and it belongeth to him to know what thou shalt be, till thou art fit to know it, which will not be till thou art fit to enjoy it. Be satisfied that thy Father is in heaven, and that thy Lord is there; and that the Spirit that hath been so long at work within thee, preparing thee for it, dwelleth there. And let it suffice thee, that Christ knoweth what he will do with thee, and how he will employ thee to all eternity. And thou shalt very shortly see his face, and in his light thou shalt behold that light that shall fully satisfy thee, and shame all thy present doubts and fears; and if there were shame in heaven, would shame thee for them.

Use 9. From the enmity of death, and the necessity of a conquest, we may see what a wonderful mercy the resurrection of Christ himself was to the church, and what use we should make of it for the strengthening of our faith. It was not only impossible to man to conquer death by his own strength, and therefore it must be conquered by Christ; but it was also beyond our power to believe it, that ever the dead should rise to life, if Christ had not risen as the first-fruits, and convinced man, by eyesight, or certain testimony, that the thing is possible, and already done. But now what a pillar is here for faith: what a word of hope and joy is this, that Christ is risen. With this we will answer a thousand cavils of the tempter, and stop the mouth of the enemies of our faith, and put to flight our infidelity. As unlikely as it seems to flesh and blood, shall we ever doubt whether we shall rise again, when the Lord came down in flesh among us, that he might die and rise again himself, to show us as to our faces that we shall rise? This is the very gospel which we preach, and by which we must be saved; "That Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures; and that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve; after that he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remained alive" when Paul wrote this, who was the last that saw him. (1 Cor. xv. 1-6.) Read over this chapter again and again, where our resurrection is proved by the resurrection of Christ.

No wonder, therefore, that the church, in all ages, ever since the very day of Christ's resurrection, hath kept the first day of the week as a holy festival in remembrance of it. Wherein, though they commemorated the whole work of our redemption, yet was it from the resurrection as the most glorious part that

the Spirit of Christ did choose the day. This hath been the joyful day to the church this 1625 years, or thereabouts; in which the ancient Christians would assemble themselves together, saluting one another with this joyful word, "The Lord is risen." And this is the day that the Lord hath blessed with the new birth and resurrection of millions of souls; so that it is most probable that all the six days of the week have not begot half so many souls for heaven, as this blessed day of the Lord's resurrection hath done. Let infidels, then, despise it, that believe not Christ's resurrection; but let it still be the church's joyful day. This is the Lord's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes this is the day which the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm exviii. 23, 24.) In it "Let us sing unto the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms." (Psalm xcv. 1, 2.) Every day let us remember the Lord's resurrection; but on this day let the joyful commemoration of it be our work.

We may see by the witness of the apostles, and their frequent preaching the resurrection of Christ, as if it were the sum of all the gospel, that this is a point that faith must especially build and feed upon, and that we must make the matter of our most frequent meditations. Oh, what vigour it addeth to our faith, when we are encountered by the sight of death, and of a grave, to remember seriously that" Christ is risen." Did he take flesh purposely that he might die and rise, and show us how he will raise his members? And will he, after all this, break his promise, and leave us in the dust for ever? It cannot be. Hath he conquered death for himself alone, and not for us? Hath he taken our nature into heaven, to be there alone, and will he not have all his members with him? Remember, then, Christian, when thou lookest on thy grave, that Christ was buried, and hath made the grave a bed of rest, that shall give up her trust when his trumpet sounds; and that his resurrection is the pledge of ours. Keep, therefore, thy rising and glorified Lord continually in thy eye. If Christ were not risen, our preaching were vain, and your faith were vain, and all men were miserable, but we most miserable that suffer so much for a life which we had no ground to hope for. (1 Cor. xv. 14, 17, 19.) But now we have an argument that infidelity itself is ashamed to encounter with; that hath been the means of the conversion. of

the nations unto Christ; by which we may put even death itself to a defiance, as knowing it is now a conquered thing. If it could have held Christ captive, it might also have held us. But he being risen, we shall surely rise. Write it, therefore, Christians, upon your hearts; mention it more in your conference for the encouragement of your faith; write it on the gravestones of your friends that "CHRIST IS RISEN," and that 66 BECAUSE HE LIVETH, WE SHALL LIVE ALSO," and that " our LIFE IS HID WITH CHRIST IN GOD," though we are dead, and when he shall appear who is our life, we shall also appear with him in glory. (John xiv. 19; Col. iii. 3, 4.) Though we must be sown in corruption, in weakness, and dishonour, we shall be raised in incorruption, strength, and honour. (1 Cor. xv. 42, 43.) While our souls behold the Lord in glory, we may bear with the winter that befals our flesh till the spring of resurrection come. "Knowing that he that raised up the Lord Jesus, shall raise up us also by Jesus-for which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day-while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen, for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eter nal." (2 Cor. iv. 14, 16, 18.) As we are risen with Christ to newness of life, so we shall rise with him to glory.

