You
will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose
mind is stayed on You,
Because
he trusts in You.
Trust in the LORD forever,
For
in YAHEH, the LORD, is the Rock of Ages.
Isaiah
26:3-4
My
spirit on Thy care,
Blest
Savior, I recline;
Thou
wilt not leave me to despair,
For
Thou art Love divine.
Whate’er
events betide,
Thy
will they all perform;
Safe
in Thy breast my head I hide,
Nor
fear the coming storm.
Let
good or ill befall,
It
must be good for me;
Secure
of having Thee in all,
Of
having all in Thee.
My Spirit on Thy Care
H.F.
Lyte
The
storm which now began to sweep over the barren hills; the winds that rushed
howling down the ravines; the lake before Him buffeted into tempestuous foam;
the little boat which—as the moonlight struggled through the rifted clouds—He
saw tossing beneath Him on the labouring waves, were all too sure an emblem of
the altered aspects of His earthly life.
But there on the desolate hilltop, in that night of storm, He could gain
strength and peace unspeakable; for there He was alone with God. And so over
that figure bowed in lonely prayer upon the hills, and over those toilers upon
the troubled lake, the darkness fell and the great winds blew.
Hour
after hour passed by. It was now
the fourth watch of the night; the ship had traversed but half of its destined
course; it was dark, and the wind was contrary, and the waves boisterous, and
they were distressed with toiling at the oar; above all, there was no one with
them now to calm and save, for Jesus was alone upon the land. Alone upon the land, and they were tossing on the
perilous sea; but all the while He saw and pitied them, and at last, in their
worst extremity, they saw a gleam in the darkness, and an awful figure, and a
fluttering robe, and One drew near them, treading upon the ridges of the sea,
but seemed as if He meant to pass them by. They cried out in terror at the
sight, thinking that it was a ghost that walked upon the waves. But through the
storm and darkness to them—as so often to us, when, amid the darknesses of
life, the ocean seems so great and our little boats so small—there thrilled
that Voice of peace, which said, “It is I: be not afraid.”
That
Voice stilled their terrors, and they were eager to receive Him into the ship;
but Peter’s impetuous love—the strong yearning of him who, in his despairing
self-consciousness, had cried out, “Depart from me!”—now cannot even await His
approach, and he passionately exclaims—
“Lord,
if it be Thou, bid me come unto Thee on the water.”
“Come!”
Over
the vessel’s side into the troubled waves he sprang, and while his eye was
fixed on his Lord, the wind might toss his hair, and the spray might drench his
robes, but all was well; but when, with wavering faith, he glanced from Him to
the furious waves, and to the gulfy blackness underneath, he began to sink, and
in an accent of despair —how unlike his former confidence! —he faintly cried, “Lord,
save me!” Nor did Jesus fail. Instantly, with a smile of pity, He stretched out
His hand, and grasped the hand of His drowning disciple, with the gentle
rebuke, “O thou of little faith, why didst thou doubt?” And so, they climbed
into the boat; and the wind lulled, and amid the ripple of waves upon a moonlit
shore, they were at the haven where they would be; and all—the crew as well as
His disciples—were filled with deeper and deeper amazement, and some of them,
addressing Him by a title which Nathanael alone had applied to Him before, exclaimed,
“Truly Thou art the Son of God.”
Oh,
if we feel, often and often, that the water-floods threaten to drown us, and
the deep to swallow up the tossed vessel of our Faith, may it again and again
be granted us to hear amid the storm, and the darkness, and the voices
prophesying war, those two sweetest of the Saviour’s utterances—
“Fear
not. Only believe.”
“It
is I. Be not afraid.”
F.W. FARRAR
The
Life of Christ
No comments:
Post a Comment