fubdued unto him, then fhall the Son alfo himself be Jubject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all. Thus he which was appointed to rule in the midft of his enemies during their rebellion, Pfal. cx. 2. fhall refign up his commiffion after their fubjection. But we must not look upon Christ only in the nature of a General, who hath received a commiffion, or of an Embaffador, with perfect inftructions, but of the only Son of God, impowered and employed to destroy the enemies of his Father's Kingdom: and though thus impowered and commiffioned, though refigning that authority which hath already. had its perfect work, yet ftill the only Son and Heir of all things in his Father's house, never to relinquifh his dominion over those whom he hath purchafed with his own blood, never to be deprived of that reward which was affigned him for his fufferings for if the prize which we expect in the race of our imperfect obedience be an immarceffible crown, if the weight of glory which we look for from him be eternal; then cannot his perfect and abfolute obedience be crowned with a fading power, or he cease ruling over us, who hath always reigned in us. We shall for ever reign with him, and he will make us Priests and Kings; but fo that he continue still for ever High Prieft and King of Kings.

23, 34.

The certainty of this eternal Dominion of Chrift, as Man, we may well ground upon the promise made to David, because by reafon of that promife Chrift himself is called David. For fo God speaketh concerning his People; I will fet up one Shepherd Ezek.xxxiv. over them, and he shall feed them, even my fervant David; he fhall feed them, and he shall be their Shepberd. And I the Lord will be their God, and my fervant David a Prince among them. I the Lord have Spoken it. Now the promife was thus made exprefsly to David, Thy house and thy kingdom fhall be established 2 Sam. vii. for ever before thee, thy throne shall be established for ever. And although that term for ever in the He-by

16.

brew language may fignify oft-times no more than a certain duration fo long as the nature of the thing is durable, or at the utmost but to the end of all things; and fo the economical Dominion or Kingdom of Chrift may be thought fufficiently to fulfil that promise, because it fhall certainly continue fo long as the nature of that œconomy requireth, till all things be performed for which Chrift was fent, and that continuation will infallibly extend unto the end of all things: yet fometimes alfo the fame term for ever fignifieth that abfolute eternity of future duration which fhall have no end at all: and that it is fo far to be extended particularly in that promise made to David, and to be fulfilled in his Son, is as certain as the promise. For the Angel Gabriel did give that clear expofition to the bleffed Virgin, when in this manner he foretold the glory of him who was Luke i. 32, then to be conceived in her womb; The Lord God fhall give unto him the throne of his father David; and he fhall reign over the houfe of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there fhall be no end. Nor is this clearer in Gabriel's explication of the promise, than in Daniel's previfion of the performance, who faw in the night vifions, and behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion and glory, and a kingdom, that all people and languages should ferve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be deftroyed.

33.

Dan. vii.

13, 14.

Thus Chrift is Lord both by a natural and independent Dominion, as God the Creator, and confequently the Owner of the works of his hands: and by a derived, imparted, and dependent right, as Man, fent, anointed, raifed and exalted, and fo made Lord and Chrift: which authority fo given and bestowed upon him is partly œconomical, and therefore to be refigned into the hands of the Father, when all thofe ends for which it was imparted

are

are accomplished: partly fo proper to the union, or due unto the paffion, of the human nature, that it must be coæval with it, that is, of eternal duration.

I

The third part of our explication is, the due confideration of the object of Chrift's Dominion, enquiring whofe Lord he is, and how ours. To which purpose first obferve the latitude, extent, or rather univerfality of his power, under which all things are comprehended, as fubjected to it. For he is Acts x. 36. Lord of all, faith St. Peter, of all things, and of all perfons; and he must be so, who made all things as God, and to whom all power is given as Man. To him then all things are fubjected whofe fubjection implieth not a contradiction. For he hath put all 1 Cor. xv. things under his feet: but when he faith all things are 27. put under him, it is manifeft that he is excepted which I did put all things under him. God only then excepted, whofe original Dominion is repugnant to the leaft fubjection, all things are fubject unto Chrift, whether they be things in Heaven, or things on Earth. In Heaven he is far above all Principalities and Powers, and all the Angels of God worship him; Heb. i, 6. on Earth all nations are his inheritance, and the utter- pfal, ii. 8. moft parts of the earth are his poffeffion. Thus Chrift is certainly our Lord, because he is the Lord of all; and when all things were fubjected to him, we were not excepted.

