out that fear for now "he hath taken part with us in flesh "and blood; for which cause he is not afhamed to call us "brethren, faying, I will declare thy name unto my bre"thren."

His kingdom is fet up and advanced in the world by the exercife of this his prophetical office; and thus we see how his prophetical and kingly offices are connected. His king dom is a kingdom of light, into which we are translated from the power of darkness, Col. i. 13. And "he is a commander "to the people, by being a witnefs to them," If. lv. 4. "He "bears witness unto the truth; and every one that is of the "truth, heareth his voice."

Pilate faw that our Lord laid great stress upon this truth; and though he defpifed truth as a mean of fetting up a kingdom, when he propofed that fcornful question, "What "is truth?" and waited not for an anfwer; yet it becomes us diligently to inquire, till we be fatisfied, what this truth is and though it was not fit that Pilate fhould know it at that time, feeing, as we may hear, it refpected Christ's cross}; yet it is of the utmost importance and advantage to us to know it now.

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We find God's mercy and his truth much spoken of and celebrated in the Old Teftament. It is the promise of Christ that is intended; and truly God's mercy and truth together are no where to be found but with him, Pfal. lxxxix. 24. They that faw his glory, when he came in the flesh, found him "full of grace and truth," John i. 14. He teftifies of himfelf, "that he is the truth," John xiv. 6. "In him," the Son of God manifeft in the flesh," the end of the law for righ"teoufnefs unto every one that believeth, all the promi "fes of God are yea and amen," 2 Cor. i. 20. So that he is the great fubject of this his teftimony in the gofpel; and in order to understand what he mainly intends by truth here, we must confider how he is especially fet forth in the gospel, to be believed in unto falvation, and what doctrine of the gospel it is whereby it is especially diftinguished both from Judaism and natural religion.

We shall find, that the great thing teftified of him in the gospel is, that he is the end of the law for righteoufnels to every one that believeth; that he was delivered for our of fences, and raised again for our juftification; and we are

told,

told, "that he that believeth this in his heart, and confeffeth "it with his mouth, fhall be faved," Rom. iv. 24. 25. and x. 4. 8. 9. 10. When the Apostle declares himself not ashamed of the gospel, and calls it the power of God unto falvation, he tells us, it is because "therein is the righteousness of God revealed," from the faithfulness of God to the faith of every believer, Rom. i. 16. 17. When he gives an account of the great fubject of the gofpel-meffage, he tells us it is this, "God was in Chrift, reconciling the world unto himself, not "imputing their trefpaffes unto them. And be reconciled «< to God for he hath made him to be fin for us, who knew "no fin, that we might be made the righteoufnefs of God in "him." 2 Cor. v. 18.-21. And when he speaks of the teflimony of God, the object of faving faith, he tells us, "it "is Chrift crucified," 1 Cor. ii. 1. 2. 1 Cor. i. 23. 24. This was the great intent of the prophecies, which fpake of the fufferings of Chrift, and the following glory: "For to him gave all the prophets witnefs, that through his name who"foever believeth in him, fhall receive remiffion of fin," Acts X. 43. This therefore is that truth of the gospel which is efpecially witneffed unto, and whereby Chrift fays, " his king"dom is advanced in the world." And this may be further clear unto us if we confider,

1. That this is the diftinguishing truth of Chriftianity, whereby it is differenced from mere natural religion, and from all the religions in the world that any way compete with it. This is the great thing, the first thing, that any religion can propose to finful men, How they fhould be pardoned, reconciled to God, and juftified in his fight? If the Chriftian religion differ from others in any thing, it is in this they all propofe other ways of coming into favour with God, and falfe ways; but Chrift has made peace by the blood of his cross, and thereby reconciled all his people, of all nations, unto God in one body; and has come and preached this peace to them that were afar off, and to them that were nigh; and this is the truth wherein the true God is glo. riously manifefted and distinguished from every falfe god.

2. God's truth in the juft fentence of his broken law, and in the promise of life to finners, meets and confifts only in Chrift, our Redeemer from the curfe of the law, by being made a curfe for us, that the bleffing might come upon us: and therefore this may well be called the truth.

The law condemned us in a head and reprefentative; and there was nothing in it to hinder our fuffering in another

head,

head, if God should think it meet and they who are justified in Chrift, were as verily punished in him, and as verily fulfilled the law in him, "as they finned in Adam," Rom. v. 15.-19. Thus, when God pardons a finner, and juftifies him in Chrift, he no wife makes void the law; seeing we have fulfilled it in Chrift our head unto far better purpose than if we had undergone the curse by ourselves without him. So when he holds us guiltless, he does not hold us guiltless, and clearing he does not clear, according to a phrase frequently used in the Old Teftament, but always fpoiled in our tranflation, Exod. xxxiv. 6. 7. Numb. xiv. 18. "That will "by no means clear the guilty." It fhould be," clearing "will not clear." Jer. xxx. 11. it is faid to the church, "Though I make a full end of all nations, I will not make a full end of thee; but I will correct thee in measure," (or, I'll take a wife way of correcting thee)," and will not leave "thee altogether unpunished." It should be," and clearing "will not clear:" for the phrase is the fame here as in Exodus, though differently tranflated. We may find the fame phrafe, Jer. xlvi. 28. Nah. i. 3.

