"BEHOLD, THE BRIDEGROOM"
“BEHOLD, THE BRIDEGROOM”
Matthew 25: 1 - 13; Psalm 19: 1 - 6
The passage in Matthew presents a very striking picture, and evidently relates to the present time; it follows on a statement in the previous chapter, “the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites”, that is, the parable presents to us the kingdom of heaven as it is at the end. The latter part of chapter 24 looks on to the time of the Lord’s coming to judge His servants. Then in the beginning of chapter 25 we have the kingdom of heaven, in view of the coming of the Lord. All will have noticed that the cry has gone forth, “Behold, the bridegroom” — everything is looking on to the coming of the Bridegroom, that is the consummation of all. And hence I would like every one to apprehend the importance of the parable. On our part we have to see to it that we have the preparation for it, and evidently one important item in the preparation is to have oil. The foolish virgins had no oil, they were in want, and in answer to their appeal the wise virgins answered wisely, “Go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves”. That is the only way in which the oil is gained.
First, I will say a little as to the Bridegroom, and as to how things are at the present moment in regard to Him; things in this world are going on without any thought of Him, and I do not pretend to say how long they may be going on, but this I say, everything is in view of the Bridegroom. The thought of the Bridegroom is not a new, but a very old thought, and everything has looked on to His coming, and He is coming! It was that thought that [p. 252] led me to read the few verses in Psalm 19, for the thought of the Bridegroom is there: it is figurative, of course, for literally the psalmist is speaking of the heavens, and of the order displayed in them. In the world we see a great deal which is highly artificial, and great moral confusion too; the state of society is artificial in the highest degree, but when you look at the heavens you see the glory of God, there is no confusion; everything goes on in its own appointed order. The more you study astronomy the more you find the regularity with which the heavenly bodies perform their courses; they all move in connection with their appointed centre, and therefore “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork”.
But another point comes out in the psalm, “In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun” — the sun is the centre of the heavens — “which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race” — that is the figure, and I have not a doubt that the Spirit of God in inditing that psalm by David had Christ in view. There is a quotation from that psalm in Romans 10, “Their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world”, illustrative of the gospel; and the Bridegroom is really Christ. I refer to that because it shows that the thought of the Bridegroom has ever been before God. From the beginning of this world’s history God has had one Man before Him, and that is Christ. Adam was the figure of Him that was to come; that is the Bridegroom.
The ten virgins went forth to meet the bridegroom, and the moment came when the cry arose, “Behold, the bridegroom”: that is the position at the moment, the Bridegroom is coming, and the Bridegroom will have the bride. There are certain things for God here upon earth, and all belong to the Bridegroom.
“[p. 253] He that hath the bride is the bridegroom”; He is coming to take up all that is for God, and until He comes there can be nothing but confusion here. There is a great deal of the glorifying of man today, the condition of things is that in which man can be glorified, but there is little for God in it all, everything waits for the coming of the Bridegroom. John the baptist recognised Christ as the Bridegroom, and said, “He that hath the bride is the Bridegroom”. Now we are brought into view of the coming of the Bridegroom, and the Bridegroom is the Sun of righteousness, the Centre and Head of the universe of bliss. Depend upon it there is a universe of bliss, a Head and Centre to it, and that Head is CHRIST. Now it is a great thing to get that in view. This world is passing away, and everything looks on to the coming of the Bridegroom. The kingdom of heaven is a mixture of wise and foolish virgins, but the bridegroom’s coming is the test of the virgins. The coming of the bridegroom found out whether they were ready for him or not, and it is the thought of His coming that is the important point for every one of us, whether we are prepared for it.
Now Christ is the test of everything. He is the Saviour of the world, and there is no other. The woman at the well of Sychar recognised Him as that — “the Christ, the Saviour of the world”. But He is also the test of the world, the test of men because He is the Head of every man; and the way in which He has become the test of every man is that the question is raised as to whether men will take their direction from Christ. It is in that way that I understand Christ to be the test of every man. Men cannot help Christ being their Head, because God has set Him in that place; Adam was but the figure of Him that was to come, and as I said before, Christ necessarily becomes the test [p. 254] of every man because He is in the place of Head as set there of God. You cannot help Christ being the Head of every man, or the Sun of righteousness, or the Bridegroom, but it raises the question, in regard of you, will you take direction from Christ? I can tell you in what way you will be guided if you do take your direction from Him — it will be in the way of righteousness. The righteous Lord loveth righteousness, and if you come under the control of wisdom — the control of Christ — you will be led in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment.
