How bright L— Bay looks this summer! The sun shining on the calm waters; motor boats laden with passengers plying to and fro from I— to and from L— to I—; bathers enjoying the sunlit waters; happy parties scattered up and down upon the rocky beach. It is a pleasant scene for the eye to rest upon. A continual coming and going, some on foot, some by buses, some by motor boats. L— is a beauty spot, a health and pleasure resort for health and pleasure seekers.
But very different sights have the inhabitants of L— witnessed, and far different sounds have they heard.
In L— Bay, in February, 1889, the whole crew of the “Lymington” were drowned one awful night, their cries for help being distinctly heard by those on land. All were willing to save, none were able. What a scene of death and desolation! The cruel rocky coast, the raging billows, the fierce storm, the piteous cries of the drowning men. Awful sight, awful sounds!
The coastguards and the rocket apparatus had been called out from I— to the distressed crew of the “Lymington”; but, in the agitation and excitement, a fatal mistake was made. The officer in command instructed his men to wait for him at the gates of I churchyard.
Sad to relate, he entirely forgot his own order, and hastened by himself to L— Bay, a distance of 21 miles willing to save the drowning crew, but absolutely powerless to reach them. Coastguards and horses and rocket apparatus waited in vain at the churchyard gates, till at length the owner of the horses refused to keep them standing in the bitter cold any longer. The coastguards were willing and anxious to save the drowning crew; but when they at last reached L— it was too late. The old fisherman of L—, George L—, a man of dauntless courage, declared he could have saved the drowning men with the rocket apparatus. He, too, was willing, but he was not able. NONE was able. ALL were willing to save. NONE was able.
In I— churchyard is a grave with this inscription, so faint in parts that it is difficult to read the whole: “Erected By Public Subscription
To the Memory of
Edward Miller,
Aged 22,
Whose Body Lies Below, And
To Seven Other Members
Of the Crew of the
S.S. “Lymington,”
Wrecked off L—,
Feb. —, 1889.”
And so the entire crew of the “Lymington” perished for lack of a saviour. Anxious, desperately anxious to be saved, as their bitter cries for help testified; but none appeared to be their saviour. There was none with power to save those drowning men from death in the raging waters. No saviour.
Dear reader, if you perish eternally, it will not be as with the crew of the “Lymington,” because there is none with power to save you. They had no saviour; there was not one able to save. Many saw the dire distress they were in; many heard their piteous cries for help; but not one had power to save. They could in no wise save themselves. And none saved them. But it will not be so with you. True, you cannot Save yourself. But the Lord Jesus Christ can save you, and He will save you if you will but put your trust in Him.
The leper in Mark 1:40-42, doubted the Lord’s willingness to meet his need. “If Thou wilt, Thou canst make me whole.” “And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth His hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean. And as soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.”
The father of the child possessed with a foul spirit, in Mark 9:17-27, doubted the Lord’s power to help. “If thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.”
The woman in Mark 5:24-34, had an “If,” too, but it was the “If” of faith.
“If I may touch but His clothes, I shall be whole,” verse 28.
“HE IS ABLE,
“HE IS WILLING: doubt no more.”
“Whose fault will it be if you are lost?” asked a servant of Christ of some boys and girls at a meeting for children. “Our own,” answered a big girl. And, dear reader, if you are eternally lost, it will be your own fault, for “HE IS ABLE HE IS WILLING: doubt no more.”
“A brand plucked out of the fire” (Zechariah 3:2).