Peter Walking on the Sea

Peter Walking on the Sea

(No. 3562)

A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, MAY 3, 1917.

DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"And Peter answered Him and said, Lord, if it is You, bid me come unto
You on the water. And He said, Come. And when Peter was come down out
of the ship, he walked on the water. But when he saw the wind
boisterous, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried, saying
Lord, save me!" Matthew 14:28-31.

A FEW reflections will be sure to cross the mind of any thoughtful
reader of this narrative.

I. THE MIXED CHARACTER OF THE BELIEVER'S EXPERIENCE is here very
palpably suggested to us. Peter was undoubtedly a bold believer in
Jesus Christ. He addresses his Master devoutly, calling Him, "Lord"–a
name of reverence, the use of which evidences the change that had been
worked in his character, and the obedient spirit it had produced. But
the misgivings implied in that, "if–"if it is You"–savors rather of
unbelief! And yet we find this hesitancy immediately followed by an
expression of such strong confidence that we marvel at the request he
uttered, "Bidme come to You on the water."Then cheered by the Lord's
prompt answer, "Come," we find him showing his courage by descending
from the vessel, setting foot on the sea and actually walking on the
water! Thus did he participate in the wonder which Christ worked and
share in the miracle of subduing the elements. His valor, however, soon
evaporates. For, "when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was
afraid." The faith that buoyed him up gave place to a fear that bowed
him down. He who was walking on the liquid wave, one instant, is
sinking beneath the surge the next! The gallant cry, "Bid me come to
You on the water," is quickly exchanged for the grievous wail, "Lord,
save me!" So great his pluck, so dire his panic! And is this a common
experience? Are all God's people thus subject to changes–alternating
between calm trust and cowardly fear? Can they be neither one thing or
the other–neither altogether believing or totally unbelieving? We
think it is even so. We will not say how much frailty of the creature
is mixed up with fealty to Christ in the best of men, nor how far the
Grace of God may protect us from the guilt of double-dealing in the
conduct of our lives. But we do mournfully confess that in our own
experience, the good and the evil contend for the mastery and,
sometimes, it seems but the turning of a hair which shall vanquish!
Fully assured, though, we are that the new life which has been
implanted in us will ultimately gain the victory, but not less fully
conscious are we that disasters and defeats are constantly occurring on
our path to triumph.

Our trophies are never won without troubles. He that knows anything, it
seems to me, of what it is to live by faith, will find throughout his
earthly career a continual conflict. He may never fall so low as to
doubt his interest in Christ, yet he may sometimes wet his couch with
tears and wonder if God has forgotten to be gracious. He may be enabled
to hold on his way for years without a slur on his character, yet will
he often have to engage in such terrible struggles against inbred
sin–and to endure such sore pressure from troubles without–that he is
compelled to cry out, "O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me
from the body of this death?" One day you may be on Tabor's summit
witnessing your Master's Transfiguration, and another day you may be in
the Valley of Humiliation, groaning in spirit, diminished and brought
low through oppression, affliction and sorrow! One day you may be as
strong as a giant and all things seem possible to you–and another day
you may be as weak as a baby and weep for the joys that are fled! You
may one day "surname yourself by the name of Israel" and another day
call yourself, "the worm Jacob," fearing lest you should be trodden
down by the common ills of life and utterly crushed! Our way to Heaven
is uphill and downhill. Our life is made of checkered materials–it is
not all of one fabric. Sometimes full of hope, we bound forward with
elastic step–soon the sun ceases to shine, the big raindrops fall, the
vapors rise and we sit down with folded arms and fixed eyes, wearing a
sad, leaden cast! As in our experience, so in our nature, good and evil
meet, but cannot blend–they areat constant variance. I mention this
well-known fact because it may serve to comfort some of the younger
sort who but of late have begun to go on pilgrimage. They fancied that
since they were born-again, and enlisted in Christ's army, they would
never afterward have to fight with sin within–though, perhaps, they
might be tempted–their soul would never give any consent to it. They
boasted when they put on the harness, as though they had taken it off.
They sowed today and they expected to reap their harvest tomorrow! They
had scarcely got loose from the shore, yet they expected to soon reach
the port. When the vessel is a little buffeted and heaved to and fro by
contrary winds, they cannot understand it! Beloved, it is so with all
of us! Those saints of God who appear to you to be favored with
perpetual sunshine could tell you quite another tale. Some whom God
highly honors in public, He often deeply humbles in private. He has a
way of taking His children behind the door and making them see some of
the abominations within them, while at the same time He is giving them
to see the beauties of Christ and enabling them to feed on Him. Do not
think that yours is an extreme case because your spiritual life is one
of much contest with sin. So far from being extreme, I believe it is
but a specimen of the way in which the Lord deals with all His beloved
ones.

