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David describes The blessedness of the man to whom God imputeth righteousnees without Works, Rom. iv. 6. 2. With the pardon of their sins, which is another great blessing; Blessed is the man whose transgressions is forgiven, Psal. xxii. 1. 3. Christ blesses his people with the adoption of children: John i, 12.1. Those are blessed by Christ with regeneration and conversion by his Spirit and grace through the ministration of his gospel, Acts iii. 26. 5. The same persons are biessed with the Spirit, shed on them, through Christ, their Saviour. 6. The Lord blesses his people with peace, Psal. xxix. 11. 7. He blesses them with the gospel, the ordinances of it, and the privileges of his house. 8. And lastly, Christ blesses his people with eternal life and happiness, according to his promise he will come and take them to himself. v. The nature and excellencies of these blessings.-1. They are cove nant blessings. 2. They are spiritual blessings, Eph. i. 3. 3. They are solid and substantial ones; blessings indeed such. as Jabez prayed for; saying, O that thou wouldest bless me indeed! 1 Chron. iv. 10. 4. They are irreversible blessings; the blessing with which Isaac blessed Jacob, was confirmed by him with a resolution not to alter it: without repentance, Rom. xi. 29. 5. These blessings are eternal; whatever is done in this way of Christ blessing his people is for ever, Eccles. iii. 14.

OF THE KINGLY OFFICE OF CHRIST.

CHRIST is King in a two-fold sense: he is a king by nature as he is God, he is God over all; as the Son of God, he is heir of all things; he has a two fold kingdom, the one natural, essential, universal and common to him with the other divine persons; the kingdom of nature and providence is his, what he has a natural right unto, and claim upon; it is essential to him as God; besides this, there is another kingdom that belongs to Christ as God-man and Mediator; this is a special, limited kingdom; this concerns only the elect of God, hence

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the title and character of Christ with respect to them is, King of saints; this kingdom and government of his is what is into his hands to dispense and administer, and may be called a dispensatory, delegated government.

I. I shall shew that Christ was to be a King; 1. That he was to be a King, appears by the designation of him by his Father to this office; I have set my King upon my holy hill of Zion, says Jehovah, Psal. ii. 6. he appointed a kingdom to him which is observed by Christ; Iappoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me, Luke xxii. he was invested with the office of a King, and was considered as such; Unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever, Heb. i. 8. 11. It appears from the types and figures of Christ, in his kingly office Melchizedek was a type of him ; so was David, hence Christ, his antitype, is often, with respect to the Jews, in the latter days, called David their King, Jer. xxx. 9. Ezek. xxxiii. 23. Solomon also was a type, hence Christ, is frequently called Solomon, and King Solomon, and who, speaking of himself, says, a Greater than Solomon is here, Matt. xii. 42. 111. This still more fully appears, that Christ was to be a King, by the prophecies concerning him, in this respect; as in the very first promise or prophecy of him, that the seed of the woman, meaning Christ, should break the serpent's head; that is, destroy the devil, and all his works; which is an act of Christ's kingly power. Balaam foretold, that there should come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre, that is a Sceptre-bearer, a King, should rise out of Israel, Numb. xxiv. 17. which prophecy, coming to the knowledge of the magi, upon the appearance of a new star, led them to take a journey into Judea, to enquire after the birth of the King of the Jews. In Isaiah, ix. 6, 7. it is said, that the government should be upon his shoulders; to the same purpose is another prophecy in Jeremiah, chap. xxiii. 5, 6. To which may be added, another Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion-behold thy King cometh unto thee, Zech. ix. 9. the angel that brought the news to the

virgin Mary, foretold that the Lord God would give unto him the throne of his Father David; Luke i. 32, 33.

