ONE beautiful May afternoon, years ago, the Empress of Ireland left Quebec with 1476 passengers aboard. She steamed grandly down the St. Lawrence until at a point where the river is 30 miles wide. Here she entered a fog, and in the fog was rammed by the Storstad, a Norwegian coal ship. In less than a quarter of an hour the beautiful liner went to the bottom, and in that short time over 1000 precious lives were lost in the dark icy waters.
Let us learn a few lessons from this disaster.
All this happened within a few hours of their starting out, and a little after two next morning. How like many lives — wrecked very early, spoiled at the start! We need not think it is only those far on in life who meet with trials, temptations and death. How important it is to have the Lord Jesus as our Saviour and Pilot at the beginning of our lives.
It was a small vessel that caused all this loss. One paper said: “It is a disquieting fact that in these days of such progress and advancement in construction with watertight compartments, that such a magnificent vessel should sink like a stone after one blow from a freighter not one-tenth her size, and with a speed of less than 12 knots per hour.”
Dear reader, we need not wait for big sins to sink us. Little temptations we may think too small to be concerned about may be our ruin.
A correspondent told of how a little girl eight years old was saved. Her name was Gracie Hanegan, whose parents were Christians. They were both drowned. The little girl, with her hair in braids down her back, told of having no lifebelt, and when thrown from the doomed ship she had nothing to keep her afloat. She sank and on coming up she saw a piece of floating wood and grabbed it. Then she was pulled into a lifeboat by a man’s strong arms.
She was saved by availing herself of that piece of wood, and we as sinners need to lay hold of the promise of God. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” Acts 16:3131And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:31). But she could not have been saved if someone had not laid hold of her. We are only saved by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves; it is the gift of God, and not of works. (Eph. 2:8,98For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9Not of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:8‑9)).
Another little girl named Helen was saved and said: “My daddy woke me, and brought me up on deck. When the ship began to sink he took me under his arm and jumped into the water with me. He began to swim with me and put me up onto a piece of wood. I didn’t see Daddy any more after that. I swam with the piece of wood, and came close to a boat and was taken in.” “My Father woke me” is the language of all who are eternally saved. They can say of the Lord Jesus, “He brought me,” “He took me,” “He put me in safety.”
When the rescue boats got among the drowning, a mother’s voice pierced the darkness, “Over here! over here! O my baby!” Two boats rushed frantically in the dark to the rescue, but before they got there the cries had ceased, and silence reigned. They must have perished in those cold dark waters of death.
How often men are unable to save from death, but the Lord Jesus can and He will save us from perishing in our sins if we cry to Him and trust Him as our Saviour, for it is written “Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Acts 2:2121And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Acts 2:21).
Dear reader, are you among God’s saved ones?
ML-07/29/1973