material from the ,google ,print        
project47                               
,,memories ,,of ,,bethany4              
,by the            ,,rev4 ,,john ,r4    
,,macduff1 ,d4,d4                       
,author of  ,,morning ,,and ,,night     
,,watches1 ,,words ,,of ,,jesus1        
,,mind ,,of ,,jesus1 ,,footsteps ,,of   
,,st4 ,,paul1   ,,family ,,prayers1     
,,memories ,,of ,,gennesaret1           
,,story ,,of ,,bethlehem1 ,,etc4        
,,new ,,york3            ,,robert       
,,carter  ,,brothers1                   
,no4 #ecj ,broadway4                    
#ahfa4                           ,to    
,,mourners ,,in ,,zion1                 
with whom                     ,,bethany 
has ever been a name consecrated to     
sorrow1                      these      
,,memories                 ,,are        
,,inscribed4     ,,passages ,,referring 
,,to ,,bethany ,,in ,,the ,,sacred      
,,narrative4   ,i4  ,earliest ,notice of
 ,bethany4  ,,luke ,x4 #ch-db4--;,and   
,he entered into a certain village3 and 

a certain woman named ,martha received  
,him into her house4 ,and she had a     
sister called ,mary1 which also sat at  
,jesus' feet1 and heard ,his word4 ,but 
,martha was cumbered about much serving1
 and came to ,him1 and said1 ,lord1 dost
 ,thou not care that my sister hath left
 me to serve alone8 bid her therefore   
that she help me4 ,and ,jesus answered  
and said unto her1 ,martha1 ,martha1    
thou art careful and troubled about many
 things3 ,but one thing is needful3 and 
,mary hath chosen that good part1 which 
shall not be taken away from her4       
,,ii4  ,bethany in connexion with the   
,sickness1 ,death1 and ,resurrection of 
,lazarus4  ,,john ,,xi4 #a4--,now a     
certain man was sick1 named ,lazarus1 of
 ,,bethany1 the town of ,mary and her   
sister ,martha4 7,it was that ,mary     
which anointed the ,lord with ointment1 
and wiped ,his feet with her hair1 whose
 brother ,lazarus was sick47 ,therefore 
his sisters sent unto ,him1 saying1     
,lord1 behold1 he whom ,thou lovest is  

sick4 ,when ,jesus heard that1 ,he said1
 ,this sickness is not unto death1 but  
for the glory of ,god1 that the ,son of 
,god might be glorified thereby4 ,now   
,jesus loved ,martha1 and her sister1   
and ,lazarus4 ,when ,he had heard       
therefore that he was sick1 ,he abode   
two days still in the same place where  
,he was4         99       99       99   
,and after that ,he saith unto them1    
,our friend ,lazarus sleepeth2 but ,i   
go1 that ,i may awake him out of sleep4 
,then said ,his disciples1 ,lord1 if he 
sleep1 he shall do well4 ,howbeit ,jesus
 spake of ,his death3 but they thought  
that ,he had spoken of taking of rest in
 sleep4 ,then said ,jesus unto them     
plainly1 ,lazarus is dead4 ,and ,i am   
glad for your sakes that ,i was not     
there1 to the intent ye may believe2    
nevertheless1 let us go unto him4       
99       99       99  ,then1 when ,jesus
 came1 ,he found that he had lain in the
 grave four days already4 7,now         
,,bethany was nigh unto ,jerusalem1     

about fifteen furlongs off47 ,and many  
of the ,jews came to ,martha and ,mary1 
to comfort them concerning their        
brother4 ,then ,martha1 as soon as she  
heard that ,jesus was coming1 went and  
met ,him3 but ,mary sat still in the    
house4 ,then said ,martha unto ,jesus1  
,lord1 if ,thou hadst been here1 my     
brother had not died4 ,but ,i know1 that
 even now1 whatsoever thou wilt ask of  
,god1 ,god will give it ,thee4 ,jesus   
saith unto her1 ,thy brother shall rise 
again4 ,martha saith unto ,him1 ,i know 
that he shall rise again in the         
resurrection at the last day4 ,jesus    
said unto her1 ,i am the resurrection1  
and the life3 ,he that believeth in ,me1
 though he were dead1 yet shall he live3
 ,and whosoever liveth1 and believeth in
 ,me1 shall never die4 ,believest thou  
this8 ,she saith unto ,him1 ,yea1 ,lord3
 ,i believe that ,thou art the ,christ1 
the ,son of ,god1 which should come into
 the world4 ,and when she had so said1  
she went her way1 and called ,mary her  

sister secretly1 saying1 ,the ,master is
 come1 and calleth for thee4 ,as soon as
 she heard that1 she arose quickly1 and 
came unto ,him4 ,now ,jesus was not yet 
come into the town1 but was in that     
place where ,martha met ,him4 ,the ,jews
 then which were with her in the house1 
and comforted her1 when they saw ,mary1 
that she rose up hastily and went out1  
followed her1 saying1 ,she goeth unto   
the grave to weep there4 ,then when     
,mary was come where ,jesus was1 and saw
 ,him1 she fell down at ,his feet1      
saying unto ,him1 ,lord1 if ,thou hadst 
been here1 my brother had not died4     
,when ,jesus therefore saw her weeping1 
and the ,jews also weeping which came   
with her1 ,he groaned in the spirit1 and
 was troubled1 and said1 ,where have ye 
laid him8 ,they say unto ,him1 ,lord1   
come and see4 ,jesus wept4 ,then said   
the ,jews1 ,behold how ,he loved him6   
,and some of them said1 ,could not this 
man1 which opened the eyes of the blind1
 have caused that even this man should  

not have died6 ,jesus therefore again   
groaning in ,himself1 cometh to the     
grave4 ,it was a cave1 and a stone lay  
upon it4 ,jesus said1 ,take ye away the 
stone4 ,martha1 the sister of him that  
was dead1 saith unto ,him1 ,lord1 by    
this time he stinketh3 for he hath been 
dead four days4 ,jesus saith unto her1  
,said ,i not unto thee1 that1 if thou   
wouldest believe1 thou shouldest see the
 glory of ,god8 ,then they took away the
 stone from the place where the dead was
 laid4 ,and ,jesus lifted up ,his eyes1 
and said1 ,father1 ,i thank thee that   
,thou hast heard ,me4 ,and ,i knew that 
,thou hearest ,me always3 but because of
 the people which stand by ,i said it1  
that they may believe that ,thou hast   
sent ,me4 ,and when ,he thus had spoken1
 he cried with a loud voice1 ,lazarus1  
come forth4 ,and he that was dead came  
forth1 bound hand and foot with         
grave-clothes2 and his face was bound   
about with a napkin4 ,jesus saith unto  
them1 ,loose him1 and let him go4       

,,iii4  ,notices of ,bethany subsequent 
to the ,raising of ,lazarus4  ,,john    
,,xii4 #a-h4--,then ,jesus1 six days    
before the ,passover1 came to ,,bethany1
 where ,lazarus was which had been dead1
 whom he raised from the dead4 ,there   
they made ,him a supper2 and ,martha    
served3 but ,lazarus was one of them    
that sat at the table with ,him4 ,then  
took ,mary a pound of ointment of       
spikenard1 very costly1 and anointed the
 feet of ,jesus1 and wiped ,his feet    
with her hair3 and the house was filled 
with the odour of the ointment4 ,then   
saith one of ,his disciples1 ,judas     
,iscariot1 ,simon's son1 which should   
betray ,him1 ,why was not this ointment 
sold for three hundred pence1 and given 
to the poor8 ,this he said1 not that he 
cared for the poor2 but because he was a
 thief1 and had the bag1 and bare what  
was put therein4 ,then said ,jesus1 ,let
 her alone3 against the day of ,my      
burying hath she kept this4 ,for the    
poor always ye have with you2 but ,me ye

 have not always4  ,,matthew ,,xxvi4    
#ab-ac4--;,for in that she hath poured  
this ointment on my body1 she did it for
 my burial4 ,verily ,i say unto you1    
,wheresoever this gospel shall be       
preached in the whole world1 there shall
 also this1 that this woman hath done1  
be told for a memorial of her4  ,,john  
,,xii4 #i4--,much people of the ,jews   
therefore knew that ,he was there3 and  
they came not for ,jesus' sake only1 but
 that they might see ,lazarus also1 whom
 he had raised from the dead4         99
       99       99       99       99    
,,john ,,xii4 #ab-ae4--,on the next day 
much people that were come to the feast1
 when they heard that ,jesus was coming 
to ,jerusalem1 took branches of palm    
trees1 and went forth to meet ,him1 and 
cried1 ,hosanna3 ,blessed is the ,king  
of ,israel that cometh in the name of   
the ,lord4 ,and ,jesus1 when ,he had    
found a young ass1 sat thereon2 as it is
 written1 ,fear not1 daughter of ,sion3 
behold1 thy ,king cometh1 sitting on an 

ass's colt4  ,,matthew ,,xxi4           
#aj-ab4--;,and when ,he was come into   
,jerusalem1 all the city was moved1     
saying1 ,who is this8 ,and the multitude
 said1 ,this is ,jesus the ,prophet of  
,nazareth of ,galilee4 ,and ,jesus went 
into the temple of ,god1 and cast out   
all them that sold and bought in the    
temple1 and overthrew the tables of the 
money-changers1 and the seats of them   
that sold doves4  ,,mark ,,xi4          
#aa-ae4--;,and ,jesus entered into      
,jerusalem1 and into the temple3 and    
when ,he had looked round about upon all
 things1 and now the eventide was come1 
he went out unto ,,bethany1 with the    
twelve4 ,and on the morrow1 when they   
were come from ,bethany1 ,he was hungry3
 ,and seeing a fig-tree afar off having 
leaves1 ,he came1 if haply he might find
 any thing thereon3 and when ,he came to
 it1 ,he found nothing but leaves2 for  
the time of figs was not yet4 ,and      
,jesus answered and said unto it1 ,no   
man eat fruit of thee hereafter for     

ever4 ,and ,his disciples heard it4 ,and
 they come to ,jerusalem3 and ,jesus    
went into the temple1 and began to cast 
out them that sold and bought in the    
temple1 and overthrew the tables of the 
money-changers1 and the seats of them   
that sold doves4  ,verse #ai-bj4--;,and 
when even was come1 ,he went out of the 
city4 ,and in the morning1 as they      
passed by1 they saw the fig-tree dried  
up from the roots4         99       99  
99       99       99  ,,luke ,,xxiv4    
#ej-eb--;,and ,he led them out as far as
 to ,,bethany2 and ,he lifted up ,his   
hands1 and blessed them4 ,and it came to
 pass1 while ,he blessed them1 ,he was  
parted from them1 and carried up into   
,heaven4 ,and they worshipped ,him1 and 
returned to ,jerusalem with great joy4  
,,acts ,i4 #i-ab4--;,and when ,he had   
spoken these things1 while they beheld1 
,he was taken up2 and a cloud received  
,him out of their sight4 ,and1 while    
they looked stedfastly toward ,heaven as
 ,he went up1 behold1 two men stood by  

them in white apparel2 which also said1 
,ye men of ,galilee1 why stand ye gazing
 up into ,heaven8 this same ,jesus1     
which is taken up from you into ,heaven1
 shall so come in like manner as ye have
 seen ,him go into ,heaven4 ,then       
returned they unto ,jerusalem from the  
,mount called ,olivet1 which is from    
,jerusalem a ,sabbath-day's journey4    
99       99       99       99       99  
,,zechariah ,,xiv4 #d4--;,and ,his feet 
shall stand in that day upon the ,mount 
of ,olives1 which is before ,jerusalem  
on the east1 and the ,mount of ,olives  
shall cleave in the midst thereof toward
 the east and toward the west1 and there
 shall be a very great valley2 and half 
of the mountain shall remove toward the 
north1 and half of it toward the south4 
99       99       99  ,and it shall be  
in that day1 that living waters shall go
 out from ,jerusalem2 half of them      
toward the former sea1 and half of them 
toward the hinder sea3 in summer and in 
winter shall it be4 ,and the ,lord shall

 be ,king over all the earth3 in that   
day shall there be one ,lord1 and his   
name one4         99       99       99  
,and it shall come to pass1 that every  
one that is left of all the nations     
which came against ,jerusalem shall even
 go up from year to year to worship the 
,king1 the ,lord of ,hosts1 and to keep 
the feast of ,tabernacles4              
,,contents4       ,i4 ,,opening         
,,thoughts                        #a    
,,ii4 ,,the ,,home ,,scene              
#aa    ,,iii4 ,,lessons                 
#bd     ,,iv4 ,,the ,,messenger         
#cd      ,v4 ,,the ,,message            
#db     ,,vi4 ,,the ,,sleeper           
#ec    ,,vii4 ,,lights ,,and ,,shadows  
#fg   ,,viii4 ,,the ,,mourner',s        
,,comfort                  #gg     ,,ix4
 ,,the ,,mourner',s ,,creed             
#hd      ,x4 ,,the ,,master             
#ib     ,,xi4 ,,second ,,causes         
#ajj    ,,xii4 ,,the ,,weeping ,,saviour
                   #ajh   ,,xiii4 ,,the 
,,grave-,,stone                         

#abe    ,,xiv4 ,,unbelief               
#acd     ,,xv4 ,,the ,,divine ,,pleader 
#ada    ,,xvi4 ,,the ,,omnipotent       
,,summons                #aej   ,,xvii4 
,,the ,,box ,,of ,,ointment             
#afa  ,,xviii4 ,,palm ,,branches        
#agh    ,,xix4 ,,the ,,fig-,,tree       
#aia     ,,xx4 ,,closing ,,hours        
#baa    ,,xxi4 ,,the ,,last ,,visit     
#bba   ,,xxii4 ,,angelic ,,comforters   
#bdj  ,,xxiii4 ,,the ,,disciples'       
,,return                 #beg           
,,memories ,,of ,,bethany     ,i4       
,,opening ,,thoughts4   ,places         
associated with great minds are always  
interesting4 ,what a halo of moral      
grandeur must ever be thrown around that
 spot which was hallowed above all      
others by the ,lord of glory as the     
scene of ,his most cherished earthly    
friendship6 ,however holy be the        
memories which encircle other localities
 trodden by ,him in the days of ,his    
flesh1--,bethlehem1 with its manger     
cradle1 its mystic star1 and adoring    

cherubim--,nazareth1 the nurturing home 
of ,his youthful affections--,tiberias1 
whose shores so often echoed to ,his    
footfall1 or whose waters in stillness  
or in storm bore ,him on their          
bosom--the crested heights where ,he    
uttered ,his beatitudes--the midnight   
mountains where ,he prayed--the garden  
where ,he suffered--the hill where ,he  
died1--there is no one single resort in 
,his divine pilgrimage on which         
sanctified thought loves so fondly to   
dwell as on the home and village of     
,,bethany4  ,its hours of sacred        
converse have long ago fled4 ,its       
honoured family have slumbered for ages 
in their tomb4 ,bethany's ,lord has been
 for centuries enthroned amid the       
glories of a brighter home4 ,but though 
its ,memories are all that remain1 the  
place is still fragrant with ,his       
presence4 ,the echoes of ,his           
voice--words of unearthly               
sweetness--still linger around it2 and  
have for eighteen hundred years served  

to cheer and encourage many a fainting  
pilgrim in his upward ascent to the true
 ,bethany above6  ,there1 the ,redeemer 
of the world proclaimed a brief but     
impressive ,gospel4 ,heaven and earth   
seemed then to touch one another4 ,we   
have the tender tones of a ,man blended 
with the ineffable majesty of ,god4     
,hopes full of immortality shine with   
their celestial rainbow-hues amid a     
shower of holy tears4 ,the cancelling   
from our ,bibles of the #aath chapter of
 ,st ,john would be like the blotting   
out of the brightest planet from the    
spiritual firmament4 ,each of its       
magnificent utterances has proved like a
 ministering-angel--a seraph-messenger  
bearing its live-coal of comfort to the 
broken1 bleeding heart from the holiest 
altar which ,,sympathy 7divine and      
human7 ever upreared in a trial-world6  
,many has been the weary footstep and   
tearful eye that has hastened in thought
 to ,,bethany--gone to the grave of     
,lazarus1 to weep there4  ,the town of  

,mary and her sister ,martha1 then1     
furnishes us alike with a garnered      
treasury of ,christian solaces1 and one 
of the very loveliest of the ,bible's   
domestic portraitures4 ,if the story of 
,joseph and his brethren is in the ,old 
,testament invested with surpassing     
interest1 here is a ,gospel home-scene  
in the ,new1 of still deeper and        
tenderer pathos--a picture in which the 
true ,joseph appears as the central     
figure1 without any estrangements to mar
 its beauty4 ,often at other times a    
drapery of woe hangs over the pathway of
 the ,man of ,sorrows4 ,but ,bethany is 
bathed in sunshine2--a sweet oasis in   
his toil-worn pilgrimage4 ,at this quiet
 abode of congenial spirits he seems to 
have had his main sips at the fountain  
of human joy1 and to have obtained a    
temporary respite from unwearied labour 
and unmerited enmity4 ,the ,lily among  
thorns raised ,his drooping head in this
 ,eden home6 ,thither we can follow ,him
 from the courts of the ,temple--the    

busy crowd--the lengthened journey--the 
miracles of mercy--the hours of vain and
 ineffectual pleading with obdurate     
hearts4 ,we can picture ,him as the     
inmate of a peaceful family1 spirit     
blending with spirit in sanctified      
communion4 ,we can mark the tenderness  
of ,his holy humanity4 ,we can see how  
,he loved1 and sympathised1 and wept1   
and rejoiced6  ,as the tremendous events
 which signalised the close of ,his     
pilgrimage drew on1 still it is ,bethany
 with which they are mainly associated4 
,it was at ,bethany the fearful visions 
of ,his cross and passion cast their    
shadow on his path6 ,from its quiet     
palm-trees#a ,he issued forth on ,his   
last day's journey across ,mount        
,olivet4 ,it was with ,bethany in view  
,he ascended to heaven4 ,its soil was   
the last ,he trod--its homes were the   
last on which his eye rested when the   
cloud received ,him up into glory4 ,the 
beams of the ,sun of ,righteousness     
seemed as if they loved to linger on    

this consecrated height4  ,we cannot    
doubt that many incidents regarding ,his
 oft sojournings there are left         
unrecorded4 ,we have more than once1    
indeed1 merely the simple announcement  
in the inspired narrative that ,he      
retired from ,jerusalem all night to the
 village where ,his friend ,lazarus     
resided4 ,we dare not withdraw more of  
the veil than the ,word of ,god permits4
 ,let us be grateful for what we have of
 the gracious unfoldings here vouchsafed
 of ,his inner life--the comprehensive  
intermingling of doctrine1 consolation1 
comfort1 and instruction in             
righteousness4 ,his ,bethany sayings are
 for all time--they have gone through   
all the earth--,his ,bethany words to   
the end of the world6 ,like its own     
alabaster box of precious ointment1     
wheresoever the ,gospel is preached1    
there will these be held in grateful    
memorial4  ,the traveller in ,palestine 
is to this day shewn1 in a sort of      
secluded ravine on the eastern slope of 

the ,mount of ,olives 7about fifteen    
furlongs or two miles from ,jerusalem71 
a cluster of poor cottages1 numbering   
little more than twenty families1 with  
groups of palm-trees surrounding them1  
interspersed here and there with the    
olive1 the almond1 the pomegranate1 and 
the fig4#b  ,this ruined village bears  
the ,arab name of ,el-,azirezeh--the    
,arabic form of the name ,lazarus--and  
at once identifies it with a spot so    
sacred and interesting in ,gospel story4
 ,it is described by the most recent and
 discerning of ,eastern writers as a    
wild mountain hamlet1 screened by an    
intervening ridge from the view of the  
top of ,olivet--perched on its open     
plateau of rock--the last collection of 
human habitations before the desert     
hills that reach to ,jericho4 444 ,high 
in the distance are the ,peraean        
mountains2 the foreground is the deep   
descent of the mountain valley4#c  ,the 
fields around1 says another traveller1  
lie uncultivated1 and covered with rank 

grass and wild flowers2 but it is easy  
to imagine the deep and still beauty of 
this spot when it was the home of       
,lazarus and his sisters1 ,martha and   
,mary4 ,defended on the north and west  
by the ,mount of ,olives1 it enjoys a   
delightful exposure to the southern sun4
 ,the grounds around are obviously of   
great fertility1 though quite neglected2
 and the prospect to the south-east     
commands a magnificent view of the ,dead
 ,sea and the plains of ,jordan4#d      
,on the horizon's verge1     ,the last  
faint tracing on the blue expanse1      
,rise ,moab's summits2 and above the    
rest     ,one pinnacle1 where1 placed by
 ,hand ,divine1     ,israel's great     
leader stood1 allow'd to view1     ,and 
but to view1 that long-expected land    
,he may not now enjoy4 ,below1 dim      
gleams     ,the sea1 untenanted by ought
 that lives1     ,and ,jordan's waters  
thread the plain unseen4         99     
99       99       99       99           
,here1 hid among her trees1 a village   

clings--     ,roof above roof uprising4 
,white the walls1     ,and whiter still 
by contrast2 and those roofs1     ,broad
 sunny platforms1 strew'd with ripening 
grain4     ,some wandering olive or     
unsocial fig     ,amid the broken rooks 
which bound the path     ,snatches scant
 nurture from the creviced stone4#e     
,before closing these prefatory remarks1
 the question cannot fail to have       
occurred to the most unobservant reader1
 why the history of the ,family of      
,bethany and the ,resurrection of       
,lazarus1 in themselves so replete with 
interest and instruction--the latter1   
moreover1 forming1 as it did1 so notable
 a crisis in the ,saviour's life--should
 have been recorded only by the         
,evangelist ,john4 ,strange that the    
other inspired penmen should have left  
altogether unchronicled this touching   
episode in sacred writ4 ,one or other of
 two reasons--or both combined--we may  
accept as the most satisfactory         
explanation regarding what1 after all1  

must remain a difficulty4 ,john alone of
 the ,gospel writers narrates the       
transactions which took place in ,judea 
in connexion with the ,saviour's public 
ministry1--the others restricted        
themselves mainly to the incidents and  
events of ,his ,galilean life and       
journeys2 at all events1 till they come 
to the closing scene of all4#f ,there is
 another reason equally probable3--,a   
wise ,christian prudence1 and delicate  
consideration for the feelings of the   
living1 may have prevented the other    
,evangelists giving publicity to facts  
connected with their ,lord's greatest   
miracle2 a premature disclosure of which
 might have exposed ,lazarus and his    
sisters to the violence of the          
unscrupulous persecutors of the day4    
,they would1 moreover1 7as human        
feelings are the same in every age17    
naturally shrink from violating the     
peculiar sacredness of domestic grief by
 publishing circumstantially its details
 while the mourners and the mourned     

still lingered at their ,bethany home4  
,well did they know that that ,holy     
,spirit at whose dictation they wrote1  
would not suffer the ,church of the     
future to be deprived of so precious a  
record of divine love and power4 ,hence 
the sacred task of being the ,biographer
 of ,lazarus was consigned to their aged
 survivor4  ,when the ,apostle of       
,patmos wrote his ,gospel1 as is        
supposed in distant ,ephesus1 ,mary1    
,martha1 and ,lazarus were1 in all      
likelihood1 reposing in their graves4   
,happily so1 too1 for ere this the      
,roman armies were encamped almost      
within sight of their old dwelling1 and 
the inhabitants of ,jerusalem undergoing
 their unparalleled sufferings4  ,add to
 this1 ,john1 of all the ,evangelists1  
was best qualified to do justice to this
 matchless picture4 ,baptized himself   
with the spirit of love1 his inspired   
pencil could best portray the lights and
 shadows in this lovely and loving      
household4 ,pre-eminently like his      

,lord1 he could best delineate the scene
 of all others where the tenderness of  
that tender ,saviour shone most         
conspicuous4 ,he was the disciple who   
had leant on ,his bosom--who had been   
admitted by ,him to nearest and most    
confiding fellowship4 ,he would have the
 ,church1 to the latest period of time1 
to enjoy the same4 ,he interrupts1      
therefore1 the course of his narrative  
that he may lift the veil which         
enshrouds the private life of ,jesus1   
and exhibit ,him in all ages in the     
endearing attitude and relation of a    
,human ,friend4 ,immanuel is            
transfigured on this ,mount of ,love    
before ,his suffering and glory6 ,the   
,bethany scene1 with its tints of soft  
and mellowed sunlight1 forms a pleasing 
background to the sadder and more awful 
events which crowd the ,gospel's closing
 chapters4     ,,ii4  ,,the ,,home      
,,scene4   ,the curtain rises on a quiet
 ,judean village1 the sanctuary of three
 holy hearts4 ,each of the inmates have 

some strongly-marked traits of          
individual character4 ,these have been  
so often delicately and truthfully drawn
 that it is the less necessary to dwell 
minutely upon them here4 ,there is      
abundant material in the narrative to   
discover to us1 in the sisters1 two     
characters--both interesting in         
themselves1 both beloved by ,jesus1 both
 needful in the ,church of ,god1 but at 
the same time widely different1         
preparing by a diverse education for    
heaven--requiring1 as we shall find1    
from ,him who best knew their diversity1
 a separate and peculiar treatment4     
,martha1 the elder 7probably the eldest 
of the family71 has been accurately     
represented as the type of activity2    
bustling1 energetic1 impulsive1 well    
qualified to be the head of the         
household1 and to grapple with the stern
 realities and routine of actual life2  
quick in apprehension1 strong and       
vigorous in intellect1 anxious to give a
 reason for all she did1 and requiring a

 reason for the conduct of others2 a    
useful if not a noble character1        
combining diligence in business with    
fervency in spirit4  ,mary1 again1 was  
the type of reflection2 calm1 meek1     
devotional1 contemplative1 sensitive in 
feeling1 ill suited to battle with the  
cares and sorrows1 the strifes and      
griefs of an engrossing and encumbering 
world2 one of those gentle flowers that 
pine and bend under the rough blasts of 
life1 easily battered down by hail and  
storm1 but as ready to raise its        
drooping leaves under heavenly          
influences4 ,her position was at her    
,lord's feet1 drinking in those living  
waters which came welling up fresh from 
the great ,fountain of life2 asking no  
questions1 declining all arguments1     
gentle and submissive1 a beautiful      
impersonation of the childlike faith    
which beareth all things1 hopeth all    
things1 believeth all things4 ,while her
 sister can so command her feelings as  
to be able to rush forth to meet her    

,lord outside the village1 calm and     
self-possessed1 to unbosom to ,him all  
her hopes and fears1 and even to        
interrogate ,him about death and the    
resurrection1 ,mary can only meet ,him  
buried in her all-absorbing grief4 ,the 
crushed leaves of that flower of        
paradise are bathed and saturated with  
dewy tears4 ,she has not a word of      
remonstrance4 ,jesus speaks to          
,martha--chides her--reasons with her2  
with ,mary1 ,he knew that the heart was 
too full1 the wound too deep1 to bear   
the probing of word or argument2 ,he    
speaks1 therefore1 in the touching      
pathos of her own silent grief4 ,her    
melting emotion has its response in ,his
 own4 ,in one word1 ,martha was one of  
those meteor spirits rushing to and fro 
amid the ceaseless activities of life1  
softened and saddened1 but not          
prostrated and crushed by the sudden    
inroads of sorrow4 ,mary1 again1 we     
think of as one of those angel forms    
which now and then seem to walk the     

earth from the spirit-land2 a quiet     
evening star1 shedding its mellowed     
radiance among deepening twilight       
shadows1 as if her home was in a        
brighter sphere1 and her choice1 as we  
know it was1 a better part1 that never  
could be taken from her4#g ,beautifully 
and delicately has a ,christian poet    
thus drawn her loving character3--      
,oh1 blest beyond all daughters of the  
,east6        ,what were the ,orient    
thrones to that low seat1      ,where   
thy hush'd spirit drew celestial birth6 
,mary6 meek listener at the ,saviour's  
feet1        ,no feverish cares to that 
divine retreat      ,thy woman's heart  
of silent worship brought1        ,but a
 fresh childhood1 heavenly truth to meet
      ,with love and wonder and         
submissive thought4        ,oh6 for the 
holy quiet of thy breast1      ,midst   
the world's eager tones and footsteps   
flying1      ,thou whose calm soul was  
like a well-spring1 lying        ,so    
deep and still in its transparent rest1 

,that e'en when noontide burns upon the 
hills1      ,some one bright solemn star
 all its lone mirror fills4  ,of        
,lazarus1 around whom the main interest 
of the narrative gathers1 we have fewer 
incidental touches to guide us in giving
 individuality to his character4 ,this1 
however1 we may infer1 from the poignant
 sorrow of the twin hearts that were so 
unexpectedly broken1 that he was a loved
 and lamented only brother1 a sacred    
prop around which their tenderest       
affections were entwined4 ,included too1
 as he was1 in the love which the       
,divine ,saviour bore to the household  
7for ,jesus loved ,lazarus71 is it      
presumptuous to imagine that his spirit 
had been cast into much the same human  
mould as that of his beloved ,lord1 and 
that the friendship of ,jesus for him   
had been formed on the same principles  
on which friendships are formed still--a
 similarity of disposition1 some mental 
and moral resemblances and              
idiosyncrasies8 ,they were like-minded1 

so far as a fallible nature and the     
nature of a stainless humanity could be 
assimilated4 ,we can think of him as    
gentle1 retiring1 amiable1 forgiving1   
heavenly-minded2 an imperfect and       
shadowy1 it may be1 but still a faithful
 reflection and transcript of incarnate 
loveliness4 ,may we not venture to use  
regarding him his ,lord's eulogy on     
another1 ,behold an ,israelite indeed1  
in whom is no guile6  ,nor must we      
forget1 in this rapid sketch1 what a    
precious unfolding we have in this home 
portraiture of the humanity of the      
,saviour6 ,the ,man ,christ ,jesus      
stands in softened majesty and          
tenderness before our view4 ,he who had 
a heart capacious enough to take in all 
mankind1 had yet ,his likings 7sinless  
partialities7 for individuals and minds 
which were more than others congenial   
and kindred with ,his own4 ,as there are
 some heart sanctuaries where we can    
more readily rush to bury the tale of   
our sorrows or unburden our             

perplexities1 so had ,he4 ,jesus        
wept6--this speaks of ,him as the human 
,sympathiser4 ,jesus loved              
,lazarus--this speaks of ,him as the    
human ,friend6 ,he had an ardent        
affection for all ,his disciples1 but   
even among them there was an inner      
circle of holier attachments--a ,peter1 
and ,james1 and ,john2 and out of this  
sacred trio again there was one         
pre-eminently ,beloved4 ,so1 amid the   
hallowed haunts of ,palestine1 the homes
 of ,judea1 the cities of ,galilee1     
there was but one ,bethany4 ,it is      
delightful thus to think of the heart of
 ,jesus in all but sin as purely human1 
identical and identified with our own4  
,he was no hermit-spirit dwelling in    
mysterious solitariness apart from ,his 
fellows1 but open to the charities of   
life2--in all ,his refined and hallowed 
sensibilities made like unto ,his       
brethren4 ,friendship is itself a holy  
thing4 ,the bright intelligences in the 
upper sanctuary know it and experience  

it4 ,they cry one to another4 ,theirs is
 no solitary strain--no isolated        
existence4 ,unlike the planets in the   
material firmament1 shining distant and 
apart1 they are rather clustering       
constellations1 whose gravitation-law is
 unity and love1 this binding them to   
one another1 and all to ,god4 ,nay--with
 reverence we say it--may not the       
archetype of all friendship be found    
shadowed forth in what is higher still1 
those mystic and ineffable communings   
subsisting between ,father1 ,son1 and   
,holy ,spirit in a past eternity8 ,we   
can thus regard the friendship of ,jesus
 on earth--like all ennobled1 purified  
affections--as an emanation from the    
,divine2 a sacred and holy rill1 flowing
 direct from the ,fountain of infinite  
love4 ,how our adorable ,lord in the    
days of ,his flesh fondly clung even to 
hearts that grew faithless when fidelity
 was most needed6 ,what was it but a    
noble and touching tribute to the       
longings and susceptibilities of ,his   

holy soul for human friendship1 when1 on
 entering the precincts of ,gethsemane1 
,he thus sought to mitigate the untold  
sorrows of that awful hour--,tarry ye   
here and watch with ,me6  ,but to       
return4 ,such was the home around which 
the memories of its inmates and our own 
love to linger4  ,mary1 ,martha1 and    
,lazarus--all three partakers of the    
same grace1 fellow-pilgrims ,zionward1  
and that journey sanctified and hallowed
 by a sacred fellowship with the ,lord  
of pilgrims4 ,the ,saviour's own        
precious promise seems under that roof  
of lowly unobtrusive love to receive a  
living fulfilment3 ,where two or three  
are gathered together in my name1 there 
am ,i in the midst of them4 ,though many
 a gorgeous palace was at that era      
adorning the earth1 where was the spot1 
what the dwelling1 half so consecrated  
as this8 ,solomon had a thousand years  
before1 two miles distant1 in presence  
of assembled ,israel1 uttered the       
exclamation1 ,but will ,god in very deed

 dwell with men upon earth8 ,he was now 
verily dwelling6 ,nor was it under any  
gorgeous canopy or august temple4 ,he   
had selected ,three ,human ,souls as the
 shrines ,he most loved4 ,he had sought 
their holy1 heavenly converse as the    
sweetest incense and costliest          
sacrifice4 ,how or where they first saw 
,jesus we cannot tell4 ,they had        
probably been among the number of those 
pious ,jews who had prayerfully waited  
for the consolation of ,israel1 and who 
had lived to see their fondest wishes   
and hopes realised4 ,the ,evangelist    
gives no information regarding their    
previous history4 ,the narrative all at 
once1 with an abruptness of surpassing  
beauty1 leaves us in no doubt that the  
,divine ,redeemer had been for long a   
well-known guest in that sunlit home1   
and that1 when the calls and duties of  
,his public ministry were suspended1    
many an hour was spent in the enjoyment 
of its peaceful seclusion4  ,we can     
fancy1 and no more1 these oft happy     

meetings1 when the ,pilgrim ,saviour1   
weary and worn1 was seen descending the 
rocky footpath of ,olivet1--,lazarus or 
his sisters1 from the flat roof of their
 dwelling1 or under the spreading       
fig-tree1 eager to catch the first      
glimpse of ,his approach4  ,when seated 
in the house1 we may picture their      
converse3 ,themes of sublime and        
heavenly import1 unchronicled by the    
inspired penmen1 which sunk deep into   
those listening spirits1 and nerved two 
of them for an after-hour of unexpected 
sorrow4 ,if there be bliss in the       
interchange of communion between        
,christian and ,christian1 what must it 
have been to have had the presence and  
fellowship of the ,lord ,himself6 ,not  
seeing ,him1 as we see ,him1 behind the 
lattice1 but seated underneath ,his     
shadow1 drinking in the living tones of 
,his living voice4 ,these children of   
,zion must1 indeed1 have been joyful in 
their ,king4  ,one of these hallowed    
seasons is that referred to in the #ajth

 of ,st ,luke1 where ,martha the        
ministering spirit1 and ,mary the lowly 
disciple1 are first introduced to our   
notice4 ,that visit is conjectured to   
have occurred when ,jesus was returning 
to the country from the ,feast of       
,tabernacles4 ,the ,bethany circle      
dreamt not then of their impending      
trial4 ,but1 foreseen as it was by ,him 
who knows the end from the beginning1   
may we not well believe one reason 7the 
main reason7 for ,his going thither was 
to soothe them in the prospect of a     
saddened home8 ,so that1 when the stroke
 did descend1 they might be cheered and 
consoled with the remembrances of ,his  
visit1 and of the gracious words which  
proceeded out of ,his mouth4  ,and is   
not this still the way ,jesus deals with
 ,his people8 ,he visits them often by  
some precious love-tokens--some special 
manifestations of ,his grace and        
presence before the hour of trial4 ,so  
that1 when that hour does come1 they may
 not be altogether prostrated or        

overwhelmed with it4 ,like ,elijah of   
old1 they have their miraculous food    
provided before they encounter the      
sterile desert4 ,when they come to speak
 of their crushed hearts1 they have     
solaces to tell of too4 ,their language 
is1 ,i will sing of mercy and judgment6 
99       99       99       99       99  
,we may be led to inquire why a         
character so lovely as that of ,lazarus 
was not enlisted along with the other   
disciples in the active service of the  
,apostleship4 ,why should ,peter and    
,andrew1 ,john and ,james1 be summoned  
from their boats and nets on ,gennesaret
 to follow ,jesus1 and this other1      
imbued with the same spirit and honoured
 with the same regard1 be left alone and
 undisturbed in his village home8  ,to  
every man there is a work4 ,some are    
more peculiarly called to active duty1  
and better fitted for it2 others for    
passive obedience and suffering4 ,some  
are selected as bold standard-bearers of
 the cross1 others to give their        

testimony in the quiet seclusion of     
domestic life4 ,some are specially      
gifted1 as ,paul1 to appear in the halls
 of ,nero or on the heights of ,mars'   
,hill1 and1 confronting face to face the
 world's boasted wisdom1 maintain intact
 the honour of their ,lord4 ,others are 
required to glorify ,him on beds of     
sickness1 or in homes of sorrow1 or in  
the holy consistent tenor of their      
everyday walk4 ,some are called as      
,levites to temple service2 others to   
give the uncostly cup of cold water1 or 
the widow's mite2 others to manifest the
 meek1 gentle1 unselfish1 resigned1     
forgiving heart1 when there is no cup or
 mite to offer6  ,believer6 rejoice that
 your path is marked out for you4 ,your 
lot in life1 with all its accidents1 is 
your ,lord's appointing4 ,dream not1 in 
your own short-sighted wisdom1 that1 had
 you occupied some other or more        
prominent position--had your talents    
been greater1 or your worldly influence 
more extensive--you might have glorified

 your ,god in a way which is at present 
denied to you4 ,he can be served in the 
lowliest as well as in the most exalted 
stations4 ,as the tiniest leaf or       
smallest star in the world of nature    
reflects ,his glory as well as the giant
 mountain or blazing sun1 so does ,he   
graciously own and recognise the        
humblest effort of lowly love no less   
than the most lavish gifts which        
splendid munificence and costly devotion
 can cast into ,his treasury4 ,let it be
 your great aim and ambition to honour  
,him just in the position ,he has seen  
meet to assign you4 ,let every man1 says
 the ,apostle1 wherein he is called1    
therein abide with ,god4 ,however       
limited your sphere1 you may become a   
centre of holy influences to the little 
world around you4 ,your heart may be an 
incense-altar of love and affection1    
kindness and gentleness to man--your    
life a perpetual hymn of praise to your 
,father in ,heaven2 glorifying ,him1    
like ,martha1 by active service2 like   

