[0:00] Now friends, shall we turn for a little time tonight to the portion of scripture that we read together. The book of Revelation, chapter 22, and we may read from verse 3.
[0:14] Revelation, chapter 22, and reading at verse 3. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his servants shall serve him, and they shall see his face, and his name shall be in their foreheads.
[0:40] And there shall be no night there, and they need no candle, neither light of the sun. For the Lord God giveth them light, and they shall reign for ever and ever.
[0:55] And especially the words of verse 4. And they shall see his face, and his name shall be in their foreheads.
[1:07] This wonderful vision was given to the Apostle John on the island of Patmos, when he was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day.
[1:25] The Apostle had been banished by a cruel Caesar. And it is believed that he had to labor there as a slave in the tin mines.
[1:44] The man of God was suffering greatly. He was enduring persecution for the faith of Christ.
[1:58] And at this time, John was a very old man. He was the last of the Apostles. John was the most intimate of his disciples.
[2:19] And yet, when the risen Lord appeared in majesty, John said, And I fell at his feet as one dead.
[2:34] But he laid his right hand upon me, And said unto me, Fear not. Behold, I am the first and the last.
[2:47] I am he that liveth and was dead. And behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And have the keys of hell and of death.
[3:01] I fell at his feet as one dead. And you remember how we are told in the book of Exodus, How God appeared to Moses in the mount.
[3:17] After Israel had committed that great sin Of fashioning the golden calf and worshipping it, Moses was afraid.
[3:35] And God spoke graciously to him and said, I will put thee in the cleft of the rock When my glory passeth by.
[3:47] For there shall no man see me and live. And when you think of God, friend, How wonderful it is That the word declares of the redeemed in glory, They shall see his face And his name shall be in their foreheads.
[4:17] Now as we meditate on these words, We would like to think first of all Of the felicity of the redeemed.
[4:28] The felicity of the redeemed. In this chapter, We have a description of heaven.
[4:39] And it was to John the beloved That the honor was given Of describing the new Jerusalem, The city of the great king.
[4:55] And what beautiful language is used. What a majestic description Of the risen Lord And of his redeemed. John said, I beheld and lo, A great multitude That no man could number Standing before the throne of God And before the Lamb A great multitude That no man could number The fruit of the redeemed sacrifice Oh, when you think of it, friends, What a vast multitude.
[5:35] I always remember Seeing from India Through the Red Sea And looking up at the stars And seeing the myriads And myriads of stars And when you think of it, He counts the number of the stars He names them everyone.
[6:01] And when you think of modern technology, Think of the computer.
[6:13] Think of the vast calculations that it can make. Think of the universe And yet, And yet, Here is a mathematical problem That is beyond any computer on earth.
[6:29] A great multitude That no man can number All those who have been purchased By the blood of the Redeemer All those who die In the faith of the gospel Blessed are the dead That die in the Lord Yea, save the spirit For they do rest from their labors And their works To follow them The redeemed of the Lord A glorious company Some of them Died in infancy But came into the world And departed Others in childhood Or early manhood And womanhood Others when they were Ripe in years But all of them are in heaven All of them see the master's face
[7:33] Oh, isn't that wonderful To think of The great saints Of the Bible The most revered fathers Of the church With sinners who were saved Even at the eleventh hour Like the thief The penitent thief On the cross When you think of it All who have fallen asleep In Jesus Ah, my bereaved Christian friend Should not this give comfort To our hearts That it is written here They shall see his face They shall see his face There is no more curse Sin's defilement Is done away with forever
[8:33] Because Christ Was made a curse For us He has cancelled out The sentence Of our condemnation Do you remember How in the beginning When Adam fell That God said to him Cursed is the ground Cursed is the ground For thy sake Ah, but there in the glory There is no more curse Even the Christian Is conscious Of indwelling sin There are clouds That obscure The vision of God Here we see Through a glass Darkly We have glimpses Of our Redeemer With the eye of faith But there
[9:34] They shall see him Face to face They shall see his face And you remember How we are told Concerning the Queen of Sheba That she came From the ends of the earth To hear of Solomon's wisdom And you remember That she was enthralled By the glory Of Solomon's kingdom And she said Happy are these Thy servants That stand in thy presence And see the king's face They see the king's face That was their highest honour That is the greatest bliss Of the redeemed in heaven That they see his face
[10:35] Worthy the lamb that died They cry To be exalted thus Worthy the lamb Let us reply For he was slain for us One of the old fathers Wrote these lines Jesus The very thought of thee With sweetness fills my breast But sweeter far Thy face to see And in thy presence rest Ah yes friend You may be mourning Over a loved one Asleep in Jesus But remember Remember it is true Of that believer Who has gone to glory That they see
[11:37] The king's face Oh what wonderful grace Is revealed in this world His thoughts are higher Than our thoughts As the heavens are higher Than the earth Do you remember when Absalom was banished From the king's presence Because of a foul crime That he committed He was sent away And sometime afterwards Job The commander in chief Who was a friend of Absalom Tried to negotiate With the king For Absalom's return And at last David consented But he said Let him dwell In his own house
[12:37] But he shall not See my face He shall not see my face You see there was no real reconciliation There was no forgiveness There was no repentance In Absalom's heart As he soon showed By his rebellion Against his father's throne He shall not see my face But oh what a precious word this is Concerning the redeemed of the Lord That they shall see his face And his name Shall be in their foreheads But then also friends We would See in these words The blessedness Of heaven The blessedness of heaven They shall See his face Their salvation
[13:38] Is secure Now the face Of the Lord Jesus Acts upon the sons of men In two ways With some It is a face of terror We read there in Chapter 20 At verse 11 I saw a great white throne And him that sat on it From whose face the earth And the heaven fled away And there was found No place for them And I saw the dead Small and great Stand before God And the books were opened And another book was opened Which is the book of life And the dead were judged Out of those things Which were written in the books According to their works Before his face The heaven and the earth
[14:41] Fled away Or you remember Malachi's words Who may abide the day of his coming And who shall stand When he appear The ungodly The impenitent Wicked men Shall call upon the rocks To hide them And to the hills To cover us From the face of him That sitteth upon the throne And from the wrath Of the Lamb What a strange phrase The wrath Of the Lamb Ah, when you look On the little lambs In the fields What gentle Lovable creatures They are You don't associate Them with anger Ah, but you see Those who are Willfully Going on
[15:41] In the ways of sin Those who Contemptuously Reject The salvation Of the gospel Ah, they will fear The wrath Of the Lamb You remember how The second psalm ends Kiss ye the sun Lest in his hour Ye perish From the way If once His wrath Begin to burn Blessed all That on him stay They shall See his face The redeemed Of the Lord They are Everlastingly Secure Now to See his face Means To have a Clear knowledge Of Christ To look into
[16:42] The face of Christ Means to be Well acquainted With his Person With his Offices With his Character With his Works They see his face Not as through a glass Darkly Or the believer Sees his face In a sense With the eye of faith He sees his face In the Bible In the catechism In the confession Of faith But there They see him Face to face And every one Of the redeemed In glory Has more knowledge Of Christ Than the most advanced Christian Here below They are Enjoying His conscious
[17:43] Favor How often The psalmist Says Lord Lift upon us The light Of thy Countenance Blessed are These thy Servants That stand In thy Presence Continually And see The king's face And to see The king's face Surely means That there is The closest Of fellowship There in the Nearest possible Place Of communion With God In the nearest Possible place Of communion Ah you see A complete Transformation Has taken Place In them A complete
[18:44] Transformation They Shall Be like Him We shall Be like Him Said John When we Shall see Him As he Is They Are Changed From Glory To Glory By This Face To Face Vision Of The Lord Just As His People Progressing In Way Of Holiness Are Being Changed By The Spirit Into The Likeness Of Christ And Is That Not The Great Desire Of The Believer To Be Conformed To The Likeness Of Christ Ah My Believing Friend Is Is This Is This Not Your Greatest Sorrow That You Feel At Times So Unlike Christ That We Feel That We Are So Marred
[19:45] By Sin Ah We Look To Him And We Long To Be Like Him But When We See Ourselves In The Mirror Of The Word Then We Say With The Apostle Oh Wretched Man That I Am Who Shall Deliver Me From The Body Of This Death They See His Face And His Name Shall Be In Their Foreheads It Is Related Of One Of The Disruption Worthies The Reverend Hector MacPhail Of Resolus That On One Occasion He Was Invited To Conduct A Series Of Evangelistic Services In A Town In Lanarkshire And In The
[20:45] Midst Of These Services Mr. MacPhail Took Seriously Ill He Collapsed And He Was Taken To His Lodgings The Doctor Was Summoned And Came To See Him And It Appeared That The Man Of God Was In A Coma The Doctor Examined Him And Then As He Was Leaving The Room He Said To The Person Who Was In Attendance Poor Mr.
