The History of Little-Faith

The History of Little-Faith

(No. 1856)

A SERMON DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, AUGUST 23, 1885,

BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"And immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand, and caught him, and
said unto him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" Matthew
14:31.

THERE is only one word in the original for the phrase, "O you of little
faith." The Lord Jesus virtually addresses Peter by the name of
"Little-Faith" in one word. I do not suppose that Peter had ever before
dreamed of that name as applicable to himself. Possibly he had thought
in his heart that his faith was strong even to assurance. When so
lately he had seen his Master feed the multitudes with a few loaves and
fishes and had helped to gather up 12 baskets of fragments, he felt
that his faith was equal to anything. He who could feed so many with so
little, could do any kind of wonder! And how could Peter–brave, honest
Peter–ever think of doubting his Lord? O Brothers and Sisters, we do
not know ourselves! We fancy that we are rich and increased in goods
and, lo, in the time of trial we discover that we are naked, poor and
miserable!

Those who are strong in faith to their own thinking, may soon be
brought into circumstances where their confidence will be grievously
shaken. All is not gold that glitters, neither is all faith that speaks
bravely. Peter is strong in faith on board the ship, strong in faith
even as he walks the waters–but that unexpected gust of wind which
came howling down from the mountains took him aback, staggered him–and
caused his faith to reel. Then the waters yielded under his feet and,
as he began to sink, he discovered his own weakness and had his
discovery confirmed by the verdict of his Lord who surnamed him,
Little-Faith. Let no man think of himself beyond his own experience.
Experience is the true gauge and he who boasts of an untried faith is
puffed up with vainglory. Stretch not your arm beyond your sleeve lest
it be frostbitten! He who glories in himself, deceives himself.

It is not an easy thing to endure the humiliation which must follow
upon the collapse of untried confidence. Rest assured, Brothers and
Sisters, that between here and Heaven we shall need every ounce of
faith that we have–and that whenever we feel too sure of our own
strength–we are making sure of that which is frailty itself.
Self-confidence is but the froth on the top of the cup–it is not the
pure juice of the vine of the Truth of God. When a man begins to be
secure in himself, he will court temptation. He will rashly venture
upon needless experiments and, in the end, will need to cry in
plaintive accents, "Lord, save me!" Learn, then, on the threshold of
the text, that we are not as strong as we think we are and that, when
we are most brave and daring, we may not be quite so far removed from
fear and trembling as we imagine. Alas, that unbelief should mar even
Peter's faith! Let him who thinks that he can walk the waves take heed
lest he sink beneath them!

In Peter's character there was an amazing mixture of the strong and the
weak–he rose to excellence and sank to littleness. Yet, why should I
speak of this as amazing, for we, ourselves, are made of much the same
materials? In us, also, are mingled the iron and the clay. The best of
men are men at the best! Since the old nature remains, though the new
nature is born in us, there is, in our soul, a conflict between
holiness and sin, faith and unbelief, strength and weakness. We walk
the waters like our Lord and soon we sink like doubting Peter. The
Christian man is full often a mystery to himself and, therefore, it is
no wonder that he is a mystery to other people. Note how Peter
speaks–he cries, "Lord, if it is You"–a speech which, if it is not
censurable, is by no means praiseworthy, after his Lord had said, "It
is I." Hear him again–"Bid me come unto You on the water." Here is
courage almost blazing into rashness! And yet there is a measure of
obedient deference, for he will not attempt to come unless he is bid to
do so. He will risk his life if he has but his Mas-

ter's permission! What diverse qualities meet in the same man! He
proposes a rash venture and yet is prudent enough to ask his Master's
permission.

Look at him walking the waves and admire the strength of his faith!
Could you do this? Then see him sinking because a fierce blast has
blown in his face. Do you marvel at his unbelief? Would you have done
better? He that knows himself knows that doubt dogs the heels of
confidence. The Canaanite of distrust is still in the land and shows
himself, sooner or later, at unexpected turns. Where the fairest
flowers of faith, hope and joy bloom, the deadliest serpents of
mistrust and suspicion may yet be lurking! Abraham, that father of
Believers, yet sinned twice by distrust when he did not acknowledge
Sarah to be his wife.

