Who are those who love His appearing? for such will not only have "a crown of life," but "a crown of righteousness." Precious thought! What then are we to understand by loving His appearing? Observe, it is not here His coming for us, but His revelation from heaven, His appearing in flaming fire, and His saints with Him. It gives us joy to know that now in heaven He is not only crowned with glory and honor, but angels, authorities, and powers are made subject unto Him.
"The crown is His, and His by right,
The highest place in heaven."
On earth, however, He is still, with very many, the rejected Stone, notwithstanding God's proclamation by His servants of forgiveness of sins, and of the gift of eternal life and glory to every one that bows to Him as his Savior and Lord. Every loyal heart must deeply feel the appalling indifference there is to the Lord Jesus Christ, and His present interests, almost on every hand. But we remember the solemn testimony of Scripture, that this is the prelude to the utter rejection by Him of the professing church as His corporate witness on earth after He has removed His loved and loving saints to meet Him in the air, and before His appearing with them to judge the world. How quickly these anticipations may become matters of fact!
"The stone which the builders rejected" will soon come forth in power. The "stone... cut out without hands" must ere long fall upon the nations, and "grind them to powder." Alas! how few seem to think of this; and how many are trying to satisfy themselves with a kind of Christianity without Christ, which they call religion! At this moment, what a mass of precious souls are being deceived by reasoning infidelity. They think themselves competent to judge of the things of God by their natural powers, and thus set aside the divine authority of His Word, instead of allowing it to judge them. On the other hand, multitudes are being ensnared by the infidelity of ritualism, which refuses to accept the "once for all" finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ. We may be assured that the only deliverance from these fatal deceptions is resting on Christ, and finding peace and joy in what He has done, and what He is. Blessed be His name, with arms opened wide, and a heart full of tenderest love, He said, "Come unto Me,... and I will give you rest." What a boon is rest! especially rest of conscience as to our eternal safety. This, no one but He can give. No one else ever proposed it. Those only have it who have it from Him. Precious indeed are His words, "I will give you rest." Yes, He gives it.
Our Lord spoke of another rest—rest of heart, which those would "find" who pursued a certain course. It is, therefore, a conditional rest—rest connected with being heartily and practically yoked with Him, and learning of Him. The taking of His yoke is a distinct work and experience in the soul. Oh, those sweet words, "Take My yoke," "Learn of Me," "Find rest to your souls." His is the only "easy" yoke, and the only "burden" that is really "light." You cannot describe it, but the heart knows it. Rest of conscience He gives. Rest of heart the believer finds if abiding in Him, walking with Him, and learning of Him who when walking down here as a man had perfect rest in His Father's will, even when rejected by those cities wherein most of His deeds of power were performed. Sweet intimacy! This is Christianity; and those who know it experimentally doubtless look forward to another rest—endless, eternal rest, for "there remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God" (Heb. 4:99There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. (Hebrews 4:9)).
In the days of the apostles, believers knew they were called not only to believe, but also to suffer for His sake; and if not always suffering for Him, they were suffering with Him. They knew also the preciousness of Christ as the satisfying and joyful object of their hearts. It was truly said of some, "Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory." 1 Pet. 1:88Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: (1 Peter 1:8); see also Rom. 8:1717And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. (Romans 8:17); Phil. 1:2929For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake; (Philippians 1:29). Such was the freshness and fervency of believers in the early days of Christianity. Their hearts were taken up with a Person who loved them, died for them, and redeemed them from all iniquity, and who assured them that an incorruptible inheritance was "reserved in heaven" for them, and that they were "kept by the power of God," through faith, for it, until His revelation from heaven with them. What marvelous words of comfort!
This surely is the time of our Lord's rejection. The world will not have Him; and Christendom, for the most part, as was the case at Laodicea, has Him outside the door. Yet He is knocking; perhaps it may be that one faithful soul will hear His voice and open the door for personal communion with Himself. To true hearts this is very affecting. Those who love Him best feel it most. He is not here, but His coming draws nigh.
