Christian Life

The Clouds

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, prophecy, Sovereignty of God Leave a comment

Ascribe ye strength unto God: His excellency is over Israel, and His strength is in the clouds. – Psalm 68:34

“Ascribe ye strength unto God: His excellency is over Israel, and His strength is in the clouds.” This was the royal token given by Daniel, the Prophet, in his seventh chapter, at the 13th verse, “I saw in the night visions and, behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of Heaven.” The clouds are meant to set forth the might, as well as the majesty, of His coming. Not less than Divine is the Glory of the Son of God who once had not where to lay His head! The most sublime objects in nature shall most fitly minister to the manifest Glory of the returning King of men! “Behold, He comes,” not with the swaddling bands of His Infancy, the weariness of His Manhood, the shame of His death, but with all the glorious tapestry of Heaven’s high chambers!

The clouds denote the terror of His coming to the ungodly. His saints shall be caught up together with Him in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. But to those that shall remain on earth, the clouds shall turn to their blackness and horror of darkness. Then shall the impenitent behold this dread vision—the Son of Man coming in the clouds of Heaven. The clouds shall fill them with dread and the dread shall be abundantly justified, for those clouds are big with vengeance and shall burst in judgment on their heads! …Think clearly for a moment, until the meaning becomes real to you. Jesus Christ is coming, coming in unknown splendor! When He comes, He will be enthroned far above the attacks of His enemies, the persecutions of the godless and the sneers of skeptics. He is coming in the clouds of Heaven, and we shall be among the witnesses of His appearing! Let us dwell upon this Truth of God! ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1989.cfm

The Sign of the Son of Man

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, prophecy, Sovereignty of God Leave a comment

Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. – Revelation 1:7

We are told that His coming will be attended by a peculiar sign. “Behold, He comes with clouds.” We shall have no need to question whether it is the Son of Man who has come, or whether He is, indeed, come. This is to be no secret matter—His coming will be as manifest as yonder clouds! In the wilderness, the Presence of Jehovah was known by a visible pillar of cloud by day and an equally visible pillar of fire by night. That pillar of cloud was the sure token that the Lord was in His Holy Place, dwelling between the cherubim…So it is written, “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in Heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of Heaven with power and great glory.”

Is it not to show that His coming will be majestic? He makes the clouds His chariots. He comes with hosts of attendants and these of a nobler sort than earthly monarchs can summon to do them homage. With clouds of angels, cherubim and seraphim and all the armies of Heaven He comes! With all the forces of nature, thundercloud and blackness of tempest, the Lord of All makes His triumphant entrance to judge the world! The clouds are the dust of His feet in that dread day of battle when He shall ease Him of His adversaries, shaking them out of the earth with His thunder and consuming them with the devouring flame of His lightning! All Heaven shall gather with its utmost pomp to the great appearing of the Lord and all the terrible grandeur of nature shall then be seen at its fullest. Not as the Man of Sorrows, despised and rejected of men, shall Jesus come, but as Jehovah came upon Sinai in the midst of thick clouds and a terrible darkness, so shall He come, whose coming shall be the Final Judgment! ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1989.cfm

As Soon as Wisdom Allows

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, Sovereignty of God Leave a comment

He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! – Revelation 22:20

There is this sense lying in the background—that (Jesus) is already on the way. All that He is doing in Providence and Grace is a preparation for His coming. All the events of human history; all the great decisions of His august majesty whereby He rules all things—all these are tending towards the day of His appearing! Do not think that He delays His coming and then, all of a sudden, He will rush here in hot haste. He has arranged for it to take place as soon as Wisdom allows. We know not what may make the present delay imperative, but the Lord knows and that suffices. You grow uneasy because nearly 2,000 years have passed since His Ascension and Jesus has not yet come. But you do not know what had to be arranged and how far the lapse of time was absolutely necessary for the Lord’s designs. Those are no little matters which have filled up the great pause—the intervening centuries have teemed with wonders! A thousand things may have been necessary in Heaven, itself, before the consummation of all things could be arrived at.

When our Lord comes, it shall be seen that He came as quickly as He could, speaking after the manner of His Infinite Wisdom for He cannot behave Himself otherwise than wisely, perfectly, divinely. He cannot be moved by fear or passion so as to act hastily as you and I too often do. He dwells in the leisure of eternity and in the serenity of Omnipotence. He has not to measure out days, months and years—or to accomplish so much in such a space or else leave His lifework undone. But according to the power of an endless life, He proceeds steadily on and to Him a thousand years are but as one day! Therefore be assured that the Lord is even now coming! He is making everything tend that way. All things are working towards that grand climax. At this moment and every moment since He went away, the Lord Jesus has been coming back. “Behold, He comes!” He is on the way! He is nearer every hour! ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1989.cfm

Christ’s Heart is with His Church on Earth

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, Sovereignty of God Leave a comment

Behold, He is coming with clouds… – Revelation 1:7

Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing. – 2 Timothy 4:8

What, dear Brothers and Sisters, is there to hinder Christ from coming? When I have studied and thought over this word, “Behold, He comes,” yes, I have said to myself, indeed, He does—who shall hold Him back? His heart is with His Church on earth. In the place where He fought the battle, He desires to celebrate the victory! His delights are with the sons of men! All His saints are waiting for the day of His appearing, and He is waiting, also. The very earth in her sorrow and her groaning travails for His coming which is to be her redemption! The creation is made subject to vanity for a little while, but when the Lord shall come again, the creation, itself, shall also be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God!

