Well would it be for us if we had something of Barnard Gilpin’s faith, and could make practical use of the everlasting covenant as he did. Happy is the Christian who can say from his heart these words,—
“I know not the way I am going,
But well do I know my Guide;
With a childlike trust I give my hand,
To the mighty Friend by my side.
The only thing that I say to Him,
As He takes it, is—’Hold it fast,
Suffer me not to lose my way,
And bring me home at last.”
III. Let us consider, lastly, what was king David’s hope for the future. That hope, beyond doubt, was the glorious advent of the Messiah at the end of the world, and the setting up of a kingdom of righteousness at the final restitution of all things.
Of course king David’s views of this kingdom were dim and vague compared to those, which are within reach of every intelligent reader of the New Testament. He was not ignorant of the coming of Messiah to suffer, for he speaks of it in the twenty-second Psalm. But he saw far behind it the coming of Messiah to reign, and his eager faith overleaped the interval between the two Advents. That his mind was fixed upon the promise, that the “seed of the woman should” one day completely “bruise the serpent’s head,” and that the curse should be taken off the earth, and the effects of Adam’s fall completely removed, I feel no doubt at all. The Church of Christ would have done well if she had walked in David’s steps, and given as much attention to the Second Advent as David did.
The figures and comparisons that David uses in speaking of the advent and future kingdom of the Messiah are singularly beautiful, and admirably fitted to exhibit the benefits which it will bring to the Church and the earth. The Second Advent of Christ shall be “as the light of the morning when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain.” Those words deserve a thousand thoughts. Who can look around him, and consider the state of the world in which we live, and not be obliged to confess that clouds and darkness are now on every side? “The whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain” (Rom. viii. 22). Look where we will we see confusion, quarrels, wars between nations, helplessness of statesmen, discontent and grumbling of the lower classes, excessive luxury among the rich, extreme poverty among the poor, intemperance, impurity, dishonesty, swindling, lying, cheating, covetousness, heathenism, superstition, formality among Christians, decay of vital religion—these are the things which we see continually over the whole globe, in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. These are the things which defile the face of creation, and prove that the devil is “the prince of this world,” and the kingdom of God is not yet come. These are clouds indeed, which often hide the sun from our eyes.
But there is a good time coming, which David saw far distant, when this state of things shall be completely changed. There is a kingdom coming, in which holiness shall be the rule, and sin shall have no place at all.
Who can look around him in his own neighbourhood, and fail to see within a mile of his own house that the consequences of sin lie heavily on earth, and that sorrow and trouble abound? Sickness, and pain, and death come to all classes, and spare none, neither rich nor poor. The young often die before the old, and the children before the parents. Bodily suffering of the most fearful description, and incurable disease, make the existence of many miserable. Widowhood, and childlessness, and solitariness, tempt many to feel weary of life, though everything which money can obtain is within their reach. Family quarrels, and envies, and jealousies break up the peace of many a household, and are a worm at the root of many a rich man’s happiness. Who can deny that all these things are to be seen on every side of us? There are many clouds now.
Will nothing end this state of things? Is creation to go on groaning and travailing forever after this fashion? Thanks be to God, the Second Advent of Christ supplies an answer to these questions. The Lord Jesus Christ has not yet finished His work on behalf of man. He will come again one day (and perhaps very soon) to set up a glorious kingdom, in which the consequences of sin shall have no place at all. It is a kingdom in which there shall be no pain and no disease, in which “the inhabitant shall no more say, I am sick” (Isaiah xxxiii. 24). It is a kingdom in which there shall be no partings, no moves, no changes, and no good-byes. It is a kingdom in which there shall be no deaths, no funerals, no tears, and no mourning worn. It is a kingdom in which there shall be no quarrels, no losses, no crosses, no disappointments, no wicked children, no bad servants, and no faithless friends. When the last trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, there will be a grand gathering together of all God’s people, and when we awake up after our Lord’s likeness we shall be satisfied (Psalm xvii. 15). Where is the Christian heart that does not long for this state of things to begin? Well may we take up the last prayer in the Book of Revelation, and often cry, “Come quickly, Lord Jesus.”
(a) And now, have we troubles? Where is the man or woman on earth who can say, “I have none.” Let us take them all to the Lord Jesus Christ. None can comfort like Him. He Who died on the cross to purchase forgiveness for our sins, is sitting at the right hand of God, with a heart full of love and sympathy. He knows what sorrow is, for He lived thirty-three years in this sinful world, and suffered Himself being tempted, and saw suffering every day. And He has not forgotten it. When He ascended into heaven, to sit at the right hand of the Father, He took a perfect human heart with Him. He can be “touched with the feeling of our infirmities” (Heb. iv. 15). He can feel. Almost His last thought upon the cross was for His Own mother, and He cares for weeping and bereaved mothers still.
“This article originally appeared here at Bible Bulletin Board.”
