IT generally happens that souls that are stranded need both more of the grace of God and of the truth of God. One told me lately of a ship stranded on the east coast of England which has occupied them all the winter in getting it off the sandbank on which the storm had driven it. They tried to dig it out, and they also tried to take advantage of the ebbing and flowing of the tide to accomplish their purpose; but had it not been for an exceptionally high tide they had never been able to get the vessel floated and saved from becoming a wreck. This tells of the need of special grace for stranded souls. Christians who get stranded need a high tide of God's grace to get them off the sand-banks where they are lying in all their helplessness. But when the tide rises sufficiently high they have nothing more to do than spread their canvas and sail away from the place of their imprisonment into the deep waters of redeeming love. The state of the disciples at the death of Jesus is a picture of the state of many disciples still. They were completely confounded when He died and was laid in a sepulcher. He had told them repeatedly of His approaching rejection, death and resurrection, but His words seem to have made no impression upon them, and did not remain even in their memories. Those who came to the sepulcher had to be reminded by the angels that the Lord had told them " that he should rise from the dead on the third day." " Then they remembered his words." It is sad to reflect how slightly we hear " his words." Not a thousandth part of " his words " in the pages of the Holy Scriptures have ever touched our souls, or are even remembered by us so as to be available in an emergency! The narrative of Luke 24 is very interesting and instructive in regard to this subject. When the women came to the sepulcher and found not the body of Jesus " they were much perplexed there about." But as they were perplexed about Jesus He sends His angels to solve their perplexity by giving them " his words" about His rising again. " Why seek ye the Living One among the dead? He is not here, but is risen; remember the words he spake unto you." Angels may be the ministers, but the words of Christ are the means they use in their ministry, and these words accomplished their purpose. Resurrection was an entirely new condition before God; and were the fact of it possessing their souls, and they themselves knowing the meaning of it, their perplexity would be at an end. The cross shut the door of death upon all that man is in the flesh, and resurrection opened the door into a new condition, a new connection, and a new world. Christ in resurrection is the second man-the Last Adam, the Head of a new race; and after He had glorified God upon the earth, and finished the work given Him to do-in order that He might be glorified in regard to sin, and we redeemed from our state of sin-God raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand, and began a new and spiritual system with Him as its center, and all who now believe in Him as His members, and also associated with Him as co-heirs. The world had been made for man, and man had been made for the world. But man sinned and fell under judgment with its death-penalty; and the earth has been groaning under the weight of this primeval sin and its fearful consequences ever since man fell from his allegiance to God. Adam had been disobedient unto death; but Christ Jesus had become obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross; and now, as set at God's right hand, a new world is begun in connection with Him; and a new race of risen men, united to Him as their Head, is begun. The sphere of created man was the earth, but the sphere of redeemed man is not the earth, but the heavens. " The Man Christ Jesus " is there; and believers in Him are united to Him there by the Holy Ghost come down from heaven; and they are awaiting His return to take them thither in glorified bodies. Resurrection, then, is the door that leads into this new world; and the risen Jesus, assuming still the place of Teacher, leads His disciples into association with Himself by opening to them the Scriptures, and opening theit their hopes had been blasted, for they say to him that this prophet was He whom they had expected to redeem Israel, and now this was the third day since He was crucified. There was also a rumor that He was risen, but this had had no hold of their minds, else they had not left the city where He was likely to show Himself alive. They had looked for a living Messiah to deliver Israel according to the prophets-as Moses had delivered the people out of Egypt. But that either " the sure mercies of David " should need resurrection as a foundation for their realization, or that a new dispensation of a wider kind should be begun in connection with Christ risen from the dead-were things that they did not apprehend. Into this was the Lord's intention to lead them, so He says, " O fools and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to have entered into his glary. And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself." " But their eyes were holden that they should not know him." They were partially right. It was true that this was He that should redeem Israel; but it will not be now, but, when He comes in His glory. They did not believe " all that the prophets had spoken.." For then they must have seen that it behooved Him to rise from the dead. If the prophets spoke of death and glory, surely the natural inference was that resurrection must come as the link between them. Thus by their own Scriptures of the prophets the Lord led them on from the too great narrowness of a contracted Judaism into the wider regions of resurrection and glory, and all through solid painstaking, expounding unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. What a blessed time to have the Lord Himself doing this! And what a thought this gives of the importance of the Old Testament