Only a sight of His glory, and nothing else, will truly
satisfy God’s people. The hearts of believers are like a magnetized needle
which cannot rest until it is pointing north. So also, a believer, magnetized
by the love of Christ, will always be restless until he or she comes to Christ
and beholds His glory. The soul which can be satisfied without beholding the
glory of Christ, is not a soul for whom Christ prays.
p. 2
*****
Scripture shows us two ways by which we may behold the glory
of Christ. We may behold it by faith in this world, faith being ‘the evidence
of things not seen’, and we may behold it by sight in the next (2 Cor. 5:7-8, 1
Cor. 13:12).
p. 4
*****
No man shall ever behold the glory of Christ by sight in heaven
who does not, in some measure, behold it by faith in this world. Grace is a necessary preparation for glory
and faith for sight. The soul unprepared by grace and faith is not capable of
seeing the glory of Christ in heaven. Many will say with confidence that they
desire to be with Christ and to behold His glory. But when asked,they can give
no reason for this desire, except that it would be better than going to hell.
If a man claims to love and desire that which he never even saw, he is
deceiving himself.
pp. 4-5
*****
In this way Roman Catholics are deceived. They delight
outwardly in images of Christ depicting His sufferings, resurrection and glory.
By these images they think their love for Him and delight in Him grows more and
more strong. But no man-made image can truly represent the person of Christ and
His glory. Only the gospel can do that.
p.5
*****
So, let no one deceive himself. He that has no sight of
Christ’s glory here shall never see it hereafter. The beholding of Christ in
glory is too high, glorious and marvellous for us in our present condition. The
splendour of Christ’s glory is too much for our physical eyes just as is the
sun shining in all its strength. So while we are here on earth we can behold
His glory only by faith.
p. 6
*****
No man ought to look for anything in heaven if he has not by
faith convinced of this, they would spend more time in the exercise of faith
and love about heavenly things than they usually do. At present they do not
know what they enjoy, so they do not know what to expect. This is why men who
are complete strangers to seeing the person and glory of Christ by faith have
turned to images, pictures and music to help them in their worship.
So it is only as we behold the glory of Christ by faith here
in this world that our hearts will be drawn more and more to Christ and to the
full enjoyment of the sight of His glory hereafter.
pp. 6-7
*****
It is by beholding the glory of Christ by faith that we are
spiritually edified and built up in this world, for as we behold His glory, the
life and power of faith grow stronger and stronger. It is by faith that we grow
to love Christ. So if we desire strong faith and powerful love, which give us
rest, peace and satisfaction, we must seek them by diligently beholding the
glory of Christ by faith. In this duty I desire to live and to die. On Christ’s
glory I would fix all my thoughts and desires, and the more I see of the glory
of Christ, the more the painted beauties of this world will wither in my eyes
and I will be more and more crucified to this world. It will become to me like
something dead and putrid, impossible for me to enjoy.
p. 7
*****
Men shall not be clothed with glory, as it were, whether
they want to be or not. It is to be received only by faith. But fallen man is
incapable of believing. Music cannot please a deaf man, nor can beautiful
colours impress a blind man. A fish would not thank you for taking it out of
the sea and putting it on dry land under the blazing sun! Neither would an
unregenerate sinner welcome the thought of living for ever in the blazing glory
of Christ.
p. 8
*****
By beholding the glory of Christ by faith we shall find rest
to our souls. Our minds are apt to be filled with troubles, fears, cares,
dangers, distresses, ungoverned passions and lusts. By these our thoughts are
filled with chaos, darkness and confusion. But where the soul is fixed on the
glory of Christ then the mind finds rest and peace for ‘to be spiritually
minded is peace’ (Rom. 8:6).
pp. 8-9
*****
The first glorious thing we learn about the person of Christ
is that He is the perfect revelation of the Father. This revelation of the
Father is for the benefit of the church, for we behold ‘the glory of God in the
face of Jesus Christ’ (2 Cor. 4:6).
p. 11
*****
Without Christ we would have known nothing truly about God
for He would have been eternally invisible to us. We would never have seen God
at any time, either in this life or the next (John 1:18).
p. 11
*****
The foundation of our religion, the rock on which the church
is built, the ground of all our hopes of salvation, of life and immortality, is
the revelation that is made of God’s nature and will by Jesus Christ. So if
Christ fails, if He, the Light of the world becomes darkness, then we are for
ever lost. But if this Rock stands firm, the church is save and shall be
triumphant for ever.
p. 12
*****
Those who cannot see His glory by faith do not know Him.
When they worship Him, they worship an image of their own devising. Not to see
that Christ is the only true representative of the glory of God to the souls of
men, is to be an unbeliever. This was the sad state of the unbelieving Jews and
Gentiles of old. They did not, they would not, they could not, behold the glory
of God in Him and that was why they did not believe in Him (1 Cor. 1:21-25).
The one who does not see the wisdom and power of God and all the other holy
properties of the divine nature in Christ as well as seeing in Him the only way
of salvation is, to put it bluntly, an unbeliever.
pp. 12-13
*****
The unbelieving world of Jews and Gentiles perished under
this darkness; so do all present day unbelievers who deny that Jesus is truly
God as well as being truly man. But if Christ were only a man He could never
have truly represented God to us for no mere creature can ever truly represent
the divine nature.
p. 13
*****
Concerning this worldwide darkness, that is, the ignorance
of God in men’s minds, Christ is called, and indeed is, the ‘Light of men’, the
‘Light of the world’, because in Him and by Him alone this darkness is dispelled.
He is the ‘Sun of Righteousness’.
p.14
*****
Moses also desired to see the glory of God (Exod. 33:18). He
knew that the ultimate rest, blessedness and satisfaction of the soul does not
come from seeing the works of God, but from seeing the glorious God Himself.
p. 17
*****
Many people look on Christ merely as a teacher come from God
to reveal His will and to teach us how to worship Him, and so indeed He was.
But they say that this was the only reason why He came. This is the teaching of
Islam. They do not see that He is the great and only representative of the
glory of the divine nature. This glory of Christ they despise and reject,
because in their ignorance they do not believe that He is truly God as well as
being truly man.
p. 20
*****
We believe in God only in and through Christ. This is the
life of our souls. God Himself, whose nature is infinitely perfect, is the
highest object of our faith. But we cannot come directly to God by faith. We
must come by the way and by the helps He has appointed for us. This is the way
by which He has revealed His infinite perfections to us, which is Jesus Christ
Who said, ‘I am the way... No one comes to the Father except through me.’ By
our faith in Christ we come to put our faith in God Himself. And we cannot do this
in any other way but by beholding the glory of God in Christ, as we have seen.
pp. 25-26
*****
It was made clear to all the world that the ‘wise’ and the
‘scholar’ were, in the purpose of God, left to their own wisdom, to their
natural light and reason. But in spite of all their efforts they did not, could
not,, come to the knowledge of God or His salvation. Then, in their pride and
arrogance, they treated with contempt the only way by which God did reveal
Himself. They considered it weak and foolish. So having shown all their wisdom
to be foolishness, it pleased God to establish the only way by which He and His
salvation may be truly known, that is, by and in Christ Jesus.
pp. 26-27
*****
This is a glory whose beams are so wonderful that the blind
world cannot see their light and beauty and so many deny the incarnation of God.
Nevertheless, this is the glory of our religion, the glory of the church, the
only rock on which it was built, the only source of present grace and future
glory.
p.28
*****
Let us diligently study the Bible and the revelations of the
glory of Christ revealed there. This is what Christ Himself tells us to do (see
John 5:39) and the prophets in the Old Testament show us how to do it (see 1
Pet. 1:11-13).
When we read Scripture we must always bear in mind that the
revelation and doctrine of the person of
Christ and His office are the foundation of all that we learn from the prophets
and apostles (Eph. 2:20-22, Luke 24: 26-27, 45-46). Deny this and the
Scriptures no longer become to us a revelation of the glory of God in the
salvation of the church.
pp. 31-32
*****
It is the neglect of meditation that keeps so many
Christians in a feeble state, regardless of their privileges. They hear of
these things and assent to the truth of them or at least they do not question
them. But they never solemnly meditate on them. They think that meditation is
above their capabilities, or they are totally ignorant of how to go about it,
or they are not too concerned about it, or they treat it as fanaticism. Many
cannot meditate because their minds are so cluttered up with earthly things.
The mind must be spiritual and holy, freed from all earthly clutter. It must be
raised above things here below if we wish to meditate on the glory of Christ.
