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262. The Repentance which Glorifies God
And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues; and they repented not to give him glory. Revelation 16:8-9
WHAT forces God has at his disposal, since all angels serve him! These bring forth the vials of his wrath.
What power these beings have over nature, for on the sun the angel empties his bowl, and men are scorched with fire!
No men are beyond the power of the judgments of God. He can reach them by any medium. He can make ill effects flow from our best blessings: in this case burning heat poured from the sun.
The judgments of God do not of themselves produce true repentance; for these men "repented not to give him glory."
I. THEY MAY PRODUCE A REPENTANCE.
1. A carnal repentance caused by fear of punishment. Cain.
2. A transient repentance which subsides with the judgment. Pharaoh.
3. A superficial repentance which retains the sin. Herod.
4. A despairing repentance which ends in death. Judas.
There is nothing about any of these which gives glory to God.
II. THEY DO NOT PRODUCE THE REPENTANCE WHICH GIVES GOD GLORY.
True repentance glorifies God—
1. By acknowledging his omniscience, and the wisdom of his warnings, when we confess the fact and folly of sin.
2. By admitting the righteousness of his law, and the evil of sin.
3. By confessing the justice of the Lord's threatenings, and bowing before his throne in reverent submission.
4. By owning that it lies with the sovereign mercy of God further to punish us, or graciously to forgive us.
5. By accepting the grace of God as presented in the Lord Jesus.
6. By seeking sanctification so as to live in holy gratitude, in accordance with favor received.
In the case before us in the chapter, the men under the plague went from bad to worse, from impenitence to blasphemy; but where there is godly sorrow, sin is forsaken.
III. THEY INVOLVE MEN IN GREATER SIN WHEN THEY DO NOT SOFTEN.
1. Their sin becomes more a sin of knowledge.
2. Their sin becomes more a sin of defiance.
3. Their sin becomes a sin of falsehood before God. Vows broken, resolutions forgotten: all this is lying unto the Holy Ghost.
4. Their sin becomes a sin of hate towards God. They even sacrifice themselves to spite their God.
5. Their sin becomes more and more deliberate, costly, and stubborn.
6. Their sin is thus proven to be ingrained in their nature.
IV. THEY ARE TO BE LOOKED UPON WITH DISCRETION.
Hasty generalization will lead us into great errors in reference to divine judgments.
1. Used by the grace of God, they tend to arouse, impress, subdue, humble, and lead to repentance.
2. They may not be regarded as of themselves beneficial.
- Satan is not bettered by his misery.
- The lost in hell grow more obdurate through their pains.
- Many wicked men are the worse for their poverty.
- Many sick are not really penitent, but are hypocritical.
3. When we are not under judgment and terror, we should repent.
- Because of God's long-suffering and goodness.
- Because we are not now distracted by pain.
- Because now we can think of the sin apart from the judgment, and are more likely to be honest in repentance.
- Because we shall find it sweeter and nobler to be drawn than to be like "dumb driven cattle."
Be it our one aim "to give HIM glory."
Begin with this object in repentance, continue in it by faith, rise nearer to it in hope, abide in it by zeal and love.
From Great Authors
Trees may blossom fairly in the spring, on which no fruit is to be found in the harvest; and some have sharp soul exercises which are nothing but foretastes of hell. — Boston
Richard Sibbes says, "We see, by many that have recovered again, that have promised great matters in their sickness, that it is hypocritical repentance, for they have been worse after than they were before." Dr. Grosart adds, by way of illustration, the testimony of a prison chaplain, to the effect that of "reprieved" criminals who, in the shadow of the gallows, had manifested every token of apparent penitence and heart-change, the number whose subsequent career gave evidence of reality is as 1-to-500, perhaps as awful a fact as recent criminal statistics reveal.
