‘And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into
the ship, so that it was now full. And He was in the hinder part of
the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake Him, and say unto
Him, “Master, carest Thou not that we perish?”And He arose,
and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, “Peace, he still.”
And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And He said
unto them, “Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no
faith?" ’ (Mark 4:37—40).
It would be well if professing Christians in modern days studied the
four Gospels more than they do. No doubt all Scripture is profitable. It
is not wise to exalt one part of the Bible at the expense of another. But
I think it would be good for some who are very familiar with the
Epistles, if they knew a little more about Matthew, Mark, Luke and
John.
Now, why do I say this? I say it because I want professing Christians
to know more about Christ. It is well to be acquainted with all the
doctrines and principles of Christianity. It is better to be acquainted
with Christ Himself. It is well to be familiar with faith and grace and
justification and sanctification. They are all matters ‘pertaining to the
King’. But it is far better to be familiar with Jesus Himself, to see the
King’s own face, and to behold His beauty. This is one secret of
eminent holiness. He that would be conformed to Christ’s image, and
become a Christ-like man, must be constantly studying Christ Himself.
Now the Gospels were written to make us acquainted with Christ.
The Holy Ghost has told us the story of His life and death, His sayings
and His doings, four times over. Four different inspired hands have
drawn the picture of the Saviour. His ways, His manners, His feelings,
unfolded to us by four different witnesses. Ought not the sheep to be
familiar with the Shepherd? Ought not the patient to be familiar with
the Physician? Ought not the bride to be familiar with the Bridegroom?
Ought not the sinner to be familiar with the Saviour? Beyond doubt it
ought to be so. The Gospels were Written to make men familiar with
Christ, and therefore I wish men to study the Gospels.
On whom must we build our souls if we would be accepted with
God? We must build on the Rock, Christ. From whom must we draw
that grace of the Spirit which we daily need in order to be fruitful? We
must draw from the Vine, Christ. To whom must we look for sympathy
when earthly friends fail us or die? We must look to our elder Brother,
Christ. By whom must our prayers be presented, if they are to be heard
on high? They must be presented by our Advocate, Christ. With whom
do we hope to spend the thousand years of glory, and the after
eternity? With the King of kings, Christ. Surely we cannot know this
Christ too well! Surely there is not a word, nor a deed, nor a day, nor a
step, nor a thought in the record of His life, which ought not to be
precious to us. We should labour to be familiar with every line that is
written about Jesus.
Come now, and let us study a page in our Master’s history. Let us
consider what we may learn from the verses of Scripture which stand at
the head of this paper. You there see Jesus crossing the lake of Galilee,
in a boat with His disciples. You see a sudden storm arise while He is
asleep. The waves beat into the boat and fill it. Death seems to be close
at hand. The frightened disciples awake their Master and cry for help.
He arises and rebukes the wind and the waves, and at once there is a
calm. He mildly reproves the faithless fears of His companions, and all
is over. Such is the picture. It is one full of deep instruction. Come
now, and let us examine what we are meant to learn.
1 Following Christ will not prevent our having earthly sorrows and troubles
Let us learn, first of all, that following Christ will not prevent our
having earthly sorrows and troubles.
Here are the chosen disciples of the Lord Jesus in great anxiety. The
faithful little flock, which believed when priests and scribes and
Pharisees were all alike unbelieving, is allowed by the Shepherd to be
much disquieted. The fear of death breaks in upon them like an armed
man. The deep water seems likely to go over their souls. Peter, James
and John, the pillars of the church about to be planted in the world, are
much distressed.
Perhaps they had not reckoned on all this. Perhaps they had
expected that Christ’s service would at any rate lift them above the
reach of earthly trials. Perhaps they thought that He, who could raise
the dead and heal the sick and feed multitudes with a few loaves and
cast out devils with a word, He would never allow His servants to be
sufferers upon earth. Perhaps they had supposed He would always grant
them smooth journeys, fine weather, an easy course and freedom from
trouble and care.
If the disciples thought so, they were much mistaken. The Lord
Jesus taught them that a man may be one of His chosen servants, and
wt have to go through many an anxiety, and endure many a pain.
It is good to understand this clearly. It is good to understand that
Christ’s service never did secure a man from all the ills that flesh is heir
In, and never will. If you are a believer, you must reckon on having
your share of sickness and pain, of sorrow and tears, of losses and
crosses, of deaths and bereavements, of partings and separations, of
vexations and disappointments, so long as you are in the body. Christ
never undertakes that you shall get to heaven without these. He has
undertaken that all who come to Him shall have all things pertaining to
life and godliness; but He has never undertaken that He will make them
prosperous, or rich, or healthy, and that death and sorrow shall never
come to their family.
I have the privilege of being one of Christ’s ambassadors. In His
name I can offer eternal life to any man, woman or child who is willing
to have it. In His name I do offer pardon, peace, grace, glory, to any
son or daughter of Adam who reads this paper. But I dare not offer that
person worldly prosperity as a part and parcel of the gospel. I dare not
offer him long life, an increased income and freedom from pain. I dare
not promise the man who takes up the cross and follows Christ that in
the following he shall never meet with a storm.
I know well that many do not like these terms. They would prefer
having Christ and good health, Christ and plenty of money, Christ and
no deaths in their family, Christ and no wearing cares, Christ and a
perpetual morning without clouds. But they do not like Christ and the
cross, Christ and tribulation, Christ and the conflict, Christ and the
howling wind, Christ and the storm.
