CHAPTER VIII. HEALING THE SICK

Zwingle, of Switzerland, the great reformer, was seized by the plague called “Great Death,” which was sweeping off its thousands, and was so near gone that he was supposed by some to be dead; but he was miraculously restored in answer to prayer.MIRP 82.1

“The believers,” says the historian, “cried to God night and day, earnestly entreating that he would restore their faithful pastor.” The prayer was answered, and the news was soon flying every where, “that Zwingle had been snatched from the brink of the grave.”—D’Aubigne’s Hist. Ref., Vol. II, p. 331.MIRP 82.2

The following striking account of the healing of a woman who had been dumb two years, is published in the “Life of Garretson,” p. 97:MIRP 82.3

“There was a preacher present, Mr. Daniel Ruff, who consented to call a meeting, and they cried to the Lord in her behalf, that day and the next. She then went into a private room, kneeled down to prayer, and continued there till the Lord blessed her soul. At the same time her tongue was loosened, and she could speak forth the praises of Israel’s God. She had been dumb about two years.”MIRP 82.4

The biographer of bishop Roberts, speaking of a young lady who was expected to die, and had sent a request for prayers, says:MIRP 82.5

“The bishop read the contents from the stand, ...and concluded by calling upon them to unite in earnest prayer to God for her salvation, and for the recovery of her health. His address to the throne of grace on this occasion, which was the opening prayer of the service, was most fervent, importunate, and powerful, and was made, apparently with all the confidence and strong faith of one who felt assured that his requests would be heard and answered. And so it was, for in that very hour she began to recover, and in a few days was fully restored to health.” Biography, p. 277.MIRP 82.6

Of Mr. Keach, author of “Travels of true Godliness,” and Baptist minister in England, it is said:MIRP 83.1

“He was at one time so ill, in 1689, as to be given over by the physicians, and several of the ministers and his relations had taken leave of him, as a dying man, past all hopes of recovery. But the Rev. Mr. Hanserd Knollys, seeing his friend and brother in the gospel to all appearance near expiring, betook himself to prayer; and in an earnest and very extraordinary manner, begged that God would spare him, and add unto his days the time granted to his servant Hezekiah....... So remarkable was the answer of God to this good man’s prayer, that I cannot omit it; though it may be discredited by some, there are yet living incontestable evidences of the fact. For Mr. Keach recovered of that illness, and lived just fifteen years afterward; and then it pleased God to visit him with that short sickness which put an end to his life.”—Travels of True Godliness, published by American Baptist Publication Society, pp. 20, 21; see also Crosby’s History of the English Baptists.MIRP 83.2

“Bishop Hall, speaking of the good offices which angels do to God’s servants, says:MIRP 84.1

“‘Of this kind was that marvelous cure which was wrought upon that poor cripple at St. Madern’s, in Cornwall; whereof besides the attestation of many hundreds of the neighbors, I took a strict examination in my last visitation. This man, for sixteen years together, was obliged to walk upon his hands, by reason the sinews of his legs were so contracted. Upon an admonition in his dream to wash in a certain well, he was suddenly so restored to his limbs, that I saw him able to walk and get his own maintenance. The name of this cripple was John Trebble.’”MIRP 84.2

Wesley remarks: “And were ‘many hundreds of the neighbors,’ together with bishop hall, deceived in so notorious a matter of fact? or did they all join together to palm such a falsehood on the world? O Incredulity! what ridiculous shifts art thou driven to! what absurdities wilt thou believe rather than own any extraordinary work of God!”—Wesley’s Journal, Vol. VI, pp. 565, 566. Wesley’s Journal, Dec. 20, 1742, says:MIRP 84.3

“When I came home they told me the physician said he did not expect Mr. Meyrick would live till the morning. I went to him, but his pulse was gone. He had been speechless and senseless for some time. A few of us immediately joined in prayer (I relate the naked fact); before we had done, his sense and his speech returned. Now, he that will account for this by natural causes, has my free leave; but I choose to say, This is the power of God.MIRP 84.4

