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First, I fay, we may confider Chrift's government, as it relates unto his general mediatory kingdom. And fo it takes in all things in heaven, earth, and hell; for "things in heaven, things on earth, and things under the earth, muft bow at the name of Jefus, and every tongue muft confefs, that he is the Lord, and that he hath all power and authority in heaven and in earth." Now, confidering Chrift's kingdom in this extenfive view, his government and administration takes in these few things following.

1. His fuftaining and upholding of all things by the word of his power, as the apoftle fpeaks, Heb. iii. 3. Our Redeemer, our Almighty King of Zion, is none other than the great God that made the heavens and the earth: John i. 3. "Without him was not any thing made that was made. By the word of the Lord, were the heavens made: and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth." And as he made all things by a word, fo by the word of his power he upholdeth them in their being; "by him all things confift," Col. i. 17. This world is like a great theatre, upon which a glorious fcene was to be acted, for the glory and honour of the free grace of God, in the falvation of a certain number of the loft race of Adam; and whenever the scene is ended, in the falvation of the laft elect foul, the theatre is to be taken down, and then "the heavens will pafs away with a great noife," &c.; but, until the scene be ended, the theatre, and all things in it, is upheld by the royal power and authority of the King of Zion.

2. Chrift, the King of Zion, by virtue of his general mediatory power and authority, permits devils and wicked men to be, and act as they do; for " the deceived and the deceiver are his," Job xii. 16. There we are told, that he suffered all nations to walk in their own way; he fuffers the devil and perfecutors fometimes, for holy and wife ends, cruelly to harafs and perfecute the righteous; to this purpose is that which he fays to the church of Smyrna, Rev. ii. to. "Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast fome of you into prifon, that ye may be tried; and ye fhall have tribulation ten days: but be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." Thus, Rev. xii. he suffered the old dragon "to make war with the woman, and her feed, which kept the commandments of God, and the teftimony of Jefus." This permiflive power and providence, which Chrift, as King of Zion, exercises with relation to the enemies of his church and people, is a glorious ground of encouragement to them in all their trials and troubles, that it is the Lord that allows the enemy to do this or that; efpecially if it be confidered,

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3. That by this abfolute power of the King of Zion, he red ftrains and bridles up devils and men, and fays to them, as he doth to the proud waves of the fea, Hitherto fhalt thou come, but no further." Pfal. lxxvi. to." The wrath of man fhall praise thee: and the remainder of his wrath wilt thou reftrain." Thus he reftrained both Laban's and Efau's fefentment against Jacob, and Sennacherib in his deftructivè défigns against the whole kingdom of Judah and Jerufalem. Chrift, as King of Zion, he has his chain about the devil's neck, and the necks of all his wicked inftruments in the world, and whenever they have gone the length of the link of the chain, which he has ordained, he gives the chain a pull, and then they are obliged to ftop; the remainder of their wrath he doth reftrain and bind up. We fee this in the cafe of Job; when the devil was let loofe to harafs him, he went ay as far as his chain allowed him, but then he could go ho further, till his chain was lengthened; and the fame is the cafe with refpect unto his church and people: Rev. xx. 1-3. he lays hold on the dragon, that old ferpent, the devil, and binds him a thousand years with a great chain. The devil and his inftruments at this day are burdened with the word of Christ's patience and teftimony, and gladly would they deftroy the witnesses, and all that cleave to his testimony; but they are like fo many dogs, or lions chained by the King of Zion, they can go no further than he allows them; and he will allow them to go no further than he fees for his glory, and his people's good.

4. Another act of Chrift's royal and abfolute power, as King of Zion, is his protecting and defending his church in the midst of the moft threatening and imminent dangers; hence they are called by the apoftle Jude, the "preferved in Chrift Jefus." You know when Chrift appeared unto Mofes in the bufh, he faw the bufh burning in the midft of the fire, yet the bush was not confumed; the thing reprefented thereby unto Mofes was, the prefent fituation of the church of Ifrael in Egypt, they were under fharp and exquifite fufferings under their cruel taskmafters; and the fafety of the bush in the midst of the flames, reprefented the fafety of Ifrael in the midst of all these troubles, under the care and tuition of Chrift, that he would not fuffer them to be fwallowed up by their cruel enemies, no, he would fee to their fafety, in the floods of great waters they fhall not be overwhelmed," and in the hottest flames they fhall not be confamed, &c.

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5. By the royal authority of Zion's King, he over-rules and governs all creatures, and all their actions, yea, the most dark and cloudy difpenfations, for his own and his Father's glory,

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and for the good and advantage of his church and people, according to that promife, Rom. viii, 28. "All things fhall work together for good, to them that love God." We fee at this day very ftrange things cafting up in the wheel of providence; we hear of wars and rumours of wars abroad; we fee the mighty pulled out of their feats by death; we fee figns in the heavens above, much like these that were feen before the deftruction of Jerufalem; we fee the winds blowing in the barn of the visible church, much chaff cafting up, many blown away from their former profeffion; we fee God making a fe paration between thefe that fear him, and others that are void of his fear; we fee the enemy raging in the Lord's fanctuary, breaking down the carved work of the temple, and the crown of Chrift profaned, and fet upon the head of a mortal creature. Well, fenfe and reafon, when it fits judge of thefe and the like difpenfations, it is put to a nonplus; but if the eye of faith be opened, it will fee the King of Zion, by his power, ruling and over-ruling all thefe ups and downs to the advan tage of his kingdom, and the on-carrying of the defigns of his glory in the falvation of his myftical body.

