Is not the help of G.o.d as necessary now as then? The apostles knew well that it was not the eloquence of their preaching which caused the truth to triumph, but they knew the necessity for the Holy Spirit to manifest His presence by miracles. It was needful that the living G.o.d should stretch forth His hand, that there might be healings, miracles, and signs in the name of His holy Son Jesus. It was only thus that His servants rejoiced, and, strengthened by His presence, could speak His Word with boldness and teach the world to fear His name.
Do not the divine promises concern us also? The apostles counted on these words of the Lord before He ascended, "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature... and these signs shall follow them that believe... they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover" (Mark 16:15,17-18). This charge indicates the divine vocation of the Church; the promise which follows it shows us what is her armor, and proves to us that the Lord acts in concert with her. It was because the apostles counted on this promise that they prayed the Lord to grant them this proof of His presence. They had been filled with the Holy Ghost on the Day of Pentecost, but they still needed the supernatural signs which His power works.
The same promise is as much for us, for the command to preach the Gospel cannot be severed from the promise of divine healing with which it is accompanied. It is nowhere to be found in the Bible that this promise was not for future times. In all ages G.o.d"s people greatly need to know that the Lord is with them, and to possess the irrefutable proof of it. Therefore this promise is for us; let us pray for its fulfillment.
Ought we to reckon on the same grace? We read in the Acts when the apostles had prayed, "they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the Word of G.o.d with boldness...
And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people...
and believers were the more added to the Lord, mult.i.tudes both of men and women" (Acts 4:31; 5:12,14). Oh, what joy and what new strength would G.o.d"s people receive today if anew the Lord should thus stretch forth His hand! How many wearied and discouraged laborers grieve that they do not see more results, more blessings on their labors! What life would come into their faith if signs of this kind should arise to prove to them that G.o.d is with them! Many who are indifferent would be led to reflect, more than one doubter would regain confidence, and all unbelievers would be reduced to silence. And the poor heathen! How he would awake if he saw by facts that which words had not enabled him to lay hold of, if he were forced to acknowledge that the Christians G.o.d is the living G.o.d who doeth wonders, the G.o.d of love who blesses!
Awake, awake, put on thy strength, Church of Christ! Although thou hast lost by thy unfaithfulness the joy of seeing allied to the preaching of the Word the hand of the Lord unfaithfulness the joy of seeing allied to the preaching of the Word the hand of the Lord stretched out to heal, the Lord is ready to grant thee this grace anew. Acknowledge that it is stretched out to heal, the Lord is ready to grant thee this grace anew. Acknowledge that it is thine own unbelief which has so long deprived thee of it, and pray for pardon. Clothe thyself thine own unbelief which has so long deprived thee of it, and pray for pardon. Clothe thyself with the strength of prayer. with the strength of prayer.
"Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord. Awake as in the ancient days"
(Isaiah 51:9).
CHAPTER XVIII.
SIN AND SICKNESS.
"The prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another that ye may be healed"
(James 5:15, 16).
Here, as in other Scriptures, the pardon of sins and the healing of sickness are closely united.
James declares that pardon of sins will be granted with the healing; and for this reason he desires to see confession of sin accompany the prayer which claims healing. We know that confession of sin is indispensable to obtain from G.o.d the pardon of sin: it is not less so to obtain healing. Unconfessed sin presents an obstacle to the prayer of faith; in any case, the sickness may soon reappear, and for this reason.
The first care of a physician, when he is called to treat a patient, is to diagnose the cause of the disease. If he succeeds he stands a better chance to combat it. Our G.o.d also goes back to the primary cause of all sickness that is, sin. It is our part to confess and G.o.d"s to grant the pardon which removes this first cause, so that healing can take place. In seeking for healing by means of earthly remedies, the first thing to do is to find a clever physician, and then to follow his prescriptions exactly; but in having recourse to the prayer of faith, it is needful in having recourse to the prayer of faith, it is needful to fix our eyes, above all, upon the Lord, and to ascertain how we stand with Him to fix our eyes, above all, upon the Lord, and to ascertain how we stand with Him. James therefore points out to us a condition which is essential to the recovery of our health; namely, that we confess and forsake sin.
