Wherein we have a wonderful instance of the way in which our Lord, the Son of God, Very God of Very God, having taken our nature upon Him, submitted to be straitened by the conditions of that nature, submitted not only to be hungry and thirsty, to be grieved, and distressed, straitened, anguished in body and soul, but to allow His ways and dealings with the sinners, whom He came to save, to be as it were overruled by the moral condition of those sinners. As He, in the verity of His humanity, was limited by place and time, thereby giving proof of that humanity; so, in the ways of His spiritual dealings with man, was He limited by the moral laws under which man exists. Because of some men's unbelief He could do no miracle among them; Himself, withal, marvelling at such unbelief. Where there was faith, He could do all things. Whence the power that belongeth unto God," is ascribed unto the faith that is of God. Nothing is impossible to them that believe. Omnipotence is so pledged on faith's be

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half, that faith would seem itself omnipotent. "All things are possible to him that believeth"." I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me"." Omnipotence so responds to faith, that faith itself seems omnipotent.

"A certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, and had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, when she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched His garment. For she said, If I may touch but His clothes, I shall be whole. And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague." At the same time, the whole unbelieving multitude thronged and pressed Him. But it was only at the touch of the believing woman, that virtue went forth from Him. "And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that virtue had gone b Philip. iv. 13.

a Mark ix. 23.

c Mark v.

out of Him, turned Him about in the press, and said, Who touched My clothes? And His disciples said unto Him, Thou seest the multitude thronging Thee, and sayest Thou, Who touched Me? And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched Me; for I perceive that virtue is gone out of Me."

Let us look into the particulars of this narrative, with a view to testing the faith that is in us, or ought to be in us. It suggests matter for the especial remark, and meditation, of those among us who have recently renewed their Baptismal vows, and are purposing to draw near to Christ in that other holy Sacrament, in which He vouchsafes His special presence; by which, though undistinguished and undistinguishable by the heedless multitude, He reveals Himself, full of grace and truth, to the penitent believer and contrite suppliant, saying, "Go in peace.' "Be of good comfort." "Be whole of thy plague." "Thy faith hath made thee whole."

d Mark v.

• Luke viii. 46.

f Matt. ix. Mark v. Luke viii.

The issue of blood was a type of sin. By the Law, any one afflicted with it was unclean, and therefore excluded from the congregation. It was an appropriate type of sin; for by sin man shed his own blood. By sin came death; and without the shedding of blood is no remission of sin; so that sin has been the cause of all bloodshedding; and so must be. This woman, afflicted with an issue of blood, was then a type of all sinners, whether believers or unbelievers. In her distress she had spent all her living upon physicians, but could not be healed of any; she had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse. Here we have a type of the fruitlessness, and worse than fruitlessness, of all attempts to rid one's self of sin by any means of man's devising. These are fruitless; the employment of them is a mere waste of energy; the result of them not alleviation, of the evil.

8 St. Luke.

is aggravation, This afflicted

h St. Mark.

woman, when she had "heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched His garment; for she said within herself, If I may but touch the hem of His garment, I shall be whole." Here we have an example, a pattern, of faith. Three Evangelists thus record it, in attestation doubtless of its excellence. Let us see then wherein it consisted, by observing what were its characteristics. She had heard of Jesus. She had not seen His miracles, nor perhaps Himself. She had heard of of Him. "Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed'." Faith, in its strictest meaning, "cometh by hearing." She had heard of Jesus, and she believed. Though those who believe after seeing, are truly said to believe; yet those who believe upon testimony, are more properly and strictly said to believe, for they are further removed from knowledge.

But how did this faith evince itself in the case of this afflicted woman? She had heard of Jesus. And she believed in Him. Rom. x. 17.

t St. John xx. 29.