shewed that all nature was at his command, and that even the dead were raised up by him he shewed himself indeed to be the Son of God.

LECTURE LXXXII.

ST. MATTHEW xxvii. 59, 60.

When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre,and departed.

IN my last Lecture I gave you an account of the manner in which our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ died on the cross. And I took care to tell you, and I I hope you will never forget it, that Jesus Christ died of his own accord, in order to save us and all people, that believe in him, from hell. If it had been his wish and God

I

Almighty's wish that he should not have died, his enemies would never have prevailed against him. He himself tells us,"No man taketh away my life from me. lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again."

It is necessary for you, my friends, to believe that Jesus Christ really and truly died that although he was the Son of God, he died like a son of man. For, if he had not really died, his rising from the grave would not have been a true and real rising. You know that you always say in your belief, or creed, I believe that Jesus Christ was crucified, and was dead. There is not a truer thing on earth than this, of our Lord's death. And God ordered a number of circumstances to prove it. His enemies took care, that no doubt should remain on the subject: and though many hundred years have passed, since this event took place, yet we may be as sure of

the truth of it, as we should be, if it had taken place yesterday. I mention this to you so particularly, because I shall have occasion, in my next Lecture, to give you an account of his resurrection. And his resurrection is one of the most important articles of our faith. Our religion depends upon it, as the arch of a building does on a key-stone. If that were false, every thing would fall with it. "If Christ be not risen, our preaching would be vain, and your faith also would be vain." I now proceed with the account of his burial.

In the evening of the day on which our Lord was crucified, Joseph of Arimathea, a rich man and a great man, came to Pilate, the Roman governor, and begged the body of Jesus. Joseph had seen and heard enough of Jesus Christ to make him a believer on him: but he was so in secret. He was afraid of the Jews, lest they should deprive him of his riches and authority for believing in Jesus. Herein he was

wrong. He kept his opinion to himself. He respected the character of our Lord, but he was unwilling to make a public profession of his belief. However, at this time, which was indeed a very trying time, he was neither afraid nor ashamed to shew kindness to the dead body of our Lord. He knew that it would be treated with disrespect by an ill-mannered and brutal mob, and he wished to screen it from insult. By the Roman law persons crucified were left hanging on the cross, till their bodies rotted, or were eaten by birds of prey. However, God had forbidden the Jews to let the body of any one hanged remain all night upon the tree. The Roman governor, therefore, complied with this custom of the Jews, and permitted the bodies to be buried. And we may suppose, that he would not refuse the request of a rich and honourable man like Joseph. Accordingly, after making inquiry of the centurion, who guarded the cross, whether Jesus wère really dead, and