His faith was remarkable ; he was fully abreast of his times in theological knowledge; he was fairly ahead of the crowd in his knowledge of the Saviour. They informed him that it was Jesus of Nazareth that was passing by. They represented him correctly, as far as they went; but their representation was sadly imperfect and shamefully incom- plete. They regarded him as a prophet, but a prophet of a despised place and of despised province. His native town and native province were both of little, or rather of ill, repute. “Can any good thing,” asked Nathanael, “come out of Nazareth?” The Pharisees said scornfully to Nicodemus, “Search and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.” Bartimsus knew better. Blind as he was, and so shut out from books as the source of knowledge; poor as he was, and so deprived of the means of acquiring information, he had made himself in some way or by some means acquain with the descent and dignity of Messiah. Hence he accosted him, not as Jesus of Nazareth, but addressed him, “Jesus, thou Son of David.” In any case the Spirit of God had been his instructor. Thus, too, we must come to Jesus with a proper apprehension of his character and claims, of his mercy and his might, as well as of our own worthlesg- ness and helplessness. Feeling ourselves sinners, our individual inquiry must be,,“ What must I do to be saved?” Accepting the answer furnished by God 8 Word, we must “ believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and we shall be saved.” Feeling ourselves lost, we are encouraged by the Saviour’s own gracious assurance, that He “came to seek and save that which was lost.” Feeling ourselves deep down in the pit of sin, in this low and lost condition, we are cheered by the declaration that his errand into our world was to save sinners, even the chief. However blind the eyes, Christ can open them; however hard the heart, he can soften it; however dark the stain of our sin, his blood can wash it out; however desperate our case, his grace can meet it; however sorrowful and for- lorn our spirits, he can soothe and comfort them. His perseverance was also remarkable, His ardour was not to be repressed, his earnestness was not to be checked. Having found the long-expected Deliverer, he was determined not to be parted from him; having attained a conviction—a rapidly growing and speedily maturing conviction—that he was now within reach of One who could convert the soul as well as cure the body, he continued to cry to him, and ceased not till his cry was heard and answered. The crowd wished to impose silence on him, yet he persevered; the multitude rebuked him, that he should hold his peace, yet he “cried the more,” says St. Matthew; “the more a great deal,” saye St. Mark; “so much the more,” says St. Luke, They protested against his appeal, and many—not one, or two, or three, but many of them—charged him to hold his peace. His outcry appeared to them, no doubt, so loud, so boisterous, so rude, that they did their best to suppress it ; but he refused to desist. Some thought him too contemptible to deserve notice, or to delay the procession; others, perhaps, felt or feigned concern for the Master, as having too many objects of solicitude on his spirit, and too many and too heavy burdens on his shoulders already ; but in spite of all these obstacles, and in face of all this opposition, Bartimaus persisted, and in the end succeeded. Such was this poor beggar—this brave, blind man! When sinners set about seeking God, they may expect similar obstruction, and rebukes equally heartless and cruel. Satan will be sure to rouse opposition from some quarter. The world will flatver them or force them to desist ; friends will speak words of pity or persuade them to abandon their self-imposed task ; formalists may shake the head and speak of fanaticism, enthusiasm, or unwisdom. But earnest souls, like Bartimaus, will not, must not, give up or give over. Once they have put their hand to the plough, they may not turn back; once they have set their face Zionward, they must not turn away or turn aside. The language of the twenty-seventh Psalm will be on their lips, and acted out in their life, as the nsalmist says, “Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shal
116 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MARK. [cu. x. 1—52.
not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident. One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after... . Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.” Thus waiting on the Lord, they shall be enabled to hold on their way; waiting on the Lord, they shall be strengthened ; waiting on the Lord, they shall experience that merciful support, of which mention is interjected six and twenty times in the psalm which records Israel’s trials and triumphs — for his mercy endureth for ever.”
III. THE sU0CESs WHICH CROWNED THE APPLICATION. 1. “ Jesus stood still.” So says St. Matthew, so says St. Mark, so says St. Luke; all three evangelists agree in record- ing this fact. He was on his last journey to Jerusalem; he was hurrying on to drink and drain the cup of bitterness, and be baptized with the baptism of blood; he was hastening forward with eager steps to bear his people’s sins in his own body on the tree, to satisfy Divine justice by the sacrifice of himself, to vindicate God’s truth, express God’s love, and magnify God’s Law, to maintain the glory of the Divine attributes, and secure the salvation of countless human souls. ‘*.ever was there a journey so important, never was errand so deeply interesting, and never was there another embassy involving such weighty consequences and vast concernments. Heaven and earth and hell were all affected by that journey ; the glory of God was connected with it; and the redemption of man depended on it. And yet, notwithstanding all the urgencies of that journey, and all the ardour, even bordering on impatience, with which our Lord was speeding forward on that journey, the cry of distress arrested him ; the prayer of a blind beggar stopped him! And go it is still, for the prayer of the penitent has a potency that Divine mercy never resists, and will not repel. The waves of the sea stood still, and the waters of the river stood still, in the interésts of God’s people, and in order that they might pass over; the sun and moon stood still at the cry of Joshua, and that the hosts of Israel might prolong their victory ; the shadow stood still, or rather went back, on the dial-plate of time at the