Glory!
(No. 1721)
DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, MAY 20, 1883,
BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
"Who has called us unto His eternal glory." 1 Peter 5:10.
A FORTNIGHT ago, when I was only able to creep to the front of this
platform, I spoke to you concerning the future of our mortal
bodies–[Sermon #1719–The Tent Dissolved and the Mansion Entered]–"We
know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we
have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the
heavens." On the next Sabbath, [Sermon #1720–Christ in You], we went a
step further and we did not preach so much about the resurrection of
the body as upon the hope of Glory for our entire nature, our text
being, "Christ in you, the hope of glory."
Thus we have passed through the outer court and have trod the hallowed
floor of the Holy Place. And now we are the more prepared to enter
within the veil and to gaze, a while, upon the glory which awaits us.
We shall say a little– and oh, how little it will be–upon that glory
of which we have so sure a prospect, that glory which is prepared for
us in Christ Jesus and of which He is the hope! I pray that our eyes
may be strengthened that we may see the heavenly light and that our
ears may be opened to hear sweet voices from the better land. As for
me, I cannot say that I will speak of the glory, but I will try to
stammer about it–for the best language to which a man can reach
concerning Glory must be a mere stammering.
Paul did but see a little of it for a short time and he confessed that
he heard things that it was not lawful for a man to utter. And I doubt
not that he felt utterly unable to describe what he had seen. Though a
great master of language, yet for once he was overpowered–the grandeur
of his theme made him silent! As for us, what can we do, where even
Paul breaks down? Pray, dear Friends that the Spirit of Glory may rest
upon you, that He may open your eyes to see as much as can at present
be seen of the heritage of the saints! We are told that "eye has not
seen, neither has ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of
man, the things which God has prepared for them that love Him."
Yet the eye has seen wonderful things! There are sunrises and sunsets,
Alpine glories and ocean marvels which, once seen, cling to our
memories throughout life! Yet, even when Nature is at her best, she
cannot give us an idea of the supernatural Glory which God has prepared
for His people! The ear has heard sweet harmonies. Have we not enjoyed
music which has thrilled us? Have we not listened to speech which has
seemed to make our hearts dance within us? And yet no melody of harp
nor charm of oratory can ever raise us to a conception of the glory
which God has laid up for them that love Him! As for the heart of man,
what strange things have entered it! Men have exhibited fair fictions,
woven in the loom of fancy, which have made the eyes sparkle with their
beauty and brightness–imagination has reveled and rioted in its own
fantastic creations, roaming among islands of silver and mountains of
gold, or swimming in seas of wine and rivers of milk–but imagination
has never been able to open the gate of pearl which shuts in the city
of our God.
No, it has not yet entered the heart of man. Yet the text goes on to
say, "but He has revealed it unto us by His Spirit." So that Heaven is
not an utterly unknown region, not altogether an inner brightness shut
in with walls of impenetrable darkness. God has revealed joys which He
has prepared for His beloved, but mark you, even though they are
revealed of the Spirit, yet it is no common unveiling and the reason
that it is made known at all is ascribed to the fact that "the Spirit
searches all things, yes, the deep things of God." So we see that the
glory which awaits the saints is ranked among the deep things of God
and He that would speak, thereof, after the manner of the oracles of
God must have much heavenly teaching. It is easy to chatter according
to human fancy, but if we would follow the sure teaching of the Word of
God, we shall have need to be taught of the holy Spirit, without whose
anointing the deep things of God must be hidden from us. Pray that we
may be under that teaching while we dwell upon this theme.
There are three questions which we will answer this morning. The first
is, what is the destiny of the saints?– "Eternal glory," says the
text. Secondly, in which does this glory consist? I said we would
answer the questions, but this is not to be answered this side the
pearl gate. Thirdly, what should be the influence of this prospect upon
our hearts? What manner of people ought we to be whose destiny is
eternal glory? How should we live who are to live forever in the glory
of the Most High?
I. First, WHAT, THEN, IS THE DESTINY OF THE SAINTS? Our text tells us
that God has "called us unto His eternal glory." "Glory!" Does not the
very word astound you? "Glory!" Surely that belongs to God alone! Yet
the Scripture says, "glory," and glory it must mean, for it never
exaggerates. Think of glory for us who have deserved eternal shame!
Glory for us poor creatures who are often ashamed of ourselves! Yes, I
look at my book, again, and it actually says, "glory"–nothing less
than glory! Therefore it must be so.
Now, since this seems so amazing and astonishing a thing, I would so
speak with you that not a relic of incredulity may remain in your
hearts concerning it. I would ask you to follow me while we look
through the Bible, not quoting every passage which speaks of glory, but
mentioning a few of the leading ones. This glory has been promised.
What said David? In the 73rd Psalm and 24th verse we meet with these
remarkable words–"You shall guide me with Your counsel, and afterward
receive me to glory." In the original Hebrew there is a trace of
David's recollection of Enoch's being translated and, though the royal
Psalmist did not expect to be caught away without dying, yet he did
expect that after he had followed the guidance of the Lord here below,
the great Father would stoop and raise up His child to be with Himself
forever.
He expected to be received into Glory. Even in those dim days, when as
yet the light of the Gospel was but in its dawn, this Prophet and king
was able to say, "You shall afterward receive me to glory." Did he not
mean the same thing when, in the 84th Psalm, verse 11, he said, "The
Lord will give Grace and glory: no good thing will He withhold from
them that walk uprightly"? Not only no good thing under the name of
Grace will God withhold from the upright, but no good thing under the
head of Glory. No good of Heaven shall be kept from the saints; no
reserve is even set upon the throne of the great King, for our Lord
Jesus has graciously promised, "To Him that overcomes will I grant to
sit with Me on My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with
My Father on His throne." "No good thing," not even among the
infinitely good things of Heaven, will God "withhold from them that
walk uprightly."
If David had this persuasion, much more may we who walk in the light of
the Gospel! Since our Lord Jesus has suffered and entered into His
Glory, and we know that we shall be with Him where He is, we are
confident that our rest shall be glorious! Brothers and Sisters, it is
to this glory that we have been called! The people of God, having been
predestinated, have been called with an effectual calling–called so
that they have obeyed the call and have run after Him who has drawn
them! Now, our text says that He has, "called us unto His eternal glory
by Christ Jesus." We are called to repentance, we are called to faith,
we are called to holiness, we are called to perseverance–and all this
that we may afterwards attain unto glory!
We have another Scripture of like import in 1 Thessalonians 2:12–"Who
has called you unto His kingdom and glory." We are called unto His
kingdom according to our Lord's words, "Fear not, little flock; for it
is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom." We are called
to be kings, called to wear a crown of life that fades not away, called
to reign with Christ in His Glory! If the Lord had not meant us to have
the glory, He would not have called us unto it, for His calling is no
mockery. He would not, by His Spirit, have fetched us out from the
world and separated us unto Himself if He had not intended to keep us
from falling and preserve us eternally. Believer, you are called to
glory– do not question the certainty of that to which God has called
you!
And we are not only called to it, Brothers and Sisters, but glory is
especially joined with justification. Let me quote Romans
8:30–"Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom
He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also
glorified." These various mercies are threaded together like pearls
upon a string– there is no breaking the thread, no separating the
precious things. They are put in their order by God, Himself, and they
are kept there by His eternal and irreversible decree. If you are
justified by the righteousness of Christ, you shall be glorified
through Christ Jesus, for thus has God purposed, and so must it be! Do
you not remember how salvation, itself, is linked with glory? Paul, in
2 Timothy 2:10, speaks of "the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with
eternal glory." The
two things are riveted together and cannot be separated! The saved ones
must partake of the glory of God, for this are they being prepared
every day.
Paul, in the ninth of Romans, where he speaks about the predestinating
will of God, says in the 23rd verse–"The vessels of mercy, which He
had afore prepared unto glory." This is the process which commenced in
regeneration and is going on in us every day in the work of
sanctification. We cannot be glorified so long as sin remains in us–we
must first be pardoned, renewed and sanctified–and then we are fitted
to be glorified. By communion with our Lord Jesus we are made like He,
as says the Apostle in 2 Corinthians 3:18–"But we all, with open face
beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the
same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." It
is very wonderful, how, by the wisdom of God, everything is made to
work this way.
Look at the blessed text in 2 Corinthians 4:17, where Paul says, "For
our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far
more exceeding and eternal weight of glory," where he represents that
all that we can suffer, whether of body or of mind, is producing for us
such a mass of glory that he is quite unable to describe it and he uses
hyperbolically language in saying, "a far more exceeding and eternal
weight of glory." Oh, blessed men, whose very losses are their gains,
whose sorrows produce their joys, whose griefs are big with Heaven!
Well may we be content to suffer if so it is that all things are
working together for our good and are helping to pile up the excess of
our future glory! Thus, then, it seems we are called to glory and we
are being prepared for it.
Is it not, also, a sweet thought that our present fellowship with
Christ is the guarantee of it? In Romans 8:17 it is said, "If so be
that we suffer with Him that we may be also glorified together." Going
to prison with Christ will bring us into the palace with Christ!
Smarting with Christ will bring us into reigning with Christ! Being
ridiculed, slandered and despised for Christ's sake will bring us to be
sharers of His honor, glory and immortality! Who would not be with
Christ in His humiliation if this is the guarantee that we shall be
with Him in His Glory? Remember those dear words of the Lord Jesus,
"You are they which have continued with Me in My temptations. And I
appoint unto you a kingdom, as My Father has appointed unto Me." Let us
shoulder the Cross, for it leads to the crown. "No Cross, no
crown"–but he that has shared the battle shall partake in the victory.
I have not yet done, for there is a text, in Hebrews 2:10, which is
well worthy of our consideration–we are to be brought to Glory. It is
said of our Lord that it "became Him, for whom are all things, in
bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation
perfect through sufferings." See, Beloved, we are called to Heaven, we
are being prepared for it and we shall be brought to it. We might
despair of ever getting into the glory land if we had not One to bring
us there, for the pilgrim's road is rough and beset with many foes–but
there is a "Captain of our salvation"–a greater than Bunyan's
Great-Hearted, who is conducting the pilgrim band through all the
treacherous ways and He will bring the "many sons"–where?–"unto
glory!" Nowhere short of that shall be their ultimatum.
Glory, glory shall surely follow upon Grace–for Christ the Lord, who
has come into His Glory–has entered into Covenant engagements that He
will bring all the "many sons" to be with Him. Mark this and then I
will quote no more Scriptures–this glory will be for our entire
manhood–for our body as well as for our soul! You know that text in
the famous Resurrection chapter in 1 Corinthians 15? Paul speaks of the
body as being "sown in dishonor," but he adds, "it is raised in glory."
And then, in Philippians 3:21, he says of our Divine Lord at His
coming, "Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like
unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able
even to subdue all things unto Himself." What a wonderful change that
will be for this frail, feeble, suffering body!
In some respects it is not vile, for it is a wonderful product of
Divine skill, power and goodness–but inasmuch as it hampers our
spiritual nature by its appetites and infirmities–it may be called a
"vile body." It is an unhandy body for a spirit–it fits a soul well
enough, but a spirit needs something more ethereal, less earth-bound,
more full of life than this poor flesh and blood and bone can ever be.
Well, the body is to be changed. What alteration will it undergo? It
will be rendered perfect. The body of a child will be fully developed
and the dwarf will attain to full stature. The blind shall not be
sightless in Heaven, neither shall the lame be halt, nor shall the
palsied tremble. The deaf shall hear and the dumb shall sing God's
praises. We shall carry none of our deficiencies or infirmities to
Heaven. As good Mr. Ready-to-Halt did not carry his crutches there,
neither shall any of us need a staff to lean upon!
There we shall not know an aching brow, or a weak knee, or a failing
eye. "The inhabitant shall no more say, I am sick." And it shall be an
impassive body, a body that will be incapable of any kind of
suffering–no palpitating heart, no
sinking spirit, no aching limbs no lethargic soul shall worry us there!
No, we shall be perfectly delivered from every evil of that kind.
Moreover, it shall be an immortal body. Our risen bodies shall not be
capable of decay, much less of death. There are no graves in Heaven!
Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord, for their bodies shall rise
never to know death and corruption a second time!
No smell or taint of corruption shall remain upon those whom Jesus
shall call from the tomb. The risen body shall be greatly increased in
power–it is "sown in weakness," says the Scripture–but it is "raised
in power." I suppose there will be a wonderful agility about our
renovated frame. Probably it will be able to move as swiftly as the
lightning flash, for so do angels pass from place to place, and we
shall in this, as in many other things, be as the angels of God.
Anyway, it will be a "glorious body" and it will be "raised in glory,"
so that the whole of our manhood shall participate of that wonderful
depth of bliss which is summed up in the word–"glory." Thus I think I
have set before you much of what the Word of God says upon this matter.
II. Secondly, may the Holy Spirit help me while I try very hesitatingly
and stammeringly to answer the enquiry, WHEREIN DOES THIS DESTINY
CONSIST? Do you know how much I expect to do? It will be but little.
You remember what the Lord did for Moses when the man of God prayed–"I
beseech you show me Your glory!" All that the Lord, Himself, did for
Moses was to say, "You shall see My back parts; but My face shall not
be seen." How little, then, can we hope to speak of this glory! Its
back parts are too bright for us–as for the face of that glory, it
shall not be seen by any of us here below, though, by-and-by, we shall
behold it!
I suppose if one who had been in Heaven could come straight down from
there and occupy this platform, he would find that his discoveries
could not be communicated because of the insufficiency of language to
express such a weight of meaning. The saints' destiny is glory! What is
glory, Brothers and Sisters? What is it, I mean, among the sons of men?
It is generally understood to be fame, a great reputation, the sound of
trumpets, the noise of applause, the sweets of approbation among the
crowd and in high places. The Queen of Sheba came from afar to see the
glory of Solomon. What was that glory, Brothers and Sisters? It was the
glory of a rare wisdom excelling all others! It was the glory of
immense riches expended upon all manner of magnificence and splendor!
As for this last glory, the Lord says of it that a lily of the field
had more of it than Solomon. At least, "Solomon in all his glory was
not arrayed like one of these." Yet that is what men mean by
glory–rank, position, power, conquest– things that make the ears of
men to tingle when they hear of them–things extraordinary and rare.
All this is but a dim shadow of what God means by glory, yet out of the
shadow we may obtain a little inkling of what the substance must be.
God's people shall be wise and even famous, for they shall "shine as
the stars forever and ever." God's people shall be rich–the very
streets of their abode are paved with gold exceedingly rich and rare.
God's people shall be singularly honored–there shall be an unrivalled
glory about them, for they shall be known as a peculiar people, a royal
priesthood, a race of beings lifted up to reveal their Maker's
Character beyond all the rest of His works.
I reckon that glory to a saint means, first of all, purified character.
The brightest glory that really can come to anyone is the glory of
character. Thus God's glory among men is His goodness, His mercy, His
justice, His truth. But shall such poor creatures as we are ever have
perfect characters? Yes, we shall one day be perfectly holy! God's Holy
Spirit, when He has finished His work, will leave in us no trace of
sin! No temptation shall be able to touch us! There will be in us no
relics of our past and fallen state. Oh, will not that be blessed? I
was going to say it is all the glory I need–the glory of being perfect
in character, never sinning, never judging unjustly, never thinking a
vain thought, never wandering away from the perfect Law of God, never
vexed with sin which has so long been my worst enemy!
