self, who does all things as He pleases. It was his pleasure, that the dreadful tempest should arise, and threaten them with destruction; that, when the lots were cast, the lot should fall upon Jonah; that he should confess his guilt; and that he should tell them to throw him into the sea. In doing this, they besought God not to cause them to perish, for being instrumental in taking away the life of his prophet, and not to lay upon them innocent blood ;-that is, not to lay upon them the guilt of having shed the blood, or destroyed the life of a person who was innocent of having committed any wickedness. Jonah was not such an innocent person. On the contrary, he had been guilty of a great sin, and felt himself that he deserved to die, and that it was right that his life should be sacrificed, to save the lives of oth

ers.

'So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea.'

How Jonah must have trembled and feared, at this moment! In the midst of such alarm and consternation; with a furious tempest raging; the heavens all covered with black clouds; the rain descending in torrents; the winds roaring; the waves rolling and dashing against the ship, and everything manifesting the great displeasure of God;-himself the object of this displeasure, and

about to be plunged into the deep waters, there, as he thought, to die, alone, forsaken both of God and man. He must have shrunk back and shuddered at what was before him, as the mariners lifted him over the sides of the ship, and cast him off from them, a poor, helpless, sinful man.

My dear children, how do you expect to feel, when you come to die? You will not be thrown overboard from a ship as Jonah was; but it is possible, that you may be drowned in the water, or lose your life in some very sudden, and unexpected manner. God does all things as He pleases. If He thinks it best, He can cause you to die at any moment. Many youth and little children, die very unexpectedly, and others with

disease, and sickness. If you go and examine the
grave-stones in the burying-ground, you will see
the names of not a few young children, and their
ages, on them. How soon will your turn come,
to be laid alongside of them, in the dark and
silent tomb? How soon will your soul, going
out of the body, appear before God, and there
have to give an account to Him of all that you
have thought, felt, said and done? Have you
truly repented of all your sins? Have you truly
trusted in Christ to save you? Do you love this
Saviour? Do you obey his commands? Do you
endeavor to do as He did,―to love and serve God,
and do all the good you can to others?
pray to God daily, that He would give you his
Holy Spirit, to enable you thus to love Him, with
all your heart and soul and strength and mind,
and your neighbor, (that is everybody whom you
have anything to do with,) as yourselves? This
is the way, and the only way, to be prepared to
die. Are you thus prepared to die, my dear
children?

Do you

CHAPTER VI.

The storm ceases.

The mariners fear before the power of God. They worship Him, for His goodness. How much more grateful to God ought we to be. The meaning of sacrifices. Christ the great sacrifice. A dreadful punishment will overtake the impenitent.

As soon as Jonah was cast into the sea, it ceased from raging. The wind abated, and blew only a gentle breeze. The rain fell no longer. The clouds grew lighter; and here and there the blue sky was seen. The waves rolled less and less furiously; the ship began to ride over them more easily, and the danger appeared to be quite gone. It was God who did it. For as Jonah told the mariners, He is the God of the sea, and of the dry land. The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters; yea, than the mighty waves of the sea. O Lord God of hosts, who is a strong Lord like unto thee? Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them.

You remember, I dare say, my dear children, how Jesus Christ was once with his disciples, in a small ship, crossing a lake, and that a very vio

lent storm overtook them. The ship was filled with water, and they were in great danger of being drowned. Christ was in the hinder part of the ship, and asleep. His disciples awoke him, and cried out; Master, carest thou not, that we perish? And he arose and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it, that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

The mariners, too, who had cast Jonah into the sea, and who saw the winds and the waves immediately cease from raging, feared exceedingly. They feared the true God, who thus showed his almighty power, and used it for their deliverance. They knew, by all that they had seen, that He must be the true God, and that the gods which they had worshipped, were false gods, and could never render them any aid. They felt so thankful to God for rescuing them from death, and so much resolved to believe in Him, and to worship Him in future, that they made a vow, (or very solemn promise,) to do this; and either while they were in the ship, or as soon as they landed on the shore,-"they offered a sacrifice unto the Lord.'