“If you begin praising God you are bound to go on. The work engrosses the heart. It deepens and broadens like a rolling river.” ~C.H. Spurgeon

Often, praise for my Father in Heaven, begins like a gentle stream within me, moving in the right direction, steady, bubbling with joy. Sometimes, praise begins in the quiet hours of the night. I wake, and my thoughts rest on Him, and I say before sleeping once more, ‘I love you Lord.’

Just as C.H. Spurgeon says in this paragraph from ‘John’s Doxology,’ when I praise God I am bound to go on. Praising the Father of all Creation does engross my heart. I love Spurgeon’s illustration that praise can begin with a tear of gratitude, going on to join the everlasting hallelujahs that surround the throne of God. Amen!

The portion I’ve based this post on is below. It seems daunting in it’s length, but if you have time, try to read it through. It shows the wonderful way Spurgeon led his congregation through the Bible passages for this sermon. What an amazing preacher and Bible scholar. What always comes through to me as I read his words is this man truly loved God.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon – John’s Doxology

Secondly, let us look at THE OUTBURST ITSELF. It is a doxology, and as such does not stand alone: it is one of many. In the Book of the Revelation doxologies are frequent, and in the first few chapters they distinctly grow as the book advances. If you have your Bibles with you, as you ought to have, you will notice that in this first outburst only two things are ascribed to our Lord. “To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever.” Now turn to the fourth chapter at the ninth verse, and read, “Those living creatures give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne.” Here we have three words of honour. Run on to verse eleven, and read the same. “Saying, thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power.” The doxology has grown from two to three in each of these verses. Now turn to chapter v. 13. “And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.” Here we have four praise-notes. Steadily but surely there is an advance. By the time we get to chapter vii. 12, we have reached the number of perfection, and may not look for more. “Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God forever and ever. Amen.” If you begin praising God you are bound to go on. The work engrosses the heart. It deepens and broadens like a rolling river. Praise is somewhat like an avalanche, which may begin with a snow-flake on the mountain moved by the wing of a bird, but that flake binds others to itself and becomes a rolling ball: this rolling ball gathers more snow about it till it is huge, immense; it crashes through a forest; it thunders down into the valley; it buries a village under its stupendous mass. Thus praise may begin with the tear of gratitude; anon the bosom swells with love; thankfulness rises to a song; it breaks forth into a shout; it mounts up to join the everlasting hallelujahs which surround the throne of the Eternal. What a mercy it is that God by his Spirit will give us greater capacities by-and-by than we have here! for if we continue to learn more and more of the love of Christ which passeth knowledge we shall be driven to sore straits if confined within the narrow and drowsy framework of this mortal body. This poor apparatus of tongue and mouth is already inadequate for our zeal.

I love coming upon fiddle ferns springing up from the floor of the woods. After sleeping underground all winter, they unfurl from beneath the blanket of leaves that have enriched the soil. When I think of all Jesus has done for me I can relate to those ferns. If I am tightly wound, and dismayed by the rapid changes in our world, his presence calms me, and helps me grow upright and more in love with Him each day.

Jesus is our Redeemer. Instead of reaping the penalty for our sins, he washes us clean and raises our head, he makes us priests to God. How can I not praise Him? I pray that every heart will be filled with his love. I believe each of us, by serving Him, can, and will, make a difference in this world.

C.H. Spurgeon – John’s Doxology

“To him that lov’d the souls of men,
And wash’d us in his blood,
To royal honours raised our head,
And made us priests to God;
“To him let every tongue be praise,
And every heart be love!
All grateful honours paid on earth,
And nobler songs above!”

Thus much upon the condition of heart which suggests these doxologies.

While visiting Jamaica, I remember watching for the start of sunset each evening. Unencumbered by the trees and buildings that block out sunsets where I live, the beautiful glory of God’s gift to us in the Jamaican sunset over the ocean was a source of enthusiastic joy within me.

I love what Charles Haddon Spurgeon preached in this portion of John’s Doxology. The sight and thought that prompted him to enthusiastic joy was the multitude of the redeemed. I hope and pray that when I think of the brotherhood of those who love Christ Jesus that I will be prompted to enthusiastic joy too.

