himself to try his spirit by these tests, will have a light, which will assist him in the most intricate paths, and preserve him from innumerable errors, into which he would fall, if he had no such clew to guide him. And let not this hint be over- looked ; for, " who can understand his errors ?" On many occasions, the Apostles themselves " knew not what spirit they were of." Had they on the present occasion reflected either on the conduct of the world, or on the conduct of their Lord, they would have been kept from proud ambition on the one hand, and from envious indignation on the other. Whilst therefore we pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, let us be thankful for any subordinate means of ascertaining his mind and will : and let us endeavour so to walk, that Christ himself may testify concerning us, " Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile !"]
Mark. x. 49, 50. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee. And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.
OUR Lord, like the sun in the firmament, prose- secuted without intermission the great ends of his ministry, diffusing innumerable blessings wheresoever he bent his course. The miracle which he performed at Jericho, though similar in many respects to some others which are recorded, has some circumstances peculiar to itself, which deserve to be attentively considered. St. Matthew mentions two persons who were joint-petitioners on this occasion ; but St. Mark confines his narration to Bartimeus alone, as the more noted of the two, and as the chief speaker. To com- prehend the most important incidents in this history, we shall consider,
I. The state of the person whom Jesus called —
Bartimeus was a distressed and humble suppliant for mercy —
[He was both blind, and necessitated to subsist on the precarious bounty of those who might pass him on the high- way. Who would have thought that God should suffer one, towards whom he had designs of love and mercy, to be