darkness and sunlight, its hardships, attractions, and dangers. Indeed, no one is exempt from a real interest in the sea so long as he walks on its shores, or listens to its deep music, or is related to those who make it their home, or partakes the comforts and luxuries, the art and knowledge, which are borne to him over the "world of waters." The text, therefore, deserves the attention of all. It contains two truths: First-That the sea is the property of God; Second-That it is the work of God. We shall reverse their order, noticing "the first last, and the last first." I. GOD MADE THE SEA. We need not dwell on this fact; we wish only to bring before you some of the ends for which it was made; and 1st. God made the sea as a depository of life. The chief importance of the land is in the life it sustains. All its beauty and grandeur are connected with life. That is its beauty and glory. This life is ever in our view. It is in us and around us; we hear it in the fields and forests, by the lakes and streams. Its voice cheers the spring morning, and gives tenderness to the autumnal eve. It springs in our path, and catches our eye From the delicate spray, where at dawn of day, From the old roof and wall, the solemn poplar tall, From the sheltering thorn, from fields of golden corn, From each grand old river, where nature's hand for ever Echoes that in the distant air expire. But the sea, too, has its life; and that life is on a scale the most majestic and the most minute. "There is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein." There he tumbles in lazy joy on the sunny waters, and there, as with the might of the billow, does he plunge and leap through the foam. There, too, is the tiny insect, that builds its coral palaces on invisible foundations, and plants its forests in hidden fields; and between these extremes are all the forms of horror and of beauty that ever peopled "fancy's world," each with its peculiar habits and instincts, its allotment of joy and pain; each using up the thread, either brief or extended, of its mortal existence, and yielding itself at last to the wants of the great community of life, leaving no trace of its career in the restless element where it lives and dies. The sea is a wonderful depository of life. 2. God made the sea as a grand field for human enterprise. On land we are ever surrounded by the activities of man. They make up his life; they illustrate his being; they are the source of his subsistence. The science of industry on land is a profound study, but far too little understood. The enterprise of the ocean is equally marked, is equally a profound science, and even less known, although its bearing on the comfort of the world is quite as extensive and indispensable. The soil does, indeed, furnish the largest amount of productions; but they must be transported from country to country, before they can gain their full value. The sailor's hand must be laid upon them, and his life be hazarded for them, ere they attain their highest importance and worth. That must be an extended enterprise which covers an area of one hundred million square miles, employing three millions of men, and three hundred thousand vessels, all on the sea! Now take your stand at some fancied height above London-the representative of the world's commerce-and as you see fleet after fleet leaving and entering the port, follow them outward on their varied courses to their diverse destinations; or trace their way from "regions afar," to the grand focus of trade beneath your imagined post of observation; and calculate, if you can, all the wealth, action, thought, care, hope, fear, agony, and death! All the relations and extended influences of the commercial life that moves and spreads itself out beneath your eye! Here you behold a ship laden with the riches of the East, which, as she comes safely into port, shall gladden the heart of the merchant, who counts his large profits,-of the retailer, whose shelves will soon glitter with the new accumulations,-of the man of fashion and refinement, who clothes himself in oriental splendours, and fills his mansion with the decorations, and his table with the delicacies, of brighter climes. There a bark goes down with her costly burden, and a thousand losses and agonies spring, like spectres, from her grave. There a sail is spreading seaward; beneath it tearful eyes look toward the misty shore, and lips breathe farewells to those who hear not, see not, nor shall ever again! Here comes, like a tired giant, a ship from her voyage of months and years, having weathered a hundred tempests, and been held by as many calms; shattered, rusty, and covered with mould, her crew lessened by hunger and toil, and disaster and disease; she comes with a few hearts, weary, but yet hopeful, to learn that in their absence "gems have dropped from love's shining circle,"--to sit again in the home of their boyhood, at once the comforters of those who have waited for them long, and the bereaved, who need the solace their presence imparts. And when you shall have surveyed all this, and much more that we cannot now recount, descend and walk among the merchants of the city-mark their stores of merchandise, listen to their recitals of gain and loss, go with their goods as they glide from shop to shop, and are again borne piecemeal away by the myriads of consumers, until you shall have entered every palace, every mansion, and every cottage in the land and in the world, and seen the million channels into which the rills of commerce flow, and then tell me if the sea is not a grand field for human enterprise-a field broad enough for the most daring and ambitious, for the widest discoveries, the highest mortal resolves! 