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EHOLD, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." 21 "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne." 22 "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." (Revelation 3:20-33)
This might be considered a wake-up call to the modern church – in fact, all churches of the centuries past. It is the composition of William Walsham How in 1867. The tune, KNECHT, is an arrangement by James Heinrich Knecht which combines two other tunes into on – St. Hilda (1799), and Hullé (1793). This is an important hymn for its revelation of the abandonment of Christ that persists in ever increasing manner in the churches of America and around the world. However, certain passages convey an Arminian theology rejected by the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion as well as the Holy Scriptures upon which those Articles are based. I will point those out in this devotion.
O Jesus Thou art Standing
O Jesu, thou art standing
outside the fast-closed door,
in lowly patience waiting
to pass the threshold o'er:
shame on us, Christian brethren,
his name and sign who bear,
oh shame, thrice shame upon us
to keep him standing there!
O Jesu, thou art knocking;
and lo! That hand is scarred,
and thorns thy brow encircle,
and tears thy face have marred:
O love that passeth knowledge,
so patiently to wait!
O sin that hath no equal
so fast to bar the gate!
O Jesu, thou art pleading
in accents meek and low,
'I died for you, my children,
and will ye treat me so?'
O Lord, with shame and sorrow
we open now the door:
dear Saviour, enter, enter,
and leave us never more!
1 O Jesu, thou art standing outside the fast-closed door, in lowly patience waiting to pass the threshold o'er: shame on us, Christian brethren, his name and sign who bear, oh shame, thrice shame upon us to keep him standing there! There is a significant revelation in the first stanza of this hymn. The relevant introductory text from Revelations 3:20-22 follows our Lord’s council to the Seven Churches – both those seven churches of Asia Minor and the surrounding regions, but also to those of our modern day. The churches love to be called Christian, but reject the Bread of Heaven (Word of God) in favor of their own paltry and molded bread; and they prefer to wear their own raiment (filthy rags) to the Robe of Righteousness purchased by our Lord Jesus Christ on a Cross at Calvary. (see prophecy of Isaiah 4:1) Now, reviewing the first stanza again, I ask you – where is Christ standing with respect to the churches to whom our Lord has just delivered His counsel? Yes, our Lord stands without the closed doors of the churches. That is where, in most cases, He is standing today – outside the churches, for they have rejected His Word in Spite of choosing to be called Christian in name only! “. . . shame on us, Christian brethren, his name and sign who bear, oh shame, thrice shame upon us to keep him standing there!”
2 O Jesu, thou art knocking; and lo! That hand is scarred, and thorns thy brow encircle, and tears thy face have marred: O love that passeth knowledge, so patiently to wait! O sin that hath no equal so fast to bar the gate!Clearly, it is our sins that separate us from Christ and bars the door of our hearts, but He has made a way for our redemption and salvation if we will hear and heed His gracious voice. Some hearts are so calloused that they will never hear. Christ never changes. His position is constant – He stands where He has always stood and knocks. She we hear Him? He will enter into our hearts at the call of the Holy Spirit to abide (live forever) in our hearts.
3 O Jesu, thou art pleading in accents meek and low, 'I died for you, my children, and will ye treat me so?' O Lord, with shame and sorrow we open now the door: dear Saviour, enter, enter, and leave us never more! I take exception to some implications in this stanza. Our Lord is Sovereign of Heaven and Earth. He pleads and begs no sinner to accept His grace and mercy. He has made it readily available through His atoning sacrifice. He never pleaded with any sinner in His earthly ministry to follow Him. He readily makes that grace available to those whom He has redeemed from the foundation of the world, but He begs no one to follow Him. Even the rich young ruler was made aware of his failure to keep even the first Commandment. He was made aware of his sin and invited to follow Jesus just as was Andrew, Peter, John, Matthew and others. But the rich young ruler rejected the invitation to the disappointment of our Lord. But Jesus did not plead with him to follow, and He pleads with no sinner today. It is an act of grace and mercy that the Holy Spirit draws us to Christ – not pleading or begging. This principle would place man as the sovereign in the decision of salvation and leave out the true Sovereign whose blood purchased that salvation. The Arminian doctrine places man – not Christ – at the center of salvation. Remember these clearly stated principles found throughout God’s Word: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.” (Palm 33:12) and “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you." (John 15:16) This word was not given to the apostles alone, but to all who call upon the name of the Lord in response to His Voice.
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