Many years ago a large ship called the Dutton was wrecked off the coast of Plymouth, England. All hope of saving the ship was gone, and nearly 600 people were in danger of dying in the ocean. There seemed no way to escape. Some of the officers, thinking only of their own safety, had tried to get to shore, but the waves were so violent that they had tried to get back on the ship. Some of these were killed as the mainmast fell on them in the fierce storm while they were not yet on board. The captain of the ship had gone ashore the day before, so there was no one to direct the crew or control the wild disorder into which the frightening situation had
thrown them.
A well-known captain in the British Royal Navy, Admiral Sir Edward Pellew, happened to pass the spot on his way to a dinner party with his wife. Seeing the crowds on the shore, he discovered what was happening, and instantly he hurried to the scene. The ship was in full sight. The passengers were assembled on the deck with waves breaking over them. Guns were firing distress signals, adding to the misery of those
on board.
Admiral Pellew tried shouting orders to those on the ship. Then he begged others to carry his orders. He was suffering with a partially healed wound, but no one else would be persuaded to take his directions to the ship. Not one other person had the courage to even try or enough love to risk his life for the 600 people about to die. There was no time to lose, so Admiral Pellew resolved that if no one else would go, he would. But how was he to get there? No boat could make it through the furious surf, and there was no lifeboat to be had at Plymouth then.
Admiral Pellew knew that some people had come to shore by a single rope that was now being held by people on shore. Tying this rope around his own waist, he gave the signal to those on board to pull it in. In this way he was dragged through the stormy waves right up into the ship. It was an extremely dangerous thing to do. The violence of the waves, as he was drawn through them, carrying wreckage from the ship, was enough to dash him to pieces. But he passed safely through all the danger and stood at last upon the deck.
Once there, his calm and commanding behavior won the respect of most on board at once. Some of the soldiers, however, had to be threatened with his sword before they would obey his orders. With order restored, Pellew was able to direct the rescue operations. More ropes were attached to a strong cable on the ship to make it possible for more people to escape to land at a time.
A small boat with two brave men on board came along to help, as well. The 20-year-old mate, Jeremiah Coghlan, tied a rope around his body and, going into the frigid water, was able to drag two men to shore. He repeated this until he was exhausted. By 2 p.m. the storm began to grow less violent, and Jeremiah ran to get another boat, which he used to transfer more people from the Dutton to safety. It is thought he saved at least 50 people by his efforts.
Meanwhile, Pellew stayed at his post and kept supervising the transfer of stronger passengers by the ropes. The storm calmed down enough by 3 p.m. that rowboats were able to get close enough to the Dutton to receive the last 380 people, mostly women, children, sick people, soldiers and crew. Finally, Pellew himself escaped safely to land on the cable.
Pellew had noticed the bravery and hard work of Jeremiah Coghlan in rescuing lives, and he offered him a job on the ship where he was the captain. Jeremiah was a good worker, and he rose through the years until he himself became a captain.
This story gives us a lovely picture of what the Lord Jesus did for us. He didn’t stay safely in heaven, giving us orders as to how to save ourselves, but He Himself came down from heaven to save us. He went through all the “waves and billows” (Psalm 42:77Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me. (Psalm 42:7)) of God’s anger and judgment against our sins in order to quiet them forever and to save us from eternal death in hell. His love for us is so great! “Christ also [has] once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:1818For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: (1 Peter 3:18)).
Can you imagine one of those people on the Dutton saying, “No, I think I’ll stay here” when rescue was offered to them? Or do you think they might say, “I’d rather swim to shore myself. I’m sure I can do it”? But are you being like that? You are also in danger, if you haven’t accepted the Lord Jesus as your Savior. God’s judgment against sin is so great that it would have taken all of us to hell if the Lord Jesus hadn’t come to die for us, shedding His blood to save us from judgment. “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this, the judgment,” says the Bible in Hebrews 9:2727And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (Hebrews 9:27). Are you safe from that judgment because you have put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ?
Messages of God’s Love 10/26/2025