FOR jSlN * 

AND $ICK/E^ 



1 



THE ATONEMENT 

FOR 

Sin and Sickness ; 

OR, 

A Full Salvation 

FOR 

SOUL AND BODY. 

Gy\PT, R, ^elso Garter, 

Author of "Pastor Blumhardt," " Miracles of Healing," 

"Supernatural Gifts of the Spirit," Etc., Etc. 



The Soul. — " Who his own self bore our sins in his own 
body on the tree." — 1 Peter 2 : 24. 

The Body. — "Himself took our infirmities, and bore our 
sicknesses." — Matt. 8 : 17. 



nci<T 



WILLARD TRACT REPOSITORY : 

Beacon Hill Place, Boston ; 239 Fourth Avenue, New York : 

S13 Arch Street, Philadelphia. 

1884. 



4 



Copyright 1884. 
R. Kelso Carter. 



Philadelphia : 

Press of Win. Syckelmoore, 

1420 Chestnut Street. 






CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

My Confession, ..... .1 

Chapter I. — Pardon of Past Sin, ... 7 

Chapter II. — Kept from Falling, . . . .11 

Chapter III. — Healing of Bodily Disease, . . IT 

1. Sickness from the Devil, . . 70 

2. The Importance of the Body, . 77 

3. To the Law and to the Testimony, . 89 

4. Who May be Healed ? . . 95 

5. The Sin Unto Death, . . .104 

6. The Perfect Means, . . 109 

Chapter IV. — Kept from Sickness, . . . 116 

Chapter V. — Objections and Questions, . . 121 

1. The "Vile Body," . . . 121 

2. Trophimus, . , . 122 

3. Paul's Thorn, . . . .124 

4. The Man Born Blind, . . 133 

5. Lazarus, .... 136 

6. Death Appointed to All, . . 141 

7. For the Apostolic Age, . . 143 

8. The Days of Miracles have passed, 146 

9. The Use of Means, . . . 147 
Timothy and Wine. Hezekiah and 
Figs. Blind Man and Clay. Naa- 
man and Jordan. Oil as a Medicine. 
John Wesley on Healing by Faith. 

10. Who are the Elders ? 159 

11. Gifts of Healing, . . .161 

12. Casting out Devils, . . 169 

13. Modern Thorns, . . .171 

14. Romanist Miracles, . . 176 



IV CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Chapter V. — 15. Glorifying God in Sickness, . . 180 

16. God's Will to Heal, . . 190 

17. That Review Article, . . . 193 

18. Why not Instantaneous ? . . 205 
Miriam. Shunamite's Son. Heze- 
kiah. Job. David. Blind Man, 
Clay and Pool. Nobleman's Son. 
Lazarus. Epaphroditus. Trophimus. 

Chapter VI.— Full Salvation, .... 213 

Chapter VII. — Review and Conclusions, . . 223 



XI y Confession. 



" In all thy ways acknowledge Him. and He shall direct 
thy paths."— Prov. iii. 6. 

'OB several years. I have longed to write this 
little book. When I was led to surrender 
my whole soul and body into the Lord's 
hands, I found Him abundantly able to save to 
the uttermost. My God, for Christ's sake, for- 
gave me all my sins, cleansed me from all unright- 
eousness, and healed my body of mortal disease, 
as related in the tract, Miracles of Healing. 
This was in September, 1879. As the months 
went by, a thought slowly formed itself in my 
mind. It seemed exceedingly radical ; different 
from every idea and belief of my life ; widely at 
variance with the doctrines of the Church, and, on 
the whole, rather a dangerous matter. But I 
could not get away from it; so I took it to the 
Lord, and earnestly prayed for His guidance, and 
for the light of the Word. The more I prayed 
and studied, the deeper became the conviction 
that the thing was of the Lord. At last, I ven- 

i (i) 



Z MY CONFESSION. 

tured to speak about it to a few friends, and 
together we talked it over, only to deepen the 
impression already formed. This thought was, 
that the Church has been limiting the atonement of 
Jesus Christ. Do not start, dear reader. There 
is no doctrine of Eestitution hidden here. I believe 
that Jesus died only for the " Whosoever will." I 
began to believe that my Divine Master not only 
took upon himself my sins, but also bore my bodily 
sicknesses, and that I might, through simple faith, be 
free from the latter, just as well as from the former. 
To the man who believes that he must continue to 
sin as long as life lasts, there can be no parallelism 
of course ; but, I had come to see that my Jesus is 
able and willing to save me from my sins, and was 
trusting Him for it. He had forgiven me my past 
offences, and He had healed my past sickness — 
heart disease. I was trusting Him to keep me 
from sinning ; then why not trust Him to keep me 
from being sick, if Matt. viii. 17 and Psalm ciii. 3 
have any present application ? 

The great question was, " Is it the truth ?" 
How I prayed the dear Lord to keep me from 
error! There was not a single published word 
upon the subject, for the literature of faith-healing 
was confined to Dr. Cullis' first volume of " Faith 
Cures,'' and " Dorothea Trudel;" beside such more 
general works as Horace Bushnell's " Nature and 



MY CONFESSION. 3 

the Supernatural." I could not. therefore, get any 
help from man, and this fact threw me absolutely 
on God. I trusted in Him. and strove hard not to 
lean to my own understanding. But, in this way 
at least, I did not publicly acknowledge Him ; that 
is I did not profess my faith on the subject, In 
the course of two 3 T ears, however, I was led into 
a firm belief; and then the conviction grew upon 
me that I must make public confession. At this 
point the devil was ready. He said, " Xow if you 
do profess such a thing, even if it is true, you will 
not have strong enough faith ; you will get sick 
immediately; and bring the profession into dis- 
grace, and yourself to confusion." I only prayed, 
0, Lord, make me sure of the truth, and I will 
confess it ; I have nothing to do with consequen- 
ces ; that is Thy part. 

"Well, Jesus made me sure, and about two years 
ago I publicly announced my belief, in a meeting 
held in St. George's Hall, in Philadelphia. A very 
short time before this confession, the devil attacked 
me with severe griping pains and internal disorder. 
I resisted in faith, and called on my friend and 
brother in Christ, G. W. McCalla. He laid hands 
on me, anointing me with oil in the name of the 
Lord, we both claimed immediate deliverance from 
the threatened trouble, and the Lord entirely 
healed me. In order to prevent my profession of 



4. 

* MY CONFESSION. 

faith, however, the devil referred to this attack- 
He argued in this wise. « It is true that you have 
not been sick of any account these two years and 
more ; but you have had slight attacks of cold etc 
Now you had better not take such radical ground 
for if you do you will be sure to catch a heavy 
cold,— you know you always have one or two in a 
winter, and thus you will get into trouble." I said 
" Jesus has the keeping part, I have the believing 
and confessing." 

So the Eubicon was crossed, and the declaration 
of my faith made public to a few. At that time I 
wanted to write something on the subject, but for 
various reasons it was not done. And now, after 
two years of trusting and keeping, I begin to write 
down what God has done for my soul and body 
Meanwhile several have spoken and written this 
very item of faith-the keeping power of Jesus to 
save from bodily sickness ; but it is a matter of re- 
gret that some of these have been led into the 
mistake of disregarding all natural laws, maintain- 
ing that a man need scarcely sleep or eat, if the 
work of the Lord presses upon him ; but that God 
is bound to take care of him through any amount 
of physical exertion. This I apprehend to be a 
grave error. Moses and Elijah fasted forty days 
and nights, but in each case a special, clear, and 
unmistakeable manifestation of God's hand and 



MY CONFESSION. D 

will made the way plain before them. If the Lord 
wants me to work for days without natural rest, 
He will make the duty plain by supernatural indi- 
cations. When He does so, I will work, and trust 
Him for the consequences. 

I now gladly testify that the dear Lord has kept 
me, these two years, free from sickness of the body. 
Even the severe colds, which the winter always 
brought, have not appeared. The devil has tried 
hard, several times, to make me sick ; preliminary 
symptoms have been felt, and the matter of be- 
coming ill was made a literal temptation to me. 
But every time the Lord Jesus has stood with me ; 
I simply told Him He must save me ; and it was 
done. The symptoms did not develop, but disap- 
peared. A little hoarseness struggled along for 
a few days, serving as an opportunity for faith, and 
that was all. 

This then is my confession. I believe that 
Jesus " bare my sins — all of them — in his own 
body on the tree ; " and I believe that " he took my 
infirmities, and bore my sicknesses." Now if He 
bore them for me, I am not obliged to carry them 
myself; so I just believe it, and cry, from my in- 
most being, Praise the Lord ! Of course, I know 
that I am professing faith in an item of experi- 
ence which can not be hidden from the eyes of 
those about me. A man may sin and feel con- 
1a 



6 MY CONFESSION. 

dernned in his own heart, and no one know any- 
thing about it ; but he can not be seriously ill 
without the fact becoming apparent. All this I 
have counted. That is I have counted it all over 
into the hands of my Savior and Physician. I 
have nothing to do with the future ; I live by 
present breath for the body, and present faith for 
the soul. But I do boldly avow my belief that 
Sin and Sickness are from the devil ; while Holiness 
and Health are from God. If I sin, it is because 
the devil gets the advantage in my soul, and if I 
am sick, it is because he gets the advantage in my 
body. In neither case does any necessity exist. 
In the following pages will be found the reasons 
for the faith that is in me. Praise the Lord ! 

This little book, the writing of which has been 
singularly blessed to my own soul and body, is 
now committed to the work which the dear Jesus, 
who gave it to me, has for it to do. And to His 
name be all the praise ! 

Pennsylvania Military Academy, 
March, 188/ h 




CHAPTER I. 

F'arjdojn; ok Past Sin. 

" Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, 
that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness. " 
1 Pet. ii. 24. 

IT is hardly necessary to attempt to show that 
the Atonement was intended to cover commit- 
s- ted sin. This little book is written primarily 
for Christians, and of course there is not a Chris- 
tian on the face of the earth who does not believe 
that the death of our Lord provides a full and 
free pardon for all our past sins, and all our past 
unrighteousness. Nevertheless it may be well to 
quote Scripture on this point, that the whole argu- 
ment may be presented together. 

" Who was delivered for our offences, and was 
raised again for our justification." — Eom. iv. 25. 

"For all have sinned, and come short of the 
glory of God ; being justified freely by his grace 
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus ; 
whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation 
through faith in his blood, to declare his righteous- 
ness for the remission of sins that are past, through 
the forbearance of God." — Eom. iii. 23-25. 

" By him all that believe are justified from all 
things." — Acts xiii. 39. 

(7) 



£ PARDON OF PAST SIN. 

tl All we like sheep have gone astray ; we have 
turned every one to his own way ; and the Lord 
hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." — Isa. liii. 6. 

" Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of 
the sea." — Micah vii. 19. 

" I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgres- 
sions for mine own sake, and will not remember 
thy sins." — Isa. xliii. 25. 

" I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy trans- 
gressions, and as a cloud, thy sins ; return unto 
me ; for I have redeemed thee." — Isa. xliv. 22. 

"He made intercession for the transgressors." — 
Isa. liii. 12. 

" Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all 
his benefits : who forgiveth all thine iniquities." — 
Ps. ciii. 2, 3. 

" And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniqui- 
ties." — Ps. cxxx. 8. 

Of course we could consume hours in simply 
reading the Scriptures upon this point. Jesus 
Christ came into the world to save sinners ; and 
every Christian believes, if he believes at all, that 
the Atonement covers all his past sins and all his 
past unrighteousness, up to the present moment. 
He who does not believe this, directly confesses 
that he would be lost if he should instantly die. 
The pardon of past sin is, of necessity, the first 
boon to the sinner. He feels condemned; his 
offences are like mill-stones about his neck, and he 
cries unto God for release from the death sentence, 
which he can feel hanging over his head. Having 
obtained pardon, the soul feels justified by faith, 



PARDON OF PAST SIN. 9 

and has peace with God, through our Lord Jesus 
Christ. Christ becomes the Elder Brother, and 
" Our Father " rises to the lips, and thus, Adop- 
tion is realized. 

Many Christians live for years on the very fjrst 
round of the ladder. They have received pardon for 
past offences, and nothing more. They do not feel 
fully justified up to the present moment ; have very 
little peace, and do not dare to declare their adoption 
into the family of the Lord. Are you a Christian ? 
is answered with evident reluctance by the hesita- 
ting, " I hope so." But all such are fully aware of 
their privilege and duty in the premises. They know 
that they ought to have peace, to feel sure of their 
pardon, and to know the family to which they be- 
long well enough to declare their relationship 
without any misgivings. This full experience and 
faith constitute justification. 

Just here I call special attention to the fact that 
justification, in the very nature of the case and of 
the word, has reference only to the past. Even 
Dr. Charles Hodge frankly acknowledges the " ap- 
parent solecism " in speaking of the pardon or 
justification of future sins. To most men's minds 
such language is an actual solecism. My own com- 
mon sense tells me that I can not be pardoned to- 
day for sins that will be committed to-morrow. 
The Eomanist buys an " indulgence " for future 
sin ; but even the daring presumption of a John 
Tetzel never ventured to call these licenses by the 
name of pardon. And I most earnestly maintain 
that the man who teaches that, at conversion, the 



10 PARDON OF PAST SIN. 

soul is justified from all the sins of the past, and 
from all the sins of the future, is just as much 
preaching an indulgence for sin, as ever did the 
famous monk of Reformation times. Hear Ezekiel : 

"But when the righteous turneth away from 
his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and 
doeth according to all the abominations that the 
wicked man doeth, shall he live ? All this right- 
eousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned : 
in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his 
sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die." — 
Ezek. xviii. 24. 

" The righteousness of the righteous shall not 
deliver him in the day of his transgression ; 
neither shall the righteous be able to live for his 
righteousness in the day that he sinneth." — Ezek. 
xxxiii. 12. 

The Church needs a radical reformation to-day 
on this point. There are too many indulgences 
sold. The successors of John Tetzel proclaim to- 
day you can r t not live without sin; therefore the 
Atonement pardons you in advance for the un- 
avoidable transgressions of the morrow. Ezekiel 
is not read, and a false theology paralyzes the 
activities of many souls. My brother, realize the 
truth. Pardon refers to the past. Justification 
establishes your present standing, not your future 
actions. Jesus Christ grants no indulgences for 
sin. But learn that there is a wider and deeper 
experience than this. Something more is inclu- 
ded in the Atonement. Open your eyes ; reach forth 
your hands ; go boldly on, and you shall obtain. 



CHAPTER II. 

Kept froxi K^^lli^o. 

" Unto him who is able to keep you from falling, and to pre- 
sent you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceed- 
ing joy, to the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, 
dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen." — Jude 25. 

'HEEE are many precious promises of Scrip- 
| - t ure given to "him that overcometh," and 
iNp every true Christian struggles manfully to 
overcome sin, both outward and inward. We are 
told by the large majority of the Church, that it 
is possible to get the victory over all outward 
transgressions, so that we will give no visible dis- 
play of anger, resentment, malice, envy or unchari- 
tableness ; that this can be accomplished through 
the agencies of constant prayer and unceasing 
watchfulness ; but that we can not hope to avoid 
all inward sin, much less to be free from the taint 
of the natural heart. Dr. Charles Hodge, repre- 
senting the more rigid school, assures us that an 
•• advanced Christian " will find himself " sinning, 
even daily, in thought, word and deed." Mr. 
Moody may be cited as the leading representative 
of a school who believe that God's grace is suffi- 
cient for all trials and temptations, and that by 
this grace we can have the victory always in 
thought, word and deed ; but that this is always 

(ii) 



12 KEPT FROM FALLING. 

a victory over a real enemy who dwells within the 
soul to the very hour of death. In other words, 
this latter theory does not accept the entire exter- 
mination of the inbeing of sin, but maintains that 
the roots are still within the heart, and require the 
most constant repression to prevent sprouting. 

It may be said that this last is surely all that is 
necessary, since it certainly embraces the idea of 
being actually " kept from falling." Undoubtedly 
it is much superior to the others ; but I maintain 
that even this theory positively limits the Atonement 
of Christ. The Wesleyan theory, however, pre- 
sents as possible, to every believer who will fill 
the conditions of absolute consecration, unhesi- 
tating faith, and constant confession, an experi- 
ence of Christ's saving power, deep enough to 
root up every trace of inbred depravity, and to 
utterly exterminate the inbeing of sin. In this 
experience there is a war it is true, an unremit- 
ting conflict with the power of darkness j but it is 
a battle in which, like God's people of old, we 
" stand still and see the salvation of the Lord." 
"We " do not need to fight in this battle," but 
simply trust Jesus to do it all for us. We " shout 
for the Lord hath given us the city," and do not 
lift a finger in the struggle, except in the exercise 
of our faith in the perfect work of Jesus. 

There is a very important element of faith and 
of doctrine contained in this last idea of the Atone- 
ment, which is practically wanting in each of the 
others. Only in the Wesleyan view of the matter 
is the Atonement believed to be instantaneous in its 



KEPT FROM FALLING. 13 

application to unrighteousness, or inward depravi- 
ty. Even the bloody theory, grand as it is, looks 
upon the Atonement as incapable of relieving the 
soul from the load of inherited evil disposition 
until the very hour of death. Perhaps the word 
"incapable" would be rejected; but it does not 
alter the sense in the least to say that the Atone- 
ment was not designed to cleanse the soul com- 
pletely before the hour and article of death. The 
practical result to the experience of the soul is that 
Jesus' sacrifice can not remove the troublesome 
roots of sin. 

Now this little book is founded entirely u^pon 
the grand central truth, that ample provision was 
made upon Calvary for the actual and practical 
destruction of the works of the devil — sin and 
sickness. When Jesus cried 

" IT IS FINISHED " 

He expressed this fundamental fact. He came 
to " destroy the works of the devil ; " and when 
He said that mission was accomplished, I propose 
to believe Him. I am not shutting my eyes to the 
fact that death is a work of the devil. Undoubt- 
edly it is, but we have this provided for in Scrip- 
ture, and are told that " death the last enemy shall 
be destroyed." I read in Eevelation that in the 
eternal city there shall be no sorrow or sighing, no 
tears or tribulation, and no night; but I do not 
read that there shall be no sin or sickness. Now if it 
be a fact that we must sin and sicken up to the mo- 
ment of our entrance into glory, why did not the Eev- 
2 



14 KEPT FROM FALLING. 

elator mention the new and wondrous experience of 
the glorified saints in heaven ? He thought it worth 
while to write down the exemption from sorrow 
and tears. Ah! John remembered the words of 
Jesus, " In the world ye shall have tribulation ; " 
" Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and 
persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil 
against you falsely, for my sake. Bejoice, and 
be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in 
heaven." John knew well that no saint would 
ever be free from these things, while in the flesh, and 
so he pictures the delights of the holy city when 
" God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes ; 
and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, 
nor crying, neither shall there be anymore pain;* 
for the former things are passed away." And he 
it was who wrote, " Whosoever is born of God 
cloth not commit sin," for " if we walk in the light, 
as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with 
another ; and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, 
cleanseth us from all sin." He, of all others, 
clearly taught that the Christian should be entirely 
free from sin, in this life ; and therefore he did not 
mention the exemption from sin in heaven, for this 
would be nothing new to the soul that is com- 
pletely washed in the blood. It may be suggested 

* This word, in the original, is ponos. The primary meaning 
of this word, as given by Robinson, by Pickering and others, 
is, iooi% labor, toil, travail, etc. The secondary meaning may 
be pain, but more in the sense of distress, trouble, misery, 
injustice, etc. The word is derived, by Robinson, from peno. 
It is thus abundantly proven that the idea of disease is not 
suggested at all. 



KEPT FR03I FALLING. 15 

that the absence of temptation in the new Jerusa- 
lem is not specified either. To this I reply that, 
where there is no sorrow, no crying, no tears, no 
death and no devil, there could not be any tempta- 
tion. Of course a perfectly pure heart could not 
be tempted from the inside; temptation must come 
from without, as in the case of Eve ; and when 
" death, the last enemy " has been destroyed, and 
Satan eternally consigned to his prison home, mani- 
festly there could be no temptation. It goes without 
saying. Besides, we may easily claim that " sorrow, 
crying, tears," etc., obviously include the idea of 
temptation; for what Christian does not know, 
that a sorrow, which does not present the tempta- 
tion to doubt God- in some way. is not worthy of 
the name ? 

I have thus briefly defined the true doctrine of 
the Atonement for the soul. It embraces pardon 
from past sins, and past uncleanness ; and clean- 
sing from all traces of inherited depravit}', as well 
as the keeping power against sin in any form, out- 
ward or inward. The Atonement of Jesus Christ 
is a finished sacrifice, once for all, for my sins of 
commission, and for my inbred sins ; and of course 
provides for a maintenance of cleanness in my soul. 
As this is the familiar branch of the subject, I will 
not write more upon it : but will refer the reader 
to such works as AVesley's sermon on Perfection; 
his plain account of Christian Perfection ; Bishop 
Foster's Christian Purity ; Geo. D. ^Tatson's 
Holiness Manual : the first Epistle general of John, 
and St. Paul's letter to the Hebrews. The latter is 



16 



KEPT FROM FALLING. 



a regular, systematic treatise on the doctrine of 
Entire Sanctification, and anyone who reads it 
Honestly, before God, will surely find " the way 
into the holiest." Praise the Lord ! 




CHAPTER III. 

Healing or Bodily Disease:. 

" Who healeth all thy diseases."— Ps. ciii. 3. 

j Y the grace of God I expect to show that the 
\ I : | Atonement has provided for the body all that 
^^ it has provided for the soul. As this is a 
feature of Christ's sacrifice which has been largely 
buried beneath a mass of skepticism, doubts, un- 
belief, and fbrgetfulness, it will require much more 
space than has been devoted to the preceding 
chapters. 

Of course every true christian readily admits 
that God can cure bodily sickness ; and that He 
has often done so, and done it in answer to prayer. 
There are few families in the land who can not 
point to some incident of this kind. A dear one 
had come nigh unto death ; physician's skill was 
exhausted, and no hope remained. But in their 
extremity they called upon God, and suddenly the 
symptoms changed, and the patient recovered. A 
single example will suffice. The young son of a 
Methodist minister was slowly but surely choking 
to death with membranous croup. The father 
gathered together several brother ministers, and 
together they kneeled about the bed and besought 
God to spare the child. While they thus prayed, 
2a (17) 



18 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

a spasm of coughing siezed him, a hard mass of 
phlegm was dislodged, and the boy recovered, 
This was many years ago : and he is still living. 
Of such a case as this the doubter exclaims — " Why 
he was going to cough anyhow, and the result 
was merely a happy accident; " but the Christian 
readily yields the glory to God. Everyone knows 
that such occurrences as this are without number 
in the history of the Christian Church. 

Now I wish to call special attention to the fact 
that such a case can never be cited as an illustra- 
tion of the special power of God, without the fear 
of contradiction, based upon apparent reason. The 
unbeliever, either in or out of the church, says that 
we cannot possibly prove any interference with the 
laws of nature. The physician was on hand, and 
his medicine had been administered. The very 
tendency of these remedies was to clear out the 
throat; and when this very result was accom- 
plished, why not credit it to the physician ? Even 
in the case of a remarkable physical transformation, 
as the straightening of a curved spine, the same 
reasoning prevails; for have not physicans often 
succeeded in such cases ? The devout Christian is 
perfectly willing to concede that God did the work 
potentially, and that the patient would have died 
without the divine interference; but he believes 
that it was done through the legitimate channels 
of the means used by the nurse and physician. 

With none of these theories and beliefs have we 
anything whatever to do. The position to be 
stated and sustained in this chapter, is that God 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 19 

now heals bodily sickness, precisely as Tie now heals 
soul sickness, by His power alone, unaided by any 
means whatever : and that He does it through and by 
virtue of the perfect Atonement of Jesus Christ. 

I do not propose to burden this little work with 
numerous instances of healing. Any one who is 
skeptical is referred to " Pastor Blumhardt," "Faith 
Cures," " The Great Physician," "Dorothea Trudel," 
" Healing of Sickness by Scriptural Cleans," " Prayer 
of Faith," etc., all of which can be obtained from the 
TTillard Tract Eepositories in Boston, ]S"ew York 
or Philadelphia. I can never speak or write upon 
this subject however, without giving my personal 
testimony. Three able physicians in Baltimore, 
and two in Philadelphia, agreed in pronouncing 
my trouble to be heart disease, and incurable ; al- 
though they all hoped to benefit me. In this 
respect however they all failed. After seven years 
of sickness I consecrated all to God, believed His 
word, called upon His servant, Dr. Chas. Cullis, 
and was prayed with according to James v. 14, 15, 
with the laying on of hands and the anointing with 
oil in the name of the Lord. From that day to 
this — four years and a half — I have never touched 
any form of medicine or remedy. Praise the dear 
Lord alone ! I am well. I do more work than I 
ever did before, look to Him alone for strength 
and health, and He never leaves me nor forsakes 
me. For full particulars of my case, see Miracles 
of Healing. Of course I understand that the 
doubter will say that there is no absolute proof of 
miraculous intervention. AThile it is true the 



20 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

doctors can not get the glory, yet mj imagination, 
force of will, etc., did the thing for me ; and proba- 
bly the doctors were mistaken in their diagnosis, 
as they often are. 

For the benefit of such minds I record here a 
few instances of healing in which all the known 
laws of nature, applicable in the premises, were 
set at nought. Miss Euth S. King, of Eahway, 
N. J., thus relates her wonderful experience : 

" For over twenty years I have been losing my 
hearing, seldom hearing a whole sermon, and very 
little of ordinary conversation, compelled to guess 
at most of the answers of my Sunday-school class 
of young ladies. Oh, how I panted for nearer com- 
munion with Christ ! During the past year I have 
f hungered and thirsted after righteousness,' look- 
ing for the fulfillment of the promise. I attended 
Dr. Cullis' Faith convention at Old Orchard Beach, 
Me., July 24, 1883. On my arrival I found my hear- 
ing much worse, and wished that I had remained 
at home. Mrs. Hannah YV. Smith, a few days 
after, gave a Bible reading on the promises. I felt 
that I could claim them all, as unspeakably pre- 
cious. In my room that night I was enabled to 
make a complete consecration, as I had never done 
before. The following day I claimed, on my knees, 
that glorious promise. — (James v : 14, 15.) When 
Dr. Cullis prayed with and anointed me, I felt the 
power of the Holy Spirit like a great wave of 
peace, from the crown of my head to the soles of 
my feet. It was indescribable. I walked a short 
distance to the grove ; Eev. Dr. Steele was preach- 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 21 

ing ; his voice seemed loud and clear to me. I was 
afterwards told that he spoke in an ordinary tone 
of voice. Then I began to praise the Lord for my 
hearing, when my ears itched intensely, followed 
by a cracking sound, and as if something were 
shoved aside, and oh, how I heard ! as I never did 
in my life. ' Bless the Lord, oh, my soul ! ' When 
the speaker raised his voice, it was like a trumpet 
and painful to me. With a joyful heart I hastened 
to tell my friends how the Lord had healed me. 
That night, in my room, I could do nothing but 
praise Him. The last five psalms helped me to 
express my joy, especially for the great Baptism 
of the Spirit that was given to me ; then I realized 
the fulfillment of the promise I had clung to so long. 
The following morning the passing of the early 
market wagons awakened me; the room being 
dark, I could scarcely convince myself that they 
were not in the room. Then I thought, the Lord 
gave me my hearing yesterday. I was over- 
whelmed with a sense of His love and goodness. I 
had prayed to be healed to glorify Him in working 
for Him. Oh, how wondrously He blessed me! 
My ears for six weeks were very sensitive to loud, 
harsh sounds, a proof of the entire healing. Every- 
thing sounded so dull before. I can now, not only 
hear the sweet carols of the birds, but oh, I can 
hear the glorious gospel ! As a thank-offering to 
my dear Saviour, I send you this statement, ho- 
ping it may encourage some afflicted one to trust 
in l Jehovah-Kophi.' Euth S. King." * 

* From Triumphs of Faith. 



22 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

I myself saw and conversed with this lady im- 
mediately after her restoration, and personally 
heard the testimony of her friends as to her pre- 
vious condition. 

For those who ask for still more convincing evi 
dence of modern miracles of healing, I suggest the 
careful reading of the case of a broken arm, re- 
stored in a single night, recorded in " The Great 
Physician and Dorothea Trudel," and of the nu- 
merous cases found in the " Life of Pastor Blum- 
hardt."* These will suffice. I unhesitatingly as- 
sert that the evidence for the miraculous healing 
of disease through faith in Jesus, is every whit as 
clear and undeniable, as is the evidence of the con- 
version of any soul in the last eighteen hundred 
years. How do you come to believe that a soul is 
truly converted ? By the profession of faith in 
Jesus, and by the visible change in the outward 
life. How do you know that a sick body has been 
healed by the power of Jesus ? By the evident 
change in the physical life, and by the profession 
of faith in the Healer. The evidence is precisely 
the same. " One thing I know, that whereas I was 
blind, now I see," is a kind of testimony that 
never has been and never can be successfully an- 
swered. The Lord takes care to provide such 
overwhelming manifestations of His power that 
even the " magicians can not do so with their en- 
chantments." t In our day, however, men, and 

-See the case of Rebecca Fravel in the note on another page. 

f The wonderful manifestations of strange mesmeric power, 
shown by Miss Hurst, Miss Price, and Mrs. Coleman, of Geor- 
gia, will surely be used by skeptics to prove that God is not so 
wonderful after all . 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 23 

Christians even, have found a way of " withstand- 
ing," that exceeds Jannes and Jambres themselves. 
They refuse to accept the more ordinary testimo- 
nies of healing, attributing the results to the power 
of will and imagination.* They incredulously ask 
for absolute physical evidence, such as the reuni- 
ting of a broken limb, but when this is given, as 
above, the prompt reply is a flat " I don't believe it." 
This is the root of the whole opposition — unbc- 
belief. The absolute tendency of the natural heart 
is to oppose God at any and every possible point. 
This is the real secret of the partial acceptance of 
the wretched and absurd theory of evolution by 
so many Christians. A so-called natural cause is 
assigned for a result, previously accredited to the 
miraculous power of God. In fact it may be safely 
asserted that the leading tendency of the world 
to-day, is to minify God's power. We are living 
in an age when it is fashionable and popular to 
favor any anti-miraculous theory that can possibly 
be trumped up. The devil has forced upon the 
world a pet phrase, until it has become a proverb : 
The days of miracles have passed. And most peo- 
ple regard this proverb as much more authentic 
than any old King Solomon ever wrote. We find 
recorded in the sayings of the wise man, such as 
these : " My son, attend to my words : . . . 
For they are life unto those that find them, and 
health to all their flesh."— Prov. iv. 20, 22. "For 

*The new school of " mind physicians " in Boston, and else- 
where, are already referred to "by Christians as proof that heal- 
ing is only the result of mental power. 



24 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years 
of thy life shall be increased." — Prov. ix. 11. 
"Why shouldest thou die before thy time?" — 
Eccles. vii. 17. But the number who are willing 
to take God's word at its face value, without any 
discount, is exceedingly small. A man, who calls 
himself a minister of the gospel, recently stated in 
his pulpit that " nobody nowadays, except the un- 
intelligent, thinks of believing the Bible to be an 
inspired book." 

" Men don't believe in a devil now, 
As their fathers used to do ; 
They've forced the door of the broadest creed, 
To let his majesty through." 

expresses the sentiment of a large portion of the 
" intelligent " church goers of our day. Truly the 
tree of knowledge has always proved a dangerous 
possession. 

In face of all this skepticism, however, there 
are many Christians who will freely admit that 
God has done many wonderful things in answer to 
prayer, and that the like may be expected to occur 
again. But they assure us that such cases are 
sporadic, and do not afford the least foundation for 
the belief in a general theory of healing through 
faith. They even seek to explain these events by 
the supposed operations of certain natural laws. 

Now let us honestly consider this matter of 
seeking to explain miracles. I do not hesitate to 
pronounce any such attempt as radically wrong, 
and as very dangerous to the spirit of childlike 
faith, without which, Jesus said, we cannot enter 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 25 

the kingdom. When the late General O. M. 
Mitchell delivered his eloquent astronomical lec- 
tures throughout the country, he sought to present 
a possible scientific theory for the miracle of the 
sun's stoppage at the command of Joshua. He 
showed that it could have been done without 
arresting the revolution of the earth, by simply 
condensing the atmosphere, and thereby vastly 
increasing its refractive powers. I do not wholl}^ 
condemn such a theoretical explanation, but on 
the contrary, heartily approve of it, provided it is 
used in its legitimate place. The only real use for 
any of these so-called reconciliations of science and 
Scripture, is to prepare the way in the natural 
heart of an unbeliever for the faith that must follow. 
Most men stumble over their heads with such per- 
sistency that they must be knocked down, like Paul, 
upon their own chosen pathway, and positively 
stricken blind or dumb, before they can receive the 
simple truth. But the moment any soul that has 
been to the fountain of cleansing for the pardon of 
sin, and has been adopted into the family of God, 
seeks to find a more intimate knowledge of God, 
and to see more of His deep things, all such " ex- 
planations " must be thrown away. " The entrance 
of thy word giveth light," is the only efficacious 
recipe. A " son of God" must be content to take his 
Father's word, without any endorsement. * 

*When a Christian reads such grand "explanations" as 
Prof. Vail's "Annular Theory of the Creation and Deluge/' 
and receives therefrom new ideas of God's wonderful power 
and perfectly harmonious work ; all is well. 
3 



26 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

It is entirely possible and even extremely pro- 
bable, that all the miracles of the Bible were per- 
formed by God, through laws just as absolute and 
infallible as the attraction of gravitation itself. I 
have no doubt whatever that, if the Lord saw fit 
to explain to me just how He severed the lower 
waters of the Jordan from those that came down 
from above, I would understand it just as clearly and 
as scientifically as I do the statement that, " the 
Lord caused the Eed Sea to go back by a strong 
east wind all that night." Divine wisdom saw fit 
to tell us the modus operandi of this miracle, but 
not of the other. When Henry Varley went into 
Captain Black's cabin and, kneeling down with 
him and his officers, prayed God to stop the terri- 
ble cyclone, which threatened them with speedy 
death ; who could have imagined any natural law, 
by which the natural results of those terrific 
waves could be averted ? Yet, while he prayed, a 
mighty hail-storm beat the dashing billows as 
smooth as though they were covered with oil, and 
the terrible wind fell calm. Even so, I believe that 
the opening of the deaf ears, the raising of the 
dead, the healing of the broken arm, and all the 
list of miraculous works of God are certainly and 
clearly explicable by natural laws, and that there 
is no such thing in God's universe as the temporary 
abolition of His established princij)les. In order 
to stop those waves God did not annihilate the laws 
of momentum and inertia, but actually used these 
very principles to accomplish the result. Left to 
themselves those waves would have contin- 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 27 

ued to break long enough to demolish the vessel ; 
but Omnipotence used the momentum of the fro- 
zen hail to check the momentum of the liquid 
water. God can insert an unseen key in the great 
clock of the stars and wheel them backwards in 
their orbits, as easily as I can in the same manner, 
reverse the hands of my watch. The natural law 
of gravity ordains that the boat shall float with the 
stream, but the natural law of the steam's expan- 
sive force propels the vessel in the opposite direc- 
tion. The natural law of motion insists that a body 
shall move in a straight line, yet the natural law of 
the peculiar twists imparted to the base-ball, act- 
ually causes it to curve, first to the right and then 
to the left; and for a similar reason the twisting 
rifle-ball turns from its proper course. Every time 
a bird flies, an animal moves, or a piece of machin- 
ery is put in motion, we have before our eyes just 
as much a "violation" of natural law, as when 
God's hand parted the crystal gates of the sea for 
the marching hosts of Israel. In other words, we 
see an example of one natural law dominating 
another. 

But, all this being admitted, I still insist that any 
attempt at an explanation of a miracle, which God 
has not seen fit to explain, is dangerous to an 
advancing faith. We should of course settle the 
great fact that " all things are possible with God," 
but it is not necessary to stumble over apparent or 
imaginary contradictions in order to reach a little 
of the "all things possible to him that believeth." 
We are to believe God blindly it is true — that is 



28 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

faith — but we are not required to believe unreason- 
ably. I am asked, how can the Lord heal a fatal 
case of sickness without flying in the face of law ? 
I answer, how could he stop a cyclone ? My belief 
thus becomes perfectly reasonable, while it is per- 
fectly blind, as all absolute faith must be. ISTicodemus 
has an enormous family, who are always betraying 
their descent by the question, "How can these 
things be?" When the doubting ministers said, 
" How can we hope to accomplish anything in 
India " the soldier Duke of Wellington, replied, 
" That is none of your business. You have your 
marching orders, ' Go ye into all the world, and 
preach my gospel to every creature.' You have 
nothing to do with the results ; obey your orders." 
Nicodemus was not an infidel, but a godly man ; 
and whenever the true Christian asks Nicodemus' 
question after God's word, he is sure to miss the 
power of that word. 

Many a Christian almost indignantly resents the 
imputation that he does not believe God just as 
much as any other man ; but of course his belief is 
absolutely governed by his light. If I say to him, 
I believe what God says ; he responds, So do I. 
But when I adduce certain promises of Scripture 
for faith healing, he immediately insists upon con- 
fining them to the Apostolic age, or gives them a 
forced spiritual interpretation, entirety at variance 
with the plain sense of the language. Yet he says 
he believes God just as much as I do. Manifestly, 
if I am right, he does not believe as much as I, but 
stops short at the limit of the light he has received. 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 29 

I always praise the Lord for that word of Holy 
Writ, u Knowing this first that no prophecy of the 
Scripture is of any private interpretation. For 
the prophecy came not in old time by the will of 
man (no prophecy ever came by the will of man, 
Eev. Ver.) : but holy men of old spake as they 
were 'moved by the Holy Ghost.'' 2 Pet. i. 
20, 2l! 

We thus come face to face with those words of 
power and executive ability first recorded in Gen. 
i. 3. " God said." When Jesus was tempted of 
the devil, his only answer was, " It is written," and 
so Paul only gives us a single weapon of offense — 
" the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of 
God." AYe need various pieces of armour for de- 
fense ; the helmet, shield, and breast-plate ; but 
when we seek to advance from one battle-field to 
another, when we sally forth to win a new victory 
over the foe, we need a sword, and that sword is 
always the same that formed from chaos the rolling 
worlds — " God said." This "Word was in the be- 
ginning with God, and the word was God," and 
" in Him was light and the light was the life of 
men." This is the Word whose " entrance giveth 
light." Let us always remember the simple 
recipe for faith — " Faith cometh by hearing, and 
hearing by the Word of God." Eom. x. 17. 

We now come, in logical sequence, to the ques- 
tion, what hath God said on the subject of healing 
bodily disease ? Let it be borne in mind that I 
am not writing this chapter merely to prove that 
some people have been healed, but to show that 
3a 



30 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

the Atonement of Jesus Christ actually embraced 
sickness as well as sin : in short, that God is ready 
to heal any disease through faith, just as He heals 
sin through faith. 

In Isaiah liii. 4 we read, " Surely He hath borne 
our griefs and carried our sorrows." It can not be 
questioned that this statement is just as clear, 
comprehensive, and emphatic as, " He was wound- 
ed for our transgressions, he was bruised for our 
iniquities." In fact, were I disposed to stickle for 
a mere grammatical construction, I might claim 
that the former is the stronger of the two. It is 
a fact that the church has commonly read this 
verse as if the words " griefs " and " sorrows " have 
reference to afflictions of the mind and spirit ; and 
few have ever gone farther than to believe that 
they might apply to the comforting and sustaining 
grace given in bodily sickness. It may therefore 
be a matter of surprise to many devout Christians 
to be told that neither of these words has refer- 
ence to spiritual matters, but to bodily sickness 
alone. One of the ablest Hebraists of our country 
recently sent me this translation, without having 
an idea of the use to which it was to be put. 

" Surely our sicknesses hath he taken upon him, 
(lifteth up, as a load,) and our sorrows, he hath 
carried them." 

Albert Barnes says of this verse, "In the 53d 
chapter of Isaiah is fully stated the doctrine of the 
Atonement, or that the Messiah was to suffer for 
sin. In the verse quoted (Matt, viii. 17 ; Isa liii. 4), 
he states the very truth which Matthew declares. 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 31 

The word translated griefs in Isaiah, and infirmities 
in Matthew, means, properly, in the Hebrew and 
Greek, diseases of the body. In neither does it 
refer to the diseases of the mind, or to sin. To bear 
those griefs, is clearly to bear them away, or re- 
move them. 

Ci 'Our Sorrows.' Perhaps the proper difference 
between this word and the word translated griefs 
is, that this refers to the pains of the mind, that of 
the body ; this to anguish, anxiety, or trouble of 
the soul, that to bodily infirmity and disease. * * 
The phrase therefore properly seems to mean that 
He took upon himself the mental sorrows of men. 
He not only took their disease and bore them away, 
but He also took or bore their mental griefs. That 
is, He subjected Himself to the kind of mental 
sorrow which was needful in order to remove 
them." 

Archbishop Magee, in his great work on " The 
Atonement," assigns the same meanings to the 
words, and quotes many Scripture verses where 
the same original Hebrew word is so translated. 
The reader is referred to any standard commen- 
tary for additional testimony upon this point. But 
a still better authority remains. In Matt. viii. 16, 
17, we read, "He healed all that were sick : That 
it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias 
the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, 
and bare our sicknesses." Here we have an in- 
spired commentator, plainly declaring that the 
verse has reference only to bodily ailments. We 
ought to render special praise to Jesus for this di- 



32 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

vine interpretation, for without it there might be 
some show of reason in the opposition to the doc- 
trine herein set forth. These able scholars agree 
with Matthew that Jesus actually lifted up, 
as a load which we could not carry, our diseases 
and pains of body and mind. Barnes says : " bore 
them away." The clear meaning is, that Jesus did 
take upon Himself our diseases and our mental 
troubles, in precisely the same way that he " bore 
our sins in his own body on the tree." 

