SERMON XVII.

EASTER SUNDAY.

ON THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS.

GOSPEL. St. Mark, xvi. v. 1-7. At that time, Mary Magdalen and Mary the mother of James and Salome, brought sweet spices, that coming they might anoint Jesus. And very early in the morning, the first day of the week, they come to the sepulchre, the sun being now risen; and they said one to another, Who shall roll us back the stone from the door of the sepulchre? And looking, they saw the stone rolled back; for it was very great. And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed with a white robe, and they were astonished; who saith to them, Be not affrighted; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified; he is risen, he is not here, behold the place where they laid him; but go, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee, there you shall see him, as he told you.

THE Gospel of this Sunday contains a plain, yet interesting account, of a visit paid by certain pious women to the tomb of Jesus. But what was the object of this visit? Why, to a person who should reflect on the repeated predictions delivered by our blessed Saviour respecting his resurrection, it would naturally occur, that, apparently, it could have been no other than that of witnessing with their own eyes so glorious an event. But that no expectation of such event occupied their minds on the present occasion, is intimated by the Evangelist, who states explicitly their design to have

been to pay their last respects to the lifeless remains of their beloved master, by embalming them with spices, which they had purchased for the purpose, at the close of the sabbath." And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary (the mother) of James and Salome, brought sweet spices, that coming they might anoint Jesus." With this view, therefore, and with these materials for the accomplishment of their pious project, they set out from Jerusalem in the morning of the third day after his crucifixion, and arrived soon after sun-rise at the place of their destination. "And very early in the morning," continues the sacred text," the first day of the week, they come to the sepulchre, the sun being now risen." That they did not entertain the smallest suspicion of the resurrection of their divine master, at this period, may be fairly collected from the anxiety which they expressed in their conference with each other, concerning the removal of the stone from the mouth of the sepulchre. "And they said one to another, who shall roll us door of the sepulchre?" And even when they saw that obstacle removed, it does not in any manner appear, from the account of the Gospel, that that circumstance made any remarkable impression upon their minds; since nothing more is related on the subject than, that "looking, they saw the stone rolled back, for it was very great." Nor does it in short notice any extraordinary emotion experienced by them, until their entrance into the

back the stone from the

sepulchre. Then, indeed, it is true, it does describe to us their utter astonishment at the wonderful spectacle which presented itself to their view; when, instead of the dead body of their crucified master which they expected to find, they beheld the living form of a human being, clothed in a white garment. "And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed with a white robe, and they were astonished." But if the appearance alone of this young man excited their astonishment, what must have been their feelings, when they heard him address them in soothing accents of encouragement, and that too in terms which clearly indicated his acquaintance with the object of their visit?" And he saith to them, Be not affrighted; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified." What, when he told them that their search for him within the sepulchral monument was to no purpose, for that he was now no longer to be numbered among the dead? "He is risen, he is not here." What, when he directed their attention to the vacant spot that had been occupied by the body, which had now disappeared? "Behold the place where they laid him." What, when he communicated to them the joyful intelligence, and commissioned them to impart the same to the disciples, and to Peter in particular; that, in conformity to the promise which their master had made to them before his death, they should behold him again in Gallilee alive?" But go tell his dis

ciples and Peter, that he goeth before you into Gallilee, there you shall see him as he told you." What, I ask you, must have been the feelings of these devout women, under all the circumstances which I have thus detailed? And to bring the subject home to your own bosoms, what, my friends, should be your feelings, to whom the reality of that great and glorious event, of the triumphant resurrection of Jesus from the tomb, which was announced by the angel to the holy women, is fully substantiated? I will now therefore proceed to lay before you the evidence of that stupendous event, and then communicate to you such reflexions as it obviously suggests.

Having expounded to you the text of the Gospel, permit me now, in imitation of the holy women, to invite you to accompany me to the tomb of Jesus. Yes, with hearts replenished with the aromatic perfumes of the devout affections, let us repair in spirit to the tomb of Jesus; not indeed to anoint, as they wished, his lifeless remains, but to embalm in our minds, and thus to render imperishable, the grateful recollection of all that he has done, and all that he has suffered, in our behalf. Let us hasten into the interior of the monument, where the precious body of our divine Master was deposited; let us fix our eyes stedfastly on the hallowed spot from which it has now disappeared, and then, having weighed with calm and dispassionate reflexion, the convincing evidence of the stupendous event by which its disap

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pearance is accounted for in the Gospel, let us listen with docility to the suggestions of faith.

In reality, my friends, if there be one fact in history, which is better entitled to credit than any other, I do not hesitate to say, that that fact is the glorious resurrection of Jesus from the tomb. Never, no never, within the memory of man, was any transaction transmitted through every successive generation, from the period of its occurrence to the present day, amidst such a blaze of evidence. It is attested by the positive and unexceptionable testimony of persons of unimpeachable integrity, who were themselves eyewitnesses of it; who saw Jesus dead, and who afterwards beheld him alive; who beheld him not once, or twice only, but frequently; not transiently, but for a considerable time; who not only beheld him, but who heard him, conversed with him, touched him, eat and drank with him, and had every imaginable certainty, in short, both of the reality and identity of his person, which it was possible for the evidence of the senses to convey; and who proved, moreover, their honesty and sincerity, by that best of arguments, the effusion of their blood. To the positive deposition of the friends of Jesus, we have also to add the negative testimony of his irreconcileable enemies, who never attempted to disprove the important fact. If Jesus was not actually risen, as his apostles openly declared that he was, why did not these enemies produce the body, and thus quash at once such groundless pre