Delivered on Lord's-day Morning, March 19th, 1871 by
C. H. SPURGEON,
At the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington
"And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed. And it came
to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees
and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of
Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was
present to heal them. And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was
taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay
him before him. And when they could not find by what way they might
bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and
let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before
Jesus. And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are
forgiven thee. And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason,
saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins,
but God alone? But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering
said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts? Whether is easier, to
say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk? But that
ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins
(he said unto the sick of the palsy), I say unto thee, Arise, and take
up thy couch, and go into thine house. And immediately he rose up
before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own
house, glorifying God. And they were all amazed, and they glorified
God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things
to-day."–Luke 5:16-26.
YOU HAVE THIS SAME NARRATIVE in the ninth chapter of Matthew, and in
the second chapter of Mark. What is three times recorded by inspired
pens must be regarded as trebly important, and well worthy of our
earnest consideration. Observe the instructive fact, that our Savior
retired and spent a special time in prayer when he saw unusual crowd
assembling. He withdrew into the wilderness to hold communion with his
Father, and, as a consequence, to come forth clothed with an abundance
of healing and saving power. Not but that in himself as God he always
had that power without measure; but for our sakes he did it, that we
might learn that the power of God will only rest upon us in proportion
as we draw near to God. Neglect of private prayer is the locust which
devours the strength of the church.
When our Lord left his retirement he found the crowd around him
exceeding great, and it was as motley as it was great; for while here
were many sincere believers, there were still more sceptical observers;
some were anxious to receive his healing power, others equally desirous
to find occasion against him. So in all congregations, however the
preacher may be clothed with his Master's spirit and his Master's
might, there will be a mixed gathering; there will come together your
Pharisees and doctors of the law, your sharp critics ready to pick
holes, your cold-blooded cavillers searching for faults; at the same
time, chosen of God and drawn by his grace, there will be present some
devout believers who rejoice in the power that is revealed among men,
and earnest seekers who wish to feel in themselves the healing energy.
It seems to have been a rule with our Savior to supply each hearer with
food after his kind. The Pharisees soon found the matters to cavil at
for which they were looking; the Savior so worded his expressions that
they caught at them eagerly, and charged him with blasphemy; the enmity
of their hearts was thus thrown out upon the surface that the Lord
might have an opportunity of rebuking it; and had they been but
willing, the power of the Lord was present to heal even them.
Meanwhile, those poor tremblers who were praying for healing were not
disappointed; the Good Physician passed not by a single case, and at
the same time his disciples who were looking for opportunities of
praising him anew, were also fully gratified, for with glad eyes they
saw the paralytic restored, and heard sins forgiven.
The case which the narrative brings before us, is that of a man
stricken down with paralysis. This sad disease may have been of long
continuance. There is a paralysis which gradually kills the body,
binding it more and more surely in utter helplessness. The nerve power
is almost destroyed; the power of motion is entirely suspended; and yet
the faculties of the mind remain, though greatly weakened, and some of
them almost extinguished. Some have thought that this man may have been
stricken with what is called the universal paralysis, which very
speedily brings on death, which may account for the extreme haste of
the four bearers to bring him near the Savior. We do not know the
details of his case, but certain is it that he was paralyzed; and, as I
look at the case, and study the three records, I think I perceive with
equal clearness that this paralysis was in some way or other, at least
in the man's own judgment, connected with his sin. He was evidently
penitent, as well as paralytic. His mind was as much oppressed as his
bodily frame. I do not know that he could be altogether called a
believer, but it is most probable that being burdened with a sense of
sin he had a feeble hope in divine mercy, which, like a spark in
smoking flax, had hard work to exist, but yet was truly there. The
affliction for which his friends pitied him was in his body, but he
himself felt a far severer trouble in his soul, and probably it was not
so much with the view of being healed bodily, as in the hope of
spiritual blessing, that he was willing to be subjected to any process
by which he might come under the Savior's eye. I gather that from the
fact that our Savior addressed him in these words, "Be of good cheer;"
intimating that he was desponding, that his spirit sunk within him,
and, therefore, instead of saying to him at once, "Rise, take up thy
bed," our tender-hearted Lord said, "Son, thy sins be forgiven thee."
