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ject fhe declares herself with a Confidence and Satisfaction, free from the leaft Sufpicion of a Difappointment, If I may but touch his Garment, I fall be whole: And the publick Applause, which our Saviour gave to this remarkable Inftance of her Faith, feems to intimate, that he was particularly pleased with her Temper of Mind, as boading something more than a mere impatience to be cured of her Disease, and proceeding indeed from a full Sense and Perfuafion of his divine Character and Commiffion; Daughter, be of good Comfort, thy Faith has made thee whole, go in Peace. And fo we proceed to the other Woman, that was cured of her Spirit of Infirmity.

[Luke viii. 48.

SECT

SECT. XIV.

Of his curing the Woman of her Spirit of Infirmity.

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UT this Cure, according to the The ObLetter, was no Miracle at all, jection. "and in fome Parts of the Story incredi"ble. The Evangelift, who himself "was a Phyfician, and (if he had fuffici"ent Knowledge in his Profeffion) "would have doubtlefs told us the "worft of the Cafe, fays no more, "than that the Woman had a Spirit "of Weakness, i. e. was a poor-fpi"rited and vapourish Creature, full "of Fancies, (perhaps of the Devil's "Temptations and Power over her,) "and this, refting upon her for the

fpace of eighteen Years, might well "fink, and bow down a Perfon of her "difconfolate and dejected Temper. "This is the whole of the Diftemper: "And the Cure of it could be nothing "elfe, but Jefus's coming to her, and

giving her fome comfortable Advice "and Admonition; whereupon fhe, ha❝ving an high Opinion of his Wildom "and Goodnefs, might recover, and be "after

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of the Woman's

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"afterwards of a more chearful Heart " and erect Countenance. So that (ta"king the Devil out of the Story) I fee "nothing wonderful, either in the Dif "eafe, or Cure: And that the Devil "ought to be taken out of the Story, is "plain for this Reafon, because, in the "Writings of the Evangelifts, we have "fuch frequent Accounts of Satan, "Beelzebub, and other unclean Spirits, "in comparison to what we have in other

preceding Hiftories, that, if these "Things were literally to be understood, “ one would be tempted to think, that "the Age, in which Chrift came, was "that, wherein Hell firft broke loofe, and "infefted Mankind. And yet 'tis certain,

"that these Stories have no other Mean

"ing, than what is Cabaliftical; nor "does Satan, and all his Train of De"vils, fignify any thing more, than the "wicked and outrageous Paffions of Man"kind.

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St. Luke as a Physician, and no doubt. merely because he was one, (as a late learned Mafter of that Science has well obferv'd) when there is occafion to Speak of Diftempers, or the Cure of them, makes ufe of Words more fimple, more correct, as well as more Phyfical, than the other

Evan

Dr. Freind's Hift. of Physick, p. 222, &6.

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Evangelifts; and 'twas his reading Greek Authors, while he ftudied Phyfick, that made his Language in this respect better. Let us then fee in what manner he defcribes the Diftemper now before us. He That while our Saviour was teaching in one of the Synagogues, on the Sabbath Day, he chanc'd to efpy a Woman, who, for eighteen Years, had been fo infirm, that her Body was contracted, and bound together, and that to fuch a degree, that the could in no wife lift up berfelf, i. e. could not fo much as raife her Head, and look upwards. For, that this is the true Meaning of the Paffage, appears most evidently from the Phrafes being bound, and then loofed, which latter Word is literally interpreted by the equivalent Expreffion, of her being made Strait by Jefus.

V

Lev.l.

Thus it appears, that the Woman's Inflicted Condition was convuls'd, and convuls'd by the by a tension of the Muscles, which bend the Body forwards; and the immediate Cause of this her Malady, the Evangelift acquaints us, was a Spirit of Infirmity. By this Spirit of Infirmity we might indeed understand the Difeafe itself, agreeably to the Jewish way of fpeaking; but fince afterwards, our Saviour himfelf plainly tells us, that this Evil was inflicted

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Luke xiii. 10. &c. Ver. 13.

The Ex

Devils be

*

inflicted by Satan," It is the better way, (fays wa learned Annotator) to "take this matter in the fame Senfe, "wherein St. Mark ufes the Expreffi

on, πνεῦμα ἀλαλον, a dumb Spirit,

as meaning thereby an evil Spirit, that "obftructed the Power of Speaking. "For it was an ancient Opinion of the

Jews, that many Diseases were occa"fion'd in Mankind by evil Spirits, "without any regard to natural Caufes; "as it appears in the Cafe of Job, and "Saul, as well as feveral Inftances in "the New Teftament". So that, upon very competent Authority, we may pronounce, that this Woman's Diftemper was fo far from being the mere Effect of Vapours and Melancholly, that it was a real and inveterate Disease of a very long standing, and occafion'd by the Influence of an Evil Spirit.

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That there are Spirits of this kind, the iftence of holy Scriptures have taken such care to fore Chrift. acquaint us with their Origin and Fall, their Names and a Numbers, their b Government and Orders, their d malicious Designs, and Employments, &c. that no one can doubt of their Exift

*Luke xiii. 16.

* Ch. ix. 17.

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ence,

"Grotius in Luc. 13. Bp. Smallbroke's Vind. p. 322.

John viii. 44 & 2 Pet. ii. 4. • Matth. iv. 8.

Matth. xii. 26.

I

Eph. vi. 12. 1 Pet. v. 6.

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