xx. 17. x. 17. Luke xxiv. 27, 29. John vi. 64. SERM. given thee; or to say, Arise and walk? but that XX. you may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go to thine house: and he arose, and departed to his house: Matt. xvii. such it was likewise to foretell future contingen12. xvi. 21. cies; this he often did; as concerning his own pasxxiv. 2, 9. sion and resurrection, with all the circumstances of xxviii. 20. them; particularly the treason of Judas; (He knew, saith St. John, from the beginning who they were that did not believe, and who it was that should betray him:) concerning St. Peter's lapse, repentance, and suffering; concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, and utter demolishment of the temple; concerning the persecutions which his disciples should undergo; concerning the communication of the Holy Ghost after his decease, and the propagation of the Chrys. tom. gospel in the world: such was the foundation of the church upon a rock, against which the gates of p. 634, 638. Matt.ix.25. hell should not prevail: such again it was to raise the dead, which he often performed; he raised the ruler's daughter, and the widow's son of Naim, and his friend Lazarus; and, The dead are raised, is reckoned among the ordinary miracles done by him, in the answer to St. John the Baptist's disciples: Luke vii. these were acts of divine power, which no creature, unassisted by God, could perform. vi. Ör. 61. Luke vii. 12. John xi. 1, &c. 22. And considering the manner of performance such were both these and most of the rest; they in that respect emulating God's inimitable work of creation, and in a manner seeming to exceed it; for that it seemeth harder to produce things out of matter indisposed and repugnant, than to bring them out of mere nothing: as God by mere word and will created 14. 28. XX. things, when he spake, and it was done; he com- SERM. manded, and it stood fast; so did Jesus in like manner, by the efficacy of his command, or by ac- Ps.xxxiii.9. tions equipollent thereto, without predisposing the subjacent matter, or using any natural instrument, accomplish his great and strange works: He re- Mark iv.39. buked the wind, and said to the sea, Peace, be still; so he quelled the storm: I will, be thou cleansed; Luke v. 12. so he cured the leper: Young man, I say unto thee, Luke vii. Arise; so he revived the widow's son: O woman, Matt. xv. great is thy faith; be it unto thee as thou desirest; so he cured the Canaanitish woman's possessed daughter: He cried out, Lazarus, come forth; kaì John xi.43. ἐξῆλθεν ὁ τεθνηκὼς, so the dead man heard his voice, and presently came forth out of the grave: he said, Ephphatha, Be opened, to the deaf man's ears; Mark vii. they immediately heard, and obeyed: he said but 34. one word, 'Avάßλeчov, See again, to the blind man; καὶ παραχρῆμα ἀνέβλεψε, and without more ado he saw again: he did but chide the great fever, with which Luke iv. 39. St. Peter's mother-in-law was troubled, and it left her: he did but take the ruler's daughter by the hand, and the girl revived, and rose up: he only Matt. ix.25. touched the two blind men's eyes, and so their sight Matt.ix.29. was restored: the woman, who had a flux of blood 43, 47. for twelve years, did but touch him, kai lán TaραXppa, and she thereupon ipso facto instantly was healed: yea multitudes of sick persons together did only endeavour to touch the hem of his garment, Matt. xiv. and as many as touched it were healed; there went Luke vi.19. virtue out of him, and healed them all. When he used any thing like means, he, as St. Chrysostom ob- Chrys. in serveth, proceeded in ways not only preternatural, 04 Luke viii. Matt. ix.22. 26. I Cor. i. 22. SERM. but contrary to nature; as when he cured the blind XX. man in St. John's Gospel, anointing his eyes with John ix. 6. clay and spittle: διὰ πράγματος ἐπιτείνοντος τὴν πήρωσιν, aveïλe by a thing apt to increase (or strengthen) blindness, he took it away. So great in nature, so high for manner of performance, were the works of our Lord; they plainly were either the works, or they were done in the way of omnipotency. They had also no less of goodness than of greatness divine; they were all of them plainly works of piety, or works of charity and pity; of a holy nature and beneficial use; they were generally performed upon evidently reasonable occasions, or needs; for the succour and comfort of persons in some want or distress; or for instruction of the minds and reformation of the manners of men; for healing the sick, feeding the hungry, easing the afflicted, restoring men to their senses, freeing them from the Devil's tyranny; for helping men in disappointment and need, or for encouraging kindness and good neighJolin ii. 3. bourhood among people, (to which purpose his first miracle done at Cana served;) for instilling or imMatt. xxi. pressing some wholesome truth, as when the fig-tree Matt. xvii withered at his command; for encouraging dutiful 19. 