abstract: Prince of the kings of the earth means Christ, as Mediator, rules over all the nations of the earth.

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by Alexander McLeod

Editor's Introduction: Alexander McLeod's, Messiah, Governor of the Nations of the Earth, was originally published in 1803. This excellent work is a relatively brief yet important statement of the doctrine of the kingly aspect of the mediatorial reign of Jesus Christ over the nations. This article prints the first two sections of McLeod's treatise. The final two sections will appear in the next issue of The Christian Statesman.

The blessed and only Potentate, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords (1 Tim. 6:15).

Jesus Christ--the Prince of the Kings of the earth (Rev. 1:5).

I. MESSIAH, RULER OF THE NATIONS

The church of Christ is, comparatively, a small society. Those who were given to the Son in order to be redeemed by His blood and sanctified by His Spirit, are really a great multitude, which no man can number; but the sincere followers of the Lamb, at any period since the publication of the gospel, when compared with the wicked of the world, are a very little flock.

In the church, men are connected upon principles different from those which usually lie at the foundation of human associations. The laws of this society, the punishments annexed to disobedience, and the means of defence which the members use, are all spiritual. Christians, nevertheless, consider themselves under obligations to sacrifice all earthly considerations to the interest of religion. The visible church has, consequently, a tendency to absorb every other interest, and render all other societies subservient to itself. This is observed by the world, and contributes to excite a spirit of hostility to the gospel.

Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us (Ps. 2:1-3).

Since Christianity is thus threatened by the constituted authorities of the nations, can the church in these dominions escape destruction? Yes! Christ is Prince of the kings of the earth. This secures her from ruin, and animates the hope of her children.

The Apostle John stood in need of the comfort which the knowledge of this truth afforded. From his great age, his public employment, and his ardent zeal, he had acquired an extensive and painful acquaintance with the hostility which existed in the breasts of rulers to the cause of Christ. During the persecution of Domitian he was banished to Patmos. This island, now called Patino, is situated in the Archipelago, on the coast of Natolia, between the isles of Samos and Nicaria. Although, at present, the residence of the Caloyer monks of the convent of St. John, it was then a desert. The lonely inhabitant of this unfrequented spot, the venerable Apostle, had leisure to mourn over the distresses of the church of Christ, while there was power on the side of the oppressor. Here he received the revelation, which so clearly describes the mediatory authority, and the manner of its exercise over the nations for the safety of the church.

Being in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, Jesus Christ appears to him as, "the faithful and true witness, the first-begotten of the dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth" (Rev. 1:5). It is this last character of the Mediator which I design to illustrate in this discourse. In these words, we are to observe the title given to Messiah, a Prince--and the character of His subjects, kings.

A prince is a member of the royal family; but archon, the word in the original text, is more: it denotes one who is himself a ruler. Sensible of this, our translators have generally rendered it ruler throughout the New Testament (Lk. 8:41; Jn. 3:1; Acts 4:8).

The subjects of this Ruler are the kings of the earth, in their official characters. "Kings" (basileus) is not a personal designation, nor is it confined to the chief magistrate of a monarchical or despotic government. It would be a perversion of Scripture and of common sense to affirm that nations governed by kings were ruled by the Mediator, while of other forms of government He took no notice. It is moreover to be observed, that it was in His mediatory character that Christ appeared to the Apostle John. In this character, he describes Him as the faithful and true witness, the first-begotten of the dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth. From these words the following truth is proposed for discussion: Christ, as Mediator, rules over all the nations of the earth.

I shall endeavor to confirm this doctrine; and, in order to do so, recourse must be had to the sacred Scriptures. These are they which testify of Christ. To divine revelation alone we are indebted for our knowledge of the system of grace, and of the mediatorial office. The efforts of unassisted reason would never have discovered the great mystery of godliness. No; not from a view of the natural world, for the human intellect is not able to trace any necessary connection between creation and the redemption of sinners by a Mediator: nor from the dispensations of Providence; for although these are all subservient to the system of grace, the connection is too mysterious to be ascertained by the mind without supernatural aid. In the Bible, we have a sure word of prophecy, to which we do well that we take heed. Having submitted to its authority, we must embrace all the doctrines explicitly taught in it, and employ our powers of reasoning in deducing inferences from its established axioms; for when such deductions are legitimate, they are of divine authority. If the evidences of Scripture declarations and of fair inferences from Scripture premises be admissible, I shall not have great difficulty in proving the doctrine of the proposition being advanced.