Peter's mixture of unbelief was not to be justified, nor may it be used
as an excuse for ourselves. We shall speak of it as a matter of fact,
but not as an example, for it was an improper and unreasonable thing.
Peter could not answer the Lord's question, "Why did you doubt?" His
doubting was without ground or reason. If he believes at all, why does
he doubt? The unbelief which makes faith little is to be confessed as a
sin and mourned over as such–it would be wrong to regard it as a mere
infirmity and invent excuses for it! The truth is that the Christian
has no cause for doubting his Lord. The whole course of the Lord's
dealing is calculated to inspire confidence. He has done nothing to
create a suspicion of His love, or truth, or power. If we never doubt
till we have cause for doubting, our life will be rich with faith!

It is concerning little faith and its faults and unreasonableness, that
I have to speak at this time–may God grant that all the Little-Faith
family may be helped to stronger confidence! May the Holy Spirit bless
the word and enable many a Ruth to pick up those handfuls that are
dropped on purpose for the feeble folk who glean in these fields.

I. Our first topic will be LITTLE-FAITH'S HISTORY. It is sketched in
the story of Peter. We are, each one, apt to act over again the part
which Peter played in this narrative.

Little-Faith is a true disciple, though a faulty one. Not the
littleness of the faith, but the faith, itself, is the gift of God.
None but God could make a grain of mustard seed. None but God can give
the least particle of living faith. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,
however feeble it may be, is a fruit of the Spirit of God and a token
of the new birth. I may say of Peter, on this occasion, what the Lord
Jesus said of him at another time, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonas:
for flesh and blood has not revealed it unto you, but My Father which
is in Heaven." Even the faith which can get no further than to touch
the hem of Christ's garment is the work of the Spirit of God! Even that
faith which cries, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief is, as to its
existence, though not as to its infirmity, the creation of the most
High. Therefore let us note that Little-Faith is born in the new
Jerusalem and is an Israelite, indeed–hence it has about it that
immortal life of which our risen Lord has said, "Because I live, you
shall live, also."

Very early in its life, Little-Faith has great longings. See it in
Peter's case. He is on board ship with his brethren while Jesus is
yonder upon the waters. And Peter is so earnest to come to his Lord and
be with Him, that he is ready to plunge into the sea to reach Him! Why
could he not wait as the others did? His immediate duty was in the ship
with his brethren, but his vehement desires carried him above common
toiling and rowing. Strong faith exhibits patience where Little-Faith
is in a hurry! It was well to have longings for Jesus, but it would
have been wiser to have waited while the Lord came walking over the sea
to the ship. The quiet, self-possessed Christian has deep longings for
his Lord, but he has the assured conviction that his Lord will come to
him if he continues faithful to his present duty and, therefore, he
waits upon the Lord.

Little-Faith, like Martha, runs to meet Jesus, but Strong-Faith, like
Mary, sits still in the house. Little-Faith is feverish after immediate
joy. Little-Faith wants to be in Heaven tomorrow. Little-Faith would
convert the world before the sun went down and she grows faint because
her zeal has not fulfilled her wish! Little-Faith must pluck the
promises while they are green–she is not content to wait till they
become ripe and mellow. Yet I love her desires and I would to God that
all men had them! However mistaken pressing desires for spiritual joy
may be, they are things that come not into unrenewed hearts! Those
blessed longings after Christ which some of you feel, which make you
cry, "Oh that I knew where I might find Him!"–you may thank God for
them! Those who have greater faith know that they have found their
Lord. They know that He is as the sun which cannot be hid. They feel
His warmth and rejoice in His light–yet the keen hunger after Christ
which goes with Little-Faith is an admirable thing–and the Lord
Himself has blessed it.

I rejoice in the blossom of the apple tree–it is not so valuable as
the fruit, but it is exceedingly beautiful. And, even so, the eager
longings of a trembling heart after the Lord Jesus are full of
loveliness and fragrance–and are, by no

means, to be despised. It is the nature of Little-Faith that it should
be of a thirsty and eager temperament and hasty to make a dash for
present fellowship with Christ.

