Part 9

I must mention one more occasion when the good Lord wrought seemingly a miracle on my body, when very sick. I had just finished my fourth camp-meeting. At the last one I had taken the worst cold I think that I ever had. A severe rain the first night of the meeting had moistened all the bedding in the tent where I made it my home. The bed that I occupied, was wet from head to foot; I suppose that was the secret of my cold; it covered me from head to foot--and all through my being. The next morning after my arrival at home, and during the morning’s hour of prayer and worship, the Lord touched the heart of my wife for me, and showers of blessings came down on my soul and body--and such an operation! My cold broke up like the breaking up of a river after a severe winter. It oozed out from every pore. If I had been put through one of _Dr. Strong’s_ Turkish baths, the operation could not have been any more marvelous.

The promises of God are for the comfort, and special benefit of the saints. The theory already advanced of faith healing, we believe is the doctrine of the Bible. We might introduce many more important experiences bearing upon the correct theory of faith healing, but what we have already said, may be sufficient.

There are other theories of faith healing, that contain some truth, and much error. For instance, the theory that in the atonement, a perfect state of health was secured for the body, the same as perfection for the soul. Some scriptures are introduced to substantiate this theory.

The following are some of them. “_The prayer of faith shall save the sick_;” and, “_Who, healeth all thy diseases_;” “_Ask and ye shall receive_;” and many others are quoted to prove their doctrine. I cannot see that they prove the theory. The experience of the saints in all ages prove the contrary. Job was a representative saint. God endorsed him as being correct according to His standard of righteousness. I maintain that _sickness_, is a part of God’s plan for disciplinary purposes, just as much as changing seasons are necessary for the growth and development of vegetation. Suppose that perpetual sunshine was to cover the earth; it would soon become sterile, barren and desolate. For the well-being of the human family, and the production of earth’s blessings to sustain the same, the changing seasons, sunshine and cloud, stormy wind fulfilling His word, are all necessary. We are so made up, that a great strain of prosperity, very much endangers our remaining meek, and humble, like our divine Lord and Master. Perhaps one scripture will be sufficient to prove this theory. “_Whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth._” Sickness, is a tremendous scourge, and some people have a great deal more of that kind of discipline than they would have, if they were more studious, and tried to learn the lesson God designed.

_The mind cure_, falsely so called, is perhaps, the most subtile humbug of the day. While it contains some truth in small homeopathic doses, its heavy coating is profound deception. Its assumptions in the main, are false. Without going into a thorough analysis of this science, falsely so called, we proceed to notice what little truth it contains. It is a well-known fact to the learned, that the _mind_, has a marvelous power over all of our physical nature. Many have been made sick, by simple imagination. In times of pestilence, doubtless, one of the greatest means of spreading the disease, has been, the imagination. History tells us that men condemned to death have been given over to physicians in order to test the power of the mind over matter; and in many cases death was the result, where the patient was not harmed in any way, but simply made to believe that a vein had been opened in their arm, and that they were slowly, but surely bleeding to death.

Thirty years since, I was living in western N. Y. In the place Spiritualism was running high. A canal boat stopped, a man on board they thought had the cholera, they sent for a doctor. A spirit-medium near by heard the request, and without being asked, stepped aboard the boat, and went into the cabin where lay the sick man. The medium commenced about this kind of talk, “What are you laying here for you lazy fellow? get up, and go out on deck, or you will die sure,” assuring him there was nothing the matter of him. He continued this kind of talk--would pull and haul the fellow, and finally succeeded in getting him on deck; and in a little while, he was declared well--and the boat moved on. The next morning, a neighbor of mine, strong in the faith of this humbug philosophy, came into my house just as we had finished our morning meal. The following dialogue ensued. “Now, Mr. Osborne, what have you got to say when spirits come right into this place and cure a man, sick, nigh unto death with the cholera?” I replied, “it was simply the power of mind over matter; and I can illustrate my meaning, and all there was of _that_. Here is my little boy, seven years old, perfectly healthy, he has just finished a hearty meal. Now, by the same process, I can make him vomit up his hearty breakfast.” I commenced by telling him that he was sick! I repeated it. I made sickening faces, groaned and said, “Lester, you are sick!” Inside of three minutes, he vomited as heartily as though he had taken an emetic. This was accomplished without the aid of departed spirits.

The Wesleys were quick to discover the good there was in the surroundings of life, and utilize it for the Glory of God. The wicked in their Bacchanalian sports, used some grand tunes, for their songs of mirth. Charles Wesley said, “Music alas! too long has been pressed to obey the devil;” and many of these tunes he rescued from their perilous associations, clothed them in the garb of saintly purity, and sent them forth to bless the saints of all ages; and thus, men and women have learned something of the God given law that mind has over matter, and have connected to this power, the illegitimate monstrosity, born of delusion, and speculations, and named it “CHRISTIAN SCIENCE, or MIND CURE.”

