must stand, wherever the English language is spoken, as the purest specimen of its power to give utterance to the meaning of ancient tongues, and of the simple and pure majesty of the language which we speak. 1. By the command of what king was the translation of the authorized English Bible made? 2. When did he come to the English throne? 3. To how many learned men was the task committed? 4. But what was the actual number of translators? 5. State the qualifications of these men for the task. 6. Into how many classes were they divided? 7. Name the portions of the Bible allotted to each class. 8. State the King's instructions for their guidance. 9. When was the translation commenced, and when completed? 10. Who wrote the preface to it? 11. Name the first printer of it. 12. Why could not such a translation be so happily made now as it was then? 13. Of what all-glorious personage do the Scriptures mainly speak? 14. Quote to me the words of John v. 39. EVIDENCES OF THE RESURRECTION OF OUR LORD. (PART I.) a Res-ur-rec ́tion, n. (L. re, surrectum), the act of rising from the dead; revival from death. Sep'ul-chre, n. (L. sepulcrum), place to bury in; a tomb. Corpse', n. (L. corpus), a dead body. E-van gel-ist, n. (Gr. eu, angèlos), a bearer of good news; one of the four writers of the history of our Lord. In-gen'u-ous, adj. (L. ingenium), literally, freeborn; hence noble; candid; open. Char'ac-ter-ize, v. (Gr. character), to mark as with a stamp; to distinguish. Dis-ci'ple, n. (L. discipulus), a learner; a follower. Com-pre-hend',v. (I. con, prehendo), to contain; to include; to comprise. Circu-late, v. (L. circus), to move round; to spread abroad as a report. Bishop Porteous. De-pose', v. (L. de, positum), to put down; to give testimony on oath; to bear witness. Mil'i-ta-ry, adj. (L. mīles), pertaining to the army. Dis'ci-pline, n. (L. discipulus), the training of an individual to obey; regulations in the army to maintain order. Cred'i-ble, adj. (L. credo), possible to be believed. Im-pu ́ni-ty, n. (L. impunitas, see poena), freedom; security, or exemption from punishment. Tam'per, v. to deal with in an underhand way. Con-cert'ed, p.p. (L. con, certo), mutually contrived or planned. Al-ter'na-tive, n. (L. alternus), a choice of two things, either of which we must accept. A-pos'tle, n. (Gr. apo, stello), one who beheld Christ with the bodily eye, and was sent by Him to preach the gospel. AFTER our Saviour's crucifixion, Joseph of Arimathea, we are told, laid the body in his own new tomb,' hewn out of a rock, and rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre. In order to secure themselves against any fraud, the Jews desired the Roman governor, Pilate, to grant them a band of soldiers2 to guard the sepulchre, lest, as they said, the disciples should come by night and steal the corpse away. Pilate's answer was in these words, "Ye have a watch, go your way, make it as sure as ye can; so they went and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch."3 The Evangelist then proceeds to relate the great event of the resurrection with that ingenuous and natural simplicity which characterizes the sacred historians, and which carries upon the face of it every mark of sincerity and truth. "In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene,* and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the Angel of the Lord descended from heaven and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow. And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. And the Angel of the Lord answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, that was crucified. He is not here; for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay, and go quickly and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead: and behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him; Lo, I have told you. And as they went to tell his disciples, behold Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid; go tell my brethren, that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me. Now, when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and showed unto the chief priests all that was done. And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, saying, Say ye, his disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept. And if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him, and secure you. So they took the money and did as they were taught: And this saying is commonly reported among the Jews unto this day."6 Such is the relation of this wonderful fact given by St. 1 Sepulchres, places for burying the dead, were usually hollow rooms dug into rocks with an upright door to enter them, to which a large stone was put. 2 A Roman guard generally consisted of sixty men. 3 Matth. xxvii. 65, 66. 4 Luke, viii. 2. 5 Mark, xvi. 1. 6 Matth. xxviii, 1-15. Matthew, which comprehends not only his own account of it, but that also which was circulated in opposition to it by the chief priests and rulers of the Jews. Here then we have fairly before us the two different representations of this event by the friends and by the enemies of Christ; of which the former asserts that it was a real resurrection, the other that it was a fraud; and between these two we must form our opinions; for no third story has been set up, that we know of, by any one. One thing is agreed on by both sides, viz. that the body was not to be found in the sepulchre. It was gone; and the question is by what means? The soldiers gave out that the disciples "came by night, while they slept, and stole it away." But it is not very easy to understand how the soldiers could depose to anything that passed while they were fast asleep; they could not possibly tell in what manner the body was stolen away, or by whom. Nor, considering the extreme severity of the Roman military discipline, is it credible, that if they had been asleep they would have confessed it. For it was certain death to a Roman soldier to be found sleeping upon guard. Nothing