,mary1 by sitting at ,his feet2 or1 like
 ,lazarus1 by holy living and happy     
dying1 and leaving behind you the       
,memory of the ,just which is blessed4  
,,iii4  ,,lessons4   ,as yet the home of
 ,bethany is all happiness4 ,the        
burial-ground has been untraversed      
since1 probably years before the dust of
 one1 or perhaps both parents had been  
committed to the sepulchre4#h ,death had
 long left the inmates an unbroken      
circle4 ,can it be that the unwelcome   
intruder is so nigh at hand8--that their
 now joyous dwelling is so soon to echo 
to the wail of lamentation8 ,we imagine 
it but lately visited by ,jesus4 ,in a  
little while the arrow hath sped2 the   
sacredness of a divine friendship is no 
guarantee against the incursion of the  
sleepless foe of human happiness4       
,bethany is a mourning household4 ,the  
sisters are bowed in the agony of their 
worst bereavement--the prop of their    
existence is laid low--,lazarus is dead6
  ,at the very threshold of this        

touching story1 are we not called on to 
pause1 and read the uncertainty of      
earth's best joys and purest happiness2 
that the brightest sunshine is often the
 precursor of a dark cloud4 ,when the   
gourd is all flourishing1 a worm may    
unseen be preying at its root6 ,when the
 vessel is gliding joyously on the calm 
sea1 the treacherous rock may be at     
hand1 and1 in one brief hour1 it has    
become a shattered wreck6  ,it is the   
touching record of the inspired         
historian in narrating ,abraham's       
heaviest trial--,after these things1    
,god did tempt ,abraham4 ,after what    
things8 ,after a season of rich         
blessings1 gilding a future with bright 
hopes6  ,would that1 amidst our happy   
homes1 and sunshine hours1 and seasons  
of holy and joyous intercourse between  
friend and friend1 we would more        
habitually bear in mind ,this is not to 
last6 ,in one brief and unsuspected     
moment ,lazarus may be taken4 ,the      
messenger may now be on the wing to lay 

low some treasured object of earthly    
solicitude and love4 ,god would teach   
us--while we are glad of our gourds--not
 to be exceeding glad2 not to nestle    
here as if we were to live alway1 but   
rather1 as we are perched on our summer 
boughs1 to be ready at ,his bidding to  
soar away1 and leave behind us what most
 we prize4  ,it tells us1 too1 the utter
 mysteriousness of many of the divine   
dispensations4  ,,lazarus ,,is ,,dead6  
,what6 ,he1 the head1 and support1 and  
stay of two helpless females8 ,the joy  
and solace of a common orphanhood1--a   
brother evidently made and born for     
their adversities8 ,what6 ,lazarus1 whom
 ,jesus tenderly loved8 ,how much1 even 
to his ,lord1 will be buried in that    
early grave6 ,we may well expect1 if    
there be one homestead in all ,palestine
 guarded by the overshadowing wings of  
angels to debar the entrance of death1  
whose inmates may pillow their heads    
night after night in the confident      
assurance of immunity from trial1 it    

must surely be that loved resort--that  
,arbour in ,his ,hill ,difficulty1 where
 the ,god-man delighted oft to pause and
 refresh ,his wearied body and aching   
mind4 ,will ,omnipotence not have set   
its mark1 as of old1 on the door-posts  
and lintels of that consecrated         
dwelling1 so that the destroyer1 in     
going his rounds elsewhere1 may pass by 
it unscathed8 ,how1 too1 can the infant 
,church spare him8 ,the aged ,simeon or 
,anna we dare not wish to detain4       
,burdened with years and infirmities1   
after having got a glimpse of their     
,lord and ,saviour1 let them depart in  
peace1 and receive their crowns4 ,these 
decayed trees in the forest--those to   
whom old age on earth is a burden--let  
them bow to the axe1 and be transplanted
 to a nobler clime4 ,but one in the     
vigour of life--one so beautifully      
combining natural amiability with       
,christian love--one who was            
pre-eminently the friend of ,jesus1 and 
that word profoundly suggestive of all  

that was lovely in a disciple's         
character4 ,death may visit other homes 
in that sequestered village1 and spread 
desolation in other hearts1 but surely  
the ,church's ,lord will not suffer one 
of its pillars so prematurely to fall6  
,and yet it is even so6 ,the mysterious 
summons has come6--the most honoured    
home on earth has been rudely           
rifled6--the most loving of hearts have 
been cruelly torn2 and inscrutable is   
the dealing1 for ,lazarus is dead6      
,he1 the young and strong1 who cherish'd
        ,noble longings for the strife1 
,by the roadside fell1 and perish'd     
,on the threshold march of life4  ,and  
worse1 too1 than all1 the ,lord is      
absent4 ,why is ,omniscience tarrying   
elsewhere1 when ,his presence and power 
are above all needed at the house of    
,his friend8  ,the disconsolate sisters1
 in wondering amazement1 repeat over and
 over again the exclamation1 ,if ,jesus 
had been here1 this our brother had not 
died6 ,hath ,he forgotten to be         

gracious8 ,surely our way is hid from   
the ,lord1 our judgment is passed over  
from our ,god4  ,ah6 the experience of  
,his people is often still the same4    
,what are many of ,god's                
dispensations8--a baffling enigma--all  
strangeness--all mystery to the eye of  
sense4 ,useless lives prolonged1 useful 
ones taken6 ,the honoured minister of   
,god struck down1 the unfaithful        
watchman spared6 ,the philanthropic and 
benevolent have an arrest put on their  
manifold deeds of kindness and          
generosity2 the grasping1 the           
avaricious1 the mean-souled--those who  
neither fear ,god nor do good to man1   
are suffered to live on from day to day6
 ,what is it but the picture here       
presented eighteen hundred years        
ago--,judas spared to be a traitor to   
his ,lord1 while--,lazarus is dead6     
,but let us be still6 ,the ,saviour1    
indeed1 does not now lead us forth1 amid
 the scene of our trial1 as ,he did the 
bereft sisters1 to unravel the mysteries

 of ,his providence1 and to shew glory  
to ,god1 redounding from the darkest of 
,his dispensations4 ,to us the grand    
sequel is reserved for eternity4 ,the   
grand development of the divine plan    
will not be fully accomplished till     
then2 faith must meanwhile rest         
satisfied with what is baffling to sight
 and sense4 ,this whole narrative is    
designed to teach the lesson that there 
is an undeveloped future in all ,god's  
dealings4 ,there is an unseen why and   
wherefore which cannot be answered here4
 ,our befitting attitude and language   
now is that of simple                   
confidingness--,shall not the ,judge of 
all the earth do right8--,listening to  
one of these ,bethany sayings 7we shall 
by and by consider71 whose meaning will 
be interpreted in a brighter world by   
,him who uttered it in the days of ,his 
flesh--,said ,i not unto thee1 that if  
thou wouldest believe thou shouldest see
 the glory of ,god8      ,o thou who    
mournest on thy way1      ,with longings

 for the close of day1      ,he walks   
with thee1 that ,angel kind1      ,and  
gently whispers--',be resign'd2         
,bear up--bear on--the end shall tell1  
,the dear ,lord ordereth all things     
well4'  ,our duty1 meanwhile1 is that of
 children1 simply to trust the          
faithfulness of a ,god whose footsteps  
of love we often fail to trace4 ,all    
will be seen at last to have been not   
only for the best1 but really the best4 
,dark clouds will be fringed with mercy4
 ,what we call now baffling             
dispensations1 will be seen to be       
wondrous parts of a great connected     
whole1--the wheel within wheel of that  
complex machinery1 by which all things  
7yes1 ,,all things7 are now working     
together for good4  ,lazarus is dead6   
,the choicest tree in the earthly ,eden 
has succumbed to the blast4 ,the        
choicest cup has been dashed to the     
ground4 ,some great lights in the moral 
firmament have been extinguished4 ,but  
,god can do without human agency4 ,his  

,church can be preserved1 though no     
,moses be spared to conduct ,israel over
 ,jordan1 and no ,lazarus to tell the   
story of his ,saviour's grace and love1 
when other disciples have forsaken ,him 
and fled4  ,we may be calling1 in our   
blind unbelief1 as we point to some     
ruined fabric of earthly bliss--some    
tomb which has become the grave of our  
fondest affections and dearest          
hopes--,shall the dust praise thee1     
shall it declare thy truth8 ,believe6   
believe6 ,god will not give us back our 
dead as ,he did to the ,bethany sisters2
 but ,he will not deprive us of aught we
 have1 or suffer one garnered treasure  
to be removed1 except for ,his own glory
 and our good4 ,now it is our province  
to believe it--in ,heaven we shall see  
it4 ,before the sapphire throne we shall
 see that not one redundant thorn has   
been suffered to pierce our feet1 or one
 needless sorrow to visit our dwelling1 
or tear to dim our eye4 ,then our       
acknowledgment will be1 ,we have known  

and believed the love which ,god hath to
 us4      ,oh1 weep not though the      
beautiful decay1        ,thy heart must 
have its autumn--its pale skies         
,leading mayhap to winter's cold dismay4
      ,yet doubt not4 ,beauty doth not  
pass away2        ,his form departs not1
 though his body dies4        ,secure   
beneath the earth the snowdrop lies1    
,waiting the spring's young             
resurrection-day4#i  ,be it ours to have
 ,jesus with us1 and ,jesus for us1 in  
all our afflictions4 ,if we wish to     
insure these mighty solaces1 we must not
 suffer the hour of sorrow and          
bereavement to overtake us with a       
,saviour till then a stranger and       
unknown4 ,st ,luke tells us the secret  
of ,mary's faith and composure at her   
loved one's grave3--,she had1 long      
before her day of trial1 learned to sit 
at her ,redeemer's feet4 ,it was when in
 health ,jesus was first resorted to and
 loved4  ,in prosperity may our homes   
and hearts be gladdened with ,his       

footstep2 and when prosperity is        
withdrawn1 and is succeeded by the dark 
and cloudy day1 may we know1 like       
,martha and ,mary1 where to rush in our 
seasons of bitter sorrow2 listening from
 ,his glorified lips on the throne to   
those same exalted themes of consolation
 which1 for eighteen hundred years1 have
 to myriad1 myriad mourners been like   
oil thrown on the troubled sea4 ,jesus  
is with us6 ,the ,master is come6 ,his  
presence will extract sorrow from the   
bitterest cup1 and make1 as ,he did at  
,bethany1 a very home of bereavement and
 a burial scene to be hallowed ground6  
,,iv4  ,,the ,,messenger4   ,is the     
absent ,saviour not to be sought8       
,martha and ,mary knew the direction ,he
 had taken4 ,the last time ,he had      
visited their home was at the ,feast of 
,dedication1 during the season of       
winter1 when the palm-trees were bared  
of their leaves1 and the voice of the   
turtle was silent4 ,jesus1 on that      
occasion1 had to escape the vengeance of

 the ,jews in ,jerusalem by a temporary 
retirement to the place where ,john     
first baptized1 near ,enon1 on the      
wooded banks of the ,jordan4 ,it must   
have been to ,him a spot and season of  
calm and grateful repose2 a pleasing    
transition from the rude hatred and     
heartless formalism which met ,him in   
the degenerate ,city of ,solemnities4   
,the savour of the ,baptist's name and  
spirit seemed to linger around this     
sequestered region4 ,john had evidently 
prepared1 by his faithful ministry1 the 
way for a mightier ,preacher1 for we    
read1 as the result of the ,saviour's   
present sojourn1 that many believed on  
him there4  ,if we visit with hallowed  
emotion the places where first we       
learned to love the ,lord1 to two at    
least of those who accompanied the      
,redeemer1 the region ,he now traversed 
must have been full of fragrant         
memories2 there it was that ,jesus had  
been first pointed out to them as the   
,lamb of ,god2 there they first beheld  

,his glory1 the glory as of the         
only-begotten of the ,father1 full of   
grace and of truth4 7,john i4 #bh47  ,on
 ,his way thither1 on the present       
occasion1 ,he most probably passed      
through ,bethany1 and apprised ,his     
friends of ,his temporary absence4      
,lazarus was then in his wonted         
vigour--no shadow of death had yet      
passed over his brow2 he doubtless      
parted with the ,lord he loved happy at 
the thought of ere long meeting again4  
,but soon all is changed4 ,the hand of  
sickness unexpectedly lays him low4 ,at 
first there is no cause for anxiety4    
,but soon the herald-symptoms of danger 
and death gather fast and thick around  
his pillow2 his beauty consumes away    
like a moth4 ,the terrible possibility  
for the first time flashes across the   
minds of the sisters1 of a desolate     
home1 and of themselves being the       
desolate survivors of a loved brother4  
,the joyous dream of restoration becomes
 fainter and fainter4 ,human remedies   

are hopeless4 ,there was ,one1 and only 
,,one1 in the wide world who could save 
from impending death4 ,his word1 they   
knew1 could alone summon lustre to that 
eye1 and bloom to that wan and fading   
cheek4 ,fifty long miles intervene      
between the great ,physician and their  
cottage home4 ,but they cannot hesitate4
 ,some kind and compassionate neighbour 
is soon found ready to hasten along the 
,jericho road with the brief but urgent 
message1 ,lord6 behold he whom thou     
lovest is sick4 ,if it only reach in    
time1 they know that no more is needed4 
,they even indulge the expectation that 
their messenger may be anticipated by   
the ,lord ,himself appearing4 ,others   
might doubt ,his omniscience1 but they  
knew its reality4 ,they had the blessed 
conviction1 that while they were seated 
in burning tears by that couch of       
sickness1 there was a sympathising      
,being far away marking every           
heart-throb of ,his suffering friend4   
,even when the stern human conviction of

 no hope was pressing upon them1 hoping 
against hope1 they must have felt       
confident that ,he would not suffer ,his
 faithfulness now to fail4 ,he had often
 proved ,himself a ,brother and ,friend 
in the hour of joy4 ,could ,he fail--can
 ,he fail to prove ,himself now a       
,brother born for adversity8  ,although1
 however1 thus convinced that the tale  
of their sorrows was known to ,jesus1 a 
messenger is sent1--the means are       
employed6 ,they act as though ,he knew  
it not2 as if that omniscient ,saviour  
had been all unconscious of these hours 
of prolonged and anxious agony6  ,what a
 lesson is there here for us6 ,god is   
acquainted with our every trouble2 ,he  
knows 7far better than we know          
ourselves7 every pang we heave1 every   
tear we weep1 every perplexing path we  
tread2 but the knee must be bent1 the   
message must be taken1 the prayer must  
ascend6 ,it is ,his own appointed       
method1--,his own consecrated medium for
 obtaining blessings4 ,jesus may have   

gone1 and probably would have gone to   
restore ,his friend1 even though no such
 messenger had reached ,him3 ,we dare   
not limit the grace and dealings of     
,god3 ,he is often 7blessed be ,his name
 for it67 found of them that sought ,him
 not4 ,but ,he loves such messages as   
this4 ,he loves the confiding1 childlike
 trust of ,his own people1 who delight  
in the hour of their extremity to cast  
their burdens upon ,him1 and send the   
winged herald of prayer to the throne of
 grace on which ,he sits4  ,would that  
we valued1 more than we do1 this blessed
 link of communication between our souls
 and ,heaven6 ,more especially in our   
seasons of trouble1 7when vain is the   
help of man17 happy for us to be able   
implicitly to rest in the ability and   
willingness of a gracious ,redeemer4    
,prayer brings the soul near to ,jesus1 
and fetches ,jesus near to the soul4 ,he
 may linger1 as ,he did now at the      
,jordan1 ere the answer be vouchsafed1  
but it is for some wise reason2 and even

 if the answer given be not in          
accordance with our pre-conceived wishes
 or anxious desires1 yet how comforting 
to have put our case and all its        
perplexities in ,his hand1 saying1 ,i am
 oppressed2 undertake ,thou for me6 ,to 
,thee ,i unburden and unbosom my        
sorrows4 ,i shall be satisfied whether  
my cup be filled or emptied4 ,do to me  
as seemeth good in ,thy sight4 ,he whom 
,i love and whom ,,thou lovest is sick2 
the ,lazarus of my earthly hopes and    
affections is hovering on the brink of  
death4 ,that levelling blow1 if         
consummated1 will sweep down in a moment
 all my hopes of earthly happiness and  
joy4 ,but it is my privilege to confide 
my trouble to ,thee2 to know that ,i    
have surrendered myself and all that    
concerns me into the hand of ,him who   
'considers my soul in adversity4' ,yes2 
and should my schemes be crossed1 and my
 fondest hopes baffled1 ,i will feel1   
even in apparently unanswered prayers1  
that the ,judge of all the earth has    

done right6  ,it is said1 says          
,rutherford1 speaking of the ,saviour's 
delay in responding to the request of   
the ,syrophenician woman2 ,it is said   
,he answered not a word1 but it is not  
said ,he heard not a word4 ,these two   
differ much4 ,christ often heareth when 
,he doth not answer4 ,his not answering 
is an answer1 and speaks thus3 ',pray   
on1 go on and cry1 for the ,lord holdeth
 ,his door fast bolted not to keep you  
out1 but that you may knock and knock4' 
,god delays to answer prayer1 says      
,archbishop ,usher1 because he would    
have more of it4 ,if the musicians come 
to play at our doors or our windows1 if 
we delight not in their music1 we throw 
them out money presently that they may  
be gone4 ,but if the music please us1 we
 forbear to give them money1 because we 
would keep them longer to enjoy their   
music4 ,so the ,lord loves and delights 
in the sweet words of ,his children1 and
 therefore puts them off and answers    
them not presently4  ,observe still     

further1 in the case of these sorrowing 
sisters of ,bethany1 while in all haste 
and urgency they send their messenger1  
they do not ask ,jesus to come--they    
dictate no procedure--they venture on no
 positive request--all is left to       
,himself4 ,what a lesson also is there  
here to confide in ,his wisdom1 to feel 
that ,his way and ,his will must be the 
best--that our befitting attitude is to 
lie passive at ,his feet--to wait ,his  
righteous disposal of us and ours--to   
make this the burden of our petition1   
,lord1 what wouldst ,thou have me to do8
 ,if it be possible let this cup pass   
from me1 nevertheless1 not as ,i will1  
but as ,thou wilt4  ,reader6 invite to  
your gates this celestial messenger4    
,make prayer a holy habit--a cherished  
privilege4 ,seek to be ever maintaining 
intercommunion with ,jesus2 consecrating
 life's common duties with ,his favour  
and love4 ,day by day ere you take your 
flight into the world1 night by night   
when you return from its soiling        

contacts1 bathe your drooping plumes in 
this refreshing fountain4 ,let prayer   
sweeten prosperity and hallow adversity4
 ,seek to know the unutterable          
blessedness of habitual filial nearness 
to your ,father in heaven--in childlike 
confidence unbosoming to ,him those     
heart-sorrows with which no earthly     
friend can sympathise1 and with which a 
stranger cannot intermeddle4 ,no trouble
 is too trifling to confide to ,his     
ear--no want too trivial to bear to ,his
 mercy-seat4      ,prayer is appointed  
to convey        ,the blessings ,he     
designs to give2      ,long as they live
 should ,christians pray1        ,for   
only while they pray1 they live4     ,v4
  ,,the ,,message4   ,the messenger has 
reached--what is his message8 ,it is a  
brief1 but a beautiful one4 ,lord1      
behold he whom ,thou lovest is sick4    
,no laboured eulogium--no lengthened    
panegyric could have described more     
significantly the character of the dying
 villager of ,bethany4 ,four mystic     

words invest his name with a sacred     
loveliness4 ,by one stroke of his pen   
the ,apostle unfolds a heart-history2 so
 that we desiderate no more--more would 
almost spoil the touching               
simplicity--,he whom ,thou lovest6  ,we 
might think at first the words are      
inverted4 ,can the messenger have       
mistaken them8 ,is it not more likely   
the message of the sisters was          
this3--,go and tell ,him1 ',lord1 he    
whom we love1' or else1 'he who loveth  
,thee is sick8'  ,nay1 it is a loftier  
argument by which they would stir the   
infinite depths of the ,fountain of     
love6 ,they had known and believed the  
love which the ,great ,redeemer bore to 
their brother1 and they further felt    
assured that loving him at the          
beginning1 ,he would love him even to   
the end4 ,their love to ,lazarus        
7tender1 unspeakably tender as it was   
one of the loveliest types of human     
affection7--was at best an earthly      
love--finite--imperfect--fitful--changin

g--perishable4 ,but the love they       
invoked was undying and everlasting1    
superior to all vacillation--enduring as
 eternity4  ,it is ours to take         
encouragement in prayer from ,god       
only2--to plead nothing of our own--our 
poor devotedness1 or our unworthy       
services2 they are rather arguments for 
our condemnation2--but ,his promises are
 all ,yea1 and amen4 ,they never fail4  
,his name is a strong tower1 running    
into which the righteous are safe4 ,that
 tower is garrisoned and bulwarked by   
the attributes of ,his own everlasting  
nature4 ,among these attributes not the 
least glorious is ,his ,love--that      
unfathomable love which dwelt in ,his   
bosom from all eternity1 and which is   
immutably pledged never to be taken from
 ,his people6  ,man's love to his ,god  
is like the changing sand--,his is like 
the solid rock4 ,man's love is like the 
passing meteor with its fitful gleam4   
,his like the fixed stars1 shining far  
above1 clear and serene1 from age to    

age1 in their own changeless firmament4 
,do we know anything of the words of    
this message8 ,could it be written on   
our hearts in life8 ,were we to die1    
could it be inscribed on our tombs1     
,this is one whom ,jesus loved8  ,happy 
assurance6 ,the pure spirits who bend   
before the throne know no happier4 ,the 
archangels--the chieftains among        
principalities and powers1 can claim no 
higher privilege1 no loftier badge of   
glory6  ,love is the atmosphere they    
breathe4 ,it is the grand moral law of  
gravitation in the heavenly economy4    
,god1 the central sun of light1 and joy1
 and glory1 keeping by this great motive
 principle every spiritual planet in its
 orbit1 for ,god is love4  ,that love is
 not confined to heaven4 ,it may be     
foretasted here4 ,the sick man of       
,bethany knew of it1 and exulted in it4 
,though in the moment of dissolution he 
had to mourn the personal absence of his
 ,lord1 yet believing in that love1 he  
rejoiced with joy unspeakable and full  

of glory4 ,his sisters1 as they stood in
 sorrowing emotion by his dying couch1  
and thought of that hallowed fraternal  
bond which was about so soon to be      
dissolved1 could triumph in the thought 
of an affection nobler and better which 
knit him and them to the ,brother of    
brothers--and which1 unlike any earthly 
tie1 was indissoluble4  ,and what was   
experienced in that lowly ,bethany home1
 may be experienced by us4  ,that love  
in its wondrous manifestation is        
confined to no limits1 no age1 no       
peculiar circumstances4 ,many a         
,lazarus1 pining in want1 who can claim 
no heritage but poverty1 no home but    
cottage walls1 or who1 stretched on a   
bed of protracted sickness1 is heard    
saying in the morning1 ,would ,god it   
were evening6 and in the evening1 ,would
 ,god it were morning6 if he have that  
love reigning in his heart1 he has a    
possession outweighing the wealth of    
worlds6  ,what a message1 too1 of       
consolation is here to the sick6 ,how   

often are those chained down year after 
year to some aching pillow1 worn1 weary1
 shattered in body1 depressed in        
spirit1--how apt are they to indulge in 
the sorrowful thought1 ,surely ,god     
cannot care for me6 ,what6 ,jesus think 
of this wasted frame--these throbbing   
temples--these powerless limbs--this    
decaying mind6 ,i feel like a wreck on  
the desert shore--beyond the reach of   
,his glance--beneath the notice of ,his 
pitying eye6 ,nay1 thou poor desponding 
one1 ,he does cherish1 ,he does remember
 thee6--,lord1 he whom ,thou lovest is  
sick4 ,let this motto-verse be inscribed
 on thy ,bethany chamber4 ,the ,lord    
loves ,his sick ones1 and ,he often     
chastens them with sickness1 just       
because ,he loves them4 ,if these pages 
be now traced by some dim eyes that have
 been for long most familiar with the   
sickly glow of the night-lamp--the weary
 vigils of pain and languor and         
disease--an exile from a busy world1 or 
a still more unwilling alien from the   

holy services of the sanctuary--oh6     
think of ,him who loves thee1 who loved 
thee into this sickness1 and will love  
thee through it1 till thou standest in  
that unsuffering1 unsorrowing world1    
where sickness is unknown6 ,think of    
,lazarus in his chamber1 and the plea of
 the sisters in behalf of their         
prostrate brother1 ,lord1 come to the   
sick one1 whom ,thou lovest4  ,believe  
it1 the very continuance of this        
sickness is a pledge of ,his love4 ,you 
may be often tempted to say with        
,gideon1 ,if the ,lord be with me1 why  
has all this befallen me8 ,surely if my 
,lord loved me1 ,he would long ere this 
have hastened to my relief1 rebuked this
 sore disease1 and raised me up from    
this bed of languishing8 ,did you ever  
note1 in the #fth verse of this ,bethany
 chapter1 the strangely beautiful       
connexion of the word ,,therefore8 ,the 
,evangelist had1 in the preceding verse1
 recorded the affection ,jesus bore for 
that honoured family4 ,now ,jesus loved 

,martha and her sister and ,lazarus4    
,when ,he had heard ,,therefore that he 
was sick1--what did ,he do8 ,fled on    
wings of love to the succour of ,his    
loved friend2 hurried in eager haste by 
the shortest route from ,bethabara8 ,we 
expect to hear so1 as the natural       
deduction from ,john's premises4 ,how we
 might think could love give a more     
truthful exponent of its reality than   
hastening instantaneously to the relief 
of one so dear to ,him8 ,but not so6    
,when ,he had heard ,,therefore that he 
was sick1 ,he abode two days still in   
the same place where ,he was6 ,yes1     
there is tarrying love as well as       
succouring love4 ,he sent that sickness 
because ,he loves thee2 ,he continues it
 because ,he loves thee4 ,he heaps fresh
 fuel on the furnace-fires till the gold
 is refined4 ,he appoints1 not one1 but 
many days where neither sun nor stars   
appear1 and no small tempest lies on us1
 that the ship may be lightened1 and    
faith exercised2 our bark hastened by   

these rough blasts nearer shore1 and the
 ,lord glorified1 who rules the raging  
of the sea4 ,we expect1 says ,evans1 the
 blessing or relief in our way2 ,he     
chooses to bestow it in ,his4  ,reader6 
let this ever be your highest ambition1 
to love and to be loved of ,jesus4 ,if  
we are covetous to have the regard and  
esteem of the great and good on earth1  
what is it to share the fellowship and  
kindness of ,him1 in comparison with    
whose love the purest earthly affection 
is but a passing shadow6  ,ah6 to be    
without that love1 is to be a little    
world ungladdened by its central sun1   
wandering on in its devious pathway of  
darkness and gloom4 ,earthly things may 
do well enough when the world is all    
bright and shining--when prosperity     
sheds its bewitching gleam around you1  
and no symptoms of the cloudy and dark  
day are at hand2 but the hour is coming 
7it may come soon1 it must come at some 
time7 when your ,bethany-home will be   
clouded with deepening                  

death-shadows--when1 like ,lazarus1 you 
will be laid on a dying couch1 and what 
will avail you then8 ,oh1 nothing1      
nothing6 if bereft of that love whose   
smile is heaven4 ,if you are left in the
 agony of desolation to utter           
importunate pleadings to an ,unknown    
,saviour1 a ,stranger ,god--if the dark 
valley be entered uncheered by the      
thought of a loving ,redeemer dispelling
 its gloom1 and waiting on the ,canaan  
side to shew you the path of life6  ,let
 the home of your hearts be often open1 
as was the home of ,lazarus1 to the     
visits of ,jesus in the day of          
brightness2 and then1 when the hour of  
sorrow and trial unexpectedly arises1   
you will know where to find your        
,lord--where to send your prayer-message
 for ,him to come to your relief4  ,yes6
 ,he will come6 ,it will be in ,his own 
way1 but ,his joyous footfall will be   
heard6 ,he is not like ,baal1 slumbering
 and sleeping1 or taking a journey when 
the voice of importunate prayer ascends 

from the depths of yearning hearts6 ,if1
 instead of at once hastening back to   
,bethany1 ,he abides still for two days 
where ,he was--if ,he linger among the  
mountain-glens of distant ,gilead1      
instead of1 as we would expect1         
hastening to the cry and succour of     
cherished friendship1 and to ward off   
the dart of the inexorable foe--be      
assured there must be a reason for this 
strange procrastination--there must be  
an unrevealed cause which the future    
will in due time disclose and unravel4  
,all the recollections of the past      
forbid one unrighteous surmise on ,his  
tried faithfulness4 ,now1 ,jesus loved  
,lazarus1 is a soft pillow on which to  
repose2--raising the sorrowing spirit   
above the unkind insinuation1 ,my ,lord 
hath forsaken me1 and my ,god hath      
forgotten me4  ,if ,he linger1 it is to 
try and test the faith of ,his people4  
,if ,he let loose the storm1 and suffer 
it to sweep with a vengeance apparently 
uncontrolled1 it is that these living   

trees may strike their roots firmer and 
deeper in ,himself--the ,rock of eternal
 ages4 ,trust ,him where you cannot     
trace ,him4 ,not one promise of ,his can
 come to nought4 ,the channel may have  
continued long dry--the streams of      
,lebanon may have failed--the cloud has 
been laden1 but no shower descends--the 
barren waste is unwatered--the windows  
of heaven seem hopelessly closed4 ,nay1 
nay6 ,though the vision tarry1 yet if   
you wait for it the gracious assurance  
will be fulfilled in your               
experience--,the ,lord is good to them  
that wait for ,him1 to the soul that    
seeketh ,him4 ,the fountain of love pent
 up in ,his heart will in due time gush 
forth--the apparently unacknowledged    
prayer will be crowned with a gracious  
answer4 ,in ,his own good time sweet    
tones of celestial music will be wafted 
to your ear--,it is the voice of the    
,beloved6--lo1 ,he cometh leaping upon  
the mountains1 skipping upon the hills6 
,if you are indeed the child of ,god1 as

 ,lazarus was1 remember this for your   
comfort in your dying hour1 that whether
 the prayers of sorrowing friends for   
your recovery be answered or no1 the    
,lord of love has at least heard        
them--the messenger has not been        
mocked--the prayer-message has not been 
spurned or forgotten6 ,i repeat it1 ,he 
will answer1 but it will be in ,his own 
way6 ,if the ,bethany-home be           
ungladdened by ,lazarus restored1 it    
will exult through tears in the thought 
of ,lazarus glorified4 ,and the ,marthas
 and ,marys1 as they go often unto the  
grave to weep there1 will read1 as they 
weep1 in the holy memories of the       
departed1 that which will turn tears    
into joy--,jesus loved him4     ,,vi4   
,,the ,,sleeper4   ,our friend ,lazarus 
sleepeth4--,the hopes and fears which   
alternately rose and fell in the bosoms 
of the sisters1 like the surges of the  
ocean1 are now at rest4 ,oft and again1 
we may well believe1 had they gone1 like
 the mother of ,sisera1 to the lattice  

to watch the return of the messenger1   
or1 what was better1 to hail their      
expected ,lord4 ,gazing on the pale face
 at their side1 and remembering that ere
 now the tidings of his illness must    
have reached ,bethabara1 they may have  
even expected to witness the power of a 
distant word2--to behold the hues of    
returning health displacing the ghastly 
symptoms of dissolution4 ,but in vain6  
,the curtain has fallen6 ,their season  
of aching anxiety is at an end4 ,their  
worst fears are realised4--,lazarus     
sleepeth4  ,how calm1 how tranquil that 
departure6 ,never did sun sink so gently
 in its crimson couch--never did child1 
nestling in its mother's bosom1 close   
its eyes more sweetly6      ,his        
summon'd breath went forth as peacefully
      ,as folds the spent rose when the 
day is done4  ,befitting close to a calm
 and noiseless existence6 ,it would seem
 as if the guardian angels who had been 
hovering round his death-pillow had     
well-nigh reached the gates of glory ere

 the sorrowing survivors discovered that
 the clay tabernacle was all that was   
left of a brother beloved6  ,from the   
abrupt manner in which1 in the course of
 the narrative1 our ,lord makes the     
announcement to ,his disciples1#aj we   
are almost led to surmise that ,he did  
so at the very moment of the spirit's   
dismissal--the ,redeemer speaks while   
the eyelids are just closing1 and the   
emancipated soul is winging its arrowy  
flight up to the spirit-land6  ,death a 
,,sleep6--,how beautiful the image6     
,beautifully true1 and only true        
regarding the ,christian4 ,it is here   
where the true and the                  
false--,christianity and ,paganism--meet
 together in impressive and significant 
contrast4 ,the one comes to the dark    
river with her pale1 sickly lamp4 ,it   
refuses to burn--the damps of ,lethe dim
 and quench it4 ,philosophy tries to    
discourse on death as a stern           
necessity--of the duty of passing       
heroically into this mysterious1        

oblivion-world--taking with bold heart  
the leap in the dark1 and confronting1  
as we best can1 blended images of       
annihilation and terror4  ,the ,gospel  
takes us to the tomb1 and shews us      
,death vanquished1 and the ,grave       
spoiled4 ,death truly is in itself an   
unwelcome messenger at our door4 ,it is 
the dark event in this our earth1--the  
deepest of the many deep shadows of an  
otherwise fair creation--a cold1        
cheerless avalanche lying at the heart  
of humanity1 freezing up the gushing    
fountains of joyous life4 ,but the      
,gospel shines1 and the cold iceberg    
melts4 ,the ,sun of ,righteousness      
effects what philosophy1 with all its   
boasted power1 never could4 ,jesus is   
the abolisher of ,death4 ,he has taken  
all that is terrible from it4 ,it is    
said of some venomous insects that when 
they once inflict a sting1 they are     
deprived of any future power to hurt4   
,death left his envenomed sting in the  
body of the great victim of ,calvary4   

,it was thenceforward disarmed of its   
fearfulness6 ,so complete1 indeed1 is   
the ,redeemer's victory over this last  
enemy1 that ,he ,himself speaks of it as
 no longer a reality1 but a shadow--a   
phantom-foe from which we have nothing  
to dread4 ,whosoever believeth in ,me   
shall never die4 ,if a man keep ,my     
sayings1 he shall never see death4      
,these are an echo of the sweet         
,psalmist's beautiful words1 a          
transcript of his expressive figure when
 he pictures the ,dark ,valley to the   
believer as the ,valley of a shadow4    
,the substance is removed6 ,when the    
gaunt spirit meets him on the midnight  
waters1 he may1 like the disciples at   
first1 be led to cry out for fear4 ,but 
a gentle voice of love and tenderness   
rebukes his dread1 and calms his        
misgivings--,it is ,i6 be not afraid6   
,yes1 here is the wondrous secret of a  
calm departure--the sleep of the        
believer in death4 ,it is the name and  
presence of ,,jesus4 ,there may be many 

accompaniments of weakness and          
prostration1 pain and suffering1 in that
 final conflict2 the mind may be a      
wreck--memory may have abdicated her    
seat--the loving salutation of friends  
may be returned only with vacant looks1 
and the hand be unable to acknowledge   
the grasp of affection--but there is    
strength in that presence1 and music in 
that name to dispel every disquieting1  
anxious thought4 ,clung to as a         
sheet-anchor in life1 ,he will never    
leave the soul in the hour of           
dissolution to the mercy of the storm4  
,amid sinking nature1 ,he is faithful   
that promised--,lo1 ,i am with you      
alway1 even unto the end of the         
world4--,thou art with me1 says ,lady   
,powerscourt--this is the rainbow of    
light thrown across the valley1 for     
there is no need of sun or moon where   
covenant-love illumes4  ,a ,christian's 
death-bed6 ,it is indeed good to be     
there4 ,the man who has not to seek a   
living ,saviour at a dying hour1 but    

who1 long having known ,his             
preciousness1 loved ,his ,word1 valued  
,his ordinances1 sought ,his presence by
 believing prayer1 has now nothing to do
 but to die 7to sleep71 and wake up in  
glory everlasting6 ,oh6 that all my     
brethren1 were among ,rutherford's last 
words1 may know what a ,master ,i have  
served1 and what peace ,i have this day4
 ,this night shall close the door1 and  
put my anchor within the veil4 ,this    
must be the chariot1 said ,helen        
,plumtre1 making use of ,elijah's       
translation as descriptive of the       
believer's death2 ,this must be the     
chariot2 oh1 how easy it is6 ,almost    
well1 said ,richard ,baxter1 when asked 
on his death-bed how he did4  ,yes6     
there is speechless eloquence in such a 
scene4 ,the figure of a quiet slumber is
 no hyperbole1 but a sober verity4 ,as  
the gentle smile of a foretasted heaven 
is seen playing on the marble lips--the 
rays gilding the mountain tops after the
 golden sun has gone down--what more    

befitting reflection than this1 ,so     
giveth ,he ,his beloved ,,sleep6        
,sweetly remembering that the parting   
sigh      ,appoints ,his saints to      
slumber1 not to die1      ,the starting 
tear we check--we kiss the rod1         
,and not to earth resign them1 but to   
,god4  ,or shall we leave the           
death-chamber and visit the grave8      
,still it is a place of sleep2 a bed of 
rest--a couch of tranquil repose--a     
quiet dormitory until the day break1 and
 the night shadows of earth flee away4  
,the dust slumbering there is precious  
because redeemed2 the angels of ,god    
have it in custody2 they encamp round   
about it1 waiting the mandate to gather 
the elect from the four winds of        
heaven--from the one end of heaven to   
the other4 ,oh1 wondrous day1 when the  
long dishonoured casket shall be raised 
a glorified1 body to receive once more  
the immortal jewel1 polished and made   
meet for the ,master's use6 ,see how    
,paul clings1 in speaking of this       

glorious resurrection period1 to the    
expressive figure of his ,lord before   
him--,them also which ,,sleep in ,jesus 
will ,god bring with ,him6 ,sleep in    
,jesus6 ,his saints fall asleep on their
 death-couch in ,his arms of infinite   
love4 ,there their spirits repose1 until
 the body1 sown in corruption shall be  
raised in incorruption1 and both        
reunited in the day of ,his appearing1  
become a crown of glory in the hand of  
the ,lord1 and a royal diadem in the    
hand of their ,god4  ,weeping mourner6  
,jesus dries thy tears with the         
encouraging assurance1 ,thy dead shall  
live2 together with ,my body they shall 
arise4 ,let thy ,lazarus sleep on now   
and take his rest2 the time will come   
when ,my voice shall be heard           
proclaiming1 ,awake1 and sing1 ye that  
dwell in dust4 ,the winter is past1 the 
rain is over and gone1 the flowers      
appear on the earth2 the time of the    
singing of birds is come1 and the voice 
of the turtle is heard in the land4     

