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A Holy Longing

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A Holy Longing

6 minuten leestijd Arcering uitzetten

“And the Spirit and the bride say, Come.”

As the days shorten in the autumn season, we prepare ourselves to commemorate the coming of the Son of God in our flesh. After celebrating the miracle of Christ’s resurrection, we look forward to Ascension Day. The commemoration of what ascension signifies for the Lord Jesus, for His Church, and “for the rebellious also,” is followed by the anticipation of Pentecost.

However, what are we looking forward to after we have commemorated the coming of the Holy Spirit? Is Pentecost the final Christian feast day? According to the church calendar it is, but ... one more feast day has yet to come: the day of Christ’s return. That is the wedding day of Christ and His bride whom He has purchased with His precious blood and which He, according to the eternal good pleasure of the Father, has gathered by His Word and Spirit out of all nations of the world to be a holy, catholic, Christian Church. That will be the last, but also the greatest Christian feast day — a feast day that will have a beginning, but no end. That is the day Christ has longed for from all eternity; a day for which He yearns according to His own testimony in the high priestly prayer: “Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am.”

That will be the day of which the Lord Jesus spoke to His disciples before His departure: “I will come again ... that where I am, there ye may be also” — to be always with Him, enjoying His presence, beholding His glory, and being satisfied with His divine image. Christ continues to long for that feast day whose time no one knows, but of which we all can know that it certainly will come. That day will be the ripe fruit of the electing love of the Father, the redeeming love of the Son, and the quickening love of the Holy Ghost. That day must come, for without that day God’s work is not complete. From God’s side there is a longing for that day. This is evident from the text. The Spirit says: “Come.”

Although the focus is specifically on the Holy Spirit, the Third Person in the divine Being, yet this “speaking” of the Spirit cannot be divorced from the willingness and the work of the Father and the Son. Although the three Persons each have their own work, no Person works alone or apart from the other Persons, for they are One. All three divine Persons have a personal interest in the coming of that great day of Christ’s return, the wedding day of the Son of man, so that all that was but “in part” may be brought to perfection in the accomplishment of the Lord’s counsel.

Not only will that be the end of sin and the sinner who died in his sins, but it will also be the end of sin in God’s children, in order that God may fully receive the honor due unto Him. Then He will also be able to give His love fully to that people He has graciously chosen for His inheritance. However, it is not only the Spirit who says “Come,” but there is also a bride who says, “Come.” When all is well, the bride counts the months, days, and hours which as yet precede that great moment in which she will receive the desire of her heart: to always be united with Him whom she loves.

Just who His bride is, who says “Come” in our text, is readily ascertained. It is the Christian Church, the congregation of the Lord, the holy assembly of true believers in Christ who look to Jesus Christ alone for their salvation, having been washed in His blood and sealed by the Holy Spirit. It is they who have been brought from darkness to God’s marvelous light by His seeking and regenerating love. It is they who, by the uncovering light of God’s grace, have found death in both unrighteousness and self-righteousness; who by the law have died to the law, that is, insofar as expecting salvation from it. It is they who have been cut off from the old root Adam and grafted by true faith into Jesus Christ. It is they who have been drawn to Christ by Word and Spirit, in order that they would need Him as Prophet, Priest, and King; who have been bound to Him by intimate cords of love, and at times can so heartily agree with the words in Song of Solomon 5:16, “He is altogether lovely. This is my Beloved, and this is my Friend.” At times that longing for the spiritual wedding day, the experience of adoption by Christ in our soul, and intimate fellowship with Him, can be so strong in God’s children. There can also be an intense desire at times for the hour of death, in order to be forever with the Lord and thus begin the soul’s eternal wedding day. We hear in this text the longing of the godly for the wedding day, so that upon Christ’s return upon the clouds they may forever be with the Lord according to both body and soul. This text expresses the desire to magnify Him with both body and soul, deeming Him to be worthy of all their love, serving Him perfectly, never again having to experience any form of separation.

Here on earth the moments of communion with Him are so short; our love and devotion are so imperfect. Our corrupt flesh says, “Stay away,” but the new man in God’s children says, “Come, yea, come quickly, Lord Jesus.” When matters are right, following Pentecost the bride would stir up her supplication for the Bridegroom’s coming with the prayer:

I cry in deep need and Thy help I implore;
Make haste to the rescue, I pray;
My Savior Thou art, and my strength evermore,
No longer Thy coming delay.

If this is not the case, something is amiss. Examine yourself closely — yes, very closely — you who are devoid of desire. Many have no longing for His coming. Natural men hope that He will never come because they realize that His coming will be terrible for them. For then they will hear: “But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before Me.” Due to the weakness of their faith and the power of their indwelling corruptions, even the truly godly have, in general, but a feeble longing for the coming of the Lord. All too often there is more fear of His coming than a praying for His coming. May the Lord rekindle the spiritual life of His children so that the longing for His coming may be revived, to His honor and our soul’s salvation!

Rev. A. Elshout (1923-1991) pastored the Netherlands Reformed Congregations of Artesia and Kalamazoo, as well as five charges in the Netherlands. This was one of the last meditations he wrote before he passed away and is translated from De Saambinder.

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Bekijk de hele uitgave van woensdag 1 juli 1992

The Banner of Truth | 28 Pagina's

A Holy Longing

Bekijk de hele uitgave van woensdag 1 juli 1992

The Banner of Truth | 28 Pagina's