And indeed "many shall see and fear and trust in the Lord." This reaches into the future. Israel too will be taken from the place of spiritual and national death, and raised to life to join the new song. Nations will see it and fear and trust Jehovah. At last the great new song of resurrection and the new creation will swell in its divinely revealed length and breadth, heighth and depth. Now He sings the song, and His co-heirs sing it too in feebleness, yet by His Grace and through His Spirit. Ere long in His presence all the Redeemed will praise in Glory with glorified lips. Heavenly beings will utter their praise and in a wider circle down on earth, every creature will join in.
"And they sung a _new song_ saying, Thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof; for thou was slain, and hast redeemed us to G.o.d by thy blood, out of every kindred and tongue, and people, and nation. And hast made us unto _our_ G.o.d, Kings and priests, and we shall reign over the earth. And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands. Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength and honor, and glory and blessing. 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 honor, and glory and power, be unto Him that sitteth on the throne, and unto the lamb forever and ever" (Revel.
v:9-13). That song will never end. Oh may we learn to sing it now, and in His Name sing praises unto our G.o.d.
May we follow the great leader of Praise, Him who is anointed with the oil of gladness above His fellows. May the path He followed down here become more and more ours. May we serve, be obedient, give up, wait patiently for the Lord, after His own pattern, suffer with Him, be rejected with Him, bear His reproach and through it all rejoice in Him and sing "the new song." How happy we ought to be as linked with Him, the blessed Christ of G.o.d. And as we walk in His fellowship the heart longs to see Him as He is. Even so; come Lord Jesus.
The Glory Song.
Rev. i:5-6.
"UNTO Him who loveth us and washed us from our sins in His own blood and hath made us kings and priests unto G.o.d and His Father: To Him be glory and dominion forever and ever, Amen" (Rev. i:5-6). This great outburst of praise may well be called "the Glory Song." It glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ; it reveals also the Glory of those He has redeemed and will be heard throughout eternity. There will never be a moment in the countless ages of eternity when this Glory song will be hushed or forgotten. We begin to sing it here on earth.
The more we know the Christ of G.o.d and His great love for us, the more we delight to praise and to worship Him. Such worship of the heart in the power of the Spirit is the atmosphere of heaven upon earth. And some day we shall see Him whom we worship and adore in faith. In that glorious moment, when we shall see Him as He is we shall realize for the first time the length and breadth, the heighth and depth of His love and know the Glory to which He has brought us.
Then we and all the redeemed will sing this song in a better and more perfect way than we have ever done here. "Thou art worthy * * *
for Thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to G.o.d by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people and nation; and hast made us unto our G.o.d kings and priests and we shall reign over the earth"
(Rev. v:9, 10).
This blessed Word of Praise is placed by the Holy Spirit in the foreground of the book which bears the name, the Revelation, or, Unveiling of Jesus Christ. In it is found the great unveiling of the future, the great coming tribulation and judgment period through which the earth must pa.s.s, events which precede the glorious manifestation of the Lord. But in this last great Bible book there is also a complete unveiling of the Person, the Glory and the dignity of Him to whom all judgment is committed. Not alone are in this book many of the prophecies, given of old by the holy men of G.o.d, rehea.r.s.ed, but all He is, His Name, His power, His Glory, His work, and many of his t.i.tles are restated. Think of what He is called and how He is described in this book. We find Him called the Son of G.o.d, the Son of Man, the Almighty, the Lord, the Alpha, the Omega, the First, the Last, the Beginning of the Creation of G.o.d, the Amen, the faithful Witness, the First begotten from the dead, the Word of G.o.d, the Lamb, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the mighty Angel, He that liveth, He that was dead, He that is alive evermore, the Root and Offspring of David, the bright and Morning star, the Prince of the kings of the earth, the King of kings, the Lord of lords. What an array of t.i.tles. On earth great ones, kings and princes, have numerous t.i.tles. They concern only earthly glories; they are but for a moment. But His t.i.tles concern the earth and the heavens. They belong to Him because He is G.o.d, while others are acquired through His great work of redemption. His Glory and His dignity are indescribable. One who reads the Book of Revelation and reads it again will be increasingly impressed with the Glory of Him, whom John beheld in all His Majesty.
Before the Spirit of G.o.d records this Glory song, the utterance of praise to be used and to be enjoyed by redeemed sinners, He mentions three t.i.tles of our Lord. The faithful Witness; the First begotten from the dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth. These three t.i.tles take in His earthly life, His redemption work and His future Glory. On earth He was the faithful witness. He glorified the Father. He had come into the world to bear witness unto the truth.
