five Kings as his prisoners, he faid unto the men of Josh, x. 24. war which went with him, come near, put your feet upon the necks of them. Thus to fignify the abfolute and total conqueft of Chrift, and the dreadful majesty of his throne, all his Enemies are fuppofed to lie down before him, and he to fet his feet upon them. The Enemies of Christ are of two kinds, either temporal or spiritual; the temporal Enemies I call fuch as vifibly and actually oppose him, and his Apostles, and all those which profefs to believe in his Name. Such efpecially and principally were the Jews, who rejected, perfecuted and crucified him; who after his Refurrection, fcourged, ftoned, and despitefully used his Difciples; who tried all ways and means imaginable to hinder the propagation, and difhonour the profeffion of Christianity. A part of his regal office was to fubdue these Enemies, and he fat down on the right hand of God that they might be made his footstool: which they fuddenly were according to his prediction, There be fome ftand- Mat xvi.28. ing here which shall not taste of death till they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom. For within few years the Temple, the City, and the whole Polity of the Jews were destroyed for ever in a revenging manner by the hands of the Romans, which they made use of to crucify the Lord of Life. The Ro-, mans themselves were the next Enemies, who first complied with the Jews in Chrift's Crucifixion, and after in defence of their heathen Deities endeavoured the extirpation of Chriftianity by fucceffive Perfecutions. These were next to be made the footstool of the King of Kings; and fo they were when Rome, the regnant City, the head of that vaft Empire, was taken and facked; when the Chriftians were preserved, and the Heathens perifhed; when the worship of all their Idols ceafed, and the whole Roman Empire marched under the banner of Chriftianity., In the fame manner all thofe Perfons and Nations whatsoever, which openly oppose and perfecute the " Ee 4 name name of Chrift, are Enemies unto this King, to be in due time fubdued under him, and when he calleth, to be flain. The spiritual Enemies of this King are of another nature; fuch as by an invifible way make oppofition to Christ's Dominion, as Sin, Satán, Death. Every one of these hath a Kingdom of its own, fet up and opposed to the Kingdom of Chrift. The Apostle Rom. v. 21. hath taught us, that fin bath reigned unto death; and hath commanded us not to let it reign in our mortal bodies, that we should obey it in the lufts thereof. There is therefore a Dominion and Kingdom of Sin fet up against the Throne of the immaculate Lamb. Satan would have been like the Moft High, and being caft down from Heaven, hath erected his throne below; John xvi. he is the Prince of this world: the Spirit which now worketh in the children of difobedience is the Prince of and vi. 12. the power of the air; and thus the Rulers of the dark II. Ephef. ii. 2. nefs of this world oppose themselves to the true light of the world. Death alfo hath its dominion, and, as Rom. v. 14, the Apostle fpeaks, reigned from Adam to Mofes; even by one man's offence death reigned by one, and fo fet up a Acts iii. 15. ruling and a regal power against the Prince of Life. 17. 24. For the deftruction of these Powers was Chrift exalted to the right hand of God, and by his regal office doth he fubdue and destroy them all. And yet this deftruction is not so univerfal, but that Sin, Satan, and Death, fhall ftill continue. It is true 1 Cor. xv. he fhall put down all rule and authority, and power; but this amounts not so much to a total deftruction, as to an abfolute subjection: for as he is able, fo will Ph. ii, 21. he fubdue all things unto himself. The principal end of the regal office of the Mediator, is the effectual redemption and actual falvation of all thofe whom God hath given him; and whofoever or whatsoever opposeth the Salvation of these, is by that oppofition conftituted and become an Enemy of Christ. And because this enmity is grounded upon that oppofition, pofition, therefore fo far as any thing oppofeth the falvation of the Sons of God, fo far it is an enemy, and no farther and confequently Chrift, by fitting at the right hand of God, hath obtained full and abfolute power utterly to destroy thofe three fpiritual Enemies, fo far as they make this oppofition; and farther than they do oppose they are not deftroyed by him, but fubdued to him: whatfoever hindereth and obftructeth the bringing of his own into his Kingdom, for the demonstration of God's mercy, is abolished; but whatsoever may be yet fubfervient to the demonstration of his juftice, is continued. Christ then as King deftroyeth the power of Sin in all those which belong unto his Kingdom, annihilating the guilt thereof by the virtue of his death, destroying the dominion thereof by his actual grace, and taking away the fpot thereof by grace habitual. But in the reprobate and damned Souls, the spot of Sin remaineth in its perfect dye, the dominion of Sin continueth in its abfolute power, the guilt of Sin abideth in a perpetual obligation to eternal pains but all this in fubjection to his Throne, the glory of which confifteth as well in punishing rebellion as rewarding loyalty. Again, Chrift fitting on the right hand of God deftroyeth all the ftrength of Satan and the powers of Hell by virtue of his Death perpetually reprefented to his Father, he deftroveth him that had the Heb. ii. 146 power of death, that is, the Devil. But the actual destruction of these powers of darkness hath reference only to the elect of God. In them he preventeth the wiles, thofe he taketh out of the fnare ; Eph. vi. 11. in them he destroyeth the works, thofe he preferveth 2 Tim. ii. from the condemnation of the Devil. He freeth them 1 Johniii. 