IV.

THE WEEPING PENITENT AND THE DISDAINFUL

PHARISEE.

"And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee: go in peace.”— LUKE Vii. 50.

THE passage before us refers to one of those incidents of private life which, in the history of eminent men, are often more interesting and more illustrative of character than their more public acts. It presents our Lord, neither in the temple, nor in the city, nor on the mount, but in a domestic circle, under a private roof, reclining at table in the Eastern fashion, when a stranger, drawn by an attraction she cannot resist, ventures to approach Him, and by the most significant actions expresses her reverential regard. The kindness with which He permitted her offices of love, though fully aware of the sinister construction put upon them by uncandid observers, the mild dignity with which, when her zeal drew down a rebuke, He vindicated her conduct, and, tracing it to its genuine motive, presented her as an example that might well put to shame those who despised her, the grace with which he said, "Thy sins are forgiven," the majesty with which, when the expression occasioned new murmuring, he confirmed it, saying, "Thy faith hath saved thee: go in peace," are circumstances beautifully illustrative of the character of

Christ, and fitted to give the kindest encouragement to all who seek His help. It is not, however, to the personal character of our Lord we would now attend, but to the illustration here given of the way of salvation, and of the fruits and indications of genuine grace. May God Himself, by His Holy Spirit, enlighten our minds on these all-important subjects, while, connecting the text with the foregoing narrative, we set before you, I. The principle to which our Lord attributes her salvation; and, II. Its gracious and blessed effects and evidences.

I. The principle to which our Lord attributed her salvation was her faith. This was the medium through which the blessing was conveyed, and this was indeed the secret spring of all her proceeding. The assurance He had given her, that her sins were forgiven, had offended some who sat at meat with Him, and suggested the contemptuous inquiry, "Who is this that forgiveth sins also?" Without noticing the reproach cast on Himself, our Lord re-assured her of the precious truth, and at the same time reminded her that the blessing was obtained by faith-that is, by a simple dependence on the mercy of God revealed in His Son,-was to be referred to Divine grace, and held as the gift of infinite love. Now this view of the matter was equally fitted to silence the cavils of the objectors and to establish her own confidence. For if her sins were many and great, the way in which salvation was communicated to her implied no denial of them, no attempt to extenuate them; but, on the contrary, a full and free admission of all their enormity, and an entire transference of her confidence from herself to her Saviour. And

whatever charges her accusers might bring against her, she was not concerned to answer them; nor did the fullest demonstration of her guilt lessen the certainty of her salvation, since this rested on the sure foundation of her Saviour's power and grace. Her faith saved her: for what she had not in herself she found in another; and the confidence she could not place in herself she reposed securely in Christ.

And in what way, we ask, could this individual have been saved except by faith? As for salvation by works, that was out of the question in her case. She was a sinner, as the Evangelist testifies; and therefore, instead of being justified by the law, was convicted by it as a transgressor. But, moreover, she was a notorious sinner, as is intimated in the words of the Pharisee: "This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him; for she is a sinner”. -one whose touch was dishonour, whose friendship was infamy, who had not disguised her shame, polluted and polluting; and this our Lord did not deny, intimating that her sins had been many, and that she had need of much forgiveness. What was there then that could save her? Her relation to Abraham? That she had virtually renounced, and by advancing any plea on that ground would only have convicted herself of apostasy. The comparative innocence of her early years? That innocence, whatever we may suppose it to have been, could have furnished no apology for her after guilt, rather would have aggravated the depth of her degradation. The sacrifices of the law? These had no power to purify the conscience; nor could "thousands of rams, or ten thousand rivers of oil” have washed away a single stain. Might her repentance,

then, have saved her, and her diligent efforts after reformation? Alas, the convictions and terrors of a guilty conscience furnish no propitiation for sin, and have in them more of fretfulness and irritation than of submission and loyal obedience. And as for the feelings of broken-hearted contrition, of genuine love, of all true devotion, these are the fruits and evidences of mercy already experienced; and therefore, instead of saving the soul, they shew it to be already saved. This is the light in which our Lord places the ardent love of this woman. After enumerating the expres sions of her affection, he says, at the forty-seventh verse, "Wherefore, I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little: " where, you remark, he represents her much love, not as the cause, but as the consequence and evidence of her forgiveness; her love, as compared with that of others, being proportioned to the extent of the benefit she had received. But view her before faith came, what, we ask, could have saved this fallen, miserable sinner? Who sees not that she must look abroad for help-having no power to help herself, and renouncing all hope in herself, must transfer to abler hands than her own the mighty task of rescuing her from the overwhelming burden and resistless tyranny of sin? Sinking in the deep waters, without a plank to rest on, what could she do but seize, with eager grasp, the Almighty Hand stretched out to save her? Her faith saved her as accepting the blessing freely given her of God. Uniting her with the Saviour, it invested her with His all-perfect righteousness, and gave her peace with God; embracing the promises, it secured the fulfilment of them; giving glory to God,

it brought down from His throne abundant communications of grace-being the principle which, honouring God, He delights to honour.

Now, my brethren, it is precisely in the same way we must be saved, each one of us. Think not that forgiveness was extended to this woman by an arbitrary act of the Saviour, implying a departure from the general analogy of the ways of God; or that in saying to her, "Thy faith hath saved thee," He pointed out to her a way of salvation different from that which is available for others. This is the way in which the redeemed of the Lord have ever walked, the only way that can lead us to heaven. If saved at all, it is your faith that must save you. In despair of effecting your own salvation, whether by your merit or by your power, your trust must be placed in that Saviour whom God hath provided. It is probable that, among those I now address, there is no sinner so notorious in infamy as this woman. It is not equally probable that there is none so great in guilt. If you question this last assertion, I must remind you that we are very erring judges of our own character as compared with others, since the measure of culpability is dependent on innumerable circumstances of which it is impossible for us to estimate the influence. Perhaps the unfortunate before us, born and cradled in tents of wickedness, had from infancy breathed a pestilential air which could not be inhaled without contagion -perhaps, destitute of all advantages and restraints of education, without friend or adviser, she had fallen a prey to wicked influence, and been entangled in snares she had no power to break through; while you, hedged about with providential checks and parental protection, could not, if you