With Golden Band girded – Charles Spurgeon

WITH GOLDEN BAND GIRDED

“He was girded about the chest with a golden band.” Revelation 1:13 (NKJV) [The original title of this sermon was WITH GOLDEN GIRDLE GIRT.]

Introduction

Be assured, my brethren, the more real Jesus Christ is to us, the more power there will be in our religion. Those men whose religion lies in believing certain doctrines and contending for certain modes of expression may be strong enough in bigotry, but they often fail entirely in developing the spirit of true Christianity. There may be minds so constituted that they can live under the power of an idea and they might possibly be able to die for it. But these, I think, must be comparatively few. To draw out enthusiasm among men, there must generally be a man as leader and commander in whom the people can implicitly trust, to whom they will voluntarily tender obedience.

The Power of a Personal Leader

Individual men have worked wonders. The thoughts which they incarnated may have been, in themselves, strong, yet their strength was never so forcible as when the men who represented those thoughts were present to give them currency. Then the blood of the many was stirred and every man’s heart beat high. The presence of Oliver Cromwell in a regiment was equal to any ten thousand men. He had only to appear and all his soldiers felt so sure of victory, they would dash upon the cavaliers as some mighty tornado, driving them like chaff before the wind! The presence of Napoleon at any moment in a battle was almost always sufficient to turn the scale. Let but “the little corporal” appear and wave his sword, and men seemed to lose all sense of their own personal danger and rushed into the very mouth of death to gain the victory!

The Role of Jesus Christ in Christianity

Now, the force of the religion of Jesus, under God the Holy Spirit, it seems to me, is never fully brought out except when our faith greets the Lord Jesus Christ as a person and holds to Him as a personal leader and commander, loving Him and devoting ourselves to Him as an ever-living, evergracious friend. It is not by believing a set of ideas and trying to be enthusiastic over them, that our courage rises or our prowess succeeds. Rather let us feel His presence, though we cannot see His face, and remembering that there is such an One as Jesus of Nazareth, who became a baby in Bethlehem for us—who lived, and toiled, and suffered for us—then laid bare His chest to the spear and gave up His life for us.

We grow strong when we thus thInk of Him as our Savior, when His thorn-crowned head rises before our mind’s eye, when we look into that face so marred with shame, and pain, and cruelty, till we are compelled to cry out, “Oh, my Savior, I love You, and for the love I bear Your name would gladly learn what I can do to honor You, and I will do it! Point out to me how much of my substance I should place upon Your altar, and I will be glad to place it there! Put me into the place of suffering, if necessary, and I will account it a place of honor, for if You are there, I can look into Your dear face and think that I am suffering for You—fire shall be then like a bed of roses to me—and death, itself, seem far sweeter than life!”

Fellowship with Christ

We need to have more open testimony concerning the person of our Lord Jesus Christ! I am persuaded of that and we have need, private Christians, to live more in fellowship with Him, the Son of God, the man, Christ Jesus, who has redeemed us from wrath, and through whose life we live!

The Golden Band

To Him now—to Him exclusively let all your thoughts be turned. Oh, that you may discern the image which stood on that Lord’s Day clearly before the view of John, the eyes of your understanding being opened, and your whole soul being attentive to the Revelation! It is but one part of John’s description of our Lord Jesus Christ in heaven to which I propose to direct your attention. “He was girded about the chest with a golden band.” What did this golden band signify? And what are the golden lessons to be gathered from it?

I. THE GOLDEN BAND

What did it mean? It was designed, first, to set forth our Lord’s excellence in all His offices. He is a prophet. The prophets of old were often girded about with leather bands, but our Savior wears a golden band, for He, above all other prophets, is vested with authority! What He declares and testifies is true. Yes, it is the pure truth of God, unalloyed with tradition or superstition. He makes no mistakes. There is no treachery to taint His teaching. Sitting at His feet, you may accept every word He utters as infallible. You need not raise a question about it. The band of golden truth is round about Him.

Jesus as Priest

He is also a priest. The high priest of old wore a band of many colors for glory and for beauty. Our Lord Jesus Christ wears a band superior to this. It is of the pure gold, for among the priests He has no peer. Of all the sons of Aaron, none could vie with Him. They must first offer a sacrifice for their own sins. They needed to wash their feet in the laver, and to be touched with the cleansing blood. But Jesus Christ is without spot, or blemish, or any such thing— “Their priesthood ran through several bands, For mortal was their race.” But Jesus is immortal and about Him, He wears the golden band to show that He excels all the priests of Aaron’s line. As for those persons who, in modern times, pretend to be priests, our Lord Jesus Christ is not to be mentioned in the same day with them. They are all deceivers! If they knew the truth of God, they would understand that there is no class of priests now. All caste of priesthood is forever abolished! Every man that fears God, and every woman, too, is a priest according to the Word of God which is written, “He has made us kings and priests unto God.” The priesthood is common to all the saints—not confined to some! But He wears a golden band among them. Their priesthood would be nothing without His. He has made them priests. They derive their priesthood entirely from Him, neither could they be acceptable before God if they were not accepted in the beloved.

Jesus as King

He is a King as well as a prophet and a priest, and that band, being made of gold, signifies His supremacy over all other kings! He is mightier far than they—“the Lord mighty in battle.” “King of kings” is His name, and the burden of the music of heaven is this, “King of kings, and Lord of lords.” The day shall come when He shall grasp His scepter and break the kingdoms of earth like a potter’s vessels with His rod of iron! He is this day King of the Jews, but He shall openly be so proclaimed. In that day kings shall bow down before Him and He shall gather up sheaves of scepters, while many crowns shall be upon His glorious brow!

