direct references to it, particularly in the book of Psalms. In the twenty-fourth Psalm it is asked, Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? and who shall stand in His holy place? And in reference to the ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, proclamation is twice made, Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in; the Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle, the Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory. In the forty-seventh Psalm it is said, God is gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of the trumpet. In the sixty-eighth Psalm He is addressed, Thou hast ascended on high, Thou hast led captivity captive, Thou hast received gifts for men, yea for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them. So also in the eighth Psalm it is said to the Lord God, Thou hast made Him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned Him with glory and honour; which the apostle quotes to the Hebrews, in reference to our Lord Jesus Christ, as passed into the heavens, after having suffered for the sins of mankind. And in the epistle to the Ephesians, the passage in the sixty-eighth Psalm is said to refer to Him as having ascended up far above all heavens, that He might fill all things, or that He might dispense the riches of His grace to all the needy suppliants at His footstool, that out of His fulness they might all receive even grace for grace, a continually renewed supply according as their necessity required.

He ascended to heaven in human nature, to take possession of the throne of His glory. St. Peter says, He is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto Him.28 He is Lord of all.29 God hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord in the glory of God the Father,30 or that He is glorified with that glory which He had with the Father before the world was; 33 the manhood being also united unto God. The ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ in human nature into heaven, was a sufficient proof of His being the Lord of all, the Lord of hosts, the King of glory; or that He has all power in heaven and earth. As the risen and exalted Saviour of mankind, He is the supreme Governor of the universe; His kingdom ruleth over all. The Divine proclamation therefore is, Kiss the Son, or submit to His authority, lest He be angry, and ye perish from the way, if His wrath be kindled, yea, but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him;31 for He is set as King upon His holy hill of Sion, and the heathen, or all the nations of the world are given to Him for His inheritance, and

28 1 Peter iii. 22. 29 Acts x. 36. 30 Phil. ii. 10,11. 31 Psalm ii. 12,6,8.

the uttermost parts of the earth for His possession.1 The kingdoms of the world belong of right to Him, and those who do not submit themselves to His sway, will hereafter be called to appear before His judgment seat, to answer for their rebellion against Him.

The dominion which He exercises is, however, a spiritual dominion over the hearts and minds of those who are His subjects. It is a dominion which does not interfere with that of temporal princes, though it is above them all; for all dominions shall serve and obey Him.32 But as a spiritual dominion it is over the spirits of all flesh. We find our blessed Saviour addressing His heavenly Father at the close of His earthly career, Thou hast given Thy Son power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him; and this is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.33 Or, as the apostle John observes, This is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son; he that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.34

The inquiry which this subject should lead us to make, then, is, Do we truly believe in the Lord Jesus Christ? Is our hope of eternal life founded upon His obedience unto death for the pardon of

32 Dan. vii. 27. 33 John xvii. 2, 3, 5. 34 1 John v. 11, 12; iii. 2.

our sins, and our restoration to the favour of God? It was the object of His great humiliation to do and to suffer all that was needful for the reconciliation of sinners unto God. And it is because of the work of redemption having been completed by Him, that He is highly exalted, and has a name above every name. Let us then submit ourselves to His authority, and beseech Him to give us those gifts which He is now exalted to bestow upon His church and people, to give us His Holy Spirit, that we may truly believe in and obey Him; that we may rejoice in Him as our King and our Lord; and "that like as we do believe Him to have ascended into the heavens, so we may also in heart and mind thither ascend, and with Him continually dwell." And thus, being the subjects of His spiritual kingdom, we shall be prepared for His coming again, whenever that great and glorious event may take place. We are to observe,

Secondly, The manner in which the disciples of Christ were affected by His ascension into heaven, when they witnessed it. They were filled with wonder and amazement; for a most astonishing event it truly was; such as in its particular circumstances had never been seen before. They saw Him gradually rise from the mount of Olives into the air, assuming, probably, such an appearance as He had before displayed to three of them, when He was transfigured before

them, and His face did shine as the sun, and His raiment was white as the light. They saw Him thus ascend from them into heaven, until a cloud received Him out of their sight, and they could see Him no longer. That He assumed a glorious appearance of this description, we have reason to think from the references made to something of this kind in the epistles. St. Paul says, He shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body.36 And again, As we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly." And St. John observes, When He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.34 The gazing wonder of the apostles at the ascension of their Lord and Master into heaven, was repressed by the angels who stood by them. They said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? intimating that a mere act of astonishment would do them no good. It may, perhaps however, be in reference to this very act, that the apostle says to the Corinthians, We all with open face beholding, as in a glass, the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. Their beholding the ascension and glorious appearance of the Lord Jesus had no transforming effect upon them; but when He shall appear again, His glory, shining

38

35 Matt. xvii. 2. 36 Phil. iii. 21. 371 Cor. xv. 49. 38 2 Cor. iii. 18.