There are many in the world who set up to be leaders of men, many professed guides of men, who will lead men in certain paths. All sorts of people spring up, and embody certain ideas, but they all are lawless, and the One whom God has appointed as Head of every man, is the One who alone is the guide for every man, and His guiding leads in one direction, and that is in the way of righteousness. The head of the family is the guide in it, and it would be wisdom for every one in a family to be guided by the head. Children are tested in that way as to whether they will accept the guidance of the head, and if they turn to their own wisdom, and refuse guidance, they go altogether wrong; they show self-confidence, and self-will, and they go often to ruin, in every family it is wisdom on the part of every member to accept in lowliness the guidance of the head. Now Christ is in the position of Head to every man, and it is wisdom on the part of man — of every man — to take his guidance from Christ. And I venture to say this, there is no real wisdom for man except Christ; whatever course a man may take, he does not know to where his path will lead; but wisdom leads in the midst of the paths of judgment.
[p. 255] Now I come to the thought of the bridegroom — the virgins went forth to meet him. Christ presented a kind of attraction to men, or they never would have gone forth to meet Him. Now all went well up to that point, but then all the virgins slumbered and slept, and were at length awakened; but then came the test, the bridegroom was the test. They are tested as to their preparedness for the coming of the bridegroom; and that is what is going on at the present time — not among the heathen, for it is not the heathen today who are tested by the Bridegroom, but christendom, those who are in the profession of Christ; the testing comes as to whether they are ready for the Bridegroom.
But to come to the nature of the preparation. It is that one has a light, and that a sustained light. All the virgins had their lights in a kind of way, the weakness came out in the foolish virgins in that their light was not maintained; their lights had burned for a moment, but it was only a momentary shining, there was no power to sustain the light. But now I will tell you how the light is to be sustained. The light could not be maintained without the Spirit, and yet there could be no maintenance of the light if there were no Christ; all depends on the soul being in the light of Christ. If you were to take a diamond and put it in a dark cellar it would not shine at all, for the shining of the diamond is dependent upon its being in the light; it cannot shine without. So the christian shines by reflected light, and there can be no shining except as he is in the light of Christ. There can be no sustained light except by the Spirit, you want the power of the Spirit to keep your face directed towards Christ. If the earth could get out of its connection with the sun it would appear as a dark mass, the shining of the earth is dependent upon its being in the light of the sun. And there can be no real shining [p. 256] on the part of the christian except as he is in the light of the Sun of righteousness. The maintenance of the light is the test, and it brings out whether a person is under the control of the Sun of righteousness, or whether he is lawless. Christ, the Sun of righteousness, is there, and He is the Head of every man whether men like it or not. I have often attempted to point out that Christ subjected Himself to everything that lay upon man by the judgment of God that He might be the Head of every man. You get the strongest expressions in regard to Christ, for instance, God “made him to be sin for us” — the point in it was that He might enter into all that which lay upon man by the judgment of God. He was made a curse too; He entered into every liability of man, in order that in the position of Head to every man He might guide every man — that is the grace of the Lord Jesus; otherwise God could have had nothing to say to man. The present moment is marked by this, that Christ is the Head of every man; His shining is not yet seen, but we have the appeal, “Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light!” — the need for every one is to come into the shining of Christ. It is the wisdom of all men to be ready for the coming of the Lord, for the Lord will come. No one can say when, but He will come; and a man who does not see to it that he is ready for the coming of the Lord is like these foolish virgins. Christ is the Head of every man by God’s appointment, and God’s appointments are not dependent upon man’s acceptance, He does not consult man as to whether he likes them or not; He has set Christ as Head, He is the Mediator between God and men by divine appointment, and it is the wisdom of men to believe in the Head, and to accept guidance from Him, and to come thus into the shining of the Sun of righteousness. I want [p. 257] you to believe in Christ, to know Christ, who is to become manifest as the Sun of righteousness; that is the Christ I present. He came once that He might accomplish the work of redemption, and has now gone to the right hand of God, but it is not to abide there; He is abiding there until the appointed time, and then He will come again into this world to take up everything for God here. Now man has to take that into account, and if he does not, he is but as the foolish virgins, for he leaves out what is the most important point in regard of men down here. He is like a person working out a sum in mathematics and ignoring the most important factor — to go about our ways down here, and leave Christ out of account, is only to condemn ourselves as foolish. The point is to recognise Christ as the Bridegroom who is coming. He will yet be manifested as Head of every man, and those who do not bow to Him will disappear, they will have no part in the universe of bliss. The point now is to get from Him oil; you want a sustained light. I desire that every one might get oil from Him, and that no one might be so foolish as to trust themselves. Many may make a flicker; indeed, there may be a great flicker for a moment, yet it is but for a moment, it will not last. A sustained light depends on the oil, and that is true in spiritual things, and the oil can be got alone from Christ. You can get it through personal transaction with Christ, “Go ... to them that sell, and buy for yourselves”. The Lord said to the woman at Sychar’s well: “If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water”. You must ask of Christ if you would receive living water: and if you are to get oil — perhaps a figure of the same thing — you must come and buy for yourself. I want just to press that Christ is available to you.
