I suppose you have all seen pictures
of the old pulpits, particularly in Europe. When I go to England,
in the older church buildings, the pulpits are all elevated
a good bit above the congregation. And I guess it's tradition, just
the way they do things, always, The person leading the service
finishes leading the last verse of the hymn. They'll walk down
the stairs and the preacher will walk up the stairs to the pulpit. While I was preaching at West
Ham Tabernacle in London a few weeks ago, I was reminded of
an event. True story, a young man had been
selected to preach and he expressed a call to the ministry, and so
the congregation was anxious to hear him, and he had prepared
his sermon with great diligence, and he was ready to go. He was
sitting on ready, and time for him to get up to the pulpit,
he almost ran up the stairs, just full of confidence. And
he tried to preach, did the best he could, and he fumbled around
and made a mess of things and felt terribly dejected and When
he got done, he walked slowly down the steps and took his seat
with his head hanging between his legs. When the service was
over, an old deacon met him at the door. And he said to him,
young man, if you had gone up the way you came down, you might
have come down the way you went up. I'm fully aware of my utter inability
to preach. And most anybody can prepare
and give a lecture on religion or on doctrine, but to find a
message from God and deliver it in the power of God's Spirit
depends entirely upon God and his blessing. I pray he will
speak through this worthless vessel by his word and your spirit
to your hearts tonight. This I know, the message will
be profitable if God will bless it to you. In the sixth chapter
of Mark's gospel, our Lord Jesus had just performed one of his
most notable miracles. With two pieces of fish and five
small loaves, he fed 5,000 men. Now that in itself is stupendous,
just almost beyond getting our minds around it. But it has been
suggested by some, and I think probably rightly so, that's just
5,000 men. not counting women and children.
Our Lord Jesus fed a huge multitude, thousands of people, with just
two small pieces of fish and five small loaves of bread. And He took up that which remained,
twelve baskets full. He supplies, and when He supplies,
He supplies abundantly, far above all that we could ever ask or
think. Knowing what the response of
the crowd would be and desiring to avoid the excitement of that
crowd, our Savior, we're told in verse 45, constrained his
disciples to get into a ship and go to the other side before
unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people. And then he
dismissed the disciples and the crowd, and the Lord Jesus, we're
told in verse 46, departed into a mountain to pray. Let's pick
up the story in verse 47. And when evening was come, when
the sun set, the evening had come, the ship was in the midst
of the sea, and he alone on the land. And he saw them, his beloved
disciples, these men who at his command, obeying his word, had
gotten into the ship. He saw them toiling in rowing,
rowing hard, rowing with all their might, rowing in fear and
getting nowhere. For the wind was contrary to
them. And about the fourth watch of
the night, about three o'clock in the morning, now just imagine
this, he'd been watching them all this time. They're in this
ship in the midst of a horrible, horrible storm. They'd been toiling
and toiling and toiling and just spinning around in the water
in the midst of this storm. And he waits until three o'clock
in the morning, in the fourth watch of the night, he cometh
unto them. walking upon the sea, walking
across the waves, these high, high waves, walking upon the
sea, and would have passed by them. But when they saw him walking
upon the sea, when they saw him, they failed to recognize that
it was him. When they saw him, they didn't
realize who it was walking on the sea toward them. These disciples
were so consumed with their terror and their fear and their toiling
as they were in the midst of this horrible storm in great
danger as far as they could apprehend. When the Savior came, they failed
to recognize him. They supposed it had been a spirit
and cried out. For they all saw him and were
troubled, troubled by the storm and now troubled by the appearance
of what they thought was just a ghost. And immediately he talked
with them and saith unto them, be of good cheer. It is I, be
not afraid. It is I, be not afraid. That's my subject tonight. There
are chapters in every believer's life corresponding with this
incident in the life of our Savior. Our path to glory is a path through
deep waters, contrary winds, and stormy billows. The believer's
life is compared in Scripture to a voyage across competuous
seas. Hold your hands here, Mark, and
turn back to that familiar passage in the 107th Psalm, Psalm 107. This path God has ordained for
us through this world is the path by which God our Savior
in infinite wisdom, goodness, and love brings us at last to
our desired haven. He brings us to glory through
trouble. He brings his children, all of
his children in this world, through the stormy sea into heavenly
glory. There are no exceptions. Psalm 107 verse 25, For he commandeth
and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. They mount up to heaven They
go down again to the depths. Their soul is melted because
of trouble. They reel to and fro and stagger