Little-Faith was daring. Early in her life she had intense longings and
they grew so that Little-Faith was willing to venture everything to
have her longings fulfilled. "If it is You, bid me come unto You on the
water"–thus does Little-Faith cry to her Lord. These are big words,
but they come out of a trembling heart. Men often venture all the more
because their capital is so small. Souls who are little in faith are
often put upon desperate measures to gain hope. O Beloved, are there
not some of you who would give your eyes and ears–your very lives–to
see Christ and to taste of His love? You have come up to the
Tabernacle, this morning, feeling that if Christ bade you plunge into
the sea to find Him, you would think nothing of it. You feel like
Rutherford when he said he could swim through seven Hells to get at
Christ–and think them nothing if he might but lie at His feet.

Those vehement and burning desires within your spirit for your Lord and
Master are sharp but exceedingly blessed things–you need not repress
them, even though they urge you to venture everything for Christ's
sake! Love's ventures for Christ will end in great profit. What shall
it damage a man if he loses the whole world but gains his Savior? What
loss could there be to a man though had, himself, sank in the sea, so
long as his Lord stood there to stretch forth His hand and snatch him
from destruction? Little-Faith can yet be a true hero when the Lord
says to her, "Come." It is not the sea she fears–her concern is lest
the Lord should frown upon her!

At times Little-Faith accomplishes great wonders. Peter, when his
Master said, "come," went down upon the waters and walked the waves
with ease. The Lord puts forth His strength even when we reveal our own
weakness of faith! Peter took one step and then another upon the
rolling waves, wondering, all the while, how it ever could be. Has not
your little faith done this? I remember the first step of faith I
took–how I wondered at it–and wondered at myself. Have not you, also,
been amazed at yourselves? Do you remember when you believed that God
had saved you, seeing you had faith in Christ? Then, though you knew it
to be true, you could hardly tell whether you should laugh for joy or
cry for fear when you thought upon the possibility of your being saved
in Christ Jesus! You dared to believe that you were adopted into the
family of God and started back as your heart said, "How can He put me
among the children?" Do you remember reading of the Doctrine of
Election in Holy Scripture and, at last, saying, "Surely, I am one of
the chosen! The Lord has loved me with an everlasting love; therefore
with loving kindness has He drawn me"? Was it not a piece of daring to
you?

Walking on the water could not have been more venturesome! You stood
upright when tempted! You held on, though sore beset by the enemy! You
walked towards Jesus, though the way seemed to be on the sea! A high
exhilaration raised your spirit. You rose out of yourself, but yet down
deep within there was a latent fear, a half-developed apprehension that
your confidence was too good to last, that your joy was presumptuous.
In your very heart you were afraid of sinking–and it was no wonder
that, by-and-by, your fear became matter of fact.

But now comes in another bit of our history–Little-Faith is too apt to
look away from the Lord. Peter, as he walked those billows, took his
eye off his Master and just then a tremendous wind rushed boisterously
in his face–and poor Peter was alarmed. He had thought of the
fickleness of the waves, but he had overlooked the fury of the wind!
When he spoke to the Lord, he said, "If it is You, bid me come unto You
on the water." And so his faith had reckoned with the water, but it had
not reckoned upon the force of the wind. That mysterious and subtle
agent took him by surprise. He had forgotten that he had both winds and
waves to contend with–and now the wind comes upon him as a new trial!
As the blast came full in Peter's face, it chilled him to the marrow
and chilled his heart, too. He heard the wind, but forgot the Voice
which said, "It is I; be not afraid."

This is the danger of Little-Faith. Little-Faith, at the outset, is
scarcely comprehensive enough. It does not take a full view of all the
possible dangers and difficulties and so, when that which it has
omitted, comes to the front, it is very apt to be sorely troubled.
Little-Faith, your hope lies in keeping your little self wholly
dependent upon your great Lord! If you begin to measure circumstances,
it will go ill with you, poor trembling creature that you are! What
have you and I to do with measuring? There is One that measures with a
span, the whole world, and weighs the mountains in scales and the hills
in a balance! With unmeasured faith, let us leave ourselves in the
hands of our immeasurable God, so shall our souls be kept in perfect
peace, stayed on Him. I walk the waves, yet not I, but Jesus–therefore
will I not look to the winds, but to Jesus! Neither will I think of
sinking, but see Him standing and hope in Him!

