Sermons (LXXX Sermons etc.); Holy Sonnets

and te God tke J'nd9e ol e all, and te the spirlts of just men ade perfect, and te Jeots tke 3lediato OE the new coenat, and te tke blood of rikling, tha speak» better king» tkan tha of Abel, blesed God bring us ail, tbr thy Son's ake, and by the operation of thy Spirit. Amen.

IIe is net here, for he is risen, as he said; Corne, sec the place vhel.e the Lord lay.

Tn]sl are words spoken by the angel of heaven, te certain devout women, who, net yet considering the resurrection of Christ, came with a pious intention te de an office of respect, and civil honour te the body of their Master, which they meant te embalm in the monument where they thought te find it. How great a compass God went in this act of the resurrection! IIere was God, the God of lire, dead in a grave, and here was a man, a dead man, risen out of the grave; here are angels of heaven employed in se low an office, as te catechise vomen, and women employed in se high an office, as te catechise the apostles. I chose this verse out of the body of the story of the resurrection, because in this verse the act of Christ's rising, (which we celebrate this day) is expressly mentioned, s«rrexit enim, for ke is risen: which word stands as a candle, tiret shows itsilf, and ail about it, and will minister occasion of illustrating your understanding, of establishing your faith, of exalting your devotion in some other things about the resurrection, than fall literally vithin the xvords of this verse. For, frein this verse we must necessarily reflect, both upon the persons (they te whom, and they by whom the words were spoken) and upon the occasion given. I shall net therefore new stand te divide the words into their parts and branches, af my fil'st entel'ing into them, but h.ndle tbem, as I shall meet them again thon, springing out, and growing up froln the body of t|le story; for the context is out text, and the whole resurrection is the work ofthe day, though it be virtually, implicitly contrcted into this verse, I]ê is hot here, for ke is rien, as lt said; Corne, and ee tlw place ckere tke Lord lay. Out" first eonsider.tion is upon the persons; and those we final to be angelie.l women, and evangelieal angels: angels ruade evangelists, to paeb the Gospel of the resurreetion, aud women ruade angels, (so as John Baptist is ealled an anyd', and so as the seven bishops are ealled at.qels ) that is, instruetors of the ehureh; and to reeompense that observation, that never good angel appeared in tlle likeness of wom.n, here are good women ruade angels, that is, messengers, publishers of tbe greatest mysteries of our religion. For, howsoever some men out of a petulancy and wantonness of vit, and out of the extravagancy of paradoxes, and such singularities, h.ve called the faculties, and abilities of women in question, even in the root thereof, in tbe reasonable and immortal oul, yet that one thing alone bath been enough to create a doubt, (a]most an assurance in the negative) whether St. Ambrose's Commentl-ies upon the Epistles of St. Paul, be truly his or no, flat in that book there is a doubt ruade, whether tbe woman were ereated according to God's image; therefore, because that doubt is ruade in that book, the book itself is suspected hot to bave had so great, so grave, so constant an author as St. Ambrose "cas; no author of grvity, of piety, of conversation in the Scriptures could adroit that doubt, whetller woman were created in the image of God, that is, in possession of a reasonable and an immortal soul. The faculties and abilities of the soul appear best in affairs of state, and in eeelesiastica] affairs; in rnatter of government, and in matter of religiou; and in neither of these are we without examples of able women. For, for state affairs, and matter of government, our age bath given us such. queen, as scarce any former king bath equalled; and in the Venetian story, I remember, that Celain matrons of th.t cîty were sent by commission, in quality of ambassadors, to an empress with whom that state .Ial. iii. 1. ffi Iev. i. 20.

had occasion to treat; and in the stories of the Eastern parts of the world, it is sid to be in ordinary praetiee to send women for ambssadors. And then, in matters of religion, women bave evermore had a great hand, though sometimes on the left, as well as on the right hand. Sometimes their abundant wealth, sometimes their personal affections to some church-men, sometimes their irregular and indiscreet zeal bath ruade them great assistants of great heretics; as St. Hierome te]ls us of Helena to Simon Magus, and so was Lucilia to Donatus, so another to Mahomet, and others to others. But so bave they been also eat instruments fo» the advaneing of true religion, as St. Paul testifies in their b&alf, at Thessalonica, Of the chier women, wt a few; great, and many. For nlany times women bave the proxies of greater persons than themselves, in their bosoms; nlany ti]nes women bave voices, where they should bave none; nmuy times the voices of great men, in the eatest of civil, or ecclesiastical assemblies, bave been in the power and disposition of women. Hence is it, that in the old epistles of the bishops of Rome, when they needed the court, (as, at first they needed courts as nluch, as they brought courts to need them at last)we find as nmny letters of those popes fo the emperors" wives, and the emperors' mothers, and sisters, and women of other names, and interests in the emperors" favours aud affections, as to the empemr.s thenlselves. St. Hierome vrit many letters to divers holy ladies; for the most part, ail of one stock and kindred; and a stock and kindred so religious, as that I remember, the good old man says, That if Jupiter were their Cousiu, Of their kindred, he believes Jupiter would be a Christian; he would leave being such a god as he was, to be their fcllow-servant to the true God.:Now if women were brought up accor,ling to St. Hierome's instructions in those letters, that by seven years of age, they should be able to sav tlle Psalms without book; that as they grew in years, they should proceed in the knowledge of Scriptures, that they should love the service of God at church, but hot sine matre, hot go to church wheu they would, but when their mother eould go with them, ¥c luwrerent celebritatem ecclesiaru,u, They should hot always go to the greatest churehes, aud  Acts xvii. 4. VoL.!.

where the most ramons preaehers drew most company; if women bave submitted themselves to as good an education as men, God forbid their sex should prejudice them, for being exam]des to others. Their sex. no, nor their sins neither: for, it is St. Hierome's note, That of ail those women, that are namcd in Christ's pedigree in thc Gospel, there is hot one, (his only blessed Virgin Mother excepted) upon whom there is hot soine suspicions noteofincontincncy. Ofsuch women didChrist vouchsafe tocone; He came of voman so, as tllat ]le eanle of nothig but wonmn; of woumu, and hot of man. Neitlmr do we read of any woman in the Gospcl, that assisted the pcrsecutors of Crist, or furrhered his afflictions; even Pilate's wife dissuaded it. ,Voman, as well as man, was marie after the image of God, in the creation; and in tho resurrection, when wo sha|l rise such as we werc hcre, her sex shall not dimiuish ber glory: of which, she receivos one fidr beam, and inchoation in this text, that the purpose of Goal, is, even by the nfinistry of angels, communicated o women. But wh:tt wonmn . for their preparation, their disposition is in this text too; such women, as were hot ouly devout, but serinions, diligent, constant, perseverant in their devotion; to such womcn God communicatcd himself; which is another consideration in thcse persons. As our Saviour Cris't was plcased, that one of these women shonld be celebrated by name, for another act npon him, Mary Magdalcn, and that wheresoever his Gospcl was preached, her act should be remcmbed, so tho rest, with ber, are worthy to be known and celcbratcd by thcir names; therefore we consider, «', and,l«al«s; first who they wcre, and then what they were, their names first, md then thcir conditions. There is an historical relation, and observation , That though there be divers kingdoms in Europe, in whieh the crowns may fall upon women, yet, for some ages, they did hOt, and when they did, it was much at ono time, and ail upon women of one naine, Mary. It wa. so with us in England, and in Scotland if was so; so in Denmark, and in Hunga T it was so too; ail four, Marys. Though regularly women should not preach, yet when these le.¢ati a l«tere, theso angels front heaven did give orders to women, and me them

SE/l, XXll|.] PIACHED ON EASTER DAYo 4,51 apostles to the apostles, the commission was to women of that naine, ]Mary; for, though our expositors dispute whether the blessed Virgin Mary were there thon, when this passed at tbe sepulchre, yet of Mary Magdalen, and Mry the mother of James, there can be no doubt. Indeed it is  noble, and a comprehensive • naine, Mary. It is the naine of woman, in general; for, when Adam says of Eve, »S'he skall be called woman , in the Arabie translation, there is this naine,,S'ke shall be call«d Mary; and tho Arabie is, perehanee, n dialeet of the Hebrew. But in pure, and original Hebrew, the word signifies exal¢atio, and whatsoever is best in the kind thereof. This is the naine of tlmt sister of Aaron, and hloses «, that with her choir of wolnen assisted at that eucharistical sacrifice, that triumphant song of dmnksgiving, upon the destruction, the subversion, the summersion of Eg)pt in the Red Sea. Her naine was Miriam; and hlirimn and Mary is the saine naine in women, as Josuah and Jesus is the saine name to men. The word denotes yreatuess, hot o»ly in power, but in wisdom, and learuing too; and so signifies often prophets and doctors; and so flls fitliest upen these blessed women, who, in that sense, were all ruade MaTs, messengers, apostles to the apostles; in whieh sense, even those women were made hlarys, (that is, messengers of the resurreetion) who, no doubt, had other names of their om. There was anaongst tbem, the vife of Cbusa , a great man in Herod's court, his stcward; and ber naine was Joanna, Joan. So that here was truly a Popo Joan, a woman of tbat name, abovo the greatest mon in tho church. For the digaaity of the papacy, they venture to say, That whosoever was St. Peter's successor in the bishoprie of Rome, was above any of the apostles, that over-lived Peter; as St. John did; here was a woman, a Pope Joan, superior to St. Peter himself, and able fo teach him. But though we round just reason fo celebrate these women by naine, we meant hOt to stay upon that circumstance; we shut it up with this' prayer, That that blessing which God gave to these Marys, which was, to know more of Christ, than their former teachers knew, ho will also be pleased fo give to tlte greatest of that naine amongst us, that slle may know more of Christ, than her first techers knew. And we pass on, from the names, to the conditions of these women. And first we consider their sedulity; sedulity, tlmt admits no intermission no interruption no discontinuance, no tepidity» no indifferency in religious oces. Consider we therefore their sedulity if we can. I say if we can; because if a man should sit down at  bee-hive, or at an ant-hill and determine to watch such an ant, or such  bec, in the working thereof, he would find that bec, or tht ant so seulous, so serious, so vrious, so concurrent with others, so contributary to others, as that he would quickly lose his marks, and his sight of that mt, or that bec; so if we fix out consideration upon these devout women, and the scdulity of their devotion, so as the several evangelists present it to us, we may easily lose out sight, and hardly know which was which, or, at what rime she or she came to the sepulchre. Zhey came in the end of tke,Sbbatk, as it beya to dawn, towards the flrst day of tke week , says St. Matthew: They came very early i, the nwrtd,tE, po,, the rst day of the week, the un beinp then rise , says St. Mark; hey prepared their spices, attd red tke,S'abbath, and came earlff the next deff/°, says St. Luke; They caw tke flrst day, u'hen it u'as y dark , says St. John. From Friday evening, till Sunday morning, they were sedulous, busy upon this service; so sedulo, as that Athanasius thinks these women came four several rimes to the sepulehre, and that the four evangelists have relation to their four comings; and St. Hierome argues upon this seeming variety n the evangelists, tlms, n mendacii siynum, sed sedulw visitationis offclum, This variety argues no uncertainty in the evangelists, but testifies the sedulity of those women they speak of; Dura crebro abeunt et recurrunt, says he, Vhilst they make many accesses, and returns, c patiutur a sqmlchro dlu, attt &çqlus abesse, And oennot indue to be far distant, or long absent ri'oto their devout exeoeise. Beloved, true devotion is a serious, a sedulous, an impatient thing. He that said in the Goel, Ifast twice a week TM, was but a Pharisee; he that can rkon his devout actions, is no better;

