distance has rendered diminutive to his eye. Thus elevated the Christian should always consider himself.

and is raised above the

should act as one who is

He has been,

world, and he

enabled to look

down upon it, and look beyond it-as one who has been "taken up into an exceeding high mountain," from whence. he has seen all the kingdoms of the earth, and the glory of them, fading away before the brighter glories of the kingdom of heaven.-But how few are there who can thus lose sight of time in their looking for, and longing after eternity!-How few are these who for the joy that is set before them, can take patiently the troubles of the brief course that leads to it ?-How few, who do not suffer, it may be, the brightness, or it may be the gloom, of their present sojourn, to shut out altogether the country which lies beyond! -And what should be the prayer of such an one? "" Lord, that I might receive my

sight."

My brethren, if any among us are conscious that in either of these particulars,

"blindness in part hath happened to us,"

-if we can neither see ourselves, nor our condition with that clearness and distinctness which the surrounding light would enable us to do-and if we are desirous that the scales may fall from our eyes--the conduct of blind Bartimæus perhaps may afford us some useful in

struction.

In the first place, deeply sensible of his deplorable condition, and in perfect reliance upon the power of Christ to relieve him, he called upon Jesus for help. "Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me." What other course can we follow? To whom else but Christ shall we go for words of light and life? Or how shall we approach him, but with humble prayer?" Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on mine eyes that I

me."

66

Open thou

may see the wondrous

things of thy law." Give me understanding, that I may know mine own infirmity, and the strength that thou hast

1 Ps. cxix. 18.

prepared for them that love thee. Let thine exceeding great and precious promises be ever had in remembrance by me, that my heart being set at liberty, may be alway where my treasure is, in heaven.

But the blind man was not content with calling upon Christ, he arose to go to him.-Exertion, my brethren, is necessary. It will not be sufficient simply to pray against the infirmities of the fleshor merely to lament our inadequate sense of those infirmities. We must bestir ourselves, first to become sensibly convinced of the reality of them-to see and feel that in our own strength we can do nothing and then, to seek that aid which the Holy Spirit offers. So also with regard to our condition and destination. We shall never perceive the superiority of the spiritual over the carnal life, so long as we live only to the flesh, and are dead to the spirit. The spiritual life which has been begun in us (and it has been begun in all who have entered into the Christian covenant) must be cultivated and cherished,

till a spiritual taste be formed,—and then the things which savour of heaven will be coveted and relished, and the choicest things of earth appear, by comparison, little better than the wild gourds of the men of Gilgal-poisonous and deadly '.

Again, when Bartimæus arose to go to Christ, he cast away his garment because it would have impeded his progress. Have we no impediments to cast away? What is it that clings about us, and hinders us, and prevents our coming to a right knowledge of ourselves?--Selflove. We hear the statements of Scripture, respecting the weakness of man, and cannot contradict them. We compare them with the general practice of the world, and are still more thoroughly convinced of their truth. But here selflove whispers that although the representation they give may be very true as a general rule, yet there must be, here and there, exceptions to it,-and such an exception of course our own

character affords. We find in it some kindliness of nature, some half-improved gift of grace, which distinguishes our own from the generality of tempers, and seems to warrant us in concluding, that the admonition to which it would be highly proper that others should listen, has no point when addressed to us.-We must cast away this feeling-this ill-befitting garment of pride, if we would come to Jesus for light. And what prevents our seeing the world in its true colours, and the provisions of the Gospel, in their true colours ?-but this-that we would fain bring into the dispensation of the Spirit, too much of the clothing of the flesh. It is the object of the Gospel to enable the spiritual part of man to obtain dominion over the carnal. It is our aim to retain, and carry with us, and pamper, as much of the latter as may possibly be allowed to exist without the total extinction of the former. Had the blind man been of our way of thinking, he would not only have taken his cloak, but his scrip also, and his staff, and