But this fourth verse is only a portion of the 
evidence found in this wonderful chapter. We 
find the w r ord " grief," in verses 3, 4, and 10. In 
each case the real meaning is sickness or bodily 
pain. The learned translator, Dr. Eobert Young, 
in his version of the Bible, thus renders these 
verses : 

3. " He is despised, and left of men, 

A man of pains (Heb. Makob), and acquainted 

with sickness (Choli), 
And as one hiding the face from us, 
He is despised, and we esteemed him not. 

4. " Surely our sicknesses (choli) he hath borne, 

And our pains (makob) he hath carried them, 
And we — we have esteemed him plagued, 
Smitten of God and afflicted. 

5. " And he is pierced for our transgressions, 

Bruised for our iniquities, 

The chastisement of our peace is on him, 

And by his bruise there is healing to us. 

6. ' " All of us like sheep have wandered, 

Each to his own way we have turned, 
And Jehovah hath caused to meet on him, 
The punishment of us all. 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 33 

10. " And Jehovah hath delighted to bruise him 

He hath made him .sick (chalah). 

If his soul doth make an offering for guilt, 

He seeth seed — he prolongeth days. 

****** 
12. * * "With transgressors he was numbered, 

And he the sin of many hath borne, 

And for transgressors he intereedeth." 

There is no escaping the force of this accurate 
translation. Dr. Young was not laboring to prove 
a doctrine of faith-healing, but he more than con- 
firms Albert Barnes in the quotation from the lat- 
ter, just given. The word makob, rendered sor- 
rows in verses 3 and 4, means pains. But, as 
Barnes says, it seems to refer to " anguish, anxiety, 
trouble of soul," or to mental pain. But the words 
choli and chalah, mean respectively, sickness, weak- 
ness, pain, and, to make sick. Yerse 3 is very strong. 
In it the prophet distinctly states that Jesus Christ 
was " a man of pains, and acquainted with sickness.'''' 
No Christian living would object to the idea that 
He was a man of pains (mental sorrows^, in that 
He actually suffered and endured the pangs of 
anguish or sorrow, even to a much greater extent 
than we ever knew. When ".He sweat as it were 
great drops of blood," did He not bear and feel 
the real weight of deadly sorrow? Of course no 
one will think of objecting to this. But the rest 
of the verse just as distinctly avers that He was 
"acquainted with sickness." As long as the word 
in English is put "grief," the ordinary reader is 
not mystified, and passes on ; but the scholar finds 
reason for reflection. When, however, we see that 



34 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

the real meaning is " sickness, weakness, pain" and 
not grief at all, in its ordinary sense ; even the 
common mind will naturally ask, what does this 
mean ? I reply that if the first part of the 
line means that Jesus endured mental sorrow, the 
latter part means that He actually experienced the 
pangs of sickness. If this is not true, then there 
is no use for God to tell us anything in language 
for we can not possibly believe him to mean what 
He says. 

Many devout hearts will be horrified to think 
that Christ was ever sick. But let us look upon it- 
Certain it is that Jesus never knew the inner prin- 
ciple of disease within the system, any more than 
He was ever actually poisoned with the indwelling 
principle of sin. There is no Scripture to warrant 
for a moment the thought that sin ever resided in 
the Son of God as a root or inward fountain of pol- 
lution. He was so absolutely pure and perfect 
that there was no place or spot wherein sin could 
find a lodgement for an instant. Just so no disease 
could ever lurk within His body. Notwithstand- 
ing all this, Jesus certainly did bear our sins. He 
certainly did feel and know the power of sin, and 
endure the essence of its consequences and penal- 
ties ; and there is precisely the same language to 
warrant our belief that He also felt and endured 
the pangs or pains of sickness. The Apostle tells 
us " He was made sin for us, who knew no sin," and 
the Prophet says that Jehovah "hath made him 
sick." Peter writes: "Who his own self bore our 
sins in his own bodv on the tree," and Isaiah de- 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 35 

clares, " Surely our sicknesses he hath borne, and 
our pains — he hath carried them." 

Again, what are the punishments of sin ? All 
will admit that sin is punished by soul-condemna- 
tion, remorse, mental anxiety, and frequently by 
sickness. Now of course Jesus took upon Himself 
the condemnation, anxiety, and mental and moral 
anguish. All admit this, and believe that these 
punishments are at once remitted the moment we 
are pardoned, and that they are remitted because 
of the vicarious Atonement. Then by what rule 
of Scripture or of reason is the last mentioned pun- 
ishment severed from the rest ? Mark the Pro- 
phet's words. " Jehovah hath caused to meet on 
him the punishment of us all." Now confessedly, 
sickness is part of that punishment. Hence it is 
demonstrated, by the immutable Word, that sick- 
ness is included in the vicarious Atonement. 

It may be claimed that sickness cannot be inclu- 
ded, because it is under " natural law." It is surely 
about time for Christians to learn that " natural 
law " is God's law. Now what law can be cited, 
in the realm of physics, which is more universal 
and more inexorable, than that which declares 
that sin will surely cause anguish, anxiety, remorse 
and soul sickness? Is not this law just as truly 
" natural " as that which governs bodily disease ? 
And if God chooses to cancel the sin and remove its 
mental effects, by grace through faith; what 
Christian will dare say that He can not just as 
easily remove the sickness ? Is it true that God 
will always, and at once, give deliverance from 



36 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

every penalty and consequence of sin, except one ? 
and that this one must inevitably remain to the 
bitter end ? Away with such a thought ! Isaiah 
affirms that the entire punishment of us all was 
caused to meet on Him. Oh ! glory to His name ! 
He testified " It is finished." There was nothing 
incomplete about the work of our mighty Jesus. 

We might follow every verse in this remarkable 
chapter with profit. " He is pierced for our trans- 
gressions." What does that mean? Of course 
that Jesus bore the penalty of our offences, so that 
we do not have to bear it. But is the language a 
whit clearer than " Himself bore our sicknesses ? " 
" The chastisement of our peace is upon Him," is 
surely not quite so plain as " by His bruise there 
is healing for us. " He was numbered with the 
transgressors" gives light to many a despairing 
sinner; but is it more explicit than, "He hath 
made him sick ? " Surely, nothing but the blindest 
prejudice can close the eyes, in the light of these 
facts, to the great truth that sickness is included 
in the vicarious Atonement, every whit as emphat- 
ically as sin, in this great proof chapter of Isaiah. - 

It may be well to caution the reader against any 
such blunder as that perpetrated by a prominent 
divine when he recently wrote very slightingly of an 
attempt to prove faith-healing by means of Isaiah 
liii. Let every one remember thaf this wonderful 
chapter is the very pith and marrow of the Old 
Testament proof for the vicarious sufferings of our 
Lord, and has been so regarded by the church in 
all ages. It is a chapter which, of all others, most 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 37 

troubles the Jew and delights the Christian. 
Albert Barnes certainly did not seek to prove faith- 
healing when he said, " In the 53d chapter of 
Isaiah is fully stated the doctrine of the atonement." 
And again he said, speaking of the phrase " bore 
our sicknesses," — " To bear these l griefs/ is clearly 
to bear them away, or to remove them." Yet he had 
just affirmed that the word " griefs " meant only 
" disease of the body," and did not refer at all to 
the mind. One thing I fearlessly maintain, that if 
the Atonement for sickness is not taught in this 
chapter, then the Atonement for sin cannot be 
found in it. I praise the dear Lord, it is all there ! 
A perfect work; embracing mental pains and 
physical disease for the body ; and transgressions 
and inbred iniquity for the soul. 

S(^ Now, why did He thus bear our sicknesses? 
Was it for His own chastisement, reproof or cor- 
rection ? Did He need to bear the load of disease 
any more than the load of sin ? Then, why did 
He do it ? We have the fact that He did bear 
both. Why was it? Everyone must admit that 

• 1 Pet. ii. 2-1 and Matt. viii. 17 are equally plain and 
positive; and the candid mind must be struck with 
the close analogy between them. But Peter gives 
us the reason for sin-bearing — " that we, being dead 
to sins, should live unto righteousness." That is, 
that we, being free from the necessity, as well as 
the guilt of sin, should live in soul health. Is it 
then stepping beyond the plain rules of analogy to 
say that Jesus bore our sicknesses that we, being 
dead to disease, should live unto bodily health ? 
4 



38 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

Does not Matthew say as much ? He tells us that 
Jesus " healed all that were sick " in order to ful- 
fill the Scripture which of all others plainly speaks 
of the Atonement. Paul says, in Eph. v. 23, " He 
is the Saviour of the body," * and we all believe 
that the complete fullness of salvation will never 
be realized until that wonderful day, when the 
reunited soul and body shall be glorified with Him 
at his appearing. The man who believes that the 
soul can never be free from sin in this life is 
entirely consistent in believing that there is no 
such thing as exemption from sickness of the body. 
But he who finds in Jesus the perfect cleansing of 
the soul, and the keeping power against all sin, can 
be equally consistent in placing his body beneath the 
same wonderful salvation. 

In this connection it is a remarkable fact, that 
no one has been known to seek the healing power 
for the body, without receiving a distinct spiritual 
baptism ; and further, that everyone known to the 
writer (a very large number), who has been entirely 
healed in body, is or has become a believer in and 
professor of entire sanctification of soul. For 
over four years I have closely and constantly 
studied this subject, and observed a very large 
number of cases. It has often appeared that, after 
the first joyful experience of the healing power 
and the accompanying baptism of the Spirit, the 
Lord has evidently striven to lead the awakened 
soul into that absolute self-surrender which brings 

* This word is used 135 times in the New Testament, and in 
nearly every instance refers to the physical body. 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 39 

the full revelation of a whole Saviour. But this lead- 
ing has been resisted. The individual has drawn 
back, and said, I cannot do this, I cannot go there, 
I will not believe God wants me to be willing to 
act thus and so. At once the healing power of the 
body has been arrested, and very often a speedy 
relapse, either in whole or in part, has followed. 
This is the plain secret of a great many apparent 
failures in faith-healing. If I start out to take 
Jesus Christ for a whole Saviour, there must be no 
possible reservation. I must be willing to confess 
and to profess, to be, to do, or to suffer anything, 
anywhere, in any way whatever, without a parti- 
cle of hesitation. 

It is noticeable that a text which is often quoted 
for the soul, " This is the will of God, even your 
sanctification," — 1 Thess. iv. 3, has no reference to 
spiritual matters, but to those bodily sins which, 
of all others, most frequently induce severe bodily 
disease.* This closely agrees with the old prom- 
ise to Israel, " If thou wilt diligently hearken to 
the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that 
which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to 
his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will 
put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have 

*If a text be desired that expresses God's will for sanctifica- 
tion from all sin, take Heb. x. 9, 10 : " Then said he, Lo, I 
come to do thy will, O God. ... By the which will we are 
sanctified, through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ 
once for all." There can be no doubt in this case as to the ap- 
plication of the word. The whole Epistle to the Hebrews is, 
in fact, a clear, consecutive treatise and argument on entire 
sanctification. 



40 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

brought upon the Egyptians. For I am the Lord 
that healeth thee (or the Lord, thy healer)." — Ex. 
xv. 26. Here we see, distinctly joined together, 
the entire consecration and devotion of soul, with 
the health of body. What could be plainer? So 
we find God speaking frequently to His people : — 
" I will take sickness away from the midst of thee." 
— Ex. xxiii. 25. " The Lord will take away from 
thee all sickness." — Deut. vii. 15. " I make alive 
. . . and I heal." — Deut. xxxii. 39. That these 
promises were literally fulfilled, we have the word 
of the Psalmist, who tells us of the wandering 
people of God : " There was not one feeble (sick) 
person among their tribes." — Ps. cv. 37. " He sent 
His word, and healed them." — Ps. cvii. 20. When 
they sinned, sickness came. When they repented, 
sickness departed. 

The narration of the wanderings furnishes us 
with some marked illustrations of this close parallel. 
The wonderful promise just quoted from Exodus 
xv. 26, was given immediately after the wonderful 
deliverance at the Eed Sea. At Sinai they greatly 
sinned, and were plagued accordingly ; but were 
healed in answer to the prayer of Moses. Again, 
they lusted for flesh, and pestilence fell upon them. 
Miriam sinned and was stricken with leprosy, only 
to be healed through prayer. In the thirteenth and 
fourteenth chapters of Numbers we have a most 
significant history. The people had come to Ka- 
desh-barnea, the spies went out and returned with 
an evil report. The nation believed the skeptics 
and doubted God, and as a consequence were con- 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 41 

demned to wander and die in the wilderness, while 
the plague destroyed the fearful spies. Then fol- 
lows that marvellous dramatic picture in Numbers 
16th, when Korah and his followers sank into the 
earth, and Aaron stood " between the dead and the 
living," with swinging censer, obeying Moses' 
order to "make an atonement " for the congrega- 
tion ; " and the plague was stayed." In Numbers 
xxi. we have the story of the Brazen Serpent. 
The people sick and dying with bodily pains, were 
told to look and live. Here we have the Atone- ' 
ment most strongly and beautifully set forth. "As 
Hoses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even 
so must I be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in 
me, should not perish but have everlasting life." 
These w r ere types to be sure ; but were they only 
types, and nothing more ? 

But there are many other texts upon which to 
base this glorious doctrine. Let those who object 
:hat a " single Old Testament prophecy quoted in 
the New " is the only foundation, carefully note 
the following : 

1. " Honor thy father and thy mother, as the 
Lord thy God hath commanded thee ; that thy 
days may be prolonged, and that it may go well 
with thee, in the land which the Lord thy God 
giveth thee." — Deut. v. 16. " The first command- 
ment with promise," promises what ? Simply 
physical life as a consequence of obeying God in 
honoring our parents. But physical life and our 
experience " in the land " are under the " natural 
laws." Here then in the decalogue itself we find 
4a 



42 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

the fundamental truth that God will physically 
preserve the obedient. I praise the dear Lord for 
this grand evidence that the remission of sickness 
was included in His plan. The only command- 
ment that carries a distinct promise, assures us 
that life and prosperity alike are from God alone. 

2. Deut. v. 33 : " Ye shall walk in all the ways 
which the Lord your God hath commanded you, 
that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, 
and that ye may prolong your days in the land 
which ye shall possess." See also Deut. iv. 40 j 
xii. 25, 28 ; xxii. 7. Eph. vi. 3. After reading all 
these texts we certainly see that physical life was 
most emphatically promised to God's obedient 
children. Much could be said upon this, but we 
pass on. 

3. Deut. vii. 12-15. " Wherefore it shall come 
to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments and keep 
and do them, that the Lord thy God shall keep 
unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he 
swore unto thy fathers : And he will love thee, 
and bless thee, and multiply thee; he will also 
bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy 
land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the in- 
crease of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in 
the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give 
thee, * * there shall not be male or female 
barren among you, or among your cattle. And the 
Lord will take away from thee all sickness, and 
will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt,' which 
thou knowest, upon thee ; but will lay them upon 
all them that hate thee." 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 43 

Here we have a general collection of physical 
benefits to be directly conferred by the Lord. 
Surely barrenness, corn, wine, oil and the increase 
of flocks are all under "natural laws" ; yet here we 
find them placed absolutely under the great law of 
love and obedience. The fifteenth verse is specially 
conclusive. "The Lord shall take away from thee 
all sickness." Could anything be plainer than 
that? It is absolutely certain that the Israelites 
had a law of entire exemption from sickness. But 
God is the same to-day ; and the only ground for any 
benefit to fallen man lies in the Atonement of Jesus 
Christ. 

4. Deut. xxviii. 15-61. "If thou wilt not 
hearken," etc., . . . . " the Lord will make 
thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, 
even great plagues and of long continuance and 
sore sickness and of long continuance. Moreover 
he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt 
which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave 
unto thee. Also every sickness, and every plague, 
which is not written in the book of this law, them 
will the Lord bring (cause to ascend : margin. Query. 
Ascend from the pit of hell ?) upon thee until thou 
be destroyed." See entire chapter, as also xxix. 
22-24. These lengthy declarations of the great 
Jewish lawgiver are certainly conclusive. Again 
and again was the plain law of physical health laid 
down ; and the language admits of no alteration, 
or turning from the literal sense. If they served 
God, He would by His power keep off the evil 
diseases of every kind, whether named or not. If 



J4 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

they served Satan and the flesh, He would "cause" 
sickness "to ascend" upon them. The great 
trouble to-day is that so many people believe we 
have a different God, and that the great principles 
of His government passed out of use with the 
Mosaic ritual. This law of health was not ritual- 
istic, it was a fundamental principle based upon 
the eternal equity of an unchangeable God. And 
He who " hath reserved better things for us," is 
" the same yesterday, to-day and forever." This 
entire charge from the lips of Moses, is wonder- 
fully forcible and clear upon the point that God 
meant to take care of the body as well as the 
soul. 

5. 2 Chron. vii. 12-14. " And the Lord appeared 
to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have 
heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to 
myself for an house of sacrifice. If I shut up 
heaven that there be no rain ; or if I command the 
locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence 
among my people, limy ] people which are called by my 
name shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek 
my face, and turn from their wicked ways ; then 
will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and 
will heal their land." Two things in this gracious 
promise suggest the words of James. The assu- 
rance is given to "my people," just as the Apostle 
says " any among you " (the believers in the 
"twelve tribes scattered abroad ") ; and the con- 
nection between the healing and the forgiveness 
of sin. "I will forgive their sin, and will heal 
their land," is exactly parallel to " the Lord shall 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 45 

raise him up, and if be have committed sins they 
shall be forgiven him." The forgiveness of sin 
turns solely upon the Atonement, and here the in- 
ference is very plain, that the sickness should be 
removed in the same way and for the same reason 
that the sin was forgiven. The condition prefixed 
makes this still more forcible. " If my people 
. . . . shall humble themselves and pray and 
seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways." 
^ow we know that when a man humbles himself, 
turns from his sins and seeks God's face, he is 
forgiven. But how ? Solely through the merits 
of the vicarious Atonement. But here we see the 
same conditions set for bodily healing. How irre- 
sistible then the conclusion that bodily healing- 
was based upon the same wonderful sacrifice ! 

6. The 33d chapter of Job is very strong and 
clear, but as it is referred to elsewhere, we will 
omit an analysis here. 

7. David knew a great deal about faith-healing. 
Hear a few of his utterances upon the subject. Ps. 
vi. 2, "Have mercy upon me, O Lord; fori am 
weak : Lord, heal me ; for my bones are vexed." 
Yerse 5 shows that he spoke of physical trouble. 
(i For in death there is no remembrance of thee : in 
the grave who shall give thee thanks ? " Then in 
verse 9 he gives this experience. " The Lord hath 
heard my supplication ; the Lord will receive my 
prayer." Again in Ps. xli. 2. " The Lord will 
strengthen him (he that considereth the poor;) 
thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness." In Ps. 
lxxviii. 20-22, we find the idea suggested that God 



46 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

expects us to use the means, and only the means, 
which He has commanded. Moses smote the rock 
when God said " speak ye to the rock," and David 
declares, lt therefore the Lord was wroth 
because they believed not in God, and trusted not 
in his salvation." The best medicine I can use is 
the simple word in Jas. v. 14, 15 ; and when I do 
as God commands, I trust only in His salvation and 
best honor him. As Dorothea Trudel so beautifully 
wrote : " we honor God most by believing His 
word." 

8. Ps. xci. ; What Christian does not love to read 
this magnificent poem ? But how many Chris- 
tians dare to believe it ? I declare my firm convic- 
tion that no honest man can sit down and study 
this psalm in the light of what we have already 
considered, asking himself honestly the question, 
what does it really mean ? without being satisfied 
that he has not realized the literalness of God's 
salvation as fully as he ought, I give Young's 
translation in full; but do not fail, dear reader, to 
compare the regular version with it. 

1. " He who is dwelling 

In the secret place of the Most High, 

In the shade of the Mighty lodgeth habitually, 

2. " He is saying of Jehovah, 

My refuge and my bulwark, my God, I trust 
in Him, 

3. u For He delivereth thee from the snare of a fowler, 

From a calamitous pestilence. 

4. " With His pinion He covereth thee over, 

And under His wings thou dost trust, 
A shield and a buckler is His truth. 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 47 

5. " ThOu art not afraid of fear by night, 

Of arrow that flieth by day, 

6. "Of pestilence in thick darkness that walketh, 

Of destruction that destroy eth at noon, 

7. " There fall at thy side a thousand, 

And a myriad at thy right hand, 
Unto thee it cometh not nigh. 

8. " But with thine eyes thou lookest, 

And the reward of the wicked thou seest, 

9. " (For thou, O Jehovah, art my refuge,) 

The Most High thou makest thy habitation. 

10. " Evil happeneth not unto thee, 

.And a plague cometh not near thy tent, 

11. " For his messengers He chargeth for thee, 

To keep thee in all thy ways, 

12. " On the hands they bear thee up, 

Lest thou smite against a stone thy foot. 

13. " On lion and asp thou treadest, 

Thou trampest young lion and dragon. 

14. " Because in Me he hath delighted, 

I also deliver him — I set him on high, 
Because He hath known My name. 

15. " He doth call Me, and I answer him, 

I am with him in distress, 
I deliver him, and honor him. 

16. " With length of days I satisfy him, 

And I cause him to look on my salvation. " 

Now in the light of reason and common sense, 
what did the Psalmist mean by all this ? When we 
read " A shield and buckler is his truth/' we say, 
certainly, we believe that. " Thou art not afraid of 
fear by night ;" we believe that. " Of pestilence," 
or " a plague cometh not near thy tent ; " well, that 



48 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

Ts a figure of speech. Is this the way te read God's 
Word ! What can be said of " With length of days 
I satisfy him, and I cause him to look on my sal- 
vation?" The last part is not a figure ; then is the 
first? We might very profitably discuss the en- 
tire psalm, one verse at a time ; but I do not wish 
to do more than bring clearly before the mind the 
great fact that this glorious psalm distinctly pro- 
mises physical health and immunity from sickness 
to — and here is the great point — the man who " is 
dwelling in the secret place of the Most High, in 
the shade of the Mighty lodgeth habitually." These 
wonderful promises then are to him who is always 
dwelling and always abiding in Christ, or " under 
the shadow of the Most High." Just here we see 
the weakness of the devil's famous quotation of 
Scripture to the tempted Saviour. " He will give 
his angels charge concerning thee, and in their 
hands they shall bear thee up lest thou dash thy 
foot against a stone." Who is the "thee" referred 
to ? He who abideth continually in God. If any 
man ventures to disregard all the laws of God con- 
cerning health and safety, expecting to be kept 
from injury, he is guilty of gross presumption, and 
does exactly what Satan tempted Jesus to do. The 
moment anyone presumes upon a promise of God, 
that moment he steps out from the " shadow of the 
Most High," and the 91st Psalm is not for him. 
So we must be exceedingly careful not to let an 
excess of zeal persuade us to act in defiance of the 
laws of a well proportioned physical endurance. 
There are times and seasons when God lays extra- 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. -±9 

ordinary work upon His servants, but in such cases 
extraordinary strength is granted, and the Spirit 
makes the necessity very clear. Closes fasted forty 
days upon two occasions, and Philip was caught 
away from the Eunuch, while Elijah "girded up 
his loins and ran before Ahab " to the gate of Sa- 
maria. But these are rare exceptions, and must be 
left entirely in the sphere of the special guidance 
of the Spirit — a sphere at once the most delicate 
and dangerous to ambitiously explore, — or criticise. 
9. Ps. ciii. 1-5. The third verse is best rendered 
as in Young, 

" Who is forgiving all thine iniquities, 
Who is healing all thy diseases." 

David calls upon his soul to bless the Lord, be- 
cause He forgiveth all his iniquities. How does 
God forgive sin ? Of course, through the Atone- 
ment of Jesus Christ. But the Psalmist, in the 
same breath, blesses God because He heals all his 
diseases. How does God heal sickness ? O, by 
the skill of human physicians ! A perfectly candid 
mind must allow that there is not the least a priori 
evidence in the text for any such conclusion. On 
the contrary, the whole weight of evidence clusters 
about the clear parallelism — iniquities and diseases, 
all healed by Jehovah. ]STo man, without the 
natural prejudices of education, would dream of 
calling in an agent in one case, any more than the 
other. If God forgives the iniquities, then God 
heals the diseases. The only agent needed is the 
blood of Christ. 
5 



50 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

10. Ps. cvii. This entire psalm may be read with 
profit. The head lines declare that it speaks of 
" God's providences over travellers, over captives, 
over sick men, over seamen, and in divers varieties 
of life." In verse 6, we read of the travellers 
" Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, 
and he delivered them out of their distresses." In 
verse 13, we read precisely the same words of the 
captives. In v. 28, the same words speak of the 
deliverance of seamen. Now surely all these are 
literal and not figures of speech. But v. 19 gives 
exactly the same deliverance to the sick. As if 
this were not enough the Psalmist adds another 
assurance, not given to traveller, captive or sailor. 
In these cases the deliverance is declared, but the 
manner of that deliverance is not specified. When 
he speaks of the sick, however, the method and 
means of healing are distinctly pointed out. " He 
sent his word and healed them, and delivered them 
from their destruction." Praise the Lord! for this 
straightforward statement. The traveller is " led 
forth " ; the captive " brought out " ; the seamen 
" brought unto the haven ", but not a word is said 
of the means employed. But when the sick are 
" saved out of their distresses," then we have the 
way set forth. " He sent his word and healed 
them." How well this accords with the declar- 
ation of John of the Eternal Word, that l% In him 
was life; and the life was the light of men." Jno. 
i. 4. Again we read, " And this life is in his Son. 
He that hath the Son hath life." 1 John v. 11, 12. 
All agree that Jesus will give life to the body 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 51 

eventually, but fail to see the privilege of present 
life in the sense of health. 

This psalm enforces another point. " Fools be- 
cause of their transgressions, and because of their 
iniquities, are afflicted." What plainer statement 
could we have that sickness is a consequence of sin 
in some form ? This being so apparent, how can 
we fail to grasp the comforling promise that if 
these same " fools " " cry unto God " even from " the 
gates of death," "he saveth them out of their dis- 
tresses"? And this is followed directly by the 
declaration that the healing comes by " His Word.'* 

11. David's son seemed to have an idea that 
there is health in the Word, for he wrote, "My son, 
attend to my words ; incline thine ear unto my 
sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes ) 
keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they 
are life unto those that find them, and health to all 
their flesh r—¥ row iv. 20-22. In chap. iii. 7, 8, he 
says, " Fear the Lord, and depart from evil. It 
shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy 
bones." The two words rendered health are given 
in the margin, medicine. Dr. Young gives healing. 
The idea is evidently expressed by the words 
restorative, remedy, healing, medicine. The wise 
man wrote again, (i In the way of righteousness is 
life."— Chap. xii. 28. 

In quoting such verses as this last I do not mean 
to argue that physical life alone is meant, but that 
it is certainly included in the text. " The fear of 
the Lord is a fountain of life, to depart from the 
snares of death." — Chap. xiv. 27. "When a man's 



52 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies 
to be at peace with him." — Chap. xvi. 17. Is not 
disease, as the work of the devil, an enemy ? If 
I am sick I am at once certain that either some 
action, word or thought, or some failure to see the 
Spirit's leadings does not " please the Lord." 
" Wisdom giveth life to them that have it." — Ec. 
vii. 12. " Why shouldest thou die before thy 
time ? " — vs. 17. Evidently Solomon believed it 
possible for life to be lengthened by conformity to 
the will of God. 

12. Jeremiah prayed, "Heal me, O Lord, and I 
shall be healed ; save me and I shall be saved." — 
xvii. 14. Here again we see the health of soul and 
body coupled together, and the true power of 
restoration attributed to God alone. 

13. Ezek. xxxiv. 4, 16. " The diseased have ye 
(the shepherds) not strengthened, neither have ye 

healed that which was sick," etc "I 

will strengthen that which was sick." The whole 
chapter is weighted with reproof to the shepherds 
of Israel for neglecting their duty. When we read, 
" neither have ye sought that which was lost." 

" I will seek for that which was lost," 

we assent at once to its plain meaning; but when 
we read of healing the sick we begin to think of 
" figures of speech." When, however, we remem- 
ber Jesus' commission to the twelve and to the 
seventy — " preach the gospel and heal the sick," 
we see that the old prophet may have been more 
literal than we have been educated to believe. 
Possibly the modern shepherds have missed a great 
blessing in not claiming and enjoying the privilege 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 53 

granted in James v. 14, 15, to the " elders of the 
church." I say nothing of possible reproof. In 
all love I say to the shepherds, brothers do not 
imagine that all these reproofs and terrible threaten- 
ings of Ezekiel, Zechariah and other prophets, were 
meant only for the possible priests of a period in 
Jewish history not thoroughly understood. Are 
you leading the sheep in the best possible pastures, 
are you preaching 2^ full gospel ? Are you afraid Jesus 
Christ may become a little too supernatural, and 
get a little too much glory ? Are you fearful that 
the discoveries, skill and science of man may not 
be sufficiently honored ? Are you ready to be " little 
children " before the Lord ? O divine Master! let 
Thy truth enter and give light ! 

14. The first temptation presented to Jesus in 
the wilderness was a purely physical one. There 
is a deep and powerful significance here. Many 
suppose that the devil was not sure of the divinity 
of Christ. Be this as it may, he was sure that 
Jesus had a man's body and a man's physical 
nature ; and long experience had confirmed him in 
the belief that a man can be approached most 
easily through the body. This Man had fasted 
forty days, and was hungry. Satan knew the 
almost resistless power of awakened appetite and 
physical desire, and so he suggested the immediate 
provision for a natural want. But the temptation 
aimed at another thing. The possible doubt as to 
the identity of Jesus led to the keen insinuation 
upon that point ; or if this be not true, the sneer- 
ing tempter reminded Him of omnipotent power. 
5a 



54 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

I incline to the former belief. There is too much 
credit given to the devil entirely. What better 
advantage could he ask than to have men endow 
him with transcendent powers ? He likes to wield 
the lash of a master, and if he can get a soul to 
believe it to be impossible to fight against him, his 
battle is already won. He always turns away 
people's minds from that declaration " Eesist the 
devil and he will flee from you ; " and whispers, 
you cannot hope to fight against him ; he was 
next to God in heaven, and his power is almost 
unlimited. So it comes about that men are willing 
to ascribe a slightly limited omnipotence and 
omniscience to Satan. Nearly everybody supposes 
him to possess foreknowledge, and even gives him 
credit for having an intimate acquaintance with 
God's plans and purposes. Dear reader, this is all 
manufactured in hell. Are we to suppose that He, 
before whom archangels veil their faces, is visible 
to the personification of sin? Are God's ways 
which " the angels desire to look into " open reading 
to the prince of darkness ? Will God who allows 
glimpses into the future to come now and then to 
His most favored servants, give foreknowledge 
freely to His greatest enemy ? Depend upon it 
Satan only knows the future as revealed in pro- 
phecy. Undoubtedly he may often interpret it 
better than man ; but he knows nothing to come, 
of himself. He cannot tell the destiny of a single 
soul till God declares it ; hence his unremitting 
war to the last. His hope of success endures to 
the very gates of death, and he never spares an 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 55 

effort. What he most likes to hide from us to-day 
is that he is a beaten foe. Christ overcame him, 
defeated him, whipped him at every point : and 
Christ is ready to give the same victory to the 
true believer. Oh ! how Satan dreads the discov- 
ery of this great secret ! how carefully he guards 
against it, and how he howls with disappointment 
and rage, when a soul perceives it, through faith 
in the blood. 

But to return. Satan presented his first tempta- 
tion to the worn out physical powers of Jesus. It 
was a literal trial. " If thou be the Son of God, 
command that these stones be made bread." (Even 
the devil admits that the miracle of creation demon 
strates God. Let infidelity profit by his example.) 
But he evidently based his hope of success upon 
the weak body which was calling loudly for food. 
To this literal, physical temptation Jesus replied 
" It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, 
but by every word that proceedeth out of the 
mouth of God." Matt. iv. 4. See Deut. viii. 3. 
Moses told Israel that God fed them on manna in 
order to make them know that man should live 
upon the words of God, as well as upon his natural 
food. The devil desisted at once, and tried an- 
other spot in the armor. As Judge Lowe has 
beautifully said, " 'It is written' was enough for 
the devil, and only the devil will ever say it is not 
enough." 

I feel that I am treading upon holy and delicate 
ground. Yet 1 am persuaded that Jesus' words 
did not want in literal significatio n. I remember 



56 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

Elijah in his forty days' march across the desert 
"to Horeb, the mount of God." I recall Moses, as 
for nearly three months he abode in God's pre- 
sence. The scene in the wilderness of the Jordan 
rises before me, and another scene as well. Upon 
a silent mountain top a man continues all night in 
prayer to God. In the early morning watch, in 
the strength which came not from physical food, 
but from conversation with His Father, He walks 
upon the tossing sea (the great symbol of the 
surging sin of our souls), calms the tempest, not by 
slow methods of gradual subsidence, but by a word; 
and when He reaches the other shore, so strong is 
the life within Him that " as many as touch the 
hem of His garment are made perfectly whole." 
Matt. xiv. 36. " The water that 1 shall give him 
shall be in him a well of water springing up into 
everlasting life." Jno. iv. 14. 

With loving gratitude I testify for Jesus in this 
matter. More and more I am coming to realize 
that my whole life, physical as well as spiritual, 
hangs upon the Word of God. " His words are 
sweet to my taste," and " I esteemed the words of 
his mouth more than my necessary food," have a 
significance beneath the "figure of speech." I 
know that " the life which I now live in the t flesh I 
live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me 
and gave himself for me." Jesus brought my soul 
out of the pit of sin. Jesus brought my body out 
of the pit of fatal disease. Jesus keeps my soul, 
and Jesus keeps my body. These have become 
great, thrilling facts in my experience. Again and 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 57 

again, when weary and tired with physical work, 
I have found rest and strength in the " words of 
His mouth," and been more refreshed than if I had 
eaten or slept. A few minutes on my knees, alone 
with God, have given me more actual physical 
strength, not to mention spiritual vigor, than hours 
of idleness. I do not mean to say that we are to 
disregard all the laws of nature and press beyond 
the bounds of reason. Quite the reverse. I speak 
of times when work was to be done, which, while 
trying, was not at all unreasonable. I do not 
throw away my reason, but only make it depend- 
ent upon, and co-laborer with faith. Many an out- 
breaking, God-defying sinner endures much more 
physical effort every day than I do, or ever did. 
That is not the point. The distinction lies in this. 
I was prostrated through disease. Jesus restored 
me. But now my physical nature and experience 
often demonstrate, to my entire satisfaction, that, 
but for the living Word, I would not be alive, 
much less in health and comfort. I am made to 
feel vividly my constant dependence upon Jesus, 
and am always conscious that every breath I draw 
for body, soul or spirit, comes straight from His 
hand. I am thus sweetly aware that I belong 
entirely to my Savior, and I praise Him for all I 
am, and all I have. Praise the Lord ! 

One thing is certain. Jesus met a temptation 
which involved the question of physical life and 
health, by the positive statement that these do not 
depend upon the human means of sustenance alone, 
but upon the Word of God. To contend that He 



58 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

referred only to spiritual comfort would be to say 
that the Son of God used Scripture where it was 
not applicable. This would be blasphemy. 

15. The commission to the twelve apostles is 
significant. Matt, x : " He gave them power 
against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to 
heal all manner of sickness and all manner of dis- 
ease." After conferring this power,* He said : " as 
3'e go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at 
hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the 
dead, cast out devils ; freely ye have received, free- 
ly give." Mark vi. 12, 13, tells us: "And they 
went out, and preached that men should repent. 
And cast out many devils, and anointed with oil 
many that were sick, and healed them." We are 
not told that they secured many converts, but are 
assured of the success attending their healing min- 
istry. See Luke ix. 1, 2, 6. " He gave them power 
and authority over all devils and to cure diseases. 
And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, 
and to heal the sick. And they departed, and went 
through the towns, preaching the Gospel, and heal- 
ing everywhere." Again in Luke x. 1, 9, 17, 18, 
19, we read : " The Lord appointed other seventy 
also, and sent them two and two before his face . . . 
and said unto them . . . into whatsoever city ye 
enter . . . heal the sick that are therein, and 
say unto them, The Kingdom of God is come nigh 
unto you. And the seventy returned again with 
joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto 

*How did they know they had the power? I imagine only 
because Jesus said so. 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 59 

us through thy name. And he said unto them, I 
beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold 
I give unto you power to tread on serpents and 
scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; 
and nothing shall by any means hurt you." 

These quotations prove, that Jesus gave his first 
preachers a double commission, for souls and bodies. 
They prove that these diseases, or at least some of 
them, were the direct work of the devil. They 
prove that all such power is " through thy name," 
the name of Jesus ; which is simply another way of 
saying that the benefits of such power rest solely 
upon the vicarious Atonement. And they prove that 
to these first teachers He also promised a contin- 
uance of health in their own persons ; even in spite 
of " serpents," " scorpions " and all the power of 
the enemy." The inference is not unreasonable, 
that the poison from a serpent's bite, in its opera- 
tion upon the human body, belongs to the " power 
of the enemy," " he that haththepower of death," 
— the devil. 

16. I here trespass a little upon the following 
chapter, because of the connection. In Mark xvi. 
17, 18, we read, " And these signs shall follow them 
that believe; In my name shall they cast out 
devils; they shall speak with new tongues ; they 
shall take up serpents ; and if they drink any dead- 
ly thing, it shall not hurt them ; they shall lay 
hands on the sick, and they shall recover." In this 
last utterance to His disciples Jesus promised all 
these signs " to them that believe." I elsewhere 
discuss the absurdity of the argument which predi- 



60 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

cates anything upon the fact that these signs have 
not followed good Christian men and women, who 
had no belief in or expectation of these signs. But 
here is the promise. Notice that it includes the 
assurance of personal exemption from physical in- 
jury, as well as the extension of benefits to others. 
Upon what could these benefits be based, save 
upon the atonement ? No twist of the language 
can possibly alter the plain fact that Jesus directly 
promised miraculous preservation, and miraculous 
powers to " them that believe." * When the 
apostles felt the need of " power from on high," 
they deliberately united in asking God to stretch 
forth His hands to heal, " and that signs and 
wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child 
Jesus." — Acts iv. 29, 30. Note that this prayer 
was offered in an age of faith in the supernatural 
and amongst a people whose whole history 
abounded in the miraculous. Is there less need 
to-day, when we are surrounded by a materialism 
in the world and in the church, which holds that 
God has not stepped outside the barrier of " natu- 
ral law " for centuries, and that He cannot or 
will not do so ? 

17. 1 Cor. vi. 13. " The body is . . . for the 
Lord ; and the Lord for the body." That Paul 
here speaks of the physical body there is abso- 
lutely no question. How is the body " for the 
Lord?" Of course to serve Him. But how is 

* For conclusive evidence of the existence of everyone of 
these signs in modern times, see " Supernatural Gifts of the 
Spirit." 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 61 

" the Lord for the body/' except to save it and 
preserve it ? This will prove a difficult question 
to answer in any other way. And how can the 
Lord save any part or portion of a man, except 
through the Atonement ? I pass the 12th Chap* 
of 1 Cor. because of its use elsewhere. We may 
well read it in this connection however, and re- 
member that " all the promises of God in him are 
yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by 
us."— 2 Cor. i. 20. " We walk by faith, not by 
sight," 2 Cor. v. 7, was written just in the midst of 
a pointed discussion of the physical body. Eead 
it and ponder. Eph. v. 23, 30 : ' : He is the savior 
of the body. For we are members of his body, 
of his flesh, and of his bones. 1 ' Well may Paul 
add, " This is a great mystery." Thank God ! 
many mysteries become plain when we are walk- 
ing with Jesus. Even this is not wholly a blank. 
This wonderful union with Christ ; just what is its 
nature and how it is brought about ; who can tell ? 
But may we not believe in the union itself as an 
actual fact, and not merely a figure ? " Members 
of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones." The 
life of Jesus in me, coursing through my veins, 
and thrilling my soul and spirit ; how can it be 
mine, save through the merits of His atoning sac- 
rifice? " He that eateth me, even he shall live by 
me." — Jno. vi. 57. " Doth this offend you," be- 
loved? Beware how you ask "How can this man 
give us his flesh to eat " ? The answer will only 
be the yet stranger statement, " Except ye eat the 
flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, ye 
6 



62 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

*have no life in you." Kemember, " He that eateth 
my flesh and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me and 
I in him." I do not attempt to explain, but can 
only say these words have a meaning now to me 
that is new and strange and wonderful. 

18. Gal. iii. 13. " Christ hath redeemed us from 
the curse of the law, being made a curse for us ; 
for it is written, cursed is every one that hangeth 
on a tree." This is a tremendous assertion, and it 
clearly involves the vicarious Atonement for sick- 
ness or disease. These afflictions are indisputably 
the attendants and results of sin. That they are 
emphatically included in the " curse of the law," 
can not be denied for a moment. Eefer again to 
the numerous quotations already made from Exo- 
dus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, etc., for the repeated 
and lengthy declarations of Moses upon this point. 
In fact there is vastly greater evidence that sick- 
ness and disease constituted the " curse of the 
law " than that spiritual death was indicated. 
This may appear startling, but it is most posi- 
tively true. Of course I do not for a moment be- 
little the spiritual side of the question, but I do 
point to the fact that the " law " most specially and 
repeatedly declares bodily sickness to be directly 
included in the " curse," and to form a very im- 
portant element thereof. But Paul positively 
affirms that " Christ hath redeemed us from the 
curse of the law" the whole of it, of course, for 
who will dare say the work of redemption is 
not finished. But how hath He redeemed us? 
By " being made a curse for us." Let us put this 
argument in its simplest form. 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 63 

1. All forms of sickness and disease were inclu- 
ded, and even mentioned particularly, in the " curse 
of [the law." — Ex. xv. ; Ex. xxiii. ; Lev. xxvi. ; 
Deut. vii. ; Deut. xxxii., etc., etc. 

2. " Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of 
the law." Therefore, Christ hath redeemed us 
from all sickness and disease. There is no future 
tense about it, the work is finished. Again, 

1. Christ redeemed us from sin by His vicari- 
ous Atonement ; that is, " He was made sin for 
us." 

2. Christ redeemed us from the " curse of the 
law," by " being made a curse for us." 

Therefore we are redeemed from all the " curse 
of the law," body, soul and spirit ; solely through 
His vicarious Atonement. Praise the Lord I 

Search the Scriptures, and see whether these 
things be so. 

One single case will be quoted here from Scrip- 
ture. In Heb. xi. 11, we are distinctly informed 
that it was " through faith " that Sara received the 
healing from a purely physical deficiency, and that 
it was " because she judged him faithful who had 
promised." Plainly, her faith was necessary, and 
was exercised before the healing came. And just 
here let me praise the dear Lord for His goodness 
to me, although I be called a fool for so doing. 
While writing these pages to-night (Feb. 26, 1884) 
my little girl, aged sixteen months began to cry- 
She had been suffering somewhat with her teeth 
during the day, and the throbbing pain prevented 
her sleeping. I considered it an attempt of the 



64 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

devil to cheat me out of the time given to the Lord, 
and so I tried to soothe her and inwardly prayed. 
The thought came to me that I ought to anoint 
her and claim the specific promise. I did so, and 
in the name of Jesus commanded the pain to de- 
part. Immediately I left her in the Lord's hands 
and went down stairs, not stopping to attempt to 
soothe her, or to induce her to sleep. In a few 
minutes there was a single cry, and then she rested 
as quietly as ever. A baby's imagination could 
hardly allay the pain of swollen gums; but Jesus 
is willing and ready to take little children in His 
arms, and His touch carries healing to-day, as well 
as in the past. Praise the Lord ! 

As we read the life of Christ, we are struck with 
the continued stream of healing miracles that 
flowed from him wherever He went. " He healed 
all that were sick." " As many as touched were 
made perfectly whole." This record begins with 
his ministry, and terminates in Gethsemane with 
the act of healing power in restoring the ear of the 
high priest's servant. When the great prophet, 
Elisha, was laid to rest, the dead bones of a man 
sprang into life at the touch of his body ; but when 
Jesus died many graves opened, and the risen dead 
walked the streets of Jerusalem. Truly the Atone- 
ment made provision for the body. 

But it is contended that these numerous miracles 
of healing were wrought in order to establish the 
divinity of our Lord. Now, it is true Jesus himself 
said that His works testified of the Father, and at 
another time, He exhorted His hearers to " believe 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 65 

Him for the very work's sake." But surely the 
latter clearly hints at the fact that such was not 
the primary intention. " I work the works of Him 
that sent me," gives us the idea that Jesus con- 
tinuously bore the sins and sickness of lost souls and 
bodies. He said not "I have worked;" that would 
admit the construction of an intended demon- 
stration of His divinity ; but " I work," is present 
and unlimited. Let us remember in this con- 
nection, that His name, given to Moses, proclaims 
the unchanging character of His nature and His 
work — i am. There is no past or future, properly 
speaking, with our Master and Lord. Glory to 
His name ! Rather should we see, in these 
miracles, the natural outcome of that love where- 
with He loved us. He healed because, in a sense, 
He could not help it. He that wept over the city, 
could not withhold the touch of health from the 
citizens who came to Him honestly, believing in His 
power to heal. 

Thomas Erskine wrote, " Until Christ's ascension 
He did not receive gifts for men* ; the power of 
the Holy Ghost was not lodged in Him as the Head 
of the body, and so that power could not flow in- 
ternally from Him into the members. The inflow 
of the power into them was a witness to the world 
of the exaltation of the Head. The great and com- 
mon mistake with regard to the gifts is, that they 
were intended merely to authenticate or to witness 
to the inspiration of the canon of Scripture, and 

* Eph. iv. 8. 
6a 



66 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

that therefore when the canon was completed, they 
should cease ; whereas they were intended to wit- 
ness to the exaltation of Christ as the Head of the 
body, the church. Eeader, do you not feel that if 
these things be so, then there is a nearness to God, 
and a walking in him, and a down-breaking of the 
creature in real Christianity of which you as yet 
know nothing."* 

A very strong proof that the miracles of Christ 
were not merely intended to demonstrate His 
divinity is found in the fact that the Bible always 
avoids any such thing. God's existence and nature 
are always pre-supposed. The first words of the 
sacred writing " In the beginning God created the 
heavens and the earth," assume all that can be 
imagined of the miraculous power of the Creator. 
When the threats of vengeance were sent to Pha- 
raoh the words were spoken " He shall know that 
I am God," etc; but of course we see that the pri- 
mal object was the deliverance of the chosen peo- 
ple. The convincing of the Egyptians was a sec- 
ondary result. Had this been the object of the 
miracles why were they not wrought for the 
doubters when they asked for one? They were 
performed only for those who had faith, or for pure 
benevolence, as in the case of feeding the five 
thousand. 

Admiral E. Gardiner Fishbourne, of the English 
Xavy, endorses the idea. of Thomas Erskine, just 

*See " Supernatural Gifts of Spirit," p. 19, from Erskine's 
u Brazen Serpent." 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 67 

quoted. He says ; in answer to the question, why 
these miracles now ? * 

"In mercy God is opening men's eyes to their 
past unbelief as to His power and love in Christ, 

" He is endorsing real theology, and condemning 
the unreal imputative, merely speculative and 
powerless systems. . . . 

" He is generating faith in the supernatural by 
witnessing to its reality, and proving that Chris- 
tianity is not effete or less potential than it was in 
apostolic times, and showing that those who 
argue that it is so, and who limit the Holy One of 
Israel by teaching that divine joy, divine holiness, 
and divine healing were confined to apostolical 
times, have been, and are, doing irreparable damage 
to their own souls, while they destroy the unity of 
the church and its power over heathendom. 

" These cures are to prove that Christ's love is 
not less than it was when He tabernacled in the 
flesh in Judaea, and that His power is even greater 
now that He is enthroned at the Father's right hand ; 
and that it is now, as it was from the beginning, 
His desire to enthrone Himself by His Spirit, in 
the hearts of all believers. 

" To prove to those who, in childlike faith, 
accept it, that the Word of God is inspired by the 
Holy Ghost, and can be understood by those who 
seek His enlightenment, while it is a sealed book to all 

* Small pamphlet "Wholeness, or Holiness and Health 
through Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. " London: Elliot, Ptock 
& Houghton. 



68 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

who are without His teaching, however deep and 
extended is their human knowledge. 

" To prove to this money grubbing, God denying 
and unspiritual age that there is neither progress 
nor real profit when the soul is not fully saved and 
sanctified. 

" To prove to the false philosophers and unbeliev- 
ing divines that the God, in whom we live and 
move and have our being, is known to, and know- 
able only in the Lord Jesus Christ by faith, while 
the reality of His presence, love, and power is de- 
monstrated to reason by faith healing." 

Erskine has the clear idea — the witnessing to 
the risen Christ as the living Head of the body. 
This will always be seen whenever the members 
evince that consecration and faith which allows the 
inflow and outflow of supernatural power. 

One very important point has been entirely 
overlooked. Those people came very close to 
Jesus ; much closer than most persons do to-day. 
Note that He did not heal at a distance, except 
where the messenger came specially on behalf of 
the patient. "As many as touched were made 
perfectly whole." He did not cast the devils out 
of a man while the sea of Galilee rolled between 
them, but when they actually met. This obvious 
fact has blinded men to a glorious parallel. We 
are told that this is the very reason why miracles 
of healing are not to be expected to-day. Jesus is 
not here, as He was then. Ah ! is it so? " Lo I 
am with you alway, even to the end of the age," 
was spoken almost in the same breath with the 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 69 

promise of the signs and wonders to " follow them 
that believe." * Men have failed to see the wonder- 
ful truth that it is actually possible, in this century 
of grace, to draw just as near to Jesus Christ as it 
ever was when He walked the streets of Jeru- 
salem. The door of faith may be narrower than 
the door of sight, but it is wide enough to admit 
any soul t h at has resolutely laid aside "every weight, 
and the sin which doth so easily beset us." Eigh- 
teen centuries ago no sick man ever went to Jesus 
for healing, and at the same time left part of his 
body at home. He had to go with a whole purpose 
and a whole action. Just so, to-day. If you will 
take all you are or hope to be, all your doubts, all 
your fears, all your dread of men and men's 
opinions, and go to Jesus in an absolute and irre- 
vocable consecration of soul and body, you will get 
near enough to " touch the hem of His garment ;" 
and it is true to-day that " as many as touch are 
made perfectly whole." But you can't touch Him 
through a reservation, any more than you can 
receive the electrical current through a thick glass 
plate. Judas and John were both near to Christ. 
Judas had his doubts, his greed, his selfish desires, 
and he was repelled from the divine presence of 
the Master, and died a victim of sin and death. 
But John, with earnest purpose and honest love, 

*Prof. J. Rendell Harris, of the Johns Hopkins' University, 
has done good service, through his studies of the mechanical 
measurements of the Greek text, in showing that the discredit, 
cast by the Revisers on the closing verses of Mark, the story of 
the woman taken in adultery and other passages, is entirely a 
mistake. 



70 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

drew so near that he leaned on Jesus' breast, and 
the pulsing of that eternal heart imparted love and 
light and life : so that he lived a century, and was 
spared a death from violence. Moses lived to one 
hundred and twenty, a perfect physical man : 
Enoch walked with God three hundred years, till 
God took him ; and Elijah, who like Moses, talked 
with God upon the mount, passed up in a chariot 
of fire. But each of these saints " knew God face to 
face," and there was no power in the hand of Satan 
to hurt them, in soul or body. My brother, if you 
press as near to Jesus as those men did, the life- 
power of His glorious nature will expel all the 
Judas elements of your entire being, while the 
John characteristics will bloom and blossom into 
marvellous and supernatural beauty. Have you 
ever tried to touch Jesus ? 

1. — Sickness from the Devil. 

THE DEVIL. 

Men don't believe in a devil now, as their fathers used to do ; 

They've forced the door of the broadest creed to let His Ma- 
jesty through. 

There isn't a print of his cloven foot or a fiery dart from his 
bow 

To be^found in earth or air to-day, for the world has voted so. 

But who is it mixing the fatal draught that palsies heart and 
brain, 

And loads the bier of each passing year with ten hundred thou- 
sand slain ? 

Who blights the bloom of the land to-day with the fiery breath 
of Hell, 

If the devil isn't and never was ? Won't somebody rise anct 
tell ? 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 71 

Who dogs the steps of the toiling saint, and digs the pits for 

his feet ? 
Who sows the tares in the field of time wherever God sows His 

wheat ? 
The Devil is voted not to be, and of course the thing is true ; 
But who is doing the kind of work the Devil alone should do ? 

• 
We are told he does not go about as a roaring lion now ; 
But whom shall we hold responsible for the everlasting row 
To be heard in home, in church and state, to the earth's re- 
motest bound, 
If the Devil, by a unanimous vote, is nowhere to be found ? 

Won't somebody step to the front forthwith, and make his 

bow, and show 
How the frauds and the crimes of a single day spring up ? We 

want to know. 
The Devil was fairly voted out, and, of course, the Devil 's 

gone ; 
But simple people would like to know who carries his business 

on? Rev. A. J. Hough. 

In spite of the verse " I create evil," Isa. xlv. 7, 
and the famous account of the lying spirit's mis- 
sion to Ahab's prophets, 2 Chron. xviii., we all be- 
lieve that God is not, properly speaking, the author, 
of sin. Of course the coming and existence of sin, 
and sickness if you please, was included in the di- 
vine plan, or else God's foreknowledge has narrow 
limitations ; but when in His wisdom He allows 
the evil it only seems, while condemning the vol- 
untary actors, to bring out his glorious redemp- 
tion. Now sickness is, most unquestionably, an 
evil. Good may result from it of course, but 
there is no use in trying to persuade a reasonable 
man that sickness, in itself, can ever be a good 
thing. We have already seen how God used it, or 



72 HEALING OE BODILY DISEASE. 

allowed it to be used, as a whip to bring the child- 
ren ol Israel back from their bims ; and we all 
know full well that it has often the same use and 
effect to-day. Most people think Job's case is a 
mysterious and strange exception, but I long 
ago determined that it is a regular type of 
God's dealings with the soul. Job was a good 
man ; so good and honest as to be called " perfect " 
by God himself. But Job, although jDerfect 
in heart, was not mature; and God wanted him 
to grow. This Job evidently failed to see, and 
therefore strong measures were necessary. Now 
let us carefully note that Satan was the direct 
agent who stole Job's sheep and camels, killed his 
sons and daughters, and at last actually " smote 
Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto 
his crown." Yes, Satan did it all. Nowadays 
men would say " the visitation of God," but the 
inspired writer tells us it was a visitation of the 
devil. Shall we suppose that the old adversary 
has lost any of his venom ? On the contrary, " he 
hath great wrath, because he knows that his time 
is short." 

But let us particularly remember that Satan 
could not and did not make Job sick till God gave 
him a distinct permission to do so. Here we have a 
positive statement of the fact that Job had physi- 
cal health by the keeping power of God alone, and 
that Job became sick only when that power was 
relaxed, for the purpose of opening his eyes to the 
advanced steps God wished him to take. We all 
know the story, t nd remember its significant close ; 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 73 

how God restored him to health and strength and 
possessions, as soon as the desired spiritual expe- 
rience was received. reader ! you who are sick 
in body and have suffered for months and years, 
does not this wonderful narrative cause you to 
think that possibly you are halting and hesitating, 
failing to see God's leading, and just a little unre- 
solved to say with Job to the very uttermost, " I 
abhor mysslf? " That absolute death of self, how 
hard it is ! 

Again we read in Luke xiii. 11-17, of the "wo- 
man which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years," 
who was healed on the Sabbath day to the disgust 
of the Jews. Jesus himself spoke the words 
" ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abra- 
ham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, 
be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?" 
Truly it was a fit work for the Great Physician to 
break the chains of the prince of darkness, whether 
forged about the soul or the body. 

Yet once more we have a plain statement of in- 
spiration as to the origin of bodily disease. In 
Acts x. 38, Peter proclaimed to the Gentiles, that 
" God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy 
Ghost and with power: who went about doing 
good, healing all that were oppressed of the devil ; 
for God was with him." It would be a very nar- 
row interpretation that would limit this sweeping 
phrase to the few cases of demoniacal possession 
recorded in the gospel history. Evidently the en- 
tire list of healings is included, by the apostle, 
in this general statement of the daily work of 
7 



74 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

Jesus. Then those who are sick, are il oppressed 
by the devil." Most certainly they are; and last, 
but not least, we have Paul's distinct declaration, 
that his " thorn," whatever it may have been, was 
a " minister of Satan," sent " to buffet " him. Sure- 
ly nothing could be more conclusive than this. 

It being apparent then that disease is from Sa- 
tan, and that its use, to the sufferer, is purely cor- 
rective ; it follows undeniably that if the cause or 
reason for the correction be removed, there is no 
necessity for the means of correction remaining. 
The children of Israel left the task-master's lash 
in Egypt, and were not obliged to hear it crack in 
order to keep them humble. I mean by this, that 
I need not expect to carry a certain form of sick- 
ness to my grave, when the leading of the Lord 
has been seen and accepted. When the Jews 
turned to God, he received them, and always re- 
moved the plagues and bodily diseases which had 
been used as a means of punishment. And when- 
ever a man came to Jesus, He accepted the faith as 
far as it went, and never refused to remove the 
suffering and physical disability. 

We are now ready to turn to the Scriptures and 
read of the intent of the Atonement with reference 
to the work of Satan. Daniel prophesied that 
Christ would come after the seventy weeks, " to 
make an end of sins." Dan. ix. 24. He was to 
" restrain or finish the transgression," but of sins 
He would " make an end." What a glorious truth 
for the fully reconciled child of the King ! But 
this sin is the work of the devil ; and we have just 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 75 

seen from the Word that sickness emanates directly 
from the same baleful source. Why then should 
not an end be made of that also ? If it was done 
for Israel in the wilderness, shall we, of the dis- 
pensation of grace, be less favored ? It is admitted 
that sickness is but the beginning of death, that it 
is, in fact, death's advance guard and active agent ; 
but Paul tells us that Jesus partook of our flesh 
and blood, " that through death he might destroy 
him that had the power of death, that is the devil ; 
and deliver them who through fear of death were 
all their life time subject to bondage." Heb. ii. 14, 15. 
Here we are distinctly told that the devil has the 
power of death ; and therefore it follows that he 
has the power of sickness, as the van of death's 
army. Now Jesus has not yet destroyed death, 
except in the promise. That " last enemy" still 
exists and exercises power over us all, " For it is 
appointed unto men once to die." But here we 
find a parallel without a flaw. Sin is the disease 
which leads to the " second death," the death of 
the soul. Sickness is the disease which leads to 
bodily death. The Atonement of Christ has fully 
provided for the soul a salvation which makes an 
end of sin now, so that we may " serve Him in 
righteousness and holiness all the days of our life," 
" being delivered from this present evil world ; " 
and it has provided that we shall be delivered in 
the last great day, from the awful death which is 
the result and consequence of sin. But this latter 
deliverance is potential, we have it in the promise 
of God. The actual judicial day has not yet 



76 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

arrived, but we confidently expect it and believe 
that our names will be found written in the " Lamb's 
book of life." The advanc3 guard of spiritual 
death — sin — is thus already destroyed through the 
work of Christ in our souls, and the main body, 
the dreadful reality itself is potentially destroyed 
in God's promise, and will be actually destroyed, 
so far as we are concerned, after the glorious 
appearing of our Lord, or at least when the books 
will be opened, and the names contained therein 
published to the universe. Now mark the beauty 
of the parallel. Jesus "took our infirmities and 
bore our sicknesses," just as he bore sins, and 
thus He " made an end " of the former, pre- 
cisely as He did of the latter. His Atone- 
ment therefore makes it possible for us to live, 
as Moses did, and serve Him in health of body, 
as well as in holiness of heart, " all the days of our 
life ;" and it has provided that we shall be delivered 
bodily from the physical death which is the natural 
result of sickness. But just as before, this latter 
deliverance is potential ; we have it in the promise. 
The actual day of its physical realization has not 
yet come, although we confidently believe it to be 
close at hand, when the " Lord himself shall de- 
scend from the heavens with a shout, and the dead 
in Christ shall rise first." "We shall all be 
changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye." 
" This corruptible shall put on incorruption, and this 
mortal put on immortality." Mark the parallel, here 
clearly and beautifully set forth. The corruptible 
soul, which still is peccable shall put on incorrup- 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 77 

tion, and be safe forever : while the mortal body, 
shall put on immortality and thereafter laugh at 
death to all eternity. This sin and this sickness 
are alike the handiwork of Satan; but the beloved 
disciple assures us that, " For this purpose the Son 
of God was manifested, that he might destroy the 
works of the devil." 1 Jno. iii. 8. 

2. — The Importance of the Body. 

This brings us to a fundamental truth, which 
has been most sadly neglected, and has been terri- 
bly overgrown with weeds. The marvellous con- 
summation which Paul so eloquently depicts in 
1 Cor. xv., will never be brought about, until these 
so-called poor mortal bodies have been completely 
emancipated from the environment of sin, as well as 
from its effects. When " this mortal shall have 
put on immortality," "then" and not till then, 
" shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, 
" Death is swallowed up in victory. 0, death, where 
is thy sting ? O, grave, where is thy victory ?" 
Dr. A. J. Gordon, of Boston, has given some atten- 
tion to this subject, and severely commented on 
what he calls the " caged eagle theory of the 
body." * The devil has worked hard and with 
great success, to persuade men that the body is of 

*See " Ministry of Healing." A book which furnishes the 
most absolute evidence that faith-healing, without the use of 
means, except the Scriptural ones of " anointing with oil," and 
" laying on of hands," has been practised in the church, aU 
along the centuries, from the time of Christ to the present. 
It can be obtained at the Willard Tract Repositories, and from 
booksellers generally. 

7a 



78 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

no special account. This general belief of the 
Christian church may be summarized as follows : 
My body is a great nuisance ; it is a regular 
brake on the wheels of spiritual progress, it is con- 
tinually forcing me to sin. I could be a tolerably 
decent Christian if it were not for this miserable 
body of mine. I make up my mind to act prop- 
erly and put forth every possible effort of will, 
but my wretched body gives way and precipitates 
me into sin and all forms of evil. My soul is all 
right, it means to do well, but my body continu- 
ally betrays me. It is a regular cage, with bars of 
steel, against which my poor soul beats its breast 
in vain. Heigho ! I wish I was out of it. What 
a glorious thing it will be to see it stuck in a hole 
in the ground, it is nothing but dirt anyhow, and 
to soar aloft on spiritual wings, as free as the air 
of heaven. But as I cannot get rid of it till death 
sets me free, I suppose it is necessary as a disci- 
pline for my spirit. And so the strain runs on. 

Now all this is straight from Satan, without any 
dilution whatever. Your body was made, with 
your soul, " in the image of God." True it was 
made out of dust, but please to remember that 
there was not an atom of sin in the world at that 
time; God had just made the dust, and u saw that 
it was good " ; there was no evil in it. Now when 
sin entered, how was it, by an act of the body ? 
Just here we come upon the old fallacy that the 
actual body of muscle and bone is capable of sin. 
This is the root of the whole thing. My muscle 
and bone, my hands and feet, my eyes and tongue 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 79 

are merely dead matter, and are do more capable 
of sin or of sinning than is the marble statue. 
It is the intelligence within that sins. It is the 
mind and soul which God breathed into the dead 
matter, and which alone guides that matter and 
vivifies it, that is capable of a volition, and conse- 
quently, of a sin. There are some sins it is true, 
which, in their commission, necessitate the exer- 
cise of some physical appetite or desire ; but these 
prove nothing. In fact the mere physical per- 
formance of these acts is not, strictly speaking, 
the sin at all. The gratification of lust is of course 
an outward sin of commission, but the real sin 
antedates the physical action. " Whosoever look- 
eth on a woman, to lust after her, hath committed 
adultery already in Ms heart." A man steals money 
from a drawer. The sin lies in the mental or 
moral act within his soul, and not in the physical 
motion of his hand. Another commits murder. 
The sin is in his heart, not in the actual physical ex- 
tinction of the life^er se. In no one of these physical 
acts is there any sin whatever. The relation between 
the sexes is the most sacred known to man, in its 
proper place. The movements of the hand pro- 
perly put forth, are right and necessary ; and even 
the taking of a human life is perfectly sinless 
when the sheriff touches the drop. My brother, 
the body which gives you so much trouble is not 
your physical body at all. It is the " body of sin," 
the "old man,' 1 the inbeing of sin. This it is that 
causes you to do what you hate, and to leave un- 
done the things that you would do. This it is 



80 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

that reddens with anger, flashes with hate, burns 
with envy, festers with jealousies, puffs up with 
pride, exults in boasting, and destroys your peace. 
And this is that " body of sin" which "may be 
destroyed." — Eom. vLJ3. This body was not made 
by God. It was not formed from the " good " 
dust. It did not grow in heaven. No, it was 
manufactured by Satan himself, and was infused 
into the first man in and through his primal act of 
unbelief. Now, praise the Lord, this cage can be 
broken open, now and here. You may be " de- 
livered from this present evil world." And you 
can soar just as high as you please in the atmos- 
phere of perfect love and perfect peace and per- 
fect health of soul and spirit and body. A bird 
cannot fly higher than the atmosphere ; and so we 
cannot soar into the eternities, for we are yet in 
time ; but we can fly as straight towards the sun 
as ever flies the strongest eagle, and never strike 
any cage bars either. 

For centuries Satan has been at his old trick of 
quoting, or misquoting, Scripture; and he has sys- 
tematically drilled Christians to repeat the ever- 
lasting excuse, " The spirit is willing, but the flesh 
is weak." They forget one of the chief names of 
Jehovah in the old time : " The God of all flesh." 
He it is who, when Sarah laughed at what she be- 
lieved to be a physical impossibility, said in ten- 
der reproach, " Is anything too hard for the 
Lord ? " — Gen. xviii. 14. And He it is who told 
the weeping prophet " Behold I am the Lord, the 
God of all flesh : is there anything too hard for 



HEALING OF BODILY* DISEjfcfe. 81 

me ?" Jer. xxxii. 27. And centuries* aftfer the 
same God said to Paul. *• ily strengths made per- 
fect in weakness" 2 Cor. xii. 9. This gmtffc teuth 
was thoroughly impressed upon the heatt Of the 
great Apostle to the Gentiles. He never s r :ort«d 
his body. True, he said it was better to4n with 
Christ than to remain in a sinful world, "bat 
never hinted that he desired to get rid of hisfbo&y. 
On the contrary no one has ever spoken sotearn 
estly of his desire to retain it. Hear him excllMt 
" For we know that the whole creation groan&tli 
and travaileth in pain together until now. Atffl 
not only they but ourselves also, which have thfe 
first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves, groan 
within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit 
the redemption of our body." Bom. viii. 22, 23. 
The special point that Paul did not wish to lose 
his body, but only to have it glorified, on account of 
its circumscribed conditions, is luminously set forth 
thus : " For we know that if our earthly house of 
this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building 
of God, an housenotmade with hands, eternal in the 
heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring 
to be clothed upon with our house which is from 
heaven. If so be that being clothed we shall not 
be found naked. For we that are in this taber- 
nacle do groan, being burdened : not for that we 
would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality 
might be swallowed up of life." 2 Cor. v. 1-4 

Who but Paul so earnestly entreats us to "pre- 
sent your bodies, a living sacrifice, holy and accep- 
table unto God ; which is your reasonable service?" 



82 JiKALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

Kom. ^ii. L ] Manifestly he is not speaking of the 
" body t of iin " or the " old man," for to present sin 
as a h >ly and acceptable sacrifice to God would 
certainly be an utterly unreasonable service as 
w^ uS *n everlasting impossibility. * If we read 
tin- /w of the sacrifices we are struck with the 
^ition that everything and every animal 
which was offered to God, should be absolutely 
■ il without blemish " ; every sacrifice must be a "per- 
twct sacrifice." I do not intend to arbitrarily dis- 
,-t^rt symbols, and of course this signified and set 
£orth the perfect nature of the Atoning sacrifice of 
wChrist. But who will dare deny that we can also 
find a plain indication of that truth enunciated by 
the Savior, " No man having put his hand to the 
plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of 
God ? " — Luke ix. 62. " My son, give me thine 
heart," Prov. xxiii. 26, means the whole of it, of 
course. God does not ask for a piece of it. Jesus 
said again, " No man can serve two masters," 
Matt. vi. 24 ; and the Psalmist assures us that God 
will not give his glory to another. All these texts 
contain the idea of a complete, unreserved, conse- 
cration and dedication to God, — a " perfect sacri- 
fice." But we may even go farther and say that 

* I cannot forbear calling the attention of those who believe 
that the seventh of Romans contained the experience of an 
" advanced Christian," to this little difficulty. If, in this life, 
the "body of death," " the old man," " the flesh," etc. etc., are 
essentially identified with the actual mortal body, how in rea- 
son can I present this body, as a il holy and acceptable sacrifice 
unto God?" And, most absurd of all, how can it be a " per- 
fect sacrifice ?" Yet Paul says " I beseech you to do so." 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 83 

there is another suggestion after all this. Is it 
going too far to imagine that a perfect body pre- 
sented perfectly to God, and able to run upon His 
errands of mercy in all directions, is more " ac- 
ceptable " to Him than a poor, dilapidated, sickly 
weakling, whose every moment is necessarily ab- 
sorbed with self? You may answer that an inva- 
lid may truly serve God, and may manifest His 
sustaining grace. Very true. Israel in Egypt, 
toiling under the taskmaster's lash could, and to a 
certain extent, did do the same ; but Israel on the 
other side of the Eed Sea, and Israel in Canaan, 
served Him much better; and spoke so power- 
fully of His sustaining grace, and of His conquer- 
ing power, that the world rings with the song of 
praise to-day. Miriam could never have sung 
her triumphal hymn while she was making bricks 
without straw, but she could have worshipped the 
God of the promises. 

But we have not done with Paul. In 1 Cor. vi. 
13, we read : " Now the body is not for fornica- 
tion, but for the Lord ; and the Lord for the body.' 1 
If my body then is " for the Lord," is it not reason- 
able to suppose that a whole body is better and 
more pleasing to Him than a mere wreck ? " Know 
ye not that your bodies are the members of 
Christ." — v. 15. Here the apostle, beyond any 
possible question, speaks of our physical bodies. 
But, he says, they are " members of Christ." How 
dreadfully incongruous to think of Christ possess- 
ing " members " deformed and defaced by every 
kind of disease ; especially when we remember 



84 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

that disease is of the devil ! We can readily look 
upon the scar of an old wound, but it is hard to 
tolerate the presence ot a gaping, running sore. 
It is a sign of corruption in the blood. " What, 
know ye not that your body is the temple of the 
Holy Ghost, which is in you ? " The tabernacle 
was not only entirely consecrated to God, and 
anointed in every part; but it was built of perfect 
materials. In such a temple the overpowering 
glory of God could dwell. But how can I (if I 
have the light on the subject) retain in my body a 
portion of the devil's work, and then look for the 
new Shekinah, the glory of the Holy Ghost to 
dwell within ? " For ye are bought with a price ; 
therefore glorify God in your body, and in your 
spirit, which are God's." — v. 20. Here the Apos- 
tle distinctly and undeniably stretches the infinite 
folds of the Atonement over the body as well as 
the spirit; for one, as well as the other, is " bought 
with a price." 

Yet again, Paul says, " Know ye not thatyeare 
the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God 
dwelleth in you ? If any man defile the temple of 
God, him shall God destroy ; for the temple of God 
is holy, which temple ye are." 1 Cor. iii. 16, 17. 
" In whom ye are also builded together for an 
habitation of God through the Spirit," Eph. ii. 22 
" But Christ is a Son over his own house ; whose 
house are we." Heb. iii. 6. And thus Peter 
speaks, " Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a 
spiritual house, on holy priesthood, to offer up a 
spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 85 

Christ." 1 Pet. ii. 5, and Paul insists, " So now 
also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether 
it be by life, or by death." Phil. i. 20. " But the 
body is of Christ." Col. ii. 17. Surely, in view of 
these marvellous texts, I should strive to welcome 
my Lord and Master into a clean house, a house 
free from any corruption of sin, or any of the re- 
mains or effects of sin. In this very line we find 
Paul offering his famous prayer, " I pray God your 
ichole spirit and soul and body be preserved blame- 
less unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." 
1 Thess. v. 23. And then follows the glorious as- 
surance, "Faithiul is he that calleth you, who also 
will do it." Here again we see the great yearning 
of Paul's heart for the day of complete redemption 
when the entire man shall, in perfect unity of being, 
stand before God. But we see with renewed force 
that Paul considered his body as absolutely neces- 
sary to that glorious consummation, and so he 
prays for the body in precisely the same language 
that he uses for the soul and spirit. Each must be 
preserved " blameless." 

Jude ix. testifies to the importance of the body 
before the resurrection day, in a way that is as re- 
remarkable as it is strange. There we read that 
the great Archangel Michael disputed with the devil 
about the body of Moses. Here we have unim- 
peachable testimony to the practical fact that the 
devil has the power of death. Further than this, 
it seems as if this strange power of Satan over the 
body endures after death ; at least if the idea be 
correct that the occasion of the dispute was when 



86 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

Moses needed his body for the scene upon the Mount 
of Transfiguration. As is well known, it has been 
remarked that Elijah had never laid aside his body 
but that the body of the great lawgiver had 
passed under the power of death ; and hence it is 
imagined that Satan opposed even the temporary 
use of the body upon that wondrous occasion. The 
thought suggested itself to my mind that the dis- 
pute may have taken place at the time of Moses' 
death. We know that Moses went up to the top 
of Pisgah, and that the Lord was there with him, 
and showed him all the land of Canaan. And then 
we are told Moses died, and the Lord buried him 
in a valley over against Beth-peor. There is an 
old tradition which has come down from the earli- 
est times, amongst the Jews and Arabians, that 
when the moment for dissolution arrived, the Lord 
kissed him, and that the supreme ecstasy of that 
crowning manifestation of the divine love separa- 
ted the soul from the body. Now, before the idea 
contained in this tradition is utterly condemned, 
let us consider a few facts. We are positively as- 
sured that Moses was not sick, but that up to his 
death he possessed perfect health and strength. 
Though one hundred and twenty years old, " his 
eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated." — 
Deut. xxxiv. 7. It is therefore clear that he did 
not die from disease. But in all our experience 
death has never been known to result from any 
cause except sickness, decay or accident. The word 
of inspiration settles all question as to each of 
these. There was no decay, no disease, and no 






HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 87 

accident. How then did Moses come to die ? We 
have just seen that the devil has the power of 
death, and hence it follows that when the body 
comes to die, it must pass, in that sense, under the 
hand of Satan. Now death in Scripture is always 
spoken of as an enemy ; and in this light we see 
Satan standing, with scythe in hand, ready to cut 
down the body, even if the s)ul escapes his power. 
Unquestionably, therefore, the devil appeared on the 
top of Pisgah to claim his dominion over the body 
of the greatest of the prophets. But at this point 
a wondrous vision rises before us. We see Mount 
Sinai " altogether on a smoke," and a terrible glory 
flashing from the thick darkness upon its summit. 
Moses has interceded for the great sin of the peo- 
ple, in the matter of the golden calf, and God has 
pardoned, at his word. Hungering and thirsting 
after God, Moses presses his request, " I beseech 
thee, show me thy glory." No honest prayer, 
from such a heart, goes unanswered; and God 
said, " I will make all my goodness pass before 
thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord 
before thee. And he said, Thou canst not see my 
face : for there shall no man see me and live. And it 
shall come to pass that, while my glory passeth by, 
that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will 
cover thee with my hand while I pass by : And I 
will take away mine hand and thou shalt see my 
back parts : but my face shall not be seen." — Ex. 
xxxiii. 18-23. And all this was wondrously ful- 
filled. " And the Lord passed by before him, and 
proclaimed, the Lord, The Lord God, merciful and 



88 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness 
and truth." — Ex. xxxiv 6. 

God had nearly forty years of work for Moses 
then, and so He could not answer him any further. 
But the prayer remained before the throne, calling 
for the full response ;* just as thousands of God's 
servants have waited a score of years or more for 
the reply from heaven to their prevailing peti- 
tions. And now the scene changes to another 
mountain, and again God and Moses stand together 
looking out upon the promised [land. The great 
prophet's words have all been uttered, the mighty 
leader's work is done, and his time on earth is over. 
" He who has the power of death " exultingly 
draws near to claim what he can as his prey, and 
the fatal dart is drawn. But now, after forty 
years, the urgent prayer of the thirsting soul makes 
itself heard, — " I beseech thee show me thy glory," 
and before death can discharge his shaft, God's 
mighty hand, that once covered Moses in the " cleft 
of the rock," is tenderly and lovingly withdrawn, 
and God's face is seen at last. Such ineffable glory 
is too much for a mortal body, and in an instant 
the spirit bursts all bounds of flesh and bone, and 
death is despoiled of a victim. Satan may " dis- 
pute," but the great Archangel replies, " The Lord 
rebuke thee," and Moses' body is laid to rest by 
heavenly ministers. The prayer offered upon 
Sinai is answered, after so many years, upon Nebo ; 
and Moses sees God's face. The prayer for the 
flesh, that his feet might tread the promised land? 
was denied, and he was told to forbear asking ; but 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 89 

the greater request was finally granted. He looked 
upon the land and it delighted his eyes, he looked 
upon God, and it ravished away his life. Only the 
pure in heart shall see God, and none but the pure 
in heart will ever dare to pray, " I beseech thee 
show me thy glory." 

"to the law and to the testimony." 

A powerful argument to show that God inten- 
ded the Atonement to make provision for the body, 
as well as for the soul, can be found in the book of 
Leviticus. Beginning with the eleventh chapter, 
and running to the end of the fifteenth, we have 
clear and specific directions for bodily diseases. In 
the eleventh chapter is laid down the distinction 
between clean and unclean beasts, with the corres- 
ponding laws of diet. People foolishly imagine 
that the Jews were permitted to eat the ox, and 
were forbidden to eat swine, hare, shell-fish, etc., etc. 
purely for arbitrary reasons known to the Almighty; 
or that at best a mere symbol was desired in order 
to teach a spiritual truth. 

We know that in Eden man was permitted to 
eat of every tree, and told that each one was good 
for food, but that he was restricted from the tree 
of knowledge. And while this command had all 
the moral significance desired, it also involved in- 
jurious physical consequences in its disobedience ; 
even death. Now Moses expressly explained to 
the Hebrews that all God's laws and statutes had a 
perfectly reasonable basis. " And the Lord com- 
manded us to do all these statues, to fear the Lord our 
God, for our good always, that he might preserve us 
8a 



90 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

aliveP Deut. vi. 24. These dietary laws were in- 
cluded in " all these statutes/' and they were " tor 
their good always," that the Lord " might preserve 
them alive." There is a very important thought 
here for Christians who profess absolute and entire 
consecration to God. The latest modern science 
thoroughly agrees with Moses that the list of "un- 
clean beasts/' are without exception, unhealthy, 
and actually injurious to the human system. If 
therefore I have comprehended this light upon the 
Word, and deliberately eat that which God told 
my fellow men not to eat " for their good always," 
I may expect to be brought under condemnation 
for committed sin, and possibly may experience 
physical punishment also. * 

5f a man so much as touched one of these un- 
clean beasts he was ordered to wash himself and 
to be " unclean unto the even." And God said that 
if a man ate of any of these he " defiled himself/' 
whereas God commanded, " Ye shall be holy, for 1 
am holy." Lev. xi. 44. 

When a woman bore a child, we read that she 
was to be purified during several weeks ; and that 
she should then bring a lamb, and a young pigeon 
or a turtle-dove to the priest, " Who shall offer it 



*As a matter of personal experience, I gladly testify that I 
long ago became convinced that God called me to separate 
niyself also in this matter. I was satisfied that Moses' law was 
given " for my good," and that therefore I would fly in the 
face of that good if I disregarded it. I had abundant experi- 
ence that many of the excluded animals were not good for my 
digestion, and so I willingly gave them all up, as soon as I was 
convinced of the truth in the matter. Praise the Lord ! 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 91 

before the Lord, and make an atonement for her ; 
and she shall be cleansed." — Lev. xii. 6, 7. As if 
this were not strong enough, the eighth verse 
adds, in ease of her inability to bring a lamb, that 
she shall bring two doves, "the one for a burnt offer- 
ing, and the other for a sin offering : and the priest 
shall make an atonement for her, and. she shall be 
clean." Here we have the idea of sin in an 
unavoidable bodily sickness or weakness, made 
specially emphatic ; and our thoughts turn back 
to the primal curse on account of sin, " in sorrow 
thou shalt bring forth children." — Gen. iii. 16. 

In the thirteenth and fourteenth chapters we 
find the law of leprosy. Always considered to be a 
sjDecial type of sin, its method of treatment is 
very important. From first to last we find that 
the leper had to do with the priest and God. The 
rite for cleansing is minutely described, and was 
very elaborate. Two birds were taken ; one killed 
in " an earthen vessel over running water," the 
living bird dipped in the blood of the slain and 
then set free ; while the leper was sprinkled seven 
times with the blood, after which he must shave 
and wash. Again after seven days, he must shave 
oif all his hair even to his eyebrows, and after 
washing on the eighth day, he must bring " two 
lambs without blemish" one ewe lamb, with flour 
and oil. These the priests took and offered before 
the Lord. The lamb was slain "in the place 
where he shall kill the sin offering." The blood 
was to be touched upon the tip of the right ear, 
the thumb of the right hand, and the great toe of 



92 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

the right foot ; and the oil was used in a similar 
manner. Then the priest offered the sin offering, 
and made "an atonement for him that is to be cleansed 
from his uncleanness." Now let us specially note 
that all this was to be done after the healing of 
the disease ; or in other words, when the patient 
possessed in his body only the consequences or 
stigma of sickness. Then follow the strange direc- 
tions as to the plague of leprosy in the walls of a 
house, and the visible appearance of it is described, 
with the same provision of bird's blood and sacri- 
fice for its cleansing. 

In chapter xv. we read of a general class of bodily 
disorders, which in all ages have been very wide- 
spread, and which afflict an enormous per centage 
of the human race, in one form or another, sapping 
vitality and impairing the life-forces of the entire 
system. Yet for these also we read that the same 
general line of treatment should be followed. The 
individual went to the priest, who offered " a sin- 
offering and a burnt-offering," and after certain 
washings he was made whole and clean. 

In these cases, and in some others, the Jews were 
distinctly ordered, as we have seen, to go to the 
priest and have him offer a sacrifice, and make an 
atonement for them. Beyond a doubt this indica- 
ted the necessity of the blood to cleanse even from 
sins of accident and ignorance ; but there is strong 
ground afforded also for the Atoning Sacrifice for 
disease. 

