The Perpetual Presence
“This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest, and this is the refreshing’’’’ —
“ILo, E am fcoitfj gou nlbag, ciirit imto tfjc rntf of tljc iuorlti.”
—Matt, x.wiii. 20.
Cfje perpetual
HAT can give rest, if the presence of an Almighty Saviour cannot; — the habituallyfelt shade of the Heavenly Palm? Israel had but one Elim. Christ’s people have the Divine reality at each pausing place of the journey, till the last stage of all be reached; and then, only to be ushered, from the partial glimpses of faith, into the full vision and fruition of glory!
When Jesus spake the words of our motto-verse, sorrow was filling the hearts of His disciples at the thought of His departure, when the most sacred of friendships seemed about to be dissolved for ever. But by one glorious promise He turns their sadness into joy. ‘I go,’ He seems to say, ’ and yet I will never leave you. These heavens are about to receive Me: but though My personal presence be withdrawn; though this Risen body is soon to be screened from view behind the veiled glories of the Holiest of all, think not in reality 1 am gone — “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world!” ’
That farewell saying has lost none of its comfort. How delightful the contemplation! the assurance of the upholding arm of a personal, living, loving Saviour; susceptible of every human sympathy; bending over us with His pitying eye; entering with infinite tenderness into every earthly want and woe; drawing nigh in all the dark experiences of life, as He did to the disciples on their midnight sea, and whispering the calming words, “It is I” (or rather, “I am”), “be not afraid.” ‘I am the Living One; I am the Controlling One (yes, and to “as many as I love “); I am the rebuking One, and the chastening One! ‘Let us think of this, not as a cold abstraction, or beautiful phantasm, but as a glorious truth, a sublime and comforting verity. He is ever with us! Amid sacred musings over departed friends, when visions of the loved and lost come flitting before us like shadows on the wall, how often do we indulge the pleasing imagination of their still mingling with us in mysterious intercourse, their wings of light and smiles of gladness hovering over us: delighting to frequent with us hallowed haunts and reparticipate in hallowed joys. This may perchance be a fond illusion regarding others, but it is sublimely true regarding Jesus. When the gates of the morning are opened; swifter than the arrowy light, His footstep of love is at our threshold. When the gates of the evening revolve on their silent hinges, and day merges and melts into twilight, He is there! Amid the bustle of life, in “the loud stunning tide of human care,” He is there! By the lonely sickbed, when the glow of health has left our cheek, and the dim night-lamp casts its flickering gleam on our pillow. He is there! When the King of terrors has entered our dwellings; — when we are seated amid the awful stillness of the death-chamber, listening in vain for the music of cherished voices, hushed for the for ever of time, He is there! In all these diverse experiences, He draws near in touching tenderness, saying. “Lo, I am with you alway.” ‘/will come in the place of your loved ones. / will be nigh to cheer and comfort, to support and sustain you. / who once wept at a grave am here to weep with you. I will be at your side in all that trying future. I will make my grace sufficient for you, and my promises precious to you, and my love better than all earthly affection. The one is changeable; I am unchangeable — the one must perish; I am the strength of your heart and your portion for ever! ’
In the original, the word alway, in the parting promise, is expressive. It means “all the days” (all the appointed days). Our times are in the hands of Jesus, He counts not our years but our days; He promises to be with us eve/y day, to the last day of all. And when that last day comes. He withdraws not His Presence, but changes the scene of it, and says, “To-day shalt thou be with Ale in Paradise.”
“Oh, there is nothing in the world
To weigh against Thy will;
Even the dark times I dread the most,
Thy covenant fulfil:
And when the pleasant morning dawns
I find Thee with me still.
“There in the secret of my soul,
Though hosts my peace invade.
Though through a waste and dreary land
My lonely way be made,
Thou, even Thou, wilt comfort me,
I need not be afraid.”
“and the akk of the covenant of the lord went before them to search out a resting-place for them.”