C.H. Spurgeon – John’s Doxology

Once more. I think we have brought out two points which are clear enough. John had realized his Master, and firmly grasped the blessings which his Master brought him; but he had also felt, and was feeling very strongly, his communion with all the saints. Notice the use of the plural pronoun. We should not have wondered if he had said, “Unto him that loved me, and washed me from my sins in his own blood.” Somehow there would have been a loss of sweetness had the doxology been so worded, and it would have hardly sounded like John. John is the very mirror of love, and he cannot live alone, or rejoice in sacred benefits alone. John must have all the brotherhood round about him, and he must speak in their name, or he will be as one bereft of half himself. Beloved, it is well for you and me to use this “us” very often. There are times when it is better to say “me,” but in general let us got away to the “us”; for has not our Lord taught us when we pray to say, “Our Father which art in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; forgive us our trespasses,” and so on? Jesus does not bid us say, “My Father.” We do say it, and it is well to say it; but yet our usual prayers must run in the “Our Father” style; and our usual praises must be, “Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins.” Let me ask you, beloved brethren, do you not love the Lord Jesus all the better and praise him all the more heartily because his grace and love are not given to you alone? Why, that blessed love has embraced your children, your neighbours, your fellow church-members, myriads who have gone before you, multitudes that are round about you, and an innumerable company who are coming after; and for this we ought to praise the gracious Lord with unbounded delight. It seems so much the more lovely,— this salvation, when we think of it, not as a cup of water of which one or two of us may drink, but as a well of water opened in the desert, ever flowing, ever giving life and deliverance and restoration to all who pass that way. “Unto him that loved us.” Oh, my Lord, I bless thee for having loved me; but sometimes I think I could adore thee for loving my wife, for loving my children, and all these dear friends around me, even if I had no personal share in thy salvation. Sometimes this seems the greater part of it, not that I should share in thy compassion, but that all these poor sheep should be gathered into thy fold and kept safe by thee. The instinct of a Christian minister especially leads him to love Christ for loving the many; and I think the thought of every true worker for the Lord runs much in the same line. No man will burst out into such joyful adoration as we have now before us unless he has a great heart within him, full of love to all the brotherhood; and then, as he looks upon the multitude of the redeemed around about him, he will be prompted to cry with enthusiastic joy

We are living in a time when peace seems near impossible. It’s not necessarily warfare I am speaking of, although that could spring up at any moment, but more so the constant pecking away of politicians, false media reports, and manufactured crises for stealing away freedom, human rights, and prosperity.

For those who have given their hearts and lives to Christ Jesus, it is a blessing to have the assurance that no matter what happens here on earth, Jesus has made peace for us with God. From every fiber of my being I thank him for giving his life for me, for taking my sins upon himself, for opening the way to eternal life and everlasting fellowship with him in Glory.

The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. ~ Revelation 21:23

C.H. Spurgeon – John’s Doxology

“O how sweet to view the flowing
Of the Saviour’s precious blood!
With divine assurance, knowing
He has made my peace with God.”

This well-grounded assurance will throw you into ecstasy, and it will not be long before the deep of your heart will well up with fresh springs of adoring love. Then shall you also praise the Lord with some such words as these: “Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”

Love, trust and hope, they truly do bring JOY UNSPEAKABLE to those who put their faith in Christ Jesus. The old hymn is true, the half has never yet been told. I’m looking forward to unspeakable JOY when I reach my home in Glory.

A snippet from the song JOY UNSPEAKABLE:
“It is joy unspeakable and full of glory,
Full of glory, full of glory;
It is joy unspeakable and full of glory,
Oh, the half has never yet been told.”
~Barney E. Warren 1900

C.H. Spurgeon – John’s Doxology

“This also gives foothold to faith. If you know the Lord Jesus you feel that you can trust him. “They that know thy name will put their trust in thee.” Those to whom Christ has become a well-known friend do not find it difficult to trust him in the time of their distress. An unknown Christ is untrusted; but when the Holy Spirit reveals Jesus he also breeds faith. By the same means, your hope also becomes vivid, for you say, “Oh, yes; I know Jesus, and I am sure that he will keep his word. He has said, ‘I will come again and receive you unto my self and I am sure that he will come, for it is not like him to deceive his own chosen.” Hope’s eyes are brightened as she thinks of Jesus and realizes him as loving to the end; in him believing, she rejoices with joy unspeakable and full of glory. To love, to trust, to hope, are all easy in the presence of a real living Christ; but if, like the disciples at midnight on the Galilean lake, we think him to be a mere spectre or apparition, we shall be afraid, and cry out for fear. Nothing will suffice a real Christian but a real Christ.”