T HE K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S
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( 3 ) Wonder and Word — The Advent, vs. 25-27. “W ith God all things are possible.” “The eyes of th e Lord are upon the righteous,” (Psa. 34 :15 ; 1 P et. 3 :1 3 ). Mark says “He saw them tolling.” He knows all; He sees all; He understands all. “We have not an high p riest who cannot be touched w ith th e feeling of our infirm ities.” He comes to them ; th e re He is on th e w ater. We have in the Egyptian hieroglyphic of th e impossible, a m an’s feet walking th e waves. They cannot tak e into ac count th e m iraculous power of an Al m ighty God. Every step of th e Son of God is attended by su p e rn a tu ral signs. He does not come ru sh ing in th e wind. As calm ly as He prays, so He w alks the waves. , “All power is given unto H im .” Waves and events are all und er His feet. Now, know ing th e ir need, He ia p resen t to help. They are affrighted. Seeing w ith doubt-blinded eyes, they th in k H im a spirit. He com forts them . “ I t is I; be not. afraid .” ' W hat cheer in th e hu man voice! A word from th e mother calms the frightened child in the night. His voice comes over the w ater, “Be not afraid : it is ■I;'” It is th e m ighty m ir acle-worker; it is th e ir friend ; it is the One who loves them . He has seen th e ir need and He comes to th e ir relief. Was it no t so when He looked upon poor, afflicted Israel under the heel of the taskm aster? (Ex. 3:7-8.) “And th e Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have h eard th e ir cry by reason of th e ir taskm asters; for I know th e ir sorrows. And I am come down to deliver them ou t of the hand of th e Egyptians.” He will come to our relief, never doubt His w atchful care. We are H is and are dear to Him as th e apple of H is eye. ( 4 ) Walking and Weakness —The Ad venture, vs. 28-31. “All things are possible to him th a t
believeth.” If anyone is to be spokes man for the disciples, it will be Peter. If anyone is to act, it will be he. Peter, th e impetuous! He loves his Lord. He loves adventure. He will try th is thing of w alking on th e w ater, also. Christ humors him. It were b etter to aw ait C h rist’s calls to deeds of devotion. There is g reat danger th a t P eter will w ant to show his g reat faith. “Though all forsake thee, yet will no t I.” If no one else is will ing to v en tu re out, h e will show them how. He sta rts well, b u t he finishes poorly. He gets his hand on th e plow, b u t he looks back. He is in th e race, b u t his eye is off from the goal. He misses th e mark. A sudden squall scat te rs th e spray, his faith drops, and so does he. He is sinking; his pride is gone; his conceit departed. He cries ou t like a sta rtled child, “Lord, save me, or I p erish !” He has forgotton th a t he could swim. He has forgotten his friends in the boat. He feels th e power of th e deep draw ing him down and, like Jonah, “ he cried unto the Lord.” God perm its men to try th e ir streng th th a t He may show them th e ir weakness. We need to lose faith in ourselves, and to gain confidence in God. P eter was almost lost, bu t th e hand of th e Lord reached him. The righteous may be scarcely saved, bu t they will be saved. P ete r may be sifted like wheat, bu t he is saved as by fire. How many times was th a t hand outstretched to help, to save, to im p art blessing, to open eyes and unstop ears. Why didst thou doubt, P eter? If thou had had st faith in such an hour, He m ight have said “G reat-faith P ete r,” bu t now He dubs thee “L ittle-faith .” How often has it been so! One h ap less slip has cost a man a high title. But P eter is not the only member of th e “L ittle-faith F am ily.” The church is full of them , and th e lesson is for us all. “Be not afraid .” Keep your eyes on Him. Let your faith abide in Him. When th e w inds blow and the waves
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