Jerusalem the Golden
Major texts: Revelation 21:18–23; 2
Corinthians 4:17–18; Revelation 7:9–17; Isaiah 60:19–20
Text: Bernard of Cluny (12th
Century)
(Lutheran
Service Book 672)
Jerusalem
the golden,
With milk and honey blest—
The
promise of salvation,
The place of peace and rest—
We
know not, oh, we know not
What joys await us there:
The
radiancy of glory,
The bliss beyond compare!
Within
those walls of Zion
Sounds forth the joyful song,
As
saints join with the angels
And all the martyr throng.
The
Prince is ever with them;
The daylight is serene;
The
city of the blessèd
Shines bright with glorious sheen.
Around
the throne of David,
The saints, from care released,
Raise
loud their songs of triumph
To celebrate the feast.
They
sing to Christ their leader,
Who conquered in the fight,
Who
won for them forever
Their gleaming robes of white.
O
sweet and blessèd country,
The home of God’s elect!
O
sweet and blessèd country
That faithful hearts expect!
In mercy,
Jesus, bring us
To that eternal rest
With
You and God the Father
And Spirit, ever blest.
Our Sermon Hymn for this coming Sunday is Jerusalem the Golden
which is drawn from a longer poem composed by Bernard of Cluny. I typically
like to include a little background information about the author or the hymn,
but to be honest, not much is known about Bernard. We know he entered the
monastery at Cluny during the abbacy of Peter the Venerable (1122-56) and he
wrote one of the greatest medieval poems: De Contemptu Mundi (On the
Contemptibleness of the World). His hymns are actually drawn from this poem. According
to the reviews I’ve read of this 3,000 line poem it seems Bernard heaped scorn
upon life in this world due to all the abuses in his day, abuses in the Church,
abuses in politics, etc. However, when he contemplated heaven, he was filled
with a vision of wonder and awe. Twenty to thirty hymns have been drawn from
his poem, two of which are in our hymnal, “The Clouds of Judgment Gather” (513)
and “Jerusalem the Golden” (672). Apparently there is no English translation of
the entire poem.
Our hymn is taken from that portion of the poem that focuses on
heaven. Bernard draws from a wide range of biblical texts to paint his picture.
The picture of heaven as the New Jerusalem was used especially by the Apostle
John in the book of Revelation. Read what John saw in Revelation 21:18–23:
18The
wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, like clear glass. 19The
foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The
first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20the
fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the
ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst.
21And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of
a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent
glass.
22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its
temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23And the city has
no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and
its lamp is the Lamb.
While the symbolic nature of this passage is obvious (how can it be
“pure gold” (verse 18) and yet have gates made of pearl (verse 21) and a
foundation made from various precious stones (verses 19-20)?), nonetheless the
opening line of the hymn finds its origin in such pictures as this one in
Revelation. The future home of believers is glorious beyond our ability to
describe.
Here in time we gather in a building we call a church (or cathedral
or temple or whatever) to worship the Lord. In heaven there is no such building
(verse 22). The temple there “is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb,” who
is Jesus. “What joys await us there” (stanza 1)!
The new creation is quite different from the fallen creation in
John’s vision. For example there is no need for the sun or the moon to give
light. “The glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb” (verse 23).
In this glorious light the “daylight is serene” and each day “shines bright
with glorious sheen” (stanza 2).
In the transfiguration of our Lord (Matthew 17, Mark 9, Luke 9)
some of the Apostles got a glimpse of this glory. In deed the root meaning of
the word “glory” is something like brightness. But brightness is only the
beginning of understanding the “glory” of the Lord. In Exodus 33:18-23 Moses
asks to see God’s glory. This request is denied him because no one can see the
face of God and live. In heaven we see the glory of God unfiltered, and live,
we see the face of God and live. Moses is allowed to see some of the glory of
God. God tells Moses, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will
proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’
And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom
I will show mercy.” In heaven, when we see God face to face, when we live in
the light of his glory, we live in God’s grace and mercy.
In Isaiah 60:1-3, the prophet prophesied about the Messiah who
would bring the light of salvation to those living in the darkness of their
sin. Jesus fulfilled that prophecy. Isaiah made another prophecy in the same
chapter:
19 The sun shall be no more
your light by day,
nor for brightness shall the moon
give you light;
but the Lord
will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your
glory.
20 Your sun shall no more go down,
nor your moon withdraw itself;
for the Lord
will be your everlasting light,
and your days of mourning
shall be ended. (Isaiah 60:19–20)
Surely
anyone can see how John’s vision in Revelation echoes Isaiah’s vision. But
Isaiah’s vision adds something in verse 20: “Your days of mourning shall be ended.”
Of course John’s vision doesn’t lack this word of comfort (Revelation 7:17).
Heaven will be a place of joy, not sorrow. So in our hymn we sing, “We know
not, oh, we know not; What joys await us there” in stanza 1 and “Within those
walls of Zion Sounds forth the joyful song” in stanza 2.
In his vision of the New Jerusalem, John sees a multitude of
saints, dressed in white (symbol of being clothed in the righteousness of
Christ (Isaiah 61:10; Philippians 3:9) or purity or baptism or some such idea which
points us to Christ and his mercy) around the throne of God and the Lamb
(Jesus).
9 After this I looked, and behold, a great
multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and
peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed
in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10and crying out
with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to
the Lamb!” 11And all the angels were standing around the throne and
around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces
before the throne and worshiped God, 12saying, “Amen! Blessing and
glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God
forever and ever! Amen.”
13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying,
“Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14I
said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out
of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in
the blood of the Lamb.
15 “Therefore they are before the throne of
God,
and serve him day and night in
his temple;
and he who sits on the throne
will shelter them with his presence.
16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst
anymore;
the sun shall not strike them,
nor any scorching heat.
17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will
be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to
springs of living water,
and God will wipe away every tear from
their eyes.” (Revelation 7:9–17)
In
verse ten we see that they clearly know who gets the praise for their salvation,
“Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” The
praise is to God the Father, who sent His Son, to the Son who willingly came,
and (though not mentioned here) God the Holy Spirit, who brought them to faith
and kept them in it. Their robes had been washed in Christ’s blood; through
faith in Him the Father forgave them and gave His righteousness (purity) to
them (v. 14). So we sing in stanza three, “They sing to Christ their leader, Who
conquered in the fight, Who won for them forever Their gleaming robes of white.”
Those in heaven came through tribulation (Revelation 7:14). This is
the constant state of Christians in the fallen world. Paul wrote:
17For
this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory
beyond all comparison, 18as we look not to the things that are seen
but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but
the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:17–18)
No matter what our tribulations might be, compared to eternity they
are “transient.” We will be released from pain, and other unpleasant things
here and experience unseen, eternal blessings.
O
sweet and blessèd country,
The home of God’s elect!
O
sweet and blessèd country
That faithful hearts expect!
In mercy,
Jesus, bring us
To that eternal rest
With
You and God the Father
And Spirit, ever blest.
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