constrain men to take knowledge of us that there is a reality in the religion we profess, that it has an influence on our minds, and that they may be constrained to glorify God our Father who is in heaven.

Let us now, show thirdly, THE CONNEXION BETWEEN THE TWO. To trace the legitimate effect of principle in any system is exceedingly pleasing: but especially is this the case with Christianity; inasmuch as the interests of thousands are connected with it. And where there is a real spiritual reception of the Gospel, there will be a publication of it arising from the following considerations.

Sympathy with the distressed. It is natural to feel for our fellow creatures when they are in a state of suffering, whether it arises from poverty, or disease, or what we commonly call accident. And if this be the case with regard to the body, is it not so with reference to the soul? It cannot be otherwise and it there is not a sympathy with those who are in distress with regard to their souls, it is because we have not ourselves been brought under the influence of the Gospel. When we think of their present state, ignorant of God, blinded to their own condition, led captive by Satan, delighting in those things that will prove their ruin; and when we think of that state to which they are going, the blackness of darkness, the worm that never dies, an eternity of woe, we should be led to enquire into our own condition. We have heard of a flock of sheep passing over a bridge, and one by some means being induced to take a leap and go over, all the rest followed in a train as fast as possible. Are we not reminded of our first parents taking a leap indeed, by eating of the forbidden fruit, ruining themselves, and all their posterity following in their train, and as they pass over the stage of life, leaping over the bridge into irretrievable ruin? Love to the Redeemer will induce this publication of the Gospel. If we are brought to believe in him so as to secure our own salvation, he must be precious to us. When we esteem an individual, we wish others to esteem him also; and especially is this the case when it secures an advantage to the person who is brought. If any man love not our Lord Jesus Christ he is accursed: but if he is brought to exercise faith in him, so as to secure his salvation, love to the Redeemer will burn in his breast, and he shall enjoy blessedness for ever. And this is not confined to a particular class of society: Whoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. And how shall they believe who have not heard? It becomes us, then, who have received the Gospel to describe the Saviour in his person, and in his work, and in his grace; so that individuals may be attracted to him, and love him supremely.

Anxiety for the cause will induce this. If we are interested in any thing that is good, there is a great propriety in seeking its extension. The cause for which we plead is the cause of heaven, and of righteousness, and of immortal souls; and we shall not be contented, if we feel aright, till it extends to the utmost bounds of the creation-till every mountain shall be made low, and the rough places plain, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it, according as he hath spoken.

Think of the happiness to be possessed. Happiness here, peace of conscience to be derived nowhere else, nearness to God as his children, and the sanctified use of all things below. But when we think of hereafter, eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive, the things God has prepared for them that love him: it is the society of saints

and angels, and the enjoyment of God for ever. When we think of this, will it not influence us to extend our hand to scatter the blessings of heaven and the salvation of Christ?

The glory that will be secured to God. What honour, what glory will be brought to his name, when, throughout our world, instead of enmity, and disorder, and confusion, there shall be peace, and comfort, and joy-when, instead of rebellion and ungodliness, there shall be obedience of heart and life-when, instead of there being gods many, and lords many, unto Jesus every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess. That it is the Lord's will this should be the case cannot be doubted for a moment. Think of the command he has given

to parents, to instruct those that are connected with them:-"Thou shalt teach them diligently to thy children," &c. (Deuteronomy, vi. 7.) Think of the command given to his disciples :-" Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations," &c. (Matthew, xxviii. 19.) Think of the expressions concerning believers : "Ye shall be a blessing in all the earth." "Ye are the salt of the earth, the light of the world." We have examples left, individual and collective examples. Individual examples. David was desirous of building a temple for the Lord, that his worship might be perpetuated and enlarged. The woman of Samaria, when she found the Saviour, was desirous of making him known to others: "Come, see a man that hath told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?" Paul, when he was converted, "straightway preached Christ in the synagogue, that he is the Son of God." Collective examples. The Apostles went and preached every where, that Jesus is Christ. After the persecution took place, those that were scattered abroad went every where preaching Christ. The Thessalonians caused to be sounded out the Word of the Lord, so that the Apostles needed not to speak any thing; they were living epistles, known and read of all men. In later times, when Luther, and Calvin, and Melancthon, and others, emerged from a state of popery, they came forth and preached the Gospel to those with whom they were associated first, and then to all who would give them a hearing. And in later times still, a Whitfield, and a Wesley, and I may be allowed to say, the Countess of Huntingdon, did what they could to spread the Gospel of the Son of God.

