him. And this is the immediate effect of his prayer, that he becomes conscious of his Lord and his God, before whose power all the stormy waves must be still -'whatever the devil may do, however he may behave, however terrifically he may assert himself.' Our Lord points out to His disciples, 'Only have faith, keep it by prayer in soberness, and nothing will be impossible to you.'1

Our Lord first turned to His disciples-they merited the first word. Then only, after they had received the pastoral rebuke, Jesus turns to the complaining, beseeching father. That He does not immediately proceed to cure, although He had already promised it by His command, 'Bring him forth to me,' arises from the fact that He wishes not only to take away the boy's trouble, but specially to bestow a longed-for gift on his father. But at first the latter was by no means in the state of mind satisfactory to our Lord. The vain attempt of the disciples, the specially severe attack which the child had just that moment suffered (Mark ix. 20), must have made him completely disheartened and hopeless, and into such a faithlesslyclosed hand Jesus cannot and may not lay His gift. He therefore first makes him fit to receive it, by holding with him a preliminary discourse, which appears in the event an unnecessary, but, from the pastoral standpoint, a searching one.

It is certainly incorrect to seek the motive for the

1 Certainly the phrase 'this kind' limits it to one special kind of devils; the view of Euth. Zig., τὸ γένος τῶν δαιμόνων πάντων, contradicts thoroughly the text. But the view, that here a kind of spirits, difficult to be driven out, stiff-necks, is referred to, is just as incorrect as the supposition that a peculiarly lofty rule of faith, which could be obtained only by fasting and prayer, is needed for their overthrow. From the aforesaid circumstances we gain the view, that the driving out of devils, who assert themselves in such frightfully unexpected outbreaks, demands on the part of the physician an undisturbed presence of mind and confidence of faith, such, in fact, as is obtained by the 'watching and praying.'

question, 'How long has the child been ill?' to which the answer follows, 'From his youth up,' in the wish to illustrate our Lord's power to take away a suffering so deeply rooted and so old. As to the greater or lesser duration of a demoniacal possession, it cannot matter in the least. That an evil spirit can only be driven out by the divine power will be very generally allowed, whether it became powerful from infancy, or only since its subject had become a man. The object of the question of Jesus is therefore to be judged in the same manner we should consider the intention of His words addressed to the possessed man at Gadara, 'What is thy name ?' The substance of the answer is of lesser importance. However, we do not wish completely to pass over the reply made by the father— 'Of a child.' It must serve us as a renewed guarantee for the assertion already repeatedly made, that those possessed with devils did not belong in moral relation to the kingdom of evil; for even in his tenderest childhood, thus even before he was able to distinguish between good and evil, the boy lay in these bonds.

Of greater importance to us in this connection is the announcement, that the spirit had often thrown. the child into the water, even into the fire, to destroy it. A trace of the demoniac's desire not only to pain and torment, but really to injure body and life, we have already met with in former narratives; in the present case, this tendency comes forth openly and unconcealed; therefore the devil, when he was obliged to depart from the child, left behind at least the appearance as if he had killed him, as a mark of his real intention. If the 'unclean spirits' are the 'angels of Satan,' we know what name our Lord has given to the latter: He calls him 'a murderer from the beginning,' as to destroy men is his peculiar, his natural desire. And this expression (whether applied to the

fratricide of Cain or to the fall) leaves not a doubt of the originator of the effect which took place, nor of the warmth of the interest which he has therein. Even to the servants of Satan as such, it is not less natural to strive after injury, as it pleased their lord and their head to kill, and as it was needful for his children, the priestly enemies of Jesus, to do after the lust of their father; while it is the tendency of the Son 'not to destroy men's lives, but to save them;' and as this should be the intention of all His servants and followers (Luke ix. 55, 56).

