4. His Kingdom over his Church: and this in a more efpecial manner is the Kingdom of God. And herein we confider, 1. The King of this Kingdom: God by an eternal decree hath appointed his Son, our Lord Jefus Christ, the King of this Kingdom: I have fet my King upon 'my holy Hill. Rule thou in the midst of thine Enemies 2.' And hence it is called frequently the Kingdom of Chrift: The Kingdom of his dear Son 3:' The Everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour 'Jefus Chrift 4; and fometimes the Kingdom of 'Christ, and of God 5.' The Kingdom of Chrift in the immediate administration of it; and the Kingdom of God, who hath delegated and fubftituted him unto this administration; Angels, and Authorities, and Powers, being made fubject unto him. First, the Kingdom of Chrift, till he fhall have judged all men ; and then the Kingdom of the Father, when he fhall deliver up the Kingdom to his Father, that God may be all in all 7. And the regal office of Chrift over his Church principally respecteth thefe two things: 1. In conquering to himself a people. The whole world was by fin reduced under a fubjection to an ufurper, the Prince of the power of the air, the Spirit that worketh in the Children of Difobedience. And this Kingdom of his was a Kingdom of Darkness, Who hath delivered us 'from the Power of Darkness 8.' And the fubjects of this Kingdom were a people of darkness: Ye were 'fometimes darknefs 9.' And by the advantage of this darkness, this Prince of darknefs, governed the World as he pleased; for they knew not whither they went: and by and from this darkness, this Prince led them into another continent, or rather condition of his Kingdom, a Kingdom of Sin; and Sin, as the Vice-Roy of this Prince of darkness, did reign in the World, and had dominion over it 10. And by Sin he led his fubjects * Psal. cx. 2. Coloss. i. 13. 1 Pet. iii. 22. 71 Cor. xv. 24, 28. 10 Rom. vi. 12, 14. 1 Psal. xxvi. 7. Ephes. v. 5. 2 Ephes. v. 8. * 1 Pet. ii. 11. Coloss. i. 13. into another region of his Kingdom, into the Kingdom of Death: Sin reigned unto death 1. And then death reigned 2. Now as God was pleafed, by a Mighty Hand, to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, fo Chrift redeems him a people out of every tongue and kindred, and people and nation 4, out of the midit of his enemies. He came to deftroy the works of the Devil, binds this ftrong man that kept the house, and refcues his prifoners from him. 1. He came a light into the world, and dispelled and fcattered that darkness, which was the principal engine whereby the Prince of this world did rule. The light fhined into darknefs, and the darkness comprehended it not 6.' And at the very dawning of this Light into the world, the Prince of darkness falls from heaven like lightning 7. And this was that, whereby the Prince of this world was judged; that is, all his deceits, and methods, and wiles, and abufes of mankind, were dif covered and detected. And by this Light we are tranflated from the power of darknefs into the Kingdom of his Son 9, are become partakers of the inheritance of the Saints of Light 10, are become Light, and children of the Light 11. And as he came with Light to take away that Egyptian darkness which overfpread the world 12: So, 2. he came with a treafury of merit to expiate the guilt, and a treasury of righteoufefs to cover the ftain, ard take away the power of fin, to re-imprint the image of God that was defaced by fin, to refcue the heart from the love of fin, and confequently from the power of fin; to tranfmit into the foul new principles, new affections, new wills: The people fhall be willing in the day of thy power 18.' As he came with light to rectify the understanding, fo he came with righteousness to rectify the will: the ftrength of a King rests in the love and will of his people: when Chrift conquers the Will from the love and fubmiffion to fin, he conquers Man from the dominion and kingdom of fin. 3. And as thus by Light he conquered the king dom of darkness, and by righteousness the kingdom of fin; fo he comes with life alfo, and conquers us from the kingdom of death. When our Saviour died, he entered into the chambers of death, and conquered this King of Terrors; took away the malignity and fting of it by taking away fin, the fting of death; healed these bitter waters by his own paffing through them, and by his Refurrection triumphed over the power of Death for us; by the virtue of that Refurrection delivering our fouls from the fecond death, and our bodies from the first death, and giving us a moft infallible assurance of a final victory over death, by an affured and blessed Refurrection. Thus Death is fwallowed up in victory 1. 