Sickness is a consequence of sin. It is because of sin that G.o.d permits it; it is in order to show us our faults, to chasten us, and purify us from them. Sickness is therefore a visible sign of G.o.d"s judgment upon sin. It is not that the one who is sick is necessarily a greater sinner than another who is in health. On the contrary, it is often the most holy among the children of G.o.d whom He chastens, as we see from the example of Job. Neither is it always to check some fault which we can easily determine: it is especially to draw the attention of the sick one to that which remains in him of the egotism of the old man and of all which hinders him from a life entirely consecrated to his G.o.d. The first step which the sick one has to take in the path of divine healing will be therefore to let the Holy Spirit of G.o.d probe his heart and convince him of sin. After which will come, also, humiliation, decision to break with sin, and confession. To confess our sins is to lay them down before G.o.d as in Achans case (Joshua 7:23), to subject them to His judgment, with the fixed purpose to fall into them no more. A sincere confession will be followed by a new a.s.surance of pardon.
Joshua 7 23 And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the LORD.
"If he has committed sins they shall be forgiven him." When we have confessed our sins, we must receive also the promised pardon, believing that G.o.d gives it in very deed. Faith in G.o.d"s pardon is often vague in the child of G.o.d. Either he is uncertain, or he returns to old impressions, to the time when he first received pardon; but the pardon which he now receives with confidence, in answer to the prayer of faith, will bring him new life and strength. The soul then rests under the efficacy of the blood of Christ, receives from the Holy Spirit the certainty of the pardon of sin, and that therefore nothing remains to hinder the Savior from filling him with His love and with His grace. G.o.d"s pardon brings with it a divine life which acts powerfully upon him who receives it.
When the soul has consented to make a sincere confession and has obtained pardon, it is ready to lay hold of the promise of G.o.d; it is no longer difficult to believe that the Lord will raise up His sick one. It is when we keep far from G.o.d that it is difficult to believe; confession and pardon bring us quite near to Him. As soon as the cause of the sickness has been removed, the sickness itself can be arrested. Now it is easy for the sick one to believe that if the Lord necessarily subjected the body to the chastis.e.m.e.nt of the sins committed, He also wills that, the sin being pardoned, this same body should receive the grace which manifests His love. His presence is revealed, a ray of life, of His divine life, comes to quicken the body, and the sick one proves that as soon as he is no longer separated from the Lord, the prayer of faith does save the sick.
CHAPTER XIX.
JESUS BORE OUR SICKNESS.
"Surely He hath borne our sicknesses and carried our sorrows... My Righteous Servant shall justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities... He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because... He bare the sin of many"
(Isaiah 53:4 RSV, margin, 11, 12).
Do you know this beautiful chapter, the fifty-third of Isaiah, which has been called the fifth Gospel? In the light of the Spirit of G.o.d, Isaiah describes beforehand the sufferings of the Lamb of G.o.d, as well as the divine graces which would result from them.
The expression "to bear" could not but appear in this prophecy. It is, in fact, the word which must accompany the mention of sin, whether as committed directly by the sinner, or whether as transmitted to a Subst.i.tute. The transgressor, the priest, and the expiatory victim must all bear the sin. In the same way, it is because the Lamb of G.o.d has borne our sins that G.o.d smote Him for the iniquity of us all. Sin was not found in Him, but it was put upon Him; He took it voluntarily upon Him. And it is because He bore it and that, in bearing it, He put an end to it that He has the power to save us. My Righteous Servant shall justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities... He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because... He bare the sin of many" (Isaiah 53:11,12). It is, therefore, because our sins have been borne by Jesus Christ that we are delivered from them as soon as we believe this truth; consequently we need no longer bear them ourselves.
In this same chapter, the expression "to bear" occurs twice, but in relation to two different things. It is said not only that the Lord"s righteous Servant has borne our sins (verse 12), but also that He has borne our sicknesses (verse 4, RV, margin). Thus His bearing our sicknesses forms an integral part of the Redeemers work as well as bearing our sins. Although Himself without sin He has borne our sins, and He has done as much for our sicknesses. The human nature of Jesus could not be touched by sickness because it remained holy. We never find in the account of His life any mention of sickness. Partic.i.p.ating in all the weaknesses of our human nature, hunger, thirst, fatigue and sleep, because all these things are not the consequence of sin, He still had no trace of sickness. As He was without sin, sickness had no hold on Him, and He could die only a violent death and that by His voluntary consent. Thus it is not in Him but on Him that we see sickness as well as sin; He took them upon Him and bore them of His own free will. In bearing them and taking them upon Him, He has by this very fact triumphed over them, and has acquired the right of delivering His children from them.
