GOD'S WONDERS IN THE SEA.

III

are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so He bringeth them unto their desired haven." The literal truth of this grand description my father often proved; and what if it is not always realised;—what if sometimes the storm is not allayed, and the mariner is not delivered;-what if miracles are not wrought to prevent such a catastrophe as the loss of the London; yet, God ruleth notwithstanding, and the stormy wind fulfils His purposes, which He will one day make plain to all who trust in Him. Doubt not, reader, that God's providence is over thee, whether thou art at home or abroad,-whether on the land, or on the boisterous main, and let thy requests be made known to Him in prayer, and He will sustain thee by His mighty arm.

"What though the floods lift up their voice,
Thou hearest, Lord, our louder cry;
They cannot damp Thy children's joys,
Or shake the soul when God is nigh.

"Headlong we cleave the yawning deep,

And back to highest heaven are borne,
Unmoved, though rapid whirlwinds sweep,
And all the watery world upturn.

"Roar on, ye waves! Our souls defy
Your roaring to disturb our rest:
In vain t' impair the calm ye try,
The calm in a believer's breast.

"Rage, while our faith the Saviour tries,
Thou sea, the servant of His will:
Rise, while our God permits thee, rise;

But fall, when He shall say, 'Be still!'"

So sang Charles Wesley, probably when Mr. Whitfield was about to embark on his second voyage to America, in August, 1739;* and happy is the mariner who, with such-like confidence, can step on board his bark and brave the perils of the deep. And every Christian mariner may adopt these strains, as also may every Christian voyager; for the Lord Jehovah gathereth the wind in His fists, and bindeth the waters in a garment, and every child of His is safe beneath His ever-watchful

care.

* See the Poetical Works of John and Charles Wesley. Edited by the Rev. G. Osborn, D.D. Vol. i, pp. 228-231.

CHAPTER VIII.

MORE CHANGES.

"WE SHOULD RECEIVE THE AFFLICTIONS

GOD SENDS WITH A

HUMILITY WITHOUT DESPONDENCY, WITH A REVERENCE WITHOUT DISTRUST, AND KEEP OURSELVES FROM EITHER FEARING TOO MUCH, OR NOT FEARING GOD ENOUGH."-Charnock.

I

"-Come, labour, when the worn out frame requires

Perpetual Sabbath; come, disease and want;
And sad seclusion through decay of sense;

But leave me unabated trust in Thee-
And let Thy favours, to the end of life,
Inspire me with ability to seek
Purpose and hope among eternal things—
Father of heaven and earth! and I am rich
And will possess my portion in content!"

Wordsworth.

CHAPTER VIII.

MORE CHANGES.

L

ONDON life is not very agreeable to the wife of a

ship's captain, so frequently left alone as she is. There is little or no society for her, and she is consequently shut up, to a great extent, in the circle of her own family. So, at least, my mother found it. We resided in the east of London; but, with one exception, we did not know a single neighbour, and the friends my mother had, lived in the City, or in some still more distant part of its suburbs. And how different London was then from what it is now! The means of locomotion were fewer than the smallest provincial town now affords. Railways were undreamt of. Omnibusses had scarcely begun to run. Hackneycoaches were comparatively few. Sedan chairs were somewhat popular.

I remember that, when the weather would permit, we used to go on the Sabbath to the chapel of St. George's-in-the-East, when, as I thought, the services