. He feeds — He leads — He wipes awayall
tears from their eyes;and in a previous verse (15), under a different figure, it
is said, "He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them." Heaven would
be no heavenwithout Jesus. "Leading" them, "feeding" them, — wiping the
very tear-drops from their eyes. What figurative language could express more
intimate fellowship and communion! The fellowshipof the believer and his
Saviour on earth — alas!how fitful, intermittent, transient! "In Thy presence
there is fulness of joy."
2. This description would seemto denote an infinite progressionin the joys
and felicities of the ransomedflock. The Shepherd is seenleading them from
pasture to pasture, from fountain to fountain, higher and yet higher up the
hills of God. The heavenly pilgrim will be attaining ever new views of God —
new unfoldings, and revelations of the Divine purposes — new motives for the

ceaselessactivities of his holy being. Heaven will thus, in the language ofthe
old divines, be "a restwithout a rest." "They rest." "Theyrest not."
3. The figurative language ofthe evangelistfurther indicates that there will be
an unfolding of the Shepherd's wisdomand faithfulness in His earthly
dispensations. Godis representedas wiping awayall tears from their eyes. As
if, when they entered glory, some lingering tears were still there. As if the eye
had not recoveredfrom the night of earthly weeping. As in a forest, after a
drenching thunder-shower, every bough, and blade, and leaf is dripping with
rain; for a considerable time after the sun has shone out, and the skyis blue,
and the birds of the grove are singing, the lingering drops gem the branches
and sprinkle the sward. But the sun is up: and his genialrays are drinking up
the moisture — nature's tear-drops. One by one they evaporate, slowly,
gradually; and the refreshedforest rejoices, andbasks in the sun's radiance.
So with the greatSun of Deity in heaven. One by one earth's remaining tears
vanish before the radiance of that Sun of Wisdom and Love.
4. Yet once more, this description would seemto indicate that there will be a
variety and diversity in the joys of Heaven, suited to the various capacities
and tastes ofthe redeemed. It is not to one fountain to which the Lamb is said
to lead them; they are "living fountains of waters." Like the four-branched
river in the first earthly Eden, there will be, from the one great river of Deity,
streams which make gladthe city of God. The pastures will be different. We
delight to think of the flock of heaven — eachmember of it perfectin the full
measure of its own bliss — but eachunder the Shepherd's eye, thus following
the pasture, or climbing the mountain-steep, or browsing by the streamlet, it
most loves. And yet all the fold, in these separate and distinctive ways,
combining to glorify their Shepherd-King.
(J. R. Macduff, D. D.)
God shall wipe awayall tears
No more tears
G. Hill, D. D.

The principal sources ofthe tears shed upon earth by those whose character
resembles that of the multitude whom John beheld may be reduced under the
four following heads:
I. The firmest spirit is liable to be discomposedby THE CONSEQUENCES
OF THAT INTIMATE CONNECTIONWHICH SUBSISTS BETWEEN
THE SOUL AND THE BODY. Life is often embittered by a constitutional
debility, or by accidentalviolence;by the acute pains of some diseases, by the
effects of those exertions and indulgences that were prompted by health and
vigour; and by the growing infirmities of years of that dissolutionfrom which
nature recoils. Butthey who are before the throne of God have received, in
place of the earthly house of this tabernacle, a building of God.
II. Independently of bodily distress, WE ARE EXPOSED TO NUMBERLESS
SORROWSBY THE DEGREE IN WHICH EXTERNALOBJECTS
AFFECT OUR HAPPINESS. Manyare hardly able with sweatand toil to
earn that measure of the goodthings of life which is necessaryforsubsistence.
Some fail in every scheme which they form to better their fortunes: at one
time, the visitation of heaven, at another, the imprudence, the treachery, or
the malice of man, snatches from them the fruit of their labours. But when the
greatplan of the Divine government with regard to the human race shall be
accomplished, there will be no further Heed for that seemingly unequal
dispensation, which, although the source of many tears, is, in mercy and love,
employed by the Father of mankind, to administer correctionto their vices, to
afford a trial and a display of their virtues, and to carry forward purposes too
important and too remote for their apprehension. The sufferings of the
righteous will no longer form part of that discipline which the imperfection of
human nature requires; nor will the unmerited successofthe wickedbe
continued, as an instrument of goodto those to whom it appears to bring evil.
III. A third source from which the tears of goodmen flow is THAT KIND
AFFECTION WHICH GOD, WHO IS LOVE, HATH PLANTED IN THE
HUMAN BREAST. Although this principle be the solaceoflife, although it
create those pleasing attentions and toils without which the repetition of the
same scenes wouldbecome wearisome, andthe labour of life intolerable; yet,
in the mixed state in which we are calledto exercise kind affection, it

