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Bowen's Daily Meditations
Devotional: May 11th

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" Lord, save us: we perish." - Matthew 8:25.

The disciples, we may suppose, had embarked with the Lord Jesus in that vessel, with a feeling of great confidence, and with the anticipation of a delightful sail over the familiar waters of that lake. Upon that lake most of them had spent the chief part of their time from childhood; and under almost no circumstances would they be likely to experience a feeling of fear. Now all things conspired to tranquilize their spirits. Behold them, as the sun sinks over the hills beyond Capernaum, and a gentle breeze wafts them over the placid waters; they are grouped here and there upon the vessel, some communing with the Lord Jesus of the works and ways of God, others relating to the sailors and passengers the wonderful things that Christ had performed. The sun sets; night steals quietly on; the moon and the stars appear. The Lord Jesus, fatigued with special labors, lies down and sleeps; and perhaps the last words that visit his ear are expressions of confidence uttered by his disciples. His human soul sleeps, but not the Divine Spirit that dwelt in him; otherwise the orbs of heaven would have stood still, nay, the heaven and the earth would have fled away, and the sleep of death seized upon all created things. He that keepeth Israel sleepeth not. Presently clouds, black clouds, come rushing over the face of the sky, and a strange sound is heard coming over the waters. The sailors start up in surprise and anxiety. But the disciples are heard saying, " There is no danger; Christ is on board; he must live, and so we cannot die. He has power over the elements; they can not hurt a hair of our head." The entire face of the sky is now shrouded in darkness; winds from various quarters rush in quick succession down upon the waters; these lift themselves up in mighty billows; the vessel becomes unmanageable; each wave, as it tosses her on high, seems to say, " What doest thou here, oh thou frail and paltry thing of man’s handicraft, in the presence of God’s sublime agencies and ministers? What is man but a rebel? his life but a vapor? his work but vanity? It is a fearful thing to fall into the hand of the living God; and that hand is everywhere." Desolation and anguish take possession of the souls of those on board. The mariners say, " Never did we behold anything like this; no boat can outlive this." " But Jesus is on board," timidly reply the disciples. " Be he who he may," say some, " destruction hath taken hold of us, and there is no possible deliverance." Others look at the disciples, saying to themselves, " If they fear not, then there is yet hope." But alas! they see them soon give way to consternation. As the waters descend more and more ponderously on the frail boat, their faith dies out. They feel it expiring and say, " We have no faith, and therefore we perish," and immediately their faith expires. Then they hasten to Jesus. " Carest thou not that we perish?"

Oh! strangely tempered disciples! Afraid of the winds and waves, and yet not afraid to address such a stigmatizing word as this to the Lord Jesus? And are all his past works and suffering in vain? Do you still doubt his care? Jesus awakes, and the only thing that he beholds is the unbelief of his disciples; his ear tells him not of the fury and rack of the elements, but of the guilty fears of his Galilean friends. And his first reproof is for them. He lets the storm rage on unrebuked, until he has rebuked the agitation of their souls. And now they perceive that a most precious opportunity of signalizing their faith in Christ had been given, and given in vain. The elements had been let loose that their faith might gain a victory, and go on to perfection. The progress of ordinary months might have been made in an hour, had they been watchful. When will they understand that this matter of the education of faith is the most important thing going on under the sun? The school of faith is a school in which we are advancing, lesson by lesson, to a condition where the glory of God shall be perpetually revealed to the soul.

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