 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
DIVINE HEALING
|
Andrew Murray |
|
PREFACE
The publication of this work may be regarded as a testimony of my faith in divine healing. After being stopped for more than two years in the exercise of my ministry, I was healed by the mercy of God in answer to the prayer of those who see in Him "the Lord that healeth thee" (Exodus 15:26).
This healing, granted to faith, has been the source of rich spiritual blessing to me. I have clearly seen that the Church possesses in Jesus, our Divine Healer, an inestimable treasure, which she does not yet know how to appreciate. I have been convinced anew of that which the Word of God teaches us in this matter, and of what the Lord expects of us; and I am sure that if Christians learned to realize practically the presence of the Lord that healeth, their spiritual life would thereby be developed and sanctified. I can therefore no longer keep silence, and I publish here a series of meditations, with the view of showing, according to the Word of God, that "the prayer of faith" (James 5:15) is the means appointed by God for the cure of the sick, that this truth is in perfect accord with Holy Scripture, and that the study of this truth is essential for everyone who would see the Lord manifest His power and His glory in the midst of His children. -- ANDREW MURRAY
WStS NOTE: We do well to "be followers together of [Mr. Murray], and mark them which walk so as ye have [him] for an ensample" (Philippians 3:17). We have been "rooted and built up in [Christ Jesus], and stablished in the faith, as [we] have been taught" (Colossians 2:7) by the Scriptural insights shared in this volume (a book which has been a great favorite of ours for over 25 years).
Even so, we respectfully must mention an additional thought which we believe to be included among those that come from "the mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:16) regarding "Divine Healing." Mr. Murray has linked together the occasion of sickness in response to the condition of sin, i.e., "sin and sickness are as closely united as the body and the soul". We believe that this is entirely true of those who refuse to "walk worthy of the LORD unto all pleasing" (Colossians 1:10), whether they be those who vainly profess Christ, or those who make no boast in Him whatsoever. However, we believe that "every one that nameth the Name of Christ [and does truly] depart from iniquity" (2 Timothy 2:19), may also suffer with infirmities for reasons other than sin. (Unlike the tenacious, and still prevalent, "original sin" doctrine, we believe that a true Christian does not abide in sin, nor is any man born in sin. There is a difference between moral depravity and physical depravity. Moral depravity is sin, or sinning. It results from willfully choosing that which is wrong. "To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin" (James 4:17). Physical depravity is our inheritance from Adam's fall, a tendency for the flesh to satisfy itself. Physical depravity is not sin, but gives us the negative consequences that Mr. Murray associates with sickness."'Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one' (Job 14:4). Job remarks about the plight of man, that the run down physical condition of man (physical depravity) is passed on to the next generation of man by physical birth. Physical depravity is not sin. Physical depravity is the resulting run down physical condition due to the actual commission of the first sin. Spiritual death comes to all who sin. Adam was warned: 'in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die' (Genesis 2:17). Scripture makes plain about sin... commit it and die. 'The soul that sinneth, it shall die' (Ezekiel 18:20). 'The wages of sin is death' (Romans 6:23). Moral depravity is sin. Moral depravity is sinning. The flesh is the opportunity. The flesh is the occasion for sin to take place. The flesh itself is not sinful, but when we attempt to satisfy a proper desire of the flesh (i.e., procreation), when specifically told not to (i.e., 'Thou shalt not commit adultery' (Exodus 20:14), that is sin... 'for sin is the transgression of the law' (1John 3:4)... Physical depravity is the physical consequence of sin. Adam's sin had physical consequences. Physical death must now be the rule for all man. The flesh, once an occasion for good... 'And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight [the flesh], and good for food' (Genesis 2:9)... now becomes the occasion for much evil. Man's environment, as well as body, have been beat as a result of sin. This is physical depravity, which is not sin. However, when man obeys the normal, proper desire of the flesh, when commanded by the LORD to contain it, then man commits sin. This is moral depravity- the act of sinning. Physical depravity precedes moral depravity, but no man has the right to say that he committed adultery because his body forced him! So it would be proper for Job to assert in Job 14:4 that a physically depraved human will only beget another physically depraved human." --from "An Urgent Call to Christian Perfection" ---New Window, An Exposition of the Doctrine of Christian Perfection by Tom Stewart, section 3 ---New Window.
Mr. Murray, because of his doctrine concerning "original sin" or "sin nature," attributes all sickness to sin, either personally committed or resulting from "the preponderance of sin which weighs upon the entire human race." We agree that all sickness results from sin-- but only indirectly-- when referring to honest-hearted Christians. Almost all of the sickness endured in this world is because of sin. But the presence of sin need not be a factor at all, were an honest Christian to bear an infirmity. Mr. Murray agrees in Spirit, stating: God "teaches us not to accuse every sick person of sin." When dealing with an honest Christian (or, one who has "an honest and good heart, having heard the Word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience" [Luke 8:15]), physical infirmity can have a sanctifying effect-- diverting the Christian from sinning-- even as it happened for the Apostle Paul. "7 And lest I should be exalted above measure [Paul hadn't sinned-- 'lest I should be'] through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. 8 For this thing I besought the LORD thrice, that it might depart from me. 9 And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong" (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). Of course, this example does not deny the Scriptural fact that "the LORD [is] for the body," (1 Corinthians 6:13). It was "for the body" that the "thorn in the flesh" was allowed, God thus providing a sanctifying warning for Paul to refrain from the sin of pride. While infirmities give us the opportunity to be refined, we are to "be careful (or, anxious) for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God" (Philippians 4:6). "Jesus Himself who is always the first, the best, the greatest Physician," as Mr. Murray so excellently affirmed, is "the LORD that healeth thee" (Exodus 15:26). [Please see our "Topical Links On Sound Doctrine" ---New Window, for much more on this subject.]
Together with Paul, we "will not glory, but in [our] infirmities" (2 Corinthians 12:5). And that said, we hope you will be enriched and edified by Mr. Murray's offering to the Church-- "Divine Healing." It's a wonderful book! --Tom and Katie Stewart
.
THE COMPLETE
"DIVINE HEALING"
AVAILABLE IN A COMPRESSED
VERSION ---New Window
(for easy download and search ability)
To avoid broken links, due to file length, please wait for the page to
load completely
before selecting ANY link below.
The links above can be used immediately.
Thanks.
Table of Contents
PREFACE
Chapter I. PARDON AND HEALING
Chapter II. BECAUSE OF YOUR UNBELIEF
Chapter III. JESUS AND
THE DOCTORS
Chapter IV. HEALTH AND
SALVATION BY THE NAME OF JESUS
Chapter V. NOT BY OUR OWN
POWER
Chapter VI. ACCORDING TO
THE MEASURE OF FAITH
Chapter VII. THE WAY OF
FAITH
Chapter VIII. YOUR BODY
IS THE TEMPLE OF THE HOLY GHOST
Chapter IX. THE BODY FOR
THE LORD
Chapter X. THE LORD FOR
THE BODY
Chapter XI. DO NOT CONSIDER
YOUR BODY
Chapter XII. DISCIPLINE
AND SANCTIFICATION
Chapter XIII. SICKNESS
AND DEATH
Chapter XIV. THE HOLY
SPIRIT THE SPIRIT OF HEALING
Chapter XV. PERSEVERING
PRAYER
Chapter XVI. LET HIM THAT
IS HEALED GLORIFY GOD
Chapter XVII. THE NEED
FOR A MANIFESTATION OF GOD'S POWER
Chapter XVIII. SIN AND
SICKNESS
Chapter XIX. JESUS BORE
OUR SICKNESS
Chapter XX. IS SICKNESS
A CHASTISEMENT?
Chapter XXI. GOD'S PRESCRIPTION
FOR THE SICK
Chapter XXII. THE LORD
THAT HEALETH THEE
Chapter XXIII. JESUS
HEALS THE SICK
Chapter XXIV. FERVENT
AND EFFECTUAL PRAYER
Chapter XXV. INTERCESSORY
PRAYER
Chapter XXVI. THE WILL
OF GOD
Chapter XXVII. OBEDIENCE
AND HEALTH
Chapter XXVIII. JOB'S
SICKNESS AND HEALING
Chapter XXIX. THE PRAYER
OF FAITH
Chapter XXX. ANOINTING
IN THE NAME OF THE LORD
Chapter XXXI. FULL SALVATION
OUR HIGH PRIVILEGE
Chapter XXXII. YE ARE
THE BRANCHES
.