Is this the secret thought of anyone who is reading this paper?
Believe me, if it is, you are very wrong. Listen to me, and I will try to
show you you have yet much to learn.
How should you know who are true Christians, if following Christ
was the way to be free from trouble? How should we discern the wheat
from the chaff, if it were not for the winnowing of trial? How should
we know whether men served Christ for His own sake or from selfish
motives, if His service brought health and wealth with it as a matter of
course? The winds of winter soon show us which of the trees are
ever-green and which are not. The storms of affliction and care are useful
in the same way. They discover whose faith is real and whose is nothing
but profession and form.
How would the great work of sanctification go on in a man if he had
no trial? Trouble is often the only fire which will burn away the dross
that clings to our hearts. Trouble is the pruning-knife which the great
Husbandman employs in order to make us fruitful in good works. The
harvest of the Lord’s field is seldom ripened by sunshine only. It must
go through its days of wind and rain and storm.
If you desire to serve Christ and be saved, I intreat you to take the
Lord on His own terms. Make up your mind to meet with your share of
crosses and sorrows, and then you will not be surprised. For want of
understanding this, many seem to run well for a season, and then turn
back in disgust, and are cast away.
If you profess to be a child of God, leave to the Lord Jesus to
sanctify you in His own way. Rest satisfied that He never makes any
mistakes. Be sure that He does all things well. The winds may howl
around you, and waters swell. But fear not, ‘He is leading you by the
right way, that He may bring you to a city of habitation’ (Ps. 107:7).
2 The Lord Jesus Christ is truly and really Man
Let us learn, in the second place, that the Lord Jesus Christ is truly
and really Man.
There are words used in this little history which, like many other
passages in the Gospels, bring out this truth in a very striking way. We
are told that when the waves began to break on the ship, Jesus was in
the hinder part, ‘asleep on a pillow’. He was weary, and who can
wonder at it, after reading the account given in the fourth chapter of
Mark? After labouring all day to do good to souls, after preaching in
the open air to vast multitudes, Jesus was fatigued. Surely if the sleep
of the labouring man is sweet, much more sweet must have been the
sleep of our blessed Lord!
Let us settle deeply in our minds this great truth, that Jesus Christ
was verily and indeed Man. He was equal to the Father in all things, and
the eternal God. But He was also Man, and took part of flesh and blood,
and was made like unto us in all things, sin only excepted. He had a
body like our own. Like us, He was born of a woman. Like us, He grew
and increased in stature. Like us, He was often hungry and thirsty, and
faint and weary. Like us, He ate and drank, rested and slept. Like us,
He sorrowed and wept and felt. It is all very wonderful, but so it is. He
that made the heavens went to and fro as a poor weary Man on earth!
He that ruled over principalities and powers in heavenly places, took on
Him a frail body like our own. He that might have dwelt for ever in the
glory which He had with the Father, amid the praises of legions of
angels, came down to earth and dwelt as a Man among sinful men.
Surely this fact alone is an amazing miracle of condescension, grace,
pity and love.
I find a deep mine of comfort in this thought, that Jesus is perfect
Man no less than perfect God. He in whom I am told by Scripture to
trust is not only a great High Priest, but a feeling High Priest. He is not
only a powerful Saviour, but a sympathizing Saviour. He is not only the
Son of God, mighty to save, but the Son of man, able to feel.
Who does not know that sympathy is one of the sweetest things left
to us in this sinful world? It is one of the bright seasons in our dark
journey here below, when we can find a person who enters into our
troubles, and goes along with us in our anxieties, who can weep when
we weep, and rejoice when we rejoice.
Sympathy is far better than money, and far rarer too. Thousands can
give who know not what it is to feel. Sympathy has the greatest power
to draw us and to open our hearts. Proper and correct counsel often
falls dead and useless on a heavy heart. Cold advice often makes us shut
up, shrink and withdraw into ourselves, when tendered in the day of
trouble. But genuine sympathy in such a day will call out all our better
feelings, if we have any, and obtain an influence over us when nothing
else can. Give me the friend who, though poor in gold and silver, has
always ready a sympathizing heart.
Our God knows all this well. He knows the very secrets of man’s
heart. He knows the ways by which that heart is most easily
approached, and the springs by which that heart is most readily moved.
He has wisely provided that the Saviour of the gospel should be feeling
as well as mighty. He has given us one who has not only a strong hand
to pluck us as brands from the burning, but a sympathizing heart on
which the labouring and heavy laden may find rest.
I see a marvellous proof of love and wisdom in the union of two
natures in Christ’s person. It was marvellous love in our Saviour to
condescend to go through weakness and humiliation for our sakes,
ungodly rebels as we are. It was marvellous wisdom to fit Himself in
this way to be the very Friend of friends, who could not only save man,
but meet him on his own ground. I want one able to perform all things
needful to redeem my soul. This Jesus can do, for He is the eternal Son
of God. I want one able to understand my weakness and infirmities,
and to deal gently with my soul, while tied to a body of death. This
again Jesus can do, for He was the Son of man, and had flesh and blood
like my own. Had my Saviour been God only, I might perhaps have
trusted Him, but I never could have come near to Him without fear.
Had my Saviour been Man only, I might have loved Him, but I never
could have felt sure that He was able to take away my sins. But, blessed
be God, my Saviour is God as well as Man, and Man as well as God —
God, and so able to deliver me; Man, and so able to feel with me.
