Lord lay here!" Lay there, say you? What past, not present?" Past, my child; not present. Calm your mind. You see now that the grave may be a bed of roses. Here thy body, once the temple of the Holy Ghost, shall lie embalmed, until the trumpet's sound awake it once again, to see the vision of salvation! "These vestments. This sacred napkin that bound His head about, when death was there. These strange grave-clothes, that our risen Lord hath cast from off Him; what are they?" Oh! be not too curious now; ask not questions that can hardly yield answer of sober truth or sense. It was Joseph of Arimathæa, that rich man and counsellor. It was also Nicodemus, who came to Jesus by night, a ruler of the Jews. It was these two, who, in a sort of holy partnership, brought the mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight; and took the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes, with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. He had been anointed beforehand, by that woman who loved Him so, with the costly spikenard, worth three hundred pence. What more would you know on this head?"Oh! nothing; I have seen the place where the Lord lay, and am satisfied." You rebuke not now the preacher then ?—" Oh no! say on; and may others find a like experience of satisfaction, springing from the fact of my Saviour's burial and resurrection being graven on my heart." Will you give me your name? But why do I ask? It is I; it is you; it is all of us, oh! is it not, that use this language, or would use it? To sum up all then in a few words. We have this day, by faith, visited afresh the sacred tomb of the blessed Jesus. We have seen a vision of angels, who have assured us that He is alive. We have seen memorials of His death and burial, and handled them with the hands of our souls. We have wept big tears of sorrow, because our Lord did die and was buried; and our sorrow has been turned into heavenly joy, because He has plainly told us, it was for our salvation. We have assured ourselves, verily, that He is risen; and because He lives, we shall live also. And now we have resolved, as a final resolve, to go and do Him better service than ever, until the day of labour is over, and the shades of evening fall; and then we hope to wrap ourselves composedly in the mantle of death, and lie down to rest; and may our friends, who watch our departure, catch from our lips the echo of these words "I shall be satisfied when I awaken with Thy likeness." BODY AND SPIRIT. 1 CORINTHIANS xii. 13. "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one whether we be bond or free; and OUTWARD forms and inward life, are oftentimes connected together in most wonderful ways; indeed, the links by which they are so united, generally elude our most rigid scrutiny. And what an endless variety of forms beautify this world of ours, from the drop on the grass, to the huge mountain, capped with eternal snow ! And how many are endued with life, from the tiny insect, that spends its short life in a day, to the giant tree, that braves the blast of a thousand years! The most interesting, the most important object, of this lower creation, is man. Erect in gait, and noble in mien, he walks forth the acknowledged lord of all. There is a mystery about his nature, and an interest about his history, which would naturally challenge our attention, were we not ourselves personally |