he that can tell how often he bath thought upon God to-day, hath hot thought upon him often enough. It is St. Augustine's holy circle, to pray, that we may hear serinons profitably, and to hear serinons that we learn to pray acceptably. Devotion is no marginal note, no interIineary gIoss, no parenthesis that may be left out; it is no oeeasional thing, no eonditional thing; I will go, if I like the preaeher, if the place, if the company, if the weather; but it is of the body of the text, and lays upon us an obligation of fervour and of eontinuanee. This we have in this example of these, hOt only evangelieal, but evangelistieal (preaehing) women; and thus ranch more, that as they vere sedulous and diligent afler, so they were early, and begun betimes; ibr, hovsoever tne cvangelists may seem to var)', in the point of rime, when they came, they all agree they came earb3, which is another exaltation of devotion. They were women of quality, and means. Tlley came with Christ from Galilee, and they came upon their own charges; and more than so; for, says the text, They minist«red to Christ of their substance '. 1Vomen of quality may be up and ready early enough for God's service, if they will. If they be not, let them but seriously ask themselves that question, Whether upon no other occasion, no cntertainment, no visit, no letter to or from another, they could bave ruade more haste; and if they find they could, I must say in that case, as Tcrtullian said, Thcy bave put God and that man into the balance, and weighed them together, and round God too light. That mighty, that weighty, that ponderous God, that blasts a state with a breath, that melts a church with a look, that moulders a world witll a touch, that God is weighed down with that man; that man, whose errand, if it be but conversation, is vanity, but, if it be sin, is nothing, weighs down God. The world will needs think one of theso Marys, (Magdalen) to have beeu guilty of such entertainments as these, of incontinency, mad of tlmt in the lowest (that is, the highest) kind, prostitution; perchance she was; but, I would there were that necessity of thinking so, that because she was a woman, and is called a sinner, therefore that nmst be ber sin, as though they were capable of no other sin; alas, it is hOt so.  Luke viii. 3.

. PREkCHED ON E.kSTER DAYo [SEB. XXIII. There may and over-va]uation of and yet y well be clled sinners too women, whom only their scorn of others, haye kept honest, and yet are sinncrs, thouh net in that sin. But yeL eyen thi woman, Ma Madalen,  ber sin what you will, came er/te ('list; ear]y, as soon as hc afforded ber any liht. Christ say in tho person of Wisdom, I lofe tem tat lofe e, and tey tat seek me early sallflnd me'"; and a good seul will echo back that rcturn of David, 0 God, tou art ny seul tkirsteth for thee; my flesh &nyh ]br thee; and double that ceho with Esay, tVith my seul bave I desirM thee in tke niyht, and with my spirit within me, wig I seek thee early ». New, what is this early seeking of God First, there general rule given by Solomon, Remember tky Creator i the days of thy youtk ; submit thyself te a religious discipline bctimes. But then, in that there is a ow inseed into that rule of Sol mon's, (Remember new thy Creator, in the days of thy youth.) there is an intimation, that there is  youth in o age, and an earliness accepblo te God, in every action; wo seek m eurly, if we seck him at the beginning of every undeking. If I awake ai midnlght, and embraee God in mine ar, that is, receive God into my thoughts, and pursuo those meditations, by sueh a having had God in my eompany, I may bave frustrated many temptations that would bave atmpted me, and perehanee lwevailed upon me, if I had bn alone, for solitude is one of file dcvil's seenes; and, I ara afraid them ara pcrsons that sin oftener alone, than in company; but that man is net alono thut bath God in his sight, in his thought. Thouprevenst me with the blessings of yoodness TM, says David te God. I eome net early enough te God, if I stay ti his blessings in a prosperous fortune prevent me, and lead me te God; I should eome beforo that. Tke days of aiction hare prereuted me TM, savs Job. I corne net early enough te God, if I stay till his judgments prevent me, and whip te ç//t watces, ad t/e dm«ni of t/e mornb yFrayerprere»t t/ee 0 f/od , (which is a h]h expression of Dvids, Tha I shod wake Lefore (od wakes, and even prevent his preventing grace, before it be declared in any outward ac¢, that day) if before blessing or cross tkll upon me, I surrender myself entirely unto thee, and sa)-, Lord here I lie, make thou these sheets my sheets of penanee, in inflicting a siekness, or my winding-sheet, in deliverillg me over to prescrit death, here I lie, make thou this bed mine altar, and bind me to it in the cords of decrepitness, and bedridness, or throw me off of it illtO the grave and dust of expeetatlon, here I lie, do thou ehoose whether I shall sec any to-morrow in this world, or begin my eternal day, this night, thy kingdoln colne, thy will bc donc; when I seek God, merely tbr love of him. and his glory, without relation fo his benefits or to his corrections, this is that early seeking, whieh we consider in those blessed women, whose sedulity and earnestness, when they were corne, and accelcration and earlincss, in their coming, having already eonsidered, pass we now to the ad ¢_/uM, to what purpose, and with what intention they came, for in that alone, there are divers exaltations of their devotion. In the first verse of this chapter it is said, Tbey came to sec the sepulchre; even to sec the sepulehre was an aet of love, and every act of love to Christ, is devotion. There is a love that will make one kiss the case of a picture, though it be shut; t]lere is a love that svill melt one's bowels, if he do but pass over, or pass by the grave of his dead friend. But their end was not only to sec thc sepulchre, but to sec whether the sepulchre xvere in such state, as tllat [they might corne to their end, which was, To embalm t/eir 2laster's bo. But tllis was donc before; and donc to their knowledge; for, that ail the evangelists testify; particularly, St. Luke, Tlw co'merz followed, and beeld te sêlmlcre, ad te body t'as laid . How, that is, hosv abundantly it wa« embalmed by licodemus, lfow, that is, hosv decently and orderly it was wound and bound up, according to the nmnner of the Jews" funerals. What thel intended these women to do nore Otan was dolle already. o Psalm cx.Lx. 147.  Psalm LXX.xiii. 13.

45 1)REACHED ON EASTER DAY. lEUR. XXI|I. That cauuot be well admitted, which Theophylact sys, That as Jacohs hody was emhalmed forty days in E£Dpt ', so they intended to re-embalm out Saviour's hody, formerly emhalmed by ïcodemus. For that was only done upou such hodies as were e.xenterated and emhowelled, and then filled up and plastered about with spices and ms, to preserve them from lmtrefaction, when they were to be carried into remote parts; but of these re-embalmings and post-unctions after the body had beeu laid in the sepulchre. I know hOt, who may have read of them; I bave hot. either serres it to have been possible in this case; hot possible for these women to have corne to the bodv of Christ. For, if that be the truc winding-sheet of Christ which is kept in Savoy, it appears, that that sheet stuck so close to his body, as that it did, and dors still retain the dimensions of his body, and the impressions and siëmatures of every wound that he had received in his body. So that it would have been no easy matter for those women to have pulled off that sheet, if it had had no other g]ue, no other gum, but his own precious b]ood to hold it; but, if (as their more wary authors say") Christ's body were carried loose, in that sheet, which is showcd in Savoy, from the cross to the sepulchre, and then takcn out of that sheet, and embalmed by qicodemus, and wrapped up in other linon, upon those spices and gums which he bestowed upon it, and then buried according to the manner of the Jews, whose manner it was to swathe the bodies of thc dead, just as we swathe the bodies of children, ail over, (for, so Lazarus rame out bound hand and foot rlth ffrare-clotltea s») how could it fall into the ima._-ination of these women, that they could corne to embalm the body of Christ, so swathed, so wound, so bound up, as that body was; for, certainly, it was the body, and hot the ave-clothes that they meant to embalm. Truly I bave often wondered, that amongst our very many expositors of the Gospels, (which I can prououuee of some stores) no one bath touched upox this doubt. They ail make good use of their piety, and devout officiousuess towards theîr dead Master, but of the impossihility of coming to that I,ody, aud of the irregularity, and impertinency of underaking that, and proeeedsa Gen. .. 1. ' Chiffletius de Linteis Sepulchr. cap. 25.:» John xi. 44.

ing so far in that, which could hot possibly be donc, I find no mention. Wht shall be said of this. That may be said, which Chrylos says, (though not of this, for of this none says anything),$'ra passionls procella turbarerat, That a bitter stonn of passion and consternation, h so disordered them, as that no faculty of theirs performed the right function  and that which Cvin mys, of the saine case, which Chrysologus intends, Proe ferrore cwcutiebant, Vehemence and earnestness had discomposed them, nd amazed them, amus them so, as that they discerned noflfing clearly, did nothing orderly. This, these, and some other attthors say, of some other inconsiderations in these women, particularly, of the removing of the stone of the sepulchre. For, they had prepared their ums, and they were corne upon their way, before they ever thought of that. Then they stop, and say to one another, Wo skall roll «s au'ay tk on J?om t door te seuIchre «? we never thought of that. So also did they under the rebuke and increpation of the angel for another supinc inconsideration; lVy seek ye the liri»y amo»yst te dead? Why him, who is T,%n " t liriny God ? Why him, who is The Prince OE le '? Vlly him, Il'ho katk Why him, who is LOEe itse ? Why him, who is Tke Br«ad le  to us $ Why him, who is this life and the next too, (I ara tke le, and tbe resurrection ") XVhy him, who by his death bath nlade you a path of life, ( Tl, ot u'ilt show me the path lVhy se«k ye the liri»y amony the dead? What makes yon think of arming him with your ms against putrefaetion, who had told you belote, that he was hOt subjeet to putréfaction, but would fise again. So also in sueh another ineonsidelation we may deprehend one of these women, Mary Magdalen; when the angel llad told ber af the sepulchre, IIe is hot kere, for he is risen,  ke said, yet when she came to Peter, shc sai(1 nothing of the resurreetion, never thought of that, bnt poured herself out in that lamentation, Th¢?/ hare taken au'ay the Lord out of the sTulchre, and we know ot wkere they kave laid kim'; whereas if she had considered it advisedly, S]le mllst ueeessaril)" bave knom tom s« Mark xvi. 3. 7 Luke xv. 5. s 3Iatt. xvi. 16.  Ae iii. 15. ' John ç 26. s John i. 4. s John ri. 35, aa John M. 25. a Psalm xvi. 11. aa John xx. 2.

