05 - The Kingdom of God on the Earth
Chapter 5 THE KINGDOM OF GOD ON THE EARTH "Thy Kingdom Come"
There is a wisdom to be consulted beyond our wisdom, a glory beyond our glory, an interest beyond our interest. Hence the petition, " Hallowed be thy name." The next great object is the accomplishment of God’s purposes of mercy to our world — purposes as far exceeding our thoughts as his capacity exceeds our own. In the same measure in which we desire that his name should be hallowed, will the prayer of our hearts be, " thy kingdom come." The solitary Christian, when he enters into his closet, shuts his door, and prays to his Father who is in secret, utters no request more fervently than this. The dwelling-places of Mount Zion, on which God creates a fire and a smoke, everywhere offering up their thousand sacrifices, repeat no petition more uniformly. The laborious minister of the Gospel in Christian lands, and the faithful missionary of the cross among the heathen, amid all that is alternately encouraging and disheartening in their prospects, find no nearer or more exalted communion with God than when they bow at his footstool, in the true purport and comprehensiveness of the request, and say, "thy kingdom come." The church of God on the earth, in all her prayers, in all her songs, and in all her instructions and ordinances, utters the spirit, and urges the importance, of this petition. Nay, the great atoning, interceding Saviour, ascended to his Father and our Father, to his God and our God, is still uttering these words, and with the same tenderness and emphasis with which he taught them to his disciples, " thy kingdom come." And blessed be his name, " he which testifieth these things saith, " Surely I come quickly ; amen, even so, come. Lord Jesus !"
It is of some consequence to have just conceptions of the import of the phrase, ’’The kingdom of God!" The whole universe is the empire of Jehovah; the range of his government is limited by nothing but the vast circle of universal existence. " The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom ruleth over all." "Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the glory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heaven and earth is thine." "Thine is the kingdom, O Lord! thou art exalted above all; thou reignest over all!" This universal empire has not been maintained without a struggle. There have been, and still are, rivals for the throne — to some extent, successful in their rivalship. The time was, when the King of the Universe, not only controlled this earth and all the planetary worlds, but ruled in the hearts of every order of intelligences; angels and man cheerfully recognized his authority, and celebrated his praise. No records inform us how long this universal dominion continued thus undisturbed. One mournful fact we have ascertained. In the far distant ages of the past, there was a revolt — a revolt in heaven — a revolt among the angels of God. Great multitudes combined in this treasonable enterprise, " left their first habitation," and were cast out on some remote continent, some lower region of the universe, where they set up a kingdom of their own, which still exists, and is the great rival power to the throne and monarchy of God.
Anions: the early successes of this revolt, was the fatal seduction of the human family. Placed as our first parents were under a law, the penalty of which was death to themselves and their posterity, the Prince of Darkness did not fail to see, that if he prevailed in enticing them from their allegiance to the Most High, he would, by this act, bring sin and ruin upon their descendants. He did entice them; and the penalty for this first offense has been visited upon this fallen race. The deed was done, that hoisted the flood-gates of iniquity, and poured its desolations through every successive generation of men. Henceforth, men began their existence in the moral likeness of their fallen parents, and were the children of disobedience and wrath. A kingdom was established, and grew, that breathed nothing but rebellion against the Most High. The Great Adversary seemed to triumph. From that hour, he has been pushing his conquests, from age to age, and from one end of the world to the other, in some minds holding a partial sway, in others absolute and entire dominion; in some lands, with repulsed, in others, with unrestrained power. In such a world, and amid these conflicts, the God of heaven has set up a kingdom, in which he feels the deepest interest, because his own honor is staked upon its successes, and because it is identified with those high interests of moral rectitude of which he is the vindicator and guardian. In the purpose and grace of its Founder, this kingdom "was set up from everlasting, or ever the earth was." It began in fact to exist immediately after the fall of our first parents; its beginning was small; but here and there a few enlisted under its banners, "while the great mass of men remained the vassals of the Prince of darkness. In this state of depression, sometimes more, and sometimes less comprehensive, it continued during the patriarchal, Mosaic, and prophetic ages. Other kingdoms rose and fell; but this, small as it was, held on its way, and though its glory was obscured, it was still a light amid surrounding darkness. But the time had come when an important epoch was to give greater character and prominence to this kingdom. During that long and humiliating exile of the ancient church in Babylon, a distinguished prophet was raised up, who predicted the overthrow of her captors; foretold the rise and fall of the Grecian and Persian empires; and in his anticipations of the extent and durability of the Roman power, uses this remarkable language, " In these days, 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 forever." After the Roman empire was established, and amid the glory of the Augustan age, the distinguished Personage on whose shoulders the government of this kingdom was to rest, made his appearance in our world ; the predicted Messiah was born. About thirty years after, and under the reign of Tiberius Caesar, he was crucified and slain, rose from the dead, ascended up into heaven, established his kingdom on the earth upon a broader basis, and began to reign in the power of his own truth and grace. And this is what is meant in the Scriptures by the phrase, " The kingdom of God." It is the reign of Christ, the empire of the Messiah as David’s Son and Lord, on the earth.
