When the protection of human laws shall be withdrawn from those who honor the law of God, there will be, in different lands, a simultaneous movement for their destruction. As the time appointed in the decree draws near, the people will conspire to root out the hated sect. It will be determined to strike in one night a decisive blow, which shall utterly silence the voice of dissent and reproof.
The people of God--some in prison cells, some hidden in solitary retreats in the forests and the mountains--still plead for divine protection, while in every quarter companies of armed men, urged on by hosts of evil angels, are preparing for the work of death. It is now, in the hour of utmost extremity, that the God of Israel will interpose for the deliverance of His chosen. Saith the Lord; "Ye shall have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth . . . to come into the mountain of the Lord, to the Mighty One of Israel. And the Lord shall cause His glorious voice to be heard, and shall show the lighting down of His arm, with the indignation of His anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones." Isaiah 30:29, 30.
With shouts of triumph,
jeering, and imprecation, throngs of evil men are about to rush
upon their prey, when, lo, a dense blackness, deeper than the
darkness of the night, falls upon the earth. Then a rainbow, shining
with the glory from the throne of God, spans the heavens and seems
to encircle each praying company. The angry multitudes are suddenly
arrested. Their mocking cries die away. The objects of their murderous
rage are forgotten. With fearful forebodings they gaze upon the
symbol of God's covenant and long to be shielded from its overpowering
brightness.
By the people of God a voice, clear and melodious, is heard, saying, "Look up," and lifting their eyes to the heavens, they behold the bow of promise. The black, angry clouds that covered the firmament are parted, and like Stephen they look up steadfastly into heaven and see the glory of God and the Son of man seated upon His throne. In His divine form they discern the marks of His humiliation; and from His lips they hear the request presented before His Father and the holy angels: "I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am." John 17:24. Again a voice, musical and triumphant, is heard, saying: "They come! they come! holy, harmless, and undefiled. They have kept the word of My patience; they shall walk among the angels;" and the pale, quivering lips of those who have held fast their faith utter a shout of victory.
It is at midnight that God manifests His power for the deliverance of His people. The sun appears, shining in its strength. Signs and wonders follow in quick succession. The wicked look with terror and amazement upon the scene, while the righteous behold with solemn joy the tokens of their deliverance. Everything in nature seems turned out of its course. The streams cease to flow. Dark, heavy clouds come up and clash against each other. In the midst of the angry heavens is one clear space of indescribable glory, whence comes the voice of God like the sound of many waters, saying: "It is done." Revelation 16:17.
That voice shakes the heavens
and the earth. There is a
mighty earthquake, "such
as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake,
and so great." Verses 17, 18. The firmament appears to open
and shut. The glory from the throne of God seems flashing through.
The mountains shake like a reed in the wind, and ragged rocks
are scattered on every side. There is a roar as of a coming tempest.
The sea is lashed into fury. There is heard the shriek of a hurricane
like the voice of demons upon a mission of destruction. The whole
earth heaves and swells like the waves of the sea. Its surface
is breaking up. Its very foundations seem to be giving way. Mountain
chains are sinking. Inhabited islands disappear. The seaports
that have become like Sodom for wickedness are swallowed up by
the angry waters. Babylon the great has come in remembrance before
God, "to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness
of His wrath." Great hailstones, every one "about the
weight of a talent," are doing their work of destruction.
Verses 19, 21. The proudest cities of the earth are laid low.
The lordly palaces, upon which the world's great men have lavished
their wealth in order to glorify themselves, are crumbling to
ruin before their eyes. Prison walls are rent asunder, and God's
people, who have been held in bondage for their faith, are set
free.
Graves are opened, and "many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth. . . awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." Daniel 12:2. All who have died in the faith of the third angel's message come forth from the tomb glorified, to hear God's covenant of peace with those who have kept His law. "They also which pierced Him" (Revelation 1:7), those that mocked and derided Christ's dying agonies, and the most violent opposers of His truth and His people, are raised to behold Him in His glory and to see the honor placed upon the loyal and obedient.
Thick clouds still cover
the sky; yet the sun now and then breaks through, appearing like
the avenging eye of Jehovah.
Fierce lightnings leap from
the heavens, enveloping the earth in a sheet of flame. Above the
terrific roar of thunder, voices, mysterious and awful, declare
the doom of the wicked. The words spoken are not comprehended
by all; but they are distinctly understood by the false teachers.
