God and the word of his grace. Let us retire in deep and solemn meditation. My turn will soon come, let each one say, 'and am I ready?' Is my peace made with God? Has my soul been washed in the blood of Christ? When the summons of death shall be sent, will it bring along with it that glorious benediction,— 'Well done good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord?' Pause, my dying friends, and think, and think again! Death is certainly near. The rewards of the righteous are unspeakable, and the blackness of darkness-who can fathom its depths, or measure its duration?

14

THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST.*

Jesus answered, my kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.-John xviii, 36.

WHEN Our Lord was arraigned as a state criminal before the Roman Governor of Judea, the count in the indictment on which his enemies chiefly relied, was, that be aspired to regal authority over the province; and that he had carried his treasonable design so far, already, as actually to assume the title of king. They knew perfectly well, that this accusation was, in its spirit, utterly false, and that so far from aiming at the purple, he had steadily resisted the most urgent solicitations, of the people on that very point. But guilty, or not guilty, the prisoner must be convicted: and of course, the main question with his prosecutors was, ' Will the charge prevail?' not, 'Is it true?'

Utterly false, as it was, however, it derived a degree of plausibility. from the manner in which our Lord had often spoken of himself, and of the ultimate objects of his divine mission. As the Son of God, he claimed to be higher than the highest; and he made no secret of intending to set up a more glorious kingdom than the world

* Preached before the Annual Convention of the Congregational Ministers of Massachusetts, in Boston, May 29, 1830.

had ever seen;-but it was to be a spiritual, not a temporal kingdom. He intended to reign in the hearts of men by an invisible and transforming influence, and not to place himself as a temporal prince upon the throne of David. This he had abundantly proved, by the whole tenor of his life, and of his preaching; but being now questioned by Pilate, as to the claim on which he stood indicted at the bar, he thought fit explicitly to disavow it, in the words of my text. 'Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world.' But while in this solemn and public disclamer, our Lord fully asserted his innocence, he did not attempt to conceal the grand design of his mission. On the contrary, he meant to have it distinctly understood, that he was the long predicted Messiah, whose kingdom should be an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion from generation to generation.' Pilate, in all likelihood, regarded him as a decided fanatic, but was convinced of his innocence, and sought to release him. With the Jews, however, there were no relentings. They overawed the judge by their menaces, and Jesus was delivered to their will. He went to the cross under their infuriate mockery, and through its agonies to the tomb. But the tomb could not hold the royal captive. He stripped himself of its habiliments, on the third day, reviving the expiring hopes of his followers, and in their sight was afterwards received up by a cloud into heaven. In that hour, he ascended the mediatorial throne, and being made head over all things to the church,' he manages the affairs of his kingdom with infinite wisdom and benevolence.

Here, did the time permit, we might test our own loyalty to Christ, by a hundred prophetical descriptions of his majesty and glory, extracted from both parts of the inspired volume. But we can only glance at two or

three passages. My heart,' saith the Psalmist, 'is inditing a good matter. I speak of the things which I have made, touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. Thou art fairer than the children of men. Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, and in thy majesty ride prosperously, because of truth, meekness, and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things. Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a righteous sceptre.' For unto us, saith Isaiah, a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." Rejoice greatly,' saith

upon

Zechariah, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: Behold thy king cometh unto thee; he is just, and having salvation.' And I saw heaven opened,' saith John, and behold a white horse, and he that sat it was called Faithful and True; and in righteousness doth he judge and make war. For his eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew but he himself, And he was clothed in a vesture dipped in blood, and his name 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.' Such, in brief, is the majesty, authority and glory of Zion's King-of Him, who, in the cruel mockery of a triple superscription,' was branded as a fanatical pretender.

The text, thus introduced, will lead me,

I. To inquire, wherein the essential difference consists between the kingdom of Christ and the kingdoms of this world.