Beautiful Heaven Quotes, Part 13

Beautiful Heaven Quotes, Part 13

Compiled by Grace Gems

I AM DEBTOR
When this passing world is done,
When has sunk yon glaring sun,
When we stand with Christ in glory,
Looking over life's finished story,
Then Lord, shall I fully know--
Not till then, how much I owe.
Chosen not for good in me,
Wakened up from wrath to flee,
Hidden in the Savior's side,
By the Spirit sanctified,
Teach me Lord, on earth to show,
By my love, how much I owe.
Often I walk beneath the cloud,
Dark as midnight's gloomy shroud,
But when fear is at the height,
Jesus comes, and all is light.
Blessed Jesus, bid me show,
Doubting saints how much I owe.
Often the nights of sorrow reign-
Weeping, sickness, sighing, pain,
But a night Thine anger burns-
Morning comes, and joy returns.
God of comforts! bid me show,
To Thy poor, how much I owe.
Even on earth, as through a glass,
Darkly, let Thy glory pass,
Make forgiveness feel s sweet,
Make your Spirit's help so meet,
Even on earth Lord, make me know,
Something of how much I owe.
When I stand before the throne,
Dressed in beauty not my own,
When I see Thee as Thou art,
Love Thee with unsinning heart,
Then Lord, shall I fully know,
Not till then, how much I owe.
When the praise of heaven I hear,
Loud as thunder to my ear,
Loud as many waters' noise,
Sweet as harp's melodious voice,
Then Lord, shall I fully know,
Not till then, how much I owe.
When I hear the wicked call,
On the rocks and hills to fall,
When I see them start and shrink,
On the fiery deluge brink,
Then Lord, shall I fully know,
Not till then, how much I owe.
When this passing world is done,
When has sunk yon glaring sun,
When we stand with Christ in glory,
Looking over life's finished story,
Then Lord, shall I fully know--
Not till then, how much I owe.
-M'Cheyne
Sea of ineffable love! (Spurgeon, "Sown Light" #836)
O my soul, what an eternal satisfaction to you to be forever with the Lord! One glimpse of his dear face on earth has ravished you, but what must it be forever without a veil between, to gaze into that beloved countenance, and to feel his love shed abroad in your heart, and your heart plunged into that sea of ineffable love! Oh, what is all the grandeur, wealth, and honor of this fleeting world, compared with the glory that awaits the believer in Jesus? Kings and queens pass away, and leave their crowns; but the Christian goes to his, and wears it through eternity, ever bright, ever pure!
Ah! who can grasp the thought! (Thomas Reade, "Christian Experience")
One moment in heaven will convince the believer, that his afflictions upon earth were light. When earth with all its glories shall have passed away, the lowly followers of Jesus will abide forever, and shine as the sun, in the kingdom of their Father! One moment in hell will convince the pleasure loving sinner, that it would have been good for him if he had never been born! Ah! who can grasp the thought of never ending joy, or everlasting woe! The mind labors to conceive, and yet can never reach beyond the first impression of eternity. Numbers, years, ages, all, all are lost in the immeasurable, unfathomable abyss!
What a place must that be! (adapted from Mary Winslow's, "Life in Jesus")
Let us keep our eye and our hearts upon our blessed home. Earth is but a stage erected as our passage to the place Jesus has gone to prepare for us. What a place must that be! which Infinite power and love has engaged to provide! Oh, let us not lose sight of heaven for a moment. How prone are we to allow our minds and hearts (treacherous hearts!) to become entangled with the baubles of a dying world. No wonder Christ exhorted us to watch and pray. Heaven is our home; our happy home. We are but strangers and pilgrims here. Try and realize it. Let us keep ourselves ready to enter with Him to the marriage supper of the Lamb. In a little while, and we shall see Him, not as the 'Man of sorrows,' but the 'King in His beauty.' Then let us fight against earth and all its false attractions, for it passes away.
