Looking unto Jesus a view of the everlasting gospel, or, the souls eying of…

3. For the persons, they were his ten Disciples, to whom he had appeared formerly, only now Thomas was with them, and so the number is complete,¹ which before was not; his Disciples were within, and Thomas with them: and, Why Thomas with them? was not Thomas one of them? was not Thomas a Disciple of Christ,² as well as the rest? I grant; but Thomas is added, because Thomas was not present at the last apparition, and this apparition was more especially for Thomas's sake; O the admirable love of Christ towards poor sinners! observe, in Christ are bowels of mercy to his straying sheep; the Disciples in danger had fled away from Christ, but he will not fly away from them; no, no, he seeks them, he stands in the midst of them, and he comes again with an Olive branch of peace, saying, peace be unto you. Of all these we have touched before; but here is something new; a new mercy breaking out on faithless Thomas? Christ proves it by lively examples, and strong arguments,³ that He will not quench the smoking flax, nor break the bruised reed; that he came to seek, and to save that which was lost: ⁴that he was sent to bind up the broken hearted, and to heal the sick, to reduce the abject, and to bring to the fold the straying sheep; for the sake of one Thomas, Christ appears again, that to him as well as the rest he might communicate his goodness, bequeath his peace, and confirm him in this necessary point of faith, that he was risen again. O the goodness of Christ! like as a Father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him; ⁵he that left the ninety and nine in the wilderness, to go after that sheep that was lost, declares his desire to save sinners; Of all that thou hast given me, I have not lost one, not one of his sheep;⁶ he may suffer them a while to stray, as this one Disciple, who continued incredulous for one whole week, but a Lord's day comes, and then Christ appears in the midst of the candlesticks: The Lord is not slack concerning his promise (as some men count slackness) but he is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Humbled sinners that despair in themselves may here find encouragement; it is their usual cry, O my sins,