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faith must behold and hear things very different, ye must be as though ye did not perceive the grave and the corpse, but as if ye perceived life in the midst of a blooming garden, or a green meadow filled with living and happy beings."

These are Luther's words, and this was the opinion of the great reformer of our church with regard to the resurrection, in which he coincides exactly with that of all the holy apostles. In contemplating the Easter miracle, they never for a moment lost sight of the important doctrine of Christ being our representative. Their first and most earnest inquiry always was, What made the Lord Jesus be so peculiarly exalted and glorified on the third day by his heavenly Father? Then were they told that Jesus our great Pledge did not receive this honour as the Word which had been with the Father from the beginning; but as the representative of man, in whose name he had fulfilled those conditions with which God had indissolubly connected the promise of his grace and of eternal life; and that in the most wonderful manner he had ceased for a time (if I may so speak) to be the Apostle and immaculate Son of God, and had, on the ,contrary, become a sinner in the eyes of his Father. For this reason, they were told, he received from Jehovah, in the garden of Joseph, the actual and visible testimony, that nothing more could be required from him; and this was done by his glorious resurrection, in which he was declared worthy of a throne in the heavens: this declaration not concerning him alone, but those sinners also in whose place he stood. Spiritually speaking, their heads were there also, while garlands and crowns were showered down upon their Pledge; they might appropriate to themselves the glory of the resurrection, and believe that they heard the words of the Father pronounced over them, "This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased!" Therefore they may cry, rejoicing, "(God) hath quickened us together with

Christ; and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." Therefore they may consider themselves as already sitting in heaven, and as if they beheld sin and the grave, death and hell, lying under their feet; for they no longer know themselves except as in their glorified Pledge, and they regard all his treasures, his glory and his victory, as their own. Is it to be wondered at, that, being clad in such an armour of faith, they should regard their adversaries with indifference? No threatening on the part of the world can terrify them, no attack of the powers of evil alarm them; even the conviction of their own frailty and imperfection does not decrease their joyfulness; and the dark grave, instead of casting a shadow before them, sends forth the light of hope to cheer their daily pilgrimage. They have overcome all in the person of their Redeemer; and no longer as combatants, but as victors, they occupy the field.

Alas! my brethren, the blessed efficacy of the gospel is seen but little among us, and it is a sad, oppressed, and melancholy Christendom which surrounds us. We know too little the springs of strength and joy which lie around us, and with the most blessed portions of the New Testament we are shamefully unacquainted; hence the inefficiency of our measures, hence the despondency in the midst of us. We have a glory in Christ Jesus which surpasses all understanding; as yet it is not manifest; but what will it be when it is declared to us? Then, heaven and earth will be too narrow; all must become new, and all must be changed, to keep pace with the glory of the saints, and to be a suitable scene and habitation for the royal priesthood of the chosen ones. A hasty and transient glimpse, such as we have now, of our glory in Christ Jesus, cannot adequately transport and enliven our hearts; we ought to contemplate it constantly, beholding its

splendour by means of faith, mounting like eagles towards the sun, and leaving the night of this earth far behind us. The stream on the banks of which the trees are always green, both summer and winter, has its source in the Easter miracle; and the tones of the harp which drives away all the spirits of evil, are still heard floating in the air above Joseph's garden.

The moment after Paul has exhorted Timothy to strive for the faith, and to arm himself for combat, he thus addresses him: "Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead, according to my gospel!"—thus doing his utmost to impress a vivid picture on the soul of his friend, which might remain there daily and hourly, and be ever present to his view in unfading clearness and eternal brightness, to the exclusion of all other images. And whose picture was this? My brethren, ye have heard: it was the picture of Jesus Christ-not the crucified One, but the beautiful and glorious Lord risen from the dead; it was the triumphant portrait of the Conqueror of death.

Paul seems to have been of opinion that the sight of the glorious image of Christ enshrined in the temple of his heart, must be of the utmost service to Timothy while in this world's scene of struggle. He himself had experienced what heroic courage a glance at the Easter miracle could impart; and on reading his epistles, we cannot doubt that the spring of his boldness, his long-suffering, and his joy, might be found in the contemplation of Jesus on the third day. And in order that Timothy may experience the same thing, he calls out to him, "Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead!"

Yes, my brethren, there is wafted from the picture of the resurrection, a balsamic fragrance, whose quickening and enlivening influence is not to be described. A light

proceeds from it, by whose illumination all that formerly terrified us is seen lying under our feet, and even the dark termination of our existence, the terrific grave itself, is clad with a heavenly brightness. Can we then give you a more glorious exhortation than this, "Remember that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead!" For true it is what Luther says, "The more a Christian contemplates the picture of the resurrection, the more is he blessed in Christ Jesus!" And O, may the Spirit paint this beautiful portrait with always brighter and brighter colours in our souls, and may he give us to understand its deep signification! May he enable us to comprehend how we sit on the same throne with our glorified Lord, and may he help us to decipher the mysterious handwriting of God in the Easter miracle, so that we may have boldness to exclaim with Paul from the depth of our souls, "Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us!" Amen.

THE EASTER MORNING.

JOHN XX. 11-17.

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But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, and seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary! She turned herself, and scith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master! Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

THIS is perhaps the most beautiful and the most deeply interesting narrative in the whole Bible. It is like a picture representing a heavenly scene, the colours of which are formed by the bright and variegated dusts found in the cups of flowers. It is like a clear and full-toned chord struck on

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