the angel's words, that no man had taken away the Lord, that no man had laid him an.'here else, but that by his own power he was rîsen again. But as in this storm of passion they left Christ's promise, that he would fise, unconsidered, and left the rolling of the stone from the door of the sepulchre, unconsidered, so in this storm they also left unconsidered the impossibility of coming to ChrisFs body to do that office; their devotion was awake, their consideratlon was in a slmnber. But what though. Did they therefore lose all benefit of their pious and devout intention.  That is another, and our ncxt consideration. As Luther says, that if the marriage-bed be kept undefilcd, that is, from strange persons, and from such sins as are opposed against the very purpose of marriage, God pardons naritales in«ptias, some levities, and half-wanonnesses in married tblks  so Calvin sys of our present case, Deus on ivqputat, because these good women were transported with a zealous piety towards Christ, God did hot impute this inconsideration tmto them. For, though zeal without discretion produce ill eflbcts yet hot so ill as discretion without zeal, worldly wisdom without religion, for that is an evident preferring of thy worldly safcty belote the glory of God. When hloses makes that prayer to God in a holy thry and excess, If tkou n'lit not foryire tkeir sin, blot vte I pray tkee, out o.f tke book tkou kast writte» «, (whieh was the exeess of St. Panl too, in his anatkema; I could wisk tkat myself were accursed from Ckrist, for n brtkren ) God proeeeds hot to any sharper rebuke toward Moses, than this, Take heel what you sa)- in your inconsiderate prayer,)'ou may sin in a prayer, and, Whosoêrer lmth simed ayainst we, (says God there) him u.ill I blot out ofmy book; yet it concerns but others, take heed you draw it not upon yourselves. And such a charitable interpretation it becomes us to give of those prayers tbr the dead, which we find in the ancient fathers; in St. Augustine for his mother Monica, in St. Ambrose for his ma.ster Theodosius; they prayed inconsiderately, and ni»on consideration they retracted ther prayers; at least, gave such expositions of them, as that then they were no prayers, but vehement, and indeed, exorbitant declarations of piety mixed with passion. And so beloved, behoves it thee to do in thine own  Exod. xxxiL 32.  Rom. Lx. 3.

gIL XXIll.] PREACHED ON" EASTER DAY. 459 behalf, if t ny rime aving cast tbysclf into tbe posture of pmyer, upon thy knees, nd eutered into ty pryer thou ave fimnd thyself withdrawn, transported, strayed into some deviations, nd by-tougts; tou nmst hot tink ail tiret devotlon lo; much less, tht pryer to be turned into sin; for, God, who bath put all thy teurs into is bottle, ail thy words into Iris register, ail thy sighs into his bosom, will also sl)re that zeal with which thou enteredest into thy prayer, over thy *vhole prayer, and where that (thine own zeal) is too short, Christ Jesus himself will spread his prayer over thine, and my, Give him, ) Father, that which he bath asked faithfully in my uame, and, whcre he hath fallen iuto any deviatious or negligences, Father forgive him, though he knew hot what he said. In our case in han for ail their inconsideration, their misgovernment, their mistaking, the angel doth hOt forbear to comtb them; olite tinere, says he, Do no ye fear. I illis Tereereret Favor, in quib«s permaet icred«Has, says St. Hieromc, In thc person of this angel fo these women; I cannot blame ye, if ye fcar; such unexpected changes, such violent eahquakes, sucll mmatural darknesses and eclipses, such rentings of the Temple, such cleaving of ave-stones may well occasion feav in)vu, but recollec¢ yourselves, L illis perse¢eret, Le¢ them continue in fear, who continue in unbelief, and bave no God to coinfort thcmsclves in. Cur vos pertimescitis, y«ti vestros cotclves ridetls, (says St. Gregory also, in, and fo the saine peroens) Let those mcrcenary soldiers, who are hired fo watch the sepulchre, tçar, and never recover, cur vos, why should you fear, who ee none but us, cocives, your feHow-citizens, in file city, and sem-ice of God, if your convermtion be in hearen, as it is, if ye do tmly seek tha Jesns, who is risen from hence, that he might go thither  And as though this comfort from the angel were hot enough, he multiplies this comfo in person unto them; he meets them, and sa)'¢ avete , firs¢ sMutes them, and then enlarges himself unto them; as long as the root of their actions was piety and eal, he casts no cloud of discouragement upon them, he occasions no jealousy or suspicion of his goed purpose towards them, in them, but he maintains and exalts their holy confidence.

Peceata on noeent, tbi wn placent 3; Even out sins are forgiven, when we leave delighting in them; mueh more out ineonsiderations, and mistakings, when we reeolleet, and reetify ourselves. For, ail this withholds hot the angel from proeeeding to  farther establishment of these devout, though weak women, in other pnrtieulars nrising out of the ver)" words, non est kic, he i» hot here,.for ke Non hic pet" pro'centiare earnis, qui, per prw«entiam maj«stati« nus7uam abest "°; He is hot here, so as)'ou thought to hnve round him here; so, as that you may anoint nnd embahn his body, he is not here: but, so as the secret sinner would vish him away, God is away nowhere. No adulterer that hath u'«ited for the twiliyktk no whispering calunmiator that hath skot his arrow of slander, and wounded the 'ighteous in secret", eau say, nott e.t k&EE, God is hot here, God sees not this. For even in the ways of death and hell, (in ail thy sinful courses) though God be a God of pure eês and cannot behold eri/, he sees thee. He sees thee thy way thither, and when thott skalt make th!t bed lu htll ", that is, enter into that perpetual prison, there will he be, felt though not seen. But eould the angel intend this for a eomfort to these women, wn est kW, he is hot k«re? Alas, might these poor souls sa)', we sec that well enough, he is hot here, but, where is he From this arises the oeeasion of theirs, and all our emnfort, surrexit enim, he is ot kere, for ke is risen. First; t]lis »'or, (./'or he is riseu) this partiele of argumentation, the angel opposes prophetieally, and bv way of prevention, both against that heresy of Rome, that the body of Christ may be in divers plaees at once, by the wa)- of transubstantiation, and against that dream of the ubiquitaries, that the body of Christ must necessarily be in all places at onee, by eommunieation of the divine nature. For, if the angel argue fairly, lo#eally, sineerely, he is wt ho'e, for he is 'iseu, then there is no neeessity, there is no possibility of this omnipresenee, or this znultipresenee, for then the angel's ar&nament might have been denied, and they might have replied, what though he be risen, he may be here too, for he my be in divers places; but the ngel coneludes us thisfor, he cannot be here, for he is risen; beeause he is risen, he eannot be here in the sepulchre, , as that you may embMm his body, because he is aended, he cannot be here, here in the sacment, so, as you may brk or eat that body. But is there such a comfort exhibited in this surrexit, e is ris,  may recompense the discomfort that arises from the o est Me, tat e s zot ere  Abundantly, superabundantly therc is; in these two ehannels and derivations of eomfort; first, that he in whom xve had placed out conffort, aud out hope, is, by this his rising, declared to be the Son of God. God attlled Ms romise, D that he ath raised desus from te dead, as writteu u te second Psalm", ys St. Paul in his sermon at Antioch. ow, what is vritten in that Psalm, which St. Paul cites there, to out present pro'pose  This; Tou art tMs day are ] bçqtten tee. But is hot this «lie yend, this this day's begetting intended rather of the eternal fi]iation and generation of the Soli of God. than of this day's worI¢, the resurrtion  Those words of that Psalm may well adroit that interpretation, and  many bave taken them. But, with St. HilaT, nmst of the ancients bave applied them to the resurrection, as the application of St. Paul himself direcfly binds us to do, that the hodiegenui, this das generation, is this day's manifestation that Christ was the Son of God. Cal'in en]arges it farther; that every declaration of the Son by the Father, is a gcneration of the Son: so his baptism, and the voice then' so his transfiration, and the voice then «, were each of thon, a hodi«.qenul, a generation of the Son that day. But especially (ys Calvin) do tho words of tire Psahn belong to this day, because the insurrection w the nmst evident actual declaration that Crist was the Son of God, tbr, He was declared to be the,çn  God the res«rrectios fr te dead ", says the apostle expressly. But how  Wherein was he declared  There wem others that were raised from the dead by prophets in the Old Testament, by Christ and his apostles in the New, and yet hot thereby declared to be such ns of God, essential tons; no nor any sons of God, hOt

Ô2 PREACHED ON EASTEIZ DAY. [SEB. XXIII. sons by adoption; for we arc hot se that all those that were mirously raised fmm the dead, were effectually saved at last. Therefore the comfo in out oese is in that word of the angel, surrex, e s r/oen; for so all o translators, and exposito do consntly crry it, hot in  st/tagus (s ail the test are) that as «ais, but in this surrexit, e is rien, rioen of himself. For so ho testifies of himself, Droy thls Temple, and in ar days, «go,uacit«bo, I will ralae it p aain'; hot that the Father should, but that he would; so also eyo pono, and çqo sumo, sys Christ, I lay dow,, and I mke agai, my soul'*; hot that it is given, or taken by auother. And thereforc Gregory pec, that for the infirmity of the then hrers, the apostles thouëht it sree sale, to express it often in tlmt phre, he or e raised Mm,e and therefore, for the most part, return to the auacit«tus est, that ke waa alsed, lest weak hearers might be scaudalized with that, diat a dead man had raised himself of owu wer. And therefore the augel in this plie enlarges the comfo to tlmse devout women, in a full mesure, when he opens himsclf in that word surrexit, he la risen, rien of himself. This then is one piece of out evidence, and the foundation of all, that we cannot be deceivcd, because he, in whom we trust, is, by this his om rising, declal.ed to be the Son of God; and auother, and a poweul comfort is this, that he being risenfor out justification °, we are also risen in him. H« that ralsed the Lord Jesus, shaY raise  up also b the saine Jesus . Ho shall; thero is out assurance; but that is hot ll; for thero is  con-ruscitaek, he bath qulckened  toet£er, and raised va together, and ma(le us to sit tdher in heaveuly plac; hot together with one other, but together with Christ. There is out conffo¢ collected fm this suexit, he la risen, èquivalent to the diomfo¢ of the o» est Mc, he la hot hem; that this his rising declares hiln to be the Sou of God, who themfore can, and H, and to ho that Jesu an actual Redeemer, and therefore hath aeady raised us. To what  To that renovation, to that new creation, which is so exeellenfly expresoed by Severian,  kes us sorry we hve no more of his; l[ntatnr ordo rornm, The whole frame and course of nature is changed;,S'epu&ru» wn mouum, sed mortem &vorat, The grave, (new, since Christ's resurrection, and ours in him) does net bury e dead man, but death himself; my 11 lls for death, and my bell rings out for death, and net for me that die; for I lire, even in death; but death «es in me, and hath no more power over nm. 1 was crucified with Christ upon Friday, says Chrysologus,  kodie resurgo, To-day I rose with him again; Et yloria resurre tionls sepelivit b«riam morientls, The ingloriousness of having been buried in the dust, is recompensed in the glory I rise te, Liber inter mortuos; tat which David says, and, (by St. Austine's application) of Christ, is truc of me too; Christ was, and I ara Liber inter mortu, Free amongst the dd , undetainablo in the state of death. For, says St. Peter, It was net psible ke shonld be holdea of if '. Net possible for Christ, because of thc prediction of se many prophets, whose words had an infallibility in theln; net possible especially, because of the union of tho Divine nature: net possible for me neither, because God bath afforded me the marks of his election, and thereby ruade mepartal'er " tke Divbw «ature t". But yet these things might, perchce, net fart into the consideration of these women; they did net; but fley might, they should have done; for, as the angel tells flmm here, Christ had told them of this before; s&ut dixit, lw la rise»., as ke said. Even the angd himself refers himself to the word, sœen dia'it; the angel himself desires hot to be believed, but as he ounds himself upon the word, sic« dixit. Let therefoe no angel of the chureh, hot that super-archangel of the Roman ehurch, pr eeed upon an ipse dixit, upon his ox pectoral word, and determinntion, for the angel here refers us fo the slcut dixit, the fomer word. God will be content that we doubt, and suspend out aent to any revelation, if it do hot eoneern me duty delivered in Seripture before; and to any miracle, if it do hot eonduee to the proof of something eommanded in Scripture before. Sicut dixit, is an an-elieal issue, as he said. But, how often soever Christ had spoken of this rsurreetion » pn. x. ri.  cts ri. 24. » 2 Pet. i. 4.