There I leave that first observation. Peter is at one moment confident,
another instant he is dismayed. At one moment he is treading the waves
like a miracle worker, and the next instant he is sinking like an
ordinary being! And so it is with us–sometimes aloft, and soon crying
out of the depths, "Lord, save me!"

And for our second reflection, we observe that–

II. FAITH LOVES VENTURESOME SERVICE.

Peter, when full of faith, said to his Master, "Lord, if it is You, bid
me come to You upon the water." Faith seems to have a secret instinct
revealing her military and royal character. In the old wars of Troy we
read of one who, being told by a prophet that the war would not be to
his honor, sought to escape from the Greek ranks and hid himself among
the daughters of the king. But he was discovered by Ulysses, who sent a
peddler, or one disguised as such, to sell various wares–and while the
maidens at the gate came to buy the various trinkets in which they
delighted, there was placed in the basket a trumpet, or a sword, and
the young hero, disguised as he was, yet let out his taste and chose
the warlike implement. It was his nature to do so–and he was
discovered by the choice! Now, amidst ten thousand allurements, faith
is quite certain to choose that which appertains to boldness and to
venturesomeness. John is full of love, he stays in the vessel. But
Peter abounds in faith and he must be doing some high action congruous
to the nature of faith and, therefore, he says, "Lord, if it is You,
bid me come unto You on the water." That is the kind of thing for faith
to do. Anybody can walk on the land, but faith is a water-walker!She
can do, and act, and work where others fail. Remember it is not said in
Scripture that faith will pluck up mustards seeds, or that it will
remove molehills. These little things are not the sphere for faith, but
it is written, "You shall say unto this mountain, Be you moved from
here; or this sycamore tree, Be plucked up by the roots." Faith loves
to deal in great things, in marvelous adventures, in projects beyond
human power! We are not to come to God and ask Him to do for us what we
can do for ourselves. There is no room for the exercise of faith where
reason and human strength will suffice. Faith is a vessel expressly
built for the deep seas. She is not a coaster, to keep close to the
shore–she pushes out where she can neither see the shore nor fathom
the depth–for she has a compass on board, and she looks up to the
stars which God has fixed for her guidance! She has, too, a blessed
Pilot, so she feels herself secure and all at home in the wild waste of
waters, with no human eyes to gaze upon her, and no human hands to
help.