Let me ask, what have we done? There are a great number who profess to be members of a Christian Church; is this the sentiment you feel: "We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard?" Are you making it known in your families, in your neighbourhood, in the city in which you live, and throughout the world? An individual's house was on fire. The alarm being given, she became anxious, and thought of this article, and the other article, and ran to this apartment, and the other apartment, to secure this and that; and having done so she exclaimed, "Oh, my child" She went to see after her child; but it was too late, her child was consumed by flames. We may be taken up by this and the other trifle, and we may give away our money; but we may lose our child, our neighbour; and at the great day of the Lord his blood shall be found upon us. May the Lord enable us to use all our efforts for the extension of his kingdom throughout our world. Amen.

THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST.

REV. W. B. LEACH.

ROBERT STREET CHAPEL, GROSVENOR SQUARE, EASTER SUNDAY, APRIL 3, 1831.

"And was raised again for our justification."-ROMANS, iv. 25.

On Friday our attention was directed to the former part of this verse, when, in conjunction with thousands of our pious countrymen, we repaired to the hill of Calvary, and surveyed the wondrous cross on which the Prince of glory died. In that elevated position-so favourable for instruction and the exercise of devotional feeling-we beheld the treachery of Judas, the malice of the Jews, the contempt of the Romans, the denial of Peter, the cowardice of the Apostles, and the insults of the populace. There we beheld the Lamb of God taking away the sins of the world, the Lamb led to the slaughter, the sheep dumb beneath the hand of her shearers, the blood which was shed for many for the remission of sins, the fountain which was opened for the purification of sin and uncleanness, the price which was paid for the procurement of our pardon, and the peace which was ratified between God and his offending creatures.

From the Saviour's cross we are now invited to turn our attention to his tomb. As the bodies of the malefactors were under the power of the Roman magistrates, Joseph of Arimathea went to Pilate and begged the body of Jesus. He, accompanied by Nicodemus, perfumed the body, and conducted it at last to the sepulchre, followed by a few poor but pious females, who were the attendants in this funeral procession. On being thus deposited, a stone was rolled against the sepulchre's mouth, and was sealed by the Roman signet; whilst a military guard was placed to protect the spot, lest the disciples, for the confirmation of their belief in the Lord's Messiahship, should come and steal him away by night. At length, on the eventful morn of the first day of the week, which was big with important events, an angel descends from heaven; a trembling shakes the ground; the earthquake removes the stone from the mouth of the sepulchre; the seal is broken; Jesus comes forth, and appears to his disciples. Thus, whilst "he was delivered for our offences," he "was raised again for our justification."

There is not a more momentous event in the whole economy of salvation, than the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave. Upon this point our hopes must rest: for "if Christ be not risen, our faith is vain; we are yet in our sins." It was important, therefore, for the confirmation of his Messiahship to justify the hopes of his saints, to take possession of the heavenly inheritance, which he laid down his life to purchase to attest the completion of his mediatorial work, which confers the benefits of his meritorious righteousness, and that he might enter on that office in heaven which was indispensable for the good of his Church, and the extension of his kingdom here below.

The resurrection of our Lord is important for the confirmation of the truth of his Messiahship. For the protracted space of four thousand years, the ancient Church calculated upon his coming as the Son of man in the flesh. He was repeatedly spoken of as the desire of all nations, to whom was to be the gathering of the people; as the heavenly Shiloh; as the offspring of David; as the stem of Jesse, the plant of renown; as the precious corner stone. But yet, notwithstanding the clearness and perspicuity with which his approaching advent was announced to the Jews, no sooner did they behold him, divested of that earthly splendour and majesty on which their sordid minds had calculated, thau they -unitedly rejected his mission, disbelieved his divinity, insulted his humanity, persecuted his followers, and at last nailed him to the tree. Well, my brethren, go to his tomb In three short days after his crucifixion the question is to be decided. If Jesus rise not, the Jews were right in their opposition to him; but if he burst the barriers of the tomb, his Messiahship is attested beyond debate. He did rise. He rose for the confirmation of his own character, and for the confirmation of his people's hope.

