Could we turn again to the passage from which we were reading? That's Revelation 22 and reading from the beginning. Revelation 22, we'll read again verses one and two. And he, that is the angel of the Lord, showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the Tree of Life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. What a sublime picture it is that we have opened up for us in these words. We're here brought into the court of heaven. We there see the city of God built around this throne, the throne of God and of the Lamb. And from this throne, of course, coming the river of water, which flows through the city, watering it. And on either side of the course of the river, there grows the tree of life, bearing fruit for the people of God to eat. A beautiful, stirring picture. The Revelation is a particularly challenging book when we come to interpret it because it's full of pictures just like this one. And the challenge is for us how to understand these pictures that we are given. There are some who take these things very literally, and imagine that we can trace the whole course of the history of the world through the Book of Revelation, that this part of it refers to the Napoleonic Wars, and this is Hitler here, and so on and so forth, right to the very end, and they imagine that they can set dates and times, and they imagine that they can assign each picture to a literal fulfillment. And of course, we must be cautious in being dogmatic in handling the word of truth. This is a difficult book, and we would be unwise to be too dogmatic regarding it. There's a lovely illustration that is told of this which might appeal to the children. There was a pastor in America, a clever man, an educated man, and at an early stage in his life he was working in a school as a teacher. And there was there a janitor who was a simple-minded man. He was a black man, he was poor, he didn't have much education, but he was a man of God and he loved the Lord. And one day the teacher came to him, and the janitor was sitting by the side of the playground watching the children, and he was reading from his Bible. And the teacher said to him, what are you reading? And he said, Revelation. And the pastor asked him, and do you understand what you're reading, this difficult, complicated book? And the simple janitor replied, well, I understand this, Jesus wins. Jesus wins. And I think when we come to the book of Revelation, that is helpful. Let us start with what is clear. Let us start with what is plain. Let us keep central what this book is speaking of. The victory of the Lamb, the salvation of his people. And what is less clear will in time, we trust, become clear to us as we start from that starting point. Now, there are some marvelous passages in this book. And here, of course, in Revelation 22, we are brought to heaven itself. And this here, as we have said, is, in some sense, a picture of heaven. But it would seem to be unlikely that this is a literal, physical description of what heaven looks like. We don't, of course, know what heaven looks like. Heaven is spoken of in many different pictures. The city that is shaped like a cube. That is, as long and as wide and as high, the dimensions all being even. That's one picture. Another picture, the city paved with gold. This picture here, the throne of God, the river coming from it. We must be cautious to imagine that these pictures can be interpreted too literally. Heaven is a place of mystery. Yes, it is a real physical place. Yes, it's a place where people have bodies, where people move about, where people touch and interact. Yes, it is a physical place, but we don't know what it looks like. And it seems unlikely that this is intended to be an accurate physical description of heaven, a throne for God and for the lamb with a river coming from it. Well, of course, God, in the sense of the father, he is a spiritual being. He fills all the universe. He cannot be contained in any sense. So to imagine him in any meaningful physical sense sitting upon a throne is meaningless. It makes no sense. So it is probably better rather for us to understand this as a picture intended to teach us about the realities of God's work of salvation. It is a picture just like we have many other pictures through the book of Revelation that cannot be interpreted literally. It is a picture intended to convey teaching just in the same manner as the parables of Jesus and therefore let's not be put off by it but let's rather look closer at it and see if we can understand what is being taught by means of this picture. What is this river that is flowing from the throne of God, that is watering the city of God? Well, is it not the grace of God? His undeserved favor pouring out from Him to bless and to benefit all His people? Is this not the river of grace, just as we were singing earlier, of that river that makes glad the city of God? in Psalm 46. Is this not grace that is being spoken of? And if that is so, then let us take grace as our theme for tonight. And we'll give this as our theme. God's grace bears fruit in salvation. God's grace bears fruit in salvation. And as we bring this subject before our minds, we will reflect that this is a subject before the minds of the saints in heaven. This is a subject that they think on, that they delight in, that leads them to worship. It is at the center of heaven, perhaps not physically, but in the minds of the people, exalted and glorified in heaven. And therefore, as we think on this subject, let us too be moved to worship, as the saints in heaven are, to praise our God for the wonders of what we have from him. And firstly, let's come to see the nature of God's grace, the nature of God's grace. We're looking now at the first part of verse one. And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal. See how the grace is described. It is water that is clear, that is pure, that is unsullied, that's not being dirtied in any sense. The children will know if you go up into the mountains, into the hills, you will find there rivers that are pure and clear. They flow out from fresh springs. They have been filtered through the rock. All of the dirt and the