"If it is You," said Peter, "let me come to You on the water." If you
have faith in God and that faith is in active exercise, I am persuaded
you will feel an instinct within you prompting you to dare something
more than others have ventured to attempt, eager to honor Jesus Christ
more than anyone else would think possible, who had little faith or no
faith at all! What a blessed instinct it is which impels some of our
Brothers, as it frequently has done, to leave their native country and
go out to preach the Gospel in regions beyond the sea! Not building
upon another man's foundation, but, like the bold Apostle, seeking to
extend the bounds of Immanuel's Kingdom. How blessed it is when some
Brother or Sister finds it in their heart to consecrate more of their
substance than is ordinary to the Lord's work, not grudging what they
can spare, but glorying over what they can sacrifice! Yes, and blessed
it is when faith kindles to furnace heat and stimulates one to
undertake a work for which he, alone, would be incompetent. God
preserve such a man! How I rejoice at every mention of our brother
Muller at Bristol! What lessons of trust in God's promise and His
Providence has he taught to Christians and Christian Churches! How
graciously has Christ made him to walk on the water! How securelyhas he
sped his course these many years as safe on the flowing current of
subscriptions as if he were proceeding on the solid bases of a rich
endowment! How wonderfully his orphanage has been supported! He walks
on waves in very truth! This sole dependence upon the eternal
Providence of a faithful God is indispensable to us. I trust we are not
entire strangers to it in our measure and degree. It is no novelty to
us to put our foot down on what we thought to be a cloud, and find that
God had placed a rock there, to walk right on in the dark, and see the
midnight turn to noonday–to rest on the invisible and prove it to be
more substantial than the visible–to depend upon the naked promise of
the Covenant-Keeping God and reap greater riches than all the treasures
that could come from relying on an arm of flesh! Faith then, is a
venturesome thing and if any of you have not yet been nerved with
courage because you believed, I pray that your faith may grow till you
feel compelled to attempt more than of your own unaided strength you
can possibly do!

Brothers and Sisters, undertake something for Christ. Is there a
Brother here who ought to preach, but is too timid? I hope his faith
will overcome his diffidence. Is there a Sister here who ought to take
a class in the school, but she is shy and hesitant? I hope her faith in
the Savior will get fresh impetus from her love to souls. "Such trust
have we through Christ to Godward." Oh, that you may all be urged by
strong convictions to attempt something in His service! And may you be
taught by the Holy Spirit to set about it wisely! And may you be
enabled by that sufficiency which is of God to do it effectually!
Though you may often have stumbled, in plain paths, you shall be able
to walk on the water in safety when and where Jesus bids you! I say
this advisedly, for, venturesome as Peter's faith was, he would not
make a move without first having the Master's permission. "If it is
You, bid me." We must not fondly imagine that we can do whatever we
choose, but we may fairly expect that whenever God allots us a work, He
will give us adequate Grace to accomplish it. Peter walking on the sea
without Divine Permission would be a presumption to attempt and an
impossibility to perform! But Peter, with Christ's assurance, might
have walked across the Atlantic, itself, if his faith had not failed!

So it is with you. If your Lord has called you to a work, rely upon Him
for the power to achieve it–He will not forsake you! But if it is
merely your own whim or caprice which has thrust you into a position
for which you are not qualified, you have no right to reckon upon the
Divine Aid to speed your false steps! Blessed is he who goes to his
Father and asks His counsel, for he shall always find that where God
gives us guidance, He will give us Grace!

But–

III. FAITH REALLY DOES WORK WONDERS.

This is our third observation. Peter came down from the vessel. I think
I see him bounding over the bulwarks. How strange he must have felt
when that water in which he had been so often swimming became as solid
marble under his feet! How elated he must have felt–a man with his
temperament would naturally feel–when he began to walk and found the
water like a sea of glass beneath his tread! It was a marvelous thing
to do. Others have made their way through the sea, but Peter walked
over it. The laws of gravitation were suspended for his support!
Picture the scene. What Jesus was doing, Peter was doing. Faith made
Peter to be like his Lord. There were two walking, the one by His own
Infinite Power, the other by the power imparted to him–the power of
faith!

