Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1907-05-17
The Leper's History.


Have you never by personal expert
ence been able TO picture the distress
Of this poor leper OF my text before he
was compelled to confess himself a
hopeless leper? I have often. 1 have
sometimes imagined him one OF the
Rtalwart men OF the east l have inn
agined him grow healthy boy, a
healthy young man, and then marry.
He has n beautiful home, a dear wife
and couple of lovely children. All
that Is possible To make young mans
life happy is his. But one day while
taking a bath he sees n little white
spot just over his left shoulder. He
does not think much of 1t at first. He
tries to rub il away, but it will not rub
OFF. Then in a week or two he sees
that this small white spot is growing a
little larger. a month later he finds it
still n little larger. He tries to mas
sage it with n rough towel, but it will
not rub out Now he begins to have his
suspicious. His face takes on wor-
rled look. He does not tell any one,
even his wife. Now he cannot sleep
well at night. He becomes cross and
irritable. One night his wife misses
him from her side. She gets up TO find
out where he is gone. She finds him in
the next room bending over the sleep
ing children. He is weeping and wiring
Ing his hands, saying. "Oh, who will
look after these children after i am
gomez" what is the matter, hus-
band?" she says. "You are not going
to leave the babies, are you? Is any
thing the matter?" He says, Nothing,
nothing" for he dare not tell her the
truth. Then he feels himself gradually
growing weaker and weaker.
One day he faints dead away. When
the servants undress him to put him to
bed, they find out his true condition.
He is 4 leper. a doomed leper Then
they drive him out from the home.
They drive him out from the hablta-
tons of man. They drive him out TO
live and to die among the lepers. Thus
you can see how grateful that leper
ought to have been when Jesus brush
ed away the fatal scales of leprosy
from off his breast and arms and neck
and forehead. Do you wonder that
that leper returned to thank God for
his physical health?
Thanks For Health.
Ought not scores and hundreds of us
to thank God for our restored physical
health? Some of us well remember
the day when he never expected TO be
strong and well, as we are now. Per
haps your physical history has been
that of many. Perhaps we came up
to twenty or twenty-five years of age
and never knew what 1t was to have an
ache or a pain. Then disease, like a
creeping paralysis, got hold of US
Then our health came back to us al
most as miraculously as did the re.
stored health of the ancient leper. We
felt as one snatched from the tomb
Like the leper of old, are you grateful
to God for that restored physical
health? Remember there was a day
when you would gladly have given
every dollar you owned to be physical
| ly well as you are today. Now, are
| you clarifying God, like the leper oi
old, for your restored physical health
oh, the inestimable blessings of 8
sound physical bodyi Who would dar,
TO keep silent lips when God has thus
blessed him with n sound physica
| frame?
But next to the blessing of physical
health. for what do you suppose thai
leper of old thanked Jesus? DO yor
suppose that cleansed leper kept kneel
ing at Jesus feet, saying: Master
| Master, can never thank thee
enough! l viii never leave thee,
will always stay by thy side If thoJ
wilt only LET me-" No. do not believ,
that leper did any such thing. l IL
not believe he stayed with Christ very
long. think he ran to Christ TO give
him his thanks. Then he said: Mas
ter. i want to run home and see my
wife and children and father ant
mother. and all my dear ones. oh,
want 10 tell them what you have done
| for me. i want TO take them in my
arms and kiss them, just rs 1 used {,
I do before these fatal scales came upoI
| my breast" Then / think Jesus said
GO, my son, goi Go and tell YOU
dear ones the glad news. have giveI
them TO you TO love just as i hav,
| given you yoHr physical health" Nov
i see that cleansed leper running TO
ward his old home. i hear him say
as he goes: Jesus has given me bacl
my father and mother and brother
and sisters and wife and little chill
dren- Thank God for my restored
home! Thank Godr' AS you thanh
God today for your physical health
are you also thanking Him for tn,
l sanctity and tha nuritv and tho love n
your domestic circle?
| Thanks For Relatives.
i M thanh hin, l,.h los