Almighty power and deepest sympathy are met together in one glorious
Person, Jesus Christ, my Lord. Surely a believer in Christ has a strong
consolation. He may well trust, and not be afraid.
If any reader of this paper knows what it is to go to the throne of
grace for mercy and pardon, let him never forget that the Mediator by
whom he draws near to God is the Man Christ Jesus.
Your soul’s business is in the hand of a High Priest who can be
touched with the feeling of your infirmities. You have not to do with a
being of so high and glorious a nature, that your mind can in no wise
comprehend Him. You have to do with Jesus, who had a body like your
own, and was a Man upon earth like yourself. He well knows that world
through which you are struggling, for He dwelt in the midst of it
thirty-three years. He well knows ‘the contradiction of sinners’, which so
often discourages you, for He endured it Himself (Heb. 12:3). He well
knows the art and cunning of your spiritual enemy, the devil, for He
wrestled with him in the wilderness. Surely with such an advocate you
may well feel bold.
If you know what it is to apply to the Lord Jesus for spiritual
comfort in earthly troubles, you should well remember the days of His
flesh, and His human nature.
You are applying to One who knows your feelings by experience,
and has drunk deep of the bitter cup, for He was ‘ a Man of sorrows,
and acquainted with, grief’ (Isa. 53:3). Jesus knows the heart of a man,
the bodily pains of a man, the difficulties of a man, for he was a Man
Himself, and had flesh and blood upon earth. He sat wearied by the
well at Sychar. He wept over the grave of Lazarus at Bethany. He sweat
great drops of blood at Gethsemane. He groaned with anguish at
Calvary.
He is no stranger to your sensations. He is acquainted with
everything that belongs to human nature, sin only excepted.
a. Are you poor and needy? So also was Jesus. The foxes had holes
and the birds of the air had nests, but the Son of man had not where
to lay His head. He dwelt in a despised city. Men used to say, ‘Can any
good thing come out of Nazareth?’ (John 1:46.) He was esteemed a
carpenter’s son. He preached in a borrowed boat, rode into Jerusalem
on a borrowed ass and was buried in a borrowed tomb.
b. Are you alone in the world, and neglected by those who ought to
love you? So also was Jesus. He came unto His own, and they received
Him not. He came to be a Messiah to the lost sheep of the house of
Israel, and they rejected Him. The princes of this world would not
acknowledge Him. The few that followed Him were publicans and
fishermen. And even these at the last forsook Him, and were scattered every
man to his own place.
c. Are you misunderstood, misrepresented, slandered and
persecuted? So also was Jesus. He was called a glutton and a wine-bibber, a
friend of publicans, a Samaritan, a madman and a devil. His character
was belied. False charges were laid against Him. An unjust sentence was
passed upon Him and, though innocent, He was condemned as a
male-factor, and as such died on the cross.
d. Does Satan tempt you, and offer horrid suggestions to your
mind? So also did he tempt Jesus. He bade Him to distrust God’s
fatherly providence: ‘Command these stones to be made bread.’ He
proposed to Him to tempt God by exposing Himself to unnecessary
danger: ‘Cast Thyself down’ from the pinnacle of the temple. He
suggested to Him to obtain the kingdoms of the world for His own, by
one little act of submission to himself: ‘All these things will I give Thee,
if Thou wilt fall down and worship me’ (Matt. 4:1—10).
e. Do you ever feel great agony and conflict of mind? Do you feel in
darkness, as if God had left you? So did Jesus. Who can tell the extent
of the sufferings of mind He went through in the garden? Who can
measure the depth of His soul’s pain when He cried, ‘My God, My God,
why hast Thou forsaken Me?’ (Matt. 27:46.)
It is impossible to conceive a Saviour more suited to the wants of
man's heart than our Lord Jesus Christ, suited not only by His power,
but by His sympathy, suited not only by His divinity, but by His
humanity. Labour, I beseech you, to get firmly impressed on your mind
that Christ, the refuge of souls, is Man as well as God. Honour Him as
King of kings, and Lord of lords. But while you do this, never forget
that He had a body, and was a Man. Grasp this truth, and never let it
go. The unhappy Socinian errs fearfully when he says that Christ was
only Man, and not God. But let not the rebound from that error make
you forget that while Christ was very God He was also very Man.
Listen not for a moment to the wretched argument of the Roman
Catholic, when he tells you that the Virgin Mary and the saints are
more sympathizing than Christ. Answer him that such an argument
springs from ignorance of the Scriptures and of Christ’s true nature.
Answer him that you have not so learned Christ, as to regard Him only
as an austere Judge, and a being to be feared. Answer him that the four
Gospels have taught you to regard Him as the most loving and
sympathizing of friends, as well as the mightiest and most powerful of
saviours. Answer him, that you want no comfort from saints and angels,
from the Virgin Mary or from Gabriel, so long as you can repose your
weary soul on the Man Christ Jesus.
3 There may be much weakness and in?rmity, even in a true Christian
Let us learn, in the third place, that there may be much weakness
and infirmity, even in a true Christian.
You have a striking proof of this in the conduct of the disciples here
recorded when the waves broke over the ship. They awoke Jesus in
haste. They said to Him, in fear and anxiety, ‘Master, carest Thou not
that we perish?’
There was impatience. They might have waited till their Lord
thought fit to arise from His sleep.
There was unbelief. They forgot that they were in the keeping of
One who had all power in His hand: ‘We perish.’
