GOLDEN BOWLS FULL OF INCENSE – Charles Spurgeon
Golden Bowls Full of Incense
Introduction
“Golden vials full of incense, which are the prayers of saints.” – Revelation 5:8
[The original title of this sermon is “Golden Vials Full of Odours.”]
I should not have addressed you upon the subject of intercession today if this week had not been set apart for general prayer, for it was only two Sabbaths ago that I endeavored to set before you the duty and privilege of intercession. However, as our mind is now directed to it again, it may be that the line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, may not be without benefit to us.
The vision before us is a very remarkable one. We do not intend, for we have not the time, to go into all the details of it; no doubt it refers to some special occasion. Yet, at the same time, we may regard it as descriptive of the usual worship that is offered before the Throne of God and the Lamb. We have sometimes seen in continental galleries a medieval painting representing the assembly of the great council of the ancient German Empire; there, the emperor is surrounded by various kings, princes, electors, dukes, and counts. Yonder are the knights of the Golden Fleece; there are the bishops and cardinals, the barons, knights, and burghers of various degrees, creating a marvelous spectacle of pomp and pageantry.
If we made minute inquiries, we might discover the particular assembly the picture represents. But even without such investigation, the painting is instructive. We know that if it represents the assembly on one occasion, it might stand for all. So, in the great assembly of Heaven, the outline which the seer of Patmos gives us here may, if we wish to be very accurate, be referred to some one particular event; but it will suffice for us to believe that it represents, in general, the homage rendered at the Throne of the Eternal.
The Nature of the Worship Described
In considering the brilliant scene before us, note carefully that the worship described is not confined to the occupants of Heaven’s immediate courts. Moses Stuart, believing that we have here an entirely celestial scene, concludes that these “Golden vials full of incense, which are the prayers of saints,” represent the intercessions of glorified spirits. He remarks that the saints in Heaven still continue to pray. I do not object to this statement, as in Revelation 6, the souls under the altar cry for vengeance. I see no reason why the perfect saints above should not pray.
However, I question whether we can draw that inference from this particular passage, for the prayers here intended are not solely those of Heaven. From verse 13, we are taught that the scene represents the adoration of the Lamb by the entire universe. “Every creature which is in Heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power be unto Him that sits upon the Throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever.”
The presence angels lead the strain, the saints made perfect join the rapturous hallelujah, and then 10,000 times 10,000 angels swell the growing strain. Meanwhile, from every starry orb comes up its note of worship, and the firmament rings with music. Earth from afar has heard the sound and wakens all her life to take part in the harmony. The fowls of the air, the fish of the sea, the songsters of the forest, and the monsters of the deep render with zeal their tribute of grateful praise. It is not just the inner circle that resounds Jehovah’s praise but, widening and widening, the praise encompasses all space and fills immensity! Not Heaven alone, but all creation yields the Lord His praise.
The Golden Bowls of Incense
Now, dear Brothers and Sisters, let us, by faith, pass into the inner circle, draw near to the Throne of God, and gaze upon the golden bowls full of incense, for with these we have to deal this morning. It is probably known to all of you that the idea conveyed by “golden vials” is quite distant from the meaning of the Greek word, for a vial is, to us, generally a deep but narrow vessel. The vessel here meant is both shallow and broad; a better rendering would be “golden bowls” or “golden goblets full of incense which are the prayers of saints.”
The idea is that each of the 24 elders bears an open bowl or censor filled with smoking incense, which pours forth a sweet perfume before the Lord—this is the symbol of the supplications of the people of God.
The Sweetness of God’s People’s Prayers
I. The Prayers of God’s People Are As Sweet to Him As Incense.
This is not due to any natural excellence or merit they possess in themselves. Far from it! In the best prayer ever offered by the holiest man that ever lived, there was enough sin in it to render it polluted if the Lord had looked upon it by itself. When we approach the Throne of Grace, we still fall far short of where and what we ought to be. The sins of our holiest thoughts alone are enough to condemn us.
At times, when we come before God in prayer, we are unfit to pray, and we spoil the action by having an unprepared heart. When in the midst of devotion, when we are borne up upon the wings of zeal, pride intrudes, and we congratulate ourselves on the excellence of our worship. Alas, one dash of that spirit mars all; it is the Pharisaic spirit, and the bane of devotion.
At other times, just as our supplication is closing, we are assailed with doubts about God’s faithfulness, or about the success of our pleas. Other unhallowed thoughts pollute the sacrifice. How hard it is to begin, continue, and end a prayer in the Spirit! If any one of our prayers were put into the scales of the sanctuary, alone and of itself, the only verdict would be that it is “weighed in the balances and found wanting.
