III.

To observe, in the third place, in connection with Adam as a figure, that he figured Christ as, consequent on the kingly part He has acted on their behalf, He is now the Prince of the kings of the earth. 'Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth '—(Rev. i. 5). This Adam was to have page 55 been, but the prospect was never realised. It passed away like a vision of the night, and he proved to be but the unsubstantial figure of Him who was to come. But how are we to think of Christ as Prince of the kings of the earth? Is He their Prince only in the sense in which He is made Head over all things to His Church, having angels, principalities, and powers put under Him, and to be made ministering spirits to His Church; or, in the sense in which the very devils are subject to Him, even in their malice overruled and constrained, with everything else, to work together for their good? Or, is it only in some general legislative sense that He is Head over the nations? Surely it is on other terms, and to a very different effect, that Christ is Prince of the kings of the earth; nor will they be found to have fulfilled their duty to Him as their Prince, when they come the length of giving gracious toleration to His cause among other things that are tolerated, or even when they render some problematical, some distant, some well considered, and duly guarded 'act of homage to Christ,' by expending, 'when necessary and expedient,' some portion of the national resources for ecclesiastical purposes. Aright to see how Christ is Prince of the kings of the earth, and their duty in relation to Him, we must consider that figure of Him which we have in Adam, and

1. We observe that the title was to accrue to Adam, because to him first and primarily, were the possession and dominion of the earth promised, and on him would supreme possession and dominion have been conferred, had the righteousness necessary to it been exhibited. But precisely thus, first, do the title and claims of the Prince of the kings of the earth belong now to Christ. The promise forfeited by Adam, and whose forfeiture not only lost the dominion for Adam, but brought the earth under a curse, requiring the shedding of blood in order to its redemption, was renewed to Christ, and He having exhibited all the necessary blood and righteousness, hence His now is the promise, and His now is the earth in all its extent, as His blood bought possession—(Eph. i. 14). He is the Proprietor of the soil, His the supreme dominion; in its heaven, earth, and sea, the world is made subject to Him, page 56 and to Him now belong all earth's riches and exhaustless stores—(Ps. viii. 5-8; Heb. ii. 8, 9). Hence, such as would occupy the earth must occupy from Him. He, indeed, is not unwilling to give back its occupation to those who have sold themselves out of it by sin; but they must occupy on His terms, and one of the first demands which He makes is, that a portion of the produce should be consecrated to His service, and that this should be done first, and before applying it to whatever other necessary use. 'Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the first-fruits of all thine increase'—(Prov. iii. 9, 10). 'The first of the first-fruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord thy God'—(Exod. xxiii. 19). Supremely addressing kings and nations in His Word, and calling for His national tribute—(Matt. xvii. 24). 'On the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store as God has prospered him'—(1 Cor. xvi. 2). His tribute, too, must show at once acquaintance with the redeemed character of the possession which He gives, and dependance on the law-magnifying blood and righteousness by which He has redeemed it for them. Hence, His portion must be in the form of tithes or tenths. Abraham, the king, having been enabled to expel invaders out of his land, and having had, at the same time, the fatness of the land brought forth for his use and enjoyment, paid Melchizedeck, that king of righteousness and peace, at whose hands he received it, tithes of all. Joseph having, in the famine, bought up from the people the whole land for Pharaoh, gave it back to them on the terms, 'And it shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones'—(Gen. xlvii. 24). On like terms of receiving back a fifth, or two-tenths, does Christ give back possession to earth's nations and kings, of that earth which He has bought up, and of which He has the supreme dominion. They were the terms, accordingly, on which the Jewish nation held their kingdom of Canaan; and although the kingdoms are not yet the Lord's, yet: 'Thou shall beat in pieces many people; and I will consecrate page 57 their gain unto the Lord, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth.'—(Mic. iv. 13).