Back to Top
CHAPTER I.
PARDON AND HEALING
"But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on
earth to forgive sins (then saith He to the sick of the palsy), Arise, take up thy
bed and go unto thine house"
(Matthew 9:6).
In man two natures are combined. He is at the same time spirit and matter, heaven
and earth, soul and body. For this reason, on one side he is the son of God, and
on the other he is doomed to destruction because of the Fall; sin in his soul and
sickness in his body bear witness to the right which death has over him. It is the
twofold nature which has been redeemed by divine grace. When the Psalmist calls upon
all that is within him to bless the Lord for His benefits, he cries, "Bless
the Lord, O my soul, Who... forgiveth all thine iniquities, Who healeth all thy diseases"
(Psalm 103:2-3). When Isaiah foretells the deliverance of his
people, he adds, "The inhabitant shall not say, I am sick;
the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity" (Isaiah 33:24).
This prediction was accomplished beyond all anticipation when Jesus the Redeemer
came down to this earth. How numerous were the healings wrought by Him who was come
to establish upon earth the kingdom of heaven! Whether by His own acts or whether
afterwards by the commands which He left for His disciples, does He not show us clearly
that the preaching of the Gospel and the healing of the sick went together in
the salvation which He came to bring? Both are given as evident proof of His
mission as the Messiah: "The blind receive their sight
and the lame walk.., and the poor have the Gospel preached to them" (Matthew 11: 5). Jesus, who took upon Him the soul and body of
man, delivers both in equal measure from the consequences of sin.
This truth is nowhere more evident or better demonstrated than in the history of
the paralytic. The Lord Jesus begins by saying to him, "Thy
sins be forgiven thee," [Matthew 9:5]
after which He adds, "Arise, take up thy bed and go."
The pardon of sin and the healing of sickness complete one the other, for in the
eyes of God, who sees our entire nature, sin and sickness are as closely united as
the body and the soul. In accordance with the Scriptures, our Lord Jesus has regarded
sin and sickness in another light than we have. With us sin belongs to the spiritual
domain; we recognize that it is under God's just displeasure, justly condemned by
Him, while sickness, on the contrary, seems only a part of the present condition
of our nature, and to have nothing to do with God's condemnation and His righteousness.
Some go so far as to say that sickness is a proof of the love and grace of God.
But neither the Scripture nor yet Jesus Christ Himself ever spoke of sickness in
this light, nor do they ever present sickness as a blessing, as a proof of God's
love which should be borne with patience. The Lord spoke to the disciples of divers
sufferings which they should have to bear, but when He speaks of sickness, it is
always as of an evil caused by sin and Satan, and from which we should be delivered.
Very solemnly He declared that every disciple of His would have to bear his cross
(Matthew 16:24), but He never taught one sick person to resign
himself to be sick. Everywhere Jesus healed the sick, everywhere He dealt with healing
as one of the graces belonging to the kingdom of heaven. Sin in the soul and sickness
in the body both bear witness to the power of Satan, and "the
Son of God was manifested that He might destroy the works of the Devil"
(I John 3:8).
Jesus came to deliver men from sin and sickness that He might make known the love
of the Father. In His actions, in His teaching of the disciples, in the work of the
apostles, pardon and healing are always to be found together. Either the one or the
other may doubtless appear more in relief, according to the development or the faith
of those to whom they spoke. Sometimes it was healing which prepared the way for
the acceptance of forgiveness, sometimes it was forgiveness which preceded the healing,
which, coming afterwards, became a seal to it. In the early part of His ministry,
Jesus cured many of the sick, finding them ready to believe in the possibility of
their healing. In this way He sought to influence hearts to receive Himself as He
who is able to pardon sin. When He saw that the paralytic could receive pardon at
once, He began by that which was of the greatest importance; after which came the
healing which put a seal on the pardon which had been accorded to him.
We see, by the accounts given in the Gospels, that it was more difficult for the
Jews at that time to believe in the pardon of their sins than in divine healing.
Now it is just the contrary. The Christian Church has heard so much of the preaching
of the forgiveness of sins that the thirsty soul easily receives this message of
grace; but it is not the same with divine healing; that is rarely spoken of; the
believers who have experienced it are not many. It is true that healing is not given
in this day as in those times, to the multitudes whom Christ healed without any previous
conversion. In order to receive it, it is necessary to begin by confession of sin
and the purpose to live a holy life. This is without doubt the reason why people
find more difficulty to believe in healing than in forgiveness; and this is also
why those who receive healing receive at the same time new spiritual blessing, feel
more closely united to the Lord Jesus, and learn to love and serve Him better. Unbelief
may attempt to separate these two gifts, but they are always united in Christ. He
is always the same Savior both of the soul and of the body, equally ready to grant
pardon and healing. The redeemed may always cry: "Bless
the Lord, O my soul.., Who forgiveth all thine iniquities, Who healeth all thy diseases"
(Psalm 103:2-3).
.
Back to Top
CHAPTER II.
BECAUSE OF YOUR UNBELIEF
"Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why
could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for
verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say
unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing
shall be impossible to you"
(Matthew 17:19-20).
When the Lord Jesus sent His disciples into different parts of Palestine, He endued
them with a double power, that of casting out unclean spirits and that of healing
all sickness and all infirmity (Matthew 10:1). He did the same
for the seventy who came back to Him with joy, saying, "Lord,
even the spirits are subject unto us through Thy Name" (Luke
10:17). On the day of the Transfiguration, while the Lord was still upon the
mountain, a father brought his son who was possessed with a demon, to His disciples,
beseeching them to cast out the evil spirit, but they could not. When, after Jesus
had cured the child, the disciples asked Him why they had been unable to do it themselves
as in other cases, He answered them, "Because of your
unbelief." It was, then, their unbelief, and not the will of God which
had been the cause of their defeat.
In our days divine healing is very little believed in, because it has almost entirely
disappeared from the Christian Church. One may ask the reason, and here are the two
answers which have been given. The greater number think that miracles, the gift of
healing included, should be limited to the time of the primitive Church, that their
object was to establish the first foundation of Christianity, but that from that
time circumstances have altered. Other believers say unhesitatingly that if the Church
has lost these gifts, it is by her own fault; it is because she has become worldly
that the Spirit acts but feebly in her; it is because she has not remained in direct
and habitual relation with the full power of the unseen world; but that if she were
to see anew springing up within her men and women who live the life of faith and
of the Holy Spirit, entirely consecrated to their God, she would see again the manifestation
of the same gifts as in former times. Which of these two opinions coincides the most
with the Word of God? Is it by the will of God that the "gifts
of healing" [I
Corinthians 12:9] have been suppressed, or is
it rather man who is responsible for it? Is it the will of God that miracles should
not take place? Will He in consequence of this no longer give the faith which produces
them? Or again, is it the Church which has been guilty of lacking faith?
What Does the Scripture Say?
The Bible does not authorize us, either by the words of the Lord or His apostles, to believe that the gifts of healing were granted only to the early times of the Church; on the contrary, the promises which Jesus made to the apostles when He gave them instructions concerning their mission, shortly before His ascension, appear to us applicable to all times (Mark 16:15-18).
Mark 16
15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In My Name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
Paul places the gift of healing among the operations of the Holy Spirit.
[1 Corinthians 12
9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;]
James gives a precise command on this matter without any restriction of time.
[James 5
13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the Name of the Lord:
15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.]
The entire Scriptures declare that these graces will be granted according to the
measure of the Spirit and of faith.
It is also alleged that at the outset of each new dispensation God works miracles,
that it is His ordinary course of action; but it is nothing of the kind. Think of
the people of God in the former dispensation, in the time of Abraham, all through
the life of Moses, in the exodus from Egypt, under Joshua, in the time of the Judges
and of Samuel, under the reign of David and other godly kings up to Daniel's time;
during more than a thousand years miracles took place.
But, it is said, miracles were much more necessary in the early days of Christianity
than later. But what about the power of heathenism even in this day, wherever the
Gospel seeks to combat it? It is impossible to admit that miracles should have been
more needful for the heathen in Ephesus (Acts 19:11, 12) than
for the heathen of Africa in the present day.
Acts 19
11 And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul:
12 So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.
And if we think of the ignorance and unbelief which reign even in the midst of
the Christian nations, are we not driven to conclude that there is a need for manifest
acts of the power of God to sustain the testimony of believers and to prove that
God is with them? Besides, among believers themselves, how much of doubt, how much
of weakness there is! How their faith needs to be awakened and stimulated by some
evident proof of the presence of the Lord in their midst. One part of our being consists
of flesh and blood; it is therefore in flesh and blood that God wills to manifest
His presence.