There was distrust. They spoke as if they doubted their Lord’s care
and thoughtfulness for their safety and well-being: ‘Carest Thou not
that we perish?’
Poor faithless men! What business had they to be afraid? They had
seen proof upon proof that all must be well so long as the Bridegroom
was with them. They had witnessed repeated examples of His love and
kindness towards them, sufficient to convince them that He would
never let them come to real harm. But all was forgotten in the present
danger. Sense of immediate peril often makes men have a bad memory.
Fear is often unable to reason from past experience. They heard
the winds. They saw the waves. They felt the cold waters beating over
them. They fancied death was close at hand. They could wait no longer
in suspense. ‘Carest Thou not,’ said they, ‘that we perish?’
But, after all, let us understand this is only a picture of what is;
constantly going on among believers in every age. There are too many
disciples, I suspect, at this very day, like those who are here described.
Many of God’s children get on very well so long as they have no
trials. They follow Christ very tolerably in the time of fair weather.
They fancy they are trusting Him entirely. They flatter themselves they
have cast every care on Him. They obtain the reputation of being very
good Christians.
But suddenly some unlooked for trial assails them. Their property
makes itself wings, and flies away. Their own health fails. Death comes
up into their house. Tribulation or persecution ariseth, because of the
Word. And where now is their faith? Where is the strong confidence
they thought they had? Where is their peace, their hope, their
resignation? Alas, they are sought for and not found. They are weighed in the
balances and found wanting. Fear and doubt and distress and anxiety
break in upon them like a flood, and they seem at their wits’ end. I
know that this is a sad description. I only put it to the conscience or
every real Christian, whether it is not correct and true.
The plain truth is that there is no literal and absolute perfection
among true Christians, so long as they are in the body. The best and
brightest of God’s saints is but a poor mixed being. Converted, renewed
and sanctified though he be, he is still compassed with infirmity. There
is not a just man upon earth, that always doeth good, and sinneth not.
In many things we offend all. A man may have true saving faith, and
yet not have it always close at hand and ready to be used (Eccles. 7:20;
James 3:2).
Abraham was the father of the faithful. By faith he forsook his
country and his kindred, and went out according to the command of
God to a land he had never seen. By faith he was content to dwell in
the land as a stranger, believing that God would give it to him for an
inheritance. And yet this very Abraham was so far overcome by
unbelief, that he allowed Sarah to be called his sister, and not his wife,
through the fear of man. Here was great infirmity. Yet there have been
few greater saints than Abraham.
David was a man after God’s own heart. He had faith to go out to
battle with the giant Goliath when he was but a youth. He publicly
declared his belief that the Lord, who delivered him from the paw of
the lion and bear, would deliver him from this Philistine. He had faith
to believe God’s promise that he should one day be King of Israel,
though he was owned by a few followers, though Saul pursued him like
A partridge on the mountains, and there often seemed but a step
between him and death. And yet this very David at one time was so far
overtaken by fear and unbelief, that he said, ‘I shall one day perish by
the hand of Saul’ (1 Sam. 27:1). He forgot the many wonderful
deliverances he had experienced at God’s hand. He only thought of his present
danger, and took refuge among the ungodly Philistines. Surely here was
great infirmity. Yet there have been few stronger believers than David.
I know it is easy for a man to reply, ‘All this is very true, but it does
not excuse the fears of the disciples. They had Jesus actually with them.
They ought not to have been afraid. I should never have been so
cowardly and faithless as they were!’ I tell the man who argues in that
way that he knows little of his own heart. I tell him no one knows the
length and breadth of his own infirmities if he has not been tempted.
No one can say how much weakness might appear in himself if he was
placed in circumstances to call it forth.
Does any reader of this paper think that he believes in Christ? Do
you feel such love and confidence in Him that you cannot
understand being greatly moved by any event that could happen? It is all
well. I am glad to hear it. But has this faith been tried? Has this
confidence been put to the test? If not, take heed of condemning these
disciples hastily. Be not high-minded, but fear. Think not because your
heart is in a lively frame now, that such a frame will always last. Say
not, because your feelings are warm and fervent today, ‘Tomorrow shall
be as today, and much more abundant.’ Say not, because your heart is
lifted up just now with a strong sense of Christ’s mercy, ‘I shall never
forget Him as long as I live.’ Oh, learn to abate something of this flattering
estimate of yourself. You do not know yourself thoroughly. There are
more things in your inward man than you are at present aware of. The
Lord may leave you as He did Hezekiah, to show you all that is in your
heart (2 Chron. 32:31.). Blessed is he that is ‘clothed with humility’.
‘Happy is he that feareth always.’ ‘Let him that thinketh he standeth take
heed lest he fall’ (1 Peter 5:5; Prov. 28:14; 1 Cor. 10:12).
Why do I dwell on this? Do I want to apologize for the corruptions
of professing Christians, and excuse their sins? God forbid! Do I want
to lower the standard of sanctification, and countenance anyone in
being a lazy, idle soldier of Christ? God forbid! Do I want to wipe out
the broad line of distinction between the converted and the
unconverted, and to wink at inconsistencies? Once more I say, God forbid! I
hold strongly that there is a mighty difference between the true
Christian and the false, between the believer and the unbeliever,
between the children of God and the children of the world. I hold
strongly that this difference is not merely one of faith, but of life; not
only one of profession, but of practice. I hold strongly that the ways of
the believer should be as distinct from those of the unbeliever as bitter
from sweet, light from darkness, heat from cold.
