3. When Naaman, the captain of the host of the king of Syria, applied to the prophet to be cured of his leprosy, the prophet said unto him, " Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean." But Naaman was wroth ; the plan prescribed by the prophet seemed too abject in his view ; he exclaimed, " I thought he (viz. the prophet) will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God," &c. "Are not the Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel ? may I not wash in them, and be clean ?" &c. But his servants, guided by the sober dictates of reason, said to him, " If the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it ? How much rather, then, when he saith to thee, Wash and be clean." He then obeyed, and was cleansed. See II. Kings, 5, 1–14. Would Naaman have been cleansed if he had not washed seven times in Jordan ? No. But was there any medical virtue in Jordan's water, to cure a leprosy ? I think not. The command which was added by the Lord's prophet caused the water to have this salutary effect. Naaman, whilst in his rage, was a complete type of many in this present age. The cure prescribed by the prophet was too simple ; he would not receive it until he heard the advice of his servants. What language is this now ? What good can water-baptism do ?

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