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with their kings and rulers, combine to prevent his reign, it is said, in the second Psalm, "Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion." "He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth." Ps. lxxii. 8. Zech. ix. 10. "Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before me. It shall be established forever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven." Ps. lxxxix. 35—37. This is the same throne that was overthrown in the days of Zedekiah, and which was not to be re-established until Christ should come. "Then

shall the moon be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously." Isa. xxiv. 23. "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." Isa. ix 6, 7. "And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be

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great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end." Luke i. 31—33. "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 his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." Dan. vii. 13, 14. "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever." Rev. xi. 15. "Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, (David) that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne. Acts ii. 30.

None can be so blind as not to see that four points, at least, are fully established by this testimony. 1. That Christ should reign. 2. That he should reign on the throne of David, in Mount Zion. 3. That his dominion should be over the whole earth. 4. That his kingdom shall be endless. These being settled, the notion of a spiritual reign must

be regarded as a delusion. A personal reign only can fulfil the prophetic representations and averments relating to his reign. To speak of his reigning spiritually on the throne of David, in Mount Zion, and exercising dominion over the whole earth, and at the same time to be in heaven in person, is to speak too absurdly to be heeded. The Scripture does not so use language, to confuse and mislead. And it seems that it need not be inquired, whether such a reign as the plain letter of the prophecy leads us to expect, has commenced? Facts teach us too plainly the contrary, to allow such an inquiry. All must know that it is far otherwise. But if there were a doubt as to this matter, a resort to the Bible would soon remove it. The present position of the Saviour in the universe, the office he now fills, and the position he is to occupy, are there clearly defined. One passage will impart much light on these points. "To him that overcometh, will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne." Rev. iii. 21. He then is on his Father's throne; his own is in prospect. And this, with great uniformity, is the testimony of the whole New Testament. Peter quotes from Psalms to prove that he is at the right hand of God, waiting till his enemies be made his footstool. Acts ii. 34, 35. He says, Acts iii. 20, 21, that he is in heaven, to remain until the times of restitution. Stephen saw

him, just before his martyrdom, standing on the right hand of God. Acts vii. 55. Paul testifies, that, after God raised him from the dead, he "set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, 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, and hath put all things under his feet." Eph. i. 20—22. He says farther, Heb. x. 12, 13, that he is "on the right hand of God, from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool." And much of the argument, in the epistle to the Hebrews, goes to show that he is now officiating in the character of a priest. So it is most evident that he has not now his own kingdom; that he will not have it until the close of probation, as he is to officiate as priest until that time; and that he is now connected with his Father's kingdom. And, sustaining this connection with his Father's kingdom, it is plain to be seen what kingdom he is to give up, and what throne to abdicate, at his coming, according to 1 Cor. xv. 24. This passage has been a source of great perplexity to many minds, but this view makes it plain and intelligible. His own kingdom is not to be delivered up, because the prophecy declares that it shall be eternal. God, in addressing the Son, thus declares the eternity of his throne: "Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy king

dom." Heb. i. 8. The only kingdom, therefore, he can deliver up, or throne he can abdicate, is that of his Father, with which he is now connected.

If, then, as this testimony fully proves, the Messiah is now on his Father's throne—that his own is in prospect—that that is the throne of David in this world—that when it is reestablished, the saints will be permitted to sit with him in it, who can believe in any other than a personal reign? It is difficult to see who can.

3. Analogy furnishes a strong and unanswerable argument in favor of a personal reign. All the prophecies, relating to the Messiah, may properly be divided into three classes. These classes apply to his three offices, of Prophet, Priest, and King. These offices pertain to this world. The nature of them required that they should be sustained successively. They could not be held at one and the same time. The prophecies relating to the first two, have been literally fulfilled. There has not been, as it respects the prophetical and priestly offices, the slightest departure from the letter of the prediction. Christ has appeared, in conformity with the letter of prophecy, and for its fulfilment, as a literal prophet and priest. And does not analogy demand, strongly demand, that he shall come, as the plain language of the prophecy shows he will, as a literal King? A man would be held a strange

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