Now, about how far, and in what way may we be benefited by this knowledge?

1--It is a well-known fact, that good nature, hopefulness, and cheerfulness, are great preventives to sickness. I believe that many are made sick by simple anticipation; and to disabuse their minds of such an idea, often works wonders.

2--Business men often use this power to create a panic in the “Stock market.” On Wall street, N. Y., they have their Bulls and Bears. One class are ready to buy, the other to sell. One cry up stock, the other cry down stock, as the case may be. This procedure affects the market all over the country. Speculators understand this much of the “_Science_.” It has been truthfully said, “That the children of this world in their generation, are wiser than the children of light.” Oh, that we might be as wise, and press good out of all the events of life.

3--We should on all occasions, cry up stock! health for soul and body, and prosperity for Zion--Amen.

I have heard it said that one scurvy sheep, would affect the whole flock. A minister, class leader, steward, or any prominent member of a society, will, if always complaining, murmuring, fault-finding, breed death and desolation, where ever they go. Such characters, should never be allowed to enter a sick room. That class carry gloom and discouragement in their very appearance; and instead of being a comfort and help, they produce in many cases, a dangerous relapse. Preachers, sometimes, linger about the sore spots, until all, seem to be putrification. Instead of looking at the fountain of life, its immensity, enough for each, enough for all, enough forevermore, and receiving its fullness in themselves, always ready to help others, come short by the former process.

Don’t say much about your troubles; cry up stock to the best of your ability, and as God, and your conscience will allow, but don’t report for the devil.

There is great force in always looking on the bright side of every question. But this, you cannot, nor will not do, unless you live on the sunny side of the Rock. It is right, and proper, to turn the attention of the sorrowing ones of earth to the bright side--yea, to the sun bright clime of Paradise, where the shadows of sorrow will never strike across our pathway; where the inhabitants will never say “_I am sick_!”

Here, is where the real saint lives, under the wing of the Almighty, “where God the Son forever reigns, and scatters night away.”

This is not all in eternity, but on this side of the boundary line of time, we have the sunshine of heaven, and breezes from the land where flowers forever bloom.

Abstractly considered, aside from the influence the Holy Spirit has upon the Christian character and life, the mind has a marvelous power over our entire being; and this, has been prostituted, for worldly purposes. Here, is where the great wrong comes in. The term, “Christian science, or mind cure,” is misleading. It does not claim to depend upon the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ, for any of its accomplishments; but upon the knowledge they have of the power, the _mind_ has over matter. To be a Christian science, it must draw its inspiration from Christ Jesus the Lord. Some of its advocates, openly, and unblushingly deny the divinity of _Him_, and the glory of whatever is accomplished by this power, they give to humanity, and the force of nature, and some to departed spirits, and not to Jesus Christ.

As an example of Christian Science superstition exceeding anything attempted by the most ignorant advocates of patient Faith Healing, read the following, taken verbatim from a text-book on Mind Cure, issued by the president of the “New York School of Primitive and Practical Christian Science,” who states that _his_ school will be free from “eccentricity, pretension, and fanaticism!”

“PRAYER FOR A DYSPEPTIC.”

“Holy Reality! We believe in Thee that thou art EVERYWHERE present. We really believe it. Blessed Reality we do not pretend to believe, think we believe, believe that we believe. We believe. Believing that thou art everywhere present, we believe that Thou art in this patient’s stomach, in every fibre, in every cell, in every atom, that Thou art the soul, only Reality of that stomach. Heavenly, Holy Reality, we will try not be such hypocrites and infidels, as every day of our lives to affirm our faith in Thee and then immediately begin to tell how sick we are, forgetting that Thou art everything and that Thou art not sick, and therefore that nothing in this universe was ever sick, is now sick, or can be sick. Forgive us our sins in that we have this day talked about our backaches, that we have told our neighbors that our food hurts us, that we mentioned to a visitor that there was a lump in our stomach, that we have wasted our valuable time which should have been spent in thy service, in worrying for fear that our stomach would grow worse, in that we disobeyed Thy blessed law, in thinking that some kind of medicine would help us. We know, Father and Mother of us all, that there is no such a thing as a really diseased stomach, that the disease is the CARNAL MORTAL MIND given over to the WORLD, the Flesh, and the Devil; that the mortal mind is a twist, a distortion, a false attitude, the HARMATIA of Thought, Shining and Glorious Verity, we recognize the great and splendid FACT that the moment we really believe the truth, disease ceases to trouble us, that the truth is, there is no disease in either real body or mind; that in the mind there seems to be a disease is a false belief, a parasite, a hateful excrescence, and that what happens in the body is the shadow of the LIE in the SOUL. Lord, help us to believe that ALL EVIL is utterly unreal; that it is silly to be sick, absurd to be ailing, wicked to be wailing, atheism and denial of God to say ‘I am sick.’ Help us to stoutly affirm with our hand in Your hand, with our eyes fixed on Thee that we have no dyspepsia, that we will never have dyspepsia, that there is no such thing, that there never was any such thing, that there never will be any such thing Amen.”--_Hazzard._