Brethren, is not this the very cream of Heaven! (Charles Spurgeon)
"We know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is!" 1 John 3:2 Here we have seen Jesus by faith in such a way that we have beheld our burdens laid on Him, and our iniquities carried by Him into the wilderness--where, if they are sought for, they shall not be found. We have seen enough of Jesus to know that "He is altogether lovely." We can say of Him, that He "is all my salvation, and all my desire." Sometimes, when He opens the lattice, and shows Himself through those windows of agate, at the Lord's Supper--the King's beauty has entranced us even to our heart's ravishment. Yet all that we have ever seen of Him, is somewhat like the report which the Queen of Sheba had of Solomon's wisdom. When we once get to the court of the Great King, we shall declare that the half has not been told to us! "I myself will see Him with my own eyes--I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!" Job 19:27 Brethren, is not this the very cream of Heaven! 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 hands that were 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! Jesus, what better do we want than to see You, and be with You forever! 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!
Mysteries Made Plain Hereafter (F.C. Monfort)
The eye is a more wonderful instrument than the glasses which men have invented to help it in its work. The ease with which a landscape, or a star, or a friend's face is pictured in it, so that we see distinctly--is proof of wider and greater skill than that of man; yet the powers of the eye are limited. There are things within its range too bright for its study--it was not made to look at the sun except through a medium or veil of protection. The direct light of the sun would destroy it. The mind is more wonderful than the eye. Its range is not limited by distance or time. It discerns not only color and shape and beauty--but reasons and truth. It knows cause and effect, as well as right and wrong. It knows present and past, and searches the earth and the Heavens. It makes discoveries, and prides itself on its powers; yet its powers have a limit. There are things which it can no more compass--than the unaided eye can study the sun! The being and character of God are too great for its powers. "No man has seen God at any time." No man with mortal eyes can see Him. The faintest manifestations of His glory--have proved too much for eyes of flesh. Paul, on the way to Damascus, fell to the earth. Peter and James and John, when on the Mount of Transfiguration, were bewildered and knew not what they did. A faint pledge of the glory of Heaven overcame them! It is only through a medium--that we can know the Infinite, "the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father--He has revealed Him." Not in the full majesty of His glory--but only in so far as men are able to bear it. The mysteries of the gospel are a study too great for the mind. We look upon infinite eternal things--as one studies the sun through a glass which has been deeply tinted. The mind is finite, and God's works and providences, though plain to superior intelligences--are a mystery to it. God manifest in the flesh, was seen of angels--but men recognized Him only by His works and by the testimony from Heaven--things which they could see and understand. The incarnation, the world's astonishing fact, with the whole plan of salvation--is understood in Heaven--the angels who sang at the Savior's birth, who sustained Him and ministered to Him, understand better than we "the great mystery of godliness." The work of God's Spirit may be understood by the angels--but it is to us as mysterious as the power which causes the seed to open and the tree to grow. It is not within the range of human intellect. We may feel the influence of the Spirit, and be guided and sanctified by Him--but the exact method of His working is a mystery. "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." The same is true of the future life. Heaven is the Christian's hope; yet how little he knows of its glory. The Bible promises him a better country--but he cannot survey it nor picture its scenery. He is assured of a heavenly mansion--but knows not its architecture. Descriptions are given--but they are veiled in human language. The tree and river of life; the gates of precious stones; the light without the sun; continual day; freedom from pain, from sin and death; the throne and the rainbow, and the King in His beauty--though they all tell something about Heaven--are but feeble expressions of its real glory. They are illustrations suited to our limited capacity. A perfect picture of Heaven could not be painted in human language, and would not be intelligible to human minds! What we do not understand now--we shall know hereafter. Our minds and souls are in their childhood. They will one day understand things which are now hidden. The veil will be removed--and only then, shall we know even as we are known. When we were children--we talked and understood as children. We now see that many of our childish thoughts were foolish. Things are now plain--which then greatly puzzled us. Mysteries have vanished. We have outgrown our childish joys, sorrows, hopes and fears. We have put away childish things. Just so, in eternity, the soul will put away the things of its childhood. It will understand things then--which are now hidden. The being of God, the work of the Spirit, and the joy of Heaven--will no longer be veiled and darkened. "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known!" Then we shall know the full enjoyment of God and of Heaven. "What I do (said the Savior), you do not understand now--but you shall know hereafter." This is the Christian's hope. It is his comfort in time of trial. It strengthens him against temptation. The world may be dark--but he looks beyond. His life may be a battle with evil--but he sees victory and its reward. His way may be rough and hedged with thorns--but he journeys to a sure place, to a glorious land of which the Lord has promised to give him! Our Savior, for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame. So His followers, in the hope of Heaven--bear their burdens, counting it a joy that they are allowed to suffer with Him! Unbelievers may doubt the value of this comfort and strength. They may ask us to demonstrate it and prove its value by figures, as men prove earthly things. We could just as easily ask a child to prove its father's love, or demonstrate the nature of its trust in him. We have no just conception of Heaven. No more has a little child--a true idea of its country or of liberty. We can only say: "We know in whom we believe. We know that God is true. We know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in Heaven, an eternal body made for us by God Himself and not by human hands!"
