We commence our service this
afternoon by singing hymn number 634. The tune is Adoration, number
528. When saints together meet, God's goodness to declare. The
season will be sweet, If Jesus be but there, of Christ
they speak, of Christ they boast, while Jesus lives they can't
be lost. The Lord will guard them well,
nor shall they ever be a prey to death and hell, for Christ
has made them free. He bought them with his own heart's
blood, and he will bring them home to God. Hymn number 634. ? To be spread over me ? ? All
to God's good will go ? ? Christ is born in this place ? ? In
Jesus' name, alleluia ? O Christ is King! O Christ save us! Our Jesus is born! Behold! Lord, have mercy on us. Have mercy on us. ? And hope will lead you home ?
? Listen with patience ? ? Yes, he will lead you home ? O say can you see, by the dawn's
early light, ? Return to me, God ? ? Till I'm
just as you are ? ? Wishing I'm not there now ? ? Yes, the dead cross is in the
room ? ? And the lips they will kiss with you ? ? The poor O should they ever weep, and
pray to death for death, for Christ has made He who liveth with His Holy Ghost
doth and He will reign with us. May we be helped to read in the
holy word of God from the gospel according to Mark and the sixth
chapter. The gospel according to Mark,
reading chapter six. And he, that is Jesus, went out
from thence and came into his own country. And his disciples
followed him. And when the Sabbath day was
come, he began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing him
were astonished, saying, from whence hath this man these things? And what wisdom is this which
is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought
by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the
son of Mary, the brother of James and Joseph, and of Judah and
Simon? And are not his sisters here
with us? And they were offended at But
Jesus said unto them, a prophet is not without honor, but in
his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. And he could there do no mighty
work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk and healed
them. And he marveled because of their
unbelief, And he went round about the villages, teaching. And he
called unto him the Twelve, and began to send them forth by two
and two, and gave them power over unclean spirits, and commanded
them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff
only, no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse, but be
shod with sandals, and not put on two coats. And he said unto
them, in what place soever ye enter into an house, there abide
till ye depart from that place. And whosoever shall not receive
you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under
your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you,
it shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day
of judgment than for that city. And they went out and preached
that men should repent. And they cast out many devils
and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them. And King Herod heard of him,
for his name was spread abroad. And he said that John the Baptist
was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do show
forth themselves in him. Others said that it is Elias,
and others said that it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets. But
when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded. He is risen from the dead. For
Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and
bound him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife. for he had married her. For John
had said unto Herod, it is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's
wife. Therefore Herodias had a quarrel
against him, and would have killed him, but she could not. For Herod feared John, knowing
that he was a just man and unholy, and observed him. And when he
heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly. And when
a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a
supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee.
And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced,
and pleased Herod, and them that sat with him, The king said unto
the damsel, ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it
thee. And he swear unto her, whatsoever
thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee unto the half of
my kingdom. And she went forth and said unto
her mother, what shall I ask? And she said, the head of John
the Baptist. And she came in a straight way
with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou
give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist.
The king was exceeding sorry, yet for his oath's sake, and
for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. And immediately the king sent
an executioner and commanded his head to be brought. And he
went and beheaded him in the prison and brought his head in
a charger and gave it to the damsel. And the damsel gave it
to her mother. And when his disciples heard
of it, they came and took up his corpse and laid it in a tomb. And the apostles gathered themselves
together unto Jesus and told him all things, both what they
had done and what they had taught. And he said unto them, come ye
yourselves apart into a desert place and rest a while. For there were many coming and
going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat and they departed
into a desert place by ship privately. And the people saw them departing,
and many knew him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and
out went them, and came together unto him. And Jesus, when he
came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward
them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd. And he
began to teach them many things. And when the day was now far
spent, his disciples came unto him and said, this is a desert
place and now the time is far past. Send them away that they
may go into the country round about and into the villages and
buy themselves bread, for they have nothing to eat. He answered
and said unto them, give ye them to eat. And they say unto him,
shall we go and buy 200 penny worth of bread and give them
to eat? He saith unto them, how many
loaves have ye? Go and see. And when they knew,
they say, five and two fishes. And he commanded them to make
all sit down by companies upon the green grass. And they sat
down in ranks by hundreds and by fifties. And when he had taken
the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven and blessed
and break the loaves and gave them to his disciples to set
before them. And the two fishers divided he
among them all, and they did all eat and were filled. And they took up twelve baskets
full of the fragments and of the fishers. And they that did
eat of the loaves were about five thousand men. And straightway
he constrained his disciples to get into the ship and to go
to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away
the people. And when he had sent them away,
he departed into a mountain to pray. And when even was come,
the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the
land and he saw them toiling in rowing, for the wind was contrary
unto them. And about the fourth watch of
the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would
have passed by them. But when they saw him walking
upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried
out. For they all saw him, and were
troubled, And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto
them, Be of good cheer, it is I, be not afraid. And he went up unto them into
the ship, and the wind ceased, and they were sore amazed in
themselves beyond measure, and wondered. For they considered
not the miracle of the loaves, for their heart was hardened.