Sin had attacked and ruined equally the soul and the body. Jesus came to save both. Having taken upon Him sickness as well as sin, He is in a position to set us free from the one as well as the other, and that He may accomplish this double deliverance He expects from us only one thing: our faith.
As soon as a sick believer understands the meaning of the words, "Jesus has borne my sins,"
he does not fear to say also: "I need no longer bear my sins, they are upon me no longer." In the same way as soon as he has fully taken in and believed for himself that Jesus has borne our sicknesses, he does not fear to say: "I need no longer bear my sickness; Jesus in bearing sin bore also sickness which is its consequence; for both He has made propitiation, and He delivers me from both."
I have myself witnessed the blessed influence which this truth exercised one day upon a sick woman. For seven years she had been almost continually bedfast. A sufferer from tuberculosis, epilepsy, and other sicknesses, she had been a.s.sured that no hope of cure remained for her. She was carried into the room where the late Mr. W. E. Boardman was holding a Sunday evening service for the sick, and was laid in a half-fainting condition on the sofa. She was too little conscious to remember anything of what took place until she heard the words, "Himself took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses" (Matthew 8:17), and then she seemed to hear the words, "If He has borne your sicknesses, why then bear them yourself?
Get up."
"But," she thought, "if I attempt to get up, and fall upon the ground, what will they think of me?"
But the inward voice began again: "If He has borne my sins, why should I have to bear them?" To the astonishment of all who were present, she arose, and, although still feeble, sat down in a chair by the table. From that moment her healing made rapid progress. At the end of a few weeks she had no longer the appearance of an invalid, and later on her strength was such that she could spend many hours a day in visiting the poor. With what joy and love she could then speak of Him who was "the strength of her life" (Psalm 27:1).
Psalm 27 1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
She had believed that Jesus had borne her sicknesses as well as her sins, and her faith was not put to confusion. It is thus that Jesus reveals Himself as a perfect Savior to all those who will trust themselves unreservedly to Him.
CHAPTER XX.
IS SICKNESS A CHASTIs.e.m.e.nT?.
"For this cause many among you are weak and sickly, and not a few sleep. For if we discerned ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world"
(I Corinthians 11:30-32, RV).
In writing to the Corinthians the Apostle Paul must needs reprove them for the manner in which they observed the Lord"s Supper, drawing upon themselves the chastis.e.m.e.nts of G.o.d.
Here, therefore, we see sickness as a judgment of G.o.d, a chastis.e.m.e.nt for sin. Paul sees it to be a real chastis.e.m.e.nt since he afterwards says: "chastened of the Lord", and he adds that it is in order to hinder them from falling yet deeper into sin, to prevent them from being condemned with the world, that they are thus afflicted. He warns them that if they would be neither judged nor "chastened of the Lord", that if by such examination they discovered the cause of the sickness and condemned their sins, the Lord would no longer need to exercise severity. Is it not evident that here sickness is a judgment of G.o.d, a chastis.e.m.e.nt of sin, and that we may avoid it in examining and condemning ourselves?
Yes, sickness is, more often than we believe it, a judgment, a chastis.e.m.e.nt for sin. "G.o.d doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men" (Lamentations 3:33). It is not without a cause that He deprives us of health. Perhaps it may be to render us attentive to some sin which we can recognize: "Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee" (John 5:14); perhaps because G.o.d"s child has become entangled in pride and worldliness; or it may be that self-confidence or caprice have been mixed with his service for G.o.d. It is again quite possible that the chastis.e.m.e.nt may not be directed against any particular sin, but that it may be the result of the preponderance of sin which weighs upon the entire human race. When, in the case of the man born blind, the disciples asked the Lord, "Who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" and He answered, "Neither hath this man sinned nor his parents" (John 9:3), He does not by any means say that there is no relation between sin and sickness, but He teaches us not to accuse every sick person of sin He teaches us not to accuse every sick person of sin. [See above]
In any case, sickness is always a discipline which ought to awaken our attention to sin, and turn us from it. Therefore a sick person should begin by condemning, or discerning himself (I Corinthians 11:31), by placing himself before his heavenly Father with a sincere desire to see anything which could have grieved Him, or could have rendered the chastis.e.m.e.nt necessary.
