ing, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight thy faith hath saved thee. And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God.

Now the injunctions of the multitude could neither repress desire of relief, nor compel Bartimeus to desist from being importunate to gain it. The aid he wanted, the people could not give; nor would he suffer them to obstruct application to him from whom he knew it could certainly be had. The very attempt to impose silence induced him to cry more loudly for help: nor did he cease to petition till his petition was granted.

Thus, in reference to spiritual affairs, every man acts who feels his depravity and guilt; who knows his wounds to be incurable, unless he that forgiveth all our iniquities, and healeth all our diseases, have mercy on him. He is convinced, as was Bartimeus, that he cannot

relieve himself that vain is the help of man: but he has heard, and believes, that help is laid on one mighty to save; and has, in application for succour, one advantage which the son of Timeus could not boast-He can plead both the power and the promise of the Saviour: and therefore, however apparently many or great his discouragements, to this Saviour he ever looks for acceptance and pardon. If enormous guilt wound the conscience and forbid his hope of remission, he becomes more urgent for help. His importunity for mercy is, in some measure, proportioned to the worth of the blessing and the danger of losing it. He knows there is forgiveness with God for the chief of sinners-that he will in no wise cast out them that come to him-that he never said to the seed of Jacob, seek ye me in vain. Under a sense of unworthiness and weakness, he is emboldened, because commanded, to take hold of Jehovah's strength: he says, therefore, with Jacob, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me—or, interrogates with Peter, Lord, to whom shall I go? thou hast the words of eternal life.

Does the christian wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but walk in darkness; he remembers him that said, who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obey, eth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God.' Though he slay me, says the disconsolate soul, yet will I trust in him- the Lord is the God of truth-he will not cast off for ever: but though he cause grief, yet will he have com, passion according to the multitude of his mercies.'

Of the strength of faith, and the power of unbelief, we have a striking instance in the conduct of Peter. The apostle, with other disciples, was in a ship in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him waiking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good

cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him, and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt ?'

Now, you will be pleased to remember, that the command of Christ was Peter's warrant for venturing on the agitated lake of Tiberias. Without this command the attempt would have been presumptuous in the extreme: and, had he kept that in view during the perilous excursions, instead of the winds and the waves, he would have reached the object of his confidence without alarms of danger, or manifesting symptoms of distrust. It is said, indeed, that the wind was boisterous; and on a cursory survey of the passage, it seems as if this circumstance alone had occasioned his fears: but it is much more consistent with the divine:

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narrative, and the rebuke with which he was afterwards accosted, to attribute these fears chiefly to his unbelief. The wind appears to have been high during great part of the night, and was, most probably, tempestuous at the time of Christ's appearance: but were it allowed to be otherwise at the instant of Peter's debarkation, this would only be admitting an apology for his timidity at the expense of his understanding. For he could not be so ignorant as to imagine that the watery element was more solid because less turbulent: and he must have known that the power which was able to consolidate the sea in a calm, was also able to make the toaming surge firm as adamant. The fact is, the renowned Cephas forgot his own request, and also the command and the almighty power of his Lord. He began to look at second causes to reflect, perhaps, that he had precipitately left the bark where safety might have been reasonably expected, and was attempting to tread on a wave that threatened to ingulf him in a moment.

Now, thus it frequently happens with the trembling sinner that is awakened to a sense