Ess. x.] and when He wrought 279 strength to the withered, limbs to the maimed, and life to the dead-he displayed the proofs, not merely of the reality of his commission, and of the truth of his religion, but of his actual Sonship-of his union and cooperation, in the nature of God, with the author and governor of all things. In order to try the correctness of this conclusion, let us compare the miracles of Jesus Christ with those of the ancient prophets and patriarchs, many of whom may be said (in a lose and general sense of the term) to have wrought miracles, because they were the appointed instruments of their occurrence, and because they were sometimes permitted through the efficacious operation of faith and prayer, actually to excite these extraordinary interpositions of divine wisdom and power. But, from the history of the miracles of Moses, Aaron, Joshua, Elijah, and Elisha, it is easy to learn that the Lord alone performed the wonders of which the prophet gave the signals. Thus, when Moses, full of faith in the God of Israel, stretched forth his hand over the Red Sea, "the Lord caused the sea to go back :" Exod. xiv, 21. Thus also the sun stood still in its course over the valley of Ajalon, because Lord hearkened unto the voice" of Joshua: Josh. x, 14. And thus, lastly, Elijah and Elisha become instrumental in raising the dead to life, after the exercise of fervent supplication: 1 Kings xvii, 21; 2 Kings iv, 33. the On the contrary, the mode in which Jesus performed his miracles, was almost universally such as indicated his own divine power: He spake, and it was done: he commanded and it stood fast. "And behold, there came a leper, and worshiped him, saying, Lord, if thou wILT, thou CANST make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I WILL, be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed:" Matt, viii, 2, 3. Similar examples are 280 Miracles. [Ess. x. numerous. Thus, when the people of Nain were carrying the widow's dead son on his bier out of their city, Jesus said, "Young man, I say unto thee, arise; and he that was dead sat up, and began to speak :" Luke vii, 14, 15. Again, when the two blind men acknowledged him to be the Messiah, and besought his mercy, he said unto them, "Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord. Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith, be it unto you. And their eyes were opened:" Matt. ix, 28-30. These and other similar narrations contain a strong internal evidence that the miraculous changes thus suddenly produced on the objects before him originated in the will, and were effected by the power, of Jesus. On other occasions, the word of Jesus produced a similar instantaneous effect on persons who were not in his presence. Great, indeed, was the faith in the divine power of Jesus, which was displayed by the Roman centurion, who thus addressed him: "Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof; but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way, and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the self-same hour:" Matt. viii, 5-13; comp. John iv, 43-54. How complete is the accordance of the circumstances thus related with the words of the Psalmist, sung in praise of JEHOVAH,-"He sent his word, and healed them," Ps. cvii, 20; and with the declaration of God himself, through his prophet Isaiah: "My word shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it :" lv, 11. Lastly, let us observe the power which the Son of God possessed over the very elements of nature.. "And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him: and Ess. x.] By his own Power 281 behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord save us, we perish. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man (or, as in the Greek, what manner of person) is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!" Matt. viii, 23—27; comp. xiv, 32; comp. Ps.. cxlviii, 8. In the several instances now adverted to, there are to be observed very evident indications of the spontaneous exertion of a divine power,- indications which are rendered the more striking by the comparison already instituted between the miracles of Christ and those of the ancient patriarchs and prophets. In order, however, to complete our view of the present subject, it is necessary for us to take some notice of the mi 6 ποταπός. 7 We read in the Gospel of Mark, that, when Jesus was at Nazareth, dishonoured and rejected by his own countrymen, "he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hand upon a few sick folk, and healed them: vi, 5—οὐκ ἠδύνατο ἐκεῖ οὐδεμίαν δύναμιν ποιῆσαι. From this passage we learn, not that Jesus was at any time destitute of an inherent power to work miracles, but only that he was deprived of the opportunity of working them. Since, in pursuance of the order of the divine counsels, faith in Christ was an indispensable condition in those on whose behalf the miracles of Jesus were wrought, it followed that, where there was no faith, there could be no miracle. Thus, when Jehovah was about to destroy the city of Sodom (which he had decreed not to destroy while Lot was in it), he commanded Lot to flee to Zoar, and said, "Haste thee, escape thither: for I CANNOT do any thing till thou be come thither:" Gen. xix, 22. Rosenmüller's observations on Mark vi, 5, are very much to the point: "Causa vero, cur Jesus miracula Nazarethæ patrare non posset, hæc erat, quod Nazarethani præjudiciis occupati Christo ægrotos non offerebant, nec opem ejus implorabant. Ergo, nec potentia nec animus sed occasio faciendi miracula ei deerat :" Schol. in loc. See Whitby in loc. 282 Jesus Christ wrought [Ess. x. racles of the apostles. These servants of Christ were endued with supernatural qualifications of a very exalted kind; and the miraculous effects which they were the means of producing appear to have been sometimes consequent upon their authoritative command. Yet was that command issued, not in their own name, but in the name of Jesus; and it is distinctly inculcated in the Holy Scriptures, that, although these gifted persons were the instruments, through whom were displayed many mighty signs and wonders, yet they were only the instruments. It was their Lord and Master-it was Jesus Christ himself—it was the Son as well as the Father-by whose power those signs and wonders were actually effected. "So, then, after the Lord had spoken unto them," says the evangelist, "he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God: and they went forth and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following:" Mark xvi, 19, 20.8 Thus, after the sudden cure of the lame man in the temple, when the question was addressed to the apostles Peter and John, "By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?" Peter was filled with the Holy Ghost, and answered, "Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole:" Acts iv, 7, 10. And what were the words of the same apostle, when he was the means of miraculously healing the palsied Eneas, Our Lord bears an unequivocal testimeny to his divinity, in his own words, addressed to the seventy disciples; "Behold I GIVE UNTO YOU POWER to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall by any means hurt you:" Luke x, 19. So, also, when he sent out the twelve apostles, "HE gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease:" Matt. x, 1. the Miracles of the Apostles. 283 Ess. x.] who had been confined to his bed for eight years? "Eneas, JESUS CHRIST MAKETH THEE WHOLE:" Acts ix, 34; comp. xiv, 3; Rom. xv, 19. It was the Son of God, therefore, who bestowed sudden health and strength on the withered Eneaswho caused the lame man in the temple to leap for joy-who wrought all the miracles of his servants— who wrought his own miracles. And since this power of actually effecting miracles is equivalent, in various instances, to the power of creating—since it is frequently described in the New Testament as one of the attributes of God-we may, I believe, depend on the safety of our conclusion, that when Jesus Christ (in concert and cooperation with the Father) performed all these wonderful works, he displayed that authority over nature, and that power of controling its order, which are characteristic only of Jehovah. As these observations apply to the miracles of Jesus Christ in general, so do they bear with an especial degree of force and precision on the most remarkable of them all his own ressurrection from the dead. That God raised Christ from the dead, is a fact frequently stated in the New Teatament, and one which affords a conspicuous evidence of divine love and power. When, however, it is considered, that between the Father and the Son there subsists a perfect unity of counsel and of action; that "what things soever the Father doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise"--it will be allowed that Scripture is still in harmony with Scripture, when, on the one hand, it declares that Christ was raised by the power of the Father, and, on the other hand, that he rose by his own power. We have already found occasion to observe, that our Lord claimed a power of raising the dead equal to that which was possessed by his Father: John v, 21. Now, that this power extended to the quickening again of his |