A STRING OF PEARLS – Charles Spurgeon
A STRING OF PEARLS
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again unto a lively hope by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fades not away, reserved in Heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” 1 Peter 1:3-5.
Introduction: The Comfort of God’s Word
The persons whom Peter addressed were in great need of comfort. They were strangers, scattered far from home; they had to suffer manifold trials and therefore needed plenteous consolations. Such is our position in a spiritual sense; we, too, are strangers and foreigners; we are pilgrims and sojourners below, and our citizenship is in Heaven. We also require the Word of comfort, for while our banishment lasts, we look for tribulations.
The persons whom Peter addressed were God’s Chosen, “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,” and one sure result of Divine Election is the world’s enmity: “If you were of the world, the world would love his own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” So you too, my Brothers and Sisters, Chosen out from among men to be the peculiar people of God, must expect to be partakers of the Cross—for the servant is not greater than his Lord; since they persecuted Him, they will also persecute you.
Therefore, to you, as to those of old by Peter, the Word of consolation is sent this day. The Apostle also addressed the Sanctified. Through the Holy Spirit, they had been Sanctified and set apart; to the “obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus” they had been brought. They were a people who had “purified their souls in obeying the Truth of God through the Spirit.” And rest assured, no man can do this without encountering fiery trials. He who swims with the stream shall find all things go easily with him until he reaches the waterfall of destruction; but he who stems the torrent must expect to breast many a raging billow; and therefore to such, the strong consolations of the Gospel are necessary.
The Comfort Found in God’s Word
Let us then speak this morning to the same characters as those addressed by Peter: to you who “are not of the world,” but “strangers”; to you who are “chosen of God,” and therefore the object of the enmity of man; to you who maintain the separated life of true Holiness, and are therefore opposed by the profane. You have need of comfort, and in the Word, and by the Holy Spirit, your need is more than met. Our Apostle cheers these troubled hearts by exciting them to a song of praise; I might almost entitle these three verses a New Testament Psalm; they are stanzas of a majestic song. You have here a delightful hymn; it scarcely needs to be turned into verse—it is in itself essential poetry.
The Power of Praise
Now, my Brothers and Sisters, to lead the mind to praise God is one of the surest ways of uplifting it from depression; the wild beasts of anxiety and discontent which surround our bivouac in the wilderness will be driven away by the fire of our gratitude and the song of our praise. When the Psalm recounts with joyous gratitude the Mercies which God has given us, it supplants distress by thankfulness, even as the fir tree and the myrtle take the place of the thorn and the brier where the Gospel works its wonders!
In these three verses, we have a string of pearls, a necklace of diamonds, a cabinet of jewels—no, the comparisons are poor—we have something far better than all the riches of the earth can ever typify. You have here the heritage of the Chosen of God; your heritage, Beloved, your own peculiar portion if you belong to Christ this day. We shall conduct you through this mine of treasure and ask you to dwell upon each blessing, that your souls may be comforted, and that you, lifting up your hearts in blessing and praising the God of All Grace, may forget your cares and sorrows, and find a young Heaven begun below—a Paradise blooming amid the desert!
Seven Blessings in the Text
There are seven choice things in the text, a perfect number of perfect things. One might see more than seven, but these will exhaust all our time; therefore, we shall speak briefly upon each one.
I. Abundant Mercy
The first blessing I see in the text is abundant mercy. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again unto a lively hope.” No other Attribute could have helped us had Mercy refused; as we are by nature, Justice condemns us, Holiness frowns upon us, Power crushes us, Truth confirms the threat of the Law, and Wrath fulfills it. It is from the Mercy of our God that all our hopes begin. Mercy is needed for the miserable, and yet more for the sinful; misery and sin are fully united in the human race, and Mercy, here, performs her noble deeds.
My Brothers and Sisters, God has vouchsafed His Mercy to us, and we must thankfully acknowledge that in our case, His Mercy has been abundant Mercy! We were defiled with abundant sin, and only the multitude of His Loving Kindnesses could have put those sins away. We were infected with an abundance of evil, and only overflowing Mercy can ever cure us of all our natural disease and make us meet for Heaven.
