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In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Dear Christians, there are two glories that will be revealed on the last day. We heard the voice of Jesus in the Gospel reading saying, “Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” The Lord Jesus is already reigning in his glory since his resurrection, ascension, and sitting at the right hand. But we don’t see it yet. On that day, we will see.
And there is a second glory, and that is the glory which will be revealed in us when the sons of God will be revealed, the redemption of our bodies, as we read in Romans 8. The second glory we also see in the Gospel reading when Jesus continues to say, “Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” That is our redemption, the redemption of our bodies. This future glory is what we pray for in the Lord’s Prayer. The revelation of this glory, the glory of Christ the King and of His kingdom, is what we prepare for, especially in Advent, waiting for the arrival of our Lord.
With all creation, we eagerly wait with earnest expectation for that day. “Thy kingdom come.” Last week, we focused on the fact that Christ rules this world with His power and wise counsel, even though we don’t always understand why the things happen that happen. Today we will set our hearts on Christ’s kingdom of glory, which is to come for all believers on that final day. He will come for judgment as king and judge, but for Christians, those who belong to him, there’s nothing to fear on that day. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. He will say to you, “Come, you blessed of my Father, Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
Now, first he had said that there are two glories, Christ’s and ours. But it’s really just one glory, of course. Christ’s glory, which he then shares with us. Christ is the first fruits. He comes first. We follow after. Before we inherit, he inherits. And that’s exactly the point of Psalm 16. Psalm 16. That is such a beautiful psalm, I think. In fact, in the German Lutheran Bible, it has the headline, “King David’s Golden Gem.”
But the psalm is maybe not so easy to understand at first sight, so we need to ponder on it a little bit. We know from the book of Acts that this psalm is in fact about Christ our Lord. It’s Jesus whose soul the Father will not abandon in Sheol, that is, death. It’s Jesus whose flesh will dwell securely. He is the Holy One whose body will not see corruption. And the Father made known to him and let him experience the path of life. So, in that psalm, we have a prophecy of the death and resurrection of Jesus. If this is true, and it certainly is, then the rest of the psalm is also Christ speaking.
Jesus, according to his human nature, prays to God in this psalm. He says to God, “You are my Lord, I have no good apart from you.” He, Christ, takes delight in his saints, in those who are excellent by faith. He has no communion with the sacrifices of unbelievers, that’s verse 4. And then he continues to say to the Father, “The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup, you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places. Indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.”
So, portion, lot, inheritance. For all of you who have been coming to the Joshua Bible study, this probably sounds an awful lot like Joshua language. It reminds especially of the Levites and the priests who don’t receive an inheritance, who don’t get this piece of land in Canaan, because the Lord himself is their inheritance. But notice the plot twist here in Psalm 16. It’s Jesus speaking.
It’s Jesus speaking. Jesus inherits. He received this Lord’s inheritance. The lines have fallen for him in pleasant places. The saints and the excellent ones, that is the believers, are all his delight. This means that we are his inheritance. Believers who cling to him by faith are his possession. And we actually hear something like close to that in Psalm 2, where the Father says to the Son, to Jesus, “Ask of me and I will give you the nations for your inheritance and the ends of the earth for your possession.” And he delights in us, his inheritance, because he himself cleansed us with his blood.
So, Jesus inherits first. Jesus died and was raised from the dead first. Jesus entered the kingdom of glory first. And in that kingdom of glory, he himself enjoys all the pleasures of eternal life. He experiences all joys in the presence and countenance of his Father. He already reigns in his kingdom of glory, though we don’t see it yet. So your King is truly the King of glory. And for his kingdom of glory, you pray daily, “Thy kingdom come.”
And this, secondly, leads us to our glory. All these blessings that Christ received, he shares with us. In fact, they are already there. But they are not revealed yet. So neither do we see our Lord in His glory yet, nor are we ourselves seen as we truly are. The Psalm calls us saints and excellent ones, a beautiful inheritance. But who sees that? I mean, for sure, there are churches out there who boast an outward pomp, but true believers are not recognized that way. Only on the last day will our glory be revealed.
St. Paul talks about both of these things not fully seen yet in 1 Corinthians 13, where he says, “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know, as I also am known.” We will see our King of glory face to face. And the fullness of joy that he receives from the countenance and presence of his Father… This fullness of joy we will then receive from the face and presence of the Father and the Son.
And as his face gloriously shines like the sun, so will we shine like the sun and the stars in heaven, as Jesus himself promised us. So every time you see the stars in heaven, think of that glory which waits for you in the resurrection. And then maybe also pray with yet another psalm, “Ask for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied when I awaken thy likeness.” There await joys and pleasures, and those will last forever.
So while you sojourn in this world, you have your heart set on eternity. And eternity matters. You all know this. Even atheists come to realize this from time to time. And that shouldn’t surprise us because in the book of Ecclesiastes, it actually says that God put eternity into the hearts of men. But how does eternity matter right now for you and for me? For one, the psalm says that abundant pleasures await us at the right hand of God.
Take note of the connection to the gospel reading. Jesus prepares his disciples for his second coming and he says to them, “Take heed to yourself, lest you be weighed down by carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day come upon you unexpectedly.” He wants us to turn away from the pleasures of this life and focus on the pleasures of the life to come. So the church wisely chose that text for Advent, which used to be a season of repentance and fasting.
Because food and alcohol so easily weigh down, and because our hearts cling to them so quickly, it is good to reduce or even cut them off from time to time. Fasting is not about health benefits, even though they might be there. Fasting is about focusing on the pleasures of the life to come, of the kingdom of glory, instead of the pleasures here on earth. And I know that basically everything we do in our society in Advent is against fasting and abstinence.
So if you don’t do it now, even though I recommend it, then think of it some other time. But whatever you do, know that the Lord requires of us to subdue and mortify our flesh so that we lead godly lives here in time and then certainly also there in eternity as we hear in the catechism. This is the conduct of the priesthood of all believers. This is our life, why we sojourn on this earth. And all this while praying.
Now, how else does eternity matter right now? Well, by filling our hearts with joy already now. Setting your heart on the glory that awaits you in the resurrection, in the kingdom of glory, should give you plenty of hope in the midst of your pilgrimage and sufferings on this earth. Your life as a Christian has a goal. And like Jesus, you have an inheritance. But it’s not of this world. Your inheritance is in heaven. You are God’s Levites and priests who are exiled on this earth, wandering and wayfaring until you reach your heavenly home.
And your inheritance is God himself. So with Jesus, you can likewise then say in Psalm 16, “The lions have fallen from me in pleasant places. Indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.” In this psalm, Jesus faces death and nevertheless already rejoices in the resurrection. So you also can pray with him, “My heart is glad and my whole being rejoices.” Or as St. Paul says, “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”
So this Advent, set your heart on your coming King of glory and his kingdom and find your joy in that. So come, dear Lord Jesus. And may all of you, by faith, be able to say with St. Paul, “The Lord Jesus will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for his heavenly kingdom.” To him be glory forever and ever. Amen. Amen.
