Business in great waters

The literary minded will be familiar with the phrases “those who go down to the sea in ships”, and “in great waters”, both of which have been widely used as allusions in titles and elsewhere in literature about Newfoundland and Labrador.

Grenfell or other “muscular Christians” of his era may have been responsible for the popularization of the phrases, which are from the King James version of Psalm 107:

They that go down to the sea in ships,
     that do business in great waters;
These see the works of the Lord,
     and his wonders in the deep.
For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind,
     which lifteth up the waves thereof.
They mount up to the heaven,
     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 distresses.
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!