The Power of Mercy
We have received abundant Grace up till now; we have made great drafts upon the Exchequer of God, and of His fullness have we all received Grace for Grace; where sin has abounded, Grace has much more abounded. Will you, my fellow Debtor, stand still awhile and contemplate the abundant Mercy of our blessed God? A river deep and broad is before you; track it to its fountainhead—see it welling up in the Covenant of Grace, in the Eternal Purposes of Infinite Wisdom. The secret source is no small spring, no mere bubbling fountain, it is a very geyser, leaping aloft in fullness of power; the springs of the sea are not comparable with it; not even an angel could fathom the springs of Eternal Love or measure the depths of Infinite Grace.
II. Incorruptible Life
The next great blessing in the text is that of incorruptible life. “The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to His abundant Mercy, has begotten us again unto a lively hope.” One of the first displays of Divine Mercy which we experience is being born again. Our first birth gave us the image of the first Adam—“earthly.” Our second birth, and that alone, gives us the image of the Second Adam, which is “heavenly.”
To be begotten once may be a curse—to be begotten again is everlastingly and assuredly a blessing! To be born once may be a subject for eternal bewailing—to be born a second time will be the theme of a joyful and unending song! My Brothers and Sisters, saints are “begotten again unto a lively hope” in the hour of their Regeneration, when they are “born-again from above.” If we have been so born, we enjoy a blessing far exceeding anything which the natural man can dream of. The Holy Spirit comes upon the Chosen in the hour appointed, and creates in them a new heart and a right spirit; in a supernatural manner a new principle is implanted, a New Life is created within the soul.
III. A Lively Hope
A third blessing strictly connected with this New Life is a lively hope. “He has begotten us again unto a lively hope.” Could a man live without hope? Men manage to survive the worst conditions of distress when they are encouraged by a hope; but is not suicide the natural result of the death of hope? Yes, we must have a hope, and the Christian is not left without one. He has “a lively hope,” that is to say first; he has a hope within him, real, true, and operative.
The Christian’s Hope
Some men’s hopes of Heaven are not living hopes, for they never stir them to action. They live as if they were going to Hell, and yet they coolly talk about hoping that all will be well with them at last! A Christian’s hope purifies him, excites him to diligence, makes him seek after that which he expects to obtain. Even thus the Christian with a lively hope devotes himself to obtaining the blessings which God has promised in His Word.
The Lord has begotten us to a “lively hope,” that is to say, to a vigorous, active, operating hope. It is a “lively hope” in another sense, namely, that it cheers and enlivens. The swimmer who is ready to sink, if he sees a boat nearing him, plucks up courage, and swims with all his strength because now he expects that his swimming will be of effectual service to him.
Conclusion
Thus, I have brought you up from the abundant Mercy to the New Life, and onward to the lively hope. May these blessings bring comfort, joy, and strength to your hearts.
A Lively Hope in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ
He has begotten us again unto a lively hope by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Our best Friend is not dead! Our great Patron and Helper, our Omnipotent Savior, is not lying in the tomb today; He lives, He ever lives! No sound of greater gladness can be heard in the Christian Church than this—”The Lord is risen; the Lord is risen indeed!” Now, Beloved, observe the connection between a risen Savior and our living hope. Jesus Christ died, not in appearance, but in reality; in proof whereof, His heart was pierced by the soldier’s spear. He was laid in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, truly a corpse; not a spark of life remained. The only difference between His dead body and the dead body of any other was that still the Preserving Power hovered over Him, and as His body had been defiled by no sin, so His flesh could not see corruption as it would have done had it been the body of a sinful man.
Then, at the end of the appointed time, the same Savior who was laid in the tomb rose from the dead—not in secrecy, but before the Roman guards who watched the sepulcher; they fled in terror. He met His disciples sometimes one by one, sometimes two at a time; on other occasions, 400 at once saw Him—credible witnesses, persons who had no reason for forging a lie; persons who so believed that they saw Him that many of them died, for their belief, the most painful deaths. He rose, not in fantasy and figure, but in reality! One of the witnesses put his finger into the print of the nails, and thrust his hand into His side; and in the presence of His assembled disciples, the Risen One ate a piece of a broiled fish, and of a honeycomb. He really and literally rose from the dead—the same Christ who was born of the Virgin Mary, who suffered under Pontius Pilate, and afterwards ascended into Heaven. That fact is as well proved as any fact in human history; there never, perhaps, was any incident of human history more fully verified than the rising of Jesus of Nazareth from the tomb.
