In the month of September 1799, a trial was in progress in the old Courthouse of Kingston, Jamaica.
A ship had been captured which was suspected of piracy and other crimes calculated to harm the persons and property of the subjects of the King.
The trial had lasted some days, and the case seemed just about to fall through, as there was nothing at all among the ship’s papers that could be used in evidence against her, except for the fact that the papers all seemed perfectly new and had not been handled at all, while the ship was said to have been sailing from port to port for two years.
It seemed evident to all that the prosecution must lose the case, and the sharp gray eyes of the skipper shone with triumph as his lawyer wound up a good speech in his defense by demanding the dismissal of the ship and substantial damages for wrongful detention.
Then the attorney for the Government rose from his seat. He held in his hand a small bundle of papers, crumpled and soiled, which had just a few minutes before been handed to him. His words were few but startling, for turning to the judge he said: “May it please your honor, I am now in a position to prove to you, on the most undeniable evidence and by a most disinterested witness, that the vessel in court is none other than the pirate ship Nancy, and thus save you any further trouble in this case.”
The face of the skipper flushed crimson. He was taken completely by surprise, and, turning fiercely to his men, he demanded to know who had betrayed them. But none of them had. The witness which the Government proposed to bring forward to prove their guilt was not one of the crew, but the bundle of papers which the lawyer held in his hand.
A hush fell on the courtroom as he went on to tell the story of the way in which the papers had been discovered. The British ship-of-war Abergavenny was cruising near the coast of San Domingo when the commander, Michael Fitton, noticed the carcass of a bullock floating on the water. It was surrounded by sharks. One of the sharks was caught, and in its maw was found the true paper of the brig Nancy, and these papers were the bundle that had just been produced in court.
When the ship was first pursued, these had been thrown overboard, and the captain thought they -the evidence of his guilt - were buried in the depths of the sea forever, but instead they had been swallowed by a shark. Now they had a resurrection - a resurrection which proved to be to the confusion and condemnation of the captain and his crew.
What a lesson that sins cannot be hidden away by the sinner! The Bible says, “Be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:2323But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out. (Numbers 32:23)). And if you miss God’s forgiveness through the name of Christ Jesus, if you do not acknowledge to God that you are a sinner indeed and seek forgiveness in this day of grace, your sin will find you out in eternity. Your sins will meet you at the judgment throne of God, and in utter despair and desolation you will find yourself forever banished from God and heaven and Christ and joy.
The captain of the Nancy gained nothing by pretending to be an honest man, nor will you gain anything by seeking to hide your sins from God. It would be far better for you to make a clean breast of all your guilt and pray like the conscience-stricken publican, “God be merciful to me, a sinner” (Luke 18:1313And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. (Luke 18:13)).
The Saviour did not come to call the righteous. It was for sinners. He came to seek and save the lost. He died for the ungodly. If you trust in this Saviour, your sins will never come against you in judgment. Instead, God will bury them in the deep and fathomless sea of eternal forgetfulness.