The Prosperity of the King

‘A King shall reign and prosper.’—Jer. xxiii. 5.
IF we are really interested, heart and soul, in a person, how delighted we are to have positive assurance of his prosperity, and how extremely interested and pleased we feel at hearing anything about it! Is not this a test of our love to our King? Are we both interested and happy in the short, grand, positive words which are given us about His certain prosperity? If so, the pulse of our gladness is beating through to the very heart of God, for ‘Jehovah hath pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.’1
His prosperity is both absolute and increasing. Even now, ‘Thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame that I heard.’2 If we could get one glimpse of our King in his present glory and joy, how we who love Him would rejoice for Him and with Him!* And if we could get one great view of the wide but hidden prosperity of His kingdom at this moment, where would be our discouragement and faint

1 Ps. XXXV. 27. 2 I Kings x. 7. ^ i Pet. iii. 22.

heartedness! Suppose we could see how His work is going on in every soul that he has redeemed out of every kindred and tongue all over the world,1 with the same distinctness with which we see it in the last trophy of His grace for which we have been praising Him, would it not be a revelation of entirely overwhelming joy? Many Christians nowa-days are foregoing an immense amount of cheer, because they do not take the trouble to inquire, or read, or go where they can hear about the present prosperity of His kingdom. Those who do not care much, can hardly be loving much or helping much.
But we do care about it; and so how jubilantly the promises of His increasing prosperity ring out to us !’ He must increase.’2 ‘He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under his feet.’* ‘Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end.’*
All our natural delight in progress finds satisfaction here,—nostagnation, no reaching a dead level; we are on an ever-winning side, bound up with an ever-progressing cause. A typical light on this point flashes from the story of David. He ‘went on and grew great,’5 or, as the margin has it, ‘going and growing;’ which we cannot forbear connecting with the promise to ourselves, ‘Ye shall go forth and grow up. ‘* And then we are told that He ‘waxed greater and greater’ (marg.), ‘went on going and increasing. ‘7
But we must not be merely on-lookers. Let us  see to it, first, that there be increasing prosperity in His kingdom in our hearts. Pray that He may not only reign but prosper in that domain. And next, let us see to it that we are doing all we can to further His prosperity all around us. Translate our daily prayer, ‘Thy kingdom come,’1 into daily, burning, glowing action for its prosperity.

1 Rev. V. 9. 2 John iii. 30. 3 i Cor. xv. 25. ?* Isa. ix. 7. ° 2 Sam. V. 10. c Mai, iv, 2. 7 i Chron. xi. 9.