So it is, when Christ is crowned King over the soul ; his right is asserted, andtheir consent demanded by his ambassadors; thebeliever manifests his hearty consent, Psalm ex. 3. " Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power.'' And over all that are made truly wilUng to receive him, he reigns, and invests them with all the pri- vileges of his kingdom, John i. 12. The unbeliever is not willing to come under Christ's government, John v. 4. You will not come to me^ &c. And the issue of their unwillingness, is their eternal ruin, Luke xix. 27. " But those mine enemies, that would not that I should reign over them ; . bring them hither, and slay them before me." Now to make a soul truly willing to accept Christ's government, and give his consent to him, four things must be done upon, and by such a soul ; (1.) He must be convinced of his sin and misery ; no man will be willing to change his Lord, whilst he finds no matter of complaint. (2.) He must know, and deliberate upon the terms of Christ ; for an ignorant person cannot be said to consent ; Nonconsentit, qui non scntit. Christ will have all the world to know his terms, and will not hide the worst and hardest things from them, whether they like them or not : No man shall say afterwards, I was surprized, or imposed upon ; had I known this, I had never consented to be a Christian. Therefore the hardest terms of Christianity are plainly propounded, Luke xiv. 26. and that to cut off all after-pleas and pretences for resihng from Christ, John xvi. 1. " These things have I spoken to you, that ye should not be offended in me." (3.) Upon deliberation, there must appear to the soul that chuseth Christ, and consents to his govern- ment, a preponderating good ; that Christ, with all his reproaches and sufferings, is better than sin, with all its honours and pleasures: No man will change for no advantage, much less to his loss. Thus Moses saw more glory and excellency in the very reproaches of Christ, than in all the treasures of Egypt, or pleasures of sin, Heb. xi. 25, 26. O ! saith the soul, though there be hard and bitter suf- ferings in the way of godliness, yet it is infinitely better for me to en- dure them for Christ, than to he damned. And upon balancing the gains and losses, the conveniences and inconveniences of Christianity, the odds appear so great, that the soul pronounceth they are not wor-
55^ A CORONATIOX-SERMON, PREACHED AT DARTiMOUTlT."
thy to be compared, Rom. viii. 18. (4.) When all is done, there must be a divine Almighty influence upon the will ; without which men will never heartily consent to Christ's terms. " No man (saith Christ) can come unto me, except my Father, which hath sent me, draw him,'"' John vi. 44. This influence of God upon the will is in a way suitable to its nature, Hos. xi. 4. and produceth a consent without co-action. If the Lord shew any man the infinite advantages that come and accrue to his soul by Christ, this very discovery doth as it were, compel that man to come in to Christ ; as that expression is used, Luke xiv. 23. a scripture vilely abused in our times. Christ compels none into his kingdom, as the Spaniards did the poor Indians to baptism, or as others have been compelled to the Lord's table : He will reign over a willing people, or not reign at all.
(4.) On the coronation-day, a champion appears on the king's be- half, to cliallenge any that shall deny his right, or by allurements or threatenings attempt to draw his subjects from their duty and alle- giance : He throws down the gantlet, and defies the proudest enemy the king hath.
So when Christ is crowned King over the souls of his people, there is a public defiance bid, a formal challenge given, to all the enemies of Christ and his people ; as you may read at large, Rom. viii. 33, 34, 35. " Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect ? Who is he that condemneth ? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ .'''' Devils and men are defied to do their worst. Christ must reign, till all his enemies are put under his feet : sin shall not have dominion over his people, for they are not under the law, but under grace. Come, Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek ; come Satan, and all his infernal powers ; they are all defied in the name of Christ. Believers are his own subjects, and none shall pluck them out of his hand.
(5.) At, or about, the coronation-day, an act of indemnity, par- don and oblivion, is past and published, pardoning the offences the subjects had committed unto that day. Thus it is at the day of Christ's coronation over the believer's soul, and its espousals to him by faith ; all his sins are pardoned, new and old, great and small. And of this, proclamation is openly made in the gospel. Acts x. 43. <' To him gave all the prophets witness, that through his name, whosoever believeth in him, shall receive remission of sin." O glo- rious pardon ! free without purchase ; full without exception, and final without revocation. Now there is a gaol-delivery, the prison- doors are open, liberty proclaimed to the captives, Isa. Ixi. 1, 2. The King of Sion is a merciful King, and his subjects shall find him so : they have gladded his heart, by accepting his government ; and he will glad theirs, by his pardons : The Son hath made them frce^ and they are free 'indeed,
(6.) In a word, a coronation-day is a day of gladness, a day of joy and triumph; joy displays itself in the faces of all loyal subjects; those.
A CORONATION-SERMON, PREACHED AT DARTMOUTH. 553
•nly tliat had rather be under another government, hang the head, and bite the hp.
So it is here ; all that arc loyal subjects to Jesus Christ, rejoice exceedingly in his government ; and it must needs be so, because his kingdom consists in joy in the Holy Ghost, Rom. xiv. 17. When Zaccheus came under this King, he came down joyfully, Lukexix. 6,9. when the eunuch received him for his Lord and King, he went home rejoicing. Acts viii. 39. when Samaria submitted to his sceptre, there was great joy in that city. Acts viii. 5, 6, 7. and let the joy be what it will, the causes of joy are greater than the joy itself. But those that belong to Satan's kingdom, that love to be under the dominion of sin, and hate the strictness and severities of religion ; these are the only malecontents ; these fret to see Christ's kingdom enlarged, and secretly plot to destroy it. Thus we see the agreement betwixt the day of a king's coronation over his subjects, and Christ's coronation over believers.
But though they harmonize in these particulars, and divers others that may be named ; yet,
2dlt/, There are as many remarkable differences and disagree- ments betwixt them, but none to the believer's loss or disadvantage ; for they all fall on his side : As, CoC. gr.