REV. J. C. RYLE D.D. 1816–1900AD |
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J. C. Ryle wrote well over two hundred evangelical tracts, of which more than two million were circulated, and many were translated into foreign languages. Throughout his ministry he remained one of the strongest defenders of the evangelical reformed faith within the Church of England. His faithful witness to the Gospel of Christ needs to be heard more than ever today. The following tract is a classic of Gospel Truth that readers came to expect from all his writings. All his tracts are pure gold. Some of them, not published since the 19th century, have come into my possession, and I offer you these inspiring works exactly word for word as they were published by Drummonds Tract Depot, Stirling, Scotland. |
“PEACE! BE STILL!” “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, be 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?”
I
WISH professing Christians in this day studied
the four Gospels more than they do. I know that all Scripture is profitable.
I do not wish 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. 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, His wisdom, His grace, His patience, His
love, His power, are graciously 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 you and I build our souls if we
would be accepted with God? We must build on
the rock,
Christ. From whom must you and I 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 together 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 tract.
You see Jesus there 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 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.
I. Learn, first of all, that
following Christ will not prevent your 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 yet have to go through many an anxiety
and endure many a pain.
Reader,
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
to, 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, rich, or healthy,
and that death 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. But I dare not offer that person worldly prosperity as a part and
parcel of their 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. Reader, is this the
thought of your heart? 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 we 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 evergreen 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. Reader, if you desire
to serve Christ and be saved, I entreat 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. Reader, 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 the waters swell.
But fear not: “He is leading you by the right way, that He may bring you to
a city of habitation” (Psalm cvii. 7).
II. 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. You 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 4th 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! Reader, I ask you to
settle deeply in your mind 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, amidst
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. Reader, 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 the Lord, 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. Reader, if you know
what it is to go to the throne of grace for mercy and pardon, do not forget
that the Mediator by whom you draw 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. 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. Reader, 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 feel ings by experience, and has drunk deep of the bitter
cup, for He was a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. 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. 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 i. 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. 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. 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 malefactor, and as such died on the cross. 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.” 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?” Ah, reader, 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 fear fully 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 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.
III. 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 affliction 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 balance 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 of every real Christian, whether it is not correct and
true? Reader, 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. Abraham was the
father of the faithful. By faith he forsook his country and 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 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.” 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. Reader, have you
faith 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 frame will always last. Say not,
because your feelings are warm and fervent to-day, “To morrow shall be as
to-day, 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. xxxii. 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. 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 counten ance any one
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 un converted,
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 un believer, 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 in firmity.
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 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 is 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. Reader, I beseech you 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 judgment 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. IV. 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 wonder ful 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. Reader, 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. i. 8; John xvii. 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. xxviii. 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. xvii. 14;
Phil. iv. 13.) Let all study the subject, for it deserves to be studied. Study it in His works of creation. “All things were
made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made” (John i.
3). The heavens, and all their glorious hosts of inhabitants,—the earth, and
all 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? Study it in His works of
providence,
and the orderly continuance of all things in the
world. “By Him all things consist” (Col. i. 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. (Psalm cxix. 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? 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 sin ners 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, reader, 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. Study the subject in particular as placed before you
this day. I dare be sure your heart has some times 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 be 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 com mands, 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 water-floods, and is mightier than the waves of the sea. (Psalm
xciii. 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 this
day 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 He,” He says,
“all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew
xi. 28). Reader, I invite you this day 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, by grace,
you seek Him with all your heart and mind.. V. Learn, in the last
place, how tenderly and patiently the Lord
Jesus deals with weak believers. You see this truth brought out in His word 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 re proved 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 fear ful? 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 long-suffering 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 dis ciples
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 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. xvi. 22; Luke xviii. 34; ix. 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 them selves who should be greatest. (Mark ix. 34). Another
day they considered not His miracles, and their hearts were hardened. (Mark
vi. 52). Once two of them wished to call down fire from heaven upon a
village because it did not receive them. (Luke ix. 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 un
belief 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 written. So backward were they in understanding the mean ing 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. xxviii. 10). He gathers them round Him once more. He restores
Peter to his place, and bids him feed His sheep. 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 alway, even unto the end of the world” (Matt. xxviii. 20). Truly this
was a love that passeth know ledge. This is not the manner of man. Let the entire world know that the Lord Christ is
very pitiful, and of tender mercy. He will not break the bruised reed, nor
quench the smoking flax. As a father pitieth his own children, so He pitieth
them that fear Him. As one whom his mother comforteth, so will He comfort
His people. He calls 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
any of them be lost. (Isaiah xl. 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 He 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 him from Christ’s hand. Let all the world know that the Lord Jesus will not
cast away His believing people because of short comings 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 com mitted 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. Verily, the 11th 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 a one, which
might easily have been brought up also, are left alone, and not mentioned at
all. Who is there now among my readers that feels desires
after salvation, but is afraid to become decided, lest by-and-by he should
fall away? Con sider, 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 wilder ness. He will conduct you safe into the promised land. Only
commit yourself to His guidance, and 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 tract that has been converted, and desires to do his Lord’s
will? Take example this day by your Master’s gentleness and longsuffering,
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 hope less. Use every 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, reader, I have only to ask you to make a
practical use of the lessons I have brought before you. You have heard this
day five things. First.
That Christ’s service will not secure you against
troubles. Second.
That Christ is very man as well as God. Third.
That believers may have much weakness and
infirmity. Fourth.
That Christ has all power: and Fifth.
That Christ is full of patience and kind ness
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 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. Reader, 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 death-bed. 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 your self 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. i. 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: be hold, I will pour out My Spirit unto you, I will make known My
words unto you.” (Prov. i. 22, 23). Reader, 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 will probably fall into the hands of some
who love the Lord Jesus, and believe in Him, and yet desire to love Him
better. Reader, 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. Reader, 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 to regard it as a mere set of abstract
propositions and abstruse principles and rules. Look at it as the introduc
tion 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 com munion with Christ as an actual living
Person here on earth. Oh, reader, 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, to-day,
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 1900
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 communion. 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.
Reader, my last
word 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 happier, more holy, and more meet for the inheritance of the
saints in light. |