WE all need comfort. We live in a troubled world. We live troubled lives, especially at the present time. There is not one of us who comes to the breaking of bread who has no burden that needs lifting, no sorrow that needs easing, no pain that needs soothing, no anxiety that needs alleviation. There is no need to elaborate on the special difficulties of the way—"the heart knoweth its own bitterness".
But around the Lord's table, with the door to the outside world firmly shut, and in the presence of the emblems of the love of God for us, we can find comfort. So let us each Sunday try and put all our troubles and sadness away, and sit and quietly revel in the things that flow out from the symbolic bread and wine.
The first comfort of all lies in the character of our Heavenly Father—the One who is the "Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort". Our troubles do not mean that He is whimsical, or capricious, or vindictive; but rather that He is loving and steadfast. "As a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him". His greatness is unimaginable. His will reigns supreme through the countless depths of space, with its myriads of stars and galaxies so far, far away. And yet He is also our God—a God near at hand, to help and to succour. Why? Because He has a purpose with us. For this great God has included us in His grand plan for the earth and mankind. Each of us is a potential "mighty one" in whom He desires to be manifested throughout the ages of eternity. Even long before the creation He had looked into the future and marked us out, each one. He has "chosen us in him before the foundation of the world".
Having chosen us, then in due time God called us. And so here we are now. His dear children, the brothers and sisters of His only Son. Do you feel the tension relaxing, the anxiety slipping away, as we realise how true this is! Nothing can happen to us without His direct permission—and no trial will be greater than we can bear.
But there is more comfort yet—much more! "In thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there arc pleasures for evermore". This Divine "presence" is about to be manifested in the person of Jesus. And it is the joy at his right hand—joy inexpressible now—that we, poor weak distressed ones, will soon experience.
Here is comfort indeed. Imagine, if we can, that we have been ushered to the right hand side of Christ; as is our Father's wish for each of us. We stand there after possibly a lifetime of sadness and anxiety—a life maybe dogged with ill-health—a life burdened with cares—a life of sacrifice—a life of loneliness—a life of sometimes tedious discipline—a life with apparently many failures. And that life is now behind us, never to return! All the evils and sadnesses that over the years have become almost ingrained into our very being are now gone for ever. "The redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away". Yes, "weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning". What an unutterable feeling of joy and peace will then thrill the heart of every accepted saint!
And then will come the supreme moment when the Spirit will surge through us—energising every fibre of our body with its deathless power. At this our elation will be uncontrollable, and from every lip of that great assembly of the redeemed will come a spontaneous shout of joy such as earth has never heard before. The "saints shall shout aloud for joy". "My servants shall sing for joy of heart". "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord ... for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation".
But this is only the start! From that moment we will be part of an inexpressibly delightful community—the figurative city of God to which the redeemed come with rejoicing. The apostle describes the reception of those who enter into it:
"But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel" (Hebrews 12.22-24),
Dear burdened and sad ones, this is the Kingdom in terms we can understand. We often speculate about what will happen in the Kingdom age: will there be modem transport systems, large conurbations, manufacturing industry, and so on? We cannot be sure of such things as these; but what we do know is that we become part of an indescribably delightful community.
The apostle depicts us entering the figurative city of the living God, with all its various dignitaries assembled there to greet us with a rapturous welcome. Just think of those he describes as waiting to receive us!
First, an innumerable company of angels. These august beings know the names and the lives of every saint they now salute; for they have been ministering to these heirs of salvation for six thousand years. Now they will enjoy the climax of their work. Hidden within the original Greek is a description of the particular mood of these angels. Another translation (NIV) alters the punctuation, and describes "thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly". The original word for "assembly" is pan-agora, from agora, a market place. The word is often used to describe a joyful or festive congregation of city people.
So God's city is depicted as having a festival, with all the angels happily gathered; because at last God's people are about to enter! If (as we know they do) the angels rejoice over one sinner that repents, how great will be their joy at the glorification of all the redeemed. With what delight will those angels welcome them into their community, and usher them into the city of God.
And those who actually comprise the "Congregation of firstborns, enrolled in the heavens" (Diaglott) will be people like you and me, and countless thousands with us. We remember that the firstborn was the heir to the father's property—so in that day these "firstborns", the faithful saints of all ages, will have become the "heir of all things".
