SERMON LIX.

CHARACTER OF CHRIST, AS A KING.

EPHESIANS i. 20-22.—Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places; Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. And hath put all things under his feet; and gave him to be the head over all things to the Church.

I HAVE now in a series of sermons examined the character of Christ, as the prophet, and high priest, of mankind. Under his prophetical character I have considered his preaching, by himself, and by his Apostles; the Things, taught by both; the Manner, in which they were taught; and their consequences. Under his Priesthood I have considered his personal holiness; his atonement; and his Intercession,

I shall now, according to the original scheme mentioned when I began to discuss the mediation of Christ, proceed to consider his character as a King.

That this character is given to Christ in the Scriptures, in instances almost literally innumerable, is perfectly well known to every reader of the Bible. In the second Psalm, there is a solemn annunciation of the Kingly office of Christ to the world. It is introduced with these words: I have set, or as in the Hebrew, have anointed, My King on my holy hill of Zion. Unto us, says Isaiah, a child is born; unto us a Son is given; and the Government shall be upon his shoulders; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the Father of the everlasting age, the Prince of peace; and of the increase of his Government, and of his peace, there shall be no end: Upon the throne of David, and upon his Kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment, and with justice, from henceforth, even for ever. The Lord hath sworn, says David, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedek. Melchisedek was both a King and a priest. The priesthood of Christ, therefore, was a royal priesthood; or the priesthood of a person who was, at the same time, a King: Like Melchisedek, a King of righteousness, and a King of peace. Thy throne, O God, says David, is for ever and ever; and the sceptre of thy Kingdom is a sceptre of righteousness. He shall reign, says Gabriel, when predicting his birth to Mary, He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his Kingdom there shall be no end. His name, says St. John, is called the Word of God; and he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written; King of kings and Lord of lords.

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In the text we are presented with several interesting particulars concerning the Kingly office of Christ, which shall now be the subject of our consideration.

We are taught in this passage,

1. That God hath exalted Christ to this Dominion:

II. The Extent of this Dominion:

III. That this Dominion was given, and assumed, for the benefit of the Church.

1. We are taught that God hath exalted Christ to this Dominion. This doctrine is repeatedly taught in the text, in the following expressions. He set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places. He hath put all things under his feet. He gave him to be head over all things. In these expressions the exaltation of Christ to the dominion and dignity, ascribed to him in the text, is as unequivocally attributed to the Father, as it can be'in human language. Of course, their plain import must be acknowledged by every Christian. I insist on this doctrine of the text; I have insisted on it, particularly, because it has been made by Unitarians an argument against the Divinity of Christ. "If," they say, "Christ is a Divine person; whence is it, that we hear so many things, said in the Scriptures concerning his exaltation; and particularly of his exaltation by the Father? If Christ is God; how is it possible, that he should be in any sense exalted? But, should we, contrary to plain probability, suppose him to have undergone voluntarily an apparent humiliation; can he, who is truly God, be indebted to any other, than himself, for a restoration to his former dignity and greatness? To be exalted at all, necessarily involves a preceding state of inferiority, particularly, to the state, to which he is exalted; and, certainly, of inferiority to the proper state and character of Jehovah. He, who has all power, knowledge, wisdom, and greatness, cannot have more; and, therefore, can in no sense be exalted. To be exalted by another person, also, involves dependence on that person: and a dependent being cannot be God."

As this, in my view, is the most plausible argument against the Divinity of Christ; and that, which has had more weight in my owr. mind, than any other; though, I believe, less relied on, and less insisted on, by Unitarians, than some others; I shall consider it with particular attention.

As a preface to the answer, which I intend to this objection, I observe, that the argument, contained in it, is in my own view conclusive; and, if applied to the subject without any error, must be admitted in its full force. The error of those, who use it, lies in the application, made of it to Christ. That exaltation involves a state of preceding inferiority, is, I apprehend, intuitively certain; and that he, who is exalted by another, must be a dependent being; dependent on him, by whom he is exalted; cannot be denied. Let us see how far this argument is applicable to Christ; and how far it will conclude against his Deity.

It must be acknowledged by all Trinitarians, as well as others, that, if Christ be God in the true and proper sense, it is impossible for him to be exalted above the dignity and greatness, which he originally and alway possessed. He cannot be more powerful, wise, or excellent. He originally possessed all things; and, therefore, can have nothing given to him. It cannot, of course, be in this sense, that the scriptural writers speak of Christ as exalted.

But it is equally clear, and will be equally insisted on by every Trinitarian, that Christ is man as well as God. In this character, it is evident, that he can receive exaltation; and that, to any degree less than infinite. It is further evident, according to the Trinitarian doctrine concerning Christ, that the Messiah, or Mediator, Jesus Christ, is distinguishable from Christ, considered as God, and from Christ considered as man: being constituted by the union of the Eternal Word with the man Christ Jesus: An union, as the Westminster Assembly express it, of two distinct natures in one person for ever. This Mediator, in his complete character, began to exist at the birth of the man Jesus Christ; as being a person, then new to the Universe. Of this Mediator, then commencing his perfect existence, the predictions concerning the Kingdom of Christ, and the accounts concerning his assumption of that Kingdom, are, I apprehend, all, or nearly all, written. It is of the Mediator, that it is said, I set my King on the holy hill of Zion. It is of the Son who was born, and whose name was called Wonderful; Counsellor; the mighty God; on whose shoulder the Government was to be placed. Of the Mediator, Gabriel said, He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his Kingdom there shall be no end. Of the Mediator, St. Paul says, Wherefore God hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth. It is of the Mediator, that it is said in the text, God set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above every name, that is named in this world, and in that which is to come: and that it is further said, He hath put all things under his feet; and given him to be head over all things to his Church.