,arise1 my love1 my fair one1 and come  
away4 ,weep not6 he is not dead1 but    
sleepeth4 ,soon shall the day-dawn of   
glory streak the horizon1 and then ,i   
shall go that ,i may awake him out of   
sleep6  ,beautifully has it been said1  
,dense as the gloom is which hangs over 
the mouth of the sepulchre1 it is the   
spot1 above all others1 where the       
,gospel1 if it enters1 shines and       
triumphs4 ,in the busy sphere of life   
and health1 it encounters an active     
antagonist--the world confronts it1 aims
 to obscure its glories1 to deny its    
claims1 to drown its voice1 to dispute  
its progress1 to drive it from the      
ground it occupies4 ,but from the mouth 
of the grave the world retires2 it      
shrinks from the contest there2 it      
leaves a clear and open space in which  
the ,gospel can assert its claims and   
unveil its glories without opposition or
 fear4 ,there the infidel and worldling 
look anxiously around--but the world has
 left them helpless1 and fled4 ,there   

the ,christian looks around1 and lo6 the
 angel of mercy is standing close by his
 side4 ,the ,gospel kindles a torch     
which not only irradiates the valley of 
the shadow of death1 but throws a       
radiance into the world beyond1 and     
reveals it peopled with the sainted     
spirits of those who have died in       
,jesus4  ,reader6 may this calm         
departure be yours and mine4 ,blessed   
are the dead which die in the ,lord4 444
 ,they ,,rest4 ,all life's turmoil and  
tossing is over2 they are anchored in   
the quiet haven4 ,rest--but not the rest
 of annihilation--      ,grave6 the     
guardian of our dust2        ,grave6 the
 treasury of the skies2      ,every atom
 of thy trust        ,rests in hope     
again to rise6  ,let us seek to have the
 eye of faith fixed and centred on      
,jesus now4 ,it is that which alone can 
form a peaceful pillow in a dying hour1 
and enable us to rise superior to all   
its attendant terrors4 ,look at that    
scene in the ,jehoshaphat valley6 ,the  

proto-martyr ,stephen has a pillow of   
thorns for his dying couch1 showers of  
stones are hurled by infuriated         
murderers on his guiltless head1 yet1   
nevertheless1 he fell asleep4 ,what was 
the secret of that calmest of sunsets   
amid a blood-stained and storm-wreathed 
sky8 ,the eye of faith 7if not of sight7
 pierced through those clouds of        
darkness4 ,far above the courts of the  
material temple at whose base he lay1 he
 beheld1 in the midst of the general    
assembly and ,church of the ,first-born 
of ,heaven1 ,,jesus standing at the     
right hand of ,god4 ,the vision of his  
,lord was like a celestial lullaby      
stealing from the inner sanctuary4 ,with
 ,jesus1 his last sight on earth and his
 next in glory1 he could lay him down in
 peace and sleep1 saying1 in the words  
of the sweet singer of ,israel1 ,what   
time ,i awake ,i am still with ,thee4   
,it matters little at what hour o' the  
day      ,the righteous falls asleep4   
,death cannot come      ,to him untimely

 who is fit to die4      ,the less of   
this cold world the more of heaven2     
,the briefer life1 the earlier          
immortality4--,,milman4  ,our friend    
,lazarus sleepeth4 ,this tells us that  
,christ forgets not the dead4 ,the dead 
often bury their dead1 and remember them
 no more4 ,the name of their silent     
homes has passed into a proverb1 ,the   
land of forgetfulness4 ,but they are not
 forgotten by ,jesus4 ,that which       
sunders and dislocates all other        
ties--wrenching brother from brother1   
sister from sister1 friend from         
friend--cannot sunder us from the       
living1 loving heart on the throne of   
heaven4 ,his is a friendship and love   
stronger than death1 and surviving      
death4 ,while the language of earth is  
,friend after friend departs--      ,who
 hath not lost a friend8  the           
emancipated spirit1 as it wings its     
magnificent flight among the ministering
 seraphim1 can utter the challenge1 ,who
 shall separate me from the love of     

,christ8 ,the righteous are had with    
,him in everlasting remembrance4 ,their 
names written among the living in       
,jerusalem2 yea1 engraven on the palms  
of ,his hands4  ,one other              
thought4--,jesus had at first kindly and
 considerately disguised from ,his      
disciples the stern truth of ,lazarus'  
departure4 ,our friend sleepeth4 ,they  
thought that ,he had spoken of taking of
 rest in sleep4 ,they understood it as  
the indication of the crisis-hour in    
sickness when the disease has spent     
itself1 and is succeeded by a balmy     
slumber--the presage of returning       
health2 but now ,he says unto them      
plainly1 ,lazarus is dead4 ,how gently  
,he thus breaks the sad intelligence6   
,and it is ,his method of dealing still4
 ,he prepares ,his people for their     
hours of trial4 ,he does not lay upon   
them more than they are able to bear4   
,he considers their case--,he teaches by
 slow and gradual discipline1 leading on
 step by step2 staying ,his rough wind  

in the day of ,his east wind4 ,as the   
,good ,physician1 ,he metes out drop by 
drop in the bitter cup--as the ,good    
,shepherd1 ,his is not rough driving1   
but gentle guiding from pasture to      
pasture4 ,he leadeth them out2 ,he goeth
 before them4 ,he is ,himself their     
sheltering rock in the dark and cloudy  
day4 ,the sheep who are inured to the   
hardships of the mountain1 ,he leaves at
 times to wrestle with the storm2 but   
the lambs 7the young1 the faint1 the    
weak1 the weary7 ,he gathers in ,his    
arms and carries in ,his bosom4 ,he     
speaks in gentle whispers4 ,he uses the 
pleasing symbol of quiet slumber before 
,he speaks plainly out the mournful     
reality1 ,lazarus is dead4 ,truly ,he   
knoweth our frame--,he remembereth that 
we are dust4 ,like as a father pitieth  
his children1 so the ,lord pitieth them 
that fear ,him6  ,but let us resume our 
narrative1 and follow the journey of the
 dead man's ,friend4 ,it is a mighty    
task ,he has undertaken2 to storm the   

strong enemy in his own citadel1 and    
roll back the barred gates6 ,in mingled 
majesty and tenderness ,he hastens to   
the bereft and desolate home on this    
mission of power and love4 ,we left the 
sisters wondering at ,his mysterious    
delay4 ,again and again had they        
imagined that at last they heard ,his   
tardy step1 or listened to ,his hand on 
the latch1 or to the loving music of    
,his longed-for voice4 ,but they are    
mistaken2 it was only the beating of the
 vine-tendrils on the lattice1 or the   
footfall of the passer by4 ,the ,lord is
 still absent6 ,their earnest and       
importunate heart-breathings are        
expressed by the ,psalmist--,o ,lord our
 ,god1 early do we seek ,thee3 our soul 
thirsteth for ,thee1 our flesh longeth  
for ,thee in a dry and thirsty land1    
where no water is2 to see ,thy power and
 ,thy glory1 as we have seen ,thee4 ,be 
still1 afflicted ones6 ,he is coming4   
,he will1 however1 let the cup of       
anguish be first filled to the brim that

 ,he may manifest and magnify all the   
more the might of ,his omnipotence1 and 
the marvels of ,his compassion4 ,the    
thirsty land is about to become streams 
of water4 ,the sky is at its darkest1   
when1 lo6 the rainbow of love is seen   
spanning the firmament1 and a shower of 
blessings is about to fall on the ,home 
of ,bethany6     ,,vii4  ,,lights ,,and 
,,shadows4   ,the sounds of lamentation 
had now been heard for four days in the 
desolate household4  ,in accordance with
 general wont1 the friends and relatives
 of the deceased had assembled to pay   
their tribute of respect to the memory  
of a revered friend1 and to solace the  
hearts of the disconsolate survivors4   
,they needed all the sympathy they      
received4 ,it was now the dull dead calm
 after the torture of the storm1 the    
leaden sea strewn with wrecks1 enabling 
them to realise more fully the extent of
 their loss4 ,amid the lulls of the     
tempest1 while ,lazarus yet lived1 hope 
shrunk from entertaining gloomy         

apprehensions4 ,but now that the storm  
has spent its fury1 now that the worst  
has come1 the future rises up before    
them crowded with ten thousand images of
 desolation and sorrow4 ,the void in    
their household is daily more and more  
felt4 ,all the past bright memories of  
,bethany seem to be buried in a yawning 
grave4  ,we may picture the scene4 ,the 
stronger and more resolute spirit of    
,martha striving to stem the tide of    
overmuch sorrow4 ,the more sensitive    
heart of ,mary1 bowed under a grief too 
deep for utterance1 able only to        
indicate by her silent tears the unknown
 depths of her sadness4  ,thus are they 
employed1 when ,martha1 unseen to her   
sister1 has been beckoned away4 ,the    
,master has come4 ,but desirous of      
ascertaining the truth of the joyful    
tidings1 ere intruding on the grief of  
,mary1 the elder of the survivors rushes
 forth with trembling emotion to give   
full vent to her sorrow at the feet of  
the ,great ,friend of all the           

friendless6#aa  ,he has not yet entered 
the village4 ,she cannot1 however1 wait 
,his arrival4 ,leaving home and         
sepulchre behind1 she hastens outside   
the groves of palm at its gate4  ,it    
requires no small fortitude in the      
season of sore bereavement to face an   
altered world2 and1 doubtless1 passing  
all alone now through the little town1  
meeting familiar faces wearing sunny    
smiles which could not be returned1 must
 have been a painful effort to this     
child of sorrow4 ,but what will the     
heart not do to meet such a ,comforter8 
,what will ,martha be unprepared to     
encounter if the intelligence brought   
her be indeed confirmed8 ,one glance is 
enough4 ,it is the ,lord6 ,in a moment  
she is a suppliant at ,his feet4 ,doubt 
and faith and prayer mingle in the      
exclamation1 ,lord1 if ,thou hadst been 
here1 my brother had not died6#ab  ,that
 she had faith and assured confidence in
 the love and tenderness of ,jesus we   
cannot question4 ,but a momentary       

feeling of unbelief 7shall we say1 of   
reproach and upbraiding87 mingled with  
better emotions4 ,why1 ,lord1 seemed to 
be the expression of her inner thoughts1
 wert ,thou absent8 ,it was unlike ,thy 
kind heart4 ,thou hast often gladdened  
our home in our season of joy--why this 
forgetfulness in the night of our bitter
 agony8 ,death has torn from us a loved 
brother--the blow would have been       
spared--these hearts would have been    
unbroken--these burning tears unshed1 if
 ,thou hadst been here6  ,such was the  
bold--the unkind reasoning of the       
mourner4 ,it was the reasoning of a     
finite creature4 ,ah6 if she could but  
have looked into the workings of that   
infinite ,heart she was ungenerously    
upbraiding1 how differently would she   
have broached her tearful suit6  ,her   
exclamation is--,why this unkind        
absence8  ,his comment on that same     
absence to ,his disciples is this--,i   
was glad for your sakes that ,i was not 
there6  ,how often are ,god and man thus

 in strange antagonism1 with regard to  
earthly dispensations6 ,man1 as he      
arraigns the rectitude of the ,divine   
procedure1 exclaiming--,how             
unaccountable this dealing6 ,how        
baffling this mystery6 ,where is now my 
,god8 ,this sickness--why prolonged8    
,this thorn in the flesh--why still     
buffeting8 ,this family blank--why      
permitted8 ,why the most treasured and  
useful life taken--the blow aimed where 
it cut most severely and levelled       
lowest8  ,hush the secret atheism6 ,this
 trial1 whatever it be1 has this grand  
motto written upon it in characters of  
living light2--we can read it on        
anguished pillows--aching hearts--ay1 on
 the very portals of the tomb--,this is 
for the glory of ,god1 that the ,son of 
,god may be glorified thereby6  ,at the 
very moment we are mourning what are    
called dark providences--untoward       
calamities--strokes of                  
misfortune--unmitigated evils--,jesus   
has a different verdict2--,i am glad for

 your sakes4  ,the absence at           
,jordan--the still more unaccountable   
lingering for two days in the same place
 after the message had been sent1       
instead of hastening direct to ,bethany1
 all was well and wisely ordered4 ,and  
although ,martha's upbraidings were now 
received in forbearing silence1 her     
,saviour afterwards1 in a calmer moment1
 read the rebuke--,said ,i not unto     
thee1 if thou wouldst believe1 thou     
shouldst see the glory of ,god8  ,it is 
indeed a comforting assurance in all    
trials1 that ,god has some holy and wise
 end to subserve4 ,he never stirs a     
ripple on the waters1 but for ,his own  
glory1 or the good of others4 ,the delay
 on the present occasion1 though        
protracting for a time the sorrows of   
the bereaved1 was intended for the      
benefit of the ,church in every age1 and
 for the more immediate benefit of the  
disciples4  ,they were destined in a few
 brief weeks also to be desolate        
survivors--to mourn a ,brother dearer   

still6 ,he who had been to them         
,friend--,father--,brother1 all in one1 
was to be1 like ,lazarus1 laid silent in
 a ,jerusalem sepulchre4 ,the ,lord of  
,life was to be the victim of ,death6   
,his body was to be transfixed to a     
malefactor's cross1 and consigned to a  
lonely grave6 ,he knew the shock that   
awaited their faith4 ,he knew1 as this  
terrible hour drew on1 how needful some 
overpowering visible demonstration would
 be of ,his mastery over the tomb4  ,now
 a befitting opportunity occurred in the
 case of their friend ,lazarus to read  
the needed lesson4 ,i was glad for your 
sakes1 444 to the intent ye might       
believe4  ,would that we could feel as  
believers more than we do--that the     
dealings of our ,god are for the        
strengthening of our faith1 and the     
enlivening and invigorating of our      
spiritual graces4 ,let us seek to accept
 more simply in dark dealings the       
,saviour's explanation1 ,it is for your 
sake6 ,he gives us a blank for our every

 trial1 indorsing it with ,his own      
gracious word1 ,this1 this is for the   
glory of ,god1 that the ,son of ,god may
 be glorified thereby4  ,the words of   
,martha1 then1 surely teach as their    
great lesson1 never to be hasty in our  
surmises and conclusions regarding      
,god's ways4  ,lord6 ,,if ,thou hadst   
been here8 ,could she question for a    
moment that that loving eye of          
,omniscience had all the while been     
scanning that sick-chamber--marking     
every throb in that fevered brow--and   
every tear that fell unbidden from the  
eyes that watched his pillow8  ,lord6 if
 ,thou hadst been here8 ,could she      
question ,his ability1 had ,he so willed
 it1 to prevent the bereavement         
altogether--to put an arrest on the hand
 of death ere the bow was strung8  ,o   
faithless disciple1 wherefore didst thou
 doubt8 ,but thou art ere long to learn 
what each of us will learn out in       
eternity1 that all things are for our   
sakes1 that the abundant grace might1   

through the thanksgiving of many1       
redound to the glory of ,god4         99
       99       99       99       99    
,but the momentary cloud has passed4    
,faith breaks through4 ,the murmur of   
upbraiding has died away4 ,he who       
listens makes allowance for an anguished
 heart4 ,the glance of tender sympathy  
and gentleness which met ,martha's eye1 
at once hushes all remains of unbelief4 
,words of exulting confidence           
immediately succeed4 ,but ,i know that  
even now whatsoever ,thou wilt ask of   
,god1 ,god will give it ,thee4  ,what is
 this1 but that which every believer    
exults in to this hour1 as the          
sheet-anchor of hope and peace and      
comfort1 when tossed on a tempestuous   
sea--a gracious confidence in the       
ability and willingness of ,christ to   
save4 ,the ,friend of ,bethany is still 
the ,friend in ,heaven4 ,to ,him all    
power has been committed2 as a prince   
,he has power with ,god1 and must       
prevail4  ,yes1 gracious antidote to the

 spirit in the moment of its trial2 when
 bowed down with anticipated            
bereavement2 the curtains of death about
 to fall over life's brightest joys4    
,how blessed to lay hold on the perfect 
conviction that the ,ever-living        
,intercessor in glory has all power to  
revoke the sentence if ,he sees         
meet--that even now 7yes now1 in a      
moment7 the delegated angel may be sent 
speeding from his throne1 to spare the  
tree marked to fall1 and prolong the    
lease of existence6  ,let us rejoice in 
the power of this ,god-man ,mediator1   
that ,he is as able as ,he is willing1  
and as willing as ,he is able4 ,him the 
,father heareth always4 ,father1 ,i     
will1 is ,his own divine formula for    
every needed boon for ,his people4  ,how
 it ought to make our sick-chambers and 
death-chambers consecrated to prayer6   
leading us to make our every trial and  
sorrow a fresh reason for going to ,god4
 ,laying our burden1 whatever it may be1
 on the mercy-seat1 it will be          

considered by ,him1 who is too wise to  
grant what is better to be withdrawn1   
and too kind to withhold what1 without  
injury to us1 may be granted4  ,let us  
imitate ,martha's faith in our          
approaches to ,him4 ,ah1 in our dull and
 cold devotions1 how little lively      
apprehension have we of the gracious    
willingness of ,christ to listen to our 
petitions6 ,standing as the great ,angel
 of the ,covenant with the golden       
censer1 ,his hand never shortened--,his 
ear never heavy--,his uplifted arm of   
intercession never faint4 ,no variety   
bewildering ,him--no importunity        
wearying ,him--waiting to be            
gracious--loving the music of the       
suppliant spirit4  ,would that we had   
ever before us as the superscription of 
faith written on our closet-devotions1  
and domestic altars1 and public         
sanctuaries1 whenever and wherever the  
knee is bent1 and the ,hearer of prayer 
is invoked--,i know that even now       
whatsoever ,thou wilt ask of ,god1 ,god 

will give it ,thee4     ,,viii4  ,,the  
,,mourner',s ,,comfort4   ,martha's     
tearful utterances are now met with an  
exalted solace4  ,thy brother shall rise
 again4 ,it is the first time her ,lord 
has spoken4 ,she now once more hears    
those well-remembered tones which were  
last listened to1 when life was all     
bright1 and her home all happy4  ,it is 
the self-same consolation which steals  
still1 like celestial music1 to the     
smitten heart1 when every chord of      
earthly gladness ceases to vibrate4 ,and
 it is befitting too that ,jesus should 
utter it4 ,he alone is qualified to do  
so4 ,the words spoken to the bereaved   
one of ,bethany are words purchased by  
,his own atoning work4 ,thy brother--thy
 sister--thy friend1 shall rise again6  
,this brief oracle of comfort was       
addressed1 in the first instance1       
specially to ,martha4 ,it had a primary 
reference1 doubtless1 to the vast       
miracle which was on the eve of         
performance4 ,but there were more hearts

 to comfort and souls to cheer than one2
 that ,almighty ,saviour had at the     
moment troops of other bereaved ones in 
view2 myriads on myriads of aching1     
bleeding spirits who could not1 like the
 ,bethany mourner1 rush into ,his       
visible presence for consolation and    
peace4 ,he expands1 therefore1 for their
 sakes the sublime and exalted solace   
which ,he ministers to her4 ,and in     
words which have carried their echoes of
 hope and joy through all time1 ,he     
exclaims--,i am the resurrection and the
 life2 he that believeth on ,me1 though 
he were dead1 yet shall he live2 and    
whosoever liveth and believeth on ,me   
shall never die6  ,if ,bethany had      
bequeathed no other memory than this1   
how its name would have been embalmed in
 hallowed recollection6 ,truly these two
 brief verses are as apples of gold in  
pictures of silver4 ,jesus1 the         
,resurrection and the ,life4 ,himself   
conquering death1 ,he has conquered it  
for ,his people--opening the kingdom of 

heaven to all believers4  ,the full     
grandeur of that ,bethany utterance     
could not be appreciated by her to whom 
it was first spoken4 ,his death and     
resurrection was still1 even to ,his    
nearest disciples1 a profound mystery4  
,little did that trembling spirit1 who  
was now gazing on her living ,lord with 
tearful eye1 dream that in a few brief  
days the grave was to hold ,,him1 too1  
as its captive2 and that guardian angels
 were to proclaim words which would now 
have been all enigma and strangeness1   
,the ,lord is risen6 ,with us it is     
different4 ,the mighty deed has been    
completed4 ,christ has died2 yea1 rather
 has risen again6 ,the resurrection and 
revival of ,lazarus was a marvellous    
act1 but it was only the rekindling of a
 little star that had ceased to twinkle 
in the firmament4 ,a week more--and     
,martha would witness the ,great ,sun of
 all ,being undergoing an eclipse2 in a 
mysterious moment veiled and shrouded in
 darkness and blood2 and then all at    

once coming forth like a ,bridegroom    
from his chamber to shine the living and
 luminous centre of ransomed millions6  
,christians6 we can turn now aside and  
see this great sight--death closing the 
lips of the ,lord of life--a borrowed   
grave containing the tenantless body of 
the ,creator of all worlds6 ,is death to
 hold that prey8 ,is the grave to retain
 in gloomy custody that immaculate      
frame8 ,is the living temple to lie     
there an inglorious ruin1 like other    
crumbling wrecks of mortality8 ,the     
question of our eternal life or eternal 
death was suspended on the reply6 ,if   
death succeeds in chaining down the     
illustrious ,victim1 our hopes of       
everlasting life are gone for ever4 ,in 
vain can these dreary portals be ever   
again unbarred for the children of      
fallen humanity4 ,he has gone there as  
their surety-,saviour4 ,if his          
suretyship be accepted--if ,he meet and 
fulfil all the requirements of an       
outraged law1 the gates of the dismal   

prison-house will and must be opened4   
,if1 on the other hand1 there be any    
flaw or deficiency in ,his person or    
work as the ,kinsman-,redeemer1 then no 
power can snap the chains which bind    
,him2 the tomb will refuse to surrender 
what it has in custody2 the hopes of    
,his people must perish along with ,him6
 ,golgotha must become the grave of a   
world's hopes6  ,but the stone has been 
rolled away4 ,the grave-clothes are all 
that are left as trophies of the        
conqueror4 ,angels are seated in the    
vacant tomb to verify with their        
gladdening assurance ,his own ,bethany  
oracle1 ,the ,lord has risen4 ,he is    
indeed the resurrection and the life2 he
 that liveth and believeth on ,him shall
 never die6  ,yes6 however many be the  
comforting thoughts which cluster around
 the grave of ,lazarus1 grander still is
 it to gather1 as ,jesus ,himself here  
bids us1 around ,his own tomb1 and to   
gaze on ,his own resurrection scene6 ,it
 was the most eventful morning of all   

time4 ,it will be the focus point of the
 ,church's hope and triumph through all 
eternity4  ,the ,lord is risen6 ,it     
proclaimed the atonement complete1 sin  
pardoned1 mediation accepted1 the law   
satisfied1 ,god glorified6 ,the ,lord is
 risen6 ,it proclaimed resurrection and 
life for ,his people--life 7the         
forfeited gift of life7 now repurchased4
 ,that mighty victor rose not for       
,himself1 but as the representative and 
earnest of countless multitudes1 who    
exult in ,his death as their life--in   
,his resurrection as the pledge and     
guarantee of their everlasting          
safety2--,i am ,he that liveth1 and     
because ,i live ye shall live also4     
,anticipating ,his own glorious rising1 
,he might well speak to ,martha1        
standing before ,him as the             
representative of weeping1 sinful1      
woe-worn humanity1 ,he that liveth and  
believeth on ,me shall never die4 ,in   
,me1 death is no longer death2 it is    
only a parenthesis in life--a transition

 to a loftier stage of being4 ,in ,me1  
the grave is the vestibule of heaven1   
the robing-room of immortality6         
,reader1 yours is the same strong       
consolation4 ,believe1 ,only believe in 
that risen ,lord4 ,he has purchased all1
 paid all1 procured all6 ,look into that
 vacant tomb2 see sin cancelled1 guilt  
blotted out1 the law magnified1 justice 
honoured1 the sinner saved6  ,ay1 and   
more than that1 as you see the moral    
conqueror marching forth clothed with   
immortal victory1 you see ,him not      
alone6 ,he is heading and heralding a   
multitude which no man can number4      
,himself the victorious precursor1 he is
 shewing to these exulting thousands the
 path of life4 ,he tells them to dread  
neither for themselves or others that   
lonesome tomb4 ,the curse is extracted  
from it2 the envenomed sting is plucked 
away4 ,in passing through its lonesome  
chambers they may exult in the thought  
that a mightier than they has sanctified
 it by ,his own presence1 and transmuted

 what was once a gloomy portico into a  
triumphal arch1 bearing the inscription1
 ,o death1 ,i will be thy plagues2 ,o   
grave1 ,i will be thy destruction6      
,,ix4  ,,the ,,mourner',s ,,creed4      
,how stands our faith8  ,these mighty   
thoughts and words of consolation--are  
they really believed1 felt1 trusted in1 
rejoiced over8  ,christian1 ,believest  
thou this8#ac ,art thou really looking  
to this exalted life-giving ,saviour8   
,hast thou in some feeble measure       
realised this resurrection-life as thine
 own8 ,hast thou the joyful             
consciousness of participating in this  
vital union with a living ,lord8 ,in    
vain do we listen to these sublime      
,bethany utterances unless we feel      
,jesus speaks to me1 and unless we be   
living from day to day under their      
invigorating power4  ,he had unfolded to
 ,martha in a single verse a whole      
,gospel2 ,he had irradiated by a few    
words the darkness of the tomb2 and now1
 turning to the poor dejected weeper at 

his side1 ,he addresses the             
all-important question1 ,believest thou 
this8  ,her faith had been but a moment 
before staggering4 ,some guilty         
misgivings had been mingling with her   
anguished tears4 ,she has now an        
opportunity afforded of rising above her
 doubts1--the ebbings and flowings of   
her fitful feelings1--and cleaving fast 
to the ,living ,rock4  ,it elicits an   
unfaltering response--,yea1 ,lord1 ,i   
believe that thou art the ,christ1 the  
,son of ,god1 which should come into the
 world4#ad  ,remarkable confession6 ,we 
should not so much have wondered to hear
 it after the grave1 hard by1 had been  
rifled1 and the silent lips of ,lazarus 
had been unsealed2 or had she stood like
 the other ,mary at her ,lord's own     
sepulchre in the garden1 and after a few
 brief1 but momentous days and hours1   
seen a whole flood of light thrown on   
the question of ,his ,messiahship4  ,but
 as yet there was much to damp such a   
bold confession1 and lead to hesitancy  

in the avowal of such a creed4 ,the     
poverty1 the humiliations1 the unworldly
 obscurity of that solitary ,one who    
claimed no earthly birthright1 and owned
 no earthly dwelling1 were not all      
these1 particularly to a ,jew1 at       
variance with every idea formed in      
connexion with the coming ,shiloh8  ,was
 ,martha's then a blind unmeaning faith8
 ,far from it4 ,it was nurtured1        
doubtless1 in that quiet home of holy   
love1 where1 while ,lazarus yet lived1  
this mysterious ,being1 in an earthly   
form and in pilgrim garb1 came time     
after time discoursing to them often1 as
 we are warranted to believe1 on the    
dignity of ,his nature1 the glories of  
,his person1 the completeness of ,his   
work4 ,it was neither the evidence of   
miracle or prophecy which had revealed  
to that weeping disciple that ,jesus of 
,nazareth was the ,son of ,god4 ,with   
the exception of ,micah's statement     
regarding ,bethlehem-,ephratah as ,his  
birthplace1 we question if any other    

remarkable prediction concerning ,him   
had yet been fulfilled2 and so far as   
miracles were concerned1 though she may 
and must have doubtless known of them by
 hearsay1 we have no evidence that she  
had as yet so much as witnessed one4 ,we
 never read till this time of their     
quiet village being the scene of any    
manifestations of ,his power4 ,these had
 generally taken place either in        
,jerusalem or in the cities and coasts  
of ,galilee4 ,the probability1          
therefore1 is that ,martha1 had never   
yet seen that arm of ,omnipotence bared1
 or witnessed those prodigies with which
 elsewhere ,he authenticated ,his claims
 to ,divinity4  ,whence then her creed8 
,may we not believe she had made her    
noble avowal mainly from the study of   
that beauteous1 spotless character--from
 those looks1 and words1 and deeds--from
 that lofty teaching--so unlike every   
human system--so wondrously adapted to  
the wants and woes1 the sins1 the       
sorrows1 and aching necessities of the  

human heart4 ,all this had left on her  
own spirit1 and on that of ,lazarus and 
,mary1 the irresistible impression and  
evidence that he was indeed the ,lord of
 ,glory--the ,hope of ,israel1 and the  
,saviour thereof4  ,and is it not the   
same evidence we exult in still8 ,is    
this not the reason of many a humble    
believer's creed and faith--who may be  
all unlettered and unlearned in the     
evidences of the schools--the external  
and internal bulwarks of our impregnable
 ,christianity8 ,ask them why they      
believe8 why their faith is so          
firm--their love so strong8  ,they will 
tell you that that ,saviour1 in all the 
glories of ,his person1 in all the      
completeness of ,his work1 in all the   
beauties of ,his character1 is the very 
,saviour they need6--that ,his ,gospel  
is the very errand of mercy suited to   
their souls' necessities2--that ,his    
words of compassion1 and tenderness1 and
 hope1 are in every way adapted to meet 
the yearnings of their longing spirits4 

,they need to stand by the grave of no  
,lazarus to be certified as to ,his     
,messiahship4 ,his looks and tones--,his
 character and doctrine1--,his cures and
 remedies for the wants and woes of     
their ruined natures1 point ,him out as 
the true ,heavenly ,physician4  ,they   
can tell of the best of all evidences1  
and the strongest of all--the           
experimental evidence6 ,they are no     
theorists4 ,religion is no subject with 
them of barren speculation2 it is a     
matter of inner and heartfelt           
experience4 ,they have tried the        
cure--they have found it answer2--they  
have fled to the ,physician--they have  
applied ,his balm--they have been healed
 and live6 ,and you might as well try to
 convince the restored blind that the   
sunlight which has again burst on them  
is a wild dream of fancy1 or the        
restored deaf that the world's joyous   
melodies which have again awoke on them 
are the mockeries of their own brain1 as
 convince the spiritually enlightened   

and awakened that ,he who has proved to 
them light and life1 and joy and        
peace--their comfort in                 
prosperity--their refuge in             
adversity--is other than the ,son of    
,god and ,saviour of the world6         
,reader1 is this your experience8 ,have 
you tasted and seen that the ,lord is   
gracious8 ,have you felt the            
preciousness of ,his gospel1 the        
adaptation of ,his work to the          
necessities of your ruined              
condition8--the power of ,his grace1 the
 prevalence of ,his intercession1 the   
fulness and glory and truthfulness of   
,his promises8 ,are you exulting in ,him
 as the ,resurrection and ,life1 who has
 raised you from the death of sin1 and  
will at last raise you from the power of
 death1 and invest you with that eternal
 life which ,his love has purchased8    
,precious as is this hope and confidence
 at all times1 specially so is it1      
mourners in ,zion6 in your seasons of   
sorrow4 ,when human refuges fail1 and   

human friendships wither1 and human     
props give way1 how sustaining to have  
this anchor of the soul sure and        
steadfast--union with a living ,lord on 
earth1 and the joyful hope of endless   
and uninterrupted union and communion   
with ,him in glory6 ,are you even now   
enjoying1 through your tears1 this      
blessed persuasion1 and exulting in this
 blessed creed8 ,do you know the secret 
of that twofold solace1 the power of    
,his resurrection and the fellowship of 
,his sufferings8--the fellowship of ,his
 sufferings telling of ,his sympathy    
with your sorrows below2--the power of  
,his resurrection assuring you of the   
glorious gift of everlasting life in a  
world where sorrow dare not enter4 ,rest
 not satisfied with a mere outward creed
 and confession that ,jesus is the      
,saviour4 ,let yours be the nobler      
formula of an appropriating faith--,he  
is my ,saviour2 ,he loved ,,me1 and gave
 ,himself for ,,me4 ,let it not be with 
you a salvation possible1 but a         

salvation found2 so that1 with a tried  
apostle1 you can rise above the surges  
of deepening tribulation as you glory in
 the conviction1 ,i know in whom ,i have
 believed1 and am persuaded that ,he is 
able to keep that which ,i have         
committed unto ,him4  ,sad1 indeed1 for 
those who1 when deep calleth unto deep1 
have no such strong consolation to      
enable them to ride out the storm2 who1 
when sorrow and bereavement overtake    
them--the lowering shadows of the dark  
and cloudy day--have still to grope     
after an unknown ,christ2 and1 amid the 
hollowness of earthly and counterfeit   
comforts1 have to seek1 for the first   
time1 the only true ,one4  ,oh6 if our  
hour of trial has not yet come1 let us  
be prepared for it--for come it will4   
,let us seek to have our vessels moored 
now to the ,rock of ,ages1 that when the
 tempest arises--when the floods beat1  
and the winds blow1 and the wrecks of   
earthly joy are seen strewing the       
waters--we may triumphantly utter the   

challenge1 ,who shall separate us from  
the love of ,christ8                    
,say1 ye who tempt      ,the sea of     
life1 by summer gales impell'd1         
,have ye this anchor8 ,sure a time will 
come      ,for storms to try you1 and   
strong blasts to rend      ,your painted
 sails1 and shred your gold like chaff  
,o'er the wild wave4 ,and what a wreck  
is man1      ,if sorrow find him        
unsustain'd by ,god6     ,x4  ,,the     
,,master4   ,martha can withhold no     
longer from her sister the joyful       
tidings which she has been the first to 
hear4 ,with fleet foot she hastens back 
to the house with the announcement1 ,the
 ,master is come1 and calleth for thee4 
,mary hears1 but makes no comment4      
,wrapt in the silence of her own        
meditative grief1 when she heard that1  
she arose quickly and came unto ,him4   
,to her all earth could render nothing  
back      ,like that pale changeless    
brow4 ,calmly she stood      ,as marble 
statue4                         ,in that

 maiden's breast      ,sorrow and       
loneliness sank darkly down1            
,though the blanch'd lips breathed out  
no boisterous plaint      ,of common    
grief4  ,the formal sympathisers who    
gathered around her had observed her    
departure4 ,they are led to form their  
conjectures as to the cause of this     
sudden break in her trance of anguish4  
,she had up till that moment1 with the  
instinctive aversion which mourners only
 know1 and which we have formerly       
alluded to in the case of ,martha1 been 
shrinking from facing the gladsome light
 of heaven1 caring not to look abroad on
 the blight of an altered world4 ,but   
the few words her sister uttered1 and   
which the other auditors manifestly had 
not comprehended1 all at once rouse her 
from her seat of pensive sadness1 and   
her shadow is seen hurrying by the      
darkened lattice4 ,they can form but one
 surmise3 that1 in accordance with wont1
 she has betaken herself to the         
burial-ground to feed her morbid grief  

,she goeth unto the grave to weep there4
 ,ah6 little did they know how much     
nobler was her motive--how truer and    
grander the solace she sought and found4
  ,there is little that is really       
profitable or hallowed in visiting the  
grave of loved ones4 ,though fond       
affection will1 from some false feeling 
of the tribute due to the memory of the 
departed1 seek to surmount sadder       
thoughts1 and linger at the spot where  
treasured ashes repose1 yet--think and  
act as we may--there is nothing         
cheering1 nothing elevating there4 ,the 
associations of the burial-place are all
 with the humiliating triumphs of the   
,king of ,terrors4 ,it is a view of     
death taken from the earthly entrance of
 the valley1 not the heavenly view of it
 as that valley opens on the bright     
plains of immortality4 ,the gay flowers 
and emerald sod which carpet the grave  
are poor mockeries to the bereft spirit1
 shrouding1 as they do1 nobler withered 
blossoms which the foot of the destroyer

 has trampled into dust1 and which no   
earthly beauty can again clothe1 or     
earthly spring reanimate4 ,they are to  
be pitied who have no higher solace1 no 
better remedy for their grief1 than thus
 to water with unavailing tears the     
trophies of death2 or to read the       
harrowing record which love has traced  
on its slab of cold marble1 telling of  
the vanity of human hopes4  ,such1      
however1 was not ,mary's errand in      
leaving the chamber of bereavement4     
,that drooping flower was not opening   
her leaves1 only to be crushed afresh   
with new tear-floods of sorrow4 ,she    
sought ,one who would disengage her     
soiled and shattered tendrils from the  
chill comforts of earth1 and bathe them 
in the genial influences of ,heaven4    
,the music of her ,master's name alone  
could put gladness into her heart--tempt
 her to muffle other conflicting        
feelings and hasten to ,his feet4 ,the  
,master is come6 ,nothing could have    
roused her from her profound grief but  

this4 ,while her poor earthly comforters
 are imagining her prostrate at the     
sepulchre's mouth1 giving vent to the   
wild delirium of her young grief1 she is
 away1 not to the victim of death1 but  
to the ,lord of ,life1 either to tell to
 ,him the tale of her woe1 or else to   
listen from ,his lips to words of       
comfort no other comforter had given4   
,is there not the same music in that    
name--the same solace and joy in that   
presence still8 ,earthly sympathy is not
 to be despised2 nay1 when death has    
entered a household1 taken the dearest  
and the best and laid them in the tomb1 
nothing is more soothing to the wounded1
 crushed1 and broken one1 than to       
experience the genial sympathy of true  
,christian friendship4 ,those1 it may   
be1 little known before 7comparative    
strangers71 touched with the story of a 
neighbour's sorrow1 come to offer their 
tribute of condolence1 and to weep with 
those that weep4 ,never is true         
friendship so tested as then4 ,hollow   

attachments1 which have nothing but the 
world or a time of prosperity to bind   
them1 discover their worthlessness4     
,summer friends stand aloof--they have  
little patience for the sadness of      
sorrow's countenance and the funereal   
trappings of the death-chamber2 while   
sympathy1 based on lofty ,christian     
principle1 loves to minister as a       
subordinate healer of the               
broken-hearted1 and to indulge in a     
hundred nameless ingenious offices of   
kindness and love4  ,but thus far shalt 
thou go1 and no farther4 ,the purest and
 noblest and most disinterested of      
earthly friends can only go a certain   
way4 ,their minds and sympathies are    
limited4 ,they cannot enter into the    
deep recesses of the smitten heart--the 
yawning crevices that bereavement has   
laid bare4 ,but ,,jesus can6 ,ah6 there 
are capacities and sensibilities in that
 ,mighty ,heart that can probe the      
deepest wound and gauge the profoundest 
sorrow4 ,while from the best of earthly 

comforters the mind turns away          
unsatisfied2 while the burial-ground and
 the grave only recall the deep         
humiliations of the body's wreck and    
ruin--with what fond emotion does the   
spirit1 like ,mary1 turn to ,him who    
possesses the majesty of ,deity with all
 the tenderness of humanity4 ,the       
,mighty ,lord1 and yet the ,elder       
,brother6  ,the sympathy of man is often
 selfish1 formal1 constrained1          
commonplace1 coming more from the       
surface than from the depths of the     
heart4 ,it is the finite sympathy of a  
finite creature4 ,the ,redeemer's       
sympathy is that of the perfect ,man and
 the infinite ,god--able to enter into  
all the peculiarities of the case--all  
the tender features and shadings of     
sorrow which are hidden from the keenest
 and kindliest human eye4  ,mary's      
procedure is a true type and picture of 
what the broken heart of the ,christian 
feels4 ,not undervaluing human sympathy1
 yet1 nevertheless1 all the crowd of    

sympathising friends--,jewish citizens1 
,bethany villagers--are nothing to her  
when she hears her ,lord has come6      
,happy for us if1 while the world1 like 
the condoling crowd of ,jews1 is forming
 its own cold speculations on the amount
 of our grief and the bitterness of our 
loss1 we are found hastening to cast    
ourselves at our ,saviour's feet2 if our
 afflictions prove to us like angel     
messengers from the inner               
sanctuary--calling us from friends1     
home1 comforts1 blessings1 all we most  
prize on earth--telling us that ,,one is
 nigh who will more than compensate for 
the loss of all--,the ,master is come1  
and calleth for thee6  ,it is the very  
end and design our gracious ,god has in 
all ,his dealings1 to lead us1 as he led
 ,mary1 to the feet of ,jesus4  ,yes6   
thou poor weeping1 disconsolate one1    
,the ,master calleth for thee4 ,thee    
individually1 as if thou stoodest the   
alone sufferer in a vast world4 ,he     
wishes to pour ,his oil and wine into   

thy wounded heart--to give thee some    
overwhelming proof and pledge of the    
love he bears thee in this thy sore     
trial4 ,he has come to pour drops of    
comfort in the bitter cup--to ease thee 
of thy heavy burden1 and to point thee  
to hopes full of immortality4 ,go and   
learn what a kind1 and gentle1 and      
gracious ,master ,he is6 ,go forth1     
,mary1 and meet thy ,lord4 ,weeping may 
endure for a night1 but joy cometh in   
the morning6  ,we may imagine her       
hastening along the foot-road1 with the 
spirit of the ,psalmist's words on her  
tongue--,as the hart panteth after the  
water-brooks1 so panteth my soul after  
thee1 ,o ,god4 ,my soul thirsteth for   
,god--for the living ,god6     ,,xi4    
,,second ,,causes4   ,with a bounding   
heart1 ,mary was in a moment at her     
,master's feet4 ,she weeps6 and is able 
only to articulate1 in broken accents1  
,lord1 if thou hadst been here1 my      
brother had not died4 ,it is the        
repetition of ,martha's same expression4

