the Sonne of God, and Christ lives in mee: but that the glory of an earthly Kingdome is the reward of his contempt and torment, we cannot thinke, seeing such a glory is not answerable to his sufferings, who being equall with God, made himselfe of no reputation, and humbled himselfe even to the death of the Crosse. Wherefore his reward is not deferred so long, but now God hath exalted him highly, and given him a came, which is above every name, Phil. 2. And he for the joy that was set before him endured the Crosse, and is set downe at the right hand of the Throne of God, Heb. 12.2. which is a greater honour then of an earthly threne.
Reply.
It is manifest, that the faithfull before Christs incarnation, could say also as well as we, The life which we now live, we live by faith in the Sonne of God, and Christ lives in us. For they were hap∣tized unto Moses in the cloud, and in the sea: and did eate the same spirituall meate, and drinke the same spirituall drinke which we doe, (for they dranke of the spirituall rocke that followed them, and that rocke was Christ) 1 Cor. chap. 10. ver. 2, 3, 4. So that if you will call the adoption, sanctification, regeneration, and justifi∣cation of the Saints [a reigning,] which the Apostle calls [a li∣ving,] Christ doth no otherwise reigne over them now, then he did from the beginning of the world, to wit, by his holy Spirit. But the reigne in question, is his reigning visibly in his humane nature on earth: In which sense it is, (and for which end it was) that he was borne a King, an heire apparant to the Throne of David. For unlesse he had been to reigne as man on earth, and as the Sonne of David over Israel, there had been no more neces∣sity of his being borne of that Tribe and Family of the Jewes, which had sole interest, and title to the Crowne of Israel; to qualifie him for the execution of his Kingly office in your spi∣rituall sense (for the distributing of his Spirit unto, and the gui∣ding of the Church therewith) then there was of his being born of the Tribe of Levi, to fit him for the execution of his Priestly office, in laying down his life for our sins, and making intercessi∣on for us now unto the Father. And as Herods destroying of the Infants of purpose to destroy our Saviour, that he might there∣by translate the Kingdome of Israel from the House of David, and fasten it to himselfe and his Posterity: had been a plot as