Remember that faith will make any of us like Christ. "He that believes
on Me, the works that I do shall he do also," said the Master, "and
greater works than these shall he do, because I go unto my Father." It
does often seem impossible in certain conditions to act in a
Christ-like spirit, but faith can make you walk the waves of the sea!
Your Lord was patient in poverty–faith can make you walk that wave and
be patient and contented, too! Christ was loving and gentle under the
most fearful and multiplied provocations–faith can give you that same
gentleness of spirit and lowliness of mind–you can walk those billows,
too! Our Lord, in the midst of prosperity, refused worldly honor. When
they sought to make Him a king, He hid Himself from the temptation. And
you in the high places of the earth, tempted by wealth, with flattery
poured into your ears, may still walk, as Jesus did, safely through it
all if you have but faith in God, faith in the blessed Spirit, faith in
Him who is always with you, even to the end of the world! There is
nothing Christ did, except the great Atoning work, which His people
shall not do in and through Him, by the exercise of their faith! What a
blessing it would be if God's people really believed the power that
lies in them by the energy of faith! So many of us give up, succumb,
lie down as if we were weak–but we are not weak. When we are weak in
ourselves, then are we strong! This is no empty fiction, but a certain
fact–we are strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Let not,
therefore, the Believer think that he can only do what another man can
do. He is of a nobler race! God dwells in him! Oh, what a glorious
thought that is–God dwelling in a man! That wonderful word,
"enthusiasm"–so often turned to ridicule and used as a term of
reproach–what does it mean but God in a man? Enthusiasm! When God is
thoroughly in a man and the man knows it, then he is not cowed or put
back by difficulties, or daunted by sneers! He is not so mindful of his
feebleness as to excuse himself from effort, or to imagine that he can
do nothing. In the confidence of that power which inspires him, he
marches boldly on, fully assured that victory awaits him–and for that
victory he rests not till he realizes it–it is given to his
confidence! So does God requite and reward the man that puts his trust
in Him. May we always have enough of faith to be doing wonders. Some
poor souls have enough faith to carry them to Heaven. Others have just
enough faith to maintain decent character. But he shall be honored of
God who has such implicit, heroic and enduring faith that he can dare
jeopardize, do exploits and bear sufferings because his Lord is with
him! We must attempt some things which look like impossibilities, or we
shall never keep up the espritof the true soldiers of the Cross. We
pass on to make a fourth remark.

IV. INTO THE SOUL OF THE MOST FAITHFUL AND CONFIDENT DISCIPLE, UNBELIEF
GENERALLY

FINDS SOME DOOR OR OTHER FOR ENTRANCE.

Peter had looked at the waves and his faith was just strong enough to
believe that Jesus could make him walk on the sea, but he had never
taken the winds into his calculation! Had he thought of the winds as
well as the waves, and reposed upon Jesus for the whole, I have no
doubt his faith would have held out and not have so fearfully given
way. The first two or three steps on the water had exhilarated him and
made him feel what wonders he was doing–but there came a rough blast
which threatened to overthrow him–and as he could scarcely stand
against so rude a wind upon so slippery a floor he began to be afraid.
Something occurred which he had not foreseen and in strange surprise,
he yielded to blank unbelief! Thus it often comes to pass with us. We
arrange our faith according to our estimate of the perils and
perplexities that lie in our path. We even plan the events that will
probably happens to us and we feel sure that we can trust God in all
these circumstances–but a fresh contingency arises upon which we had
never reckoned, a wind which we had not thought of–and forthwith our
courage fails, we do not trust God for that! I wish we had a faith
which was free from arithmetic and totally independent of weights and
measures–a faith that trusted God for ten thousand things as readily
as for one–that would rest upon God for a century as securely as for a
day! I wish we had a faith that would just cast itself, sink or swim,
into the sea–believing in God that whether the winds were blowing or
not, whether the waves were raging or not–everything is easy to
Omnipotence, and nothing can compromise the faithfulness of the Most
High. But, alas, my Brothers and Sisters, we are always being startled
by some new prodigies! Perhaps we are too fond of calculating changes,
predicting probabilities and forestalling the future. Hence comes our
chagrin when we are frustrated or disappointed. If we walked on,
leaving everything to His Divine Decree and watchful Providence,
confiding in our heavenly Father's wisdom and His love, we need never
be amazed or bewildered–our faith would be equal to any rumor or riot
that might arise!

