with terror, became as dead men, Jesus, awaking from the sleep of death, arose and left the tomb.*

His first appearance after this great event was to Mary Magdalene, who stood weeping at the sepulchre when Peter and John, who had made a visit to the place, had departed. Afterward he appeared to a company of women on their return from the sepulchre; then to two of the disciples on their way to a village called Emmaus, a few miles from Jerusalem. The reports, however, of these witnesses of the resurrection met with but little credit with the rest of the disciples, till Jesus, on the evening of the same day, presented himself among them, and confirmed their faith by appealing to his lately wounded hands and feet.

In the meantime, the affrighted guards had fled from the sepulchre and related their tale of wonder to the chief priests, who, alarmed at the consequences that might follow, hired these wretched creatures to say that the disciples came by night, and stole away the body of Jesus while they were asleep. This absurd report was accordingly propagated, and prevailed among the Jews as a fact.

It is proper we should here take notice of the case of Thomas, called Didymus, who, not being with the disciples when Jesus made his appearance among them as above mentioned, declared that he would not believe in the reality of his resurrection unless he should see and feel the print of the nails in his hands, and the effect of the wound in his side. Accordingly about eight days after, when the disciples were all together, Jesus again appearing among them presented his hands and his side to Thomas, with a reproof for his unbelief; while the astonished disciple, overpowered with conviction, exclaimed, “My Lord and my God.”

"After these things, Jesus showed himself again to his disciples at the sea of Tiberias," where several of them were employed in fishing, and then, by appointment, he met the eleven apostles on a mountain in Galilee, where he delivered to them the great gospel commission, to go forth and "teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost;" pronouncing at the same time, "He that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned."

Forty days was the time pre-ordained for our Lord's continuance upon earth after his resurrection. These days being now almost expired, the apostles, according as they had been ordered, with some of their select friends, returned to Jerusalem, and there assembled themselves in a private place, as they had always done after the crucifixion of their Master. Here our blessed Lord appeared to them for the last time; and after instructing them in many particulars concerning the kingdom of God, and the manner in which they were to behave themselves in propagating the doctrine of the gospel, he put them in mind that, during his abode with them in Galilee, he had often told them that all things written in the law, the prophets, and the Psalms, concerning him were to be exactly accomplished. At the same time "he opened their understandings;" that is, he removed their prejudices by the operation of his Spirit, cleared their doubts, improved their memories, strengthened their judgments, and enabled them to discern the true meaning of the Scriptures. He then reminded them that both Moses and the prophets had foretold that the Messiah was to suffer in the very same manner he had suffered; that he was to rise from the dead on the third day as he had done; and that repentance and remission of sins was to

THE RESURRECTION.-Twice had the sun gone down on the earth, and all as yet was quiet at the sepulchre: Death held his sceptre o'er the Son of God; still and silent the hours passed on; the guards stood by their posts; the rays of midnight moon gleamed on their helmets and on their spears; the enemies of Christ exulted in their success; the hearts of his friends were sunk in despondency and sorrow while the spirits of glory waited with anxious suspense to behold the event-wondering at the depth of the ways of God. At length, the morning star, arising in the east, announced the approach of light; the third day began to dawn on the world, when on a sudden the earth trembled to its centre, and the powers of Heaven were shaken; an angel of God descended; the guards shrunk back from the terror of his presence, and fell prostrate on the ground. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment was white as snow; he rolled away the stone from the door of the sepulchre, and sat on it.

But who is this that cometh from the tomb, with dyed garments from the bed of death? He that is glorious in his appearance, walking in the greatness of his strength? It is thy Prince, O Zion! Christian, it is your Lord! He hath trodden the winepress alone; he hath stained his raiment with blood; but now, as the firstborn from the womb of nature, he meets the morning of his resurrection. He arises, a conqueror from the grave; he returns with blessings from the world of spirits; he brings salvation to the sons of men. Never did the returning sun usher in a day so glorious! It was the jubilee of the universe! The morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted aloud for joy! The Father of Mercies looked down from his throne in the heavens with complacency; he beheld his world restored-he saw his work, that it was good. Then did the desert rejoice; the face of nature was gladdened before him, when the blessings of the Eternal descended, as the dews of heaven, for the refreshing of the nations.

be preached in the Messiah's name among all nations, beginning with the Jews. He told them that they were to testify unto the world the exact accomplishment in him of all things foretold concerning the Messiah; and closed his instructions to them by giving them a particular charge, that they should not depart from Jerusalem until they had received that miraculous effusion of the Holy Ghost which he had promised and would shortly send down upon them. He likewise gave them to understand, that after the descent of the Holy Ghost upon them they would have juster notions of those matters, and be sufficiently enabled to be the authentic witnesses of his life and actions throughout the world.

