Modern Miracles By REV. H. T. DAVIS Class X_L._4 00_ Book ,1)^ GopightN COPYR5GHT DEPOSIT. Modern Miracles BY REV. H. T. DAVIS, Author of " Solitary Places Made Glad," "Perfect Happiness," and "The Shining Way." M. W. KNAPP, Mount of Blessings, Cincinnati, 0. 1901. THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS,' Two Coeita Received JUL 12 1901 Copyright entry etASS^ XXe. N*. copy a Copyright 1901, BY Martin Wells Knapp. PREFACE. Sometime ago, Eev. Eoscoe A. Barnes began gath- ering material for the purpose of writing a book on nineteenth-century miracles. He requested me to write an introduction for the work. This I consented to do. Later, the arduous du- ties of the ministry and the pressing demands of the pastorate caused him to give up the undertaking. When I learned this, I felt wonderfully impressed that I myself ought to write a book on the subject sug- gested by Brother Barnes. Having consented to write the introduction for his book, I was led to read and think a great deal about the matter; and the more I read and thought, the more the subject grew and opened out before me, and the more deeply was I impressed that such a work would be timely and very helpful to all who might chance to read its pages. I am indebted to Brother Barnes for valuable help rendered in preparing this book. This is an age of infidelity. Doubt and uncertainty occupy the minds of many. There is no end to the- 8 4 Preface. ories and speculations. The faith of Christians in all the Churches is very weak. This unbelief is giving birth to the various false "isms" that are springing up on every hand, such as Christian Science, Theosophy, etc. My object in writing this book is to assist in counter- acting the growing skepticism of the day, as well as to help the suffering. It is the same that Mr. Miiller had in view in asking God for money to build his Or- phan Homes. It is to strengthen the faith of Chris- tians, and show to the world that God to-day answers prayer in the material realm, just as He did in the days of Elijah and the days of the apostles. H. T. DAVIS. Lincoln, Neb., April 17, 1901. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAGE. Introductory. 9 CHAPTER II. Christian Science, 17 CHAPTER III. Divine Healing, 24 CHAPTER IV. Spiritual Effects of Divine Healing, .... 29 CHAPTER V. Physical Healing Promised in the Bible, ... 33 CHAPTER VI. The Great Men of the Church on Divine Healing, . . 41 5 6 Contents. CHAPTER VII. PAGHE. Physical Healing in the Primitive Church, ... 51 CHAPTER VIII. The Gift op Healing Restored to the Church after the Dark Ages, 56 CHAPTER IX. Devils Cast Out Under John Wesley, 70 CHAPTER X. The Sick Healed Under John Wesley, .... 77 CHAPTER XI. Further Answers to Prayer in the Physical Realm Under John Wesley, 84 CHAPTER XII. George Muller's Fifty Thousand Answered Prayers, . 88 CHAPTER XIII. Dorothea Trudel, 93 Contents. 7 CHAPTER XIV. PA&B. Bishop Simpson Healed — Bishop Bowman's Testimony, . 100 CHAPTER XV. God's Arm Revealed, 104 CHAPTER XVI. Mary Reed, the Noted Missionary, Healed op Leprosy in Answer to Prayer, . . . . . . Ill CHAPTER XVII. Testimonies op Persons Well Known to the Author, . 115 CHAPTER XVIII. Healed of Cancer. Testimony op Mrs. G. Rolle, . . 123 CHAPTER XIX. The Marvelous Experience op Dr. Finis E. Yoakum, op Los Angeles, California, 128 CHAPTER XX. Testimony op Mrs. L. B. Dearborn, 137 8 Contents. CHAPTEE XXI. PAGE. A Broken Shoulder Instantly Healed in Answer to Prayer, 141 CHAPTER XXII. Additional Testimonies, . 143 CHAPTER XXIII. How to Receive Divine Healing, 155 CHAPTER L INTKODUCTOEY. The tendency of the age, in many quarters, is to rule the supernatural out of everything, and to ascribe to all events a natural cause. This rationalistic trend moves under the name of "Scholarship;" hence is all the more dangerous. This tendency manifests itself to an alarming ex- tent in many of the Churches of the present day. It is seen in the pulpit and in the pew. The old-time, clear- cut, ringing conversions, such as were common in the days of our fathers, are seldom seen in these days. Many are taken into the Churches and reported con- verted who know nothing at all about the new birth. They are strangers to the miraculous change that takes place in every heart that experiences the great work described by our Savior when He said, "Ye must be born again." Neander says, "Conversion is the stand- ing miracle of the ages." The supernatural is not only ruled out of the spir- itual, but almost entirely from the physical realm. In the present volume we propose to prove conclu- sively, beyond even the shadow of a doubt, that to-day, as nineteen hundred years ago, God hears and answers 10 Modern Mieacles. prayer in the physical as well as the spiritual realm. The days of miracles have not passed. The mighty downpour of rain, drenching the dry and thirsty land of Palestine, in answer to Elijah's prayer; the three Hebrew children walking unburnt in the seven times heated fiery furnace, the Form of the Fourth being with them, and coming out without even the smell of fire upon their robes; Daniel in the den, pillowing his head upon the mane of the old lion, and sleeping safely during the night with the savage beasts of prey, lying, mute and harmless as kittens, all around him; the cleansing of the leper; the giving sight to the blind; the calming by a word the storm-lashed sea of Galilee; the feeding of the five thousand with a few loaves and fishes, — were miracles no greater than are being wrought at the present day in answer to prayer. We present in the following pages the testimonies of many who were suffering with diseases that no med- ical skill could possibly reach, healed and made every whit whole in an instant in answer to prayer. These marvelous miracles of Divine healing, it seems, ought to convince even the most skeptical that Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and forever, is just as will- ing, just as able, and just as ready to heal the body now as when He walked along the shores of Galilee. We present in this book nothing but what will stand the test of the most rigid and thorough investigation. Faith is credit given to testimony. We believe the Bible because the testimony in favor of its inspiration is overwhelming. When there is an overwhelming ar- ray of evidence in favor of any truth, what right have Inteodtjctoet. 11 we to cast aside that evidence, and say, "I will not be- lieve it?" No attorney in any civil court ever had such an over- whelming array of evidence to prove his case as we present in this book to prove that God to-day heals the body as well as the soul in answer to prayer. And if the reader refuses to believe the witnesses we place upon the stand, then, for the very same reason, he may re- fuse to believe every witness that has ever testified in any civil court from the creation of the world to the present time. For the very same reason he may refuse to believe everything that is written in the Bible. To ignore these witnesses is to ignore the laws of evidence in all our civil and ecclesiastical courts. We present as witnesses the illustrious names of a host of men and women whose characters are beyond reproach, and whose veracity is absolutely unimpeach- able. If the reader will not believe these witnesses, we can only say, as Abraham said to the rich man, "If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead/' That there are false teachers of Divine healing is no argument against the doctrine. There are false prophets to-day, as there have been in all past ages. There have been spurious professors of religion in every age and in every Church. This fact does not in the least invalidate the great truths of the Christian religion. There are spurious professors of justification and spurious professors of entire sanctification. This fact, however, does not invalidate either of these great 12 Modekkt Miracles. Bible doctrines. The doctrines stand in spite of these hypocritical professors. So there are spurious professors of Divine healing; but this does not in the least affect the great doctrine of Divine healing. The doctrine stands in spite of the false professors who have advocated it. When our Savior was upon earth, He foretold the coming of false prophets. He said, "False Christs and false prophets shall rise and shall show signs and won- ders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect." (Mark xiii, 22.) Dr. J. A. Dowie, of Chicago, seems to be a fulfill- ment of this prophecy. Our Savior more than intimates that false prophets may heal the sick, cast out devils, and do many wonder- ful works. We must remember that "good done and devils cast out and bodies healed by no means proves a person to be a true prophet, as false prophets may bear all these marks, and will have the audacity to flaunt them in the face of God in the judgment." "Many will say unto Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name, and in Thy name cast out devils, and in Thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you. Depart from Me, ye that work iniquity." (Matt, vii, 22.) We indorse the following from the Pentecostal Herald. In referring to Dr. Dowie's bitter attack of Mr. Moody, the Herald says: "His recent tirade against Mr. Moody shows his dia- Intkodttctoky. 13 bolical hatred of all who do not agree with him in every particular. Mr. Moody, according to Dowie, 'let the devil and envy and jealousy and his own ignorant pride and unwillingness to own that God could bless some- body else, come in/ Mr. Dowie further declares that Mr. Moody was stuffed with opiates when dying, and his beautiful words that he saw earth receding and heaven opening to view, were the result of his condition — that he was drunk. He says: 'I do not care for what he said on his death-bed. A man who is under the influ- ence of hypodermic injections of morphine, etc., is drunk. He is like the Chinaman who has smoked the opium- pipe. He has beautiful and pleasant visions; but they are not of God/ Those who were present during Mr. Moody's sickness deny that he was under the influence of morphine or any other narcotic. Mr. Dowie's words seem to have been wholly without foundation in fact. Mr. Moody did not indorse Dr. Dowie, and Dr. Dowie declares that the curse of God was upon him in conse- quence; that he would have lived to do good work for ten more years but for that. Dowie makes the most extravagant claims to being a prophet of God, and thun- ders his anathemas against all who dare oppose him. His utterances remind one very forcibly of the extravagant claims of the popes of Eome and the terrible denuncia- tion they pronounced in the name of God upon all who dared question their infallibility. "Dr. Dowie is evidently using the simple truth of Divine healing for the advancement of his own selfish ends. It is cause of great regret that men should make merchandise of the gospel. 14 Modern Miracles. "It is confessed that some remarkable cases of heal- ing have taken place under Dr. Dowie, but these are accounted for as follows: "Some really trust in God, and receive healing, in spite of man or methods. "Some are dominated by the stronger will of Dowie and his co-laborers, and receive a kind of mind healing. "Some are hypnotized, and claim healing while yet possessed of disease. "Some come with imaginary diseases, and claim heal- ing when their delusion is simply dispelled for the time. "A large per cent claim healing, but either die at the institution, or die soon after leaving it. "Now, we wish it understood that we thoroughly be- lieve in Divine healing, but not in going to Chicago or anywhere else to obtain it; but just where you look up to God in faith, there and then the work will be done." God strangely permits the devil to have access to men, and to afflict them now as he did Job. God restrains the devil, and allows him to be an instrument of judgment. Sickness comes from Satan, it comes from natural causes, and it comes by Divine permission. Sometimes it is per- mitted as a chastisement. If God is in the chastening, God alone can command its removal. He who permits the sickness, the suffering, the chastening, will remove it in answer to the prayer of faith. Mr. Wesley in his notes on James v, 14, "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: and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up," says: "This Intkoductoey. 15 single conspicuous gift, which Christ committed to His apostles, remained in the Church long after other mirac- ulous gifts were withdrawn. This was the whole pro- cess of physic in the Christian Church till it was lost through unbelief." If the gift of healing were lost through unbelief, as Mr. Wesley says, may it not be restored by faith? This we verily believe. The prayer of faith brings healing to the body to-day, just as it did in the days of our Savior, as thousands are ready to testify. There is a strange inconsistency in many ministers, and many of our laymen as well. Ministers of all ortho- dox denominations will go into the sick-room of their parishioners, get down upon their knees, and pray ear- nestly that God may heal the sick. Sometimes they will pray that Cod may bless the means and restore to health the sick, and at other times they will offer a prayer some- thing like the following: a O God, we ask Thee, for Thy Son's sake, rebuke the disease, and restore to health this sick person/' Many and many a time I have myself offered such a prayer as that in the sick-room. All our ministers teach their people, in public and private, almost daily, that God will in answer to prayer heal the sick. And yet if a person comes out and publicly declares that Jesus Christ to-day, in answer to prayer, will heal the body without medicine, just as He did when here upon earth nineteen hundred years ago, these very same per- sons will lift up their hands in holy horror, and cry "Fanaticism!" We are orthodox on our knees, but heter- odox on our feet. "0 consistency, thou art a jewel!" "The prayer of faith shall saye the sick, and the 16 MODEKN MlEACLES. Lord shall raise him up." James does not say the oil will heal him, a little medicine will heal him. But he says emphatically, "The Lord shall raise him up." Jesus Christ, by His own omnipotent power alone, will raise him up in answer to the prayer of faith. And thousands on thousands in the present century have had that posi- tive promise fulfilled to the very letter. This we expect to make as clear as the noon-day sun in the following pages. CHAPTER II. CHKISTIAN SCIENCE. But says one, "What about Christian Science?" "Is not your doctrine of Divine healing the same as Christian Science?" Not at all. They are as unlike as day and night. Not long ago the editor of a great Church paper classed Divine healing with Christian Science, making no difference between the two. Such a reckless statement shows either gross ignorance or maliciousness, either of which in one who pretends to be a teacher of the people is unjustifiable. The wonderful power the mind has over the body is well known to many, and especially to the medical fra- ternity. Doctors often give sham medicine to persons suffering from hysteria. A little pellet of sugar without a particle of medicine in it will often cure the patient suffering from a supposed terrible and dangerous disease. Christian Science has performed some wonderful cures among those afflicted with hysteria and hypochondria. Over such persons Christian Science has had great power. Paul says: "For Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light; therefore it is no great thing if his min- isters also be transformed as the ministers of righteous- ness; whose end shall be according to their works." 2 17 18 Modern Miracles. (2 Cor. xi, 14, 15.) Satan to-day appears as an angel of light. "It belongs to the art of his ministers to trans- form themselves. It is not in appearing as evil that Satan and his servants have the greatest power; but in appear- ing as good and beautiful — as angels of light." This, Satan has most skillfully done, not only in spirit- ualism, but in what is known as Christian Science. It is in the nature of the cunning craftiness of the devil to so counterfeit the works of Christ as to beguile the un- wary, and lead them away from the simplicity of the truth in Jesus. Many insist that Christian Science and Divine healing are the same; but the fact is, there is no likeness whatever, and not a particle of sympathy. Christian Science, falsely so-called, is one of the most subtle, insidious, deceptive systems ever proposed by Satan to ruin men. The enemy has thrown out this snare, and he is drawing men and women into it by the thousand. Many of our best men and women are insidiously drawn into this snare by the superficial tracts and publi- cations of the Christian Science leaders. These tracts do not give the real teachings of Mrs. Eddy, the founder of this system, but they represent that Christian Science is, like Divine healing, founded on the Bible. The leaders do not allow Mrs. Edd/s book to go into the hands of their victims until they are quite sure they have them snared and under their complete control. I am not writing at random. I know whereof I affirm. Some twelve years ago or more a friend of ours, and a member of the same Church, but a believer in Christian Science, would, whenever opportunity offered, talk to my Christian Science. 19 wife on her favorite theme. One day when talking to my wife on the subject she said, "You don't condemn Christian Science?" "No," said my wife. "I do n't know anything about Christian Science. I do n't condemn a thing I know nothing at all about." Then she gave my wife a kind invitation to attend one of their meetings, and she accepted it, taking with her our youngest daughter. Mrs. Eaton, one of the great teachers of their doc- trine, was present. Mrs. Eaton and others that were there went through their silent incantations. They tried hard to draw my wife and daughter into their snare, and did all they possibly could to exert their mesmeric power over them. But failed utterly. When the meeting closed, Mrs. Eaton wanted to sell my wife one of Mrs. Eddy's books. But our friend spoke up in an instant, and said, "0 no, Mrs. Davis is not ready for this book yet." She knew very well that they had failed to convince her, and that it would not do at all at that stage to let her know their real doctrines. Mrs. Eddy says in her book, "That there is neither a personal Deity, a personal devil, nor a personal man." She says, "Jesus was the name of a man." A Divine Christ has no place in her creed. She says: "All is mind; there is no matter. All is harmony; there is no discord. All is life; there is no death. All is good; there is no evil." "There is no sin." If there is no sin, of course there is no atonement for sin, so farewell to the whole Chris- tian system. Again, says Mrs. Eddy: "Everything is mind. On this statement I stand." (Science and Health, page 424.) 20 Modern Miracles. That is the foundation on which Christian Science rests. If "all is mind/' then the hody exists only in thought, or, in other words, is not a reality at all. "All is mind; therefore, there can he no such thing as sin. "All is mind;" therefore there is really no pain, no suffering, no sickness, no sorrow. What seems so is of the mind. That is the message of Christian Science to the sick, the suffering, and the sorrowing. We are to think all the evil out of existence, "How is your grandfather this morning, Bridget?" said a Christian Science practitioner to an Irish child. "He still has the rheumatics mighty bad, mum," was the answer. "You mean he thinks he has the rheumatism. There is no such thing as rheumatism." "Yes, mum," responded the child. A few days later they met again. "And does your grandfather still persist in his de- lusion that he has the rheumatism?" "No mum, the poor man thinks now he is dead. We buried him yesterday." That is not even a caricature of the new fad. Christian Science is one of the most fatal isms of the age. It is antichristian in its teachings, and there can be no fellowship whatever between it and Divine healing. The Gnostics of the first century claimed that the body of Jesus Christ was a myth, or, as now set forth by Chris- tian Science, as an "idea." To meet this Gnostic mysti- cism John wrote his first epistle. And he shows very clearly that the Christian Science of to-day is the anti- Christian Science. 21 christ that should come into the world. "Beloved, be- lieve not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God; and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God; and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world." (1 John iv, 1-3.) Our Savior declares in the thirteenth chapter of Mark, that at last "False Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall show signs and wonders to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. But take ye heed, behold I have foretold you all things." The Christian Science leaders are the false prophets spoken of by Christ who should come in the last days, and by their "signs and wonders" would seduce even the very best. They are doing to-day just what Christ fore- told they would do. While the doctrine of Christian Science contradicts reason and common sense, there are at the same time, strange as it may seem, many intelligent and very sincere people who are carried away with, and really believe it. We remember distinctly when pastor at Beatrice nine- teen years ago, three families who were leading members of our Church. They were devoted and very active. The heads of two of these families were official members. After we left the station they were carried away with Christian Science, and left the Church. The parents of one of these families had a son some twelve years old. 22 Modern Miracles. This son took the typhoid fever. His parents told him he was not sick, that he only had a belief that he was sick. They would not allow him to lie down. One morn- ing while the poor boy was suffering intensely from the growing fever, he was ordered to go out and harness the horses, and while in the act of trying to harness one, fell dead beside the horse. The father and mother separated. The mother became a Christian Science doctor. Years afterwards I met that woman at the depot in Beatrice. The meek, mild, gentle, modest Christian look she once had was gone, and there was a bold, brazen look upon her face that made me shudder. The husband of one of the other families became a Christian Science doctor, and the last we heard of him he was in the East practicing his art. In other places, among other families, we have known of the same sad ruin it has wrought. The awful havoc that Christian Science has made in many families is abso- lutely appalling. No such sad effects follow Divine healing. I believe that if we had preached and taught the doc- trine of Divine healing, just as it is taught in the Bible, we might have saved thousands from being carried away by the awful Christian Science delusion, and other thou- sands from being carried away by Dowieism. Is not the Church, therefore, responsible, to an ex- tent at least, for these growing evils? I am sure this is the case, and yet at the same time I do not feel like criti- cising or finding fault with the Church, for I myself have been so slow to see this Bible doctrine in its true light. I attribute my slowness to apprehend this great truth Cheistian Science. 23 to early teachings. I was early taught by great and good men that miracles were withdrawn from the Church at the close of the Apostolic age. Had I read more care- fully in my early life the teachings of John Wesley, the Christian Fathers, the standard authors of the Church, and the Bible on this subject, I never would have believed any such thing. Human opinions, human theories, all human teach- ings, do not count the weight of a feather with me, unless they tally perfectly with the Bible. I have found that some great and good men have made grave mistakes. So if the teachings of men do not square precisely with the Word of God, I cast them aside. Men are fallible. God alone is infallible. The only infallible book in the world is the Bible. CHAPTER III. DIVINE HEALING. Divine healing and Christian Science are antipodal. Those who believe ia Divine healing, believe that Jesus Christ is God over all and blessed for evermore; and that by His Divine power alone we are healed. Divine healing is not Christian Science; it is not imaginary healing; it is not simply the exercise of will power; it is not mind cure; it is not spiritualism; it is not faith healing; it is not immunity from death, nor from sickness. Those who believe in Divine healing get sick, and when their work is done they die. It is not presumption, or a disregard of God's will. It is the direct Power of God exercised upon the body. It is the per- sonal indwelling of Christ by His Spirit in our body, healing it from disease, just as the personal indwelling of the Holy Ghost heals the soul from sin. It is an argument that proves beyond a peradventure that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever. Jesus to-day touches the body and heals it, in answer to the prayer of faith, just as He touched the eyes of the blind man when here upon earth and healed them. Glory unto the Triune Jehovah forever! "We speak that we do know, and testify that we have 24J Divine Healing. 