THE MAN BORN BLIND.

(JNO. 9.)

Here Jesus teaches us that there may be cases of sickness or infirmity upon certain individuals, regardless of any transgression on their part as a direct cause. Neither this man nor his parents were the cause of this blindness. The common guilt of man is the door through which sickness has entered from the beginning, and like death itself, it will assert its power whenever permitted to do so. This blindness from birth was by divine permission. It was not the work of God, but was thus permitted of God, that His works should be made manifest. The gospel teaches us plainly that Jesus came to destroy the works of the Devil. In so doing he was working the works of God.

In this marvelous miracle Jesus required a very humiliating act of obedience of the man. To submit to the anointing of the repulsive clay, made of spittle, and then to go to the pool of Siloam and wash it out of his eyes, were both strong expressions, on the part of the man, of deep earnestness. Like Naaman the leper, he went through the humiliating process and came forth rejoicing. The poor man had but a limited knowledge of Jesus, but his acts proved that he obeyed in faith; for his testimony was, "He is a Prophet;" and as soon as he met Jesus and saw Him, he believed He was the Son of God, and worshipped Him.

Many of our modern believers who are weak in faith and pleading for remedies, seem to find much consolation in this case of the application of clay spittle and the water of Siloam. A few questions may be suggestive of a careful reflection. If the clay had any curative power, why was the man commanded so immediately to go and wash? Why do we never hear of such cures to-day by the use of clay? Why did not Jesus instruct His disciples to anoint with clay? Why do not the advocates of material remedies use clay in a similar manner?

There are many theories upon this subject, but in our conclusions we should seek to keep within scriptural bounds, believing that every act of Jesus was prompted by the mind of God in him, being designed to inspire faith and obedience on the part of its subject, and demonstrating His power to heal. All remedy the

ories have a weakening effect upon faith. The more we can comprehend in Christ the Divine Healer, the less all material remedies will appear; and when faith reaches the plane where "Christ is all and in all," there will be neither room nor need for anything else.

CHRIST RESTORETH TO BARTIMAEUS HIS SIGHT.

(LUKE 18:42, 43.)

"And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee.

"And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God."

When the blind suppliant in the way,

By friendly hands to Jesus led,
Prayed to behold the light of day,
"Receive thy sight," the Savior said.

At once he saw the pleasant rays

That lit the glorious firmament;

And, with firm step and words of praise,
He followed where the Master went.

Look down in pity, Lord, we pray,

On eyes oppressed by moral night,

And touch the darkened lids, and say

The gracious words, "Receive thy sight."

Then, in clear daylight, shall we see

Where walked the sinless Son of God;
And, aided by new strength from Thee,
Press onward in the path He trod.

WILLIAM C. BRYANT.

This man, though he was but a wayside beggar, possessed a living faith which obtained a blessing that the wealth of a kingdom could not obtain. Like the two men already mentioned, he began to cry out for mercy, as soon as he heard that Jesus was passing. He seemed to be unable to follow Him, or to get near

Him in the great throng of people. All he could do was to cry out. This he did in dead earnest. He must make Jesus hear. The people near charged him to keep still, but he gave no heed to his surroundings or to public opinion. His very soul was all absorbed in the one object, his sight, and he was not to be silenced by what men might think or say of him. Instead of holding his peace, he cried out the more a great deal, "Thou son of David, have mercy

on me."

His cries were not in vain; neither are ours. Jesus never turned away one seeking and obedient and earnest soul who came to Him in simple faith; and He never will. The ears of the Lord are open to their prayers. 1 Pet. 3:12. Dear sufferer, do not be discouraged if you should seem to fail with an ordinary effort to get the attention of our blessed Healer. Examine your heart and see that all is in God's order, then like this beggar repeat your cry until you know He hears. "Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they called the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise, He calleth thee." Ah, the cry was heard, the call reached his ear. Behold the change; it is Jesus calling now.

Here again we see the manner of personal contact. This man did not seem to be able, as the other two blind ones were, to come at once into the presence of Jesus. The throng was an insurmountable obstacle to this helpless man, but when he has reached the proper point of earnestness, doing his required part, Jesus comes to the rescue and bids the very obstacle assist the seeker, by calling him into His presence. This will be just as true in your case as in his. What you need is the living faith in this Healer, which if you put into practice like Bartimaeus did, with the same determined persistence, Jesus wili command the very obstacles in your way to assist you into His presence. They will stand aside and you shall have free access to Him. There is no real obstacle that can stand before faith. The towering mountain which obstructs the way must move from its foundation and make way for the seeking soul as it moves onward in its progress to victory. The struggle may seem a long one, the cries and prayers many, but there is certain victory; for "nothing is impossible to him that believeth." The "be of good comfort" will be heard, the glorious presence of Jesus and His healing power will be the reward of every faithful soul. As this man came into His presence, Jesus asked him,

WHAT WILT THOU THAT I SHOULD DO UNTO

THEE?

Is it not simply wonderful that this man was asked such a question? He who had been crying with such earnestness for mercy, now has the honored privilege of being called into the presence of Jesus and being asked: "What wilt thou?" This same blessed privilege is likewise extended to every one who comes to Him as this man did. He did not come to Jesus with doubt or uncertainty about His will. This was settled long before he came into the presence of Jesus. He did not come asking, What wilt Thou give me? but Jesus asks him,What wilt thou have? The Syrophenician woman was granted this same privilege after she had humbly taken her place at Jesus' feet. When faith has brought us into this condition of true obedience, we may have what we will. The man's will was that he might receive his sight. It was granted him as freely as the sunshine is poured out upon the earth. He had come up to the conditions perfectly, and was thereby enabled to drink in the blessings of life. He was now commanded to carry away his blessing and show it to the world. "Go thy way; THY FAITH HATH MADE THEE WHOLE."

THE BLIND MAN WASHED IN THE POOL OF SILOAM.

"When He had thus spoken, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,

"And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing."

THE MAN AT BETHESDA.

In this event the blind man had friends to bring him into the presence of Jesus. He had not the obstacles in his way as Bartimaeus had, and evidently had not so much faith. His friends besought Jesus to touch him. The first that Jesus did was to take

him by the hand and lead him off out of the town, away from his friends, into his presence alone, teaching him and us that we must become forgetful of friends and every surrounding if we would have our faith effectually claim the blessing. This man had become so dependent upon human help that his faith in Jesus apparently was quite imperfect, and consequently received but an imperfect result from the first touch of his healing hand. He looked up and said he saw men as trees walking.

There are cases of such healing in these days. Because of an imperfect faith, there are corresponding imperfect results, and m some cases no visible results at all. Many seekers never get into the presence of Jesus. They do not seek until they find. Others come into His presence, but when He begins to lead them away from everything else, they rebel and do not receive the blessing. In many other ways there are serious reasons for the seeming failures which skeptics are so ready to point out. The great remedy for all this is a perfect faith. If the healing is not received in the first application, let us get nearer to Him; or if the result is but partial, let us get nearer to Him, and apply for a second touch. Jesus is just as willing to give it to us as to the blind man. Faith will bring it, and we shall go our way re

joicing.

DIVINE HEALING IN PROPHECY.

Prophecy. "Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; He will come and save you. Then the eyes

of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing."-Isa. 35:4-6.

Prophecy fulfilled. "Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and show John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed. and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached unto them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in Me."-Matt. 11:4-6.

Prophecy. "Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was