I Corinthians 11:26
For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.
C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): At the Lord’s Supper, there is no discerning the Lord’s body unless you discern His first coming; but there is no drinking His cup to its fullness, unless you hear Him say, “Until I come.” You must look forward, as well as backward.
JAMES HARRINGTON EVANS (1785-1849): Why was it said, [two thousand] years ago, “The coming of the Lord draweth nigh,” James 5:8?―That men might watch for it.
J. C. RYLE (1816-1900): The ancient Christians made it a part of their religion to look for His return. Backward they looked to the cross and the atonement for sin, and rejoiced in Christ crucified. Upward they looked to Christ at the right hand of God, and rejoiced in Christ interceding. Forward they looked to the promised return of their Master, and rejoiced in the thought that they would see Him again. And we ought to do the same.
ROBERT MURRAY M’CHEYNE (1813-1843): You will be incomplete Christians, if you do not look for the coming again of the Lord Jesus.
JOHN ANGELL JAMES (1785-1869): We do not think enough of Christ’s second coming. What would be said of the wife who, when her husband was away in another county, could be happy without him, and be contented to think rarely of him? On the contrary, the loving wife longs for her husbands return. “Oh, when will he come back!” is her frequent exclamation. Wife of the Lamb, Church of the Saviour, where is thy waiting, hoping, longing for the second coming of thy Lord? Is this thy blessed hope, as it was of the primitive church. O Christian, art thou not wanting here? Every morsel of that bread thou eatest at the table, every drop of wine thou drinkest, is the voice of Christ saying to thee, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; and it should draw forth thy longing desires, Come, Lord Jesus; even so come quickly.
W. H. HEWITSON (1812-1850): To say, Come quickly is the result only of close walking with God.
WILLIAM PERKINS (1558-1602): The daily persuasion of the speedy coming of Christ is of notable use; for, first, it will daunt the most desperate wretch, and restrain him from many sins. And if a man belong to God, and be yet a loose liver, this persuasion will rouse him out of his sins and make him turn to God; for who would not seek to save his soul, if he were persuaded that Christ is now coming to give him his final reward? Secondly, if a man have grace and does believe, this persuasion is a notable means to make him constant in every good duty, both of piety to God and of charity towards his brethren. Thirdly, this serveth to comfort any person that is in affliction; for, when he shall believe that which Christ hath said, I come shortly, he cannot but think but that this deliverance is at hand.
C. H. SPURGEON: His own words are, “Behold, I come quickly!” Revelation 22:7. That is not quite the meaning of what He said; it was, “Behold, I am coming quickly!” He is on his way, his chariot is hurrying towards us the axles of the wheels are hot with speed…The long-suffering of God delays Him, till sinners are brought in, till the full number of his elect shall be accomplished; but He is not delaying; He is not lingering; He is not slack, as some men count slackness; He is coming quickly.
JAMES HARRINGTON EVANS: My brother, do you and I know, to a certainty, that the Son of God shall not come this day? Do we know, to a certainty, that we shall not this day hear the trump of the archangel?
HUDSON TAYLOR (1832-1905): Since He may come any day, it is well to be ready every day.
WILLIAM PERKINS (1558-1602): These are the days of grace, but how long they will last, God only knoweth.
WILLIAM ROMAINE (1714-1795): At the time appointed He came to suffer for the sins of the world, and at the time appointed He will come to Judgment. His second advent is as certain as His first. It was foretold in the Old Testament, and promised in the New, and the Scriptures cannot be broken. God had revealed it in the clearest manner to patriarchs, so that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of it, saying—Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them, of all their ungodly deeds, which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches, which ungodly sinners have spoken against him, Jude 14 & 15.
EDWARD LEIGH (1602-1671): Let us long for His appearance, and thirst after the great day when He shall come to judge the quick and dead.
MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): The Lord Jesus will certainly come, and come in His glory…The believing thoughts and expectations of the second coming of Christ should put us upon prayer to God for ourselves and others.
LADY THEODOSIA POWERSCOURT (died 1836): What a thunderclap of hallelujah when all the prayers of the saints for our poor world, long, long laid up, shall be answered in one event.
C. H. SPURGEON: The shout shall be heard, “Alleluia! Alleluia! The Lord God Omnipotent reigneth.” Will you not remember Him? Soon will His hand be on the door; soon for you, at any rate, He may cry, “Arise, my love, my dove, my fair one, and come away;” and soon He may be here among us…Christians! be ye waiting for the second coming of your Lord Jesus Christ!
GEORGE WHITEFIELD (1714-1770): We do not live up to our dignity, till every day we are waiting for the coming of our Lord from heaven.