impurity has been cleansed, and these rivers are pure and clean. And just in the same manner, the grace of God is pure. He is God. All he does is pure, and his grace flows to us pure. We don't need to add anything to this grace. We don't need to mix in anything that we have done ourselves. We don't bring any works of our own, any achievement that we have accomplished. We receive his pure, unsullied grace. That pure grace alone is the source of salvation. Nothing but the grace of God. Nothing that we've done. all His work, and may we not rejoice that it's not the muddy trickle of our works, that it's not the vile cesspit of the works of this world to which we are looking, that we are looking to the pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, that flows from the throne of God. His grace is pure. His grace is abundant. See what it's compared to, a river A river. Think what a river is. It is a stream of water that continues to flow. It doesn't just dry up after a couple of weeks or after a few months. A river is always there. It has its bed. It has its course. It's marked on the map from generation to generation. Unless there is some major construction project, that river continues to flow just as it was before. Some of you will be familiar with my native island of Skye, and there's a strikingly beautiful part to that island. It's when you come to the church at Snysert, where Mr. McLeod, Mr. Murdo Angus McLeod, is the minister. And there's a river that flows there from the mountains down into the sea, into Loch Snysert. And that's the River Torah. And in the old days, before the gospel had come to Snizert, before there were gospel ministers on Snizert, in Snizert and indeed across the whole island of Skye, a certain man was converted, Donald Monroe, Blind Donald Monroe, they called him, before he'd been a fiddler. He'd been a man who played tunes to people to earn his bread, but after he was converted, he instead took up preaching the gospel. And he came to that point, beside the River Torah, and there he had his little meeting house, and there he gathered from all across the island the people who wished to hear the message of the truth, the message of the gospel, not the dead, cold moderatism that was being preached in the churches, but the message of life. And there he preached, and many were converted. And it's said that sometimes they would take the converts out to baptize them in the waters of the river Torah. And after the disruption, when Maestro Ruri became the first free church minister on the island of Skye, that central point, that central location was where he chose to build his church. And that place became the scene of great revivals in days gone by, and continues down to the present to be a place where the gospel is proclaimed and is preached. And you see the illustration. The river is the same. The river continues to flow. The river is always present. And the gospel progresses and advances. And so it is with grace. It's that grace that flows abundantly that's the source of all true spiritual life. It's grace alone that makes converts. It's grace alone that turns us from darkness and deadness and to spiritual life. It's grace, grace that makes the difference. And it is that river of grace that flows from God to which we look. Haven't we known it in our own experience if we are indeed the people of God? We thought we were good enough to meet with God. We thought we could stand on our own righteousness, and grace flowed. And grace showed us our own folly and our own sin, and grace brought us low. And then we thought we would despair, and we thought we had nothing before us but hell, and grace flowed. And we were brought to see Jesus, and to see his fitness, to be our savior, and to trust in him, and grace flowed, and we were enabled to profess faith publicly, and to walk with the people of God. And then we wandered into sin and we wandered far astray from the way of righteousness. We thought we had arrived. We thought we were safe. And so we sinned and so we strayed. And yet grace flowed. And the Lord in chastisement brought us back to himself again and again. And that's the marvel with each Christian. Grace is flowing continually, that river, that sustenance from God. And that's what we need. to keep us on the way and to sustain us on the way to everlasting life. If you're one of his, you have known, you've experienced this abundance, this river already, and it is before you, and you know that it is there, it is available to you, you can turn to him and find his grace is sufficient for you. And then of course, as we see in our passage, His grace is life giving. It is a river of the water of life. Now that's appropriate because of course water itself is the one substance essential for life. You can go without food for a long time. You can go days and days without food. Perhaps 40 days without food as we sometimes read off in the scriptures. But try going without water. Two, three days at the most and you would be dead. you would be finished. We must have water to sustain us and to keep us alive. We have to drink. And so it is appropriate that when we come to speak of God's grace, that we see it as the water of life, the water that gives life, that feeds and sustains us and gives us that strength to persevere and to press on in the way of salvation. through this life. God's grace, you see, is leading us towards everlasting life. And that water, that water is sustaining us to press on in the way. Hear the words of the Lord Jesus, whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. You see what the Lord is saying. It's as though in conversion the Lord himself has worked within us so that the river now flows directly inside us. The well is within us. The Holy Spirit has come and has taken residence within us and therefore we may draw from him. We may find sustenance from within, from the Spirit of God himself indwelling us and giving to us his grace. The fountain is inside and it's as though that river is carrying us along, the force of the current leading us towards everlasting life. You who have received salvation, you who profess faith, who know the Lord as your