In order to prove that it is the Church's unbelief which has lost the gift of healing,
let us see what the Bible says about it. Does it not often put us on our guard against
unbelief, against all which can estrange and turn us from our God? Does not the history
of the Church show us the necessity of these warnings? Does it not furnish us with
numerous examples of backward steps, of world pleasing, in which faith grew weak
in the exact measure in which the spirit of the world took the upper hand? For such
faith is only possible to him who lives in the world invisible.
[2 Corinthians 5
7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)]
Until the third century the healings by faith in Christ were numerous, but in
the centuries following they became more infrequent. Do we not know from the Bible
that it is always unbelief which hinders the mighty working of God?
Oh, that we could learn to believe in the promises of God! God has not gone
back from His promises; Jesus is still He who heals both soul and body; salvation
offers us even now healing and holiness, and the Holy Spirit is always ready to give
us some manifestations of His power. Even when we ask why this divine power is not
more often seen, He answers us: "Because of your unbelief." The more
we give ourselves to experience personally sanctification by faith, the more we shall
also experience healing by faith. These two doctrines walk abreast. The more
the Spirit of God lives and acts in the soul of believers, the more will the miracles
multiply by which He works in the body. Thereby the world can recognize what redemption
means.
.
Back to Top
CHAPTER III.
JESUS AND THE DOCTORS
"And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve
years, and had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she
had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, when she had heard of Jesus,
came in the press behind, and touched His garment. For she said, If I may touch but
His clothes, I shall be whole. And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried
up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. And Jesus, immediately
knowing in Himself that virtue had gone out of Him, turned Him about in the press,
and said, Who touched My clothes? And His disciples said unto Him, Thou seest the
multitude thronging Thee, and sayest Thou, Who touched Me? And He looked round about
to see her that had done this thing. But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing
what was done in her, came and fell down before Him, and told Him all the truth.
And He said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and
be whole of thy plague"
(Mark 5:25-34).
We may be thankful to God for having given us doctors. Their vocation is one of
the most noble, for a large number of them seek truly to do, with love and compassion,
all they are able to alleviate the evils and sufferings which burden humanity as
a result of sin. There are even some who are zealous servants of Jesus Christ, and
who seek also the good of their patients souls. Nevertheless it is Jesus Himself
who is always the first, the best, the greatest Physician.
Jesus heals diseases in which earthly physicians can do nothing, for the Father gave
Him this power when He charged Him with the work of our redemption. Jesus, in taking
upon Him our human body, delivered it from the dominion of sin and Satan; He has
made our bodies temples of the Holy Ghost and members of His own body (I
Corinthians 6:15, 19), and even in our day how many have been given up by
the doctors as incurable, how many cases of tuberculosis, of gangrene, of paralysis,
of dropsy, of blindness and of deafness, have been healed by Him! Is it not then
astonishing that so small a number of the sick apply to Him?
The method of Jesus is quite another than that of earthly physicians. They seek to
serve God in making use of remedies which are found in the natural world, and God
makes use of these remedies according to natural law, according to the natural properties
of each, while the healing which proceeds from Jesus is of a totally different order;
it is by divine power, the power of the Holy Ghost, that Jesus heals. Thus the difference
between these two modes of healing is very marked. That we may understand it better,
let us take an example; here is a physician who is an unbeliever, but extremely clever
in his profession; many sick people owe their healing to him. God gives this result
by means of the prescribed remedies, and the physicians knowledge of them. Here is
another physician who is a believer, and who prays God's blessing on the remedies
which he employs. In this case also a large number are healed, but neither in the
one case nor the other does the healing bring with it any spiritual blessing. They
will be preoccupied, even the believing among them, with the remedies which they
use, much more than with what the Lord may be doing with them, and in such a case
their healing will be more hurtful than beneficial. On the contrary, when it is Jesus
only to whom the sick person applies for healing, he learns to reckon no longer upon
remedies, but to put himself into direct relation with His love and His almightiness.
In order to obtain such healing, he must commence by confessing and renouncing his
sins, and exercising a living faith. Then healing will come directly from the Lord,
who takes possession of the sick body, and it thus becomes a blessing for the soul
as well as for the body.
But is it not God who has given remedies to man? it is asked. Does not their power
come from Him? Without doubt; but on the other hand, is it not God who has given
us His Son with all power to heal? Shall we follow the way of natural law with all
those who do not yet know Christ, and also with those of His children whose faith
is still too weak to abandon themselves to His almightiness; or rather do we choose
the way of faith, receiving healing from the Lord and from the Holy Spirit, seeing
therein the result and the proof of our redemption?
The healing which is wrought by our Lord Jesus brings with it and leaves behind it
more real blessing than the healing which is obtained through physicians. Healing
has been a misfortune to more persons than one. On a bed of sickness serious thoughts
had taken possession, but from the time of his healing how often has a sick man been
found anew far from the Lord! It is not thus when it is Jesus who heals. Healing
is granted after confession of sin; therefore it brings the sufferer nearer to Jesus,
and establishes a new link between him and the Lord, it causes him to experience
His love and power, it begins within him a new life of faith and holiness. When the
woman who had touched the hem of Christ's garment felt that she was healed, she learned
something of what divine love means. She went away with the words: "Daughter,
thy faith hath saved thee: go in peace" (Mark 5:34).
O you who are suffering from some sickness, know that Jesus the sovereign Healer
is yet in our midst. He is close to us, and He is giving anew to His Church manifest
proofs of His presence. Are you ready to break with the world, to abandon yourself
to Him with faith and confidence? Then fear not, remember that divine healing is
a part of the life of faith. If nobody around you can help you in prayer, if no elder
is at hand to pray the prayer of faith, fear not to go yourself to the Lord in the
silence of solitude, like the woman who touched the hem of His garment. Commit to
Him the care of your body. Get quiet before Him and like the poor woman say, I will
be healed. Perhaps it may take some time to break the chains of your unbelief, but
assuredly none that wait on Him shall be ashamed. "Yea,
let none that wait on Thee be ashamed" (Psalm 25:3).
.
Back to Top
CHAPTER IV.
HEALTH AND SALVATION BY THE NAME OF JESUS
"And His Name through faith in His Name hath made this
man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by Him hath given him this
perfect soundness in the presence of you all... Be it known unto you all, and to
all the people of Israel, that by the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Whom ye crucified,
Whom God raised from the dead, even by Him doth this man stand here before you whole...
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven
given among men, whereby we must be saved"
(Acts 3:16; 4:10,12).
When after Pentecost, the paralytic was healed through Peter and John at the gate
of the temple, it was in "the Name of Jesus Christ of
Nazareth" that they said to him, "Rise up
and walk," [Acts 3:6] and as soon
as the people in their amazement ran together to them, Peter declared that it was
the name of Jesus which had so completely healed the man.
As the result of this miracle and of Peters discourse, many people who had heard
the Word believed (Acts 4: 4).
Acts 4
4 Howbeit many of them which heard the Word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.
On the morrow Peter repeated these words before the Sanhedrin, "By
the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth... doth this man stand here before you whole;"
and then he added, "There is none other name under heaven...
whereby we must be saved." This statement of Peter's declares to us that
the name of Jesus both heals and saves. We have here a teaching of the highest
import for divine healing.
We see that healing and health form part of Christ's salvation. Does not Peter clearly
state this in his discourse to the Sanhedrin where, having spoken of healing, he
immediately goes on to speak of salvation by Christ? (Acts 4:10,12).
In heaven even our bodies will have their part in salvation; salvation will not be
complete for us until our bodies shall enjoy the full redemption of Christ. Why then
should we not believe in this work of redemption here below? Even already here on
earth, the health of our bodies is a fruit of the salvation which Jesus has acquired
for us.
We see also that health as well as salvation is to be obtained by faith. The tendency
of man by nature is to bring about his salvation by his works, and it is only with
difficulty that he comes to receive it by faith; but when it is a question of the
healing of the body, he has still more difficulty in seizing it. As to salvation,
he ends it by accepting it because by no other means can he open the door of heaven;
while for the body, he makes use of well-known remedies. Why then should he seek
for divine healing? Happy is he who comes to understand that it is the will of God;
that God wills to manifest the power of Jesus, and also to reveal to us His Fatherly
love; to exercise and to confirm our faith, and to make us prove the power of redemption
in the body as well as in the soul. The body is part of our being; even the body
has been saved by Christ; therefore it is in our body that our Father wills to manifest
the power of redemption, and to let men see that Jesus lives. Oh, let us believe
in the name of Jesus! Was it not in the name of Jesus that perfect health was given
to the impotent man? And were not these words: Thy faith hath saved thee, pronounced
when the body was healed? Let us seek then to obtain divine healing.
