which we profess hath been confirmed, and conclude that it is divine. No religion hath those evidences of its divinity and celestial origin that the Christian hath. Since it comes from God, we have the greatest reason to believe that all its promises and threatenings will be fulfilled. And seeing that all these shall be fulfilled, what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness! -HORNECK.

They feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.-Is it possible to behold God's bleeding love, and not cry, Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion? Is it possible to see the surprising humiliation of the Son of God, and not to say, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name? Is it possible to see God offer himself for his enemies and not to sing, Lord, what is man, that thou so regardest him? and the sons and daughters of men that thou hast such respect unto them? Is it possible to see innocence nailed to the fatal cross, not for any sins of its own, but for our transgressions, and not to break forth into admiration with St. John, Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God? The heart must be of stone that can survey these wonders and be silent, or dumb to joyful praises.-HORNECK.

It is not enough that we believe that Christ died for mankind in general; but every one should

and for his sins in particular; so as to apply the sufferings of the human nature in Christ to his own particular human person. For, seeing it is expressly said that Christ tasted death for every man, every man ought to believe that he did it for him, Heb. ii. 9. And as no man can believe this except he repent, so no man can truly repent of all his sins, but he may and ought to believe this, even that Christ died for him and for those very sins which he hath repented of. Thus we find St. Paul acting his faith so as to appropriate Christ unto himself. “I am crucified," saith he, "with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Gal. ii. 20.

Thus every one that repents and believes the gospel should look upon himself as particularly interested in what Christ did and suffered for mankind, as much as if he had done and suffered it only for him; so that I am bound, and so is every one else, not only "to confess with my mouth," but to "believe in my heart" that he became the Son of man, that I might become the Son of God; he assumed my human, that I might partake of his Divine nature. He was "delivered for my offences" and "raised again for my justification;" he was "made sin for me," that, "I might be made the righteousness of God in him;" he died, that I might

live, and was crucified by men that I might be glorified with God for ever; for "he loved me, and gave himself for me:" and, therefore, now that I remember his death, and see him, methinks, upon the cross, I cannot but cry out, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world in general, and my sins in particular !" BEVERIDGE.

How loudly also does the cross of the Redeemer proclaim in the ears of every careless and ungodly man—as in the words of the Apostle,—“ Despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance, and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God LEADETH THEE TO REPENTANCE?" Rom. ii. 4.

HYMN.

When the first parents of our race Rebell'd and lost their God,

And the infection of their sin

Had tainted all our blood;

Infinite pity touch'd the heart

Of the eternal Son;

Descending from the heavenly court, He left his Father's throne.

Aside the prince of glory threw

His most Divine array,
And wrapt his Godhead in a veil
Of our inferior clay.

His living power, and dying love,
Redeemed unhappy men,

And rais'd the ruins of our race
To life and God again.

To thee, dear Lord, our flesh and soul
We joyfully resign;

Blest Jesus, take us for thine own,
For we are doubly thine.

WATTS.

§ XCIV.

CHAP. XXVII. 57-66.

Christ is buried; his sepulchre is sealed and watched.

even was

the 57 - When come, there came a rich man of Arimathæa, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple:

58 He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered.

59 And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,

60 And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.

61 And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre.

62 ¶ Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate,

until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.

65 Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your sure as ye way, make it as

can.

a

66 So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.

r Mark xv. 42. Luke xxiii. 50. John xix 38. Is. liii. 9. z ch. xvi. 21; & xvii. 23; & xx. 19;"& xxvi 61. Mark viii. 31; & x. 34. Luke ix 22; & xviii. 33; & xxiv. 6,7. John ii. 19. a Dan. vi. 17.

READER.-There came a rich man of Arimathaa, named Joseph, who also was Jesus' disciple.

St. Luke tells us, respecting this Joseph of Arimathæa, that he was "a counsellor; and he was a good man and a just." He adds also that he had not consented to the counsel and deed of them;" and that he "waited for the kingdom of God."

In the midst of temptations, God preserves this man; although his riches, greatness, reputation and friendship of the grandees did strongly entice him to consent to the death of the Lord Jesus, yet he would not; and was resolved to hazard all rather than have a hand in the condemnation. We live in a very evil generation. Let us dare to preserve our integrity, in the midst of all the floods of ungodliness that surround us. And the more we may be discouraged from good

ness and righteousness, the more vigorously let us stand up for it and

maintain it; and God will be with

us.

To wait for the kingdom of God, as Joseph did, is the way to resist and to overcome temptations. He that is resolved not to lose his share in God's kingdom hereafter, will not stand upon his losses and crosses here, for he knows that the future

kingdom will recompense all. No man will venture so much for Christ, as he that firmly believes the kingdom of God, and fixes his eye of faith upon it. May the Lord give us a clear sight of that kingdom, that nothing may beguile or tempt us to love the world! If we love the world, the love of the Father cannot be in us. May he represent the beauty of his kingdom to our mind in lively characters, that our admiration of the present world may decay, and we may be content to sell all for the pearl of great price that is before us!

