9 A Lunatick poffeffed with a Dumb Spirit is brought to him, zed, and running to him, and running to him, they faluted him with the greatest Sect. gr. faluted him. 16 And he asked the with them? Mark IX. Marks of Respect and Affection: Yet the Scribes And taking Notice of the warm Dispute they 16 17 And [Lux. behold,] [a certain Man] of the Multitude, [kneeling down to him,) answered and [Luk cried out, saying,] Master, I have brought unto thee my Son, which hath a Dumb Spirit: [MAT. XVII. 14. IX. 38.-] MAT. XVII. 15. Lord, [I beseech thee, look upon my Son, for he is mine only Child; and] have Mercy on bim, for he is Lunatick, and fore vexed: for oft-times he falleth into the Fire, and oft into the Water. [LUKE ΙΧ.-38.] LUKE IX. 39. And lo, [wheresoever] this Spirittak eth him, he suddenly crieth out, and it teareth him, that he fometh again, [and gnasheth with his Teeth, and pineth away; and bruising him, it hardly departeth from him. [MARK ΙΧ. 18.-] And presently upon his making this Enquiry, 17 behold, a [certain] Man of the Multitude came, and MAT. XVII. 16. And I dreadful Agitations. And I am perfuaded Mat. XVII. brought there is some more than ordinary Difficulty in the 16. Cafe; (b) He is Lunatick.] Grotius well observes, that this Word, (which exactly answers the Etymology of the Original,) might with great Propriety be used, tho' there was something preternatural in the Cafe; as the Evil Spirit would undoubtedly take Advantage of those Disorders, into which the Brain and Nerves of this unhappy Child were thrown by the Changes of the Moon. (c) From 10 Mat. XVII. Who had withstood the Attempts of his Disciples. Sect. 91. Cafe; for I brought him to thy Disciples, and spake to [them] concerning him, and intreated [them] in the most affectionate Manner, to use their utmost Efforts to cast him out; and they could not accomplish it, nor heal him. 16. 17 Mark IX. 20. 21 Then fefus faid in Reply to kim, Oh ye incredulous and perverse Generation of Men, how long shall I be with you, before you will learn a becoming Regard to me? how long shall I endure that Infidelity, which you are shewing on so many Occasions? And thus did he mean at once to reprove, the Weakness of Faith, in the Father, and in his Disciples, as well as the Obstinacy and Perverseness of the Jewish Teachers, who were triumphing in their present Disappointment: And then turning to the Father of the Child and his Attendants, he said, Bring thy Son hither to me, and you shall fee what my Power can effect. brought him to thy Disci ples, [and spake to them,] [Luk. and besought them to cast him out,) and they could not cure him. [MARK IX.-18. LUKE IX. 40.] 17 Then Jesus answered [him] and faid, Oh faithless and perverse Generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring [LUK. thy Son] hither to me. [MARK IX. 19. LUKE IX. 41.] T MARK IX. 20. And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, [as he was yet a coming,] straightway the Spirit [threw him down, and] tare him, and he fell on the Ground, and wallowed foming. [LUKE IX. And upon this, they brought him that was pof- And, that the Greatness of the Cure might And 21 And he asked his Fa ther, How long is it ago fince this came unto him? And he faid, Of a Child. 22 And oft-times it hath him: 22 be faid, Even from his Childhood (c). if (c) From his Childhood.] So the Word παιδιόθεν properly fignifies; and I think with Grotius. it is much more convenient to render it thus, than from his Infancy. : JESUS rebukes the Dæmon, and expells him. if thou canst do any Thing in it (d), have Compaffion Sect. 91. And Jefus faid unto him, The Question is Mark IX. And immediately the Father of the Child, touched 24 to the very Heart to think that his dear Son might poffibly lose the Cure thro' the Weakness of his own Faith, cried out aloud, and faid with Tears in his Eyes, and Ardor in his Countenance, Lord, I do from my Heart believe that thy Power is unlimited; yet such is my Frailty, that when I look on this Spectacle of Misery, my Faith is ready to fail me again: Help me therefore against my Unbelief, by mitigating the Circumstances of the Trial, or communicating suitable Strength to my Soul (e). Then Jesus feeing that the Croud ran toge- 25 ther, and was continually increasing round them, rebuked the unclean Spirit, which had poffefsed the Child, and faid unto him, with an Air of fuperior Power and Divine Authority, Thou Dumb and Deaf Spirit, who hast so maliciously deprived this Youth of his Speech and Hearing, I strictly charge and command thee, immediately to come out of him, and prefume to enter into bim no more, nor farther to disquiet him as long as he lives. And immediately, as foon as he had spoken 26 these Words, [the Evil Spirit, having cried out with great Earneftness, and thrown him into violent Distortions, : (d) If thou canst do any Thing in it.] Perhaps observing the Fit grow more violent on his approaching Christ, his Faith might begin to fail. This was a very natural Manner of speaking, and yet strongly pathetick, and obliquely interesting the Honour of Christ in the Ifsfue of the Affair. See Raphel. ex Xen. pag. 73. (e) Help my Unbelief, &c.] It seems an Inconvenience inseparable from this Method of Paraphrafing, that sometimes (as in the present Instance,) some lively and strongly pointed Sentences should lose something of their Spirit by it; yet keeping the Original thus diftinct, may in Part remedy it; and on the whole, many of these Expressions are so full of Meaning, that the general Laws of Interpretation require, they should be unfolded. To