England in a real sense, although the chair of state may have been changed many times in the course of generations. The word "throne" seems to have been borrowed from the royal seat, and enlarged to cover the royal position. So with the throne of David; it is said of Solomon, on the occasion of his accession in the room of David (1st Kings ii. 12), "Then sat Solomon on the throne of David his father." Yet we read in 1st Kings x. 18, that "he made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the best gold,' so that while sitting on the throne of David his father in the political sense, Solomon really occupied a different royal seat. Hence, "the throne of David" is the position of David as king of the Jews and chief potentate of the earth. Let those who dissent from this conclusion set themselves to find another. Let them eschew fanciful interpretation, and tie themselves by the grammatical rules of the case. "The throne of David" points to something that pertained to Saul's successor. There is no getting away from this ; and any explanation of the promise that ignores this as its fundamental element, must be rejected as unworthy. Of this character is the view that Christ is now on David's throne. Christ is in heaven, and cannot now be sitting on that throne; for nothing that David ever possesed is in heaven. Not even himself has gone there; for Peter said in his address on the day of Pentecost (Acts ii. 34), "David IS NOT ASCENDED INTO THE HEAVENS." When the time arrives, the throne of David will be set up again in the earth; and Jesus will share it with his faithful ones, as intimated in Rev. iii. 21. "In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen" (Amos ix. 11). That time he spake of when on earth. He said (Matt. xxv. 31), "When the Son of Man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, THEN shall he sit upon the throne of his glory." Hence, before Jesus sits upon David's throne, he will return to earth, appear in Palestine, and assume the position which David occupied when he swayed the sceptre of Israel; that is he will become king of the Jews. Look at Ezekiel xxi. 25-27. The prophet was sent to Zedekiah, an unworthy prince, who was the last to occupy David's throne. He was sent to tell him of coming retribution, and in the course of his prophecy, he uttered the following words "And thou profane, wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come when iniquity shall have an end; thus saith the Lord of Hosts, Remove the diadem and take off the crown; this shall not be the same; exalt the low and abase the high; I will overturn, overturn, overturn it; and it shall be no more UNTIL HE COME WHOSE RIGHT IT IS; and I will give it him." Here was a diadem to be removed, a crown to be taken off, and a national polity to be completely abolished, as indicated in the triple repetition of the verb, "overturn," and as expressed by the phrase, "it shall be no more." The prediction related to things Jewish, even to the things which constitute the throne of David; and its fulfilment is notorious to every reader of Jewish history. About a year after its delivery, Zedekiah was uncrowned by Nebuchadnezzar. The nobles were put to death; the nation was partly massacred, and partly carried away captive, and the land given over to desolation. Seventy years after, a partial restoration took place under Ezra and Nehemiah, but not of the throne of David, The Jews existed as a vassal people thenceforward; and after varied political fortunes, were overtaken by a storm which swept away every vestige of their national existence. The Romans, under Vespasian, invaded the country, and subdued its fortified places; and Vespasian having transferred the command to Titus, the latter laid siege to Jerusalem, which at that time was crowded with people from all parts of the country. The details of that awful siege are familiar to every one. The city was tediously beleaguered for months; famine arose among the inhabitants; civil dissensions divided their counsels, and led to mutual slaughter; and, finally, the place was sacked and given to the flames, and upwards of 1,000,000 of Jews perished. The remainder were sold as slaves, and scattered throughout the Roman empire as fugitives; and scattered they remain to this day. So awfully has the prophecy been fulfilled, that, for the last twenty centuries, the throne of David has been a mere idle phrase -a tradition of the past; his kingdom has been overthrown, his land in desolation, and his people wandering as homeless exiles, unpitied and unpitying. But is this condition of David's throne to be perpetual? Are the Gentiles for ever to exalt their proud horns over the fallen kingdom of the Lord? (See I Chron. xxix. 23; 2 Chron. ix. 8; xiii. 8; which affirm the kingdom of Israel to have been the kingdom of God). Nay, saith the prophecy desolation shall only con"Until tinue UNTIL-until what? HE COME whose right it is." Who is this? None other than Jesus Christ, to whom the throne pertains of right, both by lineal descent, and Observe, special divine bequest. then, what is distinctly proved, that the things overturned are the things to be given to Christ at his coming. Now, what things were those? The diadem, crown, throne, and Kingdom of David. Hence, when HE COMES whose right they are, he will enter into their possession in as real a sense as they were He will become held by Zedekiah. King of the Jews, and Lord of the whole earth. We thus perceive a striking significance in the words of the angel "The Lord God shall give unto Jesus THE THRONE OF HIS FATHER David; and he shall reign over THE HOUSE OF JACOB for ever; and of HIS KINGDOM there shall be no end." Going a step farther in our New Testament enquiry, we come to the birth of Christ, and we note the following incident- "Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold there came wise men from the east to Jerusa lem, saying, Where is he that is born KING OF THE JEWS" (Matt. ii. 1). The enquiry of the wise men was intelligible in view of all that the prophets had foretold of him who was to be ruler in Israel; but if Christ is only the spiritual Saviour of mankind, in a universal general sense, their words have no meaning. In what sense could Christ be "king of the Jews "if he only stood in broad spiritual relationship to the human race as a whole? It may be suggested that he is king of spiritual Jews, who are not Jews outwardly, but in the heart. The reply to this is, that Christ is not king of his own people. Of them he says, "I call you not servants, but friends." They are his brethren, "joint heirs with Christ" (Rom. viii. 17), destined to reign with him a thousand years (Rev. xx. 6). They are not his subjects, but aggregately his bride, "the Lamb's wife "-signifying the closest communion and identity of relational interest. Christ, therefore, cannot be king of the Jews in He is king of any spiritual sense. those Jews of whom David was king; for he is heir to his throne. this was the nature of his claim, as understood by his contemporaries, is obvious from what followed the enquiry of the wise men— That "When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, in Bethlehem of Judea; for thus it is written by the prophet -and thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda; for out of thee shall come a Governor that shall And (Herod) rule my people Israel sent forth and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men" (Matt. ii. 2, 3, 6, 16). Now whence all this commotion? If Christ was merely to be a spiritual ruler in the popular sense-exercising power from heaven in the hearts of men, without at all interfering with the temporal concerns of kings on earth, it is not conceivable that Herod should have been so jealous of him; because Christ's spiritual dominion would not in any way have conflicted with Herod's jurisdiction as a king. Assuming, however, that the enquiry of the wise men imported the verity of Christ's character as a king, appointed of God to sit on David's throne, Herod's procedure appears in a natural light. He was at that time ruler in Israel. He was, in fact, "King of the Jews," in the name of the Roman Cæsar. For him, therefore, to hear of the birth of a rival to that position, was to be touched in the tenderest part, and to have all his jealousy aroused. He would see plainly that if he allowed this infant king to live, the people's allegiance might become diverted, and his own throne would be endangered. He therefore conceived the inhuman project of slaughtering the entire babyhood of Bethlehem, in the hope of destroying the object of his jealousy-a proof that he recognized in Christ a prospective claimant of the literal kingship of Israel. If we trace the career and note the sayings of Christ, as further recorded, we shall find constant indications of the correctness of the view entertained by the apostles concerning his kingship. For instance, in the course of his sermon on the mount, he said "Swear not by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King." Now it would be difficult to attach a likely significance to these words on the popular supposition. If Christ is never to return to earth again, except for the purpose of plunging it in the "judgment fires" and blotting every vestige of its existence from creation, what possible connection can exist between him and the city which witnessed his humiliation, since in that case it must perish in the universal destruction? In the passage before us Jesus affirms a connection with 66 179 it, and accounts that connection so sacred that he prohibits us from using the name of the city on oath. He is "the Great King," —the greater than Solomon.' Jerusalem is the city. It existed at the time that Christ uttered the words under consideration; only in the time of Christ, it was a great, prosperous and magnificent centre of royalty and learning, whereas now it is an insignificant abominationinfested, and comparatively ruinous and neglected town in the heart of a petty Turkish province. Divine regard, however, is no less now than ever it was. The testimony is, "I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands: thy walls are continually before me (Isa. xlix. 16). For a period it has been in desolation. This was predicted by the Lord Jesus. He said "They (the Jews) shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations; and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, UNTIL the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled" (Luke xxi. 24), He also said (with tears in his eyes) "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together; even as a hen gathereth her brood under her wings, and ye would not. Behold, your house is left unto you desolate, for I say unto you, ye shall not see me henceforth UNTIL THE TIME COME, when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord" (Matt. xxiik 37-39; Luke xiii. 34, 35). Here was a treading down and a desolating foretold. That this referred to Jerusalem in Palestine is universally granted. Let it be noted then, that the place involved in the prediction of ruin, is the same which is related to the "UNTIL by which that prediction is limited. If Jerusalem has been trodden down of the Gentiles, and left "desolate, she will as certainly, by the same prediction, recover from her fall when the period indicated by the word "until arrives. In one case, until arrives with the expiration of "the times of the Gentiles;" in the other, when the time comes that 66 " " the Jewish nation will recognise the crucified Jesus as the name-bearer of God. The declaration is, that at that time, down-treading and desolation shall cease. Now both events are certain. The termination of the times of the Gentiles, or the age of Gentile domination is decreed (Dan. vii. 25-27; ix. 24-27; Rom. xi. 25), and we are informed, in the following testimony, that the day is coming when Christ will yet be received by his penitent nation, the Jews "I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications; and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for an only son, and shall be in bitterness for him as one that is in bitterness for his first-born" (Zech. xii. 10). When these have been accomplished, what then for Jerusalem ? Let the following testimonies give the answer— "The Lord shall inherit Judah, his portion in the Holy Land, and shall choose Jerusalem again" (Zech. ii. 12). "The Lord shall comfort Zion: He will comfort all her waste places; and He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and the voice of melody" (Isaiah li. 3). "Awake! awake! stand up, O Jerusalem. which hast drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of His fury. Thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out. Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted and drunken, but not with wine: Thus saith the Lord, thy Lord, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of His people. Behold I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury. Thou shalt no more drink it again" (Isaiah li. 17, 21, 22). "Awake! awake! put on thy strength, Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, Jerusalem, the holy city; for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem; for the Lord hath comforted His people, He hath redeemed Jerusalem" (Isaiah lii. 1, 9). "The Lord of Hosts shall reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before His ancients gloriously" (Isaiah xxiv. 23). At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord, and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem. Neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart" Jeremiah iii. 17). Here, then, we learn that the city of Jerusalem has an important place in the purpose of God. It is destined to be the seat of that divine government which is to bless the world in the future age. It will, in fact, be the capital of the coming universal kingdom, constituting the centre of power, of law, of enlightenment, for the gladsome nations who will repair thither for instruction in that glorious age; for it is written "And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and He will teach us His ways, and we will walk in His paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem" (Isaiah ii. 3). This going-up of nations will be periodical, as we learn from Zech. xiv. 16 "And it shall come to pass that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem, shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles." of If any nation become refractory, and refuse to pay this annual homage to the king of all the earth, they will be summarily dealt with. No need for armies and lazy process military subjugation; a word from the King will stay the supplies of heaven, and compel submission. It is written-verse 17 "And it shall be that whoso shall not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem, to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, even upon them shall be no rain." Now the Lord Jesus was aware of this glorious destiny in store for the city of Jerusalem, and well knew the should intimate relationship he sustain to it when the time should come when his countrymen would say to him "Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; and, with this on his mind, he could say with an appropriateness which She The can only be appreciated by those who understand the purposes of God "Swear not by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King." is the city of the Great King, though now but a despised ruin; and those who laugh at the promises of her future glory, are guilty of a heinous crime against God, for which they may be called upon to answer. Great King would not allow His friends to swear by her name: much less will he forbear the jibe of the scornful. He cometh to His city anon to rule the world in righteousness, and woe be to the despiser; but blessed are all they who are looking for redemption in Jerusalem (Luke ii. 38). To them the words of the prophet are addressed "Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her. Rejoice for joy with her all ye that mourn for her; that ye may suck and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations: that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory' (Isaiah lxvi. 10, 11). Thus, by a logical process of reasoning, we are enabled to extract from the words of Christ in his sermon on the mount," evidence of a powerful kind of the reality of his kingship in relation to the earth. Nathaniel, the "Israelite indeed, in whom there was no guile," adds to that evidence in the recognition of Christ to which he gave utterance on meeting him (John i. 49)— "Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel." That the conviction expressed in these words was generally impressed on the minds of the people by the teaching of Christ, is evident from the fact that "they wanted to take him by force, and make him a king' (John vi. 15). Their language, on the occasion of his triumphant entry into Jerusalem, is evidence to the point-"Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord! Blessed be the kingdom of our father David that cometh in the name of the Lord" (Mark xi. 10). Christ gave them reason for that conviction in the parable of the vineyard, contained in Luke xx., beginning at the same 9th verse. The vineyard, says Jesus, was planted by a certain nobleman, and let out to husbandmen; and at the time of the fruit, the nobleman sent his servants to the husbandmen to get of the fruits of the vineyard: but they maltreated and killed them one after another (verse 13). "Then said the Lord of the vineyard, what shall I do? I will send my beloved son: it may be that they will reverence him when they see him; but when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying-This is THE HEIR; come let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours. So they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him.' This parable related to the nation of Israel, and the rulers thereof. This is evident from the 19th verse, and also from a statement in Isaiah v. 7 "The vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the House of Israel." This being so, let us note the tendency of its teaching. In the rejected servants we recognise the prophets who shared the fate indicated in the words of Christ-"O Jerusalem, that killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee." The "Son" was the Lord Jesus Christ, as is evident from the words of Paul in Heb. i. 2, which might be almost accepted as a commentary upon the parable under consideration-"God, who at sundry times, and in divers manners, spake in times past unto our fathers by the prophets, hath in these in these last days spoken unto us by His Son. If Christ, then, be the "son" of the parable, of necessity he is also the "heir"-Of what? This is the important point. Answer: Of the inheritance held by the husbandmen; for said they, "This is the heir, come let us kill him, and the inheri tance shall be ours." Now, if that inheritance be the land and nation of the Jews, of which the Pharisees were the rulers or "husbandmen," and Christ be the heir of these things, there is no escape from the conclusion sought to be established throughout this lecture. He is the |