Grace in Us Is Glorious (2)

The image of God makes a man glorious. It makes him shine. It is an excellent state to see a man in his place in the commonwealth.
What a glorious sight is it to see a Joseph, a Nehemiah, a Paul, all on fire for the glory of God and the good of the church! The thought of a man shining in grace, what a glorious thought it is!
The same is true in men now living. When wisdom and love tend to the common good, when there is a spirit of mortification, when a spirit of love is not for itself but all for the good of others, as in Christ, who 'went about doing good' (Acts 10:38), it makes them lovely and glorious.
Besides that, it puts an inward glory upon a man, when it makes him rejoice: ‘The Spirit of glory rests upon him' (Isa. 61:1). Indeed, in imprisonments and abasements, a good man in any condition is glorious. You will not see flesh and blood, no vengeful mood. When flesh and blood is subdued and nothing appears in a man but the image of Christ, he is a glorious creature, even in the greatest abasement that can be. When Paul was in the stocks, what a glorious condition he was in, when he sang at midnight when the Spirit of glory was upon him!
To see martyrs suffer without revenge, pray for their enemies, show a triumphant spirit that conquered all wrongs, and the fear of death; a spirit raising them above encouragements and discouragements—what a glorious thing this was! A man in his right principles, with the image of God upon him, sees all things here below as beneath him. This is glorious, to see a man who cares no more for the offers of advancement on the one hand or for threatenings on the other. All this is nothing to him. Is this not glorious, to see such a victorious and glorious spirit, above all earthly things?

Devotional Readings taken from Puritan Richard Sibbes 'Refreshment for the Soul.'
Glorious Freedom, pp. 134-35 [146-47]
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