Seventhly, the miracles of Christ were (with trifling exceptions) worked _suddenly_. They were not like gradual cures, or slow recoveries, but they were done in a moment. The blind man _immediately_ received his sight; the palsied _immediately_ took up his couch: the leper was _straightway_ cleansed; the infirm was _straightway_ made whole; the dead _immediately_ rose up, etc.[337] This was evidently a striking feature in the miracles, and the Evangelists seem to have been much impressed by it. [Footnote 337: Luke 18. 43; 5. 25; Mark 1. 42; Matt. 8. 3; John 5. 9; Luke 8. 55.] Eighthly, many of the miracles were of a _permanent_ character, and such as could be examined again and again. When, for instance, a man who had long been lame, or deaf, or blind, was restored to health, the villagers, as well as the man himself, could certify to the cure for years to come. And miracles such as these are obviously of much greater value than what we may call _momentary_ miracles (such as Christ's calming the storm) where the only possible evidence is that of the actual spectators. Lastly, and this is very remarkable, the Evangelists nearly always relate that Christ worked His miracles _by His own authority_: while the Old Testament prophets, with scarcely an exception, worked theirs by calling upon God. Take for instance the similar cases of raising a widow's son.[338] Elijah prays earnestly that God would restore the child to life; Christ merely gives the command, _I say unto thee, Arise_. The difference between the two is very striking, and is of itself a strong argument in favour of Christ's miracles; for had the Evangelists invented them, they would certainly have made them resemble those of the Old Testament. But instead of this, they describe them as worked in a new and unprecedented manner, and one which must at the time have seemed most presumptuous. [Footnote 338: 1 Kings 17. 21; Luke 7. 14.] The Gospel miracles then, from the simple and graphic way in which they are described; their not containing anything childish or unworthy; their close connection with the moral teaching of Christ; their naturalness; their number; their variety; their suddenness; their permanence; and above all from the authoritative way in which they are said to have been worked; have every appearance of being truth fully recorded. (2.) _Special marks of truthfulness._