buried in a fepulchre, hewn out of a rock, fo that it could not be faid that any digged under, and conveyed him away. It was a fepulchre alfo wherein never man before was laid; fo that if any body did rife from thence, it must be the body of Jefus of Nazareth. Besides, the fepulchre was fealed; a great ftone rolled over the mouth of it; and a band of soldiers (confifting not of friends, but of his profeffed enemies) was íet to guard it. And as for his difciples coming by night and stealing him away, it was altogether improbable for it was not long fince, that they had all forfaken him, and they were the most backward in believing his refurrection. And fuppoling it was true that they came whilft the foldiers flept; yet the foldiers must be caft into a deep fleep indeed, that the rolling away fo great a ftone did not awake fome of them.

And our bleffed Lord's afterwards appearing at fundry times, and in divers manners, to his difciples, as when they were affembled together, when they were walking to Emmaus, when they were fishing; nay, and condefcending to fhew them his hands and feet, and his appearing to above five hundred brethren at once, put the truth of his refurrection out of all difpute.

Indeed there is one objection that may be made against what has been faid, that the books wherein thefe facts are recorded were writtten by his difciples.

And who more proper perfons than those who were eye-witneffes of what they related, and eat and drank with him after his refurrection?" But they

were illiterate and ignorant men." Yet as good witneffes of a plain matter of fact, as the most learned mastere in Ifrael. Nay, this rendered them more proper witneffes: For being plain men, they were therefore lefs to be fufpected of telling or making a lie, particularly, fince they laid down their lives for a

reftimony of the truth of it. We read indeed of Jacob's telling a lie, though he was a plain man, in order to get his Father's blefling. But it was never heard fince the world began, that any mad, much lefs a whole fet of men, died martyrs for the fake of an untruth, when they themselves were to reap no advantage from it.

No, this fingle circumftance proves them to be Ifraelites indeed, in whom was no guile. And the wonderful fuccefs God gave to their miniftry afterwards, when three thoufand were converted by one fermon; and twelve poor fishermen, in a very fhort time enabled to be more than conquerors over all the oppofition men or devils could make, was as plain a demonftration, that Chrift was rifen, according to their gofpel, as that a divine power, at the found of a few ram horns, caufed the wall of Jericho to fall down.

But what need we any farther witnesses? Believe you the refurrection of our bleffed Lord? I know that you believe it, as your gathering together on this first day of the week in the courts of the Lord's house abundantly teftifies.

What concerns us most to be affured of, and which is the

Second thing I was to speak to, is, Whether we have experimentally known the power of his refurrection; that is, Whether or not we have received the Holy Ghoft, and by his powerful operations on our hearts, have been raifed from the death of fin, to a life of righteoufnefs, and true holiness.

It was this, the great apoftle was chiefly defirous to know the refurrection of Chrift's body he was fatisfied would avail him nothing, unles he experienced the power of it in raifing his dead foul.

For another, and that a chief end of our bleffed Lord's tifing from the dead, was to enter heaven as our reprefentative, and to fend down the Holy Ghoit

to apply that redemption he had finished on the cross, to our hearts, by working an entire change in them.

Without this, Chrift would have died in vain. For it would have done us no fervice to have had his outward righteousness imputed to us, unless we had an inward inherent righteousness wrought in us. Because, being altogether conceived and born in fin, and confequently unfit to hold communion with an infinitely pure and holy God, we cannot poffibly be made meet to fee or enjoy him, till a thorough renovation has paffed upon our hearts.

Without this we leave out the Holy Ghost in the great work of our redemption. But as we were made by the joint concurrence and consultation of the blef fed Trinity; and as we were baptized in their name, fo must all of them concur in our falvation; as the Father made, and the Son redeemed, fo muft the Holy Ghost fanctify and feal us, or otherwife we have believed in vain.

This then is what the apoftle means by the power of Chrift's refurrection, and this is what we are as much concerned experimentally to know, as that he rofe at all.

Without this, though we may be moralifts, though we may be civilized, good-natured people, yet we are no Chriftians. For he is not a true Chriftian, who is only one outwardly; nor have we therefore a right, because we daily profefs, to believe that Chrift rofe again the third day from the dead. But he is a true Chriftian, who is one inwardly, and then only can we be fyled true believers, when we not only profess to believe, but have felt the power of our bleffed Lord's rifing from the dead, by being quickened and raised by bis Spirit, when dead in trefpaffes and fins, to a thorough newness both of heart and life.

The devils themselves cannot but believe the doc trine of the refurrection, and tremble; but yet they

continue devils, because the benefits of this refurrection have not been applied to them, nor have they received a renovating power from it, to change and put off their diabolical nature. And fo, unlefs we not only profefs to know, but alfo feel that Chrift is rifen indeed, by being born again from above, we fhall be as far from the kingdom of God as they: our faith will be as ineffectual as the faith of devils.

Nothing has done more harm to the Chriftian world, nothing has rendered the crofs of Chrift of lefs effect, than a vain fuppofition, that religion is fomething without us. Whereas, we fhould confider, that every thing that Chrift did outwardly, must be done over again in our fouls; or otherwife, the believing there was such a divine Perfon once on earth who triumphed over hell and the grave, will profit us no more than believing there was once fuch a perfon as Alexander who conquered the world.

As Chrift was born of the Virgin's womb, so must he be fpiritually formed in our hearts- As he died for fin, fo m'uft we die to fin. And as he rofe again from the dead, so must we also rife to a divine life.

None but thofe who have followed him in this regeneration, or new-birth, fhall fit on thrones as approvers of his fentence, when he shall come in terrible majefty to judge the twelve tribes of Ifrael.

It is true, as for the outward work of our redemption, it was a tranfient act, and was certainly finished on the cross; but the application of that redemption to our hearts, is a work that will continue always, even unto the end of the world.

So long as there is an elect man breathing on the earth, who is naturally engendered of the offspring of the first Adam, fo long muft the quickening Spirit, which was purchafed by the refurrection of the fecond Adam, that Lord from heaven, be breathing upon his foul.

For though we may exift by Chrift, yet we cannot

be faid to exist in him, till we are united to him by one fpirit, and enter into a new ftate of things, as. certainly as he entered into a new ftate of things, after that he rofe from the dead.

We may throng and crowd round about Chrift, and call him Lord, Lord, when we come to worship before his footftool; but we have not effectually touched him, till by a lively faith in his refurrection, we perceive a divine virtue coming out of him, to renew and purify our fouls.

How greatly then do they err who reft in a bare hiftorical faith of our Saviour's refurrection, and look only for external proofs to evidence it? Whereas were we the most learned disputers of this world, and could speak of the certainty of this fact with the tongue of men and angels, yet without this inward teftimony of it in our hearts, though we might convince others, yet we should never be faved by it ourfelves.

For we are but dead men, we are like fo many carcafes wrapt up in grave clothes, till that fame Jefus who called Lazarus from his tomb, and at whofe own refurrection many that flept arofe, doth raife us alfo by his quickening Spirit from our natural death, in which we have fo long lain, to a holy and heavenly life.

We might think ourselves happy, if we had feen the holy Jefus after he was rifen from the dead, and our hands had handled that Lord of life. But more happy are they who have not feen him, and yet having felt the power of his refurrection, therefore believe in him. For many faw our divine Mafter, who were not faved by him; but whofoever has thus felt the power of his refurrection, has the earneft of his inheritance in his heart, he has paffed, from death to life, and fhall never fall into final condemnation.

I am very fenfible that this is foolishnets to the na tural man, as were many fuch like truths to our Lord's