 ,often at a season of sore bereavement 
some one poignant thought or reflection 
takes possession of the mind1 and1 for  
the time1 overmasters every other4 ,this
 echo of the other mourner's utterance  
leads us to conclude that it had been a 
familiar and oft-quoted phrase during   
these days of protracted agony4 ,this   
independent quotation1 indeed1 on the   
part of each1 gives a truthful beauty to
 the whole inspired narrative4  ,the    
twin sisters--musing on the terrible    
past1 gazing through their tears on the 
vacant seat at their home-hearth--had   
been every now and then breaking the    
gloomy silence of the deserted chamber  
by exclaiming1 ,if ,he had been here1   
this never would have happened6 ,this is
 the bitterest drop in our cup1 that all
 might have been different6 ,these hot  
tears might never have dimmed our eyes2 
our loved ,lazarus might have been a    
living and loving brother still6 ,oh6   
that the ,lord had delayed for a brief  
week that untoward journey1 or          

anticipated by four days his longed-for 
return2 or would that we had despatched 
our messenger earlier for ,him4 ,it is  
now too late4 ,though ,he has at last   
come1 ,his advent can be of little      
avail4 ,the fell destroyer has been at  
our cottage door before ,him4 ,he may   
soothe our grief1 but the blow cannot be
 averted4 ,his friend and our brother is
 locked in sleep too deep to be         
disturbed4  ,ah6 is it not the same     
unkind surmise which is still often     
heard in the hour of bereavement and in 
the home of death8--a guilty1 unholy    
brooding over second causes4 ,if such   
and such had been done1 my child had    
still lived4 ,if that mean1 or that     
remedy1 or that judicious caution had   
been employed1 this terrible overthrow  
of my earthly hopes would never have    
occurred2 that loved one would have been
 still walking at my side2 that chaplet 
of sorrows would not now have been      
girding my brows2 the ,bethany sepulchre
 would have been unopened--',this my    

brother had not died6'  ,hush6 hush6    
these guilty insinuations--that         
dethroning of ,god from the             
,providential ,sovereignty of ,his own  
world--that hasty and inconsiderate     
verdict on ,his divine procedure4  ,,if 
,thou hadst been here6 ,can we1 dare we 
doubt it8 ,is the departure of the      
immortal soul to the spirit-world so    
trivial a matter that the life-giving   
,god takes no cognisance of it8 ,no6    
,mourning one1 in the deep night of thy 
sorrow1 thou must rise above untoward   
coincidences--thou must cancel the words
 accident and fate from thy vocabulary  
of trial4 ,god1 thy ,god1 was there6 ,if
 there be perplexing accompaniments1 be 
assured they were of ,his permitting2   
all was planned--wisely1 kindly planned4
 ,question not the unerring rectitude of
 ,his dealings4 ,though apparently      
absent1 ,he was really present4 ,the    
apparent veiling of ,his countenance is 
only what ,cowper calls the severer     
aspect of ,his love4 ,kiss the rod that 

smites--adore the hand that lays low4   
,pillow thy head on that simple1 yet    
grandest source of composure--,the ,lord
 reigneth6 ,it is not for us to venture 
to dictate what the procedure of        
infinite love and wisdom should be4 ,to 
our dim and distorted views of things1  
it might have been more for the glory of
 ,god and the ,church's good1 if the    
beautiful bird of light had still sat   
with its folded wings ere it sped to    
nestle in the eaves of ,heaven4 ,but if 
its earthly song has been early hushed2 
if those full of promise have been      
allowed rather to fall asleep in ,jesus1
 ,even so1 ,father2 for it seems good in
 ,thy sight6 ,it was from no want of    
power or ability on ,god's part that    
they were not recalled from the gates of
 death4 ,we will be dumb--we will open  
not our mouths1 because ,thou didst it4 
,afflicted one6 if the brother or friend
 whom you now mourn be a brother in     
glory--if he be now among the           
white-robed multitude--his last tear    

wept--for ever beyond reach of a sinning
 and sorrowing world--can you upbraid   
your ,god for his early departure8      
,would you weep him back if you could   
from his early crown8  ,fond nature1 as 
it stands in trembling agony watching   
the ebbing pulses of life1 would        
willingly arrest the pale               
messenger--stay the chariot--and have   
the wilderness relighted with his smile4
  ,but when all is over1 and you are    
able to contemplate1 with calm emotion1 
the untold bliss into which the         
unfettered spirit has entered1 do you   
not feel as if it were cruel selfishness
 alone that would denude that sainted   
pilgrim of his glory1 and bring him once
 more back to earth's cares and         
tribulations8      ,we sadly watch'd the
 close of all1        ,life balanced in 
a breath2      ,we saw upon his features
 fall        ,the awful shade of death4 
,all dark and desolate we were2         
,and murmuring nature cried--      ',oh6
 surely1 ,lord6 hadst ,thou been here   

,our brother had not died6'      ,but   
when its glance the memory cast         
,on all that grace had done2      ,and  
thought of life's long warfare pass'd1  
,and endless victory won4      ,then    
faith prevailing1 wiped the tear1       
,and looking upward1 cried--      ',o   
,lord6 ,thou surely hast been here1     
,our brother has not died6'  ,we have   
already had occasion to note the        
impressive and significant silence of   
the ,saviour to ,mary4 ,we may just     
again revert to it in a sentence here4  
,martha had1 a few moments before1 given
 vent to the same impassioned utterance 
respecting her departed brother4 ,jesus 
had replied to her2 questioned her as to
 her faith2 and opened up to her sublime
 sources of solace and consolation4     
,with ,mary it is different4 ,he        
responds to her also--but it is only in 
silence and in tears6  ,why this        
distinction8 ,does it not unfold to us a
 lovely feature in the dealings of      
,jesus--how ,he adapts ,himself to the  

peculiarities of individual character4  
,with those of a bolder temperament ,he 
can argue and remonstrate--with those of
 a meek1 sensitive1 contemplative       
spirit1 ,he can be silent and weep6     
,the stout but manly heart of ,peter    
needed at times a bold and cutting      
rebuke2 a similar reproof would have    
crushed to the dust the tender soul of  
,john4 ,the character of the one is     
painted in his walking on the stormy    
water to meet his ,lord2 of the other1  
in his reclining on the bosom of the    
same ,divine ,master1 drinking sacred   
draughts at the ,fountain-head of love6 
,so it was with ,martha and ,mary1 the  
,peter and ,john of ,bethany2 and so it 
is with ,his people still4  ,how        
beautifully and considerately ,jesus    
studies their case--adapting ,his       
dealings to what ,he sees and knows they
 can bear--fitting the yoke to the neck1
 and the neck to the yoke4 ,to some ,he 
is the ,lion of the tribe of ,judah1    
uttering ,his thunders--pleading with   

,martha-spirits by terrible things in   
righteousness2--to others 7the          
shrinking1 sensitive ,marys7 whispering 
only accents of gentleness--giving      
expression to no needless word that     
would aggravate or embitter their       
sorrows4  ,ah1 believer6 how tenderly   
considerate is your dear ,lord6 ,well   
may you make it your prayer1 ,let me    
fall into the hands of ,god1 for great  
are ,his mercies6 ,he may at times1 like
 ,joseph to ,his brethren1 appear to    
speak roughly1 but it is dissembled     
kindness4 ,when a father inflicts on his
 wayward child the severest and harshest
 discipline1 none but he can tell the   
bitter heart-pangs of yearning love that
 accompany every stroke of the rod4 ,so 
it is with your ,father in ,heaven2 with
 this difference1 that the earthly      
parent may act unwisely1 arbitrarily1   
indiscreetly--he may misjudge the       
necessities of the case--he may do      
violence and wrong to the natural       
disposition of his offspring4 ,not so   

with an all-wise ,heavenly ,parent4 ,he 
will inflict no redundant or unneeded   
chastisement4 ,man may err1 has erred1  
and is ever erring--but as for ,god1    
,his way is perfect6     ,,xii4  ,,the  
,,weeping ,,saviour4   ,the silent      
procession is moving on4 ,we may suppose
 they have reached the gates of the     
burial-ground4 ,but a new scene and     
incident here arrest our thoughts6  ,it 
is not the humiliating memorials of     
mortality that lie scattered            
around1--the caves and grottoes and     
grassy heaps sacred to many a ,bethany  
villager4 ,it is not even the newly     
sealed stone which marks the spot where 
,lazarus sleeps4 ,let us turn aside for 
a little1 and see this great sight4 ,it 
is the ,creator of all worlds in        
tears6--the ,god-man ,mediator dissolved
 in tenderest grief6 ,of all the        
memories of ,bethany1 this surely is the
 most hallowed and the most wondrous4   
,these tears form the most touching     
episode in sacred story2 and if we are  

in sorrow1 it may either dry our own    
tears1 or give them the warrant to flow 
when we are told--,jesus wept6  ,whence 
those tears8 ,this is what we shall now 
inquire4 ,there is often a false        
interpretation put upon this brief and  
touching verse1 as if it denoted the    
expression of the ,saviour's sorrow for 
the loss of a loved friend4 ,this1 it is
 plain1 it could not be4 ,however       
mingled may have been the hopes and     
fears of the weeping mourners around    
him1 ,he at least knew that in a few    
brief moments ,lazarus was to be        
restored4 ,he could not surely weep so  
bitterly1 possessing1 as ,he then did1  
the confident assurance that death was  
about to give back its captive1 and     
light up every tear-dimmed eye with an  
ecstasy of joy4 ,whence1 then1 we again 
ask1 this strange and mysterious grief8 
,come and let us surround the grave of  
,bethany1 and as we behold the chief    
mourner at that grave1 let us inquire   
why it was that ,jesus wept6   7#a47    

,,jesus ,,wept out of ,sympathy for the 
,bereaved4  ,the hearts around ,him were
 breaking with anguish4 ,all unconscious
 of how soon and how wondrously their   
sorrow was to be turned into joy1 the   
appalling thought was alone present to  
them in all its fearfulness--,lazarus is
 dead6 ,when ,he1 the ,god-man          
,mediator1 with the refined             
sensibilities of ,his tender heart1     
beheld the poignancy of that grief1 the 
pent-up torrent of ,his own human       
sympathies could be restrained no       
longer4 ,his tears flowed too4  ,but it 
would be a contracted view of the tears 
of ,jesus to think that two solitary    
mourners in a ,jewish graveyard         
engrossed and monopolised that sympathy4
 ,it had a far wider sweep4  ,there were
 hearts1 yes--myriads of desolate       
sufferers in ages then unborn1 who ,he  
knew would be brought to stand as ,he   
was then doing by the grave of loved    
relatives--mourners who would have no   
visible comforter or restorer to rush   

to1 as had ,martha and ,mary1 to dry    
their tears1 and give them back their   
dead2 and when ,he thought of this1     
,jesus wept6  ,what an interest it gives
 to that scene of weeping1 to think that
 at that eventful moment1 the ,saviour  
had before ,him the bereaved of all     
time--that ,his eye was roaming at that 
moment through deserted chambers1 and   
vacant seats1 and opened graves1 down to
 the end of the world4 ,the aged ,jacobs
 and ,rachels weeping for their         
children--the ,ezekiels mourning in the 
dust and ashes of disconsolate          
widowhood1 the desire of their eyes     
taken away by a stroke--the unsolaced   
,marys and ,marthas brooding over a dark
 future1 with the prop and support of   
existence swept down1 the central sun   
and light of their being eclipsed in    
mysterious darkness6 ,think1 7as you are
 now perusing these pages17 throughout  
the wide world1 how many breaking hearts
 there are--how loud the wail of        
suffering humanity1 could we but hear   

it6--those written childless and        
fatherless1 and friendless and          
homeless6--,bethany-processions pacing  
with slow and measured step to deposit  
their earthly all in the cold custody of
 the tomb6 ,think of the ,marys and     
,marthas who are now going to some grave
 to weep there1 perhaps with no         
,saviour's smile to gladden them--or the
 desolate chambers that are now         
resounding to the plaintive dirge1 ,o   
,absalom1 ,absalom1 would ,god ,i had   
died for thee2 ,o ,absalom1 my son6 my  
son6 ,think of all these scenes at that 
moment vividly suggested and pictured to
 the ,redeemer's eye--the long and loud 
miserere1 echoing dismally from the     
remotest bounds of time1 and there      
entering into the ear of the ,god of    
,sabaoth1 and can you wonder            
that--,jesus wept6  ,blessed and amazing
 picture of the ,lord of glory6 ,it     
combines the delineation alike of the   
tenderness of ,his humanity1 and the    
majesty of ,his ,godhead4 ,his          

,humanity6 ,it is revealed in those tear
 drops1 falling from a human eye on a   
human grave4 ,his ,godhead6 ,it is      
manifested in ,his ability to take in   
with a giant grasp all the prospective  
sufferings of ,his suffering people4    
,weeping believer6 thine anguished heart
 was included in those ,bethany tears6  
,be assured thy grief was visibly       
portrayed at that moment to that        
omniscient ,saviour4 ,he had all thy    
sorrows before ,him--thy anxious moments
 during thy friend's tedious            
sickness--the trembling suspense--the   
nights of weary watching--the agonising 
revelation of no hope--the closing      
scene6 ,bethany's graveyard became to   
,him a picture-gallery of the world's   
aching hearts2 and thine1 yes6 thine was
 there6 and as ,he beheld it1 ,jesus    
wept6      ,jesus wept6 ,these tears are
 over1      ,but ,his heart is still the
 same2      ,kinsman1 ,friend1 and      
,elder ,brother1      ,is ,his          
everlasting name4           ,saviour1   

who can love like ,thee1                
,gracious ,one of ,bethany6      ,when  
the pangs of trial seize us1      ,when 
the waves of sorrow roll1      ,i will  
lay my head on ,jesus1      ,pillow of  
the troubled soul4           ,surely    
none can feel like ,thee1               
,weeping ,one of ,bethany6      ,jesus  
wept6 ,and still in glory1      ,he can 
mark each mourner's tear2      ,loving  
to retrace the story      ,of the hearts
 he solaced here4           ,lord6 when 
,i am call'd to die1          ,let me   
think of ,bethany6      ,jesus wept6    
,that tear of sorrow      ,is a legacy  
of love2      ,yesterday1 to-day1       
to-morrow1      ,he the same doth ever  
prove4           ,thou art all in all to
 me1          ,living ,one of ,bethany6 
7#b47 ,,jesus ,,wept when ,he thought of
 the triumphs of ,death6  ,he was       
treading a burial ground--mouldering    
heaps were around ,him--silent          
sepulchral caves1 giving forth no echo  
of life6  ,it is a solemn and impressive

 thing1 even for us1 to tread the       
graveyard2 more especially if there are 
there nameless treasures of buried      
affection4 ,the thought that those whose
 smile gladdened to us every step in the
 wilderness1 who formed our solace in   
sorrow1 and our joy in adversity--whose 
words1 and society1 and converse were   
intertwined with our very being--it is  
solemn and saddening1 as we tread that  
land of oblivion1 to find these words   
and looks and tears unanswered--a gloomy
 silence hovering over the spot where   
the wrecks of worth and loveliness are  
laid6 ,he would have a bold1 a stern    
heart indeed who could pace unmoved over
 such hallowed ground1 and forbid a tear
 to flow over the gushing memories of   
the past6  ,what1 then1 must it have    
been at that moment in ,bethany with    
,jesus1 when he saw one of those        
purchased by his own blood 7dearest to  
him7 chased by the unsparing destroyer  
to that gloomy prison-house8  ,if we    
have supposed that the tears of ,martha 

and ,mary were suggestive of manifold   
other broken and sorrowing hearts in    
other ages1 we may well believe that    
graveyard was suggestive of triumphs    
still in reserve for the tomb1          
numberless trophies which in every age  
were to be reaped in by the ,king of    
,terrors until the reaper's arm was     
paralyzed1 and death swallowed up in    
victory4 ,the few silent sepulchres     
around must have significantly called to
 the mind of the ,divine spectator how  
sin had blasted and scathed ,his noblest
 workmanship2 converting the fairest    
province of ,his creation into one vast 
,necropolis1--one dismal city of the    
dead6 ,the body of man1 so fearfully and
 wonderfully made1 and on which he had  
originally placed ,his own impress of   
very good1 ruined1 and resolved into a  
mass of humiliating dust6 ,if the       
,architect mourns over the destruction  
of some favourite edifice which the     
storm has swept down1 or the fire has   
wrapt in conflagration and reduced to   

ashes--if the ,sculptor mourns to see   
his breathing marble with one rude      
stroke hurled to the ground1 and its    
fragments scattered at his feet--what   
must have been the sensations of the    
mighty ,architect of the human frame1 at
 whose completion the morning stars and 
the sons of ,god chanted a loud         
anthem--what must have been ,his        
sensations as ,he thought of them1 now a
 devastated wreck1 mouldering in        
dissolution and decay1 the ,king of     
,terrors sitting in regal state1 holding
 his high holiday over a vassal world6  
,in ,bethany ,he beheld only a few of   
these broken and prostrate columns1 but 
they were powerfully suggestive of      
millions on millions which were yet in  
coming ages to undergo the same doom of 
mortality4  ,if even our less sensitive 
hearts may be wrung with emotion at the 
tidings of some mournful catastrophe    
that occupies1 after all1 but some      
passing hour in the world's history1 but
 which has carried death and lamentation

 into many households--the sudden       
pestilence that has swept down its      
thousands--the gallant vessel that was a
 moment before spreading proudly its    
white wings to the gale1 the joyous     
hearts on board dreaming of hearth and  
home1 and the many ports that would     
exult in the gleam of her mast--the     
next6 hurrying down to the depths of an 
ocean grave1 with no survivor to tell   
the tale6--or the terrible records of   
,war--the ranks of bold and brave laid  
low in the carnage of battle--youth and 
strength and beauty and rank and        
friendship blent in one red burial6--if 
these and such like mournful tales of   
death1 and the power of death1 affect at
 the moment even the most callous       
amongst us1 causing the lip to grow     
pale1 and demanding the tribute of more 
than a tear1 oh6 what must it have been 
to the omniscient eye and exquisitely   
sensitive spirit of ,jesus1 as1 taking  
in all time at a glance1 ,he beheld the 
,pale ,horse with its ghastly rider     

trampling under foot the vast human     
family2 converting the globe in which   
they dwelt into a mournful valley of    
vision1 filled with the wrecks and      
skeletons of breathing men and animated 
frames6  ,the triumphs of death are1 in 
ordinary circumstances1 to us scarcely  
perceptible4 ,he moves with noiseless   
tread4 ,the footprint is made on the    
sands of time2 but like the tides of the
 ocean1 the world's oblivion-power      
washes it away4 ,the name of yonder     
churchyard is the land of forgetfulness6
 ,not so with the ,lord of ,life1 the   
great ,antagonist of this usurper6 ,the 
future1 a ghastly future1 rose in       
appalling vividness before ,him4--,death
 7vulture-like7 flapping his wings over 
the multitudes he claimed as his        
own1--vessels freighted with immortality
 lying wrecked and stranded on the      
shores of ,time6  ,yes6 we can only     
understand the full import of these     
tears of ,jesus1 as we imagine to       
ourselves ,his ,godlike eye penetrating 

at that moment every churchyard and     
every grave3 the mausoleums of the      
great--the grassy sods of the poor2 the 
marble cenotaph of the noble and        
illustrious slumbering under fretted    
aisle and cathedral canopy--the myriads 
whose requiem is chanted by the bleak   
winds of the desert or the chimes of the
 ocean6 ,the child carried away in the  
twinkling of an eye--the blossom just   
opening1 and then frost-blighted2 the   
aged sire1 cut down like a shock of corn
 in its season1 falling withered and    
seared like the leaves of autumn2 the   
young exulting in the prime of manhood2 
the pious and benevolent1 the great and 
good1 succumbing indiscriminately to the
 same inexorable decree2 the erring and 
thoughtless1 reckless of all warning1   
hurried away in the midst of scorned    
mercy--,oh6 as ,he beheld this ghastly  
funeral procession moving before ,him1  
the whole world going to the same long  
home1 and ,he ,himself alone left the   
survivor1 can we wonder that ,jesus     

wept8   7#c47 ,once more1 ,,jesus ,,wept
 when ,he thought of the impenitence and
 obduracy of the human heart4  ,this may
 not be at first sight patent as a cause
 of the tears of ,jesus1 but we may well
 believe it entered largely as an       
element into this strange flood of      
sorrow4  ,he was about to perform a     
great 7,his greatest7 miracle2 but while
 ,he knew that1 in consequence of this  
manifestation of ,his mighty power1 many
 of those who now stood around ,lazarus'
 tomb would believe1 ,he knew also that 
others would only despise1 and wonder1  
and perish2 that while some1 as we shall
 afterwards find1 acknowledged ,him as  
the ,messiah1 others went straightway   
into ,jerusalem to concert with the     
,pharisees in plotting ,his murder4     
,when ,he observed the impenitence of   
these obdurate hearts at ,his side1 ,he 
could not subdue ,his tenderest emotion4
 ,we read that1 when ,he saw the sisters
 weeping1 and the ,jews that were with  
them weeping1 ,jesus wept4 ,these ,jews 

could weep for a fellow-mortal1 but they
 could not weep for themselves1 and     
therefore for them1 ,jesus wept6  ,one  
soul was precious to ,him4 ,he who alone
 can estimate alike the worth and the   
loss of the soul1 might have wept1 even 
had there been but one then present     
found to resist ,his claims and forfeit 
,his salvation4 ,but these tears        
extended far beyond that lonely spot in 
a ,jewish village1 and the few          
impenitent hearts that were then        
flocking around4 ,these obdurate ,jews  
were types of the world's impenitency4  
,there was at that moment summoned      
before ,him a mournful picture of the   
hardened hearts in every age--those who 
would read ,his gospel1 and hear of ,his
 miracles1 and listen to the story of   
,his love all unmoved--who would die as 
they had lived1 uncheered by ,his grace 
and unmeet for ,his presence4  ,ah6     
surely no cause could more tenderly     
elicit a ,redeemer's tears than         
this--the thought of ,his ,redemption   

scorned1 ,his blood trampled on1 ,his   
work set at nought4  ,if we have thought
 of ,him shedding tears over the ruin of
 the body1 what must have been the depth
 and intensity of those tears over the  
sadder1 more fearful ruin of the soul8  
,immortal powers1 that ought to have    
been ennobled and consecrated to ,his   
service1 alienated1 degraded1           
destroyed6--immortal beings spurning    
from them the day of grace and the hopes
 of heaven6 ,bitter as may have been the
 wail of mourning and sorrowing hearts  
that may then have reached ,his ear from
 future ages1 more agonising and dismal 
far must have been the wailing cry      
which1 beyond the limits of time1 came  
floating up from a dark and dreary      
eternity2 those who might have believed 
and lived1 but who blasphemed or        
trifled1 neglected and procrastinated1  
and finally perished6  ,if we think of  
it1 it is not the loss of health1 or the
 loss of wealth1 or the loss of friends1
 which forms the heaviest of trials1 the

 deepest ground of soul sadness4 ,we put
 on the sable attire as emblems of      
mourning2 but if we saw it as a weeping 
,jesus sees it1 there is more real cause
 for sackcloth and ashes in the heart at
 enmity with ,god1 and despising ,his   
salvation1 trampling under foot ,his    
,son1 and enacting over again the sad   
tragedy of ,calvary4  ,reader6 are you  
at this moment guilty of living on in a 
state of presumptuous                   
impenitence--salvation unsought--,jesus 
a stranger--,his name unhonoured--,his  
,bible unread--,his promises            
unappropriated--,his wrath              
undreaded--defeating all ,his marvellous
 appliances of love1 and remonstrance1  
and forbearance--meeting a prodigal     
expenditure of patience and             
long-suffering with cold and chilling   
indifference and neglect--casting away  
from you the hoarded riches of eternity 
which ,he has been holding out for your 
acceptance8 ,in that sacred ,bethany    
ground1 as ye mark these falling        

tear-drops which dim ,his eye1 there may
 have been a tear for you6 ,eighteen    
hundred years have since elapsed1 but   
,he to whom a thousand years are as one 
day1 marked even then your present      
ungrateful apostacy or guilty           
alienation--there was a tear then which 
stole down that cheek on account of     
unrequited love8  ,is that tear to flow 
in vain8 ,are you to mock ,his tender   
sympathy still with cold formalism1 or  
persisted-in impenitency8 ,are you to   
think of ,bethany and its tear-drops and
 still go on in sin8  ,ah1 never was    
sermon preached to an erring or         
impenitent sinner half so eloquent as   
this4 ,paul was not given to weeping1   
and it makes his fervid love of souls   
all the more striking when we find him  
confessing that he had wept like a child
 over those who were enemies to the     
cross of ,christ4 ,we have often felt   
,paul's burning tears over hardened     
sinners to be touching and impressive4  
,but what are they1 after all1 in       

comparison with those of ,paul's ,lord8 
,he1 the ,great ,sun of the ,world--the 
,sun of ,righteousness1 was to set in a 
few brief days behind the walls of      
ungrateful ,jerusalem in darkness and   
blood--,his last rays seem now lingering
 over the crest of ,olivet--,his tears  
seem to tell that ,he has clung till ,he
 can cling no more to the fond hope that
 an impenitent nation and guilty city   
will yet turn at ,his reproof1 believe  
and live4  ,and still does ,he linger   
among us4 ,though the night cometh1 the 
beams of mercy are still tardily        
lingering1 as if loth to leave the      
backsliding to their wanderings1 or the 
impenitent to their own midnight of     
despair4  ,o ,reader6 leave not this    
subject--leave not the graveyard of     
,bethany till you think of ,jesus as    
then weeping for thee4 ,yes6 for        
thee--thy pitiable condition--thy       
perverse ingratitude--thy slighting of  
,his warnings--thy grieving of ,his     
spirit--thy unkindness to ,him--thine   

obstinate disregard of thine own        
everlasting interests4 ,let it be the   
most wondrous and heart-searching of all
 the memories of ,bethany1 that for thy 
soul--that traitor1 truant1 worthless   
soul--which like a stray planet ,he     
might have suffered to drift away from  
,himself into the blackness of eternal  
darkness--helpless1 hopeless1 ruined1   
lost6--,yes6 that for thee1 ,,jesus     
,,wept6      ,and doth the ,saviour weep
        ,over ,his people's sin1        
,because we will not let ,him keep      
,the souls ,he died to win8      ,ye    
hearts that love the ,lord1        ,if  
at this sight ye burn1      ,see that in
 thought1 in deed1 in word1        ,ye  
hate what made ,him mourn4     ,,xiii4  
,,the ,,grave ,,stone4   ,they have now 
reached the grave4 ,it was a rocky      
sepulchre4 ,a flat stone 7possibly with 
some ,hebrew inscription7 lay upon the  
mouth of it4  ,in wondering amazement   
the sorrowing group follow the footsteps
 of the ,saviour4 ,behold how ,he loved 

him1 whisper the ,jews to one another as
 they witness ,his fast falling tears4  
,can ,his repairing thus to the tomb be 
anything more than to pay a mournful    
tribute to an honoured friendship1 and  
behold the silent home of the loved     
dead8 ,nay2 ,he is about1 as the ,lord  
of ,life1 to wrench away the            
swaddling-bands of corruption1 to       
vindicate ,his name and prerogative as  
the ,abolisher of death--to have the    
first-fruits of that vast triumph which1
 ages before the birth of time1 ,he had 
anticipated with longing earnestness--,i
 will ransom them from the power of the 
grave1 ,i will redeem them from death4  
,o death1 ,i will be thy plagues2 ,o    
grave1 ,i will be thy destruction4      
,does ,he proceed forthwith to speak the
 word1 and to accomplish the giant deed8
 ,he breaks silence4 ,but we listen1 in 
the first instance1 not to the          
omnipotent summons1 but to an address to
 the bystanders--,jesus said1 ,take ye  
away the stone6#ae  ,what need of this  

parenthesis in ,his mighty work8 ,why   
this summoning in any feeble human      
agency when ,his own independent fiat   
could have effected the whole8 ,would it
 not have been a more startling         
manifestation of ,omnipotence1 by a     
mandate similar to that which chained   
the tempests of ,tiberias1 or the       
demoniac of ,gadara1 to have hurled the 
incumbent stone into fragments8 ,might  
not ,he who has the keys of the grave   
and of death have ,himself unlocked the 
portals preparatory to the vaster       
prodigy that was to follow8  ,nay1 there
 was a mighty lesson to be read in thus 
delegating human hands to remove the    
intervening barrier4 ,the ,church of the
 living ,god may1 in every age1 gather  
from it instruction6  ,what1 then1 does 
the ,saviour here figuratively1 but     
significantly1 teach ,his people8 ,is it
 not the important truth that1 though   
dependent on ,him for all they are1 and 
all they have1 they are not thereby     
released and exempted from the use of   

means8 ,he alone can bring back ,lazarus
 from his death-sleep4 ,martha and ,mary
 may weep an ocean of tears1 but they   
cannot weep him back4 ,they may linger  
for days and nights in that lonely      
graveyard1 making it resound with their 
bitter dirges1 but their impassioned    
entreaties will be mocked with          
impressive silence4 ,too well do they   
know that spirit is fled beyond their   
recall--the spark of life extinguished  
beyond any earthly rekindling6  ,but    
though the word of ,omnipotence can     
alone bring back the dead1 human hands  
and human efforts can roll away the     
interjacent stone1 and prepare for the  
performance of the miracle2 and after   
the miracle is performed1 human hands   
may again be called in to tear off the  
cerements of the tomb1 to ungird the    
bandages from the restored captive1 to  
loose him and let him go6  ,this simple 
incident in the ,bethany narrative      
admits of manifold practical            
applications4 ,let us look to it with   

reference to the mightier moral miracle 
of the ,resurrection of the soul dead in
 trespasses and sins4 ,jesus1 and ,jesus
 alone1 can awake that soul from the    
deep slumber of its spiritual death1 and
 invest it with the glories of a new    
resurrection-life4 ,in vain can it awake
 of itself2 no human skill can put      
animation into the moral skeleton4 ,no  
power of human eloquence1 no excellency 
of man's wisdom1 can open these rayless 
eyes1 and pour life1 and light1 and hope
 into the dull caverns of the spiritual 
sepulchre4 ,prophesy to the dry         
bones6--,we may prophesy for ever--we   
may wake the valley of vision by        
ceaseless invocations1 but the dead will
 hear not4 ,no bone of the spiritual    
skeleton will stir1 for it is not by    
might1 nor by power1 but by ,my ,spirit1
 saith the ,lord of ,hosts4  ,but though
 it be a ,divine work from first to last
 which effects the spiritual            
regeneration of man1 are we from this   
presumptuously to disregard the use of  

means8 ,are prayer1 and preaching1 and  
human effort1 and strenuous earnestness 
in the work of our high calling1 are    
these all to be superseded1 and         
pronounced unavailing and unnecessary8  
,nay1 though man cannot wake to life his
 dormant spiritual energies--though     
these lie slumbering in the deep sleep  
of the sheeted dead1 and nothing but    
,lazarus' ,lord can break the moral     
trance--yet he can use the appointed    
means4 ,he dare not be guilty of the    
monstrous inconsistency and crime of    
willingly allowing impediments to stand 
in the way of his spiritual revival     
which his own efforts may remove6 ,he   
cannot expect his ,lord to sound over   
his soul the gladdening accents of      
peace1 and reconciliation1 and joy1 if  
some known sin be still lying1 like the 
superincumbent grave-stone1 which it is 
in his power to roll away1 and at his   
peril if he suffer to remain6  ,christ  
is alone the abolisher of death1 and the
 giver of life2 but notwithstanding     

this1 ,roll ye away the stone6--neglect 
not the means ,he has appointed and     
prescribed4 ,if ye neglect prayer1 and  
despise ordinances1 and trifle with     
temptation1 or venture on forbidden     
ground1 ye are only making the          
intervening obstacle firmer and faster1 
and wilfully denuding yourselves of the 
gift of life4 ,naaman must plunge seven 
times in ,jordan1 else he cannot be made
 clean4 ,to cleanse himself of his      
leprosy he cannot1 but to wash in       
,jordan he can4 ,the ,israelite must    
gaze on the brazen serpent2 he cannot of
 himself heal one fevered wound1 but to 
gaze on the appointed symbol of cure he 
can4 ,in vain can the engines of war    
effect a breach on the walls of         
,jericho2 but the hosts of ,joshua can  
sound the appointed trumpet1 and raise  
the prescribed shout1 and the           
battlements in a moment are in the dust4
 ,martha and ,mary in vain can make     
their voices be heard in the dull1 cold 
ear of death1 but at their ,lord's      

bidding they can hurl back the outer    
portals where their dead is laid4 ,they 
cannot unbind one fetter1 but they can  
open with human hand the prison-door to 
admit the ,divine ,liberator4  ,let it  
not be supposed that in this we detract 
in any wise from the omnipotence of the 
,saviour's grace4 ,god forbid6 ,all is  
of grace1 from first to last--free1     
sovereign grace4 ,man has no more merit 
in salvation than the beggar has merit  
in reaching forth his hand for alms1 or 
in stooping down to drink of the wayside
 fountain4 ,but neither must we ignore  
the great truth which ,god strives      
throughout ,his ,word to impress upon   
us1 that ,he works by means1 and that   
for the neglect of these means we are   
ourselves responsible4 ,paul had the    
assurance given him by an angel from    
heaven1 when tossed in the storm in     
,adria1 that not one life in his vessel 
was to be lost2 that though the ship was
 to be wrecked1 all her crew were to    
come safe to land4 ,but was there on    

this account any effort on his part     
relaxed to secure their safety8 ,no6 he 
toiled and laboured at the pumps and    
rigging and anchors as unremittingly as 
before2 and when some of the sailors    
made the cowardly attempt1 by lowering a
 small boat1 to effect their own escape1
 the voice of the apostle was heard     
proclaiming1 amid the storm1 that unless
 they abode in the ship none could be   
saved6  ,the true philosophy of the     
,gospel system is this1 to feel as if   
much depended on ourselves2 but at the  
same time entertaining the loftier      
conviction that all depends upon ,god4  
,jesus1 when ,he invites to the strait  
gate1 does not inculcate remaining      
outside1 in a state of passive and      
listless inaction1 until the portals be 
seen to move by the ,divine hand4 ,his  
exhortation and command rather is1      
,strive--knock--agonise to enter in6 ,we
 are not to ascend to heaven1 seated1   
like ,elijah1 in a chariot of fire1     
without toil or effort1 but rather to   

fight the good fight of faith4 ,the     
saying of the great ,apostle is a vivid 
portraiture of what the ,christian's    
feelings ought to be regarding personal 
holiness--,i laboured1 444 yet not ,i1  
but the grace of ,god which was with me4
  ,as the ,lord of ,bethany gives the   
summons1 ,roll ye away the stone1 ,his  
words seem paraphrased in this other    
,scripture1 ,work out your own salvation
 with fear and trembling1 for it is ,god
 that worketh in you both to will and to
 do of his good pleasure4 ,you may feel 
assured that ,he will not impose upon   
you one needless burden2 ,he will not   
exact more than ,he knows your strength 
will bear2 ,he will ask no ,peter to    
come to ,him on the water1 unless ,he   
impart at the same time strength and    
support on the unstable wave2 ,he will  
not demand of you the endurance of      
providences1 and trials1 and temptations
 you are unable to cope with2 ,he will  
not ask you to draw water if the well is
 too deep1 or withdraw the stone if too 

heavy4 ,but neither1 at the same time1  
will ,he admit as an impossibility that 
which1 as a free and responsible agent1 
it is in your power to avert4 ,he will  
not regard as your misfortune what is   
your crime4 ,if ,i regard iniquity in my
 heart1 the ,lord will not hear me4     
,oh6 let life be1 more than it ever has 
been1 one constant effort to roll away  
the stone from the moral                
sepulchre--carefully to remove every    
barrier between our souls and           
,jesus--looking forward to that glorious
 day when the voice of the ,restorer    
shall be heard uttering the omnipotent  
,come forth6 and to ,his angel assessors
 the mandate shall be given regarding   
the thronging myriads of risen dead1    
,loose them and let them go6     ,,xiv4 
,,unbelief4   ,man--short-sighted       
man--often raises impossibilities when  
,god does not4 ,it is hard for          
rebellious unbelief to lie submissive   
and still4 ,in moments when the spirit  
might well be overawed into silence1 it 

gives utterance to its querulous        
questionings and surmisings rather than 
remain obedient at the feet of ,christ1 
reposing on the sublime aphorism1 ,all  
things are possible to him that         
believeth4 ,in the mind of ,martha1     
where faith had been so recently        
triumphant1 doubt and unbelief have     
begun again to insinuate themselves4    
,this ,peter of her sex had ventured out
 boldly on the water to meet her ,lord4 
,she had owned ,him as the giver of     
life1 and triumphed in ,him as her      
,saviour6 ,but now she is beginning to  
sink4 ,a natural difficulty presents    
itself to her mind about the removal of 
the incumbent grave-stone4 ,she avers   
how needless its displacement would be1 
as by this time corruption must have    
begun its fatal work4 ,four brief days  
only had elapsed since the eye of       
,lazarus had beamed with fraternal      
affection4 ,now these lips must be      
saying to corruption1 ,thou art my      
father2 to the worm1 ,thou art my mother

 and my sister4 ,death1 she felt1 must  
now be stamping his impressive mockery  
on that cherished earthly friendship1   
and1 attired in his most terrible       
insignia1 putting the last fatal        
extinguisher on the glimmerings of her  
faith and hope4 ,what need is there1    
,lord1 she seems to say1 for this       
redundant labour8 ,my brother is far    
beyond the reach even of a voice like   
,thine4 ,why excite vain expectations in
 my breast which never can be realised8 
,that grave has closed upon him for the 
'for ever' of time4 ,nothing now can    
revoke the sentence1 or reanimate the   
silent dust1 save the trump of ,god on  
the final day4#af  ,thus blindly did    
,martha reason4 ,she can see no other   
object her ,redeemer can have for the   
removal of the stone1 save to gaze once 
more on a form and countenance ,he      
loved4 ,both for ,his sake1 and the     
strangers assembled1 she recoils from   
the thought of disclosing so humiliating
 a sight4  ,alas6 how little are fitful 

frames and feelings to be trusted4 ,only
 a few brief moments before1 she had    
made a noble protestation of her faith  
in the presence of her ,lord4 ,his own  
majestic utterances had soothed her     
griefs1 dried her tears1 and elicited   
the confession that ,he was truly the   
,son of ,god4 ,but the sight of the tomb
 and its mournful accompaniments        
obliterate for a moment the recollection
 of better thoughts and a nobler avowal4
 ,she forgets that things which are     
impossible with men are possible with   
,god4 ,she is guilty of limiting the    
,holy ,one of ,israel4  ,how often is it
 so with us6 ,how easy is it for us1    
like ,martha1 to be bold in our creed   
when there is nothing to cross our      
wishes1 or dim and darken our faith4    
,but when the hour of trial comes1 how  
often does sense threaten to displace   
and supplant the nobler antagonist      
principle6 ,how often do we lose sight  
of the ,saviour at the very moment when 
we most need to have ,him continually in

 view6 ,how often are our convictions of
 the efficacy of prayer most dulled and 
deadened just when the dark waves are   
cresting over our heads1 and voices of  
unbelief are uttering the upbraiding in 
our ears1 ,where is now thy ,god8 ,but  
will ,jesus leave ,his people to their  
own guilty unbelieving doubts8 ,will    
,martha1 by her unworthy insinuations1  
put an arrest on her ,lord's arm2 or    
will ,he1 in righteous retribution for  
her faithlessness1 leave the stone      
sealed1 and the dead unraised8  ,nay6   
,he loves ,his people too well to let   
their stupid unbelief and hardness of   
heart interfere with ,his own gracious  
purposes6 ,how tenderly ,he rebukes the 
spirit of this doubter4 ,why1 as if ,he 
said1 ,why distrust me8 ,why stultify   
thyself with these unbelieving surmises4
 ,hast thou already forgotten my own    
gracious assurances1 and thine own      
unqualified acceptance of them4 ,my hand
 is never shortened that it cannot save2
 my ear is never heavy that it cannot   

hear4 ,i can call the things which are  
not1 and make them as though they were4 
,said ,i not unto thee1 in that earnest 
conversation which ,i had a little ago  
outside the village1 in which ,gospel   
faith was the great theme1 if thou      
wouldst believe1 thou shouldst see the  
glory of ,god8  ,this ,bethany utterance
 has still a voice1--a voice of rebuke  
and of comfort in our hours of trial4   
,when1 like aged ,jacob1 we are ready to
 say1 ,all these things are against me2 
when we are about to lose the footsteps 
of a ,god of love1 or have perhaps lost 
them1 there is a voice ready to hush    
into silence every unbelieving doubt and
 surmise4 ,although thou sayest thou    
canst not see ,him1 yet judgment is     
before ,him1 therefore trust thou in    
,him4 ,god often thus hides ,himself    
from ,his people in order to try their  
faith1 and elicit their confidence4 ,he 
puts us in perplexing paths--allures and
 brings into the wilderness1 only1      
however1 that we may see more of        

