The Madisonian. (Richmond, Ky.) 1913-1914, 1914-09-22

man who was sure he could not OBEY,
and who had not the strength to do 1t.
It is call for the adventure of faith,
even as Abraham was called to go out
and did so, not knowing whittier he
went. 1t boldly asks me to do the I'M
possible and discloses the source OF
power to do it, revealing the sympa-
thetic, human Jesus as the one able to
save. A man with a withered hand.
Stand forth. Stretch 1t forth. Whole
as the other. And Jesus. What gos'
pei the story breaches! What Saw
Tor it reveals! How 1t rebukes our I'M
faith! Good. news is better than good
advice. This man needed good news;
he got 1t; he believed It; he received
It; he -ejoiced in it; so may you.
Heiplessness.
There was a man there which had
withered hand This Is typical case,
an Illustration of what Jesus Christ
can do for this and other spiritual dis
ordefs and diseases set forth by all
his cases of healing. And no case ever
is too hard for the great physician.
There was only one thing wrong with
this man, he was by no means the
worst in Capernaum A withered hand
is not so bad as leprosy. But the man
was helpless. Tradition says he was
carpenter; what could he do with
withered hand?
| What is your condition before God!
You may think it only as insignificant
as withered hand, but you are sim
ner. The whitening of the muscle, the
paralysis Of nerve, is no more disas-
trous to bodily effort than the blight
ing and enfeebling power of sin is de-
structive of all holy, acceptable serv'
Ice with God. Your poverty Of life,
your feeble sensibilities with reference
to righteousness, your faint and feeble
desires for a godlike life-how elo-
| quent Of these is that withered hand.
And If your right hand is withered you
know 1t, and other people know it too.
Your sin will find you out. Your sin
makes you helpless, your work is use
less, and your testimony is fruitless.
May the presence of Christ help you to
realize how vast and vital is the help
lessness Of a withered hand. 20
wretched man that l am! Who shall
deliver me from this body Of death? ?"
| MY SINS my sins, my Savior!
| How sad on Thee they fall!
Seen through Thy gentle patience.
I tenfold feel them ALL
Hope
Christ's gracious presence brought
sure hope to that otherwise helpless
sufferer So far as the record goes.
Christ's gracious Intervention was IN
solicited. But he was there to feel for.
and help, and heal the despairing. Do
you not remember the man at the pool
of Bethesda? When Jesus saw him he
said, Wilt thou be made whole? He
seeks out the sick, the sinful, the sore
l distressed. He knows about the sheep
that is lost, and he goes after it until
he finds it. The sinner may be con-
tent in his sins. but the Savior seeks
/ the sinner-blessed be his name. That
| is my star of hope in the dark night
of my life: that is the comfort in my
hour of sorrow; that is my joy when
| know that sin is sapping and will de-
stroy my soul. But God commendeth
his love toward us in that while we
were yet sinners Christ died for us"
Thank God for one in whom we may
hope. He is here, just now, facing US,
and for the very same purpose. He
detects human incompleteness; he
says, I'm me is thy hope"
Ny hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus blood and righteousness:
On Christ. the Solid Rock, I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand"
Healing.
How simple is the command to the
man. Stand forth. Christ met the
man on his lowest level. taking him
lust as he was. No change, no i'm.
provement, and no new feeling was
/ asked-nothing, except to act at once,
and because Christ babe it. Stand
forth. The man could do that, and he
did. It seemed like "a simple thing,
and so it was, but also it was the step
| which made healing possible. You
cannot save yourself, but you can take
the first step which brings you into
the presence of Jesus OF course Sa
tan says, Do not stand forth; the
crowd will laugh at you, and then Je-
sus will deceive you Stand forth.
You can do it, and you must
Stretch forth thine hand. But that
is impossible. you say. But the only
way to health was the obedience of
faith Christ saves by the importation
of power, but with the concurrence Of
human effort. The man could not
stretch forth his hafid-but he did it
because he took Jesus at his word.
Not waiting for feeling in the with
cred hand. not even most earnest pray
ing. Just courage to act at Christ's
command, to act without feeling, or in
fiat opposition to Il. And he did so
and his hand vas restored whole as
the other"
As they went they were cieansed
1t is splendid illustration of the obed
fence OF faith. BY this faith We lay
hold Of the Savior's might Power ID
limited to ebedience