We shall have still clearer views of this kingdom by specifying some of its great features. It possesses very remarkable characteristics, and is unlike every other kingdom.
It is emphatically distinguished by the character and authority of its Great Prince, " Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." In every view, he is truly styled Wonderful. He is the mysterious Word who was in the beginning "with God, and was God ;" who ’’ created all things," both visible and invisible, whether they " be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers." He possesses inherent and high-born honors; his personal glory shines forth as " the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." He is the Seed of the Woman, and yet the Son of the Highest. He stood before the bar of earthly Princes, and yet had all the kingdoms and empires of this world at his disposal. He " came not to be ministered unto, but to minister ;" yet ’’ hath he on his vesture and on his thigh, a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords." His palace was a stable; his court and retinue a few fishermen and tax-gatherers; yet angels were his attendants, and the heaven of heavens his dwelling-place. His crown was a wreath of thorns, his scepter a reed, his throne a cross; yet in his hand is the scepter that rules the nations, on his head are many crowns, and his throne is the right hand of majesty on high.
Nothing can be more absolute than the authority which Christ exercises in this his own kingdom; nor will he consent to exercise any other than that which is perfectly uncontrolled. At all times, under all circumstances, and in its whole procedure and administration, this kingdom is subjected to him as its great and sole Monarch. Its common law and its positive statutes, may be prescribed by no earthly and secular power. In no one particular may his decisions be departed from. No alliance with any of the empires of earth may be arranged and determined on, that shall call in question, or in the least degree limit his exclusive right to rule in his own house. Its form, its officers, its worship, its powers and privileges, are all derived from him, exist through him and for him, and are all to be exercised in accordance with his will. No indifference on the one hand, nor bitterness of persecution on the other; no rich endowment and no depressing poverty; no human traditions, however venerable for age, or consecrated by usage and custom; no decisions of councils, or of popes, however arrogant their claims to infallibility; no Christian fathers, no daring pretensions of an aspiring priesthood in any one department of this kingdom, may release its members from his paramount authority, impair his right to be heard as their Prophet and Guide, and to be obeyed as their King and Head. No revolutions of time, no change in the relations this kingdom sustains to the kingdoms of this world, can modify its relation to him who alone has the keys of the house of David, and sits upon his throne. It is more than all human thrones, and councils, and laws, and decisions are worth, to bind what the Lord Jesus has not bound, or loose what he has not loosed. The community over which he reigns is a kingdom, because it is a monarchy; it has but one ruler, and no vicegerents; its ruler is God in the person of the Lord Jesus.
Another peculiarity of this kingdom will be found in the principles by which it is administered. ’’ Justice and judgment are the habitation of God’s throne ;" these are the great principles on which it is built and stands firm; they are the place, the basis, the foundation on which it rests. Yet is there a wondrous combination and assemblage of the divine attributes in the administration of divine justice, as dispensed in this kingdom. " Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other." These apparently jarring perfections of the divine nature are here reconciled, and brought into a state of most endeared harmony. Man’s redemption from sin and hell by Jesus Christ, presents to the contemplation of the universe the union of principles which seem to be absolutely irreconcilable. That perfect and unerring rectitude which is an essential perfection of the divine nature, which is without blemish and without change, which by its love of holiness and hatred of sin, is the strong support and unsleeping guardian of holiness in the universe, and which is armed with such terrors against the guilty; instead of driving its rebellious subjects from the face of the throne into the lake of fire, is here made to combine with that heavenly mercy which stoops to sinners, and pardons, justifies, sanctifies, and advances them to the adoption of sons. In the administration of this kingdom, there are no divine attributes that are sustained at the expense of others; all are equal, and have equally honored claims,, and give unequaled beauty and luster to the whole character of its reigning sovereign. His justice receives new honors from his mercy ; his mercy receives exaltation it never could have received had it not been thus exalted by his justice. And in this pre-eminently consists the force and excellence of his claims upon the hearts of his subjects. His very law is clothed with new power by the grace that bringeth salvation, because it here has demands that are beyond the demands of a purely legal administration — demands of grace — laws of love and mercy. This is the great principle of the divine kingdom, and to this great instrumentality must be attributed its successes and triumphs. Nay, this was its origin; it never had existed but for the condescension of the ’’ Word made flesh,’’ and his mediatorial office in bringing into one the justice that punishes and the grace that saves. The principles by which this kingdom is administered, therefore, are altogether peculiar. They have no sympathy with the principles of earthly princes. It is a kingdom not of this world ; its laws evince how widely different it is from all earthly kingdoms. It speaks the same language to all its subjects, and it is alike adapted to them all, whatever their different shades of character or outward condition.