But our consolation lies in this: our Beloved Intercessor, Jesus Christ, who stands before God for us, possesses such an abundance of precious Merit that He puts fragrance into our supplications, making them acceptable before the Majesty of Heaven.
The Beautiful Illustration of Prayer
Ambrose uses a very lovely figure concerning believers’ prayers: he says we are like little children who run into the garden to gather flowers to please their father. But, in our ignorance, we pluck as many weeds as flowers, some of them very noxious! Then the mother meets the child, saying, “Little one, you know not what you have gathered.” She unbinds the mixture, takes out the weeds, and leaves only the sweet flowers. She then adds other flowers, sweeter than the child’s, and hands back a perfect bouquet. In a similar way, Christ, in more than motherly tenderness, deals with our supplications.
If we could see our prayers after Christ Jesus has amended them, we would scarcely recognize them. He transforms them into fair bouquets where each beauty enhances the charm of its neighbor.
Though the prayers of God’s saints are as precious incense, they would never be sweet unto God were it not that they are accepted in the Beloved. Note well that true, acceptable intercession must come from the prayers of saints. “Golden bowls full of the prayers of saints.” Nothing is said here of the prayers of officials, hirelings, or functionaries. Some churches believe that certain words and sounds, when repeated daily, are acceptable to God. But vocal prayers are nothing in themselves; it is the heart that prays acceptably. If the heart is absent, the prayer is hollow and lifeless.
The Heart of Intercession
The sweetness of prayer lies in the life, character, and soul of the one praying. A prayer made by someone living in constant sin is an insult to God. True prayer is a fragrance offered by those who are set apart by God’s Spirit. The saints are those whose nature God has purified, those washed in the blood of Jesus. These are the ones who can offer sweet incense to the Lord.
The Essence of True Prayer
In the matter of intercession, one of the most important things is the character of the person. If I live in constant sin, and then pray, how can I expect my prayer to be heard? True prayer is not made by hypocrites or formalists. It must be the prayers of saints, those set apart to God, those who walk in His ways, maintaining their saintly character by the power of the Holy Spirit.
In true intercession, the prayer is compounded of precious divine graces. The incense in the Temple was made up of many sweet spices, mixed “according to the work of the apothecary.” So it is in prayer; the secret qualities—faith, love, humility—are what make it sweet to God.
The Role of the Holy Spirit
We must bless God that the Holy Spirit is the Believer’s Apothecary. He knows the proper quantity of each ingredient in prayer—faith, love, repentance, humility. The Spirit helps the believer’s infirmities and creates a harmonious mixture of graces that make our prayers acceptable.
The Fire of Prayer
Finally, the incense must burn. It might be the best incense, but it was never accepted by God until it was set on fire. Some prayers may be correct but cold, excellent but lifeless, lacking the fervor needed for acceptance. The Holy Spirit alone can give true fervor, which is the live coals that make prayer effective.
Conclusion: The Ascension of Prayer
When the incense is burning, it must ascend. If the wind scatters it in all directions, it would be an ill omen. In the same way, our prayers must ascend to God alone. They are not for the approval of others but for God’s ears only. True prayer is offered directly to Him, without concern for man’s approval.
May God grant us the fire of the Holy Spirit in our prayers, that we may offer incense that rises sweetly to His throne.