The Comfort in Christ’s Resurrection
Now, note you well the comfort which arises out of this fact, since it proves that we possess a living Advocate, Mediator, and High Priest who has passed into the heavens. Moreover, since all Believers being partakers of the Incorruptible Life of God are one with Jesus Christ, that which happens to Him virtually happens to them! They died in His death, they live in His life, and they reign in His Glory! As in Adam all die who were in Adam, so in Christ shall all be made alive who are in Christ—the two Adams head up their dispensations—whatever happens to either of the Adams, happens to those represented by him. So, then, the Resurrection of Jesus is virtually my Resurrection; were He still dead, then might I fear; no, I would know that I, dying, should die, but He, having died, arose again in due season and lives! Therefore, I, dying, shall also rise and live, for as Jesus is, so must I be! If I have within me the New Life, I have the same Life in me that is in Christ, and the same thing happens to me as happens to Christ. If His life dies, mine, being the same, dies also, but, as He has said, “Because I live, you shall live also,” my life is secure!
Illustration: Joseph and the Kingdom of Heaven
Here, then, is the top and bottom of the Christian’s hope—”We are begotten again into a lively hope by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” As we see Him alive, we rejoice that He lives, because He lives for us, and we live in Him! Let me give you an illustration. When Joseph was in Egypt, he was highly exalted, and placed upon the throne. Now, while his brothers did not know him, they were grievously afraid to go down into Egypt—they thought him to be an Egyptian, a haughty ruler of the land, and that he treated them roughly. But when once they and their father were persuaded that Joseph, their brother, was alive and on the throne, then they cheerfully joined with the old man when he said, “Joseph my son is yet alive; I will go and see him before I die.
Now, into the unknown land our Elder Brother has gone—where is He and what? Why, He is King of the country; He sits on a Throne! O Beloved, with what comfort do we now go down into that Egypt! With what consolation will we enter the unknown country, which some think to be shrouded in darkness, but which, now that Jesus reigns on its Throne, is full of light to us!
Another Illustration: The Ark and the Jordan
Or take another example. When the children of Israel went through the Jordan, they were told that the Jordan would divide before them, but they were still more fully assured when the priests went forward with the Ark, for as soon as the feet of the priests touched the edge of the river, the waters began to divide! As the people saw their priests march through the bed of the stream, and come up on the other side, all doubts about the security of the passage must have vanished at once! The priests were the representatives of the people before God, and where they passed safely, all Israel might go.
See, then, my Brothers and Sisters, the “Great High Priest of our profession” has led the van; the Ark of the Eternal Covenant has gone before, death is dried up so that we can say, “O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?” And you and I may, with perfect confidence, full of a lively hope, march onwards into the Glory Land, for Jesus Christ has safely passed the flood, and even so shall we!
Here, then, is reason for joy; we will not fear the present; we will not dread the future, for Christ is risen, indeed, and our lively hope is fixed on Him. Thus we have set before you four out of the seven precious things.
V. An Incorruptible Inheritance
The fifth is exceedingly rich, but we can only give a word where many sermons would not exhaust—An Incorruptible Inheritance—“an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fades not away.” God has been pleased in His abundant Mercy to prepare an inheritance for His people; He has made them sons, and if children, then heirs; He has given them a New Life, and if a New Life, then there must be possessions, and a place suitable for that New Life; a heavenly Nature requires a heavenly inheritance; Heaven-born children must have a heavenly portion.
Now I shall only ask you to notice that the inheritance which God has prepared for us has a fourfold description appended to it. First, as to its substance—it is “incorruptible.” The substance of everything earthly by degrees passes away; even solid granite will rot and crumble; the substance of things seen, I may say in paradox, is devoid of substance. Empires have grown great, but the inward corruption within their constitution has at length dissolved them; dynasties have been wrecked, and thrones have tottered by internal corruption, but the inheritance of the saints of God has nothing within it that can make it perish! Forever and forever shall the blissful portion of the Sanctified be theirs; Heaven, and the streets thereof, are all said to be of precious stones and pure gold because they are imperishable.
Purity, Beauty, and Security of the Inheritance
Next, for purity—it is “undefiled.” Earthly inheritances are often defiled in the getting. Some men have grown rich by fraud, by violence, by oppression of the poor; how many a heritage is polluted all over with the slime of the serpent! And he who inherits the goods of such a one inherits therewith a curse, for God will surely avenge injustice and wrongdoing, even to the third generation! But our inheritance is undefiled, for it was won by the Obedience, the Perfection, and Sufferings of Jesus. No thought of wrong was used in the getting of the portion of the Well-Beloved of God!
