JOHN’S VISION - Robert Murray Mcchene
“After his I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces and worshipped God, saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said unto me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in his temple: and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”—REV. 7:9 to the end.
IT is one thing to read these words with a poet’s eye, and another thing to read them with the eye of a Christian. Oh pray, dear friends, that the Spirit may tear away the veil from our hearts, and show us the grand realities that are here! It is sweet and profitable—
(1.) For the awakening of the ungodly, that you may see what are the exercises of the heavenly world, and how unfit you would be for them. I suppose many of you feel that you have not washed your robes, and that you could not sing their song. Then you must be on the road to hell.
(2.) For the instruction of believers.—It shows you what are the chief employments of that happy world, where we shall so soon be; it gives you the key-note of the heavenly song; it teaches you to spend much of your time in the same exercises in which you shall spend eternity.
(3.) For comfort to afflicted believers.—It shows you how short your trials will be. These light afflictions are but for a moment; you need not murmur nor grieve,—a little while, and we shall be with Christ, and God shall wipe away all your tears. For this end it was given to John.
I. What John saw and heard
(1.) A great multitude of all nations.—When John was on earth he saw but few believers: “We are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.” The church was like a lily in a field of thorns, lambs in the midst of wolves; but now quite different,—thorns are plucked away, the lilies innumerable. “Out of all nations.”—Perhaps he could discern his fellow-apostles, his own brother James, and holy Paul, and angel-faced Stephen; the dark Egyptian, the swarthy Ethiopian, the woolly-headed negro, the far distant Chinese, the Burman, the Hindoo, the blue-eyed German, the dark-eyed Italian, and multitudes perhaps from a distant island of the sea. Every country had its representatives there,—some saved out of every land. All were like Christ, and yet all retained their different peculiarities. Learn that Christ will have a glorious crown.—He shall see of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied. Often, when I look at a large town like Dundee, and see so few converted to Christ, my heart sickens within me; I often feel as if we were labouring for nought and in vain. Although there has been so much blessing, yet such masses of ungodly families! But oh, cheer up, Christ shall have his full crown! Though there should not be another saved out of this place, Christ will have his full reward. We shall be quite satisfied when we see the whole. He hath mercy on whom He will have mercy. Learn the power of his blood. It blots out the sins of all that multitude,—sins of every name and dye. Why not yours? Oh! when such a glorious company are saved, why should you be lost? When so many are going out of this place, why should you keep back?
(2.) Their position.—They stood before the throne,—yea, nearer than the angels, for they stood round about. The redeemed stood next the throne, the angels round them. This marks their complete righteousness. But the ungodly cannot stand in the judgment. If God were only to bring an ungodly man into his presence, he would die. You greatly mistake if you think God needs to put out great strength to destroy you. As a cloud is dried up by being in the light of the sun, so you would perish at the presence of God as a moth in a candle. But this great company stand next the throne,—God’s eye full upon them. In Christ they stand, not in themselves. Nearer than angels: the angels have only creature-righteousness,—these have on Creator-righteousness. The righteousness of Christ is a million times more lovely than that of the highest angel, therefore they stand nearer. The righteousness of God is upon them all,— ho shall condemn? If you are ever to be near God, you may come freely to Him now Why keep so far away?
(3.) Their dress; white robes and palms.—They have all the same dress, there is no difference. It is the garment of Christ. One was a far greater believer than another,—made far greater advances in holiness,—yet the same dress. Whiter than the angels, verse 13. The angels also are represented as dressed in white; yet it would appear that their robes were far outshone by the bright shining raiment of the redeemed. The angels have on creature-righteousness, the redeemed the righteousness of God. This is what is now offered to you, sinners. Awakened persons are sometimes led to cry, “Oh that I had never sinned!” but here is something better than if you had never sinned. Palms are signs of victory. The Jews used to take branches of palms at the feast of tabernacles, or ingathering, which was a type of heaven. The angels have no palms, for they have fought no fight, they have gained no victory. Every one that has a white robe has a palm. Every one that is in Christ shall overcome. Be not afraid of your enemies.
