Eternal Glory
Clarence E. Lunden
Table of Contents
The Eternal Glory
"Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him yea, the deep things of God." 1 Cor. 2:9.
In the last 2000 years God has come out in love, knowledge, wisdom, and power as never before in the history of His ways.
The "mystery" (Christ and the Church) was unknown until the Spirit revealed it to the Apostle Paul. Eph. 3:5. The deep things of God (1 Cor. 2:10), revealed by His Spirit, are the "mystery" (1 Cor. 2:7) concerning Christ and the Church, with the dependent blessings for all mankind and angels, a new heaven and earth, and the Father's house.
"O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counselor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen." Rom. 11:33-36.
God's heart has desired and purposed this since before the foundation of the world for the glory and happiness of His own Son, as well as for His own happiness. Eph. 1:3,4.
Life and immortality were brought to light through the gospel before the mystery was made known (2 Tim. 1:10), preparing hearts for the eternal blessing of the mystery.
The Rapture
How solemn, yet how blessed, the day when we shall be delivered from the coming wrath. We who know the Lord are waiting for the Son of God, Jesus, from heaven. 1 Thess. 1:10.
"When left this scene of faith and strife,
The flesh and sense deceive no more,
When we shall see the Prince of life,
And all His works of grace explore:
What heights and depths of love divine
Will there through endless ages shine!
"And God has fixed the happy day
When the last tear shall dim our eyes;
When He will wipe these tears away,
And fill our hearts with glad surprise;
To hear His voice, and see His face,
And know the fullness of His grace."
#202 L.F.
Then we shall be changed into His likeness, our bodies "like unto his glorious body." Phil. 3:21. We shall see His face and hear His voice of victory, Jesus, Who loves us and gave Himself for us.
"For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him." 1 Thess. 4:14. "Even so" tells us that what took place in His resurrection will in the same way take place in the resurrection of the sleeping saints. In all things we are to be like Him.
"That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death." Phil. 3:10. To be like Him, beloved, should be our daily desire. It is just like our Savior to have the dead in Christ rise before the living are changed, then all will rise together in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and to forever be with the Lord. 1 Thess. 4:17. II Cor. 15. "Wherefore comfort one another with these words." 1 Thess. 4:18.
Then the deep desires of every newborn soul shall begin to be satisfied forever, and even now our hearts are filled with anticipation because we have a sure hope which should always be before us. Once we are saved we should never doubt, because God has said, "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life." 1 John 5:13.
The Lord's coming for His saints, the rapture, will be about seven years before the millennium, and it must be very near at hand. What rapture, what joy, when the saints will all be gathered together, never to part again. There has never been a time of gladness like this, as we shall see our brethren from every distant shore, then eternity-with Jesus-in the skies!
"So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruptibility." 1 Cor. 15:42, N.T. "It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body." 1 Cor. 15:44. 2 Cor. 5:1-4. "And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly." 1 Cor. 15:49. "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Cor. 15:50), but flesh and bone shall. Luke 24:39.
"Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." 1 Cor. 15:51,52.
The Judgment Seat of Christ
Before the saints in heaven will be able to reign in righteousness, our own works during our lifetime will have to come into review and be judged at the judgment seat of Christ, tried with fire, which is God's holy character. Nothing will do but this, because in the place where we shall dwell in heaven, all things will be of God.
Any of our works regarded as gold, silver, and precious stones will pass unscathed through the fire and bring a reward, but the wood, hay, and stubble will suffer complete loss. All saints will be saved, but some so as by fire because of unacceptable works which will be destroyed. 1 Cor. 3:12-16. Our sins are gone; our works will be judged.
Only believers will be at the judgment seat of Christ when our works will be evaluated and when I shall know even as also I am known (1 Cor. 13:12), all pure without and within, not an unwanted thought.
Think of secrets lying deep in the recesses of our hearts, perhaps long forgotten, which will be manifested. Would we like them hidden for eternity? Surely not! "For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known." Luke 12:2. All will be brought to light to clear the mind forever of everything that darkens the memory and the heart, out of which are the issues of life. Prov. 4:23. What grace of our Savior!
As a result of the judgment seat for our works, each soul shall be rewarded. 1 Cor. 3:12-15. "Then shall every man have praise of God." 1 Cor. 4:5. Some also shall reign over cities in the millennial kingdom (Luke 19:17-19), others will be given positions in connection with the universe and the administration of it. Heb. 12:22,23. Matt. 19:28. Luke 12:44.
