March 19

A glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing. - Ephesians 5:27.

THE church, when presented to the Saviour by himself, will be glorious. And is not his church glorious now? It is. It is not a glorious church indeed in the eyes of the world, for the world knoweth them not; they are often like their Lord, “despised and rejected of men;” but they are glorious in the eyes of the Lord. The Judge of all, even when he sees them “wandering in goatskins and sheep-skins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented,” says, “Of them the world is not worthy.” We may turn to the language of God in one of the Psalms:-“Thou art more glorious and excellent than the mountains of prey.” What are the mountains of prey? Why, those empires that love war,-that live on the spoil or the prey. Nothing is so splendid in the view of carnal men as these mountains of prey.

We see how the Assyrian, the Persian, the Macedonian, and the Roman empires were presented by God to Daniel. He saw them as “four great beasts coming up from the sea, diverse one from another. The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given to it. And behold, another beast, a second, like to a bear; and it raised itself up on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it; and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh. After this I beheld, and lo, another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it. After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.”

But though the church is now “glorious,” and “more glorious than the mountains of prey,” yet its glory is partially prevented and obscured now. It is so by the fewness of its numbers. Here we can only see the Lord’s army in its recruiting state, or as learning its exercise, or as practising in small detachments. But when the whole shall be completed, oh, then may it well be said, “Who is this that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?” Its glory is now partially prevented and obscured by inter-mixtures. The lilies are among the thorns; the tares are among the wheat. “Among my people,” says God, “are found wicked men;” and now we very well know the few will often characterize the many, and the false will throw suspicion on the true, and the bad will serve to disgrace the good. “But then,” says our Saviour, “the angels shall gather together out of his kingdom everything that offends;” and then he will cast them into a furnace of fire; “there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth;” and “then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.”

It is now also partially prevented and obscured by their outward condition. They are now often poor; then shall they “possess all things.” They are often despised now; then their very enemies will exclaim, “We fools counted their lives madness, and their end to be without honour; now are they numbered with the children of God, and their lot is among the saints.” Now they are often oppressed; many rise over their heads; but “the righteous shall have dominion over them in the morning.” Now they are judged, (how falsely judged often!) but then they will be the judges:-“What, know ye not that the saints will judge the world? Know ye not that saints shall judge angels?” Now they “groan, being burdened;” then they will be freed from the burden of the flesh, and those vile bodies shall be fashioned like the Saviour’s own glorious body.

Above all, the glory of the church is now partially prevented and obscured by moral infirmities. They are, indeed, made to differ from others, and from their former selves; but they are not yet fully sanctified. But the apostle tells the Colossians that they who have been “sometime alienated, and enemies in their minds by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death to present them holy and unblamable in his sight.”