“Then a third shall confess: ‘I was a profane wretch, a swearer, a blasphemer; I hoped for no heaven, and I feared no hell; but the Lord seized me in the midst of my rebellions, and sent His arrows into my soul; He made me feel the stings of an awakened conscience, and constrained me to believe there was a God and a hell, till I cried out astonished, “What shall I do to be saved?” Then He led me to partake of His own salvation, and, from a proud, rebellious infidel, He has made me a penitent and a humble believer, and here I stand to show forth the wonders of His grace, and a boundless extent of His forgiveness.’
“A fourth shall stand up and acknowledge in that day: And I was a poor carnal, covetous creature, who made this world my god, and abundance of money was my heaven; but He cured me of this vile idolatry of gold, taught me how to obtain treasures in the heavenly world, and to forsake all on earth, that I might have an inheritance there; and, behold, He has not disappointed my hopes: I am now made rich indeed, and I must for ever sing His praises.’
“There shall be no doubt or dispute in that day whether it was the power of our own will, or the superior power of Divine grace, that wrought the blessed change, that turned the lion into a lamb, a grovelling earthworm into a bird of paradise, and of a covetous or malicious sinner made a meek and a heavenly saint. The grace of Christ shall be so conspicuous in every glorified believer in that assembly, that, with one voice, they shall all shout to the praise and glory of His grace, ‘Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Thy name be all the honour!’
“Behold that noble army with palms in their hands; once they were weak warriors, yet they overcame mighty enemies, and have gained the victory and the prize; enemies rising from earth and from hell to tempt and to accuse them, but they overcame ‘by the blood of the Lamb.’ What a Divine honour it shall be to our Lord Jesus Christ, ‘the Captain of our salvation,’ that weak Christians should subdue their strong corruptions, and get safe to heaven through a thousand oppositions within and without! It is all owing to the grace of Christ, that grace which is all-sufficient for every saint. They are made ‘more than conquerors through Him that has loved them.’ Then shall the faith and courage and patience of the saints have a blessed review; and it shall be told before the whole creation what strife and wrestlings a poor believer has passed through in a dark cottage, a chamber of lone sickness, or perhaps in a dungeon; how he has there combated with ‘powers of darkness,’ how he has struggled with huge sorrows, and has borne, and has not fainted, though he has been often ‘in heaviness through manifold temptations.’ Then shall appear the bright scene which St. Peter represents as the event of sore trials (1 Peter i. 6, 7). ‘When our faith has been tried in the fire of tribulation, and is found more precious than gold,’ it shall shine to the praise, honour, and glory of the suffering saints, and of Christ Himself at His appearance.
“Behold that illustrious troop of martyrs, and some among them of the feebler sex and of tender age. Now, that women should grow bold in faith, even in the sight of torments, and children, with a manly courage, should profess the name of Christ in the face of angry and threatening rulers; that some of these should become undaunted confessors of the truth, and others triumph in fires and torture, these things shall be matter of glory to Christ in that day; it was His power that gave them courage and victory in martyrdom and death. Every Christian there, every soldier in that triumphing army, shall ascribe his conquest to the grace of his Lord, his Leader, and lay down all their trophies at the feet of his Saviour, with humble acknowledgments, and shouts of honour.
“Almost all the saved number were, at some part of their lives, weak in faith, and yet, by the grace of Christ, they held out to the end, and are crowned; ‘I was a poor trembling creature,’ shall one say, ‘but I was confirmed in my faith and holiness by the Gospel of Christ; or, I rested on a naked promise, and found support, because Christ was there, and He shall have the glory of it.’ ‘In Him are all the promises yea, and in Him amen, to the glory of the Father;’ and the Son shall share in this glory; for He died to ratify these promises, and He lives to fulfil them.
“‘Oh, what an almighty arm is this,’ shall the believer say, ‘that has borne up so many thousands of poor sinking creatures, and lifted their heads above the waves!’ The spark of grace that lived many years in a flood of temptations, and was not quenched, shall then shine bright to the glory of Christ, who kindled and maintained it. When we have been brought through all the storms and the threatening seas, and yet the raging waves have been forbid, to swallow us up, we shall cry out in raptures of joy and wonder: ‘What manner of Man is this, that the winds and the seas have obeyed him?’ Then shall it be gloriously evident that He has conquered Satan, and kept the hosts of hell in chains; when it shall appear that He has made poor, mean, trembling believers victorious over all the powers of darkness, for the Prince of Peace has bruised him under their feet.”
