Soon afterward we came in sight of a spacious and open port, called the Assembly Harbor, that lay directly in our course, where a large fleet of vessels was then collecting to celebrate the Feast of Remembrance, to which we were invited.
When in the midst of the fleet, we were delighted to find that all appeared to be voyagers like ourselves, who had come into the right course by the Strait-of-the-Cross, and were bound to the Celestial shores, and who were now gathered together to remember that most sublime and yet most awful event that ever transpired on the earth—the amazing work of redemption accomplished by Prince Emmanuel on Mount Calvary.
All bore the same banners, and most conspicuous of all on every peak was the Prince’s Ensign, having the cross of Calvary thereon—such as had been given to us—floating high in the balmy and refreshing air of that serene and lovely haven. After an interval of the most solemn silence, and a burst of heartfelt praise and thanksgiving, and many prayers had ascended up to heaven, the simple emblems of bread and wine appointed by Prince Emmanuel Himself as memorials of His death on the cross—and the accomplishment of His glorious work of redemption—were reverently partaken of by all; we thus adoringly remembered Jesus. Passing then in retrospective vision before us, we beheld the gloomy garden of Gethsemane, the agonizing prayer, the drops of blood, the mocking and the scourging, the crown of thorns, the awful hill of Calvary, the cruel crucifixion, the darkness that was dreadful, the terrible cry that pierced that midnight gloom— “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me!” which made the earth to tremble and the sun to hide his face, and the last triumphant cry of “It is finished,” that rolled and reverberated through all the lofty vaults of heaven, till all the angels, wondering and adoring, caught up that victorious cry in their highest songs of praise: the echoes of which still continue to roll on and on forever and ever, through the countless ages of eternity.
Then another hymn of holy praise ascended from the whole assembled fleet, that rose in rich harmonious strains to heaven, and gladdened every heart.
“Almighty Prince our Saviour,
We praise and worship Thee.
Compassionate Redeemer,
We do remember Thee.
“Thy sacred body hanging,
On the accursed tree,
Thy precious life thus given,
We do remember Thee.
“For Thou didst bear the bruising,
The shame and agony
For sin, by us deserving,
We should remember Thee.
“And now we wait Thy coming,
And long Thy face to see;
Until that grand appearing,
We will remember Thee.
“Through all the countless ages
Of vast eternity,
We’ll sing aloud Thy praises,
And ever worship Thee.”
As we thus sang, the heavens appeared to open, while streams of golden light illumined this sublime and most impressive scene; for the glory of the Lord—the Divine Presence—was there and pervaded the whole fleet.
Sailing on now in company with the great fleet—as we were all bound to the same port—we derived much comfort and encouragement in the pursuit of our voyage: in happy fellowship, taking sweet counsel together with our fellow voyagers; often recounting our merciful deliverance at the cross, the rest and happiness we found there and at the Port of Peace, and the precious instruction we had received from our divine Counselor, Wisdom.
But we had not proceeded far before disputes arose among the fleet as to the order of sailing, the different modes of navigation, the directions given in the charts, the appointment of commanders (or Vice Admirals) to direct the movements of the fleet, and many other matters not mentioned in our sailing orders.
After a while, these unseemly controversies became so heated and bitter as to greatly interfere with the regular sailing of the fleet together in proper order. Then some of the mariners began to appoint their own commanders, and separate into small squadrons, calling themselves after the names of their respective chiefs, or by some other particular names. Adopting various colored and distinguishing flags of their own devising, upon which their adopted names were boldly emblazoned, each squadron drew apart to sail in its own course, and thus be independent of all the others of the fleet.
Some of the commanders, and their squadrons also, claimed superior powers and authority from the Prince to rule over or direct their fellow voyagers, though it was clearly laid down in the charts that the Prince had very distinctly forbidden the exercise of such power.
Many were the sad results of these contentions, for that grand fleet was now divided, the strength of that noble union broken, and much discredit brought upon the testimony of the Lord’s truth, which they, in their united condition, were enjoined to set forth. And then, instead of helping one another, as followers of the same Prince, and mariners bound to the same port, they often, in mistaken zeal and rivalry, hindered one another, and frequently came into serious collision. The Prince of peace and love looking down upon that sad scene was much grieved, for He had earnestly desired that those voyagers, whom He so much loved, should always continue united, and in the strength of that happy union bear testimony to all on the Ocean of Time of His heavenly mission on the earth. But, sad to tell, that noble fleet was never again united on the earth. At the end, however, in the infinite grace and compassion of the Prince, all those voyagers—notwithstanding their numerous failures—were gathered together in one great company in the celestial courts above, never to be again separated: though some had suffered loss, while many, on that memorable day of gathering, were not a little surprised, as they looked back on those unhappy divisions of the fleet (whereby the truth and testimony of our chief Captain had been so sadly marred) and wondered that they should have ever taken any part in them.
The evil influence of these sad controversies, which were such a willful departure from the expressed will of our divine Head, had most injuriously affected us all; for a spirit of strife and an unhappy desire for pre-eminence had been engendered thereby, which it was not easy to eradicate.
And this spirit of rivalry and contention extended to all our officers and crew, causing us at times much deep sorrow and trouble.
