The Value Is in Christ

The sequel then is simply weighed. Journeys to Jerusalem either satisfy or disappoint, and it is the Lord Himself who has to determine which it is. His glory was at that time displayed or reflected there, and therefore her visit satisfied the queen of Sheba. His grace was not then ministered or testified there, and therefore his visit disappointed the eunuch of Ethiopia. And thus the value of that city of solemnities was to be measured by the presence of Christ there.
Of all ordinances and services, Jerusalem is but a "city of the Jebusites" if Jesus was not the life and glory of it. It is "the joy of the whole earth," if He is. So, too, with Mount Sinai, or Horeb. It is but "mount Sinai in Arabia," or it takes the dignity of "the mount of God" according as the Lord adopts it or not. The ordinances of the law were shadows "of good things to come," the furniture of God's beautiful house, or mere "beggarly elements," as Christ used them or disowned then.