mbering in the deep sleep of the sheeted
dead, and nothing but Lazarus' Lord can break the moral trance--yet _he
can use the appointed means_. He dare not be guilty of the monstrous
inconsistency and crime of willingly allowing impediments to stand in
the way of his spiritual revival which his own efforts may remove! He
cannot expect his Lord to sound over his soul the gladdening accents of
peace, and reconciliation, and joy, if some known sin be still lying,
like the superincumbent grave-stone, which it is in his power to roll
away, and at his peril if he suffer to remain!

Christ is alone the "abolisher of death," and the "giver of life;" but
notwithstanding this, "Roll ye away the stone!"--neglect not the means
He has appointed and prescribed. If ye neglect prayer, and despise
ordinances, and trifle with temptation, or venture on forbidden ground,
ye are only making the intervening obstacle firmer and faster, and
wilfully denuding yourselves of the gift of life. Naaman must plunge
seven times in Jordan, else he cannot be made clean. To cleanse
_himself_ of his leprosy he cannot, but to wash in Jordan _he can_. The
Israelite must gaze on the brazen serpent; he cannot of himself heal one
fevered wound, but to gaze on the appointed symbol of cure he can. In
vain can the engines of war effect a breach on the walls of Jericho; but
the hosts of Joshua can sound the appointed trumpet, and raise the
prescribed shout, and the battlements in a moment are in the dust.
Martha and Mary in vain can make their voices be heard in the "dull,
cold ear of death," but at their Lord's bidding they can hurl back the
outer portals where their dead is laid. They cannot unbind one fetter,
but they can open with human hand the prison-door to admit the Divine
Liberator.

Let it not be supposed that in this we detract in any wise from the
omnipotence of the Saviour's grace. God forbid! All is of grace, from
first to last--free, sovereign grace. Man has no more merit in salvation
than the beggar has merit in reaching forth his hand for alms, or in
stooping down to drink of the wayside fountain. But neither must we
ignore the great truth which God strives throughout His Word to impress
upon us, that He works by _means_, and that for the neglect of these
means we are ourselves responsible. Paul had the assurance given him by
an angel from heaven, when tossed in the storm in Adria, that not one
life in his vessel was to be lost; that though the sh