14 And when he came to his dis- ciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the Scribes questioning with them.
15 And straightway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to Mm saluted him.
16 And he asked the Scribes, What question ye with them?
17 And one of the multitude an- swered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit ;
18 And wheresoever he taketk him, he teareth him ; and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away : and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.
19 He answereth him, and saith.
0 faithless generation, how long shall
1 be with you ? how long shall I suf- fer you ? bring him unto" me.
20 And they brought him unto him : and when he saw him, straight- way the spirit tare him ; and he fell on the ground and wallowed foaming.
21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.
22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him : but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.
23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine un- belief.
25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him and enter no more into him.
26 And tlie spirit cried, and rent him sore and came out of him ; and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.
27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up ; and he arose.
28 And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him priv- ate'y, Why could not we cast him out I
29 And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.
The contrast between these verses and those which pre- cede them in the chapter is very striking. We pass from the mount of transfiguration to a melancholy history of the work of the devil. We come down from the vision
Elias is yet to take place. They consider that John the Baptist only went before our Lord in the " spirit and power of Elias,"- (Luke i, 17,) and that the words of Malachi are yet to be fulfilled. This is the view maintained by nearly all the Fathers, by the great majority of the Roman Catholic commentators, and by not a few modern Prot- estant divines, both English and continental, at the present time.
If I must express an opinion, when great and learned divines differ so widely, I must honestly confess that I decidedly incline to the sec- ond of the two interpretations above given. I believe that a literal appearing of Elijah the prophet before the second coming of Christ may be expected. Dark and incomprehensible as the subject iSj the, scriptural arguments in favor of this view appear to me unanswer- able. Any other view seems to do violence to the plain meaning of