Vere. 83, 84.-With many auoh pe.rable1 ; 188.Son for the allusion to these boats; o.nd the such, that is, a.a he had just been delivering wider the reach of the tempest, tho gree.ter -phlin and simple illustrations whioh 11,ll would appear the Divine power of Obrist in might understand; not e.bstruse e.nd difll- stilling it, and the greatrr the amount of ~ult similitndee, bnt su.fll.oiently pie.in for testimony to the reality oftho mlraole. Tho them to perceive that there we.a heavenly miracle was wrought to al.tow his power over and Divine truth lying hidden benee.th all oree.tion, the eee. as well o.s the dry land : them, so that they might be drawn onwards and that they, his disciples, o.nd all who through that which they did underst.a.ud, were with him might believe in him a.a the t.o search into something hidden beneath it, Omnipotent God. But further, this tempest whioh at present they did not know. But on the see. of Galilee was a type o.nd symbol prive.tely to his own disoiplea he expounded of the trials and temptations which should (brb,v,) all things, This word (brt.\.6"') come on the Church. For the C'hurch of ooours nowhere else in the Gospels. But it God is as a ship in a storm, ever tossed upon does occur in St. Peter's eeoond Epistle (i. " the waves of this troublesome world." And 20), "No Scripture is o<>f any private then, moreover, as the rude storm urges the ( brt.\.OD'<c.>s) exposition, or interpretation." ship onwards, so that it more quickly This suggests 11, connection between St. reaches the desired haven, so afflictions and Mark's Gospel and the.t Epistle, e.nd me.y be temptations quicken Christ's disciples to the accepted e.s an e.nxilie.ry evidence, however greater desire of holiness, by which they email, a.a to the gen nineness of the Epistle. a.re borne onwards more speedily to "the Vers. 35, 36.-And on that ds.y,-the de.y, haven where they would be." . that is, on which the pe.ra.ble.s were delivered, Ver. 38.-And he was in the hinder pa.rt a.t least those recorded by St. Mark-when of the ship, asleep on a pillow; more lite- even wu oome, he saith unto them, Let 11B rally, he himsel,f was in the stern (~11 a.b.,.l,s ~,rl go over Ullto the other side. And leaving .,.fi ,rp,',µ.,,r,) asleep on the cushion U1rl .,.1, ,rpM• the multitude, they take him with them, ,wpd>..a.1011 ,c«Oe66w11), He had changed his even as he was, in the boat. It was the posture. He was weary with the labour of boa.t from which he had been preaching. addressing the great multitude. He had They ma.de no special preparation. They sought the momentary rest which the did not land first to obt.ain provisions. It crossing of the lake offered to him, He wonld have been inconvenient to go ashore was resting his head upon the low bench in the midst of the crowd. They me.de at which served both for a seat and for a pil- once, as he told them to do, for the other side. low. But while he slept as man, he was And other boe.t.s were with him. This watchful as God. "Debold, he that keep- is another interesting circum.~tance. Pro- eth Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps." bably those who were in these boa.ta had Master, ea.rest thou not that we perish t availed themselves of them to get nearer to This qnestion savours of impatience, if not the great Prophet, the boatmen themselves of irreverence. Who so likely to have put having seen the ve.st crowd that was it as St. Peter? Nor would he be likely gathered on the_ shore, and so having been afterwards to forget that he had put it. attracted thither. Thus he had e. large Hence, probably, its appearance in St. audience on the see. e.s well as on the land. Mark's Gospel. And now it was so ordered that he was Ver. 39.-And he arose---literally, he surrounded by a fleet ancl by a multitude of awoke (61•-y•p8els)--and rebuked the wind, witnesses when he stilled the tempest. and said unto the sea, Peaoe, be still (l,w,ra., Ver. 37.-And there arose a great storm ,..,<1>l,-,.w<10); literally, Be nlent I be muzzled I of wind; literally, there ariseth (-y/11,.,.a., The Greek perfect implies that before the >.tu"t..a.,j,). St. Mark often uses the historical word was uttered, the thing was done by the present, which gives vigour and point to his simple fiat of his will preceding the word, narrative. And the waves beat into the The combined descriptions of the synoptista boat, inllomnch that the boat was now filling show that the storm was very violent, such (fi671 -r,,-,.l(,D"8a.,). St. Matthew says (viii. as no human power could have composed or 24), "the boat was covered with the waves." stilled. So tha.t these words indica.te the SL Luke (viii. 23), "they were filling with supreme authority of Christ as Goel, ruling water, and were in jeopardy." Bede and the sea with his mighty power. Thus others have thought that the boat in which Christ shows himself to be God. In like Christ was we.s the only boat that wo.e mo.nncr, Christ is able to overrule and con- tossed by this stonn ; in order that Christ trol the persecutions of the Church and might show his powel in limiting the area the temptations of the soul. St. Augus- of the tempest. But it is far more probable tine says that "when we allow tempte.• that the other boo.ta were subject to it; for tions to overcome us, Christ sleeps in us. they were very near to the boat in which We forget Christ at such times. Let us, Chrillt wa.e. 'fhere must have been some then, remember him. Let us o.wake him, mR. IV, 1-41.] THE GOSPEL AUCORDING TO ST. MARK. 161
He will epou.k. He will rebuke the tempest Ver. 40.-And he aaid uto them, Why in the soul, u.ud thflre will be a great calm." are 7e fea.rtul 1 have ye not yet faith 1 !'here was a great calm, For all creation Not.,;;,, 061< tx•n, but olhrto tx.-r•. If they peroeivee ite Creator, He never speaks in had faith, they would have known that, vain. It is observable that, as in his though asleep, he could preserve them. miracles of healing, the subjects of them Ver. 41.-A.nd they feared Hoeedingly, usually passed at once to perfect soundness, and said one to another, Who then is this, eo here, there wu.e no gradual subsiding of that even the wind and the sea obey him 1 the storm, as in the ordinary operations of This would seem to have been said by the nature, but almost before the word hu.d sailors, though it was doubtlelill a.ssented to escaped his lips there was a perfect calm. by all.