ravails, we question whether God is in his high heaven.
Like John, men have a notion, founded on some faulty knowledge of
Scripture, that God will act in a certain preconceived way, in the
thunder, the whirlwind, and the fire; and when God does not, but
pursues his tender, gentle ministries, descending in summer showers,
speaking in soft, still tones, distilling in the dew-drops, winning his
empire over men by love, they say--"Is this He?"

II. THE LORD'S REPLY.--"In that hour He cured many of diseases, and
plagues, and evil spirits; and on many that were blind He bestowed
sight." Through the long hours of the day, the disciples stood in the
crowd, while the pitiable train of sick and demon-possessed passed
before the Saviour, coming in every stage of need, and going away
cleansed and saved. Even the dead were raised. And at the close the
Master turned to them, and with a deep significance in his tone, said,
"Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; the
blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and
the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good tidings
preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall find none
occasion of stumbling in Me."

(1) _It was Indirect_. He did not say, I am He that was to come, and
there is no need to look for another. Had He done so, He might have
answered John's intellect, but not his heart. After a few hours the
assurance would have waxed dim, and he would have questioned again. He
might have wondered whether Jesus were not Himself deceived. One
question always leads to another, so long as the heart is unsatisfied;
hence the refusal on the part of our Lord to answer the question, and
his evident determination to allay the restlessness and disquietude of
the heart that throbbed beneath.

God might, had He so willed, have written in starry characters across
the sky the Divine words, "I am Jehovah, and ye shall have no other
gods beside Me"; or He might have flashed it, and obliterated it to
flash it again, as the electric cylinders which serve the purposes of
advertisements in our large cities by night. This might have awed the
intellect, but it would not have convinced the heart. Were this God's
method, we should miss the benediction on those who have not seen and
yet have believed. We should miss the discipline of waiting until our
doubts are dissolved by the Spirit of God. The intellect might be
temporarily over