Morning, December 8
Go To Evening Reading
“Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their
garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.”
Revelation 3:4
We may understand this to refer to justification . “They shall walk in white;” that is, they shall enjoy a constant sense of their own justification
by faith; they shall understand that the righteousness of Christ is
imputed to them, that they have all been washed and made whiter than
the newly-fallen snow.
Again, it refers to joy and gladness : for white robes were holiday dresses among the Jews. They who have
not defiled their garments shall have their faces always bright; they
shall understand what Solomon meant when he said “Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry
heart. Let thy garments be always white, for God hath accepted thy
works.” He who is accepted of God shall wear white garments of joy and gladness,
while he walks in sweet communion with the Lord Jesus. Whence so many
doubts, so much misery, and mourning? It is because so many believers
defile their garments with sin and error, and hence they lose the
joy of their salvation, and the comfortable fellowship of the Lord
Jesus, they do not here below walk in white.
The promise also refers to walking in white before the throne of God . Those who have not defiled their garments here shall most certainly
walk in white up yonder, where the white-robed hosts sing perpetual
hallelujahs to the Most High. They shall possess joys inconceivable,
happiness beyond a dream, bliss which imagination knoweth not, blessedness
which even the stretch of desire hath not reached. The “undefiled in the way” shall have all this—not of merit, nor of works, but of grace. They shall walk with Christ
in white, for he has made them “worthy.” In his sweet company they shall drink of the living fountains of
waters.