But I do want young Christians to understand what they must
expect to find in themselves. I want to prevent their being stumbled
and puzzled by the discovery of their own weakness and infirmity. I
want them to see that they may have true faith and grace, in spite of all
the devil’s whispers to the contrary, though they feel within many
doubts and fears. I want them to observe that Peter and James and
John and their brethren were true disciples, and yet not so spiritual but
that they could be afraid. I do not tell them to make the unbelief of the
disciples an excuse for themselves. But I do tell them that it shows
plainly that, so long as they are in the body, they must not expect faith
to be above the reach of fear.
Above all, I want all Christians to understand what they must expect
in other believers. You must not hastily conclude that a man has no
grace merely because you see in him some corruption. There are spots
on the face of the sun, and yet the sun shines brightly and enlightens
the whole world. There is quartz and dross mixed up with many a lump
of gold that comes from Australia, and yet who thinks the gold on that
account worth nothing at all? There are flaws in some of the finest
diamonds in the world, and yet they do not prevent their being rated at
a priceless value. Away with this morbid squeamishness, which makes
many ready to excommunicate a man if he only has a few faults! Let us
be more quick to see grace, and more slow to see imperfections! Let us
know that, if we cannot allow there is grace where there is corruption,
we shall find no grace in the world. We are yet in the body. The devil is
not dead. We are not yet like the angels. Heaven has not yet begun. The
leprosy is not out of the walls of the house, however much we may
scrape them, and never will be till the house is taken down. Our bodies
are indeed the temple of the Holy Ghost, but not a perfect temple,
until they are raised or changed. Grace is indeed a treasure, but a
treasure in earthen vessels. It is possible for a man to forsake all for
Christ’s sake, and yet to be overtaken occasionally with doubts and
fears.
I beseech every reader of this paper to remember this. It is a lesson
worth attention. The apostles believed in Christ, loved Christ and gave
up all to follow Christ. And yet you see in this storm the apostles were
afraid. Learn to be charitable in your judgement of them. Learn to be
moderate in your expectations from your own heart. Contend to the
death for the truth, that no man is a true Christian who is not
converted and is not a holy man. But allow that a man may be converted,
have a new heart and be a holy man, and yet be liable to infirmity,
doubts and fears.
4 The power of the Lord Jesus Christ
Let us learn, in the fourth place, the power of the Lord Jesus Christ.
You have a striking example of His power in the history upon which
I am now dwelling. The waves were breaking into the ship where Jesus
was. The terrified disciples awoke Him and cried for help. ‘He arose and
rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, “Peace, be still." And the
wind ceased, and there was a great calm.’ This was a wonderful miracle.
No one could do this but One who was almighty.
Make the winds cease with a word! Who does not know that it is a
common saying, in order to describe an impossibility, ‘You might as
well speak to the wind!’ Yet Jesus rebukes the wind, and at once it
ceases. This was power.
Calm the waves with a voice! What reader of history does not know
that a mighty King of England tried in vain to stop the tide rising on
the shore? Yet here is one who says to raging waves in a storm, ‘Peace,
be still,’ and at once there was a calm. Here was power.
It is good for all men to have clear views of the Lord Jesus Christ’s
power. Let the sinner know that the merciful Saviour, to whom he is
urged to flee, and in whom he is invited to trust, is nothing less than the
Almighty, and has power over all flesh to give eternal life (Rev. 1:8;
John 17:2). Let the anxious inquirer understand that if he will only
venture on Jesus, and take up the cross, he ventures on One who has all
power in heaven and earth (Matt. 28:18). Let the believer remember as
he journeys through the wilderness, that his Mediator and Advocate and
Physician and Shepherd and Redeemer is Lord of lords and King of
kings, and that through Him all things may be done (Rev. 17:14; Phil.
4:13). Let all study the subject, for it deserves to be studied.
a. Study it in His works of creation. ‘All things were made by Him,
and without Him was not any thing made that was made’ (John 1:3).
The heavens and all their glorious host of inhabitants, the earth and all
that it contains, the sea and all that is in it — all creation, from the sun
on high to the least worm below, was the work of Christ. He spake and
they came into being. He commanded and they began to exist. That
very Jesus, who was born of a poor woman at Bethlehem, and lived in
a carpenter’s house at Nazareth, had been the Former of all things. Was
not this power?
b. Study it in His works of providence, and the orderly continuance
of all things in the world. ‘By Him all things consist’ (Col. 1:17). Sun,
moon and stars roll round in a perfect system. Spring, summer, autumn
and winter follow one another in regular order. They continue to this
day and fail not, according to the ordinance of Him who died on
Calvary (Ps. 119:91). The kingdoms of this world rise and increase,
and decline and pass away. The rulers of the earth plan and scheme and
make laws and change laws and war and pull down one and raise up
another. But they little think that they rule only by the will of Jesus,
and that nothing happens without the permission of the Lamb of God.
They do not know that they and their subjects are all as a drop of water
in the hand of the crucified One, and that He increaseth the nations and
diminisheth the nations, just according to His mind. Is not this power?
c. Study the subject not least in the miracles worked by our Lord
Jesus Christ during the three years of His ministry upon earth. Learn
from the mighty works which He did, that the things which are
impossible with man are possible with Christ. Regard every one of His
miracles as an emblem and figure of spiritual things. See in it a lovely
picture of what He is able to do for your soul. He that could raise the
dead with a word can just as easily raise man from the death of sin. He
that could give sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf and speech to the
dumb can also make sinners to see the kingdom of God, hear the joyful
sound of the gospel, and speak forth the praise of redeeming love. He
that could heal leprosy with a touch can heal any disease of heart. He
that could cast out devils can bid every besetting sin yield to His grace.
