THE SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS WILL RISE

THE SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS – The last prophet of the Old Testament wrote “For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,” says the LORD of hosts, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who fear My Name the SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS will rise with healing in His wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall.” (Mal 4:1-2) And so the Old Testament closes with the prophecy of the day of the Lord and the coming of the Sun of Righteousness. The New Testament ends with the testimony “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the BRIGHT MORNING STAR.” (Rev 22:16) Who promises that to those who “hold fast until I come…who overcome (not a special group but all believers – see 1Jn 5:4-5)…who do  my will to the end…I will give the MORNING STAR” (Rev 2:25-28) Christ Himself as our eternal possession! Hallelujah! The prophet Daniel adds “those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” (Da 12:3) Dear tried and true saint remember that though we live in a time of great spiritual darkness, the MORNING STAR heralds the SUN RISING with healing in His wings. In the meantime, we must hold fast to (and be held fast by) “the prophetic word made more sure, to which we do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the MORNING STAR arises in our hearts.” (2Pe 1:19) The darker the night becomes the brighter the MORNING STAR shines and the nearer must be the hour of the fulfillment of the pledge of the Sun of Righteousness to come again. This blessed event, the Second Coming, is the hope of the church, the hope of Israel and the hope of the world. Just as the sun drives away darkness and clouds, bringing light and joy, so the Sun of Righteousness will appear to forever dispel gloom, oppression, and injustice. “As the sun is full of light, the ocean full of water, Heaven full of glory, so may our hearts be full of Thee, O Sun of Righteousness.” (A Puritan Prayer)

The One described as the Sun of Righteousness can be no other than Jesus Christ Himself to Whom the ends of the earth will sing “Glory to the Righteous One,” (Isa 24:16),  the “Righteous Branch of David shall spring forth” (Jer 33:15), the One Who “loves righteousness and justice” (Ps 33:5), the One Who brings healing in His wings causing the unrighteous to “become the righteousness of God in Him” (2Cor 5:21), for “by His doing (we) are in Christ Jesus, Who became to us…righteousness and sanctification and redemption.” (1Cor 1:30) And at the end of this age the Sun of Righteousness will rise “to judge the world in righteousness” (Ps 96:13), and “all the arrogant and every evil doer will be chaff.” (Malachi 4:1) “In His days the righteous will flourish, and abundance of peace till the moon is no more,” (Ps 72:7)  and in that day “the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” (Hab 2:14) May our song ever be “Christ, Whose glory fills the skies, Christ, the true, the only Light, Sun of Righteousness, arise, Triumph o’er the shades of night, Dayspring from on high, be near, Daystar, in my heart appear.” (C Wesley)

Spurgeon writes that while the Son of Righteousness rising with healing in His wings was “fulfilled once in the first advent of our glorious Lord, and will yet have a fuller accomplishment in his second advent, this gracious word is also for daily use. Is it dark time with you reader? Does the night deepen into a denser blackness? Still let us not despair: the Sun will yet rise. When the night is darkest, dawn is nearest. The Sun which will arise is of no common sort. It is the Sun—the Sun of Righteousness, Whose every ray is holiness. He Who comes to cheer us, comes in the way of justice as well as of mercy, comes to violate no law even to save us. Jesus displays the holiness of God as much as His love. Our deliverance, when it comes, will be safe because it is righteous. Our one point of inquiry should be—“Do we fear the Name of the Lord? Do we reverence the living God, and walk in His ways?” (Mal 4:2) Then for us the night must be short; and when the morning comes, all the sickness and sorrow of our soul will be over forever. Light, warmth, joy, and clearness of vision will come, and healing of every disease and distress will follow. Has Jesus risen upon us? Let us sit in the light of the Sun. Has He hidden His face? Let us wait for His rising. He will shine forth as surely as the sun.” And while we wait we sing “Hail the heav’nly Prince of Peace! Hail the Sun of Righteousness! Light and life to all He brings, Ris’n with healing in His wings.” (C. Wesley)

