Peter’s words in 1 Peter 2:9-10 are opulent;

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

This text is filled with the action of God in blessing His people.  Note the actions God has performed in this text.  He has chosen a people.  He has made them a royal priesthood as a holy nation and a special people.  He called them out of darkness into the light.  He showed mercy to these people.  This opulence, or rich blessing, is simply amazing.  It seems that God delights in blessing His people, not just a little, but above and beyond what we could ever imagine.  I am reminded of Ephesians 1, “He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens.”  This is a flabbergasting thing to realize, that in Christ we are royalty because of Christ’s kingship and our relationship with Him.  Remember the words of Rev. McLean in “A River Runs Through It,” “the poor without Christ, are of all men the most miserable, but the poor with Christ are princes and kings of the earth.”  Tis true, tis true.

I also want to draw your attention to the meaning of “royal priesthood.”  I have been discussing the priesthood on my blog lately, and I have noted that there is no longer a need for any man to present sacrifices for us because Christ has once and for all offered Himself.  This sacrifice was so perfect and so final that we are completely justified and consequently have access to God.  We are sealed with the Holy Spirit as a promise and our salvation is protected “by the power of God through faith.”  Just as the Jewish priests would approach the presence of God through the sacrifice of animals, we are approached by God and able to be in His presence because of the completed and eternally effective sacrifice of Christ.  This is a wonderful truth, and if you want to note the difficulty with which the Jewish priests approached God, read the book of Leviticus.