mised Messiah, it is evident that, in his reply, the Lord would do one or other of two things. Either He would decidedly check and refute the expectations cherished, if wholly erroneous; or else, if correct but merely mistimed, He would but restore to their due and proper relation the things spoken by the Prophets of His whole and finished work. And this precisely it was that, in the passage before us, our Lord aimed at accomplishing. Rightly did these two disciples hold and believe that Israel should be redeemed by Him whom they had faithfully received as the true Messiah, their minds being all the while blinded in regard to His previous humiliation as foretold by the Prophets; and so the Lord points out to them that it was necessary that He should in the first instance suffer, admitting at the same time the correctness of the hope they entertained, in the distinct intimation which He gives, that at some period subsequent to the sufferings, their hope should certainly be fulfilled. And now we are, I trust, prepared to consider the passage under notice (as interpreted), in its especial bearing upon, and relation to, ourselves of this latter age. The believing Jews of our Lord's time fully received, as we have seen, the predictions of Holy Scripture which treated of "the glory;" they overlooked those predictions which spake of the previous sufferings. "Times" [and circumstances] "are changed, and we are changed with them," for the believing Gentiles of the present day fully and savingly accept the doctrine of the vicarious sufferings; they accept not-they understand not-they wholly overlook the doctrine of the compensating glory. To this point then we have now to turn our attention, and, as the first thing to be considered and determined, we must notice the nature and import of the glory in question as scripturally predicted, and as graciously permitted for research and comprehension to us of these latter days, wherein, as we assuredly gather from the sayings of the Prophets, spiritual knowledge is to be increased.

We have seen then what it was that the disciples of Emmaus, and indeed the whole body of the believing Jews of our Lord's time, understood and anticipated as the glory of the Messiah in that especial work which He was to accomplish; the redemption of their nation-their full and final deliverance from Gentile thraldom, and completed restoration to their forfeited earthly supremacy. Nor was this "hope" peculiar to the followers of Jesus of Nazareth. All Israel entertained it, as we assuredly gather from Acts xxvi., wherein, while carefully putting it in its true light as essentially connected with the rising of the Lord from the dead, and the general resurrection of His saints, whereof that wondrous event was the foretaste and pledge,-St Paul de

clares before King Agrippa (vers. 6, 7), that unto "the promise made of God unto the fathers," the whole "twelve tribes . hope to come." We know indeed that the unbelieving Jews, here plainly referred to, looked not for, nor expected from the Messiah's hands anything beyond a mere carnal supremacy and exaltation over the nations of this world. And even of the believing Jews, even of the apostles and disciples of the Lord themselves, until on the day of Pentecost the outpoured Spirit had swept away the clouds of error and of scriptural misapprehension from before their eyes, there is good ground for the conclusion that none even of those understood the true nature of the Messianic glory, or at all appreciated its real relation and proper place in respect to sufferings as of necessity to precede it.

True, even before the Lord's ascension He opened the understanding of the disciples "that they might understand the Scriptures," for so it is declared in ver. 45 of the chapter before us; but while the next following verse sufficiently intimates that this was then only so far as respected the vicarious sufferings, and the temporary nature thereof as brought to a close by the resurrection from the dead on the third day, the significant fact, as stated in Acts i. 6, that they so soon afterwards asked whether the time had yet come for the restoration of the kingdom to Israel, clearly proves that not even yet did they comprehend the predictions of the Prophets in respect to the compensating glory, and the time when it should be manifested and revealed.

But when the day of Pentecost was fully come," the Holy Spirit was largely poured out-that Holy Spirit which "searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God;" and then by His gracious influence, and through His moving energy, were the writers of the New Testament enabled to enter very fully into the details of the latter day glory; insomuch that now, by "comparing spiritual things with spiritual," by bringing the revelation of the Old and of the New Testament mutually to bear upon each other, prophetical inquirers of these latter days (wherein, as before intimated, we are given to expect that knowledge shall be increased, and the wise in Christ enabled to understand) have good reason to believe that a general view at least of the things into which angels desire to look is graciously allowed and vouchsafed unto them.

What, then, we are now prepared to inquire, are we given to know and understand in respect to the general nature of the glory in question, as referred to by our Lord in the passage before us? We have already, I hope and think, sufficiently shown that something more was intended by our Lord, than that Divine

glory on which (His before His humiliation), when He ascended upon high, He re-entered; and we have seen how the believing Jews of the Lord's day would-and to a certain extent rightlyunderstand it. We must further investigate the subject, and determine (so far as we may) the precise import of the Lord's words in the light shed upon them by the completed Scriptures. Indeed, if we look merely to the passage itself, we shall find therein, I think, a certain intimation of the special character of "the glory" spoken of. Our Lord, it will be observed, declares there respecting Himself, that after enduring the sufferings, He would enter into possession of "that, His own glory," for such, it seems to me, is the exact force of the original words; and if so, if I be correct in my interpretation thereof, then may I fairly assume that without going beyond our text, we have it significantly suggested that "the glory" spoken of is a peculiar glory, granted to the Christ as the Redeemer of the world, and such as, in respect to the sufferings He beforehand underwent, the manner of them, the place where they were endured, and the author and the intruments who afflicted them, has a compensating nature and character.

