A Great Wonder in Heaven

"And there appeared a great wonder in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars." -Revelation 12:1 [KJV]

My soul! as the beloved apostle was invited to see those precious visions, which the Lord favoured him with, for the church's good, so do thou, this evening, attend his ministry, and gather, under divine teaching, instruction from this great wonder, which John saw. Surely, the woman here spoken of, means the church, the Lamb's wife, clothed in her husband's righteousness; and the moon, like that planet which ministers to our world, under her feet: and the crown, with which her head was adorned, sets forth how the church is made glorious by the ministry of the twelve apostles in the gospel of salvation: for what can be more suitable for the church to be crowned with, than the blessed truths contained in their writings?  

Now, my soul, as every representation of the church not only sets forth the whole body at large, but every individual member of that body, ask thyself, hath this wonder been wrought on thee, which John saw? Art thou clothed with the sun, even with Jesus, the Sun of righteousness, in His garment of salvation? Hast thou mounted up, not in airy speculations, not in any fancied attainments of thine own, but in heavenly mindedness after Jesus, and devout communion with Him; so that the earth, with all its perishing beauties, is got under thy feet? Hast thou such views of the blessedness and preciousness of the word of God, the gospel of thy salvation, that it is dearer to thee than gold, yea, than all the crowns of the earth? Pause, while these inquiries pass over thy mind; and surely, if the Lord, by the sovereignty of His grace, hath wrought such blessed effects upon thee, a great wonder is indeed wrought in earth, like that which John saw in heaven, and well mayest thou stand amazed at the greatness and the distinguishing nature of salvation. "Lord! what am I; and what is my father's house?" 

-Robert Hawker (1753-1827 A.D.)   


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

JESUS - Rock of Ages

Jesus remains the same in all ages. He is the One who is constant when everything and everyone else fails. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever; the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. He is our R ock [I SAMUEL 2:2 ] . In the Old Testament, in Exodus 33, Jesus is pictured as the Cleft Rock. In that chapter, verse 18 and following, Moses desired to see the glory of the Lord, but was told, "You cannot see My face; for there shall no man see My face and live.” And the Lord said, “There is a place by Me, and you shalt stand upon a rock: and it shall come to pass, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by." Notice that as Moses stood upon the rock, the Lord hid him in the cleft. This wonderfully applies to us today! Believers are both standing on and hidden in Christ [COLOSSIANS 3:3 ] . We are both in and on the Rock. As life with its many bitter events presses upon us, ...
Read more

CHRIST OUR ONLY AND PERFECT RIGHTEOUSNESS

" The flesh lusteth against the Spirit." —Galatians 5:17 [KJV] Christian experience fully proves this apostolic truth. Hence the children of God cannot do the things that they would: nor have we any authority from God's word to conclude this lusting ever ceased in any of the saints till they got to glory; none are delivered from it while in the flesh. For, as the renewed soul or spirit loves to enjoy spiritual and heavenly objects, so the flesh, or unrenewed part, lusts after those objects it is naturally conversant with, and from which it derives its happiness.  Here is thy conflict, O Christian. Hence the necessity of thy Lord's command, "Watch always." This is the use of the doctrine. What woeful effects have fulfilling the lusts or desires of the flesh produced in eminent saints! Thou standest by faith, be not high-minded, but fear. The conceptions of lust are the productions of sin.— see James 1:15 . The commission of sin contracts fresh s...
Read more

GLORY ALONE IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST

" Lest Israel vaunt themselves against Me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me." -Judges 7:2 [KJV] Thus the Lord reasoned with Gideon. He knows what is in man. He sees the pride of the human heart: how prone we all are to boast in an arm of flesh. The Lord is jealous of His own glory. Gideon’s army of two and thirty thousand, is brought down to three hundred. By this handful of men, and no more, did Gideon gain the victory of the Midianites. The Lord’s wisdom in this was, “Lest Israel should vaunt themselves, and say, Mine own hand hath saved me.”   But I have not transcribed the text right. There are two little words of great import, which I have omitted. Mind then, O Christian— against Me. Now remember, whenever thou dost boast of thy power, thy free-will, thy human goodness, thy works, ditties, conditions, and performances in order to be saved, thou art then, as it were, two and thirty thousand strong. Thou vauntest thyself against the Lord . Thou art gloryi...
Read more