Here we have the grace of sympathy; one man troubled about the sickness of another. We are drawing very near to the Lord when our soul vibrates responsively to another man's need. We can measure our likeness to the Lord by the range of our sensitiveness to the world's sorrow and pain. Our God is the |Father of pities|; He is sensitive in every direction, no side is numb, and we are putting on His likeness in proportion as we attain an all-round responsiveness to the cries of human need.

And here we have the grace of humility. |I am not worthy!| Our pride always blocks |the way of the Lord.| Our humility makes us porous to the Divine. The |poor in spirit| are already in the kingdom, and the gracious powers of the kingdom are commanded to attend their bidding.

And here we have the grace of faith. |Only say the word!| The centurion conceives the Lord's words as soldiers attending on the Lord's will. Let one be spoken, and at once the mission is executed. And so it is. |The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.| His words are vehicles of power, and when they are spoken, miracles are always wrought. |The entrance of Thy word giveth light.|