So many are strangers to this duty because they do not mortify their earthly
desires and concerns.
p. 34
*****
It is impossible that someone who never meditates with
delight on the glory of Christ here in this world, who does not make every
effort to behold it by faith as it is revealed in Scripture, should ever have
any real gracious desire to behold it in heaven. It is sad, therefore, that
many can find time to think much on earthly, foolish things, but have no heart,
no desire to meditate on this glorious object. What is this faith and love they
claim to have?
p. 34
*****
Let your thoughts of Christ be many, increasing more and
more each day. He is never far from us as Paul tells us (Rom. 10:6-8). The
things Christ did were done many years ago and they are long since past. ‘But’,
says Paul, ‘the word of the gospel where these things are revealed, and by
which they are brought home to our souls is near us, even in our hearts, that
is , if we are true believers and have received the word of faith.’
p. 35
*****
God is infinitely self-sufficient both in Himself and in all
that He does. Man is continually seeking for self-satisfaction. But no creature
can find eternal blessedness or satisfaction itself, for no creature is
self-sufficient.
p. 40
*****
God alone lacks nothing and stands in need of nothing.
Nothing can be added to Him to increase His blessedness, seeing ‘He gives to
all life, breath and all things’ (Acts 17:25). No creature can contribute one
mite to God’s eternal blessedness. He is infinitely perfect in His own nature
(Job 35:6-7).
p.40
*****
He who is God, can never not be God, just as he who is not
God can never be God. The difference between us and the Socinians is this, that
we believe that Christ, being God, was made man for our sakes, whereas they
teach that Christ, being only a man, was made a god for his own sake.
This, then, is the glory of Christ’s willingness to humble
Himself. This is the life and soul of all heavenly truth and all heavenly
mysteries, namely, that the Son of God, becoming in time what He was not, that
is, Son of man, did not cease thereby to be what He was, even the eternal Son
of God.
p. 42
*****
To the eternal glory of God, He took our nature and was made
man. Those who cannot see a divine glory in His doing this neither know Him,
nor love Him, nor believe Him, nor in any way belong to Him.
p. 44
*****
To the world, our Lord Jesus Christ is a ‘stumbling-block
and a rock of offence.’ If we should say He was only a prophet, no more than a
man sent from God, there would be no opposition from the world. The Moslems and
the Jews both say He was only a man, a prophet sent from God. The hatred of the
Jews for Christ was because He professed Himself to be God, and as such was
believed on in the world. And today, there are many who are willing to say He
was a prophet sent from God, who do not, who will not, who cannot, believe the
mystery of His willingness to humble Himself to take our nature into union with
His divine nature, nor see the glory of it. But take this away, and all our
religion is taken away with it. Farewell to the mystery, the glory, the truth
and the power of Christianity! Let a refined heathenism be set up in its place.
But this is the rock on which the church is built, and against this rock the
gates of hell shall not prevail.
p. 45
*****
And no man denies himself rightly, who does not consider the
self-denial of the Son of God. For what are the things of which we are to deny
ourselves? Is it not our goods, our rights and freedoms, our relations and our
lives? They are perishing things from which, whether we like it or not, death
will separate us. But the glory of Christ is for ever. Believers will never be
separated from it. So if you find yourself at any time unwilling to part with
this world, then lift up your eyes and by faith behold the glory of Christ who
‘made Himself of no reputation.’
p. 49
*****
It was because Christ loved us that He became our mediator.
And it was because the Father loved us that He appointed His Son to be the
mediator between God and man for the redemption and salvation of the church.
And this love of the Father for us was ‘before the foundation of the world’ (Eph.
1:4). The Father’s love is seen in is eternal election of a part of mankind to
be brought into the eternal enjoyment of Himself, through the mystery of the
blood of Christ, and the sanctification of the Spirit (2 Thess. 2:13-16, Eph.
