Thus it is, Christian brethren, that, when least expected, God’s hidden work of grace may be silently advancing; in young and aged hearts Christianity may be putting forward its sacred and resistless claims and obtaining a mastery within, that needs only to be put to the trial to exhibit its real power. There is not always the “rushing mighty wind” when the Spirit of the Lord takes possession of a man’s heart. There is not always the intense sorrow of “one mourning as for an only son,” when the sinner looks to Christ. There is not always the alarm of “Men and brethren what shall we do?” when sin’s appalling consequences are first spiritually discovered. The work of grace is often silent and gentle, like the season of spring in a tropical clime, when the earth by some rapid change of the atmosphere seems by enchantment to be covered with new created loveliness, and welcomes the blessed showers of heaven with a bloom as sudden as it is glorious. And how often are the very circumstances that seem most unfavorable to the progress of faith, chosen by God for the manifestation of His grace. Yet let no man carry this principle beyond its legitimate use, nor consider that the existence of religious principles can ever be consistent with a life of ungodliness. In the case of Joseph it is expressly declared that, though he was a member of the Council that condemned Jesus to death, he had not consented to their verdict.—No; men cannot be the children of God whilst they are avowedly the children of their father the devil, whose works they do. But to return to the narrative. No sooner had Joseph obtained the consent of Pilate than he hurried back to the cross. The day was, however, far spent and the sabbath was at hand, therefore the funeral ceremonies must needs be finished in a very hasty manner. With such assistance as the occasion commanded, Joseph and Nicodemus removed the sacred corpse, extracted the nails from the cross, wiped off the stains of indignity with which that holy countenance had been profaned, and having wound the body in fine linen with spices and aromatic gums they bore it to a new tomb wherein never before was man laid. There amid the dimness of twilight, the fitting emblem of the extinguished hopes of the world, they deposited with speechless grief, the precious form of Him who came in the name of the Lord to save us. O ye men of holy and humble hearts, how sad was your task! and your faith was too feeble and your hopes too gloomy to sustain you in this pious duty.