The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1896-02-01

IL. "And Il came 20 pass on a certain
day as He was teaching that there wero
Pharisees and doctors Of the law sitting
by, which were come out OF every iowa OF
Galiloe and Judoa and Jerusalem, aud the
power OF tho Lord was present 10 heal
them" The title Of this lesson is "Tho
Power of Jesus. and it is seen in this
chapter In the draft Of fishes, the healing
of the leper and OF tho paralytic, bat spe-
cially In the forgiveness Of sins. As He was
teaching on this particular occasion tho
house was full Of leading and influential
religious people, but He, the humble car
penter of Nazareth in their estimation.
thought not of their opinion and so, as al
ways, pleasing the Father, He preached
the word unto them Mark II, y. AL
though the power of the Lord was present
20 heal, they had come not TO be healed,
nor TO be blessed, and they got neither.
is. "And, behold, men brought In bed
a man which was taken with palsy, and
they sought means 60 bring him in and to
lay him before Him." The Pharisces and
doctors needed no help, in their own esti-
nation, but here is poor, afflicted, help
less man sadly needing help and very con-
scious OF Il. There is a saying that "God
helps those who help themselves, " but the
whole story and teaching Of Scripture are to
the effect that "God helps those who can
not help themselvos" utterly helpless
and hopeless, humanity speaking, as the
lepers, the blind, the dumb, the deaf and
the paralyzed, and such as could give Him
no rocomponse but themselves in gratitude
for His loving kindness.
10. "Thoy went upon the house top and
let him down through the tiling, with his
couch into tho midst before Jesus" Their
sympathy was practical, they were very
persevering, they manifested their faith
by their works. 1t may be that each of
the four had himself been healed of some
inarmity and therefore they could truly
sympathize with their friend, and having
each for himself seen and known the pow
err OF Jesus they knew that could they only
got him to jesus tho thing would be done.
90. "And when He saw their faith, lie
said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven
thee" We read in Math. viii, S-13, of tho
faith that said, "Speak the word only and
my servant shall be healed, " and without
even seeing the sick one Jesus healed him.
The faith of these men seems hardly so
great as that OF the centurion, but IL was
real faith in Jesus, though different in de-
gree, and it pleased the Lord. without
faith it is impossible TO please Him. (Heb.
II, O.. The man was brought TO be healed
of his palsy but Jesus, like a skillful ply
stefan, sees the true source of his troubles
and begins tho cure at the fountain head.
Not all sickness is the direct result of in
dividual sin, but sometimes ii is so, rs In
John V. IA.
81. "Who can forgive sins but God
aloneY' Thus reasoned the scribes and
Pharisees as they heard the words of Jesus
to the sick man. We may imagine their
CONSERVATION and possibly scowls and an
ger as they saw the roof broken up over
their heads. Contrast the perfect calm of
Jesus, unmoved by having His discourse
interrupted, or by the disturbance over
head, or by the hatred in their hearts, the
very essence of peace and quietness, He
who said to winds and waves, peace, be
stilll' was Himself always peaceful and
still, for He lived in the presence of God,
the God Of peace.
%. "But when Jesus perceived their
thoughts He answering, said unto thom,
What reason ye in your hoarts?" tits writ
ten of Him. II know the things that come
into your mind every one of them" (Ezek.
xi, %. He UNDERSTANDABLE even the imag-
ination Of the thoughts of the heart q
Chron. xviii, %. lie understands our
thought afar off (Ps. cxxxix, %. 1t is
great comfort TO n sincere heart that trusts
in Him that He can read the heart and
that He thoroughly understands us. 1t is,
on tho contrary, anguish TO the unsaved
when they allow themselves to think of il
that their every thought is known TO the
searcher Of hearts See Jer. xvii, 10.
%. whether is easier 10 say, Thy sins
DO forgiven thee, or 70 say, Rise up ard
walk" An ordinary physician may effect
a cure for the body, but only God can heal
tho soul One has said that the work Of
creation was completed in six days, but
tho work of redemption kept the Son Of
God on earth for over 33 years Concern
ing tho first, He spake and it was done,
but TO accomplish the second God became
man and suffered iudescribable agony of
body and soul for our sins. To forgivo sins
is surely the greatest work for It cost God
the most.
"a. "Thc Son Of Man hath power on
earth 20 forgive sins Therefore the Son
Of Man is none other than the Son of God.
even God Himself Instead Of saving. as
their unbelicf said. "Who can forgive sins
but God alonof" faith would have said,
" He forgiyeth sins, therefore He must be
our God, +" according to Isa. xiii, 25. What
n Joy that He still forgivcs sins have
been glad for % years that He has forgiven
my sins, and first saw it in John H. 10.
/ have had no dream or vision about it,
but L believe God. / rest in the finished
work OF the Lord Jesus Christ and lust
take Him at His word. believe also that
as truly as He rcdecms the soul He will In
duo time redeem the body.
90 And Immediately he rose up before
them and took up that whereon no lay and
departed to his own house, clarifying
God" We read ut least seven times in this
gospel Of "glorifying God" Tho shepherds
glorifed God when they had seen the babe
in the manager, the people glOriled God
when they had seen the widows son raised
to life, the woman who was bowed down
IS years gloriled God when she was made
straight, one of the ten lepers glorifled
God, the blind man glorifed God and the
Roman centurion glori1ed God Iii, 90;
V, %, &c; viii, 16; xiii, 10; xvii, IS; xviii.
43; xiii, Az. We glorify God when We
believe in Jesus Christ, when we make il
manifest TO others that we have confidence
in Him, and do actually trust Him, whom
we, by patience and meekLess, by love and
joy and long suffering and kindness, make
i6 very plain TO Others that Christ Himself
is living in US and that ~ belong TO Him.
go. And they were all amazed, and
they glorilcd God and were filed with
fear, saying, We have seen strange things
today. +" They had seen an impossibility,
humanity speaking. They had seen the
supernatural. They saw n sin sick soul
made clean and whole sick body made
well, and they saw preacher undisturbcd
by an interrupted discourse, or by the an
ger Of the influential people in his au.
dience All these things were superna-
tural and glorifled God, and they gloriflod
God when they acknowledged His hand IN