Expecting the Saviour, by Dr. M'Caul

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Dec 26, 1865

Expecting the Saviour,

By Dr. M'Caul

AN ESSENTIAL FEATURE IN TRUE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER.

We now proceed to consider, particularly, what this "waiting" is, as expressed in the text by the words "looking for that blessed hope;" and to show, from the nature of the duty, that the practice of waiting for the second advent is an essential feature in the character of a true Christian. The glorious coming of the Lord is represented in Scripture as the promised return of a kind Master to his faithful servants. To wait for that which is promised is an exercise of faith. It is likened to the sudden coming of a thief, against which we have been warned; to take heed to the warnings of God is an effect of holy fear. It is compared to the return of the beloved Bridegroom; that the bride should wait with earnest desires for his return, is an evidence of love. It is set forth as the return of the Lord to his disciples, for which he commandeth them to watch; to wait for it, then, is an act of obedience. But in whichever of these four points of view we consider the practice of waiting for the second advent, whether as an exercise of faith, an effect of holy fear, an evidence of love, or an act of obedience, it is equally an essential feature in the character of a true Christian.

Faith is an essential feature of a true Christian, "for without faith it is impossible to please God." The promises of God are the object of faith; the promise of the Lord's return is one of those most frequently repeated. Where then is faith in this promise, if the practice of waiting for it is wanting? Remember, brethren, that faith is an operative principle, and, whatever be its object, it produces certain effects. When faith fixes upon the promise of forgiveness of sins, it drives to prayer and confession. When it lays hold upon the promise of the Holy Spirit for sanctification, it produces earnest supplication that will not be silenced until the promise is fulfilled. When it looks to the often repeated promise of the Lord's return, it generates a habit of waiting for it with patience. The servants who believe that their Lord will return according to his promise, gird their loins, put on their best apparel, and hold all things in readiness; and though the shades of evening should set in, they despair not; and though the darkness of midnight should begin to pass, they slumber not; but keep their lights burning, and hearken in watchful silence to every distant sound that may perhaps give notice of their Lord's approach. And, if they speak, if the silence of expectation be broken, it is to rouse the slumbering, or to ask, "Watchman, what of the night?" or to discourse about the happy meeting; for their Lord has promised to return, and they believe his promise. Faith in the promise necessarily produces these effects. When, then, the effects follow not, where is the faith? And where there is no practice of waiting, what evidence is there of faith in the Lord's promise?

Some may perhaps say, that it is not yet time to expect the Lord's advent; it would therefore be folly to wait for it; when it is near, it will be time enough to look for it. If there be in this congregation any in this faithless state of mind, let me remind them that this is exactly the excuse of the unprofitable servant whose portion is appointed with the unbelievers; mark these words, "with the unbelievers." He says, "My Lord delayeth his coming." It is not so near—no need of watching yet! You will perhaps answer, We are watching for death, for death will certainly arrest us before the Lord could come again. I ask in reply, where has the Lord commanded you to watch for death, instead of watching for his second coming? Tell me the chapter and the verse. I ask you in the second place, what reason you have for thinking that death will surprise you sooner than the second advent? Who revealed to you the day and hour of which no man knoweth? You will reply, No man hath revealed it to me; my belief that death will precede the second advent is founded on no declaration of Scripture; my own reason tells me of it. So many generations have already passed away without the Lord's coming, that it is now most probable that the present will pass away in like manner. If this be your mode of arguing, then beyond all doubt you believe more firmly in the probable conclusions of your own reason, than in

the words of your Lord and Master. Where then is your faith? And where is your likeness to those disciples of whom our Lord says, "Blessed are those servants whom the Lord when he cometh shall find watching?" But, whatever you may think of your state, you cannot possibly deny, that steadfastly to trust in Christ's promise, confidently to expect its fulfillment, and humbly to obey his commands, is an indispensable evidence of the reality of that faith, without which no man has a right to esteem himself as one of Christ's true disciples.

This practice of waiting is also compared to the state of a householder, who expects his house to be attacked, but knows not the hour when the thief may come. He therefore remains in a state of suspense and fear, and consequently of active vigilance. He knows that his property, and perhaps his life, are at stake; he therefore takes heed that his heart be not overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, or with the cares of this life, and so the thief come unawares.