But another valuable argument is found in The 
Law of the Priesthood. Beading carefully Lev. 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 93 

xxi. we find that no man was allowed to perform 
the functions of the office who was not perfect 
physically. He must be very careful of his body 
so much so that he could not even touch the dead 
body of a dear relative ; and he could not even 
marry a widow. But of his own personal physique 
we find the most explicit command. " Speak unto 
Aaron saying, Whosoever he be of thy seed in their 
generations that hath any blemish, let him not ap- 
proach to offer the bread of his God. 'For whatso- 
ever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not 
approach; a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath 
a flat nose, or anything superfluous, or a man that 
is broken-footed or broken-handed, or crook-backed 
or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be 
scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken. No 
man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the 
priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the 
Lord made by fire ; he hath a blemish ; he shall 
not come nigh to offer the bread of his God. He 
shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most 
holy, and of the holy. Only he shall not go in unto 
the vail, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he 
hath a blemish ; that he profane not my sanctuaries ; 
for I the Lord do sanctify them." In close con- 
nection with this we see that a man afflicted with 
a certain infirmity which absolutely interfered with 
the exercise of full manhood's powers, " should not 
enter into the congregation of the Lord." Deut- 
xxiii. 1. 

We have already considered the New Testament 
argument from Eom. xii. 1. In Heb. ix. 22, Paul 



94 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

tells us that " almost all things are by the law 
purged with blood ;" and in Heb. x. 22, he speaks 
of " having our bodies washed with pure water.'' 
Peter calls the church " a royal priesthood," 1 Pet. 
i?. 9, evidently referring to Ex. xix. 5, 6, where God 
said, " Ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me 
above all people ; for all the earth is mine : And 
ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests and an 
holy nation." John declares, in Eev. i. 6, that God 
" hath made us kings and priests unto God," and 
the " new song " of the elders and the redeemed 
before the throne bore the same glad refrain. Eev- 
v. 10 and xx. 6. And Paul also assures us that we 
have "boldness to enter into the holiest by the 
blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which 
he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that 
is to say, his flesh." Heb. x. 19-22. Manifestly 
all these latter references are primarily to the 
soul's experience, but there is certainly much food 
for thought in these close parallels between the 
body and the spirit. If God was so pleased to see a 
whole body, in the person of His ministering priest 
under the old covenant, is He any the less pleased 
under the new and better way? 

A single reference will show that able com- 
mentators have seen the fact, that an atonement 
was required for bodily disease, under the Mosaic 
economy. The Eev. Samuel Wakefield, in his 
Theology, while discussing the Atonement, says, 
page 351 \ " But in proof that the life of animal 
sacrifices was accepted in place of the life of man, 
we observe, that the law required a sacrificial atone- 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 95 

merit even for bodily disorders. All such unclean 
persons were liable to death, and were exempted 
from it only by animal sacrifices. This appears 
from the conclusion of the Levitical directions con- 
cerning the ceremonial which was to be followed 
in all cases. ' Thus shall ye separate the children 
of Israel from their uncleanness, when they defile 
my tabernacle that is among you.' Lev. xv. 31. So, 
then, by virtue of sin-offerings the children of 
Israel were saved from a death which they would 
otherwise have suffered for their uncleanness 
(bodily), and that by substituting the life of the 
animal for that of the offerer." This is certainly 
strong enough for the preceding argument. It is 
then clear that, under the Mosaic dispensation, 
God was the only physician, and He ordained that 
disease should be healed and its consequences re- 
moved, through the Atonement of blood. 
4. — Who may be Healed. 

Having established the great truths that sick- 
ness is from the devil ; that the body is not a mere 
cage for the soul, but is destined to be united with 
it always ; and that disease was formerly healed, 
and may now be removed, through the merits of 
the Atonement of our Lord ; we are naturally led 
to inquire into the extent of this gift of God in 
Christ Jesus. After every objection has been met 
and vanquished, the last stand has always been 
made upon the ground, " It may not be God's will 
to heal me." I have previously considered this ob- 
jection in a little tract, " If it be Thy Will,"* but it 

*Willard Tract Repository. 



96 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

needs some treatment here. The chief way to 
know God's will is to read His word. Let us there- 
fore look for any directions to the sick which it 
may contain. G. W. McCalla recently compiled a 
valuable little book of Scripture texts, called, " The 
Word of the Lord Concerning Sickness,'' which is of 
inestimable value to any soul seeking light on this 
point * Now we have already seen that in the 
earlier dispensations God was the Great Physician. 
Abraham prayed for Abimelech's household, Gen. 
xx. 17. Moses prayed for Miriam, Num. xii. 13. 
We have seen that Moses prayed for the people re- 
peatedly. Solomon prayed for the nation ; 1 Kings 
viii. 37-39, and 2 Chron. vi. 28-30. Elisha healed 
Naaman; 2 Kings v. Hezekiah prayed for himself 
and again for the people ; 2 Kings xx. 5, and 2 
Chron. xxx. 20. David prayed for himself; Psalm 
vi. 2, and expressed his faith in the healing power 
of God, Ps. xxvii. 1 ; xxx. 2, 3; xli. 3; xci. 3-7 ; 
ciii. 2-5 ; cvii. 20 ; cxviii. 17. Jeremiah does the 
same, Jer.xvii. 14; xxxiii. 6. Ezekiel xxxiv. 2, 4, 16, 
and Mai. iv. 2, all testify of the same glorious 
truth. Besides these unmistakable texts, there is 
a large class of promises which can just as well be 
taken for bodily ^healing as for anything else. " Cast 
thy burden upon the Lord and He shall sustain 
thee," Ps. Iv. 22, and " Give us help from trouble, 
for vain is the help of man," Ps. lx. 11, are good 
examples of these. Any trouble, surely, is meant ; 
and who will say that severe illness is not a trou- 
ble or a burden ? The entire list of these promises, 

* Willard Tract Repository. 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 97 

in Old and New Testaments, can therefore be 
readily cited to show God's will in the matter. 

But, outside of these and of the Mosaic economy 
is there no direction whatever to the sick. Let us 
see. The word 

PHYSICIAN 

only occurs eleven times in Scripture. In Gen. 1. 
2, we read of the physicians who embalmed the 
body of Jacob at the command of Joseph. 2 Chr. 
xvi. 12, speaks in gentle sarcasm of Asa's great 
mistake in seeking the physicians instead of the 
Lord ; and of his death in consequence. Job xiii. 
4 gives the idea that physicians might or might 
not be of use. Jer. viii. 22 intimates that no 
physician could heal the disorder of the chosen 
people. Matt. ix. 12, Mark ii. 17, and Luke v. 31, 
each quote a Jewish proverb, and apply it spiritu- 
ally. *Mark v. 26, and Luke viii. 43 speak of the 
woman who had suffered many things of many 
physicians, spent all her living upon them and only 
grew worse. And finally, Col. iv. 14 mentions the 
former profession of Luke. The word medicine 
is found only four times. Prov. xvii. 22 uses the 
word in a comparison, and Ezek. xlvii. 12 speaks of 
it in a figure. While Jeremiah declares, xxx. 13 y 
that there is no healing medicine for his people, 

*Luke iv. 23 : " Physician "heal thyself" may have been a 
proverb of sarcasm. Possibly it was customary to quote this 
saying at that time because of the general failure of physicians 
to heal anybody. It seems to suggest the idea that the profes- 
sion were not ready to take their own remedies. In sober 
earnest, it was certainly a sarcastic saying, and the Word says 
it was a " proverb " in the days of Christ, 
9 



98 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

but thai God can heal ; and inxlvi. 11, he similarly 
uses the words, " In vain shalt thou take many 
medicines." We read however a great deal about 
Him whom we love to call the great Physician ; 
how he healed every sickness and every manner 
of disease among the pQople, and never -turned away 
a single one. " He healed all that were sick." The 
plain fact stares us in the face that the only human 
physicians mentioned in the Bible, are those who 
embalmed a dead body, those who killed King Asa, 
those of whom the poor woman suffered many 
things, and Luke, who changed his profession for 
the ministry, and, with the others, healed the sick 
by using the Lord's means. Matt. x. 1. And 
again, there is not a single command or intimation 
in the whole Bible which directs the use of medi- 
cine. Certainly this is very singular, to say the 
least. 

But the singularity of this total neglect of the 
subject of doctors and remedies is fully explained, 
when we remember the very large number of re- 
ferences to the healing power of God. We have 
seen that this extends throughout the sacred books, 
from Genesis to Eevelation. The tree of life was 
left in Eden, and God is its sole owner and dispenser. 
Thus we find miracles of healing everywhere, and 
always by the " mighty power of God." 

If, then, God is the Healer, we only need to read 
his directions to the sick in order to know His will. 
Jesus Christ gave the first commission to the apos- 
tles, thus : " He sent them to preach the kingdom 
of God and to heal the sick. And they departed 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 99 

and went through the towns, preaching the gospel 
of the kingdom, and healing everywhere "; Luke 
ix. 1, 2, 6. In Matt. x. we read : " He gave them 
power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and 
to heal all manner of sicknesses and all manner of 
diseases," and He commanded them, " As ye go 
preach saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand, 
heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, 
cast out devils ; freely ye have received, freely 
give ": vs. 7, 8. When He commissioned the seventy 
disciples, He commanded them to preach, and " in- 
to whatsoever city ye enter heal the 'sick that are 
therein "; Luke x. 8, 9. This was certainly a free 
command to heal every one who came to them and 
asked for healing. Just before Christ ascended He 
said to His apostles and disciples : " And these signs 
shall follow them that believe : in My name shall 
they cast out devils ; they shall speak with new 
tongues ; they shall take up serpents ; and if they 
drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them ; they 
shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.' 
Mark xvi. 17, 18. And then He said, " All power 
is given unto Me in heaven and earth " ; Matt, 
xxviii. 18 ; " And lo, I am with you alway, even 
unto the end of the age "; vs. 20. But " Jesus Christ 
is the same yesterday, to-day and forever"; Heb. 
xiii. 8, and if He is with us, and is the same, why 
should it not be His will to heal to-day just as 
much as it was yesterday, when " He healed all 
that were sick " ? Again, we are told that " God 
hath dealt to every man the measure of faith " : 
Eom. xii. 3. " Faith should not stand in the wis- 



100 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

dom of men, but in the power of God " ; 1 Cor. ii. 5, 
and " all the promises of God in Him are yea, and 
in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us " ; 2 Cor. 
i. 20. This plainly means that it is for the glory of 
God to fulfil His promises in and to us, at all times. 

In the twelfth chapter of First Corinthians we 
read of the existence in the church of " gifts of 
healing," in conjunction with others, all bestowed 
il by the same Spirit," upon various members in the 
church of that day. This follows as a natural con- 
sequence of Christ's parting words as recorded by 
Mark. The early Christian Fathers, for several cen- 
turies, assure us that " miracles " and " gifts of 
healing" prevailed in the church and were known 
to them as of frequent manifestation until the 
church mounted the throne in the person of Con- 
stantine. But all along the centuries we find record 
of simple faith in God's word being honored in the 
healing of the sick and in other ways. The testi- 
mony on this point is simply unanswerable, and 
convincing to any honest mind.* I do not adduce 
this evidence here, but simply mention it as of col- 
lateral importance. We are now simply searching 
the Word of God. It is well however to know 
that many of the children of the Kingdom have so 
understood the Word. 

The case of Bpaphroditus, recorded in Phil, ii 
25-27, plainly indicates that he had recourse to 
God and not to the physicians, for " God had 
mercy on him." Now we well know that "without 
faith it is impossible to please God." Heb. xi. 6. 

* See Dr. Gordon's Ministry of Healing. 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 101 

Hence faith must always please Him. God there- 
fore must always be glad to see trust in His power 
alone manifested by the sons of men. Again James 
tells us that " faith without works is dead/' ii. 17. 
But what could be more tangible to ourselves- 
and to others, than to show our faith in the 
promise, by our works, in actually relying on God 
the Unseen, for the visible healing of our bodies? 
" That men may see your good works and glorify 
your Father which is in heaven." Then again 
James says, " Is any among you afflicted ? let him 
pray." v. 13. Now notice that the apostle does 
not promise that the affliction shall be removed. 
This point is of the greatest importance. Prayer 
here is recommended as a comfort, and as a means 
of obtaining grace from on high, but no assurance 
is given that the trouble shall be removed. The 
apostle remembered that Jesus said " In the world 
ye shall have tribulation," and " If they persecute 
me, they will also persecute you." And the various 
epistles are full of allusions to the real discomfort, 
trouble and unjust treatment which may be ex- 
pected by the true child of God. Those who sang 
so joyfully around the throne in John's vision, 
were " they w T ho had washed their robes in the 
blood of the Lamb, and had come through great 
tribulation." Xow with this fact sharply outlined 
before us, that Jesus not only does not propose to 
save us from trouble and affliction, but rather to 
save us through or in tribulation, we are ready for 
the vivid contrast afforded by the next verses. 
" Is any sick among you f let him call for the elders 
9a 



102 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

of the church ; and let them pray over him, anointing 
him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the 
prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall 
raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they 
shall be forgiven him. 11 Jas. v. 14,15. 

]STow no sane man can deliberately read these 
words without admitting that they plainly direct 
" any sick/' to call for the elders, and be "anointed 
with oil in the name of the Lord ; whereupon he is 
assured that God will certainly heal him, through 
the prayer of faith, and that if he has committed 
sin, as an exciting cause of the sickness, it shall be 
forgiven him. That this command was not given 
to the immediate apostolic family is proved by the 
opening words of the epistle. " James, a servant 
of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve 
tribes which are scattered abroad." Surely this is 
sufficiently comprehensive. Now it is certainly 
remarkable that the apostle should open his letter 
with the caution, " count it all joy when ye fall into 
divers temptations, knowing this, that the trying 
of your faith worketh patience f and should close 
it with a plain direction to " any sick," to be cured 
by the Lord alone, if he considered sickness of the 
body to be in any sense essential to growth in 
grace. He makes no exceptions whatever; no 
limitations, but gives the broad promise to " any 
sick among you." * And then, as if to amplify it, 

* Undoubtedly we are to understand this now, among you 
who love the Lord in sincerity and truth. Manifestly it would 
be almcst blasphemous for a rebellious soul, refusing allegiance 
to Jesus, to come and ask a favor at His hands, purely for sel- 
fish reasons. 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 103 

he adds, " Confess your faults one to another, and 
pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The 
effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth 
much," vs. 16. Are we to confess our faults in this 
year of grace ? If half the promise is dead, we 
have no business to use the other half, but should 
bury it also in the tomb of the apostles. 

But James goes further still. As if pursuing 
the doubts that might arise, about these visible 
physical things, he recalls the fact that " Elias, a 
man subject to like passions as ice are, prayed 
earnestly that it might not rain : and it rained not 
on the earth by the space of three years and six 
months. And he prayed again, and the earth 
brought forth her fruit." vs. 17, 18. Of course he 
did not mean to teach that every believer could 
pray at will for physical things, but to support 
faith in God's power to answer prayer in the 
domain of matter as well as of spirit. As to God's 
will in sickness, verses fourteen and fifteen ab- 
solutely settle that. Let the reader ask himself, if 
God had meant to give a promise of physical heal- 
ing, through faith in Jesus Christ, could it have 
been given in any plainer language than we find in 
these verses of James' epistle ? What could God 
say? What could be asked of Him? Should He 
have said, Let any sick man call upon me and I 
will certainly cure him by my power alone; would 
it be sufficient? Yet this is just what we do find 
in that word which shall never pass away, though 
the heavens and the earth be moved. God says, 
let any sick call for the elders ; let them pray ; let 



104 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

them anoint the sick with oil in the name of the 
Lord; whereupon the prayer of faith shall save; 
the Lord shall raise him tip, and forgive his sins. 
Now, in sober earnest, what more could be asked ? 
If this is not clear, specific, and conclusive, what 
is ? Let some one try to improve it, if he can. 
He will fail more signally than the man who at- 
tempted to improve on the parables of Jesus* 

5. — The Sin Unto Death. 

We are well aware that Moses, "the man of 
God," was guilty of an offence in the wilderness, 
for which he was forbidden to enter the land of 
promise. His heart yearned to cross over Jordan, 
and he, who was never unheard, prayed for 
permission to go. But God said " Let it suffice 
thee : speak no more unto me of this matter." — 
Deut. iii. 26. Moses did not lose his spiritual 
standing, he did not get " under a cloud ; " he 
continued to be the friend of God, and God spake 
to him face to face; yet this offence was "unto 
death." Even when God told him "thou shalt 
not go over Jordan," He gave him the unasked 
privilege of standing on the summit of Pisgah, 
and seeing the whole land. In no sense then was 
Moses' sin unforgiven ; but it was " unto death." 

With this clear example before us we may 
understand two passages in the New Testament. 
In 1 John v. 14-17, we read : " And this is the 

* Let those who say that faith -healing is " only a privilege and 
not a command/' recall the oft-repeated words of John Wes- 
ley, u Every command of God implies a promise. " 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 105 

confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask 
anything according to his will, he heareth us; 
And if we know that he hear us, whatever we ask, 
we know that we have the petitions that we 
desired of him." This is as unlimited a statement 
as could well be framed. But one thing John 
thought necessary to guard against, and that was 
the very point of physical healing. " If any man 
see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, 
he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them 
that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto 
death ; I do not say that he shall pray for it. All 
unrighteousness is sin : and there is a sin not unto 
death." 

lSTow the merest beginner in the Scripture knows 
well that " the wages of sin is death," and we are 
absolutely certain that no sin, however insignifi- 
cant, can ever be said not to clearly merit its 
wages. What then could John mean ? He 
distinctly affirms that " there is a sin not unto 
death." This sin we are told to pray for, and we 
are assured that God will give life. Job was 
directed to pray for his friends, and God said " lest 
I deal with you after your folly." — Job xlii. 8. 
Was this entirely spiritual punishment that was 
remitted in answer to Job's prayer ? The men 
who hunted out the marginal reference certainly 
did not work to support faith-healing, yet I find 
them connecting this verse in John with the one in 
Job, just quoted, and with Jas. v. 14, 15. Evidently 
they saw clearly that physical life is meant. To 
say that "there is a sin not unto death," means 



106 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

that some sins do not necessarily require eternal 
death or damnation, is to falsify all Scripture. 
Physical death is then the only possible interpreta- 
tion. Some attempt to explain that the sin " unto 
death," for which we are told not to pray, means 
the u unpardonable sin." But what is or was the 
unpardonable sin? Simply and solely persistent 
unbelief. The ascription of the miracles of Jesus 
to Beelzebub was nothing but the expression of 
stubborn unbelief. Now it is absolutely evident 
that the prayer of faith cannot be offered for a 
persistent infidel or skeptic ; hence the " sin unto 
death " of our text cannot be the " unpardonable 
sin." Jesus set this point beyond dispute when 
He said so often " Thy faith hath saved thee." 
He only healed those who believed enough to seek 
Him. 

We have additional light upon this point in 
1 Cor. xi. Paul severely rebukes the converts for 
turning the Lord's supper into an occasion of feast- 
ing and tells them, " For he that eatethand drinketh 
unworthily, eateth and drinketh condemnation to 
himself, not discerning the Lord's body." And 
immediately he adds, " For this cause many are 
weak and sickly among you, and many sleep' 7 
Plainly he declares that many of these Corinthian 
Christians were sick because of their offence, and 
that many had died, for the same reason. Their 
sin was not unpardonable, but it was " unto death." 

There can be no doubt in any reasonable mind 
that these things are repeated in our day. Many 
good people, who are most undoubtedly saved, fall 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 107 

into sin through a variety of causes, and in conse- 
quence, while forgiven, are taken from the world 
or prostrated beneath chronic diseases. Their case 
is analagous to that of one who has sinned away 
his day of grace. The sicknesscan not be removed 
and the apostle says, " I do not say that he shall 
pray for it." Many a chronic disease has been 
brought on by persistent, careless violations of a 
known law. The man does not seem to wake up 
to the importance of the matter, and at last, after 
repeated warnings, he is stricken down; and like 
the Israelites, turned back from Kadesh-barnea, he 
cannot pass over Jordan. He may remain a child 
of God, he may worship in the tabernacle under 
the shadow of the cloud, but he must tramp and 
die in the wilderness.* His sin is " unto death." It 
may seem uncharitable to some, but the truth must 
be spoken. There is strong reason to believe that 
if the true inwardness of the early death of so 
many active, earnest Christians could be laid bare, 
we would find some sin at the root of the matter, 
yes, even a sin " unto death." Satan hates a 
Christian, and is always on the alert for a chance 
to speed the fatal arrow. I do not mean to say 
that this is always the case ; but I believe it to be 
true in the great majority of instances. It is al- 
most incredible how many " good Christians " are 
persistent, habitual gluttons, stuffing their stom- 
achs with unhealthy food at all sorts of hours ; 

*His body, so to speak, is justified but not sanctified wholly ; 
hence the seeds of sin (disease) remain, and cannot be exter- 
minated. 



108 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

and you cannot make them ^feel that it is a real 
sin. They will admit that " it is not exactly right," 
but that is all. Many earnest working Christians, 
of full habit, sin frightfully through intemperance 
in the marriage relation, and yet are ready to laugh 
at any remonstrance, even when it comes from 
their own physician.* 

People say, How sad the death of such a useful 
man I I wonder why God took him away in the 
midst of his usefulness, etc., etc. There it is again ! 
Just like Job, laying it on the Lord. The devil 
took Job's children away, and it is extremely 
probable that he had also something to do with the 
departure of the " useful man." George O. Barnes ; 
in his sharp way, says : " If I die before I am seventy 
years of age you may say the devil killed him." I 
would rather not say it in any case, for I cannot 
tell all that has been done or left undone ; but I feel 
very sure that, in the great'majority of cases, with 
adults at least, some sin has been " unto death." 

*The extent of this evil, amongst the best people in the 
churches, is simply appalling. Men are paralyzed, and women 
die of consumption. The family physician can give the rea- 
son, — intemperance in the conjugal relation. The devil takes 
advantage of Christians on this point, because it cannot be 
publicly discussed in mixed assemblies. But every Christian, 
seeking to be entirely conformed to the will of God, should re- 
member that bodily appetites are to be sanctified, as much as 
any, thing else. Should I write facts which have come to my 
knowledge, the reader would be horrified beyond measure. I 
recommend on this subject, Rev. Mr. Platts' " Princely Man- 
hood," or " Queenly Womanhood." They can be ordered 
through any bookseller, or direct from the publishers, S. Har- 
rison & Co., Brooklyn, N. Y. Fifty cents each. 



HEALING OE BODILY DISEASE. 109 

Solomon asked the question, " Why shouldest thou 
die before thy time?" Eccles. vii. 17, which clearly 
intimates that the wise man knew of no necessity 
for an early death. 

It may be asked how are we to tell when any 
one has sinned unto death ? It is extremely un- 
likely that such a man will be able to summon real 
active faith in the promise. For instance, a man 
is seeking sanctification, or the cleansing from 
heart depravity. He is addicted to the use of to- 
bacco, and will not give it up, although it rises be- 
tween him and God every time he asks for a clean 
heart. Of course he will never receive the cleans- 
ing, nor ever feel that he has faith to grasp it, while 
the filthy habit remains. A cripple told me that 
she was fully persuaded that healing by faith was 
not for her. There was no use arguing the case : 
she was convinced. Manifestly no prayer of faith 
could be offered for her ; nor wouid she request it. 
These questions answer themselves when they 
arise. " There is a sin unto death." Therefore, 
there are people who cannot be healed of sick- 
ness, but no man can point them out unless speci- 
ally directed by the Spirit. It is ours to hold up 
the promises; to lift up Jesus Christ as a whole 
Savior, and, sure as the Eternal Himself, he who 
looks in faith, will live. 

6. — The Perfect Means. 

It is in very truth a perfect recipe. But then all 
God's commands and statutes are perfect, and per- 
fectly adapted to all men. Examining these direc- 
tions to the sick, we see, first of all, that perfect 
10 



110 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

humility is necessary. Many a man will cry to 
God in secret, who will never let others know of 
his desire ; but here he must first " call for the el- 
ders of the church." In order to this he must feel 
that othere are of more importance before God than 
himself, and also that he is willing publicly to confess 
his desire, his helplessness, and his faith in God. Ah ! 
confession is ever necessary. We must honor Jesus 
before men. Having thus prostrated self and con- 
fessed his belief, he is to be " anointed with oil in the 
name of the Lord." The old, old symbol and sign 
of perfect and entire consecration to God is here 
used, speaking of the fact that he who would re- 
ceive from- God, must belong to God, and that God 
knows no divided worship. Again, this rite, en- 
forces the truth, that " God's ways are not our 
ways." Man seeks health through the medica- 
ments of science, ;but God heals through simple 
faith, or if you please, blind belief in a power that 
is absolutely unknown and incomprehensible. And 
with this comes the thought, we must take God's 
gifts in God's way. Jordan is no better than 
Abana and Pharpar, nor so good to the eyes of 
man, but Naaman will never get rid of his leprosy 
till he goes and dips seven times in the muddy 
stream. Just here we come upon the idea of abso- 
lute, unquestioning obedience ; the first law of the 
universe. " To obey is better than sacrifice." 
How many will gladly sacrifice time and money in 
the pursuit of health, who will not travel the path 
to Jordan's lowly bank. The great Assyrian gen- 
eral has a vast army still living. 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. Ill 

So far, direction for human action and obedience. 
Now we have the promises of God. " The prayer 
of faith shall save the sick." A great deal is im- 
plied in these words. It is not said that the prayer 
offered shall be efficacious, but "the prayer of 
faith. 11 In the days of Christ's earthly ministry it 
is highly probable that the individuals who came 
to him for healing, had real faith, not only in His 
power, but in His willingness to heal. In modern 
times, experience teaches that the faith required 
must be found, not only in the " elder," but in 
. the patient. No elder or collection of elders can 
bear up, by their own faith, a patient who, in the 
possession of his faculties, withholds his own personal 
confidence and trust in God, as being both able and 
willing. Again, the "prayer of faith" can not 
thus be jointly offered if anything whatever stands 
between the patient and God. Examples of this 
have been frequently observed by all who pray 
with the sick. In other words, true, realizing 
faith in God cannot and does not exist in a soul 
which, in any way whatever, holds back " part of 
the price." Many of the " best people in the 
world," when brought face to face with God in 
dire extremity, evince an unwillingness to give up 
some special appetite, or passion improperly indul- 
ged, or refuse to become absolutely nothing in 
God's hands. They are not willing to be, to do and 
to suffer, to the very uttermost application of these 
verbs. Some action, some confession, some fear of 
people's opinions, and of what men will say of 
them ; an unreadiness to devote every moment and 



112 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

every ability entirely to God; a desire to retain 
some small portion at least of this world's goods, 
social standing, amusements, and employment; 
some liking for tobacco or other sensual indulgence, 
or a desire to be healed simply to be rid of discom- 
fort and not solely for the glory of God : one or 
more of these things stands between the soul and 
God. In all such cases " the pray er of faith " is 
simply impossible; The elder may be pure in mo- 
tive and strong in trust, but it will avail nothing 
for the ultimate end in view, until the way is clear. 
There is only room upon the bridge of faith for 
Jesus and the naked soul. Now if this complete 
'•prayer of faith" be offered, if all these conditions 
be fully met, God is pleased, and, more certainly 
than that the heavens and the earth exist, "the 
prayer of faith shall save the sick. 11 Jesus himself 
said, more than once, "thy faith hath saved thee." 
I mean what He meant. Faith is the hand with 
which I reach out and take the benefits of the 
Atonement. 

"And the Lord shall raise him up. 11 The excel- 
lency of the power is of God and not of us. " We 
must believe that God is, and that he is the re- 
warder of them that diligently seek him ; " but He 
alone does the work. A man, alone in a boat, with- 
out sail or oar, throws a rope to the steamer, and 
is drawn along with speed and safety. So we 
throw out the rope of faith, and Jesus draws us 
into the harbor, while we sit and sing praises to 
the " mighty power of God." The promise is just 
as absolute as any in Scripture, and God always 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 113 

fulfills His word. We must notice here that noth- 
ing is said about the precise manner, nor the time 
of the raising up. It may be instantly ; it may be 
gradually. Cases have been known where the pa- 
tient has been directed to certain special remedies, 
in such a way as to leave no doubt as to God's 
will in the matter. A lady, known to the writer, 
was impressed to drink Poland water. She did 
not know anything about it, and had not heard the 
name. But she inquired for it, found it and was 
speedily healed. In this case the Poland water 
may have been no more beneficial in itself to her 
than the water of Jordan was to ISTaaman ; but it 
is highly probable that she would not have re- 
covered without it. I myself was raised up, after 
my seven years' sickness, without any medicine 
whatever; but the cure was gradual, not immedi- 
ate. At least the physical sensations of health 
came slowly. This taught me invaluable lessons 
of momentary, continuous trust in Jesus as my 
healer; and impressed upon me that I had and 
have no strength of my own, properly speaking. 
I always look to Him for everything, and He never 
leaves me nor forsakes me. This demonstrates the 
truth of our present argument. It is the Lord 
who raises up, and He alone. 

A personal experience here may be valuable. 
Some time ago I wanted to take a ride with a 
friend. I felt tired, and quick as a flash, the devil 
said, " Wait till you have one or two good night's 
sleep and get your strength built up a little, and 
then take your ride. You know saddle exercise is 
10a 



114 HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 

rather severe, and your horse is lively ; it will 
exhaust your vitality to ride to-day, and injure you, 
perhaps seriously." How reasonable it seemed, to 
be sure ! But " the entrance of the word gave 
light," and I exclaimed aloud : " Build up my 
strength ; my vitality ; praise the Lord, I have'nt 
any at all, it all belongs to Jesus. The thing is 
perfectly reasonable ; I have not been overworking 
myself. So I will go, and it will not hurt me in 
the least." I dressed at once, took the ride, 
praised the Lord all the time, and felt a great deal 
better instead of worse. " Is anything too hard 
for the Lord?" 

" And if he have committed sins, they shall be 
forgiven him." Here we see the wondrous liber- 
ality of God's grace. Not only healed in body, 
but cleansed in soul. There is, however, a very 
clear inference here that is extremely important. 
It appears, from these words, that the apostle, and 
the Holy Ghost who directed him, fully appre- 
ciated the close connection between sickness and 
sin. First, it is plain that the sickness is a result 
of sin (probably in the patient, but certainly some- 
where) ; and secondly that God will not heal with- 
out also forgiving. In nine cases out of ten sick- 
ness is caused by some personal sin ; in which I 
include all violations of the strict Biblical laws of 
health, diet, etc. Of course the Sin-Bearer will 
not remove the effect and leave the cause ; so the 
sin must be forgiven. This is strong testimony to 
the truth of the idea, previously advanced, that, 
even in miracle, God does not actually break His 



HEALING OF BODILY DISEASE. 115 

laws, but uses other laws to remove the cause as 
well as the effect. I take it that God's law, if law 
at all, is a truth ; and of course God cannot break 
a truth; for that would be destroying Himself, 
who is truth. The word law is here used in the 
sense of & principle. In healing the disease, Jesus 
forgives the sin ; and thus the glorious Atonement 
is used, in its fullness. Many a sufferer is com- 
pelled to exclaim, I suffer justly, I brought it on 
myself. True, but the Great Physician will forgive 
the sin, and bear the sickness for you. Truly 
this way of physical life in Christ Jesus, like all 
the ways of God, is a perfect way ! 

How beautiful and helpful it is to thus trace out 
God's teachings ! What could be more complete, 
or more satisfying to the Christian than this 
Scriptural means of Sealing f We have seen that 
it requires humility, confession of faith, absolute 
consecration and surrender, implicit obedience 
and living faith in God's word ; and it promises 
and sets forth salvation from sickness, this to be 
by the hand of God alone, and complete clean- 
sing from sin in the soul. What child of God can 
ask a better way ? And finally, in these acts of 
consecration and faith we find the suggestion of 
the great underlying principle, that God is always 
ready to give life to man, if only man will devote 
the life to God. God's salvation for the soul 
requires that the " new heart " be entirely given 
to Jesus ; and God's salvation for the body stipu- 
lates that the new physical energy be devoted to 
His service. Praise the Lord ! 



CHAPTER IV. 

Kept from Sickness. 

" Himself bore our sicknesses." — Matt. viii. 17. 

Hi F, when I read, " Who his own self bare our sins 
Wi in his own body on the tree, that we, being 
dp dead to sins, should live unto righteousness,'' 
(1 Pet. ii. 24) I am authorized to believe that the 
words mean just what they say, and indicate that 
Jesus has actually borne all my sin of commission 
and of principle, of act and of depravity; surely 
when I read that " himself bore our sicknesses," 
that he lifted them up as a load, etc., I must 
infer that it is not at all necessary for me 
to bear sickness, any more than sin. If this is not 
true, there is an end to all sense in language, and 
nothing can be predicated upon God's word. 

This chapter need not be greatly extended. 
When we have acknowledged that Jesus came to 
save us from all sin in " this present evil world ; " 
and that sickness is a work of the devil, and al- 
lowed by God as a corrective, not merely as a judi- 
cial punishment ; we can not possibly hesitate long 
to admit that Jesus will keep us from disease as 
well as from sin, if Mis conditions are met. 

If the soul is wholly the Lord's, without any 
possible reservation, He will keep it from sickness. 
But there is the point of stumbling. It is so hard? 
(116) 



KEPT FROM SICKNESS. 117 

to see the necessity for salification in the body 
and even harder " to present the body, a living sac- 
rifice," when the duty is seen. There is a text of 
Scripture that should be written in living light 
over the daily pathway of every sanctified Chris- 
tian, 

" WHO HATH DESPISED THE DAY OF SMALL THINGS ? " 

Zech. iv. 10. 

It is the " little foxes " that spoil the vines; they 
don't waste their time gnawing at weeds, they nib- 
ble the vines that are bearing " tender grapes." 
To be plain, a weed requires strong measures to 
kill it, but a very little thing will spoil and destroy 
a fruitful plant. It is when we are bearing fruit 
for the Master that very little, little things stand in 
the way of our obeying the command, " come up 
higher." Christians who have consecrated every 
power and disposition of the soul to God, often 
fail signally to see the necessity or the method for 
consecrating the body also, except in service. They 
are alive to the necessity of working for Jesus with 
the body, but the consecration of natural appetites, 
desires and affections is strangely wanting. We 
see some, who profess, and no doubt enjoy, perfect 
love and purity of heart, using tobacco, over-eat- 
ing or drinking, rashly neglectful of proper sleep, 
working eighteen or twenty hours a day, or habit- 
ually violating established sanitary laws. Often 
this is done in ignorance ; they have not seen the 
light on these points. But God says " come up 
higher " ; and the bodily illness consequent upon 



118 KEPT FROM SICKNESS. 

these offences operates slowly and surely to open 
the eyes to the truth.* 

The whole thing turns upon that glorious prom- 
ise " If we walk in the light as He is in the light.' ' 
Ah ! here is the condition, we must walk in the light, 
or there will be no "fellowship " and no "cleans- 
ing from all sin." The " cleansing from all sin " is 
only promised to those whose spirits obey God in 
every little thing ; and exemption from sickness 
can only (through faith J be his whose body obeys 
in all things. 

As I have intimated in my own confession, the 
great fear in this matter is that we may get sick, 
in which case others must know it, and the pro- 
fession apparently fall into disgrace. I thank God 
for a revelation on this point. I saw that if I 
hesitated for this reason, it was clear that I was 
not delivered entirely from that Spirit that " loved 
the praise of men more than the praise of God." 
The temptation was to refrain from taking so radi- 
cal a ground for fear that, if I failed, men would 
know it ; whereas I might profess Scriptural holi- 
ness, and be conscious of sins, without any man 
being aware of my fall. Ah! God knows. As 
soon as this became clear to my mind, I resolved 
in the strength of Jesus, to confess His glorious 

* People are often criminally ignorant. They could easily 
know so much better. Some professors of holiness are so grie- 
vously mistaken as to suppose that the marriage relation gives 
unlimited license for sexual indulgence. A few minutes read- 
ing in any good medical work would convict scores of such 
people of real sin in this matter. But they must learn, by the 
slow method of sickness and experience. 



KEPT FROM SICKNESS. 119 

work to the uttermost, and not to allow a single 
thought of the future to enter my mind for a mo- 
ment. Anyone can see that, professing to trust 
Christ for exemption from sickness, while you are 
contemplating the possibility of speedily falling 
ill, is not trusting Him at all. A3 well might a 
man say, " I am trusting Jesus this moment for 
cleansing from all sin, but I rather expect to sin 
before night." Such professions are only an insult 
to God, and are miserable travesties on true faith. 

I sometimes fear that the teachings on holiness 
have not always shown that " boldness to enter 
into the holiest " which they should have mani- 
fested. Far be it from man to boast; and un- 
doubtedly the less said about the future the bet- 
ter. But when man or devil suggests the question, 
" Now do you really expect to live one year, one 
month, one week, even one day, without sin ? " 
we should answer in faith, I do not expect "to 
continue in sin," but I expect the Lord to perform 
His word. 

So, of my body, I can say, not only that Jesus 
healed my past illness by His divine power ; but I 
gladly confess that, while walking with Him, He 
preserves me in perfect health of body, just as 
He keeps my soul from sin. And thus Jesus has 
all the glory. Praise the Lord! 

The " walk with God " is the most delicately 
balanced union in the world. There is only room 
for Jesus and me. Everything must be put away, 
and every leading of divine love must be instantly 
followed. Temptation to sin is useful and benefi- 



120 KEPT FROM SICKNESS. 

cial in keeping constantly before our souls the 
great truth, spoken by Jesus, " without me ye can 
do nothing ; " and temptation to sickness is nut 
wanting to remind the trusting; Christian that 
J esus alone is the " Savior of the body." 

If I am asked what I mean by " temptation to 
sickness/' I reply that Satan produces frequently 
upon me the preliminary symptoms of cold, head- 
ache, or other sickness." Instantly I look to the 
Great Physician and say, Dear Lord, thou hast 
taken my infirmities and borne my sicknesses. 
These symptoms are a temptation of the devil, de- 
liver me. And lo ! the indications vanish, and I 
am not sick at all. For five years I have known 
temptation to be sick, just as distinctly and unques- 
tionably as any temptation to sin. But the dear 
Lord always keeps His word, and "with the 
temptation provides a way of escape, that I may 
be able to bear it." Glory be to his name alone » 
In this way the " keeping power" against sickness 
is made just as much to depend upon, or to work 
through faith, as in the case of sin. I cannot rest 
upon past pardon ; I must trust to be kept in the 
cleansing fountain to-day. And just so, I dare 
not rest upon yesterday's healing, but am con- 
strained to actively trust, as I breathe, moment by 
moment. 

The life of faith, in any path, is a life, supported 
by only one breath at a time. 



CHAPTER V. 




Objections Ajntd Questions. 
1. — If Paul thought so much of his body, why 

DID HE CALL IT HIS " VILE BODY ? " — (Phil. iii. 21.) 

fHE apostle, as I have shown, was always 
looking towards the great day, when Jesus 
f^pi shall come and bring about the full reunion 
of the soul and body, in the glorified state. In 
this case he was expressing the same thought. 
He says, " For our conversation is in heaven ; 
from whence also we look for the Saviour, the 
Lord Jesus Christ ; who shall change our vile 
body, that it may be fashioned like unto his 
glorious body, according to the working whereby 
he is able even to subdue all things unto himself." 
The word translated vile is tapeinosis, and means 
low estate, humiliation, abasement. That is, the 
apostle spoke of his body being in a low estate, 
not the highest possible condition ; as being abased, 
not exalted ; humiliated, not glorified. It is plain, 
therefore, that this verse does not bear against 
our position in the slightest. On the contrary it 
serves tQ enforce the idea that a body destined for 
such a marvelous " change," cannot for a moment 
be called " vile " in the sense of worthless or 
repulsive. Paul cherished his body, though it was 
in a "low estate" and ardently longed for the 
11 (121) 



122 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

time when it should be glorified. Not the faintest 
shadow of an argument in favor of sickness can 
be deduced from this reference. 

2. — Trophimus. 

The case of Trophimus, whom Paul says he 
left behind him "at Miletum sick." — 2 Tim. iv. 20, 
is of some importance. Why did not Paul pray 
over him, raise him up and take him along? 
This question naturally occurs to the mind of an 
honest inquirer ; but the case can readily be shown 
to be in perfect accord with the Scriptural doctrine 
of healing. For two years, at Ephesus, and for 
three months, at Miletum, Paul had healed the 
sick continually, and not one single case of failure 
or incomplete restoration is even hinted. Now 
was Trophimus affected with a disaster that defied 
the power of God? Did Paul fail to pray with 
him ? Or was it the Lord's will for him to be 
sick? 

Dr. Boardman, in the " Great Physician," has 
treated this point with ability. He presents the 
idea that Paul was on his way to Borne, a prisoner. 
Trophimus was not obliged to go, and very proba- 
bly the Lord wanted him to stay behind. So, just 
on the eve of the vessel's departure, Trophimus 
was taken sick. Of course he and Paul prayed 
for healing, but in this case it was delayed. Paul 
went on to Eome, and Trophimus was left to work 
for the Lord in a different sphere. Paul was not 
a stranger to gradual healing, for he had seen 
Epaphroditus^ sicken, and though he prayed, yet 



OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 123 

the patient drew " nigh unto death," before the 
turn came and the Lord raised him up. — Phil. ii. 
25-29. This accords most fully with the timeless 
nature of the promise in James. " The Lord shall 
raise him up," gives no time, but the fact is as true 
as God's inviolable word. 

