their acquittal. Thus I declare my belief of his rising again for our justification; and while I cannot question the reality of his resurrection, I have such an answer at hand to the accusations of conscience as silences them all. In the sight of all my numberless iniquities, the penalty of the least of which is death, I take up my word, and say, "It is Christ that died, yea, rather that is risen again. It is God that justifieth, who is he that condemneth?" I think it now no longer strange that the whole office of the Apostles is declared to be this one thing, "to witness the resurrection:" for, if it be true that he rose from the dead, it cannot but be evident that he is the Son of God; that by his death there had been made full propitiation for sin; consequently that in his name, and his only, there is salvation.

Secondly. I regard the resurrection of Jesus as a no less public declaration of his being Lord of all things. He was indeed not put into public possession of dominion over all things till he sat down at the right hand of God; but before this he plainly showed by his resurrection his power over all things. When by his sacrifice on the cross he had made satisfaction for sin, it remained only that he should take possession of his conquests, and proceed to lead his enemies captive. The two first of these were the grave and hell. Into them the Conqueror enters, and rising from thence declares them vanquished. "See," he says as it were by this action, "the first-fruits of my victory. I was dead, and am alive again. It was declared in my name of old, "O death, I will be thy plagues! O grave, I will be thy destruction and behold the fulfilment of this word in my resurrection from the dead. See then if I am not the Lord, who have all power in heaven and carth. It is I that have the keys of death and hell; I took them by my might out of the hands of him that had the power of death." Yea, Lord, my soul replies, I acknowledge thy dominion. As the only-begotten of the Father, thou art Lord of all things by the right of Deity; and here I see thee, in the mediatorial character, eminently proving thy dominion over all things. I see thee, in despite of Satan, strengthened as he was by the curse of the law, going down and leading Death captive. I ask, who is this that cometh up from the grave ? This whom Death cannot detain? Who by his arm bursts asunder the gates of darkness, and brings Death, disarmed of his

scythe, from forth his black dominions? What man, what God, is this? He must be man to be capable of rising, and God to rise by his own power. And if he died and rose again, (and what marvel, if he did die, that he should rise again ?) he must needs be Lord of both the dead and the living. I own thy dominion. With Thomas, I, alas! too slow of heart to believe, cry out upon the force of such conviction, "My Lord, and my God!" I yield myself to thy dominion. O keep me by thy matchless power; keep me from the curse of the law, which thou hast taken away by bearing it; keep me from the rage of Satan, whom thou hast vanquished; keep me till death, and keep me in death, my departed spirit in paradise during its state of separation, and my body, when it shall be reduced to its original dust, unto the day of resurrection; and then, thou Lord of all things, bring me forth soul and body from the state of death to glory and life, according to the working whereby thou art able even to subdue all things unto thyself: for I declare thee to be, what by thy resurrection thou hast declared thyself, Lord of all. And,

--

Thirdly. I avouch in thy resurrection that of all the living members of thy body. This thou, as the head, didst declare when thou didst rise from the dead. Are they real members of thy body, actually joined unto thee? And how then couldst thou rise from the dead, and they not be risen with thee and in thee? Art thou only risen for thyself? or was it thy whole design in rising to assure that there shall be a resurrection of the dead? Didst thou not rise as the representative and head of thy people? And, if so, does not thy resurrection declare them risen with thee? Thou art risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. What meaneth this? Are first-fruits only an assurance of an harvest ready at hand? are they not even parts of it? Else how were they first-fruits? Thou didst not die nor rise again to thyself. Thou didst die for us, and when thou camest out of thy grave didst declare us risen in thee. I know that thou art alive from the dead, and, believing in thy name, I know that I am joined to thee, and therefore risen with thee. We know that our Redeemer liveth; and we know for that reason his people are as surely risen with him as if they had already heard the sound of the last trumpet, and he had now

fashioned their vile body like unto his glorious body. They must pass through the grave, and after their flesh worms shall destroy this body, yet Jesus by his resurrection declares them already risen in him. O how unspeakable the benefit and the comfort of this faith! Did I not experience the power of my Lord's resurrection in the influence it has upon me, and the comfort it gives me certainly to know that I am risen with Christ, I should certainly conclude that I did not truly believe that he was risen from the dead. As an important part therefore of my profession, when I say, I believe that he rose again the third day from the dead, I mention this my steadfast belief of my being risen with him, wherein I avow my obligation of conformity to his life, and the cause I have to triumph in this belief against the fear of death.