He gave him at the outset a blessing for which the patient's friends
had not asked, but which the man, though speechless, was seeking for in
the silence of his soul. He was a "son," though an afflicted one: he
was ready to obey the Lord's bidding when power was given, though as
yet he could neither lift hand nor foot. He was longing for the pardon
of sin, yet could not stretch out his hand to lay hold upon the Savior.
I intend to use this narrative for practical purposes; may the Holy
Spirit make it really useful. Our first remark will be this:
I. THERE ARE CASES WHICH WILL NEED THE AID OF A LITTLE BAND OF WORKERS
BEFORE THEY WILL BE FULLY SAVED.
This man must needs be borne of four, so the evangelist, Mark, tells
us; there must be a bearer at each corner of the couch whereon he lay.
The great mass of persons who are brought into the kingdom of Christ
are converted through the general prayers of the church by the means of
her ministry. Probably three out of four of the members of any church
will owe their conversion to the church's regular teaching in some form
or other; her school, her pulpit, her press have been the nets in which
they were taken. Private personal prayer has, of course, in many
instances been mingled with all this; but still the most of cases could
not be so distinctly traced out as to be attributable mainly to
individual prayers or exertions. This is the rule, I think, that the
Lord will have the many brought to himself by the sounding of the great
trumpet of jubilee in the dispensation of the gospel by his ministers.
There are some, again, who are led to Jesus by the individual efforts
of one person; just as Andrew found his own brother Simon, so one
believer by his private communication of the truth to another person
becomes instrumental, by the power of God's Spirit, in his conversion.
One convert will bring another, and that other a third. But this
narrative seems to show that there are cases which will neither be
brought by the general preaching of the word, nor yet by the
instrumentality of one; they require that there should be two, or
three, or four in holy combination, who, with one consent, feeling one
common agony of soul, shall resolve to band themselves together as a
company for this one object, and never to cease from their holy
confederation until this object is gained and their friend is saved.
This man could not be brought to Christ by one, he must have four to
lend their strength for his carrying, or he cannot reach the place of
healing. Let us apply the principle. Yonder is a householder as yet
unsaved: his wife has prayed for him long; her prayers are yet
unanswered. Good wife, God has blessed thee with a son who with thee
rejoices in the fear of God. Hast thou not two Christian daughters
also? O ye four, take each a corner of this sick man's coach and bring
your husband, bring your father, to the Savior. A husband and a wife
are here, both happily brought to Christ; you are praying for your
children; never cease from that supplication: pray on. Perhaps one of
your beloved family is unusually stubborn. Extra help is needed. Well,
to you the Sabbath school teacher will make a third; he will take one
corner of the bed; and happy shall I be if I may join the blessed
quaternion, and make the fourth. Perhaps, when home discipline, the
school's teaching, and the minister's preaching shall go together, the
Lord will look down in love and save your child. Dear brother, you are
thinking of one whom you have long prayed for; you have spoken to him
also, and used all proper means, but as yet without effect. Perhaps you
speak too comfortingly to him: it may be you have not brought that
precise truth to bear upon him which his conscience requires. Seek yet
more help. It may possibly be that a second brother will speak
instructively, where you have only spoken consolingly; perhaps the
instruction may be the means of grace. Yet may it possibly happen that
even instruction will not suffice any more than consolation, and it may
be needful for you to call in a third, who perhaps will speak
impressively with exhortation, and with warning, which may possibly be
the great requisite. You two, already in the field, may balance his
exhortation, which might have been too pungent by itself, and might
have raised prejudice in the person's mind if it had come alone. All
three of you together may prove the fit instruments in the Lord's hand.
