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DISCOURSE XIII.

THE WORKS AND WONDERS OF THE LORD IN
THE DEEP.

PSALM Cvii. 23-32.

They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; these see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep. For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. They mount up to the heaven; they go down again to the depths; their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit's end. Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.

He maketh the

storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still, Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven. Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children

of men!

Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

THE beautiful Psalm, out of which these words are taken, comprises a variety of exhortations to praise the Lord, for the blessings of redemption from captivity, and for his manifold providential preservations and deliverances. And the portion of the Psalm, designed for our present consideration, conveys a signal manifestation of the power and providence of God in the preservation of mariners during a dangerous storm at sea. Doubtless there is also a spiritual meaning in this passage, as well as in the Psalm generally, extending beyond the mere matters of time and sense, to the preservation and deliverance of "the redeemed of the Lord," and to the doctrine of a special providence effecting the purposes of grace and salva

tion. But as the words which have been read as a text are, independent of their figurative meaning, peculiarly interesting and applicable to the condition of a sea-faring congregation, we shall employ them, chiefly, in their literal and obvious signification. And this application of the divine word, to the habits and experience of seamen, will suggest to us the consideration of the works of the Lord, as beheld by seafaring men, and his

wonders in the deep; with the duties of devotion and thanksgiving to which the contemplation calls them.

I. Consider THE WORKS OF The Lord, as BEHELD BY SEAFARING MEN. "They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; these see the works of the Lord."

"The works of the Lord," saith the holy Psalmist, "are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein." And thus he declares his own practice in reference to them,-"I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands." And for what object doth he contemplate these wonders of creation? He elsewhere tells what they are calculated to teach us, when he says, "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handy-work. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard." As, therefore, the works of creation preach, though in silence, of the glories of the Creator, and declare His power through every region of the earth,-so ought the works of the Lord, as beheld by seafaring men, to be constant preachers unto them, of the divine power and glory.

With this view, my brethren, reflect on the

amazing works of nature and creation in the remote parts of the earth,—the mighty rivers— the inaccessible mountains-the impervious forests the magnificent trees-the monsters of the waters, and the fierce beasts of the land. But above all reflect on the mighty expanse of the ocean on which you traffic and adventure your lives, as declaratory of the power and glory of God. Consider its vastness. Though its bed is compared but to the hollow of its Creator's hand, yet its quantity is probably no less than sixty-five millions of solid miles, which, if spread out like a river as large as the Mersey, at Liverpool, at high-water, would extend to the distance of eight thousand four hundred and fifty millions of miles,* or eighty-nine times the distance of the sun from the earth! But this is an extent of which we have little or no conception. Imagine, therefore, a ship to navigate such a stream, with a fresh gale blowing always fair,—it

* Reckoning the area of the globe 196,758,000 square miles, and the proportion of sea at two-thirds, leaves a little more than 130 millions of square miles for the area of the sea, equivalent, reckoning the average depth half a mile, to 65 millions of cubic miles of water. Now reckoning the Mersey at Liverpool to be three-quarters of a mile in width, and nine fathoms average depth, at high water, there would be 130 times these dimensions in a cubic mile, consequently, multiplying 65 millions by 130, we have 8,450 millions of miles, as above.

would require a hundred thousand years to perform the voyage from end to end!* Suppose a cannon-ball to fly along it, keeping the average velocity of the first mile of its progress,—that would require about two thousand six hundred and eighty years to reach the end! Imagine the ball to retain its greatest velocity-the velocity with which it leaves the mouth of the gun-even then would it require eight hundred and twentyfive years to pass from end to end of the ocean, if stretched out into a continuous stream, of the dimensions of the Mersey! +

Brethren! when ye behold this work of the Lord, reflect upon the greatness of your Redeemer (for he it was that created it), and the glory of His power! Consider also the fluidity of the sea, and the power of God as manifested therein. Though its resistance will repel a cannon ball that is fired obliquely against it, yet it is so yielding, where the benefit of man requires it, that it parts before the bow of the vessel, and gives way to the power

* The ship is supposed to go constantly at the rate of ten miles an hour, British statute.

+ The average velocity of a cannon ball, during the first mile of its flight, is, according to the best experiments, about 500 feet per second; whilst the extreme velocity, as the ball issues from the mouth of a gun, well proportioned and well charged, is found to be about 1680 feet in a second of time, being about 19 miles in a minute, 1145.5 in an hour, 28,053 in a day, or 10,239,345 miles in a year!

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