The Gathering

“Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice. And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself. Selah.” (Ps 50:5-6 AV)

 

There is a load of doctrine in these two verses.  There is the prophecy of the rapture.  There is the declared truth that saints are so because a sacrifice was made.  That sacrifice is Jesus Christ.  There is the glorification of the saints in that the heavens will declare the righteousness of God.  The saints attain their righteousness by the imputation of Christ’s righteousness.  Then there is the eventual trial that all of mankind will endure.  These two verses verify that God gathers His saints prior to any large-scale judgment upon mankind.  This precedent was set with Noah.  The first time God judged mankind is recorded in Genesis 6-9.  Before God could send forth rain, Noah and his family had to be gathered into the Ark.  This event is the one Abraham cites as a precedent that Job and his family should be spared rather than see Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed.  The LORD brought out Lot and his family prior to sending fire and brimstone to consume these two wicked cities.  Peter mentions that judgment must begin at the house of God, first.  He alludes to Lot as a type of raptured church that will be brought out before the wrath of God descends on Earth.  We can look at these two verses, and if we have the sacrifice of Jesus as our payment for sin, can rejoice in our future gathering.

It is this gathering which I wish to muse on this morning.  I come from a very large family.  I have ten brothers and sisters.  We are or have been, all married and most of us have had children.  Several, in fact.  I lost count when the grandchildren approached fifty.  Some of us have had grandchildren ourselves.  There was a time when we all gathered for Thanksgiving dinner.  My Mom hosted this event at her house while we were rather young.  Over time, with marriages and children, our venue moved from a home to a conference room.  From a conference room to a larger fellowship all with a full kitchen.  What a time!  There is something to be said for family gatherings.  My earliest recollection of a family holiday gathering was at my Great Uncle’s church.  He was an Episcopalian minister in the Buffalo, NY area.  I think he was my grandfather’s brother.  Anyway, I remember it because the adults were smart in that they organized party games and contests for the children to participate in.  That way, we were not running around out of control.  I remember stepping on a short stepladder and dropping wooden clothespins into a milk bottle.  I remember it so well because I won it!  But I also remember the room.  For a church, it was different.  It reminds me of the room Scrooge worked in as a young adult as an apprentice for a clothier.  Wood beams that sloped from either direction.  I also remember I discovered a love for sweet pickles, cream cheese stuffed celery sticks, a dill pickles.  Most of all, I remember my siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents all gathering in one place to celebrate a holiday and enjoy the company of family.

Over time, my siblings and I have scattered to the four corners of our nation.  Gathering together isn’t a reality anymore.  We all have our own families.  We cannot travel as we used to.  Assembling into one place is logistically impossible.  I miss it.  One of these days, the trumpet will blow or our earthly house we shut down.  One way or another, we will gather together in the unity of the Spirit and praise God for all of eternity.  There will be no more parting.  There will be no more sad goodbyes.  Forever and forever we will be with those who have trusted Christ as our sacrifice.  We will ring joys unspeakable.  We will shout with a shout that makes thunder seem like a whisper.  We will forever be united in the glory of the presence of God and share in eternal bliss which only glory can reveal.  There will be a gathering.  It is coming.  Perhaps sooner than we think.