Isaiah 33:24 And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity. Two principal circumstances are dwelt upon, as constituting the bliss of heaven. I. THERE IS NO SORROW IN HEAVEN. "The inhabitant shall not say, I am sick." It is otherwise in this world, ruined as it has been by sin. Here "the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint." And what men universally feel, they with one consent complain of. In one way or other, every child of Adam is exclaiming, I am sick!" With some — 1. The body is sick. But in heaven there is nothing of all this. 2. The heart is sick — sick of "hope deferred," of rash and ill-judged wishes, of continual disappointments. In heaven, no heart saith, "I am sick." No disappointment, there, of former hopes. Even hope finds no admission there. "We hope for that we see not." But in heaven all is sight, and knowledge, and solid experience. 3. The soul is sick. In heaven no indwelling sin will remain, to suggest evil, when we "would do good": no tempter, to recommend to us forbidden pleasures: no apostate, rebellious world, to revile, ensnare, or persecute the friends of God. Still — as there can be no doubt that memory will accompany the soul into its heavenly habitation — it may be imagined by some that the recollection of sins committed on earth must interfere with its entire felicity. But the apprehension is groundless. That a deep sense of unworthiness will exist, there is no doubt; even the sinless angels feel this. But the painful sense of guilt will be for ever excluded. II. THERE IS NO CONDEMNATION IN HEAVEN. "The people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity." 1. The forgiveness of sin will be more certain. Forgiveness is certain to the real believer; but who is certain of himself? 2. The forgiveness of sin will then be more complete, — not so much the forgiveness itself, as the consequences of it. (J. Jowett, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.WEB: The inhabitant won't say, "I am sick." The people who dwell therein will be forgiven their iniquity. |
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