3542. A Precious Promise for a Pure People

A Sermon Published On Thursday, December 14, 1916.

Your eyes shall see the King in his beauty. {Isa 33:17}

For other sermons on this text:

   {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 752, “King in His Beauty, The” 743}

   {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 3238, “Vision of the King, A” 3240}

   {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 3542, “Precious Promise for a Pure People, A” 3544}

1. No doubt these words originally had a timely and strictly literal meaning for the people of Jerusalem. When the city was besieged by Sennacherib, the inhabitants saw Hezekiah in a garb of mourning. How had he torn his clothes in sorrow! but the day would come, according to prophecy, when Sennacherib must fall. Those who counted the resources and estimated the strength or the weakness of the city would be far away; and then there would be times of liberty. The people would be able to travel to the utmost ends of Palestine, so they would see the land that is very far off. Hezekiah himself would come out in his robes of excellency and majesty on a joyful occasion to praise the Lord, and so the people’s eyes would see the king in his beauty. The passage, however, has been frequently used with quite another meaning, and that properly enough if it is thoroughly understood that it is by way of accommodation we take it, and that we interpret it typically. Have we not by faith seen our King in his robes of mourning? Have we not seen Jesus in the sorrowful weeds {mourning clothes} of affliction and humiliation while here below? Our faith has gazed on him in the torn garments of his passion. We have beheld him in his agony and bloody sweat, in his crucifixion and his death. Well, now, another and a brighter view awaits us. Our eyes shall one day see the King in a more glorious array. We shall behold him as John saw him on Patmos. We shall behold the King in his beauty, and then we shall enter and enjoy the land which is at present very far off.

2. I think it fitting and right to take such a word as this tonight when there are so many in our midst who are seeking and finding the Saviour; because it is very certain that not long after their conversion they will have to encounter some of the difficulties of the way. Sometimes within a few hours of their starting on pilgrimage they are met by some of the dragons, or they fall into some Slough of Despond, or they are surprised by some Hill Difficulty; therefore, they ought to be stimulated with encouragements; they need to be cheered and consoled by the prospect which lies before them. You will remember how Christian is represented by Bunyan in his famous allegory to be reading in his book as he went along concerning the blessed country, the celestial land where their eyes should behold the King in his beauty, and this distracted from the roughness of the road, and made the pilgrim hurry on with more alacrity and less weariness. Now I am going to examine one of the elementary pages of this book. I want to show the young convert a vision pleasing and profitable for all Christians, young or old, the glory that awaits him, the rest which is secured by the promise of God for every pilgrim who continues on the blessed road, and holds on, and holds out to the end. Your eyes, beloved, you who have recently been converted to God, if by divine grace your conversion proves genuine, your eyes shall one day behold the King in his beauty. This may well inspire you with courage, and dispose you to endure with patience all the difficulties of the way. When God brought his servant Abraham into the separated position of a stranger in a strange land, it was not long before he said to him, “Now, lift up your eyes, and look to the north, and to the south, and to the east, and to the west, for I will give all this land to you and to your seed for ever,” as if to solace and cheer him in the place of his sojourn by the picture and the promise that greeted him. In the same way, you children of faithful Abraham, you who have left everything for Christ’s sake, look at your future inheritance from the place of your present exile, and your hearts will greatly rejoice.

3. We shall notice, first, the object to be seen—the King in his beauty! Then, secondly, the nature of this vision, for our eyes shall see the admirable spectacle; and, thirdly, we shall draw your attention to those to whom this favour will be granted. The context will help us to discover of whom it is the Lord speaks when he says, “Your eyes shall see the King in his beauty.” Not all eyes, but your eyes shall see the King in his beauty. What is this vision which is promised here to God’s people? They are to see the King.

4. I. They are to see:—THE KING IN HIS BEAUTY.

5. The King—a sweet title which belongs to our Lord Jesus Christ as his exclusive prerogative, crowned with the thorn-crown once, but now wearing the diadem of universal monarchy. There are other kings, but theirs is only a temporary title to temporal precedence among the sons of men. I had almost said theirs was a mimic sovereignty. He is the real King—the King of kings—the King who reigns for ever and for ever. He is King, for he is God. Jehovah reigns. The Maker of the earth must be her King. He in whose hands are the deep places of the earth, and the strength of the hills; he by whom all things exist and all things consist; of necessity he must reign. The government shall be upon his shoulders. His name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, the Mighty God. From the very fact that he is the Son of God, the express image of his Father’s glory, he must be King. Because he condescended to veil himself in our flesh, he derives a second title to the kingdom—he is King now by his merits. Therefore God also has highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things on earth, and things under the earth. For the suffering of death, he was made for a little while lower than the angels; but now, since he has been obedient even to death, even the death of the cross, he has obtained a more excellent name than the angels, and he is crowned with glory and honour. He is Head over all things now. In him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. We rejoice to reflect on him as King by nature, and then as King by just due over a kingdom which he has inherited by divine right. He is King at this time by virtue of the conquests he has made, having spoiled the principalities and powers of darkness. In this world he fought the battle, and so bravely did he fight it out that he could say, “It is finished.” He made an end of sin; he made reconciliation for iniquity; he trampled death and hell beneath his feet, and now he is King by force of arms. He entered into the strong man’s house, wrestled with him, and vanquished him, for he is stronger than he; he has led captives captive, and he has ascended on high—King of kings and Lord of lords.

6. He reigns supremely, moreover, in some of our hearts. We have yielded to the sway of his love. We rejoice to crown him. We never feel happier than when our hearts and tongues are singing:—

   Bring forth the royal diadem,

   And crown him Lord of all.

I trust there are many more among you who have not yet yielded who will yet yield your hearts to his power. New provinces shall be added to his empire; new cities of Mansoul will open their gates so that the Prince Emmanuel may ride in, and may sit in triumph there. Oh! that it may be so, for a multitude that no man can number shall cheerfully, joyfully submit to his sway, and kiss the Son lest he be angry. But notice, the limit of his power is not according to the will of man, for where he does not reign by the joyful consent of his people and the mighty conquest of his love, he still exercises absolute dominion. Even the wicked are his servants. They shall be made in some way or other to serve his glory, for he must reign until he has put all enemies under his feet. Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The King is anointed on God’s holy hill of Zion. He is King. He has a bit in the mouth of his most violent adversaries, and he turns them about according to his own will. Even though with mingled cruelty and rage men attack the gospel of Christ, they strive in vain to thwart the divine decree. In ways mysterious and unknown to us, the Lord asserts his own supremacy. He reigns even where the rulers conspire, and the people rebel against him.

7. Beloved, the sovereignty of our Lord Jesus Christ, to which he is entitled by inheritance, is due to him for his merits, and in the equitable claim of his conquests—this reign of Christ extends over all things. He is the universal Lord. In this world he is Regent everywhere. By him all things exist and consist. When I think of him, it seems to me that the sea roars to his praise, and the trees of the woods rejoice in his presence. Every dewdrop that twinkles on the flower at sunrise reflects his bounty; every avalanche that falls from its Alp with thundering crash only resounds with signs of his power. The Great Shepherd reigns. The Lord is King. Just as Joseph was made ruler over all the land of Egypt, even so, according to the word of Jesus, all the people are ruled. He has put all things under his feet; for it was about him the prophet sang of old, “You have made him a little”—(or as the margin has it, “for a little while”)—”lower than the angels, and has crowned him with glory and honour; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, yes, and the beasts of the field; the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatever passes through the paths of the seas.” Though we do not see yet all things put under man, yet we see Jesus, who, for the suffering of death was made, for a little while, lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honour.

8. At this hour he rules on earth. Death and hell are under his sceptre. Satan, and the spirits that have followed his leadership, bite their iron bonds while they confess the power of the divine Lord to be paramount. He can crush his enemies and break them with a rod of iron as a potter’s vessel. His mighty power is felt and feared. But, oh!, up there in heaven, where the full beams of his glory are unveiled, he reigns in matchless splendour. The angels worshipped him when he was brought out as the Only Begotten into the world. So the oracle spoke, “Let all the angels of God worship him.” Seraphim and cherubim, are they not his messengers? He makes them like flames of fire. The redeemed by blood, what could they do? What is their joy, their occupation, their delight, but to sing for ever, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive honour, and glory, and dominion, and power?” Oh! do not tell us of emperors; there is only One Imperial brow. Do not tell us of monarchs, for the crown belongs to the blessed and only Potentate. He alone is King. As such, we think of him, and long for his appearing, when we shall hail him the King in his beauty. I love to see his courtiers. That is a happy hour in which I can talk with one who has my Master’s ear. I love to see the skirts of his garment as I come in fellowship with him to his table. I love to tread his courts; I love to hear his voice, even though I cannot yet see the face of him who speaks with me. But to see the King—to see the King himself! Oh! joy unspeakable! It is worth worlds even to have a good hope of beholding a sight so resplendent with glory.