One day we shall be glorious because the devil, himself, will not be
able to detect a fault in us–and those eyes of God which burn like
fire and read the inmost secrets of the soul will not be able to detect
anything blameworthy in us! Such shall be the character of the saints
that they shall be meet to fellowship with Christ Himself! They will be
fit company for that thrice Holy Being before whom angels veil their
faces. This is glory!
Next, I understand by, "glory," our perfected manhood. When God made
Adam, he was a far superior being to any of us. Man's place in creation
was very remarkable. The Psalmist says, "For You have made him a little
lower than the angels and have crowned him with glory and honor. You
made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put
all things under his feet: all sheep and oxen, yes, and the beasts of
the field; the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatever
passes through the paths of the seas." No king among men in these days
could rival Adam in the Gar-
den of Eden–he was, indeed, monarch of all that he surveyed, and from
the lordly lion down to the tiniest insect of all, living creatures
paid him willing homage. Can we ever rise to this last honor?
Brothers and Sisters, listen–"It does not yet appear what we shall be,
but we know that when Christ shall appear we shall be like He, for we
shall see Him as He is." Is there any limit to the growth of the mind
of a man? Can we tell what he may reach? We read of Solomon that God
gave him largeness of heart as the sand of the sea! God will give to
His people glory that will include in it more largeness of heart than
Solomon ever knew! Then shall we know even as we are known by God. Now
we see, but it is, "through a glass darkly." But then we shall see
"face to face." You have met with men of great intellect and you have
looked up to them, but assuredly, the smallest babe in Christ, when he
shall reach Heaven, shall have a greater intellect than the most
profound philosopher who has ever astounded mankind by his discoveries!
We shall not always be as we are today, contracted and hampered because
of our little knowledge, our slender faculties and our dull
perceptions. Our ignorance and prejudice shall vanish. What a man will
become we can scarcely tell when he is remade in the image of God, and
made like unto our Divine Lord who is, "the firstborn among many
brethren." Here we are but in the embryo stage–our minds are but the
seeds, or the bulbs out of which shall come the flower and glory of a
nobler manhood! Your body is to be developed into something infinitely
brighter and better than the bodies of men here below. And as for the
soul, we cannot guess to what an elevation it shall be raised in Christ
Jesus. There is room for the largest expectation, here, as we
conjecture what will be the full accomplishment of the vast intent of
eternal love–an intent which has involved the sacrifice of the
Only-Begotten Son of God! That can be no mean design which has been
carried on at the expense of the best that Heaven, itself, possessed!
Further, by "glory" and, "coming to glory," I think we must understand
complete victory. Dwelling in the age of the Romans, men said to
themselves, as they read the Scriptures, "What does the Apostle mean by
'glory'?" And they could scarcely help connecting it with conquest and
the return of the warrior in triumph. Men called it, "glory," in those
days when valiant warriors returned from fields of blood with captives
and spoil. Then did the heroes ride through the streets of Rome,
enjoying a triumph voted them by the senate. Then, for a while, the men
of war were covered with glory and all the city was glorious because of
them.
As Christians, we hate the word, "glory," when it is linked with
wholesale murder and symbolized in garments rolled in blood. But yet
there is a kind of fighting to which you and I are called, for we are
soldiers of the Cross and if we fight valiantly under our great
Captain, and rout every sin, and are found faithful even unto
death–then we shall enter glory and receive the honor which belongs to
men who have fought a good fight, and have kept the faith. It will be
no small glory to obtain the crown of life which fades not away. Is not
this a full glory if we only place these three things together, a
purified character, a perfected nature and a complete victory?