2. But, in the next place, in that idea which we have in Adam of the Prince of the kings of the earth, this glorious supremacy was to have been his; because, while having supreme possession, and exercising supreme dominion on the earth, it was not to be ruled over immediately by himself, but, to the exclusion of all besides, was to be dominated by nations who, first, in their kings, and next, throughout their entire constituencies, being sprung from him as his children, and so having federal union with him, should thus come to have in him all their standing and all their life; and the standing and life by which, first, to be maintained in their upward relations as churches, and so, next, in their relations downwards, as happy nations inheriting the earth. But thus precisely, and not in idea but in reality, is Christ to be re-garded as now the Prince of the kings of the earth. While having supreme possession, and exercising supreme dominion over the earth, He does not rule it immediately, or from Himself. He gives it to be immediately possessed and ruled over by the nations of the earth, and their kings. But, what the character, and how related to Him must be the nations to whom He gives it? They must have their standing in Him, and in His blood and righteousness, and they must have their life from Him; and the standing and life by which first to be restored and maintained as churches, and so, next, by which to be restored and maintained as nations. That also, they may have this standing and life in Him, they must be in federal union with Him as their Head and Representative, that so His blood and righteousness may be imputed to them, and the grace of this life both for Church and nation imparted; they coming into this federal union by a national faith upon Him, through the action of the national Builders; and this a national faith that will evince its genuineness, not only by a national reception of Christ and His gospel, but by a consistent national profession of it. But, once more, that they may thus, as a nation, have federal union with Him, they must be born of Him, they must become His child- page 58 ren; for, as in order to have federal union with Adam, it was necessary to he literally born of him, so to have federal union with Christ, they must be spiritually born of Him; saved, that is by grace, through faith, under the Spirit's effectual call. It was only to nations born of him, in federal union with him, and so having their standing and life in him as nations, that under the first Adam the earth was to be inherited; and it is only, therefore, to nations correspondingly related to Christ that the earth is given now, or will be given. The relation of the Jewish nation to Christ, in their standing in their kingdom, was represented of old, in that of the branches of the good olive tree of the golden candlestick in the tabernacle, and it was as thus related that they became a vineyard planted in a very fruitful hill—(Isa. v. 1). To be a nation again, the Jews must be restored to this their old relation to Christ; and, to be nations under Christ inheriting the earth, the other nations must be grafted in along with them, and similarly partake of the root and fatness of the good Olive Tree. But 'Who hath heard such a thing, who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day, or shall a nation be born at once?' Yes, 'glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God.' And the glorious things spoken of consist, as we have seen, in this, that Sion is the destined birthplace of nations—(Ps. lxxxvii). And thus, and thus only, shall 'the nations be blessed in Him,' that is, in union with Him, 'and all nations shall call Him blessed'—(Ps. lxxii. 17).

But, on the other hand, what as to the nations not thus related to Christ? None but Adam's national sons were to have part in His earth. All besides were strictly excluded. Could we imagine others coming in and taking possession, they must have been thurst forth as usurping possession of what was only Adam's. If we could suppose that even one of Adam's national sons should withdraw himself from union with Adam, and build himself, and take possession on some footing of his own, in this case too, as having forfeited his right, and as having fallen from his standing in his kingdom, he must be driven from it. But so also under Christ, and that supreme possession and dominion of the earth which are page 59 now truly His. All but such as are His national sons fall to be excluded. Let even a nation, once brought into union with Him, and having in Him standing in their kingdom, withdraw themselves from this union, and build themselves on some other foundation, at once their kingdom is forfeited, and they too fall to be excluded, as we see it has come to pass in the Jews. Not only do all such nations as have no part in Christ, no standing in Him, fall to be excluded, but, as rejecting Him, their King of righteousness and their King of peace, and as having their part therefore only in the devil, receiving their kingdom at his hands, ruling in the interests of the kingdom of darkness, and in a condition of malignant rebellion against the Righteous King of all the earth, they expose themselves to wrath and utter extermination; and although He indeed is long-suffering, and not willing that such nations should perish, yet sooner or later will the wrath of the Prince of the kings of the earth fall upon them, and sooner or later will He destroy them that, by their abuse of it, destroy His earth. 'If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat of the good of the land, but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it'—(Isa. i. 19, 20). 'Yea, the wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God'—(Ps. ix. 17). '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'—(Ps. ii. 10-12).

3. But, once more, Adam was to be prince of the kings of the earth, because to such an extent deriving from, and dependent on him, his sovereignty was to be of such a well-earned description, because his title was to be so clear, because of the glad and grateful homage that was to accrue to him from earth's nations and kings, and because of the surpassing glory in which he was thus to be manifested as prince of the kings of the earth.

But, thus, and on like grounds, is Christ now, and will He yet be manifested and recognised as Prince of the kings of page 60 the earth; crowned their Prince thrice over by His own well-earned title, by His Father's gift, and by the glad and grateful acclaim of nations. For all nations shall call Him blessed, and their kings, casting their crowns at His feet, shall, with one consent, crown Him Lord of all.