,himself1 and that ,he may speak        
comfortably unto us4 ,he lets our need  
attain its extremity1 that ,his         
intervention may appear the more signal4
 ,he suffers apparently even ,his own   
promises to fail1 that ,he may test the 
faith of ,his waiting people2--tutor    
them to hope against hope1 and to find1 
in unanswered prayers and baffled       
expectations1 only a fresh reason for   
clinging to ,his all-powerful arm1 and  
frequenting ,his mercy-seat4 ,he dashes 
first to the ground our human           
confidences and refuges1 shewing how    
utterly vain is the help of man2 so that
 faith1 with her own folded1 dove-like  
wings1 may repose in quiet confidence in
 ,his faithfulness1 saying1 ,in the     
,lord put ,i my trust3 why say ye to my 
soul1 ,flee as a bird to your mountain8 
,reader6 ,it would be well for you to   
hear this gentle chiding of ,christ1    
too1 in the moment of your spiritual    
depression2--when complaining of your   
corruptions1 the weakness of your       

graces1 your low attainments in         
holiness1 the strength of your          
temptations1 and your inability to      
resist sin4 ,said ,i not unto thee1     
interposes this voice of mingled reproof
 and love1 ,my grace is sufficient for  
thee8 ,the bruised reed ,i will not     
break1 the smoking flax ,i will not     
quench4 ,look unto ,me1 and be ye saved1
 all the ends of the earth4 ,we are too 
apt to look to ourselves1 to turn our   
contemplation inwards1 instead of       
keeping the eye of faith centered       
undeviatingly on a faithful             
covenant-keeping ,god1 laying our finger
 on every promise of ,his ,word1 and    
making the challenge regarding each1    
,hath he said1 and shall he not do it8  
or hath he spoken1 and shall he not     
bring it to pass8  ,yes2 there may be   
much to try and perplex4 ,sense and     
sight may stagger1 and stumble1 and     
fall2 we may be able to see no break in 
the clouds2 deep may be calling to deep1
 and wave responding to wave1 yet the   

,lord will command his loving-kindness  
in the daytime1 and in the night his    
song shall be with me4 ,if we only      
believe in spite of unbelief2 hoping on1
 and praying on1 and trusting on2 like  
the great ,father of the faithful1 in   
the midst of adverse providences1 strong
 in faith1 giving glory to ,god1 ,he    
will yet cause the day-spring from on   
high to visit us4 ,even in this world   
perplexing paths may be made plain1 and 
slippery places smooth1 and judgments   
bright as the noonday2 but if not here1 
there is at least a glorious day of     
disclosures at hand1 when the reign of  
unbelieving doubt shall terminate for   
ever1 when the archives of a chequered  
past will be ransacked of their every   
mystery2--all events mirrored and made  
plain in the light of eternity2 and this
 saying of the weeping ,saviour of      
,bethany obtain its true and everlasting
 fulfilment1 ,,said ,i ,,not ,,unto     
,,thee1 ,,if ,,thou ,,wouldst ,,believe1
 ,,thou ,,shouldst ,,see ,,the ,,glory  

,,of ,,god8     ,,xv4  ,,the ,,divine   
,,pleader4   ,the stone is rolled away1 
but there is a solemn pause just when   
the miracle is about to be performed4   
,jesus prays6 ,the ,god-,man            
,mediator--the ,lord of ,life--the      
,abolisher of ,death--the ,being of all 
,beings--who had the boundless treasures
 of eternity in ,his grasp--pauses by   
the grave of the dead1 and lifts up ,his
 eyes to heaven in supplication6 ,how   
often in the same incidents1 during our 
,lord's incarnation1 do we find ,his    
manhood and ,his ,godhead standing      
together in stupendous contrast4 ,at    
,his birth1 the mystic star and the     
lowly manger were together2 at ,his     
death1 the ignominious cross and the    
eclipsed sun were together4 ,here ,he   
weeps and prays at the very moment when 
,he is baring the arm of ,omnipotence4  
,the mighty ,god appears in conjunction 
with the man ,christ ,jesus4 ,his name  
is ,immanuel1 ,god with us4  ,the body  
of ,lazarus was now probably1 by the    

rolling away of the stone1 exposed to   
view4 ,it was a humiliating sight4      
,earth--the grave--could afford no      
solace to the spectators4 ,the          
,redeemer1 by a significant act1 shews  
them where alone1 at such an hour1      
comfort can be found4 ,he points the    
mourning spirit to its only true source 
of consolation and peace in ,god        
,himself1 teaching it to rise above the 
mortal to the immortal--the corruptible 
to the incorruptible--from earth to     
heaven4  ,ah6 there is nothing but      
humiliation and sadness in every view of
 the grave and corruption4 ,why dwell on
 the shattered casket1 and not rather on
 the jewel which is sparkling brighter  
than ever in a better world8 ,why       
persist in gazing on the trophies of the
 last enemy1 when we can joyfully       
realise the emancipated soul exulting in
 the plenitude of purchased bliss8 ,why 
fall with broken wing and wailing cry to
 the dust1 when on eagle-pinion we can  
soar to the celestial gate1 and learn   

the unkindness of wishing the sainted   
and crowned one back to the nether      
valley8  ,it is ,prayer1 observe1 which 
thus brings the eye and the heart near  
to heaven4 ,it is ,prayer which opens   
the celestial portals1 and gives to the 
soul a sight of the invisible4  ,yes2 ye
 who may be now weeping in unavailing   
sorrow over the departed1 remember1 in  
conjunction with the tears1 the prayers 
of ,jesus4 ,many a desolate mourner     
derives comfort from the thought--,jesus
 wept4 ,forget not this other simple    
entry in our touching narrative1 telling
 where the spirit should ever rest amid 
the shadows of death--,jesus lifted up  
his eyes1 and said1 ,father1 ,i thank   
,thee that ,thou hast heard me4 ,and ,i 
knew that ,thou hearest me always4#ag   
,let us gather for a little around this 
incident in the story of ,bethany4 ,it  
is one of the many golden sayings of    
priceless value4  ,that utterance has at
 this moment lost none of its           
preciousness2 that voice1 silent on     

earth1 is still eloquent in heaven4 ,the
 ,great ,intercessor still is there1    
walking in the midst of the seven golden
 candlesticks2 loving to note all the   
wants and weaknesses1 the necessities   
and distresses1 of every ,church1 and   
every member of ,his ,church4 ,what ,he 
said of old to ,peter1 ,he says to every
 trembling believer--,i have prayed1 and
 am praying for thee1 that thy faith    
fail not6 ,for thee6 ,we must not merge 
the interest which ,jesus has in each   
separate member of ,his family1 in ,his 
intercession for the ,church in general4
 ,while ,he lets down ,his censer1 and  
receives into it1 for presentation on   
the golden altar1 the prayers of the    
vast aggregate2 while1 as the true ,high
 ,priest1 ,he enters the holiest of all 
with the names of ,his spiritual ,israel
 on ,his breastplate--carrying the      
burden of their hourly needs to the foot
 of the mercy-seat2--yet still1 ,he     
pleads1 as if the case of each stood    
separate and alone6 ,he remembers thee1 

dejected ,mourner1 as if there were no  
other heart but thine to be healed1 and 
no other tears but thine to be dried4   
,his own words1 speaking of believers1  
not collectively but individually1 are  
these--,i will confess his name before  
my ,father and his angels4#ah ,who      
touched me8 was ,his interrogation once 
on earth1 as ,his discriminating love   
was conscious of some special contact   
amid the press of the                   
multitude1--,somebody hath touched me6  
,if we can say1 in the language of      
,paul's appropriating faith1 ,he loved  
me1 and gave ,himself for me1 we can    
add1 ,he pleads for me1 and bears me6   
,he bears this very heart of mine1 with 
all its weaknesses1 and infirmities1 and
 sins1 before ,his ,father's throne4 ,he
 has engraven each stone of ,his ,zion  
on the palms of ,his hands1 and its     
walls are continually before ,him6  ,how
 untiring1 too1 in ,his advocacy6 ,what 
has the ,christian so to complain of1 as
 his own cold1 unworthy prayers--mixed  

so with unbelief--soiled with           
worldliness--sometimes guiltily omitted 
or curtailed4 ,not the fervid           
ejaculations of those feelingly alive to
 their spiritual exigencies1 but        
listless1 unctionless1 the hands hanging
 down1 the knees feeble and trembling6  
,but notwithstanding all1 ,jesus pleads6
 ,still the ,great ,intercessor waits to
 be gracious4 ,he is at once ,moses on  
the mountain1 and ,joshua on the        
battle-plain--fighting with us in the   
one1 praying for us in the other4 ,no   
,aarons or ,hurs needed to sustain ,his 
sinking strength1 for it is ,his sublime
 prerogative neither to faint nor grow  
weary6 ,there is no loftier occupation  
for faith than to speed upwards to the  
throne and behold that wondrous         
,pleader1 receiving at one moment1 and  
at every moment1 the countless          
supplications and prayers which are     
coming up before ,him from every corner 
of ,his ,church4 ,the ,sinner just awoke
 from his moral slumber1 and in the     

agonies of conviction1 exclaiming1 ,what
 must ,i do to be saved8--,the          
,procrastinator sending up from the     
brink of despair the cry of importunate 
agony4--,the ,backslider wailing forth  
his bitter lamentation over guilty      
departures1 and foul ingratitude1 and   
injured love4--,the ,sick man feebly    
groaning forth1 in undertones of        
suffering1 his petition for             
succour4--,the ,dying1 on the brink of  
eternity1 invoking the presence and     
support of the alone arm which can be of
 any avail to them4--,the ,bereaved1 in 
the fresh gush of their sorrow1 calling 
upon ,him who is the healer of the      
broken-hearted4 ,but all heard6 ,every  
tear marked--every sigh                 
registered--every suppliant succoured4  
,amalek may come threatening nothing but
 discomfiture2 but that pleading ,voice 
on the heavenly ,hill is greater far    
than all that can be against us6 ,he    
pleads for ,his elect in every phase of 
their spiritual history--,he pleads for 

their inbringing into ,his fold--,he    
pleads for their perseverance in        
grace--,he pleads for their deliverance 
at once from the accusations and the    
power of ,satan--,he pleads for their   
growing sanctification2--and when the   
battle of life is over1 ,he uplifts ,his
 last pleading voice for their complete 
glorification4 ,the intercession of     
,jesus is the golden key which unlocks  
the gates of ,paradise to the departing 
soul4 ,at a saint's dying moments we are
 too often occupied with the lower      
earthly scene to think of the heavenly4 
,the tears of surrounding relatives     
cloud too often the more glorious       
revelations which faith discloses4 ,but 
in the muffled stillness of that        
death-chamber1 when each is holding his 
breath as the ,king of ,terrors passes  
by--if we could listen to it1 we should 
hear the ,prince who has power with ,god
 thus uttering ,his final prayer1 and on
 the rushing wings of ministering angels
 receiving an answer while ,he is yet   

speaking--,father1 ,i will that they    
also1 whom thou hast given me1 be with  
me where ,i am1 that they may behold my 
glory6  ,reader6 exult more and more in 
this all-prevailing ,advocate4 ,see that
 ye approach the mercy-seat with no     
other trust but in ,his atoning work and
 meritorious righteousness4 ,there was  
but ,one solitary man of the whole human
 race who1 of old1 in the ,jewish       
temple1 was permitted to speak face to  
face with ,jehovah4 ,there is but ,,one 
solitary ,being in the vast universe of 
,god who1 in the heavenly sanctuary1 can
 effectually plead in behalf of ,his    
,spiritual ,israel4 ,seeing1 then1 that 
we have a ,great ,high ,priest passed   
into the heavens1 ,jesus the ,son of    
,god1 444 let us come boldly to the     
throne of grace4 ,if ,jesus delights in 
asking1 ,god delights in bestowing4 ,let
 us put our every want1 and difficulty1 
and perplexity1 in ,his hand1 feeling   
the precious assurance1 that all which  
is really good for us will be given1 and

 all that is adverse will1 in equal     
mercy1 be withheld4 ,there is no        
limitation set to our requests4 ,the    
treasury of grace is flung wide open for
 every suppliant4 ,verily1 verily1 ,i   
say unto you1 whatsoever ye shall ask   
the ,father in my name ,he will give it 
you4 ,surely we may cease to wonder that
 the ,great ,apostle should have clung  
with such intense interest to this      
elevating theme--the ,saviour's         
intercession2--that in his brief1 but   
most comprehensive and beautiful        
creed1#ai he should have so exalted1 as 
he does1 its relative importance1       
compared with other cognate truths4 ,it 
is ,christ that died1 yea rather1 that  
is risen again1 who is even at the right
 hand of ,god1 who also maketh          
intercession for us4 ,climbing1 step by 
step1 in the upward ascent of ,christian
 faith and hope1 he seems only to reach 
the height of his great argument when he
 stands on the mountain of myrrh and the
 hill of frankincense4 ,there1 gazing on

 the face of the great officiating      
,priest who fills all heaven with ,his  
fragrance1 and feeling that against that
 intercession the gates of hell can     
never prevail1 he can utter the         
challenge to devils1 and angels1 and    
men1 ,who shall separate us from the    
love of ,christ8     ,,xvi4  ,,the      
,,omnipotent ,,summons4   ,the moment   
has now come for the voice of           
,omnipotence to give the mandate4 ,the  
group have gathered around the          
sepulchral grotto--the ,redeemer stands 
in meek majesty in front--the teardrop  
still glistening in ,his eye1 and that  
eye directed heavenward6 ,martha and    
,mary are gazing on ,his countenance in 
dumb emotion1 while the eager bystanders
 bend over the removed stone to see if  
the dead be still there4 ,yes6 there the
 captive lies--in uninvaded             
silence--attired still in the same      
solemn drapery4 ,the ,lord gives the    
word4 ,lazarus come forth6 peals through
 the silent vault4 ,the dull1 cold ear  

seems to listen4 ,the pulseless heart   
begins to beat--the rigid limbs to      
move--,lazarus lives6 ,he rises girt in 
the swaddling-bands of the tomb1 once   
more to walk in the light of the living4
  ,where ,scripture is silent1 it is    
vain for us to picture the emotions of  
that moment1 when the weeping sisters   
found the gloomy hours of disconsolate  
sorrow all at once rolled away4 ,the cry
 of mingled wonder and gratitude rings  
through that lonely graveyard1--,this   
our brother was dead1 and is alive      
again2 he was lost1 and is found6  ,o   
most wondrous power--,death vanquished  
in his own territory6 ,the sleeper has  
awoke a moral ,samson1 snapping the     
withs with which the ,king of ,terrors  
had bound him4 ,the star of ,bethlehem  
shines1 and the ,valley of ,achor       
becomes a door of hope4 ,the            
all-devouring destroyer has to          
relinquish his prey4  ,was the joy of   
that moment confined to these two       
bosoms8 ,nay6 ,the ,church of ,christ in

 every age may well love to linger      
around the grave of ,lazarus4 ,in his   
resurrection there is to ,his true      
people a sure pledge and earnest of     
their own4 ,it was the first sheaf      
reaped by the mower's sickle            
anticipatory of the great ,harvest-home 
of the ,final day when all that are in  
their graves shall hear the same voice  
and shall come forth4#bj  ,solemn1      
surely1 is the thought that that same   
portentous miracle performed on ,lazarus
 is one day to be performed on          
ourselves4 ,wherever we repose--whether1
 as he did1 in the quiet churchyard of  
our native village1 or in the midst of  
the city's crowded cemetery1 or far away
 amid the alien and stranger in some    
foreign shore1 our dust shall be        
startled by that omnipotent summons4    
,how shall we hear it8 ,would it sound  
in our ears like the sweet tones of the 
silver trumpet of ,jubilee8 ,would it be
 to gaze like ,lazarus on the face of   
our best friend--to see ,jesus bending  

over us in looks of tenderness--to hear 
the living tones of that same voice1    
whose accents were last heard in the    
dark valley1 whispering hopes full of   
immortality8 ,true1 we have not to wait 
for a ,saviour's love and presence till 
then4 ,the hour of death is to the      
,christian the birthday of endless life4
 ,guardian angels are hovering around   
his dying pillow ready to waft his      
spirit into ,abraham's bosom4 ,the souls
 of believers do immediately pass into  
glory4 ,but the full plenitude of their 
joy and bliss is reserved for the time  
when the precious but redeemed dust1    
which for a season is left to moulder in
 the tomb1 shall become instinct with   
life--the corruptible put on            
incorruption1 and the mortal            
immortality4 ,the spirits of the just   
enter at death on the inheritance of the
 saints in light2 but at the            
,resurrection they shall rise as        
separate orbs from the darkness and     
night of the grave1 each to shine forth 

as the sun in the kingdom of their      
,father4 ,however glorious the          
emancipation of the soul in the moment  
of dissolution1 it is not until the     
plains and valleys of our globe shall   
stand thick with the living of buried   
generations--each glorified body the    
image of its ,lord's--that the predicted
 anthem will be heard waking the echoes 
of the universe--,o death1 where is thy 
sting8 ,o grave1 where is thy victory8  
,then1 with the organs of their         
resurrection-bodies ennobled1           
etherealised1 purified from all the     
grossness of earth1 they shall behold   
the ,king in his beauty4 ,the ,king's   
daughter1 all glorious without1 all     
glorious within--her clothing of wrought
 gold--resplendent without with the     
robes of righteousness--radiant within  
with the beauties of holiness--shall be 
brought with gladness and rejoicing1 and
 enter into the ,king's palace4 ,this   
will form the full meridian of the      
saints' glory--the essence and climax of

 their new-born bliss--the full vision  
and fruition of a ,saviour-,god4 ,when  
,he shall appear1 444 we shall see ,him 
as ,he is6 ,the first sight which will  
burst on the view of the ,risen ones    
will be ,jesus6 ,his hands will wreath  
the glorified brows1 in presence of an  
assembled world1 with the crown of life4
 ,from ,his lips will proceed the       
gladdening welcome--,enter thou into the
 joy of thy ,lord6  ,but this will not  
exhaust the elements of bliss in the    
case of the perfected just on the day of
 their final triumph4 ,though the       
presence of their adorable ,redeemer    
would be enough1 and more than enough1  
to fill their cup with happiness1 there 
will be others also to welcome them1 and
 to augment their joy4 ,lazarus' ,lord  
was not alone at the sepulchre's brink1 
at ,bethany1 ready to greet him back4   
,two loved sisters shared the joy of    
that gladsome hour4 ,we are left to     
picture for ourselves the reunion1 when1
 with hand linked in hand1 they         

retraversed the road which had so       
recently echoed to the voice of         
mourning1 and entered once more their   
home1 radiant with a sunshine they had  
imagined to have passed away from it for
 ever6  ,so will it be with the believer
 on the morning of the ,resurrection4   
,while his ,lord will be there1 waiting 
to welcome him1 there will be others    
ready with their presence to enhance the
 bliss of that gladdening restoration4  
,those whose smiles were last seen in   
the death-chamber of earth1 now         
standing--not as ,martha and ,mary1 with
 the tear on their cheek and the furrow 
of deep sorrow on their brow1 but robed 
and radiant in resurrection attire1     
glowing with the anticipations of an    
everlasting and indissoluble reunion6   
,can we anticipate1 in the resurrection 
of ,lazarus1 our own happy history8     
,yes6 happier history1 for it will not  
then be to come forth once more1 like   
him1 into a weeping world1 to renew our 
work and warfare1 feeling that          

restoration to life is only but a brief 
reprieve1 and that soon again the       
irrevocable sentence will and must      
overtake us6 ,not like him1 going to a  
home still covered with the drapery of  
sorrow1--a few transient years and the  
mournful funeral tragedy to be          
repeated1--but to enter into the region 
of endless life--to pass from the dark  
chambers of corruption into the peace   
and glories of our ,heavenly ,father's  
joyous ,home1 and so to be for ever with
 the ,lord6  ,sometimes it is with dying
 believers as with ,lazarus4 ,their     
,lord1 at the approach of death1 seems  
to be absent4 ,he who gladdened their   
homes and their hearts in life1 is1 for 
some mysterious reason1 away in the hour
 of dissolution2 their spirits are      
depressed2 their faith languishes2 they 
are ready to say1 ,where is now my ,god8
 ,but as ,he returned to ,bethany to    
awake ,his sleeping friend1 so will it  
be with all his true people1 on that    
great day when the arm of death shall be

 for ever broken4 ,if now united to ,him
 by a living faith1--loved by ,him as   
,lazarus was1 and conscious1 however    
imperfectly1 of loving ,him back in     
return1--we may go down to our graves1  
making ,job's lofty creed and           
exclamation our own1 ,i know that my    
,redeemer liveth1 and that he shall     
stand at the latter day upon the earth2 
and though after my skin worms destroy  
this body1 yet in my flesh shall ,i see 
,god4  ,one remark more4 ,we have       
listened to the ,omnipotent             
fiat1--,lazarus1 come forth6 ,we have   
seen the ear of death starting at the   
summons1 and the buried captive goes    
free6 ,shall we follow the family group 
within the hallowed precincts of the    
,bethany dwelling8 ,shall fancy pour her
 strange and mysterious queries into the
 ear of him who has just come back from 
that land from whose bourne no traveller
 returns8 ,he had been1 in a far truer  
sense than ,paul in an after year1 in   
,paradise4 ,he must have heard          

unspeakable and unutterable words1 which
 it is not possible for a man to utter4 
,he had looked upon the ,sapphire       
,throne4 ,he had ranged himself with the
 adoring ranks4 ,he had strung his harp 
to the ,eternal ,anthem4 ,when1 lo6 an  
angel--a ministering one--whispers in   
his ear to hush his song1 and speed him 
back again for a little season to the   
valley below4  ,startling mandate6 ,can 
we suppose a remonstrance to so strange 
a summons8 ,what6 to be uncrowned and   
unglorified6--,just after a few sips of 
the heavenly fountain1 to be hurried    
away back again to the valley of        
,baca6--to gather up once more the      
soiled earthly garments and the pilgrim 
staff1 and from the pilgrim rest and the
 victor's palm to encounter the din and 
dust and scars of battle6 ,what6--just  
after having wept his final tear1 and   
fought the last and the most terrible   
foe1 to have his eye again dimmed with  
sorrow1 and to have the thought before  
him of breasting a second time the      

swellings of ,jordan6  ,the ,lord hath  
need of thee1 is all the reply1 ,it is  
enough6 ,he asks no more6 ,that glorious
 ,redeemer had left a far brighter      
throne and heritage for him4 ,lazarus1  
come forth6 sounds in his old           
world-home1 whence his spirit had       
soared1 and in his beloved ,master's    
words1 on a mightier embassy1 he can    
say1--,lo1 ,i come6 ,i delight to do thy
 will1 ,o my ,god4  ,or do other        
questions involuntarily arise8 ,what was
 the nature of his happiness while      
absent from the body8 ,what the scenery 
of that bright abode8 ,had he mingled in
 the goodly fellowship of prophets8 ,had
 he conversed with ,abraham1 and ,isaac1
 and ,jacob8 ,was his spirit            
stationary--hovering with a brotherhood 
of spirits within some holy limit--or1  
was he permitted to travel far and near 
in errands of love and mercy8 ,had      
,bethany been revisited during that     
mysterious interval8 ,had he been the   
unseen witness of the tears and groans  

of his anguished sisters8  ,but hush1   
too1 these vain inquiries4 ,we dare not 
give rein to imagination where          
,inspiration is silent4 ,there is a     
designed mystery about the              
circumstantials of a future state4 ,its 
scenery and locality we know nothing of4
 ,it is revealed to us only in its      
character4 ,we are permitted to approach
 its gates1 and to read the surmounting 
inscription1--,without holiness no man  
shall see the ,lord4 ,further we cannot 
go4 ,be it ours1 like ,lazarus1 to      
attain a meetness for heaven1 by        
becoming more and more like ,lazarus'   
,redeemer6 ,we shall be ,,like ,,him1 is
 the brief but comprehensive ,bible     
description of that glorious world4     
,saviour-like here1 we shall have heaven
 begun on earth1 and lying down like    
,lazarus in the sweet sleep of death1   
when our ,lord comes1 on the great      
day-dawn of immortality1 we shall be    
satisfied when we awake in ,his         
likeness6      ,he that was dead rose up

 and spoke--,he spoke6        ,was it of
 that majestic world unknown8           
,those words which first the bier's     
dread silence broke--        ,came they 
with revelation in each tone8      ,were
 the far cities of the nations gone1    
,the solemn halls of consciousness or   
sleep1      ,for man uncurtain'd by that
 spirit lone1        ,back from the     
portal summon'd o'er the deep8      ,be 
hush'd1 my soul6 the veil of darkness   
lay        ,still drawn2 therefore thy  
,lord called back the voice departed1   
,to spread ,his truth1 to comfort the   
weak-hearted2      ,not to reveal the   
mysteries of its way4        ,oh6 ,i    
take that lesson home in silent faith2  
,put on submissive strength to meet1 not
 question ,,death4     ,,xvii4  ,,the   
,,box ,,of ,,ointment4   ,once more we  
visit in thought a peaceful and happy   
home-scene in the same ,bethany         
household4 ,the severed links in that   
broken chain are again united4  ,how    
often in a time of severe bereavement1  

when some light of the dwelling has     
suddenly been extinguished1 does the    
imagination fondly dwell on the         
possibility of the wild dream of        
separation passing away2 of the vacant  
seat being refilled by its owner the    
loved and lost one again restored4      
,alas6 in all such cases1 it is but a   
feverish vision1 destined to know no    
fulfilment4 ,here1 however1 it was      
indeed a happy reality4 ,lazarus is     
dead6 was the bitter dirge a few brief  
weeks ago2 but now1 ,lazarus lives4 ,his
 silent voice is heard again--his dull  
eye is lighted again--the temporary pang
 of separation is only remembered to    
enhance the joy of so gladsome a        
reunion4  ,it was on a ,sabbath evening1
 the last ,sabbath but one of the waning
 ,jewish dispensation1 when ,spring's   
loveliness was carpeting the ,mount of  
,olives and clothing with fresh verdure 
the groves around ,bethany1 that our    
blessed ,redeemer was seen approaching  
the haunt of former friendship4 ,he had 

for two months taken shelter from the   
malice of the ,sanhedrim in the little  
town of ,ephraim and the mountainous    
region of ,perea1 on the other side of  
the ,jordan4 ,but the ,passover         
solemnity being at hand1 and his own    
hour having come1 he had set ,his face  
steadfastly to go to ,jerusalem4 ,it is 
more than probable that for several days
 ,he had been travelling in the company 
of other pilgrims coming from ,galilee  
on their way to the feast4 ,he seems1   
however1 to have left the festival      
caravan at ,jericho1 lingering behind   
with his own disciples in order to      
secure a private approach to the city of
 solemnities4 ,they were completing     
their journey on the ,sabbath referred  
to just as the sun was sinking behind   
the brow of ,olivet1 and1 turning aside 
from the highway1 they spent the night  
in their old ,bethany retreat4          
,befitting tranquil scene for ,his      
closing ,sabbath--a happy preparation   
for a season of trial and conflict6 ,it 

is well worthy of observation1 how1 as  
,his saddest hours were drawing         
near--the shadow of ,his cross projected
 on ,his path--,bethany becomes more and
 more endeared to ,him4 ,night after    
night1 during this memorable week1 we   
shall find ,him resorting to its        
cherished seclusion4 ,as the storm is   
fast gathering1 the vessel seeks for    
shelter in its best loved haven4#ba     
,imagine the joy with which the         
announcement would be received by the   
inmates--,our ,lord and ,redeemer is    
once more approaching4 ,imagine how the 
great ,conqueror of death would be      
welcomed into the home consecrated alike
 by ,his love and power4 ,now every tear
 dried6 ,the weeping that endured for   
the long night of bereavement all       
forgotten4 ,ah6 if ,jesus were loved    
before in that happy home1 how1 we may  
well imagine1 would ,he be adored and   
reverenced now4 ,what a new claim had   
,he established on their deepest        
affection and regard4 ,feelingly alive  

to all they owed ,him1 the restored     
brother and rejoicing sisters with      
hearts overflowing with gratitude could 
say1 in the words of their ,psalmist    
,king--,thou hast put off my sackcloth1 
and girded me with gladness1 to the end 
that my glory may sing praise to thee1  
and not be silent4 ,o ,lord my ,god1 ,i 
will give thanks unto thee for ever6    
,but does the love and affection of that
 household find expression in nothing   
but words8 ,supper is being made ready4 
,while ,martha1 with her wonted         
activity1 is busied preparing the       
evening meal--doing her best to provide 
for the refreshment of the              
travellers--the gentle spirit of ,mary  
7even if her name had not been given1 we
 should have known it was she7 prompts  
her to a more significant proof of the  
depth of her gratitude4 ,some fragrant  
ointment of spikenard--contained1 as we 
gather from the other ,evangelists1 in a
 box of ,alabaster--had been procured by
 her at great cost2#bb either obtained  

for this anticipated meeting with her   
,lord1 or it may in some way have fallen
 into her possession1 and been sacredly 
kept among her treasured gifts till some
 befitting occasion occurred for its    
employment4 ,has not that occasion      
occurred now8 ,on whom can her grateful 
heart more joyously bestow this garnered
 treasure than on her beloved ,lord4    
,with her own hands she pours it on ,his
 feet4 ,stooping down1 she wipes them1  
in further token of her devotion1 with  
her loosened tresses1 till the whole    
apartment was filled with the sweet     
perfume4  ,and what was it that         
constituted the value of this           
tribute--the beauty and expressiveness  
of the action8 ,she gave her ,lord the  
best thing she had6 ,she felt that to   
,him1 in addition to what ,he had done  
for her own soul1 she owed the most     
valued life in the world4      ,her eyes
 are homes of silent prayer1        ,nor
 other thought her mind admits2         
,but1 he was dead1 and there he sits1   

,and ,he that brought him back is there4
      ,then one deep love doth supersede
        ,all other1 when her ardent gaze
        ,roves from the living brother's
 face      ,and rests upon the ,life    
indeed4      ,all subtle thought1 all   
curious fears1        ,borne down by    
gladness so complete2        ,she bows1 
she bathes the ,saviour's feet          
,with costly spikenard and with         
tears4#bc  ,what a lesson for us6 ,are  
we willing to give our ,lord the best of
 what we have--to consecrate time1      
talents1 strength1 life1 to ,his        
service8 ,not as many1 to give ,him the 
mere dregs and sweepings of             
existence--the wrecks of a worn and     
withered love--but1 like ,mary1 anxious 
to take every opportunity and occasion  
of testifying the depth of obligation   
under which we are laid to ,him8 ,let us
 not say--,my sphere is lowly1 my means 
are limited1 my best offerings would be 
inadequate4 ,such1 doubtless1 were the  
very feelings of that humble1 diffident1

 yet loving one1 as she crept           
noiselessly to where her pilgrim-,lord  
reclined1 and lavished on ,his weary    
limbs the costliest treasure she        
possessed4 ,hundreds of more imposing   
deeds--more princely and munificent     
offerings--may have been left unrecorded
 by the ,evangelists2 but wherever this 
,gospel shall be preached1 in the whole 
world1 there shall also this that this  
woman hath done be told for a memorial  
of her4#bd  ,would that love to that    
same ,jesus were with all of us more    
paramount than it is6 ,lovest thou ,me  
more than these is ,his own searching   
test and requirement4 ,is it so8--,do we
 love ,him more than self or sin--more  
than friends or home--more than any     
earthly object or earthly good2 and are 
we willing1 if need be1 to make a       
sacrifice for ,his glory and for the    
honour of ,his cause8 ,happy for us if  
it be so4 ,there will be a joy in the   
very consciousness of making the effort1
 feeble and unworthy as it may be1 for  

,his sake1 and in acknowledgment of the 
great love wherewith ,he hath loved us4 
,thrice blest1 whose lives are faithful 
prayers1        ,whose loves in higher  
,love endure2        ,whose souls       
possess themselves so pure1      ,or is 
there blessedness like theirs8  ,let it 
be our privilege and delight to give    
,him our pound of spikenard1 whatever   
that may be2 and if we can give no      
other1 let us offer the fragrant perfume
 of holy hearts and holy lives4 ,that   
religion is always best which reveals   
itself by its effects--by kindness1     
gentleness1 amiability1 unselfishness1  
flowing from a principle of grateful    
love to ,him who1 though unseen1 has    
been to us as to the family of          
,bethany--,friend1 and ,help1 and       
,guide1 and ,portion4 ,mary's honour was
 great to anoint her ,lord1 but the     
lowliest and humblest of ,his people may
 do the same4 ,we may have no aromatic  
offering1 neither gold1 nor             
frankincense1 nor myrrh2 but ,my son1   

