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of it, "turned and faid to her, (Matt. v.

24.) Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole, go in peace."

Agreeably to this, when the apoftles failed to cure a lunatic, faid to be grievously tormented, while Jefus was on the mount of transfiguration, and they, in feeming furprife, faid to him, Matt. xvii. 19. .. Why could not we caft him out?" he said, " because of your unbelief. Howbeit, this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fafting;" intimating that on extraordinary occafions, it became them to make particular application to God, the real author of the miracles.

On no occafion did Jefus lay fo much ftrefs on this faith as when the apostles expreffed their admiration of the fudden withering of the fig tree that he had curfed. Mark xi. 22. "Jefus anfwering, faith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I I fay unto you, that whofoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou caft into the fea, and fhall not doubt in his heart, but fhall believe that thofe things which he faith fhall come to pass; he fhall have whatsoever he faith. There

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fore I fay unto you, whatsoever things ye defire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye fhall have them." This, however, must refer to a faith fupernaturally imparted, in confequence of approprayer: affuring them of the divine bation of the request, and, like other miracles, must have been confined to the age of the apostles.

4. Sometimes the authoritative manner of Jefus was accompanied with circumftances which fhew a pleafing feeling, and compaffion for the fufferers. In curing Peter's wife's mother, "he came (Mark i. 31.) and took her by the hand, and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her.' When the leper met him on his descent from the mountain on which he had delivered his first public difcourfe, faying, Matt. viii. 2. "If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean; he put forth his hand, and touched him; and faid," repeating his own words, "I will. Be thou clean." And when the two blind men near Jericho followed him, crying, Matt. xx. 30. "Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou fon of David, he called

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them, and faid, What will ye that I do unto you; and they faid, Lord, that our eyes may be opened;" the evangelist adds, "Jefus had compaffion on them, and touched their eyes, and immediately their eyes received fight, and they followed him.'

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5. Though this authoritative manner was most used by Jefus, he fometimes departed from it; and in fome cafes feems to have intended that the miraculous power fhould not be known, but rather that the effect should be afcribed to an external application; as when he spat on the ground, and made clay with the fpittle, with which he anointed the eyes of the man who was born blind; and then bade him go and wash in the pool of Siloam, John ix. 6. He also fpat on the eyes of the blind man from Bethfaida, Mark viii. 23. after he had "taken him by the hand, and led him out of the city." In this cafe the cure was not effected at once, but by degrees. When he first asked the man if he faw any thing," he faid "he faw men as trees walking. Jefus then put his hand again upon his eyes, and bade him

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look up; when he was reftored, and faw every man clearly."

When he cured the ten lepers, nothing that he did indicated any intention of working a miracle. He only bade them go and fhew themselves to the priest, as by the law of Mofes they were required to do; but as they were going they found themselves cured. In the fame unoftentatious manner he converted the water into wine at the marriage-feaft at Cana of Galilee, only bidding the fervants (John ii. 7.) "fill the water pots with water," and draw out, and present that liquor, instead of wine.

But in whatever manner Jefus thought proper to work miracles, which he always did fo as to be the least liable to fufpicion, he appeared to have the fulleft confidence of the prefence and power of God being with him; and this gave that extraordinary air of dignity to his manner, and impreffed all who faw him with awe. And this would be heightened by the confideration of the meanness of his birth and education, with the other disadvantageous circumstances under which he laboured.

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6. It is remarkable that Jefus never voluntarily entered into any difcourfe about his divine miffion, a fubject which an impoftor would naturally dwell much upon. He betrayed no anxiety on this fubject. He worked his miracles, and left those who faw them to make the neceffary inference. But there was a peculiar dignity in his manner of doing this when John the Baptist, then in prifon, fent to him to know from himfelf, whether he was the Meffiah, Instead of returning any direct answer, he only faid, having at that time wrought many miracles, Matt. xi. 4. "Go, and fhew John again those things which ye hear and fee. The blind receive their fight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleanfed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the Gospel preached unto them; and blessed is he whofoever is not offended in me." Who would not be ftruck with awe and reverence on hearing a man speak in this manafter feeing the miracles alluded to? In the whole compafs of profane hiftory, there does not occur any fcene, or any language, approaching to this. If there be fuch a thing

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