man's body probably laid on a sort of couch. In Bonar's travels in Palestine, be describes a ^neral which he saw, and says that the bier was like " a large cradle."
[/ say unto thee arise.^ We should carefully note the wide difference between our Lord's manner of working miracles, and the manner in which they were worked by His prophets aud apostles. There is an authority and divine power about the miracles recorded in the Gospels, which we do not see in the history of the other miracles in the Bible. Euthymius remarks, " Of old time indeed the prophet Elijah raised again the son of the widow of Sarepta, but by humbling himself before God, and , supplication to Him. (1 Kings xvii. 20, 2 h) So also the prophet Elisha raised the son of the Shunammite woman, but only after having stretched himself out upon his body. (2 Kings iv. 84, 35.) But Jesus only touching and commandiiig, at once raised the dead person."
Burkitt remarks, " The Socinians here own that Christ raised this young man by a divine power, which God had communi- cated to Him, yet deny Him at the same time to be essentially God. But let them prove, if they can, that a divine power which is proper to God alone, ever was, or ever can, be commu- nicated to a creature, without the comnmnication of the divine nature. True, we find Peter commanding Tabitha to arise, (Acts ix. 40,) but we find all he did was by faith iu Christ, and by prayer unto Christ But Christ here raised the widow's son without prayer, purely by His own power; which undeniably prpves Him to be God."
1 5. — [Began to speak.] This fact is mentioned, in order to place it beyond doubt, that the young man was really restored to life. Where there is speech, there must be life.
Let it be observed, that we have no record given to us of any- thing that was ever said or thought by those who were miracu- , lously raised from the dead. Their experience and knowledge are wisely withheld from us.
16. — [There came a fear.'] This expression, and the rest of the verse, as well as the verse following, appear to famish strong proof that this was the first instance of a dead person being restored to life by our Lord, during His ministry on earth.
[Ood hath visited His people.] This expression should be . compared with Luke i. 68, and Luke i. 78, and with many places in the Old Testament — such as Euth i. 6, 1 Sam. ii. 21, Job XXXV. 15, Jerem. vL 6. It appears to signify any remarkable divine interposition, either in the way of mercy or of judgment, and does not necessarily signify, in this place, a personal visita- tion. That " God was manifest in the flesh," when Christ became man for us, is an undeniable truth of Scriptm*e. But it cannot be proved that it is taught in this text
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