Use 10. Lastly, if death be the last enemy to be destroyed at the resurrection, we may learn hence how earnestly believers should long and pray for the second coming of Christ, when this full and final conquest shall be made. Death shall do much for us, but the resurrection shall do more. Death sends the separated soul to Christ, but at his coming both soul and body shall be glorified. There is somewhat in death that is penal, even to believers, but in the coming of Christ, and their resurrection, there is nothing but glorifying grace. Death is the effect of sin, and of the first sentence passed upon sinners, but the resurrection of the just is the final destruction of the effects of sin. And, therefore, though the fears of death may perplex us, methinks we should long for the coming of Christ, there being nothing in that but what tends to the deliverance and glory of the saints. Whether he will come before the general resurrection, and reign on earth a thousand years, which some expect, I shall not presume to pass my determination. But sure I am, it is the work of faith, and character of his people, to "love his appearing," (2 Tim. iv. 8;)

"and to wait for the Son of God from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivered us from the wrath to come." (1 Thess. i. 10.) And to wait" for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Cor. i. 7.) And to wait" for the adoption, the redemption of our bodies," with inward groanings. (Rom. viii. 23.) Oh! therefore, let us pray more earnestly for the coming of our Lord! And that "the Lord would direct our hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ." (2 Thess. iii. 5.) O blessed day, when that glorious appearing of our Lord shall put away all his servants' shame, and shall communicate glory to his members, even to the bodies that had lain so long in dust, that to the eye of flesh there seemed to be no hope. Though the majesty and glory will cause our reverence, yet it will not be our terror, to the diminution of our joy. It is his enemies that would not have him rule over them, whom he cometh to destroy. (Luke xix. 27.) "Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds, which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him;" as Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied. (Jude, verses 14, 15.) But the precious faith of the saints shall be found to praise, and honour, and glory, at the appearing of Jesus Christ." (1 Pet. i. 7.) "When the chief Shepherd shall appear, we shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away." (1 Pet. v. 4.) He that was once offered to bear the sins of many, and now appeareth for us in the presence of God, shall, unto them that look for him, appear the second time, without sin, to salvation. (Heb. ix. 24, 28.) And "when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall we also appear with him in glory." (Col. iii. 4.) The Lord shall then "come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe in that day." (2 Thess. i. 10.) This is the day that all believers should long, and hope, and wait for, as being the accomplishment of all the work of their redemption, and all the desires and endeavours of their souls. It is the hope of this day that animateth the holy diligence of our lives, and makes us turn from the carelessness and sensuality of the world. "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men; teaching us, that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world: looking for that

blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of our great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ." (Tit. ii. 11-13.) "The heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment, and perdition of ungodly men." And though the Lord seem to delay, he is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness: for a day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; the earth also, and the works that are therein, shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for, and hasting unto, the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire, shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens, and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." (2 Pet. iii. 7-13.)

Beza marvelleth at Tertullian for saying that the Christians in their holy assemblies prayed pro mora finis, (Apologet. c. 39;) and so he might well enough, if it were not that to Christians the glory of God is dearer than their own felicity, and the salvation of millions more precious than the mere hastening of their own; and the glory of the church more desirable than our personal glory, and the hallowing of God's name were not to be prayed for before the coming of his kingdom, and the kingdom of grace must not necessarily go before the kingdom of glory. But as much as we long for the coming of our Lord, we are content to wait till the elect be gathered; and can pray that he will delay it, till the universal body be made up, and all are called that shall be glorified. But to ourselves that are brought out of Egypt into the wilderness, how desirable is the promised land. When we think on our own interest, we cry, "Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly." The sooner the better. Then shall our eyes behold him, in whom we have believed: not as he was beheld on earth in his despised state; but as the glorious King of Saints, accompanied with the celestial host, coming in flaming fire to render vengeance to the rebellious, and rest and joy to believing souls, that waited for this day of his appearance. Then faith and patience shall give up their work; and sight, and fruition, and perfect love, shall everlastingly succeed them. The rage of persecutors shall no more