Behold, He Cometh!

"Behold! He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him." —Revelation 1:7 [KJV]

With what ardor of heart may every believer cry out, blessed be God, every hour brings nearer the solemn advent, the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus! "O Christians, now is our salvation nearer than when we first believed." Come, Thou once despised Nazarene, Thou once crucified Saviour: He shall come; He will come quickly, and be seen in human form. Shall we not see those wounds and scars in His body, the tokens of His inestimable love to and perfect victory of His cross for us poor sinners? 

How joyful in the exercise of faith, the fervor of love, the expectation of hope, is this contemplation! This quells the fears of nature, mortifies its lusts, subdues its corruptions. To this end are we born again of the Spirit, that we should enjoy the visions of faith, see Jesus, live by faith upon Him, have fellowship with Him in the sufferings of His cross, and long for His appearing in glory. Then shall we share with Him in the glories of His kingdom. "He shall come to be glorified IN His saints, and admired IN all them that believe." 

Whence then our dejection of mind, our fear of death, our unwillingness "to be absent from the body, that we may be present with the Lord?" Truly, all this ariseth from the mystery of iniquity which worketh in us. But here is our wisdom, to oppose the mystery of faith to that. Never venture to think of your own dying, without considering the death of Jesus; look not at your own sins, without looking at the blood of Jesus; think not a moment of His appearing as a judge, without remembering Him as our precious Saviour; dwell not on the glory and majesty of His eternal power and Godhead, without reflecting on His humble form, His manhood state; conceive not of Him as a king and lawgiver, without considering Him as a priest to atone for our sins, an advocate to plead our cause, and our forerunner entered into the heavens FOR us; for so shall we daily prove, that we are more than conquerors over every foe that opposeth the holiness and comfort of our souls, through Jesus who loved us. 

"Behold, He cometh!" O joyful day! most desirable sight! then our sorrows, our fears shall for ever cease. Then our eyes shall see our dearest friends; our foes, that we this day find and feel, we shall see no more for ever. "To them that look for Him, shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation." "O, lift up your heads with joy, for your redemption draweth nigh." 

Christ is the man, th' exalted man, 

Whom we unseen adore: 

But when our eyes behold His face, 

Our hearts shall love Him more. 

Those soft, those blessed feet of His, 

That once rude iron tore, 

High on a throne of light they stand, 

And all the saints adore.

-preacher William Mason (1724-1797 A.D.)