Wherever the Spirit acts with power, there He works divine healings. Would it not
seem that if ever miracles Were superfluous, it was at Pentecost, for then the word
of the apostles worked mightily, and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit was abundant?
Well, it is precisely because the Spirit acted powerfully that His working must needs
be Visible in the body. If divine healing is seen but rarely in our day, we can attribute
it to no other cause than that the Spirit does not act with power. The unbelief of
worldlings and the want of zeal among believers stop His working. The healings which
God is giving here and there are the precursory signs of all the spiritual graces
which are promised to us, and it is only the Holy Spirit who reveals the almightiness
of the name of Jesus to operate such healings. Let us pray earnestly for the Holy
Spirit, let us place ourselves unreservedly under His direction, and let us seek
to be firm in our faith in the name of Jesus, whether for preaching salvation or
for the work of healing.
God grants healing to glorify the name of Jesus. Let us seek to be healed by Jesus
that His name may be glorified. It is sad to see how little the power of His name
is recognized, how little it is the end of preaching and of prayer. Treasures of
divine grace, of which Christians deprive themselves by their lack of faith and zeal,
are hidden in the name of Jesus. It is the will of God to glorify His Son in the
Church; and He will do it wherever He finds faith. Whether among believers, or whether
among the heathen, He is ready with virtue from on high to awaken consciences, and
to bring hearts to obedience. God is ready to manifest the all-power of His Son,
and to do it in a striking way in body as well as in soul. Let us believe it for
ourselves, let us believe it for others, for the circle of believers around us, and
also for the Church in the whole world. Let us give ourselves to believe with firm
faith in the power of the name of Jesus, let us ask great things in His name, counting
on His promise, and we shall see God still do wonders by the name of His holy Son.
.
Back to Top
CHAPTER V.
NOT BY OUR OWN POWER
"And when Peter saw it he answered unto the people, Ye
men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though
by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?"
(Acts 3:12).
As soon as the impotent man had been healed at the gate of the temple through
Peter and John, the people ran together unto them. Peter, seeing this miracle was
attributed to their power and holiness, loses no time in setting them right by telling
them that all the glory of this miracle belongs to Jesus, and that it is He in whom
we must believe.
Peter and John were undoubtedly full of faith and of holiness; perhaps even they
may have been the most holy and zealous servants of God in their time, otherwise
God might not have chosen them as instruments in this case of healing. But they knew
that their holiness of life was not of themselves, that it was of God through the
Holy Spirit. They think so little of themselves that they ignore their own holiness
and know only one thing that all power belongs to their Master. They hasten, then,
to declare that in this thing they count for nothing, that it is the work of the
Lord alone. This is the object of divine healing: to be a proof of the power of
Jesus, a witness in the eyes of men of what He is, proclaiming His divine intervention,
and attracting hearts to Him. Not
"by our own power or holiness." Thus is becomes those to speak whom
the Lord is pleased to use in helping others by their faith.
It is necessary to insist on this because of the tendency of believers to think the
contrary. Those who have recovered their health in answer to "the
prayer of faith" [James 5:15],
"the supplication of a righteous man availeth much in
its working" (James 5:16, RV), are in danger of
being too much occupied with the human instrument which God is pleased to employ,
and to think that the power lies in mans piety.
Doubtless the prayer of faith is the result of real godliness, but those who possess
it will be the first to acknowledge that it does not come from themselves, nor from
any effort of their own. They fear to rob the Lord of the least particle of the glory
which belongs to Him, and they know that if they do so, they will compel Him to withdraw
His grace from them. It is their great desire to see the souls which God has blessed
through them enter into a direct and increasingly intimate communion with the Lord
Jesus Christ Himself, since that is the result which their healing should produce.
Thus they insist that it is not caused by their own power or holiness.
Such testimony on their part is necessary to reply to the erroneous accusations of
unbelievers. The Church of Christ needs to hear clearly announced that it is on account
of her worldliness and unbelief that she has lost these spiritual gifts of healing
(I Corinthians 12: 9) and that the Lord restores to those who,
with faith and obedience, have consecrated their lives to Him.
1 Corinthians 12
9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
This grace cannot reappear without being preceded by a renewal of faith and of
holiness. But then, says the world, and with it a large number of Christians, You
are laying claim to the possession of a higher order of faith and holiness, you consider
yourselves holier than others. To such accusations this word of Peter is the only
reply before God and man, confirmed by a life of deep and real humility: Not "by our own power or holiness." "Not
unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy Name give glory, for Thy mercy and for
Thy truth's sake" (Psalm 115:1). Such a testimony
is also necessary in view of our own heart and of the wiles of Satan. As long as,
through the Church's unfaithfulness, the gifts of healing are but rarely given, those
children of God who have received these gifts are in danger of priding themselves
upon them, and of imagining that they have in themselves something exceptionally
meritorious. The enemy does not forget to persecute them by such insinuations, and
woe unto them if they listen to him. They are not ignorant of his Y devices; therefore
they need to pray continually to the Lord to keep them in humility, the true means
of obtaining continually more grace. If they persevere in humility, they will recognize
that the more God makes use of them, the more also will they be penetrated with the
conviction that it is God alone who works by them, and that all the glory belongs
to Him. "Not I, but the grace of God which was with me"
(I Corinthians 15:10). Such is their watchword.
Finally, this testimony is useful for the feeble ones who long for salvation, and
who desire to receive Christ as their Healer. They hear of full consecration and
entire obedience, but they form a false idea of it. They think they must in themselves
attain to a high degree of knowledge and of perfection, and they fall a prey to discouragement.
No, no; it is not by our own power or holiness that we obtain these graces, but
by a faith quite simple, a childlike faith, which knows that it has no power nor
holiness of its own, and which commits itself completely to Him who is faithful,
and whose almightiness can fulfill His promise. Oh, let us not seek to do or
to be anything of ourselves! It is only as we feel our own powerlessness, and expect
all from God and His Word that we realize the glorious way in which the Lord heals
sickness by faith in his name.
.
Back to Top
CHAPTER VI.
ACCORDING TO THE MEASURE OF FAITH
"And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as
thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame
hour"
(Matthew 8:13).
This passage of Scripture brings before us one of the principal laws of the kingdom
of heaven. In order to understand God's ways with His people, and our relations with
the Lord, it is needful to understand this law thoroughly and not to deviate from
it. Not only does God give or withhold His gifts according to the faith or unbelief
of each, but they are granted in greater or lesser measure, only in proportion to
the faith which receives them. God respects the right to decide which He has conferred
on man. Therefore He can only bless us in the measure in which each yields himself
up to His divine working, and opens all his heart to Him. Faith in God is nothing
else than the full opening of the heart to receive everything from God; therefore
man can only receive divine grace according to his faith; and this applies as much
to divine healing as to any other grace of God.
This truth is confirmed by the spiritual blessings which may result from sickness.
Two questions are often asked:
The answer to these two questions is that God gives to His children according
to their faith. We have already had occasion to remark that in the same degree in
which the Church has become worldly, her faith in divine healing has diminished until
at last it has disappeared. Believers do not seem to be aware that they may ask God
for the healing of their sickness, and that thereby they may be sanctified and fitted
for His service. They have come to seek only submission to His will and to regard
sickness as a means to be separate from the world. In such conditions the Lord gives
them what they ask. He would have been ready to give them yet more, to grant them
healing in answer to the prayer of faith, but they lacked the faith to receive it.
God always meets His children where they are, howsoever weak they may be. The sick
ones, therefore, who have desired to receive Him with their whole heart, will have
received from Him the fruit of the sickness in their desire that their will should
be conformed to the will of God. They might have been able to receive healing, in
addition, as a proof that God accepted their submission; if this has not been so,
it is because faith has failed them to ask for it.
"As thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee."
These words give the reply to yet another question:
Here again, as they believed, so was it done unto them.
