Messiah the Prince: Or, the Mediatorial Dominion of Jesus Christ

THE question of Paul, Is Christ divided? is one to which professing Christians have not given sufficient heed, and the evil consequences are abundantly apparent. It was deemed essential to the salvation of men that their Redeemer should possess the powers at once of a prophet, a priest, and a king. These offices, while essentially distinct, are necessarily and inseparably con nected with one another. Such a union has been by some utterly denied ; and its denial has laid foundation for some capital errors, which have exerted a pernicious influence on the Christian church. By others it has been criminally overlooked ; and the neglect with which it has been treated has occasioned vague and conflicting conceptions regarding the great work of man's deliver ance from sin and wrath by the mediation of the Son of God. If, as we presume will be readily admitted, the whole of Christ's offices are necessary to the salvation of fallen man, it follows that they are all essential to the character of the Saviour, and that, of course, we cannot suppose him to have existed for a moment with out any one of them, as this would suppose him to have been, for the time at least, no Saviour. This fearful result might itself be deemed sufficient to put Christians on their guard against fancying either that Christ was invested with his different offices at dif ferent times, or that he acts at one time according to one and at another time according to another. From the very first he must have possessed the powers of all his offices ; and in every part of his work all must have come into operation. For example, when he taught his disciples, he acted not only as a prophet, but also as a priest and a king ; inasmuch as the doctrine which he taught brought fully to view his sacerdotal character, and the authority with which his instructions were enforced distinctly recognised his regal power. Again, when as a priest he offered him self a spotless sacrifice to God, he gave to the world as a prophet a new revelation of the character of God, and of the principles of the divine moral govern ment ; at the same time that as a king he triumphed gloriously over his enemies. In like manner, his royal achievements not only manifest his majesty and his power, but serve to publish the clemency of his grace, and to recognise the merit of his atoning sacrifice as the ground on which they proceed.

This doctrine of inseparable union does not by any means confound the distinction subsisting between the various offices of our Mediator, any more than the union of persons in the Godhead amounts to a denial of the essential distinction between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit ; or than the union of natures in the person of the Son of God is at variance with- the ascription, by the inspired writers, of some things to the one nature, and of other things to the other nature. Without con founding the distinction between them, we may, there fore, safely maintain the inseparable union of Christ's mediatorial offices — a union which obtained in every pain he endured, and in every act he performed or will ever perform in behalf of the elect ; and which it becomes the believer joyfully and gratefully to recognise and acknowledge, as the absence of any one of them would disqualify him for performing the work of our redemption. In proceeding to consider the kingly office of Christ, it is to be borne in mind that it stands in inseparable connexion with his sacerdotal office. He sits a Priest upon his throne. Nor will any enlightened subject of Sion's King feel that there is any incongruity, in his case at least, between the mitre and the crown, the altar and the throne, the censer and the sceptre, the smoking incense and the shout of victory. ' We have a great High Priest, that is passed into the heavens. This man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sin, for ever sat down on the right hand of God ; from henceforth ex pecting till his enemies be made his footstool.'* The kingly office of Christ forms an interesting part of the Christian system, and as such both merits and requires extensive illustration. We may judge of its importance from the frequency with which Christ is spoken of in the sacred writings under the character of a King. Is th.e advent of Messiah announced to the ancient church ? It is in these words : ' Rejoice greatly, 0 daughter of Zion ; shout, 0 daughter of Jerusalem ; behold, thy KING cometh unto thee.'2 Are the members 1 Heb. iv. 14 ; x. 12, 13. 2 Zech. ix. 9. of the cliurcli invited to behold his excellences? Such is the character in which he is discovered : ' Go forth, 0 ye daughters of Zion, and behold KING Solomon, with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart.'3 Is a gracious discovery of the Saviour promised ? It is thus conveyed : * Thine eyes shall see the KING in his beauty.' 4 Are the saints required to exult in the Redeemer ? It is in these terms : ' Let the children of Zion be joyful in their KiNG.'5 Does the believer record the effect produced by some singular manifestation of the divine presence to his soul ? This is his language : 'Woe is me ! for I am undone ; because 1 am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips : for mine eyes Lave seen the KING, the Lord of hosts.' 6 Or is the church required to celebrate the ascension of her Lord ? …