All Saints Day
The Collect
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ALMIGHTY God, who hast knit
together thine elect in one communion and fellowship, in the mystical body of
thy Son Christ our Lord; Grant us grace so to follow thy blessed Saints in all
virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those unspeakable joys which
thou hast prepared for those who unfeignedly love thee; through the same Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.
Twenty-First
Sunday after Trinity
The
Collect.
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RANT, we beseech thee, merciful Lord, to thy faithful people pardon
and peace, that they may be cleansed from all their sins, and serve thee with a
quiet mind; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
11 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there
a man which had not on a wedding garment: 12 And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither
not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. 13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and
foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be
weeping and gnashing of teeth. 14 For many are called, but few are chosen. (Matthew 22:11-14)
Today's devotion on the Wedding Garment should rend the heart of all who know
Christ, love Him, and worship Him in the Beauty of Holiness. We observe so many
today in churches that are promised a false prosperity, a false speaking of the
Holy Ghost (who cannot speak falsely), and a false Gospel. These people in such
churches are as passengers on a long, black train comfortably seated in the
dining car, or dosing in the sleeper car, oblivious to the fact that the bridge
across a great river has been washed away some five miles ahead. Standing in
the knowledge of this fact, we gather by the wayside and shout the warning, but
they are not inclined to listen to the voices of those warnings being drowned
out by the sound to the trestle and tracks of the modern church. Men such as
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos and Hosea faced the same sorrow. They saw clearly the
coming tragedy, warned of it, but none would listen.
Dr. R.C. Trench, author of Parables of Our Lord, has commented on the
importance of the Wedding Garment: "The Wedding Garment is
righteousness in its largest sense, the whole adornment of the new and
spiritual man – including the faith without which it is impossible to please
God, and the Holiness without which no man shall see Him, or, like the
speechless guest, shall only see Him to perish at His presence: - it is the
faith which is the root of all graces, the mother of all virtues, and is
likewise those virtues and graces themselves." I would add that all
virtue and all goodness and all grace belong to Christ, therefore, the Garment
is, itself, a symbol of Christ as our covering for sin. The covering provided
us in the Garden at Eden symbolizes that sacrifice that Christ must have made
to redeem us from our sins. The lamb's blood over the lintel and doorpost of
Israel in Egypt symbolizes that covering for us through the shed blood of the
Lamb of God.
Jesus is not only the Wedding Garment, but a healing Garment to all who
touch Him as well. And when the men of that place had knowledge of him,
they sent out into all that country round about, and brought unto him all that
were diseased; And besought him that they might only touch the hem of his
garment: and as many as touched were made perfectly whole. (Matt
14:35-36) Jesus is the Garment of Light that replaces our garments of
blindness: And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And
they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort,
rise; he calleth thee. And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came
to Jesus. (Mark 10:49-50) Bartimaeus never again needed that old
garment once he had come to know Christ and to see.
The Garment of the Lord is a Garment of praise: To appoint unto them that
mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning,
the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called
trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified
(Isaiah 61:3) and the Garment of the Lord is a Garment of salvation and
Righteousness: I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul
shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of
salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom
decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
(Isaiah 61:10)
Why the need for the peculiar dress of a Wedding Garment? In ancient times, and
indeed presently in many Eastern countries, a particular garment is provided by
the father of the Groom to each invited guest. The greater the father, the more
elaborate and fine the Garment. If one appears at the Wedding Feast without the
appropriate Wedding Garment, he is immediately exposed as not having come with
an invitation, but by ruse and fraud. Many
will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and
in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And
then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work
iniquity. (Matthew 7:22-23) We must not only be dressed with His
Robe of Righteousness and Salvation, but we must also appear at the appointed
time. Once the door to salvation (the Wedding Feast) is closed, there shall no
admittance be made.
The purpose of a garment is to cover that of which we are ashamed – our
nakedness. We are all alike naked before the eyes of God, but He will give us a
covering for our sins in the form of a Wedding Garment if we will agree to
become the party of the Bride (the true Church). Remember the garment God
provided Adam and Eve in the Garden – it was the skin of an innocent animal.
Theretofore, there had been no death, but Adam brought suffering and death upon
all of Creation by his disobedience. That animal that had to die to provide a
covering for Adam's nakedness foreshadowed the Lamb of God who would die to
cover the nakedness of our sins. God does not see our sins because our Wedding
Garment – Jesus Christ – covers them from sight.
What of our own garments of righteousness – are they not enough? But we
are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags;
and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us
away (Isaiah 64:6) The prodigal was wearing those filthy
dung-contaminated rags when he came to his father who covered him with the BEST
Robe! (Luke 15:22) Every garment is of a different quality – those of the
sinner are as filthy rags, those of the merchant as spotted silks, but those of
the King are excellent and fine. Our King is the King of Kings – there are not
Garments like unto His for worth, for grace, for righteousness, or for
salvation. A garment covers and protects from the elements. So does the
salvation of God.
Garments are for dress and are ornamental to make the wearer thereof appear lovely
and presentable. The Garment of Christ creates an innate and spiritual beauty
for the believer. He appears clean and wholesome in the eyes of men, though
they may not know the reason.
Garments are made to fit the wearer uniquely. So the Wedding Garment of Christ
is made to fit our peculiar forms of gifts and talents perfectly. The Wedding
Garment replaces all of our former garments as they are laid aside before we
don the Wedding Garment. Our old filthy rags of sin are laid aside as we prepare
to take upon our shoulders the White Robe of Righteousness.
The Wedding Garment is worn with the full expectation of a glorious and joyous
day. So we dress for the occasion – the Wedding Supper of the Lord! When we
appear well-dressed in the Righteous covering of Christ, the Bridegroom will be
delighted at our comeliness. For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so
shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so
shall thy God rejoice over thee. (Isaiah 62:5) The Wedding Garment of
Christ is unspotted by the world or the flesh thereof. When we go before the
Bridegroom at that great Wedding Feast, if we wear the Garment He has provided,
we shall hear these words of comfort: Thou art all fair, my love; there
is no spot in thee. (Song 4:7)
Dear Reader, are you appareled in your sinner's rags of filth, or have you
received the Wedding Garment of Christ?
