THE INFLUENCE OF THAT BLESSED HOPE.
By E. P. Marvin
“Every man that hath this hope in him, purifieth himself, even as He is pure.” 1 John iii, 3. “That blessed hope” is the most precious and stimulating theme of the gospel. Paul commanded Timothy to speak and exhort concerning it. Peter refers to it frequently in his first epistle, and makes it a grand theme in his second. He also tells us that Paul wrote of these things in all of his epistles, and he exhorts us in view of “such things” to be diligent, that we may be found of him in peace, without spot and blameless. Christ and the inspired writers of the New Testament present this theme as replete with consolation and counsel, warning, and encouragement, for every condition of the militant church. It is the key-note of the New Testament. Are believers timid and loth to stand up and confess their Saviour? They are stimulated to fearless witness-bearing by these memorable words: “Whosoever, therefore, shall confess me before men, him will I confess before my Father and the holy angels.” Are believers fainting and sinking under the stress of temporal troubles? “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you; but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are made partakers of Christ’s sufferings, that when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also, with exceeding joy.” “Be patient, therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord.” Is wealth reft away by persecution, oppression, or fraud? The ancient saints “took joyfully the spoiling of their goods, knowing that they had in Heaven a better and enduring substance; for yet a little while, and he that shall come, will come.” Does worldly-mindedness prevail? “Our conversation is in Heaven, from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.” “Seeing then, that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hastening unto the coming of the day of God.” Do believers need a motive to self-denial and self-mortification? “When Christ who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory; mortify, therefore, your members which are upon the earth.” Do believers need a stimulus to growth in grace and holiness? “It doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; and every man that hath this hope in him, purifieth himself even as he is pure.” In persecution, read of his suffering in the flesh, his coming to deliver his people, and the crown which the righteous Judge shall give in that day to “all them that love his appearing.” We are stimulated to perseverance by those terse words of our Leader, which ring like a military order,—“Hold fast till I come.” The sacramental feast not only recalls the death and departure of the Redeemer, but anticipates his return. “As often as ye eat of this bread and drink this cup, ye do show forth the Lord’s death till he come.” In the present mourning condition of the church fasting for the absent Bridegroom, what can be more consoling than his parting words, “Let not your heart be troubled; * I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again”—to be glorified in his saints, and in all them that love his appearing. He will come again, no longer
“The Man of sorrows,
Who stood by Pilate’s bar,
Condemned by haughty Herod
And all his men of war,”
but a mighty Conqueror in his glory, with all the holy angels. He will come with a shout, and the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God, to raise the dead, judge the world, banish sin, rejuvenate the earth, and cause “the desert to rejoice and blossom like the rose.” He shall come to overwhelm all his enemies and set up his universal and everlasting kingdom. He shall come to fulfill his word to his saints: they “shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye,” clad in immortality, and “caught up to meet the Lord in the air.” Oh, “that blessed hope!” How the heart glows and dilates under its inspirations! The tranquil joy of godly Simeon, who waited for the consolation of Israel, when he beheld the infant Jesus, was but a feeble earnest of the ecstasy of the saints when they behold again the “King in his beauty.” No wonder the dying thief exclaimed, “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom!” The whole invisible church is appropriately symbolized by those forms in the catacombs, painted with arms stretched upward, and exclaiming, “Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly!” “That blessed hope” is the abiding consolation and encouragement of the saints. Temporal troubles and spiritual conflicts may affect my soul—aye, all earthly hopes may take their flight—
“Yet still I have one comfort left,
Of which I never am bereft:
I shall behold my glorious Lord
When he comes to fulfill his word;
The King of kings my judge shall be,
I with the rest shall bow the knee;
I shall confess unto the name
Of Jesus—oh! the loving Lamb!”
And when the wicked from his face
And from his kingdom flee,
Among the trophies of his grace
He will remember me. Benediction be upon all those who “love his appearing,” and look for “that blessed hope.” Careless sinner, that blessed hope of the saints is your forlorn terror. His day of deliverance and glory will be your day of doom and everlasting shame. “Behold, he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him.” Hear ye, “The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven, with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.” O sinner, what will you do then?—E. P. Marvin, in the American Pulpit.