Mrs. Eddy of Chicago, and others, have written much on “Christian Science.” In some of her writings she disclaims affinity with Spiritualism; but according to my knowledge of the matter, it was evolved from that source. Some thirty-five years since, I sat with them in a seance, where a lady, almost gone with consumption was operated upon by the same treatment that the “Christian scientists” practice to-day. From a helpless, speechless condition she revived so that she was able to dress herself and walk about the yard. She continued to improve for about three months, then suddenly relapsed, and died.

Where disease has been located simply in the mind, which is often the case, some marvelous cures have been effected by this class of doctors; and because they found a supposed mental cause adequate to a cure in a few cases, leaped to a wild conclusion that all causes were mental, and would yield to the same treatment. They claim that our bodies are sensationless; they do not suffer, they have no pain, that all suffering is in the mind; then to work up a belief, that we do not suffer, and some are really made to believe that doctrine.

Whatever pretensions the teachers of this “Science,” present to the public, as a curative power; and however much they may claim sympathy for the sick and suffering, the real gist of the matter seems to be, they are after cash. They charge enormously for teaching the “Science,” and the same for helping the sick; as I have been informed, they do not teach, or give aid to the sick, without pay in advance. How unlike Jesus, is all such operations, who, went everywhere doing good, without money, and without price. Whoever heard, of a real child of God, asking pay, for going to pray to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord, for a sick brother, or sister, or the wickedest person on earth? We come to this conclusion, that, their foundation is on the sand; and not on the merits of the precious _blood_ of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

XI.

A DOUBLE CURE.

Hark! a light step--followed by a heavy tread--is approaching my study. What does it mean? It is a cold, freezing day in February, and it is Saturday--a very busy day for me. Well, I should think wife would entertain company in the parlor. But here she comes, followed by a person right from the State lunatic asylum--one that I had met with before. I must confess that I felt a little strange with such company; but I immediately arose and gave the brother my hand, and said--“Good morning, Mr. Van Benschoten; how do you do?” “I am well, bless God! I called, Brother Osborne, to tell you what great things the Lord has done for me.” He then gave me his experience, which is as follows:

I have been in the New York Asylum for two years, and have been growing worse, so that for several months I have not been outside these prison walls. Recently, Mr. Gray, the superintendent, wrote my wife that I was an incurable case. Of course, I expected to remain incarcerated within those prison walls; but what was still worse, I expected my reason to remain dethroned; which in the past had been periodically. But I was growing worse; my body was quite emaciated: I had lost my appetite, and in fact, I was full of fearful forebodings, a wretched man. My case was a sad one. Here I must suffer out this brief existence, in misery--pain--sorrow--shame and remorse--and then an eternity with devils and damned spirits; and all this brought on by my own licentiousness. “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” A companion in tribulation said to me, the Lord can heal you, soul and body, and gave me this passage of Scripture: “And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he has committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.” I thought, that just covers my case--but _how_, to make it available? I was told by my comrade in distress, that I must fast and pray; which I did, until I wore my knees sore. I was then watched very narrowly, and prohibited from getting upon my knees; and finally, I was shut up at night in a crib, in order to prevent, as I suppose the doctors viewed it, a further development of my new phase of insanity. The crib is something like a large cradle, without rocker,--with a cover of slats that shut over the top, and is locked down when occupied by any one. While in this condition, I was led to think of God’s goodness to me in sparing my life so long, and I a rebel against him.

I thought of the effort I had been making to get to Him; my sins had appeared in dreadful array, which I loathed with all my heart. I felt that there was real godly sorrow in me. I had besought the Lord to pardon my sins, and heal my body. I believed that he was able to do it; yea, I thought that he was willing to do it; I thought of the promise,--“The prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he has committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.” I said O Lord, why not now! they have locked me up to prevent my getting upon my knees; but can’t the Lord bless me lying on my back? Can’t the Almighty come right through these slats?