Principles which thus originate with the heart of the Deity, are fitted to address themselves to the hearts of men. Hence one peculiarity of the laws of this kingdom is the fact that they are spiritual, and go beyond the exterior man. They aim at the heart. They require more than an outward respect and submission; their object is to secure a heartfelt, an affectionate, and cheerful obedience. They enthrone the Prince and Saviour over the thoughts; they make him the God of the affections, the Lord of the will. That great law, so endless in its ramifications, " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and thy neighbor as thyself," is the standard of character, the great rule of action in the divine kingdom. It is one which never changes, and is in full force and obligation through illimitable ages. The service it requires is a reasonable service, the offspring of an enlightened faith, and such as is becoming man to offer, and God to accept. No right-hearted man ever complained of the laws of the divine kingdom as being too strict, too extended, or too spiritual. Rather does he acquiesce in them, gives them his warmest attachment, and though they may do violence to flesh and blood, and urge to laborious duties and painful sacrifices, yet is it no part of his character to impugn their excellence.
Another peculiarity of this kingdom is found in the character of its subjects. The subjects of this kingdom are they who are redeemed by the blood of its Prince, and sanctified by his Spirit; they are those who have diligently weighed and pondered his precepts; who have habitual reference to his rule, and give it a place in the ordinary current of their thoughts; who are impressed with a deep sense of their obligations, accompanied with a sincere resolution of implicit and unreserved obedience, and who are inspired with a love to his law, after the inner man. They possess a congeniality of mind with the spirit and tenor of God’s word; while their practical compliance with it, is the effect of the love of God shed abroad in their hearts, and of that inward, vital principle of faith in Jesus Christ imparted by the Holy Spirit. The Scriptures describe them as " born of God." This work of the Spirit is the seal of God on the heart of his servants, and the distinguishing feature in their character. Their life is hid with Christ in God. This union to him is the source of their holiness, the secret of their strength, the glory of their hopes. This character possesses all the subjects of this kingdom, in all ages of the world, and throughout all its extent it is essentially the same character everywhere. Wherever this character exists, there are the subjects of this kingdom. They are patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs, confessors; they are Christian men. Christian women, Christian children, all over the earth. Though naturally destitute of holiness, and under the entire dominion of a depraved heart, their internal views and affections are so essentially changed, that old things are passed away, and all things are become new. They have a spiritual discerning of spiritual things, love what they formerly did not love, and hate what they did not formerly hate. They are those who place God on the throne, and take their proper place at his footstool; and though they have no reason for self-exultation, and cause for glorying only in the cross of Christ, yet are very many of them men "of whom the world is not worthy," the "excellent of the earth," the "glory of the nations." They form a distinct community, amid this world’s vast population; often "a little flock;" but they are the "salt of the earth," the "light of the world," a " peculiar people," that show forth the praises of Him who bought them, and because he bought them, brought them forth from the kingdom of Satan into the kingdom of his dear Son. Another peculiarity of this kingdom, therefore, consists in its benevolent and hallowed influence.
Depraved as the world is, its great security, under God, is in the practical influence of this divine kingdom. But for this, there would be no reverence for the truth of God among men. The subjects of this kingdom are his witnesses; their hearts, their families, and their altars, are the selected depositories of his truth. They themselves are living epistles of it, known and read of all men. Exterminate this kingdom, and the nations would go back to the night of paganism, with none to guide their feet in the way of peace; this earth would again be immerged in darkness, and in the shadow of death. But for this kingdom, there would be no reverence for God himself, and none for his law. Errors, infidelity, and ungodliness, would become everywhere so rife in the earth, and the corrupt propensities and passions of men would so throw off their wonted restraints, as to call for the interposing judgments of the insulted majesty of heaven. The times would be calamitous ; because men would become degenerate, and God would be angry. Occupying the hills, and entrenched by the strongholds of Zion, this kingdom forms the only barrier against the swelling, menacing tide of human wretchedness; plants firm and lifts high its standard for truth and right, for religion and virtue, for order, safety, and happiness. It stands alone; and has the courage to do so, in view of opposition however formidable, and sacrifices however great.
