The Wedding Garment!

A treasure!

My dear friend made contact with a man who had some sermons and works of Herman Friedrich Kohlbrugge (1803-1875) and he actually copied them for her and sent them to her and she in turned shared them with me. Thank you dear friend. He went to a lot of trouble to hand copy these, on some of the pages, you can see the imprint of his hands. I have been reading and I wanted to share excerpts occasionally. I have read this sermon several times and will read it again today; it is so rich in content. The following is a just a snippet, a taste of his words and way of presenting Truth. He leads us up to the great truth of this parable in Matthew 22:1-14 that ends this way: “For many are called, but few are chosen”

He asks:

“But what is the state of mind of the few who are chosen before they hear of the invitation to the marriage? They are mere wanderers in the streets and highways, and feel themselves lost in trespasses and sins. Meanwhile a longing is awakened after the King and His grace. They know that they are rebels against Him, and have deserved nothing but wrath. And will the King deign to look upon them? O, if He would but cast a gracious glance towards them, how happy, how eternally happy, would they be—how willingly then would they even lie down and die? Is there a possibility that they may enjoy this favour? Certainly; what they scarcely dared to hope for, takes place. In their hearts the words resound, as in a moment: Grace, grace; for thee also there is salvation. The light of eternal mercy shines forth in a pure, clear, and golden ray upon their dark night. In their ears the voice of the messenger is heard, Come, come; it is the King who calls you, and He says, “All things are now ready.” How wonderfully new, as in a moment, do all things appear! They believe the voice, for they cannot do otherwise. Then they come weeping, sighing, contrite, but at the same time full of divine joy. They may be lame, they may be feeble, they may be blind: yet they leap as a hart, and all is light within them.

Then they go into the entrance-hall, and whom do they find there? The King, and those with whom He is well pleased. They see, they understand clearly how every one there has been clothed in the wedding garment. “That covers thee entirely,” it is said, “it covers both thy poverty and they misery; put on this garment and thou wilt please the King. The Bridegroom has prepared it for thee and He Himself wears no other.” How highly favoured they are. Can they take any rest, or find any peace until they have clothed themselves in the garment of the Lamb? Well then, this garment is the all-sufficient atonement, righteousness, and holiness of Christ."

“Oh that I might find some one who could infallibly tell me whether I have on this wedding garment!” “Beloved, the Spirit of God alone seals us; He alone is the infallible witness that we are the children of God.” 

For those who charge Kohlbrugge with antinomianism, he further says:

"Do those who are chosen desire it only for this present time, or do they long to wear this garment for ever? If for ever, then this garment will influence their conduct to-day, to-morrow, through all their lives, and even beyond the grave. Here the flesh profits nothing, but spirit and life are only to be found in the all-sufficient, righteousness, and holiness of Christ.

What a wonderful and marvelous truth, thank you H.F. Kohlbrugge!