' With healing in his wings.'
By wings are understood beams of the sun, for beams are spread from the lightsome body, as wings from the body ; and thus Christ, though but one, can spread all his graces to all parts of the world ; and by the beams are conveyed all that is in the sun, as light and power ; and the like effects which grace works in us. Again, wings have a power to keep warm, and comfort the young ones ; and therefore God is said to gather his children as a hen doth gather her chickens. Mat. sxiii. 37. In the beams there is a healing nature also. So as the meaning is evident, that this Sun of right- eousness shall be a healing sun.
For naturally we are all sick and wounded. Some see and feel their diseases and pain, others do not ; but those that do not are the most dan- gerously afflicted. We are all sick of a general spreading leprosy ; and besides, we have every one of us our particular diseases. Some swell with pride, as men do with the dropsy ; others that are covetous have ever a supposed hunger, crying ever ' Give, give ;' some burn in wrath and anger, as men do in the hot ague ; and as we are sick, so are we also wounded by terror of conscience, by Satan's temptations, and therefore have need of healing ; and this is wrought by Christ, but after a wonderful manner, even from heaven he comes to invite us to come to him. ' Come to me, all ye that are weary,' Mat. xi. 28. Healing is ordinarily by natural medicines of drugs and the like ; but Christ heals with a plaster of his own blood, even by Qu. ' Sun '? — Ed. t Cf. our Memoir of Sibbes, Vol. I. c. viii. p. Ixxi. — G.
172 THE SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.
' his wounds and stripes are we healed,' Isa. liii. 5. He heals by his Spirit, enlightening our understandings, which by nature is dark, and soon led away to mistake light for darkness, and darkness for light. This he heals by his word breeding sound affections and judgments, whereby we esteem of things as they are, and accordingly do affect them. He heals our wounds of conscience that Satan makes by his darts and sharp tempta- tions, whereby he would bear us in hand that we are reprobates, and that God is angry with us. Against these he strengthens our faith and trust in God, yea, though he kill us. These temptations, and many other, may gather together to cloud this Sun, but it will at length scatter them all. So as there is ever hope of comfort so long as we use good means. Indeed, amongst bodily diseases some there are that are called opprohria medico- rum ;■- but in soul there is no disease but if it be felt it may be cured. The soul that hungers after comfort shall find it ; for Christ is an universal healer, healing both bodies and souls of men, and healing them from all evil, both blindness and deafness of the heart ; nay, the very dead heart he can restore to life. And this serves to reprove the carelessness of men. It is wonderful, if the head doth but ache, no cost nor labour is spared to redress it. The physician is sent for presently ; but in the soul's sick- ness they are so far from sending for them as they hate them. Am not I your enemy because I tell you the truth ? saith the apostle. Gal. iv. IG ; and thus now-a-days none are greater enemies in the esteem of ordinary men than the minister that deals faithfully with them.
Again, this should teach us to take notice of our diseases in time, and go to the healing God, as he terms himself, Exod. xv. 26, and lay open our estates to him, and confess, as David did, Ps. xli. 4, ' Heal me, Lord, for I have sinned against thee.' And thus lay open our sores, as beggars use to do to move commiseration ; for as there are beams of majesty in this Sun, so are there beams of mercy and bowels of compassion in him. And to this end we should claim his nature and truth in performance of his pro- mises, and we should attend on the means; for there is a tree in the church of God, even ' the tree of life,' whose leaves are appointed ' to heal the nations,' Rev. xxii. 2, and this is the word of God. We should also take heed of despair. Though as yet Satan lulls us asleep, telling us that the sin we are tempted to is but a little one, and that God will dispense with it ; that we may yet a while swear and commit adultery, and when we die we may repent. Believe him not, for when death approacheth he will alter his rhetoric. Oh ! thou hast lived in sins against conscience a long while. Though thou hast been told of it often, thy sins are scandalous ; thou hast resisted God, he will now resist thee ; never hope for mercy, thou art mine. What comfort is there then for a poor miserable wretch, but to be well grounded in the knowledge of his Physician, and to be assured of his healing power that hath cured innumerable souls. We should furthermore take heed of ignorance ; for many, when temptations come, have not the least knowledge of any healing power in Christ, and so they go on till death, and die like blocks. We should meditate of his commandments and promises ; of his goodness and nature ; of his encou- ragements given to us to come to him, ' Come to me, all ye that are weary,' Mat. xi. 38. We praise physicians that have peculiar sovereign medi- cines, that can work extraordinary cures. Now Christ he hath a medicine of his own able to cure any disease, though never so desperate, any person though never so sick ; Mary Magdalene as well as Paul ; Zaccheus as well * That is, ' the shame of physicians' = incurable. — G