multiplies our cares and anxieties, and it often fills our hearts with anguish.
The objects of our affection are not allowedto remain with us always, and
there is no time when we hold them secure. The living sometimes inflict the
most cruel wounds upon an affectionate heart. But the tears which flow from
the distresses, the departure, or the improper behaviour of others, shall be
wiped away from the eyes of those who are before the throne. In the city of the
living God there is no affliction that demands the tribute of sympathy from
those who are unable to give any other relief; no depraved mind that proves
unworthy of the affectionof which it had once been the object; no painful
separationof kindred spirits; the people are all righteous, and the pure
spiritual joy of righteousness andbenevolence gladdens the whole company of
the redeemed.
IV. If the servants of God were able in this state to attain the perfection of
virtue, they might bear with composure bodily distress, the difficulties of their
outward state, BUT THE BEST OF THE CHILDREN OF MEN ARE
BOWED DOWN UNDER THE CONSCIOUSNESSOF VAIN THOUGHTS,
OF IDLE WORDS, AND OF UNPROFITABLE ACTIONS.But God shall
wipe awaythe tears of sin from the eyes of those who, knowing this bitterness,
do indeed hunger and thirst after righteousness;for the day is coming when
they shall be faultless. There will then be no sophistry to mislead the
understanding, no false appearance ofgoodto excite improper desires, no
example of vice to allure imitation; there will then be no remainder of
corruption to afflict and humble the spirit, no grovelling appetite to war
againstthe soul, no mean passionto tarnish the beauty of holiness.
Conclusion:
1. If all tears are to be wiped awayhereafter, it follows that religiondoes not
profess to wipe them awayhere.
2. If we believe that the time is coming when our tears shall be wiped away, let
us prize the gospelof Christ, which hath given us this blessedhope.
3. This description of the happiness of heaven, like every other which the
Scriptures contain, reminds us of the necessityof a virtuous life.
(G. Hill, D. D.)

The ministry of tears
T. De Witt Talmage.
1. It is the ministry of tears to keepthis world from being too attractive. You
and I would be willing to take a lease of this life for a hundred million years, if
there were no trouble. After a man has had a gooddeal of trouble, he says,
"Well, I am ready to go. If there is a house somewhere whoseroofdoesn't
leak, I would like to live there. If there is an atmosphere somewhere that does
not distress the lungs, I would like to breathe it. If there is a society
somewhere where is no tittle-tattle, I would like to live there. If there is a
home-circle somewhere where I can find my lost friends, I would like to go
there."
2. It is the ministry of trouble to make us feel our complete dependence upon
God. We lay out great plans, and we like to execute them. It looks big. God
comes and takes us down. As Prometheus was assaultedby his enemy, when
the lance struck him it opened a greatswelling that had threatenedhis death,
and he got well. So it is the arrow of trouble that lets out greatswellings of
pride. We never feelour dependence upon God until we gettrouble. We do
not know our ownweakness, orGod's strength, until the lastplank breaks. It
is contemptible in us, when there is nothing else to take hold of, that we catch
hold of God only.
3. It is the ministry of tears to capacitate us for the office of sympathy. The
priests under the old dispensationwere set apart by having watersprinkled
on their hands, feet, and head; and by the sprinkling of tears people are now
setapart to the office of sympathy. Where did Paul get the ink with which to
write his comforting Epistle? Where did David get the ink to write his
comforting Psalms? Where did John get the ink to write his comforting
Revelation? Theygot it out of their own tears. When a man has gone through
the curriculum, and has takena course of dungeons, and imprisonments, and
shipwrecks, he is qualified for the work of sympathy.
(T. De Witt Talmage.)

