"'Twill all be right
At last:
When weary night
Is past,
When light shall dawn
And cometh morn
Upon that peaceful shore,
Where storm and cloud no more
Oppress the soul.
"'Twill all be shown
Some day;
Each step unknown
Of way
By which Christ led
Where feet oft bled.
Where fell the bitter tear,
As sorrow's doubt and fear
So oft made sad.
"Then shall we see
His throne;
Then shall we be
His own:
When endeth night
And dawneth light.
That day of days so dear
May even now be near,
We watch and pray.
"Dear heart, why sad?
Christ comes.
Dear heart, be glad;
Christ comes.
The hour draws nigh
Of midnight cry.
Then ends our brief life-pain,
Then comes eternal gain,
Where reigns our King.'
E. G. WELLESLEY-WESLEY ("Songs of the Heart")
THE ULTIMATE REALIZATION
So far we have considered the subject of the Will of God within the compass of probationary life. The perfection possible today is that of condition which ensures progress; and the possibility of progress forever speaks of something not yet attained. The utmost consciousness of those who today are most certainly living within the Will of God is that of incompleteness. All is partial, limited. By comparison with the exceeding worth and beauty of our Lord, we feel that our worship is almost worthless, and we are constantly constrained to say that,
"Hosannas languish on our tongues,
And our devotion dies."
And when we have done the fullest day's work possible to us, having, so far as we know, filled the hours with sacrificial service, we yet have to say, "At best we are unprofitable servants." (Luke 17:10) When we have walked in the Will as revealed to us for the present moment, we are always conscious that His ultimate Will is so much better than any present realization. This sense of shortcoming is in itself an incentive to diligence. It is because we have:
"not yet apprehended" . . . that "forgetting the things which are behind," we "press on toward the goal." (Phil. 3:13)
This pushing towards the goal, however, does not mark dissatisfaction with the discipline of the pathway. Abiding in the Will of God, we recognize that all the circumstances of life are necessary for our perfecting, and are overruled by Infinite Love.
"Stayed upon Jehovah, Hearts are fully blest,
Finding as He promised, Perfect peace and rest."
The questions yet will arise, what is to be the issue? Where does the pathway lead? It is with this subject that the present article deals, not exhaustively, but by suggestion.
Much has been written on the future condition of the saints. Richard Baxter wrote a treatise, in four parts and forty-six chapters, full of thought and beauty; and many others have contributed to the valuable literature. Our thought in this article is to be confined to the subject of the doing of the Will of God; and there are four facts recorded in the New Testament which are illuminative of the subject.
I. Unclouded Vision.
Paul says, "For now we see in a mirror darkly; but then face to face" (1 Cor. 13:12); and John declares, "We shall see Him even as He is.” (1 John 3:2). After faith has had its perfect work, it will be swallowed up in sight. Today we love, not having seen. Conscious of His presence, apprehending in some measure His love and beauty, we walk by faith amid the mists and mysteries, or underneath the blue, which is also the limitation of vision.
"Soon the whole,
Like a parched scroll,
Shall before my amazed sight uproll;
And, without a screen,
At one burst be seen
The Presence wherein I have ever been."
II. Perfect Correspondence.
The first result of this, according to John, will be that of perfect correspondence with our Master. "We shall be like Him" (1 John 3:2). In the moment of vision, the word of the Master on the Mount of Beatitudes whether that word was promise or command, or both—will be fulfilled in our experience; "ye shall be perfect, even as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matt. 5:48) All the possibilities of our being will be fulfilled. Everything that was in the thought of God for us, as to capacity, will be realized, and we shall thus be prepared to fulfill the highest functions of our life.
As today it is true that where there is no vision, the people perish; and the constant cry of
the human heart is that of Philip, "Show us the Father, and it sufficeth us"; (John 14:8) and the immediate consciousness of the soul that has even the partial vision of God, seeing through a glass darkly, is that of healing; so at last the full and unclouded vision will be final salvation, perfect healing, and absolute satisfaction. Indeed, does not the thought of the apostle overtake and run ahead of all these thoughts, glorious as they are. "We shall be like Him." Nothing can be added to this. It defies analysis. If an uninspired statement, it is the most daring blasphemy of the mind of man. If the word is Spirit-taught, it is the most gracious unveiling of the infinite love of God. Like Him, and therefore fitted for fellowship of thought and action; like Him, and so falling into line with all His mighty movements through the unexplored spaces and the unborn ages.