“Saturday, 25. The physician told me he could do no more; Mr. Meyrick could not live over the night. I went up, and found them all crying about him; his legs being cold, and (as it seemed) dead already. We all kneeled down and called upon God with strong cries and tears. He opened his eyes and called for me; and, from that hour, he continued to recover his strength, till he was restored to perfect health. I wait to hear who will either disprove this fact, or philosophically account for it.”—Vol. III, p. 275.MIRP 84.5

Wesley again says:MIRP 85.1

“When we came to Smeton, Mr. Downes was so ill that he could go no further. When Mr. Shepherd and I left Smeton, my horse was so exceeding lame that I was afraid I must have lain by too. We could not discern what it was that was amiss; and yet he could scarcely set his foot to the ground. By riding thus seven miles, I was thoroughly tired, and my head ached more than it had done for some months. (What I here aver is the naked fact; let every man account for it as he sees good.) I then thought, ‘Cannot God heal either man or beast, by any means, or without any?’ Immediately my weariness and headache ceased, and my horse’s lameness the next instant. Nor did he halt any more either that day or the next.”—Id. pp. 365, 366.MIRP 85.2

The following account of Mr. Smith’s visiting an afflicted family, is from a book published for the Methodist Episcopal Church, at the Conference Office, 14, Crosby Street, N. Y.:MIRP 85.3

“Upon one occasion of Mr. Smith’s visiting them, he was invited up stairs to see the mother, who was very ill. He found her surrounded by her weeping family, and suffering under pain so severe that they apprehended her speedy death, unless it were mitigated. After making a few observations, he kneeled down and brought the case before the Lord. The answer was immediate. The pain entirely left her, and with the return of bodily ease came an extraordinary blessing upon her spirit.MIRP 85.4

“An answer to prayer of an equally remarkable kind was granted to Mr. Smith during the time he was at Brighton. Calling one day at the house of Mr. —, he there found an infant lying on the lap of its distressed mother, and writhing in a severe convulsion fit. It had frequently been affected in a similar way, even from its birth. Mr. S. took the child from the mother’s arms, and sitting down, sung one of his favorite hymns. He then engaged in intercession on its behalf. Having arisen from his knees he gave it back to the mother, and retired. From that time the affliction ceased; the child became strong, and after the lapse of eight years, the grateful mother assured the relater of this incident that it had never since had a single fit. The same gentleman adds, from his personal knowledge, that the young person for whom this deliverance was wrought out, is now in the bloom of perfect health; and he intimates that this was only one of many cases in which similarly extraordinary effects resulted from Mr. Smith’s prayers.”—Memoirs of John Smith, pp. 180, 181.MIRP 86.1

The Journal of Mrs. Hester Ann Rogers, June 29, 1782, says:MIRP 86.2

“This day the Lord instantaneously removed a rapid mortification in my dear mother’s limb, in answer to prayer. The doctor having given his opinion that in a few hours it would be fatal, I flew to my almighty Refuge, and felt I had power with God, through faith in that promise—’The prayer of faith shall save the sick.’ And when in half an hour I looked again at the wound, all the bad symptoms were gone; and the same doctor, standing astonished, said no danger now appeared. I could not forbear weeping aloud for joy and gratitude, praising the God of my life.”MIRP 86.3

“June 10, 1794. I had a peculiar season in wrestling prayer with my God this night, on account of my dear little Mary. The great weakness of her limbs for three months past, and her seeming total inability to walk, has caused much pain to my dear husband as well as myself. It appears to me I had used every possible means in vain. But this night I had power to cry unto my God, and tell him, ‘Thou art the same yesterday, to-day, and forever: thou art my God! Thou hast said, Call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will hear thee. Thou hast healed cripples, made the lame to walk, yea, raised even the dead, in answer to praying faith! Lord, hear me now; stoop to my request; let the child’s feet and ankle bones receive strength; give power to walk, and let me soon know thou hast heard my prayer; and I had power to believe it should be done; and my soul was filled with the divine presence.MIRP 87.1

“Thursday, the 12th. I already see an answer to my prayer in the child. She is greatly strengthened in her limbs. How good, how faithful, how condescending is the Lord! We may—I may, like Abraham, like Moses, like Elijah, ask and obtain.”—Journal, pp. 116, 119, 120.MIRP 87.2