Heaven tearless
C. Clayton, M. A.
In heaven there are —
I. NO ANXIETIES. In that world there is "no more curse." There, too, sickly
bodies will Hover be seen. There the head shall languish and ache no more.
The eyes shall no longer refuse to see, nor the cars to listen. There no paralysis
cripples. There no nerves tremble and are afraid. The inhabitant of that
bright city shall no more say, "I am sick." There all labour and anxiety for
provision for yourselves and families will be ended.
II. NO BEREAVEMENTS. OurSaviour tells you that, if you are amongst
"the children of the resurrection," you and your departed relatives who loved
Christ shall meet again, and that thenceforwardneither they nor you will "die
any more." There are no graves in heaven.
III. NO SIN IN OTHERS.
IV. NO SIN IN OURSELVES.
(C. Clayton, M. A.)
No tears in heaven
C. H. Spurgeon.
I. TEARS ARE TO FILL THE EYES OF BELIEVERS UNTIL THEY
ENTER THE PROMISED REST. How numerous, too, are the tears of
unbelief! We manufacture troubles for ourselves by anticipating future ills
which may never come. Tears ofrepentance, we cannotcarry thither with us.
Tears for Christ's injured honour. These are holy drops, but they are all
unknown in heaven. Tears of sympathy: when we "weepwith those that
weep" we do well; these are never to be restrained this side the Jordan.

II. EVEN HERE IF WE WOULD HAVE OUR TEARS WIPED AWAY WE
CANNOT DO BETTER THAN REPAIR TO OUR GOD. He is the great tear
wiper. God can remove every vestige ofgrief from the hearts of His people by
granting them complete resignationto His will. Our selfhoodis the root of our
sorrow. He can also take awayour tears by constraining our minds to dwell
with delight upon the end which all our trials are working to produce. He can
show us that they are working togetherfor good. Moreover, He cantake every
tear from our eye in the time of trial by shedding abroadthe love of Jesus
Christ in our hearts more plentifully. He can make it clearto us that Christ is
afflicted in our affliction. The Lord canalso take awayall present sorrow and
grief from us by providentially removing its cause. Providence is full of sweet
surprises and unexpected turns. Still, the surestmethod of getting rid of
present tears, is communion and fellowshipwith God.
III. THE REMOVAL OF ALL TEARS FROM THE BLESSED ONES
ABOVE.
1. All outward causes ofgrief are gone. Poverty, famine, distress, nakedness,
peril, persecution, slander, all these shall have ceased.
2. Again, all inward evils will have been removed by the perfectsanctification
wrought in them by the Holy Ghost. No evil of heart, of unbelief in departing
from the living God, shall vex them in Paradise;no suggestions ofthe arch
enemy shall be met and assistedby the uprisings of iniquity within.
3. All fear of change also has been for ever shut out. They know that they are
eternally secure. Saints on earth are fearful of falling. No such fears canvex
the blessedones who view their Father's face.
4. Why should they weep, when every desire is gratified?
(C. H. Spurgeon.).
The seventh seal... silencein heaven.
Revelation8

The silence of heaven
J. E. C. Welldon, M. A.
I. THE SILENCE OF MEDITATION. There is a blessing, which we know not
yet, in thought. In this busy human life it is hard to think. "The world is too
much with us." It drowns the "still small voice" of God. But in heaven
thought will no more be disturbed. There will be no unsolved perplexities, no
distracting fancies. The plan of Creationand Redemption will be unfolded.
The discords of earth will be resolvedin the celestialharmony.
II. THE SILENCE OF ADORATION. When we see Godas He is, we shall
praise Him as we ought. The cloud which spreads betweenHim and us shall
be done away. We shall enter into that rapture of worship which finds no
voice in words. Our soul will lose itself in the infinite bliss of communion with
Him who is its Father and its God.
III. THE SILENCE OF FRUITION. All the voices of earth are only so many
cryings for something that is not of earth, but of heaven. They are expressions
of a Divine dissatisfactionwith the limitations of our human life. Is there not
something that we all desire and cry out for — to be rich, perhaps, or
successful, orhappy, or good? And will it not always be a desire, never
fulfilled? Could the dearestwish of our heart be granted to-day, anotherwish,
still dearer, would arise to-morrow. Every new day dawns with a fresh purity
upon our lives, but in the evening it is stained with failure and sin. We are
always sighing for a holiness which is always unattained and unattainable.
Nay, the blessings which God gives us do not last long. Over all our life there
hangs the shadow of death. We are always dreading to speak that saddest,
tenderestword on earth, "Farewell." There is "silence in heaven," because
there is no loss nor any boding fear of parting still to come. They who live in
the Divine Presence are shelteredfrom the storms of time. They are safe for
ever and ever.
(J. E. C. Welldon, M. A.)
Thirty minutes in heaven