Those who a little before were so reckless, so boastful and defiant,
so exultant in their cruelty to God's commandment-keeping people,
are now overwhelmed with consternation and shuddering in fear.
Their wails are heard above the sound of the elements. Demons
acknowledge the deity of Christ and tremble before His power,
while men are supplicating for mercy and groveling in abject terror.
Said the prophets of old, as they beheld in holy vision the day of God: "Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty." Isaiah 13:6. "Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of His majesty. The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon everyone that is proud and lofty, and upon everyone that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low." "In that day a man shall cast the idols of his silver, and the idols of his gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of His majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth." Isaiah 2:10-12, 20, 21, margin.
Through a rift in the clouds
there beams a star whose brilliancy is increased fourfold in contrast
with the darkness. It speaks hope and joy to the faithful, but
severity and wrath to the transgressors of God's law. Those who
have sacrificed all for Christ are now secure, hidden as in the
secret of the Lord's pavilion. They have been tested, and before
the world and the despisers of truth they have evinced their fidelity
to Him who died for them. A marvelous change has come over those
who have held fast their integrity in the very face of death.
They have been suddenly delivered from the dark and terrible tyranny
of men transformed to demons. Their faces, so lately pale, anxious,
and haggard, are now aglow with wonder, faith, and love. Their
voices rise in triumphant song: "God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though
the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into
the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled,
though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof." Psalm
46:1-3.
While these words of holy trust ascend to God, the clouds sweep back, and the starry heavens are seen, unspeakably glorious in contrast with the black and angry firmament on either side. The glory of the celestial city streams from the gates ajar. Then there appears against the sky a hand holding two tables of stone folded together. Says the prophet: "The heavens shall declare His righteousness: for God is judge Himself." Psalm 50:6. That holy law, God's righteousness, that amid thunder and flame was proclaimed from Sinai as the guide of life, is now revealed to men as the rule of judgment. The hand opens the tables, and there are seen the precepts of the Decalogue, traced as with a pen of fire. The words are so plain that all can read them. Memory is aroused, the darkness of superstition and heresy is swept from every mind, and God's ten words, brief, comprehensive, and authoritative, are presented to the view of all the inhabitants of the earth.
It is impossible to describe
the horror and despair of those who have trampled upon God's holy
requirements. The Lord gave them His law; they might have compared
their characters with it and learned their defects while there
was yet opportunity for repentance and reform; but in order to
secure the favor of the world, they set aside its precepts and
taught others to transgress. They have endeavored to compel God's
people to profane His Sabbath. Now they are condemned by that
law which they have despised. With awful distinctness they see
that they are without excuse. They chose whom they would serve
and worship. "Then shall ye return, and discern between the
righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him
that serveth Him not." Malachi 3:18.
The enemies of God's law, from the ministers down to the least among them, have a new conception of truth and duty. Too late they see that the Sabbath of the fourth commandment is the seal of the living God. Too late they see the true nature of their spurious sabbath and the sandy foundation upon which they have been building. They find that they have been fighting against God. Religious teachers have led souls to perdition while professing to guide them to the gates of Paradise. Not until the day of final accounts will it be known how great is the responsibility of men in holy office and how terrible are the results of their unfaithfulness. Only in eternity can we rightly estimate the loss of a single soul. Fearful will be the doom of him to whom God shall say: Depart, thou wicked servant.
The voice of God is heard from heaven, declaring the day and hour of Jesus' coming, and delivering the everlasting covenant to His people. Like peals of loudest thunder His words roll through the earth. The Israel of God stand listening, with their eyes fixed upward. Their countenances are lighted up with His glory, and shine as did the face of Moses when he came down from Sinai. The wicked cannot look upon them. And when the blessing is pronounced on those who have honored God by keeping His Sabbath holy, there is a mighty shout of victory.
Soon there appears in the
east a small black cloud, about half the size of a man's hand.
It is the cloud which surrounds the Saviour and which seems in
the distance to be shrouded in darkness. The people of God know
this to be the sign of the Son of man. In solemn silence they
gaze upon it as it draws nearer the earth, becoming lighter and
more glorious, until it is a great white cloud, its base a glory
like consuming fire, and above it the rainbow of the covenant.
Jesus rides forth as a mighty conqueror. Not now a "Man of
Sorrows," to drink the bitter cup of shame and woe, He comes,
victor in heaven and earth, to judge the living and the dead.
