1 Corinthians 2:8-9 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.… The apostle here is quoting from Isaiah 64:4, and only intends to give the general sense of the passage. Both passages are .generally used as referring to the heavenly state, but we can only apply them thus by accommodation. Yet this is a legitimate application. For if the text is true of our imperfect condition of privilege in this life, much more will it be true as applied to that perfection of bliss that awaits us in the life to come. You cannot judge of the real merits of a story till you see how it ends. You cannot decide about the value of a casket till it is opened and you see the jewels which it enshrines. You cannot pronounce on a campaign till you see what fruits result from its hard-fought battlefields. And so, in estimating the real worth of redemption, we can only form an approximate judgment of it in this life. There are three points of view from which we may contemplate our portion for the future, as set before us in the text. I. THE PLAIN AND POSITIVE VIEW. "Things prepared." 1. "Things" plural — not one element of joy, but many. It is a caricature of heaven when psalm-singing is represented as its chief occupation. A wonderful variety marks the imagery of the Bible as to the heavenly state — "a city that hath foundations," "the marriage supper of the Lamb," being "present with Christ, and beholding His glory," is being made "like Him," &c. These varied expressions suggest that our heaven will be a condition of being in which the mind, with its large desires, its deathless cravings, and the soul, with all the warmth of its affections and sympathies, will find the fullest scope for their development. As the vine puts forth its tendrils, and finds something to cling to for its support and growth; so, doubtless, will all the innocent tastes and longings of our renewed nature find in the heavenly state that which answers to their wants, "prepared," as a trellis, to which they may cling, and in clinging to which they will find their delight. 2. And these are not things thrown together at haphazard. They are "prepared things." How eloquent all nature is as to the teachings of this word! Note the wonderful care with which God has "prepared" for the wants of every tree, animal, bird, and fish; yea, for every worm; just that which will best meet its wants and minister to its comfort. Then, when we think of the souls God has redeemed at the price of His Son's death, to whom His love has flowed out in a deeper channel than to any other of His creatures, whom He deigns to say that they are to be His portion; when we think of "the things prepared" for them in their final home, what shall we say? How shall we put limits to the extent to which His power, wisdom, and goodness will go in seeking to promote their happiness? II. A NEGATIVE OR COMPARATIVE VIEW. Heaven's happiness is such as "eye hath not seen," &c., or to which all the eye hath seen, &c., bears no proportion. 1. It is clearly the inferential teaching of the text, that "the things prepared" exceed in glory all that we are familiar with in this outer creation. (1) And the eye sees wondrous beauty as it ranges through the world of nature. But there is no comparison between what the eye sees here and "the things prepared" for God's people in the future. (2) And then the ear opens an avenue to another world of enjoyment peculiarly its own. Yet the highest rapture of the most gifted musician through the organ of hearing bears no comparison to the joy the redeemed will experience in "the things which God has prepared for them."(3) And then the imagination has a wondrous power to call into existence worlds of beauty and loveliness all its own. But when you put these things together — all that the eye can see, &c., of that which is beautiful or grand — they will be infinitely surpassed by "the things prepared" by God as the future portion of His people. 2. And there is something very sweet in the thought of this instituted connection, between these glories spread over the face of nature and that blessed home which Jesus is preparing for us. It shows how God means that the one should remind us of the other. The Jewish Rabbis inform us "that when Joseph had gathered much corn in Egypt he threw the chaff into the Nile, that so flowing down to the neighbouring cities, and nations more remote, it might bear witness to them of the store of good things garnered up in the treasure cities of Egypt." And so God, to make us know what glory there is in heaven, has thrown some husks to us here, that we might draw out our inferences. If we find so much of glory spread over earthly things, what may we expect to find in those that are heavenly? If He give us so much in the land of our pilgrimage, what will He not give us in our own country? If He can lavish so much on His enemies what will He not reserve for His friends? III. THE PERSONAL VIEW. "For them that love Him." These things are designed for a "prepared" people. The preparation on the one side is just as necessary as that on the other. What is the use of preparing a feast unless you know that the guests those who are to be admitted to it can see; of preparing a grand concert unless will have appetites; of arranging the paintings of a splendid gallery unless the audience can hear? The glorious things of the future are prepared for a people who love God. The planting of this love in the heart is the great personal preparation for heaven that we need. The necessity for this is absolute. "Except a man be born again, He., he cannot see the kingdom of God." These two things — love to God, and a new birth — always go together. (Richard Newton, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. |
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