DISCOURSE X.
The Cause and Cure of the Disorders of Human Nature.
St. Mark, Chap. vii. Ver. 34.
"And looking up to Heaven, he sighed; and saith unto him, Ephphatha! that is, Be opened."
A serious and philosophical mind, contemplating the innumerable evils, physical and moral, to which men are exposed during their short continuance in this world, would very naturally conclude, that the present state could not be that for which the Almighty originally intended them. Storms and tempests, sickness and pain, darkness and disorder, in the natural world; and the various and destructive effects of pride, envy, covetousness, and wrath, in the moral world; are so contrary to the Divine Nature, which is Life, Light, and Love, eternal and unchangeable, that it would be almost blasphemy to say, that such a system was the original finished workmanship of his adorable hand.
To such contemplations as these, philosophy might lead her sober votary—But Divine Revelation alone can carry him back to the origin of things, and give him the true information with respect to their present appearances. By this we learn, that the beautiful order and harmony of creation were marred by the creature's transgression; who turning his will from the source of infinite Goodness, lost that first gate in which his Maker had placed him, and wherein all was light and joy; and found himself in subjection to an evil nature within, and a world of darkness and distress without. By this Revelation also we are informed, that nothing less than a return to his Original Source, could reinstate him in his original bliss; that this return could be rendered possible in no other way, than by a ray, a spark, a seed, an earnest, a taste or touch of his first life, imparted or inspoken into his fallen nature by the God of Love, to be gradually opened and unfolded by such a Redeeming Process, as, with the co-operation of his own will, would effectually restore him to his primeval felicity; and that this was undertaken, and only could be undertaken and accomplished, by that Eternal Son of the Father, in and by whom man was originally created, and in and by whom alone he could be redeemed.
Accordingly we find, that when this Express Image of the Hidden Deity appeared on earth, cloathed in our fallen flesh and blood, he was invested with an absolute and uncontroulable power and authority over the whole system of temporary nature. His wonder-working Fiat was sufficient to calm, in an instant, the most aggravated fury of the winds and seas; and, as proceeding from the same wrathful source, to assuage the violence of raging fevers; to heal, by a mere touch, by a word, the most inveterate diseases; and to restore every organ of sense, which had been injured or destroyed, to its true state, and proper use and function. And as all outward disorders primarily proceed from a wrong state of the human spirit, his influence pervaded the inmost recesses of the soul, and awakened and called forth that precious spark of his own Heavenly Fire, which had lain buried under the ashes of sin; and bade it enlighten, invigorate, and restore health and peace to, the whole man.
The gospel for the day presents us with a very remarkable instance of the amazing effects of these redeeming powers—"Jesus, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis: and they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit and touched his tongue: and looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha! that is, Be opened!"
There are three circumstances in this miraculous cure worthy of our serious attention, viz. the looking up to heaven, the sigh, and the Ephphatha.
I. The looking up to heaven, was beautifully expressive of the real situation, in which this great Restorer of human nature stood before his Heavenly Father. It was intended, no doubt, to communicate to every attentive observer, this great lesson of instruction; that all the powers and virtues of which he was possessed, came down from above; that they were communicated to him "without measure;" and that he could have no authority over the evils of human life, so as either to mitigate or remove them, but by standing continually in the Heavenly World, inspiring its air, receiving its beams of light and love, and sending them forth into every human heart, that was truly desirous of their salutary influence; and that it was by such a communication alone, that he should be enabled to restore hearing and speech to the unhappy patient they had brought before him.
II. This look was accompanied with a sigh. A sigh seems to indicate distress. An anxious oppressed and afflicted heart is sometimes so full, as to deprive the tongue of the power of utterance; it vents itself, therefore, in a sigh. But what could oppress or afflict the heart of the Meek and Innocent Jesus? His body, though a fallen one, does not seem to have been sick or in pain; his soul was sweetly attempered to Divine Love, and could have felt nothing but inward peace and serenity—and yet, he sighs!—The poor deaf and dumb sinner, who stood before him, had reason enough to sigh: but he was insensible of his misery, and therefore sought not for relief. The truth is this: The Blessed Jesus, as the Second Adam, the Father and Regenerator of our whole lapsed race, voluntarily assumed our nature, and became as intimately united to it, as the head to the members of the body. In consequence of this union, "he knows whereof we are made, he remembers that we are but dust." His sympathetic heart is sensible of every want and distress of every son and daughter of Adam. He is persecuted with the church that Saul persecuteth; and who—"so toucheth his children, toucheth the apple of his eye." Yea, he feels for those, who feel not for themselves; and sighs over the sad state of those, who are blind to their true happiness; "who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness."