great Prophet whom they expected takes this opportunity of paying them a vifit; they acknowledge him, and believe on his name. Having continued with them two days, sowing the precious feed, expounding from Mofes and all the proph ets, inall the Scriptures, the things concerning himself, and thus extending the boundaries of the kingdom of God, he purfued his journey to Galilee, and returned to Cana, where he made the water wine." Befide his general and leading object, to preach the gospel of the kingdom, he might intend, by revifiting that city, to exprefs the affection of a kind relation to the new-married pair who refided there, to ftrengthen their union by his benediction, by his counfel, by participating in their domeftic cares and comforts, and to confirm them and the other inhabitants of the place in the faith which they had profeffed.

It was fo ordered of Providence that at the time of his return a diftinguished family in the neighbouring town of Capernaum was vifited with a fore affliction. "There was a certain nobleman, whofe for was fick at Capernaum." The word tranflated nobleman fignifies courtier, one employed near the perfon, or in the fervice of a king. Herod was but a delegated and limited fovereign: "Tetrarch of Galilee," that is governor, under the Roman emperor, of the fourth part of a province. But he was permitted to affame the title and ftate of king, because it fwelled the pride of the imperial defpot to lord it over many fubordinate and dependant thrones. Capernaum being within the limits of Herod's government, he no doubt occafionally refided in that city, and there probably at this time held his court; and the nobleman in question might either officially or from affection be in attendance upon his mafter. But the vicinity of a court, and the rank of nobility, are no fecurity against the inroads of disease and death, for they too are tainted with fin. The danger of lofing a child excites a thousand anxieties in the bofom of a parent, whatever be the Atation or condition. There are innumerable circumftances which level all diftinctions. The honourable feelings of humanity are of this defcription, parental and filial affection, with the kindred charities of the human heart, fympathy with the diftreffed, and a defire to affift and relieve them thefe conftitute a dignity, a nobility which God alone can beftow, and which the air of a court tends rather to blight than to cherish. This good man however has not funk the father in the courtier. Anxiety about the life of his child fufpends the pride of rank, the duties of office, the etiquette of nobility. "When he heard that Jefus was come out of Judea into Galilee he went

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unto him, and befought him that he would come down and heal his fon: for he was at the point of death."

"A city that is fet on an hill cannot be hid." The fame of Jefus was now fpread over the whole land. When he came back from Jerufalem to Galilee," the Galileans received him, having feen all the things that he did at Jerufalem at the feaft for they alfo went unto the feaft." The report which they made at home, of his mighty works, as well as of his conde. fcenfion and benevolence, had reached the ears of the great, and excited attention. We fondly liften to what promises eafe; we grafp the very fhadows of probability, and frequently make experiments with little hope of fuccefs. All that medical fkill could effect had, in this cafe, undoubtedly been attempted, but attempted in vain. It is one, and not the leaft of the evils attendant on poverty, to know of a remedy without the means of procuring it. The rich have at least this confolation in extremity, that every thing was done which influence could command or money purchase. But the nobleman of Caper-. naum is not to be taxed with credulity for believing the report concerning Chrift, or for building upon it the hope of a cure which medicine had been unable to effect. Inftead of fending for him, as in the case of ordinary phyficians, "he went to him." The diftance between Capernaum and Cana was about a day's journey, as we may gather from verfe 52. He was met on his way homeward, rejoicing in the belief of the power and grace of Christ, the day after he had received the affurance: "Yefterday," faid the fervants, "at the feventh hour the fever left him." Here then we have nobility defcending from its ftatelinefs, waving ceremony, affuming the form of a supplicant. Was it thereby degraded ? No, to follow the honeft impulse of nature, to fubmit to the obligations of propriety and decorum, to employ fair means to obtain a desirable end, is no de gradation, even to a prince. Vice alone degrades, and exposes a man to fhame, and lowers his dignity in the eyes of God, and of his fellow creatures.

Calamity brings down the loftinéfs of the human fpirit. We have a noted inftance of this in the hiftory of Ben-hadad the king of Syria. In the pride of his heart, in girding on his harness, in the confidence of fuperiority, he fends this infulting meffage to the king of Ifrael; " Thus faith Ben-hadad, thy filver and thy gold is mine, thy wives alfo and thy chil dren, even the goodlieft are mine." Unmollified by fubmiffion, he affumes a ftill haughtier tone, and proceeds to take by violence what had been quietly yielded to him. But brought to himfelf by a total defeat of his formidable army, he lowers Fi his

his tone and humbles himself to the man whom he had infult ed: fervants with fackcloth girded on their loins, and ropes upon their beads, "came to the king of Ifrael, and faid, Thy fervant Ben-hadad faith, I pray thee, let me live," a confirmation of the truth of the wife man's obfervation: "Pride goeth Before deftruction: and an haughty fpirit before a fall." We would not be thought to infinuate that pride is an infeparable concomitant of greatnefs, or infolence, of a profperous condition. But the flattery of inferiors, and the conftant means of felt-gratification, acting habitually on a principle radically corrupt, have, without doubt, a very dangerous tendency to millead the underflanding, and to corrupt the heart: Adver. fity difpels the illufion, and tells a man feelingly what he is. But for the indifpofition of his fon, the father might have remained a lave to the world, and died a martyr to the pride of life, and a ftranger to the Saviour of mankind. Bleffed is that dispensation, be it ever fo fevere, which loosens a man from the things af time, which empties him of felf, which leads. 'him to God.

