in the Father's bofom from all eternity, now laid in the bofom of the earth? O wonder at it, that he was willing to floop fo low, to ranfom our fouls that were funk as low as hell by fin! O! men and angels can never enough admire this love of Jefus ! that he who wore the keys of hell and death at his girdle, fhould be content to be locked up in the prison of the grave, and to be arrefted there this whole day, for our debt by divine juftice. 3. Obferve how long Chrift the Lord of life continued death's prifoner, the grave's captive; how long death had power and dominion over him, even to the third day. O how did devils triumph this day! We have not only bruifed his heel, but his heart alfo, and behold he lieth in duft. How did wicked men rejoice! how did death domineer over him! Men have brought him into my territories, and there I hold him bound with my fetters. Now would his enemies fay, Is this the light of the world, that lies fo low in the land of dark nefs? Is this the teacher of the way to heaven, that cannot now move his tongue, or speak a word? Is this he that raifed others from the dead, that lies himself among the dead? Well, but the triumph of thefe wicked ones was but short. Christ rose and put them all to filence. 4. Obferve Chrift's love, that was content to let devils infult and triumph over him for a while, that they might not triumph over you, O believer, for ever. He was humbled to tie in the grave for a while, that you might not lodge in hell for ever. 5. Obferve, Chrift lay buried this day, that he might bury all the elect's fins for ever out of God's fight, that they might never rise against them in judgment. O what comfort is this, O believer, thy fins are buried, and shall never appear against thee to thy condemna tion. 6. Observe, Chrift lay buried this day, that he might bury the Jewith feventh day Sabbath, with all the reft of their devitical types and ceremonies. Chrift has taken off that yoke from our necks, glory to his name. 7. Obferve 7. Obferve how Chrift lay buried this day, that he might fweeten the grave, warm and perfume that cold. unpleasant bed for believers to lie in. The grave was once a part of the curfe denounced against fallen mankind, and it is fo ftill to finners out of Chrift, Gen. ii "Duft thou art, and to duft thou shalt return." The grave had the nature and use of a prifon, to keep the bodies of finners against the great affizes, and then to deliver them up to the hands of a great and terrible judge: But Chrift, by lying in it all this day has turned it from a prison to a bed of reft, Ifa. lvii. 2." He fhall enter into peace; they fhall reft in their beds, each one walking in his righteousness." Why? as Christ there did reft in hope, fo fhall believers be partakers of his hope. See Pfal. xvi. 10. 66 My flesh fhall reft in hope." So Proverbs xiv. 32." The righteous hath hope in his death." Exhortation. As ye would partake of the virtue of Christ's lying in the grave, fee that ye get union with Chrift now by a true faith; death nor the grave will not loofe this union, it is indiffolvable. O believer, the grave fhall be a fweet privileged place to you; fin nor guilt fhall not lie down there with you. Sin is a bad bedfellow, but a worfe grave-fellow. That is a terrible word, Job xx. 11. "His bones are full of the fins of his youth, which fhall lie down with him in the dust." shall not be fo with you. No, Chrift has freed you of guilt, and has made your bed to fleep in; it is like a foft bed in a quiet room, where the weary shall be at rest. Chrift himself keeps the keys of the room, and watches by you while you lie fleeping there, and will be ready to open the door to let you out again. "I have the keys of death," Rev. i. 18. None can take them out of It MEDITATION MEDITATION II. On the Refurrection of JESUS CHRIST, from Theff. i. 10. "Whom God hath raised from the dead." THE refurrection of Chrift from the dead is a fundamental article of our religion, and ferves to fupport all the reft: For, 1. If Chrift rofe from the dead, then he was a perfon fent from God, to do that work in the world which he gave out; because the majefty of heaven would never have given an impoftor fuch glorious credentials as a refurrection from the dead; a work which nothing but omnipotency could accomplish. 2. If Chrift rofe from the dead, all the promises of the gofpel, relating to the enjoyments and bleffings of a future life, will certainly be fulfilled to them; and whatever Chrift has faid, may be depended on, and trufted to, as certainly to come to pafs. 3. 