THE manifold wisdom of God, of which the Apostle of the Gentiles speaks in Eph. iii. 10, is conspicuously exhibited, not less than his inexpressibly condescending love, in the variety of leadings by which men are brought, according to their different abilities and constitutional peculiarities, to the attainment of the one great object, Redemption. At the same time we here recognise a striking peculiarity of the gospel, which distinguishes it from all human systems, that it is designed and suited for human nature under all its conditions and relations; the inexhaustible riches it contains are shown by the fact, that all the wants arising from the moral nature of man are satisfied by it alone; it alone heals all the diseases of the inner man, and in the greatest diversity of method influences, by its divine power, the various peculiarities of humanity. As Christ, during his life on earth, visibly attached to himself men of the most different characters, by methods equally different, so he operates invisibly by his gospel throughout all ages of the Church.

Some persons experienced the Saviour's miraculous power in the relief of their bodily maladies, and thus knew him first as a temporal benefactor; they were not conscious of any higher wants, but by the powerful aid of this kind which they had received from him, they were led to receive him as the 'sent of God,' endowed with divine power, and became receptive of those higher gifts which he was ready to impart.

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No sooner had they received his words into their hearts than they recognised in Him, from whom they had at first sought only bodily relief, a Redeemer from that internal unhappiness of which they now became conscious by the light which he shed upon them. Others who were already in a higher stage of spiritual development, had passed, in their wants and wishes, beyond immediate earthly interests; dissatisfied with the present they longed for the regeneration of the world, and their faith in the ancient promises of Jehovah led them to expect that it would be effected by the Messiah who was to come. Those in whom such anticipations had been so far developed, were incited by the miraculous acts in which Christ manifested his divine power, to receive him as the promised Messiah. It is true, that their longing after a better order of things was still involved in carnal representations; they did not yet recognize the nature of that true freedom which was to be expected from the Messiah; but still they believed in him as the Messiah, and in this faith had surrendered their hearts to him; the truth which they had received from his lips became gradually verified as that which conferred true spiritual freedom and sanctification; and at last they acknowledged that "the kingdom of God consisted not in meats and drinks, but in righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." They learned to form a more correct judgment respecting the nature of the new dispensation, when they had begun to experience its power in their inward life.

Another class of persons came to the Saviour, who felt themselves burdened with grievous sins. Repulsed and condemned by the zealots for the law, who were destitute of that love without which everything else is only as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal, they took refuge with Him who, though the Holy One, was meek and lowly of heart, and invited to himself all the weary and heavy laden. He poured a healing balm into the hearts of these contrite sinners, by announcing the forgiveness of sins, and blending heavenly grace with heavenly majesty. They loved much because much was forgiven, and love taught them to understand and practise his divine teachings. Others came to him, who (although it appeared mysterious that it was necessary to be born again of the Spirit,) had not only led a blameless life before the world,

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but were actuated by an earnest and sincere moral striving; they stood in an unconscious connection with the Fountain of all goodness and of all light; they were already convinced, that to love God above all, and their neighbours as themselves, was more than all burnt-offerings; and of them the Lord could affirm, that they were not far from the kingdom of God, although they were not yet in it. Since they loved the light, and hated the works of darkness, this internal attraction to the light led them to Him who was the light of the world, in order that they might become the children of the light. There were youths of ardent affectionate hearts, who had hitherto lived in an unconscious innocence, as far as it was possible for human beings. Their hearts were captivated by the Divine in the appearance and the discourses of the Redeemer, without their being able to give an explanation of it. By intimate intercourse with him, by cordial love to him, the ideal of humanity, the ideal of holiness, was impressed on their hearts, and in its light the hidden evil of their own souls was exposed; they recognized at once their own spiritual malady, and in the divine Physician, to whom they were attached by ardent love, that being who alone could impart a cure. The ignorant came to Him, and learned those truths that were hidden from the wise and prudent, but revealed to babes. And there were Scribes, masters in Israel, who esteeming themselves wise in their dead legal knowledge, were astonished to hear of things which hitherto they had never surmised; and in the light of the divine wisdom which now beamed upon them were first made sensible of their blindness, and thus received their sight. To one who was influenced with desire only to catch a sight of him, he gave more than he had ventured to wish. Another, while persecuting him with a mistaken zeal for the law, he forcibly drew to himself, and by the power of his all-conquering love converted the infuriated enemy into a devoted disciple. Some, after seeking for pearls, and finding many of great beauty, at last found the most beautiful one, of surpassing brilliancy, and joyfully surrendered all they had to make this precious pearl their own. Others, without seeking, unexpectedly lighted on the treasure hid in a field.

