ficent; it would be no contribution to the moral, the physical, the present or the everlasting well-being of man. Out of a bad fountain good waters cannot flow; on a bad tree good fruit cannot grow; Satan's kingdom never will be divided against itself. It is, therefore, one of the tests of a miracle that comes from above, that the power of omnipotence embosoms in it the benevolence and beneficence of infinite love. All the miracles of Jesus, while proofs of omnipotent power in the hand that wrought them, were also proofs of inexhaustible beneficence in the heart that originated them.

In this miracle we see, as in all the miracles of Jesus, a redemptive character. Every miracle of Jesus was putting nature back again, or, if you like, forward, to its true and original condition. Every miracle that He did was corrective of the wrongs that sin had superinduced, and in its place a foretaste of that restoration of all things to their primal glory, beauty, and perfection, when a second paradise shall close the world, nobler and grander than that with which it opened. Hence all the miracles of Christ were essentially restorative of man to his former condition, or rather to that new condition in which he will be when this mortal shall put on immortality, and death shall be swallowed up in victory.

The miracles in the Bible are so palpable, so irresistibly splendid, that none can deny they are miracles. They may say they are from Satan or from God; but they cannot deny that they are miracles.

This man's blindness was physical, and of temporary duration; ours is moral, and, unless removed, will last for ever. This is surely not an empty form of speech, without meaning-"whose eyes the god of this world hath blinded." And again, men need to be "turned from darkness unto light." Our horizon was lessened physically when we fell; our horizon was lessened morally also. Man in paradise had a larger horizon, and his eye could take in a wider and a broader scope; and man's moral eye before it fell could

see beauty where it can now see none, and wisdom where it now sees only foolishness, and God in all, where man can see no trace of his presence now. The first thing that we need is that the eyes of our understanding may be enlightened. Why should we doubt, with all the promises and encouragements of Scripture, that our cry, equally earnest and persistent, addressed to the same mighty Saviour, will also end in his giving what He has promised to give his Holy Spirit to lead us to the knowledge and the enjoyment of all truth?

Having our blindness removed, the eyes of our understanding opened, and light poured into the chambers of our mind, let us, like this blind man, rise up and give the glory to God, and follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth.

If we have received such blessings, let us do, as no doubt the blind man did,-go and tell others. We cannot open blind minds, but we can tell them by whom they can be opened. We cannot change the heart, but we can tell them by whom it can be changed. We cannot give grace, but we can show the fountain of grace. We cannot of ourselves bestow the righteousness, but we can lead others to ask with anxious hearts, "How shall I be just before God?" The Saviour is nearer to us than He was to Bartimeus; as much on our streets as He was upon the streets of Jerusalem; as accessible to the worst and the most wicked as He was to that blind man.

Blind Bartimæus at the gates

Of Jericho in darkness waits;

He hears the crowd-he hears a breath

Say, "It is Christ of Nazareth,"

And calls, in tones of agony,
Ἰησοῦ, ἐλέησόν με.

The thronging multitudes increase.
Blind Bartimæus, hold thy peace!
But still above the noisy crowd
The beggar's cry is shrill and loud,
Until they say, "He calleth thee-"
Θάρσει, ἐγείραι, φώνει σε

Then saith the Christ, as silent stands

The crowd, "What wilt thou at my hands?"
And he replies, "Oh! give me light;

Rabbi, restore the blind man's sight."
And Jesus answers, Υπαγε,

Η πίστις σου σέσωκέ σε.

Ye that have eyes and cannot see,

In darkness and in misery,

Recal those mighty voices three-
Ἰησοῦ, ἐλέησόν με

Θάρσει, ἐγεῖραι Υπαγε,

Η πίστις σου σέσωκέ σε.

Christ and Baccheus.

Luke xix. 1-10.

HERE are miniatures in the grand collection in Scripture as well as great historical paintings, each perfect in itself, and all of them appreciated and admired by increasing thousands. The shadows of Rembrandt and the lights of Raphael intermingle in beautiful harmony, while the Great Master's presence is everywhere felt.

Having restored sight to Bartimæus, Jesus came to the town of Jericho; and there a chief publican, named Zaccheus, who was very rich, heard of the fame of Jesus and wished to see Him. But because he was of very little stature, and was unable to see in consequence of the vast crowd that had gathered round the Saviour,-some thinking of the miracles that He did, others, like Zaccheus himself, full of curiosity to see one who had made so deep and powerful an impression upon the public mind, -he climbed up a tree in order to catch a view of Him. The only