620 THE GLORY OF CHRIST AS GOD -MAN. and all nations ? He was King of theJews for many ages before be came in the flesh ; and when be rose from the dead, he be- came as King of the Gentiles, and Lord of all things in heaven and earth," as a reward of his sufferings ; Phil. ii. 8 -11. God at first " set his King of Israel on hià holy bill of Zion ;" Psal. H. 6. and when he had declared him to be his Son at his resur- rection, he says, Ask of me, and I will give thee, 4c. So at his request he " gave him the heathen for his inheritance, and the uttermost ends of the earth for his possession ;" Psal. ii. 8. He was of old the King of Jacob, and when he had " washed us from our sins in his own blood, and became the first-begotten from the dead, he had then a new name given him, King of kings, and Lord of lords, and Prince of the kings of the earth ;" see Rev. i. 5. and xix. 16. And though some of these titles are divine, and belong to the divine natureof Christ originally, yet here they are ascribed unto him as God manifest in the flesh, or as a man united to God ; nor are they too high for that whole person who was God as well as man. Besides, when his human nature had suffered, it was then exalted to a greater participation of; or a nearer resemblance to divine honours than before. Let us dwell a little longer on this sacred subject, the en- largement of the kingdom of Christ. Is there not some ground from scripture to believe that the great God governs the world by the intervening agencyand mi- nistration of good and evil angels ? As his Son Jesus Christ was King of the Jews, so the good angels were specially em- ployed under Christ to do goodoffices for his people. And may we not suppose that the Gentile countries, thosesinful nations of the earth, were distributed by divine providence under the do- minion or government of several evil angels in the time of God's ancient dispensation before the coming of Christ? Is there not reason to think that the heathen nations for their abominable iniquities might be so far judicially abandoned of God, as to be left very much under the dominion, possession and power of evil angels, since they sacrificed to devils; Dent. xxxii. 17. 1 Cor. x. 20. " And chose devils for their gods ?" Belzebub is the known god of Ekron ;" 2 King i. 2, 3. " who is called the prince of devils ;" Mat. xii. 24. And other names of the gods of theGentiles are probably the names that several devils might assume to themselves, and teach the Gentiles to worship them under those names. And since Satan is called the god of the world 2 Cor. iv. 4. that is, the being whom the heathen world worshipped, and since he is called the prince of this world; John xii. 31: and xiv. 30. that is, he whom the heathen and sinful part of mankind obeyed, may not " evil angels be those princi- palities and powers, those spiritual wickednesses in high places;"
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