of persecution, the agonies of Gethsemane, the horrors of Calvary, if, at length, he had been subject for ever to the dominion of the grave; the sword of divine justice would still have remained unsheathed, the sceptre of mercy still prostrate, the gate of heaven still closed.

But when Jesus burst the bands of the grave, when he shook off the garments of corruption, he afforded a sure pledge of his mercy and compassion, proved, by this his victory over death, through the power of the Almighty Father, that the sacrifice of his cross was accepted, that the justice of the Eternal was satisfied, the holiness of the Sovereign of the universe vindicated, and the kingdom of heaven opened to true believers. His resurrection exhibits the pledge that death is vanquished, corruption disarmed; and that, finally, death and the sea shall give up their dead, to appear in incorruptible bodies at the judgment-seat of God.

Ye then, to whom the remembrance of your sins is grievous, and the burden of them intolerable, behold, in the resurrection of your Lord, the solemn pledge that the atonement which divine justice demanded has been made; that Christ your Redeemer, who poured forth his blood for you on the cross, is exalted to heaven, to give remission of sins to all who believe in his name. Hear the voice of mercy which, risen from the grave and enthroned in majesty in the heavens, he addresses to you: "I am he who once died, but am now risen again, and liveth for ever-exalted to be a Prince and Saviour, to give deliverance to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound. The bruised reed will I not break; with me there is mercy and plenteous redemption.

Come then to the fountain that is opened for sin and for uncleanness: wash, and be clean. Come ye to the waters; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

Ye thoughtless and sinful votaries of the world, listen to the voice of expostulation which he who this day burst the barriers of the tomb, the Almighty Conqueror, addresses to you: "Is it nothing, that I trod for you the wine-press of the fierce anger of the Almighty? Is it nothing, that, on the cross, I encountered for you the agonies of death, and cried out as one forsaken by my God? Is it nothing, that for your redemption I have burst the bands of the grave, and escaped from corruption? Is it nothing, that from the throne of my glory, where I am now exalted, I offer you pardon and salvation? Yet a little while, the day of grace will be closed: the sceptre of mercy, which is now extended, will be laid aside. The judgment will be set, the books will be open. Read in them the awful doom of the impenitent contemners of my mercy--everlasting banishment from the presence of God, and from the glory of his power."

Penitent believers, listen to the voice of that Saviour who this day rose for your justification: "I have been the plague of death; of the grave I have been the destruction. Repentance has been hid from mine eyes. For you, O believers, I hold the keys of death and hell. The prison of the grave shall not hold you. Corruption shall not have power over you. Your mortal shall put on immortality. You shall enter the paradise of God. I will lead you to living fountains of water. tears shall be wiped from your eyes.'

All

Ye, then, who mourn the dissolution of some of

the tender ties of life, take comfort at the grave of your Saviour Jesus, who, rising in power from it, proclaims-"I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me, shall never die." "Sorrow not then as those that have no hope." The beloved friends whose departure ye mourn, united to him by faith, are not dead for ever. Short and peaceful is the slumber of their grave. Soon shall their bodies wake from corruption, and be united to their souls, now in the paradise of God. Secure your interest in the merits of him who once died for your sins, and rose for your justification. Then through the vale of death he will in safety conduct you; to the celestial Zion he will bring you, to join before his throne the blessed saints who have gone before you, and you shall ever be with the Lord. Comfort one another with these words; comfort one another with these glorious hopes.

Christians, the pledges of these hopes are spread before you, in the memorials of the body and blood of

your Lord. Your Saviour, who is risen from the grave, and sits in glory in heaven, offers you the spiritual food of his precious body and blood. Eat and drink with lively, and humble, and holy faith; and by the merits and power of his body and blood your souls and bodies shall be nourished and strengthened to everlasting life.

SERMON XXVII.

THE DISPLAY OF THE DIVINE GLORY IN OUR REDEMPTION.

ISAIAH xliv. 23.

Sing, O ye heavens; for the Lord hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel.

DEEPLY interesting must have been the subject which occupied the view of the prophet, when, not satisfied with the strains of personal exultation, he bursts forth in the awakening call to universal nature to take up the song of rejoicing. It was not a private mercy extended to the prophet; it was not a temporal blessing bestowed on that chosen people to whom he had been so often the messenger of the counsels and commands of the Lord, and whose destinies had been so often the subject of his predictions. His view glanced beyond the scenes around him, and fixed on those distant periods when the Lord would visit his people with mercy from on high, and bring spiritual redemption to his chosen. The deliverance of Israel from the hands of their enemies, the immediate subject that warmed the soul of the prophet, animating subject of gratitude as it was, he considers but as a type and a pledge of that redemption from sin and death which God would vouchsafe to the world. The glorious event was not to take place until after the lapse of ages: but to the excited and enVOL. III

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raptured imagination of the prophet, ages revolve in an instant-the long tract of time loses its distance-the event appears present-the redemption of man seems accomplished-Jehovah has blotted out, as a cloud, his transgressions, and as a thick cloud, his sins. Transport swells the soul of the prophet. Feeble is his tongue, feeble the tongues of his fellow-mortals to pour forth praises worthy of the celestial theme. He gives a tongue to universal nature-he awakens heaven and earth in the song of exultation that the world, the spiritual Israel, is redeemed-" Sing, O ye heavens; for the Lord hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, and every tree therein: for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel."

My brethren, we surely require no exhortations to excite in our bosoms the emotions of gratitude, to engage our tongues in the songs of praise. We have not, like the prophet, to stretch forward our imaginations to distant ages, to future events: we can indeed say, without the ardent stretch of anticipation, The Lord has redeemed Jacob, the Lord has glorified himself in Israel. Through the course of her services the church has presented to us, from the records of divine truth, the history of that redemption which, commencing in the eternal counsels of the Godhead, was effected in the incarnation, the obedience, the sufferings, and the death of the Son of God. She now sets before us the completion of these great events, in the annunciation that Christ, who was dead, is risen again, and liveth for ever: the sacrifice of his cross has been accepted; the domains of death he has passed in triumph; the strong holds of the