2 Thessalonians 1:10 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints… Sometimes we read of "the last day," "the great day," — here "that day"; because it is the day to which all other days point, in prospect of which all other days come with their duties, trials, responsibilities; the day towards which the hopes of the Church, founded on the promise of God, and the course of the world governed by the providence of God, are both gradually tending, just as converging lines do to a point of contact. In heaven it is the day longed for, for it is the day of the revelation of the great King, and the completion of the brotherhood between angels and saints. On earth it is the day the Church sighs for, and over the grave of her departed children she says, "Accomplish the number of Thine elect. Hasten Thine appearing!" In hell it is the day feared, because there the angels who left their first estate are reserved in everlasting chains, in darkness, unto the judgment of that great day. Of this day the conscience of every one of us warns. It is not the mere induction of logic from the prevalence of evil and the suffering and loss which attends goodness; it is no mere depression of spirits through forfeiture of self-respect or fear of man, that punishes the poor victim of deep remorse, when he shrinks from the reckoning to come; the evidence is in that man as surely as it may be seen without him in the government of God's world, as surely as it may be seen before him in the letter of God's Word; it is a portion of the economy of his constitution, the economy of every rational mind, placed there by Him who made man. Scoffers in our day, as in St. Peter's, who keep their eyes on the apparent constancy of the present order of things, may say, "Where is the promise of His coming?" but a coming of some kind to judgment their very fears will show, and the desire to shake the veracity of the promises of Scripture regarding that day is encouraged by these secret fears. The coming of that day is as sure a thing as the existence of the Person of God, the Judge of man. The revealed councils of the Trinity would be nugatory without it. If the Father is gathering to Himself a great family, of which the everlasting Son is not ashamed to be called the Brother, this is the day for the manifestation of that family. If He has promised to the Redeemer that He shall see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied, that there shall be a public acceptance of the children given Him and the possession of an earthly kingdom, this is the day for the fulfilment of the engagement. Of this day the Holy Ghost has written, and to prepare men for it He abides with the Church. And this day is called in Scripture, "the last day," "the day of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." He humbled Himself to humanity in the prospect of this day; He hung upon the cross to win this day; the resurrection and ascension were only steps of preparation towards this day; His heavenly life is an expectation of this day. Royalty not yet enjoyed, hope not yet satisfied, glory not yet perfected, all wait for their fulness on that day when "the Lord Jesus shall be revealed," etc. The day of Christ's glory and of the Church's joy: — I. HE SHALL COME TO BE GLORIFIED IN HIS SAINTS. To glorify means to secure honour or renown for a person. This prerogative Christ claims for Himself (John 11). He was glorified in Lazarus; He shall be glorified in the saints: 1. In the number of His saints. Even now through a little flock, He receives honour through them. But so little are they in comparison with the world around that the glory Christ receives now is not worthy to be compared with that He will receive when "the multitude which no man can number" will be gathered round Him, the largest of the two which shall be there. Do we not read "All the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord," "All flesh shall see the salvation of God"? We may fairly infer that previous to the judgment there will be a vast accession to the Church. One generation shall succeed to another each increasing, one and all combining to swell the number of those of whom Christ spoke when He said, "I, if I be lifted up," etc. 2. In he harmony of the saints. This harmony was regarded by our Lord as of great importance. It is true that this does not exist as it should to the shame of the Church. But there is unity, and that unity redounds to the glory of Christ. But how much more shall it do so when every difference is extinct, every error rectified, and every passion quelled. The great theological controversalists will then see eye to eye, and the Saviour will then see His desire accomplished. 3. The holiness of the saints. This was one of the objects of Christ's death; His honour is involved in it. How then will honour be secured, when body and soul, and the whole Church shall be perfect. II. HE WILL BE ADMIRED IN ALL WHO BELIEVE. You admire Him now even as seen in His ordinances, and in prayer, Rut the hour is coming when that admiration shall be past description. 1. His full possession of mediatorial glory shall lead you to admire Him. He will not come amidst poverty and shame, but in flaming fire, etc. If the Saviour appears now as the "altogether lovely," although we only see through a glass darkly, what will He appear to be when we see Him face to face. 2. The universal acknowledgment of His supremacy shall lead you to admire Him — devils, heathen, and all His enemies will bow before Him, and every tongue shall confess that He is Lord. 3. The knowledge of what He has done will lead you to admire Him. We can conceive now, in some measure, our obligation to Christ, but how little compared with what we shall know when the depth of the depravity from which we have been rescued, the dreadfulness of the danger from which we have been preserved, and the glory of the heaven to which we are introduced, are fully revealed. Application: 1. Let Christians, animated by such a prospect, and possessed of such an inheritance, cherish holy gratitude and practice grateful obedience. 2. Let the unconverted seriously consider the loss and peril of their position. (W. Brock, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day. |
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