8. here from the prevailing power of Satan by his grace; he freeth them hereafter from all poffibility of any infernal oppofition by his glory. But ftill the reprobate and damned Souls are continued Slaves unto the powers of Hell; and he which fitteth upon the Throne 26. 1 Tim.iii.6 аб. Throne delivereth them to the Devil and his Angels, to be tormented with and by them for ever; and this power of Satan ftill is left as fubfervient to the demonstration of the divine justice. Thirdly, Chrift fitting on the Throne of God at 1 Cor. xv. last destroyeth Death itfelf: For the last enemy which fhall be deftroyed is death. But this deftruction reacheth no farther than removing of all power to hinder the bringing of all fuch perfons as are redeemed actually by Chrift into the full poffeffion of his heaHof, xiii.14. venly Kingdom. He will ranjom them from the pow er of the grave, he will redeem them from death. 0 death, he will be thy plague; O grave, he will be thy deftruction. The Trump fhall found, the Graves fhall open, the Dead fhall live, the Bodies fhall be framed again out of the duft, and the Souls which left them fhall be re-united to them, and all the Sons of Men fhall return to Life, and Death shall 1 Cor. xv. be fwallowed up in victory. The Sons of God fhall then be made completely happy both in Soul and Body, never again to be feparated, but to inherit eternal Life. Thus he who fitteth at the right hand of God hath abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light. But to the reprobate and damned Perfons, Death is not deftroyed but improved. They rife again indeed to Life, and fo the first Death is evacuated; but that Life to which they rife is a fecond, and a far worse Death. And thus Christ is fet down at the right hand of God, that he might fubdue all things to himself. 54. 25. Heb, ii. 8. The regal power of Chrift, as a branch of the Mediatorship, is to continue till all thofe Enemies 1 Cor. xv. be fubdued. For he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet. But now we fee not yet all things put under him. Therefore he muft ftill continue there : and this neceffity is grounded upon the promise of Pf. cx. 1. the Father, and the expectation of the Son. Sit thou on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footfool, faith the Father; upon which words we may ground ground as well the continuation as the feffion. Upon this promise of the Father, the Son fat down at Heb. x. 12, the right hand of God, from henceforth expecting till 13his enemies be made his footftool. Being then the promife of God cannot be evacuated, being the expectation of Chrift cannot be fruftrated, it followeth, that our Mediator fhall exercise the regal Power at the right hand of God till all oppofition fhall be fubdued. When all the enemies of Christ shall be fubdued, when all the chofen of God shall be actually brought into his Kingdom, when those which refufed him to rule over them, fhall be flain, that is, when the whole office of the Mediator fhall be completed and fulfilled, then every branch of the execution shall cease. As therefore there fhall no longer continue any act of the prophetical part to inftruct us, nor any act of the priestly part to intercede for us, fo there fhall be no farther act of this regal power of the Mediator neceflary to defend and preferve us. The beatifical vifion fhall fucceed our information and inftruction, a prefent fruition will prevent oblation and interceffion, and perfect fecurity will need no actual defence and protection. As therefore the general notion of a Mediator ceafeth when all are made one, because a Mediator is not a Mediator of Gal.' tii, 20. one; fo every part or branch of that Mediatorship, as fuch, must also ceafe, because that unity is in all parts complete. Then cometh the end, when he shall 1 Cor. xv. have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father, 24, 28. when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For when all things fhall be fubdued unto him, then fhall the Son alfo himself be fubject unto him that hath put all things under him, that God may be all in all. Now though the Mediatorship of Christ be then refigned, because the end thereof will then be performed; though the regal office as part of that Mediatorship be alfo refigned with the whole; yet we must |