We cannot pass on from this consideration, without observing the power of God's grace in "giving power unto the faint; and to them that have no might, increasing strength." The notice we have of Joseph of Arimathea in the gospel, supplies us with an admirable illustration of the weakness and the strength of Christian character. When left to himself, and trusting to himself, the believer faints and is weary in his way. Uncertain and timid in his work, fearful of the world's opposition, and often, alas! buying its approbation by a compromise of principle, he has "no power of himself to help himself;" but when he leans on the arm of the strong, his experience becomes like that of the Apostle, "I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me."

And, believer, while you thank God for the All-wise Providence which has watched over every minute circumstance connected with the laying of the foundation-stone of the gospel, what thoughts arise in your mind in the contemplation of your Master carried to the grave? The narrow house, the place appointed for all living, the long home, presents to the natural sense reflections of the deepest gloom. The silence of the grave, the forgetfulness in that last resting-place, the decaying of the body—the dust to dust, all conspire to make the natural mind shrink from the approach of the "last enemy," and to shroud the tomb in a "horror of great darkness." But the burial of Jesus ought to remove all this gloom and fear. If the grave is the place of darkness and decay, it is also the "place where the Lord lay." It is the place, where he for a season reposed who is the "true light," and who could see no corruption." It is now robbed of its terrors: the prince of life has descended into its deep recesses, that his people might follow without fear; that, as it has been said,

they might experience only the shadow, not the reality of death; that instead of sinking into the grave as into a deep and fathomless abyss of darkness, they might look on it as the gate of heaven; and even as they approach its portals, find the light of heaven clearer in their souls, the hopes of heaven brighter in their hearts, and the glories of heaven opening to their view. Yes, beloved, if we have during life the blessed experience of a Saviour and Friend, ever near us, to bless us, to cheer us, to strengthen us, to comfort us, to sympathize with us, we shall not at the last trial of our faith lack the glorious light of his countenance, but with the assured confidence of one of old, who through the dimness of ages seemed to catch some bright glimpse of the light which was to illumine the darkness of the grave, we shall be able to say, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."

But we must now turn our attention to the particulars connected with the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour, as these are recorded by the inspired Evangelists. Nothing can exceed the importance of this great event. By this Jesus manifested in the most distinguished manner his Almighty power; by this he "was declared to be the Son of God with power;" by this the strongest testimony to his perfect holiness is laid before us; for if sin had known any resting-place in him, the grave must have remained sealed over him; by this the acceptance of his finished work upon the cross was declared his rising again was as it were a voice from heaven, declaring that the justice of God had been fully satisfied by the sufferings he had endured-that the debt due to the holiness of God had been paid in full-that what he had under

taken to do was accomplished in "opening the gate of heaven to all believers;" by this also did he give a pledge and a token of the future resurrection of his people, inasmuch as he became the "first fruits of them that slept."

The resurrection of Jesus therefore became the grand leading subject of the Apostles' preaching. Wherever they went they "preached Jesus and the Resurrection." And as this was a fact, and not a doctrine only, how weighty does their testimony become. Had they merely preached what had been taught to them-had they merely stated matters of opinion, their testimony would necessarily be open to much controversy: it might be said, although they honestly delivered their sentiments, yet that they might be grievously mistaken in them. But how different is the case in reality. They bore witness to a fact, which they themselves had witnessed. They did "eat and drink with Jesus after his resurrection:" and as they were competent to bear witness of this fact, so there is every thing which can inspire confidence in their testimony; and nothing is left to disturb this testimony by considerations of the uncertainty of human opinion, or the errors of human judgment.

In collating the accounts, furnished to us by the four Evangelists, of the events of the resurrection, we must have observed an apparent discrepancy in these accounts. For example, one mentions that on the company of women reaching the sepulchre of Jesus, on the morning of the resurrection, they saw two angels, while another mentions only one, besides a variety of other circumstances which do not at first sight appear directly to correspond with each other. It is unnecessary for us to dwell on these on the present occasion, and I shall content myself with quoting

from the work of an eminent scholar, a short sketch, in which the various narratives of the Evangelists are harmonized; only premising, that while perhaps in one or two minor matters of detail, I should be disposed to differ from him, yet that on the whole the scheme which he lays down will clearly furnish a key for the right understanding of the narration, and cause us more deeply than ever to feel, what many passages in the gospel cannot fail to impress on our minds, that while there is so much apparent discrepancy in some of the narratives on a cursory examination, as altogether to remove the suspicion of collusion between. the writers; there is not one single instance in which a clear and satisfactory solution of the difficulty may not be obtained.

The narrative to which the following sketch refers, is that of the different visits which were paid to the sepulchre of Jesus, and the writer has divided his remarks into sections, the more clearly to mark the different steps of the explanatory arrangement; and by comparing them with the gospel histories, you will find that all the circumstances mentioned there, are gathered up and harmonized

here.

Section I.-The women (Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome) set out to view the tomb -an angel descends-opens the tomb-Christ rises from the dead.

Section II. The women arrive, and see the stone taken away-Mary, concluding that the body of Jesus had been removed, runs to inform the disciples-the other two women remain behind-the transactions at the tomb during Mary Magdalene's absence.

Section III.-Peter and John, in consequence of Mary Magdalene's report, set out with Mary Magdalene to the

sepulchre they examine the tomb, and depart-Mary Magdalene stays at the tomb-Christ appears to her.

Section IV. Mary Magdalene goes with the message she received from Jesus, and falls in with the other Mary and Salome, who were waiting for her at some distance from the sepulchre-Jesus appears to the three, and sends a message to the disciples-as they are going, the watch report to the Chief Priests-the transactions at the tomb.

Section V.-Besides the three women already mentioned, another company of Galilean women arrive after these events at the sepulchre-what then took place at the tomb -Luke collects briefly the testimony of both parties-the disciples continue incredulous-some of the disciples visit the tomb.

Section VI.-Christ appears to Peter-the two going to Emmaus-who go to the disciples-Christ appears to all.

Section VII. The rest of the disciples incredulousparticularly Thomas.

Section VIII.-Christ appears to all-Thomas believes.

Section IX.-Christ appears to the disciples in Galilee. Section X.-The disciples still in Galilee-Christ appears to them at the sea of Tiberias.

Section XI.-Christ appears to all the apostles at Jerusalem.

Section XII.-Christ leads his disciples as far as Bethany-commissions them to proselytize all nationsand ascends to heaven.

The above is the arrangement of Cranfield, and will suffice to show how satisfactorily the whole narrative may be followed out. The difficulty of former comments on this narrative, consisted in the view which was inconsi