Join Us

“And they shall be Mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up My jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him” (Malachi 3: 17).

One hymn that gladdens many a heart is “When He cometh” (RHC 222).  Written by William Orcutt Cushing (1823-1902), this familiar hymn reminds us of that glorious day when our Lord will come to gather “the gems of His kingdom.” 

Let us consider the lyrics of this delightful hymn, and the Scripture text from which it is taken:

When He cometh, when He cometh
To make up His jewels,
All His jewels, precious jewels, His loved and His own:

He will gather, He will gather
The gems for His kingdom,
All the pure ones, all the bright ones, His loved and His own:

Little children, little children
Who love their Redeemer
Are the jewels, precious jewels
His loved and His own:

Chorus:
Like the stars of the morning, His bright crown adorning,
They shall shine in their beauty –
Bright gems for His crown.
 

In Malachi 3: 17, the Lord likened His people to jewels.  To look in context, we need to refer to the preceding verse – verse 16  - which we considered last week:  “Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon His name.” 

In the midst of spiritual declension in Malachi’s day, those who “feared the LORD, and that thought upon His name” spoke often among themselves of the things of God to encourage one another in the faith. It is interesting to note that the Lord valued their godly discourses and kept “a book of remembrance.”  He called attention to these faithful few; He would make them His very own peculiar treasures and spare them in that Day of Judgement.   

“There is a day coming when God will make up His jewels.  They shall be gathered up out of the dirt into which they are now thrown, and gathered together from all places to which they are now scattered; He shall send forth his angels to gather His elect, who are His jewels, from the four winds of heaven (Matt. 24: 31), to gather His jewels into His jewel-house, as the wheat from several fields into the barn. All the saints will then be gathered to Christ, and none but saints, and saints made perfect; then God’s jewels will be made up, as stones into a crown, as stars into a constellation” – Matthew Henry.

Why did the Lord liken His people to “jewels”?  I can think of a few reasons:

o Because of their infinite value before God  

The saints are precious to God because of the great value which the Lord places upon them.  This truth should humble us.  How wonderful that the Lord of Glory looked upon us, His redeemed people, as His “jewels” (“segullah” in the original Hebrew means “peculiar treasure”).  This same word is used in  Exodus 19: 5:  “Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people: for all the earth is Mine.”

The value of a thing in the eyes of its owner may be gauged by the price he is willing to pay for it.  Similarly, when a sportsman wins a trophy, he values it as the ultimate reward for all his hard work and effort.  We have often seen champions kissing the trophy they received before their cheering fans.  When he brings the treasured prize home, the happy owner displays it with pride in a prominent place for all to see and admire.  We may say that Christians are God’s trophies of grace.  So valuable was the Church to Christ that He gave Himself for it (Eph. 5: 25), shedding His precious blood to redeem her.  The apostle Peter reminded his readers that they “were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold … But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (I Peter 1:18-19).                   
(… to be continued)                                                              

- Pastor