that if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?” And tell me, is there not inexpressible comfort in this love which mourns over sin as the greatest loss and the greatest sorrow?  I can get many, as I have said, in the world to understand and to feel with me in all my sufferings from loss of wealth, of health, of friends, or of any earthly blessing.  Relations, acquaintances, strangers, even enemies, could be found who would do so.  But who will so love me as to carry my crushing burden of sin?  Who can fully understand its exceeding sinfulness I Who can fathom the depths into which I have fallen, or enter the body of death which imprisons my spirit.  One only, the truest, the best, the most loving of all, my Saviour!  And His hatred of my sin, and His sorrow for it, is just the measure of His love to me, and of His desire to deliver me, and to make me a partaker of His own blessed rest and peace, through faith and love in His Father and my Father, in His God and my God!

I shall pass by the remaining facts in this narrative, the raising of Lazarus, and the memorable scene when Jesus sat as a guest with the family of Bethany, again restored to one another, and to Himself in love; and when Mary with unutterable thoughts anointed His feet with ointment, and wiped them with the hair of her head.  I would rather occupy the space which remains, in gathering from what has been said a few general lessons of importance chiefly to mourners.

My suffering brother or sister! permit me to address you as if personally present with you, seeing your distress, and sharing it as those cannot choose but do who have themselves experienced the darkness of sorrow.  Such darkness and perplexity I have known, and I so remember with deepest gratitude the strength and comfort which were then afforded by the revelation of the ways of Christ, as illustrated by this narrative, that I desire to help others as I have been myself helped.

The one grand lesson which it teaches us is, never, in our darkest hour, to lose confidence in the love of Christ towards us, as if He had forgotten to be gracious, and either could not or would not help us.  Banish the sinful thought!  “Beware lest there should be in any of you the evil heart of unbelief.”  For such unbelief is the greatest calamity which can befall us.  It is, verily, “sorrow’s crown of sorrow,” Let us rather “hold fast our confidence, which hath a great reward.”

Like the family in Bethany, you too, I shall suppose, are visited with a sudden and “mysterious” bereavement.  Like them you may pray to Christ, and ask a specific blessing; and like them you may think He has not heard your prayer, nor ever will answer it, because He does not do this at the time or in the manner you wished or anticipated.  His thoughts and ways with reference to you may thus be utterly dark—­darker than blackest night.  Yet the servant of the Lord, “though he walks