Two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us. It is our own case till he opens our eyes, and we have all as much cause as the two blind men had to cry out, "Thou Son of David, have mercy on us." And he opens our eyes to see God, ourselves, and the nature of the world we live in; to see sin, and death for sin; to see our utter inability to help ourselves, and insufficiency for our own salvation; to see our absolute need of his forgiveness, and of being turned by him to God in holiness; to see heaven, or hell, at the end of our lives, and the wretched folly of continuing in the broad way of destruction.

Ver. 28. The blind men came to him- Knowing that they were blind, or else they would never have come to him.

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-And Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord. - They knew they could not give sight to themselves, and believed assuredly that he could. There must be a concurrence of both these to a true faith. So far as we see no want of Christ, or trust in ourselves, or doubt of his power, we are given up to unbelief.

Ver. 29. According to your faith be it unto you.-So it will always be to the world's end, if there is any depending on what we are now reading.

Ver. 30. And their eyes were opened. Are yours? If they are not, what can be the reason that you go without your remedy, and have not the same help from the same Jesus, but that you are blind, and will not see?

-And Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that

no man know it. The reason why he would not have his miracles made too public, has already been given. The case is altered now; what we know of Jesus must not be concealed,

Ver. 31. But they spread abroad his fame in all that country. It would have been very hard for them to hold their tongues. He had a reason for this command, though they knew it not. Obey him in the dark.

Ver. 33. And the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel. Think what use you are to make of this, and where you must look for yourselves.

Ver, 34. But the Pharisees said, He casteth out the devils through the prince of the devils. Those who are blind themselves will not own the work of God in others, do what they can to hinder the belief of it from spreading, and what they cannot deny, ascribe to any the most absurd

cause.

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Ver. 35. And Jesus went about teaching preaching healing, &c. Blessed be God, he is teaching here, and now preaching to us; and we may hear his words of saving truth to as good effect as those who heard them from his own mouth. He stooped very low, took great pains, refused no sufferings, to bring the Gospel of the kingdom to us with all its grace; and wilt thou, O slothful dead soul! turn a deaf ear to his instructions, neglect the Bible, be ignorant of thyself, and never once think of thy own healing by him?

Ver. 36. But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, &c. He still sees his fainting, scattered sheep, with bowels of melting pity, knowing that when they are scattered from him, they are liable to perish. The whole passage is an affecting instance of his tender love of souls, an earnest call to the sheep to have pity on themselves by returning to him, and a loud call indeed to those, whose duty it is to labour for them.

Ver. 37. The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers

are few. Considering the greatness of the harvest, always few, if all laboured. Alas! how few do, with a measure of Christ's spirit, and a piercing sense of the miseries of mankind.

Ver. 38. Pray ye, therefore, the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.—Then this prayer will be heard as well as others; and, if you were zealous for the success of the Gospel, or wished well to your own souls, it would not be forgotten.

O Jesus, Lord of the harvest, and thyself the pattern of all labourers, look in mercy on it and them*. Awaken them to observe, with deep attention, what multitudes are scattered from thee, and perishing for lack of knowledge; give them thy own bowels of compassion; hear their prayers, and make them the happy instruments of bringing many of their diseased fellow-creatures to thee for healing. And do thou, O blessed Lord, strengthen what is decayed in us; enable us to forsake all covetous desires of the world, that we may follow thee; raise us from the death of sin; open our eyes to see the mercy of our God, and our mouths to speak his praise; and gather us in one body to thyself, who art the great Shepherd and Bishop of our souls..

LECTURE.

THE Lord's harvest is souls; and very precious they are in his sight. He made them for himself, and when they were lost to him, and to the end of their creation,

* See a small tract, entitled, "A Letter from a Clergyman concerning the First Question in the Office for the ordaining of Deacons." Sold by J. Rivington, in St. Paul's Churchyard; and E. Withers, near Temple Bar.

by sin, he sent his own Son to redeem them. Redeemed they were by his blood; and the plenteousness of that harvest, which he directs us to pray for, and at the same time compassionately and affectionately prayed for himself, is known only to God. My brethren, his prayer reaches to the end of the world; and he then prayed for you as much as if you had been present and heard him speak the words, and mention every one of you by name. But if our own is not added to it, that we may grow up unto him a holy people, watered with his blood, and nourished by his Spirit; his teaching, his labours, his pity, his prayer, will be lost as to us, and we shall make no part of that glorious harvest which the angels, at the last day, will gather into his kingdom. Let me desire you, on occasion of this passage of Scripture, to observe what it was that affected the heart of Jesus, and drew out all its compassion; it was to see a multitude of reasonable creatures, immortal souls, fainting for want of their proper food, scattered from God, and perishing in ignorance and sin. Then the conclusion is evident; we must, of all necessity, be recovered out of this state. You know what it cost him, what pains he took, and what sufferings he endured, to bring us back to his fold; and would to God you knew, and felt in your hearts, what danger you rún, and what misery you are in, till you do return to it. Are you in it? If you are, what brought you into it? Your baptism? But what value do you set upon it, and how have you kept it? If you had never been baptized in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, into the hope of salvation by Jesus, would you come to this baptism without delay, knowing what he is, what you are, and what you desire he should do for you? Do you believe, indeed, that you are bought with his blood; that, according to your calling and profession, you might rejoice before

God for the mercy of your deliverance from the curse of sin, and show your thankfulness to him by an unfeigned, lively obedience? Consider what I say, and the Lord give you understanding. You call yourselves Christians, and a blessed name it is; but why will you think and call yourselves so without Christian knowledge and belief? Why do you take refuge in your ignorance, and plead it as your excuse, supposing that Christian doctrine is too high a matter for the man of business, or the day-labourer, and requires more time and pains than you can possibly spare from your employ→ ments? Certainly, Christ was of another mind, when, seeing the multitudes, high and low, rich and poor, learned and unlearned, all together, he expressed his concern for them, sent forth labourers to work in his harvest, as you will hear in the next chapter, to publish his Gospel, to carry his truth into all the world, and charged us at all times to pray for more. What were they to labour for, but " to open men's eyes, and turn them from darkness to light?" And what better are you for the preaching and labours of any, if you live and die in ignorance of what they are ordained to teach and to preach for your instruction, belief, and salvation?

"God would have all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth;" the meaning is, by coming to the knowledge of the truth, believing what is told us of the grace of God in Christ, receiving him into our hearts as the Saviour of mankind; and assuring ourselves, on the evidence of his miracles, written and recorded for this purpose, that we shall be helped by him to the utmost of our wants. Can you then hope to see the salvation of God, can you have a prayer for it, can you possibly put yourselves in the way to it, when you know little or nothing of its nature, design, and great benefit? Sabbath after sabbath, Christ