* till now,' in the evangelist's time, so posterity may say, * Until now,' from the first coming of Christ till his second coming. While there is a gospel preached, which is the ministry of the Spirit, the Spirit will be working ; and there are such glorious things in the gospel, that there will be violence offered. So while there is a people to be gathered, and a gospel to be preached to gather them, and a Spirit that works by that gospel, there will be violence in the church offered to the means of salvation.
Doct. 1. First, The state of the church, together ivith the means, the gospel preached, it is called the kingdom of heaven.
Besides others, there are three main significations of these words, ' The kingdom of heaven.'
First, The famous, leading, proper signification is the state and place ■where God himself and his people are most glorioas, ' the kingdom of heaven.' All the other significations end in that. But, secondly, because all that shall come into that glorious kingdom, they must be kings here first, in the state of the kingdom of grace, which consists ' in righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost,' Gal. v. 22, in the graces and comforts of the Spirit, therefore the state of gi-ace comes to have the name too of
* the kingdom of heaven.' And thirdly, Because grace in this world cannot be attained without an order, and means, and dispensations from God, hereupon the dispensation of the means whereby we come to have grace is also called ' the kingdom.' The unfolding the mysteries of salvation in the gospel is called the kingdom of God. As Christ saith, ' The kingdom of God shall be taken from you ; ' that is, the preaching of the gospel ; therefore ' the gospel' is called ' the gospel of the kingdom,' and * the word of the kingdom,' because by this word we come to have grace, and by grace, glory. There is no glory without grace, and no grace without the word. One makes way for another. The preaching of the gospel doth cause a church, ■which is the kingdom of Christ, wherein he rules by the sceptre of his word; by ■n'hich word Christ and all his riches, and glory, and prerogatives are unfolded ; and thereby grace is wi'ought, and grace leads to glory. This connection and subordination is to be observed,
1. First, For the conviction of those who do not indeed belong to the king- dom, of heaven. Every man is ready to talk of the kingdom of heaven, and the glory there ; ay, but there is a subordination of grace, and of the means of grace. How standcst thou afiected to the means of salvation, to the ' word of the kingdom,' the ' word of life,' the ' word of reconciliation'? for it hath the name from all the excellencies to which it brings us ; to shew that as we value life, a kingdom, reconciliation, and all that is good, so we must value this gospel, or else it is a presumptuous confidence. If the
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privileges of grace and glory belong to us, we must come to tbem by tbese steps. Tbose that regard not the gospel and means of salvation, they have nothing to do with grace nor glory. They are hereby convinced of arrogant folly.
2. Again, It is a ground to comfort weak Christians that regard the means of salvation, and yet fear their f alii) iff away. Be of good comfort whosoever thou art. God hath knit and linked these together ; all the power of earth and hell cannot break one link of this chain. Conscionable* attending upon the means, and grace, and glory, will go together. Therefore hold on, attend upon the means of salvation, and wait with comfort. The gospel of the kingdom will bring thee to. grace; and grace, though it be but a little measure, will bring thee to glory. Where God hath begun a good work he will finish it ; he will second one benefit with another ; diligent attending on the means with grace, and grace with glory.
In Scripture, works have their denomination from that they aim at, as the apostle saith, ' Ye have crucified the old man,' Eom. vi. 6, and ' ye are crucified with Christ,' Gal. ii. 20, because ye are in doing it, and ye shall do it perfectly. So we are saints, because we shall be so. We are kings now, because we are in part so, and we shall be so fully hereafter. So grace is called the kingdom of heaven, because it is the undoubted way to the kingdom of heaven and glory. God would help our faith by the very title ; for we are not elected to the beginnings only of glory, but to the perfection, as it is excellently set down Eph, i. 6, ' We are elected to glory by means and beginnings.' Therefore undoubtedly we may hope for the accomplishment when we see the beginnings.
Quest. Why is the state of grace, and the means of grace, and glory itself, called ' the kingdom of heaven ' ?
Ans. Because they are all of and from heaven. The one is in heaven the kingdom of glory, and the other the kingdom of the word here ; and truth and grace which are by it are from heaven. The truth we have and grace from that truth come from heaven ; yea, and Christ, the author of all, is from heaven, and they all lead to heaven.