wished to convince them that He was from above-their God, as well as their Saviour.

And now, let me put the question to you, What think ye of Christ?'

เ

despise and reject Him.

Some

They see no beauty in Him, that they should desire him. Some are content to live all their lives without Him. They feel not their need of Him. His blood is nothing to them. Some again look up to Him with a certain respect. They think of Him as a Being, who once came down from heaven to save men; and that now He is somewhere afar off in His glory-too far for them to reach Him. They think of Him with reverence; but it is a cold reverence, a reverence mixed with fear. Their hearts are not turned towards Him. They cannot say, 'Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee.'

But I trust that some feel very differently towards our Lord. We have gone to Him in the time of sorrow, and found relief. We have gone to Him weary and heavy laden, and found rest. We have

gone to Him burdened with sin, and found pardon. And we still go to Him day by day, and find strength, and comfort, and peace, and joy.

NINETEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.

ST. MATT. IX. 1-8.

Jesus entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city. And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed. And Jesus, seeing their faith, said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee. And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. And Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? For whether is easier to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee? or to say, Arise and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. And he arose, and departed to his house. But when the multitude saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, who had given such power unto men.

THE miracle brought before us in the Gospel today is one that is very familiar to us. Our Lord, as we learn from the Eighth Chapter, had been on the east side of the Lake of Gennesaret, in the country of the Gergesenes. And now, we are told, He

passes over in a ship to the other side, and enters Capernaum, which is here called

his own city;' because it was His home, as it were, whenever He was in the country of Galilee.

These Gergesenes, as we see at the end of the chapter, had besought our Lord to depart out of their coasts, although He had performed a gracious miracle there. How sad that they felt not the advantage of having such a heavenly Visitor among them! Had He been entreated to remain with them, He might have bestowed untold blessings upon them. But, alas! they knew Him not, and fancied that His presence would only disturb their peace; and therefore they begged Him to depart.

And so it is with many now. The beauty and preciousness of Christ are hid from them; and therefore they put Him away, saying, 'Depart from us; we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.'

Our Lord had not been long at Capernaum before they bring to Him on a bed a poor sick man afflicted with palsy. St. Mark tells us, in his account of the miracle,

that the crowd was so great, that they uncovered the roof, in order to bring Him into our Lord's presence. This showed their great anxiety that he should be cured, and their strong persuasion that Jesus had power to heal him. An old writer, speaking of this, says, 'Love will creep, but faith will climb where it cannot go.' Certainly theirs was a faith that pressed through hindrances, and was not turned aside by difficulties.

The sick man was utterly powerless, having been perhaps for a long time bedridden. But his helplessness and misery were his recommendation; and our Lord at once turned towards him with compassion. He was struck too by the faith of those who brought him, as well as that of the sufferer himself.

He begins by addressing to him words. of encouragement; 'Son, be of good cheer.' He seemed to say to him, 'You imagine yourself a stranger; but I know all your wants, the history of your sufferings, and the desire of your heart. I regard you as my child. Lift up the head that has so long hung down. Away with your de