January-February - The Gospel Magazine

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The Gospel Magozine 13
i,,. : "We give Thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty,
which art, and wast, and art to come;
because Thou hast taken to Thee Thy greot power,
ond Thou hast reigned.
And the notions were angry, and Thy wrath is come,
and the time of the dead, that they should be judged,
and that Thou shouldest give reward unto Thy servants the prophets,
ond to the saints, and them that fear Thy name,
small and great; ond shouldest destroy them thot destroy the earth."
At the end of the devotional praise the Temple is opened in heaven and the
Ark of the covenant is seen. Again we have to refer to the old restament in
Exodus 25:10: "And they shall make an ork of shittim wood . . . and thou shalt
overlay it with pure gold. " The symbol is explained as the Lord says "I will meet
with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from
between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony". The
believer has perfect communion in glory with no veil or holy of holies as in the
days of Moses. But, alas, the unbeliever will experience the thunderings and
great hail of God's wrath with which the vision ends.
In summary the vision explains the means by which God will, in these last
days, warn the wicked of their doom if they do not repent. Signs in the earth, and
in the sky, and among men. There shall be wars and rumours of wars but the
elect are safe in the custody of their Saviour.
christian friend, should not our heart go out in praise to our God, that He has
done such great things in the earth and that His wisdom is so immense. No
wonder Paul said "o the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge
of God! how unsearchoble are His judgments and His woys past finding out!"
(Romans ll:33).
GOD'S ETERNAL THOUGHT MOVES ON
HIS UNDISTURBBD AFFAIRS
Frcm Expository Thoughts: Matthew
The misery of the lost, and the blessedness of the ,uu.d, are both alike for ever:
let no man deceive us on this point. It is clearly revealed in Scripture: the eternity
of God, and heaven, and hell, all stand on the same foundation. As surely as
God is eternal, so surely is heaven an endless day without night, and hell an
endless night without day.
J. C. Ryle