A good number of sick people, having witnessed the healing of others, gained confidence
in Jesus just far enough to be healed, and Jesus granted them their request, without
adding other blessings for their souls. Before His ascension the Lord had not as
free an entrance as He now has into the heart of man, because "the
Holy Ghost was not yet given" (John 7:39). The
healing of the sick was then hardly more than a blessing for the body. It was only
later, in the dispensation of the Spirit, that the conviction and confession of sin
have become for the believer the first grace to be received, the essential condition
for obtaining healing, as St. Paul tells us in his Epistle to the Corinthians, and
James in his to the twelve tribes scattered abroad (I Corinthians
11:31,32; James 5:16).
1 Corinthians 11
31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
James 5
16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
Thus the degree of spiritual grace which it is possible for us to receive depends
upon the measure of our faith, whether it be for its external manifestation, or especially
whether for its influence upon our inner life.
We recommend for every suffering one who is looking for healing, and who seeks to
know Jesus as his divine Healer, not to let himself be hindered by his unbelief,
not to doubt the promises of God, and thus to be strong in faith giving glory to
God as is His due. "As thou hast believed so be it done
unto thee." If with all your heart you trust in the living God you will
be abundantly blessed; do not doubt it.
The part of faith is always to lay hold on just that which appears impossible or
strange to human eyes. Let us be willing to be considered fools for Christ's sake
(I Corinthians 4:10).
1 Corinthians 4
10 We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised.
Let us not fear to pass for weak-minded in the eyes of the world and of such Christians as are ignorant of these things, because, on the authority of the Word of God, we believe that which others cannot yet admit. Do not, then, let yourself be discouraged in your expectation even though God should delay to answer you, or if your sickness be aggravated. Once having placed your foot firmly on the immovable rock of God's own Word, and having prayed the Lord to manifest His almightiness in your body because you are one of the members of His Body, and the temple of the Holy Ghost, persevere in believing in Him with the firm assurance that He has undertaken for you, that He has made Himself responsible for your body, and that His healing virtue will come to glorify Him in you.
.
Back to Top
CHAPTER VII.
THE WAY OF FAITH
"And straightway the father of the child cried out and
said with tears, Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief"
(Mark 9:24).
These words have been a help and strength to thousands of souls in their pursuit of salvation and the gifts of God. Notice that it is in relation to an afflicted child that they were pronounced, in the fight of faith when seeking healing from the Lord Jesus. In them we see that in one and the same soul there can arise a struggle between faith and unbelief, and that it is not without a struggle that we come to believe in Jesus and in His all-power to heal the sick. In this we find the needful encouragement for realizing the Saviors power.
[WStS Note: Concerning Mr. Murray's phrase: "a struggle between faith and unbelief", we wish to comment. A honest Christian may have "a struggle between faith and unbelief", but not between faith and the "sin" of unbelief. This "struggle" to establish a position of faith would simply be an honest lack of faith, (i.e., 'your faith groweth exceedingly' (2 Thessalonians 1:3).). When an established position of faith turns back in unbelief, that is sin. "And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God" (Luke 9:62). Faith and sin cannot reside in the same vessel at the same time.
"Sin, like faith, is an act of the will, but in opposition to and to the exclusion of faith. 'Whatsoever is not of faith is sin' (Romans 14:23). It is an impossibility to be both holy and sinful at the same time, just as it is impossible to be dwelling in faith and sin in the same moment, e.g., Charles G. Finney labelled this concept, the Unity of Moral Action. [Please read 'Unity of Moral Action' ---New Window by Charles G. Finney] 'No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the One, and love the other; or else he will hold to the One, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon' (Luke 16:13)." --from "Must We Then Sin" ---New Window, by Tom Stewart]
I speak here especially to sufferers who do not doubt the power or the will of
the Lord Jesus to heal in this day without the use of earthly remedies, but who lack
the boldness to accept healing for themselves. They believe in the divine power of
Christ, they believe in a general manner His good will to heal; they have acquired,
either by the Scriptures, or by facts of healings by the Lord alone which have taken
place in our days, the intellectual persuasion that the Lord can help even them,
but they shrink back from accepting healing, and from saying with faith, The Lord
has heard me, I know that He is healing me.
Take notice first that without faith no one can be healed. When the father of the
afflicted child said to Jesus, If thou canst do anything, have compassion on us,
and help us, Jesus replied: "If thou canst believe."
[Mark 9:23] Jesus had the power to heal
and He was ready to do it, but He casts responsibility on the man. "If
thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth." [Mark 9:23] In order to obtain your healing from
Jesus, it is not enough to pray. Prayer without faith is powerless. It is "the
prayer of faith" which saves the sick (James 5:15).
If you have already asked for healing from the Lord, or if others have asked it for
you, you must, before you are conscious of any change, be able to say with faith,
On the authority of God's Word I have the assurance that He hears me and that I shall
be healed. To have faith means in your case to surrender your body absolutely into
the Lord's hands, and to leave yourself entirely to Him. Faith receives healing as
a spiritual grace which proceeds from the Lord even while there is no conscious change
in the body. Faith can glorify God and say, "Bless the
Lord, O my soul... Who healeth all [my] diseases" (Psalm 103:1-3). The
Lord requires this faith that He may heal.
Psalm 103
1 Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His Holy Name.
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits:
3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; Who healeth all thy diseases;
But how is such faith to be obtained? Tell your God the unbelief which you find in your heart,. and count on Him for deliverance from it. [WStS: Not the "sin" of unbelief, but simply an honest lack of faith.] Faith is not money by which your healing can be purchased from the Lord. It is He who desires to awaken and develop in you the necessary faith. "Help Thou mine unbelief," cried the father of the child. It was his ardent desire that his faith should not come short. Confess to the Lord all the difficulty you have to believe Him on the ground of His Word; tell Him you want to be rid of this unbelief, that you bring it to Him with a will to hearken only to His Word. Do not lose time in deploring your unbelief, but look to Jesus. The light of His countenance will enable you to find the power to believe in Him (Psalm 44:3).
Psalm 43
3 O send out Thy Light and Thy Truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto Thy holy hill, and to Thy tabernacles.
He calls on you to trust in Him; listen to Him, and by His grace faith will triumph
in you. Say to Him, Lord, I am still aware of the unbelief which is in me. I find
it difficult to believe that I am sure of my healing because I possess Him who works
it. And, nevertheless, I want to conquer this unbelief. Thou, Lord, wilt give me
the victory. I desire to believe, I will believe, by Thy grace I dare to say I can
believe. Yes, Lord, I believe, for Thou comest to the help of my unbelief. It is
when we are in intimate communion with the Lord, and when our heart responds to His,
that unbelief is overcome and conquered. [WStS: Not the "sin"
of unbelief, but simply an honest lack of faith.]
It is needful also to testify to the faith one has. Be resolved to believe that which
the Lord says to you, to believe, above all, that which He is. Lean wholly upon His
promises. "The prayer of faith shall save the sick"
[James 5:15]. "I
am the Lord that healeth thee" (Exodus 15:26).
Look to Jesus, who "bare our sicknesses" (Matthew 8:17), and who healed all who came to Him; count on the
Holy Spirit to manifest in your heart the presence of Jesus who is also now in heaven,
and to work also in your body the power of His grace. Praise the Lord without waiting
to feel better, or to have more faith. Praise Him, and say with David, "O
Lord, my God, I cried unto Thee, and Thou hast healed me" (Psalm
30:2). Divine healing is a spiritual grace which can only be received spiritually
and by faith, before feeling its effect on the body. Accept it, then, and give glory
to God. When the Lord Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the child,
he rent him sore, so that "he was as one dead," inasmuch
as "many said, 'He is dead'" [Mark 9:26]. If, therefore, your sickness does not yield at
once, if Satan and your own unbelief attempt to get the upper hand, do not heed them,
cling closely to Jesus your Healer, and He will surely heal you.
.
Back to Top
CHAPTER VIII.
YOUR BODY IS THE TEMPLE OF THE HOLY GHOST
"Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ?
shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot?
God forbid... What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which
is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with
a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's"
(I Corinthians 6:15, 19-20).
The Bible teaches us that the Body of Christ is the company of the faithful. These
words are taken generally in their spiritual sense, while the Bible asks us positively
whether we know not that our bodies are the members of Christ. In the same way, when
the Bible speaks of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit or of Christ, we limit His
presence to the spiritual part of our being. Nevertheless the Bible says expressly,
"Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy
Ghost?" When the Church understands that the body also has part in the
redemption which is by Christ, by which it ought to be brought back to its original
destiny, to be the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, to serve as His instrument,
to be sanctified by His presence, she will also recognize all the place which divine
healing has in the Bible and in the counsels of God.
