but, of all the charges brought against him by the wicked Jews, not one was substantiated. When the Jews falsely charged him with having made himself a king, Pilate was alarmed; but he had no just cause of alarm. Jesus was not about to seize a temporal crown; and spiritual crowns were secondary considerations, both to Pilate and to the Roman emperor. Pilate asked him, "Art thou the king of the Jews? Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me? Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation, and the chief priests, have delivered thee unto me. What hast thou done?" How hast thou excited the rage of thy countrymen ? Hast thou attempted to assume regal authority? Hast thou any designs against Cæsar?" Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world." This passage contains two parts: First, Jesus has a kingdom; but, Secondly, his kingdom is not of this world.

I. JESUS HAS A KINGDOM.

The Messiah's kingdom is frequently mentioned in the Old Testament. It is allowed, both by Jewish and Christian interpreters, that the second Psalm is a prophecy of Christ; and, in that Psalm, the glory of his kingdom is stated in the most elegant and lofty style: He sits as king upon the holy hill of Zion; the nations of the earth are given to him; his enemies are dashed to pieces, and his subjects are commanded to pay him homage. Daniel, after predicting the fall of mighty empires and powerful kings, say, "In the days of these 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 Zechariah exhorts the church to hail the coming of Messiah, the king, with rejoicing and shouting: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, thy king cometh unto thee! he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass." Zech. ix, 9.

In the New Testament, the same sentiments are clearly expressed. The angel Gabriel told Mary, before Jesus was conceived, that he should "reign over the house of Jacob for ever: And," that "of his kingdom there" should "be no end." Luke i, 33. Soon after Jesus was born, wise men came to Jerusalem, "saying, where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and are come to worship him." Matt. ii, 2. John the Baptist opened his mission, by saying to the Jews," Repent ye: For the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Matt. iii, 2. And when Jesus began to preach, he said, in the same words, "Repent; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Matt. iv, 17.

The church is the kingdom of Jesus. By the church we mean all true believers, of every age and nation, of every sect and party. They have received Jesus as their king; they humbly bow down to his authority; and cheerfully obey his laws. His throne is set up in their hearts. He reigns in their affections; their thoughts are brought into "captivity and obedience" to him; and their desires go out after him. They have enlisted into his army; are clothed with his armour; fight under his banner; and conquer in his name. His enemies are their enemies;

and his friends are their friends. The subjects of Jesus are not at war with men; but they are at war with sin. Whatever they feel wrong in themselves, or whatever they see wrong in others, they oppose with all their might. Thus they "fight the good fight of faith," and "lay hold on eternal life." 1 Tim. vi, 12. Blessed warfare, which is only directed against what is evil and disgraceful; and which only seeks victory to promote holiness and happiness! Go on, ye subjects of this great and glorious king, from "conquering to conquer ;" and may you finally reign with him in the kingdom of his glory!

Christ, as king, guards the interests of his subjects with constant care. When dangers arise, he appears as their powerful protector. When trouble and distress come upon them, he pours into their hearts the sweet consolations of his grace: When they are exposed to want, he supplies them out of his inexhaustible fulness; and when dreadful storms of persecution arise, he scatters their enemies. Under his government, perplexing doubts and fears may be cast away; for all who obey his wholesome laws are perfectly safe. Insignificant as his subjects appear in the sight of men, they are precious in his sight. A king is considered as the father of his subjects. In reference to this, Jesus is called "The everlasting Father." Isai. ix, 6. Does paternal vengeance pursue the man who injures a little child? Jesus, our king, whose paternal love far exceeds that of an earthly father, has said, "Whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea." Matt. xviii, 6. This awful threatening is in force even now, and will continue in force, as long as the enemies of Christ and his church remain in the earth. It was executed upon the Jewish and heathen persecutors, in the first ages of the church; and it will be executed upon all the persecutors who may arise in future times. Proud and persecuting hierarchies may fall; ecclesiastical titles and revenues may be lost; but the true church, or kingdom of Jesus, stands firmly from age to age. Earthly and hellish powers may unite to pull it down; but it stands upon a rock, and defies their utmost rage and malice. Jesus said to one of his disciples, "Thou art Peter;" and then, probably pointing to himself, added, "Upon this rock will I build my church: And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Matt. xvi, 18. II. THE KINGDOM OF JESUS IS NOT OF THIS WORLD.