1. There is a moral fitness in the Messiah to be the Governor among the nations.

   Civil society, under whatever form of visible government, cannot be managed by a more suitable character than the Messiah. An appeal to the common sense of men about the qualifications of a legitimate authority, and to the sacred oracles about the person of the Mediator, will settle this point. And if it shall appear that the King of Saints is morally fit to be King of Nations, we shall have good reason to conclude that He does officiate in that capacity,

   He who may lawfully be invested with authority over moral agents, individually or collectively, must, of necessity, possess a due measure of wisdom, energy, and moral excellency. Without intelligence, none is capable of governing rational creatures. Common sense rejects the authority of an ass or an idiot. Without power to execute the purposes of wisdom, government would be a nullity. Authority, without ability to act, would be contemptible and useless. And however extensive the intellectual capacity and energetic the arm of the ruler, if he does not also possess a moral disposition, he cannot be recognized as the governor of moral agents. If he be destitute of benevolent principle, the greater his natural endowments of knowledge and physical forces, the more dangerous and destructive will be his authority. Common sense would shudder at a proposal to have a malicious spirit, a devil, to be the ruler of moral agents or the chief magistrate of any civil society. It is, moreover, proper, that the occupant of the chair of state among any people be united to them by natural ties, by sympathy, and by a participation in their troubles.

   All these qualities are concentrated in the Messiah. He is clothed with every divine attribute. His are wisdom infinite, power almighty, and moral excellency supreme. He is God. He is also man. He is our brother. He has a special interest in men. He has a fellow-feeling of our infirmities. As God, He had a perfect knowledge of what we are, what we feel, and what we desire. But the Mediator has a knowledge which, as God, He could not have possessed--an acquired, an experimental knowledge of the human nature, and of all its sinless pains and infirmities. Astonishing thought! The Son of God learned obedience by the things which He suffered (Heb. 4:15; 5:8). Say, then, is it not proper that He should be appointed as the King of kings, and owned universally as the Governor among the nations?

2. It is necessary that the Messiah should rule the nations; because otherwise the mediatorial office would be inadequate and imperfect.

   It would be presumptive in man to affirm that the system of grace necessarily flowed from the divine perfections, when the Scriptures teach that it originated in the good pleasure of Jehovah's will. But, by adopting for truth the system of redemption through the blood of Jesus, we are capable of perceiving a necessary connection between the leading members of that system and the great body. If our divine Lord has actually purchased, by His suffering unto the death, those who were given to Him by the Father, it is necessary that He be appointed head over all things to the church. But more particularly:

   First, it is necessary that Christ have power over the nations so that He might commission His ministers to go into them to preach the gospel (Matt. 28:18-19). Unless His authority were paramount to that of the existing governments, it would have been an usurpation inconsistent with divine perfection to have sent His ambassadors to negotiate with the inhabitants of the earth.

   Secondly, it would have been ineffectual if the mediatory power to make His people willing, could not reach into any nation over which His authority did not extend. The kings of the earth have sufficient forces to banish from their dominions the heralds of the cross; and there is enmity in the hearts of men sufficient to reject the gospel of God, and to render its preaching altogether abortive, unless the mediatory efficiency accompany the ambassadors of Christ and the message which they bring.

   Thirdly, that the Messiah should rule the nations is necessary as the reward of His sufferings. His exaltation is the reward of His abasement: "He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him" (Phil. 2:8-9). Christ, in His humiliation, was subject to rulers (Isa. 49:7). He sat before them to be tried and judged, and although perfectly innocent, the Lord of life condescended to suffer the sentence of death passed by an earthly ruler and to be executed upon Himself. In His exalted state, He must, therefore, be ruler in the kingdoms of men; have a right to demand their submission to His plain authority, and take such measures as may secure the fulfillment of all His purposes respecting them.

   Fourthly, it is necessary that Immanuel should have power over the nations and their respective governments, as the guardian of His church in the midst of her enemies, and as the terror of all those who are His foes (Ps. 110:1-3); otherwise, His children might be in a situation in which He could not regulate them, and His enemies might act with impunity against Him. If magistracy be not subjected to Christ, He has it not in His power either to convey the special aids of His grace to pious Christians for the discharge of the duties of civil offices, or to punish His enemies for the most malicious acts of mal-administration. However the personal character may be under His cognizance, He can have nothing to do with the official character. The absurdity of this is too glaring. It is indispensably necessary, therefore, that Zion's King should rule the nations to give efficacy to His gospel, to reward Him for His abasement, and to afford safety to His church.

3. We may argue the truth of the doctrine from the promise of God to His Son.

   The promise of future good raises our expectation in proportion to our confidence in the veracity of the promiser; and when we have complete assurance of His infallibility, we may certainly calculate that He will perform His word. "Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for he is faithful that promised" (Heb. 10:23). The promiser is God. Yes, Lord,

   Thou spakest in vision to thy holy one, and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty.... I will beat down his foes before his face. I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers. He shall cry unto me, thou art my Father, my God.... Also, I will make him my first-born, higher than the kings of the earth? (Ps. 89:19, 23, 25-27).

   The Scriptures uniformly teach us that the Father hath engaged to place the Mediator on the throne of the nations, upon condition that He should become a substitute for sinners and make atonement for them. The Son has fulfilled the condition by His law-magnifying services. He is, therefore, authorized to claim the honor of the most splendid, exaltation: "Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession" (Ps. 2:8). The grant is made in unlimited terms. And that it is made by God to His Son cannot be denied by those who have attentively considered the second Psalm. Whatever allusion it might have had to the opposition made to Solomon's succession to the throne of David, most assuredly a greater than Solomon is here. If any shadow of doubt can remain as to the propriety of this application, it immediately vanishes before the light of the New Testament. The inspired writer of the epistle to the Hebrews quotes this Psalm (Heb. 1:5) in order to prove to that people, from their own Scriptures, the dignity of the Mediator. For the same purpose it is quoted in five different places of the New Testament (Acts 4:25; 13:33; Heb. 1:5; 5:5; Rev. 2:2). Jehovah having thus promised to invest the Mediator with supreme authority, publishes the decree to the nations. Rulers and judges are instantly commanded by Him, from whom all legitimate authority emanates, to submit their power to the Messiah, under pain of being considered as rebels, and of receiving the award of the rebellious: "Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.... Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little" (Ps. 2:10, 12). The connection between this official exaltation and the sufferings of Christ is clearly displayed by the prophet: "Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he has poured out his soul unto death" (Isa. 53:12).

4. We have direct evidence in the sacred volume, that a commission has been actually put into the hands of the Mediator, authorizing Him to rule the nations of the earth.

   The Father has fulfilled His promise to His Son, and hath put all things under His feet.

   I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him (Dan. 7:13-14).

   In Daniel 7, we have a view of the great political movements of the nations; and of the proper character of the Chaldean, the Medo-Persian, the Grecian and the Roman empires, particularly of the latter under its anti-Christian form (this is given under the emblem of four beasts, the last of which had ten horns, vv. 3-8). To counteract the influence which a sight of the aspects of those monsters frowning upon the church might have had upon the pious mind, the prophet is commanded to reveal the vision he had of the Ancient of Days, giving an appointment to one like the Son of Man. The Ancient of Days is Jehovah. The description is applicable to none other. The one like the Son of Man is the Mediator. He was made like unto His brethren. God sent forth His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh. The appointment given by God to His Son in our nature extended over all nations; and although we have no right to expect that the rulers of the earth shall universally acknowledge the Messiah as Lord until the anti-Christian power shall have been abolished, He was crowned over the empire of the universe, and solemnly proclaimed King of kings immediately on His ascension to the Father's right hand, after His resurrection from the dead; and the Son of God actually governed in this capacity from the period in which mercy first dawned on our guilty world.

   When the Kol Jehovah Elohim (Gen. 3:8), the Son of God, was heard walking in the garden, He acted as the one Mediator between God and man; revealed mercy to the miserable, procured a suspension of the sentence of death, and upheld the pillars of earth. When He published the system of grace, the seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head, He acted in the character of the prophet of the covenant. But the exercise of this office presupposed the exercise of the office of a priest, and implied the exercise of that royal authority, without which the prophetic office would have been absolutely ineffectual.

   Similar to this vision with which Daniel was favored while captive in Babylon, was the representation made to John the Apostle, while in his banishment in Patmos.

   And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? ...And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion, of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.... And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne (Rev. 5:1-2, 5, 7).

   The purposes of the divine mind, like a sealed book, remain to be unfolded and executed. These decrees, and the right to execute them, are Jehovah's. The book is in the hand of Him who sits on the throne. God seeks an actual administrator of His purposes. Proclamation is made, "Who is worthy to open the book?" Messiah, amidst the approving shouts of innumerable intelligences, approaches the throne and receives the important appointment. The Lamb slain, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, receives the book, and looses all its seals. Who shall refuse to acknowledge thee, O Jesus, as Prince of the kings of the earth?

5. Christ Himself affirms, in positive terms, that He is in possession of authority to rule the nations.

   He thus addresses the Father: "Thou hast given him power over all flesh" (Jn. 17:2); and to His people He announces the same truth: "All things are delivered to me of my Father" (Lk. 10:22).

   The Scriptures are intended not to mislead, but to direct our faith. And if they had been designed to convey the sentiments for which we are contending, they could not have expressed them in a more pointed manner.

   As the Mediator was God, He could not, by becoming man, have divested Himself of divine attributes. Although He voluntarily entered into a relation inferior to that in which the Father stood, this did not imply a diminution of essential perfection. In the mediatorial character, His person continued omniscient and omnipotent. He necessarily possessed ability to govern the nations; but in this official capacity He stood in need of authority. He had dunamis (physical power) of Himself, but He received exousia (moral power) from God: "Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth" (Matt. 28:18). Perfect credit is due to these words. Jesus, about to step into the heavenly throne, utters them in the hearing of His Apostles. Authority unbounded over all creatures in heaven and in earth is given unto Him by God. The crown of the nations shall flourish on His head, for He is exalted "far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come" (Eph. 1:21).

6. Several additional witnesses appear to attest the truth of this doctrine.

   The Holy Spirit, faithful ministers, the whole body of the church, the angels of light, and the united voices of all creatures, proclaim this truth--"The Mediator rules the nations of the earth." Let us attend to their respective testimonies.

   The Holy Spirit is a distinct person of the Godhead, and a distinct witness for the person and character of the Mediator: "There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father; the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one" (1 Jn. 5:7). To the Spirit is particularly ascribed the inspiration of the writers of revelation; and what the inspired writers teach is especially the testimony of the Spirit of Truth: "Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (2 Pet. 1:21). We have seen what the Father personally has done in exalting the Messiah over the nations; we have heard what Jesus positively asserted about His own authority; and we shall now produce the testimony of a third infallible witness:

   Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet. (Ps. 8:6). Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him (Heb. 2:8).

   If the nations and their rulers be any thing, they are put under the feet of Christ. A proposition, universal as it respects the system of created existence, admits of no exception. And as the witness is infallible, we cannot innocently reject His testimony. Unless we make the Holy Ghost a liar, in refusing to embrace the doctrine which He advances respecting the Mediator, we shall recognize Jesus as Prince of the kings of the earth.

   Revelation introduces other characters who also joyfully testify their confident belief in the doctrine of Christ's headship over the nations:

   And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and the four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb.... And they sang a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation (Rev. 5:8- 9).

   The four living creatures are all the faithful ministers of Christ. The four-and-twenty elders are the united congregations of the Old and New Testament saints. All who were redeemed by the blood of Jesus, whether officers of the visible church or, private Christians, confess, in their songs the extent of the mediatory authority over the political movements of society, and the connection between the exaltation and the sufferings of their Redeemer. They celebrate His praises with joy. The sealed book, delivered to the Head of the Church, although it immediately respected the events which succeeded the publication of the gospel in the Roman Empire, necessarily conveys the idea that the Messiah had authority to over-rule all nations, in all ages, as well as during the period of time which exists between the commencement of the New Testament dispensation and the end of the world.

   While the church of Christ on earth sets to their seal that God is true, in believing the testimony which He has given them of His Son, in His kingly as well as in His priestly office, the church in glory is joined by the angels in celebrating the praises of the Lamb upon the throne of the universe.

   The unbodied spirits, which have long enjoyed the divine presence, are deeply interested in those works of God which come within the sphere of their extensive observation. When the foundation of the earth was laid, the morning stars shouted for joy. When the cornerstone of the building of mercy was laid in the constitution of the mediatorial person, the angels rejoice; and at the incarnation of the Son of God, they light upon the earth, mingle their songs with those of the shepherds, and welcome the Babe of Bethlehem to the world. These ministering spirits are at His service on earth; on the morning of His resurrection they cheerfully attend Him; they accompany Him in His ascension to His Father's throne; and themselves obedient to this exalted character, they ascribe to Him all power and dominion over the nations of the earth:

   And I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne...saying, with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing (Rev. 5:11-12).

   Thus do the angels when they see Him receiving the sealed book. It is on the same occasion that the united acclamations of all other creatures evidence their assent to the doctrine taught in this discourse:

   And every creature which is in the heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever (Rev. 5:13).

   Each, according to his capacity, is made to acknowledge this truth. Whatever may be the present views of rational creatures, there is a day coming when none can deny that Jesus is Lord of lords.

II. THE ACTS OF CHRIST'S ADMINISTRATION

Being invested with authority over the nations, the Messiah now governs them. The character of His administration cannot fail to be good and interesting to man. It is, indeed, impossible to enumerate all the official acts of the Prince of the kings of the earth; but we may take a general and cursory view of them.

1. The Mediator executes the divine purposes respecting the nations.

   The origin, the progress, and the dissolution of national associations and governments, and every accompanying circumstance, were foreordained by Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will. There is not a motion or a change in the physical or moral world which He did not foresee, and to which He did not give a place in His eternal plan.

   Some nations have had their origin in rapine and blood; others have gradually ascended to eminent rank and power from small and contemptible beginnings. Distinct empires have arisen from the contentions of belligerent nations--have commenced in revolutions--have been founded in usurpation--or have been formed by the general consent of a certain portion of mankind associating under a constitution of their choice. But, however various the proximate causes which have contributed to the formation of different governments, none of them could act independently of God, the great First Cause.

   All the subsequent steps of national government are provided for in the decrees of the Eternal. Before He launched the vessel of state upon the ocean, He determined the distance, and all the circumstances of the voyage. The counsels of rulers--the wars into which they enter--the management of their interior and exterior relations--all their transactions--are absolutely dependent on the divine agency, and under the management of His providence.

   God hath also appointed the time of the fall of empires. In His calendar are marked the hours of dissolution, agreeably to which every nation must have its doom. All the agents engaged in altering and overturning governments are dependent on God for their being, their motions, and actions; and all these, and all their consequences, have found a place in the purposes of His mind.

   In point of actual administration, the Mediator executes all these purposes. The Redeemer of the church actually embraces all arrangements respecting the nations, in discharging the functions of His office as King of kings and Lord of lords. The Father has given him power over all flesh, and has delivered all things unto his hand (Jn. 17:2; Matt. 11:27).

   To illustrate this truth, and to comfort the church with it, is the design of a great part of the Revelation given to John. Christ opens the seals of the book given to Him by the Father. He conducts the administration of providence according to the decrees of God. Upon the opening of those seals, causes and effects appear in a regular order. All the instruments employed by Jehovah, in the establishment, management, and dissolution of national governments, come to view in the regular succession of times and events.

   Christ reveals to us, by His servant John, the decline and fall of the Roman empire; the ravages of the Saracens and of the Normans; the commencement and destruction of the Ottoman power; the rise, progress and downfall of the papal authority, and the European governments connected with the anti-Christian system, and the relation which all these celestial movements have to the church. He shows that they are absolutely under His management, and that, after He has shaken and overturned all the thrones of iniquity, He will confer the greatness, the kingdom, and the dominion under the whole heaven, upon the saints of the Most High (Rev. 6:1-20:6; Dan. 7:18).

2. Christ opens a door among the nations for the introduction of His gospel.

   To the system of grace the kingdoms of this world are opposed. Every unregenerate heart is enmity against God. This enmity pervades every relation into which they enter, and characterizes every act which they perform. A society of such characters is a combination of conspirators against Jehovah. Their national policy especially manifests this. In the constitution of their authorities, they disdain divine direction: "They have set up kings, but not by me; they have made princes, and I knew it not" (Hos. 8:4). Governments, thus constituted without the divine approbation, receive from the prince of the power of the air the sanction of their authority: "And I saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns.... and the dragon gave him his power and his seat, and great authority.... and all the world wondered after the beast" (Rev. 13:1-3). Governments, thus sanctioned by Satan, and deriving authority from him, faithfully serve this usurping adversary: "and it was given unto him to make war with the saints.... and all that dwell on the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life" (Rev. 13:7-8).

   Such is the state of the nations, and the character of their policy: but the Prince of the kings of the earth is their superior. He baffles their counsels; He serves Himself by their intrigues. Their enmity and their opposition shall praise Him; and their exertions, over-ruled by Him, shall open a door for the introduction of the gospel among them.

   The Mediator, declaring that all power on earth is His (Matt. 28:18), commissions His messengers to enter every nation, and, clad in spiritual armor, to display His banner among them. He accompanies them: "Lo I am with you always, even unto the end of the world" (Matt. 28:20). He prepares the way for their entrance by opening a great and effectual door, and constantly encourages them, by announcing, in the clearest manner, His right and His power to rule the nations in the exercise of the mediatorial office.

   These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth.... Behold I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it (Rev. 3:7-8).

3. He calls their subjects into His kingdom of special grace.

   Such is the authority of the Mediator over the governments of the nations, as to entitle Him not only to send His ministers into their dominions, but also to take those over whom they rule under His protection, and enlist them under His banner. The gospel, the rod of His strength, He sends out of Zion; His Spirit He sends along with it; and thus He gathers together those whom the Father hath given Him from among the nations. He makes them willing to serve Him; and although He permits them to continue in such external relations as were in themselves lawful, and not encumbered with conditions inconsistent with allegiance to Himself, He makes them sensible that there is no concern or business incident to humanity, either in an individual or collective capacity, which the principles and motives of Christianity ought not to pervade and govern.

   Whenever it suits the designs and the policy of government to oppose by force the reduction of such principles to practice, the Head of the church makes the arm of the persecutor the means of discovering to the world the power of His grace in supporting the persecuted; and weapons of destruction, in opposition to the intentions of those who use them, are made instrumental in spreading the gospel on earth, by scattering its faithful votaries, and of introducing into endless happiness the martyrs of His cause, sealing with their blood the testimony which they held. Paul, being persecuted, is carried in chains to Rome, and proves the instrument of increasing the number of the disciples of our Lord. From the household of blood-thirsty Nero, the reigning emperor, converts are made to Christianity (Phil. 4:22); and if the enraged tyrant wrested from the Apostle's hand the trumpet of the gospel, the Ruler even of tyrants placed in it the harp of glory. The memorable era of the Protestant Reformation affords full evidence that all the cunning, and all the power of antichrist, was insufficient to over-rule the purpose of Christ, by increasing the number of His faithful subjects by calling them from their allegiance to those kings who had agreed to give their power unto the beast, and enlisting them as courageous soldiers under the banner of the true cross.

   This subject, brethren, which my heart indites, is a good matter. I speak of the things touching the King. Oh, that my tongue were as the pen of a ready writer!

   Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty. And in thy majesty ride prosperously, because of truth and meekness, and righteousness and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things. Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the King's enemies; whereby the people fall under thee. Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre (Ps. 45:3-6).

4. Christ, in His administration of the government over the nations, issues orders to earthly rulers, descriptive of the manner in which they are to behave with respect to His church.

   The church of Christ is a kingdom not of this world; but the kingdoms of the world are bound to recognize its existence. To pretend ignorance of its existence would be hypocrisy in the rulers of a land enjoying the light of the gospel; and not to take such an important circumstance into account in their plans of government, would argue inexcusable ignorance of the first principles of jurisprudence. The wise politician calculates upon all the actual and eventual relations of society, gives its due weight to every circumstance, and, without a clear view of the whole ground, whatever may be his integrity, he must be incapable of discharging in a proper manner the high duties of the office of a civil governor. Agreeably to this, it is impossible to legislate in a country where Christianity is generally embraced, precisely in the same manner as if no such thing existed. The existence of the Christian Church is a fact of too great notoriety, and of too much importance to the interest of morals and politics, to remain absolutely unnoticed by the rulers of the land. But were it even possible, in such a country, to legislate precisely in the same manner as if the religion of Christ had never been introduced into it, it would be wicked to an extreme; it would be direct rebellion against the authority of God: "Be wise now, therefore, O ye kings; be instructed; ye judges of the earth, Kiss the Son, lest he be angry; and ye perish from the way" (Ps. 2:10, 12).

   Pharaoh himself raised Joseph from a dungeon to the first office. Proclamation was made by royal authority that every subject should bow the knee before the exalted Hebrew. Jehovah has raised Jesus from the grave to a throne in heaven.

   He raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion (Eph. 1:20-21).

   The Mediator, thus exalted over the highest grades of creature authority, demands all His subjects to bow the knee before Him, and He requires of the powers which are named in this world, that in their official stations they would remove impediments to the progress of religion, and afford protection to His church.

   If Christianity be at all valuable, the general diffusion of its principles must be calculated to advance individual and social happiness; and if these are objects worthy of the attention of the civil magistrate, it is his duty to use every exertion for the removal of obstacles to their introduction. Coercion, indeed, may never be used in order to make His subjects religious; but it may and must be used in order to suppress immorality, profaneness and blasphemy; and in order to remove the monuments of idolatry from the land.

   It is the duty of the civil ruler also to protect the church, and to afford her support. The practical application of this principle must, indeed, be regulated in some degree by existing circumstances; but to reject it entirely from theory and practice would be a declaration of hostilities against God. The language of this conduct is "We will not kiss the Son." Divine revelation describes the character and the duty of the civil ruler, and points out the connection which his administration is to have with the church.

   He that ruleth over men must be just ruling in the fear of God (2 Sam. 23:3). Rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil.... He is the minister of God to thee for good...a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil (Rom. 13:3-4). And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth.... They shall not be ashamed that wait for me (Isa. 49:23). Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breasts of kings; and thou shalt know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob (Isa. 60:16).

   This language is strong, copious and decisive. It announces the will of Messiah, as to the manner in which worldly governments are to treat the church. We have examples of their having done so, and of their having met with the divine approbation and blessing. Hezekiah

   did that which was right in the sight of the Lord.... He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves.... and the Lord was with him, and he prospered whither-soever he went (2 Kings 18:3-4, 7).

5. The King of nations overrules the disobedience of governments, and renders all national acts subservient to His own glory and the church's good.

   National societies, as well as individuals, often oppose the clear dictates of God's law. They refuse obedience to the Mediator. But whether they will serve Him or not, He will serve Himself by them. They may be rebellious, but not with impunity. His counsel shall stand. The wrath of man shall praise Him. Their plans and their forces, their ambition and their usurpation, their wars and their treaties, receive from His invisible agency a direction, however disagreeable to their designs, that shall eventually prove serviceable to His purposes, and shall really fulfil His decrees. The most daring conspiracy in the provinces of the Mediatorial empire only serves to discover the energy of the arm of government in its suppression: "The shields of the earth are his" (Ps. 47:9). "By him kings reign and princes decree justice" (Prov. 8:15). In order to fulfill His will, He puts it into the heart of the kings of the earth to agree, and to give their power unto the beast (Rev. 17:7).

   Notwithstanding, no weapon formed against Zion shall prosper. All things shall cooperate for the good of the church. All things are under His feet. He rules in the midst of enemies.

6. In the administration of His government, Christ punishes the powers of the earth for the neglect of their duty.

   Their impious transactions fulfill His decrees; yet they are not the less criminal on that account. He will not suffer His creatures to derange His plans; therefore, He renders their efforts subservient to them. The impiety of their purposes and the wickedness of their actions, He nevertheless does not overlook, but calls to account all His enemies, high or low, rich or poor. Kings and judges shall perish from the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little (Ps. 2:12). The Mediator not only administers covenant blessings to His church, but He also dispenses the cup of Jehovah's wrath to the wicked. The plagues and the pains, the disappointments and the distresses, which the high and the powerful experience, are from Messiah: "He shall strike through Kings in the day of his wrath. He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries" (Ps. 110:5-6). All the instruments of the Lord's indignation are in His hand.

   The coals of the altar He scatters for the punishment of those who refuse to submit to Him. With tyrants as with a scourge, He lashes the disobedient populace. The earthquake of revolution swallows the thrones of despots. With the whirlwind of war He sweeps away like the chaff, the deluded slave, and the ambitious ruffian who have hired themselves "to commit deeds of blood in order to secure success to schemes of iniquity."

   He shall remove the diadem, and take off the crown; exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. He shall "overturn, overturn, overturn, and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is, and he will give it him" (Ez. 21:26-27).

Having thus endeavored to prove that the Christ the Mediator is King of Nations as well as King of Saints, and having presented to your view some of the acts of His administration, we shall proceed to consider the objections which some professed Christians may offer against placing the crown of the nations upon the head of Immanuel.

(To be continued in the May - June issue of The Christian Statesman).

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