"As the Bridegroom, He is the pleasant person for our enjoyment. When He is present, there is no need of fasting. When He is present, there should not be any sadness. Instead, everything should be pleasant." So sweet! No sadness! No need to fast! So pleasant! Gazing on Him! Eventually we will be His bride! So glorious! Living enjoyment in His presence!
The Lord Jesus did not argue or reply to John’s disciples and the Pharisees in a doctrinal way. He said to them, “The sons of the bridechamber cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? ” (Matt. 9:15). He answered not with a doctrine but with a person. He referred to Himself as the Bridegroom! His presence caused them to rejoice, the presence of the Bridegroom. The Lord Jesus said nothing according to the teachings, according to the Scriptures, according to any quotation from the Bible in the old way. Neither did He say anything concerning Himself as the almighty God, the Creator, the Lord, or the Master. God in the religious concept is such a One, but the Lord Jesus mentioned nothing of this. On the contrary, He referred to Himself as a bridegroom.
A bridegroom is the most pleasant person in the entire universe. You say that you fear God, you want to please God, and you like to serve the Lord—that is good, but it is rather religious. Have you ever had the concept that your Lord Jesus Christ is not only the most holy God, the Creator, the almighty Lord, and the Master, but He is your Bridegroom, the most pleasant person? In the presence of the Bridegroom, fear is nonexistent. He is so lovely; He is so pleasant; we need not fear such a One. Hallelujah, we have the Bridegroom! The Lord Jesus said that the Bridegroom is here; the most pleasant person is here. Suppose that when He replied to the disciples of John and the Pharisees in such a way, John, James, and Peter suddenly shouted Hallelujah! Do you think the Lord Jesus would rebuke them? Surely not; the Lord Jesus would be so happy.
The Lord Jesus is so much to us: He is the very God, He is the Creator, He is the Lord, He is the Master, He is the Lamb who bears away our sins and accomplishes redemption in a full way, and He is also the One with the dove who imparts life into us and baptizes us with the Spirit. But besides all these, He is the Bridegroom. Eventually, at the end of the Bible, we have such a term, the wife of the Lamb (Rev. 21:9). This is a matter which is to some extent contrary to religion and religious thoughts. The Lamb is the Redeemer, but the Lamb who took away our sins on the cross is also our Bridegroom.
John Bacchus Dykes was born March 10, 1823. He is the composer of this tune and also of his most famous tune “Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty. ” Reginald Heber’s widow found among her dead husband’s papers, the words to one of the most powerful and beautiful hymns ever written but years would pass before the lines took their place in worship service around the world.
In 1861, a publisher rediscovered the words. He asked John Bacchus Dykes to furnish him with a tune. It made sense for him to turn to John who had a natural aptitude for music (he graduated with a music master that same year). He came from an evangelical background (father and grandfather) as well as musical family—his uncle an organist and his sister a poet and a hymnodist. John had been a church organist since he was 10 and also played the violin. He was co-founder and president of the Cambridge University Musical Society.
After John read the words to Holy, Holy, Holy, it took him 30 minutes to write the tune “Nicea” which today carries the praise of the Trinity to Christians everywhere.
The year after he composed this famous tune, John was appointed vicar of Saint Oswald, to put him in charge of the parish. He was 39 and had already held several lesser church posts. John’s parishioners came to love him. His bishop however did not care for John‘s views. John was “high-church. ” This meant that he stressed the continuity of the Church of England with the Roman Catholic church from which it had it has sprung. He believed that church and monarchy had divine rights which were being washed away by modern changes. There was a long-lasting disagreement between John and his bishop because of this.
Charles Baring, his bishop, refused to provide John with any help for his growing parish unless he would agree to conduct his services in a “low-church” style. He would have to get rid of clerical collars, stop burning incense and not turn his back on the congregation during the church service. John did not agree to do so and was left to handle the parish by himself, a task which exhausted him. Nonetheless, in addition to his regular duties, he managed to write over 300 hymn-tunes. These included some of the Christian faith’s most favorite hymns:
“Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee, ” “Take My Life and Let it Be, ” and “I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say” among others.
Worn out by his labors and constant friction with his bishop, John died on January 22, 1876. He was just 53 years old. Those who loved and admired him raised $10, 000 to support his widow and his children. He shares a grave with Mabel, his youngest daughter who died of scarlet fever in1870. Dyke’s grave is now the only marked grave in what is now a children’s playground.
The Church In Worcester, Massachusetts, United States
Feb 13, 2022
Christ is the focus of the Father, He has given Him to be head of all, and He has given Him to be all to us! Halleluia We have the all-inclusive Christ!
His righteousness prevails Forever, and we are One with Him! Glorious!
O Lord Jesus, what a privilege to be chosen from Your family to be prepared as the bride....to wait for our Bridegroom who can come any day. Dear Beloved, we admire Thee. Thy dear is so attractive. God hath blessed Thee, Lord, forever. Thou hast won the victory...
Who can be compared to the beauty and preciousness of our Lord? I can only say an everlasting praise because He has found me and I have found Him! Praise the Lord, saints!
The second part of verse 2 says, "He has no attracting form nor majesty that we should look upon Him, / Nor beautiful appearance that we should desire Him." Very few people would pay any particular attention to a tender plant. In one sense, the Lord Jesus is beautiful. There are a number of hymns in our hymnal concerning His beauty (Hymns, #170-178). However, in another sense, Jesus is not beautiful. He has no beautiful appearance that we should desire Him.
The first stanza of Hymns, #170 says, "Lord, Thou art the lovely Bridegroom, / God appointed, dear to us; / Thy dear self is so attractive, / To our heart so beauteous!" When we truly see that the Lord is our Bridegroom, our meetings will be different. They will become wedding meetings. Can we fast when we have the Lord's presence as our Bridegroom? Suppose a young brother is getting married and will soon become a bridegroom. To fast for him would be to put him to shame. We would fast for him only if he had encountered misfortune. Has the Lord encountered misfortune, or is He our Bridegroom? He is our Bridegroom! Hence, we need not fast. Let all the religionists fast. Let the followers of religion fast. We will eat and drink, and we will sing of our Lord being the lovely Bridegroom.
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Lord, Thou art the lovely Bridegroom
h17022Lord, Thou art the lovely Bridegroom5078fdd73b2844884978d3013337c2c7cbe97777597574269457297b00c90508b49fd01e01cc56d0https://www.hymnal.net/enencomplete lyrics archive