Before a man can enter into the kingdom of Jesus, he must renounce this vain and sinful world; he must be born again of the Spirit of God; and become a new creature. The apostle Paul, speaking of polluted and idolatrous sinners, says, "Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters." 2 Cor. vi, 17, 18. We still live in the world, and mix with men in the various duties of life; but we are no longer of the world. Our views of things, our tempers, our conversation, our conduct, and our hopes and fears, are widely different from those of worldly men.

The subjects of Jesus' kingdom are not of the world in their views of things. The light of heaven has dispelled the dark clouds of ignorance

in which they were enveloped. What the apostle Paul said to the Ephesians, may be said to all believers: "Ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord." Eph. v, 8. Different sentiments, even on trivial subjects, frequently separate choice friends: What union, then, can we have with the world, whose views are so widely different from ours, on subjects of everlasting importance? To instance in a few particulars: They think highly of human nature; we think man is in a fallen, degraded state. They think meanly of Jesus Christ; we think honourably of him, in all his glorious offices and characters. They see no beauty in the inspired volume; we view it as the perfection of beauty. They view religion as slavery; we view it as perfect liberty. They view the world as a source of perfect happiness; we view it as a source of vanity and vexation of the spirit. They view eternity with horror; we, with joyful hope. Many other subjects might be enumerated; but these are sufficient to prove, that the kingdom of Jesus, and the kingdoms of this world, can never unite in their views of things.

of

Real Christians are not of the world in their tempers. The grace God has wrought a wonderful change in their hearts. Mere men of the world are generally proud and haughty; but the subjects of Jesus' spiritual kingdom are humble and lowly. Some men of the world are hot and passionate; but all real Christians are meek and gentle. Vengeance is sweet to most men of the world; but a man of God delights to forgive injuries and insults. Levity abounds in the world; but the members of the church, though cheerful and agreeable, are grave and serious. To say that a man may be a good Christian, with a bad temper, is much the same as to say, a black thing may be white, or a foul thing may be fair. A worldly man may have what is called a good temper; but it is goodness without piety, and this, in our estimation, is of little value. The Christian may have had naturally a bad temper; but the lion is now become a lamb. Piety towards God is now sweetly mixed with all his other amiable dispositions, and this renders his temper highly pleasing both to God and good men. Allowing that a carnal man has a fine natural disposition, and that his temper is amiable in every other respect; yet, if he want piety, he wants every thing that can adorn the inward

man.

It may be affirmed, that the conversation of those who belong to the kingdom of Jesus, is not of this world. They keep the door of their lips, and speak as in the presence of a holy God. Men of the world confine their conversation to things of the world. To them news, politics, jests, evil speaking, and filthy obscenity, are subjects of agreeable conversation. But the subjects of Jesus' kingdom love to converse on the Scriptures, Christian experience, holy living and dying, and the world to come. They speak often one to another, on the best methods of stopping the progress of iniquity; of promoting piety; of glorifying God; and of doing good to men. The Lord hearkens and hears them, and records their names in his book of remembrance. When religion is introduced into conversation amongst men of the world, they sometimes quit the place, at other times they become angry and peevish; on the contrary, when the subjects of Jesus' kingdom hear wicked conver

sation, they either flee from danger, or boldly reprove what they hear amiss. No conversation pleases them but that which leads to God, and Christ, and heaven. On other subjects they converse sparingly; on these they love to dwell.