We might question whether He would come a second time if He had not already come the first time, but if He came to Bethlehem, be assured that His feet shall yet stand upon Olivet! If He came to die, doubt not that He will come to reign! If He came to be despised and rejected of men, why should we doubt that He will come to be admired in all them that believe? His sure coming is to be unquestionably asserted.

Dear Friends, this fact that He will come again is to be taught as demanding our immediate interest. “Behold, He comes with clouds.” Behold, look at it! Meditate on it. It is worth thinking of. It concerns yourself. Study it again and again. “He comes!” He will so soon be here that it is put in the present tense— “He comes!” That shaking of the earth; that blotting out of sun and moon; that fleeing of Heaven and earth before His face—all these are so nearly here that John describes them as accomplished! “Behold, He comes!” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1989.cfm

“Until I come.”

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises 2 Comments

For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. – 1 Corinthians 11:26

At the Lord’s Supper, there is no discerning the Lord’s body unless you discern His First Coming—but there is no drinking of His cup to its fullness, unless you hear Him say, “Until I come.” You must look forward as well as backward! So must it be with all our ministries—they must look to Him on the Cross and on the Throne. We must vividly realize that He, who has once come, is coming again, or else our testimony will be marred and one‐sided. We shall make lame work of preaching and teaching if we leave out either advent.

And next, it is to be unquestionably asserted. “Behold, He comes!” It is not, “Perhaps He will come,” nor “Perhaps He may yet appear.” “Behold, He comes,” should be dogmatically asserted as an absolute certainty which has been realized by the heart of the man who proclaims it. “Behold, He comes!” All the Prophets say that He will come. From Enoch down to the last that spoke by Inspiration, they declare, “The Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints.” You shall not find one who has spoken by the authority of God who does not, either directly or by implication, assert the coming of the Son of Man when the multitudes born of woman shall be summoned to His bar to receive the recompense of their deeds! All the promises are travailing with this prognostication, “Behold, He comes!” We have His own word for it, and this makes assurance doubly sure. He has told us that He will come again. He often assured His disciples that if He went away from them, He would come again to them—and He left us the Lord’s Supper as a parting token to be observed until He comes. As often as we break bread, we are reminded of the fact that though it is a most blessed ordinance, yet it is a temporary one and will cease to be celebrated when our absent Lord is once again present with us! ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1989.cfm

“Behold, the Bridegroom comes!”

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, Sovereignty of God Leave a comment

Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. – Revelation 1:7

It is not a monarch in her jubilee, but the King of kings in His Glory! That same Jesus who went up from Olivet into Heaven is coming, again, to earth in like manner as His disciples saw Him go up into Heaven! Come and behold this great sight! If ever there was a thing in the world worth looking at, it is this. Behold and see if there was ever Glory like His Glory! Hearken to the midnight cry, “Behold, the Bridegroom comes!” It has practically to do with you. “Go you forth to meet Him.” This voice is to you, O sons of men! Do not carelessly turn aside, for the Lord God, Himself, demands your attention—He commands you to “Behold!” Will you be blind when God bids you behold? Will you shut your eyes when your Savior cries, “Behold”? When the finger of Inspiration points the way, will not your eyes follow where it directs you? “Behold, He comes!” O my Hearers, look here, I beseech you! …I think I see John. He is in the spirit, but all of a sudden, he seems startled into a keener and more solemn attention. His mind is more awake than usual, though he was always a man of bright eyes that saw afar. We always liken him to the eagle for the height of his flight and the keenness of his vision. Yet all of a sudden, even he seems startled with a more astounding vision! He cries out, “Behold! Behold!” He has caught sight of His Lord! He says not, “He will come by‐and‐by,” but “I can see Him! He is coming!”

My imagination has often set forth that dread scene—but better still, my faith has realized it! I have heard the chariot wheels of the Lord’s approach, and I have endeavored to set my house in order for His reception. I have felt the shadow of that great cloud which shall attend Him, dampening the ardor of my worldliness. I hear, even now, in spirit, the sound of the last trumpet, whose tremendous blast startles my soul to serious action and puts force into my life. Would God that I lived more completely under the influence of that august event! ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1989.cfm

“Behold, He comes with clouds!”

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, Sovereignty of God, The Father, The Holy Spirit 1 Comment

Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. – Revelation 1:7

Brothers and Sisters, do not your souls take fire as you think of the praises of Immanuel? Gladly would I fill the universe with His praise! Oh! for a thousand tongues to sing the glories of the Lord Jesus!

“Behold, He comes with clouds!” (John’s) adoration awoke his expectation, which all the while was lying in his soul as an element of that vehement heat of reverent love which he poured forth in his doxology. “Behold, He comes,” he said, and thus he revealed one source of his reverence. “Behold, He comes,” he said, and this exclamation was the result of his reverence… “Behold, He comes,” or is coming—he means to assert that He is even now on His way! As workmen are moved to be more diligent in service when they hear their master’s steps, so, doubtless, saints are quickened in their devotion when they are conscious that He whom they worship is drawing near. He has gone away to the Father for a while and so He has left us alone in this world—but He has said, “I will come again and receive you unto Myself”—and we are confident that He will keep His word! Sweet is the remembrance of that loving promise. That assurance is pouring its savor into John’s heart while he is adoring and it becomes inevitable, as well as most meet and proper, that his doxology should, at its close, introduce him to the Lord, Himself, and cause him to cry out, “Behold, He comes!” Having worshipped among the pure in heart, he sees the Lord. Having adored the King, he sees Him assume the Judgement Seat and appear in the clouds of Heaven! When once we enter upon heavenly things, we know not how far we can go, nor how high we can climb! John, who began with blessing the Churches, now beholds His Lord! ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1989.cfm