Yet when you three have happily combined, it may be the poor paralysed
one is not yet affected savingly; a fourth may be needed, who, with
deeper affection than ail three of you, and perhaps with an experience
more suited to the case than yours, may come in, and working with you,
the result may be secured. The four fellow-helpers together may
accomplish, by the power of the Spirit, what neither one, nor two, nor
three were competent to have done. It may sometimes happen that a man
has heard Paul preach, but his clear doctrine, though it has
enlightened his intellect, has not yet convinced his conscience. He has
heard Apollos, and the glow of the orator's eloquent appeals has warmed
his heart, but not humbled his pride. He has later still listened to
Cephas, whose rough cutting sentences have hewn him down, and convinced
him of sin; but ere he can find joy and peace in believing, he will
require to hear the sweet affectionate words of John. Only when the
fourth shall grasp the bed and give a hearty lift will the paralysed
person he laid in mercy's path. I anxiously desire to see in this
church little bands of men and women bound to each other by zealous
love to souls. I would have you say to one another, "This is a case in
which we feel a common interest: we will pledge each other to pray for
this person; we will unitedly seek his salvation." It may be that one
of our seatholders, after listening to my voice these ten or fifteen
years, is not impressed; it may be that another has left the
Sabbath-school unsaved. Let brotherly quaternions look after these by
God's help. Moved by one impulse, form a square about these persons,
beset them behind and before, and let them not say, "No man careth for
my soul." Meet together in prayer with the definite object before you,
and then seek that object by the most likely ways. I do not know, my
brethren, how much of blessing might come to us through this, but I
feel certain that until we have tried it we cannot pronounce a verdict
upon it; nor can we be quite sure that we are free from all
responsibility to men's souls until we have tested every possible and
probable method for doing them good.
I am afraid that there are not many, even in a large church, who will
become sick-bearers. Many will say the plan is admirable, but they will
leave it to others to carry it out. Remember that the four persons who
join in such a labor of love ought all of them to be filled with
intense affection to the persons whose salvation they seek. They must
be men who will not shrink because of difficulty; who will put forth
their whole strength to shoulder the beloved burden, and will persevere
until they succeed. They need be strong, for the burden is heavy; they
need be resolute, for the work will try their faith; they need be
prayerful, for otherwise they labor in vain; they must be believing, or
they will be utterly useless,–Jesus saw their faith, and therefore
accepted their service; but without faith it is impossible to please
him. Where shall we find quartettes such as these? May the Lord find
them, and may he send them to some of you poor dying sinners who lie
paralysed here to-day.
II. We now pass on to the second observation, that SOME CASES THUS
TAKEN UP WILL NEED MUCH THOUGHT BEFORE THE DESIGN IS ACCOMPLISHED.
The essential means by which a soul is saved is clear enough. The four
bearers had no question with each other as to what was the way to
effect this man's cure: they were unanimous in this–that they must
bring him to Jesus; by some means or other, by hook or by crook, they
must place him in the Savior's way. That was undoubted fact. The
question was, how to do this? There is an old worldly proverb, that
"where there's a will there's a way;" and that proverb, I believe, may
be safely imported into spiritual things, almost without a caution or
grain of salt. "Where there's a will there's a way;" and if men be
called of God's grace to a deep anxiety for any particular soul, there
is a way by which that soul may be brought to Jesus; but that way may
not suggest itself till after much consideration. In some cases the way
to impress the heart may be an out-of-the-way way, an extraordinary
way–a way which ordinarily should not be used and would not be
successful. I dare say the four bearers in the narrative thought early
in the morning, "We will carry this poor paralytic to the Savior,
passing into the house by the ordinary door;" but when they attempted
to do so the multitudes so blocked up the road that they could not even
reach the threshold. "Make way; make way for the sick! Stand aside
