el1at the Lord is King, is reigning now. BecaUBe ~uch Is the just conclusion from its constant statements that the coming of Christ was "at hand;" that creneration in whic~ our Lord li~ed was not to pass away until the coming of his kingdom. Some standrng around him-so he declared-should not taste of death till they had seen him coming in glory. And with this all the teachings of the apostles agree. They tell of the Lord's corning as "at h1md." They believed that some of them should remain and be alive at his coming. "The kingdom of heaven is at hand," was the burden of their preaching; they went everywhere proclaiming that, and the coming of the Lord as its inauguration. But if our Lord has not come, then how are his words, and the words of his apostles, whom the Holy Spirit was to lead into all truth, to be ucderstood? We shrink from saying that they were mistaken, and, unwittingly, taught error. Therefore we believe that he has come, and that he is indeed and in truth reicrnin" now. 2. And the objection-Why, then, is evil so rampant 1-is met by St. Paul'~ statement in 1 Cor. xv. 23-26. There the reign of Christ is plainly declared, and that" he must reign till he hath put," etc. (ver. 25), evidently implying that, though he doth reign, yet there will be enemies still to be subdued, and this will be only a gradual process. Hie coming was not to put an end all at once, in a moment, to all evil; ,but it should ultimately be done. 3. And this is still being done. Let the laws and customs of Christian nations tell. They are evil enough in many parts still, but will any one dare to say that the lot of humanity is as dark now as it was in our Lord's day? Has he done nothing for us? Who will say that? And let the growth and increased purity of the Church-far short, doubtless, of what they should and will be-also t~ll. And the Lord's work by his Spirit in the individual believing soul. Are we not conscious that he is more and more putting all our spiritual foes under his feet? Therefore we believe that the Lord has come, and that he rcigneth. IV. THE BLESSED RESULTS OF TBIS BELIEF, 1. The need for twisting the Sc1·iptures is taken away. We can read them in their plain and obvious meaning. 2. The i;,Ji !el's taunt is silenced. Gibbon sneers at the Christian's belief, taking it for granted th,n the Lord has not come. And many to-day base their unbelief on the glaring contradiction between the Scriptures and the doctrine of so many Christians that Christ bas not yet come. 3. We are not fighting a losing battle. The state of the world is not darkening drear-as so many say-but brightening. The Church has not to wait for, but to rejoice in, his presence. 4. Death, in the old dread meaning of the word, is abolished. 5. Satan is fudged, fallen, condemned. We, whilst trusting in Christ, need have no fear, The Lord is King.-S. C.
Ver. 1.-" The Lord reigneth." On this truth we observe- !. IT WAS THE FAI'l'H OF ALL HOLY SCRIPTURE. 'l.'he Law, the Prophets, the Psalms -these especially-the Gospels, the Epistles, and the Revelation, all alike declare this faith, and in varied form utter their "Alleluia, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth." II, THIS FAITH 18 COMMENDED TO US BY ITS NEVER-FAILING FRUITFULNESS IN ALL MANNER OF GOOD. Some beliefs which men have long and largely held have died away, and men have willingly let them die; but this faith is too blessed that we should lightly let it perish. It imparts peace to the mind amid all the vicissitudes of life ; vigour to the will, strengthening it for strenuous action; and power for the help and comfort of our fellow-men. III. IT IS, NEVERTHELESS, GREATLY DOUBTED AND DENIED. 1. In some because of the sad and insoluble problems of this present life. Life seems to them an inextricable tangle, not worth living, all vanity and vexation of spirit. 2. In others, the teachings of science seem not only to remove God so far away, but throw doubt on his existence altocrether. 3. In others, the increased sen.'litiveness to human suffering has caused the mind to recoil from doetrines and beliefs which were unquestioningly held by our fore- fathers, and the eight of the mass of unrelieved misery which crushes beneath its awful weight the multitudes of mankind in all ages and lands has begotten the dark doubt in minds not a few, whether there be an omnipotent and beneficent God at all. Perhaps men's doubts of this faith were never more widespread than they a.re now. IV. BoT ITS EVIDEN0EB, NOTWITHSTANDING, ARE EVERYWHERE. 1. 111 the natural world the power, wisdom, and beneficence of the Creator are, in spite of many mysteries, Q)ee.rl; to be seen {see Drummond's 'Ascent of Man'). 2. In the order qf God'~ 334 THE BOOK OF PSALMS, [PS, xcvn. 1-12,
providence, when men will obey its laws. 3, In th~ history of the Church, 4, In the experi'.enr,e qf the individaai: believing soul. V. AND THIS FAITH MAY BE ATTAINED TO BY WHOSOEVER WILL, The ptlth is- obedience. " He that docth my will shall know of the doctrine," eto, Refuse to cherish doubt. "I will trust, and not be afraid."-S. 0.