Just as unbelief introduced into Peter's mind a terror of the wind, and
upset him at once, so the devil has ways of finding some point or other
upon which to overthrow our faith. I have sometimes been full of joy in
the Lord and I have usually noticed that depression of spirits almost
invariably follows–and that from some circumstance which at other
times would not have caused me the slightest disturbance! Satan knows
how to use any trivial thing to spoil the luster of our faith and the
placidity of our joy. With what subtlety he will assail you! A
difficulty you have been laboring under may have been removed by God's
Providence. You may be very grateful and ready to set up your stone of
thankfulness, and to praise the name of the Lord. Soon a new difficulty
will be suggested. While you are blessing God for all His mercy, all of
a sudden some trouble like a squall occurs! It may not be worth
mentioning, but it will assume such strange proportions that it covers
up all your joys and leaves you a prey to unbelief! How watchful we
ought to be against unbelief, for of all sins, this is one of the most
heinous! Like Jeroboam, of whom we read that he sinned and made Israel
to sin, unbelief is itself a sin and becomes the parent of all sorts of
sins. We sometimes talk to one another about our doubts and fears as if
they were infirmities to be pitied rather than crimes to be loathed,
but we seldom talk to each other about the delinquencies of our
conduct, such as angry tempers, hasty words, harsh judgments,
unbecoming levity, or lax conversation. No, we would be ashamed to
confess transgressions that are far too common among people professing
godliness. Why is it that we do not blush to acknowledge our doubts
that mistrust God and our fears that stagger at His promise? Are they
not quite as much sins against the commandment of the Lord and the duty
of every faithful Christian as drunkenness, or dishonesty, or any
offense against the moral law? To doubt the faithfulness of God is
atrocious! Who can estimate theamount of virus there is in the sin of
unbelief? It would stab at the very heart of God! It would pluck the
crown from the head of Jehovah! Let us hate unbelief with all our
hearts and watch against it. Remember that it can attack us from any
quarter of the compass unless we keep perpetual guard. Those of us who
have been boldest in the Lord's battle, and foremost in His service,
may yet be overtaken with this sin, succumb to its debasing influence
and be left in the rear, shorn of honor and covered with shame! And now
for a fifth reflection–

V. IF AT ANY TIME FAITH SEEMS TO BE OVERTURNED BY AN INVASION OF
UNBELIEF, IT THEN

SHOWS ITS TRUE CONQUERING CHARACTER.

Peter was soon made to doubt, but with what ease did he begin to pray!
I like to think of the spontaneous character of Peter's prayer. He
begins to sink and he prays in a minute! He no sooner finds himself
going down, than he says, "Lord, save me!" This shows what a living
thing his faith was. It might not always walk the water, but it could
always pray, and that is the better thing of the two! Your faith may
not always make you rejoice, but if your faith can always make you
trust the precious blood, that is all you need! Your faith may not
always take you to the top of the mountain, and bathe your forehead in
the sunlight of God's Countenance, but if your faith enables you to
keep on the straight road that leads to eternal life, you may bless God
for that! To walk on water is not an essential characteristic of faith,
but to pray when you begin to sink, is! To do great wonders for Christ
is not indispensable to your soul's being saved, but to have the
faculty of always turning the heart to Him in time of distress is one
of the sure marks of Divine Grace in the soul. I am sure Peter did not
intone his prayer on that occasion. I am quite certain that he did not
believe in having to search for music to which to set that prayer. It
just came up from his heart. And are not these the very best prayers,
that well up from the soul, freely flowing forth from the lips because
the heart compels the tongue to speak? The heart, knowing its own
bitterness, reveals it unto the Most High. Beloved, are you prayerful
in such a respect as that? I think it is a blessed plan to set apart
time for prayer, and so to take your half-hour, or your hour, as you
may be able, for secret devotion, but better than the set time for
prayer is the spiritof prayer. While a regular habit of prayer is a
great help to piety, the spiritof prayer promotes habitual, continual
communion with God!