to others, these women might be iorant of it. For a that is said, even by Christ himself, is hot said to all; nor is ail writn for all, tht is writn y the Holy Ghost. o man mnst spect that he knows hot enouh for salvation if line undcrstand hot all places of Scripture. ut yet these women could not we be ismorant of this, because being disciples and followers of Christ, though Christ had never spoken of the resurrtion to them, they were likely to have heard of it ri'oto them, to whom Christ had spoken of it. It was Cleol,has's question to Christ, (though he kncw him mot then fo be so, when thev went together fo Emmaus) lrt tou o»Jy a st»'a»[/er in J'rtsale»P'? That is, hast thou been at Jerusalem, ad is tis, tho death of Christ, stra»ye to tee? So nmy we say to any that profees Christianity, art thou in the Christian church, and is this, the resurrection of Christ, strange fo thee  Are there any amongst us, that thrust m forenoon's, and aternoen's serinons, that pant ater high, and un-understandable doetrines, of the secret purposes of God, and know hot this, the fundamental points of doctrine E,en these women's ignoramce, though they were in the number of the disciples of Christ, makes us afraid, that some such there may be; and therefore blessed be they that have set on foot that blessed way of catoehizing, that after great professions, we may hot be ignorant of small things. These things these women might ha'e learnt of othem, who were to instruct them. But for their better assurance, the angcl tells them here, that Christ himself had told them of this before; R »»ber, says he, how Crist spoke to you wilst he was u'it you i Galil«e . We obscur'e, that Christ spoke to his disciples, of his resurrection, rive times in the Gospel; now, these women could hot be prescrit at any of the rive but one, which was the third ; and, betbre that, it is evident that they had applied themselves to Crist, and ministered unto him. The angel then remembers them, what Christ said to them there. It was this; Te son  a»t must bê d«lirered into tlê hatds of si»tl et, ad crwed. ad the third day, fise ç«nti "; ad thçrt r«membered his tords, s. xxm.] ,acaE» o.' .«STrt nx-. 465 ssys the text the; then they remembered them, when they hem'd of them gMn; but hot ti]l then. Which gives me just cssion to note fit the perver tenderness, nd the supercilious, nd fastidious delicacy of those men, that can abide no repetitions, nor endure to heur nything which they hve herd befo; when  even these things which Christ hhnself had prehed to these women, in GMilee, hd been lost, if Gris angel hd hOt preached them over alain to them at Jernsalera; Remember how he sTake  you, ys he to them. And vhy shouldst thou be loath to hear thooe things which thou ht heard belote, when, till thou heardest them ain, thou didst not know, that is, hot consider that ever thou hadst heard them  So have we here also just oecasion to note their imninent curiosity, who though the sense be never so weH observed, call everything a falsification, if the place be hot rightly ciphered, or the word exactly cted; and magnify one another for great text-men, though they undemtand no text, because they cite book, and chapter, and veroe, and words aright; whereas in this place, the angel refers the women to Christ's wor, and they remember that Chri spake those words, and yet if we compare e plaee¢ (that where Chri speaks the words, and that where the angel repea them)though the sense be entirely the saine, yet the words a hOt altogether so. Thus the angel ereets them in the consolation; remember what was promised, that in three days he would fise; the third day is corne, and he is risen,  he id; and, that your senses may be exercioed as well  your faith, Corne and sec the lace, where te Lord lay. Even the angel calls Chri Lord; and hic Lord; for, tbe Lord, (and the anal ealls him s 0 is Lord of ail, of men, and angels. When God briqs Ms Son into te worM, (says the apostle) he says, t all the anpels of GOE womM Mm *°. And when God earries his Son out of the wor]d, by the way of the cross, ey bave just cause fo worship him toe, for, By te bl  his cross are ail ings renci to God, both things in earth, and things in heaven «, men and angels. Therefore did an angel minister to Christ belote he was, in the annuneiation fo his blessed mother, that he should ; and an angel to his imanary father Joseph, belote he was «o lleb. i. 6. t Coloss. i. 20. VOL. 1. 2 H born; and a choir of angels to the shepherds at his birth; an angei after his temptation» and in his agony, and bloody-sweat, more angels; angels at his last step, at his ascension, and here, at his resnrrection angels minister unto him. The angels of heaven acknowledged Christ to be their Lord. in the beginning some of the angels would be,S'imiles altis8irno, Like to the 3Io Iii.oh; but what a transcendent, what a super-diabolical, what a proe-Luciferian pride is his, that will be supra altissimum, superior to God; that hot only exaltetk himelfabo'e ail tkat is called God «', (kings are called Gods, and this arch-monarch exalts himself above ail kings) but above God literally, and in fl]at wherein God hath especially manifested himself to be God. to us, that is in prescribing us a law, how he will be obeyed; tbr, in dispensing with this law, and adding to, and withdrawing from this law, he exalts himself above God, as out lawgiver. And, (as it is also said there) ke ezaltêth kim¢el and oppoêtl limelf ayainst God. There is no trusting of such neighbours, as are got above us in power. This man of sin bath marie himself superior to God, and then, an enemy to God; tbr God is truth, and he opposes him in that, for he is heresy and falsehood; and God is love, and he opposes him in that, for he is cm'y, and hatred, and malice, and sedition, and invasion, and rebellion. The angel confesses Christ to be tke Lord, his Lord, and he confesses him to be so then when he lay dead in the grave, Conte, • ee thê vlace u'ltere tke Lord iay. A SVest lndian king having been well wrought upon for his conversion to the Christian religion, and having digested the former articles, when he came to that, tte u'as eruci.ed, dead, a.td buried, had no longer patience, but said, If your God be dead and buried, leave me to my old god, the sun, for the suu will hOt die. But if he would have proceeded to the article of the resurrection, he should have seen, that even then, when he lay dead, he was God still; then, when he was no man, he wa8 God still  vay, then when he 'as no man, he was God, and man, in this truc sense, that though the body and soul were divorced from one another, and that during that divorce, he were no man, (for it is the union of body and soul that makes a man) yet the Godhead was not divided from

SIEn. XXIll.] PR-ACHED Or¢ E,STm V,'. 467 either of these constitutive as of man, body or soul. Even then, when a man is no mn, he may be  Christian  when I ara a u'orm ad o man 's, when I ara te off-scoriny wben I ara te reFrc, te rerb, my Saviour, when he lay in the grave, was the saine Christ, so in this grave of oppression and perseeutio11, I anl the mme Chfistian, as in nl baptism. Let nothing there%re thut ean fall upon thee, despoil thee the dignity and eonstaney of a Christian; howsoever thou be severed t}om thoso things, whieh thou nlake8t aeeount do make thee up, severed from  wife by divorce, from  ehild by death, from goeds by tire, or water, from an oee by just, or by unjt displesure, (whieh is the heavier but the Imppier case) yot 1lever thillk thyself severed front thy head Chri Jesus, llor from being a lively member of his body. Though thou be drayou and a comTanio» " o.l «, though thy ha» T fie turned into mourning, a»d thine organ into the roice nay, Thouyl the Lord kill thee, ye tru't i him r. Thy Saviour when he lay dead in the grave, was still the same Lord, thou, when thou art enwrapped, and interred in con{hsion, a still the me Christian. To this medition the angel rries us, in keeping up Christ's style at the highest, then when he w at the lowest, and to sonle other particulars he earries these women, in that which remain Corne and see the Tlaoe. It is not nothin z, certainly hot meoely nothing, that God does oe often direct us to frequent his sanctuary, and his holy plies. Not nothing, that Solomon, into that instrument which paed between God a11d him, {br the conseeration of the temple, inseed that eovenant, That hot only the u'h&h came to that temple, but they, u.ko beiny necesearil abseut, rayed towards te temp&, might be heard «; which is, (hOt inconreniently) assigned for a oeon of Hezekiah's trning m the wall to pray, in his sick-bed", and of DanieFs opening of Iris windows, when he prayed in private chamber:", because, in so doing, they looked towaMs Jerusalell, vhere the Temple was. Vhen Nman being recovered from his bodily leprosy, recovered from his spiritual leprosy too, and resolved to worship none but the truc God, he was loath to worship the truc God, in an unholy place, and therefore desired some of that earth to build an altar upon 71. Pharaoh was corne to be content that Moses and his people should. sacrifice to their truc God, so they would sacrifice in Egypt but Moses durst not accept of those conditions. Pharaoh grew content that they should go out of ETt to sacrifice, so they would hot go far, but keep within his limits »; but Moses durst hot accept those conditions; nor any conditions less than those, in whieh God had determined him, which was, To yo three days" journey ilto t lVilderness ». We know that God is alike in ail places, but he does hot work in ail places alike; God works otherwise in the church, than in an army; and diversly in his divers ordinances in the chureh; God works otherwise in prayer than in preaching, and othersvise in the saeraments than in either; and otherwise in the later, than in the first sacrament. The power is the saine, and the end is the saine, but the way is hot so. Athanasius, scarce three hundred years after Christ, round the church in possession of that custom (and he takes knowledge of it, as of a precept from the apostles themselves) that the congregation should pray towards the east, to testify (says that father) their desire of returning to the country, which they had lost, Paradise. Places of profane and secular use should hot be ruade equal with holy places; nor should holy actions, and motions, and gestures, and positions of the body in divine service, be submitted to scorn and derision. They have their use either in a real exaltation of devotion, or for a peaceable conservation of uniformity, and decency, or for a reverential obedience to lawful authority; and any of these is enough, to authorize things in their use, which in themselves and in their own nature are indifferent. And though the principal purpose of the angel, in showing these women the place, were to assure them, that Christ was risen, yet may there also be an intimation of the help and assistance that we receive from holy places, in this their lotus, Corne, and sec tl, e Tlace. et 2 Kings v. 17. * Exod. viii. 25. s Ver. 28.  Exod. iii. 18.

