“The deep things of God” by Charles Spurgeon

“We shall gaze awhile upon the glory which awaits us. We shall say a little—and oh, how little it will be—upon that glory of which we have so sure a prospect, that glory which is prepared for us in Christ Jesus, and of which He is the hope!

I pray that our eyes may be strengthened that we may see the heavenly light, and that our ears may be opened to hear sweet voices from the better land.

As for me, I cannot say that I will speak of the glory, but I will try to stammer about it. For the best language to which a man can reach concerning glory must be a mere stammering.

Paul did but see a little of it for a short time, and he confessed that he heard things that it was not lawful for a man to utter. And I doubt not that he felt utterly nonplussed as to describing what he had seen.

Though a great master of language, yet for once he was overpowered. The grandeur of his theme made him silent. As for us, what can we do, where even Paul breaks down?

Pray, dear friends, that the Spirit of glory may rest upon you, that He may open your eyes to see as much as can at present be seen of the heritage of the saints.

We are told that ‘eye hath not seen, neither hath ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.’ Yet the eye has seen wonderful things.

There are sunrises and sunsets, Alpine glories and ocean marvels which, once seen, cling to our memories throughout life. Yet even when nature is at her best she cannot give us an idea of the supernatural glory which God has prepared for His people.

The ear has heard sweet harmonies. Have we not enjoyed music which has thrilled us? Have we not listened to speech which has seemed to make our hearts dance within us?

And yet no melody of harp nor charm of oratory can ever raise us to a conception of the glory which God hath laid up for them that love Him. As for the heart of man, what strange things have entered it!

Men have exhibited fair fictions, woven in the loom of fancy, which have made the eyes to sparkle with their beauty and brightness; imagination has revelled and rioted in its own fantastic creations, roaming among islands of silver and mountains of gold, or swimming in seas of wine and rivers of milk.

But imagination has never been able to open the gate of pearl which shuts in the city of our God.

No, it hath not yet entered the heart of man. Yet the text goes on to say, ‘but He hath revealed it unto us by His Spirit.’ So that heaven is not an utterly unknown region, not altogether an inner brightness shut in with walls of impenetrable darkness.

God hath revealed joys which He has prepared for His beloved; but mark you, even though they be revealed of the Spirit, yet it is no common unveiling, and the reason that it is made known at all is ascribed to the fact that the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.’

So we see that the glory which awaits the saints is ranked among the deep things of God, and he that would speak thereof after the manner of the oracles of God must have much heavenly teaching.

It is easy to chatter according to human fancy, but if we would follow the sure teaching of the word of God we shall have need to be taught of the Holy Spirit, without whose anointing the deep things of God must be hidden from us.

Pray that we may be under that teaching while we dwell upon this theme.”

–Charles H. Spurgeon, “Glory!” in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, vol. 29 (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1883), 277–278.