I once asked, down at Wootton-Under-Edge, where Mr. Rowland Hill's
study was, and they told me that was a question which they could not
answer. "Why, how is that? Did he never study his sermons? Oh, yes, he
was always studying his sermons–it did not matter whether he was in
the parlor or in the paddock, attending to his correspondence, or
looking after the cows, going out into the village to buy goods, or
walking in the garden amidst flowers and fruits–he was always studying
his sermons, so that he was one of the readiest of preachers! That is
one of the best habits that a man can cultivate. So they said it was
with his prayers. He was not a man who shut himself up for prayer, but
he seemed to be always praying wherever he went! He would be often
heard saying true prayers when others fancied his mind must be full of
other thoughts. The story that is related of him at Mr. George
Clayton's chapel in York Street, you will, most of you, remember, for I
have repeated it several times. After he had been preaching, he
lingered about the building so long that the pew-opener went to him and
told him that it was time to close the place. The old gentleman was
found tottering round the pews singing to himself–

"And when I shall die,

'Receive me,' I'll cry!

For Jesus has loved me, I cannot tell why.

But this thing I find,

We two are so joined,

That He won't be in Glory and leave me behind."

This peculiar practice of conversing, as it were, with oneself–of
repeating texts of Scripture or verses of hymns, the propensity to pray
with the heart and lift up the thoughts continually to God–well, it
seems to me an indication of spi-ritual-mindedness above any common
level! "Know," says David, "that the Lord has set apart him that is
godly for Himself." But how should the man thus set apart behave
himself? The Psalmist will tell you, "Commune with your own heart upon
your bed and be still." Oh, for a mind always active, never stagnant,
always tranquil! Oh, for the wings of a dove! Take a pigeon. Put it
away in a cage–send it a distance in the country. Keep it there
awhile. Then, on a certain day, let it loose–you will soon know where
its home is, for it mounts up, flies its circuit, takes its bearings,
surveys its course,and then away it pursues its trip through the air
till it reaches the dear old dove-cote! Does your soul make its way to
the ark, and return to its rest with a like sacred instinct? All
through the day you may be taken up with many cares. The shop or the
warehouse, the nursery or the kitchen, may be your cage. There comes a
moment when you are let loose and you get free. Where does your soul
fly? Flies it off like a dove, to its resting place? When it see the
crows on the wing, if anybody asked me what trips they were taking, I
could not tell them. But if they would wait till evening I would
quickly solve the riddle, for then they would be quite sure to be
seeking their nests. Does your heart, in the time of trouble, fly away
to God? Does your spirit in the hour of distress seek the Rock of
Refuge and speed to the Great Deliverer? Then are you like Peter! You
may not always walk on the waves, but you can always say, "Lord, save
me!" Can you say that from your very soul, resting on the Savior's
mighty arm? Then you have the essence of a faith which will lead you
through growth in Grace up to the perfection of Glory!

VI. OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST IS EQUALLY KIND, BOTH TO STRONG FAITH AND TO
LITTLE FAITH.

Strong faith says, "Bid me come to You on the water." Now Christ
sometimes refuses to answer prayer after its own kind. The prayer of
anger, in which James and John entreated that fire might come down from
Heaven to destroy the Samaritans, He rejected. The prayer of ambition,
when the two sons of Zebedee craved a place, one on His right hand and
the other on the left, in His Kingdom, was denied. But the prayer of
faith, though it looked bold and venturesome, our Lord received
graciously and answered speedily! "Bid me come to You on the water."
"Come," said Jesus. Is strong faith represented here by any of you? If
you ask a great thing of God, you shall have it!If you have but faith
in Jesus, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you,
for the desire of the righteous shall be granted. "Delight yourself,
also, in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart."
Have you a great plan of usefulness! Have you an intense anxiety for
soul-winning! Have you a strong yearning for the evangelization of your
district! Believe, fear not to tempt fortune, for all things are
possible to him who believes! The hands of Christ are pledged to faith.
He will honor the trust you repose in Him. If you will but repose in
Him, He cannot, will not deny you. True faith is His own work. If He
has worked the prayer in you, He will surely answer it. Go forth, then,
in this, your might of faith, and the Lord be with you!