An invaluable ingredient in true glory is the Divine approval. "Glory"
among men means approbation–it is a man's glory when he is honored by
his Queen and she hangs a medal on his breast–or when his name is
mentioned in the high court of Parliament and he is ennobled for what
he has done. If men speak of our actions with approval, it is called
fame and glory. Oh, but one drop of the approbation of God has more
glory in it than a sea full of human praise! And the Lord will reward
His own with this holy favor. He will say, "Well done, good and
faithful servant," and Christ, before the universe, will say, "Come,
you blessed of My Father." Oh, what glory that will be! They were
despised and rejected of men; they "wandered about in sheepskins and
goatskins; destitute, afflicted, tormented"–but now God approves them
and they take seats among the peers of Heaven, made noble by the
approbation of the Judge of All!
This is glory with an emphasis, substantial glory! One approving glance
from the eyes of Jesus; one accepting word from the mouth of the Father
will be glory enough for any one of us–and this we shall have if we
follow the Lamb wherever He goes! But this is not all–children of God
will have the glory of reflecting the glory of God. When any of God's
unfallen creatures shall wish to see the greatness of God's goodness,
mercy and love, they that dwell in Heaven will point out a glorified
saint. Whenever any spirit from a far off regions desires to know what
is meant by faithfulness and Grace, some angel will reply, "Go and talk
with those who have been redeemed from among men."
I believe that you and I will spend much of eternity in making known to
principalities and powers the unsearchable riches of the Grace of God.
We shall be mirrors reflecting God and in us shall His Glory be
revealed. There may be myriads of races of pure and holy beings of whom
we have never heard of as yet, and these may come to the New Jerusalem
as
to the great metropolis of Jehovah's universe–and when they come,
there they will gaze upon the saints as the highest instances of Divine
Grace, wisdom, power and love. It will be their highest pleasure to
hear how eternal mercy dealt with us unworthy ones. How we shall
delight to rehearse to them the fact of the Father's eternal purpose,
the story of the Incarnate God–the God that loved and died and the
love of the blessed Spirit who sought us in the days of our sin, and
brought us to the foot of the Cross, renewing us in the spirit of our
minds and making us to be sons of God!
Oh, Brothers and Sisters, this shall be our glory, that God shall shine
through us to the astonishment of all! Yet I think glory includes
somewhat more than this. In certain cases, a man's glory lies in his
relationships. If any of the royal family should come to your houses,
you would receive them with respect. Yes, and even as they went along
the street they would be spied out, and passers-by would say, "That is
the prince!" And they would honor the son of our good Queen. But royal
descent is a poor business compared with being allied to the King of
kings! Many angels are exceedingly bright, but they are only servants
to wait upon the sons. I believe that there will be a kind of awe upon
the angels at the sight of men–when they see us in our glory, they
will rejoice to know our near relation to their Lord–and to fulfill
their own destiny as ministering spirits appointed to minister to the
heirs of salvation.
No pride will be possible to the perfected, but we shall then realize
the exalted position to which, by our new birth, and the Divine
adoption we have been raised. "Behold what manner of love the Father
has bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God." Sons of
God! Sons of the Lord God Almighty! Oh what glory this will be! Then
there will be connected with this the fact that we shall be connected
with Jesus in everything. For do not you see, Brothers and Sisters, it
was because of our fall that Christ came here to save men? When He
worked out a perfect righteousness, it was all for us. When He died, it
was all for us. And when He rose again, it was all for us!
And what is more, we lived in Christ, we died in Him, we were buried in
Him and rose in Him–and we shall ascend into Heaven to reign with Him!
All our glory is by Christ Jesus and in all the glory of Christ Jesus
we have a share. We are members of His body. We are one with Him. I say
the creatures that God has made, when they shall come to worship in the
New Jerusalem, will stand and gaze at glorified men and with bated
breath will say one, to another "These are the beings whose nature the
Son of God assumed! These are the chosen creatures whom the Prince of
Heaven bought with His own blood." They will stand astonished at the
Divine Glory which will be manifested in beings emancipated from sin
and Hell and made heirs of God, joint-heirs with Jesus Christ!