Oh, begin to read Christ’s miracles in this light! Wicked and bad and
corrupt as you may feel, take comfort in the thought that you are not
beyond Christ’s power to heal. Remember that in Christ there is not
only a fulness of mercy, but a fulness of power.
d. Study the subject in particular as placed before you this day. I
dare be sure your heart has sometimes been tossed to and fro like the
waves in a storm. You have found it agitated like the waters of the
troubled sea when it cannot rest. Come and hear this day that there is
one: who can give you rest. Jesus can say to your heart, whatever may
he its ailment, ‘Peace, be still!’
What though your conscience within be lashed by the recollection of
countless transgressions, and torn by every gust of temptation? What
though the remembrance of past hideous profligacy be grievous unto
you, and the burden intolerable? What though your heart seems full of
evil, and sin appears to drag you whither it will like a slave? What
though the devil rides to and fro over your soul like a conqueror, and
tells you it is vain to struggle against him, there is no hope for you?
I tell you there is One who can give even you pardon and peace. My
Lord and Master Jesus Christ can rebuke the devil’s raging, can calm
even your soul’s misery, and say even to you. ‘Peace, be still!’ He can
scatter that cloud of guilt which now weighs you down. He can bid despair
depart. He can drive fear away. He can remove the spirit of
bondage, and fill you with the spirit of adoption. Satan may hold your
soul like a strong man armed, but Jesus is stronger than he, and when
He commands, the prisoners must go free. Oh, if any troubled reader
wants a calm within, let him go this day to Jesus Christ, and all shall
yet be well!
But what if your heart be right with God, and yet you are pressed
down with a load of earthly trouble? What if the fear of poverty is
tossing you to and fro, and seems likely to overwhelm you? What if
pain of body be racking you to distraction day after day? What if you
are suddenly laid aside from active usefulness and compelled by
infirmity to sit still and do nothing? What if death has come into your
home, and taken away your Rachel or Joseph or Benjamin and left you
alone, crushed to the ground with sorrow? What if all this has
happened? Still there is comfort in Christ. He can speak peace to
wounded hearts as easily as calm troubled seas. He can rebuke
rebellious wills as powerfully as raging winds. He can make storms of
sorrow abate, and silence tumultuous passions, as surely as He stopped
the Galilean storm. He can say to the heaviest anxiety, ‘Peace, be still!’
the floods of care and tribulation may be mighty, but Jesus sits upon
the waterfloods, and is mightier than the waves of the sea (Ps. 93:4).
the winds of trouble may howl fiercely round you, but Jesus holds
them in His hand, and can stay them when He lists. Oh, if any reader
of this paper is broken-hearted and care-worn and sorrowful, let him go
to Jesus Christ, and cry to Him and he shall be refreshed. ‘Come unto
Me,’ He says, ‘all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you
rest’ (Matt. 11:28).
I invite all who profess to call‘ themselves Christians to take large
views of Christ’s power. Doubt‘ anything else if you will, but never
doubt Christ‘s power. Whether you do not secretly love sin, may be
doubtful. Whether you are not privately clinging to the world, may be
doubtful. Whether the pride of your nature is not rising against the idea
of being saved as a poor sinner by grace, may be doubtful. But one
thing is not doubtful and that is, that Christ is ‘able to save to the
uttermost’, and will save you, if you will let Him (Heb. 7:25).
5. How tenderly and patiently the Lord Jesus deals with weak believers
Let us learn, in the last place, how tenderly and patiently the Lord
Jesus deals with weak believers.
We see this truth brought out in His words to His disciples, when the
wind ceased and there was a calm. He might well have rebuked them
sharply. He might well have reminded them of all the great things He
had done for them, and reproved them for their cowardice and
mistrust, but there is nothing of anger in the Lord’s words. He simply
asks two questions: ‘Why are ye so fearful?’ ‘How is it that ye have no
faith?’
The whole of our Lord's conduct towards His disciples on earth
deserves close consideration. It throws a beautiful light on the
compassion and longsuffering that there is in Him. No master surely
ever had scholars so slow to learn their lessons as Jesus had in the
apostles. No scholars surely ever had so patient and forbearing a teacher
as the apostles had in Christ. Gather up all the evidence on this subject
that lies scattered through the Gospels, and see the truth of what I say.
At no time of our Lord’s ministry did the disciples seem to
comprehend fully the object of His coming into the world. The humiliation,
the atonement, the crucifixion, were hidden things to them. The
plainest words and clearest warnings from their Master of what was
going to befall Him seemed to have had no effect on their minds. They
understood not. They perceived not. It was hid from their eyes. Once
Peter even tried to dissuade our Lord from suffering: ‘Be it far from
Thee, Lord,’ he said, ‘this shall not be unto Thee’ (Matt. 16:22; Luke
18:34; 9:45).
Frequently you will see things in their spirit and demeanour which
are not at all to be commended. One day we are told they disputed
among themselves who should be greatest (Mark 9:34). Another day
they considered not His miracles, and their hearts were hardened (Mark
6:52). Once two of them wished to call down fire from heaven upon a
village, because it did not receive them (Luke 9:54). In the garden of
Gethsemane the three best of them slept when they should have
watched and prayed. In the hour of His betrayal they all forsook Him
and fled and, worst of all, Peter, the most forward of the twelve, denied
his Master three times with an oath.
