2 Corinthians chapter 4. Let's read together one more
time, verse 18. This is our text, our subject
will be taken from this verse. Paul concludes the chapter with
these words, while we look not at the things which are seen,
that's our tendency, but at the things which are not seen. For
the things which are seen are temporary. But the things which
are not seen are eternal. And what Paul exhorts us to do
there can only be done by faith. Only a child of God can do this,
and they can only do it by faith. The things not seen, although
we don't see them now, that doesn't make them any less real. They're
real. They exist. They're still there,
and they're eternal. Unlike what we now see, all that
we see, everything that you can touch, that includes every relation,
every possession, everything. All that we can see is temporal,
that is temporary. Literally, that's what it means.
It's temporary. And therefore, being temporary,
that means it's not permanent. It's not lasting. And it will
soon be gone, like all those leaves laying on the ground out
there. They've withered, they've fallen off the tree, and they
just lay there dead. So is everything temporal, both
the unseen Paul reminds us what we can't see except by faith.
That's forever. That's everlasting. Forever with
the Lord, for example. Forever from sin is one of those
unseen things. Forever free from sin. Forever
free from heartache. Forever free from every sorrow
and sickness. Forever free. Grace is an everlasting
grace. Salvation is an everlasting salvation. Eternal life shall never end.
Christ's sheep shall never perish. These are unseen things, but
still real, real things. In other words, child of God,
I could sum it all up this way and tell you, remind you of this.
I need reminding of it. I suspect you do too. A better
day is coming. There's a better day. This is
not all. This is not all. We're going
to a city, one old hymn writer put it this way, we're going
to a city where the roses never fade. Here they bloom before
a season. Soon their beauty is decayed.
Oh, but we're going to a city. It won't be like this, where
the roses never fade. Looking by the eye of faith.
And that's what faith is. Paul tells us the substance of
things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. He uses the expression again.
And these things, the joys and glories of heaven are eternal. They'll last forever. There'll
never be an end to it. There's going to be an end to
our suffering. There's going to be an end to your tears. There's
going to be an end to your burden. Paul calls it a light affliction.
All but the glory that awaits us, that unseen reality that
we're looking forward to and even now by faith look at, oh,
that shall last forever. And this is how the Lord Jesus
Christ did it. He was our example. By looking
at the end of the journey, Hebrews chapter 2, you know this. The
writer there tells us to look to Christ. He's our supreme example. Run this race the way He ran
the race. Follow in His footsteps. How
did He do it? Look at verse 2 in Hebrews chapter
12. Looking unto Jesus. You can't do better than that. You became a believer by looking
unto Jesus. You continue to follow Him by
looking unto Jesus. You'll end this race by looking
unto Jesus. The writer exhorts us, looking
unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. He's the originator
of it, he's the finisher of it. He began it and he'll finish
it. We began this race by looking
to him, we'll end this race by looking to him. How did he run
the race? For the joy that was set before
him, he endured the cross. He endured the cross. The cross
was not an ornament. A piece of jewelry, no, the cross,
that signifies the death, the indignities he suffered. That
pictures the wrath of God. He despised the shame. He didn't
enjoy it. He felt it. He suffered. He cried out, my God, why has
thou forsaken me? That was not the joy that he
endured while he passed through that. Oh, but he looked beyond
that, looked He endured the cross, despising the shaman, and sat
down at the right hand of God. He looked beyond, knowing what
his death would accomplish. He looked beyond the cross at
the shore. The shore. The certain. Emphasize those words in your
mind. Highlight them in your mind's
eye. He looked beyond the cross at the shore and the certain
outcome of his suffering. He looked beyond the cross at
the triumph that it would produce. He had no question about that.
God forbid that we should. I hear men talk about Jesus Christ
dying in vain. They don't spit it out exactly
that way, but if anybody for whom he suffered and dies end
up in hell, at least as far as they were concerned, it was in
vain. It was pointless. It was a failure. Oh, no, no. That's not good news. That dishonors
my Lord and Savior. Oh, no. having a spiritual seed,
a numerous offspring with him in heaven, who are his joy, his
joy, my little children, he said, his crown of rejoicing for the
sake of the salvation of all his elect, no question about
that, on which his heart was set. That was the joy set before
him, for the joy that was set before him endured the cross,
the joy of bringing many sons to glory. The joy of presenting
them to the Father, saying that He lost none. The joy of fulfilling
His Father's will. The joy of honoring His great
God and Father. The Lord had no doubt of what
His sufferings and death would produce. There's nothing iffy
about it. There's no question about it.
