hand of God. We have not only to think of the solitary man raised
from the grave and caught up to the throne. If it were only 'Jesus'
who rose and ascended, His Resurrection and Ascension might be as
much to us as the raising of Lazarus, or the rapture of Elijah--
namely, a demonstration that death did not destroy conscious being,
and that a man could rise to heaven; but they would be no more. But
if '_Christ_ is risen from the dead,' He is 'become the first-fruits
of them that slept.' If _Jesus_ has gone up on high, others may or
may not follow in His train. He may show that manhood is not
incapable of elevation to heaven, but has no power to draw others up
after Him. But if _Christ_ is gone up, He is gone to prepare a place
for us, not to fill a solitary throne, and His Ascension is the
assurance that He will lift us too to dwell with Him and share His
triumph over death and sin.

Most of the blessedness and beauty of His Example, all the mystery
and meaning of His Death, and all the power of His Resurrection,
depend on the fact that 'it is _Christ_ that died, yea rather, that
is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God.'

III. 'The Lord' is the name of dignity and brings before us the King.

There are three grades, so to speak, of dignity expressed by this one
word 'Lord' in the New Testament. The lowest is that in which it is
almost the equivalent of our own English title of respectful
courtesy, 'Sir,' in which sense it is often used in the Gospels, and
applied to our Lord as to many other of the persons there. The second
is that in which it expresses dignity and authority--and in that
sense it is frequently applied to Christ. The third and highest is
that in which it is the equivalent of the Old Testament 'Lord,' as a