'Tis true indeed, the Chriftian religion is fo framed, as in all refpects to be admirably ferviceable to the ends and purposes of a temporal felicity; for the devout and awful regard to God, and a future life, and thofe principles of generous love and charity, which it tends to infpire mankind with, contribute highly to the good order and peace of the world. If pride and envy, if covetoufnefs and ambition, if malice and revenge, if falfehood and deceit; if fuch paffions as thefe are the true caufes of all those calamities and misfortunes which men groan under, then the gospel, which strikes fo directly at all thefe, even in men's tempers and hearts, as well as in their outward converfation, doth lay the surest foundations poffible for a quiet and comfortable life in the prefent world Yea, the gefpel of Chrift ftrengthens the obligations of the law of nature; it furnishes men with far nobler motives to perform all the duties of that law, and threa tens feverer puithments for the breach of it; and thus it it highly conduceth to the welfare of fociety and govern ment. 4. The true foundation and origin of atheism or deifm is a man's coming under a ftated refolution to endure no curb or restraint in the profecution of his design of being happy in this world, by the enjoyment of its pleasures; and therefore the fcripture or the gofpel, which pretend to abridge men of this liberty, and would oblige them to a strictly abftemious and felf-denying life, and a ready fubmiffion to all sufferings which the power and malice of the world may at any time inflict for the profeffion of it, muft of course be rejected as any divine revelation, and made the mere invention of a set of crafty defigning men, who were fond to be the heads of a new religion, and of bringing the world to submit to their impofitions. 5. As for the religion of Mahomet, he was a man of a vicious profligate life; and he framed it to serve a carnal worldly intereft; it was planted in the world by force and violence, and never offered any other arguments to perfuade men of the truth of it, but the fword and heavy taxes and exactions. But, with respect to the Chriftian religion, nothing of this kind can be pretended. 5. The law of nature is a divine impreffion on the reasonable nature of man, by which he is informed what is good and evil, and directed how to behave himself, as a rational creature ought to do. Now, the gospel adopts and enforces this law with the ftrongest arguments and confiderations. 7. Many who are baptized into the name of Jefus Chrift, do treat him in fuch a manner, as Mahometans, who are his profeffed enemies, would abhor to do. The Mahometans do honour him with the venerable titles of the Word and Power of God. And though they will not allow him to be fo great a prophet as Mahomet, yet their prophet has taught them fo much refpect, and fo high an esteem for ours, that, should they be witneffes to the affronts fome offer him here, they would be ready to revenge them upon them. 8. Some matters of fact may be fo convincingly made out by the teftimony of others, as to bring men to a per Pp 2 fect fect affurance of the truth of them, fo as there can be no room left to suspect any fraud or deceit therein. For if we must not thus believe the teftimony of others, there could be no adminiftration of justice in the world; for legiflators and governors cannot be in every place to obferve what is done by every perfon, but muft depend on the teftimony of others in difpenfing rewards and punishments to good and bad, according to their feveral merits. Again, all our civil interefts and privileges depend on this kind of teftimony; for how can we justify our claim to houfes, lands, goods, or effects, which we come to poffefs by virtue of birth or parentage, will or teftament, difpofition or fale, but by the teftimony of others? Again the refufal of this teftimony would cut off all kind of hiftory, geography, or chronology, as ufelefs, or as mere fable and romance. We should not believe there was ever any such thing as the Roman empire, or Roman emperors; we should not believe there is any king. dom or city in the world, but fuch as we have feen with our eyes. 9. All fects and parties of men fince Chrift's days have granted, that there was fuch a perfon as Jefus Chrift, who was born at Bethlehem in Judea, in the reign of Auguftus Cæfar, and crucified at Jerufalem in the reign of Tiberius, Pontius Pilate being then the Roman governor in Judea. The Mahometans acknow. ledge all this frankly except the laft part, out of an excefs of respect to Jefus Chrift; they will by no means allow of his infamous crucifixion and death, but affirm, that he was taken up into heaven, and some image of him only left upon the crofs in his room, by which the Jews, as well as his own followers, who pretended to be witneffes of the fact, were imposed on, and made to believe that he fuffered, when in reality he did not. this is a groundlefs fiction, contrary to all fenfe and reafon, like many others in their Alcoran. But however, they all own that there was such an excellent person, who lived fuch a life, taught fuch doctrine, and wrought fuch miracles as Chriftians give out. But 10. The Jews freely own there was fuch a perfon who died such a death at Jerusalem: And hence they beftow the |