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THE
FAMILY OF BETHANY:
OK,.
MEDITATIONS
ON THE ELEVENTH CHAPTER OF THE GOSPEL
ACCORDING TO ST. JOHN.
BY L. BONNET,
late one op the chaplains op the FRENCH CHURCH IN LONDON.
TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH.
WITH AN
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY,
BY THE REV. HUGH WHITE,
AUTHOR OF “MEDITATIONS ON PRAYER,” “ THE SECOND
ADVENT,” &C.
FOURTH AMERICAN, FROM THE EIGHTH LONDON EDITION.
* NEW YORK:
ROBERT CARTER, 58 CANAL STREET,
AND PITTSBURG, 56 MARKET STREET.
1845,
" ''S
£ ^
• •
p
22b. 50(*
1 * 4 *
CONTENTS.
. A OS
Introductory Essay 5
MEDITATION I.
Lazarus, Mary, and Martha . .... 53
V
MEDITATION II.
Lazarus sick.— The Glory of God . ? , .69
MEDITATION III.
The Love of Jesus, and the Trial of Faith * . .86
MEDITATION IV
■o
The Heroism of Jesus. — The Twelve Hours of the Day . 103
MEDITATION V,
. . L 124
Our Friend Lazarus sleepeth
IV
CONTENTS.
MEDITATION VI.
PiGE
The Fear of Death. — Distaste for Life .... 139
MEDITATION VII.
The Four Days of Trial. — The First Consolations . 156
MEDITATION VIII.
Jesus Christ is the Resurrection and the Life • . 175
MEDITATION IX.
Jesus wept 193
MEDITATION X.
Lazarus, Come forth . . . . . . .216
MEDITATION XI,
Conclusion . • • • • • • • ~ . 237
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY,
The more attentively we examine the constitu-
tion of the Gospel-scheme of salvation, the more
fully will we be convinced, that it is the ultimate
design of that scheme, to re-enthrone in the heart
of man that principle, which reigned there before
the fall in full supremacy, and in which his highest
glory and happiness consisted — the love of God.
As long as this principle maintained its rightful
sovereignty over man’s heart, subordinating to its
sanctifying sway all the inferior affections and
appetites of man’s nature, and rendering his whole
life one continued thank-offering to the God of all
his blessings ; man stood forth, in all his primeval
dignity and blessedness, only “ a little lower than
the angels,” the vicegerent and representative of
the majesty of the Most High on earth ! The
image of the Deity was reflected, with beautiful
distinctness, in the unsullied mirror of his sinless
soul, and the paradise around him was but an
emblem — fair, indeed, yet faint — of the far love-
lier paradise within !
I*
6
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
But no sooner had that fatal act of disobedience
to the Divine command, “ which brought sin into
the world, and all our woe,” dethroned the love
of God from the heart of man, — than in one mo-
ment all his glory departed from him — all his
happiness passed away as a dream; the image
of God was effaced from his soul, and that of
Satan stamped in its stead ; and the earth, cursed
for his sake, sending forth thorns and thistles
from its blighted soil, became but too appro-
priate an emblem of the far drearier desert of
man’s soul, where, under the blighting curse of
an angry God, all the sweet flowers of celestial
growth, which bloomed so brightly in the morning
of man’s innocence, withered away, and there
suddenly sprung up the thorns and thistles of
anguish, remorse, and despair.
This being the case, it is manifest that, if the
Gospel-scheme be designed to restore man to the
happiness from which, by sin, he has fai en, it
must be its design, for the accomplishment of this
object, to restore to its rightful ascendancy over
man’s affections that principle, in which the very
essence of man’s primeval happiness was concen-
trated. And is not this palpably the professed
design of the Gospel-scheme ? Is not the great
object which it has in view emphatically this —
that the love of God may be shed abroad in the
heart of man by the Holy Ghost ? And does it
not employ, for this purpose, means most glori-
ously adapted for its accomplishment ; even such
a stupendous revelation of God’s love to man, as.
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
?
when cordially believed through the influence of
the Holy Spirit, must overpower the sullen enmity,
and melt down the icy coldness of man’s heart
towards God, into the softened tenderness of peni-
tential sorrow — the warm glow of grateful love ?
What a beautiful compendium of the Gospel-
scheme has the beloved disciple comprised in the
compass of a single verse : “ Herein is love ! not
that we loved God, but that He loved us, and
sent His son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
There is something amazingly impressive in these
words ; th^y unfold to our view unutterable things
of the love of God ; they seem to tell us, that all
God’s love is concentrated in this manifestation ;
that here all its scattered rays converge into a
focus of such surpassing brightness, as altogether
eclipses every other exhibition of the love of God.
Herein is love ! It is as if St. John had said —
Doubt as you may the love of God, when you look
elsewhere for proofs, yet here , at least, you must
feel that you cannot, dare not, indulge a doubt,
for you cannot look to the cross, and not be com-
pelled to confess — Herein is love ! Nor is there
that conceivable ground of distrust of God’s love,
which the incredulity of man’s alienated heart
could suggest, which is not anticipated and an-
swered in this precious verse.
Are w T e ready to plead, that ingratitude to the
God of all our blessings so stares us in the face,
that we feel it would be unwarrantable presump-
tion to cherish the hope, that we can be the ob-
jects of His love, whose goodness we have requited
8
INTRODUCTORY ES3AY.
with such ungrateful contempt and rebellion, as
compel us to despise and loathe ourselves. This
apparently most reasonable fear is silenced by the
assurance, “ Herein is love — not that we loved
God.” The want of our love to Him, that cursed
consequence of the fall, which stamps on our apos-
tate spirits the very brand of hell, is stated as being
no bar to this display of God’s love. Not that we
loved God, but that He loved us ! Yes ! with all
our ingratitude full before His view, though of its
enormous extent and baseness He alone could
form any adequate estimate — still He loved us !
with a love of compassion, of which we can give
no other explanation than this — that with regard
to His love, partaking so fully as it does of the un-
fathomable mysteriousness of His nature, Ci His
thoughts are not as our thoughts, nor His ways as
our ways.”
Again, are we ready to indulge the apprehen-
sion, which the consciousness of our unworthiness
might well seem to warrant, that, though the com-
passion of our offended God might dispose Him to
grant us some trifling boon, some gift of little
worth, still we dare not look for any great or pre-
cious tokens of His love. Oh ! how is this appre-
hension not merely answered, but overpowered
into rapturous wonder, by the amazing declara-
tion, “ He so loved us that He gave His Son, His
own, His only, His well-beloved Son! His co-
eternal and co-equal Son ! One with Himself
from everlasting — gave Him — the greatest gift
of His love even in His power to bestow. Oh ! is
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
9
not the appeal unanswerable ! What could He
have done, to convince us of His love, more than
He has done? What could He have given,
dearer or more precious to Him, than His own,
His only Son? Can we now wonder at the
Apostle’s exclamation, “ Herein is love !”
But we have not yet arrived at the full de-
velopment of the love of God which this versQ dis-
plays ! There are depths in it yet to he fathomed :
there are heights in it yet to be scaled ; and still,
and throughout eternity, there will remain in the
love of God to man, which this verse reveals,
heights, which will be for ever unscaleable by
created intellects — depths, which can never be
fathomed by finite minds.
Though the fears, arising from the conscious-
ness of our ingratitude to God, might be thus
silenced by the consideration of His infinite be-
nignity and compassion, there is another aspect
of the Divine character, which might well over-
whelm us with the most overpowering alarm, and
exclude the hope that God would ever lift up the
light of his countenance upon us in love ! We
might be ready, when we contemplate the blessed
God as the Being, who loveth righteousness and
hateth iniquity, to an infinite extent, and view
ourselves as vile, polluted sinners, to exclaim, “ It
is impossible that a holy God could love such un-
holy creatures as we must confess ourselves to be !
His holiness must constrain Him to hold us in per-
fect abhorrence, as utterly loathsome in the eyes
of His infinite purity ! Oh ! the depths of Divine
10
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
love ! What tongue of men or angels could speak
aright of that most mysterious love of God, which
here bursts on our view ! 4 He loved us, and gave
His own Son, as a propitiation for our sins !’ ”
Yes! our sinfulness, the very object which we
might so justly have feared would have shut us
out for ever from the smallest manifestation of the
love of God, is the very object, from which He
takes occasion, while displaying, in the strongest
possible manner, His holy abhorrence of sin, to
exhibit towards sinners the greatest possible proof
of His love, even in His power to bestow !
It is because we have sinned against Him, and
were, as sinners, exposed to a righteous sentence
of eternal condemnation, and must, therefore, un-
less an adequate atonement should b| offered, to
make the exercise of mercy compatible with the
claims of justice, have perished everlastingly ; it
is for this very reason, that loving us with an un-
bounded love, and seeing that no creature, how-
ever highly exalted, could offer a sufficient satis-
faction to His offended justice on our behalf)
therefore He gave His own co-eternal and co-
equal Son, as a propitiation for our sins !
It is manifest that this at once silences every
objection derived from our sinfulness, and magni-
fies the love of God to the utmost conceivable
extent ; for here, so far is our sinfulness from be-
ing represented as an insuperable barrier to the
manifestation of God’s love, that it is actually ex
hibited as having elicited the greatest possible
exhibition of that love ; since, if we had not sin-
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
11
ned, we could not have required a propitiation ;
and we may with reverence assert, that even the
Everlasting Father himself could not give a
greater proof of His love, than to give His own
Son to be a propitiation for our sins. More espe-
cially, when we remember, that, in order to offer
up such a propitiation, as would perfectly satisfy
the demands of the insulted justice of Jehovah,
the well-beloved Son of God must descend from
the throne of His glory in heaven to the death of
the cross on earth.
What possible plea then is left, which the most
perverted ingenuity of man’s incredulity can in-
vent, for doubting the love of God ? Since, in
confutation of the plea, we might have urged
with most apparent reasonableness, even the fact,
that we are sinners, and as such, unworthy of His
love ; Scripture assures us, that u herein God com-
mendeth his love towards us,” (sets it off by this
most endearing consideration, which unspeakably
enhances its value,) “ that while we were yet sin-
ners, He gave His own Son to die for our sins.”
Is it (for this would seem the only conceivable
objection unanswered) — is it the greatness of our
sins? No ! for since He gave His own Son — the
beloved of His bosom — the partner of His throne
— One with Himself from everlasting ; since He
gave Him as a propitiation for our sins, it mani-
festly is not humility, but unbelief, offering the
deepest insult to the Son of His love, to imagine
that there could be any sins, no matter of how
aggravated a character, or how deep a dye, for
12
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
which that sacrifice must not he an infinitely suffi-
cient expiation ! Yea, one which puts such infi-
nite honour on the justice whose claims it satisfies,
and the law whose penalties it pays, that the par-
don, purchased at such a price, not merely com-
ports with, but even pours a brighter flood of
glory round the character and government of
God.
Are then our trembling hearts ready to exclaim
- — “ Oh ! may we indeed be permitted, with an
appropriating trust, to believe and confide in the
love of God, thus wondrously displayed?” How
delightfully encouraging, in answer to such an
enquiry, the assurance, which the Scriptures so
fully warrant, that not merely are we permitted,
but even commanded thus to believe in the love
of God, as manifested towards ourselves! Yea,
that to doubt that love is a suggestion of Satan,
and in the highest degree sinful, and displeasing
to God, because, now that God has declared His
love towards us, by giving His own Son, as a pro-
pitiation for our sins, to doubt it, after such a man-
ifestation, is virtually to tell God, that nothing He
could do, would be sufficient to convince us of
His love ! And how could we offer him a greater
affront than this ? Or how could He give us a
stronger warrant to confide in His love, than to
command us to do so, and to tell us, that it is in
the highest degree sinful in His sight, to doubt or
to distrust His love ?
Thus every conceivable objection, which con-
scious guilt could urge, is fully answered] and
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
13
every obstacle to the entrance of God’s love into
the heart of man entirely removed. I have dwelt
the more largely on this point, because, as I be-
fore observed, the ultimate design of the Gospel-
scheme, (intended as it is for the restoration of
man to the glory and happiness which he lost b)
the fall,) is the re-enthronement of the love of God
in the heart of man, in the rightful sovereignty of
which blessed principle over all the affections and
appetites of his nature, we perceived the very es-
sence of his happiness and his glory to consist ;
and we also saw that, for the accomplishment of
this purpose, the means employed were such a
stupendous exhibition of the love of God, as, when
cordially believed, cannot fail to win back to God
the alienated heart of man.
It seemed, therefore, important to show, that
the manifestation of Divine love, which the Gos-
pel-scheme unfolds, is admirably adapted to the
end it is designed to accomplish: because it ex-
hibits that love as clothed in a shape, (the gift of
God’s own Son, as a propitiation for our sins,)
which makes it the basest ingratitude to doubt
God’s love ; for, could we offer a deeper affront
to God than to tell Him, that even the gift of his
own Son, for such a purpose, has failed to convince
us of His love ? While, at the same time, as this
gift, bestowed for such a purpose, presupposes our
sinfulness, (which alone furnishes occasion for its
exercise,) it provides unanswerable arguns ents for
silencing every objection, which the consc wisness
of guilt could urge ; and as it comes th ough a
2
14
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
channel, which glorifies the Divine character in
the pardon of our sins, making our salvation, ef-
fectuated through such a sacrifice as was offered
on the cross, a means of promoting the glory of
God, it sweetly satisfies us that God, in perfect
consistency with His holiness, can look on us with
love ; and thus it supplies the most abundant en-
trance to the love of God, to come and take up its
abode in the human heart, and dwell and reign
there, opening a paradise, yea, a heaven, in that
heart for ever.
The unspeakable importance of thus believing
God’s love is obvious from this — that, as soon as
a cordial belief that, through the propitiation of-
fered up on our behalf by His beloved Son, God
is reconciled to us, and forgives us all our iniqui-
ties, and regards us with complacency, as the
children of His love ; as soon as a cordial belief
of this glorious truth is shed abroad in our hearts
by the Holy Ghost, gratitude to the God of our
salvation immediately is implanted there, and be-
comes thenceforth the very soul of our souls ; the
seminal principle of all acceptable obedience ; the
germ from which grow all the fruits of righteous-
ness, and true holiness; the fountain from which
all gracious affections and dispositions, all renewed
tastes and tempers, flow. From this Divine foun-
tain, thus opened in our hearts, flows an inextin-
guishable abhorrence of sin — for when God is sin-
cerely loved, we must hate sin — the abominable
thing which He hates, and which is the very con-
centration of enmity against Himself, rebellion
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
15
against His authority, ingratitude for His loving-
kindness, and hatred of all He holds dear. Sin —
whose unutterable hatefulness is so awfully written
in the agony and bloody sweat, the cross and pas-
sion of God’s well-beloved Son ! Surely if there
be any one truth revealed in Scripture, with such
clearness that he who runs may read, it is, that
the love of God and the love of sin cannot dwell
together in the same breast. Oh ! no ! it is for
the very purpose of dethroning the love, and de-
stroying the dominion of sin — and of enthroning
the love and establishing the empire of holiness in
the believer’s heart, that God, the Holy Ghost,
takes up His abode there, as the Sanctifier and
Comforter, and by His Divine presence and influ-
ences, consecrating his body as a temple of the
living God, and renewing his soul, in the Divine
image, in righteousness and true holiness, makes
the heir of glory meet for the holy service, and the
holy heaven of a holy God.
The love of God, when it is enthroned in our
hearts, will also produce the most unhesitating
obedience to His commandments, and the most
unmurmuring resignation to His will : for how can
we hesitate to obey any of His commandments,
or acquiesce in any of His appointments, when we
regard them all alike as the expressions of an in-
finitely wise and tender Father’s love, who cannot
be mistaken as to the best means of advancing our
real welfare, for He is infinite in wisdom — who
cannot be frustrated in any of His plans, for He is
infinite in power — who cannot, without a horrible
16
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
libel on His character, be supposed to take plea-
sure in inflicting on us unnecessary pain, for, (in-
dependency of His infinite benevolence, which al-
together precludes the insulting supposition,) He
so loved us, as to give His own Son to the death
of the cross, to save us from eternal sufferings ;
and who cannot, without the most monstrous in-
gratitude and affront to that Son, be suspected of
withholding from us any real blessing in His
power to bestow, seeing He withheld not even
Him — but delivered Him up as a propitiation for
our sins ! — how then shall He not (oh ! blessed
impossibility), u how shall He not with him also
freely give us all things?”
Nor should another precious fruit of this celes*
tial plant be omitted ; even that, when the love
of God in Christ reigns supreme in the heart,
there is always kindled in the soul, by the Holy
Spirit, a heavenly flame of fervent zeal for God’s
honour, which prompts the grateful believer to
consecrate all the powers of his mind, and mem-
bers of his body, as instruments of righteousness,
for the advancement of the glory of God ! Then
are the words — ct Hallowed be thy name — Thy
kingdom come — Thy will be done on earth, as it
is in heaven” — so often, while he was a stranger
to the love of God, repeated with the most in-
sulting mockery of the Most High, then are those
words the honest language of his heart, whose
supreme solicitude is now centred on the advance-
ment of his Heavenly Father’s glory, “ to which
every other wish and anxiety of his soul are sub-
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
17
ordinate, and every plan and purpose of his life
arranged in grateful subserviency to this end”
To contribute, to the utmost extent of his
influence and resources, towards the accomplish-
ment of this object, becomes the dearest desire of
his renewed heart; to this all his time, all his
talents, are gladly and gratefully devoted. He
feels it to be indeed his bounden duty to do so ;
but he feels also that it is something even nobler
and sweeter than this — that it is his most exalted
privilege — the source of the highest honour and
happiness that can be conferred upon him, to be
permitted to be, in any, even the humblest mea-
sure, instrumental in advancing the glory of his
God.
In this sentiment of holy zeal for God’s glory,
are combined whatever is most ennobling and
attractive in loyalty to the most munificent of
sovereigns, and love to the tenderest of fathers,
and gratitude to the most generous of benefac-
tors. Every gift, whether of natural or acquired
endowment, which the bounty of God has bes-
towed — every channel of influence or source of
enjoyment which the providence of God has
opened — all, all are prized by one who loves God
in Christ, exactly in the proportion in which they
can be made to administer to the advancement
of His glory.
This sentiment invests the humblest Chris-
tian’ s character with a dignity, immeasurably
higher than belongs to the mightiest monarch of
the earth in whose heart the love of God is not
2 *
18
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
enthroned. It links him as a fellow-labourer
with the most exalted of created beings, for the
attainment of the noblest of ends — for it associ-
ates him with cherubim, and seraphim, and all
the host of heaven, in labours of grateful zeal for
the advancement of that end, to which they in-
variably devote their immortal energies — the
glory of God.
Does not, then, the love of God, when reign-
ing in rightful supremacy over the Christian’s
heart, fling round him a grandeur that is not of
the earth, but bears the very impress of heaven?
Its possessor may be a Lazarus at some rich
man’s gate, the object of the mingled scorn and
compassion of the wealthy worldlings, who, as
they roll past him in their chariots of state, look
down on him with contempt, as a creature of an
inferior grade in existence to themselves ; yet
does he rank as much above them in the estima-
tion of Jehovah, as the heavens are higher than
the earth.
Nor does this enthronement of God in the
heart of man minister less to his own enjoyment,
than to his zeal for God’s glory ; or conduce less
to his happiness than to his holiness, so far as
we can draw a distinction between holiness and
happiness, which are, in fact, but two different
names for one and the same thing ; for, by an
immutable constitution of a holy God, immutable,
because His glory would be sullied by a change
in such an appointment, He has made it equally
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
19
impossible, to be happy without being holy, or to
be holy without being happy !
The consciousness of possessing the friendship
of the greatest and best of beings — of Him whose
loving-kindness is better than the life, and whose
smile gives to angels all their joy, and heaven all
its glory — the conviction that we have concentra-
ted our supreme affections on the one only Object,
infinitely worthy of them, and capable of satisfy-
ing their most exalted and enlarged desires — the
feeling that we are linked, in a bond of holy bro-
therhood, with all the pure and glorious intel-
ligences throughout the universe, who live in
the light of God’s countenance, and rejoice to do
His will — the perception that the Holy Spirit has
already traced in our souls the lineaments of the
Divine image, modelled after the Saviour’s, how-
ever faint as yet may be the resemblance — and
the assurance that that image shall yet be per-
fectly stamped on our glorified spirits, without
spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, in the smallest
degree to disfigure the beauty of perfect holiness
— the knowledge that all our faculties are conse-
crated to the service of the best of masters, and
the advancement of the noblest of ends, and the
assurance that our safety and happiness, for time
and for eternity, are as secure in the hands of a
covenant-keeping God, as His infinite wisdom,
power, and love can make them — therefore as
secure as our hearts could possibly desire — and all
the pure pleasures which flow through the sacred
channels of prayer, and the Holy Scriptures, and
20
INTRODUCTORY' ESSAY.
the services of the Sabbath, especially the Sacra-
mental Commemoration of the Redeemer’s dying
love, that sweetest foretaste to the believer of the
blessedness of sitting down, with all the members
of his mystical body, at the Marriage Supper of
the Lamb — all this for present possession ; and
then for future prospects, the promises of that God
who cannot lie, that, throughout the endless ages
of eternity, we shall be rejoicing in His presence
with joy unspeakable and full of glory — uniting
with angels and archangels, and all the company
of heaven, in the songs and services of the celes-
tial sanctuary, joining with all that we have loved
in Christ, and with all the ranks of the redeemed,
in ascribing everlasting praise to Him that sitteth
upon the throne, and to the Lamb — even the
Lamb that was slain for us : if these be the bles-
sed fruits of the love of God, planted in our hearts
by the Holy Ghost, oh ! may not that principle
indeed be said to open in our hearts a little
heaven?
Nor should it be forgotten, that from the love
of God thus shed abroad in the heart by the Holy
Ghost, flows that principle of Christian philanthro-
py, and brotherly love, which constrains the be-
liever to labour to the uttermost to be like the God
he loves, in diffusing happines, temporal and
eternal, as far as his influence extends. The
grateful child of God feels the full force of that
beautiful exclamation of the Apostle, u Beloved !
if God so loved us, we ought also to love one
another!” Having contemplated, with adoring
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
21
gratitude, the stupendous love, displayed in his
redemption, he is inflamed with an unquenchable
desire to drink every day more deeply into the
spirit of that love, which shines forth, with such
surpassing glory, round Calvary’s cross, to become
more closely conformed to the character of Him,
who was the incarnate manifestation of Divine
love, to walk more faithfully in the footsteps of
Him, who went about doing good, and thus by
the exhibitions of a temper, modelled after the
loving Saviour’s and implanted by that Spirit, who
descended on Jesus in the form of a dove ; by
every work and labour of love, which gratitude to
a Saviour-God will promote, and by the zealous
and liberal support of every society, and insti-
tution, which are established and calculated to
advance at once the happiness of man, and the
glory of God, to become instrumental in soothing
human suffering, and augmenting human happi-
ness, and through the medium of a character, living
in an element of divine love, pervading all its
inward feelings, and outward movements, to be
made a benefactor and a blessing to mankind.
If the truth of these observations be admitted,
it is manifest that no style of work can be more
directly calculated to promote at once the glory
of God, and the happiness of man, than that
which exhibits, in the most attractive form, the
love of God to man, and thus prepares the way
for the enthronement in the human heart of that
love of man to God, which we have seen to be at
once the seminal principle of all true holiness,
22
RlDIjOTORY essay.
and the only spring of satisfying and abiding hap-
piness: and it is this which invests with such a
peculiar charm, and stamps with such a peculiar
value, the work to which we have prefixed these
prefatory observations.
It bears the unequivocal marks of being writ-
ten by one, who had felt, in the inmost recesses
of his heart, the full power of that brief but most
beautiful delineation of the Divine character,
drawn by the hands of the Apostle of love, when
ha says, u God is love !” And it would appear
impossible to read it with a devout spirit, without
feeling attracted in love and adoration towards
this blessed Being, who is thus exhibited as bear-
ing a nature and a name, so affectingly calculated
to win for Him the warmest love and confidence
of the human heart.
This delightful conviction and exhibition of the
glorious truth, that u God is love,” pervades the
whole volume, running, like a golden thread,
through the entire texture of the work. The
stamp of heavenly love is exhibited in every fea-
ture of the stupendous scheme of our salvation.
We are constantly reminded that love is the foun-
tain from which it flows, and that the medium by
which it is accomplished is the incarnation of Di-
vine love. Love is shown to be the essential
spirit of the Saviour’s character — love, the ani-
mating motive which impelled Him to undertake
the work of man’s redemption — love, the sustaining
principle which upheld Him, amidst all the strug-
gles and sorrows of that arduous work — love, botl-
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
23
the soul and substance of the religion He de-
scended from on high to establish upon earth —
and love, the very element and atmosphere of
that heaven, to which He will conduct all His
faithful followers, when they have finished their
painful pilgrimage in this vale of tears.
To a believer’s heart there is something delight-
fully infectious in continually breathing such an
atmosphere as pervades this work. It is not pos-
sible to do so, without catching something of its
contagious influence, and thus having the temper
and character imbued with that spirit of love,
which most of all assimilates the human nature
to the divine.
The history which the author has selected for
the exemplification of the glorious truth, which
thus invests the character of God, and of the reli-
gion which has emanated from Him, with such
divine attractiveness, is one admirably adapted
for this purpose — the history of that family of
Bethany, of whom, in one short sentence, we are
told enough to assure us, that there was not then
on the face of the earth a more honoured or a
happier family; for St. John tells us, “that Jesus
loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.” Vol-
umes could not do more than this single verse has
done to convince us, that in the abode of this fam-
ily, (if no where else on earth,) a type or minia-
ture of heaven was to be found — a counterpart
both of the character and happiness of heaven’s
inhabitants ; for could Jesus thus love any, who had
not imbibed the spirit of His own character, (that
24
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
is, the spirit of heaven,) so as to make them con-
genial companions, bosom friends for the Saviour
of mankind ; and what could be said of the hap-
piness of the highest of the host of heaven more
than this — that Jesus loves them ! Is not this the
source, the concentration, the climax of all their
j° y ?
Into the bosom of this highly-favoured family
we are introduced by the interesting work before
us, guided by the exquisitely attractive narrative
recorded in the 11th chapter of St. John’s Gos-
pel; and truly we are made to feel, while reading
it, that when Jesus came to visit that humble
abode of those He loved, He brought heaven with
Him into the hearts of its inmates, for He brought
thither the presence of Him, in whose presence
consists the fulness of heaven’s joy.
The characters of the two sisters are delineated
with great power of discrimination. The few
touches which the Apostle has given are beauti-
fully filled up into a more finished portraiture of
their peculiar features ; and strikingly is the con-
trast drawn between the ardent, impassioned,
precipitate Martha, and the calm, gentle, tender
Mary; the love of the former rushing like a tor-
rent, strong, indeed, but impetuous and troubled
in its course ; the love of the latter flowing like a
deep river, in silent strength, pure, peaceful, and
profound; or, as the contrast is described with
singular felicity in this work, in two short senten-
ces, “ Martha is the St. Peter, Mary the St. John
of her sex.” Could any thing more happily illus-
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
25
trate the difference of the two sisters — the one all
ardent zeal, the other all seraphic love ?
But with whatever of force or beauty the
subordinate personages may be delineated, the
figure of the Saviour himself always appears as
the principal object in the foreground of the pic-
ture, arrayed in all the mingled majesty and ten-
derness which formed the distinguished character-
istics of the Divine Philanthropist ! Every
feature wears the expression, every word breathes
the spirit, every action bears the impress of in-
carnate love ! This encompasses Him as a
celestial atmosphere ; this encircles Him as a
celestial halo, throwing round all He says and
does a grace and a glory which are indeed divine !
You cannot follow Him, step by step, through
the various scenes of this peculiarly interesting
narrative, from the moment when the sisters of
Lazarus sent to Him that touching message,
u Lord, he whom thou lovest is sick,” till the mo-
ment when, in the majesty of omnipotence, He
cried, “ Lazarus ! come forth !” without feeling,
with a force which supersedes the necessity of
laboured demonstration in its proof, that you are
following the footsteps of Deity — that Jesus was
u God manifest in the flesh,” and that u God is
love.” The more closely you watch the develop-
ment of His character, as exhibited in those
movements or observations, which disclosed what
is passing within His breast, the more fully are
you convinced that you are contemplating the
character, that you are listening to the voice, of
3
26
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
the incarnate God. And it is perhaps the pecu-
liar charm of this volume, that the author, in
commenting on the character of the Saviour, as
developed in this narrative, appears to have
deeply imbibed the spirit of the beloved disciple ;
so that, while reading the reflections brought
before us in this work, we feel, as it were, permit-
ted to look down into the depths of the Redeem-
er’s heart, and catch a glimpse of the ineffable
love to His people which perpetually glows there,
and prompts every movement of His providential
arrangements on their behalf And thus the
most afflictive of His chastening dispensations
are seen to emanate as directly from that love,
and to bear its stamp as deeply impressed on
them, as those apparently kinder appointments,
by which, when compatible with their eternal
welfare, He delights to crown His people’s earthly
hopes with the largest measure of purified earthly
enjoyment. Now we know of nothing more
powerfully calculated to produce and maintain,
in the afflicted Christian’s soul, that spirit of
cheerful and thankful resignation, which brings at
once such glory to his God, and such peace to his
own heart, than the fully realized and abidingly
cherished conviction, that all the dealings of his
Saviour-God with him, however they may differ
as to their external aspect, are all alike the
emanations and expressions of His infinite love !
that the dispensations which that love appoints
may be continually changing, like the alternations
of light and shade, as His infinite wisdom may
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
27
see to be most conducive, by their change, to His
people’s spiritual welfare, but still the love itself
changeth not; for with it is “no variableness,
neither shadow of turning but it endureth from
everlasting to everlasting ; like Himself, “ the
same yesterday, to-day, and for ever.”
Oh yes! it is indeed a blessed frame for a
believer’s mind, (and assuredly it ought to be its
abiding frame,) when he is enabled to repose in
his Redeemer’s love, with a confidingness which
no trials can shake, and to acquiesce in His ap-
pointments, with a satisfaction which no afflictions
can disturb ; and when, whatever that Redeem-
er’s appointments as to his earthly circumstances
may be, whether He is pleased to prosper or to
defeat his best concerted plans, to realize or
disappoint his most fondly cherished hopes, to
give or to take away what most he desires or
loves, he is able, with equal gratitude of heart, to
bless “the name of the Lord!” And is it not
strange, (and oh what a melancholy proof, how
imperfectly his nature is, as yet renewed,) that
after having once been privileged to read, with a
believing heart, the records of that love, as con-
tained in the scenes exhibited in Gethsemane’s
garden, and on Calvary’s cross, he should ever
feel the smallest difficulty in reposing in the Re-
deemer’s love, with such confidingness, and in
His appointments with such resignation. It is
true, we are so habituated to associate with the
very name of love the idea of doing all within
our power to avert the sufferings, gratify the
28
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
wishes, and thus promote the happiness of the
beloved object, that we find it at times hard to
believe — yea, it is confessedly a noble triumph of
faith, with unwavering confidence, to feel assured ,
that when the hand of a Saviour-God is stretched
forth to cross all our favourite plans — even those
that were arranged most faithfully, as we fancied,
for the advancement of His glory, and to blight
all our dearest hopes — even those which we
cherished in the sweetest spirit of submission to
His will — it is love, the very tenderest, fondest
love, which directs its very movement. And yet,
did we but reason and feel as, if Christians in
more than name, we ought to do, we would find
it much harder to believe, that any thing but such
love could direct a single movement of the Sa-
viour’s hand, in any of His appointments, how-
ever afflictive, on behalf of his own beloved peo-
ple ; of those so inconceivably dear to Him,
that He did not deem even the sacrifice of His
own life, the pouring out of his own blood, amidst
all the ignominy and agony of the death of the
cross, too costly a price at which to purchase their
eternal happiness — too vast a sacrifice, by which
to testify the boundlessness of His love.
We do not deny that the dispensations which
He appoints may often, to our short-sighted facul-
ties, appear very mysterious ; that His footsteps
are often in the sea, and His paths in the deep
waters, where His design cannot be traced : but
oh ! might we not expect that the same confiding-
ness which is reposed in well-tried earthly affec-
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
29
tion, should be reposed in His ; that its tender-
ness might be trusted, even when its plans could
not be traced ; and that any suspicious doubts
which the apparent severity of his dealings might
awaken, would be at once put to flight by the re-
membrance of what passed in the garden of Geth-
semane, and all painful perplexity changed into
cheerful acquiescence, by His own assurance to
Peter — u What I do, thou knowest not now, but
thou shalt know hereafter.” Yes! I cannot but
feel persuaded, that if believers were more in the
habit of devoutly dwelling on the contemplation
of the infinite love and infinite wisdom of their
Saviour-God, they would be able to exhibit, under
the pressure of heavy trials, a spirit more suitable
to the exalted privileges which they possess, and
more calculated to honour Him in the eyes of the
children of the world.
The language, not merely of their lips, but of
their heart and life, amidst the most painful or
perplexing dispensations, by which He might see
fit to try their faith and patience, would in spirit
be habitually this — When I look at the cross, and
remember who it is that is there offering up Him-
self, amidst the lingering tortures of its agonizing
death, as a sacrifice for my sins, and to secure my
salvation, I dare not doubt His love— I feel it
would be the basest ingratitude to wound it by
one dishonouring doubt, written, as it is, in His
tears, and agonies, and blood. Oh ! then, what a
heart must mine be, if I can refuse to trust in it
with the most unsuspecting confidingness, aye^
3 *
30
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
though it should appoint for me trials, beyond all
which ever yet were appointed for any child of
man ! True, this is a most perplexing dispensa-
tion. I cannot fully fathom its deep design. It
so crushes my spirit — it so wounds my heart in
the very tenderest point — it so dries up the source
of all my earthly happiness, and gives such a
wilderness aspect to the world. But oh ! unbe-
lieving, ungrateful heart, though thou canst not
trace, art thou unwilling to trust a Saviour’s love?
May I not feel assured, that this is precisely the
trial which is best suited to my spiritual condition,
since it is the one which Infinite Wisdom has
chosen ; and is that a wisdom which can by possi-
bility be mistaken ? Is the child to dictate to the
parent, what discipline to adopt in training him
up for future usefulness ? Is the patient to pre-
scribe to the physician, what remedies to employ
for the accomplishment of his recovery? And
shall I dictate to the only wise God, my Saviour,
what course of corrective discipline He ought to
adopt, in training me up for my purchased inheri-
tance of glory? Shall I prescribe to the Heavenly
Physician, what remedies He ought to employ, to
accomplish my spiritual cure ? And if His dis-
cipline be stricter, or His remedies more painful
than is palatable to flesh and blood, oh ! shall I
therefore question His love, or quarrel with His
appointments ?
But is the dispensation indeed so mysterious,
that I cannot trace, amidst its dark perplexity, the
footsteps of a faithful covenant-keeping God ? Is
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
31
the gloom, that overshadows my path, so deep, so
dense, that no cheering rays of divine light break
through and brighten it with even the passing
gleam of a Saviour’s smile ? Is the storm of afflic-
tion so loud, and so uninterrupted, that I never hear,
amidst the pauses of the blast, a voice that softly
whispers, “ God is love?” Oh ! surely I cannot say
this. Y ea, must I not thankfully acknowledge, that
even already I have had abundant cause to con-
iess, “ It is good for me that I have been afflicted
and to cherish an humble confidence, that all the
blessings, which I have derived from sanctified
sorrows, have been but the first-fruits of a rich
harvest of eternal glory?
And oh ! how precious have those first-fruits
been! What ineffably sweet communion with
my Saviour-God have I enjoyed, since He allured
me into the wilderness, and there spake comfort-
ably to me ! What increased experience of the
tenderness of His sympathy, the preciousness of
His consolations ! Oh ! should I have been well
satisfied to have passed through even deeper
waters of affliction than I have encountered, if I
could only thus have learned, as this trial has
taught me, how a Saviour-God can and will sup-
port His people in their day of trouble? And
what fountains of consolation, sweeter than I ever
before tasted, or even in imagination conceived,
have prayer and the Scriptures proved, since this
afflictive dispensation drove me to seek in them
refreshment for my fainting soul ? Moreover, as
earth has been darkened, has not heaven looked
32
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
brighter to my view ? Has not the buffeting of
the storm endeared to me the prospect of the
haven where I would be ; and the wearisomeness
of the journey made sweeter still the thoughts of
my heavenly home ? Have not my affections,
desires, and hopes, oftener soared up, with heaven-
ward flight, since the chains of earthly attractions,
which bound them down to the dust, have been
broken by the hand of affliction ? And shall not
I bless the stroke, which thus emancipated my
earth-enthralled spirit, and gave it liberty to mount
up, as on eagle’s wings, to its native skies?
Has not the furnace of affliction also proved to
my soul a purifying furnace, by which the sullying
defilements of inward corruption, which lurked
unsuspected in the recesses of my heart, were dis-
covered and purged away in its refining fires?
So that if, by divine grace I am enabled in any,
even the faintest degree, to reflect my adorable
Redeemer’s image, I am mainly indebted to the
refining process, which has been thus carried on
by the Holy Spirit in my soul. And could I wish
that the fire had been less hot, if thereby less of the
defilement of sin would have been purged away,
and less of the image of the Saviour reflected in
my soul ? And have I not had opportunities of
glorifying Him who died for me, placed within
my reach by this agonizing trial, immeasurably
more precious, than the most unclouded prosperity
could ever have supplied ? Oh ! if I may but in-
dulge the delightful hope, that some careless sin-
ner has been converted, or some sorrowing saint
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
33
comforted, by what they have seen of a Saviour’s
faithfulness and love, as exhibited in the strength
and consolation He has so graciously imparted to
me, in my time of trial, should I not thank God
for the dispensation, which, even by the desola-
tion of my dearest earthly hopes, has enabled
me to promote the glory of that beloved Saviour-
God, to whom I am exclusively indebted for the
hope, full of immortality — the hope of eternal
happiness in heaven?
Surely, even these considerations are sufficient
to constrain me to cry out to my covenant-God,
<c I know that in very faithfulness Thou has af-
flicted me or, if any shadows of obscurity still
hang over His dispensations, may I not cheerfully
wait for the revelations of that brighter world,
where, in His light, I shall see light poured, in
full splendour, on the entire of the path, by which
He led me through the wilderness to his own pre-
sence in glory ! Then will I fully understand the
loving-kindness of the Lord, in all His dealings
with me here below. Then will I clearly see,
(what it is now at once my privilege and duty cheer-
fully to believe,) that not a passing cloud has ever
darkened my path — not a single thorn ever pierced
my feet, but was appointed by a Saviour’s hand,
in the very tenderness and faithfulness of His love.
Then, (when the light of heaven is flashed on the
scenes of earth,) will I see stamped on this very
dispensation, in celestial characters, the divine in-
scription, u God is love.” Then will I perceive
how necessary a link it formed, in that chain of
34
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY,
providential arrangements, by which He was
graciously drawing up my heart from the creature
to Himself, from earth to heaven, and thus mak-
ing me meet for the everlasting enjoyment of
Himself j and the very trial, which now calls forth
my bitterest tears of anguish, will then call forth
my sweetest songs of gratitude and joy.
Reflections such as these, so full of hajpjpy com-
fort , are suggested in the work to which these ob-
servations are prefixed, in a most attractive man-
ner, additionally recommended, if such recom-
mendation be required, by the charms of a
chastely beautiful style, and that powerfully
persuasive species of eloquence, which, obviously
coming from the heart, makes its way irresistibly
to the heart. It is this which is calculated to
make this volume so peculiarly acceptable to those
mourners in Zion, whose pathway through this
world’s wilderness is overshadowed with the
gloom of earthly affliction. It exhibits in such
glowing colours the divine attractions of the re-
ligion of the Gospel, the unchangeableness and
unboundedness of the Redeemer’s love to His peo-
ple, and the endearing tenderness of His character,
as to force on the afflicted Christian the delightful
conviction, that all his sorrows are but so many
proofs of the faithfulness of that love, which led the
Son of God to endure for his sake all the sufferings
of His afflicted life, and agonizing death ; that
there is a need-be for them all : and that the gra-
cious design and glorious result of all his appointed
trials is to promote his own conformity to the Divine
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
35
image, and the glory of the God of his salvation.
