476 XC. Mat. On the next day, the people seeing him, are amazed. SECT. that in an epistle which he wrote many years after, and but a little before ins death, he should single this story from a thousand others to attest it as he does, and to argue from it. (Compare XVII.4. 2 Pet. i. 16—18 ) But oh! how much more desirable is it to stand upon mount Zion, and to behold those brighter glories, which our Jesus wears in the heavenly regions! To behold, not merely Moses and Elijah, but all the prophets, the apostles, and martyrs, and, in a word, all the saints of God in every age, whether to us personally known or unknown, surrounding him in a radiant circle; and not only to behold them, but to converse with them. Lord, it is good for us to be there, in our desires at least, and in our meditations, till thou pleasest to call us to that happy world, Luke and to take us thither, where no drowsiness will cloud our eyes, where no hurry will discompose our thoughts; but where the Mark perfection of holiness, and of love, shall cast out every degree of IX. 6. terror, as well as of sorrow. IX. 32. XVII.5. In the mean time let us reverently attend to that Saviour who appeared in this majestic form, and who comes recommendMat. ed to us with so many testimonials of bis Divine authority. He was again declared by a voice from heaven to be the beloved Son of God as such let us hear him, receiving all his revelations with the assurance of faith, and all his commands with the obedience of love. If these sentiments govern our hearts and our lives, the thoughts of that departure from this world, which we are shortly to accomplish, will be no grief or terror to our souls. Like our IX. 31. blessed Master, we may connect the views of it, and intermix discourse upon it, with the most delightful enjoyments and converse; nay, it will serve to render them yet more pleasing. For who would not long to be made conformable to Christ, even in his sufferings and death, if it may be a means of transforming us into the resemblance of his glories! Luke SECT. xci. SECT. XCI. Christ, descending from the mountain on which he was transfigured, Luke IX. 37-43. LUKE IX. 37. Mark IX. 14-29. LUKE IX. 37. that on the next THUS HUS did our Lord discourse with his three AND it came to pass disciples after he had been transfigured in day, when they were so glorious a manner in their presence: and it come down from the Luke came to pass, that on the next day, when they hill, much people met came down from the mountain ou hich the sight had been so delightfully spent, a great crowd of IX. 37. people him. a xci. Mark A lunatic possessed with a dumb spirit is brought to him. 477 MARK IX. 14. And people met him. And, being come to the disci- SECT, when he came to his ples, and particularly to the rest of the apostles, disciples, he saw great multitude about who, knowing their Master was on the hill, them, and the scribes waited for him in the adjacent valley, he saw a IX, 14, questioning with them. great multitude around them, and, among the rest, some of the scribes and Pharisees, who were disputing with them, and endeavoured to take the opportunity of their Master's absence to expose and distress them. 15 And straightway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed; and running to him, saluted him. 16 And he asked the scribes, What question ye with them? And immediately, as soon as he came near 15 And, taking notice of the warm dispute they 16 17 And [LUKE, And presently, upon his making this inquiry, 17 behold,] [a certain. man] of the multi- behold, a [certain] man of the multitude came, tude, [kneeling down and kneeling down to him, answered the question to him,] answered and in effect: and, crying out with a loud and eager [LUKE, cried out, saying,] Master, I voice, said, O thou great Teacher and Master in have brought unto our Israel, I have brought thee my poor afflicted thee my son, which son, who has for a long time been possessed with hath a dumb spirit; Ta dumb spirit; and the malicious demon has de[MAT. XVII. 14. LUKE IX. 38.-] prived him of the use of his hearing and speech: MAT. XVII. 15. And in this moving case, O Lord, I beseech thee Mat. Lord, [I beseech thee, look upon my son. for he is mine only child, [and] XVII.15 for he is mine only yet, instead of being any comfort to me, is a child; and] have mer- most melancholy spectacle of horror; let me intreat thee therefore to have compassion on [him,] look upon my son, cy on him, for he is lunatic, a Was struck into astonishment, &c.] It is strange that so few critics should have said any thing concerning the reason of the multitude's being thus astonished. It could not be, as Dr. Clarke supposes, his coming down from the mountain the day after he went up; for they were gathered round it in expectation of his descent; and I do not remember that he ever continued more than one night in such a retirement. Nor is it easy to imagine the multitude were under any apprehension, after he had been no longer absent, that they never should be able to find him again. I therefore follow Dr. Whitby's natural conjecture in his paraphrase, which is agreeable to what VOL. VI. for we read of Moses, that the skin of his face 478 The disciples being unable to cure him, Jesus is applied to ; xci. falleth into the fire, SECT. for he is lunatic, and grievously tormented with lunatic, and sore vexterrible fits, which frequently seize him, and cd: for oft-times he sometimes endanger his life; for he often falleth and oft into the wa Luke into the fire, and often into the water. And ter. [LUKE IX.IX. 39. behold, wherever [this] spirit seizes him, he has 58.] LUKE IX. 39. And and it teareth him, no strength or thought to take care of himself, lo, [wheresoever] this but suddenly cries out in a violent manner; and spicit taketh him, he it convulses him so, that he foams again at the suddenly crieth out, mouth, and gnashes with his teeth in extremity that he foameth again, of anguish; and thus he miserably pines, and [and gnasheth with withers away in the bloom of his age and his teeth, and pinetà away;] and bruising [it] is with great difficulty that the malignant him, it hardly depart demon departs from him for a little while, hav- eth from him.] [MARK ing bruised him to such a degree by violent dis- IX. 18.