is yet time. Let all human beings feel the vanity of seeking happiness in temporal things, instead of going to thee who art the resurrection and the life. Above all, O Lord! in all their trials, whether by unexpected death, or heart-rending separation, let them hear thy voice of love rising from the ruins of delusive happiness, which they had erected far from thee, and say to them in thy power, believest thou this? Dost thou believe that I alone am the resurrection and the life? Dost thou believe that, without me, there is nothing but sorrow, doubts, despair, and eternal death.

O Jesus! how every thing in this life fades to nothing before the happiness of loving thee! Let our hearts be consecrated to thee from the present moment. Our hearts are thine-they beat only for thee, and when we shall have nothing left but to draw our last breath upon thy bosom, oh ! may that breath waft to to the foot of thy eternal throne, this word of hope

* For me to live is Christ, to die is gain.-Amen, Lord Jesus! Amen.

Phil. i, 21.

LECTURE IX.

JESUS WEP г.

And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, the Master is come, and calleth for thee. As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came nnto him. Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him. The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, she goeth unto the grave to weep there. Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. When Jesus therefore saw her weeping and the Jews also weeping, which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled. And said, where have ye laid him? they said unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, behold how he loved him!-St. John xi. 28, 36.

Our Lord's actions above the course of

The nearer this incident draws to its close the more lively is the interest we take in it. are so grand, so sublime, so far human events, that we expect its termination to accord with such surpassing greatness; and what may we not expect where Jesus is the life and soul of the action? He first comes before us with a majesty wholly divine-he appears among his followers as a sun diffusing light to surrounding worlds, and rendering them brilliant to our sight. Lazarus, Martha, Mary, Thomas, with the rest of the disciples look to Jesus, and communicate to him their thoughts, affections, prayers, and sorrows: all benefit by his light and his consolations. Should some of his words or actions have appeared dark and mysterious, we know that one word of his power could dissipate these clouds, shed torrents of light upon the obscure points of his conduct, and command equally our adoration and our surprise.

But our historian calls us to meditate at the tomb of Lazarus, before he shews us his beloved.

master displaying the power of the great Creator by whom all things were made; he allows us to trace the feelings of his generous and compassionate heart, till he comes to a fact which speaks more than a thousand volumes, and calls forth tears of affection and gratitude in us all. "Jesus wept."

Martha, Mary, and Jesus will now successively engage our attention. Martha found her faith and hopes revive in the presence of him who called himself “ the resurrection and the life.” She had said,

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yea, Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.". And she thought within herself, "I see in thee the Messiah promised to Israel, the Deliverer, the Expectation of ages, the Desired of all nations; Him for whom all, who like Simeon and Anna, were waiting for the consolation of Israel, have been looking most anxiously." As soon as Martha discerned that Jesus was her Saviour, he seemed to her a most powerful comforter-her tears were dried-her confidence and peace returned with her faith, and she experienced the truth of our Lord's promise, joined to the following invitation, "Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden: and I will give you rest, ye shall find rest unto your souls."

But Martha will not enjoy alone, these precious consolations. She did not forget that her sister "sat still in the house" absorbed in grief. She left Jesus

* St. Mathew xi. 28, 29.

Far

for an instant, to fly to tell her the joyful news, that their heavenly friend was come. "She called Mary her sister secretly, saying, the Master is come and calleth for thee." Mary had shared her grief-Martha wished her to share her joy-they had wept together, it was natural that they should wish to rejoice together they had drank of the same cup of grief, it was just they should taste together the sweetness of divine help. How beautiful, how engaging is this union of Christian souls, where joys and griefs, pleasures and pains, hopes and fears, are all felt in common. above all worldly feeling is that communion of souls which has a scrupulous delicacy of enjoying any thing unshared, and would feel jealous if any secret sorrow were concealed. It is only in the love of God and fellowship with Christ, that these feelings can exist-they are as sanctifying as they are soothing, and are alone deserving of the name of friendship : were they entirely submitted to the influence of the spirit of God, (and out of that spirit all seems vanity, idolatry, and sin,) what blessings might they not produce! Strangers and pilgrims as we are, what encouragement does it not give us to find here, faithful fellow-travellers in the Lord; let us fight as in lists which we must enter daily against sin, the world, and ourselves-how happy for us to find champions at our side, who will share our dangers, and by their words and example, encourage us to strive for victory.What a blessing for us poor sinners to find a brotherly hand near us, stretched out to shew us our snares, and

*

ready to support and defend us. When Martha returned to the house she found Mary in the deepest affliction-she called her away secretly, that she might tell her the joyful news of her Lord's arrival. Though you should at all times be " ready to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear," yet there are many Christian experiences which none but the Disciples of Jesus can understand. Martha, notwithstanding the usual quickness of her impressions, felt that it was only to Mary, that she could open her heart, she alone being able to enter into her joyful hopes. The Jews, then assembled in the house, would have considered her love for Jesus as folly, her faith as fanaticism, her hopes as chimeras; besides, it is possible that our Lord's answer to her might have awakened in her some secret hope of beholding again, in this world, her much lamented brother: to whom then but Mary could she have breathed such hopes! This child of God would shrink from profaning her secret thoughts, by exposing them to the ridicule or sarcasm of unbelievers. "The Master is come," said Martha, with the eager joy of one impatient to raise a drooping spirit by glad tidings. According to Martha's ideas these words were sufficient to relieve Mary of her sorrows. As if she had said to her, "We have indeed been afflicted-the sweet bond of our domestic circle has been dissevered-we have watched our dear Lazarus on his death bed, and have seen him carried to the grave-we have waited four days

1 Peter iii. 15.

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