I am going, dear children, to tell you something that I witnessed with my own eyes. Several years ago, I made a very long voyage in a large ship; it is not necessary to tell you what places I visited, but one of them, which I shall not easily forget, was the town of St. John’s, in Newfoundland.
There are two things that I dare say you have often seen, which generally come from this place, —the great Newfoundland dogs, and the dried God-fish, which is usually called “salt fish.”
I am not now going to write about the dogs, though I could tell you many things respecting them; such proofs of their faithful attachment to their masters, their patience, industry, and obedience, as would make many children ashamed to hear how much a poor dog might teach them in the way of example; and would also, I hope, convince them how very wicked it is to treat with cruelty an animal so valuable as the dog, or indeed any animal that God has seen good to create. What a shocking character is a cruel child!
I am not going, either, to write about the codfish now, except to tell you that they are caught in great numbers at the place which I have mentioned, on what are called the banks of Newfoundland. Those banks are great heaps of sand, deep under the sea, some of them a good way off from the shore, others quite close to it. During the fishing season, numbers of boats go out from the harbor of St. John’s on every fine day, to take the God. Each of these boats has a little mast, a sail of reddish-brown canvas, and usually two fishermen in it. They are very bold, hardy men, who get their living chiefly by this employment. During the long winters, many of them take their families into the woods, where they, erect houses with the small fir trees, for the double purpose of being near the timber from which they prepare staves for making barrels for the oil taken from the liver of the God-fish, and that they may be surrounded by the wood, to shelter them from the storms of snow. There is very little of the land cultivated, except for potatoes and other vegetables, which they have in great abundance. Oxen and sheep are principally brought from Prince Edward’s Island, which is beautifully fertile, so that the poorer class of people give themselves principally to the business of catching, salting, and drying the fine God-fish, which they send to Europe, and to all parts of the world almost, in abundance.
It was a very interesting and beautiful sight, as the ship approached St. John’s. The harbor of St. John’s, in Newfoundland, is a very noble one, but the opening is so extremely narrow that the greatest caution is necessary in entering it; for there are steep rocks on both sides, and if a ship missed the middle of the passage, it would strike upon the rocks, which would break the wooden bottom or keel of the ship, and let the water in, to destroy the vessel, and drown the passengers. You may be sure there is good care taken to have a steady man to steer the ship; and when it is a large one, there is very great anxiety indeed in getting into the harbor of St. John’s.
I must remind you, too, that a ship at sea is not like a carriage on land, which may be stopped at pleasure. When the sails are spread, and the wind is blowing fresh, the ship will go on in spite of all that man can do. I have told you all this, that you may the better understand what follows.
Our ship was going into that harbor, which we had been looking for a good while, and when we saw it, like a narrow slit in the high dark rocks, at a distance, the man who steered us began to direct the vessel that way, by means of the rudder. I looked about me with a great deal of pleasure, for I could see many of the boats that I have before described upon the broad sea, rolling on the tops of the waves, while the fishermen were busily casting their nets out, and drawing them in with great fishes enclosed. They picked out the good ones, and threw the bad back into the water. I then observed that an immense number of large white seabirds were flying about among the boats, and diving into the water every moment. These birds live on fish; they were watching when the men threw a worthless fish out of their boats, and by suddenly darting after it, they would catch and devour it before it could sink into the depths of the sea. Oh, my dear children, here was something to remind me very powerfully of the Lord’s parable, where he likens the kingdom of heaven to this very thing. The gathering of fishes, good and bad, in a net, and throwing the bad away (Matt. 13:47-5047Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: 48Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. 49So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, 50And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 13:47‑50)). It was very striking to see how the birds of prey instantly seized every fish that was thrown out of the boats; their destruction was as sure as it was painful, for it must have been painful to the poor fish to be devoured alive by these great birds. But how much more terrible will be the destruction of the wicked at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Read the 49th and 50th verses of the 13th of Matthew. And who are the wicked there spoken of? Turn to 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10,7And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, 8In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: 9Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; 10When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day. (2 Thessalonians 1:7‑10) and you will see they are those “that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.” What a solemn thing it is then to be disobedient to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Have you not often heard it? Have you not often, read in Good News how “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; “how” he put away sin by the sacrifice of himself”; how “God commandeth all everywhere to repent,” and calls upon them, even you, dear young reader, to “believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,” that so you may be saved by his precious blood. Well, now, I hope that whenever you think about the fishermen on the sea casting out the bad fish, you will remember what the word of God tells us about those that do not obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; and if you have already been brought through grace to believe in Christ, may you be stirred up to try and lead others, especially your young playmates and school-fellows to do so too. Tell them what the fishermen do with the bad fish at Newfoundland, and that Jesus says that is just how the wicked will be served when he comes; only instead of being merely cast into the sea, or eaten up, they will be cast into a furnace of fire. But to return to my little narrative.
I have told you that our ship was approaching the entrance of St. John’s harbor: it became necessary to set all the sails, that we might be carried forward very fast, because the wind was fair; and if it changed before we could reach the port, we must have gone out to sea again, which would have been a loss of time, and dangerous. So we got up our sails, and scudded along, looking very grand, no doubt, to the people in the little boats which seemed so pretty to us. It was a lovely day; the sea was rolling its beautiful waters in small regular waves, the breeze blew most refreshingly, and a glorious summer sun was shining brightly, so as to show every little boat that danced upon the waves, and every white bird that fluttered about. I have seen many interesting sights, but one more lively and engaging than this I think I never saw; and while leaning over the side of our tall ship, I felt such enjoyment as I should not have supposed could have been turned in a moment to the greatest terror and dismay.