And this conviction must powerfully tend *o pro-
duce the most cheerful willingness to commit to a
Saviour’s disposal the arrangement of all the
events of this life, and to receive from a Saviour’s
hands, without one rebellious murmur, and drink
without one repining tear, yea, even with a thank-
ful smile, the bitterest cup of trial He may be
pleased to prepare and present to the object of
His everlasting love.
There is another most important lesson enforc-
ed in this interesting work, which stamps on it
peculiar value, in a professing age like the present
— a lesson, which we cannot but fear many a
high-toned professor of our day has yet to learn —
even that the clearest views of evangelical truth,
if they are unproductive of cordial and supreme
love to a Saviour- God, are utterly unavailing to
the everlasting salvation of the soul.
In unfolding the characters of the members of
the family of Bethany, as developed in the touch-
ing narrative of the Apostle, the reflections intro-
duced by the author of this work are admirably
calculated to deepen the impression which it ap-
pears to be always the design of St. John to make
©n the mind of his reader, that the very essence
of a believer’s happiness consists in loving the
Saviour, even as God alone deserves to be loved,
with the whole heart, and soul, and mind, and
strength.
When introduced into the bosom of this happy
family, we are made to feel that it is a happy
36
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
family, because the love of Jesus is enthroned in
the heart of each of its members. This hallowed
affection was indeed modified in its exhibition, by
the different constitutional temperament of the
individuals who composed the highly -favoured cir-
cle : but whether it displayed itself in the impe-
tuous eagerness of Martha, hastening with over-
anxious solicitude, to prepare the choicest viands
she could procure, to mark her esteem and affec-
tion for her Divine Guest, or in the calm and
devout demeanour of Mary, sitting in humble
docility at her Divine Master’s feet; it was alike
love, the purest, deepest, most grateful love to
Jesus, which reigned in the bosom, and prompted
the movements of them both. And while, from
the gentle rebuke addressed to the one, and the
affectionate commendation bestowed on the other,
we are impressively taught, that the most grati-
fying proof which we can give of our love to
Jesus, is to sit at His feet in the lowly attitude of
humble disciples, listening with devout attention
to the gracious words which proceed out of His
mouth ; still we cannot for a moment doubt, that
He, who knew the heart, as only its Creator could
have known it, regarded with mingled compla-
cency and compassion the struggle of feelings in
the ardent and anxious Martha’s breast, viewing,
with condescending approbation, the motive from
which her over-cumbered care in preparing for
His entertainment flowed ; while, in the faithful-
ness of divine love, He rebuked the mixture of
infirmity which was exhibited in her mode of
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
37
displaying her reverence and affection for Him-
self.
Now, in an age like the present, when, from
the increased spread of evangelical preaching,
there is such an increased knowledge and profes-
sion of evangelical religion, it is of paramount
importance to have the solemn reflection frequent-
ly and forcibly impressed upon the mind, that the
most correct apprehensions, the soundest form,
the loudest profession, and the warmest advo-
cacy of evangelical truth, in the absence of
warm, heartfelt, life-influencing love to a Saviour-
God, are, in His estimation, nothing worth. Yea,
that the most splendid sacrifices, the most unwea-
ried labours, if they are not sacrifices of thanks-
giving, and labours of love, are utterly valueless
in His sight, who says to each of His intelligent
creatures, and with emphatic urgency of appeal
to each individual to whom He has made known
the revelation of His Redeeming love, “ Give me
thine heart and who, if that appeal be not an-
swered through the Almighty power of the Holy
Spirit, by the unreserved surrender of the heart to
Him, will reject all our heartless services with
infinite abhorrence, and banish us from the light
of His countenance into the blackness of dark-
ness for ever !
Oh ! we do feel it to be of immense importance
to have the conviction powerfully forced upon the
mind, that, for the want of cordial supreme love
to Jesus, there is nothing that can compensate m
the eyes of Him, who, to win our love, laid down
4
38
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
His life for us! — that, while the homage of the
heart is withheld, it matters not what homage the
understanding, the lips, or even the life may pay;
while, on the other hand, when the love of the
Saviour is really enthroned in the heart, there may
be much weakness of faith, and waywardness of
feeling — the Redeemer’s image may be clouded
by the remaining corruption of a nature, imper-
fectly renewed ; and the infirmities of the natural
temper may, as in the case of Martha, break out
in the very moment of displaying the grateful love,
which the heart feels for the object of its supreme
affections ; but still, if these corruptions and infir-
mities are sincerely lamented and striven against,
in the strength of divine grace, He, who readeth
the heart, when He sees the love of Himself reign-
ing in its rightful supremacy there, will graciously
fling the robe of His own righteousness over every
failing and imperfection of His faithful followers,
and plead on their behalf, before the mercy*seat,
that touchingly tender plea, “ the spirit is willing,
but the flesh is weak for His eye can pierce
into the innermost recesses of the soul, and dis-
cover the love, which, though for a season lulled
to sleep, when it should have been most wakeful,
still lives in the heart of a sincere, though slum-
bering disciple.
We may be assisted in the consideration of this
subject by the analogy of earthly affection; for
whatever differences in the mode of exhibiting real
affection towards an earthly and visible, or a di-
vine and invisible object, must necessarily exist,
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
39
we may feel satisfied that our adorable Redeemer,
by selecting the endearing relationships of earthly
affection as images of His ineffable love, has war-
ranted us to draw this inference from the illustra-
tion — that we must not offer to Him, under the
name of gratitude or love, what we would not
think of offering to a fellow-worm, or what, if of-
fered, would be rejected with scorn. What, then,
is it, which alone stamps value on the external
demonstrations of affection, which we receive from
those we love? Is it not the love towards us,
cherished in the inmost recesses of the heart, of
which these outward exhibitions are the evidence
and the fruit, and from which they derive all their
significancy, and all their charm? Could the
most punctual obedience to his commands com-
pensate to a fond father for the want of affection
in the child, over whom his heart yearns in all the
tenderness of parental love ? Could the most un-
limited compliance with his wishes impart a mo-
mentary throb of pleasure to an attached husband’s
heart, if he were capable of looking into the heart
of her on whom he had lavished all his love, and
perceived its affections alienated from himselfj
and fixed on another ? Yea, would not her very
compliance with his wishes under such circum-
stances, inspire him only with indignation and dis-
gust? And will the Father of spirits be satisfied
with that heartless service, which an earthly pa-
rent would not accept? Will the Bridegroom of
the Church be content with that constrained obe-
dience of an alienated heart, which would be re-
40
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
garded, were it offered to an earthly object, with
abhorrence and disdain? No, no. He, who, as
our Creator, Preserver, Benefactor, hut, above all,
as our Redeemer, has entitled Himself, by claims
stronger than can be urged even on angels, to the
supreme affections of our hearts — He, who, to win
our love, stooped from the height of His throne in
heaven, even to the degradation of the death of
the cross — He will never accept of any thing at
our hands, in testimony of our acknowledgment of
His claims, in lieu of our love. “ If any man love
not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema,”
is His own awful and irreversible decree ! No
services we can render — no sufferings we can en-
dure — will be looked on by Him with momentary
complacency, if our hearts be withheld from Him ;
but let these be once given freely, fully, unre-
servedly to Him, and then there is not the feeblest
effort we can make, or the slightest sacrifice we
may submit to, in testimony of our love, which
He will not graciously accept. Yea, such is the
exuberance of His grace — which He w T ill not
richly reward — for He has Himself declared, that
even a cup of cold water, given in such a spirit,
shall in no wise lose its reward.
The indispensable necessity of this supreme
love to the Saviour, as an evidence of the vitality
of our faith in His blood, is powerfully enforced
in this valuable work ; as is also the all-important
conviction, that the possession of this love is as
indispensable for our own happiness, as it is for
evidencing that our professed trust in the Re-
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
41
deemer’s righteousness is of the operation of the
Spirit of God, proved to have emanated from a
heavenly origin, by its hearing heavenly fruit.
I cannot, indeed, conceive it possible to read
this delightful volume with anything of the spirit
in which it appears manifestly to have been
written, without feeling convinced in the heart,
as well as the understanding, that he who sin-
cerely and supremely loves the Lord Jesus Christ
must be happy, be his earthly circumstances what
they may : that he carries the essential element
of true felicity within his own heart, so securely
guarded from external assaults, by the omnipo-
tent grace of the Holy Spirit, as to be altogether
independent of the influence of any of the vicis-
situdes or vexations of this mortal and miserable
life. On the other hand, there is a spirit breath-
ing throughout the whole work, which most im-
pressively lifts up the voice of solemn warning in
our ears, and tells us, that though we could speak,
on divine themes, with more than earthly elo-
quence, and so abounded in the most ardent zeal,
as to be willing to endure, in the cause of Christ,
the most dreadful death that ever martyr suffered,
and though we bore such a high and honourable
name in the religious world, as to rank in its
estimation but a little lower than the angels, and
yet did not love the Lord Jesus Christ with a
cordial, a supreme affection, real happiness must
be a stranger to our hearts, both for time and for
eternity. And oh ! what will it avail us to have
ranked thus high in the estimation of those
4 *
42
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
around, and to have enjoyed, for a few fleeting
years, a delusive hope of eternal happiness, ifj
when we stand before Him, who sitteth upon the
throne, we hear from His lips those tremendous
words — “Depart from Me! I never knew you!
Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire !”
Nor must I omit to mention, in bearing my
humble testimony to the excellence of this work,
that it discovers the most unequivocal marks of
being written by one, who had felt with power,
in his inmost soul, the import of that awful word
— Eternity !
It flashes the light of eternity so vividly on the
objects of time, that their comparative nothing-
ness is not merely seen, but felt. One impression
is irresistibly forced on our minds, that every
consideration connected with our own welfare, is
the merest trifle compared with the one question
— Are we to be everlastingly happy or misera-
ble ? — Are we to spend eternity in heaven or in
hell? The Christian, as he peruses the author’s
reflections on the death and resurrection of Laz-
arus, finds his thoughts and affections gradually
drawn away from things seen, which are tem-
poral, to things not seen, which are eternal.
The glory of the upper sanctuary seems to break
through the veil of mortality, which hides its full
splendour from his view. Voices of more than
mortal melody seem breathing in his ear some
faint strains of that celestial chorus of praise,
round the throne of God, in which he hopes, ere
long, to join with all the host of heaven * and
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
43
thus, in the realizing anticipations of the glory to
be revealed, he learns to estimate the things of
time at their true value ; and to regard all the
events of this passing scene in their true light ;
as deriving all their importance from their con-
nexion with eternal things, their capability of
being made instrumental in advancing the be-
liever’s progress in holiness, and the glory of a
Saviour-God.
Such seem to me to be some of the distin-
guishing excellencies of this most valuable and
interesting work ; a work so deeply imbued with
the very spirit of the Gospel, (even the spirit of
divine love, and peace, and joy,) that it can
scarcely fail, (I think) of producing, even in a
merely nominal Christian, the salutary conviction,
that he who has found by experience the pre-
ciousness of the Saviour and of His salvation,
has found the secret of true happiness, the only
happiness deserving of the earnest desires and
pursuit of an immortal being; and it cannot, I
feel assured, be perused prayerfully by a real
Christian, seeking humbly to have the precious
truths, which it sets forth, brought with power to
the heart, by the Almighty energy of the Holy
Ghost, without deepening in his heart every sen-
timent of affection, confidence, and gratitude to
his adorable Redeemer; drawing him closer to
the God of his salvation in the bonds of the ever-
lasting covenant ; kindling every spark of devout
love into a brighter and a warmer flame ; dispos-
ing him, with more cheerful trust and submission,
44
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
to lie passive in His hands, having no will but
His ; inspiring him with more ardent aspirations
after the closest attainable resemblance to that
character, in conformity to which the very es-
sence of meetness for heaven consists ; and
subordinating every other solicitude to that one,
which ought ever to be the master-passion of a
Christian’s soul — even the affectionate solicitude,
prompted by gratitude, to glorify his Saviour-
God.
Nor should it be overlooked, that the attrac-
tive exhibition of the Saviour’s character, and
love to His people, which this work unfolds, has a
powerful tendency to deepen in their hearts, that
desire for the day of His appearing, which is exhi-
bited in Scripture as such a distinguishing charac-
teristic of those who love the Lord, and is calculat-
ed when invested with divine energy by the power
of the Holy Spirit, to exercise such an elevating,
sanctifying, and gladdening influence over their
souls. For, in proportion as love to a Saviour-
God, springing from the adoring contemplation of
His character, and the grateful recollection of
His love, reigns with more supreme sovereignty
in a believer’s heart, will his soul be kept in that
attitude, which will so pre-eminently conduce to
its progress in holiness and happiness, even habit-
ually looking and longing for the arrival of that
day, a day of such terror to all His enemies, but
such triumph to all his friends, when Christ, who
is His people’s life, shall appear, and they shall
also appear with Him in glory.
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
45
Oh ! what blessed results would follow to the
Christian, from the constantly cherished anticipa-
tion of that glorious day, producing the desire and
endeavour, in the strength of divine grace, to be
always in that frame of mind, and that occupa-
tion of time, in which a faithful servant of God
would wish to be found, were he to be surprised by
the sudden appearing of the Son of Man, coming
in the clouds of heaven, with power and great
glory, and we know not now the day or the hour
when the Son of Man will come ! What a spirit
of unslumbering watchfulness would it promote I
What a shrinking from the deliberate indulgence
of any thoughts, desires, or tempers, inconsistent
with the character of a child of God ! What a
stamp of holiness unto the Lord would it impress
on every inward principle and affection of the
heart, and every outward pursuit and action of
the life ! What a savour of sanctity would it
impart to the conversation of the children of God ;
and what a fervour of zeal to be faithful and dili-
gent in the consecration of all their talents to the
advancement of a beloved Saviour’s glory ! How
calm would it keep them in the midst of surround-
ing commotions ! How cheerful in the midst of
the most afflictive dispensations ! How would the
things of time sink to their proper level of com-
parative insignificance, and loosen their hold on
the believer’s heart, and the things of eternity
rise to their proper place in his estimation, and
engross, as they ought to do, his supreme solici-
tude ! What an elevation, what a grandeur, al
46
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
together unearthly, would it fling round the Chris-
tian’s character, were he to feel and to exhibit the
legitimate influences of the blessed hope, which
he is privileged to cherish, even that at the glori-
ous appearing of the great God, our Saviour, he
shall be a partaker of His glory, and shall sit
down with Him on His throne ! Oh ! what
earthly seductions could ensnare, what earthly
sorrows overwhelm the soul, in which such a hope
habitually opened vista views of the glory to be
revealed! Would not such a hope, through the
power of God, the Holy Ghost, enable its posses-
sor to trample on the temptations of the world,
the flesh, and the devil, and to purify himself, even
as that Saviour-God on which it is fixed is pure !
If then holiness, as we have before observed,
be but another name for happiness ; if a meetness
for heaven, imparted by the Saviour’s Spirit, be
altogether as indispensable as a title to heaven,
resting on the Saviour’s righteousness, how valu-
able must be every work, which, by deepening in
a Christian’s heart, his love to the God of his
salvation, proportionably deepens that desire for
the day of His appearing, which tends so power-
fully to wean him from an undue attachment to
the things of time and sense, and to elevate his
affections to those things that are above, where
Christ sitteth at the right hand of the Father, to
conform him to the image of his beloved Redeem-
er, and thus to advance his meetness for “ the in-
heritance among the saints in light, incorruptible,
and undefiled, and that fadeth not away.”
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
47
It was this persuasion, which constrained me to
overcome the reluctance, which at first I felt, to
comply with the request of the highly esteemed
minister who has translated the work, that I would
accompany the translation with some prefatory
observations. It appeared to me so impossible to
read it with any thing of a suitable spirit without
an increase of love to the Saviour, accompanied
by all its precious fruits, that, even at the risk of
appearing presumptuous, I could not refuse a re-
quest, which afforded me an opportunity of bear-
ing my humble testimony in favour of a work, so
pre-eminently calculated to promote the Saviour’s
glory. Not that I imagine that such a work at
all needed my humble recommendation, (for I
feel convinced its intrinsic merits must render it
altogether independent of any testimony, on its
behalf, beyond what it bears to itself.) but because
I felt a cordial satisfaction in expressing, through
this medium, my grateful acknowledgements for
the rich feast of enjoyment with which the perusal
of this work had supplied me, especially in the
endearing views which it unfolds of the loveliness
of the Saviour’s character, and the graciousness
of His design, in the chastening afflictions with
which He visits His people.
I would observe, before I conclude, that the
translation, as far as I am competent to judge,
appears to me to be every way worthy of such a
work, being executed with great fidelity, and yet
sufficient freedom not to allow the spirit of the
original to evaporate, in the process of transfusing
48
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
it into an English version. From the peculiar
animation of style in which the original is written,
and which, it might have been feared, would be
altogether untransferrable, this was no easy task:
but the translation here given satisfactorily proves,
that the difficulties, however great, were not in-
superable. It is quite free from all the awkward-
ness and stiffness, which so often characterize the
translation, especially of French works, and wears
so fully the air of an original production, that you
feel convinced, had the author of the work him-
self written in English, it would have worn the
very garb in which it is now presented to the
public.
In conclusion, I would express my most fervent
prayer, that the Divine blessing may so abun-
dantly accompany this work in its progress, as to
make it the minister of consolation to many a
mourner in Zion, pouring the healing balm of di-
vine comfort into many a wounded heart, teach-
ing them more fully to understand the loving-
kindness of the Lord, in all the trials with which,
in very faithfulness, He afflicts them ; and to
honour Him, both in their own hearts, and in the
eyes of all around, with the most undoubting con-
fidingness, and the most cheerful submission,
amidst the most painful or perplexing dispensa-
tions He may see fit to appoint.
May it stir up every child of God, into whose
hands it may come, to be fervent and unwearied
in prayer for the promised influences of the Holy
Spirit, to enable them, while resting their undi-
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
49
vided hopes of acceptance on the Redeemer’s in-
finitely meritorious, and alone justifying righteous-
ness, to copy more closely that Divine character,
whose celestial beauty is in this volume so attrac-
tively unveiled, and to abound more fully in every
work and labour of love, by which His kingdom
may be extended, and His glory advanced ! And
may it also be a preacher of glad tidings to those,
who are strangers to the love of Jesus, persuading
many a child of affliction, whom it finds ignorant
of the only true and effectual Comforter, and wan-
dering to and fro in a vain search for rest, amidst
the restless agitations of a world, deluged with
floods of sin and sorrow, to flee to the only true
ark of divine peace and consolation — the shelter-
ing ark of a Redeemer’s love — encouraged by
those most endearing words, the tenderest, per-
haps, that ever were uttered, even by the lips of
incarnate love itself — “ Come unto Me, all ye that
are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you
rest.” Oh ! if those blessed words were but wel-
comed, as they ought to be, by every child of sor-
row, to whom they are made known — if all that
are weary and heavy laden would but accept this
most gracious invitation, and come, and cast down
the burthen of their sins and sorrows at the foot
of this compassionate and Almighty Redeemer’s
cross, and take the light yoke of His love and ser-
vice upon them, and thus find rest unto their souls,
what a glorious change would soon pass over our
wilderness-world ! Then, indeed, might we hope
that the Holy Spirit (who can alone, by the om-
50
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
nipotent operation of His grace, enable the sinner
to accept the invitation of a Saviour-God, and
come to Him for rest, and whose enlightening and
sanctifying influences should therefore be most
fervently implored by all to whom that invitation
is addressed) would be abundantly poured forth
from above, and filling, by His divine presence
and power, every heart with the peace of God,
and that joy which is unspeakable and full of
glory, breathe all around an atmosphere of such
holy love, and holy happiness, that earth would
be changed, by His celestial influences, into a fore-
tasted heaven.
Oh, then, that all, to whom these words of divine
compassion are addressed, would seek, in humble,
earnest prayer, the enlightening, constraining,
and sanctifying influences of that Spirit, who can
alone, by His Almighty power, persuade the
heart of the sinner thankfully to embrace this in-
vitation, in which the very essence of a Redeem-
er’s love seems to be concentrated. Oh! that
they would ask that Father of all mercies, (who
has so graciously promised to give the Holy Spirit
to them that ask Him,) that He would send this
blessed Spirit into their hearts, to overcome their
natural enmity against Himself, and to draw them
to Him who so tenderly invites them, by the
sweetly irresistible attraction of redeeming love,
to prostrate themselves in penitential sorrow, and
adoring gratitude, at this infinitely precious Sa-
viour’s feet, to give up their hearts undividedly to
Him, that he may reign there in rightful supre-
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
51
macy, and to surrender up themselves unreservedly
to Him, to have their sins blotted out in His blood
— their souls clothed in His righteousness, and
sanctified by His grace — and their sorrows soothed
by His sympathy and His consolations. Oh!
were all the sons and daughters of affliction thus
fervent in their supplications for the influences of
that Spirit, whose prerogative it is to glorify Jesus,
and who alone can enlighten the darkened under-
standing, soften the hard heart, bend the stubborn
will, purify the polluted soul, and constrain the
before careless despisers of His grace gratefully to
listen to the voice of a Saviour-God, beseeching
them to come to Him for that deliverance from
eternal wrath and woe — for that rest and that sal-
vation which He has purchased for His people
with His own most precious blood, — then, indeed,
might we hope soon to see a glorious change pass
over the now desolated aspect of this vale of tears ;
for then, in answer to the prayers of humble and
contrite hearts, this blessed Spirit would abun-
dantly pour down the refreshing showers of His
grace, by whose fertilizing influence the waste
and solitary places of this earth would become as
the garden of the Lord, and its wilderness would
rejoice and blossom as the rose ; joy and gladness
would be found therein, thanksgiving, and the
voice of melody. Oh ! were this glorious change
wrought upon earth — were a Saviour’s love en-
throned in every heart — a Saviour’s image stamped
on every spirit — His peace reigning in every soul
— and his praise thrilling on every tongue, — while
52
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
all who named the name of Christ, loving each
other in Him, and linked together in the bonds of
Christian fellowship, like the members of the holy
and happy family of Bethany, would form but one
great family of love. Oh ! would not earth be
then indeed a very type and antepast of Heaven ?
— that glorious world of unclouded light and ever-
lasting love, where, in the presence of a Saviour-
God, there is fulness of joy, and at His right hand
pleasures for evermore ; where all its inhabitants
supremely love, and are like Him, for they see
Him as He is ; and where, from a multitude
which no man could number, of all nations, and
kindred, and people, and tongues, casting their
blood-bought crowns in grateful adoration at his
feet, there, shall be lifted up unceasingly through
everlasting ages, before His throne, the song of
praise — u Unto Him that hath loved us, and
washed us from our sins in His own blood, and
hath made us kings and priests unto God, even
his Father,” — unto Him, with the Everlasting
Father, and Holy Spirit, be equal and undivided
adoration, and praise, and glory, and blessing for
ever, and ever ! Amen, and amen !
THE
FAMILY OF BETHANY.
MEDITATION I.
LAZARUS, MARY, AND MARTHA.
John xi. 1..
“ Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town
of Mary and her sister Martha.”
“ Admirable ! The Christian religion, which
seems only to have for its object the felicity of
another life, secures also our happiness in this.”
This truth, which thus excited the admiration
of a great man,* is too little known by the people
of the world, and too little appreciated even by
those who enjoy the privilege of experiencing it.
Doubtless, creatures of a day, u strangers and
pilgrims,” do well not to calculate upon happiness
in a world defiled by sin. This is not the place
of our rest; to seek repose here would be a mere
delusion. And it is not for us, the ministers of
Him who while He was on earth had not where
to lay His head, to encourage in those whom we
address on His part, the natural desire which we
* Montesquieu.
5 *
54
MEDITATION I.
all feel, to enjoy before the time, to rest before we
have finished the race, to reap before we have
sown. But it is a great error, and one into which
many fall, who know the Gospel only in name, to
imagine, that in submitting our heart unreservedly
to Christ, we are required to make sacrifices with-
out compensation, and to impose upon ourselves
acts of self-denial without enjoyment. The Gos-
pel, far from wishing to stifle our noblest feelings,
or to paralyze our most exalted faculties, elevates
and sanctifies them, by restoring them to their
original destination, from which they have been
diverted by sin. That Gospel, rightly understood,
is found to meet all the wants of our mind and of
our heart, and thus practically evinces the truth
of the declaration of an inspired Apostle, that
u Godliness hath the promise of the life which now
is, and of that which is to come.” The whole life
of the Redeemer proves this truth. Though the
immediate object of His mission was, e{ to seek and
to save that which was lost,” yet was there not
one of our temporal afflictions the sight of which
did not touch a chord of sympathy in His heart ;
not one of our bodily pains which He did not has-
ten to mitigate ; not one of our misfortunes or suf-
ferings for which He did not, in the ardour of His
love, find some alleviation.
Shall we, then, the ministers of His word, while
we desire to declare the whole counsel of God,
pass over in silence, in our private or public min-
istrations, this part of our Master’s Divine mis-
sion? No, we cannot, we must not do it. My
LAZARUS. MARY. AND MARTHA.
55
beloved brethren, it is our duty to exhibit to you
His whole work, His whole life. And if in speak-
ing to you of Jesus Christ, who ought to be our
principal theme, and as it were the text of all our
instructions, we are called upon most frequently
to represent Him to you as coming down from
heaven to heal the moral malady which preys
upon our soul, as dying for our sins and rising
again for our justification, shall we on that ac-
count neglect to bring before you that touching
part of His life on earth which was employed in
alleviating our temporal miseries, and in consoling
all the afflicted who applied to Him for relief?
No, we repeat it once more, we cannot, we must
not do it. Besides, my brethren, to show you
Christ the Comforter, is to show you Christ the
Saviour; for He comforts only by saving; He
saves from the bitter consequences of sin only by
destroying the cause of them — sin.
We know not, in the whole Gospel history, a
passage more affecting, more instructive, or more
calculated to exhibit all the love and tenderness
of Jesus for the miserable beings whom He came
to save, than that which contains an account of
the life, death, and resurrection of one of His dis-
ciples, as we find it recorded in the chapter from
which our text is taken.
You that have a heart capable of feeling all
that is grand, and noble, and divine, in a love like
that of Jesus; you who have been taught in the
school of affliction, or are still groaning under some
heavy trial ; you will be glad to come and medi-
56
MEDITATION I.
tate with me over the tomb of Lazarus, the friend
of Jesus. You will rejoice even in that gloomy
abode of death, when Jesus is there to diffuse light
and life. You will look without pain upon the
afflictions of the family of Bethany, when Jesus is
there to comfort. You will rejoice even amid the
miseries of our earthly life, when Jesus is present
to supply for them a remedy. Sometimes, per-
haps, after having wept with Mary and Martha
over the tomb of some well-beloved brother, your
tears, like theirs, will be turned into this song of
triumph: u O death, where is thy sting; O grave,
where is thy victory ! !” Through the course of
your life, you will find, perhaps, too many occa-
sions to apply to yourselves the lessons which the
two afflicted sisters here receive. Which of you
has been exempt from the calamities, the suffer-
ings, and the sorrows, inseparable from our earthly
pilgrimage ; or which of you, at least, can calcu-
late on being long exempted from them? Alas!
to address the afflicted is to address all mankind !
It is therefore for your own sakes that we wish to
make you acquainted with Jesus Christ, the only
real Comforter.
My beloved brethren, we entreat you, first of
all, to unite with us in supplicating a blessing ,
from above upon the meditations which we are ,•
going to commence this day, that what we speak
may not be the miserable words of a sinful mor-
tal, but the words of eternal life, accompanied by
the demonstration of the Spirit and of power.
He that speaks in the passage we are about to
LAZARUS, MARY, AND MARTHA. 57
consider is St. John; St. John, the disciple whom
Jesus loved ; St. John, who, at the last supper,
leaned upon the breast of his Master, or, rather,
his Friend, and who seems to have drawn thence,
in such copious draughts, the love of his redeem-
ing God; St. John, who, at the foot of the cross,
received the most precious of bequests, that of the
mother of the dying Jesus. That disciple seems
to have considered the whole Gospel as comprised
in one word — love. It is from this love that he
derives everything ; to this love he refers every-
thing. u He that loveth not, knoweth not God,
for God is love. God is love, and he that loveth
abideth in Him. Behold, what manner of love
the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should
be called the sons of God! God so loved the
world that He gave his only-begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth m Him, should not perish,
but have everlasting life ! !” Such is the lan-
guage of this disciple, such the constant thought
of his heart. Jesus, Jesus alone, is more than the
whole universe to him ; Jesus is the soul of his
soul. And hence we shall see that this disciple,
who lived in the most intimate union with his
Saviour, and who in consequence always under-
stood so well His sentiments, is ever struck with
what is most tender and most deeply touching in
the words and actions of Jesus. Every page of
his writings affords a demonstration of this. In
the very history which we propose to make the
subject of our meditations, we see the invincible
58
MEDITATION I.
desire which he felt to lead us to the tomb of
Lazarus, and to show us the Saviour mingling
His tears of compassion with the tears of Martha
and Mary, and restoring peace and joy to those
hearts, torn with anguish. For this purpose he
interrupts the course of his narrative, and intro-
duces this affecting episode, before he presents to
us the last sufferings of his beloved Master. And
what an introduction to the sufferings of Jesus is
this history, which so beautifully exemplifies His
love for those whom He came to save ? St. John
relates the resurrection of Lazarus as an eye-wit-
ness ; yea more, he relates it as one who, with all
the strength of a feeling and loving heart, sympa-
thized in the afflictions of a family with which he
was acquainted, and which he loved because they
loved his Master. Therefore it is that we find
him entering into the minutest details, in which
we cannot but follow him with interest. He in-
troduces us, without preliminary, into the peaceful
abode of Bethany : “ A certain man was sick,
named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary
and her sister Martha. It was that Mary which
anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped
His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus
was sick.”
Bethany was a little village pleasantly situated
on the eastern side of the Mount of Olives, and
about two miles distant from Jerusalem. There
Jesus had friends whose hearts as well as their
house were ever open to receive Him : there He
frequently repaired to spend the night with His
LAZARUS, MARY, AND MARTHA. 59
disciples : there He was wont to forget, amid the
communications of friendship and confidence, the
fatigue of His journeys, and the grief which was
continually excited in His breast, by the ingrati-
tude and impenitence of those whom He came
to save.
It was a feast for Lazarus and his two sisters
whenever Jesus honoured their humble dwelling
with His presence. They belonged in heart to
that small number of true Israelites, who expected,
in the Messiah, u the consolation of Israel.” What
must have been their joy, when they were given
to recognize and love, in Jesus, that Saviour after
whom their soul longed “ as the hart panteth for
the water-brooks!” What must have been their
delight, when they saw that Jesus loved them ;
that He often came into the bosom of their happy
abode, to speak to them of the kingdom of peace
and love !
O my beloved brethren ! you who know by
your own experience the sweetness of that bro-
therly love which the Saviour allows His children
to taste on earth as a refreshment ; — you who
have learned from the Gospel to feel and to love ;
— you will understand something of the happiness
which Lazarus and his two sisters must have ex-
perienced in their peaceful and affectionate con-
versations with Jesus, who loved them, opened
His heart to them, and had admitted them into
the sweet bonds of a holy friendship. If you now
derive so much happiness from the society of those
whom you love in the Lord, what must have been
60
MEDITATION I.
the ineffable feeling of peace and of blessedness
which Jesus ever left in the abode of Bethany,
and in the hearts of those who dwelt there ? We
see, also, that Lazarus and his sisters loved Jesus
above all things. They felt themselves honoured
by His affection, notwithstanding the reproach of
the Nazarene, and the persecutions which the
hatred of the rulers of the people had already
raised against Jesus, and all those who professed
themselves His disciples. And when the multi-
tude, excited by the scribes and pharisees, “ took
up stones to stone Him,” Lazarus and his sisters
were happy to afford an asylum to Him who,
though He had created worlds, had not where to
lay His head. We have reason to believe that
Jesus frequently retired to Bethany up to the last
moment of His sufferings, to that moment when
He laid down His life a ransom for sinners. O
my Saviour ! would that I could thus testify my
love to Thee ! My dear brethren, are your houses
a refuge for the Saviour’s name, blasphemed in
the world ? Do you confess Him with love and
without fear, in the midst of an unbelieving gene-
ration? Is His name known, pronounced with
reverence, and invoked in your families? Are
your houses Bethanies , when Jerusalem — the
world — prepares to crucify, as far as in it lies,
“the Lord of glory?” Do they who are still
strangers to the love of Christ find in your abodes
“an altar of witness” erected to His glory?
Breathes there in your dwellings the peace of
the Saviour’s presence ? Is the light of His truth
LAZARUS, MARY, AND MARTHA.
61
seen to shine there ? 0, if it he so, my beloved
• friends, you shall find Jesus, in the day of trial,
what Martha and Mary found Him in the hour
of affliction.
What a sweet union must have existed between
Lazarus and his two sisters, notwithstanding the
difference of their characters ! The love of Jesus
was the solid bond which united them ; and where
there is that bond there is happiness. Doubtless
they lived retired from a world which has ever
been at enmity with God. Jesus and His disci-
ples, and a few faithful Israelites, were perhaps
the only friends who came from time to time to
interrupt, agreeably, the silence and the solitude
of Bethany. Jesus, St. John tells us, loved Laza-
rus. He found in him one of those, so rare in the
world, who, when they have received and under-
stood His word, are able to open their hearts to
the noble and pure impressions of a holy affec-
tion. That friend of Jesus, even in his obscure
retreat, was greater in the eyes of the Saviour,
than the heroes of the world whose names are
emblazoned in the annals of time. Lazarus must
still have been in the vigour of life, if at least we
give credit to tradition, which informs us that he
lived thirty years after his resurrection. It may
then be asked, how it happened that Jesus did
not call him to follow Him in the ministry of the
apostle ship ; how He left His friend in his solitary
retreat at Bethany, while He called Peter to for-
sake his fishing-boat and nets, and Matthew the
receipt of custom, that they might become mes-
6
62
MEDITATION I.
sengers of the Gospel of peace ? There were
doubtless good reasons for this conduct of the
Saviour : He knows the situation which is best
suited to each of those whom He loves, and He
calls them to it. His wisdom and goodness
were not questioned by Lazarus : whether or not
he understood the grounds of his Master’s deal-
ings with him, he submitted to them cheerfully.
“ What does it matter,” thought he, “ in what
manner He calls me to bear witness to His love %
Should He require of me no other service than
that of offering Him from time to time an hum-
ble hospitality, I submit. Yea, should He even
call me to honour Him in no other way than by
suffering, to glorify Him in no other way than on
a bed of pain, I know that He does not on that
account love me less than those who perhaps
may be employed to bear testimony to His name
and to His truth before governors and kings.”
Are these your sentiments, you who are called to
works of charity and devotedness unseen of men 7
Were you called to give but a cup of cold water
in His name, to share your bread with some mise-
rable object whom He presents before you, or to
say a few words of consolation to an afflicted soul
unknown to the world, would you deem yourselves
as highly honoured by Him as those whose name
the world publishes in letters of gold, and whom
it proclaims as the benefactors of mankind 7 Or
if the Lord should call you to serve Him by “ the
work of patience,” in some great affliction, or upon
a bed of pain, would you deem yourselves as
LAZARUS, MARY, AND MARTHA.
63
highly honoured as those whom He summons to
proclaim His Name and His Gospel from the
pulpit and before brilliant assemblies % Ah ! re-
member that God looks to the heart ; He regards
not that which man regards. How many ser-
vants of Christ, unknown by the world, pass un-
perceived through the desert of life, and shall be
manifested only when He ^vho searches the heart
shall place on their heads, in the presence of men
and angels, an incorruptible crown of glory !
Martha, who was probably the elder of the two
sisters of Lazarus, had, if we may judge from
some circumstances related in the Gospel, a cha-
racter entirely different from that of her brother
and sister. She was the St. Peter of her sex. In
her, thought, feeling, and action, were all blended
in one and the same rapid movement. Every
time an opportunity occurs of testifying her affec-
tion to Jesus, we find her active, restless, and anx-
ious, seeking every possible means of receiving in
a suitable manner a guest so worthy of her vene-
ration and love. As soon as Jesus arrives, all
must be on the alert in the house ; every thing
must be put into requisition for His reception.
She could not understand how any one could for
a moment neglect serving Him, to sit at His feet,
to listen to His instruction, and make Him speak,
and thus weary Him before He was rested and
refreshed, and before there had been offered to
Him a repast of the best things which the house
afforded. Still she was far from understanding
the thoughts and desires of Jesus: but she was
64
MEDITATION I.
sincere and upright in her manner of testifying
her attachment to Him. Hence St. John associ-
ates her with the other members of the family
whom Jesus loved ; and our Lord himself deems
it sufficient to give her an affectionate rebuke,
saying to her with meekness, u Martha, Martha,
thou art careful and troubled about many things :
hut one thing is needful ; and Mary hath chosen
that good part, which shall not be taken away
from her.” Luke x. 41, 42.
Mary, however, felt and acted quite differently.
She was the St. John of her sex. All her lively
feelings were engraven deeply in the very ground
of her tender soul. She felt that her Saviour
alone could satisfy the boundless wants of her af-
fectionate heart. When she saw and heard Him,
she lost sight of every thing else ; the world dis-
appeared from her view. It was her happiness
to sit at His feet, and to treasure up with avidity
in her heart every word that proceeded from His
divine lips. The Saviour’s visits to Bethany were
always too distant and too short to meet her wish-
es ; the hours of His presence passed away too
rapidly. Mary could not bear to lose one moment
of them. Like Martha, she would have wished
to offer Him all that was most precious to her, all
that she possessed; but she knew that Jesus came
to give rather than to receive, and that He who
had despised u all the kingdoms of this world, and
the glory of them,” demanded but one thing of His
disciples — their heart. She deemed herself inca*
pable of offering Him any thing which was wor-
LAZARUS, MARY, AND MARTHA. 65
thy of Him — or even of testifying by words her
deep veneration and love. Her attentive look, a
few tears which escaped from her eyes while she
listened to Him who “ spake as never man spake,”
were the only expressions which she gave of what
she felt. Oh! how precious to her were those
hours, when she listened to her Saviour speaking
to her of the great salvation which He had come
to accomplish for His redeemed, of the pardon of
their heavenly Father, their reconciliation to Him,
the peace which He gives them, His love, and of
that better country where there shall be no more
sorrow, because there shall be no more sin !
However, it would be wrong to suppose that
Mary made all her spiritual life, all her love for the
Saviour, all her religion, consist in idle contempla-
tion, in a barren quietism. In one of the last visits
which Jesus made to Bethany, u six days before
the passover,” writes St. John, that is, a few days
before the Saviour’s death, there was a supper at
the house of Lazarus, who had been raised from
the dead, at which Jesus was present with His
disciples.
Martha, according to her custom, was occu-
pied in serving Jesus, whilst Mary, always full
of the thoughts of her Saviour, took a box of
ointment, very costly, and anointed His feet,
and wiped them with her hair. She was blamed
for so doing by Judas, who pretended that he
would have preferred giving the price of it to the
poor. But Jesus said, “ Let her alone : against
the day of my burying hath she kept this. For
6 *
66
MEDITATION L
the poor always ye have with you, hut me ye
have not always.” Was not this saying, with
sufficient plainness, that she whose heart was so
penetrated with the love of her Saviour, would
find in that love the source of all good works ?
Ah ! this is the principle of all Christian life, of
every good work, of all sanctification, — love
springing from a renewed heart, love for Him
who so loved us as to save us, love without which
all religion is a mere name, a barren tree which
can bear no fruit, a steril soil which can produce
nothing. “ He who loveth not hath not known
God.” It is in vain, then, that we pretend to be
Christ’s disciples because we bear His name,
because we do some good, because we take even
an active interest in the advancement of His
kingdom, or because, like Martha, we are “ cum-
bered about many things,” if we have not in our
hearts that love which leads us to seek commu-
nion with God in prayer, and makes us, like
Mary, love His Word: that love which changes
our heart, and makes us new creatures : that
love which alone eradicates selfishness, and makes
us renounce ourselves : that love which never
faileth, which shall subsist when all things else
shall have passed away ; which shall be the ele-
ment of eternal felicity. If we have not that
love, in vain shall we “ speak with the tongues
of men and angels,” in vain shall we have “ the
gift of prophecy,” in vain shall we “know all
mysteries,” in vain shall we “bestow all our
goods to feed the poor,” in vain shall we “ give
LAZARUS, MARY, AND MARTHA.
