They that go down to the sea in ships,


I. THE SHIP SAILS FORTH. Life is a voyage. We all go down to the sea in ships, to a life of mystery and danger, of glorious privilege and responsibility. Our hearts are full of happiness as of new wine. Rejoice, O young man, but remember, be mindful of the sublime things.
II. THE WIND RISES. Has it come to you already? Has there been a turn in your prosperity? Are things going wrong? Is it sickness, bereavement, financial stringency? Are the winds whistling through the cordage? Fear not! God holds the trident; the winds are in His fist. There are some anchors that will hold in the fiercest stress OF Euroclydon. One is the Wisdom of God. There is nothing that happens without His cognizance. No storm comes haphazard. God understands the end from the beginning; and He makes no mistakes. Another is God's Goodness. He doth not afflict willingly. Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth. But never too much.
III. THE SAILORS ARE AT THEIR WIT'S END. In the margin it is, "All their wisdom is swallowed up." Then there is hope! For when I am weak, then am I strong. My strength is made perfect in weakness.
IV. THEY ARE ON THEIR KNEES. Our Lord said that men ought always to pray and riot to faint. But alas, men do not always pray. They will not. But they pray when the storm breaks. And, strange to tell, God is willing to hear even the cry of desperation. He is of great lovingkindness and forbearance. For some men prayer is their vital breath, their native air. To others it is like the bell in the coal-mine, used only in time of danger.
V. THE STORM IS ASSUAGED. The rule, after all, is fair weather. The storm, rage it never so fiercely, will soon be spent. Our "light afflictions" are "but for a moment." Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. There is no night without a dawn.
VI. THE SHIP SAILS IN. In that day the sorest troubles of the earthly life will seem insignificant as we look back upon them. We shall understand then what the apostle meant when he called our afflictions "light," and spoke of them as "enduring but for a moment." It will be in our hearts to bless God for all the storms and the trials.
(D. J. Burrell, D.D.)

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