9. Note well the promise, “Your eyes shall see the King in his beauty.” Does this not suggest to us that the King has been seen, though not in his beauty? He was seen on earth as the prophet foretold, “despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” And as seen then, we are told there is no beauty that we should desire him. There was a time when many were astonished by him. His visage was more marred than any man, and his form more than the sons of men; that was in the day of his humiliation.

10. But we are yet to see the King in his beauty, and I know, beloved, that in part that vision beams, even now, on spirits before the throne. I would not exactly say that they have eyes, for they have left these organs of sense behind them. They have not received the fulness of this promise, yet in a measure they see the beauty of the King, that beauty which his Father has put on him now that he has ascended up on high, and returned to the Father, having obeyed all his precepts, and fulfilled all his will. His Father has already rewarded him. He sits enthroned on the right hand of the Majesty on high; he is adored and worshipped. It is a great sight for our disimprisoned spirits to behold him and adore. But remember, the spirits in heaven, without us, cannot be made perfect, so says the apostle. They are waiting for the adoption—that is, the redemption of the body—waiting for the trumpet of resurrection. It is then, I think, that this blessed hope will be fully verified, “Your eyes shall see the King in his beauty.” As Job puts it, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that he shall stand on the latter day on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another.” Our bodies shall be raised from the dead.

   These eyes shall see him in that day,

      The God that died for me;

   And all my rising bones shall say—

      Lord, who is like to thee?

11. From the dark chambers of the grave we shall come out with all the blood-bought company of the faithful. Then we shall see the King in his beauty. What beauty that will be! We steadfastly look for his appearing when he shall come the second time. This personal revelation must be welcome to the saints. To see him then must be to see his beauty. Our senses, relieved of infirmity, will be endowed with full capacity, our graces being increased, and our spirits lively and vigorous to appreciate his wonderful person. As God and Man we now believe in him; but how little can our faith anticipate the vision! We acknowledge the mystery which is as yet unveiled. How little are we affected by the wonderful information which must astonish angels—that the infinite can be joined with the finite, that the Godhead can be in perfect union with the manhood, the bush of the manhood burning with the glow of the Godhead, yet not consumed by it. It is matchless that the Eternal should link himself with finite flesh; that he should nurse on his mother’s breast, he who bears up the columns of the universe. Strange conjunction! Until we wake up in his likeness we shall never thoroughly understand it. Oh! how amazement will resolve itself into admiration as we gaze on him who has a nature that we have been familiar with, the proper divinity which no man has seen or can see! What grandeur to behold! What rapture to experience when our eyes see the King in his beauty! The sight will overwhelm us. But in other respects than what is essential to his kingly dignity, the spectacle will be illustrious. In the hour of conquest he will take possession of a throne which no rival dares to dispute. Judas will be there, but he will not think of betraying him. Pilate will be there, but he will not think of questioning him. The Jews will be there, but they will not cry, “Crucify him.” The Romans will be there, but they will not think of hauling him away to execution. His enemies in that day shall lick the dust. They shall be like chaff before the whirlwind in the day of his coming. And what will be the splendour of his glory when he shall be proclaimed King of kings in his beauty, with all the insignia of his royal power!

12. He will have the beauty of state pageant too, for he will assume the office as Judge of the quick and the dead. Then the trumpet will sound, and all the solemn pomp of the great assize will encircle him all around. The vivid lightning will flash through the universe, and the roar of his thunder shall awaken the dead, while an irresistible summons shall compel them to appear before his dread tribunal. From his searching gaze no creature shall be hidden, and every eye shall see him. Those also who pierced him, and all the kindreds of the earth, shall weep and wail because of him. But as for us that awful pomp will not be appalling, but an appropriate accessory on which his royal beauty is displayed. We shall admire the hand that holds the sceptre, for we shall recognise it as the same hand that was once pierced for us. We shall admire the voice that condemns the wicked, and bids them “Depart!” for that voice shall pronounce our welcome, saying, “Come, you blessed.” We shall admire the Shepherd’s crook with which he shall separate the sheep and the goats, for it will destine us to eternal bliss, though it shall dismiss the goats to their eternal doom. Thrice happy and most blessed shall we be in that day. Terror and trouble shall be the lot of the world; trust and triumph shall then be the portion of the saints. He shall be admired in all those who believed; and when that final judgment shall have fulfilled its destined purpose, he shall be in his beauty seen as the Conqueror of all evil, the Conqueror of sin, of death, and hell. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. How we shall see him in his beauty when death itself shall die! I cannot attempt to describe that beauty. It is far too dazzling for me to picture. I have dreamed of it sometimes in sacred soliloquies. My faith has tried to understand the facts which are revealed to us by his Spirit. Still the tongue cannot tell as much as the heart has conceived. There are unspeakable words which greet us in seasons of rapture which it is not lawful to utter. Whenever we are caught up to the third heaven in rapturous meditation we have very little news to tell to men.