But there is another thought about this case. 
We have not any record of Trophimus' personal 
experience. We know he was a Christian, a com- 
panion of Paul's, an Ephesian, and a worker in 
the new cause. But we do not know his precise 
inward experience, as in the case of Paul. Now 
it is perfectly possible that Trophimus made a 
mistake, or that he did not absolutely follow the 
leading of the Holy Ghost. He loved Paul, and 
desired above all to keep his company. We will 
suppose that God desired him to enter another 
sphere of labor, and that, very possibly, certain 
delicate indications of the divine call had reached 
him. But his affection for the great apostle, and 
his own soul-joy in his company, persuaded him 
to close his eyes to anything else, and he deter- 
mined to go to Eome. Then sickness fell upon 
him. He could not go ; but he could pray. Yet 
though he prayed, and Paul himself doubtless 
interceded, he could not be raised up till he had 
seen and accepted God's will. This he did not do 
until the ship had gone and the thought of Eome 
had been banished from his mind. With the bias 
removed, there is no doubt that God's leading 
became plain, and that Trophimus arose and went 
to work where God called him. Of course, all 



124 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

this is theoretical and inferential, but it is perfectly 
possible. Finally, there is nothing at all in this 
case to shake for a moment the belief in God's 
plain promise. 

3. — Paul's Thorn. 

In the case of the Apostle, we are confronted by 
the fact that he repeatedly relates his experience ; 
and protests that God " always caused him to 
triumph in Christ." He furthermore distinctly 
avers that he " fought a good fight," and even set 
himself up as an example for others. See 1 Cor. 
xi. 1, 4, 16. Phil. iii. 17. 1 Thes. i. 6-7. 2 Thes. 
iii. 9. 1 Thes. ii. 10. In other words, Paul imide 
the most unhesitating profession of personal clean- 
sing from all sin. £Tow if Paul became sick, is 
not the whole doctrine of this book overthrown at 
once ? Let us see. 

Paul had a " thorn in the flesh." Like most 
other matters concerning him, this fact comes from 
his own mouth, in open confession. He was 
wonderfully fond of " confession with the mouth." 
In the first place no one can deny that this " thorn " 
never clouded Paul's faith in God's willingness to 
heal everybody else, of any possible affection. The 
record of his work absolutely established this. 
Dr. Boardman pertinently asks, " Why then should 
it cause us to doubt ? " Further, we see that he 
himself had no doubt about it, but took it straight 
to the Lord. Three times he prayed, and the 
trouble still lingered. Why was this ? Had Paul 
reached a plane upon which temptation was 



OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 125 

impossible ? Did his faith not need exercise ? 
Well, he exercised it, and it grew so strong that 
God answered him, and distinctly explained the 
whole matter to him. The " abundance of the 
revelations " made to him had been so great and 
so unspeakable, that this " thorn " came to " buffet 
him," " lest he should be exalted " by the marvel- 
lous favors shown him. The whole aim of the 
thing was to establish, as never before, in the 
apostle's heart, that even he, with all his revelations, 
was absolutely nothing apart from Jesus. It was 
not what he had been forgiven, not what he had 
received, not the measure of blessings he felt and 
experienced, but the personal abiding presence of 
Jesus, excluding and exterminating any possible 
form of self in the inmost soul. This was the 
lesson, and Paul learned it, and exulted in the 
knowledge, glorifying God. — 2 Cor. xii. 7-10. See 
also xi. 30. 

There are several points in this case that are im- 
portant. First, the word translated " infirmities," is 
astheneia, meaning literally weakness. It is the 
same word rendered in vs. 9 " weakness," and in 
vs. 10, " weak ; " also in xi. 30, " infirmities," and 
xi. 29, " weak." I am not stickling for a shade, 
but it is plain that anything like virulent disease 
is not indicated in the text. This is amply sus- 
tained by the personal history of the Apostle. 
One thing is certain, that the " thorn " never pre- 
vented him from working u more abundantly than 
all" the rest of his brethren; and he distinctly 
affirms that he " ceased not to warn every one 
11a 



12£ OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

night and day with tears " for a " space of three 
years." — Acts xx. 31. He must have enjoyed very 
good health during that long ministry ; and when 
he died, it was not from any sickness, or even a 
" thorn in the flesh." It is then clear that Paul's 
" thorn " was in no sense a disabling affection. 
The Lord did not allow it to stop Paul's work, but 
to make him more fruitful. You, therefore, who are 
seeking consolation in utter^prostration under per- 
manent disease, will not find any reason for con- 
tinued inaction in this record. Paul said, " Christ 
shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by 
life or by death," Phil. i. 20 ; but he emphasized the 
fact that, if he lived, it was to " labor," vs. 22, not 
to lie idle upon a sick bed. 

We may assume from the facts that there is no 
necessity for a " thorn in the flesh," such as tor- 
mented Paul, unless, like him, we have been 
" caught up into the third heaven." Also, that if 
a " thorn" has made its appearance, we have 
Paul's example for steadfastly praying in faith for 
its removal, until we get an answer from the 
Lord about which there can be no mistake. 

But further, we are led to inquire as to the na- 
ture of the " thorn." If it was not active disease, 
what was it ? There are two well known suppo- 
sitions on this point. One is that his eyes never 
entirely recovered from the blinding effect of the 
light on the Damascus road. The other is that his 
" bodily presence was weak, and his speech con- 
temptible." — 2 Cor. x. 10 ; and these physical 
deficiencies constituted the " thorn." Now nothing 






OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 127 

could be more absurd. His eyes were good enough 
to enable him to write " with his own hand," those 
closely covered parchment rolls, the transcribing 
of which taxes good eyesight to-day. But his own 
words absolutely settle both these points. If the 
" thorn " had been in his eyes, it would have dated 
from the day of his conversion ; and the supposed 
defect in appearance would have been much older. 
But his express language is that this " thorn " was 
given him to keep him from being exalted by the 
wonderful revelations vouchsafed to him, long 
subsequent to his conversion. Again in 2 Cor. x. 11, 
Paul sharply declares that the talk about his 
insignificant presence and contemptible speech 
was utterly false, and avers that his word of 
mouth will be found fully equal to his pen. Still 
further, he specially informs us that this " thorn " 
was " the messenger of Satan." What frightful 
blasphemy it would be to assume that a partial 
blindness, caused by the visible manifestation of 
Jesus Christ, could by any figure of speech, be 
called "the messenger of Satan!" And almost 
equally abominable would be the application of 
these words, to the natural stature and appearance 
of the body, which owes its very existence to the 
creative power of God. 

It is noteworthy that Paul speaks of his trials 
in detail, but does not mention sickness. In 2 Cor. 
vi. -1, 5, he writes, " In much patience, in affliction, 
in necessities, in distress, in stripes, in imprison- 
ment, in tumults, in labors, in watchings, in fast- 
ings." And in the eleventh chapter he enumerates 



128 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

again his persecutions and troubles. " In labors 
more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons 
more frequent, in deaths oft " (see 1 Cor. xv. 30, 31, 
32. 2 Cor. iv. 8-11, vi. 9). " Of the Jews five times 
received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I 
beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I 
suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been 
in the deep; in journeyings often, in perils of 
waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of mine own 
countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in 
the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the 
sea, in perils among false brethren. In weariness 
and painfulness (mochthos — labor, toil), in watch- 
ings often, in cold and nakedness." The " thorn " 
is mentioned in the following chapter, so that we 
have here the strongest reasons for believing that 
Paul had no sickness or disease, properly so called, 
in all this previous experience, for no word of such 
a trouble is found in the terrible catalogue of his 
afflictions and persecutions. After all the " thorn ,r 
may not have been a real disease. 

It is perfectly clear then that the " thorn " was 
a special affliction sent upon Paul after his marvel- 
lous experience, for the special purpose of causing 
him to rely, not upon the gifts of God, but solely 
upon the giver Himself. And even this affliction 
or sickness is expressly stated to have emanated 
from Satan. But it will be urged that after all has 
been said does not this case disprove the provision 
in the Atonement for all sickness ? This brings 
us to a very special question under the subject of 
the thorn. 



objections and questions. 129 

Did Paul Eecover ? 
Do not be startled. Let us carefully and prayer- 
fully examine the record. " To the law and to 
the testimony." Without question there is no 
ground in Paul's case for any doubt as to God's 
willingness to heal all disease. This has been 
abundantly shown already. But I do not feel it 
right to relinquish the matter at this point. Is it 
true that Paul prayed three times, but that God 
refused to grant his request, while promising him 
grace to bear up under the affliction ? I unhesita- 
tingly affirm that 

The Thorn in the Flesh was Healed. 

The only case in Scripture similar to this is that 
of Moses, when he besought God to let him pass 
over Jordan, and the Lord told him not to speak 
any more concerning the matter. But the two 
cases are not at all analogous. Moses had sinned, 
and God's word had gone forth, "because ye be- 
lieved me not to sanctify me in the eyes of the 
children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this 
congregation into the land." — Num. xx. 12. 

When, therefore, Moses asked to go over Jordan, 
he asked God to break His word. It could not be ; 
but, as we have seen, the Lord bore him over a 
better Jordan, into a fairer land. But Paul's thorn 
was not punitive ; it was a preventive. So he dis- 
tinctly states. And when he prayed for its re- 
moval, he asked God not to break His word, but to 
destroy one of the works of the devil ; the very 
thing Jesus Christ came to do. 



130 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

If it be argued that the apostle continued to 
need the thorn, and therefore God could not, in 
wisdom, grant this request; I reply that, if this be 
true, it follows that Paul did not learn the lesson 
which the thorn was sent to teach. God would 
certainly not allow a " messenger of Satan to buf- 
fet " his chosen apostle, except for a purpose. 
That purpose was to teach Paul that he was noth- 
ing but weakness, apart from Jesus. This we are 
distinctly told. Now if the thorn remained, it was 
solely because Paul did not learn the lesson. But 
he did learn it j nothing can be more positively cer- 
tain than this. To suppose that Paul felt the 
thorn, realized what it was for, had God's word for 
it ; and then, cherished the thorn, refusing to ac- 
cept and apply its teaching, is to suppose that the 
apostle was openly rebellious, and wilfully sinful, 
even when he said, " 1 always triumph in Christ." 
If any Christian can accept this dilemma, let him 
do so. 

But it may be answered, look at the language 
used ; does it not say that the Lord told Paul he 
should have grace to endure ? No it does not. 
The facts are these. Paul prayed. No answer. 
Paul prayed the second time. No answer. With 
undaunted faith, Paul prayed the third time. And 
unless he had less faith than Elijah he would have 
kept on seven times, if necessary. But at the third 
request, God answered. He said, " My grace is 
sufficient for thee." The word translated sufficient 
means suffice, satisfy. When we remember that 
we are " saved by grace," Eph. ii. 5-8, it is easily 



OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. ' 131 

seen that the word " grace," in the text, may well 
have the element of salvation in it. In fact the 
idea of salvation is inseparably linked with the 
word, in all the Scripture. Now God told him 
" My grace is sufficient, or satisfying." This would 
surely accord with all Scriptural analogy, if we 
understand the reply to be an assent and not a 
denial. Suppose I should go to God with a beset- 
ting sin, a regular and genuine "messenger of 
Satan," and cry for deliverance; only to be met 
vvil h the assurance that I should receive grace to 
bear it ? What I to bear a sin I To retain that 
which is hateful to God ! Grace to sin, and to bear 
up under it I What a thought ! Yet here we are 
plainly told that a " messenger of Satan," having 
accomplished the end for which it was allowed, is 
to be retained and endured by grace. Could any- 
thing be more awfully absurd ? 

Again, Paul remarks at once; "Most gladly 
therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that 
the power of Christ may rest upon me." What 
Paul ! do you mean to say that you will deliberately 
glory in " messengers of Satan," even if it be that 
" the power of Christ " k may be shown ? If so, how 
did you come to write that famous sentence, " Shall 
we continue in sin, that grace may abound ? God 
forbid ! " Shall we cherish or retain any " messen- 
ger of Satan," merely that Christ's power may be 
manifested in continued deliverance ? Is that the 
meaning of the apostle ? God forbid ; indeed. 
How plain it is that he gloried, not that these 
things came, nor that they remained, nor yet that 



132 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

that he was enabled to bear them ; but rather in 
that he was delivered from them. See the very con- 
text itself, for proof of this. He " took pleasure 
in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in per- 
secutions, in distresses." Did he take pleasure in 
these things tvithin himself, or externally ? Did he 
not take pleasure and glory in the fact that, in the 
midst of the burning, fiery furnace, he walked 
absolutely unscorched, because one, like to the 
Son of God, walked with him, saying, Courage 
Paul, " My grace is sufficient for thee?" Paul had 
no belief in "imputed holiness," nor in imputed 
health either. He does not say I am weak, but I 
am called strong on account of Christ's strength, 
imputed to me. But he declares, "When I am 
weak, then I am strong." How? By the "power 
of Christ," in which alone " I glory." 

With special emphasis, he refers, in the twelfth 
verse, to his miraculous gifts, He says, " Truly the 
signs of an apostle were wrought among you in 
all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty 
deeds." This serves to prove that he had no doubt 
as to the power and willingness of God to heal, for 
" they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall 
recover," was one of the " signs " mentioned by 
our Savior himself, as following " them that be- 
lieve." 

The rational and Scriptural view of this case 
then is this. The thorn was sent as a precaution- 
ary measure, or a warning. It had a lesson. 
This Paul fully learned, and asked for healing. 
After a trial of his faith, his request was graciously 



OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 133 

granted. Whereupon he praises God that in all 
things, in infirmities, persecutions, reproaches, 
necessities or distresses, God's grace is sufficient 
and satisfying, and gives him complete deliverance 
from all the " messengers of Satan." And in con- 
fessing this he confesses that he is so " weak " that 
he cannot save himself in the least degree, but 
Christ is so " strong," that He can and does save 
to the very " uttermost." 

Ah ! God is a personal God, Jesus Christ a per- 
sonal Eedeemer, the Holy Ghost a personal Sancti- 
fier, and the salvation of the Cross is a personal 
salvation "in this present world." It saves the 
individual through and through. It saves him 
from, and not in or under.* 

4. — The Man Born Blind. 

In the ninth chapter of John we read of a 
remarkable case. The query of the disciples, 
" Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that 
he was born blind?" and Jesus' reply, " Neither 
has this man sinned, nor his parents ; but that the 
works of God should be made manifest in him," 
may be cited to disprove the idea that sickness is 
the result of sin. The Lord give us light to 
examine it ! 

In the first place I am struck with the plain 
fact that the apostles all thought the presence of 

*I would say that this idea of the " thorn " was first given 
me by Dr. Cullis, two or three years ago. He simply stated it 
as his belief that Paul was cured. Since then the Lord has 
opened to my mind the beautiful unfol dings of the truth, and I 
give Him all the glory. 
12 



134 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

such a calamity a sure evidence of sin, either in 
the man or his parents. They considered the 
affliction to be a punishment for actual transgres- 
sion. But in this respect they were mistaken, 
precisely as were the the three friends of Job. 
The Patriarch of Uz was ill in body, not as a 
punishment, but in order to lead him to a depth of 
surrender of which he had not dreamed. Paul's 
thorn was purely precautionary, and intended to 
warn him against self-conceit. And Jesus said 
that this man was blind, not because of special 
offence, but that the works of God might be mani- 
fested in him. Now when we remember that 
Job's boils and Paul's thorn came straight from 
the hand of Satan, and when we read that "for 
this purpose was the Son of God manifested, that 
he might destroy the works of the devil," it 
becomes plain that the blind man's case was of 
precisely similar nature. 

What are the " works of God " in a mortal 
man ? Are they not essentially to overthrow and 
cast out Satan and sin, with all the corruption and 
taint of evil ? But it may be said that the words 
mean that God's power might be shown. Indeed ! 
Is this all ? Why select a man ? Would not the 
" power " of God have been much more plainly 
manifested by some unquestionably miraculous 
work in nature. Suppose Christ had actually 
done what he told his disciples was possible to 
faith — plucked up a mountain and cast it headlong 
into the sea — would not the mere question of 
power have been settled much more positively than 



OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 135 

in healing the sick? A thousand other wonders 
would have displayed power ; but Jesus " came to 
seek and save the lost." Who can dare say that this 
man would ever have been saved, if he had been 
born with eyes ? Had he not known such desper- 
ate privation, would he have ever believed in the 
Son of God? 

Beyond question, he stands as an example of 
God's love and grace. Bound by Satan, not 
merely for eighteen years, but all his life ; deprived 
of the precious boon of sight, and feeling his helpless- 
ness, as only the blind can ; he meets the Great 
Physician. The beautifully significant words, " as 
long as I am in the world, I am the light of the 
world," sounded in his ears ; the divine hand 
touched his eyes, and the command followed, 
"go, wash in the pool of Siloam. ,, He went, he 
washed, he saw. A trial of faith followed, and 
then his spiritual eyes were also opened, and he 
exclaimed, in adoring confidence, " Lord, I be- 
lieve." 

A significant thought is here presented. Modern 
experience confirms the record in the fact, that a 
wondrous spiritual blessing invariably accompanies 
the healing by faith. In the long years of the faith 
work at Manedorf, at Bad Boll, under Dr. Cullis, 
and with many others, this has proved the uni- 
versal rule. No one ever trusts God for anything 
without being blessed in spirit. And this is what 
we might expect, for is not faith laid down in 
Scripture as the express channel of communica- 
1ion between God and man? 



136 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

We see, therefore, that, while the blindness was 
not a punishment for any special offence, it most 
certainly was no exception to the rule, that sick- 
ness emanates from the devil, and exists on 
account of sin. It saved this man from his sins, 
just as the thorn saved Paul from falling into 
pride, and the boils brought Job to the actual 
death of self. And thus, in each case, the works 
of God were manifested, in destroying the works of 
the devil. 

5. — Lazarus. 

In the eleventlTchapter of John we have a very 
similar case. Christ loved Lazarus. Is it possible 
that God allows the works of the devil to afflict 
those whom He loves ? It is written, " Whom the 
Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every 
son whom he receiveth." Some one will say, " you 
have quoted a verse that weighs directly against 
you this time." Have I? On the contrary the 
Lord gives me to see in it a mighty argument in 
my favor. I ask, how does the Lord chasten his 
children ? We know that it is by trials, tribula- 
tions, sorrows, and sickness if you please. But 
whence come these ? Do not trials come from the 
opposition of sinners? My patience is tried by 
somebody's impatience. My love is tested by 
another's ugliness and hatred. My faith is used 
in repelling the doubts which Satan interjects. Is 
it not perfectly plain that the things which give us 
by far the greater portion of our " chastening," 
unquestionably emanate from sin and Satan ? 



OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 137 

Why, how could we be " chastened " if we lived in 
an angelic community, where Satan's cloven foot 
could not tread ? Will anybody try to explain ? 
And are we to conclude that sickness is to be arbi- 
trarily separated from all the other ills that flesh 
is heir to, and ascribed to the direct agency of 
" Him who hath loved us and bought us with His 
blood ? " We all believe that whatever the punish- 
ments of perdition may be, they will be directly 
under the hand of the prince of darkness. Then 
how horrible it is to imagine that He, who is love, 
actually swings the scourges of hell in order to 
punish His own children. 

If you say you do not believe God does that, 
then our position is granted at once. These things 
are all unquestionable evils. Now they do not 
send themselves. And if God does not send them, 
the devil must do so. The whole difficulty is 
cleared by simply regarding the double character 
of God. He is justice, but He also is love. " We 
have all sinned, and come short of the glory of 
God." Therefore we are all under judicial sen- 
tence. This is our present condition. But love 
intervenes, and temporarily suspends execution. 
Meanwhile the "roaring lion" is raging around 
the " hedge " which God " hath set about " us ; and 
claiming us as his own. He is constantly striving 
to break through and slay us forever. But God 
withholds him by His mighty hand. Now we are 
either out-breaking sinners, or like Job, we do not 
" follow on to know the Lord " as He would have 
us. In this state of affairs Love asks the aid of 
12a 



138 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

wisdom and God, apparently listening to Satan's 
taunt of unfair protection, withdraws the hedge, 
and says, " Behold he is in thine hand, but save his 
life" At once the darts fall thick and fast. It 
may be the loss of family and of fortune, or it may 
be bitter personal pain. The arch-enemy has not 
learned backward since he displayed his ingenuity 
in the land of Uz. He has the " power of death," 
and he uses it just as far as God will let him. If 
the " hedge " is not withdrawn from the body, he 
must be content with spoiling the goods, blowing 
down the house, and sending fire upon the sheep. 
Men were ready to ascribe Satan's work to God 
three thousand years ago, for Job's servants said, 
" The fire of God is fallen from heaven ; " when 
the fact is it was the fire of hell, sent by Satan him- 
self. I have not a shadow of a doubt that if God 
would only withdraw the " hedge " about the hu- 
man race, the devil would kill every single soul 
upon earth in an hour. He would kill the saints 
out of pure malignity, and to prevent their serv- 
ing God; and he would kill the sinners to make 
sure of their damnation. 

An ancient tradition says that when man was 
created " in the image of God," all angels and crea- 
ted beings were called upon to do him honor, as 
the most remarkable work of God. But Bblis, or 
Satan, revolted at the command, became a prey to 
envy and hatred, and rebelling against God, was 
cast down from his high estate, carrying his fol- 
lowers with him. Certain it is, that the old legend 
holds an important truth. It is the undying 



OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 139 

hatred, and venomous, sleepless animosity which 
Satan has ever displayed towards our race. 

Job's case was not an exception, but rather, 
almost, if not quite, the rule. 

In this view of the matter, how plain does the 
case of Lazarus become ! Jesus loved him ; there- 
fore he needed chastening. For some reason sick- 
ness was allowed. Satan had full swing, and the 
dart was dipped in deadly venom. Lazarus died, 
and hell rejoiced that a friend of the Nazarene was 
slain. Satan has no foreknowledge, he is but a 
creature, and cannot read God's purposes in ad- 
vance. But " this sickness was not unto death, 
but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might 
be glorified thereby." The word went forth, the 
works of the devil were destroyed, and Lazarus came 
back to life. Note especially, that Jesus said, " I am 
glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the in. 
tent ye may believe." What did this mean, but 
that, if He had been with the afflicted one, His 
presence would have necessarily banished sickness 
from one who loved Him, and whom He loved ; 
and mark, how great spiritual blessings came to 
them who stood by. " Then many of the Jews 
which came to Mary, and had seen the things 
which Jesus did, believed on him." 

And finally we see again, permanently displayed 
in this chapter, the great truth that u God maketh 
" the wrath of man (or devils) to praise him." Ps. 
lxxvi. 10. It is in this light that we can read of 
Pharaoh, of whom it is said that God especially 
raised him up. Eom. ix. 17. The reason of 



140 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

the raising up was that God might show forth His 
power, and declare His name through all the earth. 
But was not Pharaoh a fearful sinner, given over 
to the entire power of Satan ? And how did God 
show forth His power ? Was it not by destroying 
the reign of Pharaoh over His people, and by 
drowning Pharaoh himself in the midst of the sea ? 
The more we look into the Scriptures, the more 
we become convinced that the way God gets to 
Himself glory, is by saving and delivering His 
children from evil, and not merely by giving grace 
to remain under bondage to evil. Jesus Christ 
came u to save Sis people from their sins. 11 

The method by which God sends evil, and disease 
and trial, and tribulation, and distress, and peril, 
and sword, is outlined or suggested in the words 
of the Prophet, "Ephraim is joined to idols, let 
him alone. 11 Hos. iv. 17. And we see the same 
thought in the dying words of Joseph, " But as for 
you, ye thought evil against me : but God meant 
it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to 
save much people alive." Gen. 1. 20. But most 
conclusive of all, is it not manifest that God saw 
fit to give us salvation through sin ? In the proper 
sense, this is most tremendously true. It was sin 
that rejected Jesus of Nazareth ; it was sin that 
nailed Him to the cross ; it was sin and death and 
hell that rejoiced in the darkness of Calvary. But 
God "meant it for good, to bring to pass as it is 
to-day, to save much people alive. 11 Of course if 
there had been no sin, Jesus would not have given 
Himself for us ; but sin there was, and beyond all 



OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 141 

controversy, Christ could not have died, except by 
the works of the devil, the great representative of 
sin. Bat Jesus did not triumph by remaining 
under the power of sickness or sin. He conquered 
death and hell by destroying their power over Him. 
and living in health and strength until the time for 
His departure drew nigh. And he wants us to 
walk, even as He walked. Heb. ii. 14, 15. 

6. — Death Appointed to All. 

People often say, " Well if all this is true, 
nobody will ever die." There are several answers to 
this thoughtless and really ignorant remark. First 
we are told that " all men have not faith." Christ 
himself asked, " When the Son of Man cometh, 
shall He find faith on the earth?" "O ye of 
little faith, wherefore did ye doubt? " is the query 
that finds very wide application to-day. When it 
is apparent that a mere handful in the world can 
manage to trust God for healing, it is at once seen 
that the objection is inconsequential. But the 
real thought goes deeper than the words. The 
idea is, how will a man, who does exercise faith 
for healing, ever manage to die? A moment's 
reflection makes this clear. The very essence of 
healing, as of holiness, through faith, is God's will. 
When Jesus so wonderfully cured my heart disease, 
it was done after I had resigned all to the will of 
God. I said, if God wants me to die, then I desire 
to die. If He wants me to live and suffer, I desire 
to do so. But if he wants me to recover and 
praise Him, I desire that. But I only desire the 



142 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

glory of God. In this attitude before God I was 
led to see His will in my recovery, and God alone 
is glorified thereby. But to-day how is it? I am 
living for His glory, and am ready by His grace, at 
a moment's notice to depart and be with Jesus. 
With Paul I can say " to be with Christ is far 
better." The man whose whole being is given to 
Jesus, will not seek to live, when God's time has 
come to carry him over the river. The heart that 
is all the Lord's has its treasure in heaven, and 
waits, almost impatiently, for the Lord's appearing. 
Such a man is fully satisfied with life on earth, and 
like Paul, it is only by God's grace that he is con- 
tent to stay there. His whole conversation is in 
heaven, from whence also he looks for the Lord 
Jesus. The very sweetest sound in all this wide 
universe, to a heart full of the love of the Master, 
is the welcome call, "Behold the bridegroom 
cometh, go ye out to meet him." Lord hasten the 
day when Jesus shall come and " we which are 
alive and remain be caught up to meet him in the 
air." "Amen! even so come Lord Jesus." Of 
course I do not expect the world to comprehend 
this, for these things are spiritually discerned. 
But all God's children ought to understand. 

" It is appointed unto men once to die, and after 
that the judgment." — Heb. ix. 27. No one seeks 
to evade this Scripture. But we know that God 
will give deliverance in death itself. The story of 
Esther beautifully sets forth this deliverance. 
The laws of the Medes and Persians cannot alter, 
but the King authorizes the Jews to stand for 



OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 143 

their lives ; and by this permission, as well as for 
the fear of Mordecai, who stood before the King in 
the place of his people, the day of the edict brings 
victory, although the law is not repealed. So 
Jesus stands for us, making intercession for us. 
The law of death cannot be changed ; but even in 
that dark hour, He gives strength to cry, " 
grave where is thy victory ! O death where is thy 
sting." 

But there is no Scripture which even hints at 
the necessity of sickness coming upon God's child- 
ren, who are walking in the light. If then it be 
finally asked, "Will you not have to be sick, in 
order to die," I answer, look about you. Is it 
true that all men die from illness ? Go back to 
the apostles. Were they ill ? Eleven died by 
violence, even as their Master ; and of John the 
beloved, who will dare to say that he wasted away 
under the hand of a "messenger of Satan?" 
To-day, how many leave the world from violence, 
from accident, and from that sudden taking off 
without a day's suffering which is so common ? 
How many old persons simply fail ? The sands of 
life run out almost imperceptibly; they are not 
sick ; but suddenly the golden cord is loosed, and 
the spirit departs to God who gave it. Surely 
this question is abundantly answered already. 

7. — For the Apostolic Age. 

We are told, with much confidence, that these 
miracles of healing were only for the Apostolic 
Age. This idea is of a piece with the theory that 



144 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

all the miracles of Christ were wrought simply to 
establish a belief in His divinity. But it is no 
new idea that Christ performed these miracles out 
of His overflowing love and goodness. Dr. Nast, 
in his " Introduction to the Gospel fiecords," 
advances the thought that Jesus did not have to 
exert Himself to work miracles, but rather was 
obliged to restrain the outflow of life from His 
loving heart. As we have already seen, the Mas- 
ter could well have established His superhuman 
character by astounding miracles in nature ; but 
His love for man, so to speak, compelled Him to 
heal and bless wherever He went. 

But we are not left to theory and analogy ; 
Scripture is not silent upon this subject. The last 
words of Jesus, according to St. Mark, were, "and 
these signs shall follow them that believe ; in my name 
shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with 
new tongues : they shall take up serpents ; and if 
they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them ; 
they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall re- 
cover." — Mark xvi. 17, 18. Now, " them that be- 
lieve " is a pretty broad promise. If men and wo- 
men rise up to-day and say, " We believe, and 
these signs do follow us," who will undertake to 
disprove the fulfilment of the Lord's words ? 
Again, Paul, in 1 Cor. xii., speaks at length of the 
" gifts of the Spirit." He says, " God hath set 
some in the church, first, apostles ; secondarily, pro- 
phets; thirdly, teachers, after that miracles, then 
gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of 
tongues." Now we all believe that " teachers " ex- 



OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 145 

ist in the church to-day ; but if any of these gifts 
were restricted to the Corinthians of the first cen- 
tury, we can not consistently claim a single one. 
Moreover Paul enjoins the church to "covet earnest- 
ly " these very gifts. Does that look like a special 
apostolic privilege ? 

But James settles the matter beyond any suc- 
cessful dispute. He writes " to the twelve tribes 
scattered abroad," that is surely general enough. 
And he gives a direction to the sick, which for clear 
cut specific detail is not surpassed by any promise in 
the Bible. " Is any sick among you (Is that suffi- 
ciently comprehensive ?) let him call for the elders 
of the church, and let them pray over him, anoint- 
ing him with oil in the name of the Lord ; and the 
prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord 
shall raise him up, and if he have committed sins, 
they shall be forgiven him." — Jas. v. 14, 15. Now 
if any man can point to a plainer and more posi- 
tive promise in the Bible, than this to the sick, let 
him produce it. 

I make the positive assertion that the following 
cannot be denied by any man living : 

1. There is no law in the Old Testament laid 
down with more distinctness and positiveness than 
the law of physical health through the healing 
power of Jehovah Eophi. — Ex. xv. 26. 

2. There is no command with attached promise, 
more absolute, than the commission to the apostles. 
— Matt. x. 1, 7, 8. To the seventy disciples. — Luke 
x. 1-9. And to the entire church. — Mark xvi. 
17 5 18. 

13 



146 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

3. There is no command and no promise more 
general in its application, nor more unqualified in 
its terms, than the direction to the sick. — Jas. v. 
14, 15. 

4. There is not a sentence, a word, or even a 
hint, anywhere in Scripture that either of these 
were confined to any special age, or to be limited 
by any particular conditions. Each expresses its 
own conditions. 

I am fully persuaded that any Christian, who 
prayerfully considers these four points, will speedi- 
ly be convinced that God's promises are not out- 
lawed by time. Let as not forget the curse pro- 
nounced against him who shall add to, or take from 
the words of Scripture. — Eev. xxii. 18, 19. 

8. — The Days of Miracles Have Passed. 

This objection is really already answered. It 
only remains to say, that this proverb was coined 
in hell, and bears the most unmistakable signs of 
the devil's imprint. The Bible covers a period of 
four thousand years of actual history. During all 
that time God wrought special miracles. Looking 
forward into the future, the seer of Patmos pic- 
tures miracle on miracle, wonder upon wonder, until 
the mind can scarcely follow the letter, much less 
the sense. These were to come. We are now 
trembling on the very verge of the glorious appear- 
ing of our Lord and King — a miracle more stupen- 
dous in its effects than any that the world has 
known. Who says the days of miracles are no 
more ? Who will dare to say it ? Is it written ? 



OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 147 

Is there the least intimation in the Word ? Does 
not Paul say "Covet earnestly the best gifts," after 
naming the gift of miracles fourth in order ? I 
could bring modern evidence of the weightiest 
kind, but we are dealing with God's Word alone.* 
Is it not plain that a sleeping church has "made 
the Word of G-od of none effect through your tra- 
dition, which ye have delivered?" Mark vii. 13. 
Jesus Christ is " the same, yesterday, to-day, and 
forever." Heb. xiii. 8. 

9. — The Use of Means. 

Has not God provided physicians, medicine, and 
means for healing the sick ? These questions need 
but little thought, though they may require some 
space. I am writing to Christians, as to those 
who believe God's Word. Hence, the great ques- 
tion is, what does the Word say ? That is enough. 
But let us look at this question of means. 

We have already seen how exceedingly uncom- 
plimentary the Bible is to physicians. The word 
medicine occurs only four times in Scripture. One 
is " Thou hast no healing medicines." Jer. xxx. 
13. Another, " In vain shalt thou use many med- 
icines." Jer. xlvi. 11. Another where Ezekiel 
speaks in his vision of the tree of life whose leaf 
should be "for medicine." Ezek. xlvii. 12. And 
the fourth, " a merry heart doeth good (like) a 
medicine." Prov. xvii. 22. The margin has it " to 

*Let the reader examine the evidence in " Supernatural gifts 
of the Spirit," Pastor Blumhardt, Dr. Cullis' " Faith Cures" 
etc. etc. 



148 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

a medicine." Of course these are largely figurative; 
and I admit freely that these brief words plainly 
indicate that remedies were known and used at 
the time they were written. But it is certainly 
strange that not one single case is even mentioned 
in the Bible, where any man was healed of disease ; 
solely by the use of medicines. This is not sur- 
prising however to the soul that has learned to 
literally believe, " It is better to trust in the Lord 
than to put confidence in man." Scripture never 
advises us to trust in anybody or anything but God. 
There are several cases in the Bible where some- 
thing of the nature of physical means seem to 
have been employed. 

1. Timothy. Paul wrote, " Drink no longer 
water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake 
and thine often infirmities." The word is oinos, 
grape juice. Dr. Boardman presents the argument 
that this was no more advising medicine, than 
would be the counsel to eat rare beef-steak, since 
wine was regarded as a provision for nourishment.* 
This is undoubtedly true of the sweet unfermented 
wines, which, like the famous Lesbian variety, were 
according to Pliny, more highly esteemed than any 
other, except by those who drank to get drunk. 

Paul reminds Timothy twice of the "gift" 
which he had received, f From all analogy we 
must conclude that Timothy, in common with the 
seventy, the deacons, and " them that believed," 
healed the sick, while he preached the gospel ; for 

* Great Physician p. 107. 
f 1 Tim. iv. 14. 2 Tim. i. 6. 



OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 149 

this was the distinct commission. But if he was 
seriously and permanently ill, would not the pro- 
verb which Jesus quoted, have been flung in his 
teeth, " Physician heal thyself?" Again Paul 
says, " Thou, therefore, my son, be strong in the 
grace that is in Christ Jesus." — 2 Tim. ii. 1. And 
he charged him to "Preach the word; be instant 
in season, out of season," etc. Surely the apostle 
did not count on any interference from sickness. 
If we can imagine Paul and Peter, after their day's 
work in preaching and healing, soaking their feet 
in mustard and hot water, and swallowing black 
draughts or liver pills, we can then easily conceive of 
Timothy's taking medicine in any proper sense of 
the word. Why didn't Paul send him a " handker- 
chief" or an "apron," if he was sick and needed 
healing? See Acts xix. 11, 12. This case gives 
no more argument against faith-healing, that it 
does against total abstinence. 

2. Hezekiah. The good king was " sick unto 
death." 2 Kings. 20. Isaiah came and told him he 
must die. But Hezekiah wept and prayed, 
and before Isaiah had crossed the court yard, the 
word of the Lord came to return, and promise the 
King fifteen years of life. " And Isaiah said, take 
a lump of figs. And they took and laid it on the 
boil, and he recovered." — vs. 7. Without any dis- 
cussion whatever, as to the possible medicinal prop- 
erties of figs, when used as a "plaster," I note the 
following telling points. In vs. 5. God said " I 
have heard thy prayer, 2" will heal thee'' Then 
the Lord gave a most miraculous sign to confirm fai th 
13a 



150 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

in the promise that the third day the King should 
go up to the house of the Lord. The shadow went 
backward on the dial of Ahaz ten degrees. Heze- 
kiah prayed. God answered. God said He would 
do the healing, and add fifteen years of life. The 
fig medicine (?) would not have been used, but for 
the mandate of the prophet. Hezekiah evidently 
put no confidence in the plaster, but asked for a 
miraculous sign from God. God gave this also, 
and raised him up according to the promise. This 
recalls the case I cited of the lady who was im- 
pressed to use Poland water. I consider it a per- 
fectly fair suggestion to physicians, who really 
believe that the figs cured Hezekiah, that they 
apply similar plasters to every fatal carbuncle they 
encounter. I do not dream of sneering at any 
man's profession, or any man's faith in making 
this suggestion ; but if figs cured carbuncles in the 
days of Isaiah, they will do the same to-day. But 
let us remember that Hezekiah was cured in 
three days. 

3. The Blind Man. " Jesus spat on the ground 
and made clay of the spittle and anointed his 
eyes." Here again was a. semblance of means. 
But does any one seriously suppose that the clay 
had any part whatever in restoring sight to a man 
who was " born blind ? " Spittle and earth are 
plenty and cheap. Have they ever healed any- 
body else ? If we look rightly, we see here but 
another example of those tests of humility and of 
obedience, which God so often sees fit to send. 
The common dirt, and the almost repulsive saliva, 



OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 151 

sharply teach the great lesson that he who would be 
healed by God, must be content to accept God's way, 
no matter how humiliating that way may seem to the 
natural heart. Caesar's famous letter is far out- 
done in the simple, humble, obedient testimony, 
" I went, I washed, I saw." This case is very 
similar to that of the great Syrian General. 

4. Naaman. We all know the story of his 
healing. How he heard of the k ' Prophet in 
Israel," went to the King, was sent to Elisha, 
terribly offended at the humiliating treatment he 
received, and wrathfully refused to bathe in Jordan. 
Did the prophet think him a fool ? Were not 
Abana and Pharpar better than Jordan ? Now 
anyone can see that the water of Jordan had no 
possible virtue as a medicine; that Naaman 
thought he knew better than Elisha what should 
be done ; that he was haughty, proud and unbeliev- 
ing. But to apply the story to ourselves to-day, is 
not so easy for the natural heart. Yet no better 
illustration can be found. 

I boldly assert that the real trouble with those 
Christians who refuse to accept faith-healing, is 
that the characteristics of the old general of Syria 
are literally reproduced in them. 1. They think 
they are wiser than the Word of Gocl. 2. They 
are too proud to give up every trace of self, and 
obey without a question. 3. Most important of 
all, they will not believe. As soon as Naaman made 
up his mind to give up his pride and obey, he was 
healed. The same road is open to-day. Note 
especially that spiritual blessings attended the 



152 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

bodily healing, and Naaman became a worshipper 
of the true God. Nor should we forget that Jesus 
himself referred to this very case, and said in so 
many words, that the only reason why other 
lepers were not healed was because of their unbe- 
lief. Is this the reason why so many languish to- 
day? 

I believe this covers every case of healing in 
the Bible where anything approaching the nature 
of medicine was used, except those whom the dis- 
ciples " anointed with oil." — Mark vi. 13. This 
brings us fairly to the question, 

5. Was Oil in any sense a Medicine? Not- 
withstanding the opinion of the learned Dr. Adam 
Clarke, it is with difficulty that I can seriously 
debate this point. We can easily find refuge 
against Dr. Clarke in the decided stand taken by 
John Wesley in opposition to the great commentator 
on this point. In the matter of authority I will sim- 
ply place Wesley against Clarke. The latter 
thought the oil was used as a medicine ; the 
former utterly rejected the idea. 

In John Wesley's Journals we read numerous 
accounts of healing in answer to prayer. 

" My old disorder returned as violent as ever. 
A thought came into my mind, ' Why do I not 
apply to God in the beginning, rather than in the 
end of my illness ? ' I did so and found immediate 
relief, so that I needed no further medicine. 

" My horse was exceeding lame, and my head 
ached more than it had done for some months. (What 
1 here aver is the naked fact. Let every man 



OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 153 

account for it as lie sees good.) I then thought, 
< Cannot God heal either man or beast, by any 
means, or without any ? ' Immediately my weari- 
ness and headache ceased, and my horse's lameness 
in the same instant ; nor did he halt any more 
either that day or the next. A very odd accident 
this also. 

" When I came home they told me the physician 
said he did not expect Mr. Myrick would live till 
morning. I went to him, but his pulse was gone. 
He had been speechless and senseless for some 
time. A few of us immediately joined in prayer. 
(I relate the naked fact.) Before <we had done, 
his sense and speech returned. Now, he that will 
account for this by natural causes, has my free 
leave ; but I choose to say, c This is the power of 
God.' 

" I was desired to visit one who was eminently 
pious, but had now been confined to her bed for 
several months, and was utterly unable to raise 
herself up. She desired us to pray that the chain 
might be broken. A few of us prayed in faith. 
Presently she rose up, dressed herself, came down 
stairs, and I believe had no further complaint." * 

But we do not have to ask either of these men. 
Our eyes are open ; we can read for ourselves. 
What does God say? We find eight or nine 
Hebrew, and half a dozen Greek words translated 
by anoint, anointed, anointing. This word, in its 

* Wesley also relates the instantaneous healing of cancer in 
both breasts in the case of one Mary Speciah. — Howitt II. p. 

389. 



