"Grace is Glory Begun"

This morning I turned to the Psalms as I was in need of encouragement.  I turned to one of my favorite Psalms and rested in these good verses for my heart - Psalm 84:2, 10-12 NIV:

[2] "My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God."

[10] "Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
[11] For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.
[12] Lord Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in you."

I was just reflecting on these verses and letting my heart rest in the peace these words bring.  I was reading Matthew Henry's commentary on verses 10-12 and was struck by his reflection on verse 11 (note: another translation has it as "the Lord gives grace and glory" NASB)

"The Lord will give grace and glory. Grace signifies both the good-will of God towards us and the good work of God in us; glory signifies both the honour which he now puts upon us, in giving us the adoption of sons, and that which he has prepared for us in the inheritance of sons. God will give them grace in this world as a preparation for glory, and glory in the other world as the perfection of grace; both are God's gift, his free gift. And as, on the one hand, wherever God gives grace he will give glory (for grace is glory begun, and is an earnest of it), so, on the other hand, he will give glory hereafter to none to whom he does not give grace now, or who receive his grace in vain. And if God will give grace and glory, which are the two great things that concur to make us happy in both worlds, we may be sure that no good thing will be withheld from those that walk uprightly."

I love the part where he says that "grace is glory begun, and is an earnest of it."  We don't use the word earnest much, other than when buying houses, but the word means not just a pledge but a commitment with consequences in the modern use of it.  Here is the definition of earnest (Webster's Dictionary):

1 : something of value given by a buyer to a seller to bind a bargain (deal)
2 : a token of what is to come : pledge

So often we just focus on the free gift that grace is, that it is unmerited favor, and that is true, but it is more than that.  It is the down payment, the pledge of eternal glory, as Henry correctly comments.  We are told by Paul something similar in his letter  2 Corinthians 1:21-22 NIV:

[21] "Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, [22] set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come."

In this verse the seal of ownership (earnest) is His grace which He has freely given to each of us.  The guarantee of what is to come is speaking of the eternal life and glory we will experience in Heaven.  God's gift of grace, which is of inestimable value (for it was purchased with Jesus' life and blood) is just the down payment, the earnest, a token of what is to come.   If this is just a glimpse or token of what is to come, how incredible and awesome must eternity be?

When we purchased our house we put down earnest money of less than 1% (still a considerable amount) as a pledge to the owners of our intent to purchase their house.  If grace is an earnest, and it relates at all to the final value of eternal life and glory in a similar way as our earnest payment did to the value of our house, than our eternal destiny is beyond comprehension, or even expression.  We don't really have words to describe the value of the grace we have received in Christ Jesus, although we try.  How much less will we be able to describe or understand this side of eternity, the reality experienced there?

So this morning I am encouraged to not just quickly read over the words of this Psalm, thinking how nice it is to receive grace and glory.  I am encouraged to weigh the real value of the incredible gift Christ Jesus has extended to us through grace!  I can't wait to see what is to come!

Amen!