Life and Times of David. Miscellaneous Writings of C. H. Mackintosh, vol. VI — John Shaqi
Life and Times of David. Miscellaneous Writings of C. H. Mackintosh, vol. VIMackintosh, Charles Henry
Religion
Life and Times of David. Miscellaneous Writings of C. H. Mackintosh, vol. VI
Mackintosh, Charles Henry
Theology
Such was Jesus--very God and very man--and such He is now, ever ready
to meet His people's need, to hush their anxieties and remove their
fears. Oh that we trusted Him more simply! We have little idea of how
much we lose by not leaning more on the arm of Jesus, day by day. We
are so easily terrified. Every breath of wind, every wave, every
cloud, agitates and depresses us. Instead of calmly lying down and
reposing beside our Lord, we are full of terror and perplexity.
Instead of using the storm as an occasion for trusting Him, we make it
an occasion for doubting Him. No sooner does some trifling trouble
arise than we think we are going to perish, although He assures us
that He has numbered the very hairs of our head. Well may He say to us
as He said to His disciples, "Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye
have no faith?" It would indeed seem at times as though we had _no_
faith. But oh, _His_ tender love! He is ever near to shield and succor
us, even though our unbelieving hearts are so ready to doubt His Word.
He does not deal with us according to our poor thoughts of Him, but
according to His own perfect love toward us. This is the solace and
stay of our souls in passing across life's stormy sea homeward to our
eternal rest. Christ is in the vessel. Let this ever suffice. Let us
calmly rely on Him. May there ever be, at the very centre of our
hearts, that deep repose which springs from real trust in Jesus! and
then, though the storm rage and the sea run mountains high, we shall
not be led to say, "Carest Thou not that we perish?" Is it possible we
can perish with the Master on board? or can we ever think so with
Christ in our hearts? May the Holy Spirit teach us to make a fuller,
freer, bolder use of Christ! We really want this just now, and shall
want it more and more. It must be Christ Himself, laid hold of and
enjoyed in the heart by faith. Thus may it be to His praise and our
abiding peace and joy!
We may just notice, in conclusion, the way in which the disciples were
affected by the scene on which we have been dwelling. Instead of the
calm worship of those whose faith had been answered, they manifest the
amazement of those whose fears had been rebuked. "They feared
exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that
even the wind and the sea obey Him?" Surely they ought to have known
Him better. Yes, Christian reader, and so should we.
BETHANY
(John xi; xii.)
Turn with us, dear reader, to John xi; xii; and if we mistake not, you
will find therein a very rare spiritual treat. In chapter xi. we see
what the Lord Jesus was to the family of Bethany; and in chapter xii
we see what the family of Bethany was to Him. The entire passage is
full of the most precious instruction.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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