It is said of Simeon, "It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ." He was looking, waiting and yearning for the appearance of Christ, who is the Consolation of Israel. Simeon lived so close to the Lord that the Lord had to reveal things to him about his own life and future. Why was it necessary for Simeon to have the revelation that he would not see death before he had seen the Christ?

I think there are a number of reasons for this. I think Simeon, like Paul, was in a fix. He did not know whether to depart and be with the Lord he so much loved, or to stay and see the arrival of the Hope of the ages. Simeon lived in close fellowship with God and, therefore, yearned to cast off the body of flesh and pass into the Lord's immediate presence. What this world was offering of the Lord's presence and service, though good and precious, was not enough to satisfy to the fullest the growing hunger for fullest and most complete union with the Lord. He yearned to depart. He was a pilgrim yearning for home. He was like a lover who was no longer satisfied with a picture of the beloved, but wanted the beloved personally.

Simeon also had another longing. He had lived in the Lord's presence and possibly prayed night and day for the restoration of Israel. He had read that the Lord's Christ would come and accomplish this. His heart longed for this accomplishment. To partially satisfy his yearning, the Lord revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that He would not see death before he had seen the consolation of Israel.

So the arrival of Christ became to him the greatest event. He yearned and longed for it night and day. If the Lord's Christ came, that would enable him to enter into double fulfilment. First of all, he would, in seeing Christ, see his life-long desire fulfilled, and how wonderful! Secondly, in seeing Christ, he would now be free to depart and pass into the presence of the Lord he so much desired.

Needless to say that he longed and yearned and burnt for the arrival of Christ. It was the kind of yearning that only became more intense with passing time. Nothing else could fully satisfy him. He just wanted the Christ.

Simeon was yearning for the Lord's first coming. Today, even among the lovers of the Lord, there are only few who miss Him desperately and cry out for Him with their whole being. Below is a poem written by someone I have had the privilege of knowing recently, whose being, like that of Simeon, thirsts and hungers for the return of the Lord's Christ. As you read the expression of his deep longings, ask yourself whether you know such longings. If such longings are absent, pray that the Lord should put them into you by a fresh revelation of the soon-coming King. If they are already in your being, allow them to mature, then you, too, with the Holy Spirit, will say, "Come, Lord Jesus!"

I AM DYING, LORD JESUS

1. I yearn for Thee
Where art Thou, Lord?
When art Thou coming?
My heart breaks for want of Thee
who art the sum total
of my satisfaction.

2. My heart and being are lonely without Thee
All else that used to satisfy, though present, no longer fulfils
Even in the presence of my beloved ones
I still feel lonely
For only Thou canst fulfil and satisfy the depth of my total being.

3. Thy throne in my heart is special
No one else has been there
where Thou art enthroned in me
No one else will ever enter
Thine sacred chamber in me
My life's greatest privilege has been having Thee there.

4. I count the long days, minutes, seconds that must be spent
Before Thine all-lovely face I see
Time seems to pass but the time of Thine arrival appears no nearer
When my yearning eyes will behold Thee who art the crowning joy of my being.

5. Dost Thou know, Beloved, that I pine away out of  longing for Thee?
Dost Thou know that mine heart can no longer know true satisfaction while Thou,
the one ambition of its existence, art away?
Won't Thou come quickly before my frame and being shatter for want of Thee?

6. I once knew something of human love
I still know something of human love
But all the love of the Church and dear ones put together
Cannot fully satisfy for one second while my heart bleeds for want of Thee!

7. If I must wait another day before I see Thee as Thou art,
Loving Lord, hold and keep together my longing, breaking being
Fill my every cell to overflowing so that I can serve Thee.
Until I hear Thine sound, meet Thee in the air and be lost in Thee forever.

1981.