The miracles of Jesus - Classical Christian Literature by Athleo.net

THE TOUCH OF JESUS 253
That is an experience repeated again and again
among the Lord's followers. We adventure ourselves
upon some sea of temptation, confident in our power
of being able to hold our own.
Or, we cast ourselves
into some responsible position, sure that we shall be
strong enough to discharge its duties.
is
But the wind
boisterous, difficulty we did not foresee springs up,
our strength begins to fail, our pluck to go, and we
begin to sink ;
till we cry, ( '
Lord, save me " ;
and no
sooner are we sure that we have hold of Him, and He
of us, than all is well. What we want, brethren, for
our safety and our peace, is to " link our earthly
feebleness with His almighty arm." Good old
Thomas Manton, the Puritan, puts it well (although
as quaintly as is his wont) when he says " We
:
cannot stand a moment longer than God upholdeth
us ; we are as a staff in the hand of a man
;
take
away the hand, and the staff falleth to the ground
;
or, rather, as a little infant in the nurse's hand
;
if we
are left to our own feet we shall soon fall. Created
grace will never hold out against so many difficulties.
One of the Fathers bringeth in the flesh, saying,
'
Ego deftciam, I shall fail ;
'
the world, Ego decipiam,
'
I
will deceive them
'
sweep them away
'
; the devil, ' Ego eripiam, I will
; but God saith, ' Ego custodiam, I
will keep them, I will never fail them, nor forsake
them.' There lieth our safety." Let our prayer be
" Hold Thou me up, and I shall be safe."