Revelation 21:1-8 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.… I. THE SOURCES WHENCE THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN IS DERIVED. 1. The happiness of heaven will be derived from increased and perfected knowledge. On earth our residence is so short, our mental faculties are so limited, our hearts are so carnal, and our opportunities of acquiring knowledge are, in many cases, so few, that the wisest and the holiest know but little either of the character or the works of God. What sources of happiness will be afforded by the moral government of God, when we are permitted to read the sealed book of providence, and by the work of redemption, when, in the very presence of the Redeemer, we gaze upon its height and depth and length and breadth. 2. The happiness of heaven will be derived from holiness of character. Sin and misery are so connected that no mere change of place can sever them; and the mind of man is so much its own place that, if unsanctified, it would make a hell of heaven. 3. The happiness of heaven will be derived from the society of angels and the redeemed. 4. This happiness will be derived from the presence and friendship of Jesus Christ. 5. This happiness will be derived from the employments of the inhabitants. II. THE PECULIARITIES BY WHICH THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN WILL BE DISTINGUISHED. 1. The happiness of heaven will be perfect in its nature. That is, it will be free from every imperfection and alloy that mingles with our enjoyments here. 2. The happiness of heaven will be various in its degrees. There is a prophet's reward, and a righteous man's reward. 3. The happiness of heaven will be progressive and eternal. (S. Alexander.) Parallel Verses KJV: And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. |
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