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all around was strife and terror, is a proof of the extreme weakness of Human Nature in the absence of vital faith! But it is even still more extraordinary, that on the tempest's instantly ceasing at the Bidding of JESUS, they should question among themselves, "What manner of Man He was ?" and should not at once have acknowledged Him as GOD Incarnate, The True and Long-Expected MESSIAH. We, who own the Omnipotence of GOD, and that He neither Slumbereth, nor Sleepeth, may, with the most implicit confidence, rely on Him, as both Able and Willing to Save and may fully assure ourselves, that, if troubles present themselves in our way, they will sooner or later yield to His Mandate, Who will Graciously Command Deliverances : nor should we be too eager to terminate such troubles as arise from any other cause than a consciousness of our continuance in sin, and our want of a hearty repentance for all wherein we have done amiss, since they may be Sent or Permitted by The AUTHOR of all Wisdom and Goodness, as trials of the vitality of our faith, as instruments to wean us from the love of this World, or as Chastisements Administered in Mercy here, to Save us from Everlasting Punishment hereafter.

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St. Mark's narrative is thus; "The same day, when the even was come, He JESUS) Saith unto Them, (His Disciples,) Let us pass over unto the other side!' And when they had sent away the Multitude, they took Him even as He was in the ship and there were also with Him other little ships: and there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. He was in the hinder part of the ship Asleep on a pillow: and they awake Him, and say unto Him, 'MASTER! Carest Thou not that we perish?' And He Arose and Rebuked the Wind, and Said unto the Sea, Peace, be still!' And the Wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And He Said unto them, 'Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?' And they feared exceedingly, and said One to Another, What manner of Man is This, that even the Wind and the Sea obey Him?""-Mark iv. 35 to 41.

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St. Luke's account is as follows; "Now it came to pass, on a certain day, that He (JESUS) Went into a ship with His Disciples: and He Said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the Lake! And they launched forth: but as They sailed He Fell Asleep and there came down a storm of wind on the Lake: and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy: and they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, MASTER! MASTER! we perish!' Then He Arose, and Rebuked the Wind and the raging of the Water: and they ceased; and there was a calm! And He Said unto them, Where is your faith?' And they, being afraid, wondered, saying One to Another, What manner of Man is This: for He Commandeth even the Winds and Water; and they obey Him?'"--Luke

viii. 22 to 25.

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From the memories of the Disciples could not have passed the avowal of David in his pious address to JEHOVAH; "O LORD GOD of Hosts! Who is A Strong LORD like unto Thee? or to Thy Faithfulness round about Thee? THOU Rulest the raging of the Sea: when the waves thereof arise, Thou Stillest them."-Ps. lxxxix. 8, 9. Yet where was their faith, that they did not at once acknowledge, in this instance of Rule over Winds and Waves, a Power infinitely beyond Man's, even That of A Present GOD in Man? Even The SAME, Who Maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still."-Ps. cvii. 29.

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, exceeding fierce, so that no Man might pass by that way. And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with Thee, JESUS, Thou SON of GOD? Art thou Come hither to Torment us before the time?' And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding: so the Devils besought Him, saying, 'If Thou Cast us out, Suffer 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 perished in the waters. And they, that kept them, fled, and went their ways into the City, and told everything, and what was befallen to the Possessed 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."-28 to 34.

