ness in great waters; these see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep. For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, and lifteth up the waves thereof. They mount up to the heavens, they go down again to the depths; their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit's end. Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distress. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad, because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven. Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

At this the heart of every one of them responded, and they said within themselves, When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble? And when he hideth his face, who then can behold him? 20 If God will not withdraw his anger, the proud helpers do stoop

21

under him. They also sang another sweet hymn of praise, which they called the Star of Bethlehem.

Hark! hark! to God the chorus breaks,
From every host, from every gem;
But one alone the Saviour speaks,
It is the Star of Bethlehem !

Once on the raging seas I rode,

The storm was loud, the night was dark,

The ocean yawned, and rudely blowed

The wind that tossed my foundering bark.

Deep horror, then, my vitals froze,

Death-struck, I ceased the tide to stem, When suddenly a star arose,

It was the Star of Bethlehem !

It was my guide, my light, my all;
It bade my dark forebodings cease;
And through the storm, and danger's thrall,
It led me to the port of peace.

Now safely moored, my perils o'er,
I'll sing, first in night's diadem,

For ever and for ever more,

The Star! the Star of Bethlehem!

CHAPTER VII.

THE LAND BREEZE FROM THE KING'S GARDEN. THE COM

MUNION OF SAINTS.-THE FREEDOM OF THE WHOLE
COUNTRY.-NO SLAVE HOLDERS NOR SLAVES,

NOR RETURNING OF ESCAPED FUGITIVES.

Now while they were singing, the ship drew near the land, and the land-breeze came off upon the water from the King's gardens, laden with such a delicious fragrance, that it seemed as if it must have come to them directly from the trees of life in the Celestial Country. And indeed the change was so great from what they had passed through to such mercy, that it was as if the dark night had been succeeded by one of the Days of Heaven, and all the scenery of the Celestial World seemed to rise up before them. Oh, when the Redeemer unveils his lovely face, and shines upon the soul in forgiving mercy, what joy on earth is to be compared with the assurance of his pardoning love! Thou shalt forget thy misery, exclaimed Peter, and remember it

as waters that pass away; and thine age shall be clearer than the noon-day; thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning, and thou shalt be secure because there is Hope.1

2

Well, the region they had come to was a region of hope, and the inhabitants of that place were all hopeful and happy, and they had good right to be so, because there was a very close communion between their town and the Celestial Country in many ways. And their laws were laws of liberty and not of bondage; for one of the greatest of them ran as follows: The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. It was also a land where there were a great many fugitives from slavery; and the Adversary was forbidden to reclaim the slave that had escaped from him, but the moment he got into that land he was free; and there was a grand law that ran as follows:-Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which is escaped from his master unto thee; he shall dwell with thee, even among you, in that place which he shall choose, in one of thy gates, where it liketh him best; thou shalt not oppress him.3

The people of the land loved this law, and rejoiced in it; and whenever the Great Slaveholder appeared among them, as sometimes he did in cun

1 Job xi. 16, 17, 18. 2 Rom. viii. 2. 3 Deut. xxiii. 15, 16.

ning disguises, to get back his victims, or whenever any of his commissioners or catchers were detected laying their snares, the inhabitants of the town had the bells rung for alarm, and all turned out in one body, and if any of the villains were caught, they were forthwith branded, and whipped out of all that region. So it was a place of great joy, loving-kindness, and security, where every law that opposed any of the King's laws was put down at once.

Moreover, the geography of their place indicated its security, for the formations of the coast ran into one another from a great way North, in the following order, namely, Tribulation, Patience, Experience, Hope-and a hope that maketh not ashamed. Now all this was the Communion of Saints, and a common property, and always had been such from the beginning. Then there was a wide reach of beautiful open country, and beyond that a region of riches and glory that since the creation of the world had never been fully explored, and indeed was said to lose itself in an unfathomable, incomprehensible sea, from which none of the explorers ever returned, but passed into the Celestial Country for ever. All that region, so far as any knew anything about it was named, THE LOVE OF GOD IS SHED ABROAD IN OUR HEARTS BY THE HOLY GHOST WHICH IS GIVEN UNTO US.5 There Rom. v. 5.

4 Rom. v. 4.