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ET your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; 36 And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. (Luke 12:35-36)
This Advent hymns reaffirms our need to prepare for the ‘Bridegroom cometh.’ At what hour, no man knows; therefore, we take counsel to be prepared at all times. The author of this hymn (George F. Root, 30 August 1820 – 6 August 1895) wrote both hymns and patriotic songs. Having become popular during the American War Between the States for such northern favorites as Tramp, Tramp, Tramp and Battle Cry of Freedom. One southern soldier remarked if we had such songs as the Yankees, we would have won the war. But this is a song of particular relevance to the season of Advent – and for all seasons as well.
Our lamps are trimm'd and burning,
Our robes are white and clean,
We’ve tarried for the Bridegroom,
O may we enter in?
We know we’ve nothing worthy
That we can call our own--
The light, the oil, the robes we wear,
Are all from Him alone.
Chorus:
Behold, the Bridegroom cometh!
And all may enter in,
Whose lamps are trimm'd and burning,
Whose robes are white and clean.
Go forth, go forth to meet Him,
The way is open now,
All lighted with the glory
That’s streaming from His brow.
Accept the invitation
Beyond deserving kind;
Make no delay, but take your lamps,
And joy eternal find.
Chorus
3 We see the marriage splendor
Within the open door;
We know that those who enter
Are blest for evermore.
We see He is more lovely
Than all the sons of men,
But still we know the door once shut,
Will never open again.
Chorus
1 Our lamps are trimm'd and burning, Our robes are white and clean We’ve tarried for the Bridegroom, O may we enter in? We know we’ve nothing worthy That we can call our own--The light, the oil, the robes we wear, Are all from Him alone. This line recalls the Parable of the Ten Virgins of Matthew 25:1-13. Were the five rejected virgins whose oil was expended any less righteous in their behaviors than the other five who had their lamps supplied with oil? We are not told that they were, so what differed between the two groups? Were they not all virgins indeed? The five who had made adequate preparation were led to do so by the Holy Spirit – in fact, the oil for their lamps represented the Holy Spirit that fuels our souls onward to Christ. The Light, the Robes, and Oil were all Holy gifts of Christ purchased for them at Golgotha.
2 Go forth, go forth to meet Him, The way is open now, All lighted with the glory That’s streaming from His brow. Accept the invitation Beyond deserving kind; Make no delay, but take your lamps, And joy eternal find. The Bride goes forth at the blast of the Trumpet sounded by the Bridegroom’s groomsman when the time arrived for the marriage supper. It usually occurred during the midnight hour. The Bride must be waiting in readiness for His coming at all times, and so must her Bride’s Maids. Regardless of how virtuous our lives, without the merits of Christ and the presence of His Holy Spirit ruling in our hearts, our virtues are without merit. The visible forms of outward evidence must be a reflection of the inward grace that empowers them.
3 We see the marriage splendor Within the open door; We know that those who enter Are blest for evermore. We see He is more lovely Than all the sons of men, But still we know the door once shut, Will never ope again. Just as the rich man in hell observed the comforts of the beggar Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham, so shall those whose religion is based on works see the reward of the righteous without access thereto. We are saved by Grace UNTO good works – not BY good works lest any man boast. Just as Noah was not privileged to close the door of salvation to those drowning souls without (God closed the Door), so shall the day and hour come when God again closes the Door of salvation on the unnumbered souls without who claim right of entry without the credentials of living faith.
Chorus
Behold, the Bridegroom cometh! And all may enter in, Whose lamps are trimm'd and burning, Whose robes are white and clean. Only those who have received the salvation by grace and faith may enter into the Gate at the time of the closing of the scroll of time. The Pure, White Robes of the saints, not cleaned by the hand of the washerman, but by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ – will be our credential of entrance.
This ADVENT Season, prepare to meet our Lord both in memory of His first coming and in the sure expectation of His second coming to judge the world. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. We do His Commandments by love and not constraint. It is interesting to note the way the counterfeit bibles word that last verse of Revelations 22:14 differently: Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Beware of such manipulation of God’s Word in these apostate versions. It is not our own works that cleanse our Robes, but those of Christ.
