" O death, where is thy sting?" He that hath the power of death is the devil, the old serpent, and he torments us here. Sin gave him his sting, and the law gave sin its strength ; but now that sin has been forgiven and the law magnified, the sting is plucked out. The stinging begins with our birth; for life throughout is one un* ceasing battle with death, until, for a season, death conquers, and we fall beneath his power. But the prey shall be taken from the mighty and his victims rescued for ever. Now sin has passed away, and what has become of death's sting, — its sharpness, its pain, its power to kill ? It cannot touch the immortal and the incorruptible !
" O grave, where is now thy victory ? n A. conqueror all along hast thou been,—
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never yet baffled, — thy course one perpe- tual triumph, — >the ally of death, following in his footsteps; not only smiting down the victim, but devouring it, taking it into thy den, and consuming it bone by bone, till every particle is crumbled into dust, as if to make victory so sure that a retrieval of it would be absolutely impossible. Yet thy victories are over; the tide of battle is turned in the twinkling of an eye. Look at these rising myriads, — thou canst hold them no longer : thou thoughtest them thy prey, when they were but given to keep for a little moment. See these holy ones, without one spot, not one stain on which thy sting, O death, can fasten ; not a weakness, which might encourage thee again to hope for a second victory ! All thy doings of six thousand years undone in a moment ! Not a scar remaining from all thy many wounds; not a trace, or disfigurement, or blot, — all perfection, — eternal beauty ! And look at these other holy ones, also glorified ! They
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have not tasted death, nor passed down into the grave. Over them thou hast had no power. Thou hast waged war with them in vain. They have seen no corrup- tion, and they remain monuments that thou wert not invincible. They have de- fied thy power, and now they are beyond thy reach !
Ah, this is victory ! It is not escaping by stealth out of the hands of the enemy, it is conquering him ! It is not bribing him to let us go; it is open and triumphant victory, — victory which not only routs and disgraces the enemy, but swallows him up, — victory achieved in righteousness, and in behalf of these who had once been " law- ful captives."
And the victor, who is he ? Not wre, but our Brother-king. His sword smote the mighty one, and under his shield we have come off conquerors. The wreath is his of victorious battle, not ours ; we are the tro- phies, not the conquerors. He overcame. k 2
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How? By allowing himself to be overcome! He plucked the sting from death. How ? By allowing it to pierce himself ! He made the grave to let go its hold. How ? By going down into its precincts and wrestling with it in the greatness of his strength. He brought round the law which was against us to be upon our side. How ? By giving the law all that it sought, so that it could ask no more either of him or of us.
How complete the victory over us seem- ed for a while to be ! yet how complete the reversal ! These enemies are not only con- quered, but more than conquered. No trace of their former conquests remains. We not only live, but are made immortal. We not only are rescued from the corrup- tion of the grave, but made incorruptible for ever.
Victory, then, is our watchword. We entered on the conflict at first, assured of final victory by Him who said, " I am the resurrection and the life ; he that belie veth
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on me, though he were dead yet shall he live, and whosoever liveth and believeth on me shall never die;9' — by Him who to all his many promises of spiritual life and blessing added this, " and I will raise him up at the last day." When taking up sword and shield, we were sure of success; we could boast when putting on the harness as he that putteth it off in triumph. Victory was our watchword during every conflict, even the hardest and the sorest. Victory was our watchword on the bed of death, in the dark valley, when going down for a sea- son into the tomb. Victory is to be our final watchword when re-appearing from the grave, leaving mortality beneath us, and ascending to glory.
"Then shall Jehovah God wipe away tears from off all faces." (Isa. xxv. 8; xxx. 19; xxxv. 10; lx. 20; Jer. xxxi. 12; Rev. vii. 17 ; xxi. 4.) We shall weep no more. The furrows of past tears are effaced. Tears of anguish, tears of parting, tears of
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