And these inhabitants of the city of God have had their names "written" or "enrolled" in heaven. Just as today people are enrolled as members of a city or community, so a divine roll has been prepared of all those entitled to be a citizen of spiritual Zion. It will list all its true inhabitants: "Of Zion it shall be said ... the Lord shall count, when he writeth up the people, that this man was born there". This is the happy throng that will "enter in through the gates into the city".
But especially will we come before the King of the city—to "God, the Judge of all". We will need the strength and purity that comes with immortality to be able to face this awesome prospect. Yet without this meeting God's purpose is incomplete; for fellowship with the Father is the sole objective and end-product of creation. So with joy mixed with awe will we enter into the very presence of the Deity. "They shall see his face", said Jesus, and share in His eternal fellowship.
And lastly, as we enter this perfect city, we will come to the one whose life and sacrifice has made it all possible: to "Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel" (NIV). Abel's shed blood, we are told, cried out for vengeance. But Christ's shed blood stemmed from love, not vengeance. It brought life for mankind, not condemnation. So Jesus too will be there to welcome us, and we will come to know him as is impossible now. Then the "children of Zion" will be truly "joyful in their king".
This is the community into which we have been invited. This is the prospect that can give us great comfort now in all our trouble. This will be real fellowship: a perfect sharing with angels, fellow-saints, Jesus, and with the Almighty Himself, of all the things that make up His perfection. Then there will be freedom from every ill, sorrow and worry. At last we will be freed from sin. We will have perfect knowledge. An inexpressible bond of love and sympathy will permeate every dweller in the City of God. Our future will stretch out endlessly: not in a sterile "perpetual-motion" sort of way, but a varied, full and completely satisfying doing of the will of God.
"Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them". "I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one". Thoughts, let alone words, completely fail us when we contemplate the honour of joining this perfect community. What has each one of us done to deserve so great an honour? How trivial are the things we worry and fret about now—our health, our homes, our jobs, our problems—when compared with the "glory which shall be revealed in us"!
This contemplation should also have a practical effect now. If we have even the slightest awareness of what that future fellowship with God really means, we will instinctively shun rather than seek the world with all its impure influences. We will remember that it is, said of God's city "There shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth ... but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life".
And in the bread and wine we have the greatest source of comfort—the assurance that these things just cannot fail! The emblems we take week by week are a token of the absolute guarantee that this entrancing picture will come true. "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" Consider the sacrifice—if we may reverently put it that way—that the Father made in order to fulfil His grand purpose. It was nothing less than the death of His own dear Son. And God having made such a sacrifice, could we ever conceive of His purpose failing? We can be confident that nothing can prevent the completion of God's intentions.
And the reason for God "delivering him up for us all" is that He might "freely give us all things". Again, the mind cannot take in the meaning of "all things". "All things are of God", we read, and we know that everything that has been created belongs to God. But we also read that Jesus was to be "heir of all things". And Jesus has now received that inheritance: God has "Put all things under his feet". But that inheritance has now been extended to us as well, for Paul says "All things are yours". And the very final message of revelation is the sublime promise of God: "He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son." Then will be fulfilled the promise of God through Paul: "That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth".
What comfort and encouragement! We will inherit all things. The world sees us as just ordinary members of society, with the cares and problems common to all: but truly "the world knoweth us not". For one day soon we will be confessed by the returned Christ to be his true brethren and sisters, the rightful heirs of that world which now despises us, and we will be invited into the city of God.
There is a delightful word sometimes used in Scripture to describe our feelings in that day. When the first surge of elation has passed, an inner peace will quietly fill us as we contemplate our redemption and our eternal future. This tranquillity is described by the word "satisfied". God promises us satisfaction. "With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation", hi his day David looked forward to that feeling: "I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness"; and in our future day we will be able to respond in the words of another psalm: "We shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house". Satisfied!—a quiet contentment, knowing that the hard journey is over: the enemies have been overcome: every sadness is eternally dispelled: the valley of the shadow of death is past: and we can look forward to dwelling in the house of the Lord for ever.
"Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward" (Heb. 10.35).
P.J.S.