In the death of His cross, instead of Satan overcoming Him, He through death rendered Satan's power null; and instead of Jew and Gentile getting rid of Christ by their "Away with Him," "Crucify Him," He was righteously exalted to the right hand of God, invested as the glorified Man with all authority and power. And He is soon coming to subdue all things unto Himself, according to the will of God. Though He manifests Himself spiritually to our souls, and is always in the midst of two or three who are really gathered together to His name, yet personally He is absent. We see Him not. Some keenly feel He is not here. Faith knows Him crowned with glory and honor.
Do we feel His rejection? Are we troubled on account of His absence? These are searching questions, and test what our state really is. If we can reply that we deeply mourn His absence, then we are necessarily detached in heart and walk, not only from the world which is so rapidly going on to its righteous doom, but from all around about us in the professing church that is contrary to His Word, How is it possible that we can be loving His appearing, if not seeking to please Him, and therefore tasting the sorrow of His present rejection? Do not the two always go together? Those who really mourn His absence, and because of it feel the loneliness and desolation of their path, cannot but cleave to Him with purpose of heart, while keenly feeling the folly and unbelief of those who keep up excitement with the world's pleasures, when our Lord's revelation from heaven in flaming fire is so near.
Again we press the question, Does our Lord's present rejection give a decided complexion to our course in this scene?
If so, surely the prospect of His having His rightful place on earth ere long, cannot but thrill our hearts with inexpressible delight. When we think of His coming out of heaven in His own glory, the glory of His Father, and the glory of the holy angels, accompanied by His glorified saints, and wearing His many crowns, we may well exclaim, What a blaze of infinite and eternal glory! while our hearts are ready to sing,
"Crown Him, crown Him, crown Him Lord of all."
It is the Lord Himself who thus appears. He comes with clouds, and every eye shall see Him. He died for all, has sent the gospel to all, has waited patiently on all, and now the divine long-suffering has reached its climax, men "wail because of Him." What a wailing that will be! Worse than useless then to cry to the rocks to fall on them, or to the hills to cover them, or to go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth for fear of Jehovah, and from the glory of His majesty; for He must reign till His enemies are made the footstool of His feet. All must be put in subjection under Him, according to the will of God. Yes, He will judge the quick and the dead. First the quick, or living, in various judicial ways and occasions as the Scriptures point out; for He will put down all rule, and all authority, and power. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death; and the last part of His reign will be occupied in judging the dead after their resurrection, every man according to his works; hence our Lord called it "the resurrection of damnation," or judgment. How unutterably solemn! And how blessed to our souls is the thought of our Lord's exaltation to His rightful place, and of the Church, His bride, reigning and sharing the inheritance with Him.
On earth all the tribes of Israel will have each its portion in the land according to the prophetic word (Eze. 47 and 48), knowing that Jehovah has been merciful to their unrighteousness, will remember no more their sins and iniquities, has delivered them from bodily sickness, given them abundance of peace and plenty, under the glorious reign of their true Messiah, the Son of David. What a time, too, when Gentiles will go up to Jerusalem to worship, and attend the house of prayer for all nations. Our Lord Jesus will then be revealed as the only Potentate—Kings of kings and Lord of lords, Governor among
the nations, and King over all the earth. We can think of Him too as Son of man, according to the 8th Psalm, having dominion over this creation as by Him delivered, and brought into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. Is it not a deep joy to those who cleave to Him, and are often ready to weep at His still being the "song of the drunkard," and rejected by so many, to know for a certainty that in a little while on this very earth, as well as in heaven, and in the infernal regions, every knee shall bow to Him, and every tongue confess that He is Lord, to the glory of the Father?
How does this contemplation of our Lord's glorious appearing and reign affect our hearts? Are we loving His appearing? Let us pause and well consider that, if so, He is not only the commanding object of our souls, but we are in a place where He is not, and where the prevailing sentence is, "We will not have this man to reign over us." How soon He may come and receive us unto Himself, to appear in glory with Him! "When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory." Col. 3:44When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:4). May we be so occupied with our Lord where He is, so learn of Him, and live for His honor, that we may more and more "love His appearing!"
"If here on earth the thoughts of Jesus' love Lift our poor hearts this weary world above; If even here the taste of heavenly springs
So cheers the spirit, that the pilgrim sings; What will the sunshine of His glory prove? What the unmingled fullness of His love? What hallelujahs will His presence raise?
What but one loud eternal burst of praise?"