The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1895-09-24
CHURCH AND DOCTORS.
ISSUE OF yuE siruArinN As MADE
ny BisuoP WILLIS.
lie Depinres aud CrnHurrs the Closing
az Houses uf Worship Points
Lesson.

- IA. Warning Lett BN KING Arn. Ply
a srrmor preached in 81. Auli"ws
Cat rIrrl on Sunday, September I'D,
1896
II Carpn. XVI 10. ASA in the thirty
and ninth year Of his reign was diseased
in his feet. until Ills disease was exceed
ing great: yet in his disease he sought
not to the Lord. but to the physicians"
During the early part Of his reign
CASA did that which was good and right
in the eyes of the Lord, his God" But
| in the latter part of his reign he made
an alliance with the heather power Of
Syria to aid him in resisting an attack
made upon Judah by the King Of Israel.
For thus relying ON the King of Syria,
instead OF relying ON the Almighty, he
was solemnly rehukcd 10y the seer Ha.
mani. Instead of accepting the rebuke
he flew into a rage and threw the seer
INTO prison. Now it often happens that
in the way a mau sins in the same way
is he punished. lie had imprisoned the
messenger of God. Three years after he
found himself imprisoned by AN attack
which was probably iunammatory
govt. But he failed to see any connec.
ton between his disease and his treat
inent of Hanani. And in this blindness
he remaiuel to his death. There was
no confession OF sin which had brought
this chastisement upon him, no ack.
nowledgement of the hand of God in
his Sickness. He put all his trust in his
physicians. But medical aid was power
less. aud he died.
| -, Ia Il. 81.
conduct is recorded, and the lesson to be
derived from it.
Are we to infer that he was wrong in
seeking to the physicians; That would
certainly be Il conclusion which the
Holy Scriptures do not support. In that
beautiful chapter from the writings of
the son of Sirach, which ID real as the
proper less ON the festival of st.
Luke, who from being physician was
called to be an Evangelist and physic-
ian of souls, we read as follows: "lIon
our a physician with the honour due
unto him for the uses which We may
have of him; for the Lord hath created
him. The Lord hath created medicines
out of the earth; and he that is wise
will not abhor them. My son, in thy
sickness be not negligent hut pray I'M
to the Lord, and lie will make thee
whole. Leave oil from sin, and order
thine hands Alright, and cleanse thine
hands from all wickedness. Then give
place to the physician. for the Lord
hath created him; let him not 40 from
thee, for thou hast need of him. There il
n time when in their hands there is good
success. For they shall also pray unto the
Lord, that he would prosper that which
they give for ease and remedy to prolong
life If = rlanI thnn TINT fn M ,ru nan nj
can be drawn from the passage before
us in support of what is called Faith
cure which dispenses entirely with
medical aid and directs the patient to
trust wholly To the Lord. Nor can any
such suppDsition be built upon it, as
that wher sickness seizes either an in
dividual or a community, in conse-
quence of the neglect of plain sanitary
laws, that God will remove the conse.
quence of that neglect in answer to
prayer, so long as the neglect continues.
One OF the first duties of religion is
obedience. The laws CT health, whether
we have learnt them, from revelatio n
Or from science, are part of the Divine
Government of the earth on w hich we
live; and it becomes religions duty to
obey them. Asa's error WIS that he
practically denied the Divine Govern.
| lie lluu bttOtllt II ihhltTlnIlSl,
There was no recognition ON his part
that Got was chastising him: no prayer
that God would bless the remedies the
physicians gave him. And so he fell
under that sentence pronounced by
jeremiah: TINS saith the Lord; Ours
ed be the man that trusteth in man,
and maketh flesh his arm, and whose
heart departeth from the Lord. For he
shall be like the heath in the desert, and
shall not see when good cometh, but
shall inhabt the parched places in the
wilderness, in salt land and not in.
habted.'
1t is unnecessary to waste words to
make 1t clear to you that in Asa's atti-
tude towards his sickness we lave "A
mirror in which you may see the atti.
tude which this city has taken with
regard to the fatal sickness that appear
ed amongst us, and which God in his
mercy has removed.
And in showing you this likeness, do
not think that am going to say "A word
here against the Government, or
against the Board of Health. The
orders that nave been in force in this
city for the last three weeks merely
reflect the mind of the community
they express the general attitude of the
city; and particularly of the
faction that rules it towards
the Christian re igion. And
the point wish you to consider is this
how far you, as members of the Angli.
can Church incur any responsibility for
this attitude of the community? "a
little leaven leaveneth the whole lump
Have you suffered yourselves TO be
leavened by the hypocrisy and material.
ism that surround YOU instead OF being
yourselves the leaven to keep alive this
true spirit of religion in city that il
fast falling into a moribund condition
1t is not onl y the closing of the churche,
| at time when of all others there should
have been daily prayers, that indicates
how low the moral sense of the com
munity has sunk in respect of tn,
} claims Of religion but still more thai
} the worship of Almighty God, the ser
vice that we owe To our Creator Re
deemer and Sanctitier should be put il
he same category with band concerts
witnesses to the place that religion
r occupies here in the mind of the Religion
r faction which rules this city today
Would not Englishmen, think you. hav,
feeling of humiliation akin I,
e despair for their country il tn
r sittings of the House of Commons o
matters Of highest interest to the Stat,
should be classed in some public an
7 nouncement with flying kites or play
ing marbles? And do not you. as mem
bers OF the church feel shocked an
ashamed that the continuance or inter
mission of the sacred ministrations O
the highest duties ON which man ca
engage should be treated as matter q
m than lstIn i.