observe the exact Medium here, is a Felicity, which I dare not say I have obtained, tho I have laboured after it. 12 Mark IX. 26. This Kind comes not out but by Prayer and Fafting. Sect. 91. stortions, came out of him; and the poor Youth had been so miferably handled, that he fell into a Swoon, and Seemed as one dead, so that many who were present faid, He is undoubtedly quite dead, 27 and will revive no more. But Jefus taking hold of him by the Hand lifted him up, and strengthened him, so that be arose and stood on his Feet. And when [be] thus had perfectly restored and healed the Child, he took and delivered him to his Father, who received him with an inexpressible Mixture of Joy and Amazement. And the Child was well from that very Hour, and these terrible Symptoms returned upon him no more. out [of him ;] and he was as one dead, insomuch that many faid, He is dead. [МАТ. XVII.-18.-] 27 But Jesus took him by the Hand, and lifted him up, and he arofe: [LUK. and he healed the Child, and delivered him again to his Father.] [And the Child was cured from that very Hour.] [MAT. XVII.-18. LUKE IX.-42.] LUKE IX. 43.- And LukeIX.43. And they who beheld it, were all aftonished at the mighty Power of GOD, by which this illustri- they were all amazed at the ous Miracle had been wrought. Mark IX. 28. Mat. XVII. 20. And when he had left the Multitude, and was And Jesus faid unto them, It was because of was lately before us, be farther faid unto them, mighty Power of God. MARK IX 28. And when he was come into the House, his Disciples [came to Jesus apart, and] asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out? [MAT. XVII. 19.] : suppose, that here is a is very trifling to come Refer (f) Faith as a Grain of Mustard-feed.] It is ence to the Poignancy of Mustard-feed, as an Emblem of a vigorous and lively Faith. It is apparently a Proverb, to express any thing inconfiderably small, that being, as our Lord expresses it, one of the smallest among Seeds. Thus the Rabbi's fay, the Globe of the Earth is but as a Grain of Mustard-feed, when compared with the Expanfe of the Heavens. See Drufius, in loc. (g) This Reflections on the Neceffity of a lively Faith. 13 come forth by nothing] but pect to have Power over such Spirits as these, to Sect. 91. by Prayer and Fafting. oblige them to go forth by any Means, unless you Mat. XVII. [MARK IX. 29.1 T do by frequent Prayer and Fafting intercede with 21. IMPROVEMENT. HE invidious Opposition, which these Scribes and Pharifees made Markix. 14. to our Lord, and the ill-natured Joy they expressed, in what they imagined would disgrace his Disciples, appears exceeding odious; and it shews us the fatal Effects of Ambition, Pride, and Avarice, when they possess the Hearts of those, who should be (as these by their Office were,) Teachers of others. Such Qualities render those in the Number of the most dangerous Enemies of Mankind, who ought to be its most affectionate Friends, and most useful Benefactors. May the Light of the Gospel break in on their Souls, and form them to a better Temper! The folicitous Concern of this Parent, when he saw his Child under Mat. xvii. fuch sad Symptoms of Disorder, may surely remind Persons in that Rela- 14, 15. Luke ix. 38. tion, of the Sentiments, with which they should view those of their Children, who are in a Spiritual Sense under the Power of Satan; and of the Importunity with which they should intreat, that the Hand of Christ may be stretched out for their Rescue. A lively Exercise of Faith is greatly to be desired in this, and all other Applications of this Nature. But, alas, how often do we find the Remainders of (g) This Kind cannot go forth by any Means, unless by Prayer and Fafting.] An ingenious Phyfician mentioned by the learned Author of the Enquiry into Dæmoniacks, &c. pag. 47. instead of εκ προσευχη και νηςεια, would read εν προσεχεϊ νηςεια, by constant Fasting; and fupposes it refers to the Neceffity of frequent and long continued Abstinence, in order to the Cure of such an Epileptick Distemper, as the Child in Question had been subject to. But as the Cri ticism is founded on mere Conjecture, contrary to all the Copies known in the World; fo I cannot think it at all natural in itself, or pertinent to the Occafion; for it seems not at all to our Lord's Purpose, to speak of the Natural Methods of Cure, in Answer to the Apostles, Demand, why they could not miraculously perform it? Nor can any Instance be produced to prove, that the Expression is Proverbial, for any Thing very difficult. I could therefore fee no Reason to recede from the usual Interpretation, which I have given in the Paraphrafe. Sir Norton Knatchbull's Sense is extreamly forced, who understands it, as if it had been faid, This Sort [of miraculous Faith] advances not but by Prayer and Fasting: Raphelius has abundantly shewn, how inconclusive those Authorities from Xenophon are, by which he would justify so odd a Version of εξελθειν. See Raphel. Annot. ex Xen. pag. 44,-46. And were the Words confidered, as they stand in Mark, where there is nothing said of Faith, it would be easy to perceive, our Lord is speaking of a Kind of Damans which they were not able to cast out: And that some Demons are more malignant than others, is most manifest from Mat. xii. 45. But oftentimes an Explication has been built upon the Words of one Evangelist, and many learned Remarks have been made to establish it, which could not be applied without great Violence to fuit the parallel Place in another, and presently has fallen to the Ground upon comparing them together. ▼ |