T. De Witt Talmage.
I. GOD AND ALL HEAVEN THEN HONOURED SILENCE. The full power
of silence many of us have yet to learn. We are told that when Christ was
arraigned "He answerednot a word." That silence was louder than any
thunder that ever shook the world. Ofttimes, when we are assailedand
misrepresented, the mightiest thing to say is to say nothing, and the mightiest
thing to do is to do nothing.
II. HEAVEN MUST BE AN EVENTFUL AND ACTIVE PLACE. It could
afford only thirty minutes of recess.The celestialprogramme is so crowded
with spectacle thatit can afford only one recess inall eternity and that for a
short space.
III. THE IMMORTALITY OF A HALF-HOUR. Oh, the half-hours! They
decide everything. I am not asking what you will do with the years or months
or days of your life, but what of the half-hours. Tellme the history of your
half-hours, and I will tell you the story of your whole life on earth and the
story of your whole life in eternity. Look out for the fragments of time. They
are pieces ofeternity.
IV. MY TEXT SUGGESTS A WAY OF STUDYING HEAVEN SO THAT
WE CAN BETTER UNDERSTANDIT. The word "eternity" that we handle
so much is an immeasurable word. Now, we have something that we cancome
nearer to grasping, and it is a quiet heaven. When we discourse about the
multitudes of heaven, it must be almosta nervous shock to those who have all
their lives been crowdedby many people, and who want a quiet heaven.
(T. De Witt Talmage.)
Silence in heaven
J. Vaughan, M. A.
Are such seasons ofquietude — of calm and holy anticipation — needful to be
observedthere — and shall we wonder that they are appointed unto us here?
You will observe that to almostall things there are these parentheses. Nature

very seldom does her work without a cessation, where all seems lostand dead.
A winter always lies betweenthe autumn sowing and the spring-time shooting.
There are very few providences which happen to man without delays, which
seemas if they had broken their courses. Promisesseemvery slow of foot in
their travel. And it is generallylong to our feelings — after the prayer has
gone up — before the answerfalls. Peace does notalways come quickly —
even to the strongestfaith. And grace does notsucceedto grace — nor to joy
— in one unbroken series. Life is full of pause. And these prefaces ofGod's
works — these introductions — these heraldings of the great approaches —
these subduings of soul — these times to make ready: they are only the
reflections of that which St. John saw passing within the veil: "There was
silence in heaven about the space of half an hour." Let us cultivate the
heavenly power of "silence."Let us pray for the angelic gift of "silence." It is
what we all want. There are many voices — in continuous stream— speaking
in the world; some from within, some from without; voices in the sublime and
in the lofty things around us; voices in very common things, and every little
passing event; but you do not hear them. Why? There is not "silence" enough
in the breast. Be more still. Listen for the whispers of God, and ice whether
earth, and heaven, and your own heart also, do net talk sweetlyto you all the
day, and all the night, about spiritual things! I advise every one — who wishes
to be a true worshipper, and to improve his communion with God — to
exercise complete "silence."The spiritual life would often be much the better
for more of a devout "silence." Mayit not be that there is, sometimes, more
filial love and confidence in the prayer that does not speak, and cannot speak,
than in any oral prayer? And there are some seasons whichspeciallyinvite the
piety of "silence." Sucha time is those early days of deep sorrow:"I was as a
dumb man that openeth not his mouth." Such a time is the waiting, before we
begin some work that God has given us to defer Him — like the wilderness to
Moses,orElijah in Horeb. Such a time is the moment spent with God before
we make an answer. Such a time is the few minutes before prayer; or before a
service here; or before the Holy Communion. Such a time may be at the gates
of glory. For it is a pleasantthing to pass the threshold of eternity "silently."
Does not God — for this very reason— make His children go through — one
after another — alone?

