09.16.08
‘The NECESSITY of Christ’s Mediatorial Kingship’ (3)
The following is the third and last section from ‘Messiah the Prince’ by William Symington, and is on the ‘NECESSITY’ of Christ’s mediatorial Kingship:
“5. The Kingly office is not less necessary to meet the needy circumstances of Christ’s own people. They are all of them, by nature, rebels, enemies to Christ, both in their minds and by wicked works; their bosoms rankle with every hostile feeling; the carnal mind is enmity against God, and by nature all are carnal, sold under sin. It is not possible, such being the case, that they should embrace of themselves the overtures of reconciliation, accept without hesitation the offers of mercy, and acquiesce with cordiality and esteem in the terms of salvation. No; they treat them with despite, they spurn them with scorn. They must be reconciled – they must be made willing – their imaginations must be brought down. And how but by the Saviour’s rod of omnipotent strength sent forth out of Zion; by the irresistible sceptre of his grace, swayed with authority for this very end; by the sharp arrows of conviction which penetrate the hearts of the king’s enemies only when propelled by him whose right hand teaches terrible things, and who, in regal majesty, rides prosperously, because of truth, and meekness, and righteousness! [Ps. 45] They are all by nature guilty, and stand in need of pardon; but to dispense forgiveness is a royal prerogative, and Christ could never have exercised it had he not been a king. they are naturally unruly, and need to be governed; nor can they frame or execute laws for themselves:- the Lord is their lawgiver; and to promulgate laws, to enact statutes, belongs to one invested with regal dignity…
The exalted Redeemer is at once ‘a Prince and a Saviour’ (Acts v. 31).”
But is he not, as God, already a King?
Yes, but as Symington explains, “His investiture with mediatorial authority, thus means his having had conferred on him a right to employ the power, which he always possessed as God, for the specific objects of his mediatorial work.”
And because he has been in the business of redeeming sinners since the fall, he must have had this mediatorial character from eternity, and have exercised it since the beginning of time. But, we may ask, is it not said that he received it as the reward of obedience? “After Christ was glorified there was a more copious manifestation, a more full dispensation of the Spirit.” replies Symington, “In like manner, at his resurrection, there was a more ample display, a more extensive exercise of Christ’s regal power. His power was, from the first, exercised on the footing of his meritorious death. But when death had really occurred, it was fitting that there should be a display of the power which resulted from it, and which had all along a regard to it.”
Last Part
G.M.
09.04.08
‘Little Books’ by Christians
C. S. Lewis was certainly not without his faults, but his writings are extremely perceptive and thought-provoking nonetheless. The following quotation is a case in point:
“We must attack the enemy’s line of communication. What we want is not more little books about Christianity, but more little books on other subjects – with their Christianity latent. You can see this most easily if you look at it the other way round. Our faith is not likely to be shaken by any book on Hinduism. But if whenever we read an elementary book on geology, botany, politics, or astronomy, we found that its implications were Hindu, that would [or could] shake us. It is not the books written in direct defense of materialism that make the modern man materialist; it is the materialistic assumptions in all other books …The first step to the reconversion of a country is books produced by Christians.” (God in the Dock, ‘Christian Apologetics,’)
It may be argued that he overstates his point, but it is undoubtedly a subject we need to give more thought to.
G.M.
09.03.08
Does God Judge Nations?
A comment on this site has made me think on the subject of national judgments from the hand of God – a visitation of wrath in the language of Scripture. Our forefathers gave a great deal of attention to this issue, but it is one with which we are very ignorant as Christians today. It would do us much good to think about this matter and get our thoughts concerning it corrected. It should also help us to think more seriously about national confession and repentance, national fasting, and national covenanting.
To this end I highly recommend listening to this address on the subject By David Silversides.
G.M.
09.01.08
‘The NECESSITY of Christ’s Mediatorial Kingship’ (2)
The following is the second section from ‘Messiah the Prince’ by William Symington, and is on the ‘NECESSITY’ of Christ’s mediatorial Kingship:
“3. The kingly dignity of the Mediator is necessary as a reward of his obedience unto death. Never was service so meritorious, whether we consider the sacrafice made or the end contemplated… Should not such service be rewarded? …‘Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?’ (Luke xxiv. 26)…
But in what shall this merited reward consist? Not merely in the satisfaction of his own bosom, and the approbation of his Father. These are great, indeed, but they are not enough. They are inward, and, however fit to be appreciated by the saviour himself, inadequate for giving expression to others of a sense of the value of his work. There must be something substantial, visible, outwardly glorifying, in the mediatorial reward… Regal exaltation, absolute and unlimited, meets exactly the requirements of the case…
4. Nor is this dominion less requisite to counteract the opposition made to the work of man’s salvation by its enemies. ‘For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.’ …It has many enemies – enemies to its internal operations in the heart; and enemies to its outward administration in the world… Are these enemies to meet with no resistance? Is the kingdom of the Messiah to fall prey to their rapacious hatred, and that of his great arch-enemy to be erected on its ruins? Certainly not. It is the prayer of every saint that they may with a signal defeat.The honour of the saviour himself demands their final overthrow; and the word of God assures us that such shall be the ultimate issue of the contest.
By whom is this end to be brought about, but by the Messiah himself? …Isa. lxiii. 1-4: ‘Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from bozrah? This that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the wine-fat? I have trodden the wine-press alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. For the day of vengence is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.’
To the accomplishment of this work, investment with regal power and authority is indispensable. In this capacity it is that Jesus encounters his enemies… Nor is there anything in this at variance with his general character as Mediator. The saviour of his people, and the conqueror of their foes, are not incompatible features. The prosperity of the people of God is intimately connected with the destruction of their enemies. [Cp. Psalm 136. where the refrain “for his mercy endureth forever” follows such statements as “To him that smote Egypt in their firstborn…” and “To him that smote great kings…” just as it does such statements as “Who remembered us in our low estate…”. Singing the Psalter should greatly help us to see such truths; the same can not be said for hymns.]“
Part Two
G.M.
Part One