This diversity of ways by which men were led to the gospel according to the diversity of their natural peculiarities and

previous habits of life, was very strikingly exemplified on the first appearance and spread of the gospel in the heathen world. Many, before they were awakened to the necessity of seeking truth and righteousness, were led by deliverance from bodily suffering, which they obtained in answer to the believing prayers of Christians, to a participation in the spiritual blessings of heavenly good. We are reminded of persons who in severe illnesses had in vain sought aid from the scientific practitioners of the healing art, or from the dealers in magic, on which much reliance was placed in that age of excitement and false pretensions; it might happen that one of this class was brought into the society of a Christian. When the Christian was informed by the sick man that he had sought the help of his gods in vain, he seized the opportunity of telling him of the numbers healed by Christ while he lived on earth, and how many similar cures he performed after his, ascension, by the instrumentality of the apostles. He appealed in child-like faith to his Redeemer, that he would be pleased to manifest the glory of his heavenly Father, and glorify him among men. The sick man was restored to health, and thus was brought to see the worthlessness of his gods, and to acknowledge the God revealed in Christ as the only true God, to whom he was indebted for the cure of his bodily malady, and in his most important relation to men as the Physican of souls.

Mental diseases are wont to be reckoned among the symptoms of an age of internal variance and distraction, and such to an extraordinary degree was the age of which we are speaking. There were many persons who felt, as it were, subdued and fettered by a foreign power. It was as if two opposing personalities dwelt within them, their own self and an evil spirit, who would not allow the former to act for itself, but injected his own thoughts and words, and thus compelled it into complete subserviency to his bidding. As such persons believed they were possessed by evil spirits, they were called demoniacs. Enthusiasts and deceivers, both Jews and Gentiles, such as we find mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, Simon Magus and Elymas, took advantage of their calamitous condition, and pretended that they could expel the evil spirits by various incantations and unmeaning ceremonies. When devout Christians met with such unfor

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tunate individuals, they recognized the kingdom of evil in its destructive influence on mankind; but they were also convinced that their Lord had overcome this kingdom, and that its powers could not prevail against him and his faithful followers. In this faith they invoked him, that he would here manifest his victorious power. The whole heathen world with its idolatries and sinful practices, henceforward appeared to the pagan, who had been thus cured, as the kingdom of darkness, and he passed from it into the kingdom of Christ, to whom, after experiencing his transforming moral power, he felt indebted for being made every whit whole; as the Lord himself said, the evil spirits could be truly driven out only by the Spirit of God, and unless He took possession of the house in which the evil spirit had dwelt, this latter would return with seven others, and the latter end of that man would be worse than the first.

The Christian fathers of the first ages frequently appealed to the fact of such cures even before the heathens themselves, and particularly pointed out that they were effected, not by magical incantations or impositions on the senses, but by simple prayer proceeding from the hearts of believers. Thus Justin Martyr, in the times of Marcus Aurelius, says, when he wishes to show that Christ had freed men from the power of evil spirits, "You may observe this from what passes before your eyes; for many of our Christian people, in different parts of the world, and in your city, by calling on the name of Jesus Christ, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, have cured many who were possessed of evil spirits, who could not be cured by any exorcists or practisers of magic, and such cures are still effected." And rather later in the second century, Irenæus says, "In the name of the Son of God, his true disciples who have received grace from him, labour for the good of their fellow-men, according as each one has received his gift from Him. Some expel evil spirits in a sure and certain manner, so that frequently those who have been purified by them from evil spirits become believers, and are received into the church. Others heal the sick by the laying on of hands. Many who have died have been brought to life again, and continued a number of years among us. And innumerable are the gifts of grace which the church through- ; out the world has received from God, and which are daily