The Golden Band’s Significance

There is no kingdom like the kingdom of Christ. Other kingdoms come and go like the hoar-frost of the morning, or the sheen upon the midnight waves, but His kingdom stands forever and ever! It shall endure from everlasting to everlasting! As Prophet, Priest and King, He wears a band of gold to show His supremacy in office above all others! The golden band, moreover, bears witness to His power and authority. Men were often girded with bands when they received office. The prophet Isaiah said of Eliakim that he received a band of power and dominion. Keys were hung upon the band. The housewife’s band with her keys signified her authority over her servants.

Jesus’ Power and Authority

The keys at the band of great men signified their power in their various offices, and when we sometimes sing—“Lo, in His hand the sovereign keys of heaven, and death, and hell,” we recognize this meaning of Christ’s golden band, that all power is given unto Him in heaven and in earth. He is the universal Lord. Up in heaven He enjoys an authority that is undisputed. Angels bow before Him—and on the sea of glass they cast down their crowns and cry, “Hallelujah!” Here on earth all Providence is ruled by the man whose hands were pierced. All this dispensation is an economy of mediatorial government, over which Jesus Christ presides. He puts down one and sets up another; He makes the wheels of Providence revolve. Everything occurs according to His decree and purpose. In all things He rules and He overrules them for the good of His Church, even as Joseph governed Egypt for the good of the seed of Abraham!

Jesus as Active in His Work

What a comfort it is, beloved, for us to think of the authority and the power of our Lord Jesus Christ! He who had not where to lay His head; He who was despised and rejected of men; He who was a working man—the carpenter’s Son; He who felt the pangs of hunger, endured the pains of weariness, was neglected, condemned, opposed, and cast out by His countrymen and His kinsmen—it is He who is now undisputed Master and unrivaled Lord everywhere! No name is as famous as that one once branded with infamy—the name of Jesus—whom sinful men rejected, holy angels now adore!

Christ’s Enduring Love and Provision

On earth He was condemned and crucified. In heaven He is hailed with highest honor. Look up to that golden band! See how He descended, step by step, into the meanest depths of humiliation. Then mark how He ascended with rapid flight to the towering heights of exaltation! Follow Him. With Him take your lot. Be willing to be made of no repute in this day of reproach that you may be a partaker of His glory in the day of His appearing! Girded thus about with a golden band, we have a vivid representation of His activity. The band was used by the Easterns to bind up their long flowing robes. The Hebrew did not usually wear a band indoors. It was only when on a journey, or when engaged in some manual labor that he thus adjusted his attire.

Golden Lessons from Christ’s Golden Band

Jesus Christ stands ready and prepared to work on behalf of His beloved! He never holds His peace, and never will. As long as you have a cause to plead, Christ will be your intercessor! Whatever you need, He is waiting to supply. As long as you have a sin to confess, Christ will be your advocate with the Father to purge your guilt and purify your souls. As long as you are persecuted on earth, there will be a Christ to represent you in heaven. As long as you are in this vale of tears, He, girded with a golden band, will be the angel of God’s presence to succor and to save you!

Jesus’ Undying Love

And does not the golden band imply His enduring love? The heart was, in old times, and still is among ourselves, supposed to be the dwelling place of the affections. What, do you think, is the ruling passion in the heart of Christ? What is it that inflames the bosom of Him who was once the Man of Sorrows, but now is King of kings and Lord of lords? He is girded about the chest with a band of gold. He never ceases to love His people. The band is an endless thing—it goes right around a man. Christ’s heart always keeps within the sacred circle of undiminished, unchanging, undying affection for all whom His Father gave Him, for all whom He bought with His precious blood!

Christ’s Eternal Riches

Never doubt the faithfulness of Christ to you, beloved, since faithfulness is the band of His loins. Never think that a promise will fail, or that the covenant will be broken. Trusting in Him, you will never be allowed to perish. It cannot be! While He wears that golden band, He cannot prove faithless. That heavenly decoration is a goodly order. Invested therewith, He cannot forget or prove untrue to those whom He has engaged to protect. Though heaven and earth shall pass away, not one Word of grace shall fall to the ground. The sun and moon shall expire—dim with age, they will cease to shed their light abroad—but the love of Jesus Christ shall be as fresh and new as in the day of His espousals, and as delicious as when you first tasted of it!

Conclusion

And now let me briefly point out to you the golden lessons to be gathered from these five meanings of the golden band.

The Golden Lessons

• We must admire Christ in all His offices.
• We must trust Christ in His power and authority.
• We must imitate Christ in His activity.
• We must love Christ in return for His enduring love.
• We must rejoice in Christ’s abundant riches.

Let us live in the study of the life of Jesus. Let us cultivate a spirit of love for Him and an ever-present trust in His power and authority.

Final Exhortation

Oh, beloved, if you are poor in spiritual things, you made yourselves poor, since Christ is yours and with Him all things are yours! Do enjoy what God has given you! Take the good that God provides! Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice! As that golden band gleams from afar, say in your spirit—“Since Christ is rich, can I be poor? What can I need besides?”

The Lord bless you all! Amen.

C.H. Spurgeon