Divine healing. A Biblical exegesis of the subject, showing the relations it has sustained to God's people in the past ages, and its proper place amongst them today

Contents

I. A View of God in Nature, 5

II. A View of God in Grace, 12

III. The Mosaic and Prophetic Age, 17

Chapter I. A View Of God In Nature

In order that I may make clear in these articles the thoughts which I wish to present, and enable the reader to comprehend the truth, as I think I can see it plainly revealed in the blessed will and testament of our loving Heavenly Father, as He has left it to all His dear children, it will be necessary to study the twofold means of God's revelation to man : God as revealed in nature, and God as revealed in grace.

In many articles w r hich I have read upon this very interesting and important subject, these two ways of God's revelation and dealing with man have been so intermingled that the entire subject became so confused that the reader was left, at the close, with no definite impression as to what might have been in the mind of the author. That God is the God of nature no one will deny who believes there is a God at all. So likewise all who believe that a door of mercy and grace has ever been opened to the fallen

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race of Adam, believe that God is Author of this grace.

God in nature operates and reveals Himself to man outside of the realms of the atonement of Jesus Christ. But in grace He always reveals Himself inside the extent of the influence of this blessed atonement upon the cross.

"The Law was given, or received, by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. "

The term "Divine Healing'' in these articles, as I believe it always should, will be applied to God's dealings with the race in the realms of grace alone. If any are to be divinely healed, it must be by grace. That many have been so healed, but few will deny ; that many sick people have recovered who have had no respect for grace and no faith in its effect upon these bodies, is equally true. To say these were Divinely healed would be greatly to misuse the term ; to take the ground that they were healed independent of God's notice or the action of His laws, no one dares to say who believes in the supervision of God as a loving Father to His dependent children.

The statement in the Bible, "That it is the glory of God to conceal a thing," applies equally to nature and grace.

As things exist in nature to-day, they have largely in the same relation existed since the foundation of the world; but how woefully ignorant man has been of many of these things ! It is only as man has searched out these hidden things, which God has made, and brought them in proper relationship with

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one another, that we have been enabled to know of their benefit to us. Such is the discovery of the mighty power of steam, as it comes from the proper relationship of water to fire. These two antagonizing forces of nature, two of the most necessary to life and comfort, and yet the two most destructive when beyond control, are made to produce this power which has been of untold benefit to the advancement of civilization, and to the commerce of the world, as it has been put in action to traverse the land and plow through the waters of the mighty deep. Yet how silent and inactive this mighty force has lain for centuries of the past because of the ignorance of man !

By the usefulness of electricity, as in the last few years it has been discovered and brought into use under the intelligent control of man for communication and transportation, the far-off citizen of yesterday, so to speak, is to-day our next-door neighbor. And by the development of the possibilities yet lying in the reach of man, of this agency, together with the newly-discovered electrical currents of the air, may bring us in such relationship and touch with the citizens of the whole world that we can sit, as it w 7 ere, around one common table as one family of our loving Heavenly Father.

The gold, silver, and iron hidden away in the mountains in their crude state, have lain there only awaiting the coming of man to take them out, and through certain processes purify and shape them, until they may become his servants to serve him in the best possible way. Pearls in the bottom of the sea, building stones in the qirarries, coal, oil, and gas hidden away in the heart of the earth, had to be searched out, means devised by which they might be obtained and brought into proper relationship with other things, that they might supply the needs of man in furnishing him heat and light.

For supplying man with grains, vegetables, and fruits, God has given us the beautiful earth with the proper ingredients in the soil for their growth and sufficient of these grains, vegetables, and fruits from which to start, and has left it within the possibility of man to search out and improve, and from these to reproduce other kinds, which may still be improved. And while great improvement has already been made, it remains yet to be seen what may be accomplished in producing a better quality of these, with which to bless mankind.

So might we speak of the soil itself; for by searching out the ingredients it contains and the ingredients upon which plants feed and grow, and by adding those lacking, a much greater amount and finer quality may be produced.

