of his being altogether destitute of compassion to his fellow- creatures ! And how thin the veil under which he endeavoured to cover these detestable qualities !]
Our Lord, however, vindicated his own conduct in a most unanswerable manner —
[He tacitly acknowledged the necessity of sanctifying the Sabbath ; but appealed to his hearers, whether such a work as he had performed were any breach of it. If they universally considered themselves at liberty to loose an ox or an ass from the stall in order to give it water on the Sabbath-day, how much more justifiable was he in loosing the far sorer bands of a rational being, yea, of a daughter of Abraham, on that day ; more especially, token it was Sata?i kirns elf who had bound her; when she too had been no less than eighteen years in that state ; and when he had effected her cure simply by a touch of his hand. Such was our Lord's argument ; and it flashed conviction upon every mind. Thus, while the ruler's hypocrisy was detected, and the adversaries, who had sided with him, were put to shame, our Saviour's character rose in the estima- tion of all the people.]
And this speaks loudly to us, if we will attentively consider,
III. The reflections suggested by it —
1. What blindness and hypocrisy are there in the human heart !
[Every one sees in an instant how deservedly our Lord reproached the Ruler for his hypocrisy ; and we are ready to suppose that we should never have indulged so vile a dispo- sition. But there is nothing more common than the very spirit which he manifested. He condemned people for seeking the healing of their bodies on the Sabbath-day. And are there none who are offended at men for seeking the salvation of their souls on the week-day? I know that these will plead a regard for order, and for the institutions of man ; but the Ruler had a still stronger plea, namely, a regard for the Sab- bath, and the express commandments of God. Yet, whatever they may think, neither the one nor the other are upright before God. The objections of both originate in the same evil disposition, a want of regard for the Saviour's honour and for the welfare of their fellow-creatures. On this account the Judge of quick and dead called him a hypocrite. By what name I pray you will he call these, when they shall stand before him at his tribunal ? Is not the soul of as much value as the body ? and are we not as much justified in promoting its welfare on a week-day, or on the Sabbath evening, as a diseased person is in seeking relief for the body upon the