No religion puts a question on it. Preachers talk about it in
a doubtful fashion, but the Lord Jesus Christ never did, never
did. The scriptures never did. He
spoke about what he came to do, what he did do, and we rejoice
in what he accomplished. Listen to this in Luke chapter
18. Luke 18 verse 31, He took unto him the twelve, He took
them aside and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem. We go up to Jerusalem and everything,
all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son
of Man shall be attempted, shall be made possible. I'm going to
take a stab at her. I'll do the best I can. Oh, no,
no. He didn't talk that way. He said everything written by
the prophets, everything told to me, everything foretold, everything
prophesied, everything they said I was coming to do shall be accomplished. I'm going to do it. Shall be
accomplished. And among those things was this.
He shall be delivered unto the Gentiles. They prophesied of
that. He shall be mocked. and spitefully
entreated and spit it on. And they shall scourge him and
put him to death. They'll do all those things.
But that's not the end of the story. It didn't stop there. It didn't end there. And the
third day, here's a shell. He shall rise again, denoting
the success of what he came to do, proving to us the father's
satisfaction with the sacrifice of his son when he raised him
from the dead. It was written that Christ should be bruised
in the winepress of God's wrath for the sins of his people. It
was written that he should put away those sins. It was written,
Isaiah 53, when thou, God, should make his soul an offering for
sin, he shall see his sin. That'll be the outcome. That'll
be the fruit of it. He shall prolong his days, and
the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hands. He shall
see of the travail of his soul, and he shall be satisfied. Satisfied with what he accomplished. By his knowledge shall my righteous
servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities. That was completed. That was
accomplished. Christ succeeded in what he came
to do. This morning, today, we're going
to do what he commanded. We're going to observe the Lord's
test. The Lord suffered and what we remember is what he accomplished. He put away our sins. He didn't
try to do it. He redeemed us with his own precious
blood. He by himself, his glorious self,
his immaculate self, He purged our sins by himself. And after doing it, he sat down
at the right hand of the majesty on high. God the Father said,
sit down here, my son, until I make your enemies your footstool. I'm well pleased. I'm well pleased. That's what our Lord accomplished.
Christ spoke not long before he went to the cross. The hour
has come, he said in John 12. The hour has come. Oh, that hour. That hour, that
time that he set his face like a flint toward, in eternity,
in eternity past, so to speak, that hour had now come, that
the Son of Man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
truthfully, truthfully, except a corn of wheat fallen to the
ground and die, it abideth alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth
much fruit. Is there any doubt in those words? Is there any hint of possibility
of failure? It was this that was the joy
set before him, the joy of bringing many sons to glory. Those were
the things not seen but were yet real and eternal nevertheless. Now may God enable us this day
by faith look at some of those things not seen that are yet
true and certain. They are the realities for a
believer. They're not a fable. Remember
what Peter wrote in his last epistle, his last chapter. He
warned the believers, now don't you be disturbed. Don't you be
upset. Don't you pay too much attention
to those scoffers and mockers that'll come in the last day
and say, you say you're waiting for this Jesus Christ to come.
We've heard that all of our life. Mark, has anybody ever said that
to you? You say Christ is coming. When's he coming? I mean, how
long's it been now? How many years? Why do you wait?
Why do you look? Why do you believe that? Because
Christ promised that he would come back. He would come back
for his people. Paul, or rather, Peter said,
don't you be disturbed by that. It's not a fable. It's not an
old wife's tale. The only reason this world stands
The only reason God allows it yet to exist is because He's
yet calling out His people. Peter said, God's not slack concerning
His promise. Of course He's not. God's not
slack. Everything's right on schedule. Everything's right on God's timetable,
His purpose, His grace, His covenant. He's not slack concerning His
promise, but He's long-suffering to usward. not willing that any
should perish, not everybody in the world, the usward, his
people, his chosen, his elect, those for whom Christ died, God's
longsuffering to them, not willing that any of them should perish,
but all should come to repentance. When Christ the Great Shepherd
seeks and finds and saves that last sheep, time shall be no
more. That's when he'll come back.
That's when he'll gather all his sheep together to be with
him, and that will be forever. That will be everlasting. And
among those things not seen, this must be on top of the list.