like a drunken man and are at their wits end. Then they cry
unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their
distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so
that the waves thereof are still. then are they glad because they
be quiet. So he bringeth them unto their
desired haven. Now watch this. Oh, that men would praise the
Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works to the children
of men. Four times he repeats those words
in this song. Oh, that men would praise the
Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works to the children
of men. Now look at verse 42. The righteous
shall see it and rejoice, and all iniquity shall stop her mouth. Whoso is wise and will observe
these things, even they shall understand the loving kindness
of the Lord. The loving kindness of the Lord
in his wonderful ways to his chosen and raising the storm
and causing his beloved to reel to and fro in the depths of the
sea, to stagger like a drunken man and be brought often to their
wits end. that they may cry to him and
find his deliverance. These are the ways of our God,
profound and mysterious, but his wise ways of loving kindness
to our souls. It is often in these storms that
our blessed Savior comes and manifests himself to us in ways
that the world can never know. He said to his disciples, I'll
come to you and make myself known to you, but not to the world. He comes in this way and makes
himself known. And only in this way can we know
him. When we're overwhelmed and full
of fear, the Savior comes walking upon the sea and speaks peace
to the troubled hearts of his saints, saying, be of good cheer. It is I, be not afraid. This is the sweet, instructive,
soul-cheering, heart-comforting voice of the Lord Jesus in the
storm. It is I, be not afraid. It is in the storm. It's in the
storm. It's always in the storm that
the Savior's voice is heard clearly and distinctly. Let me make five
brief comments in this message. Number one. Every believer's life is marked
by storms. Every believer's life. The first
storm every child of God has to face is the storm of conviction,
particularly the conviction of sin. And oh, what a blessed storm
that is. The Holy Spirit, like a mighty
rushing wind, breathes over the soul, and the anxious cry like
that of the Philippian jailer is, what must I do to be saved?
Until the Spirit of God comes in the mighty power of his grace,
bringing conviction to lost sinners. Men and women live in peace,
quiet and comfort. They have a refuge of lies by
which they find some comfort for themselves. And there's a
great calm in their lives. But it's a calm of death. They
have peace, but it's the peace of the grave. The soul dead in
trespasses and in sins is at peace and comfortable. They know
nothing about the storm, but now God raises a storm, an awakening
storm, a resurrection storm. The soul raised from death, a
death of sin is brought in conviction. The law of God torments the conscience
with guilt. Its holiness is seen and the
sinner is tormented with guilt. God's law speaks condemnation
and the condemnation is felt in the soul. And the soul cries,
Lord, save me, I perish. But not till you come to the
storm. Where there is no conviction, you can be assured there is no
conversion. Where there is no Holy Spirit
conviction, there is no salvation. Where there is no conviction
of sin, conviction by which God convinces you of your sin, you
will never seek God's mercy. No one will ever seek salvation
until he finds out he's lost. No one will ever seek mercy until
he finds out he needs mercy. No one will ever seek grace until
he knows he's justly condemned. Does that storm of sins conviction
seize you? Has it roused you from your Jonah-like
sleep and driven you out of your refuge of lies, your false peace,
and your false hope? felt the vessel of your soul
sinking down to hell. Spirit of God, come and blow
upon these slain and cause the dead to hear your voice. Oh, may God, the Holy Spirit,
bring conviction to your soul and make you know the tempest
of the corruption that's in you by which the Lord Jesus will
come and speak peace to your soul. With some, the first storm
of conviction is not so violent as it is with others. Some find
the gentle, soft breeze breathing from the south. Others find the
cold, bitter winds blowing from the north, penetrating to the
very bones. Described in Ezekiel 49 of a
north gate and a south gate into the temple Well, there's a north
gate and a south gate into the temple of God's salvation two
people entering the temple one enters by the north and the other
by the south gate and they meet together and in the house of
God, and forever seeing, saved by grace alone, this is all my
plea. Jesus died for all his own, and
Jesus died for me. But the man who enters by the
north gate is driven by the harsh, cold winds, while the soul entering
by the south gate is drawn by more gentle winds. Both have
entered by Christ the door. entered into God's salvation
by Christ the door. And you will find this in the
scriptures. The Lord Jesus came to some who
were fishing and he said, follow me. I'll make you fishers of
men. They dropped their nets and followed him. Another was
cast off his horse at midday and saw the sun shining brightly
upon him and heard God speak from heaven. Saul, Saul, why
persecutest thou me? They had different experiences.
