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is wrought by him who was fent to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.

Sin appears to us in another form, as a loathfome diftemper, like the leprofy, which defcended by inheritance, and incrufted the whole body with a foul humour. So doth that fin, which is in the conftitution of man, break out and difcover its offenfive nature. This distemper therefore the great phyfician condefcended to cure, either by his word alone, or by a miraculous washing, to denote the falutary effect of baptifm. The purification of the Gentiles had been fignified long before by the cleanfing of Naaman the Syrian, who was ordered to wash feven times in Jordan. He fuppofed, that if water would cure him, the rivers of Damafcus would have done as well; but he was taught, that fal vation was of the Jews: the water that could effect his cure was to be taken from Jordan, where Chrift should be baptifed; and his baptifm was a prelude to the baptifm and converfion of the heathen world; whofe

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LECT. whofe diftemper was afterwards transferred to the worldly minded Jews, as that of Naaman was fixed upon Gehazi, the covetous attendant on the prophet. To fhew that this cleanfing by baptism should not take place upon the Jews, but the Gentiles, our Saviour hinted to thofe of the fynagogue, that there were many lepers in Ifrael when this happened, and none of them were cleanfed faving Naaman the Syrian. The Jews could bear to hear of any thing rather than the acceptance of the Gentiles; and feeing his meaning they were filled with rage, and would have cast him down headlong as an enemy to his country.

Other miracles of Chrift were intended to fhew how the power of God is neceffary to help the impotence of man. He must open our lips before we are able, and furnish us with matter before we know how to praise him or pray to him; therefore the tongue of the dumb was loofed, and even babes and fucklings were empowered to utter hofannas to his name.

The

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The deaf were made to hear, because men LECT have ears which neither hear nor underftand, nor can attend to the words of divine wisdom, till God has opened them: of which there are many lamentable examples in the gofpel, and I wish there were none at this day.

The lame were made to walk, because the way of man is not in himself; it is God alone that enableth us to walk, yea, to run with pleasure and swiftness, as the feet of an hind, in the way of his commandments. In short, all the faculties of man are useless in the fervice of God, like the limbs of one fick of the palfy, which cannot lift or move themselves till fome new ftrength is communicated. The prophet inftructs us how this fhould be when God fhould be revealed: ftrengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees; or, as the apoftle words it; lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; and make Strait paths for your feet, left that which is lame be turned out of the way, but let it ra

ther

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LECT. ther be healed: which terms are all applied

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in an intellectual fenfe to the minds of weak Christians.

Another miracle of Chrift, and one of the most confiderable, is that of relieving the poffeffed by cafting out evil spirits: the defign of which is to teach us, that there is a spirit working in the children of disobedience (the Greek fignifies possessing + them) which nothing but the power of the gofpel can caft out. When we obferve how strangely men err in their judgments; how they haften towards their own deftruction, maiming their bodies and ruining their fortunes by their vices, as if they hated their own flesh; preferring nakedness and wretchednefs, and loath some diseases and infamy, to peace, honour, health and happiness; we must conclude they are under the working of fome malignant power, beyond the mere depravity of nature: for nature would always act in men, as it does * Heb. xii. 13.

* Evegyelos; the common name of dæmoniacs, or pos feffed people, was Eveysuevo, Energumeni.

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in brutes, on a principle of felf preferva LECT. tion. Such as were poffeffed by the devil uttered horrible noifes, and chofe a miferable refidence amongst the tombs of the dead. And bad as fuch a fpectacle may be, it is not a worfe example of fatan's power, than when we hear a miserable man crying out for curfes to defcend from heaven, inviting the blaftings of lightning

their enemies, or their friends, or themselves; on their fouls as well as their bodies. To live naked among the tombs is not a greater symptom of poffeffion, than to fly from God, and his light and truth, and seek after the ways that lead to death. To bruise the flesh in frantic fits of despair, is not worse than to injure the health of the body with fuch excess and riot, as wastes the flesh, and brings wounds and bruifes and putrifying fores: yet the world, who are shocked at a madman, look with unconcern on this moral infanity, because the cafe is common.

It is a symptom of madness when a man delights in mischief: and how many

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