As the Mediator, Jesus Christ began to exist at the birth of the man Jesus Christ; so, until his resurrection, he existed in a state of humiliation only. The Word, though originally in the form of God, and justly thinking it no robbery to be equal with God, yet voluntarily took upon himself the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. In this form, or character, of a Servant, he fulfilled all the several duties, which he had engaged to perform; and in this humble character he acted, till he arose from the dead.

It will not be denied, that this person, allowing him to have existed, was capable of exaltation; nor that, if he received it at all,

he must receive it from Him, under whose commission he acted, and to whom he had voluntarily become a servant, when he was made in the likeness of men.

This person, it is plain, had received no Kingdom, until his ascension to heaven; had not before been head over all things to the Church; nor been exalted above every name that is named in this world, and that to come. This Kingdom is frequently spoken of as the reward of the labours and sufferings of Christ, in the character of Mediator. These labours and sufferings had never before existed; and, therefore, could not have been rewarded at an earlier period.

From these views of the subject it is clear, that although Christ, as God, was incapable of exaltation, equally as of suffering; yet, as Mediator, he was capable of both; and that his exaltation was with perfect propriety given him by the glorious Person, under whose authority he placed himself by voluntarily assuming the form of a servant. In this view of the subject the Trinitarians are so far from being inconsistent with themselves, that they merely accord with the necessary consequences of their own doctrine.

II. We are taught in the text the Extent of this Kingdom.

The word Kingdom sometimes denotes the rule, which is exercised by a King; and sometimes the persons and regions, which he rules. According to the former of these senses, David says, Thou hast prepared thy throne in the heavens; and thy Kingdom is over all. Of the latter sense, It shall be given thee, to the half of the Kingdom, is an example.

1st. Then, the Kingdom of Christ is the Universe.

In the text, the extent of Christ's kingdom is repeatedly denoted by the phrase all things. The absolute universality of this phrase is sufficiently manifest from the text itself, when it is said, that he is set at the right hand of God, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named in this world, and that which is to come. But it is placed beyond all doubt in the corresponding passage in Philippians ii. 10, where it is said, that every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord. Heaven and Earth, is the phrase, by which the Jews denoted the Universe. When they meant to express this idea with emphasis, they sometimes added the phrase, under the Earth. Here we have the most emphatical language, ever used by a Jew to denote the Universe, and all things which it contains. Every knee in this vast dominion we are assured will one day bow to Christ; and every tongue found in it will confess, at a future period, that Christ is Lord. In the same manner, in Colossians i. 16, All things are said to be created by him, and for him; whether they be visible or invisible, whether in heaven or in earth. As in this absolutely universal sense they

were made by and for himself; so from this passage we cannot doubt, that in the same sense they will be his absolute possession; and that after, as well as before, he became Mediator. This world, therefore, the planetary system, the stellary systems, the highest heavens above, and hell beneath, are all included, and alike included, in the immense empire, of which he is the head. Men are his subjects. Angels both fallen and virtuous are his subjects; and the inhabitants of the innumerable worlds, which compose the Universe, confess that he is Lord, to the glory of God

the Father.

2dly. His authority over this great kingdom is supreme.

The whole course of providence is under his immediate control. He upholds all things by the word of his power; and directs them with an universal and irresistible agency to their proper ends. The affairs of this world, and all its inhabitants, are directed by his hand. He has the keys of hell and of death, or of the world of departed spirits. He openeth, and no one shutteth; and shutteth, and no one openeth. Into that world none enter without his bidding; and out of it none can come but by his mission. The world of misery, beneath, is in the same manner under his absolute dominion; and the glorious system of happiness in the heavens, above, is the mere result of his wisdom, goodness, and power.

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In the exercise of this dominion he will, at the close of this providential system, summon the dead from the grave; consume the world with fire; and judge both the righteous and the wicked, both Angels and men. In the exercise of the same authority, also, he will send the wicked down to the regions of darkness, and punish them with an everlasting destruction from his presence, and from the glory of his power.

III. We are taught in the text, that this kingdom was given, and assumed, for the benefit of the Church.

This doctrine is directly asserted in the text; and will, therefore, not be questioned. In the exercise of this Government over all things for the benefit of his Church, He, in the

1st place, Defends it from all his enemies.

The enemies of Christians are their temptations, internal and external; their sins; death; evil men; and evil angels.

Against their temptations he furnishes them with defence by all the instructions, precepts, warnings, reproofs, threatenings, and promises which are contained in his Word. These constitute a continual and efficacious protection from the influence of the lusts within, and the enemies without, by rectifying the views of the soul concerning its interest and duty; awakening in it solemn consideration; alarming it with affecting apprehensions; encouraging it with hope; alluring it with love and gratitude; stimulating it with the prospect of a glorious reward; and thus prompting it to suspend the dangerous purpose, to watch against the rising sin, to