3. God made the sea to illustrate his glory. By the glory of God we mean his perfections, the harmony of his attributes, the visible manifestation of his being, his character, and his government. Whatever bears the impress of these illustrates his glory. This impress is on the sea; it is, therefore, a symbol of his glory. Mystery is a perfection of God. "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing." Our worship, our faith, our very nature, require such mystery. The sea is its fit emblem. There it lies, wide, deep, ever-flowing; concealing a world of life and treasure, and infinite volumes of truth. We stand on the shore, and lay our hand on the restless element; we listen to its deep voices, and admire many of its revelations; but there is the depth, the silence of the Infinite. It illustrates the eternity of God. Fathomless and boundless to man, it stretches away, like that which has ever been, and shall ever be, taking the whole heaven for its canopy, and sporting with the glory of their starry heights. Do we speak of the power of God? There is it illustrated. Even at rest there seems a terrible might in the sea; and when that rest is past, and the "four winds blow on it," until the "deep is hoary," do there not arise before us the might and the majesty of Him who wraps the ocean in "swaddling bands," as if it were an infant, "holding it in the hollow of his hand?" Talk we of the wisdom of Jehovah? We find it in the perfect adaptations of marine life. The eye and fin of the fish are fitted for their peculiar element, as are the eyes of man, and the wings of the bird, to the air. The saltness, depth, and extent of the ocean are such as its living inhabitants, the purposes of commerce, and the health of the human race require. Wisdom is in it all. And that which tells of wisdom is also eloquent with the love of God. All tends to enhance the happiness of the living world. All is radiant with the beauty and glory of the great Creator. Love is on all the mystery; it smiles over and directs the power; it pervades, like a law, all the wisdom. "The II. We come now to the other truth, that GOD OWNS THE SEA. sea is His." All things belong to God; for his pleasure they are and were created. The sea is therefore his 1st. Because he made it. We claim a property in what we have made. God made the sea-all its waves, all its life. He gave the creatures that roam therein all their strength, and greatness, and beauty. It is his rightful property. 2nd. It is his because he governs it. "He raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof." He also "maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still." He appointeth bounds which it cannot pass. His law penetrates the depths, and pervades the whole expanse. He governs all that " pass through the paths of the seas.” 3rd. It is his because he preserves the life that is within and upon it. Every creature there lives on the divine bounty. "He openeth his hand, they are filled with good." The monsters that dwell there sport in his sunlight, and hide themselves in caverns which he has formed. ́Man, also, who has made the sea his home, lives there equally on the gifts of God. All are, therefore, the property of God. He created, he controls, he preserves the sea, and all its living forms. It is his to do with it as it may please him, to spread a calm over its broad fields, or to break up its deep fountains. Its riches are his; all the ships and their cargoes. His earth produced them, his winds waft them, his waves bear them to us. His goodness enables us to gain them, and to use them. And if he sink them in the sea, he only does what he will with his own." There is not a more fatal error than the thought that the wealth of this world is our own. God tears it from us when we worship it and trust in it. He shows us its comparative worthlessness, by sending the flame to destroy it, or by casting it into the depths of the sea. And he does it that we may turn from the riches of time to the treasures of eternity; that the energies of our being may not be wasted upon things so far beneath us, but find a field of worthiest everlasting activities in piety and heaven. REMARKS.-1. The sea is the work and property of God. Let all, therefore, who sail on it acknowledge Him. Do not think that when you have left your home, and are far from the scenes of your early instruction and care, you are beyond the dominion of Jehovah. No; he is with you still; he hears your words, and notes your acts, and knows your secret purpose and thought. "Whither shall I go from thy Spirit, or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me." He is there to save you in the hour when danger comes and hope flies. He walks on the sea. Presume not on your own strength and skill. Thy hand may spread the flowing sails abroad; 2. God made the sea, and it is His. Let those, then, who live on the land, seek the glory of God in doing good to those who go down to the sea. They are there for you; be ye here for them. They bring to you what you desire from other shores; carry ye to them what they need from heaven! They suffer for your comfort and entertainment; make ye sacrifices for their salvation. Merchants, statesmen, men of "the Word," men of science and the arts, men of pleasure, men of prayer, fathers-whose sons are on the sea, or may soon be there-mothers, whose watchings for the departed are long and sad!-sisters, wives, children,-listen to the voice that comes from "the wide and solemn main," the voice of souls!-"Give us the Bible! Send us the Missionary! Erect for us the chapel, the hospital, and home! Visit us with your love and your benedictions, or follow us with your prayers! Tell us the way to life, and lead us in it! 3rd. If God made the sea, then sailors, as well as other men, ought to make it their study. "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." Rise above the level of your class, brethren, and make yourselves familiar with the lessons of the sea. Study the philosophy of its storms, the history of its living creatures, the beautiful varieties of its vegetable life, and its profound natural theology, written by the finger of God, in the deepest pages of creation! It is said that truth lies in a well." It is deeper; it lies in the unfathomed ocean. But it need not be for ever hid. Let seamen bring it up to the light, that other men may blush at their own ignorance, and admire the depths of the divine wisdom and goodness. Go down and bring up the pearls and diamonds of truth, and be richer than kings with their crowns and sceptres! 