Actually, they had the same experience in different ways. One with great
harshness arrested, and the other very calmly arrested. So it is
with sin's conviction. Don't ever imagine that your
conviction of sin is not real because it didn't have the same
throes that another's had. Both are convinced of their sin. Both convinced of the righteousness
of God in Christ. Both convinced that judgment
is finished, justice is satisfied by the blood of God's Son. Do
you see yourself a sinner? All the fitness he requireth
is to feel your need of him. This he gives you, this he gives
you, tis the Spirit's rising beam. Do you know your sin, your
need of the Savior? If you do, come to Christ. The
Lord Jesus says, come unto me. All ye that labor and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest. Is your soul burdened with guilt,
heavy laden with sin, pressed down with iniquity? Come to Christ
and he promises, I will give you rest. Other refuge have I
none, hangs my helpless soul on thee. And this is a blessed,
blessed, blessed storm. Oh, how I thank God for this
storm. The storm with which new life
dawns upon the soul. This is the means by which comfort
begins. Turn to John 16. Again, hold
your hands here in Mark. Turn to John 16. I want you to
see this. The Lord Jesus, on the last night he lived upon
this earth, is ministering comfort to his disciples, speaking peace
to his disciples. And he speaks here particularly
about the coming of the Holy Spirit. And he describes his
coming as the coming of another comforter. One who will comfort
you. Another comforter just like me. One who is himself God. Who comes
to comfort God's elect. Now watch this. John 16 verse
7. Nevertheless, I tell you the
truth. It is expedient for you, it's necessary for you that I
go away. For if I go not away, the comforter
will not come unto you. Unless I die and redeem you and
ascend to my father, the comforter will not come to you. But if
I depart, I will send him to you. You see, the Holy Spirit,
this promise of God to Abraham, the seal of the Spirit by which
all grace is sealed to the souls of God's elect, comes as a result
of Christ's finished work of redemption. He says, but if I
go and depart, he'll come to you. Now watch this. I'll send
him to you, verse 8. And when he has come, he will
reprove. The word is convince or convict. He will reprove the world. He
will reprove, he will convince God's elect, wherever they're
found in all the world, of sin and of righteousness and of judgment. Here is the blessed comfort for
our souls. Here is how God begins to comfort
his chosen in this world. He convinces us of sin, our sin. Not convincing us that it's wrong
to steal and wrong to tell a lie or wrong to commit adultery You
know that by nature that's stamped on your conscience by nature.
He will convince you of your sin Because you believe not on
me He'll convince you of your utter just condemnation before
God Almighty because you have no substitute in whom you find
righteousness and peace before God and convincing you of your
sin. If ever he convinces you of your
sin, he'll convince you of righteousness. Of righteousness because I've
done everything my father sent me here to do. because I go to
my father and you shall see me no more. And he will convince
you of judgment, of judgment, because the prince of this world
is judged." Brother Frank said to Larry Brown
back in the office, he said, I'm not afraid of hell. No need
to be if you've been convinced of judgment. You understand that? No need to be. No need to be
terrified of God anymore. No need to be terrified anymore
of meeting God in judgment. Judgment is over! Because the
prince of this world is judged by Christ our Redeemer. But those
early throes of conviction are only the first storm through
which we must pass. The life of faith is marked by
storms. You remember in Acts, Luke describes
how he and Paul were on a ship and they were in a storm and
they couldn't go this way or that and so they cast off all
the stuff in the ship and they still couldn't go this way or
that so they hoisted the sail and let her drive. Just let her
drive. So it is with God's people in
this world. We sail into glory on a stormy
sea and we are wise to cast the ship into God's hands and let
him drive her as he will. That's the way it is for God's
people. Notice these disciples were not
acting in disobedience. They were constrained by the
master to get into the ship. He sent them into the sea knowing
full well that the storm would come upon them. Loyalty to Christ,
faithfulness to Christ, faith in Christ, devotion to Christ
will never secure you from adversity and trial and storms. This health, wealth, prosperity,
religious generation of fools, and that's the proper word, fools.