The faith of this nobleman, as in every cafe, was blended with much infirmity. He repofed confidence in the goodness of Chrift, in the power of Chrift to heal the fick; but he weakly imagined that this power could operate only on the fpot. Under this impreffion he travels from Capernaum to Cana in hope of being able to perfuade Jefus to accompany him to the former city, and stand over the patient, and rebuke the fever, and reftore him to health: "he befought him that he would come down, and heal his fon, for he was at the point of death." He urges the importance of dispatch, left death fhould interpofe and extinguish hope for ever; for his faith carried him no farther than to the brink of the grave, and there gave up all for lot. It was meet that one who thought, who felt, who acted fo well, fhould be taught to think, to feel, to act better. It was meet he should be taught not to dictate to divine fovereignty, but to adore, and fubmit to it; taught to enlarge his ideas of the power and grace of the Redeemer, as extending to univerfal space, and to every poffible ftate of things. This feems to be the only rational interpretation. which can be given of the apparent coldness of the reception given him by our Lord. Inftead of his usual promptitude to fly to the relief of diftrefs, the importunate and folicitous farther meets, from the lips of Chrift, with a feemingly ungracious reflection which had nearly chilled his heart. "Then faid Jefus unto him, except ye fee figns and wonders ye will not believe." In his progrefs through Samaria Chrift had' found greater faith than

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in Judea. The Samaritans exacted no fign, expreffed no fufpicion, infifted on no condition. 'Many more believed because of his own word, and faid unto the woman, now we be lieve, not because of thy faying; for we have heard him ourfelves, and know that this is indeed the Chrift, the Saviour of the world." But his countrymen of Galilee, though they had been witnesses of his miracles, were flow of heart to believe." They demand farther evidence, and in the true spirit of Thomas, one of the twelve, who, after all the figas and wonders of which he had been a fpectator, refifted the cleareft teftimony; "Except I fhall fee in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thruft my hand into his fide, I will not believe." The nobleman of Capernaum had probably expreffed himself in fimilar terms, and thereby incurred this reproof of his incredulity, which feemed to con. vey a denial of his fuit,

Parental affection perfeveres in following up his requeft. He tacitly admits the juftice of Chrift's cenfure, but waves difcuffion, and in the anguish of his foul renews : his fupplication to him, to whom mifery never applied in vain: "Sir, come down ere my child die." Where the heart. is deeply interefted the "words are few," but O how forcible! The feelings of a parent are feen with approbation by the friend of mankind, who knows what is in man, and to whom nothing that affects humanity can be a matter of indifference. "Jefus faith unto him, Go thy way; thy fon liveth." That word, that one little word, has in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, reached Capernaum, has expelled a mortal distemper, has relieved a wretched father from a preffure under which he was finking, and has infpired him with a confidence never more to be fhaken. He receives his fon as one alive from the. dead; he learns to correct his falle ideas of the power of Chrift, and to fubmit implicitly to his decifions. "And the man believed the word that Jefus had spoken unto him, and he went his way."

The fequel unfolds an amiable, interefting and instructive view of domestic life. When the mafter left his home to go: in queft of relief to his child, the fervants of the family, fome, of them actually flaves, entering into their lord's feelings, tend: the fick bed of the young man with all the attention and folic itude of humble friends, not with the eye-fervice of mercenarys or compelled drudges. They obferve every fymptom of the diforder, they watch over every motion of the patient, they outrun his wants and wishes, they tremble for the issue, they mark with transport the moment of convalefcence, and, to

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fpare the tender parent every unneceffary pang of painful apprehenfion, instead of waiting for his return, they fend off a deputation of their number, the inftant that the fever came to a crisis, to announce the welcome tidings to their beloved master. What honour does this reflect on all the parties! Human life confifts of a reciprocation of kind affections, expreffions and actions, or their contraries. In vain does the un-" feeling, infolent, tyrannical defpot expect dutiful, cheerful, cordial attachment and fubmiffion from domeftics and dependants. By failure in his own duty, he has let them the example of harshness, want of fympathy, and difrefpect. The inferior almost always takes the tone from his fuperior. If you fee obfequious, faithful, diligent fervants, or attentive, dutiful," affectionate children, reft affured that the mafter and miftrefs of the family, that the parents of the children are wife, gentle and good. Most families in the metropolis, especially thofe of high rank, are uncomfortable, becaufe mutual attachment fubfifts not between the rulers and the ruled. It is a mere intercourse of accommodation and intereft, in which neither the heart nor confcience hath any part. The paltry confideration of a month's wages fettles the account on either fide. In the remoter parts of the kingdom, the relation of mafter and fervant is a tacit compact of unlimited duration. The fervant is adopted into the family, and looks up to the heads of it with filial refpect, gratitude and confidence. No feparate intereft, no divided or contradictory views and purfuits difturb domeftic tranquillity. The family of this nobleman was not far from the kingdom of God, for the fpirit of love was its governing principle, and God is love." And as he was now going down his fervants met him, and told him, faying, thy fon liveth. Then inquired he of them the hour when he began to amend." And they faid unto him, yesterday at the feventh hour the fever left him.”

One of our highest mental pleasures confifts in comparing object with object,in order to discover coincidence, fimilitude, difference or contraft. This pleasure mult have been enjoyed in fingular purity on this joyful occafion. The distance of the two cities was well known. It employed a whole day, and the exertions of a man of rank and fortune, furnished with all the means of expeditious travelling, and under the ftimulus of paternal affection, to go from Capernaum to Cana. How pleafant was it to compare that distance, and the ufual rate of jour-' neying, with the inconceivably rapid tranfition of the word of Chrift! what a contraft! Here then was a demonftration of the controling power of Chrift over space; it was not needful

that