{"id":24487,"date":"2022-09-24T10:36:05","date_gmt":"2022-09-24T15:36:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/exegetical-and-hermeneutical-commentary-of-mark-737\/"},"modified":"2022-09-24T10:36:05","modified_gmt":"2022-09-24T15:36:05","slug":"exegetical-and-hermeneutical-commentary-of-mark-737","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/exegetical-and-hermeneutical-commentary-of-mark-737\/","title":{"rendered":"Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Mark 7:37"},"content":{"rendered":"

And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak. <\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n

Beyond measure – <\/B>Exceedingly; very much. In the Greek, Very abundantly.<\/P>

He hath done all things well – <\/B>All things in a remarkable manner; or, he has perfectly effected the cure of this deaf-mute.<\/P><\/p>\n

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Mar 7:37<\/span><\/p>\n

He hath done all things well.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

Excellency of Christs operations<\/strong><\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> <\/em><\/strong>The excellency of Christs operations. He hath done all things well; as is apparent-<\/p>\n

1. <\/strong>In the magnificence of His operations. Instance the sublime works of His creative energy; His infallible administration in the kingdom of providence; His stupendous miracles; His mediatorial achievements (Psa 86:8-10<\/span>; Psa 103:19<\/span>; Col 1:16-17<\/span>; Col 2:15<\/span>; Mat 11:4<\/span>).<\/p>\n

2. <\/strong>In the completeness of His operations (Deu 32:4<\/span>).<\/p>\n

3. <\/strong>In the harmony of His operations (Psa 104:24<\/span>; Psa 145:10<\/span>).<\/p>\n

4. <\/strong>In the benevolent design of His operations (Psa 33:19<\/span>; Dan 6:27<\/span>).<\/p>\n

II. <\/strong>The devout sentiments with which they should be contemplated.<\/p>\n

1. <\/strong>Devout admiration (Psa 77:13-16<\/span>).<\/p>\n

2. <\/strong>Adoring gratitude (Psa 148:13<\/span>).<\/p>\n

3. <\/strong>Zealous attachment (Jer 50:1-5<\/span>). Has Christ done all things well?<\/p>\n

Then-<\/p>\n

1. <\/strong>How flagrant the impiety of mankind!<\/p>\n

2. <\/strong>How justly is Christ entitled to the worship of the whole universe!<\/p>\n

3. <\/strong>Let Him be the subject of our song, and the object of our supreme regard. (J. Burns, LL. D.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Christs excellent doings<\/strong><\/p>\n

The text explains itself-but the truth of it is of vastly wider scope.<\/p>\n

I. <\/strong>It has a grand significancy in the creative works of Christ.<\/p>\n

II. <\/strong>In His Divine government of this and all worlds.<\/p>\n

III. <\/strong>Its climactaral glory belongs to redemption. He undertook the worlds redemption, and effected it, by-<\/p>\n

1. <\/strong>Obedience to the law.<\/p>\n

2. <\/strong>Suffering the penalty for sin.<\/p>\n

3. <\/strong>Conquering the powers of darkness.<\/p>\n

4. <\/strong>Bringing life and immortality to light.<\/p>\n

5. <\/strong>Obtaining the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n

IV. <\/strong>In the salvation He obtained and bestows. An entire salvation of the whole man-a free salvation of sovereign grace-a salvation for the whole race-and a salvation to eternal glory. He does all things well.<\/p>\n

V. <\/strong>In the experience of His people. He sought and found them-He forgave and healed them-He renews and sanctifies them-He keeps and upholds them, and He glorifies them forever. (J. Burns, LL. D.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

He hath done all things well<\/strong><\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> <\/em><\/strong>In creation.<\/p>\n

1. <\/strong>Order and regularity.<\/p>\n

2. <\/strong>Adaptation.<\/p>\n

3. <\/strong>Provision.<\/p>\n

4. <\/strong>Happiness of creatures designed.<\/p>\n

II. <\/strong>In redemption.<\/p>\n

1. <\/strong>In design-vicarious suffering.<\/p>\n

2. <\/strong>Development-Incarnation.<\/p>\n

3. <\/strong>Application to individuals.<\/p>\n

4. <\/strong>To Resurrection.<\/p>\n

III. <\/strong>In providence.<\/p>\n

1. <\/strong>Afflictions.<\/p>\n

2. <\/strong>Persecution, which only wafts the seed of truth to distant lands.<\/p>\n

Conclusion:<\/p>\n

1. <\/strong>Submit to Him.<\/p>\n

2. <\/strong>Work with Him. (E. Hargreaves.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The dumb to speak<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dr. Carey found a man in Calcutta who had not spoken a loud word for four years, having been under a vow of perpetual silence. Nothing could open his mouth, till happening to meet with a religious tract, he read it, and his tongue was loosed. He soon threw away his paras, <\/em>and other badges of superstition, and became, as was believed, a partaker of the grace of God. Many a nominal, and even professing Christian, who is as dumb on religious subjects as if under a vow of silence, would find a tongue to speak, if religion were really to touch and warm his heart. (Anon.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

On Christs doing all things well<\/strong><\/p>\n

I. <\/strong>Christs actions were good in themselves. In His general conduct, as a man, He did all things well.<\/p>\n

II. <\/strong>Christs actions were performed with good designs.<\/p>\n

III. <\/strong>Christs actions were performed in an amiable and graceful manner. Learn-<\/p>\n

1. <\/strong>How unjust was the treatment our Lord met with in the world.<\/p>\n

2. <\/strong>How worthy is Christ of our admiration, reverence, and love.<\/p>\n

3. <\/strong>How fit is it that we imitate this excellent and lovely pattern.<\/p>\n

4. <\/strong>Let it be our concern to do all things well. (J. Orten.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

All things
well:-<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> The fact. Creation announces it. Providence announces it. Redemption announces it.<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> The testimony. Saints testify to it. Admirers astonished at it. Critics confess it.<\/p>\n

III. <\/strong>The consequence. Those who oppose Christ are sure to perish, for the right must prevail. They will stand self-condemned. The universe will say Amen to their condemnation, for they have conspired against it. (L. Palmer.).<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n


<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Verse 37<\/span>. He hath done all things well<\/B><\/I>] This has been, and ever will be, true of every part of our Lord’s conduct. In creation, providence<\/I>, and redemption<\/I> he hath done all things well.<\/I> The wisest philosophers are agreed that, considering creation<\/I> as a whole<\/I>, it would be impossible to improve it. Every thing has been made in number, weight<\/I>, and measure<\/I>; there really is nothing deficient<\/I>, nothing redundant<\/I>; and the good<\/I> of the creature<\/I> seems evidently more consulted than the glory<\/I> of the Creator<\/I>. The creature’s good is every where apparent<\/I>; but to find out how<\/I> the Creator is glorified by these works requires the eye<\/I> of the philosopher<\/I>. And as he has done all things well in creation<\/I>, so has he in providence<\/I>: here also every thing is in number, weight,<\/I> measure<\/I>, and time<\/I>. As creation<\/I> shows his majesty<\/I>, so providence<\/I> shows his bounty<\/I>. He preserves<\/I> every thing he has made; all depend upon him; and by him are all things supported<\/I>. But how glorious does he appear in the work of redemption<\/I>! How magnificent, ample, and adequate the provision made for the salvation of a lost world! Here, as in providence, is enough<\/I> for all<\/I>, a sufficiency<\/I> for each<\/I>, and an abundance<\/I> for eternity.<\/I> He loves every man, and hates nothing that he has made; nor can the God of all grace<\/I> be less beneficent<\/I> than the Creator<\/I> and Preserver<\/I> of the universe.<\/P> <\/p>\n

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

37. And were beyond measureastonished, saying, He hath done all things well<\/B>reminding us,says TRENCH, of the wordsof the first creation (Ge 1:31<\/span>,Septuagint<\/I>), upon which we are thus not unsuitably thrownback, for Christ’s work is in the truest sense “a new creation,”<\/P>

he maketh both the deaf tohear and the dumb to speak<\/B>“and they glorified the God ofIsrael” (Mt 15:31<\/span>). Seeon Mr 7:31<\/span>.<\/P><\/p>\n

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

And were beyond measure astonished<\/strong>,…. The man that was cured, the men that brought him, and the whole multitude were exceedingly, beyond all expression, amazed at what was done, in this case, and many others; for there were other miracles also wrought at this time; see Mt 15:30<\/span>. The grace of God, in opening the ears and heart of a sinner, and causing the tongue of the dumb to sing his praise, is very astonishing, to men and angels; to the persons themselves that partake of it; and to all the saints that hear of it; it is amazing that such grace should be bestowed at all; and it is more, that it should be communicated to such unworthy persons it is; as also that it should produce such effects it does; that it should make such a surprising change, and be attended with such blessed consequences:<\/p>\n

saying, he hath done all things well<\/strong>; not by Beelzebub, the prince of devils, as said the Scribes and Pharisees; nor in any ostentatious manner, for the sake of the honour and applause of men, as they plainly saw; but for the good of mankind, and for the glory of God: and as all the miraculous works, which Christ did, were well done by him, so all other works of his: all that he did in eternity before the world was, he did well; what he did in the council and covenant of grace, in espousing the persons and cause of his people, and in all his federal transactions and suretyship engagements for them: he drew nigh to God on their account; he cheerfully agreed to what his Father proposed; he entered into a covenant with him, and took the care and charge of all his people, and of all promises and blessings of grace for them: and whatsoever he has done in time is well done; as his assumption of human nature; taking a nature, and not a person, this of a virgin, and an holy nature, though subject to sinless infirmities, and this in due and proper time; also his subjection to the law, moral, civil, and ceremonial, as it became him to fulfil all righteousness; and his preaching the Gospel, which he did with authority, and which he spake as never man did, and which he confirmed by his miracles; but especially the great work of redemption he came about, was well done by him: this he has thoroughly done; he has redeemed his people from the law, its curse, and condemnation; he has ransomed them out of the hands of Satan; he has saved them from all their sins; he has procured the remission of them, made reconciliation for them, and brought in an everlasting righteousness: he has done this work to the satisfaction of all parties; to the glory of all the divine perfections, of justice, as well as of grace and mercy; to the contentment and pleasure of all the divine persons; his Father, himself, and the blessed Spirit: and to the joy of angels and men: and all that he has done, or is now doing in heaven, as an advocate and intercessor, is done well; and we may be assured, that all that he will do hereafter, as the judge of quick and dead, will be done in like manner.<\/p>\n

He maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb<\/strong>, or those that could not speak, at least without a great deal of difficulty,<\/p>\n

to speak<\/strong>; an instance of both which there was in this single man’s case.<\/p>\n

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

He hath done all things well <\/B> ( <\/SPAN><\/span>). The present perfect active shows the settled convictions of these people about Jesus. Their great amazement ( <\/SPAN><\/span>), imperfect passive and compound adverb, thus found expression in a vociferous championship of Jesus in this pagan land. <\/P> <\/p>\n

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Astonished. See on Mt 7:28<\/span>. <\/P>

To speak [] <\/SPAN><\/span>. See on Mt 28:18<\/span>. The emphasis is not on the matter, but on the fact of speech. <\/P> <\/p>\n

Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

1)”And were beyond measure astonished, saying,” <\/strong>(kai huperperissos ekseplessonto legontes) “And they were most exceedingly astonished or astounded, repeatedly saying,” giving out, circulating the report or testimony about Him, Luk 5:26<\/span><\/p>\n

2) “He hath done all things well,”<\/strong> (kolos panta pepoieken) “He (Jesus) has done all things well,” without sham, a show, or pretence – – without faking it, thereby glorifying God in their testimony of Jesus, Luk 7:16<\/span>. These exhibited a better attitude than those in Gadara when the demon man was healed, Mar 5:17<\/span>; Act 14:11<\/span>.<\/p>\n

3) ”He maketh both the deaf to hear,”<\/strong> (kai tous kophous poiei akouein) “He makes (causes) both the deaf to hear,” as He had just done, Mar 7:35<\/span>; He who had made man can repair his faculties, Exo 4:10-11<\/span>.<\/p>\n

4) ”And the<\/strong> dumb to speak.” <\/strong>(kai alalous lalein) “And the dumb (the incoherent in speech) to speak clearly,” Mar 7:35<\/span>. Yes, the Lord always does ”all things well,” Rom 8:28<\/span>. Men may now speak His praises, only as by faith they trust in Him and as He gives them His spirit and enabling grace, Psa 107:2<\/span>; 2Co 3:3-4<\/span>; Act 1:8<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

37. He hath done all things well. Matthew, after collecting many miracles, concludes by saying that the multitudes wondered, and glorified the God of Israel; that is, because God, taking unusual methods of illustrating his power, had called up the remembrance of his covenant. But the words of Mark contain perhaps an implied contrast; for the reports concerning Christ were various, and the word multitude or crowd ( ὄχλος) may be intended to mean that it was only wicked and malicious persons who slandered his actions, since all that he did was so far from exposing him to calumny that it deserved the highest praise. But we know, and it is what nature teaches us, that nothing is more unjust than to make the bestowal of favors an occasion of envy and ill-will. <\/p>\n

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

(37) And the dumb to speak.<\/strong>We note the distinction between St. Marks accurate description in Mar. 7:32<\/span>, and the less precise language of popular amazement.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

37<\/strong>. <\/strong> He hath done all things well <\/em> There is not, as some commentators seem to think, any intended allusion here to the sanction passed by the Creator upon his own works as being very good. Gen 1:31<\/span>. But the present words are none the less a significant echo. For the works of the new creation, like those of the old, are indeed very good, <\/em> and all things done well. Both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak <\/em> As is shown in the case of the single person now saved.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

‘And they were astonished above what can be measured, saying “He has done all things well. He makes even the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak.” ’<\/p>\n

The result was huge astonishment all round. This was the first experience they had had of Jesus.<\/p>\n

‘He has done all things well’. Mark may intend here an echo of Gen 1:31<\/span>. ‘And God saw all that He had made and behold it was very good.’ The Creator was at work again.<\/p>\n

‘He makes even the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak.’ Certainly we are to see here reference back to the Old Testament promises of restoration, especially Isa 32:3-4<\/span>; Isa 35:5-6<\/span>. It indicated that the Kingly Rule of God was here.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Mar 7:37<\/span><\/em><\/strong>. <\/strong>He hath done all things well<\/em><\/strong><\/strong> , in a most amiable and graceful manner, as well as to the utmost perfection. They were struck with his sympathetic tenderness for the afflicted, and admired his modesty in concealing the cure, and hiding it under the veil of second causes. Happy would it be, if all his followers, and especially his ministers, would learn of him, who was thus meek and lowly; neither acting as in their own strength, when they attempt a spiritual cure, nor proclaiming their own praise, when they have effected it. Then would they likewise do all things well;<\/em>and there would be that beauty in the manner, which no wise man would entirely neglect,even in those actions which are in themselves most excellent and great. It is a high commendation of a minister tosay, that in his measure he has done all things well; that is, both with exterior gravity, modesty, and decency, and with interior application, piety, and religion. It is the way, under divine grace, to make the deaf hearken to the truth, and to draw from sinners the acknowledgment and confession of their miseries. <\/p>\n

Inferences <\/em>drawn from the cure of the deaf and dumb man. Our Saviour’s entrance into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon was not without a miracle; neither was his departure; as the sun neither rises nor sets without light. At his entrance he delivers the daughter of the faithful Syrophenician; <\/em>in his egress he cures the deaf and dumb. He can no more want work, than that work can want success. Whether the patient were naturally deaf and perfectly dumb, or imperfectly dumb and accidentally deaf, I labour not to prove. Good neighbours, however, supply his ears, his tongue; they bring him to Christ. <\/em>Behold a miracle, led in by charity, acted by power, led out by modesty. <\/p>\n

It was a true office of love to speak thus in the cause of the dumb; to lend senses to him who wanted them. This spiritual service we owe to each other. Every soul is naturally deaf and dumb. But some have yielded to be saved by grace: the infinite mercy of God has bored their ears; he has untied their tongues by the power of regeneration: these misuse their holy faculties, if they do not improve them in bringing the deaf and dumb to Christ, in their respective spheres of action whether small or great. <\/p>\n

These people do not only lend their hand to this man, but their tongue also; and say that for him, which he could not but wish to say for himself: almost every man has a tongue ready to speak for himself; happy is he that keeps a tongue for other men. We are charged not with supplications only, but with intercessions. Herein is both the largest improvement of our love, and the most effectual: no distance can hinder the fruit of our devotion:What was their suit to Christ, (Mar 7:32<\/span>.) but that he would put his hand upon the patient? Not that they would prescribe the means, or imply the necessity of the touch, but because they saw this was the ordinary course both of Christ and his disciples, to heal by touching. Our prayers must be directed to the usual proceedings of God; his actions must be the rule of our prayers; our prayers must not prescribe his actions. <\/p>\n

That gracious Saviour, who is accustomed to exceed our desires, does more than they sue for; not only does he touch the patient, but takes him by the hand, and leads him from the multitude. He that would be healed of his spiritual <\/em>infirmities, must be sequestered from the throng of the world. There is a good use in solitude, at proper seasons; and that soul can never enjoy God, which is not sometimes retired. <\/p>\n

Perhaps this retirement was for an example to us of a careful avoidance of vain glory in our actions; whence also it is, that our Saviour gives an after-charge of secrecy. He that could say, he that doeth evil hateth the light, <\/em>now avoideth the light even in doing good. To seek our own glory, is not glory. Here was also a due regard paid to opportunity by our Lord in his conduct: the envy of the scribes and Pharisees might oppose his divine ministry; their exasperation is wisely avoided by his retiring. He, in whose hands time is, knows how to make the best choice of seasons. Wisdom has no better improvement than in distinguishing times, and discreetly marshalling the circumstances of our actions; which, whoever neglects, will be sure to spoil his work, and mar his hopes. <\/p>\n

Is there a spiritual patient to be cured? Take him aside. To undertake his cure before the face of the multitude, is not to heal, but to wound him. Reproof and good counsel must be, like our alms, in secret; <\/em>that being the best remedy, which is least seen and most felt. <\/p>\n

