Beautiful Heaven Quotes, Part 4

Beautiful Heaven Quotes, Part 4

Compiled by Grace Gems

The happy exchange! (Thomas Brooks, "A String of Pearls" A sermon preached in London in 1657, at the funeral of that triumphant saint, Mrs. Mary Blake)
I heartily wish that all who are concerned in this sad loss, were more taken up in minding the happy exchange which our dear dead friend has made, than with your present loss.
She has exchanged: earth--for Heaven, a wilderness--for a paradise, a prison--for a palace, a house made with hands--for one eternal in the heavens, imperfection--for perfection, sighing--for singing, mourning--for rejoicing, petitions--for praises, the society of sinful mortals--for the company of God, pain--for ease, sickness--for health, a bed of weakness--for a bed of spices, her brass--for silver, her pennies--for gold, her earthly contentments--for heavenly enjoyments, an imperfect, transient enjoyment of God--for a more clear, full, perfect, and permanent enjoyment of God.
And as I desire that one of your eyes may be fixed upon her happiness--so I desire that your other eye may be fixed upon Christ's fullness. Though your brook be dried up, yet Christ the fountain of light, life, love, grace, glory, comfort, joy, goodness, sweetness and satisfaction--is still at hand--and always full and flowing--yes, overflowing!
As the worth and value of many pieces of silver is contracted in one piece of gold--so all the sweetness, all the goodness, all the excellencies which are in husbands, wives, children, friends, etc., are concentrated in Christ! Yes, all the whole volume of perfections which is spread through heaven and earth--is epitomized in Christ!
Oh, that your hearts and thoughts were thus busied about Christ, and taken up with Christ, and with those treasures of wisdom, knowledge, grace, goodness, sweetness, etc., which are in Him! This would very much allay your grief and sorrow, and keep your hearts quiet and silent before the Lord.
My Father's home! (James Smith, "The Better Land")
"Do not be troubled. There are many rooms in my Father's home, and I am going to prepare a place for you. When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with Me where I am!" John 14:1-3
How familiar with Heaven--how well acquainted with that "better land" must Jesus be! He calls it "My Father's home!" Sweet view of our eternal residence!
Dying is but 'going home!' Going home to our Father! Going to our Father's home!
And shall we fear this? Fear it! Can we do anything other than eagerly desire it? Do we not wish to go home and see our Father? We shall not be strangers there--so many of our Christian friends have gone home before us. And even if some of our loved ones are not there--we could not possibly feel unhappy where JESUS is!
"I am leaving the world," said Jesus, "and am going to My Father!" Such should be our language in the prospect of death. O that, with child-like simplicity, we could receive into our minds the testimony of God's Word! O that we could view death and Heaven--just as the Scriptures represent them! Where would our doubts and fears be then? What would become of our reluctance to leave the world then? Then, if we spoke of departed Christian loved ones--we would use similar language to that of Judah in reference to his younger brother Benjamin, "He is this day with our Father!" We would no longer talk of losing friends or relatives. Oh no! we should speak of them as being in our Father's home, or of being with our Father!
My soul, I charge you in future to look to Heaven, simply as your Father's home!
"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal!" 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Traveling to glory, honor, immortality and eternal life! (J. A. James, "Faith and the Blessings of This Life")
Earth is to its inhabitants, neither a paradise nor a desert. If it has not all the beautiful scenes and productions of a paradise--so neither has it all the dreariness and desolation of a desert. This world is called "a valley of tears," but it is not less true that it is sometimes a valley without the tears. It often wears a smiling aspect, and reflects the light of God's graciousness and bounty. We know very well that man's chief portion lies in the blessings of salvation, and the hope of eternal glory. These are so vast as almost to reduce all else to nothing. Full pardon of sin, and the hope of an eternity of pure and perfect felicity, are such amazing expectations, as might seem to render us absolutely indifferent alike to poverty and riches; pain and ease; obscurity and renown.
How little would it signify to him who was going to take possession of a kingdom and a throne, whether he traveled through a desert or a garden; or whether he dined meagerly or sumptuously; or whether he had all best accommodations and conveniences along the way. His thoughts would be so engrossed with the permanent scenes of greatness, grandeur, power, and wealth before him--as to be almost insensible to the privations or comforts along the way. So it is, with a Christian traveling to glory, honor, immortality and eternal life!
