THE WATCHFUL CHRISTIAN.
By Horatius Bonar
"And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh."—Luke 21: 28. - THE saints of ancient times were marked by this characteristic, that they looked for and hasted unto the coming of the day of God. I fear such a characteristic would not apply to us. There are multitudes calling themselves Christians—and it may be true Christians—who are not looking for and hasting unto the day of God.
It would be well, when reading the newspapers in the morning, if we were to interpret all things in their bearing on the approach of Christ. 1. Redemption. Redemption here means deliverance, which the church expects, which the Lord has purchased for her; deliverance which he is to bring when he comes the second time, without sin unto salvation. He has paid the purchase money for the final glory of his church, but she has not yet entered into that glory; the inheritance is still reserved in heaven. 2. The approach. It is something that comes nearer and nearer. You will say, This is a commonplace truth; why tell us that? But we forget its approach, and we need to be reminded of it. By our conduct we seem to imply that we are no nearer the kingdom, the glory, the resurrection, than we were 1800 years ago. Men may put it away from them as it were so far distant that it is not worth speaking about as an approach; but the Lord speaks of it as drawing nigh. 3. The signs of its approach. There are different kinds of signs—physical, material, and spiritual or immaterial. Earthly signs, heavenly signs; signs connected with man, with Christ, his church, his gospel, with evil, with good, with war, with peace; wars in the earth, and in the church itself error abounding; Satan making his most desperate efforts to turn this book upside down; the prince of darkness let loose against God, the cross, the Son of God, the gospel, the Bible. Are not all these signs? do they mean nothing? It is easy to mourn over the evils we hear of all around, but is a Christian man to stop there? Do they not tell that things are coming to a crisis? And is not the termination the coming of Christ himself? He comes to deal with man at the hight of his wickedness, and wickedness is ripening fast. 4. Our duty to mark these signs. Lift up your head as a conqueror when the battle is won—as a laboring man when his day's work is done, and he is going home to rest—as men who are now at the termination of all their struggles, and conflicts, and tribulations. It is a time of joy, not dolefulness; of singing, not of sighing. The Lord meant to counteract an injurious effect his words might produce, viz., despondency. Having predicted wars and rumors of wars and troubles, they might begin to despair, and to think, How shall we stand in the midst of all this tribulation and darkness? The Lord says, just at this very time, when matters are coming to the worst, though clouds and darkness are around you, you are on the edge of the very brightest day that ever dawned upon the earth! Mark the expression, "When they begin to come to pass, lift up your heads." And even though it may be said, "These are not the signs of his coming," yet they are beginnings of them, and the beginnings of them are to make us lift up our heads. 5. The joy that should fill us when we behold these signs. It is not merely a matter of duty, of obedience to a command, but of joy to ourselves. Surely these are words of gladness. And what are we to rejoice for? Our redemption draweth nigh; we are now going to enter into the full consummation of the promised joy. As we see these things we say, We are almost home, almost within the New Jerusalem, almost at the meeting with Christ, almost at the resurrection, almost getting hold of the things within the veil! This is no visionary joy; not the joy of fanaticism, of enthusiasm, but the joy of faith, the joy of hope, of God, of Christ. It is in his joy we are to be glad. And if the bride is rejoicing at the prospect of meeting the Bridegroom to-morrow, is not the Bridegroom rejoicing much more? There is joy on his side no less than on hers, and it is into his joy that we are to enter. We lift up our heads as we see the Bridegroom looking down upon us.—H. Bonar.