Joyful Sound: Jubilee
Table of Contents
Joyful Sound: Jubilee: No. 1
It may not be known by all that the word translated, " the joyful sound" in Psalm 89:15, is troo-gah: or the Jubilee, of Lev. 25:9: " Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month; in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land. And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you." The word jubilee in verse 10 is not the same as in verse 9. The word in verse 9 was translated in the Septuagint, some three hundred years before Christ, as meaning in Greek. " Manifestation." But in verse 10 and onwards it is yoh-vehl, " To make proclamation with the sound."
The subject is one of the very first importance as one of the clearest possible illustrations of the glad tidings of God. It may be asked, how is God manifested in sound of the trumpet in the joyful year of jubilee? We see God desiring the rest of His people in three ways: the rest of the seventh day; the rest of the seventh year; and further, He desires man to be brought into the most perfect rest.
" And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years..... Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound," &c. This, then, is the true manifestation of the blessed character of God. God is love—and God in love desired my rest, my perfect rest. God desired that I, a poor slave of sin, should be brought by proclamation into perfect peace with Himself.
But God is holy, God is righteous; and I am a vile, guilty sinner. With my sins upon me, I could have no rest, no liberty, no, surely not in His presence. Nay, in my guilt and shame I could not endure His holy, holy presence; could you? All this being the case, and it is so, on what ground, in what way, can the righteousness of God be fully maintained in the joyful trumpet sound of deliverance, and peace to us poor slaves of sin? How wonderful the answer in this type, given by the Spirit: " In the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land." The blood of the victim must be shed: " without shedding of blood is no remission." The blood must be presented to God. The sins of the people must be laid on the Substitute, and borne away. God is glorified, and sins are borne away.
Now sound aloud the joyful news. See those slaves with their wives and children waiting, listening with bated breath. Hark! hush! what a dead silence in the prison. What a moment. God desires it; every barrier is removed by the atonement. Through all the land, to every slave, to every poor prisoner, sound forth the loud welcome tones of liberty and freedom. Oh, what a day of joy! Freedom to the slave! Liberty to them that had long been bound!
Does scripture refer to this scene of joy? Let us turn and see. Who is this the prophet speaks of? "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek: he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn." (Isa. 61:1, 2.)
Very interesting the question, Whom did Jehovah send to do all these things, for the objects of His love, and in what way, so that God might be righteous and the sinner set free? Is there any doubt as to whom God sent? None whatever. " God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Did the jubilee then point to Jesus? We will hear what He says. We see Him stand up in the synagogue of Nazareth to read, as was His custom. " And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised. To preach [or proclaim] the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eves of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth."' (Luke 4:16-22.) Thus Jesus presented Himself as the fulfillment of the joyful sound of the jubilee. In looking, then, at the jubilee, may our eyes be fastened on Him, and our ears opened to hear His gracious words. Eternal life is ours on hearing His words, and believing God who sent Him. (John 5:24.)
The jubilee, then, was entirely of God. God so loved. The atonement must first be made. And God who loved, provided the atoning Lamb, His only beloved Son. In the type that work had first to be done. But on the part of the poor prisoner, or the slave, the poor brokenhearted captive, not one thing had to be done. God is manifested in this very free grace to the poor and helpless. The silver trumpet with loud "sound then proclaimed liberty throughout all the land—there was nothing to do. nothing to pay. Is not that a fact? And mark, the very moment the joyful sound was heard and understood, every captive that heard the loud sound was free. Salvation was brought to every prisoner and captive in the land. All was pure absolute grace. And this was the manifestation of God. What an acceptable year, what a year of joy was that fiftieth year! It was not then if they would pray for liberty, or do one thing for liberty; but the loud sound of the trumpet simply proclaimed liberty to all.
Now, if this is God's picture of His glad tidings, where is the gospel of His grace proclaimed to every creature on earth? Let us carefully notice how the jubilee is applied to Christ. In Isa. 53 His atoning death for our sins is most distinctly foretold. Wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, our iniquities laid on Him. His life cut off for the transgressions of His people. His soul made an offering for sin. " He bare the sin of many." Then, as we have seen, the Lord God sent Him to sound the jubilee, to proclaim the good tidings. What precious words, the manifestation of God to us poor helpless sinners: " He hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted." Oh, brokenhearted slaves of sin, do you hear, do you know, that God sent His Son to bind up your broken hearts? Oh, captives of Satan! Jesus says, God sent Him to proclaim liberty to you. Do you hear the loud sound? Do you believe God in sending His Son for you? Do you say, I am bound in the iron prison of despair? Jesus says, God has sent Him to open the prison to them that are bound. Do you say, When is the happy time that I may be free? Now is the day of salvation; Jesus has come to " proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."