there, and give room for a poor paralysed man. For mercy's sake, give a
little space, and let the sick man reach the healing prophet!" In vain
their entreaties and commands. Here and there a few compassionate
persons back out of the crowd, but the many neither can nor will
remove; besides, many of them are engaged upon a similar business, and
have equal reasons for pressing in. "See," cries one of the four, "I
will make way;" and he pushes and elbows himself a little distance into
the passage. "Come on you three!" he cries: "follow up, and fight for
it, inch by inch." But they cannot do it; it is impossible; the poor
patient is ready to die for fear; the bed is tossed about by the throng
like a cockleshell boat on the sea-waves, the patient's alarm
increases, the bearers are distressed, and they are quite glad to get
outside again and consider. It is evidently quite impossible by
ordinary means to get him in. What then? "We cannot burrow under the
ground: can we not go over the heads of the people, and let the man
down from above? Where is the staircase?" Frequently there is an
external staircase to the top of an eastern house; we cannot be sure
that there was one in this case; but if not, the next door house may
have had such a convenience, and so the resolute bearers reached the
top and passed from one roof to another. Where we have no definite
information much may he left to conjecture; but this much is clear: by
some means they elevated their unhappy burden to the housetop, and
provided themselves with the necessary tackle with which to let him
down. The Savior was probably preaching in one of the upper rooms,
unless the house was a poor one without an upper story. Perhaps the
room was open to the courtyard, which was crowded. At any rate, the
Lord Jesus was under cover of a roof, and a substantial roof too. No
one who carefully reads the original will fail to see that there was
real roofing to be broken through. It has been suggested as a
difficulty, that the breaking up of a roof might involve danger to
those below, and would probably make a great smother of dust; and to
avoid this, there have been various suppositions–such as that the
Savior was standing under an awning, and the men rolled up the canvas;
or that our Lord stood under a verandah with a very light covering,
which the men could readily uncover; others have even invented a
trap-door for the occasion. But with all due deference to eminent
travelers, the words of the evangelists cannot be so readily disposed
of. According to our text, the man was let down through "tiling," not
canvas, or any light material; whatever sort of tiling it was, it was
certainly made of burnt clay, for that enters into the essence of the
word. Moreover, according to Mark, after they had uncovered the roof,
which, I suppose, means the removal of the "tiling," they broke it up,
which looks exceedingly like breaking through a ceiling. The Greek word
used by Mark, which is interpreted "breaking up," is a very emphatic
word, and signifies digging through, or scooping up, which evidently
conveys the idea of considerable labor for the removal of material. We
are told that the roofs of Oriental houses are often made of big
stones; that may be true as a general rule, but not in this case, for
the house was covered with tiles; and as to the dust and falling
rubbish, that may or may not be a necessary conclusion; but as clear as
noonday is it that a substantial housetop, which required untiring and
digging through, had a hole made in it, and through the aperture the
man in his bed was let down. Perhaps there was dust, and possibly there
was danger too, but the bearers were prepared to accomplish their
purpose at all risks. They must get the sick man in somehow. There is
no need, however, to suppose either, for no doubt the four men would be
careful not to incommode the Savior or his hearers. The tiles or
plaster might be removed to another part of the flat roof, and the
boards likewise, as they were broken up; and as for the spars, they
might be sufficiently wide to admit the narrow couch of the sick man
without moving any of them from their places. Mr. Hartley, in his
Travels, says: "When I lived at AEgina I used to look up not
infrequently at the roof above my head, and contemplate how easily the
whole transaction of the paralytic might take place. The roof was made
in the following manner:–A layer of reeds, of a large species, was
placed upon the rafters, on these a quantity of heather was strewed; on
the heather earth was deposited, and beaten down into a solid mass.
