(From C. Spurgeon)
"Behold, if the leprosy have covered all his flesh, he shall pronounce him clean that hath the plague."
- Leviticus 13:13
'Although this regualtion appears to be strange, there was wisdom in it. The outward manifestation of the disease proved that the leper's constitution was sound. It may be well for us to see the symbolic meaning of so unusual a rule. We, too, are lepers and may apply the law of the leper to ourselves.
When a man sees himself to be altogether lost and ruined, covered with the defilement of sin, and in no part free from pollution; when he disclaims all righteousness of his own and pleads guilty before the Lord, then he is clean through the blood of Jesus and the grace of God.
Hidden, unfelt, unconfessed iniquity is the true leprosy; but when sin is seen and felt, it has received its death-blow, and the Lor looks with eyes of mercy on the afflicted soul.
...What comfort the text gives to truly awakened sinners: the very circumstance that so grievously discouraged them is here turned into a sign of a hopeful condition! Stripping comes before clothing; digging out the foundation is the first thing in building--and a thorough sense of sin is one of the earliest works of grace. Poor, leprous sinner, take heart from the text, and come as you are to Jesus.'