27. submission to governors, as when the fish was brought up with a piece of money in his mouth, furnishing him and St. Peter to pay tribute: in fine, the nature and importance of his works St. Peter thus well exActs x. 38. pressed, saying of him; “Os diñàlev eveρyetwv, Who went about doing good, (or benefiting men,) and healing all that were oppressed by the Devil; for God Matt.ix.35. was with him: and the evangelist thus; Jesus went iv. 23. xv. about all the cities, teaching in their synagogues, 30. the XX. and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and heal- SERM. ing every sickness and disease among every people. Considering which things, we may well discern by what power and to what purpose Jesus did perform his admirable works; and may repel from our hearts all the cavils or calumnies forged by malicious and vain wits (such as those of Celsus and Julian) in derogation to them; we may particularly perceive how impudently false that suggestion was of the apostate emperor; who said that Jesus, while he lived, did nothing worthy hearing, except one suppose to heal cripples and blind folk, and to exorcise demoniacs in the villages Bethsaida and Bethany, to be great works: in opposition to which kind of suggestions, and for abundant confirmation of our purpose, we may consider some advantageous circumstances and concomitances of our Lord's performances. 25. They were, we may observe, not some few things done at one time, or in one place, among friends and partisans; but innumerably many and frequent, (a John xxi. world of things, more than well could be recited, as St. John telleth us,) done through a long course of time, (for some years together,) in several places, before all sorts of people, many of them very ill-affected towards him. They were not done clancu- Acts xxvi. larly in a blind corner, among rude and simple people; but openly and visibly every where about Judæa, the most lightsome place for knowledge and d Εργασάμενος παρ' ὃν ἔζη χρόνον οὐδὲν ἀκοῆς ἄξιον, εἰ μὴ τις οἴεται τοὺς κυλλοὺς, καὶ κωφοὺς ἰᾶσθαι, καὶ τοὺς δαιμονῶντας ἐξορκίζειν ἐν Βεθσαιδᾷ, καὶ ἐν Βηθανίᾳ ταῖς κώμαις τῶν μεγίστων ἔργων εἶναι. Cyr. adv. Jul. lib. 6. 26. SERM. goodness in the world; where the best worship of XX. God most flourished, and all diabolical impostures 20. Matt. xv. 30, 31. were most detested, in the places there most public and conspicuous; so he could affirm and admonish John xviii. them; I spake freely to the world; I always taught in the synagogues, and in the temple, where the Jews from all places resort; and in secret have I done nothing: they were done so apparently, that the people generally saw them, and acknowledged them; that scarce any man could be ignorant of them; that the most learned and considerate men took it for granted, that they were done; that adversaries could not deny the performance of them, although out of envy and ill-will they were ready to impute it to the worst causes devisable; that many of all sorts were convinced, and divers converted by them: as for the people, Great multitudes, saith St. Matthew, one present, and a follower of our Lord, came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus's feet; and he healed them: insomuch that the mul titude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see; and they glorified the God of Israel: Matt. ix. and, The people marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel; but the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils by the prince of the devils: the matter of fact they could not offer, against conviction of sense, to question; but malice prompted perversely and foolishly to assign a bad cause thereof: the matter was so notorious, that St. Peter could thus Acts ii. 22. confidently appeal to the whole nation; Ye men of rodidy Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a 33, 34. μένος. |