13. But how inconceivable to us now is the glory of Christ as it shall be when all his people are present with him in heaven! I have not touched on the millennial age or the latter-day glory. Your thoughts can fill up the vacancy. But what will be the beauty of Christ in heaven in that day “when he shall make up his jewels!” What are the jewels of our King but his redeemed people? What will be the ornaments of his state but those for whom he shed his blood? And when they are all there, then we shall see the King in his beauty with all his jewels. Beauty! A shepherd’s beauty lies much in his simple garb; a mother’s beauty—very much of it is to be seen as she appears in the centre of a happy and lovely family. So, beyond all doubt, the beauty of Christ will be most conspicuous when all his saints are with him. I was in the company with some good people recently, who were discussing the question whether we should see the saints in heaven. I do not know whether they settled the question to their satisfaction, but I settled it very well to mine. I expect to see and know all the saints, to recognise them, and rejoice with them, and that without the slightest prejudice to my being entirely absorbed in the sight of my Lord. Let me explain to you how this can be. When I went the other day into a friend’s drawing-room, I observed that on all sides there were mirrors. Every wall was covered with glass, and everywhere I looked I kept seeing my friend. It was not necessary that I should fix my eyes on him, for all the mirrors reflected him. So, brethren, it seems to me that every saint in heaven will be a mirror of Christ, and that as we look on all the loved ones, gazing around on them all, we shall see Christ in every one of them, so we shall still be seeing the Master in the servants, seeing the head in all the members. It is I in them, and they in me. Is it not so? It will be all the Master. This is the sum-total of heaven. “Your eyes shall see the King in his beauty,” and they shall see the beauty of the King in all his people. Nor does it appear that the revelation shall be ever withdrawn, or that we shall ever stop seeing the beauty of our King. There is the mercy. “Your eyes shall see the King in his beauty,” on and on, and on still, and on, for ever on, discerning more and more of the beauty, the inexhaustible beauty and splendour of the Sun of Righteousness world without end. The theme grows on us. We must curb ourselves. We can only skim the surface as the swallow does the brook.

14. II. Now, as for:—THE NATURE OF THIS VISION, we know it is in the future. “Your eyes shall see the King in his beauty.”

15. You poor sinners must be content with seeing the King in his majesty. Happy souls who come to see Jesus on the cross! Oh! it is joy for them to look to him and be saved. Behold the Lamb of God—behold the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Poor sin-sick soul, are you looking to Jesus to be saved? If it is so in the present, then in the future you shall see him in his beauty. It will be a vision for everyone. Their natural sense shall discern the real Saviour, “Your eyes shall see the King in his beauty.” It is not merely your spiritual perception, but your natural eyes. Does not Job express this conviction “whom my eyes shall see”? Oh! yes, not as it now is with this flesh and blood, but still with this body! I call you a vile body sometimes, my poor flesh and blood, and so you are. Yet in your origin there was something good, and in your destiny there is something better, “Bone of your bone, and flesh of your flesh.” Born of a woman as you were, and fed on bread as you must be, and though the worms devour you, yet you shall rise again. Oh! body, you are even now the temple of God. Do you not know that your bodies are the members of Christ? Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit? These eyes shall see him. They may be weeping eyes, aching eyes, weary eyes, and sleepy eyes, indeed, or even blind eyes, or your failing eyes on which the curtain is being drawn around you—your eyes shall see the King. When heaven is in sight there will be no need for glasses to assist your vision. Your eyes will all be strengthened to bear the light, as the eagle’s eye, when the sun shines in its strength—”Your eyes shall see the King in his beauty.”

16. It will be a personal vision. “Whom my eyes shall see, and not another.” It shall not be someone else repeating another’s testimony, “Yes, I see him.” I like to hear what John saw, but I like better to have John’s privilege; we shall be like John, and shall behold him ourselves. Can you believe it? You remember in Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress how Mercy laughed in her sleep, and Christiana asked her what made her laugh so. Mercy replied that she had seen a beautiful vision. Is it not enough to make us laugh in our sleep, to think that “your eyes shall see the King in his beauty”? To think that this head shall wear a crown; that these hands shall grasp the palm branches; that these feet shall stand on the transfigured globe; that these ears shall hear the symphonies of eternity; and that this tongue shall help to swell the everlasting chorus. Oh! who would not rejoice? This is the wine which, as it goes down, makes the lips of him who drinks to speak. Oh! that we may all have a personal sight of the King in his beauty!

