The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-01-23
LESSONS OF THE PREACHERS
Character of the Woman of Great Faith
as Viewed by the Rev. DR.. Gilbert.
The Annual Sermon by the Rev. Thomas IL.
Lynch to the Tippecanoe Club-Success-
ful Revival Work of Evangelists.
THE WOMAN OF GREAT FAITH.

Church a sermon THE Woman of Great
Faith" suggested by the text in the twenty
sighth verse of the fifteenth chapter Of Matthew,
reading, 80 woman, great is thy faith: be it
INTO thee even as thou wilt" DIR. Gilbert said:
The text introduces remarkable woman.
She in a heather. Her ancestors the Canaan
ties, for two thousand years have worshiped
Raalirn ard Ashteroth They were so degraded
that God took their country from them and
ordereditheir utter destruction lest. by contact,
they corrupt his people Her home was in the
borders of Tyre and Sidon, that little strip of
land living between the Mediterranean sea and
the Lebanon mountains. She was known as a
Syro-P henicisD, being surrounded by and associ-
clans and Syriaus She spoke the Greek lam
euage. Her name is unknown. One of En-
glands sweetest sonPsters wrote:
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen
And waste its fragrance the desert air;
Full many gem of purest ray
The dark, unfathomed depths of ocean bear.
And so this woman might have lived and died
In the obscurity of her heather home. had
not the divine hand led her forth for little
time, to illustrate before the astonished world
those excellent traits which, even in this nine
tenth century. and in this highly-favored land,
are rarely possessed by the Loblest and best
Let rs transport ourselves, ia thought to that
sparsely settled region in northern Galee. per-
haps forty miles northwest of the Sea OF T1be-
Let us enter the inn by the wayside. where
merchantmen from Damascus are accustomed
TO rest over night on their way 20 the great sea.
Here we shall frd Jesus with his twelve disci-
pies They have recently come from Caperuaum,
where the Master had encountered the scrioes
and PhArisees, who, offended by His teachings,
sought to stir up enmities against Him. This
IA q hard world for the Holy One For time He
endures its contradictions and then reNres for
rest. Among these mountain peaks and In these
deep soitudes. the trackless wilderness OF the
wide, wide world" He will seek repose, and re-
freshment and communion with heaven, and
then reinvigorated, His little band Of followers
more fully instructed and more closely drawn to
Him, he will return to bless and save.
But He could not be hid. There was that in
His person. and manner, and spirit and speech
which in every place attracted attention. Be-
sides. his fame had preceded him into these
regions. Multitudes from Tyre, and Sdon, ard
the adjacent country had gone months before TO
see and hear Him in Galiiee and they had
brought back to their neighbors wonderful sto-
ries of His wisdom and power. Jesus was no
stranger in any spot however secluded. His
presence was soon made known to the 1nhab-
SAINTS near. The intelligence reached the ears
leaned with hope. She had daughter
who is possessed by a demon The
Great Physician has come, He who has cast ont
Sevils and cured all manner of diseases. The
mother resolves to lay ner daughters case be-
fore Hum. She makes the journey. She enters
His presence and cries out. Have, mercy on
me. Lord, thou son of David my daughter is
grievously vexed with devil"
In that brief prayer the woman Is revealed
20 Lord, thou son of Davidw She believed in
Jesus as the Messiah. the divine Have
mercy on me' She felt herself to be a sinner.
entitled to no favor except through unmerited
grace Hence she needed TO cry first of all for
desire is not herself. She has woman's,
mothers hearH She is intercessor for her
child whose trouble she makes her own.
"Grievously vexed with devilw She believed
In malignant spirits and in their power over hui
msnity. She believed in Jesus and in His
power over evil spirits. And. what was most
important, she believed that Jesus had power to
expel the evil spirit from her daughter. Thus We
behold one, suddenly emerging from heather
darkness. superior in spiritual insight and grasp
TO those who for long time had been the constant
com panions of our Lord.
But Jesus answered not a word to this prayer.
The cry of need had come up to the ear Of love-
and the hand OF power not Outreached
This was contrary to all precedent. Never be-
fore had troubled one failed to find blessing
coming TO Him.. Even the touch OF the hem
Of His garment had secured health to the dis
eased. And in the goodness of His heart He had
at times sought the afflicted and. unasked. He
had ministered to their necessities. What
His powerl Is the great heart of compassion
hardened by the frequent calls of the sorrowingf
Has the fountain from which flowed the healing
streams been sealedl Must this mother endure
the lifelong agony of witnessing the paroxysms
of her demoniac chldf
All the woman has made mistake. She
has come with the word ''son of David" on her
lips Had q Jew addressed him thus he would
have instantly responded. But as son of David
he may not go beyond Hebrew boundaries.
This woman must aot attempt "to walk up jew
ish staiFcases" TO heavenly heights She must
find other ways. Our Lord will not come to
human hearts except along well-dehned lines.
Whoever seeks Him must seek him in His way.
Whoever seeks Him otherwise will find His lips
closed. He will not even explain the error. The
earnest soul must find the true way of approach,
and, having found 1t, shall have easy access.
This 10 the secret of all successful prayer to
1earn the Lords condition of answer.
This silence would have driven many away.
Not this woman. Applying to the disciples,
she begged and wept how long we know not.
hoping by argument and tears, the latter, per-
haps more eloquent to gain their advocacy of
her cause. But alas for the judgment of mani
Those twelve sturdy followers, by whom the
foundations of the church were to be laid. had
interpreted their Lords silence as an unwilling
ness to grant the favor, and therefore concluded
she unworthy to receive it. But. disturbed by
her long DON tinued entreaties they determined TO
do for their own sakes what they would not do
for hers Hence they went to Jesus and SAID,
"Send her away" Grant this little request of
hers. 1t is a very small thing to do. 'She
crieth alter u.s." we are annoyed by her. 1t
often occurs that men regard their own comfort
above even the SORROWS of others.
But Jesus said to His disciples, explaining His
former silence, 81 am not sent but unto the lost
sheep of the house of Israel" The mission OF
Jesus was not to the Gentiles, but to the Jews.
True. the gospel was designed for all men. God
gave His son because He loved the world. In
that son all nations were to be blessed. This
was foretoid by the prophets And good old
Simeonwhen he saw the infant Savior, was led
by It's spirit to declare that He should be "a
light to tighten the Genties" And vet Christ
was not sent TO make himself or His religion
known TO the heathen. AS Paul afterward ex-
pressed it, Jesus Christ was a minister of the
circumcision for tbs truth of God, to confirm the
promise made unto the fathers" He came to
close up the old dispensation by fulfill
ing its types and shadows. and
open the dispensation After his
work was accom- plished His disciples should ''go
into all the world and preach the gospel to every
creature" and thea the gentiles should be
gathered in.
Il this we see how firmly Jesus held to the
plan 0f the gospel He came not only to do His
work, but to do it in the way prescribed In adj
vaLse in the divine coupsels- In this He was
manifestng the same spirit as at the Jordan,
when he sought baptism from John, saying, 1T
becometh US 10 fulfill all righteousness that is
he submitted TO ordinance which he did not
seed, in order to conform TO the plan OF the
opening kingdom His example, moreover.
harmonized with His instructions to the dis
eiples, gwen on a previous occasion as they
went out to preach, when He commanded them
not 70 go in the way of the gentiles, Moreover.
W these words, Jesus gave wholesome counsel to