"Faithful and True," "in righteousness He doth
judge and make war." And "the armies which were in heaven"
(Revelation 19:11, 14) follow Him. With anthems of celestial melody
the holy angels, a vast, unnumbered throng, attend Him on His
way. The firmament seems filled with radiant forms--"ten
thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands."
No human pen can portray the scene; no mortal mind is adequate
to conceive its splendor. "His glory covered the heavens,
and the earth was full of His praise. And His brightness was as
the light." Habakkuk 3:3,4. As the living cloud comes still
nearer, every eye beholds the Prince of life. No crown of thorns
now mars that sacred head; but a diadem of glory rests on His
holy brow. His countenance outshines the dazzling brightness of
the noonday sun. "And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh
a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords." Revelation
19:16.
Before His presence "all faces are turned into paleness;" upon the rejecters of God's mercy falls the terror of eternal despair. "The heart melteth, and the knees smite together, . . . and the faces of them all gather blackness." Jeremiah 30:6; Nahum 2:10. The righteous cry with trembling: "Who shall be able to stand?" The angels' song is hushed, and there is a period of awful silence. Then the voice of Jesus is heard, saying: "My grace is sufficient for you." The faces of the righteous are lighted up, and joy fills every heart. And the angels strike a note higher and sing again as they draw still nearer to the earth.
The King of kings descends
upon the cloud, wrapped in flaming fire. The heavens are rolled
together as a scroll, the earth trembles before Him, and every
mountain and island is moved out of its place. "Our God shall
come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before Him,
and it shall be very tempestuous round about Him. He shall call
to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that He may judge
His people." Psalm 50:3,4.
"And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" Revelation 6:15-17.
The derisive jests have ceased. Lying lips are hushed into silence. The clash of arms, the tumult of battle, "with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood" (Isaiah 9:5), is stilled. Nought now is heard but the voice of prayer and the sound of weeping and lamentation. The cry bursts forth from lips so lately scoffing: "The great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" The wicked pray to be buried beneath the rocks of the mountains rather than meet the face of Him whom they have despised and rejected.
That voice which penetrates
the ear of the dead, they know. How often have its plaintive,
tender tones called them to repentance. How often has it been
heard in the touching entreaties of a friend, a brother, a Redeemer.
To the rejecters of His grace no other could be so full of condemnation,
so burdened with denunciation, as that voice which has so long
pleaded: "Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will
ye die?" Ezekiel 33:11. Oh, that it were to them the voice
of a stranger! Says Jesus: "I have called, and ye refused;
I have stretched out My hand, and no man regarded; but ye have
set at nought all My counsel, and would none of My reproof."
Proverbs 1:24, 25. That voice awakens memories which they would
fain blot out--warnings despised, invitations refused, privileges
slighted.
There are those who mocked Christ in His humiliation. With thrilling power come to their minds the Sufferer's words, when, adjured by the high priest, He solemnly declared: "Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven." Matthew 26:64. Now they behold Him in His glory, and they are yet to see Him sitting on the right hand of power.
Those who derided His claim to be the Son of God are speechless now. There is the haughty Herod who jeered at His royal title and bade the mocking soldiers crown Him king. There are the very men who with impious hands placed upon His form the purple robe, upon His sacred brow the thorny crown, and in His unresisting hand the mimic scepter, and bowed before Him in blasphemous mockery. The men who smote and spit upon the Prince of life now turn from His piercing gaze and seek to flee from the overpowering glory of His presence. Those who drove the nails through His hands and feet, the soldier who pierced His side, behold these marks with terror and remorse.
With awful distinctness do priests and rulers recall the events of Calvary. With shuddering horror they remember how, wagging their heads in satanic exultation, they exclaimed: "He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He be the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now, if He will have Him." Matthew 27:42, 43.
Vividly they recall the
Saviour's parable of the husbandmen who refused to render to their
lord the fruit of the vineyard, who abused his servants and slew
his son. They remember, too, the sentence which they themselves
pronounced: The lord of the vineyard "will miserably destroy
those wicked men." In the sin and punishment of those unfaithful
men the priests and elders see their own course and their own
just doom. And now there rises a cry of mortal agony. Louder than
the shout, "Crucify Him, crucify Him," which rang through
the streets of Jerusalem, swells the awful, despairing wail, "He
is the Son of God! He is the true Messiah!" They seek to
flee from the presence of the King of kings. In the deep caverns
of the earth, rent asunder by the warring of the elements, they
vainly attempt to hide.
