Invitation of the Spirit and the Bride
And the Spirit and the bride say, Come; and let him that heareth say. Come; and let him that is athirst, come; and whosoever will, let himtake the water of life freely.
1 HE words of a dying man have usually something in them which powerfully awakens the attention and fixes itself deeply in the memory: it is not the intrinsic excellence of the words, which causes the peculiar impression; but the circumstances of their being the last. We have also a sorrowful pleasure in remembering them: whether it is that they recal to the mind that solemnity of feeling with which we heard them, or whether it is that we are led by them into a train of meditations on the shortness of life and the things of this world all hastening to their end, it is certainly observable, that those words of a friend are remembered with most interest, which were spoken last.
Hence there appears a more than common tenderness, in the parting address of our Lord to his disciples, and his prayer in their presence. It is this, also, that adds a most affecting solemnity to all the Book of Revelation, and especially to the last Chapter of it: for the declaration of our Lord Jesus Christ which is contained in it is not only deeply important, as proceeding from the invisible world, and warning us of our approaching entrance into it; but still more so, from being the last which is left on record for the instruction of mankind. Behold, he says a few verses before the iexi, I come quiclihj; and my reward is with me, to give ever?/ man according- as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beg inning and the end, the first ajid the last. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. IJesus have sent mine angel to testify unto yon these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright andpior7iing star. And the Spirit and the bride say. Come; and let him that heareth say. Come; and let him that is athirst, come; and whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
These words contain three thing.? — a decla-KATiox; an ixjunction; and an invitatiok:«
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I. A DECLARATION. Christ declares that he hears the Spirit and the bride say. Come.
For the explanation of these terms, Spirit and Bride, we may refer you to the ninth and tenth verses of the preceding Chapter; where it is said, There came unto me one of the seven angels and talked IV ith me, saying, Come hither:
I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife: and he carried me away in the spirit .... and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem. Under the emblem, therefore, of a Bride, as we see in the text, are represented all who are citizens of the Heavenly Jerusalem, whether they have entered in through the gates into the city, or are travelling along the narrow way which will lead them to it.
The near and intimate relation which subsists between a bride and her husband, is used by the Spirit of God to convey an idea of the union to and communion with Christ which believers enjoy — of the true love of Christ to his church, and of its dependence upon him. Once they were attached to the Law, expecting to be justified by their works: in this state, they brought forth no fruit unto God; but they are become dead to the Law by the body of Christ, that they should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that they should bring forth J nut unto God (Rom. vii. 4).
We should observe in these word.^, ‘.vhi’h are taken from the Epistles, that the same allusion is made to a Bride in the Song of Solomon and in the Forty- fifth Psalm.
The Spirit and the bride sail, Come.
By this we are to understand, either that the Holy Ghost calls on the Son of God to come to judgment; or else, that, by his influence in the hearts of his people, he awakens their inward powers to long for his Second Coming.
The latter inteipretation is confirmed by the Eighth Chapter to the Romans, ver. 26, where it is said, We kiioiv not ivhut we should pray for as ive ought; hut the Spirit itself maketh intercession in us, or speaks for us; and He, that searcheth the hearts, knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit: and here he declares what the Spirit is saying in the hearts of his people. An instance of this silent eloquence, unnoticed by men but acknowledged by God, may be observed in the Fourteenth Chapter of Exodus, verse 15: The Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? Moses had said nothing, but the voice of his heart was so loud and powerful, that it ascended to the distant heavens, and was heard at the throne of God. It is a language of the same sort that the Lord heareth from the bride; and the import of it, according to his declaration, is, that he would hasten his Second Coming.