First.---Believing that we are risen with Christ, I avow my obligation of conformity to his life. As one risen with Christ, it is my duty, my desire, and my purpose, to seek those things which are above, and to set my affections on them, and not on things on the earth. I would be continually reflecting how one who is risen with Christ to a spiritual and eternal world ought to live while he is here upon earth; what should be his views, his ruling objects, his aim and pursuit; what he should renounce and what cleave to; to what he should sit indifferent and what he should value; what he should fear and what he should desire. I would be often thinking within myself, were a man really risen from the dead, as we now only are in our representative, what would be his employment? What thoughts would he have of God, and of Jesus, and what of the world? And I would be endeavouring to draw my spirit and conduct into an increasing conformity with the same, as far as my circumstances in this life should possibly permit. I would live in the world as taken out of it; and, though I am not in heaven, I would live as if I were in it. I would have my mind under the influence of God's presence as if I were standing at his right hand, and I would by faith behold the glory of Jesus as if I saw him upon the throne of his glory; I would have my heart delighting in the worship and service of God as if I was joining in the anthems of heaven, and my soul stood ready like the angels to do God's commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word; I would love

!

others as if I were placed in the mansions of the blessed; I would live to the glory of God, as if there were none around me but his most dutiful servants; I would have every sensual, earthly, and devilish desire dead in me, as if I were numbered among the spirits of just men made perfect; I would regard the world as if I was in heaven, neither debauched by its gratifications, nor distressed by its adversities; I would be pleasing God in all things as they do in heaven, myself in nothing, nor those who are about me but for their good to edification; and in all things I would be pleasing God with a heavenly cheerfulness; I would yield to no worldly bias, nor consult my case, or interest, or indulgence, any more than if I was lying in the bosom of Abraham; to say all in a word, I would be just like Christ; as he was, so would I also be in the world. As risen with him, I would esteem nothing in the world but for the use I might make of it to the glory of God and the happiness of my neighbours; I would lay myself out in doing good, nor count my life of any consequence but as it might serve these best of purposes. Thus would I have my conversation in heaven as being risen with Christ. I wouldbut, alas, how do I fail! yet this is my desire, my aim, my endeavour. And though in everything I come short, yet still I am determined to press on, to give no ground willingly to my spiritual enemies, nor to give out in discouragement (though after all I am nothing), but be labouring to grow into a' greater conformity with the life of Jesus. Give me leave to interrupt the professor one moment, while I observe that these are his real desires under the influence of faith in a risen Redeemer; and how different they are from the prospects and purposes of those whose hearts are given up to the pleasures of the world, and the pride of life, is too obvious to need any illustration. O what a wide distance is there between a state of unbelief and of faith! But to proceed,

Secondly. Our believer avows the cause he has to triumph against the fears of death in the belief of his being risen with Christ. Is Christ risen from the dead, he says, and are we risen with him? Is he, who died for our sins, risen again for our justification? Hereby is the resurrection of true believers put out of question? And can we not effectually rise with Christ till we are passed through the grave, whither he went

before us? Then surely I see the sting of death taken out. Is death formidable because it is the wages of sin ? But Jesus declared the justification of believers, and publicly took out their acquittal, by rising from the dead. But do we still fear, because death is a state of separation, an unknown and untried state, from whence no one hath come to give an account of it, and whereof it has not pleased God to give us any particular information in the Scriptures, and concerning our deliverance out of which many distressing apprehensions are apt to arise? Yet still the resurrection of Jesus will bear us out here also. For where is Jesus? He is not in the grave, he is risen, and is alive, and liveth for evermore. The comfort is that we are risen with him. And if he be risen, and we with him, then the darkness of the passage, or anything else relative to that state, need not make us afraid. Here I see support against death as the wages of sin, and death as the laying down of these earthly tabernacles; even in this one word, "Christ is risen from the dead. Why then art thou so heavy, O my soul! and why art thou so disquieted within me?" Why doth death appear so terrible? Is it because thou art not willing to part with the world? No, not so. Is it then that thou art afraid of the consequences? Wherefore? Because of sin? But see here Christ has proved that to be taken out of the way. Or is it because thou knowest not what death is, and what shall come after it? But say not that neither, my soul, for thou art risen with Christ, and heir to all that he inherits; and wouldst thou desire a better estate than to be with him where he is? Dost thou really believe Christ is risen? Think then of that; be strong in that faith; weigh well the import of his resurrection; and thy fears will assuage, Death will lose his terrors, and thou wilt be ready to cry out, "Death, where is thy sting ?" Or rather with the great Apostle, "I desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better." Lose not, my soul, the comfort of believing. Let thy faith in a risen Jesus raise thee to a newness of life; and then stagger not through unbelief, for, as surely as Christ is risen from the dead, he rose for thy justification, and thou art risen with him.

66

Let us conclude the whole with the Collect for Easter-day. Almighty God, who, through thy only-begotten Son Jesus