Tell you if you believe God, if you're obedient to God, if
you serve God, you'll enjoy peace and prosperity and you'll never
have trouble. The surest way, Bobby, to trouble
is following Christ. That's the surest path to difficulty. The surest path to heartache,
the surest path to trial, the surest path to adversity, the
surest path to men opposing you, the surest path to pain, the
surest path to heavy burdens is obedience to the Son of God. Our storms are many and varied,
but basically all the trials and troubles we deal with in
this world arise from two sources. The contrary winds of circumstances
outside us, domestic trouble, sickness, betrayals, slanders, misunderstandings, bereavement, destroyed lives, Oh, how common
those things are. So these things are common in
the world. That's just my point. That's just my point. You who are gods will suffer
all the same things that many women who do not know God suffer
in this world. You who are gods will suffer
all the trials and heartaches and pains and sorrows that all
other people suffer in this world who do not know God. That's part
of the fall. That's just part of the fall.
But we suffer these things more sensitively than others, for
we understand what the rest of the world cannot grasp. We understand
that every tear Every pain and the tear that follows it, every
heartache, every tense moment, every heavy burden, every care
pressing you down is brought to you and put upon you deliberately
by the hand of your all wise, ever loving, ever gracious Heavenly
Father. I can't tell you how many times
I have written to or spoken to a brother or sister in Christ
in the midst of some great difficulty. And use these words, I'm sure
they're almost exactly the same in each case. If I could, I would take this
from you. I wouldn't have you go through
this for anything in the world. Now, I wouldn't see you suffer
like this for anything in the world. If I could, it would never
have happened and I'd take you from it right now. But he who
loves you infinitely more than I can ever imagine has wisely
and graciously brought this to pass in your life. and he will sustain you with
grace sufficient to meet the trial and through the storm he'll
bring you. Our storms and trials and heartaches
come from those things outside ourselves. Husbands and wives
and sons and daughters and mothers and fathers and neighbors and
friends, all the relationships we have cause us pain. They cause us pain. Sooner or
later, cause it's called pain. I have had the privilege, the
blessed privilege of living in a happy home for nearly 45 years. And I know what it is to live
in hell for a home. I've had the blessed privilege
of living in a happy home for nearly 45 years. But sooner or
later, either she or I are going to suffer great pain because
of this relationship God's given us here. Sweet as it is, it will
perhaps be the most bitter pain for one of us to lose the other.
That's just part of life. And that, by divine arrangement. And God will see you through
the storm. He will see you through the difficulty.
But there are other storms we deal with. the horrible storms of sin and
unbelief raging in our souls. Contrary to everything we desire,
contrary to everything we know to be right, contrary to everything
we would wish from God, We have to struggle with sin and unbelief
raging at us all the time. You would think, you would think
the trouble would be less as you got older. You would think The more experience
you had, the more easier it would be to believe God. You would
think the more you know God's grace, the less trouble you would
have with those lusts of the flesh, the corruptions of your
heart and your nature. And I will not attempt to speak
for you, but I'll speak for Don. It's just the opposite. Oh my God, forgive me. I find
it harder to believe God today than I ever did. I find it more
difficult to walk before him with continual devotion and consecration
of heart than I ever did. I find it more difficult to subdue
the vile passions of my heart today than I ever have. Oh, wretched man that I am. I know by long, painful, incessant experience that in me that is in my flesh
dwelleth no good thing. And it causes me constant trouble. Constant trouble. I'm like David. When he was envious at the prosperity
of the wicked, and behaved so foolishly, he said, I was as
a beast before thee. And finally he says, whom have
I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth
that I desire beside thee. First thing then is understand
that life in this world is a life of pain and trouble. Brother Scott Richardson put
it pretty well one time. He and I were preaching together
and he said, he said, life in this world begins with a slap
on the bottom and ends with a shovel of dirt in your face and then
nothing in between but bumps and bruises all along the way.