Eld. William Kinkade (Christian minister) says:MIRP 87.3

“There have been in the bounds of my acquaintance many miraculous cures performed in answer to prayer. I have been acquainted with several of the people who were healed, conversed on the subject with the persons who were present at the time, and some of these cures I have seen myself. I as firmly believe that Eld. David Haggard had the gift of healing, as that the apostles had. He has fallen asleep, but there are many alive who saw him perform cures, and what I saw myself puts the matter beyond doubt with me. I state these facts in honor to God, who, in every age of the world, has shown a willingness to bless his creatures in proportion to their faith and obedience.” Bible Doctrine, p. 341.MIRP 87.4

Mr. Thomas Ryder, local preacher of Thorngumbald, says:MIRP 88.1

“In the year 1805, our daughter Abigail was so very ill of the whooping cough that at times she appeared to lose her breath, and my wife often thought she was dead. Mr. Bramwell was in the Hull circuit; and when in that part of Holderness where we then lived, he slept in our house. At one of his visits we told him how violently our little girl was afflicted. He asked several questions concerning her, and then said, ‘Let us pray.’ We knelt down, and the man of God prayed with peculiar fervor, and apparently in strong faith, that the Lord would bless the child, and speedily restore her. The Almighty, whose eyes are over the righteous, and whose ears are open to their prayers, heard and answered the prayer of his servant. Our daughter began to recover from that hour, and never afterward had a severe attack.”MIRP 88.2

The following cure in answer to prayer, so generally admitted, is of some weight:MIRP 88.3

“In the frost of 1804-5, Mr. Brayshaw, of Hull, had the misfortune to fall and pitch upon his right elbow. Not finding much inconvenience at the time, he neglected to apply anything to it, until about the middle of February, when a mortification ensued. So rapid was its progress that his medical attendants had determined to amputate his arm as soon as he should have sufficient strength to undergo the operation. They probed and laid it open to the bone; but so much was nature exhausted, that it was feared at every subsequent dressing he would have died. An asthmatical cough, to which he had been long subject, then suddenly stopped; a convulsive hiccough came on, and all hopes of his recovery were lost. His family were called in; he took an affectionate leave of them, and gave them, as he thought, his last blessing. At this important crisis Messrs. Griffith and Bramwell called to see him as they were going to the select band. Mrs. Brayshaw requested they would remember her husband at a throne of grace in the band-meeting. And while they were engaged at the meeting in agonizing prayer for his recovery, Mr. Brayshaw began to cough, the hiccough left him, and his asthmatical cough returned; so that he recovered to the great surprise of all around him. A friend called after the band-meeting, and observed that she was almost sure that Mr. Brayshaw would recover,—for there had been such an uncommon outpouring of the Spirit, accompanied by such faith while prayer was made by those men of God for his recovery, that she had no doubt concerning his restoration. The event proved the correctness of her opinion; and it was generally thought to be a miraculous cure in answer to prayer.”—Bramwell’s Memoir, pp. 194, 195.MIRP 88.4

Mr. William Carvosso, who was sixty years a class leader in the Wesleyan Methodist connection, gives an account of the healing of a sick woman as follows:MIRP 90.1

“The next morning, a friend asked me to visit a woman who was sick, and offered to accompany me. When we arrived at the house, we were informed she was very ill. I went up stairs, and found her, to all appearance, on the borders of eternity. Finding that she had been three years a member of the society, and knew nothing of salvation by the remission of her sins, I felt no little concern for the salvation of her soul..... I explained to her the plan of salvation..... ‘And now,’ said I, ‘it is a duty which God requires of you to believe in Jesus Christ, and in the truth of his promises.’ While I was thus speaking to her, she was seized in a strange manner; and it appeared to me, and those present, that she was dying. But in a moment or two she lifted up her hands and eyes to heaven, and cried out, ‘Glory be to God, I am healed! I am healed!’ And for some considerable time she kept on repeating, ‘The Lord has healed me, body and soul.’MIRP 90.2

