The wedding of the Lamb
I did not see a temple in the city,
because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it,
for the glory of God gives it light,
and the Lamb is its lamp.
Revelation 21:22-23 (NIV)
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
For the last six months or so I have been singing a couple of hymns most mornings when I read the Bible and pray. It is not as good as singing with the rest of the congregation on a Sunday, but it would be difficult to get you all here every morning, and it does help me to praise God (as well as giving me something to hum during the day).
It also means I am introduced to some hymns I would not otherwise have sung, not least because I generally use the playlist from the Together for the Gospel conference (set on ‘shuffle’ so I don’t know what’s coming next). One of my recent discoveries is a hymn which has the wonderful first line The sands of time are sinking, but it is the final verse that especially caught my attention. It pictures that moment when the church is finally brought face to face with Christ, like bride and bridegroom, at their wedding:
The bride eyes not her garments,
But her dear Bridegroom’s face;
I will not gaze at glory
But on my King of grace;
Not at the crown He giveth,
But on His pierced hand;
The Lamb is all the glory
Of Immanuel’s land.
At a wedding it is generally the bride who is – rightly – the centre of attention. The congregation gathers, waiting expectantly for her to enter, and then all eyes are on her as she appears and walks up the aisle – to see how she is adorned: her dress , her hair, her flowers. It is the bride herself who is likely to be the one exception, for her eyes will be searching for her another face, the face of her beloved husband-to-be.
It will be like that at the wedding of the Lamb where we, the church and bride of Christ, will want nothing more than to gaze on our dear bridegroom’s face and on his pierced hand, for he will be all the glory. And it will remain that way for all eternity. We will never tire, as some married couples sadly do, of gazing at our King, remembering all he has done for us and all he now is to us.
Lord, thank you for that day when we will stand before our beloved King and Saviour Jesus, and we shall have all eternity to rejoice in him – all he has done for us and all he is to us. Amen.
Yours warmly, in Christ,
Chris Hobbs (Senior Minister)