The account of the creation tells us that man is composed of three parts. God first
formed the body from the dust of the earth, after which He breathed into it "the breath of life" [Genesis
2:7]. He caused His own life, His Spirit, to enter into it. By this union
of Spirit with matter, the man became a "living soul"
[2:7]. The soul, which is essentially the man,
finds its place between the body and the spirit; it is the link which binds them
together. By the body the soul finds itself in relation to the external world; by
the spirit, with the world invisible and with God. By means of the soul, the spirit
can subject the body to the action of the heavenly powers and thus spiritualize it;
by means of the soul, the body also can act upon the spirit and attract it earthwards.
The soul, subject to the solicitations of both spirit and body, is in a position
to choose between the voice of God, speaking by the Spirit, or the voice of the world,
speaking through the senses.
This union of spirit and body forms a combination which is unique in the creation;
it makes man to be the jewel of God's work. Other creatures had existed already;
some, like angels, were all spirit, without any material body, and others, like the
animals, were only flesh, possessing a body animated with a living soul, but devoid
of spirit. Man was destined to show that the material body, governed by the spirit,
was capable of being transformed by the power of the Spirit of God, and of being
thus led to participate of heavenly glory.
We know what sin and Satan have done with this possibility of gradual transformation.
By means of the body, the spirit was tempted, seduced, and became a slave of sense.
We know also what God has done to destroy the work of Satan and to accomplish the
purpose of creation. "The Son of God was manifested that
he might destroy the works of the Devil" (I John 3:8).
God prepared a body for His Son (Hebrews 10:5).
Hebrews 10
5 Wherefore when He cometh into the world, He saith, Sacrifice and offering Thou wouldest not, but a body hast Thou prepared Me:
"The Word was made flesh" (John 1:14). "In Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Colossians 2:9). "Who His Own Self bare our sins in His Own Body on the tree" (I Peter 2:24). And now Jesus, raised up from the dead with a body as free from sin as His spirit and His soul, communicates to our body the virtue of His glorified body. The Lord's Supper is "the communion of the body of Christ"; and our bodies are "the members of Christ" (I Corinthians 10:16; 6:15; 12:27).
1 Corinthians
10:16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?
6:15 Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.
12:27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
Faith puts us in possession of all that the death of Christ and His resurrection
have procured for us, and it is not only in our spirit and our soul that the life
of the risen Jesus manifests its presence here below; it is in the body also that
it would act according to the measure of our faith.
"Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy
Spirit?" Many believers represent to themselves that the Holy Spirit
comes to dwell in our body as we dwell in a house. Nothing of the kind. I can dwell
in a house without its becoming part of my being. I may leave it without suffering;
no vital union exists between my house and me. It is not thus with the presence of
our soul and spirit in our body. The life of a plant lives in and pervades every
part of it; and our soul is not limited to dwell in such or such part of the body,
the heart or the head, for instance, but penetrates throughout, even to the end of
the lowest members. The life of the soul pervades the whole body; the life throughout
proves the presence of the soul. It is in like manner that the Holy Ghost comes to
dwell in our body. He penetrates its entirety. He animates and possesses us infinitely
more than we can imagine.
In the same way in which the Holy Spirit brings to our soul and spirit the life of
Jesus, His holiness, His joy, His strength, He comes also to impart to the sick body
all the vigorous vitality of Christ as soon as the hand of faith is stretched out
to receive it. When the body is fully subject to Christ, crucified with Him, renouncing
all self-will and independence, desiring nothing but to be the Lord's temple, it
is then that the Holy Spirit manifests the power of the risen Savior in the body.
Then only can we glorify God in our body, leaving Him full freedom to manifest therein
His power, to show that He knows how to set His temple free from the domination of
sickness, sin, and Satan.
.
Back to Top
CHAPTER IX.
THE BODY FOR THE LORD
"Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God
shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the
Lord; and the Lord for the body"
(I Corinthians 6:13).
One of the most learned of theologians has said that corporeity is the end of the ways of God. As we have already seen, this is indeed what God has accomplished in creating man. It is this which makes the inhabitants of heaven wonder and admire when they contemplate the glory of the Son. Clothed with a human body, Jesus has taken His place forever upon the throne of God, to partake of His glory. It is this which God has willed. It shall be recognized in that day when regenerated humanity, forming the body of Christ, shall be truly and visibly the temple of the living God (I Corinthians 6:19), and when all creation in the new heavens and new earth shall share the glory of the children of God. The material body shall then be wholly sanctified, glorified by the Spirit; and this body, thus spiritualized, shall be the highest glory of the Lord Jesus Christ and of His redeemed.
1 Corinthians 6
19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
It is in anticipation of this new condition of things that the Lord attaches a
great importance to the indwelling and sanctification of our bodies, down here, by
His Spirit. So little is this truth understood by believers that less still do they
seek for the power of the Holy Spirit in their bodies. Many of them also, believing
that this body belongs to them, use it as it pleases them. Not understanding how
much the sanctification of the soul and spirit depends upon the body, they do not
grasp all the meaning of the words, "The body is... for
the Lord," in such a way as to receive them in obedience.
"The body is... for the Lord." What does this
mean? The apostle has just said, "Meats for the belly,
and the belly for meats; but God shall destroy both it and them." Eating
and drinking afford the Christian an opportunity of carrying out this truth, "The body is... for the Lord." He must indeed learn
to eat and drink to the glory of God. By eating, sin and the Fall came about. It
was also through eating that the devil sought to tempt our Lord. Thus Jesus Himself
sanctified His body in eating only according to the will of His Father (Matthew
4:4).
Matthew 4
4 But He answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Many believers fail to watch over their bodies fail to observe a holy sobriety
so as to avoid rendering their bodies unfit for the service of God. Eating and drinking
should never impede communion with God; their purpose is, rather, to facilitate communion
by maintaining the body in its normal condition.
The apostle speaks also of fornication, this sin which defiles the body, and which
is in direct opposition to the words, "The body is...
for the Lord." It is not simply incontinence outside the married state,
but in that state also, which is meant here; all voluptuousness, all want of sobriety
of whatsoever kind is condemned in these words: "Your
body is the temple of the Holy Ghost" (I Corinthians 6:19).
In the same way, all of what goes to maintain the body to clothe it, strengthen it,
rest it in sleep, or afford it enjoyment should be placed under the control of the
Holy Spirit. As under the Old Covenant, the temple was constructed solely for God,
and for His service, even so our body has been created for the Lord and for Him alone.
One of the chief benefits then of divine healing will be to teach us that our body
ought to be set free from the yoke of our own will to become the Lord's property.
God does not grant healing to our prayers until He has attained the end for which
He has permitted the sickness. He wills that this discipline should bring us into
a more intimate communion with Him; He would make us understand that we have
regarded our body as our own property, while it belonged to the Lord; and that the
Holy Spirit seeks to sanctify all its actions. He leads us to understand that if
we yield our body unreservedly to the influence of the Holy Spirit, we shall experience
His power in us, and He will heal us by bringing into our body the very life of Jesus;
He leads us, in short, to say with full conviction, "The
body is... for the Lord."
There are believers who seek after holiness, but only for the soul and spirit. In
their ignorance they forget that the body and all its systems of nerves that the
hand, the ear, the eyes, the mouth are called to testify directly to the presence
and the grace of God in them. They have not sufficiently taken in these words:
"Your bodies are the members of Christ" (I Corinthians 6:15).
"If by the Spirit ye make to die the deeds of the body, ye shall live" (Romans 8:13, RV, margin).
"The very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (I Thessalonians 5:23).
Oh, what a renewing takes place in us when, by His own touch, the Lord heals our bodies, when He takes possession of them, and when by His Spirit He becomes life and health to them! It is with an indescribable consciousness of holiness, of fear and of joy that the believer can then offer his body a living sacrifice to receive healing, and to have for his motto these words: "The body is... for the Lord."
.
Back to Top
CHAPTER X.
THE LORD FOR THE BODY
"Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God
shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the
Lord; and the Lord for the body"
(I Corinthians 6:13).
