The Hope of the Church 1 27 And shall He not return? We know that He shall return, and that with expedition.” John Wesley believed this same truth, as is shown by his comment on the closing verses of Revelation: “The spirit of adoption in the bride in the heart of every true believer says, with earnest desire and expecta- tion, ‘Come and accomplish all the words of this prophecy/ ” I t formed the burden of Milton’s sublime supplication: “Come forth out of Thy royal chambers, O Prince of all the kings of the earth; put on the visible robes of Thy imperial majesty; take up that unlimited scepter which Thy Almighty Father hath bequeathed Thee. For now the voice of Thy bride calls Thee, and all creatures sigh to be renewed.” It was the ar- dent longing of the seraphic Rutherford: “Oh, that Christ would remove the covering, draw aside the curtains of time, and come down. Oh, that the shadows and the night were gone.” I t was the prayer of Richard Baxter in the “Saints’ Everlasting Rest:” “Hasten, O my Saviour, the time of Thy return. Send forth Thine angels and let that dreadful, joy- ful trumpet sound. Thy desolate Bride saith come. The whole creation saith come. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” And if we would follow in the steps of these men, we will return to the Simple, unmistakable New Testament type of experience, and, with faces uplifted towards the veil, within which the Lord of glory waits, and with hearts all aglow with a per- sonal love for Him, we will carry on through all our life and service the same apostolic prayer.
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