AMONG the many letters of welcome received on my return from Australia there was one in which was enclosed a leaf from a Scripture text calendar on which the above words appeared and which was accompanied by an extract from the writings of Robert Haldane. The words which head the article are from Paul’s Epistle to the Romans (i. 10) and form part of his expressed desire to reach the believers in Rome—”For God is my witness whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers; making request (if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God) to come unto you (Roms. i., 9, 10). The extract from Robert Haldane referred to above is as follows: “There is nothing with which Christians should be more habitually impressed than that God is the disposer of events. They should look to His will in the smallest concerns of life, as well as in affairs of the greatest moment. Even a prosperous voyage is from the Lord. In this way they glorify God by acknowledging His providence in all things, and have the greatest confidence and happiness in walking before Him.”
After my long voyage over the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans both the text (the significance of which I had not noticed hitherto) and the extract appealed to me as peculiarly appropriate. In times of peace a prosperous voyage may not be thought much of but in days when ships are exposed to attack from under and on the water and from the air one, unless he is hardened indeed, cannot help feeling that a prosperous journey is by the will of God. It is true, that at all times in peace as well as in war our safety is from the Lord. This is too often forgotten and it is only when threatened with danger we think, if we think at all, of the Lord’s care over us. It is told of the famous Dr. Hodge, Princeton, that a friend burst into his study one day in great excitement exclaiming: “Oh! Dr. Hodge, let us give thanks to God for His great kindness. My horse bolted and the buggy was smashed to pieces and I escaped without injury.” The Doctor quietly replied: “I have ridden over that road a hundred times and nothing ever happened to me to cause alarm.” When one comes to think of it surely this was more wonderful than escape when danger was encountered. In experiencing safety in journeying from place to place it is well that the wise should lay to heart that God’s care should be acknowledged in these travelling mercies and it is with this end in view this article is written.
To voyage over mine-strewn waters and submarine infested seas with the added danger of attack from the air and from raiders without seeing anything in all these thousands of miles to cause alarm is surely something demanding public acknowledgement of the Lord’s goodness and His gracious answer to the prayers of so many of our people at home and abroad.
We encountered one of the worst storms I ever experienced crossing the Atlantic and this was the eighth trip. In these days, however, one does not think much of storms, it is other dangers which cause anxiety.
In this brief narrative the writer hopes no one will think he is indulging in heroics as if his experiences were unique when thousands of the men of the Royal Navy and the Merchant Navy are crossing these dangerous waters continually doing their duty right nobly to their country and to us. One has only to envisage a little of what they are exposed to to realise how instant in prayer we should be for them at a throne of grace. The purpose of giving this narrative, which could be made much more interesting were it not for the eagle eye of the censor, is to magnify the goodness of the Lord and to publicly acknowledge how abundantly He answered the prayers of our people on my behalf.
For years the words of the Lord to Baruch have been ringing in my ears—”Behold that which I have built will I break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up, even this whole land. And sekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not for I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the Lord, but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest” (Jer. xlv., 4, 5). I could scarcely believe that such judgments would fall on our country neither did I understand what the promise implied—”thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest.” With these words ringing anew in my ears I left the shores of my native land and on my return witnessed the plucking up of that which had been built up and also the fulfilment of the promise—”thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest.” Well may I and those who remembered me at a throne of grace join in saying: “What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits toward me?”