Thus righteous principles of action will be learned so as to reign with Christ in garments pure and bright (Rev. 19:8, 1 Cor. 13:12), the heart enlightened by righteousness in application in our own new life. "We through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith." Gal. 5:5.
The Church in the Father's House: The Deep Things of God
The truths concerning the mystery are the deep things of God which have to do with the fulfillment of His eternal counsels concerning Christ the Son of His bosom.
We who believe in Jesus have been blessed with every blessing in the heavenlies, chosen in Him before the foundation of the world. We are holy and without blame before Him in love because in redemption Christ has borne all of our sins. Eph. 1:1-7.
We have received an inheritance in Christ according to what God purposed long ago. Each believer is "sealed" by the Spirit and has received the "earnest" of the Spirit in view of resurrection when our bodies will be raised. Besides these blessings, we have the "anointing" of the Spirit which gives intelligence to know and enjoy all that has been given us in Christ.
God has filled us with wisdom and understanding as to His divine purpose in Christ. Every saved person, elect angels, created things, all things, must be gathered under Christ before the eternal day begins. All evil will have been done away before that time. Eph. 1:8-10.
The children of God, scattered before Pentecost, were begun to be gathered at Pentecost and are still being gathered until the rapture takes place. These are the Church, all believers, who form the one body of Christ. John 11:52. Eph. 1:3-10.
The Apostle Paul speaks of the grace given to him that he should be the one to preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, also the administration, or setting up, of churches and being in himself a pattern for others.
The mystery was a secret, hidden from men, hid in God, but now the manifold, all-varied, multicolored wisdom of God as to that which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord is revealed and known to mankind and to angels who are watching the Church and learning deep things which they have never known before. Eph. 3:8-11.
Hosea the prophet says in regard to the Church, "Ye are the sons of the living God." Hos. 1:10. Rom. 9:25,26. Those who receive Christ have the right to be called the children of God. John 1:12. There is a witness to us between the Spirit of God and our spirits that we are children of God. Rom. 8:16. Now if we are children, we are also heirs! heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ. Rom. 8:17. We have received the adoption of sons, and God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts crying. "Abba, Father." Gal. 4:4-6.
The Father's house is the eternal home of Christ the Son where we, the bride, shall live with Him in eternal bliss as His companions, forever beloved of the Father. All this has God purposed for His and our eternal happiness. Eph. 1:3,4.
What a blessed home to which we will be brought where want and sorrow will be unknown, where we shall be loved forever by the Father and the Son because we have received Christ in the day of His rejection. Peace and rest shall abide forever.
Joseph is a type of Christ with His Gentile bride ruling over the world. Two sons were born unto Joseph in Egypt, Manasseh (forgetting) and Ephraim (fruitful). This suggests how the bride of Christ will cause Him to forget all His sorrow of the cross as He will see the fruit of the travail of His soul. Gen. 41:50-52.
Christ as Man will serve the Father forever. Ex. 21:1-6. 1 Cor. 15:28. He served the Father in His life here in this world, He served Him at the cross, He served His saints in becoming the propitiation for our sins, He serves us now as God's High Priest, and He will seat us at His table and serve us in the Father's house. What a Savior! It will be a lovely atmosphere as the Lord girds Himself in a servant's attire and serves His bride because He loves her. Luke 12:34-39.
In that cloudless day, as now, the Father will love us as He loves His Son and will grant us to share Christ's happiness in endless bliss. Then we shall realize how much we owe Him.
The angels desire to know these things (1 Peter 1:12), and the Church at present is the display, here in this world, before principalities and powers (angels), of these very things. How good that through grace God has preserved a testimony before angels and men of what characterizes the true Church surrounded by the false one.
At present the Lord is sanctifying (separating) us from all that belongs to earth through "the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish." Eph. 5:25-27.
Not being under the law but under grace, without fear of reprisal, the love of God constrains us, while we bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:5,6), (speaking abstractly here).
Men pray with holy hands. 1 Tim. 2:8-12. They love their wives as a picture of how Christ loves the Church, and they are not bitter against them. The man takes his place as head of the wife to dwell with her according to knowledge, giving her honor as the weaker vessel and as heirs together of the grace of life. 1 Peter 3:1-7.
On the woman's part, there is the inward adorning (spiritual) rather than the outward, together with a meek, quiet spirit. What a great opportunity we have now to serve Christ here in testimony.
God made man and wife, male and female. There is that manner of life, in keeping with each, which sets forth the Bridegroom and the bride.
The wife is a keeper at home. Titus 2:5. The woman does not wear that which pertains unto the man (1 Tim. 2:9), and the man does not wear women's clothes. Deut. 22:5. The woman's hair is her glory, while it is a shame for a man to have long hair.
