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38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye
here, and watch with me. 39 And he went a little further,
and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my
Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I
will, but as thou wilt. 40 And he cometh unto the
disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray,
that ye (Matt
26:38-41)
11 And that, knowing the
time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation
nearer than when we believe enter not into
temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. .
12 The night is far spent,
the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us
put on the armour of light. 13 Let us walk honestly, as in the
day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in
strife and envying. 14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. (Romans
13:11-14)
When Christ left the disciples to pray in Gethsemane, they had no idea when He
might return; but one point is certain – they could not abide in prayer at the
darkest moment of the ministry of Christ even for one hour! What weak and
pitiful witnesses we are; and much worse, what unfaithful friends to One who is
about to die in our stead for our sins.
Advent is the Season to prepare for the coming of the Lord. In fact, every
season is that proper time. But the generations from Abraham had sat in
seemingly interminable darkness awaiting the fullness of time for His first
appearing at Bethlehem. Today’s Advent hymn reminds us that we must not only be
awake, but prepared with the oil of the Holy Ghost in our lamps as we
expectantly look for His promised return.
The lyrics of the hymn are the composition of Philipp Nicolai in 1597, and the
music as well is of his composition; however, the beauty of arrangement is a
product of the great Baruch composer, Johann Sebastian Bach in early 1700’s.
Wake, Awake for Night is Flying
Wake, awake, for night is flying;
the watchmen on the heights are
crying:
awake, Jerusalem, at last!
Midnight hears the welcome voices
and at the thrilling cry
rejoices;
come forth, ye virgins, night is
past;
the Bridegroom comes, awake;
your lamps with gladness take;
Hallelujah!
And for his marriage feast
prepare
for ye must go and meet him
there.
Zion hears the watchmen singing,
and all her heart with joy is
springing;
she wakes, she rises from her
gloom;
for her Lord comes down all
glorious,
the strong in grace, in truth
victorious.
her Star is risen, her Light is
come.
Ah come, thou blessèd One,
God's own belovèd Son;
Hallelujah!
We follow till the halls we see
where thou hast bid us sup with
thee.
Now let all the heavens adore
thee,
and men and angels sing before
thee,
with harp and cymbal's clearest
tone;
of one pearl each shining portal,
where we are with the choir
immortal
of angels round thy dazzling
throne;
nor eye hath seen,
nor ear hath yet attained to hear
what there is ours,
but we rejoice and sing to thee
our hymn of joy eternally.
Wake, awake, for night is flying; the watchmen on the heights are crying:
awake, Jerusalem, at last!
Midnight hears the welcome voices and at the
thrilling cry rejoices; come forth, ye virgins, night is past; the Bridegroom
comes, awake; your lamps with gladness take; Hallelujah! And for his marriage
feast prepar e
for ye must go and meet him there. One of the shortcomings in
modern faith is the church considers the writings of Scripture to apply only in
antiquity; it is certain they do apply in antiquity, but no less than at this
very hour in the life of the believer. The Groomsmen appears on the dark and
cloudy night near the home of our hearts and sounds the Trump, and shouts the
alert – “The Bridegroom Cometh!” There are two categories of virgins that hear
and respond to that call. Both categories are morally sound and respectable
young ladies; but one part of the group has prepared oil for their lamps in
ample supply for the need. But the other part has not done so. This part of the
Church has been over-sleeping at the helm. They have not loved the Bridegroom
so very much as to hang onto every Word uttered about Him in the Law and the
Prophets, the Gospels and Epistles. So they have no oil of the Holy Spirit to
burn in their lamps and to light the way. There is no greater privilege than to
be an invited guest of the Bridegroom at this supper. Salvation and Faith are
the most important considerations for our own souls today. Had we not better be
prepared with oil in our lamps for that great moment of His coming? Should we
not know intimately the One who bestows upon us such an honor?
Zion hears the watchmen singing,
and all her heart with joy is springing; she wakes, she rises from her gloom;
for her Lord comes down all glorious, the strong in grace, in truth victorious.
her Star is risen, her Light is come. Ah come, thou blessèd One, God's own
belovèd Son; Hallelujah! We follow till the halls we see where thou hast bid us
sup with thee.
Just as the five
foolish virgins had no time to go and buy oil for their lamps at the coming of
the Bridegroom, neither will we have time to make preparations for our souls at
that glorious moment “when the sky shall be rolled back as a scroll, and
we behold the son of God descending at the head of the Armies of Heaven.”
We must follow our Lord closely. We take up our crosses daily and follow Him,
but where? We follow Him in sacrificial living, and yes, on the via Dolorosa to
Calvary. We follow Him to a borrowed tomb (yes, our tombs are only borrowed as
well). We follow Him in the sleep of death, but we also follow Him in the
resurrection to life eternal. If we are absent from following Him, we shall not
recover our path. If we are absent seeking worldly commodities at the crucial
moment, we may find the door to the Banquet Room closed and locked for us –
FOREVER!
Now let all the heavens adore
thee, and men and angels sing before thee, with harp and cymbal's clearest
tone; of one pearl each shining portal, where we are with the choir immortal of
angels round thy dazzling throne; nor eye hath seen, nor ear hath yet attained
to hear what there is ours, but we rejoice and sing to thee our hymn of joy
eternally.
On that wonderful Christmas Night of long ago, the Angels of Heaven adored Him,
and sang the glorious song above the hills of Bethlehem, “Gloria in Excelsis
Deo!” The redeemed of the Lord shall be privileged, as were the lonely
shepherds, to hear that song sung by the heavenly choir in our persons. The
pearl-adorned gates shall glisten and beckon. Those pearls of covering are
produced over the ages by the tears of the saints and martyrs of the Lord. 6 The LORD preserveth the
simple: I was brought low, and he helped me. 7 Return unto thy rest, O my soul;
for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee. 8 For thou hast delivered my soul
from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. 9 I will walk before the LORD in
the land of the living.
(Psalms 116:6-9) There will be not tears at the Banquet for every one of
these shall be wiped away by our Lord. He even keeps our tears today in His
bottle for we need them no more when we cast our cares upon Him as did the
woman who washed His feet with her tears and dried them with her hair.
42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth
come. 43 But know this,
that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come,
he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 44 Therefore be ye
also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. (Matt
24:42-44)