154 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

three English forms, occurs 137 times in Scripture. 
It is sufficient to note that all but four or five of 
these clearly and directly refer to the sacred or 
ritualistic anointing, or consecrating to God in 
some manner. A large number refer to the 
" anointing oil " of the Mosaic law. Many others 
speak of the anointing of kings, and others of 
prophets. Yet it is noticeable that several of these 
words mean literally, to smear or to rub on. The 
particular word which is used in James v. 14, is 
precisely the same as in Mark vi. 13. It is aleipho, 
and means distinctly, to anoint. Three other 
Greek words, engchrio, chrio and epichrio, have 
more the sense of to rub on. Yet the latter are 
used in such texts as " God anointed (chrio) Jesus 
of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with 
power." — Acts x. 38. See also 1 John ii. 27. 
The word chrisma is here used. It is perfectly 
plain, therefore, that there is not the faintest 
Scriptural ground for making even the conjecture 
that the oil was used for its supposed medical pro- 
perties. On the contrary the evidence against 
such an idea is absolutely unbroken, and stands 
137 to 1. We do know that everyone or every- 
thing that was specially set apart or consecrated 
to the Lord's service was anointed with oil. Was 
this to cure the disease of sin? And when we 
find Jesus himself commanding his disciples to 
preach the gospel, for the saving of souls by faith 
alone, and to heal the sick by the laying on of 
hands and anointing with oil, and find that an 
inspired apostle connects this healing with the 



OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 155 

forgiveness of sin, what can we believe or suppose 
as to the use of the oil ? Besides, James most 
distinctly says, " The Lord shall raise him up." 
In short, there is not the faintest hint in Scripture 
that oil was ever considered in any other light than 
the symbol of consecration. For the benefit of 
those who ask for human authority we will now 
turn to history. 

I lately read an article by a minister of the gos- 
pel in which it was stated that oil was about the 
only medicine the physicians used in the time of 
Christ, or at least that it was exceedingly promi- 
nent. Such a statement can only proceed from in- 
excusable ignorance in the writer. 

We find in the Homeric poems abundant evi- 
dence that at that early day medicine, a$ a science, 
was by no means a new thing. "And there is no sign 
given of the subordination of medicine to religion, 
nor were priests charged with medical functions 
. . . circumstances which throw grave doubts 
on the commonly received opinion that medicine 
derived its origin in all countries from religious ob- 
servances." * Hippocrates the Great (b. c. 460) is 
looked upon as the father of medicine. He was a 
voluminous writer, a close observer, and a skilful 
physician. He mentions no less than two hundred 
and sixty-five drugs in his various works, besides 
many dietary and surgical remedies or methods. 
This is suflScient of itself to completely overthrow 
the absurd idea that oil was the great remedy for 
disease. In all chronic cases Hippocrates chi efly 
relied upon diet, exercise and such natural methods. 

* Encyclopedia Britannica. 



156 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

After him, arose the two schools under Herophi- 
lus of Chalcedon, a profound anatomist, and a re- 
nowned physician, and his rival Brasistratus. Al- 
exandria, the seat of learning, received the follow- 
ers of both, and was the scene of a long controversy 
between them. Erasistratus and his disciples " em- 
ployed a great variety of drugs." * After these 
arose the Empiric school (280 b. c.) ; whose physi- 
cians were " extremely successful in practical mat- 
ters, especially in surgery and in the use of drugs, 
and a large part of the routine knowledge of 
diseases and remedies which became traditional in 
the times of the Eoman Empire is believed to have 
been derived from them." f 

Asclepiades, the friend of Cicero (born 124 b. a), 
founded a system known as "methodism." His 
knowledge of disease and surgical skill were very 
considerable. In the treatment of sickness he laid 
great stress upon " diet, exercise, passive move- 
ments or frictions, and the external use of cold wa- 
ter, — in short a modified athletic training." This 
is surely sufficient to convince the most skeptical 
that oil was only one of hundreds of remedies, cur- 
rent among the physicians of the time. 

But let us look at it in the light of common 
sense. Suppose it tru? that the oil was to be well 
rubbed on as an actual remedy. Are we not con- 
fronted with the absurdity that an inspired Apostle 
and Jesus himself ordered a medicine to be univer- 
sally used, which in many cases would prove only 
an aggravation? Imagine rubbing oil upon an 

** Uncyclopcedia Britannica. f Ibid. 



OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 157 

open sore or an inflamed eye ! Of what use to rub 
oil upon the skin in order to cure the vast array of 
deep-seated internal disorders which cannot be 
possibly reached in that way ? And why should 
the Apostle ignore the hundreds of remedies, 
known and used all around him? Why did he not 
say — use appropriate medicines, then lay on hands 
and pray, and the Lord shall raise him up? These 
questions answer themselves. 

The laying on of hands was also eminently ritu- 
alistic and symbolical. Beyond doubt, physical 
manipulation and rubbing were used as remedies, 
but the evidence is wholly against any such sense 
in the case of healing. Why did the Apostles 
" lay hands " on the disciples at Samaria ? Acts, 
viii. 17, and at Ephesus? Acts xix. 6. See also- 
Acts vi. 6, ix. 17, xiii. 3, 1 Tim. iv. 14, v. 22, 
2 Tim. i. 6. The whole tenor of Scripture estab- 
lishes beyond controversy that this was a sacred 
rite, intended to convey the idea of a distinct im- 
partation from a divine source. 

But has not God allowed medicines to be discover- 
ed for a good purpose ? Undoubtedly. Medicines 
and physicians are signs of God's love. Foreseeing 
that " all men have not faith," and that only a small 
percentage of the sick will exercise trust in Him, 
He has provided these means for stemming the 
tide of disease, and thereby alleviating sufferings, 
while also extending the day of probation to 
millions. 

But is it not true that " faith without works is 
dead?" And ought I not try to help myself, while. 
14 



158 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

at the same time trusting in God as the real foun- 
tain of power ? I reply that " Providence is on the 
side of the heaviest artillery " may do for a Napo- 
leon, but not for a Christian ; and when the latter 
quotes " God helps those who help themselves " 
in matters of faith, he is treading dangerously near 
to the great Frenchman's maxim. 

" Faith without works is dead." True. But the 
kind of works God calls for is best expressed in 
this — acting precisely as if you believed every word 
of God's promise. It is a great deal more work to 
go to Jordan without a question, than to essay " some 
great thing." 

But do you not believe in any means at all, under 
any circumstances ? Yes. At all times, and under 
all circumstances, go to the best and most success- 
ful physician ever known — Jesus of Nazareth, and 
use the Scriptural means for healing the sick. 

1. Laying on of Hands. 

2. Anointing with Oil. 

3. Prayer of Faith. 

In the Laying on the Hand of power, I see 
suggested the Almighty Father, the fountain and 
source of life. In the Anointing I find set forth 
the blessed influences of the Holy Spirit, drawing, 
regenerating, cleansing and applying all the bene- 
fits of grace to soul and body. And in the Prayer 
of Faith, I discover the living Word, the glorious 
Son of God, my Lord and Master Jesus Christ, 
through whose name, by faith in his name, we are 
enabled to stand before the world and before God 
as monuments of Kedeeming Love. Praise the 
Lord ! 



objections and questions. 159 

10. — Who are the Elders. 

This question often takes the form of an objec- 
tion. Some one says, Why cannot I pray for my- 
self? You can ; and if God lays it on your heart, 
do so, by all means. Cases have greatly multi- 
plied, in the last few years, where different people 
have been led to trust God for physical healing, 
and have been raised up through faith. Some of 
these have been circulated far and wide by the sec- 
ular press. But there can be no doubt that these 
are exceptions, so to speak. The great mass of 
cures have come in the literal obedience of the 
plain command, " Is any sick . . . let him 
call," etc. 

Several years ago, I talked long and earnestly on 
this subject with a gentleman, who was afflicted 
with chronic disease. He believed in my healing, 
accepted the fact of God's power working in these 
matters, and desired to throw himself on the prom- 
ises. But he seemed doubtful on this point of the 
" Elders." He said, "Why can't I call for any of 
the good brethren here to pray with me ? There 

is Brother C and Brother P , and others ; 

why not call on them ? They have faith in God, 
and are about the best men I know." I replied, 
" My dear friend, they have not the special kind 
of faith required, and they do not feel at all called 
to pray in this way. Dr. Cullis does feel called, 
and the Lord has honored his prayers." I strongly 
advised him to go on to Boston and claim the 
promise in humble obedience. He seemed much 
impressed, and I hoped he would go. But he lin- 



160 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

gered and hesitated. Three or four years passed 
away in this manner ; and then, in a moment, he 
was summoned away from earth. I do not pre- 
tend to assert that he died because he would not 
go to Boston, but I do certainly know that he was 
decidedly averse to straightforward, simple obedi- 
ence to the command, " Let them call for the elders 
of the church," etc. 

There can be no reasonable doubt that " the 
elders " are those whom God has called to this 
special work. And just as a man should not enter 
the ministry without a distinct call from God, so 
no one should undertake to act as an " elder " in 
this matter of healing, unless he is perfectly sure 
that the Lord has called him to the work. At the 
same time I most emphatically believe in any one 
who has faith, acting in emergencies. For a man 
to lay on hands and anoint with oil in the name of 
the Lord, without faith, would be a mockery. Is 
then every minister of the gospel called upon to 
pray with the sick ? Yes, if he has faith ; faith for 
that special work. He has no business to preach 
the gospel if he has not positive faith for results, 
seen or unseen. And he has no right to pray with 
the sick, without expectant faith. Nor has anyone. 
As a matter of plain -fact, there are hundreds of 
men and women in Christendom to-day, whose 
prayers, according to James v. 14, have been re- 
peatedly answered in the healing of all manner of 
diseases. I am personally acquainted with a large 
number of these earnest servants of God, and 
know of the results of their work. 



objections and questions. 161 

11. — Gifts of Healing. 
But do you believe that anybody has such a 
thing as a special gift of healing in these days? 
Most certainly I do. This point was lately held 
up to ridicule by a prominent clergyman, in a well- 
known religious paper. I wrote him a letter pri- 
vately, and gave him some real information con- 
cerning well-attested facts. He responded with a 
short letter, part of which I here transcribe, as the 
best possible presentation of the real reasons for 
the rejection of faith-healing by so many good 
Christian people. I do not feel that I am violating 
any confidence in so doing, as the writer had al- 
ready publicly attacked the doctrine, in very 
similar language. He says : 

Oct. 1883. 
"My Dear Brother : — 

Thanks for your frank and friendly letter. All sane Christ- 
ians believe that God hears prayer and , when it pleases Him , can 
and does restore the sick to health. What I utterly disbelieve 
is that He confers this miraculous gift of healing on the 
' Brother P — s ? and other special wonder-workers at Boston, 
Old Orchard, and elsewhere. The best proof that Brother P. 
really did nothing for Mrs. M. is that he if he really could do all 
she asserts, he would have become the most celebrated and 
sought-after of men; whereas he only remains an obscure 
1 Evangelist/ The woman's idea of sending for 'Bro .P.' 
in order to c do God's way,' is ridiculous. If he (or any man) 
can by c anointing ' and prayer, raise the sick — then God has 
given him special Apostolic powers, and it is absurd to suppose 
that ' Bro. P.—' would fail to exercise that miracle-working 
power upon thousands. The trouble is that your theory builds 
an immense presumption on a few sporadic cases. Bro. Gordon 
is an admirable man, but his devout volume* fails to convince 
me, or nine-tenths of the intelligent ministers of the land. 

* Ministry of Healing. Dr. A. J. Gordon of Boston. 
14a 



162 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

The special gifts of those special servants of God, the Apostles, 
ceased with them. The legitimate function of believing, sub- 
missive prayer, is almost caricatured in such cases as the pre- 
posterous little pamphlet you sent me. If Mrs. M. can do 
what she describes, why does she not do it oftener, and in 
cases of eminent and specially valuable lives ? The immense 
number of failures go for nothing with good people of your 
1 school.' 

In haste and with cordial respect, 

Yours in Christ Jesus, 



1 have given it all. It answers itself, to a devout 
and truly humble Christian. May the dear Jesus 
mercifully spare this servant the " woe to the shep- 
herds of Israel," who teach not the truth ! But 
let us look at his letter. He specially disbelieves 
in " gifts." And the "proof" is that, if Bro. P. 
could do what is claimed, he would be famous, 
" sought-after," and not an " obscure 'evangelist.' " 
These gifts perished " with the Apostles." Our 
brother should read and ponder upon 1 Cor. xii. 
He will find that all these " gifts " were broadcast 
" in the church." He should read history. He 
will find that they were common in the church for 
four centuries after Christ. As to the point of 
fame etc., he should remember that "not many 
mighty men " are called, but that God hath used 
the weak things of the world to put to nought the 
great. He should remember, that while Jesus and 
the Apostles were " sought-after," it was only by 
the " common people," and by the sick who " had 
need of healing." " Nine-tenths of the intelligent 
ministers " of the day would not have anything to 
do with Christ, or any of His Apostles. " Have any 



OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 163 

of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him? " 
Jno. vii. 48. If this dear brother would take a 
pilgrimage to Boston he would find Dr. Cullis be- 
sieged by the sick for two hours, five days in the 
week. In Connecticut he would find an humble 
colored woman " sought-after " continually. Cross- 
ing the ocean, he would find dear old Dr. Board- 
man with a full household of sick, seeking healing. 
At Karl Andreas' home he would meet with some 
of the most astounding facts in modern history. 
At Bad Boll, near Stuttgardt, he would find Pastor 
Blumhardt's son, at the head of a vast establish- 
ment, which, for more than thirty years, has been 
crowded with guests from all portions of the world, 
all looking for the miraculous healing power of God. 
And at Manedorf in Switzerland he would see 
Samuel Zeller, in charge of the great faith work, 
established by the simple-hearted Dorothea Trudel. 
Perhaps the " obscure evangelists " are more 
" sought-after " than our brother imagines. 

Again he asserts that for the lady to send for 
Bro. P. " in order to do God's way is ridiculous." 
To this awful statement 1 reply : " It is written, ' is 
any sick among you, let him call for the elders of 
the church, and let them pray over him, anointing 
him with oil in the name of the Lord." 

" It is absurd to suppose that < Bro. P.' would/az7 
to exercise that miracle-working power upon thou- 
sands." It seems to me I read in the Book of the 
fact that the prophet Elisha, gifted with a " double 
portion " of his master's spirit, only healed one 
eper out of the " many that were in Israel." And 



164 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

of many widows, who, when the heavens were shut 
up, failed to receive a visit from the " man of God.' 
Where shall Bro. P. find the " thousands " upon 
whom to exercise his " miracle-working power " ? 
If the thousands are all as skeptical as our brother, 
it is plain that Bro. P. would not and could not be 
sent. And just here we see another special failure 
to apprehend the word " Sent." Does our brother 
suppose that Paul or Peter healed the sick, right 
and left, without any guidance at all from God ? 
Does he suppose that anybody to-day claims a 
power as his own, that is, as his own possession or 
property, to be used according to his discretion ? 
The very nature of the promise used limits the ex- 
ercise to those who " call for the elders." And 
does he suppose that any very large percentage of 
the sick are willing to do anything of the kind ? 
If he does, a little practical inquiry will soon unde- 
ceive him. If our brother should be taken sick, 
could any " elder " cure him ? Would he " call " ? 
" Your theory builds an immense presumption on 
a few sporadic cases." My theory (I can say "my," 
even as Paul said " my gospel," for it is mine ; my 
Jesus gave it to me) does not build on any case at 
all. It did, at first, because faith was very weak. 
But long ago I built not on the sand of human tes- 
timony, but on the Eock. The only foundation I 
lay for the doctrine and practice of faith-healing is, 
" It is written," and I joyfully affirm, that if every 
case of cure, with which I am familiar, were to be 
wiped out of existence, I would cry out, Lord I be- 
lieve thy word. That grandly intelligent man, Sir 



OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 165 

Thomas Erskine, found it possible to do this, with- 
out any human evidence.* " Blessed are they 
who have not seen and yet have believed." — Jno. 
xx. 29. 

" Why does she not do it oftener, and in cases of 
eminent and specially valuable lives?" This has 
already been partly answered. As to the " valua- 
ble " and " eminent " lives ; I ask, who says they 
are eminent and valuable ? God, or man ? If they 
are valuable enough to God to have them raised 
up, depend upon it, it will be done. The ten spies 
were eminent men in Israel, and the entire nation 
considered them valuable men, but God thought 
only Caleb and Joshua, the most unpopular men 
out of three millions, were " valuable " enough to 
live. The ten died because they " brought up a 
slander on the land," which God had told them to 
possess. 

" The immense number of failures go for noth- 
ing with good people of your ' school.' " Well, 
praise the Lord ! they should count for nothing. 
We should not be discouraged if we prayed with a 
thousand and every one died. I am not dodging 
in the least. I have already shown that the foun- 
dation of the doctrine is God's Word, and not re- 
sults. He has said, " My word shall not return 
unto me void." That is enough for me. Our 
brother has preached more sermons from which he 
has seen no positive results, than those which have 
been visibly instrumental in healing souls. Do these 
" failures go for. nothing*" with him ? Was the 

* See The Brazen Serpent. 



166 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

trouble with God, or with him, or with the sin- 
ners ? Did he ever labor with a number of inqui- 
rers, and see some emerge into the light, while 
many others slid back into darkness ? Yet did 
these " failures " cause him to doubt the doctrine 
of soul-healing? 

The dear Lord knows that there is in my heart 
only the kindest and most loving feelings towards 
this brother, and towards all Christians, in this 
matter. But I mean to be as severe with error as 
I can find words, means and grace. It is the error 
solely, and not the man that, by the grace of God, 
I strive to strip of its plausible dress, and reveal 
in all its naked hideousness and deformity. 

Here I must make another personal confession. 
After my own healing and sanctification, the 
thought of praying with others occasionally 
presented itself to me. I left it with the Lord, 
and bided His time. The day came when my own 
darling wife lay in puerperal fever, with a pulse 
running to one hundred and eighty in a minute. I 
ventured to lay hands on her in the name of the 
Lord, and to claim the promise in Mark xvi. 18. 
In an hour the fever had gone, the pulse was 
nearly normal, and the skin moist. Shall not 
Jesus have the praise? After this, for some time 
I had no call; but the matter lay upon my heart. 
Once I was asked to pray with a lady, and felt 
that I dared not refuse. God honored faith this 
time also. At length I felt a constant pressure or 
call upon the subject, and prayed long and 
earnestly for light and guidance. Walking alone 



OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 167 

one day in the open country, the burden of my 
heart was, Lord, use me, if thou eans't, in this 
work. I have been healed, and the words keep 
ringing in my ears, " Freely ye have received, 
freely give." Lord send me. But then the words 
rose in my heart, as they had often done before, 
and I exclaimed aloud, " I am a man of unclean 
lips, and in the midst of a people of unclean lips ; 
how can I be fit for such a work? " Suddenly I 
stopped short, and said aloud, " See here ; the blood 
of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin ; now do you 
believe it, or don't you believe it ? Which ? " For 
a moment I hesitated, and then, raising my eyes 
to heaven, I replied, " Lord I believe, Thou know- 
est that I do." " Then what are you talking about 
your unclean lips for ? " How sharp and clear the 
question came ! The heart works quickly under 
such pressure, and I answered steadily, " Master, I 
will never do so again. I do not understand it. 
It is a complete mystery how such a soul as mine 
can be fit for Thy service, but I will take Thy 
word for it, and believe it. Yes, I will even be^ 
iieve that my heart and my body are actually fit to 
be a temple of the Holy Ghost, and to receive the 
c gifts ' of the Spirit. Made so by the blood that 
cleanseth ; how, I cannot comprehend, but fit for 
Thy service. Here I am Lord, send me." 

In a few days I received a note from a lady, 
unknown to me, asking me to call on her for 
prayer for healing. I prayed earnestly that if the 
Lord had really given me what He means by " gifts 
of healing," that I might have a certain specific 



168 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

sign while praying over this case. And in the 
event of this sign being given I solemnly promised 
never to doubt that God had really bestowed these 
" gifts " upon me. Suffice it to say that the sign 
asked for was distinctly given. From that day to 
this I have never entertained a doubt of God's 
"gifts." Praise the Lord! I have not been 
" called," very frequently, but that is a matter I 
leave with Jesus entirely. A single case will be 
all I can give here. 

A man came to me, suffering intensely from a 
strange and complicated disease, which had abso- 
lutely baffled the combined skill of the physicians 
at the Jefferson hospital in Philadelphia. He had 
shortly before sought and obtained the blessing of 
a clean heart, and was rejoicing in the peace of 
God. After some conversation, I prayed with him, 
with anointing and laying on of hands. He had 
come to my house with difficulty, pale and covered 
with a clammy perspiration. As soon as the 
prayer was ended, he arose from his knees, grasped 
his hat, shook my hand and abruptly departed ; 
going off with a vigorous step. He at once began 
to tell of his healing ; and from that day to this, 
has not had a symptom, of the disease. After six 
months of health, he got into spiritual trouble, and 
became dangerously ill with another complaint- 
heart disease. So serious was this that his physi- 
cian left word at the church for special prayer in 
his behalf. When I visited him, he was lying on a 
lounge, gasping for breath. His pain had been so 
severe that he could not bear the weight of a sheet 



OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 169 

upon his chest. His spiritual difficulties had been 
all removed, and his simple faith took hold of Jesus 
again as the Healer. After prayer, he sat up at 
once, and shortly amazed his physician and family 
beyond description by rising and going about his 
business. The next day he walked upwards of 
six or seven miles ; and has been perfectly well 
ever since. According to his faith it has been unto 
him. Let Jesus have all the praise. Amen ! 

But how about the failures ? I do not " count " 
either failures or healings. God keeps the books. 
It is my business to run His errands. He will take 
care of all results. "My Word shall not return 
unto Me void, but shall accomplish that whereunto 
it is sent." That is sufficient for me. We should 
never forget that the oxen may stumble without 
the least danger to the ark of testimony. If there 
was not a single recorded case of healing in history, 
I would stand on the promises of God, and declare 
them true. 

12. — Casting Out Devils. 

Another objection urged is, that if we take part 
of Mark xvi. 17, 18, we must take all ; and in this 
case what will we say for the casting out of devils, 
drinking deadly things, etc., etc. ? 

The best reply to this is of course the Scriptural 
one. We can afford to lose those verses from Mark 
and throw ourselves upon that wonderful verse, 
which no man would ever have dared to ima- 
gine had Jesus omitted to utter it ; " Verily, verily I 
say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works 
that I do shall he do also, and greater works 
15 



170 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

than these shall he do, because I go unto my 
Father." Jno. xiv. 12. Notice this declaration is of 
" him that believeth on me." But do you mean to 
say that devils actually possess people to-day? 
Most certainly I do. Any doubter is referred to 
"Pastor Blumhardt " * or to "Supernatural gifts 
of the Spirit"* for modern evidence on this 
point. 

Let me ask, who originated the idea that in 
these " practical times," the personal devil no lon- 
ger takes possession of the bodies of men? Who 
suggested the thought that even the "possession " 
of Christ's day may have been only a form of in- 
sanity ? I answer the personal devil himself is the 
author of both. What more natural for him than to 
use his best endeavors to divert men's attention from 
himself and his works ? He well knows the first 
law of legerdemain — while doing one thing, talk 
about another, and thus fasten the spectators' eyes 
upon a false issue. Don't read Genesis ; it records 
the original curse upon the serpent. If you do read 
it, make it all figurative. Don't read Eevela- 
tion; it describes the final doom and punishment 
of Satan and his legions. It is all figure anyhow 
and you cannot understand it. Skip Ezekiel alto- 
gether; it deals in the next age of the world, and 
pre-supposes the curtailing of the devil's power. 
Bead diligently of the " lying spirit in the mouth 
of Ahab's prophets," and never forget the original 
question of " free thought." " Yea, hath God said ?" 
Is it not plain that this is all of a piece with the 

* Willard Tract Repository. 



OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 171 

lying influence which to-day preaches the gospel 
of materialism, and laughs at the supernatural in 
any form or dress ? Satan is not dead. He is not 
tired. " He hath great wrath, knowing that his 
time is short." There are hundreds of men and 
women to-day, just as thoroughly and literally 
" possessed of a devil " as was the boy who was 
brought to Jesus, or the man in the tombs of Gada- 
ra. But, glory to God ! " they that believe," shall 
and do cast them out, in the name of the living 
Jesus, who hath " all power in heaven and earth." 
I really believe that the real secret of many dis- 
eases which baffle the skill of physicians lies in 
this unnatural " possession." Medicine of course is 
worse than useless, and God's power is not invoked 
in simple faith. But the light is breaking through 
the clouds of doubt again, and God's power is 
being shown. Praise the Lord ! 

13. — Modern Thorns. 

It may be pertinently asked whether the expe- 
rience of those who believe for faith-healing ever 
coincides with the theory ? Are there any modern 
" thorns in the flesh ? " I suggest this question in- 
tentionally, as I wish to open every possible point 
to the light of God's truth. 

Yes, there are many instances of " thorns." This 
serves to show that cases like Paul, and other Bible 
characters, are not rare exceptions, but rather 
types of a pretty general experience. Dorothea 
Triidel herself carried a personal deformity ; some- 
thing of the nature of a crooked back. Samuel 
Zeller, who succeeded her at Manedorf, is healthy 



172 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

and strong, but his brother, who has great faith 
for others, is himself troubled with some ailment. 
Dr. Cullis is somewhat near-sighted. George O. 
Barnes has, or had a short time ago, defective sight. 
Mrs. Edward Mix was more or less threatened with 
throat affection. Miss Carrie Judd is exceedingly 
frail and delicate. Karl Andreas, I believe, is per- 
fectly sound. I am acquainted with a great many 
others, some of whom have symptoms more or less 
frequent, from which they would like to be re- 
lieved. 

I have thus frankly stated what may be con- 
sidered to argue strongly against the doctrine set 
forth in this book ; but I do not fear it. As I said 
long ago; this thing depends upon God's Word, 
not the testimony of man. God kept Moses to one 
hundred and twenty, without any other thorn than 
his real or imaginary slowness of speech ; and the 
same God is alive to-day. Now, be it noticed, that 
in none of these modern cases has the " thorn" 
been of such a nature as to prevent incessant work 
for Jesus. These people were, or are, doing a pro- 
digious amount of work; laboring in the most 
varied ways to spread the glad tidings of salvation. 
What then can be argued from the existence of 
these " thorns ? " Certainly nothing against faith- 
healing in general, for every one of them has testi- 
fied to the healing power in them. Dr. Cullis , 
eyes were seriously affected. He prayed about it, 
trusted Jesus for them, and has not been troubled 
since. Kari Andreas was cured of heart disease. 
Mrs. Mix was dying of consumption, and Miss 



OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 173 

Judd of a complication of nervous and spiritual 
complaints; but both were healed, almost instan- 
taneously. In fact, for me to mention one who 
has a " thorn," is to mention one who has been 
wondrously raised up through the "prayer of 
faith." The only point, therefore, which may 
seem to be affected by these experiences, is the one 
of exemption from sickness. Before discussing 
this I must speak of my own case. In Miracles of 
Healing, I related how I was led to trust God for 
my eye. Well, all these years He has kept me. 
I have used the eye constantly ; teaching, reading 
and writing, and have never taken my glass out of 
the case to this day. Praise the Lord ! But 
whenever I close my normal eye, I find the old 
defect or dimness in the sight still there. This 
indicates that the astigmatism remains. But at 
the same time it wonderfully speaks of God's 
power ; for my physician said that unless relieved 
by the glass, my eye would always be unfit for 
use, and give me great pain. Since I trusted the 
matter to Jesus, however, I have used it as much 
as I pleased, and yet have not suffered any serious 
pain. Thus the Lord's power is constantly mani- 
fested in the continued miracle of healing, by which 
the natural consequences of using an astigmatized 
eye are entirely prevented. When both eyes are 
open my sight is very good, and I am concious of 
no defect whatever. So this " thorn " cannot be 
said to cause me any inconvenience at all. Never- 
theless I have prayed for its removal, many times. 
I have earnestly besought God to give me some 
15a 



174 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

indications, from the Word, that it is His will for 
me to retain it ; but none such has ever been given. 
On the contrary, I have been directed to Scriptures 
as explicit as possible for absolute healing. There- 
fore I claim this, by faith in the promise. It is 
mine potentially, in God's Word ; and I know it 
shall be in the physical fact. Meanwhile I keep 
constantly asking for light to see God's leading in 
the matter, and for apprehension to learn the les- 
son intended. When the lesson is fully learned I 
know I shall be free, even from this. Praise the 
Lord ! 

This very night, March 17, 1884, while correct- 
ing these pages, I testify to a glorious deliverance 
in this matter. The heavy reading of the last few 
days seemed to strain my eyes and they felt weary 
and threatened to give me trouble if I ventured to 
use them. Eut this work lay before me ; I had 
the time, and could see no unreasonableness in the 
effort. After telling Jesus about it, and laying the 
whole thing in His hands, I was wonderfully 
blessed in spirit and felt greatly refreshed. I read 
all the evening and felt no pain. Praise the Lord ! 

This is the meaning of a " thorn," as I see it in 
God's Word. A lesson is to be taught, We are 
slow to learn, and often some slight affection is al- 
lowed in order to gain our attention. But the les- 
son learned, the thorn will be removed. Most 
certainly, if it in any way interferes with active 
work for the Master. For myself, I feel that I 
live on the Word of God. I never dreamed that 
I would ever see anything except a figure in that 



OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 175 

Scripture, " man shall not live by bread alone, but 
by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth 
of God ; " but now I apprehend that it may be 
literally true. Again and again I am worn out 
with work; human experience says, you must 
wait for a good night's rest, and that will restore 
you. A tired man must rest. But something 
presses in the Lord's work, and I go to the Word. 
" Himself took my infirmities and bore my sick- 
nesses " literally, actually, positively gives me 
physical strength; and I feel better afterwards 
than if I had taken the suggested rest. I do not 
mean that all rules of health are discarded ; quite 
otherwise. But I believe in doing what would be 
reasonable for a strong healthy man under the 
circumstances ; and when the Lord specially leads, 
I believe in doing anything. At such times I 
realize most marvellously that I live upon the liv- 
ing Word. There is nothing between my soul and 
hell but Jesus' blood. There is nothing between 
my body and death but the power of Christ. I am 
thus peculiarly and doubly the Lord's, soul and 
body. Hallelujah 1 

Fanatical! I do not consider this worthy of a 
distinct place as an objection. The cry of fanati- 
cism has ever been a favorite with the devil. He 
can scare good people with that very often, when 
other means fail him utterly. But it has ever been 
the cry against radical truth. All real truth is 
radical. The great trouble with the church of 
Christ to-day is that it is satisfied with half-truths 
half-experiences. Our religion professes to be an 



176 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

" uttermost " religion, but the church is sadly 
wanting in uttermost examples. The quickest way 
to frighten many Christians is to urge them to 
believe God with that positive faith that assumes 
He means just what He says. Presumption ! they 
say. What ; presumption ? Bather let us say it 
is presumption to take any place lower than the 
one assigned to us. A true child of God does not 
belong in the cellar, but on the house-top, and it is 
presumption to stay anywhere else. It presumes to 
know better than God, and it presumes on His 
mercy. O, beloved, let us take the place assigned 
to us, as children, at our Father's table and have 
perfect confidence that His blessed Word will feed 
us better than anything else in the universe. 

So we are told that there are hyprocrites who 
are practising faith-healing purely to make money. 
This is sadly true. But what of it ? Only this ; 
it proves the existence of the real thing. The 
counterfeit always speaks of the genuine. Anti- 
christs proves Christ always. " He maketh the 
wrath of men to praise him. ,, 

14. — Eomanist Miracles. 

We are asked how are we to distinguish 
between the true and the false ; the evidence for the 
wonders at Lourdes and elsewhere is as direct as any 
given in modern Protestant faith-cures. What 
can be said about them ? 

Simply this. God always keeps His word, no 
matter who claims it. " According to your faith 
be it unto you," is just as true to a Eomanist as a 



OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 177 

Protestant. God has always " winked at " real 
unavoidable ignorance. When a Eomanist goes to 
the grotto of Lourdes, and pleads with God for 
healing, if faith in God is exercised, healing comes 
of course. Make no mistake about this. God is no 
respecter of persons. He saved Eahab out of 
heathen Jericho, and healed the Syrian Naaman, 
simply because they believed in Him up to the 
light they had. Lest any should stumble at this, 
let me give positive evidence. Fortunately I am 
able to speak from knowledge. 

In July 1883, Lieut. Emile Feffer, formerly 
instructor at St. Cyr, now a professor with me in 
the Pennsylvania Military Academy, visited 
Lourdes for the express purpose of examining into 
the matter. He and I had talked it over several 
months before, and I urged him to go to Lourdes 
if possible. He has great reason to believe in God, 
having been himself wonderfully preserved and 
healed in answer to prayer. To be brief, he went 
to Lourdes. Under the date of July 27, 1883, he 
wrote me as follows : 

Four days ago I came to Lourdes with a few friends. We 
stopped for a moment before the grotto. There was a large 
gathering of people kneeling on the ground and praying, and 
in the midst of them was an invalid lady, seated in a small 
hand carriage. My curiosity was aroused, and I dismounted. 
I drew near and upon inquiry was told that the lady, for whom 
they were praying, was lame. I then returned home. During 
the evening I thought over the matter, and determined that I 
would watch this case. The next day, Tuesday 24th, I went to 
Lourdes by rail, and attended the same services, but this time 
taking part in them ; with very little faith, however. The 
prayers were offered at three different stations ; the second 
being about ten yards distance from the first, and the third 



1*8 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

eighty yards from the second. When the party moved from 
the first to the second station, the lady said she felt like walk- 
ing. She was helped out of her carriage and she walked the 
ten yards, sustained on either side by her attendants. At the 
next move she was not allowed to walk at all. I left Lourdes 
profoundly moved and interested. Next day I returned with 
the intention of seeing the final result. This morning, at ten 
o'clock, the service was held. The lady walked the first ten 
yards without any assistance, and then sat in her carriage 
during the prayers. When the next move began at eighty 
yards, she insisted upon walking, and she did walk alone the 
entire distance ; entered the grotto, walked around it (about 
twenty-five yards), sat down upon an ordinary chair, and after 
the service, walked out to her carriage, about thirty yards 
distant. These are facts which I saw. As soon as the crowd 
had dispersed somewhat, I approached the lady, as I desired to 
know the particulars from her own lips. I did not doubt her 
sincerity, for the emotion with which she prayed made me 
shiver. The lady is Madame Maitre, from Bordeaux. She 
said : " I have been ill for three years with an internal cancer, 
which has rendered me lame for the. last eighteen months 
(incapable of walking). The physicians had exhausted every 
means, and declined to attempt an operation which would have 
certainly proved fatal. Two weeks ago I told my doctors that 
I would go to Lourdes, when they said that if I undertook such 
a trip I would die before reaching my destination. I replied 
that I would rather die than to live thus. So I came here ; and 
now I am cured. " I asked, Do you believe the virgin Mary 
cured you by her own power? " Of course not" she replied, 
"but she interceded." She is an educated person, and I 
expected this answer. During the day I questioned more than 
fifteen persons, of all ages and conditions, on this point, and 
received the same reply. 

Just after transcribing the above letter (Feb. 6, 
1884), I had a long talk with my friend about his 
visit to Lourdes, last summer. He was thrilled 
through and through by the intense emotion dis- 
played by the lady and her friends while praying ; 
and satisfied beyond any question of their genuine 



OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 179 

faith in the power of God. He heard and saw 
other interesting things at Lourdes, but this will 
suffice. Now of course there is no disputing the 
fact that in some cases false miracles have been 
advertised by dishonest priests for pecuniary ends. 
Any one who is familiar with Kirwan's famous 
letters to Archbishop Hughes will recall the 
evidence therein presented on this subject. Never- 
theless it is supremely absurd, and decidedly 
unchristian, to assume that all Bomanists are liars, 
and all priests swindlers. That there is an 
immense amount of devout and simple faith in the 
church of Eome is a fact perfectly familiar to 
every well-informed person ; and as that faith 
really centres in God, we should not be surprised if 
it secures its reward. These people have been 
accustomed to believe that miracles still exist in 
their church ; while we have been brought up on 
the proverb " the days of miracles have passed." 
They are therefore predisposed to believe in the 
supernatural. We are inclined to doubt everything 
but the material. However much of corruption 
there has been and is in the Bomish church, she 
has certainly one virtue which ought to put us to 
shame — she has not thrown away the last words 
of Christ, " These signs shall follow them that 
believe." And wherever " them that believe " are 
found to-day, there is found the fulfilment of that 
word which can never pass away. This settles the 
whole controversy. Those who do God's will are 
they who " know of the doctrine." The skeptic 
never knows anything about God nor His word. 



180 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

He can not, for all spiritual knowedge comes 
through simple faith and asks no questions. Before 
we undertake to limit God's love and power to our 
particular ideas, we had better remember Peter 
on the house-top, the Centurion's daughter, the 
Syro-phoenician woman, and other instances in 
Scripture, wherein God has taught that He is no 
respecter of persons, but always bestows upon 
man " according to his faith." O ! let us " have 
faith in God!" 

15. — Glorifying God in Sickness. 

This is a most fertile objection. I have already 
treated it incidentally, and in the little tract "If it 
be Thy will," I endeavored to show its falsity more 
fully. To the query, can I not glorify God in 
sickness, I reply with another question. Can I 
glorify God in sin ? How ? By getting Jesus to 
deliver me from sin at once. But, you say, that is 
not exactly fair ; does not God allow sickness as a 
sort of discipline ? Ah ! precisely. That is it 
exactly. So a father allows, or uses a whip as a 
" discipline." But what father or child esteems 
the whip in itself? Is it not an evil, so to speak ? 
Who uses the whip a moment longer than is neces- 
sary to teach the lesson ? Now I do beseech any 
one who may read these lines to consider this 
point. My brother if you claim that God wants 
you to continue in sickness for his glory, you 
proclaim before men, angels and devils, that you 
have not learned God's lesson, in spite of his efforts 
to instruct you. Your supposed humility then 



OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 181 

really becomes genuine evidence of obstinacy. 
God is in a sense whipping you; and this process 
has been going on for a Jong time. You say you 
are glorifying God, by compelling Him to keep up 
the punishment. Now do you not think that the 
better way is to meekly and quietly learn the 
lesson ; give up all, and take all in Jesus ? Sup- 
pose your child had to be whipped every day at 
school, would you mention the castigation to your 
friends to show how beautifully the child set forth 
the just methods of the teacher ? or would you 
strive to reduce the child to a state of obedience? 
When will you learn the lesson Saul missed, that 
" to obey is better than sacrifice ? " 

Again, this idea of " necessary discipline/' 
involves the fatal error of supposing that my own 
personal development is the chief end of life, and 
that something else is needed besides the blood of 
Christ. Now " man's chief end is to glorify God, 
and to enjoy Him forever," beginning now. In 
order to glorify God, in the highest sense, we 
must be entirely His. But we become His not 
through the merit of our sufferings at all, but by 
the sufferings of Jesus. In other words there is 
only one door — the door of Faith. " Jesus Christ 
is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and 
sanctification and redemption." Surely any one 
can see that the very acknowledgement that we 
are suffering a " discipline " implies that some 
lesson is unlearned. But how shall we learn 
it ? By stubbornly bearing the punishment ? 
or by applying our whole energies to the task of 
16 



182 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

closely following the delicate leadings of the 
spirit ? If sickness must come, it is because the 
" flesh " will not die. We fail to " reckon ourselves 
dead indeed unto sin/' and again fail to reckon 
ourselves " alive unto God through Jesus Christ." 
Truly the only real way to glorify God in sickness, 
is to give Him a chance to manifest his power in 
destroying it, as one of the works of the devil. 

But many a soul has been converted in sickness. 
True. So some men have been converted in jail, 
or upon the gallows. Francis Murphy, the great 
temperance lecturer was saved in a prison cell; 
but no one would argue that he should have 
remained there any longer than necessary. The 
Lord's truth is unsparing, and I must speak as 
before my God. It may seem a hard thing to say, 
but it is plain that the saintly reputation of so 
many lingering invalids, can not be built upon their 
years of suffering, for these are rather the evidence 
either of some great sin in the past, or of a 
persistent lack of conformity to the will of God in 
one way or another. Mark, 1 do not assert that 
every sick man is to be set down as a great sinner ; 
but merely to say that his sickness is by no means 
a correct evidence of his sanctity. The weight of 
inference, were it our business to judge, would 
bear strongly the other way. I press this point 
because the Lord gives me to see the greatest 
danger in false humility. He who is thanking God 
for the equanimity with which he bears his suffer- 
ings, had better ask for grace to open his eyes 
wide enough to see the finger of Jesus beckoning 



OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 183 

him on to a more complete self-surrender and 
simple faith. 

" For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man 
perceiveth it not. In a dream, in a vision of the 
night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slum- 
berings upon the bed ; then he openeth the ears of 
men, and sealeth their instruction, that he may with - 
draw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man. 
He keepeth back his soul from the pit, and his 
life from perishing by the sword. He is chastened 
also with pain upon his bed, and the multitude of 
his bones with strong pain ; so that his life abhor- 
reth bread, and his soul dainty meat. His flesh is 
consumed away, that it cannot be seen ; and his 
bones that were not seen stick out. Yea, his soul 
draweth near unto the grave, and his life to the 
destroyers. If there be a messenger with him, an 
interpreter, one among a thousand, to show unto 
man his uprightness ; then he is gracious unto 
him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the 
pit ; 1 have found a ransom. His flesh shall be 
fresher than a child's ; he shall return to the days 
of his youth. He shall pray unto God, and he 
will be favorable unto him ; and he shall see his 
face with joy ; for he will render unto man his 
righteousness. He looketh upon men, and if any 
say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was 
right, and it profited me not ; He will deliver his 
soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see 
the light. Lo, all these things worketh God often- 
times with man, to bring back his soul from the pit, 
to be enlightened with the light of the living." — 
Job xxxiii. 