Go with me to the farms, dairies, and stock-pens of to-day; mark the great improvement of fowls and animals. Man began with what he had, took the wild fowl, domesticated it, culled out the inferior, kept the best ; from these other breeds were produced, larger in size and finer in quality; from these others were produced still better; and we know not what may yet be produced in the animal kingdom, all this improvement being left in the reach of man to perform, thereby adding comfort and blessing to himself. Much might be said of the animals, but suffice it to say that we are constantly seeing' statements in different ways of that which has excelled anything of the past. It may be a cow, excelling all other records in size or in the amount of milk and butter she will produce ; or a horse, in size or the speed at which he is able to go or the strength he may be able to exert ; or a sheep, exceeding anything of the past in size or in the amount of wool produced.

All this, and much more which might be said, would prove to us the goodness of God in placing within man's reach inexhaustible possibilities for supplying himself with the present needs for making him happy and giving him great reason for being thankful and rejoicing in this present state. Had man never transgressed God's law, he would certainly have been very happy under these circumstances of unlimited possibilities. But, alas ! having disobeyed, he came under the penalty of death, with all that death can mean. All sickness and disease which cause death is part of the penalty. Man under the hand of an all-wise Creator, who could perfectly adjust the eye to light, the ear to sound, the nose to smell, the mouth to taste, and the fingers to touch; who had made the opposite forces of nature, as cold and heat, light and darkness, bitter and sweet, — has found that, under the discovery of medical science, God has provided a remedy for many of these diseases. And under the wonderful advancement which has been made along this line, who will dare. to say that, if we io Divine Hkaung.

could properly understand the human body with all its diseases on one hand, and on the other comprehend all the possibilities of nature, there might not be an antidote or remedy that would greatly relieve, if not give power completely to overcome them ?

But while much has been discovered, how ignorant man may yet be of undiscovered remedies which lie in the possibility of his reach ! All the medical properties that have been, or may yet be, discovered belong to this world. While there is much fraud in the many sure cures for all diseases which so plentifully abound, and much quackery in the profession and practice of medicine, still any ordinary mind must admit that the discovery of medical science has proven one of the great benefactors of the race. Under the proper administration of many of these discovered properties of nature, of which God is the Maker, much pain has been relieved, and many people, stricken with diseases, have recovered, where they would doubtless have died without them. To say that such cases were Divinely healed is to acknowledge that every case of recovery under medical remedies is Divine healing, which is not altogether true ; and yet these discoveries are brought about by the use of Divinely created agencies put in man's reach to use. And these agencies are used in association with the laws of nature by the intelligence of man wholly outside of the realms of grace ; for many eminent physicians have been avowed infidels, enemies of the religion of Jesus Christ.

Great as have been the benefits arising from the

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discoveries already made, or that may yet be made, is man left to these agencies alone in combating the mighty forces of disease and sickness to which he is exposed? If we are left to these agencies alone, and the administration of these do not produce Divine healing, can there be such a thing? If there is such a thing as Divine healing, and it is not brought about by the use of any of the remedies found in nature, what, then, can be our hope for such a thing, and by what means may it be obtained? I answer, Our only hope can be found in the effect of the sacrifice upon the cross of Him of whom it is said, "He by the grace of God tasted death for every man."

Chapter II. A View Of God In Grace

Having thus far considered the means of God's revelation in nature, we wish to consider the means of His revelations in grace, as they related to this interesting subject.

As I approach the discussion of this subject under a conscious sense of the mysticism and skepticism of the present time, I would ask all who wish prayerfully to follow me in these pages, that you, with me, may uncover your heads and take off the shoes from your feet, realizing that the ground upon which we wish to walk is holy ground, and the covering under which we wish to go is the canopy of the Divine Presence ; that as we walk softly before Him, He may lead us to comprehend a little at least of the grand possibilities opened before us in Him who was wounded for our transgressions. "He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed/' Blessed be His name ! The first and most important of all questions relative to this subject is the foundation upon which to predicate our faith ; and if I should fail to establish clearly a true foundation, all the future consideration of the extent to which it may be applied, and of all

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the agencies, both human and Divine, in any way associated therewith, would only be a hopeless task.

