Our Lord prayed for his people, “not that they should be taken out of the
world, but that they should be kept from the evil;” and we are never to
expect to find them externally separate from the surrounding world. They
will not be gathered together in separate states and villages; there will
not be one village of unbelievers and another of believers; but there
will be some of both classes every where. The tares will grow with the
wheat, and the wheat with the tares. This appears very plainly from the
prophecy of our Lord already referred to; “I tell you, In that night
there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other
shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be
taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall
be taken, and the other left;” Luke, xvii. 34–36. This passage describes
the separation of God’s children from the world, or the gathering in of
God’s elect; and the point which at present we would particularly observe
is this, that up to the very crisis they are together in society, in the
same bed, the same shop, the same field; there is no visible separation,
no drawing off from the duties of common life; all are together to the
very night of the advent.
II. And we may remark, secondly, that the saints of God will not be
_distinguished by any ecclesiastical system_.
There is a natural craving in the human mind for something tangible and
visible. Hence the origin of idolatry; men want to see the object of
their worship, and so create for themselves an image. Hence also the
craving after that which God has declared impossible, a visible church
free from error; an outward form inseparable from inward grace; a pure,
holy, spotless framework, which, excluding all others, shall embrace in
its system the whole of God’s elect. But this second fiction is quite as
impossible as the first, and there is no more expectation of seeing God’s
elect embodied in a form than of seeing God himself represented in an
image. {51} God’s children are a scattered family; scattered not merely
as to place but as to discipline. In saying this we do not undervalue a
Scriptural discipline, or regard episcopacy as a thing which may be set
aside at pleasure: as we find it in the bible we give thanks also that we
find it in our church. But what we mean is this, that God’s grace is not
tied down to ecclesiastical machinery; that a true church cannot command
it, a defective church cannot exclude it. None can bind the life-giving
power of the Spirit.
Thus all the descriptions of the saints of God in the latter days
describe them not by outward form, but by inward grace; the
distinguishing features are always spiritual, never ecclesiastical; they
refer to character, not discipline. For example: “Hear the word of the
Lord, ye that tremble at his word; Your brethren that hated you, that
cast you out for my name’s sake, said, Let the Lord be glorified: but he
shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed;” Isaiah, lxvi. 5.
There can be no doubt as to the date of this prophecy; it plainly carries
us right up to the advent. “He shall appear to your joy.” Nor can there
be any doubt again as to the persons addressed in it; they are the
blessed company of the saved in distinction to the miserable multitude of
the lost. “He shall appear to your joy.” And now how are they
described? He does not say “Hear ye the word of the Lord, ye that are
correct in your ecclesiastical arrangements; ye whose ministers are
possessed of Apostolical succession;” nor “ye that are in communion with
the Pope of Rome;” but “ye that tremble at his word.” Whoever therefore
receives in faith the promises of the bible; whoever is brought by God’s
Spirit blessing those promises to believe on Jesus, whoever he be, and
wherever he be, whether he be churchman, dissenter, or even Romanist,
that man is safe, and the Lord Jesus “shall appear for his joy.” {53}
It is just the same in the book of Revelation. In that remarkable
prophecy we have repeated mention of the saints in direct contrast with
the apostacy of the latter days: we have in several passages their
portrait clearly drawn, as if to leave no doubt as to their character
when that last peril should gather around the faith. Now this
description is always of a spiritual character. The seed of the woman
are those “which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of
Jesus Christ;” xii. 17. “Here is the patience of the saints; here are
they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus;” xiv. 12.
“These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them:
for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him
are called, and chosen, and faithful;” xvii. 14. In all these passages
there is not one word of outward form, they refer exclusively to inward
life.
But still more. A corrupt church _cannot exclude divine grace_; for we
have in this book a full description of the great apostacy which is to
swallow up all other heresies in the latter days. In chap. xvii. and
xviii. it is described under the name of “Babylon.” There is, we know, a
difference of opinion as to the application of this prophecy. It may be
an open question whether or not it applies to Rome. But on one thing all
are agreed—that it is a description of a tremendous ecclesiastical
apostacy which will be destroyed at the advent of the Lord. Now chapter
xviii, gives a description of its fall,—a fall predicted in immediate
connexion with the advent: “And he cried mightily with a strong voice,
saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the
habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of
every unclean and hateful bird;” _v._ 2. And the remarkable point is
this, that even in Babylon, just at the period of her fall, there shall
be found scattered a little band of the chosen saints of God; for what
saith the angels cry? “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not
partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues;” _v._ 4.
