The Glory of Heaven

If the mountains were gold; if every sand in the sea were a diamond; if the whole globe were a shining gem—it would all still be infinitely beneath the glory of heaven!

1. In heaven, there shall be freedom from sin. Here on earth, sin keeps house with us; it is as natural for us to sin—as to breathe. The soul that is most purified, and cleansed by grace, is not without some dregs of corruption. But a sinful thought shall not creep into heaven! There is beauty—which is not stained with lust; and honor—which is not swelled with pride. "Nothing impure will ever enter it!" Revelation 21:27

2. In heaven, there shall be freedom from the assaults of the red dragon. It is sad to have Satan daily soliciting us by his temptations—and laboring to trick us into sin. But the old serpent is forever cast out of the heavenly Paradise!

3. In heaven, there shall be freedom from all afflictions. Our lives now are intertwined with troubles. "My life is consumed by anguish, and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak." Psalm 31:10. There are many things to occasion trouble—sometimes poverty afflicts; sometimes sickness tortures; sometimes the unkindness of friends breaks the heart. Our lives, like the seas, are full of tempests. But in the kingdom of Heaven, there is nothing to give grief. There, all is serene and calm; there is nothing within to trouble us—or without to molest us.

4. The delights of the heavenly kingdom are unmixed. The comforts here below, are checkered. Honor may be stained with disgrace; joy interwoven with sorrow. Our suns are mixed with clouds. But the delicacies of heaven are pure as well as pleasant. There is honey—which has not one drop of gall. The crystal spring of joy, has no settlings of sorrow at the bottom. The rose in that paradise—is without prickles; the sun in that horizon—is without eclipse.

This glorious kingdom, will make amends for all our labor and pains!

~ Thomas Watson

Bron: Daily Edification, edificationstation.com

God is Our Reward

"I am your exceeding great reward." Genesis 15:1

God Himself is His people's reward! God is a satisfying reward. God is a whole ocean of blessedness, so that the soul, while it is bathing in it, cries out in a divine ecstasy, "I have enough!" Here is fullness—but no excess. Psalm 17:15, "I shall be satisfied when I awake with Your likeness." That is—when I awake out of the sleep of death, having my soul embellished with the illustrious beams of Your glory—I shall be satisfied. In God there is not only sufficiency—but redundancy; not only the fullness of the vessel—but the fullness of the fountain! In God, this Ark of blessedness, are all good things to be found. Therefore Jacob, having God for his reward, could say, "I have enough!" or, as it is in the original, "I have all!" Genesis 33:11. God is all marrow and fatness. He is such an plenteous reward as exceeds our very faith. If the Queen of Sheba's heart fainted when she saw all King Solomon's glory—what would it have done to have beheld the astonishing and magnificent reward which God bestows upon His favorites!

~ Thomas Watson

Bron: Daily Edification, edificationstation.com

God is a Pleasant Reward

God is a pleasant reward. He is the quintessence of delight! He is all beauty and love! To be feeding upon thoughts of God is delicious. Psalm 104:34, "My meditation on Him shall be sweet." It is delightful to the bee to suck the flower. Just so, by holy musing, to suck out some of the sweetness in God, carries a secret delight in it. To have a prospect of God only by faith is pleasant. 1 Peter 1:8, "In whom believing you rejoice." Then what will the joy of vision be—when we shall have a clear, personal sight of Him—and be laid in the bosom of divine love! What a delicious reward will God be in heaven! This will be better felt—than expressed. The godly, entering upon their celestial reward, are said to enter into the joy of their Lord, Matthew 25:21. Oh, amazing! The saints enter into God's own joy! They have not only the joy which God bestows—but the joy which God enjoys!

~ Thomas Watson

Bron: Daily Edifcation, edificationstation.com

Our Everlasting Reward

God is an everlasting reward. Mortality is the flaw of all earthly things. But God is an eternal reward. Eternity cannot be measured by years nor ages. Eternity makes glory, weighty. Psalm 48:14, "This God is our God forever and ever!" Oh, saints of God, your praying and repenting are but for a while—but your reward is forever! As long as God is God, He will be rewarding you! Hosea 2:19, "I will betroth you unto me forever." God marries Himself to His people, and this admits of no divorce. God's love for His elect is as unchangeable as His love for Christ! Psalm 73:26, "My portion forever." This portion cannot be spent—because it is infinite; nor can it be lost—because it is eternal.

In God are treasures which can never be emptied—and pleasures which can never be ended!

"You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand!" Psalm 16:11

~ Thomas Watson

Bron: Daily Edification, edificationstation.com

Look Ahead!

In our Christian pilgrimage it is well, for the most part, to be looking forward. Forward lies the crown, and onward is the goal. Whether it be for hope, for joy, for consolation, or for the inspiring of our love, the future must, after all, be the grand object of the eye of faith. Looking into the future we see sin cast out, the body of sin and death destroyed, the soul made perfect, and fit to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light. Looking further yet, the believer's enlightened eye can see death's river passed, the gloomy stream forded, and the hills of light attained on which stands the celestial city; he sees himself enter within the pearly gates, hailed as more than conqueror, crowned by the hand of Christ, embraced in the arms of Jesus, glorified with Him, and made to sit together with Him on His throne, even as He has overcome and has sat down with the Father on His throne. The thought of this future may well relieve the darkness of the past and the gloom of the present. The joys of heaven will surely compensate for the sorrows of earth. Hush, hush, my doubts! Death is but a narrow stream, and you shall soon have forded it. Time, how short—eternity, how long! Death, how brief—immortality, how endless! Methinks I even now eat of Eshcol's clusters, and sip of the well which is within the gate. The road is so, so short! I shall soon be there.

"When the world my heart is rending
With its heaviest storm of care,
My glad thoughts to heaven ascending,
Find a refuge from despair.

Faith's bright vision shall sustain me
Till life's pilgrimage is past;
Fears may vex and troubles pain me,
I shall reach my home at last."

~ Charles Spurgeon