184 



OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 



Now any one who will read these verses from 
the Word, cannot fail to be struck with their plain 
teaching. Here we are distinctly told by Elihu, 
the " daysman," these things come upon man as a 
discipline, to "withdraw man from his purpose, 
and hide pride from man." Then, after minutely 
describing physical suffering he positively affirms 
that if a " messenger" or an " interpreter" sets the 
truth before him and he 'accepts it, " then " God 
is gracious to him, and delivers him, having " found 
a ransom." And with minute detail the restoration 
of perfect physical health is set forth : "His flesh 
shall be fresher than a child's: he shall return to 
the days of his youth." Then, not slighting the 
way and means of this wonderful restoration, 
Elihu specifies how it can be secured. Strangely 
enough he agrees exactly with the Apostle James. 
Prayer was the Scriptural " means " in the days 
of Job, as well as in the Christian era. "He shall 
pray unto God, and he will be favorable unto him, 
etc." It may be well to parallel the two directions ; 
it will do us good to see how God is" the same, 
yesterday, to-day and forever." 

SCRIPTURAL MEANS OF HEALING. 



According to Elihu. 
b. c. 
Call for a " messenger * * an 
interpreter." 

"He shall pray." 
"Unto God." 

"And he shall be favorable 
unto him." 



According to St. James. 

A. D. 

" Call for the elders of 

church." 
" Let them pray for him." 
" Anointing him with oil 

the name of the Lord." 
"And the prayer of faith 

shall heal the sick." 



the 



in 



OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 185 



According to St. James. 

A. D. 

! And the Lord shall rai 
him up." 



1 If he have committed sins 
they shall be forgiven him." 



According to Elihu. 
b. c. 
"He (God) will deliver his 
soul from going down into 
the pit, and his life shall see 
the light," 
" If any say, I have sinned, 
and perverted right, He will 
deliver his soul," etc. 

Truly His word endureth forever. The way of 
ceremonies may change, but the way of faith, 
never. Let us especially notice that Elihu empha- 
sizes the fact that all these sicknesses come solely, 
" To bring back his own soul from the pit." O, yes, 
you say ; we will agree to that : sickness is neces- 
sary sometimes to keep a man from being lost. 
Ah! brother, read on. The old preacher was just 
guided by the Spirit to provide for that point. He 
adds, with a clearness that admits of no denial, 
that the discipline is not only to save from hell, 
but also that the patient may " be enlightened with 
the light of the living. 1 '' Hezekiah says " The grave 
cannot praise thee, the living, the living, he shall 
praise thee, as I do this day." Isa, xxxviii. 18-19. 
O, brother, do you not see your privilege in Christ 
Jesus ? 

It is true that every sick man and woman can 
not, or more properly will not, be healed. There 
are those who have believed the evil report of the 
spies, and who can not enter into the promised land, 
but must per force wander and die in the desert. 
This is true, spiritually and physically. But no one 
who hears of the Gospel to the sick for the the first 
time can claim to be of that number, unless indeed 
16a 



186 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

his resistance to spiritual leading has been so ob- 
stinate and persistent that body and soul are alike 
debarred from Canaan. At the same time I appre- 
hend that not many if any, will advance into per. 
feet trust for the body, who do not perfectly trust 
for the soul. Why should they? When 
Jesus was on earth, visible to sense, sense took the 
stronger hold. Eesult ; thousands were physically 
healed, and comparatively few thoroughly regen- 
erated. But as soon as Christ became visible only 
to the spiritual eye of faith, these things were 
reversed. Thousands of souls believed ; but few 
were and are healed. The reason is plain. Man 
realizes that sense cannot save his soul, but it is 
desperately hard to give up a sensible physical 
body entirely to the control of faith. Therefore 
the supposed danger is not likely to exist. If a man 
can trust for bodily healing, in real faith, it almost 
necessitates a co-existent soul-faith. Experience 
abundantly proves this to be true ; for no one has 
been known to trust for the body, who has not 
received a great spiritual blessing, even when the 
healing has been withheld. 

But it will be objected that if God will remove a 
disciplinary sickness, as soon as the lesson is 
learned, why will He not also remove a discipli- 
nary temptation in the same way? But the 
Bible says, " count it all joy when ye fall into 
divers temptations." 

This is easily answered. We must remember 
that a temptation is not a sin. It is sent from the 
outside (in the case of a heart wholly sanctified), 



OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 187 

and we are distinctly told that, no matter what it 
may be, God " will provide a way that ye may be 
able to bear it." We are to put on the " whole 
armour," and with the shield of faith " quench all 
the fiery darts of the devil." Nothing is said 
about the darts piercing the armour, rankling in 
the flesh, poisoning the blood, and requiring to 
be pulled out. .No, praise the dear Lord ! they 
are all to be stopped, on the outside. They may 
keep us very busy, active in prayer, in the use of 
the " sword of the Spirit," and the " shield of 
faith," but they are to be quenched before they 
wound us. We " count it all joy when we fall into 
divers temptations," but by no means when we fall 
under divers temptations. How plain this makes 
it ! Sickness is not a dart, but a wound. Satan 
can use it as a " dart," or a temptation, by threat- 
ening us with disease. He often shakes his dart 
at me, and tells me — now you are going to have a 
cold ; don't you feel it coming ? You are all worn 
out by over- work, and are getting low fever ; you 
know it is creeping on you now, etc. And when 
he says these things, he often manages to insinuate 
a slight symptom of the disorder mentioned. This 
is the " dart." It becomes a positive temptation to 
be sick. But by God's grace I raise the " shield of 
faith," and cry out, " Himself took my infirmities 
and bore my sicknesses," and the "dart" is 
" quenched." At the same time I earnestly entreat 
the Lord to show me whether I have neglected 
any leading of the Spirit, and to open my eyes to 
behold wondrous things out of His law. And I do 



188 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

not "think it strange," for I know that " the 
trying of my faith worketh patience." If I am 
trusting Jesus to keep me from anything, I may 
naturally expect Satan to specially tempt me on 
that very line. 

But I do not have to be sick, in order to be tried 
any more than I am compelled to sin. The 
temptations must come, but praise the Lord ! they 
need not enter in. The three Hebrew children 
walked in the very midst of the burning fiery 
furnace, surrounded by fire, walled in by fire, 
walking on fire, seeing fire all around them ; but 
the Son of God was there, and when they came 
out not even " the smell of fire had passed on them.'' 1 
It had passed all around them ; it had wreathed 
itself into terrible shapes, it had hissed and roared ; 
but it could not pass on them, for they walked 
with the Son of God. We can glorify God by 
quenching the darts, but not so well by getting 
wounded and disabled, all along the line. Surely 
the Christian's warfare is a fight in the field, not 
an existence in the ambulance and the hospital. 
The only true way to glorify God in the midst of 
sin, sickness, or any temptation whatever, is to 
have the power of an almighty Saviour prevent 
them all from penetrating the whole armour of 
God in which we are clothed. 

We sometimes hear people talk about " kissing 
the rod " which chastises them. This is part and 
parcel of the miserable delusion of Satan that God 
himself actually and directly wields that rod. It 
is very easy to substantially set forth from Scrip- 



OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 189 

ture that sin itself may be called a rod of correction 
in many cases; in that the consequence is insepa- 
rably connected with the act. But who will talk of 
kissing sin? Or the rod may be sickness, which is 
admitted on all sides to be, in general, the result of 
sin. Shall we kiss sickness ? Is it a good thing ? 
Does not God distinctly set it forth as a curse? I do 
not intentionally avoid the higher meaning, how- 
ever. It will be claimed that the law is holy and 
just and good, and that " kissing the rod " properly 
means a humble acquiescence in God's law. Well 
this is all right of course, but unfortunately it is 
one of those short truths that do not span the par- 
ticular chasm before us. When people talk this 
way they forget that God's law has two grand 
divisions, 

1. The Law of Death. 

2. The Law of Life. 

Anything, anything to beat Jesus Christ, — is the 
devil's everlasting maxim. He will allow us, and 
even persuade us to accept the law of death, if there- 
by we are blinded to the law of life. " Kissing the 
rod" simply means acknowledging God's justice in 
the whippings we receive. It should mean that we 
kiss not only the rod of justice, but also the rod of 
power. The rod of Moses carried death and de- 
struction to Egypt, but life and deliverance to 
Israel. O reader, just resolve to kiss the rod on 
the other side, the side of a whole and perfect sal- 
vation from all the works of the devil in your soul 
and body ! As a matter of fact I do not read of 
;t kissing the rod" in the Word, but I do read 



190 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

" kiss the Son lest he be angry, and ye perish from 
the way. Blessed are all they that put their trust 
in trim." Ah! give Jesus the kiss of trust, not 
merely the token of a reluctant submission. 
This gives us the right view as to 

16. — God's Will to Heal. 

A lady at Old Orchard once talked with me on 
this subject. She assured me quite volubly of her 
absolute consecration to God, and her willingness 
to do anything for Him ; but she could not help 
thinking it was God's will that she should con- 
tinue to suffer. I asked her if she was willing to 
believe God. Of course she was ! Well then could 
she believe, " Is any sick, let them call," etc. Here 
she hesitated. Now there is just one thing which 
ought to cause this false excuse for the absence of 
faith to stick in the throat. It is this : Nearly 
every one of these people who say they believe or sup- 
pose it is G-od's will for them to be sick, have been and 
are diligently seeking remedies all over the face of the 
earth, and spending all their substance on physicians, 
in the direct effort to get well. They are thus, by 
their own confession, placed in the position of 
obstinate rebellion against the will of God. They 
say it is God's will they should be ill, and at that 
very time are doing all in their power to defeat 
that will. Let all such invalids be consistent. 
Give up all medicines at once, and lie down in sub- 
mission to the supposed will of God. When a 
pain comes, cry out, it is the will of God, praise 
the Lord for it! When you feel sick and faint, 



OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 191 

exclaim, praise the Lord for this also. Just try it 
for a while. Be consistent if you dare. 

But that is the difficulty. These are the very 
people who will not dare ; the very persons who 
will hang on to the medicine bottle with the clutch 
of a drowning man. If it were not such a terri- 
bly serious matter it would seem supremely ridic- 
ulous to stand by a sick man, hear him express his 
resignation to the will of God in measured terms, 
and then assist him to take his regular dose of 
some celebrated human remedy. The Lord grant 
that we may all be driven from this absurdly false 
position ! 

As a last resort, however, some one says : How 
can I know but that it is God's will for me to 
suffer at least for a time ? And how shall I feel 
sure that He does not want me to use these gra- 
cious means and medicines which have saved so 
many lives ? The answers to these are conclusive, 
and brief. 1. To know His will, read His word. 
If you do not hear Moses and the prophets, a risen 
dead man will not persuade you. Now God gives 
just one specific direction in His word to the sick, 
and that is a direction to get well. As to time, 
the only salvation in Scripture is a now salvation. 
2. To know God's will as to means and medicines, 
read His word. His means and medicines are 
threefold, — prayer of faith, laying on of hands, 
anointing with oil in the name of the Lord. If you 
can get rid of your pride, your self-conceit, your 
unbelieving heart, and offer the sacrifice of simple, 
child-like obedience, you can be healed and saved to 



192 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

the uttermost now. God is always ready to do 
His work, but it must be done in His own way. 
We must be very, very humble to do God's work 
in His way. Peter and Paul were more thoroughly 
and deeply abused than the rest of the apostles, 
and we find that they alone were trusted to raise 
the dead. " The deepest depths lead to the loftiest 
heights." 

I am now going to venture on a startling state- 
ment. No man can fully and completely offer the 
Lord's prayer, who does not really desire, above 
all things, that God's will shall be done in his 
body, soul and spirit. " The sacrifices of God are 
a broken spirit." In order to pray " Thy will be 
done in earth as it is in heaven," I must have 
nothing whatever between me and God. I must 
be cordially willing to be deemed a fool for Christ's 
sake ; to be called a fanatic, and to be looked upon 
with suspicion, even by my best friends. I must 
be ready to stand on God's word against my 
family, and relations, and even against persecution 
from high official sources. I must earnestly long 
for God's perfect work to be done in my entire 
being, and especially, that it be done in God's way. 
I must implicitly accept the rule of faith as the- 
guide of my daily life in all things, small or great. 
And I must believe of course that God is ready now 
to perform His will in me, even to the uttermost. 
In the light of the truth, we see that God's will 
for us in this life is perfect freedom from the 
dominion or pollution of sin, and its attendants 
(sickness included) ; and, " if we walk in the light r 



OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 193 

as lie is in the light, we have fellowship one with 
another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son. 
cleanseth us from all sin." Praise the Lord ! 

There is not a law, given under Moses, that is 
plainer and more Dositive than the law of physical 
health, in Ex/jpi 4 >^~v And there in not a com- 
mand, given under the gospel, more explicit and 
more clear in its attendant promise than the 
direction to the sick, in James v. 14, 15. We 
believe that Jesus actually " bore our sins in his 
own body on the tree," and consequently we do 
not have to remain in sin. And we read that 
" Himself took our infirmities and bore our sick- 
nesses." How then can we possibly fail to see 
that " by His stripes we are healed," in body as 
well as in soul ? Glory to God ! for a perfect and 
a present salvation ! 

17. — That Eeview Article. 

In the Presbyterian Review for July, 1883 
appeared an article on " Modern Miracles," by Rev. 
Marvin E. Vincent, D. D. His object w r as to show 
that the theories presented 'in Dr. A J. Gordon's 
book, " The Ministry of Healing," are erroneous. 
In the course of this article, which is exceedingly 
courteous throughout, he advances many objections. 
It may be well to notice those which he deems 
most important, and subject them to the proper 
test of scriptural logic. I will simply take them 
as they occur, without regard to consecutiveness 
of thought. 

1. He quotes Trench as saying that miracles in 
Scripture are clustered around a few great epochs 

17 ^ /sj XC 



194 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

and persons, and argues that this proves that God 
has not intended them to be common. 

Answer. So far as marked miracles over nature 
are concerned this may be granted (only for the 
sake of argument;) but with regard to the healing 
of sickness, a sufficient reply is found in Jesus' 
words, " And many lepers were in Israel in the 
time of Eliseus the prophet ; and none of them was 
cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian." Luke iv. 
27. This was spoken in Nazareth, where " he did 
not many mighty works because of their unbelief" 
Matt. xiii. 58. Here Christ clearly gives the rea- 
son why more miracles were not performed — 
unbelief. Again, the very epochs he cites — Moses, 
Elijah, Babylonish captivity, present the truth he 
widely misses, that when men are thrown desperate- 
ly upon God, and God alone, the kind of faith 
springs up which allows " mighty works " to be 
done. " All things are possible only to him that 
believeth." Dr. Vincent says himself, on p. 476, 
"Supernatural interventions are not lavished in 
unnecessary and wasteful profusion. They come 
only at the call of need." Certainly; and as we 
have just seen, desperate need begets desperate 
faith, and then miracles are not in danger of being 
"wasted," as they would be if cast before 
unbelievers. 

2. He alludes to Dr. Gordon's citation of healings 
and miracles among all struggling and persecuted 
churches ; as the Moravians, Huguenots, Covenan- 
ters, Friends, Baptists, Methodists, Waldenses, etc. 
He then attempts to answer this by saying, " the 



OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 195 

great revivals which have taken place in this coun- 
try do not confirm Mr. Gordon's sweeping state- 
ment that miracles ' everywhere ' attend 'a revival 
of faith.' " 

Answer. This is very wide of the mark. Mira- 
cles do not specially attend a "revival of faith " 
which has no possible faith in modern miracles. 
How absurd to imagine that any class of men, who 
discredit the supernatural entirely, will ever be 
healed miraculously, no matter how much their 
spiritual faith be revived. If Dr. Vincent will take 
the pains to follow the already wonderful history 
of the " revival of faith " for physical healing, that 
has been rising all over Christendom for the last 
forty years, he will find that miracles of healing 
are multiplying with the most astonishing 
rapidity. 

3. " Granting they spring up round the cradle of 
of new-born faith, they follow the great general 
law of retrocession which marks the display of 
miraculous energy along the line of Christian 
development." 

Answer. If they do, what is proven? It will be 
very hard to show that God arbitrarily withholds 
the power when we read so many promises in 
Scripture. Dr. Vincent says that the miracles have 
fallen off in much greater proportion than the 
spiritual manifestations. Well, suppose that men 
naturally lose faith in the active, present benefits' of 
Christ's salvation, while clinging to the more vague, 
future deliverance from hell. Who will venture to 
say this is not so ? The truth is the present fruits 



196 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

of salvation require a vivid, present renunciation 
and faith. Thousands trust God for eternity r , who 
can not possibly make up their minds to trust Sim 
for time. How few alas ! realize the present cleans- 
ing from all sin, which is their blood-bought privi- 
lege ! Is it any wonder then that so many have 
failed to know Jehovah Eophi? 

4. Dr. Bushnell is quoted as saying, " What is 
wanted is a full, consecutive inventory of the 
supernatural events or phenomena of the world." 

Answer. No, what is wanted is unquestionable 
faith in God. There are too many calls for some- 
body to endorse God's notes of promise. But 
why did not Dr. Yincent quote from Bushnell, 
when the latter gives case after case of modern 
miracles? See "Nature and Supernatural," by 
Horace Bushnell, last chapter. 

5. " It is very easy to point out multitudes of 
cases where every evidence testifies to a high 
degree of living faith, but where these signs do 
not follow, and never have followed them which 
believe ; and these cases are in the vast majority 
over those in which miraculous energy is developed 
or claimed." 

Answer. This is the most unfortunate argument 
possible. It is a clear case of argumentative 
suicide. The truth is this " vast majority " never 
had any faith whatever in the " signs ; " never 
dreamed of asking God for them, as the apostles 
did (Acts iv. 29, 30) ; never thought of taking 
Paul's direction literally " covet earnestly the 
best gifts," (1 Cor. xii. 31) ; and, in short would, 






OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 197 

with one voice, unite with Dr. Yincent in saying, 
" The days of miracles have passed." Think of 
the most spiritual man you please ; one who walks 
near to God. Then try to imagine the sick 
being healed in answer to his prayers, when he 
frankly expresses his entire disbelief in the present 
application of Mark xvi. 17, James v. 14, 15, and 
1 Cor. xii. How are the signs to follow those 
who do not and never did believe in the signs f 
The apostles did believe in them, and they 
specially asked God to send them through them. 
When the " vast majority " do this and then fail, 
Dr. Yincent's argument will be in order. 

6. Dr. Gordon having stated that raising the 
dead was not included in the " signs," Dr. Yincent 
argues that we cannot account for the resurrection 
of Dorcas. 

Answer. Jesus, himself, healed every day, but 
he only raised the dead three times. This of itself 
indicates an exceptional quality in this miracle. 
The apostles only performed it twice, so far as we 
know. This confirms the thought. The true 
reply is that the Spirit evidently directed Peter 
and Paul upon these special occasions. Peter only 
spoke after he had "kneeled down and prayed." 
Dr. Gordon quotes from " Scot's Worthies " the 
testimony as to the raising from the dead of a 
young man, in answer to forty-eight hours contin- 
uous prayer, by the covenanter, John Welch. Dr. 
Yincent does not notice that ; I presume he does 
not believe it. Dr. Gordon aptly says, " If we are 
startled to ask in amazement — ' are such things 
17a 



198 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

possible in modern times ?' we might better begin 
with the question, has such praying and resistless 
importunity with God ever been heard of in 
modern times ? If toe can get a miraculous faith, 
the miraculous work will be easy enough to 
credit," 

7. Dr. Vincent quotes John xiv. 12, and adds: 
" If that promise is literally applicable to the heal- 
ing of sick in the church of all ages, it is equally 
applicable to the other works performed by Christ, 
and true believers in the modern church ought to 
do greater works than any of these and more of 
them." 

Answer. Will Dr. Vincent produce the "true be- 
lievers " who have actual faith that the Lord calls 
them to do these "greater works"? Certainly 
"true believers" ought to do many things; but 
where are the " true believers " to be found ? But, 
is it not perfectly clear that all such signs and 
wonders must, of necessity, be under God's control 
and not man's ? Dr. Vincent makes the common 
mistake of supposing that these miraculous powers 
are to be under the immediate direction of the be- 
liever. Did Paul work as he pleased ? Did Moses 
perform a single miracle undirected by God? 
Surely Christians ought not to be so blind on this 
point. Let the skeptic be assured, that a real 
" true believer " will do any mighty work what- 
ever for God's glory, when God directs him to do it. 
Two things are absolutely essential, both of which 
are totally ignored by objectors. First, a Christian 
who really has faith for and in the miracle. Sec- 



OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 199 

ond, the direction of the Spirit to perform it. In 
the case of praying with the sick, we have the 
plain command, " Is any sick/' etc. But for the 
rest we have no word which says all these signs 
shall follow every believer ; but rather the contra- 
ry, for Paul speaks of the " Spirit dividing to 
every man severally as he will" — 1 Cor. xii. 11. As 
to the special signs of tongues, drinking deadly 
things, resisting the bite of serpents, etc., see " Su- 
pernatural Gifts of the Spirit." 

8. " It surely requires no argument to show that 
the Lord's Supper, prefigured in the formal insti- 
tution of the Passover, and solemnly enjoined on 
the Church as a perpetual observance, stands on a 
different basis from the healing of the sick. The 
following statement of Mr. Gordon is simply mon- 
strous : l In St. James' Epistle we find healing 
recognized as an ordinance just as in Paul's Epis- 
tles to the Romans and Corinthians we find Bap- 
tism and the Lord's Supper recognized as ordi- 
nances. As signs they could never lose their sig- 
nificance till the Lord comes again.' " 

Answer. The Lord's Supper was " prefigured in 
the formal institution of the Passover." Granted. 
But who knew that under Moses ? It was only 
" prefigured." Whereas, healing by the power of 
God was much more " prefigured." It was set 
forth in whole chapters of the law ; it was formally 
" enjoined upon the church " (Israel), in company 
with the rest of the law, as continually binding. 
It was enunciated in the most positive of plain lan- 
guage in Ex. xv. 26. It was repeated again and 



200 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

again, see Ex. xxiii. 25 ; Lev. xxvi. 15, 16, 40 ; 
Deut. v. 33 ; and vii. 15, and xxxii. 39 ; 1 Sam. ii. 
6. When Christ came He said that he " came not 
to destroy the law, but to fulfill." This special 
law of healing, by God's power alone, was almost 
the first one He set forth. He made it His daily 
business. Even where people had so much "unbe- 
lief" that He could not do "many mighty works," 
He healed a few sick people. He handed over this 
healing commission to the twelve, then to the 
seventy, and finally to "them that believe." Mira- 
cles of healing were the first He wrought, accord- 
ing to Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and the commis- 
sion to heal constitutes the last codicil of His New 
Testament, accompanying the declaration "all 
power is given unto me in heaven and earth," and, 
" Lo, I am with you alway, even to the end of the 
age." The Acts of the Apostles refer to this 
twenty times to one reference to the Lord's Sup- 
per, and the proportion is in its favor in the Epis- 
tles. James " solemnly enjoins " this ordinance 
upon the " twelve tribes scattered abroad " ; and 
even the Eevelator, as we have seen, omits to men- 
tion sickness in this list of the tribulations left be- 
hind on earth. Healing by faith was not only 
" prefigured," but was practised all along the ages 
before Christ, and since that time has been con- 
tinuously known in the church to " them that be- 
lieve." It is true Christ stopped the ceremonial law 
but He only strengthened and enlarged the moral 
and spiritual law. 

9. Dr. Vincent attempts to weaken the force of 
the argument by citing cases of recovery through 



OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 201 

the effect of imagination, etc. Again he does good 
service in substantiating some of the Eomisb mira- 
cles. He says of these, " The fact remains, cures 
are wrought (at Lourdes and elsewhere) and the 
testimony to the cures is abundant, and as respect- 
able as that which attests the work of Dorothea 
Trudel or of Dr. Cullis." 

Answer. Nobody discredits the force of the im- 
agination. Many people have been cured in that 
way who did not trust in God. With them we 
have nothing whatever to do at present. We are 
speaking about those who do trust. Suppose it 
be shown that a man, whose imagination could not 
possibly be spurred into sufficient activity by love of 
life, family ties and affections, physical sufferings or 
physicians' remedies, suddenly takes hold of God 
by faith and rapidly recovers. And suppose it be 
admitted that his imagination was the agent used 
in his restoration to health. What then ? Who 
should have the glory? I do not know what 
particular medicine God uses in each case, but if I 
happen to discover its name, shall I transform the 
medicine into the physician ? But this whole line 
of argument begs the question. There are plenty 
of cases where imagination could by no possibility 
have operated in the least. Eead of the scalded 
child in " Pastor Blumhardt," of the many cures of 
cancer, of broken limbs healed in a night, of blind 
eyes thoroughly restored, of cut and shrunken 
tendons renewed, and of the many, many testimo- 
nies so rapidly multiplying on all sides.* 

*See numerous publications in Willard Tract Repository 
Catalogue. 



202 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

10. He asserts that Christ "never despised 
natural agencies, but used them freely." 

Answer. For proof of this remarkable statement 
he offers, the water changed to wine at Cana, and 
the net used in the miraculous draught of fishes. 
Strange blindness that cannot see the test of faith 
given to those about our Lord. The use of the 
water in itself proved His power over nature, 
while it gave occasion for faith in those who stood 
by. The net was not necessary to get the fishes 
into the boat; God's power could have caused 
them to leap in ; but it was necessary to try the 
disciple's faith. They had "toiled all night and 
taken nothing," and now Jesus told them to cast 
just where they had been dragging. They might 
well have said, Lord there are no fish here, we 
have tried already ; but somehow their faith stood 
the test, they obeyed orders without any theorizing, 
and of course received their reward. 

11. He thinks that miracles would be " cheapen- 
ed" if given as " ordinary remedies for sick head- 
ache or colic." 

Answer. Never despise the day of small things. 
Praise the dear Lord ! there are no little things 
with God. Did our good brother ever think God's 
providential care is " cheapened " by counting the 
hairs of his head, or by taking care of a little spar- 
row when it falls the the ground? How glorious- 
ly "cheap" this healing power was when Jesus 
" healed all that had need of healing," and when 
" as many as touched were made perfectly whole! " 
The Saviour, who can note that a man is " carrying 



OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 203 

a pitcher of water," can surely listen when His 
children suffer with a sick headache. " Except ye 
become as little children." How the church needs 
that truth to-day. What true mother ever thought 
her love " cheapened " by listening to the childish 
troubles of her boy ? Bless the Lord, salvation is 
so cheap that it is absolutely free ! 

12. "If indeed, society, after the lapse of these 
Christian centuries, can be redeemed only by a 
second manifestation of God in the flesh, then it 
may be frankly conceded that it needs physical 
miracles to attest and effectuate the work of re- 
demption. Then the work of the Holy Spirit is 
branded with failure, and He is proved impotent 
to fulfill His promise to convict the world of sin, 
of righteousness, and of judgment." — John xvi. 
8-11. 

Answer. When will Christians, as a body, give 
up the idea that the church is destined to convert 
the world ? " Evil men and seducers shall wax 
worse and worse," " In the last days perilous 
times shall come," " As it was in the days of Noah, 
so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. 
They did eat, thej drank, they married wives, 
they were given in marriage, until the day that 
Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came and 
destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the 
day that the Son of man is revealed." The leaven 
(always a symbol of death and destruction) works 
" till the whole is leavened." The tares and wheat 
" both grow together till the harvest." These and 
a multitude of other Scriptures are totally ignored. 



204 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

The quotation from John xvi. 8-11, is most singu- 
larly unfortunate. It contains a plain declaration 
that the Holy Spirit shall " convict " (that is the 
real meaning of the Greek) the world of sin, of 
righteousness, and of judgment. We may well 
quote Christ's question, " When the Son of man 
cometh shall He find faith on earth ? " A world 
" convicted " of sin, righteousness and judgment, 
certainly has the greatest possible need of mira- 
cles of salvation. The Holy Spirit is working 
hard to-day to " convict " the world, but the world 
listens to the siren song, " we are growing better 
every day," and refuses to acknowledge the con- 
viction. Christians shut their eyes to their lack 
of real, earnest, simple faith ; and eloquently dis- 
course about all these " Christian centuries," and 
of the " development of Christianity." It would 
not be very hard, in looking over the " Christian 
centuries," to show that the tares have lived up to 
their reputation, and grown faster than the wheat. 
The most remarkable development in real Christ- 
ian experience seems to be the development of un- 
belief, and of innumerable schemes for limiting- 
God, and discrediting the plain sense of His word. 
Our brother seems to forget the many prophe- 
cies which distinctly affirm that the " second 
manifestation " will be preceded and attended by 
miracles, much more astounding than any that even 
Moses ever saw. In view of these tremendous 
facts, may we not as well ask whether the inarked 
revival of miracles of healing in modern times is 
not one of those signs which surely indicate the 



OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 205 

speedy coming of the Lord ? Let us lift up our 
heads, for our redemption draweth nigh ; that 
redemption of soul and body together for which 
Paul longed, and for which " the whole creation 
groaneth and travaileth in pain until now, waiting 
for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our 
body." Let us not despise our physical part, but 
only look for its perfection, echoing the wish of 
the apostle, " not for that we would be unclothed, 
but clothed upon." — 2 Cor. v. 4. 

" The judge standeth at the door. We are even 
now touching on the last scene of this awful 
mystery, and therefore we ought to be looking for 
the immediate appearance of the gifts." * 

18. — Why Not Instantaneous? 
Before I was healed myself, I had an honest 
impression that if God chose to heal any man in 
these times, He would do a perfect work, and 
make the thing complete at once. I argued that 
Jesus Christ healed in this way when upon earth, 
and that there should be no difference now. I see 
very differently to-day, not because my own cure 
was gradual, but because the Lord has opened my 
eyes. As a matter of fact, there are a few cases 
of healing recorded in the Bible which might be 
called gradual, f 

* Thomas Erskine, in Supernatural Gifts of The Spirit. 

f The Lord took a quarter of a century to heal Sarah of bar- 
renness. Sarah was one of the doubting kind. She laughed 
at God's power. But after twenty-five years it was by faith 
that she received strength to bear a son. Heb. xi.ll. This 
surely was gradual enough. 
18 



206 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

1. Miriam. She was smitten with leprosy. 
Moses prayed, " Heal her now, O God, I beseech 
thee." But the Lord said, " If her father had but 
spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven 
days ? Let her be shut out from camp seven 
days, and after that let her be received in again." 
Here we see that God declined to answer the 
direct letter of the prayer, " to heal her now" 
because, by His law, she required seven days of 
purification. This is exceedingly significant. 
Many a Christian comes for bodily healing to-day 
with a very imperfect idea of the depth and breadth 
of spiritual renunciation and consecration required 
by the law of perfect love. Hence the healing is 
gradual, that the soul may learn, and learning may 
be purified through faith by the blood. 

2. In the raising of the Shunamite's son, there 
were stages which make it a gradual case. See 2 
Kings iv. 

£* 3. King Hezekiah was healed, during three 
days. — 2 Kings xx. 5. 

4. Job's boils did not vanish instantly ; at least 
there is not the slightest indication in the record of 
such an event. 

5. When David said, " I shall not die, but live, 
and declare the works of the Lord," (Psalm cxviii. 
17) it would seem that he expected to recover from 
illness, or felt that he was recovering. 

When we come to the miracles of Jesus, it 
might be argued with perfect fairness that it is 
entirely possible that many were gradually healed. 
Such statements as "Jesus went about all Galilee 



OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 207 

. . . healing all manner of sickness and all manner 
of disease among the people," — Matt. iv. 23 ; and 
" Jesus went about all the cities and villages . . . 
healing every sickness and every disease among 
the people," — Matt. ix. 35, cannot be used to prove 
that all these cures were instantaneous. On the 
contrary, reasoning from experience, we would be 
inclined to say that the comparatively few cases of 
healing, specially recorded in the text, were the 
most remarkable ones. Why were they selected 
out of such multitudes of instances? Humanly 
reasoning there could be only one cause — the desire 
to specialize the most extraordinary. !N"o one, who 
believes only in the general inspiration of the 
Scriptures, can object to this line of argument. I 
give it for the benefit of such objectors. I can not 
say I believe it myself. There is, to me, a better 
reason. Still it has strength, for we read that 
when the whole multitude sought to touch the 
hem of His garment, " as many as touched were 
made perfectly whole." — Matt. xiv. 36. Why did 
not the apostle add some such note in either of the 
cases previously cited ? But I do not care for 
this ; it is contrary to my own belief in the 
original verbal inspiration of God's Word. 

6. In Mark viii. 22-25, we have the case of the 
blind man whose eyes Jesus touched twice before 
he was fully healed. 

7. John iv. 49-52 gives us a marked case. The 
nobleman asked for life. Jesus said, " Thy son 
liveth." He did not say he was entirely well ; 
and so the father learned from the servants that 



208 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

he " began to amend " at the very time of Jesus' 
words. This case illustrates the fact that God 
often gives no more than we ask. Modern experi- 
ence furnishes many instances where God has 
granted wonderful improvement ; whereupon the 
patient has confessed to a lack of faith, or even 
inclination to ask for complete healing. 

8. Jno. ix. 1-7. Here we have a strong case. 
Jesus laid His divine touch upon the blind eyes, 
but they did not open. " Go wash in the pool of 
Siloam." When this was done, the man "came see- 
ing." There is a world of education here for the 
inquiring soul. When we can give the simple tes- 
timony of absolute unquestioning obedience, " I went, 
I washed," it will not be long before we will joy- 
fully add, " I see." We can see plainly that though 
the touch of God had been given, the healing was 
delayed until the man had carried out to the letter 
the commands of Jesus. Many would be healed 
to-day if they would only give up all, or do all, or 
take all that they feel to be required in the Word. 
But the pool of Siloam appears unnecessary, or 
repugnant to the reason or the heart, and they 
will not obey fully. The Spirit whispers " go, 
wash;" but they rebel. My brother you must be 
clean in order to see. " Light is sown for the right- 
eous." He who carries a pack upon his back 
must bend over, and sees only the ground. Get 
rid of your burden of doubts, fears, hesitatings, 
pride; and you will walk erect in the light of 
heaven. 

9. Lazarus. It seems to have escaped everyone's 
mind that this friend of the Lord's was prayed for 



OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 209 

while sick, but notwithstanding, he grew worse 
and finally died. " His sisters sent unto him, say- 
ing, Lord, behold he whom thou lovest is sick.'* 
Jno. xi. 3. Oh! what a prayer that was! It 
thrills me through and through as I read it, "What 
simple faith, what absolute confidence, what per- 
fect trust in the love of Christ! "Lord, behold 
he whom thou lovest is sick." Glory to God! 
Why can not we believe that way ? Has not God 
filled His Word with declarations of His love for 
me ? Do I not read " God so loved the world that 
He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever 
believeth in him should not perish but have ever- 
lasting life ? " Did not Jesus give His life a ran- 
som for me ? Did He not first love me ? Has He 
not promised to " withhold no good thing from 
them that walk uprightly ?" And am I not trust- 
ing the blood to cleanse me now from all sin ? 
Does not the Spirit witness with my spirit that I 
am a child of God? Is He not Jehovah Eophi 
still ? Did not Jesus bear my sicknesses and my 
sins for me? O, when these things are so, how 
can I fail, if sickness comes, to just go to Jesus and 
confidently cry " Lord, he whom thou lovest is 
sick?" God always honors child-like faith such 
as this. 

True they said " Lord, if thou hadst been here 
my brother had not died." Legalist Martha spoke 
it partly in remonstrance, but Mary in the same 
loving confidence in the loving Jesus. The lesson 
of the whole event is plainly set forth, " This sick- 
ness is not unto death, but for the glory of God. 
18a 



210 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

that the Son of God might be glorified thereby." 
" And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, 
to the intent ye may believe." " Said I not unto 
thee, that, if thou would est believe, thou shoulaest 
see the glory of God ? " "I knew that thou near- 
est me always : but because of the people which 
stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou 
hast sent me." These verses show that the Lord 
may withhold the visible answer until the time best 
adapted to glorify His Son. And they show that 
a sick one may recover, after some time, and after 
many prayers, in order that those " which stand 
by may believe." It does not argue anything 
against being kept from sickness at all. That ex- 
perience belongs to another plane altogether. 
We are now considering those who first seek 
healing through faith. My heart disease was 
cured gradually, but since that event I have been 
enabled to praise God for the instantaneous cure of 
other complaints. Upon one occasion I suffered 
for two days with cold, fever and chill. I prayed 
constantly, and rested in Jesus alone. At last 
faith seemed to be given for actual grasping of the 
promise ; the Word was given me, and suddenly 
the chill and all sickness left me. I threw off the 
thick quilt in which I had been wrapped, and 
praised the Lord for complete deliverance. Glory 
to His name! 

10. The case of Epaphroditus, Phil. ii. 26, 27, 
seems to speak of an illness of some duration; yet it 
was God who " had mercy upon him," and raised 
him up, in answer to Paul's prayers in his behalf. 



OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 211 

11. Trophimus was certainly a gradual case, as 
Paul was compelled to leave him behind at Mile- 
turn. 2 Tim. iv. 20. 

These are surely enough to demonstrate that 
healing in Bible times was not always instantaneous. 
When Jesus Himself healed, He was guided by an 
infallible judgment and perception. " He knew 
what was in man." The Apostles may be granted 
an inspired insight, in many cases at any rate. 
" Seeing he had faith to be healed," testifies to this 
inspiration in one instance at least. Acts xiv. 9. 
But we know that Paul sometimes lacked the 
" mind of the Lord." It is therefore entirely pos- 
sible that he occasionally failed to heal immediate- 
ly, as he certainly did fail in the case of Trophi- 
mus. 

We have already seen that there are many rea- 
sons for gradual healing to-day. All allow that 
sickness is a discipline. But manifestly the disease 
can not be removed if the patient refuses to yield to 
the divine purpose. If we are slow in learning the 
lesson set us, why should we wonder at the slow 
removal of the teacher? Truly "God speaketh 
once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not." Let 
any one who doubts the need of gradual healing, 
carefully read and ponder upon the thirty-third 
chapter of Job. No words of man can make it 
plainer. " The entrance of Thy words giveth 
light." 

Finally, some people say that they know such a 
Christian, one of the salt of the earth, who has 
prayed and prayed and prayed, yet has not recov- 



212 OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS. 

ered. I reply. No one can tell when any man has 
1 touched" Jesus, except Christ and the individual 
soul. No man can see and prove the union, the 
absolute consecration, the simple faith. The Jews 
doubted the union between Jesus and God, and 
thus brought upon themselves the reproof "Ye 
receive not our witness." Like Jesus we can 
"speak the things that we do know;" but they 
can not be proved any other way. If we " touch 
the hem of his garment," we will know it. There- 
fore we find three vital reasons for an imperfect or 
a gradual healing. 

1. The absence of the complete " touch." 

2. Imperfect consecration, requiring time for the 
entrance of the light and the deepening of the 
work. 

3. Not comprehending, nor apprehending God's 
plan. " The law is a schoolmaster to bring us to 
Christ," and the "Word distinctly teaches, as we 
have seen, that sickness comes from violation of 
the law. But when we come to Jesus, when the 
conditions are all met, when we touch, we are cer- 
tainly healed. Praise the Lord ! 




CHAPTER VI. 
Ruiviv Salvation, 

" And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly, and I pray 
God that your whole spirit, and soul , and body be preserved 
blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." — 1 Thess. 
v. 23. 

" Beloved I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper 
and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." — 3 John 2. 

"We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not ; but 
he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked 
one toucheth him not/- — 1 John v. 18. 

jG^ALYATIOlSr is a big word. To my appre- 
f|§)1) hension, and in my experience it has marvel- 
^p lously expanded during these last five years 
of communion with God. It is a perfect word, and 
represents a perfect work. As we have seen, Sal- 
vation has four sides. Now the number 4 has al- 
ways had the special significance of perfection, in 
connection with mankind. The old giant, who 
owned Hebron, was called Arba ; and Rev. Alfred 
Jones, in his dictionary of Scripture names, tells 
us that the word means " quadrangular," and that 
he was so called on account of the perfection and 
strength of his form. He also says that the Ro- 
mans used a quadrangular stone as a symbol of 
wisdom and strength of mind. Dr. Milo Mahan, 
in his " Mystic Numbers," gives it special promi- 
nence in connection with mankind and the earth. 
(213) 



214 FULL SALVATION. 

The four quarters of the world, the four feet of the 
highest order of beasts, the four elements, four 
rivers of Paradise, the four gospels, four camps of 
Israel, the four square city of the redeemed. It is 
the figure of the Cosmos in its universality and 
order ; the idea being that of a concentrated and 
orderly, not of a vague universality. Prof. Asahel 
Abbott says, that four always relates to man as a 
spirit immersed in matter. In Theosophy, it is 
God in a sensible form, revealing Himself to the 
senses of His creatures. Hence the Pythagoreans 
swore their great oath by Four (the Tetractys), 
" that hath revealed to our souls the fountain of 
ever-flowing nature." Man has a dual nature, and 
each half is itself a duality. We may divide thus : 



o 
> < 



Nature. Defects. 

Soul S Spiritual, - Inbred Sin, or Depravity. 

* l Moral, - - Committed Sin, or Transgression. 

Body $ Physical, - Sickness, or Disease. 
( Mental, - - Sorrow, or Affliction. 

