make the whole book of God both luminous and easy to be received. Let me then recommend, that you regard the sacred volume as " a mould, into which your soul is to be poured b," and by which its every feature must be formed. Be ready to " obey it from the heart ;" and it shall be as effectual to create your souls anew, as the command of heaven was to bring forth the universe into existence, and to reduce the chaos to that order and beauty which entitled it to the commendation of Jehovah, as " very goodc." In a word, cultivate the spirit which displayed itself so eminently in this man ; and, with a readiness to receive instruction and embrace the truth, let there be in you a determination of heart to follow your con- victions, without hesitation and without reserve.]
b Rom. vi. 17. the Greek. c John xv. 3. with Gen. i. 3, 31.
John ix. 39. Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they who see might be made blind.
THE miracles of our blessed Lord were, as is well known, testimonies from God to his divine mission. But they were also intended as emblems of that spi- ritual work which he was sent to accomplish. In the former view, he appealed to them for the conviction of John the Baptist, and of those who had been sent by John to inquire respecting his Messiahship : " Go, and shew John 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 blessed is he who shall not be offended in mea." In the latter view, he refers to them in the passage before us. He had healed a man who was born blind. This having been done on the Sabbath-day, his obstinate and unbelieving enemies imputed it to him as a crime, rather than as any proof of his Messiahship : but the man who was healed, knowing that " no man could do such miracles un- less God were with him," believed in Jesus, and con- fessed him openly as the Saviour of the world. From
a Matt. xi. 4 — 6.
1661.] DISCRIMINATING EFFECTS OF THE GOSPEL. 49o
the division thus caused, our Lord took occasion to declare, in reference to the souls of men, the intent, and certain effect, of his advent: " For judgment am I come into this world; that they who see not, might see; and that they who see, might be made blind."
The true import of this passage will not be seen by a superficial observer. It needs much consideration : but it will amply repay all the labour which we can bestow in the investigation of it.
To assist you in apprehending it aright, I will shew,
I. The need there was of Christ for the developing and disclosing the characters of men —
The judgment which was universally formed of men's characters was extremely erroneous —
[Men had no other test, whereby to try the human character, than that of moral virtue. If a person had such a respect for the Supreme Being as to be observant of external duties to- wards him, and such a disposition towards his fellow-creatures as prompted him to acts of benevolence towards them, he was approved, and regarded as a pattern of all that was good. Hence it was that the Scribes and Pharisees were held in sucli high esteem. Humility, as a grace, was not inquired after ; nor indeed was it at all necessary to the discharge of those offices which alone were deemed obligatory in the service of God. On the contrary, the fulfilment of religious duties was considered as a just ground for self-admiration and self-applause. Such men, indeed, as David, who were inspired of God, had the same ideas of it as we have : but, as among the Greeks and Romans, so also amongst the Jews themselves, it was rather reckoned as a mean and base feeling, than as the summit of human excellence. Nor, if it had entered into the composition of virtue in their minds, were there any means of discovering its existence. The submission of human wisdom to that which is divine was not called for to any great extent : nor was a renunciation of a man's own righteousness demanded, in order to his acceptance through a righteousness provided for him by God. General obedience to acknowledged laws constituted the chief excellence of every man ; and beyond that nothing was looked for, in order to secure the approbation of God. But all this was erroneous : yea, in relation to it all, it may be said, that " that which was highly esteemed amongst men was an abomination in the sight of GodV]