The Tupelo journal., 1903-08-14

u0 was dlEdlQ, anu AO OCSoA w 49,
| What a moment of intense suspense
| that must have been! The terror
| stricken men in the boat as they be-
held their comrade sinking into the
black waters! The cry of despair and
| appeal for help! l wonder If any Of
them ever forgot that experience?
| And while Peter sinks and cries for
help, while the others look on in
mute terror, or Shrek in helpless
fright, Jesus stands calmly and CON-
~passionately looking on. And with
| the first cry and first d~espairing look,
Jesus stretched forth His hand and
caught him." Peter was safe!
Snatched from the death that was
crowding in upon Kim. But the dis
| ciples in the boat were still tossed by
the They were still in peril.
But when they Jesus and Peter)
were come into the ship, the wind
| ceased" With Jesus in the boat they
were safe. What a picture this is for
| needy, sinsick souls to look upon.
THERE are striking lessons here for
/ both the unsaved sinner and the
believing disciple. Primarily this in
cident concerns the latter. The dis
ciples have been associated with their
Lord in the blessed work of feeding
that great multitude of people. The
i've loaves and two fishes under the
miraculous touch of Christ have
proved adequate for the needs of the
five thousand men. besides women and
children. and twelve baskets Of frag-
ments have been gathered after ali
have eaten to the full. AS the evening
draws on Jesus urges His disciples to
leave Him while He dismisses the
multitude and goes up into the noun
tain to pray. Not long after the boat
of the disciples has pushed out into
the lake and been lost to view from
the shore, the tempestuous wind
swoops down upon them and they with
great difficulty keep the prov of their
little craft pointed into the teeth of
the storm. This trying and perilous
experience following SO closely upon
the glorious victories and service of
the previous afternoon is illustrative
of the way the Lord nearly always
deals with His disciples. Fresh test
ing follows victory and success. Lest
the disciple rest in the glory and sat
fsfaction of the work accomplished, in
stead of In the Lord who has wrought
the work; lest he magnify his part in
the work, instead of giving God all the
glory and rejoicing in His power, the
Lord wisely sends the disciple out
upon the sea of difficulty, where he
may discover his utter weakness, his
dire peril, his absolute dependence
upon the Lord to save and help, and
then comes a new revelation of the
blessed Lord. In the moment of
greatest darkness and doubt and peril,
He comes walking above the trial
which has engulfed the struggling
soul. He comes with His "be OF good
cheer; it is 1; be not afraid"
A ND what infinite comfort there is
~ in the picture which Scripture
gives us of the praying Lord on the
mountain top, faithfully and tenderly
watching the disciples struggling
amidst the raging winds and waves.
He Who could still the tempest with
a spoken word! Why did He not bid
the rushing wind to cease and the toss
ing waves to subside into a placid sea
Why did He send them out into such
a storm? All, how often the Christian
asks these questions! All, how he
frets under the discipline of his Lord.
Do l hear those disciples talking
among themselves and charging their
Lord with having deserted them? Dc
l hear them contrasting the glory Of
service of the previous afternoon with
their present trying condition, and be.
ginning to doubt and question the
reality of the former, and to lose faith
and hope in the present time of dark.
ness and peril? If they did they were
no different from many Christians to.
day. We are to-day up on the noun.
tain side in exalted and glorious serv'
ice with u Lord, and tomorrow
brings its storm and difficulty, wher
the Lord seems far away, and we los,
faith and hope. Why has the Lore
sent us away into such stress of trou
BILE? Surely He has forgotten us
Surely He is Indifferent to our condi
ton! And all the time the Lord il
watching us from afar and waiting
, lovingly and longingly until we are in {
. condition where He may come to u.
: riding above the crest of the wave ant
bringing us cheering message ant
safety at His side. And then we fhinl
We will never doubt or be discouraged
; again; but, oh! we learn so slowly
!, Our hearts are so hard they take bu
slowly the imprint of the Divine disci
pline. They are not plastic in Hi
, hands, there is not that patient wait
: ing and abiding faith which keeps tn,
life stayed upon the Christ, though tn,
storm does blow and the Lord seem
far away. He is watching! He viii
come! He is preparing you for fur
Their and better service! The mex
> morning the disciples landed witt
Jesus in the land OF Gennesaret, wher
!, the man possessed with the legion o
+. devils had on a previous occasion
been healed ana the Inhabitants ha,
J driven Christ away. But now IN tn
providence of God the way has bee
prepared for this visit of Christ an,
His disciples, and they do a blesse,
J work there OF healing and saving
And this lake experience of the dis
ciples is but preparation for that serv
! ice. And with you and me it is tn
. como We cross over tho ctormu Gao