wonderful, indeed, says unbelief, if it be true. What! shall all these scattered bones and dust become a man? Dost thou dispute the power of the Almighty? Dost thou object difficulties to Infinite Strength? Let me take thee by the hand, and with reverence, as Elihu of old, plead for God. Seest thou this massive body of the earth? Upon what foundation does it stand? Seest thou this vast ocean of waters? What limits them, and why do they not overflow and drown the earth? Whence is that constant ebbing and flowing of the tides? Wilt thou say from the moon, or other planets? And whence have they that influence? Must thou not come to a cause of causes, that can do all things? And does not reason require thee to conceive of that cause as a perfect intelligence, and voluntary agent? Look upward; seest thou that glorious body of light, the sun? How many times larger is it than all the earth! and yet how many thousand miles does it run every minute, and that without weariness, or failing a moment! Is not that power which does all this able to effect thy resurrection? Dost thou not see as great works as a resurrection every day before thine eyes, but that the commonness thereof makes thee not admire them? Is it not as easy to raise the dead, as to make heaven and earth, and all of nothing? But if thou wilt not be persuaded, all I shall say more to thee is, as the prophet to the prince of Samaria, "Thou shalt see it with thine eyes," but little to thy comfort. There is a rest prepared, but thou shalt not "enter in, because of unbelief." But as for thee, O believing soul, never think to comprehend with thy narrow capacity the counsels and ways of thy Maker. When, therefore, he speaks, dispute not, but believe.

Come then, fellow Christians, let us contentedly commit these bodies to the grave; that prison shall not long contain them. Let us lie down in peace, and take our rest; it will not be an everlasting night, or endless sleep. What if we leave the troubles and tumults of the world, and enter into the chambers of the tomb, and the door be shut upon us, and we hide ourselves, as it were, for a little moment, "until the

indignation be over-past!" "Behold, the Lord cometh out of his place, to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity ;" and then the earth shall disclose us, and the dust shall hide us no more. As sure as we awake in the morning, when we have slept out the night, so surely shall we then awake. "We know that our Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth," and we shall see him with these eyes.

Lay down freely this terrestrial, this natural body; thou shalt receive it again a celestial, a spiritual body. Though thou lay it down in dishonour, thou shalt receive it in glory. Though thou art separated from it through weakness, it shall be raised again in mighty power. When the trumpet of God shall sound the call," Arise ye dead, and come away,"-who shall stay behind? When he shall call to the earth and the sea, O earth, give up thy dead, O sea, give up thy dead,-who shall resist the powerful command? The first that shall be called, are the saints that sleep; and then the saints that are alive shall be changed; for Paul hath told us by the word of the Lord, "That they which are alive, and remain till the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent (or go before) them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the arch-angel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then they which are alive, and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore," O Christians, "comfort one another with these words." This is one of the gospel mysteries, "That we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption; and this mortal, immortality. Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? Thanks be

to God who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." Triumph now, O Christian, in these promises; thou shalt shortly triumph in their fulfilment. The grave that could not keep our Lord, shall not keep us: He arose for us, and by the same power shall we arise. "For if we believe that Jesus died, and rose again; even so them also which sleep in Jesus, will God bring with him." Oh, Christian, write these sweet words upon thy heart, "Because I live, ye shall live also." Let us never look at the grave, but let us see the resurrection beyond it. Faith is quick-sighted, and can see as far as eternity. Therefore, let our hearts be glad, and our glory rejoice; let our flesh also rest in hope; for he will not leave us in the grave, nor suffer us still to see corruption. "Let us be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as we know our labour is not in vain in the Lord."

Thus, Christian, thou seest that Christ, having sanctified the grave by his burial, and conquered death by his resurrection, a dead body and a grave are not now so horrid a spectacle to a believing eye. But as our Lord was nearest his glory when he was in the grave, even so are we. And he that has promised to make our bed in sickness, will make the dust as a bed of roses. Death shall not dissolve the union betwixt him and us, nor turn away his affections from us. the morning of eternity, he will send his angels, yea, come himself, and roll away the stone, and unseal our grave, and reach forth his hand, and deliver us alive to our Father.

