"Jesus wept"! (John 11:35). Wondrous, significant fact! He wept not for Himself, but for others.
He wept with them. Mary wept. The Jews wept. All this is easily grasped and understood. But that
Jesus should weep reveals a mystery which we cannot fathom. It was divine compassion weeping
through human eyes over the desolation which sin had caused in this poor world, weeping in
sympathy with those whose hearts had been crushed by the inexorable hand of death.

Let all who are in sorrow remember this. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His
circumstances are changed, but His heart is not. His position is different, but His sympathy is the
same. "We have not an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities;
but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." There is a perfect human heart on
the throne of the Majesty of the heavens, and that heart sympathizes with us in all our sorrows,
in all our trials, in all our infirmities, in all our pressure and exercise. He perfectly enters into it
all. Yea, He gives Himself to each one of His beloved members here upon earth as though He had
only that one to look after.

How sweet and soothing to think of this! It is worth having a sorrow to be allowed to taste the
preciousness of Christ’s sympathy. The sisters of Bethany might say, "Lord, if Thou hadst been
here, my brother had not died." But if their brother had not died, they would not have seen Jesus
weeping, or heard His deep groan of sympathy with them in their sorrow. And who would not say
that it is better to have the sympathy of His heart with us in our sorrow than the power of His
hand in keeping or taking us out of it? Was it not much better, much higher, much more blessed,
for the three witnesses in Daniel 3 to have the Son of God walking with them in the furnace than
to have escaped’ the furnace by the power of His Hand? Unquestionably.

And thus it is in every case. We have ever to remember that this is not the day for the display of
Christ’s power. By and by He will take to Himself His great power, and reign. Then all our
sufferings, our trials, our tribulations, will be over forever. The night of weeping will give place
to the morning of joy_the morning without clouds_the morning that shall never know an
evening. But now it is the lime of Christ’s patience, the time of His precious sympathy; and the
sense of this is most blessedly calculated to sustain the heart in passing through the deep waters
of affliction.

And there are deep waters of affliction. There are trials, sorrows, tribulations, and difficulties.
And not only so, but our God means that we should feel them. His Hand is in them for our real
good, and for His Glory. And it is our privilege to be able to say, "We glory in tribulations also;
knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope; and
hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy
Ghost, which is given unto us." (Romans 5:3-5).

The Lord be praised for all this! But it were folly to deny that there are trials, sorrows and
tribulations of all sorts. Nor would our God have us insensible to them. Insensibility to them is
folly; glorying in them is faith. The consciousness of Christ’s sympathy, and the intelligence of
God’s object in all our afflictions, will enable us to rejoice in them; but to deny the afflictions, or

that we ought to feel them, is simply absurd. God would not have us to be stoics; He leads us into
deep waters to walk with us through them; and when His end is reached, He delivers us out of
them, to our joy and His own everlasting praise.

He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee; for My strength is made perfect in weakness.
Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon
me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in
distresses, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak then am I strong." (II Cor. 12:9,19). At the first,
Paul longed to be rid of the thorn in the flesh, whatever it was. He besought the Lord thrice that
it might depart from him. But the thorn in the flesh was better than pride in the heart. It was better
far to be afflicted than puffed up_better to have Christ’s sympathy with him in his temptation than
the power of His Hand in delivering him out of it.

FRAGMENT
"Still His heart amidst the glory
Beareth all our grief and care,
Every burden, ere we feel it,
Weighed and measured by Him there!

All His love, His joy, His glory,
By His Spirit here made known,
Whilst that Spirit speaks the sorrows
Of His saints before the Throne!"

FRAGMENT
"They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed,
shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." (Psa. 126:5,6).