And when the soul is snatched from the danger and delivered, whither is it brought? Where is the new restingplace and home? "Hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son." The Colossians had been removed out of the kingdom of darkness, their original seat and habitation, and brought into the kingdom of Christ. The word kingdom stands in contrast with the word power. The Christian is not moved out of the realm and from the power of darkness merely as a wanderer in search of a home, but as one who has both a title and guidance clear and distinct to another dominion the kingdom of the Son of God. It is called His kingdom because it belongs of right to Him, who founded it, formed it, and who rules over it. Its laws are prescribed by Christ, its privileges granted by Him, and its destiny identified with His transcendent glory. But for Him, for what He is, and what He has done, it would have had no existence, and sinful men could never have become its subjects and citizens. The connection between the Saviour's sufferings and His kingly claims marks some of the most touching scenes in His human history. Earthly monarchs cease their kingship when they die, and pass to the same level with their subjects; Jesus Christ in dying truly ascended His throne; His cross was the way to His royal crown and sceptre. A kingdom involves the royalty of one who is ruler and master. In what character did the Jews reject the Saviour, but in that of a king, when they cried, "We will not have this man to reign over us"? In what character did the Roman soldiers ridicule Him, but in that of a king, when they platted a crown of thorns, and put it on His head, and gave Him a reed for a sceptre? In what character but that of a king did He appear before Pilate, when the Roman procurator asked Him, "Art Thou a king then?" and Jesus said, 'My kingdom is not of this world"? In what character but that of a king did He die,

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when in mockery they put an inscription over His dying head on the cross, "Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews"? Most truly is the Crucified One the King of truth and the King of men. In every age and country, when persecution against His disciples has raged-in the streets of Rome, in the valleys of Piedmont, in the fires of Smithfield, in the swamps of Madagascar-the martyrs have died rejoicing in "another King, one Jesus," one infinitely above the human power which was taking their life away. have set my king," says Jehovah, "upon my holy hill of Zion. . . . Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession" (Psalm ii. 6, 8). Christ the Son of God has, then, a kingdom here amongst men, into which He translates from darkness and death all who receive His grace and submit to His authority.

"I

Something at least of the character of this kingdom may be learned from the character of its King. He is God's dear Son, or as the original reads, the Son of His love, terms richer in meaning and more profound. It signifies the Son who is the object of His love, who excites love in the heart of God, and whom it embraces. This boundless and unchanging affection of the Father to the Son prompted Him to give that Son to be our Saviour, as the highest expression of His love to us, and thus to exalt Him to the throne of universal empire. "The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into His hand" (John iii. 35). How glorious, then, must be that kingdom which has the Son of God, the object of the Father's infinite love, for its King-a kingdom of light, and truth, and purity, and love, and a kingdom which is to know no end. How great the privilege of being translated into it, that as Christ's willing subjects we may share with Him the Divine love, and be objects of the Father's complacency and delight. Who can tell the peace and blessedness

of the subjects of this dominion, on which God's boundless love rests as its sun and shield, its supply and sufficiency for evermore? To be rescued from the power of darkness, and brought into this kingdom, is the most important and wonderful transition which can take place in any man's history. This transition had taken place in the case of the Colossians to whom St. Paul is writing; and it is a present state into which every Christian is actually brought in his earthly pilgrimage, as a preparation for, and a pledge of, the future. inheritance. This should be distinctly understood by us. Here some at least of the privileges of the kingdom are enjoyed; its peace is a present possession, its blessedness a precious reality; and every subject on earth, looking to Christ as Lord and King, heartily and gratefully crowns Him Lord of all that he is, and of all that he has. And remember that the deliverance of the soul from darkness, and its translation into the kingdom of the Saviour, is exclusively the work of God. His gracious power alone is equal to this great work in the case of any man, and gratitude is due only to Him. Hence every subject in this kingdom of love and light is ever ready to acknowledge, "By the grace of God I am here by the grace of God I am what I am.'

II. In the next verse we have presented for consideration the Divine means for the accomplishment of this end. "In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins." This deliverance from the power of darkness, and the translation or removal of the soul from captivity to the gracious government of the Son of God, involve and intimate a putting forth of power on the part of the Deliverer. But how is it manifested? By the intervention of Christ as our Mediator and Redeemer. In Him, however, not by Him, we have redemption, are having redemption as a blessing going on and in part realized

now.

The great truth taught here is that redemption is not

effected simply by the exercise of Divine power or mere moral influence. There are barriers in the way of human deliverance, which could only be overcome by the provision which God has made in the Gospel of His Son—a process of redemption. Every soul rescued from the tyranny of darkness, and translated into the kingdom of Christ, has been redeemed. Although the words through His blood* are not found in the earliest original manuscripts, this does not affect the fact or the meaning of redemption, or the way in which it was accomplished. Men are sinners sold under sin and condemned; from this state of condemnation and sinful bondage deliverance comes to us through redemption; and redemption implies a price paid for the deliverance. The original word involves the paying of a ransom. That ransom was not corruptible things, as silver and gold, but the precious blood of Christ. The Saviour declared that He came to give Himself a "ransom for the many," and to all the subjects of His kingdom it may be said, "Ye are not your own, but bought with a price." There is much in this too high for us, too deep for human thought to fathom; but though we may not fully or nearly comprehend the mystery, we must neither deny it nor explain it away. "Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust." "Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree." "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us." In His cross and passion, therefore, there was a vindication of the law and righteousness of God, which sin had blasphemed and dishonoured, the paying of a price for our redemption, a ransom for our deliverance from the power

* dià Toû áíμaros omitted in the most ancient MSS. and in the Vulgate and Syriac versions, and therefore rightly omitted by nearly all modern editors. The words are found in the parallel passage (Eph. i. 7), and probably taken from it.

of darkness and the bondage of corruption. "Christ hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour.' "*

It is especially to be observed that this redemption is here said to be "in Christ." His blood was not merely the ransom paid for our deliverance, but He is Himself the personal living source of redemption, and it is only in living union with Him that we can receive its blessings and realize its power. The redemption of humanity is not simply in the work of Christ, through what He did and suffered, but in Himself, the "strong Son of God," the crucified, risen, and living Saviour. It is not only a rescue from condemnation and punishment, but a deliverance from the power and bondage of evil. Christ died, not only to free us from the curse which rested upon us, but by a new right of property in us, through the ransom paid, to make us His peculiar people, fashion our souls anew, and inspire us with love to God and all goodness. Redemption from evil is realized in connection with the Saviour, and just as we look to Him, rest in Him, and walk in Him, have we evidence that we are amongst the redeemed. It is easy to see, therefore, how this redemption must in effect be the raising of the soul to obedience and purity. "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away: behold, all things are become new." The beauties of holiness gather around the character, and heavenliness of disposition and desire show themselves in him who has redemption, and who has been translated into the kingdom of God's dear Son. The words, in whom we have redemption, teach much, and imply more. They describe a continuous gift enjoyed, a continuous process realized, by all who have been translated

* 1 Peter iii. 18; ib. ii. 24; Gal. iii. 13; Eph. v. 2.

+ 2 Cor. v. 17.