SUBJECT OF THE TREATISE. XVII the gospel in his name. But such a claim to universal power was equivalent to an assertion of his deity. It was a power which none but God could possess or exercise,a power which he could not possibly transmit to any creature, for no creature was capable of sharing it with him, the gift of his Father's love, and the pecu- liar purchase of his own blood : " HIM hath God highly exalted, and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee might bow, and every tongue confess, of things inheaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth." Such was the authority of Christ; and had it been delegated to the apostles, unto them every knee must have bowed, and every tongue con- fessed, not only in earth and under the earth, but also in heaven! Nay, they must have been " heads over all things to the church," which would be " their body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all!" Nay, farther, the saints and angels of heaven must have in- cluded them in their doxologies, saying, " Worthy are the apostles of the Lamb to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing!" Can we imagine that the lowly apostles ever aspired to such honours? No! glorying only in the cross of their Master, they never dreamt of wielding his sceptre or wearing his crown. " The crown of glory" which they anticipated was that due to the good and faithful servant after his work and warfare upon earth; but the idea of governing in conjunction with Christ in the church below they would have repudiated with as much horror as they treated with contempt the idea of " reigning as kings" with some conceited members of the church : " Ye have reigned as kings without us: and I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you." (1 Cor. iv. 8.) The promise given to them of " sitting upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel," in whatever sense it may have been understood by them, they certainly never expected to see realized in any earthly enthro- nization. Of this, at least, we are certain, that the idea of their par- ticipating in the mediatorial honours of their Master was no sooner mooted, in the rash petition of Zebedee's children, than it was put down, amidst the indignation of the rest, by the calm and decided sentence of Christ: "Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise autho- rity upon them ; BUT IT SHALL NOT BE SO AMONG YOU." (Matt. xx. 25, 26.) Here, however, it may be necessary to advert to another source of the fallacy, in a strange confusion of thought, not peculiar to the Romanist party, arising from confounding the government of the VOL L B
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