The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1885-08-13

try Of the Gergesenes there met him two possessed
The Savior of mankind deemed it es-
sential to impressing the truth and
beauty of his gospel upon the minds of
men, that he show them miraculous
manifestations of Divine power. There
fore we find him going about working
miracles among the people. A very
prominent trait of human character
manifested itself along the pathway of
the Savior: No matter what might be
the condition of the belief, or faith, on
the part of the people, all were willing to
reap all the advantages possible to be
gained without any undue effort or sacri-
fee. All the ailing were eager to be
cured by the great physician, who could,
by a word of power, cure the most diff
cult disease. and even raise the dead.
Thus we find that people come pleading
for the exercise of these supernatural
powers in behalf of their loved ones.
He had shown those about him that
even the winds, and the sea, obeyed him,
and when He came to the country of the
Gergesenes, new case presented itself.
The Savior met two men possessed of
devils. 1t is not considered an uncom-
mon or remarkable thing in these mod
ern days, to see man with "the devil in
him." but the deplorable part of the mod
ern case is that the poor sufferer too often
refuses to ask the Savior to cast the tor
mentors out. Men will go up and down
the earth for years-and so will women,
sometimes possessed of devils, and seem
to be content and happy with the tor
menting load. They enjoy the company
of the devils that infest them, and their
minds come to partake of devilish char
acteristics. To them, the devils are the
light and joy of the earthly life, reaching
out and dragging in the means of claim
ing the attention of the heart and mind,
pleasing the fancy, it may be, but endan-
gering the soul. Like the troublesome
visitations which sometimes affiict the
human body, the sufferers become so ac-
customed to the inconvenience-not to say
suffering-as to seem at times actually
proud of the deformity and consequent
and misery.
But the component parts of the human
system do not always work in harmony,
and sometimes there is revolt upon one
side or the other-sometimes upon both
sides, as in the case of the two Gergesenes.
They wanted to be rid of the devils,
and the devils were fully as anX-
ious to be rid of them. The devils
cried out, asking Jesus that if they were
cast out of the men, that they might be
cast into the swine. Thus it was clearly
demonstrated that a being even with as
frugal taste as miserable devil, would
rather live in hog than in man. These
were gratified in the fulfllment of their
wish, and were cast into the hogs. But
here another strange freak was mani
tested. Though, as before remarked, a
man may get along for years, literally
full of devils, hog would not put up
with them for single moment, and
rather than associate with the worst side
of man ran down into the sea and drown
ed himself, hoofs, bristles and all, wash
ing out, with the waves of the sea, the
very root of his existence. He could not
stand the associations which men enjoy.
While man may lie down and sleep
peacefully with whole brigade of dev
lis. a hog under like circumstances,
would 60 off and kill himself.
An illustration of this has been given
in these modern days. A man-and
there are thousands of such-was seen to
reel and totter along the public streets,
day by day, the very ideal of beastialty; ;
his person suffering from filth and neg
lect, his raiment tattered, and his whole
make-up-or rather his tear-down-exe-
cradle. He does not seem to experience
the slightest humiliation upon meeting
his friends and neighbors, but he rather
seems to feel that he retains all of the
inherent greatness of the "lord of crea-
tion." He knows that he is drunk, and
that all whom he may meet will know il.
likewise. Yet he reels on his way, not
only for this time, but when we meet
him again he will be in the same condi-
tion. This man hath power to cast out
the devil from himself, which he does
every time he SO far forgets himself as to
get sober, but voluntarily takes up the
devil again at the first opening of the
day.
In the same town, in the same age, a
large, powerful hog-which, it was fair
to presume, had a physical structure
capable of standing almost anything in
this unfriendly and troublesome world of
ours, paused in front of place which is
noted for it's propensity for casting dev-
lis into men, and as some OF the liquid
essence which goes to make up the devils
was oozing from the kegs, this strong
hog swallowed enough to put the devil
into itself. But the animal acted quite
iii PROM, ba MON Tho form ic