with tender entreaties, to the participa

tion of mercy.

ALREADY have thefe coals of fire melted the heart of this anxious fuppliant. Tears of penitential forrow burst from his eyes-" LORD, I believe-help "thou mine unbelief. Pity and forgive "a wretched father, whom excess of mifery has betrayed into a momentary "diftruft-let not my infirmities pre"vent the restoration of my child. O gracious and holy prophet, vifit not my faults on him!"

e

THE youth is brought into the midft,. that the fcribes themselves might witness both the conflict, and the victory-the devil is rebuked, and driven out-that powerful spirit which would not obey the commands of the difciples, ftoops to the voice of the Mafter-the almighty WORD which in the beginning caft him out of Heaven, can eafily remove him from an earthly tabernacle. If the LORD D.3 rebuke:

rebuke thee, Satan, how canft thou do otherwife than flee ?

THE difciples, troubled at their own want of fuccefs, anxiously enquire its reafon little imagining that they should hear their unbelief affigned as the cause of their difappointment. Had they not been deficient in faith, they had not been deficient in power. Meanwhile they must pray to GoD that they may have the victory-they must fast, to make this prayer more effectual. We cannot now command-but we can faft and pray. Our God hath not withdrawn from his fervants the means of quenching the fiery darts of the wicked. If we are invested with chriftian armour, JEHOVAH will fight for us-Satan cannot prevail against us.

LXXXII.

LXXXII.

BETHESDA.

IN the various actions of his life, our bleffed Saviour was an example not only of moral virtue, but of religious obedience. The law enjoined every Hebrew to prefent himself three times in the year before the LORD. Though as a Scn, he might have pleaded exemption from this tribute of fervice, he would not omit one of those ceremonies which himfelf had enjoined. Thus did it become him to fulfil all righteoufnefs, whatever dangers might attend on the exercife of his duty. He had been conftrained to depart from Jerufalem, through the malice of those enemies, who fought his D 4

life'

life, e'er he had yet accomplished the work of Him that fent him-he now returns, unappalled by every danger, regardless of all the fury of his adverfaries" In the volume of the book it is. "written of me, I delight to do thy " will, O my GoD-yea, thy law is "within my heart."

O LORD, how wonderful are thy works, whether performed in the ordinary course of thy providence, or by the immediate interference of thine almighty power, or by the miniftry of thy holyangels! Every where we find just cause of astonishment, just subject of adoration. In particular, how didft thou vouchsafe to display thy miracles to thy peculiar people, notwithstanding their blindness and apoftafy! If thou hadst not done among them works which no other nation beheld-if thou hadft not revealed thyfelf to them, in a manner which no other nation ever experienced,

enced, they had not exhibited fuch a fearful example of obduracy and ingratitude. Now "have they both feen and "hated both thee and thy Father"— although the works which were wrought among them bore fuch witnefs to the truth-although the demonftrations of thy power were fuch as called for univerfal conviction from mankind..

THE miraculous waters of Bethesda fixed on their brink a multitude of fufferers. There, in anxious expectation, they waited for that moment, which should bring comfort to one, difappointment to multitudes. When the troubled ftate of the waters announced that the heavenly vifitant had bestowed on them their medicinal virtue, these jealous competitors rushed forward with eager impatience, in hope of that gift of healing which awaited him who first plunged himself into the ftream. Bleffed LORD, how vaft, how unlimited are those

mercies,