Visits of the Dayspring from on High

The day of conversion is another visit of the Dayspring from on High; when “God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, shines into the heart, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ.” O how sweet and surprising a visit is this! And what a sweet day does then break and spring up in the soul! It is such a visit as brings light and such a light as turns the shadow of death into a pleasant morning. It is a light that not only shines upon the man but shines into his heart, irradiating all the powers of his soul and translating him from darkness to a marvelous light. It is “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God.” The Spirit now begins to rend the face of the covering that was upon the soul so that the beams of divine glory, which shined externally in a gospel dispensation, do now break in upon the soul, changing him from glory to glory; the Spirit now glorifies Christ by taking the things of Christ and showing them unto the soul. And all this is in the face or person of Christ. The man, who before could see no form or comeliness in Him why He should be desired, now sees Him to be “fairer than the children of men, the brightness of His Father’s glory, and the express image of His person,” and his heart rises at every word of doctrine that has the least tendency to disparage His divine glory. O Sirs, has the Dayspring from on High thus visited you? If so, then I may safely say, as Christ did to Zaccheus, “This day is salvation come to thy house,” to thy heart, to thy soul.

There is the Dayspring of a renewed manifestation of Christ after a dark night of desertion.… O what a sweet visit is this, and what a sweet day breaks upon the soul! How are unbelief, jealousy, despondency, and false surmises of God put out of countenance!

There is the Dayspring of a renewed manifestation of Christ after a dark night of desertion. Perhaps the poor believer has been walking in darkness and could see no light; clouds and darkness were round about him; God was hiding, Satan harassing him with his fiery darts, iniquities prevailing, trouble and distress surrounding him on every hand, and the poor soul brought to that pinch, as to be crying out, “O that it were with me as in months past! I am cast out of His sight; His mercy is clean gone, He hath forgotten to be gracious;” like Zion, “The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.” However, at length the day breaks, the Sun of righteousness arises and breaks through all interposing clouds, giving such a challenge of grace as that expressed in Isaiah 40:27, “Why sayest thou, my judgment is passed over from my God?” and He takes the poor soul all in His arms and bosom, saying to him as He did to Ephraim, “Thou art My dear son, thou art My pleasant child, I remember thee still, My bowels are troubled for thee, I will surely have mercy upon thee; and with everlasting kindness I am now returned to thee, though for a small moment I had forsaken thee.” O what a sweet visit is this, and what a sweet day breaks upon the soul! How are unbelief, jealousy, despondency, and false surmises of God put out of countenance! And heartily does the soul boast itself for its rash and hasty conclusions of the Lord’s love and faithfulness, saying, “So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before Thee.” O now, now, the day is again broken, and I see that “His anger endureth but a moment; in His favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Such a visit of the Dayspring from on High had the spouse, Song of Solomon 3:1-4 and Song of Solomon 2:8.

I might tell you that there is a sweet Dayspring visit that Christ makes to His people at death and the last judgment: John 14:3, “I go away, but I will come again, and receive you unto Myself, that where I am, there ye may be also.” This is the Dayspring of eternal glory which shall never suffer an eclipse and which shall never end in a night of desertion or affliction or death. Lift up thy head, believer, for this day of complete redemption is drawing near; the day of complete redemption to thy soul is coming at death, and complete redemption to thy soul and body is a-coming, for “when Christ, who is thy life, shall appear, then shalt thou also appear with Him in glory;” thou shalt then sing, and say, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.”

Rev. E. Erskine (1680-1754)

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