HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Ver. 6.-Tl1e 11Ji1l to be healed. This miracle is indeed a parable.· The pitiable condition of the sufferer, the prolonged duration of his cnln.mity, his utter helplessness and despondency, all have their analogues in the spiritual state of the sinful. And, on. the other hand, the exercise of Christ's Divine authority, the condition of blessing imposed upon the infirm man, and the immediateness and completeness of the cure, are all suggestive of the terms, the process, and the results of salvation. 'l'he language in which Christ addressed the sufferer, with a view to elicit his faith, is especially instructive: " Wouldest thoo be made whole?" J. IT DOES NOT FOLLOW THAT WHEREVER THERE IS A SPIRITUAL MALADY THERE IS ALSO A CONSCIOUSKESS OF IT AND A DESIIlE TO BE DELIVERED FilOM IT. Jesus did not take it for granted that, because the man had an infirmity of long standing, he was therefore anxious to he relieved from it. As a matter of fact, he was so anxious ; and the presnmption is that men do wish to be delivered from bodily and temporal ills. It is not so in all cases with spiritual disorder~. It was a reproach against the self-righteous that they knew not that they were poor; naked, blind, and. miserable. Sin is not alwayP accompanied by consciousness of sin. Long familiarity with vice and crime, and still more with that alienation of heart from God which is the essence of sin, is often found to render the .nature insensible to its own wretched condition and prospects. JI. EVEN DIVINE MERCY DOES NOT ACT INDEPE!-'DENTLY OF BUJliN CONFESSION, FAITH, A!-'D DESIRE. 'l'he truth is that it cannot; for God cannot override the nature with which he hu himself endowed his creatures. He may annihilate that nature; but, whilst it remains, he cannot contradict himself by acting independently of it. And, further, he tJlil,l not dispense with the appointed human conditions, for the sake of his own.moral government, whose sacredness he will surely maintain, and for the sake of the spiritual welfare of those whom he governB. It may appear, on a superficial glance, that in ta.king this view we magnify the free-will of man above the sovereignty of God ; but reflection convinces us that this is not the case. 1'here is nothing arbitrary in the Divine government; and infinite Wisdom has decided that without the voluntary <:O-Qf,eration of man the highest blessings must be unattainable. JII. WBERE THERE 18 A DISPOSITION AND DESIRE ON THE PART OF MAN, DIVTh'E J,lEBCY WILL llOT 'll"ITHBOLD THE GRACE .OF SPIBITUAL HEALING. There is no place for human power; we can do nothing to heal our spiritual diseases. There is no place for human merit; we can do nothing to deserve a Divine interposition. Yet he who will be made whole, who accepts the Deliverer and welcomes the pr<!.mised delivcrnnce, shall experience the healing power oi Immanuel. Let there be willingness, let there be faith in Christ, let there be submission to Divine plans and order, and there is no on. v. l-'-47.J TIIE GOSPET, ACCOilDING TO ST. JOTIN. 231
eln for which parrlon cannot be obtained, no character for which it shall be found that thoro is not provided renewal and spiritual health.-'!'.
Ver. 11.-0hrise wlio saves is Ghrist w110 rules. Thi3 poor sulTerer excited the Saviour's sympathy nnd pity, n.nd Christ healed him without dehy. Anrl it is notice- able that the word of healing was nlso a word of command: "Take up thy bed, aml walk." 'l.'he authority of the Divine Physician was acknowledged by the patient who had received th<? benefit. That authority was felt to be capable of overriding the letter of the ceremonial law. And the man who had been made whole, when censured by the formalists for carrying his couch on the sabbath day, naturally enough foll back for bis vindication upon the command of the great Healer. He was bound to do the bidding of him who had set him free from a protracted infirmity, and had thus estab- lished a claim upon his grateful obedience. I. OBSERVE TII.E TWOFOLD NATURE AND NEED OF MAN. 1. Human nature iB dis- tinguished by a capacity for feeling and by a faculty of energy. 2. Consequently a Divine Saviour must both relieve him of his pains and in6rmities, and at the same time give a new direction to his practical powers. The double need requires a double grace. JI. REMARK IN CHRIST TlIE DISPOSITION TO PITY THE SUFFERER, TO PAilD0~ THE SINNER, TO RESTORE THE DISORDERED TO MORAL HEALTH AND HARM0:-.'l0US ACTIVITY. The miracles of healing which Christ wrought (in number more than two-thirds of the whole, as recorded by the evangelists) are an abundant proof both of bis compassion and of his power to save. '!'he variety of human ills with which he dealt may be taken as symbolizing the sympathy of Jesus with all the sorrows and errors of humanity, and his power to heal, to harmonize, and to bless. Ill. REMARK NO LESS IN CHRIST ,THE HABIT OF RIGHTEOUS AND Au'TB0RITATIVE COMMAND. Christ's was the authority of holiness, of helpfulness, of love. This authority was acknowledged by nature, by demons, and especially by men. He was felt to speak as One "having authority;" be drew forth the exclamation, " What manner of man is this!" When he spoke the TI'ord of command, rigid Jews broke without compunction the tradition of the elders, and helpless cripples willed to use their hitherto powerless limbs. .All this denoted the right of the Son of God to rule over human hearts and consciences, over individual conduct, and over social life. IV. CONSIDER THE PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OF THE SAVED AS WITNESSING TO THE LORDSHIP OF TilE SAVIOUR OVER THOSE WHOM HE HAS REDEEMED. 1. So far as the Lord .himself is concerned, his healing grace witnc~ses to his Divinity, and bis Divinity involves his control over his own subjects. 2. So far as they are concerned who are healed by the Redeemer, it may be said that gratitude and love give efficacy to those purposes of obedience which are formed in the presence of his rightful authority and power. The heart responds gratefully and affectionately to the interest e:'l:hibited and the healing mercy exercised by Jesus, and looks up to its best Friend for guidance and for help. There is no law so powerful as the law of love, and no obedience so thorough and cheerful as that of gratitude.-T.