It consists in that which the Lord will be to the regenerated world.
1. _Honour._ Men mistake the things that constitute the true honour
and dignity of human nature. Sounding titles; enormous wealth;
personal beauty; commanding intellect; undisputed power. They are all
insufficient and insecure, like fading flowers. God is the true crown
of glory to man. When the soul returns from its wanderings to God and
is re-united to Him through Christ, the crown is placed upon his head
(Jer. ix. 23, 24). 2. _Wisdom._ Both in barbarous and civilised
countries, man without the Gospel is ignorant of the character of
God, and of the way to approach Him (1 Cor. i. 21). He gropes about
in the darkness, if he desire to find Him at all. But Christ is made
of God to us "wisdom," as well as "righteousness, sanctification, and
redemption." In Him the Divine character is closely seen in the
fulness, harmony, and glory of its attributes. In Him also we learn
how man can be reconciled to God, and the way to eternal life.
3. _Strength._ Not physical, nor intellectual power, however valuable
in the regions proper to them. But moral power; the power of the
human will; the most important power of all. This alone possesses the
terrible capacity of resisting the Almighty. The most powerful
animals act as they have been created to act. All mechanical forces
act according to their laws. But man, possessed of will, is possessed
of a power that can either defy or obey the authority of Omnipotence.
When the Gospel comes to the human heart, it constrains the will into
a mighty force for good. God and man combine to overthrow the empire
of evil in the heart and in the world. "The Lord of hosts is for
strength to them that turn the battle to the gate."