If an earthly sovereign were coming, and we were to meet him and be ushered into his presence, we should make a careful preparation. In like manner there is a preparation needed to meet the King of heaven. In view of this time the exhortation is given through the seer of Patmos: “Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.” Rev. 3: 3.
“The fashion of this world passeth away.” 1 Cor. 7: 31. In these words the inspired apostle expresses the transitory, fleeting character of earthly things. One writer tells us that “the literal translation of the word rendered ‘fashion’ is the shifting of the scenes in the playhouse, as one scenic representation succeeds another in rapid succession.”
“All the world's a stage,\nThe men and women merely players;\nThey have their exits and their entrances.”
The scenes of life shift in quick and rapid succession. All that we see around us is but a spectacle which will soon give place to scenes of a far different character.
About us everywhere are faces that have been swept with the lights and shadows of fifty years or more. Ask him on whose head the whitening snows of threescore years and ten have fallen, if he can recall any changes in life's drama. Ask him if his experience bears testimony to the truthfulness of the words, “The fashion of this world passeth away.” Bring down from the tomb him who went down beneath the icy hand of death a century ago, and ask him if he sees any changes since he fell asleep. He would perhaps fail to recognize the place of his birth.
THE HOUR OF HIS JUDGMENT IS COME
Everything earthly shows the mold of decay. Nations pass away. Sand engulfs the monuments of the proud and mighty Pharaohs. There are deserts now where gardens of flowers once bloomed. Babylon has passed away, though once the proud mistress of the ancient world. Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome have also gone down under the triturations of time. Nineveh, that great city that Jonah warned, is dug from her grave by the spade of the explorer.
Another has truly said:—
“A mysterious curse, created by sin; not part and parcel of the original creation, wastes down and wears out all the workmanship of man's hands; and time rushes along a resistless stream; and floating down its bosom, like driftwood, are palaces and hovels, are sceptres and scythes and crowns; and every voice we hear, and every scene we witness, only authenticates and impresses the solemn aphorism, ‘The fashion of this world passeth away.’”
Wealth, which the avaricious heart of man covets, takes wings and vanishes. Costly palaces crumble into ruins. Rulers and statesmen, on whose word the destiny of a nation may have hung, die and are soon forgotten. Nothing endures. Soon everything will be wrapped in the consuming fire of that day when the earth will melt with fervent heat, and everything in it be burned up.
A Better Day
But there is a brighter day beyond, when sin shall be no more, when the very springs of sorrow shall be dried up, when the curse and all that goes with it shall cease to be.
“I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away.” Rev. 21: 1-4.
It is not wealth, position in society, or a profession, that will enable us to stand when the Son of man appears. It is a clean heart. It is those who walk uprightly, and work righteousness, and speak the truth in their hearts who will ascend the hill of the Lord. The sweetest words that can ever fall on human ears will be the welcome of the Saviour when he says to the redeemed throng on his right hand, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Matt. 25: 34. The saddest word will be, “Depart.”
The Saviour is still our mediator. He still bids us come to him and be forgiven of all sin, to wash in the blood from Calvary and be clean. He will give to us freely that perfection of character which will enable us to stand before him in peace, clothed in his righteousness. In that glad day, some will say: “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us; this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” Isa. 25: 9. Reader, you can be among this number.