67
our bodies to be burned.” Without love £it is
the Word of God that declares it) all this will
profit us nothing : we shall be as u sounding brass
and as a tinkling cymbal.” All this w r ill stand us
in no stead in the great day of Christ, when
every thing shall come to an end but love.
Oh! my beloved friends, whatever be our
name or our profession, let us take occasion, from
the example of Mary, to ask ourselves seriously,
before God, of what kind is our religion — what is
it that constitutes the life of our souls, the subject
of our hopes, the motive of our actions ? If we
love the Saviour, if we have a faith in Him which
works by love, if our heart be given up to Him,
all is well. If we feel but a cold indifference
towards Him, all is ill, eternally ill.
Such was the happy family of Bethany. All
the members of that family were loved by Jesus.
All loved Him, and consequently all loved each
other. The love of Jesus is a sweet bond of
affection. In that close union all is necessarily
common, pleasures and pains, joys and griefs,
hopes and fears. That family, perhaps for a long
time, had lived peaceably in the happy feeling of
the love of Jesus. But, alas! they lived in a
world of misery ; they had, therefore, to expect
suffering. A dark cloud suddenly arises to ob-
scure their horizon, and portends a dreadful storm.
But the members of that family had already sub-
mitted their hearts to the love of Jesus ; they
will therefore be able to tc bear one another’s
burdens ;” they will also know, that it is in the
68
MEDITATION I.
hour*of trial that the Lord multiplies the pledges
of His love and of His grace. What will they
have to fear ? Jesus is their friend !
Fathers and mothers of families, brothers and
sisters, you whom God has united on earth by the
most powerful ties, you whom He has called to
perform in company your earthly pilgrimage, do
you find nothing in the humble abode of Bethany
which demands your imitation, and is w’orthy of
your ambition? Do you know by experience
that Christian affection, which in the hand of God
so powerfully contributes to sweeten all that is
most bitter in life? Is it in Jesus that you love
one another? Is the love of Jesus the sacred
and indissoluble bond which unites your souls for
eternity ? Does His peace reign in your families
as it did in the family of Bethany ? If it be so,
we doubt not that you will find pleasure and
edification in tracing with us the mournful experi-
ences, as well as the consolations and joys, of
Lazarus and his sisters. You will learn from
them how the friends of Jesus conduct themselves
in the hour of trial. May you also learn from
them to give Him your heart !
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MEDITATION II.
LAZARUS SICK.— THE GLORY OP GOD.
John xi. 3, 4.
“Therefore his sisters sent unto Him, saying, Lord, behold, he
whom Thou lovest is sick. When Jesus heard that, He said* This
sickness is not unto death, Tmt for the glory of God, that the Son
of God might be glorified thereby.”
The present state of mankind would be an in-
comprehensible enigma, had not revelation given
us an explanation of it in those few words, “ By one
man sin entered into the world, and death by sin;
and so death passed upon all men, for that all have
sinned.” Such is the history of the fallen race of
Adam. Here we have the solution of that inex-
plicable problem, which meets us in all ages, and
in all climes. If I open the annals of those ages,
which have been swallowed up in the past, what
do I see ? An uninterrupted succession of beings,
who appear for a moment upon this stage, which
we call life, announce their birth by cries of grief,
and terminate their career by agonies and death.
There is the cradle bedewed with tears, and soon
after the tomb — mournful abode of dissolution!
And between these two acts of grief, what fills up
70
MEDITATION II.
the scenes of this melancholy drama? Alas! to
know it we need not go and consult the pages of
man’s, history, we have only to look around us, to
see and to hear. Scarcely a few rays of light, es-
caping as it were by chance, spread here and
there a pale brightness over the sombre picture
which is unfolded to our view. Every where our
eyes are arrested by the sight of suffering creatures,
the prey of a thousand miseries, a thousand
agonies, a thousand griefs. Every echo repeats
the lamentation of afflicted man, the cry of pain
extorted from him by a universal malady which
consumes him. Volumes would not suffice to enu-
merate the names and the symptoms of all the
diseases which seem to conspire to throw bitter-
ness on days so short — which appear to contend
for the dreadful privilege of dragging man to the
grave, and of mingling him with the dust of the
tomb. And as if all these miseries were not
enough, man seems to have irrtposed upon himself
the task of multiplying their number by his wick-
edness, his cruelty, and his crimes. In vain would
we turn our eyes from this melancholy spectacle,
and persuade ourselves that it does not exist ; in
vain would we, advocates of an absurd optimism,
wish to see light where there is darkness ; sweet
where there is bitterness; good where there is
evil. In vain would we, armed with a Stoical in-
sensibility, desire to raise a rampart between us
and the misery which surrounds us. W e become the
prey of it ourselves, and though, perhaps, we have
refused to acknowledge that “ all flesh is as grass,
LAZARUS SICK.
71
and all the glory of man as the flower of grass”
which springs up, is cut down, and withers in a
day, we fall ourselves, and, alas ! our fall is the
only argument which convinces us of the vanity
of our being. Well would it be for us, if we were
ready humbly to acknowledge the evil, to study the
cause of it, and to apply to it a speedy remedy !
But oh ! infatuation ! We walk upon graves, and
we forget Death, Judgment, and Eternity! We
scarcely can take a few steps in the streets of this
vast city, without meeting some of those gloomy
processions which accompany our fellow-men to
their last home ; and we forget that soon our so-
ciety, however brilliant, or however dear to us,
shall be converted into a similar procession for
ourselves.
But no, some one of our companions in misery
will say, No, I do not practise such a delusion
upon myself; I feel too deeply the afflictions of
this miserable life — I am overwhelmed by them ;
but what must I do ?
My brother, come, let us enter an afflicted
Christian family. Perhaps you will find there an
answer to your question : perhaps (oh ! may the
Lord grant it), perhaps having complained of the
evil, you will rejoice to have found the source of
the remedy. It is to the sick bed of a suffering
fellow-creature that I am going to lead you.
Approach without fear, and may you receive in-
struction.
In a preceding meditation we have become
acquainted with the family of Bethany, who lived
72
MEDITATION II.
in peace, happy in the distinguished affection with
which Jesus honoured them. j { We now proceed
to follow our Evangelist. Lazarus is seized with
a dangerous malady : this is all that St. John tells
us. Gifted with an affectionate and compassion-
ate heart, he judges it necessary to say no more ;
he thinks we shall be able to picture to ourselves
this family, united as they were in the strictest
bonds, struck with such a painful blow ; he feels
assured that we shall participate in the anxiety of
Martha ; in the grief of Mary.
Lazarus is sick ; he suffers. What ! he who is
a beloved disciple of Jesus; he whom Jesus calls
His friend; he who loves the Lord is not, then,
more exempt than other men from the miseries
of life, from pain, and from sickness.
There are, perhaps, two classes of persons who
will make such reflections as these, and will find
here a “ stone of stumbling” for their faith. The
one, like those selfish disciples, who followed Je-
sus not because they believed in Him, nor because
they loved Him, but because He had increased
the loaves ; who seek in the Gospel nothing but
earthly advantages and consolations, a temporal
remedy for inevitable evils, food for their sensi-
bility, a selfish enjoyment in the attractions which
the religion of Jesus offers them. Such persons
would consent to live for the world and for their
passions, so long as they found themselves happy
in that kind of life, and they regard what they call
the (i consolations of religion,” merely as a der-
nier resort in case of misfortune, or as those insu-
LAZARUS SICK.
73
ranees against fire which a man purchases before-
hand, and to which he scarcely ever gives a pass-
ing thought, except when his house is burned.
Any sacrifice which crucifies the flesh is too much
for them. All those trials by which God would
disengage them from the world, and sanctify them
for His kingdom, are excluded from their calcula-
tions and from their religion, and consequently do
not find their hearts submissive. Infatuated mor-
tals! what do you expect from following Jesus?
Do you imagine that coming to Him in this way,
as a last resource, without giving Him your heart,
you shall be delivered from your earthly miseries
as by a miracle ? Do you imagine that He will
multiply your bread, and that He will render you
inaccessible to poverty, sickness, pain, and death?
Ah ! be not deceived : you see Lazarus, the friend
of Jesus, sick and suffering. From his bed of pain,
learn to understand better the nature of the Gos-
pel, and what you ought to look for in it. If you
have not been taught to love Jesus as a Saviour,
you will find Him as a comforter. You will feel
your yoke hard, and your burden heavy. When
in the day of trial, you open your Bible so long
neglected, and read in it such words as these —
“ Whosoever doth not bear his cross and come af-
ter Me, cannot be My disciple u he that loveth
father and mother more than Me, is not worthy
of Me ; and he that loveth son or daughter more
than Me, is not worthy of Me will you be com-
forted? will you feel satisfied? will you have ob-
tained that which you sought for in the Gospel ?
7
74
MEDITATION II.
And yet you will find nothing else there until you
have learned to love Jesus, until you have surren-
dered your heart to Him, until the love of Jesus
has rendered His yoke easy and His burden light,
until you have ceased to follow Him from a worldly
selfishness, and for the loaves and fishes. We be-
lieve that this selfish kind of piety, without devo-
tedness to the Saviour, is not found exclusively in
the people of the world, who are only religious to
suit their own convenience ; but we are persuaded
that such u roots of bitterness” put forth their fibres
in a great many Christians also, who, perhaps
without suspecting it, seek in the Gospel only their
own satisfaction, and would abandon their God
and Saviour the moment they could hope to be
happy without Him, without His grace, without
the attractions of His doctrine, and the consolation
of His word ; shall we, then, be surprised at the
little progress which they make in real love, in
devotedness to Christ and to His cause, and in
holiness, u without which no man shall see the
Lord?”
Other persons are in danger of falling into a
different error, from seeing the friends of Jesus
subjected to the sufferings and afflictions of life.
Like Asaph,* they are offended at this. How
does it happen, say they in their troubled heart,
that God exposes his child to all these trials, while
such a man of the world, who lives in forgetfulness
of God, and as if he had no immortal soul to be
saved, enjoys what men call happiness? u I was
• Psalm lxxiii.
LAZARUS SICK.
75
envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity
of the wicked. They are not in trouble as other
men; neither are they plagued like other men.
Therefore His people return hither ; the waters
of a full cup are wrung out to them ; and they say,
How doth God know ? and is there knowledge in
the Most High? Behold, these are the ungodly
who prosper in the world : they increase in riches.
Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and
washed my hands in innocency. For all the day
long have I been plagued, and chastened every
morning.” Happy yet, if they come not, like the
wife of Job, to say to the child of God in his suf-
ferings, “ Dost thou still retain thine integrity ?
Curse God, and die.”
Alas ! we know, as well as these miserable
comforters, that the path by which the child of
God travels across the desert is rough and thorny:
we know that often, pressed down with a heavy
burden, he appears to sigh in vain for deliverance ;
that to him life is frequently a continual period
of conflicts and of pain: oftentimes it seems to
him as if his complaint could not reach the ears
of his God, a dense atmosphere and gloomy clouds
bound his view, and allow not a ray of cheering
hope to penetrate to his afflicted heart. And
when we hear him cry with a voice enfeebled
through grief, u Out of the depths have I called
unto thee, O Lord ! As the hart panteth for the
water brooks, even so panteth my soul after Thee,
0 God ! My soul thirsteth for God. When shall
1 come and appear before God ?” When we
76
MEDITATION II.
hear this plaintive voice, which so often in life
strikes upon our ears, it reaches the bottom of our
heart, and makes all its chords vibrate mournfully.
But, O poor mortal ! suffering creature ! can
you, then, see nothing bright and consoling in
affliction ? Are you, then, altogether ignorant of
the “rod, and Him that appointed it?” Are the
* designs of God hidden from you? Do the pro-
mises of God say nothing to your soul ? What is
become of your faith ? Where is your hope ? Is
God no more love ? Do you not see that His ob-
ject is to save you as a “ brand plucked out of the
burning?” that He demands your heart, and that
it is because you are unwilling to give it up en-
tirely to Him,, that He breaks with heavy blows
the chains which keep back from Him a heart on
which He has so many claims, and that it is the
strokes of His love that reverberate so mournfully,
even to the depths of your afflicted soul. Oh ! let
a glance of faith pierce, like the eagle’s eye, the
thick cloud which envelops your heart, and be-
yond it you will discover with joy Him who has
so loved you as to save you — Him who still
stretches out to you the arms of His infinite mercy.
This is precisely the example which the family
of Bethany affords us on this occasion. How do
Mary and Martha act in their affliction ? Doubt-
less they begin by expending upon a beloved suf-
fering brother all the cares which a tender affec-
tion is ingenious to invent. They have nothing
in common with those unfeeling persons, who, in-
sensible to the sufferings of others, withdraw from
LAZARUS SICK.
77
the bed of pain, or from the house of mourning,
and have never been moved by the lamentations
of the afflicted. No, we love to represent to our-
selves Martha, seeking with all her usual anxiety
and activity, how she may offer some relief to a
brother whom she loves: resting neither day nor
night until she has tried every thing and put every
thing in requisition in his behalf. We love still
more perhaps to represent to ourselves Mary
seated beside her brother’s bed, watching to an-
ticipate his least desires, finding in her deeply
sensible and compassionate heart a thousand
means of proving to him that he does not suffer
alone, and that she participates in all his pains,
seizing with the delicate tact of true love, the mo-
ment for suggesting to him a word of consolation
which reaches the heart, because it comes from
the heart. It is thus we love to represent to our-
selves this family.
But it is not merely human means that the
Christian has of being useful to those whom he
loves, in their sufferings. Martha and Mary do
not rest in these. St. John does not even men-
tion the anxiety with which they attend upon
their sick brother : he does not think it possible to
suppose that those two sisters, whom Jesus loved,
could have acted towards their brother otherwise
than under the influence of the most ardent affec-
tion. But he tells us, he seems to take pleasure
in telling us, u his sisters sent unto Him,” i. e.
unto Jesus, “ saying, Lord, behold, he whom Thou
lovest is sick.” What conduct ! What a prayer !
y*
78
MEDITATION II.
“ His sisters sent unto Him.” Disciples of Christ,
is it thus you act in the hour of trial? Do we
not rather find you telling of your afflictions, and
complaining of them to your neighbours, your re-
latives, or your friends, before you have said a
single word of them to Jesus ? Do we not see
you going from place to place, and anxiously seek-
ing for help while you forget the source of every
good and every perfect gift ?
Do we not see you afflicting yourselves, weep-
ing bitterly, and forgetting Him who hath said,
cc I, even I, am He that comforteth you ?” Do
we not see you, when one of those whom you love
is sick, expecting every thing from the talents of
a physician, from the remedies which he pre-
scribes, and from your own care, while in your
trouble you forget Him, who woundeth and heal-
eth, who killeth and maketh alive, who bringeth
down to the grave, and raiseth up again, and who
is called the Prince of Life ? Ah ! why then
should you be astonished if, when sickness and
death have brought grief and mourning into your
families, you have found only bitterness without
alleviation, a frightful void which nothing could
fill up, and anguish which nothing could sooth ?
Jesus was the only friend who could then have
spoken a word of consolation and of peace to
your soul ; but Jesus you have forgotten, Him you
have neglected to call to your assistance. Oh 1
might it not then have been said of you with
truth, as it was of the ancient people of God,
“ My people have committed two evils ; they have
LAZARUS SICK.
79
forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and
hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can
hold no water, 7 ’ (Jer. ii. 13.) “O the Hope of
Israel, the Saviour thereof in the time of trouble,
why shouldest Thou be as a stranger in the land,
and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to
tarry for the night? why shouldest Thou be as a
man astonied, as a mighty man that cannot save ?
Yet Thou, O Lord, art in the midst of us, and we
are called by Thy name ; leave us not.” (Jer. xiv.
8, 9.) Far otherwise do the sisters of Lazarus
act; they send to Jesus; and what do they ask
of Him ? It is scarcely a prayer that escapes
from their afflicted heart. They believe in the
love of Jesus, and in that Almighty power which
is given unto Him in heaven and in earth : they
know that the cry of the afflicted has never reach-
ed His compassionate heart in vain : they know
that He has stretched out a helping hand to all
the unhappy beings that have ever come to Him
for relief ; this is enough for them : ^ Lord,” say
they, “he whom Thou lovest is sick.” What
confidence ! What faith ! What a touching
& prayer ! O my beloved friends, if you thus know
the Lord Jesus ; if you have found in Him the
powerful Saviour of your souls ; if you know that
you belong to Him, that He loves you ; if, through
faith in His word, you know that nothing can
separate you from His everlasting love, you will
go to Him in your trials, with the confidence of
Martha and Mary. He who is your Saviour will
also be your Comforter: you will be assured that
80
MEDITATION II.
“ He who has given you His Son will also with
Him freely give you all things ;” and when you
think of the eternity of bliss which He has pur-
chased for you, and given you freely, you will be
ashamed of being cast down, and of distrusting
His faithfulness and love, during the short mo-
ments which still separate you from that eternity.
Then in all your trials, whether temporal or spirit-
ual, you will need for yourselves, or those whom
you love, nothing more than that word, so simple,
so touching, so sublime, “ Lord, he whom Thou
lovest is sick.” Open thus your soul to Jesus ; lay
before Him with simplicity your miseries. This
is sufficient to touch His heart with compassion.
Say to Him in all your wants, in all your suffer-
ings, or in the trials of those whom you love,
“Lord, he whom Thou lovest” endures the ago-
nies of death ; “ he whom Thou lovest ” is ex-
posed to temptations or to doubts ; “ he whom
Thou lovest mourns over his weakness; the cold-
ness of his love for Thee, his remissness in Thy
service, the sin which still dwells in him ; “ he
whom Thou lovest is sick.” Ah! if it be not
thus that you love your brethren ; if it be not to
present them to Jesus, to lead them to Him, as it
were by the hand, to tell Him in the case of every
new infirmity which you discover in them, or of
every new affliction which you see them suffer ;
“ Lord, he whom Thou lovest is sick ;” if it be
not thus that you love your brethren, be assured
that you do not love them at all, or that you do
not love them as you ought.
THE GLORY OF GOD.
81
Jesus said. “ This sickness is not unto death,
but for the glory of God, that the Son of God
might be glorified thereby.”
What an answer ! what a mysterious answer !
It might have been expected that Jesus, as soon
as He had heard the message of Martha and
Mary, would have arisen, and said to His disci-
ples, as He did at a later period, “ Let us go into
Judea again ; let us go to Bethany ; let us go and
assist our friend Lazarus.” Not so; Jesus gives
an answer not easy to be understood — an answer
which theologians of all ages have explained ac-
cording to their own peculiar views — an answer
as much calculated to exercise the faith of the
sisters of Lazarus, as the sagacity of commenta-
tors. What ! they have said, “ this sickness is not
unto death!” but did not Lazarus die of it?
Could Jesus have been deceived; and if not, what
does He mean? a This sickness is not unto death,
but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may
be glorified thereby ;” and yet Lazarus dies and
goes down to the grave ! Is it then from the tomb
that the Son of God intends to draw His glory
and His praise ? What a trial for the faith of the
sisters of Lazarus ! Will they not fall into doubt,
mistrust, unbelief? The sequel of the history will
clear up all obscurity for us, as it did for Martha
and Mary ; meanwhile, O my soul, receive in-
struction ; learn to adore the dispensations of thy
God, even when they are still enveloped in a veil
of obscurity! The Lord’s “thoughts are not as
our thoughts, nor His ways as our ways ; for as
82
MEDITATION II.
the heavens are higher than the earth, so are His
ways higher than our ways, and His thoughts
than our thoughts.” Martha and Mary speak to
Jesus only of their brother’s sickness; Jesus, an-
swering as the Prince of life, who has dominion
over death and the grave, speaks only of the glory
of God, and of the glory of the Son of God.
What a lesson for us, my beloved brethren ! In
our narrow and limited views, we see but the pre-
sent moment : Christ, in His dispensations towards
us, sees our eternal destinies. We see but the
wants which press upon us, the deliverance for
which we sigh and weep : Christ sees an eternal
destination, which He would make us reach by
ways unknown to ourselves. We see but our
earthly and mortal body : Christ sees our immor-
tal soul. We see but time : Christ sees eternity;
and above all things, and in all things, “ the glory
of God.” Whoever we are, whatever be our
condition, or our rank in the world, there is but
one destination for which we, and the wdiole of
the immense creation can have been called into
existence : “ the glory of God, the glory of the son
of God.”
Oh ! if we could but comprehend this important
truth, if it could but fill our hearts, possess our
whole soul, soon would we find that mean and
narrow selfishness, — which causes us to refer every
thing to ourselves, makes us our own idol, and is
the source of all our miseries, — disappearing from
our view. Soon would we feel that we ought to
consecrate ourselves with all that we have, as a
THE GLORY OF GOD.
83
living sacrifice, holy and acceptable, to the glory
of God, and to the glory of the Son of God. Soon
would we overturn those idols which we have set
up upon the throne of our selfishness, and offer
them as a sacrifice to the glory of God. Soon
would we trample under our foot that hideous
monster, our pride, to give all glory to Him who
hath created and saved us. Soon would we tear
from ourselves, and from every thing human, even
the last floweret of that crown which our pride
has usurped, and place it entire upon the Divine
head of the Son of God. In fine, soon would we
resume our place in the eternal order of creation.
And what does it matter in what way it may
please the Lord to make us reach this noble end?
Lazarus is laid upon a bed of pain ; it is there he
must subserve the glory of God, while St. John
and St. Paul shall proclaim the same glory, by
preaching the offence of the cross of Christ.
Lazarus dies ; he descends into the tomb : and
this death, this tomb, shall proclaim the glory of
the Son of God, as loudly as all the worlds of the
vast universe, when they issued from His creating
hand. Oh ! let us learn to know God ! Let us
remember that He could not have assigned any
other end to our existence than His own glory ;
and that for us to glorify Him is to accomplish and
to adore His sovereign will, which is always good
and perfect. Let us remember, in fine, that we
may accomplish and adore that will upon a pallet,
in the midst of sufferings and sacrifices, just as
effectually as in the most splendid career. Alas !
84
MEDITATION II.
we are so blind, we are so accustomed to judge
by appearances, that too generally the words
happiness and misery in our mouths express nothing
but a deplorable folly. If an angel of God, pos-
sessing all knowledge, could look down from
heaven upon the obscure life of some child of
Adam, whom his fellow-men call miserable, that
inhabitant of heaven would perhaps seize his im-
mortal harp, and chaunt the happiness of him
whose condition appears to us so deserving of
pity ; whilst that angel, if he were not in that
abode where there are no more tears, would weep
bitterly over the misery of some other mortal,
whose destiny is an object of envy to his fellow-
men. The one is going to attain, through suffer-
ing, the end of his being, the glory of God ; the
other, in the midst of prosperity, lives in forget-
fulness of the end of life, the glory of God.
What a solemn thought! that at the end of
time, every thing that has been created shall be
summoned to proclaim, before the whole universe,
the glory of God, either by chaun ting, with all the
pure intelligences of heaven, the hymn of His
eternal love, or by rendering, with all the repro-
bate of the abyss of woe, the fearful testimony
that God is just when He condemns. O Lord ! I
prostrate myself before Thee in the dust ; I hasten,
while there is yet time, to lay at Thy feet my re-
bellious will, crying, Glory to Thee ! And the
prayer of my soul is, that all the thoughts, all the
affections of my heart, as well as all the actions
THE GLORY OF GOD.
85
of my life, may repeat before all, Glory to Thee !
and that the last accents of my expiring voice
may still send up to the foot of Thine eternal
throne, this cry of adoration and of love, Glory to
Thee ! Glory to Thee ! ! I
MEDITATION III.
THE LOVE OF JESUS, AND THE TRIAL OF
FAITH.
John xi. 5, 6.
“ Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus; when He
had heard, therefore, that he was sick, He abode two days still in
the same place where He was.”
“ Lord, he whom Thou lovest is sick ” Such
was the touching prayer of Martha and Mary,
when their brother was seized with a painful sick-
ness. “ This sickness is not unto death,” an-
swered Jesus, “but for the glory of God, that the
Son of God may be glorified thereby ” Upon
this answer the sisters of Lazarus hope and wait.
Our historian now conducts us beyond Jordan,
into the society of Jesus and his disciples, where
we shall follow Him, and hear Him, until we are
le4 back to Bethany, to the tomb of Lazarus.
St. John continues his narrative, informing us
that his Master, (always so ready to respond to
the cry of the afflicted,) contrary to all expecta-
tion, remains still two days in the place where He
was, although he had heard of the sickness of him
whom He calls “ His friend.” But this beloved
THE LOVE OP JESUS.
87
disciple of the Redeemer is aware of the natural
propensity of our poor heart to judge with rash-
ness and precipitation of the ways of the Lord.
He knows how easily we doubt the love of the
Saviour, notwithstanding the numerous proofs of
it which He has given us. He know show easily
we believe ourselves to be forgotten, rejected, for-
saken by Him. He knows how little we are dis-
posed to persevere in prayer and in confidence,
when we do not find our prayers immediately an-
swered, and answered in the way in which we ex-
pect. He knows all our ingratitude, and there-
fore it is, that before he tells us that Jesus abode
still two days in the place where he was, before
he acquaints us with this mysterious conduct of
the Saviour, which might discourage beings na-
turally so unbelieving : his affectionate heart con-
strains him to justify his Master’s love ; he wishes
to take away from us every pretext for a rash judg-
ment ; he wishes to make us glance into the very
heart of Jesus; and therefore he unveils to us its
generous affections ; “ Jesus” says he, u loved
Martha , and her sister , and Lazarus .” What ex-
quisite delicacy ! what love ! what a profound
knowledge of our passions, our infirmities, our
frailty, do we discover in this disciple ! Before
he shows us the actions of his Master, he wishes
always to make us penetrate into His motives ; he
wishes to make us know the heart of Jesus as he
knew it himself, persuaded that we shall find in
that knowledge a thousand reasons to love Him,
£md to admire His dealings with us, however
88
MEDITATION III,
mysterious and however painful they may appear
to us at first Who will have the rashness to ac-
cuse the Friend of Lazarus of negligence towards
the family of Bethany in their affliction, though
He delays to bring them the assistance of His
omnipotence for two days, since the beloved dis-
ciple has taken care to tell us beforehand, “ Jesus
loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus ?”
O, my beloved brother, disciple of Christ, thou
who groanest under thy sufferings; though thou
hast not a St. John always at hand to remind thee
that Jesus loves thee, wilt thou doubt His love,
when in His inscrutable wisdom He answers not
thy prayers immediately ? No ; thou wilt remem-
ber that His love is always the same ; and that it
is manifested in afflictions as well as in prosperity ;
thou wilt hope, thou wilt wait ! And why should
we not draw from hence the same lesson with re-
gard to our Christian friends on earth % It often
happens that we do not understand their manner
of acting towards us ; we think that they neglect
us ; that they do not answer our affection ; that
they do not sufficiently sympathize with us in our
trials. Ah ! let us beware of judging harshly of
their love, or we shall repent of it bitterly ; let us
rather open our soul to that confidence which is
the element of all true friendship ; let us believe
that they love us, and let us wait.
“Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Laza-
rus.” There is in this declaration a world of hap-
piness. To be loved by Jesus ! all that the world
calls happiness fades before such a thought. I
THE LOVE OF JESUS.
89
see the foolish votary of ambition exult with joy,
when he is told that he is loved by some great one
of the earth whose favour he sought after ; it seems
to him as if every thing had changed its aspect, as
if a new sun of happiness had arisen upon his life,
and had come to shine upon the day of such feli-
city. Alas ! a caprice of him in whom he has re-
posed his delusive hope, is sufficient to plunge him
into the darkness of despondency ; a moment is
enough to change the joy of his heart into bitter-
ness and weeping.
I see another infatuated person expecting hap-
piness from some beloved one whom he has made
an idol. He is told that his love is returned. Im-
mediately he sees all his dreams of felicity real-
ized: he feels his heart bound with joy. Jacob
did not see with greater happiness the approach-
ing end of the fourteen years of bondage to which
he had submitted for his beloved Rachel. Alas !
the inconstancy of the human heart, or the insta-
bility of life, dashes his idol to pieces, annihilates
his hopes, and fills his heart with bitter grief. A
tomb to bedew with his tears is, perhaps, all that
remains to him of his fond dreams of happiness ;
I call you to witness, is not this the history of your
own hearts? Is not this what you have an op-
portunity of observing every day in the most bril-
liant circles of this vast metropolis, and what is
seen as frequently under a more humble exterior,
in the lowly abode of the artizan, and in the rus-
tic cottage of the peasant ?
But, O Jesus! O my Saviour! how different is
8 *
90
MEDITATION III.
the lot of those whom Thou lovest! Thou art
always the same, yesterday, to-day, and for ever.
Thou art always mighty to bless, to fill the heart
of those whom Thou lovest with peace, joy, and
happiness. And not only art Thou the mighty
God, the Saviour; but Thy love is salvation!
Thou hast come to procure for thy beloved onesj
not a few passing moments of a happiness ever
mingled with bitterness, but the eternity of a feli-
city which poor mortals cannot conceive ! The
love wherewith Thou lovest me is like Thyself,
eternal; and the same love shall constitute, in
eternity, the element of my happiness !
O happy family of Bethany! happy Martha!
happy Mary ! happy Lazarus ! you are loved by
Jesus; what more do you require to make you
blessed ! To you what are these trials, this sick-
ness, this death, this sorrow, to which you are go-
ing to be exposed? — you are loved by Jesus !
Wretched mortals that we are ! we often love
that which we scarcely know ; we cannot read the
heart, we see but the outside. Often when we
have reposed our confidence in some being whom
we deemed worthy of it, all our hopes are frus-
trated, our expectations disappointed; often, too,
when we receive from those who are dear to us
testimonies of their affection, a secret feeling of
our unworthiness compels us to say within our-
selves — Alas ! if they knew me better ! But Je-
sus, He of whom we are told that He loved Mar-
tha and Mary, is He who u searcheth the hearts
and the reins.” What a testimony for them!
THE LOVE OF JESUS.
91
What a privilege, the happiness of being loved by
Him who reads in the depths of the heart its most
secret thoughts, inclinations, and dispositions.
Ah ! though it was not required of Lazarus and
his sisters that they should merit His love, for
alas! on such terms Jesus would not have found
among the whole race of Adam a single being
whom He could have loved ; it was at least re-
quired of them that their heart should be really
open to His love ; it was required that they should
love communion with Him ; that they should love
His word ; that they should love His love.
Doubtless, my beloved brethren, you would all
wish to be partakers of the happiness of this blessed
family of Bethany. Doubtless, there is not one
among you that would not wish that it could be
said of him, that he is loved by Jesus ; that Jesus
is his friend ; that, like all the members of that
family, he is the particular object of His affection.
Well, this happiness is not beyond your reach.
There is a sense in which it can be said of you,
that you are already the objects of the love of Je-
sus. Was it not love, that induced Him to leave
the abode of glory and felicity, and come to share
in your miseries, and to deliver you from them?
Was it not love, that achieved the work of redemp-
tion, the glad tidings of which He has caused to
be proclaimed in your ears? Is it not because
He loves you, that we are here to invite you, on
His part, to believe in His love, in order that you
may participate in the eternal blessings of which
that love is the source ?
92
MEDITATION HI.
But you say, This is not enough ; we know
that “ God so loved the world that He gave His
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in
Him might not perish, but have everlasting life.”
But Jesus loved the family of Bethany in a spe-
cial manner ; He calls Lazarus “ His friend.”
St. John tells us, as speaking of the most exalted
privilege, “Jesus loved Martha, and her sister,
and Lazarus.” They were then His bosom
friends ; their names remain on the pages of the
book of life as eternal monuments of the special
affection of Jesus.
All this is true, my dear brethren, but we
repeat it again, that this happiness is not inacces-
sible to you. Jesus is the same to love you that
he was eighteen hundred years ago. And what
had Lazarus and his sisters done to become the
friends of Jesus ? We have said that their hearts
through grace were opened to His love, to His
word, to communion with Him. This is all that
Jesus required of them ; this is all he asks from
you. f They were not distinguished for their
f splendid actions, nor for a life which they could
have looked upon as meritorious. They had not,
like Paul, filled the world with the sound of the
Gospel of Christ ; they had not, like John, been
banished for the cause of God’s word ; they had
not, like Stephen, given a splendid testimony to
the truth at the peril of their lives. They had
done nothing of the kind ; they were not even
called to it, and yet Jesus loved them. Martha
confessed Jesus by faith, “ Lord, I believe that
THE LOVE OF JESUS. 93
Thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should
come into the world.” u Mary sat at the feet of
Jesus, and heard His word.” Lazarus glorified
Him by his submission on a bed of suffering ; and
it was in this humble condition that Jesus loved
them. O my beloved brethren, you who wish to
find, in your heart, or in your life, some proofs
that you are loved by Jesus, as Lazarus and his
sisters were, seek not these proofs in great and
lofty things. Come to Jesus; ask Him to love
you ; descend into the depths of your heart,
abased and humbled before Him, and there He
will speak to you, by His Spirit of peace, of re-
conciliation, and of love. Be not distressed be-
cause the scantiness of your means allows you
not to perform your part in a great and splendid
sphere of activity in His service. Mourn not
because your weakness, your infirmities, or other
causes, keep you in such an humble condition
that you cannot conceive how Jesus should con-
descend to love you. Ah ! never forget that His
love is free ; it is not deserved ; He gives it.
Rather ask yourselves whether you really wish
to attain the assurance that you are loved by
Him? Ask yourselves, “Have I opened my
heart to the love of Jesus? Do His promises
speak to my soul ? Is He a Saviour to me ?
Have I found pardon and peace in Him ? Does
my soul feel a want of His presence which no
man, no angel of God, none but Jesus, Jesus
alone can satisfy ? Do I love His word ? Is it
my happines to sit at His feet, like Mary, and to
94
MEDITATION IIL
hear Him speak of my heavenly country ? Does
my soul thirst after the living God? Does it
experience continually fresh desires to approach
the Lord by prayer, as a child ever finds a new
pleasure in throwing itself into the arms of a
tenderly beloved parent ? And in my trials, my
sicknesses, my anxieties, is it to Him that I cry im-
mediately for deliverance ? Am I able to recog-
nize His gracious hand in all my sorrows and
afflictions? Is my heart submissive? Is my
head bowed down in silent adoration when His
hand lies heavy upon me ? Where do I, at such
times, seek for consolation ? Is it in His word, in
His promises, in* the assurance of His eternal
love ; or in worldly thoughts, and vain hopes ?
What is it that spreads some degree of serenity
over the darkest and saddest hours of my life?
Am I well assured that the difficult and painful
path which he makes me tread is that most con-
ducive to my eternal happiness ? and that c all
things work together for good to them that love
God V ” And should you find in your heart but
the sincere desire to answer these questions in a
satisfactory manner, believe that Jesus loves you,
and rejoice in His love !
But be not deceived ; if it be in the world, in
the creature, in the satisfying of your own will,
your desires, your passions, that you look for hap-
piness, you can have no part in the sweet privi-
leges of the family of Bethany. u Ye adulterers
and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship
of the world is enmity against God ? Whosoever,
THE LOVE OF JESUS.
95
therefore, will he a friend of the world, is the
enemy of God.” u If any man love the world,
the love of the Father is not in him.” What !
you wish, you say, it could be said of you, that
Jesus loved you, while your heart, which ought to
feel that love, belongs to a world which crucified
the Lord ! Your heart cleaves to those sins which
nailed Jesus to the cross ! Your heart has never
opened to the love of the Saviour ; and the thought
of Jesus is the last that presents itself to your
mind! And his name is neither in your hearts,
nor upon your lips, nor in your families, nor in
your assemblies, nor in your drawing-rooms ! Is
it thus you would treat a creature for whom you
had the least affection? Ah ! you must first re-
nounce yourselves and all the vanities which cap-
tivate your hearts, and return to the love of your
redeeming God, before you can taste the happi-
ness of being loved by Jesus, the happiness of the
family of Bethany.
If you possess the love of Jesus, all is well,
eternally well, even though you should be over-
whelmed with all the miseries of this mortal life ;
but if you are without that love, all is ill, eternally
ill, even though you should be loaded with all that
men have the folly to call happiness.
“ Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Laza-
rus.” Such is the language which escaped from
the heart of St. John, language which ought to
anticipate in the minds of his readers, all doubt,
all unbelief, every murmur in reference to the
conduct of Jesus, who, the Evangelist tell us,
96
MEDITATION III.
“ abode two days still in the same place where
He was,” after He had heard that Lazarus was
sick.
But why this delay? Why does not Jesus fly
as usual to the assistance of an afflicted family
whom He loves ? Why does He not pronounce
a word of His power, and Lazarus shall be heal-
ed? What! Jesus loves Lazarus, and yet He
leaves him a prey to suffering ! Jesus loves Mar-
tha and Mary, and yet He leaves them a prey to
anguish ! The disease makes frightful advances ;
Lazarus feels the sources of life drying up within
his breast ; his sisters with grief behold the veil
of death spreading over his eyes ; the tears of all
flow in abundance at the thought of the approach-
ing separation — and Jesus, their Divine Friend,
who never remained insensible to any of our hu-
man miseries, Jesus arrives not ! Two entire
days pass away — Lazarus dies — and Jesus is not
there ! Can this be a proof of His love ? Is it
true that He loves Martha, and Mary, and Laza-
rus ?
Thus reasons the man who understands not the
“ways of the Lord,” who sees in grief nothing
but grief, in trials nothing but the trial, and who
appreciates deliverance only in proportion to the
promptitude with which it is vouchsafed. But
Jesus, who in all things aims at “the glory of
God,” and the eternal salvation of souls, does not
sanction in His disciples this cowardly fear of suf-
fering. He wishes to teach them to love His will
more than their own enjoyment, to desire the
THE TRIAL OF FAITH.
97
feeling of His love more than their own deliv-
erance, even in His most painful dispensations.
Can I not appeal to your own experience, my
dear brethren, whom the Lord hath caused to
pass through the furnace of affliction ? Have not
your trials taught you this great truth? What
has been the first cry which has escaped from
your heart at such moments ? What have you
felt when the Lord has not answered that cry ?
when He has allowed your grief and your distress
to go on augmenting ; when He has allowed you
to spend long nights in painful sleeplessness ; or
when He has called you to w r atch over the bed of
some beloved relative whom disease was wasting
away ? Tell it for our instruction, and that we
may profit by your experience ; have you not
thought that the Lord would remain for ever deaf
to your supplications and to your sighs? Have
you not doubted the efficacy of prayer? Were
not the promises of God without power to your
heart ? Say, also, have you not been constrained
to acknowlodge that it was so, because you had
not yet been really humbled under the hand of
God ; because you had not bowed your head in
submission to His will ; because you sighed only
to be delivered from the evils that weighed upon
your soul ; because that after you had prayed,
44 O God, if it be possible, let this cup pass from
me,” you had not courage to add, with sincerity,
44 Nevertheless, not my will, but Thine be done ?”
44 O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that
the prophets have spoken !” When shall we learn
9
98
MEDITATION III.
that the Lord’s u ways are not our ways, nor His
thoughts our thoughts?” When shall we learn to
subdue, by the assistance of His grace, the vehe-
ment desires of our impatient spirit, to silence the
insinuations of our unbelieving hearts, to bend our
rebellious will ? Shall we always be governed by
the selfish interest of the moment, and never be
able to rise to the contemplation of the plans of a
merciful God who willeth our everlasting salva-
tion? Let us u speak to the earth, and it shall
teach us.” The powerful tree that is to strike its
deep roots into a fertile soil, and bear fruit which
shall ripen to perfection, requires that the winds
and the storms should contribute to its growth ; it
is only the ephemeral plant that grows without
impediment ; its flower blossoms in the morning ;
it displays for a moment its delicate freshness and
its opening beauty ; it adorns a day of spring and
embalms it with its delicious perfume ;• — alas ! the
first ray of the sun destroys its freshness, the first
blast of wind makes its beauty fade ; it withers ;
it falls, and the place thereof knoweth it no more !
But the tree which shall hereafter recompense
the care of the planter, rises slowly and with diffi-
culty, above the ground which it shall one day
overshadow ; it requires years to stretch out its
deep roots- and its fruitful branches ; the storms
harden and strengthen it ; it reaches its towering
height ; it braves the tempest, and disappoints not
the traveller who comes to repose beneath its
shade and to refresh himself with its fruits. It is
the same in the kingdom of grace as in that of
THE TRIAL OF FAITH.