How flinty and obdurate must have been the hearts of these miserable People! to think the Restoration of two Fellow-Creatures, from the extreme of furious madness and terrifying violence, to the possession of perfect sanity and sobriety and peacefulness, dearly purchased at the sacrifice of swine. To Cleanse the Immortal Soul from such pollution, and to Make it the Temple of The HOLY GHOST, as Evinced by this Wondrous Act of our SAVIOUR, virtually offered the Truest and most Comprehensive Blessings to All, who had faith to receive Him in grateful acknowledgment as The Promised MESSENGER of Everlasting Peace and Spiritual Joy. Doubtless our Gracious SAVIOUR Proposed to Take out the evil of sin from every heart by Baptism on repentance, and to Guide them in the ways of Purity and Holiness; and He Demonstrated His Ability to Do so by This Signal Exercise of a Power, nothing Short of Almighty, and for the most Merciful and Benevolent Purpose: but so deeply rooted in sensuality and worldly and carnal affections were His Auditors, and those, whom the Tidings of Salvation had Reached, (through the open acknowledgment of JESUS as GOD, which the Devils had made in their hearing,) that they rejected the Gracious Offer, and so far from urging CHRIST to Remain among them, even besought Him to Leave their Country!!! Yet too nearly does this conduct of the self-inimical Gergesenes resemble that of Many, to whom the Word and the Grace of GOD are daily and hourly Offered; and who unhesitatingly reject so Inestimable a Treasure, and will none of It; and that with even less of extenuation than these unlettered Barbarians, on whom the Light of Heavenly Power and Righteousness then for the first time, perhaps, Flashed, whilst upon us That Light Shineth in the Fulness of Its Meridian Brightness; yet we but in too many instances neglect, if we do not, like too many Others, refuse to walk by Its Light. The Rejection of The SAVIOUR of the World has been the weakness, the infatuation and the disgrace of every Age and every Generation of the World. But most surprisingly and awfully was it so by the People Chosen of GOD, as the Depositories of His Laws, and as the Nation from which That SAVIOUR Himself, in His Mortal Nature, was almost from the Creation of the World Foretold should Arise, and did eventually Forthcome.

St. Mark's Narrative is deeply interesting, for though it names but one Person as the Object of the Miracle, it continues the history of that Individual in a way peculiarly impressive, and decisive of the Piety that became the Inmate of that Heart, from the possession of which the Devils had been Driven; "And They (JESUS and His Disciples,) came over unto the other side of the Sea, into the Country of the Gadarenes and when He was Come out of the ship, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a Man with an unclean Spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs: and no Man could bind him, no, not with chains; because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains; and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces; neither could any Man tame him: and always night and day he was in the mountains and in the tombs crying and cutting himself with stones. But when he saw JESUS afar off, he ran and worshipped Him; and cried with a loud voice, and said, 'What have I to do with Thee, JESUS, Thou SON of THE MOST HIGH GOD? I adjure Thee by GOD, That Thou Torment me not!' For He Said unto him, 'Come out of the

Man, thou unclean Spirit!' And He Asked him, 'What is thy name?' And he answered, saying, 'My name is Legion; for we are many.' And he besought Him much, that He would not Send them away out of the Country. Now there was there, nigh unto the mountains, a great herd of swine feeding and all the Devils besought Him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them!' And forthwith JESUS Gave them Leave. And the unclean Spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the Sea, (they were about two thousand,) and were choked in the Sea. And they, that fed the swine, fled, and told it in the City, and in the Country: and they went out to see What it was that was Done. And they come to JESUS, and see him that was possessed with the Devil and had the Legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind: and they were afraid. And they, that saw it, told them how it befell to him, that was possessed with the Devil, and also concerning the swine. And they began to pray Him to Depart out of their Coasts. And when He was Come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the Devil, prayed Him that he might be with Him. Howbeit, JESUS Suffered him not, but Saith unto him, 'Go home to thy Friends, and tell them how Great Things The LORD hath Done for thee; and hath Had Compassion on thee!' And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how Great Things JESUS had Done for him and all Men did marvel.” -Mark v. 1 to 20.