I have already indicated what can alone be the foundation for our hope of this precious doctrine ; but some will deny me the right to claim even "Him who bore our sins in His own body on the tree" for a base upon which to stand in defense of the position which I wish to take. And if I fail to make tenable my position upon this foundation, I shall completely fail to find any justifiable ground upon which to stand, and will be classed with the necromancers and witches of ancient time, and the Christian Scientists of to-day.

Since the day that the promise was given to the mother of all the race, that "the seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head," all the sacrifices and offerings have in some sense been types which have pointed to the one great antitype, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ upon the cross, by which they could alone be beneficial, because in Him was full redemption for the race ; and they being used in His stead, as prefiguring Him, were effectual in producing, largely, the very same results as are obtainable after the fullness of time has elapsed, and the sacrifice has actually been offered, and all the types and shadows have been swallowed up in the great antitype of them all, when in Him we can freely receive these blessings without the observance of all the types and shadows.

It will be argued by some, that if in nature God has provided a remedy for the diseases of mankind, we need no such remedy in grace.

But we must remember that with all that has been

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discovered along this line, it yet remains to be seen whether there is a remedy for all diseases with which man is afflicted. It is a positive fact, undeniable by any, that no remedy has yet been discovered, or ever will be, that will prevent death, or that will rob death of his prey, and restore the dead to life and health. It is argued, again, that the purpose of God in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ was to open a way for man into a blessed immortality after death. Just so ; but to do so, the sacrifice must entirely cover the effect of the death penalty. And could the sacrifice make a complete atonement for the penalty of d-eath, without covering as well the causes which may produce death?

If sickness and disease are, as I have already stated, a part of the penalty, why may they not be atoned for in the sacrifice of Him who tasted death for every man? If the sacrifice was complete, and atoned for all the effect of the penalty, sickness and disease being a part of it, how can they help being under the effect of its influence?

While sickness is most generally the cause of death, does it need be so? Is it God's purpose that it should be so? Would it not be better to look more to the possibilities of a present attainment under the privileges of grace than to look too much to the future life? "For this cause was the Son of man manifested, to destroy the works of the devil/' "Thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins" (or sin penalty).

If it is the purpose of God, in Christ Jesus, to destroy the sin penalty, and sickness and pain being part of this penalty, it must be done in this life ; for in the life to come there is to be neither sickness nor pain. Some will insist that we must cheerfully submit to this suffering, because it is necessary, seeing we can not escape death; and suffering is necessary to produce it. That we can not escape an exit from this world is true ; but did not Jesus teach that "he that believeth in Me shall never die?" And did He not allude to death, as a peaceful repose, as "He sleepeth?"

The seed-germ of everlasting life is in these bodies ; and, from this standpoint, it may be said, we will never die. Sickness is by no means essential to bring about the dissolution of soul and body, known as death. Is not Moses the typical man, who might be taken as the model, to represent the normal condition of man in this life? His eyes had not grown dim, neither his natural force abated ; but, having accomplished his work and run his race, he was taken by God from this world to the life beyond, without suffering.

I have thus endeavored to make clear the position which, under honest conviction, has forced itself upon me. If this position is at all tenable, we shall see the fulfillment of it in God's dealing with His people, in the types and shadows of the Mosaic and Prophetic dispensations, in the life work of Jesus Himself as He operated just on the eve of the atonement He

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was to make, and in the lives of the apostles as they worked under the immediate demonstration of the atonement which had just been made.

Let us make the research, and see what are the revelations left us along these lines.

Chapter III. The Mosaic And Prophetic Age

Can we comprehend this statement relative to the exit of the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage to the Land of Promise? "He brought them out with silver and gold, and there was not one feeble person among their tribes."

The first proposition may be accounted for, in part at least, in that they were to borrow from the Egyptians all the gold and silver they could, in shape of jewelry and ornaments. But the second clause could not have been said of any other similar case in the world's history. The entire posterity of twelve families lived for a period of over four hundred years, during which time it is said of them, "that the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and grew." Such a vast concourse of people, of every age and condition of life, and "not one feeble person among them !"

