SERMON X.

QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY.

ON SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS.

GOSPEL. St. Luke, xviii. v. 31-43. At that time, Jesus took unto him the twelve, and said to them, Behold we go up to Jerusalem, and all things shall be accomplished which were written by the prophets concerning the Son of man : for he shall be delivered to the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and scourged, and spit upon; and after they have scourged him, they will put him to death, and the third day he shall rise again. And they understood none of these things, and this word was hid from them, and they understood not the things that were said. Now it came to pass, when he drew nigh to Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the way-side, begging. And when he heard the multitude passing by, he asked what this meant. And they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. And he cried out, saying, Jesus son of David, have mercy on me. And they that went before, rebuked him, that he should hold his peace; but he cried out much more, Son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus standing, commanded him to be brought unto him; and when he was brought near, he asked him, saying, What wilt thou that I do to thee? But he said, Lord, that I may see. And Jesus said to him, Receive thy sight; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he saw, and followed him, glorifying God; and all the people when they saw it, gave praise to God.

THE blessed Jesus was proceeding towards Jerusalem, in company with his twelve Apostles, there to consummate, by his sufferings and death, that great sacrifice of propitiation for the sins of a guilty world, which was the main object of his

divine mission. Being willing to fortify the weak minds of those chosen ministers of his spiritual kingdom, against every impression of discouragement and dejection, which the sad spectacle of his approaching sorrows would be calculated to produce, he took this opportunity of intimating to them, that those sorrows were neither unforeseen nor involuntary; that as they had been long since foretold by the ancient prophets, so he was prepared to meet them with the firmness and intrepidity of a self-devoted victim, for the welfare of the human race; and that, degrading and melancholy as they might appear to be, the issue of them would be glorious and happy; because the cruel and ignominious death to which he was about spontaneously to submit, would shortly be succeeded by his resurrection from the tomb. "Then Jesus took unto him the twelve, and said to them: behold we go up to Jerusalem, and all things shall be accomplished which were written by the prophets concerning the Son of man. For he shall be delivered to the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and scourged, and spit upon; and after they have scourged him, they will put him to death, and the third day he shall rise again." So imperfectly, however, were the Apostles yet acquainted with the character of their divine Master, such erroneous notions had they been led to entertain of the nature of that kingdom, which he came upon earth to establish, that they were utterly at a loss to comprehend his meaning. "And they understood none

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of these things," says the sacred text, " and this word was hidden from them, and they understood not the things that were said." Still he pursued his journey, and had reached the neighbourhood of Jericho, when his ears were suddenly assailed by the plaintive cry of a person, apparently in deep distress. It was the supplicating voice of a poor blind man, sitting by the way-side, who having been informed by the multitude that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by, earnestly solicited him to have compassion on him. Jesus," he cried," thou son of David, have mercy on me." Nor was he to be deterred from persisting in his entreaties, by the reproofs which he experienced from those who wished to reduce him to silence. But he persevered, exclaiming with redoubled energy," son of David, have mercy on me." The suppliant importunities of this poor blind man, far from exciting emotions of displeasure in the breast of the compassionate Jesus, tended, on the contrary, to awaken his pity, and to interest him in his behalf. For he kindly condescended to interrupt his journey, that he might listen to the prayer of the petitioner, and pay attention to his

case.

"And Jesus stood," says the sacred text, "and commanded him to be brought to him." Having been informed by him that the object of his supplication was the recovery of his sight, which evidently implied his confidence in the power and goodness of the being to whom his prayer was addressed, our blessed Lord rewarded

his faith by an immediate compliance with his humble request. "And Jesus said to him, receive thy sight, thy faith hath made thee whole." No sooner was his blindness removed, than he manifested, with a loud voice, his gratitude to Heaven, and his faithful adherence to the benevolent Thaumaturgus, who had operated his cure; and all who witnessed the astonishing event, were induced to testify the admiration which they felt, by their praises of the Most High. "And immediately he saw, and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.”

The deplorable condition of the blind man in the gospel, is more or less applicable, in a spiritual sense, to four different descriptions of persons. It is applicable, in the first place, to those who, involved in the darkness of infidelity, refuse to open their eyes to the light of revelation secondly, to those whose eyes, though opened to that beneficent light, are so distempered by morbid prejudices, as to be prevented from discovering the true forms and colors of the objects which it exhibits to their view; thirdly, to those, whose passions intercept, by the thick mists which they raise around them, its illuminating beams: and finally, to those, in whom its influence is dimmed by the false lights of their erroneous consciences. They, then, I say, in the first place, may be said to resemble, in a spiritual point of view, the blind man in the Gospel, who obstinately close their minds to the light with which "the Orient from

on high hath graciously visited them," and who continue, in opposition to it, with unconquerable perversity to "sit in darkness, and in the shade of death." Such were the philosophers of the pagan world, who, elated by the pride of human wisdom, despised the doctrines of a crucified Redeemer, as the suggestions of folly. Such are their still more inexcusable imitators in modern times, who, notwithstanding the examples with which history furnishes them of the extravagances and follies into which reason has plunged its deluded votaries, prefer nevertheless its unsafe and deceitful guidance, to the more secure and enlightened direction of faith. This, indeed, it must be acknowledged, is a most deplorable blindness. For it is a blindness, which, whilst it overspreads the mind with the thickest darkness, hinders it, at the same time, from having recourse to the only expedient by which that darkness may be expelled. What night, in reality, more dark, than that which prevails in the soul of the wretched infidel? He knows not what, nor whence he is, nor why he is here, nor whither he is going. He is ignorant at once of the Lord, who made him ; of the Saviour, who redeemed him; and of the Holy Spirit, who is prepared to sanctify him. He gropes his way through life with his little glimmering taper before him, (for such reason, unaided by revelation, may be said to be) he gropes, I say, his way through life, with his little glimmering taper before him, in danger of falling every step