He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus.-It is base to forsake a friend when he is under a cloud; but then to shew our respect for him when he is unjustly under contempt and disgrace is true affection. It was bold and great, and and like a friend, to beg the body of Jesus when it was counted a disgrace to be any way concerned for him. Let us be earnest with our God, to give us invincible integrity, which may mock all storms and be the same to God and our neighbour, in all conditions. Let us stick close to God and to our

friends, and rejoice in a good conscience; for that will bring us peace at the last.

And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb which he had hewn out in the rock. Religion is an insignificant thing, if it costs us nothing. Good men love to be at charges for their God, and the good of their own souls. Too many men love to serve God cheaply; and are backward to express their gratitude to God by being liberal to his distressed members, and to their spiritual guides. Let us learn by this example, to prize our spiritual good more highly; and let our bountiful actions shew that we set the highest value on the blessings of eternity.

And he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed. O blessed Redeemer, who didst remember me when I had forgotten thee, and thoughtest of me when I did not regard thee! When I lay buried in the common mass of corruption, thou didst not disdain to think on this thy forlorn creature! Thou didst pity me, thou sawest my misery, and it grieved thee at thy heart. O happy remembrance! I had been lost if thou hadst not looked upon me, I had been undone if thou hadst not cast thine eye upon me. Yet how backward have I been to think What aversion upon thee! have I had from remembering thee! How have I declined serious affections of thy love; and have more delighted in trifles than in thee.

an

How sweet have the thoughts of my corn and wine and oil been to me; and how tedious, how irksome, the contemplation of thee! When thou hast sometimes put me in mind of thy sufferings, how have I suffered worldly thoughts to drive then out of my mind! How justly mightest thou turn thine eyes away and hide thy face from me. O sweet and glorious object, appear in thy beauty, appear in thy glory to my mind; that I may be thoroughly convinced that nothing deserves my thoughts so much as thyself. I am resolved to remember thee with greater delight and constancy. Help thou me. Should I not remember thee, who hast in a manner forgotten thyself in order to remember me? I can remember a temporal deliverance, and shall not the deliverance of my soul, procured by thy death, be remembered by me? I can remember a disaster which hath some years ago befallen me; and shall I not remember the infinite misery from which thou camest to rescue me? I will think of thee in the night watches; I will think of thee when I lie down, when I awake, when I rise again. In the great ordinance of thy Supper, I will in a most solemn manner think of thee. Teach me to remember thee with joy, with pleasure, with comfort to my soul. Let my thoughts of thee be sweet. Whenever I think on thy cross, let me remember how by thy charity I was freed from the curse of God. Thou becamest a curse for me. Ought not this mercy to

be remembered for ever? Write it in my mind; engrave it upon my heart; let this remembrance be easy to me; and make it profitable to me, that my inward man may be renewed by it day by day, and abound in love; and the longer I live the more conformable may I be to thee, blessed Jesus; to whom, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, be all honour and glory, for ever and ever.

Amen.-HORNECK.

And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre. Let us sit there, in thought, with them; and there.

Let us consider what are the uses Christians ought to make of their knowledge of the death of Christ and of his resurrection.

And, in the first place, let us be assured, that we cannot truly understand how much God is displeased with sin and sinners but only by looking upon Jesus Christ on the cross; where we see that God would not spare his own Son, when he had put himself into the room and place of sinners, but made him to suffer what they by their sins had deserved to suffer. That sin deserves death, this we must be assured of, because the righteous judge of all the earth pronounced that sentence upon our first parents, in case they transgressed the law he had given them. And they had most surely died the moment they sinned, but that the Son of God undertook to satisfy his Father's justice, by undergoing the punishment which they had deserved. And it was on that account

their lives were continued, and a time of trial granted them, to see what use they would make of this favour. In the next place, we learn, by the sufferings of Christ, the exceeding love of God for us poor creatures; that he would suffer his own Son to take our nature upon him, and to be so sadly used, rather than so great a part of his creation should be utterly lost and ruined. "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, to the end that all that believe in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." This being the greatest token of the love of God should lead us to love God with all our soul, and mind, and strength. And the infinite obligations which we Christians have to love Jesus Christ for what he suffered for us obliged St. Paul to give this standing rule to the church, "If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha," that is, leave him to the judgment of God, and do not own him for a Christian.

Now, let us consider the end of all this, and why our knowledge and belief of Christ's death is so much pressed upon us by the Holy Spirit of God. Is it not because this is the very foundation of that holiness without which no man must ever see the Lord in peace? "Jesus Christ died for all, that they who live should not live unto themselves, but unto him who died for them and rose again." Nothing being more just and reasonable than that we should consecrate our lives to him, which he has redeemed from the