Christian king

“ In one, the kingdom of God, the heavenly kingdom of Christ, is included, first, the angels in heaven, who are the chief lords, the inner circle of counselors; second, the entire Christian Church on earth, under one head, Christ the Lord and King. In the other kingdom, the hellish kingdom, the devil is prince, and his mighty counselors and servants are the angels who with him fell from heaven; it also includes the world, those on earth who teach, believe and live contrary to Christ, who represent the heathen, the Jews, the Turks and false Christians. ”

“ Teach me the noblest victory over my self and my enemies by patience, which was Christs conquest, and may well become a Christian King.
Between both thy hands, the right sometimes supporting, and the left afflicting, fashion us to that frame of Piety thou likest best.
Forgive the pride that attends our prosperous, and the repinings which follow our disastrous events; when going forth in our own strength thou withdrawest thine, and goest not forth with our Armies. ”

“ And indeed, I desire alwaies more to remember I am a Christian, then a King; for what the Majesty of one might justly abhor, the Charity of the other is willing to bear; what the height of a King tempteth to revenge, the humilitie of a Christian teacheth to forgive, keeping in compass all those impotent passions, whose excess injures a man more then his greatest enemies can; for these give their malice a full impression on our souls, which otherwise cannot reach very far, nor do us much hurt. ”

“ Yet since the order of Gods wisdom and providence hath, for the most part, alwaies distinguished the gifts and offices of Kings, of Priests, of Princes and Preachers; both in the Jewish and Christian Churches: I am sorry to find My self reduced to the necessity of being both, or enjoying neither.
For such as seek to deprive Me of Kingly Power and Soveraigntie; would no lesse enforce Me to live many Moneths without all Praiers, Sacraments, and Sermons, unlesse I become My own Chaplain. ”

“ Our blessed Lord took care to make people understand that—how He was not like one of the kings of the nations, how His kingdom was not of this world. But yet the Bible tells us again and again that all good kings, all real kings, are patterns of Christ; and, therefore, that when we talk of Christ being a king, we mean that He is a king in everything that a king ought to be; that He fulfils perfectly all the duties of a king; that He is the pattern which all kings ought to copy. Kings have been in all ages too apt to forget that, and, indeed, so have the people too. ”

“ In the so-called Christian State it is true that alienation counts, but not the individual. The only individual who counts, the king, is a being specially distinguished from other individuals, who is also religious and directly connected with heaven, with God. The relations which here prevail are still relations of faith. The religious spirit is therefore not yet really secularized. ”

“ If they tell nothing but the truth, all is right, and they will discover the kingdom of God still to prosper—still to increase and grow, until Jesus, whose right it is to reign, will rule King of nations, as he now reigns King of Saints. ”

“ We find Christ, he says, "describing himself as a king, and at the same time as king of the Kingdom of God"; calling forth and founding a new and divine society, and claiming to be, both now and hereafter, the Judge without appeal of all mankind ”

“ Thou, Lord, art high above all the earth (v. 9) ; thou hast manifested thy sovereignty in the kingdom of nature, and thy command of all its powers, and thy dominion over all nations, over all hearts; thou art exalted far above all gods"—all deputed gods, that is, princes—all counterfeit gods, that is, idols. The exaltation of Christ, and the advancement of God's glory among men thereby, are the rejoicing of all the saints. 2. Because care is taken for their safety. Those that pay allegiance to Christ as a King shall be sure of his protection. Princes are the shields of the earth ”

“ It is God that removes kings. Are the poor raised out of the dust, to be set among princes? It is God that sets up kings; and the making and unmaking of kings is a flower of his crown who is the fountain of all power, King of kings and Lord of lords. ”

“ Oh, how many Christians strive after this part and that part of the likeness of Christ, and forget the root of the whole! What is the root of all? That Christ gave Himself up utterly to God, and His Kingdom and glory. He gave His life, that God's Kingdom might be established. Do you the same to-day and give your life to God to be every moment a living sacrifice, and the Kingdom will come with power into your heart. Give yourself up to Christ. Let Christ the King reign in your heart, and the heavenly Kingdom will come there and the Presence and the Rule of God be known in power. ”

