The Caucasian., 1907-05-14

many OF us who have perfect health
forget to thank God for a good pair OF
lungs and for steady nerves and for q
regular heart, for good teeth, for good
eyes and good pair of legs upon
to thank God when We get up in the
morning that the joints of our bodies
do not squeak ON account of rheuma.
tism, like an old rusty hinge which has
not been moved for many years! When
we go to bed at night, do we thank
not have to toss hour after hour until
at last we cannot endure the suffering
any more and we have to arise and
light the gas and go to reading In Or
der to distract our irritating thoughts
/ In other words, do we thank God that
we have health and strength? Too
often we neglect to do SO until we have
learned by pain and suffering the bless
ings we have lost. You who have suf-
fered like the leper of my text or like
scores and hundreds of us who have
passed through years of pain and
weakness then you know why l put
the blessing of physical health In the
forefront of this sermon.
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? l have often. l have
sometimes imagined him one of the
stalwart men of the east 1 have i'm
agined him grow healthy boy, a
healthy young man, and then marry.
He has a beautiful home, dear wife
and couple of lovely children. All
that is possible to make young mans
life happy is his. But one day while
taking bath he sees little white
spot just over his left shoulder. He
does not think much of it at first He
tries to rub it away, but it will not rub
off. Then in a week or two he sees
that this small white spot is growing Il
little larger. A month later he finds it
still a little larger. He tries to mas
sage 1t with rough towel, but it will
not rub out. Now he begins to have his
suspicious. His face takes on wor-
ried 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 l am
gomez "What is the matter, hus-
band?' she says. "You are not going
to leave the babies, are you? Is any
thing the matterT" He says, Nothing.
nothing" for he dare not toll 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 leper, a doomed leper. Then
they drive him. out from the home.
They drive him out from the habita-
tiens 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 it was to have an
ache or a pain. Then disease, like
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 day
when you would gladly have given
every dollar you owned to be physical
ly well as you are today. Now, are
you glorifying God, like the leper of
old, for your restored physical health?
oh, the inestimable blessings of a
sound physical body! Who would dare
to keep silent lips when God has thus
blessed him with sound physical
frame?
But next to the blessing of physical
health, for what do you suppose that
leper of old thanked Jesusf Do you
suppose that cleansed leper kept kneel-
ing at Jesus feet, saying: Master,
Master, / can never thank thee
enough! / will never leave thee! !
will always stay by thy side IL thou
wilt only let meT' No, do not believe
that leper did any such thing. / do
not believe he stayed with Christ very
long. l think he ran to Christ to give
him his thanks Then he said: Mas
ter, want to run home and see my
wife and children and father and
mother, and all my dear ones. Oh,
want to tell them what you have done