Ralph Erskine rightly said that “The sun in the sky is only a shadow of the Sun of Righteousness and of His glory.”  The sun is the great star of our galaxy but the Son’s brilliance infinitely outshines the sun. Balaam prophesied of a Star, the Sun of Righteousness, declaring “I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A STAR shall come forth from Jacob, and a scepter (King) shall rise from Israel.” (Nu 24:17) Habakkuk saw an incredible vision of the Sun of Righteousness rising declaring “His radiance is like the SUNLIGHT. He has rays flashing from His hand, and there is the hiding of His power.” (Hab 3:4) The wise men asked “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His STAR in the east, and have come to worship Him.” (Mt 2:2) Zacharias filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesied of the coming of the Sun of Righteousness, saying “Because of the tender mercy of our God, with which the SUNRISE (DAYSPRING – KJV) from on high shall visit us, to shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace (“with healing in His wings”).” (Luke 1:78-79) Peter, James and John saw Him on the mount “And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the SUN, and His garments became as white as light.” (Mt 17:2) Paul was healed in a moment by the Sun of Righteousness when “at midday (he) saw on the way (to Damascus) a light from heaven, brighter than the SUN, shining all around.” (Acts 26:13) John “was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day” and beheld the Sun of Righteousness testifying that “in His right hand He held seven stars; and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the SUN shining in its strength.” (Rev 1:16) And because Jesus is the Sun of Righteousness, John writes “the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining” (1Jn 2:8) and in that glorious day to come “the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.” (Rev 21:23) Hold on, dear stormed tossed child of God. The Sun of Righteousness will soon rise with healing in His wings! “One day He’s coming. O glorious day! O glorious day!” (Song by Casting Crowns)

Spurgeon again applies the truths of Sun of Righteousness – “Believer, in the midst of plenty there is a famine if your Lord is absent. The sun may shine, but if Christ is hidden all your world is dark and it is night (cp Jn 13:30). Is the Bright and Morning Star gone and there is no other star to yield a ray of light in its place? What a howling wilderness this world is without our Lord! If we do not see Him our flowers wither, our enjoyable fruits decay, the birds stop singing, and storms overturn our hopes. All the lights of earth cannot produce daylight if the Sun of Righteousness is eclipsed. He is the Soul of our soul, the Light of our light (Jn 8:12), the Life of our life (Col 3:4). Dear believer, what would you do with the temptations and cares of this world if you did not have Him? What would you do when you awaken and prepare for the day’s battle if you did not have Him? What would you do at night when you arrive home exhausted and weary if there were no door of fellowship between you and Christ? Blessed be His name, the Sun of Righteousness. He will not leave you. His promise is sure, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb 13:5 – Greek has 5 negatives!) When you think what life would be like without Him, it magnifies His preciousness.” May our prayer daily be “Sun of my soul, Thou Saviour dear, It is not night if Thou be near; O may no earth-born cloud arise, To hide Thee from Thy servant’s eyes.” (John Keble)

The Sun of Righteousness has come. He has risen from the grave! He is here. He has risen in the hearts of those who fear Him with a sense of reverence and awe! And He will come again “on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory” (Mt 24:30) and we will come with Him “clothed in fine linen, white and clean, on white horses” (Rev 19:14)! O glorious day! Indeed, the Sun of Righteousness has come and He has risen, shattering the power of sin and death that we might be justified by grace through faith in His glorious Gospel of peace (Eph 6:15). Then the Sun of Righteousness rose from the earth (Acts 1:9-11), sending us His Spirit, the Helper, the Spirit of Truth (Jn 15:26), that we might might be sanctified and transformed from glory to glory, as with unveiled faces we behold as in a mirror the glory of the Lord (2Cor 3:18). And yet the best is yet to come for when the Sun of Righteousness rises with healing in His wings “we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is.” (1Jn 3:2-3) and “we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” for “this perishable will put on the imperishable and this mortal will but on immortality” (1Cor 15:51-54) Dear child of God, “the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” (Ro 8:18) Therefore “let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary,” (Gal 6:9). Instead may God’s Spirit grant us faith to wait for the LORD that we might gain new strength (exchange His strength for our weakness) and mount up with wings like eagles, able to run and not get tired, able to walk and not become weary (Isa 40:31), ever mindful that the Sun of Righteousness says “Yes, I am coming quickly.” And so we cry “Amen! Come, Lord Jesus.” (Rev 22:20)

O GLORIOUS DAY! (PLAY)