But this is far, very very far frorn that superstitious fixiug of Goal te the freehold, which they bave induced in the Roman church, and npon which, they bave superinduced their meritoflous pilgrimages te certain places. Consider a little the pilgrirnage of these pilgrirnages, how they bave gone on. Innocent the Third, in the Lateran council, about four hundred vears since, gave free pardon of ail sins te all men, that went or contributed te the recovery of the Holy Land. low these expeditions were net with any hope of recovering that land, but principally te eau T the powerfulest persons, and the activest spirits into those remote parts, that se these parts might be left the more open te the inundation of that sea of Rorne, and the inva.ions of that bishop..After this, these indulgences were enlarged, and communicated 03 ail that went te Jerusalem, net only as soldiers, but as pilgrims. And a/ter that, by Boniface the Eighth's liberality, the way was shortened, and they had as rnuch that came but te lorne, as they that went te Jerusalem. As, a little before, by Clernent the Sixth, there was a power given te every man, that went such a pilgrimage, te deliver fbur seuls out of purgatory, which he would, and a commandment given te the angels of heaven, te carry their seuls that died in that pilgrimage, immediately te heaven, without touching upon purg,atory. These abuses rnade that learned and devout man, Gerson, tbe chancelier of Paris, in his rime, (as, let thern deny it with what stitfness they will, uothing is more dernonstrable, ner more evidently dernonstrated, than that in ail rimes, sorne great men amongst thernselves have opposed fleir superstitions) this, I say, rnade f3crson say, (though he durst say no more) Abteyare wn ]oossumus, lone of us ail can deny, but that many things are iuduced upon colour of religion, çuorum sawtior esset omissio, which he shall be more holy that fbrbears, than he that perfornls them. In detestation of this local and stationary sah'ation of these rneritorious pilgrirnages te certain places, sorne of the blessed fathers spoke rnuch, long before they were corne te that enorrnous abuse, in which the later times exceeded. St. Hierorne had occasion te say rnuch of it, by a solicitation frein Polinus, and he says this, uantikodieportantfuera sua? Howrnany

470 vaexcun o xs're nx,,'. [a. xxm. men car sepulchres to the Sepulchre, when they carry themoelves to Jerusa[em  N Hierosolymis vixisse, says he, To h3ve lived we at Jerlem, is praiseworthy, but hOt to have lived there, zVon aeo nduJere, I dare hOt shut up tht God, whom the heavens cannot contain, in a coer of the eah  and Jerusalera is but so. Et de Britannia, et de Hieroolymia w9liter atd aula coelestù, Heaven is  near England, (says St. Hierome) as it is to Jemsal. And Christ, (says he) was then in JelmsMem, in that holy place, when he said, Abeamus Mnc, Let us.go from ence ; as holy  the place was, he ruade haste out of it; for, (as that father adds) it is a ploee full of mutinous soldiem, of lieentious prostitutes, of playem and jesters; and these are the elements of the holiness of that place. Grego Nyssen (in the saine rime with Hiemme) had a par tieular occasion to deliver his opinion of these pilimages to Jerusalem; for he had been there himself, though not  a pilgrim. 8uut aliqd, theoe are some that make it a part of religion, to have been at Jerusalem, 8i prier pravel»tum Domini, but, says he, if Christ never eommanded it, (that is his rule) I know hot what ean juify that man, that makes himself the re of his region. Chri never ealled that, blessedness, says he, to bave been at Jerusalem, nor ever eaed this Jerusalem the way to heaven; why any man should do so, when Chfi d hOt, Qui mentem abd, coidet, (ys that father) Let him that is hOt distrted, eonsider. Nay, says he, there  hOt onl), no eev tain profit, but evident danger to a ehe so, in the unehaste conversation of those pims, and he exemplifies, and paieulariz where; but we forbear that. Sll I be asked then, why I vent to Jealem  says that father; I went into those pas out of necsity, says he, being caM to a council held in those parts; and, being so near, I was chosen  an arbitrator between some choeches, which were then at variance, which differences were to be oemposed at Jerusalem, and so I xvent tther. Howsoever, l no man be encoumged to go thither for my being there, (for I w never the better Christian for having been them) but let every man think and believe me to be the more competeat tness, and judge of the daagers, becae I

SEllo XXIII.] PltEACHED ON EASTEa VA'. îl SaW them. I believed that Christ was risen, belote 1 saw the empty Sepulchre and though (I thank God for it) [ lost non of my faith at Jerusalem, yet [ increased it hot there. zerse ivas; live Christianly or thou art as far from Christ in the Sepulchre, and from all beneflt of his resurrection, as they that were hired to watch the Sepulchre, and to seal the Sepulchre to prevent the resurrection, or as if he that lav in the Sepulchre had never died. When we hax-e remembered you of that which St. Chrysostom (of the saine time with Jerome an zNyssen) says, that there were some so vain, as to o to Arabia to kiss that dunghill where Job sate to be visited by his iml)ertinent fi'iends, you bave testimony enouh, concurrence enough tbr the detestation of these hypocritical pilimages, and the manitbld superstitions that grow from this tree; and grew to a far greater inexcusableness, when ail was transferred to t{ome, where both the indulgences 'ere larger, and the pestilent infections of the place more contagious than at Jerusalem. Now, to bind up our sheaf, and lay it so upon you, that you may easily carry it, you haie seen, that women, though weak, are capable of religious offices; no undertanding so weak, but it may believe, no body so weak, but it may do something in some calling. You bave seen too, tlmt these 'olnen we'e early in their religious work, they begnn berlines; we have but one parable that tells us, they that came late to the labour were as well rewarded as the earliest. So bave you also seen, that as they were early and forward, so were they earnest, and sedulous; C«rsed be he that doth the cork of GOE1 (that is, any godly worlQ e.qli.qettl!t. You have likewise seen ni)on what their devotion was carried; upon things which could hot entirely be done; yet God accepted their devotion; -here the foot and substance of the work is piety, God pretermits many times errors in circumstance. You bave heard the an,gel's information to tllem, no hic, that Christ vas hot there, and yet comfort in that; God raises coinfort out of all things, even out of discomfort itself to the godly. You ha'e heard the reason added, qMa strrexit,.lbr e is risen; and if this be a good reason, there is no transubstantiation, no ubiquitism, for then Christ might have been there, though he were risen, tte is risen, hot only raised, and therefore the Son

472 PJActEn O. t:As'rrm D,V. [sm. XXm. of God: and fiscal.for our..]ustcatiom thcrefore we are risen in him..And this,,b'icut dixlt, Ms  had said befbre; no word is certain, not in the mouth of an angel, but as it is referred to the tbrmer word of God. And it is,çTcut diMt robis, As « Aad said to,jou; though ail Scriptures be not proposed to ail, and God's secret purposes proposed to none, yet the fundamental doetrines of the Christian faith are proposed to ail, the weakest of ail, these women had heard Christ. Him, this angel calls t/e Lord, his Lord; how rebellious is that man of sin. that makes Christ his servant, and pretence of religion his instrument. He avows him to be the Lord, then when he lay dead in the grave; be tndy a Christian, and in the ave of persecution, in the grave of putrcfitction thou shalt rctain the saine naine, and even thy dust shall be Christian dust. And lastly, tbr the establishment of their comtbrt, the angel directs them to considcr the place, Ioctts. hot to incline them to superstitious pilgrimages, but ver to a hol.v reverence, and estimation of places consecrated to God's service. And if these meditations have raised you ri'oto the bed of sin, in anv hol.v purlooe, this is one of vour resurrections, and you bave kel,t your Easter dav well. To which, he, whose naine is Amen, say Amen, out blessed Saviour Christ Jesus, in the power of his Father, and in the operation of his Spirit.

SERMON XXIV. PI1E.4CHED UPON E.3"TEIt 1 Tr.. iv. 17. Then we  hich are alive, and romain, shall Le raught up together with them in the clouds» fo meet the Lord. in the air; and so shall we be ever with the Lord. ].,,- this epistle, out apostle (according to his manner in ail his epistles) first establishes those to whom he writes, in those matters of faith, in which he had forlneHy instructed them; and then,

Ei% XXlV.] I'RECHED ON EASTER DAY. rectifies them in matter of manners, of holhmss of lffe, and the ways and fvults of sanctication. In tis last a of this capter, he involves, he wraps up both together;  fundamenl int, the resurrection of the dead, and then, an instruction tbr manners arising out of that, that they mourn hot iutemperatcly for the dead, as they do, saith he, which have no hope of seeing them again, who are gone. For we know, that they which are gone, are gone but into another room of the saine house, (this world, and the next, do but make up Goal a house) they aoe gone but into another 1)ew of the me church, (the militant and thc triuml,hant do but make up God a church.) If we beliee that Jesus di, and ayaia (says our astle ) eren so, te» also, which sleq» i J«sus, will God briny wit. Mm: with him; for, howsoever they have lain ingloriously in the dust ail this while, ail this while they have been with God, and he shall bring them with him. But the Theslonians were not so hard in believing the resurrection,  curious in inqniring the order of the resurrection. And as among the Conthians some inquired de modo, How are the dead raised, and wlth what body do they corne ? So among the Thessalonians some inquired, de ordine, in what order, tbr precedency, shall the last scene of this last act of man, be transacted $ SVhat difference betwn them that were dead thousands of years beforc, and them whom Christ shall find alive at his second con,in,,' Them the apoEtle satisfies; llç that are alire, «h«ll totprerent them that are asleep, we shall hot enter into heaven beçore them; The dead in Christ sh«ll.flr«t fise, says he; and then, (hen enters our text) Then we which are alir«, atd remaia, shall be cauyht twether witk them in the clouds, fo meet the Lord in the ah', atd skall be eeer with the Lord. Then. Vhen  This then in our text, is an apprehensive, and a eomprehensive word. It reaehcs to, and lays hold upon that whieh the apostle says betbre the text, in the fiçteenth and sixteenth verses. Thett, wken the d«ad in Chri«t are rst risen, and isen by Ckrist coming do om keaven, it clamo«r, in a shottt, in tke zo&e of tke arckangd, atd in the trumpet of God, then, whe» that is donc, l[ç that are al&e, and emain, shall be t Ver. 14. t! Cor. xv. 35,

4î4 eaïAcnv ov ^STR n^Y. [sR. XXtV. wrought upon, nd ail being joined in one body, tey, and we together, sall e cmw. ]t p.in tlw douds, te mee t]e Lord hz , and se sall we be eer wt te Lord. Se that, in thee words we shall have three things te consider which will constitute three parts in this exercise. First, the raising of those that were dead belote  secondly, the chaning of them who are alive then; and lastly, our union in our exaltation, and possession of the kingdom of God, we, together with them, shall be caught up. leither of these three parts will be swallowed down in a generality  there must pass a mastication, a re-division into more particular branches upon them ail. For, in the first, which the first word of our text, tlen, induces, which is the raising of them who were deal before, we shall consider first, that the dead are net footten, though they have dwelt long in the bouse of forgetfulness, ner lest, though they have lain long in the dust of disper.sion, ner neglected, ner deferred, that others might be preferred before them, which shall be alive then, for, sys the apostle, lire »hall net ]orerent them, but they shall fise first  how shall they rise . For that is also a second consideration, induced by our first word, then, then when they shall be raised in zirtute Christi, in the power of Christ, for, sys the text, Te Lord himself shall desce»d from beau:en to raise them. And hov hall ho exercise, how shall he execute, and deelare his power in their raising. If shall be in clamour, with a «hout, and in the «oice of the archanyel, and the trumpet of God. And in these threo branches, that the dead shall fise first, that they shall fise in tho power of Christ, that that power shall ho thus expressed, I a about, in the 'oice of tlw archanyel, in the trumpet of God, we shall determine that tir.st part. Vhen that is donc, and donc so, we shall be wrought upon, lire that are alive and remain then; where we shall first sec, that some shall be alive, and remain then, when Christ cornes, and then eonsider their state and condition, how they being then clothed with bodies of corruption shall be capable of that present entrance into glory; and in that disqnisition we shall end out second part. And then, in our third and last part, the glorious union of these two armies, those which were dead, and those whieh are alive, we shall eonsider first, that here is no mention at all, of any resurrection of the wicked, but only of them tat s&ep in Crist; they shaH fise and then, the tiret are to pake of this glolT are thus proceeded with; Thêy are ca/t up; cauyht up in the clouds exalted into te air; there to meet the Lord; and so tobe wit the Lord br eer. We shall be, and be with the Lord, and be with the Lord for ever  which are blessed and glorious grad tions, if we may have tune to insist upon them; wch we may best hope for this day of all othem; for, this day, we bave two davs in one. This day both God's sons arose; tire sun of his firmament, and the Son of his bosom. And if one sun do set upou us, the other will smy, as long  our devotion lt. God went hot tom Ablham, till Abraham had no more to say'; no more Christ from us. First then, for our first branch of our first pa, the rising of the dead, the first man that was laid in the dust of the earth, Abel, loses nothing by lying so long there; he loses nothing, that men of later ages in; tbr, if we li'e to the coming of Christ to judment, we shall hot prevent them, we shall have no precedenc of them, that were dead ages before. No man is supel annuated in the grave, that he is toe old to enter into heaen, where the Master of the house is The awient ofdays. No man is bedrid with age in the grave, that he cannot rise. It is hot with God,  itis with man; we do, but God does hOt forget the dd; and, as long as God is with them, they are with him. As he T«ts all thy tears into his bottiez', so he purs ail the grains of thy dust into his cabinet, and the winds tt scatter, the waters that wash them away, carry them not out of his sight. [e remembers that we are but dtsP; but du then when we lie in the grave; and yet he remembers us. But his memory farther than so, He remembers that we are but dust alive, at out best; They die, ys David, and the return to their own dt '. Itis hot an entering into a new state, when they die, but returning to their old, Tey rtrn to dt; and it h hot to that dust which is cast upon them, in the grave, (for that may b.z another man's dus0 but to that dust wch they carfied au

