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her companions retired, the remained at the grave, and refolved either to find him, or to pass the day in devotion and tears.

But all the apostles (except Peter and John) shut themselves up in a chamber, for fear of the Jews; that cowardly paffion, that perfuaded them to abandon their Master at his fufferings, forced them to abfcond after the fcene was over; fo that they durft not approach the fepulchre; nay, when they were affured by Mary Magdalen, that fhe had feen our Lord, they received the news as a dream, and gave no credit to her report.

This fhews the difference between two claffes of Chriftians; those that love God, and thofe that love themselves. The former feek him in all their actions. Like Magdalen, they are above fear, above the awing dread of fhame, and the bugbear of human refpects. Penetrated with a true fenfe of their duty, they refolve to comply with it in fpite of danger and oppofition, and perfuade themselves they gain, tho' they lose their lives in his fervice; to thefe he will certainly appear by his grace, accompanied with all those favours, that wait upon it, a calm confcience, an interior fatisfaction, that can only be exprefs'd by those who feel it or, if he defers his vifit, it is only to try their patience, and to crown their perfeverance. Magdalen, by staying at our Saviour's fepulchre, found him, when the thought him loft, and pass'd in a moment from the defpair of feeing him unto the fatisfaction of enjoying his prefence.

But thofe, who are more concern'd for themfelves than the discharge of their duty to God; who act out of fear of his juftice, rather than a motive of love, meet not with the fame bleffing;

or, if they do, it is very late, and the mere effect of God's goodnefs: for fear is a kind of a flavish paffion, and an unfit motive for a Chriftian, who

ferves

ferves not a tyrant, but a Father, that deferves our whole heart for what he has done to expiate our fins, for what he has prepared to recompenfe our virtues, and a thoufand hearts for his own perfections. I know indeed, it is not evil to fear God: we are affured by the Holy Ghoft, that the beginning of wifdom is to fear him, Ecclus. i. 16. and in a hundred places of holy writ, we are commanded to dread his Majefty, and to obferve his law, out of a fear of his juftice: but however, this reaches not the perfection nor the obligation of Chriftianity, which requires love, as St. Paul affures us, Love is the fulfilling of the law, Rom. xiii. 10.

Our Saviour, appearing to his apostles, neither difcourfes of the pains he had fuffered, nor the cruelty of the Jews, by whofe rage and malice he fuffered, nor of the infidelity of the apostles, who abandon'd him; no, he only endeavours to cure their incredulity, and to convince them of his refurrection.

This conduct of our Lord teaches us neither to complain of our enemies, who perfecute us, nor of our friends who abandon us; we must leave our cause to God, who will defend our innocence, and in due time punish the cruelty of those, and the ingratitude of these. In the very extremity of his fufferings, our Saviour neither complained of the injuftice of those who condemned him, nor of the cruelty of those who tormented him; but, on the very cross, excused their barbarity, and fued for their pardon; nor has he only taught us this leffon by his practice, but has also left it as a command in his gofpel.

Pray for them, fays he, which perfecute you, Matth. v. 44. return good for evil, and blefs those who curfe you; fo that it is fo far from being lawful for Chriftians to complain, or to speak

evil of their perfecutors, that, when it is not in their power to benefit them by their actions, they muft at leaft by their prayers.

He faluted his difciples with a Peace be unto you, and immediately fhewed them his hands and feet, that, by beholding those wounds, they might be convinced, the fame body that fuffered on the cross ftood before them, and confequently that there was no room left to doubt of his refurrection, or to queftion his Divinity.

But our bleffed Lord would leave the marks of his wounds in his glorious body, not only as an evidence of his refurrection, but also as an eternal monument of his charity to man, as continual motives of joy to the faints, and of torment to the damned.

:

Befides, he is our Mediator and Advocate at his Father's tribunal there he implores mercy for the finner, and a reward for the virtues of the juft; and can he plead more emphatically, than by fhewing those wounds he received for their redemption, thofe channels, that let out the laft drop of his precious blood, which his Father accepted, and he paid as a juft, nay, a fuperabundant ranfom? What grace may not a finner expect from fo bountiful, fo loving a Father, when afk'd by fo loving a Son, who carried his obedience to the torture, and abafed his Majefty to the ignominy of the cross?

In fine, he left his facred wounds, wide open, for a fanctuary to the afflicted, and a fafe retreat to thofe, who are affailed by the devil. Who can repine at fufferings, when he beholds these marks of Chrift's torments? or murmur against the ingratitude of friends, or the violence of enemies, when he contemplates those bloody witneffes of both in his Redeemer's body? The bare fight of thefe wounds, tho' glorious, manifefts the hei

noufnefs

nousness of fin, which gave them; and confequently the folly of thofe, who, for a petty intereft or a small fatisfaction, fall into a crime that may indeed be cancel❜d by a serious a serious repentance, and will perchance be eternally punish'd with fire and brimftone. Oh, did we but caft an eye upon thofe wounds, and foberly confider that fin caufed them, and that God received them, we should never yield to a criminal fuggeftion, nor pawn our innocence for a guilty pleasure.

When our Saviour had proved his Divinity by all the evidence fenfe is capable of, or reafon could require, he breathed upon them, and faid to them; Receive ye the Holy Ghost: whofe foever fins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whofe foever fins ye retain, they are retained.

I will not here enter upon a controverfial difcuffion of the text; for indeed it is too clear tō need a comment: here is given to the apostles, and, in them, to their fucceffors, a power of forgiving fins (when the penitent is rightly difpofed) by abfolution: Whofe foever fins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whofe foever fins ye retain, they are retained. But, as he has impowered priefts, on the one fide, to abfolve; fo he lays the finner under an obligation to repent of his fins, with a true and fincere forrow; for, without repentance, there can be no abfolution,

Would not a traitor think himself very kindly dealt with,. if his prince promifed not only to pardon. the treason, but to receive him into favour, on condition he repented of his crime, with a fincere refolution to live a dutiful and obedient fubject for the future? yet God only requires this of a finner. The eafy task of repentance and amendment, on our fide, will fecure us pardon, and even reward, on his.

1. EPISTLE

I. EPISTLE of St. Peter, Chap. ii. Verse

21. For even hereunto were ye called: becaufe Chrift alfo fuffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye fhould follow his feps.

22. Who did no fin, neither was guile found in his mouth:

23. Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, be threatened not; but committed bimfelf to him that judgeth righteously;

24. Who his own felf bare our fins in his own body on the tree, that we being dead to fin, fhould live unto righteoufnefs: by whofe ftripes se were healed.

25. For ye were as sheep going aftray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your Jouls.

The MORAL REFLECTION.

T is an article of our faith, that Chrift died for our fins; nor is it lefs fure that he lived for our instruction. He gave us a right to heaven by his death, and he fhewed us the way to it by his life. Chrift fuffered for us (fays St. Peter) leaving us an example: as if he fhould fay; Chrift opened heaven-gate to us by his death; but we must follow his example, if we intend to enter. And then the apostle enumerates thofe virtues our Saviour practifed, to infinuate, that we must copy the original, to partake of his glory.

And firft, Chrift fuffered for us, leaving us an example. These words teach us a truth of the higheft importance, viz. that it is the duty of a Chriftian to Ay a foft, effeminate, life, and rather to cruçify the flesh, than pamper it: he must not swim

with

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