What means this variety of ceremony? O Saviour, thy word alone, thy nod alone, thy wish alone, yea, the least act of thy will, might have wrought this cure. Why wouldst thou employ so much of thyself in this work? Was it to shew thy liberty, in not always equally exercising the power of thy Deity;that at one time thy command only shall raise the dead, and eject devils; at another thou wouldst accommodate thyself to the mean and homely fashions of natural agents, and, condescending to our senses and customs, take those ways which may carry some nearer respect to the cure intended? or was it to teach us, how well thou likest that there should be a ceremonious carriage of thy solemn actions, which thou art pleased to produce clothed with such circumstantial forms?
It did not content thee to put one finger into one ear: both ears equally need a cure; thou wouldst establish the means of cure to both: the Spirit of God is the finger of God; then dost thou, O Saviour, put thy finger in our ear, when thy Spirit enables us to hear effectually. Hence the great philosophers of the ancient world, the learned rabbis of the synagogue, the great doctors of a false faith, are deaf to spiritual things. It is that finger of thy spirit, O blessed Jesus, which can open our ears, and make through them a passage into our hearts; and thou art willing to do this for all who will come unto thee: let that finger of thine be put into our ears, so shall our deafness be removed, and we shall hear, not the loud thunders of the law, but the gentle whisperings of thy gracious motions to our souls.
Our Saviour was not content to open the ears only, but to untie the tongue: with the ear we hear, with the mouth we confess. There are those whose ears are open, but their mouths are still shut to God; they understand, but do not utter the wonderful things of God. There is but half a cure wrought upon these men; their ear is but open to hear their own judgment, except their mouth be open to confess their Maker and Redeemer. O God, do thou so moisten my tongue with thy graces, that it may run smoothly (as the pen of a ready writer) to the praise of thy name.
While the finger of our Saviour was on the tongue and in the ear of the patient, his eye was in heaven. Never man had so much cause to look up to heaven as he; there was his home, there was his throne: he only was from heaven, heavenly: what does thine eye, O Saviour, in this, but teach ours where to be fixed? Every good and every perfect gift comes down from above; O let not then our eyes or hearts grovel upon this earth; but let us fasten them above the hills, whence cometh our salvation. Thence let us acknowledge all the good that we receive; thence expect all the good that we want.
But why did the Saviour sigh? <\/em>Surely it was not for assistance. <\/em>How could he but be heard of his Father, who was one with the Father? Not for any fear <\/em>or distrust;<\/em>but partly for compassion, <\/em>partly for example. <\/em>For compassion <\/em>towards those manifold infirmities, into which sin had plunged mankind;a pitiable instance whereof was here presented to him: for example, <\/em>to fetch sighs from us for the miseries of others; sighs of sorrow for them, sighs of desire for their redress. This is not the first time that our Saviour spent sighs, yea, tears upon human distresses. We are not bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh, if we do not so feel the pains of our brethren, that the fire of our passion breaks forth into sighs. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is offended and I burn not?<\/em> <\/p>\n

Christ was not silent, While he cured the dumb: his ephphatha <\/em>gave life to all his other actions. His sighing, his spitting, his looking up to heaven, were the acts of a man; this command was the act of God. In his mouth the word cannot be severed from its success. No sooner are the Saviour’s lips opened in his ephphatha, <\/em>than the mouth of the dumb and the ears of the deaf are opened at once. Behold here united celerity and perfection. Natural agents work leisurely, by degrees; omnipotence knows no rules. <\/p>\n

And can we blame the man, if he bestowed the first fruits of his speech upon the power that restored it? Or can we expect other than that our Saviour should say, “Thy tongue is free, use it to the praise of him who made it so; thy ears are open, hear him who bids thee proclaim thy cure upon the house-top?”But now, behold, on the contrary, he that opens this man’s mouth by his powerful word, by the same word shuts it again!Charging silence by the same breath wherewith he gave speech;tell no man! <\/em>O Saviour, thou knowest the grounds for thine own commands. It is not for us to inquire, but to obey. We must not honour thee with a forbidden celebration; good meanings have often proved injurious. <\/p>\n

Those men whose charity employed their tongues to speak for the dumb man, do now employ those tongues to speak of his cure, when they should have been dumb. This charge, they imagine, proceeds from a humble modesty in Christ, which respect to his honour bids them violate. I know not how, but we itch after those forbidden acts, which, if left to our liberty, we too often willingly neglect. This prohibition increases the rumour; every tongue is busied about this one. What can we make of this, but a well-meant disobedience? <\/p>\n

REFLECTIONS.<\/strong>1st, The scribes and Pharisees could not bear to see the poor people follow Jesus, though to be cured; yet they could take a long journey merely to cavil with him. <\/p>\n

1. They found fault with his disciples for eating with unwashen hands, contrary to the tradition of the elders; and complained to Christ of their criminal neglect; for so they esteemed it, being superstitiously scrupulous to wash before they sat down to meat, when they returned from market, and on a variety of other occasions; pretending great carefulness to avoid defilement. And for the same purpose they washed also their pots, cups, brazen vessels, and tables, or beds; lest by the touch of any impure person they should have contracted pollution; and fancying much religion consisted in these absurd traditions, they were ready to condemn every deviation from them with greater severity, than even the breaches of God’s written law.
2. Christ vindicates his disciples, and reproves the hypocrisy and wickedness of their accusers. They truly fulfilled the prophesy of Isaiah; apostate in heart from God, while they pretended to honour him in much apparent devotion. They stamped human traditions with divine authority; imposed them as obligatory on men’s consciences; and not only laid great stress upon the observance of these superstitious washings, but really subverted the plainest and weightiest commands of the law, when they stood in competition with their traditions. A more flagrant evidence of which cannot be conceived, than our Lord here produces against them. The tradition of the elders had established it as a rule, that if a man swore by Corban, <\/em>by the gold of the temple, or that he would devote such a thing to the treasury of the temple, or would regard it as a devoted thing, and not part with it on any occasion, he was bound to fulfil his vow: and though the commandment of God had so expressly provided for the honour and support of parents, laying an aweful curse upon the undutiful son that spoke or acted contemptuously against them; yet they held he was bound by his vow, and dispensed with from observing the evident commands of God, and the plainest dictates of duty and gratitude; so that he might safely withhold the least relief from his parents, however indigent, infirm, or aged; yea, was conscientiously obliged to do so: a tradition so iniquitous and shocking, as most strictly violated the word of God, and made it of no effect. Yet that, and many other things as impious, did the Pharisees import on their disciples; and, under the mask of pretended sanctity, and reverence for the temple, sapped the very foundations of true religion. <\/p>\n

3. To prevent the people from being imposed upon by those blind guides, he demands their attention to his discourse, as being a matter of highest importance; for if their principles were right, a correspondent practice would follow. This great axiom therefore Christ lays down, that nothing without a man, which he touches or eats, any farther than it has a bad influence upon his heart, can render him in God’s sight morally unclean; but that all impurity comes from within: and the evil thoughts and desires which are expressed in words and actions, these are what defile the man, and render him odious in the sight of God; and this he bids them carefully remark and remember. The disciples, far from being yet emancipated from the vulgar opinions concerning the things by which a person was defiled, when they were alone, desired our Lord to explain his last observation to them, which appeared to them hard to be understood. With an air of surprise at their dulness, our Lord reproves their stupidity: if others were in the dark, they at least should have understood him. However, he is pleased to explain his meaning, so as to prevent the possibility of mistake. Two things he lays down, and supports with the clearest arguments. (1.) That whatever meats a man may eat, as they do not enter into his heart, which is the source of all moral purity or pollution, but merely pass through the body, they cannot, without intemperance, communicate any defilement before God. (2.) That the origin of all evil, and the cause of all uncleanness, is from within; whence proceeds all that train of evils before observed, Mat 15:19<\/span> to which others are here added; covetousness, <\/em>the unsatisfied cravings of the heart after worldly things; wickedness, <\/em>the contrivances of malice, and delight in mischief; deceit, <\/em>in words or deeds, to conceal the designs of iniquity; lasciviousness, <\/em>the impure imaginations, dalliance, or discourse, which the lewd indulge, though deterred from grosser acts of impurity; an evil eye, <\/em>envying the enjoyments of others, or coveting what they possess; blasphemy, <\/em>offering injury or indignity to God, or heavenly things; pride, <\/em>the high conceit, the lofty look, the contemptuous or insolent carriage of the swelling heart; foolishness, <\/em>the boasts of vanity; the ebullitions of folly, the rashness of inconsiderate censure, and the hastiness of imprudence. These, and these alone, are the defiling things that spring from the fountain-head of evil in the fallen spirit, and render the soul vile in itself, and abominable in the eyes of God. <\/p>\n

2nd, We have one short excursion of the divine Redeemer into the coasts of the Gentiles; an earnest of the gracious designs that he had in store for them; but, perhaps that he might not offend the Jews, to whom he was particularly sent, he chose not to appear in public, and therefore entered into a house; but, though he would have no man knew it, his fame was too much spread abroad to admit his concealment. And we have,
1. The application of a poor Gentile to him in behalf of her daughter who was possessed. Falling at his feet, she earnestly importuned him to cast out the devil from her child. At first her address met with such discouragement as Jesus was unaccustomed to give to poor petitioners. Compared with the chosen people of Israel, his visible church, he speaks as if the Gentiles were but as dogs, to whom the children’s meat (the miracles that he wrought) must not be thrown, at least not till the children first be filled. Far from desisting on such a repulse, she wonderfully turns the apparent refusal into an argument for granting the favour which she asked and desired, as a dog, only to have one crumb, one miracle, among the multitudes that every day were so abundantly dispensed to the Jewish children. Note; <\/em>(1.) They who have children possessed with unclean spirits, and have any genuine religion, cannot but earnestly present their sad case before the Lord, who alone can cure them. (2.) Poor supplicants at the feet of Jesus may confidently hope, amidst every discouragement, for an answer of peace at the last. If Jesus delays, it is to exercise their faith, and prove their perseverance. <\/p>\n