25 seen," and have experienced. We have felt the Divine touch in our own body, and its rapturous thrill by far exceeded anything we ever felt in all our life before. There is nothing in all the wide world that Satan hates so much as he does Divine healing. If Jesus Christ heals the body of disease to-day, just as He did when He walked the earth nineteen hundred years ago, that fact strikes a blow at Satan's empire that shakes it to its very center. No wonder, then, that the devil should rally all his forces to oppose this Bible doctrine. Again, Divine healing is the fulfillment of those prom- ises that can not possibly be explained by those who take the ground that mriacles ceased at the close of the Apos- tolic age. There is a long list of promises that are ig- nored in all our public teachings. It seems that a portion of Eevelation has, by common consent, been set aside. Do we believe that God means just what He plainly de- clares? or, if we believe it, do we fear the charge of fanaticism if we openly declare that we take God at His Word? When the thoughtful Christian, in his daily read- ing of the Scriptures, meets with any of these wonderful promises made to believers, he often pauses to ask him- self, "What can these words mean?" Can it be that God has made such wonderful promises as these to me, and to such men as I am?" "If I am sick, can I ask God to heal me?" "Is prayer really a power with God? Is it not merely a power, but is it a transcendent power, accomplishing what no other power can, overruling all other agencies, and rendering them subservient to its own wonderful efficiency?" I think there are few devout believers of the Bible to whom these questions are not 26 Modern Miracles. frequently suggested. We ask them, but we do not wait for an answer. These promises seem to us to be ad- dressed either to a past or coming age, but not to us at the present day. And yet with such views the devout soul is not satisfied. The promises made to believing prayer are explicit, positive, numerous, and diversified. Our difficulty seems to be this: the promise is so "ex- ceeding great" that we can not conceive that God really means what He clearly appears to have revealed. The blessing seems too vast for our comprehension. We "stagger at the promises through unbelief," and thus fail to secure the treasure which was purchased for us by Jesus Christ. Take the following promises: "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth: and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" (Matt, vii, 7-11.) "Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My Father which is in heaven." (Matt, xviii, 19.) "All things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believ- ing, ye shall receive." (Matt, xxi, 22.) "Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye Divine Healing. 27 desire, when ye pray believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." (Mark xi, 24.) "Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in My name, I will do it." (John xiv, 13,14.) "If our heart condemn ns not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight." (1 John iii, 21, 22.) ¥ow we do not claim that all the foregoing promises apply literally to the physical realm. But we do claim that some of them do, and are to be so taken, or God does not mean what He says. Some of these promises are not confined to the spir- itual realm alone. They reach out into the physical realm as well. James says (v, 14, 15): "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. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up." The apostle illustrates what he means by availing prayer, by the example of Elias, a man subject to like passions as we are. "He 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 heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit." The apostle here clearly teaches that God answers prayer in the physical world to-day, just as He did in the days of Elijah. 28 MODEEtf MlKACLES. Divine healing, therefore, is the fulfillment of many promises in the Bible that can not possibly be explained by those who hold that miracles ceased at the close of the Apostolic age. Before these wonderful promises the ob- jector to modern miracles stands dumb. If you will go to Christ in unshaken confidence — with a faith that "laughs at impossibilities" — Jesus will honor your faith, grant your request, and heal your body. Exceptions. "All general rules have their exceptions, and that of healing is not exempt. "Exception of the time when one's life-work is com- pleted. "Exception of when, as with Job, healing is tempo- rarily delayed for the purpose of discipline; or, in other cases, of correction. "Exception of all those who neglect to meet the con- ditions upon which it is extended." "Happy are the people who have learned to look to Christ for the healing of their bodies as well as the sal- vation of their souls, and give Him all the praise for both. This does not preclude, but embraces, conformity to sanitary laws that govern the body, and the exercising of common sense, precaution, and care for it." * *M. W. Knapp. CHAPTER IV. SPIKITUAL EFFECTS OF DIVINE HEALING. The spiritual effects of the healing of the body by- faith are far greater than the physical benefits derived. He who takes the Lord Jesus Christ as the Healer of the body has reached the Alpine heights of spirituality. He stands upon a spiritual altitude far above any on which he ever stood before. He is a little nearer heaven, and breathes a purer atmosphere than ever. The bodily bene- fits are almost entirely lost sight of by the overwhelming spiritual glories that surround and envelop his whole being. I never shall forget the joy that came into my soul when God, for Christ's sake, pardoned all my sins, and the Holy Ghost bore witness with my spirit that I was a child of God. I leaped to my feet and shouted, "Glory to God in the highest!" That wonderful event stands out in the history of my past life like a great mountain peak, towering far above all the plains below. Then I never shall forget the joy and wonderful peace that came so gently and quietly into my soul when God, for Christ's sake, sanctified me wholly. I was on my face in the straw at the Bennett Camp-meeting when the cleansing blood swept through my soul, washing it whiter 29 30 Modern Miracles. than snow, and the peace of God which passeth all under- standing began to flow into my heart. These were marvelous events in my life, and brought to my soul blessings which continue to this day, and for which I shall praise God for ever and ever. But when the physical evidence came to me that God, for Christ's sake, had healed my body of a disease of thirty five years' standing, there swept through my soul thrills of rapturous joy that no language can possibly describe. Wave after wave of glory rolled over my whole being. I was a little nearer in touch with the Divine Christ than ever. It is a great thing to have Jesus Christ by His Spirit come into the soul, cleanse it from all sin, and then take up His abode and abide there. But when Jesus Christ touches the body and heals it, thrills of rapturous joy go through the soul, such as were never before experienced. This is something tangible. And it makes the whole system of Christianity appear more real than ever before. Some years ago I was very remarkably drawn out after God. I had at the time the clear evidence that I was fully saved. I had no doubt whatever as to my entire sanctification. I was conscious that the. blood of Jesus Christ did cleanse my heart from all sin. But still I longed for more. I had read the experience of some, and heard the experience of others, who, I thought, had a far richer, deeper, and mightier baptism than I had ever had. And so I told God, if there was anything more for me that would better equip me for my work in soul- saving, I wanted it. I think I felt as David did when he cried out, "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, Spikitfal Effects of Divine Healing. 31 so panteth my soul after Thee, God!" Then the ques- tion of Divine healing was brought to my mind. The suggestion came to me, "The Lord healed your wife, in answer to prayer, of a disease the doctors could not pos- sibly cure ; why do n't you ask God to heal you of your indigestion?" I began a careful and prayerful study of the Bible, and was soon convinced that it was my privilege to claim healing for the body as well as for the soul. Then I asked God to give me the necessary faith. God answered my prayer, and gave me "the gift of faith." When the physical evidence came that I was healed, the spiritual blessing was far greater than the physical. I can not better illustrate this than by referring to an incident in my past life: , Some years ago I was very sick. My friends all thought I was going to die. I was very low, and only a few of my nearest relatives were admitted into my room. That was the happiest period of my life. I was just on the borders of heaven, and was breathing the fragrant odors of the skies. All about me was pure love. When my children came around me, they seemed all love. When my wife came near, she was all love. Every one that came into my room was all love. The bliss of that period no language can possibly describe. I was floating in an atmosphere of love. I did not die, however. I got well, and when I recovered I thought I never should have such an experience as that again until I get just as near heaven as I was at that time. Well, when God healed my body of a disease of long years' standing I had a similar experience. Along with 32 Modern Mieacles. that healing there came a wonderful baptism of love. I seemed surrounded with an atmosphere of pure love. It was with me by day and with me by night, week in and week out, and, to an extent, it is with me to-day. I do not pretend to say that every one who takes Christ as the Healer of the body will have just such an experience as I had; but the almost universal verdict of those who have trusted Christ for the healing of the body is, The spiritual blessings received are far greater than the physical benefits derived. CHAPTER V. PHYSICAL HEALING PEOMISED IN THE BIBLE. A few years ago, being led by the Holy Ghost, as I verily believe, I began a most careful and prayerful study of the Bible on the subject of Divine healing. I prayed earnestly that the Holy Ghost might lead me into the light touching this matter. In the Old Testament I found many promises that God would heal the sick. I turned to Exodus xxiii, 25: "I will take sickness away from the midst of thee." And in Deuteronomy vii, 15, I read: "The Lord will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee." These promises were fulfilled in a very remarkable manner all along the centuries, down to the close of the Jewish dispensation. Abraham offered the prayer of faith, and Abimeleeh and his household were healed. Moses cried to God for Miriam, saying, "Heal her now, God, I beseech Thee." At the end of seven days the leprosy departed. Naaman the Syrian was recovered of his leprosy by the faith of Elisha; Hezekiah was raised up from his death- bed in answer to prayer, and his life lengthened by fifteen 3 33 i 34 Modern Miracles. years. These cases of healing were not confined to the opening of the dispensation, but belonged to its entire history. Solomon prayed at the dedication of the temple: "Whatsoever sore, or whatsoever sickness there be; then what prayer, or what supplication soever shall be made of any man, or of all Thy people Israel, then hear Thou from heaven, Thy dwelling-place, and forgive." (2 Chron. vi, 29, 30. G-od answered Solomon, saying: "I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication that thou hast made before Me; I have hallowed this house to put My name there forever." (1 Kings ix, 3.) "If I shut up heaven, or if I send pestilence among My people; if My people 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." (2 Chron. vii, 13, 14.) Here is a broad and glorious promise, and we know from the history of the prophets and saints how "con- stantly this promise opened to the key of faith and poured forth its treasures." All this God did for His people under the old dis- pensation. Is He not willing to do as much for His people now? Indeed, how much greater things might we expect under the new! When Jesus, the great Cap- tain of our salvation, ascended to heaven, He gave gifts to men. First the Comforter, the great and supreme gift, to abide perpetually in the Church; and with the Comforter and through Him, "miracles, then gifts of healing," etc. (1 Cor. xii, 28.) Physical Healing Promised. 35 I turned to the New Testament, and the first thing that struck me with great force was Christ's command to His disciples: "And when He had called unto Him His twelve disciples, He gave them power against un- clean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease/' Then He said to them, "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." (Matt, x, 1; vii, 8.) "And He ordained twelve that they should be with Him, and that He might send them forth to preach, and to have power to heal sickness, and to cast out devils." (Mark iii, 14, 15.) "Then He called His twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. And He sent them to preach the king- dom, and to heal the sick." (Luke ix, 1, 2.) When our Savior appointed the seventy, and sent them forth, He said unto them, "Into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you, and heal the sick that are therein." (Luke x, 8, 9.) Here we see that each one of the evangelists, in speaking of Christ's commission to the disciples to preach the gospel, couples with it the command to heal the sick. And I could not find a single syllable in the Bible to show that this command had ever been repealed. After our Savior's resurrection, just a little while before He ascended to heaven, He gave to His disciples the great commission, "Go ye into all the world, and 36 Modekn Miracles. preach the gospel to every creature." And one of the signs that was to follow the preaching of the gospel to every creature was, "They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." (Mark xvi, 15, 18.) The question came to me with wonderful force as I read this passage, "Has Christ ever changed the great commission He gave to His disciples to preach the gos- pel to every creature?" "Has that command ever been repealed?" All our missionaries are sent forth in obe- dience to this command. Every effort to evangelize the world is put forth in compliance with the great commis- sion. Then another burning question came home to me with tremendous force and power, "Is it said anywhere in the New Testament Scriptures that the signs that were to follow the preaching of the gospel to every crea- ture should at any time in the future cease?" The command stands. All admit this. Should not the signs follow as well? If we admit the one, how dare we reject the other? The next question that rose in my mind was, "Did the disciples heal the sick?" They were commanded by the Savior to heal the sick and cure diseases. Did they do it? I turned to Mark vi, 12, 13: "And they went out, and preached that men should repent. And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them." A certain man, lame from his mother's womb, who lay daily at the gate of the temple, and asked alms of them that entered into the temple, was instantly healed by the faith of Peter and John. "Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have I give thee. Physical Healing Pkomised. 37 In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. And he took him by the hand, and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle-bones received strength. And he, leaping up, stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking and leaping and praising God." (Acts iii, 6-8.) Philip wrought miracles of healing in the city of Samaria. , "For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them; and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed." (Acts viii, 7.) "And it came to pass that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux, to whom Paul en- tered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him. So when this was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came and were healed." (Acts xxviii, 8, 9.) "And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother's womb, who never had walked. The same heard Paul speak, who, steadfastly beholding him, perceiving that he had faith to be healed, said, with a loud voice, Stand upon thy feet. And he leaped and walked." (Acts xiv, 8-10.) Not only did the Twelve and the Seventy work mir- acles of healing, but Paul and Barnabas, many years afterwards, did the same. Thirty years after the crucifixion of Christ the same command that had been given to the disciples was given to the Church by the Holy Ghost. You will find it in James v, 14, 15. "Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the Church, and let them pray 38 Modern Miracles. 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." Then the question arose, "Have these commands, given by Christ to His disciples, and given by the Holy Ghost through James to the Church, ever been re- pealed?" I could not find a single syllable in the Bible that goes to show that these commands had ever been abro- gated. The conclusion was irresistible. Are they not just as binding upon us to-day as they were when they were given to the Church nineteen hundred years ago? Again, when Christ was here upon earth, He healed all manner of sickness and all manner of diseases. The blind received their sight, the lame walked, the lepers were cleansed, the deaf were made to hear, and the sick were healed. Never in all the history of His life did the Savior turn any away who appealed to Him for help. He healed all who came to Him, and asked to be healed. Paul says, in the thirteenth chapter of Hebrews, eighth verse, "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and forever." Jesus Christ has gone up into the presence of the Father with a perfect human body; and to-day, as nine- teen hundred years ago, He is "touched with the feel- ings of our infirmities." He feels toward us to-day just as He did when He wept at the grave of Lazarus; just as He did when He had compassion on the hungry mul- titudes, and fed them; just as He did when He was moved with compassion toward the multitudes that fol- Physical Healing Promised. 39 lowed Him, and healed their sick. His great heart of sympathy goes out toward the suffering now just as it did then. He is just as ready and just as willing and just as able to heal the sick now as He was when He walked along the shores of Galilee. These were the thoughts that came crowding in upon my mind as I studied this subject. Having been convinced from the clear and unequiv- ocal declarations of the Bible that the power to heal the sick was not limited to the old dispensation, nor to the Apostolic age, but was perpetual, for all times, down to the winding up of the world's history, for us to-day as well as for the disciples of old, another question rose in my mind, namely, "Is Divine healing in the atone- ment?" "Did Christ, in the atonement, provide for the healing of the body as well as the soul?" When this question came to me, I just got down on my knees, with my Bible open before me, and offered this prayer: "0 my Father, I ask You, in the name and for the sake of Thine only begotten Son, and for Thy glory, turn the searchlight of the Holy Ghost on Thy Word, and show me whether provision has been made in the atonement for the healing of the body." I turned to Isaiah liii, 4: "Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted." I made this note in the margin: "Christ bore in His body all our sins, and the consequences of sin, spiritually and bodily. Is it not clear, then, that there is bodily healing pro- vided in the atonement?" I was very clearly im- pressed that there was, and yet I was not altogether 40 Modern Miracles. satisfied. There was still a doubt hanging over my mind. I wanted something still more definite. I turned to the eighth chapter of Matthew, and read of Christ's cleansing the leper, and healing the centurion's servant, and how He touched the hand of Peter's wife's mother, as she lay sick with a fever, and immediately the fever left her, and she arose and ministered unto them, and how He delivered all that were possessed of devils, and healed all that were sick. These wonderful miracles were all wrought, as we are told in the seventeenth verse, "That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and hare our sicknesses." When I read these words, I was thrilled. They went through me like an electric shock. Tears rolled down my face, and I said: "Here it is, clear as the noonday sun. Divine healing is in the atonement." "He bare our sicknesses." I was clearly convinced that Divine heal- ing was in the atonement, not in the same sense that regeneration and sanctification are, and needs the appli- cation of the blood of Christ. But sickness being one of the sad consequences of sin, and Christ having borne in His body all the consequences of sin, therefore every sick person who can offer "the prayer of faith" may be healed. When all these facts were clearly brought before me from a careful and prayerful study of the Bible, aided by the Holy Ghost, I felt that I had a foundation as firm as God's eternal throne, on which to base my faith that God would heal the body in answer to prayer. CHAPTER VI. THE GREAT MEN OF THE CHURCH ON DIVINE HEALING. Having been clearly convinced by a prayerful study of the naked Word of God that Divine healing is posi- tively promised in the Bible, and that provision has been made in the atonement for the healing of the body as well as the soul, I began carefully to look up authorities. First. What do the great men of the Church teach touching Divine healing being in the atonement? French, the author of that wonderful book on the miracles of our Lord, the clearest and most critical on the great truths of the miracles wrought by our Savior, says (page 33): "Then, if we ask ourselves, What are the physical manifestations of sin? they are sicknesses of all kinds, fevers, palsies, leprosies, blindness, each of these death beginning, a partial death, and, finally, the death abso- lute of the body. This region, therefore, is fitly another, as it is the widest region of His redemptive grace. In the conquering and removing of these evils, He emi- nently bodied forth the idea of Himself as the Redeemer of men." Dr. William Nast, the great commentator and founder 41 42 Modern Miracles. of German Methodism in America, and one of the most devoted of God's servants, as well as one of the ripest scholars of his day, in his comments on Matthew viii, 17, gives us Mr. Watson's views touching the atonement of the body. And Mr. Watson is recognized as a great standard in the Christian Church. Mr. Watson says: "Whatever blessings, therefore, our Lord bestowed during His ministry on earth were given with reference to that bearing of the penalty of sin which He was ulti- mately to sustain, and by virtue of which He was to take it away in all its consequences, to all those who would come to Him in faith. And as by virtue of that anticipated atonement, He, while on earth, forgave sins, so, by virtue of the same anticipated atonement, He healed the diseases of the body, all of which are the fruits of sin. Whenever, therefore, He did either of these, removing either sin itself from the conscience of men, or any of its consequences from their persons, in virtue of His being the appointed sin-offering, these words of the prophet, 'Surely He has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows/ were directly fulfilled. Since these were the proofs and effects of His substitution in our place as the accepted sacrifice, they were all, in a word, demonstrative of the efficacy of His atonement." Whedon, the ablest and most critical commentator in Methodism, unless it be Adam Clarke, says, on Matthew viii, 17: "Took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses. Sick- ness, mortality, temporal death, are as truly a part of the great penalty of sin as the very pains of hell itself. Great Men on Divine Healing. 