And that's just about the way it is. Here's the second thing. Let me remind you that though
we're often sent by our God into dark, dark storms, in the midst
of our darkest storm, children of God, we are ever under the
watchful eye of our ever-present Savior, the Lord Jesus. This
he has promised. I will never leave thee, nor
forsake thee. Look at verse 48. And he saw
them. He saw them. In fact, it looks like they'd be
enough, doesn't it? He saw them. He saw them. He saw them toiling
and rowing. He saw them, for the wind was
contrary And about the fourth watch of the night, he cometh
unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed them by.
How I pray that God the Spirit will teach me and teach you to
believe him. Did not our Savior say, lo, I
am with you always? Fear not, for I am with thee. Be not dismayed, for I am thy
God. I will strengthen thee, yea,
I will help thee. Yea, I will uphold thee with
the right hand of my righteousness. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again,
I say rejoice. Let your moderation be done for
all men. The Lord's at hand. We ought easily to cast all our
care upon God, our Savior. Cast all your care upon him. for he careth for you. He's like a wall of fire about
us. The Lord God says he that toucheth
you toucheth the apple of my eye and nobody will ever touch
the apple of God's eye. Understand this third thing. These storms through which the
Lord Jesus sends you are blessed storms. Storms of mercy. Big with mercy. Big with mercy. Storms of mercy by which our
souls are bettered. Storms of mercy by which our
souls are bettered. No exceptions. No exceptions. I recognize that I've had a very
tranquil life. I've not had much difficulty. I've not had much cause for weeping
except for my own sin, unlike many of you. I've not had many
great heartaches. I've not had to go through the
dark, dark nights with which I have sat with some of you.
I'm fully aware of that. And I don't pretend to have walked
in your shoes. But I can tell you what I have
experienced. Bill Raleigh, as I look back
upon these 63 years, I've gone through some things
that caused me to quake in my soul. Some difficulties that
were painful and I would never have chosen to go through one
of them. I would never have chosen to
enter any of those dark doors. But having come through the difficulty,
there's not one for which I'm not thankful. Not one which I
would have, I would lose the memory of if I can help it. By
these things, my soul has been bettered. These storms that come,
come to us not by God's wrath and judgment, but by God's mercy,
his blessing, and his loving kindness. He has sent the storm. The waters have come into your
soul, and you may think that your frail vessel is about to
sink beneath the waves and billows. But what blessings have been
heaped up in the storm? The character of God has been
more blessedly unfolded in the storm than it could be any other
time. Through the dark night, you're
given a clearer, more distinct vision and sweeter knowledge
of the Lord Jesus. God proves His faithfulness to
you. When you think you're utterly
forsaken, His countless promises become more and more precious.
The storm forces you to your knees. Forces you to call upon the Lord. And whatever does this for your
soul, betters your soul. Whatever does this for you is
better for you than anything else that could be. Many are the afflictions of the
righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. We must,
through much tribulation, enter into the kingdom of God. Go,
if you can, right now among the redeemed in glory. See under
whoever you will, including the Lord Jesus, and understand there
is no one in heaven today who did not enter the portals of
glory through a sea of trouble, through a lifetime of heartache
and trial. And I'm quick to say, Though
I'm not quick to say, I've been very hesitant to say, but I confidently
say that heaven would not be so blessed, so delightful, so
joyful as it shall surely be were it not for the difficulties
and the trials and the heartaches through which the Savior brings
us in this world and brings us at last to glory. Listen to what
Paul said, our light affliction. Now, if you care to go back and
read the fourth chapter, second Corinthians, he begins the chapter
by telling about troubles, troubles that began the day God saved
him by his grace. Troubles that continued all the
days of his life. Stoned, beaten, left for dead,
persecuted, afflicted, tormented day in and day out, misunderstood,
misrepresented all his life long. And this is our light affliction,
our featherweight affliction, our featherweight affliction.