[21:22] MacPhail Poor Mr. MacPhail And A Voice Was Heard From The Figure On The Bed Not Poor Doctor Not Poor At All But Bordering On The Unsearchable Riches Of Christ Bordering On The Unsearchable Riches Of Christ And From That Bed He Went In To The Presence Of His Lord Then Also Friends We Would See In These Words The Completeness Of Their Consecration The Completeness Of Their Consecration They Shall See His Face And His Name Shall Be In Their Foreheads His Name Shall Be In Their
[22:22] Foreheads God's Character Is Indelibly Stamped Upon Them Do you Remember The Words Of The Apostle John In His Third Epistle Where He Said We Know That When He Appears We Shall Be Like Him For We Shall See Him As He Is We Know That When He Shall Appear We Shall Be Like Him For We Shall See Him As He Is Now This Is The Work Of The Holy Spirit To Conform Us To The Likeness Of Christ And All My Believing Friends Surely Surely That Is The Longing Of Your Heart
[23:22] To Be More And More Conformed To The Likeness Of The Lord Jesus To Have His Spirit Dwelling In Us He That Saith He Abideth In Him Said John Ought Himself So To Walk Even As He Walked To Be Conformed To His Likeness To Have His Fragrance About Us To Be Known By Our Walk And Conversation Among Men As Those Who Are His Being Conformed To The Likeness Of Christ In The Early Days Of Slavery In North America A Visitor To A Plantation In The Deep South Watched A Group Of
[24:22] Poor Negroes Who Were Loading Heavy Bales Onto A Car And Among Them There Was An Outstanding Man He Stood Erect His Shoulders Back He Was Unbowed By The Lashes Of A Cruel Overseer He Was Walking Up Rightly And The Visitor Inquired Us To The Identity Of This Man And He Was Told He Is The Son Of An African King And He Never Forgets It He Is The Son Of An African King And He Never Forgets It Ah My Friend Do We Remember Always
[25:24] That We Are The Children Of The Heavenly Father Does It Become Manifest By Our Words And By Our Deeds Is It Evident In Our Lives That We Belong To The Family Of God That We Belong To His Family They Shall See His Face And His Name Shall Be In Their Foreheads And John Said You Remember When He Appears We Shall Be Like Him For We Shall See Him As He Is We Shall See Him As He Is Not As He Was No Not In That State Of Humiliation Not In The Form Of A Servant
[26:24] But As He Now Is In His Glory We Shall See Him In His Glory They Shall See His Face Do Remember That When Peter And James And John Were With Our Lord On The Mount Of Tabernacles That They Were Overpowered By The Sight Of His Glory They Could Not Remain Awake They Were Overpowered By The Sight Of His Glory Now Our Catechism Tells Us That Believers Are To Be Made Holy Like Christ Perfectly Like Christ In The Full Enjoyment Of God To All Eternity Isn't That Wonderful Friend Oh What
[27:24] A Destiny Lies Before The Child Of God To Be Made Perfectly Like Christ Oh Wouldn't You Desire That Above All Things Friend To Be Made Perfectly Like Him They Should Be Made Perfectly Like Christ In The Full Enjoyment Of God To All Eternity In His Immediate Presence To Be Forever With The Lord Forever With The Lord For Me For Me Said Paul To Depart And To Be With Christ Is Far Better And I Can Hear Old Dr.
