SUNDAY COLUMN.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXV, Issue 34, 8 February 1913, Page 3

SUNDAY COLUMN.

HOW PETER WALKED OX THE SEA. I ext: And Peter walked on the wate: to go to Jesus.—Matt. XIV. 29. (By Rev, John McNeill.) Like some of us, Peter started on: to do a big thing, and did not xnanagt to do it at once. But he did it the second time. Some folk criticise hi; action in starting. I take leave t< differ from that view, as I shall shov. you. First of all, look at Peter’s ven ture. It was a wild morning. Tlu winds were up, and the waves wen high, and Jesus came in the fourti watch—about three or four o’clock ir. the morning. To me it is a striking thought that Jesus takes all the wat ches—the evening watch, the midnight watch, the morning watch—He is al ways doing His blessed ‘sentry‘-go!’ “He that keepeth Israel slumbers not nor sleeps.” Happy art thou, O Israel, for whilst He watches, we can rest in peace. Faith hears their sen-try-go. “I will never leave thee noi forsake thee.” How happy the in dividual, how happy the whole boatload of the church ought to be even in these heaving, restless stormy waters of time and change and sorrow! Jesus came walking on the sea, and Peter said, “Lord, if it be Thou, bid me come to Thee on the water.” How very like Simon Peter I I love him because you never know what he is going to say next. He isn’t machinemade—he isn’t tailor made. Lots of people are cut to s'ample, and a poor sample at that. “Lord if it be Thou.” Who else could it be but Jesus? Ah, you dont’ need to bother about what Peter meant. The Lord knew the naturalness of the cry and accepts it. “Lord if it be Thou.” It was not a line out of the psalms. It was not a deftly quoted text. I have lived long enough not to be greatly impressed by some folk who are very ready with their quotations and rhymes, and I’m not sure that they make as much impression on the Lord as the artless, confused, but warmhearted cry of a man in a higgledypiggledy state of mind, who is perfectly natural about it. “And Jesus said, Come.” He understands us. Let us deal with Him first hand, and if the commentators don’t understand us—bother the commentators. An ounce of Christ is worth a ton of them. He understands men and women. Speak your own speech, and your own accent, with your own emphasis. So many people are indulging in mere parrot rhyme. Very orthodox, very correct, very devout, according to the liturgy, according to the prayer-book. But it lacks spontaneity. To Jesus the confused stammering cry is more delightful. It means that we are looking at Him with our own eyes, and feeling things in our own hearts, and bubbling over with what we just think and feel between Him and ourselves. If the commentators had been there, they would have said, “Stay where you are; do you want to commit suicide?” But Christ always understands. Perhaps your wife doesn’t, and the minister doesn’t, and the theologians don’t, but the Lord knows what you mean. He saw the heart of Peter, and He is the same still. My friends, if you saw Him in some glorious power of holiness and say “Lord, I woidd like to be like that,” will He rebuke? No! He says, “Come, I want you to walk the seas, to be independent of the storms and the rocking waves. Come!” What is faith? If I know anything about it, faith is always a venture, a risk. Faith always means leaving your boats and going on a very testy unstable sea. I want to ask you, Have wo started at all on this venture? Sink or swim! Get through or perish! Half of the people to-day want to keep inside their depth. You might think they were swimming—but they always have one toe touching the bottom. That won’t do! Launch out! For Jesus said, “Come.”

Peter walked on the water to go to Jesus, I am very sorry for all the scientists, because ,of course, ho shouldn’t have done it! But, gentlemen ho mu it! I am full of apologies,

but he got there! This is where science makes her bow and says, “Dear friends—er —you must know the—er—immutable laws of Nature are against the truth of a story like this.” I reply, “Gentlemen, who told you the laws of Nature are immutable? Jesus Christ was before all Nature as we know it, and shall be after Nature and all its laws as we know them. What we want to-day is not science, but a clearer vision of, the Godhead of Jesus. Take your science from Him, for in Him are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Faith rising sublime to its highest use, put to its loftiest exercise, is not irrational, is not stupid, is not mere fanaticism or excitement. The wonder was performed. Aye! He did it. He walked on the waters. As Christ is, so are we if we trust in Him. Just take a look at Peter. He is walking on the water, to go to his Lord, and every letter of his name justifies him.

P, powerful E, eager T, trustful E, effective R, rejoicing. He climbed out of the boat quick enough; no putting his foot over the side in a gingerly fashion to see if the water was cold, as a lot of Christians do! He ,went at it boldly. May the Lord give us a little of Peter’s pluck. A lot of people come to us ministers and say, “I don’t seem to be making much progress in the divine life.” Allow me to tell you why. It’d because they’ve never started out yet! They are like a man who wants to go to Brighton, and he goes to the station and allows train after train for Brighton to come in and go out, while he paces up and down the platform saying, “O dear, I don’t seem to make much progress” ! My dear man—get aboard! Deal first-hand with God. Serve Him. Follow Him. That is faith. God grant us the exhilaration of the sweet, heart-felt reality! “I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me.” Why, I expect Peter would look back at his brother disciples in the boat and pity them. They were just longshoremen playing at being sailors—and that’s what many of us Christians are. My friend, if the Board of Trade asked you for your certificate, would you be found out? And then the failure! One moment, Christ is near and the vision is clear, and the winds and waves and the troubles and trials are as a pavement under our feet. And the next moment,

God pity us, in the twinkling of an eye we are sinking, gasping, floundering, and we can’t get to Him, or back to the boat, and we seem to be the laughing stock of eax-th and heaven.

What is the reason ? I will tell you in a second. . It is with us as it was with Peter. It’s because the Lord Jesus Christ is no longer in our view. He is not to us what He used to be. He isn’t in the picture. When Peter said, “Lord save me,” he turned his face to Jesus and he ceased to sink. Man! My last message to you is, “Look to Christ—tirst, last, in the midst. Have faith in Him, and we shall never perish, we shall not sink, we can never be lost. Look to Him— He will carry you through.”