4, The hope of his glory —
[By the Gospel which ye hear, not only are life and immor- tality brought to light, but they are brought home to your souls as actually attained in Christ Jesus. He is your Forerunner; he is gone to prepare a place for you ; and, if only you truly believe in him, you may survey all the glory of heaven, aiid claim it as your ov(^n : for his throne is your throne, his king- dom your kingdom, his glory your glory ^ This is " the inheritance to which you are begotten ; and for which, by the almighty power of God, you are reserved 'i."
These are some of the benefits with which you are loaded from day to day. Say whether you have not reason to bless God for them, and from your inmost souls to say, " Blessed be the God and Fathei; of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath Messed us with all spiritual blessings m heavenly places in Christ ^"]
But, from the gifts, let us, in our contemplations, rise to,
II. The Author and Giver of them all —
He is here described by,
1. His proper character —
[We must not forget that it is the Lord Jesus Christ who ascended to heaven, and who bestows these gifts uj)on men. In the Scriptures he is continually called "a Saviour:" but here he is repeatedly , and with very peculiar emphasis, called " the God of salvation:" " He that is our God, is the God of salvation." Now I conceive that, by this appellation, David designed to characterize the Lord Jesus as possessing in him- self all the fulness that was necessary for our salvation, and as imparting every distinct blessing with as much zeal and love as if that were the only blessing which he was qualified to bestow. In our unconverted state, we need from God all m\digma\Ae patience and forbearance: and, for our comfort, he is declared to be " the God of patience^." To turn us com- pletely unto him, we need an abundance of every kind of grace: and he is "the God of all graced." In returning to God, we hope to obtain peace : and he is " the God of peace ^." As the ultimate end of our conversion, we hope to obtain glory: and he is " the God of glory'." We cannot conceive of any thing which we stand in need of, in order to our com- plete salvation, but there is all fulness of it treasured up for us in Christ Jesus ; and of that fulness we may all receive to
c Rev. iii. 21. Luke xxii. 29. John xvii. 22 ^ 1 Pet. i. 3 — 5.
e Eph. i. 3. *■ Rom. xv. 5. s 1 Pet. v. 10.
ii Heb. xiii. 20. i Acts vii. 2.