Every blessing pronounced by the mouth of Jesus, and every blessing purchased by his blood, shall come upon them and be theirs for ever.

May we also believe, so be converted, and made after our Saviour's heart, that all these blessings may come upon us, in time and to all eternity. Amen,

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DISCOURSE XXV.

THE DEMONIAC.

LUKE viii. 37.

Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee.

A MAN who had before been possessed with a legion of devils, was set at liberty by our Saviour, and sitting at his feet clothed and in his right mind, when observing his merciful Deliverer about to enter into a ship, and to depart from that country, intreated him to let him go along with him; but our Saviour, for his own wise and best reasons, would not suffer it then, but said to him, in the words of the text, "Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee;" or, as St. Mark relates it, "Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee," Mark v. 19.

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There was something very singular in this man's disorder, the manner of his cure, and deliverance, as well as in our Lord's not suffering him to go with him, of all which I purpose to consider a little, before I speak directly of the words of the text.

We have no room to doubt of many wonderful possessions besides this and others in the time of our Saviour, in the first ages of the church, in the days of the reformation, and even now in our own time. Exorcisms

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Exorcisms were frequently used among the primitive Christians; with fastings and prayers they sought the deliverance of such people, and certainly found the prayers of faith availed much in such cases.

I see no reason why the gift of casting out devils, and dispossessing evil spirits in the name of the Lord Jesus, should not now be given, as well as formerly, unless on account of the incredulity of this sinful and adulterous generation, who atheistically would either mock at the cure, as if it was mere imposture and art, or pretend it was a natural disease and no possession of the devil; or if such immediate cures should be wrought in our times, if the miracle could not be denied with any good ground, they would say it was sorcery, conjuration, and dealing with the devil; for so it went of old, and hindered our Master from doing many mighty works in his own city Nazareth, because of unbelief. By whatever means a soul in the hands of Satan is released, it must be confessed our Saviour is the cause. He only can preach deliverance to the captives, and loose them that Satan hath bound in body or soul. He alone has the right to say, it shall not stand, when a covenant is made with death and a league with hell, Isa. xxviii. 18. At his word, and in his name, a host of devils, and legions of wicked spirits must fly. With a word he can release a soul, let its case be bad and deplorable as it will.

Though some are in a particular manner possessed of the devil, and it is above the reach of any human creature to account for their disorder and behaviour, &c. yet in another sense I esteem all distracted and mad people possessed; and this has been also the mind of many children of God, and learned and pious men, and has some ground in the scripture. We read of a certain father who besought

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Christ for his son, who was lunatic, and when the child was brought to him he rebuked the devil, and he departed out of him, Matth. xvii. 14, &c. But all the behaviour of Dæmoniacs or possessed persons, of which we have often long accounts in the gospel, answers to that of lunatics, or mad people, in our times. I will only observe, in a few instances, how nearly they resemble each other; 1st, their being able to break their chains; 2dly, loving to roam in solitary places among tombs; 3dly, going naked? 4thly, not being to be tamed easily; 5thly, casting themselves into the fire and water, cutting themselves, and uttering blasphemies and such words as must come immediately from the devil. And farther, we may observe daily, that however unapt persons have been to do any of these things before, after they have been once turned in their heads, as the expression is, they do it all eagerly, and another spirit rules, and something supernatural shews itself soon; they can endure hunger, cold, and hardships surprisingly, and travel, rage, labour, and speak on without sleeping to a wonder. All this I have said, as my reasons for thinking lunatics possessed people, and I have observed, the generally known causes of madness have not been any humility, meekness of spirit, or even a religious disposition, but rather an extreme love of the creature, or, I would say, lust; also often an intolerable pride in the learned, who will account for every thing, and comprehend like God. Sometimes an excess of anger and fury, or a known and abhorred self-conceitedness, fondness of fine cloaths, of riches, of beauty, or honour, and often a being awakened in a legal manner, and in attempting to make themselves perfect and righteous, and to attain to certain lengths in their own strength and by their own works, is a means of some people's falling in this unhappy condition

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condition. But here it must be observed, that sel righteousness is at the bottom of all; for who have heard of a poor sinner's coming into such distress, I mean one poor in spirit, who is conscious of his lost estate and incapacity to help himself, but who sinks before our Saviour, under a sense of his own wants and miseries, and yet is well convinced no one can help or ease him beside Jesus, such an one does not rage because he cannot atchieve high things, nor grow impatient because he cannot cleanse himself; but he rejoiceth that the Lamb has loved sinners and will receive them; he is glad of the fountain of his blood, and washes there; and though he may have been greatly withstood by the enemy, and has felt the weight of his guilt like a heavy burden, and, like Paul, could neither eat nor drink for want of mercy, this must not be looked upon as madness; (would to God all the world were so mad!) no, this is quite a different condition; no wild fire rages here, no blasphemous speeches come out of the mouth; no, all is the effect of a real hunger and thirst for righteousness, and a longing to be forgiven, and such shall surely obtain their wishes; let them tarry the Lord's leisure, and he shall comfort them; let them wait upon him, and he will help them, and not one of them shall perish.

But though I have said so much, I would not be misunderstood, as though I thought all such possessed or mad persons should be lost. I have far more fayourable thoughts, and hope rather these may possibly be some of those who are given over to the devil for the destruction of the flesh, that their spirits might be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Perhaps such heavy chastisements may have befallen them here, that they may find mercy hereafter.

I will now proceed to speak of the man in the text, whom I look upon, in his worst estate, as a