Then shall come a day, when this day of salvation closes, " And the day of vengeance of God." And afterward the millennial clay of comfort and blessing to this earth. But we would prefer in this paper to pursue the joyful sound. We have seen, in Luke 4, how the Lord Jesus, presented Himself as the fulfillment of all this. Mark, He did not go on to the day of vengeance, but closed the book at that which occupies us now: to proclaim the jubilee, the acceptable year of the Lord.
It was a joyful year, and the sound of the loud trumpet was a joyful sound. It was joyful liberty. We will now turn and see if the gospel is as joyful as the type of it was.
The first full, clear sound of the jubilee trumpet was when Jesus had made the atonement for sins—on the very first day when God had proved His acceptance of the atonement by raising Jesus from among the dead. He had “glorified God by the atoning death of the cross. He had borne the full judgment of His people's sins. He had made peace by the blood of the cross. It was finished—He had said it. He had been forsaken of God, under the wrath due to us. His body had been laid in the sepulcher. But now all was over for eternity. God had raised Him up to die no more. If we turn to John 20:19, we see the risen Christ in the midst of His disciples—and now the joyful sound is heard: " Peace be unto you." And what did He show them as the ground of that peace? Was it any one thing they had done? Was it their feelings, or experience, or works? They had all forsaken Him. He showed them His hands and His side. The atoning work had been done- there was nothing now to hinder the jubilee trumpet sound of liberty—" Peace be unto you.' This was the sweetest sound they had ever heard; the joyful sound that filled their hearts with gladness: " Then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord." Not only had He thus proclaimed the joyful sound to them, but they were to do the same to others. " Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you." For this purpose they were to receive the Holy Ghost, that in gladness of heart, they might also proclaim the good news of forgiveness of sins.
In Luke 24:46, 47, they are commissioned to proclaim the jubilee, the joyful sound, among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. What a repentance, what a change of mind, would be produced even amongst the very murderers of Jesus in Jerusalem. Even amongst them, thousands should hear the joyful sound, believe it, and be saved.
But the joyful sound must not be limited to all the land of Palestina now. No; as to this the words of the risen Lord are clear and distinct: " Go ye into all the world, and preach the glad tidings to every creature." (Mark 16:15.) What a command -sound the trumpet with joyful sound, to every creature, to every slave of sin, to every prisoner of Satan, in this wide world. Sadly did these disciples fail to apprehend the vastness of this joyful charge, or to carry it out. Sadly fail we also in this day. Eighteen hundred years have passed, and yet how many millions of the wretched captives of Satan have never heard the joyful sound! Let us now pursue the joyful sound in the Acts, and see the effects it produced.
And let us remember the jubilee, or joyful sound, is entirely of God. Her Majesty's jubilee is past forever, never to return; but not so the jubilee of God.
Joyful Sound: Jubilee: No. 2
We will now turn to the Acts. God was glorified, and the atonement was made. The disciples were commanded to sound the true jubilee—the glad tidings of God manifested, forgiveness proclaimed to every creature. They had waited at Jerusalem until they were endued with power from on high. The Holy Ghost had come to abide with them unto the end. And now the trumpet sounds in Jerusalem: the city of His very murderers hears the wondrous news, that He whom it had slain, " God hath made that same Jesus both Lord and Christ." They cry out in bitterness of soul, under conviction of sin. The trumpet sounds its joyful notes of an entire change of mind. Repentance and baptism in the name of Jesus, for forgiveness of sins, they hear the joyful sound: "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized; and the same day there were added about three thousand souls." Gladness and singleness of heart and praising God was what marked the first day's sounding of the glad tidings of God.
Very little, however, did the first messengers of the gospel understand the largeness of the heart of God, and His wide purpose of blessing.
Grace lingered also over Jerusalem, until the marked rejection of the Jews, in the death of Stephen, and the great persecution scattered them abroad. And they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word. Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. And what was the result of the glad tidings? There was great joy in that city. Why is it not so now? What is supposed to be the gospel is preached year after year, and what is the result? Years of doubt and utter uncertainty, or worldliness and indifference. Can it possibly be the same clear sound of complete liberty and deliverance proclaimed to every prisoner, captive, or slave, on earth—to every creature?