99
mature. The soul that shall u dwell in the house
the Lord for ever, to behold the beauty of the
Lord, and to inquire in His holy temple,” must be
prepared for this by combats and trials. This is
the method of training which the Lord has inva-
riably used with all those of His children whom
He has proposed to exalt to eminent stations, and
to employ for the instruction and enlightening of
ages.
He has made them all tread the gloomy paths
of affliction ; He has cast them into the furnace,
that their faith might come forth purified from the
defilements of pride and of sin. Abraham, the
father of the faithful, proceeds from trial to trial,
from contest to contest ; he travels a dark road as
unknown to him as Mount Moriah, where he was
to sacrifice the object of his dearest affections; he
has to hope against hope. On the contrary, the
Lord appears to render His ways more easy to the
less privileged objects of His love. A centurion
of Capernaum, who perhaps scarcely knows the
God whom the heathen reject, comes to Jesus to
ask. Him to heal a beloved servant: immediately
he receives from Him the answer, <£ I will come
and heal him and “his servant is healed in the
self-same hour.” Two poor blind men hear that
He, who was known to all Israel by His acts of
mercy, passes by ; with a loud voice they suppli-
cate from Him a look of compassion ; He stops,
speak a word of favour, and the blind men re-
ceive their sight. But the woman of Canaan, a
heroine of faith, whose only daughter is at the point
100
MEDITATION III.
of death, comes to Jesus ; with tears she implores
comfort and assistance from Him — she receives a
harsh reply — a refusal of all favour ! But by this
means she is led to exhibit to all Israel and to all
future ages a most splendid example of victorious
faith. The great Apostle Paul himself three
times prays to be delivered from some painful
trial, and he receives for an answer these words —
u My grace is sufficient for thee “ My strength
shall be made perfect in thy weakness.” Thus
the Lord leads His children ; He seems insensible
to their cries of grief ; darkness thickens around
them ; the night becomes more deep ; but it is
only to render more bright the dawn of the day
of consolation. Often it is when the heart, over-
powered, ceases to send up to heaven those sighs
which it deems useless ; when the last ray of hope
has expired amid the gloom of distress ; when all
assistance appears impossible, and all human con-
solation has vanished, that Jesus Christ presents
Himself to his child and changes his darkness into
light, — his tears into songs of thanksgiving.
It is not till Lazarus has sunk into the cold em-
braces of death ; till he has gone down into the
grave ; and his sisters, in tears, and clothed in the
garb of mourning, imagine that they have now no
other comfort in this world, but to go and weep
over the tomb of a beloved brother, that Jesus
appears at Bethany, and with the authority of a
master, issues His commands to death and the
grave, and draws glory to God from the dust of
the tomb. O the wisdom, the power, the love of
THE TRIAL OF FAITH.
101
my God ! when shall we learn to know them, to
adore them, to submit ourselves in a religious
silence to all that they do for our eternal happi-
ness ? The divines of this world, ignorant of the
ways of God with His children, whose sanctifica-
tion and salvation He so graciously designs, have
devised a thousand hypotheses for explaining the
conduct of Jesus in leaving His friend for two days,
in a state of suffering, without assistance. One
tells us that He was detained by some indispen-
sable engagement ; another, that He did not think
Lazarus in danger ; a third — Fools ! will you then
always lose sight of the glory of God, and the sal-
vation of immortal souls ? Will you think only
of earth, of sickness, of pain, of death, and never
of the eternal happiness of beings whom Jesus
forms for heaven, in the school of affliction and of
His Spirit ? Let us raise our thoughts higher, if
we would comprehend the ways of God and His
counsels towards us. “ He willeth not the death
of a sinner,” but his conversion and life. He
willeth not that His children, whom He hath
already converted, should remain entangled in the
servile chains of the world and of corruption. He
breaks those chains ; and if the blows which he
strikes ring mournfully in our heart, let us learn
to “bear the rod, and Him that appointed it.”
My God ! what wilt Thou have me to do ? What
sacrifice shall I make ? What idol shall I offer
upon the altar of Thine eternal love ? Since
Thou hast saved me, since Thou hast loved me,
9 *
102
MEDITATION III.
sliow me by what path Thou wouldest have me
to reach Thy heavenly Zion, the assembly of the
first-born — the place where all those who have a
heart to love Thee shall meet, and where nothing
that defile th shall ever enter !
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MEDITATION IY.
THE HEROISM OF JESUS.— THE TWELVE
HOURS OF THE DAY.
John xi. 7 — 10 .
tl Then after that saith He to His disciples, Let us go into Judea
again. His disciples say unto Him, Master, the Jews of late sought
to stone Thee ; and goest Thou thither again ? Jesus answered,
Are there not twelve hours in the day 'l If any man walk in the
day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.
But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no
light in him.”
The two virtues which appear to us to consti-
tute what is called heroism, are, courage and de-
votedness. The names which we see emblazoned
on the page of history, surrounded with pompous
eulogiums, are the names of those men, who, for-
getting themselves and their personal interests,
have had the courage to devote themselves to
sufferings and death, for the salvation of their
country, the happiness of some being that was
dear to them, or for some other praiseworthy cause.
We admire this courage, this devotedness; we
delight to peruse the magnanimous examples of a
sublime heroism. But, alas ! as a great man of
our day has very well said, a Even heroism, the
104
MEDITATION IV.
greatest and purest of virtues, heroism itself, when
closely inspected, is found to have its blemishes.”*
And what would the celebrated author, whom we
have quoted, have said, had he judged of heroism
by the light of God’s eternal truth ? What would
he have said, had he analyzed by the lamp of the
Divine Word, all the elements of pride, vanity,
and selfishness, which are ever mingled with the
sublimest displays of a conduct heroic in the eyes
of men % Oh, what would become of the most
brilliant performances of many whose names are
re-echoed from age to age, whose memory ap-
pears in the past, surrounded with a halo of glory,
were they weighed in the balance of eternal jus-
tice ? Would we not see that mysterious hand
which arrested the king of Babylon in the midst
of his vanities, writing upon their most splendid
exploits the fearful Tekel of the prophet, “ Thou
art weighed in the balance, and found wanting ?”
Thou knowest, my God, and it is not for us to de-
clare it.
But let us bless God, my beloved brethren, that
He has given us to know another kind of courage
and devotedness celebrated not by men, who often
call good evil, and evil good ; but by the angels
of God, upon golden harps of eternal praise ! The
Redeemer of the world, in the devotedness which
led Him to leave the heavens, and come down to
share our miseries and deliver us from them, is
exhibited to us in His whole life, but especially in
that particular part of it which is recorded in the
* Victor Cousin. “ Introduction to the History of Philosophy
THE HEROISM OP JESUS.
105
text, as the perfect model of a divine heroism, ap-
proved of by God ; and He cries to us all, cc I
have left you an example, that ye might follow
My steps.”
Come, then, disciples of Christ; come, also,
men of the world, you who are capable of appre-
ciating what is beautiful, and grand, and sublime,
and noble ; come, and let us study our model, and
may we be enabled, not to confine ourselves
merely to a vain and unprofitable admiration, but
to arise without delay, and enter with a coura-
geous step upon the career in which our Divine
Captain leads us ! The devotedness of Jesus, and
the considerations which it ought to suggest to us,
are the lesson we would draw from the words
which form the subject of our meditation.
Lord ! take away from us that sluggish apathy
which renders us indifferent to what ought to kin-
dle our enthusiasm! Eradicate from our hearts,
by the power of Thy Spirit, that selfishness which
benumbs our energies, and hinders us from com-
ing out of ourselves to rise up to the contemplation
of this divine exhibition which Thou hast placed
before the eyes of a sinful world, and which is cal-
culated to excite the admiration of angels, and be-
come the theme of our praises throughout eternity !
Jesus was beyond T ordan, whither He had been
obliged to fly from the hatred and persecution of
the rulers of the people. He remained there two
days after Martha and her sister had informed
Him of the anxieties in which they were involved
on account of their brother ; two days of suffering
106
MEDITATION IV.
to Lazarus ; two days of painful expectation to his
sisters; but also, we cannot doubt, two days of
works of benevolence and charity, on the part of
Him who went about doing good, and whose meat
it was to do the will of Him that sent Him, and
to finish His work : yes, while sickness and death
introduced mourning and tears into the abode of
Bethany, the beneficent hand of Jesus brought
into some other afflicted family consolation and
relief, and into some other troubled and suffering
soul pardon and peace. But if those whom He
loves most are often the last to whom Jesus brings
assistance, they are not forgotten in His heart.
No, He guards them by His almighty power, “ as
the apple of His eye,” “ as the eagle stirreth up
her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth
abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on
her wings.” Jesus is beyond Jordan, exiled by
the persecutions of those whom He came to save ;
but from thence He beholds all that takes place
at Bethany; He counts the groans of Lazarus,
and the tears of his sisters ; He has seen Him
whom He loved become the prey of death; He
has beheld the grief of the two sisters who so often
received Him under their humble roof. He sees
that the trial is sufficiently great, too great per-
haps for their faith ; and as He willeth not that
they should be “ tempted above what they are
able to bear,” His compassionate heart urges Him
to come to their assistance : i( Let us go again,”
saith He to His disciples, u into Judea.”
But, my beloved brethren, if you are acquainted
THE HEROISM OF JESUS. 107
with suffering ; if God afflicts you in any way, to
bring you to Himself, and to make you wise unto
salvation ; if when you send up your prayers and
supplications to Him, He seems not to answer
them ; if He makes you wait two days, two weeks,
two years, be not discouraged ; learn to know the
ways of His love and of His grace ; learn to hope,
to believe, to love, for soon, soon shall this word
of compassion issue from His heart, u Let us go
again into Judea;” let us go again into this soul,
which is ready to sink down in the contest, and
sighs for deliverance ; let us go again into this
heart, which is torn by suffering and anguish.
But here an objection occurs which will lead us
more directly to the subject of our meditation this
day. Scarcely had Jesus uttered these words,
“ Let us go again into Judea,” when a voice ex-
claims, u Master, the Jews of late sought to stone
Thee ; and goest Thou thither again?” It is un-
necessary to say that it is the disciples that have
spoken. They remember with trembling, that at
the last feast, the Jews took up stones to stone
their Master, as St. John tells us in the end of the
preceding chapter. It is this anxiety alone for
their Master and for themselves that makes them
speak. They lose sight of every thing else ; they
forget the family of Bethany in their affliction ;
they forget, or they have not yet comprehended,
the true end of the divine mission of their Master,
who is to die for the salvation of His people.
Fear and selfishness alone speak: u Master, goest
Thou thither again?”
108
MEDITATION IV.
Alas ! we must not censure them too severely :
they expressed no more than what we ourselves
would have felt in their place. There exists in
our heart a deep-rooted cowardice and selfishness,
which makes everything disappear before our
own interests, makes us tremble at the view of
sacrifice and pain, as the disciples did at the
remembrance of the stones which the Jews took
up to stone their Master. A voice is lifted up in
our heart ; it is the echo of that of the disciples ;
“ What ! wilt thou again perform this good work,
which cost thee so much self-denial, and sorrow,
and fatigue ? Wilt thou rigourously fulfil, at the
expense of thy comfort, the will of God, and its
severe requirements? What! wilt thou follow
Jesus, though in doing so thou must renounce thy
tastes, thy pleasures, this object of thy passion,
the world, thyself? Wilt thou follow Jesus, hear
His voice alone, though thou must bear thy
cross daily, and travel in a way so straight,
so thorny, and so difficult? Wilt thou do the
will of God in all things, though thou must re-
nounce thine own will, which thou lovest above
all things ? i Master, goest Thou thither again V ”
Such are the cowardly insinuations of our car-
nal and unbelieving hearts. What will Jesus
do? Will He listen to the voice of His disciples?
Will He keep away from Judea? Ah! could
Jesus ever have recoiled from the prospect of
sacrifices, of conflicts, of pain, of death, would
He have quitted the abode of glory and happi-
ness, to descend into the abyss of our misery?
THE HEROISM OF JESUS.
109
Would His eye have ever looked forward to the
hill of Golgotha? In returning into Judea, He
did not merely go to Bethany, to accomplish, in
the midst of those whom He loved, a work of His
omnipotence and love, to call Lazarus out of the
sepulchre, and to restore him to his sisters, and
to make consolation and joy take the place of
grief and sorrow in their hearts. This would
have been a pleasing task to Him ; but in return-
ing into Judea, Jesus had an infinitely greater
and more noble object in view ; but also an anti-
cipation infinitely sad and painful. He had
before His eyes the principal end of His divine
mission ; He approaches the week of His suffer-
ings. The last passover draws near ; the victim
of expiation, slain before the foundation of the
world, the hope and expectation of ages, ap-
proaches the altar. Jesus has before His eyes a
sinful world, which He has come to save — a
fallen race, which He would restore to its prime-
val destination. He sees eternal justice ready to
strike the guilty ; He wishes to satisfy it. He
sees a curse ready to fall upon the violators of
the eternal law of order; He wishes to bear it
upon His guiltless head. He sees a hell ; He
wishes to extinguish its flames. He sees an
eternal happiness ; He wishes to procure it for
us. He sees a God of infinite love ; He wishes
to make us the objects of that love.
Such is the object which Jesus contemplates
at the termination of His career ; and His ardent
love is impatient to accomplish it. And yet Ho
10
110
MEDITATION IV.
knows that He can only attain it through igno-
miny and pain. When He says, “ Let us go
again into Judea,” He knows that He advances
towards sufferings and death. Already has He
predicted to His disciples what is about to happen
to Him ; already they have a fearful intimation
of it. Jesus does not wish to grieve nor dis-
courage them by telling them more plainly of it.
Full of a calm and unshaken resolution, He pro-
ceeds alone to the end which He has in view —
the redemption of a sinful world. He sees be-
fore Him reproach, cruel sufferings, an ignomin-
ious death. He sees before Him the contest
which is to end only with the last breath of His
life exhausted through grief, and with the last
drop of the guiltless blood which flows in His veins.
He sees near Him the disciple who is to betray
Him; He sees at a distance the crowds of an
enraged people, whom His love would save ; He
hears the cries of their hatred, u Crucify Him !
Crucify Him !” He sees Calvary, which He is
about to tread, bearing the instrument of His
death and of our salvation. He sees the das-
tardly flight of those whom He loves. He sees
the dark hours of a long agony ; He sees death
and the grave. He still has it in His power to
put away from Him the bitter cup : He has it in
His power to retrace His steps. Galilee and
Samaria, whither He had often retired, because
His hour was not come, are still ready to receive
Him, and to afford Him a refuge from the fury
of His enemies. But no ; H . hath said, with
THE HEROISM OF JESUS.
Ill
the calmness and courage of a hero marching to
victory, u Let us go into Judea again j” and He
returns into Judea. And when I consider that
the object of Jesus is to save a guilty race, to
save the very people who reject Him, the crimi-
nals who put Him to death, and that His gene-
rous heart, burning with a love unknown on earth,
is impatient to accomplish the work of their sal-
vation, I cast myself at the feet of this Redeem-
er, and exclaim, “ Behold courage and devoted-
ness ! Behold a heroism, before which all human
actions that have been honoured with this name
fade away, appear utterly worthless, and are
confounded in the vile dust of this polluted
earth !”
O ! immortal beings^ immortal sinners called to
glory ! if Christ be our Saviour, if we bear the
name of His disciples, shall we not now awake
from our cowardly selfishness, and follow the ex-
ample of our Great Head ? Shall we continually
find in our hearts and upon our lips, the miserable
objections of the disciples'? Ah! shall the exam-
ple of such love, such devotedness as we have
been the objects of, allow our cold, freezing
hearts to remain under the influence of their
shameful egotism, and of their deplorable insen-
sibility ? Why should we shrink back with trerm
bling from that combat, that trial, and those suffer'
ings, to which our Divine Saviour, who has al-
ready gone before us in the way, call us ! Why,
when the will of God is known to us, when the
Lord has spoken, should we be seen vacillating
112
MEDITATION IV.
without courage at the prospect of some painful
sacrifice which we are required to make upon the
altar of Him whom we adore as our Redeemer?
Ah ! let us remember, that He who redeemed us,
and whose we are, claims our whole heart, with-
out reserve : let us remember, that if while we
desire to follow Him we love father or mother,
sister or brother, more than Him, we are not wor-
thy of Him. Let us remember, that His sove-
reign will must find our head bowed down in the
dust, and our submissive heart ready to exclaim,
u It is the Lord ; let Him do what seemeth Him
good.” But let us also remember, that, in tread-
ing that path, we are not alone ; He who has gone
before us never leaves us to our own strength, or
rather to our own weakness, but He guides and
supports us in it, and leads us on to victory. Let
our unshaken confidence in Him, in His love, and
in His power, be as an anchor to our soul, both
sure and steadfast; then let the winds and storms
rise with fury : we may be shaken, but we can
never be cast down.
But if the heroic example of our Captain ap-
pears too much above us, if the view of that sub-
lime height terrifies us ; if we despair of being
able of ourselves to tread that sacred mountain in
His footsteps ; if we find ourselves ready to bring
forward the objection of the disciples, let us at
least hear the answer which Jesus condescends to
make, the encouragement which He deigns to
give them ; and let us, in dependence upon His
blessing, receive instruction.
THE TWELVE HOURS OF THE DAY.
113
u Are there not twelve hours in the day ? If
any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, be-
cause he seeth the light of this world. But if a
man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because
there is no light in him.” Two important lessons
may be drawn for our encouragement from these
words. <c Are there not twelve hours in the day ?”
(given us by God to accomplish the task assigned
to us,) after which u cometh the night when no
man can work and, if a man u walk in the night
he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.”
Here is the first serious lesson which the words
of Jesus teach us ; here the first encouragement
which they afford us. And from whence, in fact,
arise that cowardice, that selfishness, that fear of
sacrifices, and of sufferings, which paralyze our
energies, and render us incapable of courage, and
of generous devotion % It is from this that in pass-
ing through life, we forget the end of life. It is
that, thinking only of ourselves, and of the interests
of the present moment, we forget that we have an
important task to perform, the results of which,
happy or miserable, shall reach to all eternity.
Twelve hours in the day .... Then, “ the
angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon
the earth, lifted up his hand to heaven and sware
by Him that liveth for ever and ever, who created
heaven and the things that therein are, and the
sea, and the things which are therein, that there
should be time no longer !” Tioelve hours in the
day .... Then u He that shall come will come,
and will not tarry then a voice shall echo from
10 *
114
MEDITATION IV.
heaven to earth, and even to the deep abyss of
hell, and shall surprise the ungodly, as “ travail
cometh upon a woman in labour ” — u Give an ac-
count of thy stewardship !” Twelve hours in the
day ! Oh ! the folly of multitudes of miserable
beings, who, though charged with an awful respon-
sibility, squander away those hours, so few, and so
precious, in the pursuit of mere vanities ! Shall
not the Pagan monarch, who commanded his
slave to repeat to him every morning, with a loud
voice, u Philip, remember that thou art mortal,”
rise up in judgment at the last day against thou-
sands who bear the name of a crucified Saviour,
and yet march towards the tomb as if there were
no death, no judgment, no eternity! Forgetting
their high destination, they follow, during the
u twelve hours of the day,” shadows which deceive
them and fly from them; a visionary dream ab-
sorbs their whole attention during those twelve
hours destined to labour ; and if they awake upon
a dying bed, in the presence of death, on the brink
of eternity, when u there is time no longer,” how
bitter is the remembrance of the many hours of
youth, of riper age, of manhood, which have been
lost, miserably lost.
Ah ! is life, which twelve hours measure, so
long that we can bear to squander away our best
days in u sowing the wind, to reap the whirlwind ?”
Does time not fly past us with a sufficient rapidity %
Does the hand which measures the brief moments
of our life on the dial-plate of time move so slowly,
that we must hasten its fatal progress by dissipa-
THE TWELVE HOURS OF THE DAY.
115
tion and folly? Is there so little of what is seri-
ous connected with the end of life, that we would
sport in forgetfulness with the deceitful passions
of the heart, or extinguish, amid the tumult of the
world and of sensual pleasures, the last rays of
the day which is awarded to us ? Oh ! how de-
plorable is the lot of the deluded mortal who has
never stopped in the rapid career which he is
pursuing, to ask himself before God, “ Why was I
born ?” Soon, like the misguided traveller, who,
to his amazement, is arrested in his progress by
the shore of the boundless ocean, he shall awake,
alas ! too late, on the verge of eternity. He
shunned the light of life during the twelve hours
of the day, that he might travel without remorse
in the dark road of perdition ; he has walked in
the night ; he stumbleth. Great God ! into what
an abyss of darkness and despair is he precipi-
tated !
“ Lord, teach us to number our days, that we
may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” Thus prayed
Moses in the wilderness ; and thus will that man
pray who has not forgotten that he is on his way
to Canaan ; that the time is short ; that the sun
has begun to set ; that the night is already spread-
ing its veil of gloom ; that eternity approaches ;
that the grave is opening. And shall he who thus
prays still continue the slave of selfishness? shall
he at the sight of his task, at the prospect of
sacrifices, entrench himself like a coward behind
the objection of the Apostles ? No : we trust not.
The one consideration which Jesus offers to His
116
MEDITATION IV.
disciples, the seriousness of life, the shortness of
time, these terrible words, death, judgment, eter-
nity, which ring in his ears with a voice of thun-
der, will banish selfishness and fear from his
heart, and inspire him with an energy, a courage,
and an activity, which will urge him to follow the
Captain of his salvation whom he loves.
But, is there no happiness in following Him
who has so beautifully associated example with
precept 1 His earthly life was not of long dura-
tion ; it was in the flower of His age that “ He
was taken from prison and from judgment, that
He was cut off out of the land of the living, and
was stricken for the transgressions of His people.”
But it is not by the number of years, but rather
by the manner in which they are employed, that
we should calculate the length of our life ; the
longest life is lost if we attain not the end of our
being ; and if we have attained it, an hour is
worth an eternity. According to this computa-
tion, oh how long did He live who went about
doing good ! His life was an uninterrupted chain
of good works, works which had for their object
the glory of God and the salvation of fallen man
whom He came to redeem. Every step in His
divine life is marked by some work of tender
charity ; every hour is adorned by some act of de-
votedness, proving the truth of that declaration
which issued from the lips of Jesus Himself : “ My
meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and
to finish His work.” We must repeat it; the
glory of His Father, was the constant end of His
THE TWELVE HOURS OF THE DAY. 117
life ; the happiness of the immortal souls of His
brethren, was the means which he adopted for its
attainment.
His days were spent in instructing the ignorant,
comforting the afflicted, healing the sick, doing
good to all. His nights were employed in soli-
tude, and in prayer to His Father for the same
beings to whom He consecrated His life. The
morning found Him in the temple, preaching the
glad tidings of the kingdom to those who were
still u dwelling in darkness and in the shadow of
death.” After a day of fatigue, the evening
again found Him lending His ear and opening
His compassionate heart to the complaint of the
poor and the miserable. Speak, ye thousands of
suffering beings who were objects of His glowing
charity and benevolence ! Speak ; let your voice
traverse the intervening ages, and let it come to
instruct us and make us blush for our weakness ;
when did you see Him lose one, even one, of the
twelve hours of the day? When did you see
Him reject even one among the multitudes that
came unto Him ? When did you see Him send
away the ignorant without instruction : the afflic-
ted without consolation ; the soul oppressed with
a sense of its misery, without a word of pardon,
peace, and love ; the sick without healing ; the
needy without relief ? Ah ! you say, never,
never ! An inimitable succession of acts of the
noblest, purest, most tender love was exibited be-
fore your eyes from the hour when a divine voice
proclaimed to earth, u This is my beloved Son,
118
MEDITATION IV.
hear Him even to that when his expiring voice
and His triumphant love made earth ring with
that announcement, repeated by the celestial hosts
throughout the whole extent of heaven, u It is
finished
O my beloved friends, when, after contemplat-
ing the life of our Saviour, we cast a glance at
our own, what a contrast do we find ! What
worthlessness! what avoid! what nothingness!
How many hours lost! how many unprofitable
days ! how many good works neglected ! how often
have we put off till to-morrow what might have
been done to-day ! How many souls which we
might have attempted to enlighten have remained
in darkness ! How many afflicted fellow-creatures
to whom our languishing charity has offered no
consolation! How many poor with whom our
selfishness has not allowed us to share our bread !
O my God ! shall not these rise up in judgment
against us in the day of great account? Is it for
such a life that Thou hast given us the twelve
hours of the day ? Is it for this that Thou hast
redeemed us? Ah, pardon! Lord, pardon! En-
ter not into judgment with Thy servants. We
could not answer Thee to one charge of a thou-
sand.
Meanwhile, Christ condescends to give us also
another lesson, in the words which we are consid-
ering — ■“ If any man walk in the day, he stumble th
not, because he seeth the light of this world. But
if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because
there is no light in him” — words which not merely
THE TWELVE HOURS OF THE DAY. 119
imply that we ought, as we have just said, faith-
fully to employ the twelve hours of the day for the
accomplishment of our task, because the night
cometh when no man can work; hut here Jesus
evidently spiritualizes the image which He makes
use of, and intends to teach us that we ought to
perform our task by the light of His word and of
His will. The conclusion of the passage, u If a
man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because
there is no light in him,” leaves no doubt as to the
signification of the words. Christ Jesus Himself
is “ the light of the world.” “ I,” saith He, u arm
the light of the world ; he that followeth Me,
shall not walk in darkness.” All out of Him, all
that is in the world, all that is in our heart, is only
darkness and sin. Alas ! what had been our lot,
had not this u day-spring from on high visited
us ?” had not this “ day star arisen in our hearts?”
Would we have been more happy because our
age is entitled the age of light? No, all that an
aspiring philosophy, even the most intellectual,
can afford us, without the light which shines in
the gospel of Christ, would be to our souls but as
the deceitful glimmerings which float over the
sandy desert, and only delude the misguided tra-
veller. Human systems are silent when I ask
them, u What must I do to be saved ?” When
my soul, penetrated with a feeling of the serious-
ness of life, the importance of my eternal destiny,
the shortness of the twelve hours of the day, turns
anxiously to my fellow-travellers, and asks even
the most enlightened among them, “ Where are
120
MEDITATION IV.
we ? Where are we going ? What way ought we
to take ?” they look amazed ; no hand is stretched
forth to point out to me the road ; their light shines
not on the verge of the tomb ; beyond it all is
darkness ! I am still left wandering in the de-
sert ; O happiness! a voice is lifted up; it is
heard in the plains of Judea : it passes over inter-
vening ages ; it reaches even unto me ; u I am
the way, the truth, and the life ; no man cometh
unto the Father but by Me.” Happy he who has
followed this Guide ! Happy he who has walked
in His light ! In vain gloomy clouds from time
to time obscure the rays of the Sun of Righteous-
ness; they disappear ; the heavens become serene,
and the child of light u stumbleth not, because he
seeth the light of the world.”
He who has any experience of the Christian life,
can tell what anxiety, what anguish he feels, when
he knows not the will of God in reference to the
way in which he ought to act, the road which he
ought to take, when many open before him, and
when some degree of darkness encompasses his
soul. Desirous to fulfil his duty, and to employ in
the most useful manner the twelve hours of the
day, he casts himself at the feet of Him who is
the light ; he studies His word ; he prays, “ Lord,
what wilt Thou have me to do ?” And if a ray
of divine light penetrates into his soul, if he is in-
structed on the part which he ought to choose,
what courage, what strength, what an energy
does he derive from the assurance that he is do-
ing the will of his God ! He is following his Mas-
THE TWELVE HOURS OF THE DAY. 121
ter ; what then can stop his course or abate his
courage? What could have withheld Jesus from
going into Judea? He had before Him a family
to console, a world to save, and in that, the will
of His Father that sent Him. Ah ! it is this as-
surance that has caused martyrs to embrace the
stake or to mount the scaffold ! This assurance,
when it becomes a living principle in our soul,
will make us surmount all obstacles, provided it
be our sincere desire to fulfil the will of God, and
our soul acknowledge and adore His sovereignty.
But if you determine to walk on still in dark-
ness, in your own ways, in your own wisdom, and
independently of the supreme will of God, what
can you expect from your own efforts, your own
courage, and your best resolutions ? u If any man
walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is
no light in him.” Oh ! why are there so many
unhappy beings who love darkness rather than
light? Why do we see them in their folly plung-
ing deeper into the darkness, whenever a ray of
light shines into their conscience ? However de-
plorable their folly, there is nothing in it which
ought to surprise us ; the Lord Himself has given
us in His word, an explanation of this mystery of
iniquity, “ Their deeds are evil.” They shun the
light of truth, as their chief enemy. Shall they
always be able to shun it ? No : the twelve hours
have passed away unprofitably ; “ the light of this
world” has disappeared beneath the horizon ; the
dark valley of the shadow of death presents itself
to the view of the wretched being who has fled
11
122
MEDITATION IV.
the light j what gleam of brightness shall guide
his tottering footsteps ? What strength shall sup-
port him? And while the last spark of life is ex-
piring in his heart, undeceived, alas! too late,
what voice shall speak consolation and peace to
his soul? He has shunned the light. O God!
what a night envelops his soul ! The Bible calls
ihat night, u outer darkness, where there is weep-
ing, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth.” O, un-
happy mortal ! if upon thy death bed there yet
remain to thee a breath of life, a sigh which thou
canst breathe into the bosom of thy God, hasten,
lift up thy dying voice to Jesus ; say, like the
thief upon the cross, “ Lord, remember me, when
Thou comest into Thy kingdom!” Perhaps a
last plank of safety may be offered to thee in the
shipwreck of thy life ; perhaps a last ray of hea-
ven’s light may break into thy troubled soul, and
make hope revive.
And let us, immortal and accountable beings,
for whom the twelfth hour of the day has not yet
tolled, who still may “ walk in the light,” oh let
us, strong in the strength of God, having our eyes
fixed upon the Author and Finisher of our faith,
from whom come pardon and life, u and laying
aside every weight, and the sin which so easily
besets us, run the race which is set before us.”
And that we may be enabled to imitate our Mas-
ter in His courage and devotedness, while looking
to His example let us also write upon our hearts
the two great lessons which He presents to our
consideration, as well as to that of His disciples —
THE TWELVE HOURS OF THE DAY. 123
the importance of life , which He calls u the twelve
hours of the dayf and the necessity of fulfilling our
duty by the light of the sovereign will of our God.
And then we shall see the strength of God made
perfect in our weakness ; we shall see selfishness
giving way to devotedness, that we may follow
the Lamb whithersoever He goeth : a new love
will take possession of our soul, and give us a
powerful support. In fine, we shall see the fulfil-
ment of this gracious promise of the Lord, u I will
cause thee to ride on the high places of the earth
lt Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall re-
turn, and come with singing unto Zion, and ever-
lasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall
obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and mourn-
ing shall flee away.”
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MEDITATION Y.
“ OUR FRIEND LAZARUS SLEEPETH.”
John xi. 11.
w These things said He : and after that He saith unto them, Our
friend Lazarus sleepeth ; but I go, that I may awake him out of
sleep.”
It was not a system of morality, nor of philo-
sophy, that Jesus came to communicate to this
world. It was something widely different that
man had need of. A transgressor of the law of
his God, he is not only the object of the divine
indignation and wrath, but he has also become
the miserable slave of corruption and sin, and that
sin produces in time, as well as in eternity, the
bitterest fruits. In this state, while eternal misery
is allotted to his soul as its final portion, a gloomy
abode of dissolution, amid the ruins of death, is
assigned to his mortal body as its last dwelling-
place. Yes, death; that unfathomable abyss, that
enigma which baffles all philosophy — death, which
an inspired writer calls “ the king of terrors ” —
death, preceded by agonies and sufferings, takes
possession of one part of this sinful being, and ad-
OUR FRIEND LAZARUS SLEEPETH.
125
monishes him that that which is immortal in him
must appear before the tribunal of a righteous
Judge.
Now the doctrine of Jesus, to which He has
given the title of 11 glad tidings,” not merely pro-
claims pardon to him whom it addresses ; not
merely cancels the sentence of punishment de-
manded by a violated law ; but even mitigates
and divests of their terrors the most formidable
and bitter consequences of sin in time. The Gos-
pel, in proclaiming pardon to the guilty, in break-
ing with power the ignominious chains of his sla-
very, deprives death of its sting, the tomb of its
darkness, the grave of its victory. The Redeemer
thus leads him, whom He has rescued, to the lofty
heights of liberty, from whence he can look down
in triumph on the scene of desolation and ruin,
where sin commits its fearful ravages, and where
formerly he had cried, u O wretched man that I
am, who shall deliver me from the body of this
death?” And from this lofty eminence the re-
deemed of Christ, triumphant and yet humbled,
begin this song of victory, “ We are more than
conquerors through Him that loved us.” It is
thus that Jesus would have us contemplate life
and death ; and it is for this reason, that in telling
His disciples that he whom He calls His friend
had ceased to live upon this earth ; He does not
speak of death, or of destruction, or of the king
of terrors, although that friend of Jesus, like all
other men, had gone down into the grave. No ;
it is a rest which succeeds labour, a sleep which
11 *
126
MEDITATION V.
follows fatigue ; “ Our friend Lazarus sleepeth ;
but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.”
O Jesus ! Prince of Life ! Sovereign Ruler of
all things ! come while we meditate upon the
words of eternal life which Thou hast brought us
from heaven, come and speak also to our souls, of
rest, and peace, and victory ! Raise up our minds
above time, above this life of misery, above death,
above the grave ! Enable us to follow Thee to
those sublime heights whither Thou hast directed
our eternal hopes ! Break the chains that still
bind us to earth, to corruption, and to death, and
give us fully to enjoy the glorious liberty of the
children of God.
Jesus had silenced, by a very serious reproof,
the objection which His disciples had made to His
going into Judea. He might have answered
them at once, “ Lazarus is dead, and I go to bring
relief to his afflicted sisters” But no ; He wishes
to prepare them for this afflicting intelligence;
He wishes even to communicate it to them in
terms that might sweeten all its bitterness ; “ Our
friend Lazarus sleepeth ;” and then, as if He had
already said too much for the heart of His disci-
ples, who also loved Lazarus, He hastens to add,
as it were to place the remedy beside the evil, the
consolation beside the trial, “But I go, that I may
awake him out of sleep.” As Jesus knew all
that had passed at Bethany, without receiving any
further intelligence ; as He had seen the whole
progress of the disease of Lazarus, and all the
affliction of his sisters, He could have healed him
OUR FRIEND LAZARUS SLEEPETH.
127
of his malady ; or supposing him to have died.
He could have restored him to life again at a dis-
tance as well as at hand, by pronouncing one word
of that power which was given Him in heaven
and in earth. But let us not forget that this sick-
ness was u for the glory of God, and that the Son
of God might be glorified.” Jesus rejoices for
His disciples’ sake, that He was not there ; He
turns towards Judea; and there, on the verge of
the tomb, must all Israel, and all future genera-
tions, admire the power of the Redeemer of the
world, u But I go, that I may awake him out of
sleep.” Happy the disciples of such a Master !
Happy they who were witnesses of his power !
still happier they who know, by their own experi-
ence, that His love is in nothing inferior to His
power !
But who can sufficiently feel, or appreciate in a
suitable manner, the happiness of the man whom
Jesus calls His friend ? He who u made the
world,” He who “upholdeth all things by the
word of His power,” the Lord of glory gives to a
worm of the earth, a sinner, the title of friend !
A poor mortal, one of those who are called the
great ones of this world, though they be but dust
and ashes, would not deign to give that title to a
fellow-man, if he were in the least his inferior,
yet he whom angels worship gives it to Lazarus !
Alas ! a miserable, sinful being, filled with a sense
of his own nothingness before the 66 God-man,” he
would never have dared to assume such a title to
himself; but Jesus gave it to him ; Jesus carried His
128
MEDITATION V.
condescension, or rather His love, beyond all his
expectations; Jesus called him His friend. How
precious, how encouraging, is this name in the
heart and in the mouth of the Redeemer of this
world ! His heart, as well as His lips, pronounced
it; for He whose name is the “ True” knows not,
or scorns the deceitful language of a hypocritical
world, which has ever the expressions of the noblest
sentiments upon its lips, while its selfish heart
remains a stranger to devotedness and love. It
is too well known what value the title of friend
has in the world ; it makes a part of the dialect of
fashion ; it is given to every body ; it is used as a
mask which is worn as long as it serves men’s
interests, and then is thrown aside when the wind
of circumstances has changed its direction. Where
are those friends that can pardon a fault in their
friend? Where are those who will acknowledge
a friend in adversity ? This, though a trite ob-
servation, is one that cannot be too frequently
repeated, to the shame of every man who has not
learned friendship in the school of Christ. We
see around the man who is basking in prosperity,
and loaded with riches and honours, a crowd of those
pretended friends, who have always the name up-
on their lips. A few days have sufficed to plunge
this man, thus flattered while at the summit of
opulence and power, into the depth of misery. In-
stead of occupying an honourable place, instead of
being sought after in the society of the great, he
suffers perhaps in an humble dwelling, laid upon a
bed of pain, deprived of every thing that could
OUR FRIEND LAZARUS SLEEPETH.
129
sweeten the bitterness of his situation. Where,
now, are those false and cruel parasites, who lately
surrounded him and loaded him with hypocritical
demonstrations of their attachment? I see none
of them around him. He is poor ; this is a suffi-
cient reason for their being ashamed to own him
as their friend ; he is unfortunate, this is his crime.
Oh ye, whose hearts have been lacerated by a
sad experience of the instability of human affec-
tions, and of the cruelty of your fellow-men ! ye
suffering and unhappy beings, whom a proud
world knows not and rejects, come to Jesus, He
will be your friend ! Expect not from men the
consolation and peace which you long after. He
who trusts in the arm of flesh, rests upon a broken
reed, u whereon, if a man lean, it will go into his
hand and pierce it.” What will you find in hu-
man affections that can fill the void of your soul,
answer a single sigh of your heart, dry a single
tear? Ah! if hitherto you have not dared to call
Jesus your friend , see, He Himself anticipates
you ; He Himself gives you that title, so dear to
an affectionate heart, and with that title He also
gives you all the privileges of a friend. Let not
the feeling of your unworthiness, of your sins, of
your frailty, terrify you, or drive you away from
Him ! “ He came to seek and to save that which
was lost.” He was not offended at being called
u the friend of publicans and sinners.” Neither
let your poverty, your nakedness, the meanness of
your condition, affright you. He it is “ who,
though He was rich, yet for your sakes became
*
130
MEDITATION V,
poor, that ye through His poverty might be
rich.”
Unlike your worldly patrons, who call them-
selves friends, but whom you cannot approach
without trembling, amid the display of luxury,
magnificence, and pride, with which they are
surrounded, Jesus, who is willing to be your
powerful friend, was born in a manger; a few
poor fishermen, from the borders of the lake of
Gennesaret, composed His entire retinue : the
sick, whom He healed; the poor, whom He
relieved ; the unhappy, whom He comforted,
were His whole society. Unlike, too, the worldly
friends, who love only as long as they find it their
interest or their pleasure, Jesus is always the
same, always ready to bless. His love requires
nothing of you but your heart; He only wishes
to give, never to receive. The more unhappy
and suffering, the more humble and contrite you
are, the more will He be pleased to call you
friends. In His love all is gratuitous, all is free ?
all is gift. Again I repeat it, come to Jesus ;
open your heart to Him, call Him your friend ;
He Himself invites you to do so ; He Himself
urges you to come and draw out of the pure and
inexhaustible source which He has opened in His
infinite love. u Ho, every one that thirsteth,
come ye to the waters !” u Come unto Me, all ye
that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest, and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”
tl Our friend Lazarus sleepeth.” Jesus does
not say, my friend ; He does not wish to exclude
OUR FRIEND LAZARUS SLEEPETH. 131
His disciples from that sacred friendship ; they
also love Lazarus. He who is the friend of Jesus,
is also the friend of all those whom He loves.
That maxim of the world, then, is false, selfish,
and I had almost said, insulting to the human
heart, u that a man can have but one real friend.”
