The keepers of the herd, astonished at this surprising event, ran inte the city, in the utmost terror and amazement, and related the cure of the men who had been possessed with devils, and the destruction of the swine. The wonderful report, threw the whole city into the utmost consternation, and the inhabitants, in crowds, left their houses, to be spectators of the strange event. They saw the men sitting at the feet of JESUS, and in their right minds; but as they were conscious of having committed a trespass against the law of Moses, by keeping such numbers of swine, which were strictly forbid to be eaten, they were afraid, and seemed to expect some severer judgment: they might have been convinced of the goodness and compassion of the great person, who had performed these wonders, by the cure of the men; hut they were afraid, and meekly besought our Lord to depart from their country.

The stupid Gadarenes, had they known how great a benefit they might have received by attending on the illustrious person who had worked such wonders amongst them, would not have been so cruel to themselves, as to have presented such a petition. It is true they had lost their swine, but had received two of their countrymen and fellow creatures; these happy men were delivered from the power of the Devil, and their country was freed from so intolerable a burthen; and the benefit they might have received to their souls, by attending on our great Redeemer and hearing his words, would have been of greater value than the "cattle on a thousand hills."

The blessed Jesus, however, thought fit to comply with the foolish Gadarenes, and soon returned to the country from whence he came. The persons who were happily delivered from the power of the Devil, desired to accompany him, but our Lord ordered them to remain in their own country, as a standing monument of his divine power and goodness: "Go home to thy friends," said our exalted Redeemer to one of them, "and tell hem how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee."

It may be remarked on this miracle, that here we have a fuller display of the tyranny of the Devil, than in any other part of the scripture; and therefore it is fit to be recommended to the serious attention of those infidels, who, like the Sadducees, will not believe in the existence of spir fts, and scoff at the power of the devil. Let such persons behold the picture of these unhappy men possessed by the devils, as drawn by the evangelists they were driven from their abodes, and from the society of men; one of them was so fierce that he could not be confined, but broke chains of iron like a burnt thread, and fetters like rotten wood; he frequented the most solitary places, and filled the desert with more dreadful howlings, than the wild beasts; he dwelt amongst the tombs, and abode in the dismal and solitary mansions of the dead, forlorn and naked, crying out day and night, catting himself with stones, and tearing his own flesh.

If such persons would give themselves time to consider this dreadful representation of human misery, surely their scoff's would be changed into campassion for these unhappy creatures, and fearful apprehensions for themselves; surely they would no longer scoff at the power of the Devil, nor the pains of eternal damnation. It would certainly be more worthy the superior wisdom they boast of, to be cautious and diffident; they are men, aud surely they will allow, that it is possible they may be mistaken: and when their eternal interest is at stake, one would think they might condescend to consider. But if they will deride, and still persist in their anbelief, a short space of time will convince them of their fatal error; and Greadful experience, force them to confess the greatness of the tyranny, and the bitterness of the malice, of this prince of darkness against the souls of men. May they see the error of their conduct, and be enabled, by the Divine Spirit, sincerely to repent of their evil thoughts, and perverse ways, and seek the things which balong to their eternal peace.

The blessed JESUS, with his disciples, being landed in Galilee, he soon repaired to Capernaum; no sooner was his arrival known, than great multitudes resorted to him; the house where he was could not contain them, nor even the court before the door. He preached the doctrines and duties of his gospel to the listening throng, amongst whom were many Pharisees and doctors of the law, whom the fame of his miracles had brought from distant countries to behold his person, and hear his words.

He not only, by his preaching, represented the great precepts and principles of his religion, in a plain and striking point of light, but worked such miracles amongst them, as were sufficient to convince every judicious, unprejudiced, and impartial inquirer after truth, of his divine mission; and he proved himself to be the Son of God, by those illustrious and benevolent actions, which God only could perform.

Amongst many other instances of his almighty power and Godlike benevolence, was that of his restoring a person to perfect health, who had long been afflicted with the palsey, and was reduced by that deplorable disorder, to the most melancholy and distressful condition: he was unable to move any member of his body, and was become an helpless bundle of misery and distress. In this deplorable condition, he was carried in his bed, with design to have petitioned our Lord to take pity on his distress, and exert that healing power, for which he was so remarkable in his relief. The multitude who surrounded our Lord, had filled the house, and pressed so close, that it was impossible to bring the sick person into his presence. The persons that carried this miserable object, perceiving the difficulty which attended their design, took the lame man to the top of the house lying in his bed. The houses in Judea had flat roofs, with battlements round them, according to the command of the law, Deut. xxii. 8. on these roofs there was a kind of trap door, by which they came up from the house upon the roof, where they spent a considerable part of the day. It was also common to have a flight of stairs from the garden to the roof of the house, by which the persons who carried the sick must be supposed to have ascended. When they came to the roof, they found the door shut: but being resolved, if possible, to compass their design, they uncovered the roof, and by ropes let down the sick of the palsy lying on his bed, into the midst of the company before JESUS. Our Redeemer seeing the faith of the friends of the afflicted person, had compassion on him, and spake aloud, "Son be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee."

