fountain of mercies and bleffings, is by faith, Eph. iii. 17. " that "Chrift may dwell in your hearts by faith." No faith, no Christ: all our communion with Chrift is by it: he that cometh to God muft believe, Heb. xi. 6. The foul's life is wrapt up in this communion with God, and that communion in faith. All communications front Chrift depend upon faith; for look as all communion is founded in union, fo from our union, and communion are all our communications. All communications of 'quicknings, comforts, joy, ftrength, and whatfoever ferves to the well-being of the life of grace, are all through that faith which firft knits us to Chrift, and still maintains our communion with Chrift; believing we rejoice, 1 Pet. i. 8. The inner man is renewed, whilft we look to the things that are not feen, 2 Cor. iv. 18.

Secondly, And as our life, and all the fupports and comforts of it, here, are dependant on faith, fo you fee our death, as to the fafety and comfort of our fouls then depends upon our faith : he that hath no faith, cannot commit his foul to God, but rather fhrinks from God. Faith can do many fweet offices for your fouls upon a death-bed, when the light of this world is gone, and all joy ceases on earth: it can give us fights of things invisible in the other world, and thofe fights will breathe life into your fouls, amidst the very pangs of death.

Reader, do but think what a comfortable forefight of God, and the joys of falvation, will be to thee, when thine eye-strings are breaking: faith can not only fee that beyond the grave, which will comfort, but it can cleave to its God, and clafp Chrift in a promife, when it feels the ground of all fenfible comforts trembling, and finking under thy feet: "My heart and my Alth "faileth, but God is the ftrength (or rock) of my heart, and "my portion for ever." Reeds fail, but the rock is firm footing; yea, and when the foul can no longer tabernacle here, it can carry the foul to God, caft it upon him, with "Father into thy "hands I commend my fpirit." O precious faith!

Deduction 5. Do the fouls of dying believers commend themfelves into the hands of God? Then let not the furviving relations of fuch, forrow as men that have no hope. A husband, a wife, a child, is rent by death out of your arms: well, but confider into what arms, into what bofom they are commended; Is it not better for them to be in the bofom of God, than in yours? Could they be fpared fo long from heaven, as to come back again to you but an hour, how would they be dif pleased to see your tears, and hear your cries and fighs for them: They would fay to you as Chrift faid to the daughters of, "Jeru

falem, Weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your "children." I am in a fafe hand, I am out of the reach of all ftorms and troubles. O did you but know what their state is, who are with God, you would be more than fatisfied about them.

Deduction 6. Laftly, I will close all, with a word of counfel. Is this the privilege of dying believers, to commend their fouls into the hands of God? Then as ever you hope for comfort, or peace in your last hour, fee that your fouls be fuch, as may be then fit to be commended into the hands of an holy and juft God: See that they be holy fouls; God will never accept them if they be not holy, "Without holinefs no man fhall fee God," Heb. xii. 24. "He that hath this hope, (viz. to fee God) purifieth himself,

even as he is pure," 1 John iii. 3. Endeavours after holiness are infeparably connected with all rational expectations of blessednefs. Will you put an unclean, filthy, defiled thing into the pure hand of the most holy God? O fee they be holy, and already accepted in the beloved, or woe to them when they take their leaves of thofe tabernacles they now dwell in. The gracious foul may confidently fay then, Lord Jefus ! into thy hand I commend my fpirit. O let all that can say so then, now fay,

Thanks be to God for Jefus Chrift.

SERMON

XXXVII.

Treats of CHRIST's Funeral, opening the MANNER, REASONS, and excellent ENDS thereof,

JOHN xix. 40, 41, 42. Then took they the body of Jefus, and wound it in linen cloaths, with the Spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where he was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new fepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. There laid they Jefus therefore, because of the Jews preparation-day, for the fepulchre was nigh at hand.

γου OU have heard the laft words of dying Jefus commending his spirit into his Father's hands. And now the life of the world hangs dead upon a tree. The light of the world, for a time, muffled up in a difmal cloud. The Sun of RighVOL.I.

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teousness fet in the region and fhadow of death. The Lord is dead, and he that wears the keys of the grave at his girdle, is now himself to be locked up in the grave.

All you that are the friends and lovers of Jefus, are this day invited to his funeral: fuch a funeral as never was fince graves were first digged. "Come, fee the place where the Lord lay." There are fix remarkable particulars, about this funeral, in thefe three verses.

1. The preparations that were made for it, and that was mainly in two particulars, viz. the begging, and perfuming of the body. His body could not be buried, 'till, by begging, his friends had obtained it as a favour from his judge. The dead body was, by law, in the power of Pilate, who adjudged it to death, as the bodies of thofe that are hanged, are in the power of the judge to dispose of them as he pleases. And when they had gotten it from Pilate, they wind it in fine linen cloaths with fpices. But what need of fpices to perfume that blessed body? His own love was perfume enough, to keep it sweet in the remembrance of his people to all generations: however, by this they will manifeft, as far as they are able, the dear affection they have for him.

