glorious gospel of the blessed God/'* (1 Tim. i. 11); or, more literally, " the gos- pel of the glory of Christ," that is, "the good news about the glory of Christ," and " the good news about the glory of the blessed God." As it is <( the gospel of the kingdom," or good news about " the king- dom," that is preached, so it is good news about " the glory." These good news God has sent, and is still sending to this world. In believing them, and receiving God's re- cord concerning the glory, we become par- takers of it, and continue to be so, " if we hold the beginning of our confidence sted- fast unto the end." These good news most fully meet our case, however sad or sinful, and shed light into our souls even in their darkest and most desponding hours.
Our present " light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." So that glory is not merely the issue of the tribulation, but in some sense
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its product. Tribulation is the soil, and glory is the blossom and the fruit. The soil is rough and unseemly, but the pro- duce is altogether perfect. It may seem strange that out of such a field there should spring verdure so fresh and fruit so divine. Yet we know that such is the case. How much we owe to that unlikely soil ! Not only do all things work together for good to us, but they as truly work to- gether for glory.
Faith lays hold of this and prizes tribu- lation, nay, glories in it ; so realizing the joy as to. lose sight of the sorrow, save as contributing to the joy ; so absorbed in the glory as to forget the shame, excepting in so far as it is the parent and precursor of the glory.
Most needful is it that we should realize these prospects, these glimpses which God has given us of what we are yet to be. It is not merely lawful to do so for the relief of the laden spirit, but it is most vitally
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important to do so for the health of our soul, for our growth in grace, and for en- abling us to press on with cheerful energy in the path of service towards God and usefulness to our brother saints or fel- low men.
The man of sorrows had joy set before him. And it was for this that he endured the cross, despising the shame. (Heb. xii. 2.) He needed it, and so do we ; for He who sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one. He found in it strength for the bearing of the cross and the endurance of the shame. So may we, for as the path he trod is the same that is given us to tread in, so the strength is to be found where our forerunner found it. There is joy in store for us, even as for him ; joy not only like his own, but his own very joy. (John xv, 11.) This makes us willing to bear the cross in all its weight and sharpness ; nay, it lightens it so that ofttimes we do not feel its pressure. We can glory both in the
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cross and the shame. We hare less of these than he had, and we have all his consolation, all his joy to the full.
When this is lost sight of, selfish melan- choly often fastens on us. We brood over our griefs till they engross us en- tirely, to the shutting out of all else. We magnify them ; we spread them out and turn them over on every side in order to find out the gloomiest. We take credit to ourselves for endurance, and thus feed our pride and self-importance. We fret under them, and at the same time grow vain at being the objects of so much sympathy — at having so many eyes upon us, and so many words of comfort addressed to us.
Nothing can be more unhealthy than this state of soul, nor more unlike that in which God expects a saint to be. It shuts us into the narrow circle of self. It con- tracts as well as distorts our vision. It vitiates our spiritual tastes, it lowers our spiritual tone, it withers and shrivels up
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our spiritual being*, unfitting us for all offices of calm and gentle love, nay, hinder- ing the right d; charge of plain and com- mon duty. I. is in itself a sore disease, and is the source of other diseases without number.
To meet this unhealthy tendency God seeks to draw us out of ourselves. He does so in holding up the cross for us to look upon and be healed : but he also does this by exhibiting the crown and throne. The cross does not annihilate man's natural concern for self, but it loosens our thoughts from this, by showing us, upon the cross, One to whose care we may safely intrust self with all its interests, and in wThose pierced hands it will be far better provided for than in our own. So the vision of the glory does not make away with self, but it absorbs it, and elevates it, by revealing the kingdom in which God has made such blessed and enduring provision for us, as to make it appear worse than folly in us to
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