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ther," he being in the form of God, and thinks it no robbery to be equal with God.

15. He is a puissant and warlike King. He is "the Lord of hosts; he is a man of war." He encountered Satan, and wounded, bruised, and destroyed him upon Mount Calvary, and he will wage war for ever against all that refuse his government, and say, "We will not have this man to rule over us." He will send out his armies and destroy them; and not only his own vengeance, but the vengeance of his Father will fall on them, Psal. cx. 1, &c.

16. He is the King of glory," Psal. xxiv. When the summons is given to sinners, to "lift up the everlasting doors" of their hearts to him, they are told, that it is no less a person than "the King of glory" that calls. Solomon, in all his glory, could not compare with the lily, far less with him who is "the brightness of his Father's glory," and on whom hangs all the glory of his Father's house, Is. xxii. 24, &c.

I

I should now proceed to the other things in the method; but pass them at the time, and shall only offer a word of use to what has been said, in a few inferences.

1. See what happy persons the true and loyal subjects of Christ (believers) are. As it was said by the queen of Sheba, concerning the servants of Solomon, so may we say of them, they are happy, for they dwell in the King's court, Psal. lxxxiv., &c. All his subjects are made sons and heirs, "kings and priests unto God;" their King hears them when they call, Psal. xx. 9. They enjoy peace under his administration. They have trouble from the world; but “in him they have peace;" they dwell on high, dwell in safety. They shall all be well seen to in 'the day of famine and

trouble.

2. See the dangerous risk they run that invade his government, and contemn his authority.

Quest. Who are these?

Answ. I. They that turn the authority, derived from him, to the hurt and prejudice of his kingdom and interest. All power and authority, whether civil or ecclesiastical, is derived from him. All civil power is from him: "By me kings rule." He sets up kings and casts them down at his pleasure. And therefore it must be a dangerous abuse of civil authority, to enact laws invading the royalties of his crown, and the liberties of his subjects; laws countenancing witchcraft; laws for the profaning of his day and worship, and for modelling the courts of his house, and officers of his kingdom, according to their mind; laws obliging the ambassadors of Zion's King to change their holding, and to become the heralds and officers of king and parliament. Again, as all civil, so all ecclesias

tical authority is derived from him, as the fountain of it, having "all power in heaven and earth." And if so, what a horrid conspiracy against the King of Zion must it be, to employ that power for screening the erroneous, and censuring those that bear witness for him, for violating the rights and privileges of his subjects, and carrying on violent intrusions of officers into his house, to the dividing, destroying, and scattering of his subjects? We may easily think what the King will do with such courts and officers, when he reckons with them.

2. They invade his kingdom and authority, who adventure to model his visible kingdom in the world, after their own fancy, and not according to the pattern showed in the holy mount of divine revelation. The land-marks of the kingdom of Christ have been set from the word of God, by our great and worthy forefathers in this land, and adopted by the oath of the great God; and they who go about to remove these land-marks, and to cast the government of the church of Christ into another shape, as Episcopalians and sectarians do, there is ground to suspect them as being enemies to the King of Zion. And, among other things that convince me of the error both of the Episcopalian and Independent schemes of government, this is one,-that I never heard tell of one of their way, that suffered martyrdom for Christ, as King of Zion, particularly for his alone headship and sovereignty in his church. The spite and spirit of malignancy and persecution never ran against any of these ways, at least in this land; for "the world loveth its own." But it is well known, that all the power of hell, and of ecclesiastical and civil tyranny, has been bended for suppressing that form of government, which has been so solemnly adopted, from the word of God in Scotland; which, to me, beside other things, is a convincing evidence, that it is of divine original. When King Charles II. was restored to the crown, against whom or what did he bend his power? Was it against Episcopacy? No; he restored that form of government both in England and Scotland. Was it against Independents and sectarians, who had taken off his father's head? One would have thought, that the storm should have broken in a way of resentment upon them; but I do not remember to have heard, that one drop of their blood was spilt during that persecuting period; the storm lighted upon those of the Presbyterian way, both in Scotland and England. Was this, because they had joined the usurper, or endeavoured to cut off the family of the Stuarts? The contrary of this is well known to all who know the history of these times. No good reason can be conceived, why the flood of persecution ran, with such vio

lence, against them beyond all others, but that given Rev. xii. 17, because they "kept the commandments of God," with reference to the kingdom of his Son," and held the testimony of Jesus Christ, and the word of his patience."

3. They contemn the authority of the King of Zion, who walk willingly after the commandments of men, in opposition to the commands of Christ. When the commandments of men interfere with the authority of Christ, it is plain, from the practice of the apostles, and of the three children, what we are to do: "Whether it be right to obey God or man, judge ye," said the apostles before the Jewish sanhedrim. And, says the three children, when required by an angry king, in view of a fiery furnace, to bow down to his idol, "We are not careful to answer thee in this matter," &c. How culpable, then, are those men, who call themselves ministers, officers, and ambassadors of Christ, who, contrary to the laws of his house, at the commandment of worm man, are profaning his Sabbaths, polluting his worship, prostituting their office by sinful compliance, and throwing up the headship and sovereignty of Christ, our only King, Judge, and Lawgiver, and casting the jewels of his crown under the feet of men?