If we examine the proclamation to the eunuch it is just the same: Philip preached Jesus unto him. He heard, believed, was baptized, " and he went on his way rejoicing" How simple, sure, and immediate the effect of hearing the joyful sound. Is it so with the reader? Have you heard, believed, been baptized, and are you going on your way REJOICING? If not, you may be utterly deceived by that which is not the true, loud sound of God's jubilee.
We will now take a very distinct case. The apostle Paul, sent forth by the Holy Ghost, arrived at Antioch in Pisidia (Acts 13); he proclaims the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. That atoning death, as we have seen, is the only ground of the jubilee's loud sound of liberty. God having raised up Jesus from among the dead, the silver trumpet sounds the jubilee first in the synagogue of the Jews: "Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached [or proclaimed] unto you the forgiveness of sins: and by him, all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses." What a proclamation, what a joyful sound! And is this the true gospel of God? As liberty to every slave was proclaimed on the day of atonement, ever pointing forward to the atoning death of Jesus, so now that this infinite sacrifice for sins has been offered, and God has shown His righteousness in raising up that blessed, atoning victim from the dead, forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to every creature on earth. And mark the joyful result, on the authority of the word of God, all that believe are justified from all things. This is what God proclaims, this is what God says to you. Do you believe Him? If you do, He says He justifies you, He accounts you righteous in His sight through the death of Jesus; yea, He assures you of this by raising your Substitute and Representative from the dead and receiving Him above all heavens. And more: God assures us we could not be thus justified, even by the law of Moses.
Mark how this answers to the proclamation on the day of atonement—the jubilee. The poor prisoner, or slave, had not one shekel to pay, not one thing to do. God proclaimed liberty by the sound of trumpet. The sinner has not one thing to do for salvation. Forgiveness is freely proclaimed to him, just as he is: if he believes the proclamation he is justified from all things, and God would have him know this. He says, " Be it known to you."
It may be said, Yes, this was the gospel to the religious Jews in the synagogue; but you would surely not say that this is the gospel to the sinner, sunk in sin and captivity to Satan. Yes, almost the whole city of the poor Gentile worshippers of demons came together to hear the very same joyful sound of forgiveness. " And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.... And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost." Surely the jubilee was a most striking type of all this.
Again, see how Paul preached or proclaimed the glad tidings at Thessalonica. Not one thing had these Jews or Gentiles to do; but they believed what Jesus had done, and suffered, and that He had risen again from the dead. (Acts 17:1-4.) Men no doubt will say, Such a jubilee gospel as that would lead men to walk " the joyful sound" or jubilee. 295
in sin. Many believed this gospel at Thessalonica: did they walk in sin? Read 1 Thess. 1 for the answer. They so walked, and labored, and waited for the Son from heaven, that Paul could give thanks for them all. He says, " And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost." No, the true gospel is a jubilee, a joyful sound. And God would have us know that joyful sound. It is most sad to think that even England pays its priests who deny all this; they would tell you that you never can know the joyful sound of sins forgiven, and justification from all things; you must seek this blessing at their hands by law-keeping and sacraments. But never is it with them, " Be it known unto you."
Which will you believe, God or the pretended priest? We say ' pretended’ for God has no priests now, except as all true Christians are priests unto Him. God says, I proclaim unto you, unto every creature, through Jesus, forgiveness of sins. What love, what mercy! God says, All who believe are justified. The priest says, as it were, You must not believe God. God says, Be it known. The priest says, No man knows. God says to the believer, You are justified from all things. The priest says, No, you are not. You cannot be justified by works of law, says God. You must be justified by works, says man. Oh let God be true, and every man a liar.
Do you say, This is so different from all I have been taught from my youth; do show me from the word of God what would be the effect of believing this joyful sound of free forgiveness and deliverance, of liberty as in the year of jubilee? Very good, my friend, then let us now look a little more closely at Psalm 89:15. We have seen how God says, "Be it known." Here we read, " Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound [the same word, troo-gah, jubilee]: they shall walk, Ο Lord, in the light of thy countenance."
