The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1883-11-03

From the cross upllfted high,
Where the Savior felgns TO die.
what melOdlOuS words hear,
Lies redeemlng work Is done.
COme and welcome sinner, cOmep
The subject of the sermon was, "The
took his text from Mark ", 81: "WhO
touched me?" The following is the ser
mon:
A crowd of excited people, elbOwing
this way and that, and Christ in the
midst of the cOmmOtiOn. They were on
their way to see him restore dying
woman to health. Some thought he
could, some thought he could not. AT
any rate, the experiment would be in
teresting. In that crowd was a sick
woman of twelve years inValidism.
Some say it was Martha, some say it was
Veronica. don't know her name, but
she had tried all sorts of cure. Every
shelf in the humble abode had medicine
in it. She had employed many of the
doctors of that time, when medical SER
vice was more rude and rough and ig-
nOrant than we can imagine in our day,
when physician and surgeon stand for
educated and potent skill. Professor
LightfOOt gives whole list of remedies
she must have applied. They had no
doubt blistered her from head to foot,
aud put on compress and tried all
astTingent herbs, and mauled and hack
ed aud cut and lacerated her poor body
until life had become a plague. The
Bible intimates that her doctors
bills had run up fearfully, and she had
paid out money for medicines and
surgical attendance and hygienic Rp.
paratus until her purse was as
woman, are you doing in that crowd,
pushed this way and thatP Better be
home and in bed and nursing disOrd-
eTs. No! Wan and wasted and faint
and face distOrting OF pain, and biting
her lip with some acute pang and sob
bing, the tears falling from her hollow
eyes on her poor dress, and only kept on
her feet by the crowd surging this way
and that. Stand back therel Don't
YOU see you are frightfulIy crowding
that poor sick bOdyl Have you no con-
sideratiOn for dying wOmanP
But now there is temporary break in
the crowd which allows her to come
almost within reach OF Christ. She is
behind Him, however, and His humane
eve does not take her in. She had heard
so much about His sympathy for the
sick, and she does feel so wretched, that
she is sure if she could just touch Him
once it would do her good. She would
not dare to touch His sacred head, for
not dare to touch His hand, for that
might seem too familiar. She silently
resolved: 81 think L will touch His
coat, not the top of it nor the bottom of
the main fabric, but just the border.
Just the blue fringe, the tip OF 1t, on
the threads hanging down. the top Of
them, the very top of them. will. l
must risk it. cannot endure this dis
tress any longer. The twelve years OF
hou Vrno M
| am 80 very sick. From what have
heard of Him He will not hurt me if do.
1t is my last chance, my last hope"
Gathering up the little fragment of
strength left in her body, she pushes
through and stretches out her hand to-
ward Him and cannot reach Him; then
pushes through the crowd still further
and only puts the tip Of her finger
against the bottom of the longest thread
of the blue fringe. She just touches it
then, quick as the shock of an electric
battery, there thrills back into all
her weakened nerves and shrunken
veins and exhausted arteries and pant
ing lungs and withered muscles, health,
beautiful health, glorious health, rubi-
eund health, complete health. The
twelve years march of pain and pang
and suffering across suspension bridge
of nerve and through tunnel of bone
recognized that a magnetic and healing
power had through the medium of the
blue fringe shot ont of him and he turns
and puts to that thrOng the startling
and wide TesOunding Interrogation of
the text: "WhO touched meP" The in
sOlent crowd respond, "HOw can we
tellP If you get jOstled about and
pushed we cannot help it. You ask
us a question you know we can't ans
draf like
this you must expect to be jOstled.'
Then the TejuVenated and rOseate wO.
man rushed up and knelt in front of Je'
sus and acknowledged her touch and re-
stOratiOn, and Jesus said, Daughter
thy faith hath made thee whole, go in
peace" SO Mark gives us q dramatiza
ton of the gospel.
Notice that there is no addition Of
help for others unless there Is sub
traction of power from US. As soon as
this woman was healed, the context
says, Christ knew that virtue or strength
had gone out of him. We can make nc
addition of help to others except by sub
traction from ourselves. Have you ever
got tired for others, ever risked yOul
own life for others, ever delivered such
an earnest sermon, or such an exhaust
ing eXhOrtatiOn, or such a burning
prayer, that when you got through yoJ
felt that virtue or strength had gone
out of yOuP Then you have never imi
tated Christ. You might be curious tt
know how the blue border of Christ:
coat could have been so charged will
life for the wOmanly suppliant. sup
pose Christ was sureharged with vital
ity. As all admit garments may bt
charged with disease, and epidemies are
in that way sometimes carried from city
to city, so garments may no doubt bt
charged with health sometimes. 1 sup
pose that physical magnetism of Christ
permeated everything he wore, down tC
every thread of fringe on his coat; buI
added to that was miraculous potency
divine thrill, OmnipOtent therapeutics
OF the twelve years. invalid would MOI
have been instantly restored. If OmnipO
tence cannot help others without deple
ton, how can we expect to help tht
world except through self-sacrihce|