1. Now as a bride desirep the comTng of the
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bridegroom, because her former bonds of union to her natural relations are dissolved, or at least weakened, and her affections are now transferred to her husband, from similar motives the people of God desire the coming- of the Lord. Once they were dear to the world, and the world to them: born with a natural attachment to it, they were confirmed in their love of, by increasing intimacy with it; the company of worldly people seemed indispensably necessary to their happiness; and the exclusion from their society as painful, as for one member of a family to be separated from its wonted intercourse with the rest. But, having now tasted that the Lord is gracious, their affections are transferred to Him: they have experienced the sweetness of diviner joys; and therefore the world can no more charm them as it once did: they survey its enjoyments with indifference; because those enjoyments are chiefly animal, and not suitable to that new and superior nature which they have received; and because they consider that if they were valuable in themselves, their duration is short: for the fashion of this world passeth away: it IS passing away — it is receding from our eyes, while we look at it — it is disengaging itself from our hold, while we grasp it. They not only disrelish and disregard the world, but they fear to enjoy it: they trust the x’Vpostle for drawinoup a faithful inventory of all that is in it — all that is in the icorld is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and t lie pride of life; for none of which they would endanger their souls. She is the Mystic Babylon that makes the nations of the earth drunk with the wine of her fornication, and therefore they tremble so much as to taste the intoxicating draught.
From scenes so transient and enjoyments so dangerous, they have turned, by the power of God, to seek their happiness in the Saviour: they prefer to live and dwell with Christ; because he is a better friend than the world, or any friend in it. They now say with the Apostle, to me to live is Christ (Phil. i. 21): all that which other men call life, their business and pleasures, their hoyes and fears, joys and sorrows, the motives which excite and the maxims which direct them, are all centered in Christ: therefore, having nothing to engage them, to die is gain.
Hence the Saints long for the appearing of the Lord, because they love him and not the things of the world; as the bride desires the coming of the bridegroom, because her affections are transferred from all others to him.
2. The coming of the bridegroom is looked forward to as the beginning of that happiness iWlTATION 01- THE SPIRIT & THE BRIDE. 191
to the bride for which she has been preparing: so the appearing- of the Lord Jesus is ardently expected by the saints, in proportion to their heaverdy-mindedness, as the era of their deliverance from misery and the commencement of their perfect enjoyment.
In this life they are subject, not only to the common calamities incident to men, but to many, more grievous, which happen to them as Christians. They enter into the kingdom through much tribulation. They must bear with long-continued persecution, in patience possessing their souls. The fiery darts of Satan often pierce deeply into their spirits; and the deceitfulness of their hearts is often leading them to the verge of ruin. Moreover, the perverse opposition of the will to that which is good, or the deadness with which they prosecute that work to which they have no opposition, makes them often long for the termination of their warfare, of their danger, of their sin.
Their happiness will then be complete; they will have risen triumphant over the grave; the body purified from disease, and the soul from sin — their own will, and that of all that are saved, swallowed up in the divine will — the mysteries of Providence cleared up — and the wonders of grace displayed in full — no occasion left for sighing at the wickedness of others — but men again endued with the temper of a creature, and God universally glorified: above all, they will be near Him whom their soul loveth, and sit down to he for ever with the Lord.
Is it a wonder, then, that the saints should long for the restitution of all things? — that they should be looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God? (2 Pet. iii. 12). Nay, that they should be sometimes even saying, Why is his chariot so lottg in coming? why tarry the w’heels of his chariot?
The Spirit and the bride say, Come. Such, you will see is the language of the Spirit and the bride, by collecting into one prayer a few of the scattered petitions of the Saints; — Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! (Ps. xiv. 7)- My soul panteth after theSy O God! When shall I come and appear before God? (Ps. xlii. 1, 2). And I said. Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then, would I fly away, and he at rest; lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest (Ps. Iv. 6 — 8). Oh send out thy light and thy truth f let them lead me: let them bring me unto thy holy hill and to thy tabernacles (Ps. xliii. 3). As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall he satis-INVITATION OF THE SPriilT <Sc THE BRIDE. 19*>
fied when 1 awake with thy likeness (Ps. xvii. 15). They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures: for with thee is the fountain of life (Ps. xxxvi. 8, 9). Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy (Ps. xvi. 11).
Such is the lanyiiage of the Samts, expressing an ardour, which to the world is unaccountable; and appears to most professing Christians so exalted, that they do not even attempt to attain to it.