2. The cure is wrought. Pleased with the poor Gentile’s address, and admiring her faith, he grants her request: The devil is gone out of thy daughter; <\/em>as she found to her unspeakable comfort, when, depending on the accomplishment of the word of Jesus, she returned to her house. So sure is the prayer of faith to prevail. <\/p>\n

3rdly, Jesus was never weary of the delightful work of going about doing good. On his return from the Gentile coast into the region of Decapolis, a new object of mercy is presented before him.
1. The case was afflictive: the poor patient was deaf, and either quite dumb, or not able to speak without much difficulty; the emblem of a miserable sinner, whose ears are closed to all the sweet sounds of gospel-grace, and unaffected by the thunders of Sinai; his lips sealed up, unable to speak the language of prayer or praise, or in conversation to communicate grace to the hearers.
2. The cure was singular; not by a word merely, as Jesus usually wrought his miracles; but, taking the poor man aside, he put his fingers into his ears, and spat, and touched his tongue; <\/em>not as causes that could contribute to his cure, but to shew that he was not bound to any method of procedure. Then, looking up to heaven, he sighed, <\/em>in compassion to human misery; or was grieved for the hardness of their hearts, who, after so many miracles, believed not on him; and <\/em>he then saith unto him, Ephphatha, <\/em>that is in the Chaldee dialect, Be opened; <\/em>and instantly the cure was wrought, he heard distinctly and spoke plainly. And thus by the commanding voice of his Spirit he saith to the spiritually deaf and dumb that come to him, Be opened; and the ears are unstopped, the tongue is loosed, they know the joyful sound of gospel-grace, and speak aloud the praises of their Redeemer. <\/p>\n

3. To avoid all appearances of vain glory, and not to exasperate his malicious enemies, he gave the people a charge to conceal the miracle; but they could not be silent; nay, rather the more they published it, that such modest excellence might be known: and all with astonishment heard the report, and from such repeated instances were compelled to acknowledge to his honour, that all his works bespoke the glory of his character, full of power and grace, without the least tincture of ostentation. He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak. <\/em>Is not this then the Christ? See Isa 35:5-6<\/span>. <\/p>\n

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

REFLECTIONS.<\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

READER! let us pause over the awful view of the deceitfulness of the human heart, as read to us in those Scribes and Pharisees! While full of uncleanness, and all manner of hypocrisy, see how they prided themselves on outside appearances!<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

But while such striking facts may serve to teach us, as they ought to teach us, the deepest humility, let a sense of it lead us to all-precious Jesus! Oh! how ought the consciousness of it to endear CHRIST to the heart. Gracious, and compassionate Redeemer! dispossess every evil, every unclean affection, from our souls. LORD! to thee belongs the curing, both of the spiritually deaf, and dumb. Oh! do thou pronounce the soul-renewing word, Ephphatha!<\/em> and every faculty will obey thee. Thy people now will be astonished at the riches of thy grace, as they of old were at thy power, Thou hast indeed done all things well in time, and to all eternity. My poor deaf and dumb soul thou hast made to hear and speak; yea, thou hast raised it to a new life, when dead in trespasses and sins!<\/p>\n

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

37 And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ver. 37. He hath done all things well<\/strong> ] Praise we him much more for his spiritual cures, of like kind, upon ourselves and others. <\/p>\n

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

37. <\/strong> <\/strong> . <\/strong> <\/strong> .<\/strong> ] So , Gen 1:31<\/span> . This work was properly and worthily compared with that first one of creation it was the same Beneficence which prompted, and the same Power that wrought it.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Mar 7:37<\/span> . , superabundantly, a double superlative; here only. . , He hath done all things well. This looks like a reflection on past as well as present; the story of the demoniac, e.g.<\/em> Observe the , present, in next clause, referring to the cure just effected. It happened in Decapolis<\/em> , and we seem to see the inhabitants of that region exhibiting a nobler mood than in chap. Mar 5:17<\/span> . Of course, there were no swine lost on this occasion. Their astonishment at the miracle may seem extravagant, but it must be remembered that they have had little experience of Christ’s healing work; their own fault.<\/p>\n

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

37. . .] So , Gen 1:31. This work was properly and worthily compared with that first one of creation-it was the same Beneficence which prompted, and the same Power that wrought it.<\/p>\n

Fuente: The Greek Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Mar 7:37. , he hath done well) A formula, , of satisfaction; Act 10:33; Php 4:14. So in the present, 2Pe 1:19; in the future, 3 John Mar 7:6. So LXX., 1Ki 8:18. A similar formula of assenting occurs, Mar 12:32, Thou hast well said-) this deaf man and others [Mat 15:30].<\/p>\n

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

CHAPTER 32<\/p>\n

He Hath Done All Things Well<\/p>\n

And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak. <\/p>\n

(Mar 7:37)<\/p>\n

Try to picture the scene. Our Lord Jesus has just come to Decapolis from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, where he had graciously healed the Syrophenicians daughter, who was vexed with an unclean spirit. Here he continued his acts of mercy, healing one who was both deaf and suffered from a speech impediment.<\/p>\n

His fame was so great that he simply could not be hidden. There is a huge crowd before him. He had caused the lame to walk, the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak. He who cast out devils, opened the eyes of the blind, and raised the dead by the mere word of his power stood before the astonished crowd, who in their amazement said, He hath done all things well. If these men and women who had seen our Saviors miracles were astonished and cried out, He hath done all things well, how much more astonished we ought to be who have tasted and experienced his grace! How much more we ought to confess to God our Savior, to the angels before his throne, to wondering worlds, and to one another, He hath done all things well!<\/p>\n

My Testimony<\/p>\n

Looking over all the days of my life and everything I have experienced these 57 years, I lift my heart to heaven and say, He hath done all things well! Like you, Ive had a few trials and heartaches, a little pain and sorrow, a little hurt and bitterness. (And, I am ashamed to confess, I have caused much more than Ive experienced.) But God my Savior has been so kind and gracious to me, that were I to die this day, you can write these words on my gravestone. He hath done all things well! Here lies a man who was for 57 years the benefactor of unceasing, special divine care. And My Jesus hath done all things well.<\/p>\n

Sinners redeemed, with wonder tell,<\/p>\n

Christ Jesus has done all things well!<\/p>\n

By His great sin-atoning blood,<\/p>\n

Believing, we have peace with God.<\/p>\n

That One who bought us with Hs blood<\/p>\n

Now reigns on high, the Son of God!<\/p>\n

This fact our every fear should quell <\/p>\n

Christ Jesus has done all things well!<\/p>\n

A Question<\/p>\n

Can you not testify the same? He hath done all things well! Does your own lifes experience not verify this? If you are one of Gods elect, I know it does. Yes, from first to last, from the day of our birth to this very hour, from the earliest pangs of sins conviction to the blessed thrill of sins forgiveness, from the cradle to the grave, from earth to heaven, this will be our testimony regarding all the way our ever-gracious God has led us through this wilderness and every experience along the way, He hath done all things well!<\/p>\n

In providence and in grace, in every truth revealed in his Word, in every token of his love, in every stroke of his rod, in every sunbeam of his goodness, in every cloud that has darkened our skies, in every sweet morsel he has put into our lives, in every bitter thing he has mixed into our cup, in all that has been mysterious, confusing, painful, and humiliating, in all that he has given, and in all that he has taken away, this is the sum of it all. He hath done all things well! This is, must be, and shall be our grateful acknowledgment through time and eternity. He hath done all things well!<\/p>\n

Our great God and Savior who loved us, chose us, redeemed us and saved us by his grace, who has kept us in all our ways, has done all things well! He who is our God is too wise to err, too strong to fail, and too good to do wrong. He cannot do wrong. Study his universe, all the history of it; study his creation, his providence, his judgments, and his grace; view them in every light; examine them in their most minute detail, as you would the petal of a flower, or the wing of an insect; study all with the microscopic eye of faith, and this will be your glad testimony to his praise, He hath done all things well! This is Davids testimony; and it is ours.<\/p>\n

Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O LORD, according unto thy word. Teach me good judgment and knowledge: for I have believed thy commandments. Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word. Thou art good, and doest good; teach me thy statutes (Psa 119:65-68). <\/p>\n

I could never find better words to sum up my lifes experience than those. God my Savior has dealt with me. What an awesome thought! All the days of my life my God has dealt with me. All the days of my life the Angel of the Lord has pitched his tent around me and dealt with me (Psa 34:7). Not only that, he has dealt well with me! Truly, Thou hast dealt well with thy servant. The fact is he has dealt so well with me that these words do not begin to start telling my astonishment at how well he has dealt with my soul.<\/p>\n

The word David uses for well is one of those magnificent little words that is bursting with meaning. It means most favorably, most kindly, most graciously, most lovingly, most pleasurably, most sweetly, most prosperously, most finely, most joyfully, and most merrily.<\/p>\n

Particularly, these last 41 years since he saved me by his grace, my God has dealt well with me as his servant. Of course, he has dealt with me as his son, as his spouse, and as his friend. But, like David, I take particular delight in saying he has dealt well with me as his servant (Eph 3:8; 1Co 1:26-29): in his appointing and call me to be his servant, in providing for me as his servant, in his protection of his servant, and in the reward he gives his servant.<\/p>\n

And he has dealt well with me all the days of my life according to his Word. Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O LORD, according unto thy word. According to his word of predestination, according to his inspired, written Word of promise, according to his word of grace, and according to Christ his Word, truly, He hath done all things well! Let me elaborate just a little.<\/p>\n