• ' PRE.CIIED ON EASTER DAY. [SEI. X.IVo them in their boes, Tey et«r, and to du»t, and fo telr Nor is dust so inglorious  thing, but tht God ves  diity fo dust, wen e adits it into comparin to epress the multiplication, the accumulation of his blessings upon Abraham, I will »ke ty aeed  the dust  the earth ; hot for weal«mss, but infiniteness; and so, to the saine puose of expreming greatness, Balaam uses this memphor of dust, lVho mn count te dust of Jacob, and te number of the fourth part of Israd"? Neither do Abroeam think it any diminution to lie in fle dust of the carth, when he is dead, for he professes that he walks in the dust of the eah, lu himself whilst he is alive, I hare taken on  to apeah to the Lord, belny but dust . And when David sms to tbar the dust of death, (Light«n mine eyes, lest t¢geey te geep ofdeath ') iî is n that he suspts anv detriment to himself by death, that he shall be the worse for dying, but that God may lose of his glory, when (as he adds there) the eemy shall my, hae Trail«d againa him. For,  in the Primitive ehurch, flmse that sm prayers for the dead, at fhuerals, are, indeed, but thankeivings to God, in their behalf that are depaed; so, as often as David expresses himself in that pathetical mannet Awake, 0 Ld, wky sleepest tkou? arise, and cast.OE qtot off for erer , it is a thanksgiving that he bath hot, and a prayer that he would not tbrget them. Vhen he says, [tS"ll God be farourable no more"? he iilealls, I aul sure he will. Is hismerclclean goneJbr ever? Doth kisTromise fitilJbr erer? ttath God forgot to b« ffracious? lIath ke skut tp his merc in a»9er; all these imply a kind of confidence that he hath hot. And, as it is in that resurreetion of whieh David spks lllOï literally in those pes, (that is, the resurreetion fron the ealamiti and oppressions of this world) so is it in the resurrreetion tom the dust of the grave toe; Thou haut brought me to the duet f the grave; but, be hot thou far from me'; that is, SVhen thou halt bring me to the dust of the ave, thou wilt hOt be far from ne. And, wben he says, (in appearanee) by way of expostation, and jealousy, and suspicion, lVill God slow conders to tlze dead stall te dead arise and praise im? stuzll liis [oving kindness ho declared in tle.qrave, or IHs f«itlfulness in destruction t,? All these passionate interrogatories, and vehement exposulations may safe]y be resolved into these doetrinal propositions. Yes, God will show wonders te the dead, the dcad shall fisc and praise him, his lovîng kindness shall be declared in thc grave, and his faithfulness in destruction. For, çod will wt for.qet tle con.qre-.qation of]iis poorfor erer t'. The poor of this world, are out poor; God's poor are they that lie in the dust, the dust of thc grave, thc dead; of whom God had a Izreater congregation under ground, tan of thc living upon thc face of thc earth; and God will net forger thc congregation of his poor for ever. Fiuitus est eornm lulis; that which we translate, Tleir extortioner is st az ezà t" thcir oppresser is af an end, is in St. Hierome, Tleir dust is at an end; that is, thcre cornes a tine, when thc dust of the grare shall oppress thcm no longer. When. Truly, that rime is virtually, and in an infallibility corne already; as those other words of the saine prophet, may admit an accommodation in thc person of Christ, Ty dead men sall llre; When. Togetler witli n«y dead body tley sliall fise. Cousidcr, by occasion of those words, a promise, long before Christ's rcsurrection, that ail thcy which slept in Christ should fisc in him, 'itl my dead body tltey all fise; and thon considcr thc performance of this promise in the apostlc, Çonsurrexerunt, To.aetl, er citli C]*rist, all tlat slet in Ain ', (nay, ail that fell aslecp since ho waked, ail that dicd since he rose) did arise. Virtually, and infallibly thcy did. And, for thc actuel accomplishment of this resurrc{tion in every individuel person, they that were laid in the grave in the first ages, lest no rime. For there is no rime of cntering into hcaven, till the Lord corne te fetch us; and thon, thcy that are dcad, shall be se far frein bcing pretermitted, as that thcy shall first ho raised bcfore anything be donc upon us. But how shall thcy be raised, by what power. (for that is a second consideration induced also by this first word of our tcxt, Tten, when the Lord shall haro

478 PREACHED ON £ASTEtt DAT. [SEP.. XXIV. deseended from heaven to raise them; then when they are raised n vi'ttte Ctristi, in the virtue and power of Christ. Tien, (says our b]essed Saviour, speaking of the resurrection) then, »hall the riyhteoua »hisse forth a» the »un »; and whereso,er we are ealled the sun, eompared, assimilated to tho sun, Christ is our zodiak; in him we more, from the beginning to the end of the circlc. And therefore, asthelast pointofour circle, ourrewarrection determines in him, in Christ; so, the first point of out circle, out first adoption began in him, in Christ too. And, if I were adopted in Christ, (in Chrîst who is a redeenler of Sil]ners) I was adopted in file condition, and in the consideration of a sinner, and such a sinner as should, as would la)" hold upon Christ, this Redeemer. Christ is the lesurrection; so Christ is the Adoption; if there bc a resurrection in him, there were some dead before; if there be an adoption in him, there are some sinners before. The rst look that God casts npon us, is in Christ, and therefore the first consideration that he takes of us, is, as we are slnners; he adopts none but penitent sinners, he reproves none but impenitent sinners. In him also the dead are raised; that is. in that power which he was raised by, the power of God. For still that phrase is ingeminated, iterated, multiplied, Suscitait JDe«s, suscitat-us a 1)éo, God raised Christ from the dead, and Christ t'as raiaed from the dead 0 G°d*°. And when it was said by the angel to the women,,S'urrexit, He i» riaen (risen of himself, as the word sounds) and when by thoso two whieh went with Christ to Emmaus, it is said at their return to Jerusalenl, to the eleven apostles, »ç'urrexit rere, He i» risen indeed  (risell Of himself, as the word sounds) yet tl|at phrase and expression, He i risen, if |le]'e were no nmre in it, but that expression, and that phrase, would hOt conclude ('hrist's rising to have been in virtute propria, in his own power. For, of Dorons who "«'as raised from the dead, it is said, Rê,edit, «S'he car vT , and of Lazarus, Prodiit, He came forth ; and yet, these actions thus ascribed to themsel,es, were donc in «irtute alieta, in the power of another. Christ's resurrection was hot so, in ¢irtute aliena, in the power of another, if you consider his whole person, God and lIan, but it was aliena a flllo Mariw; Christ as the Son of Mary rose hOt by Iris own power. It was by his own; but his own, because he was God, as well as man. or cou]d all the magie in the world bave raised him sooner, than that by his power, (Iris, as God) he (that is, that person, God and man) was pleased to fise. So sit.ç he now at the right hand of his Father in heaven; nor can ail the consecrations of the Roman priests either remove him from thence, or multiply him to a bodily being anywhere else, till his time of coming to judgment, corne. Then, and not till then, The Lord kimself shall descend from hearen, in chonour, says the text, in a »lwut,. u'itk the oice of the archanyel, and with tke tr«»qet of God, which circumstances constitute our third, and last branch of this first fart, The dead shall rise first, they shall rise in thc power of Christ, (theretbre Chri.st is God; tbr Christ himself rose in the power of God) and that power shall be thus declared. In a skout, in the oice of the archan.qel, in the trumloet of Goal. The dead hear hOt thunder, nor feel they an earthquake. Il" the eannon batter that ehureh walls, in whieh they lie bufied, it wakes hot them; nor does it shake or affeet them, if that dusç, whieh they are, be thrown out; but yet there is a voiee, whieh the dead shall hear; The dead skall hear tke roice of the,S'on of God, (says the Son of God himseff) and theIl that hear shall lire"; and that is the voiee of our text. Iç is here ealled a elamour, a voeiferation, a shout, and varied bv our translators, and expositors, aeeording to the origination of the word, to be clamor hortatorio.us, and snasorins, and jussoris, A voice that earries xvith it a penetration, (ail shall hear it) and a persuasion, (ail shall believe it, and be glad of it) and a power, a command, (ail shall obey it.) Since that voiee at the creation, Fiat, Let there be a world, was never heard sueh a volte as this,,S'ur.oite mortui, Arise ye dead. That was spoken to that that was merely nothing, and this to them, who in themselves shall bave no eo-operation, no concurrence to the hearing or ansvering this voiee. The pover of this volte is exalted in that it is said to be the :oice of the arckanyeL Though legions of angels, millions of angels shall be employed about the resurrection, to re eollect their seattered dust, and re-compact their ruined bodies, vet those  Jolm '. 2.