It was the hand of a loving Heavenly Father leading His own people from an enemy's country to a possession of their own, from a cruel bondage to freedom and prosperity, thereby giving all the ages yet to come an example the most perfect of any that would ever be given, of what might be the purpose

2 17 of God, through the effect of the atonement of Jesus Christ upon the cross, to lead his people up out of the dominion of the wicked one, and out of the penalty of sin, into the possession of their rights and privileges in Jesus Christ, in whom they were to be complete. And if complete, could it not be said, there is not one feeble person within their borders, spiritually, intellectually, or physically?

Associated with the above circumstance is the institution of the Passover, which became a perpetual ordinance of the Jewish Church, and stands out very beautifully as one of the clear types of the sacrifice of Jesus upon the cross. The death penalty was pronounced in all the land ; the Lamb became the substitute ; the blood sprinkled upon the doorposts became the token, and the death angel passed over. The Passover sacrifice was associated with the yearly day of atonement, by which they were acquitted of all their sins. Where was the virtue of this sacrifice? We find it as we look down through the long vista of time yet to come, "when Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us." He becomes the substitute; His blood, sprinkled upon our hearts by faith, becomes the token, and the death penalty is suspended and we may go free.

Can we comprehend anything of the magnitude of this sacrificial offering, and what its effect might be? It is the sacrifice of the Infinite One, the Sinless One, the One of whom the Voice from heaven had twice said, "He is My beloved Son." He had lived the perfect life, but His time had come. He has al-

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ready passed the garden. He is nailed to the cross, suspended between earth and heaven. As the cross is dropped into the hole prepared for it in the stone, every nerve is shocked, and here begins the awful suffering of this occasion. AYe can have no conception of what it must have been, as down upon His quivering body came the penalty of the sins that had been committed in ages of the past, and the sins of the people then living, and all the sins of the future generations like a mighty torrent upon Him. Under the weight of the awful burden that was upon Him, He cries out, "My God! My God! why hast Thou forsaken Me !" The answer might have come back, "That Thou mightest bridge the awful chasm between Me and a people under the penalty of death." "He trod the wine press alone."

In the solemness of the occasion the sun refused to shine, the stars shut their eyes, and the moon veiled her lovely face. The rocks were rent, the earth trembled, and all nature mourned in the darkness of that sad hour. He cried out, "It is finished!" The death penalty had been met, and in those brief moments "He, by the grace of God, had tasted death for every man." "He bore our sins in His own body upon the tree." The sin-offerings of the centuries before became virtuous as they typified this great event.

Among the rites of the Jewish religion was one sacrifice that applied especially to the leper, and any one that was smitten might offer this sacrifice and thereby be healed of his leprosy. I ask wherein was the virtue of this offering, of which the apostle declares that "the blood of bulls and of goats and the ashes of an heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh ?" that is, the body became healed of this deadly disease. I answer, it was because of the atonement of Jesus Christ upon the cross, where He bore the penalty of our sins in His own body upon the tree ; for it was only a type, and no type can supersede its antitype, or that for which it stands.

Some will say, the leprosy was to represent sin. So it may represent sin. But while it represents sin, it remains true that it was one of the deadly diseases of mankind; and while one might survive quite a while with this disease, he was dying all the time. This being one of the prevalent and worst diseases of that time, it may represent the diseases of the body as properly as that of sin, or more so; for they had the sacrifices for the sin-offering, by which sins were to be acquitted; but this was only to be observed by those whose bodies were affected with leprosy, for their cleansing.

We have noticed the effect of these sacrifices that were incorporated in their mode of worship, and tried to show that the real virtue of these sacrifices was not in themselves, but in that which they prefigured. To make this clearer, let us notice, further. If it was in them alone, then the leper could only be healed by observing them.

The Israelites tarried at Mount Sinai eleven months, during which time they received the law, with its many ordinances and its unlimited requirements, reaching out into every condition of life and conduct. Here they also constructed the ark of the covenant and the tabernacle. Soon after they had renewed their journey, Aaron and Miriam spoke evil of Moses, because he had married an Ethiopian woman. For this evil thing Miriam was smitten with leprosy. Aaron besought Moses for her, and Moses prayed unto God for her healing. As a punishment she was excluded from the congregation seven days. Whether the healing was at once or at the end of this time, we are not told ; but nothing is recorded about the observances of the sacrifices and washings required by the law for such healing. If she was healed without the observance of these ordinances, it must prove there was virtue for healing somewhere else, and that somewhere must have been in the sacrifice of Jesus upon the cross.