And when they had passed over, they came into the land of Gennesaret
and drew to the shore. And when they were come out of
the ship, straightway they knew him and ran through that whole
region round about and began to carry about in beds those
that were sick where they heard he was. And whithersoever he
entered into villages or cities or country, they laid the sick
in the streets and besought him that they might touch, if it
were but the border of his garment. And as many as touched him were
made whole. Amen. May the Lord bless his words
to us each and help us once more to pray. O thou eternal and ever-blessed
Lord God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we
beseech thee that thou wouldest again grant of thy spirit of
grace and of supplications. O teach us to pray, and we would
say grant us prayer, for it is only as thy Holy Spirit doth
stir up our hearts and grant us to order our thoughts aright
that we may address the great King, the one who ruleth over
all, but also one whose ear is ready to hear the cries and petitions
of his dear people. We bless thee that thou hast
instructed thy saints concerning this solemn matter of prayer
and the necessity of it and the nature of it. And as the disciples
of the dear Lord Jesus did utter that request, Lord, teach us
to pray. So continually it is our desire
that thou wouldest teach us also and grant us the longings, the
desires, the necessities that we cannot but come unto thy footstool,
that we cannot but sue for mercy, that we cannot but come to that
place where thou hast appointed to meet thy dear one. And it
is a throne of grace, but it is the mercy seat, the place
where thy righteous law lieth sprinkled in blood, and that
blood of atonement, the blood of reconciliation. And we would
say with the poet, Jesus is the mercy seat, in him God and sinners
meet. And may there be such a meeting
between the triune God and poor needy sinners, even at the throne
of grains in this afternoon hour of worship. And we would desire,
O Lord, faith, faith to behold a precious Christ. And as was
spoken by some in the home, that need for faith where there is
no sight. For as, O Lord, thou didst say
to Thomas, blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. That word of the apostle, whom
having not seen, ye love, and rejoice with joy unspeakable,
and full of glory. But as Paul did say, we walk
by faith, and not by sight, Truly thy dear people must walk by
faith, for we yet see not the Lord Jesus. Thou art, O Lord,
upon the Father's right hand in the heavenly glory. Thou shalt come to this earth
at the appointed time, but it is not yet. And so we must seek
to do as the apostle did exhort the Hebrews, to look unto Jesus
and to look unto thee as the author and finisher of our faith. Lord, grant us to come within
that number, those who have not seen thee and yet have believed,
and those who see thee not yet do believe. And grant us to behold
thee in thy majesty. Yea, we would behold thee as
the Lamb the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. For Israel of old did look upon
the Passover lamb, that lamb's flame, and the blood thereof
sprinkled upon the doorposts and lintels. And when the destroying
angel came over the land, when he swore the blood, he passed
over. And we desire that it might be
so with us. found under that blood, covered,
sheltered, a place of safety, a place of refuge. And then the
destroying angel, the justice of God, that punishment that
our sins deserved, it shall not come nigh unto us. Grant us each
to be found, bleeding that precious blood, that blood as of a lamb
without blemish and without spot. And to say with the Apostle John,
the blood of Jesus Christ, thy son, cleanseth us from all sin. Know how we need it when we are
convicted of our sins, yea, of our sinnership, that we are guilty
and lost and undone. And when we feel our great jeopardy,
standing before the judgment seat of Christ, standing before
the bar of God, how shall it be with us when called to give
account? Truly, we need such an atonement. We need such a remission of sins
as is found in the blood of Christ. Know that we should know Him
as our sin-bearer, Think of the sacrificial lamb of Orr. We think
of the scapegoat on the day of atonement, that solemn transfer
of guilt. But we would think of Christ
as his people's sin-bearer and one who took the guilt of those
sins upon his dear head. And that we might know that release,
that we might know the burden taken from off our backs, that
we might know that he hath undertaken and hath accomplished all on
our behalf. We would bless the gracious God
for the resurrection from the dead, something in which our
souls would rejoice, the empty tomb, the exaltation, wherefore
God hath highly exalted him. and given Him a name which is
above every name. Thou hast raised Him from the
dead on the third day, raised by the glory of God the Father.