43 All these were borne by the Savior in the form of aton- ing sufferings on the cross. He healed sickness, there- fore, by bearing even them in His own body on the tree." Bengel, on Matthew viii, 17, says: "It represents Christ, not as our Physician, but as sufferer for us. His burden was less the healing than that there were sicknesses to heal. He bore them by bearing our suffering life, in order to remove them." Alford, on Matthew viii, 17, says: "The very act of compassion (as the name imports), a suffering with its object, and if this be true between man and man, how much more strictly so in His case who had taken upon Him the whole burden of the sin of the world, with all its sad train of sorrow and suf- fering." All these standard authors of the Church recognize the great fact that in the atonement made by Jesus Christ provision has been made for the sickness of the body. So when we say Divine healing is in the atone- ment, we are not out of harmony with the great and leading lights of the Church: French, Nast, Whedon, Clarke, Watson, Alford, and Bengel. Before the wisdom of these great and devoted men the Church bows with reverence to-day. Second. Was Divine healing to continue in the Church? So far as I have been able to learn, the Word of God nowhere states that it was not. Jesus said it was to follow as the result of believing. "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." And 44 Modern Mieacles. one of the signs that was to follow was, "They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." (Mark xvi, 15, 18.) Says an eminent writer, "Jesus does not limit the time, and I know of no Scripture that does; and until God annuls His own Word I must stand by it." Stier, the commentator, puts the two sayings side by side, and bids us look at them. "He that believeth shall be saved." "Them that believe, these signs shall follow." "Both the one and the other apply to ourselves down to the present day, and indeed for all future time. Every one applies the first part of the saying to our- selves, teaching everywhere that faith and baptism are necessary in all ages to salvation, and that unbelief in all ages excludes from it. But what right has any to separate the words that Jesus immediately added from His former words? Where is it said that these former words have reference to all men and all Christians, but that the promised signs which should follow those who believed referred solely to the Christians of the first age? What God hath joined together, let no man put asunder." The great reformers and the great commentators believed in Divine healing, and that it was to continue in the Church throughout all ages. Martin Luther said, "God gave me back my dear Philip in direct answer to prayer." The great reformer knew where to go to find the needed supply for the body. John Wesley says (Volume V, page 328): "Yet I do not know that God hath any way pre- cluded Himself from thus exerting His sovereign power, Great Men on Divine Healing. 45 from working miracles in any kind or degree, in any age, to the end of the world. I do not recollect any Scripture wherein we are taught that miracles were to be confined within the limits either of the Apostolic or Cyprianic age ; or of any period of time, longer or shorter, even to the restitution of all things. I have not ob- served, either in the Old Testament or the New, any intimation at all of this kind." "But He does not say, either, that these, or any other miracles, shall cease till faith and hope shall cease also, till they all shall be swallowed up in the vision of God, and love be all in all." Again, says Wesley, on James v, 14: "This single conspicuous gift, which Christ commit- ted to His apostles (Mark vi, 13), remained in the Church long after the other miraculous gifts were with- drawn. Indeed, it seems to have been designed to remain alwa3^s; and St. James directs the elders, who were the most, if not the only gifted men, to administer it. This was the whole process of physic in the Christian Church, till it was lost through unbelief." Whedon, to whom I have referred, the great Meth- odist commentator — Acts iii: "This power, we doubt not, still exists in the Church, were it faithfully exerted." Wesley — Mark vi, 13: " 'They anointed with oil many that were sick. 5 Which St. James gives as a general direction (v, 11, 15), adding those peremptory words, 'And the Lord shall heal him.' He shall be restored to health, not by the natural efficacy of the oil, but by the supernatural blessing of God. And it seems this was the great standing means of healing desperate dis- eases in the Christian Church long before 'extreme unc- 46 Modern Miracles. tion' was used or heard of, which bears scarce any re- semblance to it, the former being used as a means of health, the latter only when life is despaired of." Wesley — Mark xvi, 17: "It was not one faith by which St. Paul was saved, another by which he wrought mir- acles. Even at this day, in every believer, faith has a latent miraculous power (every effect of prayer being really miraculous), although in many, both because of their own littleness of faith, and because the world is unworthy, that power is not exerted. Miracles in the beginning were helps to faith; now also they are the object of it. At Leonberg, in the memory of our fathers, a cripple that could hardly move with crutches, while the dean was preaching on this very text, was, in a mo- ment, made whole." Bengel, on James v, 14, says: "What Christ had committed to the apostles was afterwards continued in the Church, even after the apostles' times, even longer than any other. It even seems to have been given by Cod that it might always remain in the Church as a specimen of the other gifts, just as the portion of manna betokened the ancient mir- acle." Dr. Adam Clarke, Matthew viii, 13: "God is the same in the present time that He was in ancient days; and miracles of healing may be wrought in our own bodies and souls, and on those of others, by the instrumentality of faith. But, alas! where is faith to be found?" Dr. Chalmers believed that the gift of healing was to Gkeat Men on Divine Healino. 47 continue throughout all time. He says, on Mark xvi, 17, 18: "The great and common mistake with regard to the gifts is that they were intended merely to authenticate or to witness to the inspiration of the Canon of Scrip- ture, and 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. Had the faith of the Church continued pure and full, these gifts of the Spirit would never have dis- appeared. There is no revocation by Christ of that word.' 7 Joseph Benson, the Methodist commentator, was a firm believer in Divine healing. Mr. Benson gives the following account of the marvelous healing of his own daughter, Ann Mather, in answer to prayer. It is found in Mr. Benson's journal, and was published in the Lon- don Methodist Magazine: "October 4th. — This evening the Lord has shown us an extraordinary instance of His love and power. My dear Ann yet remained without any use of either her limbs, and indeed, without the least feeling of them, or ability to walk or step, or lay the least weight upon them, nor had she any use of them for upward of twelve months. I was very much afraid that the sinews would be con- tracted, and that she would lose the use of them for- ever. We prayed, however, incessantly that this might not be the case, but that it would please the Lord, for the sake of her three little children, to restore her. This day a part of my family and some of my pious 48 Modern Miracles. friends went to take tea at her house, Mr. Mather bring- ing her down in his arms into the dining-room. After tea I spoke of the certainty of God's hearing the prayer of His faithful people, and repeated many of the prom- ises to that purpose. I also enlarged on Christ's being the same yesterday, to-day, and forever, and still both able and willing to give relief to His afflicted people; that, though He had doubtless done many of His mir- acles of healing chiefly to prove Himself to be the Mes- siah, yet that He did not do them for that end only, but also to grant relief to human misery, out of his great compassion for suffering mankind; and that not a few of his other miracles of mercy he had wrought principally or only for this latter purpose, and that He was still full of compassion for the miserable. I then said, 'Ann, before we go to prayer, we will sing the hymn which was full of consolation to your mother/ and I gave out the words of the hymn beginning: ' Thy arm, Lord, is not shortened now, It wants not now the power to save ; Still present with thy people, thou,' etc. "After singing, we then kneeled down to pray, and Ann took her infant child to give it the breast, that it might not disturb us with crying while we were en- gaged in prayer. I prayed first, and then Mr. McDon- ald, all the company joining fervently in our supplica- tions. We pleaded in prayer the Lord's promises, and especially that He has said that whatever two or three of His people should agree to ask, it should be done for them. (Matt, xviii, 19.) Immediately on our rising from our knees, Ann beckoned to the nurse to take the Gkeat Men on Divine Healing. 49 child, and then instantly rose up, and said, 'I can walk; I feel I can/ and proceeded half over the room, when her husband, afraid she should fall, stepped to her, say- ing, 'My dear Ann, what are you about T "She put him off with her hands, saying > 'I do n't need you; I can walk alone/ and then walked three times over the floor, after which, going to a corner, she knelt down and said, '0 let us give God thanks V We kneeled down, and gave thanks, Ann continuing on her knees all the time, at least twenty minutes. She then came to me, and, with a flood of tears, threw her arms about my neck, and then did the same, first to one of her sis- ters, and to the other, and afterwards to Mrs. Dickenson, every one in the room shedding tears of gratitude and joy. She then desired her husband's brother to come up stairs, and when he entered the room she cried out, 'Adam, I can walk/ and, to show him that she could, immediately walked over the floor and back again. "It was, indeed, the most affecting scene I ever wit- nessed in my life. She afterward, without any help, walked upstairs into her lodging-room, and, with her hus- band, kneeling down, joined in prayer and praise. "In conversation with her afterward, I learned from her the following particulars: That when she was brought into the dining-room, a little stool was put under her feet, but which she felt no more than if her feet had been dead. While we were singing the hymn, she con- ceived faith that the Lord would heal her; began to feel the stool, and pushed it away; then set her feet on the floor, and felt that; while we prayed, she felt a persua- sion she could walk, and felt inclined to rise up with the 4 50 MODEKN MlKACLES. child in her arms, but, thinking to do that would be thought rash, she delayed till we had done praying, and then immediately rose up, and walked, as above related." I am perfectly satisfied to stand in company with the foregoing illustrious names. It is a real comfort to know that we stand side by side and shoulder to shoulder with men of the most profound learning and the deepest piety, and that are acknowledged as having led in their day, and who are leading to-day the armies of God to the conquest of the world for the Lord Jesus Christ. CHAPTER VII. PHYSICAL HEALING IN THE PEIMITIVE CHURCH. Before bringing forward witnesses to modern mir- acles, we wish to call the attention of the reader to miracles in the primitive Church and succeeding ages. The history of the Church very clearly teaches that there was no abrupt cessation of miracles at the close of the Apostolic age. They continued right along for centuries after the Apostolic age; and if they continued for centuries after that age, why should they not con- tinue as long as the Church of Christ remains upon earth? The testimony of the Christian fathers is clear, over- whelming, and can not be gainsaid. Eusebius, of the third century, says: "Our Lord is wont to display, even to this day, to those whom He judges the right, some little portions of His miraculous power by manifested deeds." (V. ib. c. 5, p. 109.) In his notes on Tertullian, the author says: "The modern assumption, then, that miraculous gifts ceased with the last disciple on whom the apostles laid their 51 52 Modern Mikacles. hands, as it is an a priori theory, so it is contrary to all rules of evidence." (Tertullian, Volume I, page 58.) Mosheim tells us that the fathers in the second cen- tury "represent the Deity as having bestowed on not a few of His ministers and chosen servants such a meas- ure of His all-powerful Spirit that they could expel de- mons from the bodies of those that were possessed, cure diseases with a word, recall the dead to life, and do a variety of other things far beyond the reach of human power to accomplish." "That this was the case, and that those gifts of the Holy Spirit which are commonly termed miraculous were liberally imparted by Heaven to numbers of Christians, not only in this, but likewise in the succeeding age, and more especially to those of them who devoted themselves to the propagation of the gospel among the heathen, has, on the faith of the con- current testimony of the ancient fathers, been hitherto universally credited throughout the Christian world. Nor does it appear to me that, in our belief as to this, we can, with the least propriety, be said to have em- braced anything contrary to sound reason." (Mosheim's Commentary, Volume I, pages 278-9.) Justin Martyr says (Apolo. II, Chapter 6): "For num- berless demoniacs throughout the whole world and in your city, many of our Christian men, exorcising them in the name of Jesus Christ, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, have healed, and do heal, rendering help- less, and driving the possessing devils out of the men, though they could not be cured by all the other exor- cists and those who used incantations and drugs." Ireaenus says (Adv. Haer Book xi, 4): "Wherefore Physical Healing. 53 also those who are in truth the disciples, receiving grace from Him, do in His name perform miracles so as to promote the welfare of others, according to the gift which each has received from Him." Then, after enumerating the various gifts, he con- tinues, "Others still Jieal the sick by laying their hands upon them, and they are made whole." Tertullian says (Ad. Scup. iv, 4): "For the clerk of one of them who was liable to be thrown upon the ground by an evil spirit was set free from his affliction, as was also the relative of another, and the little boy of a third. And how many men of rank, to say nothing of the com- mon people, have been delivered from devils and healed of disease." Origen says (Contra Celsum B. Ill, chapter 24) : "And some give evidence of their having received through their faith a marvelous power by the cures which they perform, invoking no other name over those who need their help than that of the God of all things and of Jesus, along with a mention of His history. For by these means we, too, have seen many persons freed from griev- ous calamities and from distractions of mind and mad- ness, and countless other ills which could be cured neither by men nor devils." Clement, in giving directions for visiting sick, says (Epis. C, xii): "Let them, therefore, with fasting and prayer, make their intercessions, and not with the well- arranged and fitly-ordered words of learning, hut as men who have received the gift of healing, confidently, to the glory of God" Dr. Waterland says, "The miraculous gifts continued 64 Modern Miracles. through the third century at least/' (Creation and Ee- demption, page 50.) Dr. Marshall, the translator of Cyprian, says, "There are successive evidences of them down to the age of Constantine." With all these testimonies of the fathers, and many others we might add, it seems remarkably strange that men of learning will go on repeating the old hackneyed phrase, 'The age of miracles ended with the apostles.'" Dr. A. J. Gordon, in his "Ministry of Healing," page 62, says: "The age of Constantine is a significant date at which to fix the termination of miracles; for almost all Church historians hold that there was a period when the simpler and purer forms of supernatural manifesta- tions ceased to he generally recognized, or were supple- mented by the gross and spurious type which character- ize the Church of the Middle Ages. And the era of Constantine's conversion confessedly marks a decided transition from a purer to a more degenerate and worldly Christianity. From this period on we find the Church ceasing to depend wholly on the Lord in heaven, and to rest in the patronage and support of earthly rul- ers, and ceasing to look for the coming and kingdom of Christ as the consummation of her hopes, and to exult in her present triumph and worldly splendor. Many of her preachers made bold to declare that the kingdom had come, and that the prophetic word, 'He shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth/ had been fulfilled." After Constantine a long night of moral darkness enveloped the world. The Church became corrupt, lost Physical Healing. 55 her moral power, and, exulting in worldly luxury and splendor, supernatural gifts were seldom manifested in the Church. After a thousand years of moral night we find the Church emerging from the gloom, with new attire, and robed in the habiliments of purity, and exercising an apostolic faith, miraculous gifts are again frequently conferred upon her. It is a remarkable historic fact that just in the same ratio that the Church has become formal and worldly and unbelieving has she been deprived of supernatural gifts. And just in the same ratio that she has become pure and believing and unworldly have these gifts been imparted. Every great spiritual reformation, from the days of the apostles to the present time, has been attended by miracles of healing. This we shall show in the follow- ing chapter. CHAPTER VIII. THE GIFT OF HEALING KESTOKED TO THE CHUKCH AFTEE THE DAEK AGES. 1. The Waldenses and Miracles. In the year 1170, Peter Waldo founded a denomina- tion in Italy known as the Waldenses. From a careful study of the Bible he conceived an ardent desire to bring the Church back to primitive and apostolic purity, gave all his possessions to the poor, began preaching, and soon had a large following of pure and sincere Christians. The denomination grew rapidly, and soon became a mighty moral power. It nourishes to-day, and still be- lieves in Divine healing. The following is the frank and simple confession of the Waldenses, found in Waldensia, page 25, and Waldensio Confessio, 1431: "Therefore, concerning this anointing of the sick, we hold it as an article of faith, and profess sincerely from the heart that sick persons, when they ask it, may law- fully be anointed with the anointing oil by one who joins with them in praying that it may be efficacious to the healing of the body according to the design and end and effect mentioned by the apostles; and we profess that such an anointing, performed according to the apostolic design and practice, will be healing and profitable." 56 The Gift of Healing Bestoked. 57 They further say: "We confess that the anointing of the sick, performed according to the design, end, and purpose of the apostles, and according to their practice and power, of which St. Mark and James make men- tion, is lawful; and if any priest possessing the grace of healings had so anointed the sick, and they have recov- ered, we would exhort all that, when they are really ill, they omit not to receive that ordinance at their hands, and in no way despise it, because despisers of that, or of other ordinances, so far as they are ordained by Christ, are to be punished and corrected according to the rules of the evangelical law/' 2. The Moravians' Testimony. The Moravians, or United Brethren, as they are sometimes called, were organized as a religious denomi- nation in Bohemia about the year 1467. They were a very pure and devoted people, following faithfully the example and teachings of Christ. They loathed the im- pure practices and corruptions of the papal Church. The Moravians are, historically and ecclesiastically, distinct from the society of the United Brethren in Christ, with whom they are often confounded. Rev. A. Bost has written what is regarded a correct and faithful history of the United Brethren. With re- gard to miraculous healing and other gifts of the Spirit, Bost says (page 17): "We are, indeed, well aware that, so far from its being possible to prove by Scripture, or by experience, that visions and dreams, the gift of mir- acles, healings, and other extraordinary gifts, have abso- lutely ceased in Christendom since the apostolic times, 58 Modern Miracles. it is, on the contrary, proved, both by facts and by Scripture, that there may always be these gifts where there is faith, and that they will never be entirely de- tached from it." Count Zinzendorf, a bishop in the Moravian Church, says: "To believe against hope is the root of the gift of miracles, and I owe this testimony to our beloved Church, that apostolic powers are there manifested. We have had undeniable proofs thereof in the unequivocal discovery of things, persons, and circumstances, which could not humanly have been discovered, in the healing of maladies in themselves incurable — such as cancers and consumption — when the patient was in the agonies of death, etc., all by means of prayer or of a single word." (Idem, page 111.) In speaking of the miracles wrought in 1730, he says: "At this juncture various supernatural gifts were mani- fested in the Church, and miraculous cures were wrought. The brethren and sisters believed what the Savior had said respecting the efficacy of prayer; and when any ob- ject strongly interested them, they used to speak to Him about it, and to trust in Him as capable of all good. Then it was done unto them according to their faith. The count (Zinzendorf) rejoiced at it with all his heart, and silently praised the Savior, who thus willingly con- descended to what is poor and little. In this freedom of the brethren towards our Savior, Jesus Christ, he recognized a fruit of the Spirit, concerning which they ought on no account to make themselves uneasy, who- ever it might be, but rather to respect him. At the same time he did not want the brethren and sisters to make too The Gift of Healing Restored. 59 much noise about these matters, and regard them as extraordinary; but when, for example, a brother was cured of disease, even of the worst hind, by a single word or by some prayer, he viewed this a very simple matter, calling to mind ever that saying of Scripture, that signs- were not for those who believed, but for those who believed not." Such are the teachings of the Moravians on Divine healing. The following is a thrilling illustration of the miraculous occurrences among the Moravians: "Jean de Watteville had a childlike confidence in our Savior's promise to hear His children's prayers. Of this he often had experience. One example we will here offer: A married sister became extremely ill in Herrnhut. The physician had given up all hopes, and her husband was plunged in grief. Watteville visited the patient, found her joyfully expecting her removal, and took his leave, after having encouraged her in this happy frame. It was at that time still the custom of unmarried breth- ren, on Sunday evening to go about, singing hymns be- fore the brethren's houses, with an instrumental accom- paniment. Watteville made them sing some appropriate hymns under the window of the sick sister, at the same time praying in his heart to the Lord that He would be pleased, if He thought good, to restore her to health. He conceived a hope of this so full of sweetness and faith that he sang, with confidence, these lines: ' Sacred Cross, sacred Cross ! Where my Savior died for me, From my soul, redeemed from loss, Bursts a flame of love to Thee. 60 MODBEN MlEACLES. When I reach my dying hour, Only let me speak Thy name , By its all prevailing power, Back my voice returns again.' "What was the astonishment of those who surrounded the bed of this dying sister when they saw her sit up, and join with a tone of animation in singing the last line: ' Back my voice returns again.' "To his great amazement and delight he found her, on ascending to her chamber, quite well. She recovered perfectly; and not till thirty-five years after did he at- tend her earthly tabernacle to its final resting-place." 3. Scotch Covenanters' Strong Faith. Touching the Scotch Covenanters of the seventeenth century, we quote the following from Dr. A. J. Gordon's "Ministry of Healing," page 70: "And now we come to the testimony of that most illustrious band of Christian worthies, the Scotch Covenanters. Illustrious, we said, and yet with a light altogether ancient, apostolic, and strange to our modern age. Let one read that book of thrilling religious adventure and heroic faith, 'The Scots Worthies,' and he will almost seem to be perus- ing the Acts of the Apostles reacted. Such sterling forti- tude! Such mighty prayers! Such conquests of preach- ing and intercession! Howie, its author, seems to have had in mind especially, in writing it, the rebuke it would bring to a later, faithless, and degenerate age, by show- ing, as he does in his Preface, how at the period of their The Gift of Healing Restoked. 