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himself a peculiar People zealous of good Works; Tit. 2. 14. And elfewhere, He bare our Sins in his own Body on the Tree, that we being dead unto Sin, fhould live unto Righteousness; 1 Pet. 2. 24. So that to live in Sin, is to defeat the End of Chrift's Death; yea, 'tis as far as in us lies to kill him again, and to renew his Mifery, by repeating the Caufe of it. For fhame therefore let us not hug that Viper in our Breaft that ftung over Saviour to death, and will leave a Worm to torture us that never dies; but rather let us nail them all to his Crofs, or drown them in the red Sea of his Blood.

2. The Death of Chrift fhould beget in us the highest degrees of Love and Gratitude. Greater Love than this hath no Man, than that he should lay down his Life for his Friend: and yet our Saviour fhew'd greater, in laying it down for his Enemies. What ftrong Obligation hath this laid on us, to give ourselves up to him, who gave himself for us? and to present our Bodies to him as a holy and lively Sacrifice, which is but our reasonable Service? He hath dearly bought us at the coftly Price of his own Blood, and therefore the least we can do in equity is to glorify him with our Bodies and Spirits, which are both his. And if there be any fpark of Love or Gratitude in us, it will conftrain us thus to judge, That if Chrift died for all, they who live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but to him that died for them; 2 Cor. 5. 14, 15.

3. Chrift's Death may teach us firmly to truft and rely upon him, who by one Sacrifice of himself hath perfected for ever them that believe. By this he hath made a full Compenfation to divine Juftice, the Greatnefs of his Perfon putting a far greater merit and value upon his Death, than if all Mankind had died for their own Sins: fo that we may receive him as an all-fufficient Saviour, and fafely lay the whole ftrefs of our Souls and Salvation upon his Atone

ment.

4. Chrift's Death is an admirable Pattern of Patience, and may teach us to imitate it in our fharpeft Trials: Forafinuch as Chrift bath fuffer'd for us in the Flesh (fays the Apoitle) we ought to arm ourselves likewife with the fame nind. We can fuffer nothing comparable to the Anguish and Horror of his Death; and therefore by looking to him, we may be kept from fainting under lighter Tribula

tions.

5. Chrift's

5. Chrift's Death is a ftrong Motive to the greatest Charity; for if God fo loved us (fays the Apoftle) we ought likewife to love one another. Neither can we reasonably expect to find the Effects of Chrift's Love to us, unless we fhew it in fome measure to the Brethren.

Laftly, his Death fhould engage us often to meditate upon and remember it, efpecially in the Holy Eucharift. 'Twas our Saviour's own Command, yea, his dying Requeft, that we would remember him when he was gone, and call to mind what he hath done and fuffer'd for us. That we might not forget him, he inftituted a Feast to that purpose, where his Death is in lively Symbols reprefented to our view, and the Benefits of it, by receiving of them convey'd to us; to which therefore not only Duty and Gratitude, but the Intereft and Safety of our Souls fhould perfuade us frequently to addrefs.

DISCOURSE XVI.

JOHN XIX. 40.

Then took they the Body of Jefus, and wound it in Linen Clothes, with the Spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.

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N my laft we left our Bleffed Saviour crucify'd and dead on the Crofs, and I hope not without that Grief and Sorrow that is proper for fo fad a Spectacle: In this we are to behold him taken from thence, and carry'd away to be bury'd; in which we are to follow him to his Funeral, and to pay the laft Office we are wont to do to our deceafed Friends, to attend him to his Grave. To this we are led by the Words of our Text; where we read, that when Fofeph of Arimathea, a Difciple of Chrift, had, upon his Request to Pilate, obtain'd the Body of Jefus, and Nicodemus, a Ruler of the Jews, had brough a mixture of Myrrh and Aloes to embalm him for his Funeral: They took bis Body, and wound it in Linen Clothes with the Spices; and, as the manner of the Jews was, proceeded to bury him. In difcourfing hereof, I must observe to you,

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First,

First, The antient Custom and great care that all Nations have taken about the Burial of the Dead.

Secondly, That the Burial, as well as the Death of the Meffias, was typify'd and foretold by the Prophets in the Old Teltament.

Thirdly, That our Saviour's Burial was according to that Cuftom, and anfwer'd thofe Predictions. For the

First, The great Care that has been ever taken by all Nations for the Burial of the Dead, is recorded both in Sacred and Profane Hiftory. The Holy Patriarchs of old not only purchas'd Burying-places for this purpofe, but likewife obferv'd all decent Rites and Solemnities at the Interment of the Dead, as we may read at large in the Books of Mofes; and they who neglected, or by way of Punishment were deny'd them, are faid to be buried with the Burial of an Afs, Jer. 22. 19. The Egyptians were more than ordinarily careful about their Dead, and were at great labour and cott for Spices to embalm and preferve them. The Romans reckon'd it a principal Act of Piety and Justice to bury their Dead, and had a peculiar Deity to prefide over that Office: They look'd upon it as a Law of the Immortal Gods, and to pay this laft Office was jufta facere, to do right to the Dead; to omit it was a great Crime, and to be depriv'd of it a great Punishment. The Greeks likewife were very careful in this Matter, and esteem'd it inhuman to neglect the Rites of Sepulture: and generally among all Nations this antient and laudable Practice hath obtain'd; which hath been fo far from being contradicted by Chriftianity, that wherever the Chriftian Religion came, it hath been moft religioufly obferv'd. For whereas before, in fome places the dead Bodies were wont to be burnt, and only the Afhes of them preferv'd in Urns; where Chriftianity prevail'd, this Custom was laid afide, and the dead Bodies always found a decent Interment. Our Saviour commends what Mary Magdalen and the other Mary did of this kind, for a good Work. We read, that when Stephen was toned, devout Men carry'd him out to his Burial, and made Lamentation over him; Acts 8. 2. And when Dorcas died, they wafb'd her, and laid her in an upper Chamber, in order to her Funeral; Acts 9. 37. So careful were the primitive Chriftians of the Rites of Burial! And we know this laudable Practice continues with no fmall Solemmity to this day,