17. And it will not be a distant sight, because it will be clear and distinct. “Your eyes shall see the King in his beauty.” This does not imply a distant view of a remote object; a dim vision of the dazzling splendour; but you shall behold him in such close proximity that you can discern every feature of his person, every phase of his beauty. You shall discern all the insignia of his offices, his conquests, his titles, his dominion, and his glory. Now you only see a picture of him reflected as in a mirror dimly, then you shall see him face to face. Oh! that the curtain might be drawn up, the veil torn, the vision unfolded! It will be a delightful sight. When he shall appear in his beauty, we cannot wear the vestments of our mourning and sorrow. Just as he is, so are we in this world. Just as he shall be revealed, so shall we be also in that world. “It does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” So we shall be beautiful when we shall see him in his beauty. He shall say to us, “You are all fair, my love; there is not a spot in you.” Oh! the delight, the pure unclouded joy, reflective as the light of heaven. What an introduction to eternal felicity this will be when your eyes shall see the King in his beauty! There is no period, no finale, no end put to it. This is no transient spectacle. His beauty never fades. Our festival can never terminate. As long as he appears in his beauty we shall see him, and be enamoured by his loveliness. Is it not written, “Because I live, you shall also live”? Without his people, without the complement of his saints with him, he would not be a full Christ at any time. “Do you not know that the Church is the fulness of him who fills all in all?” So all his disciples must be for ever with him, and they must for ever see his face, and be partakers of his glory.

18. III. Our third point is:—TO WHOM IS THIS VISION GIVEN?

19. We find a remarkably full description of these people. Read the fifteenth verse. Their ordinary gait distinguishes them. “He who walks righteously.” “The pure in heart shall see God”; but if your deportment disgraces you, how deep will be your dishonour. Unholy creatures will never see a holy God. It is not possible. Oh! sinners, what do you think of this? You must be changed; you must be cleansed; you must be converted; the Holy Spirit must regenerate you; otherwise, you cannot walk uprightly or stand in the presence of the King in his beauty.

20. Next to this they are known by their tongues, “and speaks uprightly.” No liar shall enter into heaven. Those who talk lewdly, those who swear profanely, the singers of idle songs, those who lend their lips to slander, backbite their neighbours, and circulate evil reports in malice—these and such as these can have no inheritance in the kingdom of God. Oh! may the Lord wash your tongues, rinse your mouths, and make them sweet and clean; otherwise you will never sing the songs of heaven. “He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly” is so far approved.

21. But let him take heed to his commercial character; for it is further said, “He who despises the gain of oppressions,” or, as the margin has it, “of deceit.” A man who gets money by squeezing others, by oppressing the poor by hard bargains, shall not enjoy the beautiful vision. If you buy and sell, and get gain by lying, by false pretences, by tricks of the trade—no, even by the customs that are commonly allowed, though they would look fraudulent if thoroughly exposed, you shall have no inheritance in the kingdom of God. How can you be gracious when you are not honest? He who is not able to hold the scales lightly, measure out an even yard, or make out a bill equitably, may well tremble at being poised in the balances of the sanctuary. When such as these are weighed, they will be found wanting. Thorough integrity must stand the test of freedom from self-interest.

22. “He who shakes his hands from holding of bribes.” Some men cannot help preferring coin to conscience. This is the way of bribery. Palm oil was largely used when Isaiah wrote. It is still much in vogue; perhaps not so much in this country as in others; but there are plenty of ways of receiving bribes besides selling one’s vote at the polling-booth. How many men are bribed by a smile or a crown—bribed to Sabbath-breaking—bribed to the follies of the world—bribed to, I do not know what of error! Only drop a shilling into a conscientious man’s hand, and he shakes it from his hand; he does not like the touch of it; he is like Paul, who shook off the viper into the fire. So the man who is to see the King in his beauty shakes his hand from holding bribes.

23. Moreover, “he plugs his ears from hearing of blood.” He does not like to hear of cruelty, of outrage, or deliberately causing pain. He plugs his ears, he will not listen to any proposal either to gratify a resentment or to seek a personal advantage by which his neighbour would be injured. In this wicked world it is often wise to plug one’s ears. A deaf ear is a great blessing when there is base conversation in the neighbourhood.

