4 . UNTIL HE COMES
Blackheath, August, 1876.
My Dear Brother,
In these few lines I would like to leave you, if possible, in the presence of Him who alone can make the truth a living power in your soul. The danger is so great of letting the truth slip by us, of comforting ourselves with the thought that others go on happily. Therefore, we are inclined to say, ‘Why should we be troubled with all this exercise of soul?’ I will only bring two things before you in reply to this question.
1. The Coming of the Lord
The first is the coming of the Lord. Are you, dear brother, living in the daily expectation of the return of Christ? What has He told us in His last message to His Church? “He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly”, Rev 22: 20. Three times in this chapter He makes the announcement, vv 7, 12, 20. What a blessed prospect is thus unfolded to us! Who went down into death for our redemption and met all God’s wrath that was due to us as sinners? His love was so vast and so intense that many waters - those waves and billows of wrath which passed over His soul - could not drown it, and the floods could not quench it. We shall be permitted to behold this very same Man, though now His sorrows are ended and He is glorified at God’s right hand. We will see Him as He is, for we shall then be like Him, 1 John 3: 2. What a prospect! How it fills us with unspeakable joy to anticipate it, as we look away from all else and think of that moment when He will come to receive us unto Himself, that where He is we may be also, John 14: 1! Well indeed might we anticipate it, for that moment will be the fruition of His own joy, as well as the consummation of our blessings.
2. The Lord’s Three Expectations
There is a question that springs out of this, and this is the second thing I wish to bring before you. During the little while, the interval of waiting until He comes, what does our Lord expect of us here? This chapter, Rev 22, gives the answer. We have pointed out the threefold announcement of His speedy coming, and now let us look at their different connections. The first is, “Behold, I come quickly; blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book”, v 7. Thus He teaches us that obedience is what He prizes in His own while they await His coming; and this obedience, as we know from John 14, is the proof of our love.
Who then, with such a word as this, will seek to excuse himself from obedience? Will not every true believer rather say, ‘What a privilege my Lord has bestowed upon me, to permit me to declare my love for Him whom man rejected, by keeping His Word!’ With what delight does His eye rest upon those who amid trials and even dangers, make this the one object of their lives!
Then He speaks again, and says, “Behold, I come quickly: and my reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be”, v 12. Here we are taught that He looks for faithfulness in His servants; and, moreover, that He will recompense them accordingly. Compare Luke 19: 12-26. Again, and for the last time, He speaks, “He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly”. The response of John is, “Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus” - a response which should flow spontaneously from the heart of every saint. Thus we are taught that during the little while we await, our affections are very precious to Him. These then are the three things which He looks for from us now: obedience, faithfulness and affection.
In the light of this truth, the prospect of the Lord’s coming and what He values in His saints while they are expecting His return, I ask you, dear brother, to consider and to decide the questions which I have had the privilege of bringing before you in these letters.
Commending you once again to the guidance and blessing of the Lord,
Yours affectionately in Christ,
E.D.
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