,my daughter1 give ,me thine heart4 ,the
 sacrifices of ,god are a broken spirit2
 a broken and a contrite heart1 ,o ,god1
 thou wilt not despise4  ,nor ought we  
to forget our blessed ,lord's reply1    
when ,judas objected to the waste of the
 ointment--,let her alone2 444 the poor 
ye have always with you1 but ,me ye have
 not always4 ,let us seek to make the   
most of our ,lord's visits while we have
 ,him4 ,the visits of ,jesus to ,bethany
 were soon to be over2--so also with us4
 ,he will not always linger on our      
thresholds1 if our souls refuse to      
receive ,him1 or yield ,him nothing but 
coldness and ingratitude in return for  
,his love4 ,me ye have not always4 ,soon
 may sickness incapacitate for active   
service6 ,soon may opportunities for    
doing good be gone1 and gone for ever6  
,soon may death overtake us1 and the    
alabaster box be left behind1 unused and
 unemployed2 the dying regret on our    
lips--,oh that ,i had done more while ,i
 lived for this most precious ,saviour6 

but opportunities of testifying my      
gratitude to ,him are now gone beyond   
recall4 ,good deeds performed on ,gospel
 motives1 though unknown and unvalued by
 the world1 will not go unrecompensed or
 unowned by ,him who values the cup of  
cold water given in ,his name4 ,god is  
not unmindful to forget our work of     
faith and our labour of love4 ,the      
,lamb's ,book of ,life registers every  
such deed of lowly piety2 and on the    
,great ,day of account it shall be      
produced to our eternal honour1 and     
rewarded with a reward of grace2 though 
not of debt4  ,let us bear in mind1     
also1 that every holy service of        
unostentatious love exercises a hallowed
 influence on those around us4 ,we may  
not be conscious of such4 ,but1 if      
,christians indeed1 the sphere in which 
we move will1 like the ,bethany home1 be
 redolent with the ointment perfume4 ,a 
holy life is a silent witness for       
,jesus--an incense-cloud from the       
heart-altar1 breathing odours and sweet 

spices1 of which the world cannot fail  
to take knowledge4 ,yes6 were we to seek
 for a beautiful allegorical            
representation of pure and undefiled    
,religion1 we would find it in this     
loveliest of inspired pictures4         
,mary--all silent and submissive at the 
feet of her ,lord--only permitting her  
love to be disclosed by the holy perfume
 which1 unknown to herself1 revealed to 
others the reality and intensity of her 
love4 ,true religion is quiet1          
unobtrusive1 seeking the shade--its     
ever-befitting attitude at the feet of  
,jesus1 looking to ,him as all in all4  
,yet1 though retiring1 it must and will 
manifest its living and influential     
power4 ,the heart broken at the cross1  
like ,mary's broken box1 begins from    
that hour to give forth the hallowed    
perfume of faith1 and love1 and         
obedience1 and every kindred grace4 ,not
 a fitful and vacillating love and      
service1 but ever emitting the fragrance
 of holiness1 till the little world of  

home influence around us is filled with 
the odour of the ointment4      ,i ask  
,thee for the daily strength1        ,to
 none that ask denied2      ,and a mind 
to blend with outward life1             
,while keeping by ,thy side2            
,content to fill a little space         
,if ,thou be glorified4      ,and if    
some things ,i do not ask        ,in my 
cup of blessings be1      ,i would have 
my spirit fill'd the more        ,with  
grateful love to ,thee--      ,more     
careful not to serve ,thee much1        
,but to please ,thee perfectly4  ,such  
is a brief sketch of this beautiful     
domestic scene1 and its main practical  
lessons1--a green spot on which the eye 
will ever love to repose1 among the     
,memories of ,bethany4 ,it is           
unnecessary to advert to the            
controverted question1 as to whether the
 description of the anointing1 which    
took place in the house of ,simon the   
leper 7as recorded in ,matt4 xxvi4      
#f-ad1 and ,mark xiv4 #c71 and where the

 alabaster box is spoken of1 be         
identical with this passage1 or whether 
they refer to two distinct occasions4   
,the question is of no great importance 
in itself--the former view 7that they   
are descriptions of one and the same    
event7 seems the more probable4 ,it     
surely gives a deep intensity to the    
interest of the narrative to imagine the
 ,leper and the raised dead man1 seated 
at the same table together with their   
common ,deliverer1 glorifying their     
,saviour-,god1 with bodies and spirits  
they felt now to be doubly ,his6 ,simon1
 it is evident1 must have been cured of 
his disease1 else1 by the ,jewish law1  
he dared not have been associating with 
his friends at a common meal4 ,how was  
he cured8 ,how else may we suppose was  
that inveterate malady subdued but by   
the omnipotent word of ,him1 who had    
only to say1--,i will1 be thou made     
whole6 ,may we not regard him as a      
standing miracle of ,jesus' power over  
the diseased body1 as ,lazarus was the  

living trophy of ,his power over death  
and the grave4 ,the one could           
testify1--,this poor man cried1 and the 
,lord saved him1 and delivered him out  
of all his troubles4 ,the               
other1--,unless the ,lord had been my   
help1 my soul must now have dwelt in    
silence6  ,in order to explain the      
circumstance of this family meeting     
being in the house of ,simon1 there have
 not been wanting advocates for the     
supposition1 that the restored leper may
 have been none other than the parent of
 the household4#be ,it is not for us to 
hazard conjectures1 where ,scripture has
 thrown no light4 ,even when sanctioned 
by venerated names1 the most plausible  
hypothesis should be received with that 
caution requisite in dealing with what  
is supported exclusively by traditional 
authority4 ,were1 however1 such a view  
as we have indicated correct 7which is  
just possible1 and there is nothing in  
the face of the narrative to render it  
improbable71 it certainly would impart a

 new and fresh beauty to the picture of 
this ,feast of gratitude4 ,well might   
the parent's heart swell within him with
 more than ordinary emotions6 ,himself  
plucked a victim from the most loathsome
 of diseases6 ,he would think1 with     
tearful eye1 of the dark dungeon of his 
banishment--the lazar-house1 where he   
had been gloomily excluded from all     
fellowship with human sympathies and    
loving hearts4 ,his own children        
condemned by a severe but righteous     
necessity to shun his presence--or when 
within sound of human footfall or human 
voice1 compelled to make known his      
presence with the doleful               
utterance1--,unclean6 ,unclean6 ,he     
would think of that wondrous moment in  
his history1 when1 shunned by man1 the  
,,god-,,man drew near to him1 and with  
one glance of ,his love1 and one        
utterance of ,his power1 ,he bade the   
foul disease for ever away6  ,nor was   
this all that ,simon 7if he were1       
indeed1 the father of the family7 must  

have felt4 ,what must have been those   
emotions1 too deep for utterance1 as he 
gazed on the son of his affections1     
seated once more by his side6 ,a short  
time ago1 ,lazarus had been laid silent 
in the adjoining sepulchre--,death had  
laid his cold hand upon him--the pride  
of his home had been swept down4 ,but   
the same ,almighty friend who had caused
 his own leprosy to depart1 had given   
him back his lost one4 ,they were       
rejoicing together in the presence of   
,him to whom they owed life and all its 
blessings4 ,oh1 well might the voice of 
rejoicing and salvation be heard in the 
tabernacles of these righteous6 ,well   
might the head of the household dictate 
to ,mary to bring forth their best and  
bestow it on their ,deliverer--the      
costliest gift which the dwelling       
contained--the prized and valued box of 
alabaster1 and pour its contents on ,his
 feet6 ,we can imagine the burden1 if   
not the words1 of their joint anthem of 
praise1--,bless the ,lord1 ,o our souls1

 and forget not all his benefits1 who   
forgiveth all our iniquities1 who       
healeth all our diseases1 who redeemeth 
our lives from destruction1 and crowneth
 us with loving-kindness and with tender
 mercy4  ,but be all this as it may1    
that same great ,physician of ,souls    
still waits to be gracious4 ,he healeth 
,,all our diseases4 ,young and old1 rich
 and poor1 every type of spiritual      
malady has in ,him and ,his salvation   
its corresponding cure4 ,the same ,lord 
is rich to all that call upon ,him4 ,the
 ardent ,martha1 the contemplative      
,mary1 the aged ,simon1 ,lazarus the    
loving and beloved--,he has proved      
friend1 and help1 and ,saviour to all2  
and in their several ways they seek to  
give expression to the depth of their   
gratitude4 ,happy home6 may there be    
many such amongst us6 ,fathers1         
brothers1 sisters1 loving one another   
with a pure heart fervently1 and loving 
,jesus more than all--and themselves in 
,jesus6 ,seeking to have ,him as the    

ever-welcomed guest of their            
dwelling--feeling that all they have1   
and all they are1 for time or for       
eternity1 they owe to ,him who has      
brought them out of the horrible pit1   
and out of the miry clay1 and set their 
feet upon a rock1 and established their 
goings1 and put a new song in their     
mouth1 even praise unto our ,god6  ,yes6
 having the ,lord1 we have what is      
better and more enduring than the best  
of earthly ties and earthly homes4 ,this
 must have been impressed with peculiar 
force on aged ,john1 as in distant      
,ephesus he penned the memories of this 
evening feast4 ,where were then all its 
guests8--the recovered leper1 the risen 
,lazarus1 the devout sisters1 the ardent
 disciples--all gone6--none but himself 
remained to tell the touching story4    
,nay1 not all6--,,one remained amid this
 wreck of buried friendship--the        
adorable ,being who had given to that   
,bethany feast all its imperishable     
interest was still within him and about 

him4 ,the rocky shores of ,patmos1 and  
the groves around ,ephesus1 echoed to   
the well-remembered tones of the same   
voice of love4 ,his best ,friend was    
still left to take loneliness from his  
solitude4 ,he writes as if he were still
 reclining on that sacred bosom--,truly 
our fellowship is with the ,father and  
with his ,son ,jesus ,christ6  ,reader6 
take that same ,jesus now as your       
,friend--receive ,him as the guest of   
your soul2 and when other guests and    
other friendships are vanished and gone1
 and you may be left like ,john1 as the 
alone survivor of a buried              
generation2--alone6 you will yet be not 
alone6--lifting your furrowed brow and  
tearful eye to ,heaven1 you may exclaim1
 ,who shall separate me from the love of
 ,christ8     ,,xviii4  ,,palm          
,,branches4   ,we have just been        
contemplating a beautiful episode in the
 ,bethany ,memories--a gleam amid       
gathering clouds4 ,martha1 ,mary1 and   
,lazarus6 ,with what happy hearts did   

they hail the presence of their ,lord on
 the evening of that ,jewish ,sabbath6  
,little did they anticipate the events  
impending4 ,little did they dream that  
their ,almighty ,deliverer and ,friend  
would that day week be sleeping in ,his 
own grave6  ,these were indeed eventful 
hours on which they had now entered4    
,the stir through ,palestine of the     
thousands congregating in the earthly   
,jerusalem to the great ,paschal ,feast1
 was but a feeble type of the profound  
interest with which myriad              
angel-worshippers in the ,jerusalem     
above were gathering to witness the     
offering of the ,true ,paschal          
,sacrifice1 the ,lamb slain from the    
foundation of the world4  ,on the       
morning after the supper at ,bethany    
7probably that of our ,sabbath71 the    
,saviour rose from ,his couch of needed 
rest to approach ,jerusalem4 ,the       
reserve hitherto maintained as to ,his  
kingly power is now to be set aside4    
,the hour is come in which the ,son of  

man is to be glorified4 ,,bethany is one
 of the few places associated with      
recollections of the ,redeemer's        
royalty4 ,the despised and rejected is1 
for once1 the honoured and exalted4 ,it 
is a glimpse of the crown before ,he    
ascends the cross2 a foreshadowing of   
that blessed period when ,he shall be   
hailed by the loud acclaim of earth's   
nations--the ,gentile hosannah mingling 
with the ,hebrew hallelujah in welcoming
 ,him to the throne of universal empire4
  ,multitudes of the assembled pilgrims 
in the city1 who had heard of ,his      
arrival1 crowded out to ,bethany to     
witness the mysterious ,being1 whose    
deeds of mercy and miracle had now      
become the universal theme of converse4 
,his mightiest prodigy of power in the  
resurrection of ,lazarus had invested   
,his name and person with surpassing    
interest4 ,we need not wonder1          
therefore1 that the town of ,mary and   
her sister ,martha should attract many  
worshippers from ,jerusalem1 to behold  

with their own eyes at once the restored
 villager and his ,divine ,deliverer6   
,in fulfilment of ,zechariah's prophecy1
 the meek and lowly ,nazarene1 seated on
 no caparisoned war-horse1 but on an    
unbroken colt1 and surrounded with the  
multitude1 sets forth on ,his           
journey4#bf ,the village and the desert 
were then all alive 7as they still are  
once every year at the ,greek ,easter7  
with the crowd of ,paschal pilgrims     
moving to and fro between ,bethany and  
,jerusalem4 444 ,three pathways lead1   
and probably always led1 from ,bethany2 
444 one a long circuit over the northern
 shoulder of ,mount ,olivet1 down the   
valley which parts it from ,scopus2     
another1 a steep footpath over the      
summit2 the third1 the natural          
continuation of the road by which       
mounted travellers always approach the  
city from ,jericho1 over the southern   
shoulder between the summit which       
contains the ,tombs of the ,prophets1   
and that called the ',mount of          

,offence4' ,there can be no doubt that  
this last is the road of the entry of   
,christ1 not only because1 as just      
stated1 it is1 and must always have     
been1 the usual approach for horsemen   
and for large caravans such as then were
 concerned1 but also because this is the
 only one of the three approaches which 
meets the requirements of the narrative 
which follows4 444 ,this is the only one
 approach which is really grand4 ,it is 
the approach by which the army of       
,pompey advanced1 the first ,european   
army that ever confronted it4 ,probably 
the first impression of every one coming
 from the north-west and the south may  
be summed up in the simple expression   
used by one of the modern               
travellers--',i am strangely affected1  
but greatly disappointed6' ,but no human
 being could be disappointed who first  
saw ,jerusalem from the east4 ,the      
beauty consists in this1 that you then  
burst at once on the two great ravines  
which cut the city off from the         

surrounding table-land4         99      
99       99       99       99  ,two vast
 streams of people met on that day4 ,the
 one poured out from the city1 and as   
they came through the gardens whose     
clusters of palms rose on the           
south-eastern corner of ,olivet1 they   
cut down the long branches1 as was their
 wont at the ,feast of ,tabernacles1 and
 moved upwards towards ,bethany with    
loud shouts of welcome4 ,from ,bethany  
streamed forth the crowds who had       
assembled there on the previous night1  
and who came testifying to the great    
event at the sepulchre of ,lazarus4 ,the
 road soon loses sight of ,bethany4 ,it 
is now a rough1 but still broad and     
well-defined mountain track1 winding    
over rock and loose stones1--a steep    
declivity below on the left2 the sloping
 shoulder of ,olivet above on the right4
 ,along this road the multitudes threw  
down the branches which they cut as they
 went along1 or spread out a rude       
matting formed of the palm branches they

 had already cut as they came out4 ,the 
larger portion 7those perhaps who       
escorted ,him from ,bethany7 unwrapped  
their loose cloaks from their shoulders1
 and stretched them along the rough     
path1 to form a momentary carpet as he  
approached4 ,the two streams met midway4
 ,half of the vast mass1 turning round1 
preceded2 the other half followed4      
,gradually the long procession swept up 
and over the ridge1 where first begins  
the 'descent of the ,mount of ,olives1' 
towards ,jerusalem4 ,at this point the  
first view is caught of the             
south-eastern corner of the city4 ,the  
,temple and the more northern portions  
are hid by the slope of ,olivet on the  
right2 what is seen is only ,mount      
,zion1 covered with houses to its base1 
surmounted by the castle of ,herod on   
the supposed site of the palace of      
,david1 from which that portion of      
,jerusalem1 emphatically ',the ,city of 
,david1' derived its name4 ,it was at   
this precise point1 as he drew near1 at 

the descent of the ,mount of ,olives1   
7may it not have been from the sight    
thus opening upon them87 that the shout 
of triumph burst forth from the         
multitude--',hosannah to the ,son of    
,david6 ,blessed is he that cometh in   
the name of the ,lord6 ,blessed is the  
kingdom that cometh of our father       
,david4 ,hosannah--,peace--,glory in the
 highest6' ,there was a pause as the    
shout rang through the long defile2 and 
as the ,pharisees who stood by in the   
crowd complained1 ,he pointed to the    
'stones1' which1 strewn beneath their   
feet1 would immediately 'cry out' if    
'these were to hold their peace4' ,again
 the procession advanced4 ,the road     
descends a slight declivity1 and the    
glimpse of the city is again withdrawn  
behind the intervening ridge of ,olivet4
 ,a few moments1 and the path mounts    
again1 it climbs a rugged ascent1 it    
reaches a ledge of smooth rock1 and in  
an instant the whole city bursts into   
view4 ,as now the dome of the ,mosque   

,el ,aksa rises like a ghost from the   
earth before the traveller stands on the
 ledge1 so then must have risen the     
,temple ,tower2 as now the vast         
enclosure of the ,mussulman ,sanctuary1 
so then must have spread the ,temple    
,courts2 as now the gray town on its    
broken hills1 so then the magnificent   
city with its background 7long since    
vanished away7 of gardens and suburbs on
 the western plateau behind4            
,immediately below was the valley of the
 ,kedron1 here seen in its greatest     
depth1 as it joins the valley of        
,hinnom2 and thus giving full effect to 
the great peculiarity of ,jerusalem1    
seen only on its eastern side--its      
situation as of a city rising out of a  
deep abyss4 ,it is hardly possible to   
doubt that this rise and turn of the    
road 7this rocky ledge7 was the exact   
point where the multitude paused again1 
and ',he1 when ,he beheld the city1 wept
 over it4' 444 ,here the ,lord stayed   
,his onward march1 and here ,his eyes   

beheld what is still the most impressive
 view which the neighbourhood of        
,jerusalem furnishes--and the tears     
rushed forth at the sight4#bg  ,without 
dwelling longer on this splendid        
ovation1 we may only further remark1    
that had the ,redeemer's mission been on
 7the infidel theory7 a successful      
imposture1 what an opportunity now to   
have availed ,himself of that outburst  
of popular fervour1 and to have marched 
straight to take possession of the      
hereditary throne of ,david4 ,the       
populace were evidently more than ready 
to second any such attempt2 the         
,sanhedrim and ,jewish authorities must 
have trembled for the result4 ,the      
hosannas1 borne on the breeze from the  
slope of ,olivet1 could not fail to     
sound ominous of coming disaster4 ,so   
incontrovertible indeed had been the    
proof of ,lazarus' resurrection1 that   
only the most blinded bigotry could     
refuse to own in that marvellous act the
 divinity of ,jesus4 ,in addition1 too1 

to this last crowning demonstration of  
omnipotence1 there were hundreds1 we may
 well believe1 in that procession1 who1 
in different parts of ,palestine1 had   
listened to ,his gracious words1 and    
witnessed ,his gracious deeds4 ,what    
other1 what better ,messiah could they  
wish than this--combining the might of  
,godhead with the kindness and          
tenderness of a human philanthropist and
 friend8 ,is ,he to accept of the crown8
 ,nay1 by a lofty abnegation of self1   
and all selfish considerations1 ,he     
illustrates the announcement made by    
,him1 a few hours later1 in ,pilate's   
judgment-hall1 as to the leading        
characteristic of that empire ,he is to 
set up in the hearts of men--,my kingdom
 is not of this world4 ,he was1 indeed1 
one day to be hailed alike ,king of     
,zion and ,king of ,nations1 but a      
bitter baptism of blood and suffering   
had meanwhile to be undergone4 ,no      
glitter of earthly honour--no carnal    
dreams of earthly glory--would divert   

,him from ,his divine and gracious      
undertaking4 ,he would save             
others--,himself ,he would not save4    
,let us pause for a moment1 and ponder  
that significant chorus of praise which 
on ,olivet arose to the ,lord of ,glory4
 ,how interesting to think of the vast  
and varied multitude gathered around the
 ,conqueror6 ,many1 doubtless1 assembled
 from curiosity1 who had never seen ,him
 before1 and had only heard of ,his fame
 in their distant homes2 others1 from   
feelings of personal love and gratitude1
 were blending their voices in the shout
 of welcome4 ,think1 it may be1 of      
,bartimeus1 now gazing with his unsealed
 eyes on his ,divine ,deliverer4 ,think 
of ,mary ,magdalene1 her heart gushing  
at the remembrance of her own sin and   
shame1 and her adorable ,redeemer's     
pardoning and forgiving mercy6          
,nicodemus1 perhaps1 no longer seeking  
to repair by stealth1 under the shadow  
of night1 to hold a confidential        
meeting2 but in the full blaze of day1  

and before assembled ,israel1 boldly    
recognising in the ,teacher sent from   
,god the promised ,messiah1 the ,prince 
of ,peace1 the ,redeemer of ,mankind4   
,shall we think of ,lazarus too1        
fearless of his own personal safety1    
venturing to follow his guest with      
tearful eye1 the multitude gazing with  
wonder on this living trophy of death8  
,we may think of the very children1 as  
,he entered the temple1 uplifting their 
infant voices in the general            
welcome--pledges of the myriad little   
ones who1 in future ages1 were to have  
an interest in the kingdom of ,god4     
,meanwhile ,he paces through th' adoring
 crowd1      ,calm as the march of some 
majestic cloud      ,that o'er wild     
scenes of ocean war      ,holds its     
still course in ,heaven afar4         99
       99       99       99       99    
,yet in the throng of selfish hearts    
untrue1      ,his sad eye rests upon    
,his faithful few2      ,children and   
child-like souls are there1      ,blind 

,bartimeus' humble prayer2      ,and    
,lazarus1 waken'd from his four days'   
sleep1      ,enduring life again that   
,passover to keep4#bh  ,may not ,olivet 
be regarded on this occasion as a type  
of the ,church triumphant in            
,heaven--,jesus enthroned in the        
affections of a mighty multitude which  
no man can number--old and young1 great 
and small1 rich and poor--casting their 
palms of victory at ,his feet1 and      
ascribing to ,him all the glory of their
 great salvation8  ,let us ask1 have we 
received ,jesus as our ,king8--have our 
palm branches been cast at ,his feet8   
,feeling that ,he is alike willing and  
mighty to save1 have we joined in the   
rapture of praise--,blessed is ,he that 
cometh in the name of the ,lord to save 
us8 ,have our hearts become living      
temples thrown open for ,his reception8 
,is this the motto and superscription on
 their portals--,this is the gate of the
 ,lord1 into which ,,the ,,righteous    
,,one shall enter6 ,jesus refused and   

disowned none of these gratulations--,he
 spurned no voice in all that motley    
,jerusalem throng4 ,there were endless  
diversities and phases1 doubtless1 of   
human character and history there4 ,the 
once proud formalist1 the once greedy   
extortioner1 the hated tax-gatherer1 the
 rich nobleman1 the child of penury1 the
 ,roman officer1 the peasant or         
fisherman of ,galilee1 the humbled      
publican1 the woman from the city1 the  
reclaimed victim of misery and guilt6   
,all were there as types and samples of 
that diversified multitude who1 in every
 age1 were to own ,him as ,king1 and    
receive ,his gracious benediction4  ,we 
have spoken of this incident as a       
glimpse of glory before ,his sufferings4
 ,alas6 it was but a glimpse4 ,what a   
picture of the fickleness and treachery 
of the heart6--,that excited populace   
who are now shouting their hosannahs1   
are ere long to be raising the cry1     
,crucify ,him1 crucify ,him6 ,four days 
hence we shall find the palm branches   

lying withered on the ,bethany road1 and
 the blazing torches of an assassin-band
 nigh the very spot where ,he is now    
passing with an applauding retinue6     
,cease ye from man1 whose breath is in  
his nostrils4  ,it does not belong to   
our narrative to record the remaining   
transactions of this day in ,jerusalem4 
,the shades of evening find the ,saviour
 once more repairing to ,bethany4 ,the  
evangelist ,mark1 in the course of his  
narrative1 simply but touchingly        
says3--,and ,jesus entered into         
,jerusalem1 and into the temple1 and    
when ,he had looked round about upon all
 things 7the mitred priests1 the        
bleeding victims1 the costly buildings71
 and now the eventide was come1 he went 
out unto ,,bethany with the twelve4     
7,mark xi4 #aa47 ,as ,he returned to the
 sweet calm of that quiet home1 if ,he  
could not fail to think of the hours of 
darkness and agony before ,him1 could   
,he reap no joy or consolation in the   
thought1 that that very day week the    

redemption of ,his people was to be     
consummated--the glory that surrounded  
the grave and resurrection of ,lazarus  
was to be eclipsed by the marvels of    
,his own6     ,,xix4  ,,the             
,,fig-,,tree4   ,the hosannahs of       
yesterday had died away--the memorials  
of its triumph were strewed on the road 
across ,olivet--as1 early on the ,monday
 morning1 while the sun was just        
appearing above the ,mountains of ,moab1
 the ,divine ,redeemer left ,his        
,bethany retreat1 and was seen          
retraversing the well-worn path to      
,jerusalem4 ,here and there1 in the     
olive-bordered way1 were ,fig           
plantations4 ,the adjoining village of  
,bethphage derived its name from the    
,green ,fig4#bi ,indeed1 fig-trees may  
still be seen overhanging the ordinary  
road from ,jerusalem to ,bethany1       
growing out of the rocks of the solid   
mountain1 which1 by the prayer of faith1
 might 'be removed and cast into the    
7distant ,mediterranean7 ,sea4'#cj ,an  

incident connected with one of these is 
too intimately identified with the      
,redeemer's last journeys to and from   
the home of ,his friend to admit of     
exclusion from our ,bethany ,memories4  
,these memories have hitherto1 for the  
most part1 in connexion at least with   
our blessed ,lord1 been soothing1       
hallowed1 encouraging4 ,here the still  
small voice is for once broken with     
sterner accents4 ,in contrast with the  
bright background of other sunny        
pictures1 we have1 standing out in bold 
relief1 a withered1 sapless stem1       
impressively proclaiming1 in unwonted   
utterances of wrath and rebuke1 that the
 same hand is strong to smite1 which we 
have witnessed so lately in the case of 
,lazarus was strong to save4  ,the eye  
of ,jesus1 as he traversed the rocky    
path with ,his disciples1 rested on a   
,fig-tree4 7,mark xi4 #ab1 #ac47 ,it    
seems not to have been growing alone1   
but formed part of a group or plantation
 on one of the slopes or ravines of     

,olivet4 ,its appearance could not fail 
to challenge attention4 ,it was now only
 the ,passover season 7the month of     
,april72 summer--the time for ripe      
figs--was yet distant2 and as it is one 
of the peculiarities of the tree that   
the fruit appears before the leaves1 a  
considerable period1 in the ordinary    
course of nature1 ought to have elapsed 
before the foliage was matured4 ,jesus  
,himself1 it will be remembered1 on     
another occasion1 spake of the putting  
forth of the fig-tree leaves as an      
indication that summer was nigh4 ,it    
must have been1 therefore1 a strange and
 unusual sight which met the eye of the 
travellers as they gazed1 in early      
spring1 on one of these trees with its  
full complement of leaves--clad in full 
summer luxuriance4 ,while the others in 
the plantation1 true to the order of    
development1 were yet bare and leafless1
 or else the buds of spring only        
flushing them with verdure1 the broad   
leaves of this precocious 7and we may   

think at first favoured7 plant--the     
pioneer of surrounding                  
vegetation--rustled in the morning      
breeze1 and invited the passers-by to   
turn aside1 examine the marvel1 and     
pluck the fruit4  ,we may confidently   
infer that ,jesus1 as the ,omniscient   
,lord of the inanimate creation1 knew   
well that fruit there was none under    
that pretentious foliage4 ,we dare not  
suppose that ,he went expecting to find 
,figs2 far less1 that in a moment of    
disappointed hope1 ,he ventured on a    
capricious exercise of ,his power1      
uttered a hasty malediction1 and        
condemned the insensate boughs to       
barrenness and decay4 ,the first cursory
 reading of the narrative may suggest   
some such unworthy impression4 ,but we  
dismiss it at once1 as strangely at     
variance with the ,saviour's character1 
and strangely unlike ,his wonted        
actings4 ,we feel assured that ,he      
literally1 as well as figuratively1     
would not break the bruised reed1 nor   

quench the smoking flax4 ,he came1 in   
all respects1 not to destroy1 but to    
save4 ,some deep inner meaning1 not     
apparent on the surface of the inspired 
story1 must have led ,him for the moment
 to regard a tree in the light of a     
responsible agent1 and to address it in 
words of unusual severity4  ,what1 then1
 is the explanation8 ,our ,lord on this 
occasion revives the old typical or     
picture-teaching with which the ,hebrews
 were to that hour so familiar4 ,he1 as 
the greatest of prophets1 adopts the    
significant and impressive method1 not  
unfrequently employed by the ,seers of  
,israel1 who1 in uttering startling and 
solemn truths1 did so by means of       
symbolic actions4 ,as ,jeremiah of old  
dashed the potter's vessel down the     
,valley of ,hinnom1 to indicate the     
judgments that were about to befall     
,jerusalem2 or1 at another time1 wore   
around his own neck a wooden yoke1 to   
intimate their approaching bondage under
 the ,king of ,babylon2 or1 as ,isaiah  

walked naked and barefoot three years   
for a sign and wonder upon ,egypt and   
,ethiopia1 so did our ,lord now invest a
 tree in dumb nature with a prophet's   
warning voice1 and make its stripped and
 blighted boughs eloquent of a nation's 
doom6  ,on the height of their own      
,olivet1 looking down1 as it were1 on   
,jerusalem1 that fig-tree becomes a     
stern messenger of woe and vengeance to 
the whole house of ,judah4 ,often before
 had he warned by ,his words and tears2 
now ,he is to make an insignificant     
object in the outer world take up ,his  
prophecy1 and testify to the degenerate 
people at once the cause1 the           
suddenness1 and the certainty of their  
destruction6 ,let us join1 then1 the    
,master and ,his disciples1 as they     
stand on the crest above ,bethany1 and1 
gazing on that fruitless leaf-bearer1   
hear this parable of the fig-tree4#ca   
,jesus1 on approaching it 7it seemed to 
be at a little distance from their      
path71 and finding abundance of leaves1 

but no fruit thereon1 condemns it to    
perpetual sterility and barrenness4  ,a 
difficulty here occurs on the threshold 
of the narrative4 ,if1 as we have noted1
 and as ,st ,mark tells us1 the time of 
figs was not yet--why this seeming      
impatience--why this harsh sentence for 
not having what1 if found1 would have   
been unseasonable1 untimely1 abnormal8  
,in this apparent difficulty lies the   
main truth and zest of the parable4 ,the
 doom of sterility1 be it carefully     
noted1 was uttered by ,jesus1 not so    
much because of the absence of fruit1   
but because the tree1 by its premature  
display of leaves1 challenged           
expectations which a closer inspection  
did not realise4 ,it was punished1 says 
an able writer1 not for being without   
fruit1 but for proclaiming1 by the voice
 of those leaves1 that it had such4 ,not
 for being barren1 but for being        
false4#cb  ,graphic picture of boastful 
and vaunting ,israel6 ,this conspicuous 
tree1 nigh one of the frequented paths  

of ,olivet1 was no inappropriate type1  
surely1 of that nation which stood      
illustrious amid the world's            
kingdoms--exalted to heaven with        
unexampled privileges which it          
abused--proudly claiming a righteousness
 which1 when weighed in the balances1   
was found utterly wanting4 ,it mattered 
not that the heathen nations were as    
guilty1 vile1 and corrupt as the chosen 
people4 ,fig-trees were they1 too--naked
 stems1 fruitless and leafless2 but then
 they made no boastful pretensions4 ,the
 ,jews had1 in the face of the world1   
been glorying in a righteousness which1 
in reality1 was only like the foliage of
 that tree by which the ,lord and ,his  
disciples now stood--mocking the        
expectations of its owner by mere       
outward semblance and an utter absence  
of fruit4  ,the very day preceding1     
these mournful deficiencies had brought 
tears to the ,saviour's eyes--stirred   
the depths of ,his yearning heart in the
 very hour of ,his triumph4 ,he had     

looked down from the height of the      
mountain on the gilded splendours of the
 ,temple ,courts beneath2 but1 alas6 ,he
 saw that sanctimonious hypocrisy and   
self-righteous formalism had sheltered  
themselves behind clouds of incense4    
,mammon1 covetousness1 oppression1      
fraud1 were rising like strange fire    
from these defiled altars6  ,he turns   
the tears of yesterday into an          
expressive and enduring parable to-day6 
,he approaches a luxuriant ,fig-tree1   
boasting great things among its fellows1
 and thus through it ,he addresses a    
doomed city and devoted land1--,o ,house
 of ,israel1 ,he seems to say1 ,i have  
come up for the last time to your       
highest and most ancient festival4 ,you 
stand forth in the midst of the nations 
of the earth clothed in rich verdure4   
,you retain intact the splendour of your
 ancestral ritual4 ,you boast of your   
rigid adherence to its outward          
ceremonial1 the punctilious observance  
of your fasts and feasts4 ,but ,i have  

found that it is but 'a name to live4'  
,you sinfully ignore 'the weightier     
matters of the law1 judgment1 justice1  
and mercy6' ,you call out as you tread  
that gorgeous fane--',the ,temple of the
 ,lord6 ,the ,temple of the ,lord6 ,the 
,temple of the ,lord are we6' ,you      
forget that your hearts are the ,temple 
,i prize6 ,holiness1 the most acceptable
 incense--love to ,god1 and love to man1
 the most pleasing sacrifice4 ,all that 
dead and torpid formalism--that mockery 
of outward foliage--is to me nothing4   
',your new moons and ,sabbaths--the     
calling of assemblies--,i cannot away   
with2 it is iniquity even the solemn    
meeting4' ,these are only as the        
whitewash of your sepulchres to hide the
 loathsomeness within--'the rottenness  
and dead men's bones6' ,if you had made 
no impious pretensions1 ,i would not1   
peradventure1 have dealt so sternly with
 you4 ,if like the other trees you had  
confessed your nakedness1 and stood with
 your leafless stems1 waiting for summer

 suns1 and dews1 and rains1 to fructify 
you1 and to bring your fruit to         
perfection--all well2 but you have      
sought to mock and deceive me by your   
falsity1 and thus precipitated the doom 
of the cumberer4 ',henceforth1 let no   
man eat fruit of thee for ever6'  ,the  
unconscious ,tree listened6 ,one night  
only passed1 and the morrow found it    
with drooping leaf and blighted stem6   
,on yonder mountain crest it stood1 as a
 sign between heaven and earth of       
impending judgment4 ,eighteen hundred   
years have taken up its                 
parable--fearfully authenticated the    
averments of the ,august ,speaker6      
,israel1 a bared1 leafless1 sapless     
trunk1 testifies to this hour1 before   
the nations1 that heaven and earth may  
pass away1 but ,god's words will not    
pass away6#cc  ,but does the parable    
stop here8 ,was there no voice but for  
the ear of ,judah and ,jerusalem8 ,have 
we no part in these solemn monitions8   
,ah6 be assured1 as ,jesus dealt with   

nations so will ,he deal with           
individuals4 ,this parable-miracle      
solemnly speaks to all who have only a  
name to live--the foliage of outward    
profession--but who are destitute of the
 fruits of righteousness4 ,it is not    
neglecters or despisers--the            
careless--the infidel--the scorner--our 
,lord here addresses4 ,he deals with    
such elsewhere4 ,it is rather vaunting  
hypocrites--wearing the garb of         
religion--the trappings and dress of    
outward devotion to conceal their inward
 pollution2 like the ivy1 screening from
 view by garlands of fantastic          
beauty--wreaths of loveliest green--the 
mouldering trunk or loathsome ruin6 ,we 
may well believe none are more obnoxious
 to a holy ,saviour than such4 ,he      
7,incarnate ,,truth7 would rather have  
the naked stem than the counterfeit     
blossom4 ,he would rather have no gold  
than be mocked with tinsel and base     
alloy6 ,i would1 says ,he1 speaking to  
one of ,his ,churches at a later time1  

,i would thou wert cold or hot4 ,he     
would rather a man openly avowed his    
enmity than that he should come in      
disguise1 with a traitor-heart1 among   
the ranks of ,his people4 ,oh that all  
such ungodly boasters and pretenders    
would bear in mind1 that not only do    
they inflict harm on themselves1 but    
they do infinite damage to the ,church  
of ,god4 ,they lower the standard of    
godliness4 ,like that worthless         
,fig-tree1 they help to hide out from   
others the glorious sunlight4 ,they     
intercept from others the refreshing    
dews of heaven4 ,they absorb in their   
leaves the rains as they fall4 ,many a  
tuft of tiny moss1 many a lowly plant at
 their feet1 is pining and withering1   
which1 but for them1 would be bathing   
its tints in sunshine1 and filling the  
air with balmy fragrance6  ,solemn1     
then1 ought to be the question with     
every one of us--every ,fig-tree in the 
,lord's plantation--,how does it stand  
with me8 am ,i now bringing forth fruit 

to ,god8 for remember what we are ,,now1
 will fix what we shall be when our     
,lord shall come on the ,great ,day of  
,scrutiny6 ,we are forming now for      
,eternity2 settling down and            
consolidating in the great mould which  
ultimately will determine our           
everlasting state2 fruitless now1 we    
shall be fruitless then4 ,the principle 
in the future retribution is thus laid  
down--,he that is unjust1 let him be    
unjust still2 and he which is filthy1   
let him be filthy still4 ,the demand and
 scrutiny of ,jesus will on that day be1
 not what is the number of your leaves1 
the height of your stem1 the extent of  
your branches8 not whether you have     
grown on the wayside or in the forest1  
been nurtured in solitude or in a crowd1
 on the mountain-height or in the lowly 
valley3 all will resolve itself into the
 one question--,where is your fruit8    
,what evidence is there that you have   
profited by ,my admonitions1 listened to
 ,my voice1 and accepted ,my salvation8 

,where are your proofs of love to       
,myself1 delight in ,my service1        
obedience to ,my will8 ,where are the   
sins you have crucified1 the sacrifices 
you have made1 the new principles you   
have nurtured1 the amiability and love  
and kindness and generosity and         
unselfishness which have supplanted and 
superseded baser affections8 ,see that  
the leaves of outward profession be not 
a snare to you4 ,you may be lulling     
yourselves to sleep with delusive       
opiates4 ,you may be making these false 
coverings an apology for resisting the  
putting on of the armour of light4 ,one 
has no difficulty in persuading the     
tenant of a wretched hovel to consent to
 have his mud-hut taken down2 but the   
man who has the walls of his dwelling   
hung with gaudy drapery1 it is hard to  
persuade him that his house is worthless
 and his foundation insecure4 ,think not
 that privileges or creeds1 or          
church-sect or church-membership1 or the
 ,shibboleth of party will save you4 ,it

 is to the heart that ,god looks4 ,if   
the inner spirit be right1 the outer    
conduct will be fruitful in             
righteousness4 ,make it not your        
worthless ambition to ,,appear to be    
holy1 but be holy6 ,live not a dying    
life--that blank existence which brings 
neither glory to ,god nor good to men4  
,seek that while you live1 the world may
 be the better for you1 and when you die
 the world may miss you4 ,unlike the    
pretentious tree in our parable-text1 be
 it yours rather to have the nobler     
character and recompense1 so beautifully
 delineated under a similar figure three
 thousand years ago--,he shall be like a
 tree planted by the rivers of water1   
that bringeth forth his fruit in his    
season4 ,his leaf1 also1 shall not      
wither1 and whatsoever he doeth shall   
prosper4#cd  ,let us further learn1 from
 this solemn and impressive miracle1 how
 true ,christ is to ,his word4 ,we think
 of ,him as true to ,his promises1 do we
 think of ,him1 also1 as true to ,his   

threatenings8 ,judgment1 indeed1 is ,his
 strange work4 ,amid a multitude of     
other prodigies already performed by    
,him1 this cursing of the fig-tree      
formed the alone exception to ,his      
miracles of mercy4#ce ,all the others   
were proofs and illustrations of        
beneficence1 compassion1 love4 ,but ,he 
seems to interpose this ,,one1 in case  
we should forget1 in the affluence of   
benignity and kindness1 that the same   
,god1 whose name and memorial is        
merciful and gracious1 has solemnly     
added that ,he can by no means clear the
 guilty4 ,he would have us to remember  
that there is a point beyond which even 
,his love cannot go1 when the voice of  
ineffable ,goodness must melt and merge 
into tones of stern wrath and vengeance4
 ,the guilty may1 for the brief earthly 
hour of their impenitence1 affect to    
despise ,his divine warnings1 laugh to  
scorn ,his solemn expostulations4       
,sentence may not be executed speedily2 
amazing patience may ward off the       

descending blow4 ,they may1 from the    
very forbearance of ,jesus1 take impious
 encouragement to defy ,his threats1 and
 rush swifter to their own destruction4 
,but come ,he will and must to assert   
,his claims as ,he that is ,,holy1 ,he  
that is ,,true4 ,the disciples1 on the  
present occasion1 heard the voice of    
their ,master4 ,they gazed on the doomed
 ,fig-tree1 but there seemed at the     
moment to be no visible change on its   
leaves4 ,as they took their final glance
 ere passing on their way1 no blight    
seemed to descend1 no worm to prey on   
its roots4 ,the fowls of ,heaven may    
have appeared soaring in the sky1 eager 
to nestle as before on its branches1 and
 to bathe their plumage on the dew-drops
 that drenched its foliage4 ,but was the
 word of ,jesus in vain8 ,did that      
fig-tree take up a responsive parable1  
and say1 ,who made ,thee a ruler and a  
judge over me8  ,the ,lord and ,his     
apostles passed the place a few hours   
afterwards on their return to           

