overthrown, and that all, who would, might from henceforth belong to the kingdom of God.

Now we see, that when the Saviour was returned to this city of Bethsaida, and a blind man was brought to him with the prayer that He would heal him, He took him by the hand, and led him out of the city before He would heal him, as if to shew the people of Bethsaida, that no more wonderful works were to be wrought there. Also we read, that when He had restored the blind man's sight, He forbade him to return into the city, or even to tell any man belonging to it of his cure; but to return to his own house, which most likely was in one of the villages not far from Bethsaida. There was mercy in this severity; what could be more likely to alarm the people, than seeing that the Lord Jesus would work no more wonderful works within their gates; and that He even forbade that they should be told the things He had done. When they remembered the awful words He had spoken of them, this conduct of his might well fill them with fear. It was yet time, they might still repent, and be forgiven. Our merciful and long-suffering God often shows the most His Fatherly love for His offending children, when He seems to turn away from them; and if fear brings us back to Him, we have cause to bless Him that He has made us afraid.

When Jesus had taken the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the city, He did not heal him at once.

Perhaps the sight, for he

man had not much faith in his power to give him had not himself come to Jesus, his friends had brought him ;* though, when we remember that he was blind, this may only mean that he was led to him. However this may be, he was not of that eager nature, which had so often caused others to cry aloud, "Have mercy upon us, O Lord, thou Son of David;" and the blessed Saviour, who sees and understands the different feelings of each different heart, led him on from hope to cer* Chrysostom.

He

tainty. He first touched his eyes with spittle, from his own mouth. Any means, which He blesses, can work a cure. then laid his hands upon him, and asked him, "If he saw aught." Slowly, and by degrees, the poor man's sight came back," and he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking." He saw many things confusedly. He could only tell men from trees by seeing them move. "After that Jesus put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up; and he was restored, and saw every man clearly."

Not a word is said of how he felt towards the Lord for this his great mercy; but in the quiet of his own home, to which Jesus immediately sent him, perhaps, in like manner, by degrees, the mists would clear away from his mind; and, as at first he could only tell men from trees, because they moved, but soon saw them clearly, so the Saviour, whose power at first was only shown to him as the healer of his blind eyes, would become clear to him as the Saviour of his soul.

We trust it was so with this poor man. Let us examine whether it is so with each of ourselves. Let the mercies we receive, lead us on from hope to hope, till the Saviour's blessing opens the eyes of our minds, and we clearly see him our full salvation-the destroyer of the kingdom of Satan-the restorer of the kingdom of God.

Prayer.

O God, have pity on a vain and ungodly world, which, like Bethsaida, bath long heard thy word, and seen thy works of mercy, and yet hath repented not. O have pity, and let there be mercy even in thine anger; awaken the fear of being given over to hardness of heart, that before it is too late, sinners may turn unto thee. We are blind to the things belonging to our peace. Take us by the hand, and lead us out from among the ungodly. Let us feel thy blessed touch laid in kindness upon us, that we may see, and lead us on from hope to hope. O

Lord Jesus, our compassionate Redeemer, thou knowest our weakness. Thou knowest how long it is before we can see clearly the truths of thy kingdom to understand them. It is from thee alone that the fulness of spiritual knowledge can come. By thee only can we be taught how to value the different things, which all belong to thee, but which have their different uses in thy kingdom. On first awakening from our natural blindness, we see as the half-cured blind man saw, “men as trees, walking." We scarcely can distinguish the living truths of religion from those things, which are given only to be a help to them. Lay thy hands upon us, blessed Lord, again and again, till we are able quite to look up and to see all things clearly. Grant this for thy mercy's sake. Amen.

The fame of Jesus was spread abroad. Men talked of him and of his wonderful works from one end of the land to the other and still these questions filled their mind-was He, or was He not, the promised Messiah? and, if not the Messiah, what was he? who could he be ?

Before this time, (it seems while the twelve Apostles sent by Jesus were preaching the gospel throughout the cities of Israel) king Herod heard of him.*

You know how, against his conscience, he had allowed John the Baptist to be put to death in prison, that he and his wicked wife Herodias might not be longer troubled with his reproofs, nor with the fear that he would stir up the people against them; but God has said, "There is no peace for the wicked:"† and instead of now living at peace, the thought filled Herod's mind with terror, as we shall see. When he

* Mark vi. Vol. II.

+ Isaiah xlviii. 22.

LUKE ix. 7. "Heard of all the things that were done by Jesus: he was perplexed, because that it was said by some that John was risen from the dead."

Herod's fear made him think this saying might be true, (though being a Sadducee, he pretended to believe, that a man once dead, could never rise again, even at the last day.)

MARK Vi. 14-16. "And he said that John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in him. Others said, that it is Elias (or Elijah.) And others said it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets. But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John whom I beheaded he is risen from the dead."

We see the power

There is much to be learnt from all this. of a bad man's conscience to torment him. We see, too, how strong the voice of truth is in every man's heart. Where there is no religion, superstition will rise up within him, and however he may pretend to disbelieve all that the Scriptures teach of the soul being alive, though the body dies, and of the rising again of the body, his own terrors will give him the lie. Many, who say that they do not believe in heaven and hell, yet tremble and turn pale at the idea of a Ghost.*

Herod was a Sadducee,† and pretended to believe that this

* Two young men, who thought themselves extremely clever, in disbelieving all they had been taught of religion, sat up together nearly the whole of one night helping each other to disprove the truth of Scripture altogether; they reasoned and they talked till they thought they were quite convinced that there was no life but the present life, that there was neither heaven nor hell, and that the devil was only an invention intended to frighten people into being good, for that in truth there was no such thing as an evil spirit or any spirit at all: one of these young men afterwards told me that when they parted each to retire alone to bed, they were both so terrified by the idea that the devil was present with them at that very time, that neither could close his eyes the whole night, The very nature of the human mind is a lasting protest against unbelief.

† See Olshausen Vol. II. page 179.

life was all; that when a man died, his body became dust, his life, and the spirit that was in him, went out as the flame of a candle, and that neither body nor spirit could ever live again; yet we see him believing that John the Baptist had risen from the grave; and more than this, we see him believing, that because he had risen again, he was able to do mighty works, which he could not before have done. Not all the mocking unbelief of his opinions could prevent his hearing the voice of his terrified conscience, and yet his fears deceived him. They only forced him to confess that the body might rise again, and that the spirit of a man did live after death with even greater power than before; but instead of leading him to the Saviour, through whom he might have been pardoned, his fears prevented him from seeing that Jesus was the Saviour.

Most likely the different reports, that were going about every where as to who Jesus was, gave rise to a very remarkable conversation between him and his disciples, while they were on their way from Bethsaida to a part of the country farther north, that was called Cæsarea Philippi. Four times our Lord seems to have made this journey, making quite the round of all the towns and villages, that lay at a distance north of the sea of Galilee. It was while on this journey, after he had healed the blind man outside the walls of Bethsaida, that

MARK Viii. 27-29. "By the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say, that I am? And they answered, John the Baptist :† but some say, Elias; and others, one of the prophets. And he saith unto them, but whom say ye that I am? And Peter answered and saith unto him, thou art the Christ,”

MATTHEW Xvi. 16-18.

"The Son of the living God.

* See Mimpris's chart.

+ It is probable from the answer of the disciples that the people in general did not believe that John the Baptist had really been beheaded by Herod.