These words gave great offence to the Scribes and Pharasees, who said in their hearts, "This man speaketh blasphemy ;" for he takes to himself that which belongs only to his maker. "Who can forgive sins but God only?" They were ignorant of the high dignity of the person who pronounced the words, and they murmured against him in their hearts. But JESUS, who knew what passed in the inmost recssses of the mind, was willing to let them understand that he was endowed with the Spirit of God; and to convince them that he knew their thoughts he said unto them"Why think ye evil in your hearts? For whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsey, Thy sins be forgiven thee, or to say, Arise, take up thy bed and walk ?" By these words our Lord might have convinced them that he had really a right to forgive sins; for certainly it is easier to forgive sins, than to remove the punishment which is inflicted on men for sin. As therefore it was apparent our Lord had power to perform the latter, why should it be questioned whether he had a right to pronounce the former; but these haughty teachers of Israel cherished a gloomy rancour in their hearts, and frowning, held their peace. Our Lord then turned to the diseased person, and said, Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thinę

house."

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No sooner had our great Redeemer spoken these words, than the diseased person was perfectly restored to his former health and strength; and,

to the astonishment of the surrounding multitude, arose, took up his bed, and departed to his own house, praising and glorifying God; while the affected beholders, with the highest acclamations, joined the praise, and glorified the God of Israel, "who had given such power unto man ;" but the Scribes and Pharisees, however confounded they were at the miracle, still persisted in their unbelief; an instance which should fill us with the most serious thoughts, as it demonstrates that a pride of heart, which produces a haughty self-sufficiency, and generates an obstinate and determined hatred and opposition to the truth, and by suspending and stupifying all the noble powers of the soul, operates like the palsy of the mind, is a much more dreadful and deplorable disease than the palsy of the body.

Our adorable Redeemer having performed this miracle, he departed to the sea side; and a multitude of people gathered about him, he made use of the favourable opportunity to enlighten their dark minds with the rays of heavenly truth. What were the particular points he chose the evangelists have not informed us; bat we may safely conclude that these discours es, like the rest delivered by this divine person, were worthy of God and advantageous to man.

Our blessed Saviour having finished his discourse, he returned to the eity of Capernaum, and going by the keys where the goods which were brought by sea from various nations were landed, he saw Matthew, a rich publican, sitting in his office to receive the customs; Matthew is some times in the gospel called Levi, and was the son of Alpheus. CHRIST no sooner saw him than he called him. "Follow me," was his mild aud gracious language; which the heavenly teacher had no sooner spoken, than the wealthy publican felt a divine power warm his heart, which overpowering every worldly consideration, he seems to have left his accounts all unfinished, and immediately obeyed. He soon, by our great Redeemer, was led into a more honorable and important imployment, and afterwards become an evangelist, as well as an apostle.

A few days after this, the new called publican made a great entertainment, to which he, with CHRIST and his disciples, invited several of his profession; no doubt hoping that his heavenly conversation might strike their hard hearts with remorse for their wickedness and extortion, and lead them in paths worthy of partaking the benefits arising from the glorious Redeemer of mankind. In the course of the entertainment CHRIST reminded them that in the gospel dispensation, God" will have mercy, and mot sacrifice;" and as those who confessed themselves sinners were the only proper objects of that mercy, our Lord declared, that he was "not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance;" and to blame him for conversing with publicans and sinners was as great a piece of absurdity as to blame a physician for visiting the sick. This declaration from the great Friend and Redeemer of lost sinners, dissatisfied greatly the haughty self conceited Scribes and Pharisees and as they made great ostentation of their fasting and abstinence, they took this opportunity to give themselves consequence on that account; and joining with John's disciples, presumed to blame our great Redeemer because his disciples were not so frequent in this practice as themselves. To this our Lord replied, that the present was not a time for fasting, for his disciples need not fast nor mourn in the presence of their Master, any more than the friends of the bridegroom need fast and afflict themselves while they enjoyed his company. "But," said he," the day will come, when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they shall fast." Intimating by this that the calamities, troubles, and afflictions which they would suffer after the death of their Master, would oblige them to fast and mourn; but the corrupt nature of man, which was the cause of his coming into the world, required different treatment; the rent would not be patched up with mortification, sting or any external performances; such treatment as this would be like

sowing a piece of new cloth on an old rotten garment, which would only make the rent worse; or putting new wine into old leather bottles, which would burst as soon as the liquor fermented.

CHAPTER XIII

CHRIST healeth a Woman of an inveterate Issue of Blood: Raises Jarius's Daughter from the Dead: Gives Sight to two blind Men: Delivered a possessed Person fram the evil Spirit: And, returning to Galilee, chooses his twelve Apostles out of his Disciples: Then, repairing to Capernaum, cures the Centurion's Servant.

WHILE the blessed Jesus was disputing with the Scribes and Pharisees in the house of Matthew, whom he had lately called into the number of his disciples, an afflicted father, in all the agonies of distress, hastely pressed into his presence. This was Jarius, the ruler of the Jewish synagogue in Capernaum, and the cause of his present affliction was the dangerous illness of his daughter, who lay at the point of death.

