December 6 — On the Lessons that are to be learned from other Miracles of out Lord

Consider, first, that the miracles of our Lord were generally wrought in favour of such as applied to him with a lively faith and profound humility, or by the means of earnest prayer; to teach us the great efficacy of faith, of humility, and of fervent prayer, and to encourage us to seek the cure of our souls with the like dispositions. Thus the woman, that had laboured for twelve years under the issue of blood, humbly coming behind our Lord in the crowd, and touching the hem of his garment, was instantly healed, in reward of her faith, as our Lord himself assured her, Luke viii. 48. Thus the centurion, by his faith and humility, obtained of our Lord the immediate cure of his servant, by those words; Lord I am not worthy thou shouldst enter under my roof: speak only the word, and my servant shall be healed Matt. viii. 8. Thus the woman of Canaan, by her pious importunity, accompanied with the like faith and humility, obtained the cure of her daughter, Matt, xv. 28. And so in many other cases. Whilst, at other times, those that have only presented themselves before our Saviour, without presuming either to touch him or his garments, or even so much as to speak to him, by the silent eloquence iA their humility, have obtained their cure; as in the case of the man that had the dropsy, Luke xiv. O, let us learn this kind of eloquence.

Consider, secondly, the particular lessons we may learn from the miraculous cure of the paralytic. Matt. ix. and Luke v. Our Lord was teaching in a house, surrounded with a great crowd of people, so that there was no coming in through the door; when behold men brought in a bed a man that had the palsy, desiring to present him before him; but not finding by what way they might bring him in, because of the multitude, they went up upon the roof of the house, which was fiat; and uncovering it, let him down through the tiles with his bed, by ropes, into the midst before Jesus. See here what pains were taken by these men, to come at the heavenly Physician, fi’om whom they expected the cure of their friend. Who would have thought of men’s going up to the roof of another person’s house and uncovering it, and letting down a sick man in a bed, over.the heads of a crowd? Nothing but a strong faith on the one hand, and an earnest desire of a cure on the other, could ever have suggested such an extraordinary proceeding; which loudly condemns the indolence or indifference of so many Christians now-a-days, who, lying ill of a spiritual palsy, which disables them in all their limbs, and threatens them with the approaches of an everlasting death, suffer themselves to be kept off from Christ by every trifling obstacle or apprehension of difficulty. O Christians, where is your faith 1 Where is your concern for eternity? Why will you not be much more solicitous about the health and welfare of your immortal souls, than about these worldly toys, or these carcasses of yours, that must quickly be the food of worms 1

Consider, thirdly, how our Lord, upon this occasion, was pleased to begin the cure of the sick man, by first healing his soul from sin. Son, said he, tky sins are forgiven thee; to give us to understand, that our corporal maladies are oftentimes sent in punishment of our sins; and that the first thing we have to do, when visited with sickness, is to apply for the remission of our sins, by repentance and confession, and then we may expect that the scourge may be removed, when the cause is removed The scribes and Pharisees took occasion, from those word? of our Saviour, to charge him with blasphemy, in their minds; but he, that knew their secret thoughts, publicly confuted them, by working so great and evident a miracle, in proof of his power of forgiving sins, as to restore, upon the spot, both health aiid strength to the man sick of the palsy, with those only worcts; Arise, take up thy bed, and go into thy house: upon whNh the paral3rtic, immediately rising up before them, took up thi bed on which he lay, and went away to his own home, glorifying God, See here, my soul, that thou hast a Physician, in the per&in of thy Redeemer, who is both able and willing to hesl all th) infirmities; but see, also, that he expects of all such as apply to him for their cure, that they should lie no longer in their beds, by continuing on in the habits or immediate occasions of their sins; but that they should arise without delay, and take up their beds, by bearing with courage the labours and conflicts of a penitential life; and should make the best of their way, by the exercises of solid virtue, to their true home; glorifying, all the way they go, both by their words and by their lives, their great Deliverer.

Conclude to spare no pains to come at Christ, in order to be healed by him of all thy spiritual diseases; but remember to carry along with thee a lively faith and a profound humility; these will not fail of introducing thee to him, and obtaining of him all thou desirst