"And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour;" as, upon hearing the words, he believed he would. From this passage we may learn what faith is. It is an earnest desire of Christ's benefits, and firm trust in him for them, from a sense of our perishing state, and his readiness to help us. Nothing short of this can be accounted faith, and it need not be anything more. Some are very positive that it cannot be saving, unless it is a particular, personal assurance of an interest in Christ, given to the soul of the believer. But now mark if the centurion had answered, “Lord, it is not enough to hear thee speak the word, I must have also an inward revelation, or immediate revelation of the spirit, that it will be as thou hast said," would not this have been an horrible affront to Christ? The word of God in the Scripture, therefore, is sufficient ground for believing, and the faith which is built upon it, by the divine assistance, is undoubtedly scriptural and saving.

SECTION XVII.

Chap. viii. ver. 14—34.

OTHER MIRACLES.

14. And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever.

:

15. And he touched her hand, and the fever left her and she arose, and ministered unto them.

With alacrity and great gratitude. This is the way Jesus takes with us all. What shall we not do in the belief of his love?

16. When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick.

Jesus is always doing these things in the world. Let not any say he has no devil; when deep-rooted aversion to God, pride, wrath, envy, and other diabolical tempers, have possession of his soul.

"He cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick;" that we might be convinced of his power, and in the belief of this word come to him with our own sicknesses. The Scripture is all light, or all dark, as we do, or do not see ourselves in it.

17. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sick

nesses.

He must take and bear them; they defy all the skill of man. We may well stand amazed, and are for ever indebted to him, that he would take and bear them with sympathy and painful suffering. And his bearing is healing, his taking is taking away.

18. Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side.

Did he withdraw from his work? No, but from their mistaken apprehensions of him, as a temporal king, and because he would not bring reproach upon himself, by giving the least countenance to their tumultuous proceedings.

19. And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.

It was well said, if the heart had been right. But the answer shows he did not think of following Christ for Christ, but for the world.

20. And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests;

Christ gives him to understand that he was not what he took him for, and had none of those things to bestow which he hoped to gain by following him.

20. But the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

The Son of man, and the Son of God too; that by this union the human nature might be exalted to a participation of the Godhead. Behold the great abasement of the greatest of all the sons of men! And how powerfully it preaches lowliness to grandeur, and contentment to poverty.

21. And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.

Either then dead, or to stay till his death. It was a plausible pretence, but this doing something else first, ruins us; and if we have an excuse for not coming to Christ now, it is to be feared we shall die with one in our mouths.

22. But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.

Christ speaks a different language from the world. In his account, not only the deceased, but the dead to God and their souls, are the dead. We must all follow Christ for the reason here intimated, because we are dead without him.

23. And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him.

24. And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.

25. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish.

26. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calin.

The disciples should have considered what they had seen and known of Jesus, and hence they should have concluded against all appearances that they were safe whilst he was in the ship with them. Let his servants be

warned by this rebuke: they are but too apt to dishonour him, destroy their own peace, and hinder their progress, by their desponding fears.

When your own doubts are excited, and run mountains high, think you see him in the very action and posture of rebuking the winds and the sea.

27. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!

Blessed are we, when we can say this from our own experience of his power in us. And we do not believe in him at all, if we do not believe in him for this very end.

28. And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.

In the mischievous disposition, madness, despair, and blasphemy of these possessed with the devils, hell is, as it were, naked before us. How dreadful to think this may be our condition!

29. And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?

The devils knew what they said, and that he did not come to help them. Blessed be God, he came to deliver us from their power and malice. But what less in effect do all those say, who prefer their lusts to him, refuse his help, and despise his salvation?

"Art thou come hither to torment us before the time ?" the day of judgment. They know their sufferings are not yet at their highest, and think of the time with dread and horror. They are here preaching to us. What is our choice from this day forward? Are we willing to follow Christ, or go with them into their place of torment?

30. And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding.

31. So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine.

32. And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.

33. And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told everything; and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils.

These wicked spirits were better anywhere than in man. But why must the owners of the swine suffer this loss? It is a sufficient answer to say, that Christ saw it fit. We all know who sends calamities, and for what end: why then should this, more than other instances of the same nature, be thought a reflection on the divine goodness?

34. And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus : and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts.

The miracle wrought no good effect among them. They preferred their swine to Christ's presence and teaching.

Good Lord, deliver us from the dreadful guilt of saying, "What have we to do with thee ?" Thou tookest on thee the seed of Abraham, and camest in great pity to heal and help us, to rescue and to save us, to cleanse us from the defilement of sin, and restore the decayed powers of our natures, and without the grace of thy redemption we perish. Grant us so perfectly to believe in thee, that, renouncing all self-dependence, and trusting only in thy help, we may follow thee without delay, as the life of our souls, and by thy mighty aid be defended in all dangers, and against all the enemies of our salvation.