Savior. Do these things not lead you to worship Him? Do they not lead you to marvel that such goodness, such love, such compassion has been shown to such as you? Your salvation is of grace. It is from Him. Therefore, bring forth to Him the worship and to the praise. Never be tempted even for a moment to imagine that it is yourself, to imagine that it is your works that are keeping you on the way. Give all the praise, all the glory to God, to his grace, and to see that you are dependent on that grace every day to keep you from sin and to keep you pressing on along the way. Let all the worship be to him. Let us, as it were, harmonize our praise with the praise of the saints in heaven as they are marveling at the river of grace flowing from the throne of God. The nature of grace. But this, you see, leads us secondly to consider the source of grace. The source of grace. And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb." So we see here the source of it. The water, the river, is coming from the throne of God. and of the Lamb. Now, in this context, it is plain that God, the word God, indicates the Father, the first person of the Trinity. And we can say that with clarity because, of course, God is here distinguished from the Lamb. And the Lamb, of course, signifies the Lord Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity. So here we see the throne of the Father and of the Son, as it were, at the center of heaven, and from it flowing the grace of God. So let us see. that it is the grace of the Father. It is proceeding from the throne of God. And that's an important point because we as believers can make the mistake of focusing so intently upon the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of the Lord Jesus that has purchased for us salvation that we can forget that salvation is the work of the Father also. We can even have in our minds a false picture whereby we think of the Father as a sort of angry, distant figure who must be appeased by the Lord Jesus Christ, who is, in a sense, unwilling to save unless the Lord Jesus Christ would do the work. But as we see from this passage, God's grace flows equally from Father and from Son, and indeed, as we may find in other passages, from the Holy Spirit. God's grace is from the three persons of the Trinity. God is united. in his purpose to save. In theological terms, we refer to this as the covenant of redemption. And by that we mean an agreement in eternity before the world was formed between the father and the son. and the Father agreeing that he will accept the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ to achieve salvation, and the Lord Jesus Christ, God the Son, agreeing to fulfill that part of the bargain, that part of the covenant, to enter this world, to live, to die, to rise again, and thus to purchase the salvation of his people. an agreement from all eternity between Father and Son to secure the salvation of God's people. And so we see that God's grace is flowing from the Father. It is the Father's will to secure our salvation. If you want that to be proved, I'm going to read you a couple of verses from Isaiah 49, which are very helpful in this context. They are the words addressed by the father to the son, as we have them recorded by the prophet. Thus saith the Lord, in an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee, and I will preserve thee and give thee for a covenant of the people to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages. that with the purpose that thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth to them that are in darkness, show yourselves. They shall feed in the ways and their pasture shall be in all high places. There we see the father agreeing to this plan of salvation. There we see the father agreeing to the gospel message as a result. of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the words, as we have it, of the Old Testament prophet. And yet, that is perhaps a more difficult, a more complicated proof. So let me give you an easier one, a simpler one. The words of the Lord Jesus, wrestling in the garden, wrestling with the task before him. What did he say? Not my will, but thine be done. You see, the will of the Father, the will of God the Father, he was acknowledging that will was for the salvation of God's people. Is this not wonderful? And does this not lead us to worship as we contemplate it? And then, let us also see that it is, of course, grace flowing from the Son as well. We see that it is proceeding from the throne of the Lamb. Let's just get the exact words. Proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. Now, that is striking. Why is it that in this passage the Lord Jesus Christ is described for us by this figure as a lamb? What is the significance of that? What's the significance of a lamb in this context? Well, we know, of course, the lamb is the sacrificial animal. The lamb signifies purity, cleanliness, innocence, and therefore fitness and suitability to be sacrificed. And so it was that the Lord Jesus Christ was that sacrificial lamb. Remember the words of John the Baptist, behold the lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. So Jesus, he came to this world to die. He came as a lamb with this purpose that he would die for his people. And so it is that there is grace flowing. Why is the lamb mentioned in this context? Because it was the work of Jesus as a lamb that made that grace possible. Don't you see, it was the sacrifice at Calvary that, as it were, purchased this river. It was the sacrifice at Calvary that let this river flow. There is a fountain open for sin and for uncleanness. And that fountain was open when Jesus Christ died upon the cross for the sins of his people. A river flowing from the throne of God and off the Lamb. the grace that comes through the work of Jesus. And yet, let's see also that it's grace that comes into the kingdom, or rather, I should say, in the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, because it is the throne of God and of the Lamb. It is the throne of the Lamb. And elsewhere in the book of Revelation, the Lord Jesus is described for us as the lamb in the midst of the throne. So