Notice their humility. Maria
Sandberg, Glimpses of Heaven, 1880. The twenty-four elders fall down
before Him, who sits on the throne, and worship Him who lives for
ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
You are worthy, O LORD, to receive glory and honor and power, for
You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were
created. Revelation 4, 10 and 11. The church triumphant is represented
by the twenty-four elders. Notice their humility. They fall
down and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, You are worthy. They have been learning to do
this on earth. When the Holy Spirit begins His
work in the soul of man, when He begins to prepare a stone
for the spiritual temple, He begins with a lesson of humility
and convinces of sin. And still, as that stone is more
and more hewn and fitted for the temple above, deeper and
deeper grow the convictions of his own unworthiness, until at
length he is taught to abase himself utterly and give all
glory to the Lord. Are you in this manner becoming
every week more fitted for heaven? Let this glimpse of heaven lead
you to ask, Do I now abase myself and exalt my God?" In this is
the true Christian distinguished from the hypocrite. Whatever
may be the failings of the Christian, he acts and speaks from a desire
to glorify him, though self-esteem and self-exaltation are often
mixed with his endeavors. Still his aim is that God may
be glorified, even though it be by his own abasement. The
more he is enabled to glorify God, the greater is his humility,
and the deeper his self-abasement, the more likely is he to bring
honor and glory to his God. O my soul, let this glimpse of
glory forever set aside all notions of self-exaltation. Be now what
you will be in heaven, a humble creature of God, redeemed by
the precious blood of the Lamb, living to glorify His name.