I believe it will be found that the repentance of most men is not so much sorrow for sin as sin, or real hatred of it, as sullen sorrow that they are not allowed to sin. — Adam's Private Thoughts
There is no repentance in hell. They are scorched with heat, and blaspheme
God's name, but repent not to give him glory. They curse him for their pains and sores, but repent not of their deeds. True repentance ariseth from faith and hope; but there can be no faith of releasement where is certain knowledge of eternal punishment: knowledge and sense exclude faith. There can be no hope of termination where be chains of desperation. There shall be a desperate sorrow for pain, no penitent sorrow for sin. None are now saved but by the blood of the Lamb; but when the world is ended, that fountain is dried up. The worm of conscience shall gnaw them with this remorse, bringing to their minds the cause of their present calamities: how often they have been invited to heaven, how easily they might have escaped hell. They shall weep for the loss of the one and gain of the other, not for the cause of either, which were repentance.... They suffer, and they blaspheme. — Thomas Adams
How awful to read, "men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail"! How true it is that affliction makes good men better, and bad men worse! Wrath converts no man. It is grace that saves. The chastisement that does not soften hardens. Judgments lead men to blaspheme; and the greater the plague, the more they blaspheme. What a solemn, but truthful, representation of the consequence of oft-neglected warnings! See the employment of man in the future state — in heaven, to praise; in hell, to blaspheme. — George Rogers
Charles Hadden Spurgeon
263. The Marriage Supper of the Lamb
And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they, which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. Revelation 19:9
AMAZED by what he saw and heard, John might have failed to write but he was warned to do so on this occasion, because of—
- The value of the statements herein recorded.
- Their absolute certainty, as sure promises and true sayings of God.
- The necessity of keeping such facts in remembrance throughout all time for the comfort of all those who look for the Lord's appearing.
This fact, that men shall partake of the marriage supper of the Lamb, might seem too good to be true if it were not specially certified by order of the Lord, under the hand and seal of the Spirit of God.
In the historical order, the false harlot-church is to be judged (see previous chapter), and then the true bride of Christ is to be acknowledged and honored.
In meditating upon this august marriage festival, we shall note—
I. THE DESCRIPTION Of THE BRIDEGROOM.
The inspired apostle speaks of him as "the Lamb."
This is John's special name for his Lord. Perhaps he learned it from hearing the Baptist cry by the Jordan, "Behold the Lamb."
What we learn early abides with us late.
John uses this name continually in this Book of the Revelation.
The last book of the Bible still reveals Jesus in this character as the Lamb of God.
In this passage the marriage of the Lamb may even seem incongruous as a figure, but John looks at the sense, and not at the language.
He wishes us above all things to remember that as the sacrifice for sin our Lord appears in his glory, and that as a Lamb he will manifest himself in the consummation of all things when his church is perfected.
1. As the Lamb he is the one everlasting sacrifice for sin: he will not be other than this in his glory.
2. As the Lamb suffering for sin, he is especially glorious in the eyes of the angels and all other holy intelligences, and so in his joyous day he wears that character.
3. As the Lamb he most fully displayed his love to his church; and so he appears in this form on the day of his love's triumph.
4. As the Lamb he is best loved of our souls. Behold, how he loved us even to the death!
Ever as a victim for sin he rejoices to display himself to the universe.
II. THE MEANING OF THE MARRIAGE SUPPER.
In the evening of time, in the end of the gospel day, there shall be—
1. The completion and perfection of the church. "His bride hath made herself ready."
2. The rising of the church into the nearest and happiest communion with Christ in his glory. "The marriage of the Lamb is come." The espousals lead up to this.
3. The fulfillment of the long expectations of both.
4. The open publication of the great fact of mutual love and union.
5. The overflowing of mutual delight and joy. "Be glad and rejoice."
6. The grandest display of magnificent munificence in a banquet.
7. The commencement of an eternally unbroken rest. "He shall rest in his love." The church, like Ruth, shall find rest in the house of her husband.
III. THE PERSONS WHO ARE CALLED TO IT.
Not those who have the common call and reject it, but—
1. Those who are so called as to accept the invitation.
2. Those who now possess the faith which is the token of admission.
3. Those who love Bridegroom and bride.
4. Those who have on the wedding garment of sanctification.
5. Those who watch with lamps burning.
These are they which are called to the marriage supper.