It shows more than any thing we could say, what
friendship is in the estimation of the world, and
what are all attachments of which the love of
Jesus does not form the bond. Far from us be
that selfishness of a narrow heart. If Jesus be
our friend, all those whom He loves are our real
friends. “ See how these Christians love one
another,” exclaimed the astonished Pagans, when
they beheld the spectacle, unknown before to the
world, which the members of the primitive Church
presented to their view. Their is an invisible but
powerful chain, uniting in Jesus all those who
have in their heart a spark of love for Him. All
the people of Christ, from Abel to the last be-
liever that shall be found in this world, from
those new brethren who in distant heathen lands
surrender their hearts to Jesus, even to those re-
deemed ones around us whom we love, and to those
who, having reached perfection, offer up their
prayers at the foot of the throne of God, for their
companions in salvation, still fighting here below;
all, all form one people — the friends of Jesus ; all
strive together, by their prayers, all walk together
towards Zion, towards u the general assembly
and church of the first-born,” towards the centre
of eternal love, which soon will reunite them all.
132
MEDITATION
Let us hear the history of David in his trials.
££ Now it came to pass when David had made an
end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jon-
athan was knit with the soul of David, and
Jonathan loved him as his own soul. Then
Jonathan and David made a covenant, because
he loved him as his own soul. And they kissed
one another, and wept one with another, until
David exceeded. And Jonathan said to David,
Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both
of us in the name of the Lord, saying, the Lord
be between me and thee, and between my seed
and thy seed, for ever. If it please my father to
do thee evil, then will I show it thee, that thou
mayest go in peace, and the Lord be with thee,
as he hath been with my father.” (1 Sam. xviii.
and xx.) Let us hear the history of the primitive
Church. “ And the multitude of them that
believed were of one heart and of one soul:
neither said any of them, that aught of the things
which he possessed was his own ; but they had
all things common.” One of the pillars of
that Church, the Apostle Peter, is cast into prison
by Herod ; the following day he is to be brought
forth to suffer the punishment which the tyrant
has decreed ; but while Peter is kept in ’prison,
£c prayer is made without ceasing of the Church
unto God for him.” And a messenger from the
Most High breaks his chains, and gives him to
the believing prayers of his brethren ! The
Apostle Paul is brought to Rome, as a prisoner,
for the name of Jesus. After having suffered a
OUR FRIEND LAZARUS SLEEPETH.
133
shipwreck, which put his life in jeopardy, he
arrives; he is is oppressed with the fatigues of so
painful a voyage, and with the weight of the
chains which he bears for Jesus his Saviour.
“ And when the brethren heard of us,” says the
divine historian of the Acts, u they came to meet
us as far as Appii Forum, and the Three Tav-
erns: whom when Paul saw” (though, perhaps,
he was not personally acquainted with one of
them,) u he thanked God, and took courage.”
O Christian traveller, thou, who, perhaps, under
the weight of thy trial, groanest by reason of the
fatigues of thine earthly pilgrimage, take courage
also, like St. Paul ! Thou walkest not alone in
that path of sorrow, thou hast been preceded by
thousands of the friends of Jesus who are also thy
friends, and who, perhaps, like thee, have suffered
on the road, and have been purified beneath the
burning heat of the day, that they might be made
meet to see the face of Him who loved them ; and
thou art accompanied and followed by thousands
who, like thee, take up their cross daily, and follow
Jesus. All love thee ; thou art their friend and
their brother, if thou belongest by adoption, to
the family of God. In the moment of contest,
when thou imagine st that thou art alone, aban-
doned to thine own weakness, a multitude of thy
brethren around thee, or in some distant country,
take a part in thy sorrows, send up their prayers
to heaven on thy behalf, and call down consola-
tion and assistance for thine afflicted soul. O
Jesus ! what happiness it is to be Thy friend, to
12
134
MEDITATION V.
have a part in that kingdom of peace and love
which Thou has come to establish upon earth!
Thy kingdom come !
“ Our friend Lazarus sleepeth .” Such, to the
friends of Jesus, is the termination of their journey !
To them it is no longer that frightful death, with
its gloomy retinue of agonies and fears ; it is not
that u king of terrors,” who announces his ap-
proach to the unpardoned sinner, with the voice
of thunder echoing through the inmost recesses of
a conscience, awaking, alas ! too late, to remorse
and despair. It is not that gloomy sepulchre in
which all the projects, the joys, and the hopes of
the ungodly are swallowed up for ever. It is not
that dark and fearful eternity, in comparison of
which, annihilation itself, with all its horrors,
would be desirable. No, it is a calm sleep, suc-
ceeding the long and painful watchings of life ; it
is the rest which follows the fatigues of a journey,
The friend of Jesus sleeps ; he does not die. u She
is not dead,” said Jesus, on entering a house where
the pious inmates were weeping for the departure of
an only daughter, “ She is not dead, but sleepeth !”
— sweet figure, with which Jesus, after having
destroyed the sting, envelops the terrors of death.
Like the infant that reposes with confidence in its
mother’s bosom, the friend of Jesus sleeps in the
arms of a tender and merciful Father, until at the
sound of the last trumpet, calling him to the life
of heaven, he awakes on the morning of that eter-
nal day of happiness which Jesus has procured for
him.
JUII FRIEND LAZARUS SLEEPETH.
135
u Our friend Lazarus sleepeth!” Alas! the
earthly pilgrimage of the friend of Jesus may not
have been less painful than that of other men.
Often, perhaps, he may have been on the point of
straying into the crooked paths of the world, or of
sinking under the pressure of fatigue. Often he
may have traversed thorny places which tore his
tottering feet. He may have had to clamber
up many a lofty mountain, to travel through many
a deep valley. His heaviest burden, the burden
of sin and corruption, may frequently have seemed
ready to overwhelm him, and may have filled his
heart with bitterness, while he pursued his soli-
tary way through the dry places of the wilder-
ness. Often, too, leaning his weary head upon
his hand, he may have cried, like another travel-
ler to the heavenly Zion, u My tears have been
my meat day and night. O my God ! my soul is
cast down within me ; deep calleth unto deep at
the noise of Thy waterspouts ; all Thy waves
and Thy billows have gone over me.” But at
the same time he has carried in his breast a hope
which maketh not ashamed ; he has seen before
him a better country of which he never lost sight
and which, though it had been forgotten by all the
world beside, would have been the sole object of
his wishes.
Like Israel, when a captive in Babylon, his
eyes were turned towards Zion. u If I forget thee,
O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cun-
ning ; if I do not remember thee, let my tongue
cleave to the roof of my mouth ; if I prefer not
136
MEDITATION V.
Jerusalem to my chief joy.” And with this hope,
this friend of Jesus, in travelling to the heavenly
Jerusalem, was not alone abandoned to his own
weakness. His celestial Friend, omnipotent,
though invisible, guided his footsteps, filled his
heart with fresh courage, eased him of his oppres-
sive burden, telling him with love, tl Son, be of
good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee !” He
reaches the end of his course ; his last combat is
the most painful, but he receives new strength ;
he can repeat with the Psalmist, to the praise of
his Almighty Redeemer, “ Though I walk through
the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no
evil : for Thou art with me ; Thy rod and Thy
staff they comfort me.” Night draws on, dark-
ness surrounds him, hut already he perceives dis-
tinctly the dawn of a new day. At last he reaches
the termination of his fatigues and labours ; he
falls asleep — when he awakes he shall behold
“ the new heavens and the new earth, wherein
dwelleth righteousness.” “ And God shall wipe
away all tears from his eyes ; and there shall be
no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither
shall there be any more pain, for the former things
have passed away.”
Yes, u the former things are passed away.”
This burden of an existence, which sin has
poisoned with its venom ; this chain of corruption
and mortality, which binds our soul, and prevents
it from taking its flight towards its eternal desti-
nation, is for ever laid aside. There remains of
all the evils of life nothing but a sweet remem-
OUR FRIEND LAZARUS SLEEPETH.
137
brance, the source of eternal gratitude for the
wisdom and love of God’s dealings, which now,
for the first time, are fully understood. All the
rest has passed away like the painful visions of
the night when one awakes in the morning of a
beautiful day. All is for ever lost in the element
of God’s eternal love, u in whose presence there
is fulness of joy.” Oh ! to Him who “ has over-
come for us,” to the Lamb which was slain, and
which hath redeemed us out of every nation, and
kindred, and people, be honour, and glory, and
praise, for ever and ever! Yes, Jesus, glory to
Thee ! glory to Thee ! because Thou hast im-
parted to our hearts such glorious hopes ! because
at Thy word the lamentations of the unhappy are
changed into songs of thanksgiving ! because at
Thy presence the terrors of the grave are changed
into a feeling of ineffable and eternal felicity.
My beloved friends, I would have wished to
terminate this meditation here. But (shall I say
it ?) an involuntary feeling of fear passes painfully
across my mind amid the pleasing thoughts which
have just been occupying us. I fear lest these
eternal realities, of which Jesus Himself speaks to
us in our beautiful text, may be to many of you
but the dream of an imagination, which loves to
walk in smiling fields, or, in other words, nothing
but religious poetry. I fear lest, though your soul
be not entirely insensible to the voice of the
Saviour, you should confine yourselves merely to
a barren admiration of the doctrine which He has
communicated to mankind. In a word, I fear,
12 *
138
MEDITATION.
lest your heart should remain unchanged, far off
from God, destitute of His love. Ah ! If it he so
with any among you, we must conclude that you
are not the friends of Jesus. Strangers to the life
of God, and to the regeneration of the Holy Spirit,
Jesus could not say of you, after death, “ Our
friend sleepeth /” Y our end would not be a sleep ;
it would be death, the destruction of this mortal
body, followed by what the Bible calls “ the second
death.” Oh! while Jesus yet comes to you as a
friend and Saviour, not as a judge, hasten to be-
lieve in His word, His promises, His love ! To-
morrow, perhaps, you may no longer be able to
do it. “ Now is the accepted time, now is the
day of salvation.” If Jesus be your Saviour during
life, He will be your friend in the hour of death.
God grant that you may have such a friend ! God
grant that the dear objects of your affection, who
shall weep your departure, may be able to write
upon your tomb in the name of Jesus, and look-
ing forward with joy to His second and glorious
appearing : “Our friend Lazarus sleepeth ; but I
go, that I may awake him out of sleep.”
MEDITATION VI.
THE FEAR OF DEATH.— DISTASTE FOR LIFE.
John xi. 12 — 16 .
* Then said His disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. How*
beit Jesus spake of his death : but they thought that He had spo-
ken of taking of rest in sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly,
Lazarus is dead. And 1 am glad for your sakes that I was not
there, to the intent ye may believe ; nevertheless, let us go unto
him. Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow-
disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
There is, in all the details of the history which
we have been for some time considering, some-
thing touching, which it is easier to feel than to
express. Every word that Jesus utters awakens
in the soul a feeling as delicate as it is deep, which
delightfully moves it, and constrains us to say,
u Never man spake like this man.” And we are
compelled to add, u Never historian described like
the Apostle John.” Jesus, driven by persecution
beyond Jordan, receives the sad intelligence that
Lazarus, whom He loves, is sick. There is some-
thing peculiarly distressing in hearing of the sick-
ness or sufferings of those whom we love, when
we are absent from them. Jesus also would ap-
140
MEDITATION VI.
pear to have experienced this feeling of our hu-
man nature ; He hastens to silence the apprehen-
sions of His disciples, and of the messengers whom
the sisters of Lazarus had sent. u This sickness,”
said He, u is not unto death, but for the glory of
God.” He wishes to go back to Judea, and bring
to the objects of His affection, the aid of His om-
nipotence and love. His disciples remind Him of
the hatred of the Jews, and of the danger of ex-
posing Himself again to those who had lately
sought to stone Him. Jesus graciously encour-
ages them, by the solemn consideration of the
shortness of time, those “ twelve hours of the day,”
which fly past with such rapidity: we must walk
in the light ; u He that walketh in the night stum-
ble th.” And the better still to persuade them that
He must go into Judea, He tells them that Laza-
rus has sunk under his painful malady : that his
eyes are closed to the light. But in telling them,
instead of using language which would recall to
their minds the melancholy thought of separation,
of death, and of the grave, He clothes this sad in-
telligence with the most pleasing of images, as
we have seen in our last meditation. “ Our friend
Lazarus,” saith He, “ sleepeth.” And as if He
feared lest the words which He had spoken should
have grieved the hearts of His disciples, who loved
Lazarus, He hastens affectionately to add, u But
I go to awake him out of sleep.” His disciples,
however, understood Him not: they imagine, as
our text tells us, that He speaks of a natural sleep,
and they cherish the hope of a speedy recovery.
THE FEAR OF DEATH.
141
11 Lord,” say they, “if he sleep, he shall do well.”
It now becomes necessary for Jesus to undeceive
them, and to communicate to them the melancholy
news ; but scarcely have the words, “ Lazarus is
dead,” escaped His lips, when He hastens to add,
with a soothing calmness, “ I am glad, for your
sakes, that I was not there, to the intent ye may
believe ; nevertheless, let us go unto him.” What
language ! What love ! What a kind Master !
Lord, teach us to feel ; above all things, teach us
to love, that we may be able to comprehend the
ineffable consolation of the words which proceed
out of Thy mouth !
Yet, notwithstanding this love of Jesus, not-
withstanding the tender care which He takes to
instruct and encourage His disciples, we find in
them nothing but ignorance and weakness ; so
true is it that “ the natural man receiveth not the
things of the Spirit of God,” so difficult is it for
him to rise above this earth ! The expression of
the disciples, “ If he sleep, he shall do well,” tes-
tifies the affectionate interest which they took in
Lazarus. Doubtless they gladly indulge in the
thought that he shall soon see the termination of
his sufferings, since, from the words of Jesus,
which indeed they misunderstood, they imagine
that he enjoys a restoring sleep. But also, in
what a light do these words exhibit those men,
who so seldom were able to rise so as to compre-
hend their Master’s thoughts, and who so fre-
quently interpreted, in a gross and carnal manner,
what He spoke with such delicacy and love, that
142
MEDITATION VI.
He might not wound their hearts ! It was, per-
haps, one of the greatest trials of the life of Jesus
— a trial which He experienced every day — that
He enjoyed no other society than that of men
whose gross and ignorant minds continually re-
verted to the earth (notwithstanding His efforts to
instruct them,) and who gave Him no compensa-
tion for His labours. But yet, He had chosen
them as u vessels of mercy,’ 7 and He who con-
sented to stoop so low that He had not a place
where to lay His head, humbled Himself also, so
that He had not a heart on which to repose His
heart.
What a lesson to us is this self-denial of Jesus,
this patience with men, who, though they had fol-
lowed Him, and heard His instructions, for more
than three years, yet found it difficult to seize His
simplest thoughts. What do we poor and miser-
able creatures feel, when those around us are in-
capable of understanding us ? What do we feel
when we imagine that we are not understood even
by our nearest relations, by members of our fam-
ilies, or by those whom we love ? Alas ! often
impatience, always grief, seldom sufficient love, to
endeavour, like Jesus, to make ourselves under-
stood in another manner, to bring ourselves down
to the comprehension of others, to make them feel
that we love them, and that their heart, at least,
can understand us, if their intellect does not.
What grievous heart burnings, what bitter dissen-
sions, what animosity, perhaps, and hatred, would
be spared to the world, if we acted towards out
THE FEAR OF DEATH.
143
relatives as Jesus did towards His disciples!
How different from what they are would they be,
who, by their calling or their influence, have the
charge of instructing others, did they conform to
the example of that Divine Teacher! In what-
ever point of view we contemplate His character,
it is calculated to cover us with humiliation and
shame, “ To us, O Lord, belongeth confusion of
face.”
But there is a still more important lesson to be
drawn from the words of the disciples. They had
lately opposed our Lord’s intention of going into
Judea, and that because they had already a vague
and painful presentiment of the sufferings and
death which there awaited Him, and to which,
perhaps, they themselves might be exposed. Je-
sus had previously given them intimation of these
things ; and this same thought, this same fear y
gleams through their last words: “ If he sleep he
shall do well,” and if he “ do well,” they seem to
say to Jesus, “ Why go into Judea? Why go and
expose Thyself to the hatred of the Jews, who so
short a time ago sought to stone Thee ?” Thus
the serious lesson which Jesus gave them upon the
necessity of courageously employing the u twelve
hours of the day ” without shrinking back from
sacrifices, pain, or even death, had no effect upon
their hearts, “slow” as they were “to believe.”
We find them again with the same fears and the
same weaknesses. They see before them sacrifi-
ces, pain, and perhaps death with all its terrors.
This is sufficient to prostrate their courage, to
144
MEDITATION VI.
weigh down their hearts, and to render them in-
capable of energy and devotedness. Ah! how
clearly do we recognise the work of sin in that
death which inspires us with so much dread, be-
cause darkness, and pain, and destruction march
before it ! Yes, it is sin that has impressed upon
death that image of fearfulness and terror ; it is
sin that has engraven in such sombre characters
upon his livid brow, u The wages of sin is death.”
But how weak mast faith have been in the
heart of the disciples, since they were the slaves
of such a fear, though led on by the Prince of
Life, who has power over death and the grave ;
who is u the resurrection and the life !” What!
their thoughts could not rise above the earth,
above life and death, and yet He who guides, en-
courages, consoles them, is that Divine Saviour,
to whom Ci all power is given both in heaven and
in earth,” and who hath deprived death of its
sting, the grave of its victory, eternity of its ter-
rors. Their terror-stricken soul is inaccessible to
His consolation, because their thoughts are no
longer concentrated in His instructions. From the
time that Jesus crossed the Jordan to return into
Judea, their heart is filled with fear, and perhaps
with deep regret, at seeing Him go forward in the
face. of sufferings and death. Hitherto they had
hoped to see His mission upon earth terminate in
a triumphant manner in the eyes of men, and
they had calculated upon participating in His glo-
ry. They are ready again to cry like Peter, when
he heard his Master predict His sufferings and
TIIE FEAR OF DEATH.
145
death, (C Be it far from Thee, Lord : this shall not
be unto Thee !” Their dream of an earthly king-
dom, to be founded by Jesus, has vanished, and
with it their most brilliant hopes. Their fear of
suffering and death prevents them from entering
into the real meaning of the words of Jesus; they
are altogether engaged with other thoughts ; the
word of the Lord can only be understood in the
calm of meditation, of confidence, and of faith.
Alas ! here again we have no right to blame
the disciples ; They are but too faithful interpre-
ters of what passes within ourselves. Do we not
continually feel in our own hearts the weaknesses
and corruptions which Jesus had to combat in his
disciples ? How often has the anticipation of some
trial or suffering made our soul shudder so that
we have become deaf to the most powerful words
of the Lord, and inaccessible to his most ineffa-
ble consolations? This is, perhaps, the most
dangerous quicksand which the Christian has to
fear in his temptations. Instead of bowing down
to the dust in adoration, under the hand of Him
that smites us, and inquiring, with the submission
of a dutiful child, u Lord, what wilt thou have me
to do ?” we weary and perplex ourselves beyond
measure ; our inflexible heart rebounds under the
strokes which are inflicted upon it ; and amid
those tumultuous emotions, how can we hear that
voice which addresses us as dear children, “My
son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord,
nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him?” The
same causes, unbelief and distrust, which fill the
13
146
MEDITATION VI.
soul with trouble in trials, fill it with terror and
anguish at the approach of death. O my breth-
ren, were an angel of God to come down this
moment into this assembly, and to announce to you,
on the part of the Most High, that this day should
be your last, that to-morrow your eyes should no
more open to behold the light, that your body
should be a lifeless corpse, that your soul should
have passed into eternity ; — I ask you, what would
you feel ? Would you not feel anguish and terror,
regret and fear, alternately agitating your breasts ?
Probably most of you, in the agony of your heart,
answer, Yes. what then must you conclude?
Alas that your faith is still without power, your
love cold and lifeless ; that the Divine Saviour
whom you profess to love, and whom you come to
worship in His house, is not every thing to you ;
that the earth has attractions for you more power-
ful than His love ; That you have not yet “ pas-
sed from death unto life,” and that the Spirit of
adoption has not yet taught you to cry, “ Abba,
Father.”
Ah ! if you were disciples of Christ ; if you had
found in Jesus a Saviour for your soul ; if He had
revealed to yourUill fearful heart the awful mys-
tery of life and death ; if you felt that you were
redeemed by His blood from all your sins and
from the bondage of sin ; if you could see in that
eternity, the very name of which affrights you, an
eternity of happiness, because an eternity of love,
in the presence of Him who hath so loved you;
what would you have to fear? Does the unhap-
THE FEAR OF HEATH.
147
py exile, who has groaned for years in a land of
banishment, from whence he has often looked with
sighs towards his native shores, where the objects
of his tenderest affections dwell, fear to behold the
arrival of the moment when he shall he allowed
to pass over the distance which separates him from
all that is dear to him, and enter once more into
the house of a beloved parent, there to press to his
heart palpitating with joy, those whose absence
has made him shed so many tears'? And would
you, u strangers and pilgrims” upon earth, fear to
cross the barrier which separates time from eter-
nity ? Would you fear to behold in a better country
that tender Heavenly Father, who so loved you,
— that merciful Saviour, so worthy of all your af-
fection, who redeemed you with the price of His
blood ; who was pleased to become your brother,
your friend, your sacrifice ? Would you fear to
enter into that place where all who had a heart
to love the same Divine Saviour shall meet to-
gether ; and where those who were partakers of
the like precious faith, and shared with you in
your combats, your hopes and fears, in this world,
shall taste with you the delights of the same love
throughout eternity? Would you fear to lay aside
the chains of corruption which you still painfully
drag after you, to be put in full possession of the
glorious liberty of the children of God, in that land
of everlasting rest, where there is no more pain,
nor sorrow, nor separation, nor death, because
there is no more sin? No, no! Christ, Christ is
my life, and death to me is gain.
148
MEDITATION VI.
The disciples understood not Jesus: He must
therefore speak to them with still more patience,
still more plainness ; he must tell them why He
wishes to return into Judea, notwithstanding their
fears. 44 Therefore, said Jesus unto them plainly,
Lazarus is dead !” At these words the heart of
the disciples, already dejected, is overwhelmed
with sorrow. That word, death, which Jesus
pronounced unwillingly j these gloomy ideas of
separation, the grave, and dissolution, present
themselves to their minds, and fill them with the
deepest affliction. Lazarus, whom they loved,
the friend of Jesus and their friend, is no more !
They shall no more go to receive, under his hos-
pitable roof, the entertainment of his cordial
friendship! His house shall no longer be an
asylum for them and their Master ! They shall
no more retire with Jesus to Bethany, to avoid the
persecution of His enemies ! All these melan-
choly reflections rush at once upon the mind of
the disciples. And you, my friends, who, like the
disciples, have seen some beloved Lazarus, some
friend or relative, to whom your soul was closely
united, die and go down to the grave, — you know
with what grief such thoughts have filled your
hearts : you know what an immense void, what a
solitary desert, such a bereavement has left within
you : you know with what eagerness your soul
would have followed, into another world, the be-
loved being whom death had transported thither,
when you have felt that involuntary shudder
which has crept over you, at the thought of a
THE FEAR OF DEATH.
149
separation without return upon earth. Well, then,
disciples of Jesus, you who weep over Lazarus,
hear your Master, hear the Prince of Life speak-
ing of death, and rejoice with Him, or, at least,
take courage : “ I am glad,” says Jesus, “ for your
sakes, that I was not there, to the intent ye may
believe.” What a way to give comfort, my breth-
ren ! “ I am glad !” and that in speaking of the
death of one whom He loved! Will not those
who, in their trials, look for succour from the mis-
erable comforters of the world, regard such a
word of consolation as a bitter and cruel irony?
But how often, when some poor mortal, ignorant
of God’s dealings with him, is weeping and
mourning over the afflictive events of this life,
which he cannot understand, does Jesus, who
watches over His child, whom He desires to save,
say with love, “ I am glad, for your sake :” while
the angels of God, with whom “there is joy” for
“one sinner” saved through the fire of trial, re-
peat, through the wide extent of heaven, the
words of Jesus, “ I am glad.”
“ I am glad, for your sakes, that I was not
there, to the intent ye may believe.” Jesus, in-
deed, might have been there ; He might imme-
diately have returned with His disciples to Be-
thany, surrounded with them the bed of suffer-
ing on which Lazarus lay, and restored him to
health, by pronouncing over him one word of His
power. But no ; this was not enough for the
faith of His disciples. Or again, having gone
there with them, He might have permitted Laza-
13 *
150
MEDITATION VI.
rus to become the prey of death before them; He
might have allowed them to witness that scene of
grief, and to have the sad consolation of accom-
panying their friend to the grave, from whence
He was going to recall him. But no : Jesus u was
glad that He was not there He was glad that
He had spared those whom He loved these hours
of trial and sorrow, and that He had not brought
His disciples to the tomb of Lazarus, but to be
witnesses of the most striking manifestation of His
power and Godhead ; to see Lazarus burst, at His
command, the bands of the grave, to partake in
the triumph of their Master, in the joy and conso-
lation of Mary and Martha ; and, in a word, to
acquire a stronger faith than they ever had before,
in Him who had come from the bosom of the
Father, God manifest in the flesh, whom cc angels
worship. 5 ’
O happy disciples of so powerful and good a
Master, — you who have been the objects of so
much love, so much care, so much tenderness, lift
up your voice in all ages and in all climes!
Come and instruct us, stir up our souls, touch our
hearts, teach us also to love such a Saviour, to
believe in Him more than we have done hitherto,
and to live and die in His love !
“ Nevertheless, let us go unto him,” adds
Jesus. He seems to fear lest, while with a sacred
joy He comforts His disciples, He should appear
insensible to the afflictions of the family of Be-
thany. And as He embraces all His people in
His loving heart, He urges on the tardy footsteps
THE FEAR OF DEATH.
151
of His disciples, too slow for His zeal, saying unto
them, u Let us go to him.” But how ! Lazarus
is dead ; he has been laid in the sepulchre ; why
should Jesus and His disciples go to him ? But
what does it matter? Is there in heaven or in
earth, in life or in death, any thing that can
separate the believer from the love of Christ?
Shall the cold stone which covers the tomb of
Lazarus, and separates him from the world of the
living, be an obstacle to the burning love of Jesus?
No ! “ In all these things,” saith St. Paul, “ we
are more than conquerors, through Him that
loved us !”
Meanwhile, Thomas, one of the disciples, a
man of a gloomy and melancholy character, and
of a mind naturally incredulous, is unable to taste
of the consolation which Jesus offers him. It is
not without reason that the poet makes the guar-
dian angel of this disciple say of him, u His mind
unfolds thought upon thought, until they expand
before him, like a shoreless ocean, in which be
would have been overwhelmed had not the power-
ful miracles of the Messiah saved him. He has
ceased to wander amid the labyrinths of thought ;
he has come to Jesus, And yet,” adds the angel,
“he would still be the object of my lively solici-
tude, had not God, with a meditative mind, given
him also an upright and a virtuous heart.”* Laz-
arus (thought he) has gone down to the grave ;
our Master returns into Judea, where cruel suffer-
ings, reproach, and death, await Him ; after that,
* Klopst : Messiah : Can. iii.
152
MEDITATION VI.
what is life to me ? Why should I remain on
this earth ? What would I do without Lazarus ;
without my Master? This world would be a
desert to me, where I should meet with nothing
but the bitterness of separation and the fatigues
of warfare. Let us also go,” adds he, turning
to his fellow-disciples, u and die with him!”
Strange ! In the first part of this discourse I
have combated the fear of death, and now, at the
close of it I am called to combat the disgust of
life ! So true it is, that the most opposite evils
meet in that inconsistent creature — man. Alas!
there is something but too natural to man in these
words — this cry of the soul, wrung from it by des-
pondency. But it is the expression of a feeling
which God disapproves of, and against which we
ought to contend. What ! poor mortal, because
God hath made thee pass through the furnace of
affliction, because He hath broken thy rebellious
will, because He hath presented to thy lips a
bitter cup, is life at thy disposal ? Thou wilt die ?
Because some being, too dear to thee, and of
whom, perhaps, thou hast made an idol, has been
taken away from thee, life is become a barren
desert to thee ! thou wilt die ! Because thou
hast been subjected to afflictions and privations,
because this hope which from day to day has sup-
ported thy faith and soothed thy grief, seems to
have vanished, despondency has filled thy soul !
thou wilt die ! Because God appears no longer
to answer thy prayers and supplications, thou
DISTASTE FOR LIFE. 153
thinkest that thou hast nothing now left thee but
despair ! thou wilt die !
Ah, deceive not yourself! the feeling which in-
fluences you has nothing in common with that
holy impatience of St. Paul, to behold, face to face,
that Saviour for whom he had suffered the loss of
all things, which he felt when he cried, “ I have
a desire to depart, and be with Christ.” No:
what you feel, amid the evils to which the provi-
dence of God exposes you, is a guilty rebellion
against His supreme will. Your murmurs, your
despondency, proceed from a cowardly unfaithful-
ness towards Him who has promised that He will
not suffer you to be tried beyond what you are
able to bear. If you loved the Lord, if His will
was dear to you, if your heart submitted to Him
with adoration and love, no feeling of this nature
could find place in your breast, for you would
know by experience that u all things work to-
gether for good to them that love God.” And if
you love Him not, if your soul has not found in
Him, as a Saviour, pardon, reconciliation with
God, and peace, what do you expect in another
life, whither you wish to go ? What do you ex-
pect in eternity ? Why will you hasten, before
the time, to the awful scenes of the last day?
Why do you wish to appear at the bar of the eter-
nal Judge? Why do you wish to die? Are you
ready to appear before the holy God? Are you
prepared to give an awful account of all the ac-
tions, words, and thoughts of a life defiled by sin?
154
MEDITATION VI.
Go to Christ as a Saviour, and live until He calls
you Himself, to appear before Him as your Judge.
And even if you have nothing to fear in eter-
nity, if you know by the testimony of the word of
God, and by that of the Holy Spirit in your heart,
that Jesus has saved you, that He died for your
sins, that His blood has washed away your defile-
ment, that He has reconciled you to God, why
would you, by presumptuous wishes, hasten the
termination of your period of trial ? Why would
you lay aside, before your time, the burden of suf-
ferings which has been laid upon you? Why
would you anticipate the will of God? Why
would you wish to die ? Is there nothing more
for you to do in this world ? Are there about you
no more poor to relieve, no more miserable to com-
fort, no more ignorant to instruct? No; do you
say, my situation is such that I am useful to no
one, and this afflicts me even more than my own
sufferings. I can only groan under the weight of
my sin and my unprofitableness. Ah! my be-
loved brother, have you, then, forgotten that you
are in the school of the Spirit of God, who aims
at enlarging and purifying the faculties of your
soul, in order to render it capable, continually more
capable, of enjoying the delights of infinite love,
which shall constitute in another world the ele-
ment of our being ? Y es, in edifying those around
you, by your resignation, your patience in suffer-
ing, your submission to the will of the kindest of
fathers, you will enter into the views of God who
seeks to accomplish in you that prayer which St.
DISTASTE FOR LIFE.
155
Paul offered up for his Thessalonian brethren —
“ The very God of peace sanctify you wholly ; and
I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body
be preserved blameless unto the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He that calleth
you, who also will do it.” (1 Thess. v. 23.)
That day of Christ, that day appointed by the
wisdom and love of our God, shall soon come to
each of us, and then, whatever be our character,
whatever degree of sanctification and of love we
have attained, oh ! how shall we be ashamed of
our lukewarmness, our want of courage in suffer-
ing and in self-denial, our want of zeal in the ser-
vice of so good a Master, our want of love for so
gracious a Saviour.
O, our God, give us more faith, more confi-
dence, more love ! Give us grace to employ more
faithfully these short moments of trial ! May our
souls live to praise Thee ! to nraise Thee in time !
to praise Thee in eternity !
L JL A-tX * -ou i * y ■**. ’
MEDITATION VII.
THE FOUR DAYS OF TRIAL.— THE FIRST
CONSOLATIONS.
John xi. 17 — 23.
“ Then when Jesus came. He found that he had lain in the grave
four days already. Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about
fifteen furlongs off: and many of the Jews came to Martha and
Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. Then Martha, as
soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him : but
Mary sat still in the house. Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if
Thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know, that
even now, whatsoever Thou wilt ask of God, God will give it
Thee. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.”
In our preceding meditation, we left Jesus on
His way to Bethany with His disciples, to whom
He gives serious and salutary instruction in refe-
rence to what He is going to do. The period of
trial is about to terminate to Martha and Mary,
who for a long time have been walking in a dark
path, amid affliction and grief, looking for consola-
tion in vain, and unable to comprehend the con-
duct of their Divine Friend. He comes to them
at length ; He comes to speak to them of faith,
of consolation, of eternal life. Thus the Evan-
gelist brings us back again to the family of Be*
THE FOUR DAYS OF TRIAL. 157
thany, and he informs us of what had passed
there since his Master had received the message
from the sisters of Lazarus, “ Lord, behold, he
whom Thou lovest is sick.” Let us, then, hear
our historian ; let us follow Jesus to Bethany ; and
in considering the affliction of the sisters of Laza-
rus, the consolation which the Jews offer them,
and the comfort which Jesus gives them, may we
learn to seek peace and happiness where alone
they can be found.
When Jesus arrived, He found that Lazarus
had already lain four days in the grave. We must
here suppose that Lazarus died the same day that
his sisters sent to Jesus: and as Jesus u abode two
days still” in the Perea, which was a day’s jour-
ney from Bethany, He only arrived the fourth day
after the death of Lazarus, who, according to the
usage of the Jews in his time, had been commit-
ted to the tomb immediately after his death.
He fell asleep in the faith of his fathers. He
closed his eyes upon the scenes of this life of sin,
in the firm expectation of opening them one day
to behold the glorious scenes of eternity. Like
Simeon, he could say, in leaving all that was dear
to him on earth, u Lord, now lettest thou thy ser-
vant depart in peace : for mine eyes have seen
Thy salvation.” He had entered the haven where
he had cast the anchor of his hope : but, alas ! his
sisters whom he loved remain after him, and
still have to buffet the waves and the storm. St.
John does not say any thing of their conflicts or
t T eir grief, but our hearts sympathizing with them
158
MEDITATION VII.
can tell us what they felt during those four days
of grief and suffering. Their brother, their friend,
the companion and support of their earthly exis-
tence, has ceased to live. All their affection for
him has not been able to snatch him from the cold
embrace of death. They have received his last
look, his last farewell, his last sigh. There re-
mains to them, of that beloved brother, nothing
but a remembrance, a regret, his vacant place in
their dwelling. Already his mortal remains have
been committed to the grave ; already he has be-
come the prey of corruption. Oh ! bitter fruits
of sin, which hath committed such ravages in the
garden of the Lord ! An immense void is felt in
the abode of Bethany, and in the heart of the two
afflicted sisters. The silence of death, interrupted
only by their sobs, prevails where lately the sweet
effusions of a pure affection were heard. All is
changed ; domestic happiness has forsaken them,
and left them nothing but tears. u A voice said,
Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh
is as grass, and the goodliness thereof as the flower
of the field. The grass withereth, the flower
fadeth ; because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth
upon it !”
Brothers and sisters, parents and friends ! you
who have around you those that are dear to you ;
love them, but beware that you repose not upon
their frail head your hopes of happiness ! Love
them for heaven, not for earth! Love them
"or God, not for yourselves! Hear the lesson
>f this disciple of love, who has preserved to us
THE FOUR DAYS OF TRIAL.
159
the history upon which we are meditating, and
who, after many years’ experience of life, after
having grown old in the exercise of that love
which he recommends to us in every page of his /
writings, inscribes, with a hand enfeebled by years,
those solemn words, a Little children, keep your-
selves from idols !”
Meanwhile, these four long days have passed
away, and Jesus arrives not at Bethany. Jesus,
who alone could bring succour to the weeping sis-
ters ; Jesus, whose assistance they had besought;
Jesus, who never remained deaf to the complaints
of any suffering creature : Jesus comes not ! What
will become of the faith and confidence of the two
sisters? What can they expect now? A single
word of the Saviour might have put an end to
their affliction ; they are aware of this ; they know
His omnipotence. And yet He has given them
only an obscure answer which they are no longer
able to comprehend : u This sickness is not unto
death, but for the glory of God !” And their bro-
ther has now been four days in the grave, and his
body has already fallen to corruption.
O my beloved brethren, you who from a mind
naturally incredulous, and a heart easiiy discou-
raged, feel nothing but distrust, weakness, and
despondency, in such moments of trial, learn from
Martha and Mary to know the w r ays of the Lord,
which are often obscure. From Abraham, and
from all the children of God who have obtained
the crown of victory only after scenes of conflict,
learn “ to hope against hope !” Though your
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MEDITATION VII.
heart be destitute of confidence, and your soul like
a dry and barren wilderness ; though your faith
be not triumphant, and your hopes be no longer
able to realize a better country j though the word
of God no longer speak to your heart, and prayer
be no longer a source of living water to you, while
at the same time you know that there is no other
remedy for your evils; though all your remaining
strength be scarcely sufficient to make you to
feel your corruptions and mourn over them ; yea,
though your eye see nothing around you but a
dark abyss — oh ! tremble not at the sight of that
abyss ; — there, even there, shall there arise in your
heart a faith which shall not be moved ; there the
bonds of your communion with God shall become
so strong that nothing shall be able to break them.
Jesus is there ; He comes. It is His powerful
hand that has placed you in that abyss ; and when
you shall have learned there to renounce all trust
in yourselves, in your own strength, and in your
own merits, and to expect all from Him, all from
His faithfulness, all from His love, that same
powerful hand will draw you out and place you
upon the lofty heights of faith, from whence you
shall praise Him for your sufferings which have
taught you so many profitable lessons. The sis-
ters of Lazarus shall learn the language of praise
and thanksgiving, after they have been taught to
humble themselves under the hand of the Lord.
Meanwhile, Martha and Mary, during these
four days of severe trial, wanted not what the
world calls consolation. “Now Bethany was
THE FOUR DAYS OF TRIAL.
161
nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off,”
that is, about two miles. “ A nd many of the J ews
came to Martha and Mary to comfort them con-
cerning their brother.” It was the custom among
the Jews, as soon as death had brought mourning
into any family, for the friends of the afflicted par-
ties to come in great numbers and weep with
those whom death had just deprived of a relative.
This, indeed, would have been a beautiful custom
had it been practised in the spirit of Him who
iC comforts them that mourn;” but, alas! with
man all things, even mourning and tears, degen-
erate into lifeless, I had almost said hypocritical
forms. The Jews, on such occasions, being as-
sembled at the house of the deceased, instead of
seeking, in meditation and prayer, that Spirit
which is called the Comforter , made the air re-
sound with mournful cries and deafening lamen-
tations. And if the person whom they mourned
had been an object of peculiar affection to his
family, if his death was a painful bereavement to
them, their lamentations assumed a character of
frantic violence. They tore their hair, rent their
garments, covered themselves with sackcloth and
ashes, uttering at the same time, piercing cries,
which were redoubled in proportion as they saw
the relatives of the dead giving way to their grief.
In some cases, also, to increase the sadness of
these gloomy solemnities, women, whose trade it
was to weep and make lamentations over the
dead, were paid to offer this strange kind of conso-
lation to the relatives or connexions of the de-
14 *
162
MEDITATION VII.
parted ! And, moreover, these melancholy cere-
monies were sometimes accompanied with the
sound of musical instruments, as we find it des-
cribed in St. Matthew’s Gospel, where he relates the
restoration of Jairus’s daughter to life. “ When
Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw the
minstrels and the people making a noise, He said
unto them, Give place.”
This, indeed, is not the manner in which the
people of the world, in our day, comfort their aP
flicted friends. But, alas ! how many “ miserable
comforters” are there to whom the Lord would
still say, with indignation or compassion, “ Give
place.” What do we hear in a house of mourn-
ing where the Lord is not known and invoked ?
The friends of the afflicted come to pay what is
called a visit of condolence. They enter into a
long detail of the virtues of him who is no more ;
they repeat to his blinded relatives that he is
happy, whatever may have been his principles, his
faith, his hopes ; that he deserved to go to hea-
ven j or if it be admitted that he had some failings^
they trust in a vague idea of the goodness of God,
behind which His holiness and justice disappear.
And further, as he brought no stain upon his fami-
ly, they have reason to be proud of his memory.
In fine, it is added, “We must submit to what we
cannot alter ; it is the law of nature ; we are all
mortal ; there is a better world j a future life.”
Some other common-place remarks of the same
nature we may perhaps hear, accompanied with
THE FOUR DAYS OF TRIAL. 163
a few tears; and such, poor world, are thy com-
forters and thy consolations !
