THE HEALTH OF ZION
Elder David P. Bridgman (deceased) "From his book . . ."
Let us think for a few minutes on the health of Zion, on the health of our church and on the health of our own personal self. When we take into consideration the subject of health from a natural source, we can recall how good we are always made to feel when we see a healthy family, or a healthy person. As a rule you find such a family to be happy. They look well and rosy, and it makes you feel good to be in their presence, as far as disease goes; but if we are sickly, sometimes others fear to stay with us, or even to visit us for fear they too might take the same disease.
Sometimes people are sick naturally and do not realize it. They have many diseases and fail to know of it until they have a close examination. The doctor looks folks over sometimes and informs them they are almost dead and they had not realized they were sick at all. There is no doubt but if we, the Old Baptists and those who want to be Old Baptists, were to have a real close examination, we would learn that we had many diseases; and would learn the remedy for those diseases and thereby be willing to make the proper application. I fear that most of us do not have to even take the close examination. We are not even taking time to see whether we are sick or not, that is in a spiritual sense, and therefore we will not be healed. We are so inclined to forget who the great Physician is. We go to quacks. We are not willing to pay the price that is required of the great Physician. He just requires too much of us. We sometimes complain about the price the doctors charge for healing natural diseases, and in a way it does sometimes seem high, for they cannot always heal. But the great Physician who charges all that we have, but no dollars and cents, never misses a single case! He heals every time, and He never uses anything to put you to sleep nor does He use a knife or opiate. He gives His patients the very things they need and just the right amount and no more.
"Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms." - James 5:13. If you are afflicted, my brother, God afflicted you, and He did it because He loves you, and He loves you because you are His. You must learn of Him and His ways. God knows just how to teach you the good things, the things that will enable you to live healthy and happy, that will enable you to have joy, peace, and happiness, if you will use Him as the great Physician. He will give you the right application for the afflictions because He is the great Physician! He knows the remedy! Some think He gets a very big price, but after all He is so different from the physicians in nature. He gives you the money to pay Him with, and too often we want to keep it and not use it as He directs. I do not mean filthy lucre; I mean the things that are precious to your natural desires. It might be money or it might be a hundred and one other things, such as a high mind, a great ambition, a desire to be famous of poor sinful men and a feeling of self importance. Regardless of what it is, God has enabled you to travel thus far and blessed you with every natural blessing as well as every spiritual blessing. How He afflicts you and asks you to lay down the things that come between you and Him - and most of the time we refuse to do it.
Is any afflicted? Do you big men and women just cry like a little baby? Why, you must be afflicted. Do you hate the things you once loved? Why? Can you see a big difference in your life? You must be one of those fellows that the old prophet was talking about when he said, "I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord." - Zeph. 3:12. If that is your case, He has the remedy in a very short answer to your problem. That which He says do, do it. You will always get the right answer. The prescription the great Physician gives here is to pray. You may say, "I have been praying." Have you got the answer? I would advise you to look further into the matter and see if you have been praying in the manner in which He instructs you to pray. If you have not got the answer, you must not have done it. Or if you have got the answer and have failed to make the application, you have not suffered enough afflictions, I suppose. But suppose you see first if you have really prayed.
"Is any mercy? let him sing psalms." I suppose He means if we are on the mountain top we should sing psalms of praise and honor and glory to Him, try as best we can to give Him all the praise, with a heart of thanksgiving. Let us try hard to realize that it is in Him we live, move and have our being. I am afraid sometimes the reason we are soon removed from the mountain top is that we fail to render unto God the things that belong to God, and instead render unto Caesar that which we should render unto God.
"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: 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." - James 5:14-15. I do not think the apostle here refers to natural sickness, for He has given us natural doctors to care for that, and He has given us spiritual doctors to care for those who are spiritually sick. If we were naturally sick, I would not feel like asking my brethren to bring a bottle of oil and sprinkle it on my head and make a long multiplication of words with loud crying, but I would deeply desire that they pray over me or for me, and I do each day of my life. I do not think the word "over" means to stand over one, but simply as we pray over any matter - think over it, pray over it, talk earnestly and humbly with God and submit yourselves to His will; but first of all you must have a keen desire prompted only by the spirit of God's love. No other motive will give any results at all except bad results. So often Old Baptists take many diseases (and God does not give them to them), such as covetousness, idolatry, hatred, malice, ill-will, laziness, unconcernedness, don't-cares, and many other things that they take of themselves. These things will make you sick, and sometimes when you have several of these you become so sick that you are about unconscious of anything at all. If you have no sickness at all spiritually, you are in a fine shape. But let me advise you to go right now to the great Physician and get a close check-up, and you will soon see just how you stand. I am persuaded that the harder we strive to be healthy, the healthier we will be; therefore it behooves each of us to do all we can to be healthy; make hard efforts; consult the great Physician each morning, afternoon and night! In this way we can hear of many diseses before they get too big a hold on us.
"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." Verse 16. Brethren, it seems to me from what James says here that there are none of us that does not need healing at times. Here is an excellent remedy for healing which can only be done by those who contact the great Physician often; so you see the great need of a regular and constant check-up with the great Physician!
I beg you to look over my many errors and shortcomings. I pray some little child of God will get some food for thought from the above.
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