Come Quickly

 

It has been a busy week traveling to North Carolina and celebrating Christmas with our children and their spouses. So I’m going to take the lazy way out and reprint a blog post from January 6, 2020. The first paragraph refers to 2020, but the link is still good.

Come Quickly

During Advent, my church choir sang “E’en So, Lord Jesus, Quickly Come” by Paul Manz. Then, when I was visiting my brother in Nashville, his church choir sang the same anthem. It’s a beautiful song and fun to sing. Here is a link to a YouTube performance posted by the publisher. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjtMJxtoooI

Even though it is no longer Advent, the song works at any time. Based on Revelation 22, it is a plea for Jesus to come quickly.

According to an old saying, “Red sky at night, sailors delight. Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning.”¹ This saying has scientific validity and is also Biblical. In Matthew 16:2-3, Jesus says, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.” (NIV)

Just as a red sunset indicates that the next day will be pleasant, so the Second Coming ushers in a wonderful new world for those who trust in Jesus.

As the new year begins, we don’t know what it has in store for us. But regardless of whether it is filled with good experiences, with heartbreak, or with some of each, Christians find their hope in the Resurrection and the Second Coming. When Christ comes, those who trust in Him will know only joy.

Paul Manz ends his song this way, with words that paraphrase Revelation 22:5.

E’en so, Lord Jesus, quickly come,

And night shall be no more;

They need no light nor lamp nor sun,

For Christ will be their All!

Come quickly, Lord Jesus.

__________

¹ According to The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations (Fifth Edition), the original 14^th century saying was “Red sky at night, shepherd’s delight; red sky in the morning, shepherd’s warning.” But as a former sailor, I’m more familiar with the other version.