Even there, and even then, will be some of the chosen people of the Lord.
But, on the other hand, a _pure church cannot secure divine grace_. A
Scriptural liturgy, and Scriptural articles, cannot secure a Scriptural
people. There will be weeds in the garden, as well as flowers in the
waste. This appears very plainly from the parable of the virgins. There
can be no doubt of the reference of this parable to the visible church
before the advent. It is a description of those who professed to be
waiting for the bridegroom. Now we see in the ten virgins a perfect
oneness of ecclesiastical form. There was no visible difference between
the foolish and the wise. They were watching together; they professed
allegiance to the same bridegroom; they had the same vessels, and the
same lamps; the passer by could have seen no difference: the distinction
was within, not without; and because the oil was wanting to the foolish,
the bridegroom said, “I never knew you.”
We are brought therefore to the conclusion that the saints of God will
not be distinguished by ecclesiastical system. There will be nothing in
them which the world can see, except it be the fruit of the Spirit.
There will be no outward form, which can stamp them certainly as the
elect of God. They will be knit to Christ by a living union, but the tie
will be invisible. They will have the Father’s name written on the
forehead, but no mortal eye can discern the character. They will be
sealed by the seal of the Spirit, but there will be nothing external to
enable man to pronounce with certainty upon their safety.
And how solemn are the thoughts involved in this sacred truth! We have
already found that there will be no distinction in society, that in the
same family, in the same trade, in the same shop, nay even in the same
bed, one shall be taken and the other left. But this carries us farther
still, and shows that there will be the same separation even in the same
church. Two persons will come together to the same building, join in the
same outward worship, make use of the same liturgy, sing the same
praises, hear the same chapters, listen to and perhaps approve the same
sermons, and kneel side by side at the same communion. Man will discern
no outward difference. And so Christ will find them at his coming. They
will “both grow together until the harvest.” Then and not till then will
God separate his children. Then will it appear that the one has been a
follower of the Lamb, the other of the world; the one born again of God,
the other unregenerate; the one justified, the other damned; and all
because the one was a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, the other had
the form of godliness, but rested there, and was without its power.
* * * * *
III. They will stand out _as witnesses for Christ_ in the midst of
general declension. The ship at anchor will remain unmoved while all
around it are drifted down the tide: and this is the position in which
Christ will find his chosen people: they will hold fast anchored in
Christ, while all around them are drifted off from God. We have already
called your attention to the great apostacy foretold within the visible
church, and we have only now to remark its widespread influence and
effect. This is described by our Lord: “And many false prophets shall
arise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the
love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the
same shall be saved;” Matthew, xxiv. 11–13. These words foretell a
period of abounding error, abounding sin, and abounding departure from
the Lord: abounding error; “And many false prophets shall arise, and
shall deceive many:” abounding sin; “because iniquity shall abound:” and
abounding departure from the Lord; “the love of many shall wax cold.”
The chill shall reach even those whose hearts once seemed warm. Nor
shall any stand but the heirs of God’s salvation. “He that shall endure
unto the end the same shall be saved.” All mere professors are here
described as fallen; all mere hereditary Christians fallen; all
Christians by expediency fallen; all who have rested in ecclesiastical,
architectural, and ornamental Christianity fallen; all those who have had
the form without the power—fallen; all fallen but the little band of
those faithful men whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
They will then stand out as the rock, when the storm has washed away the
sand that covered it; unshaken, immovable, and only made conspicuous by
the tempest. Or as the evergreen; still verdant, still beautiful, when
the winter’s frost has stripped the neighbouring plants whose short-lived
beauty seemed far more brilliant under the summer’s sun; so will they
abide in the winter time of the church’s history; their life untouched,
for it consists in a union with their Lord; their beauty undiminished,
for it is His unfading likeness impressed by the Holy Ghost upon their
heart.
