they have endured the anguish of the
time of Jacob's trouble; they have stood without an intercessor through
the final outpouring of God's judgments. But they have been delivered, for
they have "washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the
Lamb." "In their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault"
before God. "Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him
day and night in His temple: and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell
among them."(1125) They have seen the earth wasted with famine and
pestilence, the sun having power to scorch men with great heat, and they
themselves have endured suffering, hunger, and thirst. But "they shall
hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on
them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall
feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God
shall wipe away all tears from their eyes."(1126)

In all ages the Saviour's chosen have been educated and disciplined in the
school of trial. They walked in narrow paths on earth; they were purified
in the furnace of affliction. For Jesus' sake they endured opposition,
hatred, calumny. They followed Him through conflicts sore; they endured
self-denial and experienced bitter disappointments. By their own painful
experience they learned the evil of sin, its power, its guilt, its woe;
and they look upon it with abhorrence. A sense of the infinite sacrifice
made for its cure, humbles them in their own sight, and fills their hearts
with gratitude and praise which those who have never fallen cannot
appreciate. They love much, because they have been forgiven much. Having
been partakers of Christ's sufferings, they are fitted to be partakers
with Him of His glory.

The heirs of God have come from garrets, from hovels, from dungeons, from
scaffolds, from mountains, from deserts, from the caves of the earth, from
the caverns of the sea. On earth they were "destitute, afflicted,
tormented." Millions went down to the grave loaded with infamy, because
they steadfastly refused to yield to the deceptive claims of Satan. By
human tribunals they were adjudged the vilest of criminals. But now "God
is judge Himself."(1127) Now the decisions of earth are reversed. "The
rebuke of His people shall He take away."(1128) "They shall call them, The
holy people, The redeemed of the Lord." He hath appointed "to give unto
them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy fo