liverance so transcendantly animating and glorious; it is expressly set forth as such by an apostle-"As in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive" or quickened, 1 Cor. xv. 22. In the subsequent part of this chapter he fully explains and illustrates what he intends by the latter clause, being made alive in Christ. He does not mean a simple restoration to this mortal state; that, indeed, would not be a deliverance from the liability to die, or from a dying state, which seems to be the meaning of the phrase in Adam all die, all are mortal or liable to die; but it imports the very reverse of a state of mortality, such as that which has actually been exemplified in the person of Christ. These two persons, Adam and Christ, are to be respectively considered as representing the successive conditions to which the human race are destined; like Adam they are mortal creatures, like Christ they will eventually become spiritual and immortal. Both these sons were alike human, and thus respectively afforded an exemplification of what appertains, or is destined to be extended to our common humanity. Accordingly, the apostle expressly states (xv. 21), that," as by a man (or one individual) came death, so by a man came also the resurrection of the dead." Christ, agreeably to an ancient prophecy, Ps. xxii. 15, was, in common with the rest of his species, "brought to the dust of death." He died and was buried, and it was by the mighty power of God, especially exerted for the occasion, that he was both restored to life, and elevated to a state in which "he dieth no more, death hath no more dominion over him."

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The death and resurrection of Christ, so far from differing from the corresponding events with respect to mankind in general, are clearly set forth as a pattern of those alternatively awful and glorious changes which await the whole human race. He is indeed alike distinguished by the priority of his resurrection, as by the rectitude of his character. He is the first fruits from the dead; God, agreeably to the prediction of his royal ancestor, "suffered not his holy one to remain a sufficient time in the grave to see corruption." The pre-eminent holiness of his character ob

tained for him this distinguished privilege. But as sure as the first fruits have appeared, so surely shall the general produce appear. The moral scale of priority however, will still be applied. All who die, with the single exception of our Saviour, remain in the stillness and unconsciousness of the grave; but his disciples, and all those whose spirit, character, and conduct have most resembled his, are sleeping in Jesus; they await but that great event, indicated by the "sounding of the last trump, the shout, the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God," by which they shall be awakened to newness of life, and will, together with the living saints who shall remain, be translated, "be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and so will they ever be with the Lord." "Blessed and holy are those who have part in this first resurrection ;-over them the second death hath no power." To this first resurrection, my friends, we must look forward, with the eye, not of confident expectation, but of humble hope, animating to the utmost our every virtuous endeavour. The rest of the dead, those very imperfectly virtuous, or more positively vicious, of which alas! so large a portion of our world is composed, "lived not till the thousand years were fulfilled." But even to them we are assured that "the book of life,” I trust it is that of eternal life, will at length be opened; though over many of them the evils of a second death will have power; the trial of a second mortality, attended, it appears, by a discipline of greater effect, if not increased severity, will be exercised; yet through the imperfect medium of this dim and distant perspective, we may discern the operating hand of divine mercy; death himself shall be cast into the lake of fire;-the calamities they shall endure shall in the end work their own destruction, " death shall be destroyed;" the king of terrors shall at length be no more; he shall finally and for ever be "swallowed up in victory."

From the above considerations it must, I think, appear, that faith in an event so transcendantly glorious as that of the resurrection of our Saviour, must be operative in promoting our salvation, or deliverance from the evils of sin and death, in proportion as it is

