citeth; if I may venture to fpeak fo, from the Bottom of her foul every emotion of tendernefs and love, of which he is capable, he adds, Mary!

i

This is the magnificent, this is the affecting, object, on which the eyes of all the church are this day fixed. This is the comfortable language which heaven to-day proclaims. For feveral weeks past you have been in tears. Your churcheshave been in mourning. Your eyes have beheld only fad and melancholy objects. On the one band, you have been examining your confciences, and your minds have been overwhelmed with the forrowful remembrance of broken refolutions, violated vows, and fruitlefs communions. On the other, you have feen Jefus, betrayed by one difciple, denied by another, for faken by all; Jefus, delivered by priefs to fecular powers, and condemned by his judges to die; Jefus, sweating, as it were, great drops of blood, Luke xxii. 44. praying in Gethsemane : O my Father! if it be possible, let this cup pass from me, Matt. xxvi. 39, and crying on Mount Calvary, My God! My God! Why bast thou forsaken me ? chap. xxvii. 46. Jefus, lying in the grave: thefe have been the mournful objects of your late contemplation. At the hearing of this tragical hif tory, confcience trembles; and the whole church, on feeing the Saviour intombed, weeps as if falvation were buried with him. But take courage, thou tremulous confcience! Dry up thy tears, thou church of Jefus Chrift! Loofe thyself, from the bands of thy reck, O captive daughter of Sion!" Ifa. lii. 2. Come, my brethren, ap. proach the tomb of your Redeemer, no more to lament his death, no more to embalin his facred body, which hath not been suffered to see corruption, Acts ii. 27. but to fhout for joy at his refurrection. To this the prophet inviteth us in the text: "The voice of rejoicing and fal

vation is in the tabernacles of the righteous the right hand of the Lord, is exalted: the right hand of the Lord doth valiantly.",

1

I have not queftioned, whether the pfalm in general, and the text in particular, regard the Meffiah. The ancient Jews understood the pfalm of him; and therefore made ufe of it formerly among their prayers for his advent.. We agree with the Jews, and on this article, we think they are fafer guides than many chrif tians. The whole pfalin agrees with Jefus Chrift, and is applicable to him as well as to David, particularly the famous words that follow the text: The ftone which the builders refufed, is become the head-ftone of the corner. This is the Lord's doing, it is marvellous in our eyes." These words are fo unanimously applied to the exaltation, and particularly to the refurrection, of Jefus Chrift, in the books of the New Teftament, in the gospel of St. Matthew, in that of St. Mark, in that of St. Luke, in the book of A&s, in the epifle to the Romans, and in that to the Ephefians, that it feems needlefs, methinks, to attempt to a prove matter fo fully decided.

The prefent folemnity demands reflections of another kind, and we will endeavour to shew you,

I. The truth of the event of which the text fpeaks: The right hand of the Lord is exalted the right band of the Lord doth valiantly.

II. We will juftify the joyful acclamations, which are occafioned by it: The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous.

1.I. Let us examine the evidences of the 'truth of the refurrection of Jefus Chrift. Infidelity denies it, and what perhaps may be no less in: jurious to chriftianity, fuperftition pretends to. eftablish it on falfehood and abfurdity.: A cer

tain traveller pretends, that the inhabitants of the holy land ftill fhew travellers the stone which the builders refused, and which became the headstone of the corner. In order to guard you against infidelity, we will urge the arguments, which prove the truth of the refurrection of Jefus Christ: but in order to prevent fuperftition, we will attribute to each argument no more evidence than what actually belongs to it.

In proof of the refurrection of Jefus Chrift, we have, 1. Prefumption. 2. Proofs. 3. Dem onftrations. The circumftances of his burial af. ford fome prefumptions; the teftimonies of theapostles furnish us with fome arguments; and the defcent of the holy Spirit on the church fur-nifheth us with demonstrations

1. From the circumstances of the burial of Jefus Chrift, I derive fome presumptions in favor of the doctrine of the refurrection. Jefus Chrift died. This is an inconteftible principle. Our enemies, far from pretending to question this, charge it on chriftianity as a reproacha

The tomb of Jefus Chrift was found empty a few days after his death. This is another inconteftible principle. For if the enemies of chrif tianity had retained his body in their poffeffion, they would certainly have produced it for the ruin of the report of his refurrection. Hence arifeth a prefumption that Jefus Christ rose from: the dead.