24. The good man who keeps guard over his hands and his feet like this, his tongue and his ears, is likewise known by his eyes. “He shuts his eyes from seeing evil.” He shuns the temptations to which a vain curiosity would expose him. Oh! if our mother Eve had shut her eyes when the serpent pointed out that rosy fruit on the tree! Oh! that she had shut her eyes to it! Oh! that she had said, “No, I will not even look at it.” Looking leads to longing, and longing leads to sin. Do you say, “There can be no harm in looking, just to see for yourself; are we not told to prove all things?” “Just come here, young man,” says the tempter; “you do not know what life is; one evening will suffice to show you a little gaiety, and let you see how the frolic is carried on. You need not share in it, you know. You may learn a thing or two you never dreamed of before. Surely a man is not to go through the world as a baby. Just come for an hour or two and look on.” “Ah! no,” says the man, whose eyes are to see the King in his beauty, “the tree of knowledge of good and evil never brought any man good yet, so please leave me alone. I shut my eyes from the sight of it. I do not want to participate, even as a spectator. I do not care to look at what God will not look at without abhorrence. I know that his love has put my sins behind his back; then, what he puts behind his back shall I put before my face? That would be ingratitude indeed!”

25. Perhaps you say, “Well, if this is the character of such as shall see the King in his beauty, I shall never come up to the standard.” “No, but you must, otherwise you will never enjoy the beautiful vision.” “But I cannot convert myself in this way.” I know you cannot, but there is One who can. Has not Jesus Christ come into the world to make us new creatures? It is his object and intent. “Behold, I make all things new.” He changes a man, gives him new desires, new longings, and new hopes. And he can change you. Let me ask you, have you ever seen, by faith, the King? Have you ever looked to Jesus on the cross, and did you ever recognise that Jesus Christ, if he is to be your Saviour, must be your King. You say you have believed in Jesus. Yes; but did you take him to be your King? Did you intend to obey him as well as to trust him? Did you intend to serve him as well as to lean on him? Remember you cannot have a half of Christ. You cannot have him as your Redeemer, but not as your Ruler. You must take him as he is. He is a Saviour, but he saves his people from their sins.

26. Now, if you have ever seen Christ as your Saviour, you have seen beauty in him; he is lovely in your eyes, for the loveliest sight in the world to a sinner is his Saviour. “What is the latest news,” said a certain squire to a companion, accustomed to hunt with him, who had come up to the Metropolis—”what is the latest news you have heard in London?” “The latest news, and the best news I have ever heard,” was the quick reply, “is that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.” “Tom,” he says, “I think you are mad.” “William,” said Tom, “I know you are. I only wish you were cured of your insanity as, by the grace of God, I have been.” Oh! that all of us only knew Jesus Christ in his beauty, and every one of us could rejoice in him, as those do who are charmed by the sight. If you do not have your eyes opened, you cannot see the King in his beauty. But if they are opened now, so that you greet Jesus as your King, and see beauty in him, then, whatever your former life may have been, its sins are forgiven—they are blotted out. Your Saviour’s sacrifice, that offered such satisfaction to God for your sins, shall give sweet solace to your conscience. By the gracious help of the Holy Spirit, you shall start a new career, and begin a new life. May it be so; and you will from now on shut your eyes from seeing, plug your ears from hearing, shake your hands from all iniquity, and turn aside your feet from it, to live the life you live in the flesh by the faith of the Son of God, for his honour and glory. So shall your eyes, poor sinner—weeping, sorrowing, mournful eyes as they may now be—your eyes shall see the King in his beauty. May the Lord grant that all of us may have a present guarantee and a future fruition of this delightful promise, for his name’s sake. Amen.

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Our Faithful God. Answers to Prayer. By JAMES H. SMITH. Fourth Edition. This collection from all parts of the world of records of prevailing prayer is evidently calculated to strengthen the faith of believers. In cloth boards, 2/6 post free; special cheap edition, 1/2 post free.

Helps Onward. By M. E. TROTTER. A very carefully written aid to devotion. In cloth boards, 1/- post free; leather, 2/2 post free.

Little Helps. By M. E. TROTTER. A book of Short Prayers for young Children, with Preface by the BISHOP OF DURHAM. Well calculated to be of inestimable value to parents in the instruction of young children. Simple, clear, comprehensive. Cloth, 7d. post free; paste grain, 1/2; velvet calf, 2/2.

I feel certain that Spurgeon would not approve of at least some of the preceding books. Editor.