well grounded on evidence, as its nature and import are justly estimated, and it is duly impressed upon the mind by frequent meditation and reflection. The resurrection of Jesus furnishes the only solid basis of the hope of renewed life and immortality; not simply the reward of piety and virtue; for how can the imperfect obedience of man in this inferior world, deserve to be remunerated with the blessings of a spiritual and immortal state; a state in which, in the language of our Lord himself, its subjects become " as angels and children of God, being children of the resurrection?" No, this celestial gift is the result of his free, unpurchased favour; though, as we before observed, it is the inseparable accompaniment of moral worth. It is only by being impressed upon the mind with a clearness of conception, a force of conviction, and a depth and constancy of impression, similar to that produced by actual sense and experience, that these invisible but proved realities can produce that salutary influence upon the mind, which will effect its deliverance from sin and death. But in proportion as this glorious hope obtains its just ascendancy in the soul, becoming the paramount principle within it, the present world and its perishing objects will naturally sink into comparative insignificance. As life unalloyed by sin or suffering, subjected to no decay, to no impurities, either moral or physical, but pursuing its steady, perhaps accelerating course of advancing improvement and happiness, without interruption, and without end, is in itself of infinitely superior value to the impure, transient, and ever uncertain gratifications of this life, so, in proportion as its reality and certainty is brought home to the mind, and men live under its predominant influence, or, in the language of the apostle, live by faith and not by sight alone, all present beings and things will be held in that just subserviency to those of futurity which will promote a constant disposition, and an ardent endeavour to use them in the best manner, without abusing them by excess or perversion. We shall, like the apostles, and many of their primitive converts, when duly influenced by this persuasion, regard ourselves, not as permanent denizens, but as strangers and pil

grims here, who are seeking for another and a better country, even an heavenly one. Those objects which, alas! so generally absorb the passions, and pervert the hearts of men, which produce "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life," will be viewed as mere glittering transient baubles, altogether unworthy of obtaining so mighty an ascendant over minds destined to the pursuit of far more ennobling and more truly valuable objects, in a future world. Seeing the precept of Christ our blessed Lord, " Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth," fully confirmed by his example, both in his obedience unto death, and in the blessing of immortality by which it was so speedily followed; and well assured that a similar event as certainly awaits all his true disciples, when he shall come with "salvation toward all those who love his appearing," we shall be induced to indeed " lay up our chief treasures in heaven." What is it that causes "the world and the things of the world" to usurp so mighty an ascendant over many minds, that those of God and futurity appear to sink under their potent and overwhelming sway? Why do sordid avarice, low ambition, and worldly-mindedness, and all irregular and exorbitant passions, grow and flourish even in the breasts of men to whom the name of Christian is applied, while all the meek and lowly, and moderate, and amiable, and generous, and truly religious emotions of the human breast, or those which alone characterise the Christian are left uncherished? Is it that men are by nature incapable of duly estimating the objects of this transient uncertain state, the evils of which accumulate with the growth of such vitiated desires for their enjoyment, and that they have no sufficient grasp of intellect or power of faith and conception to realize the blessings of virtue and immortality, or to weigh the miraculous evidences by which they are attested? Such a conclusion is contradicted by the actual influences which the glad tidings of immortality obtained over innumerable multitudes by whom they are embraced. Turning them from the darkness of idolatry, superstition, and vice, to the knowledge of the living and true God, and the hope of heaven, they enabled them

to withstand the fiery darts of persecution; to meet with much meekness and unshaken firmness, the private and public animosity, ridicule and contempt of the world from whence they emerged, the legal and illegal hostility by which their comfort, their possessions and lives were invaded; and still to persevere in distinguishing themselves as a peculiar people, zealous of good works! This being the success of the Christian faith at its introduction, when opposed by the most powerful obstacles from the prejudices, the vices and the worldly interests of men, from all that the concentration of worldly power, all that the glare of worldly greatness and pageantry, or that the arts of worldly wisdom and subtilty could confer upon long established opinions and practices; it must assuredly be in its power, now that persecution and worldly opposition have in a great degree subsided, to dispose its votaries to lead lives of sobriety, righteousness, and piety, in this present world, looking forward to that blessed hope, and the manifestation of the glory of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ.

We are, in these modern times, living in a state of great comparative ease as it regards our Christian profession. There is scarcely any form of faith which may not be avowed in this country, without incurring positive persecution. Nay, generally speaking, the different sectaries are vying with each other in their professions and manifestations of zeal for the cause of Christianity. The power and pomp, and learning, and interest of the world, are now professedly on the side of the gospel. But here lies our danger. Under these circumstances, men are extremely liable to mistake the outward seeming, the mere nominal designation and favouring smile upon the name of Christianity for Christianity itself. In the mean time, the self-denial, the humility, the meekness of spirit, the brotherly love and charity, the superior love to God and man, and even the knowledge and faith, which conferred such celestial glory on some of the early Christians, are too apt to be regarded rather as characteristics of those primitive times than as essential qualifications in the character of a modern Christian. And it now seems to be too