Let every redeemed sinner who serves God with a willing heart acknowledge the Lords unfailing goodness to him. Truly, he has dealt well with all his servants, according to his Word. In addition to the immeasurable riches of his grace to us in Christ, our great God has constantly loaded our days with goodness in providence! He promised, There shall no evil happen to the just. And no evil has ever befallen one of Gods elect. Much that we experience appears to be evil at the time. We may, in our unbelief, even look upon it as evil. But God has proved himself faithful. Looking back upon the things we thought were most evil at the time we experienced them, we now can say, I thank God that happened. I praise him for that experience. By it good has come to me and good has come to a brother here and a sister there.<\/p>\n

It is good to acknowledge the good when we see it; but it is far better and far more honoring to God to acknowledge the goodness of his providence when nothing good can be seen, except by the eye of faith. When I can look up to my Father, with tears burning my cheeks and sorrow crushing my heart, and say with confident faith, Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, then I will have proved the reality of my faith.<\/p>\n

Child of God, whatever your God has done or allowed to be done for you, with you, or to you, he has done you good. The same is true of me. So let us, with glad hearts, acknowledge now what we will acknowledge when all things are set in their true light. Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O Lord, according unto thy word.<\/p>\n

Let us His praise and wonders tell,<\/p>\n

Sing! For our Gods done all things well!<\/p>\n

Through Jesus sin-atoning blood,<\/p>\n

Sinners are reconciled to God.<\/p>\n

In grace and providence, as well,<\/p>\n

The triune God does all things well!<\/p>\n

The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,<\/p>\n

The triune God in whom we trust,<\/p>\n

Has promised, and Hes proved it good,<\/p>\n

That He works all things for our good.<\/p>\n

In grace and providence, as well,<\/p>\n

The triune God does all things well!<\/p>\n

Let sinners loved of God and bought,<\/p>\n

Who by free grace have been sought out,<\/p>\n

Love Him Who has made us His choice.<\/p>\n

In joyful praise, lift up your voice!<\/p>\n

In grace and providence, as well,<\/p>\n

The triune God does all things well!<\/p>\n

In Eternity<\/p>\n

He has done all things well from eternity. When we think of all that our Savior did for us as our Surety in old eternity (if I can use such language), before the world was, our hearts gladly confess, He hath done all things well! In the covenant of grace, when he took upon himself all responsibility for our souls and espoused our cause as our great Surety, He hath done all things well! He drew nigh to God on our behalf. His delights were with us. His heart was upon us. He pledged himself to redeem and save us. He gave himself as the Lamb of God to redeem us. And the Father accepted us and blessed us with all spiritual blessings in him, trusting him as our Surety (Eph 1:3-12).<\/p>\n

In His Incarnation<\/p>\n

In the fulness of time, when God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, when the Son of God came down here and took on him the seed of Abraham, He hath done all things well!<\/p>\n

As a Man, the Lord Jesus Christ lived in the world in perfect righteousness, not for himself, but for us, that he might bring in everlasting righteousness of infinite worth on our behalf, that he might be THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us righteousness. He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. <\/p>\n

Look back upon your past sins, look upon your present infirmities, and look upon your future errors, and, while you weep the tears of repentance, rejoice that there is no fear of condemnation, for Christ is our Righteousness. Child of God, today you stand before God robed in the garments of Christ. With unspeakable joy, I assert that in Christ we are as holy as our Holy Redeemer. We have a better righteousness than Adam had in the garden. Christs righteousness is compared to fine linen clean and white; and if we wear it, then we are without spot. In this robe we are worthy to sit at the wedding feast of the great King. In the parable of the prodigal son this is called the best robe. It is a better robe than Adam had in the Garden. It is a better robe than the angels have. And it is a robe that shall never be worn out.<\/p>\n

Not only is Christ our righteousness for justification, he is our righteousness for sanctification, too (1Co 1:30; Heb 10:10-14). Ralph Erskine said, If you would have righteousness, you must have it in and from Christ. He has to give you both an imputed righteousness for justifying you; and an imparted righteousness for sanctifying you. Just as the fallen, unrighteous nature of Adam was imparted to all men by natural birth, the holy, righteous nature of Christ is imparted to all Gods elect in the new birth. The righteousness of Christ is imputed to us for justification; and the righteousness of Christ is imparted to us in regeneration by the irresistible power and effectual grace of God the Holy Spirit (1Pe 3:10-12; 1Jn 3:7-9).<\/p>\n

If once I catch by the eye of faith this glorious truth, that Jesus Christ is of God made unto me righteousness the moment I see that by the eye of faith, a measure of imparted righteousness flows into my heart. The soul then receives internally what Christ has done externally. In a word, when Christ is received as wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, he becomes all these in vital manifestation. (J. C. Philpot)<\/p>\n

Because we were justified by Christs imputed righteousness at the cross, we are sanctified by his imparted righteousness in the new birth. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness (Isa 61:10).<\/p>\n

It is only in Christ that God is well pleased. He declares, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, not with whom, but in whom I am pleased, satisfied, delighted. And in Christ, God is well pleased with us. It is only through the merits and mediation of Christ our Righteousness that God accepts us in Christ as a living Sacrifice (holy and acceptable to God) and accepts the sacrifices we bring to him by Christ, that living Sacrifice (Rom 12:1; 1Pe 2:5). The only claim that we have to the heavenly inheritance is Christ our righteousness; but we need no other claim. In him we have been made worthy of heavens glory, worthy to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light (Col 1:12).<\/p>\n

In Redemption<\/p>\n

But he did not stop there. The life of Christ in perfect obedience to the Father would be of no benefit to our souls without atonement. His righteousness could never have been ours had he not also redeemed us with his precious blood. Therefore, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. And in his great, wondrous work of redemption, He hath done all things well! When the Lord Jesus was made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him, he laid down his life for us, and in doing so made complete satisfaction for our sins to Gods holy law and offended justice. And now, the Lord God comes to chosen, redeemed sinners in grace as a just God and a Savior. Justice is satisfied. Sin has been put away. The curse of the law is gone forever. And we are free (Rom 8:1-4; Rom 8:32-34; Gal 3:13; 1Pe 1:18-20; 1Pe 3:18; Isa 12:1).<\/p>\n

In Grace<\/p>\n

Reflect upon this fact, too. He hath done all things well in the mighty operations of his saving grace. In Holy Spirit conviction, in effectual calling, in conversion, in the forgiveness of our sins, and in preserving our souls, He hath done all things well (Psa 32:1-5; Psa 34:1-4; Psa 34:6; Psa 116:1-7).<\/p>\n

I spurned his grace, I broke his laws,<\/p>\n

And yet he undertook my cause,<\/p>\n

To save my sinful soul from hell,<\/p>\n

My Jesus hath done all things well.<\/p>\n

In Love<\/p>\n

How our hearts rejoice to know and acknowledge, He hath done all things well in every display of his great love for us.<\/p>\n

That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. (Eph 3:17-19)<\/p>\n

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. (Rom 5:8-10)<\/p>\n

Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. (1Jn 3:1)<\/p>\n

Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. (1Jn 3:16)<\/p>\n

In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1Jn 4:9-10)<\/p>\n

We love him, because he first loved us. (1Jn 4:19)<\/p>\n

In Providence<\/p>\n

I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me(Psa 13:6) Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee(Psa 116:7). We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose (Rom 8:28). What a good God and Savior we have! What a text this is! Our biographies expound it far better than any book. The Lord has dealt bountifully with us. He who gave us his darling Son has with him freely given us all things. He has given us his Spirit and he conveys to us all spiritual blessings in Christ. Our God deals with us like a God. He lays open all his infinite fulness to us. And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.<\/p>\n

Is not your life a verification of these things? Mine is. Truly, in all the affairs of providence, He hath done all things well! And that which he has done, he is doing and shall forever continue to do, until he has finished doing all that he purposed to do in eternity. Then, we shall look back upon all things and say, He hath done all things well! In that great day, when our mansions are prepared, our bodies raised from the dead, and we are perfectly conformed to his image in resurrection glory, when we hear him say, Come, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, oh, with what rapture, gratitude, rejoicing, and love shall we shout, HE HATH DONE ALL THINGS WELL! <\/p>\n

O for a heart prepared to sing,<\/p>\n

To God, my Savior and my King:<\/p>\n

With all the saints Ill join to tell,<\/p>\n

My Jesus hath done all things well.<\/p>\n

All worlds his glorious power confess,<\/p>\n

His wisdom all his works confess,<\/p>\n

But O his love what tongue can tell!<\/p>\n

My Jesus hath done all things well.<\/p>\n

How sovereign, wonderful, and free,<\/p>\n

Is all His love to sinful me!<\/p>\n

He plucked me as a brand from hell! <\/p>\n

My Jesus hath done all things well.<\/p>\n

And since my soul has known His love,<\/p>\n

What mercies He has made me prove,<\/p>\n

Mercies which all my praise excel. <\/p>\n

My Jesus will do all things well.<\/p>\n

Soon I shall pass this vale of death,<\/p>\n

And in his arms shall lose my breath,<\/p>\n

Yet, then my happy soul shall tell,<\/p>\n

My Jesus hath done all things well.<\/p>\n

And when to that bright world I rise,<\/p>\n

And join the anthems in the skies,<\/p>\n

Among the rest, this note shall swell,<\/p>\n

My Jesus hath done all things well.<\/p>\n

Samuel Medley<\/p>\n

In the light of these facts, can you imagine what must be waiting for us on the other side, in that land where there is no darkness, no weeping, no sorrow, no pain, and no sin, in that blessed place called Heaven, where the former things are passed away?<\/p>\n