Is there any uncertainty here? They know the joyful sound, they know their sins are all forgiven to be remembered no more. They know they are now in the liberty of Christ, justified from all things. They know they have passed from death unto life—Jesus says so. (John 5:24.) Is this to walk in darkness, to walk in doubt, to walk in sin? No: " They shall walk, Ο Lord, in the light of thy countenance." And surely this will give untold joy; yes, " in thy name shall they rejoice all the day." They joy in God.
And now in the light they see how guilty they have been. What was gain to them, they count loss; all of self is dung. They utterly renounce all pretensions to righteousness of their own; but they say, "And in thy righteousness shall they be exalted." They need not their old rags, for now they are clothed in the best robe. They know their own utter weakness. If they were tried again they would fail, for they have in themselves no strength. They lean on God and say, " For thou art the glory of their strength." Yes, there must be the hopper in the field before the reaper; seed sown before fruit gathered. We must know in our inmost souls the joyful sound of Gods glad tidings, before there can be the fruit of a walk in the light of His countenance.
As we have said, the jubilee of Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, has passed away, never to return. And oh how soon the present jubilee of abounding grace may pass away, never to return. Before you lay this down, yea, before it is in print what a change may have taken place.
It is quite true that all this, as to the present period of grace, is in anticipation of another final fulfillment of the type of the jubilee. What is true now of an individual will then be true of the whole nation of Israel; but these are very distinct in scripture. We may trace both how this period of grace will close, and also how, after the day of vengeance, the trumpet shall sound to God's ancient people the Jews, and also how the whole earth shall be filled with gladness.
Reader, beware of delaying to hear the joyful sound. The atonement has met the claims of the righteousness of God. Now, in His infinite love, He delights to proclaim liberty and forgiveness to every slave and prisoner of sin on earth, through Jesus who died and rose again. " He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."
(To be continued, if the Lord will.)
Joyful Sound: Jubilee: No. 3 When and How Will It Cease
We now come to the close of the present period of the joyful sound. Fellow Christians, when will it close, and how will it close to you? And how will it close to the professing, but rejecting world around?
Are these questions answered in the scriptures? They are. Shall we all, as to this body, have to die first? No. The apostle says, as to that, " 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." This present period of gospel sound will close then in a moment. (1 Cor. 15) " For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." (1 Thess. 4:15-17.)
For all believers this is how, and when, this present jubilee of joyful sound to every creature shall come to a sudden close. Then shall the true church of God he presented glorious to Christ. Yes, our Lord said, "I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." (John 14:2, 3.) Oh, what joy to thee, what joy to us, will be the moment of the close of this jubilee of grace. Dwell on it, oh my soul.
But how shall it close with the rejecters of this jubilee glad sound? " When they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape." (1 Thess. 5:3.) " When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.” &c. (2 Thess. 1:7-9.)
It is still the acceptable year, but the clay of vengeance must come. And oh, how sudden, how unexpected! Even as sudden as the flood in the days of Noah, and the fire that fell on Sodom in the days of Lot. In that day of vengeance so near, there shall be tribulation such as never was, and never shall be again. " And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory." " Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth, shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen." (Matt. 24; Rev. 1. 7.)
Thus shall close this day of grace to the rejecters of the joyful sound. He shall come, and before Him shall the nations be gathered, to the judgment of the living. One of three things must occur to every one of us. Be caught up to meet the Lord, our Lord; be alive on earth as a rejecter of His grace and mercy, to meet Him when He comes to judge the quick; or die, and if unsaved, be raised to be judged before the great white throne at the judgment of the dead, only to be cast into the lake of fire, to be tormented day and night forever.
Is there no hope then hereafter to such as have heard and rejected the joyful sound of forgiveness? None; " because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned that believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." (2 Thess. 2:10-12 Thess, ii. 10-12.) What a solemn moment this is.
We have dwelt chiefly on the joyful sound, the glad tidings of God to every creature, during this, "present period of grace to the Gentiles. The Lord Jesus came to His own nation, but they received Him not. Through unbelief they have been set aside. " Because of unbelief they were broken off." The judicial blindness of Israel is not to continue forever. This is fully explained in Rom. 11 Every prophecy concerning God's ancient people must yet be fulfilled. The clay shall come when, as it is written, all Israel shall be saved. Having forfeited all claim to the covenant through ages of unbelief, God will take them up in mercy—objects of mercy, as He has had mercy on us Gentiles. Oh, the riches of His grace.