The woman covers her head when praying or prophesying, while the man's head remains uncovered, each recognizing authority as ordered by God. 1 Cor. 11:3-6.
The woman does not teach doctrine but teaches the younger women in regard to practical things. The man teaches doctrine, (2 Tim. 2:2), and the woman, being silent in the assembly, will ask her husband at home as to the meaning of Scriptures. Much instruction is gained in discussion between men and women as to the things of God. Acts 18:26. This is not formal teaching, in which the woman has no place.
The cross of Christ will be the endless theme of heaven. Here in this world we each have a cross to bear. "If I my cross have taken, 'tis but to follow Thee." How the Lord would be delighted if each believer would realize the largeness of his calling, so that he might answer in love and obedience which will bring an abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:11. How we long for rest both for our souls and for our bodies.
"My longing heart, now pillowed
On Jesu's breast of love,
Hath oft to me foreshadowed,
That blissful rest above;
But, O my soul, remember,
None shall be weary there;
The ransomed without number
God's blessed rest will share."
L.F. #30, app.
"There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God." Heb. 4:9.
As we ponder these truths, are we thinking of preparing our hearts by the reading of the Word and prayer to be ready for that glorious moment when we arrive at the place of many mansions, the place that Christ went to prepare for us?
O, what a destiny for the Church in the Father's house where He will pour out the exceeding riches of His grace, also for all the people of God in the place in heaven or on the new earth prepared for them.
"Unto him (God) be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end." Eph. 3:21.
The Marriage and Supper of the Lamb
The marriage and supper of the Lamb will take place in heaven near the end of the seven years of judgment upon the earth. "When a man hath taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war, neither shall he be charged with any business: but he shall be free at home one year, and shall cheer up his wife which he hath taken." Deut. 24:5.
As Christ presents the Church to Himself (Eph. 5:27), the vaults of heaven will echo with unrestrained praise, worship, and ecstatic joy. Rev. 19:7. "Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great." Rev. 19:5.
"And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters (majesty), and as the voice of mighty thunderings (power), saying, Alleluia; for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth." Rev. 19:6.
"Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white (pure and bright); for the fine linen is the righteousnesses (N.T.) of saints." Rev. 19:7,8. Heaven has never before experienced a time of exceeding joy and bliss as that hour of the marriage of the Lamb.
When the guests, including the Old Testament saints and the martyrs of Rev. 20:4, are present, the marriage supper of the Lamb will take place. "Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb." Rev. 19:9.
The Appearing
The revelation of Jesus Christ is His general appearing and must not be confused with His coming for the saints when they will meet Him in the air. It will be a time of judgment, the day of God Almighty (Rev. 16:14, 2 Thess. 1:8,9), whereas His coming for the saints will be joy and great pleasure. The appearing will occur about seven years after the Church is caught up to heaven.
At the appearing the saints will have their reward, and He will show the world that we belong to Him (2 Thess. 1:10), but those who received not the love of the truth shall perish. 2 Thess. 2:10. Many in Christendom who have the outward forms of Christianity but are without Christ, and apostate Judah, with their antichrist, shall perish.
The thought is sobering. Have we received the love of the truth concerning the person of Christ? To have assented to it and then to go on our way not walking with Christ according to the knowledge we have of Him will not make us fit for heaven.
Many in Christendom will have known many facts but will not have loved the truth, turning aside to their own forms and inventions, setting aside the Spirit of God and electing their own priests. The things that we love have the priority in our lives. Do we love the truth and make it our priority? If so, we will walk in it, manifesting the life of Christ, separate from the world, and thus we will give evidence that we have received the love of it.
The Millennial Heaven
In the book of Revelation an angel calls John the apostle to see the bride, the Lamb's wife. He was shown the city, "the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal." Rev. 21:10-17.
Think of a jasper stone, transparent, clear as crystal, radiating in various hues the light of the glories of the Lamb, the Redeemer. Just think, dear brethren, that the grace of God has put the Church in the position of making known the glories of God and the Lamb to the earth below. Eph. 3:21. The bride will dwell in the Father's house in uncreated light, yet she is the city descending from heaven (above the earth) and will have the glory of God. Yet she herself is not divine; she is the Church, the city, the holy Jerusalem, the heavenly center of government. She is the "mother of all living," as was the type "Eve," so named by Adam in faith. Gen. 3:20.
All who have died in faith down through the ages until Pentecost, also the martyrs of Rev. 20:4, will dwell in the holy city. The babes who will have been raptured will be there with mature, heavenly bodies. Psa. 110:3. 1 Cor. 15:51-54. Matt. 18:11.