We read of a place thats called heaven.<\/p>\n

Its made for the pure and the free.<\/p>\n

These truths in Gods Word He hath given. <\/p>\n

How beautiful heaven must be!<\/p>\n

In heaven no drooping nor pining,<\/p>\n

No wishing for elsewhere to be.<\/p>\n

Gods light is forever there shining <\/p>\n

How beautiful heaven must be!<\/p>\n

Pure waters of life there are flowing;<\/p>\n

And all who will drink may be free.<\/p>\n

Rare jewels of splendor are glowing <\/p>\n

How beautiful heaven must be!<\/p>\n

The angels so sweetly are singing<\/p>\n

Up there by the beautiful sea.<\/p>\n

Sweet chords from their gold harps are ringing. <\/p>\n

How beautiful heaven must be!<\/p>\n

How beautiful heaven must be!<\/p>\n

Sweet home of the happy and free,<\/p>\n

Fair heaven of rest for the weary,<\/p>\n

How beautiful heaven must be!<\/p>\n

Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Admiration or Adoration<\/p>\n

And they were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh even the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.Mar 7:37.<\/p>\n

St. Matthew tells us in general terms that, when the Lord returned from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon unto the Sea of Galilee, great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed in their hands, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus feet, and he healed them. But of this multitude of cures St. Mark selects one to relate in detail, doubtless because it was signalised by peculiar circumstances. It was that of a man deaf and having an impediment in his speech; one not altogether dumb, if we are to take the original word as our authority, but probably incapable of making articulate or intelligible sounds. This deaf-mute, labouring under mere physical incapacity, his friends now bring to the Great Physician, and beseech him, as the Evangelist tells us, to put his hand upon him. But it is not exactly in the way they had imagined that Jesus wills to heal him. He first took the man He would heal aside from the multitude, as, in a case recorded in the very next chapter of St. Mark, He took a blind man He was about to restore to sight by the hand and led him out of the village.<\/p>\n

1. Now for what reason are we to imagine that our Saviour thus isolated this case? Not for the avoidance of publicity, for then He ought to have done the same alike in all. Was it that He might pray over him with greater freedom? But surely He whose whole life was one unintermitted prayer, needed not solitude for this? And we know that before performing the greatest of all His mighty works, the Saviour lifted up His eyes to heaven and prayed to His Father, in the presence not only of the sorrowing family of Lazarus, but of all the numerous Jews who had come out to Bethany to testify to their sympathy. Perhaps His purpose in secluding from the multitude some of the recipients of His omnipotent benevolence, was to make a more deep and lasting impression on their minds than could be made amidst the din and interruptions of a crowd; even as the same Lord does now often lead a soul apart when He would speak with it and heal it of its spiritual plague, setting it in the solitude of a sick chamber, or in the loneliness of a bruised and deserted spirit, or taking away from it all earthly companions and friends.<\/p>\n

Having thus prepared the mans spirit to receive the full benefit of what was to be done to his body, Christ put His fingers into his ears and spit and touched his tongue, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, i.e. be opened. No sooner was the Ephphatha pronounced than the mans ears were straightway opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. Not only were the powers of hearing and speaking restored, but the full use of those powers seems to have been instantaneously conferred. Well might the people say He hath done all things well.<\/p>\n

2. Though we are not to suppose that the spectators of this compound miracle were as fully able to appreciate the whole mastery of Nature it exhibited, as we who better understand the mutual relation between deafness and dumbness than the simple peasants of Galilee could do, yet this does not detract from the value of the testimony thus articulately rendered to the double nature of this miracle; indeed, the very circumstance that they could not know as we know that the dumb could not have been made to speak had not the deaf first been made to hear, makes their separate testimony to both parts of the cure all the more valuable, because it proves that it proceeded not from theorising as to what Jesus must have done, but from simple eye-and ear-witness of what He actually did. Whether they drew any further inference as to the character of Him who had wrought this strange and complex cure, we are not told; yet from the silence of the Evangelist as to any deeper feeling than one of astonishment, we may probably conclude that no deeper feeling, no further conviction was excited. The real dignity of Jesus dawned but slowly on His contemporaries. Repeated miracles were requisite to gain any hearing whatever for the claims of the Nazarene; and after all His miracles, except the last and most stupendous, there was always a residue of doubt which vented itself in the desire to see some sign of their own choosing, different from any which He had vouchsafed. When astonishment was really produced, we may be sure it was not without good grounds; and even astonishment did not invariably lead to faith. It was from unbelief, not from credulity, that the contemporaries of our Saviour erred.<\/p>\n

The subject may be divided into two parts(1) From Wonder to Adoration; (2) Adoration.<\/p>\n

I<\/p>\n

From Wonder to Adoration<\/p>\n

Four classes of men have to be considered.<\/p>\n

1. Some men saw nothing in Jesus to wonder at. Did He cast out demons? They had an explanation: He cast them out with the help of the prince of the demons. Did He raise the dead? They had their answer ready: It is expedient for us that one man die. The Pharisees and Sadducees did not wonder, because they were too much occupied with themselves. They were too much occupied with their own honour. Jesus did not bow to them and call them Rabbi; He openly rebuked their vanity and their selfishness. Wonder is the first step in the path of knowledge. They did not take that step, because they reckoned that they knew everything already.<\/p>\n

There are those still who do not wonderwho do not wonder even at Jesus. And the reason is still the same: they are occupied with themselves.<\/p>\n

One of the distinguishing marks of human nature is the sense of wonder. The animal creation seems to have it not. Beasts of the field and birds of the air may be surprised or terrified at the unexpected, but the faculty of wonder seems to be left out of their constitution. For wonder is not mere astonishment at the marvellous, nor surprise at the new; it goes on to ask, How and Why? It is aptly expressed by the old childish rhyme, Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are! That is wonder rising into curiosity as to how this astonishing thing came to be, how it works, and what caused it, what force controls it, the source and secret of its origin. The great philosophical and much debated idea of Causation begins in wonder. Wonder is mans first step in quest of the unknown, and all the marvellous things of creation, whether of power or of beauty, have their primary office in stimulating the human soul to wonder. Without wonder there would be no inquisitive mind, no eager, breathless desire to search out the secrets of the hidden, or discover the reasons of things. No animal looking up at the stars, if indeed it sees them at all, ever exclaims, How I wonder what you are! No lower creature gazing at a flower in the crannied wall, says wistfully with the poet, Little flower, if I could understand what you are! But this is one of mans prerogatives; he must find answers to the questions started by the sense of Wonder.1 [Note: J. Wood.] <\/p>\n

The man who cannot wonder, who does not habitually wonder (and worship), were he President of innumerable Royal Societies, and carried the whole Mcanique Cleste and Hegels Philosophy, and the epitome of all Laboratories and Observatories with their results, in his single head,is but a Pair of Spectacles behind which there is no Eye.2 [Note: Carlyle, Sartor Resartus, bk. i. chap. x.] <\/p>\n

2. Some wondered at Christ without admiring Him. This was the way with His own citizens. When He came into His own country and taught in the synagogue, many hearing him were astonished, but they did not approve. Is not this the carpenter? they said. And they were offended in him. When they saw Hint there was no beauty that they should desire Him.<\/p>\n

Have you ever considered what a great teacher the sense of wonder is to children? If you get anybodys wonder excited, you can teach him anything. But wonder is most natural to the young. What freshness, what eagerness, what expectation, what hope we have in childhood! We have not seen everything yet. Like Charity, we believe all things; we are on the outlook for surprises. We arc ready to know more. The best things do not yet lie behind us. We have not yet settled into the belief, which makes middle life so often a dead, monotonous level, that nothing more is to be seen. We have not shut ourselves to the persuasion, which turns advancing age so often into a timorous, cramped, grudging thing, that nothing better is to be known.1 [Note: R. W. Barbour, Thoughts, 102.] <\/p>\n

When wonder first appears it inspires the effort to know; later on this leads up to admire. No doubt there are various kinds of admiration in the world, but that of which I am thinking is born of wonder in the presence of beauty, charmed by it, delighting in it, and solemnised by it, filled with a sense of joy and satisfaction. Wordsworth tells us that we partly live by admiration. He who has ceased to admire, the heart of a man has ceased to beat within him. Now admiration is stirred in us chiefly by the beauty of things. Of course their utility wakens a kind of admiration, but this is a poor passion compared with the stirring of the heart by beauty. There is a chord in the human heart which responds to beauty, and never was this more susceptible of impression than to-day. The older poetical view of nature dwelt more on its utility and active force, its nourishing power, wealth, comfort, and prosperity. Since Wordsworth it is nature as a vision, a sight, a picture, a symbol of the unutterable, that the poets have looked for and opened our eyes to see.2 [Note: J. Wood.] <\/p>\n

3. Some admired but did not adore. Perhaps this is all that these men of the Decapolis meant when they said, He hath done all things well. It may be no more, says Hort, than a rather unmeaning kind of applause, such as might have been given almost as readily to a conjuror as to the Saviour of men. This was certainly the way with the Galileans who were fed with the loaves and fishes. They became intensely interested in Jesus, ran after Him, and lavishly Rabbid Him. But for what? Ye seek me, He told them, because ye did eat of the loaves and were filled. They looked at what He did; they did not ask who He was. Here was a bright particular star before them, but they did not, like the child, say, How I wonder what you are!<\/p>\n

