like most fishermen, he probably was able to swim, he now began to sink." The words are very expressive, he felt himself sinking with such a weight that he had no hope of saving himself, and expected certainly to sink to the bottom of the sea. Affrighted, he cried, " Lord, save me!" In a moment, the hand of Christ was stretched forth, and caught the sinking disciple, while a gentle rebuke was given, "O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt ?" Still the Saviour stood upborne upon the waves he might now have continued to walk across the lake, to the astonishment of the inhabitants of the towns on the opposite coasts; but his miracles were not for needless display, nor were they wrought when ordinary means would suffice. He had come through the storm to save his disciples; and having reached them, "he went up unto them into the ship," when they received him with joy. No sooner had he stepped on board than the wind ceased, the storm was lulled, and soon the ship was on the other side of the lake, safely moored on the shores of Gennesareth, not far from the city of Capernaum. 66 They that were in the ship were amazed beyond measure;" and falling at his feet, they said, "Of a truth thou art the Son of God!" They had heard of the Red Sea opening its waves, when Moses stretched out his rod; and of the dividing of the river Jordan, when Elisha smote it with his mantle; now they had seen in Christ a wonder which proved him to be Divine. To tread on the waves of the sea was declared by Job to be the prerogative of God alone, Job ix. 8; and, among the ancients, the figure of two feet on the water was a symbol of an impossible thing. Casting themselves at his feet, they worshipped him with lowliest reverence. MANY MIRACLES NEAR THE SEA OF GALILEE. ALTHOUGH the day was only breaking_when they came to land, they were observed. It was not possible for Jesus to remain unknown in a part of the country where he had wrought so many wonders. The news was soon spread; and now we meet with another of those animated scenes, which are so briefly and beautifully narrated in the Gospels. “When the men of that place had knowledge of him, they sent out, and ran through that whole region round about, and began to carry about in beds those that were sick, and brought unto him all that were diseased, where they heard he was. And whithersoever he entered into vil lages, 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 perfectly whole." These narratives convey many important lessons. 1. The example of Jesus teaches us the duty of secret prayer. When wearied with the labours of the day, he retired at evening to the mountains and deserts for communion with his Father, and to intercede for man; and then returned with the morning light to his labours of love. In him we see how to unite active exertion with fervent piety. The practice of devotion does not require us to shut ourselves out from the world; nor, on N the other hand, does the most busy life excuse the neglect of prayer. ous. 2. Like the tempest-tossed disciples, the church of Christ, and believers in all ages, are exposed to trials. The ocean of this world is often tempestuDarkness has often gathered around, storms have arisen, the hearts of the righteous have began to fail; and it has been as though the Lord had withdrawn, and left his disciples to their fears. Yet, all the while his eye has been upon them; he has pleaded their cause in heaven; and, after their faith has been severely tried, he has stilled the tempest, and delivered them out of all their trouble. 3. From the conduct of Peter we may be warned not to " tempt God." We tempt him in prayer, when we ask for what he has not promised to give; we tempt him in providence, when we go out of the way of duty, or trifle with temptation. He may then leave us, that we may learn how weak we are, and that if left to ourselves we should certainly perish. DAUGHTER OF TIE WOMAN OF CANAAN HEALED. MATT. XV. 21-28; MARK vii. 24-30. HITHERTO all who had sought to Jesus with their afflictions had been relieved without delay. No wonder, then, that the certainty of a cure continued to draw such numbers to him. However, there is a case recorded in which he appeared to hesitate, and even to rebuke the applicant who pleaded at his feet; but, as will be seen, it was in the end only to try her faith, and to make more manifest the love of his heart. Our Saviour was now entering on the last year of his public ministry as the "Teacher sent from God:" he had again faithfully warned the opposers of his truth, and had retired to the most remote part of the land of Israel. His human nature needed rest, and for this object he went into the "coasts of Tyre and Sidon," where he was least known. These cities were on the shores of the Great Sea, and belonged to Syria, although they were considered in the limits of the Holy Land. Sidon was one of the most ancient cities in the world. Tyre was its colony, and called her daughter, Isa. xxiii. 12; and from its position and wealth, was said by the prophet to be "very glorious in the midst of the seas," Ezek. xxvii. 25. The "coasts" referred to in the Gospels, were not the parts bordering the sea, but the inland regions belonging to the cities. Even a short interval of repose was denied our Lord the fame of his mighty works was widely spread abroad, and his person now was wellknown, so that "he could not be hid." No sooner had he come into the country, than "a woman of Canaan, out of the same coasts," heard of his arrival, and besought his aid. She was a Greek, or Gentile, a Syro-phenician, by nation.* This woman was the mother of a beloved child, a young daughter, now lying in a condition worse than even death itself, for she was torn and tormented by an evil spirit. In all probability the mother was a widow, as no allusion is made to a husband. It is commonly thought that she had been bred in the principles of that idolatry which consisted in the worship of the images of dead men. She may have bowed down to Tammuz, the idol of her native land, Ezek. viii. 14; or "The old inhabitants of this tract were descendants of Canaan, the grandson of Noah, who were not driven out by the Israelites; whence this part of the country seems to have retained the name of Canaan, long after the name had ceased in the parts which were taken possession of by the Israelites. The Greeks called the tract inhabited by the old Canaanites, along the Mediterranean Sea, Phenicia; the more inland parts, as being inhabited partly by Canaanites, or Phenicians, and partly by Syrians, who had conquered it, they called Syro-phenicia. Hence this woman is said, by St. Matthew, to be of Canaan, but by St. Mark to be a Syrophenician by nation, as she was a Greek by religion and language." Dr. Wells's Historical Geography of the Bible. The Jews were in the habit of calling all the civilized part of the heathen world by the name of Greeks; the uncivilized portion they termed Barbarians, Rom. i. 14; Col. iii. 11. |