March '18 Devotional ~"What must be the Glory of the Heavenly City?"

“The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.”

Revelation 21:23-26

Take me to the crystal river that flows,

Where fruitful trees are given for our healing.

I want to dwell before the Lamb’s throne,

To see Your face, and stand, forever gazing.

Take me to the New Jerusalem,

Adorned with the beauty of a beloved bride.

Laden with glorious and precious gems,

Radiant with the brilliance of God most glorified.

    Take me to the water of life for the thirsty,

Where Your gentle hand wipes away tears of sorrow;

Where our sun will never set for all eternity,

Dwelling in Paradise with Your perfect Face to behold.

Take me to the clear, Golden City,

Where the forgiven rest in peaceful mansions,

Where darkness becomes a far, distant memory,

And the radiance of the Lamb fills the heavens.

Take me to Yourself upon eagle’s wings,

To the place where Your great glory shines;

Where Your redeemed fill the throne with thanksgiving,

Our sun, our moon, our Morning Star, shining bright.

Take Me

C.A. TAYLOR

Who has not marked even here the glory of God as seen in a great sunset. Rivers of glory wind through meadows of gold. Lakes of glory lie embedded in the evening sky. Seas of glory lap eternal shores with their shimmering waves. Mountains of glory rear themselves to the heavens with cloud-capped summits tipped with the splendor of the dying day. Earth too is flooded with the glory. It falls in the dim aisles of great forests and illumines them with its splendor. It dances among the wind-tossed leaves. It splotches the trunks of giant trees. It bathes in light the upturned faces of those who watch and worship as the climaxing splendor of earth, sea, and sky turns the heart to God our Father who is Himself the glory of all creation and who deigns to give us, in the lavish, golden glory of the sunset the faint forth-shadowing of the glory of the Father's House.

But if the earthly glory is such, what must be the glory of the heavenly city? It needs no sun, for the glory of God doth lighten it. The nations of the earth walk in the glory of it. Its foundations can only be likened to the glory of the diamond, the sapphire, the amethyst, the topaz, and like precious stones of earthly glory. Its gates are pearls —each wondrous gate a single pearl. The city and its street are gold. But it is gold which the earth knows not. For it is called "gold like unto clear glass" (Rev. 21:18), and "transparent glass" (Rev. 21:21). That is —it is the glory-gold. It is gold through which the glory of God can shine forth in crystal splendor. God uses this earthly imagery as the nearest symbolism by which He can give us any glint of the glory of His House prepared for us. But when all has been said it is as nought to that glory of which He says —

“Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people….” (Rev. 21:3)

JAMES McCONKEY

This Devotional is dedicated to the joyful homecoming of Billy Graham to his forever home.