into the tomb; no, he spoke as of a rest after labour, a sleep after weariness. "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth, but I go that I may awake him out of sleep."O Jesus! Prince of life! sovereign disposer of all! come while we are considering these words of eternal life-come and speak peace and victory to our souls; raise us above the world, above our worldly cares; above death, and the grave-fit us to follow thee to those heavenly regions on which our hopes are placed; break asunder the chains which bind us to earth, and let us fully enjoy the glorious freedom of the children of God. Jesus had, with a grave reproof, met the difficulty which his Disciples raised against his return to Judea; he might have said at once, Lazarus is dead, and I am going to comfort his sisters; but, no, he wished to announce the melancholy news in a form best calculated to soften its bitterness: "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth;" then, as if he thought he had pained his Disciples too much (for they also loved Lazarus) he added, "but I go that I may awake him out of sleep" Jesus knew before he heard from Bethany, all that had passed there; he could see the cause of the illness of Lazarus, as well when at a distance as when near, and by speaking one word “* in the power that was given him in heaven and on earth," could either cure him or restore him to life after death; but we must not forget this sickness was * Matt. xxviii. 18. to be for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby :" Jesus was glad, for his Disciples sake, that he was not there; he returns to Judea, and there, at the edge of the grave, all Israel and all future generations may see with admiration the power of the Redeemer of the world.Happy are the Disciples of such a master-happy are those who witnessed his power, and more happy still are those who know, by their own experience, that great as was that power, it does not exceed his love! But who, feeling this, could duly appreciate the happiness of the man whom Jesus called "his friend." He+who laid the foundation of the earth," "upholding all things by the power of his word," the Lord of glory, he gives the endearing name of friend to a worm of the earth, a sinner. Men of exalted station, (though only dust and ashes) will not deign sometimes to give this name to a fellow-creature in humble life, yet he whom the Angels of God worship, so called Lazarus, and how precious, how encouraging, is this name in the heart and from the lips of the Redeemer of the world! We know well what is understood by the word friend as applied by us-it is a word in common use, may be given to a new acquaintance, and be used like a mask to wear when it suits our purpose, and thrown aside when no longer required. But where are the friends who are willing to forgive a fault in their friend? Where are they who + Hebrew i. 10. Heb. i. 3. acknowledge their friend in adversity? This may appear trifling, but must be repeated to those who have not learned friendship from the example of our Lord. You see a wealthy and prosperous man, surrounded by a host of false friends, who profane that name with their lips, in a little while he may be reduced to the utmost want, instead of filling some honorable station, courted and fawned upon by all, he may perhaps be laid on a bed of sickness in some lowly dwelling, and deprived of all that could soften the bitterness of his situation. Where are the heartless companions who surrounded him but the other day, and overwhelmed him with the hypocritical demonstrations of their attachment? I do not see them near him he is poor, so they would blush to call him friend he is unhappy, that is alone a crime. You who have been pained by the instability of human regard, who are suffering, slighted, and neglected by the cold unfeeling world: come to Jesus, he will prove your friend. Do not expect to receive from man the comfort your heart requires. "* Behold thou trusteth upon the staff of this bruised reed, on which, if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it." What human aid could you find to fill the void within your soul? What could lighten your sighs, and dry your tears? If you have not called upon Jesus as your friend, he has been before hand with you, and has called you by that tender name, * 2 Kings xviii. 21. He came to He was not and with the name has given you all the privileges of friendship. Let not a sense of your unworthiness alarm you, and keep you from him. seek and save that which was lost." offended when he was called the "+friend of publicans and sinners." Neither let your poverty or low condition deter you. He it was, who "though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich." Far different are your human protectors, who call themselves friends, whom you approach in trembling through a parade of ostentation and pride. Jesus, who is willing to be your friend, was born in a manger-his attendants consisted of a few fishermen from the Lake of Gennesareth. The sick whom he cured-the poor whom he relieved, and the afflicted whom he comforted, were his sole companions. Unlike our earthly friends, whose love lasts only while they feel enjoyment from it-Jesus is always the same, always ready to receive and love you-the more you are afflicted and suffering-the more you are humble and contrite -the more willing is he to call you his friend. Therefore, I repeat, come to Jesus-open your heart to him-call him your friend, he invites you to do se, and to pour out your grief in the pure and inexhaustible fountain of his love. “§ If any man thirst let him come unto me and drink." "Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." * St. Luke xix. 10. ↑ Luke vii. 34. 2 Cor. viii. 9. "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth."-Jesus does not say my friend, he does not exclude his Disciples from this sacred friendship; he who is the friend of Jesus is the friend of all whom he loves: the maxim of this world, that no man can have more than one friend is humiliating, false, and egotistical. It shews, very plainly, of what value is friendship, or indeed any of our affections, where the love of Christ is not the bond of union-may this narrow-mindedness be far from us. If Jesus be our friend, all those who love him are our friends. Also, "See how they love each other," exclaimed the astonished Heathens, when they first beheld the behaviour of the primitive Christians to one another. There is a powerful but invisible chain which unites all those who love Jesus in amity; he is the head, they are the members; such a bond unites space and time, heaven and earth. From the time of Abel till the very latest of the believers, even those who are raising their hearts to Jesus from the centre of the Heathen Islands, all form an united band of friends round Jesus-"* All continue with one accord in supplication and prayer," all walk together towards Zion, "+to the general assembly and Church of the first born," there to be united for ever by the grace of his everlasting love. Let us turn to the history of David—“ ‡ And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul." Then Jonathan and David made a cove Acts i. 14. † Hebrews xii. 23. 1 Samuel xviii, 1 & 3. |