[28:11] Alexander Ross As He Used To Lecture Us In The College And He Would Say Gentlemen It Is To Be With Christ Is Very Far Better It Is Very Far Better To See His Face To Stand In His Presence To Be Conformed To The Likeness Of God's Dear Son They Shall See His Face And His Name Shall Be In Their Forehand And Who Are They Ah They Are Those Who When They Were On This Earth Came To Christ In All Their Need They Came To Him Ah Yes Friend You Must You Must Seek His Face On Earth You Must See Him By Faith As Your Savior Here If
[29:11] You Would See Him At Last As Your Friend You Must Commit The Keeping Of Your Soul To The Lord Jesus On This Earth Or You Will Not See Him To Rejoice In Him Hereafter They Shall See His Face Ah That Is Heaven Friend That Is The Greatest Joy That The Soul Of Man Can Know To See His Face They Shall See His Face And His Name Shall Be In Their Forehead
[30:22] Hospitality Of The Month And The Fellowship Of All The Friends And It Is A Memorable Occasion In Our Experience It Was A Lewis Minister Who First Encouraged Me To Be A Preacher Of The Gospel The Late Reverend Murdoch Campbell Of Resolus When I Came Out Of The Services I Was A Young Member Of His Congregation And He Arranged That I Should Take A Service In The Small Hall Of Partick Highland For The Young People And I Shall Never Forget My Debt To Him And Over The Years I Have Enjoyed Rich Fellowship With Many Of Our Brethren From Lewis And I Am Very
[31:23] Grateful For This Opportunity To Be With You And I Pray That The Lord's Blessing May Richly Follow Upon This Communion Season And Upon All The Labor Of Your Pastors And Those Who Preach The Gospel And May The Lord Bless Those Who Seek To Uphold Their Hands In The Lord And I Would Just Leave You With My Text They Shall See His Face And His Name Shall Be In Their Foreheads May The Lord Bless Our Meditation On His Word Let Us Pray O Lord We Bless Thee For The Revelation Of Thy Grace That Thou Has Said Concerning Thy Children That
[32:24] Thou Hast Prepared For Them A City O Then Grant Lord That We May May Not Seek To Lay Up Our Treasures Upon Earth Where Moth Corrupteth And Thieves Break Through And Steal But Grant That Our Treasure May Be In Heaven That Our Eyes May Be Continually Towards The Lord And Oh Grant Lord That As Men Are Troubled And Anxious Because Of The Things That Happen On This Earth Oh May Our Minds Be Stayed By The Remembrance That The Lord Is Sovereign That Christ Our Exalted Saviour Has All Power In Heaven And On Earth Oh We
[33:24] Pray Gracious Lord That They Will Pour Out The Spirit Upon Us That Thou Will Visit Us With Days Of Refreshing And That Thou Will Cause Thy Word To Go Forth With Power To The End Of The Earth That All The Mighty Kings On Earth Before Him Down Shall Fall And All The Nations Of The World Do Service To Him Shall Now Lord Be Pleased To Set The Seal Of Thy Spirit On All That Was Done In Thy Name Forgive The Iniquity Of Our Holy Things And O Lord Receive Our Petitions Put Them Into The Censor Of Our Great High Priest And O Through Him May We Have Acceptance In The Beloved
[34:24] And The Praise Shall Be Thine In Christ Forever Amen