1:4-9, 1 Pet. 1:2).
p. 50
*****
Election reveals the glory of God’s nature which is love,
for ‘God is love’ (1 John 4:8-9). The love of God is the foundation of our
redemption and salvation. So election, being an eternal act of the will of God,
cannot be based on anything but that which is in God Himself, and if we could
look into all the treasures hidden in God’s wonderful nature, we would find
none to which election could be truly attributed but love.
p. 50
*****
Election is founded on divine love because it is free and
undeserved. We did nothing to persuade God to choose us rather than others. Any
good done to us which is altogether undeserved and which is done to promote our
good, is an act of love and cannot be anything else. Any good there is in God’s
people is the result of election and not the reason why God chose us. The only
thing that moved God to choose us was His undeserved love.
pp. 50-51
*****
The whole number or society of the elect were creatures made
in the image of God, and were therefore loved by God. All that they were, had,
or hoped for, came from God’s goodness and love. The very life of their soul
depended on their love of God shown by perpetual obedience to His will. And
what a happy state this was – preparing themselves for the eternal life of love
in heaven!
p. 51
*****
The wisdom of the world despised the sufferings of Christ.
But it is precisely because of His sufferings that He is glorious and precious
in the sight of believers (1 Pet. 2:6-7). For in these sufferings Christ was ‘the
power of God and the wisdom of God’ (1 Cor. 1:24). It is only because the god
of this world has blinded their eyes that men fail to see the meaning of the
cross of Christ (2 Cor. 4:3-6). But it is in these sufferings that we behold
the glory of Christ’s work as mediator.
pp. 61-62
*****
Proud and foolish men, who have vague ideas of the glory of
Christ but know nothing of the real nature of that glory, have tried to present
it in images and pictures. This is how the Roman Catholic Church presents the
glory of Christ to the imaginations and unspiritual hearts of superstitious
people. But they err, not knowing the Scripture, nor the eternal glory of the
Son of God.
p. 67
*****
The glory of Christ’s exaltation cannot be seen or
understood in this world except by faith fixing itself on divine revelation. We
cannot behold the glory of Christ by conjuring up pictures of Him in the mind
and by trying to form the shape of a person in heaven in our imaginations. The
way to behold the glory of Christ is by the steady exercise of faith on the
revelation of this glory of Christ given to us in Scripture. It is our duty,
therefore, constantly to meditate on the glory of Christ. This will fill us
with a joy which will, in turn, move us to meditate on His glory more and more.
p. 67
*****
We are so selfish that we tend to look any further than our
own concerns and interests. So long as we are pardoned and saved we care little
about Christ’s interests and concerns. But this attitude is not born of a true
faith in and love for God. The chief duty of faith and love is to lead us to
prefer Christ above ourselves, and His concerns above our own.
pp. 67-68
*****
Moses and the prophets and all the Scriptures testify to
Christ and His glory (Luke 24:27). Not to see Christ and His glory in all the
Scriptures is to be like the Jews. They had a veil on their minds. Faith alone
can remove that veil of darkness which prevents the minds of men from beholding
the glory of Christ in the Old Testament (2 Cor. 3:14-16).
p. 69
*****
If we do not see the glory of Christ in the Scriptures it is
because a veil of blindness is over our minds. Nor can we read, study or become
spiritually strong by meditating on the writings of the Old Testament unless we
commit ourselves to considering the glory of Christ displayed in them. So to
many the Bible is a sealed book.
p. 73
*****
One view of Christ’s glory by faith will scatter all the
fears, answer all the objections and disperse all the depressions of poor,
tempted, doubting souls. To all believers it is an anchor which they may cast
within the veil, to hold them firm and steadfast in all trials, storms and
temptations, both in life and in death.
p. 81
*****
All existing things add nothing to God, nor do they change Him. His blessedness, happiness and self-satisfaction as well as all His other infinite perfections were absolutely the same before as well as after the creation of all things. Nothing that He called into existence added one tiny bit to His infinite blessedness and happiness.
All existing things add nothing to God, nor do they change Him. His blessedness, happiness and self-satisfaction as well as all His other infinite perfections were absolutely the same before as well as after the creation of all things. Nothing that He called into existence added one tiny bit to His infinite blessedness and happiness.
p. 92
*****
Scripture does not support the idea that there are other
intelligent creatures besides angels and men. That idea disturbs the whole
representation of the glory of God and the whole purpose of His wisdom and
grace declared in Scripture. The existence of other intellectual creatures
besides angels and men is the creation of the fanciful imaginations of sinful
men who have lost all semblance of wisdom.
p. 93
*****
Now if Old Testament saints prayed and desired the removal of the divine ordinances of worship so that they could see the reality of what they symbolized, how much more should we pray and desire the removal of all weakness, all darkness and of everything that prevents us now from seeing Christ is reality.
