thren! it is not the thinker who is the true king of men, as we
sometimes hear it proudly said. We need One who will not only show but
be the Truth; who will not only point, but open and be, the Way; who
will not only communicate thought, but give, because He is, the Life.
Not the rabbi's pulpit, nor the teacher's desk, still less the gilded
chairs of earthly monarchs, least of all the tents of conquerors, are
the throne of the true King. He rules from the Cross. The one dominion
worth naming, that over men's inmost spirits, springs from the one
sacrifice which alone calms and quickens men's inmost spirits. 'Thou art
the King of Glory, O Christ,' for Thou art 'the Lamb of God, which
taketh away the sin of the world.'

His rule is wielded In gentleness. Priestly dominion has ever been
fierce, suspicious, tyrannous. 'His words were softer than oil, yet were
they drawn swords.' But the sway of this merciful and faithful High
Priest is full of tenderness. His sceptre is not the warrior's mace, nor
the jewelled rod of gold, but the reed--emblem of the lowliness of His
heart, and of authority guided by love. And all His rule is for the
blessing of His subjects, and the end of it is that they may be made
free by obedience, emancipated in and for service, crowned as kings by
submission to the King of kings, consecrated as priests by their
reliance on the only Priest over the house of God, whose loving will
rests not until it has made all His people like Himself.

Then, dear brethren! amid all the anarchic chaos of this day, when old
institutions are crumbling or crashing into decay, when the whole
civilised world seems slowly and painfully parting from its old
moorings, and like some unwieldy raft, is creaking and straining at its
chains as it feels the impulse of the swift current that is bearing it
to an unknown sea, when venerable names cease to have power, when old
truths are flouted as antiquated, and the new ones seem so long in
making their appearance, when a perfect Babel of voices stuns us, and on
every side are pretenders to the throne which they fancy vacant, let us
joyfully welcome all change, and hopefully anticipate the future.
Lifting our eyes from the world, let us fix them on the likeness of a
throne above the firmament that is above the cherubs, and rejoice since
there we behold 'the likeness as the appearance of a man upon it.'
'Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, thy King cometh unto thee.'

III. Our t