It is incumbent upon Christians to let their spirit and conduct be consistent with the hope of eternal glory, in that eminent spirituality and heavenliness of mind, which are manifested in a supreme, constant, and practical regard to divine and eternal things.
No more disease, no more weakness, no more pain! (James Smith, "The Hope of Creation" 1862)
"The creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay--and brought into the glorious liberty of the children of God!" Romans 8:21
We shall soon have 'glorious liberty'!
The SOUL will be gloriously free: free from every fetter that binds it, free from every conflict that tries it, and free from every burden that bows it down.
The BODY will be gloriously free! It will be a glorious body--like the body of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
No more disease, no more weakness, no more pain! But health, strength, and ease will characterize it forever!
The whole person, body, soul, and spirit--will be in perfect liberty: free from the curse--and every cross; free from every foe--and all our fears; free from every fault--and our numerous failings; free from frailty--and free from folly; free from all internal, external, and eternal evil.
It will be freedom crowned with glory--with glorious beauty, glorious brightness, glorious majesty, glorious honor, and ineffable splendor!
Eye has never seen, ear has never heard, nor has the heart of man ever conceived of anything so grand, so magnificent, so glorious--as what God has provided, and has in store for His people!
Our Heaven, our glory, and our portion! (James Smith, "The Love of Christ! The Fullness, Freeness, and Immutability of the Savior's Grace Displayed!")
"I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far!" Philippians 1:23
"And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am!" John 14:3
We shall be forever with Christ!
Now, we have to mourn His absence. Now we exclaim, "O that I knew where I could find Him!" But He has provided something better for us--even to dwell forever in His presence--which will constitute our Heaven, our glory, and our portion!
O with what rapture shall we fix and feast our eyes upon Him, and how will the thought that we are to be forever with Him--thrill through our souls, and open ten thousand gushing streams of unutterable delight and joy! O with what joy shall we hear Him say, "Come, you who are blessed of my Father!"
The presence of Jesus will dissipate all gloom, disperse all slavish fears, chase away all darkness, free from all pain, deliver from all sorrow, preserve from all sickness, raise us above all temptations, and fill us with unspeakably glorious joy.
Here on earth, we may be cast down--for the way is rough and our trials are many. Here we may mourn the absence of our God--but the love of Jesus will soon rescue us, and we shall be received into His presence to abide forever!
To be with Christ--to be with Christ forever--this comprises all that we now desire, and all that we can wish!
That one majestic, inconceivable, and expressive word (J. A. James, "The Death of Mrs. Sherman" May 28, 1848)
"And this is the promise that He Himself made to us: eternal life." (1 John 2:25)
In the infinite comprehensiveness of this one promise are included all that the omniscient mind of the Father in the exercise of His love has contrived in eternity; all that the incarnate Son has obtained by His sacrifice upon the cross; and all that the Divine Spirit has revealed upon the page of Scripture; and all which is contained in that one majestic, inconceivable, and expressive word--HEAVEN!
I do not need flamboyant descriptions and eloquent representations of the celestial state, to raise my desires and hopes. It is enough to know that it is GLORY, first prepared, then promised, and ultimately bestowed by Jehovah--as the concentration of His infinite beneficence and the full manifestation of His boundless benevolence!
Heaven is the absence of all evil, natural and moral; the possession of all possible good; a glorified body united with a perfect soul, and all this in the immediate presence of God!
There we shall see God! We shall not only see Him--but love Him! We shall not only love Him--but serve Him! We shall not only serve Him--but enjoy Him! We shall not only enjoy Him--but hold such communion with Him as will assimilate us to the all-perfect source of our felicity!
The objects of our contemplation, our situation, our companions, our personal constitution, our constant exercises of holy intellect, heart, and volition--will be so many distinct sources of bliss! Perfect knowledge, perfect holiness, and perfect love must of necessity open the fountain of perfect joy!
No secondary concern will call off our unwearied attention from the service of God; no sin or pain will interrupt us in it; nor will death ever dismiss us from it. The business and the blessedness of that happy state are the same--our supreme delight will be our constant employment. Every sense will be an inlet, every faculty a capacity, and every energy a pulsation--of the purest bliss!
Heaven will be "life" life in perfection, the life of the soul, the life of God, the life of eternity! But to describe it, how vain and arrogant the attempt, when even to conceive of it is impossible! "In Your presence is fullness of joy! At Your right hand there are pleasures for evermore!" Neither language nor thought can go beyond this! Mind cannot conceive more. God Himself can tell us no more, than that heaven consists in His presence, and the enjoyment of His favor--forever and ever!