(4.) Their song. The substance of it—Salvation.—They give God all the glory. On earth, there are many that cannot believe in an electing God—that God chose them for no good in them; but
in heaven they all feel it, and give Him all the praise. On earth, many speak of making themselves willing; but in heaven they sing “Salvation to God.” On earth, many go about to establish their own righteousness; in heaven, “glory to the Lamb.” On earth, many take Christ as part of their righteousness, and their duties as part; in heaven, all give glory to the Lamb. What say you to this song? Does it find an echo in your heart? Remember you must begin it now, if yon are to sing it afterwards. The effect of it—it stirs up the hearts of the angels, verses 11, 12. Often on earth, when one believer begins to praise God for what He has done for his soul, it stirs up the hearts of others. So in heaven, when the angels hear the voice of redeemed sinners,—brands plucked out of the fire,—standing in near the throne, they will obtain a ravishing view of the glory of God, his mercy and grace, they will fall down and worship God. They will not envy the redeemed their place; but, on the contrary, be filled with intense praise by hearing of what God has done for their souls. How do you feel when you hear of others being saved and brought nearer to God than you? Do you envy and hate them, or do you fall down and praise God for it?
II. Their past history—verses 13, 14
Two particulars are given. Each had a different history; still in these two they were alike.
(1.) They had washed their robes.—This leads us back to their conversion. Once every one of that company had filthy garments. They were like Joshua, their garment was spotted by the flesh. It was like a garment with the leprosy in it. Some stained with blood,—spots of blood upon their garments; some with adultery; some with disobedience to parents; some with pride, falsehood, evil speaking,—all, all were stained. Every one was convinced that he could not make himself clean; he could not wash his garments nor throw them off; he was brought to see himself lost and helpless. Jesus was revealed to him, and his precious blood shed for sinners, even the chief, saying to the heavy laden, “Come to me.” Of all that company, there is not one stands there in any other way. All are washed in blood. It is their only way of standing. Have you been washed in blood? You will find not one in heaven who went there in any other way. You think to go to heaven by your own decency, innocency, attention to duties. Well, you would be the only such one there: all are washed in blood. Come and let us reason together.
(2.) They came out of great tribulation.—Every one that gets to the throne must put their foot upon the thorn. The way to the crown is by the cross. We must taste the gall if we are to taste the glory. When justified by faith, God led them into tribulations also. When God brought Israel through the Red Sea, He led them into the wilderness; so, when God saves a soul, He tries it. He never gives faith without trying it. The way to Zion is through the Valley of Baca. You must go through the wilderness of Jordan if you are to come to the Land of Promise. Some believers are much surprised when they are called to suffer. They thought they would do some great thing for God; but all that God permits them to do is to suffer. Go round every one in glory,—every one has a different story, yet every one has a tale of suffering. One was persecuted in his family,—by his friends and companions; another was visited by sore pains and humbling disease,— neglected by the world; another was bereaved of children; another had all these afflictions meeting in one,—deep called unto deep. Mark, all are brought out of them. It was a dark cloud, but it passed away; the water was deep, but they have reached the other side. Not one of them blames God for the road He led them: “Salvation” is their only cry. Is there any of you, dear children, murmuring at your lot? Do not sin against God. This is the way God leads all his redeemed ones. You must have a palm as well as a white robe. No pain, no palm; no cross, no crown; no thorn, no throne; no gall, no glory. Learn to glory in tribulations also. “I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us.”
III. Future history
(1.) Immediate service of God.—Here, we are allowed to spend much of our time in our worldly callings. It is lawful for a man to win his bread, to plough, sow, reap, to spin and weave. Then, all our strength will be put forth in the immediate service of God. We shall stand before Him, and He shall dwell among us. It will be a perpetual Sabbath. We shall spend eternity in loving God, in adoring, admiring, and praising God. We should spend much of our present time in this. Some people imagine that they are not serving God unless they are visiting the sick, or engaged in some outward service; whereas the highest of all service is the love of adoration in the soul. Perhaps God gets more glory by a single adoring look of some poor believer on a sick-bed, than from the outward labours of a whole day.
(2.) Not in the wilderness any more.—At present we are like a flock in the wilderness, our soul often hungry, and thirsty, and sorely tried. Often we feel as if we could go no farther, but must lie down and die. Often we feel temptations too much for us, or persecutions too strong for us to bear. When we are with Christ we shall hunger no more, all our pains shall be ended. Learn to glorify Him in the fires, to sing in the wilderness. This is the only world where you can give God that glory.
(3.) Father, Son, and Spirit will bless us.—The Lamb shall feed us: He that died for us. We shall always see our security before us in our Surety; no trembling shall ever come over our soul. He shall be one like us—a Lamb—like the least of us; we shall learn of God from Him. The Spirit will be like “living fountains of waters.” Here, we never have enough; there, without measure. The Father will be a father to us. He will wipe away tears—the tears we shed in dying,—wilderness tears,—the tears over lost friends, and a perishing world. “What manner of persons ought we to be!”
DUNDEE, 1840