in which God, for the great love which he has for those who are dead in sins, quickened them in Christ. See also Phil. iii, 21: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.' Here the ability is fully expressed. 1 Cor. xv, 53, 54: For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality; So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory.' If it be acknowledged that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge dwell in Christ, it must be acknowledged likewise that he wants no skill to accomplish his undertaking; and if it be granted that all power in heaven and in earth is committed to Christ, it must also be granted that he has sufficient power to accomplish his design in reconciling all things to himself. Zech. iv, 9: The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it.' Verse 7: And he shall bring forth the head stone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.' The process of the Saviour under the similitude of a king going to make war against another, furnishes the following subject for discussion: 1. The power against which this war is prosecuted; 2. The object to be obtained by victory in favor of Christ; And 3. The sufficiency of power to overcome on the part of the Prince of Peace. 1. The Scriptures give the following account of the power against which this holy war is to be prosecuted. 6 Gen. iii, 1 'Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made.' 2. Cor. xi, 3: But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtility, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.' St. John viii, 4: Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do: he was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own; for he is a liar, and the father of it.' 1 John iii, 8: 'He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning.' James iii, 14, 15, 16: But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion, and every evil work.' The Scriptures which speak of the power of Christ to oppose and overcome this adversary, and the object to be obtained by this victory, will be found to be the same, generally. See Gen. iii, 15: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: and it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.' Heb. ii, 14, 15: 'Foras-much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who, through fear of death, were all their life time subject to bondage.' 1 John iii, 8; For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.' Col. i, 13: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.' By the foregoing quotations, which are but a few of the many scriptures which read to the same effect, the following facts are evident : 1. That it was the design of the Saviour's mission to destroy the devil, and all sin, the works of the devil. And, 2. To deliver mankind from the power of darkness, which is the power of the devil, or falsehood, into the kingdom of light, truth and righteousness. These two propositions are as evidently supported by the above quotations, as the facts are, that there is or ever was that power which is represented in the Scriptures under the name of serpent, father of lies, darkness, devil, or satan; or such a power as is represented by the name of Seed of the woman, Son of God, Mediator, Saviour, Captain of Salvation, High Priest, Light of the world, Lamb of God, Covenant of the people, and Lord of all. From these facts it is reasonable to argue, that all the doctrine, which has ever been preached in Christendom, which teaches the endless continuance of the devil and his kingdom, and the endless continuance of man's captivity under the power of darkness, is in direct opposition to the declared objects of the holy wars instituted and carried on against the powers of darkness, by the prince of light. St. Paul has many luminous passages on the subject of universal submission to the power of Christ; one of which we will here notice. See Phil. ii, 9, 10, 11: 'Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name; that in 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 Je sus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.' Who can close their eyes so as not to see that universal submission and allegiance to the kingdom of the exalted Saviour, to the glory of God the Father, is the manifest sense of this passage? Why does the glory of God the Father, require this universal submission and allegiance to Christ? See the answer in Psalm ii, 8th verse: 'Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.' When a king, or monarch, gives provinces, or territories, or countries, to his son for his inheritance, the honor of his crown guarantees the allegiance of those possessions to the prince. Accordingly the prophet says, Psalm cx, 1, 2, 3: The Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. be willing in the day of thy power.' father enter the country which he has given to his son, saying to him, Sit thou at my right hand, as a token to the people that I have given the government of these territories into thy hands. I have given this people to thee for an inheritance; they were my subjects, thou art my lawful heir, and this is the inheritance which I have given thee. And it is the rod of thy strength, which I will now cause to come forth from the covenant, in which this country is insured to thee, by which thou shalt rule in the midst of these thy present enemies, who have said, we will not have this man to rule over us; and when this rod of thy strength, which is all power in heaven and in earth, is displayed in the administration of thy government, thy people, whom I have given thee, shall be a willing Thy people shall people. How divinely glorious must it be to God the Father, to have every knee bow to Christ, and every tongue confess him to be Lord! And how shamefully dishonoring it is for the spiritual warriors who have enlisted under the banner of the Prince of Peace, and have received bounty for their encouragement, to oppose the universal extension of his power, and the universal submission of his possessions to his government! See the beautiful account which is given of this Captain of our salvation in Isaiah xlii, 1-8: 'Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect in whom my soul delighteth: I have put my spirit upon him; he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench; he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail, nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth; and the isles shall wait for his law. Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein; I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. I am the Lord; that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.' In this spiritual warfare the apostles of the Lamb were engaged, whose weapons were not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; casting down imaginations, and |