Even after the resurrection, you see the same unbelief and hardness
of heart cling to them; though they saw their Lord with their eyes, and
touched Him with their hands, even then some doubted. So weak were
they in faith! So slow of heart were they to ‘believe all that the
prophets had spoken’ (Luke 24:25). So backward were they in
understanding the meaning of our Lord's words and actions and life and
death.
But what do you see in our Lord's behaviour towards these disciples
all through His ministry? You see nothing but unchanging pity,
compassion, kindness, gentleness, patience, longsuffering and love. He does
not cast them off for their stupidity. He does not reject them for their
unbelief. He does not dismiss them for ever for cowardice. He teaches
them as they are able to bear. He leads them on step by step, as a
nurse does an infant when it first begins to walk. He sends them kind
messages as soon as He is risen from the dead. ‘Go,’ He said to the
women, ‘Go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall
they see Me’ (Matt. 28:10). He gathers them round Himself once more.
lle restores Peter to his place, and bids him ‘feed His sheep’ (John
21:17). He condescends to sojourn with them forty days before He
finally ascends. He commissions them to go forth as His messengers,
and preach the gospel to the Gentiles. He blesses them in parting, and
encourages them with that gracious promise; ‘I am with you always,
even unto the end of the world’ (Matt. 28:20). Truly this was a love
that passeth knowledge. This is not the manner of man.
Let all the world know that the Lord Christ is very pitiful, and of
lender mercy. He will not break the bruised reed, nor quench the
smoking flax. As a father pitieth his children, so He pitieth them that
fear Him. As one whom his mother comforteth, so will He comfort
His people (James 5:11; Matt. 12:20; Ps. 103:13; Isa. 66:13). He cares
for the lambs of His flock as well as for the old sheep. He cares for the
sick and feeble ones of His fold as well as for the strong. It is written
that He will carry them in His bosom, rather than let one of them be
lost (Isa. 40:11). He cares for the least member of His body, as well as
for the greatest. He cares for the babes of His family as well as the
grown-up men. He cares for the tenderest little plants in His garden as
well as for the cedar of Lebanon. All are in His book of life, and all are
under His charge. All are given to Him in an everlasting covenant, and
llc has undertaken, in spite of all weaknesses, to bring every one safe
home. Only let a sinner lay hold on Christ by faith, and then, however
feeble, Christ’s word is pledged to him: ‘I will never leave thee nor
forsake thee.‘ He may correct him occasionally in love. He may gently
reprove him at times. But He will never, never give him up. The devil
shall never pluck h;m from Christ's hand.
Let all the world know that the Lord Jesus will not cast away His
believing people because of shortcomings and infirmities. The husband
does not put away his wife because he finds failings in her. The mother
does not forsake her infant because it is weak, feeble and ignorant. And
the Lord Christ does not cast off poor sinners who have committed
their souls into His hands because He sees in them blemishes and
imperfections. Oh, no! It is His glory to pass over the faults of His people,
and heal their backslidings, to make much of their weak graces, and to
pardon their many faults. The eleventh of Hebrews is a wonderful
chapter. It is marvellous to observe how the Holy Ghost speaks of the
worthies whose names are recorded in that chapter. The faith of the
Lord’s people is there brought forward, and had in remembrance. But
the faults of many an one, which might easily have been brought up
also, are left alone, and not mentioned at all.
Who is there now among the readers of this paper that feels desires
after salvation, but is afraid to become decided, lest by and by he
should fall away? Consider, I beseech you, the tenderness and patience
of the Lord Jesus, and be afraid no more. Fear not to take up the cross,
and come out boldly from the world. That same Lord and Saviour who
bore with the disciples is ready and willing to bear with you. If you
stumble, He will raise you. If you err, He will gently bring you back.
If you faint, He will revive you. He will not lead you out of Egypt, and
then suffer you to perish in the wilderness. He will conduct you safe
into the promised land. Only commit yourself to His guidance and
then, my soul for yours, He shall carry you safe home. Only hear
Christ’s voice, and follow Him, and you shall never perish.
Who is there among the readers of this paper that has been
converted, and desires to do his Lord‘s will? Take example, this day, by
your Master‘s gentleness and long-suffering, and learn to be tender-hearted
and kind to others. Deal gently with young beginners. Do not
expect them to know everything and understand everything all at once.
Take them by the hand. Lead them on and encourage them. Believe all
things, and hope all things, rather than make that heart sad which God
would not have made sad. Deal gently with backsliders. Do not turn
your back on them as if their case was hopeless. Use very lawful means
to restore them to their former place. Consider yourself, and your often
infirmities, and do as you would be done by. Alas, there is a painful
absence of the Master’s mind among many of His disciples. There are
few churches, I fear, in the present day, which would have received
Peter into communion again for many a long year, after denying his
Lord. There are few believers ready to do the work of Barnabas, willing
to take young converts by the hand, and encourage them at their first
beginnings. Verily we want an outpouring of the Spirit upon believers
almost as much as upon the world.
And now, I have only to ask my readers to make a practical use of
the lessons I have brought before them. You have heard this day five
things.
1. That Christ's service will not secure you against troubles. The
holiest saints are liable to them.
