difference of the occasion, than a diversity of position. He appeared standing to Stephen,* as ready to assist him, as ready to plead for him, as ready to receive him; and he is oftener expressed sitting, not for any positional variation, but for the variety of his effect and operation.

This phrase then to sit, prescinding from the corporal posture of session, may signify no more than habitation, possession, permansion, and continuance; as the same word in the Hebrew and Greek languages often signifies. And thus our Saviour is set down at the right hand of God in heaven; because he which dwelt with us before on earth, is now ascended up into heaven, and hath taken his mansion or habitation there; and

• Ἐπεὶ τὸ εἰπεῖν καθῆσθαι φορτικὸν αὐτοῖς ἦν, τέως τὸν περὶ τῆς ἀναστάσεως κινεῖ λόγον, nai puoiv avròv ïoraodai. S. Chrysost. Hom. 18. in Act. Apost. Si major gratia et manifestior intelligentia in Novo est quam in Veteri Testamento, quare Esaias Propheta sedentem in throno Majestatis vidit Deum Sabaoth ?—in novo autem Stephanus primus Martyr stantem se vidisse ait Jesum a dextris Dei? Quid est istud, ut bic subjectus videatur post triumphos, et illic quasi Dominus antequam vinceret? Prout causa erat fecisse, ita et Dominus se ostendit. Prophetæ enim visus est quasi rex corripiens plebem; et hoc se ostendit quod erat, hoc est, sedentem: in pace enim erat causa Divinitatis ejus. Stephano autem ut stans appareret, fecit calumnia Judæorum. In Stephano autem Salvatoris causa vim patiebatur. Ideo sedente Judice Deo stans apparuit, quasi qui causam diceret; et quia bona causa ejus est, ad dextram Judicis erat; Omnis qui causam dicit, stet necesse est.' S. August. Quæst. in Novo Test. 88. 'Sedere judicantis est, stare vero pugnantis vel adjuvantis. Stephanus ergo in labore certaminis positus, stantem vidit, quem adjutorem habuit. Sed hunc post ascensionem Marcus sedere scribit, quia post ascensionis suæ gloriam Judex in fine videbitur.' Greg. Magn. Hom. 29. in Evang. Maximus Taurin. de Pentec. Hom. 1. moves the question: Quæ sit ratio, quod idem Dominus a David sedens prophetatur, stans vero a Stephano prædicatur?' and then renders this reason: 'Ut modo ejus omnipotentia, modo misericordia describatur. Nam utique pro potestate regis sedere dicitur, pro bonitate intercessoris stare suggeritur. Ait enim beatus Apostolus, quia Advocatum habemus apud Patrem, Jesum Christum. Judex est igitur Christus, cum residet: Advocatus, cum assurgit. Judex plane Judæis, Advocatus Christianis. Hic enim stans apud Patrem, Christianorum licet pec

Ο παν το Καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν θύραν τῆς σκηνῆς τοῦ μαρτυρίου καθήσεσθε ἑπτὰ ἡμέρας, ἡμέραν καὶ νύκτα· Therefore shall ye abide at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, day and night, seven days. Upon which place St. Augustin: Quid est quod dicit Moyses ad Aaron et filios ejus, cum sanctificantur ad ineundum sacerdotium, Ad ostium tabernaculi testimonii sedebitis septem dies, die et nocte, ne moriamini? Numquid nam credibile est, situ corporis uno loco sedere præceptos per dies septem die et nocte, unde se omnino non commoverent? Nec tamen hic tanquam allegorice aliquid significatum, quod non fieret, cogendi sumus accipere, sed potius agnoscere locutionem Scripturarum, ubi Sessionem pro habitatione et commoratione posuit. Non enim quia dictum est de Semei, quod sederet in Hierusalem annos tres, ideo putandum est, per totum illud tempus in sella sedisse et non surrexisse. Hinc et sedes dicuntur, ubi habent commorationem quorum sedes sunt; habitatio quippe hoc nomen accepit.' Quæst. super Levit. 24. And this is as familiar with the Latins as the Hebrews. Si venti essent, nos hic Corcyra non sederemus.' Cic. Epist. ad Fam. 1. xvi. ep. 7. Id horreum fuit præsidium Pœnis sedentibus ad Trebiam.' Liv. L. xxi. c. 48.

so hath he seated himself, and dwelleth in the highest heavens.*

Again, the notion of sitting implieth rest, quietness, and indisturbance; according to that promise in the prophet, "They shall sit every man under his fig tree, and none shall make them afraid." (Mic. iv. 4.) So Christ is ascended into heaven, where, resting from all pains and sorrows, he is seated free from all disturbance and opposition; God having placed him at his right hand, until he hath made his enemies his footstool.