We bless Thee that He is the firstfruits of them that slept,
that Christ being the firstfruits, His dear people shall be raised
at the latter day as the final harvest and then there shall
be that full in gathering. But O have mercy upon ourselves
and grant us to be found within that number. Grant us a wedding
garment that we may enter in and sit down at the marriage
supper of the Lamb and not be as that one of whom the Lord
did speak who had not a wedding garment and who was to be cast
out into outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing
of teeth. Oh, so to be arrayed, so to be
clothed in that spotless robe of righteousness, in those garments
of salvation. Lord, on I unto thy people, grant
them that faith to behold. And we would add, grant us repentance
For truly we can find no repentance in ourselves, none by nature. We need Thee to grant the gift,
to grant that solemn humility, to grant the contrite heart and
the humble spirit. May we be found with Godly job
of old. Lo, I abhor myself and repent
in dust and ashes. where thou dost grant repentance
and faith, then it is repentance toward God and faith toward the
Lord Jesus Christ. And if we possess but these things,
then surely it shall go well with us throughout all eternity. Though to turn from the ways
of sin, though to turn to the fold and enter in, and to look
to a precious and an exalted Lord Jesus Christ, again we pray
for thy causes of truth, thy dear congregations, thy churches. Grant help in the midst of troublous
times. We read in the prophet that the
wall shall be built in troublous times. Speaking of Jerusalem,
that we would think spiritually of thy church. May there be even
in times of conflict, even in times of much opposition, the
harassment of the enemy, the opposition of men. But may the
walls yet be built, those walls of salvation, and may there be
gates within those walls, the gate through which thy people
shall enter, citizens of the holy city, those elect in Christ
from eternity past, those called by grace, gospel gains, through
which thy people shall enter into righteousness. We will think
of the watchmen upon the walls of Zion, sounding the gospel
trumpet. We help each one of thy dear
servants this day. May it be a joyful sound to many. For we read, blessed is the people
that hath heard the joyful sound So grant'st thy dear people,
watch them, those who shall watch for their souls, and grant to
thy flocks under-shepherds, pastors, after thine own heart. We will
think of the under-shepherd, the dear pastor of this cause
of truth, and again we pray that thou wilt be with him, that thou
wilt strengthen him to the good work of laboring in thy vineyard,
and help him this day as he ministers to thy people in a far off land. We desire thy hand of blessing
upon his labors here also. The word preached, that word
that goeth forth, not only as it were from the pulpit, not
only that sound that is heard, but in the means that are provided,
modern technology, and those able to hear across the world,
May it be a word that savoureth unto life. And help those who
shall minister here in these coming days, one in the midweek
and one on the next Lord's Day. And grant help to such and all
who shall labour from this pulpit and to this dear congregation.
And we desire, O Lord, that thou wiltest bless thy people with
peace. even as thou hast promised. Know
how we need it, that multitude of thoughts within our hearts. But, said the psalmist, thy comforts
delight my soul. Thou draw nigh unto us in our
various tumults, in our perplexities, in our anxieties, and grant that
peace of God which passeth understanding We will think of those in need,
the bereaved, those who sorrow over loved ones, those who are
sick, some laid aside, some afflicted to a greater or lesser extent,
some knowing the effects of old age and the weakening of the
body. We'll help those also who are
troubled in mind and those who have many cares and anxieties
for loved ones. The two draw nigh unto such,
and grant them some solace, grant them some cordials to refresh
their hearts. Grant them some knowledge of
an eternal God, their refuge, and underneath the everlasting
arms. Be with all who are away on this
Lord's Day, and bring them back safely. Grant them seasons of
refreshing, if they are away for such a purpose. May it be
a time in which thy people are encouraged and granted fresh
strength. We desire also, O Lord, that
thou wilt grant that refreshment. Yea, hay feeding, the laying
down in green pastures, the leading also beside the still waters.
