BY REV. THOMAS H. STOCKTON,

CHAPLAIN OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS, WASHINGTON, D. C.

THE CORONATION OF LOVE IN THE CHURCH.

1st COR. xiii: 14.*

Last Sabbath night, after a notice of the equal immortality of Faith, Hope, and Love-we came to the subject of the CORONATION OF LOVE; proposing to consider it as related to the Heart, to the Church, and to Heaven. The first of these relations was then treated; and the second, of course, is in place on the present occasion, May the Holy Spirit direct the discussions of it.

Alas! here, too, our tears fall upon the silver trumpet; before it is lifted to our lips for the rallying blast of the Lord. For here, also, is a melancholy history, which must be at last generally indicated and acknowledged, in order to appreciate the necessity for the inauguration of a new power.

Let no one, however, suppose, that it is my design, by a sort of volcanic passion, to throw up a great rocky cone, which may attract

Delivered in the Capitol, May 11, 1862. For the first discourse, see April number of the National Preacher.-EDITOR.

all the vapours of heaven, and darken the trembling landscapes with the additional terrors of cloud and storm. No, no; I would not dread, indeed, the most convulsive truth; but my delight is in the highest and clearest sky, the serenest and purest air, and the widest and fairest vision, of grandeur, beauty, and peace. Still, if it seem good to JEHOVAH, to come down upon the mountain that burns "with fire," in "blackness, and darkness, and tempest," with "the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words "-I say again, that, awful as the Desert may be, I choose to be there, that I may learn the will of God from His own mouth, even though like Moses, I "exceedingly fear and quake." But, if it please my Father to allow me to 66 come unto Mount Zion, and unto the City of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first born, which are written in heaven, and to GOD the JUDGE of all, and to the spirit of just men made perfect, and to JESUS the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that sprin speaketh better things than the blood of Abel." I confess that I feel more safe, more happy, and more at home in the City than in the DESERT, and ought, therefore, to be more disposed, in gratitude as well as in reverence, to see that I "refuse not him that speaketh."

What, then, has been the true history of the Church? What do its original and inspired records report? What do later and uninspired records report? Does even this department of human progress reveal the attainment of perfection? Not at all.

I remember, indeed, with great joy, certain exclamations of the Old Testament, which are often applied to the Church. For instance, the 48th Psalm, commencing thus: "Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the City of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the City of the great King. God is known in her palaces for a refuge." And again, in the close of the same Psalm, "Walk about Zion, and go round about her; tell the towers thereof. Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following. For this God is our God, forever and ever; he will be our guide even unto death." In like manner is the opening of the 87th Psalm: "His foundation is in the holy mountains. The Lord loveth the gates of Zion, more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken of thee, O, City of God."

But, while I recall such passages, I cannot avoid the recollection of the frequent sad vicissitudes-the general melancholy fortune of both the political and spiritual Israel of the olden time. And I find, on closer examination, that the Inspiring Spirit is constrained,

in most instances, to turn away from the depressions of the present to a contemplation of the glories of the future. Therefore, such language as the following: "When the Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory. He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer. This shall be written for the generation to come; and the people which shall be created shall praise the Lord." (Ps. 102.) And again: "For the Lord shall comfort Zion; he will comfort all her waste places, and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody." Therefore, too, such prayers as the following: "Oh, that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! When the Lord bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad."

I remember, however, with still greater joy, the numerous and more literal declarations of the Tew Testament, in relation to the dignity and excellency of the Church. My whole being sympathizes with them, and responds to them. Without the slightest hesitancy, I proclaim the sentiment-that the Church of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, is infinitely the noblest institution in existence.

How cheering it is, for example, to hear the Son of God, with so much resolution and affection, calling the church his own church. "My Church," said He, "My Church." When Peter, by inspiration from the Father, confessed the Divine Sonship of Christ" upon this rock," replied his Lord and Master, "will I build my church; and then added the gracious assurance, that "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

And how exalted, also, is the language in which bis apostles describe the Church! Hearken to Paul, addressing the Ephesians: "The Father of glory"-" hath set him, (i. e., Christ) at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and domínion, 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, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all." In this passage, the illustrative figure is the human body. The distance between the head and feet, represents vast gradations of authorities, both in the Church and the world, under the supreme sovereignty of Christ. Christ himself is the Head. The Body, under the Head, is the Church--which, being thus dependent upon Him, is, of course, His Body-" the fulness of Him that filleth all in all." That is-the fulness of its members, completes His person; and His Spirit fills all the members, to all their extremities, and in all their motions. His eyes see for the

