X. Healing Faith.

Much has been said and written on the subject of healing faith. God has said much on that subject for our benefit. “The prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up.” Many scriptures might be introduced bearing upon this subject; but the statement above so clear, and emphatic, will suffice. Genuine faith is begotten of the spirit. It is not born of simple desire. Here a great many good people have made great mistakes, they have had great desires for those that were sick, that they should recover—they have prayed to this end, and have gone so far as to make statements very positive that they knew they would recover, because God had told them so, when the facts were very clear—their supposed faith was nothing but desire. This has proved true in a great many cases, the subject of prayer passing into eternity soon after these positive statements were made. If they had had genuine faith, the sick would have recovered. In no case, have we ever discovered the Almighty arrayed against Himself, but in every operation we find it in exact harmony with a “thus saith the Lord.”

Take the case of President Garfield. The nation prayed for his recovery. Many said—“He will recover,” but he died. Why did he not recover? good people prayed for him—and thought—and said that he would be spared to the nation. To this I answer,—The prayer offered for him, was not inspired by the Holy Ghost; if it had been, God would have raised him up. The word of the Lord is—“The prayer of faith shall save the sick.” Doubtless, the inspiration of this class was purely carnal.

The word of the Lord is, “That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in Heaven.” Now, a great many were united in praying for the President, and they were good people; but they put in an if in every prayer; and that if, in every case sums up a tremendous doubt, which reveals as clear as day, the lack of that faith, begotten of the “Spirit,” which brings health immediately to its possessor. Faith begotten of the spirit is very positive: it amounts to a divine assurance—and utters forth its triumphant voice, “It shall be done”—and it is done. This kind, has no ifs in it. It makes its possessor bold to move on to the aid of the sick and suffering; and has an intuitive perception, that the “power of the Lord is present to heal.” Good-will was, doubtless, the great incentive in the President’s case. The scriptures very clearly indicate that the power of the Lord is not always present to heal; likewise experience by those that have been healed by faith, and have at times had faith that has brought health immediately to the bodies of others, are not always thus blessed. St. Paul, left his co-laborer, TROPHIMUS, sick at Miletus, which he would not have done, had he been in possession of that faith, which so wonderfully characterized his labors on other occasions.

William Bramwell, a man of mighty faith in the power of God to heal, had prayed for a certain person and God had raised them up in answer to his prayers on several occasions, but the last time that he was called upon to pray for this person, he could not, and said they must die, or that in substance.

I praise God, that I was ever put in possession of that faith, which brought health to my body, when sick, and suffering. When stationed at Utica, I was taken one Sabbath evening while preaching, with the dysentery. I was very sick until Friday. I had quite frequent bloody evacuations, with tenesmus, of a very severe character. My dear companion was very much alarmed in regard to my very dangerous symptoms, and thought she had better go for the doctor. I felt all through me—I want no doctor but Jesus. In that direction I continued to look. My symptoms became more alarming. Anxiety on the part of my family increased. Conviction with me, that Jesus Christ was coming to check disease, and heal my body, seemed to grow more and more like a living reality. Friday morning dawned upon us, and to all appearances, I was rapidly yielding in my physical powers, to the destructive power of the fearful disease that was preying so rapidly upon my body. After much solicitation on the part of my very precious wife, I consented to let her go after the doctor. A moment after she left the house, Jesus came—laid His hand upon me, and made me every whit whole: Bless His holy name! The doctor did not come until Saturday. He left me two very small bottles of pills, and charged me not to go to church on the coming Sabbath. However, I went to church, preached twice at Utica, rode twelve miles and preached, making three sermons; and with such a blessing, it did seem to me that my soul would leave my body if God should let another drop of love on me. Growing out of this, I had an experience where I knew what the statement meant, “For I am sick of love.” On another occasion after this, when sick, and much worn down by overwork, I went to the Murray camp-meeting with a view of recuperation. I felt peculiarly led of the spirit to go. On arriving there I was powerfully tempted to leave the ground and return home. As it was about tea time I was invited to take tea with an old friend. After tea we had prayers. The Lord blessed me—I felt better, but did not get the healing power on my body which I so much needed. I was very much helped all through the meeting. The day the meeting closed, Brother Roberts was tying up his tent, Sister Roberts asked me if I had received the help in my body that I needed—I said no; but while in conversation with her, the blessing came with such force that disease and weakness oozed out from the very center of every bone in my body, and instantly I was covered with perspiration; and for months after this, I felt as though I was made up of iron. I could preach, visit, sing, pray and study a good share of the hours out of every twenty-four. On a good many occasions, the blessed Jesus has wonderfully blessed, and healed, both soul and body. God has at times, touched my heart, and given to me faith for others, and in answer to prayer, I have seen them raised up to health. I have not always had faith for myself, nor for others.