Home!
The following is from Bonar's book, "The Night of Weeping"
Afflictions are preparing for us a "more abundant entrance," a weightier crown, a whiter robe, a sweeter rest, a home made doubly precious by a long exile and many sufferings here below. However desperate our earthly warfare may be, it is not forever. No, it is brief, very brief. Its end is near, very near. And with the end come triumph, and honor, and songs of victory. Then, too, there follows peace, and the return of the war worn soldier to his quiet dwelling. This is the joy of the saint. He has fought a good fight, he has finished the course, he has kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for him the crown of righteousness. His battle is over, and then for him there are rest and home. Home! Yes, home! And what a home for us to return to and abide in forever! A home prepared before the foundation of the world. A home in the many mansions. A home nearest the throne and heart of God. A home whose peace shall never be broken by the sound of war or tempest. A home whose brightness shall never be overcast by the remotest shadow of a cloud. How solacing to the weary spirit to think of a resting place so near to God, and that resting place our Father's house where we shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, where the sun shall not scorch us, nor any heat, where the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne shall feed us and lead us to living fountains of waters, and God Himself shall wipe away all tears from our eyes! The time is at hand. The conflicts are almost over. Our struggles and sorrows are nearly done. A few more years, and we shall either be laid quietly to rest, or caught up into the clouds to meet our coming Lord. A few more deaths, and then we shall be knit together in eternal brotherhood with all the scattered members of God's family. A few more suns shall rise and set, and then we shall ascend in the strength of the one unsetting sun. A few more days shall dawn and darken, and then shall shine forth the one unending day. A few more clouds shall gather over us, and then the world shall be cleared forever. But a few brief years, and we shall enter in through the gates into the city, sitting down beneath the shadow of the tree of life, feeding upon the hidden manna, and drinking of the pure river clear as crystal, which proceeds out of the throne of God and of the Lamb! But a few brief years and we shall see His face, and His name shall be upon our foreheads! We have only the foretaste now. The full brightness is in reserve, and we know that all that is possible or conceivable of what is good and fair and blessed, shall one day be real and visible. Out of all evil there comes the good; out of sin comes holiness; out of darkness, light; out of death, life eternal; out of weakness, strength; out of the fading, the blooming; out of rottenness and ruin, loveliness and majesty; out of the curse come the blessing, the incorruptible, the immortal, the glorious, the undefiled! Our present portion, however, is but the pledge, not the inheritance. The inheritance is reserved for the appearing of the Lord. Here we see but through a glass darkly. It does not yet appear what we shall be. We are now but as wayfaring men, wandering in the lonely night, who see dimly upon the distant mountain peak the reflection of a sun that never rises here, but which shall never set in the "new heavens" hereafter. And this is enough. It comforts and cheers us on our dark and rugged way. It would not be enough hereafter, but it is enough just now. This wilderness will do for us until we cross into Canaan. The tent will do until the eternal city comes. The joy of believing is enough, until we enter on the joy of seeing. We are content with the "mountain of myrrh, and the hill of frankincense," until "the day breaks and the shadows flee away." Home!
