aright, we will see great wickedness, malice, and unthankfulness to bave been in this people. The Lord came to die for them; and who are these that slay him? Even those for whom he came to die. Was not this a mischievous deed? Who will not abhor and detest such a villany and malice? Alas! should I, who am a sinner, when an innocent man comes to die for my sins, slay that man, and be a burrio to him? Lord, save me from such wickedness, and let never mine hands be a slayer of that man! and yet this was the malice of the ungrateful Jews. Again, will ye consider the wonderful love that Christ carried to this people, when they deserved nothing at his hands but death; he dies for them, when they were his enemies, he shed his blood for them, and thereafter when they executed him and crucified him, (behold his wonderful love,) he brings them to repentance, his mercy overcomes their malice, so that in them ye see that which is said to be verified, "Where sin abounds, grace and mercy superabound," Rom. v. 20. There is no comparison between the love of Jesus and the sins of men; albeit thy sins were never so great and heinous, yet the love and mercy of Christ will compass them, and go round about them all; so that no sinner hath occasion to despair of mercy and of grace. I doubt not there is none of us all but we will condemn the Jews, and will find fault with the malice of this people; but look to thyself, whilst as thou condemnest them, that thou disfigure thine own face, and condemn thine own self. Are there none in this land that have put hands on Jesus that died for them, as surely as ever the Jews did? Who dare cleanse themselves? Thou darest not say, but thou hast pierced the Lord, either one way or other; there is not a sin that thou committest, but therewith thou hast pierced the Lord. Hast thou opponed thyself to the truth, and persecuted the gospel? then thou hast pierced Christ. Hast thou persecuted the Church of Christ, and troubled his members on the earth? thou hast pierced the Lord: for he cries out, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" Hast thou been given over to thy lusts, and led a wicked life? I say, if thou be in any of these ranks; if thou gainstandest his truth, persecutest him

in his members, or by thy evil life, protest as thou wilt, thou hast pierced him as well as the Jews, and thou shalt be as guilty of his death as they were, and as Pilate, Herod, Judas, and Caiaphas were challenged for his death, so shalt thou, except the Lord of his mercy grant thee grace to repent. The Lord give every one of us grace in time to repent! John, Revel. i. 7, draws this Scripture to the second coming of Christ in the clouds; for he says, "They shall see him whom they have pierced, and all the tribes of the earth shall mourn before him." Of the which we may gather, that in the latter day the very elect, when they shall rise and see the Lord, when they shall see these hands, and these feet, and that side, which by their sins they have pierced through, their first meeting shall be with bitter mourning, they shall mourn as a man will do for his only begotten son; but immediately that weeping shall be turned into joy, and the Lord shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, so that they shall never mourn nor sorrow any more, but they shall be with the Lord, and rejoice with a solid joy for evermore.

Now, I come to the burial of that blessed body; as the downtaking from the cross came by a request, so this burial also comes by request. But who requests for his burial? Not the Jews that requested for his down-taking, but good Joseph of Arimathea requests for the burial. The Jews requested not for any love they bare to him, but Joseph, that worthy disciple of Christ, requests upon love. Then the things that we shall speak of the burial this day are these: First, by the conference of the four Evangelists, we have a fair description of this man Joseph. Next, we have especially in the Gospel of Luke, how boldly he comes to Pilate. Thirdly, we have the suit itself. Then the good and humane answer that he receives out of the mouth of Pilate. Then look how this man is pointed out. First, he is described by his name, his name is Joseph. Next, he is described by his country, he was of Arimathea, a town in Judea. Thirdly, he was described from his substance, "He was a rich and wealthy man ;" and what more? What matter of all outward things, of our birth, of the place of it, or all the riches and substance in

the world, if there be no more. Fourthly, he is described from his office, "He was a wise and grave senator," and apparently he was in that council of the Jews which was called Sanhedrim; yea, apparently he was on Pilate's council, because he was a wise and potent man. But all these are outward things, therefore, the Spirit afterwards paints him out by his inward qualities; for if thou have no good properties, I will not give a penny for all thy calling, thy substance, and all outward things; he is painted out in these qualities which concern this life, and his behaviour toward men; he is called "a good and upright man" in his life. But what help all these civil and moral virtues? if there be no more, they are little worth. Therefore, the Spirit of God describes him from the inward grace of the heart from faith and hope, and it is said, "He waited for the kingdom of God." All his riches closed not his eyes from the sight of that life to come. Then, as he hoped for that kingdom, so he used the means; he believed in Jesus Christ, and was his disciple. So, then, if thou be not a scholar to Christ in this earth, look never to dwell with him in heaven. Yet there is something wanting; he durst not avow himself openly for fear of his riches and honour; but now, at last, when it comes to extreme persecution, he manifests himself; when they sat in the council concerning the death of Christ, Joseph would not give his counsel or consent thereunto.' But yet there is an impediment in this man; for he should not only have refrained to have given his consent, but should have opponed himself against them, as Nicodemus did, for he opponed himself boldly unto them; "Doth our law (says he) condemn a man before he be heard?" (John vii. 50;)"where learn ye that?"

