And one of them, when he saw that he was healed
&c.] When he felt perfect soundness in his body, and
perceived that he was restored to his health, and saw with his
eyes that the leprosy was gone from him, which must be visible
enough:
turned back;
either immediately, before he went to the priests; or afterwards,
came back to Jesus, when he bad been with them:
and with a loud voice glorified God;
Jesus Christ, who is truly God, and whose proper divinity might
be seen in this miracle; see ( 2 Kings 5:7 ) or God
the Father, through Christ, and for his sake, by ascribing his
cure to his power, and by returning thanks for it, and
acknowledging with gratitude, Christ to be the author of it;
which he did, with as loud a voice, as he cried to him for mercy;
that all might know the miracle that was wrought, and join in
giving glory to Christ: and it was but one of them that did so;
gratitude is a rare thing, it is found but in few; unthankfulness
cleaves to most persons; it is the general character of men to be
unthankful and unholy; multitudes, even all men, share in the
providential goodness of God, yet few take notice of, and are
thankful for it; God is therefore said to be good, to the
unthankful and to the evil, ( Luke 6:35 ) . Few there
are who are of Jacob's spirit, that judge themselves unworthy of
the least of mercies, and are heartily thankful for every favour:
and this the leper did, when he was sensible that he was healed;
no man will seek after a cure, till he sees, or is sensible of
his sickness and his wound; and when he does, he will inquire
after, and make use of the proper means of healing; and when he
has got a cure, he is, or at least ought to be, thankful for it:
and so it is in spiritual things, the whole need not a physician,
or see no need of the physician, Christ; but those who are sick,
and sensible of the sickness of sin, do; and when they perceive
that their diseases are healed, and their sins forgiven, then
they call upon their souls, and all within them, to bless the
Lord, who has done this for them: and it becomes such who are
cured of the leprosy of sin, to glorify God; not only with their
mouths, by bringing their offering and sacrifice of praise to
him, as the leper by the law was obliged to bring his offering,
at the time of his cleansing; but by deeds also, with their
bodies, and with their spirits; by a holy, humble, and spiritual
conversation before men, signified by the leper's washing
himself, and clothes, and shaving off all his hair; and by
attending on the word and ordinances, by a professed subjection
to the Gospel of Christ, signified by the blood being put upon
the tip of the right ear of the leper, and on the thumb of his
right hand, and on the great toe of his right foot, ( Leviticus
14:14 ) .