Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1894-11-30

| be mistaken, and the next time Naamah
comes 10 that place he may he dead weight
| on the shoulders of those who carry him, nm
expired chieftan seekihG septlltufe amid the
lamentations of all admitting nation: doou-
| by, Naaman Let the charioteer drive gen.
tly over the hills OF Hermon, lest he Jolt
the invalid. Here goes the bravest man
of all his day a captive of horrible disease.
AS the ambulance winds through the streets
of Damascus the tears and prayers OF all tne
people 90 after tie world renowned INVALID.
Perhaps YOU have had an invalid go out
from your house on health excursion: You
know how the heighbors stoo arount an
said, "Ah, he will never come back ag 4
alive" Oh, it was a solemn moment tell
Won. when the invalid had departe !: AMI
YOU went into the room I'd make IN" oedi
and to remove tho medicine walls from the
shelf and to throw open the shutters 80
that the fresh air might rush into the long
closed room. Goodby, Naaman
There is only one cheerful face looking as
him, and that is the face OF the Itl'9
Hebrew captive. who is sure he viii get
cured. and who is so glal she helped him.
AS the chariot winds out and the escort Oh
mounted courtiers, and the mules, IL len
with sacks of gold ana silver AMI en-
broidered suits of apparel, went through
the gates of Damascus an out on the long
way, tho hills Uf Naphtalia and Bp 'ralm
look down on the procession, and the re-
tinue goes right past the batteheds where
Naaman in the days of his E%Glth us'I 10
rally his troops for fearful onset, and taa1
the procession stops and reclines awhile n
the groves OF olive AMI olean1er; an
General Naamai so sicS, so very, very s'cT
How the countrymen gaped as the process
sion passed They had seen Naaman go
past like Whrlwnd id days gone by Al !
had stood aghast at the clank OF his {
equipments, but now they comntserate III y.
| They say "Poor man. he will never Il
homo alive! Poor man %
General Naaman wakes up from restless
sleep IN the chariot, and he says TO ing
charioteer, "How long before we shall reacn
the Prophet Elisha9" The eharoteer says to
waysider, "How far Is it to, Ellshas
| housp?' He says, "Two miles," 1.-TWO
miles? Then they whip up the lathereo
and tagged out horses. The whole procession
bfightens up at the prospect of speedy ar
rival. They drive up TO the door OF :! !a ~
prophet. The characters shout ''Whoa" 10
| the horses, and tramping hoofs and grinding
wheels cease shaking the earth. Gene OFT,
Elisha come out. You have company, The
grandest company that ever came to your
Elsha's house. Tho fact was, the Lord had
informed ELISHA that the sick captain was
coming and how to treat him. Indeed, Wien
you are sick and the Lord wants you to get
WELL He always tells the doctor how to treat
you, and the reason we have 50 many
bungling doctors is because they depend
upon their own strength and Instructions
and not on the Lord God, and that always
makes malpractice. Come out, Elisha, and
attend to your business.
I General Naaman and his retnue waited
and waited and waited The fact w&s;
Naaman hal two dssases-prlle AMI
leprosy. The one was as harl to get ril of
as the other. Elisha sits quietly in mis-
house and does not 20 out After awhile.
when he thinks he has humbled this prou
man, he says to a servant, $50 out an tell
! General Naaman to battle seven times in the
river Jordan, out yonler FIVE miles, AMI he
| will get entirely we'll" The message comes
out. "What ~ says the commander-in-chiet
| of the Syrian forces, his eye kindling with
an animation which it had not shown for
weeks and his swollen foot stamping on tbs
! bottom of the chariot, regardless OF pain.
"What Isn't he coming out TO SEQ mef
| Why, I thought certainly he would come and
| utter some cabal;stic words over me or make
some engmatical passes over my wounds.
| L
am. Isn't no coming ont? Why when
| the Shunamite woman came to him, he
rushed out and cried is it well with thee2
Is it we'll with thy husbana2 Is 1t we'll With
| thy childT And will he treat poor un-
known woman like that and let me, titled
parsonage, sit here in my chariot and wait
! and wait? l won't endure it any longer.
Charioteer. drive on Wash in the Jordan
Ha, ha The Shiny Jordan--the muddy Jor-
| dun-the monotonOus Jordan l wouldn't
be seen washing in such river rs thar.
| Why, we watered our horses In a better river
| than that on our way here--the beautiful
rlyer.the aspar paved river of Pharpar. Be-
sides that we have in our country another
Damascene river, ALBANIA, with foliaged bank
| and torrent ever swift and ever clear, under
the Pickering shadows OF sycamore and OLE
! ander. Are not ALBANIA and Pharpar, rivers
| of Damascus. better than all the waters OF
! IsraeY
| suppose Naamau felt very much as
| Americans would feel IT, by way OF medical
| prescrrtioh, some ore should tell us to go
| wash in the Danube or the Rhine. We
would answer care not the Connecticut ana
| the Hudson just as good2' Or rs an Eng
lishman would feel If he were told, by way
of medical prescription, he must go and
wash in the Mississippi or the st. Law
renee. He would cry out, "Are not the
Thames and the Shannon just as well?"
| The fact was that naughty Naam1n needed
TO learn what every Engiishman and every
| American needs TO learn-that when GOl
tells YOU TO DO thing you must go and DO
If whether YOU understand the reason or not.
Take the prescription, whether you like 1t or
not. One thing is certain. Unless naughty
Naaman does as Elisha commands him, he
will die o. his awful sickness. Aud unless
vcu do as Christ commands you you will be
seized upon by an everlasting wasting away.
| Otey ard live disobey and die. Thrilling.
overarching, underSirdlng, stupendous
alternative!
We'll. General Naaman could not stand the
test. The charioteer gives Il jerk 10 the right
| line until the bit snaps inthe horses mouth,
and the vhir of the wheels and the flying oil
the dust show the indignation of the great
commander. Gle turned and went away III
rage" So people now often get mad al
religion. They vtuperate against ministers
against churches, against Christian people.
One would think from their irate behavior
that God had been studying how to annoy
and exasperate and demolish them. WHAT
has He been doing2 Only trying to cure
their death dealing leprOsy. That IS all
Yet they whip up their horses, they dig II
The spurs, and they go away in rage.
So after all, it seems that this health eX-
cursion of General Naaman is 10 be deac
failure. That little Hebrew captive might a:
well have not told him of the prophet, ant
this long journey might as well not have
been taken. Poor, sick, dying Naamau
Are YOU going away in high dudgeon anc
worse than when you Gamer AS MS charlo'
hats moment his servants Chamber up in
if and coax him to do as Elisha said. The!
saw 81 otis easy. If the prophet had tol'
YOU to walk tor a mile on sharp spikes in or
der to get rid of this awful disease, yot
would have done it. 1t is easy. Come, my