1 Corinthians 11 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
So doing he may count a.s.suredly on the Holy Spirits light, who will clearly show him his failure. Let him be ready at once to renounce what he may discern, and to place himself at the Lord"s disposal to serve Him with perfect obedience, but let him not imagine that he can conquer sin by his own efforts. No, that is impossible to him. But let him, with all his power of will, be on G.o.d"s side in renouncing what is sin in His sight, and let him believe that he is accepted of Him. So doing he will be yielding himself, consecrating himself anew to G.o.d, willing to do only His holy will in all things.
Scripture a.s.sures us that if we thus examine ourselves the Lord will not judge us. Our Father only chastens His child as far as needful. G.o.d seeks to deliver us from sin and self; as soon as we understand Him and break with these, sickness may cease; it has done its work. We must come to see what the sickness means, and recognize in it the discipline of G.o.d. One may recognize vaguely that he commits sins while scarcely attempting to define what they are; or if he does, he may not believe it is possible to give them up; and if he decides to renounce them, he may fail to count on G.o.d that He will put an end to the chastis.e.m.e.nt. And yet, how glorious is the a.s.surance which Paul"s words here give us!
Dear sick one, dost thou understand that thy heavenly Father has [or, might have] something to reprove in thee? He would have thy sickness help thee to discover it, and the Holy Spirit to reprove in thee? He would have thy sickness help thee to discover it, and the Holy Spirit will guide thee in the search. Then renounce at once what He may point out to thee. Thou will guide thee in the search. Then renounce at once what He may point out to thee. Thou wouldst not have the smallest shade remain between thy Father and thee. It is His will to wouldst not have the smallest shade remain between thy Father and thee. It is His will to pardon thy sin and to heal thy sickness. In Jesus we have both pardon and healing; they are pardon thy sin and to heal thy sickness. In Jesus we have both pardon and healing; they are two sides of His redemptive work. He calls thee to live a life of dependence upon Him in a two sides of His redemptive work. He calls thee to live a life of dependence upon Him in a greater degree than hitherto. Abandon thyself then to Him in a complete obedience, and walk greater degree than hitherto. Abandon thyself then to Him in a complete obedience, and walk henceforth as a little child in following His steps. It is with joy that thy heavenly Father will henceforth as a little child in following His steps. It is with joy that thy heavenly Father will deliver thee from chastis.e.m.e.nt, that He will reveal Himself to thee as thy Healer, that He will deliver thee from chastis.e.m.e.nt, that He will reveal Himself to thee as thy Healer, that He will bring thee nearer to Him by this new tie of His love, that He will make thee obedient and bring thee nearer to Him by this new tie of His love, that He will make thee obedient and faithful in serving Him. If, as a wise and faithful Father, He has been obliged to chasten thee, faithful in serving Him. If, as a wise and faithful Father, He has been obliged to chasten thee, it is also as a Father that He wills thy healing, and that He desires to bless and keep thee it is also as a Father that He wills thy healing, and that He desires to bless and keep thee henceforth. henceforth.
CHAPTER XXI.
G.o.d"S PRESCRIPTION FOR THE SICK.
"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, and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him"
(James 5:14-15).
This text, above all others, is that which most clearly declares to the sick what they have to do in order to be healed. Sickness and its consequences abound in the world. What joy, then, for the believer to learn from the Word of G.o.d the way of healing for the sick! The Bible teaches us that it is the will of G.o.d to see His children in good health. The Apostle James has no hesitation in saying that "the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up." May the Lord teach us to hearken and to receive with simplicity what His Word tells us!
Notice, first, that James here makes a distinction between affliction (or suffering) and sickness. He says (verse 13): "Is any among you afflicted? let him pray." He does not specify what shall be requested in such a case; still less does he say that deliverance from suffering shall be asked. No; suffering which may arise from various exterior causes is the portion of every Christian. Let us therefore understand that the object of James is to lead the tried believer to ask for deliverance only with a spirit of submission to the will of G.o.d, and, above all, to ask the patience which he considers to be the privilege of the believer (James 1: 2-4,12; 5:7-8).
James 1 2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love Him.