It was important in order to sanction and confirm the faith of his followers. It is well known how extremely difficult we find it to lose old prepossessions and prejudices, in which, perhaps, we have even been cradled; which we have imbibed from our very birth; which have been infused into our minds by the influence of education; which have been associated with all our habits and modes of thinking and acting; which have grown with our growth, and strengthened with our strength. These old prejudices and prepossessions seem to have had a very strong influence over the minds even of our Lord's disciples. There is one Scripture that informs us that "neither did his brethren believe in him." And strange to say, even to the very last, those few members of his family, notwithstanding all that they had heard from his lips respecting his own resurrection in particular, and the resurrection of the dead in general, seem to have had very confused notions respecting that great transaction. "They doubted in themselves," we are told, "what the resurrection of the dead should mean." And when two of them going to Emmaus, were talking about this wonderful occurrence, they said, not supposing that Jesus was in the midst of them, We trusted that it had been he who should have delivered Israel :" not being able still to get quit of the notion that he was to establish a temporal jurisdiction. Such had been their sordid views for years. However, when the happy morn arrived in which he came forth from the bars of mortality, and appeared to them in a remarkable and miraculous manner, all their hopes were at once justified; their hesitation was lulled to rest; their fears were silenced; and after this period you see them quite different persons. Their former timidity and prejudices seem to have given way; and they went forth with 'unbounded zeal, being faithful even unto death.

The resurrection of Christ was important, because it was indispensable to attest the completion of his mediatorial work. We want a complete salvation. Jesus Christ took upon himself our humble form; by his obedience he magnified the broken law, through whose breach Jehovah's curse came upon our guilty world, and made it honourable: he also poured out his soul unto death. When he rose from the tomb there was Jehovah's voice declaring to us that "it was finished," that he had completed the whole of the transaction. This was the topstone of the great fabric of Almighty mercy: the basement was laid in that covenant which was formed before the foundation of the world; and in our risen

Saviour we seem to see the last act of divine benevolence on behalf of our fallen world, and our deliverance from endless woe. That was the morning, surely, when the topstone was brought forth with shouting of "Grace unto it."

It was needful our Lord should rise to re-ascend to his glory and settle those things which relate to his Church and his kingdom here below. Did Aaron enter on the great day of atonement into the Holy of holies, with the blood of sprinkling? So it was with our Great High Priest. "This man," says the Apostle, or, as it should have been rendered, this priest, "after he had offered one sacrifice for sin, for ever sat down on the right-hand of God; from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool." He has therefore risen, and passed into the heavens, to appear in the presence of God for us. Ho has gone to take possession of those mansions which he laid down his life to secure, as our covenant Head, forerunner, and representative: he has gone to advocate our cause; he has gone to present the memorials of his purchase. There he lives, being made Head over all things to the Church. There he has a name which is above every name, "that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth." There we see him as our exalted king, having all rule, and all authority, and all power over angels, over the various departments of universal nature; over all the nations of our globe; over the churches of his saints, over the families, the affairs, the bodies, the minds of his people as individuals. Thus the reins of universal government are in the hands of our risen and exalted Redeemer. Under his peaceful sway nothing happens by chance; but all things work together for our good, and for the glory of his name.

In the second place, let us adduce SOME REASONS IN CONFIRMATION OF THIS GREAT DOCTRINE. It is not enough that we assent to it; it is requisite that we be at all times prepared to give an answer to every man who proposes a question on such a leading feature of our Christian character, upon such a leading article of our Christian creed. It is indispensable, because the resurrection of Christ forms a very material link in the chain of Christian doctrine. The Jews deny it: so do infidels. But we ask, Would the enemies of our Lord Jesus Christ have taken away his body from the grave? For the removal of his body is indisputable: the only question is, who removed it? Was it likely the enemies of Christ would have done so? This would have confirmed all the expectations of the disciples: for they calculated on his bursting the barriers of the tomb; they calculated upon his coming forth from the prison house. If then it is not likely the enemies of Christ would not have done it, was it likely that his disciples would have done it? Timid creatures! There was Peter, the boldest among them, alarmed only at the voice of a servant maid, who said to him, "Thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth:" was it likely he would have risen so above himself as thus to have acted? And, even if that were likely, where were the guards? Why, says the Scripture, when the Jews found that Christ was raised, they came to the Roman governor, and gave the soldiers large sums of money, and said, "Say ye, his disciples came at night, and stole him away while we slept." Nothing was more unlikely. If the guards were asleep, how did they know who stole him? and if they were awake, why not prevent the theft, since their character, and even their life were placed in such imminent danger?

But without further debate we call our witnesses. Who are the men able to