-] tortions, that he is hardly able to use his limbs in the interval of these dreadful agitations. Mat. And I am persuaded there is some more than XVII.16 ordinary difficulty in the case; for I brought him to thy disciples, and spake to [them] concerning him, and entreated [them] in the most affectionate manner, to use their utmost efforts to cast him out and they could not accomplish it, nor heal him. Mark 17 MAT. XVII. 16. And I brought him to thy disciples, [and spake to them, [LUKE and besought them to cast him out,] and they [MARK IX.-18.LUKE ix. 40.] could not cure him. 17 Then Jesus an- that infidelity which you are shewing on so many suffer you? bring effect. MARK IX. 20. And him: and when he saw And upon this they brought him that was posIX. 20. sessed to Jesus, and presented the poor creature they brought him unto to him And immediately as soon as he saw him, him, [as he was yet awhile he was yet coming, the evil spirit in a rage coming,] straightway wrought in him with such violence, that he threw the spirit [threw him him down, and convulsed him; and he fell on the and he fell on the down, and] tare him, ground with great force, and there lay, and b He is lunatic.] Grotius well observes that this word (which exactly answers the etymology of the original) might with great propriety be used, though there was something preternatural in the case; as the evil rolled ground, spirit would undoubtedly take advantage of those disorders, into which the brain and nerves of this unhappy child were thrown by the changes of the moon. c From Who rebukes the demon, and expels him. 479 xci. ground, and wallowed, rolled from one side to the other, a spectacle of SECT. foaming. [LUKE IX. horror, foaming at the mouth, and sweating profusely, till nature was almost exhausted, and he seemed ready to die. 42.-] And, that the greatness of the cure might Mark more plainly appear, while the unhappy youth IX. 21. lay thus before him, he asked his father, How long time is it, that he hath been thus afflicted? And he said, Even from his childhood: And the 22 evil spirit is so outrageous, and so malicious, that it frequently, as I said, has thrown him into the fire, and into the waters, when he has happened to be near them, as if he watched for opportunities to destroy him; so that I am sensible it is a most difficult, as well as dreadful case: but if thou canst do any thing in it, have compassion on us, and help us; for surely none ever needed thy pity more. And Jesus said unto him, The question is not 23 at all concerning my power, but concerning the strength of thy faith; for if thou canst firmly and cheerfully believe, the deliverance will surely be effected, as all things of this kind [are] possible to him that believeth". And immediately the father of the child, touch-24 ed to the very heart to think that his dear son might possibly lose the cure through the weakness of his own faith, cried out aloud, and said, with tears in his eyes and ardour in his countenance, Lord, I do from my heart believe that thy power is unlimited; yet such is my frailty, that when I look on this spectacle of misery, my faith is ready to fail me again: help me therefore against my unbelief, by mitigating the circumstances of the trial, or communicating suitable strength to my soul. c From his childhood.] So the word aid properly signifies; and, I think with Grotius, it is much more convenient to render it thus; than from his infancy. d If thou canst do any thing in it.] Perhaps, observing the fit grow more violent on his approaching Christ, his faith might begin to fail. This was a very natural manner of speaking, and yet strongly pathetic, and obliquely interesting the honour of Christ in the issue of the affair. See Raphel. ex. Xen. p. 73. Then ture, which I lately had from the mouth of e If thou canst believe, &c.] As the con- f Help my unbelief, &c.] It seems an struction in the original is something uninconvenience inseparable from this mecommon. Το ει δύνασαι πιςεύσαι, I can- thod of paraphrasing, that sometimes (as not forbear mentioning a singular conjec- in the present instance) some lively and 3 M 2 strongly 480 SECT. xci. Mark This kind comes not out, but by prayer and fasting. him, Thou dumb and Then Jesus, seeing that the crowd ran together 25 When Jesus saw and was continually increasing round them, re-running together, he that the people came buked the unclean spirit, which had possessed the rebuked the [unclean] IX. 25. child, and said unto him, with an air of superior spirit, saying unto power and Divine authority, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge deaf spirit, who had so maliciously deprived this thee, come out of him, youth of his speech and hearing, I strictly and enter no more into him. (LUKE IX. charge and command thee immediately to come -42.-MAT. XVII. out of him, and presume to enter into him no more, nor farther to disquiet him as long as he lives. 18.] 26 And the spirit cried and rent him sore, and came out [of him] and he was as one 26 And, immediately, as soon as he had spoken 27 Luke Mark IX. 28. 27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up, and he arose: [LUKE, and he healed the child, and delivered him again to his father.] [And the child was cured from that very hour.] MA T. XVII.—18. LUKE IX. 42. LUKE IX. 43. And they who beheld it were all astonished at IX. 43. the mighty power of God, by which this illustri- And they were all aous miracle had been wrought. mazed at the mighty power of God. And when he had left the multitude, and was MARK IX. 28. come into the house, where he then resided, his And when he was disciples, something mortified at the repulse they his disciples [came to come into the house, had met with in their late attempt, came to Jesus Jesus apart, and askwhen he was alone, and asked him privately, Why ed him privately, Why could not we prevail so far as to cast out this could not we cast him out [MAT. XVII. demon, and expel him, since we have performed 19.] many cures which seemed equally difficult? And Jesus said unto them, It was because of the XVII.20 remainder of your unbelief; for verily I say unto you, If you had but the least degree of faith in lively exercise, though it comparatively was but as a grain of mustard-seed, you might perform Mat. strongly pointed sentences should lose a the MAT. XVII. 20. And Jesus said unto unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye mustard-seed, ye shall them, Because of your have faith as a grain of say quire, they should be unfolded. To observe the exact medium here, is a felicity, which I dare not say I have obtained, though I have laboured after it. - Faith as a grain of mustard-seed.] It 18 |