ing God hath given him in despifing him and difparaging his revelations, God may, if he thinks fit, ftrike a partial numbness on his mind, which, whilft it leaves his rational faculty found in other occupations of it, shall disable it from understanding what others understand of that revelation which he has despised.

If this may be the cafe, we have great reafon to pray, as directed in our litany-" from "all hardness of heart, and contempt of thy holy word and commandments, Good Lord, "deliver us,"

86

SERMON

SERMON IX.

FAITH ΙΝ CHRIS T.

MATTHEW viii. 2, 3.

Behold, there came a leper, and worshipped him, faying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jefus put forth his hand, and touched him, faying, I will ;- be

thou clean.

T is an obvious remark on our Saviour's

miracles, that they fhew as much benignity as power; Chrift went about doing good, as well as working miracles. The Jews, perverfely, required a fign of him-as if the power Chrift fhewed in healing the fick, by a touch, or a word, was not a fufficient testimony of his divine authority, but they must needs have fome glorious or fome terrible difplay of almighty power to convince VOL. I.

I

them

them of it. This is but the ufual pretence of infidelity, which always demands unreafonable evidence; but Chrift, who came to convince reasonable minds, not to indulge the perverse humours of men, did not think fit to gratify them; the miracles Chrift wrought were fufficient figns, not only of divine power but of divine goodness — fuch as well fuited his miffion, who was come with falvation; the benignity they carried with them was a natural incitement of attention, and the cure of difeafed bodies was a natural introduction to the cure of difeafed fouls.

The prefent object of our Saviour's benignity and power was a leper. We read of this disease in the Old Teftament, and it seems to have been peculiarly inflicted on the Jews as a chaftisement for grievous fins. When Miriam fpake against Mofes fhe was ftruck with leprofy; it was therefore a punishment appropriated to a contempt of God's authority and appointments; and well it is for modern infidels, that God does not think fit to continue this mark of his displeasure beyond the Jewish difpenfation. It was held to be a difease incurable by human skill; the priests, indeed, were appointed to infpect and judge

of

This

of it,—but they could not remove it. disease being inflicted by the divine hand for grievous offences, and only to be removed by the fame hand, it is no wonder they looked upon it with horror, and that they avoided thofe that were afflicted with it, who, according to their law, were excluded from common fociety, till the difeafe was cured. And it was with fingular propriety, as well as benignity, that Chrift fet himself to the relief of thofe miferable objects. Chrift's cure of all diseases was truly miraculous, and real proofs of his divine power; but his cure of the leprofy was particularly adapted for the obfervation of the Jews, as it was the cure of a disease, which they acknowledged the hand of God only could remove.

There was, befides, a farther propriety in Chrift's healing this difeafe, as it diftinctly expreffed the great purpose of his coming to cleanse us from fin, that leprofy of the foul, which excludes us from the favour and fociety of God, and leaves us under that fentence of death and condemnation, which the justice of God had laid upon mankind, and which his mercy alone, which Chrift came to adminifter, could remove. The fame heavenly phyfician, who healed the miferable leper,

is ready to heal the much more miserable finner; and we may learn, from the leper's behaviour, defcribed in my text, on what terms we may expect our cure, and with what difpofition we are to apply for it:-a sense of our own wretchednefs, with a faith in Chrift's ability to purify and fave us, is a neceffary qualification for our fpiritual cure, as it was for the leper's bodily cure.

We cannot help noting the modeft humility of this poor wretch's application: -- fenfible that his disease was the punishment of his fins, he dares not to afk Chrift, in direct terms, that he would heal him; but, expreffing only his faith in the power of Christ, without prefuming to folicit his will, modeftly fays, "Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make 41 me clean."

Chrift frequently put the question, to those who came to be healed by him, whether they believed he had power to do what they afked? Chrift put this question, not for information, for he wanted none, but thereby declaring, that he expected their faith in his having fuch power, as the terms on which they should receive the benefit of it. Very reasonable terms, furely to which no one, who felt himself miferable, could or would

make