61 lives they brought Christ into our hands, and how quickly their offspring are gone out of the way, piping and danc- ing after a golden calf? Nor did he think such a luxuri- ous and unbelieving generation would be able to credit these mighty deeds of their fathers, for he continues: 'Some may be ready to object that many things related in this collection smell too much of enthusiasm, and that other things are beyond all credit. But these we must suppose to be either quite ignorant of what the Lord did for our forefathers in former times, or else, in a great measure, destitute of the like gracious influences of the Spirit, by which they were actuated and sustained/ If we are inclined to discredit the marvels of Divine inter- position recorded in this book, we have to remember that the men who relate them, and of whom they are related, are historic characters of the Scottish Kirk — Knox, Wish- art, Livingston, Welch, Paden, and Craig. We never tire repeating the great and holy things which these men did in other fields of spiritual service. Who has not heard how John Livingston preached with such extraordinary demonstration of the Spirit that five hundred souls were quickened or converted under a single sermon? And what Christian has not had his spiritual indolence re- buked by reading of John Welch rising many times in the night to plead for his flock, and spending seven and eight hours a day in G-ethsemane intercessions for the Church and for souls? These things we have read and repeated without incredulity. But how few have read or dared to repeat the story of the same John Welch praying over the body of a young man who, after a long wasting sick- ness, 'has closed his eyes and expired to the apprehension 62 MODEEN MlKAOLES. of all spectators; 7 how, in spite of the remonstrance of friends, he held on for three hours, twelve hours, twenty- five, thirty-six, forty-eight hours, and when it was insisted that the cold, dead body should be borne out to the burial, how he begged for an hour more, and how, at the end of that time, he called upon his friends and showed the dead young man restored to life again, to their great aston- ishment! All this is told with the utmost detail in the book of 'Scots Worthies/ " If we are startled to ask in amazement — as who will not be? — "Are such things possible in modern times?" we might better begin with the question, Has such pray- ing and resistless importunity with God ever been heard of in modern times? If we exercise such faith, the miracu- lous works will be easy enough to credit. Yet this is a specimen of the men who compose this extraordinary group of Christian heroes. "The wonders recorded of these are of every kind — marvelous of courage, of faith, of martyrdom, and of prophetic foresight. Here we read of the holy Robert Bruce, mighty in pulpit prayers, of whom it is affirmed that 'persons distracted, and those who were past recovery with failing sickness, were brought to him, and were, after prayer by him on their behalf, fully healed. We also read of Patrick Simpson, whose insane wife, from raving and blaspheming as with demoniacal possession, was so wonderfully healed by his importunate prayers that the event was found thus gratefully recorded upon some of the books of his library: 'Remember, my soul, and never forget the 16th of August, 1601, what consolation the Lord gave thee, and how He performed what He spoke The Gift of Healing Eestored. 63 according to Zechariah, "Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?" "Now when we reflect that these things are recorded by the pen of some of the holiest men the Church of God has ever seen, and recorded, too, as the experiences of their own ministry of faith and prayer, the fact must at least furnish food for reflection to those who continue to assert with such confident assurance that the age of mir- acles is past. Past it may be indeed, if the age of faith is past; for that we conceive to be the real question. It is not geography or chronology that determines the boundary-lines of the supernatural. It is apostolic men that make an apostolic age, not a certain date of Anno Domini. We are forever thinking to turn back the shadow certain degrees upon the dial, to bring again the age of miracles, forgetting that He who is 'without vari- ableness or shadow of turning' has said, 'If thou canst believe' — not if thou wast born in Palestine and within the early limits of the first Christian century — 'all things are possible to him that believeth.' "When by the stress of violent persecution, or by the sore discipline of reproach and rejection by the world, the old faith is revived, then we catch glimpses once more of the Apostolic age. "And such perhaps, beyond all others in modern times, was the age of the Covenanters. If we come to the Huguenots, those faithful followers of the Lamb, among generations that were so greedily and wantonly follow- ing the Dragon, we get glimpses of the same wonderful things. In the story of their suffering and obedience to the faith in the mountains of Cevennes, whither they had 64 Modern Miracles. fled from their pursuers upon the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, we hear constant mention of the exercise of miraculous gifts. There were Divine healings and ex- traordinary actings of the Spirit in quickening and inspi- ration. They who in their exile carried their mechanical arts and inventions into England to the great blessing of the nation, carried here and there the lost arts of super- natural healing to the wonder of the Church of Christ." 4. Martin Luther as a Miracle Worker. Martin Luther, the leader of the great Eeformation of the fifteenth century, was a strong believer in miracu- lous healing. It is said of Luther, "His prayers were victorious bat- tles." He was called, "The man who can have whatever he wishes of God." "His prayers for the healing of the body are among the strongest of any on record in modern times," so says an eminent writer. He repudiated in the strongest terms "the impudent Romish miracles which in his day put forth their claims on every side." His denunciation of these was in the strongest and most emphatic language. It is not strange, therefore, that some who have read these denunciations have concluded that Luther denied all supernatural in- terventions in modern times. But if we read carefully his history we shall find that he was a strong believer in supernatural gifts. In Seckendorf's "History of Lutheranism," page 133, we find the following words of Martin Luther: "How often has it happened, and still does, that devils have The Gift of Healing Kestoked. 65 been driven out in the name of Christ; also, by calling on His name in prayer, that the sick have been healed ?" A yonng girl was taken to him possessed with' a devil. Luther laid his hands on her head, and repeated the words of the Savior, "He that believeth on Me, the works I do he shall do also, and greater works than these shall he do." Then he prayed, with others, that for Christ's sake the devil might be cast out. The prayer of faith was answered, the devil was cast out, and the girl entirely restored. When Philip Melanchthon was very sick, and his friends had all given him up to die, in answer to Luther's victorious prayer of faith he was restored and made every whit whole. The historian says: "Luther arrived and found Philip about to give up the ghost. His eyes were set; his consciousness was al- most gone; his speech had failed, and also his hearing; his face had fallen; he knew no one, and had ceased to take either solids or liquids. At this spectacle Luther is filled with the utmost consternation, and turning to his fellow-travelers says, 'Blessed Lord, how has the devil spoiled me of this instrument!' Then turning away towards the window he called most devoutly on God. "After this, taking the hand of Philip, and well know- ing what was the anxiety of his heart and conscience, he said: 'Be of good courage, Philip, thou shalt not die. Though God wanted not good reason to slay thee, yet He willeth not the death of a sinner, but that he may be converted and live. Wherefore, give not place to the spirit of grief, nor become the slayer of thyself, but trust in the Lord, who is able to kill and to make alive.' While he uttered these things Philip began, as it were to revive 5 66 Modern Miracles. and to breathe, and gradually recovering his strength is at last restored to health." In writing to friends afterwards about this matter, he says: "Philip is very well after such an illness, for it was greater than I had supposed. I found him dead, but, by an evident miracle of God, lie lives." Myconius says of himself: "Raised up in the year 1541 by the mandates, prayers, and letter of the reverend Father Luther from death." Luther in his "Moral Truths of Christianity," page 298, furnishes the following touching Myconius: "Myconius, the venerated superintendent of Gotha, was in the last stage of consumption, and already speech- less. Luther wrote to him that he must not die: 'May God not let me hear so long as I live that you are dead, but cause you to survive me. I pray this earnestly, and will have it granted, and my will will be granted herein. Amen/ 'I was so horrified/ said Myconius afterwards, 'when I read what the good man had written, that it seemed to me as though I had heard Christ say, "Lazarus, come forth." ' And from that time Myconius was, as it were, kept from the grave by the power of Luther's prayers, and did not die till after Luther's death." 5. Testimony of Richard Baxter. The testimony and experience of the saintly Eichard Baxter is very strong. After referring to many remark- able cures by the Reformers, he says: "But why need I fetch examples so far off? or to recite the multitude of them which Church history doth The Gift of Healing Kestoked. 67 afford us? Is there ever a praying Christian here who knoweth what it is importunately to strive with God, and to plead His promises with Him believingly, that can not give in his experiences of most remarkable answers? I know men's atheism and infidelity will never want some- what to say against the most eminent providences, though they were miracles themselves. That nature which is so ignorant of God, and at emnity with Him, will not ac- knowledge Him in His clear discoveries to the world, but will ascribe all to fortune or nature, or some such idol, which, indeed, is nothing. But when mercies are granted in the very time of prayer, and that when to reason there is no hope, and that without the use or help of any other means or creature, yea, and perhaps many times over and over; is not this as plain as if God from heaven should say to us, I am fulfilling to thee the true word of My promise in Christ My Sonne? How many times have I known the prayer of faith to save the sick when all physicians have given them up as dead." 6. The View of Dr. Horace Bushnell. Dr. Horace Bushnell, in his well-known work, "Na- ture and the Supernatural," declares that to deny present- day miracles would imperil his whole argment for the supernatural. He says in his letters, page 176-183: "There are signs of a revival of the primitive apostolic gifts; that Christians feeling after some way out of the dullness of second-hand faith, and the dryness of merely reasoned gospel, are longing for a kind of faith that shows God in living commerce with men such as He vouchsafed them in former times. Probably, therefore, there may 6'8 page 275.) "Between Bath and Bristol I was earnestly desired to turn aside, and call at the house of a poor man, William Shalwood. I found him and his wife sick in one bed, and with small hopes of recovery of either. Yet (after prayer) I believed they would not die, but live, and declare the Sick Healed Undek John Wesley. 81 loving kindness of the Lord. The next time I called he was sitting below stairs, and his wife able to go abroad." (Volume I, page 327.) "I explained in the evening the thirty-third chapter of Ezekiel, in applying which I was suddenly seized with such a pain in my side that I could not speak. I knew my remedy, and immediately kneeled down. In a moment the pain was gone." (Journal, Volume I, page 206.) "I found myself much out of order. I was obliged to lie down most of the day, being easy only in that po- sition. Yet in the evening my weakness was suspended while I was calling sinners to repentance. But at our love-feast which followed, beside the pain in my back and head, and the fever which still continued upon me, just as I began to pray I was seized with such a cough that I could hardly speak. At the same time came strangely to my mind, 'These signs shall follow them that believe/ I called on Jesus aloud to increase my faith. While I was speaking my pain vanished away; the fever left me, my bodily strength returned, and for many weeks I felt neither weakness nor pain. 'Unto Thee, Lord, do I give thanks/ " (Volume I, page 210.) "One was informing me of an eminent instance of the power of faith. 'Many years ago/ said she, 'I fell and sprained my ankle, so that I never expected it would be quite well. Seven years since, last September, I was coming home from preaching in a very dark night, and, stumbling over a piece of wood, fell with the whole weight of my body upon my lame foot. I thought, Lord, I shall not be able to hear Thy Word again for many weeks! Immediately a voice went through my heart. 'Name the 6 82 Modern Miracles. name of Christ, and thou shalt stand.' I leaped up, and stretched out my foot, and said, 'Lord Jesus Christ, I name Thy name; let me stand!' And my pain ceased, and I stood up, and my foot was as strong as ever." (Volume I, page 599.) "In the night my old disorder returned, and gradually increased, in spite of all medicines. Wednesday I was considering, I had not yet asked help of the Great Phy- sician; and resolved to delay no longer. In that hour I felt a change. I slept sound that night, and was well the next day." A month after this he says: "My disorder returned as violent as ever; but I re- garded it not while I was performing the service at Snowsfield in the morning, or in the afternoon at Spital- fields, till I went to the Lord's table in order to admin- ister. A thought then came into my mind, 'Why do I not apply to God in the beginning, rather than the end of an illness ?' I did so, and found immediate relief, so that I needed no further medicines." (Volume I, page 617.) "Thomas B , about three miles from Tyrrel's Pass, was at the point of death by a violent rupture. While they were praying for him in the society, he was at once restored to perfect health. He continued in health for several years, and in the knowledge and love of God; but no sooner did he return to folly, than his disorder re- turned, and in some months it put an end to his life. He died as stupid as an ox." (Volume I, page 630.) If we would be healed in body and kept healed, we must be true to God, and live and work for His glory alone. Sick Healed Under John Wesley. 83 "About noon the next day I went out in a coach as far as the school in Kingswood, where one of the mis- tresses lay, as was believed, near death, having found no help from all the medicines she had taken. We deter- mined to try one remedy more; so we poured out our souls in prayer to God. From that hour she began to recover strength, and in a few days was out of danger." (Volume I, page 236.) The same wonderful events might be every-day occur- rences now, if we only had the faith that Wesley had. CHAPTER XL FURTHER ANSWERS TO PRAYER IN THE PHYS- ICAL REALM UNDER JOHN WESLEY. The resources of all heaven were at the command of Wesley. He had but to speak, and the elements were sub- servient to his will. How true, "All things are possible to him that believeth!" If our faith in God is unlimited, "Whatsoever we ask we receive." But listen to this man of God: "Just as I began to preach, the sun broke out, and shone exceeding hot on the side of my head. I found, if it continued, I should not be able to speak long, and lifted up my heart to God. In a minute or two it was covered with clouds, which continued till the service was over. Let any who please, call this chance. I call it an answer to prayer." "In an hour after we left Taunton, one of the chaise horses was on a sudden so lame that he could hardly set his foot to the ground. It being impossible to pro- cure any human help, I knew of no remedy but prayer. Immediately the lameness was gone, and he went just as he did before." (Volume II, page 553.) "Friday I got to Halifax, where Mr. Floyd lay; in a 84 Ftjethee Answers to Peayee. 85 high fever, almost dead for want of sleep. This was pre- vented by the violent pain in one of his feet, which was much swelled, and so sore it could not be touched. We joined in prayer that God would fulfill His Word, and give His beloved sleep. Presently the swelling, the soreness, the pain, were gone, and he had a good night's rest/' (Volume II, page 559.) "A decent woman, whom I never saw either be- fore or since, desired to speak with me, and said: 'I met you at Caladon. I had then a violent pain in my head for four weeks; but was fully persuaded I should be well if you would lay your hand on my cheek, which I begged you to do. From that moment I have been perfectly well/ If so, give God the glory." (Volume II, page 618.) "At three in the afternoon I preached at Heptonstall, on the brow of the mountain. The rain began almost as soon as I began to preach. I prayed that, if God saw best, it might be stayed till I had delivered His Word. It was so, and then began again." "In the afternoon 1 was obliged to go out of the Church, abundance of people not being able to get in. The rain ceased the moment I came out till I finished my discourse. How many proofs must we have that there is no petition too little, any more than too great, for God to grant?" (Volume I, page 577-8.) "In the afternoon both my fellow-traveler and I were fairly worn out. We betook ourselves to prayer, and re- ceived strength. Nor did we faint any more, till on Friday, 22d, we reached Plymouth Dock. And I found myself less weary then than on Monday, when I came to Colebrook." (Volume I, page 585.) 86 Modern - Miracles. "At five in the evening about twelve hundred of the soicety met me at Spitalfields. I expected two to help me, but none came. I held out till between seven and eight. I was then scarce able to walk or speak; but I looked up and received strength. And when I returned home between ten and eleven, I was no more tired than at ten in the morning." (Volume I, page 624.) "When Mr. Shepherd and I left Smeton, my horse was so exceeding lame that I was afraid I must have lain by too. We could not discern what it was that was amiss; but yet he could scarce set his foot to the ground. By riding thus seven miles, I was thoroughly tired, and my head ached more than it had done for months. (What I here aver is the naked fact. Let every man account for it as he sees good.) I then thought, 'Can not God heal either man or beast, by any means, or without any?' Im- mediately my headache ceased, and my horse's lameness in the same instant. Nor did he halt any more that day or the next." (Volume VI, page 366.) "In the evening at the chapel my teeth pained me much. In coming home, Mr. Spear gave me an account of the rupture he had had for some years, which after the most eminent physicians had declared it incurable, was perfectly cured in a moment. I prayed with sub- mission to the will of God. My pain ceased, and re- turned no more." (Volume I, page 382.) "This evening also it rained at Hutton Rugby till seven, the hour of preaching; but God heard the prayer, and from the time I began we had only some scattering drops." (Volume I, page 103.) Fuethee Answees to Peatee. 87 "Many of the congregation came from far. The rain was suspended from ten till evening, so that they had op- portunity both of coming and returning. This also was in answer to prayer; and is any such too little to be remembered?" (Volume I, page 632.) CHAPTER XII. EEV. GEOEGE MULLEE'S FIFTY THOUSAND ANSWEEED PEAYEES. The fame of George Miiller, who for years and years offered the prayer of faith, is world-wide. His remark- able career, and the millions of dollars received for his orphan asylums in answer to prayer, are enough to con- vince the most skeptical that the days of miracles have not passed. George Miiller was born in Prussia, September 27, 1805. The first twenty years of his life were spent in sin. He went down to the lowest round on the ladder of vice. Sad indeed to say, yet nevertheless true, he would lie, steal, and drink. Then, under the mighty power of Divine grace, he was transformed, and became one of the noblest philan- thropists and most eminent saints the world has ever known. Shortly after his conversion he entered the ministry, and became pastor of a small Baptist Church at Teign- mouth, England, and then another equally small one at Bristol. He had not been preaching very long until he felt he Fifty Thousand Answered Prayers. 89 ought not to take a stated salary from the Church, but should depend wholly on the voluntary contributions of the people for a support. At the end of October, 1830, he stated to his brethren the conclusion he had reached, and told them that from that time on he would not receive any regular salary. He says: "There was a box put up in the chapel, over which was written that whoever had a desire to do some- thing towards my support might put his offering in the box. At the same time it appeared to me right that henceforth I should ask no man, not even my beloved brethren and sisters, to help me, as I had done a few times according to their own request. For, unconsciously, I had thus again been led, in some measure, to trust in an arm of flesh, going to man instead of going to the Lord at once. To come to this conclusion before God required more grace than to give up my salary/' From that time on, to the close of his eventful life, he never asked any one, directly nor indirectly, for a penny for himself; and God, in answer to prayer, sup- plied all his needs. Early in his ministry he was impressed with the thought that he ought to establish a home for orphan children. He was also deeply impressed that this home should be established by simple faith in God. He resolved, there- fore, in the very beginning of the enterprise, to ask no man for a dollar, but to go directly to God for help. And from the time he began his work until his pure spirit went home to God, he never solicited of the pub- lic or of an individual a single penny. 90 Modern' Miracles. As necessities arose, he simply laid his ease before God, and asked of Him all that he needed; and the sup- ply was always unfailing. In giving his reasons for establishing his homes, he says: "Through my pastoral labors, through my corre- spondence, and through brethren who visited Bristol, I had constantly cases brought before me, which proved that one of the especial things which the children of God needed in our day was to have their faith strengthened." This was his main object in building up his orphan homes. And was not his object accomplished? Has he not shown to an unbelieving world the omnipotence of faith? Has he not proved beyond a doubt that the re- sources of heaven and earth are at the command of the man who believes God? "He staked everything on prayer; and the five orphan homes on Ashley Down, built at a cost of four hundred thousand dollars, and provid- ing accommodations for two thousand children and a staff of workers, are the result. We may challenge un- believers to imitate Muller's exploits without prayer, and the God that answers by orphan homes, let Him be God." "Incredible, but true," is the judgment passed on the "Life of George Miiller" by a reviewer in one of the great London newspapers. The Spectator describes the story as "one of the most extraordinary things to be found in religious history." Dr. Sawtell, in his prefatory letter to Dr. Wayland, editor of the "Life of Miiller," says: "My duties have called me frequently to England, Scotland, and Ireland; but I do not remember of making one of these preach- [Fifty Thousand Answeeed Peayees. 