6. By his royal power, as King of Zion, he avenges himself and his church upon all his and their enemies, as we fee in the clofe of this pfalm, "He fhall break them as with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces as a potter's veffel." The beaft and the falle prophet, and the great whore, Gog and Magog, death and hell, fhall be "caft into the lake of fire and brimstone," Rev. xx. Pfal. cx. he will " make his enemies his footftool, he will ftrike through kings in the day of his wrath, fill the places with dead bodies, and wound the heads over many nations."

7: He will, at laft, finally liberate his church and people. from all thefe evils, forrows, and troubles, under which the groans, Rev. xxi. 3. 4. These are some of the acts of Chrift's government, in his general mediatory kingdom, over all things.

But, fecondly, come, more particularly, to confider the government of the King of Zion in his church, and among his people, which is his particular kingdom. And here again, with refpect to his invifibie kingdom of believers, there are thefe acts of his royal power that he puts forth.

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1. He fubdues them to himself. By nature they are the vaffals of hell, walking according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that rules in the children of difobedience." But in a day of his power, by fwaying the rod of his ftrength, he makes of rebels a willing people; he convinces them of fin and mifery, makes his arrows harp in the heart of his enemies; he enlightens their

minds in the knowledge of himfelf, difcovers his perfonal and mediatory glory, the way and method of falvation through him; he bends the iron finew of their rebellious wills, and makes them to fall in with the way of falvation revealed in the gofpet; he perfuades, and, by his grace, enables them to believe in him, and fo to embrace him as he is exhibit and fet forth unto them in the promife and offer of the gofpel. And thus the King of Zion calls and conquers the vaffals of the devil, and makes them his loyal fubjects. This work of the King of Zion, it does not come with alike obfervation in every one of his fubjects, every one have not a liké measure of law-work; fome are dealt with in a more mild way, like Lydia, "whose heart the Lord opened" in the hearing of Paul; others must be hewed and battered with the hammer of the law, before they will yield: however, every fubject of Chrift, in their effectual calling, has fo much of law-work as is fufficient to loose them from the first Adam, and to discover the vanity of all attempts to feek righteoufnefs and life by Adam's covenant; fo much of it as to discover their abfolute need of Chrift for wifdom, righteoufnefs, fanctification, and redemption:" and thus Chrift becomes "the end of the law for righteoufnefs to every one that believeth.".

2. Chrift, as King of Zion, he writes his law on the hearts of all his subjects: Jer. xxxi. 33. "I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts, and I will be their God, and they fhall be my people." That moment a finner is tranflated from the power of darknefs unto the kingdom of the Son of God, he that moment inlays a principle of holiness in the foul, a conformity to his laws; fo that the man" delights in the law of the Lord, after the inner man." Hence are thefe breathings and longings of foul after holiness of heart and life, "O that my ways were directed to keep thy ftatutes! Hold up my goings in thy paths," &c. "O let my heart be found in thy ftatutes, that I may not be ashamed:" and hence alfo are thefe groanings among the fubjects of Christ, under the remains of a body of fin and death, like that of Paul, “O wretched 'man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of fin and death! Iniquities prevail against me," &c.

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3. Chrift, as King of Zion, he enforces subjection to his laws, and that both by promifes and penalties, fuited unto the. nature of his government, and administration of grace. If they break his laws, and keep not his commandments, he de clares that he will" vifit their ini'quities with the rod, and their tranfgreffions with ftripes." And, on the other hand, he is them, that, in the way of obedience and holiness, he will

meet them, and hold fellowship and communion with them ; and thus," in keeping his commandments, there is a great reward. He meeteth him that rejoiceth, and worketh righte ousness, and remembers him in his ways."

4. Chrift, as King of Zion, he cafts a copy of obedience unto all his fubjects, and calls them to imitate him; for, "though he was a Son, yet learned he obedience, by the things that he fuffered." And he fays to all his fubjects, "Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly; take my yoke upon you," &c. He has left us an example that we should follow his fteps; and accordingly every true fubject of Chrift, he ftudies to imitate his King, to run his race, "Looking unto Jefus."

5. Chrift, in his invifible kingdom, he actuates and excites all his fubjects to obedience to him, by his own Spirit, which he puts within them, according to that promife, Ezek. xxxvi. 27. "I will put my Spirit within them, and cause them to walk in my ftatutes:" and by this Spirit of his in them, he makes them to study holiness in all manner of conversation; and their "light is made to fhine fo before men, that others feeing their good works, are made to glorify their Father which is in heaven."

6. Chrift, as King of Zion, meekens the hearts of his fubjects to a due regard to all the intimations of his mind and will, fo as every one of them is ready to fay, "Speak, Lord, for thy fervant heareth. Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" They juft wait with fubmiffion, like a fervant waiting the commands of his mafter, and then he gives direction, according to that promife, "The meek will he guide in judgement, the meek will he teach his way."

7. Chrift, as King of Zion, he corrects and chaftens his fubjects; for "if we be without correction, whereof all are partakers, then are we baftards and not fons." Christ he will let these faults pafs in aliens and foreigners, that he will fe verely correct in his own fubjects: "You only have I known of all the families of the earth; and therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities." Sometimes, by his rods and corrections, he will make their bodies fmart with fickness, as in the cafe of Hezekiah, &c. Sometimes he will make them to smart in their worldly fubftance, by reducing them to poverty, as you fee in Job, whofe fubftance he gave over unto the Sabean and Chaldean robbers. Sometimes he will make them to fmart in their relations, friends, and children, by taking away the defire of their eyes with a stroke, or other things that are fharper than death, &c. Sometimes he will make them to fmart in their name, by reproach and calumny, and letting VOL. II.

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