II. proceed to shew, that Christ is a King. 1. Christ was a King before his incarnation, during the Old Testament dispensation; as such he is acknowledged by the church in the times of Isaiah; The Lord is our fudge; the Lord is our Lawgiver; the Lord is our King, Isai. xxxiii. 22. and xxvi. 13. II. Christ was King in his state of incarnation; he was born a King, as the wise men understood it. Christ himself acknowledges as much, when he was asked by Pilate, whether he was a king? he answered in a manner which gave assent unto it, John xviii. 36, 37. He began his ministry with giving notice, that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. Nathaniel made the following noble confession of faith in him, Thou art the King of Israel! John i. 49. The disciples, in so many words, said, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord, Matt. xxi. 4-9. It is true indeed, 111. Upon his ascension to heaven, he was made both Lord and Christ, Acts ii. 36. not but that he was both Lord and Christ before; but then he was declared to be so, and made more manifest as such. He received the promise of the Spirit; sent his apostles forth into all the world, preaching his gospel with great success; and went forth by them with his bow and arrows, conquering and to conquer. iv. All the rites and ceremonies used at the inauguration of kings, and their regalia, are to be found with Christ. Were kings anointed? as Saul, David, and Solomon were, so was Christ; I have set, or as in the Hebrew text, I have anointed my King upon my holy hill of Zion, Psal. ii. 6. Were kings crowned at the time of their inauguration? so was Christ at his ascension to heaven, he was then crowned with glory and honour. Do kings sometimes sit on thrones when in state? Isaiah, in vision, saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, when he saw the glory of Christ, and spake of him. Do kings sometimes hold sceptres in their hands, as an ensign of their royalty? so does Christ; his sceptre is a sceptre of righteousness, Psal. xlv. 6. Do kings sometimes

appear in robes of majesty and state? Christ is arrayed with majesty itself; The Lord riegneth, he is clothed with majesty, Psal. xciii. 1.

one;

III. Having shewn that Christ was to be a King, and is I shall next consider the exercise and administration of the kingly office by him; and observe, 1. His qualifications for it. David who well knew what was requisite to a civil ruler, or governor says, He that ruleth over men, must be JUST; and this he said with a view to the Messiah, as appears by what follows, 2 Sam. xxiii. 3, 4. One of the characters of Zion's King, by which he is described, is just, Jer. xxiii. 5, 6. A king should be as wise as an angel of God; and such is David's Son and Antitype, the Messiah; on whom rests the Spirit of wisdom aud understanding, of council and of knowledge; to which may be added, the spirit of might rests upon him, 1sai. xi. 2. he has power and authority; yea, he is the Lord God omnipotent. The next enquiry is, 11. Who are his subjects? a king is a relative term, and connects subjects; a king without subjects, is no king. Christ is said to be King of Israel; to reign over the house of facob; to be set King upon the holy hill of Zion; and to be King of saints, Luke i. 33. Psal. ii. 6. Rev. xv. 4. 111. The form and manner of Christ's executing his kingly office; which is done externally, and internally. 1. Externally, by the word and ordinances, and church discipline. 1. By the ministry of the word; which is his sceptre he holds forth; it is the rod of his strength he sends out of Zion, and which is the power of God unto salvation to them that believe; it is the rule and standard of their faith and practice; the maga charta which contains all their privileges, and which he as their King, inviolably maintains. 2. By the administration of ordinances; as baptism: Christ, in virtue of that power in heaven and earth, which he received as King of saints, issued out a command, as to preach the gospel, so to baptize. The Lord's Supper is another of the ordinances kept by the church at Corinth, as delivered to them; and which he suggests was to be observed throughout his

kingdom, to the end of the world. Public Prayer in the house of God, is another appointment in Christ's kingdom, the church; and which was attended to by the first christians. Singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, in a public manner, in the churches, is another ordinance of Christ, enjoined them, Eph. v. 19. and in doing which, they express their joy and gladness in Zion's King. 3. In the exercise of church discipline; about which, Christ, as King in his church, has given orders and directions. 4. For the execution and due performance of all this, the ministry of the word, administration of ordinances, and exercise of church discipline, Christ has appointed officers in his church and kingdom; whom he qualifies and empowers for such purposes, Eph. iv. 12. 11. The kingly office of Christ is exercised internally. 1. In the conversion of his people; which is no other than a rescue of them out of the hands of those who have usurped a dominion over them. Whilst in a state of nature, other lords have dominion over them, sin reigns in their mortal bodies. Satan, the prince of the power of the air, works in them; but Christ being set up as an ensign to the people, they flock unto him, and enlist themselves under his banner, and become volunteers, in the day of his power, and declare themselves willing to endure hardness, as good soldiers of Christ; when they are clad by him with the whole armour of God, and become more than conquerors. 2. Christ's kingly office is further exercised, in the protection and preservation of his people from their enemies. They are protected and preserved from sin; not from the indwelling and actings of it in them; but from its dominion and damning power; and the grace that is wrought in them is preserved, and its reigning power is continued and confirmed. They are protected by him from Satan; not from his sssaults and temptations, to which the most eminent saints are exposed, but from being destroyed by him. Christ is able to succour them, and knows how to deliver them out of temptation, and bruises Satan under their feet. In short, he protects them

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