Thirdly, This sitting implieth yet more than quietness or continuance, even dominion,+ sovereignty, and majesty; as when Solomon sat in the throne of his father, he reigned over Israel after the death of his father. And thus Christ" is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Heb. xii. 2.) And St. Paul did well interpret those words of the prophet, "Sit thou on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool," (Psal. cx. 1.) saying, "He must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet." (1 Cor. xv. 25.)

Fourthly, This sitting doth yet more properly and particularly imply the right of judicature, and so especially expresseth "a king, that sitteth in the throne of judgment;" (Prov. xx. 8.) as it is written, "In mercy shall the throne be established, and he shall sit upon it in truth, in the tabernacle of David, judging and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness." (Isa. xvi. 5.) And so Christ sitting at the right hand of God is manifested and declared to be the great judge of the quick and the dead. Thus to sit doth not signify any peculiar inclination or flection, any determinate location or position of the body, but to be in heaven with permanence of habitation, happiness of condition, regular and judiciary power; as in other authors such significations are usual.§

'Sedet ad dextram Patris, credite. Sedere, intelligite habitare; quomodo dicimus de quocunque homine, in ista patria sedit per tres annos. Dicit illud et Scriptura, sedisse quendam in civitate tantum tempus. Numquid sedit, et nunquam surrexit? Ideo hominum habitationes sedes dicuntur. Ubi habitantur sedes, numquid semper sedetur, non surgitur, non ambulatur? Et tamen sedes vocantur. Sic ergo credite habitare Christum in dextera Dei Patris ubi est.' S. August. de Symb, ad Catech. I. i. §. 10.

Ipsum verbum sedere regni significat potestatem.' S. Hier. Com. ad Eph. i. 20. col. 335.

Filii Judicis vivorum et mortuorum clarius indubitata effulgebit.' S. August, de Fide et Symb. cap. 7. Hoc quod dicitur Filius sedere ad dextram Patris, demonstratur quod ipse homo, quem suscepit Christus, potestatem acceperit judicantis.' Auctor l. iii. de Symb, ad Catech. §. 7.

Most anciently sedere did signify no more than esse, to be in any place; as Servius noteth on that place of Virgil, Eneid. ix. 3.

Luco tum forte parentis Pilumni Turnus sacrata valle sedebat. Sedebat, ut Asper dicit, erat. Quæ clausula antiqua est, et de usu remota :' and then he goes on to shew, that sedere is taken for that, which men were wont to do sitting: Secundum Plautum autem sedere est consilium capere, qui inducit in MostelIlaria servum dicentem, Sine juxta aram sedeam et dabo meliora consilia. Sed se

421

AND SITTETH ON THE RIGHT HAND. The importance of the language being thus far improved, at last we find the substance of the doctrine, which is, that sitting at the right hand of God was our Mediator's solemn entry upon his regal office, as to the execution of that full dominion which was due unto him. For "worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing." (Rev. v. 12.) Wherefore Christ after his death and resurrection saith, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” (Matt. xxviii. 18.) For because" he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, therefore God hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth." (Phil. ii. 8-10.) And this obedience and submission was and is due unto him, because God "raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principalities and powers, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come, and hath put all things under his feet; and gave him to be the head over all things to the church." (Eph. i. 20-22.)

There was an express promise made by God to David, "Thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee, thy throne shall be established for ever." (2 Sam. vii. 16.) This promise strictly and literally taken was but conditional; and the condition of the promise is elsewhere expressed, “Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne. If thy children will keep my covenant and my testimony that I shall teach them, thy children also shall sit upon thy throne forevermore." (Psal. cxxxii. 12.) Notwithstanding this promise, the kingdom of David was intercepted, nor was his family continued in the throne part of the kingdom was first rent from his posterity, next the regality itself; and when it was restored, translated to another family and yet we cannot say the promise was not made good, but only ceased in the obligation of a promise, because the condition was not performed. The posterity of David did not keep the covenant and testimony of their God, and therefore the throne of David was not by an uninterrupted lineal succession established to perpetuity.