Will not even angels be surprised and awed as they look on the Church
and say to one another, "This is the bride, the Lamb's wife!" They will
marvel how the Lord of Glory should come to this poor earth to seek a
spouse and that He should enter into eternal union with such a people!
Glory, glory dwells in Immanuel's land! Now we are getting near to the
center of it. I feel inclined, like Moses, to take off my shoes, for
the place where we stand is holy ground, now that we are getting to see
poor bushes like ourselves aglow with the indwelling God and changed
from glory unto glory! And yet this is not all, for there in Heaven we
shall dwell in the immediate Presence of God. We shall dwell with Him
in nearest and dearest fellowship! All the felicity of the Most High
will be our felicity. The blessedness of the Triune Jehovah shall be
our blessedness forever and ever.
Did you notice that our text says, "He has called us unto His glory"?
This outshines everything–the glory which the saints will have is the
same glory which God possesses and such as He, alone, can bestow!
Listen to this text–"Whom He justified them He also glorified." He
glorifies them! I know what it is to glorify God, and so do you, but
when we poor creatures glorify God it is in a poor way, for we cannot
add anything to Him. But what must it be for God, Himself, to glorify a
man! The glory which you are to have forever, my dear believing
Brothers and Sisters, is a glory which God Himself will put upon you!
Peter, as a Hebrew, perhaps uses a Hebraism when he says, "His glory."
It may be that he means the best of glory that can be, even as the Jews
were apt to say–"The trees of God"–when they meant the greatest
trees, or, "the mountains of God," when they intended the highest
mountains. So, by the glory of God, Peter may mean the richest, fullest
glory that can be. In the original, the word, "glory," has about it the
idea of, "weight," at which the Apostle Paul hints when he speaks of a
"weight of glory." This is the only glory that has weight in it, all
else is light as a feather. Take all the glories of this world and they
are outweighed by the small dust of the balance. Place them here in the
hollow of my hand, all of them–a child may blow them away as
thistledown!
God's glory has weight! It is solid, true, real–and he that gets it
possesses no mere name, or dream, or tinsel–he has that which will
abide the rust of ages and the fire of judgment. The glory of God! How
shall I describe it? I must set before you a strange Scriptural
picture. Mordecai must be made glorious for his fidelity to his king
and singular is the honor which his monarch ordains for him. This was
the royal order. "Let the royal apparel be brought which the king uses
to wear, and the horse that the king rides upon, and the crown royal
which is set upon his head: and let this apparel and horse be delivered
to the hand of one of the king's most noble princes, that they may
array the man with whom the king delights to honor, and bring him on
horseback through the street of the city, and proclaim before him,
'Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.'"
Can you not imagine the surprise of the Jew when robe and ring were put
upon him, and when he found himself placed upon the king's horse? This
may serve as a figure of that which will happen to us–we shall be
glorified with the Glory of God! The best robe, the best of Heaven's
array shall be appointed unto us and we shall dwell in the house of the
Lord forever! Highest of all our glory will be the enjoyment of God
Himself. He will be our exceeding joy–this bliss will swallow up every
other–the blessedness of God. "The Lord is my portion," says my soul.
"Whom have I in Heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I
desire beside You." Our God shall be our glory! Yet bear with me, I
have left out a word again–the text has it, "Unto His eternal glory."
Yes, but that is the gem of the ring. The glory which God has in
reserve for His chosen will never come to an end–it will stay with us
and we shall stay with it forever!
It will always be glory, too. Its brightness will never become dim. We
shall never be tired of it, or sated with it. After ten thousand
thousand millions of years in Heaven, our happiness shall be as fresh
as when it first began! Those are no fading laurels which surround
immortal brows. Eternal glory knows no diminution. Can you imagine a
man being born at the same time that Adam was created and living all
these thousands of years as a king like Solomon, having all he could
desire? His would seem to be a glorious life. But, if at the end of
7,000 years that man must necessarily die, what has it profited him?
