the way to the kingdom of glory. Christ, the light of the world, gives those who walk in him to see light in his light, and to walk in the light of his countenance; their " path is as the shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." He opens to their view the fulness of redeeming grace, and the blessed inheritance of the kingdom of heaven, to which they are entitled by the death of Christ.

He is "The

The kingdom and reign of Christ is "peace." Prince of peace," and his subjects are peaceable. Being children of the kingdom, they have peace in their own minds, through being reconciled to God by the death of Christ. Having all envy and malice, hatred and pride removed, they endeavour as much as lies in them to live "peaceably with all The spirit of the kingdom is a spirit of peace and love, and unites all its subjects together in the "unity of the Spirit," and in "the bonds of peace," and concord; and when this kingdom is universally established in every heart, war must cease for ever; then will men beat their swords into ploug!:shares, and their spears into pruning-hooks.”

men.”

The kingdom of grace,-the reign of Christ,-is in a sense founded upon the ancient promises and prophecies. It was established in the days of the Messiah, and increased and spread far and wide in the apostolic age: yet, according to prophecy, it is not yet extended to the boundaries predicted; for there are dark corners of the earth where the gospel of the kingdom never as yet has been proclaimed, and there are others where the light is much eclipsed or removed. Therefore we have not only to pray for ourselves and our children, but likewise that the Jews may be all brought in with the fulness of the Gentiles. The prophets foretold, long before Christ came into the world to put away sin by his death, that Christ should reign in righteousness, as King of kings and Lord of lords, and sway his sceptre over the whole world; and that Antichrist should finally fall from his throne to rise no more. "And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever." Dan. ii. 44. "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. 14. "Behold, a king shall reign. in righteousness," "and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth," and "in his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely;" "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." To the same effect were the words of the angel to the holy Virgin; "And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David, and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be ne end."

That the sure word of prophecy erelong will be fulfilled is evident; and the pure light of the kingdom will doubtless shine forth with more unclouded brightness among all nations, expelling the gloom of heathen darkness and superstition from all lands; and that salvation, by the death of Christ, will be proclaimed to the ends of the earth, is clearly revealed in God's book. Thus saith the Lord, "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God and there is none else." Isai. xlv. 22. The Lord will "have all men saved," therefore, "Whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." That the slave of sin and satan among all nations should be brought to enjoy the liberty of the sons of God, is truly desirable. It is the privilege of all to enjoy this gospel liberty, if they will submit to the government of Christ and obey his precepts. It would be absurd to pretend to desire that God would exercise his sovereign right, and take us into his immediate government, though we may have no real intention or determination,, through grace, to serve him and keep his laws; but if we sincerely desire to be under his government, and reduce our good desires to practice, by turning from sin to God by faith in Christ, he will receive us into his favour, pardon all our sins, and restore unto us the joys of his salvation; and then, if faithful unto death, give us a crown of life in the kingdom of glory. The kingdom of grace is but a prelude to the kingdom of glory.

"The church triumphant in his love,
Their mighty joys in part we know,
They sing the Lamb in hymns above,
And we in hymns below.

Him in his glorious realm they praise,
And bow before his throne;

We in the kingdom of his grace;
The kingdoms are but one."

While we faithfully and sincerely submit to the righteous government of Jehovah, we are under the protection of his providence which watches over us for good, and under the guidance of his word, which directs us in the way we should walk. "In keeping his commandments there is great reward;" and for breaking them the punishment will be terrible. Besides all other motives and all subordinate means, we have the aid of the Holy Ghost working in us the will of God, strengthening, comforting, and leading us in the way of truth everlasting, so that owning and submitting to the sovereign dominion of

God, we glorify him, and derive comfort and true happiness in our souls, and an increasing confidence that the power he exercises over us is the most beneficial to the renewing of our spiritual strength, hope, and joy. Besides, if we keep our thoughts fixed on God, through the length of this important prayer, we must needs be impressed with the solemn remembrance, that our glorious King to whom we pay our homage in the first part of this doxology, is the same as we call " Our Father" in the introduction to the prayer, and that he is not only our Creator, Preserver, and Redeemer, but our reconciled Father, Governor, and Guide, all of which bespeak him to be particularly inclined to do us all the good we need, and to promote our happiness in this world and that which is to come. "The saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever." Dan. vii. 18. What is there that we may not confidently ask of God our Father in prayer, and expect, and receive of him, that is consistent with his holiness, seeing that besides the merits and mediation of our adorable Saviour, we have the mercy of the great Benefactor, with all the affection of a kind loving parent pleading in our behalf!

The second particular to be considered is, the power of God; that is, this omnipotent, irresistible power of performing all things agreeable with his wisdom, justice and holiness, mercy and truth, and according to his great and marvellous design, in the final destruction of the kingdom of sin, and the establishment of his kingdom of holiness, and of doing everything that is consistent with his wisdom and purity; therefore, he is in the best sense the absolute Master and Lord of all, and can if it pleases him, in his wisdom bring good out of evil.

