" which stand by I faid it, that they may “ believe that thou halt fent mẹ.

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

44. And he that was dead came forth, "bound hand and foot with grave-clothes; "and his face was bound about with a "napkin. Jefus faith unto them, Loose "him, and let him go."

The removal of the ftone from the grave, and the other ceremonies obferved by our Saviour upon the prefent occafion, could not have been necessary to the performance of the miracle; but our Lord, in this as on most other occafions, condefcended to our weakneffes. There being great numbers prefent, who all knew the circumstances of Lazarus's death, he seems to have determined to make the miracle of his refurrection fo clear and obvious to the fenfes, as to leave no poffible ground to cavil at, or dispute it. Had Lazarus come forth from the tomb, without the ftone

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ftone having been removed, fome of the fpectators might have thought that it was his fpirit they had seen, and that his body ftill remained in the grave; but when they saw him in the tomb, and saw him arife from thence in his burial-clothes, as they had depofited him there, it was impoffible to raise the shadow of a doubt. A fingle word, nay, even a thought, of our Lord, would have reftored him to life; but that all present might fee and know that the dead heard his voice, he calls to Lazarus, with a loud voice, to come forth:' the order was inftantly obeyed; and his declaration to Martha fully established, when he faid, I am the refurrection and the life.'

Another part of our Saviour's conduct upon this occafion, is very striking, and well deferving our notice.

Though one with the Father, and poffeffing all the power of the God-head, he makes public profeffion of his thanks to him, thereby teaching us not only to lift up our eyes and hearts to him, in all our wants and diftreffes, but to make our

grateful

grateful acknowledgments to him for the favors he daily and hourly bestows upon

us.

The order for releafing Lazarus from his burial-clothes, in view of the spectators of the miracle, was probably to point out to them, that his restoration to life was not merely for the moment, and to fhew forth the mighty power of God, but that he was to be restored to his friends and fociety, and return to all the functions of life, as if he had not died.

"

many of the Jews which

66 45. Then many

came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jefus did, believed on him.

"46. But fome of them went their

ways to the Pharifees, and told them "what things Jefus had done.

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

"48. If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him; and the Romans " fhall

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"fhall come and take away both our place " and nation."

One would have scarcely conceived it poffible that any one who had been prefent at the scene just described, could have continued in a state of infidelity; yet, we learn that, though many of the company then present believed, there were others who went to inform the Pharifees of what had paffed, and to concert measures against Jefus. The chief priests and Pharifees clearly saw that it was no longer poffible to deny or conceal the wonderful works wrought by our Lord, and that, if they did not find fome means of destroying him, their own power and influence would be at an end; as all people would, of course, quit them, for one whofe acts afforded fuch unanswerable proofs of his divine commission: thus they fuffered pride and felf-intereft to regulate their conduct, in oppofition to their own acknowledged conviction. In the lofs of their own power, they imagined they faw the total deftruction

destruction of their kingdom and nation; and, as is generally the case with obstinacy and ignorance, they drew down upon themselves the very mischiefs which, by their crooked and deteftable policy, they meant to avert; fince the death of our Lord, procured by their diabolical contrivances, was the signal for the deftruction both of their Temple and of Jerufalem itself, according to the prophecy of our Saviour, (St. Luke, chapter xix. verse 41. 42. 43. 44.) who wept over the city: Saying, If thou hadst known,

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even thou, at least in this thy day, the

things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. "For the day's fhall come upon thee, that "thine enemies fhall caft a trench about

thee, and compass thee round, and keep "thee in on every fide, and shall lay thee

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even with the ground, and thy children

within thee; and they fhall not leave " in thee one stone upon another; because thou kneweft not the time of thy vifi"tation." And, again, (in St. Matthew, chap.