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St. Luke follows most closely the narrative of St. Mark; "And They (JESUS and His Disciples) Arrived at the Country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee. And when He went forth to land, there met Him out of the City a certain Man, which had Devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs. When he saw JESUS, he cried out, and fell down before Him, and, with a loud voice, said, What have I to do with Thee, JESUS, Thou, SON of GOD MOST HIGH? I beseech Thee, Torment me not!' (For He had Commanded the unclean Spirit to come out of the Man: for oftentimes it had caught him; and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters: and he brake the bands, and was driven of the Devil into the wilderness :) And JESUS Asked him, 'Saying, 'What is thy name?' And he said, 'Legion;' because many Devils were entered into him: and they besought Him that He would not Command them to go out into the deep! And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought Him that He would Suffer them to enter into them: and He Suffered them. Then went the Devils out of the Man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the Lake, and were choked. When they, that fed them, saw What was Done, they fled, and went and told it in the City and in the Country. Then they went out to see What was Done; and came to JESUS, and found the Man, out of whom the Devils were departed, sitting at the Feet of JESUS, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. They also, which saw it, told them by what Means he, that was possessed of the Devils, was Healed. Then the whole Multitude of the Country of the Gadarenes round about, besought Him to Depart from them: for they were taken with great fear and He Went up into the ship; and Returned back again. Now the Man, out of whom the Devils were departed, besought Him, that he might be with Him; but JESUS Sent him away, Saying,Return to thine own house, and shew how Great Things GOD hath Done unto thee!' And he went his way, and published throughout the whole City how Great Things JESUS had Done unto him."-Luke viii. 26 to 39.

By the Mosaic Law, "the swine was declared to be an unclean beast, and the Jews were therefore, forbidden to eat of it."-Deut. xiv. 8. And it was amongst the causes of Complaint, which The ALMIGHTY Brought against the Israelites, that "they sacrificed in gardens, and remained among the graves, and lodged in

the monuments, which ate swine's flesh, and had in their vessels broth of abominable things," in direct defiance of that Law; and yet they said to Others, "Stand by thyself, come not near to me! for I am holier than thou."-Isa. lxv. 3 to 5.

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Both in prosperity and in adversity there is danger of the Worldly-minded urging A GOD of Purity and Holiness to Depart from them. Such was the character given by Job of the Prosperous in his day, who, unmindful of The SOURCE of their Blessings, yet madly "said unto GOD, Depart from us! for we desire not the knowledge of Thy Ways. What is The ALMIGHTY, that we should serve Him! and what profit should we have, if we pray unto Him?'"Job xxi. 14, 15. And again, where Eliphaz, in his unjust interpretation of the Patriarch, says, "Hast thou marked the old way, which wicked Men have trodden? which were cut down out of time; whose foundation was overflown with a flood; which said unto GOD, Depart from us!'"-Job xxii. 15 to 17.

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CHAP. ix.-" And He (JESUS) Entered into a ship, and Passed 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 of good cheer! thy sins be Forgiven thee.”—1, 2.

Generally speaking, as JESUS had Himself Declared, "a Prophet is not without honour, save in his own Country and amongst his own Kinsfolk." But how unwise and Self-blinding by prejudice is such a rejection of the Home Proffered Mercies and Goodness and Guidance of GOD, so Peculiarly Vouchsafed by the Visitation of His Particular Providence and Grace. Thus JESUS, Whe Did not many Things in Galilee, because of their unbelief, Left it, and Performed His Principal Miracles elsewhere. Yet, unwilling as His Kinsfolk in the Fles! were, in the first instance, to own Him as The MESSIAH, the praise of Him that reached them from neighbouring Provinces, forced them to acknowledge Hi Supernatural Power; and such acknowledgment drew from Him, in the Spirit o Compassion That was Inseparable from Him, the Exertion of His Healin Influence for on their bringing to Him a Sufferer from palsy, Knowing that the were actuated at the time by a belief in His Power, He Ministered the Consolatio they sought; in no degree Casting back on them any Reflection or Rebuke for th previous rejection of Him from their presence. But to Prove that He was Th True PHYSICIAN of Souls, as well as The BEARER of Healing on H Wings to the bodies of the Faithful, He, Perceiving that the sick Man w sorrowing for his sins, and no doubt heartily repenting of them, from the Depth DIVINE Mercy Poured forth Forgiveness, and the Fruit thereof, the unspeakab Consolation of DIVINE Acceptance; Thereby Conferring a Blessing infinite more Important than a relief from bodily suffering, inasmuch as the Soul Immortal, and will thereby be Rendered Eternally Happy; whereas the Body, the utmost span of Life, is but of short continuance, and hasteneth to the grav where sickness can no longer affect it, where the Wicked cease from troubling, ar the Weary are at rest. And Oh, who, that had a right faith in CHRIST as b SAVIOUR, would not endure, and that patiently, if not gladly, palsy and eve species and accumulation and complication of disorder through the longest li when deeply penetrated with the assurance that, at the close of it, Everlasti Joys awaited his Soul, as the fruit of that Faith, and the Crown of that Patience And ever may we bear in mind, that This Spiritual Medicine and Gracio Healing are Freely Offered by The Same MIGIITY ONE to Save, unto each us, if we cherish the like spirit of belief in Him.