But in the midst of this univerfality of Chrift's Regal Authority it will be farther neceffary to find fome propriety of Dominion, by which he may be faid to be peculiarly our Lord. It is true, he made us, and not we ourselves, we are the work of his hands; but the lowest of his Creatures can fpeak as much. We are still preferved by his power, and as he made us, fo doth he maintain us; but at the fame time he feedeth the ravens and cloatheth the lilies of the field. Wherefore befide his original right of Creation, and his continued right of Prefervation, we fhall find a more peculiar right of Redemption, belonging R 3

properly

Rom. vi. 16.

properly to the fons of men. And in this Redemp tion, though a single word, we shall find a (y) double title to a moft juft Dominion, one of conqueft, ano, ther of purchase.

We were first servants of the enemy of God; for him we obeyed, and his fervants we are to whom we Heb. ii. 14 obey: when Chrift through death deftroyed him that had

the power of death, that is, the Devil, and delivered Col. ii. 15. us, the fpoiled principalities and powers, and made a fhew of them openly, triumphing over them. But contrary to the cuftom of triumphing Conquerors, he did not fell, but buy us; because while he faved us, he died for us, and that death was the price by which he purchased us; even fo this dying Victor gave us life: upon the Crofs, as his triumphant chariot, he fhed that precious blood which bought us, and thereby became our Lord by right of Redemption, both as to conqueft and to purchase.

Befide, he hath not only bought us, but provid eth for us; whatever we have, we receive from him as the Master of the Family; we hold of him all

temporal and eternal bleffings, which we enjoy in Acts iii. 15. this, or hope for in another life. He is the Prince 1 Cor. ii. 8. of life, and by him we live; he is the Lord of glory, 2 Theff. ii. and we are called by his gofpel to the obtaining of the 14. glory of our Lord. Wherefore he hath us under his dominion; and becomes our Lord by right of pro

Rom. v

motion.

Laftly, Men were not anciently fold always by others, but fometimes by themselves; and whofoever of us truly believe in Christ, have given up our names unto him. In our baptifmal vow we bind ourfelves unto his fervice, that henceforth we will not ferve fin; but yield ourselves unto God, as thofe that are alive from the dead, and our members as inftruments of righteoufnefs unto God: that, as we have yielded our members fervants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even fo we fhould yield our members fervants to righteouf nefs unto bolinefs. And thus the fame Dominion is acknowledged

knowledged by compact, and confirmed by covenant; and fo Chrift becomes our Lord by right of obligation.

The neceffity of believing and profeffing our faith in this part of the Article appeareth, firft, in the discovery of our condition; for by this we know that we are not our own, neither our perfons nor our actions. Know ye not, faith St. Paul, that ye are 1 Cor. vi. not your own? for ye are bought with a price. And 19, 20. ancient fervitude, to which the Scriptures relate, put the fervants wholly in the (z) poffeffion of their Mafter; so that their perfons were as properly his as the reft of his goods. And if we be fo in refpect of Christ, then may we not live to ourselves but to him; for in this the difference of (a) fervice and freedom doth properly confift: we cannot do our (b) own wills, but the will of him whose we are. Chrift took upon him the form of a fervant: and to give us a proper and perfect example of that condition, he telleth us, I came down from heaven, not to do John vi. 38. mine own will, but the will of him that fent me.

Firft therefore we must conclude with the Apostle, reflecting upon Christ's Dominion and our Obligation, that none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to Rom, xiv. bimfelf. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; or whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.

7, 8.

Secondly, The fame is neceffary both to enforce and invite us to obedience; to enforce us, as he is the Lord, to invite us, as Chrift the Lord. If we acknowledge ourselves to be his fervants, we must bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of 2 Cor. x 5. Chrift. He which therefore died, and rofe and revived, that he might become the Lord both of the dead and living, maketh not that death and refurrection efficacious to any but fuch as by their fervice acknowledge that Dominion which he purchased. He, though he were a Son, yet learned obedience by the Heb. v. 8, things which he fuffered; and being made perfect, he is

R 4

become

9.