Middletown transcript., 1886-02-12

come from the Lord They are not
divine creations. They are not from
the Lord except in the sense that hell
and evil as being permitted by Him
are in that negative way from Him.
Disease is no more from the Lord
than sin is from the Lord. 1t is true,
as a general doctrine, that ill-health is
from evil and wrong and must be so
thought of
Now what is our remedy, our help
in this? Is it not to apply to our physi-
cal being the same scriptural teachings
we apply to our spiritual being? We
believe that for the health of our
spiritual life we must make use Of GER
tain "means of grace" must study
Gods Word, attend public worship,
read profitable books and SO on. So
for physical health we believe we
should make use of certain means,
proper, well-adjusted clothing, fresh
air, wholesome food, exercise, rest, etc.
But we know that if we depend alone
upon the means of grace mentioned
for spiritual health we are in bondage.
and will not obtain the state we desire.
Is this not also true Of our physical
health? When we depend alone upon
complying with physical or natural
law for physical health, are we not in
a certain sense also in bondage? Do
we attain the same results we would
attain were this submitted to the same
gracious Power to which we submit
our spiritual being for the best resultsa
In the second sermon from which I
have quoted, the remedy is put in
these words: We must therefore in
our thoughts rise above the conception
that our diseases are in. any way pro-
duced by the Lord. They are not the
expression of His divine order. Be-
cause thou hast made the Lord which
is my refuge, even the Most High thy
habitatioD, there shall no evil befall
thee, neither shall any plague come
nigh thy dwelling"
God says, They that wait upon the
Lord shall renew their strength, they
shall mount up with wings as eagles,
they shall run and not become weary,
they shall walk and not faint"
God says, }" Fear thou not for am
with thee, be not dismayed for am
thy God, I will strengthen the, yea,
Twill help the, yea, I will uphold thee
with the right hand ofmy righteous
ness"
st. Paul says, " Where the spirit
of the Lord is, there is liberty" Also,
" If ye be led Of the Spirit ye are not
under law-and the law of the spirit
of life in Christ Jesus hath set me free
from the law Of Gin and DEATH"
Now has God said that these and
similar gracious teachings and promi-
ses in which His Word abounds, ap.
ply onlyto our spiritual beings Hecreate
both, would he draw the line and say,
I will care for the one-ye for the
other spiritual?
Christ said, And these signs shall
follow them that believe: In my name
shall they cast out devils they shall
speak with new tongues; they shall
take up serpents and if they drink any
deadly thing it shall not hurt them
they shall lay hands on the sick and
they shall recover" We accept the
first Of this; we believe that the devils
of ill.temper, discomfort, worldliness,
and all such evil things are cast out
when we really believe and live Gods
promises, and that we do indeed
"speak with new tongues" new Ian
guage, but the latter promises are they
not rejected by the vast number of
Gods children ? Has God instructed
us, since Christ ascended, that He has
Withdrawn this part of His word to US,
or have we made it null and void by
our unbeliefi The unused arm the un-
used faculty, become worthless nat
urally; do not the unused faith; the
unused promise follow the same nat
ural law? 1t is said the age of mira
cles is past. When did it passf
Now, am not pleading for faith
cures, glorious though they be, but I
ask each one of you, as you read your
bloles' 10 apply Its teachings to your
physical being as well as to your moral
and spiritual beings, and see for your
selves, if it is not we who have drawn
the line as to how far God shall help
us, and not God himself.
George Macdonald says, We have
been taught we are bodies and possess
souls; we should be taught we are
souls and possess bodies" We need
these bodies here, bye and bye we will
have no use for them whatever, and
then we will lay them aside, as to-day
all over our land the locust is laying
aside the case that has held him so
long, but is needed now no more. Let
US use our bodies then and not let
them use us; let US glorify God in
them as in our spirits; let us reign in
life, this life that comes to us from
God, for "in Him we live and move