Scriptures! As we open them let us say to ourselves, " Here are the things concerning Himself." The travelers having now reached the village whither they went, the intelligent stranger made as though he would go further; for what title had he, a stranger, as he seemed to be, to obtrude himself upon them? What right had such an one to their house or table? If Jesus be but a stranger in our eyes He will still walk outside. Till we know Him as Son of God, the dead and risen Savior, surely He will not dwell with us. But the heart may outrun the understanding, as it did in the case of those two disciples. Their eyes were not yet opened to know Him, but their interest was concentrated in Him because their hearts were touched by the teaching of His lips and the attractiveness of His person. This made them constrain him to abide with them. " Abide with us; for it is toward evening and the day is far spent, and he went in to tarry with them. And it came to pass as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed, and brake, and gave unto them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him, and he vanished out of their sight." He allowed Himself to be "constrained to tarry with them," for He could be with such as had an ear for His teaching, and a heart for Himself. But if He is with them, it is as their Master and Lord. This he showed them by assuming the Master's place at the table. And when this was done their eyes were opened, and they knew Him. He was no longer the interesting and instructive traveling companion teaching them out of all the Scriptures; but He was now known as " Jesus Himself." What a revelation! What a discovery! He was indeed risen, and this was Himself sitting in association with them at the evening meal! His work for the time was done. He is now gone to appear elsewhere to others, and He would have them drawn to the spot, where He is to manifest His presence. After He had left them they continued to talk of Him as they did when He had joined them in the way; but how different were the communications! The Risen One has appeared to them. He has taught them the things concerning Himself. " And they said one to another, did not our heart burn within us while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened unto us the Scriptures? " Hearts are compared now. Their reasonings and sadness have left them, and their hearts are warm towards Him, for they have both seen His person, and heard His words. Then He was alive, and they had seen Him, and heard Him, until their hearts burned within them, and they felt themselves drawn to the Risen One. " And they rose up the same hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the Eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in the breaking of bread." When the Lord met them they were journeying to Emmaus-traveling from Jerusalem, the Divine center of blessing, and the place where the Lord Himself was to appear speaking peace. But the same hour that a Risen Savior is seen by them they hasten back to the city to tell their brethren the glad tidings that they may rejoice together. And when they reached Jerusalem they were met with the gladdening intelligence " The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon." Then they, too, add their testimony, " And as they thus spake Jesus himself stood in the midst of them." He comes into the midst of the disciples just as they are talking of Him as the Risen One. He delights to reveal Himself wherever His saints have their lips and hearts engaged about Him. He now speaks peace for He has made peace by the blood of His cross; and has already preached peace in the way by expounding in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself as the One who ought to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory. He confirms their faith by showing them His hands and His feet. " Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself," and when they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, He took what they had, " and did eat before them all." What pains the Lord takes to give His people assurance of the fact of the resurrection and His identity. If they can be firmly established in this, then all their fears, perplexities, reasonings, sadness, folly, and slowness of heart to believe all will be gone; and He can lead them on to enjoy the new things in this new condition with Himself. He teaches them further out of Moses, the Psalms and the prophets, and opens their understandings that they should understand the Scriptures. " And he said unto them, thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day; and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations beginning at Jerusalem, and ye are witnesses of these things. He promises the Spirit to give them power in testimony; led them out as far as to Bethany, lifted up His hands and blessed them, then as He was blessing them He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. And they worshipped Him, and returned unto Jerusalem alone with great joy. The teaching and revelation of Himself as the Risen One leads His disciples on from fear, perplexity, sadness, slowness, trouble and terror, to great joy and continual praise. Te Parson and the word of Christ Himself, the teacher, are the certain cure for religious depression and lowness of spiritual conditions.e things. He promises the Spirit to give them power in testimony; led them out as far as to Bethany, lifted up His hands and blessed them, then as He was blessing them He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. And they worshipped Him, and returned unto Jerusalem alone with great joy. The teaching and revelation of Himself as the Risen One leads His disciples on from fear, perplexity, sadness, slowness, trouble and terror, to great joy and continual praise. Te Parson and the word of Christ Himself, the teacher, are the certain cure for religious depression and lowness of spiritual conditions.