IV. THE BLESSEDNESS WHICH IS ASCRIBED TO THEM.
1. They have a prospect which blesses them even now.
2. They have great honor in being called to such a future.
3. They will be blessed indeed when at that feast, for—
- Those who are called will be admitted.
- Those who are admitted will be married.
- Those who are married to Jesus will be endlessly happy. How many a marriage leads to misery! but it is not so in this case.
Alas, some are not thus blessed!
To be unblessed is to be accursed.
Marriage Music
As they that have invited a company of strangers to a feast do stay till the last be come, so there will not be a glorious coming of Christ until all the elect be gathered into one body. And then shall be the coming of all comings, which is the glorious coming of Christ, to take us to himself. — Richard Sibbes
How blessed it will be to those "called" ones, to "sit down" at "the marriage supper of the Lamb!" Then will "the King sit indeed at his table," and "the spikenard will send forth the smell thereof."
He who once hung so sad upon the cross for every one will look around that bright company, and in every white robe, and in every lighted countenance, he will behold the fruit of his sufferings. He will "see of the travail of his soul, and will be satisfied." It will be the eternal union of God fulfilled in its deepest counsel: a people given to Christ from before all worlds; and that they are, that day, all chosen, all gathered, all washed, all saved, and not one of them is lost! — James Vaughan
We dare not say that our Lord will love us more than he loves us now, but he will indulge his love for us more; he will manifest it more, we shall see more of it, we shall understand it better; it will appear to us as though he loved us more. He will lay open his whole heart and soul to us, with all its feelings, and secrets, and purposes, and allow us to know them, as far at least as we can understand them, and it will conduce to our happiness to know them. The love of this hour will be the perfection of love. This marriage-feast will be the feast, the triumph, of love — the exalted Savior showing to the whole universe that he loves us to the utmost bound love can go, and we loving him with a fervor, a gratitude, an adoration, a delight, that are new even in heaven.
The provisions made by him for our enjoyment will astonish us. Conceive of a beggar taken for the first time to a splendid monarch's table, and this at a season of unusual splendor and rejoicing. How would he wonder at the magnificence he would see around him, and the profusion of things prepared for his gratification; some altogether new to him, and others in an abundance and an excellence he had never thought off So will it be with us in heaven. We shall find it a feast and a monarch's feast. It will have delights for us, of which we have no conception; the pleasures we anticipate in it will be far higher and more abundant than our highest expectations have ever gone. We shall have a provision made for us, which will befit, not our rank and condition, but the rank and condition, the greatness, the magnificence, of a glorious God. — Charles Bradley
Charles Hadden Spurgeon
264. The Scriptures Divinely True
And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. Revelation 19:9
THESE words relate to that which immediately precedes them.
- The judgment of the harlot church (verse 2).
- The glorious and universal reign of Christ (verse 6).
- The sure reward and glory of Christ with his saved ones in the glorious period at the last (verses 7-8).
- The existence, beauty, purity, simplicity, and glory of the church.
- The union of Christ and the church in love, joy, glory.
- The blessedness of all who have to do with this union.
The subjects thus referred to make up a summary of what the Lord has said upon future human history.
The words before us we shall use as expressing:
I. A RIGHT ESTIMATE OF HOLY SCRIPTURE.
1. These words which we find in the Old and New Testaments are true. Free from error, certain, enduring, infallible.
2. These are divine words. Infallibly inspired, so as to be, in very truth, "the sayings of God."
3. These words are thus true and divine in opposition to:
- Words of man. These may or may not be true.
- Pretended words of God. False prophets and men with addled intellects profess to speak in the name of God; but they lie.
4. These words are all of them truly divine. "These are the true sayings of God."
- Neither too severe to be true, nor too terrible to be uttered by a God of love, as some dare to say.
- Nor too good to be true, as tremblers fear.