The people of the Decapolis were really astonished; they were overcome with genuine admiration, but they did not surrender themselves to Him. They did not accept Him as Lord. For if they had, they would have obeyed Him. But when He charged them that they should tell no man about the miracle which He had just performed, the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it. And it became a sore grief and serious embarrassment to Him. For He was not here on earth merely to heal a few sick and then pass away, leaving the world with its diseases and its sorrows much as He found it. He was not among them only to shed a fleeting gleam of pity over their miseries, and then to withdraw and leave behind Him the darkness more visible by the lost light that had for one brief hour crossed it. He was here to found an everlasting kingdom that should hold stored in it the enduring vitality by which to war against disease and death so long as the world should last.<\/p>\n

We cannot measure the sorrow of the tragic loneliness in which He had stood amid the crowd which was so eager to praise Him, while their very praise was a witness how little they had the power to enter into His inner spirit or to understand what He purposed in His heart. Alone, quite alone, He nursed His great hope, though all the world might be praising Him for the things He did so well.1 [Note: Canon Scott Holland.] <\/p>\n

4. But some adored. They faced the alternative. The alternative was that He cast out demons either by the help of the prince of the demons or else by the finger of God. Well, then, said some, by the finger of God; and they knew the Kingdom of God and its King were come nigh unto them. The alternative was that He is either a blasphemer or God. For it was true, as they said, that no one could forgive sins but God only. He claimed to forgive sins. And some accepted the conclusion: He is God. Or, again, the alternative was, He is God or He is not good. Why callest thou me good? None is good save one, that is, God. And some accepted it. He is good; He is God.<\/p>\n

Is it possible to pass from wonder through admiration to adoration? It is quite possible and quite common. The boundary, says Matheson, between spiritual death and spiritual life is admiration. Between seeing the beauty without desiring it and seeing the beauty with desire there seems but a thin line, but it is the line of infinitude; it is the difference between the almost and the altogether. Admiration of Christs beauty is the lowest step of the ladder, but it is a step. It may exist where the deeds of life are not yet in harmony with its ideal, but it is the prophecy of the future perfection, the pledge of good things to come.2 [Note: Moments on the Mount, 171.] <\/p>\n

Even Liddon, who is emphatic on the difference between admiration and adoration, says, Certainly admiration may lead up to adoration; but then real admiration dies away when its object is seen to be entitled to something higher than and distinct from it. Admiration ceases when it has perceived that its Object altogether transcends any standard of excellence or beauty with which man can compare Him. Admiration may be the ladder by which we mount to adoration; but it is useless, or rather it is an impertinence, when adoration has been reached. Every man of intelligence and modesty meets in life with many objects which call for his free and sincere admiration, and he himself gains both morally and intellectually by answering to such a call. But while the objects of human admiration are as various as the minds and tastes of men,<\/p>\n

Denique non omnes eadem mirantur amantque,<\/p>\n

One Only Being can be rightfully adored. To admire God would involve an irreverence equal only to the impiety of adoring a fellow-creature.1 [Note: Bampton Lectures, 362.] <\/p>\n

While working at my house on Aniwa, I required some nails and tools. Lifting a piece of planed wood, I pencilled a few words on it, and requested our old chief to carry it to Mrs. Paton, and she would send what I wanted. In blank wonder he innocently stared at me, and said, But what do you want? I replied, The wood will tell her. He looked rather angry, thinking that I befooled him, and retorted, Who ever heard of wood speaking? By hard pleading I succeeded in persuading him to go. He was amazed to see her looking at the wood, and then fetching the needed articles. He brought back the bit of wood and made signs for explanation. Chiefly in broken Tannese I read to him the words, and informed him that in the same way God spoke to us through His book.2 [Note: J. G. Paton, Autobiography, 320.] <\/p>\n

II<\/p>\n

Adoration<\/p>\n

Having reached Adoration, we can use the words of the people of the Decapolis and say, He hath done all things well: he maketh even the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak.<\/p>\n

1. There is the universal perfection of the workHe hath done all things well. We do not know what the all things of these men comprehended, but we know that they express the nature of all Christs acts of healing and of all His wonderful works of whatever kind, and His whole work for us men from the beginning to the present day. Hort thinks it likely that St. Mark saw in the saying of the multitude an unintended likeness to the language which the Book of Genesis (Mar 1:31) uses about the finishing of the work of creation: God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.<\/p>\n

2. There is next the particular example or examplesHe maketh even the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.<\/p>\n

(1) First of all He gives us our hearing. It is Christ who enables any one of us to hear any of the common sounds that enter into our ears as we walk out on an August day like this. If you have heard the singing of the birds or the running of the stream, or the voices of children as you came to church, then recollect that it was Christ who caused you to hear them. He fills the earth and air with all melodies, and He gives to men the power of taking them in. By giving back hearing to this man who had lost it, He declared this; He said, I am the giver of hearing; the power comes from Me.1 [Note: F. D. Maurice.] <\/p>\n

(2) He restores us our hearing. This is the purpose of His coming. He comes for restoration. But not for bodily restoration chiefly. He gives us our hearing at the first that we may hear the word of God and live. As Browning has it, He gives us all our giftssuch a body, and then such an earth for insphering the wholethat He may go on and give us the best, the gift of life eternal.<\/p>\n

Would it ever have entered my mind, the bare will, much less power,<\/p>\n

To bestow on this Saul what I sang of, the marvellous dower<\/p>\n

Of the life he was gifted and filled with? to make such a soul,<\/p>\n

Such a body, and then such an earth for insphering the whole?<\/p>\n

And doth it not enter my mind (as my warm tears attest),<\/p>\n

These good things being given, to go on, and give one more, the best?<\/p>\n

Ay, to save and redeem and restore him, maintain at the height<\/p>\n

This perfection,succeed with lifes dayspring, deaths minute of night?1 [Note: R. Browning, Saul.] <\/p>\n

My little girl came to me the other day with the headless body of her doll. She came carrying it, and in her little hands some of the broken pieces. She had smashed its china head into insignificant fragments. With tears in her voice she said, Mend it, Papa, mend it. What was I to do? Her large blue eyes, blue as the Italian sky, looked up at me trustingly and expectantly. She would not understand if I told her I was unable to mend it, for her faith in me was boundless. What was I to do? I could make her forget her distress; and in a moment the broken doll fell from her hands as she reached out for the new delight. The Divine Fatherhood never fails. He does not so cheat us into satisfied forgetfulness. He doeth all things well.2 [Note: H. T. Kerr.] <\/p>\n

3. There is the spiritual resultfulness of spirit and life. We will now, says Tauler, consider the seven gifts of the Spirit, given to man through this touch whereby the ears of his mind are opened. First is given unto him the spirit of fear, which has power to rid him of all self-will, and teaches him to flee from temptation, and at all times to shun unruly appetites and licence. Next is given to him the spirit of charity, which makes him sweet-tempered, kind-hearted, merciful, nor ready to pass a harsh judgment on any ones conduct, but full of tolerance. Thirdly, he receives the gift of knowledge, so that he understands the meaning of his inward experience, and thus learns to guide himself according to the blessed will of God. The fourth gift is Divine strength: through this gift such Divine might is imparted unto him that, with Paul, it becomes a small and easy matter to him to do or bear all things through God who strengtheneth him. The fifth is the gift of good counsel, which all those who follow become gentle and loving. Lastly come two great gifts, understanding and the wisdom of insight, which are so sublime and glorious that it is better to seek to experience them than to speak thereof. That our ears may thus be opened of a truth, that the Eternal Word may be heard in us, may God grant us!3 [Note: Life and Sermons, 385.] <\/p>\n

Ah Lord, Lord, if my heart were right with Thine,<\/p>\n

As Thine with mine, then should I rest resigned,<\/p>\n

Awaiting knowledge with a quiet mind<\/p>\n

Because of heavenly wisdoms anodyne.<\/p>\n

Then would Thy Love be more to me than wine,<\/p>\n

Then should I seek being sure at length to find,<\/p>\n

Then should I trust to Thee all humankind.<\/p>\n

Because Thy Love of them is more than mine.<\/p>\n

Then should I stir up hope and comfort me<\/p>\n

Remembering Thy Cradle and Thy Cross;<\/p>\n

How Heaven to Thee without us had been loss,<\/p>\n

How Heaven with us is Thy one only Heaven,<\/p>\n

Heaven shared with us thro all eternity,<\/p>\n

With us long sought, long loved, and much forgiven.1 [Note: Christina G. Rossetti.] <\/p>\n

Admiration or Adoration<\/p>\n

Literature<\/p>\n

Armstrong (J.), Parochial Sermons, 302.<\/p>\n

Baring-Gould (S.), Village Preaching, 2nd Ser., ii. 99.<\/p>\n

Deshon (G.), Sermons for the Ecclesiastical Year, 330.<\/p>\n

Ellerton (J.), Holiest Manhood, 78.<\/p>\n

Frinder (D.), Worship of Heaven, 48.<\/p>\n

Furse (C. W.), Sermons Preached at Richmond, 121.<\/p>\n

Gibbons (J. C), Discourses and Sermons, 391.<\/p>\n

Hare (J. C), Hirstmonceux Chapel Sermons, i. 245.<\/p>\n

Horne (C. S.), The Life that is Easy, 69.<\/p>\n

Hort (F. J. A.), Village Sermons, ii. 73.<\/p>\n

Maurice (F. D.), Sermons Preached in Country Churches, 10.<\/p>\n

Reichel (C. P.), Sermons, 277.<\/p>\n

Tauler (J.), Life and Sermons (Winkworth), 380.<\/p>\n

Tyng (S. H.), The Peoples Pulpit, New Ser., ii. 245.<\/p>\n

Vaughan (J.), Sermons (Brighton Pulpit), 14th Ser., No. 1010.<\/p>\n

Wilmot-Buxton (H. J.), The Life of Duty, ii. 104.<\/p>\n

Wood (J.), in Sermons by Unitarian Ministers, 2nd Ser., i.<\/p>\n

Church Pulpit Year Book, i. [1904], 209.<\/p>\n

Five-Minute Sermons by Paulists, New Ser., i. 373.<\/p>\n

Christian World Pulpit, xlviii. 200 (Holland).<\/p>\n

Churchmans Pulpit (Twelfth Sunday after Trinity), xi. 422 (Winterbotham), 424 (Heard), 427 (Furse), 430 (Clements).<\/p>\n

