spotless and holy life, hath fulfilled the obedience of the law; and, by the sacrifice of his death, hath taken away the curse and sting of death. He hath given himself a ransom for the whole world, that he might restore that world to life, and open a door of faith and repentance. Can we forbear our wonder and gratitude, at the mercy of our heavenly Father, of that infinitely wise and good God, who hath left no expedient untried for bringing fallen man to the enjoyment of his first intended happiness? The satisfaction flowing from the consideration of our Saviour's sufferings being closed, can only be exceeded by the comfort arising from the first fruits of their effects, which the glorious subject of the following article will bring home to the grateful soul of every pious Christian.

In the explanation of the latter part of this article, viz. our belief that " Christ was dead, bu"ried, and descended into hell," it will be necessary to consider the different assertions distinctly. As to the fact of Christ's being dead, I shall first produce such Scriptural evidence, as shows it was ordained to be, and which may also serve to confirm the truth of it.

2dly, I shall point out what improvement our assent to this particular is calculated to convey, or in what sense it may be received to our greatest advantage; and, 3dly, proceed to as

brief an explanation as possible, of the remaining part of the article.

It appears very proper, that we should add our belief of Christ's death, to that of his crucifixion, because, though that punishment was generally inflicted till death took place, and the ceremony was sometimes used even after death, in order to affix shame to the character and memory of the person so exposed; yet the punishment was not absolutely mortal in itself, for a man might have been crucified, that is, simply nailed to a cross, afterwards taken down, and so recovered of his wounds, as to live. This is by no means impossible. But when we assert that Christ died, we declare our belief that his soul actually departed from his body, through the effect of positive death, occa sioned by his sufferings on the cross; and this in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled; and because the event was necessary to our redemption. The types, or signs, and prophecies of the Old Testament, that signify and declare to us that the Saviour of the world was to die, are numerous and clear, beyond all possibility of mistake. The first and most

exact is that of Isaac. Nor can God the Father, who gave his only begotten Son, be better expressed, than by the faithful Abraham, in his readiness to sacrifice his only son Isaac, whom he loved. Here we see Isaac carrying the

wood, who himself, according to the command of God, and in the intention and resolution of Abraham, was to be the sacrifice. Christ, by whose death the sins of the world were to be atoned (as the Lord promised to Abraham, In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; Gen. xxii. 18), being the most perfect sacrifice, and to die on the cross, did, as we have shown, by the usual custom of that kind of death, most certainly CARRY THE SAME; therefore, Isaac bearing the wood, did signify Christ bearing the cross.

Another type or figure, both of Christ's death, and of the effect of it, is represented in Numbers, xxi. 9. When much people died by the plague of the serpents, Moses by God's command made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole; and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked up to the serpent of brass, he LIVED. And that this truly related to the manner and effect of Christ's death, he himself informed Nicodemus (John, iii. 14), in these words: As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up.

Again, nothing could more strongly prefigure the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world, than the ceremouy of preparing the paschal lamb, and the command and ordinance concerning it; Ye

shall not break a BONE thereof. This plainly shows, that Christ was to suffer a death, a part of which was the breaking of the bones of the sufferer. But the providence of God ordered, that he should be so particularly preserved from it, as not a bone of him should be broken. For the Romans, in compliance with the laws. of the Jews, which did not allow the body of a man to hang on a tree in the night, instantly broke the bones of those whom they crucified in Judea; but, as the history informs us, when they found him dead already, they brake not HIS bones.

These are the principal figures worthy your observation concerning this fact. The prophecies that foretold Christ's death, are no less clear, and worthy of notice. When God declares in the Prophet Zechariah, that Christ should suffer from the sons of men, he says expressly, They shall look on him whom they pierced; plainly showing, that he speaks of the Son of God, who was to be called the Son of man. The words of Psalm xxii. 17, speak, likewise, most pointedly to the particular manner of his death-They pierced my hands and my feet; which we know were nailed to the cross. And a further proof of this is afforded us in the expression of the doubting disciple Thomas: Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my fingers into the print of the

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nails, I will not believe. And our condescending, blessed Lord, said unto him, Reach hither thy fingers, and behold my hands, &c.

No prophecy is more powerfully evident, as to the death of our Saviour, than these words of Isaiah, liii. 7, 8-10: He was brought (saith the Prophet) as a lamb to the slaughter; he was cut off out of the land of the living, and made his soul an offering for sin.

We will now take a short view of the testimonies of the New, as confirming the predictions of the Old Testament, and the opinions of the Apostle concerning this fact.-And, first, let us consider what St. Paul delivered to the Corinthians as having received, doubtless, from inspiration, how that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures; that the Messiah was the lamb slain before the foundations of the world: and further (Heb. ix. 22), that without shedding of blood there is no remission. And in Heb. xiii. 11, 12, he proves, from the nature of the law, by which the paschal lamb was to be slain, and also from those sacrifices of sin which presignified a Saviour, that as the bodies of those beasts whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp; therefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people by his own blood, suffered without the gate.

Having said sufficient, I hope, to convince