The Sweetness of Saints’ Prayers to God
He is very careless of the criticism of his fellow creatures; his only desire is to please the Lord. The prayers of the churches will never be accepted before God until they go straight up to Him, only, having respect to Him who is invisible. Now, the question returns, why are the prayers of saints so sweet to God? We reply, partly because they are the work of the Spirit of God. There is no acceptable prayer in the world but that which the Spirit of God has inspired; the Holy Spirit knows what the mind of God is, and He writes it upon the minds of God’s people, “Making intercession in the saints according to the will of God.” Now, when God sees His own will reflected in the bosoms of His own children, He cannot but accept the work of His own Spirit! The prayers of His saints are acceptable with Him, also, because they are the pleadings of His Son. The saints are members of Christ’s body, and, as they plead, Christ pleads in them. The very strength of their pleading lies in this, that they urge His merits, and the Lord delights to be reminded of His Son’s excellences—it is a theme that He delights in! You may ring that bell as long as you ever will—the Father will never weary of it. Tell Him what His Son has done; remind Him of Gethsemane; bring up before the Father’s mind the Cross of Calvary; tell Him of His Promise to His Son that He shall see His seed, and have a full reward, and you cannot by any possibility displease God by dwelling upon this topic. Hold Him with it, yes, hold Him with the resolution of a Jacob, and say, “I will not let You go until You bless me, for I plead the name and merit of Your Only-Begotten Son.” Everything about Christ is sweet to God, and because Believers’ prayers are full of Christ, therefore they are sweet to God. And, again, the prayers of the saints are sweet to God because they honor Him, and this they do in many ways; first, they assert His Existence. In prayer, the people of God declare better than they could by any other means their sure belief that God Is, for should we pray to One who has no existence? Our prayer to God, therefore, is our continual assertion that, “The Lord, He is God,” “The Lord, He is God.” Our asking for special and particular mercies, and expecting them, is a declaration of our belief in a living God, a conscious God, an acting God, a God who is not asleep and far away, but who is near at hand, listening to human voices, and able to fulfill human desires. This, then, is very agreeable to God that we should believe and testify that He Is, and that He is the Rewarder of them who diligently seek Him. What if I were to say that prayer is, in itself, essentially a doxology? It is an utterance of glory to God in His Attributes. Do I ask Him to bless me? Then I adore His Power, for I believe He can! Do I ask Him to bless me? Then I adore His Mercy, for I trust and hope He will! Do I ask Him to bless me because of such and such a Promise? Then I adore His Faithfulness, for I evidently believe that He is truthful, and will do as He has said. Do I ask Him to bless me not according to my request, but according to His own Wisdom? Then I adore His Wisdom; I evidently believe in His Prudence and Judgment. I say to Him, “Not my will but Yours be done”—I am adoring His Sovereignty. When I confess that I deserve to suffer beneath His hand, I reverence His Justice; when I acknowledge that He does right evermore, I adore His Holiness, and, when I humbly say, “Nevertheless, deal graciously with Your servant, and blot out my transgressions,” I am reverencing His Grace. We do not wonder, therefore, that through Jesus Christ the prayers of the saints should be precious to God, since they are a homage to the Supreme of an eminently practical kind.
The Father’s Delight in His Children’s Prayers
Brothers and Sisters, after all, perhaps the best reason we can ever give why God loves to hear us pray is one which comes home to our own hearts. You love to hear your own little children talk. Now you know very well when your little girl wants a new dress, and you are well aware that your little boy needs fresh school books, there is no necessity whatever that Mary will inform you about her clothes, or that Master John will tell you about his books, for you know what they have need of long before they ask you! But you like them to feel their needs, and to recognize that they are supplied by their father, and therefore, you like to hear them express their desires. Sometimes you will stop a bit and say, “No, why should I give you this?” You set them a pleading because you like to hear their little prattling voices and to have them put their little arms around your neck and overcome you with kisses! You let them believe that they master you with their pretty reasoning and fond embraces, and it is pleasant to you as well as to them. Now, our heavenly Father is far above us, and yet He bids us learn His Character from our own feelings as parents; if we, being evil, know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more shall our heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them who ask Him? The Lord declares that He deals with us as with children. I know the next word is, “For what son is there whom his father chastens not?” But I do not believe that God’s likeness to a father is limited to His chastening; the Text cannot be so cross and crabbed as that; oh no, there is a likeness to a father in His hearing our cries! He loves communion with His people! The Lord loves to have the hearts of His children talk to Him; He delights to hear them spread out their needs before Him, and order their case with arguments and prevail with them. Oh, then never be slack in your pleadings which are pleasant to God as fragrant incense!