After our blessed Lord had thus fortified his apostles for the important work they were going to undertake, he led them out of the city to that part of the mount of Olives which was nearest to Bethany. On their arrival there, he gave them some farther instructions relative to the measures they were to follow in order to propagate his gospel, after which he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was doing this, and his apostles were placed in an adoring posture, he was parted from them in the midst of the day, being gradually taken up in a shining cloud, and triumphantly carried into heaven, where he now sitteth at the right hand of God his Father, "to whom be honor, glory, and power, for ever and ever. Amen."

In this illustrious manner did the GREAT REDEEMER of mankind depart, after having finished the grand work about which he was sent into the world; a work which angels with joy described was to happen, and which through all eternity to come, at periods the most immensely distant from the time of its execution, will be looked back upon with inexpressible delight by every inhabitant of heaven; for though the minute affairs of time may vanish together and be lost when they are removed far back by the endless progression of duration, yet this object is such that no distance, however great, can lessen it. The kingdom of heaven is erected on the incarnation and sufferings of the Son of God, and therefore no mortal whatever can forget the foundation on which his happiness stands established; nor will any fail of obtaining a seat in those mansions, provided he preserves a proper subjection to Him who reigneth for ever and ever, and whose favor is better than life itself.

It may not be improper, in this place, to admit a few reflections on the life of the blessed Jesus-a life the greatest and best that was ever led by man, or was ever the subject of any history, since the universe was called from its original chaos by the powerful word of the Almighty.

The human character of the blessed Jesus is entirely different from that of all other men whatever; for whereas they have selfish passions deeply rooted in their breasts, and are influenced by them in almost everything they do, Jesus was so entirely free from them, that the most severe scrutiny can not furnish one single action, in the whole course of his life, wherein he consulted his own interest only. No; he was influenced by very different motives: the happiness and eternal welfare of sinners regulated his conduct; and while others followed their respective occupations, Jesus had no other business than that of promoting the happiness of the sons of men. Nor did he wait till he was solicited to extend his benevolent hand to the distressed: "he went about doing good," and always accounted it "more blessed to give than to receive;" resembling God rather than man. He went about doing good; benevolence was the very life of his soul: he not only did good to objects presented to him for relief, but he industriously sought them out, in order to extend his compassionate assistance.

It is common for persons of the most exalted faculties to be elated with success and applause, or dejected by censure and disappointments; but the blessed Jesus was not elated by the one nor depressed by the other. He was never more courageous than when he met with the greatest opposition and cruel treatment; nor more humble than when the sons of men worshipped at his feet.

He came into the world inspired with the grandest purpose that ever was formed, that of saving from eternal perdition, not a single nation, but the whole world; and in the execution of it, went through the longest and heaviest train of labors that ever was sustained, with a constancy and resolution, on which no disadvantageous impression could be made by any accident whatever. Calumny, threatenings, bad success, with many other evils constantly attending him, served only to quicken his endeavors in this glorious enterprise, which he unweariedly pursued even till he finished it by

his death.

The generality of mankind are prone to retaliate injuries received, and all seem to take a satisfaction in complaining of the cruelties of those who oppress them; whereas the whole of Christ's labors breathed nothing but meekness, patience, and forgiveness, even to his bitterest enemies, and in the midst of the most excruciating torments. The words, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do," uttered by him when his enemies were nailing him to the cross, fitly express the temper which he maintained through the whole course of his life, even when assaulted by the heaviest provocations. He was destined to sufferings here below, in order that he might raise his people to honor, glory, and immortality, in the realms of bliss above; and therefore patiently, yea joyfully, submitted to all that the malice of earth and hell could inflict. He was vilified, that we might be honored; he died, that we might live for ever and ever.

To conclude the greatest and best men have discovered the degeneracy and corruption of human nature, and shown themselves to have been nothing more than men; but it was otherwise with Jesus. He was superior to all the men that ever lived, both with regard to the purity of his manners, and the perfection of his virtues. He was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separated from sinners.

Whether we consider him as a teacher, or as a man," he did no sin; neither was guile found in his mouth." His whole life was perfectly free from spot or weakness; at the same time it was remarkable for the greatest and extensive exercises of virtue. But never to have committed the least sin, in word or in deed, never to have uttered any sentiment that could be censured, upon the various topics of religion and morality, which were the daily subjects of his discourses, and that through the course of a life filled with action, and led under the observation of many enemies, who had always access to converse with him, and who often came to find fault, is a pitch of perfection evidently above the reach of human nature; and consequently he who pos sessed it must have been divine.

