And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet; and he healed them:
Ver. 30. Having with them those that were lame, blind, &c.] All these infirmities are fruits of sin (which hath made the world an oecumenical hospital) and accidents of life; for that which befalleth any man, may befall every man. a The privative favours that God shows us here (saith Gerson) are more than the positive: meaning by privative, God's preserving us from manifold mischiefs and miseries by his manutension. b They that are received in heaven are out of the gun shot; for there is no more sickness, nor sorrow, nor crying, nor pain, for the former things are passed, Revelation 21:4. All corruptions, temptations, affliction, which stand, some above us, some about us (as the insulting Philistines about blind Samson), shall end with the same blow, fall with the same clap with ourselves. At Stratford-le-Bow were two martyrs burned at one stake (in the days of Queen Mary), Hugh Laverock, an old lame man, and John A. Price, a blind man. At their death, Hugh, after he was chained, casting away his crutch, and comforting the other, he said to him, Be of good comfort, my brother, for my Lord of London is our good physician: he will heal us shortly, thee of thy blindness, and me of my lameness. And so patiently they suffered.
a Cuivis potest contingere quod cuiquam contigit. Mimus.
b Multo plures sunt gratiae privativae quam positivae. Gerson.