Of Abraham it is said, "He looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God," (Heb. 11:10), and of other men of faith, children of Abraham, "For they that say such things, declare plainly that they seek a country." Heb. 11:14.
"But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for he hath prepared for them a city." Heb. 11:16.
These are the heirs of righteousness by faith, the generation of the children of faith from the Old Testament.
The full overflowing of blessing to the earth from this glorious millennial heaven is symbolized by the pure river of the water of life (Rev. 22:1), clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and the Lamb, a fixed channel of blessing, through Christ and the Church. Eph. 3:21. Mic. 5:7. Hos. 2:21-23.
The tree of life is Christ in the midst of the plaza and of the river. The heavenly saints, in communion with Him, will enjoy the continuous fruits, food for the heavenly ones, and the leaves are for the healing of the Gentiles on earth. Rev. 22:2. How much needs to be healed in the earth in the hearts of His people. The result will be a millennial paradise, a permanent healing from heaven.
We shall see His face, personal intimate communion, suggested by the "white stone" (Rev. 22:4), and we shall carry our Redeemer's name on our foreheads. Rev. 22:4. There will be no night in heaven, no artificial or created light. Rev. 22:5.
The glory of the Gentiles shall be brought to the holy city which will reign over the earth. Rev. 21:24. Only those whose names will be found written in the Lamb's book of life will dwell within the holy city, the new Jerusalem. "The Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it." Rev. 21:22.
spoken of as the kingdom of the Father. Matt. 13:43. Such will be its character and place for the duration of the heavenly millennium.
"For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God." Rom. 8:19. The sons of God are the Church. Heb. 12:23. The manifestation is the Church coming visibly to reign with Christ over the earth.
The kingdom on earth in which Christ reigns will be known then as the kingdom of the Son of man. It will continue for one thousand years, when "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea." Isa. 11:9. The gospel of the kingdom will be preached for this period until all men have heard it individually. Isa. 66:19.
"That in the dispensation of the fullness of times ("fullness of times" being the end of the millennium) he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him." Eph. 1:10. This will include all believers and elect angels everywhere. All wicked men and angels will be judged at the great white throne and will be cast into the lake of fire. Then will begin the eternal state with God all in all (1 Cor. 15:24) and will result in a new universe.
The Creation of God
The present earth and heavens will be destroyed and changed, and the works of man will be burned up. 2 Peter 3:12. How useless, what folly, for us to rest upon anything here in this world.
Following this cataclysm, there will be a new creation where all things will be of God, and God will be all in all in the creation of God. 1 Cor. 15:28. For God to be in all, there must be purity within and without, which will be the case in heaven and on earth, true of angels and men. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, has made this possible for men. "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." John 1:29. Every part of the creation will manifest God's character. Not only will He be over all as now, but in all, the entire creation a witness of His character.
The things of the original creation were created by God but were not said to be of God. God's full character was not known until the cross of Christ.
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ." 2 Cor. 5:17,18.
How blessed to have our entire being changed into perfection and our hearts enlarged to these astonishing dimensions, to view God in Christ and what He is, which, with the subject of the cross, will be the eternal occupation of the redeemed. The elect angels are perfect but will not be able to sing, "He died for me."
This is almost too much to take in. We have already known of His mercy, love, and grace, and we bow at His feet in worship, adoration, and praise. What we shall see of God will be in and through Christ. "In him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." Col. 2:9. All the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ in a human body, the last Adam, "Who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel." 2 Tim. 1:10.
The New Earth
In keeping with this mighty change, there will be a cleansed earth, everything new, in which righteousness will dwell. 2 Peter 3:13. Rev. 21:5.
The angels (sons of God) shouted for joy, while the morning stars sang together, at the creation of the first earth (Job 38:7), and the people of God will rejoice at the creation of the new earth. Psa. 146-150. There will be no more sea (Rev. 21:1), no longer a separation among men or divison of nations as at the present time, for there will be no nations.
The tabernacle of God, the Church, will come down to the new earth from heaven (Rev. 21:3), and the presence of God, the omnipresent God, will be known and felt throughout the creation.
In our meditations on the millennial heaven, in Rev. 21:9,10, we saw the bride descending over the earth. One thousand years later she is still as a bride adorned for her husband, "And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." Rev. 21:2.
Myriads born on the millennial earth will be alive at the end of the thousand years because there will be no death for the believer in the millennial day, and all resurrection will be past. Who could estimate the innumerable multitude who will be living at the end of the first earth to people the new earth! The new earth will be of God and will suit the new manner of life of its inhabitants. They will be God's people, and He will be their God. Rev. 21:3.
