jnto heaven. Angels attended His return to His eternal, uncreated glory, reassur ing His loved ones that He would come again. The Father in heaven greeted Him with those marvelous words of “ Wel come Home,” foretold by David a thou sand years before David’s Son was born in Bethlehem: The Lord said unto my Lord [God the Father said to God the Son; for David’s Son was David’s Lord], Sit thou on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool (Psa. 110:1). Our great High Priest, even Jesus, is wonderful in His present ministry at the right hand o f the Father, fo r there He “ ever liveth to make intercession” fo r His blood-bought c h i l d r e n (Heb. 7 :25 ). He is our “ advocate with the Father” (I John 2 :1 ). When we sin, He prays fo r us, chastens us, and restores us to fellowship with Himself. He guards and cares fo r us— and how patiently He deals with His own! He is wonderful in His authority, power, and love! “ And his name shall be called Won derful” when He c o m e s in glory to Teign. The whole world will be filled with His glory. From all eternity He has been wonderful in the eyes of the Father and the Spirit, in the eyes o f angels, and in the eyes o f His saints — separated ones. But when He rules over the earth, all men will call Him “ Wonderful.” And His glory shall cover the earth “ as the waters cover the sea.” All that mankind has ever desired that is worthy and true, all that is good and righteous and just, all that godly men have dreamed about and more— these will all be realized when Jesus comes again. Longevity will be restored to men. Even the animal kingdom will live at peace, for birds and beasts and cattle will be subject unto Him. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb; the leopard shall lie down with the kid; the calf and the young lion shall feed together; and a little child shall lead them. There will be no more thorns; “ the desert shall blossom as the rose.” Every man shall sit under his own vine and fig tree; the poor and needy shall be en riched; and the lame man shall leap as the hart. Our Lord will be wonderful in His reign o f glory upon earth! "Counsellor" W E do not say that, in ages past, the world of men has accepted Christ as Couhsellor. Today the unbelieving world still rejects His counsel. Instead, The kings o f the earth set them selves and the rulers take counsel together a g a i n s t the Lord, and against his anointed (Psa. 2 :2 ). The godless world crucified the “ only wise God our Saviour” (Jude 25). Even those o f us who love Him and truly want His counsel all too often fail to go to Him for wisdom arid guidance! We are self-willed, impatient,. forgetful of our utter dependence upon Him who "doeth all things well.” But in the ages to come it will not be so. All men shall
call Him “ Counsellor.” In His inherent worthiness, He has always been the only safe and true Counsellor. Six thousand years o f human history are but the rec ord of failure and sin on the part of frail humanity; and the nations are rush ing headlong to eternal doom—all the nations that forget God. But when Christ sits upon the throne of David, then all men everywhere will ask, “ Who hath been his counsellor?” He Shall judge in righteousness and equity; and The spirit o f the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit o f wisdom and understanding, the spirit o f counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord (Isa. 11 : 2 ).
This name of our Lord takes us back to the days of Abraham, when the pa triarch first told that the God in whom he had put his trust was E l Shaddai, “ The God who is enough.” It was when Abram was ninety years old and nine that El Shaddai appeared unto him to say, I am the Almighty God [E l Shaddai]; walk before me, and be thou perfect (Gen. 17:1). At this meeting of the Lord with Abram, the latter’s name was changed to Abraham, the token of the Abrahamic covenant was established, and the birth o f the son o f praise was foretold fo r the ensuing year. Almighty! What a word that is. It symbolizes the source o f all power, all majesty, all might. Christ’s almighty power shaped a world into being. His voice brought order out o f chaos, light out o f darkness, life eternal out o f ever lasting condemnation and death. By the power o f the risen Christ all nature fulfills its mission. Every flower, every tree, every mountain, every valley, every bird song, every flash of lightning—all o f God’s universe speaks to us o f His omnipotence. As a school boy I learned to sing, and still love to repeat the words, I sing the almighty power of God Which made the mountains rise, That spread the flowing seas abroad, And built the lofty skies. But how does this manifestation of power help me? Simply because I know that the Almighty God is able to keep my soul which He has redeemed by His own precious blood. Since He has “ all power in heaven and in earth,” I may trust Him with all that concerns me, knowing that Satan and all his hosts can not pluck me out of His all-powerful hands! In my pilgrimage to heaven I often stumble and fa ll; but underneath are the “ everlasting arms” of the Almighty God, E l Shaddai, the God who is enough! "The Everlasting Father" HE name, “ The everlasting Father,” foretold the coming of the One who was always one with the Father, even our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. . When He was upon earth, He told men that He did the works o f the Father, - that He was worthy of equal honor with the Father, that He was in the Father and the Father in Him. The fifth chap ter o f John makes these claims very clear and unmistakable. Our Lord came to fulfill the Father’s will, to speak the words of the Father’s love for lost man kind, to “ declare” or “ manifest” the Father. To Philip’s request that He show to the disciples the Father, Christ said, flave I been so long time with you, and yet hast' thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how say- est thou then, Shew us the Father? (John H :9 ). (Continued on Page H )
The Lord will be the righteous Judge, as well as King of kings. He will satisfy the afflicted soul; He will guide His peo ple continually. "The Mighty G od " T HE Lord Jesus Christ was the A l mighty God throughout the p a s t eternity. He was “ God with us” in His incarnation. As the God-Man, He moved among men, performing mighty miracles. Then, in His death, it looked to the world as if His claims to deity had proved false; the world thought He was a fail ure. But His resurrection, foretold in the Old Testament and by the Man of Galilee Himself, proved for all time and for all eternity that Jesus of Nazareth was the Almighty One, the One into whose hands had been committed “ all power in heaven and in earth.” For forty days, He showed Himself alive to those who loved Him; then in His ascen sion He added further proof that all His claims to deity were forever estab lished. Yet it will not be until He takes the reins o f government in His omnip otent hands that the whole wide world will acknowledge Him as “ The mighty God.” But that day will come just as surely as were all His prophecies ful filled in His death and resurrection and ascension into heaven.
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