This is the prerogative of the King of Heaven, which eminently distinguishes him from all besides; his perfect and unlimited power; but the power of men and devils is limited, cramped, confined, and oft-times checked, mastered, and broken. Many earthly kings by endeavouring to extend their dominions expose their subjects to inevitable ruin, from which they cannot well defend themselves; and if the subjects of Christ had no better foundation, their condition would be a gloomy one; but we may well sing with the elders before the throne, "Alleluia; for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth!" Rev. xix. 6. He is our protector, who can do what ever pleaseth him in heaven. and earth. And Jesus said, And Jesus said, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." Matt. xxviii. 18. All power, that is the government of both worlds; consequently full power to pardon sin, and sanctify, and purify his church on earth; to support her under all her tribulations; to multiply and increase her converts gloriously among all nations, that the kingdom which the God of Heaven shall set up, shall fill the world with uni

versal peace; by rooting out and destroying every thing that is opposed to the glory of God, and the peace and happiness of man. Dr. A. Clarke remarks, "If there be anything hostile to the Christian peace and happiness of his subjects, the wind of his Spirit will fan or winnow it away, so that no more place shall be found for it. But this he will do in the way of his ordinary providence, and by his influence on the heart, disposing truly christianized rulers to alter or abrogate what ever their laws contain inimical to the mild sway of the sceptre of Christ."

This kingdom of peace will finally prevail over the whole world and prosper; the Gentiles shall come to its light, and the whole earth shall be filled with the glory of God. The establishment, maintenance, and sole government of this kingdom belongs to God Almighty. It is true he works by human agency; he commissioned his disciples to go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature; but the executing power was of God; "for," said Christ, "without me, ye can do nothing." Though the gospel must be preached, Bibles sent into all the world, and Missionaries employed to enlighten the masses; yet the men so employed must be called by God to the work, be filled with the power of the Holy Ghost, receive the matter of their teaching and preaching from God, and have the importance of the work at heart, or but little good can be expected from their labours. It is "not by might, or power, but by my Spirit saith the Lord of Hosts." Our Lord taught his disciples to say in prayer to God, "thine is the power and the glory." Thou hast power to accomplish what we ask; we are weak and helpless, but thou art Almighty. All is possible with thee, and it is possible that I may be wholly saved from all evil, and that thy kingdom may be fully established among all nations, for "in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength." Isai xxvi. 4. Here we are fully taught that all human efforts to procure our own salvation, and to evangelize the world, independent of divine power, are vain; but the power to execute the will of God is his free gift in answer to faithful prayer, and the proper use of other appointed means, It is in the strength of divine grace that we break off from sin by true repentance, and turn unto God with our whole hearts, and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ so as to be received into the favour of God. "As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." John i. 12. Christians look not to their own wisdom to lead them, but to God to guide them. They do not trust to their own strength for protection against their enemies, but to God for power to overcome them; and not only to overcome them, but to enable them to receive good and to retain it. It requires the power and mercy of God to give us good, and to

keep us in the possession of it after we have attained it. If we boast of our own strength, wisdom, or other qualifications, we lose sight of the principal thing; but they who trust in the arm unseen, that created all things, "visible and invisible," learn easily to abandon all self-reliance, and to "rejoice in Christ Jesus," having "no confidence in the flesh."

It is by lively faith in the omnipotence of God that we have power over the world, the flesh, and the devil; power to take up the cross and to follow Christ in the faithful discharge of our duty both to God and man: and it is by the same divine power that we are enabled to do and suffer the will of God. Many and various are the trials of the present life, and sometimes they are exceedingly great, painful, and even distressing; but did we at all times consider the promise of God, and the omnipotence of his power, we should not be discouraged, but should constantly witness the truth of the declaration, "My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness." It was in the power of God that St. Paul so much gloried, when he said to the church at Rome, "In all these things we are more than conquerors." It was by faith in the promises and power of God that all the eminent saints mentioned in Hebrews xi. gained those wonderful victories which the apostle there records; and it was the power of God in the martyrs that enabled them to go cheerfully to prison and to death for the sake of Christ. Whatever the Lord may call us to do or suffer, if we look to him for power, we shall not labour in vain; but shall be properly qualified for our work. He will not send us a warfare" at our "own cost;" but will gird us with strength unto the battle, and we shall do valiantly in his name, enabling us cheerfully to sing,

"Power o'er the world, the fiend, and sin,

We through thy gracious Spirit feel;
Full power the victory to win,

And answer all thy gracious will."

We might confidently pray for the kingdom of Christ to come to every soul of man; for the power of God is all-sufficient to remove every opposing principle. This is the ground of confidence to us when we pray to God, knowing he has all power, that we are still under the shadow of the Almighty, that he is our refuge and our fortress in which we trust, and that he is able to deliver us in all our distress, and to save us in the time of danger; therefore we have no reason to fear the "terror by night, nor the arrow that flieth by day, nor the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor the destruction that wasteth at noon-day;" nay, if all the powers of hell should combine against us, by lively faith exercised on the power of Jehovah, we shall be supported under it, and rise above it; for the power of God is greater than all the powers of hell, and