In the lives of all who reject truth there are moments when conscience awakens, when memory presents the torturing recollection of a life of hypocrisy and the soul is harassed with vain regrets. But what are these compared with the remorse of that day when "fear cometh as desolation," when "destruction cometh as a whirlwind"! Proverbs 1:27. Those who would have destroyed Christ and His faithful people now witness the glory which rests upon them. In the midst of their terror they hear the voices of the saints in joyful strains exclaiming: "Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us." Isaiah 25:9.
Amid the reeling of the earth, the flash of lightning, and the roar of thunder, the voice of the Son of God calls forth the sleeping saints. He looks upon the graves of the righteous, then, raising His hands to heaven, He cries: "Awake, awake, awake, ye that sleep in the dust, and arise!" Throughout the length and breadth of the earth the dead shall hear that voice, and they that hear shall live. And the whole earth shall ring with the tread of the exceeding great army of every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. From the prison house of death they come, clothed with immortal glory, crying: "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" 1 Corinthians 15:55. And the living righteous and the risen saints unite their voices in a long, glad shout of victory.
All come forth from their
graves the same in stature as when they entered the tomb. Adam,
who stands among the risen throng, is of lofty height and majestic
form, in stature but little below the Son of God. He presents
a marked contrast to the people of later generations; in this
one respect is shown the great degeneracy of the race. But all
arise with the freshness and vigor of eternal youth. In the beginning,
man was created in the likeness of God, not only in character,
but in form and feature. Sin defaced and almost obliterated the
divine image; but Christ came to restore that which had been lost.
He will change our vile bodies and fashion them like unto His
glorious body. The mortal, corruptible form, devoid of comeliness,
once polluted with sin, becomes perfect, beautiful, and immortal.
All blemishes and deformities are left in the grave. Restored
to the tree of life in the long-lost Eden, the redeemed will "grow
up" (Malachi 4:2) to the full stature of the race in its
primeval glory. The last lingering traces of the curse of sin
will be removed, and Christ's faithful ones will appear in "the
beauty of the Lord our God," in mind and soul and body reflecting
the perfect image of their Lord. Oh, wonderful redemption! long
talked of, long hoped for, contemplated with eager anticipation,
but never fully understood.
The living righteous are changed "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye." At the voice of God they were glorified; now they are made immortal and with the risen saints are caught up to meet their Lord in the air. Angels "gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." Little children are borne by holy angels to their mothers' arms. Friends long separated by death are united, nevermore to part, and with songs of gladness ascend together to the City of God.
On each side of the cloudy chariot are wings, and beneath it are living wheels; and as the chariot rolls upward, the wheels cry, "Holy," and the wings, as they move, cry, "Holy," and the retinue of angels cry, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty." And the redeemed shout, "Alleluia!" as the chariot moves onward toward the New Jerusalem.
Before entering the City
of God, the Saviour bestows upon His followers the emblems of
victory and invests them with the insignia of their royal state.
The glittering ranks are drawn up in the form of a hollow square
about their King, whose form rises in majesty high above saint
and angel, whose countenance beams upon them full of benignant
love. Throughout the unnumbered host of the redeemed every glance
is fixed upon Him, every eye beholds His glory whose "visage
was so marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons
of men." Upon the heads of the overcomers, Jesus with His
own right hand places the crown of glory. For each there is a
crown, bearing his own "new name" (Revelation 2:17),
and the inscription, "Holiness to the Lord." In every
hand are placed the victor's palm and the shining harp. Then,
as the commanding angels strike the note, every hand sweeps the
harp strings with skillful touch, awaking sweet music in rich,
melodious strains. Rapture unutterable thrills every heart, and
each voice is raised in grateful praise: "Unto Him that loved
us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and hath made
us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to Him be glory
and dominion for ever and ever." Revelation 1:5, 6.
Before the ransomed throng is the Holy City. Jesus opens wide the pearly gates, and the nations that have kept the truth enter in. There they behold the Paradise of God, the home of Adam in his innocency. Then that voice, richer than any music that ever fell on mortal ear, is heard, saying: "Your conflict is ended." "Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."
Now is fulfilled the Saviour's
prayer for His disciples: "I will that they also, whom Thou
hast given Me, be with Me where I am." "Faultless before
the presence of His glory with exceeding joy" (Jude 24),
Christ presents to the Father the purchase of His blood, declaring:
"Here am I, and the children whom Thou hast given Me."
"Those that Thou gavest Me I have kept." Oh, the wonders
of redeeming love! the rapture of that hour when the infinite
Father, looking upon the ransomed, shall behold His image, sin's
discord banished, its blight removed, and the human once more
in harmony with the divine!