Grant in the gospel that there might be a quenching of the thirst
of many, to our desires, hungerings and thirstings after righteousness. May one or another know what
it is to be led in paths of righteousness for thine own namesake. Help
us during this week that is before us, and help this nation. Help the one whom thou hast raised
up to be king over it. May he know of thy mercy, We
desire that thou wouldst not visit this land with the judgments
that she so desires, that yet in wrath remember mercy, and
grant, if it please thee, that there might be a lengthening
out of thy mercy, and that it may be for the salvation of many
sinners. Watch over this land in coming
days. These things that have happened
so quickly the passing of a monarch, and thus the succession to another,
a new prime minister appointed. Know what wisdom is needed for
Manhai, and men will not seek it for themselves, but we desire
that thou wouldest overrule, that thou wouldest show thyself
to be sovereign, the lord of all nations, that thou wilt show
that thou dost yet rule in heaven. and among the armies of the earth.
Help thy suffering people. Help those who are persecuted
for righteousness' sake. Grant that continuance in that
good profession, those who have confessed thy name, those who
have spoken of the Lord Jesus Christ and his kingdom. Yea,
men may scoff, men may persecute, of this kingdom which is not
of this world, but it shall be an everlasting kingdom. Grant
thine upholding strength to all such who face the fury and opposition
of men. We pray that there may be that
coming in, lost and needy sinners brought nigh, brought into a
full salvation, brought to taste of thy mercy and thy lovingkindness,
even in the King of kings and Lord of lords, the Lord Jesus
Christ. For that we might each receive
of that abundant entrance into that everlasting kingdom. Grant
us to have treasure in heaven, where moth and rust doth not
corrupt, and where thieves do not break through and steal,
May our hearts be there. May we seek those things which
are above, even where Christ sitteth at the right hand of
God. Let our hearts be there. May we know Christ, our treasure,
our pearl without price. May we know him to be there. Grant us of that inheritance
of the saints in life. Lord, we confess these things
are too great for us to truly comprehend, but we would seek
after them, we would desire them. Oh, look upon us now in thy pity
and in thy mercy, we pray, even for thy great and holy namesake. Amen. to our service by singing hymn
number 643, Junior's Evening Hymn 709. Again, dear Lord, we would be
fed. We come to seek for living bread
and feast on love divine. Dear Father, let thy presence
be enjoyed by all thy family and make each face to shine. If this be granted, we'll adore
the hand that gives, yet keeps in store abound a stock of grace. In every time of need we'll cry,
and thou shalt all our needs supply and that with smiling
face in number 643. ? Oh, say can you see, by the dawn's
early light ? ? What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last
gleaming? ? ? And joy for you, my family ?
? And happy times to come ? In thee, O Queen, sings virgin
green, Of thine ending, and child's a dream. O say can you see, by the dawn's
early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's ? The Prince I see ? ? And set
to home a dream ? ? May faith be true ? ? And little stars ? ? That we
reflect ? ? Shall realize ? ? That glory now ? ? Alleluia, Jesus, Son of Man ?
? Our Lord and King ? ? Restore your name ? ? And God, our hope, is with us
forever ? ? In this single day of joy ? ?
The land admires, yet keeps its song ? ? La la la la la la la
la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la
la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la
la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la
la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la
la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la
la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la
la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la
la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la
la la la la la la la la la la la O praise Him every time, the
people cry, and their shadows are kissed by Thine. May the Lord again be pleased to teach
us and the truth of His own most holy words. As we return to the
chapter in the gospel according to Mark that we read earlier,
and especially to the words in verse 48 of Mark chapter six. We shall read again from verse
45 to verse 50 of this sixth chapter of the gospel according to Mark. And straightway he constrained
his disciples to get into the ship and to go to the other side
before, unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people. And
when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray. And when even was come, the ship
was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land. And
he saw them toiling in rowing, for the wind was contrary unto
them. And about the fourth watch of
the night, he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would
have passed by them, But when they saw him walking upon the
sea, they supposed it had been a spirit and cried out, for they
all saw him and were troubled. And immediately he talked with
them and saith unto them, Be of good cheer, it is I, be not
afraid. Well then, this episode of the
Lord Jesus coming to his disciples upon the Sea of Galilee. But
especially what we read of just prior to his actual coming, in
verse 48, that he saw them toiling in rowing, for the wind was contrary
unto them. And about the fourth watch of
the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea. These things take place just
after the feeding of the 5,000, as we read in this sixth chapter
of Mark. And there are various circumstances
that explain the Lord's insistence that the disciples return to
the ship or the boat, that they go before him unto the other
side of the Sea of Galilee, as we have in our Bibles, unto Bethsaida. Although, as it is in the margin,
which seems more likely, over against Bethsaida. And to do
so while the Lord Jesus, as Mark tells us, sent the people away. And if we compare scripture with
scripture, we find why it was that the Lord so constrained
his disciples. If we put ourselves, as it were,
in the shoes of the disciples, having just been party to that
great miracle of the feeding of five thousand men, besides
women and children, and how they themselves had been involved
in the distribution of the loaves and the fishes, and the taking
up of the twelve baskets, Well, would they have been pleased
for the Lord Jesus, their beloved master, to now constrain them,
to urgently command them to go back to the boat, to leave him,
and themselves to pass to the other side of the lake? Well,
perhaps the Lord had to constrain them. But the reason was that Lord
Jesus must dismiss now the multitude, because John tells us in chapter
six of his gospel, after that account of the feeding of the
5,000, that those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus
did, said, this is of a truth, that prophet that should come
into the world. Well, one might say, So far,
so good. The majesty, the power, the authority
of the Lord Jesus in dividing the five loaves and two fishes.
