"Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep. So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not. And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us: What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou ?"-JONAH i, 5-8.

SECOND LESSON.

W

E read last Sunday about Jonah setting out. on his voyage from the Lord. He knew perfectly well that God was everywhere. He could say with David, "Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit, or whither shall I flee from Thy presence ?" but he was so tormented and self-accused by his conscience, that he resembled a wounded stag rushing wildly over the country and unable to find any rest. He was pursued by the thought of his disobedience. So he wished to divert his mind from it. He tried to forget God, that he might be at peace even when rebelling against Him, and he wished to go away from the place where the Lord had spoken to him; he resolved to flee to a distant land. It was at this point in Jonah's history that our last lesson ended.

Accordingly he made his arrangements with the master of the ship, and paid his passage from Joppa to Tarshish. The wind was favourable; he was soon out on the wide sea; the voyage seemed prosperous:

but was he happy? Should you have been happy in his place? Should you have been happy even if you had arrived at Tarshish, and made your fortune, and found friends and enjoyments there?

I fancy I can see Jonah on the deck of the ship; he walks up and down; he talks to the men; he contemplates the magnificence of God's works in the deep waters; he gazes in admiration on the brilliant setting sun, the radiant morning dawn, the countless myriads of stars; he thinks about the fathomless depths with its countless host of fishes; and then when he gets tired, and is afraid to realize that he is alone with God, he retires into the corner of the cabin and falls asleep. But where will all this lead him? What will become of him? And what would be the greatest misfortune that could happen to him? Would it not be if God were to leave him to himself in this guilty flight, and were to permit him to arrive at Tarshish, and to establish himself there in worldly prosperity ? for "what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" God must pursue him in His infinite mercy, and we will now read how He did it.

Quite suddenly, and in such an unexpected and unforeseen manner that the mariners felt it was caused by some Divine power, a violent storm agitated the sea; the waves rose, and dashed so furiously against

the vessel that it seemed to be in danger of breaking and falling to pieces. God "bringeth the wind out. of His treasuries;"1 "He hath gathered the wind in His fists; "2 and when He pleases, He "stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people." So He made use of the tempest to recall to Himself His wandering servant.

God does the same for His people now; He sends storms to agitate and try us, that we may feel our own weakness and dependence, and be reminded of our sin. Sometimes these storms consist in the great revolutions which convulse the world. Sometimes in unexpected and terrible disease, or in a grievous accident which completely ruins a whole family. At other times some danger which surprises us, or some death which plunges us into the deepest mourning, the parents removed from their children, or the children from their parents. At such seasons a voice seems to pierce through our hearts with the cry, "Arise, O sleeper, and cry unto thy God." We remember our sins, we confess them; we repent and mourn over them; and thus God often brings back a stray sheep, and subdues a rebel soul, that He may bestow on it true peace and eternal life.

See how beautifully all this is described to us in Psalm cvii. The Holy Spirit there tells us about the

1 Psalm cxxxv. 7. 2 Prov. xxx. 4. 3 Psalm lxv. 7.

different ways in which, in all ages, God has been pleased to deal with sinners. Some are lost to Him by the unsatisfied void in their hearts. Others, who have long and vainly sought for peace in their own righteousness, are convinced of their utter worthlessness; while others need to be driven into the haven by the storms and tempests of life. I wish each of you would read over this beautiful Psalm.

In a short time Jonah was to sing of God's goodness; but he had previously to pass through alarming scenes, which made even the stout hearts of the sailors quake, and produced wonderful effects in them.

"Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every one unto his god." Let us compare the account of this shipwreck with that of another which happened 800 years afterwards, on this same sea, to St. Paul and his companions. Jonah was a disobedient prophet, so all the crew on board the ship were exposed to danger and death for his sake: Paul was a faithful prophet, so all the men in his ship (276 persons) were saved from the storm solely on his account.1 Such is the blessing of being associated with Christians, and such the misfortune of being connected with worldlings, or with professing Christians, who are in a state of rebellion and disobedience against God.

The affrighted sailors began "to cry every man

1 Acts xxvii, 21-25,