91 ing tours without hearing more or less of what many called f a standing miracle at Bristol/ "A man sheltering, feeding, clothing, educating, and making comfortable and happy hundreds of poor orphan children, with no funds of his own and no possible means of subsistence, save that which God sent him in answer to prayer. Of course, such facts, coming from undoubted authority, and oft-repeated, could not fail to arrest my attention and cause me to ponder deeply these things in my heart; and every new fact that came to my ears served only to increase an irrepressible desire to 'turn aside and see this great sight/ "I confess, on my first visit, I had reserved for my- self a wide margin for deductions and disappointment; but after a few days of careful investigation I left Bris- tol, exclaiming with the Queen of Sheba, 'The half had not been told me/ " Mr. Miiller did not discard medicine. When sick, he would employ a physician and take remedies. In his earlier ministry, however, he speaks of God's miracu- lously hearing prayer and healing the body. He says: "I repeatedly prayed with sick believers till they were restored. Unconditionally I asked the Lord for the blessing of bodily health, and almost always had the pe- tition granted. "In the same way, while in London, November, 1829, in answer to prayers, I was immediately restored from a bodily infirmity, under which I had been laboring for a long time, and which has never returned since/' He estimated that he had fifty thousand answers 92 Modern Miracles. to his prayers during his life. The most of these were in the physical realm. During his life he received not less than seven million five hundred thousand dollars in direct answer to prayer. This vast sum of money received in answer to prayer, and the five orphan homes standing at Bristol to-day, are witnesses to the fact of modern miracles that no man for a moment can possibly deny or gainsay. CHAPTER XIII. DOROTHEA TRUDEL.* One of the many lovely and thoroughly Swiss hamlets that add such a charm to the scenery round Zurich is the beautiful village of Mannedorf. This little village lies quietly under the shadow of the hills on the left bank of the lake, and can be reached within an hour by the Zurich steamers. It is a mere cluster of a few houses, with a beautiful view in every direction over the blue water — a simple, out-of-the-way place, almost be- yond the reach of the villas that are sprinkled so plenti- fully over both sides of the lake. The fame of this little, out-of-the-way hamlet has become world-wide from the fact that it was the home of the Trudel family and the scene of so many remarkable miracles wrought in answer to "the prayer of faith." Dorothea Trudel was the eleventh child of an unbeliev- ing father, but of a spiritually-minded mother. Her father was very wicked — in fact, he was brutal — had a violent temper, and never tried to control it. On this account the mother suffered the severest trials; but she bore them all with meekness and Christian fortitude. *The facts recorded in this chapter are taken from " Dorothea Tru- del," by D. M. P., published by Morgan & Scott, London. 94 Modern Miracles. She was schooled by this bitter experience into a life of faith and absolute dependence on God. "She looked to Him for food for her family when they must other- wise have starved; for deliverance, when they must other- wise have perished; for healing, when they must other- wise have died." She was so remarkable for her faith and consecration that, though living in the utmost obscurity and poverty, her biography has been placed among those of the illus- trious women of the ages.* Dorothea says of her mother: "Our mother was per- mitted, in a wonderful manner, to meet with events which passed all general experience. We were taught to acknowledge that the Lord alone is the true Phy- sician by the fact that no other was summoned when we or she herself were sick; and when I was attacked by smallpox, at four years old, and almost blind by it, while my brother, who was fourteen, was seized with epilepsy, our mother believed and trusted that the Lord would help; and in a short time we both recovered." Again Dorothea says of her mother: "Although I was the youngest of her children, I can remember number- less cases of answers to prayer which she related to us, and many we ourselves experienced. One very remark- able instance may here be recorded, relating to our mother's pious sister-in-law, who so faithfully stood by us: "Our aunt was so ill that every one believed her end was quickly approaching. She was quite prepared for this, but desired first to partake of the Lord's Supper. ♦"Consecrated Women," London: Hodder & Stoughton DOKOTHEA TEUDEL. 95 This was accomplished, and hardly a quarter of an hour afterwards everything earthly seemed to fade away from her, so that, as she herself told us, she could see into heaven. Yet she lay in full consciousness, and recog- nized all who came near. On the arrival of evening they brought light into the room, when she exclaimed: 'What do you think? There is a brightness surround- ing us, such as I have never witnessed before; and I see crowds of blessed children. that you, too, could behold these things!' "Our mother thought to herself, when this foretaste of heaven is over, she will die. She sank on her knees, and earnestly entreated God to prolong the life of this loved one at least until our mother's eldest child should be able to be some support. At midnight the sick one suddenly turned towards my mother, saying, 'Now, I must return into this dark valley of death; I must stay awhile longer with you.' She lived fifteen years longer ancj until the eldest child was able to contribute her por- tion towards the maintenance of the family." In 1835, at the age of twenty-two, Dorothea was con- verted and led into the precious liberty of the children of God. From this time she was characterized by great earnestness, by singularly profound spiritual knowledge, and by a quiet, happy, and modest Christian spirit. She was a worker in flowers, and came, in time, to have workers under her; and when she was about thirty, some four or five of her workers fell sick. The sick- ness resisted all treatment, grew worse, and appeared, to be hopeless. She was a diligent and unselfish nurse, andj as a Christian, her anxiety for the work-people drove 96 Modern Miracles. her to earnest prayer and careful consideration of the Scriptures. It was during this period, she says, that, like a sudden light, the well-known passage from the Epistle of James (v, 14, 15) flashed upon her. If med- ical skill is unavailing, was there not prayer? And could not the same Lord who chose to heal through medicines, also heal without them? There was a time when His healing power went forth directly; might it not be put forth directly still? The doctors were at fault; but was not faith in God perhaps more at fault? Agitated by these questions, she sought help in prayer; and then, kneeling by the bedside of these sick people, she prayed for them. They recovered; and the thought that first startled her became now the settled conviction of her life. A sickness broke out in the village ; and when it did break out, her help, tenderness, and Christian teaching were rarely absent. She sought the recovery of the patients in answer to prayer alone. Many got better; and, as the rumor spread, persons from the neighborhood came or sent, and her leisure time was fully occupied. Meanwhile she had resisted all solicitations to leave her ordinary work and establish a home for the afflicted. Her proper calling, she considered, was the one God had provided for her — that of a worker in flowers. Her nat- ural shyness and reserve made her shrink from publicity; but as increased numbers came and even besieged her doors, she was compelled to reconsider her position, and, at last, with much reluctance, to receive persons into her home. This was, at first, out of mere compassion, when the sick had been brought from a distance, and could find no proper shelter or care if she turned them away. BOKOTHEA TkUDEL. 97 By degrees the one house grew into three, and her days were spent in superintendence and prayer. Pa- tients came from France and Germany, and even Great Britain. There came to be, in fact, a hospital at Manne- dorf . When the second house was filled, a great trial came to Dorothea. She describes it as follows: "But a storm was now to burst over the work; for, in 1856, when the second house was filled with invalids, and the Lord was working mightily, we were fined sixty francs, and were ordered to send away all the patients by a certain time. Though it was the most grievous day in my life, I obeyed the command; but the houses so hastily emptied filled as fast as ever with the blind, the lame, and deaf, for whom the Lord did great things. Evil spirits were driven out of some of the invalids by prayer, and the sufferers became instantly free. Many were delivered from the power of darkness which had been exercised over their minds, though less visible out- wardly, and received what we consider the highest and best blessing — that of being changed from wolves into lambs. "I had enemies, both known and unknown, in crowds; and thickly-scattered lies and slanders were no pleasant portion. I write this with the feeling that whoever can not bear, without emotion, even the blackest lies and slanders, has yet to experience something of the peace which is like an ocean without bounds." Dorothea was fined by the court on the plea that it was illegal to heal without the help of a physician. Her biographer says: "During the course of the trial authenticated cures were brought forward, it is said, to the 7 98 Modern Miracles. number of some hundreds. There was one of a stiff knee that had been treated in vain by the best physicians in France, Germany, and Switzerland; one of an elderly man who could not walk, and had also been given up by the physicians, but who soon dispensed with his crutches; a man came with a burned foot, and the surgeons said it was a case of Either amputation or death,' and he also was cured. One of the leading physicians of Wurtem- berg testifies, to the cure of a hopeless patient of his own. Another remained six weeks, and says he saw all kinds of sickness healed. Cancer and fever have been treated with success; epilepsy and insanity more fre- quently than any other form of disease." When the court decided that it was illegal to heal without the help of a physician, and Miss Trudel was heavily fined for so doing, on the advice of her lawyer, she appealed to the higher court. The case was carried from court to court, and at last — in November, 1861 — the judgments of the lower court were unanimously re- versed, all the costs thrown on the prosecutors, and Dorothea was permitted to go on in her old way. With songs of praise and thanksgiving, and with renewed gladness, she resumed her work; and every day she was permitted to see the sick healed in answer to the prayer of faith. In 1862, typhus fever broke out at Mannedorf. Dorothea was attacked, and gradually sank. She had a presentiment from the first that she should not sur- vive. Her work was done, and God took her home. Some time before her death, Mr. Zellar came to her for healing. He was afflicted with a disease of the skin. DOKOTHEA TkUDEL. 99 She told him that when he got a cleaner soul he would have a cleaner skin; and her words came true. When Dorothea died, her mantle fell on Zellar, under whose faith and prayer the work more than doubled in a few years, In 1881 there were seven houses filled with patients. The story of the marvelous cures wrought there in answer to the simple prayer of faith has gone to the ends of the earth. Dorothea would often say: "People need not come to Mannedorf to get well in body and mind. Let them unreservedly believe God's holy promises, and they will experience the same blessed results in any part of the world." So we believe. LofC, CHAPTER XIV. BISHOP SIMPSON HEALED IN ANSWER TO PRAYER.— BISHOP BOWMAN'S TESTIMONY. In 1875, Bishop Thomas Bowman presided at the Nebraska Conference, held in Omaha. On Sabbath morn- ing the Bishop preached on "The Tyndall Prayer-test." Among other things, he related the following: "Prayer is a question to be determined just like any other question of fact, not as a question of science, but as a question of fact; and the history of the world is full of evidences that God does not only hear and answer prayer for spiritual, but for physical blessings. In the fall of 1858, whilst visiting Indiana, I was at an Annual Conference where Bishop Janes presided. We received a telegram that Bishop Simpson was about dying. Said Bishop Janes, 'Let us spend a few moments in earnest prayer for the recovery of Bishop Simpson.' We kneeled to pray. William Taylor, the great California Street preacher, was called to pray; and such a prayer I never heard since. The impression seized upon me irresistibly, Bishop Simpson will not die. I rose from my knees perfectly quiet. Said I, 'Bishop Simpson will not die/ 'Why do you think so?' 'Because I have had an irre- sistible impression made upon my mind during this prayer/ Another said, 'I have the same impression/ 100 Testimonies. 101 We passed it along from bench to bench until we found that a very large proportion of the Conference had the same impression. I made a minute of the time of day, and when I next saw Bishop Simpson, he was attending to his daily labor. I inquired of the Bishop, 'How did you recover from your sickness?' He replied, 'I can not tell/ 'What did your physician say?' 'He said it was a miracle/ I then said to the Bishop, 'Give me the time and circumstances under which the change oc- curred/ He fixed upon the day and the very hour, making allowance for the distance — a thousand miles away — that the Methodist preachers were engaged in prayer at this Conference, the physician left his room and said to his wife, 'It is useless to do anything further; the Bishop must die/ In about an hour he returned and started back, inquiring, 'What have you done?' 'Noth- ing/ was the reply. 'He is recovering rapidly/ said the physician; 'a change has occurred in the disease within the last hour beyond anything I have ever seen. The crisis is past, and the Bishop will recover/ And he did. "Who shall tell me that God, who creates medicines to heal diseases, and has given power and infinite variety to remedial influences, did not, by some secret power not made known to us, which perhaps never will be, touch the spring of life somewhere in Bishop Simpson's body? He does that through remedial agents again and again. The tendency of death is destroyed, and in many cases health is restored by simple remedies in the hands of physicians. Surely it is not unreasonable for us to sup- pose that the God who created all this power may have 102 Modern Miracles. reserved a little that he can bring to bear occasionally under circumstances like these." Bishop Bowman's Testimony. "I stand here to-day as an evidence in my own char- acter and history of the fact that God hears and an- swers prayer when it requires an influence and a power above the power of nature to bring about the re- sult. In my conversion God heard my prayer, and a re- sult was achieved that could not, by any possibility, have been achieved by any ordinary natural power — a power that revolutionized my whole character, redeeming, re- generating, and making me a new man. I remember well, a week afterward, when my besetting sin came back upon me — my fiery temper — and when, in the hour of my distress, I went to God in earnest, fervent prayer, pleading for the victory in this direction, how, after an hour's fearful struggle, I arose from my knees with as clear a consciousness that victory was mine as that the bright sun shone on me that blessed day; and from that day to this I have had that victory. This was gained, not by the exercise of my will, which I had put forth a thousand times, and failed; not by any philosophy or skill that might have been brought about by years of experience and habit, but by the simple power of God in answer to prayer. I could occupy hours in relating in- cidents similar to those I have given, where God has demonstrated in the physical, intellectual, and moral power that He has reserved to Himself the right and the power to answer prayer. "Some years ago (and I have this incident from Testimonies. 103 the mouth of a wicked man) a camp-meeting was held in Southern Indiana. It rained nearly all the time of the meeting. Father Haven, a man mighty in prayer, rose to preach. Just as he announced his text, it thundered, and the congregation seemed to be restless and alarmed. The old hero instantly said, 'Let us engage a moment in prayer/ He prayed that God would allow the storm to pass by, and not dis- turb them. After having pleaded for a few moments, he said, 'Friends, keep your seats; it will not rain one drop here to-day/ He commenced to preach, and it thundered again. He repeated his assurance; and thus it continued until the storm-cloud was almost over the encampment. It divided north and south, and passed about a quarter of a mile on either side of them, re- united again, and passed on; and not one solitary drop of rain fell on that encampment. You may tell me that might have been; perhaps such a thing has occurred in the history of the world; but how did it happen that this man of God should have this positive assurance that God had heard and answered, and that the result would be as it was? The God who made the heavens and the earth surely can control the stormy tempest by some secret power that philosophy has not discovered. I ask Tyndall, How do tornadoes come over the land? 'By some secret power that we have not discovered/ would be the reply. There may be a thousand other secret powers reserved in the universe controlled by the Al- mighty which could be brought to bear by law just as much as in the other case. Do not tell me that God does not hear prayer." CHAPTER XV, GOD'S AEM BEVEALED. Eyesight Instantly Bestored by Prayer. Testi- mony of Mrs. E. M. Whittemore, Founder of " The Door of Hope," 102 E. 61st Street, New York.* The wonderful narrative which we print below shows that the age of miracles is not past. Mrs. E. M. Whittemore, whose eyes were miraculously healed, is one of the best-known mission workers in America. In 1890 she founded a "Door of Hope" home for girls of the street in New York City. It was a de- cided success. Later she organized the "Door of Hope Union/' an association composed of forty-five rescue mis- sion homes in the various cities. Mrs. Whittemore's career is romantic and providen- tial. She was reared in a home of luxury. For many years she was a devotee of fashion. Her life was a gay whirl of dinners, receptions, and balls. One day she fell downstairs, breaking the lower joint of her spine. For twelve years she was an invalid. In answer to prayer her health was restored. As a thank-offering to God, she determined to devote the remainder of her life to *From The Barn's Horn of March 4, 1899. 104 God's Arm Eevealed. 105 rescuing the girls of the streets. For the past fourteen years Mrs. Whittemore has toiled early and late, day and night, for her fallen sisters. She has spoken in all the leading cities, and, as stated above, has organized the Door of Hope Union. "Owing to a malformation in the left eye, rendering it almost useless, my right one, through constant service for years, finally became so exhausted and overtaxed that glasses were resorted to. Though changed in strength about fifteen times, the trouble was by no means diminished, but, on the contrary, intensified and accom- panied with added pains and distress. Being repeatedly assured by the oculists that no actual disease existed, as they expressed it, 'a misfortune from birth/ which compelled the right eye to do double duty, until it had simply given out. Thus it was I endeavored, by their advice, to secure what mechanical assistance could be obtained through the lenses prescribed. what a lit- tle thing can be used in keeping one from obtaining from the mighty hand of God that which He always grants, when fully trusted, even after a wearied experience try- ing other ways than wholly committing the matter to Him! "Without much diversity of opinion, four specialists thoroughly diagnosed my case. Dr. Barnes insisted that I should never be without glasses, and only use my eyes at certain intervals. Dr. Nois, however, informed me that he had his doubts whether my sight, so impaired, would ever return, and that possibly the little possessed might be lost altogether. Dr. Norton gave more encour- agement, and caused me to hope that, through proper 106 MODEKtf MlEACLES. lenses, I might keep right on with the work that had grown so dear to me, using my eyes without any serious inconvenience. What the experience was as the months went into years can not be justly described, to say noth- ing of the terrible and oft-repeated attacks of headache brought on by trying to use those glasses. This went on and on until last winter, when Dr. Norton finally in- formed me that the most powerful lenses had been re- sorted to, and if no relief was gained, only an operation was left; but to this I resolved never to submit. "During the past summer the distress at times was almost unbearable. Dr. Elliott was asked to examine my eyes, which he did most carefully. He told me frankly that in all his practice he never remembered seeing such a peculiar condition as was found in what was always termed 'my good eye/ as it appeared to be nothing more than a sort of a dull gray mass, without apparent vitality. After considering for awhile, as the examination pro- ceeded, he said, he felt almost sure degeneration had be- gun to set in, perfectly corroborating, as it were, the opinion of Dr. Nois, even without being aware of what he had informed me nearly a year previous. "The outlook was by no means encouraging, to say the least; and from that day I rapidly grew worse, with increasing headaches and stinging pains through the eyes, if used even in moderation. This continued until the 7th of November, 1898, when, in Bath, Maine, holding a few services, I was urgently requested to go and speak to the Bible-school students at Lisbon Falls, not many miles distant. Owing to some previous engagements, I positively refused to go; so the matter was dropped. God's Aem Eevealed. 107 But upon retiring that night, it suddenly came to me I had not asked the Lord's thought about it. Immedi- ately every seeming obstacle was removed, as he reminded me that ample time was left for telegraphing, etc., so the arrangements could be easily made. After a few moments of further waiting upon Him, the conviction was strong that the invitation was to be accepted, ac- companied with real delight, that I had not only His orders, but sanction to go, though why those former plans were to be changed, or what was the special im- port of my going, I was utterly unable to perceive. Is it not, however, far better to walk in the paths of obe- dience, consciously within, hearing, as of old, the Mas- ter whispering, 'What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter' (John xiii, 7), than to carry out any previous decisions, even though they might seem- ingly mean much for God? "Never can I forget that visit! Upon my arrival, after lunch and some moments spent alone with God, for special preparation in the giving of His message, I stood before a hundred or more students. After speak- ing at some length, the holy hush of God's presence be- came so manifest that I requested that, before the clos- ing prayer, we might wait a little in stillness, adding, 'Probably God is going to speak to us even more defi- nitely/ little imagining what was about to transpire. "At first the silence which followed was almost op- pressive, when distinctly, down in my heart, I heard, 'Now! now! now!' Not being at all visionary, but de- cidedly practical, I confess that I was as greatly startled as if a human voice had broken that stillness. 108 Modern Miracles. "Trembling somewhat, I breathed forth to God these words: 'What, Lord! Art Thou going to speak to me? 7 Again, more solemnly, and with greater emphasis, that word 'Now!' was repeated three times in succession. "My agitation increased ; but on staying my mind upon the Lord, I could not but reason: 'Now is God's appointed time. But what for?' The question was no sooner asked than answered, 'Your eyes/ I could hardly take in the significance of it all; for no reference had been made to my eyes, either in public or in private, and I had long since, as stated before, somehow set aside the mat- ter, claiming no ground of hope for things to be differ- ent. Then, as I was just beginning to rehearse all former thoughts regarding them, a more decided 'NOW!' just once, vibrated through my entire being. I felt impressed it was God's last call, and, laying aside every preconceived idea, reverently did I silently resolve, warrant or no war- rant, He was able if need be, to perform a miracle — for my desire was sight alone for His glory — and trust Him implicitly I would. . . . "Instantly was I reminded of the services to be held that evening; and the thought came that possibly it would be as well not to lay aside my glasses too suddenly, being very costly. The idea was rejected at once as a temptation of the devil, to be prepared if God's power should fail. "Recalling this later, I could not but feel confident that, if I had failed at this critical test, my sight would undoubtedly have been withheld, and perhaps forever. But power was granted to quickly overcome the temp- tation. God's Akm Eevealed. 