These things had wrought an impression upon those who beheld. And they
began to believe on him as the Christ, the prophet of whom Moses
had spoken. But John goes on to tell us in
verse 15 of chapter six, when Jesus therefore perceived that
they would come and take him by force to make him a king,
he departed again into a mountain himself alone. And if we were
to have read on in John chapter six, we would have found that
the people's misapprehension of the Lord Jesus was that they
were only thinking in carnal terms, outward terms. They were only thinking about
the bread with which they had been fed, not about that spiritual
bread, that which you sung of in the hymn just now. And would
to God that we were all given such a desire after that spiritual
bread. And likewise, Although they thought
Jesus to be the Christ, their notions of who Christ should
be were entirely wrong. We read that they would come
and take him by force to make him a king. Now this was not
the Christ of God. They imagined that the Messiah
would be a mere earthly ruler to deliver them from what they
saw as the Roman occupying forces. The Lord Jesus would not have
any such notion. And so we read that he dismissed
the multitude before they could carry out their purpose. Well, some might say, what of
the disciples? Why did they also need to be
dismissed? Well, is it suggesting too much
to say that perhaps the disciples were taken up with this idea
of making the Lord Jesus an earthly king. You will say, surely they
knew better than that. But actually, a lot later on
in the gospel accounts, we find that they still did not understand
the true nature of the ministry of the Lord Jesus, and particularly
in this work of redemption. It just comes to mind, for instance,
in Luke 24, and this is after the Lord's death and resurrection
on the very day of the latter. Remember those two disciples
on the road toward Emmaus, and how the Lord himself drew nigh
unto them. And that comment that they make
after Jesus asks them what things, and how they speak of Jesus of
Nazareth, a prophet mighty indeed and word before God and all the
people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him
to be condemned to death and have crucified him. But, they
say, we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed
Israel. And beside all this, today is
the third day since these things were done. Now if we had been able to, might
we not have said to those disciples, did they not understand that
in that crucifixion, that in that laying down of his life
upon Calvary, the Lord Jesus had done that very thing. He
had redeemed the Israel of God. But they at that time thought
that the crucifixion had confounded that purpose and that hope. They
say, we trusted that it had been He which should have redeemed
Israel. But what did they mean by the
redemption of Israel? Presumably not what God meant
in giving His only begotten Son for that very redemption, that
very payment of the ransom price. Without wishing to labor the
point, even afterwards, As Luke again tells us in the first chapter
of the Acts of the Apostles, the question that the disciples
asked him, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom
to Israel? And he said unto them, it is
not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father
hath put in his own power. Well, they did not fully understand.