This must be the cream of the crop. This is the hardest place. This is the most difficult place
for me. I've attempted it before. Oh, but this must be the most
precious, the most glorious. This is the heaven of heaven.
They shall see its face. Maybe I ought to just quit speech
and sit down and let's pray and think about that. Pray that God
will give us some Understanding of what that means.
They shall see his face. Is there anything a believer
looks forward to more than that? Bobby, you're shaking your head.
No. No believer looks forward to anything. People talk about
streets of gold and rewards. I'm going to have a reward. I'm
going to have a bigger mansion. Oh, how carnal. How sensual. What nonsense. Oh, no. Is this
not the heaven of heaven? Is this not the glory of glory,
Billy? That when a few days are come, Billy Cobb's gonna go the
way from whence he's not coming back, he's not gonna want to
come back, and he's gonna see the king in his beauty. My soul,
what a promise. Think of that. No longer shall
we be looking through a dark glass, but we shall see him as
he is, with a perfect vision. Peter and James and John were
on the Mount of Transfiguration, and Peter was woken from his
sleep and saw Moses and Elijah talking to Christ. And he said,
oh, after they departed, he told the Lord, this is a good place
for us to be. He was caught off guard, caught sleeping. He was
embarrassed, didn't know what to say. Let's make three tabernacles. No. God said, you don't need
three. There's one tabernacle worthy
of worship, worthy of praise, worthy of honor. that one that
was made flesh and tabernacled amongst us. Hear ye him. They
lifted up their eyes and they saw no man save Jesus. Perfect
vision. Perfect vision. In 1 Corinthians
13, Paul wrote, for we know in part and we prophesy in part,
verse 9, but it's not always going to be this way. When that
which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done
away. When I was a child, I spake as a child. I understood as a
child. I thought as a child. But when
I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through
a glass darkly, but then face to face. Now I know in part. Oh, how small a part it seems. Now I only know in part. Oh,
but then, then shall I know even also as I am known. Speak not of earthly glory. of
worldly wealth or fame, the brightness of his presence will put them
all to shame. You can have the world. Take
the world. Oh, the glory of his presence
will put them all to shame. And as Peter said, child of God,
remember, this is not a fable. This is not make-believe. This
is real. If we could just draw by the
curtain, if we could just, oh, if we could just get a glimpse.
Laid in bed last night with those three words, my text running
through my mind over and over and over. Before I went to sleep
and I woke up 50 times through the night, things not seen. And I thought, oh, if you could
just, if God would just draw back between the seen and the
unseen. And let every child of God just
have a glimpse of glory and what awaits them there. Oh, they'd
want to go. Lord, take me, just take me home.
Even now, although my vision is yet obscure and dim, how fade
their transcendent glories whenever I gaze on him. What shall I be? What shall it be to see him as
he is? Boy, I'm out of my depth. To
see him as he, to be with him forever. To worship Him with
an unsinning heart. Now that's something I often
think of. I've never done that. Never done that. To love Him
supremely. Never done that. We don't know,
do we, what that's like. We can't. It's not possible to
know. We want to. Every child of God wants to.
We really do. But we just can't. This is one of those things that
made Paul cry out. And he spoke for every believer.
We all do this. Oh, wretched man that I am. I
want to worship, but I can't. I want to love God supremely,
but I can't. I want to honor my Savior, but
I can't. Oh, wretched man that I am. There's
the problem. There's the issue. Paul doesn't
say, oh, wretched man that I used to be when I was a self-righteous
Pharisee. Oh, no, wretched man as I am
right now. as an apostle, as a preacher
of the gospel, as one called by God's grace out of darkness,
O wretched man that I yet am, who should deliver me from the
body of this death? That's what we experience now,
but not then. Not then, because then, when
I see him as thou art, and love with unsinning heart, then, Lord,
shall I fully know, not till then, how much I owe. Thine eyes
shall see the king and his beauty. They shall behold the land that
is very far off. It won't be long. It won't be
long. They shall see, this is what
John Gill said concerning that verse from Isaiah 33. They shall see the face of the
land. They shall behold Christ in his glory, both with the eyes
of their understanding and with the eyes of their bodies. And
this is a very desirable sight, and will be very glorious and
delightful. It will be fully satisfying.