(J. Vaughan, M. A.)
Soul-silence
D. Thomas, D. D.
I. Soul-silence oftenFOLLOWS GREAT EXCITEMENT.Fromthe storms of
remorse, secularanxieties, arid socialbereavements, the soul of the genuinely
Christly arises into a "peace that passethall understanding."
II. Soul-silence is often found ABSORBING WORSHIP.
1. The prayers of saints on earth are of greatpractical interestin the spiritual
universe.(1) They are offerings that are acceptable to its Supreme Ruler.(2) In
rendering them acceptable to God, His highest spiritual ministers are deeply
engaged.
2. The prayers of saints on earth exert an influence on the things of time.
III. Soul-silence oftenSPRINGS FROM HIGH EXPECTANCY. What
wonderful things are before us all! Were we earnestlywaiting for the
"manifestationof the sons of God," waiting the advent of Him who is to wind
up the affairs of the world, how silent should we be!
(D. Thomas, D. D.)
Silence
DeanVaughan.
I. THE SILENCE OF SUPPRESSION."While I kept silence," Davidsays;
that is, while I suppressedmy sense of sin, and soughtto check and coerce the
tide of free confession. This is the silence ofour fallen nature; our abuse of
God's gift, bestowedupon us for a very different end. If any of us are thus
silent to God, let not night close upon us without breaking that silence:if
conscienceaccusesus of sin, let it be heard while it may: if any iniquity of ours
is separating betweenus and God, bring it to Him, and spare it mot, that it

may be forgiven for Christ's sake, andits chain removed from us by His Holy
Spirit.
II. THE SILENCE OF CONVICTION. Firstthere has been that sullen silence
of which we have spoken;the heart lockedup, and refusing to empty itself of
its secret. Then, many times, the first silence has been broken by
prevarications, excuses,and self-justifications, going perhaps even to the
length of direct falsehood. Then, in process oftime, by patient hearing and
inquiry, these also have been broken down: the false tongue has been confuted
by the force of truth, and every refuge of lies has at length been sweptaway.
When this is so, then at last there is silence;refreshing by comparison, and, in
this life, certainly in young life, hopeful; till it comes, there is no hope, because
the soulis still trying to say Peaceto itself fallaciously. But now there is
silence:now may punishment try its remedial power, being accompanied, as it
ever ought to be, with a fall forgiveness. Now, too, maythe sinner, humbled in
himself, before others, and before God, listen with livelier interestto the
assurance ofGod's forgiveness, to the comfort of the blood of sprinkling
which speaks not to reproachbut to console.
III. THE SILENCE OF PREPARATION. Everyreal, certainly every great,
work of man is prefaced by a long silence, during which the mind is
concentratedupon the object, and possessing itselfwith that which is
afterwards to be produced. What is all study but the preliminary to some
work, or else to one's life's work? It is not in man to be capable of always
giving out, without long processesoftaking in. This is the secretof so many
barren and unfruitful ministries, that men are trying to dispense with silence:
they are altogetherin public, never in solitude: they are counting their
exertions, instead of weighing them, satisfiedif they are always labouring,
without forcing themselves to prepare for labour by silent study, by silent
meditation, by silent prayer.
IV. THE SILENCE OF ENDURANCE;that of him who with a noble self-
restraint refuses to avail himself even of a plea which might avail for his
deliverance. He is following the example of One who Himself in the very crisis
of His earthly fate exhibited in its fullest glory the dignity and the majesty of
silence.