There is reciprocity in God's relations with man. That which God has been for
me, I ought in my turn to be for Him. And that which I am for Him, He desires again
to be for me. If, in His love, He gives Himself fully to me, it is in order that
I may lovingly give myself fully to Him. In the measure in which I more or less really
surrender to Him all my being, in that measure also He gives Himself more really
to me. God thus leads the believer to understand that this abandonment of Himself
involves the body, and the more our life bears witness that "the
body is... for the Lord," the more also we experience that the Lord is
for the body. In saying, "The Lord [is] for
the body," we express the desire to regard our body as wholly consecrated,
offered in sacrifice to the Lord, and sanctified by Him. In saying, "The
Lord [is] for the body," we express the
precious certainty that our offering has been accepted, and that, by His Spirit,
the Lord will impart to our body His own strength and holiness, and that henceforth
He will strengthen and keep us.
This is a matter of faith. Our body is material, weak, feeble, sinful, mortal. Therefore
it is difficult to grasp all at once the full extent of the words, "The
Lord [is] for the body." It is the Word
of God which explains to us the way to assimilate. The body was created by the Lord
and for the Lord. Jesus took upon Him an earthly body. In His body He bore our sins
on the cross, and thereby set our body free from the power of sin. In Christ the
body has been raised again, and seated on the throne of God. The body is the habitation
of the Holy Spirit; it is called to eternal partnership in the glory of heaven. Therefore,
with certainty, and in a wide and universal sense, we can say, "Yes, the Lord
Jesus, our Savior, is 'for the body.'"
This truth has many applications.
Dear sick one, the Lord has shown thee by sickness what power sin has over the body. By thy healing He would also show thee the power of redemption of the body. He calls thee to show that which thou hast not understood hitherto, that "the body is... for the Lord." Therefore give Him thy body. Give it Him with thy sickness and with the sin, which is the original source of sickness. Believe always that the Lord has taken charge of this body, and He will manifest with power that He really is the Lord, who is "for the body." The Lord, who has Himself taken upon Him a body here on earth and regenerated it, from the highest heaven, where He now is, clothed with His glorified body, sends us His divine strength, willing thus to manifest His power in our body.
.
Back to Top
CHAPTER XI.
DO NOT CONSIDER YOUR BODY
"I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity
of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to
iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness
unto holiness. For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of
those things is death"
(Romans 6:19-21).
When God promised to give Abraham a son, the patriarch would never have been able
to believe in this promise if he had considered his own body, already aged and worn
out. However, he would see nothing but God and His promise, the power and faithfulness
of God who guaranteed him the fulfillment of His promise.
This enables us to lay hold of all the difference there is between the healing which
is expected from earthly remedies and the healing which is looked for from God only.
When we have recourse to remedies for healing, all the attention of the sick one
is upon the body, considering the body, while divine healing calls us to turn away
our attention from the body, and to abandon ourselves, soul and body, to the Lord's
care, occupying ourselves with Him alone.
This truth equally enables us to see the difference between the sickness retained
for blessing and the healing received from the Lord. Some are afraid to take the
promise in James 5 in its literal sense, because they say sickness is more profitable
to the soul than health.
James 5
16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
It is true that in the case of healing obtained by earthly remedies, many people
would be more blessed in remaining ill than in recovering health, but it is quite
otherwise when healing comes directly from the hand of God. In order to receive divine
healing, sin must be so truly confessed and renounced, one must be so completely
surrendered to the Lord, self must be so really yielded up to be wholly in His hands,
and the will of Jesus to take charge of the body must be so firmly counted on that
the healing becomes the commencement of a new life of intimate communion with the
Lord.
Thus we learn to give up to Him entirely the care of the health, and the smallest
indication of the return of the evil is regarded as a warning not to consider
our body, but to be occupied with the Lord only.
What a contrast this is from the greater number of sick people who look for healing
from remedies. If some few of them have been sanctified by the sickness, having learned
to lose sight of themselves, how many more are there who are drawn by the sickness
itself to be constantly occupied with themselves and with the condition of their
body. What infinite care they exercise in observing the least symptom, favorable
or unfavorable! What a constant preoccupation to them is their eating and drinking,
the anxiety to avoid this or that! How much they are taken up with what they consider
due to them from others, whether they are sufficiently thought of, whether well enough
nursed, whether visited often enough! How much time is thus devoted to considering
the body and what it exacts, rather than the Lord and the relations which He seeks
to establish with their souls! Oh, how many are they who, through sickness, are
occupied almost exclusively with themselves!
All this is totally different when healing is looked for in faith from the loving
God. Then the first thing to learn is to cease to be anxious about the state of your
body, you have trusted it to the Lord and He has taken the responsibility. If you
do not see a rapid improvement immediately, but on the contrary the symptoms appear
to be more serious, remember that you have entered on a path of faith, and therefore
you ought not to consider the body, but cling only to the living God. The commandment
of Christ, "Be not anxious for your... body"
(Matthew 6:25, ASV), appears here in a new light. When God
called Abraham not to consider his own body, it was that He might call him to the
greatest exercise of faith which could be, that he might learn to see only God and
His promise. Sustained by his faith, he gave glory to God, convinced that God would
do what He had promised. Divine healing is a marvelous tie to bind us to the Lord.
At first one may fear to believe that the Lord will stretch forth His mighty hand
and touch the body; but in studying the Word of God the soul takes courage and confidence.
At last one decides, saying, "I yield up my body into the hands of God; and
I leave the care of it to Him." Then the body and its sensations are lost sight
of, and only the Lord and His promise are in view.
Dear reader, wilt thou also enter upon this way of faith, very superior to that
which it is the habit to call natural? Walk in the steps of Abraham. Learn from him
not to consider thine own body, and not to doubt through unbelief. To consider the
body gives birth to doubts, while clinging to the promise of God and being occupied
with Him alone gives entrance into the way of faith, the way of divine healing, which
glorifies God.
.
Back to Top
CHAPTER XII.
DISCIPLINE AND SANCTIFICATION
"If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with
sons; for what son is he whom the Father chasteneth not?... God chasteneth us for
our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness"
(Hebrews 12:7, 10).
"If a man... purge himself... he shall be a vessel unto
honor, sanctified and meet for the Master's use, prepared unto every good work"
(II Timothy 2:21).
To sanctify anything is to set apart, to consecrate, to God and to His service.
The temple at Jerusalem was holy, that is to say, it was consecrated, dedicated to
God that it might serve Him as a dwelling place. The vessels of the temple were holy,
because they were devoted to the service of the temple; the priests were holy, chosen
to serve God and ready to work for Him. In the same way the Christian ought also
to be sanctified, at the Lord's disposal, ready to do every good work.
When the people of Israel went out of Egypt, the Lord reclaimed them for His service
as a holy people. Let my people go that they may serve me (Exodus
7:16), He said to Pharaoh. Set free from their hard bondage, the children
of Israel were debtors to enter at once upon the service of God, and to become His
happy servants. Their deliverance was the road which led to their sanctification.
Again in this day, God is forming for Himself a holy people, and it is that we may
torn part of them that Jesus sets us free. He "gave Himself
for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a people
for His own possession, zealous of good works" (Titus
2:14, ASV). It is the Lord who breaks the chains by which Satan would hold
us in bondage. He would have us free, wholly free to serve Him. He wills to save
us, to deliver both the soul and the body, that each of the members of the body may
be consecrated to Him and placed unreservedly at His disposal.
A large number of Christians do not yet understand all this, they do not know how
to take in that the purpose of their deliverance is that they may be sanctified,
prepared to serve their God. They make use of their life and their members to procure
their own satisfaction; consequently they do not feel at liberty to ask for healing
with faith. It is therefore to chasten them that they may be brought to desire sanctification
that the Lord permits Satan to inflict sickness upon them and by it keep them chained
and prisoners (Luke 13:11,16).
Luke 13
11 And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself.
16 And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?
God chastens us "for our profit, that we may be partakers
of His holiness," (Hebrews 12:10), and that we
may be sanctified, "meet for the Master's use"
(II Timothy 2:21).
The discipline which inflicts the sickness brings great blessings with it. It is
a call to the sick one to reflect; it leads him to see that God is occupied with
him, and seeks to show him what there is which still separates him from Himself.
God speaks to him, He calls him to examine his ways, to acknowledge that he has
lacked holiness, and that the purpose of the chastisement is to make him partaker
of His holiness. He awakens within him the desire to be enlightened by the Holy
Spirit down into the inmost recesses of his heart, that he may be enabled to get
a clear idea of what his life has been up to the present time, a life of self-will,
very unlike the holy life which God requires of him. He leads him to confess his
sins, to entrust them to the Lord Jesus, to believe that the Savior can deliver him
from them. He urges him to yield to Him, to consecrate his life to Him, to die to
himself that he may be able to live unto God.
