A

III.

The kingdom of Christ.

Mongst the offices which our Saviour

sustained, the office of King is first in dignity. Under this character he is described by the Angel who was sent to his mother; under this character he is foretold by the prophets.

The first prediction of Chrift's regal office is the promise which God made to David, that his house, and his throne, his feed and his kingdom should be established for ever, as the days of heaven, as long as the fun and moon fhould continue; of which promise mention is often made in the hiftorical books of the Old Teftament and in the Pfalms. Hence the Jews concluded that from David fhould arife the Meffias.

The Prophets frequently fpeak of this promised perfon, as of a king, and David

Pfalm ii. xlv. cx.

often

often describes the child who fhould defcend from him, as a great and mighty Prince. I propofe to confider,

I. When our Lord's kingdom began:

II. What are the particular characters of his kingdom, which should diftinguish it from all other empires.

I. There is a kingdom which our Lord had from the beginning, as he was the Word of God, and the Son of God, and the perfon by whom God made all things. But the kingdom of which we are now speaking, is that kingdom which he was to receive when he became man, and which was foretold by the prophets, and concerning which the Angel thus fpeaks in St. Luke's Gofpel; He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God fhall give unto him the throne of his father David, and he fhall reign over the boufe of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end. And the time when it began is to be first confidered.

The kingdom of Chrift is commonly accounted to have begun when he ascended into

into heaven, and fent down the holy Ghost. Nevertheless our Lord may be truly faid to have been born a king, and his kingdom may commence with his nativity, though he did not exert many acts of royal authority, or fuffer his reign to be manifest before his afcenfion.

For foon after his birth the wife men were guided by an heavenly light, and came and offered him presents, and paid him that worship which used to be paid to Eastern kings, and acknowledged him as the great king who was to arife in Judæa.

After this he continued in obfcurity till he entered into his ministry, during which he gave fome intimations of his royal dignity, and permitted himself to be acknowledged as a king, but sparingly and fecretly, that he might not offend the civil magistrate; for,

First, he took upon him the name of Meffias or Chrift, and fuffered it to be given to him. Now Meffias, or Chrift, in the opinion of all the Jews, was the name of that great king foretold by the prophets; and confequently all who believed him to be the Meffias owned him for their king. Nathanael

K

Nathanael fays to him; Thou art the Son of God, thou art the king of Ifrael: and Christ accepts the acknowledgment. Afterwards, when he was entering into Jerufalem, all his difciples praised God, and faid; Blessed be the king that cometh in the name of the Lord. At which the Pharifees were offended, and faid to him; Mafter, rebuke thy difciples. But be anfwered: If thefe fhould hold their peace, the ftones would immediately cry out.

Secondly, he fuffered himself to be called the Lord, which implies as much.

Thirdly, it is the office of a king to give laws, and this office he executed.

Fourthly, when Pilate asked him whether he was a king, Christ owned to him that he was; but to fatisfy him, he told him farther, that his kingdom was not like

a

a Cum vero Jefus hic regem fe fateatur, negari mihf videtur non poffe regnum ejus aliquo modo inchoatum effe cum veritatem cœpit docere: nam ita ipfe apud Joannem regnum interpretatur. Neque obftat quod paffim regni ejus initium duci videtur ab evectione in cœlum: id enim de plena regni poffeffione intelligendum eft.-Certe poteftas remittendi peccata, quam Jesus vitam mortalem agens exercuit, ad regnum pertinebat, ut et liberrima illa miraculorum pro arbitrio difpenfandorum poteftas. Grotius ad Mat. xxvii. ii.

the

the kingdoms of this world, and was not oppofite to the Roman, or to any other human government. This is that good confeffion, which, as St. Paul obferves, he witnessed before Pontius Pilate.

Thus did Chrift's kingdom begin with his birth, but whilft he dwelt here below it was small and obfcure, and escaped the notice of the world. His fubjects were few, weak in faith, and not confirmed in their obedience, and they forfook him and hid themselves when he was in danger. His kingdom was like a grain of mustard feed; but still it was a kingdom. And therefore, being asked by the Pharifees when the kingdom of God fhould come, he answered; The kingdom of God cometh not with obfervation, neither shall they fay, Lo bere, or Lo there, for the kingdom of God is within you. Which is as if he had faid, My kingdom makes not its first appearance, and is not ushered in with royal pomp and fplendor, like the Affyrian, Egyptian, Babylonian, Gracian, or Roman. It comes filently and steals upon the world unobserved; for indeed it is already begun, and you know it not.