One of the fishing-boats was a little to the left, in front of us; at that moment the steersman, who had his eye fixed steadily on the harbor’s entrance, still half a mile from us, found it necessary that the ship should be slightly turned in that direction. He knew nothing of the boat: and the men in it, seeing the ship’s head not pointed towards them, never doubted that we should pass them by at a safe distance; so they went on hauling in their nets, quite at their ease. Only think how great must have been my horror, when, being on the side of the ship nearest to them. I found the steersman had altered its course, and we were going on, at a fearful rate, directly in a line towards the boat, which was not bigger, in proportion to the ship, than one of the full stops on this page is to a large capital letter. There was no help for it, the ship went forward, and for the little boat to get away was impossible; you could not have counted ten from the time when the ship was turned till it reached the boat. I shall never forget the looks of the poor terrified fishermen as they’ lifted their eyes up to us. I would gladly have turned my head another way, but could not. I felt quite stiff with terror, and fully expecting to see them in a moment swallowed up by the waves, the dreadful anxiety kept my eye fixed on them. Another instant, and the ship had struck the boat — the water rose, and the boat rose upon it — the water fell, and the boat seemed buried — it grated along the side of the ship, and some strong hooks that were upon our vessel caught hold of the little sail of the boat — the ship rolled forward — the fishermen gave a loud cry, as they felt their boat caught and dragged back, and in one moment more they would have been lost. But the Lord’s arm was not shortened that he could not save even in such tremendous peril as that; and a sudden plunge which our great ship made, instead of sinking the boat, tore the sail quite off, kept it hanging on our hooks, and left the little boat safe, though much damaged, in the open sea.
All this happened in less time than it would take you to walk across a room; for, as I told you, we were making all speed to reach the harbor; and those who have not seen the movement of a large ship through the billows, can have no idea how rapid and how powerful it is. The strength and thickness of a ship are very great indeed; yet, if in its passage it strikes against a rock, or is fixed on a bank of sand, it goes to pieces. You know that the rock and the bank are quite still, therefore you may judge what is the force of the ship’s motion when it can break itself by a touch on them. The waters of the sea roll high, and sweep along in mighty grandeur, bearing the vessel on their surface; and when the wind adds its strength, by filling the sails, nothing can resist the progress of a large ship, unless it be strong enough, as I have said to break the keel to pieces. I cannot give you a description of the size of our vessel, but I can tell you that there were five hundred people living in it quite comfortably and not crowded. Now fancy such a huge thing as this, standing as high out of the water as the ceiling of a common-sized room is from the floor, and then having masts and sails higher than a very tall tree; fancy it, I say, with five hundred people looking down upon a very little boat, just big enough for two men to manage their nets in, hardly a foot above the level of the water, and the top of its mast not nearly reaching to the place where I stood; fancy all this, and you may partly imagine the terrible danger of those two men, and the agony of fear with which we saw what appeared to us the certain and immediate destruction of two fellow-creatures by our means.
So rapid was our course, that before I could look steadily back upon the boat it was a great way off, its masts broken, a fragment of the sail hanging to it, and the poor men, seemingly unable to recover themselves from the terror into which they had been thrown, were gazing after us, —I hope with thankful adoration to HIM whose mighty arm had interposed to save them from so sudden a death, which would have left their children fatherless, and widowed their poor wives, and perhaps have taken them, quite unprepared, into the presence of the Judge of all the earth. I never saw those men again; I do not know their names, nor should I recollect their faces if I were to meet them; but their peril I shall never forget. It reminds me of a greater peril which is approaching with rapid strides, and will soon burst suddenly upon a Christ-rejecting world. As the big ship loomed in the distance, or ever it came near the fishing boat, so this peril I speak of lowers upon the world. As the fishermen may have seen in the distance first the top-sails and then the bull of the great ship, and then, if they looked at all, could see it plainly coming on, so those who have eyes to see can perceive the plain signs of the great peril I refer to coming on so fast that there is not a moment to lose. But as those fishermen, all unconscious of their danger, went on with their business, even when the big ship was close upon them, so it is with the world of the ungodly. And just as those fishermen felt quite safe and quite content till their boat was actually laid hold of by the hooks in the side of the ship of war, so, too, many will go on, in spite of all warning, till the peril that is coming on so fast lays hold of them, and wrecks them forever in the ocean of eternal wrath!
Do you ask, dear young reader, what is the peril I speak of? It is “the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” It is “coming;” God says so. It is “at hand;” God says so. It is “sudden destruction” to those that have refused to believe in Jesus — a destruction which shall come upon them while they are saying, “Peace and safety” —a destruction which “they shall not escape.” God says so.
Do you believe him? Christ is the only ark of safety, the only refuge from the storm. Have you fled to Jesus? have you believed in HIM? If not, wait no longer, delay not a moment. See the big ship bearing down upon the little boat, how fast it rushes on. Just so the day of judgment hastens onward to overwhelm those that have set at naught the wonderful love of Christ, the blessed patience and long-suffering of God. Oh, do not be found among them in that day! “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” You, though so young, are a sinner. “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved;” yes, saved by his blood — “saved from wrath through him.” “Behold, Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation.”
If the fishermen forgot their danger, and went on in sin, after seeing the hand of God so stretched out to deliver them from a dreadful death, will they not be covered with shame, and dumb with conscious wickedness at the great day? And if you neglect the warning contained in this narrative, will it not be the same with you? I have told you of the coming danger, and I have pointed out to you the way of escape through the wonderful love of God, in giving his own Son to die, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. May we meet in joy in the presence of him who died to redeem sinners, and who lives that those who believe may have life and glory in the world to come.