the Lord Jesus Christ, we now see him in this passage, not as the lamb slain, not as the one who is dead, who has died, who has been punished and whose work is complete, but now is the lamb risen, his work finished, his triumph complete, and therefore exalted, therefore now seated upon his throne, therefore exalted over his kingdom. We see the Lord Jesus Christ crowned on high in his glory with authority over his people, with authority over his kingdom. As the Lord Jesus says, to him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame and am set down with my father in his throne. And then as we find it, In Revelation 7, 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. Do we not see here the marvel of grace, the beauty of grace, the perfection of grace, grace that flows from the throne of God? and of the Lamb. Can we not worship, can we not praise Him as we see the marvel of this grace achieving salvation for us, the people of God? And yet what of you, if you don't know anything of this grace, if you're a stranger to it, If you've not experienced it, if you've not tasted it, what of you? What does this passage say to you? Well, does it not speak to you of the necessity of knowing this grace for yourself? Does this passage not challenge you? If this river of grace is essential for the people of God, if even John himself, the holy apostle John, needed this grace, what of you? Will you continue to despise it? Will you continue to turn aside from this river? Or will you not come and drink from it? Will you not come and taste, experience for yourself the bountiful grace of God? Says verse 17, whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. Oh, the love, oh, the mercy of God. that makes such an offer to us sinful creatures, the water of life offered and available to us, offered and available to any who will come. So much then on the source of grace. But that then brings us, thirdly, to the fruit of grace. The fruit of grace, and we're coming now to the second verse that we want to consider. Revelation 22, and verse two. In the midst of the street of it, we would, of course, in modern English, say the course of the river. So in the midst of the course of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare 12 manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. It brings us, as it were. back to the Garden of Eden, doesn't it? The children are familiar, no doubt, with the story of the Garden of Eden. This was the place prepared by God for the first man and woman that were created, a garden with trees in it bearing fruit and two particular special trees. We had there the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The one tree was there for them to eat. It was bringing blessing. It was bringing benefit to them. But the other tree was there to test their obedience. The command was they must not eat of it. And the tragedy was that they did. And the result was the fall and sin and death and suffering and sadness. In this picture of heaven, it's as though paradise is reborn. Paradise is regained. But this time there's just one special tree. This time it is just the tree of life. There is no longer a testing. There is no longer an opportunity to fall. There is no longer the possibility of disobedience or of sin. There is only the tree of life. There is only the blessing of God. And now it is one immense tree. yielding fruit for all the people of God. The river flowing from the throne and feeding this great tree and sustaining the life of this tree so that the fruit is offered to all the people of God. It is powerful, is it not? This fruit is available to the church, to the church of the Old Testament, of the New Testament, to the church triumphant and victorious for all eternity. This fruit is offered. How can we tell? Look at the number that is given. In the midst of the street of it and on either side of the river was there the tree of life which bear 12 manner of fruits. Now in the book of Revelation, numbers are very frequently significant. We have the number seven, which is the number that is associated with God. Think of, for example, the seven spirits of God described in Revelation 1. And the idea is seven as the number of perfection and of completeness, a number that had that significance within that culture. Whereas the number six, by contrast, was associated with evil. And so again, through the book of Revelation, we have the number six associated with the evil one. Similarly, the number 12. And then, of course, at last, the great multiple of that number, the number 666, which was the number of the beast. So you see these numbers have their significance, but here we have the number 12. And in this context, the number 12 refers us, of course, to the church of God, to the people of God. We have, of course, the 12 tribes of the Old Testament church. We have the 12 apostles of the New Testament church. And then we have the number 12 associated with the church for all eternity, the city with 12 gates, with 12 foundations, with 12 precious stones as the ways in. And so it is that the number 12 here is significant It is 12 manner of fruits that's been born by this tree of life. And therefore, this fruit is intended for the people of God, for the people who are associated with this particular number, the number 12. So we come, we the people of God, we the church of God, we come to receive the fruit which is intended for us, which has been grown for us. the fruit that is prepared for the people of God. And let's see that it is the river that is producing this fruit, the river that is causing it to come forth, the water of grace that is flowing from God, it is bringing forth this fruit in this tree. And thus it is through grace that we have the blessed privileges of salvation. It is through grace that we are saved. It is all of him. And this fruit comes continually. It's described for us as being born each month. So the idea is all through the year, there is fresh fruit coming up. All through the year, you can come to this tree and find ripe fruit ready for the eating. This tree will never be barren. It will never be empty. It will never lack sufficiency. Always there