In their outward conduct and behaviour, the subjects of Jesus' kingdom are not of the world. They "do justly, love mercy, and walk numbly with God." Mich. vi, 8. They are industrious, sober, temperate, chaste, and circumspect. Men of the world follow fashions, amusements, and carnal pleasures; but Christians deny themselves, take up the cross, and follow Jesus. Many men of the world love quarrelling, brawling, and fighting; but the subjects of Jesus are peaceable, harmless, and inoffensive. Men of the world may be restrained from wickedness by human laws; but Christians are restrained by a hatred of sin, and a love of holiness. When men of the world engage in works of benevolence, they sound the trumpet, and proclaim their works to the world; but real Christians move in the path of benevolence, with silence and secresy. In this, as in other things, they obey the law of their glorious King: He has said, and they remember his words, "Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth." Matt. vi, 3. In short, there is nothing low, mean, or degrading, in the conduct of a Christian; but all his works are honourable, both to himself and to his profession. As Christians, we are not of the world in our hopes and fears. They hope to gain the riches, honours, and pleasures of the world; we hope to please God, to enjoy pure religion, and to be happy in a future world. The hope of worldly men is founded upon their own exertions; ours is founded upon Christ. Their hope will perish; but ours will be realized. Their hope being disappointed, maketh ashamed; but our "hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." Rom. v, 5. Their fears of worldly calamity, greatly distress them; we lay aside these fears, and, walking in the path of duty, leave the disposal of our affairs to God. They are afraid of death, the day of judgment, and hell fire; but we are only afraid of sin, knowing that if we live to God, we shall die in peace, and enter into rest.

The kingdom of Jesus, in many other respects, is unlike the kingdoms of this world. They are formed by men, and frequently founded in blood; but this is formed by God, and founded in love. They are carnal; this is spiritual. They are full of war; this is full of peace. They are governed by the imperfect laws of man; this by the all-perfect laws of Jesus. They are temporal; this is eternal. Therefore, those professors who are like the world, who love it, seek it, court its smiles, and bow down to it, are not of the kingdom of Jesus. Glory be to God, "who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son." Col. i, 13. May we live and -eign with him for ever. Amen.

SERMON XLVIII.

WORKING GOOD, THE WAY TO HONOUR.

But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile. ROMANS ii, 10.

It is a melancholy truth, that multitudes of men and women, in every nation upon earth, spend their fleeting lives in working evil. Regardless either of their own happiness, or the happiness of their fellow-creatures, they proceed from bad to worse, till death hurries them off the stage of life, and closes up the awful scene. "The heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead." Eccles. ix, 3.

There are a few, and we hope the number is daily increasing, who take delight in working good. Inspired with God-like principles, they glory in those plans which promote human happiness. Deeply conscious that it is the order of heaven to do good to men, even to the unworthy, they engage in this work with cheerfulness, and pursue it with constancy. They know that "tribulation and anguish" shall be "upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; but that glory, honour, and peace," will be given "to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile."

In this discourse we shall make a few observations on working good; and point out the glory, honour, and peace, which will be given to the workers of good.

I. OBSERVATIONS ON WORKING GOOD.

Working good is a phrase which may be variously and extensively applied. It includes every relative and social duty. Whatever has a tendency to promote the happiness of man, either in things which relate to this world, or that which is to come, may be called working good. To instruct the ignorant; to warn the guilty; to comfort the mourner; to feed the hungry; to clothe the naked; and to visit the sick, the fatherless, and the widow, are all works of goodness.

To render a work truly good, three things are essentially necessary: First, it must proceed from a good principle in the heart; Secondly, it must be agreeable to the Divine law; and, Thirdly, it must be directed to the glory of God. If we fail in any of these things, whatever praise men may bestow upon us, our works do not appear good in the sight of God. Many who engage in reputed good works, are influenced solely be selfishness and pride; neither regarding the good of men, nor the glory of God. A few, whose motives and ends are pure, being ignorant of the right method of working good, are continually doing harm; and, in a more enlightened state, they will lament that they have had a zeal without knowledge.

But the persons referred to in our text, are the wise and the good.