An inheritance may be defiled after it is possessed, but Heaven never shall be; Satan shall never enter there, nor sin of any kind pass through the gate of pearl. O Brothers and Sisters, what a joy is this! Defilement is on everything in this fallen world; we cannot purge ourselves completely; earthly things all bring a measure of defilement with them, but up yonder our portion shall not be stained with sin; we shall be perfect, and all around us perfect, too! And then it is added for its beauty, “it fades not away.” The substance of a thing might endure after its beauty was gone, but in Heaven there shall be no declining in the beauty of anything celestial.
VI. Inviolable Security
Time fails us, therefore we must mention the sixth blessing at once, and it is Inviolable Security. The inheritance is kept for you, and you are kept for the inheritance. The word is a military one; it signifies a city garrisoned and defended.
Think of a city besieged—Strasbourg, if you will; that is an emblem of your condition in this world. The enemy pours in their shot, they keep up the fire day and night, and set the city on a blaze, and even thus Satan bombards us with temptations, and beleaguers us with all the hosts of Hell. Our great enemy has determined to raze the citadel of our Faith even to the ground; his great guns are drawn up around our bastions; his sappers and miners are busy with our bulwarks; even now it may be his shells are tearing our hearts, and his shot is setting our nature in a blaze.
The Power of God’s Protection
Herein is our confidence—our great Captain has walled us around; He has appointed Salvation for walls and bulwarks; we are safe, though all the devils of Hell surround us, for we are garrisoned by Omnipotence! Each Believer is kept by that same Power which “bears the earth’s huge pillars up,” and sustains the arches of Heaven. Jerusalem, you are besieged, but you may laugh your enemy to scorn; he shall never break through your ramparts—”Munitions of stupendous rock, Our dwelling place shall be, There shall our soul without a shock, Our vanquished foemen see.
VII. A Blessed God
The best I have reserved for the last. Out of the seven treasures of the Christian, the last comprehends all, is better than all, though what I have already spoken is everything: it is A Blessed God. We left this to the last, though it comes first—“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” It is joy to have Heaven; it is joy to possess a New Life to fit me for Heaven, but the greatest of all is to have my God, my own Savior’s God, my Father, my own Savior’s Father, to be all my own! God Himself has said, “I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” He has not given you Earth and Heaven only, though that were much; He has given you the Heaven of Heaven—Himself!
Our Call to Praise and Serve God
Will not this make you rejoice? I think you may go forth with those who make merry, and rejoice before God with a joy that knows no bound—”Sing unto God, sing praise,” sing, unto God, sing praises! Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say, Rejoice. Beloved, the practical point is, show your gratitude and your joy by blessing God. You can bless Him with your voices; sing more than you do. Singing is Heaven’s work, practice it here!
At your work, do if you can, quietly raise a hymn and bless the Lord; but oh, keep the fire on the altar of your hearts always burning! Praise Him, bless Him; His Mercy endures forever, so let your praises endure. Bless Him also with your substance. He is a blessed God; do not give Him mere words, they are but air, and tongues but clay. Give Him the best you have. In the old superstitious times, the Churches used to be adorned with the rarest pearls and jewels, with treasures of gold and silver, for men then gave mines of wealth to what they believed to be the service of God.
Shall the true Faith have less operative power upon us? Shall the “lively hope” make us do less for God than the mere dead hope of the followers of Rome? No, let us be generous at all times, and count it our joy to sacrifice unto our God; let us give Him our efforts, our time, our talents. Bless the Lord this afternoon, you Sunday school teachers; teach those dear children under a sense of your own obligations to God! You who go from house to house this afternoon; you who will preach in the streets, and lift up your voices in the corners of the thoroughfares—preach as those who are begotten unto a lively hope by the abundant Mercy of God! Preacher, live more intensely and ardently than you have ever done! Deacons, serve the Church more thoroughly than you have done as yet! Elders, give your whole souls to the care of Christ’s flock, which He has Redeemed with His blood! Each one of you workers for Jesus Christ work not for Him after an ordinary sort, as men do for a master whose pay is no larger than he can be compelled to make it—but work with heart, and soul, and strength for Him who loved you to the death, and poured out His soul to Redeem you from going down into Hell!
Thus prove that the Divine Nature is truly in you, and that you possess the “lively hope” implanted by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The Lord bless you all, for Christ’s sake. Amen.
Portion of Scripture Read Before Sermon: 1 Peter 1.
Charles Spurgeon