that seemed to menace them. But immediately after the resurrection of our Lord, a most astonishing change took place in their conduct. From being the most timid of men, they suddenly became courageous, undaunted, and intrepid; they boldly preached that very Jesus whom but a short time before they had deserted in his greatest distress; and although his crucifixion was fresh before their eyes, and they had reason to expect the same or a similar fate, yet they persisted in avowing themselves his disciples, and told the Jews publicly, "that God had made that same Jesus, whom they had crucified, both Lord and Christ;" and when they were brought before the rulers and elders to be examined respecting the lame man whom they had cured at the gate of the temple, "Be it known unto you all (said they), and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, and whom God raised from the dead, even by him does this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head stone of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”2 And when a second time they were brought before the Council, and forbidden to teach in the name of Jesus, their answer was, "We ought to obey God rather than men.' "And when they were again reprimanded, and threatened, and beaten, yet they ceased not in the temple, and in every house, to teach and to preach Jesus Christ; and with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus." "3 In what manner now shall we account for this sudden and most singular change in the disposition, and as it were in the very constitution of the apostles? If Christ had not risen from the grave, and his dead body was in the possession of his disciples, was this calculated to inspire them with affection for their leader, and with courage to preach a doctrine which they knew to be false? Would it not, on the contrary, have increased their natural timidity, depressed their spirits, extinguished all their zeal, and filled them with indignation and horror against a man who had so grossly deceived them, and robbed them under false pretences, of everything that was dear and valuable to them in the world? Most unquestionably 2 Acts iv. 10, 11, 12. 1 Acts ii. 36. 3 Acts v. 29, 42, and iv. 33. it would. Nor is it possible to account, in any rational way, for the strange revolution which took place in their minds, so soon after their master's death, but by admitting that they were fully persuaded and satisfied that he rose alive from the grave. It may be said, perhaps, that this persuasion was the effect, not of irresistible evidence, but of enthusiasm, which made them fancy that some visionary phantom, created solely by their own heated imagination, was the real body of their Lord restored to life. But nothing could be more distant from enthusiasm than the character and conduct of these men, and the courage they manifested, which was perfectly calm, sober, collected, and cool. But what completely repels this suspicion is, that their bitterest adversaries never once accused them of enthusiasm, but charged them with a crime which was utterly inconsistent with it, fraud and theft; with stealing away the body from the grave. And if they did this—if that dead body was actually before their eyes, how was it possible for any degree of enthusiasm short of madness (which was never alleged against them) to mistake a dead body for a living man, whom they saw, and touched, and conversed with? No such instance of enthusiasm ever occurred in the world. The resurrection of our Lord being thus established on the firmest grounds, it affords an unanswerable proof of the truth of our Saviour's pretensions, and consequently of the truth of his religion: for had he not been what he assumed to be, the Son of God, it is impossible that God should have raised him from the dead, and thereby given his sanction to an imposture. But as he did actually restore him to life, he thereby set his seal to the divinity which he claimed, and acknowledged him, in the most public and authoritative manner, to be "his beloved Son, in whom he was well pleased."1 And this evidence of our Lord's divine mission is of the more importance, because our Saviour himself appealed to it as the grand proof of his being sent from heaven to instruct and to redeem mankind. For when he cast the buyers and sellers out of the temple, and the Jews required of him a sign, that is, a miraculous proof, that he had the authority of God for doing those things, his answer was,-"Destroy this temple (meaning his body), and in three days I will raise it up. When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered 1 Matth. iii. 17. B 1 that he had said this unto them: and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said." 1 and they themselves constantly referred to the resurrection more than to any other evidence, as the great foundation on which their faith was built. The reason for this perhaps, was, that this great event contained in itself, at once the evidence both. of miracle and of prophecy. It was certainly one of the most stupendous manifestations of Divine power that could be presented to the observation of mankind; and it was, at the same time, the completion of two most remarkable prophecies; that of our Saviour's above mentioned, and that well-known one of King David's, which St. Peter expressly applies to the resurrection of Christ: "Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thy Holy One to see corruption." We thus see that the resurrection of our Lord from the dead is a fact fully proved by the clearest evidence, and is the seal and confirmation of his divinity, and of the truth of his religion. 1. How did the disciples act when Jesus was apprehended? 2. Who is generally accounted the boldest among the disciples? 3. How did this same Peter act in the hall of the High Priest? 4. Who alone of the friends of Jesus ventured near the cross? 5. What remarkable change took place in the character of the disciples immediately after the resurrection? 6. When questioned about the lame man, what did Peter say? 7. When threatened, beaten, and forbidden to preach, what did the disciples reply? 8. In what way alone can you account for their boldness now? 9. Show that the charge of enthusiasm is quite inadmissible. 10. Of what does the resurrection of Christ afford an unanswerable proof? 