Now, what difficulty would there be in removing first the earth, next
the heather, and then the reeds? Nor would the difficulty be increased,
if the earth had a pavement of tiling laid upon it. No inconvenience
could result to the persons in the house, from the removal of the tiles
and earth; for the heather and reeds would stop anything that might
otherwise fall down, and would be removed last of all." To let a man
down through the roof was a device most strange and striking, but it
only gives point to the remark which we have now to make here. If we
want to have souls saved, we must not be too squeamish and delicate
about conventionalities, rules, and proprieties, for the kingdom of
heaven suffereth violence. We must make up our minds to this: "Smash or
crash, everything shall go to pieces which stands between the soul and
its God: it matters not what tiles are to be taken off, what plaster is
to be digged up, or what boards are to be torn away, or what labor, or
trouble, or expense we may be at; the soul is too precious for us to
stand upon nice questions. If by any means we may save some, is our
policy. Skin for skin, yea, all that we have is nothing comparable to a
man's soul." When four true hearts are set upon the spiritual good of a
sinner, their holy hunger will break through stone walls or house
roofs.
I have no doubt it was a difficult task to carry the paralysed man
upstairs; the breaking up of the roof, the removing the tiling with all
due care, must have been a laborious task, and have required much
skill, but the work was done, and the end was gained. We must never
stop at difficulties; however stern the task, it must always be more
difficult to us to let a soul perish than to labor in the most
self-denying form for its deliverance.
It was a very singular action which the bearers performed. Who would
have thought of breaking up a roof? Nobody but those who loved much,
and much desired to benefit the sick. O that God would make us attempt
singular things to save souls. May a holy ingenuity be excited in the
church; a sacred inventiveness set at work for winning men's hearts. It
appeared to his generation a singular thing when John Wesley stood on
his father's tombstone and preached at Epworth. Glory be to God that he
had the courage to preach in the open air. It seemed an extraordinary
thing when certain ministers delivered sermons in the theatres; but it
is matter of joy that sinners have been reached by such irregularities
who might have escaped all other means. Let us but feel our hearts full
of zeal for God, and love for souls, and we shall soon be led to adopt
means which others may criticise, but which Jesus Christ will accept.
After all, the method which the four friends followed was one most
suitable to their abilities. They were, I suppose, four strong fellows,
to whom the load was no great weight, and the work of digging was
comparatively easy. The method suited their capacity exactly. And what
did they do when they had let the sick man down? Look at the scene and
admire? I do not read that they said a single word, yet what they did
was enough: abilities for lifting and carrying did the needful work.
Some of you say, "Ah, we cannot be of any use; we wish we could
preach." These men could not preach: they did not need to preach. They
lowered the paralytic, and their work was done. They could not preach,
but they could hold a rope. We want in the Christian church not only
preachers, but soul-winners, who can bear souls on their hearts, and
feel the solemn burden; men who, it may be, cannot talk, but who can
weep; men who cannot break other men's hearts with their language, but
who break their own hearts with their compassion. In the case before us
there was no need to plead "Jesus, thou son of David, look up, for a
man is coming down who needs thee." There was no need to urge that the
patient had been so many years sick. We do not know that the man
himself uttered a word. Helpless and paralysed, he had not the vigor to
become a suppliant. They placed his almost lifeless form before the
Savior's eye, and that was appeal enough; his sad condition was more
eloquent than words. O hearts that love sinners lay their lost estate
before Jesus; bring their cases as they are before the Savior; if your
tongues stammer, your hearts will prevail; if you cannot speak even to
Christ himself, as you would desire, because you have not the gift of
prayer, yet if your strong desires spring from the spirit of prayer you
cannot fail. God help us to make use of such means as are within our
power, and not to sit down idly to regret the powers we do not possess.
Perhaps it would be dangerous for us to possess the abilities we covet;
it is always safe to consecrate those we have.
III. Now we must pass on to an important truth. We may safely gather
from the narrative THAT THE ROOT OF SPIRITUAL PARALYSIS GENERALLY LIES
IN UNPARDONED SIN.
