27. She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.

She had faith in herself, and could give a right answer at once. Here then we must ground ourselves. It is in vain to fly to our good hearts, and good meanings, instead of Christ. This is sad work, and we are miserably in the dark, till we can say, "Yea, Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God."

SECTION XLVIII.

Chap. xi. ver. 28—44.

LAZARUS RAISED FROM THE DEAD.

28. And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee.

of

There is a sense in which he calleth now for every one us, and is ready for us with all his blessings. What should we have thought of Mary, if she had not come? How long will the heart be deaf to the gracious calls of Christ?

29. As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him.

See here what we should do, when Christ calls us by his ministers.

30. Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him.

31. The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she arose up hastily, and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there.

32. Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him,

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she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

See where we should be, in faith, and the humble prostration of our souls, namely, at the feet of Jesus.

33. When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled,

As man, he was not without natural affection; and the outward expressions of it were in him, as in other men. Trouble therefore on proper occasions, and especially for the death of friends, is not sinful, when it is moderate: and without doubt all the affections of the holy Jesus were in perfect subjection to the order of grace. But we may profitably view this passage in another light. He might be, and was, affected with the death of Lazarus, and the concern of his sisters. But at the same time he knew that he was about to raise him from the dead; and therefore we may suppose his groaning and trouble here, and sorrow, (verse 35, "Jesus wept,") were chiefly from another cause, namely, the piercing view he had of sin, the cause of death, and all our miseries, and of the eternal death, to which obstinate sinners are doomed. When did he hear any groan from us for ourselves?

34. And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.

35. Jesus wept.

36. Then said the Jews, Behold, how he loved him!

Nay, but let us think again, how he loved all, and showed it by more than groans and tears.

37. And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?

the

He soon showed them that he could do more. We are never such enemies to our own peace, as when, with the Jews, we doubt of the power of Jesus.

38. Jesus therefore again groaning in himself, cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.

39. Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.

Here she had a little forgotten her own confession, and who it was, whom she called Lord.

40. Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?

Why do we not see more of the glory of God in our own conversion, but because we do not believe? And why do we not believe, but because we have no desire to experience any such work in ourselves?

41. Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.

Think you see him in the very action and posture of lifting up his eyes, upon this solemn occasion. Consider too that the matter of his thanksgiving was a benefit conferred on man; and that he had not only Lazarus, but multitudes, in his eye and heart.

42. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by, I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.

Jesus said this for our sakes too; and if we do not believe, these words will rise up in judgment against us.

43. And when he had thus spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.

Sinner, when thou hearest this voice, it will be as powerful for thy coming out of thy dead state.

44. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave-clothes and his face was bound about with a napkin.

We need not fear to see our natural state in this picture. 44. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go. So he saith of every believer, loose him from the bond of

sin, the condemnation and the power of it. God be merciful to us, and bring us to the freedom of Christ.

SECTION XLIX.

Chap. xi. ver. 45-57.

THE JEWS CONSPIRE AGAINST CHRIST.

45. Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.

We have this evidence, and a great deal more, before us; and we believe on him when we confess his power, and fly to it for the life of our souls.

46. But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done.

Is it possible they should have been more hardened by the miracle they had just seen? Yes, every unbeliever is an instance of this; and if Jesus does not open our eyes, he seals us up in blindness; (ix. 39.) Just as the same heat of the sun softens wax, and hardens clay.

47. Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles.

What are we doing, to let him go on in this manner? And they did just the very reverse of what they should have done. Instead of considering the nature, and design of his miracles, they resolved at once to destroy him. We may venture to say, that those who are not convinced by him now, have the same enmity to him.

48. If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.

They supposed that Christ's aim in all he did was to make himself a king, and that it would give occasion to the Romans to extirpate them utterly. They spoke what others

only think. If we receive Christ, this or that inconvenience will follow. It is the world, therefore, that shuts him out of our hearts.

49. And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all,

50. Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.

In their sins, not by the Romans. He meant one thing, and, as we are told in the following verse, the Holy Ghost, overruling his tongue, meant another, and made him utter a truth of the greatest importance.

51. And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation;

52. And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one, the children of God that were scattered abroad.

St. John, by the same Spirit, which spake in Caiaphas, guards against a mistake of his words. Let not any one therefore think, says he, that Christ died only for the single nation of the Jews: his death reaches to all parts of the world, and faith in it makes all, wheresoever dispersed, the children of God in one body. It is every one's great concern, to know whether it has reached him in its efficacy, and transforming, and saving power.

53. Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death.

54. Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews; but went thence unto a country near to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there continued with his disciples.

O! that he may ever continue with us to the close of our lives, by the presence and influences of his Holy Spirit.-Edit.

55. And the Jews' passover was nigh at hand: and many went out of the country up to Jerusalem before the passover, to purify themselves.

56. Then sought they for Jesus, and spake among themselves, as they stood in the temple, What think ye, that he will not come to the feast?