THE christian's PORTION.
Heb. xiii. 14. Here have we no continuing city ; but tve seek one to come.
ACCUSTOMED as we are to expect a future state of existence, we scarcely ever reflect on the source from which we have attained the knowledge of such a state. It was not from reason that we derived it ; for the wisest philosophers of Greece and Rome could arrive at no certainty respecting it : it is " the Gospel which has brought life and immor- tahty to hght/' and has thereby given us an unerring standard, by which to try every occurrence, of what- ever kind. From a view of eternity, we learn neither to indulge undue complacency in what is gratifying to our feelings, nor, on the other hand, to yield to dejection under the pressure of what is painful. We learn simply to approve ourselves to God ; and to look for his approbation in a future world, as a re- compence for all that we can either do or suffer for him in this present life. This thought reconciled the Apostle to shame and reproach for his Redeemer's sake ; for he knew that " here he had no continuing city : but he sought one to come ;" and regarded the possession of that as an ample reward for all that man could inflict upon him.
The words before us will lead me to shew,
I. The transitoriness of earthly things —
We have nothing durable in this life —
[If any thing could have been expected to continue, it would have been the city of Jerusalem : because it was, be- yond all others in the universe, " the city of God," and because " its foundations were like the great mountains." But that was soon to be destroyed, so that not one stone should remain upon another that should not be thrown down : and, with the city, the whole civil and religious polity of the nation should be dissolved. Thus it had been with the great empires which had successively been established in Chaldea, Persia, and Greece:
2348.1 THE christian's PORTION. 53.5
and thus, in due season, it should be with Rome also, though it was now the mistress of the world. Even this globe itself, and all which it contains, shall ere long be burnt up with fire, and utterly dissolved ; so that nothing under the sun can be considered as of abiding continuance.]
This is a matter of daily experience to us all —
[We may know but little either of history or prophecy ; but who does not with his own eyes behold the transitory na- ture of every thing around him ? The seasons come, and pass away ; and in like manner the generations of men vanish from the earth in quick succession. It was but the other day, and those who are now in the meridian of life were children : and in a few more days they will be swept away, to make room for others who shall hereafter arise. Since the beginning of the present year, how many have been removed into the eternal world ! and before the expiration of another year, how many, who are now in health, will be taken to their long home ! Truly, we are like the shadow of a cloud sweeping over the plain ; and soon shall vanish, to be seen no more.]
This will account for,
II. The portion which the Christian affects —
For him a continuing city is prepared —
[God himself has prepared it for him : yea, God himself has built it : and its foundations are laid so deep, that nothing can ever shake them^ To that city the Christian is already so far come, that he is entitled to all its privileges; and has, in a state of actual preparation for him, a mansion, in which he is to dwell for ever''. In comparison of that city, all earthly edifices are unworthy of a thought. Not only are its walls and its foundations inconceivably superior to all that man can construct, but the very light that lightens it is altogether dif- ferent : for, instead of needing the rays " of the sun or of the moon, the glory of God does lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof*^."]