Although we had been truly changed in all our inclinations and desires, as well as in the inmost thoughts and purposes of our hearts, yet we had not got rid of our old human nature, which clung to us to the very end of our voyage, producing at times sad conflicts with the new nature that had been given to us. This inward conflict was a source of sore trial and perplexity to us for many a day: for we cordially hated our former thoughts and ways, while we delighted in the blessed things of God into which we had been recently introduced; yet when we would do that which was right and good, according to the new dispositions given to us, the evil promptings of our old natures would suddenly rise up to hinder and disturb us, and thus greatly interfere with the navigation of our boat by causing strife and disorder among our officers. At such times, our very active mates, Mr. Thoughts and Mr. Feelings, would suddenly assume the command, and take upon themselves the authority and control that properly belonged to our Captain and our Pilot, Mr. Conscience.
Beside all this, the ease and sense of security we had lately enjoyed appeared to beget in us (in as yet our very imperfect condition) feelings of pride and self-confidence that tended very much to retard our progress. Still we strove to hold on our way, with full sails set; though our steering at times was somewhat wild and unsteady. Consequently, we often lost headway, and drifted with the current by neglecting to keep a steady eye on our compass, already forgetful of the wise counsel we had received from our divine Instructor.
Looking out one day over the wide waters, as we thus slowly glided along, we suddenly espied at some distance to leeward, in the direction to which the current tended, a tall red beacon indicating imminent danger, on which were painted in large characters the words, “Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” The rocks thus marked were some very dangerous reefs called Worldly Pride.
Seeing the danger, our Pilot instantly sprang to the helm, and then putting our head to windward we narrowly managed to keep clear of those perilous reefs. At least we were not wrecked thereon, though we sustained some damage. Almost immediately afterward, we sighted ahead of us, directly in our proper course, a large white buoy: and by the time we were well nigh up to it, we very unexpectedly, and, to our great surprise, ran aground. Looking more closely at the white buoy before us, we discerned written thereon, “Before honor is humility,” and then we wondered much why this strange buoy had been placed there, and still more, why we had so suddenly run aground, when we thought we were well out on the deep ocean, and fairly proceeding on our way. Thinking we might have mistaken our course, we immediately called a council of all our officers to consider the matter, and the Royal charts were produced for examination. On carefully searching the charts, Mr. Understanding pointed out to us the white buoy plainly marked thereon; and, moreover, explained that it was put there to indicate the channel known as the Shallows of Humiliation.
We found, too, that this channel was directly in our course, so that we must needs pass over those shallows to reach the Celestial Shore.
“It is plain enough we are in the right way,” said Thoughts, “but of what use may it be to know this, if the channel is too shallow to float us, and we are held fast aground, so that we cannot proceed on our way.”
“Yes indeed,” said Feelings, “and suppose a storm was to catch us here; we might be broken to pieces and lost, as vessels have often been wrecked on treacherous shallows like these.”
“Do you think, Captain Will,” said Mr. Heart, “in some alarm, that we might sail around these shallows, and yet keep to our course?”
“Perhaps we might,” replied the Captain, willing to please the owner, “and if you wish it, I am ready to try; but not knowing how far these shallows extend, it may be dangerous to attempt it. Judging, too, from my last observations we shall, I think, have to pass over these disagreeable banks, in some way or other.
Then Mr. Conscience, who had sat in silent thought for some time, remarked, in his usual earnest and solemn manner, “There is but one way for us to pass over these shallows—for over them we certainly must go, to be in the right way—and that is, we must lighten our ship. We are much too heavily laden, much too deep in the water, and have therefore run aground.
“Remember what a heavy cargo we took in at Vanity Fair, beside what we have brought with us from the Land of Mortality, the bulk of which, as you are aware, is nothing else than the dross and rubbish of this world: and the time has come when we should throw it all overboard, so as to be able to rise and float over these shallow banks, and continue our voyage.”
Then before we could recover from our astonishment at this unexpected and unwelcome suggestion, Mr. Conscience rose, took his lamp—the lamp of Self-examination—and proceeded below into the hold, asking the other officers to follow him.
Flashing his searching light quickly over all parts of the dark hold, Conscience exclaimed, “See, here are huge, unsightly bales of Pride carefully stowed away in those dark recesses, heavy boxes of Self-Conceit further down, and many large packages of Covetousness besides, none of which are fit wares to be seen in the Celestial land.
“Hoist away and overboard with them,” said our stern monitor, “otherwise we shall never clear these trying shallows.”
None daring to disobey, we applied ourselves reluctantly to our painful task, and amid many groans and sighs, much of what we had hitherto esteemed as valuable cargo was then thrown overboard.
Now greatly lightened, we expected to float away immediately, but to our surprise we still remained aground. “Ah,” said Conscience, “I fear some of our officers have private property hidden in their cabins that is still weighing us down.
“Come, Captain Will, let us have a look in your cabin first.” So saying, the Captain very reluctantly accompanied Mr. Conscience to his cabin, where they quickly discovered many heavy parcels of Self-will, Willfulness, Obstinacy and such like things, which the Captain had now to part with.