Ah ! “ give place,” u miserable comforters !” or
if your soul be really touched with my grief, speak
to me truly of the designs of God, in afflicting
me ; tell me to humble myself under the hand of
Him that smites me, to make me wise unto sal-
vation ; speak to me of my Saviour ; of Him who
died to destroy the empire of death and the cause
of death — sin; speak to me of the sacrifice which
He offered up to obtain pardon and grace for me ;
speak to me of the invitations of His love, and of
the new heavens and new earth wherein dwelleth
righteousness ; speak to me of faith, of hope, and
of love ; give me one single promise of Him who
has vanquished death and the grave ; and if I am
so happy as to be able to apply that promise to
myself, or to him whose departure I mourn, I
shall be comforted ; and if I still shed tears over
his tomb, it shall not be 6C as those who have no
hope ” But if you cannot speak to me of these
things, there still remains one powerful means by
which you can give vent to the compassion with
which your soul is touched on my behalf; pray for
your friend ! Ask of God to sanctify to my im-
mortal soul the trial which He sends me ; ask of
Him that my head may bow in adoration, and
that my heart may bend in love, under those strokes
of His severity which are but the strokes of His
grace. Ask of God to apply to my heart, by the
power of His Spirit, the unspeakable consolation
of His word ; and if you remain thus in silent
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MEDITATION VII.
meditation with me, I shall feel that even your
silence speaks to my heart and comforts me.
The Christian alone, whatever be his degree of
knowledge and of moral culture in other respects,
finds in his principles and in his feelings this ten-
der delicacy which reaches the heart, this divine
art of consoling by a word, a look, even by silence.
Meanwhile, Jesus approaches Bethany; let us
follow Him, and see the powerful influence even
of His presence upon the afflicted sisters. <c Then
Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was com-
ing, went and met Him ; but Mary sat still in the
house.” Here again we see the two sisters acting
in conformity with their respective dispositions.
Both ardently desire the consolations of their
Heavenly Friend; but while the active Martha
yields without delay to the first and lively impulse
of her heart, and flies to meet Jesus; Mary,
though feeling even more deeply the need of His
presence, appears to have been too much oppress-
ed by the grief of her affectionate soul. She
seems as if she wished rather to wait till Jesus
Himself should come, and remove, with His com-
passionate hand, the burden of grief, the heavy
cross which weighed down her heart. It requires
not a very extensive observation of mankind to
discover those shades of feeling and of conduct in
the religious character, even of those who partake
of the same faith, the same love, and the same
hopes. And every particular in these details, so
true, so minutely characteristic, so evidently given
by an eye-witness under the guidance of that
THE FIRST CONSOLATIONS.
165
Spirit which searches the heart, would furnish, if
it were necessary, a very powerful proof of the
truth of the great historical fact upon which we
are meditating.
But while Mary awaits, in the silence of pro-
found grief, the consolations of her Saviour, let us
follow her sister, who already flies to meet Him,
as the hart, panting for the water-brook, rushes
toward the running stream. She is at His feet,
she prostrates herself before Him who alone can
pour into the wounds of her heart a healing balm.
She waited for Him for four days ; but now she
sees Him; “Jesus is come!” No sooner have
these words reached her ears, no sooner is Jesus
present to her view, than her faith, almost extinct
before, is rekindled ; a sweet ray of hope pierces
the gloomy cloud which enveloped her heart. All
the Jews who had come from Jerusalem to com-
fort her after their own fashion, are nothing to her
any longer; she leaves them all, to go and throw
herself at the feet of Jesus, and there, yielding to
the first feeling of her heart, which is to lay down
before the feet of her Heavenly Comforter the
burden of her affliction, sure that He will sympa-
thize with her as the best of friends, she exclaims,
u Lord, if thou hadst been here my brother had
not died.”
There is doubtless much grief expressed in
these words; there is even something of despon-
dency ; she can look only to the past, to the
tomb of a beloved brother; she seems to think
that Jesus has come too late to succour her ; that
166
MEDITATION VII.
now there is nothing left to her but tears. Yet
there remains in her a remnant of faith, which
seems to revive, to gather strength, and grow in
the presence of Jesus. She still believes that,
had He been there, He could have recovered her
brother, put an end to his disease, and with one
word wrested from death its prey, and from the
grave its victory. And as the flower, beaten
down and bruised by the storm, insensibly rises
under the genial beams of the sun, this germ of
faith, which remains in the heart of Martha, de-
velops itself, and grows beneath the compassionate
and majestic glance of the Saviour. She has
before her that “ High Priest who can be touched
with a feeling of our infirmities.” Her faith
rises higher every moment, and with every look
of the Redeemer ; her soul opens again to hope ;
her heart is no longer shut up by grief; the dark-
ness of her mind disperses ; her soul, already
penetrated with an unspeakable consolation, rises
above the evils which lately overwhelmed her ;
she feels that Jesus, who has come to her aid,
will find, in His infinite love and boundless power
all the blessing which she implores. “But I
know,” says she, with confidence “ that even now,
whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give
it Thee.”
O, triumph of faith ! O, the happiness of my
Saviour’s presence ! consolation and peace are in-
deed near unto that afflicted soul which thus opens
to confidence ! From faith to peace and happi-
ness there is but one step, or rather, the peace of
THE FIRST CONSOLATIONS.
167
God which “ passeth all understanding,” and
which is better than life, is the first and sweetest
fruit of faith.
O, disciples of Jesus, you who know that the
Saviour is always near you, you who have never
had occasion to exclaim with grief, u Lord, if Thou
hadst been here,” because you know that He is
always present, always ready to hear you, always
ready to bless you, why is it that your faith so
often remains below that of Martha ? Why is it
that you cannot, like her, throw yourselves with
confidence upon the power and love of Jesus?
Why is it that you are so often cast down in your
trials? Why is it that your soul, overwhelmed
by your infirmities, languishes in the depths of de-
spondency and affliction ? Why is it that it can-
not soar into the regions of faith, hope, peace, and
joy? Ah! comes it not from this, that you be-
lieve not, that you have not a simple, childlike
faith? Distrust and doubt shut up your heart,
close your soul against the unspeakable consola-
tions of your God, and render you deaf to the
voice of His grace, the voice of His promises, and
the voice of His love. Instead of abandoning, like
Martha, your miserable comforters, to go to Jesus,
whose presence has ever been, and eternally shall
be, the “ fulness of joy,” you ask of men consola-
tions which they cannot give you. Instead of
drawing refreshment for your soul, which thirsteth
after peace, from the fountain of living waters,
you t{ hew out unto yourselves,” in the wilderness,
w cisterns, broken cisterns,” which you well know
168
MEDITATION VII.
* £ hold no water,” or else you look only to your-
selves, to your sufferings, and to your infirmities.
Instead of taking God at His word, presenting
His promises to Him as undeniable titles, and tell-
ing Him, with a full assurance of faith, as Martha
did to Jesus, “ Even now,” (yes, even novi, when
all seems lost to me, when all the objects of my
dearest hopes seem to have disappeared for ever,)
ec even now, I know that whatsoever Thou wilt
ask of God, God will give it Thee.” Instead of
acting thus, is it not true that you open your Bible
with distrust, and with a secret repugnance, as if
it were not the word of God ; as if the invitations
of that word were not addressed to you, yea, to
you, who read it with so much indifference ? And
if, afterwards, you fall down on your knees to pray,
under a sense of your infirmities, your grief, your
sins, and defilement, is it not true that you address
Jesus as if He were no longer u able to save unto
the uttermost all that come unto God by Him?”
as if He had not given you “ an inheritance incor-
ruptible, undefiled, and unfading, reserved for you
in heaven?” as if u His arm were shortened, that
He could not save,” or His love were not great
enough to do so? O fools! why are we u so slow
of heart to believe” all that the word of our God
declares? Do we not know, do we not all know,
as well as Martha, better than Martha, that what-
soever our powerful Intercessor shall ask of God,
God will give it Him ? And can we not answer
that invitation of His love, “ Let him that is athirst
come j whosoever will, let him come, and take of
THE FIRST CONSOLATIONS.
169
the water of life freely!” O, it is faith that is
wanting upon earth. u Lord, I believe : help
Thou mine unbelief!”
Thus did the presence of Jesus raise up the sis-
ter of Lazarus out of the depths of grief and de-
spondency, and restore to her heart faith, confi-
dence, and peace. Thus Jesus hastens to answer
that faith, and that in such a way as to exercise
and to increase it at the same time that He at-
taches to it the most precious promise, exceeding
all that Martha could expect or hope for; so true
is it that cc He is able to do for us exceeding abun-
dantly above all that we can ask or think.” Mar-
tha does not wait for the answer of Jesus. She
has been deprived of a tenderly beloved brother j
her suffering soul seems to demand nothing more
of the Lord than the strength and submission ne-
cessary to support so great a trial ; or rather, she
makes no demand of Him at all ; she casts her-
self, without reserve or condition, upon His com-
passion and love : u I know that whatsoever Thou
askest of God, God will give it Thee.” And Je-
sus promises her a happiness to which she dared
not to aspire in this world, “ Thy brother shall
rise again !” Ah ! it is not, then, by words that
Jesus comforts the afflicted soul, and that He an-
swers faith ; no, it is by a promise which should
make faith rise above all its weakness ; for a pro-
mise of tl Him who cannot lie,” is always equiva-
lent to a gift. u Thy brother shall rise again \ u
When? how? by whom? are questions which the
faith of Martha had to answer. And it is thus
15
170
MEDITATION VII.
that Jesus, in answering our faith, finds, as we
have already remarked, a means to exercise, ele-
vate, and strengthen it. What are times and sea-
sons to Jesus?
Cannot He, at whose voice the dead shall one
day break the bands of the grave, if He see fit,
bring Lazarus out of the tomb, and restore him to
his sisters? “ Thy brother shall rise again !” Let
this be enough for thy faith ; trust in My power :
thou shalt no longer weep for being separated
from one so necessary to thy affection and thy
happiness. And, indeed, it was not merely for
the short moment of an earthly existence that
their souls were united. No; the bonds which
unite the friends of Jesus shall not be broken,
even by death itself That bond is eternal ; that
bond which had been their consolation, during
their earthly pilgrimage, shall still powerfully con-
tribute to their happiness in that heavenly country
where there is no more death, nor separation, nor
mourning, nor tears. But yet it is not to that day,
which shall fill up the measure of the purest feli-
city of which immortal creatures are capable, that
Jesus refers, in answer to the faith of Martha.
We shall soon see Him come forward as the
Prince of Life, to the tomb of Lazarus, and put
forth His almighty power, to fulfil more quickly
the promise which He had just made to Martha.
And though the faith of the sister of Lazarus does
not yet rise to the height of that promise, Jesus
says not to her, as He said on another occasion,
cc According to thy faith be it unto thee !” but He
THE FIRST CONSOLATIONS. 171
does for her infinitely “ more than she can ask or
think.”
Oh! let, then, these promises of the Lord,
which are all yea and amen in Him, be our eter-
nal refuge from the shipwreck to which we are
continually exposed, from the ever-varying winds
of our unbelief, our weakness, our passions, and
our corruptions ! His promises, my beloved breth-
ren, my fellow-voyagers on the stormy sea of our
terrestrial life, His promises alone will discover to
our view that Rock of Ages, from whose summit
we shall be able to contemplate, without fear, the
billows and the tempest. His promises alone will
be to us what the star which directs him to the
port is to the mariner wandering over the surface
of the deep. His promises alone will bring with-
in the reach of our observation, “that new earth,
wherein dwelleth righteousness.” Having, then,
taken in our hands and in our hearts, His promi-
ses, let us go to Him, and let us present them be-
fore Him as our only plea ; let us, “ in full assur-
ance of faith,” ask of Him light, strength, and life
for our souls. Then, like the sisters of Lazarus,
we shall find the sweetest consolation, even at the
grave of those whom we have most fondly loved
upon earth. Then these mournful scenes of sepa-
ration and of grief shall lose their bitterness, and
disappear, so that we shall be able to discern
scenes of eternal bliss, which we already possess,
by a “ hope that maketh not ashamed,” because it
is based upon the promise of God.
Are there among those whom I address on the
172
MEDITATION VII.
part of God, any who have suffered in their own
person, from sickness or pain, or have seen those
who were dear to them enduring like afflictions ?
let them not hesitate ; let them approach with
confidence the throne of grace, and say, like the
sisters of Lazarus, u Lord, he whom Thou lovest
is sick !” But this is Thy promise ; “ Thou woun-
dest and Thy hands make whole ; Thou killest
and Thou makest alive !” “ I know that what-
soever Thou wilt ask of God, God will give it
Thee.” Are there among you any who are ex-
posed to privations, to poverty, to indigence, and
who have the pain of seeing your children, beings
whom you love, consumed by want which you are
unable to satisfy? hasten to bring to Jesus the ti-
tles to His compassion which He has given you —
u He who feeds the fowls of the air, and clothes
the lilies of the field, will He not much more
clothe you, O ye of little faith?” “I will never
leave thee nor forsake thee.” And u even now I
know that whatsoever Thou wilt ask of God, God
will give it Thee.” Is there among those whom
I address any one whose soul is troubled by a
sense of sin, or by painful doubts as to his salva-
tion ? let him hasten to present to the love of a
redeeming God, his request and his claim, u Thou
hast borne my sins in Thine own body on the
tree.” “ Thou hast come to seek and to save that
which was lost.” I have heard Thy voice : u Come
unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest.” u Him that cometh to
Me, I will in no wise cast out .” “ Though your
THE FIRST CONSOLATIONS.
173
sins be as scarlet, they shall he as white as snow ;
though they be red like crimson, they shall be as
wool.” “ Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to
the waters.” u Like as a father pitieth his chil-
dren, even so the Lord pitieth them that fear
Him.” “ When my father and my mother for-
sake me, the Lord will take me up.” “ And even
now I know that whatsoever Thou wilt ask of
God, God will give it Thee.”
And if we be called to the sweet but difficult
task of offering consolation to our brethren, let us
beware of presenting to them the words of man,
and earthly considerations ; let us approach them
with a purely Christian affection ; let us make
them feel that we suffer with them, that we share
their griefs, that we are disposed to listen to their
complaints, that we understand them ; and when
a deep and sweet sympathy shall have opened
their heart to us, oh ! let the word of God be the
healing balm which we pour into their wounds.
They will believe and feel that word which so
powerfully speaks to their hearts, and we shall
soon see their soul, like that of Martha, coming
out of the abyss into which it had been plunged,
and rising triumphantly above doubts, above sin,
above suffering, and all the miseries of life. And
we shall see renewed in them the experience of
the Psalmist, who approaches God with this cry
of anguish ; u Out of the depths have I cried unto
Thee, O Lord ;” and terminates it with this song
of triumph, “ Let Israel hope in the Lord : for
with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is
15 *
174
MEDITATION VII.
plenteous redemption. And He shall redeem
Israel from all his iniquities.” (Ps. cxxx. 1, 7, 8.)
O happy the man whose hope and consolation
is in Jesus! Happy the man, who, in the midst
of all the miseries with which our life abounds,
can look by faith to his Saviour, and repeat, with
full and unreserved confidence, the triumphant
song of one of God’s servants who preceded him
in his warfare : “ The Lord is my light and my
salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the
strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid ?
Though an host should encamp against me, my
heart shall not fear ; though war should rise up
against me, in this will I be confident !” (Ps.
xxvii. 1, 3.)
My beloved brethren ! if in the time of trial you
find in the bottom of your heart neither this faith,
nor this confidence, nor this peace, remember that
they are the gift of God. u Ask, and ye shall
receive ; seek, and ye shall find ; knock, and it
shall be opened unto you.”
7
MEDITATION VIII.
JESUS CHRIST IS THE RESURRECTION AND
THE LIFE.
John xi. 24 — 28.
H Martha saith unto Him, I know that he shall rise again in the res-
urrection at the last day. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrec-
tion and the life : he that believeth in Me, though he were dead,
yet shall he live : and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall
never die. Believest thou this? She saith unto Him, Yea, Lord:
I believe that Thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should
come into the world.”
It is still the touching and instructive conver-
sation of Jesus and Martha, that is to engage our
attention. We have seen the faith of this sister
of Lazarus rise by degrees, until she is able to say,
with full and unreserved confidence, “ I know that
whatsoever Thou wilt ask of God, God will give
it Thee.” Nevertheless her confidence in the
goodness and power of Jesus doe*- not, at this
moment, at least, rise so high as to enable her to
believe that He can, or that He will, work in her
favour the most stupendous of miracles, and re-
store her brother to life. When Jesus addresses
to Martha this promise, so calculated to inspire
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MEDITATION VIII.
her with the highest expectations, u Thy brother
shall rise again,” we find her answering Him ac-
cording to an article of faith in the Jewish reli-
gion, u I know that he shall rise again in the
resurrection at the last day.” So true it is that a
strong confidence in the goodness of the Saviour,
and even a strong faith, may leave us below what
the Saviour is willing to do for us. When Jesus
spoke to her of the resurrection of her brother,
Martha thought only of the day, when (i the sea
shall give up the dead that are in it, and death
and hell shall deliver up the dead which are in
them!” She believed in the resurrection of the
last day, before Jesus came to comfort her ; but
how little power has such a faith to raise her soul
above grief, despondency, and doubt ! An ortho-
dox belief will avail the soul nothing in the day
of trial, unless it be endued with a principle of
vitality by the presence of Jesus, and by His life-
giving Spirit. Alas ! how many there are who
can write upon the tomb of one whom they have
loved, that “ He waiteth for the resurrection at
the last day,” who, notwithstanding, u mourn as
those that have no hope !”
Jesus Himself, with His love and with His pro-
mise, must be the life and soul of our religious
opinions, if we would have them really exert an
influence upon our heart. Jesus must say to our
soul, which, alas ! is continnally seeking out of
Him that which is to be found in Him alone,
u I am the resurrection and the life.” Not only
is it He who at the last day shall with His irresis-
177
CHRIST THE RESURRECTION, &C.
tible voice call forth the (lead from their graves;
but He is the Prince of Life ; He possesses life in
Himself, and He communicates life to whom He
will. If, then, we have Jesus, we have life ; let
us not look for it as something future, nor hope to
obtain it from any other source. He not only
shows us the way ; teaches us the truth ; and pro-
mises life ; but, He says, “ I am the way, the
truth, and the life.” He not only enlightens them
that are in darkness, but He is the light of the
world. He not only justifies sinners that come to
Him, but He is the u Lord our righteousness.”
So that if we be united to Him by faith, the
blessings of the Gospel are not merely promises
to us ; we possess them : “ I am the resurrection
and the life : he that believeth in Me, though he
were dead, yet shall he live : and whosoever
liveth and believeth in Me shall never die.” Let
us meditate for a moment on these words; let us
approach, like Martha, into the presence of Jesus;
and may He shed abroad in our souls that life
which is essentially in Him !
u I am the resurrection and the life.” What a
declaration! Who could pronounce it? Surely
not a mere mortal man, one who, so to speak,
treads continually on the verge of the grave : not
that miserable worm, whom a few days see come
into existence and die ; that being who, at his
birth, carries with him into the world the germ of
disease, which eventually brings him down into
the dust ; that being who resembles the perishing
grass, which in the morning flourishes, and in the
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MEDITATION VIII.
evening is cut down and cast into the oven. No;
He who, on the verge of a tomb, proclaims
Himself the resurrection ; He who, in the abode
of death, ascribes to Himself the principle of life ;
He is not merely a mortal man; He is God;
and if it were otherwise, every tomb, every coffin
would tell Him to His face, that His words were
nothing but presumption. Y es, when I hear such
words issue from the mouth of the Son of Mary,
the Son of the carpenter, I say to myself, either
He is God, or He is the most presumptuous of
men, and the most daring of impostors! But far
be from us this blasphemy ! Let us hear the tes-
timonies which the Word of Truth bears to Him
who speaks to the sisters of Lazarus. He it is
C£ by whom God made the worlds,” who is u the
brightness of His glory and the express image of
His person.” He it is that u upholdeth all things
by the word of His power,” to whom the Father
u Hath given to have life in Himself, even as
the Father hath life in Himself.” He is that
eternal Word, w r ho“was in the beginning with
God, and who was God,” by whom all things
were made, whom u angels worship,” “ over
all, God blessed for evermore.” Such are, among
a thousand others, the testimonies of the word of
that God who cannot lie : such is the truth which
serves as the basis of the whole edifice of the
Gospel, — a truth often despised, often misunder-
stood, often rejected, but which through eighteen
centuries of impotent contradiction, has come
down even to us triumphant, as it was upon the
179
CHRIST THE RESURRECTION, &C.
tomb of Lazarus, and constitutes the consolation
and the joy of all the faithful ; a truth which
Jesus proposes to Martha as most calculated to
raise her soul above grief, above death and the
grave, above all the ravages of sin: li I am the
resurrection and the life.”
Consoling words to him who loves the Lord !
Words which promise to fallen man the restora-
tion of his primitive prerogatives! Words which
enable him to descry the dawn of a day of hap-
piness, like that which illumined his state of inno-
cence before disobedience and sin had brought to
his ear the fatal word death , and placed before
his eyes the heart-rending spectacle of all the
miseries which form its gloomy train ! Ah !
since He, who came to repair the disorder of sin,
is the resurrection and the life, shall we not find
in Him all that our soul has need of in its misery?
Yes, the life , the enjoyment of life, the eternal
continuation of life. Such is the first, the most
pressing want of our soul, that want which is most
deeply engraven upon it, that want which no crea-
ture can satisfy. We love every thing that
breathes life, every thing that produces it, every
thing that supports it ; we shrink from every thing
that impedes, weakens or destroys it. Hence
that sweet emotion which fills our whole being at
the sight of those first fine days of spring which
are to mourning nature £C the resurrection and the
life !” Hence that feeling of melancholy which
pervades us when we behold the life of creation
languishing at the approach of winter ; hence that
180
MEDITATION VIII.
sweet joy which we experience when we contem-
plate the infant whose every movement breathes
animation and life ; hence the painful impression
that is made upon us by the view of decrepit and
infirm old age, in which the sources of life are ex-
hausted, and to which there remains but a last
feeble struggle against the stroke of death. But
these impressions of pleasure and pain which are
produced in us by the vicissitudes of life and death
in the physical world, are feeble in comparison of
those which we feel when we contemplate the
immortal soul, to which life and death, far from
implying the commencement and termination of a
limited existence, are but the characteristics of a
state of eternal happiness or of eternal misery.
Man in his state of innocence enjoyed the ful-
ness of life. To him life was happiness, because
it was a sweet communion, a holy intercourse with
his God. He drew life from the very bosom of
his Creator ; he inhaled life with the delicious at-
mosphere of Eden. Love was the element of
that primitive life ; no other feeling had as yet
found place in the pure soul of man ; to him to
love was to live. But, alas ! when I look around
me and within me ; when I contemplate what is
now called life, what a difference do I see between
man’s primitive and his present state. What a
fall ; — sin, rebellion, and pollution have broken the
sweet bond which united the creature to the Cre-
ator, and have called for the execution of that law
of eternal justice, “ The day thou disobey est thy
God thou shalt surely die.” And from that time
CHRIST THE RESURRECTION, &C. 181
the soul, separated from God, because nothing
that is defiled can dwell in His presence, has lost
the happiness of living the life of heaven ; from
that time life has become corrupted and withered
in its very principle, like a young tree whose root
has been gnawed by a deadly worm ; from that
time the sensual and carnal part of man has ac-
quired the ascendancy over his whole nature ; to
him to live, is no longer to enjoy the presence of
God ; to live, in the new sense which is attached
to that word, is to vegetate for a few days, fulfill-
ing his own depraved will, and satisfying his own
desires and passions ; to live, is to drain, even to
the dregs, the ever bitter cup of his pleasures and
of his selfishness ; to live is to enjoy for a few mo-
ments the advantages of his fortune, of his hon-
ours, of his learning. From that time, according
to the melancholy but faithful description of St.
Paul, his understanding has been darkened ; he is
alienated from the life of God, because of the
“ blindness of his heart;” “he has a name to live,
but is dead,” “ dead in trespasses and sins.” From
that time, the poisonous root of sin, which has de-
filed his soul, has also become a source of pain,
infirmity, disease, and death to his body. From
that time, “ alas ! every hour opens a grave and
makes a tear to flow.”* From that time, a day
has not passed that some Martha, some Mary, has
not gone to weep over the grave of a brother, a
husband, a father, a friend. “ By one man sin
entered into the world, and death by sin, and so
* Chateaubriand.
16
182
MEDITATION VIII.
death passed upon all men, for that all have sin-
ned.” (Rom. v. 12.)
Oh! unhappy beings! who shall deliver us
from the body of this death ? Who shall restore
to us that life of innocence which of ourselves we
cannot recover? Who, O my God, shall give
back to us that life of the soul, that life of Thy
love ? Hast Thou for ever cast us away from
Thy presence for our iniquities? Shall we, cap-
tives in this Babylon of misery, for ever hang our
silent harps upon the willows by the water side ?
Shall we never take them down again to sing the
songs of Zion, to celebrate Thy love, to chaunt
the anthem of the skies ?
O my beloved brethren! my companions in af-
fliction ! listen ! there is a remedy for your woes !
Listen to Jesus speaking from the verge of a tomb,
u I am the resurrection and the life !” And ima-
gine not that He would limit the meaning of these
divine words to this : u I have power, by a single
word, to give warmth and life to the cold limbs
of thy brother ; power to call him forth from this
gloomy abode, and to restore him to thine em-
brace.” Ah ! it is not an existence prolonged for
a few moments in this world of misery that Jesus
calls life. No: what He calls by this name is
real life , the life of the soul, that heavenly life and
immortality which He has brought to light by the
Gospel ; the life of a new love to God ; life over
which death has no dominion ; life which begins
even here in a soul u born again,” and, vanquish-
ing time and the grave, commences at the foot of
183
CHRIST THE RESURRECTION, &C.
Jehovah’s throne, the immeasurable periods of
eternity, the life which St. John calls “ eternal
life,” embracing in this word a whole universe of
happiness, of which a finite and sinful being can
scarce form the feeblest conception. Such is the
sense in which Jesus is life to those that love Him.
He is their life, for he has destroyed the cause of
death, vanquished u him that had the power of
death,” and “ broken down the middle wall of
partition,” which separated us for ever from God.
He has taken upon Him the sentence of death
pronounced in Eden and on Sinai ; and having
nailed to the cross that fatal warrant which would
have attained every soul of Adam’s sinful race,
He publishes the glad tidings of a free deliver-
ance ; He proclaims pardon and life ; u he that
believeth in the Son hath everlasting life “ Veri-
ly, verily, I say unto you, whosoever heareth My
word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath
everlasting life ; he shall not come into condem-
nation, but is passed from death unto life.” u And
I give unto them eternal life,” saith He, speaking
of His sheep, a and they shall never perish.” “ I
am the way, the truth, and the life.”
But doubtless it will be asked, how shall we be-
come partakers of this new life ? By what means
does Jesus communicate to our souls, which, ac-
cording to His word, are u dead in trespasses and
sins?” Jesus answers in our text, 11 He that be-
lieveth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he
live : and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me
shall never die.” Thus He tells us twice; we
184
MEDITATION VIII.
must believe in Him ; believe that He is our Sa-
viour; believe with a full assurance of faith,
founded upon His eternal love and upon the sure
testimony of His word, that He has purchased life
for us, that He has paid our ransom, that He has
saved us, that He will receive us notwithstanding
all our sins ; believe that He has given us “ power
to become the sons of God,” that is, the right to
be reinstated in the possession of all the privileges
of which sin hath deprived us, and finally of being
presented before God His Father with the re-
deemed of every nation, language, and tribe, whom
He hath purchased by His blood.
This faith, — which is the gift of God, which
Jesus requires of us in every page of His word,
and which in our text He demands of all those to
whom He would become the resurrection and the
life, — far from remaining idle and inoperative in
the soul in which it dwells, becomes, on the con-
trary, the powerful and influential principle of a
new life. It is the sap which carries life into all
the branches of the renewed tree, and causes it to
produce, to the joy of its possessor, leaves, and
blossoms, and fruit. Men of the world, moralists,
teachers, philosophers, economists, seek if you will
elsewhere, a principle of moral regeneration for
nations or individuals. The fruitlessness of your
efforts will compel you to return to Him who alone
is the resurrection and the life, and to the means
which He prescribes — the only effectual means —
faith ; faith which, by the effectual operation of
the Spirit, alone can make the soul rise to the life
185
CHRIST THE RESURRECTION, &C.
of heaven, disengage it from the shackles of cor-
ruption, break the chains of its ignominious bon-
dage, and animate it with the spirit of adoption,
whereby soaring, like the Apostle, with the glo-
rious liberty of the children of God, it can joyfully
repeat, “ We have not received the spirit of bon-
dage again unto fear; but the spirit of adoption,
whereby we cry, Abba, Father;” faith , which,
showing us in the Redeemer a love that is higher
than heaven, deeper than hell, breaks the hard-
ness of our heart, removes its icy coldness, eradi-
cates its selfishness; faith , which alone renews
the heart, fills it with a love altogether new, an
energy and devotedness hitherto unknown, and
leads the soul to love above all things Him u who
first loved us ;” faith , which alone produces in an
immortal soul the germ of a new life that shall
never perish, but, victorious over time and death,
shall arrive in all the glory of its strength in the
element of eternal love, there to develop its
powers, without limits, in Him in whose presence
there is tc fulness of joy.” Such are the means
which Jesus proposes to us, and by which He
would become to us cc the resurrection and the
life”
Having thus the express declaration of Jesus,
and the experience of His disciples in all ages,
how is it possible for those who know their own
hearts, and have found in the Saviour new life for
their souls, to be arrested for a moment in their
progress towards the new heavens and the new
earth wherein dwelleth righteousness, by the mis-
15 *
186
MEDITATION VIII.
erable objections which ignorance and self-right-
eousness advance against this great and only
means (in the hands of the Spirit) of regeneration,
holiness, and salvation ? The man who feels in
himself the sacred flame of a devotedness alto-
gether new, and of a love which he has only
known since he believed, may indeed be told that
this doctrine _of faith weakens the motives to good
works; but he will answer, Will you tell me,
then, that the tree will remain barren, or that it
will produce nothing but bitter fruit, because it
has been grafted? That the spring will produce
foul water, because it has been purified ? The
word faith signifies confidence , and confidence,
we know, is the basis of affection and of friend-
ship. Oh ! which is most worthy of God — to
serve Him from the affection of a child, who loves
his father tenderly, or from the mean and selfish
motive of the mercenary, who looks only to the re-
ward, or from the servile fear of the slave, who
has nothing in view but exemption from punish-
ment?
F aith, uniting the soul to God, passes over the
space which separates the finite from the infinite,
the 44 things which are only temporal” from those
44 which are eternal.” It is 44 the substance of
things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen
it seizes, beforehand, those things which 44 eye
hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor the art of man
conceived ;” it enjoys heaven upon earth ; and
though still in time, it lives in eternity. Hence
what need we care for the changes which our mor-
187
CHRIST THE RESURRECTION, &C.
tal nature must undergo? Death is our deliver-
ance, the tomb a passage to eternal life : “ Who-
soever liveth and believeth in Me shall never
die.” I love to repeat it, that it was at a tomb
that Jesus pronounced these words ; it was to the
sister of Lazarus who had lain four days in the
grave that He gave this consolation. No; they
are not dead who are gone before us into a better
country. No ; they whom you have loved in the
Lord in this world shall never die. The principle
of life which faith implants in their soul is as far
above all that is mortal as heaven is above earth.
Is it death to lay aside this frail earthly taberna-
cle ; the source of so many pains, so many suffer-
ings, so many sins ? Is it death to be delivered
from evil, and from all the miseries which are the
fruits of sin ? No ; that which lives in us by the
grace of God, through faith, shall never die.
No; it is not death, for faith to be changed into
sight, for hope to be superseded by reality, and
for love fully to possess and to enjoy its ob-
ject. It is not death, to see in a copious flood of
light and truth which in this world we seek amid
so many errors, and so much ignorance and dark-
ness. It is not death, to be satisfied with that
righteousness, that holiness which our soul thirst-
eth after here below in the midst of corruption.
It is not death, to be put in possession of that peace
which we seek here below in the midst of all our
disappointments, all our sorrows, all our tears. It
is not death, to see face to face that Divine Re-
deemer whom here we loved though we saw Him
188
MEDITATION VIII.
not, and whom our soul often longed after as
the bride longs for the presence of him whom her
soul loveth. No ; it is not death, to possess eter-
nal life ! “ Whosoever liveth and believeth in
Me shall never die.”
This faith has produced at all times and in all
ages the same life and the same hopes. David
beholds a beloved child seized with a malady
which threatens to tear him from his affection ;
he puts on sackcloth and lies upon the earth in
sign of his deep affliction ; he refuses either to eat
or to drink. “ And it came to pass,” the sacred
historian goes on to tell us, that “ on the seventh
day the child died.” The servants of David fear
to tell him that the child is dead ; for say they,
u Behold, while the child was yet alive we spake
unto him, and he would not hearken unto our
voice ; how will he then vex himself if we tell him
that the child is dead?” u But when David saw
that his servants whispered, David perceived that
the child was dead. Then David rose from the
earth, and washed and anointed himself, and
changed his apparel, and came into the house of
the Lord and worshipped.” His servants, as-
tonished at his conduct, say unto him, u What,
then, is this ; thou didst fast and weep for the
child while it was alive ; but when the child was
dead, thou didst rise and eat bread ? And David
answered, while the child was yet alive, I fasted
and wept, for I said, who can tell whether God
will be gracious unto me, that the child may live ?
But now that he is dead, wherefore should I fast?
189
CHRIST THE RESURRECTION, & C.
I shall go to him , but he shall not return to me”
(2 Sam. xii. 18 — 23.) Touching resignation!
glorious hope ! sweet fruits of faith ! 66 Whoso-
ever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die.”
Ye sisters of Lazarus, of all times and all
places, who weep for the ravages which death has
made in your affections, or dread it for yourselves,
come to the fountain of living waters, come and
draw from the source of true consolation ; come
and quench that thirst for immortality, which con-
sumes you and makes you mourn over the fright-
ful instability of every thing human and mortal ;
come to Christ; come and hear His divine voice j
out of His mouth flow consolation, hope, and life.
What ! saith He unto you as He did unto David,
to Martha, and to Mary ; what ! thou weepest
for the death of some dear object of your affec-
tion ! But cease to call that death which is only
a birth unto a new life ; cease to mourn for the
happiness of him who is gone before thee ! u 1
am the resurrection and the life : he that believeth
in Me shall never die.” u All that are in their
graves shall hear My voice.” Those eyes which
you once saw closed to the light of heaven, shall
open again, full of glory, on the day of eternal
meeting ; those lips upon which you once saw the
smile of affection playing continually, but which
you have beheld blanched with the paleness of
death, shall be reanimated, to commence with
you, pure from all defilement, the new song of
eternal deliverance. That hand which, in press-
ing your hand for the last time, fell cold and life-
190
MEDITATION VIII.
less, shall he lifted up to the throne of God, with
your’s and with those of all the royal priesthood,
to adore Him for ever and ever. “ They shall not
return to us, but we shall go to them ” “ Jesus is
the resurrection and the life !” “ O death, where
is thy sting ? O grave, where is thy victory?
Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory,
through Jesus Christ our Lord !”
“ Believest thou this ?” saith Jesus to the sister
of Lazarus, with an accent of the tenderest love,
and desiring to draw forth from her a confession
which would evince that she had in her heart this
principle of eternal life. If thou believest this,
He seems to say, thou shalt soon find in that faith
a healing balm for thy deep affliction ; thy tears
shall be changed into thanksgivings ; the darkness
which envelops thy soul shall be dissipated by
that bright light ; the pain of separation, so ago-
nizing to the unbeliever, to him who has not a
living faith, shall be alleviated by the assured
hope of an eternal reunion.
I also, on the part of God, ask you, O immor-
tal beings who hear me! believe ye this? Is
Jesus to you the resurrection and the life ? Can
you joyfully apply to yourselves these words of
eternal truth, u Whosoever liveth and believeth
in Me shall never die ?” When you contemplate
as at hand, the grave which shall soon open to
receive you, and into which all that is mortal in
you shall soon descend, can you with confidence
look beyond it, to that eternity which is the
CHRIST THE RESURRECTION, &C. 191
object of the wishes and hopes of the redeemed
of Jesus?
Oh! may you, may we all he enabled to
answer with the confidence of Martha, u Yea ?
Lord, I believe that Thou art the Christ, the Son
of the living God, which should come into the
world,” — come from heaven to bring down the
truth and life to earth. Error proceeds from
earth ; falsehood comes from hell ; but Thou,
Lord, art come from the bosom of the Father, to
reveal Him to us ; Thy word is truth. I have
not seen God ; I have not, like Martha, seen
Jesus. I see man die and descend into the grave ;
none of the blessed, none of the reprobate have
ever come to me, to bear witness to the truth of
the word of my Saviour ; and nevertheless I be-
lieve ; u I believe that Thou art the Christ, the
Son of God, that should come into the world.”
I see an unbelieving world counting my faith
folly, and my hope a mere delusion, which they
ridicule ; and yet, O my Saviour, “ I believe that
Thou art the Christ, the Son of God, that should
come into the world.” I see a world that lieth in
wickedness delivering themselves up to sin and
corruption, as if Thou hadst not died for sin, as if
there were neither death, nor judgement, nor
resurrection, nor life ; but though the whole world
were to rise up against the word of truth, and
against the holiness of Thy law, and though they
were to u kill thy prophets, and throw down Thine
altars,” yet, O my Saviour, would I believe that
u Thou art the Christ, the Son of God, that should
192
MEDITATION VIIL
come into the world,” I would believe that Thou
art to my soul, “ the resurrection and the life !”
O Redeemer, since this faith in Thy salvation
is a free gift of Thy grace, condescend to grant it
to us all, while there is yet time ! Make all
these immortal beings feel the folly of seeking
happiness in that which must become the prey of
death, instead of going to Thee, who art the re-
surrection and the life ! Above all, Lord, when
Thou smitest them with the rod of affliction,
when some painful event, some unexpected death,
some heart-rending separation takes place, and
brings trouble into their hearts, oh ! then, let
them hear Thy voice of love issuing from beneath
the ruins of that superstructure of false happi-
ness which they had erected far from Thee, and
crying unto them with power, “believest thou
this ?” Believest thou that I alone am the resur-
rection and the life ; believest thou that without
Me there is nothing but grief, doubt, vexation of
spirit, and eternal death? O, Jesus, may every
thing in this life fade away and disappear before
the happiness of loving Thee ! To Thee this
heart belongs ; may it beat for Thee alone ! and
when it has but one last breath to breathe into
Thy bosom, may that breath bear to the foot of
Thine eternal throne this cry of hope, “ Christ,
Christ is my life ; death is gain to me ! Amen,
Lord Jesus, Amen.”
MEDITATION IX.
JESUS WEPT.
*
John xi. 28 — 36 .
K And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her
sister secretly, saying, the Master is come, and calleth for thee.
As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto Him.
Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place
where Martha met Him. The Jews then which were with her in
the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose
up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the
grave to weep there. Then when Mary was come where Jesus
was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying unto Him,
Lord, if Thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. When
Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping
which came with her, He groaned in the spirit, and was troubled,
and said, where have ye laid him 1 They said unto Him, Lord»
come and see. Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, Behold how He
loved him !”
The nearer the history which we are consider-
ing approaches to its conclusion, the more lively
and touching is the interest which it excites. Eve-
ry step in this great transaction is so sublime, so
beautifut, so much above the ordinary course of
human affairs, that we cannot but anticipate a
conclusion in unison with so much grandeur.
And what may we not expect from an action of
which Jesus is the soul and the author. He is
17 ,
194
MEDITATION IX.
represented to us with a majesty altogether divine
in the foreground of that historical picture which
is exhibited to our view. He appears in the midst
of the surrounding company like a sun communi-
cating to the worlds around it that lustre with
which they shine to our eyes. Lazarus, Martha,
Mary, Thomas, and the other disciples, all look
upon Jesus, all direct to Jesus their thoughts, their
affections, their prayers, their tears ; all partake
of His light, His grace, His consolations. And if
some of His expressions, if some of His actions
have hitherto appeared to us obscure or mysteri-
ous, we cannot doubt but that a word of His power,
and of His love, will soon dissipate all those clouds,
throw torrents of light upon these obscure points
of His conduct, and command our adoration and
surprise.
