Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1893-05-26
REV. DIR. 4ALMAGE.
The Eminent Brooklyn Divine'S Sun.
day Sermon.
TEXT: "Who touched Mey"-Mark v. 81
Subject: "The Healing Touch"

the midst of the commotion. They were on
the way to see Him restore to complete health
dying person. Some thought He could
effect the cure others that He could not Al
any rate, 1t would be an interesting expert
ment. A very sick woman OF twelve years
lnvalidism is in the crowd. Some say her
name was Martha ;others say il was Veronica
do not know what her name was, but this
is certain, she had tried all STYLES OF
cure. Every shelf of her humble home had
medicines on it. She had employed many OF
the doctors of that time. when medical
science was more rude and rough and igno-
rant than we can imagine in this time when
the word physician or surgeon stands for
potent and educated skill. Professor Light
foot gives a list of what he supposes may
have been the remedies she has applied. l
suppose she had been blistered from head to
foot and had tried the compress and had
used all styles OF astringent herbs. and she
had been mauled and hacked and cut and
lacerated until life to her was plague. Be-
side that the Bible indicates her doctors bills
bad run up frightfully and she had paid
money for medicines and for surgical attend
ance and for hygienic apparatus until her
purse was rs exhausted as her body.
What. poor woman, are you doing in that
iostling crowd? Better so home and 10 bed and
nurse your disorders. No Wan and wasted
and faint, she stands there, her face distorted
with suffering. and ever and anon biting her
lip with some acute pain and sobbing until
her tears fell from the hollow eye upon the
faded dress. only able TO stand because the
crowd is so close to her, pushing her this
wav and that Stand back, Why do'you
crowd that poor body? Have you no cOnsid-
Grafton for dying woman? But just at that
time the crowd parts. and this invalid comes
almost up to Christ. But she is behind Him,
and His human eye does not take her in.
She hes heard so much about His kindness TO
the sick. and she does feel so wretched she
thinks if she can only just touch Him once il
will do her good. She will not touch Him
on the head. for that might be ir.
reverent She will not touch Him on the
hand. for that might seem too familiar
She SAYS II WILL think. touch Him on
His coat not on the top of it, or on the bot
tom OF the main fabric but on the border
the blue border, the long threads Of thu
T fringe Of that blue border there can be M
harm in that don't think He will hurt me-
have heard so much about Him. Besides that
can stand this no longer. Twelve years O
svTerisg have worn me out. This is my last
hope" And she presses through the crowl
sill farther and reaches for Christ, but can
not quite touch Him. She pushes still farther
through the crowd and kneels and puts her
finger TO the edge OF the blue fringe Of the
border She Just touches it. Quick as an
electric fash there thrilled back into her
shattered nerves, and shrunken veins. and
exhausted arteries. and painting lungs, and
withered muscles, health. beautiful health,
rubcund health. God given and complete
health. The y years march Of pain and
pang and suffering over suspension bridge OF
nerve and through tunnel of bone instantly
halted.
Christ recognizes somehow that magnetic
and healthful influence through the medium
Of the blue fringe of His garment had shot
out. He turns and looks upon that excited
crowd and startles them with the interroga-
tory Of my text. "Who touched Me2' The
insolent crowd in substance replied "How
do we know? You get in crowd like this
and you must expect TO be jostlcd. You ask
us a question you know we cannot answer"
But the rcseatc and rejuyenated woman came
up, and knelt in front Of Christ, and told of
the touch and told of the restoration, and
Jesus said Daughter, thy faith had made
thee whole Go in peace So Mark gives
us drau.atizatiou Of the gospel. Oh, what
doctor Christ is In every one of our house
holds may He be the family physician.
Notice that there is no addition of help to
others without subtraction of power from
ourselves. The context says that rs soon as
this woman was healed Jesus felt that virtue
or strength had gone out of Him. No ad-
dition Of help to others without subtraction
of strength from ourselves Did you never
get tired for others? Have you never risked
your health for others? Have you never
preached q sermon, or delivered an ex-
hortation. or offered burning prayer, and
then felt ancrward that strength had gone
out of you? Then you have never initiated
Are YOU curious to know how that garment
of Christ would have wrought such a cure
for this suDplian. invalid? I suppose that
Chris. was surcharged with vitality. You
know that diseases may be conveyed from
city to city by garments as in case OF cpl
demic. and so l suppose tina. garments may
be surcharged with health. | suppose that
Christ had such physical magnetism that 1t
permcated all His robe down to the last
thread on the border Of the blue fringe. But
IN addition 20 that there was divine thrill,
there was a miraculous potency. there was an
omnipOtent therapeutics, without which this
u years invalid would not have been in
stantly restored.
Now. II omnipotencc cannot help others
without depletion, how can we ever expect
to bless the world without self sacrifice. A
man who gives to some Christian object until
he feels it. man who in his occupation or
profession Oyerworks that he may educate
his children. man who on Sunday night
goes homo, all his nervous energy wrung out
school, or city evnngelizatiOn, has initiated
Christ and the strength has gone out OF him.
A mother who robs herself OF sleep In behalf
of q sick cradle, a wifc who bears up cheer
fully under domestic misfortune that she may
encourage her husband in the combat against
disaster, a woman who by hard saving and
earnest prayer and good counsel wisely given
and many years devoted to rearing her family
Tor God and usefulness and heaven, and has
II
hairs and q profusion Of deep wrinkles, 1s
like Christ, and strength has gone out Of her.
That strength or virtue may have gone out
through garment she has made for the
home, that strength may have gone out
through the sock you knit for the barefoot
destitute. that strength may go out through
the mantle hung up in some closet after you
ere dead. So n crippled child sat every
morning on her fathers front step so that
when the kind Christian teacher passed byto
school she might tako hold of her dress and
let the dress slide through her pale fingers.
She said it helped her pain so much and
made her so happy all the day. Aye, have
we not in all our dwellings garments Of the
departed. touch OF which thrills us through
and through. tho llfo Of those who are gone
thrilling through tho life OF those who stay
But mark yOu the principle l evolve from
this subject. No addition OF healteh to Others
uQlC5J Iners DC u SuDJINCbiOu VI SNlohbNu
from ourselves. He felt that strength had
gone out ofHim.
Notice also in thi subject Christs sensi'
slve 10 human touch. We talk about God on
vast scale so much We hardly appreciate
His accessibility-God in magnitude rather !
than God In minutiG. God In the infinite |
rather than God in the inlnitesimal-but |
here in my text we have God arrested bya !
suffering touch. When in the sham trial OF !,
Christ they struck Him on the cheek we can |
realize how that cheek tingled with pain. |
When under tho scOurging the rod struck |
the shoulders and back of Christ, we can re; |
alllo hOT He must have writhed under the |
lacs I.dOcs But here there Is a sick and !
nervslCss finger that just touches the long |
thrsEds OF the blue fringe Of His coat, and He !
looks around and says, who touched MeT |
We talk about sensitive people, but Christ |
was the impersOnatiOn Of all sensitiveness. |
The slightest stroke OF the smallest finger OF |
human disability makes all the nerves OF His |
head and heart and hand and feet vibrate. II |
Is not a stolid Christ, not phlegmatic Christ, |
not preOccuppied Christ, not hard Christ, |
not an iron cased Christ. but an exquisitey |
sensitive Christ that my text unveils All the |
things that touch us touch Him. II by the
hand of prayer we make the connecting line |
between Him and ourselves complete. Mark |
you, this invalid ofthe text might have walked |
through that crowd all day and cried about |
her suffering, and no relief would have come
~ she had not touched Him. When In your !