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III. Contemplate the public and solemn process of the judgment of the saints, when they shall first themselves be acquitted and justified, and then with Christ shall judge the world. Public I may well call it, for all the world shall there appear. Young and old, of all estates and nations, that ever were from the creation to that day, must here come and receive their doom. "I saw," says John, "a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the heavens and the earth fled away, and there was found no place

for them: And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God: And the dead shall be judged out of those things which are written in the books, according to their works, and whosoever is not found written in the book of life, shall be cast into the lake of fire." O terrible! O joyful day! Terrible to those who have let their lamps go out, and have not watched, but have forgotten the coming of the Lord! Joyful to the saints, who waited and hoped to see this day! Then shall the world behold the goodness and severity of God; on them who perish severity, but to his chosen goodness. Then shall every one give account of his stewardship; every talent of time, health, knowledge, mercies, afflictions, means, warnings, must be reckoned for. Then the sins of youth, and those which they had long forgottén, and even their most secret sins shall all be laid open before men and angels. Then their own consciences shall cry out against them, and call to their remembrance all their misdoings. Oh! which way will the wretched sinner look? Oh! who can conceive the terrible thoughts of his heart? Now the world cannot help him; his old companions cannot help him; the saints neither can nor will. None but the Lord Jesus can; but O there is the soul-killing misery, he will not. Nay, without violating the truth of his word, he cannot; though otherwise, in regard of his absolute power, he might. The time was, sinner, when Christ would, but you would not; and now, Oh how fain would you, but he will not. Then he followed thee in vain with entreaties, but thy ear and heart were shut against all. Now thou wilt cry, "Lord, Lord, open to us ;" but he shall say, "Depart from me, I know you not, ye workers of iniquity." What then remains but to cry to the hills and to the mountains, " Fall upon us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth upon the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb." But all in vain; for thou hast the Lord of the hills and the mountains for thine enemy, whose voice they will obey, and not thine. Sinner, make not light of this; for as thou livest (except a thorough change prevent it) thou shalt

shortly, to thy inconceivable horror, see that day. Oh, sinner! will thy cups then be wine or gall? Will it comfort thee to think of all thy mirth and gaiety, and how pleasantly thy time slipt away? Will it do thee good to think how rich thou wast, and how honourable? Or will it not rather wound thy very soul to remember thy folly, and make thee, cry out, with anguish of heart.

But why tremblest thou, O humble, gracious soul? Cannot the enemies and slighters of Christ be foretold their doom, but thou must quake? Do I make sad the soul that God would not have sad? Doth not thy Lord know his own sheep, who have heard his voice and followed him? He that would not lose one Noah in a common deluge, when him only he had found faithful in all the earth; he that would not overlook one Lot in Sodom,-nay, that could do nothing till he went forth,-will he forget thee in that day? "The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to reserve the unjust to the day of judgment to be punished." He knoweth how to make the same day the greatest for terror to his foes, and yet the greatest for joy to his people. Indeed, if our judge were our enemy, as he is to the world, then we might well fear. But our judge is "Christ who died, yea, rather who is risen again, who also maketh intercession for us." Oh, what inexpressible joy may this afford to a believer, that our blessed Lord, who loveth our souls, and whom our souls love, shall be our judge? Christian, did he come down from heaven, and suffer, and weep, and bleed, and die for thee, and will he now condemn thee? Hath it cost him so dear to save thee; and will he now himself destroy thee? Hath he done the most of the work already, in redeeming, regenerating, justifying, sanctifying, and preserving thee; and will he now undo all again? Will he not finish what he hath begun? Let that day make the devils tremble, and the wicked tremble; but let us leap for joy. Though we cannot plead not guilty, in regard of fact; yet, being pardoned, we shall be acquitted by the proclamation of