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(J.C. Ryle, "The Gospel of Luke" 1858)
"When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and
said to her, 'Do not weep!' Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those
who carried him stood still. And He said, 'Young man, I say to you,
arise!'" Luke 7:13-14
We learn from these verses--how deep is the compassion of
our Lord's heart. We see this beautifully brought out in His behavior at this
funeral in Nain. He meets the mournful procession accompanying the young man to
his grave, and is moved with compassion at the sight. He does not wait to be
requested to help. His help appears to have been neither asked for, nor
expected. He saw the weeping mother, and knew well what her feelings must have
been, for He had been born of a woman Himself.
At once He addressed her with words alike startling and
touching. He said unto her, "Do not weep!" A few more seconds--and
the meaning of His words became plain. The widow's son was restored to her
alive. Her darkness was turned into light--and her sorrow into joy.
Our Lord Jesus Christ never changes! He is the same
yesterday, today, and forever. His heart is still as compassionate as when He
was upon earth. His sympathy with sufferers is still as strong. Let us bear
this in mind, and take comfort in it.
There is no friend or comforter who can be compared to
Christ. In all our days of darkness, which must needs be many--let us first
turn for consolation to Jesus, the Son of God. He will never fail us, never
disappoint us, and never refuse to take interest in our sorrows.
He still lives--who made the widow's heart sing for joy in
the gate of Nain.
He still lives--to receive all laboring and heavy-laden
ones, if they will only come to Him by faith.
He still lives--to heal the broken-hearted, and be a Friend
who sticks closer than a brother.
And He lives to do greater things than these one day. He
soon will come again for His people--that they may never weep again, and that
all tears may be wiped forever from their eyes!
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