2. And as Chrift hath purchased him a people by victory, fo his regal office is confiderable in the govern ment of this people that he hath fo acquired. He hath given them a law to live by, the Law of the Spirit of Life in Chrift Jefus, which makes them free from the law of fin and of death 2. The law of God vindicated from the falfe gloffes which the corruption of men had in fucceffion of time put upon it; a law fweetened, and ftrengthened, and actuated, by the love of God wrought in the foul; a law, though of the highest perfection and purity, yet, accompanied with the grace and affiftance of Christ, to enable us to perform it in fome mea. fure; and accompanied with the merits of Christ to pardon, and the righteoufnels of Chrift to cover our defects in our performance of it. He hath given them a new heart, and this law of his written in this heart: he hath given them of his own fpirit, a spirit of life to quicken them, and of power to enable them to obey, And because, notwithstanding this conqueft of Chrift of a people to himself, they are still befet with enemies that would reduce them to their former bondage, he VOL. 1 Cor. xv. 54 2 K * Rom. viii. 2. watcheth watcheth over them and in them by his Grace, wafting and weakning and refifting their corruptions by new fupplies and influences from him; quickning their hearts by renewed derivations of life and spirit from him, which otherwife would fink and die under the weight of their own earth; encountering temptations, that like fogs and vapours arife out of our own flesh; or, like ftorms or fnares, raised or placed by the Devil against us, either by diverting them, or by giving fufficient grace to oppofe them. Thefe and the like adminiftrations doth our Saviour ufe, which though they are fecret and not eafily difcerned by us, and though they are ordered without any noife or appearance, yet they are works of greater power, and of greater concernment, and of equal reality, with all the visible administrations of things in this world, which are more obvious to our fenfe, and are the effects of that invifible government of Chrift, and of that promife of his : Behold I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. This is that kingdom of God within them 2, confifting in righteoufnefs, peace, and joy in. the Holy Ghoft; cafting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itfelf againft the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Chrift 4. 3. As in his government, fo his regal office is evidenced in his judgment; and this judgment of his, being one of the acts or adminiftrations of this kingdom, is oftentimes called the Kingdom of God. His judgment of abfolution and reward to his fubjects, and his judgment of condemnation and deftruction to the rebels and enemies of his kingdom. 2. And as we have the confideration of the king of this kingdom, and confequently of his fubjects, Just and true are thy ways, thou King of Saints 5;' fo the various administrations of this kingdom are frequently Matth. xxviii. 20. * 2 Cor. x. 5. 2 Luke xvii. 21. Rom. xiv. 17. called called the Kingdom of God, and the mysteries of the kingdom 1. And as the administrations of this kingdom are often called the Kingdom, fo are the inftruments of this adminiftration. 1. The word, or gospel of the kingdom, which must be preached through the whole world 2, and is therefore committed to the miniftration of an Angel to difpenfe it to all nations 3. That great engine which, though feemingly weak, and difpensed by weak and defpicable men, God hath chofen to confound the things that are mighty 4; to pull down ftrong holds 5; to gather his Elect, for the perfecting of the Body of Chrift, the fulness of him that filleth all in all; and therefore this publication of the Gospel is oftentimes called the Kingdom of Heaven. The kingdom of Heaven is at hand 6.' The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you 7:' and if a man confider the mighty and ftrange effects that this everlasting Gospel hath had in the world for thefe many hundred years, notwithstanding the many difadvantages upon which it entered and hath continued in the world, we may well fay that it is the Power of God, and the Wisdom of God 8, the Rod of his Strength fent out of Sion 9, that the Meffage of a Crucified Chrift, published by poor defpifed men, to a World that never faw him, or, if they did, faw no beauty or comelinefs in him, to a World full of prejudices against him, prepoffeffed with an opinion of their own wifdom, with Religions extremely oppofite, traduced to them from their anceftors, of which men are naturally tenacious: that this Meffage of Chrift, not with a promise of glory or riches in this world, but with a plain prediction of poverty, fcorns, perfecutions, and death, to those that entertain it, and with a promise of future life that they never faw, nor can till they fee this no more, fhould conquer millions of fouls to the profeflion and love of Christ, |