COMFORT FOR THE SAD, SICK, AND WEARY.
By Daniel Nettleton
THE Lord is willing and able to heal sick people. Pray to Him. Say, "Thy will be done." "And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, He saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever. And He touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she arose, and ministered unto them. When the even was come, they brought unto Him many that were possessed with devils; and He cast out the spirits with His word, and healed all that were sick; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses." Matt. 8: 14-17. Jesus came not only to save His people from their sins, but to save them from the effects of their sins,—to heal their diseases. "The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all." "Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses." "And when they had passed over, they came into the land of Gennesaret, and drew to the shore. And when they were come out of the ship, straightway they knew Him, and ran through that whole region 'round about, and began to carry about in beds those that were sick, where they heard He was. And whithersoever He entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought Him that they might touch if it were but the border of His garment; and as many as touched Him were made whole." Mark 6: 53-56. This is the way Jesus did when on earth. "And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogs, and preaching the Gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. And His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought unto Him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and He healed them. And there followed Him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from beyond Jordan." Matt. 4: 23-25. No wonder the people followed Him. Would they not follow Him now if He were here? But is He not here? "I am with you alway." "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever." Heb. 13: 8. It is Satan that brought sin, sickness, and death into our world. He leads men to transgress God's law, and, as a result, sickness and death follow. Sickness is caused by the violation of nature's law, which is the law of God. "The wages of sin is death." Satan knows that he can not overcome man unless he can control his will, and he gets the control of man's will by leading him into sin, and thus weakening his physical and moral nature. But thank the Lord, Satan is to be cast out, and his work destroyed. "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!" Isa. 14: 12. Satan has weakened the nations by intemperance. Eating unhealthful foods, and eating to excess even of good food, is intemperance. Wrong habits in eating and drinking, continued for many generations, have weakened the human family and cut short the period of man's life. God's loving-kindness is better than life, and He desires your lips to praise Him. You may not feel like doing this. You say, "I am sick;" but say this: "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God." It is your privilege to say, "For the Lord God will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded; therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed." "Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of My people recovered?" Jer. 8: 22. Yes, there is a balm for all the afflicted ones, — "the great Physician now is here, the sympathizing Jesus." The Lord has promised to heal thee of thy wounds and restore thy health. Jer. 30: 17.