The heavenly traveler (Thomas Sherman, "Divine Breathings; Or, a Pious Soul Thirsting after Christ")
"They were strangers and pilgrims on the earth!" Hebrews 11:13 What heir, traveling to take possession of a rich inheritance, allows either a green meadow or pleasant garden to detain him; or a black cloud or a dirty road to dishearten him? O my soul, you are traveling to take possession of a glorious eternal inheritance! Will you turn aside--to pluck every flower? Will you linger--to listen to every melodious sound? Will you leave your way--to drink of every gliding stream of carnal pleasure? What is this, but to lose a mansion--to view a meadow! to sacrifice an eternal crown--for a dying flower! to lose immortal felicity--for a flying vanity! to forsake the way of Zion--to gather the grapes of Sodom! Though, my soul, your way is in tears, and your days in sorrow, all clouded; yet here is enough to comfort you: that a loving Father, an unending portion, a sweet rest, and an everlasting refreshment--will make amends for all! Therefore, this vain world does not allure me--for I will make no deviation, because my way lies to purer comforts, and surer glory! Vexing world, do not entice me--I will not halt, because I am traveling to my heavenly Father's house! "They were longing for a better country--a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them!" Hebrews 11:16
What God has prepared for those who love Him! (Charles Spurgeon)
"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined--what God has prepared for those who love Him!" 1 Corinthians 2:9 Oh! what enlightenment, what joys, what consolation, what delight of heart--is experienced by him who has learned to feed on Jesus--and on Jesus alone. Yet the realization which we have of Christ's preciousness is, in this life, imperfect at the best. As an old writer says, "Tis but a taste!" We have but tasted "that the Lord is gracious," but we do not yet know how good and gracious He is; although what we know of His sweetness, makes us long for more. We have enjoyed the first fruits--and they have set us hungering and thirsting for the fullness of the heavenly vintage! Here on earth, we are like Israel in the wilderness, who had but one cluster from Eshcol--but there, we shall be in the vineyard! We are but beginners now in spiritual education; for although we have learned the first letters of the alphabet, we cannot read words yet, much less can we put sentences together! As one says, "He who has been in heaven but five minutes--knows more than all the theologians on earth!" We have many ungratified desires at present--but soon every wish shall be satisfied! All our powers shall find the sweetest employment in that eternal world of unbounded joy. O Christian, within a very little time, you shall be rid of all your trials and your troubles! Your eyes which are now suffused with tears--shall weep no longer. You shall gaze in ineffable rapture upon the splendor of Him who sits upon the throne! Nay, more--you yourself shall sit upon His throne! The triumph of His glory shall be shared by you! His crown, His joy, His paradise--these shall be yours! You shall be co-heir with Him who is the heir of all things!
Your eyes will see the King in His beauty! (Alexander Smellie, "The Hour of Silence" 1899)
"Your eyes will see the King in His beauty! They will behold a far-distant land!" Isaiah 33:17 If God is mine, then I shall dwell on high with Him forever. I am traveling to a world where I shall be fully satisfied. My intellect will have her blessing then. Just now I am learning many glorious lessons in the school of Jesus; but there are questions of the mind which remain unanswered, and problems which are still unsolved. But by and by I shall know even as also I am known--clearly, unerringly, perfectly. My conscience will have her blessing then. Since Christ became mine, her troublesome accusations have been stilled, and her governing power has been restored. But she has her fears even yet, and her difficulties and uncertainties. It is not quite the full noon in the realm of conscience. But, when she walks with the Lamb in white, all the shadows will be gone. My will, too, will have her blessing then. By the grace of God, I have an obedient will now, whose delight is to run the way of the Master's commandments. Yes--but traces of the old rebelliousness linger within me, to my own sorrow and shame. When I see the King, I shall gladly serve Him day and night! And my heart will have her blessing then. Jesus has met her craving for love; and yet she is crying out for more of His presence and Himself--more and more! But, in the far-distant land, my heart's most daring requests will find their fullest response, and she is content and at rest. What stores of happiness, what rivers of pleasures, are at His right hand! "You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy, at Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore!" Psalm 16:11
Who would desire to live always in this poor world? Who would desire to dwell on these lower grounds, where sickness and sorrow, the sad consequences of sin, follow in our wake? In heaven, our happy home, we shall enjoy perfect holiness and perfect happiness. (Mary Winslow, "Life in Jesus")