chievous end they aimed them, to the manifestation of his own glory. The priests and Pharisees thought to obscure the glory of Christ's resurrection, and, if it had lain in their hands, to hold him by force in the grave; but the Lord, who works light out of darkness, makes their suit to serve for the clearer manifestation of his resurrection, for they could have done no more for the manifestation of his resurrection, if they had been hired for that purpose. So, look what enterprise wicked men will devise to dishonour him. I say, the Lord shall turn it in end to his glory, but to their destruction; I will say further, and it may seem marvellous, perverse devices of the wicked oftentimes do serve more to his glory, than the good purposes and deeds of the godly, for is it not a greater glory to God to bring light out of darkness than to bring light out of light? The Lord is a most skilful and mighty workman, he makes his glory to appear by bringing light out of darkness, by bringing life out of death, and "by calling the things that are not, as if they were." All the devices of the wicked are darkness, the doings of the godly are light; so the Lord will sometimes be more wonderfully glorified in the doings of the wicked, than in the doings of the godly. But this doth the wicked no good, nor it serves nothing for their benefit, for, in the meantime, they are more malicious against the Lord than ever they were. They call him a deceiver. This is a wonderful thing, they saw the Lord's power in obscuring of the sun, in renting of the rocks, in opening of the graves, they saw his great glory shine in all these wonders; yet such is the maliciousness of these wicked men, they call the Lord of glory a deceiver, and in so doing, not only they oppone themselves against God, but also they do so far as in them lay as to have spitted in the face of God. Yet these miserable creatures, I mean the scribes and Pharisees, came not on a suddenty to this extreme maliciousness, but they show some mean and small beginnings of it, when Christ first manifested himself, and began to preach amongst them. Then they proceeded from worse to worse continually all the time he was con

1 Rom. iv. 17.

versant among them. Thereafter, in his cross and death, they taunted and mocked him, and put him to the most shameful death they could devise; and now when he is buried and laid in the grave, they utter more maliciousness than ever they did, they come to the extremity of maliciousness and induration, they call the Lord a deceiver. Cursed be the mouth that calls the Lord a deceiver; and, as Paul says, "He that loveth not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema maranatha," 1 Cor. xvi. 22.

This lets us see the nature of their sin. It was a sin against the Holy Spirit, and this is the nature of that sin; when once thou shalt enter in it, thou wilt hardly get back again until thou comest to extreme execation' and induration to thine everlasting destruction. My lesson is this, if the Lord give us grace to learn it; when it pleases the Lord to shine unto thee, albeit thou wert a king, or earl, or lord, look, as thou wouldst eschew hell and damnation, that thou repine not to this light, but greedily embrace it, and walk in it; for if thou step forward in repining, thou shalt have a hard back-coming again, and thou shalt come from execation to execation until thou come to utter destruction. Now, I doubt not but ye are sorrowful, when ye hear the Lord a deceiver, ye are sorrowful to hear the light called darkness; but comfort ourselves with this, the Lord, who was free of all guile and deceit, suffers himself to be called a deceiver to purge us from guile and deceit; for it might seem marvellous, that the Spirit of God should register this name of a deceiver, suppose they called him a deceiver, for this name defiles the air to call the Lord of truth a deceiver. Yet, no question, the Spirit hath left it in register, to be heard and read of all Christians to the end of the world, that thou mayest know what the Lord hath suffered for thee. And, doubtless, this name was heavier to him than all the vexation that was done to him; it was heavier than the crucifying of him itself, and when thou hearest this thou shouldst say, "He was not a name, deceiver, but it was I that was a deceiver, and he was called a de

1 i. e. Blindness.

2 i. e. Granting that, although.

ceiver for me who was damned for deceit, that I should be delivered from the debt and punishment of deceit and deceivers." Now, to end shortly, "Ye have a watch," says he, go and make it sure, keep it as ye please." He was an easy man to grant to any man whatsoever thing he sought of him, either good or evil. He granted to Joseph his suit to bury Christ, so he grants to the priests and the Pharisees this suit to keep him in the grave. The reason is, because, being an ethnic, he served not God, but the affections of men, whether good or evil; he looked not to God, but he had a respect to his own standing; and, therefore, he cares not to grant a suit, suppose it were against God and Christ. He had a respect to his own standing when he commanded Christ to be crucified. Such like he respected his own standing, when he gave Joseph leave to bury him; and likewise now when he grants this suit to the priests to watch his grave, he respected his own standing. Mark this, brethren. It is a miserable thing when a king or a judge hath not God before his eyes. Woe to the king who hath not God and a good conscience before his eyes; for he will be a slave to the affections of any varlet in the country. A beggar, a horse-rubber, and the vilest slave that can be among men, is not so vile a slave as he who serves the affections of men, and hath not God and a good conscience before him; and ever the higher and the greater his estate be, he is the greater slave. Now, having gotten leave of Pilate, they set men of war to keep him in the grave; "they make the sepulchre sure with the watch," to the end he should not be stolen away; and for the more security," they sealed the stone," and signeted it with Pilate's ring; and then it was death to any man in the world to touch it. Yet the more busy they are, and the more they strive to hold him in the grave, the more the Lord glorifies him, and the more clear and manifest was his resurrection. Could Pilate's seal hold him in the grave? Could the men of war hold him in? No, they could not keep him; but ye will hear. They fell all down dead at his resurrection, and they had not a word to speak, suppose such was the impudence of the priests, that although they knew that he was risen,

yet they hired the men of war to say that he was not risen, but his disciples stole him away by night. And this error continues in the world among the Jews ever since. But the Lord Jesus arose with great power and glory, and now is in infinite glory in the heavens, at the right hand of the Father. To whom, with the Son and Holy Spirit, from our hearts, we render all praise, honour, and glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

THE TWENTY-EIGHTH LECTURE.

OF THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST.

MATTH. CHAP. XXVIII.

1. Now, in the end of the Sabbath, when the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the sepulchre.

2. And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.

3. And his countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as

snow.

4. And for fear of him the keepers were astonished, and became as dead

men.

MARK, CHAP. XVI.

1. And when the Sabbath-day was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought sweet ointments, that they might come and anoint him.

2. Therefore, early in the morning, the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre, when the sun was now risen.

LUKE, CHAP. XXIV.

1. Now, the first day of the week, early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, and brought the odours, which they had prepared, and certain women with them.