"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined the things that God has prepared for those who love Him!" (1 Corinthians 2:9)
Thomas Watson choice quotes on HEAVEN (Thomas Watson)
One hour in Heaven will make us forget all our sorrows! As the sun dries up the water, so one beam of God's glorious face will dry up all our tears!
Heaven is the highest link of the saint's happiness. As there is no intermission in the joys of Heaven--so there shall be no expiration of them. When God has once planted His saints in paradise, He will never transplant them, "they shall be forever with the Lord!"
The sea is not so full of water--as the soul of a glorified saint is full of joy. There can be no sorrow in Heaven--as there can be no joy in Hell.
See how happy are God's saints at their death! They go to a kingdom! They see God's face, which shines ten thousand times brighter than the sun in its meridian glory! They enter eternal glory, which is the quintessence of all delights!
In that Heavenly kingdom, the saints are crowned with perfection!
The desires of the glorified saints are infinitely satisfied! There is nothing absent--which they could wish might be enjoyed. There is nothing present--which they could wish might be removed.
In Heaven, there is knowledge without ignorance, holiness without sin, beauty without blemish, strength without weakness, light without darkness, riches without poverty, ease without pain, liberty without restraint, rest without labor, joy without sorrow, love without hatred, plenty without excess, honor without disgrace, health without sickness, peace without end, contentment without cessation! Oh, the happiness of those who die to the Lord!
Heaven will make amends for all!
"He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them! He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away! He who sits on the throne said: Behold, I am making all things new!" Revelation 21:3-5
The joys of that eternal banqueting house! (John MacDuff, "The Night Watches")
"He brought me to the banqueting house, and His banner over me was love!" Song of Solomon 2:4
"HE brought me!" All of grace! He justifies! He glorifies! The banqueting house is entered with shoutings, saying, "Grace, grace unto it!"
Believer, contemplate the journey ended, the course finished, the victory won. Seated at the marriage feast of the Lamb in glory, guest talking to guest with bounding hearts--recounting their Lord's dealings on earth--the watchword circulating from tongue to tongue, "He has done all things well!"
Angels and archangels, too, will be participants in that banquet of glory; and bright seraphs, who never knew what it was to have a heart of sin or to shed a tear of sorrow. But, for this reason, there will be one element of joy peculiar to the Redeemed, into which the other unfallen guests cannot enter--the "joy of contrast." How will this present world's "great tribulation" augment the bliss of a world at once sinless and sorrowless! How will earth's woe-worn cheek, and sin-stricken spirit, and tear-dimmed eye--enhance the glories of that perfect state, where there is not that symbol of sadness, nor the solitary trace of one lingering tear-drop!
My soul, seek often to ponder, in the midst of your days of sadness, the joys of that eternal banqueting house! "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain!" One moment at that banquet table, one crumb of the heavenly manna, one draught from the river of life-- and all the bitter experiences of the valley of tears will be obliterated and forgotten!
Look upwards even now, and behold your dear Lord preparing for you this glorious "feast of fat things!" "Do not be troubled. There are many rooms in My Father's home, and I am going to prepare a place for you. When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with Me--where I am!"
It will fire the soul with unutterable love, and fill it with inexpressible joy! (James Smith, "Precious Things from the Everlasting Hills")
"Dear friends, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him because we will see Him as He is!" 1 John 3:2
Every Christian expects to have a sight of Jesus--to see Him as He really is. He will gaze with rapture and delight on His glorified body, tracing the thorn-prints on His brow, and the nail-prints on His hands!
He will realize with ecstatic delight that Jesus is his own Savior, his glorious Redeemer, his ever-living and ever-loving Lord.
The sight of Christ will eclipse the glory of everything visible, and will leave impressions on the soul which will never be erased. It will exceed all that ever was seen, conceived, or anticipated. It will fire the soul with unutterable love, and fill it with inexpressible joy!
No serpent crawls along that pavement! (Henry Law, "The Gospel in Numbers" 1858)
Heaven! It is our looked for rest; the goal to which we press; the haven of our storm tossed voyage; the end of weary pilgrimage; the soul's eternal home; the land of every delight!
Heaven! Here thought flags; mind fails; all words seem emptiness; all images fall short.