I heard a voice saying, yes! He can. The next moment I was believing in God with all my heart. Something said, why not believe that God will do his work, and _do it now_! I said Lord, thou _wilt_ do it now! Just then I felt a very strange sensation going all through my body; and with it a conviction that the work was done. I felt glory to God! all through my soul and body. It flowed from my heart, like oil from a flowing well; and continued to bubble up just as Jesus promised it should do. “The water that I give you, shall be in you a well of water, springing up unto everlasting life.” Praise our God forever! The next morning, soon after coming out of the crib, I met the head physician. He said good morning Van; how are you? I am well, I replied,--glory to God! Van, what do you mean? I mean that the good Lord came right down into the crib last night and healed my soul and body--glory to God! glory! glory! glory! forever and ever! amen! amen! The doctor looked wild, and said: Van be careful, or we shall put you up in No. “11.” (The hall where the incurable cases were kept.) The brother constantly affirmed that God had made him whole, every whit. Within four weeks from the time the superintendent wrote this brother’s wife that her husband was incurable, he wrote her that he was so much better that she could come after him; but did not state how he was cured.

Three years after, I met this Brother on the cars. His first utterances were, as I approached him, Glory to God! Brother Osborne, the Lord saves me soul and body. He said that he had not had a symptom of his old disease since his last night in the crib. Our God is mighty to save!

XII.

JUSTIFICATION.

Justification implies pardon for our sins, past and present--something that God does for us; and regeneration is something done within us. Justification is generally understood to embrace both pardon and regeneration. They are, however, so near together as to belong to the same family; in fact, they are twins, and, taken together, they imply--first, reconciliation to God. In our natural condition, we are enemies to Him--made so by the sin of our first parents; secondly, by our own wicked works. “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So, then, they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” Jesus says, “Without me, ye can do nothing;” so that in our natural, unsaved condition we cannot do the will of God. Reconciliation implies Godly sorrow for sin, and a confession of the same, and obedience to the divine law. “Who so confesseth and forsaketh them, shall have mercy.” Again, it implies making wrongs right. If we have taken in deal, or in any other way, that which did not belong to us, we shall promptly restore. If we have wronged another in his character, we shall hasten to make it right. “Whoso keepeth the whole law, and yet offendeth in one point, is guilty of all.”

Many are in the dark in regard to their Justification; but there is no necessity for that, for where this work is wrought in the heart there are evidences that are unmistakable. For, says the Apostle, “Ye have not received the Spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.” Here are two unimpeachable witnesses to the fact of a man’s conversion to God. First, the Spirit of God witnesses to the fact; that is, God the Holy Ghost divinely impresses the soul that the work is wrought--an inward conviction that our sins are forgiven; that so far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

Again, our spirit or our mind is turned inward, and being illuminated by the Holy Ghost can discern or perceive the great change wrought within; and the witnesses uniting declare the great transaction done, and the soul cries out instinctively, “I am my Lord’s, and he is mine.” Glory to God! Amen. Again the fact that the kingdom is fixed within, bringing forth its legitimate fruit--righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost--is positive assurance that reconciliation to God has been consummated. “That being translated from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of God’s dear Son,” the soul is exquisitely happy, and in joyous exclamation sings, “Tongue cannot express the sweet comfort and peace of a soul in its earliest love;” and so long as the soul retains pardon, it can sing, “Jesus all the day long is my joy and my song, O, that all his salvation might see.”

Again reconciliation to God implies that we have renounced the devil and all his works, the vain pomp and glory of the world, with all covetous desires of the same, and the carnal desires of the flesh, so that we will not follow or be led by them. Here, is coming out from the world. The eye has become single to the glory of God, and the whole body is full of light. A justified soul has the light in regard to all the demands the Almighty has upon them and a determination to walk in it; hence, everything that is designed to please the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, the pride of life, will be laid aside. We shall eat, drink, labor and dress for the glory of God, and, if in any of these practices, whether it be eating or drinking, chewing, snuffing, or smoking tobacco, there remains a doubt in regard to the right or wrong of the matter, we are under condemnation if we practice the same, and this extends to all the relations of life. “He that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith, for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”

A justified soul has light in regard to costly churches, and the modern mode of selling them to the highest bidder, and running them according to modern expediency. It will not engage in such work, neither will it endorse by its means or its presence, the worship of God, singing, praying, or preaching, by unhallowed lips. It will not join hand in hand with the secret oath bound fraternity, that in heart, and in life, are opposed to the Gospel of Christ, full of worldly speculation, pride, fashion, banqueting, revelry, mirth, trifling, worldly mindedness, having the form of godliness, but denying the power thereof, from such, the command is to turn away, and the soul that is freely justified before God responds, “Lord obediently I’ll go.” Yes, Glory to God, it is in their hearts to turn from every abomination.