Jesus intended to heal the paralysed man, but he did so by first of all
saying, "Thy sins are forgiven thee." There are some in this house of
prayer this morning who are spiritually paralysed; they have eyes and
they see the gospel; they have ears and they have heard it, and heard
it attentively too; but they are so paralysed that they will tell you,
and honestly tell you, that they cannot lay hold upon the promise of
God; they cannot believe in Jesus to the saving of their souls. If you
urge them to pray, they say: "We try to pray, but it is not acceptable
prayer." If you bid them have confidence, they will tell you, though
not in so many words perhaps, that they are given up to despair. Their
mournful ditty is:–
"I would, but cannot sing;
I would, but cannot pray
For Satan meets me when I try,
And frights my soul away.
I would, but can't repeat,
Though I endeavor oft;
This stony heart can never relent
Till Jesus makes it soft.
I would, but cannot love,
Though wooed by love divine;
No arguments have power to move
A soul so base as mine.
O could I but believe!
Then all would easy be;
I would, but cannot–Lord, relieve:
My help must come from thee."
The bottom of this paralysis is sin upon the conscience, working death
in them. They are sensible of their guilt, but powerless to believe
that the crimson fountain can remove it: they are alive only to sorrow,
despondency, and agony. Sin paralyses them with despair. I grant you
that into this despair there enters largely the element of unbelief,
which is sinful; but I hope there is also in it a measure of sincere
repentance, which bears in it the hope of something better. Our poor,
awakened paralytics sometimes hope that they may be forgiven, but they
cannot believe it; they cannot rejoice; they cannot cast themselves on
Jesus; they are utterly without strength. Now, the bottom of it, I say
again, lies in unpardoned sin, and I earnestly entreat you who love the
Savior to be earnest in seeking the pardon of these paralysed persons.
You tell me that I should be earnest; so I should; and so I desire to
be: but, brethren, their cases appear to be beyond the minister's
sphere of action; the Holy Spirit determines to use other agencies in
their salvation. They have heard the public word; they now need private
consolation and aid, and that from three or four. Lend us your help, ye
earnest brethren; form your parties of four; grasp the couches of these
who wish to be saved, but who feel they cannot believe. The Lord, the
Holy Spirit, make you the means of leading them into forgiveness and
eternal salvation. They have been lying a long time waiting; their sin,
however, still keeps them where they are; their guilt prevents their
laying hold on Christ; there is the point, and it is for such cases
that I earnestly invoke my brethren's aid.
IV. Let us proceed to notice, fourthly, that JESUS CAN REMOVE BOTH THE
SIN AND THE PARALYSIS IN A SINGLE MOMENT. It was the business of the
four bearers to bring the man to Christ; but there their power ended.
It is our part to bring the guilty sinner to the Savior: there our
power ends. Thank God, when we end, Christ begins, and works right
gloriously. Observe that he began by saying: "Thy sins be forgiven
thee." He laid the axe at the root; he did not desire that the man's
sins might be forgiven, or express a good wish in that direction, but
he pronounced an absolution by virtue of that authority with which he
was clothed as the Savior. The poor man's sins there and then ceased to
be, and he was justified in the sight of God. Believest thou this, my
hearer, that Christ did thus for the paralytic man? Then I charge you
believe something more, that if on earth Christ had power to forgive
sins before he had offered an atonement, much more hath he power to do
this, now that he hath poured out his blood, and hath said, "It is
finished," and hath gone into his glory, and is at the right hand of
the Father. He is exalted on high, to give repentance and remission of
sin. Should he send his Spirit into thy soul to reveal himself in thee,
thou wouldst in an instant be entirely absolved. Does blasphemy blacken
thee? Does a long life of infidelity pollute thee? Hast thou been
licentious? Hast thou been abominably wicked? A word can absolve
thee–a word from those dear lips which said, "Father forgive them, for
they know not what they do." I charge thee ask for that absolving word.
No earthly priest can give it thee; but the great High Priest, the Lord
Jesus, can utter it at once. Ye twos and fours who are seeking the
salvation of men, here is encouragement for you. Pray for them now,
while the gospel is being preached in their hearing; pray for them day
and night, and bring the glad tidings constantly before them, for Jesus
is still able "to save to the uttermost them that come unto God by
him."
