in heaven and earth: he is head over all things to the church which is his body, and he shall reign till he shall have put down all rule, and all authority, and all power-till he shall have put all his enemies under his feet. I am the First and the Last: I am He that liveth and was dead; and behold I am alive for evermore, Amen: and have the keys of hell and of death. And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever." Attend to

"A man

The manner in which he procures his people. sowed good seed in his field. He that soweth the good seed is the Son of Man, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom." He employs means for forming, preserving, and perfecting the church, just as the husbandman uses means for procuring a crop. He came in terms of divine prediction "not to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved." He was fitted to secure the gracious purpose of his mission, and to realise the expectations which had been formed respecting him: for "the Spirit of the Lord was upon him, and he was anointed to preach good tidings of great joy unto all people." These tidings involved God's mercy to his fallen family-the way in which he would be gracious and they could be happy. And he spent his life in making them known, and in persuading men to believe and to embrace them. That was the will and the work of Him who sent him, and to do His will, and to finish His work was his meat and drink. "I have preached righteousness in the great congregation, lo, I have not refrained my lips, O Lord; thou knowest I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart. I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation; I have not concealed thy loving kindness and thy truth from the great congregation." It was thus he gained the ear and the heart of man-that be commenced and extended his reign-that he founded and established his church. It is in

the same way that he now preserves and extends it—that he multiplies his people and makes them grow in all that is good. Having died for their offences, he rose for their justification. But before he ascended to secure, by his elevation, the purposes for which he was abased, he said to his disciples, "All power is given to me in heaven and in earth: go ye, therefore, unto all nations-go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned." Preaching, then, is the appointed instrument for convincing and converting sinners-for establishing and comforting saints. In preaching, therefore, for these purposes, the servants of Christ are still employed. They go forth and preach salvation in his name-beseeching men to be reconciled to God. The means employed are made effectual through his blessing, just as the divine blessing renders the labour of the husbandman effectual for producing a erop. By preaching, his servants cast seed into the ground which springs and brings forth fruit to the praise of God's grace. It is thus his spiritual seed are preserved; that they shall be as the dew of the morning, and the sand on the sea shore. We look to the past with gratitude, and we contemplate the future with confidence. "It hath pleased God by

the foolishness of preaching, to save them who believe,” and he will destroy "all his enemies by the word of his mouth." The kingdom of Christ is entirely distinct from the kingdoms of this world, and it is preserved and promoted by different means. He is the Prince of Peace, and his name is descriptive of his measures. His government is not founded in violence, and it is not fostered by the effusion of blood. He wages war, but it is against ignorance, and error, and wickedness. The weapons which he authorises his servants to use, are those only which he himself employed,-instruction, persuasion, and reproof. They are "not carnal, yet they are mighty through God for pulling down the strong

holds of Satan." He conquers, yet he does no violence. Desolation does not mark his progress. His victories are the conquests of the heart: they are bloodless, and as they are acquired, so they are maintained, by righteousness. "Justice and judgment are the habitation of his throne, mercy accompanied with truth go before his face; a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of his kingdom." His subjects are made "willing in the day of his power:" they resemble himself; for as he was, so are they in the world, and the means which he employs to increase their number and attainments, are not dictated by human policy, for "the wisdom of man is foolishness with God." Attend to

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The scene of his operations. "A man sowed good seed in his field, and the field is the world." The church under the former dispensation was limited to the Jews. Because Jersualem was the place of their worship, the religion of the Jews was not designed and could not become universal. Christ was sent to the "lost sheep of the house of Israel," and to them his ministrations were almost exclusively confined; but he intimated that the hour was approaching, in which "the true worshippers" throughout the world would worship the Father in spirit and in truth;" and he enjoined his apostles to go and publish his "gospel to every creature.' He claims unbounded empire, and he commands his servants to go forth and take possession in his name. Some who profess to be his servants, have disregarded his instructions; others have paid little attention to them; comparatively few have been zealous to diffuse the knowledge and extend the reign of their Master. Something, however, has been done, and some progress has been made. on high hath visited us, to give us light who sat in darkness, and in the shadow of death; to guide our feet into the ways of peace." The Prince of Peace reigns in many lands which were "full of the habitations of cruelty." God is acknowledged and honoured by many people who lived" without

"The day spring from

God and without hope." Much is doing in various quarters of the world, but much more remains to be done. Thousands of the servants of the Son of Man are sowing the precious seed, but scarcely one-third of the field destined to be cultivated is yet sown. Till the whole field be brought in and bring forth fruit-till Christ be honoured and obeyed by every people and in every place-till all the kingdoms of this world become the kingoms of our Lord and of his Christ, the purposes and the predictions of God shall not be accomplished the church shall not have acquired its prescribed limits-Christ shall not be satisfied with "the travail of his soul," and the people of Christ shall have an important and imperative duty to perform the duty of communicating the gospel to their fellow-creatures who are perishing for lack of knowledge.

II. The present imperfection of the church, arising from the mixture of Christians and hypocrites therein.

The church should be composed only of "the good seed" of the children of the kingdom, but "the good seed" is now mixed with "tares." The "children of the kingdom" are associated with "the children of the wicked one." "While men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares ye root up also the wheat with them. Let them both grow together until the harvest." "The good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; the enemy that sowed them is the Devil, and the harvest is the end of the

world." Previous to this period the genuine members of the church shall not only be imperfect, but they shall be associated in the world and in the church with men of impure principles and wicked conduct. The kingdom of our Lord, while in the world, shall, like other kingdoms, have treacherous as well as true subjects. While the Son of Man sows good seed, the wicked one sows tares. Both spring and grow together. The faithful may labour to prevent the evil, but with all their vigilance and activity they shall not completely succeed, for there are no human means of effecting a complete expulsion of the unconverted from the church. The most discerning cannot detect hypocrisy or anticipate wickedness, nor does God intend that they should do so. He does not approve of hypocrisy, or of any species of wickedness. Iniquity of every kind and degree is the abominable thing which he hates-he cannot look on it. He has denounced the heaviest judgments against those who enter his church unwarrantably-he has pledged himself to destroy such as continue to pollute it. But he does not execute his judgments instantly-it were alike inconsistent with his wisdom and goodness immediately to destroy. He permits the wicked to remain not only in the world, but in the church. And this is not a temporary arrangementit shall continue to the end. What the church has been it is destined to be a society composed, in a greater or lesser measure, of the righteous blended with the wicked.

This is the prophetic announcement of the parable, and the fact corresponds with the prediction. It represents the church not as it should be, but as it is; and as it shall in some degree continue to be. Some sections of the church are purer than others, but the purest is far from being spotless. In some there are many saints, but there is not one which can boast of having no sinners. Even where the greatest caution is exercised in the admission of members, the wicked insinuate themselves; and where the greatest