It will make the saints like unto Him. It will be free from
all darkness and any interruption, and will always continue. That
sight will be forever, forever with the Lord. We read there
in Chapter 22, there is no candle there. Why? For the Lord gives
them life. There's no temple there, it's
not needed. Why? For the Lord and the Lamb
are the temple thereof. The saints dwell in perfect brotherhood. No misunderstandings. No hard words. No hard thoughts. All are one in heart and mind
and desire. The saints dwell in perfect brotherhood. And what is the mighty bond of
that union? Their chief joy, he that sits
upon the throne, shall dwell among them. Imagine that. Imagine that. Today, as I said
earlier, we'll observe the Lord's Supper, a memorial of him, a
reminder of what he did for us. The wine and the bread are simply
emblems of his body and his precious blood that obtained our eternal
redemption. Oh, but when we see him as he
is, we won't need these emblems anymore. We need them now. We need them now, but not then.
I'll no longer need these because I'll be looking up on Jesus Christ
himself. Why do I need an emblem when
I see him as he is? Why do I need a picture of blood
as the wine is when I see himself that loved me and gave himself
for me? When I can embrace him, I'll
no longer need these reminders, will I? Oh no, but when I see
him as he is, I will no longer need these emblems because I'll
be looking upon Jesus Christ himself. They shall see his face. Oh, child of God again. Think
of that. Think of that. Face to face,
the hymn writer said. Face to face with Christ my Savior. Face to face, what will it be?
When with rapture I behold him, Jesus Christ, who died for me,
only faintly now I see him. With the darkening veil between,
O, but a blessed day is coming, when his glory shall be seen.
Face to face, O blissful moment, face to face to see and know,
face to face with my Redeemer, Jesus Christ, who loves me so. Here's another thought. Here's
another thought. When I was preparing that message
and the wonder, the glory of being with Christ, being made
like Him, seeing Him as He is, beholding Him forever, I had
another thought, closely connected to that one. This derives itself
from that one. I thought about you. I thought
about you. I see you now hurting, in body,
in mind, struggling in your journey as you travel to that city whose
builder and maker is God. And I think what everlasting
joy shall very soon be yours when you awake satisfied, liking
nothing, wanting nothing in the likeness of your Savior. That
makes me happy for you. That makes me happy for you.
That gives me joy. I met my great-granddaughter.
My great-great-granddaughter. No, great-granddaughter. Great-granddaughter. Just a few weeks ago. She's a
year old. First time I saw her after we
left Arkansas. Went down to Louisiana and spent a few days. And it
just gave me joy to watch her. She's just walking and just so
full of life. Not big as nothing, but looking
at her, looks just like her mama. Just seems like yesterday, John,
her mother, Harley, wasn't any bigger than that. The same size,
the same, just looks like a a clone of her mom, and it just gave
me joy to watch. Oh, this gives me joy. The very
thought of it, the prospect of it, for you, gives me joy. I'm happy for you. I see. I think, and I wouldn't want
to embarrass you. I hope I don't. But when I thought of this, I
thought of Lester and Bobby, what they're going through. And
I thought, oh, but it's just for a moment. It's a light affliction. Soon all the pain in the body,
all the pain in the mind, it's going to be non-existent. It's
going to be non-existent. We'll never experience that again.
Oh, what a blessed moment it will be when we're ushered into
the presence of Christ. No wonder Paul said to depart
and to be with Christ. For me, it's far, far better. One day we shall slip away from
these scenes of earth Our eyes shall be closed on all familiar
things, and the next moment, the very next moment, close your
eyes and open them, that's how fast. In a moment, in the twinkling
of an eye, they'll be open on the unveiled face of Jesus Christ. That's what death will be for
us, for every believer. If you're a child of God, You
may now dread death, the process, as old brother Don used to call
it. Oh, Larry, he told his doctor, Larry, it's not death. He told
the doctor one day, Don, you need to do this, you need to
do that. Don said, Doc, I'm not scared of death. That's not the
issue. That's not the problem. He said, it's the process that's
the problem. It's the process that I'm not looking forward
to. Oh, that process. But when that's open, we open
our eyes, and we're beholding the King in his beauty. That's
what death is for a child of God. We may dread it now, but
it's only going that way, that necessary path to bring you to
your Redeemer. The hymn writer said, oh, farewell
mortality, Jesus is mine. That's all that matters. What
else matters? If I'm not His, nothing else
much matters. Doesn't matter. Oh, but if I'm
His, if I'm really His, that's all that matters. Farewell, mortality,
Jesus is mine. Welcome, eternity, Jesus is mine. Welcome, oh, loved and blessed.