4th. The sea belongs to God, and reveals his perfections. Then let all seamen love and serve him before the world. Your social influence is coextensive with the whole social state-let your piety be so too. Let the healthful savour of Christian love and purity be around you, as a halo from heaven. Too long has the great "dragon of the sea" ruled you. Too long have the four beasts of the Apocalypse been seen on the deep!—the beast of intemperance! the beast of sensuality! the beast of profaneness! and the beast of strife! This night let me urge you to do battle to them all. Draw on them "the sword of the Spirit." Begin a warfare that shall end in their destruction, and your eternal triumph! "Overcome them by the blood of the Lamb." First be yourselves washed in that fountain, and be made immortal for your conflict. Your voyage will soon be over. There is a haven "where there is no more sea,"-no more treachery, fluctuation, nor shipwreck. Oh! there is a sea of glass mingled with fire,-a symbol of the atoning blood,—all pure and purifying; by it stand the redeemed, "harping with their harps." There may you stand, also, above the changes of mortal enterprise and mortal life, with "the Captain of Salvation," there to sing in everlasting gratitude to him, "I'm safe in the port of the blest, "How happy that I am at home, THE ARCTIC EXPEDITION. (Concluded from page 57.) August 13, a.m.-Fine; wore, to stand back to the shoal. Shoaled our water thirteen fathoms, and at ten I imagined I saw breakers on the lee bow. Ship refused stays; wore, but had no less water at midnight; passed over the tail of the bank in eight fathoms, five miles N.W. of our former position. Continued to stand to the eastward until I could weather the south end of the shoal; then tacked, passing, in sixteen fathoms, three miles south of our first position. When I bore up north to fix its western edge, a slight easterly current took me rather farther in that direction than I intended. I have, however, confined it within a radius of five miles. The weather would not allow of our anchoring so as to make a closer examination of the shoal with our boats, and the sea was too heavy and hollow to attempt taking the ship herself into less water. In approaching the shoal, the bottom changes from sand to fine sand, and when in the least water coarse gravel and stones. We found nothing less than seven fathoms; but I am of opinion that a bank exists which would bring a ship up. August 14. We experienced very strong, variable, and S. E. breezes, with rain, until midnight of the 14th, when the wind changed to the westward, and brought with it fine weather. Continued to stand to northward and westward until noon on the 15th, being in latitude 71° 12′ and long. 170o 10'; bore up west half south, passing several pieces of drift wood. Our soundings increased as we left the bank (westerly) to twenty-five fathoms, mud. August 16.-Wind very variable in strength, and direction S.S.W. to S.E. Large flocks of phalaropes, divers and gulls numerous. At midnight wind very fresh from S.S.E.; steering W.S.W.; depth decreasing to ten fathoms. At 3 a.m., the 17th of August, the temperature of the sea suddenly fell from 40° to 36°; the wind became light, and excessively cold. Shortened sail, supposing that I was very near the ice; frequent snow showers. At 5 a.m. wind shifted suddenly from the N.W. in a sharp squall with heavy snow. Shortly after 8, when one of these snow storms cleared off, the packed ice was seen from the masthead from S.S. W. to N.N.W., five miles distant. The weather was so bad that I bore up for the rendezvous. The weather, however, as suddenly cleared up. I hauled my wind for the north-western extreme of the ice that had been seen. At 9.40 the exciting report of "Land-ho!" was made from the masthead; they were both soon afterwards crowded. In running a course along the pack towards our first discovery, a small group of islands was reported on our port beam, a considerable distance within the outer margin of the ice. The pack here was not so close as I had found it before. Lanes of water could be seen reaching almost up to the group, but too narrow to enter unless the ship had been sufficiently fortified to force a hole for herself. These small islands at intervals were very distinct, and were not considered at the time very distant. Still more distant than this group (from the deck) a very extensive and high land was reported, which I had been watching for some time, and anxiously awaited a report from some one else. There was a fine clear atmosphere (such a one as can only be seen in this climate), except in the direction of this extended land, where the clouds rolled in numerous immense masses, occasionally leaving the very lofty peaks uncapped, where could be distinctly seen columns and pillars, very broken, which is characteristic of the higher headlands in this sea-East Cape and Cape Lisburne, for example. With the exception of the N.E. and S.E. extremes, none of the lower land could be seen, unless, indeed, what I took at first for a small group of islands within the pack edge was a point of this great land. This island or point was distant twenty-five miles from the ship's track, higher parts of the land seen not less, I consider, than sixty. When we hove to, off the first land seen, the northern extreme of the great land showed out to the eastward for a moment, and so clear as to cause some who had doubts before to cry out, "There, Sir, is the land quite plain." From the time land was reported until we hove to under it, we ran twentyfive miles directly for it. At first we could not see that the pack joined it, but as we approached the island we found the pack to rest on the island, and to extend from it as far as the eye could reach to the E.S.E. |