good, it afforded him a generous pleafure. To converfe with his Father and the holy angels in his native heaven, would have been more pleafing in itself to his holy foul; but if by converfing with finners in our guilty world, he can but fave the perifhing creatures, he cheerfully fubmits to the self-denial, and even rejoices in it; juft as a compaffionate phyfician, though he has no pleafure in the melancholy manfions of ficknefs, yet frequents them, that he may relieve the diftreffed. The Pharifees now thought they had a good handle to raise popular clamour againft Chrift, and therefore cavil at thefe freedoms, as though they had been profane, and inconfiftent with the character of the Meffiah, or even of a prophet. If he claimed this character, they thought it much more becoming him to keep company with them, than with profligate publicans. Hence, to ftumble and perplex his difciples, they come to them, and afk, Why eateth your Mafter with publicans and finners? The difciples were not as yet endowed with that mouth and wisdom which all their enemies could not withstand; and therefore Jefus anfwers them, and takes upon himself his own defence. The whole, fays he, have no need of a phyfician, but they that are fick. Some fuppofe, that by the whole, Chrift means thofe that were really whole, or that were not fo infected with the difeafe of fin, as to ftand in need of him as a phyfician. When fuch perfons can be found among the fons of men, this expofition will appear more plaufible. But fince we know that all have finned, and ftand in need of Christ as a Saviour, it is much more reasonable, I think, to fuppofe, that by the whole, Chrift means thofe that imagined themfelves whole, though really languifhing with the deadly disease of fin. It feems to me that he here anfwers the Pharifces upon their own principles, and proves his conduct to be juftifiable, even fuppofing their high opinion of themselves, and their contemptuous idea of the publicans, to be true; as if he had હૈદ faid, "I come into the world under the character of a phyfician for fick fouls. Such, you will grant, these defpifed publicans are; and therefore, you must alfo grant, that these are the perfons I have to deal with, and thefe are moft likely to make application to me. But as for yourselves, you think you are righteous; you think you are not fo far gone with the difeafe of fin as to need a physician fent down from heaven to heal you. Now I will not determine at prefent, whether this high opinion you have of yourfelves be juft Be it right or wrong, it is certain, that while you entertain it, you cannot confiftently find fault with my conduct. If you are fuch, I have no business with you as a phyfician. I muft, therefore, rather choofe to converse with these finners, who now begin to fee themselves fuch, and to be fenfible of their need of a phyfician.' or not. Thus, as I obferved, Jefus here forms an argument ad hominem, or vindicates his conduct even upon the principles of the Pharifees themselves. It was not now, to his purpose to difpute the high opinion they had of themselves; even that opinion furnished him with a fufficient defence. But, when it was proper, he faithfully exposes their true character, as proud, felfrighteous hypocrites, and denounces the moft terrible woes against them. I might perhaps render the matter plainer by a familiar illuftration. Suppofe a man of learning in com-, pany with two perfons; the one really ignorant, but highly conceited of his knowledge, and confequently unteachable; the other ignorant too, but fenfible of it, and, therefore, defirous of inftruction: fuppofe he fhould turn from the felf-conceited creature, and carry on converfation with the other, who was likely to profit by it; and fuppofe the former fhould refent it, and fay, "If he were indeed a scholar, as he pretends to be, he would not be fond of the fociety of fuch an ignorant dunce, but would rather choofe me for a companion." How properly might a teacher reply, "O! "O! you are a wife man; and have no need of my inftruction; and, therefore, as a teacher, I have no business with you; but this poor, ignorant creature is fenfible of his want of inftruction; and, therefore, it is most fit I should converse with him." Such a reply has a peculiar pungency and mortifying force in it: and fuch Jefus used in the cafe before us. To give a fuller view of this text, and to adapt it to practical purposes, I intend to defcribe the characters of those that are whole, and of those that are sick, in the fenfes here intended. There are none of the fons of men who are really whole. Their fouls are all diseased; for all have finned, and there is none righteous, no not one. And perhaps there are none upon earth fo proud, and fo ignorant of themselves, as to affirm in fo many words, that they are whole; that is, "perfectly righteous."Therefore by the whole, cannot be meant either thofe who are really free from all fin, or those who imagine themselves entirely free from it. It does not appear that even the proud Pharifees were capable of