Another of the distinctions of this kingdom is, that it is a happy Kingdom. Those who are out of it are in a state of rebellion against their rightful sovereign ; they are contending with God who is mighty to save, and mighty to destroy ; and reason, conscience, and all the principles of that government which its mighty monarch has established, forbid that they should be happy. On the other hand, those who are within it, though they may be no favorites with the world, are the favorites of heaven. Whatever else they forego, they do not forego the favor of God, nor their enjoyment of him, nor any of the sources of true blessedness. Nothing earthly can give them the happiness they seek. The kingdom of God has come to them as suffering, perishing men, with the abundance of its light, the plenitude of its pardons, the redundancy of its grace. The malady and the misery which consisted in their departure from God, are healed by their being restored. They have now peace with God, with whom they were once at war; peace with his government, to which they were once hostile; peace with themselves, whose bosoms were once like the troubled sea; peace with their fellow men, once hateful and hating one another; and all made sure by him who is the God of peace, and through him who is the Prince of peace. Peace is one of the great characteristics of this kingdom. Prince of Peace is the name of its King, Under his reign the " mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills by righteousness." He "maketh wars to cease unto the ends of the earth." He is that Sun of righteousness that rises with " healing in his beams." He shall " come down like rain upon the mown grass; as showers that water the earth ; all nations shall call him blessed ; all people shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away."
" O scenes surpassing fable, and yet true !
Scenes of accomplished bliss ! which, who can see Though but in distant prospect, and not feel His soul refreshed with foretaste of the joy." The only remaining characteristic of this kingdom on which I shall dwell, is its perpetuity. It is a kingdom which " shall never be destroyed;" it shall " not be left to other people ;" it shall " stand forever." " Of his kingdom," said the angel Gabriel to Mary, " there shall be no end." The "gates of hell shall not prevail against it." The " heavens and the earth shall pass away," but the words of its Divine Founder " shall never pass away." Other kingdoms may be celebrated for their wealth and splendor, for the fame of their emperors, and the extent of their conquests; but they live only on the page of history. Other kingdoms are immortalized in song, because they may have been the birth-place of freedom, or the favored habitations of genius; yet in a little while you look in vain for one remaining trace of their proud glory. Their princes "die like men;" while the vast empires over which they reigned, carry within them the elements of their own destruction. The kingdom of God shall outvie, and outlive them all; it carries within it no elements of destruction, but rather the secret of its own perpetuity. Its origin and the method by which it was acquired, the principles by which it is administered, and the immortality and universal presence of its Founder, are the sure pledge of its eternal progress. Its great Founder himself promises to be with this society of his redeemed to the end of the world. The kingdom which he founded by his humiliation, he will not abandon now that he is exalted to the right hand of majesty on high. " He must reign until all enemies are put under his feet." His empire has been advancing: for eighteen centuries in defiance of all the powers of darkness ; and though its enemies may be many, and subtle, and powerful : and though the work to be accomplished in carrying it forward is great; yet shall it advance to the utter subversion and ruin of the powers combined against it, till " the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever."
Such is the kingdom of our Father who is in heaven. Lift up your eyes, ye who are the children of God, and survey its glories. They are not the wealth, and honors, and pleasures of this exterior universe which it brings to you, but inward blessedness, holier joys, an imperishable inheritance. It " is not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." The full glories of that kingdom are indeed, ’’ yet to be revealed." You have the earnest of them in actual possession. ’’ The kingdom of God is within you;" and though the crown and the scepter as yet await you in eternity, the day is not far distant, when, with the spirits of just men made perfect, and the unfallen and immortal princes of this kingdom, you shall take your place with cherubim and seraphim, and stand in the presence of God. Though still in your minority, and even the infancy of your adoption, yet are you heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ, Many a weary day may be appointed you of conflict with your enemies, and the enemies of your Prince; but the contest will ere long be over, and the victory won. Let, then, the expectants of such a kingdom demean themselves in a way befitting their inheritance, and worthy of their allegiance to such a Prince.
Those there are who are still in a state of rebellion against this King of Zion. Such persons cannot from the heart say, " thy kingdom come." They are as yet under the dominion of another master, and belong to a kingdom that must be subverted and destroyed. The exalted Messiah, in terrible majesty, is even now executing judgment upon his enemies, thereby imparting a new impulse to his own glorious reign. Be wise now, therefore, be instructed, ye kings and people of the earth. ’’ Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little." An awful state is that of an unconverted sinner. He is a rebel against the best kingdom; he is Satan’s subject and servant. Think of this, ye that forget God; think of it, while it is called to-day. If the Prince and Saviour has no throne within your heart; if his Spirit does not influence, nor his laws govern you; if you have no holiness and no peace in his salvation; you are still under the power of the Prince of Darkness, and god of this world. Yet is it an unspeakably precious truth, that you are still a prisoner of hope; that preparatory to the kingdom of glory hereafter, is the day and kingdom of grace here. Be ye sure of this, then, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. Whosoever will, may enter in. The gates are not shut, either night or day. The Spirit and the Bride say, Come. They open wide its portals, and point you to its treasures and its throne. Come, enter in. Every subject is a king, in that kingdom; every head wears a crown of righteousness; in every heart there is fulness of joy.