No angel's tongue can adequately paint the brightness of those realms. Mortal powers shrink into very nothingness. None can describe heaven, but those who enter it. And those who enter it, find their delight an ever swelling flood; an ever brightening day; an ever opening flower; a volume, which eternity cannot read through!
Heaven! It is the palace of the great Eternal. Salvation is its walls; its gates are praise. Its pavement is purity's most golden luster. Its atmosphere is perfect love.
Heaven! It is the home prepared by God before the worlds were made, for His redeemed children. It is the mansion, which the ascended Jesus still labors to make fit.
Heaven! It is so attractive, that all Jehovah's skill cannot increase the beauty. It is so full, that nothing can be added. It is so rich, that it can hold no more.
Perfection is the essence of our heaven. Nothing can enter there to stain, to soil, to vex, to humble.
Oh! what a contrast to our present state! Our hearts are daily pierced. We loathe and we abhor ourselves.
We would be holy; but, alas! a treacherous adversary rolls us in the mire. The foul tempter all day long is spreading nets. There is no saint too saintly for his vile approach. But in heaven this misery has ceased. No serpent crawls along that pavement! Satan is outside; far off; the bottomless pit has shut its mouth upon him.
Our high home is barricaded against all sin. Never, never, never, can iniquity again intrude. The soul forever joys; righteous, as God is righteous; pure, as God is pure.
Reader, seek heaven.
The last pang, and groan, and tear! (John Angell James, "Afflictions")
The Christian looks to the end of afflictions! The end may sometimes come in this world. In reference to this, the utmost that the believer can be sure of, is that afflictions will end in God's time. They may last for his whole life. The sickness which afflicts his body may be unto death! The trial which beclouds and distresses his spirits--may be his lot for life! The loss which he has sustained may be irreparable--and he may go down to the grave in poverty.
But on the other hand, they may not! God may be bringing him "through fire and through water, to bring him out into a wealthy place." The Christian leaves this in the hand of God, and endeavors to maintain a hope which shall save him from despondency--checked at the same time by a reverence that guards him from unwarranted presumption.
But if the end of the trial does not come in this world--it will come in the next world--when they will not only forever cease, but leave an eternal blessing behind! "I reckon that the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us!" "Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory!" Four things are set forth in these passages: 1. Our afflictions will have a termination! This is sweet. They are to end--they are not to last forever! The last pang, and groan, and tear are at hand--and how near the Christian never knows! 2. Our afflictions are not to end like those of the brute creation--in the grave merely--but in Heaven! The last pang, and groan, and tear are to usher in that blessed state of which it is so beautifully said, "The Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters--and God Himself shall wipe away all tears from their eyes!" Heaven shall terminate all the afflictions of the righteous! 3. Heaven is so glorious, that the first view of its scenes, and the first moment of its enjoyment--shall make amends for the longest life of the most protracted and intense sufferings! 4. The sufferings of our earthly pilgrimage--will enhance and increase the felicities of Heaven! Their submissive endurance; the graces which they call into exercise; the sanctification which they promote; the heavenly temper which they cultivate-- will be the means of ripening the spirit, and making it fit for its eternal inheritance! Every tear that is shed, every groan that is heaved, every loss that is sustained, every moment of suffering that is endured, every disappointment that is experienced, which is borne with patience, with resignation, with unwearied holiness--will not only be followed with millions of ages of ineffable felicity--but will prepare the soul for its enjoyment, and add something to its weight and its luster!
The very cream of heaven! (Charles Spurgeon, "Now, and Then")
There have been many suggestions of what we shall do in heaven, and what we shall enjoy; but they all seem to me to be wide of the mark compared with this one: that we shall be with Jesus, be like Him, and shall behold His glory. Oh, to see the feet that were nailed, and to touch the hand that was pierced, and to look upon the head that wore the thorns, and to bow before Him who is ineffable love, unspeakable condescension, infinite tenderness! Oh, to bow before Him, and to kiss that blessed face! Brethren, is not this the very cream of heaven? The streets of gold will have small attraction to us, and the harps of angels will but slightly enchant us, compared with the King in the midst of the throne! He it is who shall rivet our gaze, absorb our thoughts, enchain our affections, and move all our sacred passions to their highest pitch of celestial ardor! We shall see Jesus! "Yes, dear friends, we are already God's children, and we can't even imagine what we will be like when Christ returns. But we do know that when He comes we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He really is." 1 John 3:2