The healing of Naaman, the Syrian captain, was by no performance of the sacrifices of the law, neither by the appliances of medical means, but by obedience to that which Elisha told him to do. The waters of Jordan had never before been so medicated as to produce a cure of leprosy, neither after this ; so there must have been virtue somewhere ; and this virtue must be alone in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ upon the cross, where He paid the penalty of death with all its agencies.

Soon after the children of Israel turned back into the wilderness, having refused to go over into the Promised Land, when they were brought to its borders at Kadesh-barnea, they were attacked by fiery serpents, the bite of which produced death. They besought Moses for deliverance, and he was commanded to make a serpent of brass and put it on a pole, so that all who were bitten could look upon it ; and as many as looked were healed. Was the virtue for healing in the serpent ? Had it been so medicated that a mere look upon it would transmit an antidote for the poison sufficient for a recovery? I think not. But how suggestive are the words of Jesus when He says, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up : that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life/' It was a type, of which the Son of man is the antitype. If the type had such virtue as to heal all the bodies thus filled with poison, how much more must be the virtue of Him to whom all the types and shadows pointed!

As the serpent was lifted up, so must the Son of man be. How many beautiful lessons may be drawn from this ! The serpent was made of brass. Brass is composed of copper and zinc. The Son of man was both human and Divine. The serpent's bite represents sin. Its poison is coursing through our moral being, and if not eradicated, will sooner or later produce death. Jesus Christ upon the cross is the antidote for this poison of sin; all who will, may believe in Him and be saved. What beautiful lessons ! How orthodox ! O that all might come and be saved ! How often have we heard it, and the glad news has filled our hearts with rejoicing! Why not carry the simile out in its most natural form ? "As the serpent was lifted up, so must the Son of man be."

The serpent was lifted up in the wilderness to heal the bodies of all who were bitten of a fiery serpent, the poison of which would soon produce death; so the Son of man must be lifted up, that, having taken our infirmities and borne our sicknesses, the sick and suffering may believe in Him and be healed. The brazen serpent became virtuous to them in healing their bodies from this poison, as it represented the sacrifice which Jesus Christ was to make when He became lifted up; thereby becoming the source of their healing by the type of the brazen serpent. Why is He not yet the great Physician to whom man may come, who is diseased, and dying of the many diseases which are the consequence of sin, and are raging in these bodies, causing racking pain and scorching fever?

The record concerning Asa, one of the kings of Judah, was that he did many good things, and won many battles over his enemies, while he trusted in God alone. But as his trust in God became imperfect, he put confidence elsewhere, and was defeated by his enemies, and was troubled with wars. His trust was not only shaken in God for the defense of his kingdom against other nations, but in regard to God's care of him personally; and when he became diseased he sought for relief from physicians, and not from God. His disease became worse, and, medical means failing to give relief, in about two years he died. The inference of the story is, that if he had trusted in God alone his kingdom would have been successful over its enemies, and had he sought the Lord in his sickness, he might have recovered. The reason why he might have been healed in this way, is that there is healing virtue in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

One more circumstance to which I wish to allude in this connection, and then I shall leave the argument. Many more incidents of like character might be referred to ; but if these already considered do not prove for me a tenable ground upon which to stand, all others would likewise fail. The circumstance referred to is that of the Shunammite's son. In this case the disease had run its course and produced death. The reason I wish to consider this is to show that the work of the law and the prophets of God in this ancient time was complete in some respects, as they worked in obedience to God, and having respect alone to the offers of His grace, through Jesus Christ, as it was in the dispensation to follow.

The Prophet Elisha had been constrained to show his love and respect and appreciation of the woman for her kindness in providing him a home to be used at his own pleasure ; and had promised her a son, to add to her comfort and enjoyment in this life. This promise was fulfilled, and when the child had grown to be a lad, while in the field, he was suddenly taken with a severe pain in his head. He was carried to the house, and soon died. His mother, in this great affliction, went to Elisha in great haste for comfort. He sent his servant to bring back the child to life.