Welcome, sweet scenes of breath. Welcome, our Savior's breath.
Jesus is mine. John said, after this, I'll be
healed and lo, a great multitude. Revelation 7, which no man can
number. of all nations and kindreds and
people and tongues, stood before the throne and before the land,
clothed with white robes and palms in their hands, and cried
with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God. Not one word about
man's will or man's worth or man's work. Salvation to our
God, which setteth upon the throne and unto the land. That's what
awaits every child of God, everyone chosen by God. everyone redeemed
by Jesus Christ, everyone called to life and faith by Him, they
shall be kept. They shall be kept by the power
of God and they shall be presented faultless in the presence of
His glory. Jesus Christ has prophesied shall
see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied. Satisfied at
what he accomplished when he was made sin for them. Satisfied
that all that the Father gave him he kept and not one was plucked
out of his hand. Satisfied that he lost none of
those his Father entrusted to him in that everlasting covenant
of grace. Satisfied that they are with
him in the Father's house. Satisfied. Zephaniah chapter
3 verse 17. Here's a marvelous verse. Zephaniah
3 and 17. The Lord thy God in the midst
of thee is mighty. He will save. He will rejoice
over thee with joy. Not that we will rejoice in our
Redeemer. It says that he will rejoice
over us. Imagine that. He will rejoice
over us with joy. He will rest in his love. He will joy over thee with singing. He will joy over thee with singing."
Old Robert Hawker said this, have you ever seen in the summer's
day that sweet bird of the air, the sky lark as she is called,
mounting over her little brood and rising into the air to a
great height, still singing as she ascends while looking down
on her darlings in their nest below, until at length descending
again she drops upon them and rejoices over them in all the
expressions of delight. So I think Jesus looks on all
his own. And every individual is redeemed
below, as his soul is said to have grieved for the miseries
of his people. So having planted them in their
own land, he is said to rejoice over them and to do them good
with his whole heart and with his whole soul. He shall rejoice
over us. Did not the great shepherd, after
finding his sheep and laying it on his shoulders, rejoice?
Is that not what we read? Is that not what our Lord said
in John 15? And when he cometh home, he calleth
together his friends, Luke 15, and neighbors, and said to them,
Rejoice with me. Ask the great shepherd, Rejoice
with me. For I have found my sheep, which
was lost. Was his rejoicing premature?
Lord, should you not have waited to see if they make it? If they endure to the end, perhaps
they'll fall away and perish after all. No, he rejoices because
he knows, he knows that he will present them faultless before
the presence of God. And did not the father say of
the returning prodigal these words? It was meet, he said to
the jealous older brother. It was meet. It was fit. It's
only right. that we should make Mary and
be glad, for this thy brother was dead and is alive again,
was lost and is found. Here's the last thought. Things
not seen, they're eternal. They're eternal. We shall see
him as he is, and that's gonna be forever. That's gonna be forever. Sometimes we lie and think, oh
Lord, are you there? Lord, are you aware? Lord, don't
you care? It's dark. We read in John 6,
they're on that stormy sea being tossed to and fro, and it's dark.
And Jesus had not yet come. Oh, that's the sharpest pang
of all, isn't it? Jesus had not yet come, but he'll
come. He'll come. There's nothing to
keep him from coming. There's nothing to keep him from
coming from his suffering child. Oh, and when he comes, he speaks
as never a man spake, and he says, Peace be still. How often
has he done it? How often has he done it to this
faithless, faithless sinner? When he takes him up in his arms
and says, it's okay, it's okay. I'm here, I'm here. I'm not gonna
leave you. I'm not gonna, like you do a
little child. Oh, things not seen, and so shall
we ever be with the Lord. For we know, look at verse one
of chapter five here in 2 Corinthians. I like how Paul speaks, for we
know. We don't doubt, we don't guess.
We know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved,
we have a building of God, a house not made with hand, eternal in
the heavens. We know, we're well assured by
the promise of God, by the redemption of Christ, that we shall be with
the Lord. There'll be no empty mansions
in heaven. Have you ever seen these fellows?