II. Let us attend, therefore, in the next place, to the authoritative INJUNCTION of our Lord. Let him that heareth say. Come. Let him, to whom the Gospel is preached, unite with the Spirit and the Bride in their supplication, and say, Come.
But can men, in general, pray for the dissolution of the world when the fibres of their hearts are so closely wound round it? Can they desire a new heaven and a new earth, wherein diveUeth righteousness, when they love the old earth so well, though there dwelleth unrighteousness? Can they serenely wait for the Judgment to be set, when their conscience even now anticipates their condemnation; or for the Books to be opened, where there is no hope o that their name is written in the Book of Life? Can the voice of Christ be desirable to them, Avhenthey know too well that he will only open his mouth to say unto them, Depart from me?
No: we must confess it to be impossible for men to pray for his advent, who are unprepared to receive him. Nevertheless the command is irrevocable. It must, therefore, admit of this interpretation — ‘* Let him that heareth learn to desire my coming.”
But how shall a polluted sinner be fit to be a bride for the Lamb? He possesses indeed a certain sort of righteousness, but he finds it is said concerning it, that all our righteousnesses are asjilthy rags — making him more loathsome than if he were naked; or, to speak plainly, the sinner is guilty and corrupted. But, for the removal of his guilt and his restoration to the favour of God, there is a righteousness provided for him — something for which God will accept him; pardoning his sins, and dealing with him as a righteous person, subject to no condemnation — and that is, the righteousness wrought out by Chiist’s perfect fulfilment of the Law in our stead.
This righteousness is often compared to a garment — to signify that it is no more a part of any thing in ourselves than a garment is any part of the body; but that, as a garment hides all the defects of the body which it covers, so the righteousness of Christ veils all our past sins from the eye of God, in such a sense that we need fear no condemnation on account of them. Thus St. John saw a company of the Blessed clothed in white linen; which was explained to mean the righteousness of the saints. Again, it is said, the righteousness of God without the law is 7nanifested ....ivhich is by faith of Jesus Christ, unto all and upon all them that believe (Rom. iii. 21, 22): unto all as a gift, and upon all as a garment. And the ancient Prophet had such a clear understanding of the nature of this righteousness as covering our unrighteousness, that he rejoices in the view of it — I will greatly rejoice in the Lord: my soul shall be joyful in my God :for he hath clothed me tvith the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of 7’ighteousness; as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, mid as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels (Is.lxi. 10).
The first &tep, then, toward the requisite preparation is, for us sinners to be invested with the robe of righteousness by faith, that is, by simply accepting Christ as of God, made unto us wisdom and righteousness. This is the wedding garment, necessary for those who shall be admitted to the marriage supper of the Lamb, o 2
The consequence of being without the wedding garment is evident from the parable: When the King came in to see the guests he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: and he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither, not having a wedding garment! And he was speechless. Then said the King to the servants, JBind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness: there shall he weeping and gnashing of ^ee^A(Mat. xxii. 11 — 13). The King did not require that they should come to his house furnished with a garment, for then he would not have sent out to gather them from the highways: but, surely, when the King had himself provided a wardrobe, what less could they do than make themselves fit for his presence? So they, who would not be ashamed before the Lord at his coming, must apply for his Spirit to cleanse them from all their impurity: for we may be sure that we shall never carry into heaven any thing that defileth.
These things are necessary to prepare us for the coming of the Lord: but that awful event cannot be the object of our desire, till we have received the full assurance of hope; the gift indeed of the Spirit, which is to be obtained by us in the way of diligence according to the exhortation of the Apostle — We desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence, to the jull assurmice of hope unto the end (Heh. vi. II). Let us also be permitted to remind our dear brethren in the Lord, that, without a spirit of watchfuhiess and prayer, by which we may grow in indifference to the world and in daily enjoyment of Christ’s presence, we cannot with unreserved affection unite in the supplication of the bride.