He was faithful and nothing marred His witness. He came as the Only begotten of the Father and the faithful witness, the Son of G.o.d went to the cross to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. The open and empty tomb is the witness that it was perfectly and righteously accomplished. Now He is the First begotten from the dead as well as the First fruits. His death and His resurrection are, therefore, in view in this second t.i.tle. His glorious future is beheld in the third t.i.tle, the Prince of the kings of the earth. The kingdoms of the earth belong to Him; He has a perfect right and t.i.tle to the earth and its government. Now still the G.o.d of this age rules, but ere long He comes "whose right it is" and claims His inheritance. In these three wonderful t.i.tles we behold all the Son of G.o.d as Son of Man has accomplished in His mighty work. He lived the path of faith and obedience on earth, as the faithful witness. He has put away sin and conquered death and the grave as well as him who has the power of death, that is the devil. In the future He will be King of kings and Lord of lords.
And then follows this outburst of Praise. The Holy Spirit, who is here on earth to glorify Him, breaks forth at once into singing and directs the heart to worship Him. Beloved readers if the Holy Spirit is ungrieved in us He will lead our hearts into such praise and adoration of the Lord; nothing grieves the Holy Spirit more than when a believer does not appreciate the Lord Jesus Christ and manifest this appreciation by praise and worship.
Three things are stated in this blessed doxology:
_He loved us._
_He washed us._
_He hath made us._
These three things correspond to the three t.i.tles which precede this doxology. Love it was, which brought Him down from the Glory to walk upon this earth in humiliation, the faithful witness, and that love knew and saw the cross. Love led Him there to die for such as we are. What love it was! Who can ever declare it!
The true translation is not "who loved us," but "who _loveth_ us."
His love is an abiding love. He does nothing but love those who belong to Him, who have trusted Him and are the Beloved of G.o.d. Our sins, our weaknesses, our infirmities and failures can never affect or diminish His love. Never, oh child of G.o.d, doubt His abiding love. Yea, whatever our circ.u.mstances are, in trials, in the hard places, in troubles, burdened with cares and full of anxiety, in all our failures we can look up and say, "He loveth me." It is an ever present and eternal love. Never, oh child of G.o.d, measure that love by your changing feeling or by your experience. And this love He manifested by dying for us. He has washed us from our sins in His own blood. To this His t.i.tle as "The First begotten from the dead"
refers. "Who His own self bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness, by whose stripes ye are healed" (1 Pet ii:24). The precious blood of Christ has washed us from our sins. They can never come up again. Oh blessed knowledge! Cleansed by His own blood, the precious blood of the Lamb without spot and blemish! And the blessedness of all that is connected with this!
Oh, the peace forever flowing From G.o.d"s thoughts of His own Son!
Oh, the peace of simply knowing On the cross that all was done!
Peace with G.o.d, the blood in heaven Speaks of pardon now to me: Peace with G.o.d! the Lord is risen!
Righteousness now counts me free.
Peace with G.o.d is Christ in glory; G.o.d is just and G.o.d is love; Jesus died to tell the story, Foes to bring to G.o.d above.
But more than that "He hath made us kings and priests unto G.o.d and His Father." This belongs also to His mighty love. His future of Glory as the Prince of the Kings of the earth, the King of kings and Lord of lords, His fathomless love leads Him to share with those for whom He died, whom He purged and fitted by His own blood. He hath made us kings and priests. It is all His work. A more correct translation is "He hath made us a Kingdom." This, however, does not mean that He has linked us with a Kingdom in which we are to be subjects and governed by Him. We are not subjects of a Kingdom, but _are_ a Kingdom, partakers of it in rule with Himself. We shall rule and reign with Him over the earth. And because He will be "a priest upon _His_ throne" (Zech. vi:13) we, too, will be priests. What it all includes, what glories await us, what enjoyment with Him, what riches and blessings, power and honor, no mind can grasp and no tongue nor pen can describe.
"To Him be glory and dominion forever and ever, Amen." All glory and dominion to Him! Thou art worthy! Thou art worthy! This is the heart"s cry, which really knows Him and is devoted to Him. "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power." Our crowns we cast before Thy throne. Amen and Amen.
