trust, and glory in him, we must divest ourselves of all unbecoming pride and arrogance; we must wean ourselves from an over-fondness for earthly things, and bring down our ambitious and aspiring thoughts to the obedience of Christ. And how willingly should we do this, were our hearts inflamed with that love, which humbled him so low !

4. The faithful servants and soldiers of Jesus Christ must fight valiantly for their king, and the honour of his kingdom.

Our blessed Saviour, by saying, 'If my kingdom were of this world then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered up to the Jews, gives us likewise to understand, that it is the indispensible duty of the servants and subjects of earthly sovereigns to fight for their king, when he is threatened with any danger. Hence the inference is very natural, that if we would be real servants and subjects of Jesus Christ, our spiritual king, we must also exert ourselves, and fight for him in a manner conformable to the spiritual nature of his kingdom; not with carnal weapons, but with the weapons of God, (2 Cor. x. 4, 5.) which are mighty to the casting down of every high thing, that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and the obedience of Christ. This is, indeed, in a more particular manner, the duty of the ministers of the gospel, who, when truth is oppressed, are not to be indifferent, or from a love of outward ease and security, to withdraw themselves from the field of combat for the purity of the doctrines of Christ. On the contrary, they must contend for the truth, and, as St. Paul exhorts Timothy, Endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ,' (2 Tim. ii. - 3.) For in this combat, in behalf of the truth of the

However truth is truth; and I should be found a liar, if I was to deny that regal dignity, which my Father has conferred on me, Thus, as our blessed Saviour had acknowledged himself to be the Son of God, in plain and explicit terms, before the spiritual court of the Jews so does he here, before the civil tribunal of pilate,' with the same clearness and perspicuity declare himself to be the king of Israel. Had the life of our blessed Saviour been dearer to him than the truth of God's honour, he might easily have been released from his bonds by an ambiguous evasive answer, and might have said, I am no king, 2. e. I am not a king in your sense of the word. But the blessed Jesus scorns to make use of any subterfuge, and instead of giving any sanction to equivocations and mental evasions by his great example, he shews by his behaviour on this occasion that truth is boldly to be acknowledged before kings and rulers, from the heart. But our blessed Lord does not stop at a bare confession; for he farther adds,

Thirdly, An explanation of it; in which,

1. He sets forth the true nature of his kingly office.

2. He lays before Pilate the distinguishing character of the subjects of his kingdom.

1. The true nature of his kingly office is explained by Christ in these words: 'To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. By this our blessed Saviour gives us to understand, that his dominion, as our mediator, is not confined to the external goods and earthly possessions of men but extends itself to the conscience; and that the design of his government is to free his subjects from those fallacious

was to bring mankind, was of a much sublimer ture. It was a truth unknown to human reason; truth which his heavenly Father had declared by oses and the prophets in types and figures, by proises and predictions. The substance of this great uth, is, that as no man can be justified, and conseently entitled to eternal happiness, by the works of e law, God, out of his infinite love to mankind, has ven his son as the Saviour and reconciler of the orld, to the end that all who acknowledge their inality, believe on the name of the great mediator, and ve themselves up to be renewed by the spirit in the nage of God, may not perish, but have everlasting life. This doctrine of the gospel is emphatically stiled e truth, not only as it derives its origin from God, ho is truth itself, but likewise as it is a well-ground1, infallible truth, and worthy of all acceptation. Of this great truth, the blessed Jesus was to bear itness both in his words and actions; and therefore e is called 'the faithful witness,' (Rev. i. v.)_nd the Father has declared, saying 'Behold I ave given him for a witness to the people.' (Isaiah -. 4.) He has likewise all the qualifications, which an be justly required in a witness. If it be necessa, that a witness should have heard or seen the things hich he testifies, in order to have a certain knowdge of them; the son of God was himself present the eternal reconciliatory council of the Father, in hich it was graciously determined, that the world nould be redeemed by the son. Jesus had volunarily promised to take on himself the work of reemption, and his Almighty Father in return had

the Baptist says of nim, ie that comem from above is above all; and what he hath seen and heard that he testifieth,' (John iii. 31, 32.)

Moreover, our blessed Lord subjoins with a pecu liar energy that for this end he was born, and that he came into the world, as the great ambassador of God tobear witness unto the truth. These words presuppose his prior existence, and that he was in possession of his regal dignity before he became visible in in the world. Hence he intimates, that he came into the world with no other view than to convince mankind of these great truths, that he is the only sacrifice for the sins of the world; that whoever will be saved must believe on his name; and by such testimony, to free mankind from the dominion and tyranny of the spirit of lies and error, to enlighten them with the light of truth, and to fit them for the service of God, that they might worship him in spirit and in truth. These are the royal transactions of Jesus Christ; which it must be owned, bear but little resemblance to the political transactions and warlike exploits of earthly kings whose business is to enact salutary laws for the support of their kingdom and the external welfare of their subjects, and to enforce obedience to them, by punishing the refractory and disobedient. Our blessed saviour likewise, in these words, describes,

2. The distinguishing character of his subjects: Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.' These words exhibit to us both the characteristic and duty of the subjects of Christ.

Their characteristic is this, 'they are of the truth.' As 'to be of God, (John viii 47) signifies the same thing 'as to be born of God,' (1 John ii.29.) so 'to