“The news of this was soon conveyed to her neighbors, who rushed into the chamber in such crowds that I was afraid the beams would give way. But she continued saying, ‘The Lord has healed my body and my soul.’ We then kneeled down to praise the Lord for what he had done; and while engaged in prayer, two of those who came in were awakened, and began to cry for mercy. With these distressed souls I was occupied four hours before I could leave the place. The next day, Mr. Sibly, from Truro, came there to preach, and dined with us at the friend’s house where I lodged; when the friend who had been with me the preceding day related the circumstance to him. Having expressed a desire to see the woman, I went with him to the house; and to our very great astonishment, we found her down stairs, sitting by the fire. I visited her several times after this, and found her not only happy in God, but confirmed in her restoration to health. I have seen many of the mighty works of the Lord, both in convincing and converting sinners, but never before saw the body healed as well as the soul.”—Memoir of Carvosso, pp. 73-75.MIRP 90.3

The Baltimore Patriot says:MIRP 91.1

“A lady residing in the western part of the city, formerly a communicant of the Episcopal church, having lately been converted to the Baptist faith, under the ministration of the Rev. Dr. Williams, of the First Baptist church of this city, was on Sunday evening immersed in the presence of a large congregation. This lady has been afflicted for a number of years with the rheumatism, so much so that she was unable to walk without assistance. After her immersion she “came up out of the water” relieved of her affliction, and was enabled to proceed to her home without the help she formerly required. This wonderful cure was made the subject of some very feeling remarks by the pastor of the church, who attributed it to the agency of the divine Spirit.”—Western Recorder.MIRP 91.2

The Christian Age, of May 26, 1857 (Disciple paper), Cincinnati, from which the above is taken, affirms that such cases are not unusual.MIRP 91.3

G. W. Henry, in giving a history of the Third M. E. Church, Syracuse, in his book on “Shouting,” says:MIRP 91.4

“Bro. Timothy Stearns, a prominent member, whose piety we never heard doubted, had a malignant spider cancer on his jaw—so called by eminent physicians. He refused any application whatever. He carried it to the Lord, and in a few weeks it disappeared.”MIRP 92.1

Again he says:MIRP 92.2

“At the last Bergen camp-meeting, as we awoke in the morning our throat seemed skinned down to the vitals. It was Friday morning. This was our day of fasting, and always a day of peculiar solemnity. The Devil said we had preached our last sermon, our throat was destroyed. O what a mountain of gloom rested upon our soul! We took our guide (G. W. Finley was blind) and went into the woods and laid our case before the Lord. We were directed to Bro. B. F. Robert’s tent, in which there were some of the Third-Church brethren, who possessed the healing faith. When we arrived they were at prayer. We knelt down in front of the tent and wept like a child. We could scarcely speak above a whisper. About this time the brethren had learned our case, and in a moment our throat was healed, and we could sing, shout, or pray, as the Spirit moved.MIRP 92.3

Mr. Bramwell’s biographer writes:MIRP 92.4

“I was once attacked by a violent pleuritic fever, when all around me despaired of my life. Many of our kind friends visited me in my affliction; and almost unceasing supplication was offered up to God for my recovery. But all prayers appeared to be without effect till Mr Bramwell came home out of the circuit. He immediately came to see me, and on entering the room, was quite astonished at beholding such a woful change in my appearance. He thought I had all the marks of a speedy dissolution upon me; and giving me a look of the greatest sympathy, he raised my head a little higher by means of a pillow. He then went to the foot of the bed, and began to pray to God in my behalf. His faith seemed to gain ground as he proceeded. He continued his intercessions with the greatest fervency; and, in agony, asked in submission to the will of God, that I might be restored. The Lord heard and answered his servant’s prayers; for I immediately experienced such a sweet tranquility and melting of soul, as I am unable to describe. From that moment my recovery commenced, and I was soon strong enough to resume my ordinary occupations.”—Memoir, pp. 163, 164.MIRP 92.5

The author of “Bank of Faith” relates the following:MIRP 93.1

“At last I asked the doctor if he thought there was any hope of her life. He answered, No; he would not flatter me; she would surely die. This distressed me beyond measure; and, as he told me he could do no more for her, I left my lodging-room, went to my garden, in the evening, and in my little tool-house wrestled hard with God in prayer for the life of the child......I went home satisfied that God had heard me, and in three days the child was as well as she is now, and ate as heartily, only her flesh was not perfectly restored. This effectually convinced me that all things were possible with God.”—Pages 28, 29.MIRP 93.2