DIALOGUE XV.

George. PRAY, aunt, did all the apostles see Jesus on the first day?

Aunt. No; for, on some occasion or other, Thomas had absented himself from the rest. Upon his return, they told him that they had seen the Lord; but he declared he would not believe it, except he saw in his hands the very holes made by the nails, and thrust his finger into them, and also his hand into his side.

Lucy. I am amazed that Thomas should discredit the assertions of all his brethren.

Aunt. The Lord overruled the infidelity of his disciples to establish the certainty of his resurrection. George. But how long was it before our Lord appeared again?

Aunt. Not till the first day of the next week, which was a second establishment of that day for the christian sabbath. The apostles were met in the same place, the doors being shut, when our Lord stood in the midst of them, and saluted them with, Peace be unto you! Thomas being present, Jesus said unto him, Reach hither thy finger, and examine my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side; and be not faithless, but believing. Thomas, in astonishment, cried out, My Lord and my God! Jesus said, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

Shortly after, the apostles left Jerusalem, and returned to Galilee. When they arrived on the bank of the sea of Tiberias, Peter proposed to go afishing; and there were six more with him.

George. Pray, aunt, do you know their names?

Aunt. Two of them are not named; but, besides Peter, there were Thomas, James, John, and Nathaniel; but they met with no success; for, during the whole night, they caught nothing. In the morning, a person on the shore said unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered, No. He told them to cast the net on the right side of the ship, and they should find. They cast in the net, and immediately enclosed such a multitude of fishes, that they were not able to draw it up. John, in amazement, said to Peter, It is the Lord. Peter immediately flung himself into the sea, and swam ashore.

George. What did the other disciples do?

Aunt. With much difficulty they drew the vessel to shore, dragging the net with fishes. Upon landing, they beheld another miracle; they saw a fire of coals, and fish laid thereon, and bread. Jesus ordered them to bring the fish which they had caught. Peter, accordingly, drew the net to land. It contained a hundred and fifty-three large fishes, and yet the net was not broken. Jesus then invited them to dine with him: they complied without asking any questions, knowing him to be the Lord. He then took bread and fish, and distributed to them. Dinner being ended, Jesus addressed himself to Peter, saying, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea,

Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He put the question a second time, and received the same answer; but when he put it a third iime, Peter was grieved, and said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith, Feed my sheep.

Lucy. Did our Lord intend by this to bring to his mind his sin in denying him?

Aunt. He was pleased to take this method to manifest his affection to Peter, in that, as he had thrice denied him, he would draw from him a triple testimony of his love. Our Lord then gave him a hint of the difficulties he was to encounter, and by what death he was to glorify God. This was the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples. Not long after this, our Lord appointed a solemn meeting for the whole multitude of his Galilean and other disciples, upon a mountain in Galilee.

Maria. I should like to know how many attended. Aunt. About five hundred brethren, as Paul tells us, 1 Cor. xv. 6. In the presence of this large as ́sembly, our Lord gave the commission to his apostles, to go and preach the gospel to all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things that he had commanded them.

George. But how were they to make the nations, who spake different languages, understand them?

Aunt. Our Lord promised to endue them with qualifications suited to the work, such as speaking with new tongues (that is, in foreign languages) and

working miracles: then, assuring them of his continual protection, he promised that he would be with them, even to the end of the world.

Maria. But they have not lived to the end of the world.

Aunt. True; bút God has always had a people, and will have to the end of time; and to them the promise belongs: for no prophecy of the scripture is of private interpretation, 2 Peter i. 20. Our Lord continued with his disciples forty days after his resurrection: at the close of which period, according to the orders they had received from him, they returned to Jerusalem, and assembled together privately. Our Lord, coming to them the last day he was on earth, told them not to depart from Jerusalem, till they had received the promise of God, and were invested with power from on high; for John baptised with water, but they should be baptised with the Holy Ghost.

Now the time being come, in which Jesus should be glorified, and exalted above every creature in heaven and earth, he led the company out of the city, to that part of mount Olivet which was near Bethany, where, lifting up his hands, which bore the marks of his sufferings, he blessed them; and, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and a cloud received him out of their sight. Thus was he carried in the most triumphant manner into the ineffable glories of heaven. I think David had a prophetic view of this transaction, Psalm xxiv. 7-10. It seems as if his soul was elated with the view of his ascending Lord, and he heard the triumphant shouts of the attendant angels, crying

out as they rose, Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in. And those within inquiring, Who is this King of glory? They answer, The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle: lift up your heads, O ye gates, even lift them up, ye everlasting doors, and the king of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the king of glory. Upon his entry into his kingdom, we may suppose, all the heavenly hosts saluted him with shouting, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory. Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. See Rev. v. 12, 13.

We have now, my dear children, gone through the history of our blessed Lord and Saviour, in which you are deeply interested: for the gospel he came to promulgate, and which you have in your hands, will be unto you, either the savour of life unto life, or of death unto death. I have informed you, that the Jewish dispensation consisted in types and shadows, which were all accomplished in Christ; and having no farther signification, were to be superseded by a more evangelical state and church, in which the believer might have free access to God in Christ.

We are now brought, in the continuation of the history, to the Acts of the Apostles, which relates the performance of many of those things that our Lord had foretold should take place. We have like