The Pulpit Commentary — John — Volume 2 — Section 120

Jl'!lm m,ulrl do eomet-hing to meet her oe.ee, ,md, though her hopes were v&gue, they W!'re nourishl'd by hie own words ; but now her fee.rR preve.lled Ag&inet her hopee. Her faith gR"e we.y hcfore the exigencies of sense. She drellded the remov&l of the etone I\Dd t.he evider.ces of corruption. She oould not bee.r to look Into the <'lark e.nd noisome gre.ve. How l!l'Dtly, 1md yet how solemnly, <'toes Jesus chide her unbelief I "Se.id I not unto thee," etc.? He reminds her of a.II that he.d pe.ssed between them before. And could ehe now mistrust him, whe.tever he might do? Why doubt the.t power e.nd wisdom e.nd lo,·e, even e.11 tb11.t me.kes up Divine glory, would shine forth in his e.ctious? This was enough for Me.rth11., e.nd now ehe trusts her Lord. Now she ia in e. right et.ate of mind e.nd bee.rt for profiting by a.II the.t followed. He.d it been otherwise, even the raising of her brother from the tomb would not of itself have revealed to her the glory of God. For her it might have been but a temporal mercy, an earthly, perho.ps a qucstione.blo boon, carrying no spiritual blessing along with it. Miracles, when they were wrought, wore extraordinary means of gre.oe, but they might be misunderstood and abused like any other means; nay, we mnst not forget the.t there were men who witnessed this miracle as well as Martha, whose hearts were only hardened by what they SAW. They went their ways to the Pharisees and helped them to plot ogainst the Prince of life I Our text is this, "If thou wouldest believe," etc. The significance of these words extends far beyond the occasion on which they were uttered. As a master- keJ op~ns many locks, so it is with such sayings of Jesus dropped incidentally in the course of conversation. If we oould only use them aright they would open many of the secrets of our hearts, and explain to us much of the character and of the ways of God. I. THESE WORDS CONTAIN A GREAT DOCTRINE, VIZ. THAT THE GLOBY OF 0oD OAl!I' ONLY BE SEEN BY THE EYE OF FAITH. This is universally true, whether we think of bis glory as displayed in nature and in providence, or by his Word and his Son from heaven. The psalmist of Israel exclaims (Ps. xi.x.), "The heavens declare the glory of God ; and the firmament showeth his handywork." And so it has been from the beginning. But what mnltitndes have, alas I been deaf and blind to all this teaching-in 60me ages worshipping the host of heaven instead of him who made them all; and in tat.er times seeing nothing in God's grandest works but a vast and complicated machine rithout a final purpose, a thickly woven veil of laws and second callSes with nothing tehind it ! Ah ! the last word of unbelief is a blank and cheerless materialism. And .he same thing must be said of the very highest display of God's glory in the face of Jesus Christ. There, surely, it shines forth in wondrous and yet attractive radiance. " Christ the Power of God, and the Wisdom of God." His life on earth the very image of God's holiness. His cross the meeting-place of righteousness and mercy. His resurrection the triumph of victorious grace. But why is Christ to so many a stumbling-stone and a rock of offence? Why is he still despised and rejected of men, so that they tum from him with indifference or, perhaps, with a far worse feeling ? Why do they think nought of bis Divine glory, and make so mnch of the glory of man, which is as the flower of grass? The .Apostle Paul replies that "the natural man receiveth not the thfogs of the Spirit of God .•. neither can he know them, because they are spiritwilly discerned." The god of this world, or the spirit of the age, or, it may be, some lust of their own hearts, bas blinded their eyes, so that they will not believe. On the other band, every Christian knows, by a very practical experience, that the glory of God is a spiritual thing, which can only be seen by the eye of the spirit. By whatever way he has been led in pro,·idence and grace, he has learned this much, that God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in his heart and opened his eyes. 'And what has been the result? May we not say that, so far as he has walked in this light, life haB become a more solemn and blessed thing than it was before, and the Bible a di1ferent book to what it was, and the day of rest other- wiBe hallowed and welcomed, and the means of grace, instead of seemly and well- meanincr0 forms, have become wells of salvation? Not seldom among his fellow-pilgrims in life's journey he recognizes men and women who have the mark of God on their foreheads; and there are times, too, when on the face of nature itself--on the many- coloured ee.rth beneath and on the heavens over his head-there seems to him to rest .. a light that never was on la.nd or sea," revealing to him a glimpse, 8Jl it wure, of the glory of the Eterno.1. m. xr, 1-67.) THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. JOUN. 125