This in itself will bring glory to a faithful Creator God. What a display of wisdom, knowledge, love, and power will pass before our eyes in that glorious day! What an earthly paradise!
Communion between heaven and earth, the eternal home of these people of God, will be constant. Hos. 2:21-23. The day of silence and mystery will be over, as mutual knowledge of others and their appointed places will be current. All terrestrial kingdoms will have been dissolved.
When we read in 1 Cor. 15:24, "Even the Father," our attention is called to the way in which God will be known to His people for that eternal day. Although the Church will be able to call God "Father," all others will address Him as "the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ," for only through Christ can He be known in the various families of earth or heaven. Eph. 4:6. Matt. 25:34.
What a near relationship to God, all in all, to which the various families of heaven and earth have been brought, the assembly, the Jew, the Gentiles, and elect angels, all because of the mighty work on the cross of Calvary, and by Jesus' adding the fifth part, in returning to God what we had stolen-ruined- in our sin against God. In the Old Testament, if a man stole, when found out he must restore the principal with the fifth part. The Lord said at the time of the cross, "Then I restored that which I took not away." Num. 5:5-10. Psa. 69:4.
The Kingdom of God in Its Final Character
The kingdom of God is a vast moral kingdom with the Son of man at its head, God having committed it to Him forever. 2 Peter 1:11. John 5:22. This eternal kingdom will be distinct from the millennial kingdom. In the kingdom of God all will have a new nature joyfully subject to Christ and the Father, and grace will rule our souls in liberty and peace.
All mankind and angels will be the inhabitants of this kingdom, all authority will be in the hands of Christ as a man forever, with the Church. Rev. 21:10. Christ will be head of the government, over the creation as a man. The heavenly Jerusalem will be the seat of the government.
"Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen." 1 Tim. 1:17.
"Which in his times he shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen." 1 Tim. 6:15,16.
"For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 1:11. What an entrance! and it can be so. Do you think that one who has forgotten that he was purged from his old sins and has begun to walk in a worldly way will enjoy an abundant entrance? The judgment seat of Christ will reveal this. The believer, though, will have an entrance.
"Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear." Heb. 12:28.
"If we suffer, we shall also reign with him." 2 Tim. 2:12.
The Inheritance
"Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." Psa. 2:8. This is a gift from the Father to the Son, the Church, called out from among the Gentiles, and the universe. Israel was never the gift, but the Church and the universe are.
There are three companies upon the earth today, Jews, Gentiles, and the Church of God. 1 Cor. 10:32.
After the rapture of the saints, the Jew and the Gentile will be left to populate the earth. The Church will be in the Father's house. "In whom also we have obtained an inheritance." Eph. 1:11.
"In whom also, after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance." Eph. 1:13,14.
All of these truths are in the counsels of God from the past eternity for the glory of Christ and the saints.
"To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you." 1 Peter 1:4. The character of the inheritance with its unfading destiny is expressed in this Scripture.
"Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God." Eph. 2:19.
The newly created universe, given by the Father to the Son, will be the sphere for our enjoyment with Christ, His companions for the eternal ages.
"I am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me. Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages. Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give thee my loves. The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved." Sol. 7:10-13. The vine and grapes speak of joy, the pomegranates of the one body.
Such are the hints of the eternal joys of companionship between the Bridegroom and the bride. Psa. 19 suggests the same fellowship. Have we laid up fruits for our Beloved?
"In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, (Christ is the Sun.), Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof." Psa. 19:1-6. N.T.
"O Lord! our hearts are waiting,
Th' archangel's heaven-sent cry,
Which wakes the saints now sleeping,
And to Thee brings them nigh.
When we, with them ascending,
Shall meet Thee in the air, To gaze upon Thy glory,
And all Thy likeness bear.
"O hour! for which in patience
Thou'st waited through the night,
Whilst we Thy saints were gathered,
And brought into the light;
Then, then, the church completed,
God makes no more delay;
O Lord, with shouts of triumph,
We pass into the day.
"O hour of richest blessing!
When brought to Thee so nigh,
To be Thy joy forever,
We share Thy throne on high;
To rest in all that brightness,
And ever there abide;
To find Thy heart delighting
In us, Thy ransomed bride.
"O blessed, coming Savior!
Speak, then, the joyous word,
To which our hearts responding,
`Forever with the Lord.'
Forever with Thee, Savior-
For evermore shall be-
In deepest, fullest blessing,
Forever one with Thee."
#140 L.F.
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