V. THE SILENCE OF DISAPPROBATION;that silence by which, perhaps
most effectively of all, whether in the societyof the young or of the old, a
Christian enters his protest againstwrong, and acts as a witness for the truth.
Who has not seenthe effectof silence, of a Christian, a consistentsilence, upon
uncharitable or wickedconversation?Before the presence of disapprobation,
howeverunobtrusive, evil soonshrinks, cowers, andwithdraws itself.
VI. THE SILENCE OF SELF-RESTRAINT, generalandhabitual, or else
specialand particular.
VII. THE SILENCE OF SORROW,AND OF SYMPATHY WITH
SORROW.
1. Grief may forgetitself (as it is called)for the moment in society, and sorrow
for sin may spend itself — alas!it often does — in fruitless and only half-
explicit confessions andlamentations to man: but these are dangerous as well
as vain remedies. In either case, be silent; only add the words, silent before
God. Let Him hear all from you, and, to speak generally, none else.
2. I spoke, too, ofthe silence ofsympathy. Who has not suffered from the
officiousness ofa talking sympathy?
VIII. THE SILENCE OF AWE, THE SILENCE OF MEDITATION, THE
SILENCE OF PRAYER, YES, THE SILENCE OF PRAISE.
IX. THE SILENCE OF DEATH. The silence of death may reign around the
bed from which a living soulhas departed and on which a dead body lies
alone. But it reigned first in the departing soul itself. At what particular point
in the illness isolationbegan, and the presence offriends was no longer felt in
the dying, varies no doubt with the nature of the disease,and certainly can by
none be defined: but well may it be seenthat after a certain point silence and
solitude have takenpossession, thatthere is, to all intents, an abstractionfrom
things around, and an absorption in things within.
(DeanVaughan.)
Silence

Charles H. Collier, M. A.
What is silence? Notthe absence, the negationof speech, but the pause, the
suspensionof speech. Speechis, we all admit, one of God's choicest gifts to
man, for the employment of which man is speciallyand awfully responsible.
Must not something of the like sacrednessandresponsibility belong to that
correlative power — the power of silence? As if to impress this truth upon our
minds, Scripture invests silence with circumstances ofpeculiar interestand
awe. Thus, when Solomondedicatedthe Temple to Jehovah, after that the
priests had arranged all the sacredfurniture, and completed the solemn
service of consecration, there was silence, and during that silence the glory of
the Lord, in the form of a cloud, so filled the whole building that the priests
could not stand to minister by reasonof the cloud. Thus, again, in the text,
when the angel"had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven
about the space ofhalf an hour." Very wonderful and mysterious is this
instance of silence. It was as though, upon the opening of the mystic seal,
events so strange and amazing were to follow throughout the universe, that
the very hosts of heaven were compelledto suspend their worship and
adorationin order to behold and listen! Now, the first sort of silence to which
I would call your attention is the silence of worship, of awe, and reverence.
"The Lord is in His holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before Him."
Such is the canonfor worship laid down by Habakkuk;and it is a canon as
much binding upon us as upon those to whom it was originally addressed.
When we come up to the house of prayer, there to meet Christ upon the
mercy-seat— there to hear His voice speaking to us in the read and spoken
Word — there to receive Him into our very souls in the Sacramentof His
broken Body and shed Blood — we are bound to observe the silence ofawe
and reverence. Exceptwhen we open our lips to join in prayer and praise to
God, our attitude within these hallowedwalls should be that of silence, of
those who are impressedwith the sanctity of the place, and who know and feel
that the Almighty God is indeed in their midst. Yes; and it would be well,
could we put more of this holy silence into our religious acts. Our religion
shares too much in the faults of the age in which we live. It is too public, too
outspoken, conductedtoo much as a business;and so the inner and
contemplative element is too much lost sight of. The silence of self-