,bethany4#cf ,but though the ,passover  
moon was shining on their path1 the     
darkness1 and perhaps the distance from 
the highway1 veiled from their view the 
too truthful doom to be revealed in     
morning light4 ,as the dawn of day      
7,tuesday7 finds them once more on their
 road to ,jerusalem1 the eyes of the    
disciples wander towards the spot to see
 whether the words of yesterday have    
proved to be indeed solemn verities4    
,one glance is enough6 ,there it stands 
in impressive memorial4 ,one night had  
done the work4 ,no desert simoom1 if it 
had passed over it1 could have effected 
it more thoroughly4 ,its leaves were    
shrivelled1 its sap dried1 its glory    
gone4 ,ever and anon afterwards1 as the 
disciples crossed the mountain1 and as  
they gazed on this silent preacher1 they
 would be reminded that ,jehovah-,jesus1
 their loving ,master1 was not a man    
that ,he should lie1 nor the son of man 
that he should repent4  ,ah6 ,reader1   
learn from all this1 that the wrathful  

utterances of the ,saviour are no idle  
threats4 ,he means what ,he says6 ,he is
 the ,faithful and ,true witness2 and   
though mercy and truth go continually   
before ,his face1 justice and judgment  
are the habitation of ,his throne4 ,you 
may be scorning ,his message--lulling   
yourself into a dream of guilty         
indifference4 ,you may see in ,his daily
 dealings no sign or symbol of coming   
retribution2 you may be echoing the old 
challenge of the presumptuous           
scoffer--,where is the promise of ,his  
coming8 ,the fig leaves may have lost   
none of their verdure--the sky may be   
unfretted by one vengeful cloud--nature1
 around you1 may be hushed and still4   
,you can hear no footsteps of wrath2 you
 may be even tempted at times to think  
that all is a dream--that credulity has 
suffered itself to be duped by a        
counterfeit tale of superstitious       
terror6 ,or if1 in better moments1 you  
awake to a consciousness of the ,bible  
averments being stern realities1 your   

next subterfuge is to trust to that rope
 of sand to which thousands have clung1 
to the wreck of their eternities--an    
indefinite dreamy hope in the final     
mercy of ,god6 that on the ,great ,day  
the threatenings of ,jesus will undergo 
some modification2 that ,he will not    
carry out to the very letter the full   
weight of ,his denunciations2 that the  
arm which love nailed to the cross of   
,calvary will sheathe the sword of      
avenging retribution1 and proclaim a    
universal amnesty to the thronging      
myriads at ,his tribunal6  ,nay6 ,o man1
 who art thou that repliest against     
,god8 ,come to the fig-tree over against
 ,bethany1 and let it be a dumb         
attesting witness to the ,saviour's     
unswerving and immutable truthfulness6  
,or1 passing from the sign to the thing 
symbolised1 behold that nation which    
,god has for eighteen centuries set up  
in the world as a monument of ,his      
undeviating adherence to ,his ,word4    
,see how1 in their case1 to the letter  

,he has fulfilled ,his threatenings4 ,is
 not this fulfillment intended as an    
awful foreshadowing of eternal verities3
 if ,he has spared not the natural      
branches1 thinkest thou ,he will spare  
thee8 ,if these things were done in the 
green tree1 what will be done in the    
dry8  ,mourners6 ,you for whose comfort 
these pages are specially designed1 is  
there no lesson of consolation to be    
drawn from this solemn memory8 ,jesus   
smote down that fig-tree--blasted and   
blighted it4 ,never again did ,he come  
to seek fruit on it4 ,ten thousand other
 buds in the ,fig-forest around were    
opening their fragrant lips to drink in 
the refreshing dews of spring2 but the  
curse of perpetual sterility rested on  
this6  ,he has smitten you also1 but it 
is only to heal6 ,he has bared your     
branches--stripped you of your          
verdure--broken your staff and your     
beautiful rod2 but the pruning hook has 
been used to promote the ,vigour of the 
tree2 to lop off the redundant branches1

 and open the stems to the gladsome     
sunlight4 ,murmur not6 ,remember1 but   
for these loppings of affliction you    
might have effloresced into the rank    
luxuriant growth of mere external       
profession4 ,you might have rested      
satisfied with the outward display of   
,religiousness1 without the fruits of   
true ,religion4 ,you might have lived   
and died unproductive cumberers1        
deceiving others and deceiving          
yourselves4 ,but ,he would not suffer   
you to linger in this state of worthless
 barrenness4 ,oh6 better far1 surely1   
these severest cuttings and incisions of
 the pruning knife1 than to listen to   
the stern words--,ephraim is joined to  
his idols1 let him alone6 ,it is the    
most terrible of all judgments when ,god
 leaves a sinner undisturbed in his     
sinfulness--abandons him to the fruit of
 his own ways1 and to be filled with his
 own devices2 until1 like a tree        
impervious to moistening dews and       
fructifying heat1 he dwarfs and dwindles

 into the last hopeless stage of        
spiritual decay and death6  ,if ye      
endure chastening1 ,god dealeth with you
 as with sons2 for what son is he whom  
the ,father chasteneth not8  ,he purgeth
 it 7pruneth it71 that it may bring     
forth ,,more ,,fruit4     ,,xx4         
,,closing ,,hours4   ,the evenings of   
the two succeeding days seem to have    
closed around our adorable ,lord at     
,,bethany4 ,we may still follow ,him in 
imagination1 in the mellow twilight1 as 
,he and ,his disciples crossed the      
bridle-path of the holy mountain from   
,jerusalem to the house and village of  
,his friend4  ,much has changed since   
then2 but the great features of         
unvarying nature retain their           
imperishable outlines1 so that what     
still arrests the view of the modern    
traveller1 in crossing the ,mount of    
,olives1 we know must have formed the   
identical landscape spread out before   
the eyes of the ,incarnate ,redeemer4   
,it is more than allowable1 therefore1  

to appropriate the words of the same    
trustworthy recent spectator1 from whose
 pages we have already quoted1 as       
presenting a truthful and veritable     
picture of what the ,saviour then saw4  
,from almost every point in the journey1
 there would be visible the long purple 
wall of the ,moab mountains1 rising out 
of its unfathomable depths2 these       
mountains would then have almost the    
effect of a distant view of the sea1 the
 hues constantly changing2 this or that 
precipitous rock coming out clear in the
 evening shade--there the form of what  
may possibly be ,pisgah1 dimly shadowed 
out by surrounding valleys--here the    
point of ,kerak1 the capital of ,moab1  
and future fortress of the              
,crusaders--and then1 at times all wrapt
 in deep haze1 the mountains overhanging
 the valley of the shadow of death1 all 
the more striking from their contrast   
with the gray or green colours of the   
hills through which a glimpse was caught
 of them4#cg         99       99        

99       99       99  ,we have no       
recorded incidents in connexion with    
these two nights at ,bethany4 ,we are   
left only to realise in thought the     
refreshment alike for body and spirit   
our ,lord enjoyed4 ,exhausted with the  
fatigues of each day1 and the advancing 
storm-cloud ready to burst on ,his      
devoted head1 we may well imagine how   
grateful repose would be in the old     
homestead of congenial friendship4  ,the
 last evening ,he spent at the          
,palm-clad ,village must in many ways   
have been full of sorrowing thoughts4   
,he had1 in the afternoon1 on ,his      
return from ,jerusalem1 when seated with
 his disciples over against the ,temple1
 gazing on its doomed magnificence1 been
 discoursing on the appalling desolation
 which awaited that loved and           
time-honoured sanctuary4 ,this had led  
,him to the more sublime and terrific   
theme of a ,day of ,judgment4 ,not only 
did ,he foresee the grievous obduracy of
 ,his own infatuated countrymen1 but    

,his ,omniscient eye1 travelling down to
 the consummation of all things1 wept   
over the fate of myriads1 who1 in spite 
of atoning love and mercy1 were to      
despise and perish4  ,he left the       
threshold1 consecrated so oft by ,his   
,pilgrim steps1 on the ,thursday of that
 week1 not to return again till death   
had numbered ,him among its victims4 ,on
 that same morning ,he had sent ,his    
disciples into the city to make         
preparation for the keeping of the      
,passover ,supper4 ,he ,himself         
followed1 probably towards the          
afternoon1 and joined them in the ,upper
 room1 where1 after celebrating for the 
last time the old ,jewish rite1 he      
instituted the ,new ,testament memorial 
of ,his own dying love4 ,supper being   
ended1 the disciples1 probably1         
contemplated nothing but a return1 as on
 preceding evenings1 by their old route 
to ,bethany4 ,singing their paschal     
hymn1 they descended the ,jehoshaphat   
ravine1 by the side of the ,temple4 ,the

 brook ,kedron was crossed1 and they are
 once more on the ,bethany path4 ,they  
have reached ,gethsemane2 their ,master 
retires into the depths of the olive    
grove1 as was often ,his wont1 to hold  
secret communion with ,his ,father4 ,but
 the crisis-hour has at last arrived6   
,the ,shepherd is about to be smitten1  
and the sheep to be scattered6 ,rude    
hands arrest ,him on ,his way4 ,in vain 
shall ,lazarus and his sisters wait for 
their expected ,lord6 ,for ,him that    
night there is no voice of earthly      
comforter--no couch of needed           
rest2--when the shadows of darkness have
 gathered around ,bethany1 and the pale 
passover moon is lighting up its        
palm-trees1 the ,lord of glory is       
standing buffetted and insulted in the  
hall of ,annas4  ,the ,remembrances of  
,bethany are here absorbed and          
overshadowed for a time by the darker   
memories of ,gethsemane and ,calvary4   
,jesus may1 indeed1 afterwards revisit  
the loved haunt of former friendship2   

but meanwhile ,he is first to accomplish
 that glorious ,decease1 but for which  
the world could never have had on its   
surface one ,bethany-home of love1 or   
been cheered by one ray of happiness or 
hope4  ,in vain do we try to picture1 as
 we revert to the peaceful ,village1 the
 feelings of ,lazarus1 ,martha1 and     
,mary on that day of ignominious        
crucifixion6 where they were--how they  
were employed6 ,can we imagine that they
 could linger behind1 unconcerned1 in   
their dwelling1 when their ,best ,friend
 was in the hands of ,his murderers8 ,we
 cannot think so4 ,we may rather well   
believe that among the tearful eyes of  
the weeping women that followed the     
innocent ,victim along the ,dolorous    
way1 not the least anguished were the   
two ,bethany mourners2 and that as ,he  
hung upon the cross1 and ,his languid   
eye saw here and there a faithful friend
 lingering around him while disciples   
had fled1 ,lazarus would be among the   
few who soothed and smoothed that awful 

death-pillow6 ,perhaps even when death  
had sealed ,his eyes1 and faithless     
apostles gave vent to their feelings of 
hopeless despondency1 ,we trusted it had
 been ,he who should have redeemed      
,israel1 the family of ,bethany would   
recollect how oft ,he had spoken of this
 very hour of darkness and bereavement  
which had now come2 ,mary would1 in     
trembling emotion1 7in connexion with   
the humble token of her own gratitude   
and affection17 remember the words of   
the ,lord ,jesus1 how ,he said1 ,let her
 alone1 against the day of my burying   
hath she done this4  ,we need not pursue
 these thoughts4 ,we may well believe1  
however1 that when the first day of the 
week had come--and the glad announcement
 spread from disciple to disciple1 ,the 
,lord is risen indeed1--on no home in   
,judea would the tidings fall more      
welcome than on that of ,lazarus of     
,bethany4 ,martha and ,mary had1 a few  
weeks before1 experienced the happiness 
of a restored ,brother4 ,now it was that

 of a restored ,saviour6 ,whether ,he   
revisited these1 ,his former friends1   
the days immediately after ,his         
resurrection1 we cannot tell4 ,it is    
more than probable ,he would4 ,may not  
some hallowed unrecorded ,memories of   
,bethany be included in the closing     
words of ,john's gospel--,there are also
 many ,,other things which ,jesus did8  
,on the way to ,emmaus ,he joined       
,himself to two disciples1 and caused   
their hearts to burn within them as ,he 
talked by the way4 ,so may ,he not have 
joined ,himself to the friends with whom
 ,he had so oft held sacred intercourse 
during the days of ,his                 
humiliation--breathing on them ,his     
benediction1 and discoursing of those   
covenant blessings which ,he had died to
 purchase1 and which ,he was about to   
bestow1 set as king on ,his holy hill of
 ,zion4 ,with what a new and glorious   
meaning to ,martha must her ,saviour's  
words have now been invested1 ,i am the 
,resurrection and the ,life--he that    

believeth on ,me1 though he were dead1  
yet shall he live4  ,as the ,god-man1   
,he had power over her brother's        
life--,he had now demonstrated that ,he 
had power over ,his own2--power not only
 to lay it down1 but power to take it up
 again4 ,her ,lord had spoken once1 yea 
twice had she heard this1 that power    
belongeth unto ,god4  ,the ,grave of    
,bethany was thus in her eyes           
inseparably connected with the grave at 
,golgotha4 ,but for the rolling away of 
the stone from a more august sepulchre1 
her brother must still have been        
slumbering in the embrace of death4 ,but
 now had ,christ risen from the dead1   
and become the first-fruits of them that
 slept4  ,the ,almighty ,reaper had     
risen ,himself from the tomb1 with the  
sharp sickle in ,his hand4 ,in the      
person of ,his dearest earthly friend   
,he presented an earnest-sheaf of the   
great ,resurrection-reaping-time--when  
the mandate was to be carried to the    
four winds of heaven1 ,put ye in the    

sickle1 for the harvest is              
ripe2--,multitudes--multitudes in the   
,valley of ,decision4  ,can we          
participate in the joy of the family of 
,,bethany8 ,have we1 like them1 followed
 ,christ to ,his cross and ,his tomb1   
and listened to the angelic             
announcement1 ,he is not here1 ,he is   
risen8 ,have we seen in ,his death the  
secret of our life8 ,have we beheld ,him
 as the ,great ,precursor emerging from 
,hades1 and shewing to ransomed millions
 the purchased path of life--the        
luminous highway to glory8 ,let our     
hearts be as ,bethany dwellings1 to     
welcome in a dying risen ,jesus4 ,let us
 not expel ,him from our souls by our   
sins--crucifying the ,lord afresh1 and  
putting ,him to an open shame4 ,let not 
,god's restoring mercies be1 as1 alas6  
often they are to us1                   
unsanctified2--receiving back our       
,lazarus from the brink of the tomb1 but
 refusing1 on the return of health and  
prosperity1 to share in bearing our     

,lord's cross--to go forth with ,him    
without the camp--bearing ,his reproach4
 ,if ,he has delivered our souls from   
death1 and our eyes from tears1 be it   
ours to follow ,him through good and    
through bad report4 ,not alone amid the 
hosannahs of ,his people1 or amid the   
world's bright sunshine1 but1 if need   
be1 to confront suffering1 and trial1   
and death for ,his sake4 ,like the      
,bethany family1 let us mourn ,his      
absence1 and long for ,his return4 ,it  
is but for a little while we shall not  
see ,him--again a little while and we   
shall see ,him4 ,oh1 blessed day6 when  
the words of the old prophet will start 
once more into fulfilment1 and a voice  
from ,heaven will thus address a waiting
 ,church--,rejoice1 ,o daughter of      
,zion1 behold thy ,king cometh6 ,he     
cometh6--but it is now with no badges of
 humiliation--with no anticipations of  
sorrow and woe to mar that hour of      
glory4 ,his head shall be crowned with  
many crowns--all ,his saints with ,him  

to share ,his triumph and enter into    
,his joy4 ,may we be enabled to look    
forward to that blessed season when1    
arrayed in white robes1 with golden     
crowns on our heads1 and palms of       
victory in our hands1 these shall be    
cast at ,his feet1 and the feeble       
,hosannahs of time shall be lost and    
merged in the rapturous ,hallelujahs of 
eternity6     ,,xxi4  ,,the ,,last      
,,visit4   ,what saddening thoughts are 
associated with our final interview with
 a ,beloved ,friend6 ,he was in health  
when we last met2 we little dreamt1 in  
parting1 we were to meet no more4 ,every
 circumstance of that interview is      
stored up in the most hallowed chambers 
of the soul4 ,his last words--his last  
look--his last smile--they live there in
 undying memorial6 ,such was now the    
case with the disciples4 ,they had their
 last walk together with their beloved  
,master4 ,ere another sun goes down over
 the western hills of ,jerusalem ,he    
will have returned from ,his consummated

 ,work to the bosom of ,his ,father6    
,and what is the spot which he selects  
as the place of ,ascension8--,what the  
favoured height or valley that is to    
listen to ,his farewell words8 ,still it
 is ,,bethany--the loved home of        
cherished friendship1 where1 so lately1 
hours of anticipated anguish had been   
mitigated and soothed4 ,the spot which1 
above all others1 had been witness to   
,his tears and ,his ,omnipotence1 is    
selected as that from which1 or near to 
which1 ,he is to bid adieu to his       
sorrowing ,church on earth4 ,although   
there seem to be no special reasons for 
this selection1 we cannot think it was  
altogether undesigned or insignificant4 
,our ,lord was still                    
,,man--participating in every tender    
feeling of our common nature2 and just  
as many are known in life to express a  
partiality for the place of their       
departure1 where they would desire their
 last hours to be spent1 or for the     
sepulchre or churchyard where they would

 prefer their ashes to be laid2--so may 
we not imagine the ,saviour1 reverting  
in these1 ,his last hours1 to the       
hallowed memories of that hallowed      
village1 wishful that ,he might ascend  
to heaven within view1 at least1 of the 
spot ,he loved so well8  ,whether this  
be the true explanation or no1 we are   
called now to follow ,him1 in thought1  
from ,his concluding visit in ,jerusalem
 to the scene of ,ascension4 ,we may    
imagine it1 in all likelihood1 the early
 dawn of day4 ,the grey mists of morning
 were still hovering over the           
,jehoshaphat valley1 as for the last    
time he descended the well-known path4  
,he must have crossed the brook         
,,kedron--that brook which had so oft   
before murmured in ,his ear during      
night-seasons of deep sorrow--,he must  
have passed by ,,gethsemane--the thick  
,olives pendant with dew1 the shadows of
 early day still brooding over them4    
,their gloomy vistas must have recalled 
terrible hours1 when the sod underneath 

was moistened with great drops of blood4
 ,can we dare to imagine ,his sensations
 and feelings when passing now8 ,would  
they not be the same as that of every   
,christian still1 while passing through 
memories of trial1 ,it was good for me  
to be here8 ,had ,he dashed untasted to 
the ground1 the cup which in the depths 
of that awful solitude ,he had grasped  
six weeks before1 ,his work would have  
been undone--a world yet unsaved6 ,but  
,he shrunk not from that baptism of     
blood and suffering4 ,gethsemane can now
 be gazed upon as a place of triumph4   
,his ,omniscient eye1 as ,he now skirts 
its precincts1 connects its awful       
struggles with the ,redemption and joy  
of ransomed myriads through all         
eternity4 ,he has the first realising   
earnest of the prophet's words1--,seeing
 of the fruit of the travail of ,his    
soul1 ,he is satisfied4  ,but vain is it
 to conjecture feelings and emotions    
unrecorded4 ,it would1 doubtless1 not be
 on ,himself the ,great ,redeemer would1

 in these waning hours of earthly       
communion1 chiefly dwell4 ,they would   
rather be occupied in preparing the     
hearts of the sorrowful band around ,him
 for ,his approaching departure4 ,he    
would unfold to them the glorious       
conquests which1 in ,his name1 they were
 on earth to achieve1 as ,his           
standard-bearers and apostles1 and the  
ineffable bliss awaiting them in that   
,heaven whither ,he was about to ascend 
as their ,forerunner and ,precursor4 ,it
 must indeed have been to them a season 
of severe and bitter trial6 ,they had in
 their hearts a full and tender         
impression--a gushing recollection of   
three years' unvarying kindness and     
affection--sorrows soothed--burdens     
eased--ingratitude overlooked--treachery
 forgiven4 ,many others they could only 
think of in connexion with altered tones
 and changed affection4 ,he was ever the
 same6 ,but the sad day has really come 
when they are to be parted for time6 ,no
 more tender counsels in difficulty1--no

 more gentle rebukes in waywardness1--no
 more joyous surprises1 as on the shores
 of ,tiberias1 or the road to ,emmaus1  
when1 with joyful lips1 they would      
exclaim1--,it is the ,lord6 ,this dream 
of blissful intercourse1 like a         
meteor-flash1 was about to be quenched  
in darkness4 ,their ,lord was to depart1
 and long1 long centuries were to elapse
 ere ,his gracious face was to be seen  
again6  ,whether1 in this ever-memorable
 walk to the place of ,ascension1 the   
,adorable ,redeemer visited the village 
of ,bethany1 we cannot tell4 ,it is     
possible--it is more than possible--,he 
may have honoured the home of ,lazarus  
with a farewell benediction2 but this we
 can only conjecture4 ,all the notice we
 have regarding it is3 that ,he led them
 out as far as to ,bethany2 that ,he    
there lifted up ,his hands and blessed  
them2 and was from thence taken up to   
,heaven4#ch ,honoured hamlet6 thus to be
 alone mentioned in connexion with the  
closing scene in this mighty drama6 ,he 

selected not ,bethlehem1 where angel    
hosts had chanted ,his praise2 nor      
,tabor1 where celestial beings had      
hovered around ,him in homage2 nor      
,calvary1 where riven rocks and bursting
 grave-stones had proclaimed ,his deity2
 nor the ,temple-court1 in all its      
sumptuous glory1 where for ages ,his own
 ,shekinah had blazed in mystic         
splendour2 but ,he hallows afresh the   
name of a lowly ,village2 ,he           
consecrates a ,home of love4 ,,bethany  
is the last spot which lingers on ,his  
view1 as the cloud comes down and       
receives ,him out of sight4  ,let us    
gather for a little in imagination on   
this sacred ground4 ,let us note a few  
of the interesting thoughts which       
cluster around it1 and listen to the    
,saviour's farewell themes of converse  
there with ,his beloved disciples4      
7#a47 ,he cheers their hearts with the  
promised baptism of the ,holy           
,ghost4--,john1 ,he had said1 a few     
hours before1 at ,his last meeting with 

them in ,jerusalem1 truly baptized with 
water2 but ye shall be baptized with the
 ,holy ,ghost not many days hence4#ci   
,he1 moreover1 enjoined them to linger  
in the ,holy ,city1 and wait this       
promise of the ,father which they had   
heard of ,him2 and now1 once more1 when 
on the eve of ,ascension1 ,he speaks of 
the coming of the same ,holy ,ghost to  
qualify them for their future work4#dj  
,this1 we know1 was the great topic of  
consolation with which ,he had often    
before soothed their hearts at the      
thought of parting4 ,he was to leave    
them2--but an ,almighty ,paraclete or   
,comforter was to take ,his place1 whose
 gracious presence would more than      
compensate for the withdrawal of ,his   
own4 ,for when1 on the intimation of    
,his coming departure1 ,he observed that
 sorrow was filling their hearts--,it is
 expedient1 said ,he1 for you that ,i go
 away3 for if ,i go not away1 the       
,comforter will not come unto you2 but  
if ,i depart1 ,i will send him unto     

you4#da  ,now that the anticipated hour 
is come1 ,he reverts to the same        
omnipotent ground of comfort2--that this
 ,divine ,enlightener1 ,cheerer1        
,sanctifier1 would fill up the gap ,his 
own withdrawal would make4 ,they were   
about to enter on a new                 
dispensation--the dispensation of the   
,,spirit--and the approaching ,pentecost
 was to give them a pledge and earnest  
of ,his mighty agency in the conversion 
of souls4  ,jesus1 our adorable ,lord1  
has ascended to ,his ,father and our    
,father--to ,his ,god and our ,god6 ,we1
 like the disciples1 have to mourn the  
denial of ,his personal presence4 ,his  
,church is left widowed and lonely by   
reason of ,his departure4 ,but have we  
known1 in our experience1 the value of  
the great compensating boon here spoken 
of8 ,have we known1 in the midst of our 
weakness and wants1 our griefs and      
sorrows1 the power and grace of the     
promised ,paraclete8 ,it is to be feared
 we do not realise or value ,his blessed

 agency as we ought4 ,to what is much of
 the deadness1 and dullness1 and languor
 of our frames to be traced--the poverty
 of our faith1 the lukewarmness of our  
love1 the coldness of our ,sabbath      
services1 the little hold and influence 
of divine things upon us8 ,is it not to 
the feeble realisation of the           
quickening1 life-giving power of this   
,divine ,agent8 ,it is the ,spirit that 
quickeneth4 ,church of the living ,god6 
if you would awake from your slumber and
 apathy2 if you would exhibit among your
 members more faithfulness1 more zeal1  
more love1 more unselfishness1 more     
union--if you would buckle on your      
armour for fresh conquests in the       
outlying wastes of heathenism1 it will  
be by a fresh baptism of the ,holy      
,ghost6 ,another ,pentecost will usher  
in the ,millennial morning4 ,the showers
 of ,his benign influences will form the
 prelude to the world's great ,spiritual
 ,harvest4 ,pray ye1 then1 the ,lord of 
the ,harvest1 that ,his ,spirit may come

 down like rain upon the mown grass1 and
 as showers that water the earth1 and   
that the promise regarding the          
latter-day glory may be fulfilled--,i   
will pour down ,my ,spirit upon all     
flesh4 ,or would you have ,jesus made   
more precious to your own soul8 ,would  
you see more of ,his matchless          
excellences1--the glories of ,his person
 and work1--,his suitableness and       
adaptation to all the wants and         
weaknesses1 the sorrows and temptations1
 of your tried and tempted natures4     
,pray for this gracious ,unfolder of the
 ,saviour's character4 ,this is one of  
,his most precious offices--as the      
,revealer of ,jesus4 ,he shall glorify  
,me2 for ,he shall receive of ,mine1 and
 shall shew it unto you6#db  7#b47      
,another theme of ,christ's converse1   
when within sight of ,bethany1 was the  
nature of ,his ,kingdom--,lord1 wilt    
thou at this time restore again the     
kingdom of ,israel8 was the inquiry of  
the disciples4 ,and he said unto them1  

,it is not for you to know the times or 
the seasons which the ,father hath put  
in ,his own power4#dc  ,the thoughts of 
,his followers were clinging to the last
 to the dream of earthly sovereignty4   
,how difficult it is to get even the    
renewed and regenerated mind to         
understand and realise ,heavenly things1
 and to wean it from what is of the     
earth earthy6 ,he checks their          
presumption--,he tells them these are   
questions which they may not pry into4  
,there is to be no present fulfilment of
 these visions of millennial glory4     
,that day and that hour are to be wrapt 
in unrevealed and impenetrable secrecy4 
,the ,church may not attempt rashly and 
inquisitively to lift the veil4 ,she is 
not to know the time of the ,saviour's  
appearing1 that she may live every day  
in the frame she would wish to be found 
in when the cry shall be heard1 ,behold 
the ,bridegroom cometh4 ,the apostolic  
band are1 in the first instance1 to be  
cross-bearers1 as ,he their ,master     

was1--witnesses to ,his sufferings1     
earthen vessels1 defamed1 persecuted1   
reviled1--before they become partakers  
of ,his purchased happiness and bliss6  
,nevertheless1 it was a grand and       
glorious mission ,he sketched out for   
them4 ,how worthy of ,,himself--of his  
loving1 forgiving1 unselfish            
,spirit--was the opening clause in that 
wondrous ,missionary ,charter ,he then  
put into their hands4 ,even at the      
moment when all the memory of ,jewish   
ingratitude was fresh on ,his heart1 ,he
 inserts a wondrous provision of mercy  
and grace4 ,they were to proclaim ,his  
name through the wide world2 but was    
,,jerusalem 7the scene of ,his ignominy7
 to form an exception8 ,nay1 rather they
 were to begin there6 ,the              
,gospel-,trumpet was to be sounded in   
its streets4 ,the assassins of          
,gethsemane1 the murderers of ,calvary  
were to listen to the first offers of   
pardon and reconciliation--,and ,he said
 unto them 444 that repentance and      

remission of sins should be preached in 
,his name among all nations1 beginning  
at ,jerusalem6 ,precious warrant1       
surely1 are these words to the chief of 
sinners to repair to this gracious      
,saviour4 ,if even for the ,jerusalem   
sinner there is mercy1 can there be     
ground for one human being to despair8  
,but beginning at ,jerusalem1 the       
,gospel ,commission did not end there8  
,it was to embrace1 first1 ,judea1 then 
,samaria1 then the uttermost parts of   
the earth4#dd ,the ascending ,redeemer's
 expansive heart took in with a vast    
sweep the wide circle of humanity4 ,from
 the elevated ridge of ,olivet1 on which
 ,he now stood with the arrested group  
around ,him1 ,he might tell them to     
gaze1 in thought at least1 far north    
beyond the ,cedar ,heights of ,lebanon  
and ,hermon2--,southward to the desert  
and the ,isles of the ,ocean2--,westward
 to the fair lands washed by the ,great 
,sea2--,eastward across the palm-trees  
of ,bethany and the chain of ,moabite   

mountains on unexplored continents1     
where heathenism still revelled in its  
rites and orgies of impurity and blood4 
,with ,palestine as their centre and    
starting-point1 the vast ,world was to  
be their circumference4 ,the ,gospel was
 to be preached as a witness to all     
nations4 ,the ,great ,mission-,angel was
 to fly through the midst of ,heaven1   
having its everlasting truths to preach 
to every nation1 and kindred1 and       
tongue1 and people4  ,are we faithfully 
fulfilling our ,lord's farewell         
,apostolic ,commission8 ,as members of  
the ,church of ,god1 component parts of 
the ,royal ,priesthood1 are we doing    
what lies in our power1 that ,his name1 
and doctrine1 and salvation1 be         
proclaimed to the uttermost parts of the
 earth8 ,or is it so1 that we are       
looking coldly1 suspiciously1           
indifferently on the ,church's efforts  
in the cause of ,missions1 suffering her
 funds to fail1 and her schemes to      
languish1 and her devoted servants to   

sink in discouragement8 ,or rather1 are 
we prepared to incur the responsibility 
of heathen souls1 through our neglect1  
passing hour by hour into eternity1 with
 a ,saviour's name unheard of1 and a    
,saviour's love unknown8 ,go to the     
,rocky ridge above ,,bethany1 and listen
 to the parting injunction of our ,great
 ,master4 ,his last words1 ere the cloud
 received ,him to glory1 were           
,missionary words1 a ,missionary appeal1
 a pleading for the ,gospel being sent  
to heathen shores4 ,ah6 our own ,britain
 was then among the number6 ,if the     
,apostolic ,company had in these days1  
like many among ourselves1 refused1 on  
the ground of the home-heathen in       
,judea1 to send any of their band       
abroad1 where would we have been at this
 hour8 ,with our ,druids' altars1 our   
bloody sacrifices1 our cruel rites6 ,but
 their best and noblest were            
commissioned to speed from port to port 
in the ,mediterranean and the ,isles of 
the ,gentiles1 with the ,gospel errand  

on their lips1 and the blessing of ,god 
on their labours6 ,all honour to these  
leal-hearted men1 who1 in spite of      
national and hereditary prejudices1     
implicitly followed the will of their   
,lord and ,master1 who had given to     
them1 as ,he has given to us1 a great   
,missionary motto--,,the ,,field ,,is   
,,the ,,world6         99       99      
99       99       99  ,and now ,his     
themes of instruction and comfort are   
over--,he is about to ,ascend6 ,the     
symbolic cloud--7invariable emblem of   
,deity7--comes down to conduct ,him to  
,his throne4 ,what a moment was that6   
,glory in view--the hallelujahs of      
angels floating in ,his ear--the air    
thronged with celestial hosts waiting as
 ,his retinue to bear ,him upwards2--all
 heaven in eager expectancy for her     
returning ,lord4 ,and yet--how is ,he   
employed8 ,is the world1 that had so    
disowned ,him1 disowned now in return8  
,are the disciples1 who have so oft     
deserted ,him1 now deserted in          

return8--their name forgotten in the    
thought of the loftier spirits who are  
to gather around ,him in the skies8     
,nay1 ,his every thought is centered on 
the weeping band of earth4 ,he lifted up
 his hands and blessed them6#de ,his    
last words are those of mercy--,his last
 act is outstretching ,his arms to      
bless6 ,it was an act replete with      
meaning to the ,church of ,god in every 
age4 ,jesus1 when ,he was last seen on  
earth1 wore no terror on ,his lips--but 
,he left our world pouring a benediction
 on ,his redeemed people4  ,there is    
something1 moreover1 significant in the 
recorded fact that ,,while ,he blessed  
them1 ,he was parted from them6 ,the    
,benediction was unfinished when the    
cloud bore ,him away6 ,as they gazed    
upwards and upwards till that glorious  
form was diminishing in the blue sky    
above1 still ,his hands were            
extended2--the last dim vision which    
lingered on their memories was the ,true
 ,high ,priest blessing the             

representative ,israel of ,god6 ,it     
would seem as if ,he wished to indicate 
that the act begun on earth was to be   
carried on and perpetuated in           
heaven--that though parted from them1   
,his outstretched arms would still plead
 for them on the ,throne4 ,his voice    
could no longer be heard--but ,his      
blessing still would continue to descend
 till ,he came again6  ,wondrous close  
to a wondrous life6 ,we have traversed  
in thought many other memorials of      
,bethany4 ,we have stood by the gate    
where ,martha met her ,lord--the silent 
sepulchre which listened to the voice of
 ,omnipotence--the holy home where      
friendship was realised such as earth   
never before or since beheld4 ,but      
surely not less sacred or hallowed than 
any of these is the scene presented on  
the green ridge rising to the west of   
the village1 overlooking its groves of  
palm4 ,before superstition ventured to  
raise its cumbrous monument on the      
heights of ,olivet1 may we not think of 

the scene of the ,ascension1 rather in  
connexion with three living ,temples8   
,may we not think of it as oft and again
 visited by ,martha1 and ,mary1 and     
,lazarus8 ,may we not well imagine it   
would form a hallowed retirement for    
solemn meditation6 ,amid more sorrowful 
thoughts1 connected with their ,lord's  
absence from them1 would they not there 
often muse in holy joy over the now     
fulfilled prophetic strains of their    
minstrel ,king8--,thou hast ascended on 
high1 ,thou hast led captivity captive3 
,thou hast received gifts for men2 yea1 
for the rebellious also1 that the ,lord 
,god might dwell among them4#df  ,do we 
love also to linger in spirit on that   
spot1 and listen to that                
benediction8--,blessed1 we read1 are    
they that know the joyful sound4 ,in    
these words there is a beautiful        
allusion to the sound of the pendant    
bells on the vestment of the ,high      
,priest in the ,jewish temple of old4   
,when the assembled multitudes in the   

outer court heard their music within the
 holiest of all1 it conveyed the        
assurance that the ,high ,priest was    
there1 actively engaged in his official 
duties--sprinkling the ,mercy ,seat with
 blood1 and pleading for the nation4    
,they felt blessedness in hearing and   
knowing that joyful sound4 ,beautiful   
type of ,,jesus the ,great ,high ,priest
 within the veil6 ,we seem1 as we behold
 ,him standing on the crest of ,olivet1 
to listen to the first note of these    
gladsome chimes4 ,he leaves ,his ,church
 proclaiming nothing but blessings4 ,as 
,he rises upwards1 and the diminishing  
cloud recedes from sight1 still the     
music of benediction seems to float on  
the calm morning air4 ,the ,golden      
,bells are sounding--and though the     
celestial notes cease1 it is only       
distance which renders them inaudible4  
,they are still pendant at ,his ,royal  
,priestly robes1 telling us that still  
,he intercedes6 ,oh1 let us now hear    
,his benediction6 ,let the comforting   

thought follow us wherever we go--,jesus
 is pleading for me within the ,veil4   
,he left this world blessing--,he is    
engaged in blessing still4 ,,he ,,ever  
,,liveth ,,to ,,make ,,intercession     
,,for ,,us4     ,,xxii4  ,,angelic      
,,comforters4   ,the ,lord has ascended4
 ,the disciples are left alone in       
wondering amazement4 ,the bright cloud  
which formed ,his chariot had swept     
majestically upwards--till 7dimming on  
their view7 the gates of heaven closed  
on ,him1 who1 a moment before1 had been 
breathing upon them farewell            
benedictions of peace and love4 ,are    
they to be left alone8 ,terrible must   
have been the feeling of solitude on    
that lone mountain-ridge1 as the voice  
of mingled ,omnipotence and ,love was   
hushed for all time4 ,alone1 but yet not
 alone6 ,while their eyes are still     
directed up to the spot where they got  
the last glimpse of the vanishing       
cloud--transfixed there in speechless   
,sorrow1 lo6 two men stood by them in   

shining vestures6 ,the ,saviour has     
departed2 the sunshine of ,his own      
loving presence is gone--but ,he leaves 
them not unsolaced4 ,the vision of the  
patriarch is again realised4 ,when1 like
 that weary pilgrim1 dejected1          
disconsolate1 and sad--a ladder of      
comfort is stretched down from the      
heaven on which they gaze1 and the      
,angels of ,god are ascending and       
descending on it6  ,ah6 whenever the    
,lord removes one comfort1 ,he is ready 
to supply another4 ,he ,himself leaves  
,his disciples--but no sooner does ,he  
leave1 than ,angels come and minister to
 them2 and this is immediately followed 
by a mightier than ,angelic             
,comforter--even the fulfilled promise  
of the ,holy ,spirit4 ,if ,i go not     
away1 the ,comforter will not come unto 
you1 but if ,i depart1 ,i will send ,him
 unto you4 ,how graciously does ,jesus  
thus adapt ,himself to the character and
 trials of ,his people6 ,what           
compensations ,he gives when they are   

suffering tribulation6 ,one blessing is 
taken away--it is only that they may be 
brought more fully to value others which
 remain4 ,a beloved friend is removed by
 death--the household is saddened at the
 stroke--its aching hearts are smitten  
and withered like the grass--but new    
spiritual consolations are imparted1    
unknown before--brighter manifestations 
of the ,saviour's grace and mercy are   
vouchsafed--the ,promises of ,god1 like 
the ministering angels on ,mount        
,olivet1 are sent to hover around these 
stricken spirits4 ,they are made to sing
 of mercy in the midst of judgment6  ,is
 ,hagar in the desert8 ,there is a      
fountain 7though at first unseen7 at her
 side6 ,is ,elijah trembling in the dark
 cave of ,horeb8 ,there is a still small
 voice amid the long-drawn breath of the
 tempest1 and earthquake1 and           
storm2--,the ,lord is there6 ,be assured
 ,he will never leave nor forsake any   
that truly seek ,him4 ,to all desolate  
ones1 who1 like the ,olivet disciples1  

lift the steadfast eye of faith         
heavenwards1 bending like them in the   
silent attitude of resignation and      
faith--,god will send comfort4 ,he will 
have his angels ready to wipe weeping   
eyes and soothe sorrowful hearts4  ,we  
cannot grapple with this doctrine4 ,we  
who are creatures of sense1 who are     
cognisant through a corporeal organism  
only of what is tangible and material1  
cannot grasp what relates to the        
immaterial1 invisible1 spiritual4 ,we   
strive in vain to realise the truth of  
,angelic ,beings compassing our earthly 
path1 joying with us in our joys--aiding
 us in our perplexities1 and mingling   
their accents of comfort with us in our 
seasons of sorrow4 ,but though          
mysteriously invisible1 we believe there
 are hosts of these blessed messengers  
thronging around1 profoundly interested 
in all that concerns us--bearing us up  
in all our ways--following us1 as ,jacob
 saw them1 step by step up the ladder of
 salvation1 till we reach our thrones   

and our crowns6 ,angelic agency is no   
mere gorgeous dream of inspired         
poetry--no mere symbolic way of stating 
the doctrine of ,divine ,providence1 and
 the peculiar care which ,god takes of  
,his ,church and people4 ,the ,bible    
gives us too many positive statements on
 the subject to permit a figurative     
interpretation4 ,these bright and holy  
,beings are there represented as having 
witnessed all along with profound       
interest the gradual unfolding of the   
plan of salvation--from the hour when1  
at creation's birth1 the morning stars  
sang together1 and all the ,sons of ,god
 shouted for joy--onwards to the        
eventful night when they met over the   
plains of ,bethlehem and chanted a      
responsive anthem at the advent of the  
,prince of ,peace6 ,now that ,redemption
 is completed--they have gathered once  
more on ,olivet to form a royal retinue 
to conduct their ,lord to ,his crown--to
 summon the gates of ,heaven to lift up 
their heads that the ,king of ,glory may

 enter in4 ,if ,god1 in bringing in ,his
 first-begotten into the world1 said1   
,let all the angels of ,god worship     
,him2 much more1 when ,his work is done1
 and the moral ,conqueror1 laden with   
the spoils of victory1 is about to      
return to ,his throne1 may we expect    
that the chariots of ,god 7twenty       
thousand1 even thousands of angels7 are 
waiting to grace ,his triumph4  ,nor    
were they merely employed on earth as   
,his servants and attendants during the 
period of ,his incarnation--leaving our 
world1 when ,he left it1 to serve him   
day and night in ,his heavenly temple4  
,a portion of this glorious bodyguard we
 find now1 at the hour of ,ascension1   
left behind to certify to the disciples 
and the ,church in every age1 that      
,angels were still to continue their    
loving watchfulness and interest over   
the ,pilgrims in a ,pilgrim world--still
 to be sent forth on errands of mercy to
 minister to them who are heirs of      
salvation6  ,is it the ,house of        

