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النشر الإلكتروني

182

THE LUNATIC HEALED.

MATT. xvii. 14 to 22.

And when they were come to the multitude, there came to Him a man, kneeling down to Him, and saying, LORD, have mercy on my son; for he is lunatic, and sore vexed: for oft-times he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water, &c. &c.

Q. WHAT do you here understand by the man kneeling down to Jesus, and saying, LORD, have mercy on my son, for he is lunatic? &c. &c.

A. According to the literal sense of this history, by the man here spoken of is meant one, who supplicates the BLESSED JESUS in favour of his lunatic son; but according to the spiritual or internal sense, by the man here spoken of is represented and signified the church as to the understanding of truth; and by his kneeling down to JESUS is to be understood profound humiliation; and by his saying, LORD, have mercy on my son, for he is lunatic and sore vexed, is further denoted devout acknowledgment of the divinity of the GREAT SAVIOUR, attended with

fervent supplication to be delivered from the infestation occasioned by false principles in their connexion with the powers of darkness. For by son, according to the spiritual idea, is to be understood truth in the understanding; and by this son being lunatic and sore vexed, is further denoted the infestation of that truth by false principles. For the term lunatic literally means one who is affected by the changes of the moon, and since the moon, according to its spiritual signification in a good sense, has respect to the principles of faith, and is representative of those principles, as the sun has respect to the principle of love, and is representative of that principle, therefore by lunatic, as the word is here applied in a bad sense, is to be understood the persuasion of truth infested by false principles, on which account it is said to be sore vexed.

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Q. But it is added, that oft-times he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water— do you understand by these words?

A. According to their literal sense, they are to be understood literally, as having relation to elementary fire and water, and to the man falling alternately into these elements; but according to the spiritual idea, by fire and water are here to be understood the distinct spiritual principles, in which the above infestation of truth originated, fire denoting in this case the concupiscencies of evil, and water the false persuasions derived from those concupiscencies. For such is the nature of all spiritual infestation of heavenly truth, whensoever that truth is first made manifest in

the human understanding, since on this occasion the natural hereditary evils, which as yet have not been discovered and subdued, begin to assault, with endeavour to destroy, this first dawning of the eternal light, by claiming that light as their own, and not allowing it to bow down and acknowledge its DIVINE PARENT. In the mean time the truth labours to defend itself under this assault, because the truth always points upward towards heaven, and seeks conjunction with the GoD of HEAVEN. Moreover, the truth is ever intent on connecting itself with charity, and bringing forth the fruits of a pure and holy life, whereas hereditary evils are always eager to connect the truth with self-love and the love of the world, and to do works apparently good, but which have no real goodness in them, because not done to the glory of GoD. Hence then arises the infestation, which is here described by being lunatic and sore vexed, and by oft-times falling into the fire, and oft into the water.

Q. And what do you conceive to be the meaning of the words which immediately follow, 1 brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him?

A. These words imply, according to their li teral sense, that the disciples were not able to cure the lunatic, who was sore vexed, but according to their spiritual sense they imply, that the disciples were not yet sufficiently instructed in truths to combat and cast out the evil spirit, by which the understanding of truth in the

church was infested. For from the history of this miracle, especially as it is recorded by Mark, it appears that this evil spirit was under the influence of false principles, for he is there described as foaming and gnashing with his teeth, (chap. ix. 18,) which expressions are constantly applied in the sacred Scriptures to denote the collision of erroneous persuasions in their combat against truth. In answer therefore to the question proposed afterwards by the disciples, Why could not we cast him out? the BLESSED JESUS replies, Because of your unbelief, which is the same thing as if He had said, Because ye are not yet principled in truths; for all faith is formed from truths, and therefore the want of truths is the real source of all unbelief.

Q. But it is written, that JESUS answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you? Bring him hither to me. And JESUS rebuked the devil, and he departed out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour --what instruction do you receive from these words?

A. From these words I am instructed first in the awful and fallen state of the Jewish church at that time, which drew from the GREAT SAVIOUR the severe rebuke of being a faithless and perverse generation, for by being faithless is implied that they were destitute of all heavenly truth; and by being perverse, that they were alike destitute of all heavenly good. I learn secondly from the affectionate expostulation, How

long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you? that the compassionate love of the BLESSED JESUS is not to be exhausted by any degree of faithlessness and perverseness on the part of man. This compassionate love therefore still addresses itself to its infested children, labouring in the combat of truth against error, and of error against truth, and says of every suffering child, Bring him hither to me. It also still rebukes the infesting and infernal power, until he departs out of the infested subject, so that again is fulfilled what is here written, that the child was cured from that very hour. Thus doth every infestation, arising from the powers of darkness, tend still, if it be resisted, to make more manifest both the mercy and omnipotence of the INCARNATE GOD.

Q. And what do you conceive to be the force and meaning of the following words of the BLESSED JESUS on this occasion, where He says, If ye have faith as a grain of mustardseed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you?

A. By faith is here to be understood a faith in the INCARNATE Gon, which is compared to a grain of mustard-seed, because in its commencement it is small, inasmuch as at that period man is led to believe that it is from himself, and not from God. Nevertheless the BLESSED JESUS, declares even of this faith, that it is capable of removing mountains, by which mountains are to be understood spiritually the evils of self-love

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