III. Full Knowledge.
Paul speaks of another result accruing from unclouded vision. "Now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I have been known" (1 Cor. 13:12). The messages of the Spirit to the Church, delivered through human agents, are all messages which met the need of the writer, and so appeal to thousands of similar temperaments. The Spirit's declaration of correspondence through John answers the question of spiritual devotion. The Spirit's message of full knowledge through Paul answers the problem of mental activity. Through all the system of Paul's writing his mind is discovered active, alert, mighty, pressing on, desiring to know. He thinks of the Spirit as "knowing the deep things of God." (1 Cor. 2:10) His perpetual prayer for his children in the faith is that they may have full knowledge of God; and here, after describing in language that seems as though it might be a part of the poetry of heaven, the nature and the activity of love, his active mind reasserts itself, and he seems to lift his eyes and gaze away to the land of light, and exult in the consciousness that "Then I shall know even as also I have been known." Thus we learn that the condition of heaven will be that of perfect light. The problems that vex us today; the perpetually recurring mysteries that demand repeated acts of faith—these will all find their answer, not so much in the process of teaching or revealing, but in the vision of the Master Himself. Seeing, we shall know. Seeing face to face, we shall know even as we are known.
IV. Unceasing Service.
Out of these grows the fourth glorious fact, that of unceasing service. "They serve Him day and night in His temple" (Rev. 7:15). "His servants shall do Him service; and they shall see His face" (Rev. 22:3, 4). It is not within the purpose of these articles to discuss the nature of the service. The fact is enough. We shall see Him, and want to serve. We shall be like Him, and be able to serve. We shall know, and be prepared to serve. Inspiration for service in vision; equipment for service in correspondence; preparation for service in knowledge! Thus Himself will be the reason of all the service of the new life, and therefore His Will will be the plane of heaven's activity.
"Then we shall be where we would be; Then we shall be what we should be; Things which are not now, nor could be, Then shall be our own."
The last words of the fourth book of the Psalms declare the call of God to men, "Let all the people say, Amen; Hallelujah" (Psa. 106:48, R.V., marg.). Let there be agreement in the Divine Will, followed by a note of praise. This is the order of faith's activity—first, Amen; and then in faith, Hallelujah. Praise grows out of obedience and submission; resolute obedience in the power of faith is ever preparing for the song. There is nothing better in this world, no higher experience, than that we should, to every revelation of the Will of God, utter our whole-hearted Amen, and crown it with our joyous Hallelujah.
But soon, in the light of the unclouded vision; in the power of a perfect correspondence to the likeness of our Lord; in the light of full knowledge, and in the gladness of unceasing service—we shall reverse the order of these great words. "After these things I heard as it were a great voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, Hallelujah. And a second time they say, Hallelujah. And the four and twenty elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped God that sitteth on the throne, saying, Amen; Hallelujah — And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunders, saying, Hallelujah"
Four and twenty elders rise
From their princely station,
Shout His glorious victories—
Sing His great salvation,
Cast their crowns before the throne,
Cry, in reverential tone,
Holy, Holy, Holy One,
Glory be to God alone I
Hark I the thrilling symphonies
Seem within to seize us; Add we to their holy lays—
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!
Sweetest note in angels' song,
Sweetest sound on mortal tongue,
Sweetest anthem ever known, Jesus, Jesus reigns alone.
(Rev. 19:1-6).
Here first the song, and then the submission, and yet again the song. It is that vision of the perfect consummation that inspires the song. At last all opposing forces are overcome, and the kingdom of the heavens is realized through all the vast realms over which it is God's right to reign.
At last the prayer taught by Christ is answered, the Name is hallowed, the kingdom come, the Will is done, and the unending Hallelujah follows the unlimited Amen.
Then begins the absolutely perfect service of which all the imperfect service of these probationary days is the hardly articulate prophecy. Then life moves unchecked, unhindered, toward highest forms of expression and most glorious inter-relation, because it is absolutely homed in the Will of God.
Bear me on Thy rapid wing, Everlasting Spirit!
Where bright choirs of angels sing,
And Thy saints inherit;
Waiting round the Eternal throne,
Joys immortal are their own:
This the cry of every one—Glory to the Incarnate Son!
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