flattering themselves fo far. But by the whole, are meant those who are indeed guilty, depraved finners, and who are ready to make a fuperficial confeffion in words. that they are finners, but continue fecure and impenitent, infenfible of their guilt, their corruption, their danger, and their need of a Saviour; that is, thofe who are really fick, and dangerously ill, and yet are as eafy, as unapprehenfive of danger, as careless about applying to the phyfician, as if nothing ailed them. The difeafe is of a lethargic nature, and ftupifies the unhappy creatures, fo that they are not fenfible of it.. It renders thém delirious, fo that they think themfelves well, when the fymptoms of death are ftrong upon them. What multitudes of fuch may we fee in the world! The word of God pronounces them dangerously ill; their friends may fee the most deadly fymptoms upon them: but, alas! they are ftupidly infenfible of their own cafe. Jefus, the divine Physician, warns warns them of their danger, offers them his help, and prescribes to them the infallible means of recovery; but they difregard his warnings, neglect his gracious offer, and refuse to fubmit to his prefcriptions. This is the general character of those that are whole, in the sense of my text. By the fick, are meant those who, like the former, are really guilty, corrupt finners, in extreme need of a Saviour, and who readily confefs they are fuch; but here lies the difference, they are not only fuch in reality, and they not only acknowledge that they are fuch, but they are deeply fenfible of it, they are tenderly affected with their cafe: their temper and conduct, their thoughts of themselves and of Jefus Chrift, their defigns and endeavours are fuch as are natural to a foul fenfibly fick of fin, and fuch as bear a resemblance to thofe of a perfon fick in body, and ufing all means for a recovery. It is the characteristic of this class of finners, not that they are less holy, or in more danger, than others; but that they are more fenfible of their condition, and more folicitous and laborious about deliverance. They feel themselves difordered; they put themselves under the care of Jefus, the only Physician of fouls; they submit to his prescriptions, and use all means for their recovery to foundness of mind, from the deadly disease of fin. This is the general character of the fick, in the fenfe of my text; but it is neceffary I should defcend to particulars. The particular characters of the whole and the fick, in contrast, are fuch as thefe : 1. He that is whole has never had a clear affecting fight and fenfe of fin; but he that is fick is fully convicted, and deeply fenfible of it. The one has only a general, fuperficial, unaffecting conviction that he is a finner; that he has not been fo good as he fhould have been; that his heart is fomewhat difordered; and especially that he has been guilty of fundry bad actions. But alas! he reither fees his finfulness in its full extent, nor is fuitably affected with that little of it he fees. He does not clearly see the entire and uni verfal corruption of his heart, and the numberlefs principles and feeds of fin that are there; the blindness of his mind as to divine things; the fecret difaffection of his heart towards God and holiness; the carnality of his mind, and his lukewarmness and formality in the duties of religion. He may have à tranfient glance, a superficial view of these things; but he has not a deep fettled conviction of them; nor is he fuitably affected with what he knows of his own finfulness. It does not appear to him fuch a mighty mátter to have fuch a difordered heart towards. God, to have dropped a forbidden word now and then, or to have committed a few bad actions; few, I fay, for fo they appear to him, though repeated times and ways beyond number. Sin appears to him a trifling peccadillo, a small evil, and he has a thousand excufés to make for it. Hence he is as eafy as carelefs, as prefumptuous in his hopes as if he believed he did not really deferve punishment from a righteous God, and therefore was in no danger. Though the leprofy of fin fpreads ever fo wide, and breaks out into ever so many putrid and mortifying fores, yet he is eafy and fecure, and infenfible of the difeafe. Thus, like a man' in health, he is unconcerned, and neither apprehends himself fick, nor ufes the leaft means for his recovery. O! what multitudes of fuch are among us! They will confefs themselves finners, with as little concern as if they were quite free from fin, or as if they thought there was little or no danger in it. But is it fo with the poor fick finner? O! no: he fees, he feels that his whole head is fick, and his whole heart faint and that from the crown of the head even unto the foul of the foot, there are nothing but wounds, bruifes, and putrifying fores. He feels the plague of a hard fenfeless heart, and the fecret fprings of wickednefs within him. He feels that fin has enfeebled all his powers, and that he is no more able to exert them in religious endeavours, than a fick man is to employ himfelf |