Scripture Verse

Introduction

Anecdotes

The mor­al sig­ni­fi­cance and far-reach­ing im­port­ance of the vis­it of Com­mo­dore Per­ry to Ja­pan in 1853–54 is well known.

It is said that while his flag­ship lay an­chored off the coast of Japan, in close proxi­mi­ty to the shore, on a cer­tain Sab­bath re­li­gious services were held on board the steam­er, and this hymn was used in the wor­ship, the na­val band play­ing as an ac­com­pa­ni­ment the tune of Old Hund­red, while thou­sands who lined the shore list­ened in im­press­ive si­lence to what was to them new and strange mu­sic.

It is nar­rat­ed that when Dr. Demp­ster, of Gar­rett Bib­li­cal In­sti­tute, was on his way, with his wife and two bro­ther mis­sion­ar­ies, to South Af­ri­ca, they were pur­sued for three days by a pi­rate ves­sel, and it seemed that they would have to sur­ren­der.

They spent no lit­tle time in pray­er to the wond­rous So­ve­reign of the sea to res­cue them from the hands of their pur­su­ers.

On the third day, just af­ter they had joined in pray­er and in singing this hymn, the pi­rate ship was seen to change its course, thus leav­ing them to pur­sue un­dis­turbed their er­rand of mer­cy to the Dark Con­ti­nent.

It is not strange that this hymn should have re­mained ev­er there­af­ter as­so­ci­at­ed in grate­ful re­memb­rance with their pro­vi­den­tial es­cape from rob­bery and pos­si­bly from death.

Nutter, p. 8