dying Christian with those who were called hence under a less favoured dispensation. Let us compare the language of the Apostle "desiring to depart and be with Christ," reconciled only to life by the profit to others and to the church from his remaining, Iwith the wail of Hezekiah-and he a believer and true servant of God—when told to "set his house in order, for that he must die and not live :" his craving of an extension of his time on earth-saying as in Isaiah xxxviii. 10, 11-"In the cutting off of my days, "I shall go to the gates of the grave (Heb. Hades): I am deprived of the residue of my years. I said, I "shall not see the Lord, even the Lord, in the land of "the living: I shall behold man no more with the "inhabitants of the world." True: in Hades the Lord was not to be seen. But this is pre-eminently now the Christian's hope in death, that he shall see the Lord and in the land of the living-while he can say with the Saviour in the words of the Psalm from which our text is taken, "Thou shalt shew me the "path of life; in Thy presence is fulness of joy; "at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore."

In conclusion-I have thus endeavoured to throw light on an Article of our creed which, I fear, is but little understood: and, if I have at all succeeded, may I hope that in confessing it in future, in enumerating, among all the facts which we

believe of the Saviour Jesus Christ-His Birth, His Sufferings, His Crucifixion, His Death, His Burial, His Resurrection and Ascension,-this additional one, that He descended into Hell, we may see in this another instance of His redeeming power, and withal another proof of His redeeming Love; and so an additional ground of praise and thanksgiving, and of joy in Him as our SALVATION.

THE LIFE OF CHRIST.

XIX.-HIS RESURRECTION.

PSALM xvi. 10.

"Thou wilt not leave My soul in Hell;

"Neither wilt Thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption."

IN a former discourse on this passage it was observed that it is a Prophecy of two Events which rank among the Articles of the creed of the Catholic Church; namely, 'The Descent of Christ into Hell' and His Resurrection from the dead:' and having then inquired into the import of the former as stated in the first clause,-"Thou wilt not leave my soul in Hell" (or "Hades"), we are now to consider the latter as stated in the second,-" Neither wilt Thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption;" the subject of this Day's commemoration.*

And here again there are two distinct particulars to be noticed: First-The assigned cause of our Lord's Resurrection: and, Secondly, The benefits *Easter Sunday.

consequent to the believers of this fundamental doctrine of our Religion.

I. First-The cause or reason of the Saviour's Resurrection, here assigned, forcibly impresses on us a Truth of which His whole history is an illustration, and therefore more than once dwelt on in this Series, —that the work of our redemption from beginning to end is a moral work; the vindication and triumph of RIGHTEOUSNESS, as was the Fall of Man the work and triumph of SIN. Of this truth the demonstration (we have seen) commenced with His Baptism and His Temptation immediately subsequent-was carried through His whole life, exemplified in His every word and deed-and was finally established by His Trial and Death-witnessed by His Betrayer who said, "I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood:" witnessed by His judge, in the repeated declaration of Pilate, "I find no fault in Him :" who, moreover, "when he saw that "he could prevail nothing, took water and washed "his hands before the multitude, saying, I am inno"cent of the blood of this just person; see ye to it :" witnessed by the malefactor crucified with Him, who said of himself and his fellow malefactor-" we indeed justly" (are in this condemnation), "for we "receive the due reward of our deeds; but this man

R

"hath done nothing amiss:" and finally, at the cross, by "the Centurion and those that were with him,” who, "when they saw the things that were done, "feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of "God,"—" Certainly this was a righteous man." While in this same fact is ever made to consist the efficacy of His atonement-in that "He died, the

66

just for the unjust, that He might bring us to "God,"-" redeemed with the precious blood of "Christ, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot."

And so here, the cause of His resurrection is His Holiness: "Thou wilt not suffer Thine HOLY ONE to see corruption:" a Title which also conveys the source and principle of His righteousness in the flesh -that it was the Spirit of God, in virtue of whose operation (we have seen) He was pronounced "holy” from His birth by the Angel who announced His miraculous conception :-"The Holy Ghost shall "come upon thee and the power of the Highest shall "overshadow thee: therefore also that Holy thing "which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son "of God." In the power of which Spirit (it will also be remembered) He entered on His conflict with the Tempter and overcame: and through which,— "through the Eternal Spirit"-ever energizing His humanity as a principle of new, Divine, and