bodies so re-compact shall hot be able to hear a voice. They sall be then but such bodies,  they were when they were lid down in te mve when thoug they we entire bodies, they could hot hear the voice of the mourner. But this voice of the avchangel shall enable them to hear; the archangel shall rinfuse the several souls into their bodies, and so they shalI hear that volte,,S'ttryite mortM, Arise ye that were dead, and they shall a'ise. And here we are eased of that disputation, whether there be manv archangels, or no, for, if there be but one, yet this in out text, is he, for, it is hot said, In the voice of An arcagel, but of Te arc?tatgel; if hot the only, yet he who comprehends them all, and in whom they ail consist ', Christ Jesus. And then, the power of this voice is exalted to the highest in the last word, that it is, Tba Dei, Te trt«mpet of Go(l. For, that is au Hebraism, and in tiret language, it constitutes a superlative, to add the naine of God to anything. As in Saul's case, when David surprised him, in his dead sleep, it is said, that,5or Domiw, The sleep qf te Lord w upon him *, that is, the hviest, the deade sleep that could be imagined, so here, The trmpet of God is the loudest s'oice that we could conceive God io speak in. Ali these pieces, that it is Ia clamore, Ia a cry, in a that it is In te voice of the archangel, that it is Ia te tr-umpet God, make up this conclusion, That all resurmctions fmm tho dead, must be from the voice of God, and from his loud voice; it must be so, even in thv first resurrection, thy resurrectîon flore sin, by grace here: here, thou needest the voiee of God, and loud voice. And therefore, though thou thmk flmu hear somerimes God's sibilations, ( the prophet Zechary speaks) God's sort and whispering voice, (inward mmorses of thine own; and motions of the Spirit of God to thy spirit) yet think hot thy spirirai resmection accomplished, tiR, in this place, thou hear his loud voice; till thou hear Çhrist deoeending from heaven, ( the text svs) that is, working in his church; till thou hear him, clamore, In this cry, in this shout, in this voice of penetration, of rsuasion, of power, that is, till thou feel in thvself in flis plie a liquehction, a colliquation, a melting of thy bowels under the ca Coloss. i. 16. « 2 Sam. xxvi. 12.

commination of the judgments of God upon thy sin, and the application of his mercy fo thy repeutance. And then, this thou must heur In roce arclangeli, In thc voice of the archangel. St. John in the beginning of the Revelation, calls every governor of a church an augel. And much respect and reverence, much faith, and credit behoves it thee to dve to thine angel, to the pastor of that church, in which God bath given thee thy station; ri)r, he is thine angel, thy tutelar, thy guardian angel, lll« ehall seek the law at tke mouth of the Triest, says God in Malachi*; (of that priest that is set over him) For, tke lits 'theTriest, (of every priest, to whom the souls of others are eommitted) ehould Treeere knowled.qe, should be able to insruet and rectify his floek, Quiet an.qdue Domiai exercituum, Because every sueh priest is the angel of the Lord of Hosts. Hearken thon therefore, to that angel, thine angel. But here thou art directed above thine angel to tlle archangel. Now, not the governor of atty particular church, but he ll'ko kath pur- &ased the whole ckurch with hie blood , He u'ko only io head of the whole church ", Chris Jesus, is this archanyel; hear him. It is the voiee oï the arehangel, (that is, the true and iteere word of God) that must raise thee from the death of sin, to the life of grace. If therefore any angel differ ri'ont the archangel, and preach other than the true and sincere word of God, A»athema, says the apostle °, Let that angel be accursed. And take thou heed of over-affecting, over-valuing the gifts of any l,,an so, as that thou take the voice of an angel, for the voice of the archangel, anything that that man says, for the word of God. Yet thou must hear this voice of the archangel in the trumpet of God. The trumpet of God is his loudest instrument; and his loudest instrument is his public ordinance in the church; prayer, preaching, and sacraments; hear him in these, in all these; corne hot to hear him in the sermon alone, but corne to him in prayer, and in the sacrament too. For, except the voice conte in the trumpet of God, (that is, in the public ordinance of his church) thou canst hot know it to be the voice of the archangel. Pretended services of God, in schismatical conventicles, are hot in the trumpet of God, attd therefore hot the voice of the archangel, -' Iai. ii. 7.,e Acts xx. 2/I. » Ephe v. 23. o Gai. i. 8. VOL. 1. 2 I and so, hot the means ordained for thy spiritual resunction. And, as out lt resueion from the rave, is rooted in the personal ruection of Chri, (Foe, if Chris be «o raised fi the dead, we are yet in out sins , ys the apmfle;) But why so (Beeame, to ddiver us from sin, Christ wm to deroy aH out enemies: now the lmt enemy is death; and la rime that death and C%rist met, upon the cross, death overcame him, and tller fore, except he be risen front the power of death, we are yet in out sins) as we rt our last resurrection in the person of Christ,  do we out first resurrection in him, in his word, exhibited in his ordinance, for, that is the voice of the archangel in the trmnpet of God. And as the astle says here, This we say unto you, by the word of the Lord ', that flus the last resurrection shall be aecomplished by Christ himselt so, this we sv to you, by the word of the Lord, y the harmony of all the Scriptures) thus, and no other way, by the pure word of God, delivered and applied by his public ordinance, by hearing, and believing, and practising, under the oeals of the chrch, the sacraments, is your first rurrection from sin, by grace, aecomplished. So have you then those throe branche which constitute our first part; that they are dead before us, shall hot be prevent by us, but they shall rioe first; that they shall be raioed by the power of Christ, that is, the wer of God in Christ; that that power, working to their resurrection, sha be deelared in a mighty voice, the voiee of the archangel, in the trumpet of God. And then, then when they were foerly dead, are first raised, and raised by this power, and this power thus declared, then shall we, who shall be en alive and remain, be zought upon; which is our second, and our next general pa. Vhen the aposfle mys here, os 9ui viril, Ié that are alive, and remMn, wod he not be thouht  eak this of hiff, and the Thealonians to whom he m'ites  Do hot the wor pon that  That he, and they shod lire till Chrt's coming fo judgment  Some ceainly had taken him ; but he complains that he wm mistaken; U beseech y brethren, be soon shaken i. mid, or troubled, by word or ktt, a from that the day OE the Lord is at hand ; so at hand, as that we ! Cm: xv. 17. affi Ver. 15. m 2 Thes. ri. 2.

SElt. XXIV.] PI1EAf'HED ON EASTI'.'I1 DAY. 483 letermine it in sur days, in sur lire. Se that the apost|e speaks here, but hypotl]etieally; he dors but put a case, that if it should be God's pleasure te continue theln in the wor]d, til] the eoming of his Son Christ Jesus, thus and thus they hould be proeeeded withal; for, thus and thus sha]l they bc proeeeded with, says he, that shall then be alive. Out blessed Saviour bath such a manner of speeehs of an ambiguous sense, in.St. Matthew, Tka* tkere rere seine standing tkere, tkat dtould,aot ta.çte of deatk, till they,au. Oie £ton of ta cominq in. ki« kin9dom '. And this might give them just oeeasion te think, that that kingdom into whieh the judgrnent shall enter us, was at hand; for, the words whieh Christ spoke imnlediately belore those, were evidently, undeniably spoken of that last, and everlasting kingdom of glory, Tke,'on of man kall corne in the 91or!! of ki _b'ather, witi, bi, angela, &e. Then follows, b'ome ataMing here ahall lire te »ee tkia. And Christ did net speak this of that last kingdom of glory; but either ho spoke it of that manifestation of that kingdom whieh was showed te seine of them, te Peter, and dames, and,lohn, in the transfiguration of Christ, (for the transfiguration was a representation of the kingdom of glory) or else he spoke it of that inchoation of the kingdom of glory, whieh shined out in the kingdom of graee, whieh all the apostles lived te ser, in the personal eoming of the Holy Ghost, and in his powerftd working in the conversion of nations in their ]ifetime. And this is an inexpressiblc comfort te us, that sur blessed Saviour thus mingles his kingdonls, that he makes the kingdom of grace, and the kingdom of g|ory, all one; the church, and heaven, all one; and assures us, that if we ser him in tkia glasa, in Iris ordinanee, in his kingdom of grace, we bave already begun te ser himface to.t'ace, in his kingdom of glory; if we-see him sicuti nadfestatur, as ho looks in his word, and saeraments, in his kingdom of graee, we bave begun te ser him, icti as he is, in his essence, in the kingdom of glory; and when we pray, Thy kingdom conte, and mean but the kingdom of graee, he gives us more thtm we ask, an inehoative eomprehenmon of the kingdom of glor3", in t]lis lire. This is his inexpressible merey, that he mingles his kingdoms, and where he gives one, gives both. s Matt. xvi. l.

So is there also a ïair heam of comfrt exhilfited to us in this text, that the number reserved for that kingdom of glory, is no small number. For though David said, The Lord looked down frein hearen, and saw net one that did.qood,.no net one 8, (flere it is less than a few) though when the times had better means te be better, when Christ preached personally upon tbe eavth, when one eenturion had but replied te Christ, Sir, you need net trouble yourself te go te my house, if)-ou de but say the word here, my servant will be well, Christ said in his behalf, Verily I hare net round se.qreat faith, no net in IsraeP«; when Christ makes se mueh of this single grain of mustard-seed, this little thitll, as te prefer it before all the thith of Israel, surely faith went very ]ow in Israel at that rime; nay, when Christ himlf says, speaking of his last coming, after se many ages' preacbing of fle Gospel, IVhen the,S'en o.f man cornes, shall he find.tàith -upon earth 8r, any faith, we have I say, a blessed bealn of eomtbrt shiuing out of this text, that it is no small nulnber that is reserved for that kingdom; for, whether the apostle speak this of himselï and tbe Thessalonians, or of others, he speaks net as of a few, but that by Christ's having preached the narrowuess of the way, and the straitness of the gare, our ho]y industry and endeavour is se much exalted, (which was Christ's principal end in taking those metaphors of narrow ways, and strait gares, net te make any man suspect an impogsibility of eutering, but te be the more industrious and endeavorous in seeking it) that as he hath sent workmen in plenty, abuudant preaehing, se he shall return a plentiful harvest, a glorious addition te his kingdom, both of those whieh slept in him betbre, aud of those whieh shall be then a]ive, fit, ail together, te be caught up in the elouds te meet him, and be with him for ever; for these two armies imply no small number. Now, of the condition of these men, who shall ho then alive, and how being elothed in bodies of eorruption, they beeome capable of the glory of this text, in out first distribution, we proposed that for a partieular eonsideration, and the other braneh of this second part, and te that, in that order, xve are corne new. I searee know a place of Seripture, more diversely read, and slrt. XXlV.] ACnt O. F..ST. consequently ore variously interpreted tban that place, which sbould most enlighten uss in this con8ideratiou out hands; which is that place to the Corinthian, cil des, bu we «hall ail be chanye«P . Te apostle professes there to deliver us  mystery, (BehoM, I show you a m?lstery) bu[ translato nd expoito have multiplied mystical clouds upon the words. St. Chu'soston reads hese wors s we do, n dotre&mus,  shall hot all slee, bu thereupon he armes, md eoncludes, tha we shall hot all die. The eommon reading of the mwients is eontrm T to thzt, Omnes dorm&mus, ced non, :e. Iié shall ail sle«, but we shall hot «I! be t'hanyed. The vulgate edition in the Roman church differs t?om both, and as much ti'on, thc original, as from either, Omnes resn;yemus, tlé shall «Il rie «ffab, bu[ we shall hot all be chaçqed. S. Hieme examines the tvo rezdings, nd then le-es the reader fo his ehoiee, s thing indifferen. St. Augustine doth so too, and coneludcs oequè Cathollcos ee, that they are as good Cadolics that read it the one wzy, as the other. But howsoever, that which Chrysostom eollects upon his reading, may hot be maintained. He reads as we do; and without ail doubt aright, llç »hoH hot «ll sleep; but what then  Therefore shall we hot ail die  To sleep there, is fo test in the grave, to continue in the state of the dead, and so we shall hot ail sleep, hot continue in the state of the dead. But yet,,'tatt«m est, savs the alstle, as -erily as Christ was once ored to bear our sins, so verily is it aTpointed to eve man once to die; and, as verily as entered into the co'ld, and death b?l sh, so rerily death ssed ou all men,br that ail meu hnce shtn«d";  the apostle institutes the eomparison, so he constitutes the doctrine, in those two 1)laces ot" Scripture, as verily as Christ died tbr all, all sll die, as verily as every man sins, evet man shall die. In that change then, whieh we who are then alive, shall eive, (for though we shall not ail sleep, we shall ail be changed) we shall have a present dissolution ofbody ad sonl, and that is truly a death, and a present redinteation of the sane body and the me soul, and that is tly a resurrection; we shall die, and be alive abin,

