priest upon his throne, that is to embody the Melchisedecan type and this our Saviour will do at his appearing and his kingdom. 2 Tim. iv. 1. It is vain to say that Jesus Christ already reigns and executes the functions of a kingly-priest: He does not do so in the sense intended by the Spirit in the sacred Scripture. Hear, for instance, the holy prophet Zechariah: Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The Branch: and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord: even he shall build the temple of the Lord: and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both,-namely, between Zerubbabel, the governor, and Joshua, the priest, as prefiguring conjointly the man whose mystical name is, The Branch, and upon whom will devolve the glory of a priestly royalty. Zech. vi. 12, 13. Hereon we observe: first, The temple of the Lord is not yet rebuilt: secondly, The throne of the house of David is not yet set up thirdly, The glory of an undivided empire Christ does not bear for, Satan is at large, and now we see not yet all things put under him, Heb. ii. 8; and consequently it farther follows that Jesus is not yet that sovereign Lord which in the counsels of eternity he is ordained to be. Indeed the kingly power was totally detached from the priestly office under the Law, and Uzziah, king of Judah, for venturing to approach the incense-altar with intent to minister thereat, was driven from the precincts of the temple a leper white as snow, the Lord smiting him therewith in punishment of his daring temerity. 2 Chron. xxvi. 20, 21. Therefore was Jesus called after the order of Melchisedec, and not after the order of Aaron. And when the priesthood of

mediation shall have been fully accomplished, then will the priesthood of power commence. We freely admit that Jesus is a king: for, as such he was born: as such he lived: this was his own acknowledgment before Pilate they crucified their king; and his kingly power was shown in the regeneration and salvation of a soul in the very article of death itself: but, still the sceptre of his kingdom is in abeyance, and the Lord himself distinguishes between his own and his Father's throne. Rev. iii. 21. On an occasion too memorable ever to be forgotten by the faithful Christian, Jesus spake the remarkable parable of the nobleman's departure into the far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and thence again to return invested with royal functions and empowered to execute judgment upon his enemies. The disciples thought that because their gracious Master was now about to go up unto Jerusalem in a very public manner, the kingdom so long expected and desired should immediately appear: it was to correct this impression that our Saviour spake the parable: and the whole period intervening between the advent in humiliation and the advent in glory, verifies the absence of the nobleman in the far country of his temporary sojourn, until, having received the required authority, he comes home again to execute the purport of his mission. Luke xix. 11-27. Jesus Christ is therefore evermore, since the moment of his departure hence, expecting until his enemies be made his footstool. Ps. cx. 1. The prayer of the church around him and yet waiting for him, is, Come! and when the blast of the seventh or last trump has sounded, the acknowledgment of all will be, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come, because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. Rev.

xi. 17. Meanwhile, serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. Ps. ii. 11, 12.

We would here also remark, that God's ancient-covenant people, the Jews, are perfectly justifiable and correct in expecting, as they so generally do, a glorious and triumphing Messiah. In vain, comparatively, shall we labour to conciliate their regard, to remove their prejudices, and to win their favourable consideration of Christianity, unless we consent to allow them a legitimate and proper share in their own prophecies and promises of mercy. To them particularly, according to the testimony of St. Paul, the promises pertain. Rom. ix. 4. Why should we arrogantly and disdainfully usurp their right? They are the people who will especially be willing in the day of the Redeemer's power, to serve and honour him. The priest after the similitude of Melchisedec, will reign particularly in mount Zion, and before them. Ps. cx. 3, 4; Isa. xxiv. 23. But for the gravity of our subject, we could almost smile at the assertion of a certain commentary, which affects to inform its readers that the disciples of Christ made four mistakes in asking their risen Lord, Wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? Acts i. 6, 7. So far from being at all mistaken relative to the restoration of the kingdom to Israel, the inquiry was altogether in accordance with the mind and will of God as spoken by one of their own prophets : In that day, saith the Lord, will I assemble her that halteth, (namely, Israel,) and I will gather her that is driven out, (namely, Judah,) and her that I have afflicted: and I will make her that halteth a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong

nation: and the Lord shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever. And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong-hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion: the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem. Mic. iv. 6-8. Do you think Jesus Christ had no knowledge of this scripture? or does his reply to the apostles convey the merest possible doubt of its eventual fulfilment ? Times and seasons were not necessary to be known to the first preachers of the Gospel: or, at any rate, they were not revealed unto them till their Lord was glorified. Afterwards, they were endued with prophetic power, and both Peter and John discourse largely upon things that shall come to pass in certain determinate revolutions of time and circumstance. The superscription of the cross, therefore, will yet be verified and emblazoned in characters of glory in this fallen world, and Jesus of Nazareth shall be the acknowledged Lord and King of the Jews. Micah v. 4. The Lord of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously. A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the Lord will hasten it in his time. Isa. xxiv. 23; and lx. 22. Messiah now is a rejected king: Away with this man, said the Jews of old; but the time draws near when the children of Jerusalem shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Matt. xxiii. 39.

There is one additional observation which we would submit, before we proceed to the particular consideration of our subject: In studying the Epistle to the Hebrews, as an inspired key to the Mosaic ritual, do not read it so much in the light of Gentile information, as with reference to Jewish habits of thought and manner. It was originally addressed to Hebrews, and not to you:

you, consequently, are not the primary party concerned in the Epistle and, therefore, clearly to ascertain the mind of the Spirit in this and kindred portions of the holy volume, you must place yourself in the position of a Jewish reader, and endeavour to ascertain what he would think of St. Paul's quotations and the arguments of the Apostle as founded thereupon. Unless this distinction be borne in mind, we shall be in perpetual danger of confounding things that differ, ever learning and never able to come to any satisfactory knowledge of the truth. Rights will be assumed that cannot be maintained, and the elder brother will be contemned, although the prodigal has been restored through mere unmerited pity and favour.

We will now revert to the Levitical Priesthood. And, first, we remark, in the language of St. Paul; No man taketh this honour to himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to-day have I begotten thee, Heb. v. 4, 5 this begetting on a particular day relating to our Saviour's resurrection. Hence, our Lord required a peculiar call to the priesthood, inasmuch as he sprang out of Judah, of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning the service of the altar. This especial call was vouchsafed to him; and his resurrection from the dead by the glory, that is, by the power, of the Father, formed as it were the seal and signature of his high-priestly appointment. Ps. ii. 7. Rev. i. 5.

Regarding Aaron's priesthood as a type of Christ's, we will consider,

I