away,—those kingdoms under which the saints of God have been
not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us" (Rom 8:18).
The thought of the kingdom cheers us, and the stray gleams of it which faith gives us are like the lattice-lights of a loved dwelling, sparkling through the thicket, to the weary eye of a benighted wanderer. Yes, we are heirs of nothing less than a kingdom, however unlike such we may seem at present, and however ambitious it may be reckoned to claim so much, and to aspire so high. Robes of royalty shall soon cover all our unseemliness; and beneath the glory of a throne we shall bury all our poverty, and shame, and grief.
But this is not all. The varied excellences of that kingdom, as made known to us by prophets and apostles, are such as specially to meet our case, and contrast with our present condition. This fitness,—this contrast makes the thoughts of the kingdom doubly precious and consoling.
1. It is the kingdom of God (1 Cor 6:9). Man's kingdoms have passed away,—those kingdoms under which the saints of God have been trodden down. And now all that is man's is gone, and nothing remains but what is God's! The glory of the kingdom is this, that it is altogether God's. It must, then, be perfect and blessed,—wholly unlike any thing that these eyes of ours have seen. If it were but a reformation of human kingdoms, if it were a mere change of dynasty, the prospect of it would be but doubtful comfort; but it is an entire passing away of the old, and a making all things new. It is the return of God to his own world;—and oh, what will not that return effect for us! His re-enthronement is what we desire; for it is this alone that gives us the assurance of perpetuity and stability, against which no enemy shall prevail. It was to that reenthronement that Jesus looked forward when about to ascend the cross, and of which he spoke twice over at the paschal-table (Luke 22:16 , 18); as if this were "the joy set before him," because of which he "endured the cross. despising the shame" (Heb 12:2). It is that re-