Experienced it? Given their altar call? Those
guys that think coming to Christ is something you can do with
your feet. And they say, oh, won't you come? If you don't,
there's a mansion in heaven. And if you don't come, it's going
to be empty. That mansion's for you. And it's going to be empty. It'll never be occupied if you
don't come. And there's a crown. There's a crown for you. And
if you don't come, it'll never be worn. It's your crown. It's
just going to hang in heaven with cobwebs on it. Oh, no, there'll
be no empty mansions in heaven. Christ said, I'm going to prepare
a place for you in my Father's house. It's for you. Every one
of His elect, there is a place prepared for you, a prepared
place for a prepared people. And Christ said, if I do that,
if I'm going to do that, and if I do, I'm coming again. There'll
be no cobwebs on crowns. There'll be no empty man. They'll
all be occupied, all God's children in the Father's house. all with
your elder brother, forever and forever, and so shall we ever
be with the Lord. We have this sweet promise of
our God, hearken unto me, Isaiah 46, verse 3, hearken unto me,
O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel,
there's a remnant according to the election of grace, always
is, which are born by me from the belly, which are carried
from the womb, and even to your old age I am he. And even to
whore hairs will I carry you. My wife tells me I'm getting
more gray all the time, but she says it's okay, because I look
distinguished. I think she's just trying not to hurt my feelings.
But even to your gray hair, I'm he. I have made and I will bear,
even I will carry and I will deliver you. And oh, how sure
it is, the same Lord who has carried us from the womb, both
of nature and grace, will carry us in our old age, our gray hair,
all the way to glory. Let me share this with you. This
is a poem I remember seeing, and I was able to find it again.
Here's a portion of it. What if my hair is turning gray?
Gray hairs are honorable, they say. What if my eyesight's growing
dim? I still can see. To follow him. What should I care if time's
old plow has left its furrows on my brow? Another house not
made with hands awaits me in the glory land. What though I
falter in my walk? What though my tongue refuse
to talk? I still can tread the narrow way, I still can watch
and praise and pray. My hearing may not be as keen
as in the past it may have been, still I can hear my Savior say,
in whispers soft, this is the way, as we just read. The outward
man do what we can to lengthen out this life's short span, shall
perish and return to dust, as everything in nature must. The
inward man, the scriptures say, is growing stronger every day.
Then how can I be growing old? when safe within my Savior's
hold. Ere long my soul shall fly away and leave this tenement
of clay, this robe of flesh I'll drop and rise to seize the everlasting
prize. I'll meet you on the street of
gold and prove that I'm not growing old. Forever with the Lord. For this cause we faint not.
But though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed
day by day. For our light affliction, which
is but for a moment working for us, a more exceeding and eternal
way to glory, eternal, unchangeable, without interruptions. Does not
the very prospect of this make a man joyful, make us glad? Shall not the very hope of it
make our countenance to shine, make us smile? And does this
not comfort us under trial, that the sufferings of this present
time, Paul said, are not worthy to be compared with the glory
that shall be revealed? Weeping may endure for a night,
but joy comes in the morning. The view of Jesus Christ will
more than make up for all of us, will it not? And it may be
very, very soon. Oh, the society of the redeemed,
all the redeemed in glory. Oh, what a day that will be,
and how soon it may be. All that loathes the heart with
care now will soon be gone, will be as though it didn't exist,
I've been told, I think Robin told me this, that a sunflower,
those big flowers, always open up and turn toward the sun. Even
so, a believer turns his face to the sun of righteousness.
Oh, they hang their head when they don't feel his presence.
But won't it be heaven when every flower in the heavenly garden
will be turned Godwards? bathing in the all-exceeding
glory of God, we shall be like Him. We shall see Him as He is. I shall be satisfied when I awake
in His likeness. One sight, old John Newton said
this, one sight of the glorified Christ will fill our hearts and
dry up all of our tears. Just one sight. Isaiah 35 and 10. and the ransom
of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with songs and everlasting
joy upon their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Oh, the dear ones
in glory, old Fanny Crosby wrote, how they beckoned me to come
and are parting at the river I recall. To the sweet veils
of Eden they will sing my welcome home. Oh, but I long to see my
Savior first through the gates to the city in a robe of spotless
white, he will lead me where no tears will ever fall. In the
glad song of ages, I shall mingle with delight, but I long to meet
my Savior first of all. He which testifieth these things
saith, surely I come quickly. Amen. Let it be so. Even so,
come Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
be with you all. Amen. Amen. God bless you.