We will now briefly look at this subject, as it regards Israel. We must remember Old Testament Scriptures are applied to us in anticipation, yet they refer primarily to Israel. What is Isa. 53 but the discovery of Israel, when God shall awake and restore the captive daughter of Zion? As they look at the wounds in His hands, they discover that He was wounded for their transgressions. They will see in Him, and in His death on the cross, the fulfillment of all their offerings for atonement. What a manifestation of God this will be to them, as it also is to every soul, now brought to God. Thus, on the ground of the atonement, the jubilee will have its fulfillment to them, though crushed and oppressed as they have been, and will be still more, during the three years and a half of their tribulation, such as never was and never shall be again. The day of atonement shall then be understood, the year of their release will have come; the loud sound of liberty will echo through the world for them. The scriptures also abound with evidence that the clay of vengeance shall be on their enemies in the year of their jubilee.
In our chapter, Isa. 61, there is then, first, the proclamation of jubilee to them, to Israel; then the day of vengeance; and then to the end of the chapter, their millennial blessing on earth. Every word also in chapter lx., is about this great future blessing on Israel, also chapter 62. To Jerusalem God says, " Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God." In chapter 63. we see the day of vengeance on their enemies' but the day of salvation to them. " For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come." Again, what a description of this day of vengeance is in the last chapter of Isaiah, in close connection with the blessing of Israel.
In Eze. 38; 39, the chief oppression of Israel is by the Russian empire, and the nations confederate with it; they come as a cloud to cover the land. Their terrible overthrow is described, and the months it will take to bury them in the day of the vengeance of God. " Therefore, thus saith the Lord God, Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel/' &c. We have a full account of how God will bless them when He thus has mercy upon them, in Eze. 36:2338. This can only mean Israel, as it says.
There is the same testimony in Joel. When God brings again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, He will gather all nations, and judge them for their treatment of His heritage Israel. He will then be the hope of His people, and the strength of the children of Israel.
" Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy." Then follows the grand jubilee of Israel. " Sing, Ο daughter of Zion; shout, Ο Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, Ο daughter of Jerusalem." (Zeph. 3:8-20.) Yea, this is greatly the theme of the Psalm and all the prophets, and will surely come to pass. If we understand this, then the judgment of the living nations for their treatment of Israel will be quite clear in Matt. 25
How remarkable that the future jubilee of Israel is so little understood. Yet Isa. 61, and indeed all the prophets, distinctly foretell both the deliverance of those captives, the opening of their prison doors, and their restoration to their own land.
He who made atonement for sins, is the anointed One, whether to announce the heavenly joyful sound now to us, or the earthly glad tidings to Israel in the day of Jacob's restoration to his land.
At present Israel is cut off through unbelief. And through their unbelief we Gentiles are having in anticipation a more blessed jubilee than they will have. God is now taking out the heavenly bride of the Lamb. This may close at any moment, by the church being caught up to meet the Lord.
Then will follow the day of vengeance on all who have heard and rejected the joyful sound.
For a short period the Jews will pass through the great tribulation. Then comes the day of vengeance on their enemies and persecutors. At the same time they are restored to their own land, to enjoy their millennium of rest. Then shall be fulfilled that word of the Lord, " They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." (Read Isa. 11)
What an interval of infinite grace to us, since the day that Jesus presented Himself as the fulfillment of the jubilee! And still the long suffering of God lingers, not willing that any should perish. But the end will come; the saints will be caught up to meet the Lord. The day of vengeance will come. Ah reader, in that coming moment you must, if still alive here, either be taken, changed in a moment, and be with and like the Lord; or you will be left to the day of vengeance as a rejecter of the love of God in the gift of His Son. Will you continue to despise His atoning death? Will you still reject the glad loud sound of liberty?
May God open your ear to hear the joyful sound before it is forever too late. The atoning work is done; God proclaims to you through Jesus the forgiveness of sins. Blessed proclamation! God declares all who believe are justified from all things. Believing, you are free; and knowing the joyful sound, your happy privilege is to walk in the light of His countenance. And how soon to see His face!
C S.
'Tis but a little while,
And Christ shall come again,
Who died that we might live; who lives,
And we with Him shall reign.
Thou hast, Ο Lord, prepared
My soul for that glad day;
Hast wash'd me in Thy precious blood,
And clear'd my sins away.