For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them into living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes (Rev. 7:17).
What a beautiful picture of the heavenly Shepherd with His sheep is portrayed in our text! He is a shepherd-king, for He has a throne. He leads His own in green pastures by fountains of living waters, and God Himself shall wipe away their tears by showing them the great design behind the tangled web of life and how all things, even for them, have worked together for good (Rom. 8:28).
The home eternal is for the redeemed, for it is the Lamb who leads them, "the Lamb for sinners slain." Because He is there, "they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more" (Rev. 7:16). Because God is there, they shall sorrow no more, for "God is love" (1 John 4:16).
Savonarola, in his Florentine dungeon the night before he was burned at the stake, was seen by the jailer to smile. "What is it?" the guard asked. Savonarola replied, "I hear the sound of falling chains, and their clang is like sweet music to my ears." He was looking forward to the resurrection land. As Jeremy Taylor puts it: "Days without nights, joys without sorrows, sanctity without sin, charity without stain, possession without fear, society without envying, communion of joys without lessening; and they shall dwell in a blessed country where an enemy never entered and from whence a friend never went away." That beautiful promise is for us, too.
O sweet and blessed country,
The home of God's elect!
O sweet and blessed country,
That eager hearts expect!
Jesus, in mercy brings us
To that dear land of rest;
Who art, with God the Father,
And Spirit, ever blest.
__Bernard of Cluny
MEDITATION PRAYER: "Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness" (Ps. 30:11).
What a beautiful picture of the heavenly Shepherd with His sheep is portrayed in our text! He is a shepherd-king, for He has a throne. He leads His own in green pastures by fountains of living waters, and God Himself shall wipe away their tears by showing them the great design behind the tangled web of life and how all things, even for them, have worked together for good (Rom. 8:28).
The home eternal is for the redeemed, for it is the Lamb who leads them, "the Lamb for sinners slain." Because He is there, "they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more" (Rev. 7:16). Because God is there, they shall sorrow no more, for "God is love" (1 John 4:16).
Savonarola, in his Florentine dungeon the night before he was burned at the stake, was seen by the jailer to smile. "What is it?" the guard asked. Savonarola replied, "I hear the sound of falling chains, and their clang is like sweet music to my ears." He was looking forward to the resurrection land. As Jeremy Taylor puts it: "Days without nights, joys without sorrows, sanctity without sin, charity without stain, possession without fear, society without envying, communion of joys without lessening; and they shall dwell in a blessed country where an enemy never entered and from whence a friend never went away." That beautiful promise is for us, too.
O sweet and blessed country,
The home of God's elect!
O sweet and blessed country,
That eager hearts expect!
Jesus, in mercy brings us
To that dear land of rest;
Who art, with God the Father,
And Spirit, ever blest.
__Bernard of Cluny
MEDITATION PRAYER: "Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness" (Ps. 30:11).
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