Such was the person who is the subject of the evangelical history. If the reader, by reviewing his life, doctrine, and miracles, as they are here represented to him, united in one series, has a clearer idea of these things than before, or observes a beauty in his actions thus linked together, which taken separately do not appear so fully; if he feels himself touched by the character of Jesus in general, or with any of his sermons and actions in particular, thus simply delineated in writing, whose principal charms are the beauties of truth above all, if his dying so generously for men strikes him with admiration, or fills him with joy in the prospect of that pardon which is thereby purchased for the world: let him seriously consider with himself what improvement he ought to make of the divine goodness.

Jesus, by his death, hath set open the gates of immortality to the sons of men; and by his word, spirit, and example, graciously offers to make them meet for the glorious rewards in the kingdom of the heavenly Canaan, and to conduct them into the inheritance of the saints in light. Let us, therefore, remember, that being born under the dispensation of his gospel, we have, from our earliest years, enjoyed the best means of securing to ourselves an interest in that favor of God, which is life; and that loving-kindness, which is better than life.

We have been called to aspire after an exaltation to the felicity of the heavenly mansions exhibited to mortal eyes in the man Jesus Christ, to fire us with the noblest ambition. His gospel teaches us that we are made for eternity; and that our present life is to our future existence, as infancy is to manhood. But as in the former, many things are to be learned, many hardships to be endured, many habits to be acquired, and that by a course of exercises, which in themselves though painful, and possibly useless to the child, yet are necessary to fit him for the business and enjoyments of manhood. So while we remain in this infancy of human life, things are to be learned, hardships to be endured, and habits to be acquired, by a laborious discipline, which, however painful, must be undergone, because necessary to fit us for the employments and pleasures of our riper existence, in the realms above, always remembering that whatever our trials may be, in this world, if we ask for God's assistance, he has promised to give it. Inflamed, therefore, with the love of immortality and its joys, let us submit ourselves to our heavenly teacher, and learn of him those graces, which alone can render life pleasant, death desirable, and fill eternity with ecstatic joys.

We can not close the solemn scene of the life of our dear Lord and Saviour with greater propriety than by making a few observations on the nature of his religion, and

considering the great benefits which will infallibly result to all, who shall, by faith, receive and embrace his holy doctrine.

The religion of Christ is the perfection of human nature, and the foundation of uniform, exalted pleasure: of public order, and private happiness. Christianity is the most excellent and the most useful institution, having "the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come." It is the voice of reason; it is also the language of scripture: "the ways of wisdom are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace." And our blessed Saviour himself assures us, that his precepts are easy, and the burden of his religion light.

The Christian religion comprehends all we ought to believe, and all we ought to practise its positive rights are few, and perfectly intelligible to every capacity; and the whole is manifestly adapted to establish in us a proper sense of the great obligations we lay under both to God and Christ.

The gospel places religion not in abtruse speculation, and metaphysical subtleties; not in outward show, and tedious ceremony; not in superstitious austerities and enthusiastic visions; but in purity of heart and holiness of life. The sum of our duty (according to our great master himself) consists in the love of God, and of our neighbor. According to St. Paul, in denying ungodliness, and worldly lusts; and in living soberly, righteously and godly in this present world. According to St. James, in visiting the fatherless and widow in affliction, and in keeping ourselves unspotted from the world. This is the constant strain and tenor of the gospel. This it inculcates most earnestly, and on this it lays the greatest stress.

It may be asked if the Christian religion is only a view of the law of nature, or merely a refined system of morality? To which we answer, that it is a great deal more than either. It is an act of grace, a stupendous plan of Providence, for the recovery of mankind from a state of degradation and ruin, to the favor of the Almighty, and to the hopes of a happy immortality through a mediator.

Under this dispensation, true religion consists in a repentance toward God, and in faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, as the person appointed by the supreme Authority of heaven and earth, to reconcile apostate man to his offended Creator. And what hardship is there in all this? Surely none. Nay, the practice of religion is much easier than the servitude of sin.

It certainly must be allowed by all that our rational powers are impaired, and the soul weakened by sin. The animal passions are strong, and apt to oppose the dictates of the spirit of God: objects of sense make powerful impressions on the mind. We are, in every situation, surrounded with many snares and temptations. In such a disordered state of things, to maintain an undeviating path of duty, can not be effected by poor weak man. There are, however, generous aids afforded us to persevere in the ways of the Lord.

The gracious author of nature has planted in the human breast a quick sense of good and evil; a faculty which strongly dictates right and wrong; and though by the strength of appetite and warmth of passion, men are often hurried into immoral practices, yet in the beginning, especially when there has been the advantage of a good education, it is usually with reluctance and opposition of mind. What inward struggles precede! What bitter pangs attend their sinful excesses! What guilty blushes and uneasy fears! What frightful prospects and pale reviews! "Terrors are upon them, and a fire not blown consumeth them." To make a mock at sin, and to commit iniquity without remorse, requires great length of time, and much painful labor; more labor than is requisite to attain that habitual goodness which is the glory of the man, the ornament of the Christian, and the chief of his happiness.