⚫ whole body; His ears hear for the whole body; His tongue speaks for the whole body; He thinks, and feels, and acts for the whole body. Itshands are His hands; its feet are His feet; all its organs are His organs. Such is the intimate, the essential relation of Christ to the Church. He thoroughly identifies Himself with it. He is a formal part of it; and the life of the whole of it. To speak literally, the ministers and the people in the church, numerous and various as their official relations may be, are all, from the highest to the lowest-subordinate to His control. He is the head over all, from the embroidered neck to the sandalled and dust-covered feet.

But I spoke of the authorities of the world, as well as those of the Church. Where are these put, according to this figurative representation? I answer-they are put under foot. I do not suppose that our translators were afraid to say this; but certainly the Word of God may be better understood, in some respects, in our circumstances, than it was likely to be in theirs. I am jealous of some of the italics in our version. Most of them, it may be, are important to the full expression of the sense; but some of them seem to impair the sense. For instance, the word "things," occurring twice in this passage, ought, I think, to be omitted in both cases. It makes the meaning general and vague; instead of appearing as the Apostle seems to have designed it, specific and sure. Hark! "The Father of glory"-"hath set Christ far above allprincipality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world (or age), but also in that which is to come, and hath put all "-"not all things, but all these principalities and powers-"under his feet, and gave him to be head over all,"--not all things, again, but all these same principalities and powers-" head over all" these "to the church;" or, for the advantage to the church—that is, in plain terms, God sat Christ far above all the worldly powers of Judaism and Heathenism, as they then existed; and also above all other worldly powers that should come into existence, when Judaism and Heathenism should both be overthrown, and Christianity should be established on their ruins-and, not only so, but He has absolutely put these worldly powers under Christ's feet, i. e., under the church-under even the lowest departments of the church, or the lowest organs of His body.

Here, then, is the Divine Order: First, Christ-Secondly, the Church-Thirdly, the World-Christ, above the Church, and the Church above the World-or, reversing the order, the World under the feet of the Church, and the Church under the Headship of Christ.

True, it may be said, in objection to this view of the Church--

that history scarcely sustains it; but, I answer, that it does not depend for its proof on history alone, but on prophecy also. History and prophecy, taken together, abundantly sustain it.

As to history, let me ask-What has become of the worldly powers of Judaism and Heathenism, as they existed in the opening of the Christian Era? Where have they been for the last fifteen hundred years? How soon were they put under the feet of Christ and the church! And, even as it relates to the worldly powers which at first succeeded the breaking up of the vast Roman dominion; and the multiplied States of more modern times, and even of the current age,—is it not obvious that the subduing and controlling element in them all, however grossly perverted, has been, and is still, nominally at least, the Christian element?

If, however, regarding the matter historically, "we see not yet all things put under him"-as the Apostle declares, speaking particularly of Christ-nevertheless, regarding it prophetically, we are indubitably assured that they all will be put under him—for it is expressly recorded that "He must reign until all His enemies are put under His feet"-the last of whom, even death, shall not be able to resist His omnipotent command.

The passage on which I have thus dwelt, is only one among many in the New Testament, descriptive of the high position and relations of the Church. It is styled, "The Church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood." It is said that "Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it." That "the Lord" cherisheth "the Church;" and that God is to be glorified "in the church, by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, world without end. Amen." It is also most charmingly described as "one whole family in heaven and earth;" as though no interference of absence, or death, or distance, or any thing else, could have any effect in its essential and eternal unity. Nor can they have. All other institutions are earthly and mortal. The church, and the church alone, is immortal-heir at once to both earth and heaven.

But, great as is the joy with which I regard the representations of the church in the Old and New Testaments, confess that its actual history, especially as reported by later, uninspired, and yet trustworthy records, falls so far short of what ought to have been witnessed, as to become exceedingly mournful.

As I stand, and contemplate the scene, I scarcely know how to proceed. Shall I speak of the true church; the spiritual church; the invisible church; the one, undivided, universal and perpetual church? If so, I shall be greatly relieved, for the church, thus understood, has always retained its connexion with Christ, as its head; all its members have been subordinate to His authority;