Here we see the comprehensive sweep of the 
Atonement. Jesus Christ died to save men wholly. 
Strange to say, all Christians allow that two out 
of the four great deficiencies in our nature — the 
moral and the mental — are embraced in the present 
scope of the Great Sacrifice. A large number of 
Christians are willing to accept a third — the Inbred 
Sin, or depravity ; but the church has almost lost 
sight of the possibility of deliverance from the fourth. 
Committed sin can be very properly placed under 
the head of the moral law or nature ; and sorrow 



FULL SALVATION. 215 

or affliction is manifestly a mental trouble. These, 
all agree, can be handed over to Jesus at the present 
moment. But just here a vast majority of the 
church stops short, in experience, if not in theory. 
The wonderful power of the Atonement to cleanse 
from all the Sin which was inherited as an inborn 
taint of corruption, is totally unknown to multi- 
tudes who worship God in sincerity and truth. 
One half the Atonement is therefore overlooked, 
slighted, and absolutely discredited by the majority 
of the Church to-day. These halves are not mathe- 
matically divided, for which we have reason to be 
devoutly thankful, and in God's mercy, we have 
held to the more vital portion of our Savior's work. 
Yet the other half exists. Thanks to the power 
of the truth, thousands of witnesses have -testified, 
and do testifj^, to the reality of the death to inbred 
sin ; and one very large branch of the church 
emphatically proclaims this item of faith in its 
official utterances, while some others, at least allow 
it. But few, if any, bodies of Christians, since the 
days of the Waldenses, have included faith in 
Christ for bodily healing in their church creeds. 

Many a Christian, to-day, thinks the four evan- 
gelists good enough and amply sufficient for his 
daily reading, and neglects the rest of God's word 
altogether. Well, he can be saved of course, but 
will his soul ever grow fat ? How Paul prays for 
the Bphesians, that they " may be able to compre- 
hend with all saints what is the breadth, and 
length, and depth, and height ; and to know the 
love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye 



216 FULL SALVATION. 

might be filled with all the fulness of God.' 1 — Eph. 
iii. 18, 19. The Church is sadly in need of quad- 
rangular Christians to-day. 

Dr. Vincent seems to think it a " huge imperti- 
nence" for anyone to say that unbelief is at the 
root of the church's failure to grasp a complete sal- 
vation. Impertinent or not, it is true. I remem- 
ber that unbelief seriously hampered the twelve 
men who absolutely left their earthly all and fol- 
lowed Jesus in the flesh. Even when striving to 
do the Master's work, they were prevented by lack 
of faith. " Lord, why could not we cast him out ? 
Because of your unbelief." Pastor Otto Stock- 
mayer saj^s, in " Sickness and the Gospel," p. 39 : 
" Why do we not take the position of redeemed 
and sanctified which the work of Jesus Christ 
gives to us ? Why is the discipline of sickness 
necessary to make us listen to our God, and 
walk in His ways in all things and at all times ? 
Why, even in sickness, are we so slow to gather 
the lessons it brings us ? Why has not God 
yet been able to make of us intelligent and 
powerful fellow-workers ? — It is because of our un- 
belief. . . . . It did not occur to the Jews 
in the synagogue of Nazareth that, if in the time 
of Elijah all the widows in Israel were not miracu- 
lously helped like the one of Sarepta, if in the 
time of Elisha all the lepers of Israel were not 
cleansed like Naaman, all the fault was attributa- 
ble to their unbelief.*— Luke iv. 25-27. In the 

*I remark that when Jesus told them the truth, on this point, 
they considered it a "huge impertinence," and attempted to 
take his life. 



FULL SALVATION. 217 

same way, the Christians of to-day seem to ignore 
the power of the Savior whom God has given them, 
and of the fulness of the salvation which that 
Savior has procured for them." 

Why is it that even the best Christian people 
to-day fall so frequently below the Bible standards 
or examples ? Why is it .that so few ministers of 
the Gospel are able to make Paul's language their 
own? How many can say " Thanks be unto God 
that always causeth us to triumph in Christ ? " 
Why is it so few can testify to a vivid personal 
knowledge of the distinct baptism of the Holy 
Ghost ? Why is it that many of the most learned 
doctors of divinity, equipped with every weapon 
of reason, knowledge, wit and oratory, utterly 
fail to lead souls to the Saviour? Is our God 
dead ? Is the power that attended the work of 
the apostles, of Whitefield, Wesley, Jonathan 
Edwards, Asbury, and others, an arbitrary gift to 
a few ? Is a personal experience like that of Paul, 
Fenelon, Madame Guyon, or Mrs. Edwards, some- 
thing absolutely beyond the average Christian ? 
O reader, what is it that bars the way ? What 
can it be, but unbelief? Paul emphatically 
enjoined upon the church to " covet earnestly " the 
miraculous gifts of the Spirit, which he took 
special pains to enumerate. Modern teachers say, 
do not covet any such thing, you cannot have 
them ; it is preposterous for any man in these 
times to talk of a supernatural gift. And then 
they think it " huge inrpertinence " if they are 
accused of unbelief. May the dear Lord lift the 
19 



218 FULL SALVATION. 

veil that is wound about so many of His children, 
when they read the Word. 

Full Salvation. — How my whole being thrills 
with love and praise as I think of the rounded 
completeness of the finished work of my Jesus I 
Christ met and conquered every foe known to the 
human race. Yes every one. Even death suffered 
defeat at His hands. 

It is not a conjecture which leads Stockmayer 
to say that when the church has realized the 
victory over sickness, she will be in a condition to 
pass on to the victory over death. Enoch and 
Elijah are not remembered as they should be. I 
cannot believe for a moment that these two were 
arbitrarily chosen by Jehovah to exemplify His 
power. Of course this end was accomplished 
beyond a doubt, but there is something deeper 
than that. I see in these two saints a glorious 
proof of the infinite possibilities open to the child 
of God. Two men of mortal mould have, by 
God's grace, lived so near to Him, kept His com- 
mands so inviolably, been so zealous in His work, 
worshipped Him in such absolute devotion, and 
above all, manifested such transcendent faith, that 
" the wicked one touched them not." Even over 
death they were triumphant. The fire of the 
Spirit burned so intensely in their souls and bodies, 
that even the mighty prince of darkness could not 
approach them near enough to cast his fatal dart. 
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, they 
passed away from earth, to be with the Lord. So 
the day is coming when, instead of two, many 



FULL SALVATION. 219 

who u are alive and remain shall be caught up to 
meet the Lord in the air." Will it be solely 
because an arbitrary date, set in the mind of God, 
has come ? or may we not believe that, when that 
date does arrive, the children of the King will be 
walking with uplifted hearts, really believing that 
their redemption draweth nigh ? Five out of ten 
virgins were ready with lamps trimmed and burn- 
ing when the bridegroom came. The Lord grant 
that the proportion may hold good when the glad 
cry is heard i{ Behold the Bridegroom cometh, go 
ye out to meet Him." 

Let us " comfort one another with these words." 
Surely the great awakening to the willingness of 
Jesus to save the body from the powers of evil, is 
another and mighty token that the day of our re- 
demption is at hand. Salvation is becoming more 
and more a positive reality. Religion begins again 
to mean something more than a profound mental 
apprehension of doctrine, and a keen sense of legal 
distinctions. The grammar of experience is being 
revised, and we see the possibility of living in the 
present tense, the first person, the singular num- 
ber and the possessive case. Abstract nouns and 
nouns of multitude give place to distinctive proper 
names ; the personal pronouns are limited to I and 
me, and the verb is known in its full sense — to be, 
to do, and to suffer (or experience,) anything, and 
everything in Jesus. Let us not " be fools and slow 
of heart to believe all that the prophets have spo- 
ken," but let us, like the noble Bereans, " search 
the Scriptures daily whether these things are so." 



220 FULL SALVATION. 

Acts xvii. 11, 12. It is wonderfully significant 
that when they thus searched daily, we are told, 
" Therefore many of them believed." Very often 
those who cry, " search and look, for out of Galilee 
ariseth no prophet," are, like the Pharisees, totally 
ignorant of the true meaning of Scripture, as well 
as of the real evidence in the case. 

A short time ago I read of a woman in China, 
who, after hearing of the wonderful Jesus and his 
work, asked if she could not be healed of lame- 
ness ; only to be sorrowfully informed by the mis- 
sionary that the " days of miracles have passed." 
In contrast to this, read the following, from 
"China's millions." 

" One day when our native helper, Mr. Yao, 
was preaching in the chapel, an old beggar-woman, 
of over seventy years of age, came to the door and 
listened to what was said about the person and 
power of the Lord Jesus Christ. She returned to 
her home and told Mrs. Chang, a blind neighbor, 
that which she had heard, and proposed, next day, 
to lead her around to the chapel and ask the teacher 
if Jesus could open her eyes. The old woman, 
accordingly, appeared at the chapel next day, 
with her blind frind, Mrs. Chang, and told the 
preacher their object in coming. After a long 
conversation, Mr. Yao told the blind woman that 
if she had faith to be healed it could be done. 
They accordingly, kneeled down and prayed that 
God would have mercy upon them and regard 
their prayer. This was repeated next day, and 
again on Sunday, when Mrs. Chang's eyes were 



FULL SALVATION. 221 

improving. She was beginning to see again. By 
the Sunday following, her sight — of which she had 
be*en deprived three years — was perfectly re- 
stored, and she now wished all to join her in prais- 
ing God for what he had done. Within a fort- 
night after the day she was first led to the chapel 
and asked to be cured, her eyes were opened and 
she could see as other people. No medicines were 
used, nor were any other means than those of pray- 
er and faith, employed to bring about this end. The 
simple woman believed implicity that Christ had 
the same power to heal to-day as He had eighteen 
hundred years ago ; and she sought and found in 
Him what she desired." 

ISTow which of the missionaries held up a perfect 
Saviour? ''According to your faith be it unto 
you." David said, " I have set the Lord always 
before me (can we say that?) because he is at my 
right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my 
heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth (this is the 
spiritual experience) ; my flesh also shall rest in 
hope (dwell confidently — margin). Here we have 
the physical security. Young translates this verse, 

" Therefore hath my heart been glad, 
And my honor doth rejoice, 
Also my flesh dwelleth confidently." 

Ps. xvi. 9. 

Perfect submission and consecration to the Lord 
Jesus will inevitably bring about that mysterious 
union with Him, in which He, with the Father 
and the Spirit, will take up His abode in our souls 
and bodies. Nothing short of this is complete 
19a 



222 FULL SALVATION. 

Christianity. Christ must be formed in us. The 
Spirit must be in us. We must enter the holiest 
through the veil of His flesh, and abide continually 
in the very presence of God. Instead of being 
appalled at the height of the standard, let us re- 
member the infinite promises of an infinite Saviour, 
and enter into that marvellous life of faith wherein, 
as little children, we believe God without a ques- 
tion, and enjoy the benefits that can only flow 
through faith. 




CHAPTER VII. 



Review a.nd Conclusions. 



" Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh 
you a reason of the hope that is in you." — 1 Pet. iii. 15. 

" In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves." — 
2 Tim. ii. 25. 

" I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings, and will 
not be ashamed." — Ps. cxix. 46. 

" But when they shall lead yon, and deliver you up, take no 
thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premedi- 
tate ; but whatever shall be given you in that hour, that speak 
ye : for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost." — Mark 
xiii. 11. 

p§HE forgoing argument has not been founded 
i$W on a "single text of Scripture," but upon 
pfrJ great and fundamental principles underlying 
and pervading the entire Word. It may be well 
to briefly recapitulate the Biblical facts and salient 
points which have been advanced. I have not 
written this book to prove the doctrine of Chris- 
tian Holiness, for there is an abundance of litera- 
ture on that subject, but have briefly glanced at 
the general principles which underlie that experi- 
ence. We have seen in Chapter I, that the Atone- 
ment provides for the pardon of all past sins, and 
the cleansing from all past unrighteousness. In 
Chapter lithe glorious provisions for the cleansing 
from all inbred sin were briefly discussed. Chapter 

(223) 



224 



REVIEW. 



Ill brought us to the question of bodily healing, 
as provided for in the Atonement. After a few 
pointed instances of modern healing in answer to 
prayer, the resemblance in the nature of the testi- 
mony for soul and body was pointed out, and then 
we passed to the general question of miracles, 
their reasonableness and probability. After this the 
special Scriptural grounds were considered at some 
length. I will not occupy space in reprinting 
the verses in full, but will simply give them by 
number, in the order as used. 



Isaiah 53d chapter, verses 3, 4, 

5, 6, 10, 12. 
Exodus xv. 26. xxiii. 25. 
Deut. vii. 15. xxxii. 39. 
Psalm cv. 37. cxvi. 9. 
The case of Miriam, Numbers 

xii. 13. 
Numbers xvi. 47, 48. xxi 4-9. 
Deut. v. 16. and v. 33. iv. 40 

xii. 25, 28. xxii. 7. 
Eph. vi. 3. 

Deut. vii. 12-15. xxviii. 15-61. 
2. Chron. vii. 12-14. 
Job. 33d chapter. 
Psalm vi. 2, 9. xii. 2. lxxviii. 

20-22. 
Ninety-first Psalm. 
Psalm ciii. 1-5. 107th Psalm. 



Jno. i. 4. 1 Jno. v. 11, 12. 
Prov. iv. 20-22. iii. 7, 8. xii. 

28. xiv. 27. xv. 7. 
Eccles. vii. 12-17. 
Jeremiah xvii. 14. 
Ezekiel xxxiv. 4, 16. 
Matt. iv. 4, and Deut. viii. 3. 
Matt. xiv. 36. 

Jno. iv. 14. Matt. x. 1-10. 
Mark vi. 12, 13. 
Luke ix. 1, 2, 6. x. 1, 9, 17, 18, 

19. 
Mark xvi. 17, 18. 
Acts iv. 29, 30. 
1 Cor. vi. 13. 2 Cor. i. 20. 
Eph. v. 23-30. Heb. xi. 11. 
Gal. iii. 13. Lev. xxvi. etc. 

etc. 



The proposition considered was that sickness is 
from the devil. Job's case is conclusive. — Acts x. 
38, and Luke xiii. 11-17, together with Paul's 
" minister of Satan," settle all controversy upon 
this point. We read also the following Scriptures : 
Dan. ix. 24. Heb. ii. 14, 15. 1 Cor. xv. 53, 54. 1 Jno. iii. 8. 



REVIEW. 225 

Next, the great importance of our physical 
bodies, was presented, in contrast to that doleful 
view of the case expressed in the hymn beginning, 

" Come on my partners in distress 

Companions in this wilderness 

Who still your bodies feel." 

In this connnection see Rom. vi. 6; Gen. xviii. 
14 ; 2 Cor. xii. 9 ; Eom. viii. 22, 23 ; 2 Cor. v. 1-4 
Eom. xii. 1 ; 1 Cor. vi. 13, 15 ; 1 Cor.iii. 16, 17 
Eph. ii. 22 ; Heb. iii. 6 ; 1 Peter ii. 5 ; Phil. i. 20 
Col. ii. 17 ; 1 Thess. v. 23 ; Jude ix. 

The book of Leviticus was then reviewed to 
show the analogy from the character of the priest- 
hood, as well as the plain directions for the healing 
of bodily disease, and specially for the offering of 
an " atonement " for sickness. See Lev. xi. 44 ; 
xii. 6, 7, 8, with Gen. iii. 16 ; Lev. xiv. chapter, 
also xv. These give the distinct command that 
an " atonement " was to be offered for sickness and 
disease. There is no avoiding this point. Lev. xxi. 
gives the close parallel in the case of the priests. 
See also Heb. ix. 22, and x. 22 ; 1 Peter, ii. 9 ; Ex. 
xix. 5, 6 ; Rev. i. 6 • Heb. x. 19-22. Rev. Samuel 
Wakefield was quoted as saying that " the law 
required a sacrificial atonement, even for bodily 
disorders." 

Next we considered the question, Who may be 
healed ? Under this head a number of references 
were used. Gen. xx. 17 ; Num. xii. 13 ; 1 Kings 
viii. 37-39, and 2 Chr. vi. 28-30 ; 2 Kings v. ; and 
xx. 5 ; 2 Chr. xxx. 20 ; Psalm vi. 2 ; xxvii. 1 ; xxx. 
2, 3 ; xii. 3 ; Mai. iv. 2 ; Psalm liv. 22 ; lx. 11. The 



226 REVIEW. 

utter absence of any possible recommendation of 
physicians from the whole Scripture was then 
noted, and the reason clearly traced in the full 
provision made for bodily healing through the 
Great Physician. Matt, xxviii. 18, 20 ; Heb. xiii. 8 ; 
Mark xvi. 17, 18 ; Eom. xii. 3 ; 1 Cor. ii. 5 ; 2 Cor. 
i. 20. The twelfth chapter of 1 Cor. needs special 
consideration, and admits of no denial or explana- 
tion; the plain fact of the existence of all the 
" gifts " in the Christian church being there 
established, beyond any possible controversy. 

Eeading Phil. ii. 25-27, and James ii. 22, we 
came to James v. 13, 14, 15, and considered the 
the plain and perfect way and means there laid 
down for the church. The u sin unto death " 
called for special attention, bringing before our 
minds some of the causes which prevent the use 
of the promises for bodily healing. Then the 
subject of the keeping power of Jesus, applied to 
preserve us from sickness, in Chapter IV., closed 
the direct argument ; while Chapter V. was occu- 
pied with the most conspicuous objections to the 
doctrine of faith-healing, and Chapter VI. to the 
glorious, rounded, completeness of our Full Sal- 
vation. 



CONCLUSIONS. 227 



CONCLUSIONS. 

Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners ; 
to save them now from every sin, from all inbred 
depravity, from outbreaking sickness and from the 
inworking germs of disease. 

If we sin, it is because of at least temporary, 
unbelief; and if we are sick, the reason is similar. 
It may be that the unbelief is manifested in 
our refusal to see the leadings of God's Spirit, 
but all is best summed up in the one word — un- 
belief. " Are not these evils come upon us because 
our God is not among us ? " — Deut. xxxi. 17. 

Sickness and sin are alike the work of the devil. 
Neither is ever " necessary," in any true sense. 
God permits Satan to try us simply because we 
will not listen to His voice. Bodily illness is 
allowed therefore as a corrective, or better as the 
task-master's lash to make us weary of bondage, 
and ready to follow the leaders God sends. In 
precisely the same way we fall into sin, not 
because it is " necessary to keep us humble," but 
because our stiff necks will not bend. As in the 
case of Joseph, God brings good out of evil, for 
the smart of our sins leads us to cry unto God, 
whereupon He delivers us out of our distresses. 
All this tends to open our eyes by degrees to the 
great truth, that salvation is meant for our whole 
being — body, soul and spirit. I hope this conclu- 
sion is clear. Sin and sickness may be used or 
allowed as corrections. They are not necessary 



228 conclusions. 

however. We can be free from either, or both, as 
soon as we find Jesus, through faith, as the com- 
plete Burden-Bearer. If we are falling under 
either it is not a sign that we are being kept hum- 
ble, but rather that we are not yet humble enough 
to give up everything and believe everything. 

The physical body is not a cage ; it should not 
be considered an embarrassment at all. On the 
contrary the man who says he could be good if it 
were not for his bodily appetites, simply acknow- 
ledges that his " heart is not right " before God. 
The heart is the fountain, and if that be purified 
thoroughly, all the bodily appetites will work nor- 
mally and properly. The body is to be offered to 
God as a sacrifice, just as much as the soul. We 
will never be glorified till our bodies are changed. 
Our bodies are, or should be, actual temples of the 
Holy Ghost, and not merely u halls of theology." 

Any one may be healed who is drawn of the 
Spirit to seek healing. The promise is to " any 
sick among you." At the same time there is a 
" sin unto death." In this case, however, it is 
about certain, that true faith will be sensibly want- 
ing. This " sin unto death " may be fully pardon- 
ed, and consist w T ith a deep spiritual experience ot 
God's love, as in the case of Moses. 

The "means" of healing laid down in James, 
present a perfect way. We must consecrate all to 
Jesus, relinquish everything contrary to His will, 
and be absolutely ready to be, to do, or to suffer 
all things for Him. 

Physicians are mercifully provided for those 
who can not trust God alone. No one can thus 



CONCLUSIONS. 229 

trust God who knowingly withholds anything, 
however slight. Medicines of course can 
not share God's glory. They stand upon precisely 
the same ground with the physicians, and serve to 
demonstrate the abounding love of God to an un- 
believing world. 

The whole tenor of Scripture is to the effect 
that God is the Healer of sickness as well as of sin. 
Under the old dispensations this was abundantly and 
repeatedly set forth, even to the extent of a special di- 
rection for an " atonement " offering in the case of 
many diseases. Under the new dispensation, this 
feature of physical healing was most particularly 
emphasized, in word and deed ; and we have the 
special assurance that Jesus came to fulfill the law 
and not to destroy it. 

The Scriptures for the vicarious Atonement for 
sin are no more explicit than those for sickness ; 
the same words or phrases being used for both. 
Jesus is positively said to have born our sins and 
our diseases ; and this statement is abundantly ex- 
emplified and expounded, as we have seen. 

We must exercise sanctified common sense and 
not fly to the extreme of expecting God to enable 
us to bid defiance to the laws of health, unless 
most unmistakably led of the Spirit to do so tem- 
porarily. Such leading is rare. 

The devil is a beaten foe, and does not know 
half as much as we have supposed. He is not God, 
and can not tell the future. Nevertheless he must 
not be despised, but ever regarded as an enemy 
whom only Jesus can overcome. 
20 



230 CONCLUSIONS. 

Close communion with God develops the faculty 
of receiving actual life for soul and body, an inspi- 
ration or in-breathing of the life of Jesus, And 
this life becomes a " well of water springing up 
into everlasting life." 

Jesus started His church with a double charter 
which has never been revoked. " Preach the gos- 
pel and heal the sick." The Apostles set the ex- 
ample of asking for " signs and wonders " to attend 
their work ; and Paul distinctly enjoins the church 
to " covet " these miraculous gifts " earnestly," 
while James plainly directs their use in the heal- 
ing of " any sick." 

The " body is for the Lord," and is not a worth- 
less lump of clay. If a human body was good 
enough for the Son of God, we ought not to com- 
plain of ours. 

All sickness was and is included under the 
" curse of the law." This is again and again de- 
clared in Scripture. But " Christ hath redeemed 
us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for 
us." Either this declaration is false, or Jesus bore 
my disease for me, just as he bore my sins. If I 
am compelled to bear them also, then His work 
was incomplete. But He declared, with His dying 
breath, " It is finished." 

The miracles of Jesus were not merely to prove 
His divinity, but were the natural outflow of that 
divinity, when brought into close contact with 
suffering humanity; and their continuance testi- 
fies to the Headship of the risen Savior in His con- 
nection with the Church. 



CONCLUSIONS. 231 

He who " touches " Jesus, always receives life. 
Satan could not inflict sickness upon Job till God 
gave His permission ; and this permission was 
given solely to lead Job to a deeper death of self. 
As soon as the lesson was learned, the sickness 
was taken away. So we can be sure that God will 
not allow Satan to whip us after we have appre- 
hended and received the intended instruction. 
" Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now 
have I kept thy word." — Ps. cxix. 67. 

The body, which gives us so much trouble, is not 
the body of flesh, but the " body of sin." AVhen 
this is crucified we can live the resurrection life in 
Christ, and the body of flesh will be in perfect 
accord with the divine will. 

The dietary laws of Closes are for our good 
to-day, just as much as they were for the Jews. 
He who thinks he can slight the stomach, as of 
small account, opens a thousand doors to disease 
and suffering. 

The devil kills a great many good people long 
" before their time." 

Healing may be instantaneous, but is more likely 
to be gradual, because of the imperfect consecra- 
tion and faith in so many- patients. Gradual re- 
storation gives the opportunity for education. 

A sin which has caused sickness is necessarily 
forgiven when the disease is removed. This James 
specially declares, v. 15. 

There is no more necessity for us to be sick than 
to sin. If then we are wholly the Lord's, and rest 
in His Word, we may enjoy health of body and of 



232 CONCLUSIONS. 

soul. This requires the closest attention to the 
voice of God. We must not dare to slight the least 
of His commands. There are no little things in the 
life of faith. And we must give God the glory. 

We may be tempted with sickness, just as we 
are tempted with sin. By faith in Jesus one may 
be resisted just as well as the other. The tempta- 
tion will then be useful, and we may " count it all 
joy." Paul's " vile body " was simply his body in 
a " low estate," — not yet glorified. 

Trophimus was undoubtedly healed, but not 
until he was separated from Paul, according to the 
divine purpose. 

Paul's thorn in the flesh, if a sickness, was cer- 
tainly from the devil. It did not hinder his work, 
and there can be no doubt it was removed by the 
power of God alone. This thing was allowed as a 
precautionary measure, to teach him the deepest 
humility, and of course was removed when the 
lesson was learned. 

Spiritual blessings invariably precede or accom- 
pany bodily healing. Faith is always the vehicle 
for God's bounty. 

" Chastening" requires the presence of Satan. 
There are no tears in heaven, no " chastening," no 
trials. Sickness, death and sin are always unre- 
lenting enemies, and emanate from the devil. 

Faith-healing does not affect the necessity of 
dying, provided our time arrives before the Bride- 
groom cometh. We are not, however, to look for 
death as a friend, but earnestly " hasten the coming 
of the Lord," keeping the glorious possibility of 
translation constantly before our eyes. 



CONCLUSIONS. 233 

The days of miracles have not passed. On the 
contrary we may expect greater wonders than the 
world has ever seen, for such is the express declar- 
ation of the Word. The day of the Lord hasteth 
greatly, and the miracles preceding and attending 
His second advent will be more remarkable than 
anything ever recorded in the past. The super- 
natural always slumbers when faith lies sleeping, 
or dead. 

The only " means " needed for the sick, are the 
Scriptural ones of " laying on of hands, anointing 
with oil," and, " the prayer of faith." The Bible 
never advises us to trust in any one or anything 
but in God. He who would know God's power 
must walk humbly in God's pathway. 

Those who reject God's ways are influenced by 
ignorance, or by the idea that they are wiser than 
the written Word; by pride, or by unbelief. Like 
the Jews they become very angry when told the 
plain truth concerning themselves. 

There is not the faintest hint in Scripture that 
oil was commanded or used as a medicine, rather 
than as a symbol. We have abundant testimony 
to the existence of thousands of remedies at the 
beginning of the Christian era. 

The "Elders of the Church" are God made 
Elders, and not merely ordained of man. Before 
proceeding in any special work for God, we should 
be very sure that we are called of the Spirit, and 
that we are in no way influenced by personal 
ambition. 

There is no doubt of the existence of "gifts of 
20a 



234 CONCLUSIONS. 

healing " in the church to-day. These gifts never 
were exercised at the discretion of the possessor, 
nor ever used for the mere purpose of proving 
anything for the benefit of unbelievers of any 
grade. 

The foundation of the doctrine of faith-healing 
is the Word of God, and not visible results. 
Apparent failures count for nothing. " Heaven 
and earth shall pass away, but my word shall never 
pass away." 

The devil is the sole author of the notion that 
he cannot no w " possess " men's bodies, as in former 
times. He is very anxious to have men think 
lightly of him. Despising an enemy gives him a 
great advantage. That was how David came to 
kill Goliath. 

Paul's experience with his thorn, like Job's 
sickness, is not an exception, but a representative 
case. Both are paralleled constantly in individual 
cases to-day. 

God always honors faith, even if it be clouded 
and enveloped in ignorance. It is " according to 
thy faith," not according to the faith of Moses or 
the apostles. Each man's faith is his own, and no 
matter how ignorant, if he trusts God, God saves 
him. 

We can glorify God in sickness by showing His 
wonderful power to sustain j but we can glorify 
Him better by giving an opportunity for His 
delivering power. Jesus came to preach " deliverance 
to the captives" not exactly to feed them in prison. 
A long continued affliction may indicate an obsti- 
nate refusal to follow Jesus entirely. 



CONCLUSIONS. 235 

It is just as possible to refuse the passage of 
Jordan for sickness, and to be turned back to 
struggle with disease and to die in the wilderness 
of affliction, as this experience is possible in 
spiritual matters. 

We must walk in the fire in this world, but if 
Jesus walks with us, the smell of fire need not 
pass upon us. 

God's rod is a rod of power and deliverance, as 
well as of destroying might. There is a law of life, 
as well as a law of death. When we talk of the 
law, we should remember the life side as well as 
the other. God condemns according to one, and 
saves by the other. 

Let people who believe it is God's will that they 
shall be sick, prove their belief by relinquishing all 
efforts to get well ; give up their medicines and 
save the money spent on physicians. 

The way to find God's will is to read His Word, 
in the Spirit of Paul, " believing all things which 
are written in the law and the prophets." — Acts 
xxiv. 14. 

The petition " Thy will be done," can only be 
perfectly offered by one whose spirit, soul and body 
have been placed absolutely in Jesus' hands. 

" Signs " never have followed, and never can fol- 
low those who do not believe in the " signs." 
They follow those who, like the Apostles, pray for 
God's miraculous power, and heartily believe it 
will be manifested. 

The evidences of miraculous power always mul- 
tiply when faith becomes concentrated, simple and 
absolute. 



236 CONCLUSIONS. 

God may use an infinite variety of agents or 
laws for the recovery of the sick. He may use 
the patients' imagination or anything else. The 
only question is, who produced the effect ? If God 
did it he should have the glory. 

A miracle is not a violation of natural law, but 
the superposition of another law. God's laws are 
never violated ; they can not be. It is a natural 
law that anything material will be attracted to- 
wards the earth. An inflated balloon, however, 
leaves the earth, but not in violation of gravitation. 
On the contrary it is because of gravitation draw- 
ing down the heavier air all around the balloon. 
The balloon is attracted, according to law ; but 
another law steps in, and through their combina- 
tion a very different effect is produced. 

The proper definition of a miracle is, anything 
which transcends human power. It would be just 
as great a miracle for a man to jump one hundred 
feet as one million miles, because both are abso- 
lutely impossible to man. All the talk about a mira- 
cle being a reversal of some great natural law is 
fundamentally absurd. There is every reason to 
believe that natural laws are never reversed, but 
only modified through combinations with other 
laws. The idea that a miracle consists in the per- 
formance of inherent impossibilities, is most absurd 
of all. God is the perfection of harmony and 
equity. Two and two, added together, give four. 
This is truth ; and as God, who changes not, is, 
or holds, the essence of truth, Ave simply testify to 
this attribute when we say, no miracle can or will 



CONCLUSIONS. 237 

ever change this numerical relation. Thoughtful 
men need to open their eyes to this fact. God 
answers prayer through the operations of law. 
Indeed He has established the law of prayer ; " If 
we ask anything according to his will, he heareth 
us." If He heals the sick, it is through and 
according to law. If He opens a pathway through 
the sea it is by the operation of law. (Ex. xiv. 21.) 
If mighty changes are made in the topography of 
a continent, such as those prophesied in Zech. xiv. 
4, it will be according to law. A few months ago 
a mountain split in two in far distant Alaska ; and 
a dozen mountains rose out of the waters of the 
straits of Sunda. Wherein will the dividing of the 
Mount of Olives be more distinctly miraculous 
than these ? We can not tell how the bones of a 
child are formed, nor how the acorn expands into 
the oak ; but we know both are facts. So far as 
we are concerned they are just as miraculous as 
the instantaneous restoration of the withered arm. 

Why should we undertake to make time the 
test of the miraculous when the Actor is He with 
whom " a day is as a thousand years, and a 
thousand years as one day ? " 

We must not be discouraged if the answer 
appears to be delayed, but diligently seek for 
possible hindrances in ourselves. "Though it 
tarry, wait for it, for it will surely come." Heal- 
ing in Scripture was not always instantaneous. It 
is, moreover, extremely probable, that the most 
remarkable cases were narrated in detail. 

We may be gradually healed because of imper- 



238 CONCLUSIONS. 

feet faith, incomplete consecration, or heedlessness 
of the Spirit's leadings. 

The church is sadly in need of Quadrangular 
Christians ; those who have found out that Salva- 
tion has four sides — committed sin, inbred sin, 
mental trouble and bodily sickness. 

The church, like the apostles, can not cast out 
devils or perform other wonderful works, because 
of unbelief. The average Christian misses the 
rounded experience of the saints solely through 
unbelief. He will not believe it to be his duty to 
at once consecrate everything to God ; or he will 
not believe God's promises to be in the present 
tense. 

The way to " hasten the coming of the Lord," is 
to really believe He is coming, and to act ac- 
cordingly. The day is drawing near when faith 
will be necessary to apart in the first resurrection. 

Even translation will be through and according 
to the law of faith. He that believes that Jesus is 
not coming, however devout he may be, will surely 
be left behind. The wise virgins were those who 
watched. Watching means expecting. 

If the world is to be converted, apostolic faith 
and power are needed. 

When Satan says, " The day of miracles has 
passed," he means to insinuate that God is dead. 
He chuckles prodigiously over any departure from 
a supernatural faith in a supernatural God, ever 
present and ready to literally perform His promises. 

Holiness is undoubtedly much more important 
than bodily healing ; but we should never forget 



CONCLUSIONS. 239 

that the " day of our redemption " will never 
come till each " spirit, soul, and body " is " sancti- 
fied wholly " from every touch of evil. 

Beloved, let us not be left behind for want of 
asking. Let us pray for grace, for faith, for 
power, for love, for fire, and even for the miraculous 
manifestations of a miraculous Saviour, that we 
may " speak the word with all boldness," and that 
men, especially Christians, may be convinced that 
our " glorious Lord " is not chained by His own 
decrees, nor disposed to alter the meaning of His 
own language. 

Finally ; I am " preaching peace by Jesus Christ." 
(Acts x. 36.) Peace from all sin. Not a rest from 
conflict, but a rest from defeat. Peace from all 
sickness, yes peace from all taint of evil. "Preach- 
ing peace by Jesus Christ." What a glorious 
Savior we have ! What a perfect salvation ! How 
transcendent His glory ! how deep His mercy ! 
how unsearchable His love! How free is His 
grace ! how boundless His compassion ! how in- 
exhaustible His resources ! how enduring His pro- 
mises ! " The eternal God is thy refuge, and 
underneath are the everlasting arms." (Deut 
xxxiii. 27.) How strong are those arms ! How 
mighty is His power! Jesus paid it all, all the 
debt I owe ; then why should I be striving to pay 
a portion of it over again ? I fly to the mighty 
Jesus ; to Him who has " all power in heaven and 
earth," and I find " perfect peace " when my "mind 
is stayed" upon Him alone. I do not find this 
peace perfect when I " put confidence in men" for 



240 CONCLUSIONS. 

a portion of my safety. I want Jesus to have all 
the glory, and so I trust the " everlasting arms " 
to hold me without tying myself up by means of 
man's devising. Thus I have peace. And oh I 
such peace ! How profound ; how unfathomable! 
" Preaching peace by Jesus Christ." Praise the 
Lord for what follows. Peter adds, " he is Lord 
of all." Yes I am determined He shall be Lord of 
all. "That word, I say, ye know, which was 
published throughout all Judea, and began from 
Galilee, after the baptism which John preached ; 
How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy 
Ghost and with power ; who went about doing good, 
and healing all that were oppressed of the devil ; for 
God was with him. And we are witnesses of all 
things which he did." 

This is the kind of peace I preach. Peace that 
brings freedom from the touch of the devil. How 
glorious it is to know Jesus as a perfect Savior in 
the present tense! "My soul doth magnify the 
Lord " for all His benefits towards me. " He hath 
given me rest round about." " He loved my soul 
from the pit of corruption." — (Isa. xxxviii. 17 
margin). " God is the Lord which hath shewed us 
light." — Ps. cxviii. 27. " Light is sown for the 
righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart." 
— Ps. xcvii. 11. " For the Lord God is a sun and 
shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no 
good thing will he withhold from them that walk 
uprightly." — Ps. lxxiii. 23. "I will go in the 
strength of the Lord."— Ps. lxxi. 16. " Let God 
be magnified." — Ps. lxx. 4. "The God of Israel is 



CONCLUSIONS. 241 

he that giveth strength and power unto his peo- 
ple." " Unto God the Lord belong the issues from 
death."— Ps. lxviii. 35, 20. " O bless our God which 
holdeth our soul in life."— Ps. lxvi. 9. a O thou 
that nearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come." 
— Ps. lxv. 2. " I will cry unto God most high ; 
unto God who performeth all things for me." — Ps. 
lvii. 2. " It is better to trust in the Lord than to 
put confidence in man." — Ps. cxviii. 8. " Thy God 
hath commanded thy strength." — Ps. lxviii. 28. 
" Call upon me in the day of trouble : I will de- 
liver thee, and thou shalt glorify me." — Ps. 1. 15. 
" I will praise thee forever, because thou hast done 
it." — Ps. lii. 9. " Come and hear, all ye that fear 
God, and I will declare what he hath done for my 
soul." — Ps. lxvi. 16. " For this God is our God for 
ever and ever ; he will be our guide even unto 
death." — Ps. xlviii. 14. " O clap your hands all ye 
people ; shout unto God with the voice of triumph." 
— Ps. xlvii. 1. 

Oh, this peace ! how it deepens and broadens and 
flows ! — Isa. xlviii. 18/ and xxvi. 3, and lxvi. 12 ; 
Ps. cxix. 165 ; John xiv. 27. 

" MY PEACE. » 

When Peace like a river flows over my soul, 

Away, to the darkness infernal, 
My troubles, my cares, and infirmities roll ; 

I bathe in the waters eternal. 

I drink from the river of life, as it flows 
Straight down from the city resplendent ; 

The Peace of my soul toward infinitude grows, 
My joy is supreme and transcendent. 

21 



242 CONCLUSIONS. 

" O not as the world giveth, give I to thee ; " 

My Jesus, the only Peace-Giver, 
Thy Spirit alone bringeth sweet liberty ; 

" My Peace " floweth on like a river. 

" My Peace/ 7 — what a token of infinite Love, 

My deepest devotion commanding ; 
Unchanging, and pure, gracious Heavenly Dove, 

" My Peace " passeth all understanding. 

" My Peace " like a river flows over my soul, 

No shadow my path is o'er-casting ; 
But billows of light in omnipotence roll, 

I joy in the life everlasting. 

My mind, ever stayed, dearest Lord, upon Thee, 

Beside the still waters I'm growing ; 
I'm trusting, rejoicing, restful, and free, 

" My Peace " like a river is flowing. 

" Glory to' God in the highest, and on earth, 
peace, good will to men." — Luke ii. 14. " His 
name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The 
Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince 
of Peace." — Isa. ix. 6. "Beloved now are we the 
sons of God." Let us claim our heritage, for our 
Father saith " all that I have is thine." Let us be 
Quadrangular Christians. 

"Let Everything that Hath Breath Praise 
the Lord." 




REMARKABLE CASE. 243 



The Case of Mrs. Rebecca S. Fravel. 

In the note on page 22 reference is made to this case. Only 
the merest outline can be given here. Liquor was the cause of 
the trouble. Sometime in 1875 this lady was attacked because 
she would not deny her religious convictions, and most horribly 
injured. She was choked into insensibility, her back broken, 
the bones of the legs broken, the right hip and right shoulder 
dislocated, and her whole body covered with terrible bruises. 
In this condition, when the merest spark of life remained, after 
being examined by several physicians who refused to attempt 
to do anything for her, she was raised up by the power of God 
alone, and walked, besides using her right hand in signing her 
name, within twenty-four hours after the injuries were inflicted. 
Many of her friends and Acquaintances, near Cincinnati, Ohio, 
were and are familiar with these facts, and medical testimony 
was given under oath concerning her injured condition. I am 
personally acquainted with the lady, and have had the privi- 
lege of meeting with several of her intimate friends. The evi- 
dence in the case is full, clear and voluminous, and no hasty 
sketch like this can begin to give any idea of the wonderful 
and continued manifestations of God's hand in her experience. 

If the Lord wills, an extended account of this miracle of 
healing, with the evidence in full, may be published at an early 
date. It is my earnest conviction that God is sending upon 
His chosen people more and more of the " gifts of the Spirit," 
mentioned in 1 Cor. xii. ; and that we may expect at any time 
to hear of the wonderful workings of Him, whose name is 
called " Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The 
Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. " 

PRAISE THE LORD ! 



FINIS, 



Miracles of Healing. 

The cure, in answer to the prayer of faith of Capt. E. 
Kelso Carter, of the Pennsylvania Military Academy. 

PAPER, 15 CENTS. 



Pastor Blumhardt. 

A record of the Wonderful Spiritual and Physical Mani- 
festations of God's power in Healing Souls and fiodies > 
through the prayers of this remarkable man. 

By Capt. R. Kelso Carter, 

CLOTH, 40 CENTS. 



The Supernatural Gifts of the Spirit. 

By Thomas Erskine. 

Edited by R. Kelso Carter, with Remarkable Cases of 
Modern Miracles. 

PAPER, 10 CENTS. 



Tracts. 

By the same Author. 

T he Leayen in the Kingdom, ... 2 c. 

Wholly Following the Lord, . . . 3 c. 

Nicodemus' Foolish Question, ... 2 c. 

The Trinity op Faith, 2 c. 

Seven Steps to Holiness, .... 3 c. 

If it be Thy Will.— A word to the Sick, . 5 c. 



Other Works on Faith Healing. 

)C Dorothea Trudel ; or, The Prayer of Faith, $ 75 

V Faith Cures. By Dr. Cullis, .... 50 

More Faith Cures. By Dr. Cullis, . . 50 

Were They Miracles ? 15 

< The Ministry op Healing. By Rev. A. J. 

Gordon, D. D., 1 30 

The Ministry of Healing (Tract), . . 03 
The Great Physician. By Win. E. Boardman, 

D. D., 1 00 

The Great Physician (Tract). By Mrs. Baxter, 03 

God's Purpose in Sickness, .... 02 

Good News to the Sick. C. PI. Annesley, . 05 
/Dealing of Sickness ; by Scriptural Means. 

By Karl Andreas, 20 

Faith Healing. E. O. Allen, ... 15 

The Word of the Lord Concerning Sickness, 15 

Healing by Faith. Revs. Steele and Gracey, . 10 

Sickness and the Gospel. Pastor Stockrnayer, 15 

The Prayer of Faith. Carrie Judd, . . 25 

Promises for Healing. Dr. G. D. Watson, . 03 



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