These things we think so heavy, so hard to bear, our featherweight
affliction. worketh for us a far more exceeding
and eternal weight of glory. He says, these troubles, when
we get to the other side and are landed safely in heaven's
glory, we'll look back at it and say, thank God for that. We have now a far more exceeding
and eternal weight of glory. No wonder Peter spoke of the
trial of your faith being more precious than of gold that perishes. The trial. Not the faith. Yes, that's more precious than
gold. The trial of your faith, more precious than gold that
perishes. Number four, be assured, child
of God. That the Lord Jesus always comes
to his chosen, his beloved, He is redeemed in their storm at
the best time. He always comes at the best time. He always makes himself known
at the best time. Look at verse 48. About the fourth
watch of the night, he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea. When I was younger, I used to
go coon hunting with my uncle, actually he's a distant cousin
a good bit, and we'd usually get into the woods about 10 or
11 o'clock at night and stay until daybreak. And the darkest
hour of the night is what's here called the fourth watch, about
3 o'clock in the morning. I spent many a night driving
all night long after preaching somewhere to get home, And I
always found if I could get through about three or four o'clock in
the morning, I'd make it on all right. But man, about three or four
o'clock in the morning, the dark, dark, quiet, quiet night was
almost too tough to get through. The Savior always comes at the
right time. And the right time is usually
about the fourth watch of the night when the sky is darkest. when the sky is darkest, when
all hope seems to be gone, when all possibility of relief seems
to be gone. In the fourth watch of the night,
the Savior comes. Because you see, it is in the
darkest of the night that the stars of heaven shine most brightly. What marvelous words these are.
He came Walking upon the sea. Here he comes. Folks poke fun of the things
of God and make light of it and talk about walking on water and
say next thing you know we're going to expect to see him walking
on water. That frivolous idea, folks have the idea of the Lord
Jesus kind of walking across a calm lake. No, no, no, no. Get it pictured right. The waves
are beating. The storm is horrible. The wind's
blowing. But the Lord Jesus is walking
across the crest of those waves just as if he were walking on
asphalt. walking in complete calm. And he walks across the
storm to his disciples, deity blended with the sympathy of
humanity. He comes to help his disciples.
How truly he now appears sovereign of the seas. The water saw thee,
O God. The water saw thee, David saying.
They were afraid. The depths also were troubled. None can tread the broken dark
waves that often dash and foam and surge around us, but God
our Savior. Oh, how we limit the Son of God. What low views we have of our
Christ, of his power, of his grace, of his love, of his nearness
to us at all times. These disciples saw the Lord
Jesus approaching, walking across those mountainous waves and billows,
and they were afraid. They were afraid because they
didn't recognize him. They were afraid because they
saw this storm and thought, this must be the work of some evil
spirit. And here he comes. Here he comes.
In the midst of their storm, when darkness was darkest and
fear was greatest, they were weakest. Their best, most powerful,
ever faithful friend came walking across the storm to them, and
they mistook him for a ghost, and we're even more afraid. How
much like these disciples we are, so full of fear, looking
at God's character through his dealings, interpreting God's
promises by his providence. Like these disciples in the midst
of our storms, we commonly misjudge our God. Turn back to Isaiah
43 for a minute. Isaiah 43. Now thus saith the Lord that
created thee, O Jacob, he that formed thee, O Israel, fear not,
for I have redeemed thee. I have called thee by thy name,
thou art mine. When thou passest through the
waters, and through them you will pass, I will be with thee. And through the rivers, They
shall not overflow thee. When thou walkest through the
fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle
upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the
Holy One of Israel, thy Savior. Now, look at verse 50 back here
in Mark 6. Hear the Savior's voice. I don't
know what you are now going through, and I don't know what you will
go through tomorrow, but in your darkest hour, the Lord Jesus
comes, and this is how he calms our souls. Hear the Savior's
voice in the storm. It is I. Be not afraid. It is I, be not afraid. It is I who sent you here. It is I who raised this storm. It is I who caused your fear. It is I who brought this darkness. It is I who took the wife you
love so dearly, who took the husband of your youth, who took
the child from your breast. It is I who took the darling
of your heart. It is I who caused your sickness
and caused your pain and caused your trouble. It is I who sent
this bereavement, this heartache, this pain. It is I who sent the
storm and sent you into the storm. And it is I who rides upon the
storm to your soul. It is I. I sent this not against
you, but for you. I sent this not to hurt you,
but to do you good. I sent this thing not to cause
you pain, but to cause your pain to be profitable to you. It is
I. Be not afraid. It is I. Be not afraid. It is I. Be not afraid. Oh, God help you
now. in the midst of the storm to
hear the Savior's voice always. Son of God, speak when our hearts
are troubled and cause your people to know your voice and make us
to hear it is I. Be not afraid. Amen.