Now, the moment Peter took his eye off his Master and thought of the
wind, Little-Faith began to sink. You see him going down. He is ready
to perish–the proud waters prevail against him–he has no power,
whatever, to help himself. I should suppose that Peter, being a
fisherman, could swim. Why did he not strike out? Mark this, when a man
begins to live by faith, if his faith fails him, even his natural
ability fails with his faith. He that could swim with no faith,
originally, will not swim when once, by faith, he has begun to walk the
waters! Should he fail in his walking, he cannot fall back on his
swimming. "Beginning to sink" is a terrible condition! Poor
Little-Faith, it never reckoned on this! Deep experiences are all the
more dreadful because unlooked for. When Peter left the ship and slid
down the side of the boat and touched the sea, his first miraculous
footsteps so elated him that he hardly thought it possible that he
would, before long, be on the verge of drowning! But now down he goes,
like lead in the mighty waters! The billows open wide their great
mouths to swallow up poor Little-Faith and down he goes! Is that the
condition of any child of God here, this morning? I must confess it has
sometimes been mine. There was a step and scarcely a step, between me
and death. That which bore me up appeared to give way and the waters
came in even unto my soul.

Let me not finish this history of Little-Faith without saying that
Little-Faith knew how to pray. Though Peter did not know how to come to
Christ on the waters, he knew how to come to Him by prayer. Though his
faith was not what it ought to be, it was where it ought to be, for his
cry was only to his Lord. He did not appeal to his brethren in the
vessel, but only to his dear Master who stood so firmly on the rolling
waves. He did not cry, "John, save me!" but, "Lord, save me." It was a
short prayer, but it was a comprehensive one. It expressed his need of
salvation. It proved his faith in the Lord's will to save him. It
acknowledged Jesus to be his Lord and it tacitly admitted that the Lord
could save him, and no one else.

In his prayer, Peter quits all other hope and looks wholly and solely
to Jesus, crying, "Lord, save me!" His faith quotes what the Lord had
done for others in healing, feeding and saving them–and now he cries,
"Lord, save me!" He asks Jesus to act as His name implies He would
do–he practically says, "Savior, save me." He appeals to his
authority– "You are my Lord and You did bid me come. Therefore, as
Lord, save Your own servant. Save me." His short cry is full of force.
Let us imitate both its shortness and its fullness. Whenever faith is
weak, let prayer be strong. When you cannot do anything else but cry,
then cry with might and main! If it is less the cry of faith, let it be
all the more the cry of agony! "Beginning to sink, he cried, Lord, save
me." Little children are good at crying, if at nothing else–and so is
Little-

Faith.

When Jacob was greatly afraid, he became bold enough to wrestle at
Jabbok. Even Little-Faith has prayer for its vital breath, its native
air. Where there is life, there is breath–and where there is faith,
there is prayer! O Soul, are you sinking? Then cry, "Lord, save me!"
Now, in this little picture, have any of you recognized yourselves? Do
you long for Christ? Would you venture all things for His dear sake? Do
you trust Him? Have you enjoyed happy moments when, by faith, you have
accomplished things impossible to mere sense? Have you sometimes
believed and, in that belief, found a bearing up of your spirit that
made you more than conqueror? Then, if, at this moment there should be
a collapse and your faith should waver, pray unto the Lord! He stands
fast if you do not! It is your wisdom to cry mightily in this, your
time of need, and as surely as the Lord lives, He will come to your
rescue.

Among all the carcasses that shall be washed up on the Dead Sea shore,
there shall never be found the corpse of Little-Faith. Though
Little-Faith has often said, "I shall one day fall by the hand of the
enemy," no weapon has yet been forged that can strike its heart, or
break its bones! He that believes even with a little and a trembling
believing, is safe beneath the guardian care of the Eternal God. "He
shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings shall you trust:
His Truth shall be your shield and buckler."

At the end, Little-Faith will grow to full assurance and will come up
into the vessel, yes, into Heaven with Christ! Little-Faith shall find
its way across the Jordan and stand in its lot in the end of the days.
And, perhaps, among the most rapturous song that shall ever salute the
Redeemer's ears will be the song of those who were weak and trembling
when they were here below and yet were kept to the end. Therefore have
confidence!

