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him to handle his body; "Reach hither thy finger," fays he," and behold my hands; reach hither thy "hand, and thruft into my fide; and be not faithlefs, "but believing." Some time after, he fhowed himfelf to seven of the difciples at the fea of Tiberias, and not only talked with them, but did eat and drink, with fome of the fame circumftances which he had used before his crucifixion. And, not to mention his more private appearances," he was feen," fays the apostle Paul, "of above five hundred brethren at

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once, of whom the greater part remain unto this "prefent, but fome are fallen afleep. After that, he was feen of James, then of all the apoftles; and "laft of all, he was feen of me alfo, as of one "born out of due time." In this manner he continued forty days, fhewing himself alive after his paffion, by many infallible proofs, and to many witneffes, and fpeaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God; and then at laft, in the prefence of all the apoftles, he afcended vifibly into heaven, and a cloud received him out of their fight. We have here a greater number of witneffes than what is neceffary to eftablish any fact; and all these declared, and conftantly affirmed, that they faw Jefus alive again, and converfed with him after he was rifen.

3. The witncffes of Chrift's refurrection are in all refpects worthy of credit. There is no reason to fufpect them of being deceived, or of an intention to deceive. They were well acquainted with the perfon, the manners, and converfation of Chrift; and therefore it was impoffible that any person, in the prefence of his difciples, could affume his character. Their teftimony receives farther credit, from their difficulty of belief. The thing appeared fo extraordinary, that when the news was firft brought them that Jefus was rifen, they took it for an idle tale, and believed it not. The first time they faw him alive after his paffion, they were afraid, and suppofed they had feen a fpirit. In a word, they did not haftily give credit to the report of his refurrec

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tion, but fufpended their belief, till the evidence of its reality was fo full and convincing, that it would have been weakness or folly to have continued longer in doubt.

But again, as they were not deceived themselves, fo, confidering their eftablished character for uprightnefs and integrity, and the fufferings to which their teftimony expofed them, we can have no good reason to believe them capable of impofing on others. Neither their fortune nor their reputation gained any addition from the deceit. They faw the leading men of the Jewish nation, the Roman government, and the general voice of the people, purfuing their Mafter even to the death. There was nothing but perfecution, and ignominy and reproach, to be expected in his fervice. Except it had been the conviction of the truth, there was no motive to impel them to affert the refurrection; for, in no fuppofed condition of humanity, can suffering and ignominy, in their own nature, be a confolation to the perfecuted and defpifed. In this inftance, they gave the highest evidence of fincerity poffible to be given: they ventured their lives for their teftimony; they fealed it with their blood; and not one of them, by the cruelleft tortures, or by the profpect of death, could be induced to withdraw his evidence from this important fact. The credibility of their teftimony is farther fupported by the different character which they affumed, as foon as they were fully convinced of the refurrection. You no longer behold the timid and fpiritlefs difciples of a crucified and dead Mafter : You have no longer to trace them in the lurking places of Jerufalem, or in the fhady retreats of the mountain of Olives. They appeared with the confidence of men, who were confcious that they fpake what they faw and heard. "Let all the house of "Ifrael know affuredly, that God hath made that "fame Jefus whom ye have crucified, both Lord "and Chrift." And when the rulers had called Peter and John, and commanded them not to speak

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at all, nor teach in the name of Jefus; they anfwered and faid to them, "Whether it be right in the "fight of God to hearken unto you more than God, judge ye. For we cannot but fpeak the things "which we have seen and heard."

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4. The witnesses of the refurrection published this fact, at the very time, and in the very place where it happened, and freely fubmitted it to the ftrictest inquiry. Instead of being afraid of a discovery, as impoftors generally are, they conftantly appealed to the Jews, who, from the keenness of their malice, were much inclined, and who had it easily in their power, to difprove the refurrection, if it had been. falfe. "6 Ye men of Ifrael, faid the apostle Peter,

standing up with the eleven, hear these words "Jefus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among "you, by miracles, and wonders, and figns, which "God did by him in the midst of you, as ye your"felves alfo know. Him, being delivered by the de"terminate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye "have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified "and flain. Whom God hath raised up, having "loofed the pains of death. This Jefus hath God "raised up, whereof we all are witneffes. And the "fame day there were added to them about three ❝ thousand souls."