And therefore we may suggest that much earlier in the Lord's
ministry, even the disciples, yea, even the twelve apostles,
were unclear as to the nature and purpose of his commission. So they too must needs be dismissed,
that they be not caught up in the frenzy of the crowd, be not
caught up in this false notion in which some had even supposed
to take him by force and make him a king after their imagining. Well, the disciples sent back
to the ship, sent back to the boat, and we read that in verse
46 of Mark chapter six, when the Lord Jesus had sent the people
away, he departed into a mountain to pray. Just to speak of the time frame
here, we might make an educated guess that this was around six
o'clock in the evening, given that the whole episode of the
feeding of the 5,000 itself had taken place in the evening. And so, just as a guess, we might
say that it was around six o'clock And then, in verse 48, we read
of the Lord coming to the disciples upon the sea in about the fourth
watch of the night. We understand that this must
have been between three o'clock in the morning and six o'clock,
but probably towards the earlier part of that time, because it
was still dark. But nonetheless, that is a period
of around about nine hours, in which the Lord Jesus was praying
upon the mountain top, at a period of that time in which the disciples
were laboring upon the Sea of Galilee. Hence, we read, when even was
come, verse 47, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and
he, the Lord Jesus, And, verse 48, he saw them toiling
in rowing. Well, the Lord Jesus, as we have
read, having departed into a mountain to pray, to pray unto his Father,
no doubt in response to those momentous things that had taken
place. And he, the Son of God, in his
divinity, Doubtless who knew all things and therefore was
not taken by surprise by any one of them. But yet in his sacred
humanity, this desire, this need to commune with his heavenly
father. It was said of the disciples
after they had heard of the beheading of John the Baptist that they
went and told Jesus Just as the disciples and all followers of
the Lord Jesus will take their cares and their sorrows, their
anxieties, their griefs and their burdens, they will bring them
to the footstool. They will bring them to the throne
of grace. They will come and tell Jesus. So the Lord himself
in his holy humanity must needs converse with his father concerning
these great things. But even though he was praying,
he was observant of his disciples. He was not so taken up in his
praying that he was not mindful of the disciples upon the lane.
But rather, our text tells us, he saw them toiling in rubbish. And Mark supplies the reason,
humanly speaking, for he says the wind was contrary unto them. But he says about the fourth
watch of the night, he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea. We do not know for how long the
Lord observed them in their toiling and rowing, but we may be sure
of this that at the right time, at exactly the best time, the
most profitable time for them, as Mark tells us about the fourth
watch of the night, the time when it was coldest and darkest,
he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea. Well, we have read of the Lord
Jesus upon the mountain praying to his father and how he yet
observed his disciples. And is it too fanciful to suggest
that the reason he was able to do both of these things at once
was because, for a large part, it was his disciples for whom
he was praying. He was bearing up their needs
before his heavenly father, praying that they would be kept in this
tribe praying that the Lord's will would be done in the matter. And when there is a spirit of
prayer in a circumstance or for one or another, then that prayerful
spirit will give us a diligence to seek out the state and case. It will give us an interest in
the affairs of the one for whom we are praying. But we might
add a godly interest one that is no mere prying into another's
business. But that's best of all friendships,
that tender care and regard, one for another. And that itself
likewise will feed that spirit of prayer. And so there is a
sharing of one another's burdens. But the Lord Jesus, as we suppose
praying part at least for his disciples, and watching their
toiling and their rowing. Well, may we not suggest that
just as these things are recorded, that we may learn of the sacred
history of the Lord Jesus during his earthly ministry, that they
are recorded also, because what was true of Jesus in his earthly
ministry is, spiritually speaking, true of his present heavenly
intercession. We read of his miracles, of his
casting out of devils. We read of his doctrine and teaching.
And although these things do not occur in the same way now
that the Lord has ascended up to the right hand of his Father,
yet the Lord spiritually still heals. It is also true that he
is the physician of the body, and the Lord is able to heal
our physical complaints and sicknesses, though he usually does so by
ordinary medical means. But we are speaking of that healing
of the soul, and these things that the Lord did outwardly during
his earthly ministry, the opening of the eyes of the blind, the
unstopping of the deaf ears, the giving of strength to the
lame, the raising from the dead. Well, they speak to us, do they
not, of how these greater miracles are performed in the souls of
men and women and young people. Just as the Lord Jesus taught
the multitudes on the mountainside, or taught perhaps from a boat,
or in other circumstances, So he still instructs his people,
but now through the written word, now through the preaching and
the public reading of the Holy Scriptures. But as we try to
speak a little this morning, that teaching truly is only made
effectual when the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, attends
it with power and unction. And likewise, same Lord Jesus