- Nor too old to be true, as novelty-hunters affirm.
- Nor too simple to be truly divine, as the worldly-wise insinuate.
5. These words are a blessing to us for that reason.
- What else can guide us if we have no sure revelation from God?
- How can we understand the revelation if it is not all true? How could we discriminate between the truth and the error on subjects so much beyond us?
II. THE RESULT OF FORMING SUCH AN ESTIMATE.
If you believe that "these are the true sayings of God":
1. You will listen to them with attention, and judge what you hear from preachers by this infallible standard.
2. You will receive these words with assurance.
- This will produce confidence of understanding.
- This will produce rest of heart.
3. You will submit with reverence to these words, obey their precepts, believe their teachings, and value their prophecies.
4. You will expect fulfillment of divine promises under difficulties.
5. You will cling to revealed truth with pertinacity.
6. You will proclaim it with boldness.
III. OUR JUSTIFICATION FOR FORMING SUCH AN ESTIMATE.
In these days we may be accused of bibliolatry, and other new crimes, but we shall hold to our belief in inspiration, for—
1. The Scriptures are what they profess to be — the word of God.
2. There is a singular majesty and power in them, and we see this when the truth of God is preached.
3. There is a marvelous omniscience in Scripture, which is perceived by us when it unveils our inmost souls.
4. They have proven themselves true to us.
- They warned us of the bitter fruit of sin, and we have tasted it.
- They told us of the evil of the heart, and we have seen it.
- They told us of the peace-giving power of the blood, and we have proved it by faith in Jesus.
- They told us of the purifying energy of divine grace: we are already instances of it, and desire to be more so.
- They assured us of the efficacy of prayer, and it is true.
- They assured us of the upholding power of faith in God, and by faith we have been upheld in trial.
- They assured us of the faithfulness of God to his people as shown in providence, and we have experienced it. All things have worked together for our good hitherto.
5. The witness of the Holy Spirit in our hearts confirms our faith in Holy Scripture. We believe and are saved from sin by believing. Those words must be truly divine which have wrought in us such gracious results.
What follows upon this? We believe all the Scripture. We now accept as true sayings of God:
- The proclamation that our Lord is coming.
- The doctrine that the dead will be raised at his call.
- The fact that there will be a judgment of the quick and dead. The truth that saints will enjoy eternal life, and that sinners will go away into everlasting punishment.
Worth Quoting
Whence but from heaven could men unskilled in arts,
In several ages born, in several parts,
Weave such agreeing truths? or how, or why
Should all conspire to cheat us with a lie?
Unasked their pains, ungrateful their advice,
Starving their gain, and martyrdom their price.
— Dryden.
Of most things it may be said, "Vanity of vanity, all is vanity;' but of the Bible it may be truly said, "Verity of verity, all is verity." — Arrowsmith
The True is the one asbestos which survives all fire, and comes out purified. — Thomas Carlyle
A young man had fallen into loose habits, and was living a wild, fast life. Late hours were frequent with him, and he would pay no regard to the remonstrances of a Christian father. At last it came to a point. The father told his son that he must either leave his home or conform to rules. He followed his old ways, went into lodgings, and was rather pleased to be free from the restraint he felt at home. After a while he picked up some young companions who professed infidel opinions, and soon, like them, he even scoffed at religion, and made light of all his parents had taught him. But the prayers of his father and mother followed him, and in a remarkable way were abundantly answered. One night the young fellow lay awake and began to think. "I tell people," said he to himself, "that there is no truth in the Bible, but there must be truth somewhere, and if not there, where is it? I wonder what the Bible says about truth."
In this way he was led to go to the Scriptures, and read every passage where truth is spoken of. The Bible became its own witness. It so took hold of him that he was persuaded that it was the very Word of the Living God. He was convinced of the evil of his past life, and was led to see Jesus as the Way, the Truth, and the Life. His whole future was the reverse of his former course. — G. Everard
Charles Hadden Spurgeon
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Andrew Murray