The disconsolate father has answered the question of our Lord; he has, besides, gained a touching representation of the depth and extent of the suffering before him; he does not doubt that Jesus will grieve over it. The σλaɣxviodeis (Mark ix. 22) is not the object of his request, 'have compassion on us,' but is only the fact of his supposition, that thou wouldst certainly have sympathy with us.' However, he is in doubt whether there was any power here in a position to help him. He had seen the disciples fail. Will the Master be able to effect anything? That his hope is deeply dejected is seen in the expression, if thou canst,'-if thou art able to do anything against this trouble, let thy compassion have free course. But of all the cases where human misery appeared before the eyes of Jesus, the one before us is perhaps the one in which His compassion seems the least active. His eyes did not overflow with the grief of sympathy; and the fervour which the bowed-down father uses in his lamenting and weeping words, certainly made on Him as little, if not less, impression than did the urgent Bonde pot of the Canaanitish woman. Instead of this, we see Him show forth His majesty. Occasion for its display seemed called for by the words of the petitioner: if thou canst.' In answer to this, He explains

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power

that here other factors are needed besides His and His compassion,-one factor which he, the person in need, had completely overlooked-his own correct, heartfelt faith.

For the purpose of understanding it, it is important to restore the correct reading. In the textus receptus, "if thou canst believe,' the force of Jesus' answer is weakened. If we strike out, on the authority of the best critical authorities, the TOTEUσal (the Codex Sinaiticus omits it), the sense is this: 'You speak of my power; thou forgettest the power which thou hast, and the employment of which is the indispensable condition of success.' Our Lord had, in the scene before His eyes, observed on all sides want of faith, weakness of faith; and, descending from the hill of transfiguration, He must have felt this want with greater grief. He wished to save the world by means of its faith, to urge men to faith. And thus it was said to the petitioner not to inquire after the measure of the power, and after the depth of compassion in the Master, but to cast a searching glance on the degree of his own faith. To the believer alone does it happen according to his wish, but to Him all things are possible.' Let us draw an instructive comparison. Just as our Lord says here to the beseeching father, He says immediately after (Matt. xvii. 20) to His disciples also: 'If ye have faith, nothing shall be impossible to you.' But the sense in the two cases is not completely the same. To him he said, By faith canst thou obtain everything; nothing shall be unattainable by thee. To them, however, He gives the assurance, By faith can you effect everything; nothing shall be too difficult for you.' There He had said, With the hand of faith canst thou take possession of everything, even bring down from heaven the distant benefit; but here, Your hand of faith will be able to conquer all

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hostile powers, to overthrow all powers. There the beseeching, praying faith, and his victory; here the working, effective faith, and its results.

We pursue the subject still further. In both cases there is the same truth; to the believer nothing is impossible. But is there in both cases also an equal truth in the opposite view, 'to the believer alone is it possible'? And if not, in which of the two is it an absolute, and in which is it a relative one? The answer is this: even the weaker faith is sufficient to take, for that has to do only with the merciful Lord. A stronger one, however, belongs to ' the working, for there it stands opposed to the powers of darkness, which wish to assert themselves. Our Lord's reply brought powerfully into movement the feelings of the father. The result was laid quite specially into his hand; now was he himself answerable for it. And he feels very decidedly the burden. We will not lay too much stress on the eveéws, as it is known that this particle in Mark often signifies merely the simple progress, without meaning haste and speed. But the κpáĝas signifies more than simple repetition. Just as this expression in oratory is repeatedly used for the most impressive sermon, so here it testifies to the deep impression made, even if the accompanying tears, which exist only in the received text, must be given up on account of the weight of critical authorities. As far as I am able I will willingly fulfil all conditions; what thou desirest I will do. Thou requirest faith; now I believe, will believe; and if my faith is not sufficient, help Thou Thyself my unbelief.' The words 'help Thou my unbelief' have indeed been explained by modern exegetical writers as meaning that the request was for the healing of the child, and that the want of faith was a simple avowal,-'I believe; help, notwithstanding my unbelief."

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