James 5 7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
But in dealing with the words, "Is any sick among you?" James replies in quite another manner. Now he says with a.s.surance that the sick one may ask for healing with confidence that he shall obtain it, and the Lord will hear him. There is therefore a great difference between suffering and sickness. The Lord Jesus spoke of suffering as being necessary, as being willed and blessed of G.o.d; while He says of sickness that it ought to be cured. All other suffering comes to us from without, and will only cease when Jesus shall triumph over the sin and evil which are in the world; while sickness is an evil in the body itself, in this body saved by Christ that it may become the temple of the Holy Spirit, and which, consequently, ought to be healed as soon as the sick believer receives by faith the working of the Holy Spirit, the very life of Jesus in him.
[WStS Note: We see little difference between sickness and suffering. While all suffering is not sickness, all sickness is suffering. G.o.d"s -- We see little difference between sickness and suffering. While all suffering is not sickness, all sickness is suffering. G.o.d"s -- -- are manifold, and wide enough in scope to deliver from any circ.u.mstance within His Will (e.g., "And whatsoever whatsoever ye shall ask in My Name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son" (John 14:13); "For the LORD G.o.d is a Sun and Shield: the LORD will give Grace and Glory: no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly" ye shall ask in My Name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son" (John 14:13); "For the LORD G.o.d is a Sun and Shield: the LORD will give Grace and Glory: no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly"
(Psalm 84:11); "The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing" (Psalm 34:10). Sickness and suffering, in and of themselves, are neither morally morally good or evil. Though sickness and suffering good or evil. Though sickness and suffering may may be caused by sin (and most often are); on the other hand, sickness and suffering are SOLELY instruments in the Hand of G.o.d to promote holiness in the G.o.dly. It is possible to be G.o.dly and sick, because Scripture says, " be caused by sin (and most often are); on the other hand, sickness and suffering are SOLELY instruments in the Hand of G.o.d to promote holiness in the G.o.dly. It is possible to be G.o.dly and sick, because Scripture says, " IF IF he have committed sins"-- demonstrating that not all sick people need to repent of sin. "And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the LORD shall raise him up; and he have committed sins"-- demonstrating that not all sick people need to repent of sin. "And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the LORD shall raise him up; and IF IF he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him" (James 5:15).] he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him" (James 5:15).]
What is the direction here given to the sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let the elders pray for him. In the time of James there were physicians, but it is not to them the sick believer must turn. The elders then were the pastors and leaders of the churches, called to the ministry not because they had pa.s.sed through schools of theology, but because they were filled with the Holy Spirit, and well known for their piety and for their faith. Why should their presence be needed by the sick one? Could not his friends have prayed? Yes; but it is not so easy for everybody to exercise the faith which obtains healing, and, doubtless, that is one reason why James desired that men should be called whose faith was firm and sure.
Besides this, they were representatives to the sick one of the Church, the collective body of Christ, for it is the communion of believers which invites the Spirit to act with power. In short, they should, after the pattern of the great Shepherd of the sheep, care for the flock as He does, identify themselves with the sick one, understand his trouble, receive from G.o.d the necessary discernment to instruct him and encourage him to persevere in faith. It is, then, to the elders of the Church that the healing of the sick is committed, and it is they, the servants of the G.o.d who pardons iniquities and heals diseases (Psalm 103), who are called to transmit to others the Lord"s graces for soul and body.
Psalm 103 3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; Who healeth all thy diseases; Finally, there is a promise still more direct that of healing; the apostle speaks of it as the certain consequence of the prayer of faith. "The prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up." This promise ought to stimulate in every believer the desire and This promise ought to stimulate in every believer the desire and expectation of healing. expectation of healing. Receiving these words with simplicity and as they are written, ought we not to see in them an unlimited promise, offering healing to whomsoever shall pray in faith? The Lord teach us to study His Word with the faith of a truly believing heart! Receiving these words with simplicity and as they are written, ought we not to see in them an unlimited promise, offering healing to whomsoever shall pray in faith? The Lord teach us to study His Word with the faith of a truly believing heart!
CHAPTER XXII.
THE LORD THAT HEALETH THEE.
"I will put none of these diseases upon thee which I have brought upon the Egyptians, for I am the Lord that healeth thee"
(Exodus 15:26).