You fee, then, on what fure and infallible grounds we build our faith in this important article. It is indeed a nail fastened in a fure place; and bieffed be God it is fo; for on this refts the whole weight of our faith and hope, and eternal happiness.

II. I am to lay before you the manner and circumftances of Chrift's refurrection from the dead. And if we attend to the feriptures of truth, the only fure and unerring guide in this matter, we will find,

1. That he arofe with awful majefty, becoming the Son of God, the Supreme Lord of heaven and earth. "For behold," fays the evangelift, "there was a great earthquake, and an angel of the Lord

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"defcended from heaven, and rolled back the ftone "from the door of the fepulchre, and fat upon it." At this awful moment, heaven as it were defcended to earth, and nature trembled. The earthquake was a token of triumph and victory which our Saviour gave, not only to the Roman guards and the neighbouring city, but to the whole world, that he had overcome death in his own territories, and rifen a conqueror over all his enemies. The appearance of the angel was fplendid and glorious. His countenance fhone like the brightnefs of lightning, and his raiment was white as fnow. So awful indeed was the pomp and majesty of our Lord's refurrection, that a vifible effect was produced on those men who were accustomed to face danger in all its forms, and death itself in the field of battle; "The keepers trembled "for fear, and became as dead men."

2. His refurrection was effected by his own power. He was not awaked from the dead, as fome have foolifhly imagined, by any of those circumstances which were intended to give dignity to his refurrection. It was not the earthquake, nor the angel, that revived him. in the fepulchre. He quickened and raifed himself by the power of his own divinity: for as he voluntarily refigned his own life, fo he had power to refume it at pleasure. "I lay down my life," fays he, "that I might take it again: I have power to lay it "down, and I have power to take it again (a).” And the apostle Paul tells us, "That he was declared "to be the Son of God with power, by his refurrec"tion from the dead (b) :" a plain proof, that he raifed himself; for if he had been raifed by the power of the Father alone, what more would have appeared in his refurrection, than in that of others who were raised by the fame power? Or, how could his refurrection have been fo powerful a demonftration that he was the Son of God?

3. His refurrection was accompanied with that of feveral of the departed faints. This remarkable circumftance

(a) John x. 17, 18.

(b) Rom. i. 4.

cumftance the evangelift Matthew exprefsly mentions. "The graves," fays he, "were opened, and many "bodies of the faints which flept, arofe, and came "out of their. graves after his refurrection, and went "into the holy city, and appeared to many (c)." It is not permitted to us to inquire minutely into the nature of this wonderful appearance of the faints, or what became of them afterwards. A vail of filence and feciecy is drawn over this tranfaction; and therefore, to fearch into it, as fome have done, is a matter of vain and impertinent curiofity. It is fufficient for us to know, that they were defigned as trophies of Chrift's victory over death and the grave, as the first fruits of his power, and a bleffed earnest of the future refurrection of the juft. Hereby it was declared, that Jefus, by dying, had conquered death; and that, in virtue of his refurrection, all that fleep in him, fhould, in due time, be quickened and revived.

4. The refurrection of Christ was attended with the ministry of angels. An angel defcended from heaven, and rolled away the ftone from the door of the fepulchre; and two angels appeared to the women, after Chrift was rifen, to inform them what was become of their Lord, and to fhew them the place where he lay. And indeed it deferves our particular notice, with what readiness and alacrity thofe bleffed fpirits ministered to our Saviour in his mean and humble state. They celebrated his birth in the moft cheerful accents of praife; they ministered to him after his temptation; they ftrengthened him under his bitter agony; they watched his facred body while it flept in death; and now they defcended to grace the folemnity of his refurrection, and minister to him on fo joyful an occafion. And eafily may we believe that their heavenly minds would be filled with joy and delight when they were employed in this manAt his first appearance in the world, when he, as it were, began the work of our redemption, the an

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() Matth. xxvii, 52, 53

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