p. 107
*****
Men may still hold a right doctrine of Christ; but beholding the glory of Christ does not lie in remembering doctrine. Men may have the outward form of godliness but no longer have the encouragement of Christ's presence and glory.
p. 109
*****
Many people have tried to recover a sight of Christ's glory by making images, crucifixes and pictures of Him. By these outward senses may be stirred but their hearts remain untouched; they become as wooden as their images. They substitute the outward forms and observances which they diligently perform but all the while they deny the inward power of godliness.
p. 111
*****
The church of Rome says it can be done by beholding crucifixes, images and pictures of Him with our physical eyes, whereas they say that we can behold the glory of Christ only by faith as He is revealed in the gospel and in no other way. Images may only serve to turn the minds of men away from Christ. They can never satisfy a truly spiritual man. Images are pleasing only to the spiritually dead and to the superstitious.
p. 111
*****
When we fall in love with someones we often think about them. So, when we fall in love with Christ we will be constantly thinking about Him. And where a person is not filled with thoughts of Christ, that person only deceives himself if he claims to have received Him as Saviour.
p. 117
*****
However glorious is the light of the gospel by the preaching of the Word, by various means and subtle tricks Satan blinds the minds of most who hear it so that they cannot behold the glory of Christ in it. In this way, He continues to rule the children of disobedience. But God overpowers Satan so that he cannot continue to blind His elect. He shines into their hearts to give them the knowledge of His glory in the face of Jesus Christ.Yet Satan will never give up. He will always try to darken the minds even of believers so that they find it difficult to maintain their clear sight of the glory of Christ.
p. 118
*****
Satan deceives others into a false assurance by which they promise peace to themselves, and so live in a vague presumption that they will be saved by Christ even though they have no idea how. This is why Paul presses on Christians the duty of self-examination (2 Cor. 13:15). We must ask ourselves whether Christ is in us or not. And He cannot be in us unless He has been received by that faith with which we behold His glory. For by faith we receive Him and by faith He dwells in our hearts (John 1:12, Eph. 3:17). By deceiving people in this way, Satan prevails in the world.
p. 118
*****
Eternity makes the elect absolutely good and the reprobate absolutely evil. To be in hell under the wrath of God is in itself the greatest punishment, but to be there for ever with no relief from present misery and no hope of ever being freed from eternal misery makes it even more terrible. So is the joy and blessedness of eternal life in heaven beholding the glory of Christ. 'We shall always be with the Lord', not limited by time and with no interruption of our enjoyment of God in Christ.
p. 120
*****
No doubts or fears or disturbing thoughts will have any place in heaven, but only that which will strengthen us and lead us to behold the glory of Christ.
So the sight of Christ's glory in heaven will always be the same, always new, never growing old and out of date. The mind will never be disturbed by, or diverted from, or bored with the sight. All the faculties of our souls will be fixed on Christ's glory for ever.
pp. 120-121
*****
Scripture is our only blueprint of the glory of Christ. Only in Scripture and only by faith can we behold the glory of Christ.
p. 122
*****
As one star differs from another in glory, so God revealed the glory of Christ under the Old Testament types and shadows, and more fully under the New Testament. Glorious testimonies to these things are planted in all parts of Scripture which we might gather as Eve might have gathered flowers in the paradise of God.
p. 123
*****
Those who make gilded images of Christ only 'feed on ashes', and hold ' a lie in their right hand'. In Scripture, Jesus Christ is clearly set before us as crucified (Gal. 3:1). So also by Scripture we see Him exalted and glorified. And it is the wisdom of faith to gather together all the descriptions of Christ's glory in Scripture so that faith may more clearly behold Him.
p. 123
*****
God in Christ constantly works in glorified souls and communicates His grace to them. All creatures must eternally live, even in heaven, in dependence on Him who is the eternal fountain of being, life, goodness and blessedness to all. As we cannot keep ourselves alive for one moment without divine power in us, so in the glorified state we shall depend eternally on divine power and goodness being communicated to us for our eternal blessedness, We have no idea how this is done in heaven even as we have no idea how God communicates His grace to us here on earth. His ways are shrouded in mystery (John 3:8).