With unutterable love, Jesus welcomes His faithful ones to the joy of their Lord. The Saviour's joy is in seeing, in the kingdom of glory, the souls that have been saved by His agony and humiliation. And the redeemed will be sharers in His joy, as they behold, among the blessed, those who have been won to Christ through their prayers, their labors, and their loving sacrifice. As they gather about the great white throne, gladness unspeakable will fill their hearts, when they behold those whom they have won for Christ, and see that one has gained others, and these still others, all brought into the haven of rest, there to lay their crowns at Jesus' feet and praise Him through the endless cycles of eternity.
As the ransomed ones are welcomed to the City of God, there rings out upon the air an exultant cry of adoration. The two Adams are about to meet. The Son of God is standing with outstretched arms to receive the father of our race--the being whom He created, who sinned against his Maker, and for whose sin the marks of the crucifixion are borne upon the Saviour's form. As Adam discerns the prints of the cruel nails, he does not fall upon the bosom of his Lord, but in humiliation casts himself at His feet, crying: "Worthy, worthy is the Lamb that was slain!" Tenderly the Saviour lifts him up and bids him look once more upon the Eden home from which he has so long been exiled.
After his expulsion from
Eden, Adam's life on earth was filled with sorrow. Every dying
leaf, every victim of sacrifice, every blight upon the fair face
of nature, every stain upon man's purity, was a fresh reminder
of his sin. Terrible was the agony of remorse as he beheld iniquity
abounding, and, in answer to his warnings, met the reproaches
cast upon himself as the cause of sin. With patient humility he
bore, for nearly a thousand years, the penalty of transgression.
Faithfully did he repent of his sin and trust in the merits of
the promised Saviour, and he died in the hope of a resurrection.
The Son of God redeemed man's failure and fall; and now, through
the work of the atonement, Adam is reinstated in his first dominion.
Transported with joy, he beholds the trees that were once his delight--the very trees whose fruit he himself had gathered in the days of his innocence and joy. He sees the vines that his own hands have trained, the very flowers that he once loved to care for. His mind grasps the reality of the scene; he comprehends that this is indeed Eden restored, more lovely now than when he was banished from it. The Saviour leads him to the tree of life and plucks the glorious fruit and bids him eat. He looks about him and beholds a multitude of his family redeemed, standing in the Paradise of God. Then he casts his glittering crown at the feet of Jesus and, falling upon His breast, embraces the Redeemer. He touches the golden harp, and the vaults of heaven echo the triumphant song: "Worthy, worthy, worthy is the Lamb that was slain, and lives again!" The family of Adam take up the strain and cast their crowns at the Saviour's feet as they bow before Him in adoration.
This reunion is witnessed by the angels who wept at the fall of Adam and rejoiced when Jesus, after His resurrection, ascended to heaven, having opened the grave for all who should believe on His name. Now they behold the work of redemption accomplished, and they unite their voices in the song of praise.
Upon the crystal sea before
the throne, that sea of glass as it were mingled with fire,--so
resplendent is it with the glory of God,--are gathered the company
that have "gotten the victory over the beast, and over his
image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name."
With the Lamb upon Mount Zion, "having the harps of God,"
they stand, the hundred and forty and four thousand that were
redeemed from among men; and there is heard, as the sound of many
waters, and as the sound of a great thunder, "the voice of
harpers harping with their harps." And they sing "a
new song" before the throne, a song which no man can learn
save the hundred and forty and four thousand. It is the song of
Moses and the Lamb--a song of deliverance. None but the hundred
and forty-four thousand can learn that song; for it is the song
of their experience--an experience such as no other company have
ever had. "These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever
He goeth." These, having been translated from the earth,
from among the living, are counted as "the first fruits unto
God and to the Lamb." Revelation 15:2, 3; 14:1-5. "These
are they which came out of great tribulation;" they have
passed through the time of trouble such as never was since there
was a nation; they have endured the anguish of the time of Jacob's
trouble; they have stood without an intercessor through the final
outpouring of God's judgments. But they have been delivered, for
they have "washed their robes, and made them white in the
blood of the Lamb." "In their mouth was found no guile:
for they are without fault" before God. "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 have seen the earth wasted with famine and pestilence,
the sun having power to scorch men with great heat, and they themselves
have endured suffering, hunger, and thirst. But "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." Revelation 7:14-17.