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And this true and exact meaning of the words, thus, as I think, fairly evolved from the isolated passage before us, may be confirmed and corroborated from sundry other scriptures which refer to and treat of the subject. I could not attempt here to enter fully into the question, but must be content briefly to direct attention to the nature of the proofs revealed, leaving it to such of my readers as are duly alive to the importance of the subject, to follow it out for themselves. We find then in many places of the New Testament a certain kind of "glory" spoken of as peculiar to the Messiahship of Jesus, and quite distinct from that which in His divine character originally and essentially belonged to Him. In this latter point of view we know that in the beginning "the Word was with God"-yea, that He "was God"-from before the world in enjoyment of the essential glory of the Godhead. And we know moreover hereupon, as being expressly revealed to us, that from and since His ascension, the Lord Jesus has re-entered upon His essentially Divine glory, and has sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. The glory then which, as God, He now enjoys, and has enjoyed from all eternity, is and has ever been absolutely perfect and incapable of increase. This must be so, from the very nature of the Divine attributes and characteristics; nevertheless we further know, on the clear testimony of the Holy Scriptures, that Jesus does look for an increase of glory, as hereafter to be * Εἰς τὴν δόξαν αὑτοῦ.

conferred upon and enjoyed by Him. He sits now at the Father's right hand as one who awaits the future. Heb. x. 13 is express to this effect; we there read that from the time when He took such seat, He is expectant of the period when "His enemies shall be made His footstool; " or as chap. ii. 8 puts it, when "all things shall be put in subjection under Him," -a state of things which, as this same passage declares, and as believers but too well know, has not as yet arrived. The Son's glory as God being then, as just observed, absolutely and necessarily perfect, and of the very essence, moreover, of His perfect divinity, it is to His Messiahship that we must refer all that is revealed of or respecting a "glory" that is given to our Blessed Lord, the manifestation of which, when spoken of by the sacred writers, remained in the future, and the amount and degree of which is in any way referred to as capable of increase.

Thus, from such passages as John xii. 16 and 23, we gather that the initiation (as it were) of the Messianic glory took place immediately on the completion of the Lord's work, of atonement, when the Father, by raising Him from the dead, distinctly signified His acceptance of that work; yet that this was but the initiation, and not the completed fulness of the Messianic glory, is abundantly evident from such texts as those in Hebrews a little above referred to-texts which show that the time is not yet come when all things shall be subjected to Christ; for, until such be the case, and so long as increase of glory is possible, that glory cannot be regarded as fully attained.

This point might well be illustrated by many passages of Holy Scripture, which treat of the future of the kingdom of heaven; but I must forbear, and would merely direct attention to a very singular passage in Revelations (chap. iii. 21), wherein our Lord himself speaks of a future state of exaltation to which He is to be raised, expressly distinguishing it from that, its initiatory state, which He now enjoys at the right hand of His Father. "To him that overcometh," the Lord graciously promises, "will I grant to sit with Me in MY throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father on His throne."

We see then, I trust, the precise state of the case in regard to the important question before us. The believing Jews expected that the Messianic glory under consideration would consist in the deliverance of their nation from the Gentile yoke, and in their restoration to their ancient supremacy under Messianic kingship; but there they stopped, to this point their hopes and their desires were exclusively limited,-beyond this, they could conceive of nothing that would in any wise tend to elevate Him whom assuredly they knew and believed to be

worthy of the highest glory, and of the most exalted dominion. God, however, in His perfected Word, hath graciously reserved for us a fuller knowledge of His will and purpose. By His Holy Spirit He hath revealed "His own" deep things "which belong to us and to our children," reverently to search into, and faithfully to comprehend.

"

It but remains, then, that I set forth in brief outline the revelation of this coming glory, as I believe it to be given in the Scriptures. Having suffered, then, the things beforehand spoken by the Prophets concerning Him, our Lord, as He declared to the two disciples, was "to enter into His glory; and accordingly He did so enter in an initiatory way when He ascended up on high, for to that effect are those passages in John xii. above referred to; ver. 39 of chap. vii. further intimating, that when the Holy Ghost should be given, such glorification of Jesus would have been effected. And yet we are not hastily to conclude that in and by the ascension of our Lord, all the prophecies that treat of Messiah's exaltation received their final and complete fulfilment. In respect to the wondrous predictions of Psalm viii., we have seen that the glories there attributed to Jesus as the Messiah, are spoken of by St Paul in Hebrews as still in the future, our Lord being said to be in an expectant state as regards the exaltation there foretold of Him; and to the same purpose is the testimony of St Peter, when (in his 1st Epistle v. 1) he speaks of himself as "a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed."

When then (the question here arises)—when shall these and similar prophecies receive their fulfilment? The answer is, when, but not until, Jesus takes to Himself His great power, and comes to reign on and over this our earth. That so He shall do, is, to all who duly study the subject, very clearly revealed in those numerous prophecies of Holy Scripture which foretell the latter day occurrences. But this is a question quite apart from my present design, which has been to show the general nature of the Messianic glory as contrasted with the Messianic sufferings. With the minute details of that glory as here foretold I have not to do, nor would my limits permit me to enter upon so large a subject. It but needs hereon to say, on the authority of the Scriptures, that the Lord will come a second time to this world "without sin"-(i.e., a sin-offering)—but “unto salvation;" that as once in lowliest humiliation, which the Jews of old could not understand, so now in most exalted glory, such as we Gentiles are slow of heart duly to appreciate, He will revisit this earth, reigning over it in proper Person for

VOL. XXIV.

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