Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1900-07-27

muscles began to relax from their ri
gidlty. and the spinal column began "a
ADJUST itself. and the cords OF the neck
began to he more supple. and the eyes
that could see only the ground before
now looked into the face OF Christ with
gratitude and up toward heaven in
transport. Straight, After IS weary
aud exhausting years. straight, The
poise. the gracefulness. the beauty of
healthy womanhoOd reinStated
For Chronic Ilircss.
The IS years ease was a man who lay
On mattress near the mineral baths at
Jerusalem. There Were five apartments
where lame people were brought. so
that they could get the advantage of
these mineral baths. The stone basin
or the bath is still visible. although
the waters have disappeared. probably
through some convulSion of nature.
The bath. 120 feet long, 40 feet wide
ond feet deep. All. poor man. IL YOU
nave been lame and helpless IS years.
that mineral bath cannot restore YOU.
why. Is years is more than the aver
age or human life. Nothing but the
grave will cure you. But Christ the
Surgeon walks along these baths and
| have no doubt passes by some pa
uents who have been only six months
disordered or year or five years and
comes TO the mattress Of the man who
had been nearly four decades HELPLESS
and TO this 80 years invalid said. "Wilt
thou 6e made wholeI''
The question asked not because the
surgeon did not understand the pro-
tractedness, the desperateness, of the
case. but TO evoke the mans pathetic
narrative. wilt thou be made whole %
Would you like to get well?' "Oh.
yes says the man. THAT is what /
came to these mineral baths for l
have tried everything. All the sur
Seons have failed. and all the prcscrip-
tons have proved valueless. and got
worse and worse. and l can neither
move hand nor foot nor head. oh. IL l
could only be free from this pain of 3S
years. Christ the Surgeon could not
stand that. Bending over the man on
the mattress. AMI in voice tender
with all sympathy, but strong with all
omnipotcnce. he says. Riser And the
invalid instantly scrambles to his
knees and then puts out his right foot,
then his left foot, and then stood up
right as though he had never been
Frustrated. While he stands looking at
the doctor. with n joy too much to hold.
the doctor says: Shoulder this mat
tress. for you are not only well enough
20 walk, but well enough to work, and
start out from these mineral baths
Take up thy bed and WALK oh, what
surgeon for chronic cases then and
for chronic cases now,
This is not applicable so much to
those who are only n little hurt of sin
and only for short time. but TO those
Frustrated of sin IL years. Is years. IS
years Here is n surgeon able to give
immortal health. "Oh." you say. Il am
so completely overthrow and tram
pied down OF sin that | cannot rise"
Are you Halter down than this patient
ut the mineral baths? No. Then rise.
In the name OF Jesus of Nazareth. the
surgeon who offers you his right hand
OF help. | bid thee rise. Not cases of
acute sin, but or chronic siu-those
who have not prayed for 3S years.
those who have not been TO church for
IS years, those who have been gam
blers. or libcrtiues. or thieves. or out
laws, or blasphemcrs, or infidels. or
atheists, or MI these together. for 3S
years. 4 Christ for exlgencics! A
Christ for dead lift. A surgeon who
sever loses case!
Made tho blind to SEQ.
In speaking OF Christ rs surgeon
must consider him rs IN oculist or eve
doctor and an auriss or ear doctor.
Was there ever such another ocullst
That be was particularly sorry for the
blind folks | take from the fact that
the most OF his works were with the
diseased optic nerves. have not time
10 count up the number OF blind people
mentioned who got his cure. Two
blind men in one house; also one who
was born blind; so that IL was not re-
noval OF visual obstruction, hut the
creation OF the cornea and ciliary mus
Gle and crystalline lens and retina and
optic nerve and tear gland: also the
bind mnn or Bethsaida, cured by the
saliva which the surgeon took from
the tip or his own tongue and put upon
the eyelids; also two blind men who
sat by the wayside. IN our civilized
ratio fearfully increasing. according 20
the statement OF European and Ameri-
can oculists. because OF the reading OF
morning and evening newspapers on
the jolting cars 10y the multitudes who
live out OF the city and come I'm to BUSH
ness. But in the lands where this d.
vine surgeon operated the cases of
blindness were multiplied beyond ev-
erything by the particles OF sand float.
ing In the air and the night dews fall
Ing on the eyclids OF those who slept on
the top OF their houses. and In some of
these lands 1t is estimated that 20 out
OF 100 people are totally blind. Amid
all that crowd OF visionIess people,
what work for an oculistl And | do
not believe that more than one out OF a
hundred OF that surgeons cures was
reported. He went up and down among
those people who were feeling slowly
their way by STAFF. or led by the hand
OF man or rope of dog. and introducing
them TO the faces of their own house
hold, to the sunrise and the sunset and
the evening star. lie just ran his hand
over the expressionless face, and the
shutters of>both windows were swung
open, and the restored went home cry
ing: Il see! l see! Thank God, seew
That is the oculist we all need TIL
he touches our eyes we are blind. Yea,
we were born blind. BY nature we see
things wrong, If we see them Mt all.
Our best eternal interests are nut be-
fore us. and we cannot see them. The
giories OF loving and pardoning
Christ are projected. and we do not be-
hold them. Or we have a defective
sight which makes the things OF this
world larger than the things of the flu
ture, time bigger than eternity. Or we
are color blind and cannot see the diff.
Terence between the blackness of dark
ness forever and the roseate morning
or an everlasting day. But Christ the
surgeon comes in. and though we
shrink back afraid to have him touch
us. yet he puts his fingers on the closed
eyeiids OF the soul and midnight be.
o.NI