unto life. By the Holy Spirit as the agent, and by faith as the instrument, he is made a child of God, united to Christ, one with him, interested in him, and so closely joined to him, as the members are to the head, as to be a real partaker of all that he did upon earth, and of all that he is now doing for his redeemed in heaven. He has a good warrant, for he is not only permitted, but also commanded, to apply to himself all the privileges and blessings, which are contained in this large charter of grace. " Ye are complete in Christ, who is the head of all principality and power: in whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ, buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him, through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. And you being dead in your sins, and the uncircumcision of your flesh hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses blotting out the handwriting of ordinances, that ivas against us, which was contrary to us, and he took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross, and having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in that same cross." In this view of the almighty conqueror of all our enemies, and of his enabling us also by faith to come after him, conquering and to conquer, what thanks and praises should be given unto him? There is no possible evil, but he has removed it from us and no possible good, but he has obtained the right, and gives the possession. We are complete in him, our head-completely circumcised in heart by his circumcision, so as to put off the body of sin, and risen indeed with him by the faith of his own operation: through which we have the first resurrection from the grave of sin, and shall have the resurrection of the body from the grave of death. He now gives the first as a sure earnest of the second. He raises us from the grave of sin, and quickens us to newness of life, and thereby gives us a lively hope, that we shall one day be with him and like him. In this hope the redeemed We come of the Lord have thus expressed their joysWe will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners, in defiance of all our enemies-we need not fear sin, nor Satan, nor death, nor hell. Our Redeemer is strong, the Lord of hosts is his name. He for us men, and for our salvation, was manifested to destroy the works of the devil. And he has destroyed them. He died for our sins, and rose again for our justification. His victory was complete, and in him we conquer. after him only to gather up the spoils of his triumph. Through faith in him the sting of death is taken out of the conscience, and thereby the fear of it out of the heart-A believer ought to say, and when he is in his right mind he says with joy and gratitude -" The Lord is my light, and my salvation, what then shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom then shall I be afraid? Yea, though I walk through the valley and shadow of death, I will fear no evil -I need not fear any, because thou my Lord and Saviour hast promised to be with îne, thy rod and thy staff, they shall comfort me." What an infallible antidote has our Jesus here provided against all guilty fears, and against all natural fears? These promises to his dying followers cannot fail. He who made them is almighly to fulfil them; and almighty to enable us to believe, that he will both support and comfort. Jesus wonderful in his person, wonderful in all his works and ways-has changed the very nature of death. He has turned it into life. Whosoever believeth in him shall never die, but is passed already from death unto life. The Holy Spirit has put him into present possession of a life laid up with Christ, out of the reach of death. So that when his body expires, it falls asleep in the Lord, and his spirit enters upon an eternal triumph of life and glory, among the spirits of just men made perfect. O what a deliverance is this from the bondage of sin, and the terrors of the grave. It is the peculiar blessedness of believers in Jesus: for the natural man cannot but fear death, and look upon it as his enemy. He has no prospects, but what are bounded by time. His whole happiness is in the present world, and in the enjoyment of what he calls the blessings of it. He was laying fine plans, and hoping to live to execute them-heaping up riches-living in the unrestrained liberty of sensual enjoyments-murdering his time-mispending his talents-without any concern about eternal things-when, lo, an enemy comes, and puts an end to all his schemes. He dies. Perhaps he may be a sceptic, doubting of the certainty of a future state: he may wish there was none, but he can have no evidence: and if he continue to wish it, even to the last, O what a scene will open, when he meets a just and an angry God! He may be a materialist, and please himself with fancying, that what we call his soul, will vanish at his death into soft air: but the God of truth says, That when the dust shall return to the earth, as it was, the spirit shall return to God who gave it: and in the morning of the resurrection Christ M |