II. I come, now, to the second head of my discourse, which is an
interesting one–LITTLE-FAITH ACKNOWLEDGED BY THE LORD. In my text you
will observe the Savior did not say, "O you of no faith," or, "O you of
pretended faith," but, "O you of little faith." There are times when we
would give all that we have if we could only have our Master's
assurance that we have even a little faith! If He does but acknowledge
that it is faith, then the root of the matter

is in us! I would rather have great faith than little faith, but I
would rather have little faith than have great presumption and mistake
it for holy confidence. It ought to have comforted Peter, even as it
rebuked him, to hear his Lord, who could not make a mistake,
acknowledge that he had faith!

In following up this subject, note that little faith is faith, and
little faith is true faith. A grain of mustard seed has life in it as
surely as the tree beneath whose spreading branches the birds of the
air find shelter. A spark is as truly fire as the conflagration which
burned down a city. Little faith is not such powerful faith as great
faith, but it is true faith. O Soul, if you have a ray of light, it
came from the sun! If you have a pulse of life, it comes from the
heart! If you have any measure offaith, it is the work of the Spirit of
God! A pearl is a pearl, though it is no bigger than a pin's head.
God's signature is as valid when He writes it small, as when He uses
capitals!

In Peter's case, little faith was faith with a very solid reason at the
back of it. O child of God, little as your faith may be, yet if you
believe in Christ, you have faith most proper and justifiable. In fact,
so strong is the ground of your little faith that the Savior even asks
you, "Why did you doubt?" As much as to say, "You have every reason for
your faith, but what reason have you for doubting?" Oh, dear Heart, if
you come to Christ and cast yourself on Him, you are doing the best and
the most right thing that you can do and none can question your
conduct! Yes, if you even swoon away upon the dear bosom of the eternal
Love, none shall tear you off, none shall separate you, even in your
feebleness, from Christ! He has said that he that comes to Him, He will
in no wise cast out. Who, then, can dismiss you from His Presence? You
are not presumptuous, you are not going beyond what is permitted you
when you trust yourself and your all on Christ, your

Lord!

Do it again and do it again, more thoroughly, and you shall never be
ashamed of having done it! No, it shall be your glory that you dared to
trust your Lord! His promise shall never be outdone by your faith! Open
your mouth wide and He will fill it. Ask for more faith and He will
give more faith and fulfill greater promises to you! Go from faith to
faith and you shall receive blessing upon blessing! There is no limit
to your Lord's love–take as much as you like–there is no reason why
you should hesitate! Christ acknowledged Little-Faith to be faith with
a solid reason at its back when He said, "Why did you doubt?"

Our Lord Jesus acknowledged Little-Faith because, little as it was, it
ventured all for Him. Peter had thrown himself into the sea to come to
his Master and the Lord recognized that fact. He who ventures all for
Jesus and on Jesus shall not find it to be a losing speculation. Though
you dare not say that you have strong faith, yet you give up the
world's pleasures, its sinful gains and its pleasing smiles for
Christ–you would not deny Him for all the treasures of Egypt! Well,
then, our Lord will acknowledge you as His and bear you harmless in the
end. That little faith, which is real faith, knows nothing of the
timidity which haunts the heart of the hypocrite! Little-Faith fears
lest it should not be accepted at the last, but it is not afraid of
being persecuted for Christ's sake. No, let me but know that I am His
and He is mine–and I will go through fire and water to be with Him!

Little-Faith, in the case of Peter, was coming to Jesus all the while.
Peter, when he left the ship, left it to come to Jesus and for that
purpose only. The first step he took upon the sea was towards Jesus and
every other step was towards Jesus. And when he began to sink, he sank
that way, leaning towards his Master and crying as he went down, "Lord,
save me!" Now, the Lord Jesus always acknowledges a faith which comes
towards Him, however lame it may be. If you have a faith which looks to
yourself, a curse rests upon it! If you have a faith which looks to
priests, it is superstition! If you have a faith which looks to
ceremonies, creeds, prayers and feelings, it will fail you when you
most need help! But if you have a faith whose eyes are on Jesus, whose
longings are for Jesus, whose hopes are all centered in Jesus, whose
steps all head to Jesus, then you have a faith upon which Jesus sets
His seal and though He calls it, "little," yet He calls it, "faith." Be
sure that that which the Lord, Himself, acknowledges to be faith, is
faith, even though, for the present, it leaves you damp with the brine
from which you are newly plucked!