Reader can you add your "Amen"--your, "be it so" to all this? Do you sing this Glory song? In a day when He, who is worthy, is but little praised, do you praise Him thus? Do you live in the daily enjoyment of His love? Do you give Him the pre-eminence to whom G.o.d has given the pre-eminence in all things? Amen! And oh the happy thought, which helps us so in these evil days, that soon He, who loveth us, who washed us, who hath made us a Kingdom and priests, may call us into His own glorious presence.
The Firstborn.
"THE Firstborn" or "The Firstbegotten" is one of the names of our blessed Lord. It is applied to Him after His resurrection from the dead. As the Only Begotten He came into this world, the unspeakable gift of G.o.d to a lost and ruined world; after the accomplishment of His work on the cross He left the earth, He had created, as the Firstborn. As the Firstbegotten He is now in the highest heaven and as the Firstbegotten the Man of Glory He will be sent back to this earth and rule in power and glory. Paul wrote to the Philippians "to write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous but for you it is safe" (Phil. iii:1). Peter"s preaching in the opening chapters of the Acts might have been called monotonous, for he knew but one theme. The Spirit of G.o.d filling him gave but one message and that was, the rejected Jesus of Nazareth risen from the dead. In the Gospel of the Glory of the blessed G.o.d (1 Tim. i:11), as revealed to the Apostle of the Gentiles we have one theme, one abiding, ever satisfying, eternal object and that is Christ who died for our sins, risen from the dead, as Firstborn in Glory and our blessed union with Him. Paul who knew Him as the Firstborn so well found it not grievous to write the same thing. Indeed the more He knew Him the more His heart cried out "that I may know Him" (Phil.
iii:10). There is an attraction in Him which is supernatural. Every child of G.o.d will increasingly enjoy the contemplation of this old yet ever new and blessed theme, the Firstborn from the dead. Only in this our hearts can find perfect rest and abiding joy. And if your heart, dear reader, is not attracted and absorbed by Himself, it is because there is a broken communion between you and your Lord. Oh, return unto thy rest, my soul! The drifting ma.s.ses of Christendom have no use for such a theme. The words written in 2 Cor. iv:3-4 find a fearful application in our time. "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the G.o.d of this age hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ who is the image of G.o.d, should shine unto them."
How little of the Gospel of the Glory is preached! It is not wanted.
All the present day preaching of ethics, of doing good, self improvement and self culture is anti-christian. The preaching which leaves out the cross of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, the Glory of Christ, differs not in the least from the ethical-philosophical jumble of Buddhistic and other oriental heathen teachers. It is an awful thing which is done in Christendom today, this rejection of the Lord, the Firstborn. Some day and that soon, G.o.d will judge those who have rejected that Gospel and deal with them for the sin of all sins which is unbelief (John xvi:9). But our hearts, beloved in the Lord, must turn more and more to Him and find their delight in Him, who is the Firstbegotten. And this we shall do now by meditating on a few Scriptures which tell us of Him. "He is the _Firstborn_ from the dead" (Col. i:18). "Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the _Firstbegotten_ of the dead, and the Prince of the Kings of the earth" (Rev. i:5). What blessed declarations these are! In the first chapter of Colossians it is fully revealed who He is, who was dead and who is alive for evermore. Not a creature but the Creator, the one who images forth G.o.d, because He is G.o.d. By Him were all things created, "that are in heaven, and that are on earth, visible and invisible, thrones or dominions, or princ.i.p.alities, or powers; all things were created by Him and for Him." And such a One made peace through the blood of His cross. Such a One took our place on the cross of shame, tasted death in our stead and all the billows of wrath and judgment pa.s.sed over His holy head. Because He wrought out our redemption it is complete and perfect. Raised from the dead, not held by death but bursting forth, leading captivity captive, He is the Firstborn and to Him belongs all Glory and Power. "But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the _Firstfruits_ of them that slept" (1 Cor. xv:20). By His glorious resurrection He became the Firstfruits. All who believe in Him will rise too by virtue of being one with Him, who is the Resurrection and the Life. The mighty power of G.o.d which raised Him from the dead and seated Him in the highest place, at His own right hand, that exceeding greatness of His power is towards us, who believe. That power has quickened us with Christ, raised us up together and seated us in the heavenly. In some future day that mighty power, which raised Him so that He became the Firstfruits will raise all the saints to meet Him in the air.
"And again, when He bringeth in the _Firstbegotten_ into the world, He saith, and let all the angels of G.o.d worship Him" (Heb. i:6).