Turning then to Mr. Thoughts (for our sharp inquisitor would make a thorough search) he said, “Suppose we now examine the contents of your cabin.” Thoughts protested that he had nothing whatever of weight in his room: for he always greatly disliked inspection. But on going there, Mr. Conscience found, as he had suspected, a large and varied collection of old books, and ponderous volumes, some of which were entitled, Vain-imaginings, Foolish-fancies, Idle-and-fickle-thoughts, Airy-castles and other works of like character, which Mr. Thoughts had treasured up with great care, and in the perusal of which he used to spend much of his valuable time. Now, however, with many twinges of regret, he had to help Mr. Conscience in throwing them overboard.
Meanwhile, Mr. Feelings, who had been watching these proceedings with much fear and trembling, had locked his cabin door, and he hoped Mr. Conscience would spare him the pain of a search. But with a stern look, Conscience demanded the key, and forthwith a close search was made of our second mate’s cabin, when to the distress of Mr. Feelings, sundry cases of Worldly-desires, Sentimentality, Bitterness, Wrath, Malice, Touchiness, and Temper were discovered, and were also ordered to be thrown overboard.
Being now very much lighter we began to float a little, but were soon aground again, and very near to the white buoy. “What now,” exclaimed Mr. Feelings, “aground again? I fear we shall never clear these dismal shallows.”
“Drawing too much water still,” replied Conscience, “for we have not yet, I suspect, sufficiently searched all the cabins and dark recesses below, so as to clear out the weight that is keeping us stranded here. Moreover, I am afraid our much-respected owner, Mr. Heart, may have some heavy goods stowed away in his cabin that are still keeping us down, though I know he does not wish to think so.”
Hearing this, poor Mr. Heart was thrown into a great state of trepidation, for he had his misgivings on the subject; after a while—though with much effort and many a sigh of sadness—he consented to have his cabin examined.
Then it was discovered, to the surprise of all on board, and to Mr. Heart himself, that his, more than any of the other cabins, was lumbered with piles of heavy articles, such as Vain-glory, Covetousness, Pride, Inordinate Affection, Concupiscence, and the like.
Besides these, we found in some very curious drawers with false bottoms a large quantity of base coin, stamped with the image and superscription of the makers: Deceit and Dissimulation. These base coins, it should be stated, were most carefully secreted in those intricate drawers; so much so, indeed, that even Mr. Heart himself was scarcely aware of their presence there. Now, when all these things had been opened out, and thus brought to light, Mr. Heart hung down his head and felt much grieved and ashamed.
He had never supposed it possible that such quantities of these disreputable wares could have been secreted in his cabin, and especially all that base coin, so that, while being greatly distressed at the discovery, he most willingly helped in having as much as could be laid hold of cast overboard.
But hidden away in many a dark corner there was still much of the world’s dross and rubbish left that never could be got at, which had therefore, to our great sorrow, to remain there.
As it was with Mr. Heart’s cabin, so it was with all the other cabins, as well as the hold, while the greater portion of those things that weighed us down was cleared out, after this searching ordeal. Still we never could get rid of it all, as long as we remained in our boat on the Ocean of Time.
Now after this partial clearing of ourselves, we began, to our delight, to float again; and then quickly passing over the shallows, we discovered that this channel of Humiliation had been marked along its whole extent with a succession of buoys, having inscribed thereon respectively the words, “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble.” “Humble yourselves in the sight of God, and He shall lift you up.” “He that shall humble himself shall be exalted”; and many other words of like import.
The sight of these directing buoys cheered us greatly, as we now saw we were in the King’s highway with the smile of His approval upon us. Besides, the voice of the Holy Presence was heard distinctly by all on board, saying “The humble shall see this and be glad.”
Although Mr. Conscience’s searching examination had cost us no little effort, and much deep sorrow, yet it had been a most salutary and blessed lesson, by which all were greatly benefited. For our little bark, being now lightened, we glided pleasantly and swiftly over the waves; while the health of all on board was much improved, and, indeed, better than it ever had been before, as we were now relieved in a great measure from the evil odors that used to come up from the hold at times, and made us very ill.
The pleasure, too, of knowing we had the approval of the Holy Presence, and the prospect—now nearer and brighter than ever—of soon meeting our beloved Prince, filled us all with a holy glow of intense delight.
Then I was directed to enter the following record in my Logbook:
“Salvation at the wondrous Cross we found,
The precious gift of boundless love and grace;
Secured forever on the changeless ground,
Of Jesus Christ’s atoning sacrifice.
“And though the world we then had left behind,
Freed from the guilt and burden of our sin,
We had by sad experience yet to find,
How much of fleshly evil lurked within.
“So to those humbling shallows we were brought;
That by the lamp of God’s own searching ray,
We might discover every worldly weight
That stayed our progress on the heavenly way
“Thrice happy then, when helped to lay aside,
Sin’s heavy load, that weighed and kept us down;
That with rejoicing we might onward glide
Along our heavenly course, to win the crown.
“And blessed, too, that holy, humble place,
Where self is judged, with broken, contrite heart;
Our Father meets us with a smiling face,
The highest joy and comfort to impart!”