109 "Such an experience I had rarely entered into before, and so was enabled with promptness to burn the bridge as I walked over it, by immediately removing these al- most constant companions, and placing them into the hands of Mr. Sanford (the founder of the Bible-school); and, thank God! those glasses are still in his possession to-day. They are, as he states, a constant reminder of God's faithfulness. "Upon receiving them, he asked if he understood correctly that by this act I wished all present to wait at once upon the Lord in my behalf. Eeplying in the affirmative, it was not five minutes later, when, in the unity of faith, we made our request known unto God, be- fore something most definite and yet hard to describe took place in both eyes, accompanied with such an uplifting of Christ in my heart that, when I arose, I can truthfully affirm it was in the fullness of joy; and with sincere grati- tude did I walk off that platform into Mrs. Sanford's room, without an uncertain step, and with clear sight; and from that moment I have never seen double. It has seemed like in a new world at times, the change has been so com- "The next morning, meeting the Eev. Leroy Blake, of New London (my summer pastor), in the cars, I in- formed him of what the Lord had done. He was deeply interested as he listened to the recital; for he well knew the sad state those eyes were in, and of the real suffering in consequence. "When through, he said: 'Praise God! Praise God! But let me see how much you can use your eyes/ Glanc- ing down at the ticket on my lap, I answered, pointing 110 Modern Miracles. to the small sub-notice in the corner, in minion type, 'I can read that as well as the rest/ " ''Now, be careful. You do n't say you can read that?' said he, taking it in his hand, and holding it at arm's- length, turning it first to the right and then to the left, while trying to read it through his own glasses. I laughingly took it from him, replying, 'Yes, I can, but will hold it, of course, at natural sight/ and then read three or four lines to him aloud. "After listening, he spoke, with some emotion, again, Traise God!' adding, 'I really had a purpose in asking you to do this; for I intended telling of what God had wrought, but with it, wished, for the glory of Him, to be able to state that with my eyes I saw you read, and heard what you read. It is truly wonderful!' "Upon my return home, an accumulation of mail awaited my attention, and almost incessantly did I work with my own pen, at the same time running through other matter with my stenographer, without the slightest sen- sation of even weariness, and, besides this, being obliged to use my eyes almost constantly ever since for over two months, no distracting pains have caused my head dis- tress. Each day my sight, if anything, is clearer. Now, finally, and most wonderful, to the praise of God, let me not forget to add: "I can see with my left eye as distinctly now as with the right one; and I earnestly request that all who read this testimony may lift up their hearts at least once in my behalf, that both eyes may ever be kept for the Master's service, and proving ever as an encouragement to others, that I may trust God under and through all emergencies ; 'for He is faithful that promised.' (Heb. x, 23.)" CHAPTER XVI. MAEY EEED, THE NOTED MISSION AEY, HEALED OF LEPEOSY IN ANSWEE TO PEAYEE. Some time ago the remarkable story of the healing of Mary Eeed, missionary to the lepers of India, was told in many of the periodicals of our own and other lands. We take the following from The Christian and Mis- sionary Alliance of February 24, 1900: "Eeferring to his late visit to India, Eev. F. B. Meyer says: 'One of the pleasantest episodes in my recent visit to India was the privilege of enjoying the hospitality of Miss Thoburn, of Lucknow. One of her guests was Miss Mary Eeed, with whom I had more than one delightful talk. She told me her wonderful story, how she first discovered she was afflicted with the painful and loath- some disease of leprosy, tore herself away from those who loved her without trusting herself to say good-bye, and finally consecrating her life to the relief of the lepers of India/ This is the story in a word, of the beginning of the most remarkable missionary record of the past decade. The results of that life are summed up in the statement that through her labors one hundred and twenty-three lepers have been admitted into the Church of Christ, and that through her unceasing and success- Ill 112 Modern Miracles. ful efforts they have been clothed, fed, and sheltered, and a large and valuable property has been acquired, and one of the noblest asylums in the world for this suffer- ing class has been erected. Still more delightful is it to state that after years of patient submission to this ter- rible disease she herself has been led, during the past year, to look to God for her personal healing. "In referring to the healing of the dreadful malady, she says: 'Who can fail to recognize the hand of God stay- ing the malady in answer to the prayers of a multitude of Christian hearts bound by the blessed tie of Christian love? " 'Most humbly do I praise and thank God our Fa- ther and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior, the Fountain of life and health and peace, for marvelously improved health! "He hath heard the voice of my [our] suppli- cations. . . . My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth, and with my song will I praise Him." ' "In writing to her physician, she says: 'I know I have Divine health, given in answer to prayer, the many prayers of a multitude of hearts, and "that ? s enough for me!" How I wish you could hear the echo of that testi- mony! I sing it over and over; and just here I clip it out of my book, and pass it on to you. Sing it again, and send it back to me, please. " 'I believe there is a stage of experience with many who have been healed by the power of God similar to that spiritual experience of "sinning and repenting." Many get healed, first of one thing, and then another, but never get "health." Getting healed, they only get Healed of Lepeosy. 113 "bits" of health, and getting forgiven only "bits" of sal- vation. But, getting Christ, we get the very foundation of life. That is the blessed secret/ Such was her own statement." The Bombay Guardian adds the following paragraph about Miss Reed's remarkable healing: "A Missionary Healed. "Miss Reed, a missionary, at home in America on fur- lough, found herself afflicted with symptoms of a strange disease. Miss Reed had worked for several years in the Methodist Episcopal Mission in Cawnpore, and during a furlough in the Himalayas had become deeply inter- ested in a leper colony at Pithogarh. Now, when she found these strange appearances on her own body, she at once thought of leprosy, and, on consulting some phy- sicians, who were specialists, they confirmed her fears. She speedily made arrangements, through some trusted friends, for her return to India, where she was placed in charge of that same leper colony on the Himalayan hills, with no prospect before her other than that of a lingering life of suffering and a painful death. "We rejoice to find the following item with regard to the cure of her complaint in the Kau-kubi-Hind : " 'It has for some time been the opinion of those near Miss Reed, the missionary lady who has such a large place in the sympathies of the Christian world be- cause of having in some way contracted leprosy while engaged in mission work in India, that she was being gradually healed. No medicine has been used, as the disease is universally acknowledged incurable; but Miss 8 114 MODEKN MlEACLES. Eeed has from the first believed that the leprosy would be stayed, and she would be cured. A couple of weeks ago she left her work in Chandag, and came to the plains to undergo examinations at the hands of competent phy- sicians. Brigadier-Surgeon Condone and the Civil Sur- geon of Cawnpore pronounced her practically cured. Miss Eeed's many friends will rejoice in her signal re- covery. Inasmuch as her case had been previously in- vestigated by a number of experts and physicians of high repute, all of whom agreed as to the nature of the mal- ady, there can be no doubt that she has been healed of an incurable disease. We usually consider the age of miracles as past; but to those who believe in an active Providence this staying of the disease will surely be ac- cepted as an instance of Divine interposition/ " CHAPTER XVII. TESTIMONIES OF PEKSONS WELL KNOWN TO THE AUTHOR Annie M. Prescott Healed. When a young man, my aunt, Annie M. Prescott, used to spend her summer vacations at my father's home in New Hampshire. She was a lovely Christian charac- ter. Her visits to our home were hailed with delight, and her influence upon us was angelic. I can scarcely think of her now without weeping. She was the victim of that fearful disease, consumption; and every visit she made to our home found her weaker, till finally all hope left us. Our family physician gave her up, and all said she must die. But my aunt was cheerful and hopeful all the time, and felt her work was not done, although she said nothing to us about it at the time. She heard of Dr. Cullis and his Consumptives' Home in Boston. She went to see him, and, by the aid of Dr. Cullis and others, she was enabled to offer the prayer of faith, and was completely healed, and became a well woman. Before she could exercise faith for her healing, she prom- ised God, if He would heal her, she would devote her life to His service. That promise she faithfully fulfilled. She remained several years with Dr. Cullis, working in his Consumptives' Home without salary. 115 116 Modem Miracles. Then she went with Mr. Moody to Northfield, Mass., and engaged with him in his Northfield work. She re- mained with Mr. Moody until her work was done, and she passed sweetly to her heavenly home. When on her dying-bed, and unable to speak, she wrote out Isaiah liv, 10, as her dying testimony. This clear and unmistakable case of Divine healing made a lasting im- pression on my mind, and I have believed ever since that God is not only able, but does, in this the nineteenth century, heal the body in answer to the prayer of faith. Written for the glory of God. W. H. Prescott, 320 S. 12th St., Lincoln, Neb. Conference Evangelist. W. S. Johnson Healed of Rheumatism. Being aware of the need of brevity, I hastily give you, at your request, and for the glory of God, the ac- count of my healing over five years ago. For some months prior to the time of which I speak, I had suffered much from rheumatism in my right hip, leg, and foot — so much, and so acutely, that my foot had become partially paralyzed. I used the best reme- dies I knew of, but with only partial success. Some- times better, sometimes a relapse, until the spring of 1894. Having heard of a little meeting to be held in a little grove, in a yard about Twenty-second and T Streets, Lincoln, Nebraska, and having for many years a great fondness for meeting with the Lord's little ones, and feeling better that beautiful Sunday afternoon, I got into my buggy, and went to the meeting. Testimonies of Well-known Persons. 117 The subject turned largely upon Divine healing, ac- cording to apostolic teaching and practice — a subject I had never given much thought, and knew little about. Yet, as presented that day, I became convinced that it was reasonable and Scriptural, and that healing was for me. In fact, I had not a shadow of doubt about it, and then and there so testified, and was, with some others, anointed as directed in James v. I also testified at that time that God had given me the assurance that I should be healed; in fact, that the decree had already gone forth. However, I went home, not feeling any bet- ter, and that night was much worse, and everything seemed to indicate that I was self-deceived; but I held on, still believing that "He doeth it." Yet in my suf- fering I began to reason this way: The Lord is going to heal me, I am assured of that; but it may be He expects me to use the means at hand, and that I might be cul- pable if I did not use them. Thus reasoning, I concluded to use the remedies as before. It had not previously been unpleasant to take, but now it was very nauseating, and I loathed it so that I was compelled to desist. This I regarded as indicating that I should not use remedies, but take Him, and Him only, for my Physician; and so I said, Live or die, sink or swim, survive or perish, I ? 11 throw away remedies, and take Him for the healing of my body from rheumatism, as I had long before taken him for the cleansing of my heart from the defilement of sin. This was the day after the meeting and anoint- ing. I retired early, slept soundly all night, rose early next morning, and found / had not a trace of rheumatism about me; not only free from pain, but renewed, invigor- 118 MODEEN MlEACLES. ated, and revived every way. I have never had any return of rheumatism since. Glory to His name! I am realizing from day to day "what a wonderful Savior is Jesus, my Jesus; what a wonderful Savior is Jesus, my Lord!" Also the truth of His Word (Ps. ciii, 3), "Who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases," for all of which I expect to praise Him evermore. Bless His holy name! W. S. Johnson. Lincoln, Neb., November 18, 1899. Testimony of Rev. J. W. Royse. Cedae Bluffs, Neb., January 7, 1901. Deae Beothee Davis, — Yours received, and in com- pliance with your request will say: While pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Sutton, Neb., I was greatly afflicted with enlarged veins in my right leg. I consulted Drs. Clark and Yhradenburg, and they told me I could not be cured, and the only relief was silk hose or rubber bandage. I used the rubber bandage for more than a year, removing it at night, and replacing it in the morning. I could not walk any distance without pain. One night, after I had retired, my leg pained me so I could not sleep. At midnight a voice seemed to say to me, "If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you/' I asked the Lord to cure me. I continued in prayer for more than an hour. The answer came: I was free from pain. I fell asleep, praising the Lord. I dressed myself Testimonies of Well-known Peksons. 119 the next morning, and put the rubber bandage in a drawer, where it has remained for five years. Sincerely yours, J. W. Koyse. Testimony of W. Robert B. Alexander. Saved, sanctified, healed, and preserved by the power of God! Hallelujah! I praise God for the new birth, for an experience so real that there is no doubt about it. I have tried Him and proved Him. Christ said, "The spirit of truth shall testify of Me; and ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with Me from the beginning." (John xv, 26, 27.) "He that believeth on the Son of God hath the wit- ness in himself." (1 John v, 10.) I have the witness NOW. Praise God! Some people do not want to hear us tell of Divine healing. Well, God heals me now, and I am His wit- ness. Glory! But He saved me before He healed me. About seven- teen years after God converted me — on October 10, 1898 — He sanctified me wholly. While sweetly rejoicing in the abundance of His love, as never before, my at- tention was directed to some literature on Divine heal- ing. I began to read the Bible with that thought be- fore me, and was soon convinced that the healing of the body was for me. I read in Exodus xv, 26, "I am the Lord that heal- eth thee." I saw clearly that God was addressing His children. I then began to examine myself by the Word, 120 MODEEN - MlKACLES. to see if I was eligible and had a just claim on God's promises. I proved to myself that I was His child. God bless the Bible! "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God." (1 John v, 1.) "For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (Eom. x, 10.) Having established my heirship to God's kingdom and all He has, I read, "No good thing will He with- hold from them that walk uprightly." (Ps. lxxxiv, 11.) Again I read, "He healeth all thy diseases." (Ps. ciii, 3.) I believed these promises, and Christ made me whole, body and soul. "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; and the prayer of faith shall save the sick." (James v, 14, 15.) When I read this promise, God put it in my heart to close my place of business, and attend Divine healing services, which were held at my church, January 10, 1899, by two evangelists from the East. I was anointed for varicocele. I had been suffering from this trouble for twenty-six years. I had taken gallons of medicine, and had bought many electric belts, paying as high as thirteen dollars for belts. I had con- tracted for medical treatments, costing me from twelve to seventy-five dollars; but no cure came. I wore an appliance at the time I was anointed. I was anointed on Tuesday, but the witness to my healing did not mani- fest itself till Thursday — two days later. After my anointing I returned to my work, and at bed-time, con- Testimonies of Well-known Peesons. 121 trary to my usual custom, removed from my body the appliance, which I have not seen since that night, nearly two years ago. I went on with my work, claiming the promise as I labored. I was standing at my post, work- ing on a customer, when I was healed. I am a barber. I must confess I was frightened. It seemed as though a strong man had taken hold of both ends of the cords, and gave them a quick jerk that straightened them out. I heard them pop. At first a cold sweat came over me, and then a hot sweat. It was a trying time. As soon as I had an opportunity, I went out and examined my- self, to see what had broken. My fear was turned to joy when I discovered that what had, for twenty-six years, been a great lump and an aggravating annoyance had become as smooth as the palm of the hand. Well, I laughed, and I shouted Hosannahs to God, the G-od of my salvation. Having proved the Lord, I determined to get rid of an aggravating case of chronic catarrh of about twenty years' standing. So on the last Sunday evening in Janu- ary following my first healing, I excused myself from going with my wife to meeting, that I might be alone with God for a season of prayer for the taking away of that pest. I was successful. Just as I was about to kneel in prayer, a voice said to me, "Blow!" I obeyed, and blew from my head a substance about the constitu- ency of the white of an egg, with a liberal amount of sulphur mixed with it. The odor was terrible. My handkerchief was of the ordinary gentleman's size, and was completely saturated with the foul stuff. My head was healed. My wife was frightened when she saw the 122 MODEEN MlEACLES. handkerchief; but I told her what God had done for me, and we both glorified God. I also had kidney trouble, almost "Bright's Disease." Many times, in stooping down or raising up, pains would shoot through the small of my back, that it seemed they would cut me in two. God healed me of this dis- ease. Hallelujah! No drugs for me. W. Robert B. Alexander. 329 South Eleventh Street, Lincoln, Neb. CHAPTER XVIII. HEALED OF CANCER. Testimony of Mrs. G-. Rolle. Tottenville, N. Y., January 9, 1901. Me. H. T. Davis: Dear Sir, — Inclosed yon will find my testimony, which I hope will not be too late for your book. In His name. Mrs. G. Rolle. "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever." (Heb. xiii, 8.) On the twenty-eighth day of January, 1876, God, for Christ's sake, spoke peace to my soul, and set the joy- bells ringing. After twenty years of Christian life, while attend- ing a camp-meeting, God led me to make a consecration of myself, and surrendering my all to Him, I received the baptism of the Holy Ghost, assuring me that I was "accepted in the beloved." (Eph. i, 6.) Christ became very real to me in the keen sense of a personal Savior. The Holy Spirit soon began to show me the provision made for me in the atonement. "Him- self took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses." ( Matt, viii, 17.) 123 124 MODEKK MlKACLES. I read a little book written by Mr. Simpson, called "Friday-meeting Talks on Divine Healing." There I saw that Jesus could heal to-day the same as when upon earth. For ten years, Satan tried hard to blind my eyes to this blessed fact. He suggested in many ways what it would mean for me to give up all human helps. I had been a sufferer for many years, having a complication of diseases, also subject to severe headaches, and was intensely nervous. The physicians prescribed all kinds of medicines, which I took for many years, and they said it would be necessary for me to continue taking them for the remainder of my life, as I never could be cured of some of these physical troubles. This would have discouraged me very much had I not really thought I was suffering the will of God, and that His grace would be sufficient for me. In 1895 I went to the hospital, and had a fibrous tumor removed. Soon after this it was discovered that my condition was not much im- proved by the operation. In five months afterwards I had another removed. After submitting to this opera- tion, I was again disappointed to find that the trouble was not yet entirely removed. After suffering until March, it was decided that there must be another opera- tion performed, this being the third one in less than a year. After this the disease did seem better for a time. However, I was very weak and nervous. The physicians were very kind, doing all in their power to help me. In 1897 the physicians discovered that my trouble had returned; but now it had developed in another part of my body; and this time it was pronounced cancer. Healed of Cancer. 125 An operation was performed, and terrible prostration fol- lowed, unlike any of the others, on account of my weak condition. The Holy Spirit continued to reveal through the Word that Divine healing was my privilege. After being under deep conviction for weeks, I sought the Lord in prayer, to know His will concerning me. He answered me, saying, "All things are possible to him that believ- eth." Then He gave me two promises on which to stand and trust. "Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not." (Jer. xxxiii, 3.) "Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abun- dantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us." (Eph. iii, 20.) The Lord enabled me to surrender my body, as I had my soul, and to step out on His promises. October 16, 1898, at the Gospel Tabernacle, New York, I was anointed in the name of the Lord, took Christ for my body, proved Christ in me. (Col. i, 27.) I knew that Christ had touched my body. I felt His power pass through me, and I said, "It is done." All my old troubles left me. I was enabled to do my own work in my home, also to take up Church work which had been laid aside on account of my ill-health. I praised Him with my whole heart; for the work done was so marvelous. Christ shall have all the honor and all the glory. It was indeed a new world to me. To be without pain, and free from a weak body, was a new life to me. Some five months after, God severely tested my faith. I was sorely tried. Satan tried to frighten me with his 126 Modern Miracles. evil suggestions; but my refuge was in Christ, who had become my All and in all. I consulted two physicians to know my condition. Both pronounced it cancer, and advised another opera- tion immediately. This time God was my only Phy- sician, and He assured me through His Word, "Thou shalt not die, but live, and declare the words of the Lord." (Ps. cxviii, 17.) God proved to me that a cancer in His sight was no more than a teardrop in my eye. So I proved that nothing is too hard for the Lord. No man can work like Him. I held on to Christ, and waited until He should reveal to me that the work was done. Satan tried to get me into Doubting Castle, but God answered me again with another promise, "I, the Lord, have spoken: it will come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back." (Ezek. xxiv, 14.) Now the time to stand came. The growth remained six months, but God kept speaking to me in such sweet assurance: "Thou shalt not die. I, the Lord, have spoken it." All fear left me, and praises filled my soul. I went on with my work in faith, having the assurance that the work was done. At the end of six months entire de- liverance from the cancer was given, and I was healed by the mighty power of God. I was well, not only by faith, but by sight, and have been ever since. The physician who treated me for three years ad- mitted that the Lord had done for me what he, nor no other" man, ever could have done. Healed of Cancek. 