At Capernaum
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by a will stronger than his own. He cannot escape from its mysterious
power.
The defenses of the soul are broken down. He has no barrier
against sin. When once the restraints of God’s word and His Spirit are
rejected, no man knows to what depths of degradation he may sink.
Secret sin or master passion may hold him a captive as helpless as was
the demoniac of Capernaum. Yet his condition is not hopeless.
The means by which we can overcome the wicked one is that by
which Christ overcame,—the power of the word. God does not control
our minds without our consent; but if we desire to know and to do
His will, His promises are ours: “Ye shall know the truth, and the
truth shall make you free.” “If any man willeth to do His will, he shall
know of the teaching.”
John 8:32
;
7:17
, R. V. Through faith in these
promises, every man may be delivered from the snares of error and the
control of sin.
Every man is free to choose what power he will have to rule over
him. None have fallen so low, none are so vile, but that they can find
deliverance in Christ. The demoniac, in place of prayer, could utter
only the words of Satan; yet the heart’s unspoken appeal was heard.
No cry from a soul in need, though it fail of utterance in words, will be
unheeded. Those who will consent to enter into covenant relation with
the God of heaven are not left to the power of Satan or to the infirmity
of their own nature. They are invited by the Saviour, “Let him take
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hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me; and he shall
make peace with Me.”
Isaiah 27:5
. The spirits of darkness will battle
for the soul once under their dominion, but angels of God will contend
for that soul with prevailing power. The Lord says, “Shall the prey be
taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? ... Thus saith
the Lord, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the
prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that
contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.”
Isaiah 49:24, 25
.
While the congregation in the synagogue were still spellbound
with awe, Jesus withdrew to the home of Peter for a little rest. But here
also a shadow had fallen. The mother of Peter’s wife lay sick, stricken
with a “great fever.” Jesus rebuked the disease, and the sufferer arose,
and ministered to the wants of the Master and His disciples.
Tidings of the work of Christ spread rapidly throughout Caper-
naum. For fear of the rabbis, the people dared not come for healing