“He shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.”—Revelation xxii. 1.
How shall we go to the throne of God, who is an infinitely holy and just God, whereas we are guilty, guilty sinners? Why, we cannot go to the throne of God but through Jesus Christ; and through Him we may go boldly because it is not only the throne of God, but of the Lamb, by whose blood we have boldness to enter into the holiest. But again, if you think, how shall we go thus to the throne of God and of the Lamb, having no life or power to do anything? Why, indeed we cannot win to it, but, as it were, swimming in the river that is before the throne, the river of the Spirit’s influences and graces that proceeds out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. That which brings us to the throne must proceed out of the throne; therefore we are to go believingly and dependently, being strong only in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, the grace that is in the throne of grace to be freely communicate from it.
Hence we may see the marks and characters of right and worthy communicants. They are such as have got a discovery of what is here shewed unto John: “He shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. I do not mean that every true believer gets such an extraordinary discovery as John here got the revelation of; but there is something of the mystery thereof in some degree that, I think, every believer gets some view of, particularly in these three things by which you may examine yourself.
1. Have you got a view of the throne of God;
I mean, of God himself, in his infinite holiness and justice? For God sits upon the throne of His holiness, justice, and other glorious attributes: and to see the throne of God, is to see and know Him to be Majesty itself; for a throne points out majesty. Have you ever apprehended the majesty of his holiness and justice, and that the throne of iniquity cannot have fellowship with him; that he is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity; that He is a God that will by no means clear the guilty. And hath ever the view of this made you tremble and quake, and fear, lest you should never have fellowship with Him, because you are nothing but a mass of sin and guilt?
2. Have you ever, upon the back of this, got a view of the throne of God as the throne of the Lamb,
so as the terrible majesty of the throne hath been allayed by the apprehension of divine mercy, venting through the blood of the Lamb that was slain; slain virtually from the foundation of the world; slain actually on the cross at Jerusalem, and now sitting gloriously upon His Father’s throne? In this light have you seen infinite holiness honoured and vindicated by the obedience of the Lamb, and infinite justice pleased and satisfied by the death and blood of the Lamb? And hath the view of this turned the throne of God from a terrible to an amiable throne in your eye? The throne of God and of the Lamb is nothing else but a God in Christ reconciling the world to Himself; a God declaring Himself well-pleased in Jesus Christ. Hath the view of this turned your fear to hope, and your terror to triumph?
3. Have you ever hereupon seen and felt, to your experience, living waters proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb?
Have you seen the fulness of the Spirit to be in Christ, as anointed therewith above measure? And have you ever found this living water gushing from the throne, as it were, in a sweet flood of influences? When you were pouring out your heart before the Lord He was pouring out this flood upon you, and making you, as it were, swim in this river. Believer, know you not something less or more about this? Perhaps you came to the throne empty and destitute, and like dry ground; but before you went away, you were filled as with the fulness of a river gushing out upon you. Possibly you came to the throne very dead and lifeless, saying, Oh, is it possible that these dry bones can live? But your soul was quickened, and brought to life and liveliness, so as you found the river to be indeed a river of the water of life; of life to your dead soul. Maybe you came polluted and unclean, crying out, ‘Behold, I am vile!’ Will ever such a vile creature have access to God, or be washed from stains? Yet, behold, you found your soul surrounded with purifying waters, with the pure river of the water of life, inasmuch that perhaps, at that time, though it was a mistake, you joyfully imagined that all pollution, corruption, and impurity were washed away with the happy flood that sweetly overwhelmed you, and drowned all your lusts. Was not the river then in your view as a pure and purifying river? Again, perhaps you came to the throne under many doubts, and fears, and dark clouds; but, say you, before I went away, I got a clear view of the mercy of God in Christ, a clear view of His everlasting love, a clear view of the door of hope open to me; or, at least, that there was hope in Israel even for me. You thus found the pure river of the water of life to be clear as crystal, when a gush of that water was able to clear your eye when it was dim; to clear your mind when it was dark and confused; to clear your conscience when it was black with guilt; the streams of the river, clear as crystal, running through your heart made all clear before it.
Have you ever got any view and experience of these things in some measure, however small the degree be? Then you have the mark and character of such as have a right to the communion table; but if you never got a view of the throne of God, or of the majesty of God, so as to fear his wrath because of your sinfulness; and if you never felt any drop of this pure river of the water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of that throne; if you never found one gush of that river of the Spirit’s influences, either filling your empty soul, quickening your dead soul, purifying your polluted soul, or clearing your dark mind; then surely you have no right to the communion table, as being a stranger to communion and fellowship with a God in Christ, by the Spirit.
It may be some poor, weak believer will tell me, ‘Sir, I think indeed I am no utter stranger to what you have been saying: there was such a time, and such a time, wherein I thought I got a view of these things; but, alas, all is now gone! the throne of God and of the Lamb is out of view, and the gush of influences from the throne, that I was watered with, is all dried up, and I am nothing but like a piece of parched ground.’ Well, it may be so; but here is good news: the throne of God and of the Lamb is still the fountain of living waters, that can never be dried up or drained, but is full as ever. Therefore, wait about the throne for the pouring out of the Spirit, as waters upon the thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground.