things above;" there is a "path of life;" there is a departure, through death, to life; and "when Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." Col. iii. 4.

THE KING OF ZION.

The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.-PSALM CX. 1.

[Uncertain.]

THE Lord Jesus is so infinitely high, and man has fallen down so very low, that he is apt to be led away by his senses; and then he talks of his knowledge: hence, he is apt to stumble at the great things of God.

For instance; man hears of " a Babe lying in a manger;" "a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief:" of "One crucified:" and, like the Jew of old, trusting in his senses, and looking at such an Object, he finds herein a stumbling-block; and he asks-Where is all the glory? All this is for want of considering that to know the truths of God we must come to the word of God; and there we shall see "heights and depths." "The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool."

I. CONSIDER THE INAUGURATION OF CHRIST, as the KING OF ZION.

II. HIS ENEMIES; "Until I make thine enemies thy footstool."

III. THE GENERAL CONQUEST HERE SPOKEN OF, when the Lord sets his Son on the throne of his kingdom.

I. Take notice of this PLACING of the King of Zion ON HIS THRONE. Our Lord himself quoted this text,

and it is continually referred to in the New Testament. It is Christ, the anointed Son, to whom God the Father shall say, in the grand constitution of Redemption, “Sit Thou at my right hand:" govern--subdue; do what no potentate on earth can do-govern, and rule over the heart; for "thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power." Thy converts shall cover the earth like dew-drops, "in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning." Intercede for these their Priest, to bless them in my name; for "the Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedec."

But, are their none that will set their faces against this Governor? What is to be done concerning them? because "he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet." "The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath." So Balaam prophesied: "There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab," or, smite through the princes of Moab. 66 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." "I have set my King," my Anointed, "upon my holy hill of Zion:" and he shall overthrow all opposition, either by his grace or arm. Lucifer may object; and the heathen rage; the rulers may take counsel together, -as they did, and as they have often done; saying, "Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us:" but "He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure."

If this is the determination of God, well may the exhortation follow, "Be wise now, therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord

with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little." q. d. Your attempting to fight against the King of heaven is so foolish, so hopeless in the result, that "Bessed are all they that put their trust in him."

Under this government and kingdom, Jesus Christ (whose ascension into heaven we at this season commemorate) is seeking to bring man. He is seeking to recall man to his duty as a wanderer from God: he is teaching him to know himself, and to know his God; that he may lead him to unite himself to his almighty Sovereign in a covenant relation. "For the grace of God which bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity." It is a very extraordinary fact-but nevertheless true-that there never was any scheme, any attempt made by philosophers, any attempt made by legislators, in which a man should be brought back to his God, his neighbor, and himself! This is the darkness being past: Sit, and rule, as if God had said, that there may be light! Rule, and take possession of the heart: rule, in destroying the enemies that resist thy power: rule, and make the regenerate complete! "For unto us 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. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it,

and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform this."

Yet, from the beginning, God has spoken of them that stand out, as opposers: "Sit thou on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool;" which leads me to consider,

II. WHO ARE THESE ENEMIES ? eral character?

What is their gen

I shall pass by an account of the enemies of the Lord at large, to fix on one particular class; our Lord says, "He that is not with me, is against me." Luke xi. 23.

It appears that all are enemies by nature. "For we ourselves also," says the Apostle, "were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour: that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life." Titus iii. 3-6. If we consider this statement, we thall see, that it is evident all mankind may be divided into two classes, namely, those who are with Christ, and those who are not with him; either such as become loyal subjects, or those who are standing out in rebellion.

Having laid this foundation, we may easily consider who are enemies. There may be various forms under which a thing appears, while the essence of the thing is the same; the materials may be alike, and yet they

may be worked up into a variety of forms. Sin breaks out into a thousand different appearances; yet it is always the same evil. Some of the enemies of which I speak come in a very different way from such as advance sword in hand: there are the careless, who stare when you speak of "the King of glory." An animal feeding on a mountain would turn his eyes up towards the sun without any intellect-without any knowledge of the properties of the sun. But these are very different from others, who are yet of the same rank:— there is the formalist; he has great order and propriety, but a proud heart, a stiff neck: there is the learned enemy; he will argue, and sow tares; he will come and doubt if Christ is really God, though he can read the text, and many other such conclusive scriptures; he will tamper and trifle with the most important doctrines; he will deny the atonement; and if you talk of the Holy Ghost, he is ready to say, with those of old, “I know not if there be any Holy Ghost." Another enemy, is the superstitious devotee. In another class, see Saul, the Pharisee: he was too wise to turn his back on all religion, and too needy. . . . .

....

But the time would fail me to show the vast variety of enemies: I will mention but one more characterthe fraudulent and hypocritical professor; and probably there is none worse. For a man to come like Judas Iscariot, and attach himself to religion, and say, "Hail, Master!" can there be such an enemy as this? "Many walk," says the Apostle, " of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ." Phil. iii. 18.

Whether men think to succeed by mere morality, or by cold orthodoxy, they will be equally "found wanting." "If," says the Apostle, "any man love not the Lord Jesus, let him be anathema maran-atha;" q. d