Christ, who prayed for his disciples and watched over them from the
mountainside. Well, he still prays for his
people and he still observes them as they toil in running. We once heard a sermon that was
headed with this question, where did Jesus go? And the answer,
I seem to recall, was from that word in 1 Peter, where the apostle
there gives the answer as to where the Lord Jesus Christ went
following his ascension. Now he writes at the end of 1
Peter chapter three, concerning Jesus Christ, verse 22, who is
gone into heaven and is on the right hand of God,
angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him. But just as the Lord, having
dismissed the multitude and the disciples, ascended up into the
mountain, so now having completed his work upon earth as his people's
great high priest, has now ascended up into heaven itself and is
on the right hand of the father. And now his high priestly work
continues in that secondary sense. Having made the sacrifice, then
there is the intercession for the people. And so he still prays,
he still bears up their cause before his heavenly father. He
still pleads his blood and merits on their behalf. And, importantly,
he still watches over them. Some have speculated as to the
exact way in which the Lord saw his disciples upon the Sea of
Galilee. Could he physically have seen
them from the mountain where he was? Well, perhaps, but then
perhaps not, for it was night, it was dark, perhaps His seeing
them was supernatural. But as the Son of God, divine
as well as human, that should not surprise us. And it should
not surprise us that the Lord is still able, and now especially
in His exalted state, with His resurrected body, to perfectly
observe all the toilings, the rowings of His dear And what a mercy if we may call
this Lord Jesus Christ, our mediator, our heavenly intercessor, our
great high priest, one to pray for us. Well, sometimes we are
encouraged to know of the prayers of others upon earth for us. And I suppose those in the ministry
especially, in this very solemn labor, But if we are encouraged
from time to time to know that others of our fellows are praying
for us, how much greater an encouragement to know that the Lord Jesus himself,
the great shepherd of his sheep, prays for his dear people. And in this sense, that we read
in our text that the Lord saw the disciples toiling in rowing,
for the wind was contrary unto them, And I think many of the Lord's
dear people here will be able to speak of that. The Sea of Galilee was about
11 miles across. And so for the disciples to be
in the midst of the sea, we might suppose that, or perhaps it was
a little less, maybe four or five miles, but still that is
a long way from the shore. And this toiling, in rowing,
the wind contrary unto them. But it seems to us that it must
have been a very strong wind, because there were twelve of
the disciples. These, who by and large were
fishermen, and if they had all taken an oar, there would have
been considerable strength to row even against a very stiff
wind. a fairly fit person to sit in
a well-designed boat and to row would enable them to row against,
as we have said, a fairly strong wind. And there were 12 of the
disciples, albeit in a fairly large fishing vessel. And so
it seems surprising that they should be so toiling in rowing. Well, this wind that was contrary
unto them. Do we not think of another occasion
when the disciples and the Lord with them were upon that same
Sea of Galilee, and the tempest that arose, and how the boat
seemed like to sink with the disciples and the Lord Jesus
in it, and the Lord himself asleep in the boat. It has often been
suggested that that tempest was the work of none other than Satan
himself. Well, what do we suppose concerning
this wind? But you see the picture because
it is the Lord's people in general who know what it is, this toiling
in rowing. For it says the wind was contrary
unto them. And in the things of the Spirit
of God, there will always be a toiling in the things that
we know in this life. Because it is the work of God,
the Spirit, the work of grace, the work of conformity to the
image of the dear Son of God. And the world is opposed to it,
and the flesh is bitterly opposed to it. And the devil, likewise,
will seek to counteract And so we know much of the winds contrary
unto us. How many things there are to
oppose the dear child of God. When we speak of Satan and his
hatred to any work of God, just as he sought to destroy the Lord
Jesus, and just as later he sought even to entice him to come down
from the cross, Satan is the implacable foe of all men and
women, but especially of those who are the Lord's people. Thus,
there are many things in which they must come and cry unto God
for deliverance. Remember how the Apostle Paul
speaks to the Ephesians. Of all, he says, taking the shield
of faith, whereby you may be able to quench the fiery darts
of the wicked one. But if Satan was not enough,
there is the opposing world. John says, the whole world lieth
in wickedness. Alas, how much wickedness we
see around us, even in our own land and nation. But it is because
the world is opposed to the things of God. We should mention that
John speaks in that place of a victory that overcometh the
world, even he says our faith. But for there to be a victory
implies a warfare, implies a contest. The Lord's dear people know it,
do they not? The saints must have much hard
warfare, many a conflict, many a contest in this world. And so the wind is contrary. But, and as we touched on, there
is perhaps that greatest opposing force, the flesh, the old nature,
the old man of sin. And the trouble is, of course,
that our old man has much that agrees with the world, much in
which it would seek the world's comfort the world's amusements. And not only so, but Satan finds
much in our old nature upon which he can work, those lusts of the
