shall be tremendously disappointed in that day; and the saints, emphatically the holy ones, the pure in heart before God, who have loved their enemies, and prayed for those who hated them, these alone shall possess the kingdom. Take heed, my brethren, unto yourselves. Matt. vii. 22, 23; and xxv. 9—13.

III. What shall be the nature of the government in that glorious kingdom?

The answer is, an absolute monarchy, administered in perfect equity. For thus it is written, "A sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom." "A King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth." Heb. i. 8; Jer. xxiii. 5. Now, during the King's absence, his enemies triumph the proud are his enemies, yet they are exalted: the covetous are his enemies, yet they prosper: the pharisaical hypocrite is his enemy, yet he succeeds; by his iniquity his riches are increased, and he establishes himself in unrighteousness.

"I see him now-The orphan was his prey,
And this is his reward: great wealth he has
In houses, lands, and flocks and herds. I see
Him trample on his fellows. Vain are laws,
The tears of sorrow, and the cries of pain,
To lift that iron valve, which shuts his heart
Against his kind." Yet still he prospers;
And shall this always be? O God, forbid!

No, my brethren, it is but for an appointed, a mysteriously permitted time, until the King comes. Then "the evil doers shall be cut off, but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be; but the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." Psalm xxxvii. 9, 10, 11. The mystery of providence shall then be solved. infidel shall then be silenced.

with scorn, "where is the

The scoff of the

Now, they say promise of his

coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation."-" Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it!" 2 Peter iii. 4.; Isaiah v. 19. Then, they shall be constrained to say, "Verily, there is a reward for the righteous; verily there is a God that judgeth the earth." Psalm lviii. 11. The King's holy will shall then be law without appeal. Against that law there shall then be no transgression. The prayer which, during his humiliation, he taught his disciples to offer, shall then be fully answered; and his will shall be done in earth as it is in heaven.

IV. When shall his kingdom come?

I shall not attempt at present to examine the revealed chronology of this subject; but briefly state one or two of the scriptural signs. The Lord's kingdom shall come, as we learn by our text, in the days of these Kings; that is, while the component parts of the ancient Roman empire have each their separate sovereignty; in other words, during the present political state of Europe.* The Lord's kingdom shall come, as we learn from the Lord himself, while the world is as it was in the days of Noah, and the days of Lot; that is, wholly taken up with things visible, forgetting God, and despising his prophecies. "They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; till sudden destruction came upon them-even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of Man shall be revealed." Thus it is at this day. Watch, therefore, my brethren; for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh.

Thus, then, we have seen, on the authority of God's word-1. That this glorious kingdom shall be set up on the earth.-2. That Christ shall be the King.-3. That the true saints of

*See note, page 59.

God, and they alone shall reign with him.4. That his Government shall be in perfect righteousness, and equity, and peace.-5. And that his coming may be at hand.

And now, behold, while we wait for him, what is it our duty to do?

What is the duty of Christian Princes and Governors?

Doubtless to remember whose ministers they are, and to arrogate to themselves no authority but what they derive from Christ; to govern for him in his absence as delegated by him, and as those who expect to lay their crowns and titles at his feet, receiving at his hands a just recompense of reward. This sets in the most immediately dangerous point of view, any attempt at tyranny or oppression. The Royal Judge is at the door!

Their duty, further, is to aim, by every righteous effort, at assimilating their governments which now are, to his which shall be; to execute, therefore, judgment and justice without partiality and without hypocrisy; to discountenance intrigue and faction, and bribery of every sort and degree: not to cringe to either family or wealth, but to place in stations of trust and influence, such men as God has qualified to fill them by talents and true Christian integrity; to guard with unwearied vigilance against the great enemies of the coming King,

superstition, and infidelity. O! gracious God, give to our King, to our Princes, and to our Senators, holy wisdom; such wisdom, as will effectually preserve our beloved country from receiving the mark of the beast in her forehead, or in her hands!

Further, the duty of Christian Governors, is to be themselves as individuals, examples of that patience and moderation, that honesty, and sobriety, and chastity, and above all of that fear of God, which they wish to inculcate upon their people. And to this end, they should reverence the Sabbath, neither travelling nor transacting business upon that day, without real and true necessity, and on no account wasting any part of it in the lounges of fashionable idleness. They should also give every encouragement to the establishment and support of such institutions among their people, as have for their object the prevention of crime. Knowing so far what is in man, and his tendency to transgression, during this dispensation; it is the office of prudence, no less than piety, to be active in the discovery and application of preventives. Where this is neglected, zeal in executing the penalties of transgression wears a very questionable aspect.

Finally, what is the duty of Christian subjects, while waiting for the great King?

Undoubtedly to yield all righteous obedience