But yet in a larger and better sense, after these intercisions, the throne of David was continued. When they had sinned, and lost their right unto the crown, the kingdom was to be

cundum Augures sedere est augurium captare: Namque post designatas cœli partes a sedentibus captabantur auguria. Quod et supra ipse ostendit latenter, inducens Picum solum sedentem, ut, Æn. vii. 187

-Parvaque sedebat
Succinctus trabea-

Quod est augurum, cum alios stantes in-
duxerit. Ergo sedebat, aut erat, aut con-
silia capiebat, aut augurabatur.'

given unto him who never sinned, and consequently could never lose it; and he being of the seed of David, in him the throne of David was without interception or succession con tinued. Of him did the angel Gabriel speak at his conception, "The Lord God shall give unto him 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." (Luke i. 32, 33.) Thus the throne of Christ is called the throne of David, because it was promised unto David, and because the kingdom of David was a type, resemblance, and representation of it; insomuch that Christ himself, in respect of this kingdom, is often called David, as particularly in that promise, “I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them." (Jer. xxx. 9. Ezek. xxxvii. 24, 25. Hos. iii. 5. Ezek. xxxiv. 23, 24.)

Now as David was not only first designed, but also anointed king over Israel, (1 Sam. xvi. 13.) and yet had no possession of the crown; seven years he continued anointed by Samuel, and had no share in the dominion; seven years after he continued anointed in Hebron only king over the tribe of Judah; (2 Sam. ii. 4.) at last he was received by all the tribes, and so obtained full and absolute regal power over all Israel, and seated himself in the royal city of Jerusalem. So Christ was born king of the Jews, and the conjunction of his human nature with his divine in the union of his person was a sufficient unction to his regal office, yet as the Son of man he exercised no such dominion, professing that his "kingdom was not of this world" (John xviii. 36.) but after he rose from the dead, then, as it were in Hebron with his own tribe, he tells the apostles, "all power is given unto him;" (Matt. xxviii. 18.) and by virtue thereof, gives them injunctions; and at his ascension he enters into the Jerusalem above, and there sits down at the right hand of the throne of God, and so makes a solemn entry upon the full and entire dominion over all things; then could St. Peter say, "Let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ." (Acts ii. 36.)

The immediate effect of this regal power, the proper execution of this office, is the subduing of all his enemies; for he is "set down on the right hand of God, from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool." (Heb. x. 12, 13.) This was the ancient custom of the oriental conquerors, to tread upon the necks of their subdued enemies; as when Joshua had the five kings as his prisoners, he "said unto the men of war which went with him, Come near, put your feet upon the necks of them." (Josh. x. 24.) Thus to signify the absolute and total conquest of Christ, and the dreadful majesty

of his throne, all his enemies are supposed to lie down before him, and he to set his feet upon them.

The enemies of Christ are of two kinds, either temporal or spiritual; the temporal enemies I call such as visibly and actually oppose him and his apostles, and all those which profess to believe in his name. Such especially and principally were the Jews, who rejected, persecuted, and crucified him; who, after his resurrection, scourged, stoned, and despitefully used his disciples; who tried all ways and means imaginable to hinder the propagation, and dishonour the profession, of Christianity. A part of his regal office was to subdue these enemies, and he sat down on the right hand of God, that they might be made his footstool: which they suddenly were according to his prediction, "There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom." (Matt. xvi. 28.) For within few years the temple, the city, and the whole polity of the Jews, were destroyed for ever in a revenging manner by the hands of the Romans, which they made use of to crucify the Lord of life. The Romans themselves were the next enemies, who first complied with the Jews in Christ's crucifixion, and after, in defence of their heathen deities, endeavoured the extirpation of Christianity by successive persecutions. These were next to be made the footstool of the King of kings; and so they were, when Rome the regnant city, the head of that vast empire, was taken and sacked; when the Christians were preserved, and the heathens perished; when the worship of all their idols ceased, and the whole Roman empire marched under the banner of Christianity. In the same manner all those persons and nations whatsoever, which openly oppose and persecute the name of Christ, are enemies unto this King, to be in due time subdued under him, and when he calleth, to be slain.

The spiritual enemies of this King are of another nature; such as by an invisible way made opposition to Christ's dominion, as sin, Satan, death. Every one of these hath a kingdom of his own, set up and opposed to the kingdom of Christ. The apostle hath taught us, that "sin hath reigned unto death;" (Rom. v. 12.) and hath commanded us not to "let it reign in our mortal bodies, that we should obey it in the lusts thereof." (Rom. vi. 12.) There is therefore a dominion and kingdom of sin set up against the throne of the immaculate Lamb. Satan would have been like the Most High, and, being cast down from heaven, hath erected his throne below; he is "the prince of this world" (John xii. 31.) "the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, is the prince of the power of the air;" (Eph. ii. 2.) and thus "the rulers of the darkness of this world" (Eph. vi. 12.) oppose themselves to" the true light of the world." (John i. 9.) Death also hath its dominion, and, as the apostle speaks, "reigned from Adam to Moses; even by