How often have we read these Words, without daring to take them for ourselves, and without expectation that the Lord would fulfill them to us! We have seen in them that the people of G.o.d ought to be exempt from the diseases inflicted upon the Egyptians, and we have believed that this promise applied only to the Old Testament, and that we who live under the economy of the New Testament cannot expect to be kept from or healed of sickness by the direct intervention of the Lord! As, however, we were obliged to recognize the superiority of the New Covenant, we have come, in our ignorance, to allege that sickness often brings great blessings, and that consequently G.o.d had done well to withdraw what He had formerly promised, and to be no longer for us what He was for Israel, "The Lord that healeth thee."
But in our day we see the Church awakening and acknowledging her mistake. She sees that it is under the New Covenant that the Lord Jesus pa.s.sed on His power of healing to His disciples. She is beginning to see that in charging His Church to preach "the Gospel to every creature" [Mark 16:15], He has promised to be with her "always, even unto the end of the world" (Matthew 28:20), and as the proof of His presence, His disciples should have the power to lay hands on the sick, and they should be healed (Mark 16:15-18).
Mark 16 15 And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature.
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be d.a.m.ned.
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In My Name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
She sees, moreover, that in the days following Pentecost, the miraculous pouring out of the Holy Spirit was accompanied by miraculous healings, which were evident proof of the blessings brought about by the power from on high (Acts 3:16; 5:12; 9:40).
Acts 3:16 And His Name through faith in His Name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by Him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
5:12 And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon"s porch.
9:40 But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up.
There is nothing in the Bible to make her believe that the promise made to Israel has been since retracted, and she hears from the mouth of the Apostle James this new promise: "The prayer of faith shall save [(or heal)] the sick" (James 5:15). She knows that at all times it has been unbelief which has limited (or set bounds to) the Holy One of Israel (Psalm 78:41), Psalm 78 41 Yea, they turned back and tempted G.o.d, and limited the Holy One of Israel.
and she asks herself if it is not unbelief which hinders in these days this manifestation of the power of G.o.d. Who can doubt it? It is not G.o.d or His Word which are to blame here; it is our unbelief which prevents the miraculous power of the Lord, and which holds Him back from healing as in past times. Let our faith awake, let it recognize and adore in Christ the all-power of Him who says, "I am the Lord that healeth thee." It is by the works of G.o.d that we can best understand what His Word tells us; the healings which again are responding to the prayer of faith confirm, by gloriously ill.u.s.trating, the truth of His promise.
Let us learn to see in the risen Jesus the divine Healer, and let us receive Him as such. In order that I may recognize in Jesus my justification, my strength, and my wisdom, I must grasp by faith that He is really all this to me; and equally when the Bible tells me that Jesus is the sovereign Healer, I must myself appropriate this truth, and say, "Yes, Lord, it is Thou who art my Healer." And why may I hold Him as such? It is because He gives Himself to me, that I am "one plant with Him" (Romans 6:5, French ver.), Romans 6 5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection: and that, inseparably united to Him, I thus possess His healing power; it is because His love is pleased to load His beloved with His favors, to communicate Himself with all His heart to all who desire to receive Him. Let us believe that He is ready to extend the treasure of blessing, contained in the name, "The Lord that healeth thee," to all who know and who can trust in this divine name. This is the treatment for the sick indicated by the law of His kingdom. When I bring my sickness to the Lord, I do not depend on what I see, on what I feel or what I think, but on what He says. Even when everything appears contrary to the expected healing, even if it should not take place at the time or in the way that I had thought I should receive it, even when the symptoms seem only to be aggravated, my faith, strengthened by my faith, strengthened by the very waiting the very waiting, should cling immovably to this Word which has gone out of the mouth of G.o.d, "I am the Lord that healeth thee."
[Isaiah 40 31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.]
G.o.d is ever seeking to make us true believers. Healing and health are of little value if they Healing and health are of little value if they do not glorify G.o.d, and serve to unite us more closely with Him do not glorify G.o.d, and serve to unite us more closely with Him; thus in the matter of healing our faith must always be put to the proof. He who counts on the name of his G.o.d, who can hear Jesus saying to him, "Said I not unto thee that if thou wouldest believe thou shouldest see the glory of G.o.d?" (John 11:40), will have the joy of receiving from G.o.d Himself the healing of the body, and of seeing it take place in a manner worthy of G.o.d, and conformably to His promises. When we read these Words, "I am the Lord that healeth thee,"
let us not fear to answer eagerly, "Yes, Lord, Thou art "the Lord that healeth" me."