The keynote of the eternal praise song is this, “He loves us.” This note is learned upon earth. Where the sweetness of “He loves us” is heard, there are no dull, discordant voices. Prove your heart by this pitch, Christian! Such is the marvel of the sound that whenever it enters the soul, “singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord” follow. The soul rests in “He loves me.” This is the sunshine which cheers, warms and renders the soul fruitful. “He loves us”; thus we get close to Jesus and, in spite of our shortcomings and doubts, find shelter from ourselves.
Many of the Lord’s people fail for years to sing His praises together, because they think “I love Him” is the keynote of praise. They try without success to tune their hearts to this note on their own and never succeed. The pitch is outside ourselves.
The love of Jesus to His people raises their love to Him. Rejoicing in His constant, abiding, ever-present love renders ours (small though it be) after the same fashion as His. However, as a matter of the day’s experience, it is often found that though we begin with His love to us, as the hours wear on, self intrudes and, “Do I love Him?” fills our hearts. As with ordinary singing by ear, the pitch gets lower as the song proceeds. Hence the need of again and again giving the unerring keynote, “He loves us,” for this revives and restores the song which God delights to hear.
Occupation with God’s love to us is the great secret of happy Christian experience; and by the study of God’s love to us, we grow in the knowledge of Him, and thus in resemblance to Him. We see the Eternal Word coming down from the glory about two thousand years ago, entering this world, becoming the lowly man, enduring shame and bearing what only He, the God-man, could bear. His whole course, otherwise a mystery and still a confusion to unbelief, is explained by these three words, “He loves us.”
We see Him upon Calvary, crucified between the thieves, sustaining God’s wrath, accomplishing the Father’s will, and the agony, the forsaken cry, is thus interpreted to our hearts, “He loves us.”
We see Him at God’s right hand in the glory where He has returned. There He lives before their God, the High Priest for His people, bearing them up, weak creatures as they are. When they sin, He pleads their cause in the presence of the Father! Why does He do all this? Where does this incessant care, mercy and grace come from? His activity on high for His people is summed up in these three sweet words — “He loves us.”
Give the motive for His action in preparing the home above for His own, and for His promised return to fetch them up on high and to display them beautiful and glorious with Him when He comes to the earth according to His Word. It is bound up in this simple sentence, which the youngest child can comprehend—“He loves us.”
The love of Jesus is present, ever-present, therefore everlasting. The love of Jesus is all eternal spring-time; it knows no change, runs on evenly through every year of this life, and follows its unbroken course right on to the glory.
“Jesus loves us” is the keynote. Because He loves us, He has washed us from our sins in His own blood. He has made us perfectly clean, taken away every single spot and stain, and fitted us for the glory. Because He loves us, He has made us kings and priests unto God and His Father. We are now enabled to worship the Father, now ready to wear the crown of glory. Therefore, fellow-Christian, praise Him: “To Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
Glory is His now, but unseen by man; rule is His, but He waits in patience the day of dominion. He is coming, “yet a little while,” God says. Jesus, who loves us, will come from the throne and call us up to the bright cloud. Until He comes, we tune our hearts continually by the keynote, “He loves us.” There are, and will be, hindrances and drawbacks, temptations and snares, and the devil will strive to still that song he hates to hear; but never seek to raise your heart to praise by the force of your own feelings, for the love of Jesus to His people is the only and the unfailing resource of true worshippers.
Once more! Listen carefully to the keynote, “He loves us”; let it stir up our affections and quicken our love by and in His love.