His glory is all over, now–its fires have died out in ashes.
But you and I, when we once enter Glory, shall receive what we can
neither lose nor leave. Eternity! Eternity! This is the sweetness of
all our future bliss! Rejoice, you saintly ones! Take your harps down
from the willows, any of you who are mourning–and if you never sang
before, yet sing this morning, "God has called us unto His eternal
glory," and this is to be our portion world without end!
III. I can only find time for a few words upon the concluding head,
which is–WHAT INFLUENCE SHOULD ALL THIS HAVE UPON OUR HEARTS? I think,
first, it ought to excite desire in many here present that they might
attain unto glory by Christ Jesus. Satan, when he took our blessed Lord
to the top of an exceedingly high mountain, tempted Him to worship him
by offering Him the kingdoms of the world and all the glories thereof.
Satan is very clever and I will, at this time, take a leaf out of his
book. Will you not fall down and worship the Lord Jesus when He can
give you the Kingdom of God and all the glory thereof, and all this,
not in pretense, but in reality?
If there was any force in the temptation to worship Satan for the sake
of the glory of this world, how much more reason is there for urging
you to worship the Son of God that you may obtain His salvation with
eternal glory! I pray the Holy Spirit to drop a hot desire into many a
poor sinner's breast, this morning, that he may cry, "If this glory is
to be had, I will have it, and I will have it in God's way, for I will
believe in Jesus! I will repent, I will come to God and so obtain His
promise."
Secondly, this ought to move us to the feeling of fear. If there is
such a glory as this, let us tremble lest by any means we should come
short of it! Oh, my dear Hearers–especially you that are my fellow
members, brother Church officers and workers associated with me–what a
dreadful thing it will be if any one of us should come short of this
glory! Oh, if there were no Hell, it would be Hell enough to miss
Heaven! What if there were no Pit that is bottomless, nor undying worm,
nor unquenchable fire? It would be boundless misery to have a shadow of
a fear of not reaching to God's eternal glory! Let us, therefore, pass
the time of our sojourning here in fear, and let us watch unto prayer
and strive to enter in at the strait gate. God grant we may be found of
Him, at last, to praise and honor!
If we are right, how this ought to move us to gratitude! Think of
this–we are to enjoy "His eternal glory!" What a contrast to our
deserts! Shame and everlasting contempt are our righteous due apart
from Christ. If we were to receive according to our merits, we should
be driven from His Presence and from the glory of His power. Verily, He
has not
dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us according to our
iniquities, for, after all our transgressions, He has still reserved us
for glory, and reserved Glory for us! What love and zeal should burn in
our bosoms because of this!
Last of all, it should move us to a dauntless courage. If this glory is
to be had, do we not feel like the heroes in Bun-yan's picture? Before
the dreamer there stood a fair palace and he saw persons walking upon
the top of it, clad in light, and singing. Around the door stood armed
men to keep back those who would enter. Then a brave man came up to one
who had a writer's inkhorn by his side and said, "Set down my name."
And straightway the warrior drew his sword and fought with all his
might until he had cut his way to the door. And then he entered and
they within were heard to sing–
"Come in, come in, Eternal glory you shall win."
Will you not draw your swords this morning and fight against sin till
you have overcome it? Do you not desire to win Christ and to be found
in Him? Oh, let us now begin to feel a passion for eternal glory and
then, in the strength of the Spirit, and in the name of Jesus, let us
press forward till we reach it! Even on earth we may taste enough of
this glory to fill us with delight!
The glory which I have described to you dawns on earth though it only
comes to its noontide in Heaven–the glory of sanctified character, the
glory of victory over sin, the glory of relationship to God, the glory
of union with Christ– these are all to be tasted in a measure here
below. These glories send their beams down even to these valleys and
lowlands. Oh, to enjoy them, today, and thus to have earnests and
foretastes of Glory! If we have them, let us go singing on until we
reach the place where God's eternal glory shall surround us. Amen.