p. 126
*****
While we are still on earth, faith, beholding the glory of Christ, will give us a foretaste of future glory. There is no glory, no peace, no joy, no satisfaction to be found in this world compared to what we get from that weak and imperfect view which we have of the glory of Christ by faith. Thus while we are still in this world, faith gives us such a foretaste of future blessedness in the enjoyment of Christ as may continually stir us up to say with the psalmist, 'I shall be satisfied when I awake in your likeness.'
p. 126
*****
Consider your present relationship to God and to eternity. This is what Moses wished the Israelites would do (Deut. 32:39). It is the height of folly to leave these things to chance. Remember, 'many are called, but few are chosen'. To be called is to enjoy all the outward privileges of the gospel. To be chosen is to belong to those who will actually be saved. In the parable of the sower, Christ shows that only one of four sorts of hearers was actually saved. So, many deceive themselves, thinking they are saved, but will suddenly be awakened to a sad surprise.
p. 127
*****
Beware of being deceived. Without any real evidence, many assume they are Christians, that they are on the right way to heaven, that they are partakers of the outward privileges of the gospel such as hearing the Word, and participating in the sacraments. They have light and convictions, so that they abstain from sin, and they perform duties that others neglect. They compare themselves with others and judge themselves to be much better. This is not the place to preach a sermon on the foolishness of assumptions. But it is important to give this warning: do not trust these assumptions, for they will eternally deceive your soul. This was the warning John the Baptist gave to the Jews. 'Do not think to say to yourselves, "We have Abraham as our father."' They false assumed that because they were the physical descendants of Abraham, they were safe. This false assumption led finally to their ruin. Knowing this, John the Baptist tried to bring them to their senses.
pp. 127-128
*****
The first work necessary for true religion is to be convinced of our dreadful state without Christ. And the great abuse of religion in the world is to pretend one has a true faith when one has not. To think that because one is practising member of a church, that is sufficient to keep us eternally safe, is a sad delusion. That is a sign we have never been convinced of our lost condition by nature.
p. 129
*****
For it is the nature of grace to grow and increase to the end. Like rivers, the nearer they come to the ocean, the more is their water content increased, and they flow more swiftly. So will grace flow more freely and fully the nearer it approaches the ocean of eternal glory. Where there is not so, there is no saving grace.
p.141
*****
The promises of the new covenant made to the elect, concerning the first work of grace, are absolute free and unconditional. The first work of regeneration enabling the elect sinner to repent and believe is effected freely by grace alone and not because the elect have done anything to deserve it. The glory of the covenant promises is that they infallibly assure the elect that God will carry out His immutable purposes and decrees. To the elect these promises infallibly bring about conversion and sanctification and are bestowed on them absolutely freely and unconditionally.
p.148
*****
Not making Christ and His service the main business of our lives is another evidence of spiritual decay in the soul. Where grace is flourishing in the soul then all other things will be secondary to the duties of Christ's religion. Everything else must take second place. If men devote themselves to the affairs of the world, being ruled and controlled by worldly concerns, only occasionally patronizing Christ's service, it is foolish to say that following Him is their chief business. But the greatest evidence of spiritual decay in the soul is when serving Christ is no longer the chief business in life. Examine your spiritual state in the light of this. What place does Christ's service play in your life? Is it your chief joy? Or do you only patronize it occasionally?
pp. 158-159
*****
A low spiritual state shows itself in a lack of love to the saints, barrenness in good works and an unreadiness an unwillingness to respond to the calls of God to repent and reform. These are undeniable evidences that those in whom they are found either have no true grace at all, or have fallen into serious spiritual decay in their souls. But thank God that one can recover from such a spiritual decay.
p. 159
*****
If every time we slip back on our climb to the heights of heaven, we cannot be recovered, then we would all perish. If salvation were only for those who never slipped back then none would be in heaven. If the Lord should mark iniquities, who could stand? (Ps. 130:3).
p. 160
*****
When a tree grows old, or is decaying, it helps to loosen the soil around its base and then to manure it. This may revive it and cause it flourish again. But if you uproot it and plant it somewhere else - which may appear to be a good thing to do - it will probably wither and die. This is exactly what some spiritual backsliders have done. Finding themselves growing more and more unspiritual, they leave their own church and go over to Rome or to some other denomination, thinking that the fault lies with the teaching of the church they are in, when in reality the fault lies in themselves. Such people have visibly withered and died spiritually.