46 vCHV ON «r V'. [. XXV. before another could consider that we were dead; but yet this shall net ho doue in an abolute in«tant; sone succession of time, though undiscernible there is. It shall be donc in raTtu, in a mpte; but even in a rapture there is a nmtion, a tlnsition frein env te another place. It shall ho donc says ho, Iu ictu oculi, 1 te twinkliçq  an eye; but even in the twinkling of an eye, there is a shutting of the eyelids, and an opening of them again; neither of these is donc in an absolute instant, but quir oeme succession of rime. The aposfle, in t!te resurrection in out text, constitutes aTrius, something te ho donc first, and mething after; first ose that were de in Christ shall fise first, and then, then when tiret is donc, after that, net ail at once, we that are alive shall ho wmught upon, we shaH be changed, our change cornes after their rising; se in our change them is a Trius toe, fitt we shall be diolved, (so we die) and then we shall be re-compoet, (so we rise again.) This is the difference, they that sleep in the grave, put oE and depart with the very substance of the body, it is no longer flesh, but dust, they that are changed at the last day, put ofl and depart with, only the qualities of the body, as mortality and corrnption; it is still the saine body, without relving into dust, but the first step that it makes, is inm glory. Now tmnsfer this to the spirituM resurrection of thy soul by grâce, here. Here, gmce works hot that resurrection upon thy , in an absolute instant. And therefore suspect not God's gmcious purpose upon thee, if thou beest uot presently, thoroughly recovered. G oeuld have ruade ail the world in one day, and o bave corne soener to his Sabbath, his rest; but he wrought more, fo give us an example of hbour, and of patience, in attending his leisure in our second creation, this resurrection from sin,  we did in our first création, when we were not ruade till the ixth day. But remember toe, that the lt resurrecfion, from death, is to be tmncted quickly, speedily; and in thy first, thy spiritual resurrection from sin, make hte. The last is fo be donc In ratu, In a rapture; let this rapture in the first testrection , to tear thyself from that company and convertion that leads thee into temptation. The last is to be donc In ictu oculi, In the twinkling of an eye; let that, in thy first l'esurrcc- tion be, the shutting of dfine eyes from loo[ing upon thins in thin, upon crems in cretures, upon beuty in tht face that mislds thee, or upon honour in tht place tht poees thee; d let the opening of thine eyes be, to look upon God in every objet, fo represent fo thyself the beuty of his holiness, and the honour of his wrvice in every action. And in this rapture, and in this twinhling of n eye, will thy resurrection soon, thouh hot sudden]ç speedily, though not instantly be accomplished. And if God take thee out of the world, before thou think it thoroughly accomplished, yet he shall call thiae iuchoation, consummation, thine endeavour, performance, and thy desire, effect. For ail God's works are entire, and done in him, t once, and ect s soon as begnn  and this sp]rtual resurrection is his work, and therefore quckened even in the conception, and born even in the quickening, and grown up even in the biah, th3t ]s, perfected la the eyes of God, as soon as it s seriously intended in out he3. And farther we carry hot your consideration upon those two branches wh]ch constitute out second pa, that sonm shall be alive t Christ's coming, tbat they that are alive, shll reoeive such 3 change, as shall be  true death, and 3 true resur- ction, and so shall be cau/ht vp ito the vlotds, to meet the Zord in the air, a,d so be with the Lord ]br ever; which are the cimumstances of ont third, and last part. In this last pa, we proposed it for the first consideratiou, that the apostle determines the consideration of the resurrection in those two, them, and us, They that slept in Christ and lire that expt the comi» of Christ. Of any resurroetion of the wicked, here is no mention. Not that theoe is not one; but that the resurrection of the wicked conduced not fo the apostle's purpose, which was to minister comfort in the lo of the dead, because they were to corne again, and to meet tire Lord, and fo be th him for ever; whereas, in the resurrection of the wicked, who are only to fise, that they may fall lower, there is no argmnt of comfort. And therefoe out Saviour Christ determines his oemnlission in that, Thls is tke FfitheFs œeill that sent me, tkat  ail which he kath.qiee me, I shouM lme othitt9, but skouM raise if ttp agaitat the lest day". This was his not losing, if it were  John ri. 39.

488 PREACHED ON EASTER D,Y. [Sl-ll. XXIV. raised again; but, he hath only them in charge to raise at the lait day, whom the Father had giveu him  given him so, as that they were tobe with him for ever  for others he never mentions. And upon this, mueh. very mueh depends. For this forbearing to mention the resurreetion of the wieked with the riëhteous, gave occasion to many in the primitive ehureh, to imagine a twofold, a former and a later resurreetion  whieh was furthered by their mistakin, of those words in St. John, Blesed and ioty tiat taM art in t/te first reurrection't; which words, being intended of the resurreetion from sin, hy grace, in this life, the Cldlia,ts, the Milletarians, interpreted of this resurrection in our text, that at Christ's cominë, the righteous hould rire, and live a thousand years, (as St. John says.) in ail temporal abuadanees, with Christ here, in recompense of those temporal calanfities, and oppressions, which here they had suflbred; and then, af'ter those thousud years, o spent with Christ, in temporal abundances, should follow the resurrcction of the wicked  and then the wicked, and the righteous, should be disl»osed and distributed and settled in those mansions, in whieh they should remain tbr ever. And of this error, (as verv manv of the fthers persisted in it to the end) St. Augu.-tine himself had a tonch, and a tincture, at beginning. And this error, St. Hierome also, (though truly, I think, St. Hierome was never touched with it himself) out of a reverence to thoe mm»y, and great me», that were, lrenœeus, Tertullian, Lactal;tius, and t|:c test, would never call an heresy, nor an error, llOr hv anv sh:,r]er llalne, than an opinion, whieh is no word of heavv detestation. And as thoe I,lessed fathers of tender bowels, enlmed themselves in this distribution, and ai, portioning the merey of God, tbat it censisted be:t with the nature of his n:ercy, that as his saints had suflèred tcmporal ealamities in this world, in this world they should be rec0mpensed with temForal aLnndanees, so did they e,lmëe this n:ercv thoEher, and ('cric, • it £Vell o the (;entiles, to the ]»agans that had no knowledge of (hrist in allV establi'.,hed ehurch. You sha]l hot End a Trismeëistus, a l,'uma Pompilius, a Plato, a $cerates, ibr who,e salvation)'ou »hall hot find some father, er ome aneient and reverend author, an advoeate.  I{ev. xx, 6.

sn. XXlV.] ,nwAcnwr) ON r.AST ).'. 489 whieh liberality of God's merey, those tender fathers proeeed pa]y upon tha fuie, tha in Trismeistus, and in the rest, they find evident impressions, and testimonies, tha they knew the Son of God, and knew the Trinity; and then, say they, Vhy suld no these good inen, believing a Trinity, be saved  And paoEly they go upon tha fuie, whieh goes through so manv of the ]hthers, Facienti qwd in se est, Tha  ha man who does as mueh as he can, by the light of nature, God never denies grace  and then, say they, Vhy shou]d no these men tha do so bo saved[ And, upon this ground, St. Dionysius the Areopagite ys, That [om the heginnin of the world. God hath called sone men of ail nations, and of all os, by he minitry of anels, though hot by the minisçry of the chureh. To me, to whom God bath revealed his Son, in a Gospel, by a chuoeh, there ean be no way of lvatiou, but by applying that Son of God, by thaç Gospel, in that chureh. or is there any other foundation Ibr any, nor other naine by which any ean be saved, buç the naine of Jeus. But how this foundation is presented, and how this nante of Jesus is noçified to them, amongsç whom there is no Gope[ preaehed, no chureh esblished, I ara noç curious it inquiring. I know God ean be as mercifid as those tender fathers present him to be; and I would he as charitable as they are. And therebre humbly embracillg that manibstatiou of Iris Son, which he bath aflbrded me, I leave God to his Ultsearçhable wavs of workin£ upon ohers, without trther inquisition. either did those tender ]thers then, (luueh less the school atter) consist in t.arrying this overflowiug, and inexhautihle mercy of God. upon his saints, after their resurrection, in tcmporal abundances, nor upon the Gentiles, who had no solenm, nor clc knowledge of Christ, (which is ay»'cor« misericordiam ', To magnit)', to extend, to stretch the mercy of God) but, 3lirficant nffsericordiam", (as David also speaks) they stretch this mercy miraculously, tbr they carry this mercy eveu to hell itlE For first, for the angels that t11 in heaven, fmm the time that they committed their first siu, to the rime that they were cast down into heli, they whom we call the more subtle pa of the school, say, that in iila morMa, during that space, between their a Psal. cxvi. 2.  PI. xvU. 7.

490 PREACnED ON EASTER DAYo [SERo XX|Vo fallin into their sin, and their expulsion ïron. heaven, the angels might bave repented, and been restored, for, se long, say they, those angels were but in »rat« ziator«, in the state and condition et  persons as yet upon their way, (as ail men are, as long as they are alive) and net/ termiw, in their last, and determined station. And that which is se often cited out of Damascene, concerning the fall of angels, Quod lwmi«ibts mors est, ayelis casus, That as death wor "ks upon man, and condudes him, and makes him impenitible for ever, se works the fall upon the angels, and concludes them for ever t, they interpret te bave been intended by Damascene, net of the angels" fall in heaven, but their fall frein heaven; for, till then, they were net, say they, in termine, in their last state, and, se, net impenitible. And those ancients, which expound that battle in heaven '», between Michael and the dragon, and their several angels, te have been fought at that time, after their fMI, and between Lucifer's rebellion, and hic expulsion, (s the ancients abound much in that sense of that place) argte rationally, that that battle, (what kind of battle soever it were) must necessarily bave spent seine time. They conceive it te bave been a battle of disputation, of argumentation, of persuasion; and that those good angels which are se glad of our conversion, would have been infinitely glad te have reduced their rebellious brethren te their obedience. And, during that rime, (which could net be a sudden instant) they were net in«dqtiriyratiw, incapable of repentance, and of mercy. St. Cyril cornes towards it, cornes near it; nay, if it be well observed, goes beyond it; of God's longanimity and patience toward man, (says he) we have in part spoken; Quata ille «yelis comtonaverit, escimus; How great transgressions he hath forgiven in the angels, we know net; only this we know, says he, $'olus ui lecc«re wn possit Jesus est, There is none impeccable, none that cannot sin, man ner angel, but only Crist Jesus. Nay a£ter the expulsion of the angels, net only after their fMI in heaven, but their fall frein heaven, many of the aeients seem loath te exclude all ways of God's mercy, even front hell itself. D statu 7noti, sd on irremediabiliter moti, say Origen, The angels are fallen, fallen even into hell, but net o irrecoverably