2. That Christ is very Man as well as God.
3. That believers may have much weakness and infirmity, and yet be
true believers.
4. That Christ has all power, and
5. That Christ is full of patience and kindness towards His people.
Remember these five lessons, and you will do well.
Bear with me a few moments, while I say a few words to impress the
things you have been reading more deeply on your heart.
1. This paper will very likely be read by some who know nothing of
Christ’s service by experience, or of Christ Himself.
There are only too many who take no interest whatever in the things
about which I have been writing. Their treasure is all below. They are
wholly taken up with the things of the world. They care nothing about
the believer's conflict and struggles and infirmities and doubts and
fears.
They care little whether Christ is Man or God. They care little
whether He did miracles or not. It is all a matter of words and names
and forms about which they do not trouble themselves. They are
without God in the world.
If perchance you are such a man as this, I can only warn you
solemnly, that your present course cannot last. You will not live for
ever. There must be an end. Grey hairs, age, sickness, infirmities, death — all,
all are before you, and must be met one day. What will you do
when that day comes?
Remember my words this day. You will find no comfort when sick
and dying, unless Jesus Christ is your Friend. You will discover, to your
sorrow and confusion, that however much men may talk and boast,
they cannot do without Christ when they come to their deathbed. You
may send for ministers, and get them to read prayers, and give you the
sacrament. You may go through every form and ceremony of
Christianity. But if you persist in living a careless and worldly life, and
despising Christ in the morning of your days, you must not be surprised
if Christ leaves you to yourself in your latter end. Alas, these are solemn
words, and are often sadly fulfilled: ‘I will laugh at your calamity; I will
mock when your fear cometh’! (Prov. 1:26.)
Come then, this day, and be advised by one who loves your soul.
Cease to do evil. Learn to do well. Forsake the foolish, and go in the
path of understanding. Cast away that pride which hangs about your
heart, and seek the Lord Jesus while He may be found. Cast away that
spiritual sloth which is palsying your soul, and resolve to take trouble
about your Bible, your prayers and your Sundays. Break off from a
world which can never really satisfy you, and seek that treasure which
alone is truly incorruptible. Oh, that the Lord’s own words might find a
place in your conscience! ‘How long, ye simple ones, will ye love
simplicity, and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate
knowledge? Turn you at my reproof: behold I will pour out my Spirit
unto you, I will make known my words unto you’ (Prov. 1:22, 23). I
believe the crowning sin of Judas Iscariot was that he would not seek
pardon, and turn again to his Lord. Beware lest that be your sin also.
2. This paper will probably fall into the hands of some who love the
Lord Jesus, and believe in Him, and yet desire to love Him better.
If you are such a man, suffer the word of exhortation, and apply it
to your heart.
For one thing keep before your mind, as an ever-present truth, that
the Lord Jesus is an actual living Person, and deal with Him as such.
I fear the personality of our Lord is sadly lost sight of by many
professors in the present day. Their talk is more about salvation, than
about the Saviour; more about redemption, than about the Redeemer,
more about justification, than about Jesus; more about Christ’s work,
than about Christ’s person. This is a great fault, and one that fully
accounts for the dry and sapless character of the religion of many
professors.
As ever you would grow in grace, and have joy and peace in
believing, beware of falling into this error. Cease to regard the gospel as
a mere collection of dry doctrines. Look at it rather as the revelation of
a mighty living Being in whose sight you are daily to live. Cease In
regard it as a mere set of abstract propositions and abstruse principles
and rules. Look at it as the introduction to a glorious personal Friend.
This is the kind of gospel that the apostles preached. They did not go
about the world telling men of love and mercy and pardon in the
abstract. The leading subject of all their sermons was the loving heart of
an actual living Christ. This is the kind of gospel which is most
calculated to promote sanctification and meetness for glory. Nothing,
surely, is so likely to prepare us for that heaven where Christ’s personal
presence will be all, and that glory where we shall meet Christ face to
face, as to realize communion with Christ, as an actual living Person
here on earth. There is all the difference in the world between an idea
and a person.
For another thing, try to keep before your mind, as an ever-present
truth, that the Lord Jesus is utterly unchanged.
That Saviour, in whom you trust, is the same yesterday, today and
for ever. He knows no variableness, nor shadow of turning. Though high
in heaven at God’s right hand, He is just the same in heart that He was
eighteen hundred years ago on earth. Remember this, and you will do
well.
Follow Him all through His journeys to and fro in Palestine. Mark
how He received all that came to Him and cast out none. Mark how He
had an ear to listen to every tale of sorrow, a hand to help every case of
distress, a heart to feel for all who needed sympathy. And then say to
yourself, ‘This same Jesus is He who is my Lord and Saviour. Place and
time have made no difference in Him. What He was, He is, and will be
for evermore.’
Surely this thought will give life and reality to your daily religion.
Surely this thought will give substance and shape to your expectation
of good things to come. Surely it is matter for joyful reflection, that He
who was thirty-three years upon earth, and whose life we read in the
Gospels, is the very Saviour in whose presence we shall spend eternity.
The last word of this paper shall be the same as the first. I want men
to read the four Gospels more than they do. I want men to become
better acquainted with Christ. I want unconverted men to know Jesus,
that they may have eternal life through Him. I want believers to know
Jesus better, that they may become more happy, more holy and more
meet for the inheritance of the saints in light. He will be the holiest
man who learns to say with St Paul, ‘To me to live is Christ’ (Phil. 1:21).