“ Christianity, then, is no ordinary thing. This mystery is great. Recognise therefore thy nobility, that thou art called to kingly dignity, a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, and a holy nation. The mystery of Christianity is foreign to this world. The visible glory of the emperor and his wealth are earthly, and perishable, and passing away; but that kingdom and wealth are divine things, heavenly and glorious, never to pass away or be dissolved. For they reign together with the heavenly King, in the heavenly church, and He is the firstborn from the dead, and they also are firstborn. ”

“ The Swallow flew down with Thumbelina, and set her upon one of the broad leaves. But how great was the little maid's surprise! There sat a little man in the midst of the flower, as white and transparent as if he had been made of glass; he wore the daintiest of gold crowns on his head, and the brightest wings on his shoulders; he himself was not bigger than Thumbelina. He was the angel of the flower. In each of the flowers dwelt such a little man or woman, but this one was king over them all. ”

“ And then the priests laid down the scourge, and Jesus said,
27. Prepare, O Israel, prepare to meet your king! But you can never see the king while you press sin as such a precious idol to your hearts.
28. The king is God; the pure in heart alone can see the face of God and live.
29. And then the priests cried out, This fellow claims to be the God. Is not this sacrilege! away with him!
30. But Jesus said, No man has ever heard me say, I am a king. Our Father-God is king. With every loyal Jew I worship God. ”

“ Let us worship the saints also, as the chosen friends of God, and as possessing access to Him. If men worship kings subject to corruption, who are often bad and impious, and those ruling or deputed in their name, as the holy apostle says, ‘Be subject to princes and powers,’ and again, ‘Give to all their due, to one honour, to another fear,’ and our Lord, ‘Give to Cæsar that which is Cæsar’s, and to God that which is God’s,’ how much more should we worship the King of Kings? ”

“ And the one light which fills the future with hope, peaceful because assured, streams from that most sure promise that He will come again, sweeping from the highest heavens, on His head the many crowns of universal monarchy, in His hand the weapons of all-conquering power, and none shall need to ask, 'Who is this King of Glory?' for every eye shall know Him, the Judge upon His throne, to be the Christ of the Cross. ”

“ Lastly, We call him King, because we hope for the Reward of a heavenly Kingdom, from him who sits at the Right-Hand of God the Father. And all this Felicity we owe to his gratuitous Bounty, that we have Jesus Christ for our Lord, rather than the Devil to be a Tyrant over us; that we have Innocence and Sanctity, instead of the Filth and Uncleanness of our Sins ”

“ It is religion grafted upon loyalty; and its strength is not in argument, not in fact, not in the unanswerable controversialist, not in an apostolic succession, not in sanction of Scripture—but in a royal road to faith, in backing up a King whom men see, against a Pope whom they do not see. The devolution of its crown is the tradition of its creed; and to doubt its truth is to be disloyal towards its Sovereign. Kings are an Englishman’s saints and doctors; he likes somebody or something at which he can cry, ‘huzzah,’ and throw up his hat. ”

“ Jesus Christ says, 'I have come to make that real reign of God, in the hearts of men, possible and actual.' So He presents Himself in these words as infinitely higher than the greatest within, or the greatest without the kingdom, and as being Himself the sovereign arbiter of men's claims to greatness. Greater than the greatest is He, the King; for if to be barely across the threshold stamps dignity upon a man, what shall we say of the conception of His own dignity which He formed who declared that He sat on the throne of that kingdom, and was its Monarch? ”

“ The early Christians uniformly held that they, as Christians, belonged to a kingdom which was in, but not of, the world--a kingdom for which no earthly potentate had right or power to legislate; and this living faith loosened the bond of allegiance and dissolved the sense of obligation as to all human authority, and was the negation of the lawfulness of temporal government over the subjects of the kingdom for which they recognized no king but Christ. ”