Once more, the Master acknowledges this faith–for, before long,
Little-Faith came to walk with Jesus on the sea. I think I have seen a
picture of Peter sinking and Christ stooping to save him, but I wish
that some eminent artist would paint the two walking together in peace,
Peter and his Lord. What joy to think that Little-Faith, once drawn
from the deep, stands on those foaming waves side by side with the
great saving Lord! Now is Peter conformed to his Lord! Now is the
servant clothed with the might of his Master! We have, before, seen the
Son of God walking in the fire with the three

holy youths, and now we see the obverse of the medal–a saint walking
on the water with the Son of Man! Is it not a splendid, reassuring
Truth of God, that Little-Faith can grow to act like Christ?

The day shall yet come when the Lord shall have so strengthened
Little-Faith that the things that the Lord does, Little-Faith shall do,
also, and the Word of God shall be fulfilled, "Greater works than these
shall you do because I go unto My Father." You tell me that you cannot
rejoice, today, but Jesus will see you, again, and your heart shall
rejoice. You cannot go forth to Christian service, for you are lame
through spiritual weakness–but the day comes when the lame man shall
leap as a hart! The Healer of His people will lay His hand upon you and
make you "strong in the Lord and in the power of His might." You have a
greater consciousness, today, of your inability in yourself than you
have of your ability in the Lord. But it shall not always be so–the
time will come when, in rapt fellowship with Him, by the strength of
His Grace, you shall be in this world even as He is–and that glorious
life which, in the Person of Christ, trod on the sea as though it were
a sea of glass–that same life shall be in you, so that you shall
overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil!

I feel right glad to have even a little faith! I am truly sorry that it
is so little when I know that my Lord deserves all possible confidence,
but yet I am glad that it is given to me to believe on His name, for it
has brought me near Him and will bring me yet nearer. And it will,
by-and-by, bring me to be with Him where He is, and to behold His
Glory!

Thus I have shown you that our Lord acknowledged Little-Faith. He did
not break the bruised reed, nor disown the infant faith, but He called
it faith, answered its prayer and made it to stand with Him in
fellowship of power!

III. In the third place, I want you to notice LITTLE-FAITH'S
DELIVERANCE. Little-Faith began to sink, but it was only a beginning.
The sinking did not end in Peter's drowning, but in his Lord's saving.
The text says, "beginning to sink" and truly that is the whole matter.
None of God's people shall go beyond, "beginning to sink." We may be
"ready to perish," but we shall not actually perish. Our steps may be
"almost gone," but, "almost," is not, "quite." A man may be near death,
and yet live. He may begin to sink and yet be saved. Friend, it may be
that for some time you have been "beginning to sink," but you have not
yet sunk. Not yet are you consumed! Not yet is the Lord's mercy clean
gone for-ever–not yet has He forgotten to be gracious. Oftentimes,
"beginning to sink," with us, is with Christ, beginning to stretch out
His hand! The beginning of a clear sense of our own weakness is often
the beginning of the display of the power of God!

Little-Faith received its deliverance wholly from the Lord. As I have
already said, it was not Peter's swimming that got him out of his
trouble, nor was it any revival of Peter's faith which did it. The Lord
came to the rescue and proved His power to help at a dead lift. So
shall it be with you, O trembling heart–in the hour of your extremity,
God shall appear for you. The Lord will provide! Out of weakness you
shall be made strong, for He has said, "I will never leave you, nor
forsake you."

It was of the Lord and, therefore, it was immediate. Will you kindly
note the words in the text, "and immediately Jesus stretched forth His
hand." Before He rebuked him for his little faith, He delivered him
from his peril! O Little-Faith, you have but to cry out and the Lord
will help you! Do not delay your crying and He will not delay His
helping. The Lord may let the matter proceed some considerable distance
till we think it is all over with us, but, in the nick of time, He will
appear for our deliverance. In that dark moment when we read our own
death warrant amid the roar of the tempest, the prompt relief of the
Lord of Love will arrive! No wings of cherubim can be more swift than
the Lord's right hand when He means to draw His people from great
waters.