127 Twelve months have passed since that glorious heal- ing, and I am a living witness to-day. Thus the Lord healeth all our diseases. Our bodies are the temples of the Holy Ghost. His life, flowing through our bod- ies, can cleanse the impure blood, even of a cancer, the same as He can cleanse the heart from all sin. This is God's will concerning each one of His children. Liv- ing His life in me, I can truly say, to the honor and glory of God, I enjoy good health. I do want to praise Him for leading me into the light, and only ask that God may use this simple testimony to help some child of God to see his privilege in Christ. Jesus is just as able to heal the body as He was when He walked this earth. "My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Jesus Christ" (Phil, iv, 19) — all we need for both body, soul, and spirit. May the dear, blessed Holy Spirit convey this blessed truth to every suffering child of God who may be seek- ing light on Divine healing is the prayer of your sister in Christ Jesus. Any one wishing to know more about my healing, I shall be glad to correspond with them. CHAPTER XIX. THE MAKVELOUS EXPERIENCE OE DE. FINIS E. YOAKUM, OF LOS ANGELES, CAL. Dk. Yoakum is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and a practicing physician in Los Angeles, Cal. We have had some very pleasant correspondence with the doctor. The following letter and testimony from him speak for themselves: Highland Paek, Los Angeles, Cal. January 19, 1901. Deae Beothee Davis, — I gladly send you my experi- ence of the Lord's healing me, almost six years ago. I have just met an old saint — Mother Mead, 1203 Marion Street, Los Angeles. She is a member of the Church, and is past eighty-four years old, has recently made a trip of five hundred miles alone, has not taken a drop of medicine or used a poultice for over fifty-one years; has trusted God for health, been healed over one hundred times, been given up to die by seventeen doctors, and then the Lord spake through His Spirit, saying, "Get up and walk;" and then, when a Methodist preacher laid hands on and anointed her with oil, she arose in Jesus' name. I am very busy in my profession of medicine. I see 128 A Marvelous Experience. 129 many healed. Consumption, rheumatism, the lame, cancer, Bright's disease, all diseases. I have seen the devil cast out of one man. We have had a meeting on Mondays for one year. For eight months I never was present, but one time, but some one was healed, and from one to six sinners saved. One Monday we prayed and anointed over one hundred sick people, and all claimed healing. One consumptive boy, in the last stage — so three doctors said, and said he could live but a few weeks — healed instantly. He never coughed any more, and two weeks afterwards I could find no symptoms of the plague about his lungs. That same day an old lady, who had used crutches for years, threw them away, walked down- stairs, and out to her coach, well. I was called as a physician to see five Christians who had been violently poisoned by eating pork sausages, and I knew nothing but God could save them. They were vomiting and purging, heart-beat was very weak, and cold sweat standing in drops all over their bodies. I cried out, "Captain" — he was Captain in American Volunteers — "the Bible says, 'If they shall drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them.' " "0," said he, "I forgot that." Five or six friends and myself fell on our faces before the Author of that promise, and in less than ten minutes they were down on the street testifying to Christ's power to heal the body. God bless you in writing your book! Your brother in Jesus, F. E. Yoakum. Here is the doctor's testimony: "I am forty-five years of age. I have been practic- ing medicine for twenty-three years. My present place 9 130 Modern Miracles. of residence is Los Angeles. I am in good health, strong, and able to do more work than in any former period of my life. "In 1894 I was practicing medicine in Denver, Colo. Eiding on a Broadway car in that city, July 18th, on my way to organize a Class-leaders' Association of the Methodist Church, I got off, at 8 P. M., at the crossing of Cedar Street. A drunken man was driving a horse furiously down the street at the time, and when I was fifteen feet away from the street-car, the shaft of his buggy struck my body two inches to the left of my spine, breaking the seventh and eighth ribs, and hurling me forward. The concussion was so great that the horse was thrown backward on his haunches. "The blow I received sent me to the ground, breath- less and speechless. Two carloads of people, one on either side of Cedar Street, saw the rundown, and the conductors and passengers of both cars came hastily to my assistance. When I saw them coming, there flashed into my mind the Scripture, 'The angel of the Lord en- campeth round about them that fear Him/ I had per- fect peace and calmness in my soul. "I was lifted upon my feet by the two conductors, one of whom pressed his hand upon my breast over my heart, while the other sustained my back. By this means I was enabled to breathe, but not to speak. I was, as you may imagine, in great pain. "They carried me into a near grocery-store, and phy- sicians were sent for. In an hour the ambulance arrived. I had not then recovered speech. The doctors placed me carefully in the ambulance, two of them riding with me, A Marvelous Experience. 131 their hands resting upon my breast. I was driven five miles to my home. "The street-car company's physician had hastily vis- ited my home, and had informed my wife of the accident, and that the doctor's corpse, most likely, was coming; that it had been telephoned to him that I was fatally injured. "When I arrived home, I was still unable to speak, and could only breathe intermittently. The pain on breathing was indescribable. The doctors bandaged, plastered, poulticed, and filled me. At the end of eight days they thought I was greatly improved, and permit- ted me to sit up. I was dressed, and went into the par- lor. The exertion caused me to sneeze violently. This brought back the same sensations as I had experienced eight days before: I became breathless and speechless. "The doctors concluded I was dying. They thought that hemorrhage had taken place in the pleural cavity, which contains the heart and lungs. Their opinion was, a first hemorrhage had taken place when I was struck by the shaft of the buggy, and now a second hemorrhage had set in. They decided that the only thing that could be done was to cut out a part of the seventh rib. This was done, seven or eight doctors being present, the chief surgeon operating. Two gallons of blood were let. After the operation was over, the surgeon cleaned his instruments, remarking to my wife, 'The doctor is dead;' and left the house. Two days afterward he met the attending physician and said he was watching the papers to see when Dr. Yoakum's funeral would take place. The physician replied, 'That crazy Yoakum says he is 13& Modern Miracles. ,-, not going to die; but we know he will/ I was many times given up for dead. My friends expected my de- cease hourly. The wound the surgeon made kept open about four months, discharging a foul pus, sometimes having the odor of a rotten egg. "I was impressed to come to Southern California against the wishes of my friends and relatives. Here the wound closed up externally, and my health continued to decline, fever never leaving me for eight months. My side grew larger and larger, filling with this foul pus. "Now, to go back a little. The night before the sur- geon performed the operation upon me, I had a vision. I had the same vision twice before — once when I was converted, twenty-seven years previously, and the sec- ond time when I was sanctified, which was four years before the accident. In my vision I saw the Lord, walk- ing in the cool of the trees. His words to me were: 'My brother, be of good cheer. I will renew you; you will not die. Do not fear; only trust Me, as you did when you were converted and sanctified." The words of the vision have never been erased from my memory. Amid the discouragement of thirty-two doctors pronouncing my case hopeless and death certain, I never lost cour- age, but believed I would be healed. "I could not sleep except under morphine, and every breath caused me great pain in my body. It was im- possible for me to climb three steps without resting. It seemed the grave was opening before me, and my wife, nurse, and friends expected every day the end to come. "Two months before my physical healing, the doc- tors said my left kidney was overlarge, and that death A Marvelous Experience. 133 from blood-poisoning was imminent. The pain extend- ing from my left kidney to my heart was so great that, in my loneliness, with my wife sick in an adjoining room, in my utter helplessness and utter necessity, I cried to the Father to 'take me home/ that the pain was greater than I could bear. While lying there, waiting for Him to answer my prayer, a great warm hand was slipped under my left side, and firmly pressed on my back; and from that moment I knew that my kidney trouble was healed, and I have never been troubled since with any ailment of that kind. "Two months after this I heard of the Christian Al- liance, and that they prayed in Jesus' name for the sick. Mr. Mullens, of our city, telegraphed to my brothers in Texas that, if they wanted to see me alive, they must come immediately, as prostration had set in. Next day I told my wife, if she and the nurse would dress me, and put me on the car, while they prayed at home, I would go where they prayed in Jesus' name for the sick. "I went down to 107 J North Main Street, Los An- geles, and, with the help of two brethren, resting three times, I was taken into the hall. "Brother W. C. Stevens asked me my desire. I said I came to be healed in Jesus' name. After a few words of exhortation they anointed me, laid their hands on me, and prayed, claiming the fulfillment of the prom- ise recorded in James v, 15, 'The prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up.' My pain was more than I could endure, every joint seemed to be pulling asunder, every bone breaking. I told them I must go home. 134 MODBEN MlEACLES. "Two brethren helped me downstairs. I suffered greater pain than I had known since I was first stricken. At the foot of the stairway there is a flagstone three inches above the pavement, and as the brethren let go of me, I stepped upon the flagstone with my right foot, with my left foot toward the street below. Somewhere between the flagstone and the pavement — as already said, only three inches below — the Lord made me a free man! He delivered me from the power of the devil: the prayer of faith did save the sick, the Lord did raise me up! "As I went from the curbstone to the carriage, my whole thought was to go home and tell my precious wife; and as I went staggering into the house, light- hearted and free, my wife looked up, and said, 'Darling, how is it?' 'Wife/ said I, 'I am well!' I expected to hear her shout 'Glory!' but instead I observed the most incredulous expression upon her sweet face, as good as to say: 'Poor fool! Those people told you to say you were healed, and now you believe it/ I said, 'Wife, get me some beefsteak and bread, quick/ for I was hungry, the first time for months. It was the first time I had asked for something to eat that I really desired it. She speedily prepared it; and 0, how sweet, how sweet it was! I was so ravenous that I could not wait to use my knife and fork, but, taking it into my hands, devoured it like a hungry dog. I then said, 'Wife, fix my bed; I am sleepy/ She then, with increased haste and confi- dence, prepared my bed for me. "It was many months since I wanted to go to bed when I was up, or desired to get up when reclining. I slept from nine o'clock that night until eight next morn- A Makvelous Experience. 135 ing, and awoke feeling that I was indeed healed of the Lord, made 'every whit whole.' That was the 5th of February, 1895. "When I was stricken down, I weighed 225 pounds; when I was healed, I weighed 100 pounds. Three months after I was healed I weighed 190 pounds, having gained just one pound a day. Now I weigh 228 pounds — three pounds more than I weighed when I was injured. "I want to state that my heart had become misplaced, and that the doctors pronounced my left lung entirely gone. The morning after my healing I felt my heart beat 52 to the minute, when previously it had been run- ning from 120 to 160 per minute. "My nurse, Brother Lindsay, said to me, 'What about that pus, doctor? Will you not have a surgeon to take it out?' I had never thought of the pus poisoning my system; and I asked for the Holy Spirit to guide me. Quickly I looked up and said, 'Brother Lindsay, I have taken Jesus as my Physician, and I now take Him as my Surgeon/ Immediately there was a gurgling sound, and the pus came out through my bronchial tubes, fill- ing a vessel, and scenting the house with a foul odor, as of rotten eggs, so that nobody could stay in the room. "I have been examined repeatedly by physicians, and they have pronounced my left lung in as good condition as any one's; especially Dr. W. Exline, of Denver, Colo., who was with me for four months. He examined me ten months after I was healed, and publicly, at the Y. M. C. A. hall, Los Angeles, pronounced me a well man, and said that nothing but the unseen Hand could have thus marvelously restored me." 136 Modern Miracles. After our brother had related this experience of the Lord's healing to an immense audience, he called for those who were sick and wanted prayer in Jesus' name for their recovery, also for sinners who desired salvation, to come forward, when, it is estimated, as many as two hundred persons responded. The peculiarity of it was that many of those who came for healing were the doc- tor's own patients — Dr. Yoakum uses natural remedies and skill for those who have not faith to take Jesus as their physician — upon seeing which our brother humor- ously remarked to Brother Merritt, of New York, who was standing beside him at the time, he believed he would have to hunt himself a new calling. "And it came to pass that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux, to whom Paul entered in and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him. So when this was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed." (Acts xxviii, 8, 9.) CHAPTER XX. TESTIMONY OF MRS. L. B. DEARBORNE. Beveely, Mass., January 15, 1901. Me. H. T. Davis: Dear Sir, — Your letter at hand. Have only a word to add to my testimony. Have been perfectly well for seven years, proving that the healing was complete. May the Lord bless you in your work! Sincerely, Mks. L. B. Deaeboene. Eor twelve years I had suffered with a serious internal trouble which the best medical skill and treatment failed to remove. Four years ago la grippe left me with a complication which baffled the skill of five physicians, besides my husband, who is a physician, and finally prostrated me for ten weeks with ulceration of the in- testines, during which time, and for weeks afterward, I was obliged to live entirely upon liquid food. Improving somewhat, I was able to take a little solid food, and, with careful driving, to ride each pleasant day; but I soon found my limit in food, exertion, and pleas- ure, and was obliged to rigidly adhere to it in order to be in any degree comfortable. The nerves of my face were so sensitive that I could not lie down, even in a 137 138 Modern Miracles. warm, closed room, without lace or something of the kind over my face, as the ordinary circulation of air was sufficient to start up neuralgia, and, rather than suffer its excruciating pain, I was obliged to cover my face, even in the hottest weather, when reclining. How- ever thirst}^, not a swallow of liquid could be taken be- tween meals without bringing on the distressing symp- toms of intestinal trouble. I could not bear the least conversation after my evening meal without a sleepless night, and, with the many other distressing and annoy- ing phases of my condition, of which these are but sam- ples, I often said, "It is more than it is worth to live." There was so little good that I could do, and so much care was needed to keep myself from being a burden to others. About this time I heard Mrs. Whittemore, of New York, speak of her healing of spinal disease which had been pronounced incurable. My esteem for Mrs. Whitte- more compelled me to admit the truth in her case; but when she spoke of throwing aside remedies, I was re- pelled. I considered it mere presumption to refuse to use the means which God had provided, and then ask Him to use experimental power instead, little dreaming it was what He had commanded, as in James v, 14, and that the remedies were but another proof of His loving care for His children who had not learned or could not fully trust Him. I tried to dismiss the subject from my mind. A few weeks later, while reading Matt, xxi, I was pe- culiarly impressed by the twenty-first and twenty-second verses; also Matt, xvii and xx. I saw, as never before, that the usual theological explanation was entirely in- adequate. Christ was speaking of temporal and mate- Testimony of Mes. L. B. Dearborn. 139 rial things, and "all things" certainly includes more than spiritual. I knew that He who said, "Ye shall give an account of every idle word," would not Him- self use idle words; and I began praying and believing that He would heal me if it was His will. I knew He could heal me, but dishonored Him by thinking perhaps He was not willing to do what He had the power to do, as my illness might be needed as a discipline — a fallacy too prevalent to-day. If sickness is a discipline from God, why not submit to it, or go to God alone for its removal, rather than be so inconsistent and rebellious as to try every means believed in to get out of the dis- cipline ? While praying to be healed, I still used my medicines, believing I ought, and that He would bless them. I grew continually worse, until my physicians told me all I could do was to experiment; I might find something that would help me; but the more I experimented in medicine, the worse I grew. That which helped one disease aggravated another, until in despair I dropped all medicine, except in extreme distress. My diet was confined exclusively to barley-flour gruel and boiled milk, the intestines refusing to retain or digest any other food; and I was on the verge of nervous prostration when the dear Lord brought me to feel that possibly Mrs. Whitte- more might be right, and it would be well to go to New York and investigate Divine Healing — not Christian Science — that being the only place that I had known of its being taught. To attempt such a journey in my condition seemed foolhardy, and I dismissed the thought, only to have it recur again and again for days, until, taking the matter to the Lord, I felt that it was His 140 Modern- Miracles. will for me, and that He would supply the strength for the journey. October 23, 1893, I went to Berachah Home, New York City, carrying my medicine and barley-flour with me, but determined to learn the secret of healing through Christ. The fact of the atonement being the foundation for our healing was a revelation to me at the morning prayers, and I spent the entire forenoon alone with God in deep study of His Word, until I became convinced of the glorious truth, and, no longer doubting His will- ingness to heal, I claimed my healing through the atone- ment, and, stepping out upon God's promises, I was healed. At the end of the week I returned home well, able to digest and assimilate any food, to walk a mile with- out difficulty, and to attend to my household duties with ease. My strength has incrseased until the query comes from all about me, "How can you accomplish so much?" I simply depend, moment by moment, upon Him who has promised to supply all my needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. One or two testings came; but I treated them as temptations of Satan, and just reverently, but firmly, held God to His Word, and He honored it by removing them. I have used no remedies of any kind for a year, and I realize what a luxury and an economy it is to be free from dosing and drugs. that Christians would see their privilege as sons and daughters of God, and learn how much better it is to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man! Lila C. Dearborne. 38 Colon Street, Beverly, Mass. CHAPTER XXI. A BROKEN SHOULDER INSTANTLY HEALED IN ANSWER TO PRAYER. Mks. J. M. Saxton is a member of the Trinity Meth- odist Episcopal Church, of Lincoln, Neb. We are per- sonally acquainted with her. When a small girl, her little brother had his shoulder badly broken, and was instantly healed in answer to prayer. We requested Mrs. Saxton to get her father's testi- mony touching this remarkable miracle. This she kindly did. The following letter from her father, and the testi- mony, signed by her father and mother, uncle and aunt, all four of whom were present when the boy was healed, speak for themselves: "Ellington, Chautauqua County, N. Y. March 2, 1901. "Dear Children, — It was — and no mistake — a mir- acle and one of the proofs I had that there is no such thing as a difficult or hard case for the Lord. He speaks, and it is done. I sometimes wish I had a thousand tongues to sing my dear Redeemer's praise! "Your father, J. W. Luce." 141 142 MODEKN MlEACLES. "In 1871, while haymaking, the Lord wrought a mir- acle on our oldest son, a boy seven years of age. "The boy and I, with the hired man, had rode in from a distant part of the field on a load of hay. In an attempt to jump from the load to the mow, where I was, the boy hit his head against the lower corner of the beam, and, turning a somersault, went down be- tween the load and mow, headforemost, to the naked barn-floor, dislocating and smashing down his shoulder so we could hear the broken bones grate when we moved the arm upward, or in any way. And whenever we at- tempted to move the arm he would immediately faint away. The next day my older brother and his wife were strongly impressed that we were in trouble, and came over. We were indeed glad to see them, for we wanted help in prayer. We all knelt, and I requested them not to rise from their knees until the boy was healed. We each prayed four times, when the boy was instantly healed, and exclaimed, 'Ma^ my arm is well/ "The next morning, to prove to an ungodly uncle that he was not a cripple, as his uncle told him he would be for life, he carried a tin pail of water on that arm from the spring. "That boy is now a strong, square-shouldered man, has never been troubled in that part of his body with weak- ness or any deformity. "(Signed,) "Joseph W. Luce, "Lucy P. Luce, "Rev. William Luce, "Box anna Luce." CHAPTER XXII. ADDITIONAL TESTIMONIES. 1. Testimony of Rev. P. W. Philpott. Hamilton, Canada, January 18, 1901. Deae Bkothek, — If my testimony can be made a blessing, yon are most welcome to nse it as you desire. Numbers vi, 24-26. Yours in Him, P. W. Philpott. "After some seven years' incessant preaching and singing, both in and out of doors, my voice failed me, and I was forced to give up public ministry, and con- fine myself to office work for some months. Besides the loss of voice, I suffered dreadfully from what is com- monly known as 'preacher's sore throat,' and my strength so gave out that I could not walk three blocks without being exhausted. I was discouraged and despondent. I consulted several of the leading physicians in Toronto, but none of them gave me any hope of ever being able to preach again, and two of them stated that I must never attempt such a thing. At this time I placed myself in the hands of dear old Dr. Akins, of Toronto (he is now in glory), and he gave me treatment for several months; 143 144 Modern Miracles. but my throat grew worse and I became more and more disheartened. About the last time I went to have my throat examined, the doctor said as he looked at it, f Why, it is a house afire, Philpott.' His advice was to go up to the Northwest on a farm for two or three years, as he thought that climate Would help me. "Some five or six months before this I had attended a Divine healing meeting conducted by Pastor John Sal- mon and Dr. E. J. Zimmerman, but was so disgusted at what I then thought was the biggest lot of humbug I had ever heard from religious teachers, that I left the service before it was half over. "But day by day, as my throat became worse and my voice weaker, the dear Lord kept one or two of the pas- sages I had heard our brethren emphasize continually before me, especially James v, 14, and I could not make it mean anything else than what it said, and concluded that God would heal me if I would obey the command of His Word. But the difficult part was the calling for the elders. I knew of no one who would anoint me apart from Brothers Zimmerman and Salmon, and I was con- siderably prejudiced against them; but this all had to come out before the Lord would make me whole. "And at last I conquered the flesh and went to Bethany Home, where a Divine-healing service was being held, and confessed my faults and requested the prayers of, and to be anointed by, these servants of the Master. "Christ had been the Savior of my soul for ten years, but that night He became the strength of my life also. "I was healed that night, and went the next Sunday and conducted three services, and in ten days I was in Additional Testimonies. 