I have been sick, have suffered pain, but could not cause the heavens to bend, seemingly a single inch towards my deliverance—when at the same time my soul was blessed and happy in God. I will mention a few cases where God in answer to prayer healed them almost instantly.

Twenty-five years ago our conference was held at Binghamton, N. Y. A number of preachers were kept at Sister Sparks. One of them was very sick, with an intense fever. We sat down to the table for our tea. The burden came on me for this suffering brother, I could not eat, and proposed that prayer should be offered for him. In a few moments the fever was checked, and a copious perspiration followed. The brother got up, took tea, went to church, exhorted after the sermon as though he had never been sick in all his life.

At a camp meeting, a sister, one of my members, tenting with the Rose pilgrims as we had no tent on the ground, was taken sick with what seemed to be, Asiatic cholera. Her case was so alarming after a night’s suffering the Rose preacher came to me and said, Brother Osborne, that sister is so sick that you must have her taken off the ground as none can stay in the tent except those that wait on her. Instantly my faith took hold on God for her recovery. I did not know until that moment that she was sick. I went into the tent where she was. I saw she was very sick. I said to her, “you know that Jesus can make you well in a moment.” She answered, “Yes.” I said, “don’t you think that He wants to make you well now?” She replied, “I think He will if you ask him.” In less than three minutes she was on her feet praising God with all her might. She dressed herself, ate her breakfast, went about her Master’s business and enjoyed the meeting the rest of the time as though she had been on Pisgah from the beginning.

Sister Francisco of Rome, was to all appearance, nearly used up with what a number of the great doctors called cancers. One in her throat, nearly choked her to death. Another on her upper gums. The first time that I visited her, I said, “Sister, you know that Jesus Christ can make you well.” She replied, “Yes, but the doctors all say that I must die.” She became so bad off—the odor emanating from the cancer was so offensive, that it was with difficulty that anybody could be in the house with her. I thought on several occasions as I went to visit her, this will be, in all probability, the last time that I shall visit her until I go to preach her funeral sermon. The last time I called upon her before she was healed, she said to me, “Brother Osborne, the Lord Jesus is going to make me well.” I replied—“Praise the Lord, it is just like him to do so.” Two days after this the Lord touched her; the cancer left her throat—dropped off her gum—and she ran about that part of the city and reported what great things the Lord had done for her. Immediately she went at hard work, and now, more than three years have passed away, and she is still strong and healthy.

Another case at Rome, Sister Conrad had been very sick for about two months, with fever and other difficulties. Her right lung had lost its power of action; her left arm had become paralyzed. The neighbors thought she could not live but a short time; the doctors considered her case hopeless. Wife and I thought that we ought to visit her that Wednesday. On that day she looked more like a corpse, than a living being. We sang, and prayed—The Lord was present to heal. Such a display of God’s power to heal I never saw before. First she was made clear in the blessing of perfect love. This was glorious. After this, came a mighty wave of liquid love and fire—and health. When it touched the withered lung, how she did shout forth the praises of our God. This aroused the people in that region who came around to see what the matter was. Then the power struck the palsied arm, and that began to move about to the tune of “Glory Hallelujah,” and this she continued for more than two hours. She got up, dressed herself, went to supper, ate a hearty meal, and slept the soundest, the sweetest, that night, that she had done for a long while before. She rose early the next morning, mended her husband’s pants, ate her breakfast, and moved about as well as ever.

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.