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But upon what is this general Practice of burying the Dead founded? Why, partly upon fome common Principles in Nature, which cannot bear the Noifomnefs of a Carcafe, or fuffer the fhame and Nakednefs of Human Bodies to be expos'd to open view; and much lefs to fee them devour'd by the Birds of the Air, or the Beafts of the Field: and partly likewife upon fome higher Principles of Religion, which teach us to look upon our Bodies as the Members of Chrift, and the Temples of the Holy Ghost, and so not to be carelefly neglected or thrown away at the Diffolution, but to be laid up and decently depofited in the Grave, in hopes of a glorious Refurrection.

Thus we fee the great Care that hath been taken by all Nations to bury their Dead, together with the Reasons both natural and religious that have mov'd all Mankind to do fo; by which it appears, that what we do of this kind to our deceas'd Friends is an Office of Piety, and when we are imploy'd in it, we are doing a good Work. Let us next fee what Care was taken of this nature towards the Sacred Body of our Bleffed Saviour.

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That he was truly and properly a dead Man, by a real Separation of the Soul from the Body, hath been already fully prov'd after which, we find the Piety of Joseph of Arimathea, by asking of Pilate his Dead Body, fecur'd it from any farther Cruelty and Contempt and the Charity of Nicodemus, by bringing Spices, preferv'd and prepar'd it for a decent Burial.

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But before I come to that, I muft obferve to you,

Secondly, That the Burial, as well as Death of the promis'd Meffias, was typify'd and foretold by the Prophets in the Old Teftament. The Prophet Jonas's being swallow'd up by a Whale, and lying three Days and three Nights in his Belly, plainly typify'd, and is accordingly apply'd to the Son of Man's being fwallow'd up of the Grave, and lying three Days and three Nights in the Heart of the Earth; Mat. 12. 40.

The Prophet Ifaiah, in his 53d Chapter, foretold not only the Meffias's cutting off from the Land of the Living, but likewife bis making his Grave with the Wicked and the Rich in his Death: And as he was to be numbered among the Tranfgreffors, tho he did no Violence, neither was any Deceit found in his mouth, fo was he to die and be inter'd in like manner with them, ver. 9, 12. The Pfalmift foretold

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Part II. and directs to his Sepulchre, when speaking in the Perfon of Christ, he said, My Fiefh fhall rest in hope; that is, in the Chambers of the Grave, where tho his Body fhould be laid up a while, and reft in the common Receptacle and Habitation of the Dead, yet he fhould not abide a Prisoner there nor continue fo long as to fee Corruption; Pfal. 16. 9, 10. All which, befide the common Cuftom of the Jews to bury their Dead, and commit their departed Friends to the Sepulchres of their Fathers, are plain Predictions not only of the Death, but Sepulture and Burial of the Meffias. From whence, I muft, in the

Third Place, attend the Funeral of our Bleffed Saviour, and not only fee him laid in the Grave, but fhew him to be buried according to thofe Predictions of it. For the proof hereof, St. Matthew tells us, that Jofeph of Arimathea took the Body of Jefus, and wrapped it in a clean Linen Cloth, and laid it in his own new Tomb, which he had hewn out of a Rock, and roll'd a great Stone to the Door of the Sepulchre, and departed; Mat. 27. 59, 60. St. Mark concurs with him herein, telling us, that the fame Perfon bought fine Linen, took him down, and wrapp'd him in it, laying him in a Sepulchre hewn out of a Rock, and rolling a Stone before the Door of it; Mark 15. 36. St. Luke agrees with both in the Relation of it, faying, that this Rich Man waiting for the Kingdom of God, begg'd of Pilate the Body of our Saviour; and having obtain'd it, took it down, and wrapp'd it in Linen, and laid it in a Sepulchre hewn in Stone, wherein never Man before was laid; Luke 23. 52, 53. All which exactly agrees with the Account of it given by St. John in the words of the Text; They took the Body of Fefus, and wound it in Linen Clothes with the Spices, as the manner of the Fews is to bury. And if in the Mouth of two or three Witneffes is the Truth of a thing thought fufficiently establish'd: How ftedfaftly ought we to believe this matter of Fact, which stands confirm'd by the Teftimony of fo many?

But how came our Saviour, who was crucify'd by the Roman Power, to find the Favour of Burial, which was not wont to be granted to others that underwent that fort of Punishment? For, by the Roman Laws, they who fuffer'd this way were not to be buried, but were to continue on the Crofs till their Bodies were either devour'd by the Fowls of the Air, or rotted and confum'd away by the Injury of the Wind and Weather: And where there was any Fear or Sufpicion

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