G.o.d will bring the Firstbegotten back to this earth again. This is a very strong pa.s.sage revealing the second coming of Christ to this earth. The same blessed Person, who walked on this earth as man, who is Emanuel, G.o.d with us, who died on the cross for our sins, who became the Firstbegotten from the dead, the Firstfruits of them that slept, He who is now as Man in Glory, the same Person, the Firstbegotten, will be brought back to this world by the power of G.o.d. Then worshipping angels will be His attendants and He will bring His Saints with Him.
"For whom He foreknew, He also did predestinate, to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the _Firstborn_ among many brethren" (Romans viii:29). Conformed to the glorious image of G.o.d"s ever blessed Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the destiny of all, who have cast themselves as lost sinners upon Christ and have been saved by Grace through faith. It is true even now by beholding as in a gla.s.s the glory of the Lord we are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord (2 Cor. iii:18).
It is true if we abide in Him, we shall walk even as He walked (1 John ii:6). The exhortation in our great salvation Epistle is, not to be conformed to this age, but to be transformed, or as it might be translated, transfigured (Rom. xii:2). _But_ to be fully conformed to the image of His Son is never to be expected in this world, where sin is ever present; When the Firstbegotten calls us into His own presence, when the Heir of G.o.d summons His beloved co-heirs to meet Him and to enter with Him into the blood-bought inheritance, then each saved sinner will be conformed to the image of Himself. Each will shine forth the excellencies of the Firstbegotten. _We shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is._ Hallelujah! This is why G.o.d gave up His Son, that He might be able to lift those who are His enemies by wicked works into the Sonplace and make them like His Son in Glory.
"Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the degree; the Lord hath said unto Me, Thou art my _Son_; this day have I begotten Thee" (Ps. ii:6-7). In this prophecy He is likewise seen as the Firstbegotten. It does not mean the eternal Son of G.o.d, for as such He had no beginning, but the day in which He was begotten is the third day when He was raised from the dead. Paul gives us this truth when He spoke to the Jews in Antioch and said: "G.o.d hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that He hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second Psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten Thee" (Acts xiii:33). Up to this time He is not yet enthroned upon the holy hill of Zion.
When He returns as the Firstbegotten and finds the nations of the earth not converted, but in opposition to Him (Ps. ii:1-3), He will become the King and take His throne.
"Also I will make Him my _Firstborn_, higher than the Kings of the earth" (Ps. lx.x.xix:27). This reveals the exalted station, which He will a.s.sume, when His blessed feet touch this earth again. He will be the King of kings, and the Lord of lords.
This is the Glory of the Firstborn, the loving Sinbearer who endured the cross and despised the shame. He is the Heir of G.o.d, the Heir of all things, the Head of all princ.i.p.ality and power, the Head of His redeemed people, the church. He that filleth all in all, the Firstborn, will share His glorious t.i.tle and possessions with His redeemed. The church to which G.o.d"s marvelous Grace has brought us is the church of the _Firstborn_. (Heb. xii:23), because the Firstborn is the Head and beginning and those who are begotten again by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead have their portion with the Firstborn. Oh! glorious future we have as His redeemed people! G.o.d our Father, the G.o.d and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, by Thy Holy Spirit, keep the Glory of Thy Son, the Firstborn, before our hearts, that we may be changed into the same image and overcome in these dark and evil days. Amen.
Soon shall our eyes behold Thee With rapture, face to face; And, resting there in glory, We"ll sing Thy pow"r and grace: Thy beauty, Lord, and glory, The wonders of Thy love, Shall be the endless story Of all Thy saints above.
The Waiting Christ.
WAITING for the coming of the Lord is one of the blessed characteristics of true Christianity. In the parable of the ten virgins the three great marks of a true believer are stated by our Lord. These are: _Separation_, indicated by the virgins having gone forth. _Manifestation_, they had lamps, which are for the giving of light, and _Expectation_, they went forth to meet the Bridegroom.
With five of them it was only an outward profession. The foolish virgins are the type of such who are Christians in name only and do not know the reality of these characteristics. The Lord knew them not. These three characteristics are seen in Paul"s first epistle to the Thessalonians. That model a.s.sembly was composed of such members who possessed these three things. They had turned to G.o.d from idols (separation); they served the true and the living G.o.d (manifestation); they waited for His Son from heaven (expectation), 1 Thess. i:9, 10. The same is revealed in the epistle to t.i.tus. "For the Grace of G.o.d that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men."
That Grace accepted separates unto G.o.d.