11. When the Jews once required a sign of Christ that he came from God, what was his answer? 12. Why did the disciples so constantly refer to the resurrection in their preaching? 13. What two remarkable prophecies were fulfilled in the resurrection of our blessed Redeemer? CHRISTIAN AND HOPEFUL CROSS THE RIVER. "The style of Bunyan is delightful to every reader, and invaluable as a study to every person who wishes to obtain a wide command over the English language. The vocabulary is the vocabulary of the common people. There is not an expression, if we except a few technical terms of theology, which would puzzle the rudest peasant. We have observed several pages which do not contain a single word of more than two syllables. Yet no writer has said more exactly what he meant to say. For magnificence, for pathos, for vehement exhortation, for subtle disquisition, for every purpose of the poet, the orator, and the divine, this homely dialect, the dialect of plain working men, was perfectly sufficient. There is no book in our literature on which we would so readily stake the fame of the unpolluted English language, no book which shows so well how rich that language is in its own proper wealth, and how little it has been improved by all it has borrowed."-T. B. Macaulay. Now I further saw, that betwixt them and the gate was a 2 Psalm xvi. 10; Acts ii. 27. 1 John ii. 19. river, but there was no bridge to go over, and the river was very deep. At the sight therefore of this river, the pilgrims were much stunned, but the men that were with them, said, You must go through, or you cannot come at the gate. The pilgrims then began to inquire, if there was no other way to the gate? to which they answered, Yes, but there hath not any, save two, to wit, Enoch and Elijah, been permitted to tread that path, since the foundation of the world, nor shall until the last trumpet shall sound. The pilgrims then, especially Christian, began to despond in their mind, and looked this way and that, but no way could be found by them by which they might escape the river. Then they asked the men, if the waters were all of a depth? They said, No; yet they could not help him in that case: for, said they, you shall find it deeper or shallower, as you believe in the King of the place. They then addressed themselves to the water, and entering, Christian began to sink; and crying out to his good friend Hopeful, he said, "I sink in deep waters; the billows go over my head; all the waves go over me. Selah." Then said the other, Be of good cheer, my brother, I feel the bottom, and it is good. Then said Christian, Ah, my friend! the sorrow of death hath compassed me about, I shall not see the land that flows with milk and honey. And with that a great darkness and horror fell upon Christian, so that he could not see before him. Also here he, in a great measure, lost his senses, so that he could neither remember nor orderly talk of any of these sweet refreshments that he had met with in the way of his pilgrimage. But all the words that he spake still tended to discover, that he had horror of mind and heartfears that he should die in that river, and never obtain entrance in at the gate. Here also, as they that stood by perceived, he was much in the troublesome thoughts of the sins that he had committed, both since and before he began to be a pilgrim. 'Twas also observed, that he was troubled with apparitions of hobgoblins, and evil spirits; for ever and anon he would intimate so much by words. Hopeful therefore here had much ado to keep his brother's head above water; yea, sometimes he would be quite gone down, and then ere a while he would rise up again half dead. Hopeful did also endeavour to comfort him, saying, Brother, I see the gate, and men standing by to receive us; but Christian would answer, 'Tis you, 'tis you they wait for; you have been hopeful ever since I knew you. And so have you, said he to Christian. Ah, brother! said he, surely if I was right, he would now rise to help me, but for my sins he hath brought me into the snare, and left me. Then said Hopeful, My brother, you have quite forgot the text, where it is said of the wicked, “There are no bands in their death, but their strength is firm: they are not troubled as other men, neither are they plagued like other men." These troubles and distresses that you go through in these waters, are no sign that God hath forsaken you, but are sent to try you, whether you will call to mind that which heretofore you have received of his goodness, and live upon him in your distresses. Then I saw in my dream, That Christian was in a muse awhile. To whom also Hopeful added these words, Be of good cheer, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole: and with that Christian brake out with a loud voice, Oh, I see him again! and he tells me, "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and when through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee." Then they both took courage, and the enemy was after that as still as a stone, until they were gone over. Christian therefore presently found ground to stand upon: and so it followed, that the rest of the river was but shallow; but thus they got over. Now upon the bank of the river on the other side, they saw the two shining men again, who there waited for them; wherefore being come out of the river, they saluted them, saying, "We are ministering spirits, sent forth to minister to those that shall be heirs of salvation." Thus they went along towards the gate. Now you must note, that the city stood upon a mighty hill, but the pilgrims went up that hill with ease, because they had these two men to lead them up by the arms; they had likewise left their mortal garments behind them in the river; for though they went in with them, they came out without them. They therefore went up here with much agility and speed, though the foundation upon which the city was framed, was higher than the clouds; they therefore went up through the region of the air, sweetly talking as they went, being comforted, because they safely got over the river, and had such glorious company to attend to them. Now, when they were come up to the gate, there was written over it, in letters of gold, "Blessed are they that do his |