They will be found equally guilty, who stand by, and see` those injuries done to the King of Zion by others, and, who though they be not themselves actors, yet, I say, stand by as spectators, or are silent without witnessing against these things, yea, associate themselves with traitors to the Redeemer's crown, as though they were his loyal subjects and officers. Would any man be reckoned a loyal subject to King George, especially any who have sworn the allegiance and abjuration, and are intrusted with any honorary and beneficial posts, and are daily eating the king's bread, and receiving his pay; I say, what would any think of such a person being witness to manifest treason committed against the king, and yet should hold his peace; and not only so, but allow such to sit in the king's courts, and sit with them as if they had done no injury? When manifest treasons are com mitted against the King of Zion, and corruptions either in principle or practice, are allowed, and not purged out by discipline, when the majority of a church, and of her judicatories, are in a conspiracy, the plain command, in that case, is, 2 Cor. vi. 17, to "come out from among them, and to be separate, not to touch the unclean thing," that the Lord may receive us. "When the corrupt party are few," says Hooker," they are to be cast out; but when the body, or majority of the church, becomes wicked," then, says he, "the sound part is to withdraw from her;" for which he cites the above

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scripture, 2 Cor. vi. 17. The apostle Paul, when he orders the incestuous person to be cast out by excommunication, gives this reason for it, because "a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump" plainly intimating, that when the whole lump of a church is leavened with unpurged scandal and error, she is like the house under the law, over-run with the leprosy, which was not only to be left by the inhabitants, but to be taken down to the foundation. Sin is, in scripture, compared to smoke. You know, when a house is so smoky, that it is like to stifle the breath, or smother the inhabitants, there is no help for it, they must leave the house, and seek new lodgings.

Last inference. See from this doctrine an excellent rule for all the subjects of the King of Zion, who desire to be found faithful to him in a dark and cloudy day, how to steer their course. You know, in the time of a revolt and insurrection in a kingdom, against the government, when all things are running to confusion, the loyal subjects, who adhere to the interest of their king, make inquiry after the king's standard. Their question is not, Who have the greatest numbers? or, Where is the greatest body of men swaying? But if the king's standard be lifted up, however few they be that own it, Why, their question is, Where does it stand? or, What is the party that are cleaving to it? This is the very case in this divided and distracted day wherein we live. There is an insurrection against the King of Zion, even in the house of his professed friends, and even under the covert of his name and authority. Ecclesiastical judicatories are carrying matters quite contrary to the laws of his kingdom and the privileges of his subjects; and yet affirm, that they have his authority to do these things. A judicial testimony is lifted up against their corrupt courses, both in matters of doctrine, discipline, and government; and yet many that profess friendship to the King of Zion in this land, are in a suspense to what hand to turn; why, the way to come to a resolution is, to inquire, Where stands the standard of the covenanted testimony of Christ in the land? whether within or without the camp? If it be held faithfully within the camp, then it is duty to join it there: but if it be without the camp, we are to follow it there, although we should be obliged to take up the cross in following it.

THE SOVEREIGNTY OF ZION'S KING.

Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion.-PSAL. II. 6.

THE SECOND SERMON ON THIS TEXT.

THE doctrine was, "That Christ is King in Zion, the only Head and Sovereign of his church, by his Father's appointment and ordination." Yet have I set my King, &c.

The method in which I proposed to prosecute the doctrine,

was,

I. To give some account of this sovereign Prince here spoken of.

II. To give some account of his kingdom, and the administration of it.

III. Why God the Father has lodged the government upon

him.

IV. Apply.

I have only spoken to the first, given some account of this royal Prince, who is by God vested with the sovereignty, and made some application.

II. I come now to give some account of Christ's kingdom, and the administration of it. Here, 1. I shall offer a few distinctions of Christ's kingdom. 2. Show why the church is called the holy hill of Zion. 3. Give you some of the properties or qualities of Christ's kingdom. 4. Discourse a little concerning the actual execution and administration of the kingdom of Christ, as Mediator.

The first thing is, to offer a few distinctions of Christ's kingdom. Know, then, that the kingdom of the Son of God is twofold, either essential, or personal. His essential kingdom belongs to him, as to his divine nature, or as he is the Son of God, the second person of the glorious and ever blessed Trinity, the same in substance, equal in power and glory with the Father, and the Holy Ghost. Christ, considered in this view, is the great Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, and of all things in it, and the government and disposal belong to him by right of creation. But it is not of this absolute or essential kingdom of Christ that I now speak; but of his personal and mediatory kingdom, as he is Immanuel, God-man; and under this consideration he acts by a delegated autho

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