could have prevailed upon them to make such a declaration as that, but a previous promise of impunity and reward from the Jewish rulers; a plain proof that they had been tampered with, and that it was a concerted story. In the next place, supposing the story true, of what use could the dead body be to the disciples? It could not prove to them, or to others, that their Master was risen from the dead; on the contrary, it must have been a standing and a visible proof of the contrary. It must convince them that he, instead of being the deliverer they expected, was an impostor, and they most cruelly deceived. And why they should choose to keep in their possession, and to have continually before their eyes a lifeless corpse, which completely blasted all their hopes, and continually reminded them of their bitter disappointment, is somewhat difficult to be imagined. The tale, then, told by the soldiers, is upon the very face of it, a gross and clumsy forgery. The consequence is, that the account given by St. Matthew is the true one. For if the body was actually gone (an acknowledged point on all sides) and if it was not, as we have proved, stolen away by the disciples, there are but two possible suppositions remaining; either that it was taken away by the Jews and Romans, or that it was raised to life again by the power of God. If the former had been the case, it could only have been for the purpose of confronting and convicting the disciples of falsehood and fraud by the production of the dead body. But the dead body was not produced. It was therefore, as the Gospel affirms, raised from the grave, and restored to life. There is no other conceivable alternative left. And that this was actually the case, is proved by our Lord's appearing after his resurrection, not only to the two women who came first to the sepulchre, but to the two disciples going to Emmaus, and to the disciples assembled together at two different times, and to all the apostles, and to above 500 brethren at once. And he not only appeared to them silently, but he talked and ate with them; he showed them his hands and his feet; he made them handle him; he held several long conversations with them; and, at last ascended up into heaven in their sight. These were things of which the plainest and most ignorant men could judge. It was impossible for them to be deceived in an object with which they were well acquainted, and which presented itself to all their senses. 1. Describe the sepulchres generally used in the East. 2. What precautions did the Jews take to make the sepulchre, in which Christ was buried, sure? 3. What was the usual number of soldiers in a Roman guard? 15. If the soldiers had fallen asleep, who would have been most anxious to have them punished? 16. What does the soldiers' declaration clearly show? 17. Suppose the disciples did steal the body, of what would it have convinced 4. When did the two women come to them? see the tomb? 5. Who was Mary Magdalene, and who the other Mary? 6. What had taken place just before the women came to the grave? 7. What did the angel say to them? 8. Who met them as they ran to tell the disciples? 9. What did Jesus say to them? 10. Who informed the chief priests of these things? 11. What were the soldiers told by the rulers to say? 12. Do you think it likely the whole guard would be asleep at once? 13. If your house were robbed while you were sleeping, could you tell when you awoke who were the robbers? 14. What was the punishment in the Roman army for falling asleep on guard? 18. If the Jewish Rulers or Romans had had it, what would they have done with it? 19. As the dead body was never produced, what conclusion are we forced to come to? 20. But what took place shortly after the resurrection, that put the reality of it beyond the possibility of a doubt? 21. To how many of the brethren did Christ appear at one time? 22. What most convincing proofs did he give them that it was he? 23. When did the disciples last see the Lord? 24. Show that it was perfectly impossible for them to have been deceived on the various occasions of his appearing among them. EVIDENCES OF THE RESURRECTION OF OUR LORD. PART II. De-ci'sive, adj. (L. de, cœsum), cut- Menace, v. (L. minor), to threaten; Council, n. (L. concilium), an as- Doc'trine, n. (L. doctrina), what is taught; a truth of the gospel. Ex-tin'guish, v. (L. ex, stinguo), to put an end to; to quench. Per-suade, v. (L. per, suadeo), to win over to a particular opinion; to convince. Ir-re-sist'i ble, adj. (L. in, re, sisto), not to be withstood; overpowering. En-thuʼsi-asm, n. (Gr. enthousiasmos, see theos), zeal, arising from Bishop Porteous. the belief that God is making Phan'tom, n. (Gr. phaino), a spec- Ap-peal', v. (L. appello), to call Re-deem', v. (L. re, emo), to buy back from bondage; to rescue from eternal death. Prophecy, n. (Gr. propheteia, see phemi), a declaration of something to come; prediction. Com-ple'tion, n. (L. compleo), accomplishment; fulfilment. But there is another more decisive proof, arising from their own conduct, that they were perfectly convinced of the reality of our Lord's resurrection. It appears that the apostles were far from being men of natural courage and firmness of mind. When our Lord was apprehended, all his disciples, we are told, forsook him and fled. Peter followed him afar off, and went into a hall in the palace of the high priest, where the servants warmed themselves, and being there charged with being a disciple of Jesus, he peremptorily denied it three times with vehemence and with oaths. It does not appear that any of his disciples attended in the judgment-hall to assist and support him; and when he was crucified, the only persons that ventured to stand near his cross, were his mother and two or three other women, and St. John. They all, in short, appeared dismayed and terrified with the fate of their Master, afraid to acknowledge the slightest connection with him, and utterly unable to face the dangers |