But perceive you not how kind He also was to little faith?No sooner
does Peter begin to sink and cry, "Save me," than there is manifest
good will and quick help in the Savior's movement. "Immediately Jesus
stretched forth His hand and caught him." Our Lord did not pause to
parley. He did not upbraid him, or say, "Peter, you have dishonored Me
by your unbelief." He did not accuse him harshly, rebuke him sternly,
or punish him severely, leaving him to go down twice, and pulling him
up the third time thus inflicting in him the pangs of death without its
extreme penalty. Ah, no, the prompt help was ready for the pressing
emergency. The sinking one was made to stand. After that He said, "O
you of little faith, why did you doubt?" Christ gives liberally and
upbraids not–or when He does upbraid, it is always after His large
generosity has abated the grievance. He gives the choice portion and
then chastens us for our profit. He does not make us wait till we are
submerged again and again, but He listens at once to the feeble cry of
His sinking servants, and not till after He has delivered them does He
expostulate with them. Aesop tells a story of a man who saw a boy
drowning, and sat on the shore and lectured him upon the imprudence of
venturing beyond his depth. And there are some people who do the same
with poor sinking souls! They tell them of what they ought to have
done, of what they have not done, and of what they ought now to do,
which they cannot do–but they do not stretch out their hand to help
them. They observe the burden which is too heavy to be borne, but they
lift not a finger to lighten it! Our Lord takes off the burden first,
sets His servant on his feet and then gives him a word of counsel or of
rebuke. Go to Him, then, Little Faith! Go to Him before you retire to
your rest. Tell your Savior of the grief that distracts you, of the woe
that overwhelms you. Confess your sins, acknowledge your inability to
rescue yourself and cast yourself, now, upon the gracious promise of
the loving God! Whether you are strong or weak, my Brother, my Sister,
repair to the same place, for Jesus stands at the gate of mercy's house
willing to receive all those who come to Him!

EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: MATTHEW14:25-27.

25. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking
on the sea. Jesus is sure to come. The night wears on and the darkness
thickens–the fourth watch of the night draws near, but where is He?
Faith says, "He mustcome." Though He should stay away till almost break
of day, He must come. Unbelief asks, "How can He come?" Ah, He will
answer for Himself–He can make His own way. "Jesus went unto them,
walking on the sea." He comes in the teeth of the wind and on the face
of the wave! Never fear that He will fail to reach the storm-tossed
boat–His love will find the way. Whether it is to a single disciple,
or to the Church as a whole, Jesus will appear in His own chosen hour,
and His time is sure to be the most timely!

26. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were
troubled, saying, It is a spirit: and they cried out for fear Yes, the
disciples saw Him–they saw Jesus, their Lord, and derived no comfort
from the sight! Poor human nature's sight is a blind thing compared
with the vision of a spiritual faith. They saw, but knew not what they
saw. What could it be but a phantom? How could a real man walk on those
foaming billows? How could he stand in the teeth of such a hurricane?
They were already at their wits' end and the apparition put an end to
their courage. We seem to hear their shriek of alarm–"they cried out
for fear." We read not that "they were troubled." Before, they were old
sailors, and had no dread of natural forces! But a spirit–ah, that was
too much of a terror! They were at their worst, now, and yet if they
had known it, they were on the verge of their best! It is noteworthy
that the nearer Jesus was to them, the greater was their fear. Lack of
discernment blinds the soul to its richest consolations. Lord, be near,
and let us know You! Let us not have to say with Jacob, "Surely God was
in this place and I knew it not!"

27. But straightway Jesus spoke unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it
is I; be not afraid. He did not keep them in suspense– "Straightway
Jesus spoke unto them." How sweetly sounded that loving and majestic
voice! Above the roar of waves and howling of winds, they heard the
voice of the Lord! This was His old word, also, "Be of good cheer." The
most conclusive reason for courage was His own Presence. "It is I, be
not afraid." If Jesus is near, if the spirit of the storm is, after
all, the Lord of Love, all room for fear is gone! Can Jesus come to us
through the storm? Then we shall weather it and come to Him! He who
rules the tempest is not the devil, not chance, not a malicious
enemy–but Jesus! This should end all fear.