examination, the silence of the heart's unsyllabled supplication, the silence of
meditation on the mysteries of redeeming love — these are forms of silence
which every one must observe often who would have the flame of spiritual life
to burn bright and clearin his soul. Then, again, there is the silence of
preparation. Every greatwork that has ever been achievedhas been preceded
by this-the doer making himself ready, by thought and study, for action.
Every great achievement, whetherin the moral or the intellectual world, has
been in a sense like Solomon's temple — it has risen noiselessly, silently,
without sound of axe or hammer. Therefore is that greatprimary actin
religion — the convictionof sin — invariably precededby deep and solemn
silence, while the sinner stands before Godself-accusedand self-condemned.
Therefore, also, is silence everpresent at all the more solemn passages ofour
life. Sorrow — real, genuine sorrow — is ever silent. A cry — a tear — what
relief would these be; but they must not intrude into the sacredground of
sorrow, the sorrow of the just — bereaved widow or orphan. And so, too,
sympathy with sorrow is ever silent. Idle words, or still idler tears — these are
for false comforters, like those who troubled the patriarch Job; the true
sympathy is the sympathy of a look — of the presence ofsilence, not of uttered
consolation. And now think of that lastsilence — a silence that we must all
experience, and for which, by silence, we must prepare now — the silence of
death. What exactly the silence of death is, none but the dying can know. May
we have known what it was, day by day, to be many times alone with that God
who must then be alone with us, to judge or else to save.
(Charles H. Collier, M. A.)
Silence in heaven
C. Clemance, D. D.
Whateverjudgments come down upon the region below, they are seenby the
apostle to be the consequences ofactivities in the regionabove. No stroke falls
on earth that is not directed in heaven. The two worlds move in concert. The
time-accomplishments of one world correspondto the time-appointments of
another. We have set before us, in unmistakable symbolism, this truth — That

in the developments of God's plans in providence, there are times of
comparative quietude, during which it seems as if the progress of things was
stayed awhile.
I. WHAT IS INTENDEDWHEN WE SPEAK OF PROGRESS BEING
APPARENTLYSTAYED? There are in the Word of God greatpromises and
prophecies which open up a glorious vision for the future days. There have
been also greatevents which have excited in the Church of God the strongest
hopes, and which ever and anon form a restful background. To such periods
there succeedlong years in which either no appreciable advance is made
towards the inbringing of the new heavens and the new earth; or if in one
direction some progress appears, in another the cause ofrighteousness seems
checkedafreshby new developments of error, folly, and sin. The prophets of
God are crying, "Flee from the wrath to come." They long for some
manifestation of Divine power to startle man. But no. Man goes onsinning.
And our God seems a God that "does nothing" (Carlyle). The thunder is
rolled up. The lightning is sheathed. There is a prolonged lull. There is
"silence in heaven." The sceptic makes use of the quietude to ask, "Where is
the promise of His coming?" The carelessone settles downat his ease, and
cries, "The vision that he seeth is for many days to come." Hollow professors
desertin crowds, and go over to the ranks of the enemy. And still — still there
is "silence in heaven." No voice is heard from the invisible realms to break in
upon the steadycourse of this earth's affairs, or to arouse and convict a
slumbering world!
II. WHAT DOES THIS SILENCE MEAN? What does it mean?
1. Negatively.(1)It does not mean that this world of ours is cut adrift in space,
or that the human family are left fatherless and lone.(2) Nordoes it mean that
time is being lost in the development of the plans of God. Catastrophes are not
the only means of progress.(3)Nordoes it imply that God is indifferent to the
sin which He is everwitnessing. "The Lord is not slack,"etc.(4)Nordoes it
imply that God is working on any other plan than that which He has laid
down in the book.(5)Nordoes the silence mean that Godwill ultimately let
sinners escape withimpunity (Romans 2:8, 4).

2. Positively.(1)We are not to expectstartling providences at every turn of
life.(2) We are to he guided more by what God says than by what we see
before our eyes. The book gives principles which are eternal.(3)There are
other sides to, and other forms of, God's working than those which startle and
alarm.(4) By the silence of heavenGod would testHis people's faith, and
quicken them to more fervent prayer.(5) God would thus teachus to study
principles rather than to gaze on incident.
III. WHAT SHOULD THIS SILENCE TEACH US? AND WHAT EFFECT
UPON US SHOULD IT HAVE?
1. Let us learn anew to exercise faith in the spiritual power which God wields
by His Spirit, rather than in the material energy which shakes a globe.
2. Let us use heaven's time of keeping silence as a time for breaking ours
(Isaiah 62:1, 6, 7).
3. Let the ungodly make use of the space givenfor repentance, by turning to
the Lord with full purpose of heart.
4. Let us lay to heart the certain fact, that, although judgment is delayed,
come it will.
(C. Clemance, D. D.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(16) They shall hunger no more . . .—Better, They shall not hunger any more,
nor yet thirst any more; neither at all shall the sun light upon them, nor any
heat. The negatives are emphatic, and rise in force as the verse proceeds. None
of the privations which they have endured for Christ’s sake shalltrouble
them; none of the dissatisfactions andweariness oflife shall afflict them; for