The soul can no more be reconciled to acts of wickedness and injustice, than the body to excess, but by suffering many bitter pains, and cruel attacks.

The mouth of conscience may, indeed, be stopped for a time, by false principles: its secret whispers may be drowned by the noise of company, and stifled by the entertainments of sense; but this principle of conscience is so deeply rooted in human nature, and, at the same time, her voice is so clear and strong, that the sinner's arts will be unable to lull her into a lasting security.

When the hour of calamity arrives, when sickness seizeth, and death approaches the sinner, conscience now constrains him to listen to her accusations, and will not suffer the temples of his head to take any rest. "There is no peace to the wicked;'

the foundations of peace are subverted, they are at utter enmity with their reason, with their conscience, and with their God.

Not so is the case of true religion. For when religion, pure and genuine, forms the tempers, and governs the life, conscience applauds, and peace takes his residence in the breast. The soul is in its proper state. There is order and regularity both in the faculties and actions. Conscious of its own integrity, and secure of divine approbation, the soul enjoys a calmness not to be described. But why do we call this happy frame calmness only? It is far more than mere calmness. The air may be calm, and the day overcast with thick mists and clouds. The pious and virtuous mind resembles a serene day, enlightened and enlivened with the brightest rays of the sun. Though all without may be clouds and darkness, there is light in the heart of a pious man. 'He is satisfied from himself, and is filled with peace and joy in believing." In the concluding scene (the awful moment of dissolution) all is peaceful and serene. The immortal part quits its tenement of clay, with the well-grounded hopes of ascending to happiness and glory.

Nor does the gospel enjoin any duty but what is fit and reasonable. It calls upon all its professors to practise reverence, submission, and gratitude to God; justice, truth, and universal benevolence to men: and to maintain the government of our own minds. And what has any one to object against this? From the least to the greatest commandment of our dear Redeemer, there is not one which impartial reason can find fault with. 66 His law is perfect; his precepts are true and righteous, altogether." Not even those excepted, which require us to love our enemies, to deny ourselves, and to take up our cross. To forgive an injury is more generous and manly than to revenge it; to control a licentious appetite than to indulge it; to suffer poverty, reproach, and even death itself, in the sacred cause of truth and integrity, is much wiser and better, than, by base compliances, to make shipwreck of faith and a good conscience.

Thus in a storm at sea, or a conflagration on the land, a man with pleasure abandons his lumber to secure his jewels. Piety and virtue are the wisest and most reasonable things in the world; vice and wickedness the most irrational and absurd.

The all-wise Author of our being hath so framed our natures, and placed us in such relations, that there is nothing vicious but what is injurious; nothing virtuous but what is advantageous to our present interest, both with respect to body and mind. . Meekness and humility, patience and universal charity, and grace, give a joy unknown to transgressors.

The divine virtues of truth and equity are the only bands of friendship, the only supports of society. Temperance and sobriety are the best preservatives of health and strength; but sin and debauchery impair the body, consume the substance, reduce us to poverty, and form the direct path to an immature and untimely death.

To render our duty easy, we have the example, as well as the commands, of the blessed Jesus. The masters of morality among the heathens gave excellent rules for the regulation of men's manners; but they wanted either the honesty, or the courage to try their own arguments upon themselves. It was a strong presumption that the yoke of the scribes and Pharisees was grievous, when they laid "heavy burdens upon men's shoulders," which they themselves refused to touch with one of their fingers. Not thus our great law-giver, Jesus Christ the righteous. His behavior was in all respects conformable to his doctrine. His devotion toward God, how sublime and ardent!-benevolence toward men, how great and diffusive! He was in his life an exact pattern of innocence; for he "did no sin; neither was guile found in his mouth." In the Son of God incarnate is exhibited the brightest, the fairest resemblance of the Father, that heaven and earth ever beheld, an example peculiarly persuasive, calculated to inspire resolution, and to animate us to use our utmost endeavors to imitate the divine pattern, the example of "the Author and Finisher of our faith," of him "who loved us and gave himself for us." Our profession and character as Christians oblige us to make this example the model of our lives. Every motive of decency, gratitude, and interest, constrain us to tread the paths he trod before us.

We should also remember that our burden is easy; because God, who "knowetn whereof we are made, who considereth that we are but dust," is ever ready to assist The heathens themselves had some notion of this assistance, though guided only by the glimmering lamp of reason. But what they looked upon as probable,

us.