[p. 258] You have read the gospels, and I am sure it must strike any one how approachable Christ was when here; there never was any one here upon earth so accessible to all as Christ was. The great people of the world do not attract me very much, for I have no access to them; and I cannot say that I care about any one very much to whom I have no entrance; their glory does not attract me. But though Christ had all the divine power and authority, He was the most approachable Man upon earth, and the Pharisee could approach Him, the publican could approach Him, a sinful woman such as you get in Luke 7 could approach Him; it is one most striking feature in the Lord Jesus Christ down here upon earth that He was the most accessible of men. The Lord never refused an invitation; He came into the house both of the Pharisee and of the publican; He refused no house, and no person, all had access to Him. Now Christ is still living, He is at the right hand of God, He is not one whit changed; to think of Him as changed in any way would be to gainsay the truth. He is as approachable today as to that poor woman at Sychar’s well, and indeed He Himself approached that woman; He began by approaching her, and He is approachable today. You can ask of Him, and He will give you living water; you can go to them that sell, and buy for yourself, and that without money, without price, it is for every one that thirsts. The Lord says at the end of the Revelation, “let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” — this proves Him to be unchanged — the Christ who was here upon earth is not a bit altered — the circumstance of glory could make no change in Him! He is the same yesterday, today, and for ever. If you could put me on a throne, it would turn my head for a certainty; few men could stand it. But Christ came into this world [p. 259] in lowliness and meekness, and though He has gone back to that place to which He properly belongs, He has gone back as the SAME, yesterday, today, and for ever.
Now, if you get the oil you are prepared for the coming of the Bridegroom, you will have your face continually directed to Christ. To be in the light of a living Christ is the occasion of the greatest delight down here. One sees people looking for happiness here, but they do not go the right way to find it. There is no happiness to be found except in the light of Christ, and then there will be shining too. The Spirit of Christ would keep you continually directed to Christ, and you would be always bright; you would have not simply a vessel and a lamp, but you would have light; and the light sustained by the Spirit: and be prepared for the coming of the Bridegroom, who takes up everything that belongs to God; He will put His hand on the moral confusion, and on all the glory of man down here; on this world system, in every part of it, and bring in what is according to God; the light of divine goodness and love. He will revive Israel, and the nations, whatever there may be for God upon earth will be taken up by the Bridegroom. When He comes He will be glorified in those He brings with Him, and in those too who are upon earth where He was dishonoured; there will be a people waiting for Him, and they will delight themselves in the Lord. The Bridegroom is coming, He is hid for the moment, but is presented in testimony as the Bridegroom, the strong man that delights to run a race.
To my mind there is a great grace in the three and a half years of the Lord’s ministry down here; what I have spoken of came out in the death of Christ, so that we are not ignorant of what He is, though now at the right hand of God. He is coming again to displace the whole world system, with all [p. 260] its great achievements in the way of discovery and science. All those laws of nature which men have been able to find out and turn to their advantage came from God; and is it not far more important that man should recognise God, and admit the rights of God and the rights of his neighbour, than gain the greatest acquaintance with nature? If you accept Christ as Head, He will guide you in the way of righteousness, He will communicate to you the Spirit of God. It may be that you know the forgiveness of your sins, but the point is that you might delight your heart in Christ, accept Him as Head, and ask Him for living water. The water of life is there, but people have to come to Christ and take it; no one can dispense that water of life save the One who died for all. The cross was the way by which the Spirit could be communicated; the One who bore the cross is the One who communicates the Spirit, and He is coming again; but in the meantime He is ready and waiting to impart to any one who turns to Him for guidance the gift of living water. It would be a great thing if every Christian were bright by the shining of Christ, and to be bright can only be as we are brought into the shining of Christ.
It makes one’s heart ache to see the glory and the glitter of this world, for there will be nothing whatever of it left when Christ comes, everything will be broken up like an egg-shell, and will disappear; but meantime He is the test of every man, because He is the Head of every man.