The Pulpit Commentary — Mark — Volume 1 — Section 308

hie salvation, does not come to us when we are spiritually inert, but that when the Holy Spirit has shown us that we need him, and when we seek him, he must be found of us. But if we spurn him he will hide himself, till he will have to say of us, concerning the things that would give us peace, "But now they are hid from thine eyes." The truth on which we wish to lay stress is this-that even in the days of bis earthly ministry, whether Jesus was found as a Saviour or not depended on the condition of those who sought him. It was not a question of place, but of purpose. Contrast this story with the incident narrated in the first part of the preceding chapter. '£here we relld of his visit to Naznreth, his own city, where we should expect he would be most eagerly sought after and most rich in blessings; but he could not reveal himself there as he wished to do, "because of their unbelief." Now, on the borders of a heathen district, the inhabitants of which had been shut out from the blessings of the covenant, there was a certain woman, a Gentile by birth, a heathen by religion, who wanted to find him, and from her" he could not be bid." Character may be, but circumstances cannot be, a barrier between the soul and Christ. \ I. CHRIST CANNOT BE HID, BECAUSE GREAT NEED WILL BEEK HIM OUT. It was so with her who, poor and ill, crept into the crowd and touched the hem of his garment; with the sisters of Bethany, who sent the message, "He whom thou lovest is sick;" with the woman who was a sinner, who ventured into the Pharisee'& house to find him; and with this Canaanite, who made her way to the Jewish Teacher, who, so far as she knew, boo never before blessed one outside the house of Israel. It is God's design in our bodily illnesses, in our bereavements, in our grief about children going wrong, to lead us to the feet of him who never has said, "Seek ye my face in vain." II. CBBIST CANNOT BE HID, BECAUSE TRUE LOVE WILL BUBELY FIND HIM. True love in a parent or lover will give persistence and hope in the search for one who is lost. So will love to him who is worthy of the highest affection lead us to his presence, III. CHBIST CANNOT BE HID, BECAUSE EARNEST FA.ITH WILL EVEB LEAD TO HD{. The shepherds of Bethlehem who heard the angels' song believed its message, and found the holy Child. The wise men from the East, being faithful to the light they boo, at last bowed at the feet of the Light of the world. Let us not suffer our doubts to prevent the outgoings of our soul to the Lord. IV. Cmm!T CANNOT BE mD, BECAVSE HIS OWN HEART WILL BETRAY BilL Recall the pathetic story of Joseph. When he was the lord of Egypt, and his brethren came as suppliants to him, his heart could scarce contain itself, and at last the strength of his love forced him to avow himself and to welcome them to his heart. But that is only a faint emblem of the nobler love which filled the heart of the Son of God. Heaven could not hold it; the cross could not check it; the grave could not keep it back from his people. All through his life you see the outgoings of that mighty love. If his disciples are toiling in rowing, he will walk right over the raging waves to comfort them. If after his resurrection he stands as a stranger beside Mary, it can only be for a moment, for, like the good shepherd, he will soon call her by name, that she may be glad in hie love. Still he stands among bis disciples, and there his heart bewrays itself. V. ClmIBT CANNOT BE HID, BECAUSE HIS DISCIPLES WILL MAKE HIM KNOWN. In spite of the unfaithfulness of many, he has never been without his witnesses. The healed demonia.o went back to his home to tell what Jesus had done for him; As.drew no sooner found the Messiah than he went to tell his own brother Simon. So the witness- bearing is to continue till the whole earth is filled with his glory.-A. R. Ver. 32.-Deaf and dumb. Christ's acts of healing were very often performed while he was passing from place to place. This occurred on his way from the borders of Tyre and Bidon to the eastern side of the Lake of Galilee. His life was like a river, which not only, when it reaches the sea, bears mighty fleets on its bosom, but carries blessings all along its course through secluded pastures and quiet corn-fields. The case )f this man was one of physical infirmity and not of demoniac possession. He was deaf, and had an infirmity in his speech. In considering the spiritual significance of a miracle, we must not overlook or underrate the physical blessing. Such an act of healing as this is the germ whence innumerable good works have come. Institutions for the deaf, hospitals for the sick, homes for the crippled, are the smiling harvest arising from this seed-sowing; and the signs by which the deaf and dumb are now ~Mll~ s 306 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MARK. [cH, vu. 1-37,