If the body of Jefus Chrift were not raised from the dead, it must have been ftolen away.. But this theft is incredible. Who committed it ?? The enemies of Jefus Chrift? Would they have contributed to his glory, by countenancing a report of his refurrection? Would his difciples ?> It

* Peter Belon. Obferv. lib. ii. cap. 83. Belon was a countryman of our author's, a phyfician of Le Mans, who travelled from 1546 to 1549. His travels were published 1555.

It is probable, they would not & and, it is next to certain, they could not. How could they have undertaken to remove the body? Fraiļ and timorous creatures, people, who fled as foon as they faw him taken into cuftody even Peter, the most courageous, trembled at the voice of fervant girl, and three times denied that he knew him; people of this character, would they have dared to refift the authority of the governor ? Would they have undertaken to oppofe the determination of the Sanhedrim, to force a guard, and to elude, or to overcome, foldiers armed and aware of danger 2 If Jefus Chrift were not rifen again, (Ifak the language of unbeliever) he bad deceived his difciples with vain hopes of his refurrection. How cape the difciples, not to discover the imposture ? Would they have hazarded themfelves, by undertaking an enterprize fo perilous, in favor of a man, who had to cruelly impofed on their credulity la es si old f

13

2

But were we to grant that they formed the defign of removing the body, how could they, have executed it ? How could foldiers, armed, and on guard, fuffer themselves to be over reached by a few timorous people"? "Either,”; fays St. Auguftine, they were afleep, or awake: If they were awake, why fhould they fuffer the body to be taken away? If alleep, how could they know that the difciples took it away? How dare they then depofe that it was ftolen? All thefe, however, are only prefumptions.

65-1

The testimony of the apofles furnisheth us with arguments, and there are eight confiderntions, which give their evidence fufficient weight. Remark the nature, and the number, of the witneffes: The fact they avow, and the agree ment of their evidence: The tribunals, before which they flood, and the time, in which they. made

* Serm. ii. in Pfal. xxxvi.

made their depofitions: The place, where they affirmed the refurrection, and their motives for doing fo.de errovieɔ shadi vrede ben Poleg 141 Confider the nature of these witnesses. Had they been men of opulence and credit in the world, we might have thought, that their reputation gave a run to the fable. Had they been learned and eloquent men, we might have imagined, that the style, in which they told the tale, bad foothed the fouls of the people into a belief of it. But, for my party when I confider that the apoftles were the lowest of mankind, without reputation to impofe on people, without authority to compel, and without riches to reward: when I confider, that they were mean, rough, unlearned men, and confequently very unequal to the talk of putting a cheat upon others; I cannot conceive, that people of this character-could fucceed in deceiving the whole church, 995),

&c.r

2. Confider the number of these witnesses. St. Paul enumerates them, and tells us, that Jefus Christ was seen of Cephas, 1 Cor. xv. 5, This appearance is related by St. Luke, who faith, the Lord is risen indeed, and bath appeared! to "Simon, chap. xxiv. 34. The apoftle adds, then he was feen of the twelve: This is related by St Mark, who faith, be appeared unto the eleven, chap. xvi. 14. It was the fame appearance, for the apostles retained the appellation twelve, although, after Judas had been guilty of fuicide, they were reduced to eleven. St. Paul adds further, after that, be was seen of above five hun dred brethren at once: Jefus Chrift promised this appearance to the women, Go into Galilee, and tell my brethren, that they fhall fee me there," Matt, xxviii, 10. St. Luke tells us in the firft chapter of Ads, that the church confifted of about an hundred and twenty members; this was: the church at Jerufalem: but the greatest part

1