xxxvi. 9. The glory of their bodies will be of the same kind with his; Phil. iii. 21. The glory that the Father gave to him, he has given to them; John, xvii. 22. They shall be admitted to the same glorious place with him, and shall behold his glory; John, xvii. 24. There must be a conformity between the head and the members, but as to the degree, he who is the first-born among many brethren must in all things have the preeminence.

If so be that ye suffer with him.-The Apostle had shown that believers are the adopted children of God, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. He now refers to a possible objection, namely, that notwithstanding this, they are often full of trouble and afflictions in this life, which appears not to be suitable to so near a relationship with God. This he obviates by reminding them that they suffer with Christ, and that their sufferings, which result from their bearing them with him, will issue in future glory.

The sufferings of Jesus Christ are to be regarded in two points of view. On the one hand, he suffered as the propitiation for the sins of his people. On the other hand, his sufferings are to be viewed as the road conducting him to glory. In the first of these his people have no part; he alone was the sacrifice offered for their salvation; he alone made satisfaction to the justice of God; and he alone merited the reward for them. But in the second point of view, he is the pattern of their condition; in this they must follow his steps, and be made conformable to him. Suffering, then, is a peculiarity in the earthly lot of all the heirs of heaven; they are all called to suffer with Christ. The man professing Christ's religion, who meets with no persecution or

opposition from the world for Christ's sake, may well doubt the sincerity of his profession. "All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." All the heirs will come to the enjoyment of their inheritance through tribulation; most of them through much tribulation; but so far from this being an argument against the sure prospect of that inheritance, it tends to confirm it. The expression "if so be," or since, does not intimate that this is doubtful; but establishes its certainty. God causes his children to suffer in different ways, and for different reasons, for their good, as for the trial of their faith, the exercise of patience, the mortification of sin, and in order to wean them from this world and prepare them for heaven. Their sufferings are effects of his Fatherly love, and the great object of them is, that they may be conformed to Christ. Sufferings are appointed for them in order that they should not be condemned with the world, and to work out for them a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.

That we may be also glorified together.-This ought to support Christians under their sufferings. What a consolation in the midst of afflictions for Christ's sake, that they shall also be glorified together with him. In his sufferings he is set forth as their pattern, and the issue of them is their encouragement.

They have the shall have the

honour of suffering with him, and they honour of being glorified with him. They not only accompany him in his sufferings, but he also accompanies them in theirs; not only to sympathize with them, but to be their Surety and defender.

This community in suffering with Jesus Christ is sufficient to impart to his people the highest consola

tion. What an honour is it to bear, here below, his cross, on the way to where one day they shall have a place upon his throne! Having the same enemies with him, they must have the same combats, the same victories, and the same triumphs. Since the Lord has been pleased to suffer for them before reigning over them in heaven, it is proper that they should suffer also for his sake and in the prospect of reigning with him. For suffering with him they shall overcome with him, and overcoming with him, they shall obtain the crown of life and eternal glory.

V. 18.-For I reckon, that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

The Apostle had been reminding those to whom he wrote, that their sufferings with Christ is the way appointed by God to bring them to glory. Here he encourages them to endure affliction, because there is no comparison between their present sufferings and their future glory. In order to encourage the Israelites to sustain the difficulties that presented themselves to their entry into Canaan, God sent them of the fruits of the land while they were still in the desert. Our blessed Lord, too, permitted some of his disciples to witness his transfiguration, when his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as light. This was calculated to inspire them with an ardent desire to behold that heavenly glory of which, on that occasion, they had a transient glimpse, and to render them more patient in sustaining the troubles they were about to encounter. In the same manner God acts towards his people when they suffer in this world. He sends them of the fruits of the eavenly Canaan, and allowing them to enjoy a measure of that peace which passeth all understanding,

he favours them with some foretastes of the glory to be revealed.

The first testimony to the truth that the Apostle is here declaring is his own. I reckon.-Paul was better qualified to judge in this matter than any other man, both as having endured the greatest sufferings, and as having been favoured with a sight of the glory of heaven. His sufferings, 1st Cor. iv. 9, 2d Cor. xi. 23, appear not to have been inferior to those that exercised the patience of Job, while his being caught up into the third heaven was peculiar to himself. But independently of this, we have here the testimony of an inspired Apostle, which must be according to truth, as being immediately communicated by the Holy Ghost. Paul makes use of a word which refers to the casting up of an account, marking accurately the calculation, by comparing one thing with another, so as to arrive at the true result.

The sufferings of the present time.-By this we are reminded that the present is a time of suffering, and that this world is to believers as a field of battle. The shortness, too, of the period of suffering, is indicated. It is limited to the present life, respecting which man is compared to a flower which cometh forth and is cut down; to a shadow that fleeth and continueth not. His days are swifter than a post; and as the flight of the eagle hastening after its prey. It is in the present time exclusively that sufferings are to be endured by the children of God. But if they promise to themselves the enjoyment of ease and carnal prosperity, they miscalculate the times, and confound the present with the future. They forget the many assurances of their heavenly Father that this is not their rest. They overlook the example of those who by faith

obtained a good report. Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. David, envying for a moment the prosperity of the wicked, having entered the sanctuary and considered their end, views it in a different light. "Nevertheless I am continually with thee; thou hast holden me by thy right hand; thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory."" In thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." "Thou

hast put gladness in my heart more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased. I will both lay me down in peace and sleep, for thou, Lord, only makest me to dwell in safety."

Christians often dwell upon their own sufferings, while they overlook the sufferings of their Lord, to whom they must be conformed. They forget their sins, on account of which they receive chastisement that they may not be condemned with the world, and for which they must also partake of their bitter fruits. But as there is no proportion between what is finite, however great it may be, and what is infinite, so their afflictions here, even were their lives prolonged to any period, and although they had no respite, would bear no proportion to their future glory either in intensity or duration. The felicity of that glory is sovereign, but their afflictions here are not insupportable. They are always accompanied with the compassion and the consolations of God. "As the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ." The patriarch Jacob, a fugitive from his father's house, constrained to pass the night without a covering, with