with His life departed also all thoughts of that deliverance which He had declared HIMSELF sent to preach. The great body of His Disciples, who had followed His living footsteps, and hung upon His words, and witnessed His miracles, had now fled from His side. John alone stood by His cross, Peter had denied HIM thrice, and was weeping bitterly. A scattered few alone, in whose hearts the memory of His love yet lingered, venture to beg the body of the Crucified, and lay it in the grave; and when this last office had been rendered to the lifeless corpse, and the stone was rolled to the mouth of the sepulchre, then they also, Joseph and Nicodemus and the rest, depart, sorrowing as for a dear friend, and hopeless and despairing as to the future fulfilment of His promises. Last, lingering around the spot were the women spoken of in the text, "There was Mary Magdalen and the other Mary sitting over against the sepulchre." No less than three of the Evangelists mention this circumstance, which is more especially notable for the presence of the Magdalen. She, to whom much had been forgiven, also loved much. She, who had most felt her need of a SAVIOUR, clung longest to the memory of His gracious words and mighty deeds, and when all others had forsaken HIM and fled, yet lingered at His tomb. What thoughts of sadness and despondency must have occupied her mind! Little as her love for CHRIST may have been shaken by those terrible occurrences which she had witnessed, it is quite clear that she, in common with all His disciples, had no hope of the fulfilment of that promise," After three days I will rise again," which must have been known to them, since even His enemies acted upon it in demanding a watch to be set at the tomb; for, in the beginning of the succeeding

chapter, we read that Mary Magdalen and the other Mary came early to the sepulchre; and St. Mark informs us that they had brought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint HIм-a purpose manifestly inconsistent with any expectation of the wonderful event which was then to be revealed to them. And if these faithful and loving women had no present hope of CHRIST'S Resurrection, the prevailing feeling of their minds during the time that their LORD was counted among them that go down into the pit, must have been one of exceeding great tribulation and anguish, and doubt: and if GoD permitted them for a brief space to mourn for Jesus as for One Whom they should see no more, and vouchsafed no beam of that bright light which was to dawn on the third day, to illumine the darkness of the dispensation which had consigned HIM to the grave, it was doubtless not without some purpose of spiritual improvement. The grief with which the hearts that had loved HIM well were agitated and torn, the profound feeling of sorrow and desolation with which they saw HIM Who had so loved them, and had done so great things for them, laid lifeless in the tomb, was nothing less than a spiritual exercise, and discipline, a trial of faith, a temporary cloud of darkness, through which the dawn of the Resurrection might burst more gloriously forth. And accordingly to Mary Magdalen was made the angelic announcement, "HE is not here, HE is risen." And to her, first of all His disciples, He appeared and made HIMSELF known in that touching appeal which St. John records," JESUS saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself and saith unto HIM, Rabboni, which is to say, MASTER.” The experience of the other disciples was in its degree similar to that of Mary; the period when their LORD

was in the supulchre, was that season of sorrow which He had foretold, and their hearts were troubled and perplexed, and their hopes sadly cast down, through their strange forgetfulness, or disbelief of what He had told them should come to pass. And if they had no cause to regret that this temporary absence of CHRIST was permitted to try their faith, and soften their hearts, so neither to us should it be a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, if at times a darkness as of the grave seem to gather around us, the light of CHRIST'S love to be hidden beneath a cloud, and we to be left of HIM, abandoned and desolate: neither should we bear it impatiently, that the Church recognizes and expects these seasons of trial and affliction, and bids us humble ourselves to meet them, and prepare ourselves, by prayer and self-mortification, to contemplate those circumstances of our SAVIOUR'S sojourn on earth, which are most calculated to overwhelm us with doubts and difficulties, by reason of the exceeding sinfulness of which they make us conscious. This is especially done in the service of to-day. "CHRIST in the grave" is the last and lowest step in His humiliation for our sake, the deepest and darkest mystery of Redemption. We are called to contemplate the LORD of life and death HIMSELF, submitting to that power from which He has extracted the sting, and over which He has won the victory; He has bruised the serpent's head, but not less was it needful that the serpent should bruise His heel. We are called for a season, happily but a brief eason,-for we may truly say of it, except those days should be shortened then should no flesh be saved,-to forget our Christian privilege of triumph and rejoicing by the side of the grave, in which, for our sakes, and by reason of our sins, the Body of our LORD is laid.

Anguish of mind, tribulation, abhorrence and detestation of sin, self-denial, self-abasement, remorse—these are the affections of the mind, which we may reasonably expect to find predominant in our hearts, at the remembrance of the event which we this day commemo rate; and such feelings, however offensive they may be to the self-pleasing and self-indulgence of the carnal heart, are not to be struggled against and condemned as inconsistent with Christian confidence and hope, any more than they are to be cherished and indulged, to the continual hiding of the light of God's countenance, from the truly penitent and contrite heart.

Such feelings have their appointed place and mission in the great work of our salvation, and therefore we must preserve the remembrance of those awful deeds in which they are originated, and not take it impatiently if seasons of doubt and darkness are permitted for a time to cloud our spiritual sight. We are but too apt to forget the conditions of our being, so long as we are tied and bound to the frailty of our mortal bodies, let and hindered by the weakness of the flesh. The disciples remained faithful to CHRIST, so long as they saw the mighty miracles which GoD wrought by His hand, and so long as they shared the consideration and favour which those deeds necessarily conferred, but they fled from His Cross, and they had no tears for His grave. We are anxious and ready enough to claim our privilege of victory and rejoicing, but we think little of our privilege of tears; and yet have we seen in Mary's case, how closely the two are associated. But few of those who will come here to-morrow, to swell the shout of triumph which the Church will raise," The LORD hath risen indeed;" "CHRIST is risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept," were here

yesterday to stand in sorrow by His Cross, or are here to-night, to watch and to weep at His grave. And yet very closely are the two duties linked together, the sorrow and the joy are not to be disassociated; GOD has joined them together, and little, alas! are those men fitted to join truly and heartily in celebrating the feast of our LORD's resurrection, who have devoted to their worldly business or to idle holyday the fast of His crucifixion. Oh! if men would but pause and think on the object for which the Church invites them to her side, they would cease to be offended at the call to give one day to the sorrowful remembrance of their dying LORD, and would take to themselves that gracious rebuke which He addressed to His slumbering disciples, "What? Could ye not watch with ME one hour? Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation." And so throughout all the outward services which we owe through the Church to God, whatever she has of privilege, whatever of outward power and pre-eminence, whatever of earthly advantage and distinction, that we claim and appropriate readily enough; complacently we take to ourselves her assurances of pardon, and her songs of victory; but we shrink back from the duties which she enjoins, and whenever self-mortification, and denial, zeal, not of the lips, but of the heart and hand, labour and sacrifice, the cross and the grave, are required of us, immediately are we offended. And this is just as true in regard to our individual communion with GOD, and our private service. We too often flatter ourselves that we are living unto righteousness, when we are not dead indeed unto sin, and have not learnt, like the Apostle, to mortify our members which are upon earth, nor to die daily. And yet this is what we must strive to do; this is that baptism of the SPIRIT through which