* * * * *
IV. A fourth remark follows at once from this position of the saints as
witnesses in the midst of general declension, _viz._ this: they will be
_unsupported by the arm of flesh_. When all except the true saints have
declined from the faith, it stands to reason that those saints will be
left unsupported by the world’s influence. This appears also very
plainly from our Lord’s prophecy: “Then shall they deliver you up to be
afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for
my name’s sake;” Matthew, xxiv. 9. Political influence will then be
against the truth. “Ye shall be hated of all _nations_.” There will be
a national opposition to true godliness, as there ought to be a national
support of it. We must be prepared therefore to see all national and
political influence thrown boldly into the scale of error: we shall be
taught by the sins of those in power not to lean on the arm of flesh, to
cease from man, to rest simply upon Christ and Christ alone. Then God’s
redeemed will find no help from statesmen, but draw all their help from
Christ. They will be forced to cleave to those precious promises, “I am
with you always even unto the end of the world;” “The gates of hell shall
not prevail against you;” “Fear not, little flock, it is your Father’s
good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Their union with him will be
every day more and more precious; their thirsting after him more and more
intense; his word, his grace, his presence, his love, will be the
strength of their hope, the subject of their discourse, the one source of
their joy; and, forsaken by all other, they will cleave only unto him
till the blessed day when as the King of kings he shall come forth for
their joy and glory.
* * * * *
V. And this leads us to a fifth and last feature in the description of
the saints. They will be _waiting and watching for the coming of the
Lord_.
It is sometimes thought enthusiastic to be speaking much of the second
coming of the Lord. Unfulfilled prophecy is thought difficult, and it is
better, say many, to dwell exclusively upon the more certain narratives
of the past. But not so the Scriptures. They describe believers as
waiting, watching, and ardently expecting the blessed period of their
Saviour’s glory. For example, in 1 Thess. v. 4, expectation of the
advent is the distinguishing characteristic of the people of God: “But ye
brethren are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a
thief.” To the world at large it should come as a thief in the night; it
would find them unexpecting, unprepared; but not so to the saints. They
would be on the look out; the world’s night would be their day; the
world’s darkness their light; the world might see nothing, but they would
see Christ. “Ye brethren are not in darkness, that that day should
overtake _you_ as a thief.”
And it is very important in this respect to observe the contrast between
the children of God and the surrounding world. With reference to the
advent apathy, we have already seen, is to be the leading feature of
society. Men will be unconscious and regardless of its approach. But
with reference to the world’s progress, even they shall be alarmed. They
will be aroused, but not by the hope of Jesus. For look at the
description: “Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after
those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven
shall be shaken;” Luke, xxi. 26. These words describe an undefined sense
of something coming; a general expectation of some approaching crisis; a
feeling of wonder as to what will happen next; a breaking up of former
confidence, and a fearful looking after those things which are coming on
the earth. Such will be the mind of those who look at things on merely
worldly grounds. But now observe the contrasted character of the
children of God. “When these things begin to come to pass, then look up,
and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh;” _v._ 28. Like
the men of the world, they look for an approaching crisis, but as men of
faith they look beyond it. Like the world they observe the gathering
storm; but as believers they fix their eye on Him who governs it. They
will study history with their bibles in their hands; they will see in
each passing change fresh landmarks, fresh signs of their Lord’s
approach. In the sound of war and the advance of error they will hear as
it were the distant footsteps of their coming Lord. Prophecies will
become clearer and clearer to their view, the book being unsealed
according to the words of Daniel, because “the time of the end” is come.
Facts will become interpreters, and difficulties be cleared up by the
fulfilment of the prophecies; the signs of the advent will become
intelligible in history; so that when He comes he will find his servants
watching; looking up and lifting up their heads; waiting patiently, yet
longing ardently; and ready to welcome their reigning King with the words
long since provided for them by the Prophet. “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.”
Believers! ye must be found thus waiting, thus watching. Time is
hurrying on; but the men of this world still sleep in apathy. The voice
of the watchman fails in rousing them; the signs of the times are
neglected and despised by them. But it must not be so with the saints of
God. Ye must be listening for his coming footstep; watching and keeping
your garments in the midst of seducing error and abounding sin. As the
chosen of God, ye must be standing forth for truth; as witnesses for
Christ, ye must exalt the sovereignty of the word and of the Lamb; as
citizens of the New Jerusalem, ye must be strangers and pilgrims upon
earth. Oh! may God grant us all grace that we may be found faithful!
May He hold us in his own right hand, and so make us more than conquerors
over sin and error! May He take, under his especial care our wives, our
children; our brethren, our dear friends, with the whole multitude of his
scattered church! May He himself keep them and us in these dangerous
days! that so, at his coming, both they and we may be found amongst the
blessed company of God’s faithful saints, and, beholding Christ in his
glory may be made like him through the omnipotence of his grace!
* * * * *