Fifth Sunday after Easter – Saturday
He ascended up far above all heavens, that He might fill all things. – Ephesians 4:10.
Do you think that God is encompassed, boxed in by any heaven? Certainly not. On the contrary, God encompasses all heavens and all things, and He fills all things with His presence. So it is also with Jesus, our Brother, our flesh and blood, our Savior. Jesus is not encompassed, boxed in by any heaven, but He encompasses all heavens and all things, and fills all things with His presence. He “ascended up far above all heavens, that He might fill all things.” As the beginning, or first fruits, of the New Creation, He sits at the right hand of God. So, just by reason of His ascension, He is right near to us. “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20). He is “not far from every one of us, for in Him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:27-28). With His grace and His love and His tender mercy, He is with us. We Christians are encompassed by Him and His compassion. “The Lord is my Rock, and my Fortress, and my Deliverer; my God, my Strength, in whom I will trust; my Buckler, and the Horn of my salvation, and my High Tower” (Psalm 18:2).
Being so encompassed, who can really harm us? Wherever we may be, in this place or that, in life or in death, He is with us, and we are with Him. He is near us, not separated from us. It is most certainly true that He is with us through His Word. What a daily comfort for us! Let us remember His encouraging counsel and His sure, changeless promises in John 8: “If ye continue in My Word, then are ye My disciples indeed, and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (vv. 31-32).
PRAYER – Lord Jesus, I thank Thee for the assurance Thou givest me that Thou art with me and with all that are Thine, and do encompass us like a firm fortress, which no one can storm. “As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about His people from henceforth, even forever” (Psalm 125:2). O dearest Savior, help me to continue to “hold fast” (Revelation 3:11) to what Thou hast taught me from the Holy Scriptures, that no one may rob me of the priceless treasures of pardon for my sins, peace with God, freedom from the curse and condemnation of Thy Law, and the gift of heaven. Amen.
Lord, Thee I love with all my heart;
I pray Thee ne’er from me depart;
with tender mercies cheer me.
Earth has no pleasure I would share;
yea, heaven itself were void and bare,
if Thou, Lord, wert not near me.
And should my heart for sorrow break,
my trust in Thee no one could shake;
Thou art the Portion I have sought;
Thy precious blood my soul has bought.
Lord Jesus Christ, my God and Lord,
my God and Lord, forsake me not;
I trust Thy Word.
(Hymn 429, st. 1; TLH)
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