Kings 6:32, the doors of the holy of holies were made of palm-trees,
1. They have a royal crown. Rev 2:10. "I will give you a crown of life." A crown is the sign of royal power. This crown is not lined with thorns—but hung with jewels; it is a never-fading crown! 1 Peter 5:4.
2. The saints in heaven have their royal robes. They exchange their sackcloth, for white robes. "I beheld a great multitude, which no man could number, clothed with white robes." Rev 7:9. Robes signify their glory, white their sanctity.
3. They sit with Christ upon the royal throne. Rev 3:21. We read in 1 Kings 6:32, the doors of the holy of holies were made of palm-trees, and open flowers covered with gold — an emblem of that victory, and that garland of glory, which the saints shall wear in the kingdom of heaven. When all the titles and ensigns of worldly honor shall lie in the dust—the saints' honor shall remain.
(7) In the kingdom of heaven we shall have a blessed REST. Rest is the end of motion; heaven is the blessed center where the soul acquiesces and rests. In this life we are subject to unquiet motions and fluctuations. "We were troubled on every side" (2 Cor 7:5). We are like a ship on the sea having the waves beating on both sides; but in the kingdom of heaven there is rest. Heb 4:9. How welcome is rest to a weary traveler! When death cuts asunder the string of the body— the soul, as a dove, flies away, and is at rest. This rest is when the saints shall lie on Christ's bosom—that hive of sweetness, that bed of perfume.
(8) The saints in the kingdom of heaven shall have their BODIES richly bespangled with glory. They shall be full of brightness and beauty. As Moses' face shined, that the people were not able to behold the glory (Exod 34:30); so the bodies of the saints shall shine seven times brighter than the sun, as Chrysostom says; they shall have such a resplendence of beauty on them, that the
angels shall fall in love with them; and no wonder, for they shall be made like Christ's glorious body. Phil 3:21. The bodies of glorified saints need no jewels—when they shall shine like Christ's body.
(9) The heavenly kingdom is ETERNAL. It is an eternal fruition, they shall never be put out of the throne. "They shall reign forever and ever." Rev 22:5. It is called "the everlasting kingdom" (2 Peter 1:11), and an "eternal weight of glory." 2 Cor 4:17. The flowers of paradise, of which the saints' garland is made, never wither. If there could be a cessation of heaven's glory, or the saints had but the least fear or suspicion of losing their felicity—it would infinitely abate and cool their joy. But their kingdom is forever—the rivers of paradise cannot be dried up. "At your right hand there are pleasures forevermore." Psalm 16:2: The kingdom of heaven was typified by the temple which was built with stone, covered with cedar overlaid with gold—to show that the fixed permanent state of glory abides forever. Well may we pray, "Your kingdom come."
[2] What are the PROPERTIES of the kingdom of heaven?
(1) The glory of this kingdom is SOLID and SUBSTANTIAL. The Hebrew word for glory signifies a weight—to show how solid and weighty the glory of the celestial kingdom is. The glory of the worldly kingdom is airy and imaginary, like a blazing comet, or a dream. The earth hangs like a ball in the air, without anything to uphold it. Job 26:7. The glory of the heavenly kingdom is substantial, it has twelve foundations. Rev 21:14. That which God and angels count glory, is true glory.
(2) The glory of this kingdom is SATISFYING. "With you is the fountain of life." Psalm 36:9. How can they not be satisfied—who are at the fountainhead? "When I awake, I shall be satisfied with
your likeness," that is, when I awake in the morning of the resurrection, having some of the beams of your glory shining in me— I shall be satisfied. Psalm 17:15. The creature says, concerning satisfaction, "It is not in me." Job 28:14. If we go for happiness to the creature, we go to the wrong place. Heaven's glory alone, is commensurate to the vast desires of an immortal soul. A Christian bathing himself in these rivers of pleasures, cries out in divine ecstasy, "I have enough!" The soul is never satisfied until it has God for its portion, and heaven for its haven. Dissatisfaction arises from some defect—but God is an infinite good, and there can be no defect in that which is infinite.
(3) The glory of heaven's kingdom is PURE and UNMIXED. The streams of paradise are not muddied. All are clear, all are delightful. There gold has no alloy. There is no bitter ingredient in that glory—it is pure as the honey which drops from the comb. There, the rose of Sharon grows without thorns. There is—ease without pain, honor without disgrace, life without death. "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Revelation 21:4.
(4) The glory of this kingdom is constantly EXHILARATING and REFRESHING. There is fullness—but no excess. Worldly comforts, though sweet—yet grow stale in time. A down-bed pleases awhile—but soon we are weary and must rise. Too much pleasure is a pain; but the glory of heaven never surfeits or nauseates; because, as there are all rarities imaginable, so every moment fresh delights spring from God into the glorified soul.
(5) The glory of this kingdom is distributed to EVERY individual saint. In an earthly kingdom the crown goes but to one,
a crown will fit but one head; but in that kingdom above, the crown goes to all. Rev 1:6. All the elect are kings. Earthly inheritances are settled chiefly upon one heir; but in the kingdom of heaven all the saints are heirs. "Heirs of God, and co-heirs with Christ." Romans 8:17. God has land enough to give to all his heirs!
(6) Lucid and TRANSPARENT. This kingdom of heaven is adorned and bespangled with light. 1 Tim 6:16. Light is the glory of the creation. "The light is sweet." Eccl. 11:7. Hell is a dark dungeon; fire—but no light. Matthew 22:13. The kingdom of heaven is a transparency, all embroidered with light, clear as crystal. How can there be lack of light, where Christ the Sun of Righteousness displays his golden beams? "The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp." Rev 21:23.
(7) The glory of this kingdom is adequate and proportionable to the desire of the soul. In creature fruitions, that which commends them, and sets them off to us, is suitableness. The contentment of marriage lies not in beauty or portion—but in suitableness of disposition. The excellence of a feast is, when the food is suited to the palate. One ingredient in the glory of heaven is— that it exactly suits the desires of the glorified saints. We shall not say in heaven, "Here is a dish, I do not love!" There shall be music to suit the ear in the anthems of angels; and food which suits the glorified palate in the hidden manna of God's love.
(8) The glory of this kingdom will be SEASONABLE. The seasonableness of a mercy adds to its beauty and sweetness, like apples of gold to pictures of silver. After a hard winter in this cold climate, is it not seasonable to have the spring flowers of glory appear, and the singing of the birds of paradise come? When we have