p. 160
*****
p. 107
*****
Men may still hold a right doctrine of Christ; but beholding the glory of Christ does not lie in remembering doctrine. Men may have the outward form of godliness but no longer have the encouragement of Christ's presence and glory.
p. 109
*****
Many people have tried to recover a sight of Christ's glory by making images, crucifixes and pictures of Him. By these outward senses may be stirred but their hearts remain untouched; they become as wooden as their images. They substitute the outward forms and observances which they diligently perform but all the while they deny the inward power of godliness.
p. 111
*****
The church of Rome says it can be done by beholding crucifixes, images and pictures of Him with our physical eyes, whereas they say that we can behold the glory of Christ only by faith as He is revealed in the gospel and in no other way. Images may only serve to turn the minds of men away from Christ. They can never satisfy a truly spiritual man. Images are pleasing only to the spiritually dead and to the superstitious.
p. 111
*****
When we fall in love with someones we often think about them. So, when we fall in love with Christ we will be constantly thinking about Him. And where a person is not filled with thoughts of Christ, that person only deceives himself if he claims to have received Him as Saviour.
p. 117
*****
However glorious is the light of the gospel by the preaching of the Word, by various means and subtle tricks Satan blinds the minds of most who hear it so that they cannot behold the glory of Christ in it. In this way, He continues to rule the children of disobedience. But God overpowers Satan so that he cannot continue to blind His elect. He shines into their hearts to give them the knowledge of His glory in the face of Jesus Christ.Yet Satan will never give up. He will always try to darken the minds even of believers so that they find it difficult to maintain their clear sight of the glory of Christ.
p. 118
*****
Satan deceives others into a false assurance by which they promise peace to themselves, and so live in a vague presumption that they will be saved by Christ even though they have no idea how. This is why Paul presses on Christians the duty of self-examination (2 Cor. 13:15). We must ask ourselves whether Christ is in us or not. And He cannot be in us unless He has been received by that faith with which we behold His glory. For by faith we receive Him and by faith He dwells in our hearts (John 1:12, Eph. 3:17). By deceiving people in this way, Satan prevails in the world.
p. 118
*****
Eternity makes the elect absolutely good and the reprobate absolutely evil. To be in hell under the wrath of God is in itself the greatest punishment, but to be there for ever with no relief from present misery and no hope of ever being freed from eternal misery makes it even more terrible. So is the joy and blessedness of eternal life in heaven beholding the glory of Christ. 'We shall always be with the Lord', not limited by time and with no interruption of our enjoyment of God in Christ.
p. 120
*****
No doubts or fears or disturbing thoughts will have any place in heaven, but only that which will strengthen us and lead us to behold the glory of Christ.
So the sight of Christ's glory in heaven will always be the same, always new, never growing old and out of date. The mind will never be disturbed by, or diverted from, or bored with the sight. All the faculties of our souls will be fixed on Christ's glory for ever.
pp. 120-121
*****
Scripture is our only blueprint of the glory of Christ. Only in Scripture and only by faith can we behold the glory of Christ.
p. 122
*****
As one star differs from another in glory, so God revealed the glory of Christ under the Old Testament types and shadows, and more fully under the New Testament. Glorious testimonies to these things are planted in all parts of Scripture which we might gather as Eve might have gathered flowers in the paradise of God.
p. 123
*****
Those who make gilded images of Christ only 'feed on ashes', and hold ' a lie in their right hand'. In Scripture, Jesus Christ is clearly set before us as crucified (Gal. 3:1). So also by Scripture we see Him exalted and glorified. And it is the wisdom of faith to gather together all the descriptions of Christ's glory in Scripture so that faith may more clearly behold Him.
p. 123
*****
God in Christ constantly works in glorified souls and communicates His grace to them. All creatures must eternally live, even in heaven, in dependence on Him who is the eternal fountain of being, life, goodness and blessedness to all. As we cannot keep ourselves alive for one moment without divine power in us, so in the glorified state we shall depend eternally on divine power and goodness being communicated to us for our eternal blessedness, We have no idea how this is done in heaven even as we have no idea how God communicates His grace to us here on earth. His ways are shrouded in mystery (John 3:8).
