2. By way of charge. This again is proper to the elect, who are re- deemed, justified, sanctified, glorified. The elect are made over to Christ, not by way of alienation, but oppignoration ; none of them who are given to Christ by way of charge can miscarry : John vi. 37, ' All that the Father giveth me, shall come to me ; and he that cometh to
206 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SeR. VIII.
me, I will in no wise cast out ; ' and ver. 39, ' This is the will of him that sent me, that of all which he hath given me, I should lose none, but should raise it up again at the last day ;' and John x. 28, 29, ' I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all ; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand/ There is Christ's faithfulness and the Father's power engaged, therefore this must needs be proper to the elect.
Now, because both these ways are proper to the elect, that I observe is, that the Father's elect are given and committed to the Son, as his purchase and charge.
First, They are given to him by way of reward. Christ, by virtue of his purchase, hath many relations to believers : they are given to him as subjects of his kingdom, as scholars of his school, as children of his family, as the spouse of his bosom, as the members of his bod}''. All these relations I shall insist upon ; for this was the honour that was granted to Christ upon his obedience. It was much that Christ would be our king, more that he would be our master, more that he would be our father, more that he would be our husband, and yet further that he would be our head : he counted it an honour, and bought it at a dear rate.
1. We are given to him to be subjects of his kingdom. Chribt is Lord of all the world, but he prizeth no title like that of king of saints, Eev. XV. 3, to rule as Lord in the church ; no throne like the conscience of a humbled sinner. The heart is Christ's best presence-chamber ; he loveth to have his chair of state set there. He had an eternal right together with the Father and the Holy Ghost, but he would come and suffer and be crowned with a crown of thorns that he might have a new right as mediator, and have the crown of glory put upon his head in the church : Acts v. 31, ' Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a prince and a saviom\' The Father promised it long before upon bargain and contract. There is never a subject that Christ hath but is bought, and with the dearest price, his sovereign's own blood : Mat. xx. 28, ' He gave himself, \vrpov avrl ttoWcov, a ransom for many.' Many subjects die in other kingdoms that the prince may be seated in the throne ; but here the prince dieth for the subjects, that he may govern his spiritual realm with more peace and quietness. As the price was great, so the Father hath made him a large grant.
[1.] Christ's empire is universal, and spread throughout the world. He properly is the catholic king ; there are no bounds and limits of his empire : Isa. liii. 12, ' Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong.' Some of all nations are given to him : Isa. xlix. 12, ' Behold, these shall come from far ; and lo, these from the north, and from the. west, and these from the land of Sinim,' north, west, south, Jews and Gentiles. The Jews, that are now his enemies, shall appoint to themselves a head ; as the tribes flocked to Hebron to crown David : Hosea i. 11, ' Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land.' There is no king Uke Christ for largeness of command
VeR. 6.] SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. 207
and territory. All monarchs have certain bounds and limits by which their empire is terminated ; Christ's empire runneth throughout the whole circuit of nature ; he hath a multitude of subjects.
[2.] Christ's empire is eternal : ' Of the increase of his government there shall be no end,' Isa. ix, 7. Kings must die, and then their favourites may be counted offenders. So Bathsheba said to David (who yet was a type of the reign of Christ), 1 Kings i. 21, 'When my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders.' But Christ liveth and reigneth for ever- more. But you will say, Christ doth not reign for ever, but ' till he hath put all enemies under his feet, when he shall resign up the kingdom to the Father,' 1 Cor. xv. 24. I answer — In kingly dignity there are two things, regia ciira and regius lionor — kingly care and kingly honour. Kingly care, by which he ordereth and defendeth his subjects; and kingly honour, which he receiveth from his subjects. Certainly Christ shall be king for ever and ever : Luke i. 33, ' And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end ;' because he shall always be honoured and adored as king and mediator. He shall resign the kingdom, that is, that way of administration ; for when the elect are fully converted and sanctified, and their enemies destroyed, there will be no need of this care. Now thus we are given to Christ, that he might be a king universally and eternally. He ruleth us by a sweet covenant, he might rule us by power. Other kings find subjects, he maketh them. He might rule us, for he bought us, he hath an absolute right over us. As there was a covenant between the Father and Christ, so between Christ and the church. He propoundeth no less than a kingdom : Isa. X. 8, ' Are not my princes altogether kings ? ' Christ's title is by purchase, conquest, and consent. All Christ's subjects were vessels of wrath, vessels of hell, in their natural estate ; he recovered us from the devil by power and conquest, he bought us out of his Father's hands by merit and price.