Churchmans Pulpit Sermons to the Young, 334.<\/p>\n

Clergymans Magazine, i. 76 (Light); 3rd Ser., xi. 215 (Youard).<\/p>\n

Contemporary Pulpit, 2nd Ser., viii. 162 (Furse).<\/p>\n

Fuente: The Great Texts of the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

were: Mar 1:27, Mar 2:12, Mar 4:41, Mar 5:42, Mar 6:51, Psa 139:14, Act 2:7-12, Act 3:10-13, Act 14:11 <\/p>\n

He hath: Gen 1:31, Luk 23:41 <\/p>\n

he maketh: Exo 4:10, Exo 4:11 <\/p>\n

Reciprocal: 2Sa 3:36 – as Ecc 3:11 – hath made Isa 29:18 – the deaf Isa 32:3 – General Isa 52:14 – many Mat 8:27 – General Mat 9:8 – when Mat 11:5 – the deaf Mat 15:31 – the dumb Mar 10:26 – out Luk 4:36 – They were<\/p>\n

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

THE TESTIMONY OF THE MULTITUDE<\/p>\n

He hath done all things well.<\/p>\n

Mar 7:37<\/p>\n

Undoubtedly this is one of those comprehensive utterances in which there is more included than was intended by those from whose lips they originally proceeded. It applies:<\/p>\n

I. To our Lords character.He was not only without sin; He exemplified every virtue, and carried every virtue to its highest perfection. There were among His enemies those who were candid enough to acknowledge this. And in every age witness to the righteousness, purity, and moral beauty of Christ has been borne by the unbelieving and unspiritual.<\/p>\n

II. To our Lords ministry.St. Peter, who knew Jesus well, once summed up His earthly life, saying, He went about doing good. He sought out all forms of human want and suffering in order to supply and to relieve them. He welcomed the approach of every suppliant, delighting in the opportunity of granting requests. He exercised His supernatural power for the satisfaction of human need and for the alleviation of human pain. Above all, He met the contrite and penitent sinner with the welcome assuranceThy sins be forgiven thee!<\/p>\n

III. To our Lords redemptive work.The sacrifice of Christ was not only a part of His ministry, it was the purpose kept in view throughout the whole of that ministry; it was its completion and crown. Foreseen and accepted beforehand by the Saviour of mankind, His redemption was the most illustrious instance of Divine wisdom and power. Its correspondence alike with the government of God and with the moral condition and needs of man, is a proof of its origin in the mind of the Eternal.<\/p>\n

Illustration<\/p>\n

We must take large, comprehensive views of God. For in lifethe little book of lifeone chapter is always explaining the preceding chapter. Therefore, in our measure, we must see the all things before we can say that all things are well. This is why, as a man grows older, he is more able to justify God, and admire God in all His worksbecause he can put more things together. This is why the retrospect from heaven will be so much truerit will be so grandly comprehensive. Just as at the beginning of the world, when God made each separate thing, it was good; but when He had made all things, it was very good. What I do thou knowest not now. Why? Because thou seest one thing only. But thou shalt know hereafter. Why? Because you see many things together.<\/p>\n

(SECOND OUTLINE)<\/p>\n

SPIRITUAL SERVICE<\/p>\n

I take this poor deaf and dumb man as typical of humanity in general, and especially in its spiritual condition.<\/p>\n

I. Spiritual listlessness.I think, as I look round on this congregation, how it may be that even now and here the Lord Jesus, present in our midst, has looked up to heaven again and sighed as He noticed our listlessness, our indifference, our cold worship, our failure to hear His voice speaking out of Psalm, or Lesson, or Creed. Yet if His word were to ring out again, Ephphatha; be opened, how different it would be! The change would be like another miracle wrought among us.<\/p>\n

II. The voice of God.We read in our Bibles how God of old talked with men. Cannot we hear the voice of God, too? Is the twentieth century specially cut off from the revelation of God? Are there no manifestations of the Spirit we can realise? Is Christ abiding with us, in us, and yet do we never hear His voiceEphphatha; be opened? It is the deaf ear which needs to be unstopped, for the voice of the Saviour is speaking yet. God speaks to us in the printed page, in the beauteous picture, in the poetry and music of life, in philosophy; and it is because our ears are deafened that we cannot hear His voice or understand His message. What a different Book would the Bible be to us if we were on the alert for Gods voice! We should not weary of it nor cavil at its difficulties if we turned to it with the petition, I would hear what God would say. And so how different would service be, and the Sacraments would glow with spiritual power, if, instead of torturing ourselves with themes of speculation and controversy, once more we came like the Greeks to St. Philip, crying, Sir, we would see Jesus. He hath done all things well: He maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak, applies to the spiritual as well as the physical condition of mankind. Every miracle in the material world is but an exhibition of power and goodness which can produce like effects in the spiritual world.<\/p>\n

III. How was this miracle effected?They bring unto Him one that was deaf. We are not told who they were that brought him, these unknown friends, these pitying comrades, who by bringing him put him in contact with the Lord of life and health. And the power of the Lord was present to heal, and it streamed from Him, so that the deaf heard and the dumb spake. We, too, would bring you to Jesus. Nay, we would come ourselves in lowly meekness. Perhaps we have come before, come often to His mercy seat, to His throne of grace. In coming to Christ, in drawing nigh to Him through His appointed means of grace, through our spiritual yearningsin coming to Christ we pass at once beyond the visible universe to the unseen world where Christ is; beyond the church in which we worship to the heavenly temple; beyond the chanted psalm and canticle to the choir of angels and archangels, and all the company of heaven; beyond the voices of readers and preachers to the very presence of God where His Spirit dwells and rules; beyond the Word of God and His Sacraments into the very fullness of His glory.<\/p>\n

Rev. Prebendary Shelford.<\/p>\n

Illustration<\/p>\n

Do you still think that, if you had been there that day, you would have felt as the multitude did and joined in their praises? Take heed that you be not deceived. Remember that there were thousands at Jerusalem who saw His miracles, and yet it was by them that He was crucified and slain. Ask yourselves, rather, what are you doing now? Do you look upon the miracles only or chiefly as proofs of the doctrine of Christs Divinity, or as part of the evidences by which you support the truth of the Christian religion against unbelievers? Or do you look upon them and receive them joyfully as Gods own message to yourself?<\/p>\n

Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

7<\/p>\n

The proof these people had that Jesus did all things well was the fact that visible changes came to the man with whom they were so well acquainted.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Mar 7:37. Beyond measure. Their excessive zeal was equalled by their excessive astonishment.<\/p>\n

He hath done all things well. Perhaps an allusion to Gen 1:31; the same Power and Beneficence were manifested in His healing as in Gods work of creation.<\/p>\n

The dumb to speak. This favors the view that the cured man was entirely speechless. The whole verse intimates that this was but one of many miracles. Comp. Mat 15:30-31.<\/p>\n

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Mar 7:37. And were beyond measure astonished Both at what was done, and at the amiable spirit of him who did it. And said, He hath done all things well Performed the most extraordinary cures in the most humble and graceful manner. He maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak And that, not only in this, but in many other instances. Whereas there were many that hated and persecuted him, as an evil doer; these are ready to witness for him, not only that he has done no evil, but that he has done a great deal of good, and has done it well, modestly, humbly, devoutly, and all perfectly gratis, without money and without price; circumstances which greatly added to the lustre of his good works. Happy would it be if all his followers, and especially his ministers, would learn of him, who was thus meek and lowly; neither acting as in their own strength, when they attempt a spiritual cure, nor proclaiming their own praise when they have effected it. Then would they likewise do all things well; and there would be that beauty in the manner, which no wise man would entirely neglect, even in those actions which are in themselves most excellent and great. Doddridge. <\/p>\n

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

6. The preliminary confession of faith 7:37 (cf. Matthew 15:29-31)<\/span><\/p>\n

Mark expressed the crowd’s amazement with a strong word that appears only here in the New Testament: hyperperissos<\/span>. It means "extremely overwhelmed" (cf. Mar 1:22; Mar 6:2; Mar 10:26; Mar 11:18). Their statement that Jesus did everything well recalls Gen 1:31 where Moses wrote that God saw that everything that He had created was good. The restoration of hearing to the deaf and speaking to the dumb was the work of God (cf. Isa 35:3-6). Matthew recorded that Jesus healed many other people with various afflictions at this time (Mat 15:29-31).<\/p>\n

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak. Beyond measure – Exceedingly; very much. In the Greek, Very abundantly. He hath done all things well – All things in a remarkable manner; or, he has perfectly effected the cure … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Mark 7:37”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24487"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24487\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}