So ye see it is a hard and dangerous matter to be a counsellor, either in kirk or in policy. There will be many impediments in counsellors, yea, even in the best of them; and ye see that when hard matters do come in question, men will absent themselves from the council; but that is not well done. For, if thou be a

'Luke xxiii. 51, one of the verses omitted, therefore inadvertently.

counsellor, albeit there were never so hard a matter in hand, thou art bound in conscience to be present; but, indeed, it is better to absent thyself than to come and give an evil vote. Again, there are some who will come, but will not consent to evil, as Joseph here did; but this is not enough, there is an infirmity here; for thou that art a counsellor art bound to make opposition to evil. Again, there are other some who will come, and not only refuse to consent to that which their conscience judges to be evil, but also will oppone themselves boldly thereunto, as Nicodemus did. And these are the best sort of counsellors. Always we see this; it is a hard matter to be a good counsellor, for oftentimes this terror and that terror will be casten in to thee if thou incline either this way or that way; and sometimes the matter will fall out so ambiguously, that thou wilt not know how to vote, or what way to turn thee; so that of all men, he who is a counsellor, either in kirk or policy, in these dangerous days, wherein such terrors are casten in, hath most need to depend upon the counsel of God, revealed in his Word, and in all things to keep a good conscience. Let no man offer to do against his conscience, for then the conscience shall take hold on him, intend a process against him, and challenge him, convict him, and torment him with anguish before the Lord's tribunal.

This for the description of the man. We must not think that by fortune or chance, or of his own accord rashly, he came to this point; no, the providence of God guided him, led him out for that purpose, and in this action, God had respect, not only to the heavenly honour of Christ, but also to the worldly things, to riches, and power. The Lord chose a worldly, rich, and potent man to bury him, to this end, that the Jews, who by all means sought to heap shame and ignominy upon the Lord, should not oppone themselves, and stay him to be buried; for if it had been a poor or mean man that had taken this in hand, doubtless they had opponed themselves and hindered his burial. Again, an honourable man is chosen to bury his Son honourably. The Father will have an honourable rich man to bury his dear Son. Indeed, Joseph of

Arimathea got never such honour as by that burial of the blessed body of Jesus, the Son of God. His calling was nothing; he had never been registrate for that he was a senator in Judea, except that the Lord had put in his hand the burial of his dear Son. It is true, the burial of the Lord Jesus is the last point of his humiliation, for what is the burial of the body, but the continuance of the body under death? And if thy burial be not sanctified, it is a terrible thing to be cast into a hole, and to be bound under the earth. Woe to that body who is cast into a hole and in the belly of the earth, and if it be not sanctified in the burial of Jesus Christ. So I say, the burial of Jesus Christ was the last point of his humiliation. He was holden in the fetters of death. Yet the Lord begins the glory of the Son at that which was ignominious in itself. He will not employ every man in this work, but the most honourable man in the city. And then he will have his burial, not in a vile place, nor in a backside, but in a notable and fair place, covered with a stone. So the heavenly Father will have the honour of the Son and his glory to begin at the burial, which was shameful in itself; and then he goes forward till his resurrection, and to his ascending to heaven, and sitting at the right hand of the Father. To worldlings, this honour of their burial is but a part of worldly honour, but here, unto Christ, that same piece of honour was the beginning of his heavenly glory. If thou be in Jesus, this same honour which is done to thy body in this life in thy burial, is the beginning of thy glory which thou shalt enjoy in the heavens. The dishonour of the faithful in this life shall be turned to their honour and glory, and it shall be turned to their weal. "All things work together for the best unto them that love God," says Paul, Rom. viii. 28. If thou lovest the Lord, that shame that shall be heaped on thee in this earth, shall be the beginning of thine honour. Then, much more shall the honour that thou shalt get in this life be the beginning of that everlasting

honour.

Now, when Joseph takes up the body of the Lord, lying so low at the gallows foot, and intends to bury that body, I doubt not