But before our historian proceeds to this part
of his narrative, he calls us once more to meditate
upon the tomb of Lazarus. Before he shows us
his Master displaying the power of God the Crea-
tor, by whom all things were made, he wishes us
once more to trace the emotions of His generous
and compassionate heart, until he comes to that
part of the conduct of Jesus which speaks more
than volumes, and which ought to draw from us
tears of tenderness and of gratitude : “ Jesus wept.”
Martha, Mary, and Jesus are now going suc-
cessively to draw our attention. Martha had felt
her faith and her hopes revive in the presence of
Him who is called the “ Resurrection and the
Life.” “Yea, Lord,” she had said, “ I believe
JESUS WEPT.
195
that Thou art the Christ, the Son of God, that
should come into the world.” I see in Thee the
Messiah promised to Israel, the Deliverer, the
Expectation of ages, the Desire of all nations;
Him, whom all those who, like Simeon and Anna,
waited for the consolation and deliverance of Is-
rael, have longed after with the most ardent desire.
And as soon as Martha recognizes in Jesus her
Saviour, she also sees in Him her Almighty Com-
forter. Her tears cease to flow ; with faith come
back confidence and peace, and she experiences
the truth of that promise of Jesus which He has
connected with a gracious invitation, u Come unto
Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and
I will give you rest : and ye shall find rest unto
your souls.”
But Martha cannot enjoy these sweet and pre-
cious consolations alone. She has not forgotten
that her sister who u sat still in the house” is
plunged in the deepest distress; she leaves Jesus
for a moment and flies to Mary to acquaint her
with the good news — -the arrival of their celestial
Friend. u She went her way, and called Mary
her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come,
and calleth for thee.” Mary had shared in her
sister’s grief; Martha now wishes to make her a
sharer in her joy ; the two sisters had wept togeth-
er, it is but natural that their affectionate hearts
should now rejoice together ; they had drunk to-
gether the cup of grief, it is right that they should
now taste together the sweets of divine consolation.
How beautiful, how noble, and delightful is that
196
MEDITATION IX.
union of Christian hearts, in which all is in com-
mon — joy and grief, pleasure and pain, hopes and
fears. How much superior to all the relations
of the world is that association of two beings who
would feel a delicate scruple to enjoy any pleasures
without one another, and each of whom would
be nobly jealous of seeing the other suffer without
taking a part in his sufferings. It is only in the
love of God and in communion with Jesus, that
these relations, as holy as they are sweet, can sub-
sist ; these relations which are the only ones that
deserve the name of friendship. If these con-
nexions be unreservedly placed under the influence
of the Spirit of God, (for without that all is vanity,
idolatry, snare, and sin,) what blessings must they
not be the source of! Strangers and pilgrims
upon earth, what encouragement must it afford
us to have faithful fellow-travellers ! Combating
in an arena where we are called every day to con-
tend against sin, the world, and our own hearts,
what a source of happiness must it be to have
brethren in arms, who share our dangers, and who
by their words and by their example encourage
us to press on to victory ! Weak and sinful as we
are, what a privilege is it to have near us a frater-
nal hand which is ever stretched forth to point
out to us our dangers, to support and assist us !
Martha returns to the house ; she sees her be-
loved sister still a prey to the deepest grief; she
calls her, takes her apart secretly , as our text tells
us, to announce to her the happy tidings of the
arrival of Jesus. We ought indeed to be ready
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at all times u to give a reason of the hope that is
in us with meekness,” yet there are many experi-
ences incident to the Christian life which the dis-
ciple of Jesus alone can comprehend. Martha
knew this, and notwithstanding the ordinary quick-
ness of her impressions, she felt that there was no
other heart but that of Mary to which she could
open her’s, or which was capable of entering into
her hopes and joys. The Jews with whom the
house was crowded would perhaps have seen, in
her love for Jesus, nothing but exaggeration, in
her faith nothing but enthusiasm, in her hopes
nothing but delusion. Perhaps, also, the solemn
declaration of Jesus, u I am the resurrection and
the life ; he that believeth in Me, though he were
dead, yet shall he live,” and that significant ques-
tion by which it was followed, u Believest thou
this ?” had awakened in the mind of Martha some
secret hope of seeing again upon this earth a
brother who had been so dear to her. And to
whom but to Mary could she open her mind on
such a subject without being accused of fanati-
cism and folly ? There may exist in the heart of
the child of God a hope so aspiring, a feeling so
deep, that he would think it a profanation to ex*
pose it to the ridicule or sarcasm of the unbe-
liever.
Ci The Master is come,” saith Martha, with the
lively feeling of happiness which one experiences
who announces to the afflicted soul the most
cheering intelligence. u The Master is come !”
This word alone, in Martha’s estimation, should
17 *
198
MEDITATION IX.
be sufficient to draw Mary out of the depth of her
affliction. It is as if she had said, “ True, we have
suffered long ; we have seen the sweet ties of do-
mestic affection snapped asunder ; we have seen
Lazarus, whom we so much loved, die and go
down to the grave ; we have long waited in vain
for Jesus our great Comforter ; we have long shed
tears of affliction far from Him ; but £ the Master
is come already I have experienced in His pre-
sence unspeakable consolation ; I have felt His
peace, which is better than life, return to my
heart. Nothing is impossible with Him ; He has
declared to me that He is ( the resurrection and
the life,’ that £ whosoever belie veth in Him, though
he were dead, yet shall he live. 1 He comes to
comfort us, our sorrow shall be changed into joy,
our grief into lively gratitude, £ The Master is
come, and calleth for thee.’ ”
“He calleth for thee !” What love is this of
Jesus ; what consolation for Mary in her grief!
Ah ! He whom she waited for so long, and with
such an ardent desire, has not forgotten her. Like
the Psalmist, she might have exclaimed, in her
anguish, “ My soul waiteth for the Lord more
than they that watch for the morning.” And
now the hour of deliverance is arrived ; Jesus
comes Himself to comfort her ; He comes to re-
move from her soul the burden which oppresses
it, the cross which He had laid upon her for a
time ; He comes to pour into the bleeding wounds
of her heart the balm of consolation.
O my beloved brethren, acknowledge, adore the
JESUS WEPT.
199
love and the faithfulness of the Saviour. He is
always the same. When you are called to the
sweet task of bringing consolation to some suffer-
ing soul, some soul weeping over the tomb of a
beloved object ; some soul groaning under a sense
of its corruption, its sins, its unworthiness before
God ; some soul plunged in the depths of doubt
and of distrust :* oh ! then, do as Martha did to
Mary ; comfort that soul with these words : u The
Master is come, and calleth for thee.” He is
come, suffering soul, afflicted soul, sinful soul ; that
good Master, that loving Saviour, that divine
Friend whom thou thinkest to be far from thee is
at hand ; He is come ; He has not forsaken thee ;
He watcheth over thee ; He is come, ready to
receive thy first sigh of repentance, thy first cry
of distress ; He is come, ready to pardon, to bless
thee ; u He is come, and calleth thee !” He call-
eth thee, by this very affliction, this very sickness,
as well as in every page of His word ; He calleth
thee, to make thee fully enjoy the consolations of
His grace ; He calleth thee, to speak to thy soul
of pardon, reconciliation, peace, and love ; He
calleth thee, to gather thee into His sheepfold ;
He calleth thee, that coming out of this affliction,
this despondency, these doubts, this unbelief, thou
mayest be enabled to range thyself among the
number of the redeemed — His beloved children.
u He calleth thee !” Take heed that thou be
not deaf nor insensible to this call. Beware of an
offensive distrust, an injurious doubting ; beware
qf imitating those infatuated persons who were
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MEDITATION IX.
invited to the marriage supper, and who all began
with one consent to make excuse ; beware of say-
ing that thou art unworthy of Him, that thou art
too miserable, too sinful. Ah ! it is just because
thou art a sinner that it behoved Him to become
a Saviour ; it is because thou art poor, blind, na-
ked and miserable, that thou must come to Him,
“ who though He was rich, for dur sakes became
poor, that we through His poverty might be rich. 5 *
££ He calls not the righteous, but sinners to repen-
tance.” His invitations are free ; He does not
sell His favours, He gives them. And canst thou
suppose that He calls thee, intending to reject
thee ; canst thou suppose that He thus trifles with
thy misery and thine affliction? Far be from us
this blasphemy of unbelief O Jesus, my Saviour !
I hear Thy call ; I will go ; I will hasten like
Mary ; I will go to Thee that I may have life.
Ah ! to whom else shall I go ? Thou hast the
words of eternal life !
Mary hath not yet attained to the faith and
lively hopes of Martha ; grief is too deep in her
feeling heart. Meanwhile she hastens to obey
the call of Jesus. Even the soul which is encom*
passed with afflictions and harassed with doubts,
when it is acquainted with the Saviour’s faithful-
ness and love, makes efforts to rise up to Him,
and, as it were, “ feels after God.” But who can
restrain one who has clearly heard the call of
Jesus? one to whom it has been said, “ The Mas-
ter calleth thee ?” Ah ! such a one feels the ap-
proach of deliverance, and as the flower turns its
JESUS WEPT.
201
head towards the sun, and opens to receive its en-
lightening beams ; as the stag, panting from the
heat of the desert, plunges into the running stream;
as the child runs with tears into the embrace of
its mother, whom it had lost, thus the soul, thirst-
ing for consolation, peace, and rest, opens to the
sweet influence of the presence of its redeeming
God, quenches its thirst at that well of living
water which springeth up unto everlasting life,
and flies with confidence into the arms of that
Heavenly Father who has a remedy for all its evils,
and in whom “ there is plenteous redemption.”
il As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly,
and came unto Him.”
But we have already said, according to the
declaration of St. Paul, that “ the natural man re-
ceiveth not the things of the Spirit of God ;” and
the Jews who were with Mary on this occasion
afford a confirmation of this sad truth. St. John,
before he shows us Mary at the feet of Jesus,
speaks of these Jews, and tells us what they
thought, and what they said, as if to give a shad-
ing to the picture. “ The Jews, then, which were
with her in the house, and comforted her, when
they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily, and went
out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave,
to weep there.” It was a custom in the East,
which con tinues to the present time, to go frequently,
during the first days of mourning, to the tomb of
the departed, and u weep there.” He who has
not yet heard the call of Jesus, or has shut his
heart against it ; he who is ignorant of the irresis-
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MEDITATION IX.
tible attraction which leads the afflicted soul to
throw itself at the feet of the Saviour ; he who
has never drawn supplies from the source of true
consolation, hy private prayer in the closet, — such
a one cannot comprehend the conduct and the
joys of the child of God. He cannot conceive
that a soul in deep affliction can have any other
remedy for its grief, than the melancholy privilege
of going and weeping over the tomh, which has
just swallowed up the object of itstenderest affec-
tions and of its dearest hopes. He follows, with
an inconsolable regret, these poor mortal remains.
The Jews wept and lamented over the graves of
their friends for seven days consecutively. We
in our days erect a monument to perpetuate our
sorrow, to hide, if possible, the vanity of every
thing human, and banish from our minds the
humbling truth that “ all flesh is as grass, and
all the glory of man as the flower of the field.”
We attach ourselves also with a grief that knows
no remedy, and with wounded affections, to that
which is already reduced to dust. a We weep as
those that have no hope.” To give a colour to
this sadly idolatrous worship, we call it “ the re-
ligion of the tomh.” Alas ! we might with more
propriety designate it the religion of despair, or, to
use a milder expression, the poetry of grief.
No, Mary is not gone to the grave ; she knows
that Jesus is come ; she goes to lay at His feet
the burden of her grief, to open her heart to Him,
as Martha had done. She throws herself at His
feet, weeping abundantly j u Lord,” says she, “ if
I
JESUS WEPT.
203
Thou hadst been here, my brother had not died !”
This is all that her grief and her sobs allow her to
utter. She has sufficient faith, sufficient confi-
dence, to throw herself at the feet of Jesus, forget-
ting, in His presence, the crowd that surrounds
her — forgetting the whole universe besides. But
this is the utmost that her deep affliction permits
her to do. She had not sufficient strength, and
perhaps not sufficient faith, to add to her com-
plaint like Martha, “ But even now I know that
whatsoever Thou wilt ask of God, God will give
it Thee.” Her silent grief does not let us see
what passes in her afflicted heart. Has a dark
veil of sadness enveloped her, and hid from her
view the objects of her faith and hope ? Do her
words mean, that since “her brother is dead,”
every thing has become indifferent to her ? Does
she see no remedy for her afflictions? Does she
think that Jesus is come too late to repair her
loss? “If Thou hadst been here?” Does she
imagine that the grave can put bounds to the
power of her Divine Friend ? Is it despondency
and distrust that extort from her these expressions
of so deep a melancholy, “ My brother would not
have died?” Or is it that, full of confidence, she
deems it enough to show to her Saviour, in a sin-
gle sentence, her whole grief, to open to Him her
heart, to prostrate herself at His feet, to feel her-
self near Him in her affliction, as she was for-
merly, when she sat at His feet and heard His
word? Does she in her trial feel the reality of
His promises and of His word, which she had so
204
MEDITATION IX.
often heard ? Is her faith a light shining in dark-
ness ? Are her hopes a healing halm to the
wound of her heart? We love to think so; we
love to see in her silence the confidence and peace
of her soul, expecting every thing from Jesus, and
throwing itself upon His tender compassion. We
love to see in it that patient waiting which has
never been disappointed, since Mary experienced
the faithfulness and love of the Saviour far beyond
what she could have expected.
O, my beloved brethren ! dis’ciples of Jesus !
how sweet is it for us to know that in all our trials
even should we, in the despondency of our souls,
have only strength enough, like Mary, to cast our-
selves at the feet of that great High Priest, who
can be u touched with a feeling of our infirmities,”
yet this will be sufficient to move His generous
heart in our favour, sufficient to attract towards us
a look of His tender compassion and infinite good-
ness. Never has the cry of an afflicted soul found
the heart of Jesus insensible ; never has a single
sigh of a broken and contrite heart ascended in
vain to the throne of grace. “ This poor man
cried, and the Lord heard him, and delivered him
out of all his troubles. O taste and see that the
Lord is good : blessed is the man that trusteth in
Him.” (Ps. xxxiv. 6, 8.)
This silence of Mary, at the feet of Jesus, is in
perfect harmony with her whole character. More
feeling than Martha, her grief is also more pro-
found. All her lively and deep impressions are
concentrated to one point in her soul. She is not
JESUS WEPT.
205
able to express herself in words, to address a
prayer to her Saviour, or to declare her confidence
in Him. She lies in silent prostration at His feet.
She cannot join in that song of triumph, with one
who was animated by an all powerful faith,
11 We glory in tribulation also, knowing that tribu-
lation worketh patience, and patience experience,
and experience hope, and hope maketh not
ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad
in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given
unto us.” The experience of every day evinces
that persons of a deeply susceptible nature — those
who, like Mary, make all their theology, all their
religion, consist in feeling, as a counterpoise to the
lively enjoyments which they derive from the sub-
lime truths of the Gospel — are called to endure
far more painful conflicts than those who live a
life of simple faith. The path which they pursue
is more difficult and dangerous, because every ob-
ject makes a deeper impression upon them, every
untoward event which they meet in life shakes to
its foundation this power of feeling, and lays siege
to their faith, their religion, the very life of their
soul. Oh ! how necessary, then, was it that the
word of God should erect the structure of our eter-
nal salvation upon the immoveable rock of God’s
faithfulness, against which the waves and the
storms may exercise their fury, but they are broken
and expire at its base.
If by faith we be established upon the Rock of
Ages, sombre clouds may gather around us, dark-
ness may become more dense, it may spread over
18
206
MEDITATION IX.
the heavens a gloomy veil, and shut out from us
every ray of celestial light, yet shall we wait upon
the Lord ; and our expectation shall not be disap-
pointed. Let not then the continual variations of
religious feeling which we may experience, be
ever the measure of our assurance of salvation ;
otherwise we shall continually see our peace, our
hopes, our eternity, exposed to the mercy of all
those infirmities which in this life may take away
from us the sensible enjoyment of God’s presence,
of His pardon, of His grace, and of His adoption.
It is not written a the just shall live by feeling,”
but u the just shall live by faith.” God forbid that
we should be understood to mean by this faith a
mere barren adherence to the truths of the Gospel,
producing no influence upon the heart, or a pre-
sumptuous assurance founded upon mere notions
of the mind. The faith which does not “ work by
love” is not a true faith, and u he that loveth not
hath not known God, for God is love.” Such are
the two rocks between which we have to steer,
and upon which many souls have made shipwreck.
Happy that soul who, to avoid the one and the
other, sits like Mary at the feet of Jesus, to hear
Him in the time of prosperity, and whom the day
of trial still finds, like her, at the feet of Jesus,
waiting for assistance from Him.
But let us hasten to turn our eyes towards Je-
sus. We love to contemplate Him in the midst
of this scene of grief. Ah ! He does not remain
insensible to it. He beholds Mary at His feet,
overwhelmed with her affliction, and unable to
JESUS WEPT.
207
do any tiling but weep. He sees the Jews, some
of whom, we hope, really sympathize with her ;
while the greater part but imitate her grief, and
make lamentation according to the usage of their
country on such occasions. At this sight Jesus,
who was no stranger to any of those emotions
which thrill through the depths of the human
heart, “ groaned in spirit and was troubled.”
What was it that passed in His great soul? What
mortal can fathom His emotions, His trouble of
mind, and tell us what he felt? If we take the
original word in its literal signification, we shall
see in Jesus, besides the feeling of tender sympa-
thy which the scene before Him excited in His
breast, a feeling of that holy impatience which
He frequently experienced at the view of the
weakness, corruption, and unbelief of those from
whom he had a right to expect the greatest con-
fidence. “ O, unbelieving generation ! how long
shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you?
What ! are those Jews to whom I have exhibited
my works, who have heard my instructions since
the commencement of my ministry, still unable to
offer to the afflicted any thing but worthless con-
solations? What! is Mary herself, who has been
so highly favored, able only to utter words of de-
spondency, I had almost said, of reproach ? c If
thou hadst been here, my brother had not died !
‘ O ye of little faith, how great is your weakness !
how easily does distrust insinuate itself into your
hearts ! A few days of trial, a few days of waiting,
and you have no more faith ! How ignorant are
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MEDITATION IX.
the most enlightened ! how weak the strongest!
how ungrateful the most affectionate !* ”
Or are we to regard the trouble and emotion
of Jesus as expressive of a feeling of grief at the
sight of human misery, of which He had before
His eyes so melancholy a picture ? Is He moved
with indignation ; has He put on “ vengeance as
a cloak,” against him “ who hath the power of
death,” against him by whom <£ sin entered into
the world, and death by sin,” and with whom He
is going to engage in a contest, which shall show
to all future generations, that the powers of hell
are in subjection to the eternal Son of God, and
that Satan shall shortly be bruised under the feet
of God’s children? or was it only a deep compas-
sion for the afflicted sisters that Jesus felt? This
the expressions in the original scarcely allow us
to believe. But whatever it was, we shall see
Jesus moved even to tears by this tender compas-
sion. And whatever was at first the real cause
of His trouble, He turns from the scene which
He has before His eyes ; He hastens to go for-
ward to the accomplishment of His work ; He
demands where the mortal remains of Lazarus
are laid; He turns toward the sepulchre, where
He is going to show unto the world, that to Him
nothing is impossible.
“And He said, Where have ye laid him?
They say unto Him, Lord, come and see.” Jesus
had stopped to suggest consolation to Martha, to
give her encouraging promises, to reason with
her. But He who searcheth the heart, He who
JESUS WEPT.
209
well knows what kind of consolation is suited to
each of His people, touched with compassion for
this deep affliction of Mary, mourns with her,
weeps with her, and asks for the tomb of her bro-
ther, in order to show her, by His power, His love
and faithfulness. He alone is really capable of
comforting the afflicted, who loves them, suffers
with them, and shares their grief. Even the
people of the world feel to a certain degree what
a real comforter ought to be. They say, 6C We
condole with one for whom we care but little ; we
weep with a friend.” Oh ! let us endeavour to
feel, that the more we are animated by that true
charity, that ardent love which glowed in the
heart of Jesus, the more we shall be capable of
comforting our afflicted brethren in their trials ;
and the more we shall be disposed to comfort
them by actions, by devotedness, and if it be ne-
cessary, by sacrifices. u Where have ye laid
him?” asks Jesus. And while they conduct Him
to that abode of death, His thoughts rest upon
Lazarus, the object of so much affection, but at
the same time of so much grief and of so many
tears. His heart, moved, by what He sees
around Him, cannot contain all the feelings
which crowd upon*it, and He who was God, and
who yet has been called with truth the most
humane of mankind, restrains not His tears :
u Jesus wept.”
“ Jesus wept !” divine words ! words which
penetrate into the depths of the most unfeeling
heart, to search if there be a last chord which
IS*
210
MEDITATION IX.
they can make vibrate there ! words upon which
we may meditate but not discourse, because in
hearing them a multitude of thoughts and feel-
ings press forward, and fill our whole soul. The
pen even of St. John declined to make a single
reflection upon them. These words escaped, as
it were, from His affectionate heart, and he
thought, doubtless, u Here is a subject of medita-
tion for ages.” Some of the Jews who were pre-
sent exclaimed, “ Behold, how He loved him!”
But how far were they, as we ourselves are, from
comprehending the tears of Jesus.
Doubtless we can say with them, “ Behold,
how He loved him!” for already St. John hath
told us, “Jesus loved Martha, and Mary, and
Lazarus ;” and He who was never found insensible
to any of our miseries ; He who was touched with
compassion for the multitude which pressed around
Him, “ because they were as sheep having no
shepherd He who shed tears of pity over the
guilty and hardened inhabitants of Jerusalem, who
were going to put Him to death ; He who with
His dying voice prayed with the tenderest charity
for His murderers, He doubtless must have been
deeply affected by the afflictions of those for whom
He cherished a particular affection. It is then per-
mitted to us also to weep on account of our own
trials and those of our friends. If but the dispen-
sations of our God find our heart, and our will,
submissive to His absolute sovereignty over us,
this expression of our grief has nothing inconsis-
tent with the Christian character. The Gospel
JESUS WEPT.
211
has nothing in common with stoicism. Abraham
wept over the tomb of Sarah ; Jacob over the
tomb of Rachel ; David over that of Absalom ;
Jesus over that of Lazarus. So long as our trials
have not the effect of weakening our faith, render-
ing our submission less sincere, our hopes less lively,
our love less real, we may allow our hearts to
grieve, our tears to flow. The worldly man may
accuse us of weakness ; some Christians even may
suspect the reality of our faith, and the sincerity
of our submission, but Jesus, who searcheth the
heart, will not condemn us ; He will remember
His own tears ; He will have pity upon ours.
“ Jesus wept !”
Jesus has before Him a striking example of the
instability of all human joys. A short time ago
the abode of Bethany, now a house of mourning,
was the dwelling of peace and happiness. Laza-
rus was the joy and hope of his two sisters ; Mary,
sitting at the feet of Jesus, heard with delight the
words of eternal life which flowed from His lips ;
Martha testified her affection to her Saviour, by
her eagerness to serve Him ; all was peace, rest,
and joy, in that habitation where Jesus and His
disciples used to come and find an agreeable re-
treat. And now a few days have passed, and
Lazarus is in the grave, mouldering in corruption ;
Mary bathed in tears, and clothed in a garment
of mourning, is prostrated at the feet of Jesus;
and the Jews, who surround them, made this
abode of peace resound with their lamentations.
66 Jesus wept I”
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MEDITATION IX.
Oh ! how difficult it is to engrave upon our
hearts the sad truth, that all we possess upon
earth is only lent to us for a time, and for a very
short time ; that to-morrow, perhaps, the object of
our dearest affections may be a corpse ; that all
that our soul has made a support of, a source of
joy and of happiness, shall be confounded with the
dust of the earth ! Disciples of Jesus ! when will
you cease to make idols of those objects which the
Lord hath entrusted to you, that you might con-
secrate them to His service? When will you
learn that this is neither the place nor the time of
your rest ? When will you learn to think, to love,
and to act, as strangers and pilgrims, for whom
there isbut one thingneedful — to reach your native
country ? And you, ye men of the world, when
will you cease to hew out unto yourselves in the
wilderness, u broken cisterns which can hold no
water ?” When will you cease to “ sow the
wind, and reap the whirlwind ?” When will you
cease to seek your happiness, your peace, your life,
in that which shall disappear to-morrow, like the
stubble which the wind scattereth ? Ah ! if Jesus
shed tears of compassion over the guilty Jerusa-
lem, tears of tenderness over the tomb of a friend,
what bitter tears would He have shed over your
deplorable folly ! Let His tears be a powerful les-
son of instruction to you ! u Jesus wept !”
But the great soul of Jesus does not confine all
its melancholy thoughts to that scene of insta-
bility and grief. If the view of a tomb, open and
ready to receive its prey, makes the heart of every
JESUS WEPT.
213
reflecting person beat, what must that sight have
been to Him who had created man in His own
image, and assigned him, as his dwelling, not the
dark tomb, but the delightful bowers of Eden ?
What a comparison must Jesus have drawn be-
tween that scene of death which was before Him,
and that in which He first saw man when he came
forth from His hand, pure, perfect, and happy,
enjoying the delights of an existence of felicity
and love which his Creator had just conferred
upon him. Could He recognize His own work?
Must He not have beheld, with bitter feelings,
the ravages of sin, which had defiled and ruined
the creature, and hewn out his tomb ? If every
equipage of death that passes through our streets
tells the Christian that man is guilty, what must
the tomb of Lazarus have told Jesus, the Holy
One and the Just, and what the thought of those
millions of His creatures, that expire from gene-
ration to generation, amid agonies and pains,
(notwithstanding the tears of those who love them,)
and are engulphed in the abyss which sin has
dug out, crying to those that have ears to hear,
“Man is fallen!” If even the common observer
cannot contemplate, without emotion, the ruins of
a majestic edifice which the tempest has over-
thrown, what must the architect feel whose sub-
lime genius has conceived the design of the build-
ing, and who has watched it with solicitude as it
rose to its completion? If we mortal beings, be-
ings of a day, who are born amid sufferings, and
grow up among “briers and thorns,” which cover
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MEDITATION IX.
an accursed earth by reason of sin, if we groan at
the sight of a scene of death and destruction,
which attests our fall and degradation, what must
have been felt at such a sight by Him who came
down from the Father, from the abode of peace,
of holiness, of happiness ! “ Jesus wept !”
But O, my beloved brethren ! my companions
in exile and misery ! let the tears of Jesus, instead
of saddening us, be to us a source of the most
precious consolation. Ah ! if He could shed a
tear over our miseries, it was because He came to
earth to deliver us from these miseries; if our
woes touch His compassionate heart, He has come
to supply a remedy for them ; if He weeps over a
tomb, and over the instability of every thing
human, He is going to destroy him that hath the
power of death ; if He mourns over the ravages
of sin, He is going to die, and by His death to
take away sin and all our defilements. O gene-
rous grief ! compassionate tears of my Saviour !
flow, flow upon our miseries. You sweeten their
bitterness ; you are a healing balm for our wounds.
Now we know, we have seen, that u we have not
a High Priest that cannot be touched with a feel-
ing of our infirmities.” Let us, then, take courage,
feeble beings, sinful beings ; let us go to this mer-
ciful Saviour ; let us not fear lest He should cast
us out ; His tears sufficiently proclaim His love.
And if the Jews said, “ See how He loved him!”
let us also say, “ See how he loves us !” He is
always the same. Though He is no longer upon
earth to shed tears, He is with God, His Father,
JESUS WEPT.
215
pleading* our cause, interceding for us, demanding
pardon for our unfaithfulness and for our corrup-
tions. He knows all our sorrows, all our tempta-
tions, all our weaknesses ; Bethany has not
escaped from His memory, nor the unhappy from
His heart. u Let us come with boldness to the
throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and
find grace to help in time of need.” Let us love
this Saviour who has so loved us ; let us conse-
crate to Him our hearts which belong to Him by
so many titles. O Jesus ! O my Saviour ! Thou
see st that I wish to love Thee! Yes, I would
that I could say with one of Thy servants, 11 1
have but one passion ; it is for Thee, Thee alone.”
MEDITATION X.
“LAZARUS, COME FORTH.’
John xi. 37 — 44 .
; And some of them said, Could not this man, whicn opened the
eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have
died? Jesus therefore again groaning in Himself cometh to the
grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, Take
ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith
unto Him, Lord, by this time he stinketh : for he hath been dead
four days. Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou
wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God ? Then they
took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid.
And Jesus lifted up His eyes, and said, Father, I thank Thee that
Thou hast heard Me. And I knew that Thou hearest Me always :
but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may
believe that Thou hast sent Me. And when He thus had spoken,
He cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was
dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave-clothes : and his
face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them,
Loose him, and let him go.”
The part which man performs in the drama of
life, ends with his existence here below. All that
is purely terrestrial in the history of the greatest
and most powerful among men, dies with them,
save perhaps their name, which passes from age
to age, like the slight trace which the majestic
vessel leaves after it upon the surface of the wa-
ters, and which is communicated, for a while,
LAZARUS, COME FORTH.
217
from wave to wave, until it is lost in the immen-
sity of the ocean. Beyond that fatal term, man
is impotent. He gives back to the earth what he
had received from it, and all the interests of this
world, as far, at least, as he is concerned, are at
an end. Those who write his history, relate his
actions up to the period of his death ; they pass a
judgment upon his character, upon the good or
bad influence which he exerted over his age, and
their task is ended. Such is equally the lot of the
hero celebrated for his achievements, and of the
unhappy being who is distinguished among his
fellow-men only for his misfortunes.
How is it, then, that the history which for some
time has been affording matter for our medita-
tions, just assumes the deepest, the most lively,
and the sublime st interest, at the tomb of him who
forms the subject of it ? How is it that instead
of laying down his pen at the grave of Lazarus,
and resting satisfied with merely dropping a tear
to his memory, our historian here especially awa-
kens our attention, and seems to claim our admi-
ration for what he has yet to commit to future
generations ? Ah ! it is because that here he has
to do with more than mere mortals. It is that we
have here the Prince of Life, who by the exercise
of His omnipotence compels the gloomy empire
of death, and the limits of human power to re-
cede before Him. Jesus, the Lord of glory, is
going to act : what obstacle can the grave put in
the way of His operation? Let us summon up
our attention in His presence ; let us humble our*
19
218
MEDITATION X.
selves with adoration before His power; let us
hear our Evangelist.
Jesus had demanded where they had laid the
mortal remains of Lazarus. He advances towards
tljLe abode of death, shedding tears of compassion
and grief. Alas ! the dispositions of those around
Him were little calculated to offer Him consola-
tion. He sees Mary in tears ; He sees the Jews,
who already had often been witnesses of His
mighty works, deriving from these very works an
argument in support of their unbelief, and asking,
perhaps, with interest, but also with distrust,
a Could not this man, which opened the eyes of
the blind, have caused that even this man should
not have died ?” What reasoning ! One would
have expected to hear them draw a directly op-
posite conclusion, and say, ec This man which
opened the eyes of one born blind, and thus dis-
played a power altogetner divine, not only could
(if He had seen fit) have caused that even this
man should not have died, but also, without any
doubt, hath power to recall him from the grave.”
But no ; the carnal man does not reason thus ; he
does not ascend from one of God’s perfections to
the others ; from His power to His love ; from His
love to His infinite goodness. You must deduce
from him, one by one, all the consequences of
those manifestations of grace which his God con-
descends to vouchsafe to him ; and if at any time
he understands not the dispensations of eternal
wisdom towards him, he draws from thence an
ungrateful conclusion against the very benefits
LAZARUS, COME FORTH.
219
which he had received the day before. ££ There
is nothing new under the sun.” We find this
same injurious reasoning of unbelief in our own
hearts, if not upon our lips, when after receiving
innumerable favours and benefits from the Lord?
we fall back into distrust, and forget His gifts and
promises if He leaves us in our trial for a day. It
was thus that the disciples reasoned on their way
to Emmaus : ££ Jesus of Nazareth was a Prophet
mighty in deed and word before God and all the
people. But we trusted that it had been He
which should have redeemed Israel ; and besides
all this, to-day is the third day since these things
were done.” ££ O fools,” saith the Saviour to them ;
££ O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that
the prophets have spoken!” (Luke xxiv. 19, 21,
25.)
Meanwhile, Jesus waits not to reason with un-
belief; ££ He groaned again in Himsejf” on see-
ing and hearing those around Him ; but ££ He
goes to the sepulchre ;” He goes to confound un-
belief and distrust; He goes to comfort those
whom He loves by granting to them more than
they can ask or think. Alas ! are the most tran-
scendent favours of our God the only argument
which can convince us of His love ? And yet He
consents to grant us those favours. O, disciples
of Jesus! ye who, like Mary and Martha, weep
for bereavements which ye have sustained, your
powerful Saviour can and will go with you to the
tomb of those beloved beings whom you follow
there with tears. From that tomb itself He will
220
MEDITATION X.
find means to draw consolation for you, if not by
restoring to you again on earth those whom you
regret, at least by enabling you to realize, by a
living faith, that glorious day when they shall be
given back to you for ever, pure, holy, and happy.
That cold clay, which covers from your view those
mortal remains, and preserves the hallowed germ
of their glorious resurrection, can no more separate
them from God and from you, than the stone
which stopped the mouth of the cave where Laza-
rus lay, could place a barrier between him and
the power of Jesus. The Saviour’s love is like
His power ; it knows no obstacle ; “ He cometh to
the grave.”
“ It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it,” or as
it may be rendered, u there lay a stone at the en-
trance of the cave,” which, according to custom,
was hewn out of a rock, and into which they de-
scended by a few narrow steps, “ What,” (must
the unbelieving Jews have said within themselves,
and perhaps the two sisters of Lazarus also,)
“what is He going to do at the grave? Is it to
weep there ? Does He wish to have the melan-
choly pleasure of seeing at least the place where
His friend reposes ? Does He wish to bid those
cold remains a last farewell, and thus to testify to
the afflicted sisters the sympathy and affection
which He had for their brother ?” The curiosity
which gives rise to those questions is rendered still
more lively by that grave and solemn command of
Jesus, “ Take away the stone !” What anxiety!
What feelings must the two sisters have expe-
LAZARUS, COME FORTH.
221
rienced ! Are they going to behold the cold re-
mains of their brother whom they so much loved ?
What does Jesus mean? Martha, who, while
they are taking away the stone, is struck with that
dreadful savour of death and corruption which ex-
hales from a body that has fallen into dissolution,
groans within herself. Alas ! it is her brother !
She is unable to support the violence of her feel-
ings ; her secret hope flies from her breast ; she
seems to wish to entreat the Lord to allow the
lifeless body to rest in peace. “ Lord,” cries she
with a trembling voice, u by this time he stinketh,
for he hath been dead four days.” Four days!
It is then but four days since she could still press
to her heart that brother whom she loved ; four
days since Lazarus still responded to her affection;
but four days since she received his last look, and
his last adieu ; and already .... a mass of corrup-
tion. Oh ! the vanity of all that is human ! Aw-
ful curse of sin ! dust thou art, and unto dust shalt
thou return ! Men of the world ! worldly women !
is it then to this perishable body, this handful of
clay, that you will consecrate your time, your
cares, your talents, your fortune, your life ? Ah,
fools ! you have an immortal soul ; how long will
you neglect it? how long will you sacrifice it to
that which in four days shall turn to corruption
and become the food of worms ?
These words of Martha afford us another lesson.
Physicians have decided, that the only infallible
mark of death is corruption. Well, then! for
you, unbelievers; for you who foolishly require a
19 *
222
MEDITATION X.
mathematical certainty in religious truths, this last
feature was necessary to our narrative. It was
necessary, in order that there might not remain
any pretext for not believing in the reality of the
miracle which was going to be wrought, and in
Him who was about to perform it. It was neces-
sary, in order that if you reject the divinity of His
mission, the responsibility of your unbelief may
rest entirely upon your own guilty heads ; it was
necessary, in order that God might have done
every thing to convince you and save you ; and
that He might be found just when He condemns.
One of your masters, Spinoza, has told the world,
that if he could have believed the resurrection of
Lazarus, he would have dashed in pieces his
whole system, and embraced without repugnance
the Christian faith. # But believe him not ; his
reason could not doubt, it was his heart that would
not believe. “Ye will not come to Me that ye
might have life !”
Jesus, wIiq would not reason with Mary, be-
cause she was too exclusively under the influence
of grief ; Jesus, who thought it enough to weep
with her, because He knows the consolation which
is suited to each individual, condescends in His
infinite compasssion to stop a moment to strength-
en the wavering faith of Martha. “ Said I not
unto thee,” saith He, “ that if thou wouldest be-
lieve, thou shouldest see the glory of God?” Oh !
how often might this merciful Saviour have ad-
dressed to us, with justice, this reproach, “ Said I
* Baile’s Dictionary, Art. Spinoza.
LAZARUS, COME FORTH.
223
not unto thee ?” When, in the hour of trial, our
soul no longer ventures to look to Jesus to obtain
from Him deliverance or a submissive will ; when
our heart, shut up by grief, withered by doubt,
allows its faith to fail, its hopes to disappear ;
when, in the darkness which surrounds us, we are
unable to raise our eyes and to behold above us a
starry sky ; when, yielding to doubt, we are ready
to exclaim with Martha, 44 Lord, by this time he
stinketh, for he hath been dead four days,” all is
lost, there is no more hope in this life ; where are
now the promises of our God? why do these pro-
mises no longer speak to our souls? might not
Jesus approach us with this reproof of His tender
compassion : 44 4 Said I not unto thee, that, if thou
wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of
God V In the despondency of thy heart, being
unable to comprehend this severe dispensation of
My wisdom, feeling only thy grief, thou art ready
to be cast down and discouraged ; but said I not
unto thee that all things shall work together for
good to them that love God ? In the feeling of
thy weakness and of thy misery thou canst only
mourn because thou makest no progress in the
knowledge of My ways ; thou doubtest whether I
am thy Saviour ; finding in thyself so little love,
thou doubtest whether thou belongest to Me,
whether I have redeemed thee, whether thou art
a child of God. But said I not unto thee, that
4 he that believeth on the Son, hath everlasting
life V Said I not unto thee, that thou art 4 saved
freely by grace V that 4 the gift of God is eternal
224
MEDITATION X.
life V Said I not unto thee, that 1 1 break not the
bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax V that
4 like as a father pitieth his children, even so the
Lord pitieth them that fear Him V ”
“ Believe,” and thou shalt see the glory of God !
Such should be the sole end of thy life ; such the
object which thou shouldest seek, even in the
midst of thy sufferings, instead of sighing only
after the happiness and interest of the moment.
Oh ! when the old man, with all its strength,
which is but weakness ; with all its wisdom, which
is but folly ; when the old man, with all its doubts
and agonies, with all its fears and anxieties, holds
its peace and retires into the silence of its own
nothingness ; when in the calm of the soul faith
pierces the clouds and contemplates the heavens;
when hope spreads out its wings, shakes off the
dust of earth, takes its flight above all that is mor-
tal ; when the heart expands to feel and to love,
and soars toward its Redeemer, towards Him
whom it loves though it sees Him not ; when our
lips are open to give utterance to the cry of Mary,
“ Rabboni” Master, or to the exclamation of Thom-
as, “ My Lord and my God !” when a deep feeling
of veneration lays us prostrate before God, and
fills us with an idea of His eternal majesty — then
the Spirit of the Most High — that Spirit which
conducted Ezekiel into the valley of vision, to
show him the glory of God “ in the dry bones,”
works in our soul ; we “ believe,” and we “ see
the glory of God,” — the glory of God “in the
LAZARUS, COME FORTH.
225
midst of trials ” — the glory of God even in the
presence of the tomb !
Meanwhile the stone is taken away, the body
of Lazarus, laid in its cold abode, bound around
with grave-clothes, appears to the eyes of all.
What a sight ! what a feeling of fear, of astonish-
ment, of horror, of anxious expectation, of secret
hope, must have taken possession of all the spec-
tators, according to the dispositions of faith or
unbelief with which they were influenced. A
mournful silence reigns around the grave : all
who are present appear like so many shades in
this abode of death, whose chilling influence seems
to have frozen the life in their hearts. Scarcely
do they venture to raise their eyes from the corpse
to try and read with anxiety in the looks of Jesus
what is His intention. The Prince of Life alone
is filled with that spirit whereby “ He calls the
things which are not as though they were He
advances majestically to the mouth of the sepul-
chre — He stops — lifts His eyes to heaven. Ah !
