Uncle William had come to visit us for a week. We all loved Uncle William, perhaps most of all because of the interesting stories which he told.
The first morning that he was with us, he gathered us all together and asked us each to say a Bible verse for him. It was Janie’s verse which made him tell us this story. Her verse was, “Behold, He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” Psalm 121:44Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. (Psalm 121:4).
“That will always be my special verse,” said Uncle William, “and I will tell you why.
“It takes me back to the very first trip I took at sea. We ran into a terrible storm, and we all thought that we would never see land again. The waves piled up so high around us and then came crashing down on our ship with a thundering roar. The great vessel cracked and groaned in all its joints as though it would split in two. For two days and two nights the storm raged on, and all during that time the brave captain stood on the bridge and guided the ship as best he could. It was cold, and the rain and hail and sleet beat against him, but he would not leave. On the third day the storm began to wear away, the danger was over, and the captain went down to his cabin to rest. But he never came out again. Pneumonia set in, and in three days he was dead.
“Children, I can’t tell you how I felt as they let the body of our brave captain down into the sea. I cried like a little child. But I was not the only one — tears were in the eyes of the big strong seamen too.
“Among the passengers there was a gospel preacher. I can still hear his voice, sounding out over the wide ocean, ‘Behold, He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.’ He spoke of the bravery of our captain who had given his life to guide the ship, and then he went on to tell us of the matchless love of our Lord Jesus who went into death for poor sinners like ourselves. He warned us about the storm of judgment ahead, and begged us to take Jesus as our own Saviour. In that very hour, Jesus became my own personal Saviour, and that verse has been a favorite of mine ever since.”
Can you, dear reader, also say, Jesus is mine? He loves you and wants to wash your sins away, and be your Saviour, too.
ML-02/13/1977