Union And Communion Part 8

How long this happy service continues, and how soon it is to be terminated, we cannot tell; He who calls His servants to dwell in the gardens, and cultivate them for Him--as Adam of old was placed in the paradise of G.o.d--alone knows the limit of this service. Sooner or later the rest will come, the burden and heat of the last day will have been borne, the last conflict will be over, and the voice of the Bridegroom will be heard addressing His loved one:--

Thou that dwellest in the gardens, The companions hearken to thy voice: Cause Me to hear it.

Thy service among the companions is finished; thou hast fought the good fight, thou hast kept the faith, thou hast finished thy course; henceforth there is laid up for thee the crown of righteousness, and the Bridegroom Himself shall be thine exceeding great reward!

Well may the bride let Him hear her voice, and, springing forth in heart to meet Him, cry:--

Make haste, my Beloved, And be Thou like to a roe or to a young hart Upon the mountains of spices!

She no longer asks Him, as in the second section:--

Turn, my Beloved, and be Thou like a roe or a young hart Upon the mountains of Bether [separation].

She has never again wished Him to turn away from her, for there are no mountains of Bether to those who are abiding in CHRIST; now there are mountains of spices. He who inhabits the praises of Israel, which rise, like the incense of spices, from His people's hearts, is invited by His bride to make haste, to come quickly, and be like a roe or young hart upon the mountains of spices.

Very sweet is the presence of our LORD, as by His SPIRIT He dwells among His people, while they serve Him below; but here there are many thorns in every path, which call for watchful care; and it is meet that now we should suffer with our LORD, in order that we may hereafter be glorified together. The day, however, is soon coming in which He will bring us up out of the earthly gardens and a.s.sociations to the palace of the great KING. There His people "shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the LAMB, which is in the midst of the throne, shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and G.o.d shall wipe away all tears from their eyes."

The SPIRIT and the bride say, Come! . . .

Surely I come quickly.

Amen; even so, come, LORD JESUS!

APPENDIX

THE DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM

THE question is frequently asked, Who are represented by the daughters of Jerusalem?

They are clearly not the bride, yet they are not far removed from her.

They know where the Bridegroom makes His flock to rest at noon; they are charged by the Bridegroom not to stir up nor awaken His love when she rests, abiding in Him; they draw attention to the Bridegroom as with dignity and pomp He comes up from the wilderness; their love-gifts adorn His chariot of state; they are appealed to by the bride for help in finding her Beloved, and, stirred by her impa.s.sioned description of His beauty, they desire to seek Him with her; they describe very fully the beauty of the bride, but, on the other hand, we never find them occupied with the _person_ of the Bridegroom; _He_ is not all in all to them; they mind outward and earthly things.

Do they not represent those who, if not actually saved, are very near it; or, if saved, are only half-saved? who are for the present more concerned about the things of this world than the things of G.o.d? To advance their own interests, to secure their own comfort, concerns them more than to be in all things pleasing to the LORD. They _may_ form part of that great company spoken of in Rev. vii. 9-17, who come out of the great tribulation, but they will not form part of the 144,000, "the first-fruits unto G.o.d and to the LAMB" (Rev. xiv. 1-5). They have forgotten the warning of our LORD in Luke xxi. 34-36; and hence they are not "accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pa.s.s, and to stand before the SON of Man." They have not, with Paul, counted "all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of CHRIST JESUS the Lord," and hence they do _not_ "attain unto" _that_ resurrection from among the dead, which Paul felt he might miss, but aimed to attain unto.

We wish to place on record our solemn conviction that not all who are Christians, or think themselves to be such, will attain to that resurrection of which St. Paul speaks in Phil. iii. 11, or will thus meet the LORD in the air. Unto those who by lives of consecration manifest that they are not of the world, but are looking for Him, "He will appear without sin unto salvation."