Having earnestly implored the assistance of our great Redeemer in this distressing case, the Lord of life graciously condescended to comply with his request, and accordingly accompanied the distressed father to his house; and great multitudes of people, who were desirous of beholding the mira, cles of Christ, crowded around and pressed to behold what the divine Instructor would do on this great occasion.

But as they passed through the streets of the city, the attention of the surrounding multitudes were turned to a woman, who came behind the Son of God, and touched the hem of his garment. This woman had been afflicted twelve years with a terrible disorder, which had baffled the foree of medicine. She had spent her whole substance on physicians, but hearing of the miracles preformed by the blessed JESUS, she was so fully convinced of his divine power, that she concluded if she could but touch his clothes she should be made whole. Nor was she deceived, for she no sooner touched the garment of our great Redeemer than her issue of blood dried up; and she felt such a flow of vital spirits, and uncommon gladness warm her heart, that she was fully convinced that she had received a cure.

The blessed JESUS, who knew the heart of all men was not ignorant of the minutest circumstances attending this affair; he knew the woman's thought, and was pleased with her faith; and with design to begin a conversation in which he might testify his approbation, he turned about and asked who touched him? His disciples, as they were not apprised of the transaction, wondered at their Master's question, "Thon seest," said they "the multitude thronging and pressing thee, and sayest thou, who touched me?" JESUS, however persisted in the inquiry, and the woman, perceiving she could not be concealed, came to him trembling, and told hima what she had done. She approached him with hesitation and diffidence, fearing he would be offended at the liberty she had taken; but the divine Physician received her with condescending goodness spake to her in the kindest manner, and commended her faith; "Daughter," said he, “be of good comfort, thy faith hath made thee whole."

In the midst of the surprise occasioned by this miracle a messenger ap proached from Jarius's house, and informed him that his daughter was dead, so that he need not give our Lord the trouble to come any further; for they supposed it far beyond the power of this extraordinary person tệ

overcome the mighty conqueror, Death, or recall the fleeting spirit front the eternal world. This message was received by the affectionate parent with the strongest emotions of sorrow, and bitterest agonies of distress. Our Lord took compassion on him, and desired him to be comforted with hopes that his daughter should be restored.

When our great Redeemer came to the ruler's house, he found it fulI of mourners, who made great lamentation, and were preparing for the funeral. Our Lord commanded them to cease their preparations; "for," said he, "the maid is not dead but sleepeth: and they laughed him to scorn." These words of CHRIST were used with peculiar propriety, to denote that it was determined the Virgin should not continue in the cold embraces of death, but should instantly be restored to her friends as one awakened out of sleep; and having thus spoken, our Lord approached the apartment of the dead, taking with him none but Peter, James, and John, except the father and mother of the maiden; then laying hold of the cold hand of the dead virgin, he said with a gentle voice, "Maid, arise!" The heavenly voice was immediately obeyed, and the damsel arose, fresh as from a sound sleep, all healthful and vigorous; andJesus commanded to give her something to eat.

Thus the great Son of God gave a full and clear manifestation of his heavenly power and not only proved that he was the true Messiah, but gave a clear demonstration of the possibility of the resurrection of the dead: and those who have imbibed the absurd opinion of the soul's sleeping with the body till the resurrection, would do well to consider the expression of the evangelists, "Her spirit came again," Luke viii. 55: by which it appears that the soul exists in a state of separation, when the body lies all cold and breathless in the dark chambers of the grave.

Having performed this great & benevolent miracle, our blessed Saviour left the ruler's house; and going through the streets of the city, he was followed by two blind men: they had doubtless, heard of the great miracle which he had just performed and supplicated his assistance in their present deplorable circumstances, well knowing that he was able to restore them to sight. The benevolent Saviour of sinners condescended to favour their request; and having entered an house to escape the crowding of the multitude, he touched their eyes, and said, " According to your faith be it unto you," when immediately the great and desirable blessing of sight was restored unto them; the sacred beams of all-chearing day revisited their eyes aud filled their hearts with gladness, and their tongues with praise; and such a flood of gratitude and joy overflowed their hearts, that they could not conceal their miraculous restoration to sight, though the Lord required them to keep silence, but published our Redeemer's fame and their own happy condition, through every part of the country.

The men who had thus miraculously received their sight being departed, the multitude brought to the benevolent Saviour of sinners a dumb man, 'possessed with a devil. So affecting a case attracted the compassionate regard of our blessed Jesus, who immediately cast out the foul spirit. The dumb man instantly recovered the use of speech, and spake in so sensible and satisfactory a manner, that the whole multitude was amazed, and, with united voice, declared that such wonderous works were never wrought by the greatest and most eminent of the ancient prophets." It was," said they, never so seen in Israel,"

The Pharisees whose hearts are full of infernal rancour, and whose pride and prejudice prevented their receiving instruction from the discourses, or conviction from the miracles of our great Redeemer, beheld the miracle now performed with a scornful sneer, and put the most invidious construction upon it, that could possibly enter into the heart of man: "He casteth out devils," said they, through the prince of devils." The blessed Jesus, seems, at this time, to have taken no notice of this calumny:

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