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CHAP. VIII.

1 WHEN he was come down from the moun, 2 tain, a great multitude followed him. And behold, there came a leper, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me 3 clean.

And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded for a testimony unto them.

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And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseech6 ing him, and saying, Lord, my servant lieth at

home sick of the palsy, grievously afflicted. 7 And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and 8 heal him. The centurion answered and said,. Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest. come under, my roof: but speak the word 9 only, and my servant shall be healed.

For I am a man under authority, having soldiers un- : der me and I say to this, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to 10 my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no not in Israel.†

* Christ discovers no wish to innovate, or to increase bis own fame.

†The centurion was a Gentile, but had embraced the Jewish religion.

11 And I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of 12 heaven. But the children of the kingdom*

shall be cast out into outer darkness: there 13 shall be weeping, and gnashing of teeth. 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 very 14 same hour. And when Jesus was come into

Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, 15 and sick of a fever. And he touched her hand, and the fever left her.: and she arose and ministered unto them.

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When it was evening, they brought unto him many who were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and 17 healed all that were sick; and thus was fulfilled what was predicted by Isaiah the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.

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Now, when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart 19 unto the other side of the lake. And a certain. scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will 20 follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests: but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.†

The Israelites and professors of Christianity; many of whom are insincere and unfaithful.

This Jesus said, not to discourage the man from becoming his disciple, but to inform him he must not expect worldly ease and honor in becoming a Christian.

21 And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. 22 But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.*

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And when he was entered into a ship, his 24 disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea,† insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he 25 was asleep. And his disciples came to him, and

awoke him, saying, Lord, save us or we shall 26 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 27 a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?

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And when he was come to the other side, into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no man 29 might pass by that way. And behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with

*This is a figurative expression-let those who are insensible to heavenly things attend to the concerns of this world: And in certain situations, it is said to be our duty to forsake even friends for the cause of religion.

When the evangelists speak of our Lord and his disciples passing the sea, they mean a large lake of about twelve miles in length, and five in breadth, situated in the province of Galilee in the northern parts of Judea. It is also sometimes called "the sea of Galilee," "the sea of Tiberias," &c.

A striking proof of divine power.

§ That is, supposed to be possessed and tormented by demons.

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thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come 30 hither to torment us before the time? And there was a good way off from them an herd of 31 many swine, feeding. So the possessed besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer 32 us to go away into the herd of swine. And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine : and behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perish33 ed in the waters. And they that kept themfled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing; and what was befallen to the pos34 sessed of the devils. And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts.

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CHAP. IX.

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AND he entered into a ship, and passed 2 over, and came into his own city. And behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed and Jesus seeing their faith, said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, be 3 of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee. And behold, some of the scribes said within them4 selves, this man blasphemeth.* And Jesus,

* It would seem that he did blaspheme, unless he were more than a man. The apostles only prayed that sin might be forgiven.

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knowing their thoughts, said, Wherefore think 5 ye evil in your hearts? For whether is it easier to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee, or to say, 6 Arise and walk, only that ye may know that the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins? Then he saith to the sick of the palsy, Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine 7 house. And he And he arose and departed to his 8 house. But when the multitude saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, who had given such power unto men.

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And as Jesus passed thence, he saw a man named Matthew, sitting at the custom-house: and he saith unto him, Follow me.

arose and followed him.

And he

10. And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came, and sat down with him and his disci11 ples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Mas12 ter with publicans and sinners? But when Je-sus heard it, he said unto them, They who are whole need not a physician, but they who are 13 sick. But go ye and learn what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice :* for I "am not come to call the righteous, but sinners. to repentance.

Mercy in preference to sacrifice. It is not the mere rite, or external sign, but the thing signified, the disposition and sentiment of the heart, which must determine our moral characters in the sight of God. Unlike other religions, Christianity is not satisfied with form and ceremony,

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