2. The Bearers that carried his body to its grave, Jofeph of Arimathea, and Nicodemus, two fecret difciples: they were both men of estate and honour; none could imagine that these would have appeared at a time of fo much danger, with fuch boldness for Chrift; that ever they would have gone openly, and boldly to manifest their love to Chrift, when dead, who were afraid to come to him (except by night) when he was living. But now a fpirit of zeal and courage is come upon them, when those that made greater, and more open confeffions of him are gone.

3. The Attendants who followed the hearfe, were the women that followed him out of Galilee: among whom the two Mary's and the mother of Zebedee's children (whom Mark calis Salome) are only named.

4. The grave, or fepulchre, where they laid him: It was in Jofeph's new tomb, which he had prepared in the garden near unto Golgotha, where our Lord died. Two things are remarkable about this tomb: it was another's tomb, and it was a new tomb. It was another's; for he had not an houfe of his own to lay his body in when dead. As he lived in other mens houfes, fo he lay in another man's tomb and it was a new tomb, wherein never man was yet laid. Doubtless there was much of providence in this; for had any other been laid

there before him, it might have proved an occafion, both to fhake the credit, and flur the glory of his refurrection, by pretending it was fome former body, and not the Lord's, that rofe out of it. In this alfo divine Providence had a respect to that prophecy, Ifa. liii. 9. which was to be fulfilled at his funeral: "He made his grave with the rich, because he had done no vio"lence," &c.

5. The difpofition of the body in that tomb. 'Tis true, there is no mention made of the groans and tears with which they laid him in his fepulchre; yet we may well prefume, they were not wanting in plentiful expreffions of their forrow that way; for as they wept, and fmote their breafts when he died, Luke xxiii. 48. fo, no doubt, they laid him with melting hearts, and flowing eyes in his tomb, when dead.

6. And lastly, The laft remarkable particular in the text, ist the folemnity with which his funeral rites were performed, and they were all fuitable to his humbled ftate: it was, indeed, à funeral as decently ordered, as the ftraits of time, and state of things would then permit; but there was nothing of pomp or outward ftate at all obferved: few marks of honour set by men upon it; only the heavens adorned it with divers miraculous works, wich in their proper place will be fpoken to. Thus was he laid in his grave, where he continued for three incompleat days: and nights in the territories of death, in the land of darkness and forgetfulness: partly to correfpond with Jonah his type, and partly to afcertain the world of the reality of his death. Whence our oblervation is,

Doct. That the dead body of our Lord Jefus Chrift was decently interred by a small number of his own difciples, and conti nued in the fate of the dead for a time.

This obfervation containing matter of fact, and that fo plainly and faithfully delivered to us by the pens of the feveral evange lifts, we need do no more, to prepare it for our use, than to fatisfy these two enquiries: why had Chrift any funeral at all, fince his refurrection was fo foon to follow his death? And what manner of funeral Chrift had?

First, Why had Chrift any funeral at all, fince he was to rife again from the dead, within that space of time that other men commonly have to lye by the wall before their interment; and had it continued longer unburied, it could fee no corruption, having never been tainted by fin? Why, though there was no need

of it at all upon that account that a funeral is needful for other bodies, yet there were these four weighty ends and reafons for it.

Reafon 1. First, It was neceffary Chrift fhould be buried, to afcertain his death; elfe it might have been looked upon as a cheat: for, as they were ready enough to impofe fo grofs a cheat upon the world at his refurrection, "That the difciples

came by night, and stole him away;" much more would they have denied at once the reality, both of his death, and refurrection, had he not been fo perfumed. and interred. But this cut off all pretenfions; for in their kind of embalming, his mouth ears and noftrils were all filled with their fpices and odours; bound up in linen, and laid long enough in the tomb to give full affurance to the world of the certainty of his death; fo that there could be no latent principle of life in him. Now, fince our eternal life is wrapt up in Chrift's death, it can never be too firmly established. To this, therefore, we may well fuppofe Providence had fpecial refpect in his burial, and the manner of it.

Realon 2. Secondly, He must be buried, to fulfil the types and prophecies that went before. His abode in the grave was prefigured by Jonah's abode three days and nights in the belly of the whale, Matt. xii. 40. So must the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Yea, the prophet had defcribed the very manner of his funeral, and, long before he was born, foretold in what kind of tomb his body fhould be laid, Ifa. liii. 9 "He made his grave with the wicked, "and with the rich in his death :" pointing, by that expreffion, at this tomb of Jofeph, who was a rich man; and the scriptures cannot be broken.

Reafon 3. Thirdly, He must be buried, to compleat his humiliation; this being the loweft ftep he could poffibly defcend to in his abafed state. They have brought me to the dust of death : lower he could not be laid; and fo low he muft lay his bleffed head, elfe he had not been humbled to the lowest.

Realon 4. Fourthly, But the great end and reafon of his interment was the conquering of death in its own dominion and territories, which victory over the grave furnisheth the faints with that triumphant eixo fong of deliverance, 1 Cor. xv. 55. "O death! where is thy fting? O grave! where is thy destruc❝tion?" Our graves would not be fo fweet and comfortable to us, when we come to lie down in them, if Jefus had not lain there before us, and for us. Death is a dragon, the grave its den; a place of dread and terror: but Chrift goes into its