flesh and the pride of life, the lust of the eyes of which
John the Apostle also speaks. And so we find that our greatest
enemy is in fact the one that is closest to us, even our old
nature. the flesh. Then we may speak of things such
as those doubts and the unbelief that comes to us. And so there
is much contrary, the wind contrary unto our rowing, yea, our toiling
in rowing. But this is the comfort of the
text, that the Lord saw them toiling in rowing, And he sees
all his dear saints in their conflicts, in the oppositions
that they face, in their seeming defeats. And he knows that the
wind is contrary unto them. But what do we then read about
the fourth watch of the night? He cometh unto them. We ask ourselves, Do we have
any recollection, any sweet remembrance of a time when the Lord has come
to us, perhaps at the fourth watch of the night, the time
of greatest darkness, the time when we have felt ourselves to
be so cold as to be but dead, a time when we sought, when we
thought ourselves to be sinking, but he has come. come walking
upon the sea, walking upon the sea of our impossibility, walking
upon the sea of our trouble, in all the tumult, the billows,
the wind boisterous. But he comes. And there are those
things that follow in the end of verse 48 and in verse 49 and
in verse 50. But at length we read this, Immediately
he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer,
it is I, be not afraid. Many of the dear saints of God
will be able to speak of times such as those, because the Lord
will prove that it is when we have come to an end of ourselves,
our own supposed resources, our own schemes, our own hopes. It is when these things are expired
that he will come, and he does come, yea, about the fourth watch
of the night, and he comes walking upon the sea. Because he whose
way is in the sanctuary, well, of him it is said that his way
is in the sea. And the Lord Jesus did walk upon
the water, and so he walks to come to his dear people. And
as we read again, he went up unto them, into the ship, and
the wind ceased, and they were so amazed in themselves, beyond
measure, and wondered. But the great point of our text
is this, And it is the thing upon which we have tried to focus,
that he, the Lord Jesus, saw them toiling in rowing. And the encouragement is that
the Lord does see. He sees us in our conflict. He sees us in our little strength
being expended. He sees the wind contrary to
us, and he comes. It may be that there is one or
another here this afternoon who knows, as we have said, much
about this toiling in rowing, who feels very much the wind
conjuring to him or her. The Lord Jesus has not yet come. That dear child of God is still
in the midst of the sea, still fearing for his or her life.
But it is to wait upon His mercy, it is to take courage in the
Word, and to know that just as He did come on Galilee of old
to His disciples, so He must come, and He shall come to His
dear child. And when He does come, there
shall be this word, be of good cheer, it is I be not afraid. And why? Because the Lord Jesus
had laid down his life for his sheep. In this episode that we
have read in Mark chapter 6, he would shortly go to Calvary. We must say for eleven of those
twelve apostles, for alas, we know of Judas Iscariot, that
he was the traitor and he was but an imposter. But for the
other eleven, the Lord knew that he would die for them. And so
now, in their present extremity, he must come to them upon the
lake. And now that the Lord's work
has been completed, the atonement has been made, redemption has
been accomplished, their salvation has been purchased, And so to
each dear child of God, there will be the coming, there will
be the walking upon the sea. For whom he hath once loved,
he must love unto the end. And if there has been the beginning
of that good work, he must and shall perform it, even until
the day of Jesus Christ. And that which has been begun
shall be brought to completion. And once having undertaken for
a dear soul of one of his elect people, he will never leave that
soul to perish, but there shall be the coming, there shall be
the word of comfort. And all these things, there shall
be the watching, there shall be the prayer, and at last there
shall be the receiving of that dear saint into his kingdom and
glory. These things written for our
learning, for our encouragement, and sweet trust for the exaltation
and for the praise and glory of a precious Lord Jesus Christ. And he saw them toiling in rowing,
for the wind was contrary unto them, and about the fourth watch
of the night He cometh unto them, walking upon the sea. Amen. Conclude our service by singing
hymn number 277, the tune S&B's number 494. Now I see what air
betide All is well if Christ be mine. He has promised to provide. May he teach me to resign. Only when the way is rough and
the coward flesh would start, let thy promise and thy love
cheer and animate my heart. Hymn number 277. O Israel, Lord and delight, O
Israel, hear Christ deny, He has promised to provide They
teach me to resolve. When a sense of sin and foe ? Lost me to the sea of tears ?
? Wish I had lived to love you more ? ? Now I know I can't do
it all alone ? ? God be safe, for me thy help
? ? Tis in thy breast I am bound ? ? I will hold thy heaven's
hand ? the nations of old. For thy word enraged the world,
when he giveth thy all to thee. The wisdoms is perfect, but we
surely miss it. ? The way is long ? ? And the road
fresh to start ? ? And I know, yes, I know ? O gracious Lord, watch over us
each, we pray. Grant that thy mercy may go before
us even throughout this week. We please thee grant us again
to gather with thy people, especially on thy day in thine earthly courts. And now may the grace of the
Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father and the communion
of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen.