8. And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you : 9. And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. 10. But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say, 11. Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. 12. But I say unto you that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city. 13. Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they had a great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes." 3 14. But it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment, than for you. 15. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted in heaven, shall be thrust down to hell. 4 16. He that heareth you heareth me: and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me. The words which demand our attention here, are those of that weighty sentence, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. A heavenly kingdom, purchased by the blood of Christ, and prepared of God from the foundation of the world-this is come nigh unto you: for ye are invited to enter it, and to enrol yourselves among those for whom it is intended. 3 These were places in Judea, where, as at Capernaum, Jesus had sojourned longer and oftener, and therefore performed more miracles, than elsewhere. See Matt. xi. 20. 4 Shalt be as low in thine humiliation as thou art now proud in security. This kingdom was now to be set up in the world. These were the first him, believed in him, And it was brought heard the message of Christ was establishing it. subjects of it, who came to and followed his teaching. nigh to every individual who the gospel heard the wonderful truth, that "God had sent his Son to reconcile the world unto himself, and to give them access through the Spirit unto the Father." For it cannot be said of the world at large, that it is the kingdom of God. It cannot be said now. Much less could it be said, when these words were first spoken. Mankind had thrown off the sovereignty of God: had set up idols in their houses, and idols in their country, and idols in their hearts; and God was not in all their thoughts. They had "changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator." Christ Jesus, therefore, had come to restore the kingdom of God: that the sovereignty might be acknowledged, to which God had a rightful claim; that his grace might renew the hearts of men, and his will direct their lives. In this sense, the kingdom of God might be said to come nigh to Athens, when Paul declared in full assembly there, that the times of past "ignorance God winked at: but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because he has appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness, by that man whom he hath ordained.” 5 5 Acts xvii. 30, 31. In this sense the kingdom of God was received by the Thessalonians, when they "turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven." 6 And in this sense the kingdom of God was now carried nigh to the persons, to whom these seventy made known the fact, that God had performed the promise made to their fathers, and had sent into the world "a Saviour, which was Christ the Lord." to us. The kingdom of God has more than come nigh We are all outwardly numbered among its subjects. But more than this is needful in order to obtain its benefits. The Jewish nation was outwardly the kingdom of God, who had chosen them to himself as a peculiar people. Yet these were the people, the people of God by birth and education, and by the outward covenant of circumcision, to whom the seventy were sent, and commanded to say, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. Those, therefore, alone are to have the privilege of subjects, who have a heart obedient to the King, and lead a life corresponding to the kingdom. Inquire how it is with yourselves: and whether ye have personally ratified the covenant by which as Christians you are bound: whether you, like the Thessalonians, have turned to God from all those idols of which the world is full, and have made it your choice to serve him, and to "wait for his Son from heaven." "For of such is the king dom of God." 6 1 Thess. i. 9. LECTURE XXXVI. RETURN OF THE SEVENTY. THEIR NAMES LUKE X. 17-20. 17. And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. 18. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. 19. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Thus the seventy return from their commission, rejoiced, and, it would seem, surprised at their success. Lord, even the devils are subject to us. But the means are added: in thy name. Every victory over Satan and his works, public or private, must be sought in the name of Christ, who came for this very purpose, "that he might destroy the works of the devil." Those who seek that victory through the same means, will be enabled to rejoice, like the seventy here, and find even the devils subject to them. "Never any man did or shall perish by the power of any lust, sin, or corruption, who could raise his soul by faith to an expectation of relief from Jesus Christ." 1 1 Owen. The Lord Jesus, in the account thus brought him, recognises a fulfilment of the object of his coming. I beheld Satan fall as lightning from heaven. His power is already shaken, and begins to totter towards its fall. And this gives us, incidentally, a test of the progress of the gospel in the heart. Its design is to destroy the power of Satan. And in proportion as that power is weakened, and men become dead to him and his influence, and alive to God and righteousness, in that proportion is the prince of this world cast out, and the kingdom of God enlarged. No wonder, therefore, if he opposes obstacles to the extension of the gospel, whether in the world at large, or in the heart of the individual. This is our danger. Our security is the protection of Satan's conqueror. Behold, I give unto you power over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 20. Notwithstanding, in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. 66 66 The Lord here moderates their exultation with a salutary warning. They might do greater works than these, and yet be nothing." For what should extraordinary gifts and special privileges avail them, when the end came? Many will say to him in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will he profess unto them, I |