Page:Spiritual Reflections for Every Day in the Year - Vol 2.pdf/18

 The palsy is a disease which in a great measure deprives the sufferer of animal motion or feeling; it is a kind of suspension of sensation, preceded by a numbness and sense of weight. This malady, in reference to the mind, denotes a want of spiritual feeling or affection for what is pure and celestial, arising from false doctrines, by which a man halts in his religious purposes, and shakes and trembles in his journey of life. Nothing but the truth, as it is in Jesus, can remove this; for the truths of heaven, when received, like the cleansing waters of the river of life, will purify from secret faults, remove the clogs of a polluting evil, and let in a sacred light to the once darkened mind. But to effect this cure, and thereby obtain this blessing, there must be a faith in Jesus—a confidence in His divinity and power. This will lead us to do what was done in the case of the paralytic in the miracle—to uncover the roof, that we may be brought near to where Jesus is. The roof, or covering to the place where Jesus dispenses the Word of Life, is representatively the literal sense of His Word; for this is the roof or veil which covers the living truth, or, within. When the roof or veil of the letter is but a little removed or opened we come more immediately within the sphere of the Divine presence; we feel the quickening power of the Word acting upon the interiors of the life; a spiritual renovation of soul is quickly experienced, and signs of returning health are soon felt under the Divine influence. As evils are put away, sins are remitted, and as these are remitted, conjunction with the Lord is effected, and consequently restoration to health and peace. O how sweet will be these consoling words of Jesus—"Son! thy sins be forgiven