It is added, "immediately He stretched forth His hand." It was an
instructive action on the part of Jesus, that stretching forth of His
hand–as if He was raising Himself to the utmost energy and reaching
beyond Himself to rescue His servant. A stretched-out hand denotes the
exercise of all the power of the person thus acting. In the case of
God's people, it has often been necessary that He should bring them
forth with a high hand and with an outstretched arm. Peter had his
exodus from the water as Israel from Egypt. Who is to know the might of
God's arm if He does not stretch it out? And why should it be stretched
out unless there is a need for it–so that our perils produce the
necessity for God to stretch out His hand and thus they turn out to be
comfortable means of Grace to us! Our necessities are the doors through
which the Lord's great bounty comes to us. If Little-Faith did not lift
up its cry of dismay, the Lord's hand would not be lifted up for its
rescue.

It is added, He, "caught him." Thus the Lord came into personal contact
with His servant. Look, He holds him up! The whole weight of Peter is
on Christ! If Peter sinks, Jesus must sink, too, for He will not let go
of His hold. For the time Peter and Christ are joined, they have only
one standing and that standing is all in Christ. O Little-Faith, you
feel a closer union to Christ in your hour of danger than ever before!
It comes to this, that when Jesus interposes to save Little-Faith, He
bends all His strength to the deed and takes hold of the sinking one
with a grip so fast and firm that the two must sink or stand together!
All the weight of Peter was on Jesus–all the security of Jesus was
bestowed on Peter! Little-Faith holds Jesus while Jesus upholds
Little-Faith. A half-hoping, half-despairing soul lays hold on Jesus
with an iron grip and on such a poor feeble one, the hold of Jesus is
equally tight and strong! He will never let the sinking sinner die when
once that prayer has been uttered, "Lord, save me!" I hardly know of a
more conscious union between a man and Christ than that which is
effected when, in sinking times, the grip of the crucified hand is felt
as our sole rescue from death!

"Hallelujah, who shall part Christ's own bride from Christ's own
heart?" Who is he that shall separate the most timid and trembling of
all the believing company from that eternal hand which is sworn to
deliver? "I give unto My sheep eternal life," He says, "and they shall
never perish." Nor shall they though the heavens and the earth should
pass away. The Lord must and will stretch out His hand and catch the
sinking one and grant him the same standing as Himself.

IV. I close with LITTLE-FAITH REBUKED. That comes last. After the poor
soul is quite rescued and set on a sure footing, then comes the loving
chiding–"O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" This is such a
gentle rebuking that it almost seems to me that the Master might say as
much as this to us when we enter Paradise with Him. It might not be
unkind, even there, to say, "Why did you doubt?" When you and I have
come up from our dying beds and left all pain, poverty and sorrow far
behind, we shall find ourselves in the golden-streeted city and the
Well-Beloved with us–and we shall look back on all the way whereby He
led us–and then He may lovingly whisper in our ears, "Why did you
doubt?"

Look back on your pilgrim way. There is the Slough of Despond dried up!
There is Giant Despair's head on a pole! There is Apollyon bound with
chains! There is the river whose chill stream so often frightened you,
glittering in the eternal light! "Why did you doubt?" You doubted about
nothing. You made mountains out of molehills. Where everything was
working for you, you said with trembling Jacob, "All these things are
against me." Will not our Lord produce a rapture within our spirit
while He brings to mind His unchanging love, His immutable Truth, His
immovable faithfulness? We shall eternally wonder at our own doubts!

What if our Lord should say, "Did you not come up from the wilderness
leaning upon Me as your Beloved? Did I ever fail you? Did I ever give
you a cross word? Say, did I ever leave you or forsake you? Why did you
doubt?" Then we shall sweetly chide ourselves to think we ever had a
moment's distrust of our dear Lord, the Bridegroom of our souls, in
whom our faith ought to have been constant as the day!