p. 126
*****
While we are still on earth, faith, beholding the glory of Christ, will give us a foretaste of future glory. There is no glory, no peace, no joy, no satisfaction to be found in this world compared to what we get from that weak and imperfect view which we have of the glory of Christ by faith. Thus while we are still in this world, faith gives us such a foretaste of future blessedness in the enjoyment of Christ as may continually stir us up to say with the psalmist, 'I shall be satisfied when I awake in your likeness.'
p. 126
*****
Consider your present relationship to God and to eternity. This is what Moses wished the Israelites would do (Deut. 32:39). It is the height of folly to leave these things to chance. Remember, 'many are called, but few are chosen'. To be called is to enjoy all the outward privileges of the gospel. To be chosen is to belong to those who will actually be saved. In the parable of the sower, Christ shows that only one of four sorts of hearers was actually saved. So, many deceive themselves, thinking they are saved, but will suddenly be awakened to a sad surprise.
p. 127
*****
Beware of being deceived. Without any real evidence, many assume they are Christians, that they are on the right way to heaven, that they are partakers of the outward privileges of the gospel such as hearing the Word, and participating in the sacraments. They have light and convictions, so that they abstain from sin, and they perform duties that others neglect. They compare themselves with others and judge themselves to be much better. This is not the place to preach a sermon on the foolishness of assumptions. But it is important to give this warning: do not trust these assumptions, for they will eternally deceive your soul. This was the warning John the Baptist gave to the Jews. 'Do not think to say to yourselves, "We have Abraham as our father."' They false assumed that because they were the physical descendants of Abraham, they were safe. This false assumption led finally to their ruin. Knowing this, John the Baptist tried to bring them to their senses.
pp. 127-128
*****
The first work necessary for true religion is to be convinced of our dreadful state without Christ. And the great abuse of religion in the world is to pretend one has a true faith when one has not. To think that because one is practising member of a church, that is sufficient to keep us eternally safe, is a sad delusion. That is a sign we have never been convinced of our lost condition by nature.
p. 129
*****
For it is the nature of grace to grow and increase to the end. Like rivers, the nearer they come to the ocean, the more is their water content increased, and they flow more swiftly. So will grace flow more freely and fully the nearer it approaches the ocean of eternal glory. Where there is not so, there is no saving grace.
p.141
*****
The promises of the new covenant made to the elect, concerning the first work of grace, are absolute free and unconditional. The first work of regeneration enabling the elect sinner to repent and believe is effected freely by grace alone and not because the elect have done anything to deserve it. The glory of the covenant promises is that they infallibly assure the elect that God will carry out His immutable purposes and decrees. To the elect these promises infallibly bring about conversion and sanctification and are bestowed on them absolutely freely and unconditionally.
p.148
*****
Not making Christ and His service the main business of our lives is another evidence of spiritual decay in the soul. Where grace is flourishing in the soul then all other things will be secondary to the duties of Christ's religion. Everything else must take second place. If men devote themselves to the affairs of the world, being ruled and controlled by worldly concerns, only occasionally patronizing Christ's service, it is foolish to say that following Him is their chief business. But the greatest evidence of spiritual decay in the soul is when serving Christ is no longer the chief business in life. Examine your spiritual state in the light of this. What place does Christ's service play in your life? Is it your chief joy? Or do you only patronize it occasionally?
pp. 158-159
*****
A low spiritual state shows itself in a lack of love to the saints, barrenness in good works and an unreadiness an unwillingness to respond to the calls of God to repent and reform. These are undeniable evidences that those in whom they are found either have no true grace at all, or have fallen into serious spiritual decay in their souls. But thank God that one can recover from such a spiritual decay.
p. 159
*****
If every time we slip back on our climb to the heights of heaven, we cannot be recovered, then we would all perish. If salvation were only for those who never slipped back then none would be in heaven. If the Lord should mark iniquities, who could stand? (Ps. 130:3).
p. 160
*****
When a tree grows old, or is decaying, it helps to loosen the soil around its base and then to manure it. This may revive it and cause it flourish again. But if you uproot it and plant it somewhere else - which may appear to be a good thing to do - it will probably wither and die. This is exactly what some spiritual backsliders have done. Finding themselves growing more and more unspiritual, they leave their own church and go over to Rome or to some other denomination, thinking that the fault lies with the teaching of the church they are in, when in reality the fault lies in themselves. Such people have visibly withered and died spiritually.
p. 160
*****
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