“ The coverings burst asunder, and out of them walked the mummy king of a thousand years ago, black as pitch, black as the shining wood-snail or the slimy mud of the swamp. Whether it were the Mummy King or the Marsh King I knew not. He threw his arms around me, and I felt that I must die. When life came back to me I felt something warm upon my bosom; a little bird fluttering its wings and twittering. It flew from my bosom high up toward the heavy dark canopy, but a long green ribbon still bound it to me ”

“ And now I appeal to God above, and all the Christian world, whether it be just for Subjects, or pious for Christians, by violence, and infinite indignities, with servile restraints to seek to force Me their King and Soveraign, as some men have endevoured to doe, against all these grounds of my Judgment, to consent to their weak and divided novelties. ”

“ But if you will examine the basis of that Kingship you will find it rests on God’s Creatorship. He is Lord of the world and of 68men because He has created them—because in Him they live and move and have their being. But God wants to be King in Jesus Christ—that is to say, He wants to be King in virtue not of His power, but of His love. He wants men to obey Him not because they are afraid of Him, but because they love Him. Look at the prayer: “Thy kingdom come.” Whose kingdom is it? ”

“ Thus, putting them both together, for they are one in policy and action, the power is thus outlined by the prophet who says, "And the King shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god," or ruler, "and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished; for that that is determined shall be done. He shall disregard all the gods of his fathers and the desire of wives, nor shall he regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all." ”

“ His kingdom is a priestly kingdom, of which He is both Priest and King, and which He governs by offering Himself up, and conquering the hearts of men. He who had not where to rest His Head declared: “I have a kingdom, but it is not of this world!” ”

“ After a moment's pause, the gentleman continued: "We are the rebels against God, the king. Jesus Christ is our prince, who has offered his life a sacrifice for our sins, that we may obtain pardon and peace. Those of us who receive him as our Saviour are his elect, whom he carries in the life-boat of salvation to the kingdom of his Father in heaven."
Dear children, who have all of you violated God's holy law, and are living afar off, having incurred his displeasure, will you not confess and forsake your sins, joyfully embracing his Son as your Prince, your Saviour, and Redeemer? ”

“ It would be well were all the nobility and those who administer justice, to submit themselves, in uprightness and all humility, to this great king, Jesus Christ, paying him sincere homage, and with faith unfeigned, in body, soul, and spirit, so that he may correct and beat down the arrogance and rashness of those who would rise up against them. Thus ought earthly princes to rule and govern, serving Jesus Christ, and taking order that he may have his own sovereign authority over all, both small and great. ”

“ He says, bringing the soul higher and higher, into fuller vision, into more buoyant life, into more effectual service. The evil ruler, we saw, made all his servants wicked. Christ, as King, makes all His servants holy, dwelling in them, and subduing their hearts to Himself in ever truer devotion; He through them carries out His vast designs of love in those portions of His dominion where rebels still rise up against Him, and where poor deluded hearts still fretfully cry, "We will not have this Man to rule over us." "In the multitude of people is the king's glory." ”

“ No, the most wonderful trees and plants grow there, the stalks and leaves of which are so pliable that the least movement of the water sets them in motion, just as if they were alive. All the fishes, big and small, glide in and out among the branches, just as the birds do up above in the air. In the deepest place of all lies the palace of the Sea King, the walls of which are of corals and the long, pointed windows of clearest amber, but the roof is made of mussel shells, which open and shut with the motion of the water. ”

“ Instead of preaching to all nations the good news that Christ the Son of God was their King, they said: “I, the pope, am your king. Christ is gone far away into heaven, and has committed all power on earth to us; we are Christ’s vicars; we are in Christ’s place; He has entrusted to our keeping all the treasures of His merits and His grace, and no one can get any blessing from Christ, unless we choose to give it him.” ”

“ The Almighty God, the Supreme Lord, the Heavenly Father, and Jesus the Heavenly Elder Brother, sent our true and holy Lord, the Heavenly King, down into the world, and ordained him to be Ruler over the Central Kingdom. ”