hunger, thirst, and fatigue will be no more, for the former things are passed
away(Revelation21:3-4). And then, too, shall that blessedhunger and thirst
—the hunger and thirst for righteousness—be appeased. Christ’s benediction
will then be realisedin its fulness:Blessedare they who so hunger, for they
shall be filled. And as they will receive inward strength and satisfaction, so
also will they be kept from the outward trials which weardown the strength
of the strongest. The sun shall not light on them: The Easternsun, in its fierce
and overpowering intensity, was a fit emblem of those trials which dry up the
springs of strength. The sun, risen with a burning heat, devoured the beauty
of the flower(James 1:11); the rootless growthon the stony ground was
scorchedwhenthe sun was up (Matthew 13:5-6). Man’s beauty of wealth and
talent, man’s resolutions of better things, all fade awaybefore the testing
beams of this sun; but the time of trial is past, the pains and temptations of life
are over, the sun in that land will not scorch, for there is no longer need of
these burning beams; the city has no need of the sun, for the glory of God
lightens it, and the Lamb is the light thereof (Revelation21:23). No sun, and
no heat, no burning hot wind like the sirocco, willspread withering influence
there.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
7:13-17 Faithful Christians deserve our notice and respect;we should mark
the upright. Those who would gain knowledge, mustnot be ashamedto seek
instruction from any who cangive it. The wayto heavenis through many
tribulations; but tribulation, how greatsoever, shall not separate us from the
love of God. Tribulation makes heavenmore welcome and more glorious. It is
not the blood of the martyrs, but the blood of the Lamb, that can washaway
sin, and make the soul pure and clean in the sight of God; other blood stains,
this is the only blood that makes the robes of the saints white and clean. They
are happy in their employment; heaven is a state of service, though not of
suffering; it is a state of rest, but not of sloth; it isa praising, delightful rest.
They have had sorrows, andshed many tears on accountof sin and affliction;
but God himself, with his own gracious hand, will wipe those tears away. He
deals with them as a tender father. This should support the Christian under

all his troubles. As all the redeemedowe their happiness wholly to sovereign
mercy; so the work and worship of God their Saviour is their element; his
presence and favour complete their happiness, nor canthey conceive of any
other joy. To Him may all his people come; from him they receive every
needed grace;and to him let them offer all praise and glory.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
They shall hunger no more - A considerable portion of the redeemed who will
be there, were, when on earth, subjected to the evils of famine; many who
perished with hunger. In heaven they will be subjectedto that evil no more,
for there will be no want that will not be supplied. The bodies which the
redeemedwill have - spiritual bodies 1 Corinthians 15:44 - will doubtless be
such as will be nourished in some other way than by food, if they require any
nourishment; and whatever that nourishment may be, it will be fully supplied.
The passagehere is takenfrom Isaiah 49:10;"They shall not hunger nor
thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them." See the notes on that
passage.
Neither thirst any more - As multitudes of the redeemedhave been subjected
to the evils of hunger, so have multitudes also been subjected to the pains of
thirst. In prison; in pathless deserts;in times of drought, when wells and
fountains were dried up, they have suffered from this cause - a cause
producing as intense suffering perhaps as any that man endures. Compare
Exodus 17:3; Psalm63:1; Lamentations 4:4; 2 Corinthians 11:27. It is easyto
conceive ofpersons suffering so intensely from thirst that the highestvision of
felicity would be such a promise as that in the words before us - "neither
thirst anymore."
Neither shall the sun light on them - It is hardly necessary, perhaps, to say
that the word "light" here does not mean to enlighten, to give light to, to shine
on. The Greek is πέσῃ pesē - "fall on" - and the reference, probably is to the
intense and burningheat of the sun, commonly calleda sunstroke. Excessive
heat of the sun, causing greatpain or sudden death, is not a very uncommon
thing among us, and must have been more common in the warm climates and

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