He Took God at His Word

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All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. —2 Timothy 3:16

Have you ever heard the name Matthew Fontaine Maury? If you were ever stationed or lived in Virginia you may have heard of the Maury River. Plus there’s the Maury Hall at the University of Virginia, at the College of William & Mary, and at the United States Naval Academy. Three United States Navy ships have been named the USS Maury, and one named the USS Commodore Maury. . . . along with an oceanographic research vessel named after him at Tidewater Community College near Virginia Beach. There is Lake Maury in Newport News, Virginia, a statue of Maury in Richmond, a high school in Norfolk named for him, an elementary school in Alexandria, Virginia, and even a crater named for him on the moon. (1) Who was this man? Maury was a Naval officer and a scientist, a recipient of many medals and honors by nations around the world—and a Christian who believed God and took Him at His Word.

Born in Fredericksburg, Virginia, in 1806, Maury grew up in a home where God’s Word was respected and taught. . . . and where God’s revelation in creation was observed and trusted. He joined the Navy when he was 19, following his brother in that calling. Maury taught himself navigation during his first ship assignments—and went on to become second to a ship’s commander in responsibility for navigating during ocean voyages. He enthusiastically collected data while underway—information which became critical to the charts which he published after circumstances kept him from pursuing a career at sea. In his job as Superintendant of the Depot of Charts and Instruments in the Hydrographic Office of the Navy from 1841-1861, and other positions which he held after that, his studies of the sea and air currents became widely known for their impact on commercial sea travel around the world—making ocean voyage more efficient. His achievements earned him the title of “pathfinder of the seas,” and most refer to him as “the father of modern oceanography.”

What does all of this have to do with Maury’s faith? On the basis of his reading of the Scriptures, Maury knew from Psalm 8:8, Ecclesiastes 1:6, and Psalm 107:23-24 that God designed and ordered the elements of nature which had fascinated him in his experience at sea and in his subsequent study. Maury contended that whoever studies the sea “must look upon it as a part of that exquisite machinery by which the harmonies of nature are preserved, and then will begin to perceive the developments of order and the evidences of design.” (2)  It was on the basis of his belief in the truth of Scripture that Maury made the scientific conclusions that he did.

Here are the verses which he used as he took God at His Word:

Psalm 8:6-8
“You made him ruler over the works of Your hands; You put everything under his feet: all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.”

Ecclesiastes 1:6
“The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course.”

Psalm 107:23-24
“Others went out on the sea in ships; they were merchants on the mighty waters. They saw the works of the LORD, His wonderful deeds in the deep.”

So here’s the next question—what does God have to say to you from Scripture during deployment? What truth from His Word could you read—and trust Him with, as Maury did? What would happen if you really read these verses and believed that God means what He says?

Isaiah 43:2,3
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”

Proverbs 3:5,6
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

Lamentations 3:22,23
“Because of the LORD’S great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”

Philippians 4:13
“I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”

Luke 1:37
“For nothing is impossible with God.”

Colossians 3:23,24
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

Psalm 56:10,11
“In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose work I praise—in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

Psalm 34:18
“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

Genesis 1:1
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

Revelation 22:20,21
“He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.”

From the first words of the Bible in Genesis to the last words in Revelation. . . .God can be trusted—He can be taken at His Word. Matthew Fontaine Maury knew it in the 1800s, and you can know it today.

Work Cited:

1. Answers.com;

2. Maury, Matthew F., The Physical Geography of the Sea (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1859) cited in ApologeticsPress.org.

Also used in research were articles on Matthew Fontaine Maury from the Institute for Creation Research and Answers in Genesis.

Questions to Share:

1. Ask your spouse which of the Scriptures above is one that you would like to ask God to help you to believe.

2. If you were to trust God with the truth of that Scripture, what difference would it make in your life? in your marriage?