this. Let " the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wis- dom :" and in dependence on it, go to the Father, and " lay hold upon him," and remind him of his covenant : yea, take all " his exceeding great and precious promises," and plead them before him : and see whether it shall be in vain to call upon God. No, indeed : He will be merciful unto you : he will seal a sense of his pardoning love upon your soul ; and make himself over to you as your God and portion for ever. Call to mind the assurance given you in my text: "Verily, verily, I say unto you," Thus shall it be done to the believing soul. What more can you want to comfort and encourage you ? Only come to God in his appointed way, and all this blessedness shall be yours.]
John v. 28, 29. The hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth ; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life ; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
FROM the resurrection of Christ we may infer, that we ourselves also shall rise from the dead. In- deed, he is called "the first-fruits of them that slept;" and therefore we may expect that there will be a complete harvest in due time. To this effect also we are informed in the words before us : from which we shall be naturally led to consider,
I. The certainty of the resurrection — -
By many it has been " thought incredible that God should raise the dead." But " their error proceeds from not knowing the Scriptures, or the power of Goda." Consider then,
1. What the Scriptures speak concerning it —
[They have recorded many instances wherein the dead have been raised15 Even in the Old Testament there
a Matt. xxii. 23, 29.
b 1 Kings xvii. 17 — 23. 2 Kings iv. 32— 37. Luke vii. 12—15. John xi. 43, 44. Acts ix. 36 — 41. and especially Matt, xxvii. 52, 53.