11 And it came to pass the day af- ter, that he \veiit into a city called Nain ; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people.
12 Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her.
13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto Jier, "Weep not.
14 And he came and touched the
bier : and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee. Arise.
15 And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he deliverea him to his mother.
16 And there came a fear on all : and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us ; and. That (rod hath visited his people.
17 And this rumour of him went forth throughout all Judsea, and throughout all the region round about.
208 BXPOsnoRT thoughts.
Thb wondrous event described in these verses, is only recorded in St. Luke's Gospel. It is one of the three great instances of our Lord restoring a dead person to life, and, like the raising of Lazarus and the ruler's daughter, is rightly regarded as one of the greatest miracles which He wrought on earth. In all three cases, we see an exercise of divine power. In each we see a comfortable proof that the Prince of Peace is stronger than the king of terrors, and that though death, the last enemy, is mighty, he is not so mighty as the sinner's Friend.
We learn from these verses, what sorrow sin has brought into the world. We are told of a funeral at Nain. All funerals are mournful things, but it is difficult to imagine a funeral more mournful than the one here described. It was the funeral of a young man, and that young man the only son of his mother, and that mother a widow. There is not an item in the whole story, which is not fall of misery. And all this misery, be it remembered, was brought into the world by sin. God did not create it at the beginning, when He made all things " very good." SiQ is the cause of it all. "Sin entered into the world" when Adam fell, "and death by sin." (Rom. v. 12.)
Let us never forget this great truth. The world around us is full of sorrow. Sickness, and pain, and infirmity, and poverty, and labour, and trouble, abound on every side. From one end of the world to the other, the history of families is fiill of lamentation, and weep- ing, and mourning, and woe. And whence does it all come ? Sin is the fountain and root to which all must be traced. There would neither have been tears, nor