And
behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was
just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was
upon him. And it had been revealed
to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the
Lord’s Christ. So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents
brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law,
he took Him up in his arms and blessed God saying,
“Now
Lord, You are letting Your servant depart in peace,
According
to Your word;
For my eyes have seen Your salvation…”
Luke
2:25-30
For
years, I have waited expectantly,
Longing
to see Your salvation with my eyes.
Treasuring
the promise You’ve given me,
This
great hope of seeing the Christ.
Oh,
how the years swiftly pass;
My
steps may falter, yet my heart burns bright.
I
see my end drawing near,
Searching
the midnight sky for Your light.
Then
I see Him, the tiny Babe wrapped in warmth;
I
stretch forth my hands to this blessed Child,
And
draw Him close to my beating heart
All
glory to You, Lord—my eyes now behold my desire!
Gazing
in His eyes, peaceful like doves,
A
divine and holy love settles upon Him,
And
now that I’ve embraced Your great salvation,
Take
me in peace; the bright Morning Star has dawned.
C.A.
TAYLOR
Simeon’s Prayer
Simeon
was a very usual name in Judea, and there is no doubt that our Simeon was just
an obscure old man of the common people, entirely unknown out of his own little
circle, who for years had been a devout but unofficial student of those
prophetic Scriptures which had kindled in his heart, and kept burning for many
years, the fire of faith and expectation; who, hoping against hope, had at last
been rewarded by a revelation from God ‘that he should not see death, before he
had seen the Lord’s Christ.’ Many a great man has striven after an immortality
of memory among men, only to die and be forgotten even in the place where he
lived and wrought what he fondly hoped would be immortal deeds; yet this
obscure old man, who was a lover of God and a believer in His Son Jesus Christ,
has attained an immortality which shall endure while the world stands, and in
the world of glory shall live and shine among the greatest of the servants of
God. True immortality comes only to those who associate themselves with the
Lord’s Christ. Not all who believe and receive Jesus shall be known in this
word, and have their names preserved in the records of time; but none is too
obscure to have his name written in the Lamb’s book of life; none too obscure
to live and shine forever among the great unnumbered and numberless host of
God’s redeemed ones.
Simeon
was just and devout. His character was summed up in these two words. They were
enough, for they tell the whole story of his walk before God and man. A just
man and devout is certain to be a good man, in the broad sense of the word; a
kind, merciful, generous, and benevolent man.
Simeon
was just.—The just man of the Scriptures is a man who is right with both God
and man. The just, or the justified, man is he who been set, or made, right
with God; the rightened man. A sinful man can be justified with God only by
faith in Him. Every truly justified or just man is also a regenerated man; and
thus righteousness is not only a matter of standing with God, but also a matter
of state as well. It is a walk of faith, truly, but of character as well. Not
with God only was Simeon just; he was also just with men; that is, he was
righteous in all his relations and all his dealings with men. Righteousness of
character and actions, or practical holiness, is the final test of Christian
character.
He
was devout.—Simeon was devout as well as just. Now devoutness is that which
describes our attitude towards God, without respect to law. It is the
characteristic of personal relation. The devout man is the pious man, who loves
and adores God for Himself. Loving His holiness, His goodness, His mercy and
His truth, He seeks to imitate them in his own life. He walks with God in holy
admiration and adoration all the days of his life. He beholds and admires His
glory in all His work and especially in all the manifestations of His grace
towards men. He is a man of humility, prayer, and praise. He loves God’s law,
lays up His precepts and commandments in his heart, and seeks to illustrate
them in his life, simply for the purpose of glorifying God’s holy name among
men.
Lastly,
it is said that he had faith in God’s promises. He not only believed in God,
but he believed and expected the things which God promised and foretold. ‘Having
seen them afar off,’ he was persuaded of them and embraced them.’ He ‘waited
for the ??consolation of Israel.’ Being familiar with the Scriptures, he had
discovered that God had promised to visit and redeem His people by the coming
of the Messiah. In that Messiah he saw concentrated all the good things which
God had prepared for His people, and he looked forward to His coming with all
his heart and soul.
Simeon
had been long a lover of the light…. He had lived for many a year with his
windows open towards the east. But now the morning broke for him; what more had
he to ask of God or man?
And we see, too, a soul completed in a vision not
only of salvation for himself, but of a glory and a radiance for all the world.
If
we could only trust God like Simeon, our whole powers would immediately become
enlarged, and our whole being be fulfilled.
JAMES HASTINGS
Luke
The
charm about Simeon was that, though he lived many years, he had not begun to
grown old…. He never doubted his dreams; he was sure that they would all come
true. He sang through the whole of the storm. He was certain that his old eyes
would yet gaze upon the face of the Messiah. His was an unconquerable soul.
F.W. BOREHAM
The
Silver Shadow
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