"Teaching us that, denying unG.o.dliness and worldly l.u.s.ts, we should live soberly, righteously and G.o.dly, in this present world." This is manifestation. The Grace of G.o.d enables us to live thus. "Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great G.o.d and our Saviour Jesus Christ." Here we have expectation. Other similar pa.s.sages could be quoted. If we divide the New Testament Scriptures into three parts we have the same order. In the Gospels the Grace of G.o.d in the Son of G.o.d appeared. In the Epistles we are taught how to manifest Him by walking in the Spirit. The great New Testament prophetic book, the Revelation, looks on towards His Coming. And how His Coming is forgotten! How few of His people truly wait for Him! How few pray that important and almost forgotten prayer, Even so, Come Lord Jesus! But we must also remember that our Lord is likewise waiting. Innumerable mult.i.tudes of disembodied spirits who are saved by Grace are waiting in His own presence for the moment when they will receive their resurrection bodies, which will be when He descends from Heaven and comes into the air. The faithful remnant of His people on earth wait for His Coming. Israel and all creation wait for Him as well as the unseen beings in the Heavenly. _But He Himself is waiting._ This is the testimony of the Word of G.o.d. First it is the subject of prophecy. In the brief but great 110th Psalm that waiting is predicted. The Christ, who is so often seen in the Psalms and in the Prophets as King, ruling in His earthly kingdom, whose glories in that rule are so blessedly described, is seen in the beginning of that Psalm seated at the right hand of G.o.d; this heavenly place will be occupied by Him till His enemies are made His footstool. How the Holy Spirit witnessed to this fact at once after His descent on the day of Pentecost is more fully revealed in the second chapter of Acts. In Hebrews x:13 we read of His waiting att.i.tude in heaven. "But _this man_, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of G.o.d, from henceforth expecting till His enemies be made His footstool." The better word for expecting is "waiting." We may well emphasize the word "Man." Our blessed Lord is not in the presence of G.o.d as a Spirit Being, but He is there in the form of Man. The blessed body He had on earth, which He gave on the cross and which laid in the tomb could not see corruption. He was raised on the third day. He ascended in that glorified body into heaven and He is on the right hand of G.o.d as Man, in Him dwells the fullness of the G.o.dhead bodily. Just one Man is there in Glory. But oh! what it means! He is the Head of His body, the church and in the future all His redeemed people will possess glorified bodies, like unto His glorious body. No wonder the enemy ever aims at the denial of the Lord"s bodily presence. From many pulpits it is declared to be "too material." The denial of this great truth, the _Man_ in glory, is a denial of the entire Gospel. It is at this the enemy strikes.
As the glorified Man on the Father"s throne He is waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. This does not mean, as so many believe and teach, that the Lord Jesus Christ is waiting till His enemies are gradually overcome, till the church on earth succeeds in converting the whole world. It does not mean that. His enemies will be made His footstool in a far different way. It will be a sudden event. All His enemies will be humbled, all things will be subjected under His feet at the time of His second Coming. As there was an appointed time by the Father for His first Coming, so is there an appointed time for His second Coming, when the power of G.o.d and His own power will triumph over all His enemies. As He is in His redemptive work subject to the Father, therefore is He waiting for that hour. Then the Father will bring in the firstbegotten into the world (Heb. i:6) and He will receive the nations for His inheritance (Psalm ii).
He is waiting for this great event. But He is also waiting for His co-heirs, which const.i.tute the church. The church, His body, must be first completed as to numbers before the hour can come in which His enemies are made His footstool.
He is patiently waiting for that moment. John speaks of that when he calls himself "a companion in tribulation and in the kingdom and _patience_ of Jesus Christ" (Rev. i:9). Centuries have come and gone since He took that place upon the Father"s throne, unseen by human eyes, and during all this time, while the calling out of the church proceeded, He has waited patiently. Some day His waiting will come to an end. His church will be completed and then He Himself arises from His seat and descends to that place in the air, where He will meet His own, for whom His loving heart yearns so much. What a moment that will be at last! Then His waiting as well as His patience will be ended and He will receive His kingdom and be crowned Lord of lords and King of kings. No longer will He then be unseen, but His Glory will flash out of heaven and He Himself will be manifested in Glory. Then the world can reject Him no longer but must accept His righteous rule in which His redeemed people will share. What child of G.o.d does not wish this to be soon, very soon.
Oh that we might cry more earnestly, more in the Spirit, yes, incessantly, "Come Lord Jesus."