is this fruit, this grace available. if the people of God will come. And so it has been down the generations, always the grace of God at work, always the power of God working in salvation. And so we may marvel at the wonder of so great a salvation. We marvel that even in the Old Testament times, when knowledge was so limited, yet there was a people of God. Yet there was, as it were, 7,000 that had not bowed the knee to Baal, come to the New Testament age. And we see the apostles going out in different directions, going out with the gospel. multitudes being brought in. We see the vast power of the Roman Empire standing to oppose this gospel and of course we know our history. We know that at last that empire was brought to its knees and conquered by the power of the Christian gospel when the Emperor Constantine himself at last accepted Jesus Christ as Lord. And in the centuries thereafter, the gospel going forth with power throughout the whole of Europe, into the great country of Russia, going as far as northern India, going deep into North Africa. The power of the gospel at work. Times of darkness, yes, in the Middle Ages, and yet still the people of God, still the Wycliffs, the Savonarolas, the Husses, the Martin Luthers, and at last the light of Reformation, and the gospel going forth again in greater power, in greater abundance, the missionary movement, the missionaries reaching each part of the world with the message of new life in Jesus. And so it is that we preach this same message tonight as was preached by the Apostle Peter 2,000 years ago, that was preached by Saint Columba 1,500 years ago, that was preached by John Knox 500 years ago. The same gospel, the same salvation, the same precious gift everlasting life offered to you tonight, if you will but take it." You see what we're saying, this fruit born each month, born continually for the people of God, all from Him. The prophet Ezekiel speaks of this gospel tree in Ezekiel chapter 47. He says, it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary. And the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine." It's striking how it's picked up. in the words of our text, isn't it? The fruit is yielded each month, and the leaves of the trees were for the healing of the nations. The fruit for sustenance, and the leaf, as it were, having medicinal properties, and therefore that leaf being available to heal the diseases of the people of God, to heal them of their diseases so that they can enjoy the privilege of everlasting life. Let's see, therefore, that this tree is offered to you tonight. Let's see that this fruit of salvation is available to you tonight. Let's see that it's presented in this passage for you to come, for you to taste of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. The gospel must go forth, yes. It will go forth. It will go in power. It will go as the power of God unto salvation to all them that believe. Gospel will go forth, but will it achieve salvation in your life? Will you hear? Will you respond? Will you take what is offered to you? Will you taste the fruit that is handed to you? Will you drink of the water that is given to you? Will you take the medicine that is available to you? Will you come and receive of the grace of God? This is the marvel of this tree of life. The grace of God bears fruit in salvation. Let us therefore praise him for the wonder of it, and most importantly, let us receive it, and let us receive that salvation he offers. Just as we draw to a close, let's have some final thoughts of application. To those of you who do not know this grace, who know that you are not one of the Lord's people this night, And yet, you would wish to be. And yet, if you're honest this night, you would love to be one of the people of God. See what this passage says to you. See its message to you. The leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. It's there. It's available to you. It's for your healing. It's for your salvation. And Jesus Christ is offered to you tonight. will you not come and receive him? Will you not come and receive his salvation? You say, I can't come, it's beyond my power to come, and that is true. God must do it, therefore seek it from God. Beg that he will do the work. Beg that he will give you faith in Jesus Christ, love for him. Beg that he will give you true repentance from sin, to turn from ways of sin, and to love the Lord Jesus as Savior. Look unto him this night, find in him a blessed salvation. Whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely. To those of you who feel far from the grace of God this night, who feel that, as it were, you are dried up and parched, who feel that it is a long time since you drank from this river. Recognize it is your sin that forms the barrier. It's your sin, your presumption, that has led you to wander far. You felt self-righteous. You felt you could go in your own strength, and so you strayed far from that river. And now you've found the sadness, the grief, the misery of being lost in the wilderness of this world without the water, close to hand of the grace of God. Come to him again. He loves to receive the penitent. He is ready to receive you again. His water is yet available to you. Come to him and find in him cleansing from the contamination of this world and the preciousness, the wonder of the restoration which his gospel can achieve. His gospel is the power of God unto salvation and to them that believe. Find out for yourself that that is so. And to those of you who love His grace, who know it, and who have experienced it, see that in that you are united with the people of God, down the generations. You are united with the saints of God and glory. You are united with loved ones who now sing the praises of the Lamb, world without end. Can we not worship and praise as those whose salvation is wholly, entirely the work of Almighty God? To him, therefore, be all our praise, all our glory, a world without end. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. The whole earth is full of his glory. Amen. May God be pleased to bless his word and to bless it to each one of us. Let us call on his name in prayer. Let us pray.