After our blessed Lord had taken away the root of the evil, you observe
he then took away the paralysis itself. It was gone in a single moment.
Every limb in the man's body was restored to a healthy state; he could
stand, could walk, could lift his bed, both nerve and muscle were
restored to vigor. One moment will suffice, if Jesus speaks, to make
the despairing happy, and the unbelieving full of confidence. What we
cannot do with our reasonings, persuadings, and entreaties, nor even
with the letter of God's promise, Christ can do in a single instant by
his Holy Spirit, and it has been our joy to see it done. This is the
standing miracle of the church, performed by Christ to-day even as
aforetime. Paralysed souls who could neither do nor will, have been
able to do valiantly, and to will with solemn resolution. The Lord has
poured power into the faint, and to them that had no might he hath
increased strength. He can do it still. I say again to loving spirits
who are seeking the good of others, let this encourage you. You may not
have to wait long for the conversions you aim at; it may be ere another
Sabbath ends, the person you pray for may be brought to Jesus; or if
you have to wait a little, the waiting shall well repay you, and
meanwhile remember he has never spoken in secret in the dark places of
the earth; he has not said to the seed of Jacob, "Seek ye my face in
vain."
V. Passing on, and drawing to a conclusion: WHEREVER OUR LORD WORKS THE
DOUBLE MIRACLE IT WILL BE APPARENT. He forgave the man's sin and took
away his disease at the same time. How was this apparent? I have no
doubt the pardon of the man's sin was best known to himself; but
possibly those who saw that gleaming countenance which had been so sad
before, might have noticed that the word of absolution sunk into his
soul as the rain into the thirsty earth. "Thy sins be forgiven thee,"
fell on him as a dew from heaven; he believed the sacred declaration,
and his eyes sparkled. He might almost have felt indifferent whether he
remained paralysed or not, it was such joy to be forgiven, forgiven by
the Lord himself. That was enough, quite enough for him; but it was not
enough for the Savior, and therefore he bade him take up his couch and
walk, for he had given him strength to do so. The man's healing was
proved by his obedience. Openly to all onlookers an active obedience
became indisputable proof of the poor creature's restoration. Notice,
our Lord bade him rise–he rose; he had no power to do so except that
power which comes with divine commands. He rose, for Christ said
"Rise." Then he folded up that miserable palliasse–the Greek word used
shows us that it was a very poor, mean, miserable affair–he rolled it
up as the Savior bade him, he shouldered it, and went to his home. His
first impulse must have been to throw himself down at the Savior's
feet, and say, "Blessed be thy name;" but the Master said, "Go to thy
house;" and I do not find that he stayed to make one grateful
obeisance, but elbowing the crowd, jostling the throng with his load on
his back, he proceeded to his house just as he was told, and that
without deliberation, or questioning. He did his Lord's bidding, and he
did it accurately, in detail, at once, and most cheerfully. Oh! how
cheerfully; none can tell but those in like case restored. So, the true
sign of pardoned sin, and of paralysis removed from the heart, is
obedience. If thou art really saved thou wilt do what Jesus bids thee;
thy request will be, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" and that
once ascertained, thou wilt be sure to do it. You tell me Christ has
forgiven you, and yet you live in rebellion to his commands; how can I
believe you? You say you are a saved man, and yet you wilfully set up
your own will against Christ's will; what evidence have I of what you
say? Have I not, rather, clear evidence that you speak not the truth?
Open, careful, prompt, cheerful obedience to Christ, becomes the test
of the wonderful work which Jesus works in the soul.
VI. Lastly, ALL THIS TENDS TO GLORIFY GOD.
Those four men had been the indirect means of bringing much honor to
God and much glory to Jesus, and they, I doubt not, glorified God in
their very hearts on the housetop. Happy men to have been of so much
service to their bedridden friend! Who else united in glorifying God?
