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Jerusalem, Jerusalem! thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not; behold your house is left unto you desolate." He that could so feel for the haughty and the proud, would he not condescend to the lowly and the suffering? "And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her," that voice never uttered one sound but of love, and kindness, and affection to man; even in his bitterest moments, in his deepest sorrows, in his lowest abasements, it could only murmur, "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do;"-" and said unto her, weep not, and he came and touched the bier." The finger of God was in that touch; he that formed man from the dust of the earth, made him in his

own image, planted within him a living soul; he that laid the foundations of the earth, so that they should not be moved; he that said unto the waters, hitherto shalt thou come, and no farther, and here shall thy proud waves be stayed; he whose lightnings gave shine unto the world, and before whose presence the hills melted like wax; he the great, eternal God, and Father of us all; he himself, in the form of a servant, was standing beside the corpse; " and they that bare him stood still." They stood still, as ye might stand still, at such a sight, in awe and wonderment, each man whispering to his neighbour : "and he said, Young man, I say unto thee, arise." No sooner were the words gone forth, than the spirit returned back unto its dwelling-place; the dead eyes opened, the dead lips moved, the dead muscles revived, the dead limbs received strength, "and he that was dead sat up, and be

gan to speak, and he delivered him to his mother." What must have been the feelings of that mother at such a moment as this! What joy was there there, what transport, what unspeakable delight! How she must have prostrated herself before her benefactor; how she must have kissed the very dust at his feet; with so wondrous a testimony before her eyes, with what sincerity, with what devotion, must she have hailed her Saviour and her Lord! From that hour, sleeping or waking, in health, in sickness, in joy, or sorrow, the thought of that exceeding great act of mercy must ever have been uppermost in her thoughts: but what did Jesus for the widow ?He restored her son to life; he gave one back to her arms, whom she never hoped to have looked upon again alive; and this without effort, without exertion— a word, a breath, a mere sound accomplished it.

What has Jesus done for us?-us he has restored to life; but with what pain, with what suffering, with what anguish, with what torture, has that restoration been accomplished; the cross! the cross! think of that; his own pure, innocent, spotless, holy, immaculate body, nailed to the fatal, fatal cross! The widow's son he restored indeed to life, but to a life that was to last but a little while; a life, according to the common lot of man; a life of trouble, of disorder, of perplexity, of distress; a life that must have come round to death again at last ;-us he has restored to another and a better life; a life that is to endure for ever; a life of bliss and joy; a life such as the angels in heaven possess; a life" where we shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on us, nor any heat; for the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed us, and lead us unto living fountains of water;

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and God shall wipe away all tears from our eyes." To think upon such a life as this-O! if there be such a thing as gratitude to be found in the human heart, will it not overflow with gratitude at such vast, such unheard of mercies as these? How eagerly will it catch at every syllable that may fall from the lips of so noble, so generous a Benefactor! How faithfully will it obey his commands! How careful will it be to avoid offending, in the slightest matter, one to whom it owes so much! All this we shall feel, and observe, and be careful for, if we possess the ordinary impulses of our nature; nay, even to go lower and lower still, if we have the meanest faculties, the poorest instincts that belong to the brute creation. Your poor dog that lies at your fire-side, treated kindly, will leap upon you, and caress you, and lick your hand; and when you have shut and barred your doors, and

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