LXX.

THE HEIRS OF THE KINGDOM.

MATT. XX. 23.

Jesus answered and said, To sit on my right hand and on my left is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.

THOSE who are nearest in power and greatness to an earthly king, sit on his right hand and on his left. The mother of the two disciples, James and John, asked this distinction for her sons, not doubting that "the throne of David," on which the Lord was to sit, was a throne of this present world.

The answer which our Lord returned, at first, takes us by surprise. To sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father. The matter in our Lord's mind, as he spoke, was, no doubt, his heavenly kingdom. It might not be in the apostles' mind, but it was in his mind. And how are we to explain his meaning, when he says, It is not mine to give? To whom then should we go? Especially when he has elsewhere asserted: "The Father judgeth no man, but hath delivered all judgment to the Son." "All things are delivered unto me of my Father." "I go to prepare a place for you, that where I am, there ye may be also." All these sentences prove, that, in one sense, the kingdom of heaven is our Lord's giving, and only his giving.

How then do they agree with the clause, which says, it shall only be given to them for whom it is prepared of the Father? A little consideration will explain.

It has pleased God, in the gospel covenant, to promise eternal life to such as shall possess a certain character, or answer a certain description. He does not assign it to particular persons, but to a particular description of persons. Not to this or that individual, but to every individual in whom that character is found.

He knows, indeed, who they are, whom he "has decreed to deliver from curse and damnation, and to bring by Christ to everlasting salvation, as vessels made to honour." But all that he reveals, or enables us to know of them, is their character. They "are called by his Spirit working in due season; they through grace obey the calling; they are made like the image of his Son; they walk religiously in good works: and at length, by God's mercy, they attain to everlasting felicity."i And beyond these; to others than these; and not of this class;-it is not in the power even of our Lord to give an entrance into his kingdom. The request was, that he should dispose of it differently: that he should assign it to persons, without respect to character. Grant to these my two sons, that they may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom. Just as in the world situations of trust are sometimes bestowed, not because the individuals are fit for them, but because they desire them. And this unjust request draws forth the memorable reply: It is not mine to give, but to them for whom it is prepared of my

1 See Articles of Religion, xvii.

Father. Not from want of authority in him, "who is over all, God blessed for ever;" but for want of fitness in the person. In the same sense as we say, It is impossible for God to be false to his word: in that sense it is impossible for Christ himself to give his kingdom to others than those for whom God has prepared it.

It cannot, therefore, be designed for any who do not believe in him by whom it was purchased, and through whom it is bestowed.

First, because "eternal life is the gift of God through Jesus Christ" "No man cometh unto the Father, but by him."

Secondly, because these alone direct their lives, discipline their hearts, and order their conversation, according to the rules of his kingdom. They "receive him," not only as the "author of eternal salvation," but as the author of a law in which they should walk towards it. This is a very peculiar path; very unlike that which we should follow of our own accord; very unlike that in which those are travelling, who have not the kingdom of God before their eyes. He in whom they are trusting, and to whom they have surrendered themselves, gradually prepares them for the state to which they look forward: withdraws them from the works of the flesh, and brings forth in them the fruits of the Spirit.

It would be contrary to the nature of things, it

2 So the sentence would be rendered more clearly, and more exactly represent the original, omitting the words, it shall be given, with which our translators have filled up the sentence; àλλa, but, is equivalent to un, except.

ἐι

would be contrary to the perfect righteousness of God; if this kingdom were granted to others. There must be some agreement between the kingdom, and the characters belonging to it. To take a sinful creature, with lusts unconquered, with temper unbroken, with pride unsubdued, with a heart never bent before God in prostration of self-abasement, or raised towards him. in the aspiration of piety and love; to place such an one in the presence of God and his angels, and bid him dwell in the realms of holiness; this would be contrary to all our reasonable notions of what is right and suitable. Our own understanding teaches us, (may we never be condemned by the acknowledgment!) that they must be "pure in heart," who are admitted to "see God;" they must be "meek," who "inherit the land" where all is peace: they must be "merciful,” who obtain mercy. They must "hunger and thirst after righteousness," who are to inhabit "a new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." These are they for whom the kingdom is prepared of the Father. And as the Father and his Christ are one, it is not Christ's to give to any except those for whom it is prepared of the Father. But, to them, it is his to give, and his alone. As will be seen, "when the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, and shall sit on the throne of his glory." And we are clearly told to whom it shall be given. No one who reads the Scriptures with a humble desire to be instructed by them, can have a doubt respecting the characters of those to whom "the King shall say, Come, ye blessed of my Father, receive the

kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." 3

Happy indeed are they who can discern that character in their own hearts and lives: in their hearts, for they have believed in the only begotten Son of God;" and in their lives, for they have fashioned them according to his will.

LXXI.

THE SPIRITUAL RESURRECTION.

COL. iii. 1-4.

1. If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

3. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

Risen with Christ. That, then, was the state of the Colossian Christians. But to have risen with

3 Matt. xxv. 34.