St. Mark's narrative is thus ; "And again, He (JESUS) Entered into Capt naum after some days; and it was noised that He was in the house: and straightwa

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Many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them ; no, not so much as about the door: and He Preached the Word unto them. And they come unto Him, bringing One sick of the palsy, which was borne of Four: and when they could not come nigh unto Him for the press, they uncovered the roof where He was; and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed, wherein the Sick of the palsy lay. When JESUS Saw their faith, He Said unto the Sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be Forgiven thee!'"-Chap. ii. 1 to 5.

St. Luke thus relates the Miracle; "Behold, Men brought in a bed a Man, which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before Him. And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in, because of the Multitude, they went upon the house-top, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before JESUS. And when He Saw their faith, He Said unto him, 'Man, thy sins are Forgiven thee.'"-Chap. v. 18 to 20.

"And, Behold, Certain of the Scribes said within themselves, 'This Man blasphemeth :' and JESUS, Knowing their thoughts, Said, 'Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts ?' -3, 4.

The Proud, the Haughty, the Righteous in their own esteem, then followed JESUS only to find fault with His Words, and to set at nought His Works, as the same Spirits in these our days only hear or read His Word, and the Record of His Works, to treat Them with scorn and to oppose Their Influence, and to charge His Doctrine and Mission with error or folly. But may such perverse and wicked devices be far from us, and may not such sin be ever laid to our charge! and, remembering that the Penetrating Mind of The MOST HIGH is ever Acquainted with our thoughts, and with the most unacknowledged workings of our hearts, may we so strive to order them at all times, as a consciousness of His Immediate Presence would dictate, individually adopting from the heart the pious utterances of the holy Psalmist, where he says, "O LORD, Thou hast Searched me, and Known me: Thou Understandest my thoughts afar off!" [Ps. cxxxix. 1,2,] and retaining ever the confidence that The LORD, Whom David thus addressed, was The Same LORD, Whom the supercilious Scribes thus charged in their thoughts with blasphemy.

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St. Mark's continuation of the narrative is thus; "But there were Certain of the Scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, Why doth this Man thus speak blasphemies? Who can Forgive sins, but GOD only?"— Chap. ii. 6, 7.

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St. Luke's as follows; "And the Scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this, which speaketh blasphemies? Who can Forgive sins, but GOD Alone?"-Chap. v. 21.

Thus individually bearing testimony to The DIVINITY of JESUS: since His Very Office was to work out the Salvation of penitent and believing Sinners from the Punishment due to their sins, by his own Voluntary Sacrifice of Himself

on their behalf.

"For whether is it easier to say, 'Thy sins be forgiven thee!' or to say, 'Arise and walk ?'”—5.

The Power That could, in the twinkling of an eye, Give Strength and Vigour to a body, being weakened with a violent and lingering disease, could not be but from Above; and why, therefore, but through pride and contumacy, should Any doubt that the Power of Forgiving sins might be Possessed by The Same Divinely-Gifted BEING? Steeped as were these Scribes and Pharisees in prejudice and in jealousy, lest their own power and influence should fall before

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