Being  now  returned  into  Galilee,  there  was
brought  unto  him  a  blind  and  dumb  man,  pos-
sessed with  a  devil ;  but  Jesus,  with  a  single  word,
cast  out  the  evil  spirit,  and  i-estored  the  noble  fa-
culties of  sight  and  speech.  A  miracle  so  sur-
prising could  not  fail  of  astonishing  the  numerous
spectators,  who  now  seemed  convinced  that  the
jierson  endued  \\ith  such  remarkable  po\\cr,.
could  be  no  other  than  the  Messiah.
The  Pharisees,  who  were  come  thither  from
Jerusalem,  filled  with  malice  at  seeing  him  per-
form so  many  miracles,  im])iously  asserted,  con-
trary to  the  conviction  of  their  o\\  n  minds,  that
they  were  wrought  by  the  power  of  Beelzebub,
the  prince  of  the  devils.
So  blasphemous  a  declaration  could  not  be
supposed  to  escape  a  censure  from  the  Son  of
God,  who,  addressing  himself  both  to  them  and
the  people,  demonstrated  the  absurdity  of  the
calumny,  by  an  argument  drawn  from  the  com-
mon affairs  of  life.  Every  kingdom  (said  the
blessed  Jesus)  divided  against  itself,  is  brought


80


THE  LIFE  OF  OUR  BLESSED  LOIO)


Chap.  XII.