Why, first the man who was restored. Did not every part of his body
glorify God? I think I see him! He sets one foot down to God's glory,
he plants the other to the same note, he walks to God's glory, he
carries his bed to God's glory, he moves his whole body to the glory of
God, he speaks, he shouts, he sings, he leaps to the glory of God. When
a man is saved his whole manhood glorifies God; he becomes instinct
with a new-born life which glows in every part of him, spirit, soul and
body. As an heir of heaven, he brings glory to the Great Father who has
adopted him into the family, he breathes and eats and drinks to God's
praise. When a sinner is brought into the church of God we are all
glad, but we are none of us so joyous and thankful as he; we would all
praise God, but he must praise him the loudest, and he will.
But who next glorified God! The text does not say so, but we feel sure
that his family did, for he went to his own house. We will suppose that
he had a wife. That morning when the four friends came and put him on
the bed, and carried him out, it may be she shook her head in loving
anxiety, and I dare say she said, "I am half afraid to trust him with
you. Poor, poor creature, I dread his encountering the throng. I am
afraid it is madness to hope for success. I wish you Godspeed in it,
but I tremble. Hold well the bed; be sure you do not let him fall. If
you do let him down through the roof hold fast the ropes, be careful
that no accident occurs to my poor bedridden husband; he is bad enough
as he is, do not cause him more misery." But when she saw him coming
home, walking with the bed on his back, can you picture her delight?
How she would begin to sing, and praise and bless the Lord Jehovah
Rophi, who had healed her beloved one. If there were little children
about, playing before the house, how they would shout for glee, "Here's
father; here's father walking again, and come home with the bed on his
back; he is made whole again, as he used to be when we were very
little." What a glad house! They would gather round him, all of them,
wife and children, and friends and neighbors, and they would begin to
sing, "Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his
holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
who forgiveth all thine iniquities: who healeth all thy diseases." How
the man would sing those verses, rejoicing in the forgiveness first,
and the healing next, and wondering how it was that David knew so much
about it, and had put his case into such fit words.
Well, but it did not end there. A wife and family utter but a part of
the glad chorus of praise, though a very melodious part. There are
other adoring hearts who unite in glorifying the healing Lord. The
disciples who were around the Savior, they glorified God, too. They
rejoiced, and said one to another, "We have seen strange things
to-day." The whole Christian church is full of sacred praise when a
sinner is saved; even heaven itself is glad.
But there was glory brought to God, even by the common people who stood
around. They had not yet entered into that sympathy with Christ which
the disciples felt, but they were struck by the sight of this great
wonder, and they, too, could not help saying that God had wrought great
marvels. I pray that onlookers, strangers from the commonwealth of
Israel, when they see the desponding comforted, and lost ones brought
in, may be compelled to bear their witness to the power of divine
grace, and be led themselves to be partakers in it. There is "Glory to
God in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will towards men," when a
paralysed soul is filled with gracious strength.
Now, shall I need to stand here, and entreat for the four to carry poor
souls to Jesus? Shall I need to appeal to my brethren who love their
Lord, and say, band yourselves together to win souls? Your humanity to
the paralytic soul claims it, but your desire to bring glory to God
compels it. If you are indeed what you profess to be, to glorify God
must be the fondest wish and the loftiest ambition of your souls.
Unless ye be traitors to my Lord as well as inhuman to your fellow-men,
you will catch the practical thought which I have striven to bring
before you, and you will seek out some fellow Christians, and say,
"Come, let us pray together, for such an one," and if you know a
desperate case you will make up a sacred quaternion, to resolve upon
its salvation. May the power of the Highest abide upon you, and who
knoweth what glory the Lord may gain through you? Never forget this
strange story of the bed which carried the man, and the man who carried
his bed.
PORTION OF SCRIPTURE READ BEFORE SERMON–Luke 5:1-26.
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