Sanctification is not something which you can accomplish yourself; it cannot even
be produced by God in you as something which you can possess and contemplate in yourself.
No, it is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of holiness alone who can communicate His holiness
to you and renew it continually. Therefore it is by faith you can become partakers
of his holiness. Having understood that Jesus has been made unto you of God sanctification
(I Corinthians 1:30),
1 Corinthians 1
30 But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, Who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
and that it is the Holy Spirits work to impart to you His holiness which was manifested
in His life on earth, surrender yourself to Him by faith that He may enable you to
live that life from hour to hour. Believe that the Lord will by His Spirit lead you
into, and keep you in this life of holiness and of consecration to God's service.
Live thus in the obedience of faith, always attentive to His voice, and the guidance
of His Spirit.
From the time that this Fatherly discipline has led the sick one to a life of holiness,
God has attained His purpose, and He will heal him who asks it in faith. Our earthly
parents "for a few days chastened us... All chastening
seemeth for the present to be not joyous, but grievous: yet afterward it yieldeth
peaceable fruit unto them that have been exercised thereby, even the fruit of righteousness"
(Hebrews 12:10,11, RV). Yes, it is when the believer realizes
this "peaceable fruit... of righteousness," that
he is in a condition to be delivered from the chastisement.
Oh, it is because believers still understand so little that sanctification means
an entire consecration to God that they cannot really believe that healing will quickly
follow the sanctification of the sick one. Good health is too often for them only
a matter of personal comfort and enjoyment which they may dispose of at their will,
but God cannot thus minister to their selfishness. If they understood better that
God requires of His children that they should be "sanctified
and meet for the Master's use," they would not be surprised to see Him
giving healing and renewed strength to those who have learned to place all their
members at His disposal, willing to be sanctified and employed in His service by
the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of healing is also the Spirit of sanctification.
.
Back to Top
CHAPTER XIII.
SICKNESS AND DEATH
"Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler,
and from the noisome pestilence... Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night;
nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness;
nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday... With long life will I satisfy
him, and show him My salvation"
(Psalm 91:3, 5-6, 16)
"They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall
be fat and flourishing"
(Psalm 92:14).
This objection is often made to the words of the apostle James, "The prayer of faith shall save the sick" [James 5:15]:
"If we have the promise of being always healed in answer to prayer, how can it be possible to die?"
And some add:
"How can a sick person know whether God, who fixes the time of our life, has not decided that we shall die by such a sickness? In such a case, would not prayer be useless, and would it not be a sin to ask for healing?
Before replying, we would remark that this objection touches not such as believe
in Jesus as the Healer of the sick, but the Word of God itself, and the promise so
clearly declared in the epistle of James and elsewhere. We are not at liberty to
change or to limit the promises of God whenever they present some difficulty to us;
neither can we insist that they shall be clearly explained to us before we can bring
ourselves to believe what they state. It is for us to begin by receiving them without
resistance; then only can the Spirit of God find us in the state of mind in which
we can be taught and enlightened.
Furthermore, we would remark that in considering a divine truth which has been for
a long time neglected in the Church, it can hardly be understood at the outset. It
is only little by little that its importance and bearing are discerned. In measure
as it revives, after it has been accepted by faith, the Holy Spirit will accompany
it with new light. Let us remember that it is by the unbelief of the Church that
divine healing has left her. It is not on the answers of such or such a one that
faith in Bible truths should be made to depend. "There
ariseth light in the darkness" (Psalm 112:4) for
the "upright" who are ready to submit themselves to the Word of God.
Psalm 90
10 The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.The believer who receives Jesus as the Healer of the sick will rest satisfied then with the declaration of the Word of God. He will feel at liberty to expect a life of seventy years, but not longer. Besides, the man of faith places himself under the direction of the Spirit, which will enable him to discern the will of God if something should prevent his attaining the age of seventy. Every rule has its exceptions, in the things of heaven as in the things of earth. Of this, therefore, we are sure according to the Word of God, whether by the words of Jesus or by those of James, that our heavenly Father wills, as a rule, to see His children in good health that they may labor in His service.
For the same reason He wills to set them free from sickness as soon as they have made confession of sin and prayed with faith for their healing. For the believer who has walked with his Savior, strong with the strength which proceeds from divine healing, and whose body is consequently under the influence of the Holy Spirit, it is not necessary that when his time comes to die, he should die of sickness. To fall asleep in Jesus Christ, such is the death of the believer when the end of his life is come. For him death is only sleep after fatigue, the entering into rest. The promise, "That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth" (Ephesians 6: 3), is addressed to us who live under the New Covenant. The more the believer has learned to see in the Savior Him who "took our infirmities" (Matthew 8:17) the more he has the liberty to claim the literal fulfillment of the promises: "With long life will I satisfy him" (Psalm 91:16); "They shall bring forth fruit in old age, they shall be fat and flourishing" (Psalm 92:14).
.
Back to Top
CHAPTER XIV.
THE HOLY SPIRIT THE SPIRIT OF HEALING
"Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit...
To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same
Spirit... But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every
man severally as He will"
(I Corinthians 12:4, 9, 11).
What is it that distinguishes the children of God? What is their glory? It is that God dwells in the midst of them and reveals Himself to them in power (Exodus 33:16; 34:9-10).
Exodus 33
16 For wherein shall it be known here that I and Thy people have found grace in Thy sight? is it not in that Thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and Thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.
Exodus 34
9 And he said, If now I have found grace in Thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray Thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for Thine inheritance.
10 And He said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the LORD: for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee.
Under the New Covenant this dwelling of God in the believer is still more manifest
than in former times. God sends the Holy Spirit to His Church, which is the Body
of Christ, to act in her with power, and her life and her prosperity depend on Him.
The Spirit must find in her unreserved, full liberty, that she may be recognized
as the Church of Christ, the Lord's Body. In every age the Church may look for manifestations
of the Spirit, for they form our indissoluble unity; "one
body and one Spirit" (Ephesians 4:4).
The Spirit operates variously in such or such a member of the Church. It is possible
to be filled with the Spirit for one special work and not for another. There are
also times in the history of the Church when certain gifts of the Spirit are given
with power, while at the same time ignorance or unbelief may hinder other gifts.
Wherever the life more abundant of the Spirit is to be found, we may expect Him to
manifest all His gifts.
The gift of healing is one of the most beautiful manifestations of the Spirit. It
is recorded of Jesus, "how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth...
Who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the Devil"
(Acts 10:38). The Holy Spirit in Him was a healing Spirit,
and He was the same in the disciples after Pentecost. Thus the words of our text
express what was the continuous experience of the early Church (compare
attentively Acts 3:7; 4:30; 5:12,15-16; 6:8; 8:7; 9:41; 14:9-10; 16:18-19; 19:12;
28: 8-9).
Acts
3:7 And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
4:30 By stretching forth Thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the Name of Thy Holy Child Jesus.
5:12 And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch.
5:15 Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.
5:16 There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one.
6:8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.
8:7 For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed.
9:41 And he gave her his hand, and lifted her up, and when he had called the saints and widows, presented her alive.
14:9 The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed,
14:10 Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked.
16:18 And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the Name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.
16:19 And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers,
19:12 So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.
28:8 And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him.
28:9 So when this was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed:
The abundant pouring out of the Spirit produced abundant healings. What a lesson
for the Church in our days!
Divine healing is the work of the Holy Spirit. Christ's redemption extends it's powerful
working to the body, and the Holy Spirit is responsible both to transmit it to and
maintain it in us. Our body shares in the benefit of the redemption, and even now
it can receive the pledge of it by divine healing. It is Jesus who heals, Jesus who
anoints and baptizes with the Holy Spirit. Jesus, who baptized His disciples with
the same Spirit, is He who sends us the Holy Spirit here on earth either to keep
sickness away from us, or to restore us to health when sickness has taken hold upon
us.
Divine healing accompanies the sanctification by the Spirit. It is to make
us holy that the Holy Spirit makes us partakers of Christ's redemption. Hence His
name "Holy." Therefore the healing which He works is an intrinsic part
of His divine mission, and He bestows it either to lead the sick one to be converted
and to believe (Acts 4: 29-30; 5:12,14; 6:7-8; 8:6,8; 9:42)
or to confirm his faith if he is already converted.
Acts
4:29 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto Thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak Thy Word,
4:30 By stretching forth Thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders m