This, then, is the injunction of the Lord — “Let him that heareth say. Come. Let him learn that he is wretched, and miserable, and poor, and Mind, and naked, and let him come unto me as of God made unto him wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctijication, and redemption. Let him buy of me white raiment, that he may be clothed, and t/mt the shame of his tiakedness may not appear. Let him ask of me the influences of my Spirit to renew him, and be the subject of that Spirit’s never-ceasing operations. Let him not be contented to go on in uncertainty, whether heaven or hell await him; but let him plead with me for the witness of the Spirit, which is a privilege that I have promised, and which he therefore ought neither to neglect to ask for, nor hesitate to receive. And, finally, let him so live in the contemplation of my glory, and labour to maintain such inwatd enjoyment of my presence, as to be excited by the foretaste to long- for the consummation of it.”
Such is the positive injunction of our Lord Jesus Christ, to every one that heareth — an injunction, with which we are in general so far from being able to comply, that we need every encouragement to induce us to attempt it.
III. He therefore adds, A gracious INVITA-TION: Let him that is athirst, come; and whosoever tvill, let him take the tenter of life freely.
By the water of life is signified a. glorious immortality. As in the Garden of Eden, the Tree of Life was a sign or pledge of happiness to Adam, if he had continued in innocency; so the water of life, flowing through the paradise in heaven, is an emblem of that eternal glory which Christ, the Second Adam, has secured for all who believe. This seems to be the meaning of the figure, as used in the Revelation. In other parts of Scripture it may represent more directly those gracious influences of the Spirit, which prepare us for glory, and are a foretaste of it; as in the Seventh Chapter of St. John, ver. 39, the living water is thus interpreted — this spake he of the Spirit. In whichever sense it be taken, it is indifterent, for Grace and Glory mean the same in kind.
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It is manifest that whatever can be conceived necessary to carry on and consummate the happiness of man, beginning with pardon and ending with giory, must be looked for amidst the streams of the water of life. Is he a sinner who must for ever remain a stranger to peace except pardon be offered? — then the Lord offers pardon, when he offers the water of life; for, without pardon, no promise, no assurance, can give him life. Is his heart polluted, and are his efforts to obtain deliverance feeble and unsuccessful? — then the w aters of life shall flow, in purifying streams, through his heart; imparting, as they go, a vigour which the world, and the flesh, and the devil can never withstand. Is he a spirit immaterial, incapable of real enjoyment from earthly substances? — then the water of life, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb, is to be taken as the emblem of God the Spirit, who proceedeth from the Father and the Son, and carries life and enjoyment to our spirit, by giving us the knowledge of God and Christ: for this is life eternal, to know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ tvhom thou hast sent (John xvii. 3). Is man an immortal spirit? — then once more we have recourse to the water, and remark that it is the water of life: the happiness of the soul which drinks it, shall know neither intermission nor end; for new waters are incessantly poured forth from the fountain, and in one unbroken stream roll on for ever and ever.
But to whom is the Invitation made? To him that is athirst — L,et him that is athirst, come. So also he spake by his Prophet — Ho / eve?^ one that thitsteih come ye to the waters (Is.lv. 1): a parched traveller, it might be supposed, would very well be satisfied at finding no condition required of him but that thirst, which the waters are calculated to quench; yet, because we have an evil heart of unbelief, which would persuade us that we neither hunger nor thirst after righteousness, therefore it is added by our Lord, Whosoever will, let him take the water of life: surely there is no one, who is at all anxious for his salvation, who can assert that he is not WILLING to have the water of life; but if he be only wi LLi N G, he may come and receive it: yea, whosoever he be that willeth, though his repentance bear no more proportion to his sins than one tear to the ocean, and though his faith be only as a grain of mustard seed — though his conscience be blackened with aggravated guilt, and his heart be foul w ith inveterate pollution — he may come. Lastly, when the trembling petitioner is drawing near the fountain, and about to ask the price at which the water is dispensed, he is answered -’Take the irafrrof’ fife f reefy.
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—Behold, it lies open to all! Do you take it freely; and whosoever will, let him take it freely: it was dearly purchased, but the price is paid: now, therefore, it cannot be bought by you; or if you will buy it, it must be without money and without price — He that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat: yea, come buy wine and milk, without money and without price.’’
