Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 153, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 June 1914 — Watching for the Lord. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Watching for the Lord.

By REV. JAMES M. GRAY, D D.

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wwvv TEXT—"Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour .your t Lor(L doth com*" Matt.

I. That for f McM wgj are to fMcfcdtaithe return ,of bur Lord and, Savior Jesus - f hrlst to this J earth.. W seem . shut up to this thought both Sy the context of the passage and the Jcß parallel places tn the other Gospels. It is, in addition, M the simplest teaching of the New Testament Scriptures generally—

witness the words in I Thess. 1:», 10, “ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; and to wait for his son from heaven.”

11. The difficulty of watching is illustrated in the drowsiness of the disciples in Gethsemane—" What, could ye not watch with me one hour?” (Matt. 26:40). The spirit was willing but the flesh was weak. A condition , of things quite as likely in the region of spiritual truth, if one may judge by the frequent appeals to Christians to awake out of sleep, see Ephes. 5:14; Bom. 18:11, 12; I Cor. 15:84; 1 Thess. 5:6. There are few of us who are not aware of this from actual experience, alas! As in the so in the spiritual sense, the we have te watch the more difficult a task it becomes. 5. L lIL The danger of not watching A seen in our Lord's warning to theV church at Sardis —“If therefore thou | shalt not watch, I Will come to thee as a thief' (Rev. 3:3.) “The thief cometh not but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy" (John 10:10). This last figure Is partly Interpreted by another In whioh Christ says: “But and If that evil servant shall say in his hqart, my Lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to smite his fellow servants, and to eat and drinkwith the drunken; the Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour | that he Is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth* (Matt. 24:48-51). IV. The accompaniments of watch* Ing are: (1) Prayer (Mark 13:33)—T0 pray aright is to watch, but surely he is. not watching who is not praying? Hence “men ought always to pray” (Luke 18:1. Not that we must eter be In the external attitude of prayer, as when the Pharisees loved to standing at the comers of the streets, but that our inward habit should be one of daily communion with God, for he heareth us always. W (2) Service —“loins girded about” (Luke 12:35). See I Kings 18:4«, Prov. 31:17, IS. It is the slothful servant who is not watching. The busy servant may not have the particular thought of his Lord’s return momentarily present to his mind, but it is nevertheless the underlying motive of bis activity. *’< (3) Testimony—“your lights burning” (Luke 12:35). He who is watching for his Lord’s return is speaking of It, witnessing for him. "Ye shineas lights in the world; holding forth the word of life” (Phil. 2:15, 16) others may see the way of life. V. The rewards of watching are:(1) Escape from danger—“ Watch therefore . . . that ye may be counted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass” (Luke, 21:36). Compare the context and the parallel passages with II Thess. 1:5-9. ft) Bestowal of divine honor- “ Blessed are those servants, whom the-.; Lord when he cometh shall find watch-A ing: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them" (Luke 12:37). It is. of course, impossible to apprehend the meaning of this promised felicity (Isaiah 64:4); we simply know that our Lord's language implies an exaltation beyond bur highest thought. (3) Increase of power and opporfef nity. “Who then Is a faithful and wise servant, whom iris Lord hath made ruler over his household, to givd them meat in due season? Blessed it that servant, whom his Lord wheMr he cometh shall find so doing." ''r L -wi All bail, the Coming Son of God. He’s Coming back again, ' : b He’s Coming la the Clouds of heaven. , He’s Coming back again to reign! -L Sinners whose sins are washed away, .LNor left a single stain. Go. hall, the Advent of yonr Lord, He’s Coming back to reign! Let every kindred, every, tribe. 1 Free of Creation’s pain, 3 Aloud Acclaim His Welcome back* He’s Coming back to reign! Ah! soon with all the ransomed throe* I We’ll see the rolling cloud, and sMIO He's Coming back to retan! |