The Sweetness of United Prayers
II. Now, secondly and briefly, Blended Prayers Are Peculiarly Acceptable to God. “The prayers of saints.” The prayers of a saint are sweet, but the prayers of saints are sweeter! I had many points here, but I think I must forego them all this morning for the sake of one. United prayers possess the power of harmony. In music, there is melody in any one distinct note, but we have all recognized a peculiar charm in harmony. Now, the prayers of one saint are to God melody, but the intercessions of many are harmony—and to God there is much that is pleasing in the harmony of His people’s prayers. Let us turn the subject over a minute. No two children of God pray exactly alike. There is a difference of tone. If taught of God, each one will pray graciously, but there will be in one prayer what there is not in another. If all the fruits of the garden are luscious, yet each one has its own special flavor. All the bells may be of silver, and yet each one will have its own tone. For instance, some Brothers and Sisters, when they pray, dwell very tenderly upon the dishonor done to God by sin; they pray as if their hearts would break, and they weep at every other sentence. “O God, the idols are placed on Your Throne; Jesus is dishonored; the Law is broken; the Gospel is despised.” Such loving contrition for the sin of others wails itself out in soft, low notes of magic power. But listen to others, and you will find their prayers pitched upon quite another key. The Brother prays with full assurance that God’s Kingdom is established upon the mountains, where its foundation can never be removed; and though the heathens rage, and the people imagine vain things, yet surely God’s Kingdom and Purpose will stand, and He will do all His pleasure; and as you hear such petitioning, shrill and clear like the sound of a trumpet, you feel that the voice of faith is both musical and prevalent; the man has no doubt as to God’s triumphing! He is quite certain that the Lord’s hosts will win the day, and He prays in that spirit! Now, if these varying tones are melted into one, what masterly harmony they make! Therefore the Lord promises great things when two of us agree as touching anything concerning His Kingdom. But now comes in a third petitioner, and his tone of prayer differs from the other two. The same spirit of prayer is in him, but its voice varies. He prays in this way: bowed down with a sense of awe in the Presence of God, the God of all the earth, he seems to speak measuring out each word, and he cries, “O God, shall not the nations fear You? Such an One as You are, shall they not tremble in Your Presence? Will You not be King to them, O You Creator and Preserver of all things?” Like the cherubim, he veils his face in the Presence of the excellent Glory, and your soul, by his prayer, is solemnly ushered into the Presence of God, and laid prostrate there. But mark yet this fourth man, whose prayer is of another mold—he is familiar with the Lord; he seems to have merged his sense of the sublime in that of the condescending, and he speaks somewhat in this way—“O Lord, my Father, You love the sons of men. Will You not come and meet Your prodigal sons who are coming back to You? Have You not given Jesus Christ to be a Man and bought men with Your precious blood? And will You not come to them and press them to Your bosom, and make them Yours?” As the Brother calls on God, he appears to come close to Him and lay hold upon Him, and say, “I beseech You have mercy upon my fellow men.” Now, there is something blessed in both those prayers. I do not know which I prefer, but I do know when I can get the blending of the two, the awe and the holy boldness, the familiarity and the sense of Sovereignty, I find a double sweetness fills my heart! Ah, Brothers and Sisters, did you ever hear a prayer of that kind which moved the Lord’s heart in the wilderness—I refer to the prayer of Moses, when he said, “If not, blot my name out of the Book of Life.” This is the prayer of self-sacrifice, when the man feels, “I must have God glorified; I must have these people saved; I would pawn my soul for it; I would lose myself if but this nation might be redeemed.” That is grand praying—it is not all of us who can rise to it! If that were alone and the only prayer, it might grow monotonous, for it lacks compass, but, if you put all these prayers together which I have mentioned—the prayers of the tender, and the prayers of the brave, the prayers of the awestruck, and the prayers of the familiar, the prayers of the importunate, the prayers of the self-sacrificing—then they fill the golden bowl full of sweet incense! For my part, I love, at Prayer Meetings, to hear the prayers of the aged. There is a lack in our Prayer Meetings, and has been for some months through the loss of one dear saint whose prayers used to be marrow and fatness to some of our souls on Monday evenings. The prayers of men on the verge of Heaven are to us as angels to lead us, also, up to the gates of pearl. But it is very pleasant to hear the prayers of young people, also, even the very young, for as they talk before the Lord, there is a charming simplicity and frankness too little found in others. And then, the prayers of men in middle life, full of experimental trouble, or, on the other hand, overflowing with experienced joy; these have their peculiar aroma, and I believe God loves to see them all mixed in the golden bowls! And, what if I add He would have His people, with their various peculiarities, put their prayers together? I, as a Calvinist, remark that our Arminian friends pray wonderfully Calvinistic! I can seldom perceive difference between them and ourselves, but no doubt they do view more than we do some particular parts of the Truth of God. We, on the other hand, pay a higher regard to another part of Truth. Now these various constitutions of Christians affect, in some degree, their prayers, and when they are blended, they give a peculiar harmony of sweetness to the incense. At this time it is delightful to my thoughts to think that the prayers of different nationalities are being put into the golden bowl! Our French Brothers and Sisters always charm me when they pray. There is a tender, filial love—an affectionate gentleness which is most delicious; our American friends, so bold and optimistic, also delight us with their confidence in God; their prayers will balance somewhat the timidity of the French utterance. Then, our German Brethren, with their deep thoughtfulness, and their habit of going to the bottom of things—how solidly they make supplication! So with all our Brothers and Sisters of many lands, what a choice amalgam they make! I have been present at Prayer Meetings when I have heard the various nations pray, and my heart has rejoiced, and I can conceive that to God there is a peculiar harmony in the blended prayers of the many peoples and tongues. Look back and think of the prayers of all the ages as being in the golden bowl at this one time. The prayers of the Apostles, the cries of the persecuted times, the wrestling of the lonely ones of the Middle Ages, the moans from the valleys and mountains of Piedmont, the groans of our Brothers and Sisters during the Marian persecution, the pleadings of Covenanters and of Puritans—all in the golden bowl together! And all with the live coals upon them, coming up from the hand of the great Covenant Angel who stands for them before the Throne, pleading with God on the behalf of His people! Let us rejoice that the blended prayers of the Church are very sweet to the Eternal God.