He wishes not that the eyes and thoughts of those
around Him should rest upon and grovel among
the direful ruins of death and destruction. u Jesus
lifted up His eyes to heaven,” signifying with suf-
ficient plainness, that on earth there is neither
succor nor consolation to be found ; that we must
u lift up our eyes unto the hills from whence com-
eth our help that we must not u seek the living
among the dead that our soul must take its
flight, rise upon the wings of faith, above death,
the grave, affliction, tears ; above the world and
226
MEDITATION X.
ourselves. O why, in our trials, do we grievously
fall back upon ourselves with all the weight of our
sufferings j why does our soul envelop itself in its
grief as in a sombre cloud ? Why, when we see
some beloved being descend into the grave, do we
follow his cold remains with all our thoughts and
all our bleeding affections into the dust of the
earth, from whence we can draw nothing but grief
and regret ? Alas ! it is that we are carnal ; we
cannot, like Jesus, lift up our eyes to heaven, from
whence we would derive faith, hope, and consola-
tion ; it is that our dull and unbelieving heart falls
back to the earth with all its weight, and cannot
rise above death, and quench with Him, who is
the living and the eternal One, that thirst for im-
mortality which devours it. O my Saviour, teach
us thus to raise our eyes and our thoughts, our af-
fections and our prayers, to heaven !
Jesus would also, in directing the thoughts of
all to heaven, point to that eternal power by
which he was going to work a stupendous mira-
cle. He does not wish that any of those around
Him should remain in doubt in this respect ; He
wishes to give a sacredness to the action which
He is going to perform ; He wishes that it should
be ascribed to none but God alone. He had pre-
dicted that the sickness of Lazarus should sub-
serve “the glory of God.” He proceeds to give,
by a most striking act, a commentary on His own
words ; but that no one may divert from God the
glory which is due to Him, He shows beforehand
LAZARUS. COME FORTH.
227
that it is His powerful arm which is going to
work.
“Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast heard
Me!” What! “That Thou,” He saith, “hast
heard Me !” and yet He has not yet seen His
prayer answered. Lazarus is still in the tomb,
the prey of death and corruption. “ Thou hast
heard Me !” and yet not a spark of life has enter-
ed the bosom of Lazarus. “ Thou hast heard
Me ?” and yet those who surround Him have be-
fore their eyes only a mouldering corpse.
O, my beloved brethren ! here is faith ; here
is prayer; here is confidence in the promises
of God, who cannot lie. To real faith a promise
of God is a gift ; a prayer sent up to the throne
of the Most High, in the spirit of supplication, is
a prayer heard.
Jesus, on approaching the tomb of Lazarus,
had prayed in the secret recesses of His heart,
and in His view that prayer is already heard —
Lazarus is restored to life, his sisters are com-
forted, the faith of His disciples is strengthened,
God is glorified, the Son of Man is glorified.
Oh ! how different would our prayers be if we
could thus receive the promises of our God as
already accomplished ! It is by this spirit, this
faith, that the Apostle Paul sees for himself, and
for those believers to whom he is writing, all
difficulties surmounted, all temptations overcome,
all their combats victoriously terminated, all their
souls purified from sin, and that he cries out
triumphantly, “We are more than conquerors
228
MEDITATION X.
through Him who loved us.” Passing over time
and life, death and the grave, he cries again,
u He hath raised us up together, and made us sit
together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”
Embracing by this same faith all the gifts of God,
still in the promise, he thus speaks to the Corin-
thians : “ Whether the world, or life, or death, or
things present, or things to come, all things are
yours and ye are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.”
(1 Cor. iii.) “ I thank Thee,” saith Jesus in an-
ticipation ; but with what difficulty do we (even
when we have seen our prayers answered) lift our
cold hearts to heaven and say, u I thank Thee.”
O ye of little faith, little gratitude, little love !
u I know that Thou hearest Me always, but be-
cause of the people which stand by I said it that
they may believe that Thou hast sent Me.” Who
does not recognize in this familiar language of
confidence Him who is one with the Father ; Him
who from all eternity has taken part in His coun-
sels ; Him who “ was in the beginning with God,
and was God?” “I know that Thou hearest
Me always!” and how could it be otherwise with
Him whom the Father hath proclaimed to earth
in these words, “ This is My beloved Son, in
whom I am well pleased !” Who does not re-
cognize in this tender solicitude for the flock which
surrounds Him, the good Shepherd who giveth
His life for the sheep; who anxiously traverses
the mountains and the valleys, to seek that which
was lost ? O, my brethren, if hitherto we have
placed so little confidence in our prayers, let us
LAZARUS, COME FORTH.
229
take courage ! Jesus is always the same. Even
now, as in the days of His flesh ; before the throne
of God, as before the grave of Lazarus, He says
to His Father, with the same confidence, when
He prays for us, u I know that Thou hearest Me*
always!” As our High Priest He offers to God
His Father our feeble prayers, purified from all
defilement, and kindled by the fire of His love.
And, O delightful thought, consoling assurance,
“ God heareth Him always.”
The prayer of Jesus had awakened a holy con-
fidence in the minds of those who surrounded
Him, instead of that terror with which the view
of the corpse had penetrated them. All is thus
made ready, both in the minds of those who are
about to witness this astonishing miracle, and in
the tomb which was opened to their view. No-
thing more is wanting than a word of Almighty
power ; the Incarnate God is going to utter it.
And when He had thus spoken, He cried with a
loud voice, Lazarus come forth !” O amazement !
O terror ! this single word, which penetrated the
souls of all who w T ere present, made life enter into
the bosom of the dead ; the bonds of the tomb are
broken ; death delivering up its prey, confesses
itself vanquished by the voice of Jesus ; the eyes
of all see the cold limbs of Lazarus begin to
move ; he rises ; he comes forth still bound with
grave-clothes. What a sight! What a specta-
cle ! li Then he that was dead came forth, bound
hand and foot with grave-clothes, and his face
was bound about with a napkin !” Astonishment,
20
230
MEDITATION X.
terror, seize the minds of all; all remain mute
with surprise and fear. Martha and Mary dare
not embrace their brother again ; they cannot be-
lieve their senses ; doubt and fear impose silence
upon their affection ; it would appear as if death
had seized upon the hearts of all to avenge itself
for the defeat which it had just suffered. Jesus
alone breaks the silence. He says with majestic
calmness, “ Loose him, and let him go.”
O power! O divinity of my Saviour! I bow be-
fore Thee, and adore Thee in the silence of ad-
miration. Oh ! how clearly do I recognize here
that mighty voice which in the beginning said,
Let there be light, and there was light!” Yes, I
recognize it, it is the voice which calleth things
that are not as though they were, and which rais-
eth the dead. Let my knees bend before the di-
vine Saviour. u God over all blessed for ever-
more !” who is like unto Thee in heaven or in
earth? Thou spakest, and it was done; Thou
commandedst and it stood fast ! At Thy voice
the grave delivers up its dead ; the corruption of
the tomb fleeth before Thy face ! Who is there
in heaven or in earth that can resist Thy power?
O how happy are we to know that in Thy hand is
our destiny for eternity ! If Thou lovest us ; if
we are Thy redeemed ; if Thou art for us, who
can be against us? What shall we have to fear?
Death? In Thy presence it has no more power.
The grave ? At Thy voice it becomes the thea-
tre of a glorious resurrection, and life flourishes in
the very field of death. Our soul waite th upon Thee,
LAZARUS, COME FORTH.
231
whether in life or in death. Even from the dust we
shall lisp forth Thy praises ; we shall mingle our
feeble voice with the voices of celestial intelli-
gences, to celebrate Thy glorious name. O our
divine Saviour, our Redeemer, and our King ! we
shall ascribe to Thee throughout eternity, glory,
and strength, and praise. Thou art God over all;
Thy dominion hath no limits. All the angels of
God worship Thee. Oh ! may the redeemed of
every tongue, and people and nation, thus cele-
brate Thy praises, for ever and ever !
What more shall I say to you, my beloved
brethren ? Shall I describe to you the transports
of joy and gratitude of the sisters of Lazarus ?
Shall I show them to you, now pressing to their
hearts with tears of happiness a beloved brother,
who is about again to partake of their combats,
their hopes, their fears upon earth, now prostrat-
ing themselves at the feet of Jesus, filled with a
lively and never-ceasing gratitude ? Shall I des-
cribe to you the family of Bethany recovering
their domestic joys, and consecrating themselves,
more entirely than ever, to the Author of their
happiness ? Shall I tell you all the lessons which
the sisters of Lazarus drew from the issue of their
trial — lessons of faith, of gratitude, of love to
Jesus, a thousand times more precious still than the
happiness of possessing a beloved brother? Shall
I show you this happy family again possessing
Jesus among them six days before the passover,
that is, six days before His death (John xii. 1 — 8,)
and Mary, eagerly seizing the first opportunity
232
MEDITATION X.
which presented itself, publicly to testify to her
Saviour her gratitude and love, by publicly ren-
dering to Him the honour due to her Lord and
her King, whose Majesty she had witnessed at
the tomb of her brother? Shall I show you
Martha joyfully waiting upon Him as in the days
of their former prosperity, and Lazarus sitting at
table with his Divine Saviour, who had raised
him from the dead — a living witness of His
power and godhead ? What a picture ! what a
termination to so many trials where Jesus appears
as a comforter ! In fine, shall I speak to you of
what must have passed in the minds of the dis-
ciples, for whose sake Jesus was pleased to give
this striking manifestation of His omnipotence,
and to whom He had said (C I am glad for your
sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may
believe ?” No, we will not stop to meditate on
these subjects, however interesting; we will leave
them to your own reflections, and rather direct
our thoughts to ourselves, for the resurrection
of Lazarus concerns us also ; and if he came
forth from the tomb at the command of Jesus, it
was to convey to us, even to us also, strong con-
solation, powerful encouragement, salutary in-
structions. Yet a little while, and that voice
of power which was heard at Bethany, shall be
heard again with the sound of the last trumpet,
through the wide expanse of heaven ; and we all,
whatever be our condition, shall rise like Lazarus,
and with us, all the generations of mankind
which have appeared in succession upon the
LAZAEUS, COME FOETH.
233
earth. What a moment ! what a scene ! Oh !
how happy, then, shall be the friends of Jesus;
the Lazaruses, the Marthas, the Marys, who shall
behold again, with transports of happiness, those
whom they loved in the Lord upon earth, those
whose departure cost them so many tears, those
with whom they shall be united for ever in that
place where there shall be no more misery nor
pain, nor separation, nor death, nor mourning, nor
tears, because there shall be no more sin ! The
happiness of the family of Bethany is but a feeble
image of that blessedness, since, alas ! that family
was still upon earth, exposed to trials, conflicts,
and anxieties ; and its members, after having en-
joyed their happiness for a short time, were
doomed again to bid each other a final adieu, as
far as this world is concerned ! If we belong to
Jesus, who is the resurrection and the life , let His
power, which is equalled only by His love, be our
consolation, our support, our secret refuge ! Let
nothing affright us, nothing cast us down ! Let
Us, by that hope which maketh not ashamed, pass
over time and the grave ! Let us realize, by an
unshaken faith, the glorious promises of our
Divine Saviour, and the happiness of seeing, as
He is, Him who hath so loved us, who hath wept
over our trials and our afflictions, Him who willeth
that u where He is, there we may be with Him
also.” Let us appropriate to ourselves the tender
compassion which He manifested towards the
family of Bethany !
Let the tears which He shed over the tomb of
20 *
234
MEDITATION X.
a friend, flow into the wounds which death in-
flicts upon our hearts. And while we hear His
irresistible voice calling forth Lazarus from the
tomb, let us remember that He has “ overcome
for us the world, the devil, death, and the grave ;
and that now in all things we are more than con-
querors through Him that loved us !” It was my
intention to have terminated my meditation here ;
but, shall I say it ?— amid those sweet thoughts
upon which we have been dwelling, an involun-
tary feeling of fear has crept into my heart. Yes,
I must tell it to you ; were we to indulge it, it
would make us shudder with horror. I picture to
my mind that solemn moment when, “ at the
voice of Him who raiseth the dead,” we shall all
come forth from the grave ; when all we who are
here present in this house of worship, shall see
and recognize one another, like Lazarus and his
two sisters, when with transports of joy, they
rushed into one another’s embraces, in the pre-
sence of the Redeemer. And if, at that moment,
when we are about to see our eternal destiny de-
cided, it shall be found that any of you whom I
now behold seated on those benches, listening to
my meditations, if it shall be found that even one
of you belongs not to Jesus, that he has not re-
ceived from Him pardon unto life, that he is yet
in his sins, and under the weight of that condem-
nation which he has deserved ; deceived by vain
delusions, by an appearance of religion ; in a word,
without God, without a Saviour, without hope,
having neither part nor lot in this matter ! Oh,
LAZARUS, COME FORTH.
235
terror ! oh, despair ! I cannot for a moment en-
dure this agonizing thought; it overwhelms my
heart ; it rushes upon my soul, like the rocks and
mountains, which the reprobate shall call upon
and supplicate in vain to fall upon them, and cover
them from the wrath of Him that sitteth upon the
throne. O immortal, accountable beings! I be-
seech you by the mercies of God, avert, avert this
dreadful anticipation, by hastening this day, this
hour, to Golgotha, and seeking there a refuge at
the foot of the cross of Christ. And you who have
among your friends, or perhaps in your families,
some Lazarus, some being dear to your hearts by
the bonds of nature or of friendship, who is still
ignorant of the Saviour, and has not called upon
the only Name by which we must be saved ; oh !
pray, supplicate the Divine Redeemer to touch
the heart of that beloved being, to snatch him from
inevitable ruin, as a brand plucked out of the
burning ; to save him in spite of himself, while
pardon, salvation, and reconciliation are possible.
My God ! my God ! is there among those who
hear Thy word, who see Thy love and Thy com-
passion; is there among those -whom I know,
whom I love upon earth, any one who in the
great day shall become a monument of Thine
eternal justice, instead of being a monument of
Thy grace and of Thine eternal love ! Divine
Saviour ! if Thou hast ever heard a prayer, if
Thou hast ever allowed Thyself to be moved by
an earnest supplication, or by the cry of a soul in
distress, take away, take away from my heart the
236
MEDITATION X.
overwhelming weight of this agonizing fear ! Oh,
I must hope, I must hope, or — ah ! pardon, Lord !
Thou wiliest not the death of a sinner; Thou
wiliest rather that he should be converted and
live ; and with Thee all things are possible.
MEDITATION XI
CONCLUSION.
John xi. 45 — 52 .
* Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the
things which Jesus did, believed on Him. But some of them went
their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had
done. Then gathered the Chief Priests and the Pharisees a council,
and said, what do we 1 for this Man doeth many miracles. If we
let Him thus alone, all men will believe on Him : and the Romans
shall come and take away both our place and nation. And one of
them, named Caiaphas, being the High Priest that same year, said
unto them, Ye know nothing at all, nor consider that it is expedi-
ent for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the
whole nation perish not. And this spake he not of himself : but
being High Priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die
for that nation; and not for that nation only, but that also He
should gather together in one the children of God that were scat-
tered abroad”
If there be a prophecy, to the truth of which
all ages, from the time of Jesus Christ to the pre-
sent day, have borne a striking and irresistible
witness, it is that which Simeon pronounced in the
temple of Jerusalem, when, embracing in his arms,
now enfeebled by age, the infant in whom he saw
the hope and salvation of Israel — the desire of all
nations, he said, “ Behold this child is set for the
fall and rising again of many in Israel, and for a
238
MEDITATION XI.
sign which shall be spoken against.” This pro-
phecy was indeed fulfilled during the whole course
of the Saviour’s ministry ; it was fulfilled at the
tomb of Lazarus, when some believed, and others
went their way to stir up the hatred of the Phari-
sees ; it was fulfilled at the period of His death,
when some cried, u Crucify Him, crucify Him !
His blood be on us and on our children,” while
future ages were to see in the cross, and in the
blood of the New-Testament, the sign of their
eternal salvation ; it was fulfilled in the first
preaching of the Apostles, who were beaten with
rods by some, while thousands of others were con-
verted that they might have life ; it has been ful-
filling during eighteen hundred years, in all places
where the Gospel of Christ has been preached ;
that Gospel which has been to some “ a savour
of death unto death,” but unto others a “ savour
of life unto life,” and “ the power of God unto
salvation to them that believe.” It is still fulfill-
ing in our own day, when the doctrine of Christ
crucified continues to excite hatred and persecu-
tion, while it constitutes the consolation, the joy,
and the life of all those who believe.
Let the enemies of the Gospel then know that
with all their enmity and rancour they are work-
ing a deceitful work. Let them know that they
are living witnesses of the truth of those very doc-
trines which they oppose ; that they powerfully
confirm our faith in Christ crucified; that they
are accomplishing a most important prophecy;
that they are building up that which they would
CONCLUSION.
239
pull down, even to its foundations ; that they have
the misery of being blind and unwilling instru-
ments in the hands of the Almighty for the estab-
lishment of a kingdom of which they shall not be
citizens ; that they are like those hireling work-
men of the Israelites, who prepared with great la-
bour the materials of a magnificent temple into
which they were never to be allowed to enter.
The end of the miracle of Christ was attained
as it regarded the family of Bethany, who were
comforted, and came out of their trial full of joy,
confidence, and love ; it was attained with regard
to the disciples, who saw in it the glory of God ;
it was attained with regard to many of the Jews,
who, “having seen the things which Jesus did,
believed on Him.” Was it attained with regard
to the other witnesses? Was it attained with re-
gard to the body of the Pharisees, High Priests,
and Scribes ? Alas ! it was ; but in the sense of
the fatal prophecy of Simeon. Let us hear our
historian for the last time, and “ he that hath ears
to hear, let him hear.”
“ Many of the Jews which came to Mary,”
(being persons of a sincere and upright heart, a
heart prepared by the grace of God,) “ and had
seen the things which Jesus did, believed on Him.”
It was natural for men of an honest and upright
disposition to infer from the greatness of the mira-
cle, the greatness of Him who had wrought it by
a single word of His omnipotence. They saw
that manifestation of the divine power with their
own eyes ; they had the happiness to believe that
240
MEDITATION XI.
it could be none other than the Christ, the Mes-
siah, promised to Israel, to whom such a power
had been given ; they saw with their eyes, and
they believed with their heart. And although we
cannot suppose that their faith was as yet enlight-
ened by the whole truth which Jesus had come to
communicate to the world, yet from the time that
they believed in His divinity, their heart was open,
and ready to receive with submission and full
confidence every word that proceeded out of His
mouth. What more was wanting? the end of
Jesus was attained. u Because of the people
which stand by I said it, that they may believe
that Thou hast sent Me.”
Miracles alone do not convert ; but they dispose
the heart, through faith, to give heed to the word
of eternal life, which is the instrument of conver-
sion. Nicodemus believes the miracles of Jesus ;
he sees in them a proof of His Divinity : “ Rab-
bi,” saith he, u We know that Thou art a teacher
come from God, for no man can do these miracles
which Thou doest, except God be with him . 71
Yet Nicodemus, notwithstanding that degree of
faith, and although a Master in Israel, is ignorant
of the first elements of the doctrine of regenera-
tion ; but constrained by that faith, he comes to
Jesus, and earnestly asks to be instructed in the
knowledge of salvation, which he is thus disposed
to receive. Such was the faith produced in the
hearts of the Jews, by the miracle of Jesus. It is
a first step, but a step which most frequently leads
farther. Such also was the end for which St
CONCLUSION.
241
John left us this admirable account of the resur-
rection of Lazarus, with all its minute details.
To every one who reads it with attention, it has a
force of evidence as strong as it had to those who,
like St. John, were eye-witnesses of the fact. 11 Is
this, then,” (must he exclaim who sincerely seeks
the truth,) “ is this the Saviour whom the Gospel
proclaims to me ? Oh ! I will open my whole
soul to such a Master, such a Saviour ; I know
that in following Him I cannot walk in darkness.
I will study, line by line, the word of eternal truth,
which He has brought down from heaven ; I
know that that word cannot cause either my mind
or my heart to err ; I will meditate upon it with
full confidence ; I will hail the Author of it as my
Guide, my King, my Redeemer!” The soul thus
disposed will not be long in finding that the doc-
trine and word of Christ crucified is sweeter to his
heart than honey to his mouth ; and from faith in
a miracle, he will rise to the faith of experience ;
he will see, he will feel more divinity in a line of
the eternal word, than the Jews saw at the tomb
of Lazarus. Such is the place, beautiful and use-
ful, which miracles should occupy in the divine
economy. Hence we are fully persuaded that
those who expect the revival of miraculous pow-
ers in the Church ere it arrive at its promised
glory, reverse the order of things. They would
descend to the lowest step, instead of ascending,
like the angels on the ladder of Jacob, and con-
templating the heavens above. They would
themselves return and bring back others to the
21
242
MEDITATION XI.
faith of Nicod'emus, the faith of miracles — a faith
which may exist without a knowledge of the love
of God, and of the new life, and which at the
most can do no more than lead to it ; instead of
rising by the faith of the heart, the faith of love,
the faith of confidence, to the loftiest heights of spi-
rituality and of the Christian life. They desire the
“ milk of children, instead of the strong meat of
old men ,” “ God is love, and he that loveth abid-
eth in God.” Now what has he who abide th in
God by love, to do with the visible material man-
ifestation of the power and love of his God?
Whether is St. John, reclining with confidence
upon the bosom of his Master, or the multitude
that follow him, loudly demanding miracles, near-
er to Jesus? Jesus Himself hath answered the
question. u An evil and adulterous generation
seeketh after a sign ; and there shall no sign be
given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas.
And He left them, and departed.” (Matt. xvi. 4.)
Yet Jesus, in his infinite condescension, has of-
ten made use of miracles, to draw to Himself the
giddy minds of u an evil and adulterous genera-
tion.” And we are far from concluding, from
what we have just said, with some systematizing
Christians, that because miracles have for a time
ceased, they shall never again be revived in
the Church. We shall not, however, stop to ex-
amine this unprofitable question. We shall ra-
ther proceed to consider, for our instruction, how
the Jews of Bethany profited by the greatest mi-
racle that was ever performed before the eyes of
CONCLUSION.
243
men. Ah ! what would the disciples, what would
the sisters of Lazarus have said, if amid their
joys, amid their happiness, and amid the over-
flowings of their lively affection, they had been
told that the work of might and of love, that pow-
erful appeal which was to he re-echoed through all
Judea, and throughout all ages, that the resurrec-
tion of Lazarus was to become the second cause
of the sufferings and death of the Holy One and
the Just % Could they have believed it ? And
yet, oh mystery of depravity ! such was the case ;
this is what the disciple whom Jesus loved now
proceeds to relate. How did not his pen, after
having described, in so touching a manner, the
love and compassion of Jesus, shrink from disclos-
ing to us those depths of iniquity ? Ah ! it was
because we needed to know well, that u whoso-
ever loveth is born of God,” and that “ the whole
world lieth in wickedness.”
“ But some of them went their way to the Phari-
sees, and told them what things Jesus had done.”
What! they had come to Bethany, to comfort
Martha and Mary ; they had seen their grief, they
had seen their Heavenly Friend approach the
tomb of Lazarus, weeping ; they had seen Him
raise His majestic eyes to heaven ; they had
heard His prayer ; they had heard His irresistible
voice, “Lazarus come forth!” They had seen
him that was dead come forth from the tomb;
they had seen the transports of joy, and happi-
ness, and gratitude, which took possession of all
hearts present ; and instead of “ seeing the glory
244
MEDITATION XI.
of God,” and falling down at the feet of Jesus,
they go to tell these things to those who were
known to be His most inveterate enemies. Such
is man, or such is what he will become the mo-
ment he is given up to his own hardness of heart,
and enmity against God! And yet you say that
he is naturally good ; that he loves truth, that he
yields to evidence. Sooner would I believe you,
were you to tell me that the rock which stands
upon the sea-shore yields to the billows which for
ages have dashed against it without effect, and
driven back, expired at its base. If the overpow-
ering evidence which issued from the tomb of
Lazarus was not sufficient to convince man ; if
the love which Jesus there displayed could not
touch his heart, or conciliate his enmity, then seek
in your systems of religion and morality some
more powerful means of producing these effects,
and prove the goodness and natural tenderness of
the heart of man. But we forewarn you that we
require facts ; that we will not be satisfied with
words, or phrases, or mere assertions. Ah ! rather
acknowledge that the power of grace alone is ca-
pable of persuading, of touching, and of changing
man’s heart. Say not that if revelation were
accompanied with more evidence, or if there were
in the Gospel fewer things above reason, man
would more easily believe. No; the Jews who,
at the tomb of Lazarus, continued unbelievers, and
enemies to Christ, exhibit an undeniable evidence
against your reasonings, and supply us with a
commentary o f facts upon these remarkable words
CONCLUSION.
245
of Jesus: “ If they hear not Moses and the proph-
ets, neither will they he persuaded, though one
rose from the dead.” (Luke xvi, 31.) Do ye re-
quire another proof? Let us hear the chief priests
and Pharisees. u Then the chief priests and
Pharisees,” having heard the account which was
given them by eye-witnesses of the resurrection
of Lazarus, gathered a special council to delibe-
rate on that important affair. The chief priests !
The ministers of religion, the men to whom God
had committed the charge of labouring for His
glory and for the advancement of His kingdom ;
those whose duty it was to exert all their power
and influence for the spread of His truth, as soon
as they became acquainted with it, and whatever
it might cost them ! Now how do they comply
with these obligations? “ What do we ?” say they
among themselves. Independently of the know-
ledge which they have of their duty as ministers
of religion, in this case it is impossible that they can
be in error, or even in doubt ; they are convinced
of the reality of the miracles of Christ; this they
acknowledge themselves, “ This man doeth many
miracles ;” and this knowledge, this persuasion,
is a precious talent confided to their trust, of
which, whatever be their opinion, they must give
an awful account hereafter.
Now with so much knowledge, so much light,
such convictions, does there rise up among them
some Gamaliel, to make the voice of truth and
justice be heard with power? Is there in the
ecclesiastical body some Israelite without guile,
21 *
246
MEDITATION XI.
who says, “This Man doeth many miracles!”
then he is from God ; then we ought to hear him,
and humbly to range ourselves among his follow-
ers. No! on the contrary, in their council, all is
passion, selfishness, and pride. Idolaters of them-
selves, of their pride, of their vanity, of their influ-
ence, of their money, they have no fear of God
before their eyes, and hence what can we expect
from them? No more than we can expect from
any man whose heart has not been changed and
sanctified. Here it cannot be said that we have
taken an example of the human heart from the
most depraved class of society. On the contrary,
these were men of the greatest enlightenment;
men in whom education might have been expec-
ted to have developed most fully the moral feel-
ing ; in a word, they were ministers of religion.
Well, then, let us hear them ; let us seek in them
those principles of justice, uprightness, and virtue,
which are said to exist in the human heart.
Hear their reasoning ; hear how they answer this
natural question ; “ What shall we do ?”
“ If we let Him thus alone, all men will believe
on Him, and the Romans shall come and take
away both our place and nation.” “ If we let
Him thus alone !” Thus from the outset their in-
quiry is not whether He is of God, whether he
declares the truth, whether He is the Messiah
promised to Israel ! The question of truth and
justice is from the very commencement trampled
under foot ! they do not give it a moment’s de-
liberation ; they do not even take it into consider-
CONCLUSION.
247
ation. One thing alone enters into their counsels
— not to let Him alone, to oppose Him by force,
to condemn Him. Oh ! depth of iniquity ! fright-
ful degradation of the human heart! inconceiv-
able contempt of the most obvious and the most
sacred principles of justice and virtue ! This
single sentence discovers to us the whole of that
deep corruption which fills the soul of those
judges of Israel, those false prophets, who having
the key of knowledge, not only refuse to enter in
themselves, but hinder them that were entering
in. “ If we let Him alone !” Fools ! feeble worms
of the earth! ye deliberate in your miserable
pride, if you will let Him alone who has just com-
manded with authority death and the grave ; Him
who has just displayed to us a power altogether
divine ; Him who made the worlds ; Him who by
a single word could command you back into that
original nothing out of which He had brought
you ! Thus it is that a deplorable blindness in-
variably accompanies passion and enmity against
God. Thus it is that in our own days, as well as in
the days of Christ, we see the great ones of the
earth, the Pharisees, and chief priests, “ imagining
vain things, and taking counsel against the Lord
and His anointed,” against the eternal truth of
God, to which the whole universe is promised as
a conquest. There is, then, “nothing new under
the sun;” and since Christ Himself, since His dis-
ciples after Him, and His servants in every age
have found inveterate enemies in those very per-
sons who, from their calling, ought to have se-
248
MEDITATION XI.
conded with their utmost efforts the faithful wit-
nesses of the “ truth as it is in Jesus,” shall we be
astonished if in our day we meet with the same
enmity, the same obstacles, and the same perse-
cutions in the cause of religion? We may be
grieved by it, but we must not be astonished ; we
may suffer from it, but we must not cease to call
upon Him who is all-powerful to “ open the eyes
of the blind”
But let us go on, let us hear the arguments of
the chief priests, for they must have arguments,
or at least pretexts, from whatever quarter they
may be drawn ; and they are as follows : —
“ If we let Him thus alone, all men will believe
on Him, and the Romans shall come and take
away both our place and nation.” Here are two
powerful reasons ; two most conclusive conside-
rations. All men will believe on Him, and the
Romans shall come ; but not a word about what
Jesus had done worthy of condemnation ; not a
word about principle ; the whole argument rests
upon imaginary consequences ; and yet He must
be condemned. “ All men will believe on Him.”
What a testimony to the power of the truth which
Jesus preached ! Ah ! if He be God ; if He has
done many miracles ; if He be the Messiah, the
Deliverer promised to Israel, then rejoice in the
faith which is reposed in Him ; be the first to hold
Him up to the people as a teacher whom they ought
to follow, a Saviour whom they ought to love, and
in whom they ought to place their confidence.
You ought to know the prophecies which proclaim
CONCLUSION.
249
Him to the world ; you have been appointed as
watchmen in Israel ; you ought to be acquainted
with the times and seasons for the restoration of
the spiritual kingdom of David. Why are you
not at your post ? why do you not proclaim Him
from Moses’ seat as the King Messiah, the Saviour?
But if “ all believe on Him,” what will become of
our influence over the people, our honours, our
reputation, our stations ? This is the point ; this
is the real argument ; this is what you fear much
more than the Romans ; this is your idol — pride.
Before that idol all must bow the knee, even the
King of Glory Himself, who had just raised Laza-
rus from the dead, and whom the prophecies of
four thousand years had predicted to the world;
u The Romans shall come !” And what of that?
Ye children of Abraham, who glory in your liberty;
who, though vanquished by the conqueror of the
world, boast that you have never bowed the neck
beneath the humiliating yoke of Cassar, to whom
you obstinately refuse the title of Master ; behold !
you tremble when the question at issue is eternal
truth, the glory of your nation, the eternal salva-
tion of the immortal souls which God has com-
mitted to your care. Where is your courage ?
But no ; this is but a vain pretext ; for the chief
priests well knew that the Romans, out of policy,
tolerated all the religions of the nations which
they conquered, and that the Jewish people would
no more be destroyed for believing in Jesus than
for believing in Moses. And yet what a power-
ful argument, could the speaker but inspire his
250
MEDITATION XI.
colleagues with this fear of seeing themselves, the
temple, and the nation exterminated. No more
temple, no more honours, no more posts of profit,
no more revenues; — thus we have arrived at our
first conclusion — He must be condemned !
Yet, oh! the blindness of the man who exalts
himself against God. It has been ever true, that
a the wicked worketh a deceitful work.” The
priests condemn Jesus, lest u all men should be-
lieve in Him,” and it is precisely the death of the
Holy One, and the Just, that shall awaken in the
hearts of the men of all generations faith in Jesus ;
it is just that death that, at the first preaching of
Peter who charged the nation with it, touched
with compunction and converted to the faith of
Jesus five thousand souls. The priests condemn
Jesus lest the Romans should u come and take
away their place and nation ;” and it is just by
that act, that filling up the measure of their sins,
they bring down upon themselves the final judg-
ment of a holy and righteous God ; and, in fact,
the Romans did come and destroy the priests, and
the temple, and the nation. Oh ! were there
among the enemies of God in all ages and in all
places, any remains of wisdom ; were the veil
which covers their eyes less thick, they would
tremble at the thought of being found “ fighting
against God.”
Such were the arguments which were under
discussion in the assembly, when Caiaphas, who
in virtue of his dignity as high-priest, presided over
that iniquitous council, impatient of a deliberation
CONCLUSION.
251
which he found already too long, rises and ex-
claims with a tone of anger, u Ye know nothing
at all, nor consider that it is expedient that one
man should die for the people, and that the whole
nation perish not.” It is expedient. Such is the
motive before which all others must disappear ; —
such is the shameful consideration which must im-
pose silence upon justice. Our interest is con-
cerned — we must then condemn Him. How well
do these words discover the real thoughts of these
judges ! What a lesson do they teach all future
generations ! It is probable that the other judges
would not have dared thus to expose to the light
of day the turpitude of their thoughts (for in the
absence of virtue men wish at least to have the
appearance of it;) but God permits the high-
priest, the successor of Aaron, to tell the world,
what is the real motive of the actions of the man
who proclaims war against eternal truth. Expe-
diency ; vile self-interest, avowed, or concealed
under the mantle of hypocrisy : this is the god of
this world ; the prince of this world ; the impure
idol to which every thing must be sacrificed.
And to preserve the temple of this god of the un-
converted man, it is not enough to oppose the
truth, as the other members of the Sanhedrim sug-
gested ; it is necessary to stifle it and not to com-
bat it; it is necessary not only to prove that Jesus
is wrong, but to put Him to death: “ It is expe-
dient for us that one man should die for the peo-
ple.” And who can be surprised? Who does
not know that impiety gives a loose rein to that
252
MEDITATION XI.
enmity which is at the bottom of the unregenerate
man’s heart, and that u he that hateth his brother
is a murderer,” whether in fact or in intention
matters little in the eyes of God.
But, it will be said, Caiaphas had in view the
interest of the nation. It would appear, then, that
the principle which sanctions the sacrifice of an
innocent individual for the general interest, the
principle in accordance with which men have
commanded an assassination in the name of jus-
tice, is not “ new under the sun the mind of
Caiaphas was imbued with it ; it was with him
a political axiom ; this is that reason of state which
might with more propriety be called a reason of
hell and the policy of devils. The thousands of
victims sacrificed to this principle cry from earth
to heaven, and proclaim the moral degradation of
the human species more loudly than any thing we
can say upon the subject. But no; we have al-
ready shown that the preservation of the nation,
as far as the Romans were concerned, was by no
means involved in the people’s believing in Jesus.
Here all is blind passion, all is self-interest.
Melancholy discovery ! humbling truth ! Yes, O
Jesus ! die, die for the people ; die, die to raiso
them from this deep degradation ; die to produce
in us a new life.
Astonishing ! it is this depth of deliverance and
of salvation that Caiaphas prophecies. Like
Balaam, he would utter a malediction, and he
pronounces a blessing ; he commands a murder,
and he brings about the propitiatory sacrifice
CONCLUSION.
253
which shall be the redemption of the world. Let
us hear the commentary of St. John, “ And this
spake he not of himself, but being high-priest that
year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that
nation.”
Caiaphas was the high-priest, the president of
the supreme ecclesiastical court ; his involuntary
prophecy must come from one high in authority,
to receive from this circumstance the greater im-
portance, to sound solemnly in the ears of those
around him, and to be handed down to future
ages. a This spake he not of himself.” Alas !
his impious thought, his iniquitous proposition, is
really from himself, or rather from the devil ; —
but oh the depth of the wisdom and power of
God ! Caiaphas imagines that he only obeys his
own passions ; he thinks to serve the interest of
the kingdom of darkness, and God makes of him,
unknown to himself, a prophet of the truth, a
preacher of the glad tidings of salvation ! God
might have sent upon this enemy of Christ one
of those signal judgments, by which He often
punishes the wicked before the eyes of all ; He
might have smitten him, like Herod, and made
him die a miserable death, being u eaten of
worms.” But no ; even the enemy of God must
subserve the glory of the Eternal ; the blind in-
strument of Satan must proclaim the mercy of
God towards a fallen world ; the very words
which flow from a heart full of hatred and wrath
must become a song of praise and thanksgiving
for future ages. Who henceforward will dare to
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254
MEDITATION XI.
oppose the designs of our God ? The enemies of
Christ assembled together, and it is from the midst
of that council that God draws the accomplish-
ment of His promises concerning the glorious
kingdom of Plis Son, and it is the leader of that
council that must proclaim to the world the event
by which all the powers of darkness are to be
trampled under foot ; if God does not annihilato
His enemies, He can employ them as instruments
of His will ; He can draw praises out of hell ; He can
constrain the powers of darkness to exclaim, like the
angels of heaven, Glory ! glory to God on high !
Condemn then, put to death the Prince of Life !
and if His death become the signal of your eter-
nal ruin, around His cross (to use the language of
the Evangelist) shall be u gathered together not
only that nation, but also the children of God
which were scattered abroad.” It was not only
for the people of Israel, whose interests the priests
affected to have at heart, that it behoved Jesus to
die, but for the children of God ; for the redeemed
of all people, nations, languages, and tribes which
belonged to Him by the election of grace.
Ye children of God — ye who are still scattered
abroad amid trials and conflicts, consider then the
will of Him who died for you ; He wishes to ga-
ther you together ; He wishes first to lead captive
to the foot of the cross all your thoughts and all
your affections ; He wishes to separate you from
the world, and to gather you into His fold : and
what have you to fear ? Hear His prayer which
ascends to heaven on your behalf: “ Father, I will
CONCLUSION.
255
that they whom Thou hast given Me he with Me
where I am” And this prayer has been heard.
Nor is there one of your enemies that shall not
eventually contribute to your eternal salvation,
and give glory to Him who has saved you. To
be gathered together from your dispersion to dwell
in the eternal assembly of the children of God.
Such is your glorious portion, such is the will of
your heavenly F ather ^ and who shall oppose it ?
Who shall pluck you out of His hand ? “I am
persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels,
nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present,
nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any
other creature, shall be able to separate us from
the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our
Lord.” (Rom. viii. 38, 39.)
Oh ! if my feeble voice, which in the course of
these meditations has been able to do no more
than address a few afflicted souls whom Jesus
invites to taste of the consolations of the word of
God ; if my feeble voice could reach those who
still in any way oppose the designs of God’s
mercy towards them ; how would I entreat them
with tears to have pity on themselves j to come,
while there is yet time, to the only source of life
— Jesus, the Saviour of sinners. A few days
more, O immortal souls, and ye shall see with
your eyes the Lord of Glory, who shall come, no
longer to shed tears of compassion over the tomb
of a friend or to mourn over the folly of those
who reject Him, but to exercise justice and judg-
ment, and u to punish with everlasting destruction
256
MEDITATION XI.
them that know not God, and obey not the Gos-
pel of the Lord Jesus Christ”
Oh ! love Jesus at the tomb of Lazarus, that
ye may love Him also when He comes on the
throne of His glory.
But Thou only, oh my Saviour, art mighty
to call us forth, like Lazarus, from the tomb of
our corruption, to restore life to these dry bones,
to give us a new heart capable of loving Thee —
a new life, that we may devote ourselves to Thy
service. Oh ! let thy powerful word be brought
home to us. Let not our spiritual death, let not
our corruptions put any obstacle in the way of
that word by which Thou “ callest things that are
not as though they were !” Let thine infinite
love inflame our cold hearts ; eradicate their self-
ishness, banish their enmity! To love Thee,
O gracious Redeemer ; to love thee with all our
heart, and mind, and soul, is the object of our
being, the destination for which Thou hast given
us existence, for which thou hast redeemed us at
so great a price. Make us attain this end before
it be too late ! Rescue us from perdition — save
us, as it were in spite of ourselves ! But no,
Lord ; we wish to love Thee as a willing people ,
we wish to consecrate to Thee our heart, our af-
fections, our life, our last breath ! Art not Thou
the Being supremely wise, supremely good !
Ah! “to whom shall we go? Thou hast the
words of eternal life l”
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