145 the midst of a great camp-meeting, where I preached from two to three sermons each day for two weeks, and for eight years He has been my strength. I preach nearly every night of my life, and very often three times a day for weeks together. In the summer, besides my regular indoor meetings I preach in the open air three times every week, and I do it all with greater ease than I ever did my work before I knew this 'more excellent way/ To God be the glory through Jesus Christ!" 2. Mrs. L. A. Gilbert Healed of a Tumor. "Hammonton, N. J., January 18, 1901. "My Dear Brother, — You can use my testimony, and welcome. I can add nothing only to emphasize all I have said. Another year of work and marvelous health has passed since the writing of the following testimony. "With best wishes for the success of your work, I am most sincerely yours, Mrs. L. A. Gilbert." "It is nearly six years since I was healed of a large tumor. I was then living in a suburb of Portland, Ore- gon, and did not know of any Christians about me who believed in the prayer of faith to save the sick, accord- ing to St. James. I tried, but in vain, to find some one able and willing to offer that prayer. Failing in this, I trusted the Lord alone to come to my relief. "I had learned while living in California several years before, both by observation and experience, that Christ was as able and willing to heal all our diseases now as when He made such a specialty of healing while upon 10 146 Modern Miracles. earth. There I was surrounded by a loving band of be- lievers, who saw that in the atonement our healing was purchased, as well as the forgiveness of our sins and the bearing of our sorrows and burdens, if we but cast them upon Him. Now, I seemed shut in alone with God, but was not afraid. One year before this I had been almost instantly healed of a serious lung trouble, the effects of la grippe, while looking up my Bible passages on the subject. I got right up and wrote in my diary under that date, 'Have come to a new place in my life; will set up a pillar as did Jacob of old/ I then gave myself, all I had and the work of my hands, to the Lord, as never before. From that time on, until I saw the tumor grow- ing upon my body, my life had been one continual psalm of praise. "Work for others opened up without my seeking, more especially jail and prison work. Then work among fallen women, and so on; but to return to my subject. From the beginning this tumor was not a feather's weight to my mind, for I knew whom I had believed. While waiting patiently for the Lord to work in His own time and way, a most devoted Christian man came to the house, whom I knew had not only been healed, but kept well by his daily faith. I told him I believed he had been sent to pray for me. He said that he would prefer to join with others of like faith, and mentioned some sisters across the river who went out to pray for the sick. After assur- ing me they were not 'cranks/ only plain, simple Chris- tians, we were soon on our way to find them. The busy housekeepers gladly laid aside their work to read God's Word, to pray, to anoint, and to sing, 'He healeth me, Additional Testimonies. 147 He healeth me,' etc. It was a blessed, quiet, solemn hour with God. I went out from that house fully expecting to be healed soon, as I had complied with all the conditions that I knew of; not so. As week followed week, and month followed month, I saw myself getting larger and weaker, and all the physical conditions during this time no words can express. My body seemed given over to Satan, but my spirit was as light as air. Daily and hourly the tempter would say to me, 'You know you are getting worse ; do not deceive yourself any longer/ Just as often I would turn and reply, 'I am healed, I know I am healed, only waiting the manifestation in God's time/ This was all so different from what I had anticipated; but as my body weakened, my faith strengthened, until I told the Lord I would go ten years if He wished me to, and still believe I would be fully restored to health. "To me it was like a mathematical problem. I knew God was able and willing to heal. That nothing was hard for Him. That He was no respecter of persons. That He had healed thousands of others, and was just as willing to heal me. There I hung. At the earnest request of a relative, a specialist was called to the house to see if I really had a tumor. The physician said, among other things, 'You have no time to spare in being oper- ated upon/ He told me what kind of tumor it was, and the immediate danger either with or without an oper- ation. All this did not startle me, as I had but one object in getting this information, to silence skeptics afterwards. The long dark period that I was given over to be tempted and tried in this manner, I could compare to nothing but being under the sea with Jonah, away 148 Modern Miracles. from all human help and with 'the weeds about my head/ When relief came, it was so gradual that I could scarcely perceive it. My strength came first; then very slowly the tumor disappeared. 'TJp to this time I had always been considered deli- cate in health. Since then I have not only had almost perfect health, but have had most remarkable power of endurance from day to day." 3. Testimony of A. W. Hall. "East Highland, Cal., January 17, 1901. "My Dear Brother in Christ, — I am glad if any- thing I can say will bring any honor to our living Lord, and gladly consent to your use of my testimony. He who freely gives us all things has imparted His life to us. He does not withhold anything, and gives us omnipo- tent power in prayer. I often think of the time when I was sick as the best ninety days of my life, and I am in my sixty-seventh year. "We who are bone of His bone, flesh of His flesh, members of His body (Ephesians v, 30), can confidently rely on His promises, and that He will surely care for His own body. Praise the Lord! "Sincerely yours, A. W. Hall." "A little more than one year ago I fell from a ladder while picking oranges. My left forearm and hand re- ceived some injury, but not enough to prevent me from keeping at work. In a few days the arm commenced to swell and darken, and phlegmonous erysipelas devel- Additional Testimonies. 149 oped. All of my family have for years believed that Jesus made full atonement for body, as well as soul, and that He did not need man's help any more to-day than He did when Paul, preaching to the Athenians, declared (Acts xvii, 25), 'Nor is served by men's hands as some- thing, Himself giving to all life and breath and all things/ (E. V.) We did not seek or ask medical aid; but a very dear friend, who is a physician of many years' practice, came to see me as one friend calls on another. "I daily grew worse, and my arm was shown him when I was in a semi-conscious state. "He was very much disturbed and distressed, and went to my son-in-law to have him inform me and my family of my condition. The doctor stated that my arm was dead, and unless it was cut off I would surely die; that there was no other remedy, nothing could restore it to life. This was made known to us, and of course caused deep sorrow and pain. But none of us wished to change from our belief that Jesus would care for me, and the Lord's will was our will. "The following Sunday we had a call from a very dear sister and brother in Christ, and of course we had a season of prayer and praise, and I felt the sister's prayer would be answered. "My condition was desperate, the arm and hand greatly enlarged, swollen, and black, while large holes in the arm and back of hand exposed the muscles and bones to plain view. Quantities of matter would exude when the dressings were changed, filling the whole house with most offensive odors. In a day or two our friend, the doctor, called to add his entreaty that I should consent 150 MODERN" MlRACLES. to amputation; but after examination he was surprised to find that healing had commenced, the odor was gone, the swelling greatly reduced, and there was no reason for amputation. The doctor thought it would be impos- sible for me to ever have the use of my arm, or the flesh and skin to close over the wound. But to-day only a faint scar shows where were great holes, and I have almost complete use of hand and arm. "The greatest blessings remain to be told. The Holy Spirit was with me, filling me with peace and joy. "In all of my long life I can not recall a time so full of content and happiness as the ninety days I was con- fined to my house during this sickness and convalescence. Many times, not once or twice, but scores of times, did Jehovah Eophi (Ex. xv, 26) answer silent prayers of myself or others, and quiet rest or sleep take the place of pain and suffering. I had many times feelings of exultation and praise to take complete possession of my spirit and body. Praise be to His name!" 4. Testimony of Susie H. Phillips. "Newport, Ky., January 14, 1901. "Mr. H. T. Davis: "Brother in Christ, — Your request has been received. Have only to say that if my testimony can be of any use to you, and bring any glory to my precious Master, I am thankful and willing that you should use it. This testimony was written nine years ago. The dear Lord healed me in the early summer of 1885. It is now nearly sixteen years since He came to abide. He is still the Additional Testimonies. 151 same loving, precious, gentle, tender Shepherd, Friend, and Healer as in days of yore; nay, much more, my health, my Bridegroom, and my coming King. Praise His name. Susie H. Phillips. "1032 Columbia Street, Newport, Ky." "The dear Lord allowed my health and strength and all to fail to bring me to Himself. I was just eighteen years of age when I suddenly realized that I was a hope- less, helpless cripple. Through a bit of girlish willful- ness, and I think principally because I did not yield myself to God, my strength gave way. Disease that I knew nothing about had been making a prey of me, and now I was becoming more and more helpless every day. In the early spring of the next year I yielded my heart to Jesus, and found pardon for all my sins. After this I had a deep longing for holiness of heart and life. I read and studied and prayed all alone with Him, whom now 1 could call my God. But I was watching my feelings, and of course I felt no better. Occasionally I read or heard of Divine healing. Once I thought I would try to walk in the strength of the Lord, as I had lost the use of myself so much that I could not stand on my feet or walk; I fell. I was wearing a support and trusting in the arm of flesh, and the dear Lord had to let me down a little lower. The fall affected my spine, and then I was more or less confined to my bed, and was getting more crooked and helpless. "Then the Lord sent me a message through some of His dear people, that I must lay aside all medicine and helps of every kind. If I wanted Him to heal me, I 152 Modern - Mikaoles. must trust in God alone. More than this, I must conse- crate myself entirely to the Lord, that henceforth I should yield a willing obedience to the voice of my God, take me where He will. It was something new to not accept my freedom, and tell what He has done for me. I accordingly arose from my bed, having lain aside the support I had been wearing and all medicine, not watch- ing my feelings this time, but trusting alone in Him and His finished work, and with a little help from my mother walked out into the next room, the first time for two years. My almost constant prayer now was, 'Father, glorify Thy name.' how sweetly He would answer, 'I have glorified it, and will glorify it again!' And then wave after wave of Divine power swept over my entire being, and I felt within myself that I was made whole. I sometimes said to my mother, 'I feel the peace of God in my body.' how I loved to say, 'Thy will be done!' I kept gaining in strength every day. The symptoms gradually disappeared. They never troubled me very much because I was trusting His Word and work this time — not my feelings; so that in one year after I ac- cepted Jesus as my Physician every symptom had dis- appeared, and I was doing house-cleaning and all kinds of hard work that a woman must needs do on a farm. A complete redemption for soul and body. , It is now nearly seven years since Jesus healed me, and it is need- less to say I have never since desired any other physician. Neither have I at any time since taken medicine nor used remedies. Praise the Lord, glory to His name! 'Jesus is mighty to save!' Praise His name!" Additional Testimonies. 153 5. Testimony of W. H. Crawford. "Manchester, N. H., January 14, 1901. "Me. H. T. Davis: "Dear Friend and Brother, — I received your note of the 10th inst., and will say, if my testimony will be of use to God, surely you are at liberty to use it. May God bless you in His service, and make you a blessing to others! "Yours in Jesus' name, W. H. Crawfokd. "48 A Street, Manchester, 1ST. H. "When only thirteen years old I injured my ankle. I was riding on the tailboard of an express wagon. I jumped off and slipped on a car-track, spraining the ankle, and I also dislocated the kneecap of the right leg. "I was laid up six weeks to draw the kneecap back into place. Not being able to step on the leg on account of having to keep the leg out straight, the ankle was overlooked. I was a wild boy, getting into all the vices of sin my age would permit. I finally got so bad my father thought best to send me out of Boston into the country, which I thank God was the means whereby I heard of a Jesus that saves. "I went to one of the best surgeons; but how I suf- fered with it no one knows, only those who have had a like experience. "0 if I had only known then of Jesus' power to heal the body! I belonged to a Church that did not teach such things. "I endured this suffering for thirteen long years, and then I heard of a preacher who anointed the sick accord- ing to James v, 14, 15. So I went to hear him out of 154 Mode™ Miracles. curiosity, and was convicted of the truth of it in the Scriptures. But Satan said it was not for everybody, and so I doubted. One night about twelve o'clock I couldn't stand the pain any longer; I got out of bed, fell on my knees, and cried to God, and He answered me with this Scripture (Psalm ciii, 3), 'Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases/ . "The Lord said so sweetly, 'Can not you believe My Word?' What a rebuke! I said, 'Yes, Lord.' Then the Lord said, 'Throw away the iodine/ '0! must I do that?' and after a few moments I said, 'Yes, Lord/ I went and threw it out of the window as far as I could, and came back and thanked the Lord for my healing, went to bed, slept the rest of the night. "I arose the next morning, dressed, went to breakfast, and did not know by feeling, till the middle of the fore- noon, that I had had any pain in my ankle, and that was not very much. In less than three days it was perfectly well, and as strong as the other. It has been six years since this was done, and I have been kept with only one test, the soreness came into it a little to see if I would trust; but I gave Jesus the victory. I also was subject to blind headaches ; but they were committed to Him, and they had to go. Praise the Lord! I want to recommend my Jesus as an all round Savior, and He does not do anything by halves. Just trust Him." CHAPTER XXIII. HOW TO RECEIVE DIVINE HEALING. To offek "the prayer of faith" for the healing of the body some things must be clearly and definitely settled in the mind. First. Settle it in your own mind that Divine healing is promised in God's Word as definitely as pardon, or sanctification, or any other blessing. Settle it at once and forever, so that you will never discuss it again, that this is God's Word. I remember, after weeks of rigid searching of the Scriptures and intense, agonizing prayer, I reached the point where I saw Divine healing in the Bible as clearly as I saw any other doctrine therein taught. It stood out before me as bright as the noonday sun. Second. Settle it in your mind that Divine healing is for you, individually, and that it is for you on the simple condition of faith. Your faith in the Lord Jesus as your Divine Healer must be implicit. There must be no wavering. "He that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed." There must be no "if," no "perhaps," no "hesitation," whatever. Plant yourself on the everlasting promises of God, and claim them for the thing prayed for, without a wavering doubt. 155 156 MODEOEMT MlKACLES. The faith that brings healing to the body is God- given. It is "the faith of the Son of God," hence Om- nipotent. (Galatians ii, 20.) The faith that brings pardon and sanctification is a grace; the faith that brings healing to the body is a gift. (1 Corinthians xii, 9, 28.) It is a wonderful gift, and this wonderful gift thousands more might have if they only lived up to their high privileges. Third. "You must reach a point, and cross it, and put down a stake, and mark it forever, that at that very moment, until the coming of the great judgment-day, something was settled and passed out of your hands forever." I remember when I called heaven and earth to wit- ness that I took Jesus Christ as my physical life, just as I had taken Him as my spiritual life. That seemed to me the most sacred moment of my life, and that trans- action the most sacred transaction I ever entered into. It means a- great deal to pass the body over forever into the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ. Fourth. Your heart must be perfectly right before God. There must be nothing between you and the Al- mighty. Between you and the great Jehovah there must be perfect harmony. Then you must be right with your fellow-men. If there is anything wrong between you and your fellow-men you must resolve to settle it at once. Fifth. You must ask to be healed for God's glory alone, and when healed spend your whole life for God's glory. I remember very distinctly when I said: "0 Lord, I ask to be healed, not for my own personal gratification, How to Receive Divine Healing. 157 not for any selfish motive whatever, but for Thy glory only." And since I took Christ as my Healer, it has seemed that I belong to Him in a sense that I never be- longed to Him before; that every thought and word and act must be for the glory of God, in a deeper sense than ever before felt. Sixth. As conviction for pardon and sanctification come to the heart, so conviction to give up human reme- dies and trust in Christ alone for the healing of the body will come to the soul. This conviction may come through the Word of God, the Holy Spirit, or human agency. This conviction should be clear, and until it is we ought to wait upon God until we are certain that it is His will that we should be healed by faith. Seventh. "Remember that with healing, as with sal- vation, you must accept it by faith before you realize it. It sometimes is experienced instantaneously, at others gradually. Leave that with God." (John iv, 52.) Finally. We must all die. "His days are determined." (Job xiv, 5.) "It is appointed unto man once to die." (Hebrews ix, 27.) There is a limit to life. When that is reached, then faith will claim heaven instead of health, and the trusting child of God, divinely persuaded, may be enabled to feel and say: "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith! Hence- forth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the Righteous Judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing." (2 Timothy iv, 7.) BOOKS BY REV. H. T. DAVIS. Ipetfect Tbappiness. PART FIRST . . . Perfect Happiness Promised. PART SECOND. . Perfect Happiness Conditioned. PART THIRD . . . Perfect Happiness Experienced. PART FOURTH. . Perfect Happiness Retained. "The reading of this book is a benediction. The sweetness and purity of the style, and the halo of the full assurance of faith which is breathed into each sentence, foreshadows the perfect happiness proclaimed." — Omaha Christian Advocate. " The attractive title of this book is but an indication of the attractions of its contents. The author weaves into its pages enough mention of his own experience to convince the thought- ful reader that the writer knows whereof he speaks." — Christian Standard. "It brims over with messages, comforting and appealing, to souls that do not know what perfect happiness is. It is a gospel message, full of the gospel's sweetness and strength and cheer." — Epworth Herald. PRICE, - - $J.OO. Solitary Paces flftabe <3Iab. " His pages read like romance. The book should have a place in every Methodist library." — Central Christian Advocate. "The story is a fascinating one. Read it, young Epworth Leaguers, for the information and inspiration it will give you. Read it, boys and girls of our Sunday-schools, if you want to be as much interested as in any story. Read it, older brothers and sisters." — Baltimore Methodist. "His portrayal of the hardships undergone, and the triumphs won by devoted itinerants, has the flavor of old-time Methodistic romance. If abundance of personal information, unselfishness of purpose, and consecration to the elevation of men, be the standards of estimate, Mr. Davis has produced a publication of sterling worth." — Methodist Review. PRICE, - - $J.50. Zhc Shining Maig, 3ust iissueb, Library Edition, 25 cents. Cloth, 75 cents* Be a Eight B^rcr. If this book has proved a blessing to you, would you not like to help make it a blessing to others ? You can do so in the following ways : By Speaking a Good Word for it. By Lending it to Inquirers of the "Shining Way/' ^ a* By Donating it. ** %m *# By Sending us the Addresses of those whom you think would be glad to purchase it. %& We invite your co-operation in its circulation, and extend to you the following offer : FOR THE PRICE OF THREE, WE WILL SEND YOU FOUR COPIES, POST-PAID. tPrtce, Library Edition, 25 cts. cPrice, Cloth Edition, 75 cts. SPECIAL RATES IN LARGER QUANTITIES. address m. W. KNAPP, REVIVALIST OFFICE CINCINNATI, O. Christ Crowned IT Within. Revised Edition. 18,000 Issued. 202 pp. Price, 75c. CONTENTS: Christ Crowned Within— The Soul's Desire— The Object of Man's Creation— Promised— The Object of His Enthronement — The Great Need oi the Church — Re- sults of His Enthronement — Purity — A V>ivine Fulness — Perfect Love — Holiness — Growth and Fruit — Power and Prosperity — A Stable Experience and Spiritual Enlighten- ment — Assurance and Humility — Peace, Joy, and Divine Guidance — False Fear Banished — Religion Made Easy — Heaven on Earth — Heaven Above — When and How At- tained — How Retained — Autographs for the King's Children. WHAT IS SAID OF IT. The following are a few of the many kind words which the book has received from various classes of Christian workers of different denominations : Stimulating.— It will doubtless be useful in stimulating the reader to a higher life.— North western Advocate. Original.— The method is original, the style is attractive, and the spirit most delightful.— Christian Witness. Scriptural. — It is clear, Scriptural, aud warm with the pulsations of divine life.— Rev. W. Taylor. Glowing.— The evangelistic fire of the author glows on every page.— Rev. F, L. McCoy. Golden. — It is one of the best books ever printed. It is worth its weight in gold. — The Word and Way. Striking. — "Christ Crowned Within " is the title of a most interesting and useful book. The type is clear ; the chapters short and Scriptural ; exegesis clear, striking, and in perfect harmony with inspired truth. The book deserves a wide circulation. We heartily commend it to the public— Methodist Standard. A Breeze from Heaven.— We have the delightful book kindly sent us by the publishers, and it is a mine of soul-wealth to us, a garden of spices, a breeze from heaven. — Hubbard Times, Hubbard, Iowa. Baptist Praise. — I can heartily commend it for its originality, sim- plicity, and sweetness. "Christ Crowned Within." I am conscious that He is so crowned to-day.— Rev. Edgar Levy. Sell at Sight.— I sold two of them before I got home.— J. W. Robins, Kansas. Filled with the Spirit.— I will take great pleasure in placing "Christ Crowned Within " into the hands of others^ feeling sure that it will prove a blessing, as it is filled with the Holy Spirit.— L McNair, Madison, Fla. Jttlj»i&. 19<~ JUL 12 1901