In all ages the Saviour's
chosen have been educated and disciplined in the school of trial.
They walked in narrow paths on earth; they were purified in the
furnace of affliction. For Jesus' sake they endured opposition,
hatred, calumny. They followed Him through conflicts sore; they
endured self-denial and experienced bitter disappointments. By
their own painful experience they learned the evil of sin, its
power, its guilt, its woe; and they look upon it with abhorrence.
A sense of the infinite sacrifice made for its cure humbles them
in their own sight and fills their hearts with gratitude and praise
which those who have never fallen cannot appreciate. They love
much because they have been forgiven much. Having been partakers
of Christ's sufferings, they are fitted to be partakers with Him
of His glory.
The heirs of God have come
from garrets, from hovels, from dungeons, from scaffolds, from
mountains, from deserts, from the caves of the earth, from the
caverns of the sea. On earth they were "destitute, afflicted,
tormented." Millions went down to the grave loaded with infamy
because they steadfastly refused to yield to the deceptive claims
of Satan. By human tribunals they were adjudged the vilest of
criminals. But now "God is judge Himself." Psalm 50:6.
Now the decisions of earth are reversed. "The rebuke of His
people shall He take away." Isaiah 25:8. "They shall
call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the Lord." He
hath appointed "to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil
of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness."
Isaiah 62:12; 61:3. They are no longer feeble, afflicted, scattered,
and oppressed. Henceforth they are to be ever with the Lord. They
stand before the throne clad in richer robes than the most honored
of the earth have ever worn. They are crowned with diadems more
glorious than were ever placed upon the brow of earthly monarchs.
The days of pain and weeping are forever ended. The King of glory
has wiped the tears from all faces; every cause of grief has been
removed. Amid the waving of palm branches they pour forth a song
of praise, clear, sweet, and harmonious; every voice takes up
the strain, until the anthem swells through the vaults of heaven:
"Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and
unto the Lamb." And all the inhabitants of heaven respond
in the ascription: "Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom,
and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our
God for ever and ever." Revelation 7:10, 12.
In this life we can only begin to understand the wonderful theme of redemption. With our finite comprehension we may consider most earnestly the shame and the glory, the life and the death, the justice and the mercy, that meet in the cross; yet with the utmost stretch of our mental powers we fail to grasp its full significance. The length and the breadth, the depth and the height, of redeeming love are but dimly comprehended. The plan of redemption will not be fully understood, even when the ransomed see as they are seen and know as they are known; but through the eternal ages new truth will continually unfold to the wondering and delighted mind. Though the griefs and pains and temptations of earth are ended and the cause removed, the people of God will ever have a distinct, intelligent knowledge of what their salvation has cost.
The cross of Christ will
be the science and the song of the redeemed through all eternity.
In Christ glorified they will behold Christ crucified. Never will
it be forgotten that He whose power created and upheld the unnumbered
worlds through the vast realms of space, the Beloved of God, the
Majesty of heaven, He whom cherub and shining seraph delighted
to adore--humbled Himself to uplift fallen man; that He bore the
guilt and shame of sin, and the hiding of His Father's face, till
the woes of a lost world broke His heart and crushed out His life
on Calvary's cross. That the Maker of all worlds, the Arbiter
of all destinies, should lay aside His glory and humiliate Himself
from love to man will ever excite the wonder and adoration of
the universe. As the nations of the saved look upon their Redeemer
and behold the eternal glory of the Father shining in His countenance;
as they behold His throne, which is from everlasting to everlasting,
and know that His kingdom is to have no end, they break forth
in rapturous song: "Worthy, worthy is the Lamb that was slain,
and hath redeemed us to God by His own most precious blood!"
The mystery of the cross explains all other mysteries. In the light that streams from Calvary the attributes of God which had filled us with fear and awe appear beautiful and attractive. Mercy, tenderness, and parental love are seen to blend with holiness, justice, and power. While we behold the majesty of His throne, high and lifted up, we see His character in its gracious manifestations, and comprehend, as never before, the significance of that endearing title, "Our Father."
It will be seen that He who is infinite in wisdom could devise no plan for our salvation except the sacrifice of His Son. The compensation for this sacrifice is the joy of peopling the earth with ransomed beings, holy, happy, and immortal. The result of the Saviour's conflict with the powers of darkness is joy to the redeemed, redounding to the glory of God throughout eternity. And such is the value of the soul that the Father is satisfied with the price paid; and Christ Himself, beholding the fruits of His great sacrifice, is satisfied.