Notice, dear Friends, with regard to this question, "Why did you
doubt?" that it is an inconsistent thing for a believing man to doubt
His God, or distrust the power of the Lord Jesus. You believe, and if
you believe, why doubt? If faith, why little faith? If you doubt, why
believe? And if you believe, why doubt? Oil and water will not mix! Oh,
how could faith and unbelief unite? Yet they are often found together
in deadly warfare. "Oh," said a dear Sister in Christ to me the other
day, "I cannot doubt my God." Yet she also expressed a fear lest she
should be wrong at the last! This was an odd mixture in one who knew
the glorious Gospel so well! But then we are all odd in some way or
other. In any case, it is not right that we believe and yet disbelieve.
Shall a fountain send forth both sweet water and bitter? Be gone you
doubts! Oh that they would go at my bidding! What business have you,
here, at the festival of faith? Be gone, you harpies that devour the
bread of the Lord's Table and defile our dainty things! What right have
you to enter the holy abodes of

faith?

While doubts are so inconsistent, are they not also most dishonoring?
Why should we doubt our Lord? Shall it go forth to the world that we
cannot trust Christ? Shall it be said that those who are saved by Him,
nevertheless say it is hard work to believe Him? Hard to believe Him
who has proven His love by the agony and bloody sweat? My Lord, I will
sooner doubt my brother, doubt my father, doubt my wife than doubt You!
My Lord, I will doubt my eyes, and doubt my ears, and doubt the beating
of my heart sooner than doubt You! I will doubt the laws of Nature–I
will doubt everything that seems certain! I will doubt the conclusions
of mathematics–but You, oh why, why, should I doubt You? No,

let us hold on to the love of Jesus and cling to Him, even though He
should frown and chasten. Be it ours to trust a scourging God! Yes,
say, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him"

Once again, how inexcusable is this doubting among you who believe! The
only excuses worth mentioning are these. Some excuse themselves because
they desire to be humble. "I dare not think that these good things are
true to me. I know that I am altogether unworthy of them and I am
afraid of being proud if I take them to myself." Do you not know, dear
Friend, that the biggest pride in all the world is doubting God? And it
is the sweetest humility to trust in God as a child trusts its father!
It is the lowliest action of the heart to say, "These things are good,
exceedingly good, and I am most un-worthy–but then the Lord has said
that He gives these gracious gifts to the unworthy–and, if He has said
it, God forbid that I should question Him." Who am I that I should
venture to raise a doubt about the bona fides of the Lord Jehovah? I
must, I will cease from all such proud questioning and artful doubts
and be even as a new born babe, drinking in the unadulterated milk of
the Word of God!

I am persuaded that unbelief is sometimes occasioned by ignorance. I
pray you, do not let such ignorance remain in you. Be diligent in
searching Holy Scripture. If you do not know the Lord, nor know His
Providence, nor know the Doctrine of the Final Perseverance of the
Saints, nor know the Covenant of Grace, why, then you may be
staggered–but learn those things that you may be established.

I have no doubt that unbelief is caused not only by ignorance, but by
forgetfulness. We forget the Lord's past mercies. If the Lord has
plucked you, like a brand, out of the fire, cannot He pluck you out of
the sea? He that delivered you from the deadly power of sin–cannot He
deliver you from every temptation? In fact, the Lord has done more for
us, already, than He ever will have to do for us in the future, for He
will never have to die, again, upon the bloody Cross and He will never
have to offer Himself, again, as an Atonement for our sin! Nine hundred
and ninety-nine parts out of a thousand are already ours! We have only
to shut our eyes and open them in Heaven and the rest will be ours.
Today is our salvation nearer than when we believed. We are almost
Home! We are within sight of the white cliffs of the better land! Shall
we now tremble? Shall we not begin to rejoice with unspeakable joy?
Does not Little-Faith begin to mount into assurance?

You that have not believed in Jesus, I have tried to show the way of
salvation by faith in Christ. You that have believed but tremblingly, I
have pointed out to you much that ought to comfort you. And to you who
can believe with full assurance, I would say, guard that full assurance
with great care–it is Heaven below–it is the beginning of Heaven
above!

The Lord, the Holy Spirit, be with you all, for Jesus' sake. Amen.

PORTION OF SCRIPTURE READ BEFORE SERMON–Matthew 14:13-36.
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