Gerhard's Sacred Meditations XXI - The Ascension of Christ
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Sign-up for weekly emails of Gerhard’s Sacred Meditations and Reading through the Bible in a Year: www.orlckirkland.org MEDITATION XXI THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST To Ascend with Christ is our Blessed Privilege. MEDITATE, O faithful soul, upon the ascension of thy Lord. Christ withdrew His visible bodily presence from us that faith in Him might have more abundant exercise; for blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed (John 20:29). Where our treasure is there will our heart be also (Luke 12:34). Christ, our treasure, is in heaven; let us then set our affections upon heavenly things, or meditate upon those things that are above (Col. 3:2). The expectant bride awaits the coming of her spouse with the most ardent longings; so let the devout soul ever longingly await the coming of that day when she shall be admitted to the marriage-supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:7). Let her confidingly rest in the pledge of the Holy Spirit, whom the Lord, when He ascended to heaven, sent as the Comforter; let her trust in the merits of the body and blood of her Lord, which she receives in the Holy Supper, and let her firmly believe that our bodies, nourished with this heavenly food, shall some day rise again from the dead. What we now believe we then shall see; what we now hope for we then shall enjoy in glad reality. As we journey here, as pilgrims, the Lord is present with us, but in another and invisible form (Luke 24:15); in our home in the heavenly fatherland above we shall know Him, for we shall see Him as He is. Our Saviour chose to ascend to heaven from the Mount of Olives (Acts 1:12); the olive branch is the emblem of peace and joy; it was fitting, therefore, that He who through His bitter passion brings peace to terrified and troubled consciences, and is received into the skies with most jubilant joy by the heavenly hosts, should ascend from the mount called the Mount of Olives. That sacred mount impressively calls us to heavenly things; let us heed the call and follow on with holy desires, since we may not follow with bodily feet. Moses in like manner went up into a mountain to speak with the Lord (Ex. 19:3); in a mountain the holy patriarchs of old worshipped the Lord (John 4:20); Abraham chose the mountainous district, while Lot chose the plain of Jordan (Gen. 13:11). Let the faithful soul forsake the low-lying plains of this world, and seek with holy devotion those heavenly heights; thus shall she enjoy the most blessed communion with God; thus shall she be able to worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24), thus shall she with faithful Abraham escape the eternal burnings that shall overtake the plains of worldliness.
Gerhard's Sacred Meditations XXI - The Ascension of Christ
Gerhard's Sacred Meditations XXI - The…
Gerhard's Sacred Meditations XXI - The Ascension of Christ
Sign-up for weekly emails of Gerhard’s Sacred Meditations and Reading through the Bible in a Year: www.orlckirkland.org MEDITATION XXI THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST To Ascend with Christ is our Blessed Privilege. MEDITATE, O faithful soul, upon the ascension of thy Lord. Christ withdrew His visible bodily presence from us that faith in Him might have more abundant exercise; for blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed (John 20:29). Where our treasure is there will our heart be also (Luke 12:34). Christ, our treasure, is in heaven; let us then set our affections upon heavenly things, or meditate upon those things that are above (Col. 3:2). The expectant bride awaits the coming of her spouse with the most ardent longings; so let the devout soul ever longingly await the coming of that day when she shall be admitted to the marriage-supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:7). Let her confidingly rest in the pledge of the Holy Spirit, whom the Lord, when He ascended to heaven, sent as the Comforter; let her trust in the merits of the body and blood of her Lord, which she receives in the Holy Supper, and let her firmly believe that our bodies, nourished with this heavenly food, shall some day rise again from the dead. What we now believe we then shall see; what we now hope for we then shall enjoy in glad reality. As we journey here, as pilgrims, the Lord is present with us, but in another and invisible form (Luke 24:15); in our home in the heavenly fatherland above we shall know Him, for we shall see Him as He is. Our Saviour chose to ascend to heaven from the Mount of Olives (Acts 1:12); the olive branch is the emblem of peace and joy; it was fitting, therefore, that He who through His bitter passion brings peace to terrified and troubled consciences, and is received into the skies with most jubilant joy by the heavenly hosts, should ascend from the mount called the Mount of Olives. That sacred mount impressively calls us to heavenly things; let us heed the call and follow on with holy desires, since we may not follow with bodily feet. Moses in like manner went up into a mountain to speak with the Lord (Ex. 19:3); in a mountain the holy patriarchs of old worshipped the Lord (John 4:20); Abraham chose the mountainous district, while Lot chose the plain of Jordan (Gen. 13:11). Let the faithful soul forsake the low-lying plains of this world, and seek with holy devotion those heavenly heights; thus shall she enjoy the most blessed communion with God; thus shall she be able to worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24), thus shall she with faithful Abraham escape the eternal burnings that shall overtake the plains of worldliness.