,god--the gates of ,zion--the ,holy     
place of ,solemnities8 ,the scene now   
before us on ,mount ,olivet forms a     
miniature picture of what takes place   
,sabbath after ,sabbath in every meeting
 of ,christian disciples4 ,as we are    
assembled like the apostles in our      
,sanctuary--looking upwards to ,heaven1 
there are glorious ,spirits1 we may well
 believe1 clustering around us--hovering
 in silence over our assembly--engaged1 
it may be1 in unseen conflict with the  
emissaries of evil--assisting us in our 
prayers--joining with us in our         
praises--waiting to waft these upwards1 
and get them perfumed with the incense  
of the ,saviour's merits4  ,nor is it   
the ,sanctuary alone they overshadow    
with their wings of light4 ,the lowliest
 homestead of the believer is oftentimes
 made a ,,mahanaim 7a ,host74 ,the      
dwellers in the world's thousand        
,bethany-homes of simple faith and lowly
 love are entertaining angels unawares4 
,in the hour of sickness they are there 

unseen to smooth our pillow4 ,in the    
hour of danger they are at hand to shut 
the lions' mouths4 ,in the hour of      
bereavement they are employed bringing  
messages of solace from the ,intercessor
 within the veil1 and enabling us to    
glorify ,god in the fires4 ,in the hour 
of death they are waiting to lend their 
wings to the ,immortal tenant as it     
bursts its earthly coil4 ,oh1 if the    
return of the ,repentant ,sinner be to  
them an hour of joyous jubilee2--if     
their songs of triumph greet the        
,believer justified2--what must it be to
 exult over the gladsome                
consummation--the ,believer glorified2  
to be engaged on the ,great ,day as     
,reapers at the ingathering of the      
sheaves into the heavenly               
garner--throwing open1 at the bidding of
 their ,great ,lord1 the ,golden        
,portals that the ransomed millions may 
enter in6      ,oh never1 till the      
clouds of time        ,have vanish'd    
from the ken of man1      ,and he from  

yonder heaven sublime        ,look back 
where mystic life began1      ,will     
gather'd saints in glory know      ,what
 blessings men to angels owe4      ,this
 earth is but a thorny wild1        ,a  
tangled maze where griefs abound1       
,by sorrow vex'd1 by sin defiled1       
,where foes and friends our walk        
surround2      ,but does not ,god in    
mercy say1      ,angelic guardians line 
the way8      ,sickness and woe         
perchance may have        ,ethereal     
hosts whom none perceive1      ,whose   
golden wings around us wave        ,when
 all alone men seem to grieve2      ,but
 while we sigh or shed the tear1        
,their sympathies may linger near4      
,when gracious beams of holy light      
,from heaven's half-open'd portals play1
      ,and from our scene of suffering  
night        ,melts nigh its haunted    
gloom away2      ,each doubt perchance  
some angel sees1      ,and hovers o'er  
our bended knees6      ,and when at     
length this wearied life        ,of toil

 and danger breathes its last1      ,or 
ere the flesh1 with parting strife1     
,is down to clay and coldness cast2     
,the struggling soul can learn the      
story1      ,how angels waft the blest  
to glory4#dg  ,but1 after all1 can      
,angels really impart comfort8 ,they    
cannot4 ,they are but servants and      
delegates of a ,mightier than they4     
,like all ministers and messengers1 if  
they can dry a human tear and soothe a  
human sorrow1 it is by pointing1 not to 
themselves1 but to their glorious and   
glorified ,lord4 ,what was their message
 now8 ,was it1 ,we are come to supply   
the place of your ,ascended             
,redeemer--we are henceforth to be your 
appointed helpers--the objects of your  
faith1 and hope1 and confidence1 in the 
house of your pilgrimage8 ,no6 ,the eyes
 of the disciples are gazing upwards and
 heavenwards4 ,the ,angels tell them not
 in anywise to alter the direction of   
their thoughts and affections4 ,they are
 musing 7as in vain they still wistfully

 look for any relic of the              
chariot-cloud7 on ,jesus only4 ,they are
 to think of ,him only still6 ,the      
,celestial ,visitants seem to say1 ,ye  
men of ,galilee1 we cannot comfort      
you2--we would prove but poor solaces   
and compensations for the ,adorable     
,saviour who has left you4 ,we come not 
to take ,his place--but to speak to you 
still regarding ,him4 ,he has left you6 
but it is only for a season2 and better 
than this1 although ,he has left you1   
,he loves you as much as ever4 ,even in 
that distant glory to which ,he has sped
 ,his way1 ,his heart is unchanged and  
unchangeable--,his name is ',jesus      
,christ1 the same yesterday1 and to-day1
 and for ever4'  ,here then was their   
first theme of comfort4 ,it was the     
,,name of ,jesus4 ,that name of their   
,lord was still to be their strong      
tower6 ,oh1 there is something          
touchingly beautiful about this angelic 
address4 ,what a simple but sublime     
antidote for these stricken ,spirits1   

,,that ,,same ,,jesus4 ,that same       
,jesus1--,he who laid ,his infant head  
on the manger at ,bethlehem--,he who    
walked on the ,sea of ,tiberias1 and    
hushed its angry waves--,he who spoke   
comfort to a stricken spirit at the well
 of ,sychar1 and at the gate of         
,nain--,he who1 in yonder palm-clad     
village sleeping in quiet loveliness at 
their feet1 soothed the pangs of deeply 
afflicted hearts1 and made death itself 
yield its prey--,he who had first shed  
,his tears and then ,his blood over the 
city ,he loved--,he who so freely       
forgave1 so meekly suffered1 so         
willingly died6 ,,that ,,same ,,jesus   
was still on ,high6 ,the ,brother's form
 was still there6 ,the                  
,kinsman-,redeemer's sympathy was still 
there6 ,though all heaven was then doing
 ,him homage--though ,he had exchanged  
the chilling ingratitude of earth for   
the glories of an unsullied world of    
purity and love--yet nothing could blot 
out from ,his heart the names of those  

whom ,he had still left for a little    
season behind1 to be bearers of ,his    
cross before they became sharers of ,his
 crown6  ,what a comfort1 amid all      
earth's vicissitudes and changes1 this  
motto-verse6 ,earth may change4 ,since  
the ,lord ascended1 earth has changed6  
,there are ,written rocks--manifold more
 than those of ,sinai--that bear        
engraven on their furrowed brows1 ,the  
world passeth away4 ,ocean's old shores 
have transgressed their                 
boundaries--kingdoms have risen and     
fallen--thronging cities have sprung up 
amid desert wastes--and proud capitals  
have been levelled with the dust4       
,friends may change2 our very lot and   
circumstances1 in spite of ourselves1   
may change4 ,our fondly planned schemes 
and cherished hopes may vanish into thin
 air1 and the place that now knows us   
know us no more6 ,but there is ,,one    
that changeth not--a ,rock which stands 
immutable amid all the ceaseless        
heavings and commotions of this mortal  

life--and that ,rock is ,christ6  ,has  
he ever failed us8 ,ask the tried       
,christian4 ,ask the aged ,christian4   
,that gray-haired believer may be like a
 solitary oak in the forest--all his    
compeers cut down--tempest after tempest
 has sighed and swept amid the          
branches--tree by tree has succumbed to 
the blast--there may be nothing but     
wreck and ruin and devastation all      
around4 ,friend after friend has        
departed2 some have altered towards him2
 kindness may have given way to alien   
looks and estranged affection2 others   
are removed by distance--old familiar   
faces and scenes have given place to new
 ones2--others have been called away to 
the silent grave--sleeping quiet and    
still in the narrow house appointed for 
all living4 ,that aged lonely ,christian
 can clasp his withered hands1 and      
exclaim1 through his tears1 ,but ,,thou 
art the same1 and ,thy years shall have 
no end4 ,heart and flesh do faint and   
fail1 but ,god is the strength of my    

heart1 and my portion for ever4      ,my
 ,god1 ,i thank thee1 ,thou dost care   
for me2      ,i am content rejoicing to 
go on1      ,even when my home seems    
very far away2      ,and over grief1 and
 aching emptiness1      ,and fading     
hopes a higher joy ariseth4      ,in    
nightliest hours one lonely spot is     
bright1      ,high over head1 through   
folds and folds of space2      ,it is   
the earnest star of all my heavens1     
,and tremulous in the deep-well of my   
being1      ,its image answers4 99 99 99
 99 ,i ,,will ,,think ,,of ,,jesus4#dh  
,but1 in addition to the name and nature
 of ,jesus--the ,angels added a promise 
of comfort regarding ,him4 ,he shall so 
come in like manner as ye have seen ,him
 go into heaven4#di ,jesus shall come   
again6  ,when a beloved brother or      
friend whom we love is taken from us by 
death1 how cheered we are by the thought
 of rejoining him in a brighter and     
better world4 ,even in earthly          
separations1 how cheering the prospect  

of those severed by oceans and          
continents meeting once more in the     
flesh--the associations of youth renewed
 and perpetuated--and the long-severed  
links of friendship welded and cemented 
again6 ,what must be1 to the bereft and 
lonely ,christian1 the thought of being 
restored1 and that for ever1 to his     
long-absent ,saviour8 ,jesus shall come 
again6--it is the ,church's blessed     
hope--the day when her weeds and robes  
of ashen sorrow shall be laid for ever  
aside1 and she shall enter into the joy 
of her ,lord8 ,it is ,his return1 too1  
in a glorified manhood4 ,that same      
,jesus shall ,,so come6 ,yes6 so come1  
in the very body with which ,he bade the
 sorrowing eleven that sad1 farewell6   
,he left them with ,his hands extended1 
and with blessings on ,his lips4 ,he    
will return in the same attitude to     
greet ,his expectant ,church1 with the  
words1 ,come1 ye blessed of my ,father1 
inherit the kingdom prepared for you    
from the foundation of the world4  ,and 

if it be a comforting thought1 ,jesus   
still the same1 now seated on the       
,mediatorial throne1--equally comforting
 surely is the prospect that it will be 
in all the unchanging and undying       
sympathies of ,his exalted humanity1    
that ,he will come again as ,judge4 ,god
 hath appointed a day in which ,he will 
judge the world in righteousness by that
 ,,man whom he hath ordained4 ,he shall 
come1 not arrayed in the stern          
magnificence of ,godhead6 ,as we behold 
,him1 we need not crouch in terror at   
,his approach4 ,humanity will soften the
 awe which ,deity would inspire4 ,we can
 rejoice with ,job not only that our    
,kinsman ,redeemer liveth1 but that1 as 
our ,kinsman ,redeemer1 ,he shall stand 
at the latter day upon the earth6       
,would that we more constantly lived    
under the realising power of this       
elevating thought--,soon my ,lord will  
come6 ,of the times and the seasons ye  
need not that ,i write unto you4 ,it is 
not for us to dogmatize on the          

unrevealed period of the glorious       
appearing4 ,the millennial trumpet may  
in all probability sound over our       
slumbering dust--the millennial sun     
shine on the turf which may for         
centuries have covered our graves6--,but
 who1 on the other hand1 dare venture to
 question the possibility of the nearer 
alternative8--that the ,judge may be    
standing before the door--the shadow of 
the ,advent ,throne even now projected  
on an unthinking and unbelieving world6 
,he that shall come will come1 and will 
not tarry6--,although it be true that   
eighteen hundred years have elapsed     
since that utterance was made1 and still
 no gleam of the coming morning streaks 
the horizon--although the calculations  
and longing expectations of the ,church 
have hitherto only issued in successive 
disappointments1 yet the hour is        
nearing6 ,as grain by grain drops in    
,time's sand-glass1 it gives new        
significance and truthfulness to the    
,divine monition--,behold1 ,i come      

quickly6  ,ah6 if ,he may come soon--if 
,he ,,must come at some time1 how shall 
,i meet ,him8 ,will it be with joy8 ,am 
,i shaping my course in life--my        
plans--my schemes--my wishes with what  
,i feel would be in accordance with ,his
 will8 ,am ,i conscious of doing nothing
 that would lead me to be ashamed before
 ,him at ,his coming8 ,it would save    
many a perplexity--it would soothe many 
a heart-ache1 and dry many a tear--if we
 were to make this great culminating    
event in the world's history1 with all  
its elevating motives1 more our guide   
and regulator than we do2--living each  
day1 and all our days1 as if possibly   
the very next hour might disclose the   
sign of the ,son of ,man in the midst of
 the ,heavens6 ,not building our nests  
too fondly here--not too anxious to     
nestle in creature comforts1 but        
occupying faithfully the talents to be  
traded on which ,he has committed to our
 stewardship2 straining the eye of      
faith1 like the mother of ,sisera1 for  

,his approaching chariot2 and amid our  
griefs1 and separations1 and sorrows1   
listening to the sublime inspired       
antidote--,stablish your hearts1 ,,for  
the coming of the ,lord draweth nigh4   
,blessed--glorious--happy day6 ,and as  
,his first coming was terminated by ,his
 ,ascension1 so will there be a second  
,ascension at ,his second ,advent1 with 
this important difference1 however1     
that1 as in the former1 ,he left ,his   
,church behind ,him1 orphaned and       
forlorn1 to battle in a world of sorrow 
and sin2 in the other1 not one unit     
among the rejoicing myriads1 bought with
 ,his blood1 will ,he debar from sharing
 in the splendour of ,his final entrance
 within the celestial gates4 ,the ,lord 
,himself shall descend from heaven with 
a shout--with the voice of the          
archangel1 and with the trump of ,god2  
and the dead in ,christ shall rise      
first4 ,then they who are alive and     
remain1 shall be caught up together with
 them in the clouds1 to meet the ,lord  

in the air1 and so shall we ever be with
 the ,lord4      ,we must not stand to  
gaze too long1        ,though on        
unfolding heaven our gaze we bend2      
,when lost behind the bright angelic    
throng1        ,we see ,christ's        
entering triumph slow ascend4      ,no  
fear but we shall soon behold1          
,faster than now it fades1 that gleam   
revive1      ,when issuing from his     
cloud of fiery gold1        ,our wasted 
frames feel the true ,sun and live4     
,then shall we see ,thee as ,thou art1  
,for ever fix'd in no unfruitful gaze1  
,but such as lifts the new created heart
        ,age after age in worthier love 
and praise4     ,,xxiii4  ,,the         
,,disciples' ,,return4   ,the time has  
come when the disciples must leave the  
crest of ,olivet and bend their steps   
once more to ,jerusalem4 ,ah6 most      
sorrowful thought--most sorrowful       
pilgrimage6 ,often1 often had it been   
trodden before with their ,lord's voice 
of love and power sounding in their     

ears4 ,often had it proved an ,emmaus   
journey1 when their hearts burned within
 them as ,he talked to them by the way  
and opened unto them the ,scriptures4   
,but ,he is gone6--that voice is now    
hushed--the well-loved path1 worn by    
,his blessed footsteps1 and consecrated 
by ,his midnight prayers1 must be       
trodden by them alone6 ,willingly1      
perhaps1 like ,peter1 on ,tabor1 would  
they have tarried on the spot where they
 last saw ,his human form1 and listened 
to the music of ,his voice1 just as we  
still love to revisit some haunt of     
hallowed friendship and associate it    
with the name and words and features of 
the departed4 ,but they dare not linger4
 ,as the disciples of this great and    
good ,master1 they dare not remain to   
indulge in mere sentimental grief1 or in
 vain hopes and expectations of a speedy
 return4 ,life is too short--their      
,apostolic work too solemn and          
momentous1 to suffer them to consume    
their hours in unavailing sorrow4 ,we   

may imagine them taking their last look 
upwards to heaven1 and then bending a   
tearful eye down upon ,bethany--its     
hallowed remembrances all the more      
hallowed1 that the vision is now about  
to pass away for ever6 ,the ,angels1    
too1 have sped away1 and the eleven     
pilgrims begin their solitary return    
back to the city and temple from which  
the true ,glory had indeed departed6    
,and how did they return8 ,what were    
their feelings as they rose to pursue   
their way8 ,had we not been told far    
otherwise1 we should have imagined them 
to have been those of deep dejection4   
,we should have pictured to ourselves a 
weary1 weeping1 troubled band2 their    
countenances shaded with a sorrow too   
profound for words2--the joyous melodies
 of that morning hour1 all in sad       
contrast with those hearts which were   
bowed down with a bereavement           
unparalleled in its nature since a      
weeping world was bedewed with tears6   
,they were going too1 as lambs in the   

midst of wolves1 to the very city where1
 a few weeks before1 their ,lord had    
been crucified1--the disciples of a     
hated ,master1 not knowing the things   
that might befall them there4 ,could we 
wonder1 if for the moment these aching  
spirits should have surrendered         
themselves to mingled feelings of       
disconsolate grief and terror4 ,but how 
different6 ,sorrow indeed they must have
 had2 but if so1 it was counterbalanced 
and overborne by far other emotions2 for
 of the sorrow1 the ,evangelist says    
nothing2 the simple record of this      
mournful journey is in these words1     
,they returned to ,jerusalem ,,with     
,,great ,,joy4 ,most wonderful1 and yet 
most true6 ,never did mourner return    
from a funeral scene--7from laying in   
the grave his nearest and dearest7--with
 a heavier sense of an overwhelming loss
 than did that widowed orphaned band4   
,and yet1 lo6 they are joyful6 ,a       
sunshine is lighting up their faces4    
,the ,sun of their souls has set behind 

the world's horizon4 ,but though        
vanished from the eye of sense1 ,his    
glory and radiance seem still to linger 
on their spirits1 just as the orb of day
 gilds the lofty mountain-peaks long    
after his descent4 ,they tread the old  
footway with elastic step6 ,as          
,gethsemane1 and ,kedron1 and the       
,temple-path1 are in succession skirted1
 while sorrowful1 they are alway        
,,rejoicing4 ,why is this8 ,it was ,god 
,himself fulfilling in their experience 
,his own promise1 ,as thy day is1 so    
shall thy strength be4 ,he metes out    
strength ,,in the day of trial1 and     
,,for the day of trial4 ,when we expect 
nothing but fainting and trembling1     
sadness and despondency1 ,he whispers   
,his own promise1 and makes it good1 ,my
 grace is sufficient for thee2 for my   
strength is made perfect in weakness4   
,who so faint as these disciples8 ,think
 of them in their by-past history1      
tossed on ,gennesaret1 cowering with    
dread in their vessel6 ,think of them in

 the ,judgment-,hall of ,pilate2 think  
of them at the cross6 ,nothing there but
 pusillanimity and cowardice4 ,nay1 when
 our ,lord had spoken to them on a      
former occasion of this same departure1 
we read that sorrow had filled their    
hearts4 ,they could not bear the thought
 of so cruel a severance from all they  
held dear3 ,but see them now--when the  
sad hour has                            
come--lonely--unbefriended--their ,lord 
hopelessly removed from the eye of      
sense2 though but a few days before1    
they were traitors to their             
trust--unfaithful in their              
allegiance--bending1 like bruised reeds1
 before the storm--behold them now1     
retraversing their way to ,jerusalem1   
not with sorrow1 as we might expect1 but
 with joy4 ,the ,evangelist even notes  
the extent and measure of the emotion4  
,it was not a mere effort to overbear   
their sorrow--an outward semblance of   
reconciliation to their hard fate--but  
it was a deep fountain of real gladness1

 welling up from their riven spirits4   
,they returned1 he tells us1 with       
,,great ,,joy6  ,oh6 the wonders of the 
grace of ,god4 ,what grace has          
done--what grace can do6 ,we speak not  
of it now under its manifold other and  
diversified phases1--converting grace1  
and restraining grace1 and sanctifying  
grace1 and dying grace4 ,here we have to
 do only with sustaining and supporting 
grace4 ,but how many ,christian         
disciples1 in their ,olivets of sorrow1 
have been able to tell the same         
experience8 ,how often1 when a believer 
is stricken down with sore              
affliction--when the hand of death      
enters his family--when the treasured   
life of the dwelling is taken1 and he   
feels in the anticipation of such a blow
 as if it would smite him1 too1 to the  
dust1 and it were impossible to survive 
the prostration of all that links him to
 life--when the tremendous blow comes1  
lo6 sustaining grace he never could have
 dreamed of comes along with it4 ,he    

rises above his trial4 ,underneath him  
are the ,everlasting arms4 ,the joy of  
the ,lord is his strength6 ,he treads   
along life's lonely way sorrowful1 yet  
with a song in the night4 ,amid earth's 
separations and sadness1 he hears the   
voice of ,jesus1 saying1 ,lo6 ,i am with
 you alway1 even unto the end of the    
world4  ,oh1 trust that ,grace still6   
,it is the secret of your spiritual     
strength4 ,not ,i1 not ,i1 but the grace
 of ,god that is with me6 ,you may have 
to confront a great fight of            
afflictions2 but that grace sustaining  
you1 you will be made more than         
conquerors4 ,all men forsook me1 said   
the great ,apostle1 nevertheless1 the   
,,lord stood with me1 and strengthened  
me1 and ,i was delivered out of the     
mouth of the lion4 ,and ,god is able to 
make all grace abound toward ,,you2 that
 ye1 always having all-sufficiency in   
all things1 may abound to every good    
work4 ,you have found ,him faithful in  
the past2--trust ,him in the future4    

,cast all your cares1 and each care1 as 
it arises1 on ,him1 saying1 in childlike
 faith1 ,undertake ,thou for me6 ,then1 
then1 in your very night-seasons1 ,his  
song will be with you4 ,the ,mount of   
your trial--the mournful1 desolate1     
solitary1 rugged path you tread1 will be
 carpeted with love1 fringed with mercy1
 and earth's darkest future will grow   
bright as you listen to a voice stealing
 from the upper sanctuary1 ,i will come 
again and receive you unto ,myself2 that
 where ,i am1 there ye may be also4  ,in
 this scene of the disciples returning  
to ,jerusalem1 we are presented with the
 last picture of the ,home of ,,bethany4
 ,here the earthly vision is sealed1 and
 we are only left to imagine ,martha1   
and ,mary1 and ,lazarus1 when the joyous
 footfall that had cheered their        
dwelling could be heard no more1 living 
together in sacred harmony1 exulting in 
the blessed hope1 even the glorious     
appearing of the ,great ,god their      
,saviour4#ej  ,did they live to survive 

the destruction of ,jerusalem8 ,did they
 live to hear the tramp of the ,roman   
legions resounding through their quiet  
hamlet1 and the abomination of          
desolation1 the imperial eagles         
desecrating the hallowed ridges of      
,olivet8 ,did they often repair to the  
meetings of the infant ,church in       
,jerusalem1 and delight to mingle with  
the under shepherds1 when the ,chief    
,shepherd had gone8 ,or did the         
venerable company of ,apostles love to  
resort1 as their ,lord before them1 to  
the old village of palm-trees1 whose    
every memory was fragrant with their    
,master's name8 ,all these1 and similar 
questions1 we cannot answer4 ,this we   
know and feel assured of--they are now  
gathered a holy and happy family in the 
true ,bethany above--there never more to
 listen to the voice of weeping1 or hear
 the tread of the funeral crowd1 or the 
wail of the ,mourner6  ,and soon1 too1  
shall many of us 7let us trust7 be      
there1 to meet them6 ,,bethany1 we have 

seen1 had alike its tears and its joys2 
so will it be with every spot and every 
scene in this mingled world4 ,but where 
the ,family of ,bethany now are1 the    
motto is--,,never sorrowful1 ,,alway    
rejoicing6 ,and1 better than all1 while 
they never can be severed from one      
another1 they never can be separated    
from their ,lord4 ,he is no longer now1 
as formerly at their earthly home1 like 
a wayfaring man that turneth aside to   
tarry for a night4 ,no ,olivet now to   
remind of farewells4 ,they are with     
,him1 seeing ,him as ,he is1 and that   
for ever and ever6  ,and if1 meanwhile1 
regarding ourselves1 the journey of life
 has for a little still to be traversed1
 and the battle of life still to be     
fought2 blessed be ,god1 we go not a    
warfare on our own charges4 ,the same   
grace vouchsafed to the disciples is    
promised to us4 ,that grace will enable 
us to rise superior to all the          
vicissitudes and changes of the journey4
 ,let us rise from our ,olivet-ridge and

 be going2 and though traversing        
different footpaths to the same         
,home--be it ours1 like the disciples1  
to reach at last--a holy and happy      
company--the true ,heavenly             
,jerusalem--,,with ,,great ,,joy4       
,,the ,,end4     ,,footnotes  #a        
,bethany signifies literally ,the house 
of dates4  #b ,the figs of ,bethany are 
mentioned specially by the ,rabbins as  
being subject to tithing4  #c ,stanley's
 ,sinai and ,palestine4  #d ,anderson4  
#e ,bartlett's ,walks about ,jerusalem4 
#f ,neander's ,life of ,christ4  #g     
,what ,mary fell short in words she made
 up in tears4 ,she said less than       
,martha1 but wept more2 and tears of    
devout affection have a voice1 a loud   
prevailing voice--no rhetoric like      
that4--,,matthew ,,henry4  #h           
,note4--,see p4 #agc4  #i ,within and   
,without4  #aj ,john xi4 #aa4  #aa ,john
 xi4 #bj4  #ab ,john xi4 #ba4  #ac ,john
 xi4 #bf4  #ad ,john xi4 #bg4  #ae ,john
 xi4 #ci4  #af ,john xi4 #ci4  #ag ,john

 xi4 #da4  #ah ,rev4 iii4 #e4  #ai ,rom4
 viii4 #cd4  #bj ,john v4 #bi4  #ba ,as 
the ,jewish sabbath began at six o'clock
 on ,friday evening1 and lasted till six
 on ,saturday evening1 we may infer it  
was after the close of its sacred hours 
7at eventide7 ,he reached ,bethany4  #bb
 ,it is supposed to have been equivalent
 to ,l#aj of our money4  #bc ,tennyson4 
#bd ,an excellent ,christian poet has   
thus amplified this thought3--          
,thou hast thy record in the monarch's  
hall1        ,and on the waters of the  
far mid sea2      ,and where the mighty 
mountain shadows fall1        ,the      
,alpine hamlet keeps a thought of thee4 
,where'er1 beneath some ,oriental tree1 
,the ,christian traveller               
rests--where'er the child      ,looks   
upward from the ,english mother's knee1 
,with earnest eyes1 in wond'ring        
reverence mild1      ,there art thou    
known4 ,where'er the ,book of ,light    
,bears hope and healing1 there1 beyond  
all blight1      ,is borne thy          

memory--and all praise above4           
,oh6 say what deed so lifted thy sweet  
name1      ,mary6 to that pure1 silent  
place of fame8--        ,one lowly      
offering of exceeding love4  #be ,this  
was a common opinion among the ,fathers 
of the ,church4  #bf ,mark xi4 #a-ab4   
#bg ,stanley's ,sinai and ,palestine1 p4
 #ahh-aia4 ,a work of rare interest1    
which condenses in one volume the       
literature of the ,holy ,land4  #bh     
,christian ,year4  #bi ,bethphage1 lit4 
the house of figs4  #cj ,stanley1 p4    
#dah4  #ca ,if the miracles generally   
have a symbolical import1 we have in    
this case one that is entirely          
symbolical4--,,neander4  #cb ,trench on 
the ,miracles1 p4 #ddd4 ,see a full     
exposition of the design and import of  
this miracle in this exhaustive and     
admirable dissertation4  #cc ,the       
fig-tree1 rich in foliage1 but destitute
 of fruit1 represents the ,jewish       
people1 so abundant in outward shows of 
piety1 but destitute of its reality4    

,their vital sap was squandered upon    
leaves4 ,and as the fruitless tree1     
failing to realise the aim of its being1
 was destroyed1 so the theocratic       
nation1 for the same reason1 was to be  
overtaken1 after long forbearance1 by   
the judgments of ,god1 and shut out from
 ,his kingdom4--,,neander4  #cd ,psalm  
i4 #c4  #ce ,in that of the devils in   
the swine there was no punishment1 but  
only a permitting of the thing4--,see   
,stier's ,words of the ,lord ,jesus1    
vol4 iii4 p4 #ajj4  #cf ,mark xi4 #ai4  
#cg ,sinai and ,palestine1 p4 #afe4  #ch
 ,on the wild uplands1 says ,mr         
,stanley1 which immediately overhangs   
the village1 ,he finally withdrew from  
the eyes of ,his disciples1 in a        
seclusion which1 perhaps1 could nowhere 
else be found so near the stir of a     
mighty city1 the long ridge of ,olivet  
screening those hills1 and those hills  
the village beneath them1 from all sight
 or sound of the city behind2 the view  
opening only on the wide waste of desert

 rocks1 and ever-descending valleys1    
into the depths of the distant ,jordan  
and its mysterious lake4 ,at this point 
the last interview took place4 ,he led  
them out as far as to ,bethany4 ,the    
appropriateness of the whole scene      
presents a singular contrast to the     
inappropriateness of that fixed by a    
later fancy1 ',seeking for a sign' on   
the broad top of the mountain1 out of   
sight of ,bethany1 and in full sight of 
,jerusalem1 and thus an equal           
contradiction to the letter and the     
spirit of the ,gospel narrative4--,p4   
#aib4  ,the same writer1 in another     
place 7p4 #dej71 says1 ,even if the     
evangelist had been less explicit in    
stating that ,he led them out 'as far as
 to ,bethany1' the secluded hills 7that 
especially to which ,tobler assigns the 
name of ,djebel ,sajach7 which overhang 
that village on the eastern slope of    
,olivet1 are evidently as appropriate to
 the whole tenor of the narrative1 as   
the startling1 the almost offensive     

publicity of the traditional spot1 in   
the full view of the whole city of      
,jerusalem1 is wholly inappropriate1 and
 7in the absence1 as it now appears1 of 
even traditional support7 wholly        
untenable4  #ci ,acts i4 #e4  #dj ,acts 
i4 #h4  #da ,john xvi4 #g4  #db ,john   
xvi4 #ad4  #dc ,acts i4 #f1 #g4  #dd    
,acts i4 #h4  #de ,luke xxiv4 #ej4  #df 
,ps4 lxviii4 #ah4  #dg ,montgomery4  #dh
 ,within and ,without4  #di ,acts i4    
#aa4  #ej ,is it lawful to think of     
,bethany in connexion with the ,church  
of the ,future8 ,are there no           
foreshadowed glories found in the pages 
of ,holy ,writ1 which include this lowly
 village--gilding it with the beams of a
 ,millennial ,sun8 ,is it destined to   
remain as it now is--a wreck of vanished
 loveliness8 and is the crested ridge   
above it1 which was the scene of the    
great terminating event of the          
,incarnation1 to be associated with no  
other august displays of the ,redeemer's
 power and majesty8 ,the following      

remarkable prediction occurs in the     
prophet ,zechariah3--,and his feet shall
 stand in that day upon the mount of    
,olives1 which is before ,jerusalem on  
the east1 and the mount of ,olives shall
 cleave in the midst thereof toward the 
east and toward the west1 and there     
shall be a very great valley2 and half  
of the mountain shall remove toward the 
north1 and half of it toward the south4 
,zech4 xiv4 #d4 ,were we of the number  
of those--7perhaps some who read these  
pages7--who look with firm and joyful   
confidence to the ,personal ,reign of   
the ,redeemer on earth1 and who in their
 code of interpretation regarding       
unfulfilled prophecy1 espouse the       
literal in preference to the spiritual  
meaning1 we might here have an inviting 
picture presented to us of the ,,bethany
 of the future4 ,the ,mount of ,olives1 
by some great physical1 or rather       
supernatural agency1 is represented as  
heaving from its foundations1 and       
parting in twain4 ,the middle summit    

disappears4 ,the remaining two form the 
steep sides of a new ,valley1 which1 as 
it is spoken of as opening at ,jerusalem
 7from ,gethsemane71 eastwards1 the     
,vista must necessarily terminate with  
,,bethany2 thus connecting the two most 
memorable spots associated with our     
,lord's humiliation4 ,his feet shall    
stand in that day on the ,mount of      
,olives4--,the once lowly ,saviour again
 stands in power and great glory on the 
very spot over ,bethany from which ,he  
formerly ascended4 ,a new highway from  
the ,village of ,palms is made for ,his 
triumphal entrance to the ,holy ,city1  
while the air resounds with the old     
welcome--,rejoice1 ,o daughter of ,zion1
 behold thy ,king cometh6 ,if further we
 turn with the literalists to the       
majestic ,temple-,visions of ,ezekiel1  
we find the front of the newly-erected  
structure facing up this valley2 a new  
stream--7indeed a mighty river7--gushes 
down from the temple-colonnade1 flowing 
through the same gorge1 and discharging 

its purifying waters into the ,dead     
,sea4 7,verse #h1 and ,ezekiel xlvii4   
#a-ab2 ,joel iii4 #ah4 ,the reader is   
referred to these passages in full47    
,from the geographical position1 this   
river must needs1 in the course assigned
 to it1 flow nigh to the restored       
palm-groves of ,bethany--thus murmuring 
by scenes consecrated for centuries by  
the footsteps and tears of a weeping    
,saviour4  ,but if we cannot participate
 in these gorgeous literal picturings1  
we are abundantly warranted to take the 
words of the ,prophet as delineating the
 glorious results of the future         
restoration of the ,jews to their own   
,jerusalem4 ,we can think of the ,city  
of the ,great ,king raised from her     
desolation1 her walls salvation1 and her
 gates praise4 ,the ,messiah1 once      
rejected1 now owned and welcomed--the   
children of ,zion joyful in their ,king4
 ,we can think of the valley which is to
 divide the ,mount of ,olives--7the     
mountain bedewed with the memory of the 

,saviour's prayers7--we can think of    
that valley1 and the stream which flows 
through it1 as emblematic of spiritual  
blessings4 ,ask of ,me1 says ,god1      
addressing ,his adorable ,son1 and ,i   
will give ,thee the heathen for thine   
inheritance4 ,is not the symbolic answer
 here given8 ,the ,mountain where the   
,saviour so oft resorted to ask of ,his 
,father1 is rent in sunder--every       
barrier to the progress of the truth is 
now swept away--the living stream of    
,gospel mercy issues from ,zion 7or     
rather1 from ,him who is the ,true      
,temple71 that it may flow to the       
remotest nations of the earth6 ,as it   
enters the bituminous waters of the     
,asphaltite ,lake1 it is represented as 
curing them of their bitterness 7,ezek4 
xlvii4 #h1 #i72 descriptive of the power
 of the ,gospel1 whose living streams1  
like the symbolic leaves of the tree of 
life1 are for the healing of the        
nations4 ,then shall the words of       
,isaiah be fulfilled1 ,every valley     

shall be exalted1 and every mountain and
 hill shall be made low1 and the crooked
 shall be made straight1 and the rough  
places plain4 ,and the glory of the     
,lord shall be revealed1 and all flesh  
shall see it together4 7,isa4 xl4 #d47  
,in the prophecy of ,zechariah1 to which
 we have just referred1 we are told that
 in that same happy millennial period1  
the representatives of the world's      
nations will go up year by year to      
worship the ,king1 the ,lord of ,hosts1 
and to keep the feast of ,tabernacles4  
7,zech4 xiv4 #af47 ,who can tell but    
this may be a literal revival of the old
 ,hebrew festival1 only invested with a 
new ,gospel and ,christian meaning4     
,this feast1 says a gifted expositor1 is
 the only unfulfilled one of the great  
feasts of ,israel4 ,passover was        
fulfilled at ,christ's death1 and       
,pentecost at the outpouring of the     
,spirit4 ,but this feast represents the 
,,lord tabernacling with men1 and is    
only fulfilled when ',the ,lord my ,god 

shall come1 and all the saints with     
,thee4' ,on the ,transfiguration-,hill1 
,peter1 almost unwittingly1 set forth   
this truth4 ,he seemed to mean to say1  
',is not this the true joy of the ,feast
 of ,tabernacles8 ,is not the ,lord     
here8' ,if this be so1 we can think of  
the palm-groves of ,bethany again bared 
of their branches2--these waved in      
triumph as a new and nobler ,hosannah   
awakes the ancient echoes of            
,olivet--,blessed is ,he that cometh in 
the name of the ,lord6 ,as the          
regenerated children of ,abraham build  
up the waste places in and around ,zion1
 which for ages have been without       
inhabitant1 and whose names are still   
dear to them--think we1 amid other      
scenes of hallowed interest1 they will  
not love oftentimes to take the old     
,sabbath-day's journey to the site of   
the ,home of ,mary and her sister       
,martha4 ,while seated nigh the reputed 
burial-place1 with the ,gospel in their 
hands1 reading1 through their tears1 the

 story of their fathers' impenitency1   
and of their ,saviour's compassion and  
sympathy at the grave of ,his friend1   
will not a new and impressive           
truthfulness invest one of the old      
,bethany utterances1 ,,then said the    
,jews1 ,behold how ,he loved him6  ,but 
these1 after all1 are merely speculative
 thoughts1 on which we can build        
nothing4 ,we have in these ,memories to 
deal with the ,bethany of the past1 not 
with the imagined ,bethany of the       
future4 ,however pleasing1 in connexion 
with the ,honoured ,village1 these      
thoughts of a ,millennial day may be1   
nevertheless ,,we1 according to ,his    
promise1 rather look for new ,heavens   
and a new ,earth1 wherein dwelleth      
righteousness4         99       99      
99       99       99                    
,,transcriber',s ,,notes   ,page numbers
 refer to the original text4 ,footnote  
numbers refer to this transcribed       
version4  ,title page3 ,added missing   
quotation mark4  p#f3 ,retained spelling

 of ,perea in text1 and ,peraean in     
quotation4  p#eh3 ,hyphen added to      
death-bed for consistency4  p#aai3      
,replaced he 7referring to ,jesus7 with 
,he twice4  p#ahh3 ,hyphen retained in  
child-like in quoted poem4  p#bbj3      
,inconsistent capitalisation of         
,hosannahs retained4  p#bdh3 ,used      
single quotes to clarify quotation      
within speech4  ,footnote #h 7referenced
 on p#bd73 ,missing full stop added4    
,for consistency1 various ellipses have 
been rendered as 444