The Call to United Prayer
III. And now, lastly, Brothers and Sisters, Let Us Blend Our Prayers, however faulty and feeble they may be, with the general supplications of the period. If united prayer is sweet to God, and we are sure it is, O let us give Him much of it! We cannot make God happier than He is in reality, for He is the infinitely happy God, but yet, if there is anything concerning which He expresses satisfaction, let us abound in it! O Church of God, cry day and night to Him! If your voice, O Spouse, is sweet in His ears; if He says, “Let Me hear your voice. Let Me see your face, for sweet is your voice and your countenance is comely,” O turn not away your face, and let not your voice be silent! But cry, and even in the night watches pour out your heart like water before the Lord your God! We fail, I am afraid, we Dissenters, in devotion very much because we do not value it aright. In the service of today, I believe the sermon to be a very important part. But I do not believe, as some do, that it is the all-important matter. I have heard friends say, “So-and-So will take the preliminary service,” as if our praying and singing were only a little preliminary affair to be gotten through, and the preaching was the great concern. But, my Brothers and Sisters, praying is the end of preaching—the preaching is only the stalk—the real ear is the devotion which we pay to God! Let us see to this, and seeing God is pleased with prayer, offer it to Him more and more. And remember that if we do so, we shall find a blessing in it ourselves; the more we pray, the more we shall need to pray; the more we pray, the more we can pray; the more we pray, the more we shall pray. He who prays little will pray less, but he who prays much will pray more—and he who prays more will desire to pray more abundantly! And, dearly Beloved, remember that prayer is effectual with God; we want to see souls saved; are we not getting weary of living in this world among so many who are going down to Hell? Is it not terrible to think that after all the Church is doing, thousands are being lost every day? We ought to bestir ourselves for men’s souls, and we cannot do better for them than praying for them! Let us, therefore, bestir ourselves in prayer! In the 8th Chapter of the Revelation you will find that the great angel who stood before God with the golden censer in his hand, full of the prayers of the saints, held it up and the smoke went up to God. But, after a while, when the incense was all burnt out, he took that golden censer and he filled it with coals from off the altar, and then you notice what he did—he emptied the golden censer out upon the earth, and there were voices and thunders and lightning and earthquakes. Read the passage. Now, when the censer of God’s Church shall have been well filled with prayer, and that prayer shall have been presented to the Lord, He will begin to work, and that censer which has been before God a weapon to prevail with Him, shall then become against men a weapon to prevail with them! God will fill it full of coals and pour it out upon the earth; His Divine Power shall then be seen. Then will come voices; preachers here and there will rise, in the newspaper press, in the universities, in the public assemblies; there will be voices denouncing oppression, voices crying against priestcraft, voices preaching the Truth of God— voices declaring Christ! Then will come thunder, for with the Gospel will go the Voice of God, which is like thunder, louder than the voice of man. Then will flash forth Lightning, for the Light of God’s Power and Truth will come forth with majesty, and men’s hearts shall be smitten with it, and made obedient to it; and then shall earthquakes shake society till the thrones of despots reel; till hoary customs are dashed in pieces; till the land that could not be plowed with the Gospel plow shall be broken up with secret heaviness from the Eternal God! We have but to pray! All things are possible to us! Pray, Brothers and Sisters! You have the key in the door of Heaven, keep it there, and turn it till the gate shall open. Pray, Brethren, for prayer holds the chain which binds the old dragon! Prayer can hold fast and restrain even Satan himself! Pray! God girds you with Omnipotence if you know how to pray! May we not fail here, but may the Spirit of God strengthen us, and to God shall be Glory forever and ever. Amen.
Charles Spurgeon