Let these things suffice for the eludication of the three several parts of the text.
We must add, in CONCLUSION, an observation or two on each of them.
1. On the first, which is Christ’s declaration of the desire of his bride for him to come to judgment, let us remember that he will hear her speedily.
Let us recollect, as often as the years come to their close, that we are one year nearer to that day; and that as surely as we have reached the end of one year, we shall also witness the end of time. Behold, he cometh with clouds, and every eye sJmll see him (Rev. i. 7). The Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him (Matt. xxv.31). Then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory (Matt. xxiv. :30 Behold, I come quickly „..Re, tvhich teslifieth these tilings, sailh, Surely I come quickly (Rev. xxii. 7, 12, 20). Beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day (2 Pet. iii. 8). But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be: for as in the days that were before the flood, they were eati?ig and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark and knew not till the flood came and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be (Matt. xxiv. 37 — 39). It will therefore be glorious — certain — sudden. Then the kings qfthe earth, and thegreatmeti, and the richQnen,a7id the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bond-man, and every free-man, will hide themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the ^nouniains; and say to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of his wrath is come (Rev. vi. 15 — 17). Let all who are unprepared believe these things and awake. You are swiftly, though silently, floating down the stream of time. The years are passing away, and you have as yet done nothing. If time waited for you, and death would delay his approach till you were prepared for him, you would have something to justify yoiirnegligence; but neither time nor death will wait, till your half-formed purposes of amendment are completed. Think now, at the end of the year, to what little purpose you have lived hitherto, and bless God that he hath spared you so long. If it please him that you should enter upon another year, be prepared to begin it with new purposes and new views, that you may be able to say, at the beginning of such a year, / thought on my ivcn/Sy arid turned my feet unto thy testimonies: I made haste, and delayed not to keejj thy commandments (Ps. cxix. 59, 60).
2. From the consideration of the injunction of our Lord, that all, and especially his people, should not only be looking for, but hasting to his coming, let us reason with our unbelieving hearts, and rouse them to ardour, that we may really long for his appearance.
Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? said Christ to Peter: so might he say, “Thou, that scarcely ever thinkest with delight on the great day when I shall call thee to my presence, art thou sure that thou lovest me?” Let us look into our hearts. Is it the fear of death, that throws a shade over our brightening prospects? Do the waters of Jordan, through which we must pass to the promised land, chill our ardour? Thanks he to God, which giveth us the victory ihrouiih our Lord Jtsus Christ; lo hath himself risen, the pledge and pattern of the resurrection of Christians. Is there a doubt about our acceptance? theli let us confirm our hopes by presentinii* to our minds the perfect freeness and the unbounded fulness of the promises, God’s faithfulness in his word, and Clu’ist’s unchang:eableness. Is a want of preparation urged by you as a reason for being unable to lona: tor his comine;? remember, that thouofh indeed none are in themselves meet for the inheritance, yet in Christ your right to it is as certain now as it ever can be. Let us then be stirred up to be more alive io the certainty of these eternal realities — to leave the world behind us — to tread as on the verge of eternity; waiting for the happy moment that shall bring us into the presence of our Saviour and Lord.
3. Lastly, in reference to the invitation, let us once more turn to the careless, and ask, How long will ye harden your hearts? Will ye still be deaf alike to hear, whether God calls to you out of the whirlwind, or speaks to you in the softer breath of mercy? Has God thundered, and will you not take warning? or shall the Saviour invite, and you will not hearken? The approach to the tree of life was guarded by the sword oi the flaming Cherubim; but to the water of life Christ himself stands ready
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to conduct you — but, die without Him, and you are excluded for ever. VVliat may be your determination, it is not for me to predict; but whether ye will hear or whether ye will forbear, say not now, say not at the Last Day, that you might not have received the water of life freely. I pray God to prepare your hearts by his grace, that, with the residue of Christ’s people, you may be able to say, when he proclaims his coming, Amen! even so, come Lord Jesus!