A sailor left behind him, among other things, a Bible. He had written with his own hand on the blank page at the beginning of the book: "This Bible was given me by a friend, as a reward. It has been my constant companion for 53 years, 41 of which I spent at sea. During these years I was in 45 sea battles, received 13 wounds, 3 times suffered shipwreck, once the ship was destroyed by fire, twice our ship capsized, 15 times I had fever of different kinds, and—the Bible was always my consolation! I witness to all this with my own hand.”
Truly a much-used Bible! And what a significant story do these simple words on the white page tell!
"This Bible was my consolation!”
What grace, that it has pleased God, to put His precious Word into our hands! Let us, too, continually read this Book!
Looking back on the past, we learn from this Book that everything has been put in order through the precious blood of Christ. As to the future, we are taught that where He, our beloved Lord, is, there we shall be. And in the present, we find in the Bible, comfort, instruction, warning and all that we need for the pilgrimage.