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3. This is the truth of the legal fhadows: "The law was "given by Mofes, but truth came by Jefus Chrift, who is "the end of the law for righteoufnefs unto every one that "believeth." See Heb. ix. and x. And in this truth the promifes of God are Yea and Amen: For it is either the accom. plishment, or the foundation of the accomplishment, of them all, Pet. i. 11.

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4. This truth concerning Chrift delivered for our offences, and raised again for our juftification, is that wherein the stamp of divine authority on fcripture-revelation is chiefly manifeft. All the parts of this revelation depend on this, and are connected with it fo that, take away this truth out of the gofpel, it will be another gofpel, and the whole doctrine of the prophets and apoftles will be utterly made of none effect, as to eternal life and falvation. That faith whereby we favingly believe fcripture-revelation, is faith in the blood of the Son of God; and by this faith we receive the whole fcripture-revelation, which does all, from beginning to end, one way or other relate unto this. And this is the great

touchstone for the trial of true and false doctrine. See Heb. xiii. 7.-10. Eph. iv. 13. 14. 15.

5. This truth, witneffed unto in the gofpel, is the great mean whereby the power of God is put forth to fave finners, and to fubject them to him in his kingdom, Luke i. 77.

Gal. iii.

Gai. iii. 2. Rom. i. 16. 17. 1 Cor. i. 18. 23. 24. Col. i. 13. 14. It was by the revelation of Chrift's righteousness in the gofpel, that Chrift's kingdom was at first set up and advanced in the world; and it was by the revival of this great truth, after it had been buried under Antichrift's reign, that the Lord began to confume that wicked one at the reformation. Luther faid, "This article reigns in my heart, and with this "the church stands or falls." Without this great truth, all other means for promoting or defending the kingdom of Chrift will be altogether ineffectual; yea, on the contrary, serve to advance the kingdom of Satan. The strength of Chrift's kingdom, and its fafety, lies all in this truth: fo that they who would advance this kingdom in the world, must bear it about with them in their hearts, in all their preaching, and in all their converfation in the miniftry. And truly this would be a fpring of daily refreshment to themselves, and of great liberty and boldness in all the labour of the gospelminiftry, and in all the fufferings that attend it.

6. To the fame purpose also we might confider the name whereby Chrift is called among the fubjects of his kingdom, The Lord our Righteousness; and that great motto of the church whereby it is diftinguished from all other focieties, Jer. xxxiii. 16." In those days fhall Judah be faved, and Je"rufalem shall dwell fafely and this is the name wherewith "fhe fhall be called, The Lord our Righteoufnefs."

Thus we see the connection betwixt the kingdom of Christ and his priesthood. This King is Melchifedeck, King of righ teoufnefs, and a prieft on his throne: and the influence of his priesthood on his kingdom is fet before us, Pfal. ii. 8. Pfal. cx. If. lii. 11. 12. All the glory of Chrift's kingdom follows upon and flows from his fufferings; and they never served him in his kingdom, whatever they may pretend, that did not first submit unto his righteousness.

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CHAP. V.

Of the fubjects of Chrift's kingdom.

HE laft thing to be confidered in this teftimony of our Lord, is the account he gives of his fubjects. He is not ashamed to confefs them, and his relation to every one of them; and far lefs reafon have they to be ashamed to confefs him, or to be ashamed of one another.

He

He fays, "Every one that is of the truth heareth my " voice."

Here we must confider, 1. What it is to be " of the truth." 2. What is the import of that, "Every one that is of the "truth." 3. What it is "to hear Chrift's voice." And, 4. What is the connection betwixt "being of the truth," and "hearing his voice."

If these things be understood, we cannot be at a lofs about the fubjects of this kingdom on earth.

WE E have had fome account of that truth by which our Lord here defcribes his fubjects. Now, it concerns thofe that would know if they have any part in this kingdom of Chrift, to understand well what it is to be "of this truth."

There is an expreffion, Rom. vi. 17. which seems to have a near alliance with this, and may ferve to clear it: "Ye es were the fervants of fin; but ye have obeyed from the heart "that form of doctrine which was delivered you;" or, more agreeably to the first language, "that type, or frame, or "mould of doctrine, `into which ye were delivered." The doctrine here pointed to by the Apostle seems to be the fame with that truth of which our Lord fpeaks, even the gospel of Chrift; as it "reveals the righteousness of God from faith to "faith, that the juft may live by faith;" and manifefts the righteoufnefs of God without the law, "which is witnessed "by the law and the prophets", Rom. iii. 21. Of this great doctrine the Apostle had been treating in the foregoing part of the epiftle; and in this chapter he is fhewing the connec tion betwixt juftification and fanctification, and declaring the influence that this bleffed doctrine of juftification has upon finners to fanctify them; and this in oppofition to a common objection, and an error into which men are very ready to fali, who have not a true infight into the doctrine of God's glo rious free grace in the juftification of guilty finners through the righteousness of Chrift alone. To this purpose he had faid, 14" Sin fhall not have dominion over you; for ye 66 are not under the law, but under grace : " and here he tells them to whom he writes, that "they were the fervants "of fin;" but it was matter of thankfulness to God, that they were delivered from that flavery; and still the greater ground of thankfulness, the more they had been inflaved. And by what means were they delivered from the bondage of