nel, he was punished with death. Would then a guard of soldiers, sixty as it has been supposed, have fallen asleep under these circumstances? Can any man for a moment imagine it? Or admitting they had, according to their own false declaration, would they not have been awakened by the disciples, who must have come in a body to roll away the ponderous stone? Again, can it possibly be imagined that the distressed disciples, who all forsook their Lord and fled while he was living, would come in the face of a Roman guard of soldiers to steal his body when dead? Or what advantage could arise from such an attempt? If they should fail, it would be certain ruin both to them and their cause. If they should succeed, what use could they make of their success? Unless they could produce their dead body alive, what end could have been answered? The hypothesis is self-destructive, and too incredible to be entertained for one moment by any man of common understanding ;—in fact, the absurdity of the forgery can be exceeded by nothing but its wickedness.

The second objection made by the opponents of the resurrection of Jesus is, that he did not appear to the Jewish nation after the event had taken place. But this cannot with propriety be called an objection. It is merely a presumptuous opinion, that the infinitely wise God ought to have acted in a manner different from that by which, as demonstrated by facts, he chose to act. To this opinion, or objection, if it may be so called, it may be replied, that God is not obliged to give such degrees of evidence as are

sufficient to convince men, who use all their efforts not to be convinced. Nor is there any reason to suppose, that the Jews would have been convinced that Jesus was the Messiah, if the evidence had been afforded them. Many of them did not believe in him as such, when they beheld him raise from the tomb the putrid corpse of his friend Lazarus. The chief priests and elders, without doubt, believed the testimony of the Roman soldiers as to the fact of the resurrection of Christ; but they were determined to oppose it, and accordingly did so. If men "believe not Moses and the prophets," Jesus Christ and his disciples, "neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead." Sufficient evidence of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is afforded to satisfy men of the most scrupulous minds, if they were desirous of knowing the truth. To have forced conviction on the Jews as a nation, would have been inconsistent with those prophecies which predicted their rejection of the promised Messiah, and would have destroyed that evidence of the truth of christianity, which arises from their present existence as a distinct people scattered over the face of the earth.

As a corroboration of the fact of the Redeemer's resurrection, it may be remarked that objectors to the truth may themselves be silenced by objections. Let only two be here produced.

First, if the resurrection of Christ were not a fact, why did not the Jews refute it? The Apostles openly declared it in the city adjoining to which it occurred. They proclaimed it in the most public manner; and

one of them published to the world, that the chief priests and elders of the Jews bribed the Roman soldiers to report that the body of Christ was stolen by his disciples while the guards were asleep. Why did they not refute the statements of the Apostles and disciples of our Lord? Had these not been facts, this might easily have been accomplished. But is it not plain that the rulers believed the truth of the resurrection of Jesus? If not, why did they offer bribes, and invent an absurd, an incredible story to conceal it? And if their conduct on this subject had been misrepresented, why did they remain under the charge imputed to them--that of falsehood, forgery, and bribery?

Secondly, those who reject the evidences of the resurrection of Jesus, must themselves possess a most astonishing and extraordinary degree of credulity.The infidel charges the christian with being credulous ; but he is himself infinitely worse so than the believer. For the rejection of the belief of Jesus Christ implies a credulity in many moral impossibilities. The man who does not believe the resurrection of Jesus, must believe that a few poor fishermen, without power or learning, were able to deceive the wise and the learned of the world by an imposition which no wisdom or sagacity has been able to discover. He must believe, that a few timid disciples of Jesus, who were filled with terror and distress at the time of his crucifixion, suddenly formed the design of conquering a body of Roman soldiers, and of carrying off the body of their crucified

master. He must believe, that the men, who formed a code of morality never equalled, and who denounced the punishment of everlasting misery against all liars, and others who might live and die in sinful practices, were themselves the most desperate imposters, and that upon their own principles they consigned themselves to eternal perdition. He must believe, that these imposters have kindled in the breast of millions of their fellow creatures a flame of earnest desire to love and serve God. He must suppose that they died to bear testimony to a pretended fact, which they did not believe, and that they often left the world in transports of joy, under the pretence that they were going into the presence of their risen Lord, who was ascended into heaven to receive them to himself, and to crown them with glory, honour, and immortality. And, finally, he must believe that the conversion of the thousands and tens of thousands from sin to holiness, which takes place in the present age, as it has in all past ages of christianity, is produced by a principle which never has and never can produce any such effects, namely, that of moral persuasion, instead of the influence of the Holy Spirit, who was promised by Christ to be sent to convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment, and to remain with his church till the end of time.

Enough has been said to amplify the arguments of the Apostle; "that if Christ be not risen, there is no resurrection of the dead; and that then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain, ye are

yet in your sins. Then they also that are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept."

There is another kind of testimony which has not yet been noticed, which may be denominated the internal evidence of the Saviour's resurrection. This proof does not depend on the arguments and evidence that have hitherto been mentioned; but it is a testimony arising in the minds of those who have found the gospel to be the power of God to their salvation. "He that believeth hath the witness in himself." They know that the doctrine which awakened their conscience, convinced their understanding, delivered from the power and dominion of sin, brought them into a state of peace with God, and their own conscience, and filled them with the hope of eternal life, must be true. They are sure that the Lord has risen indeed, because they are made "partakers of the power of his resurrection." They have been born again, made new creatures in Christ, and walk in newness of life; and they are convinced that these effects never could have been produced except by the agency and influence of that Holy Spirit, which the Lord Jesus, both before and after his resurrection, promised to send, to convince, teach, enlighten, sanctify, and comfort his people.

The other heads of my discourse, in relation to the circumstances connected with the resurrection of Jesus, and the ends to be effected by it, must be deferred to a future opportunity.-Let us now