This represents the habit of holy fear in which the true Christian lives; contemplating the awful transactions of the great day of Christ's appearing, and remembering that it will come as a snare upon all them that dwell upon the earth; such a state of mind as the Apostle describes, when he says, "We must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad; knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men." 2 Cor. v, 10, 11. Need I stop, my brethren, to prove that this is an essential feature in the character of a true Christian? No; your consciences assure you that no man is a true Christian without it.

The coming of the Lord is likened also to the return of the Bridegroom long delayed but surely promised. And the Bridegroom is chief among ten thousand. To him the church owes life and liberty. He delivered her from death, and ransomed her from captivity. For he left his Father's house, forsook his Father's throne, and took upon himself the form of a servant, endured countless hardships, and suffered countless wrongs. And the church is not insensible to his love, nor indifferent to the promise of his coming. The days of his absence are days of mourning, "She seeketh him whom her soul loveth; she seeketh, and findeth him not." Song iii, 1. She counteth the days "until the winter be past, and the rain over and gone; until the fig-tree putteth forth her green figs," Songs ii, 11-13; for that is the promised sign of his approach. She crieth, "Make haste my beloved." "The Spirit and the bride say, Come." And were it otherwise, were the church happy and content without her Saviour, careless and indifferent to his coming, where were her love? And when persons calling themselves Christians, are perfectly satisfied with the present state of things, and utterly indifferent to the Lord's return, where is their love? Does that man really love the Lord Jesus Christ who almost never meditates upon his union with him; who never prays for his coming; who never looks at the signs of the times to see whether it be near; I speak not now of those who have never fled for refuge to the Saviour, and who have therefore no experience of his forgiving love (for them to pray for the Saviour's return would be presumption); but of those who profess to have found forgiveness of sins, and justification by faith.

Have you no desire to behold him who purchased for you these blessings with his precious blood? to see him as he is, and be like him; to fall down before his throne, with a heart overflowing with gratitude; and to join in the glorious song of the redeemed, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain?" But, whatever be your state, acknowledge that to wait in humble and earnest expectation for the Lord's return, as the bride waits for the bridegroom, is an evidence of love; and that love is an essential feature in the character of a true Christian.

Lastly, to wait for the Lord's coming is an act of obedience; and without obedience to talk of faith, hope, love, or any other Christian grace, is nothing short of madness.

"Ye are my friends," saith our Lord, "if ye do whatsoever I command you." If, therefore, the Lord

had but once given a command to watch for his second advent, it would have been sufficient to bind us to obedience; but I know of no command more frequently repeated in the New Testament than this. I have already, in this discourse, remarked how often it is insisted on, and how variously it is applied; I will now only notice how often it occurs as a command.

It occurs as an express and positive command at least eight times in the Gospels, five times in the Epistles, and twice in the Revelation of St. John; altogether fifteen times. It is a command given in the most solemn manner, with a blessing attached to those who obey it, and a curse pronounced upon them who disobey it. It is a command accompanied by a declaration that is applicable to all, so that no one can hold himself excepted. "What I say unto you I say unto all, Watch." It is a command so clearly expressed, and so exactly limited by the context, that it cannot be interpreted figuratively, nor wrested to apply to anything but the coming of the Lord in glory. For in the gospels it is preceded by an account of the judgment; and in the epistles, connected with the resurrection of the dead, or the conflagration of the world.

What then is the state of a man who deliberately disobeys such a command as this? If obedience be at all times necessary, is it not in such a case indispensable? Will any man dare, under any pretext whatsoever, to dispense himself or others from such a command as this? Or can any man so grossly deceive himself as to imagine that he is a true Christian, when he is living in willful disobedience to his Lord's plainly revealed will? There is but one infallible mark of a true Christian,—obedience to his Lord's commands; and he that waiteth not for the Lord's coming, hath it not. He may possess great knowledge of the mysteries of the Gospel, but he is "a child of disobedience."

You see, then, brethren, that whether we look at the express testimonies of Scripture, or consider the nature of waiting for the second advent, as it is set forth in Scripture, as an exercise of faith, a state of holy fear, an effect of love, or an act of obedience, my assertion is true; the practice of waiting for the second advent of the Lord, is an essential feature in the character of a true Christian.