III. The laws by which it is governed. It is governed by the same laws which regulate the heavenly hosts. "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect," is the command of our Divine Master. It is the kingdom of heaven. "Jesus said, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews." The laws of the Mediator's kingdom require supreme love to God. Jesus said, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind; this is the first and great commandment." This implies right apprehension of his being and perfections, and supreme love to his word and delight in his law, such as the sweet singer of Israel expressed: O how I love thy law! it is my meditation day and night. It implies unlimited confidence in God and unshaken belief in the testimony he has given of his Son and a spirit of filial obedience to all his precepts. The laws of the Mediator's kingdom require love to man: "Thou shall love thy neighbour as thyself." This prohibits rendering to any man evil for evil; but, contrariwise, it demands blessing. It utterly forbids wrath, hatred, malice, envy, pride, revenge, and fighting; but requires, on the contrary, meekness, forgiveness, long-suffering, tenderness, compassion, and mercy. The subjects of the Mediator's kingdom are commanded to do good to all as they have opportunity; but especially to those of the household of faith. This command extends not only to the gentle and kind but to the disobedient and froward; to friends and to enemies. "If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink," is the command of our Lord. This injunction, it is apprehended, is directly opposed to resisting the oppression of enemies by force. Jesus said, "If my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight"; but, instead of avenging wrongs, the explicit direction is "to overcome evil with good." The Mediator is the only avenger of the wrongs done to his subjects: "For it is written, Vengeance is mine, and I will repay, saith the Lord." In a special manner the subjects of the Mediator must love the brethren. They must visit the widow, the fatherless, and the afflicted, and live unspotted from the world. The Lord accepts every act of kindness done to the brethren as done to himself, and regards every act of injustice, cruelty, and revenge towards them as expressed towards himself. He considers them his own property, the purchase of his blood. He will, therefore, not only be their portion but their defense; a wall of fire round about them and a glory in the midst. The Mediator sits as King upon his holy hill of Zion, and is swaying his scepter in righteousness throughout his vast dominions. * * * * *