very conspicuous proof of this fact. The very persons who pronounced judgment upon His conduct, and undertook to punish Him for it, were those for whom, in common with all mankind, the plan of Salvation was devised. I may not meet with direct persecution or punishment in the prosecution of what appears to me to be my duty; but I am very likely to receive strong censure, reprobation for folly, obstinacy, and the like. Perhaps no man carried out any very great improvement or design for the good of his neighbours, who did not for a long time sustain this reproach. weak-minded man defers to these judgments. man of wisdom, on the contrary, follows but what appears to be right, in spite of all opposition. Opposition unsupported by reason is no valid objection. Let us always remember the case of Jesus Christ, who not only suffered for a deed which was right, but the moral rectitude of which consisted in the blessings which it conveyed to the very persons by whose hands He suffered. The The THE GOSPEL. “And laid it in his own new tomb," &c.—MATT. xxvii. 60. HRIST is in the grave; the sun is set; the curtain CHRIST is drawn; all is still. Can death be that terrible thing when He has passed through it whom we know to be exalted so very high? When I write this, the thought revolts that the fingers which trace the lines, and the brain which is the organ of mental work, must moulder in the dust. Is it not a sad and fearful thing to leave our loving friends; or, if we have no friends, to leave the warm light of day to which we have been used, and to migrate to the vaults and seek the company of worms? But the tomb enclosed Christ; the winding-sheet wrapped Him round; the hand which healed the leper was afterwards the hand of a corpse ; the tongue which quickened Lazarus was silent in the grave. Surely the end which is appointed for us was experienced by Him. Shall I so much dread the coffin which Christ warmed? Shall I fear so much the winding-sheet which encompassed His body? O Death! thou art a solemn, serious thought. And however conclusive the reasoning of Faith may be, flesh and blood will own thy sceptre still. But when thou hast missed thine aim on one, it is plain that thou art not invincible to all. And He that hath conquered, hath not conquered for Himself alone; or, if for Himself alone, for His body the Church, which is one with Him and He with it. Graft me within the vitality of Thy body, within the system of Thy personal growth, O thou True Vine! that so I may be one with Thee and Thou with me. And if it shall so come to pass, what ground of fear remains? The soul of Christ cannot remain in hell, nor can His body see corruption. By Thy birth and early years; By Thine hour of dark despair; By Thy wounds, Thy crown of thorn; By Thy perfect sacrifice; Jesus! look with pitying eye; By Thy last expiring groan; Easter Bay. CHRIST our passover is sacrificed for us; therefore let us keep the feast; Not with the old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness: but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.-1 Cor. v. 7. CHRIST being raised from the dead dieth no more: death hath no more dominion over Him. For in that He died, He died unto sin once: but in that He liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin: but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.-Rom. vi. 9. CHRIST is risen from the dead: and become the first-fruits of them that slept. For since by man came death: by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die: even so in Christ shall all be made alive.-1 Cor. xv. 20. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen. THE COLLECT. ALMIGHTY God, who through Thine only-begotten Son Jesus Christ hast overcome death, and opened unto us the gate of everlasting life; We humbly beseech Thee, that, as by Thy special grace preventing us Thou dost put into our minds good desires, so by Thy continual help we may bring the same to good effect; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen. THE EPISTLE. "If ye then be risen with Christ, set your affections on things above... Mortify therefore your members."-COLOSS. iii. 1, &c. THIS scripture suggests a very useful reflection, that the Christian regulation of our temper requires a positive as well as a negative effort. It is not enough to withdraw my affections from earth: I must also fix them on heaven, where my Master Christ awaits me. The correction of a wrong direction of mind is not enough without an application to the right. Indeed, they mutually support each other. Without effectually blinding out from our minds the pretensions of the world, it will be impossible to appreciate the kingdom of heaven. A regular daily meditation upon the kingdom of heaven (which is but another name for the enjoyment of Christ) will prove an excellent help to the crucifixion of the world. While, however, the heart's affections can be directed to a different object, |